http://www.burtonhockey.com Get the latest news and stats from Burton Hockey. Kyle Kusch Stefan Klopp Sat, 04 February 2012 00:00:00 PST After 2 months of almost solid rain (and a little snow to boot) on weekends, finally the sun would grace us with its presence once again and VRH would see its inaugural session of 2012. With temps expected to get up to 10 degrees centigrade, this was indeed an ideal day for hockey. Today would see the arrival of a new player, Lars' friend Stewart, as well as the long anticipated return of Stefan Klopp. Both players proved to hold their own; Stewart proved to be a solid addition, playing well defensively and showing great hockey sense. Though he petered out a bit towards the end (and had to skip the last game), Klopp showed that his bionic leg could indeed withstand the rigours of hockey at Ambleside and his offensive ability was still evident even after such a long layoff. Tony was a force today but Ryno was probably the day's MVP having seemingly unlimited energy especially towards the end when everyone else was tiring. Goaltending today was very solid on both ends as usual. Finding balance proved to be a little difficult today as the first two series were both won rather handily in 2 games. The last game though, would finally produce a nail biter. Bernie-Rhino-Lars-Stew-Dom would take a quack early lead on couple goals by Lars. Before long the score was 4-1 for Team Dom and the game seemed all but done. Team Ollie-Tony-Shay-Sam, however, would not give up and slowly clawed their way back. It should be noted that despite a couple soft goals early on in this game, at this point Sam was absolutely sensational making highlight-reel save after save, to keep his team in it. After nearly 45 minutes of action, Ollie would finally pot the winner on a picture perfect pass from Tony H., producing an unlikely miracle comeback for Team Sam. As the weather begins to turn in the Lower Mainland, look for more VRH action in the weeks to come! Follow Burton Hockey on Twitter @burtonhockey Visit Burton Hockey on Facebook http://www.burtonhockey.com/boxscores.php?action=view_session&id=365&view=all The masses have spoken, and it is time to reveal who YOU chose as the top players of 2011. http://www.burtonhockey.com/news.php?action=show_article&article=167 A complete list of Burton Hockey award winners from 2000 through 2011. http://www.burtonhockey.com/news.php?action=show_article&article=166 As Christmas is just around the corner, talk has once again turned to putting together a Christmas session - or two - for the holidays. To get visions of wintertime hockey dancing in your heads, here's a history of Christmas sessions throughout the years. http://www.burtonhockey.com/news.php?action=show_article&article=165 This session will go down in history as the one that never happened… almost. Murphy had it in for us right from the start, with only 3 confirmed skaters. But with Ryno getting his buddy Ron Richards on board, Dom getting Ian and 5 maybes amongst the regulars, things were looking up indeed. However, by Sunday morning, with a few of the maybes already cancelled, a frantic effort to contact the remaining maybes ended in vain. This was compounded by the fact that Ollie had turned all his phones off and slept-in blissfully while the organizer was trying frantically to confirm enough people. Eventually though, after the start time had been pushed back, Ollie was finally reached and the green light was given. Murphy was at it again though, creating transit problems, rendering Ollie & Bernie about a half hour late. On arrival Ryno & friend were nowhere to be seen. It turns out Murphy had made another attempt at jeopardizing the session by disabling Ryno’s internet connection (ie he never received the confirmation e-mails). Luckily Ryno could still be contacted via cellular telephone. In one final last ditch effort, Murphy created a thin layer of invisible ice over about ¾ of the rink (defying physics as it did not freeze overnight), which was almost impossible to skate on. Discussion of canceling the session or playing on foot was had, but after coming this far we could not let Murphy win. With the aid of Sam’s de-icing salt and about an hour of skate wear the surface did indeed become better, though there were still a few very nasty spots. The surprise showing of Lars allowed us to get started with a 2-on-2 game of Ollie-Bernie-Dom vs. Ian-Lars-Sam. Near the end of this game, Ryno would finally arrive, but arrive he would, with not only one friend but an entire entourage of 3 new players in tow. At this point it became evidently clear that the tide was turning; there was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning,. And that, I think, was the handle, that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Murphy. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave.* The remainder of the day would see 6 more games of fun filled 3-on-3 action, with the intensity ramping up as the day went on, proportional to the quality of the rink surface. Only the setting of the sun would put a stop to this glorious day of hockey. The will to play was indeed strong on this day. Follow Burton Hockey on Twitter @burtonhockey Visit Burton Hockey on Facebook http://www.burtonhockey.com/boxscores.php?action=view_session&id=364&view=all Vote now for the 2011 Burton Hockey Awards! http://www.burtonhockey.com/news.php?action=show_article&article=164 After nearly a month long absence, VRH would finally hit the pavement of Ambleside once again. Despite the glorious sunshine on this day, the rink was still a little wet from the previous day’s drizzle creating slippery conditions on one side of the rink and also numerous spills. With Dom’s vision rather blurry (from recent lasik eye surgery), he would opt to play out and Jordan “Garth Bones” Downey would volunteer to man the pipes. Perfect numbers today would see each team with one sub. Sticks were thrown to produce Andy-Ollie-Dom-Rob-Sam(G) vs. J-Bo-Marcus-Tony-Bernie-Jordo(G). Game one was quite even in terms of play but an “unstoppable” performance by Bones would lead his team to a 5-2 