Cads lose to Spuniks. Its all over now.

Cadavers (p3) vs Sitniks

Thursday April 16th

Canton 7:00pm

5-2 Loss.

The news out of Zombieville is no good this morning friends. The Dead in Red went down to the Red Army (wearing purple) and the book is officially closed on the Cadaver 08-09 campaign. The word is that Team Sputnik had three full lines to the Dead's two and really had a strong lineup on the ice. It also sounds like Brian "Long arm of the Law" Carey had another great playoff performance, only to be squandered by some lackluster play on the part of the rest of the Zombie roster.

There was the faint ringing of some complaints here and there but that's all that I'll say about it, our guest bloggers have a comment though down below here. It sounds like a frustrating one, but really, hasn't this just been a season of frustrating games? This whole thing had a stench on it from the start, so as far as the Blogger is concerend good riddance to Winter 08-09. Let's try to get some different mojo going for the summer season.

Lets get on to the first hand accounts and summary of the game. Here is the rundown from Defenseman Marc Valenti:

"Period 1
Sputniks Goal @ 10:05
Dead Penalty @ 12:07, Tripping #11
Close period, we kept the pressure and Brain played great.

Period 2
Sputniks Goal @ 6:21
Sputniks Goal @ 3:06
Dead Penalty @ 0:02, Roughing #16
With our two lines to their three lines of decent skaters we began to run out of steam. Brian played great.

Period 3
Sputniks Goal @ 16:33
Sputniks Goal @ 7:02
Dead Penalty @ 4:47, Roughing #11
Dead Goal @ 1:11, #2 Unassisted
Dead Goal @ 0:50, #44 Unassisted
We staged a comeback, just too late. Brian played great, score doesn’t show it.

Overall, the calls did seem one sided and they had #25 who was the ringer that we played with the last time we played them.
The roster says him name is Sasha Tkachev, NOT. Nelson told the refs to check his ID and they would not, therefore, it doesn’t matter. It’s all hot air. They brought in a ringer for a playoff game, really, it’s D league.
Final Score 5-2"

Nice wrap from Marc. Here are some comments from another D-man Chris Fosdick. He gives a nice recap on the two third period goals here.

"Brian turned in another amazing performance, he is really improving. However, we just couldn't get it done. ...

It's not that they were so good, but they did come out and hustle more than we did and that made the difference. They pass pretty well too, but if we had had even slightly different personnel we could have beat them. It was very frustrating. ...

Finally with less than 2 mins left Dan G. was battling in the corner with two guys on him, and I was wide open on the point, so I called for the puck, which he got to me and I released a cannon of a shot that beat the goalie high glove side. Then, 30 seconds or so later we get the puck in their zone and make another bid and Dan G stuffs in a losse puck in the scrum in front of the net. So in the end we had at least a little redemption, but also a condemnation ... [comment deleted]"

Thanks for the words and recap bro'. Good job with the goal at the end there, and thanks for taking the shifts on D when the team needed you.

Good luck to the Sputniks/Sitniks... try not to get blown out in the next game.

Thats all from here. See you for the begining of the Summer Season. I'll work up the end of season statistics and dreaded season wrap post while I'm on vacation in Florida next week.

As far as I'm concerned this party is over. Last one out... turn off the lights.

Cadavers Face Sitniks Tonight!

Cadavers (p3) vs Sitniks

Thursday 4/16

Canton 7:00pm

This is it folks. The playoffs continue tonight with Team Zombie facing the Sputniks in and elimination game in the early evening in Canton. The Sitniks won last night to continue thier own run and look to advance at the expense of the Dead in Red.

Management is still looking for some warm bodies for this one so if you are available get an email in, or heck just show up for the game. Seriously. Here is the confirmed roster as of Noontime.

CADAVERS

Nelson
Chris F
Scott
Larry
Dan G
Matt E
George
Marc V
Chuck
Ken D
Brian - Net

Lets have a good turnout and try to keep it going against these guys. Some of you may recall that they have a few familiar faces over there... namely Roman and Matvey. Be sure to give them your best when you see them.

Good luck Zombies.

Suds go down in loss to Blues

Schlitz (p3) vs Blues

Wednesday 4/15

Dedham 9:10pm

4-1 loss

Well folks, it really hasn't been a pretty this season for the suds, and last night's season finale was really no different. U.G.L.Y... you ain't got no alibi ugly. I wasn't for lack of trying. It wasn't for lack of players. I wasn't for lack of desire, but most of the night was an excercise in futility for the Golden Beercans as they were eliminated from the winter playoffs by the Blues.

There was plenty of willing skaters. Jeff Fosdick showed up after working late to make an uneven 14 , but was encouraged to dress as not everyone (Parker) had shown up before the game began. Jeff thanks his D teammates, George, Mike C, DWH, and Mike Daley for being understanding enough to have him.

The forwards were iJosh, Jasse and Capraro; Nelson, Mitch and Scott; and Parker, Blake and Gregson. Mr. Newpads and newoutlook CEO.BMF.Kilroy in the pipes.

The game was pretty close for the first period. We can run with the Blues and usually do. They clearly had their playoff roster intact for the night and they played well. The teams went back and forth and Matty made a few good saves to get warmed up.

It wasn't long however until a nifty player for the Blues took advantage and bounced an unlikely shot off of Matts elbow and back into the net for a cheap 1-0 lead. The Gold tried to double their efforts... without much success.

