Tough Times Continue for Local Farming Community-

Home ice clearly played a big role in the D30’s season opening victory. Some will argue that games should be decided on the ice and that the back alley antics of the D30 front office are unacceptable. In a marketing ploy more shocking than the Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey, the p.r. department in the D30 think tank encouraged all fans to stay home and not attend the season opener. Even more remarkable; they apparently reached all but one fan.

The move clearly paid off. Overheard from the Grafton bench during the game were the following quotes: “Eh, we play in front of bigger crowds at practice!”, “seriously man, I can’t perform without an audience”, and “I had more people watch me take my last breathalyzer”. A team that usually packs in the better part of its recognized population on the team bus was lost without a gallery of on lookers.

In an attempt to overcome the awkward and mellow dramatic atmosphere the Grafton crew came out buzzing. A young crew that has the potential to evolve in time was lacking the wisdom needed to succeed at this level. The Grafton squad skated circle after circle around the outside of the D30 zone showing signs of high school like speed. Unfortunately for them, at this level, defensive schemes focus less on pressuring the puck and use more of a ‘wait for it’ game plan. Strategically positioned in key shooting lanes and plugging up the slot the D30 squad watched the youngsters wear themselves out. After approximately five minutes of continued crossovers the Grafton team was forced to try and move the puck inside….to no avail.

No less shocking than the cumulative G.P.A. at Grafton High, D30 struck first. The early lead proved to be all the spark this machine needed. D30 went on to score junk goal after junk goal. Grafton’s version of a goaltender proved to have more holes than the bathrooms at Polly’s. Other similarities with Polly’s was the high number of questionable shots taken by D30 members. Not to be denied a reason to get up in the morning the farm crew did capitalize on at least one sympathy shot (Whitey’s version of the penalty shot). Unfortunately it didn’t get the crowd response they were hoping for.

Team Secretary M Bydal was busy keeping stats last night, from what we’ve seen posted we can only assume he keeps stats similar to how he back checks...occasionally.