The Bolts rose to the challenge of having to win a game on the road in order to qualify for the play- offs when they defeated the Maryland Arrows at the Capital Center, 13-11, Sunday night. A Maryland victory would have earned the Arrows a spot in post-season competition in the NLL’s cliffhanger playoff race on the basis of having one more regular-season win than the Bolts. As it turned out, Boston earned third place with 46 points, the same number as Quebec, by defeating the Caribous in their season series, 6-5-1. The Bolts and Caribous ended with identical records of 22-24-2.
A crowd of 6,373 filled the Capital Center expecting to see the Arrows win for the right to meet the Long Island Tomahawks in the playoffs, but they were disappointed. Ted Gernaey frustrated the Maryland offense all evening, as he made 39 saves and allowed II goals. The score was tied 9-9 after two periods, and Gernaey kept the home team at bay as the Bolts scored three goals in the first eight minutes. Stan Ignatczyk, who played brilliantly all evening, scored his second of the night at 2:27, and after Kevin Parsons blazed a shot past Greg Thomas at Brian Thompson hit Jerry McKenna with a perfect lead pass at the goalmouth and the former Arrow scored for a 12-9 lead. Thomas was then replaced by an old friend Bob McCready, but the Bolts held on, despite drawing two minor penalties in the last three minutes. McCready was pulled by Arrow coach Doug Barrie with less than a minute left, but Gernaey and the Bolts withstood the Maryland onslaught, and third place belonged to Boston.
Ivan Thompson was welcomed back to the Bolts’ lineup Sunday night after a two-game absence, and
the Boston power play responded, scoring all four times that they had the man advantage. Ivan scored one of the goals himself and assisted on two of brother Brian’s three goals. Ivan scored five points (2G, 3A) on the evening to finish his rookie season in the NLL with 91 goals and 116 assists for 207 points, good for fourth place in the final scoring statistics. Long Island’s Doug Hayes, with 230 points (104G, 126A) won the scoring title, with Marvland’s Paul Suggate, 92-127-219, next. John Davis of Montreal finished third at 79-129, one point ahead of Ivan.
Now that the NLL regular season has ended, post-season awards will soon be voted on and given, Ivan Thompson, of course, will be in con- tention for both the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year titles. Another person who should be given serious consideration for post- season honors is coach Jim Logan. Since Logan took over for Larry Ferguson on July 6, the Bolts have played at a .650 clip (13-7). Not even the Long Island Tomahawks, the NLL’s first-place finisher, have played as well.
Logan has had only one experienced goaltender, Ted Gernaey, and certainly does not have the personnel of Morley Kens’ Tomahawks. Add Logan’s general manager duties, more than his share of injuries (Liy Legault, Davidson, Brian Thompson), and the formidable task of reversing a losing record, and Logan’s role in the resurgence of the Bolts becomes more remarkable than ever. So let’s hear it for Jim Logan, coach of the Bolts!
The Bolts again face the Quebecois Monday night at the Garden.
Game time 7:30 p.m. See you there! ! !