This Week in SCOHA – October 31st, 2024
The Spooky Hollow Edition
Well I don’t know about you but last week’s games had many players going home for a hot bath. The games are amping up as we start to think about boiling hot malls and people wearing wool sweaters with nothing underneath and no deodorant for the holiday rush. Anyways, let’s unwrap last week’s action.
United Division:
Flyers 5 Blackhawks 4: Flyers are starting to get rolling and what better way to do so than with a big win over their arch-rival Blackhawks. When the buzzer sounded and the arena guy swept up the popcorn from the bleachers, the guys in orange prevailed 5-4. Deven Friesen was credited with the game winner with 4 minutes left to seal the win. This game was crazier than a canary in a coal mine as several old people would say. The Hawks gave it an honest effort but fell a bit short. 5 different Flyers lit the lamp while for the Hawks, Shawn James dropped a deuce while Andrew “I can see for” Miles and Cory Herbert also scored.
Bruins 3 Redwings 0: Darren O’Brien recorded his 25th career shutout as the Bruins topped the Redwings 3-0. Rookie Jonathan O’Grady continued his strong start to the season with 2 assists for the winning side. Nick Grivich will be a force to be reckoned with in this league, folks. You heard it here first, not up for debate. Redwings were missing 4 key cogs in the wheel but spare player Dave Graham filled in admirably despite the loss.
Masters Division:
Blackhawks 4 Devils 4: This Brock Hotrum kid had a can of Jolt Cola before the game. The Blackhawk forward scored two goals in the last minute of the game to earn a 4-4 tie against the Devils. Jason Hoffman isn’t no slouch out there, he also tallied a pair for the Hawks, who seem to be heading in the right direction in the standings. Four different players scored for the Devils, who booked the ice for 2 hours Monday for a bag-skate ahead of their game this weekend against the Senators.
Sharks 9 Senators 5: Steve “right the ship the right way” Saulnier had a hattrick and an assist as the Sharks chewed up the Senators 9-5. Joad Durst also helped by scoring a pair for the winners. For the Senators, Warren DeForest scored a pair of goals while some Chris Marttila guy had 3 assists in a losing cause. Back to the drawing board for the Sens who look to get things back on track this weekend.
Bruins 3 Penguins 0: Brad Ballman got another shutout. Anyone gonna get some traffic in front of this guy, good greef. Richard Joliffe scored the eventual game winner, his 841st career goal as the Bruins leapfrogged the 1st place Pens into first place. These guys are rolling and I have a feeling they will be atop the standings for a while. Dave Graham continued his heroics on the blueline, scoring a goal and adding a helper for the winning side.
Grand Masters:
Sharks 4 Flyers 1: Ernie Dunston relaxes in a hot bath before heading to the rink, keeps the muscles loose. The sniper scored a hat trick (3 goals if you are new to the sport), as the Sharks downed the Flyers 4-1. Pat Sergi had the lone Flyer goal as the Flyers gave it an honest effort. Apparently the score doesn’t indicate the way the game was played. Rumours out of the Shark dressing room is that Ron Cooper trusted his neighbourhood kids by putting the candy bowl on his porch unsupervised instead of delegating the distribution. Lesson learned. They even took his favourite corn chip bowl. Flyers Gord Bryce played his 1000th game! Gord’s inexhaustible style of play is a true dedication to the game and he has gained the respect of every SCOHA player who has ever played in this damn league. Way to go Gord!
Stars 5 Redwings 1: Brian Deanes had a game for the ages. He turned aside 28 shots but lost his shutout bid with a measly 12 ticks of the clock left in the game. Too bad, Brian, you deserved better! Great game nonetheless, and Grand Masters Division better take note, Deanes is ready to take the Stars all the way to the finals. They are just getting rolling… heard it here first. Let’s give a stock-tap to Dan McLaughlin who was in no funny mood, scoring 3 goals and took the game puck home for good measure.
THE PREMIUM PLUS TOOL REPAIR & PACKAGING WORKHORSES OF THE WEEK:
UNITED: Shawn James MASTERS: Steve Saulnier GRAND MASTERS: Brian Deanes
Have a great weekend fellas!
Chris Marttila
SCOHA Blogologist-in-Chief