Thursday November 3

Van Doos Hc officially top dogs of the E Thursday division

(4)Fatal Demons vs Van Doos Hc(7)

Up until prior to this game, the Van Doos Hc knew between themselves that they are the front runners of the division. The only test left over to claim that bragging right was to see how they faired against last seasons champs. And to their credit, they deserve all the acolytes, at least for the time being. The game was expected to be close as both sides appeared to be evenly matched limiting their chances while playing some sound defense. At one point passed the mid way mark, the Van Doos Hc created their own chances where they riffled two straight goals for a 4-2 lead after two periods. N.Chiminian tallied twice at crucial points to put his club in a good position to help dictate the rest of the match. P.Doulis added to the lead with his second, and the Van Doos Hc looked to be sailing home for an easy win. However, things weren’t decided just yet with M.Destounis and T.Karvouriaris responding to make a game of it. They managed to pull themselves within two with four minutes remaining. Rather than riding their momentum, the Fatal Demons took a costly four minute penalty that ultimately diminished any hope of a comeback.

Horsemen battle back in character win over Brew Crew

(4)Brew Crew vs Horsemen(5) S.O

Most teams odds of overcoming a 3-0 deficit with only nine players against the Brew Crew are near impossible. Especially when at one point the Brew Crew  were controlling the play with barely any resistance. Sometimes, when things aren’t going your way, all you need is one play to spark your bench and turn the tides. For the Horsemen, it was all about getting that first goal. M.Kardum provided it 20 seconds after M.Maggiore made the score 3-0 for the Brew Crew. Big plays can often be contagious as it was the case when the Horsemen broke the barrier. P.Carone and M.Mamoulides fed off it adding a tally each before the second period ended. What once seemed like a hopeless situation, turned into a beacon of hope for a side that looked like they had no business in this hockey game. The Brew Crew did jump in front almost immediately at the top of the third period courtesy of M.Pace, but that didn’t stop the Horsemen-from battling back  and eventually tying the game on a big finish by T.Zermalias. The two sides slowed down the action after that draining out the last six minutes of regulation time along with the overtime period. The only thing left over was the dreaded  shootout. In tonight’s case, the Horsemen came out on top thanks to a pair of nifty goals by D.Greco and M.Kardum along with a two nice saves-from M.Vinciguerra.

Depth nearly hands Snipers loss in hands of RCGT Knights

(5)Snipers vs RCGT Knights(2)

The RCGT Knights had the right idea on how to compete with the Snipers on Thursday night. By fortifying their line-up rolling three solid lines, your game changes completely, and the RCGT Knights witnessed it first hand nearly defeating a strong opponent.  Everything went according to plan, at least on the large part. They overcome a slight 1-0 deficit thanks to J.Seney rattling off two big second period goals while protecting their lead for a very long stretch. When put in these types of situations, you prefer to add some insurance or manage the clock in your favour by playing a very sound and disciplined defensive game.  The RCGT Knights couldn’t have asked for a better scenario being in charge of the game. As time kept winding down, the Snipers got more desperate giving that little extra in hopes of tying the contest. Eventually, their hard work paid off when H.Sodh evened the score by the nine minute mark. Still, the RCGT Knights were in a good position despite giving up that late marker. But hockey can sometimes be a cruel game. Both sides must have been thinking overtime considering the amount of time left over, that was up until F.Nasser changed the plans by snapping the 2-2 tie. Out of no where, the Snipers took the lead, and made no mistake by finishing it off on two late insurance goals. As frustrating as this loss was, the RCGT Knights should only grab the positives knowing that they were that close to defeating a very good hockey team. Since their formula worked, the real challenge will be to get the troops coming on a weekly basis.

Sonic catch Flying Squirrels off guard early

(6)Sonic vs Flying Squirrels(4)

While Sonic came ready to play, the same cant be said for the Flying Squirrels, who had a miserable first period giving up four unanswered goals. M.Pace widened the margin on back to back tallies mounting a comfortable 4-0 lead after only one period. G.Gammieri set up two teammates before finding M.Arcaro for a five goal cushion. It looked like this contest was too far fetched for the Flying Squirrels to overcome. Maybe they just needed a spark somewhere to build on which hadn’t come until P.Savard finally got to the Sonic net minder. Trailing by four is still a up hill battle, but the Flying Squirrels stayed on coarse working it a shift at a time while benefiting on two more occasions to find themselves trailing only 5-3.A two goal deficit with more than half a period remaining off a momentum swing is more than enough time for a team that’s riding a hot sequence.  All of a sudden, Sonic were out of their comfort zone, and needed to play with more urgency if they planned on closing out the deal. Luckily enough they have M.Pace to rely on when things get testy. The centre man came up with a big third goal that ultimately put a stamp in this contest.

The SalumiVino player of the game goes to Marco Pace of Sonic. Game in and game out, the fierce centre man never takes a night off, this time bagging three goals en route to a 6-4 win.