Blue Fin’s Bistro Hockey

Last week the Blue Fins ended their season with a loss in the first round of the play-offs. (sorry, no report) It was a tough loss in a shootout.

This week, they played 5-Hole Sports as a consolation game. The attendance differential was no consolation to the Blue Fins, who dressed 7 skaters to 14 for 5-Hole.

What was - and always is - a consolation for the Fins is netminder E.J. ‘The Sandman’ Darisse. The Sandman played brilliantly. He faced a lot of shots and kept his team in the game. You could see the lift it gave his team every time he made a great save. Strengths by Darisse were his trade-mark poke checks and puck sweeps….not to be out done by his ability to pass the puck out of his own zone.

The other reason the Blue Fins were in this game was their defense. Dan ‘The Man’ Fahey not only locked his wife out of his house, but he locked 5-Hole out of his zone. Gene ‘Steady’ Cookmeyer was a calming force - he controlled the puck, slowed the play down, and gave his team the time needed to move the puck up the ice. Matt ‘Blades of Steel’ Pusateri certainly played good defense - but also was able to light the lamp.

Pusateri’s first goal was an uncharacteristic fore-hand shot that caught the goalie by surprise on an unassisted break-away. His second goal came in the third period to give the Blue Fins the lead.

Earlier, the first goal of the night was scored by Rich ‘Hawkey’ Denisi. Denisi had a 2-0 breakaway with Rusin on his right. Denisi went left, stutter stepped and slowed the puck a bit which froze the goalie. He then pulled the puck past the goalie and scored thanks to a picture-perfect deke.

In the 2nd period, Keith ‘White Shadow’ Locker chased a bouncing pass from Rusin and outraced everyone to the net. He blasted it and the keeper never had a chance.

Two 3rd period goals by 5-Hole sports gave them back the lead, and the Blue Fins could not get the tying score.

The Blue Fins finish another season without their ultimate goal of a championship. Captain Mike McGee has already begun the process of re-signing his players with the hope that the team chemistry will continue to grow and subsequently translate into more victories - and most importantly - more fun.

When Captain Mike McGee stepped on the ice Monday night, he made an important observation. The opposing team, Chick-Fil-A, dressed their ringer, #4, that was officially removed from their team not once, but twice. McGee reeled in the referees and Chick-Fil-A knowingly chose a forfeit in order to allow their ringer to skate with them.

So although the Blue Fins already tallied the win - the condescending attitude and statements by Chick-Fil-A, ‘We don’t need the points’ didn’t leave the Blue Fins satisfied.

The first period was chaotic, as the game started early and not all of the Boys in Blue were on the ice. After a full 5 or 6 minutes, the Fins finally settled down the lines and got down to business.

For the second game in a row, Keith ‘White Shadow’ Locker got things started. Locker proved that the top shelf is good for more than J.D. when he hammered a shot over the goalie’s left shoulder.

Kenny ‘Scooby Doo’ Glanville - even if he didn’t get a goal - deserved an ‘A’ for effort. Glanville peppered the goalie with shots, slapped at rebounds, loose pucks, etc. Glanville was getting frustrated as he just couldn’t seem to light the lamp. But when Rusin won a faceoff in their own zone - Glanville took the puck and blazed down the ice. He broke free and fired a shot too fast for the goalie to handle. ‘A’ for effort - but ‘A+’ for this goal.

Chick-Fil-A - although they had ‘nothing to play for’ were certainly putting everything that had into the game. With 14 PIMS to their credit, the Chicken Burgers played anything but clean. Unfortunately, Stephen ‘The Mystery’ Tsotsoros took the brunt early in the game and left with a possible torn MCL.

The Fins took advantage of the PIMS mainly by wearing the Chickens down and controlling the puck. Finally though, they used the power play to help their number on the scoreboard. Rusin drew the face off back to Bob ‘Quickla’ Cwikla who beat the goalie where he supposedly couldn’t be beaten. Cwikla blasted a slap shot from the right side and buried it deep into the twines.

A 3 goal lead is cushy, but no guarantee against the first place team with a B-level, or better, player.

