The NAHL Annual Yankee Swap

"Santa Heathy" prepares the Yankee Swap

The annual, fan favorite, NAHL Yankee Swap was held this past Thursday and as heated as a traditional Yankee Swap can be the conclusion to the evening was no different as Blue and Green played a hard hitting, see saw battle that ended at 9-9, with the puck on Mike "Little Cum" Commerford’s stick and no time left on the clock. Blue scorers were Andy "BTO" Bachman with the hat trick, Jim "Big Cum" Commerford, Mike "Little Cum" Commerford  and Dave "JP" Palisi with 2 each. Green scorers were Tom "Philby" Philbrick with 4, Todd "Philby" Philbrick with 2, Clint "Eastwood" Cassavaugh, Chris "Brownie" Brown and Dan "Lucky" Luker with 1 each.

In other NAHL action Clear put the Saran Wrap all over Copper for a 10-1 spanking and Mauve edged Magenta 5-4.

The NAHL is on Holiday break and will return to action on January 8, 2015.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Pucking Files.

Standings as of 12/19/14       Points

Copper 6-4-0                           12

Blue 5-3-2                                12

Magenta 5-5-0                          10

Mauve 5-5-0                             10

Green 3-5-2                                8

Clear 4-6-0                                 8

CCHL Heads To All Star Break

2012 CCHL All Star Captains E. Staal & N. Lidstrom

As the holiday season draws near so too does the showcase of the top talent in the CCHL with the 22nd annual All Star Game. Before we dive into details on what should be a dazzling display of speed and skill let's recap Week 10. On Monday Cimo's outlasted Cheers in a tight 6-4 battle to move Cimo's into an even 5-5 heading into the break. Cimo's was led by first half team leading scorer Ryan "Flyin" Williamson's hat trick which puts him at 20 goals at the halfway mark. The loss drops Cheers to 2-8 during a disappointing first half where they lost many close games and look to get healthy over the break. One bright spot has been the offense of Captain Tim "Timinator" Walsh who tallied his 23rd and 24th goals of the year in the loss.

Tuesday's tilt featured BWW and Windmill with BWW's pulling away with a 9-6 victory to move to 8-2 and a 3 game lead of first place. BWW's chose to rest many of their veterans before the break and give a few up and comers from the CCJHL a look in the show. The energy from the youngsters paid off as Jamie "The Corey's Brother" Cotnoir netted a hat trick and CCHL journeyman Scott "Detective" O'Donnell added a pair. The two Corey's also each added a pair of goals to move their season totals to 23 (Corey), and 13 (The Other Corey). For Windmill the loss drops them to 5-5 and into a tie with Cimo's in 2nd place, it was again their high powered first line doing the heavy lifting with Joel "Mendoza" Arsenault (hat trick), Mike "Tricky Dick" Richard (two) and Gavin "You Betcha" Faretra (one) accounting for all six 'Mill goals. All three of the high scoring trio are in the top six in scoring halfway through the year with Tricky Dick being the leader in the clubhouse with 28.

Which brings us to next week's All Star game being held in Detroit which I am sure you have heard if you are following the CCHL's Social Media Editor "You Betcha" Faretra. The Captains have been announced based on fan voting and this year's Captains of the Blue/White squads are the Mill's Joel "Mendoza" Arsenault and BWW's Jack "The Ripper" Mullen. Mendoza led all vote getters just eeking out The Ripper after his fast start and highly publicized comeback from his life of an Amateur Bartender. The Ripper meanwhile rode his momentum from a four goal game against the 'Mill in an 8-7 victory and subsequent after party photos which skyrocketed his popularity among fans. The 2014 fantasy draft is set to take place Friday Night at the HockeyTown Cafe in Detroit where many expect hometown hero and Red Wing super fan Gavin "You Betcha" Faretra to be the #1 overall pick.

Standings
1. BWW         8-2
2. Windmill    5-5
2. Cimo's       5-5
4. Cheers       2-8

Big Crowd…..Big Score

Green fans litter the ice twice for "The Younger Tilly"

The “Doug” was hopping last night in anticipation of the fan favorite Blue-Green matchup and the NAHL fans were not disappointed as 18 goals were scored during the game. Blue edged by Green 10-9. Blue jumped out to a quick lead scoring on the first shift of the game beating  Ken "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradley in the five hole. Blue pumped in four more five hole goals to take a 5-1 lead after the first period. Green chipped away at the Blue lead and the second period ended with Blue leading 7-6. Both team’s defenses tightened up in the third period and the game ended 10-9 Blue. Blue goalie Ken "Rebel without a Rebound" Dean was solid in the net, stealing goals from Green with his quick catching glove.  Blue goal scorers were Tom "Shemp" Champagne with 4, Mike "Little Cum" Commerford with 3, Dave "JP" Palisi with 2 and Ryan "Silky" Brandt with 1. For Green, Dave "The Younger Tilly" Tillotson had the double hat trick scoring 6 goals.

In other NAHL action Copper maintained their first place lead with a 5-2 win over Mauve and Magenta beat Clear 8-5.

