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Stokes Draw Camels Saturday Night, 6:00 pm, St Mikes, perhaps a little bit early for hockey or so you would think about half the players show up as the Zamboni is completing its final tour of the rink. Coach Dan George came early and was unfazed by the late arrivals going with two centres, three sets of wings and four defence. Before half the players had made it to the bench Mr. Hockey had batted in a rebound of a hard shot from Neish and staked the Stokes to a 1 – 0 lead. The benched filled up and everyone was going hard. A desperate Camel dumped the charging Bulldog and the Stokes powerplay took full advantage as JJ snuck in from the point, made a pretty deke and slid the puck past the confused Camel tender. Stokes appeared to be in full control and then the giveaway bug reared its ugly head – two giveaways in our own end and two pucks past Shorty – the game was knotted at two. The Camels took another penalty and the Stokes powerplay came through again as a hot Neishichoise hammered a shot from the point that handcuffed the Camel tender, and that's the way the first period ended, Stokes 3, Camels 2. The final period began with a goal from Blasioli and the Stokes were looking good with a 4 – 2 lead and control of the play, but once again the Stokes ran into penalty trouble. First Neish and then JJ with a goodbye five minute major for body checking and yes he hit the Camel who had crosschecked him, but that's hockey. The Camels took advantage of some weak penalty killing to tie the game at 4 a piece and the Stokes just three minutes remaining were pressing hard for the victory. Benny taking over JJ's position on the defence turned on the jets for an end to end rush pulling the goalie over to his side and sliding the puck over to an open Bulldog who pulled back his stick to drive the puck into the yawning cage as the entire bench rose to celebrate the moment and…..well suffice it to say the game ended in a 4 – 4 tie. CDG thought the Stokes had fallen into bad habits – poor clearing, too much individual stuff, dumb penalties and not winning. Well boys next week we get another shot at the Boss Hoggs who will surely be seeking some revenge for the two previous beatings. 6:00 pm, Saturday Night, De La Salle – be there early - let's get that winning spirit going. Croc
Shorty Triumphant In Return/Cheif Finds Scoring Touch The mood was positive in the dressing room prior to the game. Shorty was back and we were playing the first place Hoggs who we had destroyed in our first meeting. Coach emailed in the line up which the boys accepted with a little derision of Assistant Coach Croc who was relying heavily on Coach Dan George, but then more guys showed up than expected so we ended up with three sets of wingers two centres and four defence. CDG's plans had to be discarded. First shift of the game the Chief who has been silent of late found the back of the net with a dribbler that finished off a lovely bit of passing between Cuddy, Joe and Chief, 1-0 Stokes. On the third shift Mr. Hockey took advantage of a puck loosed by Big Country's hard forecheck and buried the puck in the top corner and the Stokes were up 2-0. A few shifts later Big Country drove a puck lying at the edge of the crease into the back of the net and it looked like the Stokes were going to romp, but the Stokes took their first penalty of the game and the Boss Hoggs beat Shorty on a quick shot from the slot. Jonny G got that one back a couple of minutes later finishing off a goal mouth scramble, flipping the puck calmly over the prone tender and the first ended Stokes 4, Hoggs 1. The final period began with a Stokes giveaway the sent a speedy Hogg in alone on Shorty. He beat Shorty with a quick release to the glove side and the score was a tight 4-2. The Stokes defence appeared to want Shorty to prove himself and quickly gave up two more breakaways. Shorty stood tall making great saves and the Stokes held on to the 4 -2 lead until late in the game when Chief intercepted a pass in the slot and beat the Hogg goalie with a hard shot off the post. Stokes 5, Hoggs 2 was the way it ended. Big game for the Bulldog, Joey was smiling and Big Country was coming deep into our end to break up the Hogg plays and quickly outlet to the high man. All signs of good things to come. The streak stands at one. Armour up boys and let's make it two at St. Mike's this coming Saturday at 6:00 Croc
