THE

UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Whalers
Gamblers
1st
0
0
2rd
0
1
3rd
1
1
FINAL
1
2
Shots
27
44
December 6th, 2023 - 7:55PM
WABA - White River Junction, VT
Pre-Game
Recap
Box Score
Discussion
Game ID: 1457

Gamblers Shut Down Whalers.

There were 2 fans in the stands tonight, both for the Whalers, and they were all in for a low scoring defensive battle on this early game Wednesday night at the WABA in Hartford, VT. The tunes were rockin’ but there were no SOG until 12:47 for the Gamblers and they got 3 in a row in on Tucker in the Whalers net. Dan “DeNerd” VeNard got caught napping with a lazy play staying inside the blueline in the offensive zone after losing the puck and just standing there along the boards watching his teammates regroup and attempt to re-enter the zone. Get the fuck outta there, DeNerd! Or just lie down and give up. Pick one. Aidan “What The Fuck Is A” Boonyaharn received a great breakout pass from Jason “Salt ‘n Pepper” Yehle and went in for a great scoring chance turned away by Cline’s R pad. The Gamblers Ryan Bergeron went to the box at 8:07 for tripping and while on the PK Luke Ceplikas made a beauty of a pass to Max “Eye of the Tiger” Woods for a sweet shorthanded chance. The Whalers did not generate a SOG during their PP, which was a theme for most of this tight game. There were TWO breakaways already in this game! It doesn’t have to be a scorefest to be exciting or good hockey. It was a good chess match for most of the period with the Gamblers clearly outshooting the Whalers. Yehle stopped yet another 2-on-1 showing his defensive prowess and great anticipation. At the end of the 1st it was 12-5 for shots in favor of the Gamblers.

Cline made a nice save at 12:42 of the 2nd to keep it scoreless. Gamblers captain Will Meyer sped into the Whalers zone 1-on-1 but lost the puck to the corner as he went to his backhand. Five minutes into the period the Gamblers had doubled the Whalers on shots on goal. It was an absolute onslaught by the G’s. Then Aidan “WTF Is A” Booyaharn had a partial breakaway and was defended well from behind and was stripped of the puck with no SOG on the play. Tucker made a nice blocker save at 8:25 and soon after the scoring chance the Gamblers were in the box at 7:57 on an interference call on the ever speedy and elusive Topo LaCroix. It was a BAD line change by the Whalers that led to the good break into the O-zone for the Gamblers, but LaCroix was trying to make room for his teammate, Max Woods, who was penetrating with the puck and LaCroix got in the way of and tangled up with Whalers defender VeNard near the blue line necessitating the interference call. VeNard got his head out of his ass and was busting tail backchecking to prevent Woods from having a breakaway on the play. Nice one, DeNerd! You totally redeemed yourself! A NOICE point shot by the G’s was deflected away from the goal, but they had the right idea and their offense continued to roll. The Gamblers struck at 4:29 with the captain extraordinaire Will Meyer showing that he’s still got mad skill and speed at 41 years young assisted by Billy “New Guy” Rivellini and Ceplikas. James “Sweet Spice” McCormick got called for a trip at 2:12 and soon after the PP ended it was “New Guy” Billy “Its Shaped Like Tortellini” Rivellini in the box for an aggressive cross-check along the boards battling for position and the puck as time expired. Shots ended 36-14 for the Gamblers. Tucker made 24 saves in the 2nd period. Holy fuuuuuck… He was the only reason this was a 1-goal game.

