AUSTIN, Texas (AP)- The Pond Hockey Club. The Bros entered last night riding a two game winning streak against Master Skaters and Learn 2 Skate. Barn Burners (BBs), a problematic team that blanked the Bros the last time the two teams met, looked to put out a few fires of their own as they attempted to end a late season skid.The Bros proudly wore their traditional home uniforms that feature black socks, black sweaters with white shoulders, and the Gonzales Star and Cannon emblazoned across their chests as they looked to continue their late season surge.

On the very first shift of the night, Bro Steph “All We Bro” put the puck against the post sending a loud “PING” noise that could be heard over the BBs sucking air in disbelief at their good fortune until Rye Wilson put a backhand against the post on a shot at the opposite end that left the Bros in disbelief at their own luck. As the game settled in to a manageable pace, neither team gelled or found rhythm for several minutes until the BBs hit twine off a frenzied scrum in front of Bros’ pillar Chris “Bro Problem” Luscombe. Team Double B was not finished yet in the first. After captain Andrew “Summer Bros” Feigenbaum was called for a questionable interference call after forcing a Burner off the puck to save a breakaway, the BBs capitalized on the power play and finished the period with a commanding two goal lead over your Blacksweaters.

The Bros dug deep in the second and turned things around. Meyer’s tenacity in the corners consistently gave the Bros multiple chances last night. At one point, Ross “Bro Blessings” Tagtow managed to put the puck an inch past the goal line off a Meyer pass. After an extremely controversial no-goal call from the referee crew, the Bros went transcendental. Fabian “B.R.O. Sings Special” Figi put the Bros on the board a few minutes later after a beautiful set up from Meyer in the corner. Shortly thereafter, the Bros were back on the forecheck and battling hard in front of the BBs’ net. Feigenbaum came in to cover the top of the circles anticipating the puck being poke checked out of the fray. As soon as he found the puck, the captain deked his way around two Barn Burners en route to the short-side circle and sent a laser short-side high where mom keeps the cookies, tying the game at two. At the end of the second period, the Bros had outshot the BBs 25-11.

The third period was more of the same for the Blacksweaters. On the first shift of the final frame, Meyer dug a puck out of the corner, fed the puck to Figi, who bought himself some time as Feigenbaum got open at the top of the point. Figi put a tape-to-tape pass on Feigenbaum’s stick, and the captain scored his second of the night; this time from the blue line to give the Bros the lead. The tally ultimately ended up being the game-winning goal.

The Bros continued to pressure the BBs and were relentless on the backcheck. Nick “Same Bros” Leggett was a man possessed on the ice last night. While he did not score, he was instrumental on the Bros neutral zone pressure defense. David “Bro Mixtape” Biagini found his true calling, combining hockey with golf by clearing the puck just enough to avoid icing calls. Noah “Bros’ Angels” Leggett coordinated the strategy with Biagini, and generated several offensive attacks from Biagini’s finesse.

The minutes continued to tick down as the Bros shot count ticked up. Drew “Juke Bro Jam” John quarterbacked a breakout and set up Eddie “All Night Bro” Valls who pulled the pin on the extinguisher to put the game away. The slinger winger buried wrist shot into the back of the net with six minutes remaining. The BBs tried to rush, but were again stifled by the defensive prowess of Chris “Bro How Great” Beard and Layne “Smoke Break Bro” Brougher. Beard and Brougher did a phenomenal job all night to keep the Bros on the forecheck, and Brougher contributed to Meyer’s goal early in the game.

With a few minutes remaining, Wilson and Biagini got tangled up and Biagini’s helmet was knocked off of his head. As both players left the ice with high dudgeon, Wilson was directed to the Austin Beer Works Sin Bin for a four minute minor penalty that essentially left the BBs shorthanded for the remainder of the game.

When the time expired, the Bros emerged from the smoke victorious, winning 4-2. The captain took home the revered Gonzales Flag and Valls came up with the second star for the double-tap. The save of the game occurred when Drew John recovered the Gonzales Flag from deep within enemy territory shortly after the match. The chopper pilot perfectly executed the extraction.

The Bros look to extend their winning streak to four games next Wednesday against the first place Snipez squad in what is shaping up to be the Game of the Week.

GAME NOTES:

-Larry “Finish Line/Bro” Powell DNP due to a presidential illness.

-Scott “Brossings” Van Pelt is still on IR, but spent the week searching for the fabled jaguar shark in Hawaii.

-Tom “Bro the Rapper” Harp DNP due to a Chaparral Blue Lions commitment.

BY THE NUMBERS:

-20 shots stopped by Luscombe last night.

-4 Bros’ place in the division after last night’s win.

-3 straight wins for the Boys in Black.

-1 home game victory for the Bros this season.