Suds Stunned by D-Minus: Crushing Loss

Schlitz (8) vs D-Minus (9)

Play-in game for Islanders Division Playoffs

Tuesday March 31st

Bavis Arena 10:20pm

3-1 Loss

Ooooooh boy. The blogger was glad to be safe home in bed when this debacle took place. Thankfully the guestbloggers have come forward, after a few days to put some perspective on things, and have given us something of a game story to try and figure out what happened. Major ups to iJosh for his usuall excellent work, and to Scott Pounds as well for his humorus contributions. Well, without further delay... lets start with iJosh:

With the season on the brink the Schlitz waltzed into Bavis Arena for a play-in show down with D Minus. The team had a good showing with a full squad of 13 in attendance. Everyone seemed confident that the job could get done and that the Suds could continue on into the next round of the playoffs on Thursday.

So the game would begin with the forwards of: AK, Dr. Pounds, Jasse, Steve Baker, Matt Elliott, Nelson, Matvey, Neil and Mike Daley.

The defensemen would be: Capt George, iJosh, Mark Reynolds and DWH.

Early on Schlitz would control the play. Nice passing, good movement and definitely good opportunities. But nothing to show for it. Defensively the team looked pretty good early as well. Then midway through the 1st the first mistake would cost Schlitz. In the defensive zone with the puck moving forward, a bad pass would be made and deflect to a D- player. The defense would scramble back, but it was too late. D- would make a pass and make a shot. Lizzy would make the initial save, but it would not be enough to prevent the goal. That would leave the team down 1-0. Somewhere in there Mr. Reynolds would get the first penalty of the game. That one would be killed. But the period would still end with Schlitz down 1-0.

The second period would see more good play without much to show for it. But the few mistakes made would be costly. D- would net another goal early on the power play as Neil Shah was called for a ticky-tack call that even the other ref admitted should have been let go. But the damage would be done and the Golden Suds would trail 2-0. Later in the 2nd, Steve Baker would get cross checked from behind by the goalie. After a few seconds, Steve would collect his thoughts and go after the goal keep. The bad news, Steve was headed to the box. The good news, so was someone else to serve for the goalie. Though the ref explained that he had the cross check before Steve retaliated. So that was a power play lost. We've all been there. No harm done. We suck on the power play anyway. So back to five on five hockey. More opportunities were had. A few tips that the Minus goalkeeper just kept finding a way to get his stick/glove/body in the way. So with 2 periods down, Schlitz would be 2 goals down 2-0.

Down only 2 goals and some good play (mixed with some fatal errors) it wasn't unreasonable to think that the Golden Suds could mount a comeback. Team continued to push the puck and take chances. But it wasn't until Steve Baker made a few nifty moves going around the net, squaring in front and making a nice shot did the Schlitz finally get on the board. This would leave us behind only 1 goal with about 7 minutes or so left to play. There were definitely chances. But again nothing to show for it. Then Capt George would push the puck forward leaving only iJosh on the blueline. After a shot sped out toward the high slot, iJosh opted to not chase the puck (seeing that he had no backup) and started to retreat. Matvey was on the chase as well, but as iJosh got to the defensive blue line, he tripped and left Lizzy all alone. The puck would hit her in the shoulder and flip over her and into the net giving the Minus a 3-1 lead. On the next shift, Reynolds would get called on another penalty and be admonished for shooting the puck up the boards while play was still going. No matter, the game would end without any more major action.

And thus ends the season for the Schlitz.

Unfortunately there would be no 4th period. It seems no one thought they could handle the biblical storm and decided to row on home.

==

Ug. Thanks for the story Josh... grim and depressing as it may be...

Lets see what the always ticklish Dr. Pounds had to add concerning this playoff performance.

Here's Scott:

Their goalie was a criminal. We wuz robbed!

He was on fire

and he stoned us.

Suds Vs Tigers in Milton

Schlitz (22) vs Tigers

Monday March 8th

Milton Academy 8:10pm

1-0 loss

Alright. Here we have a Guestblog courtesy of BrotherBlogger Chris Fosdick. Here's Chris' take on what went down Monday night:

"Good skate, tough loss: 1-0.
We had 3 D, Valenti, George, Mark R.

2 forward lines: Larry, Nelson, Chris & Steve, Scott, Matt.

We were taking it to them for the 1st and 2nd periods with no luck. Their goalie is pretty good, and we had some very frustratingly close chances, but to no avail. Near the end of the 2nd they made an adjustment and took their two best forwards and put them on D against the Larry line. This created more of a problem and made it a closer game. It was a fast game, lots of rushing up and down the ice. We started to loose our legs as the game wore on (me mostly).

Brian played really well keeping us in there, and shutting down one clean breakaway. Near the end of the game we rallied and were taking it to them again, led by great hustle from Larry and his line. However, with less (or about) 2 mins. to go they had a chance on Brian, and while everyone was covered, the puck trickled in after Brian had made the first save. (From the bench it looked as if the puck actually bounced off the back of Brian's pad or leg.)

The game closed out with us on the wrong end. It was a great hard skate though, and about as good as D-level hockey gets. -- Chris

Ok. Not the result we are looking for, but sounds like a good skate and a competitive night at the rink. Thanks Chris.

Now we have a few words from our own favorite cagey vet Nelson Sharfman:

"We lost 1-0.
I was gross. I failed to score on three separate golden opportunities, and had another handful of shots beyond that in which I failed to convert. The team played a strong game. Brian was epic in net. I was lame. When is the next game? -- Nelson"

Thanks Nelson. Better luck next time.

Stay tuned for details on Sunday night's Season ending Daveur!

Cads vs Lobsters: Ken we win?

Cadavers (21) vs Lobsters

Wednesday March 3rd

UMass Boston 8:00pm

4-1 Win

Alright alright. The returns look great on last nights game at the Prison by the Bay. The Blogger will hastily step aside for WunderGuestBlogger iJosh who has an excellent recap of the game action. Here's iJosh:

Morressey Boulevard, Boston - The Golden Suds would be in the building this evening to take on the one and only Boston Lobsters. The Lobsters have historically boiled us. Though in the recent past Schlidaveur Inc has been able to be a bit more competitive. So would tonight be more like the historical past or recent past? We'll find out after this short commercial break.

