Stir it Up!

Things are getting crazy in the closing weeks: dark horses, upsets, jousting matches, just how will it all end? Probably with me in a skirt . . .

Silverwings (3-3-1) 3
DFW Titans (4-3-0) 0

Sergio Castillo avoids the scapegoat role despite leaving the ice early on a hooking call, the remainder of the Silverwings band together to kill the penalty and preserve the nil-nil tie. In the second their patience pays off when Jason Neal puts the Wings on top on the pass from Corey Howard, just a minute and a half into the game. The Titans match the Wings nearly shot for shot but cannot penetrate Spivey's masterful play, leaving the third open for Castillo to complete his turn around on the night with two goals, the first on the power play. With Sergio finding his rhythmn at the end of the season, the Wings may run the table from here in, only with a lot of help from other clubs will they be able to make a run for greatness. The Titnas an the other hand, are petering off, and could play themselves out of the top four if they are not careful. Spivey holds up a shut-out against the Titan's 34 shots!


Hitmen I (3-4-0) 9
Ice Holes (6-1-0) 2

Talk about peaking at the right time, Catherine Levesque of the Hitmen I had a couple of big games last week, this week she scores four Hitmen goals and two assists . . . at this pace no one stands a chance against the Hitmen. The Holes fall victim to Gallagher's devious plan, exposing their shortcomings, I didn't know they had any. The Hitmen watched the gmae develop for half of the first period, then they poured it on. Goals rained down on Jayson Jones from Gabriel Rivera, followed by Becky Bogle, then Kyle Haman, then Levesque. In the second the HOles entered the eye of the storm and utilized the calm to score two of their own to Andrea Cortinas first, then Mark Johnson. Just like the back side of the Hitmen's hurricane blew in with another goal from Levesque. The third period was all Hitmen as Jones was buffeted about the crease, the pucks rained down. Levesque got her hat trick, Haman got his second, then Levesque got the quad, and to bring it back around, Rivera scores another goal. The Iceholes take a loss in dramatic fashion, will their veteran roster pull it back together in time for the play-offs? The Hitmen will have another opportunity to work in the spoiler role against the Patriots who are clinging to the edge of the bubble right now. David Jackson (if it was him in net) allows only two goals on 37 shots!

Privateers (3-4-0) 2
Brewzers (4-3-0) 3

The 'Teers are really hurting these days, these are days you'll remember, never before and never since will the whole world be warm as this, I promise, and as you feel it you'll know it. If you were complaining last session about the play of this team I hope you're enjoying this ('cause it may not last much longer). They start off almost immediately behind when David Counch socres for the Brewzers just 36 seconds into the game. Brit Broostrom lights the lamp for the first time in a long time to finish the first period's scoring. The rowdy Privateers make a go at it when the stupendous Cody Payne manages to squeeze one past Mike Moore in the second. But in the third Jamil Al Jabri punches it past the Privateer netminder to cancel Payne's effect. In the final minute of the gmae Joel Bush grits his teeth and finally cmoes up with a goal, after meeting two and three Brewzers at the blueline all night, unfortunately the heartbreak falls hardest on Ryan Haley, er Ahlstedt? No . . . Willhoite? Is it Swartzbaugh? I can't remember, the point is, she married somebody on the team and she is really down in the dumps. Maybe their's still time for an annulment? The Brewzers are looking like the dark horse for the Keg.

Puckers (3-4-0) 5
Whalers (0-6-1) 2

Well, it looks like I am one win away from my cheerleading debut, the onnly team that can prevent me from making a fool of my self is the Chiefs . . . Ah, geez! Who am I kidding, I could make a fool out of myself without any help from the Puckers, all the same, if they win one more you might want to bring your cameras. The Puckers strike first at my embroidered arse, with a goal from Rick Gregory on the first shift, but Bryan Hamstra fires one right back in my honor to level the field. The Puckers win the periodWhen Jon Padilla scores off the Casey Jenkins feed, woah, Casey Jenkins? Why does he have such an interest in seeing me cross-dressing? The Puckers run the middle frame with goals from both Davids: Mr. Opalecky first, then Mr. Jmaes. In the third the Hamstra scores again for the rookie Whalers, but it doesn't scare the Puckers, they quench the fire intheir bellies with their fifth goal of the night (a Pucker record?) off the stick of Opalecky shorthanded into an emptynet. It was a relatively pedestrian night for Donaghue who only has to save 21 shots, facing 23.

Grave Diggers (3-3-1) 3
Snipers (3-4-0) 1

The Diggers approach the elusive .500 for the season with a decisive victory over the Snipers. Always entertaining when Ellis and the Snipers meet, the Snipers have to hear it from Ellis when Steve Smith gets the only goal of the first period, putting the Diggers up in shots and goals. In the secondJamil Al Jabri puts it right back in Ellis' face with a shot that bounces off the goal stick and flutters past his swiping glove into the net for the Sniper goal. But the Snipers are silenced when Randy Chappel puts the Diggers back on top before the period ends. Just for affect, Bob Barr charges into the crease and scores his second career goal, standing on the Sniper's throat(s?), that makes two goals in two games, where I come from, that's a streak, maybe he picked up Gloria's mojo. Jen Leonard must be kicking herself today as the tieing goal was on her stick but she fails to lift it over the sprawling body of Jon Ellis, Oh Yeah! The Digers have big hill to climb with the goal of .500, they face the Blue Devils next week, do I smell an upset?

