Thursday Morning Skate

Stinger21 left a comment earlier that deserves a robust airing. Simply put:
"The truly dedicated will be skating tomorrow at 7am. See you there."

True enough. StarCenter responded to the request for more ice time by scheduling Thursday morning stick and puck sessions from 7-8:30 a.m. The sessions won't remain if we don't use them, so get out there. That guy above, he's an early bird. Is he tired? Sure, but his backward crossovers are outstanding.

Stanley Keg Playoffs Set

The pairings are in, freshly blessed by our great leader, Knute Anderson. The tiebreakers were thus:
1) Head to Head
2) Fewest Losses
3) Most Wins
4) Fewest Goals Against
5) Coin Toss
Only the Puckers-Fugaweez tiebreaker went beyond head-to-head. Puckers won that by fewest goals against.
Good luck to everyone on Saturday night.

BC

Bring on the Keg: Phantoms vs. Patriots

It'll be the the league's highest-scoring team versus the best goaltending for Saturday's Stanley Keg matchup between the Phantoms and Patriots. The Phantoms scored 33 goals in the regular season. The Pats, usually anchored by goalie Jon Ellis, gave up only five goals all season (0.625 GAA). It should be good. Swami's prediction .... (you'll have to tune in later this week; Swami couldn't be reached at press time.)

Results from Saturday night:

Phantoms 1, Stickmen 0: Brandon Suits scored for the Phantoms. Jeremy Brown got the shutout on 18 shots.

REDRUM 2, Patriots 1 (shootout): Michael Whaley was credited with the shootout goal. He also scored in regulation to tie the game 1-1 late in the second period. Jeff Eagle scored for the Pats.

Ice Holes 6, Wolverines 2: The Wolverines wasted an opportunity to sneak into a tiebreaker situation with the Patriots when they got absolutely pasted by the Ice Holes. This wasn't as close as the score indicates. Greg Hunt and Steve Junker both scored twice. Greg Durante and Dave Base also scored. Shazad Nazier and Greg Mersberger scored for the Wolverines.

Blue Devils 3, Spiders 2 (overtime): Chris Perkins completed his hat trick with 1:58 left in overtime to lift the BDs.

Snipers 2, Komets 1: Greg Delaney scored with three seconds left on a Rob Richards assist to break the hearts of Komets fans everywhere. (Well, at least Komets fans on the Green Rink.) The Snipers had tied it with 4:44 left on Luke Schweinfurth's goal (assist Big Joe Tomme). Mike Gallagher scored the Komets' goal in the first period.

Stingers 5, Puckers 2: We can't read this scoresheet because of the tiny, tiny print, but we can see that goalie Fenili, aka "The Eclipse," returned from his concert trip to stop all but two of 15 shots.

Fugaweez 5, Brewzers 4: Fugaweez withstood a furious charge in the third period to preserve this victory. Again, we can't read the scoresheet. Sorry, dear reader.


PLAYOFF seedings:

So, here's what the Stanley Keg seedings look like. Don't punch your tickets until Knute certifies the results! I'll check with him tomorrow to confirm ...

1. Phantoms (8-0, 16 pts)
2. Patriots (6-2, 14 pts)
3. Stingers (5-3, 12 pts)
4. Wolverines (5-3, 11 pts)
or
4. Spiders (5-3, 11 pts)
6. Stickmen (5-3, 10 pts)
7. Ice Holes (4-4, 10 pts)
8. Snipers (4-4, 9 pts)
9. Blue Devils (4-4, 8 pts)
10. Brewzers (3-5, 7 pts)
11. REDRUM (3-5, 6 pts)
12. Puckers (2-6, 4 pts)
or
12. Fugaweez (2-6, 4 pts)
14. Komets (0-8, 1 pt)

*********
This apparently makes for the following pairings:
7:45 p.m.: Stingers vs. Wolverines or Spiders
8 p.m.: Wolverines or Spiders vs. Stickmen
9 p.m.: Ice Holes vs. Snipers
9:15 p.m.: Phantoms vs. Patriots (keg)
10:15 p.m.: Blue Devils vs. Brewzers
10:30 p.m. REDRUM vs. Puckers or Fugaweez
11:30 p.m.: Puckers or Fugaweez vs. Komets

We don't know what the tiebreakers are yet. When we do, we'll let you know. Stay tuned ...

