Merry Christmas!

The crew here at Hockey-Life would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

This year has brought us a lot to be thankful for. Starting of course with the great group of people, which have come together through Hockey-Life. We would be nothing if not for the players. Thank you!

We also have a great support team, from creating the web site to taking the photos and videos at the games. Special Thank you goes out to Radek, Marcin and even the one they call Beezer.

We've had some great games this year. The Summer season saw one crazy series going on for a month with nothing but Ties. Just when one team thought it had the upper hand there would be a last minute goal by Cervoni to tie it back up and on it went. Goaltending duels and defensive stalemates saw broken sticks by Shawn Herman and rage quits by Marek Klimowicz.

We have had some bad times too, Sean O'Brien was sidelined with stitches after suffering a lower body laceration and Jeff Lobodzinski needed stitches after being cut by a skate that just missed his eye. We are thankful that they have both recovered and for the relatively injury free season we've had.

One could say the series that always have the players buzzing are the old Cervoni Vs Herman Classics. So far Captain Cris Cervoni has come out on top of both of those but we have seen some good games come out of it ... and a couple broken sticks.

The winter season started off with some lopsided games but is slowly finding balance. The overall points race looks to eclipse the totals set during the summer season. We currently have four players closing in on 40 pts with only 8 pts between first and fourth. Leading the pack is Hockey-Life rookie Tyler Courtemanche with 40 pts. Darcy Thomsen another newcomer to the league is second with 37 pts.

The Goal scoring race is even tighter with 6 players currently battling it out. Cris Cervoni, having a career season is tied with Tyler Courtemanche, both finding the goal column 17 times this year. Following the top two, Chris Alpaugh, Darcy Thomsen and Adam Klimowicz are all tied with 15 goals apiece. Closing out the list is Robbie Devries with 14 Genos so far. This will be a fun race to watch the rest of the way.

Just a quick reminder, there is only one game left this year and it is on New Year's Eve! at 3:30 pm. We are most likely going to need some spares for this game, so if you know anyone that wants to play have them either email info@hockey-life.ca or text Adam or Marek when you are confirming your spot. If you can't make the game this week, let us know as well.

We will see you all in the New Year when we get back into the swing of things with our first series of 2012.

December 03, 2011 Game Two

The "C" in Cervoni stands for Controversy ....

We have a Series on our hands!

This is the second installment of the Hervoni Series. The first took place during our inaugural Summer season at the Western Fair Sports Complex with Team Cervoni taking the win in a long hard fought 3 Games.

With a 1-0 Series lead coming into this game, the Hermans blitzed out of the gates to start the game. Some fast outlet passing and hard grinding down low was to be their strength.

A. Borek who got a rare start on the Wing as opposed to his regular Defensive position, chipped in with 1 Goal and 3 Assists. Making his coach look like a genius with the change, Shrek proved that he was too much man to handle in the blue paint. He could be found in and around the crease all day just hanging and banging terrorizing Team Cervoni.

Team Captain Shawn Herman contributed to his team with 1 Goal and 2 Assists while playing one of the cleanest games of his career. Shawn was overheard saying "I didn't even trip you once this week", during a post game discussion with A. Klimowicz.

Mid way through the game Klimo's inability to finish on some of the greatest passes we have ever seen from Cris Cervoni left Team Cervoni in a 5 - 1 hole. Adam was all Swedish and no Finish being stonewalled on at least 3 breakaways and another 3 one timers from the slot.

Jorge Goulart put up another stellar performance making save after save keeping the lead for The Hermans. His best save had to come on a One Timer from A. Klimowicz, the puck squeezed through under his arm as he dove across the net. Getting just enough of the biscuit to slow it down. Jorge's teammates ,cheering from the bench, looked on as he turned and pulled the bouncing puck off the line. A really special save from a Really, Really Special guy!

Just to prove everything was going Herman's way, C. Cervoni was breaking into the offensive zone with 2 players supporting him. What looked like a developing 3 on 2 quickly vanished as Cris nonchalantly flipped the puck up and over the boards.

.... Then came the turning point.

"you don't mess with the" Zyad, dangled through what seemed like an endless amount of white jerseys. Track pants blowing in the wind as he sped towards the net, Zyad made a quick move in tight and deposited the biscuit in the basket. The smiles on his teammates faces was almost as big as the Jofa helmet he brought back out of retirement.

The floodgates were open, Dan Tigert sniped one top cheddar off a nice feed from C. Cervoni. Chris Alpaugh had another terrific game. "Mr. All I do is score"  registered another Hat-trick en route to a 4 point game.

