FNHL News Archives - 2006 / 2005 / 2004 / 2003

See you Friday!  

12/06/06 - Lineups for the one sheet at 10:15 Friday are

White - Chip O'Connor, Dan Jervis, Dave Cavallaro, John Albanese, Duane Pardee, Brian Banks, George Fleischmann, Bob LaBarre, Pete Thompson, Rob Niemeier, Chuck Austin.

Blue - Jesse Nistico, Tony Pompo, Brian Pompo, Mike Comartos, Terry King, Joe Gracz, Steve Kokkoris, Steve Olson, Ron Maydole, Nick Smith, Phil Valeriano.

See you then!

12/05/06 - The spots for this Friday have been filled. I'll post the teams tomorrow or Thursday. If you're on the list and can't make it please let me know so we can fill in. It was a dark day last Friday as Team Cheval just managed to squeak out a 5-4 overtime win over Team Experience. Adam Rufa was the hero for the young team "roofing"  Experience sub goalie Carl a few minutes into the extra session. All in all it was a great game and a lot of fun to be a part of. Carl filled in admirably for regular goalie Chuck Austin and allowed Experience to rally from a 4-2 deficit to tie the score and force the extra session. John Oakes also played well in the nets for Cheval and earned a bit of redemption following two tough games prior. Cheval will have the opportunity to end the series in six when the teams meet again. Something tells me this one will go to seven.... Stef Boutin sent a letter inviting everyone to a live nativity scene that will be performed at his family farm in the next few days. See his letter in the Ice Chips section for details. I will post the schedule for the next session beginning Friday 12/15/06 as soon as I get it.

Have a good week...! 

12/02/06 - Just a quick update. There will be no regular hockey this Friday 12/08/06, but one sheet at 10:15pm is open. We are putting together a list of guys who want to play. If there are 20 names on the list by Wednesday, George will go ahead and rent it. If you want to get in on that please send me an e-mail right away. Also the regular rosters and Sunday schedule have been updated. 

11/27/06 - Schedule and rosters are posted for this week. As always, please e-mail me asap if you can't make it or have been omitted. I'm still waiting for confirmation on a couple of the goalies and there were one or two skaters I wasn't sure about so it is possible that a few last minute changes will be made. George asked me to mention that there are quite a few people who still owe money so please take care of that this week, I also heard that Matt Marchitto's young son was severely ill recently but is (hopefully) doing better now. Also Germain LaPointe will not be able to make it back this week because his mother is in the hospital. Best wishes on behalf of the entire FNHL to both the Marchitto and LaPointe families. Some good news also as George mentioned that Rich Fleischmann is back to work. He still has a long way to go in his recovery but it's nice to hear that he's making progress... As for me, I'm sharpening up the new elbow pads in anticipation of what should be a very interesting game 5 of the Experience vs Cheval series.... Lenny keep your head up!!  

See you Friday!

11/22/06 - On behalf of George and the entire FNHL family I'd like to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. Just a reminder that we are off this week, both the regular Friday night games and the Sunday group. George sent me a message this week that the games for the ABC week on 12/1 will start 1/2 hour late on the NHL side. I've updated the schedule page and should have the final rosters posted for those games soon. As always, please let me know asap if you can't make it for those games or if your name does not appear on the roster but you are available. My elbow is healing much slower than I'd hoped for but I'm still planning to be available the next time we hit the ice. Until then....

Happy Thanksgiving...!!!

11/14/06 - Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Things have been rather quiet around the league and I've been on the road as usual. Also my elbow problem flared up again and will keep me off the ice until December.... hopefully just in time to help Team Experience take the lead in the series with Cheval. Not too much news but Carl Erickson did ask me to mention that if anyone is interested in getting FNHL jerseys, please let us know. I don't know how many people they need to fill an order but this has been mentioned before by a few other people so maybe it's a good time to get it done. Maybe Lenny will be interested... I've always said he needs to get a set...... Speaking of Len, we did have the pleasure of meeting his sister Kate and her friend Tiffany after our game two weeks ago. They've promised to return on 12/1 to witness another big win for the good guys (and then drink and dance the night away)... If we could get all of our fans together on one night it would almost fill one section of the bleachers - or at least a row at the bar... In other news, Dave Rigg checked in recently and I've posted his letter in the ice chips section. Also, Rich Berlinski sent a link to his Sunday night league which I've posted on the home page for anyone who'd like to check that out.... Planning for Montreal in April has already begun. As of right now, we are hoping to send two teams - 1 in the over 40 division and 1 in the open division. Cavy and I are working on the rosters for the two teams and intend to have everything in place by early next year rather than waiting until the last minute. If you are interested in going this year, please let us know asap. I don't have the exact date but the flyer is on my table at home and I'll bring it to the rink in December. It's usually around the end of April and is always a good time both on and off the ice.... Finally rumor has it that the Yellow team is on an unprecedented three game losing streak and is considering a name change - to the Pink team. At least Bobby stopped wearing the ridiculous ski hat and is back to a more suitable baseball cap.... Remember we are off on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Feel free to drop me an e-mail if there's anything to report in the next few weeks....

See you on 12/1...!!

10/25/06 - Not much to report this week. George did mention that unfortunately Rich suffered a setback and would require back surgery due to his injuries. I believe that was scheduled to happen this week. I haven't gotten any calls this week so hopefully it was a success. Other than that, the only news is that the mission statement and player conduct guidelines are now posted. Special thanks to Joe Gracz who put a lot of work into the text. Also thanks to the other committee members for their input as well. One important point about these items is that the FNHL was, and continues to be a self-policing league. Nothing should change with the posting of the mission statement and conduct guidelines other than offering a clear understanding to all of what we stand for and expect from our players. Committee members are not expected to be referees on the ice and it is our sincere hope that the number of incidents they actually have to review are few. Hockey is an intense, fast paced game and things happen in every game. People occasionally run into each other, or get tripped, people get mad at each other, etc. The bottom line is intent and self control. We have no plans to "referee" every issue in every game, only to deal with specific behaviors or patterns on behavior that are far outside the bounds of what's reasonable as posted in the guidelines. If everyone makes it a point to take care of their own actions, there should be little need for further intervention by the committee....enough said. Finally, I've updated the team rosters with the most current info that I have. Please look them over and let me know if you see any mistakes. Thanks

See you Friday!       

10/18/06 - It was a pretty good week overall for the ABC games. From what I was told in the bar both the A/B mix and C++ games were decided by one goal. In the late game, as predicted here, Team Experience maintained the momentum from last sessions 14-3 trouncing of the kids from Team Cheval and took home another lopsided victory, this time by the score of 9-5. Dan Jervis, Dan Jennings, and Chris Baldwin each chipped in two for the good guys while Bill Hopkins, George Fleischmann and John Albanese added singles. Chuck Austin had the answer in nets for what little offense team Cheval could muster. With the series now tied at 2, things can't look any worse for the young guys. Germain Lapointe has now moved on to his new job (though he says he'll be back for the next game), Cavy is knee deep in motherhood, Lenny is in a fog, and several key players just don't bother to show up. Swami sez this series should not last much longer..... On a more serious note, George sent me an e-mail to recap the unpaid spots. Money was due the week before last Friday and at this point we have no choice but to list the spots that remain unpaid and therefore cannot play again until it is resolved. The list is as follows; Orange - Wayne Morse, Steve Olson, Open Spot #9, Open Spot #10. Black - Ron Morgan, Mike Davidson. Red - John Griffith, Nick Julian Sr. Blue - Mike Masello, Greg Caldera, Rich Berlinski. Remember that you can pay your captain, me, George, or use the payments page here on the website. Obviously it's not fair to expect George to cover these unpaid spots and it puts all of us at risk of not being able to continue if everyone doesn't pay. If you see an error in the list, please let me know asap or call George at 436-6882 to discuss it. Also, as you can see, we've lost a few guys recently and have a need for some new blood to fill out the rosters. If you know of someone who'd like to join (or return to) the league, please let George know...... Rich Fleischmann is resting at home now but still faces a tremendous challenge on his road to recovery. Hopefully people will continue to keep in touch with Rich and let him know that we're behind him all the way.... New schedules are posted for both regular FNHL and Sundays. It should be noted that this Sunday's start time will be 8:30am instead of the usual 7:00am.

See you Friday!

10/11/06 - The rosters for the ABC games are posted. As always, please let me know asap if you can't make it or have been omitted. I don't have my regular cell phone with me this week but you can try 315-224-4500. Also George mentioned that there were quite a few people who did not pay last week, Please make it a point to pay George, me, or your captain this week. We start a new session a week from Friday and unpaid spots will not play. Finally, Melissa Fleischmann sent a letter updating Rich's condition. I've posted it in the Ice Chips section of the website. It sounds like he's up to getting some phone calls and visitors so hopefully we can help to keep his spirits up. That's about all for now. Big game #4 this week in the Experience vs Cheval series!!!

See you Friday!

10/08/06 - This is just a quick update, the regular news will go up later in the week. Very bad news today from George. His brother Rich was doing some work around the house and was severely injured when he fell from his roof. George said that Rich suffered (at minimum) a broken back (L2) and and very bad gash to the back of his head from the fall. Doctors are still trying to get a handle on the full extent of his injuries but as you can see, it's a very unfortunate situation and the road to recovery will be long indeed. At this point (thankfully) George did not think paralysis was going to be the end result since there does seem to be movement in Rich's arms and legs. Rich has been a good friend and member of the FNHL family for as long as I can remember (and more I'm sure). I don't know what we can do at this point except keep Rich, his wife Melissa, their children and the entire Fleischmann family in our thoughts and prayers. George said Rich is at University Hospital, room 5116. I will post more info as it becomes available.

10/03/06 - The rosters are in progress for the ABC week next Friday. I've heard from a couple of people so far about availability. If you are not going to make it, please email me asap so adjustments can be made... Brad Beran sent a letter which I've posted in the Ice Chips section.... The Sunday group will not have ice this week at Cicero however, there is ice at 7am at Lysander. If you want to play, please e-mail me asap. As always, the first 20 guys to contact us get the spots.

Have a good week!

09/27/06 - Not much going on right now in the FNHL. I am trying to get the agreed upon mission statement and conduct guidelines posted for the Committee. My apologies for the delay but hopefully it won't be much longer. Also I've gotten very little feedback as far as the possibility of posting player profiles and/or any other suggestions for the 2007 version of our little place here in cyberspace. On the ice things were about the same. Tempers seem to be running a bit high in some cases and hopefully this will not escalate any further. Just because we haven't officially posted the guidelines yet shouldn't mean that it's open season. This is true for all teams and not directed at any one team or player..... I did learn this week that Len Slack and Heather have officially called it quits (for the 12th time now I believe). Fortunately this new lack of a love life has not changed anything on the ice as Len was once again on the losing end of yet another horribly lopsided score due at least in part to yours truly. It's nice to see that some things never change. He did have an assist though (and still nobody cares)... We did get some bad news recently. It seems that our own Germain (CHEVAL!!) Lapointe will be departing the FNHL soon to take a new job downstate. Of course we wish Germain the best in the future and hope that he'll stop in whenever he does come back to town. I also have it on good authority that his final game will be very memorable as his Team Cheval will receive a thorough beating from surging Team Experience. Between Germain jumping ship and Len slacking off, the series is not looking good for the younger guys. Maybe Cavy (aka Mr.Mom) will return to lead his team to victory (yeah right).... Since I am starting to look at the rosters for the ABC week, please let me know asap if you can't make it. The rosters have been updated recently so those are the players that I'm planning to include. If you're not on a roster but want to play that week (Oct 13th) let me know and I'll try to work you in.

See you Friday!!

09/21/06 - Not much to report this week. One noteworthy item though is that we do have hockey this week. The original schedule showed us as being off, but that was corrected. Also, last week George asked me to remind everyone that helmets do need to be worn at all times (including warm ups) and pucks should not be shot on the ice until the rink staff if clear and the door closed. I guess we've had some minor problems recently with that so please keep these little common sense points in mind.

See you Friday!