Stokes Piss on Braying Camels Nine Black Stokes up against a full team of Camels dressed in their camel dung finery – Coach Dan set us up with two lines – Joey at centre between Casino and Chief and Croc sandwiched between the Jonnies – three defence JJ, Neish and the Bulldog. The Camels came out flying and by the fourth shift a particularly vicious Camel had driven Johnny B head first into the boards resulting in ejection too a Camel chorus of pleas and whines. The Stokes failed to capitalize on the 5 minute advantage and in fact gave up a shorthanded goal to give the Camels a 1– 0 lead. The Camels were clearly feeling pretty good about themselves, but this didn't last long as Jonny G zipped down the right side after taking a long pass from Neish and buried a hard wrister while using their defenseman as a screen – Jonny taunted the Camel defenseman for helping him with the screen 1- 1. The Camels then capitalized on a bad change to go in on a two and one and score, Camels 2, Stokes 1 and that was the way the score stood at the end of one, but the situation was not looking good for the Stokes. JJ and Neish had been sent off with one Camel near the end of the first, every one getting 4 minutes and then on the penalty kill Jonny G stood up two Camels with a hard check that resulted in a 5 minute penalty and an ejection for Jonny and Bulldog serving the 5 minutes for Jonny. The refs took at least 10 minutes at the end of the period to discuss the various penalties and who should be in the box for how long. When the final period finally began the Stokes had four players in the box, all 3 defensemen and Chief; 1 Stoke had been ejected and 3 Stokes were on the ice leaving Coach Dan with one player on the bench. The penalties were all killed off thanks to some good work by Shorty and the gang and the Stokes started to press for the tying goal when the Camels broke out on a two and one - the puck carrier tried to dance around the Bulldog who used his big feet to stop him and his stick to slash the puck over the Stoke blue line to Croc who threw the puck to a streaking JJ who raced in alone easily beating the Camel tender. Two minutes later Chief knocked down a clearing attempt in the Camel zone and slid a soft pass to Mr. Hockey who made no mistake with a hard high shot to the stick side. The Stokes had their first lead, but headed into penalty trouble as Neish picked up another 4 minutes and an ejection, Casino serving his time and the Stokes once again down to two on the bench. Shorty made several excellent saves and then JJ raced out of our zone to grab a loose puck and walk in alone on the Camel goalie surprising him with the Jussi Jokinen and the Stokes were up 4 – 2. Casino came out of the box to fire home an empty netter and that is how it ended, Stokes 5, Camels 2 and lots of Camel griping and complaining to the Refs, the Commish and anyone who would listen. Armour up boys, we have our first ever meeting with the Beavers this coming Sunday. Croc
Everyone Scores As Stokes Bring Home The Bacon Hello fellow sports fans. Saturday night at beautiful De La Salle Arena in downtown Toronto, 9:00pm, a perfect time for Stokes hockey or so some might think. The young Hoggs showed up in force, but the Stokes had but seven skaters when the puck was dropped and the Hoggs looked confident and aggressive scoring on their first shift. Coach Dan devised a strategy to match the light numbers telling players to take the position of the player coming off and adjust on the faceoffs. There was a definite sense of unease for the first couple of shifts, but we started to gain confidence and then JJ brought us even with a hard high slap shot from the top of the circle. The Hoggs ran into penalty trouble and Big Country took advantage popping in a third rebound. A few minutes later Chief drove another third rebound to the back of the net and the first period ended Stokes 3, Hoggs 1. And then something happened. Perhaps the Hoggs ran out of energy or maybe the Stokes just found that perfect hockey calm. Everyone started making the right pass and the right shot and the goals just kept coming. All seven skaters scored with Big Country leading the way with 4, JJ adding 3, Neish 2, and Patty, Chief, Ben and Croc each potting 1 for a final score of 13 to 1. For once no one said, " Well if it wasn't for Shorty....", and need I point out that Shorty didn't score! Croc
What a way to begin a season! Archrivals facing off! Stokes made it look easy at the beginning. JJ cruised in and fired a hard quick release wrist shot right along the ice past the stunned McSorley tender. A few minutes later The Stokes powerplay connected with Patty throwing a soft pass over to Neish who drove a wicked slap shot past the still stunned goaltender. The teams were back at even strength, but this did not slow the Stokes' atttack as Chief walked in alone on the left side thanks to a long aerial pass from JJ and he easily found the side of the net that the McSorley goalie left untended. And then McSoreley's started to play or The Stokes let up or whatever happens to suddenly make hockey games tense and interesting. Two quick goals at the beginning of the final period and the lead