Guess what just washed up on shore along with the dead sea scrolls. Why it's the final chapter of the oh9/oh10 Wes Report featuring the Greece Thunder Hockey Awards Banquet recap. I realize that by now everyone has moved on to other things like golf and sticky lips, spring cleaning and swimming pools, garage cleaning and graduation parties, but I hope you all left an open page in your son's high school scrapbook for this. Enjoy!
I still twitch when I think about how Miss Kim put me on the spot with just 2 minutes notice to deliver the invocation, but thankfully we were all spared when Steven Hebberect's granny (Peg) made a grand entrance and delivered a good ole' Irish blessing to kick things off! While everyone was finishing up their meal, Kim thanked her cabinet and all the parents, grandparents, family and friends who pitched in to make it work. To keep the program moving she invoked the double-clap rule after each thank you was read.
Coach Webb took the podium next and surprised all in attendance with more than a few words. Although, he struggled at the outset to come up with a word that was at the tip of his tongue, causing a rather long pregnant pause (little did Webby know he would later learn that he was "expecting"). Vyper shouted out for him to just make up a word, but eventually it came to him, it was "compilation".
Webby thanked Kim for her great leadership and all she had done for the program during her tenure (she is truly an amazing woman and I dare say if there is ever a Thunder Hockey Hall of Fame, I will personally nominate her for induction in the first class). He went on to thank his coaches, Wader (Pat Wade), Yokin (Erik Geller), and Sof (Pat Sofia), for all of their contributions to this great program. Then he spoke of the 3 goals this year's team set out to achieve. First goal was to win their division. How did they do? Thunder finished their 10th season at 9-6-4-2, coming in second place with an 8-3-3 record in the West Division, and it is important to note that they were the only team in the division to beat the first placed Lightning. Second goal was to make ourselves tough to beat. Indeed we measured well against this goal, as 6 of the 12 games we did not win ended in a tie or OTL, while the 6 games we lost in regulation included 2@1-goal losses, 2@2-goal losses, and 2@3-goal losses. So, clearly we were not giving anything away as we made the other teams earn it and never got blown out. Third goal was to rebuild after going 27-0 the prior year and losing many key players to graduation, juniors, and greener pastures. Not an easy task, but with the positive leadership of this year's seniors and captains demonstrating a fine example of respect, the team overachieved on the ice by staying out of trouble off the ice.
Acording to Josh lacy, Thunder finished a very respectable 6th out of 75 teams who qualified for the New York State Scholar Athlete Team Awards. We were the top team in Section V with an average of 94.504%. Added Miss Kim "Not only were they good boys on and off the ice they are scholar athletes. Webby……Now we know what they were doing with all of their mischievous time….they were studying…..Who knew……???? Good parenting peops, good parenting."
As Webby announced the players, he commented on Sherry often being late to practice due to driver's ed and how "we were all happy about that". He talked about how much fun Lepore had and how Grims resorted to hugging people instead of killing them. Then came the team awards.
After a rough start to the season, Curran O'Brien (3g-2a-5pts) persevered and finished strong earning himself the Most Improved Player (MIP) Award.
Captains Award was a no-brainer as nobody exemplified a "team attitude" quite like Tyler Mattle. Even after sustaining one of the hardest blows to the head you may ever see, at center ice, he got right back up and got into the play. He was unparalleled in work ethic and was often called upon to win a face-off when needed.
Rookie of the Year went to Justin Simonelli, second in scoring for the team and averaging a point per game with 7g-14a for 21 points. He really has a knack for finding his teammates through even the heaviest of traffic with some pretty nifty passes.
Defensive player of the year went to Steven "Steady-Hebby" Hebberect. What he lacked in size, he made up for in sheer will and determination, as he battled along the wall and in front of the net against bigger players and routinely won those battles to keep the opponent off the board and his team on the attack.
Coaches Award went to Dan "the Vyper" Vyverberg for leading the team both on and off the ice. It takes a lot of courage and a little stupidity to block a puck with your neck (Harr-YYY!!!), but Vyper was always willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the team. He finished third in scoring with 3g-14a for 17pts.
And last but most certainly not least, the cheese stands alone, as your 2009-2010 Greece Thunder Hockey MVP (not to mention Greece Male Athlete of the Year). He led the team in scoring with 14g-9a for 23 points, hey, that's his number! He could part the red sea with that slapper of his, just ask the opposing netminders and D who had their towers buzzed while trying to avoid getting hit by one of his inbound missiles.
Webby closed his season 10 remarks by saying "here's to 20 more years". Who knows, if he hangs in there he just might pass Al Vyverberg up some day as the winningest hockey coach in section five. Vyverberg moved past retired Irondequoit coach Al maerz with his 304th career win in his 23rd season at the helm for the McQuaid Knights this year. Webby then turned the stage over to his captains, Cheese, Mils, and Vyper, for a new Thunder tradition a la the Paper Plate Awards. Not sure if I captured/understood all of them correctly, but here is what i could recall.
- Mattle: bobblehead award
- Hebs: most likely to become a mime award
- Keenan: conehead award (keep your stick on the ice)
- Delucia: watch out for jared award (hurt his shoulder)
- Lerch : most likely to get jumped award
- Sherry: X-Box award
- AC: AC130 is in the air award (from Modern Warfare COD)
- Soeffing: best hair ($5 haircut)
- ASim: silent assassin (in locker room)
- eHoss: who-who-who monkey award
- Simmy: cute little baby award (awe... he's so cute)
- Snake: silent slitherer award
- Keough: most likely to bring a knife to practice award
- Ian: most likely to win american idol award
- Clark: girlfriend texter award
- Ganti: kangaroo jack (subaru) award
- Jared: eh Jared? award
- LePore: ha ha, classic award (hangover reference)
- Grims: most likely to kill someone award
- Ganti, McNeil: chimp awards
Next up were the captains gag gifts for the coaches. Wader received a mega-horn, given his talks are always so quiet and meaningful. Geller's gift is classified. Webby's gift was more serious than a gag gift and was inspired by something he said to the team about goal setting way back when Vyper was an 8th grade manager. He talked about how he wanted to get a house someday so that he could have a dog and well, we all know that Webby bought a house this year. So Vyper thought it would be neat to get him a dog, but given picking out a dog is somewhat of a personal thing and a long-term commitment, instead the captains decided to canvas the team for donations to help Webby buy a dog. Initially rumor had it that webby was looking to find a bassett hound puppy and wanted to name it Elvis, but apparently Elvis left the building, so instead he has decided to go with a black lab puppy and is going to name it Otis. Otis was born about 6 weeks ago out in Victor. Webby and Otis are both doing fine and Otis is expected to come home to Windsor Road at some point over the next couple of weeks. When asked if he is potty trained, Webby thought I was referring to his other house-mate and he replied, "why yes, Wader is potty trained" with a grin. But as usual I digress.