09/14/06 - A pretty slow news week overall. Dave Rigg sent a letter that I posted in the Ice Chips. It was nice to see him back on the FNHL ice if only for a visit. Bob's party was a great success last week and I'm sure he appreciated all the people that stopped in to wish him well. I thought the cake was exceptionally good - probably better than he deserves but at his age I guess he's earned it.... I did find out last Friday that Jesse's girlfriend is named Lynn. Once again, my apologies for the oversight. It was probably all Jesse's fault anyway. I've decided to leave the headline up for at least one more week just to make sure that Team Cheval doesn't forget.... Also, the schedules and rosters have all been updated now. Notable is the fact that we do have hockey next Friday. It was originally listed as an off week. The Sunday schedule has been updated as well.

See you Friday!

09/05/2006 - Trivia question for everyone - What does last Friday's Cheval vs Experience game have in common with The Alamo and Custer's Last Stand?? The answer of course is - nothing because at least Custer and the boys at the Alamo kept it close for awhile..... It was bound to happen sooner or later. Young Team Cheval had managed to squeak out wins in the first two games of the best of seven series but their luck finally ran out. Last Friday the series shifted to the home ice of Team Experience and they responded by posting an overwhelming 14-3 victory. I could run down the scorers for Team Experience but it would be quicker to go over who did not score..... no one... well that was easy enough. Brian Banks, feeling generous and a bit greedy even tipped one into his own net just to make the kids feel a little bit better. Of course the endless trail of excuses has already begun and I'm sure there will be dozens more before our next meeting. The number one excuse so far for Cheval is that several players were missing, which may be true, but from our perspective that was secondary to the fact that most of the players on the ice were MIA as well. Lenny slacked off, Woody was soft, Oakes was blown over, Rufa was flat..... I could go on but you get the idea. When John Albanese finishes a perfect three-way you know you're in trouble. So enough about that for now.... The other games last week were pretty good as well (and a heck of a lot closer). The A/B mix game was nearly a sellout thanks to the fact that Jesse's girlfriend (whose name I apologize for not remembering) showed up. Jesse did not disappoint, scoring six of his teams seven goals in the very entertaining 7-7 tie. The C++ game yielded a surprise as well because Dave Rigg was back for a visit and between the pipes to do battle with his arch rival - sub goalie Del Hoyt. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the entire game but it looked like Rigg's team was in the lead when I left. It was nice to see Rigg back on the ice and hopefully he'll be able to stop in again sometime..... In other news, a new session starts this week and I will post the schedule as soon as I get it. George did send me updated rosters and they are now posted. Please take a moment to look them over and let me know if there are any errors or omissions... A good suggestion was made for the website recently and I think it could be done if there is enough interest. Matt Marchitto suggested that we post player profiles - age, occupation, hobbies, family info, contact info, etc. Basically whatever people want to share with the group. Please give me some feedback on this as I am presently working on a new version of the website and plan to have it in place by the end of the year. If enough people like the idea and are willing to participate then I will make it happen. Thanks Matt for the suggestion.... My status for next week is questionable right now due to a pain in the foot but hopefully I will be able to make it.... Mark Lasinski did e-mail me recently and said that he is on his way to recovery after suffering a broken nose and 14 stitches due to taking a slapshot in the face during Steve Olson's recent tournament. He was at least a little bit lucky because surgery was not necessary and his eyes and teeth are still intact. We wish Mark well in his recovery and hope to see him back on the ice when he's ready....

Have a good week!!

08/21/06 - Unfortunately I have to pass along some bad news this week. Mark Lasinski was seriously injured on Sunday during the finals of the tournament. He was subbing in for Steve Olson's team and I'm told he took a slapshot directly on the nose. That's all I know at this point but I'll post additional details as they become available. It was a pretty hectic few days with our regular games on Friday and then the tournament. As has been the case recently, our FNHL team held it's own and managed to win a few periods but no games. Regardless of that, we had a good time and wish to extend out thanks to Steve and his group for pulling things together. In other news, the ABC games are a week from this Friday and I'm starting to put the rosters together. If you can't make it, please let me know asap. Also if you are not sure of your roster status but would like to play, please drop me an e-mail so I can take that into consideration as well. I'm in Houston again this week and won't be there this Friday but George will and the money is due. As far as I know the payments situation has improved so let's please keep that going. The FNHL Committee met last week to discuss the recent incidents and expects to have some decisions and written guidelines in place in the near future. Thanks to all the members for their participation and their continuing efforts to keep the FNHL the group that we all enjoy being a part of. Finally, the Sunday group gets to sleep in a bit this week as we will be starting at 10:00am (this week only) instead of our usual 7:00.

Have a good week...

08/10/06 - It's only been two weeks but it seems like much longer. While I was away I got word that my teammate and good friend Dave Cavallaro (Cavy) and his wife Megan celebrated the birth of their first child. Mason (aka Molson) Cavallaro was born at the end of July and (except for a bit of sleep deprivation) all is well, mother and baby are both doing fine. So congratulations to the Cavallaro family on behalf of the entire FNHL. Dave claims he'll be back on the ice in the near future so hopefully we'll see him again before too long. He's also promised to supply all the details and photos so I will post any and all updates as soon as I get them. On a less happy note, George reminded me that this will be the last week on the ice for Brad Beran as he is leaving to start his new job in NC. We'll see if he can net a few goals tomorrow to take with him on the trip. Finally there were apparently a couple of incidents during the last two weeks and, regrettably, we will have to get together for our first official FNHL Committee meeting in the very near future to decide what action, if any, will be taken..... Anyway, it will be good to get back on the ice tomorrow and I hope to see everyone there (yes, even you Bob)....

See you tomorrow..!! 

07/25/06 - I'm off for vacation for the next two weeks so this will have to be quick. The new schedule is posted for those who have paid. If you still owe George, please see him or pay your captain prior to stepping on the ice this week. Hats off to Team Cheval as they moved one game closer to drinking from the coveted "Cheval Cup" with a well earned 8-7 win over Team Experience. Next session the games shift to the Experience Arena and I am certain that being down 2-0 in the series will only serve to motivate the veterans.... If anything needs to be posted while I'm away, feel free to drop me an e-mail and I will get to it asap...

See you in 3 weeks!!!

07/18/06 - The rosters for this weeks games are posted. George will be out of town so don't call him if there are any changes. Please e-mail me here or give me a call at 315-246-2940. Thanks to those who did respond to my e-mail request. I've tried to cover all the games based on the info I got. If you were left off the list or put on by mistake the sooner I know, the better. One other note from last week. I almost forgot to mention that Red goalie Chuck Austin somehow managed to coax (coerce?? blackmail??) two special guests into the stands for his game. Of course we routinely draw such large crowds that I can't always mention our fans by name, but thanks to Kelly and Pam for their support (even though I still suspect a wrong turn may have been involved). The big question this week is since Len's team is due for a big loss will Heather show up to console him......

07/16/06 - It's been a pretty slow in terms of news for the past few weeks and I've been quite busy so the updates aren't coming as quickly as usual. We did get word that long time Blue team member Brad Beran has accepted a job in Charlotte, NC and will be leaving us in a few weeks. Brad was a member of the famed "Civil War Veterans" line and has been a fixture in the FNHL group for a lot longer than I can remember. Though not known for his blazing speed, Brad has always been a quick thinker and often manages to find a way to knock the puck past an unsuspecting goaltender. His presence will be missed on the ice, in the locker room and (of course) in the bar each Friday. Also, due to his departure, the gap between Bob LaBarre and the next oldest FNHL player has just risen exponentially (I think it's about 30 years now).... Anyway, on behalf of George and the entire FNHL I'd like to wish Brad all the best as he begins his new adventure down South and say thanks for his many (and I do mean many) years as a teammate and friend here in the FNHL. With all the recent departures it may be time to start a FNHL Hall of Fame....???  In other news, we've had a lot of the usual summer sub games recently but there has clearly been a much better feel to the games compared to the problems we had last month. It's evident that everyone is at least trying to keep things in perspective and that makes a big difference. Hopefully we can keep that going in the right direction. Along those lines, money was due last week and George will be out of town this weekend so if you do still owe please pay me or your captain by Friday, The fee per session is now $55 and I will be updating the payments page on the website this week, We are planning to enforce the no pay, no play rule for any spots not covered by the beginning of the next session.... Finally, I am in Houston again this week but should be able to post the rosters for this weeks games in the next day or so. Because of all the comings and goings as well as George and I being generally busy, the rosters have become somewhat outdated. If you are reading this, please take a minute and e-mail me to let me know if you will be there or not on Friday (7/21). If you know the status of someone else who doesn't have access to the web, please send me that info as well. I don't usually need so many e-mails from people, but in this case it would help a great deal. Thanks in advance....

See you Friday!!

07/04/06 - First of all I'd like to wish a happy 4th of July to everyone. Last week's games were a lot better overall and I sincerely hope that the problems we've experienced recently will be a thing of the past. Along those lines though we are happy to announce that the FNHL Committee has been established. The members are;

Joe Gracz - Blue
Bill Hopkins - White
Chuck Austin - Red
Brett Boismenu - Orange
Mark Schumacher - Black
Pete Thompson - Yellow

All of these guys have been involved with the FNHL for years and know what the league is all about. Their task will be to handle any disciplinary matters that may arise during our games. In addition they will be provided with a list of unpaid spots at the beginning of each session and will see to it that our "no pay, no play" rule is enforced. The same goes for outside sub money. In the event that an incident occurs during a game and disciplinary measures are needed, the committee will gather information and meet to decide what, if any, action will result including suspension and/or expulsion from the league. Each member has one vote and George will cast the deciding vote if there is a tie. Their decisions will be final. As I said before, we hope that this group will not have to meet very often. Thanks to each of them for being willing to help out!!!

In other news, I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had a chance to post some info that came in from our readers recently. Congratulations are in order for the Marchitto family as they recently celebrated the birth of a baby boy. Brandon Matthew Marchitto was born June 24th and I'm sure will be skating circles around us in just a few short years. Matt sent a photo which is (finally) posted in the fun photo gallery. Also Tom Ferrara sent in a letter regarding an adult skills clinic that USA Hockey is hosting in Rochester the weekend after next. Again, my apologies for the delay in posting the info but you can check out the details in our Ice Chips section.

See you Friday!!

06/28/06 - Overall not a great week here in FNHL land. I've been around here for a few years now and in all that time I don't think I've seen George as upset and ready to throw in the towel as he was on Sunday. Having just completed a very difficult negotiation with the rink where we narrowly avoided a large jump in price as well as a (potentially) equally expensive insurance demand, we get some details on the ugly game #2 last Friday between Red and Orange that apparently ended with a brawl or near brawl. I've heard several points of view on the subject and the only thing that's entirely clear and the only thing that really matters is that those types of incidents should not occur and in fact must not occur if we want to keep the league going. I've tried to make that point abundantly clear over the past few months and sadly the message just is not sinking in. Everyone involved has an excuse and what they consider to be a justification but the bottom line is that there is no excuse and there are no justifications for this crap and it's time for people to go. To make matter worse we are already two full weeks through the new session and there are several spots that remain unpaid. George doesn't have time to hunt people down and understandably is not interested in paying for them from his own pocket so once again the only solution appears to be getting rid of the problem(s) once and for all. Effective immediately, if you fight, you're out and if you still owe for this session do not step on the ice until you have paid. Future sessions must be fully paid when due or the same rule applies. George is not hard to find and in his absence you can pay me, your captain, or use the payment link on the website. Plenty of options, none of which involve skating your game and disappearing before George has a chance to ask you for the money. This goes for sub money as well. If you get an outside sub, collect the sub money before they play - no exceptions. I don't know what the final resolution will be with regards to the game last week, but moving forward we are putting together a committee to handle disciplinary matters of all types (not just fighting). At George's request I have been working on getting that in place and hopefully it will be done very soon. The plan is to have one representative per team and their decisions will be final. In the event of a tie on an issue, George will cast the deciding vote.

I apologize to the 50 or so guys who really don't need to read this, but the other 10 or so between stupidity on the ice and/or lack of payment really need to get the message. We've got a good thing going and hopefully will not allow a few bad individuals to ruin it. Finally, as I alluded to earlier, the rink did push for a large rate increase but that was largely avoided. Beginning next session, the rate will go from $52 to $55 per person.  

