The Windmill Turns Circles Around The Wings

 The Windmill was spinning and the Buffalo Wild Wings were unable to stop it.

Windmill's MacDougall and Famiglietti 

Veteran goaltender Mark Crowley pitched a shut out and made history as the first netminder to have a shut out in a CCHL playoff game. Crowley allowed only one goal in two playoff games this season. His efforts earned him the Brian Smith Trophy (The Smitty) as playoff MVP. On saturday Crowley was inducted into the CCHL Hall of Fame along with Tom "Badger" Carroll. Carroll was quickly signed to a contract in the NAHL on sunday. NAHL management was on hand to watch Crowley play on sunday and they made him a qualifying offer for the 2013-14 season.

Hall of Famer Tom Carroll sits with NAHL braintrust.

Sunday's final match up looked good on paper as the number one seed took on the number two seed, but it was never close once the puck dropped. Chris Doherty got things started for The Windmill, popping home a rebound to give The Mill an early 1-0 lead. Minutes later, Bill "Hawkeye" MacDougall set up Gavin "You Betcha" Faretra to put the Mill up by a pair. Travis "Gang Bang" Banga took over and scored three straight goals and the Breeze Boys could smell victory in the air.  MacDougall's late tally was the icing on the proverbial cake. Mark Crowley made 22 saves on the evening.
"It was a total team effort", said a humble Crowley of his record setting performance. "Our defense was solid. I give credit to Steve Arndt, Matt Famiglietti, Dennis Molnar, John Stallsmith and Nick Dominici for giving me so much support." Then he added, "I'd like to thank the Academy as well as Kurt Russell for his outstanding job playing Herb Brooks in Miracle.  I'd also like to give a special shout out to Louis Chabot for everything he taught me at hockey camp. He told me to never give up on my dream. This one is for you Louie!".
After the game, we spoke with Dave "Murph" Murphy the head of scouting  for the NAHL to find out what he thought of Crowley's chances to make the big league. "I like the way he handled himself out there. He was composed. He controlled his rebounds and didn 't seem to be rattled by Shane LeBreton's trash talking. Do I think he's ready for the NAHL? We'll see. We will give him a look and if's he's not ready, we'll give him another season to mature in the CCHL." Then we asked about Tom Carroll's chances. "Oh he is definitely ready. He could fit right into the starting line up even on a team like Blue or Green. He is definitely going to make an impact next season."
Stay connected to the Pucking Files all year round. Don't forget the upcoming NAHL banquet at The Gas Lighter and find out who takes home the hardware. On behalf of the NAHL and the CCHL, we would like to thank everyone to tell them to find something useful to do for the next six months.

Blue Smoke, Green Choke

Rebel Dean celebrates with Hipshake

 With the odds and the DECK stacked against them, Blue silenced their doubters by employing a smothering defensive system to shut down a potent Green attack and take home the NAHL Championship "Mobey Stick". It was Blue netminder Kenny "Rebel Without a Rebound" Dean who took home the first star of the game and given the "Mobey Faker Award" as playoff MVP.  "The Rebel was in the zone", said Joe "Joe" Farrelly, the wily veteran defenseman for Blue. "I think the nap that he took in game 6 helped him rest up for game 7", said Tom "Philby" Philbrick. "We just couldn't solve the Rebel's riddle tonight", said a dejected Mike "The Little Cum" Commerford. "It was my night! I coulda been a pretenda, but I'm a champion now.", Dean told reporters. Green started a formidable starting line up of Dave "Tilly" Tillotson centering Mike "The Little Cum" Commerford and Tom "TC" Carroll. They were backlined by Jim "Heathy" Heath and Jeff "Hurricane" Cain. Coach John "Stuffy" Stevenson countered with Mark "No Moe" Rudz centering Jim "The Big Cum" Commerford and Tom "Shemp" Champagne on wings and Dave "Motor" Carlson partnered with John "Bigfoot" Reagan on the backline. Blue held the dynamic five of Green to just two goals both of which were scored by Tillotson. The two goals gave "Tilly" fifty one for the season. Tom "Shemp" Champagne scored his fiftieth of the year which gave Blue a two goal lead right after Todd "Philby" Philbrick opened up the scoring for Blue. Dave "JP" Palisi gave Blue a three goal lead early in the second period and Blue seemed in complete control of the game. But, midway into the second period "Tilly" slashed "Rudz' stick in two which forced Rudz to go to the locker room to borrow another stick from "The Commish". It was then when "Tilly" got Green on the scoreboard firing a shot past Dean. Blue fans littered the ice with debris believing that Tillotson should have been penalized for the slash. Minutes later, the Blue faithful were lifted out of their seats as Tom "Philby" Philbrick scored to put Blue up 4-1. Green got back in game when Tom "Berg" Bergault scored to close the gap to just two goals. Blue answered as Dave "JP" Palisi scored his second of the game to put Blue up 5-2. Palisi earned second star of the game honors with two goals and an assist. Green, however, would not go away and with five minutes remaining Dave Tillotson scored HIS second goal of game when Blue failed to exit their zone with the puck. The goal gave new life to Green who pressured Dean. "Tilly" hit the goal post, but Dean kept focus and made a spectacular toe save on "The Little Cum". Green coach "Toe" Blake pulled goaltender Kenny "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradly in favor of an extra attacker, but Tom "Philby" Philbrick stole the puck and passed to brother Todd who shot into the vacated net and sealed the deal  for Blue. "It was a great win for us", said coach "Stuffy" Stevenson. "The Philbrick brothers played a huge role. That is why we made the deal at the trade deadline to get "Todd" back in our line up". Todd had been traded to Rust last summer, but when Rust realized they were not going to make the playoffs, they traded Philbrick back to Blue for two draft picks.  Todd and Tom "Philby" were both awarded third star of the game.

