BoxScore from 12/29/19 - Last game of the Decade

Controversy!


So here's what happened: Final game, score is 4-3 in favor of dark team. Momentum shifting a bit toward the white team as they scored a bit and the dark team fading just a little...Dark team is trying to get one last push to get the final goal, and....A substitution confuses Nick who covers a man who was getting off the ice while the sub was clearly already on the ice. Too many men. No penalty called. Usually we overlook those when they are inconsequential, however...in that moment, Jared turns around and fires an uncontested shot on Dave from beyond the blue line and scores on Dave. Now it's 4-4 and that was a back-breaker. Nick subs off in disgust and tells the bench he's done as he takes off his pads.



So what is your opinion? Did Nick quit on his team? Or was he basically done for this night and this was his excuse? Or is he too fat and out of shape? Or was he late for a NAMBLA meeting? (Not that one - the other one: The National Association of Marlon Brando Look-Alikes).



Or was his action simply a matter of protest? Do you think he would quit on a team if it was a game that mattered, like a Haverhill Cup game? Hmmmmm, so many questions to ponder over this new year in 2020....
Post your thoughts! And....Stats!

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DATE: 12/29/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Andrew	7	2	9	3	1	1	0	12	11
2	Jared	8	0	8	3	2	2	0	11	12
3	MVW	1	4	5	3	2	0	0	11	12
4	Drew B	2	3	5	3	2	0	2	11	12
5	Ignads	1	3	4	3	1	0	0	12	11
6	Brendon	2	1	3	3	1	0	0	12	11
7	Chris N	1	2	3	3	1	0	0	12	11
8	Nick	1	1	2	2.75	1	0	1	12	11
9	Mike M	0	2	2	3	2	0	0	11	12
10	Billy T	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	12	11
11	Jason H	0	1	1	3	2	0	0	11	12
12	Teddy N	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	12	11
13	Chris Y	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	11	12
14	Lee S	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	11	12

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	John R	3	2	66.67%	12	4.00	0
2	Dave	3	1	33.33%	11	3.67	0

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Happy Festivus for the Rest of us!

Festivus was technically Monday, December 23 this year, but I figured we'd do this after the Holidays so no one thinks this is a Xmas thing and gets offended somehow (I mean, again).


And now, it's time to play the Festivus Feats of Strength!

But, instead of pinning Frank Costanza to the floor, we will play a Match game for the Festivus Crown!

Here's how it works: Below are listed some random reasons why someone has left Saugus Hockey (either just for this season or for good, apparently).

Your job is to guess which person is matched up with which reason.

For example, if you chose A) for Brett, meaning that 'Canadiens fans are bitter' and that's why he hasn't played this year, you'd be wrong. Because the correct answer is D, Obesity. Or maybe it's C. You see how that works?

Great, now let's get started. Post your guesses in the chat and let's see who can get the most right and who will win Festivus!

Match the following people to their corresponding reasons. A reason can be used for more than one person. Some reasons might not be used at all.

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Festivus Match game

#	Player	ABC	Reason
1	Ron	A	Canadiens fans are bitter
2	Griff	B	got married and just gave up
3	JB	C	can’t play defense anymore
4	Reggie	D	obesity
5	John P	E	realized that hockey isnt a track meet
6	Jimmy C	F	moved to California
7	Tony	G	multiple knee surgeries
8	Goggles	H	entered the twilight zone
9	Matt S	I	diabetes
10	Mike Pretzel	J	lack of interest (laziness)
11	Bradley	K	pure laziness
12	Jimmy N	L	moved to Thailand
13	Eric F	M	shoulder surgery
14	Billy D	N	terrible in net
15	John F	O	Father Time caught him
16	Dale	P	moved to Canada
17	Taylor	Q	extreme obesity
18	Scott F	R	realized that sarcasm isn’t a substitute for skills
19	Bobcat	S	bad mustache
20	Jeremy S	T	it's a mystery
21	Rick G	U	offended by Frendon
22	Luke C	V	Moved to North Carolina or someplace, IDK
23	Brett	W	offended by Brett (e.g. the "blog")
		X	chasing girls around
		Y	reasons unspecified
		Z	lost an eye

Answers will be posted after everyone has guessed. I will confirm correct answers in the chat.

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BoxScore from 12/22/19

Old Dogs


Other than being the title of a 2009 film that was so horrible it got a whopping 5% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is an apropos title for this week of terrible, terrible Saugus Hockey.
At first, we were treated to the rare Lenny sighting – not that Lenny – the other Lenny…insert classic Bob NewHart joke here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApHgZ96H0PU



Kinda seemed like there was new life growing again in Saugus. Last week we had some new blood and this week some old ghosts came back to life. And then they died.
War is H-E-double hockey sticks! People were dying out there on the battlefield; The first Lenny went down hard with a muscle pull. There were bound to be casualties. The other Lenny, proudly played on a third game and suddenly had all the confidence of John Sedgwick during the Civil war. He stood tall, noted that they were gunning for him, but with his ironic last words, uttered: “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist—"
And down goes Lenny2. Two hours, two Lennys, too bad. It was a Lenny Massacre. But they’ll be back next week. They’re not going down like that, right?


So what about the games? Well, I got sent a telegram from PPP – The Professor. You guys remember him, right? He had some game analysis that he has for us after consulting with the Scout, BigBoard, WPR, and the Real Deal. All of which remain anonymous to this day.

Here’s what he said:
“The dynamic of Billy, Jared, Brendon and Nick was working too well last night. They easily could have had 4-5 more goals if they didn’t miss the net or shoot directly into Steve’s pads a couple of times…tsk, tsk, what could have been. They’re too dangerous to keep together. Watch for Johnny to break that up next week by bribing Jared to get his Binky back. Johnny would like to get Nick and Billy back on D for his team because, frankly, it was just embarrassing at times. You’re gonna let Frendon just waltz in there and roof it on Steve uncontested? Come on. And some of those one-timers the white team missed – I mean, let’s face it, that wasn’t good defense, that was just a missed opportunity and the dark team got very lucky more than once.

