Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen

The building excitement tonight was thick, choking, palpable, only the true I-league heroes would survive, here is their story...

Players of the week:
Alex Eysermans, 3 goals in 2 games (game tying and overtime goal for the win)
Eric Johnson, 2 goals
Tim Brady, 2 goals

Goalie of the week:
Mike Moore .889 save percentage is not the best stat for the week, but if you saw the game you wouldn't argue.

honorable mention to Patrick Donaghue


Puckers 1, Snipers 2 (Vegas: Puckers 4, Snipers 3)

The amazing Patrick Donaghue vows to finish the session. Scoring was no where near expected and it looked like the Solitary goal from Chris Kirton, halfway through the second would stand-up. The Snipers were out shooting the Puckers but Donaghue had an answer for every one. As the third started it was plain to see that Patrick's shoulder was weighing heavy on his game. Within two minutes the score was tied as everyone's favorite pesky winger Kevin Cook sets up the goal for Jesse Henderson (the phrase "sets up" is used loosely as Kevin seems to have no idea what he is about to do). With plenty of time left in the third, Chris Davis scores the lead change with the help of Jesse Henderson (he's a scorer, he's a playmaker, Where has he been before tonight?). But tonight the Puckers fall short and limp to the final buzzer, win number two for the Snipers, a streak?

Spiders 3, Komets 2 (Vegas: Spiders 3, Komets 1)

No surprises here, the Komets are still floundering and the Spiders are strong as ever. Kris Navarro nets the first arachnid goal on the Pete Clark assist. Just over a minute later Pete takes the puck coast to coast and tallies a single handed goal for the cushion. The Komets don't let the period end without returning some pushin' Dustin Nation, a consistent scorer, brings it within one. The second is filled with... one penalty, nothing else. The Spiders pour it on in the third, Patty Greco to Freddy Gilbert. Andrew Patti gets a little over zealous protecting the lead and gives the Komets a power play, which they cannot take advantage of. With almost two minutes left Rich Duval brings the Komets to the brink but no one follows his lead. The Komets never even get the opportunity to pull their goalie in the face of the Spider's offense.

Stickmen 4, Grave Diggers 1 (Vegas: Stickmen 4, GD 1)

I hear a lot of people lost a lot of money on this match-up, the so-called experts judged the spread to be too small, and many saw a shut-out in the cards. Alex Eysermans gets credit for the ugly goal in the first as it slithered and bounced off of everything on the rink before crawling through Jon Ellis' five hole. But the shooting on both ends of the rink goes for naught for 18 minutes. At the commencing of the third period Blubaugh blinks and loses the lead to Alex Atkins on the pass from "ER's" Anthony Edwards (got his autograph, loved him on Northern Exposure). It looked like it would be one for the ages as both tenders made spectacular save after spectacular save, not so. Ellis withers under the pressure, surrendering the net to Brad Bynum, and twice to Timothy Schmidt. The sceptics are saying it may be point shaving. Blubaugh says "You got what you deserved, Ellis, it's karma". There's no telling how big this thing is.

Warriors 3, Blue Devils 2 (Vegas: Blue Devils 3, Warriors 2)

The Warriors have little regard for the opening periods, but who can complain with only one loss on the record. Of course the early lead goes to the surging Blue Devils. Bobby Michaelides made the initial save on Ryan Wacker's shot but he can't hang on to the rebound. After fumbling a cover, and muffing a clear attempt, Ryan regains control and sends a beauty from an inch off the goal line through the posts, top shelf. It would prove to be a meaningless score. Ryan made most of his impact in the box. The Warriors get a rare first period goal (Eric Johnson), BD then wrestles back the lead on a shorty from Patrick Maddocks. For most teams this would mean the end, not the Warriors. Battling back in their favorite period, Eric nets another, followed by Clark Sandlin. The Blue Devils collected 14 minutes worth of penalties (with Olsen, he let's everything go!) they needed a couple more shorthanded goals, no small task against the Warriors.

Patriots 2, Iceholes 1 (Vegas: Patriots 3, Iceholes 1)

Iceholes goalie, Mark Johnson, was on fire. He had to be. Shots from every corner of the rink all end up in his possession. The Patriots keep coming at him but the first goal goes to the Iceholes. On a breakaway allowed by the bloodthirsty Patriot offense, Mark Dunning undresses Jon Ellis, putting it easily between the post and his prone left leg. The second ended and hockey savant Troy Ramsey puts the Patriots on his back grabbing the Sabrina York rebound and driving it home before a minute passes in the third. Ellis manages to stop the few shots headed his way, and Johnson does the same, except for one tiny rebound. A shot that burrowed through his elbow and landed lifeless at his right hip. Bryan Brookman pounces, Johnson never saw it coming. The Icehole's hopes for a comeback die as they collect a two minute interference penalty with 2:03 left on the clock.

Brewzers 3, Army of the Twelve Monkeys 2, OT, Shoot-out (Vegas: ATM 6, Brewzers 1!)

