On the eve of Valentines there was a lot of love in the air at the shore as Thunder played visitor to Irondequoit on their senior nite. Jim Soufleris was at the mic to announce the IHS seniors as well as your very own Thunder seniors who showed a lot of class by remaining on the ice for the duration of the Eagles ceremony. IHS senior Rachel Zwitzer performed the anthem and then Thunder Captain Brandon Cheeseman and Eagles Assistant Jesse Haliniak participated in a ceremonial first face off with IHS Senior Captain David York, who came out to drop the puck, as he was unable to participate in his senior nite contest due to a recent injury he had sustained. Had we known about this in advance, perhaps we could have gotten Thunder Sophomore Keenan Mahoney in on the ceremony, as he too was recently sidelined by an unfortunate injury. Despite all the IHS hoopla, fans in the visitor stands were clearly in a Thunder State of Mind.
I'm from the Thunder State that's...
In Lake-shore,
Hockey jungle where dreams are made of,
Theres nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re on Thun-der,
this team will make you feel brand new,
Big goals will inspire you,
lets hear it for Thun Der, Thun Der, Thun Der
It was a nite of fun with the Vyverbrother (Vyper/Snake) and Grimmy (Jared/Tyler) tandems taking to the ice as blueline brothers. The Simmy bro's got to play together as well, with Andrew taking the baton from Ian to backstop his brother Justin. Everyone was rallying 'round to try and get senior forwards Matt Lerch and Tyler Lepore their first goal and while they were unable to accomplish this feat, it was truly an inspiration to see the whole team cheering them on and being so supportive of one another. Thunder closed out the regular season on a high note with a 6-1 win over Irondequoit and a whole lot of unity going into the post season.
Not much doing in the opening period other than a 5 on 3 each way with no conversion. Vyper turned a harry into a shorthanded scoring chance but the the Eagles keeper held onto his bid. First frame was scoreless with shots 11-8 in Thunder's favor.
Curran O'Brien broke the seal 6 minutes into the second, when he put away the rebound from a shot right on by AC. Cheese followed it up with a goal of his own based on sheer determination, as he bulled his way through traffic and got up in the goalies grill to get the puck across the line, assisted by Tyler Grimshaw. ASim came in for Cumming with 2:09 to go in the second. Almost a minute later, Dan Vyverberg called for Matt Keough to chip the puck by his check and then Vyper lugged the mail down the left side with two Thunder forwards going to the net. Thought he might slide it over but instead he let a snapper go from outside that grazed the top of the goalies glove and into the goal to make it 3-0 Thunder. IHS came back with a whimper with 3 seconds left in the second as Nick Papas got by ASim with a deflection off a Thunder player's skate, assisted by Peter Barilla and Mike Basta.
It was 3-1 Thunder at the end of two and by this point in the game I am pretty sure everyone in the building had to have seen/heard Lady GaGa or was it GooGoo, carrying on in the stands. She was wearing a homemade Thunder T adorned with glitter and such, a pair of oversized aviators, like the ones the baby wore in the hangover, and a purple plaid hunting hat complete with the ear flaps. Nobody seemed to know who she was or where she came from. Athena parents said she must be from Odyssey and of course Odyssey parents said no, she's from Athena. While the story remains largely unconfirmed, rumor has it she is an alumni from one of the Thunder schools who was in the stands to avenge some remarks made by the IHS camp when Thunder played the Eagles last year. Methinks this could be fodder for a reality show someday.
Back from the break, IHS swapped their netminders witrh Blake Billitier coming in for Vinnie Guida between the pipes. Mike McNuggetSkillet posted a fourth marker for Thunder with 5:36 to go, assisted by Matt Lerch and Justin Simonelli. Mike Briganti notched another, two minutes later, putting away the rebound from a shot by Tyler Lepore, assisted by Cheese. Exit Billitier, enter Joe Hall in net for the Eagles. Lerch sprung Eric Hostetter who found Simmy coming down the left side and then Simmy buried the wrister to get Lerch his second point on the season. When all was said and done, Thunder had 13 different point getters, as they defeated Irondequoit 6-1 with everyone getting in on the action.
This win advances Thunder's record to 8-3-3 (9-6-4-1 overall), garnering them second place in the west division and 7th seed in the Class A sectionals. First star goes to Tyler LePore who "stole the show" while logging his first career point. Second star goes to Matt Lerch who played tough throughout and racked up a pair of assists for his first Thunder points. Third star is shared by Cheese and Simmy with a goal and assist apiece.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
February 9 Game Report
The Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Hockey Team kissed their sisters of Aquinas for the second time this season with a 2-2 tie tuesday nite at the shore. It was senior nite with Grandpa Marty rolling out the purple carpet and Grandpa Joe at the mic to emcee the event, putting in a plug for his grandson Mike Miller's birthday. Cheese, Mills, Vypes, Hebs, Lerch, Keough, and Lepore met their respective families on the runway to share a photo op, giving props to those who have supported them throughout their HS Hockey Careers and offering a glimpse of their future plans as they head out into the real world. Kate-E with your pitch so bright, won't you sing our anthem tonight. Then all the seniors loved her, as she shouted out with "real glee", Kate-E the International Show Choir Sensation, you'll go down in Thunder His-to-ry, as will Pete Feola, an accomplished local official who called this game en route to his biggest assignment ever up north in Vancouver over the coming weeks!
