The session today was an interesting one for a number of reasons. Firstly, despite numerous regulars (Joern, Rob, Pat, Andrew, Bron, etc.) being unable to play, we still ended up with enough people to play on a large rink (Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver). The fact that VRH is adding new members almost every session (this time it was BUSH standout Ben de Wit) is what's making this possible. Secondly, no one would have guessed that a session in mid-September would be one of the hottest of the year with inland temperatures reaching close to 30 degrees. With virtually no shade anywhere in sight, the stifling heat kept the session to a reasonably short 6 games. This session also saw multiple goaltending changes with 4 different goalies throughout. Aside from the first game, the teams were fairly even and resulted in some solid play. All teams, combinations and game scores can be found in the game analysis section.

Thanks, Bern. Some interesting notes: Ben posted hat tricks in his two VRH games, the second Burton Hockey session ever played at Queen Elizabeth Park. Lorne was the only player to point out in a game, scoring four goals and an assist in Game 5. Game 6 was unique in that five different skaters scored goals to win the game for Team Dom.

In another PPG-killing VRH session, Ben was triumphant in his debut on the coast, potting 11G in the six games along with a pair of assist to take the day by one point over a career session from Eric, who was six-and-six. Ben’s 38 shots on goal were nearly twice as many as the next closest shooter (Eric at 20). Tying for third were Jordan Barlow and Lorne Bilinski at ten points; Lorne, however played two games in goal. Speaking of goal, Lorne was the highlight there, posting a five-shot shutout in Game 1 en route to .850; however, he only faced 20 shots and does not qualify for a full session. Of those with a full session’s credit, Dom was tops at an even .800. Scott was off-pace at .705, and Tony debuted at .692. Tony, however, was the PPG leader by a decent margin today for all skaters.

Here are the game scores:
Oliver Eric Ben Tony Lorne def. Barlow Downey Stefan Bernie Ryan Scott 5-0 5-3
Ryan Eric Stefan Oliver Barlow Dom def. Downey Lorne Ben Bernie Scott Tony 5-2 5-3
Bernie Downey Stefan Oliver Ben Tony vs. Lorne Eric Barlow Scott Dom Ryan 2-5 5-2

Season Stats: Ben needs 15 points for 400. Stefan is seven points behind K.J. for sixth. Ryan passes Rob for eleventh. Bernie passes Terryn for 13th, but Tony is now right behind him. Jordan Downey enters the top 20. Ben ties Kyle for second in goals and needs two for 200. Lorne needs nine for 100. Oliver passes 200 assists on the year; Ben needs eleven to do the same. Lorne passes Pat for ninth in assists. Stefan passes 700 shots. Lorne passes Scott for third in shooting percentage. Lorne is 55 saves behind Joern for third. Dom passes Laird for eleventh. Ben passes Shem for fourth in games played; Lorne ties Mitch Detta for sixth. Lorne becomes the sixth goalie to post multiple shutouts this year. Lorne ties Andrew for tenth in three-star points. Ben and Scott swap fourth and sixth in GPG.

On the All-Time Front: Stefan needs five points to become the first player to score 600 points in VRH. Bernie is two points behind Seamus for fifth in all-time points. Ben needs 15 points for 400. Ryan ties Pat and Troy for 18th overall. Lorne is eleven goals ahead of Lee for first all-time. Ben needs four goals for 200. Ryan ties Simon for 18th in goals. Ben needs eleven assists for 200. Tony falls behind Jason to fifth in shooting percentage. Stefan is eight games behind Justin for seventh all-time. Ben jumps into the top 20 in games played. Ben passes Robert for ninth in three-star points and ties him for 14th in total star points. Lorne becomes the second player with 800 total star points. Ben falls behind Kyle for fifth in PPG. Ben gives up the APG lead for the first time, falling 0.01 behind Jason Leung to 1.41. He also falls behind Kyle to third in shots-per-game. Dom falls from fifth to seventh in saves-per-game. Stefan and Ben have their 15-pointer streaks end at three. Ben’s first VRH session is his 19th in a row overall; he has missed just one in his entire career. Oliver, of course, extends his record to 36. Bernie has 16 in a row, Lorne seven. Joern’s streak of sessions played ends at six. Ben now has the second-highest scoring season of all-time; Oliver the fifth. Four of the five highest-scoring seasons of all-time are from this season. Ben ties Kyle’s mark this year for the fourth-highest goal mark ever. Oliver becomes the second player to score 200 assists in a season. Ben’s 185 three-star points are third-most in a single year.

SDF/GDF: Pat’s on top for the third straight ranking. Ben moves up to fifth, Jordan Barlow enters the top ten for the first time, and Eric rockets from 23rd to 12th. Mitch’s absence helps drop him out of the top twelve. Justin holds court on the GDF for a second straight week. The implementation of the two-session minimum divisor in addition to the 100 shots against minimum divisor (in order to prevent goalies form taking the lead from just one session) drops five goalies quite a bit down, bringing Joe and Shem into second and third. A record 21 goalie are on the ranking this week.

Until next time, don’t forget to check out the Records and Honours page in the Links section for the plethora of statistical goodies inside.