Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy Diablo New Year

Skip the football tomorrow and watch a little pond hockey.

UPDATE: Highlights from today's game from ESPN.com

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Diablos 6 - Muskies 2

No Hope, MN - A great third period effort by the Diablos swamped a potential comeback bid by the Muskies Saturday evening as the Diablos went on to win, 6 - 2. Rocco Bonello and Jarick Losey scored goals in the first period to get the 'Blo's on the board and that 2 - 0 score held up into the third period. The Muskies were able to bat in a rebound early in the third to close the gap, but Ted Reiff was able to cover with a goal. After another Muskie tally, Dean Groth answered with his own. Rocco was able to bang home a one timer for his second of the night, and Larry Eckman was able to close out the scoring with his first of the season.

Goaltender Justin Alderink turned away 22 of 24 shots and the Diablo blueliners had an outstanding game keeping the Muskies from setting up anything in their zone. Andy Suerth, Andy Claypool, Mike Monroe, Todd Ewing, Peter Vanzyl, and Mat Lindquist had one of the Diablos' best games as a group.

This win keeps the Diablos in the top half of the AHA D1 West Standings with 12 points. Next game is on January 5 against the Diablos' arch nemesis, the Nemesis.

This video metaphorically shows the highlights from Saturday night's victory.



Official AHA Scoresheet - TR

Monday, December 24, 2007

Friday, December 21, 2007

8 Goals!

That's the amount of goals scored last night between John Driscoll and Marian Gaborik combined. After firing in his third (after a nifty dish by yours truly), here's what was going through JD's brain...



More from TheToddTime.com - yeah, the guy is named Todd.

The Diablo fan(s) were pumped after last night's victory. Fortunately, Peter Sinesio brought his skis.



I'm not sure that the Zamboni driver at the arena was pleased that Justin was standing on top of his machine.

Finally, in the "I Wouldn't Believe It Unless I Saw It" catagory, here's Sidney Crosby's fight from last night. All of your hockey info from across the NHL can be found right here.



Just in case the first video made you feel girly.

I need a recap - who's up?

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Driscoll's Email

After reading the Wikipedia article about Wingers, I thought I'd do a search for some video on YouTube. Nice!!!

Diablos vs. Bruins

10:00 pm at The Peanuts Barn (a.k.a. Highland Schultz). Get your Thursday on!

Inspirational Video tomorrow.


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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Diablos 4 - Buzz 3 (OT) Highlights

Footage from last Sunday Night's win vs. the Buzz. Song by Stompin Tom Connors. Bonus points for learning the words.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Recap II: Diablos Win 4-3 in OT

(*Note: I had asked Jarick or Peter if they wanted to write a recap. Jarick first declined, but then I got one after I posted below. If anyone else wants to write a recap, send it in! (I tried posting Todd's email, but for some reason, the software melted down) - TR)

Good spirits filled the plywood box that made up the locker room for the night, setting the tone for the evening: work hard and have fun, no matter what happens on the scoreboard. Coming off back-to-back shutout losses, the Diablos knew all they needed was one good shot, one dirty goal, and the rest would follow.

The game got off to a fast start immediately as the newly-formed line of Losey-Reiff-Driscoll took the ice. Right from the opening faceoff, the Diablos skated the puck into the offensive zone, fired their shots, and drove hard to the net. A quick turnover led to a rush going the other way as Justin Alderink made a quick glove save. It would be a fast game. Several more chances were followed up by the Sinesio line, featuring the return of LW John Blasingame to the lineup and the premiere of Matt Lindquist at forward. The Ewing-Christenson-Monique Lindquist line spent most of the night doing the dirty work, shutting down the Buzz's top line and getting several looks as well.

Although the Diablos peppered goalie Ridgely with shots, the Buzz struck first at 11:16 of the first period as Schultz scored unassisted. The Diablos were 0-3-0 when the other team scores first, but they kept their spirits up and continued the forecheck. Their bad luck continued, however, as Bottenfield notched the second goal of the night for the opposing team 2:23 before the first intermission.

Justin stood tall in the second period as the Buzz circled the offensive zone. The lone Diablos penalty was borne of frustration as the puck repeatedly managed to find the stick of a black-and-yellow player. Once again, the hard work of the Diablos went unrewarded as Buzz player Neuman scored their third of the night with 3:19 left in the second.

Having gone eight full periods without a single goal, the Diablos knew they had to work as hard as ever on the ice. It seemed as though the curse would continue as the seconds ticked away with the goose egg on the board. But spirits remained high on the bench, teammates voicing their support for the strong plays in the offensive zone and the great stops by Alderink. The Diablos caught a break as the Buzz were caught with an extra man on the ice, and the power play would prove to be the turning point. At the tail end of the bench minor, LW Jarick Losey flipped a quick pass in the defensive zone to C Ted Reiff. Reiff made another quick pass in the neutral zone as RW John Driscoll streaked down the wing, entered the zone, and fired. At 12:31 remaining in the third period, the curse was broken, the shutout streak had ended, and the comeback had begun.