"JP", "Shemp", "Rudz"

"It was a complete team effort", said Dave "Motor" Carlson. "Everyone had a job to do and Green just couldn't find much room to operate out there".  Green fans were so confident that they would bring home the Mobey Stick that they scheduled a victory parade on Sunday. The parade will still go on however, so look for the Green crowd. Blue has scheduled their own victory celebration for today at 1 pm in front of the State House. Mayor Jim Boulay will be giving coach "Stuffy" the keys to the city. Downtown will be very crowded, so be sure to car pool.

Quill's Ministers of Defense

Last night in CCHL semi-final action, Buffalo Wild Wings defeated Cimo's 3-1. In this defensive struggle Chad Puzzo opened the scoring for B2W. Wings never looked back as Cam "Heathy Jr." Heath and Ian "2B or Not 2B" Hamlet each netted goals. Nate "Rainman" Raimo had Cimo's only goal. In game 2, The Windmill crushed Cheers 9-1. Chris Doherty, Bill "Hawkeye" MacDougall and "Gang Bang" Banga each had multi-goal games. Tim "The Timinator" Walsh scored Cheers lone goal. The finals will be Sunday night at 6 pm. at "The Doug".

The Doug; Hockey's Vatican

 An epic weekend at hockey's holy shrine concludes hockey's holiest week.  As the hours tick down for the 2012-2013 hockey season at "The Doug" hockey lore is being written in the ice. The NAHL and the CCHL seasons come to a conclusion. This Saturday at 1pm at Cheers, the CCHL Awards Banquet will take place. Awards will be handed out to individuals prior to Sunday's final at 6 pm. Fans are invited to the banquet and to witness the Hall of Fame induction of two key figures in CCHL history. That is saturday. Also on saturday, find out who won the storied rivalry of the NAHL between Green and Blue.
Pope Franciso called the rivalry, "a holy war on ice". Also find about the CCHL semi final results. That's SATURDAY on The Pucking Files.

CCHL: Wings Clinch 1rst; "Timinator" Scoring Champ

Buffalo Wild Wings wrap up the first overall spot in the CCHL with a thrilling 12- 11 OT victory over Cheers. Clint "The Edge" Edinger led B2W with four goals and Kevin Karales and Ed Caron added two each. Cheers was led by Tim "The Timinator" Walsh who had the hat trick. Walsh finished the regular season with 53 goals which made him tops in the CCHL. Corey "Cockroach" Laroche, Chris Robert and Corey Cotnoir all had multi goal games for Cheers.
The Windmill beat Cimo's in the final game of the regular schedule by a score of 9-6. The Mill clinched second place and will face 3rd place Cheers on friday night in the semi finals. Gavin "You Betcha" Faretra and Travis "Gang Bang" Banga each had hat tricks for The Mill. Chris Doherty had a pair. Cimo's got goals from six different players. Cimo's got exactly what they wanted for a playoff match up. They will face B2W on friday night at 7:30 at the Doug. Tickets are still available on Stub Hub and Ticket Masterbater.  Cimo's coach Mike Dingleberry said, "All the pressure is on Buffalo Wild Wings. They are expected to win and no one is picking  us. We are a very confident and relaxed bunch.  We have good reason to be; we finished 2 and 20. A couple lucky bounces go our way here and there and we might have finshed 20 and 2. What is the diffence? A zero in the wrong place? We like our chances".

