Recaps

"Lord Stanley" became legendary around these parts in the early 90's when Mike Lange made his memorable Stanley Cup winning call: "Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, bring me the brandy."

Even so, Rob Stanley might be feeling a little bit like Lord Stanley himself after becoming the first XHL player to win four league titles. Stanley raised the Cup tonight for the second straight year with the Maniax and also won in 2002 with the Punishers and 2005 with the Contenders.

While the Maniax are enjoying their moment of XHL stardom, the Hot Shots are undoubtedly thinking about how close they really were to doing the improbable. The Hot Shots had nothing to hang their heads about despite losing game three 6-5. A victory Thursday night might have rivaled the Contenders victory in 2003 when they did the unthinkable and won the championship for the first time.

The Hot Shots got off to the start they needed, scoring the first two goals of the game. They held the potent Maniax' offense at bay in game two and really did so again in game three. They even controlled the ball for a majority of the game.

But Kevin Smith and the Maniax wouldn't be denied. Smith scored in the final seconds of the first period to get the Maniax on the board and then scored three more times in the second period to even the score at four after two frames.

The Cup and the season hinged on fifteen minutes of play. In the end, it was Cory Schuckers who proved to be the difference. Schuckers buried a feed from Dave Jewell 1:45 into the third period to put the Maniax ahead for the first time in the game. He scored six minutes later on a breakaway to give the Maniax a two goal lead.

But just as they had done all playoff long, the Hot Shots responded. Austin Boyd's attempted shot glanced off the pad of a Maniax defender and landed on the blade of Eric Llewellyn who promptly deposited the ball into the back of the net at 9:20 in the period. With over five minutes to play, the Hot Shots got the opportunity they needed. After the Maniax were whistled for a penalty, the Hot Shots went to work on the powerplay. But the penatly killing came up big and Clay Halpin smothered a couple of point shots.

The Hot Shots pulled their goalie with about 20 seconds to play in favor of an extra attacker, but they couldn't get the last shot through. The buzzer blew signifying the end of the 2010 season and a decade's worth of roller hockey in Brockway.

Smith's four goals led the Maniax. Boyd and Llewellyn tallied a pair of goals each for the Hot Shots and Derek Miksich scored as well.

While the Maniax claimed the league trophy, the Hot Shots claimed the admiration of players and fans around the league. It was a run that won't soon be forgotten and many of the names on the back of the Hot Shots' jerseys are bound to find their way onto the Taylor Memorial Cup sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, Stanley and the rest of the Maniax will sip their own brandy.