On the plus side for the dark team, I thought Steve played great. He stole a couple of would-be goals and when you’re getting peppered with shots like that, you shouldn’t be faulted for giving up as much as he did. I know the lack of subs towards the end of the night definitely affected everyone….but some plays weren’t about stamina. They were about willpower and grit and hustle. Even if hustle means not necessarily moving your legs but means back-checking by stick-lifting their shot attempts.

This week showed us what a potential Haverhill Cup team might look like come redraft time. But here at Saugus, we’re clearly Sadists, so that’s not going to keep happening. Next week, look for the old blind stick throw from the center pile. That’s how we used to do it back in the Milk Street park. Back when everyone was equally young and equally awful. Not anymore. Sometimes it’s true what they say: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. We’re all old dogs now. Even Nick :-D”

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DATE: 12/22/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Jared	9	2	11	4	3	1	0	17	12
2	Billy T	1	6	7	4	3	0	1	17	12
3	Andrew	4	3	7	4	1	1	0	12	17
4	Nick	3	3	6	4	3	1	1	17	12
5	Drew B	4	2	6	4	1	0	0	12	17
6	Brendon	4	1	5	4	3	1	0	17	12
7	John R	2	1	3	4	1	0	0	12	17
8	Lenny D	1	1	2	4	1	0	0	11	12
9	Joe	1	0	1	4	1	0	0	12	17
10	MVW	0	1	1	4	1	0	0	12	17
11	Chris Y	0	1	1	4	3	0	0	17	12
12	Lenny Y	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	10	6

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Dave	4	3	75.00%	12	3.00	0
2	Steve F	4	1	25.00%	17	4.25	0

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BoxScore from 12/15/2019

New Blood

So we had some fresh meat join our slaughterhouse this week. Connor, Damon and Goalie(?) Theron came down from NH. First time playing street, as they had played Ice in Acton.

Theron mentioned how much faster the ball travels on shots compared to ice. Unless you're playing in a collegiate, pro or semi-pro Ice League, yep. It's faster.
And some of our top-end shots rival even many of those leagues. Remember Ron's shot? Does Ron still read this site? I think he still has an account. Can we get a visit from PPP sometime again? That would be nice.

Speaking of fast shots, I'm blind in one eye now. Good thing it was my third eye. I mean, how's it going to be that I happen to catch that pass with my face like that?
Blinded. Wounded. Is that enough references? One more. Guess my life is only semi-charmed. Of course, that song was all about a drug user's descent into crystal meth addiction, according to wikipedia, so....maybe not.

Anyway....what did you guys think of the new additions? (I could have gone with a New Edition group reference here but didn't. I'll spare you that one...)
Post your thoughts on them in the comments! Or Don't! Because who reads this site anymore?

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DATE: 12/15/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Jared	9	5	14	4	4	2	1	20	10
2	MVW	6	3	9	4	4	1	1	20	10
3	John R	6	2	8	4	0	0	0	10	20
4	Brendon	2	2	4	4	2	1	0	14	16
5	Damon	3	1	4	4	2	0	0	16	14
6	Billy T	2	1	3	4	0	0	0	10	20
7	Mike M	0	3	3	3	3	0	0	7	15
8	Joe	2	0	2	4	3	0	0	18	12
9	Nick	0	1	1	3	3	0	0	7	15
10	Pete S	0	1	1	4	4	0	1	20	10
11	Jason H	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	10	20
12	Lee S	0	1	1	4	4	0	0	20	10
13	Connor	0	1	1	4	4	0	0	20	10
14	Ignads	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	10	20
15	Chris Y	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	10	20

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Dave	4	4	100.00%	10	2.50	1
2	Theron	4	0	0.00%	20	5.00	0

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BoxScore from 12/6/19

Just letting off some steam....Nothing to see here...Move along...

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DATE: 12/06/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Jared	11	3	14	4	2	0	1	16	13
2	Andrew	7	1	8	4	2	1	0	13	16
3	MVW	2	5	7	4	2	0	0	16	13
4	Billy T	2	3	5	4	2	1	1	16	13
5	Chris N	3	1	4	4	2	1	0	13	16
6	Teddy N	0	4	4	4	2	0	0	13	16
7	Brendon	1	2	3	4	2	0	0	13	16
8	Nick	2	1	3	4	2	0	0	13	16
9	Jason H	1	2	3	4	2	1	0	16	13
10	Pete S	0	1	1	4	2	0	0	16	13
11	Chris Y	0	1	1	4	2	0	1	13	16
12	Lenny Y	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	16	13

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	John R	4	2	50.00%	13	3.25	0
2	Dave	4	2	50.00%	16	4.00	0

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If He Can't Score, No One Can

Sunday did not get off to a great start.  Rumor is that a plow truck caught fire, and that caused massive delays on 93.  So, keeping in line with the recap ethos of not singling anyone out, we'll just say that not everyone was there on time.  By the time we were ready to start Dave was lying on the ground counting mold spots on the ceiling.  The delay might have had an effect.  The Dark team got off to a quick start with Chris N one-timing in the first two goals.  Wait, Chris N - who is that?  He is better known as one of "The Greeks".  Either way, he had two snipes to put the Dark team up 2-0.  Unfortunately, he also had a brutal turnover to Brendon who fed Jared for the White team's only goal of the game.  Undaunted, the Dark team, on three goals from Andrew ended up winning 5-1.

It seemed a bit like a mirage - there's no way that the Dark team could be that dominant.  They had Billy,  Chris Y, and a bunch of kids.  The White team had Jared, Ward, and the much better goaltending.  Could the Dark team continue their success in Game 2?

The short answer: no.  The White team started with a Frendon one-timer setup by Jared for their first goal.  Now, it wasn't a thing of beauty - Frendon looked to flub the shot on the one-timer and he beat me with the shot.  Frendon said it was intentional.  Not to tell you who to believe, but we all know Frendon's track record.  Anyway, a goal is a goal, and the White team led 1-0.  They would build upon that lead on 3 goals from Jared.  The White team had 4 goals when there was a break in the game.  I told Andrew we needed the win.  He nodded in approval - he was properly inspired.  The Dark team began their comeback.

