Alpengardener battles it out with Brick to secure 2-1 win

Where are the fans?

What is your major malfunction Crested Butte? How can you not show up to catch a little Town League hockey action at Big Mine Ice Arena? Where is the love? Too busy watching House and CSI reruns?

I mean, I left my pregnant wife at home last week, even though her contractions were 15 minutes apart, to catch the opening night.
Then, this week, I left my wife and newborn crying child at home to catch more Town League action.
Anyway, for those of you who are new to town, local men and women are out on the ice giving it their all, whether they suck or not, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night at Big Mine Ice Arena.
It is the perfect mix of athleticism and ass-backward. It’s part talent and part train wreck. Not only that, it’s free and you can drink and smoke all you want because it’s outdoors. And now with the new chain-link fence, you can grate plastic objects against it to create a noise so miserable, your friends and enemies will despise you just the same.
Not that I would condone or encourage any of those activities. I mean, I’m the father of a newborn girl and that would be irresponsible of me.
Tuesday night’s game between the Alpengardener and the Brick Oven did have a standing crowd of five or six fans and I’m not going to say it was the most exciting Town League game I’ve ever seen but… it was pretty good.
Great goaltending by net minders Reed Schaub of the Brick Oven and Mike Eaton of the Alpengardener set the pace for a back-and-forth battle between the two squads.
Each team traded odd man rushes in an effort to create multiple scoring opportunities only to have them turned away by both Eaton and Schaub.
The Alpengardener broke the scoreless tie in the final minute of the first period when John Chandler pushed a pass off the boards to Doug Swift, and Swift beat Schaub in close.
The Brick Oven threatened to tie it up several times in the first half of the second period with Frank Konsella leading the charge, but Eaton was unconscious in net pulling off saves right, left and center.
Eaton’s save of the night came when Brick Oven playmaker Nathan Lacy wheeled around for a wrist-shot from the face-off circle and Eaton denied the upper triangle with a high-stick save.
Schaub matched Eaton’s effort but the Alpengardener persisted finding the back of the net once more when Adam Chatter chased a puck into the corner and fed Chandler in the slot for the one-timer shot and goal, giving the Alpengardener a 2-0 lead heading into the final period.
The Brick Oven remained focused on the task at hand, finding the back of the net. Their efforts were ultimately rewarded when Chris Macarack took a pass from Angie Booth and carried it to net, showing the backhand before stuffing the forehand past Eaton with less than two minutes left in the game.
The Brick Oven pulled their goalie for the final minute in search of the tying goal but Eaton remained solid in net and the Alpengardener defense held tough to preserve the 2-1 win.