Another thing wasn’t cushy either - the Fins Defense. Yes, with a capital D. Led by Dan ‘The Man’ Fahey, Gene ‘Hot Hands’ Cookmeyer and ‘Roamin’ Wayne Roan, they felt it when McGee was forced up to offense because of the injured Tsotsoros. The Fins D stopped the Chickens at every turn. Cookmeyer was steady and controlled the puck in his zone. Fahey was a master at the pinch. Amazingly, this guy seems to have a view of the future because when he takes the puck in, he’s always right. Roan thankfully battled through some nagging injuries and added strong back checking.

The player of the game for the Fins was EJ ‘The Sandman’ Darisse. Even at the end of the game, when the Chickens sent their ringer in trying to score, Darisse stood tall. Darisse faced many good shots and answered with great saves each and every time. One was a quick flair of the right leg pad, several other saves came thanks to his lightning quick glove.

Against the # 1 team, against a B level ringer, against an army of skaters - Darisse got a shut out at the perfect time.

Despite the forfeit, the Blue Fins earned a 3-0 victory because of hard work and clean play. The Blue Fins enter the play-offs riding high, thanks to a 3-game (technically speaking) win streak….

When the Blue Fins took the ice Monday night against the Nailers - several strategies were ruled out. With only 2 subs - surrounding them or asking for their surrender was out. Also, with more than one exit to the Nailers’ locker room - they couldn’t lock them in.

Instead, E.J. ‘The Sandman’ Darisse and his 7 Blue Fins skaters would have to just grit it out.

As he often does - Vlad ‘Pan’ Potapoff skated with the puck stuck to his stick like it was covered with peanut butter. Potapoff made a handful of moves and then passed it to Keith ‘White Shadow’ Locker who scored on a slick reach-around shot. [pun intended]

Six minutes later, the Nailers evened the score and looked to make a game out of it.

But Rusin, and then Ken ‘Scooby Doo’ Glanville followed with unassisted goals that gave the Fins the lead and a ton of momentum. The Blue Fins finished the 1st period with a 3-1 lead.

Although it’s customary to name 3 stars, this game deserves four for the Blue Fins. First, E.J. ‘The Sandman’ Darisse was like a fast, scrappy, sort of cat-like animal - but with goalie pads. He stopped pucks with ease. The few rebounds that came out - EJ dove and swatted them away like Tsetse flies. He also stopped a would-be break away by skating out and smartly passing the puck out of his zone.

The other stars were the Blue Fin Defense. Thanks to ‘Mean’ Gene Cookmeyer’s suggestion of keeping the defense strong - Cookmeyer, Dan ‘The Man’ Fahey, and Stephen ‘The Mystery’ Tsotsoros played perfectly. They controlled their own zone, passed the puck between themselves, and played offensively enough to contribute shots, rebounds, and goals. The Nailers could not penetrate the strong defense all game.

The second period was all Blue Fins. Although Rusin got the next goal - it was all Tsotsoros after he made the perfect pass right to the blade of Rusin’s stick. Glanville followed up with not one, but two more goals to complete his hat trick and reverse-cougar-like domination of the Nailers goalie.

The Nailers scored their only other goal in the third period, thanks to a well earned rebound. Rusin joined Glanville’s accomplishment with a third goal - but the final marker came from Tsotsoros. Tsotsoros skated in to the goalie’s right, and as he was tripped he managed a diving biscuit flip with less than a minute to go.

The Blue Fins win lean and mean by a final score of 8-2. Their final game of the regular season is Monday at 10:45 pm against Chick-Fil-A.

Captain Mike McGee - he’s one of the hardest workers on the ice and works even harder for his team off the ice.

McGee made sure as many Fins came to the game as possible. For once, they were loaded with skaters. With two full lines on defense and three full lines on offense, the Fins had all the leg power needed to stay with the Carolina Ale House.

In the first period, Carolina Ale House scored on a bounce off E.J. Darisse that a lucky attacker slammed home before E.J. could reset.

Ale House was always aggressive, frequently chippy, and occasionally dirty. This playing style didn’t hurt the Blue Fins - they are not physically intimidated by anyone and played their own game.

Blue Fins tied the game on a power play goal. Wayne Roan was camped out in front of the goalie in a battle of sticks, while Bob ‘Quickla’ Cwikla raced around the back of the cage. Cwikla scored a fantastic wrap around goal to tie the game.