"Easton athletic support shorts for hockey. It has your cup built-in. It ain't no Dixie Cup and it ain't no coffee mug and you sure as hell don't want to be drinking out of it. But don't leave home without it. Right Mr. Valenti?"

Now back to the game.

With Schlitz primed and ready and fielding a full team they would set the lines as follows:

Line 1: Larry Bell, Angry Ken and Neil Shah Line 2: Mike Goodwin, Steve Baker and Matt Elliott Line 3: Dr. Pounds, Dan Greggson and NSA (Not so angry) Ken.

For the 2nd time in 2 weeks the defense would experiment with a new defenseman. So the defense would shape up with:

Mark Reynolds paired with Dan with Hands and Capt' George paired with iJosh Greenstein.

iJosh would try his best to no be a yellow version of an orange cone. But in this own, unbiased guest blogger's opinion it was a decent improvement from the 1st attempt.

From the very start the game was in the hands of the Golden few. Schlitz put pressure on the Lobsters right away, who at the time were still very short handed with only one sub. Multiple shots and some excellent passing and puck control deep in the zone would be displayed early. Though it would not produce a result, but if the play continued this way it would only be a matter of time before it would. However, before that could happen, the refs would show Mr. Baker the door (to the penalty box) for a goaltender interference. A mild complaint would go nowhere (does it ever) and the Gold were forced to play a man down. The team stepped up and played an almost flawless PK. After the penalty expired, the checking line would step on the ice. The Lobsters would try to play some transition hockey and sent a pass across center ice to a streaking forward. The pass would get intercepted by the newbie defenseman who would bring the puck to the blueline and dump it deep. NSA Ken would grab the puck along the boards and center it to a camping Greggson who promptly buried the puck 5-hole style. 1-0 Golden Boys. Before the period would expire, there would be a few words between #73 and Larry. The ref would advise Larry to head to the bench, who actually listened and sat down. But the period would end with a 1-0 advantage to Schlitz.

The 2nd period would see the Lobsters try to take the puck to us a little more. Now armed with a full team themselves they were able to play a little harder. Despite having a few strong skaters included their resident female #8, they would be unable to put one past Lizzy who had a quiet, but sold night. The Lobsters would then get trapped with too many men on the ice and give the Suds a man advantage. But George claimed that it isn't always a good thing to give a good skating line more room to move along with no icing. So the man advantage seemed a little more like a PK. A little bit of a down moment. However if that is the worst play of the period, then there should not be too much criticism. The power play over, it was time for the first line to demonstrate why they were the first line this night. Strong play deep would lead to a scrum in front of the net and would conclude with AK putting one away for a 2-0 lead. The Lobsters still trying to get their heads above water finally got a little pressure on Lizzie. But play would be cleared (barely) by the newbie D who almost put it into the net. However the 1st line would again make the team forget about the near travesty. As the puck was sent forward and tipped into the air, Neil would knock it to the ice. He would slap the puck toward the goalie, who made the initial save. Again, AK would be there to fire the puck into the back of the net for a now 3-0 lead. With 2/3 of the game complete, the Suds would take a 3 goal advantage into the final frame.

It is this blogger's opinion that momentum only lasts so long. And this would be true. Evidenced by the following: The Lobsters would finally find their way onto the scoreboard as they would beat Lizzy to the 5-hole. But due to undisciplined play they would be unable to keep the momentum going. And you thought I was going to say the Gold lost its mojo. Not so. The Suds would keep it going. Taking advantage of 3 Lobster penalties that just kept coming. This included one 2 man advantage that came about after another scrum in front of the net during a 5 on 4 situation. This one finished with Larry Bell backing away from a confrontation. I repeat, Larry used control and a level head, even after being pushed by a steamed Lobster. That would send a second Lobster to the pot and give the Gold the 2 man power play. That would really be it for the Lobsters. But the Gold would be able to tack on one more goal. Larry would slide an excellent pass to AK who completed the hat trick and sealed the game for the Suds.

Kudos to Gregson for providing BL and Baker for bringing the Sam Winter and stuffed hot peppers.

Scoresheet:
1st Period:
Greggson from NSA Ken and iJosh
2nd Period:
AK from Neil and Reynolds
AK from Neil and Larry
3rd Period:
AK from Larry and Neil

Penalty Box:
1st Period:
Steve Baker for Goaltender interference

Game Stars:
Ken Douville for his hat trick and no penalties for the 2nd time in as many weeks.
Lizzy for a solid performance in goal.
Neil Shah for a 3 assist night

Another fabulous Guest Blog by iJosh. Thank you sir!
And now how about some comments from Dr. Pounds who has some insight to share as to how things went last night.
Here's the good Doctor:

I had a clear view of the first goal. The third line was me, Dan G and Ken G. Ken G went hard into the boards, won the puck away from their defenseman, and popped it out to me. I just tossed it towards the low slot where Dan G was camped out in his reserved spot and one-timed it into the net.

(In the parking lot after the game we enjoyed some stuffed pickled peppers Steve Baker had brought along. I said to Dan G that we were either the Helicopter Line, the Doughnut Line, or maybe both at the same time. He took a slow puff on his victory cigar and replied, “No, we were the Awesome Line.”)

Suds vs Suckas

Schlitz (21) vs Windsuckers

Monday March 1st

Bavis Arena 9:30pm

1-0 Loss

Ok, we've got a pair of great guest bloggers for this one.... so lets hear from them.

First up is Mike Campbell who had this summary of the night's actions.

Heres Mike:

Yes, Suds vs. Suckas.

The timeline is a little fuzzy, and as you know, I'm not so good a writah, but here's my story... and I'm stickin' to it.

Campbell and Reynolds along with special-guest-star-who-did-a-great-job-and-I-think-we-might-keep-him-back-here-on-D-like-we-did-Reynolds Goody made up the ice-hogging D-Trio. Not sure of the forward lines (although someone in the locker room afterwards referred to one of them as the "good" line - as in "Why didn't we put the good line out at the very end?" - but since there were no goals scored by anyone, it was really hard to tell which was the "good" line.), but the O was made up of Baker, Bell, Pounds, Capraro, Shah and Underhill.