Who saw this coming? The winless Brewzers shock the world in the last game of the evening, like a movie script. 1980 all over again. In a beautiful game, A. J. Fierrero takes the only penalty of the game, a high sticking, half way through the opening frame. ATM keeps the Brewzers out of the net for those two minutes, but back at even strength, Jamil Al Jabri locks and loads and puts the Brewzers on track for a terrific upset. Tim Brady scores in the second, again in the third, the indomitable Brewzers counter with Alex Eyserman's reckoning. The glass in the crossbar was rattling throughout the remainder of regulation, then the over time. The contest would be decided by two men, Phil Talley, a keg veteran, and Mike Moore, carrying the weight of five consecutive losses. Shooters lined up for their chance at history. Phil and Mike turned away the requisite three calling out for more. Alex Eysermans, who brought his team to this juncture, finally imposes his will on the dumbfounded Talley. The Army of the Twelve Monkeys had only one opportunity to save what was left of their dignity, Mike Moore was at a crossroads. Tim Brady took the gamepiece at center ice, carried it down to the net and tried to deke Moore out of position, and ended by putting it into Mike's gear. Pandemonium!


What an incredible conclusion for an otherwise lackluster night. If you left early you missed a legendary I-league moment. Let that be a lesson to all of you.

bcIII

Sunday morning pickup hockey

The regular Sunday morning pickup hockey group is getting the shaft at Euless this month, so we've come up with a backup plan. There will be a game tomorrow morning from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the NYTEX facility in North Richland Hills. It's by Birdville Stadium. The website is here.

Two goalies have confirmed. Cost is $10 cash at the door. We'll play in the Brahmas' rink. The doors should open at 6 a.m.

With a decent showing, the folks at NYTEX have pledged to give us regular ice time on Sundays, which beats getting bounced around from month to month whenever there's a youth game.

For the uninitiated to pickup hockey, the skill level in this game ranges widely, from novice to A-B level. Everyone who straps on skates is welcome. The regular Sunday game, particularly, is a bunch of really nice guys. Try it out.

BC

Just a Little Tidbit

P.S. I'm working on something else... http://mycovereddishbliss.blogspot.com/

Blu-Ray Wins, Who Cares... And Hockey?

I don't have High Definition, yet. But I never concerned myself with who would win out in the DVD battle. So Blu-Ray (Sony) is the victor, so what. I see a major difference between this revolution and the VHS/Beta war; the real front is in downloadable media. I have a Zune (Microsoft) and the rest of the world has their Ipod and none of us are missing our CD collections. Remember the weeks you spent clearing the shelves, album by album, ripping all of your music into your hard drive. Now that shelf has been emptied, and you can walk through your hallway without turning your laundry basket sideways. It's all right there in the palm of your hand, or in the back of a closet (I should really try to pawn those things before the market is extinct). Now look over there by the TV. A stack of DVD's. Have you noticed the instability in the real estate market. Why upgrade your house and your interest rate when you can move out all of that clunky packaging. A second, or third, hard drive sure doesn't take up much room. So enjoy it, Blu-Ray, your time in the sun is short.

Downloads are almost all I buy anymore. Ownership is a prison, freedom is no possessions (strange, but I passed on the opportunity to download John Lennon's Imagine). Maybe I'm just getting old and not as easily seduced by the slick marketing campaigns. Maybe I'm just running low on cash in this recessed economy. Still I would much rather buy a new washer and dryer than add to a soon to be obsolete movie library.

I heard that during the writer's strike, when reality shows caught their second wind, that Internet/downloadable media reached it's highest penetration to date. No one is suggesting that John Q. Public would rather watch pug bowling on youtube over an episode of The Office, but you can download any episode of The Office. The television is still king of media and is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. But I have to tell you that pug bowling does make for good viewing while matching socks.

The Low-Def T.V. is headed out, but, fortunately the HD market is mostly standardized in the U.S. LCD, plasma, DLP, it's all compatible with one signal. Any market can divide at any time, but this one appears pretty stable. Besides, there isn't any push to decide on that T.V. for almost a full year, the standard definition signal will face the final test pattern on February 17, 2009. This works out really well for me. While the rest of the world is fighting over Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, and the future of downloading... I still have laundry to do. Do you have any idea what the market for washers and dryers is like right now, well I do. If you think digital is confusing, start checking out consumer reports for front loader vs. top loader washers. Were you aware that there are topload DRYERS? High efficiency detergents, drum bellows seals, washing times, washers and dryers that communicate with each other (seriously)... Hey, I'm sorry. Don't walk away. No really, HD man, that is some cool stuff, yeah... Hockey looks good in HD. Eh?

Predictions:

Puckers 4, Snipers 3

Komets 1, Spiders 3

Stickmen 4, Gravediggers 1 (no shut-out Dave)

Warriors 2, Blue Devils 3

Iceholes 1, Patriots 3

Brewzers 1, ATM 6

Take some inspiration, score some goals, have some fun.

bcIII

Stars make trade...

and rock their fan base...

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=230613&hubname=

basically:

Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist from Tampa Bay to Dallas for Jussi, Mike Smith, and Jeff Halpern

WTF!?!?!?!?!

(burns stars jersey)

Brett Hull....what have you done!

