Suds fall in Championship to Shock

Schlitz 3-1 vs Shock 3-0
Tuesday September 29
UMass Boston 8:10pm

Championship Game Islanders Division

Shock 2
Schlitz 1

Season over.


The Schlitz, courtesy of a wild and improbable win on Monday night, gained a berth inn last night’s Championship Game against the Shock at the Prison By the Bay. The Shock, a much improved group showed up in legion, eighteen guys for the much anticipated tilt that could bring them their first division championship as a club

The Schiltz were not so thick in numbers. The crew from the Monday night spectacle was thinned by not only injury (Howard and his patella) but from the rest of life’s commitments that left the Gold with only 9 skaters out of the ENTIRE ROSTER that could conceivably make the game. Poor Neil Shah, who took an earlier flight back to town to make the game, had never played at Umalcatraz and spent some confused time int the parking lot before making the game. He didn’t get to the bench, to make 9, until the first period was in its final minutes.

That’s right. Championship Game, everything on the line, and the Golden Beercans skated a hearty and heady 8 players to battle the Shock Juggernaut. They had guys falling off the bench they had so many. It was noted that even though they had so many, the D that really mattered for them, Number 43, and 53 seemed to spend every other shift on the ice, at the very least. Also interesting to the Blogger is that again, 43 doesn’t appear on the roster on the scoresheet, just like when the Cads played these guys in the first round. Just interesting is all I’m sayin.

Lets get back to the hearty few that made it happen for the Gold.
Matty CEO BMF Kilroy in the pipes
D: George, Mark, and Jeff
O1: Nelson, Larry, Steve
O2: KenMitch, Neil, and Kevin Parker

Just for reference sake friends let me pass these items along. Mark Reynolds changed work travel plans to be able to play. Neil changed work travel plans so he could be back in time for the game. Kilroy cancelled a planned evening with his wife’s friends. Jeff scrambled for a sitter and worked it out (not to much success) with the Mrs. to make it, despite her plans. We only had 9 guys for a game that… well, meant quite a bit. To use a cliche we’ve heard before… I’m not bitchin’… I’m just sayin’.

That being said. The Gold played great against the well rested Shock. Not quite as many sparkling moments as the night before, but really there were long periods of time that the Beercans have every right to be very proud of.
We played smart, and tough and kept the Shock from just inundating our end. A major part of the Shock’s success has been their very young, very talented goalkeeper and he would serve his roll very well keeping the puck out of the net on many occasions when it seemed impossible for him to do so. He had just a sick game. Larry was flat out robbed on the doorstep a minimum of two times during the night. Parker, Nelson, Jeff all would have solid chances that somehow he would end up with.

The first period was a sort of controlled chaos on the Gold bench, just trying to make some changes and not let anyone get too tired until Neil could get dressed. The game was scoreless for a long time. Ken Goldenberg would take the game’s first penalty, a rough(thug), and was followed by George not too long after for a check. The Gold did a nice job keeping the Shock at bay and keeping it even.

The Shock would get the inevitable break and pop one home past Matt before the first would end. This goal was punctuated by 52 barrelling like a train through the slot, making his shot (wicked) and smashing through Mark Reynolds just for good measure as it went in.

The Gold didn’t back down and our typical 2^nd period let down wasn’t as dramatic as it could have been. There was plenty of courage and effort in the tired faces on the Beercan bench, but everyone played strong and stuck with the game and kept it tight. The Shock would extend their lead when one of their faster forwards rushed up the left side staying outside of Jeff who was backtracking (slowly) as the play came into our zone. Their guy stayed outside and then fired a laser that found the top left corner over Matt’s shoulder. Just for reference sake the dude was on the move and below and outside the faceoff dot in our end. A good shot for sure. Despite being down 2 the Gold continued to grind. They kept generating chances against the goalie that would not be beaten

The third period saw the Gold gain some as they crawled and clawed their way back into the game. Nelson and Larry would hook up on a classic hard work goal, keeping the play in the zone Larry swung around the back of the net and hit Nelson who was parked out front and he banged it home. The goalie had no chance at all and was the first time we got him really moving and out of position all night. So down just one the Gold was bearing down and gaining some momentum as the minutes ticked away.

With just under 5 minutes to play the Zeebras would finally give the Blue a whistle, and it turned out to be a 2-fer. The Gold were handed a 5-3 power play and the Shock took their time out so the big guys could get their wind and stay on the ice.
Unfortunately this is where things caught up to the Beercans and things started falling apart. The Gold got a wicked shot right away but then could hardly muster another shot as the penalty time melted away along with the golden opportunity we’d been handed. The penalty over, the Shock scrambling the Gold would again get some excellent chances. Jeff pinched and took a nice shot from no more than say 8 feet. Not only does the Keeper make the stop, but Ken Goldenberg who was perfectly positioned on the doorstep whacked at the loose puck and it went under his pads. Kenny would whack at it again, Jeff was sure the puck was in… but the whistle blew… and there was the puck, safe and sound, just outside the line. No dice. It just wasn’t going to happen against this keeper. This was his night.

The Gold would pull Matt with just under a minute and that only resulted in a Too Many Men penalty as Jeff went back out on the ice when Matt got on the bench. He hadn’t looked to see that someone else had already gone.
The last 30 seconds would pass without event, even with the empty net there was no blood as time expired and the Shock began the celebration.

The trophy was handed to the Shock along with some very nice Royal Blue shirts as is the standard Division Championship Booty. Good for them. A good match, and only a slightly bitter defeat for the Schlitz who really came very close to forcing just one more game. It just wasn’t to be this year.

Kudos to Larry for sponsoring the fourth period with ice cold Bud Lites and everyone, all 9 of us nursed our wounds and toasted the now completed season in the parking lot.

It was a nice playoff run for what was really a kind of mediocre season.

Someday when the Schlidaveur International Statistics Division is reconstituted we’ll get a handle on how things stacked up.
For now, its over. That big thump you just heard is the book closing on the summer of 2009.

See you next week when the winter season starts.

Suds Beat Call to advance to Championship

Schlitz (2-1) vs Last Call (2-1)

Monday September 28th

UMass Boston 7:00pm

4-2 WIN!!!

Some nights at the rink are more special than others. Something in the air, the emotions and the actions of a game take on a form that leaves you with... well usually a memorable game. Last night's game was memorable to say the least, for a number of different reasons.