was cut to one, Stokes 3, McSorley's 2. Coach Dan in one of his unexpected, shrewd moves, put together the 157 year old line for just this kind of situation and as coach Dan expected they delivered with Jim Cuddy coming through with a mom emtum crushing goal on a McSorley giveaway brought on by a hard forecheck by Mr. Hockey with Croc watching from a safe distance ready to report on all the action. McSorley's took advantage of a rare JJ flub to come within one again as JJ went up the middle to put the puck on the stick of a grateful McSorley standing in the slot. Once again the atmosphere was tense, but Jonny Gallant, the new Stoke in town, broke down the left wing, drew the defender over to him and then threw a saucer pass to Big Country who walked in and made no mistake in beating the goaltender. Stokes 5, McSorley's 3, five minutes to play and damn those McSorley's, they come back and score another to make it a 5-4 game. The final shift of the game featured many attempts to score on the empty net, including one by Shorty and many ugly faceoffs, but there was nothing McSorley's could do to score on Shorty with the game on the line, so the game ended with a Stokes 5-4 victory. It was a great team effort and an excellent way to begin the season. Coach Dan said we should all thank Shorty and there was definitely a major advantage to the Stokes' side in the goaltending department, but what the heck it was a great team victory. Armour up boys, we have another hungry opponent to deal with next Saturday at 9:00. The streak has begun. Croc
Stokes' Berry Crushes Camels It was a cool Sunday afternoon – perfect hockey weather and 10 Stokes arrived in the mood to bring the Camels back down to earth. The game featured the return of the Bulldog who paired on defense with JJ to stop many a Camel drive. Chief got the Stokes going with a great pass off the boards to Mr. Hockey who broke in alone to fire a puck right through the glove of the unsuspecting Camel Tender, Stokes 1-0. A few minutes later Berry let go a blistering drive that rang off the crossbar and went high out of a play. Next shift Berry was back in front of the net putting in a pass from Teen Wolf, Stokes 2-0. The Camels finally started to show grit and stole a puck from a surprised JJ for a shot, a rebound and a goal, 2-1 Stokes. Stokes forecheckers continued to dominate and Stokes defense kept sending the puck deep. Jim Cuddy found a loose puck and then put a pass on Joey B’s stick which Joe delivered to the net with authority and the first period ended Stokes 3, Camels 1. At the beginning of the final period the Stokes looked to be in control, but then they ran into trouble clearing the puck and a deflected shot beat Shorty for a tight 3-2 game with about 10 minutes to go. The Camels poured it on, but Shorty was ready for their worst. With about 5 minutes to go and the Camels pressing, JJ picked up a loose puck and raced the length of the ice, toe dragging around the final Camel Defender before beating the goalie with a hard shot along the ice through the five-hole, Stokes 4, Camels 2 and that’s all she wrote. Many Stokes are absent for next weekends game, including Michael, Jim, John, Paul, Pat, Al and Coach Dan. Big Country where are you? And Ben isn’t it about time you got over that separated shoulder thing? Anyway, whoever is here,armour up and play hard. Croc
Stokes Corral Bovine In Drive To Finals Twelve Stokes skaters and Shorty arrived ready and determined to put an end to the Bovines. The game was delayed as the smooth skating Evanti, first place in the East, were taken out by the lowly Gourds in a dramatic shootout. The first period was tense featuring excellent chances at both ends, but no goals until late in the period when JJ on a neat pass from Hendo snuck in from the left side and fired a low shot between the goalies legs, Stokes 1-0. Bovine poured it on at the beginning of the final period and finally were rewarded thanks to a deflection aided by a screen, 1-1, with 10 minutes to play. Coach urged the Stokes on demanding maximum effort and a focus on getting the puck out of our end and deep into Bovine Territory. The strategy paid dividends as gritty Stoke forecheckers forced a Bovine defenceman to throw the puck blindly up the boards. Jim Neish pounced on the puck and drove a quick hard shot that produced a rebound which landed on the stick of the ever vigilant Chief - Stokes 2 – Bovine 1. Bovine, the most penalized team in the league, had managed to keep it clean to this point, but then one of their guys tripped Joey to give the Stokes a power play with only 5 minutes to go. Stokes got the puck deep and when Bovine tried to clear JJ raced in from the point and a battle for the puck along the boards ended when Joey reached in between the combatants and threw the puck to the point where Croc had taken over JJ’s spot. Croc taking a page out of Jim Cuddy’s book let go a devastating blast that had just enough speed to make it to the net to dribble threw the goalers legs. Stokes 3, Bovine 1 and that is how it ended. Armour up boys, the Camels are coming – Sunday at 3:00 pm Croc
