Tigers eat Zombies for Div. Championship

Tigers vs Cadavers
Stanley Cup Division
Summer Championship
Monday September 15th
Dedham 9:00pm

5-2 Loss

Another season, another chance to take home some hardware, and another chance to play our formidable division rival the Tigers. Last night both teams went into the Championship game with 3-0 records and a good streak of playing, and the Zombies knew they would have thier hands full. There was almost 100% attendance with only George subbing in for Matt Elliott/Kilroy (there were 14). So the Dead in Red started off with 13 on the roster but only 12 skaters to start the game.
Turns out Sully was late due to a flat tire in the Friendly's parking lot. Sully quick found a service station that had some air, pumped it up and made it to the game, just over the 1/2 way point. Kudos to Sully to keep after it and make it to the game, but by the time he took the ice the outcome was well on the way to being decided. We skated with 3 wing sets, and 2 centers until he got there.
Here was how things broke down with a full roster.
D Pairs: Campbell - George, Valenti - Pearlman
Offense 1: Sully, Parker, Reynolds
Offense 2: Roman, Jeff, Capraro
Offense 3: iJosh, Ken, Scott

This was really so similar to so many of the games we have played against the Tigers. The Red came out strong in the first period. There were lots of chances and good strong short shifts that resulted in a bunch of time being spend in the Cat's end. Pete Capraro would break the ice after he took a pass from winger Mark Reynolds that sprung him on a breakaway. Using the pattented Sega NHL '96 "The Move" Pete worked the goalie across the crease and tucked it away for the 1-0 lead with about 2 minutes left in the period. The Red stayed strong and worked hard, Lizzy threw in a couple of good stops and at the end of the first it was 1-0 good guys.

Then the Red would continue the good momentum and Kevin Parker would bury a hard work effort (unassisted) and the Red would take the dreaded, infamous, ominous 2-0 lead over team Tigre about 3 minutes into the 2nd. About a minute of playing time later Pearlman would be whistled off for a trip. The Tigers wasted no time and scored after a bang bang play to get on the board with a power play goal.
Up 2-1 but with the Tigers starting to press the Red seemed to lose much of the early momentum. A mistake in our own end popped the puck from our D to their forward right in front and the Tigers would tie the game 9 minutes into the second. The Red would further compound the problem with ANOTHER turnover in our end that put the puck right on the Tiger forward's stick and then in the net for a 3-2 lead. This one was actually another power play goal toward the end of the period when 77 had been called for a trip. To the 3rd, down 3-2.
I wish I could tell you all about a glorious comeback, about the grit and determination of Zombie Pride and a great effort in the third... but I can't. It didn't happen. Whatever the Red had in the first, they went further away from it instead of closer to it as the game went on.
The Tigers would score again right off the faceoff on Lizzy's right aobut 3 minutes into the third. That would put them up 4-2 and the Red had some serious work cut out for it. There were chances, by the scoresheet the Zombies took 9 shots (most of the game) in the third but it didn't seem like the Tiger keeper was really that challenged as time wore away. There was one more penalty (77 again) and the Tigers would put the capper home just as it expired to take the game 5-2 and win the division championship.

It was a tough night for the Dead in Red, but lets give it up for the cats. Those guys played hard all night and clearly deserved the win. Those guys are a good group and always give us a run for our money. So no summer championship for the Cads but.....

in the nightcap game the Ingwood Jacks put a hurting on the Sitniks and may have just landed the Beercan's in a rematch with the Scapegoats for the Olympic Division Championship on Thursday night. Stay tuned to blog and email for details!

Big Props go out to the guys with Jules on the jersey for "helping out" the Schlitz make it one more game!

"Mmm that IS a tastey burger..."

Zombies Beat Runners!

Cadavers (P3) vs Double Runners

Monday September 8th

Canton 10:40pm

4-2 Win!

Another big playoff tilt for the Dead in Red last night at home rink Canton. The Zombies faced an elimination game with the Double Runners for the Stanley Cup Division Playoffs. The winner of this game would move on to face Team Tigre (tea-grey) next Monday night in Dedham for the trophy.

A solid turnout gave the Red 13 including Captain George who filled in for D Man Marc Valenti at the last minute. The rest of the crew broke down like this.

Lizzy in Net. (Mom in the stands)

D Pairs: George and Pearlman. Fosdick and Campbell

Offense 1: Roman, Capraro and Reynolds

Offense 2: Sully, Elliott and Pounds

Offense 3: iJosh, Parker and Kenny

The Runners looked solid but had only 9 and things were pretty tight for the first few minutes of the game. It was interesting to note... that along with the Hometown rink we got our favorite pair of "hometown" refs, the Butterball and his sidekick Grampanoteeth. Now we see these guys all the time, and we've had plenty of run-ins with them. They love us... I mean Looooooove us. It was clear from the start that our rotund and striped friend had a buddy or two on the Runners and made no bones about it. This developed into a theme.. as much as the blogger despises it.. it must be mentioned.

With that in mind.... George goes off at 13:21 of the first for an innocuous lift of the stick that was called "hooking". Okay, the Red do an admirable job on the PK and things are still 0-0 a few minutes later.

In fact things went well. Working off a nice hard work play from Kevin Parker (when isnt it?) Billy Pearlman put the Dead on the board and out in front at 7:55 remaining in the first. Nice slapper from the point.

Wouldn't you know... our best skater George gets whistled at 6:21 for "unsports"... ? Hmn? This one, as the blogger faintly recalls was a scuffle along the side boards with both guys going at it. Both guys went to the box. Just after this penalty expired the Runners made a nice play keeping it in our end and popped a second or third rebound behind Lizzy to tie the game up. It was a bad scramble on our part and the game was tied going into the second.

The Red would strike again early in the second, to take back the lead. Jim Sullivan followed another solid shot from Pearlman at the point and buried a nice wrist shot for the 2-1 lead. Not long after that Zombie momentum took over. Jeff Fosdick swept up the puck in the neutral zone after iJosh shuttled it back from the faceoff. Jeff wound his way up and into the zone then passed to Kevin Parker on the wide left. Parker took the puck low behind the net for some abuse (I think he likes it...) and none of the D turned to cover Jeff who had collapsed down into the slot. Kevin to Jeff, into the net and a 3-1 lead for Team Zombie. That goal came at 13:46 in the second.

Once again the Zebras turned to the whistle and George went for his third and the eject button at 11:30. That's right, gone for the night 5 minutes into the second. The Red was solid once again and with Lizzy kept the runners at bay. Campbell would go, again full participation from both guys, their guy heads to the box after the whistle, yet only Mike gets the minutes. This was followed by some hearty (and misplaced) jawing that didn't win us any favors.

