Schlitz vs Blues Division Rivals!

Schlitz (5) vs Blues
Tuesday 10/25
UMass Boston 7:00pm


6-2 loss


Once again the Blogger has not been a regular attendee... so last nights game gets a great write up by Doctor Scott Pounds. Always nice to hear from the good doctor and this summary hits the spot for those of us hungry for a little game story.
So here is Doc Pounds with the recap:

The Suds went into the UMass dressing corner with five skaters (happily, Gorden brought his friend Seth along, and the extra body was greatly appreciated. Seth gets the 'Come back anytime' award) and no goalie some fifteen minutes before game time, but Mark Boudreau, Baker, and Bauer came in just in time to make the generous NESHL 180 second warmup period. 
 
We started with two subs. A few minutes into the game, Ken and DWH hit the bench, so we were able to play with two full lines and three D (thought the lines fluctuated as Elliot was under the weather and we seemed to be adjusting around penalties a lot). 

The UMass women had just concluded a practice, leaving the ice very rough and rutted. The Beermen were full of bubbles in the early going despite being initially short and scored the first goal, Pounds to Gorden to Baker. The first period ended 1-0 Adult Beverages, and the bench was full of confidence. 

The Blues, however, had their very good goalie in net and had a couple of what Nelson would call half-shields on the bench, #8 and somebody in a Deep Blue jersey and put in the next two goals in the second period. Then Gorden corralled a loose puck at center ice, deked a couple of Blues, and dished it to a streaking Herbert, who faked the forehand and tucked the puck between the goalie's legs to make the game 2-2. 

Unfortunately, that was the high point for the 'Cans. Deep Blue and #8 had legs and the Beermen came to room temperature and went slowly flat. Though the final was 6-2, Mark Boudreau was stellar in net, robbing the Blues at least a dozen times.

I think we forfeited the fourth period, as it was early and the campus cops were out in force due to the women's volleyball game in the gym. If anyone did stay, make it known in the comments.

F: Goldenberg, Baker, Seth (friend of Jared)

F: Pounds, Gorden, Elliot

D: Marietta, Bauer, Herbert

First Goal: Baker from Pounds and Gorden (score sheet says assist to Marietta - that's wrong)

Second Goal: Herbert from Gorden

Shots on Goal:

Schlitz  14

Blues  29

Thanks very much Doc! Great writeup.

Playoff Showdown with Les Blues

Cadavers (3) vs Blues (2)
Thursday 9/15
BU 10:00pm
Coyote Division Semifinal


5-2 WIN!


The Dead in Red took the ice at storied Walter Brown Arena against long time rival The Blues for a semi-final playoff match up. The two teams skated to a 1-1 draw not long ago and the familiarity between the squads meant this game was sure to be close as well. We have a long history of battles with the guys in Blue and everyone on Team Zombie was anxious to get the win and knock those guys out of the "tournament".
Here's how things would work out.
First off the Blogger wants to thank the rowdy members of the Betley Lab for setting Jeff's night off on the right foot. Thanks go out to The Mexican Tom Cruise and his special Fresca enhanced Margaritas and Dave Harris for his booming pep-talk toast that got the blood flowing. Suffice to say Jeff was well lubricated before he made it across the river to BU.
That was fine as he was slated as the 14th man on a full roster and apparently it suited him fine as he got early results when the puck dropped.

But first... lets have the lineups.
Jay McNamara in NET
D: George, Bauer; Campbell, and Parker with Jeff rotating in.
O1: Baker, Daley, Elliot
O2: Larry, Sully, Gregson
O3: Roman, Matvey, Doc Pounds

