Happy Hockey Halloween !

Adult League Hockey and Halloween go hand in hand.  Both involve getting dressed up as something you're really not.  Some put on masks, while others just trick (and get penalties) or treat (and get goals).  This Wednesday brings some spooky pairings to the evening.

Young showing his scary side!

Red Alert Vs Puck Heads

The My Little Puckhead Ponies

This game will be like Jason Voorhees versus My Little Pony.  Have you seen Clark Hawbaker?  Word on the street is he's going to break out the Friday the 13th mask and wreak havoc on the scared group of Puckheads.  Ross, Young & Curran all plan on wearing the same costume pictured to the right and playing defense in front of the killer Hawbaker in net.  Worth & Beenen have decided they're going to tell Puckheads goalie Waters a joke just before they ring him up.  "I've got the perfect joke for those guys" said Beenen.  "What's black, hard and round and goes into a net?....a puck!"  Becker was heard saying that he' going to egg the other teams cars after the game in the spirit of Halloween.  The Puckheads take Halloween pretty seriously too.  They do it in a more fun-spirited sort of way. "This will be our 5th year getting the team together dressed in matching My Little Pony outfits" said Puckheads captain Pierce.  Its a lifelong tradition the Stouts started and now they're bringing the tradition to the team.  Coffie & Smiley agreed it sounded weird at first, but once they knew they could choose the color of their "pony" they were all for it.  Propst and Christensen refused to do it, but after much hazing and peer pressure, went out and bought matching pick ones.  This game is slanted one direction...Red Alert 7, Ponies 2.

Victors Vs. Forklifts of DM/Kyles Bikes

Bartak & Dudechenko

In the 2nd game of the night, Victors try to earn the win to go 3-1 and knock FDM/KB to 3-1 as well. The confidence of Victors is evident based on their actions the night before the game.  Where most teams typically rest up the night before a game, Team Captain Gannon decides to throw a Halloween bash.  You had the LePera brothers dressed as the Olsen twins, Hudson, Krultz & Koch representing the 3 stooges, the Pirie brothers dressed as Ashley and Jessica Simpson, Dudenchenko & Bartak represented the LA Kings and a Stanley Cup, while Gannon, Natale & Chongo wore nothing but thongs and were covered in BBQ sauce (get it?...the Famous Daves). Nesbit and Gordon bartended the affair and last I knew all crashed at Gannon's house.   Then you have the undefeated crew of FDM/KB.  You had Mellein & Roskilly reviewing game footage from previous seasons to determine how they shut down Hudson.  Williams and Wahlert discussed shift changes and how to better the rotation.  The Radcliff boys worked on their "no-look" passing, while Brekke cooked the entire team a nutritious supper before their 8 PM bedtime.   Here's a time where I think a team over-prepared and the looser, more relaxed team earns the win.  Victors 7, FDM/KB 5.

Alien Vs. Kryptonite

There cannot be a better suited match up than these 2 teams on Halloween for one sole reason. Costumes (aka....Jerseys).  These 2 teams have collectively accumulated 27 jerseys over the past 5 seasons and continue to grow their stock.  Alien Hockey brings to the table 16 of these and wears them proudly.    Guys like the Dylo brothers, LeFleur & Fascian have been with the team since the beginning and have acquired the jerseys in a financially manageable way.  They have been able to pay for them over time unlike newcomer Scott Jacobson who got the shock of his life when he was told he needed to pay $5,324 in order to "catch up" on the jersey collection.  Each player has a favorite jersey such as Bishop enjoys the "Butterfly Awareness Week" version while Brand's favorite is the Monopoly style where each player represents a different piece of property.  3 years ago, Knipper wanted to quit the team but was so deep in debt with his Alien account, he had no place to go.  Team Logo designer Clutts quit his job last year and makes enough money from his designs to afford a nice income and recently purchased a new home.

On the other bench, the Kryptonite team is making headway in the jersey war.  "We know we have to obtain 3 new jerseys each season to be on pace to catch them" said Johnson of Kryptonite.  They've also had some unique ones like the "Ross Perot for President" jersey and the "Vancouver is Burning" edition.  Laura Stein always grab 2 of each style (one in medium and the other in Goalie cut for the maternity months).  To save on expense, Schneiders and Toigo get 1 jersey to share and swap it between shifts.  Kundel and Hill think the whole idea is ridiculous and feel 1 jersey is enough, but since no other teams want them, they're left with no choice.  This game will be more of a fashion show than a hockey game, but word on the street from Rich Huyck is someone may be unveiling a new "Beverly Hill 90210 Limited Edition" jersey that evening.... ALien 6, Cup 5 (in a shootout win).


Rink Rats Vs. Voodoo

Bedwell (Rats) & Wolf (Voodoo) out Trick or Treating together.

The Voodoo name portrays a scary image.  Rink Rats aren't the most pleasant of creatures.  On this night, the stereotypes of these two hated teams gets put on hold.  Both teams know that they are the most feared, most hated and the most disgusting teams in all of the ABC League.  Both captains recognized this and decided to throw that out the window on this great Wicken Holiday.  After the game, players will unite and one member from each team will spend the night with a member of the other team doing a fun event.
Bedwell/Wolf - Trick or Treating all over Windsor Heights together in matching costumes
Mrachina/Rodriguez - Going to Jordan Creek theater to watch the Shining
Wurzer/Damos - Cooking a steak and pasta dinner together
Bremer/Cohan - Attending a scrapbooking seminar
Dayton/Bentzen - Giving each other manicures
Evans/Dawson - Playing Mario Kart on Xbox
Lundberg/Giunta Brothers - Attending the Des Moines Symphony
Young/Lieb - Tending to Lieb's broken hand
Mulcahy/McDonough - Eating the ever appropriate M&Ms together
Billings/Mudge - Volunteering at Blank Park Zoo cleaning up elephant poop
Syverson/Whitaker - Sharing a cigar talking politics
Gavin/Koenig - Riding a custom built tandem bike around Grays Lake
Kipp/Loverude - Plane ride to Kenosha, Wisconsin
Whipps/Brown - Watching the Cardinals win the next game of the World Series
Miller/Reeves - Having a friendly game of Stratego

Neither team will want to win this one, so an accidental shot that Dawson takes goes in on his own goalie for Rink Rats to win 1-0.

Koenig & Gavin making their rounds.