TIED AFTER 2

The final series is everything we expected, the first game was a well played game by both with them taking advantage of a few mistakes in the second period and cruising to draw first blood in the finals. We prepared for game 2 knowing that a loss would be very devastating going down south to Allen down 2 games would be a tough task. A back a forth game needing us to score late with only 39 seconds left in the game to send it to OT. Dave Grimson has continued to shine throughout the playoffs in just his first full season of pro he's been great, we try not to tell him that though we just like to remind him that he's still classed as a "smelt" otherwise known as a rookie, a smelt is a small bait fish most commonly used in the feeding of dolphins. When searched the description of a smelt is long slender body with a big mouth, haha perfect description for a rookie. I'm kidding of course but we actually do call him a smelt,,,,well because he is. He earns his keep other than scoring huge goals for the team and playing awesome on the ice he is CEO of the smelts, leading the bus counts and the main squeegee operator in the shower room. Grimmer was also the hard hat recipient which was a no brainer. So we're off to Allen in a crucial 3 game set that obviously we need to win one down there to stay alive, but have our sights set a lot higher than that. Hopefully I see a few Rush fans down south for those who can't make it I will try and keep you as up to date as I can. Until then keep fit and have fun!!

HEADED TO THE 'SHIP!!!

There is nothing better than getting a chance to play in a game 7, well there is one this better and thats winning a game 7! When the Northern Conference Finals started a couple weeks ago we knew going in that Bossier would be a very tough opponent and they were extremely tough believe me. They played a great game on Tuesday to force a game 6 and when we had a meeting Wednesday morning we knew as a team we were going to win game 7. We played hard all year to earn that home ice advantage and it came into play Wednesday, fans you were amazing as usual and were a big part in helping us come out the way we did and get that first period lead to never look back. That was my 3rd game 7 ever played and the way we came out and played there aren't many teams that can beat, with the quick turn around the biggest challenge of all starts tomorrow against an Allen team that just like us has earned there way to the finals beating a very good Odessa club. I don't have much to tell you other than only 4 more wins, see everyone tomorrow!

Well were on our way home and traveling as a very happy hockey club right now, after a very dismal performance on Friday the boys bounced back with a great win tonight. I'm not going to touch on Friday because it will only make me mad. So I'll start with today, we went into the rink in the morning and cleared our heads joe had some video for us and we went over our mistakes and moved on, thats one of the most important parts of the playoffs is forgetting the bad and moving on. The guys came out flying tonight and so did they, it was a great first period that we ended in scoreless tie, the second was similar each team scoring a goal a piece. The third was ours, we knew win a period win a game and thats what we did, the whole team played a complete game which is fun to see and the d-core as a group played so stellar in the third. Dave Grimson has really stepped up and Gio bounced back with a great performance after missing game 4. Not much else to talk about today were just about an hour and a half into 23 hours and the internet on the bus isn't the best just wanted to drop a quick line and we'll see all you fans on Tuesday!!

pre game turmoil

It started out just another game day, hop on the bus and head to the rink for a morning game day skate, that all changed when Wezzy brought out a contract that had been written up between him and the Hansen's shootout team. Every pre game skate we finish with each player taking one break away against each goalie, with 4 players on each team, the team with the most total goals is owed a pre game meal by the other team. The Hansen team is made up of : Rich Hansen, Jon Pelle, Les Reaney, and Riley Weslewski. The Hodge team is made up of : Brendon Hodge, Jamie Vanderveeken, Derek Leblanc, and Dave Grimson.

But when Wezzy went down to injury Rich and Jon needed a replacement thats when they came to me, they had come to me before for a pre game skate when they were short, when I scored the crucial tying goal to save them from buying lunch I thought I was signed on for the long haul, but to my dismay I was quickly sent down off the team. So when the contract was scripted for my longer term signing to replace an injured Wezzy I knew something had to be made certain, I needed some sort of severance if they were to do that to me again. So my contract read as follows:

- If I were to score twice the team would provide juice for me after the skate if the team had won.

- I was only able to use the move to my backhand once in the shootout.

- I was allowed to chirp both Hansen and Pelle on any of there moves with no repercussions.

and the last one I was to make myself, so i took care of myself

- If I were to get sent down again the team would owe me 2 pre game meals as compensation.