The Gold would answer.... believe it or not. Jeff Fosdick would pick up a loose puck in at the blue line then would fire a shot that went through traffic, and off Capraro's skate and into the net. Jeff got credit for the goal... but he owes it all to the traffic in front courtesy of Pete and Jasse. Thanks guys. The period would end 1-1 and the Gold was far from discouraged.

The Blues would be the next to score, on a bungled play (a theme) in our own end. The Blues would take a turnover and make a nice pass to a forward camped out right next to Matt who drove it home to take the lead back 2-1. Not much Matty could do on that one either. The Blues would strike again on another give away in our end that resulted in a short break away. A quick move and the score was 3-1. The second intermission was much quieter on the bench than the first.

The third was quite unremarkable aside from the Blues scoreing again in the first 2 minutes. The Gold would continue to try hard but was plagued by mistakes and just never got anything going. That is how this one would end. Not much more to report other than a benalty for Parker and one for Campbell but that was it.

So the sun sets on a quirky, not so fun season for the Schlitz, who look forward to a few weeks rest and a clean slate when the summer season begins.

Shame to see good players like Gregson, Daley, and Herbert go, knowing that they are out for the summer, but we look forward to getting those guys back in the fall.

No Game Stars.

Overheard in the parking lot 1: As Campbell and Jasse loaded Kilroy's truck with toys and baby stuff they are getting rid of... "Jesus Joe they brought their F*cking TOYS with them..."

Overheard in the parking lot 2: "Its kind of a bummer when your rival...doesn't think of you as a rival"

Overheard in the parking lot 3: In regards to the setup of a Schlidaveur Twitter feed for the blog.

Daley:"You could message while on the bench... 'getting smoked 4 nothing right now..."

Parker:"Or while you're playing...' ROMAN! PASS THE PUCK!'"

A nice scrape on the blogger courtesy of our friends the Blues

Exciting Pair (of Games) Coming Up

Ok Team... while we sort some things out over last nights game between the Zombies and the Rats we still have a few things to look forward to this week.

Namely two more playoff games.

First up is Team Beercan (0-1) squares off against our old and familiar rival the Blues (1-1) in a classic elimination game.

Schlitz (p2) vs Blues

Wednesday April 15th

Dedham 9:00pm

Kilroy tells me we have 13 confirmed for this one... so lets make sure we give 'em hell. Recent history here... actually kind of interesting reading. Lets be sure to beat these guys and knock them out.

The winner of this game plays the NEXT NIGHT... Thursday 4/16 @10:10pm at the Bavis Rink.... so lets start planning ahead...

Next up is a Thursday night matchup for the Zombies, now 1-1 thanks to the Rats. They will play the winner of Sitniks and Spartan's game on Wednesday night. Lets be honest... we probably wouldn't mind seeing either of those clubs after facing the Rats....

Cadavers (p3) vs Sitniks/Spartans

Thursday April 16th

Canton 7:00pm

Get your responses for availablilty into Managment for this game ASAP!!! The winner of this game will play again on Monday 4/27.

Rats chew on Cads.

Cadavers (p2) vs River Rats

Monday April 13th
Dedham 10:20pm

4-0 loss

Looks like we didn't fare any better against the Rats than we have any other time we've played them this season. Reports are still slow coming in on this one...

Anyone with a Tale to tell... drop a dime to the Blogger... you know where to find me.
I will update this post when I have something of significance to add....

Oh wait a minute... I do have something...

Twas some other playoff hockey to think about over the weekend. So in the interest of denial… and the cheap excuse to crow about my own team…
The Blogger would like to congratulate the 08-09 Boston University Terrier Hockey Team on their National Championship. The Terriers played an incredible game on Saturday night. I’m here to tell you that as the evening wore on at Chez Blogger there was long faces and copious beer consumption. Things looked very dark… then things got much much better. Zach Cohen pulls them within one, then Colin Wilson ties it up. When Colby Cohen’s goal fluttered in during overtime I can tell you this… there was some serious dancing on the coffee table. Way to go boys. Way to go Jack.
Its always special when your team wins the big one… let alone when they practically give you a heart attack doing it.

Credit Boston Globe for Pics from Today's Championship Rally on Comm. Ave.

Woo Hoo!
...and by the way... BC STILL SUCKS!

Playoffs Tonight! Zombies vs Rats!

Cadavers (p2) vs River Rats

Monday April 13th

Dedham 10:10pm

Hey there 'daveurs... another big Playoff Tilt on the way for Tonight in Dedham.

Here is the late breaking roster for the game against the Rats. We haven't had much success against these guys... and they are the number 1 seed for a reason. Ahem... so I just did a little math and came up with some numbers... we are 0-4 against these guys this year and the goals for/against stand at... are you ready? ... no really do you think you're ready?

29-1 for the four games. I'm not kidding.

Lets have a good turnout and a good game and try to pull off a big upset.

Here is just the crew that can do it. Have 'at em boys.

Cadavers

Roman

Matvey

Chris F

Stefan

Larry

Pearlman

Hammitt

Elliot

George

Marc V

Chuck

Mark R

Ken D

Brian "Long arm of the Law" Carey in Net

Suds fall to Goats

Schlitz vs Scapegoats
Thursday April 9th
Hingham C 10:20pm

6-2 Loss

The Blogger has been waiting for stories from this one to come in, but the early news was not good. Sort of like news coming back from the front when things aren’t going so well.

The messenger shows up limping, with a bandaged head, and can barely salute when he tells the generals that he’s the only one left from the 5th Cavalry division.

I’ve got a feeling iJosh has got something for us somewhere out there so well keep an eye to the email.
...wait... here's iJosh now...