The rest of the game was quite even and the teams battled to a 1-1 tie.

In the shootout, Carolina Ale House scored on their first attempt. On all three of their attempts, the Blue Fins could not get past the Ale House goalie. The Blue Fins drop another game in a shootout loss.

Or did they????????

Ale House had a sub goalie - a young kid that was practicing before their game. They recruited the young lad and he played extremely well. But like Chris Hanson on Dateline NBC, McGee was there to spoil the fun. Upon further review, the goalie didn’t meet the age requirements.

The Blue Fins win by forfeit. A win is a win, and fair is fair - but the Blue Fins are not even remotely satisfied.

Their next game is Monday at 9:15 against 1st place Chick-Fil-A.

It wasn’t a full moon….not quite flu season….no free cheese giveaways. But for some reason - the Blue Fin Bistro Hockey team was bare bones in the attendance department: Only 8 skaters laced up blades against 15 for 5-Hole Sports.

Let’s just get this out of the way in paragraph 2 - E.J. Darisse played a great game. He was faster and bigger than what 5-hole would have liked to see. His glove hand was pure gold. He also helped out his defense with his ability to skate out and pass the puck.

Speaking of the defense - the Blue Fins “D” earned a solid “A” for their efforts. Gene ‘Hot Hands’ Cookmeyer anchored the defense with long, smooth strides that kept him ahead of even the fastest attackers. Dan ‘The Man’ Fahey played great too - particularly in the 3rd period on a 1-on-1 play into his own zone. He plucked the puck away from the rushing opponent like Daniel-san caught a fly with his chop-sticks. Last, but not least - Wayne ‘The Brain’ Roan made a triumphant return to the Blue Fins. Despite the duo of Golden Corral sliders wedged between the 7th/8th ribs - Wayne didn’t miss a step.

Offensively, the Blue Fins didn’t get a lot of shots. Rich ‘Hawkey’ Denisi, Ken ‘Scooby Doo’ Glanville, and Captain Mike McGee’s hard work paid off when the puck skittered well over the goal line. Unfortunately, the referees must have thought they were at a public skate as they didn’t bother moving with the play and weren’t close enough to the net to see the goal. The Fat Turnip netminder for 5-hole - even when confronted, lied like a politician and adamantly denied the puck went across the line - and so the goal was never tallied.

In the 3rd period, Mike ‘The Body’ Hofmeister took out the papers and the trash when he grabbed a loose rebound and slammed the garbage in the can for the Blue Fins only official goal.

With only half of the skaters, the Blue Fins just didn’t have the legs to pull off the victory. There was no one they couldn’t stop or skate around, but there was just too many of them.

Losing 3-1, the Blue Fins drop their 3rd game in a row. Their next game is Monday November 10th at 9:15 against Carolina Ale House.

The Blue Fins were scheduled to take the ice against the Weevils, but unfortunately they didn’t show up.

Not the body, the mind, or the spirit were there for the Fins.

In the first period, they played hard and were in a scoreless deadlock. The Weevils used their superior numbers and effort and dominated the rest of the game.

Like a drug addict caught off guard in an intervention, celebrity substitute net minder Mike ‘Stone Cold’ Papst didn’t get the warmest of welcomes.

Dimly lit bright spots for the fins were Keith ‘White Shadow’ Locker who skated hard on both sides of the red line and gave 100% the whole game. On defense, Chris ‘The Bouncer’ Sakell played well - especially late in the 3rd period when he single-handedly stopped several rushes by the Weevils.

The Blue Fins lose their second in row, 7-0. Their next game is against 5-Hole Sports - Monday night at 9:15pm.

The ‘lowly’ Blue Fins looked to unseat Chick-Fil-A from their paper throne Monday night, planning to give the new team their first loss.

The Fins came out and proved what they already knew - they are as good as the best in the league and can skate with anyone. The Fins owned the first half of the game - they controlled the flow and dominated the ice.

The first period was chaotic, the Fins were rushing things, and the offensive lines were completely out of whack. BUT, the Fins were clearly in control.

E.J. “Key Master” Darisse was on fire. Darisse turned away more shots than a prom queen turns away suitors from the ‘Dungeons-and-Dragons’ Club.

