Today’s session teetered on the edge of not happening but was finally pulled together in the last moments by a can-do attitude shown by Bernie. Early morning rain had most members doubting we would actually play today, but by 11am it appeared that the rain had all but stopped and the pavement was slowly drying up. We didn't all convene on the rink until 1pm-ish, but put in 3 solid games none the less. Now first thing to note, the lack of games today had little to do with a lack of time, but rather can be fully attributed to some standout goaltending by Bron, and rookie keeper Dominik.

We played a best of 3 series which pitted Andrew Smart, Ryan, Stefan and Bron against Bernie, Rob, Tony and Dom. Team Dom came out to a very early lead going up 3-0. Despite the early setback, Team Bron really put the pressure on Team Dom, controlling a lot of the play, and putting a plethora of shots on Dom. However Dom never faltered, and kept Team Bron off the scoresheet. Eventually Ryan was able to break the shutoff of Dom to put the game 3-1. However Team Dom came back and scored a goal of their own on Bron, who after letting in the first 3 had been standing on his head. Team Bron was able to notch one more goal before Team Dom finished them off 5-2, to take the first game of the series.

The second game saw Andrew and Stefan begin to build some chemistry and really connect on some rushes. Team Bron flat out controlled the play in this game and quickly came out victorious with a 5-1 victory.

The final game was another epic showing of goaltending. Both Bron and Dom were playing brilliantly, duelling it out in this high flying game. Midway through the game tied 3-3 we even had to stop for a 10 min halftime break, as the goalies were simply flat out unstoppable, and the skaters were running out of energy. After the halftime tTam Bron came out strong and was able to put the game away off a goal by Smart. Team Bron won the game 5-3.

So, another two rookies for this week, both of which will likely be featured next week. Some things to note. Several players were having massive skate/wheel issues. Stefan, still on the wheels from Burton was changing out wheels throughout the games. Tony and Bernie were having a hard time adjusting to brand new skates, and Ryan and Andrew were getting the hang of their new sets of wheels.

Next week could be a pretty epic battle, especially if Bron and Dom both show up. It could also have the fixing for a bit of a monster session with Joern and Lorne likely to be back.

Thanks, Stef, and a big thank-you to Jordan Downey, today’s statistician. There has never been a session in which BOTH goaltenders were so dominant and so even. Both Bron and Dom recorded .889 today (Dom edging Bron in saves 88 to 72). Dom, in fact, posted the second-best rookie session of all-time after Robert Rogers’ .912 way back in 2002. Offensively, Andrew Smart takes first star in his rookie session with Tony Hajdu second star again in his second session, a testament to Burton’s strong rookie crop this season. Tony edged Andy in goals 7-4 in this shortened session; amazingly Andrew has 53 shots in the three games (25, 6 and 22 game-wise). Stefan chimed in third with 3G-4A. Jordan also kept track of blocked shots as follows: Rob 4, Stefan 3, Tony 2, Bernie 1.

Here are the game scores:
Andrew Stefan Ryan Bron 5-4 def. Rob Bernie Tony Dom 4-5 5-1-5-3

Season Stats: It’s a short write-up today because the goalies did such an effective job of shutting their opponents down that not many stats were put up. Rob needs one point for 100 points, as well as to tie Lorne for ninth. Stefan passes 100 goals and closes to within one assist of Oliver for second. Stefan takes the lead in shots by one over Lee, and is 15 points behind him in three-star points. Dom and Bron’s .889 each tie for second-best session save percentage this season.

On the all-time front: Bernie passes Seamus for fifth in all-time points. Rob is one point away from 100. Stefan is twelve goals behind Oliver for third all-time, and 60 shots on goal behind Oliver for third. Bron passes Pat Strachan for sixth in save percentage and Shem for fifth in saves-per-game. Dom falls just short of 90 saves in his rookie session; more importantly, his .889 is the second-best rookie goaltending session of all time. Bernie plays his seventh consecutive session; Stefan his sixth. Bron’s 848 saves this year are the fourth-highest mark in a single season. Andrew's 53 shots are the fifth-highest total by a rookie ever.

SDF/GDF: The rankings will not be finalised until tomorrow night’s BUSH session featuring Steve Weatherhead.

Yeah, that’s right, Steve is returning to BUSH for the first time since 2003. Could a Troy Waldron return also be in the works? Stay tuned. Until then, check out those Records and Honours on the Links page before you leave.