With a 3rd straight Schlitz Championship in the balance the pressure was on from the start. George would lead the blueliners along with Dan with Hands, Mike Daley and always versatile and level headed Mark Reynolds.
The forwards would be centered by Roman and Gritty and Grizzly Old Nelson, who's playoff beard full of large patches of gray just add to the character. The wing pairs would be Matt Elliott and Matvey, Dr. Pounds and Dan Gregson, Capraro and iJosh.

No doubt the team felt the pressure as there was almost no flow, no control, no offense and certainly no defense to start the game. This would lead to a very quick set of goals by the Scapegoats. The first just a scrum of players near the crease, the 2nd a perfect pick set by our own defense allowed the opposing forward to deke "unseen" before moving around everyone and slide the puck into the open net. The 3rd goal would soon be netted before the end of the 1st came to a merciful end. Both Mark Reynolds and Dan with Hands would be sent to the sin bin in this period courtesy of a hold and a slash.

So the Golden Beer Cans had to get back into this game. And the only way to get back in was to score the next goal. But that is not how this story goes. Not before long, the Suds would find themselves down early in the 2nd by the overwhelming score of 4-0. Nothing was going the Suds way. Absolutely, positively nothing. At one point the Cans had a 5 on 3 penalty and got a grand total of 0 shots for and quite possibly a few against. You could tell exactly how the game was going by closing your eyes and determining the level of excitement in George's voice. And after doing exactly that, following the 2 man advantage, one would have thought we were down 4-0 with no appearance of hockey skills what-so-ever. So after getting the verbal assault we deserved, some people would actually get to work.

First Gritty and Grizzly Old Nelson would do what Nelson does, find a way to get the hard working goal.

Then Matvey would find paydirt, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Then the Team of Beer was just flat once again giving way to another goal ending the period at 5-2. Somewhere in this period Dan Gregson would get called for a hook.

Plodding into the 3rd would see more of the same. The best news out of this period wasn't that Dan Gregson was called for an interference or that instead of the game ending 7-2 it ended 6-2 after a goal was waved off due to a goaltender interference penalty on the Goats.

So our night over and our playoff hopes damaged we will head toward Wednesday knowing that one more loss and we are done. Hopefully it will be better next time.

... great work iJosh as always. Too bad about the outcome.

The suds are on deck for Wednesday 4/15 against... The Blues

Bavis Arena 10:10pm

Lets have a good game against the rival Blues... whom we haven't played in a while.

Quick Playoff Update. Rosters Tonight

Ok team... just an update on tonight's game and last night's action.

Last night the Dead in Red went out and took care of Bid-nez by waxing the Spartans to the tune of 5-0. You read it right friends. A big night for Team Zombie with terrific contributions from Daley, Parker, Carey, Sharfman... the list goes on. Blog post to follow... honest.

Before you get too excited that means that the Cads will now face off against #1 Seed the River Rats on Monday April 13th in Dedham @10:10pm. If you skated last night, get your availablity in to Managment asap for the game. If the Cads win that game they play again on Wednesday night the 15th, if they lose they play Thursday the 16th.

But enough about them. Tonight is all about the Golden Beercans. The 'cans will face a group we know well the Scapegoats. We've actually had some success against the 'goats. Most notably we haven't played them since the Championship Game from the end of last Summer Season. It didn't seem that long, and its a bit mystifying that we didn't face them once this whole season.

Regardless... here is your confirmed roster for tonight. Skate well everyone.

SCHLITZ vs Scapegoats

Hingham C 10:20pm

THURSDAY APRIL9th

Lizzy in the Nets

Roman, Matvey, iJosh,

Nelson, Scott, Larry,

Gregson, Herbert, Underhill,

Capraro, Reynolds, Daley, and George.

Oh and by the way... win or lose this group skates again next Wednesday night the 15th. Feel free to get your availablity in to Management asap. Thanks.

Zombies Conquer Sparta!

Cadavers (p1) vs Spartans
Wednesday April 8
Hingham C 10:20

5-0 Win

The Dead in Red showed up for the start of the Winter Season Playoffs ready for action. The Spartans were the opponent for the night, having just played on Sunday. They had beaten the CH Terriers that night and won the opportunity to play against us. The Zombies were well stocked, taking the ice with 12 and adding Stephan before the end of the first to round us out to and even 13. The Spartans looked to be suffering from Second Game of the Week Syndrome and had a thin bench of 8 guys. It might have been 9 but they looked like 8 all night. This clearly played to the Dead’s advantage.

The Zombie Lineup was thus.
Campbell, Valenti, Jeff, and Stephan on D. Chris Fosdick played the first then went up to forward. Nelson, Mike Daley, Pete, Matt Elliot, Matvey, Chuck, Parker, and Douville made up the hard working Oh-Fence for the night. Pete was an unexpected drop in… but he happened to be driving by, with his equipment, on his way back from the imaginary practice/game at Quincy Youth Arena… luckily we had a spot for him, and to his credit he made the most of it.

The game went like this. We pressed, played hard, shifted short, hustled back, fore checked with some success at times, and kept after the Spartans all night. They played the exhausted, back on your heels style of a short benched, second game this week group of guys. They played hard and tried hard the whole game to their credit. They just couldn’t get much going against us. Brian saw a few shots but not many of high quality. I believe he was overheard in the locker room after the game… “I think I only saw 5-6 shots all night…” He wasn’t complaining, and he turned out a nice solid performance standing in there when we needed him.

