Well, maybe not a full-blown STORM game, actually it's more like a micro-burst STORM scrimmage. Nonetheless, it's time... time for all ye thunder faithful to pack up the golf clubs, put away the fishing poles, pick up your pom-poms, put on that lipstick and come on out to support your Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey team in this their very first outing of the 2008-2009 season, where they will be facing off against their storm rival, the Greece Arcadia/Olympia Lightning, Friday November 14th, 3:00pm-4:15pm @ Lakeshore Hockey Arena. Cue the music. Ding. Ding. Ding. Let's get ready to rummmmmmmmm-ble. Ya'll ready for this? Within this unassuming scrimmage lies the opportunity for our team to chart a course towards accomplishing many great things in the 2008-2009 season... such as reclaiming our rightful position at the top of our division. YES-WE-CAN. And winning the 2008-2009 Section V Class AA Title. YES-WE-CAN. And making it to the state championship. YES-WE-CAN. And at long last, bringing home the hardware. YES-WE-CAN.
Fri Nov 14th Game Report
Last friday's scrimmage with the Lightning was much akin to a sparring match down at the gym with neither team really going for it. Both benches were packed as this game featured all the rookies and gave everyone a glimpse at the future of our programs. It ended a polite contest with Mike Briganti lighting the lamp once for Thunder to equalize the lone Lightning goal by Rob Cammilleri. I was hoping for a better sound byte from Jim Cummings than "watch what you say around wes", but he could not be reached for further comment. Don't miss tonight's 7pm tilt at the 'shore with the Webster Shroeder Warriors. Lyrics for the sing-a-long are attached
(Disclaimer: If you recognize this Patty Smyth song, then you are probably dating yourself)
The Warrior
You run, run, runaway
It's our turn on the powerplay
You think your tough, your team's got size
So what you're not that civilized
Well isn't puck primitive?
A rubber gift for your goalie, sieve
Break out of the neutral zone
And follow me hockey jungle child
Penalties to kill
Your team's still wild
Chorus:
Shooting at the net with heartache
Bang, bang!
I am the warrior
Well I am the warrior
And heart to heart you'll win
If you survive the warrior, the warrior
You chirp, chirp, chirp at me
Your cross-check me physically
Skate with me we'll light the lamp
The way we did in rookie camp, oh
Who's the sniper, who's the beast?
I heard the ref call you in the crease
I hold you close in victory
I don't wanna tame your hockey style
You won't be caged in the call of the wild
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Wed Nov 19th Game Report
Good to be back in the saddle (at the keyboard) and away we go... The Webster Schroeder Warriors were shootin' at the net with heartache Wednesday night at the 'shore, as they got thumped 8-3 by the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder. It was a rough start for both teams giving up a goal apiece during the opening minute of the game, but by the end of the contest Thunder proved they were more than able to survive the warrior, as they skated with the swagger of a champion. Coach Webb was pleased with the solid start and happy to see the fire-power he knew he had brought to bear in the Thunder home opener. Speaking of power, how about the voice of Amanda Sherry leading off the evening with our national anthem!
On with the game. Any Rush fans out there? First goal was the beginning of the "21-12" tour as Matt Lane took the puck behind the warrior net, slid it out front to Greg Ryan and then Ryan went to work, getting his own rebound and eventually putting it away, all in the first 15 seconds of the game. While shaking off the rust in our own end, Webster took advantage 30 seconds later to tie the game. Things settled down after the first period of the season jitters as Thunder carefully and methodically went to work. The next track, laid down at 4:56, was from the "Fly by Night" studio album as Lane hit Ryan with a pass in the neutral zone and then Ryan flew into the warrior end, ringing one off the warrior netminder's melon that would eventually trickle in on its own to make it 2-1 Thunder. Less than a minute later Jeffrey Stenglein threw one on net and Riley Bourbonnais picked the webster goalie's pocket for the goal. Brandon Cheeseman picked up the second helper on the third thunder tally (say that 3 times fast). With only 14 seconds remaining in the first frame, Stenglein got his own after picking off a pass, firing it on net, and crashing for the rebound, 4-1 Thunder. Cheese got the helper once again for his second point on the night.
After a bit of give and take, midway through the second period Bourbonnais took a feed from Eric Gunderson, that originated with a clear by Parker Bonis, and Rilez walked around several Webster pylons before lifting a sweet backhander over the warrior goalie's shoulder at close range, tucking it away top shelf, 5-1 Thunder. It's not everyday that your keeper gets credit for an assist so kudos to Bonis for logging his first varsity point. But the warriors would not take it lying down. Shortly thereafter they converted a pass to the slot to edge closer at 5-2. Then came the Doan Collision of the game - it was an unsuspecting Webster forward meeting the back of Gunda's forearm coming through center ice. A simple matter of height ratios was to blame as Gunda went to the box for the elbow. Given Gunda was incarcerated in the sin bin and unable to receive his award Ben McCubbin stepped in as alternate with a big hit of his own that did not result in a penalty. Webster cached on the PP with 2:47 to go to draw near at 5-3.
Three and a half minutes this side of the ice cut, Geddy Lee (Pat Sofia) collaborated with Alex Lifeson (Ryan) and Neal Peart (Lane) in the production of Thunder's 6th goal of the evening. Sofia dug it out of the corner got it to Ryan who centered it to Lane alone in the slot for the money shot, 6-3 Thunder. Fast forward to the 4 minute mark, where Lane would cash his second goal of the evening when his pass deflected off a warrior skate and into the net, 7-3 Thunder. Jordan Grills and Greg Ryan each logged an assist on the first gift of the season. And with a minute to go Gunda capped things off with a wrister from the slot, fed by Ryan and Sofia, for the 8-3 final.
Thunder has clearly started off their season on the right foot with this convincing win and a 1-0 record. There were 9 different point getters and 21 points recorded in total, e.g. 11 for the first line, 6 for the second line, and 4 from the back end, including the keeper. Lakeshore Snack Shop first star of the game honors go out to Greg Ryan who turned in a fine performance with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points - they call him the "Working Man". Second star of the game goes to Matt Lane with 2G/2A for 4PTS - they call him VISA as he was everywhere he needed to be. Third star goes to Jordan Grills for dropping back and helping out with the heavy lifting on D while also logging an assist.
Don't miss the next game - 1pm @ Lakeshore on Saturday, Nov 22nd - where Thunder will face the "little" irish from AQ. Anyone notice the AQ boys scouting our game in the stands wednesday night? Or maybe they were just there to sample Bruce's latest Snack Shop Special - "Taco in a bag".
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Sat Nov 22nd Game Report
The ticket line was out the door for this the Thunder's second game of the season on Saturday, Nov 22 at Lakeshore Hockey Arena. In town and on the bench for his son's Amateur Penguins PeeWee Major game against Monroe County Eagles, Mario Lemieux was seen strolling through the lobby and graciously giving up an autograph or two. Meanwhile, Thunder was preparing for battle with league rival Aquinas Little Irish. A young lady by the name of Jenna Bruce did the anthem honors, putting her own signature on it, before the game got underway.
One could hear the chant of "nice dive Louganis" from the thunder camp as AQ struggled to stay on their feet in the early going and thunder went to the box to kill off a few penalties. Fear not, as Vyper was making his debut for the season and helped keep AQ off the board while shoring things up on the blueline. It was only a matter of time before Thunder would break out of captivity and go on the attack. Greg Ryan was back on the job muscling the puck into the AQ zone before leaving the baton for Pat Sofia to carry it in deep and find Matt Lane in the slot for the one-timer, 1-0 Thunder. The new section V theme song - " I don't wanna work, just wanna bang on the drum all day" droned on at the period break, c'mon guys is that the best you can do? I'm sure the kids would appreciate hearing some Lil' Wayne or Ludacris, and us older folk might appreciate some Ozzie or Metallica. But I digress.
Second frame was scoreless but the first AQ penalty of the game drew some applause from the crowd. Refs pulled the captains aside due to some monkey-business after the whistle and that seemed to keep things from getting too terribly out of hand. The Eric Grills disciples finally got up the nerve to lead the GREECE, THUN-DER cheer as Thunder went on the powerplay in the third. Much to our surprise though, the AQ camp was quiet. Must be the middle-aged male cheerleaders from AQ froze their pom-poms off at the tailgate. Tightly gripping onto a 1-0 lead, Thunder lined up for the final face-off of the game, in their own end, with an empty net glaring at them from across the way. Tensions were high as AQ cycled the puck out to the point, but Riley Bourbonnais was right there to block the AQ defenseman's attempted shot. The puck squirted out into the neutral zone, JT Stenglein pounced on it, carried it down the ice and dumped it wide of the gaping net just as the horn sounded. There was much rejoicing in this 1-0 victory, where shots were essentially even and play was in both ends of the rink. In the end, we wanted it more. Yeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, Thun-Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
First star of the game goes to Parker Bonis. Coach Webb said he knew going in that Bonis was a good match for AQ as "he has a great glove and they like to shoot high". Bonis snared everything that came his way, making 23 saves for a huge shut-out win. Second star goes to Matt Lane for the game winner and third star goes to Riley Bourbonnais for the huge block at the end of the game. In closing, Webby felt the key to this win was our commitment to team defense as we did not give up a single rebound attempt. Next victim is Fairport, 5:30pm @ the creek on Tues, Dec 2nd. Don't eat too much turkey boys, gotta save some room for that road 'plate'.
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Tues Dec 2nd Game Report
Thunder loaded up the bus on Tuesday, Dec 2nd for their first roadie of the season, a 5:30pm contest at Thomas Creek with the Fairport Red Raiders. IDK why they skipped the anthem, maybe it was due to budget cuts or could it be the large Fairport contingent was just anxious to get on with their spanking? Thunder seemed to lack focus in the first period, perhaps because they were jones'n for that road plate, or possibly because the stripes did not do a very good job of keeping things moving. But despite coming out flat in the first period, Thunder managed to edge Fairport 9-6 in the shot department, and certainly looked good donning their new uni's!
After 23 minutes of scoreless play, Thunder was finally on the board half-way through the second period. It was Eric Gunderson with a good keep at the blue line, lobbing the biscuit towards the basket, landing it in front of Carlston and watching as it one-hopped it's way in, 5-hole. Jeffrey Stenglein recorded the lone assist as he cleared the puck out front through the high slot where Gunda was able to retrieve it. Fast forward to the end of the second frame and Gunda put another shot on net, but this time there was a rebound and Riley Bourbonnais was on the scene to gather it before deftly sweeping it into the left side of the net with just 1.4 seconds to go in period. Thunder went to the break with a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Third Thunder Tally came four minnows into the 3rd and it was like deja-vu all over again with another 36-25 combination. This time it was Gunda clearing the puck out to neutral ice where Bourbs would knock it down and go on the attack, carrying it in wide left and then cutting across the crease to beat Carlston with the backhander, 3-0 Thunder. Thunder put a bow on it at the 6:54 mark, as Bourbonnais fed Stenglein who then brought the puck down the right side into the Fairport zone and slid it over to Matt Lane who was crashing the net, for the fourth and final goal of the evening. It was a pretty goal and a fine example of teamwork.
And so, Thunder keeps the streak alive, winning this one 4-0 and advancing their record to 3-0. Shots were 23-20 in favor of Thunder. Playing big, making 20 saves and posting a shut-out victory in this his first varsity start, first star of the game honors go to "the man behind the mask", Mike Rotolo. Second star is Riley Bourbonnais with 2G/1A for 3pts. Third star is Dan Vyverberg who was in his office blocking shots, clearing the front of the net, and taking charge defensively behind the scenes all nite long. Doan Collision goes to Jeffrey Stenglein for his center ice hit in the second period that stifled Fairport's attack.
Next up is Gates Chili, 7pm @ Genesee Valley, on Saturday, Dec 6. Be there, or be somewhere else missing all the heart-pounding action!
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Sat Dec 6th Game Report - revised
Now the weather outside was frightful and while most die-hard hockey wing nuts would have favored a Winter Classic venue, the Greece Thunder Hockey team was forced to quickly acclimate themselves to a balmy atmosphere inside the Genesee Valley Ice Arena, as they suited up for battle with the Gates Chili Spartans last Saturday Night on arguably the softest ice surface in town. It's always a physical contest with the Spartans and this game was certainly no exception as a Gates player checked Thunder captain Pat Sofia from behind 30 seconds this side of the partial anthem, earning himself a 4-minute major and a 2 game DQ. Shaken but not stirred, Sofia... Pat Sofia was thankfully OK and able to return to play after a brief respite on the bench.
As Herb Brooks said in his famous locker room speech before taking the ice against the Russians, "great moments are born from great opportunities" and while this may not have been the most pivotal game of the season with any sort of international ramifications, it wasn't "some throw away game up in Rochester" either. And so, the boys of thunder took full advantage of this great opportunity by cashing in with not 1, not 2, but 3 powerplay goals, during the Spartan's 4-minute non-releasable major, to establish an early 3-0 lead. Parked in front of the Gates crease for much of the 4-minute advantage, Eric Gunderson knitted himself a natural hat, picking one out of the air off Carville's blocker, and tapping another home on a rebound, although the first goal came on the initial rush, a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play from Ryan to Lane to Gunderson, who then beat Carville glove side. Greg Ryan, Riley Bourbonnais, and Matt Lane each logged a pair of assists on the Gundapalooza. Thunder went on to out-shoot the Spartans 12-3 in a rather chippy first frame.
Despite the beating they sustained in the early going, Gates would not wither away, as they answered back with a goal 2 minutes into the second period to hang on. Thunder posted another 12 shots to the Spartans 8 for a 2-period margin of 24-11. Third period saw Vyper dangling in a forward area with a wraparound bid that kicked out to Mike Miller on the backdoor for the putaway and Miller's first varsity goal. Parker Bonis made 14 saves for his third win of the season. Steve Hebberect really stepped things up on D. First star of the game honors go to Gunda for the hat, second star is shared by Bourbonnais, Lane, and Ryan, while third star goes to Gates keeper Jason Carville with 31 saves. Coach Weilert's detailed post game analysis revealed that "it's good to win", he makes a good point. Styling in their nicely appointed shells, Thunder outshot the Spartans 11-4 for a 3-period total of 35-15, emerging from this blue collar battle unscathed with a 4-1 victory and advancing their record to 4-0. Yeah Thun-DER!