The Buzz defense stood tall, but the Diablos had tasted blood and wanted more. With another quick breakout late in the period, D Greg Smith sent a long pass to Diablos captain and LW Todd Ewing, who gave it to D Andy Suerth. Suerth, known more for his physical play and bench language, fired a quick wrist shot past the goalie for the Diablos second goal of the night with 4:30 left in the period. Captain Ewing, who struggled with an equipment issue throughout the night, led his team by example as he nabbed the game-tying goal off a great pass by C Dave Christenson with 1:52 in the game. In the dying seconds of the third, Alderink saved his team by stopping a breakaway chance, which gave the team much needed energy for the coming overtime.

Although they struggled to break out the puck early in the extra minutes, the Diablos turned up the heat in the offensive zone, firing shot after shot towards the Buzz netminder. The Reiff line had plenty of scoring chances as wingers Losey and Driscoll battled to clear the net and their center nabbed every loose puck. As the puck slid behind the goal, Reiff shot a quick pass to Losey, who shot the puck into the slot and true to form, he was the last to know as another ugly goal found its way off an opposing player and in with 1:52 left in OT. The Diablos had scored four unanswered goals late in the dying minutes of the game to earn their fourth win of the season in an amazing character win. - JLosey

Recap I: Diablos 4 - Buzz 3 (OT). Chicken Spared.

St. Paul, MN - Eight straight shutout periods was enough for the Diablos on Sunday night. In a third period barrage, the Diablos not only ended their scoring drought, but they completed a stunning comeback in overtime to defeat the AHA Hockey Buzz 4-3 at Pleasant Arena.

The Diablos came into the game disheveled, after failing to put the puck in the net for two straight games. Call it the "Coliseum Curse" - both games were played at the State Fair Coliseum. The first two periods were filled with bad bounces, missed opportunities, and a 3-o Buzz lead. The Buzz's Schultz & Bottenfield scored the game's first two tallies in the first period off of rebounds that seemed to seek out their tape. Good positioning and quick reactions gave the Buzz a 2-0 lead after the first. Their third goal was a nice shot by B. Neuman through a screen and the five-hole.

The key word Sunday night for the Diablos was patience. The Diablos kept the pressure up during the third period and were able to open the scoring with a John Driscoll finish off of a 2 on 1 started by a Jarick Losey pass to a streaking Ted Reiff. Reiff was able to pull up his hockey pants and slide it across to Driscoll who buried it on the far post at 12:31. The Diablos stayed patient and kept working the puck in the Buzz zone. Ten minutes later, Greg Smith moved the puck to Todd Ewing who tapped it back to Andy Suerth, making him some space. Suerth took advantage, skated in and wristed a shot high above Buzz goaltender Ridgely's blocker for the second score. The Diablos were the team buzzing now and just before pulling Justin Alderink for an extra attacker, Captain Todd Ewing punched in a rebound off of a Dave Christianson shot for the equalizer at 1:28.

Diablo Goaltender Alderink had a pretty uneventful third period with some solid saves, but with less than a minute made the save of the game as an unidentified Buzz winger was able to pick up a turnover and skate it right in. Alderink stood on his head to make the save and send the game to overtime. Overall, Alderink faced 25 shots and turned 22 away.

Starting off the four minute, running time overtime with a 5 on 4 power play, the Diablos were unable to attack deep into the Buzz zone. Once the teams were back to even strength, though, they worked it down in the Buzz end and Reiff was able to scoop up a free puck and work it behind the goal. He was able to find Losey down by the far post who one-timed an improbable shot off of Ridgely's skate and in the back of the net for the dagger.

The Diablos get the win and the two points. They're tied with the Muskies for the middle of the D1 West division with 4 wins and 3 loses for 8 points. The Diablos have a double dip this week with a Thursday game against the Bruins (who recently upset the Muskies) at the Schultz Arena in St. Paul.

Official AHA Scoresheet - TR

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Diablos vs. Buzz

We'll finish off the first go-round vs. the Buzz. Dec 16 @ 9:00 pm.

Diablo Twin Powers Activate!!!


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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Why Twelve Days?


Some of you have communicated your dismay in the lack of posts during the bye week. My apologies, however here is the reason why I have been preoccupied. More pictures on the sidebar below.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Slap Shot - 30th Anniversary

Last week was the 30th Anniversary of the movie Slap Shot. Perhaps you've heard of it? Enjoy.



Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Diablos 0 - Ice Gators 4

Tough night for the Diablos. They put 25 shots on the Ice Gator sub goalie last Saturday night, yet all 25 hit the "6 hole" and the Ice Gators walk away with the shutout. Official AHA Scoresheet. - TR

Saturday, December 1, 2007