ANN ARBOR– Never mind that Tom Colis dropped in a goal and two assists, or that Scott Bray added two goals including the game winner in the 4-2 Aventinus victory over Ice-o-topes 2 Sunday night. “I give that win to the defense,” said goalie Jeff Philion.
And, you can credit that defense to a pair of socks reaching up to the knees, which rhymes with victories, worn by defenseman Mark Woods.
“Say what you will about the socks,” said Woods. “But they make me a superstar in this league!”
Indeed, Woods has been there for all three of Aventinus’s victories, posting a whopping one assist in just four games, well above his usual pace.
Woods in anguish after missing an open shot on net
Other teammates have noticed and taken advantage of his play. Early in the first period, center Nate Greenman opted to use a crashing Woods as a decoy, coming from behind the net to open the scoring with a power play goal.
“They were all looking at (Woods),” noted Greenman. “I thought, ‘perfect!'”
Woods cheering teammates after a goal
“Mark’s role is really to play defense and keep up the team’s spirits,” said GM Mark Woods. “He’s the guy you hear yelling and urging teammates to play their best hockey… even if he can’t.”
“The important thing is that we won,” said the defenseman. That’s hard to argue, especially after socking it to them like that. The Topes never had a Catholic school girl prayer.
“Sometimes, when I get nervous, I stick my fingers under my arm, and I smell them like that,” said Woods. “That’s bad.”
“Superstar!” added Woods.