AQ's Bernie Gauthier got loose, drawing a penalty shot after being taken down by Tyler Grimshaw on a breakaway attempt in the early going. Fear not as, unlike his dad in the stands, Ian was cool as a cucumber on the ice, poke checking Gauthier to keep AQ at bay, for the time being anyway. Thunder controlled the play for the next six minutes in the wake of Cumming's big stop. But AQ would take the reigns with six mins to go in the first frame as Nick Montinarelli put away the rebound from a Jeff Hackshaw shot that was assisted by Gauthier off a draw to the left of Cumming. Dohr looked shaky down the stretch but managed to keep Thunder scoreless on the 12 shots they took to AQ's 9 in the opening period.
Second period saw Eric Hostetter at long last rewarded with his first goal of the season five minutes in, as he sailed a sweet backhander through a crack in the Dohr, fed out front by Matt Keough, assisted by Dan Vyverberg, to even up. Five minutes later Nico Gonzalez rallied to regain the lead for AQ with a rebound off a point-shot by Joe Snook. Vypes bookended the period with a pair of long-lead breakaway passes to connect the dots with Cheese, but the puck never met the twine, not for a lack of trying and it certainly got everyone on their feet. Thunder outshot Aquinas 11-8 in the second for a two-period total of 23-17, although AQ led 2-1 on the scoreboard going to the break.
Five minutes into the third Vyper cranked a low slapper on net, assisted by Simmy, and McNugget got a piece of it for the PPG to knot the game at 2s. AQ took a timeout with 27 seconds left in regulation but there was nothing doing as Thunder shut things down to get to overtime with a 7-5 shot margin that made it 30-22 Thunder through three periods. Thunder enjoyed a 2-man advantage in the beginning of OT as did AQ when they pulled their goalie at the end. But neither team would claim the game before the extra period had expired.
With this tie Thunder remains second in the West, a point ahead of AQ, with a record of 7-3-3 (8-6-4-1 overall). Shots were 2-0 Thunder in overtime making it 32-22 overall in Thunder's favor. Cumming stopped 20 of the 22 he faced and Dohr made 30 saves on 32 shots for AQ. First star goes to Dan Vyverberg who assisted on both goals for Thunder and played with a lot of heart throughout. Second star goes to Mike McNeil with the GTG. Third star goes to Eric Hostetter whose hard work all season finally paid off with a G.
AQ's Bernie Gauthier got loose, drawing a penalty shot after being taken down by Tyler Grimshaw on a breakaway attempt in the early going. Fear not as, unlike his dad in the stands, Ian was cool as a cucumber on the ice, poke checking Gauthier to keep AQ at bay, for the time being anyway. Thunder controlled the play for the next six minutes in the wake of Cumming's big stop. But AQ would take the reigns with six mins to go in the first frame as Nick Montinarelli put away the rebound from a Jeff Hackshaw shot that was assisted by Gauthier off a draw to the left of Cumming. Dohr looked shaky down the stretch but managed to keep Thunder scoreless on the 12 shots they took to AQ's 9 in the opening period.
Second period saw Eric Hostetter at long last rewarded with his first goal of the season five minutes in, as he sailed a sweet backhander through a crack in the Dohr, fed out front by Matt Keough, assisted by Dan Vyverberg, to even up. Five minutes later Nico Gonzalez rallied to regain the lead for AQ with a rebound off a point-shot by Joe Snook. Vypes bookended the period with a pair of long-lead breakaway passes to connect the dots with Cheese, but the puck never met the twine, not for a lack of trying and it certainly got everyone on their feet. Thunder outshot Aquinas 11-8 in the second for a two-period total of 23-17, although AQ led 2-1 on the scoreboard going to the break.
Five minutes into the third Vyper cranked a low slapper on net, assisted by Simmy, and McNugget got a piece of it for the PPG to knot the game at 2s. AQ took a timeout with 27 seconds left in regulation but there was nothing doing as Thunder shut things down to get to overtime with a 7-5 shot margin that made it 30-22 Thunder through three periods. Thunder enjoyed a 2-man advantage in the beginning of OT as did AQ when they pulled their goalie at the end. But neither team would claim the game before the extra period had expired.
With this tie Thunder remains second in the West, a point ahead of AQ, with a record of 7-3-3 (8-6-4-1 overall). Shots were 2-0 Thunder in overtime making it 32-22 overall in Thunder's favor. Cumming stopped 20 of the 22 he faced and Dohr made 30 saves on 32 shots for AQ. First star goes to Dan Vyverberg who assisted on both goals for Thunder and played with a lot of heart throughout. Second star goes to Mike McNeil with the GTG. Third star goes to Eric Hostetter whose hard work all season finally paid off with a G.