Miss Kimberly closed the banquet by announcing that she was going back on her word and is keeping "pants one". Then as Mattle rolled his picture show, the tissues started coming out for the senior parents. Thunder, there is no other!
OUT TAKES
Former Pres Crisis
DAY-1 (Sun 21-Mar): Trey, Brandon and Gabby report " Just a heads up Miss Kimberly had an accident on the ice tonight and was sent to park ridge for what appears to be a broken ankle. Thought everyone would want to know."; Wes replies "Bummer. Will she be recovering at camp david? Did she get airlifted by Marine One or ground transport via Volvo One or Ridgeline One from the rink to the Hospital? Did you call her Geraldine Ford...and then duck?"
DAY-2 (Mon 22-Mar): Trey reports "Okay so long night at the hospital. She was avoiding another person fell and went skates first into the boards. She had a severe fracture in the same ankle when she was a kid and the bone is a little weak there. It is a spiral fracture on her lower ankle (outside). We are going in today for probable surgery. Thanks for all the great messages. She is enjoying all the well wishes."; "She just got out of surgery and it went great. She is going to be sore for a few days but she will be back to normal in a few months."
DAY-3 (Tues 23-Mar): The former president addresses her Thunder public...
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MY AWESOME PURPLE AND YELLOW FLOWERS. Arrived minutes after I got home and made my day. I’m happy to report that I now have my own permanent metal devices bound to set off detectors everywhere I go. Not only did the doctor promise to get me into my skates again but he did one better, he made the entire leg stronger, so Cathy Vyper, you have to help me get my mojo back in those skates. I will also need a power walking buddy in about 6 or 7 weeks to work off the excess blubberage I’m sure to inherit in my left bootie. See you on the LAX field for those of you watching the other stick sport……Love you all and for all of your kind encouragement. Truly familia……
If I could remember the Irish blessing I’d email it but I think it was best said by Peg the other night. Love that woman….her daughter is a chip off the ol block. Funny…funny, funny sense of humour.
We are not defined by what we achieve... We are defined by what we overcome!!!
Although, one could argue we are also defined by how well our boot is bedazzled, lol.
Still Chasing the Dream
- Former Thunder forward Matt Lane was invited to participate in the 2010 NTDP U17 evaluation camp back in March. Did he make the team? I cannot find a link to the 2010-2011 roster online. Anyone?
- His brother, Philip Lane, was drafted in the second round, 52nd overall, to the Phoenix Coyotes, on Saturday, 26-Jun. Not a bad excuse for missing one's graduation. Check out the interview!
- Mr Big Goal himself, JT Stenglein, was drafted by the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL and will report to vacation bible school this summer before attending camp.
- Thunder all time scoring leader Riley Bourbonnais will play for Berkshire Prep in the Fall of 2010.
- "Big Mike" Rotolo will return to the crease for the Regals U18 team in the fall of 2010.
- Vyper and several other Thunder players got a call-up to play with the Russell crew donning tuxedo jerseys in a heavily scouted beer league tournament at Lakeshore over the spring!
- Parker Bonis may be headed to Detroit?
Friday, July 2, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
February 17 Game Report
Has it really been only three weeks since the Greece Thunder Hockey team lost 2-1 in sudden death OT to Aquinas Little Irish at Lakeshore, cuz it seems like it was a lifetime ago? The olympics was fun to watch but something just seems like it has been missing without any Thunder games on the calendar. Had to let the final game report of the season marinate for a bit, as bowing out early in the pre-quarters was definitely not in our plans. Having tied AQ twice in regular season play, we figured the third time would be a charm, for us, not for them. It ended so abruptly, so suddenly, and it left us all verclempt. Perched in the stands to witness the last four Thunder seasons come to a close, I always sensed it was difficult for the senior parents who had just watched their son's high school hockey career come to a close, but it never really hit home for me until this year with the Vyper graduating. After 13 years, 3 minivans, and over 300k miles traveled on this hockey journey, could it all be over? Sure, the seniors will play again, be it juniors or college club, or men's league someday, and who knows, they might even walk onto a D1 or D3 team or go play in Europe. But it will be tough to recreate the atmosphere on the east rink at Lakeshore with their classmates and Thunder family cheering them on from the stands. The ups, the downs, and all the wonderful memories from their days of thunder will live on forever in their hearts and minds. Yeaaaahhhhhh Thun-Derrrrrrrrrrrr!
Who blinged the pants out, who, who-who. Who blinged pants-one out, was it the Miller girls and Ms. Gabby too? Soul Train Amanda laid down the final anthem track and it was nearly perfect, but to be honest, we could have used a little more cowbell. Thunder came out flying and dominated the play with AC and Ganti hammering away on the forecheck and Simmy chipping away at the paint on the crossbar. McNeilNuggetSkillet broke the seal by putting away the rebound from Vyper's point shot, fed by Simmy on the powerplay, just 6 minutes in, to make it 1-0 Thunder. Greece knocked on the Dohr a total of 9 times in the first frame and played solid man-on-man, stick-on-stick team defense, limiting the Irish to just 4 shots. Ian stacked-the-pads for a big save down the stretch on one of AQ's better chances.
Second period saw Thunder kill off the balance of the Irish PP that carried over from the first, as Vypes blocked a shot with his hairy neck, call it a neck-harry, don't try this at home. Cheese's wraparound bid prompted a Yeah Cheese from JR, but the Dohr was closed. Momentum shifted AQ's way forcing Mike Miller to step up and that he did, all over the ice, every shift. Then seemingly out of nowhere, with only 2.5 mins to the cut, Logan Gagnier came off the bench and directed an innocent slapper on net that one-hopped its way in from the point for the equalizer, assisted my Nick Montinarelli. Thunder only managed 7 shots in the second to AQ's 11, leaving Thunder with a 16-15 edge through two.
