The Cuppa Joe Grinders

No Water (Beer Fine)
No Pucks (Beer Fine)
No Cash (Beer Fine)
No Discipline
No Energy
No Subs
No Luck
No Guy
No Goals
No Fun
No Glory
No Bob
No Frank
No Santa
No Jay
No Spares
No Win
No Tidy
No Mark
No Victory
No More.

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"No, no pucks in this net. I don't know why they asked us to check. We even swept in the corners. Guy wasn't playing, what do they expect?"

The Grinders welcomed the 2nd new team to our division with yet another tick in the Grinder Win column.  With a full line-up and a heck of a fore-check the Grinders were able to make life difficult for the All-Blacks. They had some of their regular roster, Keenlyside, and Gargonzola but they seemed to lack a bit of the usual puck-carrying momentum that they brought to the previous encounters over the years.

Peter wasn’t too busy in the first two periods so we adjusted our game plan and let him see the puck a little a little in the 3rd.  Someone on the bench mentioned the “S” word one shift prior to the Allblacks  scoring their one and only goal in the game.  Feeling guilty, perhaps, Jay took the ensuing face-off and carried the puck all the way to the Allblack netminder’s crease, but failed to score.  Unlike MR. TEIGEN who calmly placed his streak-maintaining goal into the net during the second period to extend his point-per-game streak to 5.  FIVE.   I want him on my line next game. Way to Go, Guy.

Bueno efforts were made from each and every player on the Grinders this game, with encouragement on the bench, short-shifts and a general sense of everyone giving their all. Including a glorious display of effort in the second period with a rush down the right wing, with almost Chacko-like flair and energy, until a little rub-out along the boards resulted in a Yard Sale.

Passing was the key to the game with the likes of Santa making his patented rush but then dishing off to the wingers, getting the defenders moving side to side opening up the ice in front of the net. Santa ends up with an assist on the nite, as does Triggsy, PSP and Cranston ends up with 2!

Tanchack gets a goal by letting go a blast from Yust Over the BlueLine (I capitalized that because I thought it would make a good Yorgy Yorgenson tune) and it was Newts who started it all off in the second period through good old fashioned hard work.  No need for any of that new fangled hard work.

In fact all three Grinder goals came in the second, then we hung on for dear life (See Start Strong and Hang On).  With time ticking away in the third period the Allblacks yanked their goalie and started to press in an effort to make a comeback> The Grinders were defending their end trying to do good by their keeper, wondering why it seemed a little lopsided and the pressure was a little more intense than it should be, we looked out to center ice, and what did we see? A Yard Sale.

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The Kickers just don’t have what it takes to survive in Div 19. Perhaps they thought after being dropped a few divisions, the first game would be a gift. Well they did get introduced to Santa but it wasn’t quite what they expected.  Meester Hubman pulled a shithook early in the game and rushed the net a couple of times for the Grinders first two goals, giving Andy and Goats a couple of assists on the way. The period ended with those two tallies only and the Grinders forecheck seemed to stun the kickers who had no positional organization at all.   Santa almost achieved the Gordie Howe hat trick, all he needed was a fight!   He may have failed to provide that entertainment, but those of us at cuppajoegrinders.com will never let you down! (See Picture Below)

The clean first period and friendly atmosphere was soon marred as Santa couldn’t bear being kept off the score sheet, so he got there by way of an interference minor.  But have no fear Chacko is here and managed to save face by potting the Grinders 3rd of the game. In fact Andy got a point on 4 of the Grinders 5 goals. He then assisted on Guys and PSPs to end the game.

According to the official shot-o-meter we, the Grinders were outshot 22 to 21 that game.  Apparently dump-ins and icings count as shots on goal when you’re losing 5-0. Not to take anything away from the brobdingnagian performance of Peter who did keep the Kickers at bay during the third as they poured on the pressure trying to quash his shutout.

But alas there was no love for the Kickers as Guy and PSP buried two for the final tally of 5-0.

Those last few points of the game extended some significant streaks for some Grinders personalities, no, Bob did not get naked (this time) but he extended his point per game streak to 3 games, and Guy and Trainor (that dreaded Teigen-Trainor combination strikes again) extended theirs to 4 games. While Andy now tops the team with most assists in a game at 3.
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Grinders cap off the week with a 6 – 3 win over the Toques on Friday. The Grinders had a full bench and used it well to out-hustle and out-play the Toques during the first part of the game. The Referee even made a comment to the bench that we were playing Detroit-like; at that point he didn’t mean “old,”  that comes in the third period.

In the first period, however, we came out strong and came away with a 2-0 lead and never looked back. At 12:55, after a Glen and Troy poked around at a loose puck at the Goalie’s pads, it was Troy who eventually pushed it past the padded protector for the grinders goal. Glen, jealous that he couldn’t do it on his attempts took out his frustration on the Toques D-man.  The same dude would later score 2 goals in the third for the Toques in their failed attempt at a comeback.

It was Thinkchick who made his presence known next by capitalizing on a Guy Teigen assist at 13:20 of the first. And the two of them just kept on producing (Gord remember this match-up, Thinkchick and Guy on the same line). In the second period Guy deflected a Thinchick shot past the gormless goalie, then it was Thinchick, who, from the goal line beside the net roofed the rubber over the ragged rookie. That would be it for that line, with both Thinchick and Teigen ending up with 3 points on the night.

One other Grinder ended up with 3 points, PSP netted his goal in the third right after Gord deposited the dregs in the dumpster at 0:34.  Paul’s tally timed in at twelve twenty six as he eased his shot assuredly aside the shielded sentry. PSP’s other 2 points came on assists – See! He passes!

But one must not focus only on production in a proud performance but also the protection from Peter populating the parcel between the pipes. Peter took twenty two attempts to task terminating nineteen Toque tries.

The Grinders lineup is decimated by injury with Mark Leng Gone for the season with two broken bones in his leg, Gord Schmidt, Gone for the season with a broken ring bone on his spine, Frank Williams,  Out indefinitely and visiting a head doctor due to a crosscheck to the back of the neck. And the late night game took its toll on others in the line-up as well; Bob was in Calgary (or so he says), Tidy had to wake up too early (or so he said), Triggsy was covering the early shift (or so he said), Trainor was ill (or so he said), and Troy just didn’t wanna (or so he said).

But 10 other skates and a goalie did honour thy commitment and came out as ornery as ever.  Chacko made his marks early into the game scoring the first goal with help from Tanchak and Newts at 10:11, and then sitting in the sin bin 22 seconds later with an interference minor.  Not to be outdone, Jay took a penalty as well at 13:53  for hooking, and then again at 10:53 in the second for roughing, and then again in the third for Body Checking…apparently Jay wanted to go home early.

Tanchak put the Grinders up by 2 in the second with an assist from Guy, but the Storm rallied back quickly in the third, first taking advantage of the Power Play and then tie-ing it up even strength at 8:09.

But no one is keep the Grinders out this late and then hand them a loss, no siree! Dave Tanchak put another point on the board an scored the game winner after being set up with a sweet pass from Ashworth. Then Goats and Nickason added the insurance to put up a convincing 5-2 win.

But there is a story left untold as we look at the details of the game with Mr Chacko getting a 10-minute misconduct for harassing the official and setting the Grinders up for a season of officiating misery. Please, do tell.

Fine….