AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters)- The Pond Hockey Club. The Stanley Cup playoffs are well underway, and beer leaguers everywhere are drawing inspiration. Every skater seems to rise up this time of year as emotions run rampant in the quest for victory. The Bros, winners of two straight games, looked to defeat the revamped and improved Learn 2 Skate (L2S) squad to give the franchise a historic 3-0 start. The team donned their gold Gadsden sweaters for the first time of the season and continued to wear their stinger leg warmers.

The game was chippy from the beginning. Chips, chirps, slashes, and elbows were rampant behind the play. After two L2S skaters got caught up with some Bros on the backcheck, Noah “American Brotto” Leggett went bar down with an electrifying shorthanded backhand wrist shot off a pass from his brother Nick “A Bro Dog” Leggett to give the Bros an early 1-0 start. The dynamic pair dominated the neutral zone… while they were on the ice.

The Bros continued to build on their lead as penalty minutes slowly increased. Kyle “Bro Break” McIntosh continued with his hot hand, netting his first of the game on a wide open net off a play set up by The Brothers Leggett. McIntosh would go on to score again from a play set up by Scott “60 Years Bro” Van Pelt to put the Bros up 3-0 before L2S scored on a power play to put them within two goals after one.

Early on in the second, emotions and bodies were sent soaring. An uncalled cross check to Nick Leggett resulted in a double minor penalty on Leggett, followed by a tripping call and subsequent double minor as his brother retaliated. With two literal Bros in the Box, the defensive efforts of Kerry “1000 Years Bro” McAlister, captain Andrew “Fantastic Pace Bro” Feigenbaum, Chris “The Pushers Bro Party” Beard and Ross “Bro What We Bro” stepped up. The defensemen helped a dominant Chris “Just A Bro” Luscombe fend off over 16 total minutes of shorthanded play in the second and two referees who threatened to forfeit the game. Fabian “Some Bros” Figi led the trap zone play and Travis “When the War Bros End” Considine maintained the pressure on the forecheck. The team emerged unscathed at the end of the second as they held the 3-1 lead in large part to the tatterdemalion power play of the L2S squad.

The third period was much more like the first. Excellent defensive play from Bert “Feel It Still Bro” Bischof and all-round neutral zone dominance from Drew “Atomic Bro” John helped push the Bros to the waning minutes of the game. Noah Leggett scored again on an assist from his brother to put the Bros up 4-1, but a late rush with two fluke goals scored by L2S in garbage minutes of the game led to a final stand featuring the heroic efforts of McAlister to hold the L2S players from pulling the puck off the boards. After the penalty minutes ticked off the clock and time expired, the Bros won 4-3, and are off to a franchise-record 3-0 start.

For his offensive contributions, Noah Leggett managed to win the team’s prized Gonzales flag despite spending half the second period in the penalty box. For his defensive efforts, Kerry McAlister earned the team’s second star and Gadsden flag.

The Bros look to go 4-0 against a formidable Mean Eyed Cat club Saturday at 3:10pm in the Barn.

GAME NOTES

-Michael Qualls was a healthy scratch due to trying to watch more of April The Giraffe before the zoo takes the video feed down.

BY THE NUMBERS

22- penalty minutes accrued by the Bros.

3- straight wins for the Bros, a franchise record.

1- time ever someone’s spent 8 minutes in the penalty box, scored two goals, and won the flag (Noah Leggett).