06/22/06 -  The 4th Annual FNHL Golf Tournament is in the books and by all accounts it was a great success. The weather was hot but no rain was a plus. The food was great and there were more door prizes than I've ever seen at any tournament anywhere. My father in-law and I enjoyed the opportunity to golf with Bob and Patty. We would have done better though if Bob had kept a hat on. With the sun bouncing crazily off his head in all directions it's a wonder we all weren't blinded by the end of the round. Thanks to everyone who participated and also to those who helped organize the event and/or donated the door prizes. Special thanks to George Fleischmann who, as usual, went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that everyone had a great time. We look forward to next year and the 5th anniversary edition..!!.... The new schedule is finally posted. It took a while for the rink to confirm the dates but we are now back on track. The Sunday group schedule is also posted for what remains of the session. Next step is to work on the rosters.... I have gotten a new letter or two and will post them when I have a chance. Also I am seriously considering adding a "classifieds" section where people can offer equipment, etc that they have for sale. If that is something you think would be worthwhile please let me know.

See you Friday!! 

06/14/06 - George has been very busy with work but he gave me the schedule for this week. The rest of the session, Sundays and updated rosters should be posted soon.

06/13/06 - I haven't gotten the new schedule and updated rosters from George yet. As soon as I do they will be posted. The Golf Tournament is this Saturday and we are scheduled for a 1:00pm start. I've heard that the weather is supposed to be good so let's keep our fingers crossed. It should be a great time and we hope to see you all there. Last weeks games were good overall. The kids of Team Cheval did manage a hard earned upset 5-4 win over Team Experience but as they will learn soon enough... nothing's over. We'll see you at Game #2 in six weeks and Bob just might not remember to wear his helmet.... The A/B mix game was also a success with White finally sealing the 10-8 win with an empty net goal in the closing seconds. As for the C++ game, all I can say is people please check for late roster changes. In a perfect world I would know well in advance who can make it and who can't but this is not a perfect world it's the FNHL and therefore things happen. Last week Mike Olin, for example,  was switched to Blue because of some late cancellations but he never got the memo. The bottom line was an uneven game that could have been avoided (maybe)... Anyhow, I repeat, someone please print the rosters just before leaving for the rink on ABC weeks to make sure that everyone is aware of what side they are scheduled for. Sorry to be so brief but I'm studying for a promotional exam that just happens to fall the morning of the Golf Tournament.

See you Friday!!

06/07/06 - First of all the rosters for this week's games are posted. I've avoided the term "ABC" this session because it really does not apply. Thanks to a challenge issued in Montreal by Germain (CHAVAL!!!) Lapointe and seconded by Cavy, our opening game this week will pit a team of players all over age 40 against a team of the youngest players we have in the league. I know we tried this once before with not so great results for the older guys but we are confident that this time around things will be different. The only exception to the age requirement was goalie John Oakes who will join the kids for this game as we really don't have any young goalies at the moment. For the other games this week I just tried to divide the groups as evenly as possible. One game should have a bit quicker pace than the other but hopefully both will be good. As always, there was no intention to slight anyone in the team selections and if you can't make it or were not placed on a team but should have been please e-mail me immediately so that I can make the necessary changes..... In other news, with great disappointment I've got to announce that this will be goalie Dave Rigg's last week in the FNHL because he's moving to the Albany area. Dave successfully made the tough transition from forward to goalie not that long ago and has continued to improve each week. Besides that though he's an all around good guy and fellow Flyers fan and always good for some beers and conversation after the games. On behalf of George and the entire FNHL family I'd like to take the opportunity to wish Dave and his family nothing but the best as they undertake their next adventure..... Also, due to my present schedule crunch I'm going to have to temporarily suspend the regular game recaps. I apologize for this but things are very hectic for me right now and I just don't feel that I can devote as much time to the website as I'd like. I will continue to post current news, schedules, etc and special features as time permits and advise the mailing list when new things are posted. Along those lines, the schedule for the next session will be posted as soon as George is able to hammer out the details with the new owners. I guess there's been some bumps in the road lately and we're hopeful that everything can be resolved.... Ron Maydole contacted me recently to advise that the planned Adult Skills Clinic had to be canceled due to a lack of registrations. We haven't given up on the idea completely and will see what we can do to eventually make this happen..... Finally, the 4th Annual FNHL Golf Tournament is less than two weeks away. All payments should have been made by now but if you still owe, see George this week,

See you Friday!! 

05/23/06 - We are back to our regular schedule beginning this week and hopefully it will stay that way. Ron Maydole sent me an e-mail this week asking me to remind everyone about the adult skills clinic planned for June 7th, 14th and 21st. So far registrations are rather slow and he needs at least 20 guys to be able to make it work. If you're interested but haven't signed up yet please e-mail me asap. Also the golf tournament money is due so please see George this Friday to settle up on that if you haven't already. Otherwise it's been a pretty cold and slow week so I'm going to cut the update short. George did ask me to remind the Sunday group that we will be starting at 8:00am this week. Please make a note of it.

See you Friday!

05/18/06 - Final List and lineups for the informal skate at 10:15. If you are on the list and can't make it please let George know right away. Thanks
 

05/17/06 - Last week was our "on again" week but since I had the late game there's only one write up which we'll get to in a moment. First of all I want to remind everyone that this is the last of the off weeks on the schedule. Beginning next Friday we should be back to normal. There is a 10:15 sheet this week but the list is already full so if you haven't e-mailed us already then unfortunately it's too late. The 4th Annual FNHL Golf Tournament looks to be all set thanks to a recent flurry of registrations. It should be a great time and if you haven't signed up yet it's not too late but please contact me immediately. Money for the golf is already due so if you still owe George, please pay him asap. You can also pay by credit card here on the payments page of our website but there is a small fee to cover the costs we are charged by Paypal. Last week's games seemed to range from great to awful. I heard Yellow trounced Black but don't have any other details. Same with Red vs Orange. I believe Orange won 10-3 and Rigg was outstanding but that's it. In the late game it was Blue vs White and that proved to be a good one....

Blue 14 - White 13 (ot) - Talk about a seesaw battle... After (sub) Matt Marchitto got the first goal for White, the Blue offense jumped to life. Cavy and George scored to give Blue the lead and then Rich Fleischmann scored a nice goal by deflecting a hard cross ice lead pass from Duane Pardee into the top corner of the White net. Cavy added another before the end of the period and Blue was rolling 4-1. But in period two the tide shifted - and shifted quickly. Blue sub goalie Del Hoyt who was great in the 1st period suddenly forgot to do...... well anything... and White roared back. Bill Hopkins started the rally and before it was over he would score again, as well as John Albanese (2), Chris Baldwin, Jason Vogel (2) and Matt Marchitto. In the span of about 15 minutes, thanks to eight unanswered goals, the Blue 4-1 lead was now a 9-4 deficit. But the period was not yet over and Blue began to tip the scales back towards even on goals by Brad Beran, Dan Jervis and Dave Cavallaro (his third). After two periods, White lead only 9-7. Blue continued with the momentum to start the final period. George Fleischmann scored his second of the game to close the gap to one and then Cavy tied it. Rich Fleischmann put Blue back in the lead with a nice wrist shot and Dan Jervis made it 11-9 midway through the period. But White was far from done and John Albanese completed his hat trick to make it 11-10 and Chris Baldwin tied it at 11 shortly thereafter. Another goal by Dan Jervis put Blue ahead again 12-11 but giveaways in the defensive zone allowed Baldy to score 2 more for White and it was 13-12 White. With just seconds left to play Brad Beran tied it for Blue from in close and this marathon was going to overtime. White had some chances early in ot but Del made some nice saves to keep the game alive. With just under three minutes left, Jervis skated around the White goal and tossed a pass out to Cavy which he buried in the twine for his fifth goal of the night and (finally) a 14-13 Game of the Week victory for Blue and goalie Del Hoyt.

In other news the game tapes have been reviewed and here are the final stats from Montreal.

It was a great time and one that those of us who can remember it will not soon forget. Long live the third wheel lesbian.....!!!

05/09/06 - What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.... fortunately we were not in Vegas last weekend but Montreal so I'm free to do my best to try and recap the festivities. I think it's safe to say that there were more memories made off the ice than on. Our first game Friday night was against a team from Toronto. Despite having an average age of 37 and 6 guys over 40 (including one over 90) we ended up in the 25 and over division and the pace was quick. The game was a good one and close throughout but we simply didn't get the bounces. Chuck Austin was great in net and Dave Cavallaro scored our first goal from a strange angle to keep us within reach. But two third period goals on slapshots by Derek Crowley were not enough to avoid a 5-3 defeat. The game was fun but that evening things picked up considerably. We wandered through what felt like half the city before we finally found the bar - Cheers - that we were looking for and made the most of their $2 beer special. Since last call is sometime around 4am it was quite a long night. John Albanese managed to catch a nap on a bar stool towards the end of the night and some might even say he looked damn good doing that (I can't agree but oh well.....) Germain also had quite a night and even though he walked into the bar as the smallest player on the team, he left as "Cheval...!!!." After a greasy late night meal at some diner I can barely remember it was back to the room just before sunrise for some more beer, and free hotel movies. A 12:30pm game seems like a pretty good schedule but considering sunrise was a little after 6am and I was still up it was evident that our next game would be a challenge and it was. This time we played a team from just outside Toronto (Woodbridge ON) and once again they were young and even a little faster than our last opponents. Chuck and the defense as a group kept us in it and this one went right down to the wire. Cavy knocked in his second goal of the tournament with an assist from yours truly and we started the 3rd period trailing only 2-1. But that was all the scoring we could muster as the opposing goalie played very well and even held off a last minute flurry with the goalie pulled. They added an empty net goal for the 4-1 win. There was a minor altercation late in the game because my stick somehow ended up a little high on the face of one of our opponents (accidentally of course) but order was quickly restored. Sometime during that game we realized that we had the biggest cheering section of any team in the tourney thanks to the presence of quite a few of Germain's local relatives. They were a welcome sight indeed - some more so than others... but I digress... The final game of our tournament was not until 6:30pm so we had some time to reflect (and/or sleep) in between. Determined to go out winners we took the ice against a team from Calgary and they had about 16 guys on the roster. This time we put it all together. Matt Moran opened the scoring for us to tie the game at 1 in the 1st period. From there it was all FNHL - Cheval LaPointe went wide and finally got a goal with his family cheering him on and we took the lead for good. Dan Jervis added what would prove to be the game winner with a quick wrist shot past a sleeping Calgary netminder (think Rigg roast). Calgary got one back in the third but Chuck was outstanding for the third straight game and they were done. Hopkins, LaBarre, Klem and Crowley played solid D and Matt Moran got two more goals to finish it off. Final Score - FNHL 5 Calgary 2...!!  So at this point it might seem that the weekend was over - but it was just getting started. With no game to play in the morning the entire team took full advantage of all the famous Peel Pub had to offer. After several gigantic pitchers of beer and several dozen wings we were offered shooters and let's just say that business picked up a bit. I'm sure several people won't have much recollection of the night past this point.... but it's not often that the waitress agrees to drink 10 shots if the group buys 1 each, but she did, and continued to keep up with us for the balance of the evening (don't worry ladies, her mother actually picked her up from work). She did rub Bob's bald head for luck late in the evening but I'm sure that was just the bad judgment brought on by too many shots on her birthday.... Bottom line, it was a good tournament and an even better weekend with friends. Out of six teams we had the bad luck of drawing the two teams that would eventually meet in the finals but everyone played well and if a couple of bounces had gone our way it could have easily been a different outcome on the ice. Off the ice, all I can say is that no marriages were harmed in the making of this tournament but there is now a significant shortage of beer in Canada... Thanks to everyone who made it memorable!!! We conclude this special edition of the news with my tournament top 10 list.

10. The smell in the hallway of our hotel - took me back 20 years at least.....
 9.  Our neighbors and their large Korean mascot...
 8.  Dan's meeting on our bench during the Calgary game....
 7.  The chat with the movie critic....
 6.  Germain's cheering section
 5.  John catches a nap at Cheers
 4.  A big win over Calgary..
 3.  Chuck's goaltending all weekend
 2.  Petra and the birthday shooters
 1,  CHEVAL...!!!..........!!!....

