Game 8

After suffering their first lost of the season in Friday's contest, Drew and his Riverview Ice Sharks teammates didn't have to wait long to get back on the ice to try and right the ship. The team traveled to Clearwater this evening to take on the Bloomingdale Bulls. Although it took a little longer than the last game, the Ice Sharks once again found themselves trailing, as the Bulls scored the games opening goal with nine minutes to play, after a battle along the boards resulted in the puck coming free and finding it's way up and over the Riverview goaltender. Thankfully Riverview didn't wait long to answer, as they made a nice pass to the middle of the ice two minutes later, which resulted in their attacker making a nice deke that got the Bloomingdale goalie moving across the crease before they made an easy shot in to tie the game at 1-1. Riverview would dominate the rest of the period, but didn't have anything to show for it until just over a minute remained, when they got a breakaway opportunity that led to a wrist shot goal and a 2-1 lead. Although this score would hold until the end of the period, they probably should have had an even bigger lead, as the Ice Sharks outshot the Bulls by a 21-9 margin.

The second period got off to a more even start, as both teams had some chances on net. It was Riverview that broke though first, as they were able to corral a rebound and poke the puck in behind the Bloomingdale goaltender with a little under eleven and a half to play. A similar play happened less than three minutes later, as Riverview once again controlled the rebound and shot the puck in, widening their lead to a 4-1 margin. Bloomingdale would later take the only penalty of the game so far, after a scrum along the boards led to one of the Bulls players taking a bit of a punch and Drew and the two of them falling hard to the ice afterwards. It was hard to tell if the Bulls skater tackled Drew or if Drew brought him down when he got hit. Either way, it resulted in a Riverview power play. Unfortunately they weren't able to take advantage of the opportunity. With just over a minute to play, the Ice Sharks caught a break when the Bulls goaltender dropped a save and the Riverview team was there to poke the puck past to make it a 5-1 game. That would be how the period would come to a close.

The third period continued to see the Ice Sharks fire shot after shot on net, but it was the Bulls who would score first. Shortly after killing off a slashing penalty they found themselves with several skaters attacking the net, and one of them managed to get their stick on the puck to push it into the goal, making it a 5-2 game with a little over twelve minutes to play - still plenty of time for them. With under five and a half to go the Bloomingdale side would make it a 5-3 game on a wrist shot. Again, the Riverview side got plenty of shots on goal, but they just couldn't break through over the remainder of the period. The Ice Sharks would get called for a slashing penalty with a little over a minute to play, and the Bulls would pull their goalie at that time as well. Despite the two-man advantage, they only managed a single shot on goal. The game would end with the Ice Sharks on the winning side of a 5-3 score. It probably should have been a larger advantage, though, as they outshot the Bulls by a 46-23 margin. The victory moved the Riverview team to 6-1 on the year. Way to go Ice Sharks!

Riverview Ice Sharks Varsity Game #8 - vs. Bloomingdale Bulls
		Drew moving down the ice.
		Drew working his way to the front of the net to set a screen.
		Drew setting a screen...
		...and taking a stick to the back to get him to move.
		Drew stopping before the blue line as the play changes direction.
		Drew waiting at the blue line as the puck comes towards the offensive zone.
		Drew with another screen in his office in front of the crease.
		Drew taking another shove while setting a screen.
		Drew battling for a rebound in front of the net.
		Drew and his teammates looking at a puck that is bouncing high in the air.
		Drew watching as a shot/pass comes his way...
		...and watching to see if his deflection finds the back of the net.
		Drew skating down the ice.

Riverview Ice Sharks Varsity Game #8 - vs. Bloomingdale Bulls

Drew moving down the ice.

Drew working his way to the front of the net to set a screen.

Drew setting a screen...

...and taking a stick to the back to get him to move.

Drew stopping before the blue line as the play changes direction.

Drew waiting at the blue line as the puck comes towards the offensive zone.

Drew with another screen in his office in front of the crease.

Drew taking another shove while setting a screen.

Drew battling for a rebound in front of the net.

Drew and his teammates looking at a puck that is bouncing high in the air.

Drew watching as a shot/pass comes his way...

...and watching to see if his deflection finds the back of the net.

Drew skating down the ice.