Folks, Let’s call a spade a spade here, Grand Masters goaltender Joe DeFaria can not only stop a damn puck but he can be an offensive catalyst as well. Joe picked up a primary assist in the Kraken’s game last Saturday that still has fans talking. His rookie card just skyrocketed over $8.00 so get a hold of one before ebay catches wind of it.

United Division:

Flyers 7 Bruins 3: I’m clammering to see these two teams compete for the cup since late August. Despite his teammates not happy with his pre-game meal of curried vegetable meat pies, Flyers Duane Marzi went out there and scored a pair of 5-star snipes as the Flyers folded up the Bruins like a Norfolk County street map 7-3. Other than Duane’s 2 goals, 5 other players scored for the winning side. Bruins just couldn’t get the offense rolling in this one, was like trying to nail jelly to a tree. Bruins had goals from Joe Shulist, Braden Lapointe and Jordan Campbell. Shulist must’ve had a bad sleep the night before as he sat in the box half the night and felt shame.

Blackhawks 11 Leafs 5: Good greef what happened here… the timekeeper had to re-visit the league locker for a new pen after it ran out before the end of the 1st period. In the end it was Ron Cybalski with a holiday hatty, Jonathan O’Grady with a pair and even Lucas with the long last name that starts with a P who also scored a pair. Leafs had 5 different scorers so it was good to see them spread it around a bit. Don’t worry folks, these Leafs will get back on track before this weekend’s playoffs start. Heard it here first.

Masters Division: PLAYOFFS SUN.MAR.1st

Senators 7 Leafs 5: Senators put together a power line to get more goals and it certainly worked out just fine. Brock Hotrum recorded the first 5-goal game since Andy Bathgate back in 74’ as the Senators outdueled the Leafs 7-5 in round-robin action. Marc Bellhumeur also chipped in with a goal and 3 hamburger helpers. Their 3rd linemate Marc Poulin had a goal and 2 assists for the winning side. Leafs made it interesting with 2 late goals. Jeff Davis notched a pair while Steve Horner, Bob “happy” Ballantyne and Sean Pesce also scored for the guys in blue.

Bruins 4 Sharks 3: Good for the Bruins getting a complete solid game tucked under their belts as the much bally-hooed second season got underway. This Bruins team is laced with intrigued as favourites to make a bigtime run at the cup. All 7 goals were scored by different players. What are the damn odds. Bruins goalie Kevin “mick” Jaggard left the game with an apparent ankle injury and is listed as day-to-day. Sens Scott Mlekuz finished off the game for Kevin, stock taps for Scott. Wayne Sliwinski had the tri-fecta (goal, 2 penalties and an assist) so ya, that will be on the back of his SCOHA hockey cad next year. Bruins Dwayne Kavanaugh continued his scoring prowess with another goal while defenceman Mike Christensen had the game winer with about 6 minutes left.

Grand Masters Division: PLAYOFS SUN.MAR.1st

Blackhawks 3 Flyers 1: Dennis “from the far away planet of” Klander scored the eventual game winner and Steph “redo” Rioux scored again with 44 seconds left as the Hawks took care of the Flyers 3-1 in what was a spirited game especially along the boards. Richard Paquet missed this game so past SCOHA journeyman Justin Ross filled in between the pipes. Ross spoke to the media after the game and said he felt good out there and is looking forward to next season. He had to pass on this season due to injury. Flyers goal was scored by Ghislain Piche who is seeking a multi-year contract extension this summer.

Bruins 3 Stars 2: Stars welcomed back captain, GM and overall nice guy Chris Baratto to their lineup after a lengthy injury kept him sidelined for a large portion of the 2nd half of the season. Despite 2 goals from Mike Norman, the Stars were unable to beat a tough Bruin team. Who else but Terry “hitman” Hughes scored the game winner for the B’s while Walter “2-for-1 pepperoni and mushroom from” Domingos and Tim Manning also replied for the winners. Rob Harrison (got him in the playoff pool) scored both Star goals in a losing cause.

