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 The Houston Hockey Series wrapped up its inaugural season on Saturday, April 10th in Championship fashion. The afternoon began with the final matchup between the Sugar Land Hitchhikers and the Space City Space Invaders. It was apparent from early on that neither team viewed the matchup as “consolation”. The score was tied at 3 goals a piece through the first two periods of play. It turned out to be the Space City ladies who would send their team into warp speed for the victory. Rochelle Skinner and Claudia Brown accounted for 3 of Space City’s 7 goals and helped put the game out of reach. The Hitchhikers had goals from Jireh Yue, Sandro Hendry, Scott Jasmer, and Jason Kempler. It was a great way to cap off the season for the Space Invaders who had a legitimate shot of playing in the Championship game after a spirited playoff matchup against the Beaumont Roughnecks.
It was now time to decide a league champion. The Beaumont Roughnecks were looking to topple the formidable Willowbrook Wild to take home the HHS gold. Players for the Roughnecks and Wild began arriving especially early for their pre-game preparation. Roughneck goalie Chris O’Quinn secluded himself in the stands mentally focusing on the task at hand. Roughneck captain, Ryan Jones, had a lot of confidence going into the game. “I told my players that we have a legitimate shot at winning this thing. We have always played well against Willowbrook. I’ve already told my squad that we are skipping our Saturday night game to come present the trophy at the Aeros game if we win!”
The first period was exactly what everyone expected out of a championship game. It was a low-scoring defensive matchup that saw an early goal by the Wild’s Mike Edwards. That goal was answered just before the horn by Roughneck forward, David Holmes. The second period, however, would be the period that decided the game. Willowbrook hit the ice on the attack right from the drop of the puck. They peppered Chris O’Quinn with over 20 shots on goal during the second period alone. A credit to O’Quinn’s focus, he was able to stop 19 shots in the second period. However, he was hung out to dry with goals by Jesper Jensen, Gerard Van Der Werff, and Mike Edwards. The Roughneck offense was only able to sneak one puck past Jon Acquafondata on 6 attempts. At the horn, Willowbrook had a 3 goal advantage.
The Roughneck defense must have taken the second period personally because they only allowed 8 shots on goal (1/3 of the shots that were allowed in the second period) during the final period of play. In the early going, Sean Lowe snuck one into the back of the Willowbrook net bringing the ‘necks within two goals. It wouldn’t be enough, however, as the Wild punched in two before the horn to put their name in gold as the Champions of the inaugural season of the Houston Hockey Series!
Congratulations to the Willowbrook Wild! The Houston Hockey Series cup will be on display at the Willowbrook Aerodrome in the next few weeks. You can also log on to www.houstonhockeyinsider.com/hhs <http://www.houstonhockeyinsider.com/hhs> to see pictures in the next day or so.
Thanks to all of our Captains, Teams, Players, Family members, Referees, and Volunteers for making this first season so much fun and a shining success! Can’t wait for October!
This Saturday April 10th, 2010 history will be made. The first ever Houston Hockey Series Champion will be Crowned! The Championship game is between the heavily favored Willowbrook Wild and the underrated Beaumont Roughnecks. All season it has been Beaumont who has come the closest to putting a stop to Willowbrook’s undefeated record. In their last meeting on March 12th Beaumont was able to outscore the Wild 6-5 but the game had already been forfeited due to the fact the Roughnecks were playing with only 4 players at the beginning of the game. The Wild dominated the Sugar Land Hitch Hiker in their semi-final meeting (11-5) while the Roughnecks were able to win a close one (4-3) with a last minute goal against the Space City Invaders. You can be sure both teams will be leaving everything out on the ice in order to take home the Cup!
All HHS teams will be in action at the Toyota Center on Saturday. Sugar Land will take on Space City in the consolation game at 12:30 pm. The Championship game is scheduled for 2:15 pm with a Trophy ceremony after the final buzzer. The winning team will also be dropping the puck at the Houston Aeros game vs. the Texas Stars at 7:35 pm.
Good Luck, and thank you to all the players for making this season a great one!
