UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

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Resurrected Storm Kings start strong against Nords 6-1

The former legendary Upper Valley hockey team the Storm Kings is no longer on life support and now has a modern version with some original oldtimers in the mix. Maverick goaltender, GM, and captain of the latest version of the proud franchise is Dan French, Union Arena manager and fellow hockey fanatic, a member of the original Storm Kings. Frenchy, as he is often called, has recruited several players for his vision of an amateur competitive travelling squad of elite Upper Valley hockey players, hoping to take on the established teams of the UVHL, and college or club exhibition teams, and possibly even USA Hockey Men's nationals in the over 18 non-check division. Other original members of the Storm Kings present in the lineup were the speedy Greg 'Goose' Gosselin and St. John 'Singe' Arnold, stalwart defenseman with incredible pose and reach Stu Close, and the abrasive sharpshooter Marty White. Adding to the roster of oldtimers is the core of Murphy's, the 2004 Mud League Champions and 2005 Finalists, the best (perhaps better?) men's amateur hockey team ever to grace the ice since the original Storm Kings thrilled Upper Valley fans in the 80's and early 90's. Murphy's players Ryan Sinclair, former Dartmouth forward and the UVHL's leading scorer in 2004-05, pulling double duty on the Bruins and Storm Kings, along with fellow Cardigan coach Sean Coakley, who is rumored to be the only D1 player to start a game in net and on forward in the same season, stingy defenseman with offensive upside Tom Scull, two-way forward and sometimes defenseman Andy Weber, and the shifty and ever present Dean Cashman all joined the original Storm Kings on the ice. Also expected on the Storm Kings is former UVHL Red Wings captain Rick Hughes who was unavailable for opening night. Filling out the Storm Kings' roster tonight was Jay Smith, a sub from the Bruins, who commish JT approved to play feeling sorry for the Storm Kings' short opening night roster. It turned out that JT's soft spot bit him in the ass as the Nordiques, with their third frickin' name change in three frickin' UVHL seasons, whose plan to take the Storm Kings by surprise on opening night backfired. It could have started out as planned for the Nords as the Kings goaltender graced the ice with his presence with only seconds left in the warm-up (after dilligently making sure his team signed their waivers and reading the UVHL rules thoroughly), and only 7 players were on the bench, because ref-in-chief Tony Gove and Gary Laperle were ready to go as soon as the pucks were corralled in the new UVHL. The Nordiques (formerly Silver and UVHL Inaugural Season Champs from 2003-04, and formerly the 3rd place Rangers from 2004-05) looked great in their new uniforms, but aside from the absolutely stellar goaltending of JT and the efforts of Tom 'The Minister of Defense' Dakai, the Nordiques only looked good in the mirror and not on the ice as the Storm Kings had a plan of their own. The Kings' defense started the scoring with Close feeding Sinclair whose shot directed to Scull who scored at 11:11 of the first jumping in from the point. Nordique captain Tao Smith showed why he was a top 10 scorer the last 2 seasons and answered in front at the opposite end at 8:39 off a pass from Kelly Park, the UVHL's webmaster and leading scorer from 2003-04, and second leading scorer from last season. The rest of the period saw some back and forth action until Weber put the Kings up 2-1 on the power play with 0:30 left in the first from Close with his second assist of the period while Jason Gaudette was in the box for tripping. The refs let the teams play, and again there was action in both ends, but it always seemed to be the Nords trying to foil the Kings attack and not the other way around. Park had a great opportunity for a breakaway mid-way through the second but was held by Scull along the boards all while ref Laperle looked on with his whistle silent. Protests abounded from the Nords bench, but to no avail, and Laperle kept his cool and kept the whistle in his pocket without calling a bench minor. The Kings capitalized on their good fortune late in the period when Sinclair went almost end to end off a long pass from goalie French beating the Nords defense and JT in the nords net to go up 3-1. Sinclair continued in the third period pouncing on a second rebound off a fantastic blind reach behind with the stick save by JT that could not be contained by his defense or (backchecking?) forwards after Coakley and Scull both had great chances in front at 11:21. The tide seemed to have turned, and the Nords lost steam after that goal. The ice held up well for most of the game, but it was noticeably slow for the last 6 minutes or so, and all players were showing signs of rust and not being in shape for their first UVHL game of the season. Sinclair completed the Hat Trick at 7:34 from Weber, and then proved he has significant European blood flowing through his veins taking down Dan Coffey and making it look like Coffey hauled him down. Hard. The whole thing was spectacular, and Coffey was bitched out by a couple of his teammates for taking a needless penalty. It wasn't until Sinclair came up to Coffey on his way to the box that Sinclair asked him how he liked the dive. Nice veteran move, Sinclair, but we'll all be on the lookout now, and so will the refs. Oldtimer Marty White finished off the scoring on the ensuing power play at 6:21 with a trademark unassisted shot with 4 men open that found its way into the net. All in all it was a rude awakening for a Nordiques team that is used to success and superior team play that makes them greater than the sum of their parts. They just weren't ready against this group of talented veterans, most of whom have played together for years on one team or another. Many players on both teams looked out of shape, and JT proved he is showing at least some signs of age by cramping up in his right calf (ever hear of stretching or electrolytes?) in the second period, but he sucked it up and played a double header for the Avs immediately afterwards. The Nords welcome former Storm King and colleague of the team captain Ian Coates to their roster, and welcome back Jason Gaudette from their championship year returning from a year sabbatical after getting his balls back from his wife.

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
STK	00:00	Goal	Scull, Tom(1)	Assist(s): Sinclair, Ryan(1) Close, Stu(1)
NDQ	00:00	Goal	Smith, Tao(1)	Assist(s): Park, Kelly(1)
STK	00:00	Goal	Weber, Andy(1)	Assist(s): Close, Stu(1)
STK	00:00	Goal	Sinclair, Ryan(1)	Assist(s): French, Dan(1)
STK	00:00	Goal	Sinclair, Ryan(1)	Assist(s): Coakley, Sean(1) Scull, Tom(1)
STK	00:00	Goal	Sinclair, Ryan(1)	Assist(s): Weber, Andy(1)
STK	00:00	Goal	White, Marty(1)	Assist(s): none
NDQ	00:00	Penalty	Gaudette, Jason(1)	2 minutes for Tripping
STK	00:00	Penalty	Scull, Tom(1)	2 minutes for Holding
NDQ	00:00	Penalty	Coffey, Dan(1)	2 minutes for Holding

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