Greece Athena/Odyssey 2, Rush-Henrietta 1

D&C Staff Reports 12/27/08

VIDEO

J.T Stenglien and Mike Briganti each scored to lift Greece Athena/Oddyssey (9-0). Stenglien found the net 8:52 into the first off an assist from Riley Bourbonnais. Forward Doug Clayton netted Rush-Henrietta's score on an assist from Corey Spuck and Mike Truisi 5:19 into the second period.

Briganti connected in the second to give the Thunder a 2-1 advantage. Goaltender Brandon Burgess made 23 saves for the Royal Comets (4-4-2). Mike Rotolo stopped 21 shots, including two in the final minute of the game to secure the win.

Wes Vyverberg Reports

Game Report

Filling in for Wes Vyverberg, who was unavoidably detained north of the border in Canada (it's pronounced Canada), Bob McCubbin had the call for the Championship game of the Greece Thunder Christmas Tournament:

"The balmy 50 degree temperature outside combined with a much lower intensity atmosphere - compared to the prior evening’s game against Lightning - made it seem more apropos for America’s favorite pastime than a hockey game. Throw in a few runs (up the ice), hits (of the physical kind), and errors, plus some fantastic catches, and the baseball analogy was complete for Thunder’s match up against Rush Henrietta in the Championship game of Thunder’s Christmas Tournament. Brandon Cheeseman got the penalty box warmed up with a tripping call a mere 23 seconds into the game. RH soon followed with hooking and tripping calls in short order. JT Stenglein made a quick pass to Matt Lane in front of the net, but was thwarted by a quicker RH goalie. JT soon drove it home with a short-handed goal at 9 minutes into the game, with an assist by Riley Bourbonnais. Thunder goalie, Mike Rotolo, made one of the great catches of the game when a shot by RH from the point ricocheted off a stick just outside the crease. RH’s goalie showed he could keep up when he caught his own rebound like a fly ball, with just one minute remaining in the first period.

Wasting no time in the second period, Mike Briganti shot it in the net 25 seconds after the drop from a pass sent by Pat Sofia. Then RH scored their only goal of the game when confusion between Thunder’s defense and goalie over who was controlling the puck left it loose in front of the net (the error.) Throughout much of the game the puck had trouble staying on the ice, with one airborne shot after another. Fortunately the Greece bench had their eyes open and were able to duck.

Thunder outshot RH in the third period, but the score remained unchanged, resulting in a 2-1 win for Thunder. Players of the Game accolades went to RH #31, Brandon Burgess, and #13, Cory Slough. Thunder’s #19 Pat Sofia and #25 Eric Gunderson were named to the All-Tournament Team. MVP went to Thunder’s #36, Riley Bourbonnais. See ya in the Hall of Fame, guys!"

Nicely done Bob... And it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game! Mike Rotolo made 21 saves for the win, his third on the year, as Thunder pushed ahead to 9-0, with a narrow 2-1 margin over the Royal Comets.