I league Week 5: Preview

Puckers vs Stingers: 745pm Gold
Stingers want to bounce back from their loss to the patriots. Puckers are playing for honor. From Stingers center Josh Briscoe: "Losing two games in a season...that's unacceptable".

Slackers vs Borrachos: 8:15pm Green
Borrachos led by hockey legend Shawn Haley will look to deal another loss to the reeling slackers. Borrachos need a win to be in the hunt for top playoff spots. We wonder if Jim Stuckeman can break the 10 point mark? Gotta be a record.

Mayhem vs Spiders: 9pm Gold (I league game of the night: Gold)
Mayhem has only surrendured one goal this season. Can the spiders at least double that? Spiders look to shatter Mayhem's ego. Chris Gallagher vs Chris Conner...Barry Melrose called and said he is intreagued by this matchup.

Shockers vs Blue Devils: 9:30pm Green (I league game of the night: Silver)
The two hottest teams in the Silver division tangle in this one. Both with great goaltending, defense and ringers who can score.

Stickmen vs Patriots: 10:15pm Gold
Patriots look to continue their winning ways, they've won three of four this season and are right on the heels of Mayhem and the Ice Holes. The Great Jeff Vaughan looks to get points in back to back games.

Ice Holes vs Leftovers: 10:45pm Green
Call the UN...an unholy massacre is in the wind for this one.

Fugaweez vs Komets: 11:30pm Gold
Man for Man the Fugs should take care of business, but that could have been said for a couple games this season. Komets trying to figure out how to win a game in regulation.

Brewzers vs Snipers: 11:55pm Green
Late Night Hockey in this one kids. Brewzers and Snipers both come into this one in the middle of the Silver division...A prime spot to be in to make a late season keg run.

Stars: 'Go a long, long way in the postseason'

How USA Today's Ted Montgomery sums up the Stars' trade-deadline deal:

"The Dallas Stars pulled off a coup by prying Mattias Norstrom, a so-so prospect and two middle round draft picks from the Los Angeles Kings for a marginal defenseman, a prospect and three draft picks that don't promise to amount to much (given the Stars' likely finish). While many other Western Conference teams made a bigger splash on trade deadline day, remember this deal as one that could help the Stars go a long, long way in the postseason. Don't forget, recently-acquired Ladislav Nagy will eventually chip in with some timely goals."

The rest of his column is here.

I League: Week 4

After week four, we’re beginning to see teams separate as well as a final say on what the divisions look like. The Borrachos and Ice Holes made the jump up to the Gold Division, so we now have 8 teams in each side.

Patriots vs Stingers

Above: Daniel Barr digs against a scrappy Stinger in the corner. Below: Nate Hodges circles the net, while the Total Eclipse makes a save. (Photos by melissa ross)

Week 4: 3 Stars
1. Chris Gallagher: Spiders: 2 Goals (Spiders 3-2 SO win)
2. Jim Stuckeman: Borrachos: 3 Goals (Borrachos 4-3 loss)
3. Rahul Sharma: Patriots: 2 Goals 1 Assist (Patriots 5-2 win)
Honorable Mention: John Parker: Brewzers: 2 Goals (Brewzers 4-2 OT win)

Goalie of the week: Tom Cox: Blue Devils: 12 saves on 12 shots (Blue Devils 4-0 win)

Patriots 5 Stingers 2
For all hockey fans out there, there was blood, scoring, and saves. In the I league Game of the Night (Gold Division), the Stingers set the record for fastest goal ever scored in a game by scoring in the first 10 seconds on a goal from the great Roland Widmann. After blood was shed on the ice repeatedly, the Patriots found their game in the 3rd Period. Pats put up Five against the “Total Eclipse” on 2 Goals from Jeff Eagle and Hockey Whore Rahul Sharma, while Bryan “Devil’s Pickle” Brookman also lit the lamp. The Stingers would get a second goal from Widmann, but the Patriots take the day with the biggest offensive explosion they’ve had in recent history.
PS…the Great Jeff Vaughn had an assist and the world rejoiced.

Mayhem 4 Puckers 0
Mayhem continues their assault in the Gold division as they rack up their 3rd shutout of the season. Mayhem scores from John Pinnard and Greg “Warrior” Mersberger while both Conner brothers also scored. We heard there were many break away goals in this one…Penalties were also abundant in this one as at least 15 people found their way to the box of shame. Excellent! At the other end of the rink, Mayhem goalie Chris Duran kicks asides 11 of 11 shots. Can anyone knock these guys off?

