UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

ODDS:	even
OVER/UNDER:	8.5

Flip a coin for this one. I honestly have no idea what to expect for this contest. It totally depends on who shows up for each team. Will we see 7 skaters again for the Brewers? If so I'd put my money on the Dead River Oilers by 3. If there are full rosters on both sides, then only time will tell. Hadley will get tested in the Oilers net by this squad if they have 2 lines, and if Bartline makes his return and is rusty then there will be a lot of goals. One thing I know for sure...Garren Poirier will get a penalty for hooking. At least one. The Vegas line is even until the Commish gets more info about who is going to show up. So far I have only 3 USA Hockey registrations for the Oilers, so they could be a little light on Tuesday...

DEAD RIVER GETS FIRST FRANCHISE WIN 5-3

What a difference two full lines makes! As predicted, this game came down to who showed up. The Oliers had 10, the Brewers had only 7 (plus two subs for one period). Hadley showed flashes of a real goaltender between the pipes, and his glove and right pad were hot. Crowson looked real good in the Brewers net, but he didn't have much in front of him on this night to bring it back the other way. Regardless, the Brewers were having fun out there, and they didn't complain. Luckily, Tuck's Ryan McGovern and Ryuji Kikuchi stayed for the first period to fill in and give the Brewers some subs until latecomers Aaron Mancuso and Jason Yehle were ready to play.

In the first UVHL rookie Evan Duggan scored a mere 28 seconds into the game with an unassisted effort for the Oliers. DR scored again, this time with a speedy unassisted effort by winger Jason Loomis at 11:54. The Brewers only had 6 original skaters plus the 2 borrowed subs from Tuck, yet they scored at 10:41 when Bill Fletcher picked up where he left off last season scoring a nice one from Chris Johnson. Now with Jason Yehle being fashoinably late, but on the bench, the Brewers had almost even numbers with DR. Kikuchi scored at 8:22 to tie the game and Fletcher added the assist for his second point in less than 3 minutes. Johnson put the Brewers ahead 3-2 scoring on Hadley at 6:21 from Brian Smith. Momentum was shifting to the Brewers as the game headed into the second period, and they had a shot on the PP with DR's tenacious defenseman Tom Scull in the box at 1:34 for hooking but did not capitalize.

The subs were sent home as the Brewers now had 7 original skaters, and DR took advantage and tied the game at 14:17 shortly after they regained even strength on Rob Pattison's goal from Duggan and UVHL rookie Dan Bloom. The teams played even for most of the period trading chances and turnovers, and the oilers had their chance on the PP with Johnson in the box for tripping at 1:27, but Crowson shut the door.

In the third penalties led off the period with DR's Brian Racicot in the box at 13:56 for bodychecking, and then Bloom for holding at 12:45. They held off the Brewers' attack, and then Pattison put the Oilers on top at 6:54 off another pass from Bloom to make it 4-3 Oilers. Fletcher went to the Brewers' box for hooking at 5:26. Scully more than made up for his penalty with a beautiful goal late in the third from Duggan, who collected his third point of the night and that's how it ended.

Final Score: Dead River 5, Brewers 3

Final Tally: Check the Boxscores section, eh! Don't forget to vote for the Long Trail UVHL Player of the Week!

Final Analysis: It all came down to who showed up. Win or lose, 7 or 9 players, the Brewers had fun and didn't lose their cool, and in my opinion that is cool and classy. We'll only know how good they are when they show up with a full team, until then their 0-2 record is suspect. The 1-1 Oilers have been remade under Hadley's guidance, have been enjoying themselves, and have been playing good hockey early in their first season together as a new group. They notched their first franchise win, and this was a fun hockey game to watch. I especially enjoyed Rick Hughes ROCKET of a slapshot from just up top of the circle in the second period that Crowson was just able to turn away, Garren Poirier's hustle and two-way play for the Brewers, Dan Bloom's creative playmaking, and "old man hockey" superstar Stu Close being an absolute rock on defense for the Oilers. Good game to both squads!

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
LAB	14:32	Goal	Duggan, Evan(1)	Assist(s): none
LAB	11:54	Goal	Pattison, Rob(1)	Assist(s): none
BRE	10:41	Goal	Fletcher, Bill(1)	Assist(s): Johnson, Chris(1)
BRE	08:22	Goal	Kikuchi, Ryuji(1)	Assist(s): Fletcher, Bill(1)
BRE	06:21	Goal	Johnson, Chris(1)	Assist(s): Smith, Brian(1)
LAB	01:34	Penalty	Scull, Tom(2)	2 minutes for Hooking
2nd PERIOD
LAB	14:17	Goal	Pattison, Rob(2)	Assist(s): Duggan, Evan(1) Bloom, Dan(1)
LAB	13:56	Penalty	Racicot, Brian(1)	2 minutes for Checking
BRE	01:27	Penalty	Johnson, Chris(1)	2 minutes for Tripping
3rd PERIOD
LAB	12:45	Penalty	Bloom, Dan(1)	2 minutes for Holding
LAB	11:56	Goal	Pattison, Rob(3)	Assist(s): Bloom, Dan(2)
BRE	05:26	Penalty	Fletcher, Bill(1)	2 minutes for Hooking
LAB	00:54	Goal	Scull, Tom(2)	Assist(s): Bloom, Dan(3)

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