This Week in SCOHA – Jan. 8th, 2019

As the regular season gets closer to playoff time, teams are getting prepared for the final push to position themselves for the playoff run.

JUNIOR DIVISION:
Penguins - 7 Blackhawks - 4
The Penguins gained soul possession of 1st place by beating a depleted Blackhawk line up. The Haslam's ran the show each getting 2 goals for the winning side with Michael also adding an assist. It appeared to be a chippy affair with so many penalties that at one point the Blackhawks had more players in the sin bin then on the bench.

Bruins - 7 Oilers - 3
Another high scoring game that saw the last place Bruins move up a position from the bottom while knocking the Oilers down to 2nd place. Justin Mol was the top scorer for the Bruins with the Hat Trick. The Oilers put in a good effort in the 2nd period after being down 5 - 0 to get within 2 but just ran out of gas.

Flyers - 5 Red Wings - 3
This game was a tight one, tied 2 - 2 after the first. The Red Wings had the lead in the 2nd for just over a minute before Walter Blagdon tied it up with his 2nd goal of the game. Walter also added an assist to the game winning goal scored by Charlie Polizzi. The Flyers are now tied with the Oilers for 2nd place.

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION:
Leafs - 7 Habs - 5
A beauty battle between 2 of the original 6 teams. This was a seesaw affair with both teams exchanging goals leading to a 2 - 2 tie after one. The 2nd period was no different as both teams took turns with the lead before the Leafs slammed the door shut with 2 goals 18 seconds apart. Bob Tenison added 5 more points to his stats with the Hat Trick and 2 assists to maintain his strong lead in the scoring race. Rob Baker and Mike Miscio also had a pair of goals each for the losing side.

Bruins - 3 Penguins - 1
If this game was decided by penalties the Penguins would have won 3 - 1. Dave Armstrong opened the scoring for the Penguins and then 39 seconds later Glenn Rouse evened it back up. Rob Train scored the game winner with 4:24 seconds left in the first and then it was nap time. Not much more to say about this game.

Blackhawks - 2 Flyers - 0
The Flyers must have thought that with Chris Martilla on vacation there wasn't going to be a blog so there wasn't any point in doing anything exciting. Which is exactly what they did. If it weren't for the 2 goals by the Blackhawks the score sheet would be completely blank as there were no penalties either. 2 thumbs up to Steve Cuthbert with the shutout.

MASTERS DIVISION:
Blackhawks - 4 Bruins - 3
The Blackhawks welcomed back Ed Walton after missing a few games for knee surgery. He responded with a goal and assist to lead his team in the win. Kevin Boyd also had a pair of goals and an assist for the winning team. Dale Brons showed no ill affects from his ailing back to score a pair for the Bruins. Joe Locicero who not only holds the 2nd place position in least goals against with a 2.76 GAA. He now also leads the goalies in points after getting another assist on the Bruins 2nd goal.

Kings - 7 Stars - 2
Astronomers were left bewildered as there were no Stars to be seen on this night. King Henry owned the night with 2 goals and 2 assists to lead his team to a royal thumping. Mike Vanderzee, Munish Baranowski, and Joe Muchynski, also had 2 points each to bolster their standings in the top 10 scoring race. Walter Iszkula had a helping 'hand' with 2 points as well. Not much to say about the Stars who at one point this year were in the top 3 of the standings. The Kings look like they have a stranglehold on the President's Trophy leading all teams in all divisions with 26 points.

Sharks - 6 Flames - 2
It was Lucky 7 night as #7 Mark Shadwell had a goal and 2 assists, #17 Jim Albanese had 2 goals and an assist, # 71 Mike Archer had 2 goals, #77 Kevin Robinson had an assist, and #75 Ron Cooper had an assist. Peter Fantauzzo had 2 goals in the first to tie the game up for the Flames but were easily extinguished by the Sharks in the 2nd.

Flyers - 5 Red Wings - 0
J.J. MacNeil was the first star in the SCOHA 'Feature Game' with the big shutout as the Red Wings continue to struggle with finding the back of the net. 5 different players scored for the Flyers including Domenic Guistini who also had a pair of assists. The game was so out of reach by the midway point of the 2nd period Bruce McDonald was caught eating a hot dog on the bench while Joe Venditti was calling in his pizza and wing order to the 'Lookout Lounge'.

That's all Folks.
A big hat tip and a high five to Chris Martilla who does this every week.