HOLY POND ICE BATMAN!
The stars came out to shine last night at The Gaslighter for the second annual Thursday Night Hockey Awards. Following the success of last year's event which raises money for Hockey Fights Obesity, this year's award ceremony and dinner not only reached it's goal of fundraising, it surpassed it. Hosted by funny man Slappy White and a musical performance by the Black Ice Peas, the event was a crowd pleaser. Finally came the moment that everyone had been waiting for; the presentation of "The Vic" Stanfield Award for the MVP. To no one's surprise, the unanimous choice for this year's award was none other than "THE COMMISH" Phil Staurt.
"He did it all for us, game in and game out", said Tom "Shemp" Champagne. "He is the main reason that Blue made it back to the finals", added Tom "Painch" Painchaud. The first runner-up in voting for the award went to Jeff "Cano" Cain and third in votes was Brian "Tilly" Tillotson. "They all had tremendous seasons", said Dan "Lucky" Luker.
The other awards handed out last night were:
"The Swoop"-Most Goals: Tom "Philby" Philbrick, 2.Kurt "Kaiser" Gillies 3. Mike "Cummy" Commerford.
"The Pike" Colgan- Most Assists: Todd "Philby" Philbrick, 2. Dave "JP" Palisi,3. Clint "Eastwood" Casavaugh.
"The Leebo"- Most Points: Joe "Joe" Farrelly, 2. Gregg "Moose" Moffet, 3. Chris "Brownie" Brown.
"The Hugger"- Best Defenseman: Dunc "Coach" Walsh, 2.Jack "Jackhammer" Fraiser, 3. George "Dumpin" Chase.
"The Stuffy"- Best Goalie: Tom "Harry" Harrison, 2. Kenny "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradley. 3. Andy "Gump" Doherty.
"The Dunny"- Best Plus/Minus: Jim "Heathy" Heath.
"The Lady Bung" -Sportsmanship: Ryan "Silky" Brandt.
"The Phonzie" - Black Ice MVP: Andy "BTO" Bachmann.
"The Bud" - Coach of the Year: Gary "Toe" Blake.
"The Red Onion"- Best Referee: Phil "The Whistle" Lacasse.
"The Larry Flint" - Hustler: Dan "Too Late" Early.
"The Dick Pinch" - Fun in the Shower: Greg "Hernia" Fournier.
"The Murph"- 7th Player: Tom "TC" Carroll.
"The Tattahead"- 8th Player: Dave "Tilly" Tillotson.
"The Garbo"- Best Rookie: Dave "Motor" Carlson.
"The Goofy" -Best Brother Act: The "Tilly" Brothers.
"The Tara" - Most Improved: Tom "Berg" Bergault.
"The Po" - Comeback Player of the Year: Jim "Cummy" Commerford.
"Cummy" received the biggest ovation of the night when it was announced he won "The Po". After suffering a viscous hit that left him hospitalized for two months, Cummy came back to lead Green into the finals. It was inspirational to say the least.
The players took the time to pose with fans for photographs and sign autographs. Congratulations to the award winners AND to the NAHL for a fantastic year. I don't know about you BUT, I can't wait for game eight!
"What could possibly go wrong?", said Gary "Toe" Blake. If we could survive the sinking of "The Duke" then we can survive along the Merrimack. "I don't know if I am ready to go back on the water", said Phil "The Commish" Stuart (this year's league MVP). "I have trouble sleeping at night. I wake up from nightmares that I am drowning in White's Park Pond", he lamented. The Commish and many others will work as volunteers along the banks of the Merrimack for the race. " I was o.k. with climbing Mt. Washington", said Tom "Berg" Bergault, "but, I don't think I can go back in the water ever again." The Mt. Washington climb has been rescheduled for a future date in order to make time for the dragon boat race. We look forward to seeing players, coaches and fans down along the banks of the Merrimack on July 18th. "I don't know if this will decide game eight, but, it certainly will set the tone for it", said Todd "Philby" Philbrick. "The entire city is anxiously awaiting game eight", said city mayor Jim Bouley. "I don't know about you, but, ICW4G8!
