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up to date with the latest on Watchmen and action from around the league!
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25-July-2006 – Congratulations to Russ and Eldyka! |
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EDMONTON – The Watchmen may not be the
winningest team in the league, but they are doing their best to prove to be
the most fertile. Jacknisky, Kulmatycki and Weis all lead the charge last year,
this year both the Simpson and the Nycholat families had been expecting to
contribute to the growing legion of Watchmen fans. It was little Simpson that
arrived first, and in the words of her proud father: Here are the first shots
of the newest memeber of the Watchmen fan Club! Kyra Wrenn Sadie Simpson was
born July 24th at 7:10 am weighing in at 7 pounds and 8 ounces. Mommy, Daddy and Big Sister all \doing
great. 6 hours of labour with a
whopping 6 minutes of pushing. Hard
days work with a great reward. She is
looking forward to meeting you all. Congratulations to the proud parents – stay
tuned Watchmen fans for future procreation announcements! |
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19-July-2006 – Watchmen come up short |
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EDMONTON – The Watchmen suited up for the
last time on Tuesday night as they dropped the third and deciding game by a
score of 4-1 to the Chain Gang to lose the first round playoff series 2-1.
The Watchmen appeared to run out of gas at the end of the season, after going
8-2 in the first two months of the season, the Watchmen’s last month saw them
post a 3-5 record.
The tank appeared particularly empty this evening as the Watchmen were only able
to muster 13 shots on net. While it was the Watchmen’s familiar old nemesis
that caught up with them – soft clearing the puck in their own zone and
give-aways at the opposition blue line that allowed the Chain Gang to tie the
game after originally being down 1-0 and eventually take the momentum of the
game. The Watchmen’s short playoff run saw
Kulmatycki Sr. as the most consistent performer night-in, night-out,
attending all three games and whooping it up in the crowd. Combined with the
disappointing numbers put up by the Watchmen players, WatchNET writers’
association has taken the unprecedented move of voting a fan the MVP for the
playoffs. Congrats to Kulmatycki Sr. – keep up the good work! While it was a disappointing finish, the
Watchmen have a lot to look forward to in the coming winter season having
picked up several new recruits and re-signed a few veterans, including a
surprise coming out of retirement Russ Misselbrook to shore up the Watchmen
defence. For the first time in memory, the Watchmen have a full roster well
before the puck drops in the regular season, and the GM can take a few
well-deserved months off to rest and relax before the pressures of training
camp and money collecting begins in the fall. Stay tuned to the WatchNET for the announcement
of the Watchmen windup in August, as well as updated player stats and
the official unveiling of the 2006-07 roster. The regular season is rumoured
to begin the second week of September and the schedules should be posted
soon. |
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Three Stars 1.
Jordan Coles
(Chain Gang) 2.
Chase
Cunningham (Chain Gang) 3.
Mitch Flegel |
Watchmen 1 vs. Chain Gang 4 – Loss (1-2) |
18-July-2006 – Chain Gang even it up |
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EDMONTON – As expected the Chain Gang arrived
with full force Monday night to greet an unsuspecting Watchmen squad. The
Watchmen got the early jump and generated the early scoring chances but were
unable to finish off any and the Chain Gang weather the initial storm. The
story of the game would end up being penalties, and it started almost right
away when the Watchmen found themselves short-handed, a shot from the point
was tipped in to open the scoring. The Chain Gang had two breakaways before
the period was out but could not convert on either and the score remainder
1-0 going into the second period. The Chain Gang spent the better part of the
second period in the penalty box thanks in part to an inability to control
their stick coupled with an inability to control their tongues, with a dash
of inconsistent refereeing. Nonetheless the Chain Gang would score
short-handed on their second odd-man rush in the same penalty to make the
game 2-0. But the penalties kept piling up and the Watchmen netted 3 unanswered
goals, all coming on power plays and two of them coming on 5 on 3s. The
period ended with the Watchmen up 3-2. The Watchmen should have known that the refs
would be looking to even it up in the third, and Watchmen gave them the
chance to do just that and spending their fair share of time in the box
including a 5 on 3 disadvantage. The Chain Gang would eventually even the
game up on a delayed penalty call going against the Watchmen. With three
minutes left in the game the Chain Gang were sent to the box again giving the
Watchmen an opportunity to bury the game and the series, but instead would
give up their 5th short-handed break to the Chain Gang, who made
no mistake converting their second short-handed goal of the night with less
than 2 minutes to go and the game ended 4-3 in favour of the Chain Gang. The Chain Gang preserved in wild one that saw
all seven goals coming from special teams. The two teams face off again right
away in a winner takes all event. |
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Three Stars 1.
game sheet
missing |
Watchmen 3 vs. Chain Gang 4 – Loss (1-1) |
15-July-2006 – Chain Gang hand one to the Watchmen |
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EDMONTON – The dust had settled on the
playoffs standings confusion and the Watchmen were set to hit the ice in their
home opener against the Chain Gang Friday night but they didn’t have an
opponent to face off against as only 3 members of the Chain Gang were suited
up. Over five minutes had ticked off the clock before the Chain Gang had
enough bodies for the puck to drop and as per ERHL rules the Watchmen were
handed a power play and a 1-0 lead to start the game. The head start was quickly erased however
when the Watchmen tender let in the first shot of the game from the blue
line. Apparently the accolades given to him by team management went straight
to his head as the 50-footer sailed right through him to even the game at
one. The goal came not only as the Chain Gang had successfully killed off
their penalty, but also as a few more players quietly trickled on to the
bench and it looked as if the Watchmen had possibly blown their chance to
quickly seal the deal on what initially looked like a gift-wrapped game.
However, Russ Summer Simpson took it upon himself to regain control of
the game only a minute later as he restored the Watchmen lead with an
unassisted blast from the top of the circles. Simpson would strike again before the period was out when he
looked set to repeat his earlier feat but this time instead of shooting he
feathered the pass to a streaking JP Glaves who popped home his second goal
in two games, and the Watchmen were up 3-1 at the end of the first. The Watchmen continued to press and took a
4-1 lead early in the second period when Kevin Phillips finished off a
Preston Kulmatycki pass in the slot. Once again when things were looking
bleak for the Chain Gang they dowsed the fire and closed the gap by potting a
power play goal to make it only a two goal difference with over half of the
game left to play. Buoyed by their goal, and in spite of their short bench
the Chain Gang pressed the Watchmen and generated several good scoring
chances but were not able to beat the Watchmen goaltender before Jeff
MacLellan shelved a Mike Starrett drop pass in the dying minute of the
period. The goal took the wind out of the Chain Gang’s sails who had been
close on several occasions to make it a 4-3 game, were now heading into its
final period with the score 5-2. The Watchmen seized the momentum they had
generated and Simpson all but sealed the game he had broken open with his
second tape-to-tape pass of the evening this time to Dana Gray, who made no
mistake from the doorstep only 20 seconds into the period. Corwin Nycholat
would put the final nail in the coffin when he finished off a rush he had
started collecting the puck from a goal-mouth scramble at the goal line and
threaded a wrist shot into the top shelf. Credit goes out to the Chain Gang
however who did not roll over and die however and they made the score 7-3 by
potting their second power play goal of the night halfway through the period.