The third period would open (still 3-1) and see Parker go off for goalie interference... again more jawing... but again there would be good work on the PK. Matt Elliott had filled in for George and skated with Jeff the rest of the night while Billy skated with Mike and the forwards broke out the Sharfman Abacus. Good work by Elliott filling in, and good work keeping things straight up front.

The Runners would climb back in it after Jeff failed to clear from behind Lizzy then the puck would bounce back out front to an open man who would send it home, and pull them within one goal at 8:44 remaining in the game.

The rest of the third was exiting, and there were plenty of chances going both ways. The Runners pulled their keeper with about a minute left but the Red jumped right on it and took it to their end. Ken Goldenberg, who was around the net all night would deflect another Pearlman blast and score the empty netter that would ice the game 4-2.

There were more jabberjawfests with the round zebra which ended with him screaming profanity at our bench... this is just not good in any way for us. Pearlman would go with 21 seconds left things just fell apart. As wrong as the calls were... and they were suspect, all of the icing/offsides crap... there is just nothing we can do about it. One thing is for certain, aside from this guy sucking, and hating us, is that we are gar-un- teeed to see him again... many many times. We can't keep fueling his stupid hate or we will continue to not get a fair shake. The point is NO ONE in a Zombie shirt will get a fair shake, and that just sucks. In the future (the blogger knows this applys to him also) we just HAVE TO KEEP OUR MOUTHS SHUT. We know he's a stooge, but he's probably going to be the stooge reffing the Championship Game next Monday night...

Game Stars

3rd Star: Matt Elliot. Not on the score sheet, but Matty did a great job filling in on D when asked for better than half the game. A true team player stepping up when needed. Thanks.

2nd Star: Kevin Parker. A Sharfmanlike performance (again). A pair of helpers and a truckload of hard work all night long. Positively Masochistic behing the net. Solid.

1st Star: Pearlman. Billy scored the first one with a sweet shot, fed the second one to Sully, and the fourth to Kenny. A good night all the way around for Bill. Nice work.

Honorable Mention 1: Lizzy. Another solid performance from our gal in the pipes. Neither goal could be pinned on her as they came from turnovers and extended action in our own end. Check this out. Liz is 3-0 in the playoffs with a 2.33 GAA so far. Great work.

Honorable Mention 2: Jeff Fosdick for what would be the game winner (bug ups to Parker). Blogger beams with pride.

Overheard in the Parking Lot: "The Teaser. The Pleaser. The Vulcan, the Shocker, and... The Pearlman!!" The last one with Lizzy making a fist and holding up her forearm... sweet.

So. It is on.

Monday September 15th

Dedham 9:00pm

Cadavers (3-0) vs Tigers (3-0)

Stanley Cup Division Championship!

Zombies survive the Shock!

Cadavers (P2) vs Shock

Monday August 25

Canton 9:30pm

5-4 Win

Big playoff showdown at home rink Canton against the Shock last night. This is a team we have had some success against so spirits were high going into the game in the pregame lockerroom. There was lively banter and some colorful comments by Lizzy which showed she was ready to go and get playoff win number two for the Dead in Red. The Red were joined by Captain George, filling in for Capt Campbell, and Mike Jasse filling in for Matt Elliott. So there was a full 13 in the Zombie sweaters ready to take on the Shock. Here are the breakdowns.

D Pairs Capt.George and Pearlman, and Valenti and Jeff.

Offense: Jim Sullivan centered Parker and Jasse. Roman centered the Dux Duo Capraro and Reynolds. then iJosh centered Ken and Scott.

Lizzy in the Pipes. Mom & Dad in the stands.

The Shock had some niffty unis sporting a white galaxy (lighting?) on the front of an old Buffalo Sabers jersey, Blue with the small gold stripes. They didn’t have as many players as the Red but seemed to have some decent talent and honestly they came out buzzing.

The Shock proceeded to take the game right to the overconfident skating dead and had some chances early. The Red went on the attack but Jeff made a bad play at the offensive blue line and the Shock took the rush all the way down. In the fast scramble of players getting back the Shock skater moved around the net and buried a wraparound that put the Galaxybolts up 1-0 just 1 minute into the game. The Cadavers were still very confident but not happy to be behind.

The Zombies were able to move the puck a little and got some good action right away in the Shock zone but nothing broke. Instead on another bad pass from Jeff, this time a turnover in our own end results in another close Shock shot that beats Lizzy and the Red were bumming. Now down 2-0 the Zombies went to work.
All three forward lines were able to create pressure, and to play in the Blue end over the next few minutes. Clearly the red had more skaters on the ice and the bench and should be fine, but the scoreboard said otherwise. Shots came in groups but nothing fell until Marc Valenti made a pass to Jeff Fosdick in the neutral zone. Intent on redemption for his first to shifts (-2) Jeff tapped the puck forward through the clogged neutral zone. The Shock D got crossed up as Jeff’s momentum carried him through them and into the zone. He continued to barrel right down in front and slammed a 5-hole shot home to get the Zombies on the board at 8:45. Back to -1 for Jeff.

Only one minute later the first line offense would join the fray. Hard working Kevin Parker kept the play going down low, then fed Sully who fed a wide open Jasse who popped it home for the game tying tally. Things were getting a bit better on the Zombie bench as the momentum had clearly shifted into our favor.

Before the period was out Sully would capitalize on a Valenti rebound and bury the go-ahead goal with 1:22 remaining. Still we would go to the second after a very close played first period 3-2.

The second period would be a grinder as it usually is. The Cadavers continued to get decent pressure but the Shock were playing for their chances and took them from time to time when the opportunities were there. They had several 2-1 situations that Lizzy came up big on with some key stops. The Red were still confident but the one goal lead remained only 1 for better than 10 minutes. Then at 6:45 remaining the Shock got another odd man rush that Lizzy made the save on. This time the rebound rattled around and in the scramble the Red couldn’t clear. A turnover and the Shock buried the 3^rd chance and tied the game. We were back to serious faces on the Red bench and clearly in a game.

The Zebras were going with the playoff theme and kept the whistles in their pockets the entire night with only one exception. The Shock took a penalty in the 3^rd for the only call, in a game that did have pleanty of “give and take”.
The forwards were feelign it for sure as they worked the low part of the zone. Sullivan and the boys would come through to break the tie again with less than 30 seconds in the period when Sully put home another one from Jasse and Parker. Still into the third we went 4-3 and a closer game than we had bargained for.

The Red didn’t get much going on the power play but continued with good effort up and down the lineup. Mad Russian Roman Kurin would then make a rush and working a pass from Pete landed a nifty shot for a 5-3 lead with 8:47 remaining in the game. The Red felt better again, but knew they weren’t out of the woods. The chances would still come for both sides despite the Zombies deliberately trying to kill the game clock shuttling it down the ice every chance they had.

Still the Shock, who deserve a ton of credit for their effort all night, wouldn't go quietly. With 12 seconds in the game, after chasing around in our own end the Shock tallied another goal to pull within one. There were some tense moments, but despite the guys in Blue taking the extra attacker the Red killed the final seconds and went away with a nice playoff win.