Mike Daley was all over the place, as you’d expect and was the first Zombie to break the ice. Fed from Nelson Mike would tuck one by the keeper about halfway through the first. Sparta was hard pressed to keep up with Mike when he started wheeling around the zone. Before Stephan showed to relieve Chris at his D position, the tall, lanky forward would make a play. Keeping the puck at the right point, (playing opposite brother Jeff that shift) Chris made a nice move to give himself room then launched a nice slap shot at the net. The Scoresheet has Matvey tipping it into the net, but Chris contends it may have gone in untouched… we’ll have to get a ruling.

Mike Campbell would go to the box for the always interesting “Leg Check” penalty. No shit he “Leg Checked” the guy… have you seen how long Mike’s legs are? Most of the guys we play against only come up to the bottom of his shoulder pads anyway…

The first ended 2-0 Zombies. The Second period would see Mike Daley land another goal, this one from Marc Valenti at the point. Nelson would go off for roughing at some point, but the PK was solid. Pete Capraro would make the most of this evening out with his equipment and would score on a long cycle with Chris assisting. Hmn… this one might be wrong too… did Pete or Chris score this one… we need another ruling. Chime in boys and help the blogger out..? The period was basically the same as the first, with more panting.

The Third would see two more penalties for the Red. Daley for a phantom Slash, and Campbell again for Interference… I wonder why not “Leg Interference”… again the PK and Brian stood strong. Sparta did actually mount a few good chances in this period but nothing worked out. Nelson would cap off scoring unassisted, once again turning in an epic hard work performance that he is so famous for.

Other notable incidents during the game included Kevin Parker walking back to the locker room in his socks to get his crappy old skates, after skating the first in his shinny (and apparently painful) new skates.
Always nice to have “fashionably late” Stephan Wennik. He always drops in out of the blue but turns out a good game every time. Thanks for making the journey down.

Game Stars
3rd Star: Chris Fosdick. 2 goals or 2 assists? Maybe a goal and an assist? Any way you slice it Chris got 2 points, did a great job helping out the D, and then continued to impact the game on offense. Great job.
2nd Star: Another 2 point man. In fact he’s The Man. Nelson. Goal and an assist, and a nightly clinic on how to play hard and will yourself into scoring opportunities. Thanks.
1st Star: Wheelin’ and Dealin’ all night, its got to be Michigan Mike Daley! Mike has another 2 goals to add to his totals. Great hard work all night and results in the net to boot.. Who could ask for more?

That’s the story from here (a week after the game)… unfortunately it doesn’t sound like the Suds fared as well on the next night. The Cadavers next face off against #1 seed the River Rats on Monday 4/13.

Cadavers Open Playoffs Tonight vs Spartans

Cadavers (P1) vs Spartans
Wednesday April 8th
Hingham C 10:20pm




Tonight Team Zombie hits the ice to begin the Winter Playoffs. The Dead in Red will faceoff against division rival the Spartans. They are here by virtue of thier 7-3 win over the CH Terriers on Sunday night. By the looks of things we've had so-so success agains this team. Looks like a 2-2 record for this season, and we havent even played them since the end of January.

So without further ado... here is tonights roster as of 3pm on GameDay.

Brian Carey in Net
Campbell
Nelson
Jeff
Chris
Stefan
Bill(out) replaced by Mike Daley
Matt E
Kevin
Marc V
Chuck
Matvey
Ken D - ? no response
... 2 others asked.

Lets have a good turn out here and a good start to this playoffs. See you tonight.

Practice... or Playoffs?

We were talking about practice... in fact Marc Valenti went so far as to book some time at the Quincy Youth Arena to do just that. In fact judging by the prodigious email string it looked like there were plenty of 'daveurs looking to get in on some late night practice action to tune up for the upcoming playoffs.
Well... the upcoming playoffs have arrived... the same week as Practice... in fact the same night...

...so with a quick change we will switch from Practice to... PLAYOFFS!?!?!

This rant seemed to sum up how the winter season has gone for our beleaguered Suds and Zombies.


Both Teams are in action next week as the Winter Playoffs get underway. Here are your Rosters as of 11am Thursday Morning 4/2/09.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 8th CADAVERS vs (Terriers, Spartans, or Team X)
Hingham C 10:20pm
Brian "Long arm of the Law" Carey in the Pipes.
Campbell, Jeff, Chris, Stephan, Pearlman, Elliot, Parker, Valenti, Chuck, Mike Fitz, and Douville.

THURSDAY APRIL 9th SCHLITZ vs Scapegoats
Hingham C 10:20pm
Lizzy in the Nets
Roman, Matvey, iJosh, Nelson, Scott, Larry, Gregson, Herbert, Underhill, Capraro, Reynolds, Daley, and George. No Goaltender assinged at this moment... but relax... there will be.

GoldenZombies gnawed by Team Shellfish

Cadavers (24) vs Lobsters
Tuesday March 17th
Dedham 10:30pm

7-1 Loss

So here we were for the nightcap, a rematch with the Lobsters, whom we’ve struggled against this year. In a perfect world this game would have been the first game, given that it was sure to be a bit more of a challenge than the first one. Given that the Clinic game turned out to be a bit more challenging than we had anticipated… things didn’t look great for this game.
There were 6 fresh guys in the room ready to go, but that would mean a buch of us would have to double up to make a complete roster. The fresh guys were Larry, Valenti, Douville, Parker, Gregson, Daley, and DWH. The double skaters would be Capraro, Reynolds, Campbell, iJosh, Elliott, Nelson and Jeff. Yes… that does make 14… but this was solved by Campbell, Jeff, and Elliot all skating the left D spot in a 3 man rotation. Three lines of O seemed to work well and Lizzy was back in the Nets for a second go around.

