CU remain Undefeated in League Play.....

Failing to bring home the Roblin Cup, CU put together a near perfect  2 weeks of hockey. With 3 time Vezina Trophy Winner Mike"Tracker" Smith away , the club decided to give farmhand "Nancy" Drew Denischuk a chance to perform. Denischuk was solid in a 4-2 win over the Silver Seven, a game which saw Jeremy " Sauce" Gray lead all scorers with two.

Friday night in Minitonas marked the return of local legend Kevin "Still have the Hornet Sting" Kopecky. The former Mintonas Hornet scoring leader did not dissapoint the standing room only crowd . The game belonged to 5 time league all-star, Blaine " I miss my Habs", Campbell, whose impressive "Natural  Hatty" opened the game. Kopecky and Campbell went on to register 4 snipes each, as CU recorded a 12-4 win over the Loggers.

The unbeaten season was put to the test once more when CU faced off against the Swan River Raiders. Fresh off his European tour, cagey club veteran Brian" Fountain of Youth" Minish showed no signs of jet lag or his age, and led all scorers with a hat trick in the 6-2 win.

With a 6 game winning streak on the line, the Kenville Flyers were the next worthy opponents. This game marked the first of 4 meetings between these teams. Current scouting reports revealed that if you shut down Flyer leading goal scorer Tyson "Top Shelve" Kinaschuk, you shut down the Flyers. CU defense was near flawless, starting with yet another solid performance by CU  masked man Mike "Show me the Money" Smith. Not only did Smith shut down Kinaschuk, but he also held fleet footed Flyer Darren " Mac " Miller off the score sheet. 

Continuing his scoring streak, Kevin "Hard Core" Kopecky tallied twice in the 8-2 victory. Also adding a pair was Pat "Crusher" Morden, with singles going to J. Gray, B. Eggie, B.Minish, and an end to end high light reel goal by Blaine "El Presidente" Campbell.

Kopecky has been quick to attribute his recent scoring streak to his new found fitness regime. "Not everyone is lucky to wake up at 6:00 am  and have the wife put you through a grueling 60 minute core work out, she is , without a doubt, the reason for my strong start this season!" 

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!