HHS Member,
Last night the top-seeded Willowbrook Wild played host to the Sugar Land Hitchhikers in the second playoff game to determine which team would move on to face the Beaumont Roughnecks in the Inaugural HHS Championship. The first period surprised everyone in the stands when the scoreboard reflected a 1 – 1 tie at the buzzer. Both teams displayed incredible defense on fresh legs. Sugar Land goaltender, Barry Price, stopped 11 Willowbrook shots in the first period alone.
The second period was the beginning of the end as the Wild’s Mike Edwards came off the bench to score a hat-trick plus one. The Hitchhikers were unable to stay in the shooting lanes on defense and could not catch a break with rebounds on the offensive side of the ice. That proved to be a deadly combination as they watched their hopes of a Cinderella playoff run disappear.
Some notable highlights were a hat-trick by leading assist man, Ojinga “The Blade” Green of the Hitchhikers. Goaltenders, Jon Acquafondata and Barry Price, accumulated a combined 45 saves on the night!
This leads to a much anticipated matchup between the Wild and the Roughnecks on Saturday at 2:15 pm to claim the cup for the 2009 – 2010 HHS Championship! Get there early to see the Space City Space Invaders face off against the Sugar Land Hitchhikers as both teams will attempt to notch one final tally in the Win column.
All roads lead to Toyota Center on Saturday… GOOD LUCK!
HHS Member,
The opening round of Houston Hockey Series playoffs have begun in exciting fashion! Game 1 saw the Beaumont Roughnecks facing off against the Space City Space Invaders. The fans who stuck around after the Aeros game got more than their money’s worth and saw a game come 27 seconds away from a 4 on 4 Sudden Victory overtime!
From the beginning it was an extremely even matchup. The first point of the game came with 3 minutes left in the first period. John Legget found the net on an assist from Ben Wood putting the Roughnecks up 1 – 0. Both teams played tenacious defense through out the game. Not to mention outstanding efforts by both goalies who had a combined 34 saves on the evening.
The second period opened with unassisted goal by ‘Vader forward, Robb Delprado. The Roughnecks answered, however, with goals by Benn Wood and Carol Talalis. They were able to maintain that lead going into the intermission and established a lot of confidence starting the 3rd period. The Space Invaders, who were benefiting from the return of Coach and Captain Jeff Stone, had to re-think their strategy going into the 3rd and final period.
Forward Ivan Srut provided the first glimmer of hope with an early goal to bring the Space Invaders within one point of tying the game. From that moment on, it was as if the ‘Vaders had a new sense of purpose on the ice. The 3rd period was intensely entertaining. The boiling point was reached on a solo goal to tie the game which was credited to Jeff Stone by the officials. There was some confusion as to who actually scored the goal in the Penalty Box, but either way there was now a tie game on everyone’s hands! Both teams were desperately trying to hold off the other and get on the offensive. With 3:48 on the clock, Roughneck John Leggett, was sent to the Penalty Box on a two minute tripping penalty. The Vaders had a power play opportunity and spent the majority of it hawking the Roughneck goal and peppering Chris O’Quinn with puck after puck. It looked like the overtime was immanent. However, with 48 seconds left on the clock, Leggett was released from incarceration and found the puck in front of the ‘Vader net. He placed it just up and over Mary Kidd’s extended pad and scored the eventual winning goal.
What a great way to start the Playoffs! Space City will play in the consolation game on Saturday at 12:30 pm while the Beaumont Roughnecks will take on the winner of tomorrow’s matchup at 2:15 pm. Don’t miss a minute of the Playoffs! They continue tomorrow night with the Sugar Land Hitchhikers and the Willowbrook Wild.
Have a great week!
HHS Member,
The Sugar Land Hitchhikers and the Beaumont Roughnecks closed out the Regular Season in thrilling fashion at Toyota Center on Friday night. Coming off a “moral victory” against the Willowbrook Wild two weeks ago, the Roughnecks were looking to capitalize on a full roster to finish the regular season with a win. They did not anticipate, however, the stellar performance that the Sugar Land Hitchhikers were going to display on Friday night.