Chief Feasts on Bovine Ten determined Stokes faced off against a gritty Bovine squad on Saturday Night at St. Mikes. Bovine jumped into a 1-0 lead while some Stokes were still getting dressed. Then Joey got caught for tripping and things were not looking good. Big Country and the Chief broke out on a two on one, Big Country saucered a pass to the Chief who made a smooth move and then tucked the puck in the yawning cage for 1-1 tie. Joey came out of the box and fed Cuddy with a soft pass to send him in alone. Now some might have made a deke and others might have drilled a shot for the top corner, but Jimmy he surprised and humiliated the Bovine tender by dribbling a shot between his legs, 2-1 Stokes. JJ a late arrival picked up a loose puck following a scramble and shelved it for a 3-1 Stokes lead at the end of the first. Chief got his second on a powerplay to make it 4-1 and then Bovine seemed to suddenly wake up. First they scored on a determined effort to make it 4-2 and then they pressed hard pounding Shorty with shots while the Stokes sat back and applauded their goaltender. Finally the Chief had seen enough. Once again he and Big Country broke up the ice on a two on one which the Chief finished off to complete his hat trick. The Bovine Sex Club blamed Shorty for their sorry fate. They played well and they lost. Stokes played average and won, but that is just one game and it takes two to advance. So armour up boys, there is an important hockey game next Sunday at 3:00 at Del. Let’s try to avoid a sudden death tie breaker. The Croc Talker is back
Malone Screams “Mayday” as Stokes Stomp Hockey Night in Canada, 8:00 pm, Centre Ice at St. Mikes – 12 hungry Stokes edging to get back in the win column, but Mayday Malone has other ideas and they have iced a full squad, many of them young and fast. The Stokes struck early, JJ drilling a low shot between the legs of their tender and the word went down the bench to keep it low. Next shift Joey B. on a feed from the corner from Chief and the score is 2-0. Mayday Malone was not about to give up – they found the back of the net on a scramble – 2-1 and that’s the way the period ended. The final period began with JJ once again drilling a low shot past their goalie - 3-1 Stokes, and then Big Country stepped up with a pair, the first from Croc and the second one from Mr. Hockey, 5-1 Stokes. Mayday Malone got another goal and then Joey on a lovely feed from Teen Wolf scored a beautiful goal that was disallowed because Chief was for some reason standing in their crease. We faced off in their end, they got the puck behind their net and then calmly passed it out to Chief who made up for his gaffe by quickly depositing the puck in their net, 6-2 Stokes. The game ended with some strong penalty killing followed by JJ escaping the sin bin to corral a loose puck and race in to score on a breakaway, 7-2 Stokes, hat trick for JJ and 2 goals and an assist for Big Country. And that is all he wrote. Croc
Stokes Continue Winning Ways With 3-1 Victory Over Camels Sunday afternoon at De La Salle marked the third meeting of the season between the Stokes and Camels and the Camels came out playing tough. Wayne Stokes opened the scoring on a power play with a blast from the point after receiving a soft pass from Jim Cuddy, 1-0 Stokes. JJ charged up ice, was tripped then threw the puck to Casino who was robbed. Casino chased his rebound to the corner and threw the puck over to Hendo who slid it to JJ who tapped it home, Stokes 2, Camels 0, both power play goals. Late in the first, JJ raced after a flying Camel, who beat him to the puck and then gave the puck to JJ and tripped JJ as he headed to the net. As the Ref raised his arm to call yet another Camel penalty, JJ pushed the puck to Chief who tapped it home, 3-0 Stokes. As the final period began, the Ref warned a Camel that he would be gone if he was called again for body contact. The Camels calmed down and The Stokes started taking penalties – we basically spent the whole of the final period with a man and sometimes two in the box. Shorty was spectacular, but the Camels finally beat him on pass to a man left unprotected right in front of the net. With a little over two minutes left we went down two men after Wayne was called and tossed for ripping the face mask of an offending Camel. The Camels pulled their goalie so the advantage became 6 on 3. Ben was doing a great job of penalty killing which one of the Camels took objection to and a fight broke out with about 40 seconds on the clock. The