ANN ARBOR– For the second straight season, Ashley’s Hopslam finds itself bumped out of the playoffs in a semi-final match-up with the Ice Dogs, losing 2-3 Tuesday night in a heartbreaker. “That hurt,” said defenseman Mark Woods, referring initially to hitting his elbow on the ice without the protection of his elbow pad, but later applying it to the loss.
Alas, poor Hopslam. Sting (not really) laments his favorite hockey team’s elimination from the premier D1 Tier 1 playoffs.
The game started under an odd cloud when forward Luke Bell opted to take to the ice with rental skates rather than use his own. Though the details were sketchy, goaltender Jeff Phillion took responsibility for Bell’s decision. “That’s on me,” he said.
Any initial worries were quelled when defenseman Keith Kotimko’s blast from the point opened the scoring mid-way through the first period. “We’re gonna win!” exclaimed Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own (1992), where he played manager Jimmy Dugan.
However, the lead did not last. Two very strange goals late in the second period (credited to Dog Michael O’Brien) turned the game and the team’s mood around. The first goal popped over Phillion and bounced off the shoulder of defenseman Steve Gorham. The second goal was redirected several times, seemingly off the glove of an Ice Dog player. “That goal was bull (bleep)!” exclaimed forward and poet laureate Mike Leighton.
The frustration deepened when just seconds into the third, the Ice Dogs scored their third goal. The lead seemed insurmountable, though a late power play gave Hopslam the three-man advantage with the goalie pulled. Jim Socha slammed home the goal with just 0:06 seconds left to bring the team to within one goal.
However, it simply wasn’t enough, and Boys of Beer found themselves staring at a long off season of thinking about what might have been. “I’ll see you guys in a week,” said Woods leaving the locker room.
Shakespeare wrote that “the cat will mew and dog will have his day,” but Homer Simpson may have said it best: “Ah, beer: the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.”