Another foggy early year day in Nakusp was escaped today as the crew returned to beautiful Burton to kick off this second month of the new year. The usual OchoOcho, Lee, Nathan, Seamus, Shem and Alan were joined by the returning Graeme and Troy Waldron's first session of the year. Stick toss would determine the first set of teams as Ocho would be matched with 3 Orr's for some mass alliteration against Troy, Seamus and Nathan with Shem in net. Game one would be a disgustipated affair as 5 goals would zing past Shem on 8 shots for an all-too-quick 5-0 shutout victory. After the embarrassing start Troy, Nate and Seam would employ a trap mentality against the Quadruple O's and force Graeme Orr to beat them. Graeme would rise to the challenge leading his team in goals and shots for the series with 5 and 26 respectively. Unfortunately, it would not be enough as a frustrated Kyle rang shot after shot into players in front of the net that led to quick turnovers and odd-man rushes. Seamus and Troy would capitalise on their breaks and Nathan made some nice passes here as they took the final two games 5-3 and 5-2. Series Two would begin with a Kyle-for-Troy straight-across trade after another stick toss. Alan was a little shaky in this one after a solid start in net and Shem's game came around a bit here with him making some highlight reel stops as Ocho and Seamus buried Game 1 5-2. Lee and Troy would get angry after that dismal showing and come roaring back in Game 2 to match the series with a 5-2 win of their own. Graeme would have to go back to town for work following this one and Nathan decided to jump in for the ride setting up a final game between Troy and Lee vs. Ocho and Seamus. The game started tight as the teams battled to a 2-2 tie. Troy and Lee would quickly find the net to go up 4-2 and just when an O'Connor breakaway goal made it look like a comeback was imminent, Lee found a way to bury them for good. A great day as always in Burton; the only thing missing was Kyle Kusch.

Thanks, Seam; I missed you, too! (Last-minute trip to the chiropractor, if you must know; years of hunching over stats, I assume.) A ridiculously even day on top, as four of BUSH’s best share all the glory today. Tied on top at 18 points apiece are Kyle (10G-8A with an uncharacteristically low 36 shots) and Seamus (an even 9G-9A with 50 shots). Just one point behind are Troy (11G-6A) and Lee (7G-10A). Goaltending was fairly even today with Alan at .792 and Shem at .773.

Here are the game scores:
Shem Nathan Troy Seamus def. Quadruple O’s (Kyle Lee Graeme Alan) 0-5 5-3 5-2
Shem Nathan Kyle Seamus vs. Troy Lee Graeme Alan 5-2 2-5
Troy Lee Alan def. Shem Kyle Seamus 5-3

Season Stats: With 112 points in 12 days, Kyle is setting a torrid pace at the top of the scoring chart. Lee moves to second and 88 points, ahead of Pat. Seamus jumps up to seventh; Nathan passes Bernie for eighth. Seamus enters the top ten in goals. Lee retakes the assists lead from Oliver 46-37. Kyle is one assist behind Jordan Barlow for third; Seamus ties Pat for fifth. Kyle’s shot count is nearly double that of second-place Lee; Seamus moves to sixth. Alan and Shem pass Bron for third and fourth in saves. Kyle, Seamus and Nathan have played all 30 BUSH games this season. Alan moves to third in games goaltended at 18; Shem is fifth at eleven. Alan’s first career shutout is the fifth this year and first in BUSH; no goalie has multiple shutouts this season. Lee ties Pat for second in three-star points behind Kyle. Alan ties Shem for fifth in goalie star points at 15. Kyle leads Seamus in total star points 65-50 with Pat and lee at 45. Kyle falls behind Pat to second in GPG. Troy debuts fifth in GPG. Lee falls behind Andrew to seventh in GPG, but takes the lead in APG from Seamus.

On the All-Time Front: Lee needs just 13 points for 1,800. Seamus moves back to within two points of Stefan for fourth. Troy needs one point for 300. Seamus needs five goals for 600. Kyle is three goals behind Justin for eighth. Troy is four goals behind Ryno for 18th. Kyle needs six assists for 300. Shem narrowly falls behind Seamus and Troy to third in all-time goaltending as the top five are all within .003. Shem becomes the eighth goalie with 2,000 saves and is 45 saves behind Lyle for seventh; Alan moves to 18th. Graeme is seven games played behind K.J. for tenth; Kyle passes Bron for 14th; Shem needs four games to become the 17th player with 200. Shem passes Seamus for ninth in games goaltended. Alan records his first career shutout. Seamus passes Oliver and Stefan to move to third in three-star points; Kyle is ten behind Justin for sixth. Kyle passes Laird for ninth in total star points. Lee becomes the first player in history with 70 15-pointers. Seamus records his 40th; Kyle his 29th. Troy ties Pat for eleventh with 13. Kyle has 15 in a row, one away from tying K.J.’s all-time record. Lee is close behind at eleven, tying his career high. Troy has seven in a row. Troy’s 20-pointer streak ends at two. Kyle ties K.J. for fifth in ten-goal sessions with 25, one behind Seamus; he has six straight (tied for fifth-longest ever). Troy has four in a row. Lee has back-to-back ten-assisters. Shem’s streak of .800 sessions ends at six, the second-longest ever, as do his .810, .820 and .830 streaks (each tied for the longest ever). His record-tying .840 streak ends at four, as does his record-setting .850 streak. His .860 streak ends at two. Shem’s 100-saver streak ends at three sessions; his record-tying 140-saver streak ends at two. Nathan plays his 18th consecutive session; Seamus his 14th; Kyle his fifth.

SDF/GDF: Pat stays on top for a fifth straight ranking and 28th overall. Seamus passes Graeme for fourth, Rob passes Nathan for tenth, and Troy debuts twelfth. Justin sets an all-time mark with his 27th career ranking topped. Shem goes back over the minimum amount of sessions and lands in third; Tyler drops under and falls to eighth.

Let’s hope Kyle recovers from his falls and that the BUSH momentum keeps going. Until next time, check out the Records and Honours pages in the Links section.