Week 15 – Canada Wins, Lifetime Vodka, & Is T-Man Cracking?

PRE-GAME

While the Canadian men were unsuccessful in their efforts to medal at this year’s World Juniors in Vancouver, the Canadian women were able to come away with a better result. Playing at the WJC-equivalent 2019 IIHF World Women’s U18 Championships in Obihiro, Japan, they captured gold after defeating the U.S. in a 3-2 overtime win.

The game’s decider, as well as the tournament’s, came from Maddi Wheeler. Not a bad way to score your first of the tournament at all.

https://twitter.com/WSportHilites/status/1084393718906531841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1084393718906531841&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bardown.com%2Fcanada-will-have-at-least-one-gold-medal-in-hockey-this-year-after-women-s-u18-championship-1.1240909

SHRAPNEL

Free Vodka for life? What potato-lovin’ Ruskie wouldn’t take that deal?

Can’t believe I missed this at the time of the Coronation.

FROM THE VAULT

Rogie Vachon didn’t just stop pucks; he looked upon them with disdain for even daring to challenge him.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

• Fulty has the big week with 54 pts
• Also going 3-0 were Rolphy, Cordy, & Vinny
• T-man now only holds a 1 pt lead over Fulty, but Fulty has a big lead in Total Points
• T-Man loses 2 in a week for the first time since week 6
• Vinny, Derko, Haukster, & Erty are all pretty tight for that last money spot
• Somebody lit a fire under team R&S as they win their first game since early November
• Vinny & Rolphy each moved up one spot in the standings
• R&S drops Aaron Dell and picks up Russian WJC All-Star Grigori Denisenko FL with their Week 14 pick up
• R&S also dropped Goldobin
• The Week 15 pick up goes to Stifler as a 4 was rolled

STANDINGS

	WEEK	15				This Week
TEAM	G	W	L	T	PTS	W	L	T	PWk	TP	AVG	%
T	45	36	8	1	73	1	2	0	35	556	37.1	0.811
F	45	36	9	0	72	3	0	0	54	583	38.9	0.800
C	45	29	15	1	59	3	0	0	38	524	34.9	0.656
G	45	27	17	1	55	1	2	0	26	490	32.7	0.611
H	45	24	19	2	50	0	2	1	25	476	31.7	0.556
D	45	23	20	2	48	1	2	0	31	502	33.5	0.533
V	45	24	21	0	48	3	0	0	39	444	29.6	0.533
E	45	22	21	2	46	2	1	0	39	476	31.7	0.511
O	45	19	24	2	40	1	2	0	32	423	28.2	0.444
R	45	18	25	2	38	3	0	0	41	448	29.9	0.422
Z	45	17	25	3	37	0	3	0	32	440	29.3	0.411
J	45	13	28	4	30	1	1	1	25	402	26.8	0.333
S	45	10	32	3	23	0	3	0	20	372	24.8	0.256
&	45	4	38	3	11	1	2	0	23	334	22.3	0.122

UNTIL NEXT WEEK…

Legendary BC Sports columnist Jim Taylor died this week. He was 82. His column was always worth a read for his wit. He wrote for the Victoria Times-Colonist, Vancouver Sun, The Province, and the short-lived Vancouver Times, of which he said, “It folded, but there were a few people who said it wasn’t entirely my fault.”

He spent time as a music reviewer and stated that Elvis Presley, “wouldn’t last six months!” Questioned about that brave prediction many years later, Taylor stated, “So, it took a little longer than I thought,” he says, “But is the guy dead, isn’t he?”

Name any memorable event — from Canada-Russia 1972 to Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion tour — or any famous name from Wayne Gretzky to Muhammad Ali to the San Diego Chicken, and Jim Taylor was there giving his insightful, witty and occasionally skeptical take on the subject. As Taylor wrote, “when sport makes instant millionaires out of kids who can hit a ball or a puck with a stick or stuff a leather balloon through a fishnet, what’s not to laugh?”

Jim Taylor 1936-2019

Week 9 – The Secret to Orv’s Success

THE WEEK THAT WAS

• Congrats to Orv and his Sandwich Maker who, this past week, finally got married in Sexico after 25 years of living together. Apparently, they only recently found out that the “ceremony” they went through a quarter of a century ago was just part of a school play they were both in.
• Speaking of Orv, he had the 4th lowest points this past week but still went 3-0. First time that’s ever happened… I think.
• Also, Orv jumped up from 11th to 8th. Just goes to show that Orv excels when he’s either out the country or just leaves his roster alone.
• Fulty had 47 points this week, which is usually good for the best week but…
• T-Man had a huge week (57 points) on the back of Huberdeau (9), Marner (8), and Wheeler (7)
• T-Man keep rolling along. 10-2 in the past month.
• After a 10-2 run, Vinny is 1-8 in the past 3 weeks.
• After a hot start, EZ has gone cold winning only 1 game in the past month (1-9-2)
• R&S traded the Week 8 pick up & a 4th to Cordy for Daniel Sprong and C’s 4th.
• Cordy revives his man-crush on ‘yotes goalie Adin Hill by grabbing him with the pick-up. Cordy drafted him this Sept in the 5th round, released him in November, and grabbed him again on Sunday. He hasn’t shown this sort of dedication to a prospect since the days of Robbie Schremp.
• R&S get the Week 9 pick-up as a “3” was rolled in the lotto.

