It was an admittedly odd lineup of players today in Burton, with BUSH’s oldest (Lyle and Shem) playing some of Burton’s youngest (Dane, Mitch Detta and the debuting Mitch Zorn). Yes, Old School fans, it was BUSH’s own version of Mitchapalooza today. Throw in a battle for the Burton scoring lead between Lee and Kyle, and two happy-go-lucky goaltenders in Lyle and Joe, and a recipe for great hockey was made. Lee applied the Zamboni treatment to the McCormack rink, using a lawnmower to blow away the excess dust from the pavement in order to help save wheels. This was definitely needed by Kyle, who showed up with four wheels between two skates, slightly though not overtly affecting his ability to manoeuvre throughout the session. The clouds were ominous for much of the session, but Burton was spared from the torrent of wind and rain Mother Nature unleashed on Nakusp, and hockey was had. How defensive said hockey was is open for debate, but you can bet it was exciting.

The first series pitted Mitch Detta, Dane, Lee and Joe against Kyle, Shem, Mitch Zorn and Lyle. The flow was even, as were the number of chances, but the score definitely was not. Redemption came in two forms today. Dane quickly made up for his lacklustre debut with three goals and an assist in the first game, and Joe was rock solid with .924 as their team took the first fixture 5-1. Their opponents came back in the second game with a hard-fought 5-4 victory that featured an own goal by Dane as he deflected a Shem one-timer past Joe into his own goal. Game three would feature a wacky, but absolutely perfectly calculated, goal from Mitch Detta that he fired from behind the net with the intention of banking it in off Lyle; it worked, and it helped his crew win the game 5-4 and the series 5-4. The six forwards’ offensive totals from the first series were all nearly identical, and the goalies were alternating between mind-numbing brilliance and ‘How’d that one get in?’.

In series two, Lee, Mitch Detta, Shem and Lyle took on Joe, Mitch Zorn, Kyle and Dane. Kyle finally came alive here (as much as his skates would let him), making dozens of set-up attempts for Mitch Zorn while playing grinding defence. On the other side, the Lee-Detta-Shem combo clicked right away. While Shem’s skating still needs of work, his positional play and puck awareness is already excellent, and this was by far his best session on wheels. The two teams split the two games 5-4 for Team Joe and 5-3 for Team Lyle.

It looked like five fast-paced games were just too much, and Joe and Mitch Zorn decided to pack it in. Kyle’s wheels finally gave out, ending his day early-or did he? He immediately requested Joe’s goalie gear, and so a final 2-on-2 game was played pairing the clicking combo of Lee and Shem with the rookie goaltender Kyle against Lyle in goal flanked by Mitch Detta and Dane. Kyle stoned Detta and Dane point-blank on the first three shots. Meanwhile, Lee and Shem skated circles around their opponents and ended the game in less than five minutes, although not before Mitch Detta slipped one passed Kyle in order to deny him a shutout in his first goal appearance. Kyle was still eager to goaltend, but the rest of the gang was done.

Did I mention the trash talk? No one trash talks like Kyle Grenier, and he was at full mouth today. It was quite entertaining, especially when he went in net and notched three assists, making sure to rub it his opponents’ faces at every opportunity. Nevertheless, Lee took charge in the last two games, and emerged on top with 12 goals and 11 assists on 51 shots for 23 points. Kyle’s last game in goal netted him the three points necessary to take second star with 8G-10A. Mitch Detta was good all session and scored six goals and added nine helpers for third star. Shem had a career session, scoring eight goals on 21 shots en route to 14 points to tie him with Dane. Mitch Zorn was also solid in his debut with twelve points. In goal, Joe was outstanding, especially on rebounds. His great positioning led him to a mark of .824, erasing all memories of his debut back in April. Lyle was solid all day but the last game killed him, leaving him at .780. Kyle only faced four shots, but the three saves he made were fantastic.

Here are the game scores:
Mitch D. Dane Lee Joe def. Kyle Shem Mitch Z. Lyle 5-1 4-5 5-4
Lee Mitch D. Shem Lyle vs. Joe Mitch Z. Kyle Dane 4-5 5-3
Lee Shem Kyle def. Mitch D. Dane Lyle 5-1

Season Stats: Lee indeed takes back the scoring lead at 166 points; he may hold onto it for a while now. Kyle is five points back; Oliver and Stefan drop to third and fourth. Shem enters the top 15. Kyle needs two goals for 100; Mitch Detta ties Stefan for third in goals. Lee takes the lead in assists 79-77 over Oliver; Mitch Detta moves to fifth, and Shem goes from 13th to eighth. Lee is just eight shots behind Stefan for first. Lyle jumps up to sixth in total saves. Lee has played the most BUSH games at 50, which is sixth overall. Lee takes over the lead in three-star points at 85, with Kyle at 80, Stefan at 75 and Oliver at 70. Kyle just falls behind Pat for first in GPG, and just behind K.J for first in shots-per-game. Mitch Detta passes Troy for fifth in shots-per-game.

On the all-time front: Lee is 26 points behind Oliver for the all-time BUSH lead. Kyle becomes the 14th player to score 300 points and passes Joe Chwachka for 13th all-time in Burton Hockey scoring. Lee needs six assists for 500 and another four beyond that to tie Bernie for second all-time. Kyle passes Robert for 12th in assists; Mitch Detta passes Joe Chwachka for 15th. Lee needs 27 shots on goal for 3,000; he is 80 behind Lorne for first all-time. Lee is five games played behind Seamus for seventh all-time. Lee passes Lorne to become the all-time leader in three-star points; Kyle passes Joern for ninth. Kyle’s streak of ten-goal sessions ends at five, but he now has back-to-back ten-assist sessions for the second time. Lee is five 15-pointers behind Lorne for first all-time (48-43); Kyle ties Robert for eighth at eleven. Lee has eight of them in a row (three away from his own Burton record) while Kyle and Mitch Detta have six in a row each. Lee ties Stefan and Seamus for second in 20-pointers with 19 (four behind Lorne); he has two in a row. Kyle’s streak of 20-pointers ends at five, so he shares the Burton record with Dallas. Lyle has his sixth straight 80-save session (second-longest streak ever) and Joe has at least 80 saves in both career appearances. Lyle has back-to-back 90 save sessions. Mitch Detta has played five consecutive sessions for the first time.

SDF/GDF: Pat holds court on top for a second straight ranking, but Scott’s focus on goaltending recently has led to his plummeting down to 16th. Kyle moves up two to second place, and Stefan and Lee’s excellent weekend see them each rise five spots into the top five. Nathan remains on top of the GDF which stays comparatively stable.

Check out those Records and Honours on the links page before you leave. Stefan and Oliver are making their annual return home to BUSH this week; Tuesday seems like a lock for action. Join us then!