Refs decided to let them fight and Ben, in what must have been an attempt to intimidate pulled off his top half, and stared the Camel down while flexing his powerful abs. JJ did not feel quite as good about Ben’s odds and did not like the fact that the Refs were just watching, so he stepped between the combatants and quickly became the target of several Camels. The Refs decided that they had seen enough and directed the timekeeper to run the clock and after the buzzer went all the animosity petered out. In fact most of us shook hands. There may be suspensions for next week’s game against Bovine. We have to wait and see what the Commish thinks of the Refs report. Bottomline – we won, but it sure is a lot more fun to play without so many penalties. Big Country and Chief who were double shifting at centre and sitting for penalties, barely saw the ice in the final period and the game lacked rhythm. But that’s hockey. Croc
Stokes Comeback to Tie Messed Up Game 7:30 and no goalie! Yikes!!! Wait it’s Kevin the perpetually late goalie and all he has to do is get dressed and we can play hockey. The refs were late coming on the ice, so we got a break there, but close to 9 minutes had run off the clock before Kevin was ready to go and we quite fairly started with a man in the box for delay of game. Everyone was snarly and it didn’t get better when they took a 1-0 lead and then a 2-0 lead and then a 3-0 lead by the time the short first period came to an end. We began the second period with Mr. Hockey trying ( I think it worked ) to straighten out JJ who had lost his game to bitch talking and we started to right the ship. Croc intercepted an outlet pass and drilled a hard snapper that beat their goalie, 3-1 and a bit of spirit on the bench. JJ then drilled a low hard shot into the corner, 3-2. And to cap it all off Teenwolf, working with JJ, batted home a rebound, 3-3. We ended with a furious effort to take the lead even though we were penalty killing. We hit a post and a crossbar, but no more net. Ah, if we could only have had that eight and a half minutes back. After the game the Chief pulled out his player of the game beer and the ever gracious Big Al chose Kevin the Goalie. He did make some big saves. Last time we played these guys was Oct 29 and we beat them 3-1. Were these the guys who took out the Bulldog? Teenwolf was scarred by their hooks and there were certainly lots of complaints about tripping slashing and slew footing. What a game! Armour up boys. Let’s get back to winning. See you at two on Sunday. Croc
Stokes Finish Year In Style The Stokes once again came up big with a short lineup – the five players up front were The Chief, Big Country, Mr. Hockey, Casino and Coach Dan. Trolling the Blue Line were Croc, Big Al and Mr Jim Cuddy in his debut on defence. Regrets from Devin Cuddy who separated his shoulder and joined a long list of injured young Stokes, including Henry, also with a separated shoulder and Earl with a muscle contusion in the thigh. Vacant Lot hit the ice with nine players, including a couple of borrowed players who weren’t too bad. They started off pressing hard and scored on a hard drive that eluded Shorty. Through the first ten minutes the Stokes appeared to be showing the effects of intense Christmas celebrating – not a pass was made that reached its destination. Vacant Lot also showing the spirit of the season gave the puck to the Chief in the slot who graciously accepted their offering and placed the puck in the back of the net -1-1. The Stokes continued to struggle in the first and gave up an odd man rush that led to a 2-1 Vacant Lot lead and then with about 30 seconds to go in the first, Vacant Lot broke out on a 3 on 1 with only Big Al back to greet them. Al stood his ground and stared them down. They weakly gave up the puck. Big Country picked it up and strode down the ice firing a low shot past their tender and the period ended in a 2-2 draw. The Stokes woke up in the final period. The Chief in his regular spot in the slot took a pass from Croc and one timed it into the corner 3-2 Stokes. Then Jim Cuddy made one of his patented passes off the backboards (some people say he can’t hit the net) and Casino ever alert received the puck and parked it in the open cage 4-2 Stokes. The Chief, once again from the slot, finished off the scoring with a power play marker 5-2 Stokes. Game over. In the dressing room The Chief tried to give out the player of the game award (a can of Keith’s) to someone other than himself, but all had the good sense to tell him to keep it and finally Jim took the beer and presented it to the Chief who now has hat tricks in our last two games and 6 of our last 10 goals. The hot streak began with Hendo acknowledging him as the Chief. Good work Hendo. See you all at Bill Bolton on the 13th. Croc