The game started out ok. Just like our friends the Clinic, this rendition of a old favorite had a bit more spirit than in seasons past. We were ready for that reality as we’ve already had a few go-rounds with this club this season. Unfortunately, not many of those encounters coming out so well for us.
The original idea had been to try and stack a team with as many of our better skaters for this end of season reamatch with our Red Crustaceous Friends. Plans are plans and usually only exisit in the perfect world of imagination. A light turn out for the first game, no fewer than 4 game day dropouts, plus a bevvy of other circumstances left us lighter than we would have liked. That the way it is and there was much courage and desire shown by the guys who doubled up to fill out the roster.

The game was close. Really. The game was 0-0 for a long time… well for the first 6 and a half minutes. The Red broke through with a long shot and went up 1-0. The Golden Zombies played well, took the game to them pretty well at times and the first would end with that score.
The second period was more of the same, uphill skating, trying to generate chances, and trying to squelch the red chances.

Things were ok.. but we were like the Enterprise going as fast as the dilithum crystals would take us... but if we kept running hard she was going to break up.... and she did. They score 3 goals in last 5 min of 2nd period to take a firm grasp of our throats, then scored another to start 3rd and the suffocation began. Sorry to be so grim... but we just couldn't stay in the game.

I will say this. The GoldenZombies did show some pluck... a little Irish determination and did not get shutout on the night. Parker would score with just under 10 minutes in the game. A nice hard working goal from Valenti and Jeff. Kenny Douville would land one with just under a minute in the game that came from Jeff also after a long breakout. This only after the Shellfish had talleyed another just for good luck.

That's how this one would end a not so spiffy 7-1.

Sorry its taken so long to get this one posted. No game stars and the Blogger takes the Coon for sleeping on the job... actually working on the job... but you know what i mean.

Here's iJosh with a few words on this one too:

Since a tie is like kissing your sister, the night went from Kissing your sister in the 1st game to kissing your brother in the 2nd.

Kenny D, continues to get those hockey legs back. At center between the 2 game playing iJosh and Capraro, did the bulk of the hard skating. He would set up a few opportunities and make the right play, but only one would get capitalized on as Jeff Fosdick would break toward the net from the neutral zone and get the shot on net. Kenny would race toward the slot and take the rebound and slide it through the 5 hole to give the Dead in Yellow their 2nd goal.

Thanks Josh... as always.

Suds Clash with Clinic Game 1

Schlitz (24) vs Clinic
Tuesday March 17th
Dedham 9:20pm

4-4 Tie



The Suds were the first up on the St.Patty’s day Dedham Doubleheader, and took to the ice with a 3 game win streak to protect. There was some decent optimism in the room before the game, given the opponent, and everyone felt pretty good about our recent success.

Now, as game time approached there were not quite as many bodies in the room as management had hoped for. There had been several drop outs during the course of the day, but there was still some hope some extra bodies might just appear from under the rainbow… no luck. There were a hearty 9 ready to go when Campbell opened the door to the room. He was scheduled to only skate the nightcap but quickly donned his gear (forsaking the beers in his bag that he had planned on drinking while watching us…good man) and joined the crew to make an even 10.

So this is how it broke down.
Lizzy in net.
D1: Campbell, Reynolds
D2: Jeff, Elliott
O1: Nelson, Capraro, Fitzpatrick
O2: iJosh, Ken/Mitch, Scott
I think.

Firstly let it be noted, this Clinic squad was a bit fiestier than the average group we are used to. I’m just saying that there were a few more guys on the team that were clearly not just learning to play. Now… regardless of that the Golden Beercans didn’t make the best show of things in the early going.
There were some chances for the Gold, even a few shifts that stayed in the Clinic end and showed some solid promise. However… the game stayed 0-0 for the first 5-7 minutes. Then after a brief scramble in our end the Clinic D sent a nice shot through traffic (and a slight screen) that found the net. Gold down 1-0. Hrm.
To make matters worse, the Clinic would strike again, not more than 2 shifts later. This time a forward not picked up through the low post who made a very nice shot that beat Liz for a 2-0 lead. Double Hrmmm. Despite the verbal courage extolled on the bench the Beercans didn’t come up with anything. The period ended 2-0 Red.
The start of the 2nd wouldn’t bring any more good news for the Cans. The Clinic would score AGAIN, I don’t recall the exact circumstances but the Gold was certainly deflated being down 3-0 early in the second to a team they had hoped to spank.
At this point some of the crew for the second game was filter in and shaking their heads at the scoreboard and watching from the glass.
Finally the Gold would wake up and put a few plays together. Firstly Matty Elliot, who played a very solid game at D, scored on a nice shot, assisted by Pete Capraro. The ice was finally broken, and it wouldn’t take long for the thaw to continue. Next up would be Mark Reynolds who would do his best DWH or Stephan impression with a beauty of an end to end rush that ended up in a niffty shot that would bring the cans within a goal. 2-3. The roll would continue as the hard work of both iJosh and Ken would pay off, when iJosh would feed Ken in front for a nice goal that would tie the game. The Gold were downright excited to be back in the game and were clearly jumping to the puck a bit better than the early part of the game.
A good example would be the play of Ken/Mitch who did some nice work both in the offensive zone keeping the play alive, but more importantly a tremendous backcheck that saved a possible goal. Ken was called for the play but it was totally worth it, and great work by him to prevent the chance.
It was a game going down the stretch. A pretty even affair going back and forth in the 3rd period. The Clinic would show that they were not just pushovers and would land another goal to gain back the lead as time became short in the 3rd.
Once again, the blogger is glad to say, the Gold responded. Who do you think nutted it up, gave a little extra effort and willed the puck in the net… I’ll give you 2 guesses… go ahead… guess. Hey! You’re right (or you should have been). Nelson Sharfman would show why he is THE MAN and would simply push the play to the net relentlessly until the puck was in the net and the game was tied, now with less than 5 minutes remaining.
At the very least some dignity was preserved here but the game would end in a tie, 4-4. Not really the way we wanted to start the double header, but hey… at least we didn’t lose.
I’m not doing game stars for this one… but we will have some honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention1: Nelson. Dude just makes it happen when he needs to. THE MAN.
Honorable Mention2: Matt Elliot, another very solid D performance. Thanks for helping out.
Honorable Mention3: Ken/Mitch. A nice hard work goal and a penalty to boot!
Honorable Mention4: Campbell for joining us… when he could have been drinking. Thanks.