Now, during this time the White team had their chances to win.  There were breakaways, a 2 on 0, and plenty of shots on net.  However, one play crystallized their night.  Frendon was setup wide open for a chance out front.  I made the initial stop.  As Frendon's teammates were coming to the net to help, Frendon knocked the ball out of the slot leading to a rush from the Dark team.  That led to the classic quote, "If he can't score, no one can."  Now, Frendon was almost the hero.  With the score tied 4-4 Frendon took a slap shot from the point that bounced off of the cross bar.  Had that gone in, all would have been forgotten (maybe not, but it makes for a better story).  Instead, it was shortly after that Frendon was trying to keep a ball in at the point and Andrew stole it from him and walked in alone on Dave.  Somehow the shot squeaked by and the Dark team swept the night…which was a short one because we only played 2 games.  Next time, get there earlier guys!

Quick Notes:

• Elliot and Andrew said that they had not played on the same team before.  I will have to lookup whether or not that is true.  However, what is true, is that they played very well and generated a number of chances in both games

• I thought that Dave played very well and deserved better than the stat line read at the end of the night

• Teddy played pretty well overall, but I have never seen that many swings and misses in a hockey game

• Chris and Billy had a very strong night on defense with a number of blocks and plays that they broke up

• At one point I almost pulled a Jared.  I swung at and missed a slow rolling ball with my stick.  Fortunately it hit my goalie pad.

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DATE: 12/01/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Andrew	6	2	8	2	2	2	0	10	5
2	Elliott	1	6	7	2	2	0	1	10	5
3	Jared	4	1	5	2	0	0	0	5	10
4	MVW	0	3	3	2	0	0	0	5	10
5	Brendon	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	5	10
6	Chris N	2	0	2	2	2	0	0	10	5
7	Teddy N	1	0	1	2	2	0	0	10	5
8	Billy T	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	10	5
9	Ignads	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	5	10
10	Lenny Y	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	5	10
11	Mike M	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	5	10
12	Chris Y	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	10	5

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	John R	2	2	100.00%	5	2.50	0
2	Dave	2	0	0.00%	10	5.00	0

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BoxScore for 11/23/19

Dark Team probably wants to gloat a lot for their two wins and many goals they scored against Jared, who had no blocker, a baseball glove, a plastic stick that 10 year olds use, a mask that he couldn't see out of...oh, and he can't butterfly, apparently. You guys have a lot to be proud of!

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DATE: 11/23/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Andrew	6	3	9	3	1	1	0	10	11
2	Nick	3	4	7	3	1	0	1	10	11
3	MVW	5	0	5	3	2	1	0	11	10
4	Teddy N	2	2	4	3	2	0	1	11	10
5	Mike M	0	3	3	3	2	0	0	11	10
6	Billy T	1	1	2	3	2	0	0	11	10
7	Pete S	2	0	2	3	2	1	0	11	10
8	Chris N	0	2	2	3	1	0	0	10	11
9	Brendon	1	0	1	3	1	0	0	10	11
10	Ignads	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	10	11
11	Lee S	1	0	1	3	2	0	0	11	10
12	Chris Y	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	10	11

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	John R	3	2	66.67%	10	3.33	0
2	Jared	3	1	33.33%	11	3.67	0

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11/3 Recap: Where are My Secondary Assists?

On a note when the average age was 53, one thing became very apparent when picking teams: offense would be at a premium.  Out of the 11 non goalies, 7 of the guys that played last night primarily only play defense.  That made for some very interesting teams.  The dark team consisted of Jared, Ward, Iggy, Mike M, Lee, and Lenny Young (making his Saugus debut).  The White team had John, Chris, Billy, Jason, and Nick.  Steve was the goalie for the White team, Dave was the goalie for the dark team.

Game 1 started well for the White team on a pretty tic-tac-toe goal: John to Billy to Chris.  Of course, due to our policy of not tracking second assists I get left out of the scoring (thanks Frendon!).  Now, if I told you that Jared would not score on any slap shots or breakaways all night, you'd have thought the dark team was in trouble...not quite.  Steve was outstanding in week 1, but struggled a bit last night with whatever Jared threw at him...mostly slow shots that either rolled five-hole or hit the middle of the net (Jared did have a nice one-timer that ended Game 1 though).  However, the Game 1 loss was not on Steve - our defense decided the best strategy was to hand Jared the ball whenever he got in the offensive zone.  Of course, this led to the controversy of the night as Nick tried to coach up Jason and Jason was having NONE of it - "let's just play!".  Jason must have known that Nick's advice would be as good as Frendon's coaching as Nick himself got burned the same way that Jason had at different times throughout the night.

Speaking of coaching, after the White team lost Game 1 5-3, they applied a coaching move of their own.  An underplayed storyline from Game 1 was Lenny and Mike slashing, tripping, hugging, body-checking, and probably spitting on anyone that came down their side of the offensive zone.  In Game 2 Chris Young went and played that side.  It paid dividends - the White team was able to cycle the puck quite a bit in Games 2 and 3 and pulled out wins in both (5-3, 5-2).  In the end, in spite of Jared pulling out the puppy dog eyes, he couldn't convince everyone to play a fourth game.  Of course, after watching the Pats game, we probably should have.

Notes from last night:  I thought that the Dark's team defense struggled for most of the night, but not where you would think.  They almost never got beat for a break away, and played any odd man rushes fairly well.  Where they struggled was in coverage in the offensive zone.  Guys would get open and keep the pressure on in the zone leading to the White team getting good scoring chances.  Transition wise they were not able to help the Dark team's offense either...Dave made a ridiculous save on a one-timer attempt that I had in Game 3.  It came pretty close to the save on the 3 foot slap shot that he had against Jared in Week 1.  Three weeks in and already 2 good candidates for saves of the year...I thought that Jason and Nick had some nice plays in the offensive zone.  Jason has pretty good vision for someone who usually plays defense.  And Nick?  He actually hit the net on a couple of his shots, including the game winner for game 2.  Still not as impressive though as Chris scoring goals off of nearly every part of his body.

