Cecelia FranciscoSteam was rising off the ice even before the game started. As the San Jose Sharks skated on the ice at the Wachovia Center, the Sharks Mike Ricci made a gesture to the crowd of Flyers fans that didn’t start them off too happy. One minute into the first period the Sharks scored on Flyers goalie Sean Burke with a popped back rebound that got Patrick Marleau his 24 goal on the season. It looked as though in the opening game face-off that this would be the Flyers game. Micha Handzus would have gotten the first goal of the night if it hadn’t been for the Sharks defense blocking his shot and then the rebound that followed afterwards. Fans were on the edge of their seats as the game continued until a careful pass from Handzus straight to John LeClair made for a perfect position at net, which got the Flyers their first goal.
Once the second period rolled around, the Sharks offense was still too tough for the Flyers. At 13 minutes in the second period, the Sharks scored their second goal leaving the Flyers at being out shot by their shots on goal. There was a lot of action on the ice during the second period with occasional outbursts from fans yelling, “Ricci looks like a girl.” Obviously, The Sharks center, with an 11-goal record and being a former Flyer back in 1990-1992, was not making a good impression on the crowd. The Flyers came around in the third period though with a goal by Simon Gagne to make it their second goal of the game. The Sharks started out the period on a two-on-one rush making the score 5-2, which was the final result of the game. Even though the Sharks had cracked the Flyers five-game winning streak they played hard against a team, which is strong offensively.
The Flyers are on the shorthand right now with most of their players out on the injury list. The latest injury being that of Jeremy Roenick out with a shattered jaw from the New York Rangers game. The affect also of the retirement of Flyers’ goalie Jeff Hackett due to vertigo is being felt around the team. The Flyers have been on a tough road to victory and will be playing upcoming games with the Atlanta Thrashers, Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators.
Posted to the web by: Cecelia Francisco
