That was nice, being good hosts, but what happened after was outstanding. Following the game, an 11-10 hard, tough, rough victory for the Fire, the boys showered and got ready for 4 more hours on the road. I knew that the arrangements were that Wenatchee would help us out and get us some food before we hit the road, knowing we wouldn't be stopping for dinner. Expecting some sandwiches, I took my time packing up, think that I'd just grab something on our way out. Boy was I wrong!!! A full serving of freshly made Mexican food (beans, rice, meats and burritos, as well as the best guacomole I've ever had) was waiting for the guys when they came out. On top of that, a constant delivery of drinks and just general, old-fashioned, amazing hospitality. One player mentioned that they would usually invite the visiting team out to dinner, but knew we needed to get back on the road, so they bought the buffet to us.

I try not to use the term 'classy' too often. It's a special term that should be used sparingly...but the Fire players and staff are classy people and made us feel at home and for that I thank them and look forward to returning the favour in 2 weeks.

The game itself was something that won't soon be forgotten...and this Fire team wasn't what we were expecting. They played hard, capitalised on our mistakes and at the end of the day, beat us on the field. Both teams had to deal with the officiating, who would have taken the assist on the victory, regardless of which team won. I never like to blame the ref's, being one myself, but at the same time, there were some HUGE GLARING errors in this game, and just general, all round confusion.

Last night, the Fury were accused by some of the Tacoma fans for complaining and not knowing the game. The same could be said for the referees, as despite the fact that the referee is always right, and that the laws of the game are applied IN THE OPINION OF THE REFEREE (thank you very much Terry Carter), if you're going to apply the laws in your opinion...know what they are back to front, cover to cover. This ensures you can CONTROL the game effectively.

There were a number of big instances that changes this game. One was the end of the game. With just over a minute left, Prince George went up on the PP and we're pressing, but a ball came out and Kyle Flannagan came out and challenged out of his area, in the opinion of the referee, denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity....penalty shot and a goal. 54 seconds left, suddenly it's 5 on 5 and it takes a while for PG to notice, but in a stoppage, PG and the referees notice and call for another penalty...Wenatchee had fielded 5 instead of 4, as their guy had been let out of the box following the penalty shot. What happened next destroys the laws of physics, and it something worthy of a Star Trek episode occurs. The clock runs down to 17 seconds remaining before finally being stopped (should have stopped at 31). After all the confusion, the referee turned back time to the 54 second mark, ignored the too many men, and went back to 5-4 PP for PG. The point was moot at PG failed to score and the game was over, but it's one thing to reset the clock to 31 (where it should have stopped when the too many men error was noticed). But to ignore the 20 seconds that occured is something I've never seen.

It was clear that the game was getting out of control from the officials...being between the benches, I had the opportunity to head conversations between coaches and referees. The body language, tone of language and language used indicated that the ref's were clinging on for dear life at some stages of the game and it goes back to that word I used earlier...control.

It's questionable officiating that ultimately cost Prince George. And I try and say that without sounding bias or bitter, as it cost Wenatchee just as many opportunities. Jon Lafontaine spent more time in the penalty box in the 3rd and 4th quarters than he did on the pitch, serving team 2-minute penalties, as well as a 5-minute misconduct (Joao also 'earned' a yellow for dissent earlier in the game). On the flip side, Wenatchcee's head coach was fuming throughout the game (more on him later) on missed handballs (although in my OPINION ---there's that word again--- he was seeing things that weren't there), missed calls on fouls and rules interpretations. It not only cost Prince George the game, it cost the game a lot of the intensity that was earned through tough checks, good goals, back and forth action and a close contest. Instead the intensity was all about playing with the 'rules' the game was being officiated under.

As I've mentioned before, I copped some flack about my comments of Tacoma's Steve Mohn...and I'm sure that I will receive some about Wenatchee's coach Mike. I ripped on him a little during the broadcast for his coaching style and his comments to the referees during the game. Mike is loud, blunt and doesn't shy away from screaming at the officials. As a fan of soccer, a referee and an opposing team member, I stand by what I said. I don't like that fact that he screamed at the ref's, counted the number of 'missed' handballs and was just generally of the attitude that this was the worst game ever officiated in the history of the world. Having said that (and Mike if you're reading this...keep reading)....having said that, Mike's passion is unquestionable, and he truely is a nice guy. He and I discussed some things after the game as I was packing up, and he was extremely nice as we talked about a couple of plays in the game, the web site and things in general. Whilst I personally don't like his 'game persona' (although it was quite entertaining), there's no questioning his passion and dedication for the game and his team and it'll be a pleasure to talk to him again in 2 weeks.

All in all, this has been a very disappointing road trip on the pitch. Coming back to home 0-4 isn't what we wanted (obviously), but I think that our team is better than the record (I know it is). One bounce in overtime vs Tacoma and we start 1-0. Defensive lapses on the road trip, and we're at least 500 again. The Fury return to action on January 30th against the Wenatchee Fire. Join Damian Meehan and myself for the Final Countdown to Kickoff 15 minutes before the action at 2:00 and 7:30pm.