These 'sucka guys are pretty good - with one, maybe two hot-shots and not a lot of weakness. Good C, maybe B level skater with Orange socks (whom we shut down). They also have a beastly, gargantuan goalie, that gives up VERY little net, hence the lack of goals on our part. That said, we gave them a damn good run for their money. Lots of end-to-end action, with very few (dare I say, none?) defensive breakdowns. I don't think they ever got an odd-man rush, never mind a break-away. Their one goal was scored in the second period, after Brian had made a nice glove save, one of their guys (23, I think?) gave his glove a good whacking, eventually knocking the puck out, and bashing the begeesus out of Brian's thumb. It only got more chippy from there...

Reynolds took a hit in the back in the offensive end, and let his guy know he didn't like it. Their resident big-guy with the beard chimed in and told Mark to suck it up, and I told him to f-himself, so the four of us had a little time in the box to cool off. Baker got hit so hard with an uncalled butt-end that he gave the ref a demo of what he had missed. The demo was so good that the ref actually flinched, giving us all a little chuckle. There were a few more hits, and grunts and poundings, and Reynolds and I each went to the Bin of Sin one more time. I don't remember any other calls against us.

They had a few other good chances. At least one off the post, and another one went in JUST after the whistle blew... although Brain will tell you he let that one in, after hearing the whistle. I'm not sayin' anything else about that.

We played better later in the game. We finally figured out that the puck wouldn't go in on its own, and we brought some good pressure, lots of shots and a few chances, but none of them cashed out. I got a little desperate and ended up on the ground, in the crease with the puck in the palm of my glove, so I tried to stuff it in by hand, and even that didn't work. It gave us all another laugh, though.

All in, one goal for the bad guys, none for the hops. Almost every penalty matched, and everyone skated hard. A few beers at the Blacktop Café sealed it as a good time in Rockland, despite the loss.
Good luck tonight boys.
~ Mike

Alright! Thank you Dr. Campbell... your words are always appreciated.

The blogger got another summary on this one, from frequent contributer Mark Reynolds. Here's Mark:

Close game Mon night, but the Windsuckers got the best of the Schlitz in a 1-0 loss.

The lineup was:
Brian in Net
Forwards
Pete-Neil-Blake
Scott-Larry-Steve
Defensive Trio
Goodie-Campbell-Reynolds

The only goal came after a wicked slash to Brian's thumb on his blocker side. There definitely should have been a whistle and a penalty. Instead, the puck bounced out and ended up in our net during the scrum. Overall, Brian played an outstanding game, and as usual, saved our collective arses with some tough saves.

The game got a bit chippy in the second. Imagine that against the Windsuckers. Reynolds gets checked hard into the boards from behind and takes physical exception with the offender. With a crowd of Windsuckers encircling Reynolds, Campbell jumps in on to cover his teammate's ass (thanks again Mike). Now two out of three Schlitz defenseman are in the box for roughing (matching with Windsuckers).

The Schladaveurs penalty leaders were at it again. In the third, Campbell went for roughing and Reynolds for checking.

Both teams played a tight game. The Schlitz passed better than usual and did a good job of controlling the puck in the defensive zone. Our forwards had lots of SOG in the 3rd period. We just couldn't put the puck in the net.

Our defensive trio was solid for the entire game. We didn't allow a single break away and only a few 2-on-1's, which the Schlitz handled well. Watch out Goodie; if you keep playing D like that, you'll end up as a full timer.
Thanks again to the forwards that hustled on the back-check.

Kudos to Blake for his best game of the year. He played excellent positional hockey, passed puck intelligently, and battled hard every shift. Pete played his usual balls to the wall style and was especially effective in the neutral zone. Larry, Steve, and Neil set the pace of Schlitz play in the offensive zone. The Dr's long reach kept the puck from leaving offensive zone on many occasions. He also had some quality SOG himself.

The Schlitz would sure like to have this game back again.

Suds vs Call @ UMAlcatraz

Schlitz (20) vs Last Call

Thursday February 18

UMass 7pm

4-4 Tie

A chilly early evening matchup with the Last Call guys out at the Prison by the Bay. Really February is the time of year to make the trip out to the State House of Horrors... it really brings out the ... "atmosphere"... yeah... Nothing like paying to park at Arctic Station Zero to skate at a rink that has roughly the same comfort level of a 50 year old outhouse behind a summer cabin in the back woods of Maine... and that might be putting it nicely...

Anyhow the blogger was not on the Thursday roster and thankfully for you we have a number of sources on the action last night including guestblogger Extraordinaire iJosh. But first lets get the down and dirty from Greggy to start off...

"4-4 tie We started with 8 skaters then DWH came in late. So we had 9.

Ijosh had 1

DWH 1... Larry had 1 and Steve had 1.

I'm not sure about assists, but I had 6 or 7.

When DWH came in it was him Valenti, Matt E. on DLarry Jasse and myself on 1 line Ijosh Steve and Scott on the other.

Lizzy was in net and Jasse gets the gold Schlitz star for bringing the good sarsaparilla for the 4th."

Nice. Thanks Dan. Now we have a brief set of comments from Dr. Jasse who checked in this morning.

"It should be noted that Valenti showed up with no cup, no jock, sans socks and jersy.
With a little help from his teammates all worked out in the end.
Heard whilst lining up for the opening faceoff: “This is a battle for the basement dwellers”
Kudos also to DWH showed up late due to traffic-good for him for not turning around and going home if he doesn’t show we likely lose. He ahad a nice goal on a good rush as well.
Ijosh was writing his guest blog game recap in the parking lot. The bar has been raised."

Woah. The Blogger tips his hat indeed. Thanks Doc for those words. Now lets have the game story from the man with the ambitious thumbs... do I have to say his name...? Here's iJosh: "Good day boys and girls.