Beside the fact that this was a playoff game, and a game that winning meant a ticket to the Championship Game. This was the final game of the "one loss" bracket in the double elimination playoffs for the Islanders Division. There was a reasonable group of fans, mostly wives with kids, the Capraro clan made it, Kerry and the three boys cheered on the Suds, and there were a couple of other families for the Last Call too.

The game was at our least favorite venue, the House of Horrors, the Prison by the Bay, or UMAlcatraz. Not only do you get to change in the cold air of the rink but you get the honor of paying six bucks just to park somewhat close to the rink. Hey... they got a spiffy new lighthouse for their traffic circle though... at least the game was early.

So the stage was set for what was sure to be a tough game against the Last Call whom we've not had very much luck against recently. Here is your Suds Roster.

O1: Nelson, Steve, Larry

O2: Capraro, Chuck, and Howard. AK floated.

D1: George, Parker

D2: Mark, Jeff

Matt in Net.

This was a good lineup and there was no reason to think we couldn't hold our own but the Call certainly had some talent, and as the game got underway the last few stragglers would come in and give them a full bench. Plenty of no face sheild guys, no-one really super fast, but a number of quality players. The Suds would have thier work cut out.

The Schlitz would take right to it out of the gates and it was clear that we would not only get our chances but we had good puck movement and everyone seemed to be playing well. The Blogger has to say he felt good in the early going about our chances. This good feeling was only boosted when Steve Baker would pick up a rebound and slam it home with a patented slapper that would put the Gold up 1-0. It wasn't terribly long after that that we took our first penalty. The scoresheet has #20 which is fine except we dont have a #20 but she clearly wasn't paying close attention... an issue we will return to later in the game. Regardless we were sure to talk a whole bunch as soon as the call was made and the Ref being... well... the Ref got all excited and immediately defensive which did not bode well for the rest of the evening. We just have that affect on Zeebs. I think it has something to do with our mouths... just a thought.

The Gold would kill the penalty and wouldn't you know it Steve would hit pay-dirt again, this time on a classic feed from Hard Working Nelson Sharfman that would put the Gold up 2-0 with a bit of time left in the first.

The Call was far from taking it lying down. They cranked up the intensity and started getting chances of thier own. Just as the first came to a close they would get a shot from the point, which was deflected (by what looked like a high stick) thenthen took a crazy wobbling arc through traffic and into the net. Of course our entire bench felt the need to make the point that it was a high stick but... what a surprise... the Zeebras were unaffected.

This let down continued into the first shift of the second and a bad clearing attempt would go bing- pow passed twice then shot straight into the net through a screen of players and the game was tied 2-2 with only about a minute gone into the second. You could feel the intensity slipping for the Gold and this was the point the game could have turned on... but the Suds wouldn't let it.

The Beercans would dig in, take the game back to the Call and would produce about 5-6 minutes of some of the best hockey we have played all season. Good strong defense, backchecking, forechecking, timley passes and shots. It was amazing to see.

Things were getting contentious on the ice. The Call was having no trouble giving a slash or a nudge here and there and the Zeebs only had eyes for us and our big fat mouths... which brings us to the first "incident" of the night. After a scramble in front of Matt there was some pushing. AK decided that the 'tude coming from Mr. Pink Helmet (no cage) was a little too much so as the play was being separated by the Zeebs Ken comes barreling through to put a body on old Pinky and proceeds to get himself a 5 minute major for a hit well after the play was dead. Not very smart. The Gold would kill the penalty, and did a nice job doing it.

At this point all the Gold hard work would produce some results. Howard would take a hard drive to the net, keeping his legs moving and whacking at the puck he got through the D and potted the go-ahead goal for the Gold. Just a tremendous effort by Howard who's game has really come a long way in just his first season with us. This goal was just massive.

Before the Second would end Pete Capraro would go for a slash then trouble started. Pete was slow going to the box, probably had something to say, then... according to the Zeebra... he bumped into the Ref on his way to the box. Our neruotic and exciteable friend in stripes invited Pete to sit 10 minutes for a misconduct. No good. We would kill the 2 minute minor for the slash but would be without Pete until 10 minutes left in the game.

Into the Third we went the Beercans holding an improbable 3-2 lead and the game getting chippy. Larry helped things out when he took a call just 2 minutes into the period. I dont remember what the call was because when Larry got to the box trouble started brewing with the score keeper. She listed his penalty as *asshole* on the score sheet. Pete was able to fill us in after he left the box. Larry was trying to find out what time he could get out, the Zeeb was trying to talk to the scorekeeper who had all of her homework out on the desk, and was fiddling with her iPhone. Well... Larry invited her to "pay attention" then offered to insert the iPhone and apparently other things into a very sensative part of her anatomy. Pete's kids were near the box, trying to figure out why he was in there so long, and Pete had to send them away as teh F-bombs flew between Larry and Katie the Scorekeeper. Classic.

Katie would write a special note to Larry on our roster page which goes like this:

"Larry Bell, you're a self-absorbed fucking asshole. [heart] Katie." Nice. She also took a photo for blog purposes which you see here. I've also include the note at the bottom of the post.

At least we weren't done playing hockey, despite doing a good job embarressing ourselves with the rink staff. Nelson would score the topper about midway through the period on just a typical hard working, cycle the zone get it out front type of a play. Vintage Nelson. The Gold had a two goal lead with less than 10 minutes in the game.

Then the crazyness kept coming. Just under the 8 minute mark Howard collapsed after a faceoff as though he had been shot. He had severe pain in his knee and couldn't get up. This didn't stop Larry from skating over to the crowd to say "Hey Ref... isn't the clock supposed to run?" no one laughed. Eventually we dragged poor Howard over to our bench where he got some help and a bag of ice as the game wound down.

The play continued to be chippy and aggressive but again the Suds just did a terrific job of staying in front of the play and keeping things under control and out of our own end. Then trouble popped up (you knew it would) just as we hit the 2 minute mark. Here's what happened.

Along the far boards Jeff jammed the play to break it up, but the Call forward had plenty of momentum and deliberately piled into Jeff trying to break the puck free. I guess while he was down the guy kept pushing, and Larry took major exception to that.