Stokes Streak Stopped at 9 Friday night at the beautiful Ricoh Coliseum, the Stokes have a full team and then some and before we hit the ice things start going wrong. The kids, as we generously call them, have infuriated the Commish by getting caught by security playing enthusiastically with a vending machine - the vending machine was clearly offering them free candies and the whole thing was a terrible misunderstanding which will apparently be set right by a one game suspension to be served by both of the grateful candy recipients. The Coach arrived prepared - three lines and three sets of defence carefully crafted to give us balance (later the Coach confessed that he didn't think he had found the right chemistry - maybe that is where we went wrong). Merv turned out to be a fast skating, smooth passing team. We will have to be at our best to beat them. They scored on a scramble on our third shift. The score held at 1-0 through to the end of the first. The Chief and Mr. Hockey had our best chances, but their goalie was up to our challenges. Merv went up 2-0 with about seven minutes to go and then finally Benji emerged from his cloud of smoke to drill a shot into the top corner off a draw cleanly won by the Chief. Merv responded by popping another past Shorty and their two goal lead was restored. Merv added an empty netter for a 4-1 final. Coach Dan brooded. He said we didn't play like a team. Not enough passing, trying to carry the puck out of zone rather than pounding it out when we were in trouble. Our penalty killing was a highlight and Shorty stood tall in the net. Croc
The Battle for First Place The Stokes put their undefeated record on the line in Friday’s match with the 6 and 1 Cannons. We had a solid line up, four defence, two lines and a floater (Hendo of course). Coach Dan was absent, so Croc called the shots. Two shifts into the game and the Stokes were down two goals. It looked like the Cannons were going to take advantage of every sloppy move the Stokes made. Joey B. on a great individual effort and leaning heavily on his new stick, “the Warrior” found the back of the net and brought us to within one. Then JJ pulled off a brilliant end to end rush and all seemed good for the Stokes, until JJ on the same shift threw the puck up the middle to a waiting Cannon who unleashed a you know what, 3-2 Cannons. Benji not wanting to be outdone then tried to flip the puck over their tallest player, who reached high to bring it down before walking in on a breakaway and a 4-2 Cannon lead. The Cannons were beating us on the draws, but Big Country dug deep and pulled the puck back to JJ who quickly released a hard drive along the ice that caught the corner 4-3 Cannons The Stokes were feeling pumped, but we were still getting killed on the draws and this in fact led to their next goal when Joey tied up his man only to have another Cannon sneak in and poke the puck loose for a quick shot on Shorty and a stretching the lead to 5-3. We were down to the last 5 minutes and things were looking bad when JJ once again showed grit, stealing the puck at our blue line and then walking slowly through the enemy lines before snapping a shot past their surprised goaltender who seemed to think that JJ would be coming in further before taking his chance, 5-4 Cannons. And then came the big shift. Croc jumped over the Boards at our blue line got the puck stuck between his skates, but found it just in time to send it forward to JJ who was rushing by. JJ raced past the lone Cannon defender and then charged in on a breakaway, beating the goalie with a tight deke and crashing into the endboards; JJ’s fourth goal and a 5-5 tie. We lined up for the draw at centre feeling confident, while they looked shaken. The Stokes dumped the puck deep into Cannon territory and rushed in on the forecheck. A desparate Cannon defender tried to fire the puck past the oncoming Stokes, but the puck deflected off a stick to the Chief who waited in front of the Cannon net as if he was expecting this to happen. The Chief calmly deposited the puck behind the Cannon tender, 6-5 Stokes, our first lead of the game and a little more than two minutes to go. The Cannons fired everything they could at Shorty, but to no avail. They pulled their goalie and with six attackers tried a gang attack on the net. Jim Neish who had been our tough guy all night had seen enough. He took on their biggest and best player in a bout that probably deserved fighting majors, but thanks to sensible Refs just resulted in two minutes a piece and a faceoff outside the line. The Stokes killed off the last few seconds just missing an empty net. A sweet victory, but I don’t think Coach Dan would have been happy. Too many weak clearing passes, leaving their forwards open in front of our net, letting the Cannons get a man behind our defence for several breakaways and dumping the puck when we should. And another tough match coming this weekend against the 7 and 1 NorTors. Armour up boys. Croc
