It speaks volumes about the state of VRH these days that, in spite of the fact that 3 of the original (and most reliable) members were unable to attend this weekend, we still managed to get a session going, and not just an ordinary session but a 9 game monster. The VIHL crew (Ryno, Rob, Pat, Scott etc.), who have now become the new regulars stepped up to the plate and made this session possible.

While waiting for a couple of players to arrive, it was decided to start with a 2 on 2 half court game. Though stats were kept for this game, it was adjourned in the middle (2-1 score) as the others had arrived by this time and we were ready for a full game. So the stats for this game were ultimately discarded.

The day started off with a challenge from Ryno that saw him and Lorne with Bron in net take on Pat Bernie, Scott (in goal) and our newest member, Tony Hajdu. As Bernie was pretty shaky on his feet initially, getting used to his new roller blades, it was decided to allow Scott's team to have 3 skaters on. The first game was relatively even in terms of play, but Pat more or less took matters into his own hands, with a hat trick and 5 points, for the 5-3 victory. With Bernie getting into the action a little more in the second game, the crisp 3 way passing plays between him, Tony and Pat were just too much for team Bron to handle; this one ended quickly in a 5-1 route. For the next game it was decided to move Bernie onto the other team, but suffice it to say this didn't help much as Tony was really able to find his legs for this one and as usual Pat skated circles around team Bron with another 5 point game and 5-1 victory.

For the fourth game we were able to get a full 3 on 3 game going as Rob had finally arrived. The team of Pat-Bernie-Rob-Bron won the series quickly and handily 5-1 & 5-1, over Lorne-Ryno-Tony-Scott. For the next series we decided to go back to the good old sticks in the middle which resulted in very similar teams just with Lorne switched for Rob and the goalies were switched as well. This resulted in games that were a little more even and also a little slower and more defensive, but the end result didn't change much with Pat's team winning the series in 2 games. As these were the most even teams we had yet, we decided to play one more game with the same teams; Tony's impressive hat trick and 4 point performance made this one very close but in the end team Tony-Ryno-Rob-Bron couldn't eek out a victory losing in sudden death overtime.

With Ryno done for the day, the final game was a 3 on 2 game again, with Pat-Lone-Scott taking on the perpetual power play team of Tony-Rob-Bernie-Bron. At first it appeared that the Pat factor would be too much for a tired team Bron to handle, with him skating circles around them and setting up the sniper Lorne, for 3 quick goals. However, team Bron dug deep and began to find their game and rallied from a 3 goal defect to win in sudden death overtime.

All in all this session was a little more open and offensive with a few more breaks and odd man rushes than is evident in the usually very tight checking VRH style of play; perhaps this had something to do with the lack of Kloppster’s constant grinding and Ollywood's constant defensive presence, but who's to say? It also featured some exceptionally nice cross crease passing plays that resulted in tap in type goals where the goaltenders had very little chance. Suffice it to say that the goaltending statistics in the session don't exactly reflect the way they played or their ability in general. The slightly faster paced games though, especially a few early ones that ended very quickly, allowed us to get in an impressive 9 games in under 4 hours of play. If there's one thing this session proved, however (aside from Pat's complete dominance of course), it's that VRH is the real deal and is here to stay!

Thanks, Bernie, for all of the great information on what might be the single most one-sided domination of a session by one player in history. Pat equals the all-time session scoring record with 24G-16A-40P on just 56 shots (the first three figures all season highs by anyone, obviously). No one was even near him. The closest was Tony in an impressive debut, scoring 14G-10A-24P on 47 shots, one of the best rookie sessions ever. Lorne picked up third with 8G-10A. Had he not missed the first three games, Rob would have challenged his brother for second star; instead, he scored 17 points in just six games. Bernie should also be commended for having his best session of the year. The goaltending statistics, however, may induce permanent psychological trauma on VRH’s resident goaltending ace. Bron only stopped 74 shots in the nine games and registered a disastrous save percentage by his standard, .673. Scott eked out the victory in net for the day with a paltry .701.

Here are the game scores:
Scott Pat Tony Bernie def. Lorne Ryan Bron 5-3 5-1
Pat Tony Scott def. Lorne Ryan Bernie Bron 5-1
Pat Bernie Rob Bron def. Lorne Ryan Tony Scott 5-1 5-1
Pat Lorne Bernie Scott def. Rob Ryan Tony Bron 5-2 5-3 5-4
Tony Rob Bernie def. Pat Lorne Scott 5-4

Season Stats: Pat becomes the seventh player to score 100 points this season and passes K.J. for sixth in points. Lorne becomes the eighth player to score 100 points. Rob jumps to ninth ahead of Ryan and Ben. Pat jumps up to fifth in goals and passes Lorne for the season lead in shooting percentage. Bron falls from fifth to seventh in save percentage behind Lyle and Laird. Bernie and Lorne pass Lee and Mitch D. for third and fourth in games played. Pat ties K.J. for fifth in three-star points. Pat passes Kyle for the lead in PPG and GPG; as well, he moves to fourth in APG. Lorne falls to fifth in GPG. Pat falls to third in shots-per-game. Pat records season highs in session goals, assists, and, naturally, points.

On the all-time front: Bernie becomes the sixth player in Burton history to score 900 points and is one point behind Seamus for fifth. Rob needs six points for 100. Pat is already seventh in all-time VRH scoring. Lorne needs 15 goals for 800. Bernier is five goals behind K.J. for seventh. Bernie passes Lee for second in assists. Lorne is 50 shots ahead of Lee for first all-time; Bernie is four shots behind Justin for sixth. Pat passes Robert and Joe Chwachka for the lead in all-time shooting percentage at 29.78%. Bron falls behind Pat Strachan and out of the top-five in save percentage. Lorne is ten three-star point behind Lee for first all-time. Pat moves ahead of Robert for first in PPG and passes Kyle for fifth in APG. He does falls behind Dallas to second in shots-per-game, however. Just from that one session, Bron falls from second to sixth in saves-per-game behind Seamus. Pat ties Robert’s session scoring record while taking one fewer game to do it (Robert’s 36 points in 8 games remains a higher PPG for a multi-series session record, 4.50 to Pat’s 4.44). Pat’s 24 goals tie for fifth all-time. He wasn’t the only setting high marks today. Tony’s 24 points tie Jerod Warren for second-best all-time by a rookie; his 14 goals tie Brandon for fifth-best by a rookie, and his ten assists tie for second by a rookie. Bron’s 776 saves this year already put him with the fifth-highest total seen in a season. Pat has three-straight ten-goal sessions and three straight 15-goal sessions. He joins Joe, Lorne, Stefan and Robert as players to have multiple 20-goal sessions. Tony records his first ten-goal, ten-assist, and 20-point session. Rob has his first ten-assister. Pat has his fifth straight 15-pointer (every session he’s played, in other words). He has three straight 20-pointers. He joins Lorne, Robert, Stefan and Dallas as the only players with multiple 30-pointers. Bernie has played six consecutive sessions; Lorne five.

SDF/GDF: These rankings will be updated with the conclusion of tonight’s BUSH session.

Check out those Records and Honours on the links page before you leave. BUSH will be playing Sunday night; join us then for the results.