We still need a couple more teams for the golf tournament and George is planning to collect the money this Friday so please don't forget.....

Have a good week!!!

05/02/06 - First of all the registrations for the golf tournament have begun to pick up but we still need approximately seven teams to fill the course. I spoke to a lot of people on Friday and I know there are more teams out there that haven't registered yet. Thanks to everyone who did take the time to submit the form. If you still haven't registered please do so now. A few people told me to "put them down" for it on Friday but I have no idea who that may have been so please fill out and submit the form. As I've said in weeks past, this has always been a lot of fun whether you're a "golfer" or not so we'd really like to keep the tradition going. George would like to collect the golf money a week from this Friday on May 12th. If you want to pay by credit card you can do so on online using our payments page. Also I got word this week that Ron Maydole has taken the lead and scheduled ice time for an Adult Skills Clinic. Here's what he had to say.

I reserved ice for June 7th, 14th & 21st at 7:40pm to 8:55pm for an adult skills clinic. I am going to post a flyer at the rink so it's not exclusively for the FNHL group (this should help pay for the ice rental).  I would like to have at least three instructors (one for each zone to run station drills and enough to work one-on-one if necessary). I'm thinking the price will be 30.00 per person (paid up front for all three dates). If we have 20 players the ice is paid for.

Several people have mentioned this in the past but we never had anyone to take the lead so thanks to Ron for his efforts in getting this together. It should be a good opportunity for guys to work on many of the fundamentals that just don't get enough attention on game night. If you want to participate you can send me an e-mail here and I will forward them to Ron, or feel free to speak to him directly at the rink. Hopefully this will be a success and something we can run from time to time in the future. I will post more details as they become available. As with the golf tournament, please don't wait until the last minute to register...!!!

Still more news to pass on this week. We are off again this Friday but George and Brian Banks will be renting the 10:15 slot and are looking for players. As always, the first 20 guys to contact them will get the spots. I am leaving for Montreal on Friday but will be in town until then so you can send me an e-mail here and I will be happy to forward them to George and Brian or just give them a call.

Plans are in the works to update this website and I'm looking for your feedback and suggestions on things you'd like to see or any other comments people have. Along those lines, does anyone still use the mirror site I set up at www.dailygripe.com ? A few people asked for it because they were blocked from this site at work. If people are using it then I'll leave it up but if not then I'd just as soon not keep updating two sites. Thanks in advance for your input.

Finally and unfortunately we need to once again mention that our main goal here at the FNHL is to get together and have some fun and friendly competition (and beer of course). Last week was marred by yet another ugly incident and the situation has gotten to the point where the next step is for George to kick a few individuals out. We really don't want it to have to come to that but when a few players can't seem to "get it" and continue to act like idiots then there's no other choice. Probably 95% of the players in the league don't need to read this but the other 5% are truly on "thin ice". We have always had a no checking rule and most people try to follow it. No checking does not mean no contact of course since that's pretty much impossible but it also does not mean that you can take a guy down by grabbing him or "slew footing" him as he goes around you, or by "rubbing him off" along the boards or by pushing or (worse) cross checking someone who sets up a screen in front of your goalie. Even the NHL has severely cracked down on that type of play and clearly this isn't the NHL. We play without refs and that means people have to take it upon themselves to play within the rules. When that doesn't happen then things start to get out of hand and the nonsense that we've been seeing more and more of starts. By the same token everyone needs to realize that it's not a perfect world and people will occasionally (hopefully unintentionally) do stupid things. That does not mean that you've got license to retaliate and "teach someone a lesson". We don't know or care how tough you are and if I hear someone say "you have no idea who you're messing with" one more time I think I'll puke. Bottom line is that a few players need to get over themselves and let the rest of us have a good time. If you want to prove that you've "still got it" (even though you never had it) then go somewhere else. Enough said - probably too much over the last few weeks and I doubt that George will have much more to say other than "goodbye" if things don't change...

Remember we are off this week so our next regular session will  be Friday, May 12th. See you then!

04/25/06 - The new schedule is posted and has a few holes in it which are beyond our control. We had a pretty good off week skate last Friday on the Olympic ice with the majority of the Montreal team notching a hard fought win over a team led by Jesse and Tony Pompo. Unfortunately for the Montreal group Chris Baldwin, who is not making the trip, led the team in scoring with 6 or 7 goals. Predictably, Jesse led the opposition with about the same number. Dave Rigg had a good outing in the nets for the bad guys despite the loss. We are back on for this week and the on again - off again rotation continues for a while longer so please check the schedule closely before making the trip to the rink. The registrations for the Golf Tournament have continued to trickle in and we definitely need more players. Remember that you don't have to be a "golfer" to have a good time in this event. If you want to play but don't have a foursome you can register as an individual and we will pair you up. George told me this week that he'd like to have the money for the tournament during the first week in May. You can pay here on the website or catch up to him in the bar after the games on Friday.

04/18/06 - I spoke to George and there will be no regular FNHL hockey this week. We do have the one sheet available at 10:15pm and Bill Hopkins has offered to coordinate the rental. Same as always, only 20 spots and 2 goalies available - first 20 guys to contact Bill are in. His e-mail address is hopkinswr@cdm.com or you can reach him by phone @ 458-7379 (w) or 434-3230 (h). Please contact Bill directly as George will be at the Crunch playoff game that night. Unfortunately it looks like we will be "on again, off again" for the next few weeks. George is trying to get in touch with the new owner to try and iron out the situation but there may not be much he can do. As soon as the final schedule for the next session is available I will post it here. The registrations for the 4th Annual FNHL Golf Tournament have begun to slowly roll in but we need many more to fill out the event. The date is Saturday, June 17th and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun as always. Click here to go directly to the information and registration page and remember this is not just an event for the "golfers" in the league. The Captain and Crew best ball format ensures that even the occasional duffer or first-timer can participate and have a good time.

04/12/06 - The schedule for this week is posted but that's all for now. George has been having some difficulty getting a straight answer from the rink and is dealing with that immediately. As soon as things are finalized we will post the rest of the schedule. Of course there is no Sunday hockey this week due to the Easter holiday.... On an important note, the money was due two weeks ago and as of a couple days ago 8 people still had not paid. That's over 10% of the league and that's just not acceptable. George already puts in enough time keeping the league running and absolutely should not have to chase people down weeks after the money is due nor should he have to front the money out of his own pocket. Bottom line is he shouldn't have to chase people down at all. The money due dates are clearly posted on the website and we also have an internet PayPal payment option available that a few people use regularly with no problems. If you still owe from the last session please see George immediately to get this resolved. At this late date, don't step on the ice if you still owe. Most people do pay regularly and on time and that is much appreciated but the few guys that consistently don't puts the whole thing in jeopardy..... The ABC games went pretty well last week but I didn't get much of anything in the way of details to report. Russ Cole was outstanding in the A game leading Blue to an 8-6 win over White..... George has gotten quite a few opinions on last week's comments regarding changing up the teams and no firm decisions have been made yet. I think there will probably be an open meeting held sometime soon to hash things out. If you haven't had a chance to voice your opinion yet please feel free to drop us an e-mail and let me know if you want it posted for the group. That's all for now, since I'm on a bit of a vacation I won't be at the rink this week. As always, if anyone wants to e-mail the game recaps I will post them.

Have a nice Easter...!   

04/05/06 - First of all I was mistaken last week when I said the scorekeeper experiment had faded. I did receive the scoresheets from Patty but I haven't had time to post any more this week. I'm still not sure if this will end up working out in the long run but I hope we don't give up too soon. It's been a great help for me and as a player I've appreciated being able to look at the scoreboard and have it be accurate during the game. I know Patty was out of town last week and since I was gone as well all I can post is one recap graciously provided by an anonymous observer - lets just call him "The Schu"...

Black 10 Green 9  - 1st 3-3 2nd 8-4 Black Final 10-9

Black Black scoring, Germaine 3, Ed 2, Schick 2 (classic Schumachian style, he is learning from the master), Schu 1 (typical deflection off the defenseman's facemask and over Riggs shoulder), Matt 1, Rob 1. That's the best I can remember.

Started out as a goaltender duel for the 1st half of 1st period with both making good saves, Rigg had some pipe help also. Lots of good scoring opportunities throughout this game. Into start of second Black started to pull away and had a 5 goal lead at one point until green got a late tally. The third period was wild with green making a strong push that just fell short. Rigg stoned Cavy on at least 5 prime scoring chances, so Dave was likely having nightmares of that. Overall pretty well played with some late drama in the end. Green pulled the goalie and put on a furious finish, however, could not dent the net late for the equalizer.

Thanks to "The Schu" for providing the lone update this week. Maybe he'd like to follow in the footsteps of the illustrious "Smith" and the Bar Napkin Report..??? That would be some big "Schus" to fill.....

Enough bad jokes for one week - now on to the serious stuff. We've gotten some feedback lately on last weeks comments regarding sportsmanship and competitive balance. As always, I've forwarded them to George and they are definitely thought provoking. Here are some excerpts from those e-mails...

"I have noted that there seems to be a wider imbalance in the league with respect to the various teams as there was a year or so ago. In particular some of that stems from goaltenders. It is evident that weaker teams seem to all have the weaker goaltenders while the stronger teams all seem to have the top goaltending and more top players. This coupled with the fact that some teams are more weighted with A players than others appears to be affecting game quality as a whole."

"Typically on any given night there may be one close game with the others being blow outs. In the past most games were much closer. The teams getting blown out seem to be consistently the same week in and week out. This disparity seems to be taking a toll as some games are getting to a point where its not even worth playing anymore or where they are getting very chippy."

"While the game was well in hand in the third yellow continued to pour it on needlessly with some of their play. This type of situation makes me just want to skip that game next time around because its not fun to play in that type of game and in general the sportsmanship of some involved is lacking a lot. End to end rushes with a few minutes left in a game with a 10 goal gap are just uncalled for."

"The hack and slash, cross checking etc. being demonstrated on a regular basis by a limited few is also making some of these games worth passing on. Some contact may happen in these games, its hard to avoid, but some of the blatant stick work lately is really bothersome and will eventually lead to some serious injuries."

"The answer to your latest question on the web site is simple - if guys continue to be jerks with chippy play, etc. kick them out. There's no excuse. I suspect that it is one or two guys as usual."

"Perhaps its time to form a management committee to handle things like possible suspensions and roster changes. It would also take the pressure off of George."

The bottom line in all this is that it's probably time to make some changes. The whole point of the FNHL is to have fun, socialize and try not to take ourselves too seriously. Win or lose, if it's not fun it's just not worth doing because absolutely none of us are getting paid to be here. George has taken the recent feedback very seriously and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep things positive. If that means reshuffling the teams or the goalies then that's what will be done. At the present time the idea is to completely reshuffle the teams for the summer session and then put them back together in the fall. But that's just one idea and we certainly welcome additional comments and suggestions. I know George will be in the bar after the games this week so feel free to talk to him directly. There is a good possibility that he will try to get a meeting of at least the team captains together soon. Thanks to everyone who has already responded with comments and/or suggestions.

Finally, as mentioned last week, the Golf Tournament is set for Saturday, June 17th. I should have the registration and payments pages posted here by the end of the week,

See you Friday!

03/28/06 - Unfortunately, despite some good effort it appears that the scorekeeper experiment is already fading. Speaking of fading, the Blue team is starting to become very familiar with that lately and the only recap I can offer this week pretty well sums it up.

White 9 - Blue 6 - All signs pointed to a big week for Blue. My brother Pete was back in town to celebrate a birthday and play some hockey and was in uniform for Blue. White, on the other hand, was missing several regulars including captain Bill Hopkins and had only seven skaters until Blue defenseman Duane Pardee agreed to swap jerseys. Period #1 did nothing to change the outlook as Blue allowed a quick goal by Chris Baldwin but quickly answered with three of their own, two by Dan Jervis and one by Cavy. Matt Frackelton pulled White back within one but Jervis again scored and Blue lead 4-2 after one. White wasted little time in the 2nd period getting goals from Baldy and Frackelton again to tie the score. Then Pete Jervis nailed a nice one timer to give Blue their last lead of the night. Two more White goals by Baldwin put them up 6-5 at the end of two. The final period continued pretty much as the second had ended. Cavy did get a quick one for Blue to briefly tie the score at 6 but White goalie Rob Conrad would allow no more and was outstanding throughout the final periods. Terry Young scored what would prove to be the game winner midway through the period and Baldy added two more (his fifth and sixth goals of the game) to complete the White victory. For the second straight week Blue starts strong and then just fades away - this time to watch the Baldy and Conrad show....

