Hello fellow MGHAers and fans!
For those that don’t know me, I’m a first year player in the league. When I’m not playing hockey or working at my day job, I write about professional women’s hockey for SB Nation’s The Ice Garden. I’ve joined up with the league to write a weekly recap of the feature game, as well as promote some of the other cool events that make the MGHA so awesome.
If you have any feedback or suggestions about content you’d like to see, I’m all ears!
The Flamers v. The Lean Mean Pink Machines
If you didn’t have the privilege of catching the feature game last Sunday, you missed one of the most exciting MGHA games I’ve witnessed in my short time here. While some prefer to watch high-scoring “barn burner” games, my favorite hockey games are always the low-scoring “goalie battles”. And that is exactly what the Flamers and Lean Mean Pink Machines delivered.
The Flamers came out hot — pardon the pun — and forced Pink Machines’ goaltender, Leah, to make a glove save just 39 seconds into the game. The teams would trade chances throughout the first period, but both Leah and Flamers’ goalie Katy stood tall in their creases. Red looked as though they might break open the scoring with three minutes left in the period, but Leah made three consecutive saves from pointblank range to keep the game scoreless.
To start the second, the Flamers doubled-down on their strategy to pressure Leah early, forcing her to make another glove save, this time just 15 seconds into the period. The second period would mirror the first until the Flamers tallied a goal with under 7 minutes left. Austin walked into the zone, moved around the defender, and fired off a shot into the space he created, beating Leah blocker-side. Leah was not shaken though, and continued to make excellent saves, including a stick save on a point shot taken by Austin on the very next shift.
Not to be outdone, Katy shined in net for the Flamers in the third period. She came up with several big saves, including a truly unbelievable glove save on Jen Voichick to preserve the shutout in the dying minutes of the game.
When your glove is in *just* the right place: pic.twitter.com/nSSlLsVV9L
— Kevin Colelli (@kcolelli) January 20, 2017
With the score still at 1-0, the Pink Machines would pull Leah from the net to get the extra attacker. Katy was again challenged, and the Flamers were forced to ice the puck twice, but they managed to hold on to squeak out the victory.
Stars of this game without a doubt have to go to Leah and Katy. Both goalies kept their team in the game and dazzled with some sharp flashes of the glove.
Looking Ahead: Green Gays and Ham v. The Greyt White Sharks
In next week’s feature game, Green Gays and Ham (3-0-3) are looking to stay undefeated. The Greyt white Sharks pose a great chance of spoiling this dream. Captain Greg already has eight points on the season (5g,3a) and Kit is holding down a 0.91 save percentage between the pipes. Be sure to join us on Sunday at 7pm in Hartmeyer Ice Arena to see how it plays out!