Day 3 at the Presidents Cup confirmed we’re at the point where bodies are tired and tempers are short. Even in the air conditioned Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario the temperature was turned up on Tuesday. If it wasn’t officially a Prezzy with a woodie breakaway goal on Monday, it sure is now after four games on Day 3. Here’s your Prezzy Bites:
Hosts Stay Hot
Following a convincing 16-8 win over Tuscarora to close out the second day of competition, Oakville responded with two more wins for three in 26 hours taking down Edmonton 14-5 in the morning and Snake Island 11-3 in the final game of the day. Ryan Lanchbury and Andrew Kew surpassed the Miners’ Levi Anderson and Mike Triolo for the top two spots in tournament scoring. The Rock pair notched 18 and 16 points respectively on the day. At 3-1 and a Prezzy-best +16 goal differential, the hosts have all but locked up one of the four Friday playoff spots.
Who Needs a Scale?
You knew Christian Del Bianco’s Twitter was going to be good the moment Six Nations called him for an illegal equipment check. The Ladner netminder has often posted his dislike for equipment checks, so the fact he came back legal was no surprise.
Hard way to find out you’ve put on weight …. https://t.co/Gcc5KobCTj
— Christian Del Bianco (@cdelbianco35) August 29, 2023
That was followed by “Also lol” and a picture of the ‘3’ on his gear. Like or dislike the tactic, these types of things – just like gloves on the turf, wooden stick goals and standing-room-only penalty boxes – are all part of what makes the Prezzy the Prezzy. (Del Bianco played all 60 minutes, the only remaining goalie to do so, stopping 45 shots leading the Pioneers to a 3-0 record.)
Temperatures Rising
The annual delay of game penalty for a goalie gear check isn’t the only Prezzy tradition. Most of the games on Tuesday featured plenty of bad blood. Multiple penalties in nearly every game signals the point in the tournament where bodies are tired, players are frustrated and everyone is getting downright sick of being hacked and whacked seven days straight. Oakville’s Bill Hostrawser and Edmonton’s Matt Kim dropped the gloves for the first time in the tournament (a decisive victory for the Rock captain) with plenty of other misconducts handed out. Which brings me to the next note…
Rating the Refs
…led by tournament RIC Dale Sett the officials have had their hands full a few times the past few days, but nothing has really boiled over. Credit to the entire eight-man team who wear the black jerseys, blow the whistles and don’t get line changes. Situations that could’ve turned volatile haven’t, and furthermore, calls such as off-ball slashes have been called consistently since game one. Sett has assembled a great crew, and they’re showing their worth through three days.
Drop in the Bucket-Hat
This column today can’t end without mentioning the ‘player of the game’ award – a BarDown bucket hat. Say what you will about the award itself, but players who earn them by being named top player have been proudly wearing them out of the arena to many congratulations from teammates, fans, staff and, yes, the BarDown merchandise table. It’s also produced plenty of moments postgame where those MVPs have been asked to wear their new headgear for a picture. Despite early resistance, Nick Rose eventually played along to a cheer from the home fans.