Next game - next Sunday at 6

Hockey This Sunday at 6:00

Who can play?

Also, stats are up for last season and career totals!  I still need to update the database to enter the two weeks we've played this year.  I hope to do that by the end of the week.

Roster for Sunday (so far):

In: Dave (G), Steve (G), John, Billy, Jared, Ward, Lee, Chris, Jason

Out: Brendon

That's Why They Play the Game!

After I finished putting my equipment on last Sunday night, I walked over to my net and looked at the team that we had.  To say I was concerned would be putting it mildly.  "We have no chance" I told a bewildered Elliot.  Yes, Andrew and Elliot were the captains last Sunday.  While picking up the teams I told Elliot and Andrew to make sure that Jared is shooting on Dave in order to make things fair (as we saw last year Jared LOVES to take advantage of guys that don't play much).  Well, Elliot didn't listen to me.  Instead, he and Andrew did a straight pick of players.  As a result, Jared and Billy both ended up on Dave's team, along with arguably the better Prater.  We had some good players, but they had better top end offense, defense, and goaltending, and we did not have any tangible advantage with the later picked players (because after all, sometime it's not about who you have on your team, but instead who you don't have).  With those teams, we had no chance.

Well, that's not exactly how things played out.  Things started according to script with Jared scoring on a terrible goal through the five-hole (1-0 White team).  After that though, it changed.  The Dark team did a great job using their speed to pressure the White team, and had some impressive shots that beat Dave.  Ward and Elliot generated a number of changes up front, Jason was rock solid on D, and Drew was all over the place.  It led to a pretty easy win, 5-1.

Game 2 started out well for the Dark team.  However, a couple of guys decided that they would stop subbing and a 2-0 lead turned into a deficit before they went for a sub.  The Dark team lost some of the speed and energy they were playing with.  They battled back and made it a 4-4 game.  However from that point Dave shut down some chances and the Dark team seemed worn down.  The White team had pressure and what felt like 20 minutes of zone time before Iggy shot one that hit me in the side and bounced in for the game winner.

Game 3 turned out how we thought the night would go.  5-0 White team, and the game was not really that close.  Of course, that was also the game that Reggie played a bit for the Dark team, so maybe there is a connection there...

BoxScore from 10/20/19

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DATE: 10/20/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Andrew	6	1	7	3	2	0	0	11	9
2	Jared	4	2	6	3	2	1	0	11	9
3	Billy T	0	5	5	3	2	0	2	11	9
4	Elliott	1	4	5	3	1	0	1	9	11
5	Drew B	3	2	5	3	1	1	0	9	11
6	MVW	3	1	4	3	1	0	0	9	11
7	Brendon	1	1	2	3	1	0	0	9	11
8	Ignads	1	1	2	3	2	1	0	11	9
9	Chris N	0	1	1	3	2	0	0	11	9
10	Teddy N	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	9	11
11	Jason H	1	0	1	3	1	0	0	9	11
12	Chris Y	0	1	1	3	2	0	0	11	9
13	Reggie	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	5
14	Pete S	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	9	11
15	Mike M	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	11	9

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Dave	3	2	66.67%	9	3.00	1
2	John R	3	1	33.33%	11	3.67	0

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Next Game on Sunday Oct 20 - 6pm

No games this week as people are away, etc.

Who can play next time on Oct 20th?

Let’s get a head count early so John can book the rink when he gets back from his vacation.

I’m in.


UPDATE: rink is booked, 6-8pm



Roster so far

In: John, Dave, Brendon, Iggy, Billy, Jason, Jared, Drew, Andrew, Elliot, Teddy, Chris, Ward
Out: Steve, Lee, Brett, Mike D, Griff
Haven't heard from: everyone else

Season 14, Week 1 - RECAP (10/06/2019)

So, I'm just gonna say it. Sunday night was Uhhhhg-leeee. With a capital Uhgg. Fourteenth season we've been doing this at Saugus, some of us have been playing much longer, going back to the old milk street park days, and even further back when we used to play at the Mary Queen of peace parking lot or miscellaneous schools around Salem - wherever we could setup those cheap plastic foldable nets...

So some of us have been playing hockey for the better part of 20+ years. You'd think we would remember how to use a stick, right? You'd think we know how to take a shot and not miss wide left by 13 feet, right?
Nope. Wow was there rust! Not just rust, but basically a whole auto salvage yard full of rust. First game seemed like a slaughter to me.

Everyone got off to a slow start, but once the goals started rolling in, seemed like there was no way to stop the dark team. I mean, we had Billy and Nick on Defense and Dave in net. Can you get much better than that?

But we can't put it all on them. As bad as we were at stopping them, we also could not get anything going offensively. Every chance seemed like a broken play or bad turnover. Can't be entirely too sure, because after that egregious, awful, low-down, dirty face shot I took from Hardy, I was a little woozy and don't remember much after that....I remember pieces....visions...blurs, mostly... I remember Reggie's 13.5 foot reach preventing anything from getting past him up the boards. I remember Drew blocking two or three of my shots with his shin guards - this inside part of his shin guards...

I remember Iggy...Iggy was...actually I don't remember Iggy... Anywhoo......Game one was brutal and we lost in a demoralizing shutout 5-0. We needed a trade. Really, what else are you supposed to do. It's not like we had hope. We just couldn't put all that rust together to form anything that remotely looked like an offense.

So John trades me and Billy away for Drew and Jason. So game 2 was much, much more even, despite what the 5-2 score maybe gave the impression. It was 0-0 for the better part of the game, maybe like 20 mins or so...can't tell...too concussed to be accurate about the passage of time...

Jared was talking about maybe getting Steve a Saugus-first shutout for the whole night. Is that true? Have we never had one goalie with a complete shutout for the whole day? I would think that we would remember that, no?

But alas, Steve had to let up two goals to bring his GAA up to a pathetic 1.0 and blew his big chance at a Saugus legend. I suppose we could have helped him with that, but whatever, I digress....

