This Week in SCOHA – January 31st, 2023

January was a tough year but we made it through it! I swear, if this was May or June, it would’ve ended weeks ago… At any rate, Master’s has one game left til playoffs and United has 2. There are still some teams jostling for better positions so this weekend’s games have some drastic meaning. We’ve got quite the scoring race going right down to the wire in the Masters Division. Dave Armstrong leads with 59 points, 13 ahead of Larry Litzgus but the Larrinator is up by 3 goals on Dave. We will see what happens Sunday! United Division sees Oilers’ John Carvalho leading the pack with 35 points, 3 up on hawks Marc Bellehumeur and 4 on Oilers’ Justin Whitwell. Should be an interesting race to the finish. We will keep you posted. All these guys can pile up the points, they’ve had a great season! The rest of us yield to their offensive expertise….

 

UNITED DIVISION:

 

SUN.JAN.29:

 

OILERS 4 FLYERS 1: Even though the Flyers were missing captain and GM Mike Haslam and their tenacious forward Mike Rostecki, this game was all that the media hyped it up to be. In the end, Oilers snipers Justin Whitwell and John Carvalho took over, leading to the Oilers to a convincing 4-1 win to keep a strangle hold on first place in the standings over the Flyers. SCOHA veteran Paul Clearly returned to action which was a motivational lift for every guy in the room! He even chipped in with a big assist. Dennis “what’s good for the goose, is good for the” Klander also got in on the scoring, as did Jim DaSilva who has now exploded into a scoring machine on the ice. Flyers Dino Guidice scored a nice goal for the guys in orange. Oilers Tim Visser turned aside 18 shots for the win.

 

 

SHARKS 3 BRUINS 3: Richard Forster scored with 3:46 left on the clock as the Bruins tied the Sharks 3-3. Of course I had the plus 6.5 on my proline parlay. Wayne Sliwinski and Brock Hotrum also found the net for the B’s while “shoelist joe” Joe Shulist dropped a deuce for the Sharks. Stick tap to Sharks spare goalie Brad Stone who….. stoned the Bruins on several occasions to preserve the tie.

 

BLACKHAWKS 4 CANADIENS 3: This Dave Johnson kid was killing 3 birds with one stone as he scored a goal, assisted on another, and even sat in the box with a roughing penalty. I call that the Terry Gudgeon hat trick, minus falling over the boards while getting on the ice. In the end, it was hawks captain Paul McGraw who scored the game winner with 6:37 left in the damn game to lift his team to a hard-fought 2 points. At the other end of the ice, the Canadiens Steph Rioux scored a Lafleur-like goal and continued to play a productive and organized style of game, one that future Scohaiians will look up to when they enter the league.

 

 

MASTERS DIVISION:

 

FrI.JAN.27:

 

FLYERS 6 STARS 3: Flyers Darren Joliffe scored his first goal of the season and even took the damn puck home for proof as the Flyers upset the Stars 6-3 on a blustery Friday night. Not taking anything away from Joliffe’s big game but his teammate Dave Armstrong had 2 goals and 4 assists, a typical walk in the park for Dave. For the Stars, who were seeing stars after this one, Jason Anderson (no relation to Pamela) coincidentally scored a pair of beauties.

 

FLAMES 2 PENGUINS 2: No one is hosing down the Flames any time soon. Still refusing to taste defeat this season, the Penguins gave them all they could handle, settling for a 2-2 tie. Pens’ Terry Lee tied things up with a few minutes left to ruin everyone’s Proline ticket. Henry Marfisi scored both goals for the Flames who haven’t lost in regulation since November 8, 1974.

 

SUN.JAN.29:

 

REDWINGS 4 SHARKS 3: Spare goalie Peter DeNaut played like an astronaut, out of this world, as the Redwings snuck by the Sharks 4-3 in front of 2 family and friends who came out to see DeNaut play his first career SCOHA game. Wings’ Kelly Rintjema scored the game winner and was rewarded the first star of the game for the Redwings who continue to play better each week. John Carvalho Sr. scored a pair for the winners while Gord “magic” Johnson, John Elter and downtown Lenny Brown replied for the Sharks. This game went right down to the wire but the Wings hung on for the W. Great game by both tenders of the twined tents. Bill Curran got quite the assist on the Sharks first goal but the 4 fans were still at the concession stand getting some popcorn and soda before finding their seats.

 

FLAMES 4 STARS 0: Holy salted caramel martini! The Flames burnt out the Stars 4-0. Let’s hit pause on the vcr for a sec and talk about flames Rick “tic tock” Estok who guzzled a can of jolt cola before the game and scored 2 for the winning side. Then he turned around and got an assist on their first goal. These guys better re-sign this guy to a new deal before free agency starts or they will regret it. His hockey bag was a bit heavier after taking 3 game pucks home for the mantle. Great game Rick! Stars captain Chris Barratto held a closed-door meeting after the game but accidentally locked everyone in the room.

 

FLYERS 6 PENGUINS 0: Alex Greychuck knows how many woodchucks could chuck wood as he recorded his 17th career shutout as the Flyers cooled off the Penguins 6-0. If the score was the other way around, he would’ve chucked his wooden goalie stick, I’m sure… Darren Joliffe led the way again for the Flyers, his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of the season in the last three games! He must’ve started a new pre-game meal routine, I dunno. This one Nick Miscione chipped in with a goal and 2 assists for the big win to lead the unprovoked attack on the Penguins who aren’t yet ready to slide down the snowhill.

 

BLACKHAWKS 4 BRUINS 0: Joe Defaria was lights out for the whole night as the Hawks smoked the Bruins 4-0. B’s captain and gm Gord Bryce didn’t help matters as he blasted a snapshot top corner past his own goalie. No one talked about it in the bar, don’t worry. Hawks Vince Mercuri scored the game winner and passed Stan Mikita in the Hawks all-time goal scoring list, congrats Vince! Larry Litzgus added salt to the wound with a goal and a helper to add to his career best season.

 

Well that puts a lid on last weekend’s action. Let’s thank Scotty Johnson who has filled in between the pipes for a lot of games lately. The guys all appreciate it, fella! And let’s hope Master’s goalkeeper Richard Paquet gets better soon!

 

 

Chris Marttila

 

SCOHA Blogologist / Stat guy