Exercise for Earlybirds

I see a lot of bitchin' on this site about I-league ringers. Well, there's a lot rink management could do about ringers, but let's not hold our collective breath. A much better approach is to improve your damned game! The only way to do that is to skate more often.

There's a new weekly drop-in that's safe for I- and D-League players. It's 7 a.m.-8:45 a.m. Wednesdays at Farmers Branch StarCenter. In our initial week, we had six or eight guys. Hang in there fellas; It takes a while to get a new game established.

BC

Week 6 results....

wierd...we've had six weeks of I league...but only 3 games....champion!

sorry to spoil the fun of the comment-fest going on in the previous post...here's some fresh ammo for you. (also apparently some of the score sheets were incorrect as far as player stats are concerned...changes noted...someone yell at the scorekeepers please)

3 Stars of the Week

1. Daniel Barr: Center: Patriots: 3 Goals (Patriots 4-0 Win)
2. Greg Mersberger: Winger: Mayhem: 2 Goals, 1 Assist (Mayhem 3-0 win)
3. Ed Vogle: Winger: Stickmen: 2 Goals (Stickmen 3-0 win)
Honorable Mention: Bryan Brookman: Winger Patriots...1 goal, 2 assists (Patriots 4-0 win)
Goalie of the week: Chris Duran: Mayhem/Shockers. 11/11 and 23/25 (both wins)

Slackers 1 Blue Devils 0
Slackers get a late goal by “mike” with 2 minutes left in the 3rd to give the Blue Devils their first loss of the season. A decent game as both goalies faced a good number of shots. Props to slackers goalie David Gieslon for pitching a shutout and BD goalie Tom Cox (Goalie Hockey Whore) for an almost equal endevor.

Shockers 3 Fugaweez 2 (SO)
This one was an epic struggle between two teams trying to bounce back from tough losses the week before. Fisticuffs, checking, scoring, goalie saves, Overtime, and Shootout were all present in this one. A freakin hockey game folks. Fugs scored first off an Eric Johnson Score early in the 2nd. Shockers tied it up on Dave Farns’ First I-League Career goal (props sir). Fugaweez again took the lead with seconds left in the 2nd on a Scott “Mindo” Dolbee shot. Shockers would answer back in the third on a Jason Howell score from Bryan Voslquil. After a barrage of shots from the Fugaweez in the 3rd, and in the OT period, we would head to the shootout. Where Voslquil put home the game winner for the Shockers. Chris Duran was remarkable in this one by denying 23 of 25 shots. This guy is the front runner for goaltender of the year either with the Shockers or Mayhem.

Mayhem 3 Stingers 0
Mayhem improves their record to 3-0 by knocking off another undefeated team. Mayhem scored on 2 goals from the great Greg Mersberger while Chris Conner added one. Goalie Chris Duran looked great in this one as well, kicking aside all 11 shots he faced. From the looks of it, Mayhem looks like the front runner for the Gold Division keg. From Mayhem Coach Bobby Sirkis, about the game… “It should’ve been 14-0”.

Patriots 4 Spiders 0
Patriots bounce right back from their loss last game with a dominating win against the now 0-3 spiders. Patriots ripped off 30 shots against Spiders goalie Matt Sexton. The patriots were lead by the great Daniel “Dandano” Barr who tore up the ice with linemates Paul Conyle and Bryan Brookman. Barr who hadn’t had a goal in the first 2 games, found his stride and was playing with fire as he lit the lamp three times for the Hat Trick, one of which was a howitzer one timer. Brookman had a strike and 2 assists. Patriots got great goaltending again from Jesse Gonzales who denied all 16 shots he faced on the night. Fear the Patriots.

Borrachos 3 Leftovers 1
Borrachos still have not lost a game in regulation this season. They get a nice win in this one coming off the sticks of Jim Stuckeman and Shawn Haley. Both these guys pretty much dominated the game on the score sheet. 2 Goals and an Assist for Stuckeman and a goal and 2 assists for Haley. We are guessing these are the guys that below comments indicated were B league players….HA!

Stickmen 3 Puckers 0
Stickmen get their first win of the season at a pretty much make or break time. Stickmen got 2 goals from Ed Vogel and one from Dan Lagrone. Puckers who looked great offensively against the spiders last week couldn’t hit the net despite throwing 17 shots on net. Puckers drop to 1-2 on the season while the Stickmen avoid the winless mark to 1-2.

Ice Holes 2 Snipers 0
Shhhh…don’t tell anyone, but while Mayhem has been the big talk in I league, the Ice Holes have a perfect record as well...(sad part is we don’t know what division they’ll wind up in) Ice Holes got great goaltending as usual in this one to get their 2nd shutout of the season. Ice Holes’ goals from “Raul” (sharma?) and “Steve”…last names would be great people! Blow us up.

