An old-school barnburner took place Sunday night in Burton as some old friends rejoined the fray:

One of the best sessions of the year, possibly the best. Brodie, Dallas, and Anthony were added to the mix and rounded out the numbers perfectly. 3 on 3 with 2 great goaltenders, and a sub for each team. 1 sub keeping the stats and another working the clock. The institution of the 2 minute substitution method worked perfectly, and regular breaks and fresh blood off the bench helped sustain the frantic pace. I've never seen so much sweat and dirt on the stats sheets. So, without further ado, the session.

Series 1: Anthony KJ Lee Graeme Justin vs. Seamus Dallas Mitch Oli Brodie
Game 1: 5-0 Team Seamus
Game 2: 5-0 Team Seamus
Seamus and Dallas waste no time getting it done. Dallas second goal is a brilliant spin-around one hander, leaving no doubt it won't be a repeat of his last session. Justin starts a little shaky, and at the other end Brodie starts his 2006 season is style. Team Anthony just cant get enough on net, as KJ and Anthony have a combined 4 shots in the series.

Series 2: Lee Seamus KJ Oli Brodie vs. Dallas Anthony Mitch Graeme Justin
Game 1: 5-3 Team Seamus
Game 2: 5-1 Team Seamus
Lee gets going, scoring 5 goals and adding 3 assists in the series. Justin also gets back on track making some truly spectacular saves and facing a high volume of shots.

Series 3: Dallas Lee Mitch Graeme Brodie vs. Seamus KJ Anthony Oli Justin
Game 1: 5-2 Team Dallas
Game 2: 5-3 Team Seamus
Game 3: 5-2 Team Seamus
Game 4: 5-4 Team Dallas
Game 5: 5-4 Team Dallas
A five game war. One where no matter how tired you were the absolute last place you wanted to be was on the bench. Justin made the save of the game when, after stopping Graeme's point blank shot off the rush, Dallas picked up the rebound and fed it across the slot to Lee who one-timed it top corner opposite side, and Justin, diving across the crease kicks his back leg up to make the save. Unbelievable. The O'Connors lit it up, especially Seamus, leading the series with 9 goals, including decisive back to backs to clinch Game 3. KJ was also on fire, totaling 6 goals and 7 assists. Going into game 4, Team Dallas found themselves in a 4-1 hole and facing elimination. With Brodie buying them the time, Lee and Dallas alternated goals and Mitch buried the winner to force the critical game 5. Again Team Dallas goes down 4-1 before coming back to tie it up 4-4 and send it to overtime. After 5 or 6 minutes of frantic play and the subs yelling get back on defense Graeme found Lee in the slot who buried the winner to seal a great series and great session of hockey.

Thanks, Lee! After lots of short sessions over the summer, Labour Day weekend was capped with a classic. While the per-game stats were down, it really didn't matter. This was one of the more exciting sessions we've had in a long time, with high-caliber play in every department. Dallas returned to his usual place on top of the scoresheet with 16G-8A, followed by Lee at 12G-9A and the O'Connors each with 10G-9A. Oliver contributed a massive 11A. Brodie was excellent in goals with .818 and two shutouts. Justin was off just a bit at .751.

Useless Stats: Every session now is uncharted territory for Burton Hockey scoring, as Lee plows ahead on the march to 400 points in 2006, now standing at 348 (by comparison, the next closest on the list is Seamus at 255, sixth all-time). Oliver needs one point for 200. Lee has also taken out the last of Lorne's single-season records from 2000 with his 213th goal (Seamus' 142 rank fourth all-time for a single year). Graeme needs eight goals for 100. K.J. records his second 100-point effort and jumps from ninth to sixth in season scoring. Mitch reaches the 100-point mark in his rookie season. It will still be a while before Lee challenges Oliver's single-season assist record of 177 (Lee currently sits third all-time at 135). Justin drops to sixth in goaltending. Dallas' 26 points rank fifth-highest this season, as do his 16 goals. Dallas shoots up to second on the SDF, but Lee continues to reign for a ninth straight session. Nathan spends a fifth consecutive session on top of the GDF as Brodie debuts fourth.

On the all-time front: Oliver needs 18 points for 1,100. Lee becomes the third player to surpass 900 points. Seamus needs eleven points to reach 800. Justin ties Bernie for fifth in all-time points. Dallas needs three points for 200. Seamus passes Oliver for third in all-time goals. K.J. passes Stefan and Bernie for sixth in all-time goals. Dallas passes 100 goals. Lee needs four assists for 400 and another four to tie Bernie for second. Seamus is one assist behind Lorne for fourth. Lee is 64 shots behind Lorne for first all-time. Brodie's career save percentage goes above .800. Justin needs 66 saves to pass Joern for fourth. Justin passes Lorne for fourth in games played; Seamus is seven games behind Lorne. Lee ties Joern for seventh in games played. Brodie is tied for fifth in career shutouts. Dallas falls to fifth in APG. Brodie records his fourth-straight 90-save session. Seamus records his 20th ten-goal session, third all-time. Lee plays his 22nd straight session, Seamus his 14th, Graeme his 12th, and Justin his 11th. Check out the Records and Honours page before you go.