By R. Inkrat, Morning Hockey Correspondent to the Chicago
Sun Times
(c) 2012 by R. Inkrat, used without permission
FALMOUTH, MAINE, OCTOBER 15, 2012 - The Morning Hockey Blue
Dogs rallied for a 7-4 win over the Gold Honey Badgers to claim the coveted
Cardinal Richelieu Cup this morning.
In this second playoff series for the famed flagon the
hounds won four in a row after an opening game tie, putting an exclamation mark
on their post season sprint to the Cup.
The Cup awards ceremony followed immediately after the contest.
Playoff MVP Walt "The Wall" Leland was awarded the
first tour with the "charmed chalice" after standing on his head all
morning to thwart a determined Badger attack.
Leland made key save upon key save to limit the Gold sharpshooters to 4
markers. At the other end of the ice, Jim
Secunde was also brilliant as the multi-talented Blue forwards attacked in wave
upon wave and peppered him with shots.
Gold opened the scoring and held an early 3-1 lead. Les Bleus rallied, however, to knot it at 3-3
and then take a 4-3 lead. Gold fought
back to tie it 4-4. The contest remained
even for some minutes but gradually the persistent Blue offense, led by Gerry
Nadeau, broke through for goals 5 and 6.
Hockey analysts will be studying this series for months to
come, but ESPN's veteran puck philosopher Barry Melrose observed, "It is
becoming clear the key to Cup play is Brian Linscott. Whichever team has Linscott wins." In this the mullet-maned maven was correct,
as Linscott won the cup last series with the Gold Weasels, as they were then
known, and this time backstopped Blue in its successful Cup run. Linscott, who seems to be suffering from a
delusion about a team he was on coming back from a 3-0 deficit in some past playoff
series, "played a good game" today and has been solid all series.
Canine JJ Mokarzel was in a celebratory mood after the
tilt. He visited the locker room
occupied by several downcast Gold teammates to "look for a
broom." This prompted many
observers to remember that in game 3 Mokarzel had been "lent" to Gold
for the match, leading to speculation that his role may have been more saboteur
than savior. This is only one of several
"irregularities" that will be investigated before the Cup win becomes
official. Meantime MHC records will
reflect it with an asterisk.
That said, the Blue Dogs played a superb series and deserved
to win. We congratulate them and look
forward to the next Cardinal Richelieu Cup playoff!
-30-
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