January 8, 2008 Mubugs 5 Steelhounds 2

There was something special in the air at the CTC last night. Ever have one of those experiences that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up or that sends shivers up your spine? Well, it happened to me last night during the first period of the hockey game. When Mudbug #14 Chris Brassard scored the first goal of the game (assisted by #41 Brett Smith), Steelhound #14 Chris Richards had 14 seconds left in the sin bin. My friend B marveled over that unusual occurrence. I told her, "Just wait, it gets weirder!" I had gone to a local bookstore before the game to purchase a couple of things, and when the clerk rang up my bill, the total was....$14.14. When I told my friends that, we all pretty much freaked out at that point. Cue the Twilight Zone music, please. (I won't even go into almost getting beaned by a caroming puck...)

Whatever magic was floating around last night, the fact is that Chris Brassard had a 4 point effort and a whale of a game last night. He was in "the zone". And Ken Carroll seemed to have his magic mojo working in top form because he made a save that I swear he never touched. From our angle, we watched the puck zoom toward the net and suddenly, like it had hit an invisible force field, bounce back out. I sure would like to see a replay of that save. Cosmic forces or some unusual planetary alignment, coupled with grit and determination, buoyed the Mudbugs and sank the Steelhounds.

New Mudbug Mike Falk made his debut last night, and while it looked as if he was a bit tenative, he manufactured several very good, solid plays while on the ice with his new teammates. Welcome, Mike!

I'd figured last night's game would be a tough contest, a well-played hockey game that would be decided by one goal. One free 44 ounce (there are those 4's again) Sonic drink later (with sleep deprivation thrown in, thanks to the LSU win), I'm still a little bit fuzzy about last night's vodoo or whatever it was. Maybe it was the fact that the video guys finally showed the whole Rock Band video. Who knows? I do know the Bugs looked really, really good last night. I'd forgotten how big Y'town's players are and was only reminded about that worrisome fact as I watched them in warm-ups. I think I mumbled, "Did these guys grow taller or is it just me?" Watching them come off the ice with red faces and mouths gasping for breath during shift changes made me remember that bigger is not always better. This Bugs team is winning through talent, smarts, and hard work, not physically gooning it up. The Bugs are beating their opponents into submission through speed, skill, and teamwork, not elbows and cheap shots. Oh, they get physical when they must, but it's not their main objective.

It's only January, and Coach says there's much work to be done, but from what I've seen and what he's telling us, awesome, maybe even magical things are still to come for this team and its fans.