Krytenia Edges Flames; Liebskind and Co. Still Toughest Girls on Ice
After a ho-hum 0-0 tie vs. Lamoni, the Myrtannia Flames took the ice, sporting their white 'home' uniforms for the night's match with Krytenia. No one expected the Flames to have much of a chance in AOHC, with no official coach of the team even announced. Yet, the first period of the Krytenia match gave the Flames' faithful reason to believe that maybe... just maybe... the Flames could pull something out sometime down the road.
With gritty defensive play, the Flames held the as yet no-name Krytenian squad scoreless through the first period of play. An impressive feat against a team that won 7-5 in its first match. The potent Krytenian offense was stagnant for most of the match against Myrtannia, who played surprisingly well, and even got a few shots on the goal. The biggest highlights of the first period were hard checks by the Flames that drew loud cheers from the Myrtannian fans, and jeers from the rest of the crowd.
The second period was equally fruitless for Krytenia, as Myrtannia's defense held them scoreless once again. This time, though, the hard checks were accompanied by a strange occurance - a Flames goal. After one of Krytenia's defensemen was sent to the box for high-sticking, Myrtannia made use of the power play to press their advantage.
"We saw a rare opening, and decided to take it," said Marita Hamara, "Why not? Not like we'd gotten many chances before that."
The Krytenian goalie didn't know what hit him. Two flames forwards knocked down Krytenian defensemen, and Karissa Winarski took the puck right at the goal. It wasn't clear whether or not she was aiming for the goal, but she shot the puck at the general area of the goal. With such velocity, the puck struck not the goal, but the goalie himself, right in the head. On the rebound from striking the goalie's head, the puck went into the net, registering a goal for the Flames.
"I was just as surprised as anyone else... it was like, 'I scored? Okay then...'," Winarski explained with a shrug.
The rest of the period saw three penalties for fighting after a large brawl occurred between the Krytenians and Flames players. A standing ovation was given to Bonny Liebskind, Lyndsey Vellekamp, and Joycelen Burnstein, all of whom recieved penalty minutes for their parts in the battle.
In the third period, the game was decided not by a defensive lapse by the Flames, but by a lack of defenders altogether. During the period, every defensewoman in a Flames uniform recieved penalties for fighting, resulting in the ejections of Starla Lezak, Ami Riskin, Marilee Ginzel and Edie Smull. Alanna Gangell and Hortense Linders also recieved ejection for the same violation. The cause of most of the ejections was a huge on-ice brawl against the Krytenians after one of them foolishly threw a punch at Riskin. Several Flames players got off the bench to back up Riskin, and then more Krytenians jumped in, and hence the brawl. Myrtannia's fans ate it up, cheering as one by one, the Flames dropped the interfering Krytenians with roundhouse punches, low blows, and even a headbutt by Hortense Linders.
Without any defenders, and with Napoleon Beisser given time on ice as Corinna Schappach went onto the bench to sign autographs, the Flames couldn't hold the Krytenians back. In the last minute, the Krytenians scored twice to scavange a win. To a chorus of boos from the Myrtannian fans, the Krytenians left the ice with the victory. The Flames left the ice holding their heads high - they can defend well, and without the penalties, they probably would've held the Krytenians scoreless.
"Other people are going to say we're not taking this tournament seriously. Well, we're just having fun... if someone wants to pick a fight with us, we'll just have to show them why we're the toughest girls on ice," Edie Smull, former figure skater, said with a grin.
Next up for the Flames will be a match against Milchama, strangely called the Israelis for some reason. Milchama has scored 8 goals in its first two matches, both losses. Myrtannian defense held the Krytenians to 2 goals, and should be able to hold the Israelis to less than 3. Now that the Flames have a coach - Lamoni born Coral Burlson, backed up by assistants Lavon Yosko and retired Myrtannian women's heavyweight boxing champion Ok Westcote - which was just announced after the Krytenia debacle, the Flames might just have a little more discipline on the ice. A win over Milchama and a tie with Bettia might be enough to keep the Flames in the running for the second round.
Krytenia - 2
Myrtannia - 1 (Karissa Winarski) |
Plus it'd look kind of awkward. 