The dream is over, Snickas fall in overtime 2-1.
In a game that featured everything, including a ton of penalties Snickas came up just a few millimeters short. The Milton Chiefs will now go on and face the SU Storm for the Molson Canadian Championship next Monday night.
The game was a defensive gem from the neutrals point of view with both goalies standing on their heads when called upon. With the Refs blowing down everything the game lacked the normal flow that would be associated with a semi-final. The Chiefs and Snickas both had ample powerplay chances but neither team could find the net until halfway through the third period.
The Chiefs struck first, on a rebound that actually struck Snickas goalie Kirk Burgess in the head before going in. Snickas pulled level on a goal from an unlikely source, Rob MacOdrum scored his first goal of the season on a beautiful backhander to give the Snickas new life. With less than ten seconds left Snickas thought they had the game but as the puck sat on the Chiefs goal line not a single Snickas stick could get close enough to push it that extra bit more.
Overtime it was and just like the final play of regulation luck was not on Snickas side. Just a minute in & it was over. The Chiefs crashed the net hard on the opening shift and got a huge break when a rebound off Burgess' pad hit a Snickas player's skate and went in their own net.
Heartbreak for a team that really seemed to come together in the playoffs, after struggling to find consistency for most of the regular season. Snickas finish the season without any Silverware for the first time in 4 years.
2006-07 Offensive Player of the Year:
Craig Morton. Snickas top point producer had 10 goals and 16 assists in 20 games.
2006-07 Defensive Player of the Year:
Neil Townsend. The big blueliner finished as the top scoring defensemen in the league with 8 goals and 12 assists in 22 games.
2006-07 Most Improved Player
Paul Stinnett. Flex set career highs in all categories with 14 goals and 8 assists in 21 games.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Snickas Weekly: Semi-Final Edition
There's a certain electricity in the air when it comes down to this stage. It's win or go home time, either play next week or spend next Monday night watching the Hills. The Playoffs, the Knockout round, it doesn't get any better!
Snickas, Milton Chiefs, 7:15pm TONIGHT!!!
For the fourth straight season Snickas find themselves in the semi-finals, twice advancing further to win the Championship; including last years title. For the second straight season Snickas will take on their long time league rivals the Milton Chiefs in the semi-finals. The Chiefs and Snickas league history goes back to 2002-03, but their playoff clashes have been limited to the one meeting last season. Snickas prevailed last year 5-2.
More on the game as the day progresses including an interview with Snickas Captain Chris Morton.
Snickas, Milton Chiefs, 7:15pm TONIGHT!!!
For the fourth straight season Snickas find themselves in the semi-finals, twice advancing further to win the Championship; including last years title. For the second straight season Snickas will take on their long time league rivals the Milton Chiefs in the semi-finals. The Chiefs and Snickas league history goes back to 2002-03, but their playoff clashes have been limited to the one meeting last season. Snickas prevailed last year 5-2.
More on the game as the day progresses including an interview with Snickas Captain Chris Morton.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Snickas Weekly: Suspension Update
The True North Hockey League has handed down a one game suspension to winger Paul Stinnett for his elbow on a SU Storm player Monday night. The Suspension rules him out of this Monday's Semi-final game against the Milton Chiefs.
Stinnett received a 5 minute major penalty for elbowing during the game but League officials reviewed the play and in their on going attempt to eliminate 'head shots' from the game have decided to have Stinnett sit out the Semi-finals.
Stinnett had this to say about the suspension: At this time my only comment about the incident is that I am re-evaluating my career with the Snickas squad. To be called for a game suspension on that hit is horse shit. Yes I hit the guy, but I did not go directly for his head. Is it my fault that I am short and I have to reach up to hit guys. The ref noticed my intensity and that I was playing hard, and wanted to make an example of me. All I was trying to do is fire up my squad and get our team in the game. If I cannot play hard, then I cannot play at all. The week before I almost had a guy break my leg, where's that call. Bullshit I say. Personally I blame THUMPER (Dan Tojeira), every time I play on a line with him its trouble.
When asked about an appealing to the commissioner , Stinnett couldn't hide his inner rage; "Where do you appeal it? Do you go to McDonalds where the league commish is flipping burgers for his day job?".
The Snickas squad do not plan on appealing, at Paul's request. They would just like to focus all their attention on the upcoming Semi-final.
Stinnett received a 5 minute major penalty for elbowing during the game but League officials reviewed the play and in their on going attempt to eliminate 'head shots' from the game have decided to have Stinnett sit out the Semi-finals.