It has been a whirlwind few months and more so a whirlwind week for this guest blogger. Not only did I actually play 3 games in 8 days, but in the middle of it all I finalized a very lengthy legal proceeding. I won't say exactly what it is, but it does rhyme with shlivorce. All is good and with any luck it will give me more time to play and guest blog. Gotta have priorities you know (and of course my kids).

So I strolled into UMass Boston last night for an early 7:00 game. It would be a light crowd for both Schlitz and the Last Call for this game. The Golden Suds would start with a sparse 8 players. We would grow to 9 for the start of the 2nd period.

The forwards would start with: Larry Bell, Mike Jasse, Dan Gregson, iJosh Greenstein and Dr. Pounds. The Defense would begin with: Matt Elliott, Steve Baker and Daddy Valenti.

Both teams looked slow and out of sync. Not good hockey. The lone fan seemed content to stare at her book rather than pay attention to the action on the ice. Pucks were bouncing. Passes were missed and it just looked ugly. But no scoring early. Finally the Call would put one past Lizzy. After a little bit of a rush, the puck would jump out in the high slot. iJosh noticed he was in the way of Lizzy and tried to give her some visibility. But not quick enough as the puck sailed by his head and past Liz. 1-0 Call. The Beercans would then try to pull things together a bit. A few good chances were had. But no gold for the gold. Then Larry would take the puck away from an opponent in the defensive end and send the puck to iJosh, who quickly gave it back to a rushing Larry on a give and go. Larry then went end to end on a 2 on 1 with Jassman. The goalie was showing plenty of real estate to Jass, but was also showing 5 hole. Larry not sure which to do, then shot the puck, burying it for a 1-1 tie. The Call would answer back. On an odd man rush, a Call would take a slap shot from just above the left face off circle and put it into the back of the net. That would make it 2-1 at the end of the first.

To start the 2nd, Dan with Hands would make his timely arrival. This would allow Steve Baker to move to forward and create 2 cohesive lines (Larry, Jasse and Gregson & iJosh, Baker and the good Dr.). This would solidify play for us a bit (about as much as it can solidify for a bunch of old, slow, beer leaguers). Dan would get involved in the offensive pressure, and provide a boost on D. Early in the 2nd though, the Call would strike again. This time it would be on a rebound. Lizzy would make the initial save, but there wasn't enough people back to contain the loose puck and the Call would pick up the trash and make it a 3-1 lead. Now it was time for the Golden Suds to produce some offense. The first would be an end to end rush from DWH. He would collect the puck from Larry and then take it all the way and tuck it past the keeper to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Suds would not be done. iJosh would get the puck and try to center it to Steve Baker. The pass would miss and be taken the other way. But DWH would steal the puck right back and send it to Steve Baker who teed one up from the same top of the circle spot that Lizzy got beat by one period earlier. 3-3 tie. But once again folks, momentum only lasts so long. With the seconds winding down the Call would go on a rush again. This time with only Valenti back and iJosh racing to catch up. The Call would slip a man behind Valenti who had nothing but open net. Valenti would hold his ground, but was unable to play them both as the puck carrier slipped it to the open man who easily netted the puck. The period would end 4-3.

Final frame would see lots of action but only one goal. Early in the 3rd, Steve Baker would take a quality shot. The goal keep would leave the puck at the doorstep. iJosh would slap it into the pads, but would get a second rebound and would tuck it behind the goalie for a 4-4 tie. Play would be up and down the rest of the period. Lizzy would make some good saves and in the final minutes, Larry, Jasse, Baker and DWH all had quality chances. But the Call Keeper was able to keep them at bay. So the game would end with a come from behind 4-4 tie.

Jasse would provide 4th period spirits in the form of Heineken Keg Cans."

Scoresheet:
1st:
Larry from iJosh
2nd:
DWH from Larry
Steve Baker from DWH
3rd:
iJosh from Baker

Penalties:
1st:
Baker for a rough

Suds beat Clinic (whew) @ UMass

Schlitz (18) vs Clinic

Tuesday February 2nd

UMass Boston 9:20pm

4-2 Win

Nothing on this. Well... almost nothing.

We won 4-2. AK had 2 goals, Nelson, Gregson and Elliot with 1 goal each. Neil and Larry with an assist each... and thats about it.

Glad we won. Anyone with any recolection of this game is welcome to comment. Really... please? Anything at all...

Suds and Preds tangle to a tie

Schlitz (16) vs Predators

Wednesday January 27

Dedham 10:10pm

3-3 Tie

An interesting evening in Dedham last night as the Suds would face Division Rival the Predators for a late evening game. Things didn't bode well at the very start as the Gold were almost entirely late for the pregame warmups. Thankfully enough guys were able to make it out and get some stretches in to start the game. The rest of the team would filter in over the first few minutes. We didn't have a whole 13 as was figured upon but decent numbers nonetheless... here's what we looked like

Lizzy in net

D1: Valenti, Goody

D2: Reynolds, Jeff

Offense: Roman and Neil as Centers

Wings: iJosh, Mitch, Matvey, Chris, AK, and Nelson.

First off lets say this. The Preds have some players. By my estimation they had probably 3 guys skating that were better than just about anyone on our roster. In the opening minutes the Blogger was thinking we'd need a great effort just to stay close... but looks may have been deceiving... The first settled into a decent back and forth with the Gold getting more chances than the Preds for the better part of the period.
The Gold would go to the box 2ice, first Roman then Jeff for a trip late in the period. The Preds also sent two to the box earlier on, but no scoring on those PPs. During the Jeff penalty Nelson would make a terrific steal and would rush in and score a great hard work goal that would put the Gold up 1-0 with 2 minutes left in the first.

The Gold wasn't done. Just after the penalty expired Chris Fosdick would score on a feed from Neil (who did some great work in the zone) and would increase the lead to 2 with 30 seconds left. But they STILL weren't done. Neil and Chris had such good results from their hard work that after the puck drop they went right at it again. Neil charging into the zone, wheeling and dealing to get a chance. Chris was there as everyone converged on the net and he jammed home the puck just before the horn blew for the end of the period.
Suddenly the Gold sat on a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period. Stunning, but we knew it would still take a lot of work to win the game.

