November 21st Results
Van Scyoc 9 Sutter 8 Shootout
McKinley 6 Matchock 2
Lingenfelter 4 Dodd 2
Final Regular Season Standings
1. Lingenfelter 15 (7-0-1)
2. Sutter 11 (5-2-1)
3. McKinley 8 (4-4)
4. Van Scyoc 8 (4-4)
5. Dodd 6 (3-5)
6. Matchock 3 (1-6-1)
With the exception of Jeff Wehner missing a few games and Rooster missing one earlier in the season, Team Lingenfelter appears to be the favorite to win this upcoming double elimination tournament. Their only loss was to the 2nd seed, Team Sutter, in overtime. They closed out the regular season with a 4-2 win over Team Dodd last night. Jake Kline only played the first period and handed his jersey over to Noah Kline after the first period. Noah scored a couple important goals in the 3rd period to help their team overcome a 2-1 deficit after 2 periods. They were held scoreless last night until Mark Chesley scored in the later stages of the 2nd period to tie the game at 1. Bob Anderson had an early goal in the first period to put team Dodd up 1-0 until Chesley’s goal tied it up at 1. Team Lingenfelter trailed 2-1 after Brian Anderson batted one in late in the 2nd period to give Dodd a 2-1 lead going into the 3rd but the lead was short lived after Noah Kline tied it up at 2. Jeff Wehner later made it 3-2 and Noah had an insurance goal to preserve the win for team Lingenfelter. Jason Stamler filled in a couple times in Rooster’s absence and Jeff’s absence and he was on standby again last night in case Jeff couldn’t make it. Stamler went from filling in to reffing last night but he may get an opportunity to play again in the event Jeff can’t make it. They will face Team Matchock Monday night at 820. Team Matchock had some tough luck in the regular season. Unfortunately, John Matchock himself was only able to make a couple games. He led the team to a win in the 2nd game of the season by shutting down Anderson and company. Jerred Amick has had to miss a couple games as well (illness) and is still trying to get back in shape following his layoff. Corey Bassett signed up as a part time player along with Matt Cole so they haven’t always had their full squad there. Brice Miller and Laken Dodd have been steady contributors all season but they have been surrounded by different faces most of the season. Henry Sutter and Clint have been trying to fill in the best they can in Matchock’s absence. They hung tough against Team McKinley last night but fell short 6-2. A 2-2 tie after one period turned into a 6-2 defeat. Larry filled in for Corey Bassett while Henry Sutter filled in for John Matchock. Jerred Amick was able to return last night (Andy filled in for him the last couple of games) but may need a little more time to get back to his normal self on the court. If Team Lingenfelter wins next week, they would face the lowest seeded loser the following week, which would be Team Matchock again. A Team Matchock upset win next week would really change the bracket. If Lingenfelter wins next week, they will be playing against Team Matchock again the following week. We will try to get Tim Herman or an outside goalie to fill in if John Matchock can’t make it, but its looking like we will be counting a lot on Henry Sutter, Clint and Adam in weeks to come.
Henry Sutter’s team fell for a 2nd time to team Scyoc last night, but the game didn’t change their seed any. They were locked into the 2nd seed going into the night. If they would have beat Scyoc in regulation, they would have had a rematch with them next week. It turns out that they will play against team Dodd. Henry Sutter’s team has been another team that has had their regulars there most of the time and it has showed with their regular season results. Kevin Smith continues to lead the way offensively but he has a good support cast around him. Brenden Chesley has been on some newer teams in the past but has always showed a lot of potential in any league he has played in. He has been a steady contributor in this league. Combine that with Larry K and Steve Pompeii, this team looks like a team that could make a run to the final night of the season. Their biggest worry may be the health of Henry Sutter. With the absence of other goalies in this league, Sutter has had a very large workload and has performed like his usual self most of the time, but will he be able to keep the large workload going? He filled in for Tony Dodd last night and aggrevated an injury midway thru the game. He had a shutout going at the time. Without him, Team Dodd would have lost by at least 5 goals. Team Dodd has had some tough luck in this league. They only had 3 wins during the regular season but one of them was a one goal win against Team Sutter. Kevin Smith and Larry were not there that night (Reiter and Foradori filled in). Unlike team Sutter, Team Dodd has had to rely a lot on fill ins throughout the season. Cory has been a great fit when he is there and has played a big role in their 3 wins, but his absence has been missed in their losses. He was not present again last night and the team had to rely a lot on Bob Anderson to carry the load. Tyler Waltman filled in for Cory last night. The team has used Jake Kline as a fill in for Cory along with Rooster. Trenton Bembenic has missed a couple games as well. Adam McKinley filled in last night and RJ filled in earlier in the season. Even if they have their regulars next week, will it be enough to beat Team Sutter? On another bad note regarding goalies, Tony Dodd was injured filling in for another missing goalie (Van Scyoc) last week and will not be able to play for 6 to 8 weeks. James Nelson was going to try to come last night but was not able to make it. Cory did say last night that he will be available the next 2 weeks. Even if James Nelson can play, how good will he be considering he hasn’t played for a while? If Team Lingenfelter wins next week, The winner of Sutter/Dodd would play against the winner of the McKinley/Van Scyoc game on December 5th. The losers of those games would in turn play against one another in an elimination game on December 5th. If Matchock pulls off an upset next week, the bracket would change a lot.