It was a very thin stat night for most players...more so that I can remember in years past...I mean, how many nights can you say that Johnny Rocket was held to ONE point on the night? Ludicrous, right?

Eight players were held to 1 point or fewer. Eight out of Eleven. Only Drew, Jared and Ward managed to get some points on the board. It was very lopsided on the stat sheet. So now it's a three-man race for the scoring title...too early for that?

So what did we learn from week one? We learned you can't count on Lenny Young. Unless he shows up next week and makes up for it. Your word is your bond!

We learned that most of us are wayyy too rusty from taking the summer off. Gotta hit the gym harder...

We learned that first game of the year we need subs. And not the kind you order from D'Angelos. Playing without a sub week one is brutal. We need more bodies out there.

Let's get everyone for the next game in 2 weeks. We need them all. Even Brad.....
Ok, maybe not Brad. Dale, though. We need Dale. If not for his backhand skills, then at least for his blog skills. Let's make a blog great again! #MABGA

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DATE: 10/06/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Jared	4	1	5	2	2	1	0	10	2
2	MVW	2	3	5	2	2	0	0	10	2
3	Drew B	3	1	4	2	1	1	0	7	5
4	Billy T	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	5	7
5	Brendon	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	5	7
6	John R	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	2	10
7	Nick	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	2	10
8	Reggie	0	1	1	2	2	0	1	10	2
9	Jason H	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	7	5
10	Chris Y	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	2	10
11	Ignads	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	10

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Steve F	2	2	100.00%	2	1.00	1
2	Dave	2	0	0.00%	10	5.00	0

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Season 14 Preview - Making the blog great again

One of the great things about the stats database is that every now and then I see something that I wasn't expecting.  For example, when Salem was moved into Haverhill South I met someone that said they had played hockey with us in the past.  I didn't remember him, but I looked up his name in the database and there he was.  Well, I finally started adding the stats from last year into the database and it struck me that we were about to begin our 14th season.  It struck me that 14 is a pretty big number.

Now, we have been playing more than 14 years in Saugus.  At one point, we never kept stats.  We didn't have a web site.  And it wasn't Brett that was scaring people away from playing, but it was Nick's cousin.  I don't even think people went out regularly after the game back then.  However, one fateful day, during the preparation for the renovation of the Methuen Hall, Reggie had the brilliant suggestion: "Why don't we keep stats?"  It was a game changer.

Early on we had a problem of how we were going to display the stats.  Early on we had a very simple web page, but then Nick created the current site giving us Recaps, Big Board, WPR, and flame wars.  If you are ever bored go back say 8 - 10 years and read some of the threads that existed, spurred on by the antagonism of Brett (sorry, I mean Anonymous) and buffoonery of Frendon and Dale.

But alas - stats, recaps, and hijinks have fallen off in recent years. Well folks, we hope to change that this season.  Stats from last year are currently being updated, and we should be up-to-date through week 1 by next Thursday. The stats themselves are now in the cloud, so each week it is a little bit easier to get the stats done. Additionally, we will try for weekly recaps - a mix of recapping the game and addressing Jared's latest controversy.

What do I expect about the actual play this year?  Brett is clearly the best player each week.  However, Jared's dedication is unmatched.  He will show whether it's raining, snowing, or his family is away on vacation. As a result, Jared will win the scoring title again.  Depending on Brett's attendance, he will end up 2nd or 3rd, and I'll probably end up somewhere in the top 3.  Ward and Brendon will round out the top 5.  Dave will be the best goalie again by far, but will have middling numbers because his team will usually need to be a little worse than the team for the other goalie.  That is, unless Darrin returns.  Unlikely, sure - but who ever thought we'd see Lee and Chris again?

Finally, a poll question - Who is most likely to play at least once this year - Lenny, Brad, or Cindy?

BTW, the roster for Sunday will be in the previous post.

New Season - October 6th @ 6:00

The new season starts October 6th at 6:00, which is a week earlier than last year.  So, this year, unlike the past few seasons, I'm actually going to update the stats regularly each week.  Not sure that we'll get consistent recaps from Nick, but the stats being up-to-date will at least be a start to make this web site more interesting each week.  We'll try to have the roster updated on a new blog post each week too (I'll still be sending texts out, but will keep the website updated with the roster too).

I am also working on trying to update the stats from last year, but one of the problems I'm finding is matching up the stat sheets to the correct date.  Most of the stat sheets do not have dates written on them, so it becomes difficult to find out if the stat sheet is from this year or a past season.  On the positive side, Brendon has copies of the old stat sheets from last year that he is going to send me.  Once I determine the dates for each sheet I will load the stats and then post them on the site.

Roster for Sunday: Dave (G), Steve (G), John, Jared, Nick, Billy, Ward, Iggy, Brendon, Lee, Chris, Jason, Drew, Mike M

First Hockey Game of the Year - TBD - Please let us know your Availability

After speaking with John, we are shooting for Sunday Oct 6, 2019. Time TBD. Probably either 6-8 or 7-9, depending on what is available.

However we wont call to book it unless we know how many people we have. So please tell us if you are IN or OUT for that day as well as what time you would prefer and if you are completely flexible for times on that day or not.

FYI, the Pats play at 1pm that day and not again on a Sunday for the next two weeks after that. So we should be able to get three solid weeks in a row without conflict unless someone has their assembly day or something.
The assembly for my circuit is Sunday Sept 29. If you or anyone else you know that plays has an Assembly date coming up, please let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

2018-2019 Season Stats

Just finished this finally. I have 18 weeks worth of data. I may have missed a couple weeks when I was absent, but this is still more than anyone else has, so deal with it!

