30 June would be a rather interesting test for BUSH in 2013. The Canada Day long weekend forecast was calling for near-record highs coming off of a prolonged wet period, resulting in crushing humidity that may have scared off a few players. The disappointment of losing players today would be tempered, however, by the return of our old friend Jesse Gimbel back home for the weekend from Okotoks, who was seeking to make his full-length debut after getting in just two games in his previous appearance back in February 2010. He would get that and more as the crew powered through 3.5 hours of stultifying heat to put together the greatest half-court session in Burton history.

Yes, half-court. On a day where the temperature in Burton reached 35°C and the humidex a heinous 39, the outskirts of Nakusp were well-represented as four sons of Glenbank and a Brouseman gathered to put themselves to the ultimate test of endurance. Lee would return to the net after two years to face every single combination of his four opponents: Jesse, Graeme, Oliver, and Seamus.

After a few minutes of waiting to see if anyone else would show up (they didn’t), the session was on at 3pm as Seamus and Oliver teamed against Graeme and Jesse. A big advantage in game 1 was wheels. Riding around on a pair of blades purchased in 1996, Jesse’s wheels chunked heavily throughout the day and were gradually replaced throughout the evening, while Graeme seemingly wore through new wheels every game. Lee was on fire in goal as the speedy Seamus, in apex treeplanter shape, and the always-game Ollie were in together on every single goal as they won a 5-1 battle that was closer than the score would indicate. A break was taken at 4-1, on in this heat, it was quickly determine that at least one, if not two breaks were required every game. After some wheel changes, the Graeme-Jesse combo came back strong, scoring the first two goals. Oliver and Seamus would get back on the board, and then Oliver nearly tied it only to miss a completely wide open net. Fortunately for him, Seamus slammed it right back to him at the front of the net and the second time, he made no mistake. It was one of the very few times Lee was caught out in this game as he stonewalled the gang for large periods of time. Jesse’s deft hands were the difference in Game 2 as he led himself and Graeme to a 5-3 victory. Already beaten down by the stifling heat, Seamus pronounced that the session wasn’t going past four games. How wrong he would be.

After going .863 on 78 saves through two games, Game 3 saw Lee come back down to Earth as he began to struggle with goalie pads that were too short for his liking. The Seamus-Ollie combo ran roughshod over Game 3 and won 5-2. Both Seamus and Oliver notched 13 points each on all 13 team goals in the first series. Lee’s struggles would continue as the second series began with Seamus and Graeme against Jesse and Oliver. Jesse and Oliver came out blazing as the pace somehow got quicker during the hottest portion of the day. Game 4 was done in just over six minutes as the Germans made quick work of their opponents, 5-1. This would not be repeated in Game 5, as the two sides traded goals back-and-forth en route to the day’s only 5-4 game, won by Seamus and Graeme. Lee was frustrated enough at this point to switch to larger pads in hopes of changing his fortune for the rubber match. It worked – kind of. With the quirks of the half-court system, it’s completely possible to shutout one team while getting shut out by the other. That’s what happened in Game 6 as Seamus and Graeme made quick work of Jesse and Oliver, 5-0. Lee switched back to his old pads immediately after.

Now pushing 6 pm, it was time to try the last possible combination of players, Seamus and Jesse against Graeme and Oliver. It was an epic. Lee rediscovered his form and played his best game of the night, making 45 brilliant saves. The pace of play finally slowed down, and the game was much more strategic, grinding, and intense, looking like something out of a Fuller Cup championship game. With the guys saving their best hockey for last (and if you saw the looks on their faces, you knew Game 7 was the last one of the day), Graeme and Ollie jumped out to a 3-0 lead despite the volley of shots coming from Seamus and Jesse. It was at this juncture that Graeme and Jesse had to make more wheel repairs, and after the break the momentum gradually turned toward Seamus and Jesse and their blasts from centre that proved too hard to stop. Combining those blasts with great puck manoeuvering and slick hands, they clawed all the way back and won the game, 5-3.

No one would have ever guessed half-court hockey could be this good, especially in this humid heat. With a solid goaltending effort from Lee and four guys giving their all on every goal, it was one of the most intense sessions in a while. And when the players finally left the court, they could barely walk back to their vehicles.