They also went on to press for the remainder of the game despite a short and
clearly tired bench, and closed the gap in shots to finish trailing only 29
to 33 in that department. Tempers flared a little near the end of the
game, but when the final buzzer sounded the Watchmen were up 1-0 in the best
of three series. The Watchmen will take the win, but also know that they will
be facing a tougher squad on Monday night who will not only be playing with
their backs against the wall, but will also have most of their regular
line-up back. Meanwhile the Dragons also suffered from a
short bench Friday night and were only able to dress seven skaters in their
opening game against the Thunder. The Thunder took advantage of the situation
handing out a decisive 9-1 win to take a 1-0 lead in that series. Both series
resume Monday night and unless Garth Brooks or Shania Twain blow into town,
it is expected that Chain Gang and the Dragons will have full rosters, so
despite two seemingly lop-sided wins neither series is in the books just yet. |
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Three Stars 1.
Russ Simpson 2.
Dana Gray 3.
JP Glaves |
Watchmen 7 vs. Chain Gang 3 – Win (1-0) |
14-July-2006 – Watchmen clinch first place on clerical error |
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EDMONTON – A 10-5 record was good enough to
tie to the Watchmen for first spot in Division 1 with the Dragons who also
posted 20 points this summer. After The tie-break criteria are wins, head to
head record and then goals for/goals against. The Dragons who also earned a
10-5 record this season won the season series 2-1 over the Watchmen (3-1,
4-7, 4-2) and should have therefore claimed the pennant. However, a computer
glitch in the ERHL super-network had the final two tie-break criteria
backwards, and the Watchmen whose GF/GA tally of 1.5 (88/58) was slightly
better than the Dragons’ 1.4 (87/61) ultimately awarded the Watchmen with a
first place finish and end up drawing the Chain Gang who also tied in points
with 19, but the Thunder had an additional win placing them in 3rd. The error was picked up after the playoffs
schedules were announced, but given the short time-frame to inform players it
was decided best to leave the standings alone rather than risk players show
up at the wrong time for the wrong game. Given that there is very little to
choose between the Chain Gang and the Thunder (or any of the teams in the
division this summer) the Dragons and the Watchmen did not protest the
mistake and the Watchmen play at 7:45 P.M. this evening. If Watchmen and the
Dragons both advance to the finals it will be a hotly debated issue who gets
home ice advantage, but until next week that remains an academic question. |
13-July-2006 – Watchmen name summer regular season awards |
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EDMONTON – The winter awards are selected by
player votes, but the summer’s short and busy season forces the Watchmen
management to make executive, yet undemocratic decisions (even the WatchNET
writers’ association does not cast a vote). A day after the Watchmen narrowly
secured a playoff berth, team ownership has handed down its decision to the
WatchNET staff: Despite getting a demeaning phone call from
player-coach Wilkinson for not participating in the post-game festivities
Watchmen ownership has handed this summer’s award to Watchmen goaltender Tim
Weis who posted a 9-3 record and a 3.92 GAA. Here’s how it all shook down
according to the player-coach: The Lighthouse* called me on the way home last night to congratulate me and wish us luck on our upcoming Playoff run.
We talked about the MVP for the season and we didn't even have to argue.
I quote "Not only did he have the best GAA in Div.1 but he had the best GAA in the entire league. Tim is a huge reason why we have finished first in the league and has set us up nicely for a long playoff run. Nuff said."
He then went into a profanity laced tirade about how high priced Nycholat refuses to pass the puck to high priced Wilkinson and wonders why he doesn't just cut the both of them. This, however, is unfit for print.
Way to go Timmy! Meanwhile the other coveted awards
were handed out including Corwin Nycholat’s Don Cherry’s Award for
post-game performance, a deal that was neck in neck with Russ Simpson who had
an equally impressive post-game percentage but was weaker on the overall
numbers after missing 3 games this season. Preston Kulmatycki tied with
Cory Wilkinson for the Chris Marsh Memorial scoring title each tallying
23 points. The George Mallia Iron
Man award this year went to a true Iron Man who was the only Watchman to
play in all 15 regular season games Dino Vlahadamis. Luke Moran made his presence felt
in his rookie season collecting the Tony van Tol most penalty minutes
with 30 minutes averaging just over a minor penalty per game. At the other
end of the spectrum, the Ed Jean Memorial for most gentlemanly player was
awarded to Russ Simpson a three-time winter season receipent of
the award who did not draw a single penalty in the entire season. Congrats to all the players and to the
team for qualifying for the playoffs. They all have a few hours to bask in
the glow before the slate is wiped clean and the playoffs begin. *President of WatchCORP. For
details on the shady character known only as The Lighthouse you’ll have to
dig through WatchNET archives. |
12-July-2006 – Watchmen back in the playoffs |
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EDMONTON – The Watchmen only needed a point
in one of their last three games to clinch a playoff spot, but dropped the first
two forcing them into a do or die situation against the Battalion. The
Battalion for their part struggled early on (relatively speaking) but won
when it mattered in the stretch to make the last showdown with the Watchmen
effectively “round 0” of the playoffs with the winner moving on to round 1
and the loser ending their season. The Watchmen were without Luke Sugar Ray VanWeiren
who was sitting out a one-game suspension. The Watchmen’s goalie was also
scratched this evening to nurse a nagging injury, so the Watchmen called on
all-star Ice Bears tender Chris Grant to fill in. The Battalion got the jump
on the Watchmen though and controlled much of the play in the first period
and opened the scoring half way through the first period. The Watchmen settled
down in the second period and slowly wrestled control of the game from
Battalion. After struggling to get quality scoring chances in the first
period the Watchmen began to press in the second but were unable to tie the
game. Despite the surge in pressure, the Watchmen were dealt a blow when they
found themselves short-handed midway through the second period handing the
Battalion an opportunity to take a commanding lead. But it was a forechecking
effort by Kevin Phillips only seconds into the Battalion power play that
caused a Battalion give away in their own zone that Preston Kulmatycki
buried, heeding the advice of his coach. Phillips Jr. would set up Kulmatycki
a second time in the final minutes of the period feeding a perfect pass to
Preston the Kid in the slot who introduced the puck to the peanut
butter. Understanding the Battalion’s explosive
abilities, who boasted four of the league’s top ten scorers, the Watchmen
knew that a single goal lead was unlikely going to be good enough, and the
Watchmen kept pressing. Russ Summer Simpson was set up by Dino Greek
Salad Vlahadamis and Preston the Kid to extend the Watchmen lead
on a powerplay. While a 3-1 lead is the most precarious in hockey, it only
lasted four minutes as Vlahadmis sprung Dana Guru Gray who raced in on
a two-on-one and popped a flying saucer pass that would have made Gretz proud
over the Battalion’s defenseman’s stick and onto the stick of a streaking JP
Glaves who rung it around the bottom of the net so quickly that there was
initially some confusion as to whether or not it went in. The Battalion were
not about to roll over though as they responded only a minute later to cut
the lead to two goals. But the Watchmen would hang on thanks in
large part to some huge gloves saves by Ice Bear Grant and would bury
their opponent when Jeff Snooker MacLellan banked the puck off the
boards in Watchmen zone and it travelled the length of the ice in slow motion
and seemed have eyes as it found the back. The long distance goal secured a
Watchmen victory and eliminated the Battalion from the post-season. Meanwhile
on the other side of town, the Dragons split their two game series with the
Chain Gang ending the season with only two points separating first place from
last place in the division. The Watchmen draw the Chain Gang in the first
round set to kick off on Friday. The Watchmen finish the regular season tied
for the most points in the division,
while having the second fewest goals scored, yet giving the fewest up and
also spending the least amount of time in the penalty box. The Watchmen will
announce the executive decision’s regular season MVP tomorrow – right here…
stay tuned! |
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Three Stars 1.
