The Roughnecks jumped on the board first with a quick strike by Brent Stafford. Terry Johnson tagged another goal midway through the period leaving the Hitchhikers scrambling. Robb Delprado added the period third goal for the Roughnecks. Hitchhiker Forward, Clint Blackburn was called for tripping in his attempts to reassemble Sugar Land’s defense. This resulted in Terry Johnson putting the Roughnecks up by a score of four to zero. Lori Cain and Rob Torres assisted in the play.

The second period was much less eventful as Sugar Land’s defense managed to resurrect itself. This didn’t’ prevent Petr Jilek and Gordo Howe from piercing the Hitchhiker armor. Chris Seigler scored Sugar Land’s lone goal early the third, but was quickly met by Beaumont’s Jim Smalley’s goal.

Saturday’s rematch between the Hitchhikers and the Roughnecks in Game 1 of the HHS Playoffs was a sequel to the previous game. Beaumont forward, Brent Stafford, played a huge part in assisting all four goals scored by the ‘Necks in the first period. Rob Torres tacked on the first two in the first two minutes of the game while Gordo Howe contributed another two towards the end. With a four-nothing lead going into the second, things looked bleak for the ‘Hikers. Opportunity seemed to diminish for Sugar Land as Clint Blackburn, Andrew Blackburn, and Chris Seigler found themselves in the penalty box. Brent Stafford took advantage of the several power plays in the period and snuck one passed the goalie. Jim Smalley copied that same routine during the following power play.

The third period went rather slow due to numerous turnovers and no power plays. Sugar Land’s Gabe Presas finished the game with an amazing shot from the blue line to give the Hitchhikers their first score. The game ended with the Roughnecks on top with a 6-1 victory. They will go on to play the Willowbrook Wild in Game 3 of the HHS Playoffs.

Sugar Land’s other team, the Express, had their hands full against the Willowbrook Crush in Game 2. Crush Forward, Dan Peed, opened the game with an unassisted goal. Substitute player, Anthony Moats, added to the score in the sixth minute of the first. Sugar Land’s Matt Lourie kept it close by scoring with help from John Phillips and Kenneth Sutton. Unfortunately for the Express this was quickly met by a counterstrike from Mike Edwards which led to the period closing with the Crush leading three to one.

The Crush kept their foot on the pedal in the second. Mike Edwards kept the momentum going and scored another two goals giving him the hat-trick less than half way through the game. Keys to Willowbrook’s success can be attributed to their ability to stay out of the penalty box. The Express were called on four separate times to the Crush’s zero. The game closed with Anthony Moats scoring twice and Paul Roberts capping off the game with a goal of his own. The Crush win 8-1 and will move on to Game 4 against the Space Invaders.

-In the event that the Roughnecks win Friday, Game 1 will feature the Hitchhikers and the Roughnecks

-Should the Hitchhikers win, Game 1 will feature the Hitchhikers and the Crush

Saturday’s game is scheduled immediately after the Aeros and the Peoria Rivermen. Please plan your schedules accordingly and we’ll see you on the ice!

Roughneck Win Outcome

Hitchhiker Win Outcome

This is the finalized playoff schedule for the 2011-2012 post season. Game 1 will feature the Hitchhikers and the third place team on April 8th at the Toyota Center. Puck drop will be at 11:00 AM. The winner of Game 1 will move on to play the first place Wild in Game 3 in the HHS Semifinals. Game 2 hosts the fourth and fifth place teams on April 8th following the Aeros game. The victor moves forward to play the Space Invaders on April 14th prior to the Aeros game. The slots will be filled as we wrap up this year’s exciting regular season.

The Crush opened the game with a goal from Dan Peed followed closely by another from a substitute player. The two goal jump left the Wild stunned, but a Crush penalty called on Harvey Goldstein opened opportunity for points. Bobby Quintos scored at 9:26 minutes into the first period and launched the Wild into a quick three goal swing to put the Wild back on top. Nathan Fries and Jesper Jensen were credited with scores during the three goal spree. Crush defenseman Dan Pata stopped the bleeding with an unassisted goal to end the period with a 3-3 tie.

The second period featured a strong defensive stand by the Crush. While the Wild were unable to put any points on the board, the Crush went on to pepper the goalie. Mike Edwards scored the first goal with help by Dan Peed. Harvey Goldstein scored twice in the period while another Crush substitute scored the fourth goal of the period.

Climbing a four goal deficit took a tenacious offensive strategy and flawless defense. Wild lead scorer, Bobby Quintos, cut the lead down with a goal five minutes into the final period; Marc Anderson provided the assist.  Mike Keller shrugged off his bum knee to score with two minutes remaining. Bobby Quintos scored again for the hat trick as seconds were winding down. The comeback was formulated well, but in the end it was too little too late. The Crush got the better of the league leader and won with a score of 7-6

Hitchhiker Left Wing Andrew Blackburn managed to rally his team in the second period and scored early to keep them in the game. Express Wing Matt Lourie responded by extending the lead again when he scored the unassisted goal. It was merely seconds after that goal when Ryan James tacked another goal. The Hitchhiker’s Ben Price tried to forge a strong offensive strike, but came out empty. Express Captain Mike Cuomo intercepted the puck and made the pass to Lourie to give him a score to end the period.

The third period opened with a goal by Matt Lourie to give him the hat trick. The 6-1 deficit lit a fire in the Hitchhikers and they went on to score several impressive goals. Ojinga ‘Da Blade’ Green took control of the puck from a Mal Selever shot on goal, and managed to sneak one passed the Express goalie Zach Wood.  Soon after that, Johnny Morse scored straight off the face-off for the unassisted goal. The Express’ Terry Luttrell, fresh from the IR list, put an end to the Hitchhikers hopes of making a comeback by scoring the last goal for the Express giving them a total of seven goals for the game. The Hitchhikers didn’t go out without a fight and fought to the end which resulted in a Chris Seigler goal to give the team a total of four goals. The Hitchhikers will go against will play the Roughnecks next on April 6^th following the Aeros game.