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3rd Annual Super Series Game #2.
This intense rivalry between friends has gone so out of control that it eventually led to a best-of-eight hockey series! Each captain has decided to form their own teams and play against each other to see who is truly a hockey god between them. On one side, you have Louis Hondronicolas, the captain of Team Hondonicolas (or “Mighty Olympians” as he likes to refer to his team) and on the other side, you have George Makri, the captain of Team Makri (or “Wimpy Christians” as Louis likes to refer to his rival team). This extreme rivalry reached to new heights when Louis signed a contract (on a piece of napkin no less) that states that if he loses the series, he will retire from hockey FOREVER!!!
When asked why you would do such a thing, Louis informed me that he it was easy for him to sign that contract since he lived all his life by following a set of rules and his #1 rule is that: ‘Team “Mighty Olympians” doesn’t lose… EVER!’ Oh my! This promises to be a quite something...
The series officially started last Saturday (April 4th 2009) in which Team Hondronicolas walked away with a 9-4 victory over Team Makri. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to witness the game but I was told that it was a complete destruction. The loss was mostly due to the fact that his team was short of players. So the captain of Team Makri decided to bring three new players to this week’s game to better guarantee himself a shot at winning the game.
Did the plan work? Alas, it didn’t. His team lost for a second row by a score of 14-12. They definitely competed better this time around then last week. For a moment, it looked like they were headed for a convincing win when the captain himself, George Makri scored a goal in the first 20 seconds of the game!!! They started the game very strong, with a quick 2-0 lead, and finished the first period with a 5-4 score but Team Hondronicolas came roaring back and never looked back.
The game itself was a very entertaining, very high scoring, nail-bitter of a game that had you on the edge of your seat and guessing all the way to the end on who will be the winner. It even brought out the biggest crowd of the series so far with an attendance of 5.5 fans for this game. It was obvious that both teams lack defensive skills and I get a feeling that the team with the best defensive record will win the series (since both teams can score at will).
With that in mind, it will probably come down to which goaltender will outdo the other? John Vrettis (the goalie for Team Hondronicolas) had an easier time then his counterpart on today’s game. He was barely tested and made very few saves except on one occasion in the third period where, on one sequence, Team Makri shot several times at a sprawling John and, as one Team Makri said: “It seemed the puck touched his shoe, his head, his leg, his arms, every part of his body except touching the f**king net.”
Whereas, George Kapogianopoulos (the goalie for Team Makri) had a more busier time. He, himself, will admit to his poor play today, in which he allowed numerous weak goals, but I was more impressed by him then by John Vrettis. George had to make more difficult saves, on top of facing more shots then John. It’s too bad that his defense didn’t help him out a little bit more because if they did, they probably would’ve won the game instead of Team Hondronicolas.
The best player, by far, for Team Makri was Kevin. This guy is a very good two-way player with lots of skill and lots of speed. In fact, he’s the one that gets the “goal of the night” award. He made a superb play & shot that led to him scoring a goal while flying in the air “Bobby Orr style”. It was just incredible to watch him score that goal.
George Skoufaras was also very impressive today. My first impression of him was that he was the type of player that’s “all talk and no action”. I quickly realized that I was wrong. This guy has loads of talent and it showed with his play on the rink. I lost count of his goal total. He’s a very passionate player, with lots of heart and dedication. George likes to play scrappy and stay in front of the net while hoping to whack one in the net. He’s also a smart player! He realized in the second period what was going on with his team and tried multiple times to wake up his team with shouts of: “Guys, why are we respecting them? DON’T RESPECT THEM!!!” Very sound advice in my opinion…
Lastly, George Makri gets my nod for third star because of the leadership skills and the inspiration he gave to the rest of his teammates. In this all important second game of the series, he started it with a huge ‘bang’ when he scored the all-important first goal of his team in the first 30 SECONDS OF THE GAME!!! WOW! Now that’s what I call a leader… he inspired his team to play like superstars in the first period by setting the example.