Monday, February 8, 2010
February 4 Game Report
Music was good, 50/50 sales were brisk and the anthem was solid, but Thunder was not. They stunk up the joint with a rather sloppy performance and ended up taking a 4-1 non-div loss to Fairport on the chin Thursday nite at Lakeshore. Would you like some fruit or whipped cream with your turnovers? Why is it that Thunder cannot seem to get up for their non-div games (1-3-1-1 thus far)? And why were the refs not up for the game? Was it because they were pregnant that they missed a couple of periods? I know we are not supposed to get down on the refs based on my soap box speech after the B-Port game, but it seemed like an off game for the stripes taking a routine high sticking call they bungled out to center ice and then there was the hardly a roughing call on Grimmy for letting Fairport know it was not cool to snow our goalie. How about that 3 meter dive by the goalie snower which the refs chose to ignore? This of course prompted a "nice dive louganis" from the Thunder camp, compliments of Dan Miller. The game was officiated by two of the more senior and well respected refs in town, which just goes to show you, anyone can have an off nite if they mail it in or bring anything less than their A game. I am sure we have all been there at one point or another in our lives. For all I know, some of you may find this report to be case in point!
Hockey gods had Thunder's back early when Thunder foreign exchange students Netsov and Cross-Barre teamed up to stave off what appeared to be an early pair of powerplay goals for Fairport. Soon the Red Raiders would take a turn in the sin bin but Greece killed their own powerplay by putting several nice passes right on the tape for Fairport. It was not until twelve twenty in that Thunder would finally get their act together, when John Clark made a good keep at the line for Curran O'Brien and O'Brien put the puck on net with some junk on it to beat McEvily low, assisted by Justin Simonelli, for his second score of the season. Clark logged his first varsity point on the play as well. Other than Cheese giving his check a close-up of the Thunder penalty box and Thunder's late marker, it was a sort of slack-luster first frame with only six shots a side.
Second stanza opened with a 5 on 3 for Fairport that Vypes, Hebs, and Cheese nearly killed off for Thunder, but Dylan Howatt would rally for the Red Raiders, assisted by Chris Button and Jon Kaminska, a couple of seconds shy of even strength being restored. Cheese pulled a Ganti (remember, the two legged block maneuver) during the almost kill with one too many revolutions, taking it on the back of the leg i believe but, like Mattle, Cheese eats nails for breakfast and it did not appear to phase him one bit. Vypes stepped up on a cross-ice attempt by Fairport and sat his check down as if to say NOT UP IN HERE. Fairport got the GAG me on the PP (Go Ahead Goal on the Power Play) with 2:39 to go in the second, while Grimmy was serving his hardly a rough call and Louganis was brushing the snow off his speedo on the Fairport bench. Chris Button got loose behind the Thunder D with a breakaway before the break but Cumming was equal to the task and stoned him. Thunder closed out the period killing off yet another one of their own powerplays.
Twenty four ticks into the third, William Cherry (any relation to Don?) would finish from just outside the paint, assisted by James Downs and Tim Modesti, to widen the gap to 3-1 for Fairport. We fudged up. We're not going to be number one in the state again losing battles in front of our own net like that. We gotta get this stuff together boys! Tyler Mattle showed his work ethic down the stretch generating a couple of QSCs but Thunder could not climb back into the contest. Greece took a timeout with 52 seconds to go in the game, yet Kaminska would find the empty net for Fairport to seal the deal at 4-1, assisted by James Downs.
Thunder's overall record slips to 8-6-3-1 but they remain second in the West (7-3-2) at least a point ahead of Brockport and AQ. With a win over AQ or IHS in one of their two remaining games Thunder can clinch second place in their division. What say you boys? What say you fans? Where has everybody been? Where did the season go? Only 2 games to go before sectionals. Can I get a yeah ThunDeeeerrrrrrrrr?
Hockey gods had Thunder's back early when Thunder foreign exchange students Netsov and Cross-Barre teamed up to stave off what appeared to be an early pair of powerplay goals for Fairport. Soon the Red Raiders would take a turn in the sin bin but Greece killed their own powerplay by putting several nice passes right on the tape for Fairport. It was not until twelve twenty in that Thunder would finally get their act together, when John Clark made a good keep at the line for Curran O'Brien and O'Brien put the puck on net with some junk on it to beat McEvily low, assisted by Justin Simonelli, for his second score of the season. Clark logged his first varsity point on the play as well. Other than Cheese giving his check a close-up of the Thunder penalty box and Thunder's late marker, it was a sort of slack-luster first frame with only six shots a side.
Second stanza opened with a 5 on 3 for Fairport that Vypes, Hebs, and Cheese nearly killed off for Thunder, but Dylan Howatt would rally for the Red Raiders, assisted by Chris Button and Jon Kaminska, a couple of seconds shy of even strength being restored. Cheese pulled a Ganti (remember, the two legged block maneuver) during the almost kill with one too many revolutions, taking it on the back of the leg i believe but, like Mattle, Cheese eats nails for breakfast and it did not appear to phase him one bit. Vypes stepped up on a cross-ice attempt by Fairport and sat his check down as if to say NOT UP IN HERE. Fairport got the GAG me on the PP (Go Ahead Goal on the Power Play) with 2:39 to go in the second, while Grimmy was serving his hardly a rough call and Louganis was brushing the snow off his speedo on the Fairport bench. Chris Button got loose behind the Thunder D with a breakaway before the break but Cumming was equal to the task and stoned him. Thunder closed out the period killing off yet another one of their own powerplays.