Other News - Since I have no scoresheets to draw from I can't add any other info about last week's action. If anyone wants to e-mail some details I will post them here..... George has advised that the 4th annual FNHL Golf Tournament has been scheduled. We will be back the at Greenview Golf Club in Central Square on Saturday, June 17th at 1:00pm. The cost will be a very reasonable $50 per person and will include a steak bake. I will post a registration page and add Paypal payment options to this site in the coming weeks. If anyone can give George a hand with the planning and securing of door prizes etc, please e-mail me or talk to him directly at the rink. We've always had a good time with this event and I'm sure this year will be no exception so please mark your calendars now and get your foursomes together. If we have players who need help finding or rounding out a foursome please send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to play matchmaker..... Steve Olson's tournament was held this past weekend and things went very well overall. Unfortunately our FNHL entry didn't have much success on the ice but we did manage to play a lot of hockey and consume large quantities of assorted beverages. Congrats and thanks to Steve for his efforts in organizing the tournament which was held as a benefit for the Pediatric Emergency Unit at University Hospital. Rumor has it that an encore in August is planned..... Finally I got a letter today from one of our players pointing out some things that several other people have commented on recently. One of the main topics was sportsmanship and along with that, the competitive balance (or imbalance) that seems to have emerged lately. Certain teams are not only winning a lot lately, but they are winning by a wide margin and the reader questions how many players are really having fun playing those games. Also, when you're up by 10 goals is it really necessary to go end to end for yet another? It was suggested that we might want to consider shuffling some players or at least rotating the goalies (as some are beginners and some quite experienced) in an effort to keep things from getting out of hand on the scoreboard. Also it was mentioned that the scoreboard isn't the only place things have been getting out of hand as instances of chippy, physical play and just plain stupidity are on the rise. I honestly don't know what the answers are but would welcome any feedback and/or suggestions that people care to send. George has said many times that this is not "his" league, it's ours and the object is to get together, compete, have fun and a few beers after. If a few guys can't manage to keep that in perspective then maybe it's time to make some difficult but necessary changes. Bottom line though is that if we, as a group, want to make some changes then the best place for everyone to start is the mirror. George doesn't have the time or the desire to be a policeman and he shouldn't have to.

Have a good week!

03/21/06 - Hockey on St. Patrick's Day last week and although they no longer wear Green there were clearly some Irish eyes smiling on the Orange team.

Yellow 9 - White 2 - Tax season has been particularly taxing on the White team who remain without resident sniper and CPA Gregg Evans. A date with Yellow last week was probably about as much fun as an audit. But hey, some people enjoy audits..... as long as you're giving and not getting. But I digress - anyway the game started out badly for White and went downhill from there. Chip O'Connor and Jeff Ward put Yellow on the board in the first period and White failed to score. Chip added two more in the second period to push the Yellow total to a (relatively) modest four but only Chris Baldwin managed to slip the puck past Yellow goalie Russ Cole and the deficit grew to three after two. Baldy got another goal for White in the third but unfortunately that was all they got. Yellow on the other hand added five more goals, three by Jesse and two more by Jeff Ward en-route to the 9-2 final. Three hat tricks for Yellow on St. Patty's day, not quite a four leaf clover, but not bad....

Orange 11 - Blue 10 - Blue is planning to publish a book in the near future on how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in one easy period - or at least they should. They are getting really good at it. Kind of a strange one from start to finish this week. First period ended in a 1-1 tie on goals by Dan Jervis for Blue and Scott Budynas for Orange. The 2nd period was all Blue as they exploded for seven goals, four more by Jervis, and one each by Ron Schlicht, (sub) Chris McKenzie and George Fleischmann. Orange captain Jamie Sassenbury did manage to score 2 for Orange but Blue was leading 8-3 heading into the final period. Then Scott Budynas scored one of the best goals this reporter has seen in a while somehow spotting an opening over John Oakes left shoulder and "roofing" it short side from a tough angle. Orange still trailed at that point 8-4 but the momentum clearly shifted and the "Rigg Roast" was over. Orange goalie Dave (Dr. Jekyll and Mr.) Rigg suddenly started stopping the puck - much to the dismay of the Blue offense while the Orange wave was just getting started. Dan Jennings scored three goals including the game tying 10th goal. Steve Olson, Jamie Sassenbury and even Len Slack also found the back of the net during their furious rally late in the game. These offset earlier Blue goal by Mike Masello and Chris McKenzie and we go to overtime where Orange gets a Woody (so to speak). Bill Wood - defenseman Bill Wood - pokes in a loose puck during a scramble and somehow Orange celebrates while Blue can only shake their heads in disbelief. First Lenny scores a goal without hitting someone else in the leg and then they lose to Orange.... a sad day indeed. Hats off to Orange on a hard earned Game of the Week victory.

Black 8 - Red 7 - The night ended with another good game as Black took on Red. Mark Schumacher found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (probably from 6" or less) in the 1st period as did Rob Niemeier. Carl Erickson scored for Red to round out the session with Black up 2-1. Lots of scoring in period #2 for both teams. Black got six, two each by Niemeier, (sub) Dave Neuner and Germain LaPointe. Red had half as many, all by different players - Tony Pompo, Brian Banks and Stef Boutin and Black led 8-4. Red dominated the final period, at least on the scoresheet and almost managed to pull off the evenings second come from behind win, But one more goal each from Banks, Pompo and Boutin weren't quite enough and Black went home with a win.

Other News - Attendance was back up last week as Len's girlfriend Heather was in attendance and was joined by Wayne Morse's girlfriend Jamie. Together they managed to drink quite a bit and watch none of their significant other's game. Len took it in stride of course - although he did seem to spend quite a bit of time later in the evening at Dailey's with John Albanese..... Maybe I'm just reading too much into that (then again, maybe not).... Perhaps it was just a coincidence but there were an awful lot of "threes" last week. 3 hat tricks by Yellow, 3 goals by Jennings, 3 by Sassenbury, a pair of goals by 3 different scorers for Black and 1 goal each by 3 different people in two straight periods for Red..... Next week should be interesting in the FNHL as my brother Pete will be back in action subbing in for us prior to Steve Olson's tournament next weekend. And finally, I am very happy to report that my daughter Ashley gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Tuesday. Nicholas Phillip Rogers weighed in at 7lbs, 8 ounces and I've posted a picture in the Fun Photo Gallery. I expect him to begin skating in the next few weeks and plan to teach him the basics of stick-handling past Bob LaBarre before moving on to something more difficult.....

See you Friday!  

03/14/06 - Another decidedly average week here in Cicero. It appears that we will have to rename our version of March Madness - tone it down a bit. Maybe we'll try "March Mildness".... maybe not. Anyway there were games played and that means games to recap. Thanks once again to our new scorekeeping team of Patty and Chris.

Yellow 8 - Red 4 - Seems like it was a decent game for two periods. A goal by Jesse for Yellow and one by Tony Pompo for Red was the extent of the damage after one. Period two saw more of the same with 2 goals by Jesse, matched by Red scorers Tony Pompo and Mike Tully. The third period was where it all went South for Red as they were outscored 5-1 and that 3-3 tie after two became an 8-4 loss. Jesse added his fourth of the night for Yellow before yielding to some relief goal scorers including Chip, Pete Thompson, and Jamie Shuler. Over on the Red side only Tony Pompo could dent the twine in the third to complete his hat trick. Yellow keeps on rolling.....

Orange 16 - White 9 - Surprise result of the week as the usually strong White team was without several regular players including captain Bill Hopkins and took a major crushing from Orange. The scoresheet on this one was a little tough to follow (more on that later) but it looks like this one was a rout from start to finish. Sub Mark Lasinski scored two goals in the 1st and Orange led 4-0 after one. Period two was more of the same with Lasinski adding at least 3 more and two each from Bill Wood and Wayne Morse. White did finally get on the board with goals from Chris Baldwin, Jeff Janofsky and (sub) Mike Tully but trailed roughly 12-3 to start the final period. John Albanese, Darren Karn and Chris Baldwin did enjoy a mini "Rigg Roast" in that period scoring two goals each to draw White within a touchdown but more scoring from Lasinski (making at least 7 on the night!!) sealed the deal for Orange. Notably absent from the scoring column was Orange regular Len Slack. Rumor has it that he also failed to score later that evening despite a hasty exit from the bar with Heather.....

Blue 12 - Black 9 - No matter how you look at it, Black and Blue are just plain ugly together and this was no exception. The fact that LaBarre was in uniform for Black just made it that much worse. The game started out with goals by Rob Niemeier and Germain LaPointe giving Black a 2-0 lead. Dan Jervis and Dave Cavallaro answered for Blue to tie the score but Black sub Dave Neuner scored to send Black into the intermission with a 3-2 lead. Cavy caught a break early in the 2nd when Black goalie Rick Cummings had trouble handling a rolling puck and the Black defense couldn't recover in time to stop him from jamming his 4th rebound attempt into the net. But that miscue provided some temporary inspiration for Black. Goals by Greg Schiccitano, Bob LaBarre and Germain LaPointe put them out in front 6-3 with about 7 minutes left. Blue quickly answered that flurry with one of their own on goals by Duane Pardee, Dan Jervis and Ron Schlicht leaving a 6-6 tie after two. They continued to hold the hot hand early in the third with goals by Jervis, Schlicht, Cavy and George and Blue led 10-6 with 10:50 to play. And then the bottom nearly fell out. Black rallied to close the gap to only 10-9 with just over 3 minutes left on goals by Pat Salvador, Rob Niemeier and Mark Schumacher. Fortunately for Blue this one was all Cavy all the time and he scored two more to put it out of reach. Germain LaPointe was awarded a questionable penalty shot in that 3rd period but failed to put it past Blue goalie John Oakes.

Other News - The new scorekeeper/statistician plan is working out great but we really need everyone's help to make it as good as it can be. Patty and Chris have done their best to run the clock, put up the goals and provide me with the scoring details but that's tough to do when you don't know for sure when a goal was scored, who got it and who assisted. I've already spoken to most of the team captains about this and am requesting that the teams provide a little bit of assistance before and during the games. Please take a minute or two to go over the rosters with them before the game starts. During the game itself please make sure they know when the puck actually went in the net, who scored it and who assisted. Obviously we don't maintain formal standings or stats and these details aren't critical but it does help me out a lot when trying to write the weekly recaps and it would at least give us the option of having some stats to use when adding or moving players to/from teams, etc. As a player I think it's been good to have the actual score posted as the goals are scored. This definitely cuts down on the disagreements late in games...... In other news, the Sunday group has been moved up to a 6:15am start again this week due to some scheduling problem at the rink. Mike Pardee, please make a note of this. Finally we end up this week on a sad note as the FNHL family extends our sincere condolences to the Banks family on the recent passing of Brian's father Stephen. Our thoughts and prayers are with you...

03/07/06 - Not a bad week, not a great one for the FNHL last week. Given the 80 degree weather this week the update will be mercifully short and sweet.

Yellow 12 - Orange 5 - I didn't see the game but Patty was on the spot and filled in the details. It appears that Yellow was never really challenged in this one. First period goals by Jesse (2), Jamie Shuler and Adam Rufa and none for Orange meant a 4-0 lead after one. Orange did get on the scoreboard in the second period as Dan Jennings, Steve Olson and Bill Wood lit the lamp but Yellow managed five goals themselves, two more by Jesse, two by Jeff Ward and one by Chip to lead 9-3. The third period was all Chip for Yellow as he had three goals, Mike Olin and Len Slack (??again??) scored for Orange to put this one out of its misery. I did hear in the bar that Orange sub Mark Lasinski took out the nets on several occasions but wasn't able to put the puck in any of them. Also it was reported that Dan Jennings "played with passion" for Orange (Rigg just can't quit you Dan). Speaking of Rigg, he was outstanding despite the loss (just ask him) while Russ Cole was "just ok" for Yellow in goal.

