No joke, T-Sharks win in shootout

No joke, T-Sharks win in shootout November 21, 1997

By Mark Fitzhenry
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Aaron MacDonald shines as Tallahassee tops Pee Dee 2-1.

It has become a ritual for the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks. Before each shootout begins, goaltenders Aaron MacDonald and Blair Allison and equipment manager "Tiny" Higham gather on the bench and tell a joke to lighten the mood.

Thursday night, the tradition came to a standstill. Explained MacDonald: "No one could come up with one."

They could, however, come up with another victory. The T-Sharks remained unbeaten in five shootouts this season after a 2-1 victory over the Pee Dee Pride before 4,749 at the Civic Center.

MacDonald stopped all five Pee Dee shootout attempts to cap off a brilliant evening. He also stopped 27 of 28 shots in regulation. Tallahassee's Bob Woods scored the lone shootout goal for either team.

After MacDonald allowed goals on the first two shootout attempts he faced this season, he has stopped eight straight. MacDonald improved to 2-0 in shootouts and 6-2 overall.

It was Allison who started the tradition of having a joke told before each shootout.

"Before the first one, he was nervous so he asked for a joke," MacDonald said. "Five players and one goalie is what it comes down to. You have to have a little levity to lighten the mood."

MacDonald's first joke he told: "What do Scots wear under their kilts?" It's better not to print the answer.

It is safe to print, however, that MacDonald was the answer to just about everything Pee Dee threw at him. MacDonald was helped some by four struck posts in the second period alone, but he also turned away nine "Grade-A" scoring chances in the third period. The one goal allowed is a season-low for the team this season.

"The thing that makes you happy is we got the win," T-Sharks coach Terry Christensen said. "Had we not gotten great goaltending from Aaron MacDonald, we might not have had that fate. But we did get a great performance from him so we got a win."

Tallahassee (9-5-0) moved two points ahead of Charlotte, three ahead of Pee Dee (6-4-3) and four ahead of South Carolina in the Southeast Division. The T-Sharks play at South Carolina tonight and at Raleigh on Saturday.

The T-Sharks also snapped Pee Dee's four-game winning streak, although the Pride have yet to win on the road.

Defenseman Jason Weinrich scored Tallahassee's lone regulation goal in the second period. With the T-Sharks on the power play, Weinrich took a pass from former University of Maine teammate Cal Ingraham and one-timed a slapshot past Sandy Allan.

Forward Jim Paradise, treated for symptoms of pneumonia this past week, played limited even-strength shifts and on special teams. Winger Ryan Haggerty returned after a week on the injured reserve (hip flexor) and newcomer Drew Palmer was strong on defense.

With those additions, Christensen moved Woods to forward and made Louis Bedard a healthy scratch.