STEELERS DROP 4TH IN A ROW

Games that start at 11:00pm or later are usually not a favorite among the Steeler players, and this past Tuesday's 11:30pm start against the previously winless Cubans was no exception. Although with some late minute roster callups the Steelers were able to have 4 on the bench. The Steelers callups proved effective, although will remain nameless, as the brilliant timekeeper/scorer didn't bother to add their names on the official scoresheet and in fact, neither was goalie Nick Richard who did play in net but for the second straight week, President and GM Durigon was supposedly playing both defence and goalie (according to the scoresheet anyways).

The Steelers scored first as one of the callups scored (his first of 2) on the game, but then Cuba took over as some defensive turnovers proved costly for the Steelers and the Cubans capitalized on a number of them. With a 5-2 lead going into the third the Steelers made it somewhat interesting getting to within 2 goals - interesting enough to pull the goaltender at the end of the game, but no closer.

The Steelers dropped their 4th in a row with the loss and prepare to face the Barons this Tuesday at 9:30pm.

Scoring Summary

Callup #19 G 2 (2) A 0
Anderson G 1 (6) A 1 (3)
Garner G 1 (5) A 0
Romaniuk G 0 A 1 (6)
Lam G 0 A 1 (1)

Let me know if you can't make this Tuesday.

Also - boys, if you haven't paid yet, please send me/ bring me a cheque. Here's what I have as far as who has paid so far (let me know if I forgot about your payment…sometimes that happens with old age.)

Durigon $310
Neild $310
Lam $310
Carvalho $310
Romaniuk $310
Chow $310
McFarlane $310
Garner $100
Olesh $0
Sharpe $0
Anderson $0
Didulka $0
Nolan $0
Serdan $0

STEELERS SHARK BITTEN

The Steelers ran their string of losses to 3 this past Tuesday against the first place team in the D1 Division, the Sharks. Although the Steelers lost their 3rd straight, some positives signs were seen on the Steelers side as they showed a lot of confidence against the top team in the new division and scored 5 times during the loss including a hat trick from Jeff Anderson. The unfortunate part was that they weren't able to hold onto a 5-3 lead with about six minutes left in the third. The Steelers got of to a quick start with goals from Didulka and Anderson on the first shift of the game and held 2 goal leads on 3 occasions at 2-0, 3-1, and 5-3. The Sharks cut the Steelers lead in the first to 2-1 before Anthony Lam banged in a power play goal on a heads up play by Larry Romaniuk who did well to stop a puck from clearing the Sharks zone and quickly flipped a shot towards the net that handcuffed the Shark goalie and Lam was there to bang in the rebound. Before the 1st period was done the Sharks cut the lead to one again with only 19 seconds left and then tied it early in the 2nd with a shorthanded marker. The Steelers didn't let that get them down, and Jeff Anderson scored on a shorthanded breakaway of his own and less than a minute later scored again to open up a 5-3 Steeler lead. It stayed that way until 6:07 on the clock in the third when the Sharks made their comeback scoring three times in 4 minutes. The Steelers had a late power play to try and tie it but with the net empty and the extra attacker on, couldn't find the net as the Sharks did a solid job keeping the Steelers to the outside.

Scoring Summary

Anderson G 3 (5) A 0
Didulka G 1 (6) A 2 (4)
Lam G 1 (1) A 0
Sharpe G 0 A 1 (1)
Romaniuk G 0 A 1 (5)
Chow G 0 A 1 (1)
Durigon G 0 A 1 (2)