Preston
Kulmatycki 2.
Kevin Phillips 3.
Chris Grant |
Battalion 2 vs. Watchmen 5 – Win (10-5-0) |
11-July-2006 – Watchmen come up a goal short… again. |
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EDMONTON – With the top division teams
combining for just enough wins and losses to keep the entire division within 2
points going into the final games for each team this week. The Thunder needed
a win to stay alive and came out blazing finding an unmarked man in the slot
only 9 seconds into the game to open the scoring. Only moments later the
Watchmen defence were parted and the Thunder had themselves a 2 goal lead.
Despite a rough start the Watchmen regained their composure when Preston
Kulmatycki’s how’s-she-going, top-shelf combo cut the lead in half before the
end of the period. The Watchmen had a strong second period and
were able to take the lead thanks to goals from Jeff MacLellan and Kevin
Phillips, and a flashing of the leather by the Watchmen tender. Tensions and
stakes were high in the third period though, and penalties were handed out
left, right and centre. The Thunder took advantage of their first powerplay
of the period when a funny rebound was collected off the back boards and
stuffed in for a wrap-around to tie the game, and then sprung a breakaway
only moments later to retake the lead. Cam Phillips would capitalize on a
Watchmen powerplay that was set up perfectly from Wilkinson and Nycholat to
tie the game. A point would have been important for the Watchmen this
evening, they were sensing a chance to take 2 on a power play with only 4
minutes to go, but instead they conceded their 3rd breakaway goal
of the evening, this time short-handed handing the Thunder a 5-4 victory. The
win was marred with a few ugly incidents as the game got out of hand, that
were compounded by some bizarre/random calls against or not against both
teams and at both ends. The frustrations boiled over a few times, into one
bone fide fight (that heard cheers quickly go from “take-him-out,
take-him-out!” to “break-it-up, break-it-up!” as Luke Van Weiren unleashed
some fury), a pushing incident that somehow, defying the laws of physics and
reason ended up with both players being handed fighting penalties, and one
classless sucker punch by a third man in who seemed to think he was
protecting his own guy, but in fact was cold-cocking a Watchmen who had been
hit from behind onto the Thunder player in front of the net. Despite the
interesting decisions on the ice, it was certainly not one-sided and the
Watchmen have only themselves to blame for not salvaging the game in which
they had made an impressive come-back. The win vaults the Thunder from last place
into first, and dumps the Watchmen into last place going into the final games
of the season. The Chain Gang has a rematch against the Dragons, while the
Watchmen square off against the Battalion. The Watchmen are likely to lose
most of the tie breakers against the other squads and will therefore need a
win to ensure they see any post-season action this summer. The Battalion are
in the same situation and so effectively the playoffs start Wednesday night
for these two teams. |
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Three Stars 1.
Eric Forton
(Thunder) 2.
Cam Phillips 3.
Tim Weis Note: #3
deserved the first star until he embarrassed himself taking off his helmet
and gloves to challenge the entire bench like a lobotomized orangutang. |
Watchmen 4 vs. Thunder 5 – Loss (9-5-0) |
7-July-2006 – Watchmen blow chance to clinch playoff spot |
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EDMONTON – With three games remaining the
Watchmen needed only a win in one of their final three games to clinch a
playoff berth in a division where 2 points separates first from last place
thanks to some division shuffling. The Chain Gang, who were in need of a win
as much as anyone else in the league drew upon a list of subs to fill their
line-up and it paid off early on as they scored back-to-back goals in the
opening frame. The flood between the first two frames
combined with some aroma-therapy curtosy of Luke Moran, allowed the Watchmen
to settle down and regroup in the second to cut the lead in half when
Vlahadamis finished off a nice set up from Nycholat and Wilkinson. The
rebound was cut short thanks to five straight penalties that were handed to
the Watchmen, including a five on three advantage which the Chain Gang used
to restore their 2 goal lead. The barrage of calls against the Watchmen
knocked them off their stride, but they were able to weather the storm, and
MacLellan brought the game to within one finishing off a rebound on a
Kulmatycki blast. The final period was hard fought and despite
many scoring chances the Chain Gang were looking to hang on to their one-goal
led. But Vlahadamis would tie the game up with his second on the night again
with the helper going to Wilkinson. The Chain Gang upped the pressure with 6
minutes remaining and the Watchmen tender was unable to step up to the task
and with five minutes on left on the clock and unmarked Chain Gang forward
powered a shot into the cage. Despite some end of game pressure, the Watchmen
could not tie the game again and the buzzer ended handing the Watchmen their
fourth loss of the season. It was a tough loss for the Watchmen who made
a valiant comeback not only to overcome their slow start, but also to
overcome the calls particularly in the second period and an offensively
geared Chain Gang. With the win the Chain Gang pull even with the Watchmen
with 18 points and two games remaining – both of which are against the now
last place Dragons. Meanwhile the Watchmen play both of their final two games
next week against the Thunder and the Battalion. While the Watchmen still
only need a win to clinch a berth, they only have 2 games to do it and with
every team still a playoff contender no team can be taken lightly. |
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Three Stars 1.