Blue Devils (6-0-1) 1
Chiefs (3-3-1) 2

Speaking of those Blue Devils, their first loss comes at the hands of the Chiefs (maybe these guys can dliver me from my Pucker fate), it was a gritty game that ends with 33 minutes of penalties (incredibly, not the high for the night), but it started slow. The first two periods pass with power plays for each of the teams in each of the periods, but none accunulating any goals. Eventually the third period delivers some offense, when the Blue Devils go on the power play this time Ray Workman scores, only to see it erased by Lee Morgan, who score on the power play also, with less than two minutes left in regulation. The confident Devils play responsibly, saving their energy for OT, and the impemding shoot-out. But it was not to be, of all things the goalies give the game away, Jim DeBaro, sometimes Blue Devil tender, makes the critical, and unadvised, OT penalty that puts the Chiefs up a man, and when David Blubaugh succumbs to Mark Millards shot, David blows-up, collecting 15 minutes of penalties after the horn. I hope for his sake their are no consequences in the next game. For me, I hope the Diggers will be blessed with an easy win.

Patriots (4-3-0) 2
Komets (4-2-1) 1

What a nailbiter this one was! Coach Al was seen pulling out his hair as possibly the best Komet's season of all time hits a bump in the road. The Komets try to shut Ellis up but it's the Pats who find the back of the net first on Jeff Eagle's shot. In the second 'Ol Roy Haenselmann, constantly hovering around the crease, makes use of his quick stick to beat the Komet tender with the back door goal. With a renewed zeal the Komets fire even more pucks at the net, but come away with nothing but a sickening smirk from Ellis in the second period. More of the same in the third, The shots continue to pile-up but still no goals, until finally with nearly two and a half minutes left in the game, Albert Lacaze, waiting on the left post beats the lateral movement of Ellis, tipping the puck onto it's side to squeeze it past the post and deatroy the shut-out. The Komets eventually pull their goaltneder for the extra attacker, and then in a terrible coaching blunder, get called for too many men, negating the advantage. Undaunted the Komets left on the ice continue pounding the puck, until the game tieing goal laid in front of Scotty Baldree, Ellis having already made the first save, thorws the paddle infront of the shot, and barely saves the Pat's season. Baldree could have used that extra man, as the rebound bounced out into the open ice to his left. Time for a coaching change? Ellis saves 35 of 36 shots.

Stickmen (5-2-0) 5
Moose (2-5-0) 0

In the battle to end all, this game was like WWF. The scoring was really secondary to this game, which works out well since it all falls to two players: Peter Sjolin and Steph Trapp. It was the play of Sjolin (hat trick) that set-off one aspect of the drama, finding himself on the receiving end of all sorts of Blue Devil, I mean Moose, resistance, some of which culminated in Stickmen power plays. And, the fifth goal of the night was scored on a prone Blubaugh who refused to reutrn to his feet after the fourth goal. The most intrigueing aspect of the game is no doubt the fiasco betwixt Robert Sirkus and Val Kuntz. The greater number of penalty minutes fall to Val because of the retalitory nature of her actions: Val Kuntz - (Charging Major), 5 min , 5:06 - Val Kuntz - (Charging Game Misconduct), 10 min , 5:06. But, by all accounts (even Bob's) the whole incident is the fault of Robert Sirkus. Robert talked with me today and also sent me an E-mail.

The play of Robert Sirkus has been under a microscope for many people throughout our little league, and I have been one of those people who watches his actions fairly intently. Whether you approve or disapprove of his physical play, Bob has a protocol that he stives to hold himself to concerning receiving and dealing hits. He and I disagree quite frequently about these plays, but over the last couple of sessions I have been impressed by his new direction, trying to avoid penalties altogether. It hasn't always worked out, he still gets penalties (some good, some bad (if you classify)), but he tkaes great pride in returning to the locker room with a clean slate.

Having said all that, what happened with Val was inexcusable, and he knows that. He has offered apologies to Tom Yockey, the League, the Sticks, and especially Val herself. All of these are being delivered by me directly from him in this forum or by phone and personal E-mails. I don't expect everyone to immediately accept this apology and certainly don't want to deny anyone their feelings for being wronged, but Bob has taken a bold step that I commend him for.

Bob has sent a message to Yockey to let him know that whatever the league may decide to do regarding his actions, he has issued himself a suspension for the remainder of the session. From his E-mail to me: "The bottom line is, I expect others to be held to a standard, I should be held to the same standard." Bob is ashamed of how he represented himself on the ice, and is trying to rectify this problem with himself and everyone that he will play with in the future, too.

The good news is that as far as I know no one has any lasting injuries from this incident. Bob will not be at the rink for a while and I hope that everyone else will show the same sort of respect and allow a cooling off period before firing-off an ill-advised comment here.

We're all here to have fun and get a little exercise. So get out there and do your part. And, as Red Green says, "Keep your stick on the ice".

Spell check is failing me, and time is running out. Hope I didn't do too bad.