The first goal of the game was scored by Vlad Potapoff. Potapoff was able to keep the puck in his zone, settle it, and blast it in to give the Blue Fins a early 1-0 lead.

In response to the offensive chaos, Stephen ‘The Mystery’ Tsotsoros dropped back to defense to try and settle the forward lines. This bolstered the Fins defense, and they exerted an iron grip on their own zone.

While some of his defensive counterparts pushed up, ‘Mean’ Gene Cookmeyer’s steady play was highlighted by good passes up the ice. Another star on defense was Matt ‘Top End’ Pusateri. Pusateri didn’t need any help when he skated coast-to-coast and beat the Chick-Fil-A keeper like a rented mule. Pusateri roofed a forehand shot top-shelf, right where Grandma keeps the cookies. This doubled the lead to 2-0.

Thanks to some scrambling on offense, the line of Dave ‘McRibs’ Berent, Rich ‘Hawkey’ Denisi, and Rusin were able to fore-check and keep the puck in the zone long enough for Rusin to sneak a shot past the Chick-Fil-A goalie.

Hawkey played like his feet were on fire all night….but in fact it was maybe his ears that were doing the burning. Citing Hawkey’s presence, Chick-Fil-A brought out their ringer (Nate Williams) for the last half of the game. Although Hawkey could skate up Mount Everest if it were covered by ice, he clearly wasn’t the reason for the ringer’s curtain call.

Ringer from Chick-Fil-A shown in their alternate jersey....in related news, he is slated to be placed in a more appropriate division by the leauge director.

This changed the complexion of the game completely. Now Chick-Fil-A followed Williams around like hungry pups. Williams made the kills, and his hyenas ate the scraps. Slowly but surely Chick-Fil-A clawed their way back.

Update: Apparently as evidenced by this photo their ringer is switching sports.

The Blue Fins season could be described so far as 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Actually, it has been more like 2 steps back, 1 step forward. True to form, the Blue Fins did not disappoint….

Stephen ‘The Maverick’ Tsotsoros got it started on a great end-to-end rush capped as he took a hard right slant to the net to and flipped it past the goalie.

In less time it took for Sarah Palin to lose a debate, so went the Blue Fins lead. The Nailers tied the score less than 5 minutes later.

But Keith ‘The Maverick’ Locker succeeded after he tried, tried, and tried again to score a goal. It took 3 shots, but Locker slammed it home thanks to his typical hard work.

The Blue Fins started to control the game. They were working and skating harder than the Nailers, and the momentum was clearly going their way. After Rusin stumbled and bumbled behind the net, Mike ‘The Maverick’ Hofmeister caught the pass and calmly slid it to Kenny ‘The Maverick’ Glanville. Glanville slammed it home faster than a hate crime beat-down on a minority. (Now just a minute here….this is an inside team joke, so don’t get your droopies in a sling.)

The Nailers pounded back at the end of the first period - first scoring a power play goal, and almost tying it up as time expired in the period.

In the 2nd period, Tsotsoros got his second goal of the game to restore the 2-goal lead. With less than half the game remaining, the Nailers again came back to within one goal and put the game within reach.

But, Blue Fins net minder E.J. ‘The Maverick’ Darisse shut the door for the rest of the game. The Nailers created a lot of chaos in front of Darisse. At times he looked like a kid scrambling for the pinata candy, but E.J. scooped up every loose Zagnut, Tootsie Roll, and puck he could get his hands on.

The two stars on defense - the two ‘Mavericks’ Chris Sakell and Gene Cookmeyer. They shut down the Nailers two best skaters throughout the game.

The Blue Fins did visit the bin a few times….Rich ‘The Maverick’ Denisi certainly had enough time to carve his initials inside the box, but he did much more on the ice. Like the Energizer Bunny, he kept on going the whole game. He rewarded himself with the final goal of the game when he snapped one in from the right side. This frustrated the Nailers into a minor scuffle - but with Locker and Tsotsoros at his side, the Nailers wisely backed off.

The Blue Fins roll to a solid win 5-3. Their next game is Monday October 20, at 9:30pm.

The struggling Blue Fins looked at their game with the struggling Carolina Ale House as a potential opportunity for only their 2^nd mark in the win column. 

All signs pointed in that direction as the Blue Fins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.

