Your humble statistician finally made it back down to Ambleside Park to enjoy some exciting VRH. A bright sunny day, though a bit nippy, welcomed everyone to West Vancouver as the session began with a full complement of eight players. Right from the get-go, a defensive battle emerged as the guys felt the effects of a late Saturday. Within the first ten minutes, the pace had begun to pick up, but the goaltenders, Bron and Joern, remained unsolvable. In a 45-minute slugfest, Ryan, Lorne, Bernie and Bron finally notched the duke 5-2 over Andrew, Stefan, Oliver and Joern. Bron was especially outstanding and would continue to be all session, while Joern also played his best session of the year. The next two games would both go 45 minutes as well; the shot totals that resulted were massive with over 140 shots between the two teams in the first three games. Ryan, Lorne, Bernie and Bron took the final two games of the series 5-2, 5-3 in games that were much closer than their scores. Stefan in particular unleashed a volley of shots against the stonewalling Czech Bron. The difference in the two teams was the ability to finish passes and shots in front of the net. With the return of Steve to VRH in Game 4, the teams were switched up, and the play changed dramatically. The last two games went quite quick, with Steve, Ryan, Oliver and Joern splitting the games against Andrew, Bernie, Lorne, Stefan and Bron 1-5 and 5-4, prompting a shootout. Naturally, Bernie had already removed his skates, leaving it up to Lorne and Stefan to carry the load themselves. Lorne was the only person to score in the entire two rounds, giving his team the series.

Despite some amazing shot totals, a great first series from Lorne and Ryan, and a healthy final series from Oliver, Steve and Ryan, Bron by far was the story of the day. The huge shot totals were a direct result of he and Joern doing damage in net. Bron ultimately emerged with the greatest goaltending performance in VRH history, stopping 135 of 150 shots for a save percentage of .900 even, the first such session ever in VRH. The quick pace of the final session hurt Joern a bit; his .790 was not reflective of the season-best performance he had in goal. Offensively, Lorne and Ryan led the way. Lorne notched 8G-10A-18P-47S to take first star while Ryno was right behind at 9G-8A-17P-57S. Oliver was the only other player in double digits at 3G-8A-11P-32S. Stefan, despite only notching nine points, led the way with a massive 62 shots on goal.

Season Stats: Stefan was a bit off today, but his scoring lead is still healthily intact at 41 points over Oliver. Oliver, Lorne and Ryan remain tight together in the battle for second, and all are about a session or two away from 100 points. Ryan ties Lorne for second in goals, and Bernie is one goal behind Sam for fifth. Stefan has lost one category; his lack of assists today means that Oliver now leads him 47-46, followed by Lorne in third and Ryan Bernie tied for fourth. Stefan easily passes 300 shots on the year, while Ryan and Lorne move over 200. Bron shoots into the season goaltending lead at .836, while Joern gets back to above .700. Joern also moves into second on the year in saves. Even in a goaltending-heavy session like this, there were no shutouts recorded. We are 46 games into the season with shutouts. Lorne gets back over three points-per-game for the season. Lorne passes Stefan for third in APG; Ryan is now level with Stefan for fourth. Stefan moves into second in shots-per-game. Joern moves into fifth in saves-per-game. Lorne’s ten assists tie for third-highest in a session this year. Stefan’s 62 shots on goal tie for third; Ryan’s 57 rank fifth. As mentioned above, Bron’s .900 today was the highest save percentage yet recorded in VRH. Joern’s .790 ranks him fifth-best in session this year. Bron’s 135 saves are also tops for the season.

On the all-time front: Oliver needs six goals for 500. Stefan is ten goals behind Seamus for fourth. Oliver passes 2,500 shots and is just 15 behind Lee for second all-time. Bron jumps up to fourth in all-tine save percentage. Joern passes Justin for fifth in games played. Stefan needs six points to become the first player to record 400 points in VRH. Oliver becomes the sixth player to score 100 points in VRH. Bron moves back into second all-time in saves-per-game. Stefan and Lorne’s ten-goal streaks end at three sessions each. Oliver reaches ten assists for the thirtieth time; no one else has more than twelve ten-assisters. Lorne has four consecutive 15-pointers; Stefan’s streak ends at three. Stefan has played 17 consecutive sessions; Joern 12, Oliver 10, and Lorne 7.

SDF/GDF: No real movement on the SDF with Lorne keeping a healthy lead. Bron, of course, sees a big jump in his lead on the GDF.

Check out those Records and Honours before you leave. VRH is now in full swing for the autumn.