Player Stats

#	NAME (position)	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	PPGA
22	Mike Diduka	4	5	2	7	10	0	0	0	1.75
5	Jeff Garner	4	4	2	6	0	1	0	0	1.50
7	Gualter Carvalho	5	1	4	5	2	1	0	0	1.00
25	Greg Nolan	2	1	4	5	2	0	0	0	2.50
3	Chris Shayne	3	4	0	4	2	2	0	0	1.33
6	Kevin Neild	2	3	1	4	0	0	0	1	2.00
24	Jeff Anderson	3	2	2	4	10	0	1	1	1.33
10	Larry Romanuik	5	0	4	4	4	0	0	0	0.80
79	Nick Komarnycky	1	1	2	3	2	0	1	0	3.00
2	Mark Serdan	4	0	2	2	4	0	0	0	0.50
17	Mark Lee	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	1.00
34	Mario Durigon	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1.00
8	Jon Piggott	2	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0.00
4	Alex Komarnycky	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
16	Derreck Chow	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
19	Ray Hori	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00

Goalie Stats

#	NAME	GP	MIN	W	L	T	SO	GA	GAA	SV	SV%
29	Mario Durigon	5	180	2	3	0	0	28	5.60	108	0.794

Team Standings

Team Name	GP	W	L	T	OTL	PTS
The Sharks	4	4	0	0	0	8
Peckers	4	3	0	1	0	7
Fieldgate United	4	3	1	0	0	6
Steelers	5	2	3	0	0	4
Barons	4	1	2	0	1	3
Cuba	4	0	3	0	1	1
The Toros

STEELERS PUMPED ALL THE WAY TO D1

Despite suffering their second straight 7-2 defeat, first on Tuesday to the Toronto Stingers, and then on Wednesday to the now 5-0 Pumped, the Steelers are now officially moved up to D1…go figure. Actually, Pumped was also moved up, but to C division. So the Steelers new division will include The Peckers and the Toros who moved up from D2 and 4 other teams that were in D1 already. The Stingers got to stay in D2. Enough with the division movement. The story on Wednesday night can be summed up quickly by penalty section of the score sheet. If you take a look at it, you will see that the Steelers section is full while the Pumped side is just about empty. In fact, the Steelers were shorthanded for 20 minutes of the 32 minute game and those penalties led to 5 powerplay goals by Pumped. However, the Steelers shouldn't feel too bad about things as not many of those penalties were actually deserved. The Steelers were once again without a number of their regulars including K-Man who was playing with Mickey at Disney, Olesh who had an infection, Mark Serdan tending to family matters, Derek Chow was burning the midnight oil at work, Nick Richard had the night off as he is slowly working his way back into the line up and Greg Nolan, well, um, not sure, 2nd night in a row no notice, 2nd night in a row, Nolan's on the hook for a round.

Scoring Summary:

Didulka G 1 (5) A 0
Anderson G 1 (2) A 0
Carvalho G 0 A 1 (4)
Romaniuk G 0 A 1 (4)
Rossborough G 0 A 1 (1)

STEELERS STUNG

No big write up today to describe the effort from the Steelers on Tuesday night. Some might say 'snake bitten', but the more appropriate term may be 'stung' as about a 5 minutes stretch through the second period did the Steelers in on Tuesday as the Toronto Stingers scored 6 times in that stretch and went on to a 7-2 victory. A couple of bright notes included Jeff Garner scoring twice and Nick Richard making his season debut between the pipes after coming off season ending groin surgery and looked sharp facing 32 shots.

Scoring Summary

Garner G 2 (2) A 0
Carvalho G 0 A 1 (3)
Durigon G 0 A 1 (1)

STEELERS BULL OVER TOROS

Tuesday night proved to be the Steelers best game of the young season as they met up with the previously undefeated Toros. Previously undefeated because after giving up the first two goals of the game, the Steelers scored 5 unanswered goals on their way to a 5-2 victory and a 2-1 record. The Steelers were without a number of regulars (what else is new) - Garner (time with mother-in-law), Nolan (time with tranny), Richard and Shipper (in rehab & on the red carpet for the Academy Awards of Advertising, respectively), Olesh (sniffles). But the game also marked the Steelers debut of Derek Chow, a fine recruit courtesy of K-Man who touted the newest Steeler as a stellar defenceman, only to find out on game night that Derek had never played defence before. Nevertheless, with Durigon in the between the pipes, Chow took his place at right D.

