Well the beat goes on for the Junior Redwings (5 straight wins), Intermediate Canadiens (5 straight wins), and the Masters Hawks who haven’t lost since week 3. These teams are finding their stride before the Christmas break and they aren’t about to slow down… Let’s get the tree out of the box and untangle the lights from last weekend’s action…

JUNIOR DIVISION:

REDWINGS 6 PENGUINS 3: This game had all my eyeballs as the Redwings seem to be riding on All cylinders to start the season. A big 6-3 win over arch rival Penguins as Dino Laporta scored three goals and added 2 assists for the game puck. Don’t roll your eyes at this team, they are for real and are taking no prisoners. Stick tap to Penguins’ James Robertson who brought his screwdriver set to the rink, scoring a hatty in a losing cause.

BLACKHAWKS 3 OILERS 1: Nick Troback scored halfway through the 2nd period to lift the Hawks to a 3-1 win over the Oilers. 5 penalties in this game had Ron Maclean shaking his head… Oilers Steve Ditta was all over the ice. Where does this guy get the energy? He buzzes around town on a Thursday night but still brings it every single Friday while the rest of us are on the couch in our jams by 8pm….

FLYERS 3 BRUINS 1: Ryan Haslam scored a Datsukian-like goal for the winner as the Flyers snuck past the Bruins 3-1. What a game by Flyers goalie Bruce Buynink who fessed up that his pregame meal is bowl of sliced seedless oranges. Something the rest of his team will introduce as a staple in the locker room going forward. The Bruins, meanwhile, were suffocated by a stingy Flyers defence. More turn backs than a ride program…

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION:

BLACKHAWKS 2 PENGUINS 2: Paul “Blame it on” Allain scored both goals, including the game tying goal with 7 ticks left in the game as the Penguins and Hawks tied 2-2. Pens goalie Steve Cuthburt is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Nothing rattles this guy. Need more traffic than the Gardiner at 5pm on a Thursday. Brock Hotrum scored for the Hawks as his new pregame meal of double chocolate silk pie made with softened butter got his legs going. Big point for the Hawks but they had the win in their grasp…

CANADIENS 4 BRUINS 2: Jim Marentette goes over game tapes. He wins one hell of a lot of faceoffs. Imagine how drastically improved our lives would be if this guy was on our team. Two goals for Jim as the Canadiens beat the Bruins 4-2. Bruins Tim Pettitt scored a goal then pulled out a gold Sharpie, signed it, and tossed it into the crowd. It’s still there.

LEAFS 5 FLYERS 2: 5 different scorers for the Leafs as they folded up the Flyers like a used picnic blanket 5-2. The Flyers were in the game for the most part but 3 late goals sealed the envelope on this one.. Good news coming around the pike as injured players appear to be healing buy they are still a ways away from returning to game action.

MASTERS DIVISION:

FLAMES 3 REDWINGS 1: What’s with all the 3-1 scores? Good grief. Peter Fantauzzo certainly left the fan on as the Flames singed the Redwings 3-1. Flames have now won 2 straight after losing 3 in a row and seem to be paddling the boat in the right direction. Ted Marszalek tossed aside several quality shots to preserve the win in the Flames crease.

BLACKHAWKS 4 STARS 2: Paul Buzzelli was like a bee out there, riffling home the game winner as the Blackhawks doubled up on the Stars 4-2. Tymen Edelkoort continues to be a pillar of strength for the Hawks in net. This guy is dedicated to his craft in between the pipes. There will be no load management for him or star player Bill Kircos, who is pretty excited to binge watch all the Hallmark Christmas specials on gamedays until the new year.

BRUINS 5 KINGS 1: The Bruins spread the scoring around like mama spreads the garlic butter across a focaccia loaf. Mike “12 string” Guitard got the show started with a slick rendition of a Gretzky goal while Tony “too fast” Vastano replied for the Kings.

SHARKS 7 FLYERS 3: The Sharks swarmed the neutral zone looking for a pail of chum all night long. Sharks Jim Albanese scored on a Wendel Clarkian wrist shot that went through the net, the boards, and up into the Lookout Lounge, landing right in the cooks bowl of honey garlic sauce. Ron Hall and #87 who wasn’t on the sheet, presumably Nick “I Never” Misconi scored a pair for the winners while Brian “Extreme” Deanes had the saran wrap across the net, making several saves to hang on for the win…

Well that wraps up another October for us fellow Scohaians. Season is in full swing and we about a third of the way around the track. Shoutouts to the guys in the kitchen throwing up pizzas for us every week, and the Zamboni guys who’s feet must be freezing by 9pm… Have a great rest of the week, gang!

Chris Marttila

Tomb it may Concern:

This Hallowe’en edition will leave many howling while some will be getting ready to hand out those boring toffees in the orange wrapper or non-ripple chips with only 5 in the bag. Scary stuff this past weekend at the ol’ barn so let’s get right to it. Bone appetit!

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This weekly blog should be interesting, I am home sick and I’ve been sipping on a vintage 2006 NyQuill. Let’s uncork what’s been happening on the ice…

JUNIOR DIVISION:

While we were fighting over who got the one wing on the utility turkey, these guys played games on Friday the 11^th.

High scores were definitely on the menu last week as SCOHA pucks went home sore. Several players are getting acclimated to their new team’s playbooks while team rivalries are heating up like a bowl of uncovered pea soup in the microwave. Grab a bagel. Grab a coffee and sit down for your weekly staple.

Terry Gudgeon attended the dedication of the elevator at the McNally House on behalf of SCOHA. Keeping Jim's memory alive, he embodied the spirit of our league.

There’s no question the rivalries are heating up. Some teams are trying to start a campfire in a soggy firepit but will find their stride soon, it’s a long season. Let’s peel back the onion from the weekend that was in Scohaville.

Please put your seats in the upright position, make sure your seat belt is securely fastened, we are ready for take off on another installment of This Week in SCOHA…  oh.. and please view responsibly.

Week 2 is in the books. Legions of fans turned out for an action-packed Sunday of SCOHA hockey. Kids waited for autographs and selfies after games like never before. Let’s shake out the rug and see what went down.

We are off and running! Several players changed teams over the off-season while some teams have their deck chairs somewhat in the same spot. Let’s dive into week one of action…

Go ahead, have seconds at the bbq, we still have plenty of time before off-season regiments are handed out by team captain’s. With about a month before the big SCOHA Draft, several players are contacting their agents to see how much wiggle room their teams have to re-sign them or opt for free agency. Some players had great turnaround seasons last year and will be demanding bigtime cash while other’s stats sagged a bit.