Blue Fin’s Bistro Hockey

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.