For too long, the rink at Burton’s John McCormack Memorial Park stood silent, alone; wistful for the days when it was the place for roller hockey in the Arrow Lakes instead of an empty sheet of slowly weathering asphalt. The past year saw the epicenter of Burton Hockey in the valley shift to Nakusp, completely changing the complexion of the eastern circuit with the arrival of the Arena League. A metaphor, perhaps, for the village of Burton, whose population has quite literally declined by half in the past five years. The McCormack rink last saw action on 5 May 2012, and since only distant memories of the cradle of hockey wafted in the back our minds. The second season of the Arena League would likely still be some weeks away. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that it would take the two most dedicated Burton Hockey originals, both long departed for the humid climes of the west coast, to return and force the hand of the Burton United Socialist Hockey contingent that had removed themselves from action for so long. But would it be in Burton, or would the fates tell the rag-tag crew to play somewhere else?

The brothers from Brouse, Oliver and Bernie Koth-Kappus. Two named synonymous with Burton Hockey who took the phenomenon with them to Vancouver all the way back in 2005. Every return visit from them is a treat; the opportunity to play with them again too rare and too golden to pass up. This weekend, however, would see a major monkey wrench being thrown into anyone’s hockey plans with injuries to both Lee and Graeme Orr, two of BUSH’s backbones. Any hope for a long-overdue BUSH return would rest on the hairy shoulders of Seamus O’Connor. If he could procure just two warm bodies, then the greatest game on Earth could return to Burton on Sunday afternoon. Hell, even just one could at least make for an old-school half-court session. And if it was to be half-court, would a trip all the way down to Burton be necessary? A perfectly good 2-on-2 court at Nakusp Elementary School had been dying for roller hockey action ever since it was paved seven years ago. Perhaps now was the time to try it.

Glenbank’s favourite Irishman put out the call the Saturday and then worked the computers and phone Sunday morning. Our prayers were answered. There would indeed be roller hockey once again; the first half-court session since Christmas 2010. This is Burton United Socialist Hockey, volume 14.

Your humble-but-willing roster for the first BUSH session of 2013, all too eager to shake off the rust and get back to task doing what they love most:
Seamus O’Connor: The greatest dual threat in any of the three leagues, his 2012 season was derailed by work obligations that limited him to just the one BUSH session and made it impossible for him to play in the Arena League. He had a mission this weekend to kickstart hockey, and he also entered the session probably in the best shape of anyone.
Oliver Koth-Kappus: Burton Hockey’s all-time ironman and the current 2013 co-leader in assists. No matter how much he grumbles about being woken up before noon, he somehow never fails to show up time after time.
Bernie Koth-Kappus: Burton Hockey other all-time ironman. Hampered by a severely twisted ankle suffered during Christmas basketball, Bernie had to miss the first VRH session of the year while recovering. Still admittedly off the pace, a 2-on-2 session was just what the doctor ordered for the son of Upper Brouse.
James Hewlitt: Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that Jamie saved the session by joining as the fourth skater. Burton’s oldest regular has also been one of its most dedicated players; only Lee Orr has played more BUSH/Arena games over the past two seasons than James. What’s even more amazing is that he keeps getting better the more he plays. James, however, is still recovering from a broken tailbone suffered in ice hockey back in January.
Justin Gordon: How the well-marinated vessel that is Justin David Gordon came to make his long-overdue return to the Burton fold is a story in itself. Tyler Halldorson was originally booked to be the goalie, but he literally forgot about the session and headed off to Nelson. Calls around town went unanswered. When Seamus called your humble statistician at noon, he asked me to check two doors down to see if I could procure Justin from retirement, so I went. I was shot down quickly. Roofs had to be swept and chimneys had to be cleaned and college basketball had to be watched. Defeated, I called Seamus back to deliver the bad news, but then countered with an offer: I’d play goal. Yes, that’s right, for about five minutes, I was slated to be the goaltender. We were so desperate to play that they’d throw me in. Thankfully, Justin got wind of this plan and refused to let me humiliate myself in goal. He had a change of heart, and off we were to the NES ball court.

Being 2-on-2 halfcourt, today was not about points or quality. It was simply about playing for the love of the game. The NES court was in fantastic condition: smooth concrete that was easy on wheels and no cracks whatsoever. Also, it’s a very wide court (as wide as Ambleside if only 3/4ths the length), which made it perfect for this sort of endeavour. The only issue would be the lack of boards. As balls would be leaving the court quite frequently, soccer-style possession rules were put in place where the opposing team would get the ball when the offending team would send a ball out of play.

