The action returned to the ice this past Sunday after an extended break for Chinese New Years. Some CIHL players used the break to relax and rest there bumps and bruises, while others used it to get really drunk. Fans and players alike that were desperate to see some high scoring hockey to make up for the hiatus, were not disappointed, as the nights first match up between the Raptors and Lions, saw a total of 11 goals. The Lions were trying to keep the momentum going after there win over the surging Sharks, and the Raptors were desperately hoping to stay out of sole possession of last place. The game also saw the rare feat of both teams having a player net a hat trick and the not so rare feat of Mal Turner sustaining an injury to his face.

The Raptors came out firing on all cylinders, as Murray“Merman! Merman!”Richardson scored less then one minute into the opening period, taking a nice feed from Bob“Man am I tall on skates?”Ford, and firing a one timer past the Lions sub goalie Justin Lewis. The long layoff combined with the Lions short bench soon became apparent as the action slowed right down. Things picked up again with about 5 minutes left in the period when“mighty”Mark Paas tied the game at 1. Less then a minute later the Lions stormed into the lead when Roman MacNamara Scored with assists from Mario“No more playing goalie for me”Beaulac, and JR“I didn’t retire”Reid.

The second period saw referees Tommy“coach”Sullivan and Kevin“where’s my whistle”Yu crackdown on penalties under the new CIHL. The crackdown was not strong enough For the Raptors Mal“I get no calls”Turner who decided to protest the lack of penalty calls against him by smashing his face into the crossbar and then doing his best lumberjack impersonation and chopping down a Lions player earning him 3 minutes in the box. Turner then decided to further get his point across by missing numerous scoring opportunities in a fashion that said“start calling more penalties on them or I will continue to not score and complain”. Finally, Lions Sub goalie Justin Lewis caved and let Turner score which quieted him down for awhile. As the Raptors started to pull away“Mighty”Mark Paas decided to take things into his own giant hands, as he scored his hat trick goal to give the Lions a chance at a comeback. Murray Richardson was having none of that as he potted his hat trick goal to keep the Lions at bay. With the 6-5 win the Raptors were able to stay out of the basement and the Lions fell out of 2 nd place.

1 st Star – Murray Richardson

2 nd Star – Mark Paas

3 rd Star – Paul “Our game is at 7:20?” Bray

-Dan Definney