Halifax Floor Hockey LeagueThis is Billy Concarney here with your week 8 recap. After a busy week amongst the captions, the rumour mill was rampant with trade offers and declines and offers and tweaks and offers and declines and ....well you get the picture lol. So without further ado...hey ho and awaaaaayyyyy we go!
First of all let's take a look at the Hackers and the Slayers. The Hackers are leading the league with six wins and 1 loss. The Slayers, who started out great have slipped a bit and are looking to find their old form. The ball was dropped for the face-off to start the game...Martell passes to Goodwin and BANG...he rips one from the point and beats Snelgrove between the legs and thus the game begins. From the ball drop this one was a bit feisty. The Hackers found themselves down a man for over half of the first as they sent 4 guys to the box. Luckily for them, the Slayers could only capitalize on one opportunity, so this one was tied after one at 2-2.
The second saw another steady stream of players going to the sin bin but this time the advantage went to the Hackers who notched a power play goal of their own when Paul Chang fired a blistering shot into the top corner that almost ripped the net from the frame! Whoa nelly what a shot! The Hackers score three unanswered goals in the second and never looked back. They led 5-2 after two.
the third saw the hackers add to their lead as they outscored the Slayers 3-2. Led by their valiant captain Dave "I'm Super" Cooper who had 2 and 2 and Tom "That Burning Bird Thingy" Griffith who had a goal and 3 helpers, the Hackers were just too much for the Slayers, who will need to go and regroup for next week and see what they can do to get back on track. Johann might want to consider that age old tactic run by the faithful who gather around a burning tree and sing Koombaya in the wee hours of the night...but we suggest it be off of Stad's property...that might not be good.
Hackers take this one 8-4.
The second game we will look at is the Lynx vs the Fire. These two teams played to a draw the last time they met with the Fire scoring with 2 seconds left to tie it up. Would there be any last minute heroics in this game? Let's take a look and see.
The Lynx were on the prowl early on as they caught the Fire a bit flat footed to start the game and very quickly took a two goal lead. Lynx forward Evan "I should have a job in a soup factory" Canning scored two goals quickly and Jon D added his own exclamation point with a short handed blast from the point. The Lynx led this 3 zip after one.
The second saw more of the same as the Lynx added three more to take a 6 zoo lead after two. The Fire were looking a bit flustered as they had a few point blank chances on Kane but he turned them aside.
Into the third we go...the Lynx have blanked the Fire so far...could it happen?
The lynx once again came out hot led by that Evan guy again. It seemed that he and JD were all over the score sheet this night. But the Lynx as a team played great from start to finish while the Fire just seemed to smoulder along. After all was said and done, Kane picked up his third career shut out, thanks in part to his play but also to his teammates for having his back. The Fire fired 19 shots at him in the third, but couldn't solve the old fat guy.
The Lynx took this one by a score of 9-0 and look like they might be a force to reckon with...they move into first place in their division with this win.
The next game on the books is the Chill and the Titans. The new look Titans have picked up Chad "I'm Bad" Banks in place of the injured Louis "the Grill" Brill. whom we hope gets better soon of course. the Chill have been without their captain and front man Keven "Son of Rob" Pittman who has been sidelined with an upper body injury.
So off to the races we go! Titans draw first blood as Sean "Brother of Dave" Fitzgerald picks the top corner sending the water bottle top over end in the air on a feed from Ryan "The Irish" Milligan. But then steps in Mark "Oh The Sea" Duggan...who scores not one, not tow not three...but five of the next 6 goals and man oh man, the Chill are starting to put the freeze on the Titans. After two periods, the Chill, led by Duggan, have outscored the mighty Titans by a score of 5-2.
The third saw the Titans answer back as they scored three unanswered goals to tie the game, but the Chill were not going to be denied. They closed out the game with three of their own and ended up pulling out the win by an 8-5 margin. The leader in this game was Duggan who tallied 5 goals and 1 assist.
Our last game off the night saw the Bulldogs face off against the Sabres. The Sabres were looking for their second win in a row while the Bulldogs were just looking for a win! Well the first period was a slug fest as goal after goal was scored, with the Sabres scoring the first three followed by two from the Bulldogs and then two more from the Sabres. New guy to the league Phyl LaFerrier scored his first goal in his first game in his first period for the Bulldogs, but the Sabres were just too "sharp". haha.
The second saw Chris McKinnon only allow 1 goal on 20 shots as he once again turned in a mention worthy effort, keeping his team within reach...but the the third started, the Sabres roared out of the gate as they had in the first picking up the first three goals of the period. The Bulldogs fought back and closed the game out by adding the last three of the period, and maybe giving them something to build on going int to the last two games of the season...but the Sabres owned this one from the get go. They win the game by a score of 8-5.
So a couple of news tidbits. Do you know that the modern day record for the HFHL show only 5 shutouts in the leagues history and two are owned by Chris "Big C" McKinnon and the other three are owned by Marty "The Party" Kane...who as a result of picking up his third of his career is this weeks Eastside Mario's Player of the Game. Way to go fat old guy!
We also want to take a moment just to reiterate our stance on respect. Guys, this is not junior high school. This is supposed to be a bunch of grown men chasing a foolish white ball around with curved sticks and trying to put it in that thing called a net...the name calling and goofy comments towards one another have to stop. We are all bigger than that. From this point on, any one who is heard calling out another player with words like ^%$#*&&**?! .... ^%%%&^%#*! or crack head or jack ass or anything not respectful, will be given an unsportsmanlike penalty. no questions asked. And if you get caught and the other guy doesn't? Well then too bad for you. You have to be in control of your faculties and your mouth. Make sense?
Anyway, we are winding down the regular season and the Hackers sit atop their division and the league while the Lynx are sitting atop their division. Could be interesting going down the stretch...and keep an eye out folks. One last week for trades and some teams...without mentioning names...might be trying to solidify their opportunities heading into the post season.
Trade deadline is ball drop on this coming Monday...so be ready boys, you might show up and be playing for a different team!
This is Billy Concarney saying so long and remember, if you want to garner respect, you need to be respectful. It is something that is earned in some circles and an afforded common courtesy in others. But the best place to look for it first is in the mirror.
Be well folks!