PLAYER STATS

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	weeks	Team Goals	GA
1	Jared	75	30	105	48	27	14	3	17	189	180
2	John R	54	38	92	43	19	11	1	16	163	171
3	Brett	47	42	89	36	21	7	8	13	143	132
4	MVW	38	28	66	45	19	3	3	16	171	176
5	Brendon	27	20	47	49	21	1	0	18	183	195
6	Nick	27	14	41	46	18	1	2	17	162	193
7	Billy T	12	25	37	49	19	1	5	18	175	203
8	Drew B	24	11	35	31	17	2	2	11	126	110
9	JB	17	15	32	24	14	3	1	9	97	83
10	Mike M	9	12	21	18	10	0	5	7	68	71
11	Mike D	7	13	20	37	19	1	1	14	138	148
12	Ignads	9	9	18	26	10	0	2	10	87	114
13	Jason H	2	11	13	23	16	0	3	9	102	77
14	Reggie	3	10	13	21	13	0	0	8	92	70
15	Chris Y	5	6	11	23	13	1	1	9	94	84
16	Logan D	5	3	8	3	3	2	0	1	15	9
17	Elliott	6	1	7	4	2	0	1	2	16	13
18	Billy D	4	2	6	4	4	1	0	1	20	7
19	Jean R	1	4	5	6	3	0	0	2	23	22
20	Andrew	3	2	5	4	2	1	0	2	15	14
21	Pete S	1	2	3	9	5	0	0	4	40	33
22	Lee S	1	1	2	22	12	0	0	8	82	78
23	Griff	1	1	2	6	1	0	0	2	19	27
24	Dave	0	2	2	1	0	0	0	1	4	5
25	Joe	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	1	9	13
26	Teddy N	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	5	4
27	Pete S Sr.	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	2	14	17
28	Evan Caron	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	9	9
29	Chris N	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	5	4
30	Chris Y Jr	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	1	5	4

GOALIE STATS

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts	weeks
1	John R	6	5	83.33%	16	2.67	0	2
2	Steve F	10	8	80.00%	33	3.30	0	4
3	Jamie Ignacio	3	1	33.33%	10	3.33	1	1
4	Jack	13	6	46.15%	50	3.85	1	4
5	Dave	45	23	51.11%	174	3.87	0	17
6	Griff	3	1	33.33%	13	4.33	0	2
7	Jason H	10	3	30.00%	44	4.40	0	3
8	S Diego	2	1	50.00%	9	4.50	0	1
9	Mike Melo	5	1	20.00%	24	4.80	0	2
10	Chris Y	1	0	0.00%	5	5.00	0	1

STATS! 5/19/2019

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DATE: 05/19/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Brett	6	8	14	5	3	0	2	18	17
2	Jared	7	4	11	5	3	2	0	18	17
3	Nick	7	3	10	5	3	0	0	21	14
4	John R	7	2	9	5	2	2	0	17	18
5	Brendon	2	2	4	5	3	0	0	18	17
6	Billy T	2	1	3	5	2	1	1	14	21
7	Mike D	0	3	3	5	2	0	0	17	18
8	MVW	1	2	3	5	2	0	0	17	18
9	Drew B	3	0	3	5	2	0	0	17	18

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Jack	5	3	60.00%	17	3.40	0
2	Dave	5	2	40.00%	18	3.60	0

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I don't know why I'm posting the Box Score for 04/28/19...

...It's not like this has any chance of Johnny counting it...

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DATE: 04/28/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Jared	10	0	10	3	3	3	0	15	7
2	John R	0	6	6	3	0	0	0	7	15
3	MVW	1	3	4	3	3	0	0	15	7
4	Drew B	3	1	4	3	0	0	0	7	15
5	Ignads	1	2	3	3	1	0	1	8	14
6	Jason H	1	2	3	3	3	0	1	15	7
7	Jean R	1	2	3	3	3	0	0	15	7
8	Brendon	2	0	2	3	0	0	0	7	15
9	Nick	2	0	2	3	0	0	0	7	15
10	Reggie	1	1	2	3	3	0	0	15	7
11	Billy T	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	7	15
12	Chris Y	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	7	15
13	Lee S	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	10	3

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Dave	3	3	100.00%	7	2.33	0
2	Mike Melo	3	0	0.00%	15	5.00	0

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BoxScore for 04/20/2019

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DATE: 04/20/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Jared	5	2	7	2	1	1	0	12	7
2	Brett	3	3	6	2	1	1	0	7	12
3	Reggie	1	4	5	2	1	0	0	12	7
4	John R	2	1	3	2	1	0	0	12	7
5	MVW	1	2	3	2	2	0	0	12	7
6	Ignads	2	1	3	2	1	0	0	7	12
7	Drew B	2	1	3	2	1	0	0	12	7
8	Griff	1	1	2	2	1	0	0	12	7
9	Brendon	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	7	12
10	Mike D	0	1	1	2	1	0	1	7	12
11	Nick	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	7	12
12	Chris Y	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	12	7
13	Billy T	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	7	12
14	Lee S	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	7	12

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Jack	3	1	33.33%	7	2.33	1
2	Dave	3	1	33.33%	12	4.00	0

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2019 HC CANCELLED. Air your grievances HERE

Blame it on the rain. (Yeah, yeah.)

Whatever you may do
Don’t put the blame on you.

—Milli Vanilli

2019 HC Draft Recap

Team Iggy
Nick 32
Mike M 1
Billy D 31
Dave 36

Team Jason
Drew 31
Griff 5
Jared 53
Melo 11

Team Reggie
MVW 35
Billy T 20
JB 40
Brendan 5

Team Frendon
Johnny 31
Brett 46
Mike D 22
Jack 1


Some of the numbers on the board were wrong because the bids for the last few players were essentially equivalent to the remaining budgets respectively. All teams should add up to $100 now, using the above adjusted figures.