Keith ‘White Shadow’ Locker got the first goal because of his hard work ethic…Captain Mike McGee’s encouraging words to the referee certainly contributed.

In fact, the Blue Fin line of Locker, Vlad Potapoff, and Kenny ‘Scooby Doo’ Glanville poured in a ton of goals this game.  In addition to Locker’s goal, Potapoff scored his first hat trick as a Blue Fin.  Glanville filled in at center and his blistering speed factored into every scoring play. 

In the first intermission, McGee warned his team about Ale House’s potential to come back.  Nostradomus himself could not have been more correct:  Carolina Ale House scored the next 5 goals to lead 5-3.  The Blue Fin’s felt like their fabled shark cousin when Jaws bit through the electrical cable in the epic 1978 sequel.

With a two goal deficit, and the stench of fish fry in the air, the Blue Fins were down, but not out.

Inch-by-inch, the Blue Fin’s tried to get back in the game.  First a blocked shot, then two.  Then a pass, then a shot.  The score see-sawed back and forth throughout the 3^rd period.  (Notice, like most movies – the title of the movie, or in this case, hockey report, is mentioned at least once.) 

The Blue Fins defense played tough as usual.  Matt ‘Iron Horse’ Pusateri played a great first period and a solid game overall.  Mark ‘Over/Under’ Ross hustled and threaded some pin-point passes throughout the game.  Dan ‘The Man’ Fahey was the Blue-Line-Bouncer making it difficult for Ale House to get around him.

The ‘other’ offensive line was fast asleep in the beginning of the game, but came alive at the end.  Mike ‘The Body’ Hofmeister totaled four points in regulation – 2 goals and 2 assists.  The prettiest goal was a five-hole special after he drifted through the slot undetected. 

Hof’s first assist got the whole line involved on a pass to Bob ‘Quickla’ Cwikla, who passed it to Rusin, who made the score.  Cwikla scored a goal of his own thanks to another pass by Hofmeister when he jammed it under the goalies pads.  This tied the game at 7 goals each.

Vlad Potapoff got the go-ahead goal by being in the right spot at the right time.  He scooped the puck right off the goalies pads and nonchalantly flipped it in to make the score 8-7.  

But alas, on the ensuing face-off, Ale House won the drop and sprinted towards the goal.  With an overwhelming 5 on 2 rush, they tied the game with less than 2 minutes remaining.

In the shootout, the Blue Fins came up a goal short – 3 goals to 2.  Hof made a great move to beat the goalie on his blocker side.  Rusin also scored, but just like at the bar scene, it paled in comparison to Hof’s performance.

Because of the loss, the Blue Fins slide into the basement of the league.  The Fins now have a long climb ahead of them.

Their next game is Monday, October 13 at 9:15pm against the Nailers.

The Blue Fin’s played 5-Hole Sports for the first time Monday night – although the team was made up of many familiar faces.

The Blue Fins fell behind in the scoring category early in the first period, until Rich ‘Hawkey’ Denisi tied it up.  Hawkey gives 100% every second he’s on the ice, and apparently this made a 5-Hole defender 100% angry.  The 5-Hole player sucker punched Hawkey.  Although it looked like he hit him square on the jaw, he actually just pushed Hawkey’s button.  After the fight, the ref ejected both players and they each received a 1-game suspension.

After that, the biggest thorn in Blue Fin’s side was Mr. Friendly, B-player Brian S.  The damage was done in the 2^nd period, and the Blue Fins learned to contain him a little too late.  Dave Berent, after taking on the 5-Hole goalie earlier in the game, sent a message to Mr. Friendly by hauling him down in the 3^rd period.

Matt “Fat Slapper” Pusateri scored a nice goal after using the 5-hole defense as a screen and blasted the initial wrist shot.  The goalie stopped it, but Pusateri leaped past a defender and slapped his own rebound in as he tumbled into the boards.

Pusateri was involved in another scoring play when he walked in a sent a backhander that was blocked, but this time Kenny ‘Scooby Doo’ Glanville scooped it up and flipped it in.

The Blue Fin’s pulled the cagy E.J. Darisse in favor of the extra skater, but couldn’t close the gap.  They dropped their 3^rd game of the season by a final of 4-3.  

Their next game is Monday October 6 at 10:45pm against Carolina Ale House.