UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Nordiques look to clinch 2nd place with win over Dangerous Dead River

ODDS:	Nordiques by 3 goals
OVER/UNDER:	9 goals

Dead River is one of the scariest teams to faceoff against week to week. They are a tough gritty team with plenty of talent. They can go on a goal scoring tear one second and then give up 4 goals the next 3 minutes.

Their biggest question mark is their team defense. They have not received solid goaltending this season, but their forwards tend to leave their defensemen & goaltenders out to dry every week.

The Nordiques have won all 4 contests this season, but need at least 1 point out of this one to clinch 2nd place and a first round bye in the playoffs. Dead River sits in last place, and if they beat the Nordiques in regulation, they will faceoff again next week which would be VERY interesting.

Dead River needs Robbie "Pattycakes" Pattison to step up and produce, as well as "Mean" Dean Cashman & Ricky Golden "Showers". If Greg "Herpes" Hadley can stand tall in net, this will be a close game, but if the Nordiques realize that his fat ass goes down early on every shot and that he takes away everything down low, then it won't be.

Nordiques should win this one, they are motoring and playing solid hockey over the last 5 or 6 weeks. Nordiques 6, Dead River 3

Nords rough up Dead River, clinch 2nd place.

The Nordiques needed a point out of this one to clinch the second seed in the playoffs starting next week & secure a first round bye. Dead River needed a win in this one to just get out of their season long rut. In the end, the 'Diques came through thanks to their goaltender, Johnny "Time Piece" Turner & forward Kevin "Toe Drag" Dwyer. Turner, who caused this game to start a couple minutes late due to his usual issues with telling time, came up big in the first period as the Dead River Rats came out flying. At the other end of the ice was Greg "Homeslice" Hadley who was less than spectacular as he allowed 8 goals on 22 shots. Despite Hadley's horrible save percentage tonight, he wasn't 100% responsible for the outcome as he forced the Nordiques to miss the net on another 10-15 shots. Some of the Nord's goals were downright nasty including a pair Dwyer and another by Roger "The Dentist Drill" Phillips.

Dead River had all hands on deck as they were sporting a full line-up for possibly the first time this season and it showed in the first period as they were all over the Nordiques, scoring the first goal of the game just 53 seconds in. Robbie "Patty Cakes" Pattison buried a pass from "Mean" Dean Cashman on their first shift and surprising Turner on the first shot of the game. Dead River continued to dominate for most of the first period and were poised to take a 2-0 lead when the Nord's Tom Dakai took a tripping call with 1:37 to play, but the Power Play didn't quite pan. A neutral zone turnover picked up by Dwyer fed to Coates at the tops of the circles and then dished to Drew "Get Off the" Crapser for a one-time snapshot just under the cross bar to tie the game with 27 seconds to go in the first period.

The Nordiques ripped off another 5 goals in the 2nd frame from Jordan McGee (11:59), Tao "Buddha" Smith (5:36), Dwyer (3:50), McGee Again (3:27) & Phillips (2:09). Smith's goal came from pure hard work as he pressured Dead River's Tommy "Turnover" Scull behind his own net and chipped the puck out front where Hadley was on the far post, scoring an "empty" netter. Stuey "Chop Suey" Close made a great play with 2 and a half minutes to go as he faked a slapper from the point and hit Pattison coming out of the far corner. Pattison took the hard pass below the goal line as if he was going to head behind the net but fired a zero angle shot from the goal line up over Turner's outstretched pad off the far post and in. Roger Phillips tallied one just 5 seconds later on a great individual play, stealing the puck from a Dead River defenseman on the near boards and coasting across the hashmarks, outwaiting everyone before throwing the puck past Hadley.

The Nordiques tallied two quick goals in the 3rd on Dwyer's 2nd of the game and 15th of the season & Ian "The Tooth" Coates' 9th. Dead River buckled down a bit after a horrific 2nd period where the Nordiques walked all over them. They also tallied the last goal of the game on an Ian "Jumbo" Gill goal on assists from Ricky Golden "Showers" & Bobby Rosati.

Dead River will need a ton of work heading into the playoffs. Their offense hasn't been as potent has it has in the past, and as they have tried to find that offensive punch, their defense and goaltenders have been hung out to dry. They face off against Tuck in the first round of the playoffs, and have lost 3 of 5 games....but both of their wins have come from Tuck forfeits.....so go figure. Dead River is always a sleeper, but Tuck should chew them up and spit them out. The Nordiques earned a bye next week, and after a rough middle of the season where they went 1-4-0, they ended on a high note 5-0-2. Both of their shootout losses came to the Gamblers, and is setting up a finals rematch to remember.