Too bad it couldn’t last for the whole game but I still give him props for doing whatever he can to win. He played smart and was at the right place, at the right time to receive the pass and score an awesome top corner goal. It’s no easy task for a defenseman to score a goal in any game (especially from a guy with Makri’s size) to get the first goal is quite an accomplishment. In fact, I believe that it should count for two goals!
A perfect example of George’s focus and determination was the “hugging incident” with Jimmy Papachristos behind Team Makri’s net. Jimmy had the ball behind the net and George was covering him. Somehow, Jimmy lost his balance and fell into George. They both collapsed on the floor and it took a while for both players to get back into the action since George was hugging Jimmy like he wanted to make love to his woman. The referee was very nice in not calling a holding penalty against George and he, basically, just got away with one. All of this in the name of winning this intense series, to prove to his friend that he is the ultimate hockey god.
The surprise player in Team Makri is, without a doubt, Louis Gomato. From last time I saw him, he gained a lot of weight and I believed that he would be more of a nuisance to his team than a welcomed addition. I was dead wrong! Louis shocked me with amazing skill and moves that I did not expect him to make. He has very fine hands and the way he plays reminds me of Alex Kovalev. The only drawback for Louis is his shape. He definitely needs to work on his cardio more so he can get more speed and momentum going along with his amazing stick work. The speed will also aid him in back checking when the time is needed for him to help out his defense. I won’t underestimate this guy anymore and neither should Team Hondronicolas if they want to win the hockey series.
Louis Gomato also gets the “funny moment of the match” award. It occurred in the end of the third period when he had the possession of the ball and was trying to fake a defenseman, by using his superb stick handling skills and moving forward, for a better scoring chance. In the middle of the stick handling work, he misses the ball completely and moves forward without it. The ball stays motionless and in place behind Louis. A guy from the bench screams out: “Hey Louis, I think you forgot the ball back there”. Everybody started laughing hysterically.
As for Team Hondronicolas, I thought Dino Da Silva was the best player in the team. Put in the top line with Louis Hondronicolas, he was devastating and wreaked havoc all game long. He has the size, the speed, the stamina and the skill to become the all-around best player in this series. Team Makri must find a way to shut down this amazing player or else I don’t foresee them winning this exciting series.
Louis Hondronicolas also had a strong game with a few goals of his own. He’s a player with lots of skill, speed and quickness. When I see him playing out there, he reminds me a lot of Guy Lafleur (without the golden hair).What’s even better is his ability to make his opponents worry about him due to his quickness and acceleration. That is an intangible gift that Louis has that can never be quantifiable. It unquestionably gives him the edge over any other player. Add to the list, his legendary ‘Maurice Richard like” will to win and you get as a result, a superb player that nobody wants to mess with.
Robert Matosoglou is a player that contributed greatly to Team Hondronicolas, especially during the “home stretch” of the game. His desire to win was made clear to me when I heard him say: “They won’t keep that lead for long” during the end of the second period. He then went out to play an extraordinary game, with a couple of goals during the last period to give a final push for his team. In the end, it all paid off for the big 2-0 lead in the series. He’s an absolute must for any team…
For a guy that comes from Greece and tries to play a sport that is foreign to him, I found that George Moraitis played very well. In fact better then expected and that is why I pick him as my surprise player for Team Hondronicolas. He tries hard and makes sure that he’s not a liability for his team. Of course, he’s not a very talented player (and I suspect that he knows that) and he doesn’t have a lot of speed but his strength is his work ethic. That work ethic enables him to greatly reduce his liability status for his team. He really performed better then expected and more shocking, better then most players that were born in Canada.
Prediction of the week: Team Makri has to stop the bleeding and definitely needs to win the next game. This is a “MUST WIN” game!!! If not, it’s lights out for them and they will lose the series to Team Hondronicolas. I get the feeling that they will come out strong, with guns blazing, and do whatever it takes to come out on Saturday afternoon victorious.
Team Makri
* Kevin
** George Skoufaras
*** George Makri
Team Hondronicolas
* Dino Da Silva
** Louis Hondronicolas
*** Robert Matosoglou
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