Back from the break, Grimmy slid into the Thunder goal with AQ's Vogl in his lap, providing a little comic relief to cut the tension at the outset of the third. Simmy went end-end walking everyone but Dohr made a nice pad save. Back in Thunder territory an attempted clear took a funny bounce off one of the stansions and ended up kicking out front, forcing Ian to square up for an emergency save. Keough kicked it into high gear and generated several scoring chances in the waning minutes of regulation but unfortunately none of them found the back of the net. Shots were 10-7 for a three period total of 26-22 in Thunder's favor. Then less than 2 minutes into the first 7.5 minute overtime, the unthinkable happened, as AQ's Jeff Hackshaw fired a shot, assisted by Logan Gagnier, that hit Cumming, bounced out and was ultimately picked out of the air and batted into the net by Nick Montinarelli for the goal that would advance the Irish to the next round while ending Thunder's season in an instant.
First star goes to Peter Dohr, the senior netminder for AQ with 25 saves for the win. Second star goes to Nick Montinarelli with a goal and assist including the winner. Third star goes to Ian Cumming with 21 saves for Thunder. Honorable mention: Logan Gagnier (AQ) with goal and assist for 2 points; Mike Miller for bringing the intensity all game long; Matt Keough for elevating his game and giving it all he had. And so, Thunder finishes their 10th season at 9-7-4-1, after a second place finish with an 8-3-3 record in the West Division. Nice work boys!
Congratulations are in order for the following Thunder players who received Section V Awards:
1st Team All League West Division Forward - Brandon Cheeseman
2nd Team All League West Division Defense - Dan Vyverberg
Top Scholar/Athlete Award - Dan Vyverberg
Congratulations are also in order for the following Thunder seniors who were chosen to represent the West in the Annual Section V Senior Select game:
Brandon Cheeseman
Dan Vyverberg
Steve Hebberecht
See everyone at the banquet. Be there or miss out on some good food and some seriously funny shtuff, lol.
Who blinged the pants out, who, who-who. Who blinged pants-one out, was it the Miller girls and Ms. Gabby too? Soul Train Amanda laid down the final anthem track and it was nearly perfect, but to be honest, we could have used a little more cowbell. Thunder came out flying and dominated the play with AC and Ganti hammering away on the forecheck and Simmy chipping away at the paint on the crossbar. McNeilNuggetSkillet broke the seal by putting away the rebound from Vyper's point shot, fed by Simmy on the powerplay, just 6 minutes in, to make it 1-0 Thunder. Greece knocked on the Dohr a total of 9 times in the first frame and played solid man-on-man, stick-on-stick team defense, limiting the Irish to just 4 shots. Ian stacked-the-pads for a big save down the stretch on one of AQ's better chances.
Second period saw Thunder kill off the balance of the Irish PP that carried over from the first, as Vypes blocked a shot with his hairy neck, call it a neck-harry, don't try this at home. Cheese's wraparound bid prompted a Yeah Cheese from JR, but the Dohr was closed. Momentum shifted AQ's way forcing Mike Miller to step up and that he did, all over the ice, every shift. Then seemingly out of nowhere, with only 2.5 mins to the cut, Logan Gagnier came off the bench and directed an innocent slapper on net that one-hopped its way in from the point for the equalizer, assisted my Nick Montinarelli. Thunder only managed 7 shots in the second to AQ's 11, leaving Thunder with a 16-15 edge through two.
Back from the break, Grimmy slid into the Thunder goal with AQ's Vogl in his lap, providing a little comic relief to cut the tension at the outset of the third. Simmy went end-end walking everyone but Dohr made a nice pad save. Back in Thunder territory an attempted clear took a funny bounce off one of the stansions and ended up kicking out front, forcing Ian to square up for an emergency save. Keough kicked it into high gear and generated several scoring chances in the waning minutes of regulation but unfortunately none of them found the back of the net. Shots were 10-7 for a three period total of 26-22 in Thunder's favor. Then less than 2 minutes into the first 7.5 minute overtime, the unthinkable happened, as AQ's Jeff Hackshaw fired a shot, assisted by Logan Gagnier, that hit Cumming, bounced out and was ultimately picked out of the air and batted into the net by Nick Montinarelli for the goal that would advance the Irish to the next round while ending Thunder's season in an instant.
First star goes to Peter Dohr, the senior netminder for AQ with 25 saves for the win. Second star goes to Nick Montinarelli with a goal and assist including the winner. Third star goes to Ian Cumming with 21 saves for Thunder. Honorable mention: Logan Gagnier (AQ) with goal and assist for 2 points; Mike Miller for bringing the intensity all game long; Matt Keough for elevating his game and giving it all he had. And so, Thunder finishes their 10th season at 9-7-4-1, after a second place finish with an 8-3-3 record in the West Division. Nice work boys!
Congratulations are in order for the following Thunder players who received Section V Awards:
1st Team All League West Division Forward - Brandon Cheeseman
2nd Team All League West Division Defense - Dan Vyverberg
Top Scholar/Athlete Award - Dan Vyverberg
Congratulations are also in order for the following Thunder seniors who were chosen to represent the West in the Annual Section V Senior Select game:
Brandon Cheeseman
Dan Vyverberg
Steve Hebberecht
See everyone at the banquet. Be there or miss out on some good food and some seriously funny shtuff, lol.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
February 13 Game Report
On the eve of Valentines there was a lot of love in the air at the shore as Thunder played visitor to Irondequoit on their senior nite. Jim Soufleris was at the mic to announce the IHS seniors as well as your very own Thunder seniors who showed a lot of class by remaining on the ice for the duration of the Eagles ceremony. IHS senior Rachel Zwitzer performed the anthem and then Thunder Captain Brandon Cheeseman and Eagles Assistant Jesse Haliniak participated in a ceremonial first face off with IHS Senior Captain David York, who came out to drop the puck, as he was unable to participate in his senior nite contest due to a recent injury he had sustained. Had we known about this in advance, perhaps we could have gotten Thunder Sophomore Keenan Mahoney in on the ceremony, as he too was recently sidelined by an unfortunate injury. Despite all the IHS hoopla, fans in the visitor stands were clearly in a Thunder State of Mind.
I'm from the Thunder State that's...
In Lake-shore,
Hockey jungle where dreams are made of,
Theres nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re on Thun-der,
this team will make you feel brand new,
Big goals will inspire you,
lets hear it for Thun Der, Thun Der, Thun Der
It was a nite of fun with the Vyverbrother (Vyper/Snake) and Grimmy (Jared/Tyler) tandems taking to the ice as blueline brothers. The Simmy bro's got to play together as well, with Andrew taking the baton from Ian to backstop his brother Justin. Everyone was rallying 'round to try and get senior forwards Matt Lerch and Tyler Lepore their first goal and while they were unable to accomplish this feat, it was truly an inspiration to see the whole team cheering them on and being so supportive of one another. Thunder closed out the regular season on a high note with a 6-1 win over Irondequoit and a whole lot of unity going into the post season.