White 6 - Black 3 - Looks like this was a decent game until the 3rd period. Terry Young and (sub) Alex Ryan got White on the board in the 1st period. Sub George Fleischmann scored for Black with an assist from fellow sub and Blue team member Dave Cavallaro. Just one goal apiece in the next period - Chris Baldwin for White and Mark Schumacher for Black so it was tight going into the final period 3-2. Coincidentally, as with the first game, the winning team got exactly three goals from one person in the final period. Last game it was Chip, this game it was Chris Baldwin with the hat trick for White. Evev more coincidental was the fact that both Baldy and Chip finished their respective games with 4 goals, one in the 2nd period, three in the third and none in the first.... wierd. George added the final goal for Black but it was just not enough and White takes home the win.

Red 7 - Blue 5 - Blue had this one wrapped up until they actually stepped on the ice..... With Austin out of town and Ricky subbing in goal and down to one Pompo Red simply stepped up and took this one. Tony Pompo started the scoring early with a nice move in close and Stef Boutin added a second a few minutes later to set the tone. George Fleischmann picked up right where he left off from the earlier game by scoring the first goal for Blue. With under a minute left in the period Dave Sabatino scored on a breakaway to push the Red lead to 3-1. Blue did wake up and play for at least one period in the middle of this one. Steve Kokkoris scored from the point through a screen to cut the deficit to 3-2 and then Dave Cavallaro got two in a row to give Blue a 4-3 lead which goalie John Oakes held to end the period. But period number three was pretty much all Red and sub Rick Cummings was very solid in net when called upon. Carl Erickson tied the score at 4 early in the 3rd and then went one better and scored again to put them in front. Dan Jervis trickled one in off Ricky's glove to tie the game at 5 with 8:30 to play. But Tony Pompo took over from there scoring twice to cement the win for Red.

Other News - Still very little feedback on either Montreal or the local tournament hosted by Steve Olson. I am entering one FNHL team and have a few guys lined up. We may need a couple more so if you're interested send me an e-mail soon. So far the statistician and timekeeper experiment has been a great success as both Patty and Chris have done a nice job. We're using this session as a trial run to work the kinks out but hopefully it will be a regular thing. The additional info that they can provide would allow us to do things like keep some basic stats, etc that we've never been able to accurately track before. Fantasy FNHL may just be on the horizon after all. In addition it's a lot easier to write these reports when I have some idea of what actually happened. Please help Patty and Chris out by letting them know when a goal has been scored and who scored and had the assists. And of course, please remember to take care of them after the game. A buck or two per player every other week is a very small investment that is well worth the effort.

Have a good week!

02/28/06 - This week marked the debut of FNHL official statistician and timekeeper Patty Ryan. For those who haven't heard, Patty has agreed to "man" the booth on the NHL ice and make sure that the games stay on schedule and the stats and score don't get lost in our post game fog of beer and fried foods. I believe that Chris Hoyt will do the same for the late game each week. George has asked that a few players from each team throw in an extra buck each week to provide them with a little something for the service. Personally I like the idea and welcome the help that they will provide both during the games and for the website each week. Hopefully, with your support and cooperation this will prove to be a nice enhancement to the "FNHL experience." Despite my absence last week, the ABC games went on and since Patty did score sheets on the first two games, I have some details to pass along.

A Game - White 10 - Blue - 4 - White jumped out to a 3-1 lead after one period on goals by Wayne Morse, Chris Baldwin and Pete Klem. Jesse had the lone goal for Blue. More of the same in the second period - 3 goals for White (Baldwin, Pompo, Hysell) and 1 goal (Shuler) for Blue making it 6-2 White after two. Jesse got two more for Blue in the third but that was it and White added four more (Pompo 2, Cavallaro, Marchitto) to complete the somewhat surprising drubbing.

B Game - White 5 - Blue 3 - This one looks like it must have been quite a defensive battle. Period one ended with the score tied at 1. Pete Thompson scored for Blue while White sub (?) Murray evened it out. Both goals in the second were scored by White, first John Albanese and then Scott Budynas so the final stanza started out 3-1 in favor of White. George Fleischmann and Steve Olson lit the lamp for Blue in the 3rd but so did Stef Boutin and Len Slack (can this be right??!!) and White held on for the 5-3 victory.

For the recap of the nights final contest we are happy to welcome back the ever popular "Smith" and another installment of the Bar Napkin Report.

Bar Napkin Report (actually Paper Plate Report)
The C-Game BLUE GOONS – 9 WHITE GRINDERS– 7

Hard to determine which team deserved which name with all the shuffling of rosters, but the tradition of close C-Games returned after the previous blowout as the Goons (wearing blue) defeated the Grinders (in white) in a game that stayed within a one- or two-goal margin the entire time. White jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the first shift thanks to a shot from the blue line by Frank Rathburn, but Blue scored the next two to take the lead. The teams then pretty much traded goals, with Blue tending to hold the lead and White scoring to tie or get within one. Fatigue was clearly a factor for both teams on the big ice, particularly for the Grinders, playing two men down.

Sunday Morning call-up Dan McCarthy had another strong C-game, notching a hat trick for the Goons, while Ron “Zamboni” Maydole and Mark Schumacher scored a pair each (including an atypical 30-footer by Schu that broke goalie Dave “Hexy” Rigg’s heart). Rounding out the scoring for the Goons were Terry “The Instigator” Young and and Drew Liszewski. Jeff Janofsky had a hat trick for the Grinders and was clearly the teams MVP. Chris Hoyt scored a pair of goals, while Nick Smith and Frank “The Tank” Rathburn chipped in singletons. The Grinders defensive unit, which consisted of Mike Matyasik, Frank Rathburn, and Steve Kokkoris played very solid in front of Riggy, but didn’t have the backchecking support from the barren group of tired forwards (missing venerable team leader Brad Beran) needed to pull off a victory. The Goons were missing key defenseman Terry King, but a core of Joe “Amazing” Gracz and Keith Benjamin, along with others got the job done for goalie Rob Conrad. Goons Len Matyasik and Del Hoyt and Grinders Mike Pardee and John Corrigan didn’t factor in the scoring, but each made some plays to help their teammates find the nets or keep the opposition at bay.

The bar crowd seemed to be pretty good sized, although many were gone or on their way out by the time the late game concluded. Good to see Ashley on duty, as various rumors have been floating around about staff changes due to the new ownership. Schu mentioned that he has never been on the losing side during ABC week, despite the shuffling of rosters. Can anyone else say the same?

Thanks again to Patty and Mr. "Smith" for filling in the details this week!!

Other News - The Montreal Tournament money is due asap and I will be collecting this week. Speaking of Montreal, Ron Maydole is still very much interested in getting together a group of B/C players to enter the recreational/novice division. Time is definitely running out to get this together so if you're interested, please let us know asap. As I said last week, we've been going to Montreal for the past three years and it's always a lot of fun in addition to the hockey. Also Steve Olson's tournament is scheduled for the weekend of March 25th and I haven't gotten much feedback from people about putting together another FNHL entry. I hope that you will give it some additional thought as it is for a good cause and would be a nice opportunity for guys who haven't had the chance to play in a tournament to give it a try. Finally, George asked me to mention that the change in ownership at the rink has been very positive for the FNHL. We've been treated very well in all aspects (including price) and would like very much to maintain this positive partnership. One simple thing everyone can do is make sure the locker rooms are picked up when we leave. It's not a big thing to ask and goes a very long way in terms of goodwill. This isn't to say we've had any problems in this area but just to remind everyone to please be aware of it. Thanks for your continued help and cooperation,

Have a good week!  

02/20/06 - Unfortunately last week was scuttled by the weather and some bad information given to George by the rink. For most of the afternoon we were advised that the rink did not have power and the ice probably wouldn't be available. George waited as long as possible to see if that would change before reluctantly deciding to cancel around 6pm and making as many phone calls as possible. Shortly after that we got word from a friend who happened to be at the rink that they actually did have power and did have ice. By then it was too late to un-cancel the evening so those who did show up played a (rather crowded) pickup game. Due to these problems the ABC games will now be held this coming Friday, the 24th. This means I need to revise the rosters in a hurry. If you were not going to be able to make it last Friday, but can be there this Friday (or vice-versa) please send me an e-mail today. As soon as I know who's in and who's out I will revise the rosters and post them.

In other news, the Montreal tournament has been confirmed and I need to start collecting the money for it asap. We are doing the package this year and the cost is $320 per person based on double occupancy. I have asked about the cost for a single room but don't have an answer on that yet. If you are going this year (and you know who you are) please get the money to me asap. I will be out of town this Friday but will be back Sunday. You can also mail me a check, the address is 106 Swift St. Auburn NY 13021. Ron Maydole had asked if there was a recreational division in this tournament and I finally got a positive reply on that. If there is enough interest we can send a second FNHL team of B/C players and place them in that division. It will have to come together in a hurry so if this interests you, please let me or Ron Maydole know in the very near future. The Montreal trip has always been a good time and I would encourage everyone to consider it...... Also, Steve Olson is still planning to run his local tournament at the rink in Cicero during the weekend of March 25th and 26th. We are already planning to enter the Montreal FNHL team in Steve's tournament but I am pretty sure he could still use at least one more team. The entry fee is only $400 per team (less than $40 per person) and it benefits a good cause, the Pediatric ED at University Hospital. Since it's local and not overly expensive it might be a good opportunity for guys who haven't had the chance to play in a tournament to do so. If you are interested in joining a second FNHL team for this tournament send me an e-mail and/or let Steve Olson (Orange team) know and I will be happy to coordinate the group..... There was even more tournament news this week as Dave Rigg e-mailed me about a tournament in Bethlehem PA on June 2nd - 4th and Jamie Sassenbury also e-mailed saying that he is planning to host a tournament in Las Vegas sometime in October. I have posted both of their letters in the Ice Chips section of the website and you should be able to download the information from there. Since I will be away this week, if anyone wants to e-mail me with the details of the ABC games I will post them with next week's update.

Have a good week!

02/14/06 - First and foremost I'd like to wish a happy Valentines Day to all the lovely ladies of the FNHL including but not limited to Patty Ryan, Len's girlfriend Heather, Chuck Austin's mom, George's wife Christine, of course Ashley our bartender.... and the list goes on. Without their support (or at least their indulgent indifference) we couldn't do whatever the heck it is we do out there each week. Now, due to minor technical difficulties (a dead battery in the fancy new voice recorder) I give you the abridged version of the recaps.

Black 7 - Orange 5 - I was not in attendance for the opener this week but the report in the bar afterwards was this game featured some good goaltending on both sides. Sub Phil Valeriano for Black did his best to fill Ricky's shoes and then went a step further, leading the team to victory. On the other side Dave Rigg was also steady and might have come away with the win if not for the performance of Black sub Duane Pardee who had his own personal "Rigg roast" netting a hat trick.

White 8 - Red 4 - I didn't see this one either but the following details were generously offered by an anonymous "Bald" man. White came out strong in the first period scoring 4 vs. Reds 1. The second period slowed down with a lot of back and forth skating with each team only putting in one goal. In the third period, White wore down the Red. White's line of Matt Frackelton, Jeff Janofsky and Alex kept the pressure on which allowed White to score 4 vs. Red's 2 goals. Both goalies played tough in the net. White's scoring was spread out with Terry Young scoring 1, Frackelton with 1, John Albanese 1, Alex 1, Baldy 2, and Jeff Janofsky 2. It was reported later that night in the bar that Red's goals came from John Griffith, Stef Boutin and 2 from Pete Klem. Thanks again "Baldy" for the update!