It was an even matchup from the beginning. The lone goal of the first period was scored by John Leggett off a stolen pass. Leggett was able to work the puck and catch Sugar Land’s Barry Price out of position for the score.
The second period saw a unique situation in which the league’s leading assist man, OJ Green, attempted to place the puck through the skates of Roughneck goalie, Chris O’Quinn. A bobble on the puck forced it up and over O’Quinn’s head into the net. The ensuing celebration would make Chad Ochocinco blush. The goal was Green’s second of the season, but would also knock him out of contention for leading the league in assists at the Awards Ceremony the next night. Sugar Land then took the lead on a Sandro Hendry goal with a nice assist from Scott Jasmer.
No one knows what was said on the Roughneck bench during the 2nd intermission (the team policy does not allow them to disclose any bench conversation) but the Roughneck defense came out with a new purpose. They only allowed 6 shots on goal during the 3rd period. It was still a tie game until #8 David Holmes punched in the tying goal with 5:00 left in the period. It was John “Booger” Gibson who would punch in the go-ahead goal just one minute later. Future “Sportsmanship Award” winner would then apply the nail to the coffin with just a minute left to play. Overall, it was an exciting game and a great way to finish the Regular Season.
HHS AWARDS: Be sure to log onto www.houstonhockeyinsider.com/hhs to see the full list of award recipients from the 2009-2010 season. Thanks to everyone who was able to attend and make it a fun evening (even all of you who had to cut your stay short to go play hockey!!!). That was a great way to wind down from such an exciting season. Special thanks to the Maple Leaf Pub for being a gracious host as well as Ravi “The Voice” Dubey, Andrew, OJ, and Gabe Presas for helping set up. Congratulations to all of this seasons award winners!
Playoffs: Andrew has attempted to get everyone their HHS Playoff tickets. If you have not received yours, please let me or Andrew know ASAP so we can get everything arranged. The playoff schedule has been posted for some time on www.houstonhockeyinsider.com/hhs.
New Players: Beginning April 1st. All new players and players on the waiting list will be able to reserve roster spots. If you have teammates or friends who would like to join your HHS team next season, have them contact me at 713-361-7937 beginning Thursday to reserve their spots. If you intend on playing next season and have not reserved your spot, please contact me this week. Otherwise, new players will be assigned to unclaimed roster spots.
Thanks for a truly memorable Regular Season!!! We can’t wait for the playoffs. Good Luck to all of our teams!
Friday, April 2nd
Space City Invaders vs. Beaumont Roughnecks (after 7:35 pm Aeros vs. Chicago Wolves)
Tuesday, April 6th
Sugarland Hitch Hikers vs. Willowbrook Wild (after 7:05 pm Aeros vs. Rockford Ice Hogs)
HHS Championship & Consolation game
Saturday April 10th beginning at 12:30 pm (before 7:35 pm Aeros vs. Texas Stars)
HHS Member,
The Willowbrook Wild finished off the regular season undefeated on Friday night with an unceremonious victory by forfeit over the Beaumont Roughnecks. In one of the most anticipated games of the regular season, the Roughneck squad was plagued by High School Hockey, of all things. Key members of the Roughneck squad, including goalie Chris Quinn, were stuck across town waiting for an on-ice awards ceremony which had delayed their tournament game over one hour at the annual Patty-Dillo tournament in Sugar Land. Steve Talalis was one of the players stuck in Sugarland. “You wouldn’t believe it. First, the High School game went into overtime. Then, they decided to do their entire awards ceremony on the ice. It was just one of those days. It’s a shame too because our team was ready to play today.” Once the delay clock wore down, the ‘necks had no choice but to accept substitutes (David Sutton and Chris Kuny) and begin the game without a traditional goalie.
After barreling down 59 North, the missing Roughnecks arrived midway through the first period and had a full squad to start the second period. Here is the real kicker… The final score of the game ended 6 – 5 favoring Beaumont!!! Granted, the Wild were short a few key players themselves. However, this should come as a breath of fresh air to HHS teams as we approach the playoffs.
