This day started out with a bottle of Tequila…and I do say “day” because it was literally the next day by the time the first phase of the beer brewing process was completed and Rob began to pour us shot after shot. Naturally, once the bottle was done some stealthing was in order leading into the wee hours of the morning. Although, the lone casualty of this debauchery was Jordan “Bones” Downey, it also had the effect of rendering the Klopp caravan a good 40 minutes late and pushing the start time back to after 1pm.

Once we were at the rink another interesting incident delayed the start time a little further. A scruffy nerfherder homeless looking guy who was either very drunk, had some serious mental issues, or both, would come right up to us and proceed to stare at one of us and not move (like a “statue”). Then he asked us for pot and eventually began yelling at us that we stole his wallet. Suffice it to say everyone was a little uneasy about him lurking around (especially after he picked up one of our hockey sticks) and Rob took charge by finding the beach police who eventually escorted him away.

Although it was a warm sunny afternoon, the temperature were not exorbitant and with the breeze off the water the weather conditions, thought not ideal, were certainly playable. Also of note: today would see the debut of our first ever Swedish player, Viktor Jedeskog. The fact that he hadn't rollerbladed in a very long time was evident by a couple of big crashes early on, but his hockey sense was ever present and he certainly managed to hold his own (coming from Peter Forsberg's homeland it was no wonder he had great hockey sense).

The first series was the longest and by far the most even of the day pitting Stefan, Sam, Rob, Bernie and Nick against Barlow, Melvin, Viktor, Ollie and Alex. Team SSRBN took the first game, but team BMVOA soon got redemption winning the next two; then it was time for SSRBN to once again get redemption winning the next two games to take the best of 5 series. This was also one of the more intense up-tempo series in recent memory.

After this series we played a few more games, but using sticks it was difficult to find balanced teams. Despite a few setbacks this was, all considered, a great day of hockey.

Thanks, Bernie. Glad to see you recovered! It was a four-way battle for the top spot in scoring today, coming down to the game for the four men (Stefan, Sam, Rob and Jordan) who were far ahead in scoring all day long. Sam’s three points in Game 8 were enough to give him first star (14G-8A) by one point over Stefan (13G-8A) and Rob (5G-16A), who tied for second (Rob tied his career-best assist total today). Jordan (9G-11A) missed out on a star point despite finishing just two points out of the lead. Much improved for Nick in his sophomore session with .762 and a shutout. Alex took the day as usual in goal with .793 on 115 saves.

Here are the game scores:
Jordan Melvin Viktor Oliver Alex def. Stefan Sam Rob Bernie Nick 4-5 5-2 5-3
Stefan Sam Rob Bernie Nick def. Jordan Melvin Viktor Oliver Griff Alex 5-1 5-3
Jordan Oliver Rob Sam Viktor Nick def. Stefan Melvin Bernie Griff Alex 5-0 Rob Griff Sam Oliver Alex def. Stefan Melvin Jordan Bernie Nick 5-2 5-3

Season Stats: Bernie passes Justin for ninth in points with Sam just two points behind him. Rob passes Graeme for twelfth. Sam passes Graeme for seventh in goals. Jordan needs six goals for 100, and passes Pat for seventh in assists. Rob passes Bernie for ninth in assists. Stefan passes Pat for third in shots; Oliver dumps Nathan from the top five; Sam moves to seventh. Alex needs 70 saves for 2,000. Bernie moves to third in games played, one ahead of Oliver and Seamus. Nick becomes the 19th goalie with a shutout this year. Sam enters the top ten in three-star points. Alex is five goalie star points behind Dom for second.

On the All-Time Front: Oliver is 18 points away from becoming the second player with 2,000 points. Stefan is 56 points behind Lorne for third. Rob ties Jordan for 19th in all-time scoring, with Sam right behind them. Jordan passes Joern for seventh in VRH all-time scoring. Stefan reties Kyle for third in goals; this may be the last time he sees that position. Sam becomes the 18th player with 200 goals. Bernie becomes the fourth player to score 700 assists. The race to become the second player with 4,000 shots is tight between Oliver and Stefan (3,942-3,933). Alex needs 70 saves for 2,000; he passes Lorne for eleventh in games goaltended. Oliver needs eleven games for 1,100. Rob becomes the 20th player with 200 games played; Jordan needs eight. Sam has four 15-pointers, three 10-goal sessions and two ten-assisters in a row for the first time. Jordan also has four straight 15-pointers. Stefan ties Lorne for third in 20-pointers with 28; Stefan, Sam and Rob each have back-to-back 20-pointers. Alex notches his 15th 80-saver and ties Seamus for seventh in 90-savers with 15 (three in a row); Nick gets his first 80- and 90-saver. Alex ties Laird and Seamus for sixth in 100-savers with eleven, and joins the log jam at fourth in 110-savers with nine (three in a row). His 130-saver streak ends at two. Bernie plays his 26th consecutive session; Oliver his eighth. Dom’s streak ends at 15. Oliver’s 216 assists this year are the fifth-highest single-year total ever. Alex’s 1,930 saves are the second-highest total ever in a year.

SDF/GDF: Today’s VRH session gets added to Tuesday’s BUSH session for the final ranking. This session only serves to increase the ratings of the top four scorers and drop Oliver down the SDF. Seamus’ lead over Alex on the GDF increases a bit while Nick moves from eighth to fifth.

No idea when the next session is. Bet on VRH next weekend. BUSH is waiting for Jesse Martin to get back to town to make his 2010 debut this month. And do I hear rumblings of a second Burton championship weekend for the second weekend Until next time, check out the Records and Honours pages in the Links section.