Repeat Unsuccessful... CU bring home the 'Kiss Your Sister" C side..

With Mother Nature not exactly cooperating, CU opened their title defence at the "Roblin Hounds Second Annual Hockey Tournament " with  a convincing 9-4 win over the Roblin/Russell/Rossburn RCMP. After a tight checking opening period, CU broke open the flood gates in the second. Pat "Crusher" Morden, Jeremy "Jack and Cola" Gray, and Mark "Mini" Munro all bulged the twine twice. Munro garnished First Star accolades,finishing the game with 2 goals and 14 shots on net.

After opening the Tournament with a huge win, CU found themselves facing off against Gibert Plains. With a line-up peppered with former Roblin North Stars and Dauphin Kings, CU was going to have to bring their "A" game .The winner would advance to the "A" final, the loser would be relegated to the "Kiss your Sister" C final. Line-up changes saw the offensive duo of the Brothers Gray unable to play on Saturday, CU called on Kenville Flyer sniper Tyson "I don't need any sleep "Kinaschuk to help fill the void. 

Falling behind 1-0 after the first, CU found themselves down 3-0 early in the second.With 5 time first Team All-Star goaltender Mike " You can't score on a penalty shot!" Smith stopping 4 out of 5 penalty shots, his play single handily kept the game within reach. 

With minutes left in the game, and down by one, CU defense man Craig " Shoot Out King" Zamzow had the chance to even things up when he was awarded  a penalty shot. Relying on the old backhand -forehand deke,  Zamzow was foiled  by the GP tender, sending CU to the C side final.

The "C" final had CU facing the Roblin Penquins. After a close first period, on loan  Flyer Forward Tyson "Tilter" Kinaschuk buried his first of four against a stunned Roblin netminder.This impressive offensive outburst not only sealed the C side trophy, but also  earned him first star honours. Kinaschuk lead the post -game celebrations of wings, pizza, and beer at the Roblin Motor Inn!

The Brothers Gray on Fire...

CU opened the week with a very convincing 12-4 win over Swan River Action,  Falling behind early after newly carded  Web.com golf tour player  'Cactus" Craig Zamzow got schooled on the blue line, CU charged back with a convincing victory.

Wednesday evening saw Credit Union defeat the Valley Outlaws 8-3. With  CU's all time record against the Outlaws being meager at best,  Credit Union jumped out to a quick 3 goal lead, thanks to the soft hands of Jake "Sauce" Gray. The "sure shot" sniper recorded his second hattie of the season, including a beauty back hand in tight from the blue paint. Sensing an "Off Night" by 3 time league all-star Outlaw tender Andy "Butch" Hodgson, CU threw everything at the net.

Trying to keep pace  his younger brother,  blue line specialist Warren "Wheels" Gray added two goals of his own, including the now infamous "End to End", ala Paul Coffey rushes , that never cease to leave fans standing!

Rounding out the scoring for CU were Swan Valley Stampeder Midget AA call ups  Ryan "Ribs" Cable  with 2 , and Riley "Grin" Morden with a single. The win was bittersweet for the organization as they will be without the services of El Presidente Blaine Campbell, who has an undisclosed lower body injury. 

CU puts their title on the line as reigning champions of the Second Annual Roblin Hounds hockey tournament this weekend.

Zamzow in "Prickly Situation" in Phoenix...

While on a Kinsmen retreat to Phoenix, Arizona this week, part of the festivities included a round of golf at the TPC Stadium Course in Scottsdale (home of the PGA's Waste Management Open held every February). While awaiting to tee off on hole #16, Mr. Zamzow accidentally backed into a cactus that resulted in about 1,000 cactus needles in his ass, legs & heels. After many minutes of crying & bleeding while pulling out the needles, Craig was able to carry on with his game, albeit in a fair amount of pain. With his shorts full of needles, he proceeded to literally toss them into the garbage and play the final 3 holes in his briefs and bare feet. TPC staff believe that is truly the first time such a feat has ever been done, including the days when Tiger Woods was running roughshod over the legions of adoring female fans while stripping off clothing in an effort to get to the now famous '19th hole' that came to light years after the fact. Despite his injuries, Mr. Zamzow was able to draw cheers from the crowd as he made the walk to the 18th green. Tournament officials were waiting on the green to lead him to the local authorities who very curious to find out what he deemed as appropriate public golf attire here in the fine state of Arizona! 

