Stever’s Cinderella Sharks take 2008 CIHL Championship with 5-4, Game 3 win over Lions
At the beginning of the 2007-2008 season of the Chinese Taipei Ice Hockey League, few were predicting even mediocrity for the Chiayi Sharks. While the Team did field Taiwan hockey great Matt Stever as Team Leader, the Fish were composed of a large number of CIHL rookies of untested skill. Half way through the season, things were beginning to look dire for the team in their win-loss columns when catastrophe struck not just the Sharks, but the entire league itself. The lone bright Sharks’ bright spot Stever tragically lost his life in a motor vehicle accident on January 22nd and grief overcame the whole community.
However, the league, and the Sharks themselves, bound together and carried on, the pallor of anguish always present. The Sharks had key players such as Zak Garofolo, Corry Comeau, Greg Macintosh and Daniel Hsu pick up Stever’s torch and the Sharks managed to scrape into the playoffs.
As for the Taichung Lions, a team of very experienced, long-time hockey veterans were early favorites to lift the Cup this year. While sporting the highest team average in age was a question, the skills set of players such as Mark “Shoot! Don’t” Paas, Robin “Left Eye” Ripley and Steve “Rolling Stone” Mossing was not. Complementing these big guns were a core of experienced role players and an unheard of local rookie Dennis “G.I.” Chou, who would come to do great things for the Lions in the playoffs.
The first weekend of the playoffs featured 2 quarter and 2 semi final match-ups (May 17th and 18th) and heralded the great games to come in the three game final series. The first quarter final turned out to be the longest in CIHL history as the Taipei Bears and the Taipei Wolves battled through three periods, a 10-minute sudden death overtime, and a shoot out before the Wolves vanquished last year’s champs (6-5). Game 2 was the first of many Shark upsets to come. Inspired by the raising of memorial banners to honor Stever before the game, they handily subdued the Hsinchu Raptors 8-6. Steve “Goldilocks” Clark was a key addition to the Sharks for the playoffs, playing as a substitute for his close friend Stever (Clark’s abysmal Rhinos were relegated to the golf course after a horrible second half to the season) and finished the game with 4 points.
The first semifinal game saw the Cinderella tale continue as the Sharks easily overcame the anemic-looking Taipei Tigers, who had finished the regular-season as the top-team. Again Clark had a huge game, as did Zak “Arias” Garofolo and Local star Kevin “Hamburgler” Yu.
In Semi final number 2, the Lions squared off against the Wolves featuring Ryan “Oi Mate” Lang, who had decimated league scoring records in 07-08. The Lions were effective in shutting down Lang, but it was the last second heroics of “G.I.” Chou that stole the show. Chou was able to pot the winning goal with less than half a second remaining in the game to put the Lions in to the Finals.
Game 1: Sharks 5 – Lions 4. On Stever’s birthday, the Sharks stormed out early and impassioned. Kevin Yu, despite plying on a broken skate blade throughout the post-season, came out a man possessed and put the Sharks up less than 2 minutes in and scored again minutes later. Lions Team Leader Kevin “MackDaddy” Macleod responded with a breakaway goal of his own and it was game on. The Lions were handicapped however when their leading-scorer “Left Eye” Ripley was forced to play with a patched eye, the unfortunate result of an insect in the eye on his way to the train station pre-game. The Sharks extended their lead to two goals, but goals by Ripley, and Chou pulled the Lions to within 1 at the end of 2 periods. Jimmy “Hao” Cho put the Lions ahead early in the third, but Clark answered back to tie the game. Minutes later, Sharks’ Andrew “The Pink” LaRose undressed the Lions vaunted defense and puts the Sharks up by one. The Lions looked to answer back, but “Hao” Cho’s goal was called back on a controversial man-in-the-crease call. The Lions had one more chance to take the game to OT, as “Left Eye” was awarded a penalty shot with 11 seconds left in the game. Fortunately for the Sharks, Ripley was unable to put a good deke on Sharks’ ‘tender Greg “Garth Brooks” Macintosh and Game 1 ended in the Sharks favor.
Game 2: Lions 6 – Sharks 5. Pre-game Lions’ Jenson Chang guarantees a victory, but was unable to predict the broken leg he suffered after a nasty fall in the 1st period. The Lions gave the Sharks a different look to open things up, putting regular D-man Steve “Gathers No” Mossing at center. The strategy worked and the Mossing puts the Lions up by 2 early, his second, a beautiful goal after undressing Sharks’ star “Jebediah” Garofolo. Despite a lethargic looking first stanza, the Sharks pried the game open in the second and tied the game at 2, but the Lions managed to pot one with time dwindling in the period after some good point work by Bob “The Condor” Ford. The third period was wide open as each team scored three times in back and forth exchanges that featured both great goaltending and some brilliant offensive plays. Ripley, with the benefit of both eyes, put the Sharks away with three minutes left, although the Sharks Kevin Yu did pull his team within one on an amazing shot from the boards with less than a minute left.
Game 3: “There’s more to it than what everybody sees, we know that we have angel pulling some strings for us<