Chain Gang mystery player 15 2.
Dino Vlahadamis 3.
Chain Gang mystery player 18 |
Watchmen 3 vs. Chain Gang 4 – Loss (9-4-0) |
30-June-2006 – Watchmen win OT shoot ‘em up |
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EDMONTON – An early start combined with a rash
of suspensions limited the Battalion’s line-up to only 2 lines and 3
defencemen compared to a full squad dressed by the Watchmen. While at first
glance this would appear to favour the Watchmen, but it is common in rec
league to quickly slip into shinny mode when you think you have the game in
the bag and tonight was no exception. Things looked particularly grim for the
Battalion who had only 6 skaters suited up when the puck dropped, and only 5
helmets to share amongst them. Nonetheless, they drew first blood firing a
shot from the point only 2 minutes into the game that bounced off of the
behind of one of the men in front of the net and into the top shelf giving
them a one goal lead. The Watchmen responded however with two goals of their
own from Wilkinson and Starett who each drew assists on each others tallies
while Girard assisted on both. Despite the early scare the Watchmen looked to
have taken the reigns and when Preston Kulmatycki was handed a penalty shot
it was looking like it might a blow out. However, by the time the penalty
shot failed the Battalion players slowly trickled into the game. The Watchmen
quickly learned they were taking their lead for granted when the Battalion
scored twice in less than a minute both by Patrick Ondrisik who popped in two
screen shots in a row and the momentum was back on the side of the Battalion
who now had enough bodies to actually take shifts. But the surge was brought
to a halt when Nycholat made a 4 line pass to from behind his own goal line
to a streaking Russ Simpson who popped in a backhander to tie the game at
three heading into the second period, and both teams knew this was going to
be a battle ‘til the end. The Watchmen caught a break early in the
second period with power defenceman Luke Moran sitting in the box feeling
shame for slashing when Kulmatycki popped in a short-handed goal on a rebound
from Kevin Phillips and the Watchmen were back on top. The lead would
evaporate though when Watchmen goaltender Weis miscommunicated with this
defencemen by playing a puck he should have covered, handing a funny bounce
to the Battalion and a second wind. The Battalion took advantage of their
good fortune scoring a very nice goal from the slot and suddenly it was the
Watchmen who were playing catch-up again. The Watchmen would respond however
when Cam Phillips tucked in a wrap-around goal assisted by Corwin Nycholat
who had also assisted on the previous two Watchmen tallies, and just like the
first period, the second ended in a draw and the zamboni took to the ice with
the score 5-5. Despite a wild two periods, the third looked
like it was going to be played tighter as both teams shored up their own
zones a little better, and neither team could find the back of the net for
the opening 7 minutes of play until Ondrisik completed his hat trick on a
shot from the lower circle giving the Battalion their fourth lead of the
night. It was looking like this lead might be enough until Kulmatycki
finished off his second rebound from Phillips Jr. to tie the game at the five
minute mark and Chris Girard would give the Watchmen their third lead of the
night when he roofed a shot over the goalers short side. As the lead had
changed hands seven times with neither team holding a lead for more than four
minutes it seemed inevitable when the Battalion tied the game up with only 25
seconds left on the clock when Ondrisik capped his 4-goal, 5-point night
sending the game into OT. While the Battalion will be able to take
consolation in the fact that they battled very hard with a short bench and
continually fought back to ultimately earn a point for forcing an overtime,
they would lose the game less than a minute into OT. Again it was Girard who
netted his second of game both of which were assisted by line-mates Wilkinson
and Starett, handing two points in the standings to Watchmen. The win was far from pretty, but the Watchmen
proved that they could score if necessary when their goaltender wasn’t able
to keep the puck out of his net. In addition to finding their scoring hands,
the Watchmen bounced back several times to avoid letting the game slip away
when they had lost the momentum. And while an outright win would have been
better, the 2 points are important for the Watchmen as the regain a tenuous
hold on first place, but find themselves only 4 points from the basement with
3 games left in the season. The Watchmen will need at least one more win to
secure a playoff spot and two of their last three to clinch without any help
from other teams in the league. |
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Three Stars 1.
Patrik Ondrisik (Battalion) 2.
Chris Girard 3.
Cory Wilkinson Play of the
Game Hard Hat: Corwin Nycholat hail Mary pass to Summer Simpson |
Watchmen 8 vs. Battalion 7 – Win-OT (9-3-0) |
28-June-2006 – Dragons fell Watchmen in rematch |
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EDMONTON – The Watchmen took to the ice
Tuesday night in a rematch against the mighty Dragons squad with the season
series on the line having split the first two games. The Watchmen were
without veteran defenceman Corwin Nycholat and long-time goaltender Tim Weis
both of who were healthy scratches for this evening’s game for suggesting
that the Jets will likely never return to Winnipeg by player-coach Wilkinson.
Ironically Wilkinson was also sitting out the game because of a one game
suspension handed to him by the league for an altercation in final period the
last time these two teams met. The Watchmen were without several other
players including Mike Starett and Dana Gray, the latter who is still on his
leave of absence to grieve for the Oilers. The shortage apparently hurt the
Watchmen who were 3 wins away from clinching a playoff berth going into the
game. Ice Bears star goaltender Chris Grant stepped
up to the task and despite posting a respectable .886 save percentage,
clearly was not contributing offensively like the Watchmen have come to rely
on their goaltender. The lack of offence from the pipes defused the
Watchmen’s scoring who despite mustering 30 shots were only able to pot 2
goals, 5 less from their previous performance less than a week ago. Either
that, or the Dragons rebounded from their previous effort, in part bolstered
by the return of league-leading scoring machine Curtis Warwaruk, to hand the
Watchmen their first lose since May 15. Without any reporters at the game or
guest reporters willing to step up it will remain a matter of speculation for
years to come. If there is one thing that the Watchmen have
learned is that opposing teams never seem capable of lending a hand in their
quest to make the playoffs, and despite the Dragons bouncing back against the
Watchmen, they went on to drop their next game to the Thunder keeping the
division tight going into the remaining two weeks of the regular season with
all 5 teams still able to make the playoffs. |
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Three Stars 1.