Twenty four ticks into the third, William Cherry (any relation to Don?) would finish from just outside the paint, assisted by James Downs and Tim Modesti, to widen the gap to 3-1 for Fairport. We fudged up. We're not going to be number one in the state again losing battles in front of our own net like that. We gotta get this stuff together boys! Tyler Mattle showed his work ethic down the stretch generating a couple of QSCs but Thunder could not climb back into the contest. Greece took a timeout with 52 seconds to go in the game, yet Kaminska would find the empty net for Fairport to seal the deal at 4-1, assisted by James Downs.
Thunder's overall record slips to 8-6-3-1 but they remain second in the West (7-3-2) at least a point ahead of Brockport and AQ. With a win over AQ or IHS in one of their two remaining games Thunder can clinch second place in their division. What say you boys? What say you fans? Where has everybody been? Where did the season go? Only 2 games to go before sectionals. Can I get a yeah ThunDeeeerrrrrrrrr?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
February 2 Game Report
Katie Edinger wore her Master's jacket and killed the anthem (that's a good thing) at Lakeshore Tuesday nite as Thunder got ready to rumble with the fighting Saints of Churchville (a little known suburb outside Dublin Ireland). No broken windows in the parking lot tonight, but there was a sighting of Doc the ref stitching up a hand lac for a Saints parent in the snack shop, after Greece dealt Churchville a 4-1 blow on the ice.
Austin Kuntz surprised Ian Cumming with an over the waffle zinger from just inside the blueline only 19 seconds into the contest, assisted by Shawn Easton and Ryan Fitzgerald. Saints enjoyed their one-goal lead for the balance of the period but Brandon Cheeseman would even things up for Thunder (cuz that's what he does) curling out of the left corner and sniping one short side with 39 seconds to go. Shots were 12-6 Thunder in the opening frame.
The go ahead goal for Thunder came 3.5 mins into the second and was awarded to Curran O'Brien, assisted by Anthony Crawford and Mike Miller. My neck was sore due to the sustained pressure in the Saints zone which resulted in a 17-4 shot margin in the second period.
Third period was all Thunder as well with Justin Simonelli lighting the lamp for his grandmother to see from on high, assisted by Cheese and McNeil. Then with a minute remaining, Vypes took the handle from McNeil, who was battling on the half wall on the powerplay, turned and sailed a saucer to Hebs, who would snap off a wrister to cap off the contest at 4-1. Senior manager Tyler Lepore came out for his second appearance on the night (a frightening proposition for a self-taught kid who never played organized hockey growing up) with the fans cheering and his folks grinning ear to ear as Vyper tried banking one off his shins to get him a goal but it was to no avail. At least his folks got to see him skate this time as they missed his debut in one of the earlier preseason scrimmages.
Shots were 44-17 overall in Thunder's favor (with the 17 being generous) as they advanced their record to 7-3-2 (8-5-3-1 overall) with this win and are now resting comfortably at second place in the West Division with 16pts. First star goes to Brandon Cheeseman with 2pts including the winner. Second Star goes to Ian Cumming with 16 saves for his 7th win on the season. Third Star goes to Dylan Niewiemski who almost single-handedly kept the Saints in the game, making 40 saves on 44 shots he faced. Gordita Crunch goes to Jared Tam-Grimshaw for standing up Saints senior Mike Carey at the blueline.
Austin Kuntz surprised Ian Cumming with an over the waffle zinger from just inside the blueline only 19 seconds into the contest, assisted by Shawn Easton and Ryan Fitzgerald. Saints enjoyed their one-goal lead for the balance of the period but Brandon Cheeseman would even things up for Thunder (cuz that's what he does) curling out of the left corner and sniping one short side with 39 seconds to go. Shots were 12-6 Thunder in the opening frame.
The go ahead goal for Thunder came 3.5 mins into the second and was awarded to Curran O'Brien, assisted by Anthony Crawford and Mike Miller. My neck was sore due to the sustained pressure in the Saints zone which resulted in a 17-4 shot margin in the second period.
Third period was all Thunder as well with Justin Simonelli lighting the lamp for his grandmother to see from on high, assisted by Cheese and McNeil. Then with a minute remaining, Vypes took the handle from McNeil, who was battling on the half wall on the powerplay, turned and sailed a saucer to Hebs, who would snap off a wrister to cap off the contest at 4-1. Senior manager Tyler Lepore came out for his second appearance on the night (a frightening proposition for a self-taught kid who never played organized hockey growing up) with the fans cheering and his folks grinning ear to ear as Vyper tried banking one off his shins to get him a goal but it was to no avail. At least his folks got to see him skate this time as they missed his debut in one of the earlier preseason scrimmages.
