After one of its longest dry spells (well over 2 months) in recent memory, VRH would finally hit the pavement of Ambleside once again. Even so, the player turnout would be sparse with only 5 skaters. Sam Lam’s long awaited return from exile at Quadra Island, dealing with residents and transients alike, would spur VRH back into action, and also provide a second goalie, something which had been more-or-less non-existent of late.

Despite a high pressure ridge hanging over top of southern BC, Vancouver, thanks to its ocean micro-climate, would unfortunately see mostly low-level marine cloud on this day. The cool fall temperatures were certainly a welcome relief, though.

With 5 skaters, a hybrid 3-on-2 game was the flavor du jour. The first series would see Stefan & Rob, back-stopped by Sam take on Oliver-Bernie-Griff-Sam(G). Although play was fairly even, Dom was his usual brilliant self and bailed his team out on numerous occasions. In the end, Team Dom would take the series in 2 games.

Next, to alleviate Stefan’s & Rob’s exhaustion, Bernie was brought over to their team and the goalies were switched. This game was a little more lopsided for the 3-man team, and despite winning the first one handily, Team Sam wanted a shot at redemption. Unfortunately, though, there would be on redemption on this day.

One more game was played before a couple of players had to leave, thereby ending the session. Despite the low numbers and less than glorious weather, everyone had a blast and was just happy to get back out there and play some VRH hockey. Goaltenders and overall numbers are still a major issue for VRH, and the splendid Sumtober weather is bound to turn eventually, so the prognosis for VRH’s immediate future is far from great, but the attempt to get sessions together will certainly still be there.

Follow Burton Hockey on Twitter @burtonhockey
Visit Burton Hockey on Facebook
Join the Burton Hockey group on Facebook

Thanks, Bern! Stefan was the big winner today, scoring 13G-6A on just 34 shots to lead the way. On the back of 10A, Oliver finished second at 17P, and Griff returned quite nicely with 12G and 15P overall, tying Rob (6G-9A) for third star. In goal, Dom was stellar most of the day and finished at .833 with 65 saves compared with Sam at .702 on 59 saves.

Game Scores:
Oliver Bernie Griff Dom def. Rob Stefan Sam 5-3 5-2
Rob Stefan Bernie Dom def. Oliver Griff Sam 5-2 5-3
Stefan Oliver Dom def. Griff Rob Bernie Sam 5-3

Elo Ratings
Stefan Klopp 1986 (+19)
Rob Hajdu 1984 (-21)
Oliver Koth-Kappus 1919 (+9)
Griff Jones 1765 (0)
Bernie Koth-Kappus 1548 (-7)

Season Stats: Rob closes the season scoring race between him and Andy Smart to 177-160… Oliver passes Ryan Disterheft for third, 121-119… Stefan jumps from ninth to fifth to make his first appearance this year in the top five with 76 points, displacing Jordan Barlow, Tony Hajdu, Seamus O’Connor, and Bernie in the process… Andy leads Rob in goals, 85-78, while Oliver jumps from sixth to fourth at 43, and Stefan moves from seventh to eleventh… Andy leads in assists, 92-82, with Oliver at 78… Bernie ties Barlow for fifth in assists at 39 with Stefan now at 37… Rob becomes the first player to take 500 shots on goal this season; Oliver is the fifth to take 200… Bernie falls from third to sixth in shooting percentage, bringing James Hewlitt into the top five… Sam plummets out of the top five in goaltending from his previous rank of third, bringing Lee Orr of all people into the top five… Sam passes Bron Mach for third in saves and is 21 behind Stuart Hall for second… Rob leads Dom in games, 67-65, while Bernie sits third at 58 and Oliver is fifth at 47… Sam passes Bron for third in games goaltended with 19, two behind Stuart for second… Rob knocks Jordan out of the top five in PPG at 2.61… Stefan’s 13 goals today rank fifth-best in sessions so far this year.

SDF/GDF: For the first time in years and eighth time overall, Seamus O’Connor lead the SDF, as Andy Smart loses marginally enough points to hand over the lead… Stefan jumps up four sports from tenth to sixth and Ollie moves from eighth to seventh… Pretty well nothing moves on the GDF, as Justin Gordon remains a strong first-place for a second consecutive session.

All-Time Session Milestones & Streaks

On the All-Time Front: Oliver opens his all-time scoring lead over Lee Orr up to 46 points… Rob is 24 points behind Justin Gordon for ninth all-time in points… Rob needs two goals for 500 and is three behind Graeme Orr for 11th… Bernie needs nine assists for 1,000… Rob passes Andy Smart for eighth in assists and is four behind Lorne Bilinski for seventh… Rob needs ten shots to become the ninth player with 3,000… Dom becomes the first goalie to make 9,000 saves; no one else has 5,000… Sam is 55 saves behind Shem Hanna for tenth all-time… Oliver needs eight game to become the first player with 1,500… Rob and Sam become the 15th and 16th players to play 500 games… Dom needs four games in goal to become the first goalie to goaltend 600 games… Sam passes Lyle Detta for tenth in games goaltended and needs one more game for 200 in goal… Dom becomes the first goalie to record 800 goalie star points… Oliver trails Lorne 875-870 for fourth in total star points… Stefan leads Oliver in all-time VRH scoring, 1,444-1,400… Rob is 31 points behind Bernie for third in VRH scoring… Griff passes Andrew George for 18th in VRH scoring… Stefan passes Lorne and ties Kyle Grenier for third in 15-pointers with 59… Rob passes Justin for ninth in 15-pointers with 35… Griff scores 15 points for the second time in his career… Griff records his first ten-goal session… Rob’s consecutive session streak passes the 16-month mark as he plays in his 21st consecutive session… Oliver plays in his 13th consecutive session with Dom right behind at 12.