Suds can the 'suckas.

Schlitz (11) vs Windsuckers

Tuesday July 22nd

Quincy Youth Arena

10:10pm

4-0 Win!

Alright, alright, alright. The Schlitz are back to their winning ways thanks to some all around nice work by the crew that skated last night in Quincy. Sounded like a pretty good game, and a niffty shutout for our Backstop-Badass Brian. As usual guest blogger iJosh has a terrific game wrap for you, friends of the blog, so without further ado.... heeeere's iJosh!

"Well boys and girls it was a tougher one than it needed to be last night. Despite the score and the fact that the Golden Boys controlled most of this game, this one was close almost to the end.
The game would start with a well stocked roster. The defense would be anchored by pairs of: Hammitt & Greg James and the two Dans. The offense would stack up as follows: Larry & iJosh at centers. Wing pairs of Sully & Mitch, Mark R & Chuck (who always seem to play well together) and Roman & Scott. Larry, iJosh and Jim Sullivan would rotate centers to keep legs fresh.
Pre-game note. This game was in Quincy and our favorite rotund, 4-eyed ref was on the ice. As was Larry. But no worries, Larry had, at this point, finally completed his 2 game suspension from the last Schlidaveur. But since Larry's recent run-ins with this ref, it was just worth mentioning.
With the game underway, Schlitz would find itself with opportunity after opportunity. It just seemed that early on, no great chance could make its way past the goal line. The Windsucker goalie was certainly playing at his best. iJosh would have a perfect feed from Mr. James go just wide. Mark and Chuck would barely miss and Mitch would put on in only to have it still touching the red line.....but barely. Finally the Cans would strike gold as Scott would continue his recent trend of deserved goals as he would net this one from Larry. The rest of the 1st would be uneventful for the score sheet and that in many parts was due to Brian, as well as the aforementioned W'Suckers' goalie.
Into the 2nd we go. Lots and lots and lots and lots of chances. Roman hit the inside post, iJosh and Chuck and Larry and Sully and Sully and Sully all had legitimate chances. But alas my friends, no glory. Again this was due to the play of the entire team Suds - especially Brian - and again the opposing goal keep. The signature of this game would be lack of 2nd chances. Brian contained almost every shot and when he couldn't would dive and cover it up before any 2nd chance could be had.
The Windsuckers' goalie gloved most everything on the 1st try. Just kudos all around.
The final frame...Now the Golden Schlitz needed the gusto to put this one away. And with a few minutes gone in the period, they would finally get it. Larry would find himself spinning in front of a clogged net after receiving the puck from Roman (yes that is true, we were all shocked too) and found an open spot in the net and tucked it home. This would be followed at the end of the same shift with Greg James teeing one up from the point and driving it just wide to the left and low, where Larry tipped it beautifully into the net for a 3-0 lead. When asked about the pass/shot after the game, Greg would admit that he was trying to go high side, right. Thank god for his aim. Then a shift or two later, Jim Sullivan would work his way from blue line to blue line and into the offensive zone. He would slap one toward the net where a Sucka would take the shot off the inside skate and deflect it into the net for a 4-0 lead. The Schlitz would not give up as they continued to press for the - should I say it? - shutout. As the final seconds finally ticked off the scoreboard would indeed indicate that a big fat zero was on the board. Final score 4-0 Suds.
The 4th period happened in the covered entry to the arena as the rain was pouring down. Mr James provided beverages.
Scoring Wrap Up:
1st:
Dr. Pounds from Larry
3rd:
Larry from Roman
Larry from Greg James
Jim Sullivan unassisted
Believe it or not there were no penalties. Even with Hammitt on D and Larry on the ice with Bongo the ref overseeing the game.
Game Notes:
At one point during the game Larry light heartedly started complaining about a missed call while on the bench as Bongo was leaning against the boards listening. Mr. Ref just shook his head and listened and when it was mentioned that he did not like Larry there was a little smirk and acknowledgment of said fact. At least he was honest.
Next game for the Schlitz which is vs the Sitniks (sounds Russian to me) features none other than Comrade Roman (you didn't see that one coming huh). So you all know the strategy and don't forget to hit hard.

Game Stars:
1st Star: Tie - Larry and Brian
2nd Star: Jim Sullivan
3rd Star: Dr. Pounds.
Honorable mention to everyone else. It really was a good game by all."

That is just flippin' sweet. Another spectacular guest blog by our man on the scene. Great work as always. Great work by everyone who played last night.

Before we wrap it up, the blogger has an update on teammate Kevin Parker, emailed in by the man himself. Here's Kevin's message to me:

"Thanks for the support, it's much appreciated. After a long week laid up in the hospital I'm finally free. Still a little wobbly on my legs (think Bambi or a new foal or Larry going into the 5th period) so it'll take some time. The fever is gone and the swelling is just about down
so things are looking up for me. I'm pretty much cleared to play as long as I can tolerate the pain. With that said, I'll shoot you an e-mail about next week, may be a Schlidaveur debut. Thanks again and sorry for not letting you know about Sunday, had no computer. "

So let me get this straight... the dude plays with a heart condition last season, a staff infection this season, what is he going to do next season? Chop of a limb and play down a hand or foot? (Don't get any ideas Kilroy...) Major props to Kevin for playing through pain. We're glad to have you anytime you are ready... good luck with a complete recovery.

And more late arriving comments from last night by our pal the Stat Whore himself... Larry Bell.

"Overheard in the parking lot:
"Lets bury the hatchet" Larry Bell and the fat ref who suspended him for two games.
At first I was appalled to come out to the parking lot and find the Koharski ref drinking with us. At first I wouldn't talk to the guy and I had a sense of betrayal from my teammates for feeding this guy beer. But, then the wisdom of it all became clear. Mark was the first to breach the subject with him, letting him know that I was not, in fact, swinging my stick at the other ref during the game I was suspended in. Once we talked, we decided to bury the hatchet.
Cheers,
LB"

Good thing you didn't decide to bury that hatchet in his chest... or head... or whathaveyou...

Thanks for the words Larry.

Aaaand one last thing. There were a couple of corrections to the stats sheet. Thanks to Chuck and Nelson for catching them. I shorted Chuck a goal, and Nelson 2 assists and have confirmed both errors. (this is why you need to check on the stats and email me if they don't look right...)

Sooo. I've corrected the totals, added last nights numbers... and provided another up to the minute scoring update below.

Enjoy.

Big week next week... hmmm I better start looking for an appropriate pic for the rosters posting.

Stay tuned.