2002 Season I Archive
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9/21/02-Our season opener was last Thursday at 10:00pm vs. Rosie's Boyz. It was one of the most exciting games our team has had in a long time. There were a few screaming fans at the game, you know who you are (Steph). Hearts were pounding and tempers were flaring as the game began. About 10 minutes into the first half Jason broke free of his man and buried the puck between the pipes to put us up 1-0. The goal came shorthanded due to the fact the Dave was in the sin bin for cleaning some kids clock. (You can't hit people like that DAVE) We held the one goal lead until there were about 8 minutes remaining. Rosie's Boyz scored on a one-timer from deep in the slot due to our poor man coverage. The game was tied 1-1. Then, about 2 minutes later they poked home another and took the lead 2-1. In a last ditch effort, with about 1:20 remaining in the game, Paul headed to the bench to get the extra skater on in hopes of tying the game. We had no such luck and went away with a 2-1 loss. Though we lost, I don't think we could have played much better than we did. Both goaltenders played very well, causing the game to stay low scoring. All the stats from this game are up as well as some new "TRUE BIOS" that were created. Try and guess by who when you read them. That's all for now. Check back and hopefully we will have the complete schedule.
9/24/02-Well some bad news has graced the presence of the team. All-Star player Jason Brito will not be attending our second game of the season. The team will have to make many adjustments and pull together. It will take a true team effort to pull off a win withought this valuable player. He is a piece of the team, but they are not the entire team. Our defense will have to stand strong and and we will have to find a way to put the puck in the back of the net. A superb showing from goaltender Paul Durning will also be neccesary in securing the first win of the High Rollers season.
9/26/02-Coming into tonight's game we didn't know what to expect. We were up against the Fog, a team we had never heard of before. We were also without a very valuable Jason Brito. The game began and our team pulled together and began to completely dominate. We scored very early in the game and continued to pile them in. Goaltender Paul Durning had some key saves and only let up 1 goal which made the score 6-1. We went on to win 9-1 due to the league's mercy rule of "8" goals. There were approximately 4 minutes remaining when we went up by 8. Scoring goals tonight for the High Rollers were Dave Faz, Dave Sosa, Joe Riggi and Brian Costello who each posted two goals apiece and Mike Riggi with the game winner. Mike Riggi posted a wopping 4 assists, with Joe Rigg helping on 2 and Brian on one. Rookie player Chris Roszkowski came up big for the team with two assists. All of the current standings and player stats are posted. We have anther game tomorrow at 8:00pm vs. Puck Hogs. Hope to see some fans there. I couldn't go through writing a game recap without talking about our number one fan, Stef.(See I got your name right this time) Your my good luck charm. You gotta be there every week.
9/27/02-Game three of our season was quite a disaster. We were without Brian Costello and Dave Sosa. The opposing team, the Puck Hogs, came out skating strong and totally dominated the game. They scored several minutes in and continued to pressure unitl the game was 4-0. We answered back with one goal from Jason Brito to cut there lead to 4-1. However, our team did not show much heart and seemed to have dead legs. The Puck Hogs onslaught continued. They mounted a 8-2 lead and thats how the game ended. Scoring our second goal was Joe Riggi. Both goals were unassisted. Goaltender Paul Durning made a few nice saves but his overall performance was well below his normal level of performance. We now have two number one fans at our games, Stef and Ange. Even though we lost pretty bad you are both still my good luck girls. You gotta keep coming to the games and hopefully our team will start playing up to their full potential and maybe then we will find a way to do the most important thing a hockey team could possibly do during a game, and that is SCORE MORE GOALS THAN THE OTHER TEAM! Our stats are up and I just recieved the full season schedule and will be posting it soon.