Stokes Grind Out A Victory The dressing room was packed; the coach, 13 skaters and our trusty tender, Shorty - only our founder and the two Jims were missing. The coach made his call - three lines and four defence. When we got out on the ice it was a shock to see that we were facing an opponent with only six skaters. Did we secretly think this game was in the bag, that we could run up a double digit score without even trying - who knows, but we certainly turned this game into a struggle. In fact, it was a hard fought close game that we won 2-1. Big Country continued to lead the way offensively sending Darrell (recently named the Chief ) in on a chance from the right side which The Chief buried with a backhand along the ice - very tricky. 1-0 Stokes. And then the game turned rough. Teen Wolfe was thrown to the ice at least six times, Joey was taking hits and Ben was taking penalties. Bulldog returned their favours with a big hit at our blueline and then a few moments later he got nailed by number 14 who was totally astonished when the Ref gave him a penalty. Bulldog was gone and the Coach quickly reshuffled the lines sending Patty back to the blueline and going the rest of the way with two centres. The game then slowed down to a crawl - endless faceoffs, penalties, bickering with the Refs- a clever strategy for a team with only six skaters, but frustrating for us and then they tied it up on a scramble following a faceoff in our end. 1-1 and nothing seemed to be working. We weren't get many chances and time was ticking away as we lined up for yet another faceoff, when finally, JJ took matters into his own hands, rushed the length of the ice, zipped past their defence and performed a lovely toe drag before depositing the puck into the vacated portion of the net - 2-1 Stokes and that is how it ended. Poor Bulldog. He did not look good in the bar and to add insult to injury I saw a Green Hornet inflicting punishment to Michael's Van as I drove off from the Bar. And now we learn he has a broken wrist. Not the most satisfying, but we kept the streak alive. 7 and 0 as we head into our next match against the Cannons. "Armour up boys", as our own Mr. Hockey would say. Croc
Stokes Small Bench Provides Big Win Well as it turned out only five skaters, a goalie and a coach (who quickly became a player) showed up on Saturday night to protect our undefeated streak. Shorty, Al, Ben, John, Darrell, Paul and Coach Dan. The Bovines had nine skaters. Realizing there was no time to waste the Stokes jumped into a quick 1-0 lead on shot from Darrell with assists to Croc and Ben. A few minutes later Darrell and Croc broke in on a two and one which was finished by Croc - 2-0. Ben then took matters into his own hands and rushed the length of the ice to put us up 3-0 at the end of the first. We began the second with a patented face off move - Croc to Darrell to catch a rushing Ben who potted his second - 4-0. Finally those sleepy Bovines awoke - two quick goals and then the Stokes got a penalty and the Bovines took full advantage. 4-3 with three minutes to go, but they looked exhausted. The Stokes dug deep and broke out of there end three strong; Croc carrying the puck went wide to his right drawing one of the defenders with him and then through the puck back to Darrell who was commanding the centre of the ice. Darrell took his time and then found the five whole of the confused Bovine tender - 5-3 Stokes and one minute to play. And that is how it ended. See you all, we hope, next Sunday. Croc PS - Coach Dan played a great game and took a hard Bovine drive on his thumb causing blood to flow, but not dampening his spirit.
Stokes Ice the Cataract A depleted Stokes squad of six supported by backup goalie Kevin Tang, JJ's foster brother, Abba and Marshall Tully, a friend of my son Ryan, rolled over the Cataract with a 9-5 win. Big Country got us going with two quick goals. The Cataract responded, but Abba restored our two goal lead. Again the Cataract came back and the first period ended 3-2 Stokes. The second period began with consecutive point blasts from Croc (who would have thought it possible) and an inspired Jim Neish. We thought we were about to run away, but back came the Cataract with two quick goals. Any concern was quickly removed as first Marshall, then Cash with two, the second sending the water bottle flying, and Marshall with a final tally to bring us to the lofty total of 9 goals. After the handshakes Cataract players were heard to be lobbying for the Stokes to be moved up another division. Not a good idea. We look forward to seeing all the AWOL Stokes post Thanksgiving. Croc
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