UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Whalers look for Mustangs Sweep

The Mustangs are riding a six game losing streak coming into tonight including a 4-2 loss to their opponent, the Whalers, on December 20th.  The Whalers got harpooned, 9-3, last week by a short-benched Tuck team.  The Whalers embarrassed themselves in their own defensive zone and are looking for a better 200 foot effort.

The Whale has been climbing the ranks since a disappointing 0-2-0 start.  They have 4 players in the top 15 in point:

7th - Dan VeNard (13pts)
8th - Ean Small (12pts)
14th - Dan Fenton (9pts)
15th - Teddy Pupilla (9pts)

The Mustangs don't have any players in the top 15, but do have a very skilled roster.  They also have the largest roster in the upper valley with 137 players available to play.  They're led by Schuyler St. Germaine (9pts), Matt Derouchie (9pts) and Will "The Thrill" Mudge (6pts).

Goaltending is an interesting debate as the Mustang's sit dead last goals allowed with 54 and their goaltender, Colin Farr "From Bad" holds a league worst 5.25 goals against average.  After watching the Mustang's, that is a team stat, as he has done everything he can to keep the Stangs in games.  A little help in the defensive zone boys.  The Whaler's Tucker "Big Sexy" Garritty-Hanchett has been steady eddie between the pipes this season.  Sitting 3rd in GAA with a 3.80, he and the Whalers threw up a stinker against Tuck.  But again, the 9 goals allowed were a team stat as TGH wasn't bad by any means.  

This will be a great game.  The Mustangs put up a hell of an effort last week losing 4-3 to the Gamblers (plus an empty netter).  The Whalers were missing some key players against Tuck, and should have a full roster tonight.  

Vegas says this will be a 2 goal win by the Whalers with an 8.5 goals scored line.  Who you go?

Whalers Down Mustangs in late Come From Behind Win.

This game had a bit of a late start for no particular reason, especially for the Whalers who started to file out onto the ice with about a minute left in the scheduled warm-up. I think it affected them because the Mustangs came out faster, more organized and ready to play. Parky asked me what was up and “didn’t the game start at 7:58ish after the warm-up?”, and I said yeah, it’s 8:01 already. Shit happens and the game must go on. There were 3 fans in the stands to start the game, and then a 4th showed up! Dan DeNerrrrd made a nice, sharp pass to Big Ean “It’s Not” Small for a high shot and a save by Farr at 12:40. The Mustangs struck first at 11:46 when a high shot snuck through Tucker by Matt “I’m Not A Douche” Derouchie assisted by Matti “Local Legend” Hartmann and Schuyler “Sweet Hands” St. Germain. Shots were 3-3 at this point. The ‘Stangs remained on fire with a great start scoring just 36 seconds later at 11:10 shocking the Whalers with a 2-goal lead with the dangerous duo of Hartmann and Sabky connecting for the Local Legend’s goal and second point in less than a minute past Tucker “My Name Is Too Long to Type Ever”’s glove. Were the Mustangs on fire, or was it a slow start by the Whalers? Perhaps the lack of warm-up affected the Whalers negatively. In any case, the Mustangs “started on time” as coach Mike Babcock used to say. Small made a nice shake ‘n bake in his own end and corner to maintain puck possession and break it out of his own end beating 2 or 3 forechecking ‘Stangs. Derouchie had a breakaway at 5:52 and tried to go 5-holio on Tucker, but the big netminder shut the door. Shots were 5-4 M’s. Bentley “WTF Is A” Boonyaharn showed some GREAT hustle to beat a Mustangs player to the puck along the boards to get possession and feed a teammate across the ice in the neutral zone, only to eventually go offside on the play. One job… Shots were 8-8 at the 4:41 mark. Kelly “Fuckin’” Park showed his sweet hands at 4:01 batting down a mid-level pass in the N-zone to gain possession and then make a good pass to an open teammate. Tucker stopped a 2-on-1 by the Mustangs and then Chris Mudge made a nice block on a James “Sweet Spice” McCormick in the ‘Stangs’ slot. The Whalers got 2 shots off late in the period and Farr was sharp in the Mustangs net. Shots ended 11-9 with the Mustangs ahead.

