Ugh.  We're getting closer, but we shouldn't be losing to this team so much.  They played well, as did we, but spent a little too much time in our zone to give ourselves a good chance.  In general we were slow to pressure them in center zone so they had an easy time getting into our zone.

They scored the first goal at 13:38 in the first when the puck carrier pulled up after crossing the blue line and he was able to rip a wicked wrister to the upper-right corner.  Their second goal came in the second period at 10:30 after an extended series in our zone and several failed clearing attempts.

We didn't get on the board until the 2:22 mark of the third.  Ken took Tony's pass and was able to stuff it in to the cheers of his wife in the stands.  We did pull the goalie, but the most we were able to accomplish was Kerry preventing an EN goal with his foot.

The shots were almost even at 25 to 27 but they seemed to have more quality chances.  Each team had four penalties but neither team scored a PP goal.  Several of our penalties overlapped, so we did kill some 3 on 5 time.  Here is the online scoresheet.  Thanks to Lance for subbing in net!

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
Ken	1	0	1
Tony	0	1	1

The duck goes to Ken for scoring in front of his wife.  And she applauded!

Game #3 of Cougarfest.

We had a light bench going into this game, and while we had played well in games #1 and #2 of Cougarfest, we didn't play well the previous week.  So, I didn't know how we would respond this week.

I shouldn't have worried.

We played very well, despite still having players suspended from Game 1.  The Cougars didn't have Vonhoy or Borelli this game, but made up for it with the Donny and Marie Donnelly Show.  Both of their goals were Donnelly to Donny combos.

Steve scored first with an unassisted goal at 8:29.  He stole the puck, kicked it to himself and the beat the goalie with a quick wrister.

In the second period, our one (and only) penalty resulted in a PP goal for the Cougars to tie the game at 5:10. 

The Cougars took the lead at 19:00 in the third period when we left the slot unguarded for the behind-the-net pass.  Things didn't look good for a while until Tim intercepted a clearing attempt and then scored from the blue line at 13:56.  Both teams played solid D for the next few minutes, not wanting to give up the go-ahead goal.  But at 4:36 Tony passed to Ken behind their net and when no one pressured him he was able to connect with a pinching Chris Diggs slanting in.  Chris hit home the one-timer for the game-winning goal.  In the final minutes of the game the Cougars got a penalty and then pulled their goalie but that only lead to another C.Diggs goal at 0:09 (it was credited to Steve).

We outshot them 28 to 18 and had only one penalty to their five.  Technically, each team scored a PP goal, but ours was the empty netter at the end.  Here is the online scoresheet.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
C.Diggs	2	0	2
Tim	1	0	1
Steve	1	0	1
Ken	0	1	1
Tony	0	1	1

The duck goes to C.Diggs who avenged his brother nicely.

This game also wasn't as close as the score would indicate.  It was worse!  We played one of our worst games in a long time.  It was very disappointed as we hoped to build on the momentum we gained in the last game.  But we played nothing like we have in our last couple games.  We were slow and sloppy and didn't do ourselves any favors.

After no scoring in the first period, mainly due to Lou's great goal tending, we gave up a goal at 12:20 in the second.  In the third period a player who is marked as ther goalie scored three goals for the natual hat trick.  He didn't do too much to get those goals other than hussle.  We finally managed to get on the board at 3:40 when Ken got tired of looking at our goose egg.  Larry also scored a PP goal with just 49 seconds left in the game.

Shots were 23 to 19 in their favor.  They had four penalies to our one, and we did manage that PP goal.  Here is the online scoresheet.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
Ken	1	0	1
Larry	1	0	1
Jay	0	1	1
Chris M.	0	1	1
Roger	0	1	1

No duck.

Due to a crazy schedule, we played the Cougars in 3 of 4 consecutive games.  Considering that Game 1 went like this, Game 2 (just a week later) had the potential to go many ways.  More fights and penalties?  A "why can't we all just get along?" love-fest?  Turns out, the answer was neither because we didn't have a goalie.  11:15pm games on a Monday night just aren't that popular.