Season Opener ends in 4-4 Draw...

Forty minutes of what could only be classified as "Still better than Lockout" hockey, solved nothing as CU and the Swan River Raiders skated to a 4-4 draw. A.P. stand out Ryan "Ribs" Cable lead all scorers with a pair, while singles went to Riley "Grin" Morden and Jeremy "Jack and Cola" Gray.

Making his CU debut, Geremy "Knockem Down" Newberry admirably filled in on the back-end for a vacationing Craig "Zdeno" Zamzow. Blocking shots, foiling "Three on Ones", Newberry looked more like a seasoned veteran than a glassy eyed rookie. A game which saw the lead see-saw back and forth, looked like it was going to slip away from CU, if not for the last minute heroics of Jeremy "J.D." Gray. Finding themselves down a goal in the dying minutes, the soft of hands of "J.D.", released a bullet along the ice that handcuffed Raider Goaltender Warren " Crease" Clark!

Face off woes continue for struggling center men Kevin " I think I'm gonna play the stick this time" Kopecky, as the unofficial stats had the cagey draw master going 2 for 12 in the circle. Help could be on the way, as team will be travelling to Roblin in a few weeks as defending champs in the Roblin Hounds Second Annual Fall Classic. President and 5 time league all-star Blaine "30 secs on then off" Campbell has been inquiring about the availability of former C.U. Face-Off specialist and current Roblin Hound Ryan "Cowboy" Keown. "Kopecky is struggling in every aspect, his confidence is down, I just think a few minutes with the Cowboy may help him ! " Kopecky who was unavailable for comment, was last seen at his son's Novice practice, working on his technique and looking for pointers.

Despite following a rather intense and often controversial off-season dry land program, CU power forward Mark "More Eggs" Munro will remain on the I.R.list.

Team "Sizzlin" wins the CU Jug!

Team "Sizzlin Young Guns!"

It was a hard fought battle on the links , but when the dust cleared, Team "Rob's Sizzlin Young Guns", were just to much for "Jeff's Old Knights!" Finishing up in the clubhouse with a convincing 4 shot lead, McDonald accepted the the "CU" Jug on behalf of his elite eight member team. After a blistering -8 opening front nine by the pairings of Pat "Down the Middle" Morden, and Jarret " Heavy Hitter" Henderson, Team "Sizzlin" went out and played a near flawless combined round of even par on the back nine. Much discussion surrounding the Captains Picks was heavily debated at the 19th Hole. Team "Old Knight's", captain and one time caddie for legendary CPA golfer Jim Nelford, Jeff  "Divot Digger" Knight relied heavily on the sibling pairings of Gray and Zamzow. Team "Sizzlin's " captain and 28 handicapper, Rob "I think I see the beer cart" McDonald favored a more diversified team that included the likes of Brian " Mulligan" Minish, Soup " Canned it" Campbell, and the Black Ace of the team Mike " Smooth as Silk" Smith. The festivities continued at team "Sizzlin's", where both team captains were awarded the illustrious "Golden Skate", a milestone piece of club hardware.

Blogmeister

"Nifty Fifty" Knighter

Grumpy Old Men!

May Musings...

An exciting April has come and gone, but here is the club update.

The club would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dave “Dr. Hook” Bettesworth and Murray “Moon” Mullin for claiming the Swan River Men’s Bonspiel Championship during tourney weekend.  The proud alumni found the time to visit the dressing room for Friday Night’s wingfest, and Dr. Hook took a moment to develop lines and power play units for Saturday’s win vs. Gladstone.

Congratulations are also in order for former Credit Union Old timer pickup Chay Genoway. Chay was fortunate enough to be called up to play for the Minnesota Wild when they hosted the Phoenix Coyotes on April 7th. The Wild lost 4-1, but Genoway picked up an assist on Dany Heatley’s goal. Genoway was also named 2^nd Star in the contest. 