The Green would come out gunning to open the second. They put out a stacked line that took less than a minute to score. Thankfully their momentum was slowed by another penalty just a few minutes later. The Gold would send AK to the box but the two teams would play back and forth without incident until late in the period. One of their no shield strong skaters, the Red helmeted number 8 would take the play right into Lizzy in the slot and then was tackled by Valenti... who did the right thing. Of course 8 then cries and whines like he's never been touched in his life and... get this... talks the ref into giving him a penalty shot. Unbelievable but true. So as time expired this douche would get his penalty shot which he made about 3 moves on and put behind Lizzy for the second goal. 3-2 after 2.

The Preds would continue to build momentum as they would open the third with the stacked line again and would score to tie the game just over a minute into the period. The Gold was disheartened but to their credit no one backed down and the effort was still strong as the game wound down.

There would be more penalties as Matvey would go after a standoff/pushfest with #2 (another big no shield dude) in the corner. Number 2 would end up pushing a ref and getting tossed. Matvey would go off for ... falling down I guess. Goody would tangle with #8 and they would go for matching roughs.

What it all came down to in the end was that the very frustrated and slightly more talented Predators did everything they could to get the game winner, but it wasn't going to happen. Lizzy made some great stops down the stretch. The D played great, and the Offense for the Gold just kept getting chances and keeping the puck in the the other end when they could. All in all a good tie to earn against a strong opponent.

No Stars for a tie... but good effort by all the skating Beercans on this night.

Schlitz defeat the Lobsters 2-1

Schlitz(15) vs Lobsters
Monday January 11
BU 9:00

2-1 win



Alright another Monday game, and another opportunity for a Guest blog from one of our talented players. The Blogger appreciates all the help he's been getting lately keeping this thing going... Sounds like this was a good one, a classic D-level clash with an old time division rival.

I'm going to turn it over to the guestblogger, Mr. George "Captain" Moorachian for some words.
Here's George's summary.

OK. Here's what I recall. Unfortunately I don't remember the details of our goals or the penatlies. So my report may be lacking as far as a narrative is concerned.

The gold skated with strong 13 with Jim Sullivan between the pipes The lines were:

Forwards:
Elliott/Larry/Nelson
Chuck/Steve/Scot
Gregson/Roman/Matvey

Defense:
Daley/DWH
Valenti/George

The Lobsters only had 9 skaters, I think. And it looked like they were missing their strong defenseman and very good female forward. However, they did add a ringer on defense (#10), that did not belong skating at the D level, and could seemingly skate end to end with relative ease. We thought it displayed a lack of sportsmanship on his part. He didn't even wear a Lobsters jersey. Matvey refered to him as Barney, due to his jersey color being nearly purple.

Regardless of Barney, play went back and fort, with episodes of Schlitz playing well in Lobsters end, and with the occasional rush from Lobsters #10. Sully played a solid game in net, turning away several Lobster scoring opportunities, and giving us the confidence to take care of business.

We scored 1 goal in each of the 1st and 2nd periods. The score keeper only marked down the goal scorer. But, I filled in the assists in the locker room after the game.

1st goal: Chuckie, from Nelson and Larry.

2nd goal: Roman, from Matvey and Daley.

And Lobsters finally got one pack Sully in the 3rd period, after shot was deflected twice on the way to the net. As a matter of fact, I think that I (George) got the first deflection off of the blade of my stick.

At the end of the 3rd period, the Lobsters pulled their goalie for an extra skater. But, Schlitz held them off.

The penaties were:

• Roman for a trip in the 2nd

• Nelson for a high-stick in the 2nd

• Matvey for a hook in the 3rd

• Larry for a cross-check in the 3rd

The Lobsters had a total of 3 minor penalties throughout the game.

Overall, a good game by Schlitz, anchored by solid goaltending.

If I had to give out game stars, I'd go with:

3rd Star: The entire defensive corps. With only 1 goal allowed, I'm going to give the D some of the credit.

2nd Star: Sully: Geat solid game in net. Only 1 goal allowed... that wasn't his fault. Great game.

1st Star: Roman. Played a solid 2-way game all night. Scored the game-winner, and applied good pressure by having a few good scoring opportunities (possibly even being robbed by the Lobsters netminder once or twice).

GREAT Guest Blog George! Thanks a lot! Good work on the ice boys!

Suds and Blues hogtied at BU

Schlitz (13) vs Blues
Monday December 28
BU 9:00pm


4-4 Tie



Hey... sounds like this one was a classic Blues type game for a holiday matchup. Lets hear from super Guest Blogger Doctor Michael Jasse who has an outstanding recap of the game. Here's the good Doctor.

We had 12
They had 7
We tied 4-4 but we really should have lost

Larry and Roman centered 3 pairs of wings (Jasse and Roman would switch positions in the 3rd)
Jasse and Chuck
Elliot and Capraro
Pounds and Greggson
Defense
Reynolds and Campbell
George and Baker
CEO BMF in between the pipes

We scored first; Roman from Capraro on a bit of a bang bang play.
They came back to tie and then go ahead. Then things started to get interesting

I got interfered with and then pitchforked down but the ref didn't call it. I can certainly understand why b/c he was only a stick's length away and looking DIRECTLY at the play but alas, sans whistle. When the play stopped my frustration got the better of me and I took my stick, put it under the attempted mugger's lumber and promptly flung it into the 3rd row narrowly missing a peanut vendor. The ref apparently found his whistle and I got called for unsportsmanlike conduct (the first in my 15 yr career). My second unsportsmanlike infraction immediately followed when I asked the now whistle-happy stripes if he was f'n high (I was just looking for a doobie-partner for the 4th period but he didn't quite see it that way). As I was contemplating my punishment in the box of shame, I muttered something about the on-ice official doing bong hits in the parking lot before the game and next thing I know the aforementioned ref is in my face demanding to know exactly what I said. Apparently he thought I was challenging to meet him in the parking lot after the game (which is so me). George mediated the exchange (thankfully) and all was forgiven. When I got back to the bench, Greggson turned to me and said,
"You're being verrry undude."
Classic.
Back to the game.