victory. Bones, however, would come back down to earth in the next game, surrendering 5 goals, and with a solid team effort and a Lammer shutout, Team Sam would win easily. The rubber match would be another quick one, with Team Sam again solving the Downey equation and winning 5-1. For the next series the teams were kept the same, with just the goalies switched. Backed by some excellent goaltending, Team Sam (now with J-Bo-Marcus-Tony-Bernie) would take the series in 2 games. It should also be noted that after the 4th game a formal announcement was made as Ollie had both reached his 1000th all–time goal and finally surpassed Stefan Klopp as the all-time VRH points leader. Sticks again were thrown for the next series to produce Andy-J-Bo-Tony-Bernie-Sam(G) vs. Dom-Ollie-Rob-Marcus-Jordo(G). Lead by a 5 point effort from Marcus and another miracle game from Bones, his team would win the first game handily. However, Team Sam, lead by Andy & J-Bo (8 & 7 points respectively) would get their redemption by winning the next two games and the series. Even though the conditions weren’t ideal today, it was a blast to get back out there again! Look for another VRH session or two before Christmas (as long as the weather co-operates) and the possible return of VRH perennial member Stefan Klopp. Follow Burton Hockey on Twitter @burtonhockey Visit Burton Hockey on Facebook http://www.burtonhockey.com/boxscores.php?action=view_session&id=363&view=all The phrase “Winter is coming” (originating from the superb George R.R. Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire) could well be used to describe the weather in the Lower Mainland recently. With temperatures dipping down to around zero degrees centigrade, the fear of a deadly frost layer on the Ambleside rink was well warranted. However, to our surprise the rink was clear, bone dry and in pristine condition. As the sun began to peak out from behind the clouds, the air began to warm up a little, and in the end we had an almost ideal day for hockey. Today would see both some massive blow-outs and some extremely close hard fought games. In fact, today was quite likely the most intense session in recent memory. Having a plentitude of subs (at least one on each team for the duration) certainly contributed to the energy level. Aside from a couple anomalous games, the goaltending was very solid at both ends today, with Sam matching Dom's typically exceptional play in most games. Also of note today, with his snuffbox finally feeling good enough to play, Rocco Gretzmaldi would make his long anticipated return. After a blowout victory by Andy-Tony-Shay-Rob-Sam over JBo-Ollie-Bernie-Rocco-Dom, Marcus arrived and was added to the losing team. Team Dom would get redemption taking the next game in sudden death OT, but Team Sam would come storming back to take the next game 5-0, earning Samsung a well deserved shutout and the series victory. Next, Tony-Bernie-Marcus-Shay-JBo-Dom would find some great chemistry and blowout Rob-Andy-Rocco-Ollie-Sam in a 5-0 win. With Beener leaving, the teams were changed again and one final series was played. After going down 5-3 in the first game Team Ollie-Tony-JBo-Bernie-Dom would lay it all on the line in the next game coming back to tie it 4-4. Team Marcus-Andy-Rob-Shay-Sam's relentless pressure was too much to overcome however, and they would take it in OT. As the teams were quite even one more game was played, a game that would last almost an hour, a real grindfest that would feature spectacular goaltending on both ends. Team Sam would persevere once again winning 5-3. Another great hockey session in the books. See y'all next long weekend... weather depending of course. Follow Burton Hockey on Twitter @burtonhockey Visit Burton Hockey on Facebook http://www.burtonhockey.com/boxscores.php?action=view_session&id=362&view=all It was the most of glorious days. The autumn air was crisp indeed, but with not a cloud to be seen in the blue midday sky, the sun in all its brilliance would bathe us in its holy warmth. The perfect day for hockey, some might say. Numbers would be an issue again today, but with Lammer neglecting his homework for the sake of hockey (giving us 2 goalies) and The Shaylin Warrior gracing us with his presence once again (after a year-long absence), we would end up with just enough for some 3 on 3 action. The manufactured teams of Marcus-Ollie-Bernie-Dom would take on Andy-Rob-Shay-Sam. The overall play in this series was quite even, but the combination of Dom’s exceptional back-stopping and Marcus’ scoring prowess lead team Dom to a 2-0 victory. For the next series the teams were kept the same with the goalies switched. Dom’s solid netminding, combined with Andy’s superb all-round play, Rob’s energy & defensive play (particularly on Marcus) and Shay finding his scoring touch, lead 2-0 series victory for Team Dom. Next, another set of manufactured teams saw Andy-Ollie-Bernie-Dom take on Marcus-Rob-Shay-Sam. Andy, Ollie and Bernie found instant chemistry completing a number of pretty tic-tac-toe plays, and would take the game. For the last game, teams were maintained with goalies switched. This all out war would feature some brilliant tending by Sam, eventually giving him his first victory on the day, after being ended by a gritty Landeskogian goal off a skate in sudden death overtime. All in all, this was a great session today. Look for a possible mini-supersession coming up with two BUSH players in the lower mainland on Halloween weekend. Follow Burton Hockey on Twitter @burtonhockey Visit Burton Hockey on Facebook http://www.burtonhockey.com/boxscores.php?action=view_session&id=361&view=all Today we introduce Elo ratings for Burton Hockey. While some of you may recognise Elo ratings from their use in chess, Elo ratings can be applied to just about anything as a measure of relative skill. We've gone back through every session from all 12 seasons of Burton Hockey to bring you concrete Elo ratings for EVERY player who's ever stepped foot in a Burton rink, producing a much more accurate metric than simple points-per-game. http://www.burtonhockey.com/news.php?action=show_article&article=163