Not much doing in the opening period other than a 5 on 3 each way with no conversion. Vyper turned a harry into a shorthanded scoring chance but the the Eagles keeper held onto his bid. First frame was scoreless with shots 11-8 in Thunder's favor.
Curran O'Brien broke the seal 6 minutes into the second, when he put away the rebound from a shot right on by AC. Cheese followed it up with a goal of his own based on sheer determination, as he bulled his way through traffic and got up in the goalies grill to get the puck across the line, assisted by Tyler Grimshaw. ASim came in for Cumming with 2:09 to go in the second. Almost a minute later, Dan Vyverberg called for Matt Keough to chip the puck by his check and then Vyper lugged the mail down the left side with two Thunder forwards going to the net. Thought he might slide it over but instead he let a snapper go from outside that grazed the top of the goalies glove and into the goal to make it 3-0 Thunder. IHS came back with a whimper with 3 seconds left in the second as Nick Papas got by ASim with a deflection off a Thunder player's skate, assisted by Peter Barilla and Mike Basta.
It was 3-1 Thunder at the end of two and by this point in the game I am pretty sure everyone in the building had to have seen/heard Lady GaGa or was it GooGoo, carrying on in the stands. She was wearing a homemade Thunder T adorned with glitter and such, a pair of oversized aviators, like the ones the baby wore in the hangover, and a purple plaid hunting hat complete with the ear flaps. Nobody seemed to know who she was or where she came from. Athena parents said she must be from Odyssey and of course Odyssey parents said no, she's from Athena. While the story remains largely unconfirmed, rumor has it she is an alumni from one of the Thunder schools who was in the stands to avenge some remarks made by the IHS camp when Thunder played the Eagles last year. Methinks this could be fodder for a reality show someday.
Back from the break, IHS swapped their netminders witrh Blake Billitier coming in for Vinnie Guida between the pipes. Mike McNuggetSkillet posted a fourth marker for Thunder with 5:36 to go, assisted by Matt Lerch and Justin Simonelli. Mike Briganti notched another, two minutes later, putting away the rebound from a shot by Tyler Lepore, assisted by Cheese. Exit Billitier, enter Joe Hall in net for the Eagles. Lerch sprung Eric Hostetter who found Simmy coming down the left side and then Simmy buried the wrister to get Lerch his second point on the season. When all was said and done, Thunder had 13 different point getters, as they defeated Irondequoit 6-1 with everyone getting in on the action.
This win advances Thunder's record to 8-3-3 (9-6-4-1 overall), garnering them second place in the west division and 7th seed in the Class A sectionals. First star goes to Tyler LePore who "stole the show" while logging his first career point. Second star goes to Matt Lerch who played tough throughout and racked up a pair of assists for his first Thunder points. Third star is shared by Cheese and Simmy with a goal and assist apiece.
I'm from the Thunder State that's...
In Lake-shore,
Hockey jungle where dreams are made of,
Theres nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re on Thun-der,
this team will make you feel brand new,
Big goals will inspire you,
lets hear it for Thun Der, Thun Der, Thun Der
It was a nite of fun with the Vyverbrother (Vyper/Snake) and Grimmy (Jared/Tyler) tandems taking to the ice as blueline brothers. The Simmy bro's got to play together as well, with Andrew taking the baton from Ian to backstop his brother Justin. Everyone was rallying 'round to try and get senior forwards Matt Lerch and Tyler Lepore their first goal and while they were unable to accomplish this feat, it was truly an inspiration to see the whole team cheering them on and being so supportive of one another. Thunder closed out the regular season on a high note with a 6-1 win over Irondequoit and a whole lot of unity going into the post season.
Not much doing in the opening period other than a 5 on 3 each way with no conversion. Vyper turned a harry into a shorthanded scoring chance but the the Eagles keeper held onto his bid. First frame was scoreless with shots 11-8 in Thunder's favor.
Curran O'Brien broke the seal 6 minutes into the second, when he put away the rebound from a shot right on by AC. Cheese followed it up with a goal of his own based on sheer determination, as he bulled his way through traffic and got up in the goalies grill to get the puck across the line, assisted by Tyler Grimshaw. ASim came in for Cumming with 2:09 to go in the second. Almost a minute later, Dan Vyverberg called for Matt Keough to chip the puck by his check and then Vyper lugged the mail down the left side with two Thunder forwards going to the net. Thought he might slide it over but instead he let a snapper go from outside that grazed the top of the goalies glove and into the goal to make it 3-0 Thunder. IHS came back with a whimper with 3 seconds left in the second as Nick Papas got by ASim with a deflection off a Thunder player's skate, assisted by Peter Barilla and Mike Basta.
It was 3-1 Thunder at the end of two and by this point in the game I am pretty sure everyone in the building had to have seen/heard Lady GaGa or was it GooGoo, carrying on in the stands. She was wearing a homemade Thunder T adorned with glitter and such, a pair of oversized aviators, like the ones the baby wore in the hangover, and a purple plaid hunting hat complete with the ear flaps. Nobody seemed to know who she was or where she came from. Athena parents said she must be from Odyssey and of course Odyssey parents said no, she's from Athena. While the story remains largely unconfirmed, rumor has it she is an alumni from one of the Thunder schools who was in the stands to avenge some remarks made by the IHS camp when Thunder played the Eagles last year. Methinks this could be fodder for a reality show someday.
Back from the break, IHS swapped their netminders witrh Blake Billitier coming in for Vinnie Guida between the pipes. Mike McNuggetSkillet posted a fourth marker for Thunder with 5:36 to go, assisted by Matt Lerch and Justin Simonelli. Mike Briganti notched another, two minutes later, putting away the rebound from a shot by Tyler Lepore, assisted by Cheese. Exit Billitier, enter Joe Hall in net for the Eagles. Lerch sprung Eric Hostetter who found Simmy coming down the left side and then Simmy buried the wrister to get Lerch his second point on the season. When all was said and done, Thunder had 13 different point getters, as they defeated Irondequoit 6-1 with everyone getting in on the action.
This win advances Thunder's record to 8-3-3 (9-6-4-1 overall), garnering them second place in the west division and 7th seed in the Class A sectionals. First star goes to Tyler LePore who "stole the show" while logging his first career point. Second star goes to Matt Lerch who played tough throughout and racked up a pair of assists for his first Thunder points. Third star is shared by Cheese and Simmy with a goal and assist apiece.
