Poor Us!?!

"No, Ray, I said 'POROUS' as in too many holes" commented the 'Hooter' at the conclusion of this evenings 3-3 tie at Sport-o-Rama. 'RJ' Krok was trying to ease 'Pop Tom's disappointment in tonights outcome by explaining that the Pearl River Pirates competed against one of the top Squirt teams in New Jersey. The Pirates had opened a 1-0 lead after one period but defensive lapses had them scrambling to tie the game at three midway through the third. The Pirates could not sustain an offensive attack at all and greatly benefitted from goalie miscues on two of their three goals. Dillon Krok assured his father and the grumpy geriatric that "tomorrow is our league championship game; we'll come out firing on all cylinders." Number 22 explained it thus to his bewildered elders: "Tonight, the two teams were virtually equal. The best in southern New York against the best in northern New Jersey. We're Pirates; they're Bandits. They nearly robbed the game from us, we just stole it back with that goal in the third period!"

Too "Blanking" Good

"Hey, Bears Coach, 'if it was football, it would've been close."

Shooting Gallery

...on the attack all night.

The First Step

"I decided to save my voice" rasped the 'Hooter' to Terry McLinskey at the conclusion of the convincing 7-0 blanking of the Bear Mountain Bears in the opening round of the Hudson Valley Hockey League playoffs at Sport -o- Rama when nary a hoot was heard in the 3rd period. The Pearl River Pirate Squirt A team was primed for victory as attested to by their dominant four goal lead after twelve minutes of action. The squad was never seriously challenged in this one sided affair with six different players chipping in goals. Midway through the third period with the seven goal lead and chippy play marking the Bears' attack, Coach McGee pulled back on the throttle and had his worker bees protect Sean Gordon's shutout through puck control and a spread attack in the offensive zone. An irate Linda Krok caused the Hooter to blush when she turned to the 'bearded blogger' as the strategy unfolded as said, "the Bears coach s...ks; if Chris won't run up the score, my Dillon will run 'em into the boards at least." Husband Ray, time keeper extraordinaire, quipped, "Lin, it's in the DNA! Dill got two minutes for mouthing off in the third period."

The Journey to Geneseo Begins...

"Pop Tom, the Pirates Cove blog could read like one of your tennis blogs except, of course, these are all victories" commented Nana Lucy at the conclusion of the Pearl River Pirates sweep of their four opponents this weekend. Indeed with scores of (4-1, 7-1, 3-1, 5-3) our band of Bucs took a solid step in building their confidence that they will be very competitive in the New York State Championships, Squirt Division one month from now. In less than 40 hours - from Friday at 6 PM through Sunday at 9 AM - the Pirates grew as a team. The much heralded Mamaroneck Tigers visited Sport -o-Rama to open the series and were felled by a three goal third period onslaught by a Pirate attack that was both tenacious and resilient in the 4-1 victory. Coach McGee mixed and matched in the following morning contest at Rye Country Day School. By giving most of his forwards time on the backline and rotating his staunch D-men topside against the over matched Rye Rangers, 7-1, Coach Mac gave the squad a fresh challenge while advancing the individual skills of each team member in their new role, albeit temporary. A secondary benefit was realized a scant six hours later in Stamford Ct. Playing from behind for the first time in weeks against a formidable Greenwich Blues team, the lads were a tad fresher than otherwise they might have been, rallying to erase the one goal deficit and come away with a very satisfying 3-1 triumph. But past was truly prologue come 7:30 Sunday morning. Back at Sport -o- Rama to play the Saints (with our own impenetrable Sean Gordon in their net) the Pirates had their emphatic statement game. Down 3-1 at the mid point of the second period 'the-never-say-die' bunch saw their hard work reap the rewards of a three goals in three minutes third period resulting in a tremendous 5-3 victory. As the Hooter left the building to soothe his hoarse voice, Nana Lucy charged with driving a beaming Dillon Krok home, opined "Too bad this wasn't a night game Dill. Pop Tom snores so bad, his throat's so sore now, I feel like I'm wasting this victory!"

My Favorite Blizzard

"Is this the line to Wendy's or McDonald's? These guys in blue are from Dairy Queen."

Storm Brewing?

"Hey Pop Tom, that was barely a snow shower" gleefully chortled Dillon Krok as he emerged from the locker room. Our dauntless Pearl River Pirate Squirt A Team had just concluded the Christmas vacation on an even higher note than they had begun it with their 2 impressive victories two weeks earlier. The boys crushed the Hackensack Blizzard (8-2) at Sport-O-Rama before an enraptured group of parents and fans. Krok and Ryan McLinskey led the way with each scoring hat tricks in what had been a close contest through a period and one-half. Coach McGee working with a short bench rotated his skaters effectively. Smooth skating, double shifted CJ Greco and Brian Quinn were integral to the happy outcome with crisp passing and rushes into the offensive zone. Not that our defenders were no less responsible for the lop sided result. CJ McGee, Owen McGee and the ever versatile Liam McCullough staved off every flurry by the Blizzard and were vigilante against the perpetually hanging Hackensack forwards. Sean Cooper in net came up big, early and often, before the pendulum swung the Bucs way in the middle period. Yeoman work by Dolan Ocasal, Anthony Margiotta, Ciran McEnroe, Michael Ruthberg along the boards did not go unnoticed by the Hooter. As the families dispersed to the parking lot, many heading out to a fast food lunch, the Hooter commented "Dill, when I come back from Florida in four weeks will you be working on 40 goals, or will it be more?" To wit #22 blasted another wrister by the befuddled old man with "Pop Tom, that depends. If you stay out of Dairy Queen and away from those ice cream treats you crave, I might score a 'blizzard' of goals in your absence."