Red Army v. Didsbury Guys

This past Tuesday saw the Red Army go up against some fellow Didsburians, including ex army great, Duane Archer. This familiarity with the opponent seemed to lead to some inspired play by some of the Army. None more so than the goalie of the Red Army future, drum roll, Brett Hopfe!!! Seems he traded in his skates and stick for some pads and an arctic cat chest protector. Hopfe made his Red Army debut between the pipes and opened some eyes around town. To say the "Cat" was a little unorthodox is an understatement. But there were flashes, and with Tommy tutoring him the sky is the future for Hopfe in rec hockey. As for the players Gordie seemed to play with a renewed vigor not seen since a young Golden Jet was ripping pucks at goalies in the late 70s. Mark and Mike were the steady towers back on D with the odd rush up the ice. It seemed they didn't want to leave Hopfe alone too much on the back end. Robbie, new guy, and Mix rounded out the forwards, and Gordie was able to pad all our stats with his fine playmaking abilities. And now for the TSN highlight of the night, as Steve Fillmore rounded out the Defense, and sparkled in an early 3rd period rush. To put it in perspective, there are some great poets in the world like Woodsworth, Poe, and Shakespeare, and now add Fillmore, for what I saw on Tuesday night was poetry in motion. Not since Doug Harvey have I seen such smooth effortless strides as Steve carried the puck up the ice. With the ability to deke in and out of traffic I though it was Rick Middleton for a second, then to cap it all off he shows the finish of Mario as he buries it past the goalie. A magnificent one man show to engerize the Army to start the 3rd period. At least I'm guessing that is how it sounded at the clubhouse after the game. It was nice though. As well Gord wanted to remind Tyler that the tradedeadline up coming the army are still unsure whether to buy or sell, so March 4 could be an interesting day. Stay tuned to the blog for all your transaction updates. Scheduling note that March 1 is cancelled and next up is Tuesday night when the Carstairs Muskrats come to town, as usual it is bring a friend or at least a ref night.

Thrasher v. Red Army Round 3

Tuesday night brought the Carstairs thrashers to town to visit the Red Army. Finally a somewhat squad showed up with eight skaters and a goalie and a ref. Robbie had the task of joining the d-corps with mike and mark. This allowed Gord and Calvin to stay on forward to try and work some majic, with Jay, Casey, and Brian. The thrashers had some new recruits. It seemed to help them this game. In the first period the army came out strong with Tommy making some key saves to preserve a lead of some amount, i can't remember. Everyone seemed to have their skating legs which made for a fast game. The second period saw the thrashers battle back and take a two goal lead into the third. The army seemed to have hit a wall with an inability to bury anything. Then in the third the scoring touch was found again. Brian was able to bury a key goal. With Tommy kicking puck the Army pulled ahead and held on for a one goal win. Sorry this not very in depth it was a rough week driving around and I couldn't remember much except Tommy being the igniter of the game's festivities. And Sunday's game is cancelled as a reminder so keep your stick on the ice until Tuesday.

Help may be on the way for the army

Tuesday night was an eye opening experience for all in a attendance. That is all 7 of us plus 2 call ups from the colts that were able to help us out with some much needed man power. As we were getting dressed GM Fillmore was able to make it too the game and even dress last night, but that wasn't the interesting part. A recent scouting trip to Vegas proved quite fruitful for the Army. Not mentioning any names but i wouldn't be surprised if Jagr didn't sign in Edmonton but rather signed in Didsbury on a Red Army exchange program. Details were a little sketchy, but suffice to say a cement mixer was mentioned and possibly developing a pipeline of players from the KHL to the RA. At least Steve did do some work away from the ice. On the ice the Cremona Mustangs were the opposition for the RA and it turned into a basketball match early on. There were so many bounces it was tough for either team to get a handle on the game, thus it was tied 2-2 after 1. The one highlight goal was a nice passing play from mix to Gord and then Gord seemed to aim it off of Mike's stick so Mike didn't even have to shoot it. In the second period the RA were able to gain control of the game and turn it on except for the one minute where Gord made sure that Steve knew he was minus 2 in under a minute. Again it was a balanced attack as Ryan had a couple of goals, Mike, and Gord and Calvin chipped in. Even the rookie Pat was able to control the play and bury a couple of nice goals. The RA seemed to have some jump, maybe it was Fillmore returning to the lineup I'm not too sure. (Hopefully that is enough print for Steve). The RA now enjoy a week off before hitting the ice again on Tuesday night. As well, there was some optimism that Bucky would be back on skates if nothing else to ref possibly, or at least Gord said to get the wuss to ref or something like that. See you on Tuesday, Monday night if the game is in Crossfield though.

Apparently the trade deadline came early

Tuesday night found the army inviting the carstairs muskrats to town. As we looked around the dressing room we weren't sure if the RA had a fire sale at the trade deadline. With only 6 skaters and Tommy in the pipes it looked like Reimer had traded away everyone for future considerations that hadn't arrived yet. Nonetheless with Mike working some on ice deals we were able to borrow 3 Muskrats, so that helped accept we had to rotate the officiating again. The first period saw Brian score the first three goals of the game but only 2 were for the RA one was against. Then the muskrats banked one in off of a borrowed defenseman so it was tied at 2 after 1. The second period intensity picked up with bodies being hit all over the place, except it was the Muskrats hitting their traded teammates. This freed up the ice for the RA and they were able to spring out to the lead that they would not relinquish. The second period hi lite was Mike showing off a glimpse of his former self with an end to end rush that ended up being a breakaway from the blueline in. He made no mistake. The third moved along as both teams started to run out of gas, but the RA did prevail with a balanced attack, where even newly converted forward Mark bulged the twine. It was a good all round effort put in by all six of us. We are still waiting for an update on the injury status of Bucky-Cole, Gord was wondering if he had been to the hyperberic (maybe) chamber yet to work his rib. The next action for the RA goes Sunday in Crossfield where the Madden Maulers present the opposition. Guessing from the past few turnouts it will again be bring a friend night. Until then- Good Night Now!!