2019 Results - Coming Up Short
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| Road Trip to Nashville
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For the 20th anniversary
Chaos weekend, Captain Chaos took the team to Nashville. Time for a
location where everyone could easily stay out of trouble. The team left
early on Friday morning in a 3 vehicle caravan. By early, I mean early.
I think it was about 5:00am. Certainly about 5 hours before Private Pete
normally woke up after he finally retired. The trip to Nashville was
relatively uneventful …. At least until our GOALIE discovered that he had
left his contacts at home. Yes, the GOALIE who was driving. Nice job
Crawford. So, a team stop in a Cincinnati Costco had to be hastily
arranged. This stop was successful for stocking up on snacks, Gatorade
and beer, but no contacts. Luckily there was a glasses store nearby and
Crawford managed to get some eyes. With that debacle behind them, the
mighty Chaos roared into Nashville ready for some action.
The traditional over/under was held in
Captain Chaos’ room. Sandstrom even brought Kristin to witness the
insanity. A couple new twists were added this year to try to motivate
some of the under achievers:
Crawford – new task – 5 shutout periods
instead of just an over/under number
Belding – Over/under target –
recognizing the fact that Kappler and Lovell would be on his line we could
not have an over/under of zero. So his target was to manage an over/under
of better than -2. Belding even came up with an appropriate name for this
line …. The Draggin’ Ass line.
Bieber – Surprisingly he had the highest
number – 6. This was not necessarily due to his ability, but rather his
stated ability. Certainly if he was as good as he said, 6 should be easy
but this didn’t stop the tears from flowing.
Schraffenberger – Troy was set as a plus
4 recognizing that he tended to be a bit lazy out there, his target was to
just have the Chaos be ahead while he was out on the ice. |
| Game 1
Detroit Chaos vs Pickering Predators
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Pete had the music blaring as the Chaos
were in the locker room preparing for the game. The next thing we know,
Blondie is sticking her head in our locker room to see what color jerseys we
are wearing … or with a leer in her eye, not wearing. What kind of team
has a girl on it? What kind of team chooses a girl to go to the other
team’s locker room to check on jersey color? Well, it is the kind of team
I like. Surely they must be a bunch of pathetic losers to fill their
roster with a girl. But more about Blondie and Bieber later.
The Chaos came out of the locker room
and took the ice with a vengeance …. At least until 2 seconds after the
opening face-off win back to Troy who promptly fell flat on his back.
Fortunately, the rest of the Chaos were ready go do and no harm was done.
From the opening puck drop, play was dominated by the Chaos. Constant
pressure on the Predators but the Offense just couldn’t quite push the puck
across the goal line. Finally Macha decided enough was enough. 2 quick
goals, one unassisted, one from Captain Chaos and the Beavers were firmly in
control with a 2 goal lead. How long would it last? Unfortunately, not
very long and Crawford’s first shot at a shutout period was over as the
Predators pulled within 1 and that is how the period ended.
The 2nd period was dominated
by Captain Chaos’ line. Rookie of the Year candidate (and winner), Chris
Kurmaniak …. I mean the Maniac went off big with 2 goals. Meanwhile,
Rookie Hartley on the #1 line continued to sleepwalk through the game.
With the score at 4-1, the Chaos looked to blow the game wide open but
unfortunately for Justin Clarke ….. I mean Bieber, it didn’t last long.
Blondie was playing for the Predators and decided that it was time to
undress Bieber and Crawford. First it was Bieber falling for a toe drag
and while Crawford was busy laughing at the sight of Blondie with Bieber’s
jock strap in her pocket, she pulled the Predators within 1 goal. It will
be a while before Bieber (Justin Clarke) hears the end of this one.
Crawford is lucky Bieber looked so pathetic since virtually nobody will
remember that Blondie also managed to add Crawford’s jock strap to her
collection. The Chaos kept up constant pressure on the Predators
(except when Blondie and Bieber were on the ice) and with time winding down
in the 2nd period, Captain Chaos spotted Mayo Clinic Channer in
perfect position and fed him an intentional pass which Channer promptly
blasted past the helpless Predator goalie. Wow. Nobody saw that coming.