As mentioned the Toros scored first and in fact twice in the first period to take a 2 nothing lead despite the Steelers having great chances to score. The Steelers continued to be denied by strong Toros goaltending until Mike Didulka broke through mid-way through the 2nd with a great wrist shot from the slot…and the floodgates opened. The Steelers added 3 more in the last few minutes of the 2nd, including 2 by Steelers rookie Chris Sharpe, to take a 4-2 lead into the third. The Steelers ran into some penalty trouble late in the third (even with Nolan out of the line up) and were short 2 men for a full two minutes as Romaniuk took a 4 minute cross checking penalty which he was actually quite proud of (Larry, I still don't recall seeing it…will have to check the replay) and Serdan got called for a questionable tripping penalty while short handed. The penalty killing was stellar though and the Steelers held on and added one into the empty net for their 2nd win of the season. Durigon stopped 29 or 31 shots (according to the gamesheet) for his 2nd victory of the season.

Scoring Summary:

Sharpe G 3 (4) A 0
Anderson G 1 (1) A 2 (2)
Didulka G 1 (4) A 1 (2)
Carvalho G 0 A 2 (2)
Serdan G 0 A 1 (2)

STEELERS GOTERDUN!

The Steelers coming off a 7-4 opening night drubbing against the hands of the Peckers in Game 1 weren't taking anything for granted going into game 2 against 'Giterdun'. Giterdun, 0-1 on the year, sported Dallas Stars home type unis…appropriate, I suppose if you were thinking Giterdun = Redneck?

The Steelers were once again without a number of regulars including rookie Derek Chow (co-ed volleyball night), Anthony Lam (conflict with new night class "How to Rig Hockey Pools: 101"), Olesh Komarnycky (sniffles), Jeff Anderson (????????), Chris Sharpe (???????), Nick Richard (Hip/Groin/60 Day-DL), Michael Shipticki (Hurt back getting out of bed), however welcomed back Rob McFarlane, Greg Nolan, Jeff Garner, Mike Didulka and K-Man. GM and Goalie Coach Durigon had to dawn the pads once again and was looking to improve upon his 7.00 GAA.

This one turned out to be a shoot out with teams trading goals with regularity, 6 in the first and another 5 in the second before tightening up in the third where only 2 goals were scored. The Steelers K-Man started the scoring early and added to it as the night went on lighting the lamp 4 times before the 2nd period was over (however, officially was only credited with 3, with Mike Didulka getting credit for one of those goals). All in all big nights for K-Man with 4 goals (officially 3), Didulka 2 goals (officially 3), and Greg Nolan with 5 points leading to a big 8-5 win.

Scoring Summary:

K-Man G 3 (3) A 1 (1)
Mike Didulka G 3 (3) A 1 (1)
Greg Nolan G 1 (1) A 4 (4)
Gualter Carvalho G 1 (1) A 0 (0)
Larry Romaniuk G 0 A 3 (3)
Jeff Garner G 0 A 2 (2)

STEELERS OUTCLASSED IN D2 SEASON OPENER

With a roster stacked with fresh faces, the Steelers began their 2009 Summer Season on Tuesday with a new outlook - a new beginning - in D2 division. The Steelers spent the first half of the winter season in D2 winning only 1 of the first 12 games before being dropped to the E Division, but management was full of optimism as "the team is stronger now than ever before", claimed President and GM Durigon. "We'll show those that doubt us, we'll show them all", said Durigon.

The Steelers first game opponents were the Peckers, a new team to Tuesday night ASHL. The Steelers were without a number of their players including Lam, Garner, Neild, Chow, McFarlane, Didulka (who fell asleep again), and Richard (who the team has placed on the injured reserve effective April 27). Management called up Ray Hori from the Highlanders, added 2 players from the A Division "80's" team that played just before the Steelers on Tuesday, and Durigon dawned the pads.