Then the hour mark of the game struck and play was halted. A quick review of the white boards showed a narrow come from behind victory for Team Cervoni the 7-6 score line ties up the series at One game a piece.

BUT there is an asterisk .... and it's a big one.

After some investigation, Hockey-Life brass found that someone had marked a Goal down for Cris Cervoni on the white board. Cris Cervoni in fact did not score any goals on Saturday December 03 2011. You can see where this could cause some confusion. Here is the official Hockey-Life Ruling on the game:

Due to the fact that the goal may have actually happened, but marked under the wrong player. We cannot refuse to honour the Goal. It is important that when keeping track of goals, we either let the player scoring the goal mark it down or be 100% sure that it is in fact the player who scored.

In conclusion, the goal stands, the final score stands ... we have game 3 on our hands. Winner takes all.

See you all on Saturday!

November 19, 2011

Team Dynasty and Team Devries wrapped things up this Saturday with a tight battle.

Both teams were running a shortened bench due to injuries, as well as many members fighting the "flu".<br/>
This didn't stop Team Dynasty from rising to the occasion, despite missing their captain, in what people can only assume was a shot at the "Show".

Controlling the puck in the Offensive end and working with a Tampa Bay like defense, it appeared they had the game well in hand.

The game would have seemed much more like a runaway train if not for some goal tending heroics. Courtesy of Jorge Goulart leaping from post to post like a monkey from a tree, having his legs more spread than Adam Klimowicz's prom date.

Jorge only allowed 5 goals on what seemed like 50 shots. 2 of which came from Chris Cervoni, who has quietly taken the Goal lead this Winter season with 13 and finding himself in second place for points overall with 25 (spares don't count Wiggle so shut it).

Also picking up two goals for Team Dynasty was "Cannon shot" Carter, who showed his offensive insparation by taking the "Cervoni Canoe" to center ice in celebration.

On the flip side, Team Devries was having a difficult time getting anything going in the offensive zone, but were able to muster 4 goals that all began with Ernie "SHREK" Borek smashing a one timer into the back of the open net.

Team Captain was having a hard time finding his step with only one goal in the game, while alternate captain Adam Klimowicz was able to put two pucks to the twine after a glorious set up pass from Borek. Not to be know for only his goal tending, keeper Jorge Goulart sent a puck down ice to an open man, who then proceeded to notch a point for Team Devries.

When the smoke had settled and the ice was carved up, Team Dynasty emerged the victor with a 5-4 victory to win the series.

Immediately after the game, the decision was made by HL brass to bring back a fan favourite and the Cervoni Herman Classic will be reborn.

The draft began swiftly and was at a furious pace as both captains KNEW what they wanted to do....AND Cervoni had to get his dad home.

With more points than brains Cervoni was chosen to have first pick and it started with his hetero life mate, Adam Klimowicz.

The only player in the league with nothing but wins, Herman countered by picking an all around player with captain experience, Rob Devries.

It was clear that Cervoni was looking for a solid offensive base by having 3 of the top 4 points leaders when he picked up Darcy and Alpaugh.

Unfazed by the offensive threat, Herman retaliated by securing a solid D core to stifle the offense by selecting Marek, Spence and Ernie "you can't score if you can't get a shot past him" Borek. (and yes he get's multiple nicknames, he's bigger than a normal man!!!)

Stay tuned as it's bound to be an epic series....hence the name Classic!!!

7 Stitches

November 12 2011

Game Two - Team Dynasty was lead by Darcy Thomson with 6 pts ( 1G, 5A ), Chris Alpaugh (2G, 3A) and Cris Cervoni (2G, 3A). The end result was a 10-5 Victory giving them the 1-0 Series lead heading into what could be a decisive Game 3 this Saturday November 19 2011.

Team Devries just couldn't get anything going with their 5 goals coming from only 3 players and look to shake things up going into Game 3.

Jeff Lobodzinski, a Team Dynasty D-man went into the boards hard in a three man pile up. Ryan Carter and Adam Klimowicz came out of the boards unscaved but Jeff wasn't as fortunate. He suffered a laceration to the face just narrowly missing his eye. Super Spare Ryan Wigle was at the rink as a spectator and drove Jeff to the Hospital where he received 7 Stitches.

Reports say that Jeff is recovering at home and will be seeing an eye specialist to make sure he hasn't suffered any long term damage. He will be sidelined for the time being but may be at the arena on Saturday afternoon to watch his team go for the series win.

Everyone at Hockey-Life would like to wish Jeff a speedy recovery.

Game Three goes Saturday November 19 2011 ... same time ... same place.

Deja Vu!