Stinnett had this to say about the suspension: At this time my only comment about the incident is that I am re-evaluating my career with the Snickas squad. To be called for a game suspension on that hit is horse shit. Yes I hit the guy, but I did not go directly for his head. Is it my fault that I am short and I have to reach up to hit guys. The ref noticed my intensity and that I was playing hard, and wanted to make an example of me. All I was trying to do is fire up my squad and get our team in the game. If I cannot play hard, then I cannot play at all. The week before I almost had a guy break my leg, where's that call. Bullshit I say. Personally I blame THUMPER (Dan Tojeira), every time I play on a line with him its trouble.
When asked about an appealing to the commissioner , Stinnett couldn't hide his inner rage; "Where do you appeal it? Do you go to McDonalds where the league commish is flipping burgers for his day job?".
The Snickas squad do not plan on appealing, at Paul's request. They would just like to focus all their attention on the upcoming Semi-final.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The Wrap: Snickas vs. SU Storm
The Storm get down graded but still soak Snickas 3-2.
In easily the closest of the their four games this season, the SU Storm still came out on top but know if they are going to face Snickas again in the Final in two weeks it won't be as easy as they once might have thought.
The Storm controlled the opening 5 minutes and built a 2-0 lead thanks to two power play goals. To make matters worse Snickas winger Paul Stinnett was ejected for elbowing just after the second goal went in. Snickas used the ejection as a wake up call and for the remaining two and half periods were the better team. Goals by Brian Titherington (a penalty shot) and Dave Pearson, coupled with some great saves by Kirk Burgess kept Snickas in the game. Snickas defencemen Neil Townsend was also ejected for Accumulation; his third penalty coming on an Unsportsmanlike Conduct call after he fired the puck at the Ref, missing and almost decapitating a Storm player on the bench. In the end, despite a vastly improved effort Snickas still came up short.
No player spoke directly to the media after the game but it was evident with the players that more detail to speciality teams be addressed before the Semi-finals. All 3 of the Storm goals came with the man advantage and Snickas were only able to muster 3 shots on their Power Play chances. Perhaps a Power Play Unit featuring Chris & Craig Morton, Titherinton, Townsend and swing man Kevin Wright might make a difference.
Snickas Stats:
Goals: Brian Titherington (3) & Dave Pearson (1)
Assists: Dave Mammoliti (1)
Next Up:
The Semi-finals, Snickas vs. The Milton Chiefs. The action gets underway at 7:15pm next Monday.
Snickas Weekly; Game Day Playoff Edition will be available online all day starting at 9am, with a special one on one with Snickas Captain Chris Morton.
In easily the closest of the their four games this season, the SU Storm still came out on top but know if they are going to face Snickas again in the Final in two weeks it won't be as easy as they once might have thought.
The Storm controlled the opening 5 minutes and built a 2-0 lead thanks to two power play goals. To make matters worse Snickas winger Paul Stinnett was ejected for elbowing just after the second goal went in. Snickas used the ejection as a wake up call and for the remaining two and half periods were the better team. Goals by Brian Titherington (a penalty shot) and Dave Pearson, coupled with some great saves by Kirk Burgess kept Snickas in the game. Snickas defencemen Neil Townsend was also ejected for Accumulation; his third penalty coming on an Unsportsmanlike Conduct call after he fired the puck at the Ref, missing and almost decapitating a Storm player on the bench. In the end, despite a vastly improved effort Snickas still came up short.
No player spoke directly to the media after the game but it was evident with the players that more detail to speciality teams be addressed before the Semi-finals. All 3 of the Storm goals came with the man advantage and Snickas were only able to muster 3 shots on their Power Play chances. Perhaps a Power Play Unit featuring Chris & Craig Morton, Titherinton, Townsend and swing man Kevin Wright might make a difference.
Snickas Stats:
Goals: Brian Titherington (3) & Dave Pearson (1)
Assists: Dave Mammoliti (1)
Next Up:
The Semi-finals, Snickas vs. The Milton Chiefs. The action gets underway at 7:15pm next Monday.
Snickas Weekly; Game Day Playoff Edition will be available online all day starting at 9am, with a special one on one with Snickas Captain Chris Morton.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Snickas Weekly
Snickas vs. SU Storm, 10:15pm.
Rarely do you come across a playoff game that doesn't really mean a lot for both teams but tonight's contest might be one those games. Both the Storm and Snickas have secured semi-final spots and tonight's game (the final game of the round robin) is just a formality.
The Storm have owned Snickas this season, winning all three of their games by a combined score of 16-7. Despite the relevance of tonight's game Snickas will want to keep the momentum they built last week when they eliminated the Mooseheads, who were team they failed to beat in the regular season as well.