Shots were 44-17 overall in Thunder's favor (with the 17 being generous) as they advanced their record to 7-3-2 (8-5-3-1 overall) with this win and are now resting comfortably at second place in the West Division with 16pts. First star goes to Brandon Cheeseman with 2pts including the winner. Second Star goes to Ian Cumming with 16 saves for his 7th win on the season. Third Star goes to Dylan Niewiemski who almost single-handedly kept the Saints in the game, making 40 saves on 44 shots he faced. Gordita Crunch goes to Jared Tam-Grimshaw for standing up Saints senior Mike Carey at the blueline.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
January 30 Game Report
Was there a full moon on Saturday or what? Those of you who got to the game early may have witnessed the donnybrook that ensued at the tail end of Lightning's 8-1 lambasting of the Saints. While the players kept their gloves on for the Thunder vs Blue Devils rematch that followed, things got a bit chippy in the stands, so much so that I was considering sending the story along to ABC's John Stossel. A handful of Brockport fans did a fine job of embarrassing themselves grousing over every call that the refs made or didn't make. And there were comments like "you're not #1 in the state anymore" and "we'll get there before you this year" which doesn't really make any sense given Thunder is in class A and B-port is in class B, and besides, what does that have to do with the officiating anyway? Until you have laced up the skates, put on a zebra suit and officiated a game of ice hockey, you really have no clue how difficult it can be to keep track of 10 skaters, 2 goalies, 2 nets, 2 player benches, 2 penalty boxes, a scoreboard, and a rubber biscuit that is flying around at high rates of speed, while you are skating on two thin blades of steel and trying not to become a part of the play. Not to mention all the people screaming at you from the stands. Surely everyone who has been around hockey for a while has uttered their fair share of remarks about the refs, but to expect the refs to see everything exactly the way you see it while looking on with a birdseye view from the stands is simply preposterous. They are not perfect, they make mistakes just the same as the players who are playing the game and the coaches who are coaching the game. They are all human. If it makes you sleep better at night thinking you got a home job, then good for you. If you think you can do better, then i dare you to give it a try. Otherwise, give me a break.
Where was I? Oh yea, oh say can you see... Amanda Sherry, AGR anthem soloist, kicking things off as Thunder was home in white hosting the Brockport Blue Devils visiting in navy on Saturday at the shore. Andrew Simonelli got the nod in the nets for the Thunder against Blue Devil's freshman Justin Keene, who was coincidentally wearing the same #33, and away we go. Blue Devils D-man Zach Coughlin delivered an early wake up call to Thunder, sneaking in from the blueline and taking a back door feed upstairs during the first minute play, assisted by Connor Moore and Tyler Hill. Cumming made a nice save on an errant pass headed into the Thunder bench... way to look alive Ian. Blue Devils netted another with 3:15 to go in the first frame, a shortie by Hill from Dan Callahan and Kyle Wallenhorst. Vypes snapped his twig winding up a slapper from top of the key at the close of the period, cha-ching, there goes a couple of benjamins. Snake wields the same x60 but it's about 2-3" longer and then some, so Vypes had to go with his Sarazin backup, which carried him through the post season and assisted on the game winner during the final game in Utica, but apparently the stick is no good, lol. Kids these days. In my day, we cut a branch from a tree and whittled it down to make a hockey stick!
Thunder carried a 1.18 powerplay balance into the second stanza, but despite great puck movement on the man advantage they still couldn't solve Keene. Mike Briganti executed his patented 2-legged harry to block a shot at the point. From this point forward on Thunder the maneuver shall be known as a "Ganti". Speaking of patenting things, what's up with Brockport using Thunder's "balls-out" chant at he beginning of each period? Connor Sullivan widened the gap to 3-0 for Brockport with a goal midway through the period assisted by Wallenhorst. Keough broke a stick, but no data was available on the lineage of his backup at the time of this report. Greece continued moving the puck well and repeatedly bringing it to the net, but it was as if Keene had cellophane covering the plane of the goal mouth when a couple of slow rollers finally got behind him and stalled just shy of the goal line. Broken sticks and a hot goalie would not be enough to break Thunder's spirit though as they mushed on for 27.5 minutes before an unassuming lob on net from the blueline by Mike McNeil got the better of Keene and Thunder was on the board. Way to mix it up and go with the off-speed Mike. But Thunder's celebration was short-lived as Connor Moore answered back just 27 seconds later for Brockport, assisted by Zach Coughlin, to restore their 3-goal lead at 4-1. Ian Cumming came off the bench in relief to get Thunder out of the inning.
Back from the break, the outlook was kind of bleak for Thunder thought a doubting Layton as time was slipping away, "Maybe last last year's team could have scored 4 goals in one period to win it but not this year". How about 3 goals in a five minute flurry to tie it, thanks to Trey's challenge! Cheese started the rally with 5.05 to go by putting away a rebound on Vyper's shot assisted by Andrew Sherry. Then came a pretty PPG two and half minutes later as McNeil went up top to Vyper who swung it to Simmy on the wing and then Simmy swept it home to draw near at 4-3. Greece took a timeout with 37 seconds left and returned with an air of determination. In a matter of 12 seconds, it was Cheese finishing the rally he started with the GTG, assisted by Vyper and Simmy, and we were going to OT knotted at 4's. Thunder enjoyed a few chances in OT as both teams held on for the point.