no reporters
present to cast official votes Play of the
Game Hard Hat: n/a |
Dragons 4 vs. Watchmen 2 - Loss (8-3-0) |
24-June-2006 – Watchmen move into first place |
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EDMONTON – With the season officially 2/3rds over
the Watchmen needed to keep their sites set on the playoffs going into Friday
night’s game. The match-up saw them pitted against the Dragons, one of the
strongest teams in the division, who had handed the Watchmen one of their two
losses this season in the division’s opening match. The Watchmen added Mike Walker to the line-up
for the game after exercising their player exchange option with the Force
franchise to whom they had lent the goaltender Tim Weis twice in the winter
season. The Watchmen however, not fully ready to welcome him into their ranks
forced him to wear a Mighty Ducks jersey in a hazing ritual that is under
league investigation for unnecessary cruelty. The tabloids couldn’t help but
speculate on possible trade rumours citing Walker family concerns about
continuing to play with the legendary Force squad. Hockey commentator Al
Strachan has suggested playing in the shadow of ERHL legends like Lewis and
Laurin is tough on Walker’s ego who apparently likes to be the fan favourite
and that he may be able to grab more of the spotlight with a move to the
Watchmen who are looking for a shake-up after failing to make the winter
playoffs. Despite their winter season woes, the Watchmen’s summer season was
on a 6 game winning streak when the puck dropped Friday night. The Watchmen
also added Ice Bear Gary Oikawa to the line-up for the second game in a row
to round out the roster to fill in for Dana Gray who is on an extended period
of mourning following the Oilers near miss this year. The Watchmen opened the scoring at the
halfway mark of the first period on a perfect tick-tack-toe play from
Nycholat to Kulmatycki was finished off by Cam Phillips. “Just goes to show
what great things can happen when you pass the puck” player-coach Wilkinson
noted. The Watchmen continued to press as Jeff MacLellan finished off a solo
effort less than a minute later giving the Watchmen a two-goal lead. The
Dragons responded with three minutes to go in the period when Tyler Bentley
picked the top corner on a breakaway sending the game into the second period
and a much needed ice scrape with the score 2-1. MacLellan would restore a
two-goal lead with a little help from Glaves four minutes into the period and
just after the Watchmen finished killing off their first penalty of the
evening. The lead would be further expanded on what would become a
controversial goal when the referee correctly waved off an icing call being
made by his partner after the Dragons goalie left his crease to play the
puck. The tender was subsequently stripped off puck which found its way onto
the tape of Russ Simpson who was going for a line change but opted to bury
the puck once he found it squirt loose. While the call was in fact correct,
it did not sit well with the Dragons’ tender who let the refs know between
periods. The extended theatrical display apparently rattled the referees who
had called a good tight game up to that point would make an effort to exert
control in the final period handing out twice as many penalties in the final
frame as they did in the first two combined. However, it was not the Watchmen’s sojourns
to the box that would cost them this evening, rather it was three failed
clearing attempts from their own zone. The repeated turnovers resulted in 3
Dragons goals in a span of four minutes that was interspersed with a Watchmen
tally when Kulmatycki roofed a shot from the slot and what appeared to be a
commanding 4-1 Watchmen lead suddenly became a tumultuous 5-4 with four
minutes to go and new life suddenly injected in the Dragons’ side. But just
as Kulmatycki had interrupted the Dragons initial burst, MacLellan would
finish off his hat-trick sniping a short handed shot to cool the Dragons’
comeback attempt. Wilkinson was not finished after setting up the MacLellan
goal though as he got into his annual mix-up with three minutes left on the
clock that somehow saw 5-minute fighting majors handed out to each team with
an extra 4 to Wilkinson giving the Dragons one last chance to tie the game
with a powerplay to last the remainder of the game. Things went from bad to
worse when a Watchmen defender was dealt a 5-on-3 penalty on a call that is
beyond comment. Despite the disadvantage, the Watchmen penalty killers would
execute their job to perfection when Nycholat dangled the puck laying the bait
for an even-up call that a Dragon walked right into. The Watchmen found
themselves 5-on-3 again however when the Dragons pulled their goalie with a
minute left and a face-off deep in the Watchmen zone. The Dragons called a time-out to discuss
strategy, a plan that would ultimately backfire as Kulmatycki and Moran
conceived of a bold penalty-killing strategy to spring a breakaway attempt on
the empty net. When the puck was eventually dropped Kulmatycki punched it
forward and Moran had left the gates streaking for the far point. With seven
players on the ice moving one direction and the puck and Moran moving the
other, a bewildered Dragons squad could only watch in shock as play worked to
perfection and Moran skated the length of the ice unmolested to slide home a
short-handed empty net goal and finish the game on a play that will surely go
down in Watchmen post-game wings and Greek salad lore for years to come. The
two points also vault the Watchmen from fourth to first place in the division
with five games left in the season. The standings are still tight however and
a rematch between these two squads is only days away and with two of the five
remaining games against last year’s silver medalists the Battalion mean that
the Watchmen are by no means in a secure position just yet. While the Watchmen played well and probably
deserved the victory, the Dragons were without their league leading scorer
Curtis Warwaruk and their second leading goal scorer Sean Gagnon, both of
whom are averaging close to 2 goals per game and so when these two teams face
off again early next week in their third and final meeting of the regular
season the outcome is anything but certain. |
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|
Three Stars 1.
Jeff MacLellan 2.
Preston
Kulmatycki 3.
Luke Moran Play of the
Game Hard Hat: Jeff MacLellan for the team’s 6th and his 3rd
goal of the night |
Dragons 4 vs. Watchmen 7 - Win (8-2-0) |
23-June-2006 – Watchmen keep rolling |
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EDMONTON – The Watchmen’s Monday night game was
rescheduled as the ERHL scrubbed the entire night’s action to allow players,
refs and rink rats to take in an exciting, but ultimately disappointing game
7. The change in plans resulted in the Watchmen playing their first of what
would be back to back games this week against the newly arrived Thunder.
Despite having a 6-2 record going into the game, the Watchmen are still
struggling to ensure a post-season berth as the entire division has
impressive records thanks to division reshuffling, and so every game is key
for the remainder of the season. The Thunder came out strong but were not able
to score thanks in large part to a solid defensive effort that would continue
throughout the night by the Flegel-Glaves-Moran-Nycholat foursome. At the
same time the Watchmen were also unable to score and the period wound up 0-0.
The scoring drought would end early in the second period when Russ Simpson
sniped his first on a centring pass from Nycholat after only 1 minute of
play. Kulmatycki would follow suit hammering home a failed Cam Phillips
wrap-around attempt and the Watchmen were up 2-0, 90 seconds into the period.
The Thunder responded when they tapped in a loose puck on a powerplay
goalmouth scramble to cut the lead in half.
Kulmatycki restored the two
goal lead finishing off another play from his wing-man Cam Phillips. The lead
would be extended to 3 when Vlahadamis threaded the needle to Simpson who was
left alone on the doorstep and made no mistake tallying his second of the
night. Phillips Jr. popped in a Kulmatycki rebound
early in the third period and the Watchmen started to pull away. While the
shots on goal were fairly close all night, the Watchmen were able to control
the play for the better part of the game, notably frustrating the Thunder
when they were trying to leave their own zone, and thwarting most of their
scoring chances in the other end. The Thunder were able to find the back of
the net once final frame, but Simpson would answer this goal with his third
of the evening capping the game’s scoring at a score of 6-2. The Watchmen
will not have too much time to enjoy their victory though as they are up
against mighty Dragons tomorrow night at 11:15pm. |
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|
Three Stars 1.