 It was clear that the Blues had their regulars as well as the talent they've picked up in the last few seasons. In particular number 6 a forward with black and green socks, and number 43 wearing a dark blue league jersey would clearly need minding all night as they were able to make plays with their legs and hands at any time.
The Blogger is happy to report that the energy level was great on the Cadaver bench and Red took the game right at the Blues right from the start. No hard to do with the lineup we had. The Baker-Daley experience would get shots immediately and it was clear Baker was into it from the start. Funny... for the first time he was seen with beer in hand in the pregame locker room. When asked he told the team he wasn't missing out on the Shipyard Pumpkin Head ale this year like last. "I went back to the store and it was all gone!" Apparently he stocked up and has been drinking nothing else all week.
We waded into the game and there was plenty of give and take between the sides to get things warmed right up in a hurry. Mike Campbell would barrel through someone less than four minutes in and Blue would go on the power play. Red fought hard and played well on the PK and just as it ended good things started to happen.
Jeff would make a outlet pass to Doc Pounds up on the left side. Jeff had a head of steam and was hollering to the good Doctor to send it back. He did just that and laid a perfect pass across the blue line right to Jeff as he turned the crossed up defender and streaked to the net to bury a shot over the keepers far shoulder. Red up 1-0 and Jeff banging his stick on the ice on his way back.
Campbell would go again to the box for his second penalty of the night on an iffy call that no one seemed to see. Suddenly the extra defender was looking good as chances were Mike wasn't going to make the whole game (3 penalties and you are out). Again, good work by Red on the PK meant the Blues got not much going and the first would end 1-0.
The Second would open with more good things for the Cads. Kevin Parker would headman the puck up to Steve Baker who would make a nice play to Matt Elliot who was parked on the right side of the crease. Matty would score from the short side on a fast shot and the good guys had a 2 goal lead. Couple of things here... nice to see Matt score in the playoffs as he had a very productive regular season, and also there couldn't have been a better time for high scorer Steve Baker to pick up his FIRST assist of the year. Now how you score 12 goals with no assists the Blogger doesn't know... or care. Now hes got at least one helper and those are just as good.
About halfway through the period Parker and a Blue would go for matching roughing calls and the teams played 5 on 5. Other than that the period was a full on grind and the Red never let up. After 2... 2-0 good guys.
Now you know it couldn't be easy. You know we couldn't go the whole night without some drama and anxious times... right? Of course. Five minutes into the third period the Blues would start to get thier momentum going. The play went around the Red end and we started to scramble. If not for the very steady hand of Jay McNamara in net the lead would have been gone in a flash. Instead the Blues kept knocking on the door and Jay kept turning them aside. That is... until this happened. Jeff would try to take down number 43 who was winding up and driving to the net. The ref's arm went up as he hauled him down but the puck went to a Blue behind our net who passed to a guy right in front and he put it past Jay to cut the lead to one. No penalty after the goal saved Jeff a trip to the box... but the Red bench was already on edge.
Another 5 minutes of playing time, a lot of it with Red on their heels went by. Then Mike Daley would make a great play. The puck would come up from Mike Campbell then to Elliot in the neutral zone. He would spring Daley with a nice pass and Mike was off on a breakaway to the Blue net. Daley's shot was wicked and the Red bench cheered when the puck went in giving us back a two goal lead, now with 7 minutes left in the game.
Blue was desperate. Six and 43 were all over the place trying to make something happen. It was only a minute after Daley's goal that they did just that. Another scramble in our end and the loose puck ended up with 43 who rifled one into the net to cut the lead back to 1, 3-2, now with 5 and a half minutes left.
Another minute of tense playing time later a strange play gave great results. George tried a clearing pass to Doc Pounds that missed the mark but hit the Good Doctor off the helmet and bounced back to George. The ranging defense man then barreled up ice hell bent for glory and he found it, burying the puck for a nice finish and some insurance.
Now with time winding down and the Blues in full desperation they would pull their keeper in the final minute and Red would do a good job squashing the play. Roman would hustle down and grab a loose clearing play and would pot the empty netter for the nail in the coffin.
Great work by all the Cadavers and a very sweet win.

This means we advance to the Division Championship Game next week. Stay tuned... its always exciting to play for hardware.


Game Stars
3rd Star: Jay McNamara for some great work in the pipes. He didn't think he worked that hard, but he made covers and eliminated rebounds at critical times all night. Nice job
2nd Star: Matt Elliot for a goal and an assist and some hard work all night.
1st Star: The other goal scorers... George, Daley, Roman and Jeff. 

Really... everyone played really well. There was great energy and focus on the bench and this one was a nice victory to have against a well know... and ill regarded... opponent.


Beerman Honor Roll: Bauer and Fosdick.
Always nice to enjoy post-game beverages in the BU parking lot... thankfully no sign of malicious meter maids or BUPD... 

Cads and Blues tangle to tie in regular season finale!

Cadavers vs Blues

Thursday 9/1

Canton 10:30pm

1-1 tie

The Dead in Red faced old time rival the Blues last night in Canton for the last game of the summer regular season with, amazingly, a chance to secure a winning record. Team Zombie would turn in their best period of work in a season or more but would still let the prize slip away in the waning moments as momentum faded and the game got late.

The Blues have had a solid group for some time and it would be a good matchup as the Zombies sported a strong lineup for the season closer.

Here you have it.

Randy Dudek in Net

D1: George and Geoff Marietta

D2: Jeff and Campbell

O1: Larry, Sully, Daley

O2: Baker, Nelson, Matvey and Gregson floated.

Randy Dudek was back in net, and really has been a nice find during the last ¼ of this season and he’s turned in some fine work helping to keep the Cads competitive, and last night was no different.

