The 1st game started fairly slowly – both goalies stopping the first few chances and the play going back and forth with few results – 1st period ended with Team Russ leading Team Blair 2-1. By the end of the 2nd period Team Russ had extended their by one and it looked like Team Blair would be unable to recover. Then, suddenly in the 3rd, Team Blair seemed to wake up and scored 3 quick goals to take the lead heading in to the late minutes of the game. But, as was the case a couple of weeks ago, they were unable to hold the lead and Team Russ scored a late goal  to even it up. Team Blair pressed near the end but was unable to get any further goals and then time ran out with the score deadlocked, Team Blair 7 – Team Russ 7.

The 2nd game was tight as well – 1st period ended tied at 2 and the 2nd period was deadlocked at 4. In the 3rd Team Bill pulled ahead and the odds-makers were wondering whether G2’s streak of goal-tending victories would stop at 6 (1 in a 1000 yr probability) or unbelievably be extended to 7 (1 in 3000 yr probability) – as noted in various financial advertising, past results do not necessarily guarantee or even predict future performance – the streak ended with  Team Juniors pressuring and scoring a couple of late goals to run out the game for a well deserved victory – final score Team Juniors 7 – Team Bill 6.

Next week is the end of the 2nd go round – Week #6, June 3, 2015 Kinsmen Arena

Team Juniors  vs.  Team Russ     8:00pm – 9:00pm

Team Blair  vs.  Team Bill     9:00pm – 10:00pm

Games seem to be pretty close and turnout seems acceptable so, barring any sudden flurry of blowout games no significant re-balancing is being contemplated. See you all next week.

G2

The face off for the early game seemed to be deja vu all over again except that this time Team Russ had a full bench and Team Bill had only 1 spare to start the game. It wasn’t looking good for Team Bill… Scoring was slow to start and the first period ended with Team Bill up 3-2. In the 2nd Team Bill added a couple of latecomers to their bench and extended their lead to 6-3 and there was some foreshadowing that maybe a short bench was not much a detriment after all. In the 3rd Team Russ was able to score a few more goals and make it close but was unable to erase Team Bill’s early lead – final score Team Bill 8 – Team Russ 6. Good competitive game – titanic face off battles and some pretty goals from both teams.

In the 2nd game the question on everyone’s mind was whether Team Blair could rebound from their monumental collapse last week. Team Blair jumped to an early lead and coasted to a 4-2 score at the end of 1. In the second the lead seesawed with Team Juniors pulling ahead and then falling back with the 2nd period ending with Team Blair up 8-7. A few more goals were added in the 3rd with Team Blair going into a defensive, time management shell with 5 minutes to go to preserve their lead – final score Team Blair 11 – Team Juniors 9. Another good game, close score, lots of fast breaks – great entertainment for the fans.

Next week is Week #5 May 27, 2015 Kinsmen

Team Blair  vs.  Team Russ     8:00pm-9:00pm

Team Juniors  vs.  Team Bill     9:00pm – 10:00pm

See you then.

G2

Well, those results were….unexpected!

First game looked like a definite mismatch, Team Juniors had a full bench, Team Russ had …no bench. With Jason talking up the fans in the lobby, Team Russ played most of the 1st period with no spares on the bench but was still able to control the flow of the game and ended the 1st frame up 4-1. Not an unexpected 1st period scenario, but fatigue would likely be a growing factor for the rest of the game. In the 2nd, Team Juniors were able to score 5 goals but Team Russ, with the JKOW leading the way, was able to keep pace with 4 goals of their own and the 2nd period ended with Team Russ up by only 2, 8-6. In the 3rd, the defenses really stepped up (or fatigue slowed everyone to a virtual standstill) and only 3 more goals were scored. End result Team Russ 10 – Team Juniors 7. Not what I would have predicted as a final result but also not previously unseen.

The second game started quickly with Team Blair getting 4 goals early and coasting to a 5-2 lead after 1. They quickly ran up the score to 9-2 and there were rumblings that re-balancing would be needed to break up the “Dream” team…. but, but… the game wasn’t over. First Matt, with a pinpoint laser shot, just off the post, made it 9-3 and then Kyle, shooting from the top, scored with less than 10 sec. left in the period to close the score to 9-4.  You could feel the tectonic shift in momentum. The 3rd period was all (and I mean ALL!) Team Bill – one goal after another, they picked away at the Team Blair defense and completely stifled their opponent’s scorers. The scoreboard count kept getting closer and closer, until, with about 2 minutes left, Team Bill tied the score at 9-9 setting up a wild finish. Team Bill’s players were riding an adrenaline high while the Team Blair players, shoulders slumped, were pulling at their t-shirt collars trying to get breathing space. A couple of chances at either end but both goalies came up big and the clock ran out with the score still deadlocked –  Team Blair 9 – Team Bill 9. Possibly the biggest choke/collapse/ surprise in recent Masters HL history, definitely worth serious mockery and abuse over post game beverages well into the summer! Lacrosse – definitely a game of momentum.

