VINEYATD HAVEN, Mass – In a showcase of the Federal Hockey League, the Cape Cod Bluefins took their show on the road but played the role of the home team at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon. Playing against arch rival Danbury Whalers, the Fins wanted to give the island crowd a taste of professional hockey that they hadn’t seen. They even inserted a couple of local Vineyarders into their lineup to provide the home town crowd with some familiarity and extra entertainment. 45 year old former NHLer Mick Vukota, who makes his home in Edgartown, suited up for the Fins as did local big man Max Sherman. After the game the fans were pleased, to say the least.
The Bluefins didn’t waste any time getting on the board when just 49 seconds into the game, team captain Kevin Mcready scored from Vincent Amigone and Stephen Kelley. For McCready it was his team leading 23rd goal and 46th point of the season. The period included several big hits and 2 failed power plays (one for each team). Total shots on goal were 16-6 in favor of the Bluefins and at the end of period one it was Cape Cod 1, Danbury 0.
The Whalers evened the score at one just 2 minutes into the second period when Andrew Willock jumped on a Sean O’Malley breakaway rebound that Fins goalie, Wes Vesprini initially gloved but could not hold on to. The goal was also assisted by Matt Moffat. At 12:46 David Lun put the Bluefins up 2-1 when he took a Todd Chinova pass and wristed a low shot that beat Whaler goalie, Peter Vetri for his 14th goal of the season. With :36 to go in the period, Vetri took a dirty run (head shot) in the corner at unsuspecting Bluefins forward, Brad Surdam. This sparked a near bench clearing brawl as Surdam lay motionless on the ice. For his actions, Vetri was given a 5:00 major and ejected from the game. Fortunately, Surdam was ok and sakted off the ice under his own power. Shots at the end of 2 were 29-14, Bluefins.
After the second period festivities, Cape Cod came out in the third period fired up and ready to take control physically and on the score board. They did just that as after a big hit, Surdam got revenge for being clobbered in the 2nd period by taking a Dan Gordon pass and after a pretty move to his backhand, beat Whalers’ goalie Matt Trusz who had replaced the ejected Vetri. It was now 3-1 Bluefins and they were in control. However, things were getting testy and at 12:22 Vukota did what he did so many times in the NHL en route to a staggering 2071 career penalty minutes. He dropped the gloves against Danbury’s most imposing player, 6’4″ 240 lb Jason “The Motor City Hitter” McCrimmon. It was a true heavy weight matchup as Vukota is 6’3″ and 215. The fight only lasted a few seconds but the Vineyard crowd gave their hero a big round of applause after he went at it and held his own with McCrimmon who is almost 20 years his junior. It was time to play hockey again and after the penalties were served and the dust had settled, O’Malley tipped a slap shot off the stick James Sanford that Vesprini couldn’t stop. It was now 3-2 and we had a game. In fact, at 16:18 the Whalers tied it up with a Matt Caranci goal and then one minute later they took the lead on a Carlo Ricci 2 on 1 conversion. Suddenly, the Bluefins had lost control and with just 2:42 remaining found themselves in a hole. It turned out to be a hole that they couldn’t dig themselves out of and the Fins fell 4-3 in a game they should have won.
The Bluefins play next on Friday March 2nd (vs New Jersey) and Saturday March3rd (vs Danville) at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center. The 2 games will close out the Fins regular season.
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