AUSTIN (AP)- Last night at the Pond, the Bros HC celebrated their franchise’s one year anniversary with a methodical and convincing annihilation of last season’s championship winning Griffins. Facing the Griffins newly acquired goalie Tommy Ligh, the Bros had little trouble with the Griffins backcheck units, easily dismantling what appeared to be an unorganized, non-cohesive unit. The Griffins remained relatively intact after their championship run, having only lost key players Ben Atkinson (goalie), and Nick Dean (defenseman). Overall, the Bros looked sharp, composed, and poised with exceptional puck movement in both the offensive and defensive zones. They also made great line changes and passed with quickness and efficiency. Their neutral zone presence shut down the Griffins countless times, with turnovers generating multiple breakaway or two-on-one opportunities.

Coached by Ross “The Round Rock Rustler,” the Bros steamrolled over the Griffins early and often. The Boys in Black were led by Fabian “The Swiss Sensation” Figinov and Steph “The Montana Miracle” Meyerev, with three and two goals each, respectively. Meyerev opened the lead early with a beautiful forehand backhand move. Figinov quickly added two more before going bar down on his third. The “Forwards Scotts” Scott “Dallas Dy-no-mite” Van Peltov and Scott “The Minnesota Mongoose” McNearnin demonstrated pinpoint precision with both their goals and their passing. Mickey “The San Diego Sniper” Bushkin continued to dazzle and amaze with his magician-like abilities to dangle, deke, and hide the puck. While Bushkin was unable to score last night, he did have several assists and drew the Griffins to him, opening up scoring opportunities for both Figinov and Meyerev. Danny “The Quebec Quixote” Prannov excelled with neutral zone backchecking with multiple strips between the blue lines. The Bros capitalized on these turnovers with Prannov getting several good looks and making good passes to set up at least two three-on-one opportunities for the Bros.

Defensively, the Bros absolutely smothered the Griffins while demonstrating forecheck prowess. Roy “The Las Cruces Commander” St. Johnov took home the coveted Gonzales Flag last night with a career defensive game. Not only did St. Johnov nearly single handedly beat the Griffins off with this Bauer stick and army of water bottles, he contributed offensively as well. Marc “The Mainer Moose” Hendersenko continued his scoring streak with his lightning fast snapshot. Matty “The Missouri Mosquito” Youngiev buzzed the net relentlessly and was rewarded with a goal and several assists. Defenseman and captain Andrew “The Chitown Shepherd” Feigenbaumov quarterbacked the team with four assists, multiple blocks and deflections, and a well-timed reminder to hot head Ed Filardo that there’s no place for smashing faces into plexiglass in beer league sports. After being ejected for a retaliatory slash, Filardo trash talked his way to the locker room, which left the Griffins out of breath and light in depth on the bench for the rest of the evening. With suspense building, Feigenbaumov attempted the now-infamous “Curling Stone Penalty Shot of Death.” Unfortunately, he forgot his broom. Broalie Steven “Texas Tornado” Sullivanovich was an absolute brick wall, stopping countless slapshots and a team frothing with desperation.

Next week, the team plays the matinee matchup against the struggling Wolves at 6:30pm. The team will be signing autographs after the game at Pluckers!

BY THE NUMBERS

• 1- Number of times the Bros started 1-0.
• 16- Number of goals the Bros have outscored opponents in their last two games.