Spread the word and bring a friend along as Thunder hosts Churchville-Chili Saints this Thursday, Dec 11th, 8pm @ the 'shore. According to Melvin Palmer, it'll be a hoot!
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Thurs Dec 11th Game Report
It's been a rough season for the anthem guild with several false starts and last night was no exception, thanks to technical difficulties with the new sound system at Lakeshore, which prevented Austin Pelletier from doing the honors. Can I get a sound check here please... test, 1-2, check, test. The Section Five Hockey save of the week goes out to Wendy Bonis for conducting the crowd through an impromtu a cappella version of the anthem from across the ice. And then a hockey game broke out, or something like that, where Thunder dominated a depleted Churchville-Chili Saints squad, outshooting them (15-4, 15-3, 17-3, for a 3-period total of 47-10) and delivering them a difficult 8-0 decision. What's more, it was a nite of firsts with the likes of Tyler Grimshaw and Curran O'Brien each recording their first varsity point, and Joe Vyverberg seeing his first varsity shift along side his older brother Dan, as the bench went wild shouting "Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake". For the uninitiated, Vyper and Snake have a younger brother, affectionately known as "Worm", so be on the lookout for Stevie donning a Thunder sweater in a few years.
On with the show. First on the board was Riley Bourbonnais redirecting an Eric Gunderson shot from the point past the Saints freshman keeper. Matt Lane picked up the second helper on the goal which came 3.5 minutes into the contest. Next up to the plate was Brandon Cheeseman with the highlight-reel goal of the game, a snipe under the crossbar that prompted some young whipper-snapper in the stands to comment, "that was dirty". Surely you all know by now that "bad, mad, hot, sick, and nasty" are all terms of endearment with our kids these days, but I am still trying to get my head around the "dirty" reference. As usual, I digress. Tyler Grimshaw and Jordan Grills each logged an assist on Cheese's production, which made it 2-0 Thunder. Bourbonnais netted the third thunder tally unassisted off a scrum in front of the Saints goal. With just 36 seconds to go in the first period, it was #36 taking a feed from Cheeseman and burying the shortie with a wrister from the top of the circle for the hat and just like that it was 4-0 Thunder.
With an ever increasing amount of blood in the water, second period action saw the Thunder forwards circling like a bunch of sharks with laser beams attached to their heads. Take for example Bourbonnais, who got his fourth goal of the evening, picking up the trash on a powerplay shot by Stenglein. Now mind you, Bonis had only seen a handful of shots up to this point and one parent in the stand jokingly shouted out to Parker asking him if he needed a book to read, but to Bonis' credit, he was somehow able to remain focussed as evidenced by his demeanor stoning several point blank chances for the Saints that resulted from turnovers. Pat Sofia capped off the second period picking the puck out of the air to put away a centering pass threaded from the corner by Bourbonnais on the powerplay. Greg Ryan assisted on Thunder's sixth goal as well.
With a 6-0 lead going into the final frame, the entire Thunder bench got in on the action. Gunda had a crossbar-snipe of his own, assisted by Rilez late in the period. And then with just 15 seconds to go in the contest the crowd erupted when Curran O'Brien took a feed from Gunderson and set up Brandon Cheeseman for the final goal of the game. There was a nice distribution with 10 different point getters, however first star of the game honors clearly go to Riley Bourbonnais with an impressive six-point performance. Second star goes to the Cheese who was rewarded for his hard work and determination with a pair of goals and an assist for 3-points. And third star goes to the Saints tender, Dylan Niewiemski, who saw beacoup slovakia and maintained his composure, saving 39 of the 47 shots he faced.
Parker Bonis made 10 saves for his second shut-out and 4th win of the season as Thunder advanced their record to 5 wins 0 losses and kept the streak alive. Speaking of streaks, Tuesday Dec 16th we're going "Old School" at MCC, "streaking through the quad to the gymnasium" and then on to the ESL Sports Centre for a 4:30pm matinee with the Spencerport Rangers. C'mon, everybody's doing it!
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Just in time for Christmas...
Tues Dec 16th Game Report
The Greece Thunder Hockey team figured they were on easy street, walking into the ESL Sports Center tuesday nite ranked second in the state. But the Rangers could not have cared less. They came out hitting hard and playing for keeps like a dog on a scent. Bourbonnais broke the seal assisted by Stenglein, four minutes in. Then it was Bourbonnais scoring another, 8 minutes later, with Cheeseman and Lane picking up the helpers. Thunder outshot the Rangers 15-6 in the first, however it was Spencerport who would draw first blood in the second period as they capitalized on a turnover down low in the Thunder end. To Thunder's surprise, the Rangers were able to sustain a high level of intensity, holding Thunder to only a 1-goal lead through 29 minutes and 59 seconds of play.
Then came the most pivotal moment of the game, the straw that broke the Rangers' back... Matt Lane picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, walked it in as the clock was winding down, and waited patiently for Stenglein to appear on the backdoor, before sliding it over to him for the tap in at the buzzer. Shots were fairly even at 12 and 9 but just imagine how dejected the Spencerport players must have felt going into the dressing room knowing that all they had to do was play one more second of defense to keep it a one-goal game. Instead, they were on the short end of a 3-1 margin, which would only get worse.
Spencerport came out flat as a pancake in the 3rd and Thunder had a field day piling on six more goals. They went 5 for 6 on the PP, with all 5 goals coming within the first 30 seconds of the man advantage. All tolled there were ten different point getters: Stenglein led the way with 2g/3a for 5pts; Sofia notched 1g/2a for 3 points; Gunda and Bourbonnais each had a pair of goals; Cheese offered 1g/1a for 2pts; Briganti, Ryan and Lane contributed two assists apiece; Miller picked up his second goal of the season and Grills registered one assist on the powerplay.
Rotolo made 17 saves for the win (his second of the season). Scotty Tam-Grimshaw made his debut in this game and reportedly took a shift with his step-bro, Tyler Grimshaw. Ian Cumming saw his first minutes of the season late in the third and Tyler Mattle made an appearance as well. When all was said and done, Thunder outshot the Rangers 40-18 and advanced their record to 6-0, with a convincing 9-1 win.
Thurs Dec 18th Game Report
We were back at the 'shore on Thursday for a 6pm meeting with the Blue Devils of Brockport. A friend of Wendy Bonis belted out a bold and beautiful rendition of the anthem... in the kids vernacular "it was beast". Thunder's play in the first frame, however, was not. While Thunder edged B-Port, 13-6 in the shot department, they were still unable to solve the Blue Devils goaltender, not even on a penalty shot. And then the unthinkable happened at the tail end of a 4 on 3 turned 5 on 3 turned 5 on 4 gone bad as a short-handed clear up the middle by Thunder was kept in by Brockport and they put it away on the powerplay to take the lead at 1-0, early in the second period. After exchanging a few rounds of pleasantries, Thunder went to work.
It was Pat Sofia with the hot hand, ringing up the next three goals of the game . His first came with 5:41 to go in the second as Vyverberg (Dan) fed Ryan, then Greg found Pat in the slot for the snapper to the left post and in. Less than two minutes had passed before Sof would once again find himself alone in the slot, this time setup by Cheeseman, and Pat buried his second of the series. Sofia's final goal was a thing of beauty and came short-handed half way thru the third when Ryan peeled the puck off the wall behind the Brockport goal, backhanded it out front and then bingo, Pat was there with the one-timer for the natural hat-trick. Stenglein added a goal late in the 3rd (assisted by Cheeseman) to cap things off at 4-1 for Thunder. Parker Bonis made 14 saves for his fifth win of the season as Thunder outshot Brockport 41-15 and advanced their record to 7-0.
Stay warm, enjoy the break, and remember, Santa is watching, making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's been naughty or nice, well before Thunder returns to the ice, 8pm on Friday, December 26th, when they will host the Greece Arcadia/Olympia Lightning for the nitecap of the annual Greece Thunder Christmas Tournament opener at Lakeshore. Happy Holidays to all and to all a good nite :)
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Ever have one of those days, weeks, months... where no matter how hard you tried you couldn't focus? Time to get in the DeLorian, crank up the Hewey Lewis, and head 'back in time'...
Friday Dec 26th Game Report
SOTA seventh grader Jenna Bruce gave the crowd a little present, belting out the anthem honors before a packed house at Lakeshore, the day after Christmas. That was the calm before the storm as the Thunder clashed with the Lightning in the nitecap on opening night of the annual Greece Thunder Christmas Tournament - not the official storm game, but a rather spirited contest just the same! Matt Lane led off for the Thunder, sniping one under the cross bar just 2 minutes into the contest, assisted by Stenglein. Pat Sofia netted the eventual winner, a shortie that came 3 minutes into the second frame, capping off a full-ice give-go-give-go-give with "Go-Greggy" Ryan. They say a two-goal lead is the toughest to keep and sure enough "they" were right as Lightning cut the lead in half, cashing in on a 2-man advantage in the final minute of the second period, making it 2-1 Thunder going into the cut.
Thunder put the game out of reach in short order with 3 unanswered goals in the third. Bourbonnais netted all 3, one assisted by Matt Lane at even strength and the other two unassisted on the man down. Now the entire game was mired with penalties, 23 all tolled, as both teams took turns exchanging pleasantries throughout, but with less than 4 minutes to go in the game a major brew-ha-ha broke out on the ice near the Lightning goal - a sign that stripes had essentially lost control of the game. In the 5 or so minutes that it took for them to sort things out, the opposing goalies were playing catch with one another, passing the puck back and forth from opposite ends of the rink, an interesting sight to say the least. When all was said and done, 4 penalties were assessed as a a result of the fracas, including a DQ on both sides, Ryan for the Thunder and Opladen for the Lightning.
Shots were fairly even at 24-22 in Thunder's favor. Bonis made 21 saves for the win (his 6th on the year) as Thunder advanced their record to 8-0, with a 5-1 win over the Lightning.
Saturday Dec 27th Game Report
Filling in for Wes Vyverberg, who was unavoidably detained north of the border in Canada (it's pronounced Canada), Bob McCubbin had the call for the Championship game of the Greece Thunder Christmas Tournament:
"The balmy 50 degree temperature outside combined with a much lower intensity atmosphere - compared to the prior evening’s game against Lightning - made it seem more apropos for America’s favorite pastime than a hockey game. Throw in a few runs (up the ice), hits (of the physical kind), and errors, plus some fantastic catches, and the baseball analogy was complete for Thunder’s match up against Rush Henrietta in the Championship game of Thunder’s Christmas Tournament. Brandon Cheeseman got the penalty box warmed up with a tripping call a mere 23 seconds into the game. RH soon followed with hooking and tripping calls in short order. JT Stenglein made a quick pass to Matt Lane in front of the net, but was thwarted by a quicker RH goalie. JT soon drove it home with a short-handed goal at 9 minutes into the game, with an assist by Riley Bourbonnais. Thunder goalie, Mike Rotolo, made one of the great catches of the game when a shot by RH from the point ricocheted off a stick just outside the crease. RH’s goalie showed he could keep up when he caught his own rebound like a fly ball, with just one minute remaining in the first period.
Wasting no time in the second period, Mike Briganti shot it in the net 25 seconds after the drop from a pass sent by Pat Sofia. Then RH scored their only goal of the game when confusion between Thunder’s defense and goalie over who was controlling the puck left it loose in front of the net (the error.) Throughout much of the game the puck had trouble staying on the ice, with one airborne shot after another. Fortunately the Greece bench had their eyes open and were able to duck.
Thunder outshot RH in the third period, but the score remained unchanged, resulting in a 2-1 win for Thunder. Players of the Game accolades went to RH #31, Brandon Burgess, and #13, Cory Slough. Thunder’s #19 Pat Sofia and #25 Eric Gunderson were named to the All-Tournament Team. MVP went to Thunder’s #36, Riley Bourbonnais. See ya in the Hall of Fame, guys!"
Nicely done Bob... And it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game! Mike Rotolo made 21 saves for the win, his third on the year, as Thunder pushed ahead to 9-0, with a narrow 2-1 margin over the Royal Comets.
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Got my groove back...enjoy!
Wednesday, Jan 7th Game Report
Make any New Year's Resolutions? Thunder did. They resolved to continue their winning ways and despite the fact that they nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in their first outing of 2009, Thunder did what they needed to do against Irondequoit, escaping with a narrow 4-3 margin. Occupying the visitor’s bench and attacking from the north in your own barn is a bit odd, but that's how it goes when so many teams call Lakeshore home. They almost got me on the 50-50 sales too!
Thunder carried the play for two periods straight, outshooting the Eagles 15-8 and 17-5 respectively, but they only managed to get a pair by Slezak, who stood on his head. Midway through the first it was Matt Lane on the rebound, assisted by Riley Bourbonnais and Pat Sofia. And then not again until the end of the second frame on the powerplay, where Sof settled a pass from Bourbs, put it on a tee in the slot and then Gundi came by to drive it home, 2-0 Thunder.