In the 2nd, Farr made a NOICE! play and save coming out of the net to play the puck at 14:27 as DeNerrrrd retrieved the puck off the boards and fed Small who gave it to another Whaler in front for a tip and sharp save by Farr. Then it was De Nerrrrd to Small who scored on the wraparound at 13:37 to make it a 1-goal game and bring the Whalers to life. Tucker made a great stick save on the blocker side up high with the shaft of his stick preventing a snipe labelled for the top corner at 9:16. Hartmann continued her multiple entries on the scoresheet, this time for a trip at 8:40 that changed momentum in the game once Fenton scored a PPG at 8:14. The refs admitted they didn’t see who got the assists on the goal, but Parky will get that all sorted so don’t worry, eh, you stat whores! At 6:51 Sabky was down in the corner and it took him a bit to get up. I didn’t see how he went down, but there was no call on the play, and there were a lot of concerned teammates and leaguemates surrounding him to see if he was okay and to offer assistance getting him up off the ice. Sabky made it to the bench and it appeared that he was uncomfortable, but alright. Hartmann continued her strong play and had a good chance up high where Tucker needed a good glove to keep it out of the net, all after a bad pass by Small at the other end giving the Mustangs possession and the scoring chance creating a 2-on-1 the other way. Tucker had to stay sharp as the Whalers’ defensive gaffes continued. Christian Scott forced a pass in his own end through the high slot that turned into a quick 3-on-1 that Tucker turned away. Soon after that, Sabky hit the post on Tucker’s blocker side. The Gamblers’ Ray Nolan was filling in tonight on this light Mustangs squad who would have had only 8 skaters without Nolan in the lineup. Nolan made a GREAT defensive play when a Whaler got around him and he reached back around to knock the puck off the attacker’s stick to prevent a clean breakaway! With the score tied 2-2, Dan “Stella Artois” Fenton made a BAD giveaway in the O-zone near the blueline to give the Mustangs a 2-on-1 for a goal at 3:24 with Hartmann’s 3rd point of the night on St. Germain’s first goal and 2nd point to steal the lead and make it 3-2. Elite defender Jason “Salt ‘n Papper” Yehle went to the box for a trip at 1:40 and it felt like everything was going the Mustangs’ way… momentum, defensive screw ups by the Whalers, chances, and calls (at least according to the whining from the Whalers’ bench). Shut up, guys. Accept the call or step up and be a ref yourself. Yehle even admitted in the box that he got his stick into the feet of the other player. Hartmann out dueled Park in the corner and came up with puck possession, but the Mustangs didn’t get a PP shot on net before the period expired. Shots were 27-19 in favor of the Whale. 