I have to say that this probably worked out for the best.  Having no goalie kept the game from getting too real and prevented any type of retaliation from either team.   Even though we lost on the scoreboard, we won the emotional game as we were all really upbeat when the game ended.

We skated with 6 skaters, as opposed to a skater playing as a goalie (turns out that's not the best way to go).  We probably could have "only" lost 7 to 5 if we hadn't made two mistakes that lead to breakaway goals.

We didn't start well, not knowing how to properly play with 6 skaters.  As a result they scored three quick and easy goals at 18:51, 16:41 and 15:07.  But, after that third goal Damon scored at 14:01 for the moral victory.  A breakaway for them lead to their 4th goal at 7:25, and then they scored their 5th goal at 0:11 on a play that might have scored on a real goalie.

By the time the second period rolled around we put Jay in at permanent "goalie" instead of rotating as we had been.  This worked much better and lead to many scoring chances for us as Jay was able to pass out of the zone easier than a normal goalie.  This lead to a series of really good break outs on our part and 15 second period shots.  It also lead to 2 goals from Chris Diggs and Ken (I think it was Ken.  99?).  Meanwhile, the Cougars only managed one goal.  While they might have been playing down, the truth is that we spent most of the time in their zone.

The third period started with us on the penalty kill, but that lead to a SH goal from Roger.  I tipped the puck to Steve and then he and Roger executed a perfect two on one.  Jay also scored a goal when Tim took over the goalie duties for a while.  The Cougars got two more break away goals at 10:13 and 3:43 and those were goals that we shouldn't have given up, even without a goalie.  Still, it was the most satifying loss that I could possibly imagine.  It gave us a lot of confidence for the next Cougars game.

Part of that confidence came from getting 35 shots on them.  Since we didn't have a goalie they only were credited nine shots for their goals, but I would guess that they took about 15-20 in all.  Tim and Jay made some saves, but not that many.  The Cougars also took seven penalties to our two.  One of our penalties was Jay holding the puck too long in the crease.  Here is the (very inaccurate) online scoresheet.   I don't know what drugs the scorekeeper was using when he entered this, but I hope he didn't drive home afterwards.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
Damon	1	1	2
Ken	1	1	2
Kevin	0	2	2
Steve	0	2	2
C.Diggs	1	0	1
Roger	1	0	1
Jay	1	0	1
Kerry	0	1	1
Wilson	0	1	1

The duck goes to the whole team for an excellent effort.

The game that will live in infamy!

Gang Green and Cougars alumnus Paul "Fuz" Mortfield was back in town and he brought some crazy Canadian hockey karma with him.  What started off as a fast-paced scorefest turned into a penaltyfest, complete with fights and ejections.  The refs lost control of the game, and themselves, and eventually ended the game early.  Despite all that, a group of Greeners and Cougars still had beer in the bar together afterwards.  Such is hockey.

Dave started the scoring on a two on one breakout with John at 16:31.  But the Cougars tied it at 8:37 and then took the lead at 6:58.  Tony tied the game at 5:11 and then Chris M. gave us the lead at 1:45.  Also in the first period, just three penalties between both teams.  Score: 3 - 2.  Ref Status: Al Franken.

The second period saw a flood of seven minor Cougar penalties.   Before that happend, though, they scored to tie the game at 18:46.  C.Diggs scored on the power play from one of those penalties at 5:14 to give us the lead again.  However, in one of the few 5 on 5 monents the Cougars scored to tie the game, once again.  Score: 4 - 4.  Ref status: Nancy Grace.

