Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave...... not today, but we could hear the black velvet voice of Odyssey alum Amanda Sherry at the mic and if anyone can sell the anthem without the flag, it's her. Last year on the road to Newark, Thunder had to bounce back from an early deficit and a lightning delay to beat the Reds 11-9 in monsoon like conditions. While Thunder spotted the Reds' Eli Ebanks the first goal of the game in this year's meeting, Sat May 15th at Athena, Mike "mufasa" LoFaso came marching back on the next drive with an authoritative bar-down goal for his first of the season and the Thunder would never look back as they went on to dismantle the Reds 18-5 in their annual rotating non-league contest. Rounding out the scoring in the first frame for Thunder were Dan Vyverberg (4g-4a), who beat Camblin 1-on-0 after getting around a Reds long pole with a nice roll dodge, and Nick Kraft (3g), who buried one deep in the back of the net off the fast break feed from Andrew Prestigiacomo. This win makes 9 for Thunder and sets a team record for most wins in a single season. Having won all 4 non-league contests on their schedule, Thunder is now 9-5 overall (5-5 in MC3) with only two games to go before sectionals.
With several starters out for grades, everyone pulled together and stepped up to the plate to fill vacant roles and get the job done for Thunder. It was a team effort all the way with 9 players contributing a total of 26 points to Thunder's offense. Thunder did not miss a beat as they continued to dominate the face off circle with a 2 to one margin going 15/21 with contributions from the entire midfield. Ground balls R US too as Thunder boasted a 55-30 advantage, led by Joe Trimboli with 14 and Brandon Cheeseman in double digits as well with 11.
Second quarter was bookended with Thunder goals by Tyler Giorgione (6g), the first one an overhand powerball, assisted by Vyper, and the second one a half-court one hopper that caught Camblin by surprise with 2 seconds left til the horn. Ryan Kommer scored the Reds' lone goal in the second unassisted.
Although we were unable to book an act for the half-time show, there was a press-box shout out to former Thunder Varsity LAX assistant Dan Webb in attendance. Webby is the Greece Thunder Hockey Coach who humbly accepted the 2008-2009 NYS High School Hockey Division I coach of the year award for his perfect 27-0 season. Rumor has it he is expecting... a black labrador puppy that is. We look forward to seeing Otis chasing down pucks and balls for the Thunder come next season!
Back from the half, Thunder continued their rally, putting up 7 unanswered goals to widen their lead to 12-2. Giorgione got another pair, one a ripper to the top left corner and the other a wraparound lay-in. Purple stick boy Eric Hostetter tallied unassisted. Matt Keough (1g-1a) finished with a dirty snipe to the top right. Brandon Cheeseman rushed for 80 yards and got one over the goal line with a second effort. Nick Kraft got his second on a nice cut across the middle fed by Vyper down low. Then it was Vyper's turn to tally as he bounced one under the crossbar after catching a pass from Joe Trimboli (1g-2a) up top.
Zach Rudgers finished with (9s/2ga/36mins) after three, passing the baton to Steve Cole who would make 1 save and allow 3 goals in 9mins in the fourth before turning the cage over to Zach "blue shoes" Cox. Coxer shut it down with 0 saves and 0 goals against, but he did manage to get coach Perry's blood flowing when he left his crease momentarily. I don't know, I kind of like it when the goalie comes out. It makes the fans go wild. Take the Red's starter Dominic Camblin (8s/12ga/36mins) for example. He ran the ball down the field every chance he got and the Thunder fans came unglued when nobody tried to stop him. Anywho, Camblin exited after 3 along with Rudgers to allow Nate Gardner (2s/6ga/12mins) the opportunity to finish in the cage for the Reds. Both teams traded goals early in the fourth frame but Thunder finished strong with 6 in total to just 3 for the Reds. Scoring for the Reds were Luke Hartman with a pair and Ryan Kommer with 1+1 to add to his second quarter marker. Wrapping it up and putting a bow on it for Thunder were Vyper with 2 tallies, one a FB from Trimboli and the other another mano-e-mono with the goaltender; Kraft with a drive that hit all three posts before breaking the plane; Trimboli assisted by Keough; and Giorgione with a rip under the crossbar and worm burner for good measure, because it was there!
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