UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

ODDS:	Tuck by 2
OVER/UNDER:	7

Tuck has lost two very good hockey games in a row, but remain near the top echelon of the UVHL. Dead River is better than their record, they just don't know it yet. Both squads play fast & hard, but the difference is that Tuck's hockey fundamentals are better, and the Oilers are more tenacious. Who will emerge victorious in this one? I'm going with the goalie, and Yacey will not allow a Pattison Hat Trick if McGovern or Helming are on the ice every time he is. My prediction: Tuck wins in a 4-2 or 5-3 game, and more goals will be scored if the Oilers don't have a solid netminder in Hadley's absence.

Tuck rolls to 9-0 win over Dead River Oilers

If it was the old Storm Kings there would have been trouble, but the Dead River Oilers were a class act against the overpowering Tuck squad, and the Oilers took their lumps and went home. Yacey only faced about 11 shots on goal in my estimation, and Hadley must have faced about 40. The times of the goals and penalties of this game (and all the other games, too) were unfortunately left off the game sheets by our substitute scorekeeper, so you will have to survive knowing just the order of the events based on my horrible memory... Sorry, eh.

Tuck faced a light Oilers bench as there were only 6 skaters in red to face the Big Green Machine. At the start of the game two Tuck players came up to me and asked if they were going to have more players or not. Clearly they wanted a competitive game, nothing more, nothing less. About halfway through the Dead River squad had 8 on the roster in attendance after Ian Gill got changed out of his ref stuff and Dean Cashman got there ASAP earning credit for not blowing off a late game. Tuck winger Simon McKay was flying around all night, and his speed earned him a penalty shot after being hauled down on a breakaway by Cashman who made the right play. McKay deked Hadley and found a spot above the right pad for the first goal of the game. The Oilers had two PP opportunities with Halsey Coughlin in the box for hooking and then McKay in for tripping, but they barely got through the Tuck D for a shot on Yacey. Oilers D Rick Hughes and Tuck F Tony Cape were sent for roughing after an exchange of pleasantries and profanities, but it did not escalate beyond that. Tuck got two more goals and Coughlin scored one from Andrew Helming, and then Helming fed McKay for their second points of the period.

It was 3-0 after the first frame, and the second saw Tuck score 5 more, and they were: Cape from James Hay, Jordan Barnett and Derek Nowak with unassisted markers, Steve Kenning from McKay and Hay, and then Hay from Bates thereby giving Hay a three point period! If one Tuck goal was a PPG with Hughes in the box for bodychecking, I do not recall...

The third period saw Hay go for hooking, and then feed McKay for the Hatty. The Oilers were relatively calm knowing they were just playing for fun at this point, and there were no more pleasantries or profanities from either side as the game concluded.

Final Score: Tuck shuts out Dead River 9-0

Final Analysis: Tuck's line-up was too deep, and Yacey wasn't challenged more than 2-3 times in the entire game, even with 4 Oiler power plays. He would get a POW nod for the shutout, but he really wasn't the difference in winning the game as the shot total was so low. Simon McKay, however, WAS the difference skating hard all game, creating chances with his linemates, scoring on a sweet penalty shot for the first goal of the contest, and tallying 4 points with a Hatty and an assist. Hadley deserves BIG credit yet again for defending the Oilers net on one and a half knees. Honestly, Hadley only got beat clean on three goals at the most, and the rest just trickled in or deflected. He was getting in the way of most of the Tuck chances, grabbed several with the quick glove, and kept it in perspective as his team was outmanned and outclassed in this one. When the entire DR roster decides to show up, the rematch will be a different game...but I still predict they will lose as Tuck plays solid fundamental hockey at both ends and in the neutral zone, it will just be a closer game (and Yacey will be there!).

Final Tally: Check out the BoxScores section, and don't forget to vote for the Long Trail UVHL Player of the week, eh! The winner gets a FREE case of beer at the Long Trail Brewery thanks to CEO Brian Walsh!

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
TCK	00:00	Goal	McKay, Simon(1)	Assist(s): none
TCK	00:00	Goal	Coughlin, Halsey(5)	Assist(s): Helming, Andrew(5)
TCK	00:00	Goal	McKay, Simon(1)	Assist(s): Helming, Andrew(5)
TCK	00:00	Penalty	Coughlin, Halsey(3)	2 minutes for Hooking
TCK	00:00	Penalty	McKay, Simon(3)	2 minutes for Tripping
LAB	00:00	Penalty	Hughes, Rick(2)	2 minutes for Roughing
TCK	00:00	Penalty	Cape, Tony(1)	2 minutes for Roughing
2nd PERIOD
TCK	00:00	Goal	Cape, Tony(2)	Assist(s): Hay, James(3)
TCK	00:00	Goal	Barnett, Jordan(1)	Assist(s): none
TCK	00:00	Goal	Nowak, Derek(6)	Assist(s): none
TCK	00:00	Goal	Kenning, Steve(1)	Assist(s): McKay, Simon(2) Hay, James(3)
TCK	00:00	Goal	Hay, James(6)	Assist(s): Bates, Steve(3)
LAB	00:00	Penalty	Hughes, Rick(3)	2 minutes for Body Checking
3rd PERIOD
TCK	00:00	Goal	McKay, Simon(3)	Assist(s): Hay, James(5)
TCK	00:00	Penalty	Hay, James(1)	2 minutes for Hooking

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Game Comments:
kpark Quechee, VT Registered: Dec 2003 Posts: 723	WOW Nov 18th, 2009 02:58 PM Rumor has it that Tuck SMOKED the River Rats 9-0. Is this true? Rumor has it that Hadley thinks only 1 or 2 of those goals were his fault? Is that true? What happened to the DR team? Is Tuck really that good, or is DR that bad? KP
rgrunds Stowe, VT Registered: Posts: 376	You stop that Nov 18th, 2009 03:31 PM Hadley had knee surgery....plus he recently pulled a breast replacing a light bulb in his house... It's so masculine the way he plays injured..
rgrunds Stowe, VT Registered: Posts: 376	You said 30 SOG Nov 21st, 2009 02:14 PM McD. You said thirty; not eleven. I can't trust you. Next thing you know, you'll tell me you're not a virgin.. sigh, Kyle