Now... the Blogger appreciates Larry sticking up for Jeff and being a good teammate but the reaction was a little over the top. Jeff was on his feet by the time Larry and this guy were face to face and pushing. Jeff stood between the guys as the Refs reeled Larry in and tried to separate them. No dice. Larry broke free and he and the other guy rolled around on the ice whacking each other until the Zeebs got things under controll again. Once again we let our head's get the best of us...

The good news is that despite being down a man, and the Call even pulling their keeper, the Gold was able to kill the last 2 minutes and preserve a very wierd, very hard fought playoff victory and a trip to tonights Championship Game.

Of course during the handshakes AK felt it necessary to talk some smack to Pinky which resulted in another crowd and the Zeebras trying to keep everyone apart. The Zeebra's comment after I asked him what AK said was something like "Not for nothin' but that guy deserves an ass kicking..." That's us... makin' friends... leaving a good impression. AK had taken a shot off his hand or forearm and looked more than a little green in the gills when I saw him after the game so what he said remains a mystery. Bet it was good.

The UMass PD were called to get an ambulence for Howard. The EMT's showed and got him all squared away. While we were waiting the blogger got to witness a first hand dresssing down of the Zeebras by the UMass cop on duty... he didn't like their 'tude (they wanted to get the next game going right away) then made them both go and get ID. Another classic.

Howard at least had a smile on and gave the thumbs up on his way out on the stretcher.

Game Stars

3rd Star: Let's hear it for Nelson "consistancy" Sharfman. The dude just brings it. Never stops going. Never gives up an inch. Nice work all night man.

2nd Star: Howard "game winning goal" Heppeleman. Tough break. Word is that he has a ruptured Patella tendon and we may not see him for quite a while. Great game Howard. Get better soon.

1st Star: Steve "what about me for Rookie of the Year" Baker. Two tremendous goals and great work all night. Great job Steve, keep up the good work.

Coon of Shame: Although there was more than one candidate for this game Larry wins it for his verbal assault on Katie the scorekeeper and his multiple invitations for her to do the anatomically impossible. Atta boy Larry.

Just for good measure I've included Katie's love note to our favorite Stat ho.

Daveurs Double Up! Both teams advance to Thursday!

Schlitz vs Blues

Monday September 21

Canton 9:30pm

5-2 win!

There was more doubleheader playoff action last night in Canton and this week was both similar and markedly different than last. Both games were very close, and tied most of the way just like last week's games but this time the Suds and Zombies pulled off the win in both cases and now advance to face each other on Thursday night at the same rink.

The first game saw a very nice Schlitz lineup against ancient rival's the Blues in the first elimination game of the evening. Here's the lineup.

D1: George, Jeff

D2: Dave, Mark

O1: Nelson, Steve, Pete

O2: Neil, Kevin, and AK

Matt in Net

This game would go through a long process of "feeling it out" and finding the pace of the game as the teams went back and forth. Both keepers warmed to the task and the Zeebras were calling things tight as there was clearly a competitive "playoff" atmosphere on the ice.
Steve Baker would go for a rough, a match with 38 from the Blues only 3 minutes into the game. Capraro would go at the end of the first for an interferece. No blood on any of the power plays. The first would end 0-0.

The second would continue back and forth, Kilroy made some just tremendous stops, scooping up anything that came near him. Capraro (thug) would go again on a iffy holding the stick call but again the PK did just fine. Then the Blues would get a break. A classic unable to clear problem in our own end and plunk it was 1-0 Blues with 6 and a half left in the first.

Capraro wasn't done making the scoresheet as he would find teh net, on a helper from Steve to tie the game back up 1-1 with just under 4 left in the second. The play would continue, fast (relatively) and intense and we would go to the third still tied at one.

The third got off to a bang when Kevin Parker and 38 from team Blu would go for matching roughs and the sides skated 5-5. The Blues would take another penalty, and the Suds, AK in particular showed great composure resisting the retaliation and staying clear of the box the rest of the way. Miracle... I know.

The play continued past the 6 minute mark and George made a long end to end push that resulted in another snuffed shot by the Blue keeper. Worse yet number 6 (red pants) would scoop up the puck and race down the other end on a long break away and would finish it past Kilroy and the Blues would lead 2-1 with only 5 minutes left.

Once again, the pride of Old Milwaulkee would rise to the top and the tuckered Suds would take the game right back to the Blues over the next 3 minutes. Then 35 would lose his cool and once again AK would do a first rate job in drawing the penalty without retaliation and off 35 went to the box with 2:29 remaining on an interference (mugging). It was classic. He popped off as the entire Blue bench was screaming at him to keep his cool. Not to be smug but that due was overdue for a call all night long and it couldn't have been sweeter for it to come when it did.

The result was astounding. The Suds would hold the play in the zone, make a nice couple of passes and George would unleash his best slapshot of the game that would find its way through traffic and into the net for the tie with just 2:11 on the clock. Credit Kevin Parker with the assist.

Obviously nothing was over yet, and the Suds refused to relinqish the momentum they had worked so hard for. The play stayed in the blue end, and a minute later the puck would go around the zone from Nelson to Steve then back out to George who topped his best slapper on the previous shot, with an even better one that would hit paydirt and gave the Suds the lead with 1 minute to play. Just massive.

The blues would pull their keeper but couldn't muster a comeback and first Neil then Nelson would would pot empty netters at 41 and 18 seconds respectively to put this one, and the Blues on ice.

The Blues were very stand up and congratulatory in the handshake and there has rarely been a more satisfying playoff win for the Schlitz... other than championships... as far as I can recall.

Good stuff. Major ups to everyone involved.

Game Stars:

3rd Star: Matt Kilroy. Excellent work by the BMF/CEO as he turns away a lot of rubber in this one. Our boy continues to gain experience in the pipes.

2nd Star: Steve Baker. The man with the wicked shot didn't get a goal but 2 assists and a lot of legwork on the night. Good game.

1st Star: George "get that coon outta here" Moorachian for two unbelieveable slappers that would tie then win the game for the Suds. A great effort by George all night long and a well deserved game star for the defenseman.

This comment came in this morning from Pete Capraro about this game:

"Grit" is all I have to say for game 1, Braveheart style."

Which brings us... to the nightcap.

Cadavers vs D-Minus

Monday September 21

Canton 10:40pm

4-2 Win!