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
LAB	14:07	Goal	Pattison, Rob(12)	Assist(s): Cashman, Dean(7)
NDQ	01:37	Penalty	Dakai, Tom(8)	2 minutes for Tripping
NDQ	00:27	Goal	Crapser, Drew(3)	Assist(s): Coates, Ian(13) Dwyer, Kevin(6)
2nd PERIOD
NDQ	13:37	Penalty	McGee, Jordan(3)	2 minutes for Cross Checking
NDQ	11:59	Goal	McGee, Jordan(26)	Assist(s): Dwyer, Kevin(7)
NDQ	11:08	Penalty	Coates, Ian(4)	2 minutes for Interference
NDQ	05:36	Goal	Smith, Tao(4)	Assist(s): none
NDQ	03:50	Goal	Dwyer, Kevin(14)	Assist(s): McGee, Jordan(21)
NDQ	03:27	Goal	McGee, Jordan(27)	Assist(s): Dwyer, Kevin(8) O'Neil, Michael(5)
LAB	02:14	Goal	Pattison, Rob(13)	Assist(s): Close, Stu(3)
NDQ	02:09	Goal	Phillips, Roger(10)	Assist(s): none
LAB	01:10	Penalty	Scull, Tom(11)	2 minutes for Tripping
3rd PERIOD
NDQ	13:17	Goal	Dwyer, Kevin(15)	Assist(s): Park, Kelly(20)
NDQ	12:18	Goal	Coates, Ian(9)	Assist(s): Dwyer, Kevin(9)
NDQ	09:50	Penalty	Dakai, Tom(9)	2 minutes for Elbowing
LAB	08:10	Goal	Gill, Ian(4)	Assist(s): Golden, Richard(4) Rosati, Robert(4)
LAB	07:56	Penalty	Dickinson, Tyler(4)	2 minutes for Tripping

