Sunday Afternoon Broomball - Evil Petting Zoo

Date	Time (Rink)	Opponent	Record	Score	How'd we do?
Jan. 6	1:30 (2) 2:30 (1)	Smurfs The Rookies	2-0	5-0 8-1	Another season of EPZ is under way (I might add that EPZ stands for Evil Petting Zoo... an Austin Powers reference from 1997... yes, we're that old)! The warm weather made for a bit of slush on the ice, but it was a perfect day to be out in a park running around and cheering on a teammate. The first game started tight and we easily could have been at a deficit by half-time, but Toddy and the defense was in mid-season form guarding the net post-to-post and pitching a shutout. Goals were scored by Jessi and a couple each by Craig and Dan. We tested our legs in game two as we ventured into our first season of double headers, and held up well. Goals were scored by Pat S., Pat E., Ann, Craig, Dan, and a hat trick by Bill (despite the fact that he was shuffled into the "you score you play goalie" each time). And of course, big, big props to Matt. Not only did he provide the intergame strategy and stats you read above, but the grilling of brats, toasted buns, and adult beverages. Beat that! Oh, and he had an extra stick for when our "captain" forgot his. Thorough! Good start all... and a really fun day at the rink! Dry out your pads, get some good sleep, and rest that groin. See you next week!
Jan. 13	12:30 (1) 1:30 (2)	Bunkers Maxwells Maple Leafs	3-0-1	0-0 5-3	Come for the food... stay for the broomball! Matt again brought his above and beyond culinary (and bartending) skills (thanks!). This time, he was accompanied by buckets of trail mix from Angie and Dan (thanks!). You know, the team that tailgates together wins (or ties) together! As aforementioned, we did play to a draw in game one. Toddy played well in net, never giving our opponents the lead, and we kept the pressure on and took a number of shots, but couldn't slide one past their goalie who also played very well. We were antsy for a goal in game two, and luckily, Dan was able to put one in the top corner early. Our opponents tied it, but Craig put in a power play goal (off a rebound shot from Hatti) right before the half to get back the momentum. From their, we had fairly good control of the second half with goals by Angie, a scoop goal by Eiden, and another from Dan. Defense also play tough and busted up a number of fast break opportunities. Good stuff! More importantly though... who's on the grub for next week?
Jan. 20	2:30 (1) 3:30 (2)	Ice Hogs Helper Monkeys	5-0-1	5-1 5-2	Seems like we start each week the same. We come out a bit slow (personally, I blame my poorly through out trip to the Frida exhibit, in full, sweat-laden, broomball gear, two hours prior to game time), the defense and Toddy have to save us, then we get some momentum. Well, here we go again. Game one did start out tight as most of the first half was played at a 1-1 tie. We got one right before the half and that seemed to provide the spark we needed to control and wrap-up the rest of the game. We took advantage of a shaky goalie in game two to get a quick 4-0 lead at the half. We got a bit nervous as our opponents started the second half with two quick goals on two quick shots (uh hum, I was goalie), but settled a bit, regained control, and cruised to victory. Without Matt there, stats are shaky. I know Jessi had three goals in a row in game one, Toddy had a goal, Pat S. had a goal, and Dan and Craig had two or three goals each. We also had a number of gorgeous passes and assists. Overall, a really great week of broomball. It was awfully cold (is that an understatement?), but we had huge hustle considering we only one sub for each gender. Kristen stopped everything and everyone close to her. Hatti brought a sold stick on her swings. Ann was always open for an outlet or shot. Jessi cleaned-up everything on offense. Angie was tenacious near the boards. Dan picked his way through on run after run. Craig was everywhere. Eiden didn't let anything leave the zone (and loved to scoop it back in). Toddy kept us in both games (and then brought some offense too). Awesome!
Jan. 27	2:30 (2) 3:30 (1)	Team Gilligan I.H.S.	7-0-1	8-2 10-1	Well, with a late Saturday night for some, a bit of the 24 hours flu, and an unsure roster due to the winter carnival tournament, I was hoping for an easy game. Well, be careful what you ask for. The first half of the first game was close, but EPZ coasted much of the day. Tons of goals were scored, but honestly, without Matt punching them into his phone, I can't recall the exact stats (and, I leave the rink a good deal hungrier). Oh well. Good playing today on a beautiful day in the mid-30's that felt like spring. Soon enough!
Feb. 3	11:00 (2) 12:00 (1)	NE Tree Arachibutyrophobia	8-1-1	1-2 Forfeit	Well, we just weren't ourselves. We got down by a couple goals and lost a bit of our control. We rallied at the end and got a late goal, but couldn't finish the surge and tie the game. With our opponent short of players in the second game, we just scrimagged. Good fun and practice for the playoffs. Here we go!
Feb. 11	6:00 (BM 1)	Dawgs (Tournamet)	9-1-1	5-0	How fun was that? We moved it well, controlled the ball, and had some beautiful goals! Passing was gorgeous, shots were blasted and our defense poked away everything. Our best game of the year and a fun, fantastic team effort. Surpassingly though, it was only 1-0 at half-time. Again, defense was tough and Toddy unbeatable as we finally put some shots (we probably had 20) past a very good opposing goalie. What a great way to start the playoffs! Let's keep it rolling in a couple of days!
Feb. 13	6:00 8:00 (BM 1)	Junior Varsity Frozen 12 (Tournament)	11-1-1	3-1 4-1	Another great night of EPZ tournament broomball! Both games were close, but we kept resilient, defense prevented quality shots, and our goaltending kept us on top throughout the night... even through the winter wonderland that created some slick surfaces in game two (against a huge opponent). Highlights include a touching opening duet goal by Jessi and Craig (it was very sweet), Bill blasting in four goals (good thing he saved that groin for the playoffs), Dan blasting and setting up goals, Toddy being a rock in the second half of game one when the game was on the line, and a ton of other great hustle, passing, defensive, and overall stellar plays. And, big thanks to our super sub Val and Pammy (who I hear is still in pain). Heck, let's play some more! See you Friday.
Feb. 15	6:00 (BM)	Broomballers (Tournament)	11-2-1	2-5 (in OT)	We ran into a young, athletic (somewhat jerky) team in the semifinals that took us by surprise. We were able to adjust, but two minutes too late. Right out of the gates our opponents breakaway speed and stick handling put us down a quick two goals only a couple minutes in. We did adjust, but much of the damage had been done. We were able to tie it up and force overtime (including a beautiful goal from our pulled goalie Toddy to Jessi on the backdoor), but our lack of "anything but 8 on 8" knowledge again came back to burn us as we were completed dominated in the extra period. Well, our awesome tournament run this week came to an end. And really, it was an awesome week and our best broomball of the season. Our passes were cleaner, our goals prettier, our shots harder, our goaltending solid-er, our defense impenetrable-er, our cheering louder. What a fantastically fun run! And, we learned a few things this year. Double-headers are the way to go. Every ref has a different interpretation of "high sticking". And, if you don't have someone on the side cooking you brats... why bother? Thanks for another great season! E... P... Z!!! Tournament (bracket).

