And the Nominees Are. . .

minor
Mutineers (1-2-0) 2
Puckers (2-1-0) 3

Patrick Haley gives a strong performance in the opening act, putting the Mutineers up late, but his presence is overshadowed by Pucker David James before the scene change. In the second act boom mic operator, David Blubaugh lowers his equipment into the shot and allows Kirkland to steal the show, putting the Mutineers up again. After administering a Christian Bale style tongue lashing, Kyle Burns rescues the Pucker cast from the doldrums and ties the game. In the final act, our protagonist overcomes- Pucker, Rick Shelby lays the puck behind Ryan Haley, sobbing could be heard off camera as the Mutineers drift below the .500 mark.

Chiefs (3-0-0) 7
Shockers (1-2-0) 0

The Shocker deliver a tour d'force on the scale of Heath Ledger, not in Batman, of course, more like in the hotel room. The Chiefs, who were once the worst team in the league, score goal after goal starting with one in the first to Tom Harnitchek, two in the second to Bill Broad and Ben Stillwagon, respectively, and concluding the story of Job with four in the third: Ryan Brett, Tom Harnitchek, Ben Stillwagon, and Lee Morgan. To further demonstrate their dominance, the Chiefs limit the Shockers to eight shots. The only drama in this screen play originates with the eighteen minutes worth of Chief penalties, and the twenty-seven minutes of Shocker penalties.

Warriors (3-0-0) 6
Ice Holes (0-2-1) 0

James Barber tried-out his first pair of goalie skates. . . in a game. This wouldn't be the only first in this nominee for best original screen play. Scott "Mindo" Dolbee and Dallas Lehr close the exposition with a catastrophic two goal flurry. The climax is foreshadowed by the second goal by Mindo in the middle of our story. The clean game is frenzied with the attack of Kyle Overton, and the audience's blood lust finally quenched when Mindo achieves his first career hattrick. A palpable chuckle could be felt when the denouement closed with Fred McDonnell's goal. The 'Holes could be up for best supporting actor in the Mindo hattrick. . .

Silverwings (0-1-2) 2
Grave Diggers (2-1-0) 3

Who could have guessed that the quiet opening frame of the lowly Diggers' and S-Wing's would yield one of the most breathtaking performances of the season. Late in the middle frame the Silverwings hit two goals on back to back shifts (Jason Vrendenberg, Kyle Ammann) but the momentum swing is arrested when Grave Digger Tim Rivers caps the second with a goal to bring the Diggers within one. The netminders at either end turn away all comers except the one game tying goal from- Jon Ellis? That's what the score sheet says, I'm stickin' with it! After a lagging overtime the picture concluded with a thrilling shoot-out. The only shooter to find the back of the net is Grave Digger Billy Quinn. Ammann wasn't the only one to leave the rink in tears.

MAJOR
Blue Devils (3-2-0) 5
Komets (2-2-1) 4

A. J. DiBenedetto goes toe to toe with veteran David Blubaugh- Blu blinks first when Wil Dobson delivers the handcuffs, putting the reigning champs down early. The Devils avenge their goalie with goals from Scott Speelman and Charlie Heine. Komet nation rebounds to tie the game when Scottie Baldree takes control of the puck. Heine wrestles back the lead, Danny Flynn adds to the Blue Devil lead. Baldree scores another Komet goal, co-goalie Brent Bryant ties the game again, but late in the game the Devils find their winning ways via Todd Smith. If A.J. had any doubts about taking the leading role, surely he has put those to bed now.

Stickmen (1-4-0) 4
Whalers (1-3-0) 0

The Sticks do a period piece, hearkening back to the near-glory days of the Stickmen, if for only on night. . . "Big" Joe Tomme opens the scoring, putting the Sticks on top. Lynne Young takes the honor of the supporting goal, in the Stickmen's route. In the closing of the game the Hamster tries to spur the Whalers but instead ends up in the box watching Clint Tippet score on the power play. The Sticks stick a fork in the Whalers with another goal from Young. The Whalers seem to be writing a Cinderella story in reverse.

Privateers (3-0-0) 9
Brewzers (1-4-0) 1

Another lopsided game on the night, perhaps it was a product of the leftover angst from the Mutineer loss. The first was all 'Teers: Casey Payne, Brian Zientek, Dan Lowery, and another from Zientek. Joel Bush starts the second with more Privateer fanfare, Tony Finazzo scores the next 'Teer tally but the streak hits a hiccup as the Brewzers spoil the shut-out with their only goal, Steven Collyard is the fortunate man to be on the power play at the right time. The Privateers re-boot with goals from Bob-O, Gus Mask, and another from Dan Lowery. Z-tek fails to get his hat trick despite having two periods and a tired Mike Moore in net (Mike faces thirty-four shots).

Ice Bats (2-2-0) 3
Snipers (1-2-0) 0

Billy Quinn scores the game winner. . . in the fourth minute of the game- how did we stay with this one for an hour and whatever. It takes until the third period for another player to find the twine, that player is Raul Gilbreath, two times. That must be why we stuck around, thirty-six shots, allowing only three goals to the Ice Bats- Matt Walker is cementing himself in the Brewzer net, if only he could get some support at the other end.

Patriots (5-0-0) 4
Spiders (3-1-0) 2

The opening frame was more exciting than most would have expected from a Spider/Patriot collaboration, a fluke goal from the top of the left circle puts the Pats down early. Andrew Patti's goal is quickly joined by a deflected shot from Mike Ginnard for a two-nil Spider lead. John Newell starts the Patriot charge and before the first can end Travis Lehr gets the equalizer. In the closing throes of the second period, Roy "Hands" Haenselmann nets the game winner and in the third the Pats put a spotlight on the remainder of their games, holding-off the Spiders and with the help of John Thompson, winning their fifth straight game this session.

LSI (1-3-0) 1
Canadiens (2-1-0) 3

Sibling rivalry culminates in a win for the Canadiens, it was never in question, but with all of the cross pollination of these two teams, could their really be a loser- technically, yes. Rob Diaz and Ken Lentz start the Canadiens off and Mike Kirkland joins them with the third Canadien goal. Catherine Levesque and Gabe Rivera combine in regular LSI fashion for the only goal in the losing effort, Gabe puts it in the net this time. Chris Gallagher was in tears when he flipped the coin before the game to determine who would win.



. . . And the winner is . . .


A. J. DiBenedetto