One would think that goal just before the break might have demoralized the Eagles, but clearly they remained up for the game, as they emerged from the tunnel singing 'Fah who for-aze!' and gave us a run for our money right to the bitter end. One minute into the third Cam Weisbeck put Irondequoit on the board and suddenly it was a one-goal game. Remain calm, all is well...... or maybe not, as senior Zach Ferrara converted a rebound on the Eagles powerplay two minutes later to knot it at 2-2. This was cause for a great deal of pause within the Thunder camp. Have no fear, captain thunderpants is here, as Pat Sofia walked out with 5 and a half to go and went upstairs to regain the lead at 3-2, assisted by Matt Lane and Brandon Cheeseman. Satisifed? Well, by no means was it time to warm up the bus as Irondequoit's Jeff Englert scored 5 seconds into yet another Eagles powerplay with only a buck and a half to go in the game. Yikes, we’re tied at 3's. Time for another pause, this one much shorter, 19 seconds to be exact and if not for the courage of the fearless Cheese, the thunder would have lost, the thunder would have lost. Not to be denied, Matt Lane came charging back on the next series, put the puck on net and along came Cheese crashing the net and putting away the rebound with authority to win the game. A cinderella story, former greenskeeper here at Augusta...... i know, it's time to take my hands of the keyboard and back away from the computer, but you have to admit that was probably one of the most exciting games of the season with everyone's hearts in their throats, am i right?
Shots were 12-10 in the third for a 3-period total of 44-23 in Thunder's favor. First star goes to Brandon Cheeseman (1g/1a) with the game winner; second star goes to Matt Lane (1g/2a) for assisting on the game winner; and third star goes to Pat Sofia (1g/2a) for rallying the troops and turning in a fine 3-point performance. Bonis made 20 saves for the win (his 7th on the year) as Thunder advanced their record to 10-0, with a rather dramatic 4-3 win over the Eagles.
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Saturday, Jan 10th Game Report
Let's be clear, this was not the night that the lights went out in Georgia, but it was however the night that Thunder clinched their division. Shots were 33-14 in Thunder's favor and Parker Bonis made 13 saves for the win (his 8th on the year) as Thunder advanced their record to 11-0, with a 4-1 win over Hilton.
Before the game got underway, a small brass ensemble gathered on the Hilton bench and offered a taut rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Donning black and red jackets, we all pegged them for Hilton horns, but as it turns out, this was yet another Wendy Bonis production, bringing in a group of players from the Prime Time Brass marching band to liven things up. It was a nice touch, although to be perfectly honest, we could have used a little more cowbell... where is Kramer when you need him?
Right from the get go it was readily apparent to even the most casual observer that Hilton was no match for the mighty Thunder. Save a too-many-men penalty in the first period, which Hilton capitalized on, Thunder essentially controlled the entire game, but it took them a period and change to get through the box+1 and past Hurlimann. Why? Well, because everytime Thunder was on the doorstep the net mysteriously came off its moorings, with a conservative estimate being ten times through three periods.
Just ask Rotolo and he will tell you - "that's ok, Greg made them pay for cheating", when he converted on a delay of game penalty that Hilton was finally assessed for knocking the net off so many times. It was a sweet give-go between Gundi and Ryan that came 5 minutes into the second period. A minute later Mike McNeil notched the eventual game winner on the rebound from Gunderson's back-hander, assisted by Ryan, 2-1 Thunder. Time for everyone to take a deep breath as Thunder had finally gained the lead. Cheese was like a train-truck a rollin', all nite long, wrecking anyone/everyone who dared to cross his path and his hard work down low paid off four minutes later, as he bumped one out front to Sofia who in turn banged it home, 3-1 Thunder.
Most would agree with the phrase "offense sells tickets but defense wins games". Have you thanked a defenseman today? Much like the national guard, our Thunder defense is always ready at a moment's notice. They were called upon frequently to hold down the fort as we spent the better part of the final frame in the sin bin. Strikes me as living a little too close to the edge when you have only a 2-goal lead, but our boys in uniform answered the call of duty with several big kills including a nail-biting 5 on 3 at the very end. Steven Hebberecht scored his first "official" varsity goal, when he gathered the puck from a face-off near the Thunder blue-line and cleared it down the ice into the empty net with only 1:14 to go in the game. When asked about the goal, Hebberecht indicated he got one last year, but it got credited to someone else. Not this time. This bud's for you Steve, although Gunderson did manage to record an assist on your shorthanded goal, which capped off the evening nicely.
Speaking of capping off the evening "nicely", you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a thunder parent at dinner after the game, and from what I understand Rotolo is chairman of the committee in search of a new post-game Thunder 'retreat'? Smiles everyone!
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Saturday, Jan 17th Game Report
Parker's cousin Jennna Bruce was back in the house 'killing the anthem at the shore' (that's a good thing - just ask the judges on ABDC) to set the stage for a Thunder sweep of their 2-game series with Spencerport. Having beat the Rangers badly (9-1) in the first meeting back in December, everyone figured this would be another blowout. That was certainly not the case, as the Rangers' netminder (Lariviere) came up big challenging several early chances to keep Thunder off the board. What's more, Greece spotted Spencerport a 1-goal lead when a shot from the point was deflected off the twig of former Thunder teammate Sean Bihrle, past Mike Rotolo, and into the Thunder net, in the waning minutes of the first frame. Mike Bihrle, please come to the snack shop, your fries are done! Not only did Spencerport draw first blood, but they also outshot Thunder 11-7 in the opening period. Mingia boys, wake up, "being #1 in the state does not win games", so say'eth Mr Rotolo. You gotta lace 'em up every night and go to work!
After being denied on a previous rush, Greg Ryan got the equalizer one minute into the second period, assisted by Brandon Cheeseman. Then Gunderson laid Bihrle out at center ice to rally the troops. But Spencerport just kept coming back for more. Enter JT Stenglein who broke up a Rangers breakaway with a diving sweep check, a fine example of giving all you got for the good of the team. That play averted a potential momentum change that might have caused things to take a turn for the worse. Then Stenglein 'draws the foul' late in the second to give his team a 4 minute man-advantage.
Thunder would capitalize on that advantage with five seconds to go in the perpetual powerplay that bridged the beginning of the third period. It was Ryan with his second of the nite, assisted by Gunderson and Bournbonnais, 2-1 Thunder. Then Stenglein added an insurance goal, assisted by Matt Lane, cashing in a rebound with less than 7 minutes to go after following up his initial attempt.
Sofia Collision goes out to Eric Gunderson for caring enough to "send his very best", to Bihrle that is. First star of the game goes to Greg Ryan with a pair of goals and the winner; second star of the game goes to JT Stenglein with one goal and a solid effort in both ends of the rink; third star goes to the Thunder defensive core (Vipes, Hebs, Gundi, Cubbi, and Scotty) for all the little things they did to keep the Rangers at bay, the stuff you did not see in the morning paper the next day. Shots were 29-26 in Thunder's favor. Rotolo made 25 saves for the win (his 4th on the year) as Thunder advanced their record to 12-0, with a 3-1 victory over the Rangers.
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Hilton and Spencerport recaps are forthcoming. Thought I would get Churchville out in the interim while it is fresh in everyone's minds. Enjoy!
Tuesday, Jan 20th Game Report
While millions of Americans were on a pilgrimage to the capitol to watch history in the making as the 44th president of the United States was inaugurated, the Thunder wagon train was headed to Scottsville for a road-game with the Churchville-Chili Saints. After a couple of failed attempts to get the party started, due to technical difficulties with the anthem (a recurring theme this year) it was time to drop the puck… or two, as at one point heads were shaking when there were two pucks on the ice. I know there have been a lot of rule changes to promote scoring within the game, but I thought the experimental 2-puck rule was left on the cutting room floor. I digress.
First period was scoreless, a rather slow start for the men in purple. About the only thing worth noting was when the refs cited Thunder for violation of USA Hockey Rule 110(a), e.g. Nonpenalized players and goalkeepers are not permitted to occupy the penalty bench, forcing Rotolo and Bonis to relinquish their “box” seats at the break.
Action picked up in the second period with three thunder tallies in a minute twenty-two span. Four minutes into the frame, as predicted by Phil Lane, Gunderson scored Thunder's first goal of the night (eventual game winner) on the rebound, assisted by Riley Bourbonnais and Greg Ryan. Forty-seven seconds later Dan Vyverberg sprung Matt Lane with a rink-wide pass, then Lane took it deep and centered it to Brandon Cheeseman who was crashing the Saints net for the goal, 2-0 Thunder. Add thirty-three more seconds and it was JT Stenglein picking up a loose puck on the half-wall, strolling across the top of the slot and burying a wrister, high stick-side, 3-0 Thunder.
The entire Thunder bench saw action in the third, save the extra keepers, and it was good to see the likes of Grills, Briganti, McNeil, Hostetter, Sherry, O'Brien, Coleman, Keough, and Grimshaw ripping it up out there. Six minutes into the period Greg Ryan netted Thunder's fourth and final goal of the game off a perfectly timed and well-executed drop by Pat Sofia at the goal line, also assisted by Jordan Grills.
Sofia Collision of the game goes to Vyper for crushing his check with an open ice hit in front of the Thunder bench. Heard a "yeahhhhhh Dan-eeeeeee" - it seems Jeannine is really branching out! Shots were 37-15 (10-3, 17-5, 10-7) in Thunder's favor. Freshman keeper Ian Cumming made 15 saves for the shut-out win, in his first start of the season. Not a ton of rubber, but Cumming showed his mettle as he remained focused and turned away numerous quality scoring chances with great poise. Thunder advanced their record to 13-0, with this 4-0 win over the Saints.
As the boys of thunder put their necks on the line breaking records every day on the road to a state title, who will be the next victim?
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Thursday, Jan 22nd Game Report
When the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder hockey team hosted the Brockport Blue Devils at Lakeshore back in December, about all you could hear in the Thunder camp was "the sound of silence", as Thunder trailed by a goal through 25 minutes of play. It was a different story and a different sound altogether at the January meeting as this time you could hear the sound of THUNDER steam-rolling the Blue Devils right from the get-go. Hello Brockport, my old friend, i've come to play with you again.
A minute thirty in, Vyper stood up his check, shutting down an early Brockport rush at the blue line, and setting the stage for a nice transition the other way to JT Stenglein who then drove the net and got his own rebound for the first goal of the game. Steven Hebberecht and Riley Bourbonnais got the helpers. Jordan Grills did a nice job fore-checking and showing the Blue Devils to their seats in their own end. And with 8.5 ticks left on the clock, Stenglein bookended the period with a nasty wrister, co-authored by the contributions of Matt Lane and Brandon Cheeseman, making it 2-0 Thunder.
Pat Sofia opened the second chapter a minute in with the third thunder tally, assisted by Ryan and Boor-Bon-Niss. Way to work the triangle boys. Next came Brockport's lone goal of the game, when a shot from the point deflected off Bonis' stick and somehow found its way in , half-way through the period. Three minutes later we were back to our regularly scheduled program already in progress where BBN was rewarded for his extra effort on the backcheck, when he went deep for Stenglein coming off the bench, then JT unselfishly dished it to the Flying Man (Ryan), who got up in the play at a moment's notice and put a fourth biscuit in the basket for the Thunder.
After making 20 saves through two periods of play, Bonis was given a chance to collect his thoughts, and he passed the baton to Rotolo going into the third. Ryan got his second goal of the evening on the powerplay, when a pass across the slot deflected in off his knee, three minutes into the final frame, assisted by Gunderson and Sofia. Hey, they all look good on paper. Six minutes and 2 saves later, after holding down the crease, Rotolo passed the baton to freshman Andrew Simonelli for his first varsity appearance.
BBN found the back of the net han solo near the 8 minute mark, after beating his check at the blue-line and ripping one low, glove-side. Stenglein got his hat a minute thirty later on a pretty powerplay, where Gunderson pitched it in to BBN posted up in the slot and then Riley dished it to JT on the wing for the finish. The final goal of the game came from Vyperdasniper as he wound up with a slapper on the powerplay from just inside the blue line and beat the Blue Devils keeper low, stick side, to put a bow on the game at 8-1, assisted by Cheeseman and Keough. That was Matt's first varsity point, way to go Ke-ough! At the final buzzer, the Thunder bench cleared, not to go fight, but rather to go pile on Andrew Simonelli and give him props for bringing it home with 4 saves in the final 8 minutes.
It was a little chippy in the third but when all was said and done, Thunder showed class and a glimpse of just how dangerous they can be when they play as a team and have each others backs. There were beacoup selfless plays, many of which translated into goals. The cycling and passing was a thing of beauty. The defense and goaltending was solid. They were indeed skating with the swagger of a champion. Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhh Thun-Deeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr!
First star of the game goes to JT Stenglein with the hat plus one assist and the winner; second star goes to Greg Ryan with 2 goals and 1 assist; third star goes to Boor-Bon-Niss with 1 goal and 4 assists. Shots were 39-27 in Thunder's favor. Bonis, Rotolo, and Simonelli combined for 26 saves as Thunder advanced their record to 14-0, with an 8-1 thumping of the Blue Devils. And...............................i'm spent.
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Tuesday, Jan 27th Game Report
According to my watch, the Greece Thunder Hockey Team was supposed to face-off with the Aquinas "little" irish a "little" after 7:00pm at Lakeshore on Tuesday Jan 27, but the men in black, gold, and purple didn't show-up until midway through the second period. Perhaps it was something they ate or maybe it was the easy schedule of the two-weeks prior that had lulled them to sleep, i don't know? But AQ outshot Greece 8 to 5 in a rather physical first frame, which saw AQ forward Cameron Corsaro escorted to the gate after hurling Ben McCubbin into the boards with a check from behind. Despite the extended 4-minute man-advantage and several in your face attempts at the irish goal mouth, Thunder was gripping the stick a little too tightly and could not seem to get one through the Dohr.