So the Cads move to 2-0 in the summer playoffs with a critical game in 2 weeks against the Double Runners. The Cads can, with a win, get into the Championship game for the second season in a row. But, before the Blogger gets ahead of himself....

Game Stars

3rd Star: Marc Valenti, and George Moorachian. These guys were solid on D all night. It was nice to have George's legs in the game. Valenti had a pair of assists while George's hard work went unnoticed again by the zebras. Good job both of you.

2nd Star: Kevin Parker (2 assists) and Mike Jasse (goal and an assist) These guys were buzzing around the zone and the Shot net all night long. Parker has a motor that won't quit and Jasse had a nice goal to tie the game in the early going when things looked sketchy. A good night all around, thanks boys.

1st Star: Jim Sullivan. 2 goals, both that broke a tie to put the Red back in front. Sully had another typical great game for him and even threw in an assist to round out the e point night. Great work with the offense Jim, you are always an asset. Must have been inspired... his wife and family were in the house... but the rumor has it that she didn't see the goals...doh!

Honorable Mention1: Roman for his niffty goal... scored while Jeff was still yelling at him for a soft play in the neutral zone. Good work all night by the Radical Russian. Sounds like his other team has been doing well, so he is clearly looking to finish strong.

Honorable Mention2: Billy for the Patented Pearlman Power Slide. Bill came across the zone late in the game and flopped on the ice smothering a Blue opportunity, and tying the puck up in the corner.

Honorable Mention3: Jeff Fosdick for the rumblin bumblin momentum turning first goal...even though I still think he ended up -1 for the night...

Overheard in the Parking Lot: "I dont get what this means" says Roman, reffering to the "shocker" hand signal (all fingers but the ring extended). "I don't know why don't you ask your Mom..." replies Dr. Pounds.

Zombies thump 'Suckas! Playoff Opener.

Cadavers(P1) vs Windsuckers
Tuesday August 19
Canton 10:40pm

5-1 Win.


The Dead in Red took to the ice Tuesday late–night in Canton to open the Summer Playoffs. A result of some late night traffic on 128/95, there were some late arrivals, but in all Team Zombie ended up with 12 guys, a nice group that included subs Nelson, and Larry from the ‘cans. The Red faced off against the Windsuckers whom have played us tight a bunch of times.
The roster broke down like this.
In front of Lizzy the D pairings of Mike Campbell: Jeff Fosdick, and Billy Pearlman: Marc Valenti worked. The offense was a morass of changing wing pairings and 2 centers. The aforementioned Mrss Sharfman and Bell, joined by Roman Kurin, Matt Elliott, Kevin Parker, Scott Pounds, Jim Sullivan and iJosh. A good crew for sure.

The Cadavers hit the ground running and clearly were intent on playing a good game. The ‘suckas had some players and certainly had 2 lines and a goaltender that looked like a young kid wearing a Thayer Academy practice jersey. This led to some early spectulation that turned out irrelevent once the game got on.
Regardless of out manning and taking the game right to the ‘suckas and their keeper, the game remained scorless for nearly the entirety of the first period. But I’m here to tell you, friend reader of the blog, there were passes, in succession, there were set up shots and plays, in short, we looked like we knew what we were doing, and did it in good up tempo, short shiftin fashion.

As the end of the first loomed near, Lizzy had a good handfull of stops, and the Red had was racking up the shot totals against the keeper who so far had all the answers. The Cads took a penalty, Valenti on a iffy call and were forced to kill it. The PK was tense but effective and the Red did a nice job breaking up the ‘suckas and thwarting anything they got going. It was a nice momentum builder to make the kill with the game 0-0 late in the frist. Things were about to break.
On a play in the ‘suckas end Jeff Fosdick gloved down a clear from a ‘sucka and plopped it infront of himself on the blue line. He followed with a big shot that found its way to the keeper and hard working, always in position Nelson Sharfman jumped on the rebound and put the Zombies up 1 with one minute remaining in the first.

The second period was only a continuation on the good news in the first. Once the ice was broken the Red kept after it continuing to get good pressure. Jim Sullivan took a puck from the neutral zone (near our blue) and threaded his way up the ice. Leaving a trail of turned defensemen Jim swept across the crease and beat the keeper with a nice shot that made it 2-0 at 14:24 in the second.
Lizzy would make another handful of stops in this period staying right on top of everything. The blogger learned after the game that our Liz was nursing a badly bruised forearm and was toughing it out just playing with the injury. She played like a trooper jumping on anything the ‘suckas got going. She would take the shutout into the third, but not until Sully would strike again. He would bury a close chance this time courtesy of D combo Pearlman and Valenti. 3-0 end of 2.

The Zombies kept riding the wave and it wasn’t long before the SW would check in with a rebound goal of his own. Larry would score, from hard cycling iJosh and Matt Elliot at 12:36.
Then there came the only blip on the night for the Dead in Red when Marc, Larry, Marc again, Bill, Marc then Bill again combined on a sliding fumbling bouncing play that went right down the center of the Zombie zone and right into the net past Lizzy who was probably hypnotized by the bouncing weaving puck as it made its way toward her. Anyway we blew the chance at the playoff shutout for our gal Liz and the game was 4-1. This was only a minor setback as the Red promptly went back to taking the game to the Windsuckers.
Veteran Giant Nelson would bang the capper home on (what else) a tremendous effort keeping the puck in the zone and moving, shooting, scoring unassisted with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. That was how this one would go to the locker room. A nice 5-1 playoff thumping, with great effort and play by everyone on the ice for the Red. Great way to get going in the playoffs.

Game Stars
3rd Star: Jim Sullivan, a nice pair of goals to get the playoffs going. The near end to end through traffic was truly a beauty. Nice work Sully.
2nd Star: Lizzy. Playing with a bandaged forearm she turns out a nice effort holding the ‘suckas to only 1 (that was really on us) and being on top of the play all night. True teammate, nice effort playing through it. Keep up the great work.

1st Star: I’m going to have to start coming up with some other kind of superlatives to describe what our friend Nelson churns out for us night after night. Caught in a schedule conflict for the Suds game later in the week Nelson opted to come skate with the Red, who were down a pair of regulars. All he does is grind up the ice all night forcing the play and scoring “oh by the way” two great goals along the way. That’s why he is THE MAN. Maybe that’s what I’ll refert to him as from now on...


The only thing that didn't go perfectly was... no fourth period beer. Yep. Managment apologizes to the guy that hung out for a few minutes... but there were no frosty beverages to be had. We'll do better next time.

Zombies ground into Cat Chow

Cadavers (14) vs Tigers
Tuesday August 5th
7:10pm



7-1 Loss.



