Final Regular Season Point Totals:
1. Slap Happy 17 (90/42)
2. Colonials 17 (86/51)
3. Narwals 14 (80/52)
4. Mayhem 8 (55/65)
5. Mobb 4 (51/77)
6. Walkers 3 (31/110)
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January 3rd Schedule:
620 p.m. Mobb vs Walkers (Loser Eliminated)
715 p.m. Narwals vs Colonials
815 p.m. Mobb or Walkers vs Mayhem (Loser Eliminated)
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The regular season concluded last night. The Mayhem had AJ Cebulskie back in the lineup and he made an immediate difference. By the time Henry Sutter saw a shot, the Mayhem were already up 6-0. The Mayhem were without a sub until Peach arrived midway thru the 2nd period, but by then, they were ahead 10-1. It also meant more Zach Smith on the floor, along with some of the leagues youngest players (Trent/AJ/Waltman). Tony Conforto scored the Walkers only goal and the game mercy ruled with a minute to go in the 2nd period. With the win, the Mayhem avoided any possibility of having to win 2 play in games on January 3rd. AJ Cebsulskie only played his 3rd game of the season but will at least be eligible to play in the playoffs. They will await the winner of the Walkers/Mobb game on January 3rd. If the Mayhem can win their play in game, they will get a couple shots of upsetting the Slap Happy in a best of 3 series.
The Colonials once again found themselves in a wild game, maybe even wilder than last weeks game against the Mobb. Like last week, this game featured lots of penalties. Unfortunately, this game also involved an injury scare with Brandon Vollmer, but he was able to go back in the game after a short time on the bench. Unlike the last time these two teams played, the Colonials found themselves down by 3 goals in the 2nd period. They were up by 3 goals in the 2nd period the last time these two teams faced one another. Kevin Smith had to spend more time playing defense with the absence of Fred Terwilliger and John Matchock, but he still contributed a couple big goals to help keep the Colonials within striking distance. Bob Anderson found Brian Anderson midway thru the 3rd period to tie the game at 6 and almost went ahead on a shot that hit the post shortly afterwards. With around 4 minutes to go, the Slap Happy were penalized for 4 minutes but the Colonials were unable to take advantage of the one man advantage. Adam McKinley looked much sharper in this game than he did the last time the teams faced one another. Neither team was able to score in overtime but the Colonials were able to get two by McKinley in the shootout (Kevin/Bob) to come out with a 7-6 win. In a way, the win may have felt like a loss because they will now have to go thru the Narwals in a best of 3 series starting in two weeks. The Slap Happy will have 2 weeks off before facing the Walkers, Mobb or Mayhem in a best of 3 series.
The Narwals may have more momentum than anyone going into the playoffs. They were able to finish on a strong note last night by beating the Mobb 11-3. The game was close for a while but the Mobb were playing without Cory once again. Andy Calvert looks like he has shaken off the cob webs. After a couple blowout losses to start the season, the Narwals are back on track after closing out the regular season with 5 straight wins. Two of those wins came against the Colonials and Slap Happy. The Mobb were plagued by a tough schedule all season. Seven of their ten games were against the Colonials, Slap Happy and Narwals. They will have to take the scenic route to get to the final 4, but maybe a week off will give them a new outlook going into their first play in game against the Walkers. If they can beat the Walkers, they will get a shot at the Mayhem in another do or die game at 815 on January 3rd. The Narwals and Colonials will meet at 715 on January 3rd in what could be another wild game for the Colonials.
Bob Anderson (Colonials)
1. 7-6 shootout win last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win?
It was a hard-fought game for both teams. A little scrappy and ugly at times, but hard-fought indeed. In some ways, this game was the opposite of the first time we played the Slap Happy. We got up early the last time and they came back on us. We returned the favor this time. I like that we didn't panic when we got down 4-1 and we kept our cool for the most part when things were getting pretty intense. Our two teams are very evenly matched in my opinion.
2. They were ahead 4-1 at one point. How do you think your team was able to make up the 3-goal deficit? Like I said, we didn't panic. Kevin made a really nice individual play to stop the bleeding and make it 4-2 and I think that settled everyone down. Aside from that, we pressured a little more than we would have with a 3 goal lead no doubt, but we didn't abandon our structure either. I think we have confidence in ourselves that we can come back when we are down. 3. There were a couple missed opportunities in the 3rd period. One shot hit the post and then the team had 4 minutes of power play time. Was it disappointing not being able to win in regulation to earn the number 1 seed or was it encouraging to come back to win the game? Sometimes hockey is a game of bounces. A bounce here or there could have easily changed the outcome of that game. You can't control that. You can only play the right way and hope you get rewarded for it when the buzzer sounds. I was very encouraged by what we were able to do in the second half of that game. And even though we didn't score on that late powerplay, we had some good chances. Adam made some big stops in that sequence. You just have to tip your helmet to that. 4. With the 2nd seed, the team will need to beat the Narwals for another potential shot at the Slap Happy. What have you observed from the narwhals in recent weeks? I refereed their game against the Mobb last night. I was impressed! I think they are playing their best hockey of the season, and are getting hot at the right time, so I'm expecting a really good series. Andy has definitely swept off the cobwebs, and their team in general had very good chemistry. Clint looked solid in net as well. It should be a lot of fun! 5. This team has only had a full lineup once all season. Will that be a concern going into this series if everyone starts showing up? In some ways it is because Kevin and I haven't had to sub for quite a while. But in other ways, it's an advantage. We didn't have Fred and Match for a couple of games. They are our most disciplined defensive players. That meant that Kevin and I have had to stay back mostly. So having them back will give us the opportunity to play a little more aggressively up front. With everyone in the lineup, we have a really nice balance of forwards and defense. I think that is an overall positive!