In the 3rd, the ‘Stangs continued their PP ineptitude and the Whalers defended well to prevent a single shot getting through to Tucker. Then Nolan tripped up Fenton in the neutral zone at 14:24, but the Whalers didn’t get a single shot on goal during their PP either. The Whalers came close and hit the crossbar behind Farr at 11:26! The Mustangs had a 2-on-1 with St. Germain and Greg Dadekian attacking at 10:30, and Tucker had to make two quick saves to keep it a 1-goal game. Fenton showed some good speed to chase down a loose puck through the neutral zone for a backhanded chance and a NOICE! save by Farr. Suddenly there were 5 fans in the stands! Hartmann continued to put on a hockey clinic and made 3 consecutive stops on plays along the boards to shut down Whalers’ advances only to get puck possession AGAIN and make a great pass to an open teammate. Soon afterwards, the Mustangs shot themselves in the foot as two good advances with the puck attacking towards the Whalers’ end were absolutely fucked up all on their own by the Mustangs themselves. It was ugly hockey. They should have had two good scoring chances and fucked it up all on their own with two bad plays. I would provide a description but they happened so close together I didn’t have time to write anything down and could only observe. I kinda want to unsee it, too… I’m not a fan of nightmares... Sometime in the 6th minute Tucker made a clutch save on a breakaway to keep his team in it. Fenton generated yet another nice backhanded chance that was once again saved by Farr. Sabky was okay and was moving well after his earlier mishap. Yehle unleashed a nice point shot at 4:40 that Farr gathered up in his well-positioned body. The Whalers started to apply sustained pressure in the Mustangs end, and then the Mustangs answered back with a 2-on-1. With 2:38 left in this tight game it was DeNerrrrd scoring from Small and Pupilla to tie it at 3-3! DeNard had to show good patience with the puck waiting for the top half of the net to open up and put it in over a sprawling Farr. Onn the next play DeNard was taken down HARD from behind in front of the net and there was no call on the play. The ref admitted afterwards that he just didn’t see it and was looking up past the front of the net at the time. We can’t see ‘em all, boys. DeNard took the hit and didn’t retaliate, which proved critical in the outcome of this game. With just 32 seconds left, Whalers very tall, mostly gray and ollldd UVHL Original Six defenseman, Chuck Gaede, jumped on a loose puck that was a defenseman’s wet dream. Gaede grabbed the puck in the high slot, skated in a few strides and found the back of the net for the GWG! Tempers flared with 14 seconds left as Derouchie interfered with Fenton who retaliated and got a roughing call with both penalties offsetting and potty mouths spewing in the boxes. The score ended in a dramatic comeback and late second win for the Whalers who were lucky as hell to tie it after going down 3-2 and everything going the Mustangs’ way. I must note the Mustangs dominated a lot of this contest with only 9 players and the Whalers were only missing one from their roster. The ‘Stangs record really doesn’t reflect the improvements they have made in their competitiveness and their team play. Shot totals were 41 for the Whalers and 25 for the Mustangs.

MVP:  Was there any better player in this game than Matti Hartmann with 1G, 2A in a 4-3 loss? Nope. Watch and learn, Fellas… I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: this lady is a special player and her hockey IQ and fundamentals are some of the very best in the history of the UVie… in all 3 G-rated zones, with mad respect for her and her game. Dan DeNerrrrd got the game tying goal, took a brutal hit from behind in the slot, and got an assist. Tucker kept his team in it with at least 3 clutch saves. Farr also played really well getting peppered with 41 shots making 37 saves. 

LVP?:  It would have been Fenton for sure with the brutal giveaway on the go-ahead goal by the Mustangs, but his team saved him from this dishonor. I think you owe them all a round of Stella Artois there, Stella Artois.

POST-GAME:
A new record for the Whalers with EIGHT at Applebee’s when I showed up around 11:00! Again, no Mustangs or Lumberjacks, but whatever. Two of our loyal fans, Autumn and Haley, are significant others of Whalers’ players, and it was a pleasure to have them there after the game. Things were winding down after I got there for the group, but there was still time to catch up a bit. I had no idea that Chuck Gaede, who got the game winner tonight, was 45 years old, the same as Kelly Park. He was an original UVHLer from our first season on 2003-04. He asked how many from the first season were still playing and I think it’s only a handful now… Gaede, Park, Meyer, Marrazzo… please correct me if there are any more to add to this small list. The regulars were there, Pupilla and Fenton, plus Park, Chiasson, Gaede, Nolan and the two ladies. A couple of grievances were aired about the write-ups from last week. Although terribly funny, if I don’t mind saying so myself, there were a couple of things I didn’t take into consideration and will correct going forward. Everyone should know that it’s all in fun, and my intent is always to entertain while being my irreverent hockey self. Let’s hope the post-game gatherings continue to grow! 

Respectfully submitted, 

McDefense, aka HKYDOC