Box Score for 04/14/19

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DATE: 04/14/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	John R	3	4	7	2	1	1	0	9	7
2	Drew B	4	2	6	2	2	1	1	10	6
3	Nick	2	3	5	2	1	0	1	7	9
4	Jared	3	1	4	2	1	0	0	9	7
5	Mike D	2	1	3	2	1	0	0	9	7
6	Billy T	1	1	2	2	1	0	0	7	9
7	Brendon	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	6	10
8	MVW	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	7	9
9	Chris Y	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	7
10	Jason H	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	7
11	Reggie	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	7	9
12	Lee S	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	7	9

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Steve F	2	1	50.00%	7	3.50	0
2	Dave	2	1	50.00%	9	4.50	0

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BoxScore for 4/7/19

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DATE: 04/07/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	Brett	4	4	8	2	1	1	0	9	9
2	John R	3	2	5	2	1	0	0	9	9
3	Jared	2	2	4	2	1	0	0	9	9
4	MVW	4	0	4	2	1	1	0	9	9
5	Drew B	2	1	3	2	1	0	0	9	9
6	Chris Y	1	2	3	2	1	0	1	9	9
7	Billy T	1	1	2	2	1	0	0	9	9
8	JB	0	2	2	2	1	0	0	9	9
9	Brendon	0	1	1	2	1	0	0	9	9
10	Nick	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	9	9
11	Ignads	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	9
12	Jason H	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	9
13	Mike M	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	9
14	Lee S	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	9
15	Mike D	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	9
16	Evan Caron	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	9	9

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Dave	2	1	50.00%	9	4.50	0
2	Mike Melo	2	1	50.00%	9	4.50	0

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The BIG discussion board for the 2019 HC Classic

So with last Sunday's game cancelled due to extreme lack of support, it appears that we are heading into the 2019 HC Draft without a whole lot of activity in the last few weeks.

Let's pause for a moment and reflect on Haverhill Cups of years past:

Haverhill Cup Champions List


Is it true that we didn't actually establish the HC Tradition until the third year after the first one in 2010? I can't remember. Did we really have no HC from 2011-12?




And now a brief moment of silence for those two years, plus friends of times past whose whereabouts are no longer known -->

The Saugus Legends Pretty-good players

who could still probably be playing with us if they wanted to...

• Ron; winner of 4 straight HCs (whatever retirement community in FL he is at now, I'm sure he is still schooling those old retired NHLers somewhere...or at least I'd like to think that...)
  
• Dale; never played in a HC, but maybe that was our fault. Could you imagine the great quotes we could have gotten??
  
• Scott F; seems like he should still be around yet we haven't seen him in ages (it seems)...Maybe the mustache made him too cool for us now...
  
• Jeremy; Probably could play with us if he wanted to, but is definitely too cool for us now...
  
• Darrin Driscoll - some say the best goalie we ever had...but memories are fleeting and he has too many siblings to make us forget...maybe someday he'll make a comeback for the ages...
  
• Eric Fiore - Another candidate for the VH1 'Where are they Now?' Special. He's probably playing in the NHL and we don't even know it.
  

And now, here is a brief tribute to those who once were

Saugus Legends Participants

but left us for greener pastures a very long time ago:

• Mykel Pretzel (that may not be his real last name, but I have no idea how to spell it and neither does he)
  
• Taylor Anding; Proof that a knee injury can ruin a promising young career hobby
  
• Luke Carito; remember him? No? I have a vague recollection...
  
• Matt Schumali; whatever happened to him? I think perhaps Bradley's eye-gouging was too tough to come back from...
  
• Cliff P and Reburto B; like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid...I forget which was which...
  
• Tony Accardi; not the best goalie ever, but solid. I hear he is married and living in a foreign country now. Good for him.
  
• Steve Praankewich; remember him? I do. Steve was pretty good...I think...
  
• Derek Cliff; remember him? I don't.
  
• Ryan Griffin; it's been so long I don't even remember what he looks like anymore...
  
• Joel Perdy; My main memory of Joel was his innate ability to just give up on a play right in the middle of it because he was upset at something or someone.
  
• Tim Vermont; no idea. Seriously.
  
• Mclaine W; I seem to remember that there was a lot of hype surrounding him...can't seem to remember what the hype actually was all about though...
  
• Jimmy C; (nickname was Swiss-Cheese) wherever he is now, he can always reminisce about how he will always be the worst goalie to ever win the HC.
  

And now a few names from the past that I doubt are real names:

• Stump
  
• Dan-O
  
• Michelangelo (hey, that's what it sounds like)
  
• Goggles
  
• Pete-the-Meat (oh, wait, he's still playing, nvm)
  

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Ok, ok, so we have played with a lot of people over the years...by my count: 116 guys and 2 girls...3 if you count Jimmy Nelson.

So among them, how many have played with us in the past year, you ask?

Glad you asked. 29 players, five of which also played Goalie occasionally, and 4 who ONLY played goalie.

We have a pretty decent attrition rate, thanks to Brett and Jared mostly. And Griff. And me. Probably all of us.

So who have we seen lately? Here is a ranked list of players by number of games played this year, who are in the draft (excluding captains):

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rank	Player	Games
1	Billy T	35
2	Jared	34
3	Nick	32
4	MVW	31
5	John R	29
6	Brett	27
7	JB	22
8	Drew B	17
9	Jason H	16
10	Mike M	16
11	Griff	4
12	Billy D	4

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Some of these numbers are because guys had to play net (like John R and Jason), which I keep as a separate stat, so they've been there more weeks than it may appear to be on this list.

Griff, for example only played out one week this year but he played two weeks in net.

...And now for my Final Thought...

So we expect the top 6 here to be pretty high picks. Billy T, Jared, Nick, Mike W, John R, Brett. They should start bidding wars.

But what about JB? He hasn't played a ton this year. His win percentage is only near 50%, yet his team's total plus/minus is +14 which makes you wonder why he loses as much as he does if his team keeps outscoring the other teams...(I guess that means when his team wins, they win BIG, but when he loses, it's a close game?)

Factor in this, too: Here is a list of players (excluding captains) in the draft who have won the HC before: --> Billy T, Jared, Nick, Mike W, John R, Brett, Drew, Jason, Griff.

John R and Brett being the only two to have won at multiple positions (F, G).

And here is a list of those who have not won: --> 1) Billy D. 2) JB 3) Mike M. So....Is this JB's year? Or is he snake-bitten? And what about Billy D? What can we expect from him?

As for the goalies...Here is a list of goalies that have won the HC before: --> 1) Mike Melo.

And here is a list of those who have not: --> 1) Dave 2) Fall-River Goalie 3) Jack
A little more cut-and-dried here.


