Can Blue Be Stopped? Will Walsh be Traded?

Dunc "Coach" Walsh skating the river.

The NAHL faithful were out in full force Thursday night at “The Doug” anticipating a tight game between Blue and Green after they traded blowouts in their first two meetings of the young 2014-15 season.  Blue fans were delighted as Blue came out flying from the opening faceoff.  Dave “JP” Palisi scored 3 quick goals from the Green blue line to put Blue in the lead and they never looked back. Ken “Don’t Ya Love Em Madly” Bradley kept the Green shooters at bay making some acrobatic saves on several shots from inside the hashmarks. Green’s forwards were frustrated for most of two periods before Brian “The Older Tilly” Tillotson broke Bradley’s shutout bid late in the second period. The final score was Blue 10 Green 2. George “Dumpin “ Chase led a very strong Blue defense to a very easy victory and Jim “Big Cum” Commerford was very strong offensively for Blue. Green coach Tom “Painch” Painchaud was overheard mumbling “Green cannot continue to play inconsistent hockey and expect to compete for the NAHL championship” on his way to the locker room. One interesting note was the healthy scratch of Blue forward Duncan "Coach" Walsh whose name has been at the forefront of trade speculation after a slow start to the season. We will continue to monitor this developing situation throughout the season.

In other NAHL action Copper maintains first place with an 8-3 victory over Mauve and Magenta defeated Clear 7-4.

The 'Mill Backs Up Faretra's Guarantee, BWW Still Perfect

"You Betcha" Faretra making his guarantee.

A week ago, following their 2nd straight loss and still searching for their first win of the CCHL season; an animated 'Mill Captain "Gavin "You Betcha" Faretra met with the media and guaranteed a win the following week against Cheers. Fast forward to this week and that is exactly what he and the 'Mill delivered as they defeated Cheers 6-4. One 'Mill forward in particular seemed to rally behind his captain and that was Joel "Mendoza" Arsenault, who struggled for much of last season and the start of this year. "Mendoza" led the 'Mill with his first hat trick since the 2012 NHL Lockout and seems to have found a home on the pesky Windmill 2nd line. CCHL Leading scorer Mike "Tricky Dick" Richard continued his dominance with his third straight multi-goal performance to start the season and "You Betcha" Faretra himself also added a tally to go with 7 assists moving him into a tie with BWW Captain Travis "Gang Bang" Banga for first place. Tim "Timinator" Walsh led the way for Cheers with a hat trick as their goal scoring struggles continued without last year's leading scorer Corey "Cockroach" Laroche. What may be more concerning for Cheers is the injury bug seems to have bit them as they were missing 3 defenseman to start the game and lost a forward midway through the game with a concussion. Team Physician and recent NH Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Steve "Murph" Murphy will have his hands full getting Cheers back to full strength.

The "other" matchup in the CCHL this week saw BWW and Cimo's go toe to toe with BWW pulling away late for a 7-3 victory. The win moves BWW to a perfect 3-0 on the young season and drops Cimo's into a three-way tie for second with Cheers and Windmill. "The Cockroach" led the way for BWW with his second four goal performance of the season, rebounding nicely from last week's emotional matchup against Cheers. "Gang Bang" Banga, Jack "The Ripper" Mullen and Alex "Smitty" Smith also scored in Smitty's farewell game in the CCHL after being called up to play for the Austin Spitroasters of the Southern Belle Hockey League (SBHL). Tom "Badger" Carroll led the way for Cimo's with a pair of goals and Ryan "Flyin" Williamson scored one as whispers of a sophomore slump have begun for the young forward. The Pucking Files would like to wish the best of luck to "Smitty" during his time as a Spitroaster.

Green Downs Blue, Copper in 1st Place

A dejected Blue squad reacts to another Green goal.

“The Doug” was hopping last night for the second game of the season between Blue and Green. Even after last week’s shellacking by Blue the rink was SRO. Green fans were in abundance and were looking for revenge! Last week Green coach Tom “Painch” Painchaud said there would be changes to his squad and he was true to his word. “Painch” brought in Rich “Doc” Rosato and the Doc put his gifted surgical hands to good use potting 4 goals. “Painch” rode Mike “Little Com” Commerford hard during practice this week and “Little Com” responded with 4 goals on the night. Green cruised to a 10-5 win to even their record to 1-1-0 on the young season. Jim “Taz” Heath was stellar in leading the strong Green defense. “Taz” stated after the game “50 is the new 37” in describing his play. Ken  “Don’t Ya Love Em Madly” Bradley was solid in goal for Green. Blue coach Tom “Thumb” Flanders brought Ken “Captain” McKinnon up from the Florida league for the game and the seasoned “Captain” came through for his coach with a Hatrick.  Tom “Duster” Dustin added a pair of goals.