CCHL Goal Scoring Leaders
1. Tim "The Timinator" Walsh       53 goals
2. Clint "The Edge" Edinger          46
3. Chris Acres                               43
4. Corey Laroche                           42
5. Travis Banga                              37
6. Ed Caron                                    35
7. Gavin Faretra                             34
8. Tom Carroll                               33
9. Kevin Karales                            32
10. Chris Robert                             27
11. Joel Arsenault                          24
12. Shayne LaBreton                     20
13. Bill MacDougall                       19
14. Alex Smith                               17
15. Nate Raimo                              17
16. Steven Stamkos                        17
17. Cam Heath                               16
18. Phil Lacasse                              14
19. Phil Esposito                             13
20. Boom Boom Geoffrion             12

Green Dominance in Game 6

It was a domineering performance from Team Green as they put the stranglehold on rival Blue last night at The Doug. Coach "Toe" Blake had his team ready and they came hard, scoring early and often.
The scoring came mainly from Green's starting line which was led by Dave "Tilly" Tillotson at center with Mike "The Little Cum" Commorford and Mark "No Moe" Rudz on the wings.  "The Little Cum" was the first player to reach and surpass the fifty goal and one hundred point mark this season. Blue had no answer for stopping the trio who racked up twelve goals. It looked like a "runaway train" after the first period with Green having a 5-1 lead, but Blue mounted a comeback in the second period which included a penalty shot goal by Dunc "Coach" Walsh after he was tackled by John "Bigfoot" Reagan. Reags is in contention for the Dick Butkus award. Blue clawed their way back into the contest on goals by Walsh, Carroll, Philbrick and Champagne. Green  held a slim 8-6 lead at the end of period two. The third period was all Green however, led by defenseman Jim "Heathy" Heath who ripped several pucks past beleaguered netminder Kenny "Don't Ya Feel Badly" Bradley. Green moved the pucked around with ease and Jeff "Hurricane" Cain joined the scoring party. It was 15-7 Green as the final buzzer mercifully put an end to the beat down. Blue could only hope for a miracle in game 7.  Green takes a commanding four games to two lead over Blue into game seven, but due to rule #1364 which sites a violation levied against team Green for unpaid back taxes, Blue has an improbable, but not impossible chance to force a game 8.  NAHL league officials have decided to handicap Team Green by five goals for game 7. If Team Blue can defeat Green by at least five goals, then a game eight will be played next October to determine the NAHL champion. It's a tall order to fill, but stranger things have happened in the NAHL. "This is why this is arguably  the greatest league in hockey", said Paul "Pop" Gozaweizle, the league's presiding president. Green fans are ecstatic because they get to see their beloved "Green Machine" one more time this season.

Green's Jim "Heathy" Heath on Wheaties

CCHL: Week 21
In the final week of the CCHL it was Cimo's who was looking to make the final playoff spot. They needed either a win or a loss by the Girl Scouts to get in. Cimo's faced first place Buffalo Wild Wings who they defeated twice this season. The Wings were not denied on this night however as they defeated Cimo's 6-3. For players and fans of Cimo's, they had to wait the outcome of the Girl Scouts vs. The Calfornia Golden Seals in Oakland. The Golden Seals managed to hang on to defeat The Girl Scouts 3-2. The victory assured Cimo's the final playoff spot. B2W was led by captain Clint"the Edge" Edinger who scored the hat trick. Edinger is second in CCHL scoring with 42 goals and an assist. Chris "Green" Acres is third with 42 goals.  Cimo's got goals from Tom "Badger" Carroll, Jake "The Iron" Curtain and Nate "Rain Man" Raimo. The playoff match up is favorable for Cimo's who has a knack for finding B2W's Achilles heal.
On tuesday second place Windmill  and third place Cheers battled yet one more time. It was Cheers who skated away with a 10-9 victory. The victory was a mute point as both teams knew they would be facing each other in the first round match up. Cheers brought up Marcel Marceau from the Mime Circus who Cheers signed to an entry level contract. Marceau was anything but silent. He scored four goals to go along with league leading scorer Tim "The Timinator" Walsh's three and Chris "Green" Acres two. Walsh is the first 50 goal scorer in the CCHL this season. He had two assists to go along with the fifty goals. He is the first player to register multiple assists in the CCHL this season.  For Windmill it was Dan "Aint" Arndt and Joel "The Arsenal" Arsenault each scoring a pair of goals.
It should be a dynamite match up at the Doug on friday night.