As you can guess, the numbers were huge coming out of this session. Seamus led the way with 19G-10A-29P on 95 shots, his second-best session points total ever, his second-highest shots total ever, and his career-best goal total, which says a lot given the length of his illustrious career. Oliver came in second at 10G-14A, and Jesse’s full session debut led him to big points at 12G-10A. In goal, Lee’s double duty led to a stunning 208 saves (he’s only the fifth person to ever go over 200 and finished with the fourth-highest save total ever); he held it together nicely at .809.

Game Scores:
Seamus Oliver def. Graeme Jesse 5-1 3-5 5-2
Seamus Graeme def. Jesse Oliver 1-5 5-4 5-0
Seamus Jesse def. Graeme Oliver 5-3

Elo Ratings
Seamus O’Connor 2024 (+16)
Graeme Orr 1947 (-27)
Oliver Koth-Kappus 1910 (+9)

Provisional Ratings (less than three sessions played)
Jesse Gimbel 1814 (+1)

Season Stats: It was a big points day for the few who dared played to challenge the humidex today. Oliver passes Ryan Disterheft and becomes the third player to reach the 100-point mark this year at 104... With his massive session, Seamus jumps all the way from 12th to fifth at 64 points. Graeme moves from 21st to 14th, and Jesse debuts inside the top 20... Ollie and Seamus move knock Barlow out of the top five in goals. Oliver trails Ryan for third, 40-36, with Seamus right behind at 34... Ollie’s 14 assists today vault him into a three-way tie for the assist lead with Rob and Smart at 68 each, while Seamus jumps to fifth at 31... Seamus enters the top five in assists at 166... Lee debuts fifth in saves at 208... Oliver jumps up two spots to third in games played at 42 while Seamus jumps to eighth at 23... Lee is the second goalie overall and first BUSH goalie to record a shutout this year... Seamus jumps into sole possession of third in three-star points at 45... Lee ties Seamus and Justin for fifth in goalie star points at 15... Seamus passes Sam for fourth in total star points, 60-55... Seamus sits second in PPG at 3.53 behind Andy Smart, but takes the lead in GPG away from him with 1.94... Graeme debuts fifth in APG at 1.46... Seamus shoots up from fifth to first in shots-per-game at 9.76; Jesse debuts four at 9.29... Lee takes the lead in saves-per-game away from Bron with 29.71... Seamus ties Andy’s 2013-leading session scoring mark set earlier this month with 29 points in seven games; Oliver’s 24 points rank fourth... Seamus also ties Andy for the highest goal total this season with 19 while Jesse’s 12 tie for fifth... Oliver’s 14 assists tie for the season high... Seamus easily sets a Burton season high for shots on goal with 95 while Jesse’s 65 rank third... Lee obliterates Bron’s 2013-leading session save total of 136 with his 208; that save total also helps Lee set a new 2013 PPS high of 1017.

SDF/GDF: As he ties Rob Rogers for third in most SDF rankings led at 32, Andrew Smart has another challenger on his hands. Seamus crosses over the session minimum and now sits third, just behind Smart and Kellan... Tony drops three spots to ninth, and Sam falls under the session minimum and freefalls from third to 19th... Graeme enters the top ten for the first time since February 2012... Lee debuts fifth on the GDF as Bron continues to hold onto top spot for a sixth consecutive week and 25th ranking overall.

All-Time Session Milestones & Streaks

On the All-Time Front: Graeme is 14 points behind Andrew Smart for 11th and 19 points away from 1,000...Seamus passes K.J. for sixth in goals... Graeme needs three goals for 500...Seamus is 21 assists behind Stefan for fourth... Graeme needs 16 assists for 500...Lee enters the top 20 in saves for the first time...Graeme is two games behind Nathan Robson for 13th all-time... Lee records his second career shutout...As mentioned above, Lee’s 208 saves in a session rank fourth-best all-time... Jesse’s ten assists tie for fifth-best in a first full session, while his 65 shots on goal rank third... In his first full career session, Jesse records his first ten-goal, ten-assist, 20-point session... Seamus has five straight 15-pointers; Graeme four... Oliver passes Lorne for fourth in 20-pointers with 29 while Seamus ties Andrew Smart for sixth with 27... Seamus has three straight 20-pointers... Seamus becomes the sixth player with ten 25-pointers... Oliver passes Tony Hajdu for tenth in ten-goal sessions with 17... Seamus ties Rob Rogers for sixth in 15-goal sessions with eight... Seamus passes Stefan for fourth in ten-assisters with 29... Lee records his third career .800... Lee has three straight 100-savers, but this is the first times he’s been over 110... Kellan’s consecutive session streak ends at 12 while Oliver’s goes to 12.