The nightcap would see a tired group of suds join the 6 guys scheduled to play for Team Zombie. The Dead would defer to the Minus and thier red shirts and would again play as the Schlitz for the sake of visibility. Here's how the lineup went.

D1: Steve, Mark

D2: George, Jeff

O1: Roman, Matvey, and Hammit

O2: Nelson, AK, and Howard

O3: Neil, Scott, and Ken G.

Lizzy in Net.

Lots of double ups as you can see from the roster.

This game was not nearly as contentious as the first game, as witnessed by the complete lack of a penalty from either team for the whole game. The Dead in Yellow would strike first, about 3 minutes into the game when AK Douville would bury a pass from Neil and put them up 1-0. AS really good night all the way around for Ken who had good chances all night.

The score would stay that way until well into the second.

Jeff would make a horrible clearing attempt on the right boards that was scooped up and bandied about in front of Lizzy until they popped it home for tie. This was only a minute or so into the second. The play would continue at a slower, but still urgent pace for both teams until the Dead would break the tie with a bang bang play of their own. Keeping the puck in the red end Mark would feed Nelson who would feed Mitch who would tap home the puck for the lead after a lot of gritty hard work in front of the net. This goal has been up for debate and probably could be credited to Ken G or Nelson but from my perspective Ken touched it last so he's getting the goal weather he wants it or not.

Before the period was out Old Reliable Nelson would surface again with more mucking in grinding that would result in paydirt. Nelson would bang home a play from Jeff, and Mitch and would give the Golden Dead the 3-1 lead with a minute left in the second. We would go to the third 3-1 Zombies.

D-Minus wasn't done and again capitalizing on a shakey play in our own end would make the game 3-2 with 7 minutes remaining. That led to some anxious moments on the Zombie bench but those fears would be put away when Roman would do his best Nelson imitation and woudl plunk one home from the side of the net after mucking about the zone for a minute or so. Credit Matvey and Howard with the helpers on Roman's goal.
That was it. Game over 4-2 and a pair of nice playoff wins for the 'daveurs.

Game Stars

3rd Star: Lizzy. Another very solid playoff performance from our Gal in the pipes. Great work.

2nd Star: Ken Goldenberg for a goal and an assist and an all around good night.

1st Star: Do I have to say his name? Doubling up. Mucking and grinding like he... likes it. Working hard and making others play hard around him. A goal and an assist at least. Nelson Bleeping Sharfman. Great work as always my man.

So now we are down to the nitty gritty.

Playoff 'Daveur.

Thursday Night.

Canton 10:40pm (I know the schedule says 10:50 but lets go with the normal rink time)

Bring it. Loser goes home.

Suds Punish D Minus after Traffic Debacle

Schlitz (14) vs D-Minus

Tuesday August 11th

Canton 10:10pm

9-1 Win

This was a strange one on a hot night in Canton. Apparently there was a car fire right before the 139 exit off of route 24 that cause major problems. Poor iJosh was reduced to updating his Facebook status from his cellphone... chatting with Ken as they sat next to each other in traffic (in their own cars) then turning around and going home having missed the game for all his trouble.

Sounds like it took its toll on ours and Dminus' roster so things came out even. Nice to play a "weaker" team on a night like this. Nice to see those numbers on the scoreboard for us. Here are some quick Guest blog comments. First from Capt. Mark Reynolds:

"Not much of a game last night. An overwhelming 9-1 win for the Suds.
About 1/2 the team for both sides didn't make it to the game due to a car fire on Rt. 24.

We played with 5 skaters for 1/2 of the fist period until replacements arrived. No one complained about not enough ice time.

The Suds took a few penalties on BS calls, but it didn't impact the game.

Congrats to H.H. for scoring his first goal!"

Thanks Mark. Friends Mark happend to leave out that he had a FIVE GOAL NIGHT. That news would come in from our man Larry Bell who would submit this recap of the night's fun:

"I got there just as the game was starting after sitting in traffic for 1/2 hour on 24 about 1 mile from the exit. Apparently there was a car fire, but it was extinguished by the time I passed by. Campbell, Steve, Howard, Mark and Scott were our only 5 skaters at the time and Brian was in net. George and Hammitt made it onto the ice by the start of the second, for a strong 8. I think D- had about 10, but it didn't matter. We were in their zone all night and peppered their goalie who held down the fort as best he could. But, he could only do so much, they are a truly bad team.

Scoring Summary
1st: Heppleman 1 - unasst, Baker 1 - unasst, Baker 2 - unasst
2nd: Reynolds 1 - unasst, Reynolds 2 - Campbell, Reynolds 3 - unasst
3rd: Reynolds 4 - Hammitt, Reynolds 5 - George, Baker 3 - unasst.

9 goals, 3 assists - another stellar night by the refs and scorekeeper...

Penalties
1st: Baker - Penalty Shot for D-, stopped by BCare.
2nd: Campbell - Tripping, Campbell - Tripping
3rd: Baker - High Stick, Pounds - Tripping"

Good work boys. Sorry about the rough traffic... but I'm glad to hear about the outcome.

Lets hope we draw this crew for the first round of the playoffs for one of the teams.

Suds fight back to tie Jacks

Schlitz (13) vs Inglewood Jacks
Wednesday August 5
Dedham 9:10

4-4 Tie


The Gold made what they could out of an uneven performance, and somehow found the grit to pull off a come-back and earn a tough tie against the Inglewood Jacks. The Schlitz would play the majority of the game behind 3-1 to the undermanned (7 skaters) but always sharpshooting Jacks. Late in the third they would again be down 4-2 but would score the last two to earn a draw on an exhausting night in Dedham.

The suds would have an even 10 players after Jeff showed up as the Zamboni was nearly halfway done. CEO/GQ Madd Matt Kilroy was back in the pipes after a brief “I think I hurt myself” hiatus of nearly 2 weeks and would “look sharp” all night. The D was anchored by the pairings of Capt.George, Matvey and Campbell, Fosdick, who were also playing together for the first time in what seemed like a long time.
The forwards would be ably manned by centers Pete “That’s crap George” Capraro and Neil “Just give me rookie of the year now, dude” Shah. Wings included Nelson Greybeard Sharfman, Chuck Slate, Dr. Pounds, and Howard Heppleman. Howard and Neil were nice enough to bring along some fans, and they were nice enough to hang out and watch us play. Major props to Sarah and April for supporting the Suds, although in April’s case, it seems Howard brought her in order to prove that he’s really joined a hockey team.