Greatest Game Ever? Game 8 Possibility

An exhausted "Dumpin" Chase about to exit the Doug. 

It may be that last night's game 5 between rivals Blue and Green may go down as the greatest hockey game ever played. With just seconds remaining in regulation George "Dumpin" Chase found himself alone in front with the puck on his tape. He waisted no time burying the biscuit to tie the score just as the buzzer sounded to end regulation. For Chase it was his ninth goal of the game. It was one of the most remarkable stories in hockey history. The game went into five overtimes period without a goal until Phil "The Whistle" Lacasse called the game at 3 a.m. League officials decided to go to a game 8 if necessary. It has only gone to a game 8 once and that was last season.

 George "Dumpin" Chase had missed the majority of the season with a sports hernia that was a result of a Dave "Motor" Carlson elbow in the season opener. Last night marked the return of Chase and what a memorable one it was. He scored nine goals and had an incredible fourteen assists and three fights. Dumpin Chase hats rained down from the stands three different times. He broke the record set by Red Adams back in 1938. "I can't explain it", said Chase, "when things go right, they just go right." "I guess I must have had my mojo working". "I only wish I could have scored one more in OT.  In just two games this season Chase has worked his way into the top ten scorers in the league. With multiple scorers last night, The Leebo and the Swoop Awards are almost anyone's for the taking.

Ivanna makes a good point (or two)!

Dumpin Chase received first star of the game honors while Kenny "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradley was named second star of the game for the eighty two saves he made in the OT periods alone. Greg "Moose" Moffet was named third star for his stellar play on the blue line. He was a plus seventeen for the game. He has also given himself a shot at winning "The Hugger" for league's best defenseman.
It was "Wet T-Shirt Night" at the Doug. Women showing up in wet-T shirts were given free admission to the game. The fans voted and the winner was announced. It was Ivana Getchuov of Russia who won by just two points in front of the runner-up.
NAHL Scoring Leaders
1. Big Cum          99 pts
2. Little Cum        99
3. TC                    99
4. Shemp              99
5. Tilly                 99
6. five players tied with 98 points.
11. twelve players tied with 97 points.

CCHL: Week Twenty
Monday night featured a game between first place Buffalo Wild Wings and second place The Windmill. The breeze was up and "The Mill" was churning as they defeated B2W by the score  9-7.
Chris Doherty and "You Betcha" Faretra had multi-goal games for Windmill. Travis "Gang Bang" Banga sealed the deal with an empty net tally with under a minute to go. Phil Lacasse and Cam Heath each had a pair of goals for B2W. Windmill netminder Mark Crowley had a gusty performance  playing with "flu-like symptoms".  He drank three bottles of Nyquil before the game. "I was definitely relaxed. I was just letting the puck hit me", he said after the game. "Rebounds?" "I don't remember any rebounds", he answered when asked about the multiple rebounds he littered the ice with.
On tuesday night Cheers defeated Cimo's 10-8. Led by captain Tim "The Timinator" Walsh who scored six goals (just three less than Chase), Cheers overcame a pesky Cimo's squad who is fighting for  that final playoff spot. The Girl Scouts had the night off. It was Tom "Badger" Carroll  who led Cimo's attack by registering a hat trick. Zac "Geisha" Guercia made a career high 38 saves for Cheers. "The Geisha" is finding his game at the right time of year", said Walsh of his young goaltender who has struggled at times this season.
CCHL Standings
1. B2W            28 pts
2. Windmill      26 pts
3. Cheers          24 pts
4. Cimo's           4 pts
5. Girl Scouts    4pts