Early in the second, Brandon Cheeseman set JT Stenglein free with a long-lead pass up the middle that drew a crowd as Stenglein ran into the Dohr and slid into the net knocking it off its mooring. During the stoppage, Dohr knocked Stenglein down, but JT maintained his composure and skated away, favoring retribution on the scoreboard instead. As Sean Penn's character (Sam) from the movie I am Sam said, "that's an excellent choice". With the pace of play and the hitting picking up in the second period, Thunder's momentum was slowly building as well and a Lupe Fiasco song came to mind -
If you are what you say you are, a superstar
Then have no fear, the camera is here
And the microphones
And they wanna know oh oh oh oh
If you are what you say you are, a superstar
Then have no fear, the crowd is here
And the lights are on
And they wanna show oh oh oh oh, yeah
And what a show Thunder put on as Greg Ryan lit the lamp nine minutes in on the powerplay, converting a sweeeeeeet give-go with life-long friend and teammate, Pat Sofia, to bring the Thunder fans to their feet and the AQ fans to their seats. But one goal was not going to do it, as AQ's Sean Hickey got the equalizer just 34 seconds before the second intermission.
The intensity continued to build going into the third as Thunder took the first trip to the box five minutes in. This crucial kill was bolstered by the Hebs-Vyper tandem as they laid it all on the line to keep the puck out of the net and AQ at bay. Parker's acute sense of where the biscuit was at all times was a Bonis too as the puck passed through the crease and he pounced on it with cat-like reflex. Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhh Par-Keeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr!
A minute later came the moment we had all been waiting for as JT Stenglein picked up the puck, made several nice moves and then ripped a shot on net low and hard, that would trickle in 5-hole. Matt Lane picked up the lone helper on the go-ahead marker that rocked the house. It would prove to be the winner as Thunder held on for the final seven and a half, ignoring the elephant in the room with one more notch in this season's belt.
First star of the game goes to Parker Bonis for showing up ready to play at 7pm sharp and keeping Thunder in the game gloving all but 1 that came his way; second star of the game goes to Steven Hebberecht who had an outstanding game on the blueline and in the trenches, pinning AQ on the boards and breaking up 2-on-1's with well-executed poke-checks; third star goes to Dan Vyverberg for sacrificing his body blocking shots on several kills and for his all-around heady decision making with the puck. Shots were 27-26 in Thunder's favor. Bonis made 25 saves for his 10th win as Thunder advanced their record to 15-0, with a nail-biting 2-1 result over Aquinas.
Stay warm, stay safe, and we'll see ya'll in the 'cuse!
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The Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey Team traveled to Liverpool this past weekend for the Warriors Winter Classic. Nothin' like a little roadie to get to know one another better, just ask Jeannine "O'Brien" or "Chuck-E" Weilert. While this Winter Classic was held indoors, at the Coca Cola Coliseum on the NYS Fairgrounds, it had the same bone chilling feel of the familiar outdoor classic. Gotta love that siren though!
Friday, Jan 30th Game Report
Thunder opened against the tournament host and politely played to their level while giving the Warriors a fighting chance in a scoreless first period. Five minutes into the second, Brandon Cheeseman went 5-hole with a centering pass off the draw from Matt Lane and it was 1-0 Thunder. This got the blood flowing as Thunder went on to out-shoot the Warriors 17-4 in the second frame, after having spotted them a 10-9 margin in the first while shaking off the thruway legs.
Five minutes into the third there was a second helping of Matt-n-Cheese on the stove, except this time Vyper dished it out to Cheese who winged it cross-ice to Matt who fed it back to Cheese in the slot to finish off yet another pretty give-go for the Thunder gallery. With that kind of chemistry, one would think they were on a "Power-Trip" or something. Later on in the third, Lane nearly connected with Stenglein on a behind the back drop pass, but JT could not get the handle. And that was all she wrote, as Thunder posted 17 shots to the Warriors 3 in the third and coasted to a 2-0 victory.
Accepting the MVP award on behalf of Brandon Cheeseman was Mike Briganti, who then immediately delivered the award to its rightful owner. With a pair of goals including the winner, Cheese earned himself first star of the game honors; second star goes to Matt Lane for assisting on both goals; third star goes to Mike Rotolo for staying awake between the pipes and posting a shut-out. Shots were 43-17 in Thunder's favor. Mike Rotolo made 17 saves for his 5th win (and second shut-out) as Thunder advanced their record to 16-0, with a 2-0 final over Liverpool.
Saturday, Jan 31st Game Report
Greece retuned for their pound of flesh against the #5 state ranked Suffern Mounties, who had blanked them 4-0 a year prior in the same Warrior Classic Championship game. It took them three full periods but Thunder got the retribution they came for and the hardware to boot as they defeated the Mounties 4-2 in a game that could have very easily slipped away. Who's suffer'n now?
After another boring, scoreless first frame with no penalties nor anything else worthy of mention, Thunder got an early wake-up call 5 seconds into the second when the Mounties charged forward on the opening face-off launching one from just inside the blue-line over the glove of Bonis to make it 1-0 Suffern. The Mounties would cash again, a minute and a half later with a rebound on the powerplay to advance their lead to 2-0. Take a deep breath, there's a lot of game left. Halfway through the second, Thunder caught a break, when Riley Bourbonnais shot the puck wide right of the net from the half-wall, hitting the zamboni door and instead of the puck continuing on its expected trajectory around the boards, it kicked back out to Sofia who was standing to the right of the net below the goal line. With the Suffern keeper on the far post, Sof deftly reached around and tucked the puck inside the goal, to put Thunder on the board. With this shot in the arm, Thunder's fore-check really picked up. Three and a half minutes later Dan Vyverberg won a 50-50 to get the puck deep. Then as the Suffern bench called for an ice, Bourbonnais gloved the errant clear in the high slot, set it down and sniped it under the cross-bar to knot the game at 2's. Stripes won the period after calling a total of 13 penalties to make up for none in the first and so we went to the break 4 on 4.
Thunder continued with their relentless fore-check going into the third, generating countless QSC and basically wearing the Mounties down. It was only a matter of time before Thunder would take the lead. Sure enough, ten minutes in, yesterday's MVP got today's winner, as Cheese came out of the corner, received a pass from JT Stenglein, and tucked it in short-side for the go ahead goal. It was 3-2 Thunder and on came the lights! But stripes had to have center stage as they sent one and then another Thunder player to the box for holding, forcing Thunder to defend their lead with a 3-man disadvantage as Suffern pulled their goalie near the end. With a minute to go in the final kill of the game, Vyper lowered his stick to block a shot on the front-door, sending the puck into the corner, where Ryan quickly retrieved it, sending it down the ice and into the empty net to put the game out of reach at 4-2. How exciting is that?
Stars of the game were difficult to choose as this was a solid team effort across the board, however first star goes to Riley Bourbonnais for priming the pump with a goal and an assist; second star goes to tournament MVP, JT Stenglein, for setting up the winner; third star goes to Eric Gunderson who was stepping up in the neutral zone all game and made numerous rushes down the ice. Shots were 46-34 in Thunder's favor. Bonis made 32 saves for his 11th win as Thunder advanced their record to 17-0, with a 4-2 result over Suffern.
Thunder is back in action hosting the Irondequoit Eagles, 8pm tonite (Tues Feb 3) at the 'shore. Be sure to stop in the snack shop and "catch" this week's special... Chicken-Pot-Pie!
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Tuesday, Feb 3rd Game Report
Could be my eyes are going but I could swear the anthem honors were anonymously offered by a woman wearing a master's jacket and red chucks. In stark contrast to the January meeting, where Greece kept Irondequoit around long enough to make it interesting, this time out it was all Thunder as they opened up a can of whoop-a$$ on the Eagles. Leading off for the Thunder two minutes in it was Matt Lane taking flight and beating Slezak 4-hole with a nasty snapper that would prove to be the winner. The play originated in Thunder's end with a hard-working clear by Dan Vyverberg and was also assisted by Brandon Cheeseman. Thunder dazzled their dedicated fans with a plethora of pretty passing plays during the balance of the opening period, but it was not until four minutes into the second that they would light the lamp again. Enter JT Stenglein who would find the net, assisted by Matt-n-Cheese, after circling like sharks in the Eagles end for a spell. A minute later Riley Bourbonnais was walking down the left side of the ice looking to pass to a decoy in the slot but instead he slid an unassuming backhander by Slezak to make it 3-0 Thunder. Greg Ryan picked up the helper.
While most teams would have said uncle and folded their tent by now, Irondequoit continued pressing and forced Rotolo to make some big saves. Take the next series for example. With both teams on a change and nobody to pass to, Vyper decides to walk it in, but the play quickly reversed and Matt Keough was left holding the bag. Matt showed his mettle as he caught the Eagles' attacker bearing down on Rotolo, preventing him from getting a clean shot off, but the play was whistled down with a penalty shot awarded to the Eagles. No worries, Mike was on his game and he stayed with IQ's Kirk like a mirror image to keep the shut-out alive. Before the period was out, Bourbonnais notched his second goal, walking across the middle and firing a hard shot that hit Slezak's stick and worked its way in, making it 4-0 Thunder going to the break.
Five minutes this side of the break, Stenglein netted his second goal on the powerplay, assisted by Bourbonnais and Rotolo. With a fifth marker on the board, the remainder of the game found the entire Thunder bench getting in on the action. Chipping away in front of the Eagles net, Curran O'Brien counted his first varsity goal with 4:15 to go, assisted by Bourbonnais and Grills. Shortly thereafter, Chris Coleman posted a monster shift with several good plays, including a big hit to keep the line and then winding up a knuckle-puck that just missed over the cross-bar. And with 39 seconds left on the clock Mike McNeil put one in off an Eagles defenseman's skate for lucky #7.
Doan Collision goes out to Scotty Tam-Grimshaw for standing up #14 in the neutral zone like a brick wall in the early going. First star clearly goes to Mike Rotolo for his stellar performance in the nets. Hockey is a game of momentum and every time IQ tried building theirs to get back in the game by bringing it to the crease, man behind the mask was equal to the task and stopped them dead in their tracks. Second star goes to Riley Bourbonnais with 2 and 2 makes 4. And third star goes to JT Stenglein with two goals of his own. Shots were 34-22 in Thunder's favor. Rotolo made 22 saves for his 3rd shutout and 6th win as Thunder advanced their record to 18-0, with a 7-0 domination over Irondequoit.
Thunder hosts the Fairport Red Raiders, 8pm tonite (Thurs Feb 5) at the 'shore. Don't have a senior moment and show up late, get there early to recognize your seniors before their final home game of the season!
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Thursday, Feb 5th Game Report
OK, so that "woman" I mentioned in the last report, the one with the masters jacket and the red chucks, turns out it was Athena junior Katie Edinger, taking a break from the set of West Side Story, for round two at the mic, on senior night. Jordan "grills" Grills, Eric "Gunda/Gundo/Gundi" Gunderson, Ben "Cubbi/Hammerhead" McCubbin, Greg "Go-Greggy" Ryan, and Pat "So-fee-ya/So-fi-ya/Sof" Sofia each had a senior moment on the red carpet with their families and then a hockey game broke out shortly thereafter between your very own Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder and the Fairport Red Raiders. With a rather vocal cheering section behind them, Thunder hung a goose egg on the Red Raiders for the second time this season.
Three minutes into the opening period, JT Stenglein put his patented "drive to the net" play into action, losing the handle at the end but then rejoicing as the puck hit a skate and deflected past Carlston for the first goal of the game and eventual winner. As the stands erupted we all figured, hey, we'll take it any way we can get it, and just like that it was 1-0 Thunder. Less than a minute later Pat Sofia got it the way nobody wants it as he was thrown head first into the boards and was ostensibly done for the night. With Bardreau (#18 for Fairport) serving time for boarding Sofia, Thunder went to work and 17 seconds before the 4-minute man-advantage was about to expire, Greg Ryan feathered a pass out to Riley Bourbonnais at the point and then made a b-line for the right post where a seeing-eye return pass from Bourbs would deflect off Ryan's leg into the net, to lift Thunder to 2-0. Greece ended up spending the majority of the first frame on a perpetual powerplay, while Fairport maintained a steady parade to the box.
But both teams would take turns in the sin bin as the intensity of play continued to build throughout the scoreless second period and on into the third. On one of his more notable kills, Vyper challenged the shooter, taking one for the team in the chest to keep the dream alive and renew his membership in the Harry Shaw society. And how about "little" Stevie Hebberecht playing "huge", i mean HUGE Rochester, like he was 6'-2" and 200 Lbs boxing out and controlling the play along the boards. With less than three minutes to go in the game, Vypes, Hebs, and Cheese found themselves battling down low in their own end along the wall to keep Fairport at bay for almost a minute of desperation. At the next stoppage Fairport exercised their timeout with only 1:59 left on the clock. Then Scotty "Bam"-Grimshaw delivered his own "stoppage", when he trucked #20-Cam Nickels, earning himself the Doan Collision for the second game in a row. Cheese, Greggy and Gundi also got some down the stretch as they took turns nailing their checks during the mass hysteria that led to a party in the penalty box with just 4 seconds to go.
When all was said and done, Thunder did what they needed to do to get that 19th win for #19. Shots were 25-13 in Thunder's favor. Bonis' glove was red-hot as he made 13 saves for his 3rd shutout and 12th win and Thunder advanced their record to 19-0, with a 2-0 margin over Fairport.
While the forecast shows a light wintry mix and a 40% chance of precipitation, if the first meeting of the season was any indication, the 9th annual STORM game, 8pm on Tues Feb 10th at the 'shore, could very well heat things up enough to melt the ice!
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Mission Webby Report
Once again the weatherman was way off with his predictions, calling for "a light wintry mix and a 40% chance of precipitation" on the 10th. So much for Doppler radar. With the announcement of practice cancellations and the word of the Thunder coaches' resignations spreading like wildfire over the weekend, even a blind squirrel could see that conditions were ripe for a perfect storm. You pretty much had to be living under a rock to miss this one. As the story was unfolding, soap box sales went through the roof, with nameless, faceless people anonymously blogging their opinions on-line. All the while, our Thunder family was circling the wagons and quietly preparing for battle. The objective of our special operation (code-named "Mission WKW") was simple: to get our coaches reinstated and get on with the rest of our season. Given we were in uncharted waters, this would require all hands on deck, forechecking, backchecking, and school policy checking. Our fearless leader, Kimberly Cheeseman-Layton, offered the following State of the Thunder Union address to the team in preparation for the superintendent's forum on Sunday:
"Remember one thing today for our boys: 'You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.' Eleanor Roosevelt. Today, we are going to try and fix what someone has tried to take away from us. Today, we bond like no other team has and continue down the path that these boys deserve to follow with the two men that led them there. Keep your boys strong, help them take this as a challenge they were born to rise to. These are the times that differentiate every other team from.......THUNDER"
"THUNDER....THERE IS NO OTHER!!!"