Antoher good skate against El Tigre, but not such a favorable result. Another tough outcome against a tough division rival again at Canton. Another, “looks good on the schedule, but isn’t so easy to get to” Seven O’clock game. This one was a bit thinnly staffed, but saw a hearty group of Goaltenders and skaters show up to don the Zombie Red. 6 skaters and 4 goalies made for a interesting lineup from the start.

Lizzy played net in front of another D trio, This time Greg James, Jeff Fosdick, and Kevin Manning (who brought his family) took the troika duties. The two forward lines shook out like this, Sometimes Goalie Jim Sullivan centered sometimes goalie Matt Kirloy and Frequent Goalie Brian Carey. That’s a lot of keepers on the ice. The second line was Matvey centering Dr. Pounds and Dan Gregson.

The Red started out pretty well and things looked to be shaping up into a classic tight game with the Tigers, who played with an even 10. They also looked to have their usuall talent on ice, especially Number 8, and another 8 who was no slouch either. It wont surprise you, reader of the blog, if you’ve played against these guys lately that he (the 8) once again figured heavily in the scoring for the game.
The Red covered some decent ground in the early going and even generated a few chances. Lizzy was staunch turning away a nice handfull of early shots from the cats and things continued to look good with some hard work from the “good guys”.
Brian Carey playing left wing was a revelation. Dude played great, took some nice shots and was all over the ice trying to make something happen. Not a speed demon by any stretch, but we don’t have any of those on our roster, but good with his hands and terrific hockey sense. Something tells me we will be seeing him skate out again.
The game was scoreless until the Tigers finally broke through with a nice goal at 5:05 in the first. Not much Liz could do as the Tigers had made a bunch of nice passes around our zone to find a man alone in front who buried it.
The Red would keep it up and the game would continue for almost another whole period, well into the second as a 1-0 affair. The Tiger keeper wasn’t tested often for sure, but Lizzy was holding her ground well, and the Red was doing a nice job containing the Tigers chances and getting the occasional shot.
El Tigre would score again at 9:21 of the second period, when old friend number 8 made some niffty moves in the low post and landed a nice bid. The Cats up 2-0.
The Red wasn’t Dead just yet though, and there certainly was some Zombie Pride as the Red geared up and started to take the game a bit more to them. The Matvey line did some nice work in the offensive zone that paid off. After keeping it in the zone Jeff Fosdick shot on net and Matvey was right there in front to collect the rebound and jam it home to put the Dead on the scoreboard and back in the game. 2-1 Tigers.
Unfortunately the Red couldn’t hold onto the momentary shift of momentum, and the Cats went back up by 2 when they scored with 4:20 remaining. This one came after they cycled the zone for what seemed like a long time and 55 buried a hard shot from about 10 feet…fed by number 8… That was how the second ended 3-1 badguys but the Zombies feeling that they were very much still in the game.
Can you feel the other shoe? Hovering in the air? Ready to drop, perhaps? Its there friend reader, it isn’t your imagination. That shoe did indeed come down… hard on our friends the struggling corpses and with it went the hopes of the Zombies.
Less than a minute into the third the cats ate again from our plates.They kept the puck in our end and popped one home at 16:25. Then again at 15:10 our friend Number 8 capped another impressive drive. The Cats were off and running, smelling the blood in the water as it were, and kept after the sluggish Zombies the rest of the game. 8 would score again to complete the hat trick (again) at 11:40, and not to be considered slackers they put in a Seventh goal with a minute twenty two remaining. Safe to say the third was all theirs... all four goals worth. Matvey had an excellent summary of what happened in the third from the parking lot.


"We got tired and stopped skating." Too true my man.
The Red barely got a sniff as the last frame expired and the Zombies sulked back to the locker room. Aside from the disasterous third the game had been hard fought and a fun skate.

I know what you are thinking so let me say this right off the bat... Lizzy did struggle in the last period, but she certainly didn't get a lick of help from anyone wearing a red jersey. The three goals they scored in the first 6 minutes or so of the period all came after multiple chances and what seemed like endless play in our own end. Lots of chasing... not much catching.


Sigh. Lets see if we can do better in the playoffs against these Cats... otherwise the 'Coon might be having some freshly processed Zombie Cat-Chow for supper...

No Game Stars.
Only 1 penalty, Greg James in the third for interference.




Some fourth period notes for you. Dr. Pounds once again provided the cold domestic beverages much to everyone's delight.



Major props go out to The Manning Familly and particullarly Melissa (Kevin's wife) for bringing the kids to the game. It was nice to have a few fans and little Emily Manning could be heard all night. Big props for 6 week old Thomas for making the game as well. Thanks guys!

Cadavers Deaden the Shock

Cadavers (13) vs Shock
Monday August 4th
Dedham 9:10pm

3-1 Win.



Ug... the Blogger is way behind. So far behind he didn't even show up for the game last night. That said, lets not waste any more time and get right to the GuestBlogger of the day (and most of the time) iJosh.
Here's iJosh:

"Another game chalked in the should not have been this close category.
This game would be played hard and mostly well. However there was little to show for most of the effort. The pre-game summary as usual is:
Cadavers started the game with 10, no wait Nelson just showed, 11 players. That would leave the lines as follows: Mike Campbell, Mark Valenti, George and Dan with Hands would anchor the defense. Forwards were: Larry centering Parker and Capraro. iJosh would center Dr. Pounds and Mark Reynolds. Nelson was the floater. The Shock had a little trouble fielding a team. They would start with a temp goalie until theirs could get on the ice. They would start with 7 skaters and eventually finish with 8.
The first period was uneventful. There was a goalie line change in the middle of the period and a few rushes by either team. But nothing would get by. Mr. Campbell would add to his team leading PIM total with a hook late in the first. The 1st would end with both teams scoreless.
Into the 2nd we go. Play was getting better for the Cads. Lots of passing. LOTS of shots. And overall aggressive play. Many times the Cadavers would do the necessary things to keep the puck deep in the zone or to steal the puck from the opponent to keep the puck in the zone.
About 3 minutes into the second, some of that aggressiveness would pay off. iJosh would reclaim the puck in the corner and send a pass off to Mark Reynolds. From Mark, the puck would find its way to the stick of Dr. Pounds. And Scott would not disappoint burying the puck for a 1-0 Cadavers lead. The Skating Dead would not be done. A tic-tac-toe play from Larry to Parker to Nelson would give the team a 2-0 advantage.
Just great passing. So late in the period the Zombies on Ice would strike again as another string of passes would land in the net. This time Parker from Nelson and Capraro. And though there would be no more scoring the Shock goalie was just peppered with shots.
The final frame would see more action from the Dead in Red. Shot after shot after shot. More good passing and generally good defense. Lizzie played well keeping the second chances at a minimum. One defensive lapse would get the Shock on the board. A breakdown would send 3 Shock away toward Lizzie who had no chance on the play as the puck was buried, stick side high. Larry, though on pretty good behavior, was called for a late interference near the bench. The call was made by.....yup you guessed it, our 4 eyed friend and Larry's new drinking buddy. Larry could be seen leaning out of the penalty box discussing the play and apologizing for the play to the ref. As the clock wound down, the Dead would essentially freeze the puck and prevent the Shock from pulling their goalie.
Final score 3-1 Cadavers.