BC

Standings, schedule

The Wolverines are the only team with a chance to catch the Pats, but they need help from the Redrummers tonight. The Ice Holes can also play spoilers tonight by beating Wolverines. Good luck to all.

Tonight's schedule

7:45 p.m.: Phantoms vs. Stickmen

8:15 p.m.: Wolverines vs. Ice Holes

9 p.m.: Fugaweez vs. Brewzers

9:30 p.m.: Patriots vs. REDRUM

10:15 p.m.: Blue Devils vs. Spiders

10:45 p.m.: Komets vs. Snipers

11:30 p.m.: Stingers vs. Puckers

Hockey Video of the Week: Futureworld

Maybe after global warming really sets in, we'll all play hockey like this.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2571543572133086249&q=hockey&hl=en

Phantoms, Pats, W's Cruise; Stingers Stung

The Phantoms remained in control of the Stanley Keg race Saturday night, while the Patriots stayed right with them. And don't count out the Wolverines just yet. The Stingers, meanwhile, fell mightily without their usual goalie. Here's a look at action from Sept. 9:

Phantoms 10, Fugaweez 2: The Phantoms busted loose with six goals in the second period of a complete domination. Unless we're missing something, this victory qualifies Phantoms for the title game in two weeks. Their opponent apparently will be the Pats, unless those Pats stumble against REDRUM next week. Phantoms finished with 38 shots to just nine for the (Where The) Fugaweez. Greg Hunt had a pair for Phantoms. Others to score: Jason Neal, John Lloyd, Bryan Brookman, Nate Hodges, Kyle Hatley, Jay Peters, Melissa Ross and Brandon Suits. (Our fingers are tired from typing.) Kyle Overton and Doc Taub scored for Fugaweez.

Patriots 2, Spiders 0: Jeff Vaughn and Jeff Eagle scored unassisted for the Pats, and goalie Jon Ellis stoned the Spiders on 21 shots. The Patriots ought to be on their way to the title game. The question is, will they bring any scoring punch with them?

Wolverines 2, Stickmen 1: Chris Conner scored on a Greg Mersberger assist with 4:18 remaining to lift the Wolverines. Tommy Riley also put one in. The Stickmen managed only Lance Johnson's goal on an Alex Eysermans assist. The Wolverines have the Ice Holes next week. If the Patriots stumble, the W's could find their way into the title game, depending what tiebreakers are used. Wolverines have scored more goals but trail slightly in margin of victory and have a worse goals-against average. (Photo above: Courtesy Robert Sirkis. Not sure who that is losing the puck between his feet. Don't you hate when that happens?)

Blue Devils 7, Stingers 4: Chris Perkins and Matt Patchen each had two goals as the Blue Devils jumped up and knocked the Stingers out of Keg contention. Perkins' goals both came in the first minute. The Devils added Michael Binney's goal a minute after that to go up 3-0. The Stingers fought back with a pair of goals by Greg Carter and scores by Josh Briscoe and Scott Childress. But the Blue Devils were too much for Stingers substitute goalie Bill Ivey. (Eclipse was at a concert, we're told. Rock on, dude, BDs don't mind.) Other Devils goals were by Mike Drago and Allen Kriesman.

Brewzers 6, REDRUM 0: The Brewzers put this stinker away early. Steve Daniels finished with a pair of goals. Redrummers took just nine shots to 21 for the bad guys. Other goals wee by Nidal Jabri, Jen Leonard, Jamil Jabri and John P. (illegible).

Snipers 6, Lucky Puckers 1: Big Joe Tomme and Don L. (illegible, but looks like Lasagne) each notched a pair for the resurgent Snipers. Matt Walker and Sarah Buckner added goals. Rob Constantine scored for the Puckers.

Ice Holes 6, Komets 0: In possibly the ugliest game we have seen all season, the Ice Holes peppered poor Komets goalie Brent Bryant with 45 shots whilst the lowly Komets mustered just four. In a goaltending miracle, Brent surrendered just six. We hope his defense enjoyed the view. (oh, snap!) As for the spectators, thank goodness for Boddington's Pub Ale, which we're persuaded is the best beer in the known universe for pure drinking pleasure. (We have not been paid for this endorsement.) Jared Junker scored twice for Ice Holes. Others joining in the fun: Steve Junker, Greg Hunt, Mike Skupien and Patty Skupien. A real family affair.