In other NAHL action, Clear got its first win of the season 5-4 over Mauve and Copper moved to first place with a 5-1 win over Magenta.

Cimo's and BWW Roll as Windmill Reels

Week 2 is in the books for the CCHL where fans were treated to an OT thriller Monday with Cimo's earning their first victory of the season over a struggling Windmill squad who remains winless. Cimo's forward Chris "The Hobbit" Robert potted his second of the night two minutes into the extra session to give Cimo's their first win since last year's final. Showing off the same resolve that won them the CCHL's ultimate prize last March, Cimo's stormed back late to tie the game. Then, with the 'Mill seemingly unable to regain their focus after what looked to be an easy victory, Robert struck and sent the Cimo's crowd into a frenzy. Along with Robert's pair of tallies, Cam "Bam" Heath added two and Tom "Badger" Carroll, "Flyin" Ryan Williamson and Ian "Hambone" Hamlet each added one. For the 'Mill the lone bright spot of the night was Mike "Tricky Dick" Richard's season high five goal night. Following the game however, 'Mill Captain Gavin "You Betcha" Faretra made it clear his team would not go quietly into the night and guaranteed a win next Tuesday over Cheers!

Game number two pitted a couple unbeaten teams with Cheers and BWW facing off and they did not disappoint. Ultimately it was BWW who prevailed by a 5-3 score with Cheers pressing to tie the game until the final whistle. Captain Travis "Gang Bang" Banga and Bill "Hawkeye" MacDougall led way for BWW as Hall-of-Famer Shayne "Steel" LeBreton added one. The story-line of the evening coming into the night was how newly acquired BWW forward Corey "Cockroach" Laroche would fair facing off against his former team of three seasons and the only team he'd ever know in the CCHL prior to this off-season's controversial trade to BWW. Although he was held off the scoresheet many of the Cheers faithful were spotted in the packed crowd wearing his former #9 Cheers sweater. Former linemate and Cheers Captain was quoted when asked about what kind of impact the loss of the "Cockroach" might have on this upcoming season with, "I like the guys we have in our room right now. I'm not going to comment on who is or isn't here anymore, my priority right now is those other 11 guys in that room and trying to win games. We have a lot of young talent in there, Matt Nadeau hasn't lost a faceoff since Bantam A's in 2001, why don't you guys ever talk about that? Are we done here?" Time will tell whether the loss of the Cockroach will be Cheers undoing or if they will rally together to overcome adversity.

Out of Town Scores:

Milley's Tavern 6 Strange Brew Tavern 2
Murphy's Taproom 11 J.W. Hills 6

NAHL Back in Action!

The much anticipated rematch from last season's game 7 between defending champion Green and runner up Blue turned out to be a big dud! The Doug was filled to capacity early with the place buzzing with anticipation for the title rematch and Blue fans were not disappointed as Blue scored early and often. The final score showed Blue 13, Green 4 although it felt much more lopsided. Blue started the scoring on the second shift of the game on a scrum in front of Green goalie Ken "Rebel Without a Rebound" Dean and Blue never looked back. Brian Tillotson fired a blistering slapshot from the point on the next shift and it was off the races for the talented Blue team. It was obvious to everyone in attendance, including Green, that Blue coach Tom "Thumb" Flanders had his squad in top condition for the beginning of the season. Other blue highlights; Tom "TC" Carroll popped 4 roofers, Tom "Philby" Philbrick scored a pair and Jim "The Younger" Farrelly scored his first and second goals in the his NAHL debut. For Green, Andy "BTO" Bachman had the hat trick. By the third period the Doug was completely empty. Exiting spectators were overheard saying they were going to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch NBA preseason! The very emotional Green coach  Tom "Painch" Painchaud likened the Green squad to a bunch of Peewees! "There will be changes to Green!" Painchaud stated.

In other NAHL action Magenta snuck past Mauve and Copper defeated Clear 6-2.

CCHL Drops the Puck!

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