Date

Time (Rink)

Opponent

Record

Score

How'd we do?

Jan. 6

1:30 (2)
2:30 (1)

Smurfs
The Rookies

2-0

5-0
8-1

Another season of EPZ is under way (I might add that EPZ stands for Evil Petting Zoo... an Austin Powers reference from 1997... yes, we're that old)! The warm weather made for a bit of slush on the ice, but it was a perfect day to be out in a park running around and cheering on a teammate. The first game started tight and we easily could have been at a deficit by half-time, but Toddy and the defense was in mid-season form guarding the net post-to-post and pitching a shutout. Goals were scored by Jessi and a couple each by Craig and Dan. We tested our legs in game two as we ventured into our first season of double headers, and held up well. Goals were scored by Pat S., Pat E., Ann, Craig, Dan, and a hat trick by Bill (despite the fact that he was shuffled into the "you score you play goalie" each time). And of course, big, big props to Matt. Not only did he provide the intergame strategy and stats you read above, but the grilling of brats, toasted buns, and adult beverages. Beat that! Oh, and he had an extra stick for when our "captain" forgot his. Thorough! Good start all... and a really fun day at the rink! Dry out your pads, get some good sleep, and rest that groin. See you next week!

Jan. 13

12:30 (1)
1:30 (2)

Bunkers
Maxwells Maple Leafs

3-0-1

0-0
5-3

Come for the food... stay for the broomball! Matt again brought his above and beyond culinary (and bartending) skills (thanks!). This time, he was accompanied by buckets of trail mix from Angie and Dan (thanks!). You know, the team that tailgates together wins (or ties) together! As aforementioned, we did play to a draw in game one. Toddy played well in net, never giving our opponents the lead, and we kept the pressure on and took a number of shots, but couldn't slide one past their goalie who also played very well. We were antsy for a goal in game two, and luckily, Dan was able to put one in the top corner early. Our opponents tied it, but Craig put in a power play goal (off a rebound shot from Hatti) right before the half to get back the momentum. From their, we had fairly good control of the second half with goals by Angie, a scoop goal by Eiden, and another from Dan. Defense also play tough and busted up a number of fast break opportunities. Good stuff! More importantly though... who's on the grub for next week?