Scoresheet:
1st Period
Penalty: Campbell, hooking
SOG: Cads 5, Shock 3.
2nd Period
Goal: Pounds from Reynolds and iJosh
Goal: Nelson from Parker and Larry
Goal: Parker from Nelson and Pete
SOG: Cads 12, Shock 3
3rd Period
Penalty: Larry, interference
SOG: Cads 8, Shock 3.
Game Notes:

* Yes the scorekeeper payed enough attention to track shots on goal. A grand total of 25 vs 9. I'd say that is a well controlled game by the Cads.
* Larry slipped two past the goalie as he announce he is having twins.
I guess he couldn't get the hat trick. Commence the congrats and teasing now.
Game Stars in no particular order:
Parker, Nelson, Lizzie."

Nice. Here is a late arriving commentary from GameStar Nelson Sharfman:
"I had a goal and an assist. The goal was on a beautiful cross ice feed from Larry. One of those on-the-tape slam-dunk can't-miss ones. And I didn't.

The assist was on a great effort goal by Kevin when he picked up some really messy slop I scooped over in his direction on the far post to finish a not really textbook three on one. Thanks Kevin.

It was a tight game despite the fact that they only had eight skaters. Well into the second period they were back checking with ferocity and beating us in one-on-one grinding battles. Their goalie was very strong and stoned both myself and Larry on separate one on no one breakaways. He also stuffed a number of my rebound attempts, many will real mustard behind them.

A good game, and since we won it was even better."

Great work iJosh, Nelson and Cadavers. Keep up the momentum as the playoffs are closing in.
Lets see how our friends in Red fare tonight against the Tigers.

Don't forget, 7:00pm start time.

Zombies bag Cats! Beat rival Tigers.

Cadavers (11) vs Tigers
Monday July 28
Canton 9:30pm

4-3 win

Another classic matchup between the Cads and El Tigre in Canton last night. Another tough scheduling situation, in a summer that has been full of them it seems, as both teams saw action, the Dead in Red in Canton, and the ‘Cans in the Q. That left both squads somewhat short of players. The Dead had 10 on the roster but skated with 9 for the night (apparently Blake was busy practicing looking down on people that don’t live in Dover, now that he is a new resident), and the ‘Cans were going to war with the Mad Russian Sitniks with just 9 on the roster to start with. The blogger even entertained the idea of leaving the first game (if we had 10) and zipping over to the Q for the nightcap against Roman’s Red Raiders. Pearlman termed this the Phil Collins doubleheader… the only time my Escort has ever been compared to the Concord. Funny. That wasn’t an option due to the shortage… of players and my breath… I was lucky just to survive the Cads game.
So anyway lets get down to what happened against the Kittys in the first game. The roster broke down like this.
The D corps in front of Badass Brian Carey was abley manned by the power trio of Campbell, Capt.George, and Marc “flying V” Valenti.
That left a pair of forward lines. “The 2 up 1 back” Line of Larry, Nelson and Billy (who spent a lot of time drifing back deep in our own end due to his comfort zone … usually D). The second group was “The little engine that almost could” Line of Jeff F, Matt, and Dr. Pounds, who played a decent (but wheezing) “checking” role.
El Tigre was well accounted for with most of their regulars and I think 11 or 12 skaters. We have played these guys a bunch of times and the games usually end up in a tie or a one goal affair one way or the other. Last night didn’t dissapoint as the teams played a very tight game.
The Red started fast, which was good for them as the legs wouldn’t last the whole game. Less than a minute into the first shift Cagey Vet (and he of the gaudy PPG sats) Nelson Sharfman buried a shot from SW Larry that seemed to catch the Kitty D and keeper by surprise. Good news for sure for the Cads.
The Red was able to capitalize on the Tiger’s slow start and got several good chances in the early going from there. Then with 12 minutes on the clock Big Billy Pearlman launched a nice slapper (unassisted) that blew by the keep up high and gave the Red a nice 2 goal lead.
The Zebras were a pair that I haven’t seen before, at least not recently and they let lots go as the two teams played a pretty tight, well contested style. Regardless Campbell would push the boundaries (as he does so well) and was whistled off at 10:32 for a slash.
The Tigers were starting to get their feet under them, and the chances were coming now for them much more frequently. The Red killed it but the Tigers would break through at the 6 minute mark as number 8 wristed one by Brian to bring them within a goal. Number 8 was slippery all night… and would prove to need watching… closely. End of the first 2-1 good guys.
The second again saw the momentum continue in the big Cat’s favor. Brian would hang tough, as he usually does, and turned aside everything they would throw at him. Several times making nice stops on solid chances as the Dead in Red perceptably slowed and lost most of the early momentum. But Billy Pearlman would bring them back to life with his second goal on the night, this on a pass from Nelson that restored the 2 goal advantage. Valenti would be called for a matching rough as he and number 18 got into a tussle on the offfensive blue line. Thankfully that would be the end of the penalties. End of the second 3-1 Cads.
The discussion (through gasps) before the third was an impassioned plea to keep up the hard work and not give these guys an inch. El Tigre has a long history of 3rd period comebacks, and everyone on the Zombie bench was well aware of it.
With that fresh in their minds the Red started the third looking to close the deal. Instead the Tigers won the draw and advanced into the zone then old friend Number 8 buried a shot through traffic before a full minute had come off the clock and it was a one goal game again. Sigh.
But let me tell you now, reader of the blog, there was no lack of determination on the red bench, and despite everyone’s fatigue, there were clear examples of Zombie Pride on display as the two teams went down the streach. It was clear that the Red was desperate to clear at every opportunity, and were hanging onto the lead by the most tenuous of grips. The Cats knew it, and really turned it on, gaining buckloads of chances in bursts.
Big props again to Brian, and the D trio for hanging tough through the middle part of this period, as the forwards chased the cats as best they could.