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Game Comments:
JTStally Hanover, NH Registered: Posts: 159	Nords Win, DR Beats Spread Mar 23rd, 2010 01:23 AM Word on the street is that DR is actually shaping up to put a full contingent of players on the ice this week. That could throw off the prediction a little, but I'm not sure if it's enough to beat a very solid Nords team.
kpark Quechee, VT Registered: Dec 2003 Posts: 724	Good call Mar 23rd, 2010 12:04 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: JTStally Word on the street is that DR is actually shaping up to put a full contingent of players on the ice this week. That could throw off the prediction a little, but I'm not sure if it's enough to beat a very solid Nords team. I'll tell you what, playing Dead River scares the crap out of me. You never know what you are going to get, they are definitely dangerous. All I know is that I'm going to hit Hadley in the head with a blistering 35 MPH slap shot tonight. 35 is fast right? KP
JTStally Hanover, NH Registered: Posts: 159	Marshy? Mar 23rd, 2010 01:06 PM The game might also be influenced by whether or not Marshy gets the boot for mouthing off the ref again (like last night's mud league game)...I'm sure he'll get the last laugh on that one though, when he pulls Dick Bursett (sp?) over and is one ticket short of his quota!
kpark Quechee, VT Registered: Dec 2003 Posts: 724	Marshy Marshy Marshy! Mar 23rd, 2010 02:44 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: JTStally The game might also be influenced by whether or not Marshy gets the boot for mouthing off the ref again (like last night's mud league game)...I'm sure he'll get the last laugh on that one though, when he pulls Dick Bursett (sp?) over and is one ticket short of his quota! Marshy.....lose his cool? He's been GREAT since firing a puck at the ref in Season 1! How's Mud-League going? Competition any good? I completely forgot about it this year. KP
JTStally Hanover, NH Registered: Posts: 159	Mud League Mar 23rd, 2010 03:25 PM Mud league is quite competitive this year. My IceHawks, which includes Sean "The Claw" Clauson, Tyler "Obvious Nickname" Dickinson, and Marty "No Nickname Needed" White started off 3-0 before last nights loss the Northstars. We'd beat them on Friday, but the replacement of McD with Robert Ammel was a difference maker for the N-stars offensive prowess. The CCM team is strong as always.
rgrunds Stowe, VT Registered: Posts: 376	JT Stally Mar 23rd, 2010 03:43 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: JTStally Mud league is quite competitive this year. My IceHawks, which includes Sean "The Claw" Clauson, Tyler "Obvious Nickname" Dickinson, and Marty "No Nickname Needed" White started off 3-0 before last nights loss the Northstars. We'd beat them on Friday, but the replacement of McD with Robert Ammel was a difference maker for the N-stars offensive prowess. The CCM team is strong as always. Do any teams need a goalie? I'm available on a regular or fill-in basis. Disregard any remarks Kelly makes about my skills. BG
The Dark Canuck Fairlee, VT Registered: Dec 2004 Posts: 340	WTF? Mar 23rd, 2010 04:09 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: JTStally The game might also be influenced by whether or not Marshy gets the boot for mouthing off the ref again (like last night's mud league game)...I'm sure he'll get the last laugh on that one though, when he pulls Dick Bursett (sp?) over and is one ticket short of his quota! I don't remember blasting out any ref in recent memory???? Nor did I get the "pulling over" comment? what's that all about Stally?
The Dark Canuck Fairlee, VT Registered: Dec 2004 Posts: 340	AND.... Mar 23rd, 2010 04:09 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: kpark Marshy.....lose his cool? He's been GREAT since firing a puck at the ref in Season 1! How's Mud-League going? Competition any good? I completely forgot about it this year. KP I apologized to gary Laperle...just for the record
JTStally Hanover, NH Registered: Posts: 159	It wasn't Marshy Mar 23rd, 2010 04:24 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: The Dark Canuck I don't remember blasting out any ref in recent memory???? Nor did I get the "pulling over" comment? what's that all about Stally? Now that I've soiled your good name, perhaps it wasn't you. The guys in the locker room afterward said it was Marshy, and I didn't ask questions, but it was actually the defenseman for the Nords with the raggedy old cage that works as a state trooper in NH. Sorry again for the confusion.
SK8VT Woodstock, VT Registered: Posts: 45	Mar 23rd, 2010 04:34 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: JTStally Now that I've soiled your good name, perhaps it wasn't you. The guys in the locker room afterward said it was Marshy, and I didn't ask questions, but it was actually the defenseman for the Nords with the raggedy old cage that works as a state trooper in NH. Sorry again for the confusion. it was actually rob pellatier or however u spell his last name but it really wasnt mouthing off to the ref, him and another player got into a little scuffle where he was gonna get tossed so i think he just threw in a little F bomb to the ref as a parting gift
JTStally Hanover, NH Registered: Posts: 159	Grundy Goalie Mar 23rd, 2010 08:34 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: rgrunds Do any teams need a goalie? I'm available on a regular or fill-in basis. Disregard any remarks Kelly makes about my skills. BG I don't think so, but you'd be better off calling Campion Rink and checking to see if there is a team that needs goaltending help.
rgrunds Stowe, VT Registered: Posts: 376	JT not goalie Mar 23rd, 2010 08:49 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: JTStally I don't think so, but you'd be better off calling Campion Rink and checking to see if there is a team that needs goaltending help. Yeah, I called them a couple hours ago. The rink attendant was a good guy and took my number. thanks again. BG
hkydoc WRJ, VT Registered: Jan 2004 Posts: 517	Big Tom Mar 26th, 2010 07:29 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: rgrunds Yeah, I called them a couple hours ago. The rink attendant was a good guy and took my number. thanks again. BG It was Tom Dakai who got kicked out of the Mud League game by Dick Bressett on Monday night. I was still at work and had to miss the game unfortunately, because I would have paid good $ to see that! Oh, you are right Stally - Dan Ammel is much more of a game-changer than I am , that is for sure!!! But, he didn't replace me in the line-up. That was a really good game on Friday night that ended 3-1 with the empty netter. I was very impressed with the Ice Hawks. Clauson looks like Bobby Orr in the B League! McD
JTStally Hanover, NH Registered: Posts: 159	Orr vs. Chara Mar 26th, 2010 10:19 PM IN RESPONSE TO: BY: hkydoc It was Tom Dakai who got kicked out of the Mud League game by Dick Bressett on Monday night. I was still at work and had to miss the game unfortunately, because I would have paid good $ to see that! Oh, you are right Stally - Dan Ammel is much more of a game-changer than I am , that is for sure!!! But, he didn't replace me in the line-up. That was a really good game on Friday night that ended 3-1 with the empty netter. I was very impressed with the Ice Hawks. Clauson looks like Bobby Orr in the B League! McD I view as him more as a Chara-type, but perhaps that's just cause he's about six inches taller than everyone else on the ice. The Northstars, along with CCM, are certainly some of our strictest competition in the league.