I don’t know about you but Olympic hockey is at a level never seen before. Canada came out of the chute and blasted the Czechs while the Yanks are looking strong against Latvia early on in their opening match. This should bode well for the return to action of Masters and Grand Masters divisions this weekend after a pause for the snorefest we called Superbowl. Turns out Grand Masters Mike Vanderzee followed along with Bad Bunny’s lyrics pretty easily as he is fluent in downtown Spanish.

United Division:

Fri.Feb.6th:

Flyers 5 Bruins 2: Ryan Haslam notched a pair as the guys in orange let the horses out of the barn, defeating the Bruins 5-2. This game was viewed by many since their last meeting turned into a Medeival Times dinner and show, minus the chicken dinner and that silly flimsy paper roman hat they get you to wear. Pretty calm affair compared to what we were expecting but that’s good news. Joe Shulist and Jordan Campbell had the Bruin goals. Turns out Joe Shulist turned down a job opportunity as a radiologist at Brant Hospital. It wasn’t enough of a challenge for him. Joe’s hockey smarts will only amplify as we creep closer to the playoffs, you heard it here first, fellas.

Leafs 5 Blackhawks 4: This was crazy. With a bunch of fans rooting for them, the Hawks dropped a very close 5-4 decision to the Leafs thanks to a goal by Steven Ross with only 2.5 minutes left. The Hawks definitely deserved at least a point but that’s the way things are going for them. They were hard on the puck, persistently dictated the play in the Leaf end of the ice and won pretty much every battle along the dasher boards. Tough bounce at the end but give them an A for effort. Jonathan O’Grady chipped in by scoring a pair while Connor Crocker and Chris Baliva (or not) added goals for the losing side. Leafs had 5 different goal scorers including imaginary #3 whoever that is. Hawks newcomer via trade from the Bruins Dave Mercer is a pending free agent after this season. Rumours are swirling around the rink that Mercer is looking for a 3-year deal (fixed or variable) to breeze his way into eventual retirement.

Well that’s an abbreviated version of the weekly scribe. Full slate of action on tap this weekend. Speaking of tap, when you head up to the bar this weekend, give the new dry rub Dill Pickle wings a try! You will thank me later… I was bang on when I recommended swapping the pepperoni with bacon on your team pizza so trust me on this new wing flavour! They are even better dipped in blue cheese…

PREMIUM PLUS TOOL WORKHORSES OF THE WEEK:

UNITED: RYAN HASLAM  

MASTERS: RICHARD FORSTER  

GRAND MASTERS: GORD BRYCE  

Enjoy the rest of the week, folks, catch up soon.

Chris Marttila

SCOHA Blog Guy / Wingman

Ok, pencils down, its past 3pm, olympic trade freeze is now in effect.

United had the week off this past weekend but we will recap their Jan.23rd games and give you the run-down on Sunday’s action just for fun.

Well folks, I can’t make this stuff up. After giving some bigtime props to Gord Johnson last week for his first goal of the season, doesn’t he go out there and score again this past weekend. If anyone parlayed this on their ScohaBet app, you must’ve won some serious bucks! Great job, Gord, let’s keep this damn streak going this upcoming weekend.

Hey folks, Welcome to 2026, the year of the Fire Horse according to the Chinese horoscope. A fire horse? Ai says it signifies intense energy, enthusiasm and transformative change. Well if that holds true, the 2nd half of the SCOHA season should be one for the ages. Attendance and merchandise sales are up, we are now on all the Ontario betting sites and TSN is in the last phase of discussions to acquire our broadcasting rights from cable14 for an eyebrow raising $49 for 5 years. Details to follow.

BREAKING NEWS: As we went to press this morning, rumours were confirmed that SCOHA alumnus Paul Cleary will be making his season debut for the Grand Masters Sharks this Sunday at 7pm vs the Blackhawks. Great news, Paul! So happy you are back! Can’t wait to see you and say hi!

Well folks, better late than never. Get ready for another cold snap this weekend, good thing the heat is on at the aren… oh nevermind. Guy Shaver held a bake sale last weekend at the end of his driveway to try and help the rink fund a new heater but I guess his version of mincemeat pies didn’t sit well, especially with the British players in the neighbourhood.

Well folks, another few weeks until the big guy tries to get down your chimney. Better late than never, here’s this week’s abbreviated recap of last week’s action:

Well gang, the United Division games this past weekend were nuts, absolute nuts… I was lucky to catch the action live and meet some of the fellas up at the watering hole. Good bunch of guys, hope they can bring in a few buddies next year so we can have 6 teams. That Jordan Campbell rookie on the Bruins, skates around like that Wayne Jetski guy. Someone stop him, good grief.

I heard over the weekend that Grand Master’s veteran Ron Cooper will be inducted into the 80+ Oldtimers Hockey Hall of Fame on March 28TH, 2026 in Kitchener! This is a remarkable accomplishment and we all congratulate him on this honour. Did you know that Ron first laced up his twirlers at the ripe age 3. He then played minor hockey in Sunderland from 1945-47, in Whitby from 1948-59, various Stelco pickup leagues from 1961-2025 and has been a mainstay in SCOHA since 1997! Details of the gala evening will be posted soon. Well done, Ron! Most of us won’t even be able to bend down to tie up our skates by the time we are 60!

Well folks, Mother Nature is about to hit shuffle on her winter playlist. Good thing we have Guy Shaver on standby with his shovel ready to clear the arena parking lot in time for this weekend’s games. A few guys still haven’t noticed their new tattoos from the big Collingwood Tournament a few weeks ago but I’m sure they will figure it out eventually. This past weekend saw the intensity ramp up in all three divisions. Let’s put aside our differences and recap the action.

Well folks, looking forward to changing the clocks back in the spring, this dark at 4:30 stuff isn’t sitting well.

Well folks, winter is here. Enough said.