A win will see Snickas take the either the Seamen or Swamp Donkeys next week. A loss and Snickas will be forced to face their long time rivals the Milton Chiefs in the semi-finals.
Rarely do you come across a playoff game that doesn't really mean a lot for both teams but tonight's contest might be one those games. Both the Storm and Snickas have secured semi-final spots and tonight's game (the final game of the round robin) is just a formality.
The Storm have owned Snickas this season, winning all three of their games by a combined score of 16-7. Despite the relevance of tonight's game Snickas will want to keep the momentum they built last week when they eliminated the Mooseheads, who were team they failed to beat in the regular season as well.
A win will see Snickas take the either the Seamen or Swamp Donkeys next week. A loss and Snickas will be forced to face their long time rivals the Milton Chiefs in the semi-finals.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Wrap: Snickas vs Mooseheads
SNICKAS WIN, Clinch a berth in the Semi's!!!
Two quotes from the Snickas locker room sum up last nights 5-3 win over the Mooseheads perfectly;
"That is (expletive) Snickas Playoff Hockey!!!"- Brian Titherington
"We didn't have just three stars we had 15!!!" - Kirk Burgess
Even though they were the 2 seed Snickas entered the game as the decided underdog. In their two previous meetings this season Snickas and the Moosehead skated to a 6-6 tie and a Moosehead 6-1 whitewash just two weeks ago. The mood in the change room before the game was one of business for Snickas though, choosing not to think about the previous games but to focus on the task at hand. Snickas also had it in the back of their minds that they were the defending champs and until someone beat them in the playoffs they were the team to beat.
When the teams hit the ice the Mooseheads knew they were in for a fight. Having lost their opening game of the mini-round robin the Mooseheads also knew another loss would end their season. Snickas jumped on them early with 2 quick goals but that was soon followed by two unlucky breaks and at the end of the first period the score was tied 2-2. Snickas reclaimed the lead but saw it again slip away on another unlucky goal, this time the puck slammed off goalie Kirk Burgess' head and deflected into the net. A late power play goal by Gary Hogan gave Snickas the lead heading into the final period.
The Mooseheads pushed hard for a equalizer in the third period but Burgess was their to shut the door. Playing arguably his best game in months the Snickas goalie looked extremely confident in the third period. A beautiful breakaway goal by Kevin Wright iced the game with 4:50 to play.
Snickas still have one more round robin game next week against the SU Storm. Another game against a team they failed to beat all year, but a game that may provide us with a glimpse of what the Championship game in 3 weeks time might look like.
Snickas Stats:
Goals: Craig Morton, Brian Titherington (2), Gary Hogan, & Kevin Wright
Assists: Craig Morton, Chris Morton, Kevin Wright (2) Darren Steedman, & Neil Townsend
Playoff Standings:
Group A
1- Milton Chiefs 4 points
2- Swamp Donkeys 0 points
2- Seamen 0 points
* Swamp Donkeys and the Seamen face off Monday night at 10pm for the second place seed in Group A and the final semi-final spot against the 1st place Group B team.
Group B
1- SU Storm 2 points
2- Snickas 2 points
3- Mooseheads 0 points (eliminated)
* SU Storm and Snickas face off Monday night at 10:15pm to determine who they will play in the semi-finals. The losing team will face the Milton Chiefs on Monday April 2nd at 7:15pm, the winning team will take on either the Donkeys or Seamen that same night at 8pm.
Two quotes from the Snickas locker room sum up last nights 5-3 win over the Mooseheads perfectly;
"That is (expletive) Snickas Playoff Hockey!!!"- Brian Titherington
"We didn't have just three stars we had 15!!!" - Kirk Burgess
Even though they were the 2 seed Snickas entered the game as the decided underdog. In their two previous meetings this season Snickas and the Moosehead skated to a 6-6 tie and a Moosehead 6-1 whitewash just two weeks ago. The mood in the change room before the game was one of business for Snickas though, choosing not to think about the previous games but to focus on the task at hand. Snickas also had it in the back of their minds that they were the defending champs and until someone beat them in the playoffs they were the team to beat.
When the teams hit the ice the Mooseheads knew they were in for a fight. Having lost their opening game of the mini-round robin the Mooseheads also knew another loss would end their season. Snickas jumped on them early with 2 quick goals but that was soon followed by two unlucky breaks and at the end of the first period the score was tied 2-2. Snickas reclaimed the lead but saw it again slip away on another unlucky goal, this time the puck slammed off goalie Kirk Burgess' head and deflected into the net. A late power play goal by Gary Hogan gave Snickas the lead heading into the final period.
