Jokers drop second straight, 5-2

The Jokers of Doom were hoping to rebound against the Vikings after a disappointing Spring season opener loss, however things got off to a rocky start after a quick tap in goal on a pass across the goal mouth only 34 seconds into the game. At the 4:20 mark the Vikings struck again on a loose ball in front of the net and after a few pokes the goal was scored and it was 2-0. This time the Jokers would not wait until the 3rd period to find some offense as Josh Berrelli took a quick pass from Ken Herren and found himself alone in the middle and beat the opposing goalie (former Joker backup Matt Chapman) with a nifty backhand to make it 2-1 after the first period. Even after this momentum building goal the Jokers gave it back only 9 seconds into the 2nd period as Steve Veillux picked up a Jokers giveaway and blasted a slap shot stick side low past Tim Fisher. The Vikings would add another goal in the second and again in early the 3rd to make it 5-1. Justin Cossette would score at the 6:12 mark to make it 5-2 but the deficit was too much to overcome in the final four minutes. After the game, assistant captain Rich Orsini said, “We just couldn’t connect on our passes and had a lot of trouble getting it of our zone”. It definitely seemed the steadying presence of veteran blue-liner Devon Sylvester was missed, and also forced C/W Dave Dreschler to play defense.

Notes: Jokers captain Jim Brunetti, John Deluca, and Sylvester all missed the game for undisclosed reasons…  Fisher made his season debut and stopped 23 of 28 shots… Cossette also made season debut… no official word on a makeup date for the game vs Charleston Chiefs… Jokers will again look the crack the win column on March 28 at 8:00pm vs the Yellow Jackets.