 In the post-game interview, Genoway took a moment to thank Credit Union Old timer defence-man Blaine “Prez” Campbell for the tutelage shown at several Christmas intra-squads, not to mention the poker winnings that put him through 5 years at UND! Chay specifically wanted to send special thanks to REA General Manager Jody “Rath” Hodgson. Watching Hodgson lace them up for CU on the Olympic-sized sheet at the REA was the turning point in his career. His smooth gait and tenacity obviously were acquired from his 1983 line-mates Pat Falloon and Tyler Boucher!

Pictured below is CU defence-man Craig “Zdeno” Zamzow showing off the first Genoway jersey t-shirts. Apparently he tried to order the shirt in orange, reminiscent of his pylon-esque defensive play, but the Wild’s third jerseys will remain red for one more season.

It appears as though Genoway made the right choice after initially attempting a golf career, thankfully the RCGA talked him out of it in 2001 (click here).

Elsewhere, 2028 Credit Union Rookie of the Year Evan “Manboy” Morden recently wrapped up his 2^nd season with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. Morden routinely had to cover for Ryan “2012 First Rounder” Murray as he attempted more end to end rushes than Jason Ryden.

 Morden returned to Swan River just in time to serve as keynote speaker at the Swan Valley Minor Hockey Awards Banquet. Kudos to “Manboy” on a great job and hope brother Riley can help shake the Northern Redi-Mix out of your gloves before the fall.

"Dumb and Dumber!"

The Credit Union Hockey Club would like to pass along best wishes to Jim "The Zebra" Webster on his impending bionic hip implant on May 28. Early indicators are that he should be healed up in time for opening night in October. However, reports are unsubstantiated as to the success of the multiple Lasik procedures paid by the Blogmeister to assist with offside calls.

Lastly, the club has tentatively planned their golf tourney and windup for August 18. Any alumni planning to be in town should contact Brian “The Thrill” Gilroy with arrangements. There will be a post-tourney celebration to honour the 50^th birthdays of two very special CU heirlooms (Rob “Blogmeister” McDonald & Jeff “Skinny” Knight). A 1:00 am. appearance from the Rob’s Sizzlin’ Hot Dogz is also rumored.

CU in the rough!

Dickie Dunn

Thank You Teams.....

A big thank you to all teams, officials,and  arena staff for making our 37th annual "Spring Classic" such a success. Also thanks to all tournament committee members for all your hard work, without, this event is "just another Old-timer rec tourney. Please feel free to download , copy, print , reproduce in any way shape or form, images from these posts. Have a great summer everyone, only 161 days until training camp!! My sincere apologies to the Mighty Buck organization for not being able to find your team photo!

Super Sunday...

The host Credit Union Oldtimers started out well, piling up victories over the Birtle Old Puckers (4-1) and the Gladstone Old Duckers (7-0). However, in the A semi-final, the club's usually overpowering offence led by Randy "Meat Head" Mateika went cold. Mateika said "I focused on backchecking and crease clearing (including an introduction to our goalie, Mike Smith) in the Gladstone game and never re-gained my offensive touch when the chips were down". The defending champion Kenville/Virden Flyers upended the hosts 3-0.

Randy "The Rock" Mateika

Credit Union Hockey Club President Blaine "Soup" Campbell was visibly dejected when interviewed and expressed extreme disappointment. "After this performance, there will be sweeping changes to the CU roster for 2012-13. This club needs to re-focus on our longstanding tradition of being a contender so all player contracts will be evaluated".

 In the C Final the Silver Seven led by the Mullin family (David, Tyler, and Bryce) defeated the Mighty Bucks by a score of 7-3.

In the B Final the Winnipegosis Hawks defeated the Flin Flon Bombers (10-6) led by a pair of hat tricks by Duane Clarkson and club GM, scoring star, and rancher extraordinaire Terry "Slick" Sliworsky.

The A Final featured a rematch of the 2011 final with the Kenville/Virden Flyers facing the Valley Outlaws.