The third period was uneventful until the 17:53 mark.  That's when the earth fell off its axis.  It started when Donnelly crosscheck Dave twice in the back.  They went to the ice and Dave ended up on his back.  When Donnelly jumped back onto Dave,  and then Dave kicked/pushed Donnelly back (which verb depends on which team you're on).  A small fight broke out and the end result was that Donnely only got a double minor but Dave was ejected with major for the kick.  A Cougars player would also be ejected for coming off the bench ("to help you, ref!").  That player would later cost us a power play as he came back to taunt the ref from the sidelines.  The ref gave him another game misconduct, but it was the expense of our powerplay as the clocked ticked off over two minutes while the ref figured it all out.  :-(

The game eventually continued but then the Cougars most immature player, John Vonhoy, took it upon himself to attack our John along the boards.  John didn't really fight back and ended up getting kicked himself.  This is when the refs lost control.  When John didn't immediately leave the ice the (220 lb. 6'2") ref grabbed (130lb 5'7") John and slammed him into the boards.  Twice.  He then gave John the kicking major that should have gone to Vonhoy (who did a fighting GM).  This was all at the 1:06 mark and the refs just called the game after that.  Final score: 4 - 4.  Ref status: Ann Coulter.

We outshot the Cougars 26 to 17, mostly due to all of their penalties.  Speaking of penalties, they had, technically, 21 to our 14, but with the majors and GMs it added up to 59 minutes for them and 42 minutes for us.  But there were also suspensions.  I don't know exactly how many games they got, but Vonhoy got at least one for the fighting and Mr. "I'm just helping" got at least two.  Dave and John, however, each got 6 games for their kicking majors.  I was able to talk Tyler down to 4 games and he agreed because they don't have a record.  Sadly, none of the other factors like innocence and psycho refs came into the equation.

The scoresheet was a two-pager due to all of the Cougars penalties (ours managed to fit on a single page).  Each team also got a team game misconduct for getting more than 10 penalties in a game.  This is a new rule this season, so let's hope we don't have to go the tie breaker this season - unless it's against the Cougars.  Also, after leading the team in penalty minutes for two season, there is no way that I'm going to three-peat this year.

Here is the online scoresheet.  Don't read it if you get epilepsy from seeing too much red.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
D.Diggs	1	1	2
John	0	2	2
Tony	1	0	1
Chris M.	1	0	1
C.Diggs	1	0	1
Kevin	0	1	1
Dale	0	1	1
Damon	0	1	1
Inga	0	1	1
Jay	0	1	1

The duck is still in the penalty box.

I wasn't at this game either but apparently the game was closer than the score would indicate.  Jay and Dave combined for all three of our goals and owned them.

The Cold Ones scored quickly when their speedster broke away and scored at 18:49.  Dave matched that goal at 11:59 with an assist from Jay.  But TCO retook the lead shortly after at 9:23.

In the second period they blew the game open, starting with a short handed goal at 10:11, and then another goal at 3:39.  But Dave and Jay again combined for a goal at 0:39 to cut the lead to two.

Unfortunately, the third period started like the first with a quick goal at 18:20.  Jay took a turn scoring at 5:15 to once again get within two, but that was it for the scoring.

Shots were almost even at 17-19.  Each team had only one penalty, but they did manage a SH goal.  Here is the online scoresheet.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
D.Diggs	2	1	3
Jay	1	2	3

The duck goes to the scoring tandem Dave and Jay!

I wasn't at this game and no one provided a detailed write up, so not much to say about this game.  But beating Team Beer is always awesome.

I still don't have the actual scoresheet, only Kerry's email of it.  Thus, I don't know th order of the scoring, but we won 7 to 4 so I assume we did pretty well.

We outshot them 22 to 16.  We had three penalties to their unknown number.  Here is the worthless online scoresheet.  They still have a problem giving proper credit online.  We scored seven goals yet they credited us only one.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
D.Diggs	3	0	3
Inga	0	3	3
Damon	1	1	2
Wilson	0	2	2
C.Diggs	1	0	1
John	1	0	1
Tony	1	0	1
Kerry	0	1	1
Roger	0	1	1

The duck goes to Dave and Inga!

[Long break, sorry.  Vacation, work, missing scoresheets...]