10/4/02-Game four of our season was quite an interesting one at that. We started out pretty strong . Brian Costello came up big with an unassisted goal and put us up 1-0. Paul Durning had a shaky start and within the next few minutes the Puck Hogs had made the game 3-1. Defenseman Mike Riggi cut their lead to 1 with a nice goal assisted by Jason Brito. Not long after. Mike Riggi was given a 5 minute major and a 10 minute game misconduct for a breathtaking open rink check with no intent to play the puck.(The kid deserved it, good job Mike!) With our strongest defenseman watching the game from the crowd, we started to break down in our zone. The Puck Hogs continued to attack and mounted a lead of 6-2. Then things got interesting. With about two and a half minutes to play in the game Jason Brito broke out of our zone and headed up the rink. He was pulled down by an opposing player and the referee signaled for a delayed penalty. Jason got up and was sucker punched by Puck Hog player who had just pulled him down. Jason stood his ground and the opposing player continued to throw punches. Then, from out of nowhere Dave Faz came up to the kid from behind and almost ripped his friggin head off. He slammed the kid hard to the floor and ripped his helmet right off. It looked like a big fight was going to break out but the ref. separated it before the fight got any bigger. Jason received 5 minutes for fighting. The Puck Hog player recieved 2 minutes for the initial hooking call, 5 minutes for fighting, 10 minute game misconduct and a 1 game suspension. Faz, who had already received a 2 minute minor for roughing earlier in the game, recieved 5 minutes for fighting, a 10 minute game misconduct and he has been suspended for two games due to the fact that he was the third man into the fight. Dave showed that he won't let anybody mess with his teammates and that shows a true team friendship.(Now he's Faz the enforcer) We now were down two men and with only about 2:30 to go in the game the ref. called the game so that no other fights might break out if the game continued. So we lost 6-2 but we showed the Puck Hogs that we will not be pushed around, and I think you know what is gonna happen if we end up playing them again so make sure you dont miss that game. As for my good luck girls, they weren't there tonight.(You missed a hell of a game. But Dave probably wont be able to take you for the next two weeks, unless he feels like watching the game from the crowd...But I still need you two for good luck, so hopefully you'll be able to make it to the next game)
10/11/02-We reached the half way point of our regular season tonight. Our team was looking for a win after having just suffered two pretty big losses. We were up against the Ness, a team that we did not know very much about. The game turned into one of the most exciting games of our season so far. We jumped out to an early lead when Brian Costello put a slap-shot through the Ness goaltender's five hole. The score remained 1-0 into the break. Our team was finally playing like a TEAM. Our defense had held strong for the most part and goaltender Paul Durning was having a solid game. The second half began and we were off to a good start. However with about 8 minutes left in the game we basically fell apart in the defensive zone. We turned the puck over several times and almost lost our one goal lead. Durning was there in the clutch and kept his team ahead. With about 2 minutes to go the Ness pulled their goaltender and the onslaught began. The final minute of the game seemed to take about 10 minutes and the Ness must have recorded almost 10 shots during that time. Durning held strong and Costello cleared the puck in the closing seconds to seal the victory for us. The win brings our record to 2-3-0. Paul Durning recored his first shutout of the season and second career shuout at the Center Circle. No penalties were taken during the game. Stats, standings and schedule have been updated.
10/17/02-The sixth game of the season most of our team was looking forward to. Curiosity was the name of the game, after the lazers losing 8-0 to the center circle powerhouse Rozie Boyz, they shook up the team by bringing in some new talent. The game got started with a lot of back and fourth action but breakdown in the defensive zone and Paul playing not up to par with his usual performances quickly made the game lopsided on the score sheet. At the end of the period we were down 4-1 with our only goal coming from Bryan Costello assisted by Mike Riggi, you would be seeing that a lot later on in the game. Although moral on the bench was low, Bry and Mike comprised a game plan that would carry the team offensively for the second half. Mike would pass, Bry would shoot. The second period started with the High Rollers completely controlling the game. Bryan Costello scored another 3 goals to bring his total to 4 for the night, all assisted from Mike Riggi and Joe Riggi . Everything was clicking for the High Rollers until the Lazers would gain the lead once again. The team would look to a familiar combination to tie the game, and it worked again. A perfect cross rink pass from Mike to Bryan gave Costello a clear path to the net to tie the game up. Although the game ended in a tie, it seemed to everybody like a victory with an incredible come back from behind win. Both Costello(5 goals) and Mike Riggi(5 assists) were obviously the savors of the game with there domination for almost the entire second half.