Yellow 8 - Blue 6 - Yellow was "Chipless" and Blue seemed ready to take advantage of the situation. But unfortunately, no one sent Jesse the memo and Yellow rallied from an early deficit to take control by the 3rd period and hang on for the win. The Blue defense of Kokkoris, Gracz, Fleischmann, and Pardee were tough and John Oakes was good as well (mostly) but the Blue offense just couldn't get going. Dave Cavallaro and Duane Pardee each had 2 for Blue while Dave Stage and Mike Masello had one apiece. Jesse led Yellow with 4 goals, Adam Rufa had two, Jeff Ward and Jamie Shuler rounded out the score sheet with solo tallies. The game was marked by some unfortunate self control lapses in the 3rd period and a series of long and loud verbal tirades by a certain Yellow player that had his teammates ready to jump ship. Come to think of it, one actually did. All this reporter can say in both cases is - guys lighten up..... a couple of brain cells can go a long way if used properly.

Other News - George had a nice conversation after the games with the new owner of the rink. I believe his name is Jason Palmer (???). In any case, he was very complimentary to our league and even dropped a $100 bill on George to buy us some drinks. There was a good turnout in the bar that night and I'm sure it did not go unnoticed. After a brief discussion it was agreed that George would use the money to put on a buffet after one of our weekly sessions (I'm not sure if it will be this week). We have good reason to believe that our situation will not be adversely affected by the ownership change and look forward to maintaining the rink in Cicero as our base of operations. Finally the ABC schedules and rosters are posted. As always there were a few changes between the games and these were not meant to offend anyone. If you are on the list but can't be there or you know someone else who can't make it, please take the time to drop me an e-mail. Thanks to the people who have already let me know, it makes planning the games much easier!!

See you Friday!

02/07/06 - Overall this was a better week on the ice with one game ending in an OT tie and one that went down to the last few seconds before being decided.... and then of course there was the Yellow team game - oh well,,,

White 6 - Blue 4 - This self-proclaimed "non embellished report" was graciously provided via register tape by an interested party - we'll call him "Mr. Bill", and is presented without commercial interruption. Scoring summary - White - Jeff Janofsky (1), Matt Frackelton (1 en), John Albanese (2), Gregg Evans (2).  Blue - Brad Beran (1), Dave Cavallaro (1), George Fleischmann (1), Dave Stage (1).  Period scores - 1st 3-1 White, 2nd 4-3 White, 3rd 6-4 White. Notes - Blue scored first (Cavy) nice feed @ White blue line beating Rob Conrad 1 on 1. White D suddenly wakes up and shuts down Blue until late in 2nd when 2 goals by Blue (Beran and Stage) within 1 minute gave Blue reason to come back our for 3rd period. Goal by White (Jeff Janofsky) midway through 3rd gave White a little comfort zone until late in 3rd. Pressure by Blue in 3rd kept White pinned down for several minutes until nice feed to George made it 5-4. Blue pulls John and pressures White but Matt Frackelton gets open netter. Thanks again to Mr. Bill for the contribution. Hopefully this tale of the tape will not be a "one timer."

Yellow 11 - Black 2 - I didn't see the game so all details were obtained in the bar afterwards. Yellow scoring was a little more evenly distributed this week with Drew Liszewski, Jeff Ward, Len Matyasik (2) and even Mike Comartos lighting the proverbial lamp. Chip had a goal or two and I'd wager that Jesse had the rest. Per his teammates, Russ Cole was "just ok" in goal..... Not much to say about Black - Bob LaBarre was on the ice and yes, he's still old and bald - I guess that's something anyway.....

Red 9 - Orange 9 - Orange was without Wayne Morse and Dan Jennings but added sub Dan Jervis for the game - and what a game it turned out to be!! Things started badly for Orange as Red jumped all over them in the early going. Tony Pompo had a hat trick in the 1st period and Mike Tully and Dave Sabatino were also among the scorers to pace them to a 6-2 lead after the 1st. Jervis and Steve Olson had the opening goals for Orange. Period two looked like it would be more of the same as Sabatino ran the lead to 7-2. Jamie Sassenbury brought Orange back within 4 (7-3) but Tony Pompo sandwiched goals number 4 and 5 of his night around another by Steve Olson and the period ended with Red up 9-4 and seemingly ready to make the final stanza academic. But what they didn't realize was the Orange actually had them right where they wanted them. Goalie Dave Rigg buckled down and did not allow another goal for the rest of the game. Two goals by Jervis closed the gap to 9-6 and then Bill Wood blasted a nice wrist shot past Red goalie Chuck Austin to make it 9-7. Orange kept up the pressure and it paid off as Jervis scored again to make it 9-8. Scott Budynas knocked in a rebound on a shot by Len Slack to complete the rally and tie the score at 9. From that point on it was a goaltenders battle as Rigg and Austin alternated big saves. Regulation time ended with a tie and even a 5 minute overtime with plenty of scoring opportunities couldn't change things and both goalies were outstanding. There was a shootout after the OT which Red won 2-1 but it was deemed unofficial as many of the Orange forwards had already gone to the locker room. This was a true FNHL classic that came out of nowhere and easily earned this week's "Game of the Week" honors.

Other News - Money is due this week. Please don't forget as George has had to put in a lot more effort collecting lately than he should have to. Also he asked me to remind everyone that pucks are not to be on the ice until the zamboni doors are closed, and also all players must wear their helmet at all times on the ice, even during the warm-ups. We haven't had any problems with the rink on this but I guess some of the other leagues have and we'd like to avoid unnecessary hassle. Also, the planning for the 4th Annual FNHL Golf Tournament has already begun. George is looking for people to help with planning and door prizes. Please let him know if you can help out. It's always been a good event and we look forward to this year's installment.

See you Friday!

02/01/06 - Not a bad week, not a particularly great one either for the FNHL.... with one big exception. The opening game Blue vs Orange was played before the largest crowd that I can recall. There must have been at least a dozen fans in the stands at various times. Duane Pardee's parents and family boosted the count some but there were others including the return of Len Slack's girlfriend Heather and (I think) a few kids who wandered in from teen nite....Yes, electricity was in the air.

Blue 12 - Orange 3 - A Rigg roast was promised and it was delivered. Blue got a jump start early as Dan Jervis slipped two wrist shots past Rigg. Wayne Morse answered for Orange but offense was hard to come by as John Oakes was tough in goal all game for Blue. Goals by Brad Beran, Dave Cavallaro, and a nifty backhander on a breakaway by Mike Masello left Blue with a 5-1 lead after one. The second period was more of the same as Jervis scored in the opening seconds followed by Dave Stage. Steve Olson did score two in the period for Orange but Cavy matched that for Blue and the lead was 9-3 to start the third. Maybe it was the large crowd, maybe frustration, maybe a full moon... I don't know but things got a little tense in that final period. There were several minor skirmishes capped off by a gloves down dance between Cavy and Dan Jennings. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the game was completed. George Fleischmann finished a nice passing play to run the score to 10-3 and Tom Gridley and (sub) Germain LaPointe added the exclamation points for the 12-3 final. Orange has a lot of good things developing and they are starting to show some of that grit and chemistry that their predecessors had as the Green team but goals are just hard to come by right now. Rigg is improving and I believe that in time they will pull it together. Oh and by the way - earth to Lenny - shoot the damn puck when you're open.....

Red 11 - Black 9 - I didn't see any of this one as I made a quick run to the bar to prepare for the next game. It must have been a decent game based on the final score. I did see Brian Pompo upstairs and he was in good spirits and optimistic about a possible return. We continue to wish him well and will update his status periodically.

Yellow 11 - White 7 - This game started out with promise but Yellow has just been too much for anyone to handle lately. Dave Cornell was back for White but nursing a leg injury and that's not a good thing when Jesse is on the other side. Chip got the first goal of the game for Yellow and Jesse quickly added two more before Gregg Evans scored to get White on the board. Matt Hysell pulled off a spectacular move splitting the Yellow D and then beating Russ Cole to close the gap to 3-2 Yellow after one. Period two was a back breaker for White. Jesse got a quick goal to make it 4-2 but (sub) Dan Jervis narrowed the gap to 4-3 and then the floodgates opened. Jesse scored two more goals (his 4th and 5th) and then Mike Matyasik found his mojo nailing not one, not two, but three one timers from the top of the circle. Brother Lenny couldn't let Mike have all the glory and got in act scoring a goal himself. Nick Smith found the back of the net for White later in the period but the damage had already been done and Yellow was in command after two 10-4. Period three was pretty much an afterthought in this game. Pete Thompson flipped in a shot from a bad angle to round out the scoring for Yellow. John Albanese got a goal for White and Dan Jervis added two more but there would be no rally and the 11-7 final confirmed that Yellow is back on top in the FNHL.

Other News - Steve Olson e-mailed me this week and said that he is putting together an adult tournament to benefit the Pediatric ED at University Hospital. The tournament will be held March 25th and 26th at Cicero and the entry fee is $400 per team. Steve has invited the FNHL to enter a team or two and hopefully we'll be able to do that. I'm not sure about the number of games but I can tell you that the entry fee is very reasonable for a tournament. It might be a great opportunity for the Montreal tournament team to get together and get some experience before heading north. If anyone is interested in playing let me know and I will be happy to help coordinate our team(s). For those of you who don't know, Steve is a member of the Orange team and I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you about it before or after his game.

See you Friday!

01/24/06 - It's been a pretty busy week for me so I'll have to be brief. Overall last week was not one for the ages although we did have a massive attendance jump for the late game thanks to the presence of three lovely young ladies from George's neighborhood. One of these days we've got to get all of our fans to one game (not to watch Germain though......) Since I had the late game there is very little to say about the first two games.

Yellow (a lot) - Red (a few) - The big news here was not the game itself, which was lopsided, but some bad news for one of our FNHL players. It appears that due to his recent work related neck surgery, Brian Pompo may be forced to retire from hockey altogether. If this info is correct it is truly a tough break for one of the nicest and most talented players the FNHL has ever had. Well known as a clean player and the high scoring master of the toe-drag on the ice, Brian is also a dedicated family man who often has his kids with him at the games. I know I speak for the entire FNHL in wishing Brian a quick recovery from his surgery and nothing but the best for whatever the future holds for him.

White (Yes) - Orange (No) -   Enough said.

Blue 8 - Black 7 - This was a good game from start to finish - maybe due to the increased fan support? Pat Salvador scored first for Black on a pass from Peter Malone. Brad Beran answered for Blue shortly thereafter and then George Fleischmann knocked home a nice pass from Cavy to put Blue in front 2-1. The lead didn't last long as Germain Lapointe went coast to coast and tucked home the tying goal for Black. Rob Niemeier closed the period with a buzzer beating one timer and Black led 3-2 after the first period. Cavy tied the game early in the second only to have Black answer yet again, this time a classic "Schumachian" goal by Mark Schumacher himself, followed by another one for Pat Salvador and Black was up 5-3. After a Black goal was disallowed due to a blatant hand pass, Blue made a comeback. Dan Jervis scored to make it 5-4 and then sub John Corrigan got just enough on a one timer pass from Cavy to knock it off the post and in to tie the score at 5 with 5:08 left in the period. Jervis added one more goal for Blue to give them a 6-5 lead after two. Blue looked like they might wrap it up early in the third when goals by Jervis and Dave Stage gave them a commanding 8-5 lead but Black wasn't quite finished. Germain LaPointe scored his second goal for Black to close the gap and Rob Niemeier scored late in the period to bring it back to within one but that was where it ended. Both goalies, Rick Cummings for Black and John Oakes for Blue had great games and were two big reasons that this was the Game of the Week.....

Other News - The Montreal Tournament is set for the last weekend in April. As of now it look like the roster is almost full. There are a couple of guys who were not sure if they could make it and I need to nail it down asap. If you are still interested but haven't spoken to me about it yet, now is the time. This week's early game features Blue vs Orange which can only mean one thing - Rigg Roast!! One other quick note, if anyone knows of a job opening for someone with a degree in workforce education and development, my brother Pete is interested. He was in the corporate training unit at Coach leather goods distribution center for about 5 years and is also a pretty good hockey player. He's willing to relocate and he owes me money so please let me know if you hear of any leads. Thanks!!

See you Friday!!

01/17/06 - A couple of decent games and then one clunker. As the song says "two out of three aint bad."

