Lorne brings us the first joint VRH/BUSH session of Burton hockey.

After Lee mentioned that they were coming down for the NIN concert, it was discussed (via Glasnost), and the first joint VRH and BUSH session was to be held. The regular VRH crowd started playing and got in 3 games before the Nakuspians got to the Ambleside rink. The regulars had to wait for a group of guys playing soccer on the rink which would also end our session early later on.
This week�s session saw a new addition to the VRH roster with Jerod�s buddy Isaac. Joern was able to sneak away from visiting guests and play a few games as well. The first series was Isaac, Lorne, Bernie with Laird in net, against Joern, Doug, Jerod and Tony in net. Tony started out shaky as the first two games went 5-2 and 5-1 respectively, but as the session wore on Tony found his zone and was able to raise his SV% from .583 in the first game to .705 in game 3 (and later to .944 in Game 6). Although it was a series sweep the third game saw a lot more even competition as the game was tied 3-3 for quite a while before Lorne scored two quick goals to clinch the game.
Enter Lee and Seamus (exit Joern). The second series was Lorne, Seamus, Isaac, and Laird (in net) versus Jerod, Doug, Lee, Bernie with Tony in net. The first game went right down to the wire and ended 5-4 for Seamus� team. After the departure of Doug (had to head home as I think the girlfriend was getting bored), Jerod�s team had some trouble finding a rhythm and went down 5-2. However they regained their composer and won the final game 5-1.
With the numbers we had, it made for a very good and fun session.
More games probably would have been played but as mentioned above, we were over-taken by an Iranian-soccer match that wanted to use the box. Next week the session may be held at a new location (barring inspection of course) so hopefully we can avoid the soccer players.

Thanks, Lorne! That last paragraph didn�t sound racist at all! (I know that�s not what you meant, lighten up!) Lorne has lots to be proud of with VRH�s highest scoring session by far at 23 points, including 15 goals. Just as impressive is Bernie, putting up his biggest totals in years with 16 points and second star. Jerod comes in third at fourteen. Of the part-time contingent today, Lee had a pretty decent session with nine points in three games.

Useless Stats: Seamus increases his lead over Dallas to 135-117 in the season scoring race while Lee moves up to fourth and Lorne is just two points behind K.J. for fifth and Jerod moves to ninth. Lorne rockets up to fourth in goals. Lee moves to third in assists, while Lorne ties K.J. for sixth. Lorne ties Oliver for fifth in assists. Seamus moves into first in shots while Lee is now tied for third with K.J. and Lorne is now tied for fifth with Justin. Lorne jumps up to third in shooting percentage. Tony jumps up to fifth in season saves. Seamus and Laird move into second in games played behind Oliver. Tony is second in saves-per-game. Lorne�s 15 session goals is fifth this season while Laird�s .828 is fourth. Isaac�s 13 points is the top rookie performance this year. Lorne moves into the lead in three-star points. On the all-time front, Lorne moves to within eight points of Oliver for the all-time scoring lead, while Bernie is just one point behind Lee for fourth all-time. Jerod becomes the 20th player in history to reach 100 career points; he�s tied for 19th with Kyle. Seamus, Stefan and Bernie continue to be clustered around fifth in all-time shots. Laird moves into fifth in all-time save percentage at an even .800; he needs 25 saves for 3,000. Bernie needs five games for 500 while Laird becomes the third to pass 400. He also becomes the first goalie to play 200 games and moves to fourth in saves-per-game. Bernie finally nets his first ten-assist session in six seasons. Isaac also racks up 10A in his first Burton session, tying Travis�s rookie record for assists. As a joint session, this officially ends Oliver�s consecutive session streak at 19. Seamus and Bernie increase their streaks to six. On the SDF, Lorne holds fort on top for a second session while Jerod drops to fourth, and Seamus moves up to fifth. Over on the GDF, brother Laird is also still on top. Don�t forget those Records and Honours, and let�s hope for more hockey next weekend (it�d be nice if BUSH could organize a session for once).