Jokers Stay Hot with Thrilling 4-3 OT Win

The Jokers of Doom came into their Tuesday night game against the YellowJackets looking to extend their winning streak to 4 and also further solidify their playoff hopes. The first period was fairly even until Frank Melillo slid home a rebound in front off of a shot from defensemen Chris Dickinson with only 30 seconds left in the period. In the second period captain Jim Brunetti extended the lead to 2-0 knocking in a cross goal pass from Dave Dreschler. Later in the period Dreschler would add another unassisted goal off of a turnover making is 3-1 after two periods. Things would also get heated in the 2nd as leading score Josh Berrelli would get into a shoving contest resulting in game misconducts for both players. With much of their speed gone, the Jokers tried to hang on in the 3rd period but it was not to be as the YellowJackets would score 2 goals with the second coming with the goalie pulled and only 19 seconds left in the game. The playoff hopes seemingly were dimmed but the team remained confident heading into OT and that confidence translated into a huge victory as Ken Herren settled a aerial cross rink pass from Devon Sylvester and fired home a quick wrist shot. Herren would say after the game, “we have a lot of trouble with this team despite their record, but this was a huge win for us and there is one game left and playoff destiny is in our hands”. The Jokers now stand in 3rd place with 10 points, just ahead of the Vikings (10 points) due to their 5 wins versus 4. A win on May 22 versus the 2nd place Charleston Chiefs would lock up a playoff berth. As of this post they can finish anywhere from 2nd to out of the playoffs altogether, stay tuned!

Notes: Rich Orsini’s 8 game penalty-less streak ended with 3 PIM’s… John Deluca is now tied with Berrelli with 4 total penalty minutes… Goalie Tim Fisher will be unavailable for the final game, making him ineligible for the playoffs.