After signed by all everyone was happy, except for Wezzy of course. So upon his return Wezzy brought a document that Hansen and Pelle never thought they'd see again, it was Wezzy's contract that went something like this:

- 1 cup of juice with 2 goals and a team win delivered to his stall with ice.

- No Waive clause. (that had been crossed out, but not initialed by any party therefor void)

- And a base salary of $0 give or take $10.

It was the no waive clause that had put Jon and Rich in a pickle, with the severance on my deal very costly, they needed to find an alternative, Wezzy threatening to sue for 2 meals if his contract was not honored, When Les offered to step down if only 1 of his meals be paid for that was the cheapest option for the Owner Hansen and GM Pelle. So that was it, Les was out Wezzy and I were in, seems funny letting go of a 90 point player for 2 d men but it had to me done. "With Fritsy's strong contracting skills and a flaw in Wezzy's contract we did what had to be done, and what we could afford at the time, we hate to see Les go but when he offered to leave we knew his heart wasn't in the right place for us to move on," explained by the team GM Jon Pelle. With the teams finally set the shoot out came, after the first round of players the score was tied 1-1 but the second round belonged to Hansen's team, with both players of controversy (Wezzy and I) scoring a goal a piece, Pelle scored the clincher to win 4-2, and was satisfied with there final decision. When asked what was going through his mind before he took that last shot Wezzy was heavy on the shoulders, "I was bearing a lot of pressure, after the fight I went though to get back on the team I knew I had to come through. Scoring what was eventually the GWG, the piano was off the back and it was nice to celebrate with the team again."

game 3 win

We're up 2 games to 1 now, with a huge game 3 win we've regained the home ice advantage, but with both, them and us being great road teams that really means nothing. Bossier being one of the best road teams in the league we know it's very important to win at least one more game while we're here, obviously 2 would be great but this series is a tough one and no time to get greedy. Wednesday's game was a great fast paced game the minutes flew by and both teams played great. They're call up goalie filling in because of injuries was standing on his head while Bats did his thing(when I say that, he was unreal but he's always unreal and we just know that he will be every night). An even game right till the end every time we scored they would respond not long after, again our PK struggled but we're starting to right the ship. Headed into OT I think both teams were a little fatigued from the hard fought 60 minutes and at 15:30 of the first OT after a very crucial penalty kill, our amateur call up Corey Larysen threw the puck on net from the point and a fortuitous bounce and the game winner. We had an optional practice today and spent some time walking around the outdoor mall near the hotel and went to the hot tub time machine and howled!!! One of the funniest movies I've seen since the hangover. Two thumbs up from me and everyone else that saw it. Time to rest up and get ready for game 4 tomorrow....remember keep fit and have fun!

hello everyone, we finally got this second round Northern Conference Final going this weekend with each team heading to Louisiana with 1 win. Game 1 was a very hard fought battle with each team taking some what of a beating which is what you'd expect when so much is on the line, after exchanging leads in the 3rd period and needing overtime for Reaney to burry his back to back OT winners. Scott Wray received the hard hat with an amazing 60 minute effort, "He's playing like a young 21 year old rookie, and he earned the honor tonight," said Cook the last winner of the hat and guy who handed it to Wray.

With less than a 20 hour roll over till game 2 it was a quick rest to get ready. We came out hard again and with several power plays were able to capitalize on the opportunity and take a 1-0 lead but they did the same scoring twice on the man advantage and had a 4-1 lead going into the 3rd. I think we let them get the best of us and get us off our game which can't happen and caused us to take penalties and our PK needs to be a lot better they've scored twice on it in each of the first 2 games. Down 3 we managed to crawl back to within 1 with 3 minutes to play but it was to little to late. All said and done we knew going in this was going to be a long battle of a series and thats exactly what it's shaping up to be, we know we've got a better game in us we just need to take it to the ice over the next 3 games in Boisser.

I leave you know just about to jump onto a 23 hour bus trip, i bet your all jealous. my biggest dilemma now is to pick out the right movies to get me through the trip.