Russ Simpson 2.
Preston
Kulmatycki 3.
Cam Phillips |
Thunder 2 vs. Watchmen 6 - Win (7-2-0) |
13-June-2006 – Watchmen make it 5 in a row |
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EDMONTON – The Chain Gang spent the first
half of the summer season in Division 2, where apparently their antics made
them few friends; evidenced by the fact that Blue Jackets laughed off the suggestion
of lending them a goalie when the Gang’s tender failed to show up. The Chain
Gang were able to rent a goalie just in time for the game but only after the
zamboni scrape was moved up in between the warm-ups and the first period and
5 minutes had ticked off the clock. When the game finally did get underway
the Watchmen only needed 41 seconds to find the back of the net when Russ
Simpson finished off a beautiful set up from Luke Moran. Having taken one
shot the Watchmen were up 2-0 thanks to an automatic goal that was awarded
due to the Chain Gang goalie delay. In spite of the deficit, the Chain Gang
went on to demonstrate why they got moved up into Division 1 as they pressed
hard, only to find that the Watchmen goalie was up to the task this evening,
keeping a clean sheet going into the second period despite being classlessly
run into the net midway through the period. Both teams had their chances in the second
period but could not be hot goaltenders in either end. With five minutes left
in the period the Watchmen’s power play would break the stalemate when Dino
Vlahadamis knocked in a JP Glaves rebound giving the Watchmen a 3-0
lead. The Chain Gang tried to respond
mustering up a short-handed break away that was turned aside and the
offensive combination of Weis to Flegel found a streaking Cam Phillips who
made a pretty back-hand, finishing off a play that could have made the score
3-1, instead of 4-0. The Watchmen’s offensive outburst continued when
Vlahadamis tallied his second goal of the night off a superb setup from
Kulmatycki. The Chain Gang would bring the Watchmen goalie’s shut-out to an
end with just over two minutes remaining in the period when a funny bounce
from behind the net found its way into the slot. Girard would neutralize the
Chain Gang’s only goal when he popped in a rebound on a drive from the point
by Luke Moran early in the third period. The Chain Gang began to show signs of
frustration, and a five-goal deficit probably didn’t help their demeanour any
as they lost control of themselves when the Watchmen went after a fishing for
a loose puck in the crease that was not blown down. A scuffle ensued without
major incident but did see several players from both squads hit the showers
early. Another dance took place as the seconds wound off of the clock, but
the final buzzer sounded handing the Watchmen their 5th straight
win despite being out shot by their opponent. The Chain Gang are certainly a
talented team; missing their number one scorer and their regular goaltender
probably did not help them on this evening, but they certainly could be a
force to be reckoned with as the season winds down. The Watchmen face another
tough test Monday night when they will have to choose whether or not to watch
Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals or try to avenge their lose to the first
place Dragons. |
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|
Three Stars 1.
Tim Weis 2.
Luke Moran 3.
Dino Vlahadamis |
Watchmen 6 vs. Chain Gang 1 - Win (6-2-0) |
8-June-2006 – Watchmen power play 5 for 5 as they down Battalion |
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EDMONTON – Racking up 3 straight wins was a
good step for the Watchmen, but the squad knew that they were in for a
tougher battle Wednesday night against their old rivals the Battalion with
whom they battled last year for the summer crown. The Battalion had a strong
start to the season but had dropped three games in a row going into Wednesday
night’s match-up, so they would be out looking for a win. The Watchmen took to the ice without
defenseman JP Glaves, and face-off specialist Dana Gray who had “better things
to do” than play hockey on a Wednesday evening. The voids were filled by
winter-Watchmen veteran toe-drag Girard who joined Wilkinson and
Starett up front, while rookie sensation Jeff MacLellan made the fatal
mistake of mentioning that he played defence before joining the Watchmen, one
evening at Mr. Cherry’s house, thus earning him a shot on the point. Both
players quickly settled into their roles as the Watchmen came out hard. The Battalion are the most penalized team in
the league, and it only took them three minutes for them to draw their first
penalty, a move that would prove costly as the game wore on. It took the
Watchmen exactly one minute of power play time before Mike Starett finished
off a tick-tack-toe passing play from Wilkinson and Nycholat that started all
the way back at their own goal line. Starett would get his second of the
night four minutes later again from Wilkinson and again on the power play
when the Battalion got caught with six men on the ice. The two goals would
stand going into the second period thanks to some strong play by the
Watchmen’s defensive core. The Battalion would battle back to tie the
game however scoring back-to-back goals in a just over a minute, and it
looked like the Battalion had finally solved the Watchmen goalie who had shut
them down for the first half of the game. But Weis would demonstrate that he
was shutting the door again as he flashed the leather on a shot from the top
of the circles, and it was the Watchmen who scored next to regain the lead
when Chris toe-drag Girard, who also assisted on the previous Watchmen
goal, finished off a play from Starett and Wilkinson, on what would be the
Watchmen’s only even strength goal of the night. The Watchmen drew another
penalty before the period was out, and Girard was able to open some ice by
drawing two attackers to himself at the neutral zone boards and feed a
perfect pass to Wilkinson who found a streaking Nycholat in the slot to bury
the puck and restore the Watchmen’s 2 goal lead, capping four straight assists
for Wilkinson, while Girard was somehow not rewarded with an official assist
for one of the season’s nicest passes. After netting a two-on-one goal, Nycholat
would try for another early in the 3rd period, leaving Russ
Simpson holding the fort on defence for a two-on-one in the other direction
and the Battalion made it clear that they were not out of this game yet.
Having not learned their lesson, the Battalion took two more penalties in the
final period, and again the Watchmen would capitalize on each, as MacLellan
and Simpson set up Vlahadamis and combined again to set up Cam Phillips five
minutes later completing a 100% success rate on the PP, and taking a 6-3 lead
in the game (but not before Kulmatycki would ensure the Battalion goalie was
not crowding the batters’ box with some 2-on-0 chin music). The Battalion did
score again in the final minute of play, but the buzzer would sound with the
score 6-4 in favour of the Watchmen. The Watchmen have now won 4 games in a row,
but still find themselves hanging on for the final playoff spot as the Chain
Gang and the Thunder have both moved up from Division 2 with impressive 7-2
records. The summer season is already halfway over, and the boys will need to
keep rolling to hang on for another shot at the post-season. |
|
|
Three Stars 1.