Zach Foradori (Larry Ks best friend)
1. 11-3 loss to the Narwals last night. What can you say about your teams overall effort? We scored a few times, that’s always good right?
2. Anything positive to take out of the game last night? The only positive I can take out of this game, is that Larry thankfully kept his distance from me. I thought for sure I was in for a butt kicking
3. Walkers will await you in two weeks. What kind of game do you expect from them? I’m sure there will be some passing, shooting, skating, defense and saves. Typical hockey I suppose
4. A tough schedule may have got the best of your team this season, but do you think it can help prepare you for the Walkers and possibly the Mayhem on the first night of the playoffs? if anything this schedule destroyed any confidence we went into the season with after the first couple weeks. We haven’t been able to get any chemistry on offense or defense in any of our games. Even the couple wins we have we didn’t play well.
5. We have all been waiting for this one------------------ What word best describes Larry K? It’s impossible to only choose one word for this mammoth of a man. The first few words that come to mind are charming and beautiful. If I had to choose a phrase to describe him, it would have to be. An absolute unit, a true blessing from God. This man has the physique of Atlas Steve Pompeii (Slap Happy)
1. 7-6 shootout loss to the Colonials last night. What can you say about the overall team effort? I thought we played our game in the first. Then after that we seem to forget how we played and mimic the opposing teams run and gun play style. Which we are not built for.
2. You were up by 3 goals but they came back. What do you think went wrong in that stretch where they came back? Well it seems we are just growing sluggish throughout the game. We always have a strong first and seem to drop as the game plays on. If we can just stick to our roots of control and slowing the game down we will be fine.
3. Your team had to kill a 4 minute power play at the end of the game. How do you think your team did with that? They pretty much had control the entire penalty but Adam stood on his head and held the fort down. They didn’t get many shots on net during that time. But the ones that did Adam took care of.
4. This team has plenty of star and role players on it. How are you feeling about the team going into the playoffs? We are going to be fine. Once Joe gets going we are going to be in good shape.
5. The team will get two weeks off before playing. Do you think that could be a little bit of an advantage or disadvantage? I think it will be good. We just need a metal regain and some rest to heal the sore bones and muscles Eric Llewellyn (Narwals)
1. 11-3 win over the Mobb last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? We played 3 good periods. We got better as the game went on. That seems to be normal for us. Id like to see us start faster in the playoffs
2. The game was meaningless in terms of the standings, but the Mobb may have been the perfect team to play to get ready for the playoffs. Do you think your team is ready for the playoffs after playing the Mobb last night? We were ready for a playoff feel type game but we didnt get one. They bumped us around and stuff like that but failed to keep it close. I think once they saw Larry K was in the lineup it was over before it started. We’ll be ready for the playoffs. We know what we need to do its just a matter of doing it.
3. Andy doesn’t appear to have cob webs anymore. What have you observed in his overall play from the start of the season to last night? This season is more like a tournament stretched out over 2 months. Very short for an XHL season. What hes been able to do in such a short amount of time has been impressive. The speed is back the goal scoring is back. We have some real good chemistry growing between us up front. Hes filling big holes that were left in our roster.
4. This Narwals team may be a slight underdog compared to the Brockway Narwals team considering you don’t have Cody, Kurt and Jesse. Do you think that could play to a little bit of an advantage for you guys going into the playoffs? I dont know if theres an advantage to being underdog or not. What I do know is that weve beat every team in this league and weve had our whole camp out there together twice. We beat the number one seed with 5 people. We have depth. If Adam has an off night the crappy happy slappys are done. Its that simple. Without him they are 3rd place no question. Are we really the underdog???
5. You watched the Colonials and Slap Happy battle hard to try to avoid having to play you guys in the first round. Were you rooting for anyone in particular to play against or are you just focused on your own team? We were rooting for both teams to lose somehow. The whole league got altered on a blown call. A beautiful snipe from Brian Anderson got called no goal. Everyone in the building except for the ref on the goal line saw it hahahaha ohhhhh xhl. Changes the whole show if that dont happen but it is what it is. We dont care who we play. I knew who we played in the first round 10 weeks ago. Ive been doing this for 20 years. We always have to beat Bob and Adam. Never one or the other.
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