The Peckers, appropriately named, came out fast, shooting, skating, slashing, hooking and cross checking where ever the opportunity presented itself. This team although a tad on the chippy/dirty side was clearly in the wrong division and may have been trying the old 'sand-bagging' trick of signing up in a few divisions lower than where they should have been.

The final score was 7-4 for the Peckers, but it was more one sided than that as the Steelers added two late ones to make it prettier on the scoreboard. Not sure who the goal scorers or point getters were for the Steelers as the stats aren't up yet, but I know that Nick (from the 80's team) scored, newcomer Jeff Anderson scored, Mark Serdan is believed to have notched one, but not sure who got the other one.

Next game is on Tuesday, May 5 at 9:30pm.

Known scratches are: Lam, Richar

STEELERS SEASON ENDS IN SEMIS

There was a quiet confidence among the Steelers in the dressing room prior to the game. Although the Fat Boys edged the Steelers 4-2 (one into the empty net) in their only match up of the regular season less than a month ago, the Steelers came off a dominant performance against Team Grey a week ago to advance to the Semi-Final round and the team felt they had what it would take to get to the finals. Unfortunately, although the confidence was there, the effort and quickness seemed to have been a notch down from a week ago for the Steelers this week. The team was without Chayim Rubin, Greg Nolan and Gualter Carvalho, so management called up Mark Lee from the farm to bolster the D.

The Fat Boys got on the board first very late in the first period following a Steeler errant pass that was picked up in the slot and deposited past Richard who brought his 'A' game on this night. The Steelers tied on the powerplay early in the second as Mike Didulka moved into the slot and fired a quick wrist shot high to the glove side beating the Fat Boy goalie. Minutes later the Steelers took the lead as some hustle and hard fore checking by K-Man lead to a turnover which K-Man converted to a go ahead goal (although the official scorers gave that one to Jeff Garner who had also gone hard to the net ready to knock home a rebound). The Fat Boys tied it on a power play of their own as a Fat Boy forward fanned on a rebound but it still managed to elude Richard's glove as he tried to dive back to make the save.

It stayed that way until late in the third as the two teams traded a number of good scoring chances. A strange play along the boards led to a fortunate bounce for the Fat Boy forward who picked up a loose puck off a broken pass in full stride. He moved in and literally blew past Durigon who may have chosen to play the puck instead of the body and the Fat Boy made no mistake with a nice move in tight to beat Richard. A late charge by the Steelers almost led to the tying goal. The Steelers pulled Richard for the extra attacker and Don McCartney spotted open in the slot by Durigon fired a shot past the Fat goalie only have the goal called back because the official thought we had a man in the crease. And so ended the Steelers' season.

Gents, I thought it was a great season, I had a lot of fun - kind of glad we moved down to 'E' division for the 2nd half of the season. Thanks for being part of the team - hope to have everyone back in the winter time.

Chayim - I need your jerseys - let me know how I can get them.

If you guys want to get together for a skate next week, Icesports is offering ice-time at 120/hr. If I have enough interest I'll book it, so let me know.

For those of you not playing in the summer - have a great summer, see you in the winter. For those of you on the summer Steelers - dry land training started yesterday!

Cheers

Mario

BEER FUND UPDATE BOYS .............

I would like to get this all cleared up before the playoffs end.

2	Mike Didulka	$38
25	Greg Nolan	$38
24	Don McCartney	$-6
34	Craig Lindsay	$2
13	Mario Durigon	$0
7	Gualter Carvalho	$4
6	Kevin Neild	$16
10	Larry Romanuik	0
9	Anthony Lam	$-4
4	Olesh Komansily	$22
19	Ray Hori	0
5	Jeff Garner	$20
2	Mark Serdan	$2
8	Chayim Rubin	$12
33	Nick Richard	S16

Steelers,

The playoffs are fast approaching and will be here in less then a week. There are a few things you should know heading into playoffs. The playoff webpage is visible at the link below:

http://ashl-etobicoke.stats.pointstreak.com/players-leagues.html?leagueid=196&seasonid=3694

From here you can check your playoff bracket and game times. The teams have been put into their playoff brackets and the rosters have been ported over by Pointstreak. Some rules that you need to know heading into playoffs.