Cory Wilkinson 2.
Tim Weis 3.
Mike Starett |
Battalion 4 vs. Watchmen 6 - Win (5-2-0) |
5-June-2006 – Watchmen make it three in a row |
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EDMONTON – Fresh off a whooping of the Swashbucklers
the Watchmen were looking to stick it to the Beavers for a second time in a
fortnight. The last time these two teams met the Watchmen walked away with a
7-2 victory, one that probably flattered with Watchmen a little as it was a
closer game than the 5-goal spread would indicate. Bearing this in mind the Watchmen did not take anything for
granted and came out guns a-blazing.
While the guns were going off, they were not finding their way into
the back of the net (or even on net for that matter), and in spite of
dominating the play the Watchmen were kept at bay on the score sheet. The
Watchmen did start to get it in gear midway through the first period and took
a 2-0 lead, a lead that was temporarily extended until the senior referee
(and the one standing outside the blue line) overrode his partner to disallow
the Watchmen’s 3rd buzzer beating goal. The puck could be heard to
clang off the iron on the back of the net before the buzzer went, clearly
indicating it was not only across the line, but off the back of the net
before the buzzer, but this seemed to carry little weight. Unphased, the Watchmen scored their fourth
goal to make it 3-0 early in the second period to take a strangle hold on the
game (I mean, no one blows a 3-0 lead do they?). The Watchmen had yet another
goal disallowed when Luke Moran rushed in and was tripped by the Beavers’
defenders who collided with the goalie knocking the net off after the puck
slide in. Another questionable call did not have a big impact on the game,
but did annul the Watchmen tender’s point streak at two games who would have
assisted on goal. Moments later, Corwin Nycholat would roof a wrist shot from
the point to keep the Watchmen’s offensive outburst a-rollin’. The Watchmen gave up a goal in the third, but
otherwise continued to roll tallying another four markers before the game was
out. The Watchmen face a big test next game when they square off against last
year’s finalists the Battalion, who despite struggling in the past few games
have 5 of the league’s top 10 scorers. |
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|
Three Stars 1.
Corwin Nycholat 2.
Jeff MacLellan 3.
Cory Wilkinson |
Watchmen 8 vs. Beavers 1 - Win (4-2-0) |
26-May-2006 – Pep-talk inspires Watchmen |
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EDMONTON – Eager to avenge their second loss of
the season, and determined not to lose a second time to a team that has
already received its relegation papers to Division 2, the Watchmen hit the
ice hard on Wednesday night jumping out to a 3 goal lead. Much like the first
time these two teams met, the Watchmen controlled for the most part the play
deep in the opposition end and the Watchmen drew first blood jumping out to a
3 goal lead. However, also much like the first game careless play in their
own end and at the opposite blue line allowed their opponents right back into
the game as the Watchmen gave up 2 goals in the last minute of the period. Wanting to make sure his team did not repeat
the flop that occurred the last time these two teams met, goaltender Weis
took it upon himself to issue a stern pep-talk to the boys between periods.
The lecture seemed to work, as only moments into the 2nd period
Kevin Phillips wired a wrist shot into the top shelf. The goal swung the
momentum back towards the Watchmen bursting the scoring floodgates as they
tallied 7 unanswered goals to take a 10-2 lead. As goals began to slide in it
was inevitable that the desire to pad stats would be too tempting as
backchecking quickly became a thing of the past, and own-zone cross-ice
passes quickly became commonplace. I was almost inevitable that despite the
formidable led, that the Watchmen would allow their opponents several
freebies and the Swashbucklers managed to tally 2 goals in the final minute
for a second straight period. The teams traded goals in the last frame that
was otherwise more or less uneventful. After the game, the Swashbucklers will
join the FAK Red Army in Division 2 leaving the Watchmen to make sure that
they don’t repeat the sloppy habits they picked up in this blow-out. But a win is a win and the Watchmen will take
this one. Despite the two points the Watchmen were handed the bad news that
after bursting onto the scene, Watchmen rookie scoring sensation Rocky
Eldridge will be out for the summer season after suffering a broken arm as
part of his intensive dry land training regime. |
|
|
Three Stars 1.
Dino Vlahadamis 2.
Corwin Nycholat 3.
Kevin Phillips |
Swashbucklers 5 vs. Watchmen 11 - Win (3-2-0) |
19-May-2006 – Beavers pounded |
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|
EDMONTON – The Watchmen picked up where they left
off earlier this week, and 30 seconds into the game gave up a break-away and
a goal on the very first shot. The Watchmen did not panic however, and
moments later the Phillips brothers would connect to tie the game at 1, when
Kevin sprung Cam on a break who made a picture-perfect move to shelf the
disc, setting the stage for Rocky Eldridge to take control of the game. In a
nine-minute stretch spanning the first and second periods, Eldridge would
rack up a hat-trick and assist a Jeff MacLellan marker, vaulting the Watchmen
to a 5-1 lead. Eldridge’s hat trick capper was assist by Flegel and Weis,
both of whom would collect an assist on the Watchmen’s next goal when Cam
Phillips notched his second of the night, before Preston Kulmatycki would cap
the Watchmen’s 7 unanswered goal tear. The Beavers would however bookend the
Watchmen’s offensive explosion to make it 7-2 before the period was out. The Beavers did try to rally in the final
frame after shedding a few tears to the referees, but were kept at bay by the
Watchmen goaltender who was desperate to redeem himself after a shaky
performance earlier this week. The 3rd period would end scoreless
for both teams and the shot count of 30-27 would only slightly favour the
Watchmen who found their finishing hands on this night. Despite the final score the Beavers are
not a team to be taken lightly by the Watchmen when the two face-off for a
rematch only 2 weeks from today. |
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|
Three Stars 1.
Rocky Eldridge 2.
Tim Weis 3.
Jeff MacLellan |
Beavers 2 vs. Watchmen 7 - Win (2-2-0) |
16-May-2006 – Watchmen goalie stinks it up |
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|
EDMONTON – The Watchmen dominated the
Swashbucklers on Monday night but seemed incapable of keeping the puck out of
their own net, thanks in large part to a flurry of breakaways by the
opportunistic Swashbucklers, and the Watchmen goalie’s inability to stop any
of them. Both teams traded the lead several times
throughout the game and right up until the last minute when the Wilkinson
tied it for the Watchmen with 15 seconds left on the clock, only to have the
Swashbucklers march right down and score 10 seconds later to take the game.
Despite dominating the shots on the net by a 2:1 margin, the Watchmen dropped
their second game of the season by a score of 8-7. |
|
|
Three Stars 1.
Taylor
McReynolds (Swashbucklers) 2.
Cory Wilkinson 3.