After a scoreless 1st period, Kenville took the lead on a beautifully roofed backhand over the outstretched glove of Outlaws goaltender Andy "Butch" Hodgson.  A few minutes later Outlaws centreman Rick Betcher fired a laser over the shoulder of Flyer netminder Joey "Fort Mac" Moshenko to knot the score.

With just over 5 minutes remaining, the tenacious Flyer forecheck once again paid dividends, as they pounced on a rebound and fired it just inside the post for the Championship goal.

The Game Star Committee of Chris Zamzow, Darren Mullin, and Clayton Mychalchuk deservedly selected Andy Hodgson and Joey Moshenko and their teams' respective game stars and President Blaine "Clarence" Campbell presented the newly minted Credit Union Cup to Captain "Handy" Andy Miller.

Once again, on behalf of the CU Oldtimers, thanks for coming out , and we will see ya all on the links! The 38th annual tourney has been tentatively scheduled for March 28-31, 2013. Weekend ticket packages are expected to go on sale in early November at Atkinson's Sports Excellence.

Saturday... Separating the Men from the Boys!!!

Birtle and Gladstone opened on the red eye express, with Birtle Old Puckers squeaking out a 6-3 victory. Valley Outlaws had an "Old Time Hockey" rumble with the Winnipegosis Hawks. The Hawks, running their usual "Short Bench", found themselves band aiding up players to keep them off the IR list. The Outlaws took  little time to take advantage of a battered and blue hawk squad, skating to a 11- 2 win.

Gash Brothers!!

The Swan River Raiders, under the guidance of new  found enforcer Derrick "Dropem" Lukey, showed that they are more than just a "Wings, Fish, and Paralyzer kinda club," skated to a hard fought battle over the Flin Flon Rock. Sean "Sniper" Eggie once again led the usual Raider "Parade to the Penalty Box" as their penalty kill was tested regularly.

i

Dangerous Derrick Lukey

Dry land Training or Team Bonding?

The host Credit Union Oldtimers started out well, with a  victory over the Birtle Old Puckers (4-1) and followed  that  with a convincing the  7-0 shut out win over the Gladstone Old Duckers , securing a date in one of the two "A"side semi finals.

Friday Night ....

A recap of the action Friday night saw the Kenville Flyers pick up where they left off last year by defeating the Silver Seven 11- 2 . CU registered an opening 4-1 win over the Birtle Old Puckers. Icing a full squad for the first time this year, the 16 plus skaters welcomed the 4 shifts per period. The Flin Flon Rock handed the Bowsman Burners their second loss to the tune of 11-1. Bowsman will be chasing that ever elusive "C"side final once again. After a quick carb reloading session, Kenville Flyers hit the ice a second time and handed the Flin Flon Bombers their first loss to the tune of 7-3. Action resumes early Saturday morning , when two southern sisters Birtle and Gladstone share an early 9:00 am cup of joe.

Tourney "Scouting Report" 2012...

Here it is the annual Tourney scouting report by the infamous "Dickie Dunn"...
Please click "here"...

Goaltenders get a Work Out....

The opening two games of the tourney had two goalies wishing that they would have remembered to pack a little sunscreen. Ernie "The Glove" Pierrepont, blue paint specialist for the Mighty Bucks, held the high powered  Valley Outlaws to 13 on an amazing 68 shots on goal. Running a very short bench, the Bucks managed to keep the game respectful, finishing on the  back end of a 13 -5 loss.

Ernie "The Glove" Pierrepont

The Swan River Raiders fired more shots at Bowsman Burner net minder Darren "Make mine a Double" Fedorchuk in the second game, than a Friday Night shooter bar at the West Wood Inn! The unofficial shots on goal ( the official time keeper lost track after 75), was believed to be somewhere in the 80's! Allowing only 16 to squeak by, Fuddie was overheard post game, "Ahh, just like riding a bike with you fuckers, just keep the eggs and shnick coming boys!!!!!"

Darren "Make mine a Double" Fedorchuk

Flyers Fall 16-10...

