This Week in SCOHA – April 17th, 2026

Well folks, another SCOHA season is in the books as the 3 divisions held their championship games last weekend. There was more drama than that episode of Baywatch when the sand was too soft and they had to jog on it very slowly but we got through it. Let’s recap before someone asks “where the hell is the blog?”…

 United Division:

“FLYERS HOLD OFF BRUINS IN UNITED CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOR THE AGES”

The stage was set for a battle against the Flyers and Bruins, two teams that find each other irritating after a long season of chirping on and off the ice. Cable14 ditched their usual hour of Stoney Creek City Hall caucus meetings to show this game and many Stoney Creek residents were happy they did.

FLYERS 4 BRUINS 2: Flyers Brent Haslam racked up 2 goals and 11 minutes in penalties before he was handed the key to the dressing room as the guys in orange defeated the Bruins 4-2. This game was fast-paced from the get-go, both teams showing off their skill and speed throughout the night. Both “technicians of the twined tents” made several 5-bel saves to keep their teams in it but unfortunately one team had to win. Jeff “lemon meringue” Pye and Duane “from the far away planet of” Marzi also scored for the Flyers while Bruins had goals from Joe “shoeless joe” Shulist and Steve Ditta in a losing cause. This game went a bit pear-shaped at the end but credit to the referees who kept the lid from coming off the boiling pot of split pea soup (with ham).

Masters Division:

“SOMEONE CALL THE COPS, SENATORS FEEL THEY WERE ROBBED OF A CUP WIN”

BRUINS 3 SENATORS 2 (OT) Well if you talk to any Senators players after this one, they were pretty gutted after falling short of a cup victory. Bruins looked tired from about 5 minutes left in the 2nd period through overtime but found a way to win thanks to a distant wrist shot from the blueline by Wayne Sliwinski with 1:18 left in overtime. At the half, the score was 1-0 for the Bruins thanks to great goaltending from both ends of the ice. Senators went up 2-1 thanks to goals by Brock Hotrum and Eric Pearson and felt like they were into cruise control until Terry Lee (recently back from a rib injury) tied the game with 3:38 left. 4-on-4 overtime saw the Sens take charge with numerous scoring chances only to be denied by newcomer Steve Cuthbert or just missing the net by inches. With 1:18 left, Richard Forster scooped up the puck along the dasher boards, fed it up to Wayne Sliwinski who let a wrister go near the blueline that eluded the Sens netminder for the winner. Tough way to lose the championship but have to move on and get ready for draft day and try it all over again. Bruins played their typical style of swarming the puck handler, trying to force turnovers before quickly moving back up ice. That topped off with a steady diet of defensive play spelled victory for the guys in yella.

Grand Masters Division:

“HAWKS HARPOON SHARKS EN ROUTE TO 8-2 TANKING”

BlackHawks 8 Sharks 2 I had Sharks winning this one on my Scohabet ticket but the hawks had other ideas. Nathan Seepersaud had 4 goals and took home the White Rose Garden Centre player of the game, well deserved as he showed all season why he helped carry this team with some heavy minutes and a desire to win. Lee Paule also chipped in with a pair of goals while 6 different Hawks picked up at least one assist, a solid all-around effort. Sharks goals from Gord “magic” Johnson and Dave Cathcart were impressive but not enough to defeat the barrage of shots the Hawks threw at them. All in all, Grand masters had a great season. New players fit into the league well and the goaltending competitiveness around the division was great to see. Team reps have already started planning for the draft and we will check in periodically throughout the summer to see how the reps are preparing for next season.

At the end of each season, writing a thank you to the people that keep this league running smoothly doesn’t seem like enough credit. Terry dedicates so much of his own time making sure we have a league to play in. He helps with any tough decisions that have to be made along with the rest of his staff. I raise my Timmies regular coffee as I write this to say thank you to the exec, the timekeepers, referees and players for a great season. Enjoy your summer, get signed up for next year and bring some players into the league, we want more guys and more teams!!! Any questions, feel free to message me!

Thanks to all that reach out during the season with a thumbs-up to this weekly scribe, it’s appreciated. After discussing with my family, I have decided to return for another year writing this blog.

 Cheers everyone,

Chris Marttila

SCOHA Blog Guy