Thunder's record advances to 6-3-2 (7-5-3-1 overall) leaving them alone in second place behind Lightning in the West division with 3 games to go (CC, AQ, IHS). Said Webb of Thunder's come from behind tie, "The chips were down but they pulled together and did what they had to do to come back". Thunder out shot the Blue Devils in all 4 periods, 8-6, 12-9, 12-7, 3-2, for a 3-period total of 35-24. First star of the game goes to Brandon Cheeseman with a pair of goals including the GTG. Second star of the game goes to Dan Vyverberg with 3 assists for a playmaker. Third star goes to Brockport's Justin Keene with 31 saves on 35 shots. Simonelli and Cumming combined for a total of 20 saves for Thunder.
Where was I? Oh yea, oh say can you see... Amanda Sherry, AGR anthem soloist, kicking things off as Thunder was home in white hosting the Brockport Blue Devils visiting in navy on Saturday at the shore. Andrew Simonelli got the nod in the nets for the Thunder against Blue Devil's freshman Justin Keene, who was coincidentally wearing the same #33, and away we go. Blue Devils D-man Zach Coughlin delivered an early wake up call to Thunder, sneaking in from the blueline and taking a back door feed upstairs during the first minute play, assisted by Connor Moore and Tyler Hill. Cumming made a nice save on an errant pass headed into the Thunder bench... way to look alive Ian. Blue Devils netted another with 3:15 to go in the first frame, a shortie by Hill from Dan Callahan and Kyle Wallenhorst. Vypes snapped his twig winding up a slapper from top of the key at the close of the period, cha-ching, there goes a couple of benjamins. Snake wields the same x60 but it's about 2-3" longer and then some, so Vypes had to go with his Sarazin backup, which carried him through the post season and assisted on the game winner during the final game in Utica, but apparently the stick is no good, lol. Kids these days. In my day, we cut a branch from a tree and whittled it down to make a hockey stick!
Thunder carried a 1.18 powerplay balance into the second stanza, but despite great puck movement on the man advantage they still couldn't solve Keene. Mike Briganti executed his patented 2-legged harry to block a shot at the point. From this point forward on Thunder the maneuver shall be known as a "Ganti". Speaking of patenting things, what's up with Brockport using Thunder's "balls-out" chant at he beginning of each period? Connor Sullivan widened the gap to 3-0 for Brockport with a goal midway through the period assisted by Wallenhorst. Keough broke a stick, but no data was available on the lineage of his backup at the time of this report. Greece continued moving the puck well and repeatedly bringing it to the net, but it was as if Keene had cellophane covering the plane of the goal mouth when a couple of slow rollers finally got behind him and stalled just shy of the goal line. Broken sticks and a hot goalie would not be enough to break Thunder's spirit though as they mushed on for 27.5 minutes before an unassuming lob on net from the blueline by Mike McNeil got the better of Keene and Thunder was on the board. Way to mix it up and go with the off-speed Mike. But Thunder's celebration was short-lived as Connor Moore answered back just 27 seconds later for Brockport, assisted by Zach Coughlin, to restore their 3-goal lead at 4-1. Ian Cumming came off the bench in relief to get Thunder out of the inning.
Back from the break, the outlook was kind of bleak for Thunder thought a doubting Layton as time was slipping away, "Maybe last last year's team could have scored 4 goals in one period to win it but not this year". How about 3 goals in a five minute flurry to tie it, thanks to Trey's challenge! Cheese started the rally with 5.05 to go by putting away a rebound on Vyper's shot assisted by Andrew Sherry. Then came a pretty PPG two and half minutes later as McNeil went up top to Vyper who swung it to Simmy on the wing and then Simmy swept it home to draw near at 4-3. Greece took a timeout with 37 seconds left and returned with an air of determination. In a matter of 12 seconds, it was Cheese finishing the rally he started with the GTG, assisted by Vyper and Simmy, and we were going to OT knotted at 4's. Thunder enjoyed a few chances in OT as both teams held on for the point.
Thunder's record advances to 6-3-2 (7-5-3-1 overall) leaving them alone in second place behind Lightning in the West division with 3 games to go (CC, AQ, IHS). Said Webb of Thunder's come from behind tie, "The chips were down but they pulled together and did what they had to do to come back". Thunder out shot the Blue Devils in all 4 periods, 8-6, 12-9, 12-7, 3-2, for a 3-period total of 35-24. First star of the game goes to Brandon Cheeseman with a pair of goals including the GTG. Second star of the game goes to Dan Vyverberg with 3 assists for a playmaker. Third star goes to Brockport's Justin Keene with 31 saves on 35 shots. Simonelli and Cumming combined for a total of 20 saves for Thunder.