It still appears that re-balancing might be needed but it is unclear which team will need the additional help.

Anyway, next is Week #4 – Wednesday May 20, 2015 Kinsmen Arena

TEAM BILL  vs.  TEAM RUSS     8:00pm – 9:00pm

TEAM BLAIR  vs. TEAM JUNIORS     9:00pm – 10:00pm.

Not sure what to look forward to next week!

G2

Another week’s games are done and recorded. Again both games appeared to be competitive and enjoyable. In the first game both teams played strong defense and only a last second goal put Team Bill up 2-1 at the first intermission. In the 2nd, a bit more offense was evident as Team Bill again outscored Team Juniors by 1, and led 5-3 at the end of 2.  The 3rd period was all Team Juniors, with a continuous fast break offense that kept Team Bill back on their heels. Team Juniors were able to put 5 goals past Gord in the 3rd while not allowing any goals in return. At the buzzer, final score Team Juniors 8 – Team Bill 5.

In the late game, another tight, low scoring 1st period led to a 1-1 tie after 1. The flood gates opened in the 2nd with Team Russ scoring 5 and Team Blair scoring 4 but the 3rd was only Team Blair. Even without 3 of their key players, Team Blair was able to push 4 more goals past Trevor while playing stingy defense (never thought I’d use that descriptor for this team!) and keeping Team Russ completely off the scoreboard. Final score Team Blair 9 – Team Russ 6.

Still too early to tell if any re-balancing will be needed, games have been pretty close both in play and scoring. At least one more week before any changes can be discussed.

Next week is Week #3 – Wednesday May 13, 2015 Kinsmen Arena:

TEAM JUNIORS  vs. TEAM RUSS     8:00pm – 9:00pm

TEAM BLAIR  vs. TEAM BILL     9:00pm – 10:00pm

G2

Call for the drug testing, force a roster breakup….the London Werewolves Senior Master’s Team had a 2 (count em….TWO) game winning streak after last Friday night’s game. Unprecedented!

Driving up to Midland for the first game, the omens were not good – cancellations and inability to attend due to work, hockey (really?), golf (double really?) put the expected roster of runners at 6-7 – not a good thing. The 10:00pm dressing room seemed empty with only 5 runners but JKOW was on his way – 6 runners, no problem – we’re stupid/tough. The game against perennially strong Huntsville team started well, 2 quick goals from Mike, our new recruit from Barrie,  and we were looking for a reason to have the game called so we could retire ahead of the game. Unfortunately we had to keep going and Huntsville clawed back to lead by 1, 2-3 at the end of the 1st. Jason, arriving late due to tardiness (and traffic, or so he says) added a couple in the 2nd and with one more goal the Wolves were up by 2, 5-3. One more period to go….WHAT could go wrong? Russ added 1 but Huntsville replied, so we were going in to the last couple of minutes up 6-4. Then Tom took a penalty to make life interesting – Huntsville power play with just over 2 minutes remaining – could the Wolves hold on or would we be sent whimpering to the dressing room to drown our sorrows…again? Then, taking a page from the Team Blair handbook, ahead by 2, time running out, Russ forced a (weak and totally unneeded) shot at the Huntsville net…and hit their player – dangerous shot, already a man in the box and less than 2 minutes to go – not sure what the exact rule interpretation is, but Huntsville was awarded 2 penalty shots! WONDERFUL! They scored on the 1st one but their key shooter, tripped, stumbled and shot into the goalies’ chest (not entirely sure in what particular order) and hope came back to life. Less than a minute to go the Wolves defense was able to get to a loose ball and get it down the floor and another London goal was scored. Time ran out on a London 7- Huntsville 5 score – and the crowd went wild! 2 wins in  row and a .750 winning percentage for the season! Unbelievable! There was serious discussion about total team retirement on a winning note but unfortunately the threat of forfeiture fines brought everyone back to reality.

Saturday, with a couple of player additions, things returned to a semblance of normality – Durham struggled a bit but was able to score early and then maintain their lead over London resulting in a Durham 7 – London 5 final. Close game and with some luck things could have ended far differently. In the late Saturday game, Beaches started strong and threatened to run up the score early but the Wolves bore down and kept picking away. Beaches players were outraged at our lack of respect for their innate destiny(privilege) to always win and began to take some questionable penalties. Alas, too little and too late, Wolves were not able to seal the deal with the game ending Beaches 7 – London 5.  For Sunday morning, we were down a player but were able to trade some used socks and a couple of balls to return Chris Tighe to our roster from his unforgivable defection to the Barrie team. A quick and enjoyable game was had but unfortunately not a symmetric end to the weekend  – no 7-5 win, or even a portentous numeric omen of another 7-5 score – …sigh…. Barrie held on to win over a surprisingly strong London team – Barrie 8 – London 5. All games close and competitive – 2 new recruits for the rest of the summer that should make a difference….things are looking up -(Hope Springs Eternal  ™ version).  On to the ‘Boro for the June 5-7 tournament!

G2