The game would start on a good beat. The Suds were clearly at an advantage given the Jack’s short bench and seemed to take the game to them right away. The Gold were able to keep things in front of them and in general kept the play away from their most dangerous players, and in their end or tied up at center ice. That would last for the first 5 to 6 minutes of the game and it looked pretty good, we were getting decent chances and Kilroy had already made some solid stops and showed he would be there all night.
Then Dr. Pounds would plop home a nifty rebound after Jeff would make a play at the point corralling the puck and sending back down to the crease. Good guys up 1-0.

Are you ready? Can you feel it coming? You should. The “worm would turn” when Howard would get called for a rough/hold on the guy that was busy sparring with him in front of the Jack’s keeper. Both guys had been frisky but Howard would go to the box and George would have something to say to the Zebra. The Zeebs were our old portly friend with glasses and his beak-nosed toothless partner who immediatley engaged George in some discourse that could only mean bad things for all of us.

That would lead to a tieing goal by the Jacks as they got a bit of a lift. Classic breakdown in our end and suddenly the Suds legs were not nearly as strong as they had been in the early going. The Jacks would score the next two goals, on plain old let down plays, poor coverage, and some good shooting by the guys in white. This would leave the Beercans down 3-1 halfway through the game and to be honest, sucking wind and not looking particularly impressive. The pace of the game had slowed and we showed that we couldn’t consistently push the play but were still doing a serviceable job breaking up their passes and getting occasional chances.

The next “shoe to drop” would be when Howard would take another roughing call, and then ran his mouth, which would buy him a double minor around the 11 minute mark of the second. It seems this is something we collectively just cannot get through our heads. No one should talk to the Zeebs. Blogger included. Ever.
This wouldn't have been so bad but as the penalty wound down we would take another penalty, this time on Matvey on a pretty good takedown in front of Matty. Then things got a little confusing.
During the stoppage George said something to the Zeebs. This resulted in said Zeebs realizing, apparently with George's help that Howard now had 3 penalties and should be asked to leave. He was. In the confusion it seems the Zebras forgot about Matvey's penalty as he went to serve for the now ejected Howard. It saved us a 5-3 I suppose but one has to scratch their head over just what George was thinking. This move reduced us to 9, the D now down to 3 as Matvey would skate the rest of the way in Howard's spot up front.

The second ended with the Suds in the game but wheezing. Now 9 players and in serious need of stepping it up a little. It would take nearly half the period but the Suds would indeed start to make some progress. Jeff would again keep the puck in the zone at the left point and shuttle it back in front where Nelson would dish or shoot and Neil R.O.Y. Shah would finish it nicely to bring us within one. This was with less than say 10 minutes or so to go.

Now getting some better chances and actually taking advantage of the winded IJ's the Gold looked to be on the right path. Then another breakdown. Jeff pinched a bit and a Jack's forward got outside and raced up ice when he got the puck. He got off a good shot that beat Matt while being chased. The Jacks were back up two, 4-2 and Jeff was frustrated for sure. He had a front row seat for most if not all of the Jack's goals and was none too pleased about it.

Maybe the old boy should get frustrated more often as right after the face off Jeff would take the puck from the Gold end and make a nice rush through several Jacks all the way to the other end. Neil would again provide the nice finishing touch and would bring the Beercans back within a goal with about 5 minutes left.

Things continued to go pretty well. Matt made a pair of very nice stops in the late going, and then George would take a turn rushing the puck. On a feed from Matvey, George would weave through the zone and get off a nice shot that would tie the game with just under 2 minutes to play. The 'cans would keep it up, but the Jacks would get a dangerous chance squelched by Matt in the closing moments. The game would end in a tie, but there was certainly a pretty good feeling about the comeback among the very tired Suds.

Postgame was interesting with George having a few items about our play that weren't totally off the mark, but still not particularly well recieved after the hard fought tie. No one at this point really knew that he had told the Zebras about Howards penalties until Howard spoke up.

The beer was cold and plentiful and was very easy going down in the parking lot. Thanks to Howard and wife April for bringing the packed cooler, and to Sarah and Neil for bringing suds as well. All in all a satisfactory night at the rink. Thanks again to Sarah and April for supporting the team... and watching the whole game... which brings us to:

Game Stars

3rd Stars: Superfans April and Sarah. Thanks for cheering the slow Suds on and hanging out after the game.

2nd Star: Jeff Fosdick for a 3 assist night and the end to end rush that resulted in the 3rd goal. Must have been the chicken burrito he had earlier in the evening.

1st Star: Neil Shah for a two goal night and a bucket load of hard work up and down the ice. Many times Neil could be seen doing some nice back checking to help out in our end, and creating chances all night. Nice job. He even brought a fan and beer! This guy is clearly a keeper.

Ok. One more bit of business.

We haven't heard from this dude in a while but after Captain George's... ahem... indescretions on the night we now have...

THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE COON OF SHAME.

George just couldn't resist pointing out the Zebras mistake and took a man off the roster when we were only 10 tired guys only halfway through the night. Come to think of it, his initial conversation with "The Beak" kind of set things off in a bad way. There is some redemption in the fact that it was his goal that tied the game for the Suds. Kudos for that... but the Howard thing has earned you the inglorious honor of .... The Coon.

Better yet, during the email thread this morning that included the players from last night George had something to say about this. Here, in a Blog first is George with a 'Coon acceptance speech.

"All, I'd like to apologize for being a bit too fired up after the game, and for my comments in the locker room. I should have been happy with the come from behind tie. And my apologies to Howard. I don't know what I was thinking. I was upset at the refs and wanted to point out how they were continuing to screw up... But, the instance that I pointed out wasn't in our favor. Complete brain fart on my part. With that in mind, I didn't give Howard his total of 3 minor penalties. I just got confirmation of the league rules. ;-) I willingly and shamefully accept the coon of shame.

Sorry."

Big ups to George for being a standup guy. You're truly one of us George... imperfect. We're glad to have you with us.

That's all from here. Updates at the begining of the week on upcoming games and Hockey on the Beach plans. Stay tuned.

