Updated Point Totals following November 29ths games:
1. Slap Happy 14 (70/27)
2. Colonials 11 (61/34)
3. Narwals 8 (51/42)
4. Mayhem 6 (36/47)
5. Walkers 3 (25/72)
6. Mobb 2 (28/53)
Brief Summary of 11-29 games:
The Narwals have won 2 in a row. A 4-2 lead in the later stages of the 2nd period turned into a 6-2 lead by the time the 3rd period started. They eventually got ahead 9-2 in the 3rd period. Zach Foradori focused his attention to Larry K following the game.
Kevin Smith found the back of the net 4 times in the first period to help the Colonials go up 4-1 at the end of the first period. Joe Bussard helped the Slap Happy climb to within 5-4 at the end of the 2nd period. Bob Anderson put the Colonials ahead 6-4 in the 3rd period and set Brian Anderson up for 2 goals, including a go ahead goal with a minute to go to make it 8-7. With just 10 seconds to go, the Colonials were unable to get the ball away from their own net, which led to Dave Jewell tapping in the game tying goal. About a minute and a half into overtime, Adam McKinley denied a shot from John Matchock on a nice pass from Bob Anderson. Soon afterward, Derik Day found a way by Kevin Smith to create a 1-0 breakaway and beat Tim Herman to give the Slap Happy a 9-8 overtime win. The two teams will meet again on December 20th. The Colonials were missing Dan Fatula and Brandon Vollmer. Slap Happy were without Steve Pompeii. The Mayhem have now won 3 in a row following a 13-3 win over the Walkers last night. They went up 6-0 in the first period forcing the Walkers to call an early time out. This was Zach Smith's 2nd game of the season for the Mayhem and he found the back of the net on multiple occasions. Trent Bembenic, Tyler Waltman, Jeff Wehner and Anthony Schuckers also contributed goals on the night. The Mayhem will play the Colonials next Monday at 715. The Walkers and Mobb will meet for the first time next Monday night at 620.
Zach Foradori (Mobb)
1. 9-3 loss to the Narwals last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the loss? Our team performance was fine, it was just snuffed out by the astonishing play of Mr. Larry K.
2. Anything positive to take out of the game? Yeah, we don’t have to go against Larry K next week. Who in my opinion is by far the best player in the league offensively and defensively.
3. Your team has had a tough schedule so far. Do you think playing all these tough games can benefit you going into the rest of the season? I’m sure it will, I think out of our first 5 games we played the top 2 teams in the standings 4 times. One good thing is, Larry K doesn’t play for every team.
4. You got to ref the Colonials/Slap Happy game last night. Was it fun reffing a game like that or did you feel more pressure having to ref it ? I just saw it as another game so I thought it was fun to watch and kind of be a part of. Not as fun as playing against the man, the myth, the legend Larry K on the big 6:20 prime time stage.
5. You haven’t played the Walkers yet this season but will get them next week. What kind of game do you expect from them (if you have seen them play at all)? It might be a pretty tough game. But one thing I do know is they don’t have Larry K on their team so we might be able to get our feet under us and actually play a decent game. Larry is just such a game changer it’s tough to do anything when he’s on the floor. Even when he’s on the bench just knowing he’s present for the game and he’s not on your team for it gives his team the psychological edge in every game.
Brian Anderson (Colonials)
1. Your team jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first period but surrendered that lead and two late leads to lose in overtime. Do you come away from that game feeling more positive that you were up on the only undefeated team in the league or more disappointed that you couldn’t finish the job? Considering it’s a regular season game and not a playoff game, I think we need to feel more encouraged. We were also missing Dan and Rooster last night and still had a good chance to win. Those two are the kind of guys we need when you play against the best team and best goalie in the league. Gotta give Slap Happy a lot of credit though. They tied it up at 7 but then we went up 8-7 just seconds after they tied it at 7. They could have given up, but they kept battling until the end.
2. You had a couple of big goals in the game including one that put your team ahead with a minute to go. How happy where you with your individual game? I was happy to contribute considering we were missing a couple guys. I knew they would be focusing most of their attention to Bob and Kevin. I just wish we could have hung on in that final minute.
3. It seems like this Colonials team is one of the favorites to compete for the championship. What do you think makes this team work so well together? It seems like everyone plays their role perfectly. We have a good 1-2 punch, Dan and Rooster are really good around the net and smart players then we have Fred and Match who play solid defense. You can count on both of them to stay back when they need to. I consider Tim Herman one of the leagues better goalies. I was really impressed with how he played this summer in the puck league. If we have any weaknesses, it may be lack of youth but I think we have a realistic chance to win a championship if we have our core guys.
4. This XHL season has been quite competitive so far. How pleased are you overall with how the season is going? I really look forward to Monday nights. There was a time when I couldn’t wait for the season to end but I cant say that this season. Even though I am disappointed to only have 6 teams, I feel like this has been one of our best seasons so far. We have had a lot of competitive games so far and I look for there to be more to come in this last part of the season. We have different guys stepping in to ref and it seems like teams have most of their guys showing up each night. I was a little worried about attendance going into the season with covid spreading around again. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season pans out.
5. You’ve been serving as the XHL president for quite a while. How long do you see yourself continuing to lead the troops? That’s a good question. During the covid shutdown last spring, I watched a documentary about the Chicago Bulls called “Last Dance.” There weren’t any sports to watch at the time so that intrigued me. What I remember about that was their coach (Phil Jackson) saying that there shouldn’t be anymore than a 7 year span of being a leader. He said that leaders arent heard upon as much and that people grow tired of the same style year after year. This is actually my 7th season right now and that doesn’t count all the draft leagues we have had in between seasons. At some point, I do feel like we will need a change of leadership but I am actually having a lot of fun this season and will probably try to keep leading the way again in 2022. For those reading this interview, please feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in a future leadership position. For the better of the league, I feel like at some point we will need a change. I wont even take any offence to those who think the same thing. I dont plan on giving it up for at least another year though.
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