iJosh was nice enough to send along some items as well....
"Pete and I were in sync all night. Pete shoulda, coulda, woulda on a quick pass and shoot. He had open net, but give the goalie credit, he get the blocker on the puck and screamed "No soup for you!!!". Chances were there for the two of us, but the hockey gods were not on our side for this one.

Mitch however had the hockey gods smile at him as he planted himself perfectly in front of the net. After the Clinic took a little too much time getting to me just off to the side of the net, with Capraro just in front of me wide eyes toward the net and Mitch just beyond (with the slightly better position) I slide the puck to Mitch who promptly buried it to tie the game."
Thanks Josh!

St.Patty's Recovery... standby...

Schlitz (24) vs Clinic
Dedham 9:20pm
Tuesday March 17th

Cadavers (24) vs Lobsters
Dedham 10:30pm
Tuesday March 17th


Standby readers... the blogger may need medical assistance... iJosh even chimed in with a few kind words but I haven't been able to pull it together yet... something to do with the combined affect of skating two games back to back, then the whole "have a few 'cuz its St.Patrick's Day"... and uh... I'm going to bed. Watch this space for game stories soon.
The short of it is... there were LOTS of dropouts. Just 10 (almost 9) for the early game. Then a fresh 6 for the nightcap against the Shellfish. It, ah... didn't go so well. So I'm taking my aching... everything, and calling it a day.
What's that you say? Oh... yes, must have slipped my mind. 4-4 first game... 2-7 second.

St.Patricks Dbl Header Madness! UPDATED!

Ok team. Shine up your shalaly, bring your Pot o' Gold and a Kiss me I'm Irish tee shirt for a St. Paddy's day Hockey Double Header down in the Dedham Rink. That's right a pair of fraternal games a 9pm tilt for the Suds against the Clinic (looking for 4 in a row!!!) and then a Juicy Nightcap that's sure to have its fill o' the Blarney when Team Zombie takes on the Lobsters at 10pm.

GM Jeff Fosdick laid out the teams for the two games and doesn't want to hear it if you don't like your assignment. Chances are there will be some healthy cross over between the units.

So... bring some Green Beer and your skates. But most of all... bring it so we can come away with a nice pair of victories as the season winds down.

Updated Rosters as of 10am TUESDAY. Email Jeff with issues.

Schlitz vs Clinic

Tuesday March 17th

9:00pm Dedham

Lizzy in Net.

Pearlman

Jeff F.

Matt Elliot

iJosh

Mitch

Nelson

Scott

Blake

Capraro

Reynolds

Mike Fitz

Cadavers vs Lobsters

Tuesday March 17th

10:10pm Dedham

Lizzy in Net

Campbell

Chris F. (50/50)

Hammitt

Larry

Dan Gregson

Mike Daley

Dan Herbert

Kevin Parker

Ken Douville

Capraro (double)

Reynolds (double)

Invitations to Capraro, and Reynolds to double up... were accepted. There have been a few drop outs so there will be more spots open. Management (Jeff) will make the call over the available spots for the second game tonight after the first game.

Cans and Call Late-night in the Rox!

Schlitz (23) vs Last Call

Thursday March 12th

West Roxbury 10:20pm

3-2 WIN

Boy oh boy, the guest blogger was on it for this one friends. Not only delivering quality game story but doing so just hours after the game was completed. The blogger could take a lesson or two from iJosh on that. Here he is, GBiJ with the recap from a cold late night by the side of the VFW highway with a modest win streak on the line and a division opponent on the other bench.

Here's iJosh:

"It has been a long time since this guest blogger has been in a close game. So after arriving for the 10:30 game in West Roxbury it was announced that we all have to wait a little longer for the chance to be competitive. In fact the game was seriously in doubt after it was revealed the rink was behind schedule by about 20 minutes due to some zamboni difficulties which had been yet to be rectified.

So the as the weary Beercans were heading to the locker rooms to get ready it was still 50/50 if the game would even happen. After making 2 attempts at cleaning the ice, the zamboni was able to adequately put down a new sheet of ice. But barely. The game would start roughly 30 minutes late for an already late game. No matter, we were happy just to get on the ice and play the game.

