The End is Near

DFW Titans(4-2-1) 3, Patriots(6-1-0) 0

The Pats suffer their first loss of the session, and in dramatic fashion. Turn-overs in the slot turn into goals for the Titans in the first period, both credited to "Big" Mac Miller (I think that's a mistake on pointstreak, help me out). Then in the second, Patriot, Greg Helenbrook, cuts out the middle man and rifles a pass off the back of Ellis' leg directly into the goal . . . Chris Holder receives the credit for this one on the scoresheet. At the other end of the ice, Troy Elliot turns away the best the Pats can muster holding onto a shut-out on 26 shots.

Puckers(4-3-0) 5, Grave Diggers(2-4-1) 0

Patrick Donaghue collects a shut-out against a Diggers team that plays without a goalie. Due to scheduling conflicts, and poor team management, the Diggers are without a netminder for the night but keep the Puckers off the scoreboard for the first half of the game (is there any truth to the rumor that Stone Cold coached this little '08 miracle?). Kevin Luekenhoff breaks the plane first for the Puckers at nearly eight minutes through the second followed by Kevin Kemp (are you kidding me?), and Steve Niekamp. The third is again all Puckers as they demonstrate their dominance with goals from Dusty Smith and Kevin Kemp (again). Donaghue makes twenty saves.

Blue Devils(6-1-0) 2, Warriors(2-4-1) 1

Blue Devils are streaking into the final games. In the opening frame Devil, Dan Lowery cuts to the goal and one times the John Lloyd pass five hole for the first goal. They score again in the second when Zoll finds the hole. In the third it's the Warriors' Danny Grimes who makes the most of a Blue Devil mistake and breathes life into the Warrior offense. A couple of minutes later, they pull their goalie and . . . nothing comes together. Fill-in goalie David Blubaugh rubs salt in Ellis' wound with another face to face win, saving 26 of 27 . . . but fails to secure the shut-out.

Komets(3-4-0) 3, Brewzers(4-3-0) 2

In a tight game the Komets prove themselves to still be under .500. Scottie Baldree nets one for the Komets only to end up even stevens before the first ended when Josh Sutton beats Brent Bryant single handed. The second would hold no answers for either team, but early in the third Rich Duval wrestles back the Komets lead. Mike Gallagher scores another to ice the game. However just thirty seconds later Nidal Al Jabri pulls the Brewzers within one . . . four minutes would not be enough time to get the tieing goal. The Brewzers and the Komets look alot like different sides of the same coin.

Privateers(5-2-0) 8!, Snipers(3-4-0) 0

Some are calling for a forfeit, I say Nate Hodges had no impact on this game, or any other he played in, and the Brewzers beat this roster last week so what kind of complaint can you launch? Furthermore, in the first period these teams were locked in a scoreless tussle with no team showing the upper hand. In the second, things started to come undone for the Snipers, it is no surprise to anyone that the Privateers are a younger team (which proved to be their weakness last week) and likely have more stamina than the Snipers, but the real problem may be that unlike their sister squad the Brewzers, the Snipers have a less mature attitude. I think that this is why the Privateers were able to snowball and score more in this game than any other so far. As I was saying, four goals in the second, all Privateers: Cody Payne, Joel Bush, Joel Bush, and Don Hurt. And in the third it was more of the same: Don Kyle, Dan Lowery, Cody Payne, and Joel Bush for the hat trick. I love you all, Brewzers, Snipers, and Privateers alike, but my take maybe you should take it and keep your mouth shut . . . also, what's with all of this handshake skipping business? You blame the refs, you criticize the roster, you blame everything but yourself. If you are so upset with the game then show some real resolve and leave before the buzzer ends the game, instead of wasting everybody's time putting up with you. I bet a lot of people are mad at me now . . .

Iceholes(4-2-0) 3, Chiefs(1-6-1) 1

It looked like the Chiefs were on their way to doubling their win totals for the session with the only goal in the first (Richard Wojcio) but the battle tested Holes pulled together tieing it up in the second with Chris Pringle's goal. Pringle scores again in the third and Joe Picardo manages to get one of his patented shots from the point into the net to put it out of Chief reach. The Chiefs must be feeling pretty bad right now, they have fewer wins than the Grave Diggers. Keep it up Iceholes, the play-offs are just around the corner.

Spiders(2-4-1) 3, Silverwings(4-2-2) 2, OT

My heart is broken. In the first period the Spiders pour it on with goals from Bryan Couture and Bill Wessel, beating Ellis easily. The Wings were granted few opportunities to shoot on tiny Nina Bonifaz but when called upon she showed no shortcomings (remarkable, considering her height). At the other end Ellis was drawing inspiration and then some from her performance causing Spider forwards to audibly, and colorfully voice their frustration. Then it happened, the Silverwings with less than a minute left in regulation finally got one past the Brown Boobie. A time out call from the Wings and the temperature on the rink raised a few degrees (it is the gold rink after all) Nina held them off, Jon crossed his fingers, Nina snagged the rebound with four seconds left on the clock. With no time out left in their bag the Wings adjusted on the fly, Sergio won the face-off and the puck found its way into the open on Corey Howards stick and with a blind heave at the net the score was tied. The Wings' bench erupted and the two teams went to OT. Ellis chokes, Spiders win.

Stickmen(6-1-0) 5, Moose(0-4-1) 1

If the Moose best the Diggers last session of only one win it will be tainted, they had a shorter season to accomplish the feat. In the first the Moose put the Sticks on the powerplay and pay heavily. Val Kuntz drives home the rebound on Graham's penalty, and Jesse Henderson scores on Macha's. Brad Bynum nets another Stickmen goal at even strength then Henderson goes and gives the Moose a chance by committing a tripping minor of his own, the Moose can't execute. Ken Halford scores another goal for the Sticks in the second as they ease off the accelerator, and cruise into the third. While on their heels (and the powerplay), the Sticks allow James Macha to get down the ice and ruin Blubaugh's chance at a shut-out (YES!). The Sticks then proceed to accumulate 10 minutes worth of penalties, but ol' Davey Blubaugh would allow no more. Lynn Young settles down the Stickmen bench with the last goal of the night. Better watch the roughing if you want to win the keg this time.

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I have received award nominations from only four teams, let your coordinator know about your concerns and have him or her e-mail me their nominees.

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Father's day is this weekend and I won't be at the rink (this means I won't be able to play for even one team). This could be a good thing as my winning percentage in the last two weeks has reached the astounding mark of .143, can a sabbatical save me? But I trust that everyone will have plenty of opportunities to crucify me the following week, hasta luego!