Adult 4-on-4 Hockey League

MEERCATS - SUMMER 2006 CHAMPIONS !!!

Top Row - Jon Melman, Paul O'Connor, Roman Gendler, Greg Smith
Bottom Row - Will Mitchell, Kane Ng, Jared Ginsburg, Dave Verderosa



Summer 2006 Season

Highlights:

August 30. Four Play - The Beavers 3:4
(3rd Place Game)
     The Four Play could not imagine such an outcome in their worst
nightmares. After dominating the regular season and finishing atop
among the five teams, they lost the semi-final playoff game in OT
and had to battle for 3rd place against The Beavers. With less than
3 minutes left in the game, the Four Play was up by a goal but within
a span of just 10 seconds The Beavers scored twice and held onto the
lead until the final whistle.

     The Beavers didn't want to finish the season without a fight either.
Phil Roveto opened the scoring in the first period and later in the
third he added another goal to even the score at 2:2. Moments
earlier Trevor Lawley and Lilliana Radoshevich put the Four Play
ahead for the first time. Trevor Lawley struck again midway through
the last period to give a 3:2 lead to his Four Play. But then the clock
started to count the last 3 minutes of the game, and you know the
rest. Phil Bergeron and Brian Fox were the guys who turned things
around for the Beavers.



August 30. Meercats - Stingers 5:2
(Championship Game)
     The Summer-2006 playoffs finale gathered a record crowd of
spectators for a Belmont Hockey League game – there were about
30 people in the stands cheering loud at times for both teams.

     Both the Stingers and the Meercats suited only 7 skaters aside for
the championship game. The Meercats lost several players to injuries
but were pleasantly surprised by an early return of their reliable
defensman Greg Smith who missed all but the first two games of
the season due to a hurt knee.

     The Meercats jumped to an early 1:0 lead (Jared Ginsburg), which
was erased (Neil Parkin) by the time the first period ended. In the
second, the Meercats were able to build a 3:1 lead on goals by Dave
Verderosa and Paul O’Connor. At the start of the final frame, a series
of Meercats' penalties allowed the Stingers to put some serious
offensive pressure but goaltender Kane Ng was perfect in protecting
the lead. Nevertheless the Stingers were able to cut the deficit to a
minimum on Dave Cunningham's shot just when the penalties expired.
Midway through the period Dave Verderosa reinstated a 2-goal lead
for the Meercats. With 2 minutes left in the game the Stingers replaced
their goalie with an extra forward but couldn’t keep the puck in the
offensive zone and Dave Verderosa completed his hat-trick with an
empty netter.

     The Meercats won the Belmont 4-on-4 Hockey Championship
for the second time in three seasons!

Summer-2006 Season Summary

     For the first time there were 5 teams playing in 4-on-4 Adult Hockey Belmont league.
Unfortunately, Kavorka wasn’t able to become a competitive contender and finished dead
last with only 1 win in 12 games. Kavorka’s roster and goaltending problems can be blamed
for such a terrible season.

     The other four teams were pretty evenly matched skill wise. The Four Play started the
season with a 6-game winning streak, which helped them break away from the pack and
remove any doubts about who finishes the regular season first. But in the playoffs the
team faltered. Even though Trevor Lawley scored league-leading 6 playoff goals he
couldn’t pull the team on his shoulders alone. Offensive support from other players was
not there - Lilliana Radoshevich was the only other Four Player who once lit the red light
in these playoffs. After recording league-leading 16 goals, scoring touch of Joe Balan
has suddenly evaporated.

     The Meercats’ season was filled with injuries. Nevertheless the team spent most
of the season in second place trying to catch up to the leading Four Play but at the
end could not keep up the pace and finished the regular season with a 3-game winless
streak that moved them down to 4th place. In playoffs though, the Meercats found a way
to defeat their opponents with a strong defensive play and win the championship for a
second time in league’s history. Dave Verderosa and Jared Ginsburg were undisputable
team leaders scoring together 25 of 41 Meercats’ goals in regular season and 9 of 10 in
playoffs.

     Both the Stingers and The Beavers have a number of recognizable leaders on their
rosters who led the teams during the season. Dave Cunningham of the Stingers finished
second in goal-scoring category (15) in the league. Stinger Tony Monroe was voted as the
Most Improved Player. Ben Fisher captained his Beavers during team’s first season in the
league and slowly transformed the team of mostly roller blade skaters into a strong ice
hockey squad. And it was interesting to see these two teams to meet in the final round
to decide their final placement in the standings. The Beavers prevailed in overtime and
finished second while Stingers remained third. But in the playoffs the Stingers got their
revenge by knocking the Beavers out and advancing into the championship finals where
they later lost to the Meercats.

     All in all, it was another successful season for the Belmont 4-on-4 Ice Hockey League.
The popularity of the league grew and in the next Fall-2006 season the league will expand
to 6 teams.

Games Schedule and Results
NOTE: Home teams are listed first. Away teams wear white jerseys.

Standings

Playoffs

Scoring Leaders:

(Summer 2006 playoffs)

(Summer 2006 regular season)

     
Goaltenders:
(Summer 2006 regular season)