Then it happened. Mike Campbell, making a nice play to keep it in the Cat’s zone launched a nice slapper that made it to the promised land and restored the 2 goal lead at 12:45 remaining. The Cats weren’t done by far, and (wait for it….) Number 8 scored again to complete the natural hat trick on a niffty end to end rush with a deadly wrister finish. I’ll tell you now the Blogger was very concerned that a one goal buffer just might not be enough for the remaining 9 minutes of play… especially with 8 on the ice.
Zombie pride would prevail as the Red hung tough, shift after shift until the final minutes. With 1_30 left Larry and George combined to keep it in the cat’s zone and forced a hand pass that held up the Cats. They couldn’t pull their keeper until 40 seconds, or less remaining. Billy Pearlman made a brilliant sliding stop on a slapper from the point in our own end and the Red ground out the remaining seconds and preserved a very hard fought, exhausting 4-3 win.
Major props to everyone on the Red roster last night… but lets get to

Game Stars
3rd Star: The D trio (George, Mike, & Marc) and Goalie Brian tight play despite the time the Cats spent in our end. Nice work by all.
2nd Star: Nelson Sharfman. He just gets it done. It ain't always pretty but the result it nice.
1st Star: Billy Pearlman. Two goals from the big defenseman playing left wing. Great work Bill, carefull, you keep scoring like that and we'll make you play forward more often.

Zombie Pride... Iced by the Freeze

Cadavers (10) vs Deep Freeze
Sunday July 20
Dedham 10:30pm

5-1 loss.


Ahh Summer. Cookouts, swimming in the ocean, barbeques, pools, beer, wine, grilled fish, backyard get togethers, burgers and dogs, cold beers after mowing the lawn, the sundrenched beaches with kids and coolers, and yes.. at 10:30pm in Dedham last night, Cadavers hockey. Despite the fact that our roster tried to do all of those fun summer things…. in the afternoon preceeding our game last night, the Skating dead turned in a lively performance against our division rival the Deep Freeze. The blogger has at least 3 things on that list for starters. Hell… I did 2 of them on the way to the game.
The point is that the Dead in Red showed up last night, we weren’t terribly successful but after all that a summer Sunday has to offer, and considering how old we all are there was an acceptable level of Zombie pride from everyone in a Cads uni last night. Unfortunately our new division rival showed up in legion.
The Freeze has developed into a nice club without really many or any breakthrough players, they have two things that are like Kryptonite to the Zombies; namely youth and legs. Nothing particuarly fancy about what they did, but they certainly had enough to put it over on our suntanned, beer soaked hydes. No excuses here, they outworked us, played smart and passed well. The five that they got were all well gained and usually came at the end of solid plays that had clearly beaten a broken down defense.
All this being said there was plenty of Zombie pride on display throughout the game. The towel was not tossed at any time, this best exemplified by Dan Gregson’s break through goal just before time expired in the game to break the Freeze shutout.
Lizzy hung in there all night, making a number of very good saves, many in sequence, and most importantly kept her head in the game from start to finish. It doesn’t look like it from the final score but Lizzy turned in an excellent, gritty performance, giving us plenty of chances to stay in the game, that really felt much closer than the score sheet showed.
It felt like a tight nine, a brotherhood that showed for this one. The blogger felt a sense of that when he pulled in to see Campbell and Jasse reading notes in the parking lot pregame. Lets face it… this game could very easily be very poorly attended. As Kirloy said in the parking lot “everyone here probably had a better offer at home” tonight. Despite that the teammates were there to represent. The blogger offers props to all of you who played last night.
The forwards broke down like this. Matt Elliot centered Mark Reynolds, and Dan Gregson, and the Physicians line of Jasse centering Drs Pounds and Kilroy. The D was manned by Campell, Jeff and Marc Valenti. and Lizzy backstopped.
The game was scoreless for a long time as the two squads felt each other out. The Freeze finally broke the deadlock with a nice pass and shot combo late in the first (certainly after midway through). The Red kept up the pace and tried to launch some type of offense.
The second went for some time as a one goal gap then the Freeze got a break on a high wobbler that found its way in to the top of the net. It wasn’t too long after that, that they would strike again to go up 3-0. But again the Red would hold them off for the rest of the period but would continue to struggle to get shots.
It weren’t for lack of trying for sure. Elliott did a great job with faceoffs all night winning more than his share. He and Gregson had a couple nice settups in the attacking zone off the drop that got good chances. Jasse played very well as a centerman also doing good work with his linemates Kilroy and Pounds. Kilroy had great effort all night (for a nine fingered dude..) even filled in a shift or two for Campbell on D (Mike had the only 2 penalties of the game for us). On one shift knocking himself silly into the boards after just missing a hit.
Valenti, Campbell and Jeff did pretty solid work…excepting those 5 goals… and had some good shifts for a weary trio. Campbell nominated Jeff for a mention for his play in the last 4 minutes. Jeff had a pair of good chances, a clean break and shot that bounced off the keep, and another carreening rush into the zone that didn’t look pretty, or result in a quality chance, but left 3 or 4 guys in his wake.
Campbell had a few words with their better center #8 and that sounded like a very colorful discussion of each other’s sexual preference… or something. Good work by the D guys, despite a tought night on the scoreboard. Lots of effort. Well that’s about it from here. Tough way to start the week…hungover on the train… feeling very old.

No Game Stars.

Honorable mentions to Lizzy, Elliot and Jasse, the the D trio.

Zombiecans Short the Shock

Cadavers (9) vs The Shock
Monday July 14th
Dedham 9:00pm

9-2 Win.


Moday night’s late game of the double header saw the Skating Dead playing as the Golden Schlitz against the Shock for the first time in Dedham. Optimism was high going in against the Shock as it looked like they’d been struggling. The Cads had a solid lineup, and despite a few lost players, before and durning the game made a great showing on the night.
It was the story of the players… not so much the game for this one, as the game didn’t turn out to be much of one.
Things really didn’t get off to a great start when Campbell spied the refs walking in. It seems our old friend the (Butterball) Zebra from last week that Larry had so many nice things to chat about with… resulting in a “suspension” for Lawrence… was indeed working the game. So the decision was made to switch to the yellow shirts in order to throw off the Zeebs. While management denys the knowledge of any such events… or the fact that Larry was playing in Dedham to avoid said zebra... the blogger thinks this was an excellent decision. So off they went as the BeercansreallytheCads.
Of course the Zebra has seen us a million times, so he actually picks up on the switch and asks the bench if they are the Cadavers, and then remembers Larry. I mean really… could you forget Larry? So he recalls that Larry shouldn’t be skating and wants to call us on it, but is being low key about the whole thing and offers a deal.
Butterball says “I think you guys are the Cadavers, and he shouldn’t be playing. I’ll give you the choice, he goes right now, and the game goes on, or I go check the sheet and you guys lose this game by forfiet and he gets double the supension.”
The Blogger paraphrases and wants to credit Campbell for the post game phone call for the story and the info… I’m writing this 24 hours after the phone call so correct me if I’ve messed the whole thing up....
SO… the decision is made that Larry will go, as the Schlitz…really the Cads were already up by a couple goals in the first period. So really it worked out fine and ‘ol Butterball was nice enough to let us keep playing the game that really wasn’t much of one. But the GoldCads were down a player, and after Kilroy and James were no shows, the numbers were dwindelilng. Things got worse when Kevin Parker left in the 3rd period (sick?) taking the number down to 7 men. Good thing the matchup was favorable. Lizzy backstopped a solid game and only let in 2 in the early going, other wise it was smooth sailing.
Marc Valenti was first to check in with his ‘short and sweet” recap and stats.
"All I can say is that it was a blowout.
We had plenty of space to play and we even scored shorthanded on the penalty.
I’d say we played 80% of the game in their zone."