The period ended with the Predators on top 5-3.
The next goal would be key and off a
beautiful setup form Sandstrom, Tyler finally got the #1 line on the
scoreboard and the Chaos sat back and enjoyed their 3 goal lead – 6-3.
Then a 2 goal lead – 6-4, then a 1 goal lead – 6-5. WTF? Even an epic
Sandstrom slew-foot didn’t seem to change the momentum. The Predators
pulled the goalie and the game hung in the balance. Crawford was
incredible. Every time Blondie took another article of Bieber’s equipment,
Crawford just laughed and stood tall and was equal to the task. After some
anxious moments, Crawford made a save and the puck was sent the length of
the ice into an EMPTY net. An easy score and a 2 goal lead that held up.
Final score: Chaos 7, Predators 5.
Star #1 – The Maniac – a totally
unexpected offensive explosion from Chris showed us all why Captain brought
up the career minor leaguer to the majors. 2 goals to get the Chaos offense
going. Nice work.
Star #2 – Macha with a couple of goals.
Not the best defensive performance, but covering up for Bieber was
definitely a tall order.
Star #3 – Captain Chaos with a 4 assist
performance. |
| Game 2
Detroit Chaos vs Team Indiana Select (Team TITS)
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Team TITS looked bad …. Really bad.
And they were. Bad enough that nobody worried about Hartley’s ability to
stay on his skates after an epic Friday night of beer consumption. The
Chaos dominated from the opening face-off. It could have been 10-0 but the
Chaos just kept hitting the TITS of the TITS goalie like it was target
practice. Finally, Sandstrom spotted Tyler in the slot for a one-timer
that Tyler buried. Shortly after that, Hartley woke up long enough to get
Tyler the puck for another goal. The period ended with a 2-0 Chaos lead
and the TITS certainly considered themselves luck to only be down 2 and
Crawford picked up one shutout period to go towards his over/under target.
Captain Chaos took over the 2nd period
and put 2 goals in and the TITS just seemed to bounce around the ice not
doing much. Crawford managed to make 2 saves and pickup his 2nd shutout
period. The Chaos were cruising and the period ended with a 4-0 lead.
Between periods Pete informed the team
that a shutout would be worth a bonus period and a near riot ensued on the
bench. Seemed fair to me and made perfect sense. But with Bieber more
concerned about the over/under than a decisive victory, there was a
defensive lapse and a goalie lapse and the shutout was gone and the lead was
down to 3. Would it be a repeat of game 1 where the lead kept dwindling?
Not if Pete had anything to say about it. It was time for the Pete and the
defense to step up and re-establish control. With the pressure on the
TITS, Pete drove to the net. Captain Chaos passed it to Dwight who
promptly ripped a shot that bounced off the TITS goalie to Pete. Making no
mistake, Pete pulled it back and snapped it over the goalie into the net.
Back to a 4 goal lead thanks to Pete scoring against a real goalie and not
an empty net. With time winding down, the Chaos added another when
Hartley tapped a beautiful cross-ice pass into a wide open net. A
dominating 6-1 victory over the hapless TITS.
Star #1 – Tyler with 2 goals to get the
rout started and show the team that the lucky TITS goalie was not a stone
wall. Also for surprising everyone and demonstrating that he was in
Nashville to play clean hockey and help bring home another Chaos
Championship. But would it last?
Star #2 – Captain Chaos with a 2 goal,
one assist performance
Star #3 – Pete for a really nice goal to
re-establish the Chaos momentum as well as his surprisingly strong
performance on defense which included a couple of diving saves to cover up
for his rare blunders.
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| Game 3
Detroit Chaos vs Tag Heating & Cooling
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With a spot in the Championship game on
the line, the Chaos took the ice against TAG. Finally a worthy opponent.
