THE

UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Labatt Blues
Whalers
1st
1
1
2rd
1
2
3rd
0
6
FINAL
2
9
Shots
32
45
February 1st, 2011 - 6:30PM
Union Arena - Woodstock, VT
Pre-Game
Recap
Box Score
Discussion
Game ID: 719

Whalers crush DR in 6-on-6 action

I'm not sure why it was only 6-on-6 to start the game, because the snow stopped hours before the puck dropped. There were 2 points to be given out, and there were enough players to play, so it was Game On! Whalers F Jay Zaneloni wired an unassisted slapper under the crossbar past DR goaltender Feiden at 10:51 to start the scoring. Feiden looked like he was hoping it was going to go just wide, but it found the net with a loud clang. Whalers G Ken Lallier kicked out an Evan Duggan unassisted chance at 8:07 after Duggan backchecked Gary Laperle, who was slowly skating the puck out of the Whalers zone, and stole the puck to go in on Lallier all alone. The shots were 12-5 at the 5:12 mark in favor of the Whalers. Feiden made a great blocker save on a Jason Gramling backhander at 5:07. Marty "Father Time" White ripped a trademark slapper of his own from Jason Loomis past "LeLallier" from just inside the blueline low off the post and in past an outstretched foot. Late in the period Nords goaltender John Turner made his debut in a real game for the first time ever skating out. It was only his second time skating out in a game ever, and the first one was about 9 years ago in a Potter pick-up skate when he slashed me on the hands. Dead River was doing well 6-on-6 until he showed up, and maybe next time Turner should go in the net and DR can have Greg Feiden skate out... Regardless, JT was there to try and help a depleted DR squad, and he took two shots towards the goal on his first shift with the first one going wide, and the second one getting blocked in the slot. Sporting a classic red Storm Kings jersey, Turner worked hard, read the play well, and gave much needed relief to a tired bench. Kirt Johnson went for holding at 2:06 giving DR a power play, but the Whalers shut it down. Shots were 21-6 for the Whalers at the end of the first.

The Oilers took two quick shots that Lallier saved, but the third one Greg Hadley tapped in at 13:50 to give DR a 2-1 lead. The lead quickly evaporated as Zaneloni fed Gramling for a breakaway, and this time he put a nasty backhander into the top corner over Feiden's blocker at 13:25 to tie it up. The pace of play was slow as both teams had only 1 or 2 subs, and energy ws being conserved. It was like pond hockey with 2 refs. DR hit the post past Lallier at 12:27, possibly on another slapper by Father Time, but I only heard the shot. The Whalers recovered the puck on a bad turnover as DR tried to clear the puck hitting a teammate with the puck below the hash marks, but Feiden was there to make a nice save to keep the score tied. hadley made a nice deke to go through a defender, and took a good shot that was gloved by Lallier at 10:49. The pace of the game slowed down even further by this point. The puck bounced behind the DR net off a Johnson point shot, and it was corralled by laperle at the side of the net who dragged it in front past Feiden, who was trying to cover it, right to Zaneloni who jammed it in the open side of the net at 9:29. There were less shots this period, and stood at 7-6 Whalers at 5:21. Laperle sent a shoulder high pass to Nick Hall in the slot at 4:45, and seemed to wonder why Hall couldn't get control of it as he admired the puck mesmerized as it sailed through the air. Z took the body on Hads on a 1-on-1 to prevent the scoring opportunity. There were a lot of puck put over the glass, and the game was getting boring as the players were conserving energy. Z just missed another slapper at 1:55, then went hard into the end boards at 1:41 and got up slowly and returned to the bench for a rest. The play was sloppy. Feiden made a nice save on laperle on a nice pass from Gramling on a 2-on-1 at 0:42. Shots were 10-9, and Hall had a great last second chance on a rush splitting the D with Feiden coming out to challenge.

In the third Evan "Heart and Soul" Duggan grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, beat 2 Whalers, made a cross-ice pass to Hads, and Lallier made the L pad save. Then Bobby Rosati went in from the defensive blueline for another great scoring chance beating 3 Whalers along the way only to be denied by Kenny "The 70's porn stache" "LeLallier". Lallier looked sharp on his return from a 2 week absence. Where he was, we can only speculate... Could he have been receiving intense sport psychology sessions due to the 1 win season his team was having thus far? Was he undergoing new top secret space age cartilage injections into his knees and hips at a Russian medical facility? Was he on a gay vacation with chickenhawk Liam "The Rat" Oliver? Only Kenny knows the truth... but he was on fire in the third period turning away 14 shots. Feiden was also playing well, but the third period was not his to shine in, but he made two nice saves on another Gramling cut across backhander, and then on Johnson's point shot. A bad pass by Whalers defender Chuck Gaede right to Marty White at the point led to another good DR scoring chance, but Lallier was there. Rosati went for tripping at 11:30, and Gramling scored a PPG at 10:50 after Z passed it to him in the corner, and Gramling cut to the front of the net and soomehow the puck went in. Perhaps it was chipped in, but there was too large a crown in front to see it clearly from the scorebox. The score was 4-1 Whalers, and the momentum was changing. Gary "Laperle Necklace" began his third period onslaught with an unassisted goal at 9:09 as his shot was brought into the net by Feiden who was sliding and the puck just crossed the goal line under his pads. Feiden stood his ground against a driving Gramling and made the stop. Z put one over the glove at 7:19 from Laperle, and then Laperle poked the puck past Rosati and went in with a deke that fooled Feiden to the low glove side at 6:26 assisted by D-men Gaede and Johnson. Laperle had a career night, and a career period with 4 points, 3 of which came in a span of 2:43! Z fired another over the glove at 5:33 after mixing it up with Duggan a few times, with Gaede getting the assist. POW nomination or not, don't let Laperle play D ever again cuz it got ugly a few times. Lallier made a pokecheck and save at 2:41. Gramling was selfish and did not pass to an open Hall on a 2-on-1. I assume he wanted to try another cut across backhander instead of giving his streaking teammate a breakaway... Hall made a spinning pass to Z who fed it to Gramling cross-crease for a goal completing his "selfish" Hat Trick at 0:54 that just beat Feiden between his blocker and pad. Shots were 18-14 Whalers.

Final Score: Whalers 9, Dead River 2

Final Tally: The third period barrage by the Whalers resulted in two goals each for Zaneloni, Gramling, and Laperle. Zaneloni had 4G, 1A on the night to lead all UVHLers in scoring for Feb 1st. Laperle had a career game notching 2G, 2A, and 3 of his points were in the third period. "Mr. Selfish" Jason Gramling had a Hat Trick, and no assists. Feiden faced 44 shots, and Lallier 32.

Final Analysis: Booor-ing! A 6-on-6 UVHL game is not a fast paced affair. The Whalers made it interesting in the third with 6 goals, but it was only because it was pond hockey and everybody was tired. Why were there so many players absent on both teams? Who the fuck knows, but I'm sure their pussies hurt. Well, at least these two teams had heart and actually played the game, unlike one team I know...

See you on the ice! (after the frickin' doors are closed!)

McD
LEAGUE PICK 'EM
 50%
Labatt Blues
50% 
Whalers
4 PICKS
THREE STARS

Jay Zanleoni

GOALS: 4
POINTS: 7

Ken Lallier

GA: 2
SAVES: 30
SAVE%: 0.938

Gary Laperle

GOALS: 2
POINTS: 4

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