Snipers 4 Borrachos 3
Borrachos get shafted in this one on an apparent phantom call late in the game. According to player accounts, a Jesse Henderson shot was accidentally tipped by Shawn “B Leaguer” Haley past his own net minder Jesse Gonzales, however, the puck was never reported to have crossed the goal line. But Olson was refing… A tough loss to the Borrachos, who needed a win to hang with The Patriots, Ice Holes, and Mayhem in the top tier of the Gold Division. Borrachos has a great offensive night from Jim “MVP” Stuckeman who got the hat trick in the losing cause while Haley notched an assist in the effort as well. The resurging Snipers got the late one from Henderson and also got two strikes from Joe Tomme and one from Rodger Bishop.

Shockers 5 Slackers 1
The showdown between two solid Silver division contenders was pretty much all Shockers in this one. Shockers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on goals from Jason Howell, Otto Bielese, and Chris Sholley. The slackers then scored the strangest goal we have ever seen…ever. A rocket dump in from Slackers defenseman Jason Hurst off the glass hits a rivet and caroms at a strange angle into the net as Shockers netminder Chris Duran who was behind the net trying to cut off the dump in, looked on in amazement. The shockers then went on to strike two more times on (illegible) and Bob Kardacz shots.

Ice Holes 5 Komets 0
This game was nothing short of a thrashing. Nay, a genocide. Ice Holes continue their dominance with a crushing 5-0 win to remain undefeated on the season. Three first period goals off the sticks of Nicholle Palomer, Mike Skupien, and Jared Junker had the Komets on their heels early. IH would tack on two more goals from Jason Junker and Rahul Gilbreath. It was a great night for the Skupien Family (1 G 2 A combined) and the Junker Family (2 G 3 A combined)…Isn’t it great to see families having fun? Komets had chances at times, mainly on their best line of Baldree, Nation, and Cappers. But the Ice Holes goalie Doug Taylor shuts the door and tacks on his 3rd shutout season.

Brewzers 4 Fugaweez 3 (OT)
Fugaweez continue to see their hearts broken, this time at the hands of the surging Brewzers squad. John Parker was the hero in this one as he scores the opening goal and the game winner in OT for the Brewzers with 48 seconds left. Fugaweez are given props for battling back in the third by scoring two goals. Fugaweez leading scorer Eric Johnson had 2 goals on the night, while Matt Osbourne had the Fugs first tally of the night. Brewzers got their other goals from Ken Thomas and Brian Flacksbart, while the hockey wonder Jamil Jabir had two helpers on the night. Brewzers also hold a tie for first in the silver division with the Shockers and Blue Devils. We wonder who the Brewzers will root for in that one?

Blue Devils 4 Leftovers 0
The Blue Devils have also now lined a tie for 1st place in the silver division with their trouncing of the winless Leftovers. Chris Zoll scored early in the 1st for the “game winner”, but the “Azul Diablo” would go on to get goals from Terry Newman, Dave Loggins, and Dan Glien. BD Tom Cox was brilliant in this one, as he denied all 12 shots he faced. Both BD and Shockers have a share of 1st place, and low and behold, there will be a showdown between the clubs next week. Priceless.

Spiders 3 Stickmen 2 (SO)
The Spiders get their 1st win of the season on a Chris Gallagher shootout goal for the 3-2 win. The re-born spiders got a goal from Gallagher in the 1st and from Bryan Couture. Stickmen goals from Alex Eyesermans and Rich Duval. Spiders will try to play spoiler next week against the undefeated Mayhem squad. Stickmen now are on the verge of being mathematically eliminated from the keg game.

Not to be outdone: Scoring Leaders....Stuckeman cannot be stopped!

Finally: The Remaining Scheduel for I League. (Take Note, the Bonus week Knute has given us... ie Pond Hockey Scrimmage. Free Hockey Folks) The Playoff night has been moved back to April 7th.

I League Preview/Standings

Game are upon us again this weekend after a nice break for practices…insert opinion here…

Ice Holes vs Komets: 8pm: Gold
The question in this one is, which Ice Holes team shows up? Is it the I.H. team that has beaten the Komets in two games by a combined score of 12-1 or is it the Ice Holes team that lost one game to the komets 3-1. Komets haven’t lost in Regulation, Ice Holes haven’t lost yet this season. Yummy.

Puckers vs Mayhem: 8:15pm Green
Mayhem comes into this one the topped ranked team in upper I league, if not the entire I league itself. Puckers had a heartbreaker to the Stickmen last game. Can the Puckers pull the upset of all upsets?

