AUSTIN, Texas (AP)- The Pond Hockey Club. Last night the Bros lost to a hungry Learn 2 Skate (L2S) squad in a game that featured 36 penalty minutes over 42 minutes of actual game play in a match up that took 85 minutes to play. At one point, there were six, yes six, beleaguered beerleaguers in the sin bins.  The questionable refereeing was unquestionably poor for both teams as the zebras focused on the minutia while blatantly failing to call penalties that were so heinous they  deserved their own Law & Order episodes. But enough about the officiating- L2S captain and goalie Sean Booth held the Bros off just long enough to help his team earn their first victory of the season.

For the third straight game, the Bros’ opponent scored on their opening shot. The L2S squad quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held it for the duration of the first period as the Bros struggled to register more than 8 shots in the period. On the opening drive of the second period, Kevin “Hold Out Bro” Gifford put the Bros within reach when he scored off a set up from Noah “Your Sins Will Find You Bro” Leggett and Steve “Cut Ya Down Bro” Czerniak. After blocking a shot off his wrist, a visibly shaken Chris “Brovin'” Luscombe was not afforded time to settle between the pipes before a defensive zone faceoff. L2S scored from the puck drop to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Noah found another gear and scored off a set up from his brother Nick “Tomorrow’s Not Bromised” Leggett and Kyle “My Way Bro” McIntosh. L2S found the back of the net for the fourth time to take a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame.

As the penalty minutes continued to skyrocket, so did the shot counts for both teams. Both Luscombe and Booth absorbed shots and hits deep into the third period. After Chris “Eyes on Bro” Beard took a 10 minute misconduct penalty and a two minute penalty for who-knows-what, captain Andrew “The Strangest Thing Bro” Feigenbaum, Jay “I’d Rather Be A Bro” Wood, and Bert “A Few Bro Days” Bischof rotated over 12 minutes of ice time on defense. Bischof played his best game of the season in the Bros’ sweater and continues to be a consummate role player. Wood plugs holes and used last night as a learning experience for the season moving forward. Feigenbaum stepped up in Beard’s sin bin abstentia, carrying the puck coast to coast, attempting to set up plays, and breaking up a potential fatal odd-man rush. One such play led to Nick Leggett’s goal after Feigenbaum sauced a pass to Noah to set up Nick. Scott “What Have Bros Done” Van Pelt played admirably at center last night with excellent positional awareness and strong two-way play. Despite their best efforts, the Bros left empty-handed and suffered a 4-3 loss, their second of the season and their fourth straight in the black and yellow hornet uniforms.

The squad looks to get back in the win column and out of the penalty box next week against MEC.

BY THE NUMBERS

76- PIMs over the course of all three games last night.

126- Minutes of hockey played in all three games last night.

GAME NOTES

Fabian Figi was a healthy scratch because the European wedding season is in full swing.

Ross Tagtow was a healthy scratch because he was busy restocking the booboo bus.

Travis Considine was a healthy scratch because the Bros couldn’t risk putting any more players in the penalty box.