Kim Cheeseman-Layton
Despite an overwhelming show of support evidenced by a sea of purple at the forum and the many heartfelt testimonials offered on the coaches' behalf, we were unfortunately unable to change the superintendent's decision. But the undefeated Thunder would not take this lying down. Desperate times call for desperate measures and this minor setback would only serve to strengthen our resolve.
"Let’s keep the pressure on from all sides. Let’s show them why our kids are so relentless on the ice. It’s because the apple does not fall far from the tree."
Scott Soeffing
And so our Pres' set out the next day to set the record straight with the media and invited the parents to do the same with the school board. By Monday afternoon a significant change in momentum was underway.
"Hello Greece Thunder Hockey Families, I just wanted to take the time to Thank-You for all your emails and calls regarding this current situation. I appreciate your frustration and concern over the issues of your coaches. I am forwarding all the emails you have and are sending me to all my fellow board members. We will be meeting in executive session this Tuesday with the Superintendent to discuss personnel issues. After that time we will come out for a public vote. I don’t know how this will all turn out on Tuesday night, but I want to personally thank each and everyone of you for your calls, concerns, insights and input. I am always asking for community engagement and I definitely got it from your team. However, I wish the circumstances were different. Thanks Again!"
Julia VanOrman, President Greece School Board
And by Tuesday morning we had secured a spot on the GCSD Board Meeting agenda from which to plead our case.
"Kim, I would like to personally thank you and the rest of the board members for your efforts to unify our hockey family, gather facts, and clearly communicate our message. It is clear why Thunder is #1.....not only do our boys work together as a team but so do their parents. Someone said it in an email recently...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.....well we have one amazing FOREST! I'm confident that you and Christine will represent us well at the meeting tonight and I'm praying we get the outcome we deserve. GO THUNDER!!"
Cathy Vyverberg
Emails were flying, phones were ringing and petitions were circulating... we were basically "throwing everything at the net".
"I will have to say that our story went International as well. I was in Toronto meeting with a customer this morning and they knew I lived in Rochester. They wanted to know what the story was as they heard it on the CBC Television Network carried locally. They suggested that we get Don Cherry involved. I Thought it was a great idea , hopefully we won't need it after tonight."
Scott Coleman
Try and picture Don Cherry presumably wearing his purple-plaid jacket somewhere north of the border in a show of solidarity for the Thunder coaches, our Booster-Club-Brass armed and ready to state their case to the school board flanked by a cadre of supporters at Apollo, and the balance of the Thunder family gathered amidst a standing-room-only crowd at 123 Ling Rd in support of our boys of thunder preparing to defend a 4-year stranglehold of the coveted STORM Trophy under new management. Indeed a perfect storm was imminent. News crews filled the parking lot, cars lined the streets. There were signs galore and Webby faces on popsicle sticks as far as the eye could see. Some of the signs read "We're with Webby", "Bring Back Webby", and "Lonely at the top". The players decorated their helmets with WKW. It was a big deal.
And before anyone could say Bob's your uncle or Webby's your coach, good news arrived at the rink some 100+ hours into the "Webby Crisis" as the school board announced they were rejecting the coaches resignations and issuing a 2-game suspension instead. It was like winning in overtime, without all the throwing of gloves and sticks in the air, but with all the rejoicing and celebration that accompanies a well deserved victory after a hard fought battle. The coaches would now be allowed to take their team to sectionals after watching the last two regular season games from the stands. It was surreal. What a great feeling to see the signs changed from "Bring Back Webby" to "Welcome Back Webby". There was only one thing left to do... play some hockey!
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Tuesday, Feb 10th Storm Game Report
As this year's STORM host, Lightning threw us a curve-ball, leading off with a coed anthem duet. But with a new hybrid coaching staff on the bench, consisting of Tim Bryan (a former Thunder assistant), Andy Rice (Athena Girls Varsity Soccer coach) and Jason Bunting (Athena Boys Varsity Baseball coach), Thunder hit this one out of the park, handing Lightning a 7-3 news bulletin on their way to a fifth consecutive STORM victory at the 'shore.
Just 16 seconds into the game Riley Bourbonnais cracked the seal after picking up a nice leave from Greg "Book Buddy" Ryan along the boards. Five minutes later JT Stenglein walked out of the corner and cashed in on the powerplay assisted by Ryan and Cheeseman. Time of the first "YeahThun-Derrrrrrr!" was 6:06. Scotty made a couple of nice clears on the PK and then Riley went on a breakaway before it was over but he got stoned by Opladen on his shorthanded bid. Lightning cut the lead in half when Brandon Wood scored with less than five minutes to go in the opening period. Then Ryan answered back a couple of minutes later on the powerplay assisted by Bourbonnais and Stenglein to restore the 2-goal lead.
Ryan wasted no time scoring his second goal 32 seconds into the second period, after Bourbs' pass across the grain found its way onto his stick. Pat Sofia recorded the second hand assist on Thunder's fourth goal. Fast forward a few more minutes and Sofia would tally himself on a beautiful play that originated with Scotty's mouth as he called for the puck in the middle of Gunderson's wind up. So Eric pulls up and slides it across, then Scotty walks it in and takes a low/hard shot that kicks out to Sof who was poised to sweep it into the net, making it 5-1 Thunder. Lightning changed their goaltender at the stoppage and then managed to score again late in the second on a wide angle shot by Kendrick Heintzelmann. And so it was 5-2 Thunder going to the cut, with the 50/50 proceeds going to Skating For the Cure.
Bourbonnais opened up the final frame with his second goal 2 minutes in off a shot from the point by Tam-Grimshaw, that was also assisted by Ryan. David Powlowski managed to eke out one more for the Lightning a minute later on the wraparound. Then with just under 7 minutes to go, Matt Lane treated everyone to the highlight-reel goal of the season as he went barrelling down the left side of the ice, made a few tight pulls, megged the Lightning defenseman (#14), and then went effortlessly upstairs to cap things off at 7-3. A couple of minutes later a twig snapped and bodies started flying but stripes let the play continue while the intensity was building. With 4 minutes to go Vyper got tangled up with Brandon Wood and a bit of a scrap ensued as Wood tried to take some liberties. Cheese stepped in to break things up and the crowd chanted Vyper-Vyper as both players were escorted to the box, Vyper with a minor rough and Wood with the double. It was great to see such a large contingent of students in the stands supporting and cheering on their classmates all nite!
While tonight was arguably less about individual achievement and more about coming together as a community, I would be remiss if I did not mention that Riley Bourbonnais surpassed the all-time Thunder career scoring record of 101 points, set by Andrew DiBitetto back in 2004. First star of the game goes to Greg Ryan with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points; second star goes to Riley Bourbonnais with 2+2=4; and third star goes to Scotty Tam-Grimshaw with a pair of assists and a solid effort all the way around.
Shots were 27-22 in Thunder's favor. Rotolo made 19 saves for his 7th win and Thunder advanced their record to 20-0, with a 7-3 margin over the Lightning. Thunder's Storm Game Record improved to 5-2-2 and they get to keep the Trophy for yet another year. At the conclusion of the trophy presentation, the captains skated off the ice and walked up into the stands with their skates on to present the STORM trophy to Webby. This one's for you!
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Saturday, Feb 14th Game Report
Where did everybody go? With the purple ink fading in the wake of Tuesday night's climax, there was ample parking and elbow room in the stands on Valentines Day '09 at Lakeshore. It was senior nite for the Hilton Cadets coinciding with the end of section five regular season play and Vyper's 17th birthday (beware on the roads after dark). Due to an injury in the prior game there was a bit of a delay and the players had to warm-up on the west rink. With Thunder emerging from the tunnel in their purple sweaters and the Cadets coming out in their whites, our host threw us a change-up as one of their players sang the anthem with some rather interesting bass tones.
Once again wasting no time, Thunder was on the board a mere 30 seconds into the game as Greg Ryan walked across the top of the slot and beat Delgatti short side, assisted by Riley Bourbonnais and Pat Sofia. Greece controlled the play in Hilton's end for the lion's share of the opening period with numerous nifty passing plays before JT Stenglein converted on a goal line stand with six minutes to go, assisted by Ryan and Gunderson. This was followed by another Matt-n-Cheese production as Brandon Cheeseman fed Matt Lane in the middle just inside the blue line and Lane buried the wrister to make it 3-0 Thunder. Gunda picked up the second helper.
Just two minutes into the second frame, Lane hit Ryan with a long lead pass up the middle, then Ryan entered the zone on the left, found Eric Gunderson all alone on the weak side and Gunda went top shelf, popping Degatti's water bottle to advance Thunder's lead to 4-0. Another eight minutes would pass before a Curran O'Brien pass deflected off a pair of skates and into the Cadets net for Thunder's fifth goal of the evening. But Hilton would scramble to break the shutout, posting a powerplay marker with 1:23 to go in the period. Then on Hilton's final break-out attempt before the break, Dan Vyverberg blocked the puck with his body to keep the line, got it deep, and layed out an unsuspecting Cadet who was looking to finish his check.
Coming into the third and final frame of the regular season the Boys of Thunder continued to demonstrate their prowess with the puck, finding each other with tic-tac-toe-tape-to-tape passing and putting on quite a show. But Hilton had come back from the break with a new netminder between the pipes and it took a solid seven minutes to solve him. It was Mike McNeil who would do the honors, deflecting a shot from the point past Hurlimann for Thunder's 6th and final goal of the game. Scotty Tam-Grimshaw took the shot and Mike Briganti recorded the second assist. Coming down the home stretch Matt Keough delivered a nice check along the boards that drew some attention. Then with 4 minutes remaining, Hilton cycled in yet another goaltender and Thunder followed suit with Bonis passing the baton to Simonelli. With the game well at hand Andrew was probably expecting light duty, but that was not the case. Instead, he found himself in the deep-end having to sink or save during a shorthanded situation that spanned 3 out of the last 4 minutes of the game. Simonelli chose to save, making a couple of beauties right out of the blocks on the initial 5 on 4 kill. Vyper earned another Harry sticker with a save of his own. Hilton managed to get one by on their perpetual powerplay, but by the time it was all over Simonelli had turned away 6 of the 7 attempts that came his way. Nice work!
First star of the game goes to Greg Ryan with a goal and 2 assists; second star goes to Eric Gunderson with a goal and 2 assists; and third star goes to Matt Lane with one and one. Shots were 24-21 in Thunder's favor with Bonis and Simonelli combining for 19 saves. And so, the 08-09 regular season comes to a close with Thunder handing Hilton a 6-2 decision, while enjoying an unprecedented undefeated record of 21 wins and 0 losses. Queue the sound byte Jeannine!
Get off your rocker, recliner, or sectional and come on down to the 'shore to watch WKW lead the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey Team in their first sectional game, against the little irish of Aquinas, 1pm on Satruday, Feb 21st. Thunder... There is no other!
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Saturday, Feb 21st Game Report
As expected, the ticket line was out the door for the Section V Class A Sectional Quarterfinal contest between your very own undefeated Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder and the Aquinas Little Irish. With the guys who got them there back behind the bench, the rolling Thunder came on like a hurricane, pouring rain on AQ's parade with a six nothing spanking Saturday afternoon at Lakeshore to advance themselves to the next round and keep the dream alive.
With the notion of one and out in the back of everyone's mind going in, you could cut the tension with a spork. But with the little lady at the mic, putting her big, bold, and beautiful signature on the anthem, it was a 'Bonis' that would take the edge off for the Thunder. AQ on the other hand was panicking from the get go as they threw the puck away on numerous occasions. When they did try to penetrate, Brandon Cheeseman and Scotty Tam-Grimshaw were in their face with several key blocks to keep AQ at bay in the early going. Thunder was steadfast with their forecheck and it was only a matter of time before the Dohr would swing wide open. Matt Lane was first through the Dohr with just under 3 minutes to go in the opening period, as he walked out of the corner, pulled the trigger, and watched his attempt work its way in over the AQ goaltender's shoulder. Steven Hebberecht recorded the lone assist on Thunder's first goal and eventual winner.
Second period action saw thunder on the short end of a 5 on 3 situation, but as Bourbonnais cleared the box, Gunderson sailed a pass to him alone at the AQ line, and Riley went in 1 on 0 for the shawty to make it 2-0 Thunder. Five minutes later with their own man advantage, Thunder was working it around the horn, lulling AQ to sleep when Rilez suddenly took an unexpected shot (or was it a pass) from the top of the key, that slid into the 4-hole on the ice for an unassuming PPG, assisted by Greg Ryan and JT Stenglein. A while later Scotty made a nice diving play to clear the zone before JT went on a walkabout with a shorthanded bid of his own. Taken down at the last second before getting the shot off, JT was expecting a penalty shot, but we had to settle for a trip instead. No worries, as Thunder would rally on the powerplay after another extended presence in AQ's end. Just plain strong on the puck, Stenglein ended up firing the laser that hit its mark, top-right, as he was falling to the ice. That makes 4 goals for the good guys and 0 for the guys who reportedly claim that our guys will some day be changing their oil. Stick around. More fun to come after the break.
