Cassius Darrow feels good going into this tournament. After making the team, Darrow is settling into his role on a primary shut down pairing with fellow shot block maniac Mathias Seger. Eko Van Otter and Dom Montgomery pulled their names from consideration at the last second due to a tragic mass dumpster fire in the city of Atlanta sent them rushing home to check on their teammates and loved ones, opening up at least one roster spot for the tournament. The defense looks very strong for Team Grizzled Vets.

Their opponents enter the arena overly confident—this team is a glorifed SMJHL All-Star team, and feels like they can take on anyone. They are talented, for sure, but lack the wisdom that comes from years of battling every night to win games. Darrow smiles at SHL teammate, Vaseline Podcalzone, as he scans Team Up-and-Comers. Even right before puck drop, it’s unclear of Mat Smith or Jon St. Ark will get the starting nod in net. Both are skilled goalies, but it’s surprising when the coach sents St. Ark out there. Smith has far more big game experience, and seemed like a more likely choice. Looking across the rest of the roster, up and coming players like Xavier Doom, Jonathan Granstrom, and Darrow’s current d-partner, Kermit Murphy, have made this team. They are quick and skilled. In the end, that doesn’t amount to much.

Team up-and-comers gets an early powerplay off after a Dick Clapper tripped Arsene Leclerc, but cannot capitalize. The top vet PK unit of Andreas Kvalheim, Barry Batsbak, Brennan Kennedy Jr, and Seger sucks the air out of their attack. On the second unit, partway through the penalty, Darrow makes a pass to mid ice, popping Monkey D. Luffy for a breakaway. Luffy cannot beat St. Ark, leaving the score 0-0. Within a minute of the penalty ending, the top unit of Aaron Wilson, Theo Morgan, and Dick Clapper overwhelm the young d, scoring a tic-tac-toe goal. Team Young Guns ties it up early in the 2nd period off a Podcalzone slapper, but a double minor high stick to Kermit Murphy leads to a devastating 5-on-3. The grizzled vets send Wilson and Morgan back out with Corey Kennedy, Michael Scarn, and Julio Tokolosh. The unit scores 2 goals in 73 seconds to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

In the end Team Grizzled Vets gets the victory, 5-2, outshooting team young guns 37-24. Aaron Wilson is named the first star of the game with a goal and 2 assists. Darrow played 17:24, including 1:02 shorthanded. He had a single shot on goal, 2 hits, and 4 blocked shots. The highlight of Darrow’s game was stealing Kermit Murphy’s lunch with a nifty poke check to kill the last 13 seconds off Brennan Kennedy Jr’s 3rd period slashing penalty. On this team, he doesn’t need to be the star; Darrow is happy to play strong defense and make the smart first pass.