Game 3 Notes from the Insiderrrrr
Same old, same old. The Spartans kept the foot on the gas and rolled to a convincing 6–2 win, continuing to look every bit like the class of the series.
More of the same from the boys in yellow. They came out of the gate flying—speedy, physical, and snapping the puck around with purpose. To their credit, Los Banditos didn’t go quietly, pushing back whenever they could, but it was uphill all night.
What makes it even more impressive: the Spartans did it without their bona fide pillar on the back end, TMann, and while also missing their 11th-best player, RHand, who—by all accounts—really just hates playing hockey.
Offensively, it was a balanced attack. Spen led the way with a big 3-point night (2G, 1A). Battery Jr. and Captain Heise chipped in with two assists each, while league-leading point getter Iano kept padding the stats with a goal and an assist of his own. Between the pipes, Eric “D’aNacho Rico Libre” stood on his head at key moments, turning aside quality chances while the Banditos peppered him with shots during their pushes.
On the Banditos’ side, Captain Kyle finally got on the board with his first point of the series—an assist—but it was quickly overshadowed by his very public disdain for Battery. Calling him a fish and even kicking his stick while he was down late in the game raised some eyebrows. In a post-game interview, Kyle didn’t exactly cool things down:
“Man, Battery has the most punchable face ever. Just can’t stand that guy. With his stupid green gloves and all-white stick. Thinks he’s so sick. He’s lucky that’s all I said/did.”
Yeesh. Keep an eye on that matchup next game.
One bright spot for the Banditos: Inspector Gadget Boulos showed up in a big way, scoring his first goal of the season—and making sure to capture it on the GoPro he wore all game. Asked post-game why he had it on, Boulos said:
“I just need to be better. I need to go home, watch my mistakes, and learn from them. It’s as simple as that.”
Rumour has it that might be a farce, and he’s actually using it to document the abuse he takes from his friends across the ice. But hey—we’ll never know.
In net, UNC was largely left out to dry, facing wave after wave of chances. Despite battling, it ultimately became too much to handle.
Big questions heading into the next one: Where has Savoie been? Last season’s steal of the draft has yet to make his mark on the series—and time is starting to run short.
The bye week comes at the right time for red, giving them a chance to reset, cool off, and regroup. Game 4 goes Feb 9th, and the stakes couldn’t be clearer—a chance for the Spartans to close it out.