Roman then chimed in with a few good things to say about how it went.
“There was all kinds of space out there …I don't remember a game where we had so many odd men rushes and breakaways and that considering how shorthanded we were… Of note I think Nelson had 7 points this game even thought the scoresheet says 5, I am inclined to believe him as he was all over the place. This has to be some sort of a record. Hammit made a mandatory trip to the penalty box.

Fourth period was a good affair with a bunch of people sticking around, even Larry was there. Like a good teammate he decided to stay for the fourth period. (or he decided to wait for the ref in the parking lot, we had to restrain him from going after him... I kid :)
I brought beer (believe it!) and as usual, Campbell with Bud light "

Sweet. Thanks guys… good work out there. But the Blogger senses more to the story here. What about Kirloy and James? Not that it mattered, but what happened to those two anyway?
I give you this email from Tuesday at 2:24PM:

“Mike's working away in his office. Phone rings.

Mike: Hello, Mike Campbell.
Greg: Hey, Mike. It's Greg. How are ya?
Mike: Where were you last night?
Greg: I wasn't scheduled last night. I'm playing tonight.
Mike: No you're not, dumbass - the game was LAST night.
Greg: No, YOUR game was last night.
Mike: So was YOURS. Where's your game "tonight"?
Greg: Dedham.
Mike: What time?
Greg: Nine.
Mike: You're a dumbass.
Greg: Shit. We played last night.
Mike: No, I played last night. And we only had three D. And YOU were
being a dumbass somewhere else.
Greg: Doh!

The above happened about ten minutes ago.

~ Mike”

A few minutes later this statement is issued by the James Camp.:

“I am absolutely distraught over the fact that I missed the game last night. It was in my outlook calendar as tonight (Tuesday). I actually called Campbell to talk about the game tonight and the ass we were going to kick until he interrupted me and informed me that the game actually took place last night. I instantly sunk into a deep depression. I even
bought a 36 pack of Coors Light at Costco last night in anticipation of tonights game... I will have to drink it all myself now to drown my sorrows (that actually doesn't sound too bad).

Anyway, sorry to all of you for leaving you short (I understand that
Larry also contributed to a short line as well). I will try to not let
this happen again.

Greg”

He he he. Ok. So lets get to Kilroy next…. you remember him right? The guy who just had: CEO "Big Daddy" BMF SCHLIDAVEUR INTERNATIONAL stenciled on his office door last week. You know the week he missed the game when he forgot to pick up his skates at the shop before they closed for the night? That guy.
Well this week Matt tells me he is all set to go. Skates are sharpened, and in his bag, and in the truck ready to go. He does his Kilroy thing winding down the work day before the game, and everything is cool.
He gets in the truck right on time heads out on the pike west to 128…. and pulls off of the Westboro exit on his way home 45 minutes later. His autopilot drove him home instead of to the game.
Swearing a blue streak he turns around and heads back to 128 where they are doing construction … Doh. By the time it was 9:30 he was still in traffic and he turned the truck around… a defeated… and angry man. I believe the phrase he used was “ I was so mad at myself that I felt like…The Hulk!” I’m feeling you dude… I’m feeling you.


Anyway. I had to share those stories as I though you, kind reader of the blog would appreciate them. Thanks to everyone for sharing.
And with that let us adjourn to...

Game Stars
3rd Star: Marc Valenti. Grabs the score sheet and a 4 point night with a goal and 3 helpers. Strong team play dude.
2nd Star: A brief guest blog and also a 4 point night (2 & 2) for Commrade Kurin. Nice work Roman, and thanks!
1st Star: Some kind of record indeed. The scoresheet shows 5 points (3g,2a) but according to everyone on the scene it was more like 7 points. The Cagey Veteran Nelson Sharfman was all over the place taking his indefatigueable play to all corners of the rink. Great work as always Nelson.



Another special feature this week will be the:
"Doh I missed the game, Coon of Shame"



Awarded this week to absent teammates Matt Kilroy and Greg James.

You two get to share our furry (and smelly) friend for the week. The Coon is just loving seeing the light of day lately, and is threatening to become a weekly feature... keep on your toes... and remember to have your "assistant" check the schedule and rosters.

Cads and Blues achieve gridlock!

Cadavers (7) vs. Blues

Tuesday July 1

Canton 7:10pm

3-3 tie.

Last night the Dead in Red took the ice against our old friends The Blues in a classic matchup that reminded the blogger of seasons past. This one had an interesting start given that a trash truck had spewed its considerable (and I imagine odorific) load all over the southbound lanes of Route 24 making getting to the game an excercise in frustration for just about everyone involved.
Thankfully, the Zombies showed, with nearly two full lines by 7pm and both teams were on the ice, with goaltenders when the rink clock struck 7:10. Goodguy and league best scorekeeper Larry Hudson ran the pregame 4 mins but held the game clock until a zebra appeared at about 20 past. Thanks again to him for not starting the clock and giving us a full game.

The blogger even had time to exchange pleasantries with some of the Blues, and had a brief chat with our old friend #35. We talked about being sure they gave us a full game, because both teams were on time, and he said " They have too... this is a classic... Blues vs. Cadavers!" Nice to see they feel the same way.

These guys have always played us tough, and last night was no exception, but the games are often quite good, requiring our best effort to get over on them, which really doesn't happen more than the other way around. This game was no exception.

The Red Roster looked like this. Valenti, Campbell, Moorachian, and Fosdick on D. Nelson, Roman, Scott, Matvey, Sully, Hammitt, and Gregson on Offense.

The Dead in Red started fast, which was good, and Jim Sullivan took the opening faceoff into the Blue zone. Not more than a chance or two later the puck was in the net courtesy of Sully and 15 seconds in the Zombies had a one goal lead. The goal was unassisted... but it was a beauty of a shot.

Only one shift later Roman Kurin would come out of nowhere and score again (unassisted), now the Cads had a 2-0 lead only 2 minutes into the game. The Blues were on their heels and the Zombies were taking advantage of thier eary struggles. Nearly the whole first period was played in their end and the Red kept piling up chances.

With 5:25 remaining in the first George sprung Nelson (via Sully) on a breakaway and Nelson closed the deal smartly for a 3-0 lead. Thats how the first would end and the Zombies were feeling good.

