Today’s session began with temperatures in the upper thirties and the players soaked in sweat before the first game even began. Jesse Martin made himself player number 116 with his debut today. It would prove to be interesting today as the four all-time leading goaltenders (K.J., Terryn, Seamus and Nathan) all agreed to share platoon duties in net. Seamus and Graeme are now back for the foreseeable future and should play an integral part of BUSH line-ups for the rest of the summer.

Sticks in the middle produced Seamus, Jesse, Ben and Terryn versus Lee, K.J., Nathan and Graeme for Game 1. There was some apprehension about this line-up; it would be founded. Jesse, Terryn and Ben each nicked off four points as they ended the game in seven minutes, giving Seamus an eight-shot shutout in his 2009 debut game in goal. Terryn and Nathan were traded, and a new series was initiated. When a Graeme shot appeared to either just sneak or be saved on the line by Seamus, the customary penalty shot was awarded; Graeme banked it home five-hole. Once again, Terryn had four points (as did Lee and Graeme, who was sniping all day) as his crew took the first game of the set 5-2. After an in interminable twenty-minute for skate repairs (an altogether too common occurrence these days), the session resumed. With Lee now awake, he led his crew to a 5-3 victory in Game 3 to take the series. Terryn would leave his skates leading the session in scoring to this point.

The goalie exchange happened before Game 4, and Nathan and Terryn were allowed to pick their own team, resulting in two very even squadrons. Ben, who had been trying and failing to score in the previous series, took charge here and potted eight points in the final series partnered with Seamus as they took the games 5-3, 5-4. Lee and company nearly had Game 5 won, going up 4-1 before collapsing in the fading daylight.

Not surprisingly, the four leading scorers were the four that skated all four games. It was sheer shot volume that ultimately produced our first stars today. Lee (5-10-41) and Ben (9-6-52) led the way with 15 points. Graeme continues a solid offensive campaign with third star and twelve points, budging Jesse in his rookie session by a point. For the part-timers, Seamus and brother figure K.J. both notched eight points in just two games out but each had two assists from goal. Terryn scored ten points in his three games out. Not much to choose between the four goalies with Seamus (.827), Terryn (.821), and K.J. (.808) each notching third star level in net and Nathan (.806) not far behind.

Here are the game scores:
Seamus Jesse Ben Terryn def. Lee K.J. Nathan Graeme 5-0
Lee K.J. Terryn Graeme def. Seamus Nathan Ben Jesse 5-2 5-3
Ben Nathan Seamus Graeme def. Lee Jesse K.J. Terryn 5-3 5-4

Season Stats: Lee now possesses the largest single-season scoring lead ever seen in Burton, holding a 109-point cushion over Oliver. Ben leaps into third and is just two points behind Oliver. K.J. needs 17 points for 200. Terryn passes Tony and Jordan to move into the top 15. K.J. needs one goal for 100. Ben passes Stefan for third in assists. K.J. needs 16 assists for 100. Ben passes Kyle for fourth in shots and is 17 behind Stefan for third. Ben passes Kyle for seventh in games played. K.J. passes Lorne for ninth. Seamus becomes the ninth goalie to post a shutout this season. Ben passes Stefan for second in three-star points, and Kyle and Stefan for second in total star points. Ben passes Lee for fourth in shots-per-game. Terryn passes Justin for first in saves-per-game. K.J. falls behind Shem to fifth.

On the all-time front: Seamus is back to within two points of Bernie for fifth in all-time points. Graeme is 28 points behind Laird for tenth. Seamus needs 20 goals for 500. Ben passes Simon for 16th in goals. Lee needs eight assists for 500. Today was historic for featuring the top four goaltenders of all time by save percentage. Nathan is eight saves behind Chris Jackinsfor second all-time. K.J. is 53 saves behind Shem for tenth; Terryn moves to 15th. Nathan is one game goaltended behind Joern for third. K.J. needs five goalie star points for 100. Ben moves to 12th in three-star points. Lee ties Lorne for first in total star points at 770. Ben passes Steve Weatherhead for fourth in all-time shots-per-game. Terryn is now just marginally behind K.J. for the lead in saves-per-game. Lee becomes the second player to record 20 ten-assisters (Oliver has 35). Lee has three-straight 15-pointers. Lee plays his 15th consecutive session; Ben his eleventh. Lee is just 17 points away from tying his own all-time record for points in a season. He has now broken Oliver’s 2000 season record for assists in a year with 178. His 878 shots on goal rank second behind his 2006. Lee’s 190 three-star points rank second in a season; Ben’s 120 rank fifth.

SDF/GDF: Ben increases his SDF lead in his second week on top. The last bad Stefan session drops off and he rises to second (he’ll begin dropping next ranking). Graeme leaps into the top ten. Dom leads the GDF for the seventh ranking in a row; Terryn slips a spot behind Justin to fifth.

Don’t forget check out those Records and Honours on the Links page before you leave, including our new goalie star statistics. Both leaues will be in action this weekend, so stay put!