*HHS Playoffs* Andrew has handed out most of the playoff tickets to players on Space City and Willowbrook. If you do not yet have your tickets for your assigned playoff games, please send him an e-mail so he can arrange to mail yours to you. afarlow@aeros.com. Sugar Land players will receive theirs on Friday, March 26th.
*Next Season* All current HHS players can place their deposits for next season before March 31st. This guarantees your roster spot next season and ensures that you continue to get your free 3rd level parking. Call Josh at 713-361-7937 or shoot me an e-mail at jyoung@aeros.com to make sure you are signed up!
*Exchanges* Make sure to exchange any unused tickets by Saturday April 10th (HHS Championship).
*HHS Season Party* Saturday, March 27th. Maple Leaf Pub. 5:30 pm. Be there!
Have a great week and GO AEROS!
HHS Member,
The Willowbrook Wild played host to the Space City Space Invaders last Friday in a tight matchup. The Wild were defending their undefeated streak in Houston Hockey Series competition, while the Space Invaders were just trying to survive on a short roster. The outcome was a highly competitive and exciting game that came down to the last few minutes of play!
The Wild got off to an early start by putting four into the net in the first period. Pata, Sutton, Herrmann, and Edwards all found the net early in the game and it looked like Willowbrook was off to the races. Space City, however, had different plans and Ivan Srut saw to it that the Vader’s would get out of the period only two goals behind the Wild.
The Second period was all Willowbrook with Jim Brown and Barry Bergedick both scoring to vault the Wild into a 6-2 advantage. Space City had 3 or 4 opportunities to punch in a loose puck in the crease, but never found themselves in the right position.
The Third period saw a late and exciting comeback as John Connolly put in a late goal for the ‘Vaders. Then, Ivan Srut picked up a hat trick just seconds later. Suddenly the game was a 7-4 Wild advantage with the Space Invaders on the charge. Space City punched in one last goal at the end of regulation finding themselves with too little, too late. They definitely proved to themselves that they were capable of putting on an impressive show.
Defenseman Don Rhodes had this to say after the contest, “You could really notice our improvement tonight compared to the first games of the season. We actually started the season fairly strong and then seemed to fall off in the middle of the year. The good news is, if we can continue to play like we did tonight, we will have a legitimate shot at this thing (the championship) come playoff time.”
The Roughnecks take on the Wild this Friday at Toyota Center.
*NOVICE TOURNAMENT* The second annual Toyota Center Novice Round-Up takes place on Saturday, March 20th and Sunday March 21st at Toyota Center. There may be room for a few additional players on one or two of the teams. Your tournament package includes 3 guaranteed games, t-shirt, trophies (for winning team), plus 8 Center Ice Vouchers to use for yourself, or give to friends and family. The cost is $160 / player. If you would like to participate, please call Josh ASAP at 713-361-7937 because we may fill up before the end of the week.
Have a great week,
HHS Players,
Here is the schedule for the 2009-2010 HHS Playoffs. Andrew and I are getting the tickets ready to distribute and will hand them to you at your games in the next few weeks. If for any reason, you have to miss one of your upcoming games, please get with Andrew at afarlow@aeros.com so that he can make arrangements to mail your tickets for either April 2nd or April 6th.
Regarding the playoffs, don’t forget the basic things that have made this season a success. Play hard but play fair. DO NOT let your temper or physical play get in the way of a good time. We have had almost ZERO issues this season and we would all hate for any player to have to end the year on a sour note. That being said, good luck to all of our teams as we approach the playoffs!
April 2nd- Beaumont (Home) vs. Space City (Away) Played after 7:35pm Aeros vs. Chicago Wolves
April 6th- Willowbrook (Home) vs. Sugarland (Away). Played after 7:05pm Aeros vs. Rockford Ice Hogs
April 10th- Games played between 12:30pm and 4:30pm before 7:35pm Aeros vs. Texas Stars
1st Pre Game- Semifinal loser #1 vs. Semifinal loser #2
2nd Pre Game- Semifinal Winner #1 vs. Semifinal Winner #2 (Championship Game)
*2010-2011* All players can now begin to secure your spot for next season. Call Josh at 713-361-7937. Only current HHS players can place their deposit in the month of March. Beginning April 1st, we will open available roster spots to newcomers.