Given the eventual start time, no one would be late for this game. The pairings shaped up with Valenti & Stefan and Parker & Daley on defense.
The forwards lined up with Roman centering Kenny D and Matt Elliott.
iJosh would center Ken Mitch and Mike Fitz. Dan Gregson would handle the Nelson Abacus. Last Call would play with slightly fewer skaters (7 to be exact). So the early strategy would be to skate hard early and make them wear themselves out as quickly as possible. This strategy had its ups and downs.

As the puck finally dropped the Golden Cans did indeed bring it. The first few shift would see some great pressure and some legitimate chances. The Last Call were already looking a little ragged. After 3 shift of hard, fast, smart hockey, the Schlitz would enjoy the spoils of their labor on the 4th shift. Mike Fitz would pick up the puck in the neutral zone. As a Call defender approached him he would feed iJosh as he crossed the blue line. iJosh would slide into a crease between the defenders just above the circle and fire the puck toward the net. The puck would hit a defenders skate and find the back of the net. 1-0 Schlitz. Later in the shift, the Golden Suds would demonstrate that sometimes they do know how to pass as the play would find its way to Stefen and then over to Valenti who blasted one past the keeper to make it 2-0 Schlitz. Not to be outdone the 1st line would add to the 1st period deluge and throw about 65 shots on net until Mr. Gregson would pick up the garbage and net one for his line. 3-0 Beercans. The chances would keep coming and the Call looked to be on their heels.
After a strong 1st period the Schlitz were building some confidence and riding a 3-0 lead.

So into the 2nd more of the same? Well, yes and no. Come on! Don't
you see this coming? If you didn't well let me tell you, the Schlitz continued to play smart on the offensive side of the puck. But the defense and loose pucks would become a bit of an issue. Early in the 2nd Kenny D would get called for a rough. The pk would get away with a few breakdowns. The offensive blue line in this period would become a bit of a sore spot as it was completely invisible unless you were looking at the side boards. A number of players would be caught offsides despite their best efforts to be on the correct side of the line. It was just that they misjudged exactly where that line was.
Kenny D would be caught twice. Once was even called intentional. But believe me there was nothing intentional about it. A bad judgement if you ask me. But not a big deal. Parker would notice that he had over skated the line a bit too late as he humorously tried to sidestep back onsides. Basically we spent a lot of effort of figuring this out. But though a nuisance this was hardly the reason for our defensive struggles. Offensively things still were seeming to click. As a Call was called for trip and another ten minutes later for a unsportsmanlike the Schlitz would play a little tic tac toe in the offensive zone.
iJosh to Valenti to Stefan. Stefen to Valenti to Stefen. Mike Fitz to the point, etc etc. All in all about 5 scoring chances were had.
However the Last Call goalkeep was starting to find his game. He would keep his composure and all his team to get back into the contest. First with a breakdown in the secondary as the Call would make way toward the net and get past the defense to put their 1st past Brian. 3-1 Suds.
Feeling as if they really didn't play their best, the Schlitz vowed to play better and smarter and get back the 3 goal lead.

Once again the puck dropped for the 3rd period. No longer forced to strain their eyes looking for the offensive blue line the Beercans tried to get back on the offensive, figuratively and literally. More pressure would be put on the Call. However chance after chance would fail to bring success. Credit goes to the goalkeep who certainly stepped it up after the 1st and essentially kept his team in this game long enough for them to mount a comeback. So another defensive breakdown and a far side shot slipped by Brian would cut the lead to 1 goal. Now the Schlitz had to be smart and not have any more breakdowns. With ten minutes to go they would have to skate harder than the Call and simply out work them and continue to get the chances they had been getting. Odds were that eventually if the Cans kept that up, then the puck would find it way into the net. But if you were playing those odds, you were not going to get your money back. The Suds would fail to put another one in. Even as the Call pulled their goalie two chances would just miss or get broken up at the last second. With 5 seconds to go, Valenti and a player for the Call would be sent to the sin bin for a little pushing and shoving, name calling and insulting each others Mama. No worries, the Schlitz would hold off the Call to eek by with a hard fought win.

We certainly took advantage of their lack of numbers early. But seemed to lack a killer instinct later in the game. Lucky for us, we were able to hold them off.

Tough to pick the 3 stars tonight. Many people had good nights, so I'll give it to the 3 goal scorers...

#3: iJosh for getting the scoring going (from Mike Fitz)
#2: Gregson for his gritty game winning goal (from Matt Elliott)
#1: Valenti for his bullet(s). (from Stefan) He was there all night firing away. He easily could of had one or two more.

Heard in the locker room:
Matt Elliott: "You had 3 defenders descend on you and you actually passed the puck to me I... didn't know what to do." (to Roman).
Seen and heard in the locker room:
Lizzie. Yes our diminutive goalkeep made her way out to West Rox to cheer on her brethren; popping into the locker room in enough time to run down the list of teams she doesn't like, prompting: "Lizzie, is there a team you do like?", Lizze; "Umm".

No festivities were held in the parking lot as West Roxbury might be the worst possible place to have a beer outside the rink (complete visibility to the VFW Parkway). But the good news is the next game is at Dedham and the beers typically flow there. See you all then.

Just spectacular. Way to go Suds! Three wins in a row... i'll have to hire back the Stats division to get a handle on where that puts us this season... maybe an update next week.

Great work iJosh, another solid contribution.