White 11 - Black 8 (or 9) - Missed this one so all highlights courtesy of bar patrons. Black jumped out to a quick lead with 3 goals on the opening shift, two by Mike Pardee. White came back to tie it at three by the end of the 1st period. Second period was still rather tight defensively (by FNHL standards) ending 6-5 (White??). Things opened up a bit in the third to get to the final score. Blue team was well represented in this one as well with sub Cavy netting a hat trick as a White sub while Duane Pardee scored two subbing for Black. Other goal scorers included Chris Baldwin (3), Gregg Evans (2) and Matt Hysell (2) for White and Greg Schiccitano (2 or 3) for Black.

Blue 8 - Red 7 - A close game throughout. Stef Boutin opened the scoring for Red knocking in a pass from Dave Sabatino who caught Blue goalie John Oakes roaming. Dave Stage scored for Blue to even things up briefly and Dan Jervis made it 2-1 Blue. But the lead was short lived as Sabatino and Tony Pompo tallied for a 3-2 Red lead. With about 5 minutes left in the period Jervis scored again for Blue to tie it. In the second period Sabatino struck again and then again to put Red up 5-3 but Blue found the answers again (and again) this time on a pretty pass from Germain LaPointe to Cavy who later returned the favor and LaPointe made it 5-5 with 12:00 left in the period. Tom Gridley nailed a nice one timer on a pass from Dave Stage to put Blue in front 6-5 and then Cavy scored to extend the Blue lead to 7-5. Tony Pompo pulled Red close at 7-6 with 13:00 to play but Joe (Amazin) Gracz scored what would prove to be the game winner a few minutes later. Tony Pompo got a spectacular spin-a-rama goal with seconds left but it was too little, too late and Blue claimed the Game of the Week victory. Both goalies, Oakes for Blue and Chuck Austin for Red played well in this one. The ending was a bit perplexing to Brian Banks who must have run out of fingers when the score was 5-5. As has been suggested before, there should be no questions about the score if the team on the scoreboard side would simply put up the goals as they are scored.

Yellow (many) - Orange (few) - I have no idea what the score was in this one and neither did anyone else. It's probably better that way. Jamie Shuler returned to the Yellow team and our resident MD injected several goals into an already pumped Yellow attack. Yellow looks poised to reclaim their undisputed status as top dog in the FNHL yard. Orange, on the other hand, was without captain Jamie Sassenbury, Dan Jennings and Len (my "hip" hurts) Slack and turned in a runt of the litter performance. Goalie Dave Rigg was under siege all game and alternated between hero and goat with alarming frequency. Scott Budynas did notch a nice goal late in the game for Orange but no one really cared by then.....

Other News - The revised rosters for the Sunday group have been posted so please take a minute to look them over. As always, if you cannot make a Friday OR Sunday session (for those in that group) please let us know as soon as possible. We have quite a few subs available and can usually fill the spot with at least a little advance notice. Sunday skate was quite good this week as teams played mini games to 5 and then reset.

See you Friday!  

01/11/06 - We were back for our first ABC week of the new year and the games were marked by some outstanding individual performances and one pain in the a$$....

A Game - White 14 - Blue - 10 ---- More like a typical football score than a hockey game score thanks largely to the play of Jesse Nistico for White. If this were a football game he would have thrown for a touchdown, run one or two in, caught one, kicked a field goal, drop kicked an extra point.....well you get the idea. All Jesse, all the time (just sickening folks), Game opened with a goal by guess who for White and was answered quickly by Matt Hysell for Blue. Jesse quickly added two more for White to put them up 3-1. Blue held tough as Cavy went top shelf from in close to make it 3-2. But goals by Jamie Shuler and Jesse again ran the score back to 5-2. Brian Banks gave Blue some momentum by blasting one past Russ Cole with 10 seconds left in the first to cut the deficit to 5-3 and they briefly rode that wave into the second period. Matt Hysell got another one and then Banks tipped a high shot by Bill Hopkins into the net for the only tie score of the evening 5-5. But second period goals by Jesse, George, Jesse and Jesse for White put them in front for good. Cavy got his second of the game for Blue but the score was 9-6 White after two. In the third period White kept up the attack and got a goal from Dave Sabatino, two from Germain Lapointe and two more from Jesse (for a total of 9), Blue kept trying to mount a comeback as Dan Jennings and Wayne Morse scored on nice individual efforts but even the completion of hat tricks by Cavy and Banks were not enough. While the Blue team did outscore Jesse 10-9, when added to the rest of his team's total it was a 14-10 victory for the White team.

C Game - Blue 10 (??) - White 3 --- I didn't get to see much of this game but based on the score and the comments in the bar it wasn't pretty. Dark got some dominating play from Jeff Ward and even a goal by Chris Hoyt past his father Del en-route to an easy victory. George stepped in for both teams but spent most of the game with White and did manage a nice top shelf goal but it was too little, too late. Blue was boosted by a nice performance from their sub goalie (whose name I didn't catch) while Del continues to struggle in his new role. Next session I can promise a very different distribution of players and hopefully a more competitive outcome. But it was still hockey and the beer in the bar was still beer so we are assured that life will go on for at least another six weeks.

B Game - Blue 10 - White 9 --- This game started out looking like a slam dunk for White as Mike Tully(2) and Steve Olson put them up 3-0 early. Sub goalie Mark (??) for Blue was a little late getting on the ice and also a little late making saves to start the game. But the tide would turn and just like in the first game, one player did most of the damage. The "A" game may have had Jesse, but this game had Jamie. Jamie Sassenbury, Orange team captain and one man wrecking crew for the Blue team. Jamie scored his teams first three goals and only a Scott Budynas goal for White kept them in the lead at 4-3. Stef Boutin scored with 12:40 to go in the 2nd period and White thought they would take this one home, but it wasn't over yet. Tom Gridley and Dave Stage scored for Blue to tie the score at 5-5. Another goal by Boutin put White back in front and then Mike Tully completed his hat trick (I can't believe I'm even saying this) to once again give White a two goal lead 7-5. At that point Sassenbury again stepped up and scored two goals for Blue, one with only 12 seconds left in period two to send the game into the third period tied 7-7. Sadly, Len Slack then had to leave the game for White. I am pretty sure he aggravated his "hip" injury during a first period collision with teammate (the returning) Ian Webber (who clearly has not missed a meal since his last FNHL game). Anyway, Lenny's pain in the "hip" may have been subliminally transferred to his team in the third period. First Tony Pompo got on the board for Blue crashing headlong into the net and carrying Mike Comartos, Dave Rigg, and most importantly the puck into the net with him. Mike Masello then flipped a backhander past Rigg to give Blue a 9-7 lead. Bill Wood scored for White to make it 9-8 with 11:30 to play. The teams then battled back and forth for the next 10 minutes but neither Blue goalie Mark or White goalie Dave Rigg would allow a goal. Finally with 1:45 on the clock Jamie Sassenbury fittingly notched what would eventually be the game winner (his sixth of the night). Ian Webber did get a goal for White with about 30 seconds left and the goalie pulled but Blue survived a furious final rally to earn the comeback win. It was a great game, fun to watch and easily the Game of the Week. One giant win for Blue, one big pain in the "hip" for White.

Other News - The schedule for the next session has been posted and the new rosters are in effect so please take a few minutes to look things over. Speaking of a few minutes, rumor has it that if Bob LaBarre lasted half as long at home as he does on the ice, Patty would be much happier. (We'd even be willing to bet on it)..... George has mentioned that we have a number of players who would like to rejoin or enter the league and the sub list is quite full. This past week we once again had several no-show, no-call guys and that seems to be a consistent problem. In this day and age there is no reason that we should be running into this so often. Please take a few seconds and pick up the cell phone if you can't make it to a scheduled game. That goes for the Sunday sessions as well (for those of you in that group). Also on Sunday's especially we've noticed a few players tend to stay on the ice for very long "shifts". Please be courteous to your fellow skaters and get the heck off the ice after a reasonable couple of minutes, not when you are "tired". If you're not tired after 3 minutes, you're not skating hard enough.... So that's my mini rant for the week. On a better note, we broke our all-time attendance mark last week thanks to the Baldwin and Hopkins families who did a great job running the scoreboard during the "A" game (Jesse kept them busy of course).....  Dan Jennings has suggested that we try to get a group together and visit the Winterlude Festival in Ottawa. It sounds like a good time so if you're interested let Dan know. The festival runs from about Feb 3rd to the 19th and they have a website at www.winterlude.ca. Steve Olson has built another impressive rink in his backyard and I will post some photos soon. Maybe we should hold an FNHL game there Steve??

See you Friday!   

01/04/06 - New Year = New format for the recaps. Also you may have noticed that this page is considerably smaller. In an effort to keep page loading times down I've deleted prior years news. If you do want to look something up you can click on the links on top to re-visit years past.

Blue 13 - Orange 11 - A roller coaster ride to start the new year. Blue rolls out to an early 5- 0 lead including goals by Gridley (2), Beran, Jervis and sub Spencer (for hire). Orange rallies behind Boismenu, Budynas and Olson to close the gap. Jervis adds one more to close the period at 6-3. Orange starts strong in period 2 with goals from Jamie Sassenbury and Scott Budynas and it's 6-5 with 9:20 to go in the period. Spencer and Jervis team up for two more for Blue and then (sub) Jason Vogel scores for Orange - 8 to 6 after 2. The line of Stage, Spencer and Jervis stay hot for Blue and run the score back up to 12-7 and this one is over...... or maybe not??? Budynas, Olin and Olson answer and with 4 minutes left it's 12-11..!!! Finally with just over a minute left, Duane Pardee beats Dave Rigg like a rented goalie and Blue can breathe again, escaping with a 13-11 win.

White 20 (?) - Red 6 - Started out with scoring on both sides. Matt Hysell opened for White but Brian Banks answered. Chris Baldwin scored to put White back in front before (sub) Dan Jervis hit two in a row to give Red their only lead of the night 3-2. Baldwin, Albanese and Evans (2) then notch 4 straight to put White in the lead for good 6-3. A late one-timer by Stef Boutin from Tony Pompo ends the period with White up 6-4. At that point this reporter left the building and, rumor has it, so did Red goalie Del Hoyt. By all accounts White scored early and often - or maybe the better term would be "at will." Evans ends up with about 6, Baldwin about 5, Albanese maybe 4 and Nick Smith buried 2. Ron Maydole was held scoreless in his first game back after pneumoina but not due to lack of opportunities. Del of course is new to the position so hopefully he'll bounce back from this one ala Dave Rigg of a few weeks ago....enough said.

Yellow 9 - Black 6 - No roller coaster in this one, just great action from start to finish. Sub goalie Chuck Austin was outstanding for Black as was the Bob LaBarre led defense. Yellow had all their guns and they were firing but couldn't beat Austin. Finally Adam Rufa and Mike Matyasik scored for Yellow to answer the goal by Black's Greg Schiccitano and the period ended 2-1. Second period was more of the same with Yellow pressing but Black holding and stepping up on offense when the opportunity arose. Jesse and Chip each scored for Yellow but they were more than answered by Black with Pardee, Rob Niemeier and Schiccitano scoring (again) to carry a 4 - 4 tie into the last stanza. The game was still tight until about the midway point in the period when Jesse and Pete Thompson each scored two goals to put Yellow in control. Greg Schiccitano did complete his hat trick for Black (who knew???) and George Fleischmann added one late but it was not quite enough. Matt Marchitto had the last goal for Yellow. With all due respect to the opener, this was, the Game of the Week. I'm going back to Texas next week with a new respect for the Alamo....

Other News - Due to the holidays, George did not press people for money last week. Please remember to pay him this Friday. The Sunday group money is also due and this week will be the last week in the session. I will post new schedules as soon as I get them. There have been a few player trades made and the changes will take effect next week with the start of the new session. It might be a good idea to take a look at the rosters and let either George or I know you have any questions.

See you Friday!

01/03/06 - The schedule and rosters for the ABC games this Friday are now posted. As always, there was no intent to slight anyone in terms of placement. I did once again shuffle a few players between the various games to try to keep things interesting and fun for all. Please let me know immediately if you cannot make your scheduled game or if I have accidentally forgotten to put someone on the list. Special thanks to everyone who already e-mailed me about availability. Since it's quite late already tonight, the regular game recaps will be posted tomorrow. Also, please take a look at the new letter in the Ice Chips section. Steve Olson is still looking for two players to participate in the pond hockey tournament in Lake Placid in mid January.