Four minutes into the third and final frame, Dan Vyverberg took one for the team, getting a sizeable chunk of AQ's captain (Starnino), while making the outlet to setup Thunder's fifth goal, Cheeseman from Stenglein and Vyverberg. A minute later Ben McCubbin gathered the puck and started the breakout from behind the Thunder goal, hitting Pat Sofia on the tape on the half-wall. Sofia bumped it out to Ryan who then found Bourbonnais streaking through neutral and Riley walked in on Dohr, beating him 5-hole with the backhander for the Hat. The balance of the third was spent trying to get Grillsy a goal, and while Jordan managed to hit the scoresheet, it was unfortunately as they announced his name on the way to the box. Tomorrow's another day. With less than 2 minutes to go in the game, Vyverberg took another one for the team, coming out to challenge the shooter and blocking a shot in the high slot with his chest to preserve the SO. Notice I didn't say it? Well, Dan Miller did and thus he had to hold his breath for the final 1:55 for fear that he may have jinxed us. Miller wiped the sweat from his brow as the fourth line shut things down and the building erupted. Way to go Thunder!
First star of the game goes to Riley Bourbonnais with the Hat; second star goes to JT Stenglein with a goal and 2 assists; and third star goes to Matt Lane for leading the way with the winner and a no-quit forecheck all day. Shots were 28-18 in Thunder's favor with Parker Bonis gloving everything that came his way as he pitched his 4th shut-out and recorded his 14th win on the season. With a third victory over Aquinas in the books, Thunder advances to the semifinal round still perfect at 22-0.
No rest for the weary as we prepare for the 'Battle of Greece' to be waged in Henrietta when the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey Team faces storm rival Greece Arcadia/Olympia Lightning in the Section V Class A Semifinals, 6pm on Tuesday, February 24th @ ESL Sports Centre. Be there or be somewhere else missing out on history in the making!
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Tuesday, Feb 24th Game Report
Thunder is 22-1, pause, NOT, just ask Bob Newhart and he'll set the record straight. My name i' Borat, I like Thunder. I like a 23-0, it's niiiiiice! That's right, the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey Team remains unbeaten after turning out the lights on the Greece Arcadia/Olympia Lightning and blanking them 2-0 in their sectional semifinal at ESL Sports Centre Tuesday nite. Thunder felt right at Home, warming up in white to the sounds of Sharp Dressed Man, Mission Impossible, and Thunderstruck, as they welcomed junior forward Mike Miller back from an extended leave on the DL that was prompted by an undisclosed lower body injury early on in the season. As both teams took the ice after the post warm-up ice cut, Amanda Sherry, Odyssey graduate and sister of Thunder forward Andy Sherry, delivered her own cut, of the anthem that is. The hits keep on coming and they haven't even dropped the puck yet. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
The first shift of the game was a little 'sloppy joe', resulting in an early wake-up call for the Thunder when they found themselves short-handed just one minute in at the first stoppage of play. Time to tighten up the screws. Thunder did just that as they killed off the first penalty of the game with authority, dictating the play and preventing Lightning from establishing any sort of measureable presence in their zone on the man advantage. As Thunder cleared the box, a 4-minute rally ensued, with heart-pounding, end-to-end action, before the next whistle would come along to give everyone a chance to catch their breath. The highlight of the rally was watching Eric Gunderson wait out the Lightning's attack on a late-developing 2-on-1, then dropping to his chest at the very last moment and swatting the Lightning puck carrier's pass attempt away with his 12-foot or better reach.
Dan Vyverberg took charge in the pocket for a spell to keep Thunder on the attack, snapping off a series of crisp passes to the forwards regrouping in the neutral zone. Then Gunda did it again, breaking up yet another 2 on 1 rush with that amazing reach while "lying down on the job". And just in case that was not enough to get the boys fired up, Gundi came right back and put away a rebound that kicked out to him after he cranked a shot off the shoulder of teammate and fellow captain, Greg Ryan. It was a greatly anticipated one-hole-goal that would ultimately stand up as the winner in the end. But the Lightning would not quit as they were back in black and on the attack with under a minute to go in the period. Enter JT Stenglein with a solid back checking effort to catch David Powlowski, lifting his stick before he could get a shot off and sending play back the other way. Riley Bourbonnais was on the scene digging for one last shot at the buzzer and he had the corner picked, but Opladen was equal to the task. And so, Thunder would go to the first intermission with an 11-2 shot margin, enjoying a 1-0 lead.
A few minutes back from the first break, the Thunder powerplay was back in action, but they overstayed their welcome and Bonis was forced to save their bacon with 3 consecutive point-blank saves on Wood, a good while after we were back at even strength. Thunder promptly segued from PP to PK as JT went to the box for an alleged Louganis at the next stop. Out came Vyper to challenge the shooter, making his first save of the game on the PK and then half-way through the kill, JT had company, as Hebs got called for a high-stick. Gundo and Pat joined Vyper for the 45 second 5-on-3 kill before JT's sentence was up and then away went J with a short-handed bid that would also be denied by Opladen. Two minutes later Thunder was assessed a too-many-men penalty and Mike Briganti got the nod to serve. Steve Hebberecht made a nice clear off the glass to bolster this kill and then Lightning made it 4 on 4 as they touched up a delayed penalty of their own with an angry slapshot that banked off the boards into the vacant Thunder net (that's all you're gonna get). With Briganti clearing the box, Thunder was man up, and Mike saw a bit of action on his way back to the bench. Then in the waning moments of Thunder's abbreviated powerplay Eric Gunderson would cash #2, pulling the puck out of the pile and raking it into the gaping right side of the goal after Brandon Cheeseman took a couple of whacks of his own at close range. Was that a flip pass over the back of the net, by Go-Greggy? Way to mix it up! Two down, one to go.
The third period was fairly nondescript, although a few nice plays stood out, like Scotty's block at the beginning which led to a transition the other way. Or Riley's blue-collar efforts to pressure the puck and keep us in the O-Zone. Or Vyper's big block on Powlowski. Or the 2 on 1 break for Pat and Greg that missed to the right, a bit of a Norwood. Dan Miller was on the job in the stands, quickly quashing any inappropriate mention of another SO. Although, the most stressful part of the third and final frame was after Gunda was summoned to serve for falling on the puck. With only a two goal lead this was certainly no slam dunk as the Lightning pulled their goalie to get the 6 on 4 advantage for the final 49 seconds. In the end, Vypes, Hebs, JT, and Greg stood tall in front of Parker as they all worked together to fend off the Lightning's final act of desperation.
The Johnson & Johnson first star of the game goes to the one with the reach, Eric Gunderson, for a pair of goals and a pair of 2 on 1 breakups; second star goes to Dan Vyverberg with 2 Harry's and a solid all-around effort on the backend; third star goes to Josh Opladen with 18 saves for the Lightning, as it could have very easily been a 5-0 game without Josh in net. Shots were 20-13 in Thunder's favor with Bonis netting his 5th shut-out and 15th win on the season. With a third victory over the Lightning behind them, Thunder advances to the Section V Class A title game on Sunday.
The Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey Team will return to ESL for their pound of flesh against Fairport in the Section V Class A Final, 5:30pm on Sunday, March 1st @ ESL Sports Centre. Be there or be somewhere else missing out on all the pom poms and circumstance!
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Sunday, March 1st Game Report
Is it just me or does that first scrimmage against the Lightning or even that first official game of the season against Webster, way back in November, seem like an eternity ago to anyone? I feel like I have aged from all the emotion of this unprecedented and once in a lifetime e-ticket ride. While Thunder's storied journey on the road to the 2008-2009 Section V Class A Crown has been well-documented in pictures and in prose, it will more importantly remain forever etched in the hearts, minds, and souls, of all those who truly bleed black, purple and gold. It is a story that will be told for generations to come as the proud heritage of Greece Thunder Hockey lives on. Maybe even a best-seller someday or a made for TV movie starring Michael Richards or a documentary starring Sacha Baron Cohen... or not.
With the ink from Thunder's semifinal win over the Lightning barely dry, our very own Energizer-Kimmy activated the PROJECT SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP launch sequence, putting the HIGH SCHOOL FAN CLUB on notice that they were responsible for filling the stands with positive signs and people in purple. Then there was the finishing/flying of the Thunder freak flag, unveiling of the purple thundies and the all-important re-decorating of the Presidential Thunder Sectional Championship Jeans, otherwise known as "Pants One" (now on display at Place One).
Next came a reading from the book of a motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river (actually, it was from Cathie Graus):
Winning a Championship is what every team dreams of, but only one can earn the right to be called "Champions". Giving everything you have to your team is not enough and perhaps is a bulk understatement. You need more than everything you have to be a Champion, your team has to want it double the amount everyone else does, you need Sacrifice, Character, Purpose, Discipline, and Drive to achieve a goal as high as a Champion. Most Importantly, you need to work as a team, play for the guy sitting next to you on the bench, selfishness will never lead you down the road to being a Champion, but will lead you to a quick ticket home. Every shift is the most important and the biggest one of your life, every battle in the corner is the most important one, but what's more important? You not getting hurt and being too tired to play or putting your team in front of yourself and battling with everything it takes, battling with more tenacity than you've ever played with, wanting it so bad that you won't let anything get in front of the team to end your run for glory. So when it comes down to your decision of whether you want to do what it takes to be a champion or go watch with all the other teams that have been eliminated. Only you can make that decision. YOUR MOVE!
Followed by a poem from the President:
Today, we go to do something special.
Today we gather in that rink to support our boys and everything they have worked so hard to do
Today we go to do something that is beyond........
You'd think us parents were lacing 'em up ourselves with the title game upon us and our stomachs all in knots. Thankfully, we had the easier job of watching from the stands. It was a packed house inside the ESL Feature Rink with fans lingering from the Class B final as a sea of red filed in to the right facing a sea of purple across the way on the left. The atmosphere was quite palpable as Thunder and Fairport came out for warm-ups a few minutes after a couple of "big-checks" were thrown at center ice to fuel the local Skating for the Cure campaign. With a small Ithaca contingent on hand to catch a glimpse of their competition, Fairport sent out their mascot in a pirate costume to skate around waving the Red Raider flag. It was hard to hear the music what with all the commotion in the building and the fans getting into it, but as both teams returned to the ice after the cut, Prime Time Sound was loud and clear treating everyone with a six-piece brass anthem to beat the band. And did you happen to notice that the stripes had a pink hue to them or that the score-keeping attendants were all decked out in pink jerseys, in the name of Breast Cancer Awareness? Not only was Thunder #1 in the state coming into this game, but they were also #1 in the section by a landslide, having sold more pink pucks than any other team and raising over $1000 of the $4000 collectively donated by Monroe County High School Hockey teams to Skating for the Cure.
Both sides were off to a jittery start playing the baker (making a lot of turnovers) in this one and out game of high stakes. Fairport's Cole Bardreau, touted by their signage as a 2011 #1 NHL draft pick, dumped Eric Gunderson in the early going, when the puck was nowhere near, but instead of issuing an interference call, the ref brought Cole over to apologize to Gundo, leaving everyone scratching their heads, huh? Thunder had an early fire drill in their own end when the puck got behind Bonis and was sitting dangerously in the paint. Along came Scotty Tam-Grimshaw to sweep it to the corner so that everyone in Thunderville could breathe a sigh of relief. Then almost seven minutes into the contest, Thunder drew first blood, on the powerplay. Better save that biscuit, for at long last, Thunder senior Jordan Grills was credited with his very first varsity goal. It was a group effort for sure and went something like this. Matt Lane won the battle in the left circle bumping it out to Dan Vyverberg at the point, who went D-D hooking it over to Scott Tam-Grimshaw, who walked in and fired a slapper on net with Brandon Cheeseman and Jordan Grills setting up the screen in front. As Cheese jumped out of the way, Jordan got a piece of it, deflecting it by Carlston for the goal. Thunder enjoyed another long rally on their back to back powerplays, but they were unfortunately unable to get the 2-goal lead they were after. Then with less than 3 minutes to go in the opening period, Bonis' pad save on a blast by Chris Button kicked out to the slot where Tim Modesti was standing by ready to bury the rebound for the equalizer. And with only 16.4 seconds left on the clock, after receiving a long lead pass on the powerplay from Riley Bourbonnais, walking in on the left side, and megging a Red Raider defenseman, JT Stenglein picked the top-left corner on Carlston to regain the lead. Greece recorded 15 shots to Fairport's 6, taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Second period was a whirlwind and rather difficult to follow as both teams were mired with penalties from beginning to end making it a special-teams-showcase. JT hit the post on an early short-handed bid. Cheese spent the bulk of the period in the box for a check from behind. Mike Miller served his minor and made a nice stick check on the way back to the bench. JT took out the ref coming around the wall in front of the Fairport fans. Vypes turned away countless Fairport attempts on the PK including a couple of nail-biting 5 on 3 kills. Pat Sofia dumped Bardreau at center ice to answer the cheap shot he took on Gunda at the beginning of the game. Mike McNeil did a fine job defending our line as he got the puck out and roughed up his check. Then there was the one that got a away. Gunderson caught a pass in his skates all alone on the back door staring at three quarters of the net gaping wide open. As he eventually worked the puck out to his stick and directed it at the goal, we all figured it was money in the bank, but then Carlston came diving across out of nowhere and gloved it for the save of the game. Eric Hostetter made a brief appearance before the period was over, making a nice play to get the puck deep. JT went to the box for another alleged Louganis, this one from the 2 meter platform, as Cole slew-footed him at a stoppage in play. Bardreau lit the lamp for Fairport, or should I say the goal judge with an itchy trigger finger lit the lamp. The goal was immediately overturned without having to take it to Toronto as the goal judge admitted to the refs that the puck never crossed the line. I am sure there are some omissions but I did my level best to capture the essence of that wild and crazy second period, where Thunder logged only 5 shots to Fairport's 6. Speaking of essence, the essence of Thunder was well represented at the second intermission Score-O, with the Pres' showing off her yellow top and Pants One ensemble, while Eric Grills was sporting the #1 pink "skating for the cure" sweater and some sort of dead animal on his head.
