The second game of the year featured the Lions and the Sharks. The Lions come out prancing in purple while the Sharks were in green. Both teams were sporting new colors and new lineups and no one was really sure how this would affect the outcome, although some gasps were overheard when the clash of colors debuted. Or maybe that was just coughing from the Zamboni fumes mixed with the sweet smell of hockey sweat.

In nets, the Taichung Lions were going with Mario “Frenchie” Beaulac, while the Sharks made a bold move in giving Greg Macintosh the night off. Perhaps they thought no one would notice with those green uniforms. In his place, young Peter Ko was making his CIHL debut. He would get his first taste of the league when Mark Paas stepped into an unassisted slap shot just two minutes into the game. BLAM. He beat him on the glove hand side and it was 1-zip for the mighty Lions. The Lions would add a second goal few minutes but due to shabby notes and a slightly pickled memory this scribe can’t fill you in on the exact details, but it involved an assist from Brad Dolinski. At around the 11 minute mark, it was Mark “the minute muncher” Paas breaking down the side and shrugging off the D with another fine effort. He shot to the farside, and all of a sudden it was 3-0 Lions and it was starting to smell like a blowout. Mitch “Tsunami” Tsai picked up the helper on it. But the Sharks would storm back with a goal of their own, a goalie stick was tossed and French cursing was heard for miles around. “Slick” Stever converted from “Wiley” Wilson and things were starting to heat up. Towards the end of the period Andrei “the mad Belarusian” got off a wrister from the side that was saved, and Paas took it back the other way but ended up getting stopped. The 1 st period ended, 3-1 for the Lions.

The second period was destined to be a more subdued affair, although the Sharks pounded one in early at 1:30 mark as “Slippery” Stever got his second of the game from Chris “Black Crowes” Robinson and “A rolling stone gathers no” Mossing. Shortly after this “I’m the Juggernaut, Bitch” Paas got tripped up going down the side by what looked to be a 14 year old Asian. No penalty was called on the play, as the referees were too busy laughing. Minutes later, “Lovable” Lunman came strolling into the arena looking quite striking after his yearly visit to the barber and devoid of all previous whiskers. Everyone agreed that he looked much younger and trimmer and seemed to a certain bounce in his step. This was much more exciting than the penalty “Demolisher” Dombowsky took at the 10 minute point. Probably because it didn’t look like the Sharks were much interested in scoring to tie it up. The 2 nd period ended, with the Lions hanging on to a narrow 3-2 lead.

The 3 rd period got under way much like the first 2 with some fast and furious action. In just the first minute of play both Kennedy and Stever missed point blank chances to score as “Marvelous” Mario would stand his ground in nets. Just minutes later, however, Ronan “The Ripper” Wilson would convert from “Stamina” Stever to knot the game up at 3. It was a great pass out from the corner and a laser shot to the blocker side. At the 5 minute mark the Sharks would have a great chance to score as they broke out 2 on 1, but it was Beaulac again with a blocker save. The rebound popped out in front and a heavy shot came back towards Beaulac’s head that he was able to glove down. “The Killer” Dombowsky would take another penalty, this one for roughing, at 6:50. The Sharks would press hard on the powerplay, but it was “Super” Mario closing the door and robbing Stever of his hat trick with another glove save. “Devestating” Dombowsky took yet another penalty at the 12:15 point, this one for tripping. The ensuing powerplay did everything they could to score, but the closest they came was when Stever rang a zinger off the post that stayed out. They hit yet another post 3 minutes later, but just couldn’t convert due to an astounding amount of bad luck and solid play from Beaulac. With mere seconds left in the period Stever had a breakaway chance but Paas was able to strip him of the puck and pound it down the ice to end the game. Despite playing their second game of the day, the Sharks looked strong and hungry, and the Lions were lucky to escape the period tied up.

It was time for most exciting moment in the professional sports: the shootout. The Lion’s Ripley would take the first shot and score on young Peter Ko who hadn’t seen a shot in quite awhile at this point. Stever would shoot first for the Sharks, but would be denied as Mario closed the 5-hole. Paas was up next and would convert a snapshot over the blocker of little Ko. The Shark’s Kennedy was up next and had to score to keep his team alive. He didn’t and the game ended as Mario followed the deke attempt to his glove side.

3 Stars:

3. R. Dombowsky - 9 PIMS

2. R. Wilson – 1G, 1A, 2Pts

1. M. Paas – 2G, 2Pts

Note: With 2G, 1A, 3Pts and an all around presence, Stever should have been named a star. But I didn’t pick ‘em.

Final score: Lions 4 Sharks 3

Next time they meet: 2/4