Sharks 2 Kraken 1: What a defensive battle this was! Len “plant” Potts scored with 10:40 left in the game to lift the Sharks to a 2-1 win over the Kraken. My ScohaBetway ticket went straight to the recycling bin after this game. Quite the spirited game as 6 penalties were called. Guy “slimblade advanced with skin smooth technology” Shaver also scored for the Sharks while Paul “lightyear” Buzzelli replied for the Kraken who will review some game film in Terry’s garage on his vcr before this weekend’s game.

Well that’s all from this end of the ice. Battling the man cold but didn’t want to get any emails wondering where the damn blog is so there you go.

PREMIUM PLUS TOOL WORKHORSES OF THE WEEK:

UNITED: Lucas with the long last name that starts with a P  

MASTERS: BROCK HOTRUM  

GRAND MASTERS: JOE DEFARIA  

See you all at the rink this weekend!

Chris Marttila

SCOHA Cub Reporter

Well folks, just like that another regular season is winding down. I would be winding down on a beach in Cuba this week if it wasn’t for an orange guy but we will leave that discussion alone for now. Not the time or the place, I despise that saying..

Good news from our finance department! According to Questrade, SCOHA shares are up 12% since it was announced that our games will be on Apple Tv+ next season.

Well folks, winter is sticking around for a while longer. Groundhogs are a bunch of liars. Another storm coming this week that will bring ice all over the damn place.

I don’t know about you but Olympic hockey is at a level never seen before. Canada came out of the chute and blasted the Czechs while the Yanks are looking strong against Latvia early on in their opening match. This should bode well for the return to action of Masters and Grand Masters divisions this weekend after a pause for the snorefest we called Superbowl. Turns out Grand Masters Mike Vanderzee followed along with Bad Bunny’s lyrics pretty easily as he is fluent in downtown Spanish.

Ok, pencils down, its past 3pm, olympic trade freeze is now in effect.

United had the week off this past weekend but we will recap their Jan.23rd games and give you the run-down on Sunday’s action just for fun.

Well folks, I can’t make this stuff up. After giving some bigtime props to Gord Johnson last week for his first goal of the season, doesn’t he go out there and score again this past weekend. If anyone parlayed this on their ScohaBet app, you must’ve won some serious bucks! Great job, Gord, let’s keep this damn streak going this upcoming weekend.

Hey folks, Welcome to 2026, the year of the Fire Horse according to the Chinese horoscope. A fire horse? Ai says it signifies intense energy, enthusiasm and transformative change. Well if that holds true, the 2nd half of the SCOHA season should be one for the ages. Attendance and merchandise sales are up, we are now on all the Ontario betting sites and TSN is in the last phase of discussions to acquire our broadcasting rights from cable14 for an eyebrow raising $49 for 5 years. Details to follow.

BREAKING NEWS: As we went to press this morning, rumours were confirmed that SCOHA alumnus Paul Cleary will be making his season debut for the Grand Masters Sharks this Sunday at 7pm vs the Blackhawks. Great news, Paul! So happy you are back! Can’t wait to see you and say hi!

Well folks, better late than never. Get ready for another cold snap this weekend, good thing the heat is on at the aren… oh nevermind. Guy Shaver held a bake sale last weekend at the end of his driveway to try and help the rink fund a new heater but I guess his version of mincemeat pies didn’t sit well, especially with the British players in the neighbourhood.

Well folks, another few weeks until the big guy tries to get down your chimney. Better late than never, here’s this week’s abbreviated recap of last week’s action:

Well gang, the United Division games this past weekend were nuts, absolute nuts… I was lucky to catch the action live and meet some of the fellas up at the watering hole. Good bunch of guys, hope they can bring in a few buddies next year so we can have 6 teams. That Jordan Campbell rookie on the Bruins, skates around like that Wayne Jetski guy. Someone stop him, good grief.

I heard over the weekend that Grand Master’s veteran Ron Cooper will be inducted into the 80+ Oldtimers Hockey Hall of Fame on March 28TH, 2026 in Kitchener! This is a remarkable accomplishment and we all congratulate him on this honour. Did you know that Ron first laced up his twirlers at the ripe age 3. He then played minor hockey in Sunderland from 1945-47, in Whitby from 1948-59, various Stelco pickup leagues from 1961-2025 and has been a mainstay in SCOHA since 1997! Details of the gala evening will be posted soon. Well done, Ron! Most of us won’t even be able to bend down to tie up our skates by the time we are 60!