Rocky Eldridge |
Swashbucklers 8 vs. Watchmen 7 - Loss (1-2-0) |
11-May-2006 – Watchmen win shoot ‘em up |
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|
EDMONTON – 11 loyal Watchmen dragged
themselves away from the television to take on the FAK Red Army with the
Oilers season on the line. The Watchmen welcomed to the line-up Rocky
Eldridge and Jeff MacLellan, both of whom made their presence known on the wing
almost immediately, putting GM Wilkinson in the running for exec. of the
year. The Watchmen also welcomed back JP Glaves to the Watchmen fold after
his rookie-of-the-year candidate performance with the Ice Bears this winter. Despite the new blood, the Watchmen came out
a little flat giving up the first two goals of the game in the first period.
The play settled down a little and despite the shot clock the seemingly
counting every other shot in both ends, both goalies were able to keep their
opponents at bay. But the flood gates were burst open by Rocky Eldridge who
popped home his first Watchmen career goal with six minutes remaining in the
period. The Watchmen were suddenly back in the game, when a bizarre incident
unfolded. Watchmen blueliner Luke Killer Moran clipped an FAK Army
forechecker splitting his lip open as he was trying to lift his stick over
the pursuant. He was handed a 4-minute penalty yet as he was apologizing to
the injured player, an FAK Army player skated in and popped Moran from behind
to earn himself a 2-minute minor. Instead of leaving it there, as Moran was
sitting in the box, a dumb guy jumps into the box to attack him. Impressively the attacker tripped over his
own feet on the way in and not only looked like a spaz, but also earned
himself 4 minutes to annul the initial penalty and a gross penalty as a third
man in. And just like that, despite the FAK blood on the ice, the Watchmen
incredibly ended up with a 5 on 3 power play. Perhaps the Watchmen felt a little bad about the bizarre
incident so they decided to mount one of he worst 5 on 3 power plays in the
history of hockey, with the only scoring chance actually happening on the own
net when the Watchmen tender goofed handling the puck behind the goal line.
However, with the minor expired, Dino Vlahadamis back-handed in a lose puck
to tie the game at 2. The Army were not about to roll over though, as they
reclaimed the lead on a power play with less than a minute left in the
period. The Watchmen would finish the period down a goal and down a man as
Jeff MacLellan managed to snap a blade off of one of his skates sidelining
him for the remainder of the game. While it took 35 minutes to tally the first 5
goals of the game, the final 10 minutes of play would see 8 more. The
Watchmen opened the scoring at the five minute mark of the final period when
Vlahadamis would hit a streaking Wilkinson with a golden pass, who made a
dandy finish to tie the game a second time. A minute and a half later, Mike
Starett would give the Watchmen their first lead of the night. The lead would
be short lived though as the FAK Army responded almost immediately to tie the
game at 4. The wheels would come off
the defensive wagon in both ends as the final 5 minutes of play would see
more than a goal a minute. Fortunately for the Watchmen it would be
Vlahadamis who would score two of them to complete his hat-trick, and Rocky
Eldridge who would finish the night with a second marker that what would
prove to be the game-winner as the teams traded goals until the final buzzer. While the win was fairly ugly, an ugly win
was something that the Watchmen were unable to do all winter season long, and
so it can be seen as a positive turn, particularly given the absence of
several regulars. Nonetheless the Watchmen will have to dig a little deeper
and a little earlier in the game as they take on the Swashbucklers twice in
their next 3 games, and the highly ranked Beavers. The Watchmen troop headed out to catch the
final frame of the Oilers/Sharks match well into its second overtime period.
It was a sad, sad day for Mr. Cherry’s who had closed their doors turning
away some of their most faithful customers. All was not lost however, as BP’s
was willing to accommodate the post-game regulars who not only saw Horcoff
win the game for the Oil, but also an unexpected surprise saw Wilkinson draw
a name out of a hat to take a lucky Watchmen to game 4 vs. the Sharks. As Weis would find out,
it pays to play for the Watchmen… and to take the post-game action seriously,
and not call in tired – right Girard? |
|
|
Three Stars 1.
Dino Scorin’
Machine Vlahadamis 2.
Rocky Eldrigde 3.
Cory Wilkinson |
FAK Red Army 6 vs. Watchmen 7 - Win (1-1-0) |
4-May-2006 – Watchmen drop season opener |
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EDMONTON – Picking up where they left off
from the Winter season, the Watchmen hit the K of C ice surface short-staffed
and unable to bury the puck. The Watchmen faced off against an old-time rival
the Dragons, who took the summer the summer pennant and playoff title in 2003
over the Watchmen. The Watchmen were without several players including
starting goalie Weis who was scouting the Red Wings game to see if Chelios or
Maltby might be available for the Watchmen’s summer squad, but the Watchmen’s
reliable backstop Glen Shoemaker was up to the task. Unfortunately for Shoe,
the Watchmen were unable to mount much of an offence, as Luke Mr. VW
Van Weiren was the only Watchmen to score a goal, or tally a point for that
matter. While the Watchmen controlled the shot clock, they were not able to
ward off the Dragons scoring chances leaving their tender hung out to dry on
3 occasions, enough to drop the decision by a score of 3-1. The Watchmen will
expecting a fuller bench next game and will need it to put forth a better
offensive effort in the games to come. |
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|
Dragons 3 vs. Watchmen 1 - Loss (0-1-0) |
1-May-2006 – Watchmen announce line-up for summer 2006 |
|
OLD STRATHCONA – The Watchmen are gearing up
for the summer 2006 season ready to defend their ERHL title. The Watchmen
have a core of winter skaters back in the line-up for the summer, including a
later-season all-star addition Luke Moran, and have Ice Bears Mitch Flegel
and JP Glaves re-joining the squad to round out a solid defensive core. The
front end will see Mike Starett, a familiar face who has been sparing for the
squad for several years who will pick up a full-time spot, and two Watchmen
newcomers this summer, Rocky Eldridge who after lengthy contract negotiations
has been signed by Watchmen management who redefines utility man being able
to play forward, defence and even goal, and Kevin Phillips who the Watchmen
have sought out trying to squeeze more goals out of the Phillips gene-pool
after his brother Cam took the Watchmen scoring title and MVP this past
winter. The line-up to start the season looks as follows: F Wilkinson – Eldridge– Starett Phillips – Kulmatycki – Phillips Simpson – Gray – Vlahadamis D Nycholat – Moran – Mr. VW – Glaves – Flegel G Weis The field of contenders look strong this year
with the Battalion (formerly Team Metro), and Watchmen who have won the Div 1
title the past two years, and the FAK Red Army and the Dragons were are both
recent champions in the Div 2 summer divisions. The Watchmen bid farewell to two long-time
Watchmen who have |
