AUSTIN, Texas (AP)- The Pond Hockey Club. After a week of handing out suspensions and closed-door meetings with each B1 franchise’s upper-level management, teams hit the ice last night with self preservation in mind after the past two weeks featured more electrifying haymakers than whatever will be thrown during the Mayweather/MacGregor fight. The Bros looked to keep churning as they faced the Snipez and the league’s top goaltender, VezinAustin BeerWorks Trophy favorite, Tommy Ligh.

The Bros came out in the first period with fire and fury; the likes of which the Snipez frequently see. Chris “Good Evening Bro” Beard went coast-to-coast off a feed from Kyle “Liberty Bro 7” McIntosh to put the Bros ahead 1-0. Less than two minutes later, Fabian “Mockingbro” Figi scored off a short pass from Jay “Something  to Burn Bro” Wood. The Bros continued to pepper shots on Ligh all period and well into the second.

Heavy offensive pressure from Beard, Noah “Bro the Machine” Leggett and McIntosh buried the Snipez on the backcheck, but Ligh kept his team in the hunt. On the other end of the ice, Chris “Medicine Bro” Luscombe showcased absurd leather to keep the Bros ahead. Travis “Bro Duendes” Considine and Steve “The Last Bro Audit” Czerniak applied neutral zone pressure and held firm. Considine played his best game of the season with solid backchecking and good poise with the puck.

The Bros fell apart in the third. Sloppy play resulted in strong forechecks for the Snipez. A missed offsides call resulted in the Snipez fist goal of the game to put them within reach of tying. Between mussitations on the Bros’ bench regarding the missed call, in-game correspondent Kelly Nash interviewed Considine about the controversial call. “Kelly, it’s a missed offsides call like that that leads to a goal that makes me really feel like I’m playing in the NHL. It’s what makes this league feel so authentic, so special. We’re just waiting for the Barn to put in blue line cameras.”

Despite the Bros defensive efforts, the Snipez kept creeping up, and scored again with four minutes remaining to tie the game. Leggett, Beard, and Figi pushed hard in the offensive zone, helping push the Bros shot count upwards of 40, but it wasn’t enough. Captain Andrew “Bros and Daughters” Feigenbaum‘s fancy footwork in the crease with the puck saved a go-ahead goal, but a shorthanded Snipez squad found an open man on a missed assignment. Ross “Mockingbro” Tagtow couldn’t cut across in time to play the puck and the Snipez got the go ahead goal on a breakaway with one minute left in the game. The Bros could not manage to score and the team fell 3-2.

Bert “Queso Blancbro” Bischof took home the Bros first star for his excellent two way play and for an excellent play on the backcheck during which he broke an odd man rush.

The Bros look to get back to the winning side of the pillow this Saturday at 3:10pm against the Golden Thrashers.

GAME NOTES:

-Nick Leggett did not play due to a suspension. He did manage to take about 259 photos of the game with his brother’s camera.

-Scott Van Pelt did not play as he is recovering from an undisclosed minor upper body procedure.
-Kevin Gifford did not play because he’s participating in the Summer 2017 Euro Cup Games. By cup we mean Stein.

BY THE NUMBERS:

–259 photos taken by Nick Leggett;

-44 shots for the Bros;

-33 saves for Luscombe;

-0 usable photos taken by Nick Leggett (he’s learning!).