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!