This Thing is Really Shaping-up

After much ado about the Warriors and ATM, the only perfect team left is the surprise Stickmen. Sadly, this may have been the swan song for Patrick Donaghue.

Players of the week:

Bryan Brookman 2 goals, 2 assists (read 'em and weep, Bryan)

Alex Eysermans 2 goals, in two games

Curtis Zoil 2 goals

Goalie of the week:

David Blubaugh, again, first game .941 save percentage, second game shut-out


Blue Devils 4, Komets 2

The intoxicating Melissa "supergirl" Knourek kickstarts the Komets offense early, I think this is her first I-league goal. For some reason her fellow Komets cannot follow her lead. Ryan Wacker sends it to Curtis Zoil for the equalizer before the period ends. Ryan then, apparently upset with his lack of goals as of late, takes to the box for a slashing, of course the Komets do nothing with the advantage. Zoil scores once more in this period, apparently the only way to get this guy out of the crease is with a whistle. Joshua Davis nets the third goal for the Devils in the third, from Speelman. Scottie Baldree tries in vain to turn the tide. But Speelman comes up with a goal of his own, the Komets are toast.

Stickmen 3, Spiders 1

Two perfect records. Two outstanding defenses. Two phenomenal goaltenders. Offense... well, they have the spots filled on the rosters. In what should have been a titanic battle, the Sticks strike early and often (by Stickmen standards). Eysermans starts it off with a goal before the two minute mark, single handed. Brad Bynum scores unassisted just to show Alex he can. Then the Spiders finally put the game in question as Blubaugh is unable to hang onto a rebound, Lynn Kresta, still just as quick as before her half-marathon last week, snaps it past the glove of the flailing netminder. A tense third period goes almost scoreless despite a power play for each team. It takes the last ditch effort of the Spiders pulling Nina Bonifaz to give the final tally to Bynum. Only one undefeated team left, I think I called this one before the session even started. Oh shut up!

Iceholes 3, Army of the Twelve Monkeys 2, OT, Shoot-out!

Iceholes, welcome to the elite. The Monkeys have been living under a magnifying glass lately and they finally succumbed. Mindo puts the biscuit in the basket for his second game in a row. The Iceholes fight through four minutes of penalties until they get a man up, and Chris Pringle makes the most of the open ice. The third was even for almost three minutes when Mark Dunning gets the puck to Jon Bird for the lead. The Iceholes, however, can't keep ATM out of the net as they create a two assist gem for Mike Missel. Obviously OT was scoreless. Both goalies: Bobby Michaelides, Mark Johnson, are in the zone for this game. It takes Eight total shooters to register one goal, and the winner goes to Mark Dunning, a great game for Mark, starting in the box for four minutes, then an assist, and all the way to here... I'd like to thank God, my parents, all of my teammates, the writers, oh gosh everybody was so great. I didn't write a speech, uhm, there's the music, please? Thank you, everyone. I love you all.

Patriots 7, Puckers 2

On the opposite end of the aforementioned microscope find one Ginger Parker, and she entered this game with a price on her head. The Puckers scored first, and, yes, Casey puts one in from center ice. And alot of Patriots scored too. But the real drama goes to Butch Hutchinson in his singleminded quest to systematically hunt down and destroy Ginger Parker. In the second he dislocated her shoulder, but she was spotted slamming herself against the glass on the bench and returned without missing a shift. She fought through the physical resistance trying to spark the offense but Butch could not be stopped. With only a few seconds left in the game he highsticks Ginger and is asked to leave the game. Seriously this was a great, hard fought game. Possibly the only one who leaves the ice without a generally good feeling is Patrick Donaghue. With rotator cuff problems, Pat is considering leaving the net. No one wants to see you go, you have been a hoss between the pipes.

Snipers 2, Gravediggers 0

Well, no more ties in this league, so somebody had to win. There is very little to show for this game on the scoresheet, but it was one of the most fun games I have played in quite a while. The first was scoreless and the only penalty of the game went to Bruce Frankel, holding (ticky-tack). The second contained all of the scoring (all on me), to Ed Vogel, Then to Alex Eysermans on a great offensive face-off play. Yeah, I can't explain it. I lost and had a great time. Blubaugh wins his second of the night (i guess those steroid cycles are paying off). Congratulations to the Snipers on their victory, may many more come your way... well I think we all know that's not very likely, just keep havin' fun.

Warriors 2, Brewzers 1

The Warriors stick by there m.o. and allow the Brewzers to score first. It's Paul Thurston, unassisted, and he continues to be unassisted for the remainder of the game. Finally in the third the Warriors pull it together. Dallas capitalizes on the powerplay, less than thirty seconds later Carl Moser puts in the game winner. Mike Moore puts up a spectacular game but has little to show for it. The Brewzers are left with the Gravediggers as the only winless squads. Unfortunately, these two will never square-off, could we finish this session with two winless records? I certainly hope not.

Did you miss out on some birthday cake upstairs after the games? Another great night in what is shaping-up to be one heck of a year, at least for me. Here's hoping this finds you well, whoever you may be.

bcIII