Welcome back for another season, folks! We lifted the lid on the 84th season this past weekend and welcomed over 30 new players to the league! Arena corridors reeked of knee ointments all night, was good to be back.. Remember, this blog only goes by what’s on the game sheets. No emailing me saying you scored 3 instead of 2.

United Division:

Flyers 6 Leafs 0: Nick Cino definitely didn’t have a blindfold on as he scored the Flyers first 2 goals of the season as the Flyers trounced the Leafs 6-bagel. Cino showed a well-curated style to his game. I have a feeling he will go a long way to solidifying some rookie of the year votes pretty quickly. Dylan McInerney continued his scoring pace from last year, also scoring a pair for the winning side. Darren O’Brien turned aside 16 shots for the shutty. Leafs will be ok, see their damn lineup? They will rebound this week with a better effort.

Bruins 6 Blackhawks 0: Newcomer Zack Denham made 19 saves for the goose-egg as the Bruins folded up the Hawks like a used picnic blanket 6-nil. Kyle Relf and whoever wore #4 (not on sheet) scored a pair for the winners. Rob Merritt also chipped in with a nifty tuck for the Bruins. Still a long season, Hawk fans. Good bunch of guys in that room, they will go over some game film and get right back at it this weekend.

Masters Division:

Senators 7 Leafs 1: The scoreboard was a bit tilted but the Leafs were missing their captain John Carvalho and their sniper Marc “taco” Bellhumeur for this one. Story of this game was Dave “le legend” Langille who turned back the damn clock and scored a hatty on opening night, a first for this storied franchise. Waren DeForest, rookie Ian Fewkes, Brock Hotrum and Sean Pesce also got in on the action with some pretty impressive snipes. Larry “ballroom” Litzgus had the lone Leaf marker. Darren O’Brien looked sharp in the Sens crease, showing no ill-effects from last year’s season ending injury.

Sharks 4 Bruins 3: Rookie Jeff (have a great) Day scored the game winner with 1:40 left on the ticker as the Sharks swam past the Bruins 4-3. Bruins Ed Walton, back from an injury-plagues season last year, got on the score sheet for the Bruins. This game could’ve went either way. Both goaltenders made ample saves but one team had to win, unless they tied, which they didn’t so there.

Grand Masters Division:

Flyers 7 Sharks 2: This game went more sour than a rhubarb muffin as the Flyers harpooned the Sharks 7-2. Mike “golden” Archer scored a pair for the winners while 5 other players lit the lamp. Dave “from the small town of” Jarvis notched both goals for the Sharks. This game was pretty entertaining, folks, don’t let the score indicate how things went. Good news was no one won the 50/50 so the 7 bucks carries over to this week. Flyers Pat Sergi will be ok after hopping the glass after his goal in celebration. His knee showed some discomfort Monday morning and a lesson was learned.

Kraken 2 Bruins 1: Mike “12-string acoustic” Guitard scored the game winner with 9 minutes left as the Kraken edged the Bruins 2-1 in front of a loud, boisterous announced crowd of 4. Guitard is fresh off getting his jersey retired by the Malmo Redhawks of the Swedish Elite League. His passion for the game rubs off on any teammate he has even though he once cut through Sears once to get to the mall without buying anything. Ernie “all” Dunston scored the lone Bruin goal and moved into 15th overall on the all-time goals list ahead of Dit Clapper.

Stars 3 Blackhawks 1: Robert DiGiovanni (got him in the pool) scored the winner as the Stars out-shone the Hawks 3-1 in a spirited affair. Bob Tirnanic, who once led the Muskoka Murder Hornets in penalty minutes in the now-defunct Cheese Toast Hockey League, scored a potential goal of the year that we will all see on the plays of the month. Newcomer Steve Wilson buried the Hawks only goal then grabbed the puck to put on his mantle when he got home. Bill Kircos carried his tradition of getting at least one penalty for the past 7 seasons opening game. Congrats Billy!

PREMIUM PLUS TOOL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

UNITED: NICK CINO  

MASTERS: DAVE “le legend” LANGILLE  

GRAND MASTERS: MIKE ARCHER  

It was great seeing everyone up at the bar last Sunday night!

Have a good rest of the week, see you this weekend,

Chris Marttila

SCOHA Blog Guy

Well folks, here's a peeled back edition of everyone's favourite blog before we start eating more vegetables and rolled oats to shave down the 18lbs gained over the summer. For those filling my inbox asking when the draft will be, the answer is Sept.17 for United and Sept.21 for Masters and Grand Masters.

Bill "food grade aluminum" Foley has signed a lucrative deal to become the new GM and owner of Masters Sharks. Bill spent the better part of 6 seasons as a 4th line grinder for the Nipigon Elks before making the leap to Scoha. while Mike Vanderzee negotiated a deal to take over as Grand Masters Stars rep with an option for a 2nd year depending on the team's performance and if his team decides to listen to him. Mike brings a steady diet of skill and exuberance from his days as a gristed winger for the Lethbridge Bonnets of the now defunct Alberta Iron League.

Overall, we have a bunch of new Scohaiians joining the league. A revamped marketing plan and word of mouth spearheaded the mass recruitment which will more than offset some players that jumped ship to other leagues. We thank those players leaving for their time in Scoha and hope to cross paths again down the road.

Last i heard, United is full and there are only a few spots open for Masters and Grand Masters. Spread the word if you know of any players that haven't registered yet or want to join. Team reps have already started building their spreadsheets for the draft, should be another exciting year! Enjoy the last bit of summer and see you all soon.

Chris Marttila

Blog guy