Standings as of 12/12/14       Points

Copper 6-3-0                           12

Blue 5-3-1                                11

Magenta 5-4-0                          10

Mauve 4-5-0                              8

Green 3-5-1                               7

Clear 3-6-0                                6

BWW Hammers Cimo's, 'Mill Skates by Cheers

Corey "Corey" Laroche in the player of the game lounge.

With two weeks remaining before the all star break and voting still open there was plenty of wheelin and dealin going on at the Doug this week. In Monday's tilt BWW rolled by Cimo's by a score of 13-5 as Corey "Corey" Laroche potted a game high five goals to earn player of the game honors. Linemate Corey "The Other Corey" Cotnoir also potted a hat trick as he continues to make a case for a full time role as the first line left wing and has also made a late push for his first all star game appearance. Jack "The Ripper" Mullen and Dillon "Waldo" Emerson each potted a pair to help BWW pull away down the stretch. BWW forward Shayne LeBreton was a healthy scratch after making his return last week following a team suspension. BWW captain Travis "Gang Bang" Banga was not made available to the media for comment following the game. For Cimo's Ryan "Flyin" Williamson scored a pair of goals, but continues to struggle in his own end drawing the ire of head coach Pierre Blais. Cimo's was also down their starting goaltender Ryan "Homer" Simpson and their captain Mick "Mouns" Mounsey as their defensive game struggled to hold off the BWW offense.

Tuesday's game featured Windmill taking on Cheers with the 'Mill skating away with a 7-4 victory. Windmill was led by captain Gavin "You Betcha" Faretra's season high four goals as the 'Mill captain has started to catch fire in the past four weeks. For the first time all season 'Mill forward Mike "Tricky Dick" Richard was held to only one goal by the stingy Cheers defense. For Cheers it was captain Tim "Timinator" Walsh potting a pair of goals to lead the team for the ninth straight week to start the season. Cheers will need to win some low scoring games as the season progresses if they are unable to find some kind of secondary scoring for the Cheers captain.

With only one week remaining before the all star break teams will look to finish strong and carry some momentum into the break with valuable points on the line as the playoff race tightens. Fan voting for the all star game closes Wednesday Dec 17th at noon you can tweet your votes to @ConcordCCHL.

Standings

Team                                   W             L              T              PTS          GF         GA          GD
BWW                                    7              2              0              14             62           45           +17
Windmill                                 5              4              0               8              67           56           +11
Cimo’s                                   4              5              0               8              52           68           -16
Cheers                                   2              7              0               4              43           55           -12

      Scoring Leaders

Mike Richard	26	Windmill
Tim Walsh	21	Cheers
Corey Laroche	21	BWW
Gavin Faretra	17	Windmill
Ryan Williamson	15	Cimo's
Corey Cotnoir	11	BWW
Joel Arsenault	10	Windmill
Jack Mullen	9	BWW

Thursday Night Meltdown

Despite poor ice conditions at the “Doug” on Thursday night fans of the NAHL were highly entertained as Blue and Green skated to a 3-3 tie. Blue goalie Ken "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradley and Green goalie Ken "Rebel without a Rebound" Dean were on top of their games as they repeatedly made brilliant saves to keep the game tight. The teams were tied at 1-1 after one period, 2-2 after two periods and Blue tied the game at 3-3 on a perfect tic-tac-toe play by Brian "Hot Sauce" Saucier to Jim "The Younger* Farrelly and to Dan "Lucky" Luker for the tap in. After the game Blue Coach Tom "Thumb" Flanders questioned the “Doug” rink attendant about the ice quality and she explained “the Zamboni had been putting down too much water all night leaving the ice very wet”.

In other NAHL action; Mauve beat Clear 5-3 and Magenta defeated Copper 7-4.

Standings as of 12/05/14       Points Copper 5-3-0                           10 Blue 4-3-1                                  9 Magenta 4-4-0                           8       Mauve 4-4-0                              8 Green 3-4-1                               7 Clear 3-5-0                                6

Cheers and The 'Mill Narrow CCHL Standings

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NAHL Thanksgiving Day Classic

Postgame Celebration

Green took the “Drumstick” with a 12-9 win over Blue in the 25^th Annual Thanksgiving Day Shootout at the “Doug” on Thursday morning. Blue jumped out to an early lead with Tom "Philby" Philbrick, brother Todd "Philby" Philbrick and CCHL call-up Phil " The Whistle" LaCasse pumping in the goals to give Blue a 7-4 lead after two periods. Green stormed back in the third with two timely goals by Clint "Eastwood" Cassavaugh to tie the score at 9-9 with five minutes remaining in the game. Some solid defensive work by the CCHL tandem of Matt “Boots” Boudrias and Bill "Hawkeye" MacDougall and solid goaltending by Ken "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradley kept the Blue forwards off the board  for the rest of the game. Boudrias and MacDougall both scored late in the game to ensure Green’s victory. Todd "Philby" Philbrick took home the game MVP award for his play and his yearly presentation of spicy hot wings.

In other NAHL action; Mauve slipped by Magenta 6-5 and Clear stunned Copper 3-2.

Standings as of 11/27/14

Copper 5-2-0

Blue 4-3-0

Magenta 3-4-0

Mauve 3-4-0

Green 3-4-0

Clear 3-4-0