Jasse and Chuck had a nice 2-1 give n go where mj fed Chuck who made his move and clanged one off the iron; more from the goalie's best friend later.
Mike Campbell made a spectacular play; lugging the mail out of his end, feeding Jasse with a cross ice pass while he and Larry barreled into the offensive zone. Jasse then went back to Campbell with the oft-maligned no-look backhanded pass which Campbell promptly fired a zinger of wrister which beat the keeper short side. A sweet play ending with a helluva shot, a helluva shot.
Larry would score and also Baker (I think) but the game was getting testy.
A series of head-scratching calls by the Zebras:

Capraro had a golden opportunity to bury a rebound in the crease but the ref lost sight of the puck (which everyone in the building could plainly see) and stopped play.
Baker had great momentum in the offensive zone and then an inexplicable whistle for man in the crease
The Blues scored but the goal was waved off b/c the net was off its mooring; perhaps a sly, veteran move by Steve Baker?
Pete Capraro got called for interference WHILST CARRYING THE PUCK
Finally, Larry got spilled in the offensive zone (no call) and then made his way back up the ice with an obvious bee in his bonnet. A bang-bang play in front of Kilroy would result in the puck going in and quickly out of the net and Larry STAPLING not one but 2 Blues into the back boards. The result was Larry in the box of shame BUT the refs missed the goal. The Blues were justifiably upset but no goal. 4-4 with the clock ticking down.
With 38 seconds left, Jasse blocked an attempted pass which ricocheted off the knee pads and made its way to center ice. A sprint ensued and Jasse poked the puck up ahead and the race was on. A 1 on 3 with Jasse leading the way but the D closing in. Jasse took a peak and unleashed a wrister headed for the stick side.
As soon as it left my blade I was thinking,
'That's got a chance.'
Clang!
Off the post.
That was it-game over.
I think Reynolds summed it up best by channeling Johnny Upton from Slapshot,
"That was fuckin' disgrace."
True true.
Perhaps our fortunes will turn with the new year.
'Till next time
# 12 in your program

Dude... that was quite a guest blog... I mean clasic. An excellent ... if not dudeisticly eccentric.. outstanding. Thanks very much.
Nice job at lest getting the hard fought tie. Good work boys.

Schlitz soaked, tanked, blotto'd... by Call

Schlitz (11) vs Last Call
Monday December 14
Dedham 9:00

6-3 loss



The Golden Beercans threw a decent lineup out on Monday night against a struggling Last Call team which, according to the website, only had 2 wins on the year so far. There was a nice even 11 in the room and the optimism was high… especially given the preponderance of “natural” defensemen in the room. No we still haven’t nailed down the certified “natural-ness” of any of us just yet...the blogger has always been a believer in better living through chemistry...but I digress.
Here’s what the lineup looked like.
D1: Campbell, DWH
D2: George, Jeff
Centers: Larry and Neil
Wings: Daley and Baker; Parker and Goody; Blake and Gregson
Lizzy in the Pipes.

The early returns weren’t just good, they were awesome. After two shifts the puck hadn’t left the Call’s end and there were shots flying from everywhere. Clearly the Gold would be able to move the puck around a bit if the first five minutes were any indication. Daley would come close on two occasions as he wheeled and dealed around the zone. It took two or maybe the third shift around for Mike to finally hit paydirt. Neil would feed Mike who would step to an open spot about 10 feet out and blew his shot past the Call’s keeper. Good guys 1-0.

The Gold would keep up the momentum and would continue to get chances in the White end and the confidence level was high. The Call wouldn’t exactly go quietly in the first and they would make a nice play that got behind us and would plunk one by Lizzy to tie the game. The first would end 1-1 but the Gold was feeling very good about things.

The second would see Magic Mike Daley bust off another beauty of a shot after another extended cycle in the White end. Linemates Neil and Steve Baker would figure on the helpers and did a great job all night moving the puck around. Baker was returning, tentatively from a foot injury just 4 weeks ago. According to Steve in the post game locker room he spent 3 weeks on crutches, a week walking around, then showed up to this game. He wasn’t feeling great after the game, and honestly was limited at times on the ice.

The Gold was still doing a good job carrying the play but the Call were starting to get their chances. They were starting to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them, and they would come back to tie the game just a few minutes after the Gold had gone ahead. A bang bang play from their man 33 (blue helmet) and the game was tied about halfway through the game.
The play would definitely start to go a bit more back an forth. The Gold would take a penalty when Larry would go for an interference but the penalty was killed. As the period began to get late the Gold would strike again. Jeff would take the puck at the top of our own end and he flipped it to Goody in the slot. Goody flipped the puck up ice as Jeff streaked ahead of the D and picked up the puck for the breakaway. Jeff was able to stay ahead (miracle) of the D and got off a good low shot that beat the keeper for a 3-2 lead. Assist to Goody, that one read 10 from 10 on the sheet.

That my friend is the end of the good news I’m afraid. The period was coming to an end and just a shift or two after Jeff's goal the game changed, dramatically.

Bing, bang, boom. The Gold chased their collective tails in our own end... and the game was tied again. Not more than a minute later another goal for the Call and the second period ended, in a stunning reversal, Last Call 4 Schlitz 3.
To coin a phrase from the postgame locker room... and we weren't done sucking yet.

The Third period would open with the momentum still squarely in favor of the Call. They would rip off two more goals in the first five minutes of the period. Now it was 6-3 Call and the Schlitz were stunned. More chasing around on our part but really, something threw the switch on the other side there. The game was totally different after that stretch late in the second. The Call suddenly counter punched, effectively, and often. We were caught flat footed or would blow an assignment or lose an open puck battle and they pounced on it and turned it into trouble. Where were these guys in the first half of the game?

That's the way it would end folks. 6-3 bad guys with little redemption in our lackluster play the rest of the way. Everyone was trying, to be sure. There was a good effort from everyone on the Gold, but they just got chewed up and spit out by the Call after rocking the early periods of the game.
Strange but true fans.

Lets hope the Dead in Red have better luck at BU on Wednesday night.