Alright, that's enough fodder for the week. So here's a topic: Rhode Island is neither a Road nor an Island. Discuss.

BoxScore for 03/24/19 and HC Draft Preview Thoughts

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DATE: 03/24/19

rank	Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Games	Wins	GW	GWA	Team Goals	GA
1	John R	5	1	6	2	2	2	0	10	8
2	Jared	5	1	6	2	2	0	1	10	8
3	Brendon	2	3	5	2	0	0	0	8	10
4	MVW	4	0	4	2	0	0	0	8	10
5	Billy T	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	8	10
6	Jason H	0	2	2	2	2	0	1	10	8
7	Mike M	0	2	2	2	2	0	0	10	8
8	Mike D	0	2	2	2	2	0	0	10	8
9	Chris Y	0	1	1	2	2	0	0	10	8
10	Reggie	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	8	10
11	Nick	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	8	10
12	Pete S	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	8	10

rank	Goalie	Games	Wins	Win %	GA	GAA	Shutouts
1	Steve F	2	2	100.00%	8	4.00	0
2	Dave	2	0	0.00%	10	5.00	0

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Last night was some of the most competitive games we have had all season. Perhaps the most competitive we've had in a couple years.
When you play over 2 hours and barely churn out 2 games with max scoring, the only thing more competitive, IMO, is playing only 1 game like that in the same amount of time.
We've all been there for the weeks when blowout after blowout happens and somebody (usually Jared) blows their lid because the teams are uneven and multiple unfair trades happen as a result.
Those weeks aren't as fun. Maybe from a comical perspective when a Captain decides to trade himself off his own team...but I digress...



The best games are played when everyone is in playoff mode and the games are close and fun. The HC is just around the corner and the captains need to start putting together their pre-draft rankings.
Well, three of the captains, anyway...Iggy where you been? The Commissioner tells me that for every week you miss from here on out until the HC, you are getting $90 reduced from your overall draft budget.
And if you don't play again until the draft, we are revoking your entire budget and you will just get all of the leftovers for your team. (See what I did there? There's only 1 playable week left)




Anyway, concerning the games last night, some notable things affect the impending HC DRAFT:



- Dave was playing at less than 100% (join the club) So the question about his draft value is now not so much about his talent as a goaltender (which projects to be tops in our current goalie selection),
but more about the question of if he will last the entire 12 hours that the HC lasts. Will his draft value slip? Do captains want to spend valuable capital on someone who might last MOST of the day?
Or would you be better off with a less talented goalie who at least is healthy for the entire day?? Decisions, decisions. It's going to be a great draft.
Nonetheless, Dave definitely kept the white team in it for a while with some great saves, most notably on a breakaway attempt by Jared where he robbed him with his glove. Dave at 50% might be better than GoalieX at 100%...
Next week might be the most definitive week for this opinion to take shape in the minds of the captains.


- Jared and John both played well, contributing to 100% of the dark team's goals. They won the HC last year...will this leave an impression on the captains to overpay for both of them in an attempt to keep that duo together?
It's hard to argue with results. Whoever buys the one first will likely be thinking about selling out for the other in an attempt to create a monopoly of offense. Just another interesting side-story to think about...


- Mike W had himself a game. He was all over the ice, creating shots, hustling for loose pucks, and at one point making a shin-pad save for Dave that robbed the dark team of a sure goal. What kind of value will captains put on his gritty style of play? Will they overpay? It's going to be a great draft.


- Speaking of overpaying, Brett (MIA last night) will likely cause a bidding war as well at some point in the draft. But you won't be able to overpay for him and Mike W and Jared and John and still overpay for JB and Nick and Dave and Billy D...

...at some point, someone will end up going much cheaper than expected because many will be out of capital through the first few bidding wars...but the order is random, so it's going to be a complete
surprise as to who it ends up being. Salary cap management is everything. I seem to recall JB spending something like $42 on Andrew P last year simply because he had way too much left over when everyone else was dollar-bidding the last few out. In a random order draft you can't afford to have tons of money laying around at the end because it's even more dangerous if the order doesn't shake out in your favor and you end up like JB with tons of money and no one to spend it on. So I fully expect all captains to engaged in bidding wars on at about 6 to 8 different players. Doing the math, if top dollar is paid for each one, each team will have exhausted most of their budget on 2 players each, which COULD result in semi-even teams across the board.
The flip side is, the person with the most money left at the end of that will essentially control the rest of the draft. Of course the order is random and the bids are unpredictable so anything can and will happen. It's going to be a great draft.


- Switching gears to a non-HC player, Pete seems to be getting better, especially after he was encouraged in game 2 to get more aggressive and less tentative. I think he may have surprised Jared a bit with some nice defense. He just needs to work on being stronger on those clearouts and passes. We had girls play that made harder passes than that.


- Billy and Nick made up a nice defensive duo with Billy pinching in at wing from time-to-time and getting in on the fun scoring the first goal of the night for our team while sneaking up to the hash marks for a nice one-timer. I think this has to make captains reconsider their draft value as a two-way defenseman is extremely valuable in the HC. Nick might have some competition here.


- Besides Jared and Johnny, Jason is the only other position player left in the draft from last year's defending championship team (Brett is not playing goalie and I am not in the draft since I am a captain). Jason has definitely picked his game up from last year, showing us some solid defensive plays and consistent passing through the neutral zone. I guarantee someone will end up underpaying for him (which is a compliment) and, depending on draft order, might even end up dollar-grabbing him if all funds are exhausted by then. It's going to be a great draft.
You know what you are getting with JHard. A big body who can eat up space in the tiny HC arena and make plays. Enough plays to win. Proof is in the pudding (insert your own dumb joke here).
The underrated players might be the story this year. What if his name goes on the block FIRST? With everyone presumably trying to save their money for elite talent, will they pass on a solid player like him?
So many pre-draft questions left to answer...next week's games should prove to be the most interesting week of the year as it is the last chance to leave an impression on the captain's minds...and for Jared, last chance to purposely tank so he can get his draft price to fall (ha). We shall see.
Draft is 4/6. Be there next week for the final pre-draft game...or else!