Brewzers 6 Komets 5 (OT)
Goaltending was forsaken in this battle as both squads found their offensive game. The komets scored late in the third to push this one into the extra frame where Lorikay Frumman’s goal gave the Brewzers the win, while the komets have now dropped back to back games. Brewzers also got scores from Brett Broostrom, Steve Spedea, Steve Daniels as well as 2 goals from Brian Flachsbart. Los Komets goals from Dustin Nation, Sergio “Pancho Villa” Castillo, Scott Baldree, Rich Duval and Mike Bresnahan.

As for the Divisions: Should get final results (hopefully) on Wednesday from Knute, we can give ya’ll a clear picture of the standings. Rumor has it the divisions will stay pretty much the same they were at the beginning of the season. But again, that’s only a rumor.
And the Schedule…is as follows…up until mid march. Then after that it’s all TBA. Hoorah for I league! All times subject to change.

February 17: Practices
7:45pm: Komets/Fugaweez
9pm: Snipers/Ice Holes
9:15pm: Mayhem/Stingers
10:15pm: Brewzers/Blue Devils
10:30pm: Stickmen/Patriots
11:30pm: Shockers/Borrachos
11:45pm: Leftovers/Slackers
Monday: Feb 19: 10:45pm: Spiders/Puckers

February 24: Games
8pm: Ice Holes/Komets
8:15pm: Puckers/Mayhem
9:15pm: Fugaweez/Brewzers
9:30pm: Patriots/Stingers
10:30pm: Snipers/Borrachos
10:45pm: Blue Devils/Leftovers
11:45pm: Shockers/Slackers
11:55pm: Spiders/Stickmen

March 3rd: Games
7:45pm: Puckers/Stingers
8:15pm: Slackers/Borrachos
9pm: Mayhem/Spiders
9:30pm: Shockers/Blue Devils
10:15: Patriots/Stickmen
10:45pm: Leftovers/Ice Holes
11:30pm: Fugaweez/Komets
11:55pm: Brewzers/Snipers

March 10, 17, 24, and 31st: TBA

I league: games resume

So while we havent gotten the new standing ironed out from knute…(ugh)
We can give you a preview of this weekend’s action…I league style.

But before that….post game recap that wasn’t mentioned before…
Borrachos 4 Shockers 2 (Saturday)
Borrachos Goalie Jesse Gonzales made several insain saves on the night to shut down the shockers. Borrachos had a a 3-0 lead goin into the third, but the shockers rolled back on goals from Nate Hodges and Ott Belis to cut the lead to 3-2. However Jason Neal would get his 2nd goal of the night to put this one away for the Borrachos in the 4-2 victory....apparently the notorious phantoms were spread throughout this game....7 phantoms playing...probably more.


This week
Patriots vs Spiders: 7:45pm
Patriots won this matchup last season in a glorious battle 4-2. Spiders need a win or they’ll drop to 0-3. Patriots trying to bounce back from their heatbreaking loss to Mayhem

Leftovers vs Borrachos: 8:15pm
Borrachos as talked about above look to make it back to back wins. Leftovers are still in their shootout with the slackers.

Brewzers vs Komets: 9pm
Komets trying to keep their point streak alive. They have gotten points in both of their games this season. For the avid fan…this matchup went to a shootout last season.

Stingers vs Mayhem: 9:30pm
Game of the night here folks. Rumor has it that Barry Melrose himself is coming down to see this one. Both teams are 2-0 with almost no goals against average. Goalie battles, Players Battles…grab a cold one, a turkey leg and a bag of chips should be good.

Ice Holes vs Snipers: 10:15pm
Ice Holes trying to remain undefeated. Snipers always come to play. We wish we knew which conference these two teams were going to be in…..

Puckers vs Stickmen: 10:45pm
Puckers coming off a royal thrashing of the spiders last week, Stickmen are struggling to score goals…this one could get ugly. We hope not.

Blue Devils vs Slackers: 11:30pm
We don’t know much about which “blue devils” team will show up…cant figure you boys out. Slackers are still in a shootout with the leftovers.

Shockers vs Fugaweez: 11:55pm
Fugs don’t want to drop to 0-3, while the shockers have the talent to rise to the top in the silver division. Goalies: Bobby Michaledas vs Chris Duran is always a good battle.

I League Practices

once again its time for practices...though some of us would like it if we had 13 straight games...but we're just relaying opinions we've heard in the crossbar...Lord knows this author needs the practice...

believe it or not, while the rest of us are practicing this Saturday, there is a lone battle taking place. The Shockers will battle the Borrachos at 7:45. Both teams are hoping to stay undefeated.

As for the rest of us, the practice schedule is as follows…

Saturday Feb. 3

9pm: Brewzers/Ice Holes
10pm: Puckers/Mayhem
10:15pm: Fugaweez/Snipers
11:15: Patriots/Stingers
11:30: Spiders/Stickmen

Sunday Feb 4th (yea we know…Superbowl Sunday…WHAT!?!) (Go Colts)
8:45pm: Komets/Blue Devils
10pm: Leftovers/Slackers

games kick back off on Feb 10th.

We surf so you don't have to ...

Here's highlights from the Stars' comeback victory over San Jose last night/this morning. Boucher scored the tying goal with 2.2 seconds to go. Ribeiro wins it in the shootout.

