The warm weather (in fact the warmest day of the year so far in all likelihood) on this day would bring out the players in droves. 10 skaters for most of the day, 2 subs on each team with a timer, would see many quick shifts and an intensity level not yet seen in VRH this year.

The first series, despite some grueling long games, would prove to be rather lopsided with Stu’s team winning both games handily, backed by some very solid netminding.

The second series, pitting J-Bo, Dom, Sam, Bernie, Stef and Bron (G) against Ollie, Marcus, Ryno, Darrel, Eric and Stu (G), would be one for the ages. The series again appeared to be lopsided at first with Team Stu winning 5-0, but that would only make redemption that much sweeter; Team Bron would take the next game 5-3 on the back of their superstar goaltender . Perhaps it was the fact that NHL playoffs were just around the corner, but the final game of the series certainly had a playoff-like intensity; blocked shots everywhere, desperation defensive plays, miraculous save after miraculous save. Fittingly for a playoff game it would go to sudden death OT which would last for a good 20 minutes or so of pulse pounding action before Ryno would finally put it away for Team Stu.

Nice mild weather, intense hockey… this was a good day for VRH.

Follow Burton Hockey on Twitter @burtonhockey
Visit Burton Hockey on Facebook

Thanks, Bernie. The epic on-court battle combines with the large number of players made for some very tight statistical races today. In net, Bron and Stuart each played very well and were it not for Bron’s Game 3 and Stu’s Game 4, both would have been right around .860. The final results put Bron at .837 on 118 saves (including 44 saves in Game 1) and Stuart at .819 on 68 saves with his first career shutout in Game 3. Scoring wise, Darrel picks up his first-ever session scoring win with 7G-6A. Tied for first with Darrel was Stefan at 3G-10A, grabbing his first first star since coming back from his leg break. Just one point behind in third was Sam at an evenhaded 6G-6A.

Game Scores:
Dom Darrel Stefan Sam Eric Stu def. Jordan Oliver Bernie Ryan Marcus Bron 5-3 5-3
Marcus Darrel Eric Ryan Oliver Stu def. Jordan Dom Sam Bernie Stefan Bron 5-0 3-5 5-4

Elo Ratings

Marcus Keighron 2028 (-33)
Stefan Klopp 2020 (+45)
Sam Lam 1964 (+27)
Eric Coutinho 1927 (-48)
Ryan Disterheft 1914 (+20)
Darrel Voser 1882 (+74)
Oliver Koth-Kappus 1833 (-54)
Jordan Barlow 1819 (-22)
Dominik Voser 1798 (+20)
Bernie Koth-Kappus 1602 (-24)

Season Stats: Is the comeback for Stefan Klopp finally complete? Not only did his co-lead the session in scoring today, but he also took the season scoring lead from Oliver, 53-51... Ryan solidifies his hold on third place at 42 while Sam jumps from eight to fourth with 28 points, displacing Bernie, Andrew, Pat, and Tony... Jordan and Darrel now find themselves on the edge of the top ten... Stefan continues to lead in goals at 27 while Ryan passes Oliver for second, 22-20... Oliver now leads Stefan in assists, 31-26; Ryan sits third at 21 followed by Andrew (18) and Sam (17)... A tight three-way battle in the shooting race with Stefan at 119 shots on goal, Oliver at 117, and Ryan at 111... Bernie falls to fourth in shooting percentage at 20.59 percent, barely ahead of Jordan to jumps up to fifth at 20.58... Bron narrows Dom’s goaltending lead to .837-.828 while Stuart passes Sam for third, .782-.781... Bron jumps into the save lead at 269 followed by Sam (214), Dom (159), and Stuart (111)... Bernie, Oliver, and Sam have played all 25 games this season... Bron trails Sam in games goaltended 16-15 while Stuart trails Dom for third 11-9... Stefan takes the lead in three-star points at 30 ahead of Andrew at 25 and Ryan, Oliver, and Sam at 20... No one has led more than one session in scoring this year; seven different players have led the five sessions... Bron ties Dom for the lead in goalie star points at 30 while Stuart records his first-ever goalie star points... There is a four-way tie between Bron, Stefan, Sam, and Dom for the lead in total star points at 30... Sam and Ryan drop to fourth and fifth in PPG thanks to the widespread point distribution today... Stefan falls to sixth in GPG behind Sam and Stewart Burnett... Sam falls behind Rob into third in APG... Eric debuts on the shots-per-game chart in fifth with 6.00 even... Bron’s saves-per-game average jumps to 19.21... Darrel’s seven goals today ties for the fifth-highest mark of the year... Stefan’s 10 assists today rank fourth-highest on the year... Bron’s .837 is the second-best goaltending session of the year; Stuart’s .819 is fourth... Bron’s 118 saves are the top mark this season; Stuart’s 68 saves rank fifth... Bron’s 955 PPS is easily the tops so far this year.

SDF/GDF: Andrew leads the SDF for the 11th straight session, but behind is total upheaval as Sam skyrockets to second, his career-best position and ranking not too far behind Andrew at all… Ryan also moves ahead of Marcus into third, dropping Marcus two spots to fourth… Darrel’s win catapults him to his career-best position of sixth and career-best ranking of over 90… This will be the last ranking for the remaining BUSH players unless something happens this week in the Arrow Lakes… It’s Dom fourth-straight and 17th all-time GDF ranking led, but Bron is closing in fast. Meanwhile, Stuart jumps up into fourth. Unless another league which shall go nameless gets going next week, there will only be five goalies left on the ranking next time out.

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

On the All-Time Front: Oliver is now within 60 points of Lee’s all-time scoring lead... Stefan is just 17 points behind Oliver for the all-time VRH scoring lead... Ryan is six points behind Mitch Detta for 17th all-time in scoring... Sam passes Nathan for 19th... Ryan is seven goals behind Andy Smart for 15th... Sam passes Joern for 17th in goals and Jordan is just three behind Joern for 18th... Oliver needs eight assists for 1,600... Stefan becomes the fifth player to score 800 assists... Bron passes Nathan for fourth in all-time saves and is 39 saves behind Laird for third... Oliver becomes the first person to play 1,400 games of Burton Hockey... Bron is eight games goaltended behind Chris Jackins for fourth all-time... Stuart records his first career shutout... Stefan ties Lorne for fourth in all-time three-star points with 755 and ties Justin for sixth in total star points with 755... Bron trails Nathan for fourth in goalie star points, 380-365... Marcus’ 15-pointer streak ends at nine... Stefan ties Seamus for third in ten-assisters with 27... Bron is one behind Justin for fifth in .800s with 23... Stuart records his first .800 and .810 session... Bron has three .810s in a row and back-to-back .820s... Bron ties Laird for fifth in .820s with 18... Bron passes Laird for third in 80-savers with 28 including two in a row... Dom plays his 19th consecutive session; Oliver, Bernie, and Sam their ninth; Stefan his fifth.