The Whalers started the 3rd with a man advantage but needed a Viagara cuz their impotent power play generated zero money shots on the Gamblers net or faces. In fact, there were absolutely no shots on net for the Whale until 10:42 and the post that was hit 16 seconds earlier doesn’t count. However, once they did get that shot, they had 3 in a row for their first real barrage on Cline in the Gamblers net. “The Fabulous” Dan Fenton had a breakaway and good shot on Cline at 9:17, but the score remained 1-0 Gamblers. This game was a real defensive gem like Curtis Joseph in net for the Leafs, played by none other than Tucker “His Last Name Is Too Long To Be Typed”, against the St. Louis Blues back in the mid-90’s with a 56 save performance. Sorry, Bruins fans. This transplanted Canuck isn’t going to remember Bruins highlights from back in the day cuz there weren’t any, and they sure as hell ain’t my team. However, I did cheer for the B’s and was happy for all you New Englanders (even Kelly “Fuckin’” Park) when they won back in 2011. The Whalers had a nice 2-on-1 with Bentley “WTF Is A” Boonyaharn feeding Teddy “The Mothman” Pupilla only to have it turned away by Cline. The Whalers had more good scoring chances in the 3rd than they had all game and reduced the shot deficit in the final frame. Topo showed his skill and hockey sense yet again in the neutral zone with a behind the back spin around pass across the other side of the ice to his brother Ryan who then sped into the Whalers zone unleashing a nice slapper after penetrating the blue line. Hmmm… I’ve said “penetrating” twice in this write up so far. Must be something Freudian going on in my subconscious with my Id battling by Ego influenced by my libido… In any case, these two “Daddy’s special boys” have some special chemistry out there on the ice and that was a memorable play by both. Tucker is nominated for a Save of the Year with an incredible reach back with the stick save at 4:44 to keep his team in it and STILL a 1-goal game. The Gamblers were flying at this point until they got another penalty at 4:03 by Zach Aher being sent to the Sin Bin for a hook. However, The Gamblers responded with a really good, aggressive PK, and as the Whalers PP expired the G’s hard work forced a chance in the W’s zone. It was the second attempt that found the net with a great battle and teamwork by Luke Dreary and Aher with just 1:47 to go up 2-0. Aher made up for his gaffe and was crucial to generating this scoring chance. Not to be outdone, or give up, the Whalers answered to make it a 1-goal game again at 0:34 with Jason “Salt ‘n Pepper” Yehle scoring a clutch goal from Bentley “WTF Is A” Booyaharn and “The Fantastic” Dan Fenton showing that he can add to the offense while playing great defense. The score was 2-1 with just over half a minute left and the Whalers got the puck into the Gamblers’ zone and pulled Tucker with 15 seconds on the clock. The Gamblers defended well and maintained their lead winning this defensive yet exciting gem of a men’s league game 2-1. Shots were an incredible 44-27 for the Gamblers at game’s end.

MVP? The Whalers’ 3-game win streak came to an end in a real beauty of a game. An honorable mention to Tucker for a 42-save performance in a 45-minute game. That’s on pace for 59-60 shots in an NHL game, for fuck’s sake! However, the Gamblers won and there were 5 different point getters for the G’s. Dreary had the eventual game winner and gets the nod in this total team effort. Cline had 26 saves and a solid performance himself and gets the #2 nomination in my book.

LVP? No one. Fucking awesome game, fellas!

POST-GAME:
It was the Usual Suspects, Teddy “The Mothman” Pupilla and the “Fabulous and Fantastic” Dan Fenton who showed up at Applebee’s post-game. When I got there around 11:10 PM to find a bar void of any UVHLers, Lexi said that Teddy and Dan had showed up and that made me smile knowing they were all in on a fantastic hockey night. Looks good on ya, boys! I’ll see you there soon, eh.

OFFICIAL NOTICE TO ALL PLAYERS AND CAPTAINS:

Between periods I had to sort out who the fuck was on the Lumberjacks. Different players, different jerseys, etc., with no pre-game notification. It delayed the game. I’m FUCKING over it, guys. FROM NOW ON if I have to leave the scorebox to sort out who is who, or who is wearing what jersey, that team is going to be assessed a DELAY OF GAME PENALTY. I hope that is crystal fucking clear. I informed a responsible Gamblers player of this and said that I would put it in each write up as notification to all captains and players. I appreciate your cooperation in helping the games run smoothly each night. Please have all new players or jersey number changes reported to me BEFORE THE GAME STARTS. Thanks, eh.

Most sincerely,

McDefense, aka HKYDOC

LEAGUE PICK 'EM
 0%
Whalers
0% 
Gamblers
PICKS
THREE STARS

Evan Cline

GA: 1
SAVES: 26
SAVE%: 0.963

Tucker Garrity-Hanchett

GA: 2
SAVES: 42
SAVE%: 0.955

Will Meyer

GOALS: 1
POINTS: 2

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