While we're being a whore for the local hockey franchise, we might as well add that the pro shop is having a superduper sale on All-Star Game merchandise. Everything is 50% off, from golf shirts to hats, etc. The shipment came in last night. Tell 'em we sent you.

I league Week 2...

Week 2 unfolded with great games….

Puckers 5 Spiders 3
Puckers bounce back from their lost to the patriots last week with a solid win over the winless spiders (wow). This game was close early, spiders took the first goal off a Chris Gallagher strike. Puckers responded with goals from Dallas Lehr and Ryan Rintala. With 29 seconds left in the first, the Spiders tied it up at 2 on a Pete Clark goal from a Gallagher feed. However the Puckers took over control of this one in the 2nd and onward as Kevin Luchenhoff and Lehr regained a solid puckers lead, only to be solidified by Rintala’s second of the night. Gallagher would get a late 3rd period goal to make it a 5-3 game, and that’s where it would end.

Mayhem 2 Patriots 1
Folks in the Crossbar got a good one to watch as a glorious early season battle ensued. Both teams pitched shutouts last week and hoped to keep their unblemished record going. Patriots struck midway through the second period on a Steve Benfield goal from Raul Sharma and Nate Hodges. Patriots looked to have the upper hand by having constant pressure on the Mayhem side. But in the 3rd, Mayhem evened it up on a Dr. Karim Jamal, (probably the greatest hockey name ever) goal in a scramble in front of the net. Then a minute later the now surging Mayhem got the game winner from the always Dangerous Brian Conner in a mad pileup in front of the net. Mayhem was more importantly aided by Sensational Goaltending from Chris Duran, including one Larcenous save off cannonading point shot that even made patriots goalie Jesse Gonzales wonder in awe. This looks like a possible keg matchup...if it is…better call Versus for tv coverage, while head coach bobby sirkis looks to be the front runner for coach of the year...

Ice Holes 2 Brewzers 1
Ice Holes also improve to 2-0 on the season. Jared Junker and Mike Skupien both light the lamp in the first for the 2-0 Ice Hole lead. Brewzers got a goal in the second from Philip Hussey but no more after that. A blank third period (surprising) allowed the Ice Holes to hang on for the win. We still await what division the Ice Holes will be in, they could go either way.

Stingers 1 Stickmen 0
Stickmen are shutout in their 2nd straight game. Stingers got the late game winner with 1:30 left from the great Roland Widmann, his fourth goal of the season. This one was a good one, stickmen, though they haven’t scored a goal, played soundly better than their thrashing at the hands of Mayhem last week. Stingers out shot the Sticks 22-15, so hats off to both Johnathan Panczyk and Dana Finili for putting on quite a goalie clinic. Stingers improve to 2-0.

Slackers 3 Leftovers 2 (shootout)
Some silver division (we assume) hockey was quite entertaining to watch with a cold one in hand. After a scoreless first, the Leftovers dominated the 2nd period with goals from Sean Griffin and Scott “Mindo” Dolbee. But the 3rd was owned by the Slackers whose two strikes came off the stick of Nate Williams (that or Donny Flynn, the scorekeeper cant write numbers…Nate has it unless otherwise declared) one of which came with 2 seconds left on the clock…WARRIOR!! The OT was relatively pointless, then the shootout continued….and continued…and continued….at least 12 players per side…scoresheet disintegrated after that, but we know that Steve Hormik had the shootout winner. Great game guys.

Blue Devils 3 Komets 2
Blue Devils remain undefeated this season, as well as against the Komets. BD has never lost to the Komets, ever. They continued this practice Saturday night, however a bit closer than the last few meetings. Blue Devils drew first blood in the first off a Mark Cameron shot. The second saw both teams trade goals as Gerald “Space Pope” Cappers scores for Los Komets, while Blue Diablo gets one late in the period from Dave Coggins. Things looked bad for the komets until Mike Brensnahan got the equalizer midway through the third. On to OT…and the scorekeeper didn’t put the scorer down…so BD, unveil your hero! We do know they were victorious though.

Snipers 5 Fugaweez 3
Let the record show the Fugs were up 2-1 going into the third. Then it appears all hockey madness broke loose. Snipers rallied back for a 3-2 lead but the Fugs got the tie with under two minutes to hope to force OT. The Snipers denied them the satisfaction by scoring 15 seconds later. Tack on the empty net goal, and the snipers were victorious. The Fugs drop to 0-2 on the season while the snipers hold an odd 1-0-1 record... Fugs got goals from Eric Johnson, Dallas Lehr and Travis Lehr. Snipers got goals from a mysterious #45 who isn’t on the roster, Luke Schweinfurth, Joe Tomme, Jeff Thomas, and Daniel Barr.

Borrachos and Shockers got the week “off” and will play their game next week, while the rest of us practice next week. Exciting.

We await Knute’s verdict on Standings this week. So excuse the delay in posting Standings….

but meanwhile....scoring leaders....(pending corrections...)