Going Green

The NAHL regular season got underway on Thursday Night as Blue played host to Green at The Doug. Green coach Tom "Painch" Painchaud had his team ready to play. Blue may have been a bit distracted by the banner raising that delayed the start of the game. Green played the perfect road game. Bolstered by defensive pairings of Joe "Joe" Farrelly, Jim "Heathy" Heath along with Kurt "Kaiser" Gillies and Ryan "Silky" Brandt, Green stymied Blue for three periods. Kenny "Don't You Love Em Madly" Bradley was not stellar on this night, but he was good when he had to be and he made key saves at key times. Green added some speed to the front end by inserting Ken "The Roadrunner" McKinnen into the line up. He pressured Blue defenders all game long and forced them to turn over the puck time after time. Mike "The Little Cum" Commerford started the scoring off for Green with a goal just three seconds into the game. It was the fourth fastest goal in NAHL history. Blue coach Tom "T" Flanders made some puzzling moves on this night. Dunc "Coach" Walsh, Clint "Eastwood" Casavaugh and Jeff "Hurricane" Kane were a healthy scratch on this night which left fans scratching their heads. Flanders employed a puzzling strategy in the third period by having his team ice the puck all period even though they were down by three goals. "I was hoping to preserve the three goal loss", said Flanders. "Unfortunately, the plan backfired and we lost by four", he added. Blue also used the dump and watch strategy for much of the game. "Anytime we got an odd man rush we were told to dump it in and watch what happens", said Dan "Too Late" Early. What Blue watched was Jim "Heathy" Heath and Ryan "Silky" Brandt retrieving the puck and carrying it down the ice to set up scoring opportunities for Green all night long. The only bright note for Blue was the return of Jim "The Big Cum" Commerford who returned ahead of schedule from the horrific thumb injury he sustained during a pre-season game. Commerford was released from Concord Hospital just hours before the game. He played very well which is good news for Blue fans. In other action in the NAHL that night, Chrome smoked Chartreuse 8 to 1 and Teal pulled out a victory against Rust in the final minute of the game. Green coach Painchaud said, "I expect that Blue will be there come playoff time. This is a proud franchise and they will find a way to right their ship".

The Big "Thumb"?

The NAHL pre-season ended on an ugly note as Green's Jim "The Big Cum" Commerford was rushed to the ER with a broken thumb sustained in the third period. It's just another chapter in the storied rivalry of Blue and Green. The two teams can't even take it easy in the pre-season. "We just don't like those guys", said Joe "Joe" Farrelly. Farrelly gave Green rookie Mike Pauquette a rough ride into the boards early in the third period. Welcome to the "Bigs" young fella! The game started getting chippy from that point on. "We were flat and that hit kind of sparked us", said Blue winger Clint "Eastwood" Cassavaugh. Minutes after Farrelly's thunderous check , Cassavaugh took Green defenseman Jeff "Hurricane" Cain hard into the corner boards. The two got their sticks up high and referee Phil "The Whistle" Lacasse gave them ten apiece. "I had to nip it in the bud before it got out of hand", said Lacasse. "These two teams do not like each other and it could get ugly real fast", he added. Moments later, "The Big Cum" was curled up in a ball on the ice. No one saw the slash, but most people assumed it was Dave "Tilly" Tillotson who was not dressed for the game. "It is quite possible that Tilly had his brother Brian whack Commerford", said Green defenseman Jim "Heathy" Heath. There is a long standing feud between the Commerford brothers and the Tillotson brothers that goes back to the 2008 playoffs. Green held off a late surge by Blue thanks to stellar goaltending by Kenny "Rebel Without a Rebound" Dean. The NAHL will start the regular season on October 22nd. There is a couple big games to circle on your calendar for that night. Magenta takes on Chrome, Teal hosts Chartreuse, but the one game everyone is waiting to see is Blue hosting Green at "The Doug". It is unlikely that "The Big Cum" will be ready for that game. He is not expected to be released from Concord Hospital until next Tuesday. It should be another great season in the NAHL!