Friday, February 12, 2010
February 9 Game Report
The Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey Team kissed their sisters of Aquinas for the second time this season with a 2-2 tie tuesday nite at the shore. It was senior nite with Grandpa Marty rolling out the purple carpet and Grandpa Joe at the mic to emcee the event, putting in a plug for his grandson Mike Miller's birthday. Cheese, Mills, Vypes, Hebs, Lerch, Keough, and Lepore met their respective families on the runway to share a photo op, giving props to those who have supported them throughout their HS Hockey Careers and offering a glimpse of their future plans as they head out into the real world. Kate-E with your pitch so bright, won't you sing our anthem tonight. Then all the seniors loved her, as she shouted out with "real glee", Kate-E the International Show Choir Sensation, you'll go down in Thunder His-to-ry, as will Pete Feola, an accomplished local official who called this game en route to his biggest assignment ever up north in Vancouver over the coming weeks!
AQ's Bernie Gauthier got loose, drawing a penalty shot after being taken down by Tyler Grimshaw on a breakaway attempt in the early going. Fear not as, unlike his dad in the stands, Ian was cool as a cucumber on the ice, poke checking Gauthier to keep AQ at bay, for the time being anyway. Thunder controlled the play for the next six minutes in the wake of Cumming's big stop. But AQ would take the reigns with six mins to go in the first frame as Nick Montinarelli put away the rebound from a Jeff Hackshaw shot that was assisted by Gauthier off a draw to the left of Cumming. Dohr looked shaky down the stretch but managed to keep Thunder scoreless on the 12 shots they took to AQ's 9 in the opening period.
Second period saw Eric Hostetter at long last rewarded with his first goal of the season five minutes in, as he sailed a sweet backhander through a crack in the Dohr, fed out front by Matt Keough, assisted by Dan Vyverberg, to even up. Five minutes later Nico Gonzalez rallied to regain the lead for AQ with a rebound off a point-shot by Joe Snook. Vypes bookended the period with a pair of long-lead breakaway passes to connect the dots with Cheese, but the puck never met the twine, not for a lack of trying and it certainly got everyone on their feet. Thunder outshot Aquinas 11-8 in the second for a two-period total of 23-17, although AQ led 2-1 on the scoreboard going to the break.
Five minutes into the third Vyper cranked a low slapper on net, assisted by Simmy, and McNugget got a piece of it for the PPG to knot the game at 2s. AQ took a timeout with 27 seconds left in regulation but there was nothing doing as Thunder shut things down to get to overtime with a 7-5 shot margin that made it 30-22 Thunder through three periods. Thunder enjoyed a 2-man advantage in the beginning of OT as did AQ when they pulled their goalie at the end. But neither team would claim the game before the extra period had expired.
With this tie Thunder remains second in the West, a point ahead of AQ, with a record of 7-3-3 (8-6-4-1 overall). Shots were 2-0 Thunder in overtime making it 32-22 overall in Thunder's favor. Cumming stopped 20 of the 22 he faced and Dohr made 30 saves on 32 shots for AQ. First star goes to Dan Vyverberg who assisted on both goals for Thunder and played with a lot of heart throughout. Second star goes to Mike McNeil with the GTG. Third star goes to Eric Hostetter whose hard work all season finally paid off with a G.
AQ's Bernie Gauthier got loose, drawing a penalty shot after being taken down by Tyler Grimshaw on a breakaway attempt in the early going. Fear not as, unlike his dad in the stands, Ian was cool as a cucumber on the ice, poke checking Gauthier to keep AQ at bay, for the time being anyway. Thunder controlled the play for the next six minutes in the wake of Cumming's big stop. But AQ would take the reigns with six mins to go in the first frame as Nick Montinarelli put away the rebound from a Jeff Hackshaw shot that was assisted by Gauthier off a draw to the left of Cumming. Dohr looked shaky down the stretch but managed to keep Thunder scoreless on the 12 shots they took to AQ's 9 in the opening period.
Second period saw Eric Hostetter at long last rewarded with his first goal of the season five minutes in, as he sailed a sweet backhander through a crack in the Dohr, fed out front by Matt Keough, assisted by Dan Vyverberg, to even up. Five minutes later Nico Gonzalez rallied to regain the lead for AQ with a rebound off a point-shot by Joe Snook. Vypes bookended the period with a pair of long-lead breakaway passes to connect the dots with Cheese, but the puck never met the twine, not for a lack of trying and it certainly got everyone on their feet. Thunder outshot Aquinas 11-8 in the second for a two-period total of 23-17, although AQ led 2-1 on the scoreboard going to the break.
Five minutes into the third Vyper cranked a low slapper on net, assisted by Simmy, and McNugget got a piece of it for the PPG to knot the game at 2s. AQ took a timeout with 27 seconds left in regulation but there was nothing doing as Thunder shut things down to get to overtime with a 7-5 shot margin that made it 30-22 Thunder through three periods. Thunder enjoyed a 2-man advantage in the beginning of OT as did AQ when they pulled their goalie at the end. But neither team would claim the game before the extra period had expired.
With this tie Thunder remains second in the West, a point ahead of AQ, with a record of 7-3-3 (8-6-4-1 overall). Shots were 2-0 Thunder in overtime making it 32-22 overall in Thunder's favor. Cumming stopped 20 of the 22 he faced and Dohr made 30 saves on 32 shots for AQ. First star goes to Dan Vyverberg who assisted on both goals for Thunder and played with a lot of heart throughout. Second star goes to Mike McNeil with the GTG. Third star goes to Eric Hostetter whose hard work all season finally paid off with a G.
Monday, February 8, 2010
February 4 Game Report
Music was good, 50/50 sales were brisk and the anthem was solid, but Thunder was not. They stunk up the joint with a rather sloppy performance and ended up taking a 4-1 non-div loss to Fairport on the chin Thursday nite at Lakeshore. Would you like some fruit or whipped cream with your turnovers? Why is it that Thunder cannot seem to get up for their non-div games (1-3-1-1 thus far)? And why were the refs not up for the game? Was it because they were pregnant that they missed a couple of periods? I know we are not supposed to get down on the refs based on my soap box speech after the B-Port game, but it seemed like an off game for the stripes taking a routine high sticking call they bungled out to center ice and then there was the hardly a roughing call on Grimmy for letting Fairport know it was not cool to snow our goalie. How about that 3 meter dive by the goalie snower which the refs chose to ignore? This of course prompted a "nice dive louganis" from the Thunder camp, compliments of Dan Miller. The game was officiated by two of the more senior and well respected refs in town, which just goes to show you, anyone can have an off nite if they mail it in or bring anything less than their A game. I am sure we have all been there at one point or another in our lives. For all I know, some of you may find this report to be case in point!