The Mooseheads pushed hard for a equalizer in the third period but Burgess was their to shut the door. Playing arguably his best game in months the Snickas goalie looked extremely confident in the third period. A beautiful breakaway goal by Kevin Wright iced the game with 4:50 to play.
Snickas still have one more round robin game next week against the SU Storm. Another game against a team they failed to beat all year, but a game that may provide us with a glimpse of what the Championship game in 3 weeks time might look like.
Snickas Stats:
Goals: Craig Morton, Brian Titherington (2), Gary Hogan, & Kevin Wright
Assists: Craig Morton, Chris Morton, Kevin Wright (2) Darren Steedman, & Neil Townsend
Playoff Standings:
Group A
1- Milton Chiefs 4 points
2- Swamp Donkeys 0 points
2- Seamen 0 points
* Swamp Donkeys and the Seamen face off Monday night at 10pm for the second place seed in Group A and the final semi-final spot against the 1st place Group B team.
Group B
1- SU Storm 2 points
2- Snickas 2 points
3- Mooseheads 0 points (eliminated)
* SU Storm and Snickas face off Monday night at 10:15pm to determine who they will play in the semi-finals. The losing team will face the Milton Chiefs on Monday April 2nd at 7:15pm, the winning team will take on either the Donkeys or Seamen that same night at 8pm.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The Wrap: Snickas vs. Mooseheads
Snickas get crushed, Swamp Donkeys win the League!
Snickas were crushed for the second week in a row, this time by the Mooseheads 5-1. It was never going to be Snickas night when they failed to score on the Mooseheads who had the play the first 5 minutes without a goalie. In that time Snickas only managed 1 shot on goal. The game was scoreless after one period but erupted to life in the second, four goals in a minute; 3 for the Mooseheads and 1 for Snickas. The game was iced late in the second when the Mooseheads scored with a tenth of a second remaining.
Snickas Stats:
Goal: Craig Morton (10)
Assist: Brian Titherington (6)
Snickas enter the playoffs knowing they can't play much worse than they have in the last two weeks. With the loss Snickas fell into second place and if pain of not finishing first wasn't enough they must now face the two teams that just busted them up in the playoffs.
The True North Playoffs are a two group round robin format, with each team playing each other once. The teams that finish 1 and 2 then cross over for the Semi-final knock out phase.
If there are ties the 1st tiebreaker is Penalty Minutes.
Snickas are off this coming Monday, they next hit the ice March 19th at 9:15pm against the Mooseheads. Hopefully the week off will the give the boys a chance to re-energize and re-focus. One thing that seems to be lost in the all the frustration of the last couple weeks is that Snickas are still the defending Molson Canadian Cup Champions and until they've been beaten in the playoffs you can't count the little team in Tan out.
With a dark night next week Snickas Weekly will be doing a Season Recap and Playoff Preview featuring an Interview with Paul Stinnett.
Snickas were crushed for the second week in a row, this time by the Mooseheads 5-1. It was never going to be Snickas night when they failed to score on the Mooseheads who had the play the first 5 minutes without a goalie. In that time Snickas only managed 1 shot on goal. The game was scoreless after one period but erupted to life in the second, four goals in a minute; 3 for the Mooseheads and 1 for Snickas. The game was iced late in the second when the Mooseheads scored with a tenth of a second remaining.
Snickas Stats:
Goal: Craig Morton (10)
Assist: Brian Titherington (6)
Snickas enter the playoffs knowing they can't play much worse than they have in the last two weeks. With the loss Snickas fell into second place and if pain of not finishing first wasn't enough they must now face the two teams that just busted them up in the playoffs.
The True North Playoffs are a two group round robin format, with each team playing each other once. The teams that finish 1 and 2 then cross over for the Semi-final knock out phase.
If there are ties the 1st tiebreaker is Penalty Minutes.
Group A:
Swamp Donkeys
Seamen
Milton Chiefs
Group B:
Snickas
SU Storm
Mooseheads
Snickas are off this coming Monday, they next hit the ice March 19th at 9:15pm against the Mooseheads. Hopefully the week off will the give the boys a chance to re-energize and re-focus. One thing that seems to be lost in the all the frustration of the last couple weeks is that Snickas are still the defending Molson Canadian Cup Champions and until they've been beaten in the playoffs you can't count the little team in Tan out.
With a dark night next week Snickas Weekly will be doing a Season Recap and Playoff Preview featuring an Interview with Paul Stinnett.
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