The Defensive corps were supplemented by newcomer Geoff Marietta who the organization has been scouting for a spot on the winter roster. Contract negotiations have been ongoing but very positive for Marietta who despite some rust on his wheels have a very solid evening on the blue line. Look for him to make the winter club…

The offensive pace was set by Larry, Daley and Baker who alternated at center and kept the tempo brisk as the Dead played a very strong first period. Sully  and Nelson had multiple chances as well and the passing and hustle was the best its been for the dead in some time.

The Cads really took the game right at the Blues for that whole first frame making smart hard plays that generated good things all over the place. The Blue goalie did a great job keeping rebounds down and smothering the many plays that ended up at his feet.

There was nice work from the D making strong outlets and pinching occasionally and that was how the ice would be broken midway through the period. Mike Campbell would push the play up into the attack zone after picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone then with a back and forth to Steve Baker in the slot ended up with a great chance that Steve would eventually chip over the sprawling keeper for the 1-0 lead.

Steve was excited, as he’d already had a run in with Captain Douchebag, no. 3 Kevin Feury from the Blues. Feury had blatantly held Steve’s stick earlier in the play and the two had exchanged pleasantries (and hacks) back up the ice.
Fuery is no stranger to douchebaggery and last night he tangled frequently with Steve and any other forward that came near usually felt his stick or shoulder.You have to watch your back with that prick on the ice.

The first would end with the Red holding good momentum and the precious one goal lead, but things would become more heated in the second.

About 5 minutes in, Mike Daley would get caught up with a defender and despite taking most of the abuse in the exchange Mike would go to the box for a rough. The Red would play well enough to escape the penalty but as the time wound down Geoff Marietta and a Blue defender would go for matching roughs as the two wrestled in the Blue crease.
Again no blood on the penalty, and when Daley returned the teams were even. Unfortunately Red wasn’t done sending guys to the box and this time Larry would go for a hook with 6 minutes remaining in the period.

The play had been slowing from the fast paced first period and the Red was slowly loosing the traction they had built in the beginning after killing all the penalties. The Blues were slowly but steadily turning the momentum as the game got later and the second would close with the Cads still clinging to the one goal lead.

Well… there you have it. A one goal lead going into the final period of the regular season. A winning record on the line if we can pull out the W. I’m glad to say that the Dead did open the period strong and quickly got a couple chances. The Blues would counter punch however and the Red was clearly playing a bit more conservatively trying to keep the game under their collective thumb.

Matvey would take down a rushing Blue forward and would go to the box for the trip only 3 minutes in. Team Zombie would stomp out the penalty though with great work by Daley and Nelson as the blogger recalls. Still… you can see it coming… right?

Baker and no.3 Feury would reacquaint themselves in the high slot and this exchange ended up with Feury chopping away at Steve who got back up and in his face only to get clouted a few times by the true D-bag. The refs would send them both to the box, which of course sent Steve apoplectic. Luckily Steve kept his yapping to only ¾ volume or something but the Zeebs didn’t toss him and finally after throwing a bucket of water (I wish) on him he settled down. These matching penalties came at 8:30.
The play came down to the wire, and if you are frequent reader of this space you may see what is coming about a mile and a half away.

The Blues were pressing the play and as Red backpedaled and played more shut down, they started to get better chances.

With the game under 3 mintues the Blues center man with the green socks, number 16 Russel Jewel would force the play into the Red end. Campbell made a play on him but he slipped away. Then he worked Jeff over and plunged into the zone as Jeff couldn’t shake the puck from him. He sent  a pass down low to the streaking wing who made a couple of good hacks as Randy made the first stop but the puck ended up in the net and the game tied at 2:27 remaining.

This took a considerable amount of wind out of the Zombies sails as you can imagine, but the Red kept fighting until the end. Baker ended up with an open field tackle (better than the Pats punt coverage) and went back to the box with 1:35 remaining.
The Red would stand strong in the closing minute and would manage to salvage the tie. Despite the dissapointment of letting the W slip away it really was a well matched and fairly well played game. Conincidentally we will almost certainly see the Blues in playoff round one so this is a matchup we will be revisiting within two weeks time.

On another note, Steve’s running mouth couldn’t find a handle on the reigns and he spent several minutes chatting up the Zeebs outside their room. Jeff headed over 2 -3 times in the early going… trying to save the franchise from some unwanted attention… but the Zeebs seemed to be cool and waved him off the 2^nd and 3^rd visit as they were “just talking” which I think was code for “letting Steve get it all out in hopes that Christ Almighty he might just SHUT UP.”