Like team Dodd and Team Matchock, team Van Scyoc has not always had their regulars there on a consistent basis. They look like a solid team if everyone can be there. Peach has only been able to play one game due to an injury which has taken some depth away from the team. Josh Clontz has expressed interest in playing in Peach’s spot in the playoffs. Jeremy (Waltman’s friend) can only play every other game and will not be there next week. Brad Van Scyoc has missed the last couple games, Vinnie missed a couple games earlier in the season and Andy missed the first couple games, so the team hasn’t had much chance to play as a unit. If they are all there, they could make a run in the playoffs. In talking to Kevin Smith before their game yesterday, he said they may have been better off to lose last night (Which they did) so they didn’t have to play them in the first playoff game. Andy, Waltman, Vinnie and Jason Stamler are a very good core. Josh Clontz would give them a solid sub for next week if he can make it. Brad Van Scyoc has showed some potential transitioning back into hockey but he may be rusty next week since he has had to miss the last couple of games. Their opponent, Team McKinley has actually had their regulars there most of the time, including, Adam McKinley himself. Any team with Adam in net always has a chance no matter who the opponent is. Team McKinley beat Team Van Scyoc in the regular season. The game was close most of the way though. Team McKinley closed out the regular season with a 6-2 win last night over Team Matchock. Eric Llewellyn is looked upon to carry the load offensively, but anyone else on the team is capable of scoring a goal when needed. Zach Foradori was not on the original draft list but has been a perfect fit in adding more depth to this team. Combine that with Nate Galentine, Alex Waddell, Joe Roush and Brian Pangallo, the team appears just as good as anyone going into the playoffs. They don’t have the biggest names in the league, but they have all been contributing throughout the season. They are one of the few teams that has had to rely on subs throughout the regular season.
Below is a projected outlook of the playoffs:
November 28th:
620 ---- Van Scyoc vs McKinley
720 ---- Dodd vs Sutter
820 ---- Matchock vs Lingenfelter
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December 5th (If Lingenfelter wins next week)
620 --- Loser of Dodd/Sutter game vs Loser of Van Scyoc/McKinley game
720 --- Winner of Dodd/Sutter game vs Winner of Van Scyoc/McKinley game
820 --- Matchock vs Lingenfelter
XHL Rumors:
Jake Kline informed me last night this his team is all set for XHL Season. He will have Clint as his goalie, along with himself, Noah Kline, Andy Calvert, Nate Galentine, Cory Schuckers, Brandon Reiter and Rooster.
The Colonials are close to rounding out their team, but have a couple voids now. Last years championship team will be losing Dan Fatula (retirement) and Rooster (moving to Jake’s team). Some other guys will be back. Bob Anderson, Brian Anderson, Fred Terwilliger, John Matchock, Kevin Smith and Tim Herman. From the sounds of it, Bob Anderson is only planning to have 6 skaters on the roster.
Jerred Amick is getting a team sponsor (Eagles) this year for his team and is bringing Henry Sutter on board from the sounds of it. His team is still a work of progress, but some core guys from the Narwals squad are said to be forming a team.