STANDINGS

	WEEK	9				This Week
TEAM	G	W	L	T	PTS	W	L	T	PWk	TP	AVG	%
T	27	21	5	1	43	3	0	0	57	321	35.7	0.796
F	27	20	7	0	40	3	0	0	47	323	35.9	0.741
C	27	17	9	1	35	0	2	1	37	315	35.0	0.648
G	27	17	9	1	35	3	0	0	40	303	33.7	0.648
D	27	15	11	1	31	1	2	0	38	304	33.8	0.574
H	27	15	11	1	31	2	0	1	33	279	31.0	0.574
V	27	14	13	0	28	0	3	0	27	261	29.0	0.519
O	27	12	14	1	25	3	0	0	27	245	27.2	0.463
R	27	11	14	2	24	1	1	1	37	271	30.1	0.444
E	27	11	14	2	24	2	1	0	27	270	30.0	0.444
Z	27	10	14	3	23	1	2	0	25	252	28.0	0.426
S	27	9	16	2	20	0	2	1	33	231	25.7	0.370
J	27	5	21	1	11	0	3	0	19	214	23.8	0.204
&	27	3	22	2	8	0	3	0	27	198	22.0	0.148

SHRAPNEL

Check out the Victoria Royals viral header video. Where’s Griffey?

A Bob Probert documentary is coming out next year. Click below for the trailer.

I can’t even play a single round with one ball!

Poor Michael Grabner took Sammy Blais’ stick in the eye on Saturday. Yeesh!

Hopefully, there’s no permanent damage.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK…

Got time for a good long read? (or you can just look at the pictures)

Three Feet From God: An Oral History of Nirvana ‘Unplugged’
Twenty-five years after the historic performance that became the band’s best-selling final album, we talked to producers, directors, musicians, and fans present for Kurt Cobain and Nirvana’s greatest performance

Week 22 – OFHL Trade Deadline

OFHL TRADE DEADLINE DAY

I wish TSN would forget about the 6 hour show and just break into their regularly scheduled shows with Mike Commodore letting players know it’s time to move on…

or this…

THE WEEK THAT WAS

• Much like the NHL, any big trades happened a few weeks earlier, with only some late minor tweaks.
• Derko lead the way again with 54.5 points
• Also going 3-0 was Haukster
• Orv finished with the 2nd lowest point total (28.25) but went 2-0 as JBR & eZ were both below him with 25.25.
• If Orv had hit 30.75 pts he could have gone 3-0
• Derko now sits 15 points up on Fulty with 3 weeks (9 games to go)
• Derko’s magic number to clinch is now “2 ” as any combo of his wins and Fulty’s losses gives D the cup.
• Derko was 12-0 in Feb. T-Man was 11-1, and Haukster was 9-3.
• GoJo moved up one spot this week
• JBR picked up D-Man Dermott TO.
• This week is the final pick up of the and JBR gets it as well as a “6” was rolled.
• Three weeks remaining in regular OFHL season. Then 2 weeks of playoffs for extra draft picks
• Player of the week goes to MacKinnon CO, who came back with a vengeance for Derko as he notched 11 pts.

FROM THE VAULT

This is either Rangers goalie Dunc Wilson or Jason Voorhees after he moved to Mississippi. Either way, if I were a teenager, I’d stay away.

SHRAPNEL

Lots of Lucic hate going around Edmonton lately…

When he keeps putting Lucic on your wing

When you realize how difficult it is to have Lucic removed from the Top Line in Edmonton. #Oilers #NHLTradeDeadline #TradeCentre pic.twitter.com/5HTcdbMuqI

— VisuallyBetter (@Isuckatpicking) February 26, 2018

And this one after Lucic, who hadn’t scored in 27 games, is sent out as the extra attacker when pulling the goalie vs. Sharks.

Not sure what is happening with the #Oilers this season but it just seems like they can't learn to play like a team. Should be simple but obviously not for them. pic.twitter.com/adieznQqpy

— VisuallyBetter (@Isuckatpicking) February 28, 2018

STANDINGS

TEAM	G	W	L	T	PTS	PWk	TP	AVG	%
D	66	55	11	0	110	54.50	863.75	39.26	0.833
F	66	47	18	1	95	49.00	790.25	35.92	0.720
H	66	45	21	0	90	47.50	748.25	34.01	0.682
V	66	44	22	0	88	43.75	726.25	33.01	0.667
T	66	43	22	1	87	43.75	779.00	35.41	0.659
C	66	38	28	0	76	47.50	714.25	32.47	0.576
E	66	34	31	1	69	36.00	712.00	32.36	0.523
G	66	29	36	1	59	44.25	685.75	31.17	0.447
R	66	27	37	2	56	32.50	643.50	29.25	0.424
Z	66	24	39	3	51	25.25	623.75	28.35	0.386
S	66	22	43	1	45	34.25	573.00	26.05	0.341
J	66	19	46	1	39	25.25	590.50	26.84	0.295
O	66	17	48	1	35	28.25	537.00	24.41	0.265
&	66	12	54	0	24	30.50	501.50	22.80	0.182

 

Week 15 – T-Man Crushes It!