Monday, February 1, 2010
January 28 Game Report
For those of you reality tv junkies who risked life and limb heading south on 390 to Marketplace Mall in the middle of a blizzard thursday nite, just to catch a glimpse of the Jersey Shore cast, you missed out on all the fist-pumping action down at 123 Ling Road where the Lake Shore cast of Greece Thunder snookered the Hilton Cadets 3-2 in OT to climb into second place in the West Division. Thunder is now 6-3-1 in division play, tied for second with AQ at 13pts, although Thunder has a game in hand over AQ with 4 division games remaining against lower ranked teams, e.g. BP, CC, AQ, and IHS. Thunder's overall record is 7-5-2-1.
It's always strange being a visitor in your own building, although Thunder looked snappy in their road blacks, half expecting to hear another cadet crooner singing the anthem like last year, but it turned out to be a memorex instrumental complete with the Zildjians. Hilton outshot Greece 8-5 in a fairly boring first frame, although Thunder's D played extremely well forcing Hilton to shoot from the perimeter and allowing Cumming to see everything into the vault. Thunder enjoyed a late powerplay that bridged the first and second period, but could not get by Hilton's senior netminder on their first man advantage, perhaps due to the distraction of papa Joe's face hanging from the balcony by the office... what was that all about?
The sole marker in the second frame came 3.5 minutes in for Greece, when Curran O'Brien hooked a pass to Justin Simonelli, who then froze Hurlimann with a no-look dish to AC on the baseline for the conversion. Can I get a "Yeah ThunDerrrrrrrr"? Well of course I can cuz Laura and Clark (Christine that is) obliged, although they need to work on belting it out from the diaphragm (perhaps a few lessons with JR will do the trick). AC's tally fueled an extended flurry as Thunder pinned the Cadets in their own end for a good long while. Hots lead the charge in repeatedly thwarting Hilton's attempt to break out of captivity, McSkillet made several nifty saucers to keep Thunder on the attack, and Clark fired a shot on net that came to rest atop Hurlimann's butterflied right pad. Unfortunately, there was a quick whistle and Thunder never got the opportunity to poke it in. Greece generated numerous quality scoring chances on their rally that seemingly lasted the whole period, but the score stood still at 1-zip as Hilton drew a powerplay with a buck thirty four to go. Enter Vyper with a harry and 2 solid clears to bolster the kill and get Thunder to the break with their 1 goal lead still intact. Thunder dominated the second period with a shot margin of 12-5.
John Clark opened the third by showing Hilton's Andrew Harris to his seat for the Gordita Crunch of the Game. Poor kid must have missed the NO TRESPASSING and NO TOE DRAGGING signs posted outside the blueline. Tyler Grimshaw followed up with a textbook hip-check on the far wall to slow Hilton's attack, but this would only serve to strengthen Hilton's resolve, as they were simply not willing to wither away. Cumming was flopping around like a tuna on the deck of a commercial charter, making some brilliant pad and melon saves to keep the Cadet's at bay. But Hilton kept on coming and it eventually paid off, as Brian Hurlimann blasted a shot over Cumming's shoulder from from the top of the circle, assisted by Kolin Sawdey and Joe Palumbo, to put Hilton on the board with only 3.59 remaining in regulation. Then the unthinkable happened as Hilton came back a minute thirty later, breaking through Thunder's goal line stand with a shot by Corey Sherman, assisted by Nick Castronovo, that got deflected in by Cory Gurski for the go-ahead goal with just 2.31 left on the clock. Most teams would have folded their tent after that punch in the gut, but not Thunder, there is no other, they would not be denied. And so, they grabbed their lunch pails and went to work. Low and behold, a minute later Vypes hit Simmy with a pass coming through neutral, Simmy caught it with his skate, entered the zone, worked his way down the left side and centered it for Cheese who immediately redirected it upstairs for the GTG to force OT. Hilton controlled the play for the majority of the third, with a 14-9 shot margin, but the momentum was clearly Thunder's going into the five minute overtime.
Hearts were pounding with everyone biting their nails to the quick as the extra period was waning and Hilton took a time-out with 36 seconds left on the clock, leaving little time for either team to mount a charge. But having lost to Gates with only 1 second on the clock in OT earlier in the season, Thunder knew the importance of playing until the final horn and this time the tables were turned as the puck bounced out to the stick of Thunder Captain Brandon Cheeseman and he sniped the winner top-shelf where webby hides the cookies at his new house!
Shots overall were 29-24 Thunder, with Ian Cumming turning away 22 of the 24 he faced and Dan Hurlimann making 26 saves for Hilton. First star goes to the man with the C for netting the GTG to force OT and then coming back and claiming the GWG that set Thunder free, Brandon "the big cheese" Cheeseman. Second star goes to Justin Simonelli for distributing so well throughout the game and book-ending regulation with setups on Thunder's first two tallies. Third star goes to Tyler Grimshaw for a solid effort on the backend with several nice rushes to boot, a rather inspired effort given the broken hand. Honorable mention goes to Eric Hostetter for his gritty performance. Had he not been tackled in front Hilton's net (with no-call) he just may have lit the lamp! Can you believe only 1 penalty a side in that contest? Hats off to Hilton for a great battle for 49 minutes and 51 seconds of play. Happy Birthday to Mike Briganti was echoing from the stands. Happy Housewarming goes out to Webby from all the Thunder fans!
