Pigeon Nest

Milestones

June 2009

Matt Sheads became the
first player to reach 600
games played as a
Pigeon on June 17, 2009.
He also hit another
milestone, 500 points in
his career. He became
the fourth Pigeon to
reach that mark.

May 4, 2009

J. D. Mathers returned to
the rink after a three
year layoff to record his
200th point in D League.

May 3, 2009

Brian Miller recorded his
100th goal as a Pigeon.
Miller is ten points away
from 200 in his career.

While the Pigeons have shown progress over a recent stretch,
disappointment set in as they fell to the Warlocks last week.

Up 3 - 1 with just under four minutes on the clock, the Birds lost
the lead as they fell 4 - 3. The bump in the road proved to be a
small obstacle as they showed a lot of promise against the Lab
Monkeys.

The Pigeons and Lab Monkeys battled to a 0 - 0 tie at the half
Monday night. The Pigeons outplayed the Monkeys but could
not seem to crack Niock Garman's shell. Jim Esposito proved to
be equal to the task as he stymied the Monkeys.

The turning point in the game came early in the second half as
Craig Kemmlein re-directed a Mark Clowney shot out of the air
and into the net. After taking a penalty, the Pigeons stuck on a
shorthanded chance as Kyle Burger put his squad up by a deuce.
The Lab Monkeys struck to get the score to 2 - 1 but Nate Voss
scored on the powerplay to put the Birds up by two again. With
the goalie pulled, the Lab Monkeys pulled to within a goal but
Espo and the Birds proved too tough as they skated away with
the victory.

The win puts the Pigeons one point ahead of the Iguanas for 4th
place in the league. The two teams play the last game of the year
in what will probably decide who goes to the 2nd season.

Without the services of several of their skaters, the Gettysburg
Four dug deep in the energy bank to find a way to record their
first win of the session. With Ian Smith in net, the Pigeons battled
back from a two goal deficit to topple the Iguanas. Led by a
four goal output from Mark Clowney, the Pigeons tied a season
high with eight goals. Brian Howe and Nate Voss contributed
with two goals and two assists each in the game. Howe eclipsed
the 650 point mark in his career. He holds the most points of
anyone that has suited up as a Pigeon. Matt Sheads, who ended
the game with two helpers, played in his 600th game as a Pigeon
Wednesday night. He is one point away from 500 in his career.

Smith held strong throughout the game in net as he made several
critical saves. The Gettysburg Four passed the puck with great
confidence and controlled much of the game. The Pigeons found
themselves on the positive end of many odd man rushes, which is
a rare feat for the Birds. The ironman victory on Wednesday
proved to be the first time the Gettysburg Four won without a
substitute in franchise history.

The win puts the Pigeons within a point of the Iguanas for fourth
place in the D League. The two will battle one more time before
the end of the regular season.