On Saturday, December 23rd, five hardcore members of the Crush took a break from their Christmas shopping to defend their undefeated streak at the Haynes Pavilion. Pulled up from the Crush farm system to fill in the seriously depleted roster was former UMD Bulldogs Captain, Ken Williams' brother-in-law, and Chris Edmunds father-in-law-to-be: "Newt" and his daughter Natalie Newton. The holiday classic drew not only the Minnesota-based Newton clan, but also the entire Polzin family from Duluth and the Darby family from far away Vermont. Wearing Chris Edmunds' high school jersey in the stands was his fiance Michelle, all the way from Dillon, MT. The stage was set. The vision was clear. The boys had to perform.
With Chris "the earl" Edmunds, Matt "Beanzy" Polzin, Levi "sugar plum fairy" Shugart, and Conor "au naturale" Darby on the ice, a serious offensive threat was imminent to the opponents, the so-called "Filthies"- a group of young, fiery gamers from the frozen netherland that is North Dakota. Little did they know that 60 minutes later, they would have been spun around and scored on 20 times. This was arguably the finest display of Crush chemistry yet this season, with tic-tac-toe plays speckeled with dazzling dekes and drizzly drop passes. It didn't matter that the Crush were shorthanded throughout most of the second period with the Father-Daughter goon squad getting whistled repeatedly for their dirty Minnesota tactics... the Crush maintained a steady offensive onslaught throughout.
A quick rundown of some of the exciting highlights of the night:
Edmunds' 95 mph slapper in warmups that missed our goalie- PB Broadbridge's head by a mere centimetre (fucking eh Chris, what was that all aboot?)
Darby dogging Big Richard- the 6'4" goalie from backwoods Maine- with a stuttered toe-drag behind the net, then boosting forward around the far post with a slam-dunk forehand wrap-around and a point to Mrs. Polzin in the bleachers.
Beanzy- in one of his classic, antagonized grinds- feverishly hunting down what might have been Crush tally #14 or #15- gets met at the hash-marks by Big Richard, picked up like a pee-wee, and body slammed on his back and shoulders like an aspiring pro-wrestler with a bleak future.
The Crush straight-face given to the whiny Filthies at their request for "4 on 4" due to their short bench and heavy breathing. These guys are obviously rookies in the BAHA men's league... pond hockey doesn't get played in the Haynes Pavilion, especially during the Christmas Classic.
Goal #20, coming at 19:37 of the 3rd period, by a Shugart-Darby cross-crease connection. A perfect combination of the far-post rush of the feared "Green Helmet" and a saavy little delayed pass from those crazy canuck hands. Not a wasted shift for the Men in Blue this night, as the Crush breached the 20 goal mark for the first time this season.
Game MVP: Chris Edmunds for adding to his four goals a dumbfounding three playmakers- 13 points total. (Beanzy, if you forget the MVP stick one more time you are getting the Swenson Brothers Golden Shower)
Notable Performances:
Shugart: 5 goals, 5 assists
Darby: 5 goals, 4 assists
Polzin: 6 goals, 3 assists
Newtons: 3 assists, 15 pim
Williams: 1 assist, numerous stare-downs
Next Game: Saturday, 12/29/07, 9 p.m. versus Dogs
Beerman: Julien
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4 comments:
Way to go crush thats what i like to hear! 20 to 5 what happened on the five for them? Anyways sounded like fun, im enjoying the beach and sun and looking at all the snatch in FLA, (hope jess dont read this). im working on trying to get her dad to come to spotuckey but who knows. looking forward to next blog good luck later this week, and see you guys next week.
The Nutz
Sounds pleasant in Sunny Snatch, FL. Wade for a Grand Forks boy you sure do seem to spend a lot of time in the southern climes... kind of an expansionist, eh? Have fun down there.
Sorry I missed the Dogs game, fellas... I was sick as one. I'll miss our next game too, as I'm in Field, BC for a week! My new years consisted of skiing deep snow, watching the Flames Canucks game with a fridge full of Kokanee, and playing pick up hockey in the town centre with the locals. First my friends and I were just heckling the game, but curious about getting in on it I found all kinds of extra equipment in the little shed there. Despite the goofy skates, gloves, and stick, I was well conditioned for drunken play thanks to the Crush. Me and this nasty thirteen year old hooked up for a bunch of sweet plays and he even introduced me to his entourage of young ladies later on. The fans counted down to 12:00 and then we all threw our gloves and sticks in the air and mobbed everybody like we just won the cup. Thats some real shit, eh?
Happy New Year!
Darbs
Sweet blog au naturale,
It was a scoring competition, with the earl comming out on top. Looks like someone is tired of people yelling "fatass" and "hurry up Swenson"!!
Too bad the little babies were crying the whole game. Maybe they could have seen the puck if it weren't for all the tears. I think I heard one of the ND boys say "c'mon guys, quit trying so hard.... let us score a few" Is that how all ND hockey players roll? My experience with ND hockey has all been pretty much the same..... pumpin in goals listening to 'em cry!!! NODAK 2007
How about the ND team only having 5 players? Why didn't the crush want to play 4 on 4? What ever, good game guys. I guess the crush have a hard time telling the diff between the NHL and the mens league. Cool site bitches
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