Suds go down to Goats

Schlitz (10) vs Scapegoats
Tuesday December 8th
UMass Boston 10:30pm


5-3 Loss



Looks like the Suds had a long night at the Prison by the Bay on Tuesday night. Major props off the top to Dan Gregson who checked in with a scan of the score sheet. Looks like we had a good crew for a late night but things didn't go so well.
Nelson and Neil both had goals in the first but the Goats had 3. The Goats would get another 2 in the second and Mike Daley would land one for the good guys in the third.
Looks like the Gold were no stranger to the penalty box taking 3 in the second, and two more in the third... at least we won the penalty total (5-3).

Now, big thanks to Neil Shah who sent in a quick recap of the relevant action...

Forward:
Ken-Nelson-Neil
Gregson-Roman-Mike

Defense:
Dan with hands and Matvey
Daly and Kevin Parker

I think Daly took Roman's place at center after Roman got hurt late in the game.

We actually started the game pretty well and staked ourselves a quick 2-0 lead. Nelson scored the first goal- our line did some nice cycling down low and then Ken found Nelson in front and he put in a backhander through the goalies legs.

Second goal was scored on a rebound. I'm not sure who shot it but the rebound came out to me for a second shot which went in over the goalie's shoulder. Though I'd love to take credit for roofing one, I think in actuality the puck might have deflected off a defender or someone else in front and went in over the goalie's shoulder.

Unfortunately, beyond that things didn't go so well. Our defensive zone coverage was not great; we made some bad line changes; let in a few soft goals, etc.

I think Daly scored the third goal on a nice shot.

Thanks Neil. Thanks for giving us a few words about the game. Too bad about the outcome.
The Suds are on quite a skid.... good thing the Zombies are doing well...

Schlitz stoned by Sucka's

Schlitz (9) vs Windsuckers
Monday Nov 30

Canton 10:20

3-1 loss

Dissapointing night for the Golden Beercans against the Windsuckers whom we seem to have seen quite a bit of this season. Yet another in a seaon long series of Monday night events, Managment is still scrambling at times to fill out the roster for these games. Looks like we had a hearty and even 10 to go to war with at gametime.

Here is your lineup

Schlitz

Matt Elliot

Mike "Goody" Goodwin

Pete Capraro

Roman Kurin
Matvey Nikhamik
Larry Bell

Dan Gregson
George Moorachian
Mark Reynolds
Mike Daley
Goal – Lizzy

No surprise that this one has a long list of penalties given the way the last one ended against these guys. Unfortuneatley, the penalties didn't look to help us at all. I believe, if I read this scoresheet correctly that we out PIM'd the Sucka's 11 to 7. That would include 4 penalties in the first period (Daley, Bell, Capraro, and Matvey) in which the sucka's would outscore us 2-0. Then 3 more in the second period (Pete, Roman, George) in which we broke even at a goal apeice. Roman was the goal scorer from George. The Gold would round the night out with another 4 penalty period in the 3rd (Mark, Mike, Matt, and Mark again), but managed to keep the Sucka's from adding to their lead.

Apparently not much brewing on the offensive side of the puck on this night.

Here is Guest Blogger and man on the scene Mark Reynolds with a breif recap:

"Monday’s loss was to the Windsucka’s was due to a lackluster effort and multiple penalties (11) by the Gold. We fell behind and could never regain momentum as we were shorthanded for much of the game. Think about this fact: no Hammit or Campbell and we took 11 penalties. Capraro (2), Reynolds (2), George (2), Larry (1), Daley (1) and I forget the rest. I must add they had 3 players that were way beyond the typical “D League” ability. This certainly caused lots of frustration. Maybe they think it’s cool to add a few guys in their young 20’s that have some skills. "

Thanks Mark. The Blogger always welcomes any commentary with open arms. Thanks for your input.

Lets try to get a better performance against these guys the next time out.

Suds versus Sputniks in nightcap

SCHLITZ (7) vs SITNIKS

Monday November 9th

UMASS 8:10 PM

9-1 Loss

The nightcap game featured a rivalry with some of our own good friends and 'daveurs. The Sitniks feature regular 'daveurs Roman Kurin and Matvey Nikhamik so its always fun to play against those guys... Although they had plenty of players and let us keep Matvey who joined a bunch of guys who had just played against the Windsuckers to face the RED MENACE.

It didn't go well. Think opposite of the cold war.

Let me put it this way... by the time the blogger left the building it was 3-0 Sputniks and that was with 8 minutes left in the first.

Here's Positive Pete Capraro with a recap.

Second period, The goal by Baker Assisted by Shah and Capraro.Second period,

Campbell sin bin for roughing in first. Chris Foz for checking.3rd period Hammit for holding.

That's it. 9 goals against.

My only blog comment is that it looked like after game 2 Larry the stat whore, with a big smile on his face, approached the score keeper that he berated with anatomical verbal gestures a few games back to make amends. Looked like he even showered and shaved the landing strip on his face for the approach.

What a beating, but I like that faster skate, I think we did alright for the first few seconds in the first period until they scored.

Thanks Pete. Well. I think we are just going to leave that right there and move on to sunnier topics.

Suds beat Tigers!

Schlitz (5) vs Tigers

Monday November 2nd

9:30 Canton

4-1 win

A nice Monday night in Canton for a matchup with division rival El Tigre was on tap last night. By all reports it was a good game for the Suds and worked out pretty well. The Tigers had a short bench with only nine skaters to start with, then they would lose a player in the second period after his third penalty. #18 would check himself out and leave the Tigers with only 8.

According to netminder Matt Kilroy they were not able to get much or any sustained pressure in our end for most of the game.

The scoresheet says that Larry scored the first goal less than a minute into the game with a helper from Dr. Jasse. Before the end of the first period the Good Doctor would score one of his own, this one assisted by Steve Baker. This came with 2 minutes left in the first. The Tigers also had one goal in the first. 18 had his first penalty for them during that period.

So 2-1 into the Second. Marc Valenti would score unassisted just about 3 minute into the second to build the lead to 2. 18 for the Tigers woudl take penalties 2 and 3 and take the gate by the seven minute mark. 3-1 after 2.

