A sunny but slightly chilly day at Ambleside would see VRH finally have its second session of the year. Numbers were low today with a couple maybes out and Shay canceling last minute (out with “flu-like symptoms”). Luckily we were blessed by a surprise appearance from none other than VRH’s prodigal son, Patrick Elischer, making his long anticipated return after being out of country for well over a year. This would give us at least enough for 3-on-3. The session would also see the 2012 debut of the two Jordans. Sam and Dom would man the pipes again as usual.

Teams were created that would see the Jordans + Klopp with Sam in net, face an all German/Swiss combo of Pat, Ollie, Bernie & Dom. An almost 1.5 year absence for “Ricky” proved only that he hadn’t lost a step, decking, dangling, passing & scoring his way through the opposition seemingly at will. In fact, even on frequent power plays (Bernie also suffering from flu-like symptoms took plenty of breaks) the Pat factor was just too much, and frequently the shorthanded team would score instead of vice versa. The first 2 games were won handily by Team Dom.

Despite the domination so far, Team Sam wanted one more crack at redemption and redemption they would have. It seemed like Barlow had had enough at this point and literally took his team on his back, bringing his big frightening slapshot out of his arsenal and willing his team to the win. Klopp’s strong net presence, J.B. “Steve” Downey’s strong defensive play and Sam’s superb goaltending cemented the win.

With Team Sam back in it, the series was extended to a best-of-7. Despite Team Sam playing a grinding defensive game, managing to hold the score to 0-0 for a long period of time, Team Dom eventually began to pot some in the net, something Team Sam were having difficulty doing all day long despite numerous quality chances (Dom may have played a part in that). Eventually Team Dom would take the game and the series. It should be noted that Dom suffered a back injury near the end of this game, hampering his mobility, but he soldiered on and kept playing through that game and one more for good measure.

It was great to get out playing again today, and it was great to have a good friend and exceptional hockey player back in the fold, even if only for one session.

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Thanks, Bernie (and thanks to Oliver for sending in the stats). In his first session since October 2010, Pat showed once again that this is his world; everyone else is just fortunate to share his oxygen. Pointing out in four of the five games, Pat finished at a mighty 16G, and chipped in six helpers to dominate the day with 22 out of a possible 25 points. Thanks to 11A (probably all on goals scored by Pat), Oliver finished a distant second with 13P. It’s very rare that 8P in five games gets you star points, but Bernie picks up star points for the first time since 2010. Over in goal, Dom achieved the rare feat of three shutouts in one session; the only other player to do this was Joern Hornhardt all the way back on 30 May 2000. In the process, Dom has passed Alex Elischer to become the all-time Burton shutout king with 21... Dom finished at .879, stopping 51 of 58 shots. Sam had superlative efforts in Games 2 and 3 but was drowned in a wave of Elischer goals and finished at .741, facing 27 more shots than Dom.

Game Scores:
Bernie Pat Oliver Dom def. Stefan Downey Barlow Dom 5-0 5-0 2-5 5-0 5-2.

Elo Ratings

Pat Elischer 2335 (+4)
Stefan Klopp 1971 (-20)
OIiver Koth-Kappus 1860 (+23)
Jordan Barlow 1841 (-25)
Bernie Koth-Kappus 1607 (+40)
Jordan Downey 1530 (-12)

Season Stats: Naturally, with the second session of the year the season statistics get rearranged, but Pat’s disproportionately prodigious performance in a session where only three of the skaters were present at the first session really changes things. Oliver jumps into the lead at 24 points, just two ahead of the debuting Pat. Last session’s leaders, Ryan and Tony, sit third at 19, and Stefan stays fifth at 16... Pat is already pulling away in goals; at 16, he is six ahead of Ryan; Stefan is third at nine... Similarly, Oliver rockets to first in assists, leading Tony 18-11... In a tight race for the shot total lead, Stefan sits first at 53, followed by Pat (53), Oliver (47), Ryan (44) and Tony (40)... Pat easily shoots to the top of the shooting percentage list at 32.65 percent... Dom leads Sam in save percentage, .837-.785, but the save race is close at 159-157... Only Bernie, Oliver, Sam, and Dom have played all eleven games this season, and none of the three stars in scoring were present at this session, giving Dom a fair lead in total star points at 30, 15 ahead of Ryan, Pat and Tony... Pat’s PPG is 4.40; Ryan and Tony sit second at 3.17... Pat easily leads GPG at 3.20; Tony leads Oliver in APG, 1.83-1.64... Pat sits at 9.80 shots per game...Dom leads Sam in saves-per-game, 14.45-14.27... Pat’s 22 points, 16 goals, and 49 shots rank first in sessions this season... Oliver’s 13 points rank fourth-best in sessions this year, and his 11 assists tie for first... Dom’s .879 easily leads goaltending sessions this year; Sam’s .741 is still good for fourth at this early stage... Sam’s 63 saves and Dom’s 51 saves rank third and fourth, respectively... Dom’s 930 PPS is tops on the year.

SDF/GDF: Andrew Smart continues to lead the SDF (his 21st time, tying him with Lee for fifth), but behind him there is nothing short of upheaval as the remaining BUSH players have all fallen to just a single session left on the chart. The Andy-Marcus-Ryan-Rob-Tony top five might not be that surprising, but the Lars-Darrel-Shaylin-Oliver-Barlow top ten certainly is... The reign of Alex Elischer is officially over due to inactivity, leaving Dom Voser to rule the roost on the GDF for the 14th time (seventh-most all-time, level with Lyle Detta and Shem Hanna). The only other qualifying goalie left on the chart is Sam Lam; the other five goalies have only played one session during the eligibility period... Alex’s streak ends at 19 straight rankings, a record; his all-time total of 35 rankings led is one short of Seamus O’Connor’s record.

All-Time Records, Awards and Honours
All-Time Session Scoring Milestones & Streaks
All-Time Session Goaltending Milestones & Streaks

On the All-Time Front: Oliver needs nine points to become the second player to score 2,600 points; his is 87 behind lee for the all-time lead... Stefan needs 16 points for 1,700... Stefan trails Lorne for third in goals, 900-899... Pat passes Oliver for second in VRH goals and become the second player to score 500 VRH goals... Downey enters the top 25 in games played, displacing Andrew Smart... Dom deposes Alex as the all-time shutout king, 21-18... Oliver passes Kyle Grenier for second in three-star points, 790-785; Pat ties K.J. for ninth at 410... Pat has nine straight 15-pointers, tied with Marcus for the longest active point streak... Pat ties Seamus for sixth in 20-pointers with 24 and has seven in a row... Pat ties Justin for seventh in ten-goal sessions with 25; he has seven in a row... Pat has back-to-back 15-goal sessions... Dom’s .800 streak goes to six; Sam’s ends at four... Dom ties Alex for the all-time lead in .830s with 22, and becomes the first player with 20 .840s... Dom passes Seamus for second in .850s with 12... Dom ties Shem for fourth in .860s with seven... Dom becomes the sixth goalie with five .870s... Sam and Dom see their 80-save streaks end at eleven and eight, respectively; Sam’s was the fifth-longest streak ever... Sam and Dom’s 90-saver streaks end at six and three, and Dom’s 100-save streak ends at three... Dom plays his 16th consecutive session; Bernie, Oliver, and Sam their sixth.