The weather forecasting in Vancouver has been absolutely abysmal lately, often indicating widespread rain with little-to-no precipitation being the actual result. Luckily for us this was the case once again on Sunday, a 60% POP produced an overcast but dry day, perfectly fine for some VRH action at Ambleside. Today would mark the return of standout alumni goalkeeper Bron “The Razor” Mach. After being out of action for well over a year due to an unfortunate knee injury sustained on the dance floor, Bron has now finally received full medical clearance for play. We would also see the return of Stuart Hall, who had played only one session previously in 2010. The fact that Stu volunteered to play goal left us with a unique situation, allowing Dom and Sam to play out together for the first time ever.

With Sam & Dom requesting to be on the same team, teams were constructed that would see Andy-Klopp-Bernie-Bron(G) take on Sam-Dom-Ollie-Stu(G). The first game was extremely even, with Team Bron coming out to an early lead, Team Stu making a heroic comeback, and Team Bron eventually winning it in sudden death OT. The redemption game would see Team Stu dominate both the play and on the score sheet, cruising to an easy 5-1 victory. The rubber match would be another very even affair in terms of play. Perhaps the difference in this game was the now-warmed-up Bron, showing flashes of his usual brilliance, making a number of key stops on some very high quality chances. In the end the game was won 5-2 by Team Bron, giving them the series.

As time was of the essence (Sam had only about 30 min left to play) the teams were kept the same for one more final game, which was again won by Team Bron.

With Bron having the hockey itch but not yet back in a Master Bladers uniform, we’ll hopefully be seeing more of him in the coming months. This would provide much needed goaltending flexibility for VRH which has seen one of its previously regular goaltenders fall more-or-less off the VRH map. Spring is officially here, hopefully bringing with it a dollop of nice weather and more regular VRH sessions!

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Thanks, Bernie, and a hearty ‘Welcome back!’ to Bron and Stu! Despite losing three of the four games, Sam took home first star today in his 2012 debut on skates, picking up 5G-7A on 39 shots. Close behind were Andrew and Stefan (4G-7A and 6G-5A). Despite just one assist each, Oliver and Bernie tied for the goal led with six each of their own. Bron quickly returned to form in his first session since April 2010 with .816; Stuart’s debut in goal was a .729.

Game Scores:
Stefan Andrew Bernie Bron def. Sam Dom Oliver Stuart 5-4 1-5 5-3 5-2

Elo Ratings

Andrew Smart 2243 (-15)
Stefan Klopp 1979 (+8)
Sam Lam 1937 (+37)
OIiver Koth-Kappus 1841 (-19)
Dominik Voser 1820 (-16)
Bernie Koth-Kappus 1612 (+5)

Season Stats: Oliver continues to top the season scoring chart, leading the newly second-place Stefan 31-27. Bernie and Sam take big jumps to sixth (18) and seventh (15)... Pat still leads in goals from his single session of the year last month, but Stefan is just one behind at 15 with the Koth-Kappi at 12 each... Oliver still holds a big lead in assists, 19-12 over Stefan; Sam moves to fourth at 10... Stefan leads Oliver in shots on goal, 72-68; Bernie sits third at 51... Bernie rockets to second in shooting percentage at 23.53; Stefan jumps into the fifth spot... Bron debuts second in save percentage at .816; Stuart is fourth at .729... Bernie, Oliver, Dom, and Sam have played all 15 games this year... We’ve had four different winners in three sessions this year, creating a log jam at the top of the three-star point chart... Dom leads Sam in total star points, 30-25... Sam and Andrew debut fourth and fifth in PPG and GPG... Sam debuts second in APG at 1.75; Andrew’s tied for third at 1.50 and Oliver drops to fifth at 1.27... Sam debuts second in shots-per-game at 9.75... Bron takes the lead in saves-per-game at 15.50... Sam’s 12 points rank fifth-highest in a session this year... Stefan, Bernie, and Oliver’s six goals tie for the fifth-highest session mark of the year... Sam’s seven assists tie for third-highest this year, and his 39 shots on goal are fourth... Bron’s .816 ranks third year, his 62 saves rank fourth, and his 878 PPS ranks fourth as well.

SDF/GDF: No change in the top nine on the SDF as Andrew leads for a seventh straight ranking. His 22nd ranking led all-time ties him with Kyle Grenier for fourth... The big jump comes from Stefan, who moves from 15th to tenth as he moves back over the session minimum; Sam re-debuts in twelfth as Barlow falls out of the top ten... Dom reigns for a second straight ranking uncontested on the GDF; his fifteenth time overall.

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 two points to become the second player with 2,600; he is 80 points behind Lee for the all-time lead... Stefan needs six points for 1,700; Bernie needs one point for 1,600... Andrew is poised to pass Joern for 13th in all-time scoring next session, while Sam is eleven points behind Nathan for 19th all-time... Stefan passé Lorne for third in all-time goals and becomes the fourth player to score 900... Stefan needs five assists for 800... Bron needs 38 saves to become the fifth goalie to reach 4,000... Oliver needs ten games for 1,400... Bron passes Joern for fifth in games goaltended with 262... Stefan is 15 three-star points behind Lorne for fourth all-time, 755-740... Andrew’s 15-pointer and ten-assister streaks end at three... Bron’s 21st .800 session ties him with Laird for sixth all-time... Bron’s 19 .810s also ranks sixth... Dom plays in his 17th consecutive session; Bernie, Oliver, and Sam their seventh.