Game 1 would see the Koth-Kappi team up to face Seamus and James. As might be expected, the game started out pretty choppy. Every other pass and two-thirds of the shots seem to leave the court. Bernie in particular is so used to slashing balls away from opposing player’s sticks in order to relieve possession that it took him a game to adjust to the fact that doing so at NES would just send the ball flying into the grass. Seamus and James clicked instantly. Once the guys found their rhythms about 10-15 minutes in, the tandem took control of play and never really let it go. Seamus and James would outshoot Ollie and Bern by a stunning 25-6 margin with only the fantastic play of Justin holding them at bay. For a guy who hadn’t played in two years and took a pretty hard shot to the groin midway through the first frame (he must be rusty – he forgot to wear a cup!), he was pretty good all day. Oliver and Bernie finally found their footing at the end to prevent a shutout, but Seamus and James were a lights-out combo. Seamus pointed out, and James had four points. The wacky rules of possession meant that Justin actually picked up a second assist on a goal that was scored on him!

Not that we expected to play a huge session today (again, just getting out there was a victory), but the schoolyard was filling with parents and kids waiting to use the court (some kids even had roller blades themselves). It was pretty much a given today that two games was probably going to be it, and that would be the case indeed. This time, Seamus and Bernie would take on James and Oliver, and the results were fantastic. Game 2 was better than any halfcourt, no-board game had the right to be. Lots of precision passing, spinorama skating manoeuvres, and crazy saves were had in this one. There was a scary moment early when Seamus went to retrieve the ball from one of its many journeys off-court and slipped on the transition between the grass and pavement, landing directly on his tailbone. It looked nasty, but he was alright and the game continued unabated save for Bernie’s rest breaks that would stop the game dead every three minutes (they worked, however; Bernie had two goals in Game 2 and probably could have had a couple of more). The two teams were extremely even; at no point was the lead ever higher than one goal. Once it reached golden goal time, a grindfest ensued in which it took 15 minutes to score the final tally, which would go to Seamus.

A weird session to be certain, and only five players, but who cares? It was just fun to be out there again. Everyone had a great time in the just-under-two-hours, and there’s already talk of next weekend (hopefully with a slightly larger turnout). The Koth-Kappus brothers now head back to VRH, and Justin goes back to whatever it is that he does, and Seamus and Jamie are left to eagerly await the next session whether it’s BUSH or Arena.

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Seamus pointed out in the two-games session on 6G-4A; the only player to win both games (he picked up 31 shots on goal along the way). James had four points in each game to pick up second star at 6G-2A, while Oliver continued his assisting ways, registering nary a goal but grabbing 5 apples. Bernie had 3G. In goal, Justin was smooth and consistent and looked as though he hadn’t lost a step, finishing with .786 and 55 saves.

Game Scores:
Seamus James def. Bernie Oliver 5-1
Seamus Bernie def. James Oliver 5-4

Elo Ratings
Seamus O’Connor 1966 (+11)
Oliver Koth-Kappus 1863 (-14)
James Hewlitt 1782 (+8)
Bernie Koth-Kappus 1507 (-5)

Season Stats: As this was the first BUSH session of the year, there’s really not a huge impact on the overall statistics other than from VRH regular Oliver, who gained five points to pass Ryan Disterheft and stand second in season scoring, two points behind Rob Hajdu at 39-37... Oliver also leads Rob in assists, 29-24... Amazingly, from these two games Seamus sits 11th in scoring... Justin debuts fourth in save percentage at .786... Two games were all Oliver needed to takes the season games played lead from Ryan, 16-15... Bernie sits fourth in games played at 11... Seamus joins the logjam of players with 15 three-star points... Enjoy it while it lasts: Seamus leads in PPG at 5.00 and in shots-per-game at 15.50, while he and James share the GPG lead at 3.00... Oliver moves into second in APG at 1.81, not far behind Andrew Smart at all... Justin leads in saves per game at 27.50... Justin’s .786 is the fifth-best session so far this year.

SDF/GDF: This session had almost no impact on either chart. Sam and Bron still lead. Check back for the next session to see things move.

All-Time Session Milestones & Streaks

On the All-Time Front: Oliver leads Lee in all-time scoring, 2,758-2,752... Seamus passes Kyle Grenier for fifth all-time with 1,584 points... Justin needs two points for 1,100... Bernie still needs one goal for 700... Seamus is seven goals behind brother K.J. for sixth all-time... Oliver plays in his eighth consecutive session.

Well, we had hockey in Nakusp. Will there be more? And will there be a VRH session today to go with it? Come back soon and find out...