Steve has played a very strong summer and hasn’t let his temper and mouth get him into many scrapes but he really needs to just let it go sometimes. The reality is that there will always be inconsistancys and blown calls at this level.
His best and most helpful response is when he kicks it into gear like he did for shifts in the first and third where he was everywhere at once. The other team has their hands full whenever he plays with anger and puts all his effort into making a play and not runnig his mouth.

Anyway. Beerman honor roll for Dr.s Campbell, Daley and Bell who supplied some chilly refreshment after the game.
Campbell said it all when dropping the tailgate of his truck declared “I think this my favorite bar”.

Well. 7-7-3 for the Summer. Not bad given a 9 game winless streak… but not stellar given a 5 game winning streak.

On to the playoffs. 

Zombies rocked by Blues

Cadavers (8) vs Blues
Tuesday 6/28
BU 7:00pm

6-0 Loss


Ouch. This one sounded like it stung a bit. Early reports were grim... and don't look to be getting any better. So without further ado... here is a nice handfull of Guest Bloggers to tell us all about how the deal went down last night on Babcock street.

First tale out of the gate was grim. Here's Larry with a few words:
We got smoked 5 or 6-0.
We left Jon out to dry on several breakaways, 2-on-0's and other odd-man rushes and nice easy rebound goals in the slot. Worst of all, they only had 7 skaters to our 13 and we couldn't wear them down.
I skated with the russians, sully-elliot-gregson, baker-pounds-mitch.

Thanks very much Larry. Here is Eric Bauer with a short summary:

Wasn't pretty. 6 nothing. Their best skater floated around our blue line looking for outlet passes the whole night. We started to take a bit of our aggression out on him.

Daley brought his family and we got a rousing rendition of how the B's won the cup (apparently game 7 was last night).

Small showing for the 4th period, but Bell, Moorachian, Gregson and Bauer finished strong.

Thanks Eric. At least we made some showing in the fourth...

Here is another good summary from Mitch Goldenberg who added some more definition to last nights beat down:

We got crushed, something like 6-0 (I lost count). We started out with 12 guys (later rounded out to an even 13) vs their 6 (which later became 7) and I noted to Scott that we'd lost to shorter benches before. Seconds later, they scored on the first shift of the game, and then added another pretty quickly after that. 1st period ended down 3-0. We didn't test their goalie much, and they constantly had one or two guys cherry picking which led to way too many odd-man rushes. The game got a little chippy towards the end, with the highlight (for me) being Baker's arguing a penalty call because it was "a clean hit" (it was). The ref asked if he was aware that it was a non-checking league. One of those games...

-Mitch

I asked him if he knew how many penalties we got and he responded:
Mostly matching minors. I (personally) think the refs did a decent job to keep the game from getting ugly. We were shorthanded a couple of times, and as usual played some of our best hockey of the night while down a man.
We had some fans in the stands (so there MIGHT be a picture or two) but we were down so quickly that they really didn't have much of a game to cheer for/want to remember.

Annnnnd Here is Capt. George with a nice thorough breakdown of the action:

We lost: 6-0 shellacking.

Within the first few minutes we were down 2-0, and before the end of the 1st we were down 3-0. The Blues only had 7 skaters. But, apparently it was their best 7, and what I would call representative of a typical D league team. If they got behind our D, it was almost an automatic goal. And they got behind us an aweful lot, and had plenty of odd man rushes.

We weren't much of a threat in the offensive zone. So, that allowed their speedy snipers to cherry pick all night. We gave them no reason to help in their own defensive zone. I think it was a moral victory to hold the Blues to one goal in 2nd period. But, it just doesn't matter when you're shut out. The only way for us to get on the score sheet was to get

penalties: 7 minor penalties. I'm sure that didn't help our anemic offensive showing. You would think with a full bench of 13 skaters we would have been able to tire them out after a while. It didn't look like the slowed down at all.

Those of us that stuck around for the 4th period, closing up shop around 10:00 PM, declared victory and dubbed ourselves the co-1st stars of the game: Larry, Eric, Gregson, George. 2nd star to Mattie E. for participating in the 4th, but leaving early on, not going the distance.

Yeeesh. Thanks for the excellent breakdown George. Too bad about that game though...
A quick look at the scoresheet that George submitted shows the following penalties:

Larry and Sully both for holds in the first.
Baker for a cross-check in the second.
Bauer and Matvey for Roughs, Baker for a check and George for a trip in the 3rd.

At least we lit up the scoresheet... not in a good way... but we'll take what we can get.
No game next week due to scheduling.
We next play:
Thursday 7/14 HinghamC 10:30pm vs Spartans

Have a nice 4th of July weekend.