Ringers drive back them Rebs

The Rebels fall (again) to the strengthening Ringers, who continue to play better each week. Game 3 had far fewer blind passes, had better line changing, and showed off our mighty defensive talents. And Rob.

GM Weiss wasted no time in popping in goal 1 from a Chris Fullen assist, but the next goal didn't arrive until the second period when Joe Eiden rifled one in on a breakaway. Our defense lobbed round after round of artillery at the Rebs' goalie; Joe Saundercook fired one at hole #1 that touched Greg's stick on the way in. Greg later confessed post-game that he wasn't aware he had deflected Saundercook's shot, but was quite happy to rack an extra goal on his stats.

Speaking of touching Greg's stick, Geoff Comrie was pretty darn excited that he had borrowed Brian's cup (since he left his at home) after blocking a shot with his huevos. Geoff dropped in a goal of his own, so perhaps Brian's underwear helped in other ways as well.

Goal five came off the stick of Rob Todd from a pass out to the point from Richard. It slid almost under the ice and between about 40 legs. Onlookers, Ringers and Rebels, alike appeared baffled when the puck was found in the net.

Thanks to Rob as well for the beer: next week it's Phil's turn.

Next game against Doug Yale's Pampered Chefs, Tuesday the 24th at 10:15pm.

Ringers fall to Rocky Mount

Despite the fact that only 6 skaters and 1 goalie fit on the bus from Rocky Mount, the Rangers were able to secure one surprise goal to tip the balance of an otherwise evenly-matched game. The Rangers scored first, but our boys responded quickly with a goal from GM Greg Weiss, who made effective use of lessons learned at the Marty Clarke School of Defense and Blue Line Positioning. Later, spirits grew higher as Greg popped in a beautiful one-timer from Rob Todd via Joe Eiden. And despite the fact that there was nothing between him and the net, he was very proud to point out that he sent it top shelf. At 2 to 1 at the beginning of the second, we were facing the most dangerous lead in hockey.

The Rangers were able to press the net again and sink their second to tie it up, and then early in the third, they managed to squeak a long shot past Eric. It was an uncharacteristic slip for The Wall, who easily snatched sound-barrier-breaking pucks during Game 1. With two minutes to go, we put six skaters on the ice, and the Rangers closed the deal with a final, empty-net goal.

The good news: play was better than last game - we killed four penalties. The bad news: passing and control. Look for more details on upcoming practices shortly.

Next game: Rebels at 8pm (Jan 17)
Beer cart girl: Rob "Ready to Pinch" Todd
Who's in and who's out? Add a comment below.

Ringers defeated in inagural B/C game

OK - let's not look at this as a loss. Let's look at it as more of an early study. A test run to kick the tires and see how things work. An opportunity to find out what our strengths and weaknesses are. In fact, Tuesday's first game in B/C was really a brainstorming session, where we generated a comprehensive list of things we need to work on. And this, of course, is an essential step to growth.

And ooh boy, there's an exciting amount of growth in store for us this season.

Joey Bag O' Donuts tendered two lonely goals to the Casalinga Cunning Linguists' eight. The Ringers provided their opponents many chances to intercept blind passes, and the Linguists did an excellent job of reading the ice.

At one point, after what seemed like 10 minutes of attack in our zone, our GM, Greg "Wheezer" Weiss, launched the puck up in the air in a desperate attempt to clear, and two hopeful wings started streaming towards the Casalinga goal. But then, our hopes were dashed as one Linguist snagged the puck out of the air at the top of our zone, and the misery continued.

On a plus note, early reports suggest that this team is the likely the best in this league.

Next week's game is at 8pm against the Rocky Mount Rangers. Yeah, that's right - they're coming all the way from Rocky Mount.

Personally, I'd take Hwy 98 after Spring Hope...

New Season!

Our heroes return to the ice tonight at 10:15pm as they matriculate to the B/C league along with their longtime nemeses, the Pizza Weevils. Ringers GM Greg Weiss was happy to report the return of a number of past favorites to this season's roster, including Geoff Comrie, Chris Fullen, Marc Lavergne, and Marty Clarke.

There was some uncertainty about Richard Tooke's ability to play full time this season, but thankfully, the team orthopedic surgeon has cleared him to play. Although he'll have to reduce the number of exciting, out-of-control moments like checking Joe Eiden or breaking a blade in the edge of the zam door.

Richard's knee problems have existed for a while, but really flared up during the Factory Holiday Tournament, and he was later diagnosed with a mild case of prepatellar bursitis. When asked to comment he said, "I guess I'll just have to deal with it. But it's hard to understand, you know? I mean, the doctor said that this kind of thing is caused by someone spending a lot of time on their knees, doing repetitive movements. I just can't figure out why Greg doesn't have this yet."