Fugaweez vs Brewzers: 9:15pm Gold
Rumor has it the Fugs had a little meltdown in their loss against the shockers last game. We hope all is well with them now as they take on a very confident Brewzers squad.

Patriots vs Stingers: 9:30pm Green
I League Game of the Night (Gold Division)
This will be probably one of the best matchups all of this season. Grab a cold one and sit back to watch a thriller. The winner with only a handful of games left will have the much needed head to head tiebreaker as the season winds down. Patriots have pitched 2 shutouts in 3 games while the Stingers have had shutouts, but themselves have also been shutout. Too bad this cant be a keg game…or can it?

Borrachos vs Snipers 10:30pm: Gold
The Borrachos are tearing it up in the silver division as they cast aside opponents with MVP Shawn Haley. Not to mention great goaltending in Jesse Gonzales. Snipers need a win to stay in some sort of chase for the silver keg. Borrachos look like they have all the momentum in the world

Blue Devils vs Leftovers: 10:45pm Green
Blue Devils got dealt a sour note last game on a late 3rd period goal for the loss, they look to reverse their fortunes as they take on a winless Leftovers squad. Blue Devils need a win to still remain in hunt for Silver Keg.

Shockers vs Slackers: 11:45pm Gold
I league game of the night (Silver Division)
Shockers only defeat was to the talented Borrachos squad, they look to make it back to back wins this weekend against a similar team in the Slackers. Both teams mirror each other in various player skills. Though we’ve heard rumors that Chris Duran is the next Jesse Gonzales or Marty Turco…take your pick.

Spiders vs Stickmen: 11:55pm Green
Spiders and Stickmen get the late draw in this one as both teams are near the mid to bottom of the gold division (at least that’s what we think). Both need a win to have an outside chance at the keg game. Stickmen are on a roll while Spiders (though they’ve played some pretty good dang teams) are trying to stay afloat. Spiders hope the always dangerous Chris Gallagher can spark the team on a winning streak.

Also...Not to be outdone...an UNOFFICIAL look at the standings. Knute hasnt given a go ahead on final divisions...but here's a decent idea...

Goalie, fed up with refs, moons crowd

This AP story is unbelievably great:

NORTH LOGAN, Utah - A University of Southern California hockey goalie put on a show, but it had nothing to do with stopping shots.

Mickey Meyer rode his stick like a horse, dropped his bulky pants, mooned the crowd and slapped his buttocks during a game against Brigham Young University, police said.

He was ejected and ticketed for lewdness, a misdemeanor, after an officer who was working security at the rink said he witnessed the scene Saturday.
"I had my fill of these refs," Meyer said on an Internet broadcast of the game, according to The Herald-Journal of Logan.
Meyer's antics occurred while play was stopped and referees were trying to sort out penalties in the third period of a consolation game in the ACHA West Regional tournament at Eccles Ice Center.
The junior from Clinton, N.Y., was "riding his hockey stick like a horse and slapping his butt," North Park Officer Mike Stauffer said in a report.
After pulling down his pants, Meyer slapped his bare bottom several times, Stauffer said.

Indeed it sounds like quite the scene. (Let's not have any of this at Euless, folks.)

We found an audio podcast of that game. Go here. The relevant portion starts at the 1:48:00 mark, when the Trojans ended up with five guys in the penalty box. Things deteriorate from there.

"What a circus this is turning into. ... a party going on in the box," the announcer says. "Wow ... as this is turning into a sideshow. Oh, wow. Mickey Meyer just mooned the crowd, ladies and gentleman."
"I definitely saw Meyer doing it, so I have no idea what is going to come of that. Wow."

Then, the understatement of the year: "For some reason, I tend to believe that the trojans aren't as concerned about the final outcome of the game at this point, based on what's going on."
The student braodcaster interviews Meyer briefly at the 2:03:50 mark of the audio.

The AP story doesn't say this, but the broadcaster says Meyer was kicked out of the game to an ovation from the crowd. AP also doesn't report the score. USC lost 6-4.

I can't wait for video of this incident to appear on youtube.

USA Today on Nagy Trade: Good Deal

USA Today's Ted Montgomery on the Stars' trade for Nagy: "Getting Ladislav Nagy from Phoenix was a coup for the Dallas Stars. Sure, it cost them a first-round draft choice and middling left wing Mathias Tjarnqvist (whom the Stars asked waivers on last week), but Nagy will really help beef up the Dallas offense for the playoffs. Plus, at 27, a case could be made that his best years are still ahead of him."

Montgomery also calls Joe Nieuwendyk a shoo-in hall of famer and one of the top 10 most underrated NHL players ever. Read the whole column here.