April 1, 2023 – Tacoma Twin Rinks – North Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Polar Bears 5 – 1
Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24526&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/0lV1RxLH6qU
Goals at: 12:20, 35:24, 36:10, 45:14 and 50:10

April 2, 2023 – Tacoma Twin Rinks – South Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Bandits 2 – 1
Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24761&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/cfwjLudyuRc
Goals at: 44:43, 54:20

Another busy weekend for the hamsters, including a glorious return to the rink by our beloved Sanguinet! First up was a late-night game with the Polar Bears. We were a bit short-benched, with only 4 defense, 3 forwards, 2 centers, and a Shae in a pear tree (well, crease, anyway). The memory of our defeat to the ‘Bears in our previous meeting was fresh and painful, so despite the extra ice time, we were determined to come out on top this time.

Manny (Polar Bears) was of course being Manny, skating circles around all of us. But unlike a certain player on another certain team, even though manny could probably give us a pretty good run if it was only him and their goalie, he continued to feed his teammates selflessly.

On our side, Shea was up to his usual self, facing 33 shots with ice in his veins, and 1 particularly greasy one that slipped past and must have made the handle of his stick slippery, because when he got up, it went flying across the ice. Adam spent a couple minutes in the penalty box talking to Sanguinet about it, though. 🙂

Offensively, Mason kind of stole the show with a hat trick and an apple on the evening. The assist was a beautiful no-look centering pass that surprised Todd so much, his reflex action knocked the puck in the net! More often than not, though, it was Adam shepherding the puck into the zone, keeping it headed to the net, even from the seat of his pants.

In the end, though, Sangunet went home with Dorsey, who played a fantastic defensive game. He can be seen here doing his best Shoresy impression. It’s a bit blurry because of all the steam rising from his legs which got a serious workout.

Our second game of the weekend was a match-up with the Bandits, our first time seeing them in their (rather sinister) all-black jerseys. The first period was dominated by the bandits, played mostly in our defensive end and with only 1 shot on goal. We thought we were going to have to settle in for a long defensive game.

But Shae was channeling his inner Dominic Hasek/Patrick Roy/Martin Brodeur, with plenty of glove saves, but also a couple paddle beauties and a windmill save that even Neo would be proud of. We finished the night with the SOG a whopping 39 – 6 in favor of the Bandits (yes, that’s a real statistic), yet we came out on top with the big numbers up on the scoreboard.

In the third, Seth changed up the lines and put together a “power line” of Mason, Kevin and Quaid which worked beautifully. Mason got us on the board with a sweet wrap-around goal just one minute into the period, and Randy added on the GWG mid-way through. The Bandits were tired, but still put on a tough offensive game, but we (mostly Shae) held strong and polished off the win, our fourth in a row and second in a row against the Bandits.

The improvements in this team over the course of the season cannot be overstated. Of course there are elements that still need a lot of work, but in many areas we are really starting to “click”, and I for one can’t wait to see what we can do in the playoffs. Lets Go Hamsters!