Hockey gods had Thunder's back early when Thunder foreign exchange students Netsov and Cross-Barre teamed up to stave off what appeared to be an early pair of powerplay goals for Fairport. Soon the Red Raiders would take a turn in the sin bin but Greece killed their own powerplay by putting several nice passes right on the tape for Fairport. It was not until twelve twenty in that Thunder would finally get their act together, when John Clark made a good keep at the line for Curran O'Brien and O'Brien put the puck on net with some junk on it to beat McEvily low, assisted by Justin Simonelli, for his second score of the season. Clark logged his first varsity point on the play as well. Other than Cheese giving his check a close-up of the Thunder penalty box and Thunder's late marker, it was a sort of slack-luster first frame with only six shots a side.
Second stanza opened with a 5 on 3 for Fairport that Vypes, Hebs, and Cheese nearly killed off for Thunder, but Dylan Howatt would rally for the Red Raiders, assisted by Chris Button and Jon Kaminska, a couple of seconds shy of even strength being restored. Cheese pulled a Ganti (remember, the two legged block maneuver) during the almost kill with one too many revolutions, taking it on the back of the leg i believe but, like Mattle, Cheese eats nails for breakfast and it did not appear to phase him one bit. Vypes stepped up on a cross-ice attempt by Fairport and sat his check down as if to say NOT UP IN HERE. Fairport got the GAG me on the PP (Go Ahead Goal on the Power Play) with 2:39 to go in the second, while Grimmy was serving his hardly a rough call and Louganis was brushing the snow off his speedo on the Fairport bench. Chris Button got loose behind the Thunder D with a breakaway before the break but Cumming was equal to the task and stoned him. Thunder closed out the period killing off yet another one of their own powerplays.
Twenty four ticks into the third, William Cherry (any relation to Don?) would finish from just outside the paint, assisted by James Downs and Tim Modesti, to widen the gap to 3-1 for Fairport. We fudged up. We're not going to be number one in the state again losing battles in front of our own net like that. We gotta get this stuff together boys! Tyler Mattle showed his work ethic down the stretch generating a couple of QSCs but Thunder could not climb back into the contest. Greece took a timeout with 52 seconds to go in the game, yet Kaminska would find the empty net for Fairport to seal the deal at 4-1, assisted by James Downs.
Thunder's overall record slips to 8-6-3-1 but they remain second in the West (7-3-2) at least a point ahead of Brockport and AQ. With a win over AQ or IHS in one of their two remaining games Thunder can clinch second place in their division. What say you boys? What say you fans? Where has everybody been? Where did the season go? Only 2 games to go before sectionals. Can I get a yeah ThunDeeeerrrrrrrrr?
Hockey gods had Thunder's back early when Thunder foreign exchange students Netsov and Cross-Barre teamed up to stave off what appeared to be an early pair of powerplay goals for Fairport. Soon the Red Raiders would take a turn in the sin bin but Greece killed their own powerplay by putting several nice passes right on the tape for Fairport. It was not until twelve twenty in that Thunder would finally get their act together, when John Clark made a good keep at the line for Curran O'Brien and O'Brien put the puck on net with some junk on it to beat McEvily low, assisted by Justin Simonelli, for his second score of the season. Clark logged his first varsity point on the play as well. Other than Cheese giving his check a close-up of the Thunder penalty box and Thunder's late marker, it was a sort of slack-luster first frame with only six shots a side.
Second stanza opened with a 5 on 3 for Fairport that Vypes, Hebs, and Cheese nearly killed off for Thunder, but Dylan Howatt would rally for the Red Raiders, assisted by Chris Button and Jon Kaminska, a couple of seconds shy of even strength being restored. Cheese pulled a Ganti (remember, the two legged block maneuver) during the almost kill with one too many revolutions, taking it on the back of the leg i believe but, like Mattle, Cheese eats nails for breakfast and it did not appear to phase him one bit. Vypes stepped up on a cross-ice attempt by Fairport and sat his check down as if to say NOT UP IN HERE. Fairport got the GAG me on the PP (Go Ahead Goal on the Power Play) with 2:39 to go in the second, while Grimmy was serving his hardly a rough call and Louganis was brushing the snow off his speedo on the Fairport bench. Chris Button got loose behind the Thunder D with a breakaway before the break but Cumming was equal to the task and stoned him. Thunder closed out the period killing off yet another one of their own powerplays.
Twenty four ticks into the third, William Cherry (any relation to Don?) would finish from just outside the paint, assisted by James Downs and Tim Modesti, to widen the gap to 3-1 for Fairport. We fudged up. We're not going to be number one in the state again losing battles in front of our own net like that. We gotta get this stuff together boys! Tyler Mattle showed his work ethic down the stretch generating a couple of QSCs but Thunder could not climb back into the contest. Greece took a timeout with 52 seconds to go in the game, yet Kaminska would find the empty net for Fairport to seal the deal at 4-1, assisted by James Downs.
Thunder's overall record slips to 8-6-3-1 but they remain second in the West (7-3-2) at least a point ahead of Brockport and AQ. With a win over AQ or IHS in one of their two remaining games Thunder can clinch second place in their division. What say you boys? What say you fans? Where has everybody been? Where did the season go? Only 2 games to go before sectionals. Can I get a yeah ThunDeeeerrrrrrrrr?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
February 2 Game Report
Katie Edinger wore her Master's jacket and killed the anthem (that's a good thing) at Lakeshore Tuesday nite as Thunder got ready to rumble with the fighting Saints of Churchville (a little known suburb outside Dublin Ireland). No broken windows in the parking lot tonight, but there was a sighting of Doc the ref stitching up a hand lac for a Saints parent in the snack shop, after Greece dealt Churchville a 4-1 blow on the ice.
Austin Kuntz surprised Ian Cumming with an over the waffle zinger from just inside the blueline only 19 seconds into the contest, assisted by Shawn Easton and Ryan Fitzgerald. Saints enjoyed their one-goal lead for the balance of the period but Brandon Cheeseman would even things up for Thunder (cuz that's what he does) curling out of the left corner and sniping one short side with 39 seconds to go. Shots were 12-6 Thunder in the opening frame.
