SWAMP RATS TORCH THE FIRE ANTS

GAME 1: BOSTON LIGHTS THE LAMP EARLY AND OFTEN, WIN BIG 10-2

(Holbrook, MA 11/17/07) The Boston Swamp Rats finally took the floor Saturday night when they hosted the Hartford Fire Ants at their home rink, the Holbrook Sports Center in Holbrook, MA. This would mark the first ever exhibition game that the Swamp Rats have participated in as they prepare for the 2007-2008 regular season. For the Fire Ants, this was their final pre-season warmup after beating the Mass Bombers 6-4 at Z-Rink on November 10th and dropping three meetings to the CT Blaze at various times this fall.

To nobody's surprise, defending PIHA Champion netminder Pete Pennecke, who is expected to debut his new read and black Mission goalie gear on opening night, was between the pipes for the Rats. The Fire Ants countered with 2006-2007 minor league all-star Craig Lewis. Both goalies were tested early in the game, however it was once again Pennecke who would win this battle of very good goaltenders.

The Rats were the first to draw blood when almost the entire first line figured in on the game's opening goal. PIHA rookie defenseman Brian Blanchette (1a) moved the puck out of his own zone and found a streaking Ryan Grant (1g, 4a) open as he went through the neutral zone. Grant then sent the puck to his linemate, Tony King (2g, 1a) where "TK" would bury the one-timer. Just over thre minutes later, Co-Captain Michael Hunt (1g, 2a) put his team up by a pair on a tally set up by Grant and defenseman Bryan Moore (2a). A mere :46 later, the Rats extended the lead to three when Glen Squillaciotti (1g) finished off a pretty play set up by Frank Morris (2g, 1a) and Hunt. The Fire Ants managed to get on the board late in the opening period after a highlight reel save by Pennecke went straight into the air and was eventually batted in by the Ants Co-Captain Matt Zuba (1g). Picking up an assist on the play would be the team's other Co-Captain, Jim Miller (1a). The Swamp Rats finished off the scoring in the opening stanza when the boys from Taunton combined for the team's fouth goal of the game. Newly added Derek Bissonette (1g,2a) took a feed from Tom Halpin (1g,1a) at the :46 mark to once again give the good guys a three goal cushion. Although the Rats held a 4-1 lead after one period, it was the Fire Ants who held the advantage in shots on net 11-10.

The puck dropped for the 2nd period and after a scuffle in front of the Fire Ants net led to penalties for both teams, King found the back of the net for the 2nd time while the team's power play was working flawlessly. Picking up helpers on the goal were Grant and Co-Captain Paul Rogers (1a). Morris then notched his 1st of the contest just over three minutes later as the result of some great transition work by Moore and Hunt to give the Rats a 6-1 advantage. With just under five minutes remaining in the contest, defenseman Bob Jordan (1g) blasted home a slapshot from just above the faceoff circles after he was sent into open floor by a beutiful outlet pass from Bissonnette. Morris would then collect his 2nd of the game after some great puck movement from Grant and King. Grant then took the ensuing faceoff and blew past the Ants' defense and tickled the twine just :05 after the previous goal to put basically this one away. The Ants answered back with their 2nd of the game when Kenny Langille took a feed from Ryan Lair and put it past Pennecke for the goal. Picking up the econdary assist would be Bill Miller. The Swamp Rats' Halpin and Bissonnette combined for another goal with just over a minute to go and that would be it for the scoring in this one. The Boston Swamp Rats took game 1quite convincingly and retired to their locker room to prepare for game 2.

The three stars of the game were;

#1 Boston Swamp Rats forward Ryan Grant. "Ryno" had a tremendous game for the Rats, recording five points in the contest. When the smoke had cleared from his stick, Ryan finished with a goal and four assists.

#2 Swamp Rats netminder Pete Pennecke. Pete stopped 21 of 23 shots en route to the blowout win. Had Pete not brought his "A" game, the score would have been a much closer than the 10-2 final. Boston will prove to be a tough opponent for whoever plays them when Pennecke is in net.

#3 Boston forward Tony King. "TK" was all over the floor during this game and finished the night with a strong effort that included two goals and an assist.