Lets end on an up note. Thanks to Pete for chipping this in this morning as well:

"The whole thing is beautiful, seriously I love this shit, banging it up out there, getting on each other, passing to the other team mid in front of our goal, making up the next day, getting put in the box, driving people into the net, people learning new positions, sushi, beer, 4th period, the BLOG.

What more could you ask for?"

Word up Pete. Thanks.

Suds sloshed by Blues

Schlitz (12) vs Blues

Monday July 27th

Quincy 8:10pm

5-1 loss

A hot steamy early night by the swap for a very familiar matchup between the Golden Beercans and the Blues. We havent had much luck, collectively, against these guys for a while. There was some eagerness for a win in the pregame room and the suds looked like they had a good group to go into battle.

Lizzy donned her Providence Friars shirt and went for the 'Vader look. In front of her Steve Baker, Di-Lo, and Jeff would be the defensive troika. Larry would center Jassman and iJosh, and the second line would have Neil Shah centering, Pete and AK Douville. A solid 9, and the Blueshirts appeared to have no more than a full 2 lines and all the regulars were in attendance. Red Pants Robbins, and the dude with Green socks, as well as their D men (DBs) 35 (Steve) lightbluepants and #3.

The trouble started right after they dropped the puck. Seriously.

The Blues basically took it right off the drop and proceeded to stuff it down our throats for the first 6 minutes of the game. The first goal came no more than a minute in. A bang bang that had been around the zone once. Classic runaround trouble on our part. The next one came as a wraparound about a minute later. Maybe another minute after that came a long shot from the side that snuck through at the post. One more to top off the run and I can't recall exactly how that one went and it was 4-0 Blues after about 5 or 6 minutes of playing time.

The Gold would settle down and the teams would play fairly even after that. There would be chances but the 'cans just couldn't get it going, and the early lead would never be in danger. Jeff would go to the box on a trip (number 35) before the end of the first but the Gold would survive the pk. The ref was heard mumbling "...got your money's worth..." on the way by the box. Jeff was heard mumbling "We have to stay out of the box..." as he came out at the end of the period.

The Schlitz would score in the second... I can't recall exactly who... please someone comment to claim the score... the scoresheet is a complete joke... the loser kid couldn't be trouble to take his head out of his laptop and ipod to pay attention, let alone write anything down... there are things written down... just nothing that has anything to do with the game. Thanks kid. All you had to do was take 30 seconds to fill out the sheet, then just write the numbers and times down when the man with the stripped shirt tells you them... imbecile. We had another penalty, I'm pretty sure it was Di-Lo who had a pretty good game all the way around. The Blues would connect once more to make it 5-1 and we would play out the third to a draw.

A few things have to be noted. Aside from the shakey early going Lizzy settled and made a bunch of good stops later in the game, particularly in the third. Also there was good hard work

and all around effort at the very least from most of the Gold. Steve was covering lots of ground, Larry was flying around as usual, Pete and AK were mixing it up on a regular basis and Neil had some chances. Other than that... man it was pretty lack luster.

Lets have a better showing against these guys on Wednesday.

No game stars.

Suds go down to Dogs.

Schlitz (10) vs CH Terriers

Tuesday July 14

Dedham 10:10pm

4-0 loss

Almost total radio silence on this one... as could be expected. No scoring and just a handfull of penalties. However not only does he run the teams but he also occasionally throws the Blogger a bone and guest stars right here. This is from CEO Kilroy:

"Last night 4-0 loss, I think. First goal SOFT. Bad Matt. 2’nd and 3’rd goals definitely harder but stoppable. I don’t remember the 4th.

Campbell had an epic collision with a player on their team. The collision was at the opponents blue line. I was watching the puck from our end admiring the graceful ebb and flow of total movement, keeping an eye on the center of the gold and red whirlwind and letting my peripheral vision take in the outskirts. No doubt you would question the use of the word ‘graceful’ because, as we are all well aware, the components of the flow are comprised of individual hacking/smashing/falling middle aged D league, but the big picture is a bit graceful. I did not see the actual collision, but just as the puck pulled the center of the whirlwind to the left there was a sudden and violent stoppage of movement in the pucks wake, accompanied by a small shock wave that passed through the arena.

There were no tangential forces deflecting movement and body parts as happens with an angled collision, there was only full-on hard-hitting physics denying the occupation of the same space by two solid objects. They both went down, both got up, both took a second to run an internal diagnostic for broken parts, and then enjoyed the instant camaraderie that comes with cooperatively (or luckily) averting major harm.

Larry in the box, Matching
Campbell in the box at least once Matching
Kevin in the box?"

Good stuff boss... the recap... not the game. No Game Stars... again.

Suds scrap with Tigers and get scratched

Schlitz (9) vs Tigers
Monday July 6th
Canton 9:00pm


2-1 Loss



The second game of the Monday night Davah Double was over in our other Home rink Canton. Management knew that it might be tough to get two full squads for a game on Monday right after a big holiday weekend, and the suspicion proved to be legit. There were quite a few drop outs and no shows, that are all understandable given all the beer, burgers and fun that was surely had by everyone over the weekend. With that in mind, the CEO asked a few guys to double up if they felt up to it. So the trio of Roman, Dave Di, and Jeff Fosdick would change in Quincy and boogie over to Canton to lace em up for the Suds in the nightcap. Good thing. with those 3 we made another even 10.
CEO BMF Kilroy in the Pipes.
D1: George and Jeff
D2: Dave Di and Mark Reynolds
O1: Dr.Jasse, Capraro, and Chuck
O2: Roman, Howard, and Kevin Parker

This game would not be the high scoring affair that the first one was. Not even close. This game would be a very nip and tuck, close to the vest kind of thing with our old “friends” El Tigre. They are about the same as they always are. Their talent skates the right D and wears number 8 and the Gold did a lot of chasing of that dude all night. Also noteable are regulars #18 and #55 both with Panthers jerseys like #8, and those two seemed like they were infront of Kirloy or crashing into him all night.

The Gold would play a up and down first period that was not without its chances and mistakes. Kilroy in general turned in another very solid performance and made some very nice stops in the opening frame that kept things under control. The Red would have one penalty in the first, but the Gold couldn't do a thing with the PP and the period would end 0-0 with a feeling that the game would be very tight the rest of the way.