The go ahead goal for Thunder came 3.5 mins into the second and was awarded to Curran O'Brien, assisted by Anthony Crawford and Mike Miller. My neck was sore due to the sustained pressure in the Saints zone which resulted in a 17-4 shot margin in the second period.
Third period was all Thunder as well with Justin Simonelli lighting the lamp for his grandmother to see from on high, assisted by Cheese and McNeil. Then with a minute remaining, Vypes took the handle from McNeil, who was battling on the half wall on the powerplay, turned and sailed a saucer to Hebs, who would snap off a wrister to cap off the contest at 4-1. Senior manager Tyler Lepore came out for his second appearance on the night (a frightening proposition for a self-taught kid who never played organized hockey growing up) with the fans cheering and his folks grinning ear to ear as Vyper tried banking one off his shins to get him a goal but it was to no avail. At least his folks got to see him skate this time as they missed his debut in one of the earlier preseason scrimmages.
Shots were 44-17 overall in Thunder's favor (with the 17 being generous) as they advanced their record to 7-3-2 (8-5-3-1 overall) with this win and are now resting comfortably at second place in the West Division with 16pts. First star goes to Brandon Cheeseman with 2pts including the winner. Second Star goes to Ian Cumming with 16 saves for his 7th win on the season. Third Star goes to Dylan Niewiemski who almost single-handedly kept the Saints in the game, making 40 saves on 44 shots he faced. Gordita Crunch goes to Jared Tam-Grimshaw for standing up Saints senior Mike Carey at the blueline.
Austin Kuntz surprised Ian Cumming with an over the waffle zinger from just inside the blueline only 19 seconds into the contest, assisted by Shawn Easton and Ryan Fitzgerald. Saints enjoyed their one-goal lead for the balance of the period but Brandon Cheeseman would even things up for Thunder (cuz that's what he does) curling out of the left corner and sniping one short side with 39 seconds to go. Shots were 12-6 Thunder in the opening frame.
The go ahead goal for Thunder came 3.5 mins into the second and was awarded to Curran O'Brien, assisted by Anthony Crawford and Mike Miller. My neck was sore due to the sustained pressure in the Saints zone which resulted in a 17-4 shot margin in the second period.
Third period was all Thunder as well with Justin Simonelli lighting the lamp for his grandmother to see from on high, assisted by Cheese and McNeil. Then with a minute remaining, Vypes took the handle from McNeil, who was battling on the half wall on the powerplay, turned and sailed a saucer to Hebs, who would snap off a wrister to cap off the contest at 4-1. Senior manager Tyler Lepore came out for his second appearance on the night (a frightening proposition for a self-taught kid who never played organized hockey growing up) with the fans cheering and his folks grinning ear to ear as Vyper tried banking one off his shins to get him a goal but it was to no avail. At least his folks got to see him skate this time as they missed his debut in one of the earlier preseason scrimmages.
Shots were 44-17 overall in Thunder's favor (with the 17 being generous) as they advanced their record to 7-3-2 (8-5-3-1 overall) with this win and are now resting comfortably at second place in the West Division with 16pts. First star goes to Brandon Cheeseman with 2pts including the winner. Second Star goes to Ian Cumming with 16 saves for his 7th win on the season. Third Star goes to Dylan Niewiemski who almost single-handedly kept the Saints in the game, making 40 saves on 44 shots he faced. Gordita Crunch goes to Jared Tam-Grimshaw for standing up Saints senior Mike Carey at the blueline.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
January 30 Game Report
Was there a full moon on Saturday or what? Those of you who got to the game early may have witnessed the donnybrook that ensued at the tail end of Lightning's 8-1 lambasting of the Saints. While the players kept their gloves on for the Thunder vs Blue Devils rematch that followed, things got a bit chippy in the stands, so much so that I was considering sending the story along to ABC's John Stossel. A handful of Brockport fans did a fine job of embarrassing themselves grousing over every call that the refs made or didn't make. And there were comments like "you're not #1 in the state anymore" and "we'll get there before you this year" which doesn't really make any sense given Thunder is in class A and B-port is in class B, and besides, what does that have to do with the officiating anyway? Until you have laced up the skates, put on a zebra suit and officiated a game of ice hockey, you really have no clue how difficult it can be to keep track of 10 skaters, 2 goalies, 2 nets, 2 player benches, 2 penalty boxes, a scoreboard, and a rubber biscuit that is flying around at high rates of speed, while you are skating on two thin blades of steel and trying not to become a part of the play. Not to mention all the people screaming at you from the stands. Surely everyone who has been around hockey for a while has uttered their fair share of remarks about the refs, but to expect the refs to see everything exactly the way you see it while looking on with a birdseye view from the stands is simply preposterous. They are not perfect, they make mistakes just the same as the players who are playing the game and the coaches who are coaching the game. They are all human. If it makes you sleep better at night thinking you got a home job, then good for you. If you think you can do better, then i dare you to give it a try. Otherwise, give me a break.
Where was I? Oh yea, oh say can you see... Amanda Sherry, AGR anthem soloist, kicking things off as Thunder was home in white hosting the Brockport Blue Devils visiting in navy on Saturday at the shore. Andrew Simonelli got the nod in the nets for the Thunder against Blue Devil's freshman Justin Keene, who was coincidentally wearing the same #33, and away we go. Blue Devils D-man Zach Coughlin delivered an early wake up call to Thunder, sneaking in from the blueline and taking a back door feed upstairs during the first minute play, assisted by Connor Moore and Tyler Hill. Cumming made a nice save on an errant pass headed into the Thunder bench... way to look alive Ian. Blue Devils netted another with 3:15 to go in the first frame, a shortie by Hill from Dan Callahan and Kyle Wallenhorst. Vypes snapped his twig winding up a slapper from top of the key at the close of the period, cha-ching, there goes a couple of benjamins. Snake wields the same x60 but it's about 2-3" longer and then some, so Vypes had to go with his Sarazin backup, which carried him through the post season and assisted on the game winner during the final game in Utica, but apparently the stick is no good, lol. Kids these days. In my day, we cut a branch from a tree and whittled it down to make a hockey stick!
