Floor hockey face-off

DEC. 15, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM—

After a long off-season, the much-anticipated Blair intramural floor hockey league is underway. Although there are only six teams in the league this year, there are still bragging rights, respect and two openings for bye-weeks in the first round of the playoffs, so the regular season is still expected to bring that hot tension and excitement that only floor hockey can evoke.

After the first day of games, The Inferno, headed by senior captain Robbie Ginsberg, as well as the Fighting Funkmasters, led by senior Jason Meer, came out with two big wins. The sophomore based team, The Champions, also ended in the win column after a forfeit by no-show 5B Lunch.

The first match was 5B Lunch against The Champions. The Champions were the favored team going into the match, but both teams are inexperienced. 5B Lunch skipped out however, and handed the Champions their first victory by way of forfeit. 5B Lunch did not disclose details of their forfeit, and the league only hopes it was due to miscommunication because they cannot afford to lose another team.

The next match was a battle between The Iron Chefs and Fighting Funkmasters, however the Chefs walked away with a tough 2-0 loss due to poor ball control. After a Cinderella performance last year going from one of the worst teams to battling it out with the senior team in the championship, most people expected big things from the Chefs. Unfortunately they fell way short of expectations in their first game. They were never able to gain control and could not play with fluidity, unable to put together a goal. The Funkmasters were a different story, coming out of the box strong and keeping control for the whole game. The first goal was a deflected ball that rolled to junior goalkeeper Breton Sheridan, who failed to stop the ball as it rolled under his legs. Despite the goal, Sheridan played well with clutch saves at the end of the game, however it was the first goal that struck the biggest blow.
The Funkmasters sank their second goal off of a sharp assist by senior Simon Kanter to Meer, who shot a rocket into the top right part of the goal. The Chefs then moved to an offensive formation, but blew three chances, including two goals that were taken back because of crease violation. The game finished 2-0, and left the Funkmasters with their first win.

The next match was dominated by The Inferno, who won 3-0 over The Ninjas. All of the Inferno goals were well played, beginning when senior Marty Viger passed the ball to Ginsberg off of an indirect shot following a crease violation. Ginsberg took no time to react, and placed a bullet in the upper corner of the goal. There was also a goal by senior Scott Lavon. Despite winning 3-0, The Inferno failed to finish a lot of balls around the goal, a sign that they did not play to their full capabilities.

The first day proved to be all of the hype it was expected to be. The next week before the break will prove an important time for teams to prove their place in the league.

Next week's game is The Inferno vs The Fighting Funkmasters at 3:10 p.m. on Thursday, December 21.