The third period would see Goody take a call for a hit from behind, then Steve Baker would score at about the 1o minute mark to put the good guys up by 3. Credit Neil and Dr. Jasse (again) for the assists on that goal. The Tigers would take one more penalty but there was no further scoring on the night.

Great work everyone. Nice win.

Game Stars

3rd Star: Matt one goal Kilroy. The new Pappa returns to form.

2nd Star: Goal and an assist for Speedy Steve Baker.

1st Star: A three point night for the Doctor Michael Jasse. Jassman had a goal and two assists and a very good all around night. Nice work Doc!

Suds squashed by Blues in Nightcap

Schlitz (4) vs Blues

Monday October 26th

Canton 9:30

4-1 Loss

This game followed the 7-5 drubbing of the Predators by the Cadavers. There was no need for wholesale subs from the early game as there was a pretty good roster set for this one, but there was some pregame negotiation between the locker rooms. AK, he of two goals in the early game won out over the pair of Valenti and Bell for sub honors and he joined the following roster of Beercans.

Matt in Net

Scott

Campbell

Chris

Dr. Jasse

Jeff

Parker

Reynolds

Blake

Chuck

Hammitt

and Neil

A nice group backstopped by the CEOBMF and the game was off and running. This one was a typical Blues game in that it was close, competitive and felt pretty tight the whole way. There wasn't too much chippyness which was a nice change, and in all it was a good hard skate. Unfortunately thats about all it was for the Golden Beercans.

The Blues would open up scoring with a nice break by their young star with the red pants, number 8. The Gold would answer though only 2 minutes later when Hammitt would land a nice shot from Campbell and AK (there he is again). The game looked to be a long grind. The Blues would score again at the five minute mark of the first then they would land an absolute killer with seconds left in the period. It was a long shot that took an odd hop and beat Matt.

It was tough because now we were down by two and facing an uphill climb. With all truth the Gold kept after it, but just couldn't seem to get much going. The second played out nearly to a draw until the Blues would slip another kill shot goal in right in the closing seconds of the period.

That would make it 4-1 and the third looked even more uphill than it had before.

There was plenty of Beercan pride on display, but not even close to enough Beercan finish that could help the Gold climb back into the game. The third would pass quietly without even a penalty to mix it up. The game would end, with a bummer 4-1.

Hopefully this one will be the last of the doubleheader nights for a while... and hopefully the blogger can keep up with the team so he doesn't have to go back and try to remember the games from weeks ago.

Thanks for hanging in there constant reader, I appreciate it. I'll try to keep up.

Schlitz tie frustrating Predators

Schlitz (3) vs Predators
Monday October 19th
UMass 7:00pm


3-3 Tie

Another week, another double header matchup at the Prison by the Bay. This was thankfully the last double pair of games in the early going... the blogger is knocking on wood... and hopefully we wont have any more games scheduled at this lovely venue. From paying to park, to it being close to the arctic circle, but yet still in Boston, to the lack of lockerooms or space to change in general... ahh it just goes on and on.

The Suds were once again thin as a result of the doubleheader but put a good crew out there. Here's your roster. We were backed by Mark Marrese who was a fill in for both squads on this night. We needed Mark because Matt and Kerry had their second child on Saturday night, the lovely Laura Katherine Kilroy.

The rest of the lineup was this.

Matvey
Nelson
Jeff
Valenti
Douville
Elliot
Gregson
Herbert
Goodwin
Baker

Their keeper was a huge dude with a red helmet, not their regular guy and we couldn't get a thing by him. The guy just gobbled everything up. My recollection being far *ahem* from perfect but I think we spent the whole night in their zone. Remember we were fresh because this was still only the first game of the night.

We matchup pretty well with the Predators and the game was a good skate. Again the Suds were able to take the game right to the opponent and get groups of chances after sometimes multiple passes.

I know that Nelson would lead off the scoring, unassisted and put the 'Cans out in front early. The Predators would counter though and score two decent goals of their own before the first period was out.

The second period would see Mike "Goody" Goodwin score a nice goal on a feed from Matt Elliot. Steve Baker would take a penalty for slashing, and Dan DWH Herbert would go for a hook also during the second.

The game would go to the third 2-2 . I'm pretty sure that the Predators scored next and we were down for a few minutes but I really dont remember. Anyone that does remember please, please comment on the post and let us all know how it turned out.

I do know that Goody would score again, this time from DWH and the tie would be salvaged from a game that really we felt like we should have won going away. I can't stress enough how well the Predator keeper played.

For his part Mark did a nice job filling in and we were very glad to have him.

Tie... still no game stars.

So again this game led directly into the nightcap, featured in the next post...

Suds crushed by 'goats in nightcap

Schlitz (2) vs Scapegoats
Thursday October 15th
UMass 9:20pm


6-2 loss


Ok so as time wind down in the Zombie 2-1 loss to the Terriers Marc Valenti and Ken AK Douville would show up for this, the late game. Mike Campbell had arrived during the first game as well so couldnt really be considered "fresh". Those two guys would represent the entire fresh leg contingent for the late game. Not a good sign. Especially since we faced a well manned and reasonably talented Scapegoats squad that was completely fresh.

Things didn't look great from the start for Team Beercan. The Goats were after it and scored early in the first to get on top right away. We would be in penalty trouble from the start as AK would check himself out for "unsportsmanlike conduct" whatever that was... probably talking. I can't for the life of me recall how the scoring went in this one as it was fairly a blur.

I do know that Mike Daley would score from iJosh, and Nelson would score from Larry but that one was close to the end. In between the goats would rack up a bunch of goals, five in addition to the one they opened with to lead the game most of the way 6-1. This one was really never close.

Other penalty action included Valenti going fo a high stick, George for a hook, and Campbell for a trip.

We also were able to reaquaint ourselves with Katie the scorekeeper who had some drama or other going on in her life. Thankfully Larry didn't hurl any obscenities at her and didn't offer to insert anything into... well you get what I mean.

This game sucked. We got our asses handed to us after playing a tight game right before. Everyone was exhausted and the fact that the whole thing took place at U Mass just added to the level of suckatude.

Bleh.