CU found themselves in a "Shoot out at the OK Corral" with the young gun Kenville Flyers last Wednesday evening. CU signed  free wheelin defense men "Jazzy" Jeff Bartel from the recently eliminated SwanValley Stampeders, to a one game contract  to help neutralize some of the youth and speed of the Flyers. The flashy Dman did not disappoint, with his countless end to end rushes, finishing the game with 4 goals and a whopping plus 9.
Brian "The Thrill" Gilroy continues his scoring rampage. scoring yet another hattie , and adding four helpers. Centering wingers Rob "Blogmeister" McDonald, and Jeremy " Skates" Gray, the line finished the evening with six goals, and an impressive plus 8. Shaking things up in the second frame, Craig "Move over Mateika" Zamzow, was penciled in down the middle between back checking Randy Mateika and fore checking Mark "Mini" Munro. Finding little to no room on the oppositions blue line, the "Kerr" like middle man managed to bang in a couple.
Three time first team all-star Mike "Smitty" Smith found himself on his knees more than a $20 hooker in a 7/11 parking lot on a Friday night. At the mercy of the Flyer brother combination of  Darren and Danny Miller, the "Double D" rang the cookie jar on several occasions.
With Gilroy and Zamzow going for a combined 5 for 30 in defensive zone face offs, former "Master of the Blade" and current director of player personnel, Dave "The Slasher" Bettesworth had these comments. "Going into the stretch drive, our center men have got to be better on the draw. We have been in contact with the Roblin Hounds regarding the availability of former CU draw master Ryan "Cowboy" Keown, and are anxiously waiting for a reply."
CU finishes out the regular season with a Sunday night tilt against cross town rivals Swan River Raiders, and then the season finale Wednesday evening when they host the Minitonas Loggers.

CU down Bucks 7-2, Lose 6-4 to Silver Seven...

CU opened the week with a convincing 7-2 win over the Mighty Bucks. Brian "The Thrill" Gilroy , showing the desire and commitment of a snot nosed rookie, lead all scorers with a pair.

The Thrill

Brian "The Ageless Wonder" Minish, just back from a three week hiatus in Palm Springs, wasted no time in getting his name on the score sheet. It was apparent that the R and R at the Springs seemed to have "Grecianed" the veteran forward , as he added two goals and two assists, and is playing some of his best hockey down the stretch.

Magic

Playing along side Gilroy, goal scoring duo of Jeff Knight "Rider", and Jeremy " Jack and Cola" Gray, showed some dangle that would even make former CU sniper Marvin "The Magnificent" Clarkson cringe. 

Wednesday evening CU clashed with the Silver Seven for the fourth and final time of the season. With the Seven winning the previous three encounters, CU was looking for a strong showing. A disappointing six and half  skaters ,(McDonald fresh off the IR list), gave a strong effort , but finally succumbed 6-4 to a very confident Silver squad. This loss marked the only time in Franchise history that CU was swept in a season series. CU sniper Brian "Thrilla" Gilroy was visible shaken by the lack of commitment on the part of some of his so called teammates. "I managed to go to three Stampeder games, a Winnipeg Jets game, and sit through the stress and duress of interviewing some very "Potential" employees for my business this week, do you see me packing up and leaving the boys high and dry?"  

The Thrill

The club hasn't seen this level of commitment from Gilroy since his glory days with Dauphin Kings. With Gilroy all in for the tourney, CU will  be looking to have a more bolstered offensive front end.

 Rookie Clayton "Heavy Feet" Mychaluk made his return from the IR list, and was struggling to find his legs and lungs all evening. A strong showing by CU tender Mike "I'll carry this franchise on my back" Smith, was all for not. Chad "Bottoms Up" Barker, son of legendary Zamboni driver Al "Board Bumping" Barker, sealed the deal for the Silver Seven when he parted the  "Red Sea", and went top shelve on Smitty. " 

The game got a little heated when CU defense men Warren "Wheels" Gray, and Silver Seven blue liner Pat "Hit-man" Harness exchanged some hugs and kisses after the whistle. Former defensive pairing on the cup winning roster in an early season tourney in Roblin, the two didn't let that curb their competitive enthusiasm.

Wheels

Hit-man

CU's next action is a Wednesday tilt with the Kenville Flyers, and then a regular season finale Sunday evening with cross town rivals the Swan River Raiders.