Jan. 20

2:30 (1)
3:30 (2)

Ice Hogs
Helper Monkeys

5-0-1

5-1
5-2

Seems like we start each week the same. We come out a bit slow (personally, I blame my poorly through out trip to the Frida exhibit, in full, sweat-laden, broomball gear, two hours prior to game time), the defense and Toddy have to save us, then we get some momentum. Well, here we go again. Game one did start out tight as most of the first half was played at a 1-1 tie. We got one right before the half and that seemed to provide the spark we needed to control and wrap-up the rest of the game. We took advantage of a shaky goalie in game two to get a quick 4-0 lead at the half. We got a bit nervous as our opponents started the second half with two quick goals on two quick shots (uh hum, I was goalie), but settled a bit, regained control, and cruised to victory. Without Matt there, stats are shaky. I know Jessi had three goals in a row in game one, Toddy had a goal, Pat S. had a goal, and Dan and Craig had two or three goals each. We also had a number of gorgeous passes and assists. Overall, a really great week of broomball. It was awfully cold (is that an understatement?), but we had huge hustle considering we only one sub for each gender. Kristen stopped everything and everyone close to her. Hatti brought a sold stick on her swings. Ann was always open for an outlet or shot. Jessi cleaned-up everything on offense. Angie was tenacious near the boards. Dan picked his way through on run after run. Craig was everywhere. Eiden didn't let anything leave the zone (and loved to scoop it back in). Toddy kept us in both games (and then brought some offense too). Awesome!

Jan. 27

2:30 (2)
3:30 (1)

Team Gilligan
I.H.S.

7-0-1

8-2
10-1

Well, with a late Saturday night for some, a bit of the 24 hours flu, and an unsure roster due to the winter carnival tournament, I was hoping for an easy game. Well, be careful what you ask for. The first half of the first game was close, but EPZ coasted much of the day. Tons of goals were scored, but honestly, without Matt punching them into his phone, I can't recall the exact stats (and, I leave the rink a good deal hungrier). Oh well. Good playing today on a beautiful day in the mid-30's that felt like spring. Soon enough!

Feb. 3

11:00 (2)
12:00 (1)

NE Tree
Arachibutyrophobia

8-1-1

1-2
Forfeit

Well, we just weren't ourselves. We got down by a couple goals and lost a bit of our control. We rallied at the end and got a late goal, but couldn't finish the surge and tie the game. With our opponent short of players in the second game, we just scrimagged. Good fun and practice for the playoffs. Here we go!

Feb. 11

6:00
(BM 1)

Dawgs
(Tournamet)

9-1-1

5-0

How fun was that? We moved it well, controlled the ball, and had some beautiful goals! Passing was gorgeous, shots were blasted and our defense poked away everything. Our best game of the year and a fun, fantastic team effort. Surpassingly though, it was only 1-0 at half-time. Again, defense was tough and Toddy unbeatable as we finally put some shots (we probably had 20) past a very good opposing goalie. What a great way to start the playoffs! Let's keep it rolling in a couple of days!

Feb. 13

6:00
8:00
(BM 1)

Junior Varsity
Frozen 12
(Tournament)

11-1-1

3-1
4-1

Another great night of EPZ tournament broomball! Both games were close, but we kept resilient, defense prevented quality shots, and our goaltending kept us on top throughout the night... even through the winter wonderland that created some slick surfaces in game two (against a huge opponent). Highlights include a touching opening duet goal by Jessi and Craig (it was very sweet), Bill blasting in four goals (good thing he saved that groin for the playoffs), Dan blasting and setting up goals, Toddy being a rock in the second half of game one when the game was on the line, and a ton of other great hustle, passing, defensive, and overall stellar plays. And, big thanks to our super sub Val and Pammy (who I hear is still in pain). Heck, let's play some more! See you Friday.

Feb. 15

6:00 (BM)

Broomballers
(Tournament)

11-2-1

2-5
(in OT)

We ran into a young, athletic (somewhat jerky) team in the semifinals that took us by surprise. We were able to adjust, but two minutes too late. Right out of the gates our opponents breakaway speed and stick handling put us down a quick two goals only a couple minutes in. We did adjust, but much of the damage had been done. We were able to tie it up and force overtime (including a beautiful goal from our pulled goalie Toddy to Jessi on the backdoor), but our lack of "anything but 8 on 8" knowledge again came back to burn us as we were completed dominated in the extra period.

Well, our awesome tournament run this week came to an end. And really, it was an awesome week and our best broomball of the season. Our passes were cleaner, our goals prettier, our shots harder, our goaltending solid-er, our defense impenetrable-er, our cheering louder. What a fantastically fun run! And, we learned a few things this year. Double-headers are the way to go. Every ref has a different interpretation of "high sticking". And, if you don't have someone on the side cooking you brats... why bother?

Thanks for another great season! E... P... Z!!!

Tournament (bracket).