Avalanche 3 ? Sharks 1

Well obviously this was a disappointing loss with some VERY frustrating occurrences throughout the game. It will take a lot of will power to focus on the positive throughout this summary; I'll save my frustrations for another posting. The Sharks began the first period much like they begin most games? slowly. They were out shot 13 to 4 going into the first intermission. The high point of the period was definitely Mike Grier's fighting major for his altercation with Cody McLeod in which he avenged the uncalled high stick causing Joe Thornton to miss a shift so the trainer could stop the flowing blood from his nose. The lone goal scored in the period by Ben Guite was actually pretty impressive display of hand eye coordination as the puck was redirected just centimeters before it found the safety of Evgeni Nabokov's glove. For the second period the Sharks found their groove and began making up lost ground at a furious pace out driving Colorado 16 to 5. This is where the Sharks only goal of the game was scored, Sandis Ozolinsh froze the goalie with a shot turned pass the left the net wide open for Patrick Marleau to shovel one home. Even though the Sharks were able to basically dictate the pace of the period they were still unable to keep the Avalanche from scoring a power play goal on a T.J. Hensick redirected shot from the point. The third period was fairly uneventful as the Sharks posted a lukewarm effort to even up the score again out shooting the Avalanche by a smaller margin of 11 to 7. The last minute of the period was a nail-biter as the Sharks pulled Nabakov in favor of the extra attacker. The Sharks failed to capitalize and with the clock winding down Jeff Finger scored an empty net goal. As I mentioned in the beginning of this I witnessed some VERY frustrating things that I feel are worthy of an article in themselves. I was already on edge from what I'd seen in the Caps vs. Flyers game earlier in the day, and I'm not even attached to either of those teams. Quick Summary In the Net: Evgeni Nabokov (SJ) 24s ? 2g.a. Jose Theodore (CA) 31s -1g.a. San Jose Playmakers: Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo, JOE PAVELSKI, Sandis Ozolinsh and last but not least Mike Grier. San Jose Icebox: Ehrhoff (constantly caught out of position), Rissmiller (Who?), Carle (what happened to the old offensive-defenseman Carle?) and Bernier (Usually a dominant physical presence.... getting knocked around like a rag doll).