*Season Party* Saturday, March 27th at the Maple Leaf Pub in Midtown. Starts at 5:30.
GOOD LUCK!
HHS Member,
The Houston Hockey Series was in full swing last week including a double-header in which all 4 teams competed Saturday afternoon. The first matchup on Thursday evening saw the Space City Space Invaders taking on a short-handed Beaumont Roughneck team. Beaumont’s team captain, Ryan Jones, and a few of his gunners were in Buffalo, New York representing Houston in the Labatt’s Pond Hockey tournament! In the opening period, it looked like the ‘Vaders were going to cruise their way into a victory with an early goal from Defenseman Don Rhodes. The Roughnecks held strong, however, with excellent defensive play and a brick wall presence from net-minder, Chris O’Quinn. O’Quinn stopped 24 of 26 shots on the evening. Beaumont had some offensive help with Joe Gomberg scoring on two unassisted breakaways.
Saturday’s matchups saw the Willowbrook Wild trying to keep their win streak alive against the Roughnecks and the Space Invaders trying to rebound from Thursday’s loss against the Sugar Land Hitchhikers.
The ‘Vaders came out of the shoot scoring early and often. Ivan Srut, Tey Brady, and Claudia Brown all put the puck between the pipes in the first period. The Hitchhikers began to show signs of life in the second period with a goal from Dan Fuller. Sugar Land was also able to breathe a sigh of relief when “the most electrifying name in Sports Entertainment today” Ojinga “The Blade” Green scored his first goal of the HHS season. It was all Space City after that, however, as the Space Invaders toppled the Hitchhikers 6-2.
Coach Jeff Stone, who has been sidelined with injury since January, had this to say about the win. “We knew we could bounce back after Thursday’s loss to the Roughnecks. When we get a rhythm going, we can compete with any team in the league. The important thing for us is to continue our improvement as we approach the playoffs.”
Saturday also saw the Willowbrook Wild return to action against the Beaumont Roughnecks. The Wild were defending their undefeated streak against a Roughneck team that was fresh off a short-handed victory against Space City. The first period indicated a chance for the Roughnecks to be the first to topple the formidable Wild with an early goal from Joe Gomberg. Willowbrook answered before the first period buzzer with a solo shot from team captain, Dan Pata. The second period saw the Roughnecks falling victim to fatigue and the Wild capitalized tallying four unanswered goals. Jim Brown, Aldora Louw, and David Sutton all accounted for goals in the second period. Just as the fans had started to shuffle out of the building, Beaumont’s David Holmes found his inner Sydney Crosby and began working on his own “Miracle” in the 3rd period. Holmes scored a 3rd period Hat Trick to bring his team within one goal of tying the contest 4-5. The Wild answered late in the period, however, and used the Edwards / Sutton connection to put their team over the top and get one step closer to an undefeated season.
*RESERVE YOUR SPOT FOR NEXT SEASON*
Beginning today (technically, yesterday) ALL current HHS members can begin securing their roster spots for next season. All current players can place a $100 deposit to reserve their place for the 2010-2011 HHS season. This is exclusively available to current players from March 1 – March 31. Call Josh at 713-361-7937. Your entire deposit will go towards your fees for next season. This will also allow you to stretch out your payment plan an extra 3 months!!! Beginning April 1st, unclaimed roster spots will be made available to players on the Waiting List.
-If you have friends or teammates from other leagues who would like to join one of our expansion teams next season, let them know they can get on the waiting list and have an opportunity to reserve their spots on April 1st.
*AWARDS CEREMONY*
This had better be on everyone’s calendar! March 27th at the Maple Leaf Pub beginning at 5:30 pm. All players are invited. Get there early to make sure you get a seat. The Maple Leaf Pub has extended their happy hour pricing to all HHS players for that evening. We will also be airing the Aeros game in Peoria at 7:00 pm.
Have a great week and GO AEROS!
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