Thunder returned from the final break with a 49 second powerplay to start the third period after a scoreless second frame that kept it a 1-goal game. No can do for Thunder, so then Fairport took their turn on the powerplay and Greg Ryan had to "shoot the duck" at one point to get the puck out. The parade to the box continued and it was not long before Thunder found themselves defending yet another 2-man advantage for the Red Raiders. With Fairport on the attack, Vyper caught an edge and went down, but Gunderson had his back as he came across to force the attacker wide. Shortly thereafter Gundo's twig broke. Ever try killing a 5 on 3 with no stick? This was a defcon 4 situation, but Vyper and Gundo weathered the storm until they could get Gundo a new stick and eventually a 4th skater. After one of Thunder's short-handed clears, Bardreau came flying back on the attack and Go-Greggy Ryan turned on his own jets, catching Cole on the back-check to take away the shot. With a bumper crop of kills behind them, the gas light was on "E" for the Thunder D, but not for JT, as he lugged the mail down the left side and beat Carlston once again, this time to the right side, and it was 3-1 Thunder with only 7 minutes standing between them and their Holy Grail. Eric Gunderson recorded the lone assist. Ben McCubbin and Matt Keough took a few shifts to help out the cause making nice D-D passes to keep their team in control. Gunda make a couple of big hits at the clubhouse turn and into the home stretch. With less than 4 minutes to go the boys played it smart making the line and getting it deep. Fairport called a time out at the 2-minute warning as they were headed to the box. And while the last two minutes ticked off the clock, the fans took over with chants of UN-DE-FEA-TED, as the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey team won their 24th game of the season to claim the 2008-2009 Section V Class A Crown, their second title in Three years. Thunder... There is no other.
Hats off to the boys for all their hard work and a well-earned victory. Hats "on" to Bruce Rizzo, who believed in our team so much that he went out on a limb ordering SECTION V CLASS A CHAMPIONS 2008-2009 HOCKEY hats with the Thunder Logo on in advance so he would have them to wing out on the ice at the conclusion of the game. Yeah Rizzzzzzzzzzzooooooooo! Offensive player of the game went to Tim Modesti, who scored Fairport's only goal. Defensive player of the game was awarded to Eric Gunderson with 1-assist, and the MVP honors went to JT Stenglein with a pair of goals including the winner. Shots were 26-22 in Thunder's favor with Parker Bonis turning away 21 of 22 shots, netting his 16th win on the season. Well done!
Thunder advances to the NYS Regional Quarterfinal on Saturday, Mar 7, 4pm @ Tuttle North Ice Arena on the campus of SUNY Brockport, where they will face Ithaca from Section IV.
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Saturday, March 7th Game Report
After reading the article in the paper about Thunder's 1-0 regional quarterfinal win over Ithaca little red of section-4 last weekend, it occurred to me that they left someone out - Thunder's defense - one of the best kept secrets in the league, quietly sandwiched between the number one offense in the state and a cadre of netminders whose collective talents are unequaled. The paper has previously referred to them as "Stout" and "Stingy" and today was no exception as they maintained a tight-gap, stepped up in the neutral zone, blocked at least a half dozen shots, killed countless penalties and forced the play wide all night, limiting the little red to only 13 shots on goal.
Where were we? Oh yeah, Tuttle North Arena on the SUNY Brockport Campus, with Thunder home in white and Ithaca visiting in their tacky red and yellow unis, as we all listened to a rather sultry rendition of the anthem by Amanda Sherry before the first drop of the puck. With Thunder making a habit of going to the box early, JT went on his first of many walkabouts and had the corner picked for a shorthanded attempt, but Wilder was right there to glove it. Thunder went on to outshoot Ithaca 12-6 in the opening period, but the closest they would get was when Pat Sofia rang one off the post.
Seany Ryan and Marc McNeil took a page out of Fairport's book as they laced 'em up and skated the Thunder flag around the ice, after the first intermission, wearing their older brother's purple sweaters. Perhaps a glimpse of Thunder's future? That got the Thunder fans, all decked out in purple, fired up and ready to go. JT, Pat, and Gundo took turns hitting the pipe in the second period, but nobody could buy a goal. McNeil, Briganti, and Grills came out with fresh legs putting a lot of pressure on Ithaca and drew a penalty. Then with a minute to go in the period, Stenglein did what we needed him to do, taking a feed from Brandon Cheeseman, going on an end-end rush down the left side, and beating Wilder with a wrister, low to the glove-side, for the eventual winner. Thunder pretty much controlled the second period with a 16-3 shot margin for a 2-period running total of 28-9.
The final frame featured solid team defense from Thunder's net on out with Parker remaining focussed, the D battening down the hatches, and the forwards coming back to help out. And so it ended, a white-knuckle finish in Thunder's defensive zone, and the road to Utica was finally paved. According to Mike Sofia, "It was just too darned close", I would have to agree.
First star of the game honors go to JT Stenglein for netting the winning goal. Second star of the game is shared by the goaltenders at both ends, e.g. Parker Bonis who played well in the nets, making several clutch saves, as he has done all year for the Thunder, on the way to recording his 6th shut-out and 17th win; and Ithaca's Zach Wilder, who saved 33 of 34 he faced. Third star of the game goes to the Thunder-D (Gundo, Vypes, Hebs, Scotty) for taking care of business in their own end.
Thunder advances to the semifinal round of the NYSPHSAA ICE HOCKEY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS where they will face West Genesee from Section 3 on Saturday, Mar 14, 5:45pm @ Utica Memorial Auditorium, in Utica, NY.
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Like a fine wine, some stories get better with time. Take for example the story of the Greece Thunder Hockey Team which has grown like Jack and the Beanstalk over the past few months since we rolled out of Utica. With the ring ceremony upon us the 10th of June at the Greece Town Hall, it seemed only fitting that it was time to at long last release the remaining "lost episodes" of the Wes Report. So grab some plutonium, strap yourself into the DeLorean, and let's get ready to go back in time... to March 14th, 2009.
Saturday, March 14th Game Report
The music was bumpin' loud at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, where it was the West Genesee Wildcats home in yellow and your very own Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder visiting in their Saturday best black/purple&gold, both vying for a NYSPHSAA Championship berth in the Division I Semifinals. West Genny broke the seal early (2.44 into the game) putting away a rebound with four seconds to go in their first man advantage. Three minutes later, Greece was back in the box but it was Thunder's turn to tally. Enter JT Stenglein with the authoritative shortie, after a solid forecheck, picking the Wildcat D-man's pocket behind the net, walking out to the edge of the circle and firing a wrister over the goalie's shoulder to even things up at one apiece. West Genny answered back thirty seconds later cashing in on their second powerplay of the game with a blast from the point that found its way through traffic and into the back of the Thunder net, 2-1 Wildcats. A minute later West Genny took their first trip to the box for a hold and it was time for that #1 powerplay in the state (according to VJ Stanley) to go to work. After a few trips around the horn Sofia took a low shot from the left side that caromed into the right corner. Stenglein gathered the puck hooking it out to Bourbonnais at the top of the diamond and then Rilez wound up a low slapper, that was deflected by Gunderson (or perhaps Ryan) past the Wildcats keeper for the equalizer.
Ninety-six seconds later Stenglein notched the go-ahead goal for the Thunder and the men in black never looked back. The play originated with Vyper picking up the loose puck on a face-off deep in Thunder territory and fanning it out to Mike Briganti who was breaking wide right. Briganti carried it through neutral and got it deep for Matty Lane who was making a b-line to the goal line. Lane beat his check to the biscuit, curled to the boards and cycled it back down low for Stenglein. JT put his wizard cap on and pitched it out front, banking it off the back of the goaltenders stick, between his legs, and into the back of the net for the eventual winner. This trick had a 3.2 level of difficulty, putting it up there with the "combination hair flip with a giggle" move from About Last Night and the Triple Lindy from Back to School. Bourbonnais put on a magic show of his own with two minutes to go in the opening frame as he took a rink wide feed from Scotty Tam-Grimshaw, started down the right side of neutral, read the traffic at the border and cut across the grain, eventually entering the zone on the left side. After deking the first defenseman out of his jock and using the second defenseman as a screen, Bourbonnais rifled a shot that went in low/stick side to light the lamp. And that about brings the whirlwind, wide-open first period to a close, with Thunder ahead 4-2.
The scoreless second period featured solid forechecking, some big saves and several crucial kills for the Thunder. West Genny opened with a 56 second man advantage which carried over from a minor cross-check at the end of the first frame. This time the Wildcats were denied. Briganti led the charge taking it to West Genny in the early going, while both Lane and Ryan generated quality scoring chances of their own. Bonis came up big everytime he was called upon, making 13 saves in the second period alone and thwarting numerous West Genny rushes by poke checking the puck away. Midway through the period, the third line of Grills, McNeil, and Briganti made their mark with a couple of strong shifts. McCubbin logged a monster shift as well with a nice keep at the blue line and then later took a drop at the point from Ryan, teeing up a slapper that hit the Wildcat keeper's waffle and went straight up in the air, landing just outside the crease and creating a frenzy, before the goalie held on for a whistle with 5:30 to go. A minute later West Genny was on the attack and Bourbonnais came flying out of nowhere to catch the puck carrier. It was a nice effort but Riley ended up going to the box with a minor cross-check (weak call). JT made a nice clear after outworking his man in the corner on the PK. Then Vyper intercepted a dump-in and went on a little walkabout into the Wildcats end that concluded with a shot on goal and a whistle. Cubbi was back in action breaking up a late rush and holding down the fort in front of the net. The period closed the way it opened, with another kill for Thunder, as Riley returned to the box, this time for a trip, with 58 seconds to go. Vypes, Hebs, JT, and Cheese put up a wall, denying the Wildcats entry to the thunder zone as the second period expired.
Greg and Pat relieved JT and Cheese up front, as they killed off the remaining 32 seconds of Bourb's minor to set the tone in the third. JT went end-end and slid one across the top of the paint for another QSC, but could not connect the dots. A while later when the puck got rimmed in Thunder's end, Cheese crushed his check on the hash marks to get the puck out. Then Greg went flying up ice into West Genny territory, puck in tow, but he got tied up at the circle, and as the puck squirted out towards the blue line, Riley was on the scene to gather it. Despite the instant pressure and the fact that he got kneed, Riley kept driving to the high slot where he would eventually crank a shot. Ryan got wood on it before it trickled in 5-hole for Thunder's fifth and final goal. But the game was far from over, with ten minutes and a few more penalty kills to go, e.g. Hebs with a high stick, Sah-Fee-Yuh with unsportsmanlike and a hold. Throw in coincidental roughs and an interference call on the Wildcats and we were 4v4 for the final minute of play. The "i believe that we have won" chant ensued as E-hoss and Sherry took the ice for the final shift of the game. It ended a 5-2 victory for the Thunder advancing them on to the Division I Title game on Sunday. I am pretty confident there was a yeah Thun-Derrrrrrrrrrrr in there somewhere!
First star of the game honors go to JT Stenglein with 2G/1A for 3pts, including a shortie and the winner. Second star goes to Riley Bourbonnais with 1G/2A for 3 points. Third star goes to Parker Bonis with 30 saves for his 16th win on the season. Hats off to the Wildcats for a hard fought battle. They actually outshot thunder by a margin of 32-19, which is a feat that only one other Thunder opponent accomplished this season (AQ-23, GT-22 on 22-Nov). The highlight of the day for me, however, was hearing them announce Pat "Sah-Fee-Yuh" at the post game ceremony as recipient of the Sportsmanship Award, when he was assessed an unsportsmanlike minor during the game. Still scratching my head on that one!
Sunday, March 15th Game Report
Thunder was Back in Black for this their final exam of the 2008-2009 season, a game of winner takes all against the Mamaroneck Tigers with the NYSPHSAA Division I Title on the line. What better way to make the boys of Thunder feel at home than having the sweet sound of Amanda Sherry's voice at the mic for the anthem, after a rather long and bumpy road to the finals. Speaking of feeling at home, Thunder seemed to be finding themselves at home in the box quite a bit this weekend, making one wonder what kind of snacks they were serving. Sure enough, forty-one seconds into the contest, Greg Ryan was off to the box for a minor hook. Was it the snacks calling him or was he just looking for a stoppage in play to accomodate Matt Lane's grand entrance after surviving his gumball rally from Bantam Major States in Buffalo down 90 to Utica? On with the kill. Vipes logged a "harry" and then JT lugged the mail, ragging it deep in the Tigers zone before losing the handle. Then after a series of clears by Vypes, Hebs, and Scotty, JT picked off an outlet pass and put it on net. Nice kill boys. Two minutes later Gundo takes a trip to the box, but this kill was Nice... pause NOT. Tigers scored 16 ticks into their powerplay to take the early lead. And now for a Wes Report Time Out, brought to you in part by Paetec.
[Remember when Dan Miller was called out in the Wes Report for nearly jinxing Thunder's SO against AQ in the Feb 21st Class A Quarterfinal? Here's the clip... "With less than 2 minutes to go in the game, Vyverberg took another one for the team, coming out to challenge the shooter and blocking a shot in the high slot with his chest to preserve the SO. Notice I didn't say it? Well, Dan Miller did and thus he had to hold his breath for the final 1:55 for fear that he may have jinxed us. Miller wiped the sweat from his brow as the fourth line shut things down and the building erupted." Now what the HE double hockey sticks does this have to do with the state championship you ask? Well, having cranked out all of the team stats going into the Utica weekend, yours truly was commenting on how Thunder had only allowed 9 PPG on 140 attempts through 25 games and then we go and cough up a goal on each of the first two attempts in the Wildcats game and another on the second attempt in the Tigers game. When Dan Miller caught wind of my jinx he demanded retribution. There you have it.]