November 05 2011

The new series between Team Dynasty and Team Devries started out in familiar Hockey-Life fashion... a 7 - 7 tie.

Devries team started out hot building up a lead early on, but a depleted defensive core due to a local tournament exposed them in their own end. Tired legs equaled goals for the Dynasty who owned most of the play going forward.

Brian Micks earned first star honors in net for Team Devries turning aside shot after shot and multiple rebounds late in the game to preserve the tie.

The scoring race is shaping up to be a good one. Hockey-Life rookie Darcy Thomson leads the pack with 21 points, 8 goals and 13 Assists. Tyler Courtemanche, another rookie is hanging onto second with 20 points, 6 Goals and 14 Assists.

Cris "the Crossbar" Cervoni is having a career season, his balanced attack has him at 17 points, 9 Genos and 8 Assists which is currently good enough for 4th place.<br/>
Cervoni is also among the leagues flashiest players with awe inspiring goal celebrations after every tally.

After 6 games played this season it looks as though the self proclaimed "Super Spare"  Ryan Wigle will be hanging them up. Leaving us with 35 points, 21 Goals and 14 Apples. Ryan has a new work schedule and will not be available on a regular basis any longer.
Some people say his Mom wont let him play on Saturdays anymore because she needs the car.

Game Two will be coming at you live from the London Ice Park aka The Brookside Bunker at 3:30 pm.

A Fresh Start

Saturday October 29th 2011

After finishing off our first series with a complete sweep, Hockey-Life brass decided to hold a draft (in more ways than one).

Darcy and Robbie went back and forth assembling the pieces to their new teams in what looks to be a battle between Offence and Defence.

Team White Captain Darcy Thompson, who drafted more than half of the regular defensive players in the league; was heard predicting "this is the beginning of a Dynasty".  This may be true, but they will have to keep a close eye on Joel "Henrik" Timmerman, who with just two forward shifts last week potted his first goal of the season and feels that "the flood gates are going to open up".

Game one goes Saturday afternoon at 3:30. London Ice Park is where the puck drops!

Below are the new team rosters for this series:

Team Darcy ( White )

Chris "the Hulk" Alpaugh
Matt Spence
Jeff Lobodzinski
Cris "the Crossbar" Cervoni
Shawn "line change" Herman
Dan " Hal Johnson" Tigert
"Big" Ben Vanderloo
David "007" Craig


Team Robbie ( Green )

Adam Klimowicz
Tyler Courtemanche
Marek "Spaceballs" Klimowicz
Dave Pollack
Vince "I wasn't offside" Carducci
Eric "The Ogre" Borek
Vince MacDougall
Joel "Henrik" Timmerman

SWEEP!!!

Games 1 & 2 of our first series of the season ended in similar fashion. Team white takes home the first ever Hockey-Life Sweep after dominating both games by a combined total of  20 - 6.  Not much to write about here as it was all White all day.

Game 3 will go this Saturday October 29th  at 3:30 pm where Team Green gets the chance to pull one win out and avoid going 0-3.

So far this Winter is seeing much more scoring than we had in the summer, let's see if that trend continues. I am sure the goalies wouldn't mind getting some help back there at some point this season.

On a side note, feel free to take a look at the updated photo galleries, Marcin and Radek have been working hard on getting this all organized and making it look pretty... Enjoy!

Final Words

We'd like to thank everyone who participated in our fist summer Hockey-LIfe.ca season!

This includes all of the contract players and spares who have stepped in to fill the vacant spots  and insure full attendance night in and night out. Games were fast, intense and always clean with everyone keeping themselves in check, especially on the infamous offside calls.

A special thanks goes out to the people listed below for their contribution beyond the ice making this season such a memorable one:
Radek Adamowski - Website & Photos
Marcin Tandecki - Website & Graphics
Joel Hagan - Photos
Chris Brooks - Jerseys
Jeff Bezaire - Videos
Val Cull - Our wonderful friend and bartender at the Western Fair!
Two Crown King - Music

Final season points standings

Total goals scored (22 Games)  271  average of  12.32 per game
306 Assists
577 Points
Best GAA goes to Evan Dawe 5.40 in 10 games before leaving us to the Sault
Undefeated goalie title goes to Brad Amberley with 4 wins and 4 ties
Scoring title 35 goals, Point title 57 and Point per game title 3.17% goes to Ryan Wigle
The playmaker of the year is Chris Alpaugh with 26 assists
Winning title 9 games goes to Kevin Dejean & Marek Klimowicz
Super Spare is Rob Devries 14GP, 21G, 14A, 6W, 6T, 30PTS


Thanks again for an awesome season,

Sincerely everyone here at Hockey-Life.ca