The Red would open the second with another penalty but again no blood from the Beercans. That is until Kevin Parker would wrist one home from Roman and Chuck that would put the 'Cans up on top 1-0 with 8 minutes to go in the 2nd. The Gold would then pick up thier first penalty of the game about a minute later when Dave Diloretto would go for a hold. Sketchy. Interestingly enough the Red wouldn't score on the power play but did break through at the 4:30 mark beating Matty to even things up. The second would end 1-1.

So... observant reader of the blog. You know whats coming next right? You know what our rep is right? You know that as the game stayed tight and things got chippy, the whistles started coming, and the mouths started running. Diloretto would go again at the begining of the period. Then all hell broke loose when George would have a battle with Old 55 behind our net in which they exchanged some pleasantries and stickwork. On the way to the box George had a few things for the Zebra to consider... and 55 would go as a match.

But that was it. The dam was broken and leaking. Reynolds would go next 30 seconds later. Then Diloretto less than a minute after that. A bogus call that meant Dave was done for the night and he let the Zeebs know how he felt. Howard would serve that one.

So there we were, in a very tight game, now down 5 on 3 with one D man ejected and 2 in the box. Jeff would hack at #8 and got mostly puck but was called for a trip like 10 seconds later. So now we were still 5 on 3 but all three remaining D in the box. The Gold played admirabley on the kill. Namely Parker, Roman, Capraro and Kilroy doing strong work to keep the game tied. By the time we were all even again there was less than 4 minutes to play.

The attrition was too much. Too many plays where we got caught running around, Roman and Jeff were out of gas given that they had played two full games at this point, and the worst possible thing happened. (well maybe not the worst ... but you know what I mean). The Tigers would score on a screen shot after a long scramble in our end at the :50 second mark.

Blech.

A good effort, but not really very consistant play on the Beercans part and a tough loss in the waning seconds to a club we could have stolen one from.

No Game Stars, but honorable mentions to Matt for another solid game in net, and Dave, Romand and Jeff who played both games of the double header and are surely feeling it today. Well... I'm feeling it today.

Stay tuned for schedule updates later in the week.

Suds fall (and break) to Blues

Schlitz (8) vs Blues
Tuesday June 30th
Dedham 10:10pm

4-3 Loss




Well the blogger doesn't have a lot to run on with this one. The CEO in the pipes was able to forward me the stats for the game and you will see them below. The big story of the night was that Chris Fosdick broke his arm on his first shift. This was apparently the result of an awkward fall after some contact from a Blue defenseman. Dr. Jasse was heard commenting that he was on the ice and 5 feet away from him and didn't have any idea what had happened until Greg James called the ref over to get an ambulance.

Big Kudos to Mr. James for assisting Chris in getting undressed and to the ambulance. A true teammate move by Greg. Chris was in a lot of pain and was very grateful to have the help.
Despite an overnight at Norwood Hospital and surgery the next afternoon Chris was seen (breifly) over the holiday weekend in pretty good spirits, and significantly less pain. Here's to a speedy recovery... but the reality is we've lost a quality forward for at least 8 weeks.

The only other story line here is that the Suds were leading this game 3-2 with less than 10 minutes remaining and ended up falling to the Blues 4-3 in the waning moments. Frustrating. Especially against those guys.
Anyone with a story to tell or any kind of information on how the game went please PLEASE add it in the comments or email me.
Thanks. Here are the stats from Matty.

3-4 loss vs the Blues

1st Goal by Neil
2nd Goal by Neil
3rd Goal by Scott

2nd slashing Campbell
3rd slashing Larry

1st broken wrist - Chris


This was the pic Chris sent me while waiting for surgery on Wednesday morning.

Um... ow.

Chris just checked in with an account of how this went down. Here he is:

"The story: As you now we were getting great pressure on them that 1st shift. I had been in scrum in front of the net and flipped the puck toward a yawning net, when the sprawling goalie made an unbelievable stop with the tip of his outstreched glove. They got control behind the net, and I started moving back (toward our end), when their Defenceman tried to make a breakout pass that I intercepted in my skates, bounced out to my stick and I turned and whipped a shot at the net from the middle slot. Simultaneously, their other defenceman hit me from behind (remember I was aleady spinning to get that shot off), and as I fell my whole body was spinning. So, my right hand which is my downstick hand was away from my body and was accelerated as I spun and crashed down with all the force of my body and the spinning motion right on my hand (I was still holding onto the stick, which I think may have added to the shock). So, both bones broke about an inch above my wrist (thank god). Now they are plated and screwed together, and feeling much better. It still is a major pain in the ass, and I don't recommend it to anyone."

Thanks Chris, and best wishes for a speedy recovery. Everyone has been asking about you and hopes you are feeling better soon.
Good luck

Suds fall to Shellfish

Schlitz (7) vs Lobsters
Wednesday June 24th
BU 9:10pm

4-3 Loss


A tough night but a good skate at BU against team Shellfish. Always nice to lace them up at the old Walter Brown Arena, a lot of good memories for the blogger in that shabby old cave. Unfortunately this game against the Lobsters wouldn’t be competeing for room with any of those good memories.
The Suds showed in good numbers and had a nice lineup to face the new look Lobsters who’ve clearly found the right formula for them with a pair of dynamic ladies anchored by a very solid C level half shield dude on D. They have been tough to beat for us since they’ve had the pickups and haven’t won many against them.
I think any cough reasonable analysis of the situation would reveal two things. First we have trouble with fast skating forwards who can stickhandle, and secondly we are old and prone to spending time in the penalty box. And we’re old.
The Suds looked like this.
D pairs: Cambell-James. Jeff-Dave Diloretto*
O-Fence. Nelson, Larry, Mark, Chuck, Matvey, AK(Angry Ken), Neil Shah*, Howard Heppelman, and Blake.
Matt CEOBMF Kilroy in the pipes.
* - rookie of the year candidate.