The good feeling would pretty much end there. The Zebras, tardy as they were, seemed to think the game needed some evening up. Nelson went for a trip in the first period, but the second would see plenty of the Red in the box. Campbell went for a check 3 minutes in. Then Matvey would go (on a bs call... should have at least matched) at 9:33... then Matvey would go again with 3 minutes left in the period, this time with a matching call for the Blues player but because the two of them knocked each other around a little after the whistle it was double minors matching. That meant Matvey was out of the game.... and none to happy about it either.
It was a good thing Mike Hammitt had kept on coming through the heaps of traffic and had joined the team as the 11th just before the end of the first. Now we were back to ten but things had changed significantly.

The Blues broke through at 7:31 of the Second with ta long shot that slipped through Brian. Less than a minute later they scored another, and the momentum had clearly shifted to their side. Now a 2-3 game and the Blues showing more and more life as the game went along. The Red consistantly had trouble breaking out of the zone and there were a pleathora of turnovers from D and forwards alike.

Into the third we went with the Zombies looking more corpse like as the game went on. The early momentum seemed a distant memory as the Blues continued to pour it on. They would score the game tying goal at 10:55 on a play that Brian had made the inital (probably second also) save but the rebound was put home by a Blue standing unhindered at the left post just off the crease. Tie game and the Red were not responding well.

Valenti went to the box next at 7:15 but again the Zombies had a strong kill, but still couldn't get anything going down the stretch. There were lots of chances both ways.

Jeff watched in horror as his guy (Kenny G) took a pass all alone in the slot but shot wide as Brian faced him down. Jeff would get some chances in the offensive end as the minutes melted away but had no more success than he did in his own end... meaning none.

Thats how this one would end, with the Red looking tired and just thankful to not blow the game completely. Still a tie after having what looked like a very comfortable 3-0 at the end of the first was a dissapointment. Campbell said it best in the locker room..."We played awesome in the first, we dominated. Then we sucked and played stupid in the last two." Hmm. Yup.

Sully added... "We looked tired in the second and third." Yeah that's right on the money too.

Too bad, but all in all a pretty good game against our old rival whom we are certain to be seeing again.

The Blogger is going to pass on Game Stars this time around.... given the size of the lead that was blown.

Honorable Mention's to Sully for good play and that first quick goal, and Nelson for his tirelessness and his goal.

Don't forget the game tonight in Quincy. Double check your roster status and.....

SCHLIDAVEUR #4 on Tuesday night July 8th Quincy 10:10pm.

This is going to be the Reversedaver... we will set out available D and O in seperate groups just as always but this time around the group designated as D will have to play Offense. The teams can decide who they want to fill the D positions with from the remaining players. Also Roman Kurin has volunteered to be guest GM so please confirm with Matt as soon as possible so we can get a definitive group of players for him to pick from.

Thanks for reading and good luck to the Schlitz tonight. Someone get the score sheet and email me in the morning... please.

Corpses run down by Runners...or Celtics Win!

Cadavers(5) vs Double Runners
Tuesday 6/17
Quincy 10:10pm

7-3 loss.


Man. The Celtics were awesome last night weren’t they? Yeah. I didn’t watch much of the game but Chris and I listened to some of it in the car on the way to the rink, then the Zebras and scorekeep were giving us updates as we played. “up by 23… up by 32…” that kind of thing.
After the hockey game we listened to Grandy and Max having fun with the celebration as the minutes wound down and the Lakers lay down like the Euro-Weenie weasels they are.

The hockey game sucked. Believe it or not, like just about everyone else in our division the freaking Double Runners have had a talent upgrade as well. Of course this would be ignoring the fact that we all have to come to grips with just how OLD and just how SUCKY we have become… or at least how we can play sometimes.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, but the Dead in Red just didn’t have it. It was really all about the Celtics. We certainly didn't bring any game. Did I mention that the fat glasses wearing zebra was giving us score updates as we went…? Oh yeah.

At the start of the game I skated with him across the ice after asking him the score and he told me all about the several beers and corned beef and cabbage he just shoveled down over at the bar for the last hour or so. Thanks. He was fine last night… there wasn’t much he could do to help/hurt us.
The other thing that happened right at the beginning that should have tipped me off to this not being a good night (for hockey) was when I stepped and then wandering like the slow kid in traffic walked right into Campbell who was trucking along with his usual substantial inertia.
POW!
I got knocked on my ass and… never really recovered. I’m still feeling that one this morning…again it wasn’t Mike’s fault, I was busy daydreaming about how much corned beef and cabbage and beer I could eat and drink before taking the ice…and what it would look like on the ice after I puked it up.
The Dead in Red was looking for its first win of the season and really we had a decent roster to throw out against the runners. D was manned by Campbell and Capt.George, and Valenti and Jeff. O consisted of Nelson, Chris, Pete, and Larry with Sully, Parker and Scott as well.
The Runners ran around us and scored about a minute and a half in. We dug in realizing we would need to really grind to get up on these guys. It held for a while but from right at the start they started getting good chances on Brian. Brian played admirably considering the number of odd man rushes, guys left in front, and deflected shots he saw. Big ups to him… he was alone most of the time.
The Red was able to answer with a goal from Veteran Leader Nelson Sharfman from Sully about 5 minutes after the goal against us. About five minutes later The Runners scored again and took a 2-1 lead into the second.
They scored 4 goals in the second (it felt like 20) that featured mostly the aforementioned odd man rushes and multiple, swarming chances on and from in front of Brian. Sully was able to grab a goal on a nice lifted wrister at some point in that period.

After they were up a few there was an interesting sequence in our end in which 42 in white slid into the slot and was met with a bump by Marc Valenti. Jeff turned to see 42 cross check Valenti across the zone and proceeded to assist. Larry had seen it too and gave a nice chuck from behind. 42 came up steaming and cranked Jeff in the grill while looking for Larry. That was good, it was the best play I had made since walking into that bus… err Campbell during warm-up. Still feel that one in the chops today too.
The guy went for a rough that old Corned beef and Cabbage called then earned another for mouthing off. It was one of our most productive shifts. I don’t think we got many chances on the power play.

I guess the Red did get some chances but not enough. They had picked up one of the Clinic goalies from the session that was on the ice before us. Seriously…a Clinic goalie. Sigh.
There were more penalties along the way, Valenti was called shortly after in the second and Campbell and Parker each went once in the third.
They scored one in the third and we matched with one from Parker via Nelson. There was not much hope at that point.

We were deader than the Lakers, deader than disco, drive-ins and the guys on our shirts. Deader than Hillary’s campaign, Jimmy Hoffa, King Tut under his pyramid, Blackbeard the pirate in Davey Jones locker, and all those freaking penguins on the melting ice shelf.
Dead. 0-4-1 dead.
De-Ceased.

Did I mention that the Celtics won? Yeah that's awesome. It was cool we listened to the radio as we had a few cold ones in the parking lot. Good times.

Thanks to Scott, Larry and Mike for the beer.


Overheard in the locker room:
Valenti: “We need to kill a chicken or something before the next game…:”
Nelson: “Rooster…”
We need something.