Thunder carried a 1.18 powerplay balance into the second stanza, but despite great puck movement on the man advantage they still couldn't solve Keene. Mike Briganti executed his patented 2-legged harry to block a shot at the point. From this point forward on Thunder the maneuver shall be known as a "Ganti". Speaking of patenting things, what's up with Brockport using Thunder's "balls-out" chant at he beginning of each period? Connor Sullivan widened the gap to 3-0 for Brockport with a goal midway through the period assisted by Wallenhorst. Keough broke a stick, but no data was available on the lineage of his backup at the time of this report. Greece continued moving the puck well and repeatedly bringing it to the net, but it was as if Keene had cellophane covering the plane of the goal mouth when a couple of slow rollers finally got behind him and stalled just shy of the goal line. Broken sticks and a hot goalie would not be enough to break Thunder's spirit though as they mushed on for 27.5 minutes before an unassuming lob on net from the blueline by Mike McNeil got the better of Keene and Thunder was on the board. Way to mix it up and go with the off-speed Mike. But Thunder's celebration was short-lived as Connor Moore answered back just 27 seconds later for Brockport, assisted by Zach Coughlin, to restore their 3-goal lead at 4-1. Ian Cumming came off the bench in relief to get Thunder out of the inning.
Back from the break, the outlook was kind of bleak for Thunder thought a doubting Layton as time was slipping away, "Maybe last last year's team could have scored 4 goals in one period to win it but not this year". How about 3 goals in a five minute flurry to tie it, thanks to Trey's challenge! Cheese started the rally with 5.05 to go by putting away a rebound on Vyper's shot assisted by Andrew Sherry. Then came a pretty PPG two and half minutes later as McNeil went up top to Vyper who swung it to Simmy on the wing and then Simmy swept it home to draw near at 4-3. Greece took a timeout with 37 seconds left and returned with an air of determination. In a matter of 12 seconds, it was Cheese finishing the rally he started with the GTG, assisted by Vyper and Simmy, and we were going to OT knotted at 4's. Thunder enjoyed a few chances in OT as both teams held on for the point.
Thunder's record advances to 6-3-2 (7-5-3-1 overall) leaving them alone in second place behind Lightning in the West division with 3 games to go (CC, AQ, IHS). Said Webb of Thunder's come from behind tie, "The chips were down but they pulled together and did what they had to do to come back". Thunder out shot the Blue Devils in all 4 periods, 8-6, 12-9, 12-7, 3-2, for a 3-period total of 35-24. First star of the game goes to Brandon Cheeseman with a pair of goals including the GTG. Second star of the game goes to Dan Vyverberg with 3 assists for a playmaker. Third star goes to Brockport's Justin Keene with 31 saves on 35 shots. Simonelli and Cumming combined for a total of 20 saves for Thunder.
Where was I? Oh yea, oh say can you see... Amanda Sherry, AGR anthem soloist, kicking things off as Thunder was home in white hosting the Brockport Blue Devils visiting in navy on Saturday at the shore. Andrew Simonelli got the nod in the nets for the Thunder against Blue Devil's freshman Justin Keene, who was coincidentally wearing the same #33, and away we go. Blue Devils D-man Zach Coughlin delivered an early wake up call to Thunder, sneaking in from the blueline and taking a back door feed upstairs during the first minute play, assisted by Connor Moore and Tyler Hill. Cumming made a nice save on an errant pass headed into the Thunder bench... way to look alive Ian. Blue Devils netted another with 3:15 to go in the first frame, a shortie by Hill from Dan Callahan and Kyle Wallenhorst. Vypes snapped his twig winding up a slapper from top of the key at the close of the period, cha-ching, there goes a couple of benjamins. Snake wields the same x60 but it's about 2-3" longer and then some, so Vypes had to go with his Sarazin backup, which carried him through the post season and assisted on the game winner during the final game in Utica, but apparently the stick is no good, lol. Kids these days. In my day, we cut a branch from a tree and whittled it down to make a hockey stick!
Thunder carried a 1.18 powerplay balance into the second stanza, but despite great puck movement on the man advantage they still couldn't solve Keene. Mike Briganti executed his patented 2-legged harry to block a shot at the point. From this point forward on Thunder the maneuver shall be known as a "Ganti". Speaking of patenting things, what's up with Brockport using Thunder's "balls-out" chant at he beginning of each period? Connor Sullivan widened the gap to 3-0 for Brockport with a goal midway through the period assisted by Wallenhorst. Keough broke a stick, but no data was available on the lineage of his backup at the time of this report. Greece continued moving the puck well and repeatedly bringing it to the net, but it was as if Keene had cellophane covering the plane of the goal mouth when a couple of slow rollers finally got behind him and stalled just shy of the goal line. Broken sticks and a hot goalie would not be enough to break Thunder's spirit though as they mushed on for 27.5 minutes before an unassuming lob on net from the blueline by Mike McNeil got the better of Keene and Thunder was on the board. Way to mix it up and go with the off-speed Mike. But Thunder's celebration was short-lived as Connor Moore answered back just 27 seconds later for Brockport, assisted by Zach Coughlin, to restore their 3-goal lead at 4-1. Ian Cumming came off the bench in relief to get Thunder out of the inning.
Back from the break, the outlook was kind of bleak for Thunder thought a doubting Layton as time was slipping away, "Maybe last last year's team could have scored 4 goals in one period to win it but not this year". How about 3 goals in a five minute flurry to tie it, thanks to Trey's challenge! Cheese started the rally with 5.05 to go by putting away a rebound on Vyper's shot assisted by Andrew Sherry. Then came a pretty PPG two and half minutes later as McNeil went up top to Vyper who swung it to Simmy on the wing and then Simmy swept it home to draw near at 4-3. Greece took a timeout with 37 seconds left and returned with an air of determination. In a matter of 12 seconds, it was Cheese finishing the rally he started with the GTG, assisted by Vyper and Simmy, and we were going to OT knotted at 4's. Thunder enjoyed a few chances in OT as both teams held on for the point.
Thunder's record advances to 6-3-2 (7-5-3-1 overall) leaving them alone in second place behind Lightning in the West division with 3 games to go (CC, AQ, IHS). Said Webb of Thunder's come from behind tie, "The chips were down but they pulled together and did what they had to do to come back". Thunder out shot the Blue Devils in all 4 periods, 8-6, 12-9, 12-7, 3-2, for a 3-period total of 35-24. First star of the game goes to Brandon Cheeseman with a pair of goals including the GTG. Second star of the game goes to Dan Vyverberg with 3 assists for a playmaker. Third star goes to Brockport's Justin Keene with 31 saves on 35 shots. Simonelli and Cumming combined for a total of 20 saves for Thunder.
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