From the opening face-off it was clear that this was going to be a battle.
TAG was very strong. If the Chaos wanted the Championship prize for their
20th anniversary they would have to earn it. Maximum effort, responsible
play, discipline and above all self-control would be the keys to victory.
First blood was drawn by the Chaos by,
who else, Captain Chaos nearly killing himself in front of the TAG net. A
character builder and typical working man’s goal. If Crawford could pitch
a shut the Chaos would be in the Championship game. Unfortunately, da
Butcha was sent to the penalty box and TAG tied the score. No shutout and
now the game was tied. What would happen next? Can you guess? Well,
believe it or not, Tyler was whistled for a penalty and TAG took advantage
again and now the Beavers were down 2-1. Then 3-1. Everyone knew it
would be tough to comeback against this team and the bench started to
shorten. Will finally broke through and score a beauty and it was 3-2 and
the Chaos still had a chance. For a moment it looked like the Chaos could
tie the game when Bieber picked up a nice pass in front of the Chaos bench
and went in on a clean break away. Unfortunately, there was a goalie in the
net and Bieber could only get a feeble shot that was easily saved. With
the game hanging in the balance injustice was served on Tyler and the Chaos.
Somehow the refs found a reason to give Tyler his 3rd penalty and kick him
out of the game. Nobody could believe it. Well, almost nobody. At least
Tyler took it like a man and took it without complaint. Well, almost
without complaint. So, Pete had to sit in the penalty box for Tyler and
TAG once again took advantage and it was back to a 2 goal lead. Was it
over? No. It was not over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor and it was
not over when TAG scored and Tyler went to the locker room. Captain
Chaos scored a late goal on a nice pass from Macha and it was down to a 1
goal game. But unfortunately, time ran out on the Chaos and their 20th
anniversary effort for another championship ended with a 3-4 loss to TAG.
Star #1 – Captain Chaos – 2 goals
against TAG qualifies as an epic performance. It is very unfortunate that
it had to happen in a losing effort.
Star #2 – Everyone on the Chaos who
finished the game on the bench. People like Pete, Lovell, Dwight and
Kappler who sacrificed ice time while the Chaos played short handed and
tried to climb back into the game. People like Belding who killed himself
out there trying to keep the Chaos within reach. People like da Butcha,
Hartley and Kurmaniak for giving everything they had to try to get one more
goal. People like Macha, Troy, Will and Bieber who stepped up and kept
offensive pressure on while covering for each other to keep the game
close. People like Crawford who endured the TAG onslaught of pressure in
the shorthanded situations.
Star #3 – Kristin and Ella Sandstrom for
coming to the game and actually paying attention to what was going on and
leaving their phones in their pocket.
Star #4 – Carter and Collin Sandstrom
for coming to the game and watching a little bit. |
| Post game and return to
Michigan
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The Chaos took advantage of not having a
game on Sunday to enjoy some good beer and half decent food. They even met
up with the TAG team and rehashed the debacle of the game and penalties.
Turns out they had a pretty good strategy to keep the Chaos shorthanded.
Believe it or not, the Chaos did not even go downtown to enjoy the city,
music and bars. Instead they watched the basketball games. In the
mind of many Chaos veterans this has to be noted as a pathetic
performance. Perhaps this team was not built on Character, Dedication,
Smarts and Insanity like the Championship teams of the past. Time will tell
if Captain Chaos chooses to re-evaluate the selection process. Basketball
– yes …. Bars – no?????????????
It was sobering ride back to Michigan
for the Chaos. Spirits were a bit low knowing that the Championship
had slipped through their fingers and the penalty box.
Stops at every single rest area were made and also one at Skyline Chili
helped to lighten the mood and refresh the air.
Steve managed to pack the Maniac's car to the gillls and even
get the jerseys back riding on his lap. Unless the window was open all
the way he must have set a record for holding his breath.
Next stop
Marquette.
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