It's always strange being a visitor in your own building, although Thunder looked snappy in their road blacks, half expecting to hear another cadet crooner singing the anthem like last year, but it turned out to be a memorex instrumental complete with the Zildjians. Hilton outshot Greece 8-5 in a fairly boring first frame, although Thunder's D played extremely well forcing Hilton to shoot from the perimeter and allowing Cumming to see everything into the vault. Thunder enjoyed a late powerplay that bridged the first and second period, but could not get by Hilton's senior netminder on their first man advantage, perhaps due to the distraction of papa Joe's face hanging from the balcony by the office... what was that all about?
The sole marker in the second frame came 3.5 minutes in for Greece, when Curran O'Brien hooked a pass to Justin Simonelli, who then froze Hurlimann with a no-look dish to AC on the baseline for the conversion. Can I get a "Yeah ThunDerrrrrrrr"? Well of course I can cuz Laura and Clark (Christine that is) obliged, although they need to work on belting it out from the diaphragm (perhaps a few lessons with JR will do the trick). AC's tally fueled an extended flurry as Thunder pinned the Cadets in their own end for a good long while. Hots lead the charge in repeatedly thwarting Hilton's attempt to break out of captivity, McSkillet made several nifty saucers to keep Thunder on the attack, and Clark fired a shot on net that came to rest atop Hurlimann's butterflied right pad. Unfortunately, there was a quick whistle and Thunder never got the opportunity to poke it in. Greece generated numerous quality scoring chances on their rally that seemingly lasted the whole period, but the score stood still at 1-zip as Hilton drew a powerplay with a buck thirty four to go. Enter Vyper with a harry and 2 solid clears to bolster the kill and get Thunder to the break with their 1 goal lead still intact. Thunder dominated the second period with a shot margin of 12-5.
John Clark opened the third by showing Hilton's Andrew Harris to his seat for the Gordita Crunch of the Game. Poor kid must have missed the NO TRESPASSING and NO TOE DRAGGING signs posted outside the blueline. Tyler Grimshaw followed up with a textbook hip-check on the far wall to slow Hilton's attack, but this would only serve to strengthen Hilton's resolve, as they were simply not willing to wither away. Cumming was flopping around like a tuna on the deck of a commercial charter, making some brilliant pad and melon saves to keep the Cadet's at bay. But Hilton kept on coming and it eventually paid off, as Brian Hurlimann blasted a shot over Cumming's shoulder from from the top of the circle, assisted by Kolin Sawdey and Joe Palumbo, to put Hilton on the board with only 3.59 remaining in regulation. Then the unthinkable happened as Hilton came back a minute thirty later, breaking through Thunder's goal line stand with a shot by Corey Sherman, assisted by Nick Castronovo, that got deflected in by Cory Gurski for the go-ahead goal with just 2.31 left on the clock. Most teams would have folded their tent after that punch in the gut, but not Thunder, there is no other, they would not be denied. And so, they grabbed their lunch pails and went to work. Low and behold, a minute later Vypes hit Simmy with a pass coming through neutral, Simmy caught it with his skate, entered the zone, worked his way down the left side and centered it for Cheese who immediately redirected it upstairs for the GTG to force OT. Hilton controlled the play for the majority of the third, with a 14-9 shot margin, but the momentum was clearly Thunder's going into the five minute overtime.
Hearts were pounding with everyone biting their nails to the quick as the extra period was waning and Hilton took a time-out with 36 seconds left on the clock, leaving little time for either team to mount a charge. But having lost to Gates with only 1 second on the clock in OT earlier in the season, Thunder knew the importance of playing until the final horn and this time the tables were turned as the puck bounced out to the stick of Thunder Captain Brandon Cheeseman and he sniped the winner top-shelf where webby hides the cookies at his new house!
Shots overall were 29-24 Thunder, with Ian Cumming turning away 22 of the 24 he faced and Dan Hurlimann making 26 saves for Hilton. First star goes to the man with the C for netting the GTG to force OT and then coming back and claiming the GWG that set Thunder free, Brandon "the big cheese" Cheeseman. Second star goes to Justin Simonelli for distributing so well throughout the game and book-ending regulation with setups on Thunder's first two tallies. Third star goes to Tyler Grimshaw for a solid effort on the backend with several nice rushes to boot, a rather inspired effort given the broken hand. Honorable mention goes to Eric Hostetter for his gritty performance. Had he not been tackled in front Hilton's net (with no-call) he just may have lit the lamp! Can you believe only 1 penalty a side in that contest? Hats off to Hilton for a great battle for 49 minutes and 51 seconds of play. Happy Birthday to Mike Briganti was echoing from the stands. Happy Housewarming goes out to Webby from all the Thunder fans!
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