Back to our state final game report already in progress...then the unthinkable happened as Thunder gave up an even strength goal on a 3 on 2 break to spot the Tigers a 2-goal lead only 5 minutes into the contest. Yikes! Thunder trailed their opponent by a goal only a handful of times this season (Brockport, Hilton, Spencerport, West Genny). The most they ever trailed by was two and that only happened once before this season when they spotted Suffern the first 2 goals in the Liverpool Tournament final (31-Jan) before racking up 4 unanswered goals. Could Thunder rally again? Time to baton down the hatches and damn the torpedoes.
What a difference a minute makes as Thunder regrouped and showed their mettle on the next sequence. Captain Sah-Fee-Yuh carried the puck out of his own end and bumped it ahead to Greg Ryan across ice, but it was beyond his reach. No worries as wheels Ryan would chase it down in the left corner before anyone else could get there. Greg cycled it out to Scotty at the point and then he got it right back, so he curled in the corner and found his buddy Pat in the left circle. Next Pat turned and threaded the needle, sending the puck across the top of the paint, through two Tiger D and over to Riley, who was hovering in stealth mode on the back door, for the putaway. And so, Thunder broke the schneid and cut the lead in half with one pretty play. A minute later Scotty Bam-Grimshaw reminded the Tigers they were in for a game as he leveled one of their forwards coming across the blue-line with his head down.
Back to the box for more snacks went the Thunder, but the Tigers would follow suit and we went from a 4v5 to a 4v4 to 5v4 over a span of a few minutes. Along came another man advantage, but Thunder was not able to git-R-dun. Then came a real punch in the gut, when Gunderson was assessed a minor/misconduct for check from behind. McNeil served the minor, but Eric had to sit an additional 7.5 mins for the misconduct, keeping him out of the game for at least 9 mins. Fear not Gundo, the team's got your back. Play went from 5 on 4 to 4 on 4 when Gundo went to the box, then quickly turned to a 4 on 3 in Thunder's favor when Vyper got tripped carrying the puck out from behind his net. Fast forward to the end of the first frame and things went from bad to worse as two thunder players were assessed minor trips on the same play, leaving Thunder with a 33 second 5 on 3 kill to end the first period. Vyper, Riley, and JT got the nod and they got us out of the inning.
Back from the break there was still a buck to go in the Tiger's 5 on 3. Pat relieved Riley, keeping the Tigers at bay, until they took a high sticking penalty of their own with 15 seconds left in their 2-man advantage paring it back to a 5 on 4. As the penalties expired, Briganti took a shift or two to help the cause, while Riley and JT pitched in on the blue line. Alas, Gundo returned to play with 6:16 to go in the second and was a sight for sore eyes (and legs) on the Thunder bench. Meanwhile, Greg and Cheese kept hammering the Tigers every chance they got as Thunder bided their time for the next golden opportunity. And along it came ten minutes into the second period, when Riley pounced on a turnover in the neutral zone, went in 2 on 0 with Ryan, sliding it over to him for the 5-hole finish. With the equalizer in the bank and the momentum on their side, it was game on for the Thunder, and a minute later the Tigers were calling a time out. Another penalty for each side brought the period to a close with a 4 on 4 situation.
I suspect that Mamaroneck had no idea what was in store for them, but during the second intermission, you could hear Thunderstruck playing faintly in the background. If that's not a good omen, i don't know what is. Gundo used his reach during the 4v4 stretch to start the third and played physical to prevent the Tigers from getting a sniff. After both sides returned to full strength, Pat picked off a pass in neutral zone and hit Greg going 2 on 2 into the zone for a good chance. Vyper sacrificed his body, making a nice pinch in the neutral zone to advance the puck. Thunder fans who came out in droves, despite the fact that the school did not provide a fan bus, started in with the "Let's go Thun-Der" chants and the old "We can't hear you" followed by "Still can't hear you" was volleyed back by the Tiger's camp. Pat and Matt took turns rushing the puck, then Parker came up big when Mamaroneck brought it back our way. On the next Tiger's rush, Gundo plastered the puck carrier on the half-wall.
With a little over 8 minutes to go, Thunder went on the powerplay. There were a few decent chances during a mad scramble around the goal mouth, although they never managed to get it set up. Then inside the seven minute mark, Vyper gets the puck on the backcheck, goes D-D to Hebberect, who then bumps it up to Stenglein on the wing, out to Lane in neutral, then Lane takes it deep on the right side and drops it to Cheese at the goal mouth. Cheese takes a couple of whacks and the puck disappears. Ref whistles it down, but nobody knows where the puck went and he starts searching the goalies equipment. After a careful review of the Zapruder film, it has been determined that the magic biscuit, fired by Cheese, somehow went through the goaltenders pads, back and to the left, and was ultimately pinned between the iron and twine in the top left corner of the goal. As the ref searched the Mamaroneck goalie for the missing puck and turrned away, another Mamaroneck player reached into the goal, pulled the puck out, put it into his glove, skated over to the bench, and gave it to his coach. That's a Class-LL, Division I felony any day in a court of hockey law, and the hockey gods clearly ruled minutes later when the game winner for the Thunder trickled through the Mamaroneck keeper's legs. Some say "if yur not cheatin yur not tryin" but that, IMHO, was taking things a little too far. Thunder fans went wild over it, but the ref fetched a new puck and the game marched on.
Next stoppage came at 5:29 when Bourbonnais was cruising through neutral and got kneed, but no call. Nine secs later JT was walking into the slot and got tripped - he draws the foul. Vyper got the nod to QB the powerplay in Riley's stead. After a couple of trips around they had to reset and the third time was a charm, as Vyper hit JT curling high in our end, then JT went on a 3-zone dash, deking around the first check at our blue line, carrying it wide left around the next two Tigers on the way into their end with the last check clipping him with a skate. As he fell to the ice JT maintained possession of the puck and directed it at the goal as he slid across the goal line, wide to the left and wouldn't you know there just so happened to be a little magic left in that stick as the puck hit the inside of the goalie's left pad and then trickled in 5-hole, making it 3-2 Thunder with 4:12 to go in the game.
Twenty seconds later Thunder went to the box again and it was white knuckle team defense from there on out. It took forever to get the first clear and not again until the penalty expired but that second clear went out of play bringing the face-off back inside to the right of Bonis with 2:12 standing between them and their title. Thunder got it out right quick this time and RIley got it deep, then Hebs got it deep, then Vyper dumped it in a third time but this one hit Greg's stick before he cleared the zone, causing a face-off back in our end with only 1.25 to go. Vyper got this one out to neutral and then the Tigers brought it back in off-sides, causing another face-off outside with 1:00 to go. Gundo gloved the pop-fly off the face off and his first clear came back to him but he then hit Riley with a headman breaking through neutral. Riley carried it in and hit the goalies right pad so the puck would kick out to Greg who was crashing but he could not get any lumber on it and the Tigers brought it back our way. The puck was batted around for a bit before Gundo sailed it down the ice for a whistle with 17.6 to go. This face-off was to the left of Bonis and the Tigers were 4 across with 2 point men and an empty net. The puck came out to the point off the draw then D-D but the shot did not get through. Bonis gloved the next attempt with 2.6 seconds to go. Coincidental minors after the whistle, so it was still 6 on 5.
With only 2.6 seconds remaining on the clock, Captain Pat Sofia was about to enter the most important face-off of his life, save asking his girlfriend's father for her hand in marriage, while said father is cleaning his rifle! The face-off was to the right of Bonis and this time the Tigers went 5 across with 1 guy back, lined up against Pat, Matt, Cheese, Gundo, and Vyper. As the ref dropped the puck, Pat dropped to a butterfly to box out the Tiger's center and the puck squirted back to the Tiger's point man. He takes the shot, wide left (reverse Norwood), time expires, gloves and sticks go in the air, the Thunder bench empties, the gate opens, the managers and paparazzi file out onto the ice and the entire team celebrates their 3-2 victory like a swarm of bees in the corner. The Thunder-faithful chime in with chants of "UN-DE-FEA-TED" and "I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE WON", as Celebrate good times plays on in the background. While things were getting underway with the award ceremony, the boys dumped all of their water bottles into a garbage can and soaked Webby, NFL style.
NYSHSHCA State Championship All Tournament Team Awards
Forward: Greg Ryan
Forward: Riley Bourbonnais
Defense: Eric Gunderson
Goalie: Parker Bonis
MVP: JT Stenglein
I can't imagine a more storybook ending ... perfect season, come-from-behind win in the state title game!
The last time I can recall a police escorted motorcade heading north to Greece, it was the president of the United States on his way to the APAC for a referendum on social security reform. I gotta tell ya, seeing that NYS Trooper light up the sky, like Rudolph on Christmas Eve, as the Greece Thunder Hockey magic bus exited the Thruway on their return from Utica late Sunday nite, hardware in hand, and the Greece Police taking the hand-off at Lexington to bring the procession home with horns beeping and flashers flashing all the way back to the 'shore, has got to be one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed... a sight to behold and a memory that I will never forget, already on the shelf with countless other memories from Thunder's storybook season of 2008-2009.
Stay tuned for the Thunder year in review, coming to an email inbox near you this summer.
Focker-out.
Out Takes
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From an anonymous Thunder parent who works for DOAN - "hopefully that escort was the last run in these boys ever have with the cops".
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To the THUNDER Hockey Players and Parents,
CONGRATULATIONS State champs!!! SO proud!
From, Eric and Carole Schultz J
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Hi Everyone!!! The Russell family would like to Congratulate you ALL on being STATE CHAMPIONS!!!
Please tell all your boys Mr. Russell said: “You guys are awesome!”
Regards, Dave, Sylvia, David & Katie
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Thunder Team Stats
Goals For Regular Season: 98 (69 even strength, 22 powerplay, 7 shorthanded)
Goals For Post Season: 20 (11 even strength, 7 powerplay, 2 shorthanded)
Goals For Overall: 118 (80 even strength, 29 powerplay, 9 shorthanded)
Goals Against Regular Season: 22 (13 even strength, 9 powerplay, 0 shorthanded)
Goals Against Post Season: 5 (2 even strength, 3 powerplay, 0 shorthanded)
Goals Against Overall: 27 (15 even strength, 12 powerplay, 0 shorthanded)
Powerplay Regular Season: 24.2% (22 goals scored on 91 attempts)
Powerplay Post Season: 20.6% (7 goals scored on 34 attempts)
Powerplay Overall: 23.2% (29 goals scored on 125 attempts)
Penalty Kill Regular Season: 92.3% (9 goals surrendered on 117 attempts)
Penalty Kill Post Season: 92.5% (3 goals surrendered on 40 attempts)
Penalty Kill Overall: 92.4% (12 goals surrendered on 157 attempts)
Shutouts Regular Season: 7
Shutouts Post Season: 3
Shutouts Overall: 10
Shots For Regular Season: 690
Shots For Post Season: 151
Shots For Overall: 841
Shots Against Regular Season: 427
Shots Against Post Season: 118
Shots Against Overall: 545
Goals Against Average Regular Season: 1.05 (22 goals surrendered in 21 games)
Goals Against Average Post Season: 0.83 (5 goals surrendered in 6 games)
Goals Against Average Overall: 1.00 (27 goals surrendered in 27 games)
Saves Regular Season: 405
Saves Post Season: 113
Saves Overall: 518
Save Percentage Regular Season: 94.8 (405 saves on 427 shots)
Save Percentage Post Season: 95.8 (113 saves on 118 shots)
Save Percentage Overall: 95.0 (518 saves on 545 shots)
Thunder Team Facts
Thunder was outshot only 2 times all season, e.g. AQ and W. Genny
Thunder trailed by a goal only 6 times all season, e.g. Brockport, Hilton, Spencerport, Suffern, W. Genny and Mamaroneck
Thunder trailed by 2 goals only 2 times all season, e.g. Suffern and Mamaroneck
The most goals Thunder allowed in a single game was 3 (3 times), followed by 2 goals (4 times), 1 goal (10 times), and 0 goals (10 times)
So, basically in roughly 3 out of every 4 games played, Thunder gave up a goal or less, not too shabby!
Thunder record was 27-0 and they were the second team in the state to ever win a State Championship with an undefeated season!
Thunder AWR (All-Wes-Report) Awards
1st Team JD Power & Associates Powerplay: Pat, Greg, Gundo, Riley, JT
2nd Team JD Power & Associates Powerplay: Matt, Cheese, Jordan, Vyper, Scotty
Honorable Mention JD Power & Associates Powerplay: Miller
1st Team Natural Born Penalty Killers: Riley, JT, Vyper, Hebs
2nd Team Natural Born Penalty Killers: Pat, Greg, Gundo, Scotty
Honorable Mention Natural Born Penalty Killers: Matt, Cheese
Alexander & Catalano Heavy Hitters: JT, Greg, Gundo, Cheese, Scotty, Briganti
Harry Shaw Society: Vyper
Power Trip Club: Matt, Cheese, Rotolo
Steady Eddy Club: Hebs, Rotolo
Zero Club: Parker, Mike, Ian, Andrew
Section V West Division Awards
Player of the Year: Eric Gunderson
1st Team Forward: Greg Ryan
2nd Team Forward: Riley Bourbonnais
2nd Team Forward: Pat Sofia
Coach of the Year: Dan Webb
Top Scholar/Athlete Award: Matt Lane
Section V AGR Awards
Player of the Year: Eric Gunderson
Goalie: Parker Bonis
Forward: Riley Bourbonnais
Forward: JT Stenglein
Coach of the Year: Dan Webb
Honorable Mention Forward: Pat Sofia
NYSHSHCA State Championship All Tournament Team Awards
Forward: Greg Ryan
Forward: Riley Bourbonnais
Defense: Eric Gunderson
Goalie: Parker Bonis
MVP: JT Stenglein
NYSHSHCA Division I All-State Awards
1st Team Defense: Eric Gunderson
1st Team Forward: Riley Bourbonnais
2nd Team Forward: JT Stenglein
Honorable Mention Forward: Greg Ryan
Coach of the Year: Dan Webb
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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