First Annual Les Reaney Invitational

With just another day to kill on a Tuesday Les decided to host a dart tournament at his house consisting of 5 teams to be chosen from a hat. Teams were as follows:

Massholes - Hodge and Pelle

CHL All-Stars - Battochio and Reaney

Wet Gear - Fritshaw and Beaudry

Boner Soup - Campbell and King

Salty @#$ - Vanderveeken and Hanse

With a round robin style of format, it was a very intense few games with Salty @#$ finishing up in the basement with a 1 - 3 record that was not reflective of there play until the last game of the RR when Wet Gear dismantled them to win there 2nd in a row and clinch 3rd, and stay out of the play in game. Both Boner Soup and Wet Gear finished at 2 - 2 with Wet Gear winning the RR matchup to force BS to have to play Salty @#$ in the play in game to advance to the semi - finals. With the play in round underway, Salty @#$ jumped out to an early lead with the strong play of Vandy and never looked back.

"We knew going into this game it was do or die with the do resulting in a final 4 appearance, and once there we knew anything could happen," Rich's thoughts on the matchup.

Semi final #1 was a heated match early, Wet Gear played solid early but with the clutch throwing of a solid team game by CHL All-Stars they took the lead late and Wet Gear could not bounce back, with many chances to come back when the All-Stars struggled on the bullseye, it was inevitable that eventually the All-Stars would end them, and that they did. When asked about a great RR and run in the semi's Mig Beau was all in all happy with the tournament, "Fritsy and I battled and never gave up even when we were 0 - 2, we stayed optimistic and felt we had a great chance against the All-Stars but eventually fell apart and didn't have what it took."

Semi final #2 was just as dramatic as the heavy underdog Salty @#$ was up against the RR champion Massholes, with Pells and Hodgy just hitting there stride it looked like Vandy and Richy wouldn't stand a chance but the game went to the wire, with some screaming and name calling back and forth and odd times between teammates eventually the powerhouse team of the Mass. Educated tandem of Pells and Hodge advancing to the finals. Hodgy says after an early RR loss they took there bye to regroup and manage a game plan that works, " we had a chance to sit down and cool the jets to get ready to make a run at this thing and so far we've accomplished the goal that was set with the final goal being the championship. With the top seed and 2 games of the best of 3 final at our board we're very confident going to the final."

The stage is set, with home board advantage in the hands of Massholes, they shot first to jump out to an early lead but was caught in a hurry when Bottachio heated up and helped get Reaney to the bullseye where he quickly clinched game 1. After the first game upset CHL All-Stars were heading home and looking to close, and they definitely did just that, with another down to the bull overtime Battman did his thing after Massholes gave them plenty of chances, clinched the title in a 2 game sweep. When the confetti cleared i had a chance to talk with the MVP of the tournament Danny Bottachio, " I received the award but it was definitely a team win, i mean ya i made the most clutch shots of the tournament, including the championship winner, but Les contributed as well." Jon Pelle even with red tear filled eyes allowed me a chance to talk with him, " I have no regrets, both Hodgy and I did everything we could and never gave up. Its a chance we were hoping to capitalize on but only one team can win, and Danny did that, he played so well and was tough to beat all tournament, and I guess Les did alright too."

After a great day of darts the teams are exhausted and getting the rest, hope everyone has a great day, and remember keep fit and have fun.

Hello everyone sorry for the delay in blogs it's been a busy couple days of relaxing and enjoying some days off after we swept the first round on friday night. It was a back and forth game ending in a 7 - 6 final with the winning goal scored by Les Reaney just over 2 minutes into OT, it was a very exciting finish in front a packed Civic Centre. The boys couldn't get over how defining loud the arena was after we finished shaking hands and saluted undoubtable the best fans myself and the majority of our team has ever played in front of. Aside from the GWG I'm pretty sure the highlight of the series must have been the second goal on friday, an 800 mph slapper from yours truly. kidding of course! But not really.....

The real enjoyment came when Les scored in OT and they credited Jarvis for the goal and made him first star!!!! not only that but made a nice long announcement and intro before he made his skate onto the ice hahaha brilliant!!

The hard hat of the night was handed to Brenden Cook another Bemiji State winner which isn't a big surprise you can throw that helmet in the room blind folded and there's a great chance it's hitting someone from Bemiji. The big question will be what Cookie will write on the helmet, hopefully he'll learn from his alum teammate and write it out first with pencil then trace over it so he can erase any mistakes.

With an entire week off before we start the next round we'll be looking for some nice weather and a chance to get several rounds of golf in, i'll stay in touch i hope everyone has a great week.

Also I ask that you keep Missouri's player assistant coach Jeff Christian's daughter Ryan in your thoughts and prayers as we all hope for the best for Ryan and the Christian family in there battle.