This Week in SCOHA - April 4th, 2023

If the popcorn wasn’t so damn stale at the snack bar, this would’ve been the best Sunday of the season. Two great games and a packed bar afterwards made everyone happy. The puzzle-piece team of the year, United Sharks barely held off a determined Flyer club 2-1 while on the Master’s side, the Flames burnt out the Stars 3-2 in what was the most attended game of the season. Flames even brought in the fans decked out in Flames jerseys. What a fanbase!

UNITED DIVISION:

SHARKS 2 FLYERS 1: Cory Hall (of fame) scored both goals as the Sharks beat the Flyers 2-1. This game had more ups and downs than the toilet seat at the taco bell. 10 penalties called but every player dug in deep for one of the more action-packed games we saw this year. Shark’s rookie Steve “Alabama” Albanese was first to the dry towels and the sliced oranges as he received 3 penalties and was out of the game before the halfway point. Flyers ace Brent Haslam went catapulting into the end boards so hard, the Zamboni fell on its side. Hoping his shoulder is ok, hate seeing anyone get injured out there. Stick tap to Brent for coming back into the game but it was clear he wasn’t 100%. That’s the kind of guy I want on my team! Flyers got a goal from Kyle Allen, who will be a free agent July 1st. GM Mike Haslam says they have had preliminary talks but nothing concrete. I spoke to Sharks captain Steve Fudge Cromwell who was pretty happy with his teams play and added that he is in fact the first black captain in SCOHA history to lift the cup! The way he gathered his team toward the end of the game in a timeout to calm them all down was a token of his drive to be a champion. He now has that coveted championship ring… I mean jacket. I would also be remised if I didn’t report that Fudge forgot his hockey pants and had to wear a pair that looked tighter than Pamela Anderson’s bathing suit on him but who are we to judge… Great game b y both goaltenders. Sharks outshot the Flyers 26-21 (thank you Nicole Mol for tallying up the shots for us!) and will now start an offseason that will see a few free agents move on and some brought in to try and repeat as champs.

MASTERS DIVISION:

FLAMES 3 STARS 2: This one was tough to predict. Flame started the playoffs pretty shaky but they managed to win the most important game, edging the Stars 3-2 in front of a loud, energetic crowd. Brian “whipper” Watson scored the eventual game winner for Marc Verrier’s well-assembled hockey club on the power play after a Stars too many men on the ice penalty. I spoke to Stars captain Chris Barratto and he didn’t have much to say about the outcome, “That’s how it goes..” Ghislain Piche and Darren “pass the butter” Corneau also scored for the Flames while “skip the dish” Munish Baranowski and Andy Rossit replied for the Stars. Flames outshot the Stars 28-18 as both tenders of the twine stood on their heads for most of the game. Thumbs up to Scotty Johnson and Tymen Edelkoort on both having spectacular games. The fans all went home happy and they got their money’s worth. Half-price tickets at the IGA helped bigtime. Both these teams played their asses off, was just too bad their had to be a losing side.

Big thank you to Gord Johnson for taking photos of both championship games. I will post the link to them soon!

Special thanks go to all the timekeepers that did their job well this season, the referees, my fellow committee members hard work, especially Terry Gudgeon’s endless commitment to this league, the staff at the SCOHA pub upstairs, and most importantly all the players who made for an excellent season on and off the ice. Great group of guys, bring on September! Have a great summer, I will drop the off off-season blog to let you know what the usual characters are up to, don’t you worry…

Cheers fellas!

Chris Marttila

SCOHA Blogologist