There was reasonable, if not unfounded optimitsm going into the game and the Suds did an admirable job of jumping to the play and taking it to the Lobsters in the early going. It was clear very early on that our work would be cut out for us as we chased around the girls in the magenta shirts. We even were the benefactor of the first three whistles of the game as the Lobsters were called for the first group of infractions. The Power Play didn’t net any results but the game had a good pace and the Suds were holding their own.
It didn’t take long for two things to change. First we started making mistakes on D and in general, and second we began a litteral parade to the sin bin. The breakdowns gave the Lobsters a 2 goal lead about halfway through the period. Not much Matty could do on either of them, the first a long break by the tall girl who just ripped a wrist shot, the second an extended pass around the zone affair. No glory for the Gold until Mark Reynolds would land a hard work chance fed by Nelson and the Suds would stay in the game at 2-1. Before the end of the first the Lobsters would strike once more and the first would end 3-1.
The play was fairly fiesty back and forth. Mark and their star 7 had a few things to say to each other as the second period got going. The Suds were showing good heart, skating hard, taking short shifts, Matty was playing very well all night. Dave Diloretto jumped into the play a few times trying to create chances. At one point the puck came loose at the top of the zone while Dave was still low, Jeff jumped up to stop the puck and fed it back to Dave who fired a brilliant shot that pulled the Suds back within one. It wasn’t too long after that that the offense would answer as well when Larry would score, again on a feed from Nelson. Their line did a great job all night and had buckets of chances.
So dig this. The game is now tied 3-3 and the teams are exhaustedly going after it at a good pace. Then the parade begins.
Mark goes for a slash (Mr.Superstar)
AK goes for a rough.
Bonehead defenseman Jeff for too many men (a little to eager to replace Campbell who was still in the play. Gratefully served by another teammate. thanks…)
Greg for a hook and then
Mark again for Interference.
And this was all before the end of the second period. This did include at least one 5 on 3 streach of more than a minute.
The Lobsters, amazinly enough wouldn’t capitalize until just seconds left in the period. That was a credit to Matthew who is rounding into a very nice regular keeper. He was all over the place and made a number of excellent stops. Despite the work of the CEOBMF the Red would score with less than a minute on a long scramble and breakdown in our end and the second would end 4-3 Red.
The third was just no bargain. The suds tried and tried to get over on the Red but there was nothing doing. Some good chances but 77 would make a trip… for a trip and the coup de grace would be old bonehead #10 with just under 3 minutes to play as he would perform a discreet mugging on one of the magenta shirts as she broke to the net. Jeff hauled her down and took the final penalty of the night and would effectively end the Suds hopes. There were a few good chances in the last minute, we even pulled Matty but no dice.
Kudos for the effort to everyone all the way around, but it would really be nice to get them the next time around.

Monday night

Schlitz (6) vs Tigers

Monday June 15th

Canton 8:00pm

2-1 Win!

Here are some excellent guest blog comments on the game from Monday night. Sounds like a really good game for the good guys against a team that usually gives us fits. Here are your story lines from the guys who were there.

Lets start off with a nice contribution from Larry Bell:

Last night we earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Tigers. We had some new recruits who played a vital role on defense - my friend Matt Parabicoli, and Lizzie's friend Adam. They were the two best skaters on the ice, and controlled the play from D. The Tigers had #8 and some scrappers on offense but their time in our zone was limited.

The lines were:
D1: Steve and Adam
D2: Mark and Matt
Nelson and I were the two centers with wing pairs:W1: Matvey and Roman
W2: Hammit and Angry Ken
W3: Dr Pounds and Howard
Schlitz struck first in period 1 - Adam (unassisted). I didn't see the goal, but this guy had no problems skating the puck into the Tigers zone and getting shots off all night. Matvey nearly put us up 2-0 on the PK as heintercepted the puck deep in the Tigs zone, moved into the slot and ripped a shot right into the goalie's midsection.

The Tigers came back to tie it up in the second. Their was a delayed penalty on the Suds and the Tiger's goalie went off the ice for an extra skater. The gold were running around in our own zone when a shot from the point was deflected in by a high stick. Apparently the refs did not see whose stick it deflected off, so they allowed the goal and negated the penalty.

Between the 2nd and 3rd, the little ref was giving me some pointers on my skating. This paid off early in the third as I broke in 2-1 with Roman. I tried to pass across to Roman who was knocked down by the D and went sprawling toward the net. The Tiger's D-man gave the puck right back to me and my second pass attempt went into the net for a 2-1 lead. We held on for a 2-1 win.
Those vying for the Campbell award included Mark for Interference in the 1st and Roman for a high stick in the 2nd."

Thanks Larry! Great work.

Here is Dr. Pounds with another excellent recap

"Bottom line was a 2-1 win us. Their goalie was good. We had many chances in tight. Our goalie was better. The only score against us comes with an asterisk. The Tigers got the puck in deep with numbers and got a couple of chances, then the puck was put in from the point - shoulder high – and one of the Tigers batted at it and it bounced down and in. Clearly a high stick, and the goal was initially called off. After the refs talked it over, though, they let the goal stand. It seems that one ref clearly saw the high stick but could not tell which player was wielding said lumber, so it could have been the Schlitz. It wasn’t, believe me. The other ref only saw the puck go in.

Lizzie had one save that would have made the ESPN highlight reel. A Tiger ripped off a pretty good low shot from just inside the blue line that was headed for the near post. Lizzie kicked it up and out of the rink. In the old Garden it would have had a chance to make it into the balcony.

One of the refs was good enough to give Larry some skating tips. Something about moving your limbs forward and not so much side to side. Ten Lady Byng points to Larry for letting that go.

We ended up with no waters, but Adam brought a 30 pack of Bud Light into the locker room, so we were able to rehydrate properly after the game."
... Thanks Doc. Great job as always.

Here's Captain Mark Reynolds with a few comments to add.

Gold controlled the play for ¾ game and had lots of opps.

The Tiger’s lone goal was up for dispute. A Tiger high stick knocked it in, but the zebras were confused and awarded the point, 1-1. No worries for the Gold. We knew we’d get another, and we did.
Game stars: #3 – Larry
#2 – Adam
#1 – Lizzy – another great game inside the pipes – and did not utter any profanity
I find that last one hard to believe... but sound good.

Thanks guys and great job all night. Wait... Lizzy has something to add here too...

"From last nights game Howie should be first star. He worked hard and
played awesome and had at least a hat trick of shots, although I think he had more. He will be scoring many goals soon. He also brought his wife April who was a great fan!"

Well alright... a nice shout out from our Lady of the Nets... Thanks Liz.