With Sam being a no-show and all of the 4 'maybes' deciding not to come, we ended up with our first short-handed session in many a month. Whilst sweeping the gunk off the rink, the sun finally began to peek through the clouds; this trend would continue, providing us with the first gloriously sunny day in what seemed like weeks.

It was decided to attempt a 3-on-2 game, with the 3-player team having the option of a member subbing off intermittently during play. With Team Ollie-Bernie-Rhino thinking it would be an easy victory and therefore floating a bit, Team Tony-Jordan stormed out to an early lead but were eventually overcome, losing by a 5-3 margin. In the next game Team Tony-Jordan was able to take advantage of Bernie's breaks, scoring almost every time he left the game, leading to a 5-3 victory. In the final game of the series the 3-man team upped their level of intensity and were able to utilize their extra man more effectively, winning 5-3.

The next series featured Ollie with Jordan on the 2-man team; this combination proved deadly against a tiring Tony-Bernie-Rhino team with Team O-J winning the first game decisively (5-1). Team T-B-R was upset at losing so badly with a man advantage and dug deep in the second game, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win 5-4 in sudden death overtime. At the conclusion of the 5th game Tony and Bron both had to leave thereby ending the session.

It should also be mentioned that the goaltending was very solid and evenly matched throughout the session, as has become customary with Dom & Bron between the pipes.

Despite the low turnout, in the end everyone was still glad to get outside, enjoy the nice weather and play some hockey, even if the session was a little shorter and a little more low key than usual.

Thanks, Bern. The first small VRH session in months kept the scoring race tight today, with the top three skaters separated by just one point. Oliver (9-9-18-40) narrowly takes first over Tony (8-9-17-60) and Jordan (9-8-17-29). At 12 points each, Ryan and Bernie were not far behind. Despite the shooting gallery, Dom kept his head above water nicely at .828 compared to Bron’s .756.

Here are the game scores:
Oliver Bernie Ryan Dominik def. Jordan Tony Bron 5-3 3-5 5-3
Jordan Oliver Dominik vs. Tony Bernie Ryan Bron 5-1 4-5

Season Stats: Oliver is eight points behind Kyle for third and nearly 100 ahead of Stefan in fourth. Jordan needs twelve points to become the 19th player with 100 points this year. Oliver passes Stefan to tie K.J. for sixth in goals. Bernie passes Terryn for 14th. Bernie needs six assists for 100. Ryan passes Terryn for 13th in assists. With his biggest shot output of the season, Jordan finally becomes eligible for the shooting percentage category and predictably is ahead by a mile at 34.71%, well ahead of Pat at 29.19%. Tony falls out of the top five. Dominik passes Lorne and Joern to leap to fourth in saves, 77 behind Lyle in third. Bron is two games played behind Lorne and Ben for fifth. Dom passes Lyle and Lorne for fourth in games goaltended and is four behind Joern for third. Oliver passes K.J. for seventh in three-star points. Dom ties Lorne and Justin for fourth in goalie star points.

On the All-Time Front: Bernie ties Seamus for fifth in all-time scoring; both need two points for 1,000. Ryan is one point behind Troy for 18th. Tony passes Pat Strachan for 22nd. Bernie is six goals behind Justin for seventh. Ryan passes Pat Elischer for 17th in goals. Oliver needs eight assists to become the first to score 1,000. Oliver is 28 shots behind Lorne for second. Ryan enters the top 15 all-time in shots. Oliver needs one game to become the first player to play 900. Ryan becomes the 18th player to play 150. Bron passes Nathan for fourth in games goaltended and is ten behind Joern for third. Oliver is 15 three-star points behind Stefan for third all-time. Dominik records his seventh-straight 80-saver; Bron’s streak ends at two. Oliver becomes the first player in Burton history to play 40 consecutive sessions. Bernie plays his 19th straight. Dominik plays his seventh. Eric’s streak ends at six.

SDF/GDF: Adding this VRH session to last week’s ranking doesn’t change too much near the top other than to move Tony ahead of Terryn. Virtually nothing changes on the GDF.

With temperature falling, both leagues are rushing to get as many games in as possible. Until next time, check out the Records and Honours page in the Links section.