Day 86: None Shall Pass

Unfortunately, Baffin had no sword to smite Vesa Toskala, who stonewalled the Rovers 3-0.

Calgary, AB (CP)

When the Rovers hit Calgary, it's always a battle. Dating back to RHL13, the Vampyres have been the chief nemesis of Baffin Island and have always played them extremely tough, regardless of who has been wearing the Vampyres vestement. This season has been no different. As the rotating door in Calgary still operates at full spin, the players who happen to comprise the team on a given night always give their best effort against the Rovers. On this night, the clear star was goalie Vesa Toskala, who stopped all 32 Rover shots on his way to a 3-0 win.

The Vamps struck right out of the gate as Marek Zidlicky snuck a knuckleballer from the point past Martin Gerber in the first minute of the game. John Madden increased the lead to two midway through the period on a breakaway pass from Dan Boyle. Despite being outshot 12-5 in the first and 21-9 through two periods, the Vampyres maintained the 2-0 lead going into the third. The insurance was delivered early by Eric Boguniecki, who converted another pass from Boyle. The Vampyres managed only 15 shots in the game, catching Gerber on an uncharacteristic bad night. "Marty has been better, there's no question", Stringer said of his starter. "But we know he'll bounce back. He'll start against Lethbridge tomorrow night. Mark it down".

There were some questions after the game regarding icetime. The coaching staff were apparently content to roll four lines despite being down through most of the game. In fact, no Rover forward played less than 11 minutes and none more than 17. "Is this all you've got?", an agitated Stringer asked of an inquisitive reporter. "Our fourth line can play, you know. It's not like we weren't getting shots or chances. The goalie just played better. Ok, you go tell Legwand and Hall that it's their fault that we lost because they were getting minutes. You go do that, genius". The presser abruptly ended with Stringer indignantly leaving the podium.

The loss drops the Rovers back into a first-place tie with the Mounties, each with 58 points and 24 games remaining. The Rovers hold the tiebreaker with one extra win. The team flew out directly after the game to prepare to host the Selects at home tomorrow night. As indicated from post-game comments, Martin Gerber is expected to start for the second straight night.