THE WEEK THAT WAS

• Bizarre week; either your guys played 4 games or 1; much the same coming up.
• T-Man had big week with 44 pts, 9.5 over 2nd place Derko
• Also going 3-0: Derko & Fulty
• T-Man’s coach, Glen G-something, went 4-0 this week for 5 points. Best week ever for a coach.
• GoJo has 3rd worst week with 18 points – goes 2-1, half a point out of going 3-0
• Haukster & Cordy move up one spot each
• Orv picks up Brian Bellows Jr; drops the Foo Fighter
• Pick-up this week goes to Ren & Stimp as a 2 was rolled

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Anybody want this guy?

Rasmus Dahlin breaking ankles 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/xiLjeM8rmX

— Kliff’s Bedroom (@KliffsBedroom) January 11, 2018

POTW goes to T-Man’s duo of Flames as each garnered 8 points

Hey, Dougie! We just totaled more points that Ren & Stimpy’s whole team!

Saw a little of the 1990’s cult show MXC on YouTube the other day. Was reminded of the great game they played where you try to run across a pond of “septic sludge” and hope that the stones you step on are Floaters, not Sinkers.

What does that have to do with anything? Let’s look at the OFHL Sinkers & Floaters.

Based on last year’s numbers the “Floaters” are: (the greatest increase over last year)

• Haukster – biggest increase; record is up 0.178 over same time last year
• Derko up 0.156
• Erty up 0.133
• Vinny up 0.078
• JBR & T-Man up 0.067
• Stifler and Fulty up 0.044

The “Sinkers” are:

• Rolphy down the most (0.289) over last year
• Cordy down 0.267
• EZ down 0.122
• Orv down 0.100
• GoJo down 0.055
• R&S down 0.033

SHRAPNEL

Why the Hate for Winnipeg?

Several San Jose Sharks recently had some less than complimentary things to say about the city of Winnipeg as an NHL stop.

Winnipeg resident enjoying a brisk June morning on their way to the hog processing plant.

Tomas Hertl of the Sharks said Winnipeg was his least favorite NHL city because “it’s cold and dark there. I don’t like it there.” Justin Braun threw shade on the hotel the team stays at in Winnipeg, adding, “I don’t know if they have WiFi there yet.”

A great moment during Paul Maurice’s media availability this morning. This was his answer when asked by @WFPJasonBell about the video of San Jose players complaining about #Winnipeg. A fantastic perspective from the coach. pic.twitter.com/Ofxu3yGE7G

— Tyler Esquivel (@Mr_Skeyval) January 9, 2018

Meanwhile, in Edmonton…

It’s a love story full of sadness, tragedy, and mistakes. Enjoy the full 3 hours again and again right up until the playoffs begin.

AND AFTER THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FINAL…

EVEN TRUMP IS TAKING SHOTS AT WINNIPEG.

Trumps Presidential Briefing Sheets Leaked.

In a major breach of security, Trump’s highly classified briefing sheet was discovered at a Denny’s restaurant.

STANDINGS

TEAM	G	W	L	T	PTS	PWk	TP	AVG	%
D	45	38	7	0	76	34.50	589.25	39.28	0.844
F	45	33	12	0	66	27.25	535.50	35.70	0.733
H	45	30	15	0	60	25.50	500.00	33.33	0.667
V	45	30	15	0	60	22.50	479.00	31.93	0.667
T	45	29	15	1	59	44.00	530.50	35.37	0.656
C	45	26	19	0	52	23.25	481.75	32.12	0.578
E	45	25	19	1	51	17.00	498.50	33.23	0.567
R	45	21	22	2	44	18.25	427.25	28.48	0.489
G	45	20	24	1	41	18.00	460.50	30.70	0.456
Z	45	16	27	2	34	25.25	426.25	28.42	0.378
S	45	14	30	1	29	18.50	378.50	25.23	0.322
J	45	13	32	0	26	20.25	397.00	26.47	0.289
O	45	9	36	0	18	18.25	355.75	23.72	0.200
&	45	7	38	0	14	11.25	329.00	21.93	0.156

WHAT ARE WE PLAYING FOR?

Just a reminder of the prize money for 2017-18:

• 1st place $200
• 2nd place $140
• 3rd place $100
• 4th place $60
• 5th place $40

And you will be cutting down to 25 players at the end of the year, not 22 as in years past.

Parting Shot…

This was Crazy!

.@StefonDiggs' epic balancing act on the sidelines for the walk-off W, up close and personal. (via @Vikings) pic.twitter.com/aRTqUhSugt

— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) January 15, 2018