Suds Soak 'Suckas

Schlitz (22) vs Windsuckers
Tuesday March 10th
HinghamA 10:00


4-1 Win

In this long season of peaks and valley’s the Schlitz have seemed to struggle much more than in any season since their creation. A new mix of talent in the division, a few more miles on the odometer, maybe just the way things go, but those valleys have been much more frequent than the peaks. So here we were on a late Tuesday on the South Shore with a full locker room of guys and one girl in Gold ready to go. The Golden Suds had a spectacular win last Thursday? against the Call that represented the end of a very long slide. The question was could the Beercans pull off a second in a row and build on the momentum?
There was an excellent cast in place to answer the question. Lizzy, not before coaching up Moms on the scorekeeping and scoreboard duties, would take to the nets. In front of her the D had a new wrinkle with Campell playing with Chris Fosdick, and Valenti skating with Jeff. CF was clutch to step up and skate the D.
The Cans would then throw a solid group of three lines out on offense. Michigan Mike Daley would center Gregson and Chuck, Larry would pivot for Reynolds and Parker (a late arrival who just happened to bring his equipment… good move), then Matvey would center Capraro and Blake Underhill. This was a nice scrappy lineup and confidence was … well not high, …but in play.
With the mantra from last week repeated on the bench the Gold took the game right to the Windsuckers who were sporting their spiffy new FirebreathingCoyotelookingThing shirts had a solid lineup. A handfull of + guys and then the usual suspects. they would clearly take a quality effort to beat.
That my friend, is just what the Beercans would give. A no joke, no prisoners, short shifting, hard skating, cycling, passing, beat your guy to the puck kind of a game. I’m not kidding. Whatever started last Thursday? indeed carried over as the Gold would cycle hard taking the game right to the Coyotesuckas.
It was second or third shift of the game, just short of 3 minutes in that the Daley line (carryover theme) would strike after holding the play furiously in the White end. That would establish the tempo and the momentum and Chuck Slate would plop one right in on a smart pass from Kevin Parker who had just come on. The Gold would take the lead and have to play with it.
The play would level off, but no question going at a pretty good clip. The Gold played hard surppressing the White attack in the neutral zone with smart backchecking, and would play a good deal in the White end, getting numerous chances.
The line of Capraro, Underhill, and Nikhamik would do excellent checking work, and taking the game right at white. Chris Fosdick had a few anxious moments on D but on the whole played great stepping in seamlessly and doing a good job breaking up plays in our end. Lizzy would be tested several times. She handled everthing thrown at her, benefiting from a break here and there, but a solid performance without question. She was quick to cover loose stuff and clearly handled all the long shots.
The first would see one penalty as Campbell would go for a rough. But that would be it until late in the second. The game would stay 1-0, with both teams close to scoring the next critical goal. That goal would come with 5 minutes left in the second when the ‘Cans would break up a play in our end, Valenti on the play, up to Underhill, who relayed to Capraro who barreled ass down the middle of the ice losing the D and striking with a wrister low on the glove side that would give the Gold a 2-0 lead. Huge. Massive. Titanic are words that came to mind at the time. Reynolds would go for the only penalty of the period but the Suds were solid on the kill.

So thats how it would go 2-0 into the third with the game tightening all the time. You could see the Windsuckers gain some momentum as we tired. But Mike Campbell would come zipping over the 'suckers blue line and would rip a nice shot that found the net (pass from Matvey) and would put the Gold up 3-0. That goal was also Titanic, Huge and Massive.

The Windsuckers wouldn't go quietly and as the tired legs caught up with us not a minute after Mike's goal, White would finnaly get one past Lizzy, but only after a long scramble in our end. So with a 3-1 lead the teams went right after each other for the remaining 6 minutes of the game. Old friend Mike Daley would send a nice pass to Mark Reynolds who drove home the nail in the coffin at just over a minute to play. Thats how this one would end 4-1 and a huge, massive, titanic win for the beleagured Golden Beercans. Nice work by everyone involved.

I'm not even going to mention that no one brought beer and we failed the 4th period completely... sheesh.

Game Stars

3rd Star: Goal scorers Chuck Slate, Mike Campbell and Mark Reynolds, aaand helpers Kevin Parker and Mike Daley. Good contributions, well deserved by all.

2nd Star: Lizzy for having a tremendous night. Keeping the game infront of her and just plain playing clutch when it counted. Great win Liz.

1st Star: The line of Pete Capraro, Blake Underhill and Matvey Nikhamik. Blake and Matvey each had an assist and Pete scores the eventual Game Winner on a terrific breakaway. Great work all night. Blake had a heroic effort in the third at one point to make it to the puck and get it out of our end in a critical situation. Matvey just quietly goes about his business setting people up and contributing every time he plays. Great work, all of you.

DONT FORGET. GAME THURDAY NIGHT 10:30 in West Roxbury.

SCHLITZ vs LAST CALL

Lets keep the winning streak going! The playoffs are around the corner.

Also be sure to get back to management about next week's St.Patrick's Day Doubleheader.

Suds vs. Sucka's Rematch Tonight!

Schlitz (22) vs Windsuckers

Tuesday March 10th

Hingham A 10:00pm

Big rematch against the 'suckas tonight. We haven't had much luck against these guys lately... hopefully we can turn that around with a big win tonight. Actually we are only 2-2 against them this season. Dare we hope for 2 in a row during this miserable season of our Sudsy discontent? Lets make it happen. The photo is unrelated but she has a nice... uh... bucket... so I thought I'd share.

Didn't know you liked the Isles that much did you? You're welcome.

Here is your roster for tonight. Remember the A rink is to the left as you look at the front of the Hingham rink.

Lizzy in Net

Campbell

Jeff

Chris

Matvey

Scott

Larry

Greggy

Valenti

Slate

Capraro

Reynolds

Daley

Underhill