Memory is fuzzy, but this is a game we should have won.  We allowed two goals in the final minutes and that shouldn't ever happen.  The Evans borhters were also a little chippy.

No scoring in the first period.  Dave scored first on the PP, but they tied it up minutes later.  But then Larry scored soon after to regain the lead.  We held that lead until the 3:04 mark in the third period.  Then the lost the game 78 seconds later.

Shots were 24 to 20 in our favor.  They had four penalties to our one, and we scored one PP goal.  Here is the online scoresheet.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
D.Diggs	1	0	1
Larry	1	0	1
Pete	0	1	1
Ken	0	1	1

No duck.

Another strong game against a team who is better than the score would indicate.  The Ice Hawks played a strong game, and things got a bit rough, but we mostly kept our cool and played up to our abilities.  Exellent goal tending from Jeff, who is still nursing a groin injury, kept us in control of this game.

It was a tight game for most of the first period with each team getting quite a few chances.  After being unable to score on a power play, Chris M. was able to pick up a rebound and launch a wicked backhanded shot.

In the second period, new guy Keith was able to steal the puck and then used his speed to get the goalie to cheat too far to his left.  Keith then fired back across to the far post for a pretty impressive goal.  Not bad for a guy who hadn't played in four years.

The third period was a penalty-filled extravaganza.  Things were getting a little chippy, and by "a little" I mean "a lot."  In between penalties, Chris M. was also able to steal the puck and score unassisted.  Then during a power play, Tony launched a wrister from the blue line, which the goalie caught in his glove.  Unfortunately (for him) the goalie went to do some show-boaty move where he flips the puck in the air and then catches it, but he ended up throwing it into the net instead.  Oops.

They actually outshot us 30 to 15!  We probably should have more shots because we did have long series of constant pressure, but Jeff stepped up and stopped everything.  They had 6 penalties to our 5 with most of them coming in the third period.  We did have a PP goal, but it was that weird goal.  All goals count, though, even the ugly ones.  Here is the online scoresheet.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
Chris M.	2	0	2
Keith	1	1	2
Tony	1	0	1

The duck goes to both Chris Montgomery for his two goals, and to Jeff Edwards for his shutout with his gimpy groin.

Wow, when it rains it pours.  I think it's safe to say that this was a good game.  Xilinx was without their two "top" scorers from last season and, while they did have some talent, didn't put up much of a challenge.  It was a slow-paced and clean game so we had lots of time to make good passes and settle the puck.

John started off the scoring just 28 seconds into the game with an unassisted goal.  It was a nice pull-back move, but he also reinjured his thumb in doing so.  About 10 minutes later Chris Diggs got his own unassisted goal to give us that "most dangerous" of leads.  Almost profectically, Xilinix was able to get an odd-man rush and cut our lead to just one goal.  Fortunately, we are not the Sharks and Larry got the eventual game-winning goal with 48 seconds left in the first.  Fisrt intermission score: 3 - 1

In the second period, Roger got the first of his two goals when he tucked in Wilson's rebound.  Diggs piled on another goal, also with an assist from Wilson.  Second intermission score: 5 - 1.

Xilinx drew a penalty in the third and was able to score on the power play after a long scramble in front of the net.  However, Jay killed any momentum they had when he scored on the very next shift.  Roger then got his second goal and Randy capped the night's scoring with our insurance-insurance-insurance-insurance-insurance goal.  Remember, no lead is safe in the new NHL.

We outshot them (a little) with 35 shots to their 30.  Frankly, I don't remember 30 shots, but I know that sub goalie Jeff did stop quite a few good chances and a few breakaways.  They had three penalties and we just had one, but they scored on their PP and we didn't.  Here is the online scoresheet.

Scoring:

Player	G	A	Pts
Diggs	2	1	3
Roger	2	0	2
Jay	1	1	2
Randy	1	1	2
Wilson	0	2	2
John	1	0	1
Larry	1	0	1
Steve	0	1	1
Inga	0	1	1

The duck goes to Chris Diggs for his 3 point game.