Every player must have a helmet sticker and have completed registration. If players do not have helmet stickers they will be removed from the game immediately and will not be allowed to return to the game.

1. 
   
2. Only players that have played 8 regular season games are eligible for playoffs. Anyone playing less then 8 games cannot play in the playoffs. The only exception is due to player injury which will need to be proven by a doctor’s note. Please make sure your online rosters are correct.
3. There will be a sign in table in the front lobby. All players will be signing in before they head into their rink. Players MUST HAVE PHOTO ID with them. An Ontario Driver’s License is preferred but any form of photo ID will suffice. No ID = No Play.

Gents - we play TEAM GREY on Tuesday March 31 at 7:15pm.

Let me know if you can't make it.

Known scratches: Nolan, Lam

Steelers this says it ALL ...............

Goalie Stats

#	NAME	GP	MIN	W	L	T	SO		GAA		SV%
33	Nick Richard	17	613	5	12	0	1		4.05		0.828
22	Mike Didulka	1	36	1	0	0	1		0.00		1.000
13	Mario Durigon	3	109	0	3	0	0		4.29		0.794
1	Pele Mcphedian	1	36	0	1	0	0		8.00		0.667

Steelers we have a Trader

No ESPN write up this week ...... As Kman has been seen with , Russian Sergei Puckisin and Nogoalov............ see for yourself. Pokecheck !!!!!!!!!!!!

The Steelers got back to shooting the puck

Etobicoke, ON (AP)—The Steelers got back to shooting the puck with a little less caution, and somehow, one shot wound up finding its way past the other teams net minder.

Then came another goal, followed by another. Just like that, their dominance of the "E" was clear.

Kman had two wicked goals and the Steelers pulled away to snap a terrible slide in D2, routing the listless Team Grey 5-0 on Tuesday night.

“Whenever you’re in a slide as a team, you want to go back to doing the little things. That’s throwing pucks at the net and crashing the net,” defenseman Larry said. “We needed to get some goals. It came easy for us at the beginning of the year, and in this slide, sometimes the bounces don’t go your way. We threw pucks at the net and fortunately we got some goals tonight. We were rewarded.”

McCartney scored a critical goal in the second period with help from Crazy Nolan. As well Didulka potted 2 goals with help from Rubin and McCartney, and Crazy Nolan and Larry.

“I don’t think we ever pushed the panic button,” Steelers forward Lam said. “I just know we had to be desperate out there tonight. We’re back on the winning track.”

Nick stopped 22 shots, including all 18 he faced in the final two periods, while improving to 4-2-2 in his last 10 games for the Steelers.

“We were ready to finish them off with a solid third period,” Durigon said.

The Steelers turned this one into a laugher with a third-period flurry that started when Kman wrap-around beating the fat goalie, making it 4-0 with 8:48 remaining. Didulka roofed in a Crazy Nolan pass less that 2 min later. “Tonight was the night—all I needed was no goalie,” Didulka quipped.

“At home, for whatever reason, we haven’t played very well,” Stephenson #11- from Team Grey said. “It is embarrassing. It’s frustrating to have your fans boo you when you leave the ice—not that it’s not warranted. Certainly frustrating and a little bit humiliating.”

Tonnes of Wings and buds were had with the $250 team credit !

Scoring Summary:

Kman 2G

Didulka - 2G, 1A

McCartney 1G, 1A

Crazy,Chayim, 2A

Larry 1A

Nick 22 saves

Notes

The Steelers played without D Olesh , who sprained his left nut two days earlier ice fishing up north, and both Lindsay and Garner missed the team bus. D Mark Lee was called up from Higlanders (AHL) to replace Olesh.

ESPN -Reporter - Kman