UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

ODDS:	Brewers by 3
OVER/UNDER:	11

This is gonna be a scorefest. The Brewers are STILL the hottest team in the UVHL right now and are playing a complete game in all 3 zones. They might be challenged by the Gamblers' MMA line, but they have more depth and they can match the Gamblers' scoring. Against the Whalers the Brewers will bring out the inner yoga master in LeLallier between the pipes, and Kenny had better do all of his pre-game stretching or he will look like a pretzel after 45 minutes of being shellacked. The Whalers have not yet found their defensive game, and I fear that they have little to counter the Brewers...but...never say never. In 7 seasons we have seen it all, and anyone can win on any given night in the UVHL. The Whalers always make you win honestly (unless you're Tuck and show up with 7 skaters and they feel sorry for you). My prediction: Brewers by 3.

Brewers Hold on to 6-5 Win over Whalers.

The Brewers hosted the Whalers in some early game action tonight that looked to be another blowout win for the Brewers, but erupted into one hell of a hockey game. The Brewers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first and continued to pound the Whalers into submission in the second period as they amassed a comfy 4-0 lead. You know what they say in hockey....."a four goal lead is the hardest to keep", and in this situation, it was.

The Brewers were without stud netminder, Peter "Dr. Abstinence" Bartline who was out of town, practicing abstinence of course. Filling in was Matty Crowson who made some key saves early before his team collapsed on him. Kenny "Le Luge" Lallier, who turned most of his 36 saves away in the first 20 minutes of play did his best to keep the Whalers in the game despite letting up 6 goals. Returning to the lineup after a brief stint in New York as a hand model, was Joey Hayes, who provided some speed & puck control to a constantly improving team.

The Brewers had a solid attack from their top line of Nicholas "Dr. McSelfish" Bayley, Billy "The Stretcher" Fletcher & Brian "Shoots from Anywhere" Smith. Bayley epitomized his well earned nickname "Dr. McSelfish", by scoring 3 unassisted goals in this game. He was stealing pucks from the Whalers and wouldn't give them back, or even pass them to his own team mates. Luckily, they all went in as Bayley completed his hattrick on the eventual game winner late in the 2nd period, and added a horse-shoe assist on a Smith goal in the first. Smith's goal put the Brewers up 2-0 with 6:39 to play in the first when he received a rebound off of Bayley's stick in the near corner, and from the goal line beat Lallier with a ZERO angle shot that seemed to arc around the post and in....regardless, it was a hell of a shot. Also chipping in was defenseman Aaron "Mandingo" Mancuso who put 2 past Lallier as the Brewers took their healthy 4-0 lead with 10:54 to play in the 2nd period. That 4th goal seemed to kick the Whalers, specifically Jay Zanleoni who fed Colin Vernon just 20 seconds later to finally put the Whalers on the board. Zanleoni struck again, feeding linemate Stevie Bernie on the powerplay just over 3 minutes later. The holding penalty by Garren "The Human Stick" Poirier was one of only two penalties in the game, both by Poirier which put him in the league lead for penalty minutes with 33 total PIMs on the season. Remarkably, Poirier could easily have been in the box for another 4 penalties if the referees weren't letting the teams play.....I should know, I was one of those refs.

Bayley notched his 2nd of the game with 6:28 to play after a turnover on the near boards allowed him to walk to the high slot and beat Lallier like a dirty, lethargic and very unathletic rug. The Whalers countered with a Joey "The Mute" Hayes goal with 3:30 to go in the period when he and Scotty "The Giant Whining Man" Shaw broke in on a 2 on 1 with a defender nipping at their heals, Hayes took the puck all the way to the top of the crease before releasing the puck far side right along the ice off the post and in. Bayley finished the hat trick with 42 seconds to play by picking a defenseman's pocket at center ice and beating Lallier again, this time like a clean rug, with a quick move to the backhand to close out the Brewer's scoring on the night with a healthy 6-3 lead heading into the 3rd period.

The 3rd period was quiet until the last couple of minutes as the Whalers started to roll, but Crowson was there to shut them down. Zanleoni was able to break through with 3:30 to play in the game on a pass from Chucky "Alli" Gaede to bring the Whalers within 2 goals. With their lead dwindling, the Brewers started to make some uncharacteristic mistakes as the Whaler's tenacious forecheck pounded the brewers in the corners like a scene from a bad porn flick. Jimmy "The Lanky Lurker" LeClair jammed home a rebound with 1:27 remaining to cut the lead to 6-5. The Brewers slowed the stopped the bleeding to end the game and hold onto their 6th win of the season.

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
BRE	08:21	Goal	Mancuso, Aaron(3)	Assist(s): Poirier, Garren(3)
BRE	06:39	Goal	Smith, Brian(7)	Assist(s): Bayley, Nick(9)
2nd PERIOD
BRE	14:45	Goal	Bayley, Nick(10)	Assist(s): none
BRE	10:54	Goal	Mancuso, Aaron(4)	Assist(s): Smith, Brian(10) Charette, Dan(5)
WHL	10:34	Goal	Vernon, Colin(2)	Assist(s): Zanleoni, Jay(5) Bernier, Steve(1)
BRE	08:52	Penalty	Poirier, Garren(9)	2 minutes for Holding
WHL	07:03	Goal	Bernier, Steve(2)	Assist(s): Zanleoni, Jay(6) Vernon, Colin(2)
BRE	06:28	Goal	Bayley, Nick(11)	Assist(s): none
BRE	06:07	Penalty	Poirier, Garren(10)	2 minutes for Interference
WHL	03:05	Goal	Hayes, Joe(1)	Assist(s): Shaw, Scott(3)
BRE	00:42	Goal	Bayley, Nick(12)	Assist(s): none
3rd PERIOD
WHL	03:30	Goal	Zanleoni, Jay(6)	Assist(s): Gaede, Chuck(4)
WHL	01:27	Goal	LeClair, Jim(2)	Assist(s): Hayes, Joe(1) Barton, Adam(3)

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Game Comments:
hkydoc WRJ, VT Registered: Jan 2004 Posts: 517	Another close one... Dec 16th, 2009 07:27 PM This must have been a good game, esp. with the Whalers scoring 5 goals. Nice job, boys! Sorry I had to miss it, eh. McD
hkydoc WRJ, VT Registered: Jan 2004 Posts: 517	JOEY HAYES SIGHTING! Dec 16th, 2009 07:34 PM Joey is back for the Whalers, and I missed it! Welcome back, Joe - we missed ya. McD