10/25/02-The seventh game of the season was surly one of the more exciting games in our teams history. We came into the game with mixed emotions. On one hand we were riding high on a two game unbeaten streak, with shutting out a team for the first time two weeks ago, and having an incredible come from behind tie just a week ago. On the other hand we were going up against Rosie's Boyz, a team notorious for having a great versatile game with strength, speed, size, and superb goaltending and had a tendency of dominating games. The game got started off with some high tempo run and gun hockey, with Brian Costello continuing his reign of terror on all Center Circle goalies by putting up an early goal and was quickly followed by Chris scoring his first career goal. Thats right, you read it correct, Chris scored a goal. Nobody knows how he did it, it was from an impossible angle, but he did it. Good lord save us all. But the two goal lead was short lived when Rosie's Boyz cut the lead in half. With all of us chipping in, making crisp passes and sound defensive play, we rallied back with Costello scoring two goals and bringing his season total to 12. With Mike Riggi playing solid but battling some of the mental aspects of the game, a new star emerged with Joe Riggi playing great defense and topping it off with the fifth Highrollers goal. Rosie's Boyz, not used to playing catch up against teams on the score board, decided to turn up the heat and bombarded the defense and the game stood 5-4 Highrollers. Rosie's Boyz obviously feeling confident scoring two goals to bring them one away from tying it up they were given a gift with a powerplay with only two minutes left in the game with a questionable roughing penalty on Mike Riggi. With one of the top defensmen in the box, the team looked to Paul, Costello, Joe, and Dave to secure the lead, which they did. Dave even blocked a shot with his face to help keep us on top. Paul played an overall solid game, but his late game heroics on the penalty kill will surely not be forgotten any time soon, especially by Rosie's Boyz.
11/1/02-Three weeks without suffering a loss. That is pretty impressive, considering the opponents we have faced, and the players we missed during those games. Jason Brito, who has been injured with a cartilage problem for quite some time now, made his return in our 8th game of the season last night and made an immediate impact. Historically we have always gotten the better of the Lasers and have never lost a single game to them, so with our history against the Lasers and Jay back in the line up we were feeling pretty good about our chances. The game got started and we took an early lead in the game with a goal by Brito assisted by his long time line mate Brian Costello. At half we were winning 1-0, and feeling great about our chances. Everybody was pulling there own weight and with our first line completely dominated the contest, things looked very good. The second period got started with Lasers putting a little more pressure on us but nothing the new defensive pair of Mike and Joe Riggi alongside Paul couldn't handle. Mike Riggi scored the next goal after a great passing play with Brian Costello and Jason Brito. The goal sparked our offense even more with us putting on loads of pressure on the Lasers. But with that loads of pressure came fatigue, and with Mike and Joe Riggi sitting on the bench catching there breath the Lasers scored a goal to make the game 2-1. With just a few minutes remaining in the game, Brian Costello got called for a hooking penalty. The Lasers called a time out and put there most dangerous weapons on the rink for this possible game deciding two minutes. We decided to go with our 3 strongest defensive players for the penalty kill, which were Jay Mike and Joe with Paul in net as usual. The powerplay got started with all three players playing superb in the zone and cutting off any possible scoring opportunity. The penalty was over, and in a last ditch effort to win the game the Lasers pulled their goalie, but to no avail. This game was probably the best overall game we played as a team this season. We didn't need Costello to score 5 goals and didn't need Paul to stand on his head. Everybody did there job, and it showed in the outcome of the game.
11/14/02- This being our ninth regular season game we were looking to have a strong end before the play-offs began. We were up against the Lasers once again and we were able to manage a 4-4 tie.
11/21/02- Tonight we had our first play-off game and did not fair so well. We were defeated by none other than the Lasers by a score of 5-2. Scoring the two High Roller goals were Brin Costello and Joe Riggi. Chris R. assisted on Joe's goal. The game was 4-2 going into the final minutes when goaltender Paul Durning made his wayto the bench. The Lasers intercepted the puck and slipped into the empty net and sealing there victory 5-2. This game took us out of the play-offs. However we will have our final regular season game tomorrow night. The team looks forward to next season.
11/22/02- The game was forfited by the Lasers, so we received the win, however it angered our team who was eager to gain some redemption after being just knocked out of the play-offs by this very team on the previous night. That concludes the HIGH ROLLERS first season. We may be looking to make some changes but we will be back next season once again on the road to winning a CENTER CIRCLE CHAMPIONSHIP.
Congratulations to the HIGH ROLLERS points leader BRIAN COSTELLO (19 POINTS) and also goals leader (14 GOALS)
Congratulations to the HIGH ROLLERS assists leader MIKE RIGGI (12 ASSISTS)
THE PUCK HOGS WENT ON TO WIN IT ALL BY DEFEATING ROSIE'S BOYS 2 GAMES TO 1 IN A BEST OF 3 SERIES
