Stonewall Colclough keeps Flames at bay

Bison 3 Guildford Flames 2 (shoot out)

12/11/11

Bison goaltender, Matt Colclough, registered another masterful display with a series of blocks, saves and deflections with pad, glove, stick and mask, ending the night with a 0.93 save percentage. The Guildford Flames must now be worried with 6 losses in 14 games – not the title form they had been hoping for. Credit also to Bison man of the match, Tony “Tosh” Redmond, with a typical gritty performance on the blue line and a goal, and Joe Miller, who slammed the winning shoot out goal.

Bison took the lead in the 12^th minute with a back door goal from Jacob Heron brilliantly set up by Nicky Chinn. The Bison skipper moved the puck around the back of the goal and then timed his pass to perfection. Heron fired in his shot. Sting told Roxanne she didn’t have to put on the red light. The person behind the goal was clearly not Roxanne as on came the red light to confirm the goal.

Stuart Potts levelled it for the Flames only a couple of minutes later. He picked up the rebound from Jez Lundin’s slap shot, took the puck away from Colclough and then sent in a back handed shot whilst swivelling round. It was Torvill and Dean stuff.

Within 3 minutes of the 2^nd, Bison restored their lead. Don’t ask me to describe the build up from Moria and Miller. I was busy slicing into my Pukka pie with a bendy plastic knife and missed it. When I looked up there was Tosh Redmond firing in a wrist shot from the slot to make it 2-1. Never take your eye off the puck, even for a Pukka pie.

Bison were looking increasingly threatening. The Flames ended the period outshot by 15 to 7, but did have their chances. Halfway through the period, Dan Harris took a seat for hooking. During the power play, Flames skipper, David Longstaff, used his long staff to fire in a shot which Colclough blocked. He froze the rebounded puck to snuff out the danger. With Harris just released from detention, Nicky Chinn followed him into the naughty boy’s pen. Colclough again came to his team’s rescue, engulfing a savage shot from Savage like an amoeba ingesting food (O-level biology) and then appearing to stop one with his mask – Jacques Plante for ever (see last report).

With less than a minute in the 2^nd  remaining X-rated violence (actually it was handbags) reared its ugly head. Bison blueliner Kurt Reynolds executed what looked to me like a perfectly legal body check on Milos Melicherik. The Slovak didn’t care much for the nature of the check and decided to exact vigilante revenge. An unsavoury altercation was the result. The bespectacled youth in Block C bayed for a match penalty for Melicherik and a medal for Reynolds, but the ref saw it otherwise. He gave a 2+2 to each – Reynolds for elbows and roughing and Melicherik for roughing and …… even more roughing.

Early in the 3^rd we were treated to a nice little cameo from Joe Miller. Down on the ice and sliding away from the puck he managed to poke the puck at full stretch into the path of a team mate, who hammered a shot which was saved by Mark Lee in the Flames net. Had that one gone in, I don’t think Joe would ever have chalked up a more unusual assist.

The Flames were now coming on strong and “glass half empty” Bison fans were beginning to wonder if their team could hold out. There was a very fortunate let off in the 46^th minute. Bison were suddenly caught in a 3 on 1 by the fast moving Guildford forward line. It looked like curtains, but the hockey Gods were smiling on Bison. Curtis Huppe, one of the 3 marauders, fell, slid into Matt Colclough and the two of them took the net off its moorings. The ref blew for a face off and the danger evaporated. However, within 3 minutes of this incident, the Flames drew level with a cracking goal. Longstaff fed Lundin (not literally of course) and his cross ice pass found Stuart Potts. The D-man sent an unstoppable slap shot high into the Bison net. 2-2.

There was no more scoring in regulation time and the game moved into overtime. Both teams had their chances. First Colclough was equal to a big slap shot from Branislav Kvetan. Next Dan Harris sent in a shot at the other end. Lee saved it but gave up a rebound. The follow up shot went wide. Bison A-man Sam Oakford was next with a vicious slap shot which smashed against, but fortunately not through, the glass with a resounding crash. Then savvy Slovak, Viktor Kubenko, attempted a wraparound, but, as he emerged at the back door he noticed Tosh Redmond steaming in. An inch perfect pass (maybe we should be metric and call it a centimetre perfect pass) into the path of the Scot with only one front tooth set up a thunderous shot which went wide of the target. Great vision by Kubo. Great skating and shooting by Tosh.

The period ended with no deciding goal and so into a shoot out. Ollie Bronnimann, the Margate Marauder, had his shot well saved by Lee. Curtis Huppe then also failed to score, his shot hammering against the frame of the goal with that characteristic PING. Canadian colossus, Steve Moria, put Bison 1-0 ahead, foxing Lee into going down and then lifting the puck over the prostrate goaltender. Canadian Greg Chambers then had his shot deflected away by Matt Colclough. All Bison needed was for Miller to score to win the game. Miller, the man in form, skated forward and “glass half full” Bison fans just knew he was going to produce the goods. He didn’t disappoint, rifling home past a floundering Lee, who in his attempt to block the shot moved the net off its moorings. Lee and his teammates let their views be known to referee Szuchs about his allowing of the goal. The ref said “tough luck” and the goal stood. It was Millertime.