Monday, November 21, 2011

Meat Battle for Last Playoff Spot

It all comes down to this. The last playoff spot is up for grabs between the Heroes and the Hot CurransIMH is coming off of a 4-game winless streak that spans back to October 23rd.  Meanwhile, the Currans meteoric rise has fizzled as their offense and defense has struggled as of late.  SawYer 5 Hole slid into 3rd place last night with a 6-4 win over the HeroesOsin Kos Squatch and the Fou Fighters sit atop the standings, both coming off hot streaks led by Tom Osinkosky and Gavin Conner, respectively.  IMH must tie or beat the Currans to secure the fourth and final slot in the playoff bracket.

IMH takes on the Currans at 6PM Sunday, November 27th at the MSA.  B League Playoffs begin December 4th.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

IMH Tie OKS

The IM Heroes let a 3-goal lead slip, but hung on to tie Osin Kos Squatch 6-6 on Sunday night at the MSA.

Meat center Kenny Lohr scored first for the Heroes with a snap shot that beat OKS goalie Bruce Williamson  early in the period.  Lohr was assisted by winger Andy Block.  Midway through the first, defenseman-turned-winger Howard Lagomarsino parked himself in great scoring position and snapped a shot from inside the slot to beat Williamson glove-side.  Lagomarsino was assisted by Rob Lovaglio and Chris ColeLohr scored again - a shortie - late in the first period to put the Heroes up 3-1 at the end of the first.  Lohr was assisted by linemate Bob DeCusati.

The second period saw great goaltending and end-to-end rushes.  The Heroes got caught for too many men, but Lagomarsino scored another shortie for the team with assists from Lovaglio and defenseman Dalton Ford. The second period ended 4-1 in favor of the Heroes.

The third period saw IMH defensive breakdowns that led to 2 goals against in the span of 5 minutes.  The Heroes did capitalize on a PP opportunity when Ford slapped a 60-foot shot that deflected up and over a defender's stick and beat Williamson above his right shoulder.  Ford was assisted by winger Chris ColeOKS battled back, rifling Meat goalie "Sig" Sigmund and going up 6-5. Rob Lovaglio would notch the game-tying goal late in the third with assists from wingers Tommy Harrison and Andy Block.

Shots in the game favored the Italian Meat Heroes, 32-29.


IMH take on the Fou Fighters Sunday, November 6th at 7:45PM.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Icons Stun Meat

The B League Icons, some dressed in 1980 Team USA replica jerseys, pulled off a "Miracle"-esque upset victory over the top-seeded IM Heroes on Sunday night.  The Icons used relentless offensive pressure, as well as some late-game theatrics, to outscore the Heroes 5-2.

The Icons jumped to an early lead in the first period, scoring 3 unanswered goals. The Heroes tightened their D and fought back in the second, but still couldn't find a way to beat Iconic goalie Neil Mairs and IMH found themselves down 4-0 at the end of the second period.

Controversy reared it's ugly head when, at 11:03 of the third period, Icon Eric Sawyer ripped a shot from an impossible angle that clearly hit the post and sailed to the far side of the rink.  Sawyer raised his hands as if the shot went in.  The referees deliberated and, after they both agreed they didn't see the puck cross the goalline, awarded the point anyway.  The Meat finally got on the board at 8:31 in the third when Tommy Harrison punched a shot past Mairs off a feed from Kenny LohrIMH would score again around the 5-minute mark as Heroes swarmed the net and winger Jerry Goodson slid a low shot that beat Mairs under his pads.  Goodson was assisted by Lohr and blueliner Howard Lagomarsino.

IMH was held to a season-low 31 SOGs on Sunday.  This was the first time the Meat were outshot by their opponent (34-31).

The Meat take on Osin Kos Squatch on Sunday, October 30th at 9PM at the MSA.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Heroes Squeak Past 5 Holes

In a very tight contest, the IM Heroes squeaked out a 5-4 win over the speedy SawYer 5 Holes on Monday night at the MSA.

IMH got on the board first when, at 11:56 of the first period, Andy Block tipped a 60-foot shot from blueliner Dalton Ford that beat Holes substitute goalie Jason Getz 5-hole. Center Kenny Lohr was also credited with an assist. Approximately 30 seconds later, the Holes would answer back with a squeaker that beat "Sig" Sigmund at 11:18.  The Holes would take advantage of sloppy D-zone coverage and score again at the nine-minute mark of the first to end the period 2-1.

The Meat battled back in the second and regained some much needed composure. Jerry "Good Times" Goodson took adavantage of good slot presence and punched a shot past Getz at 8:58 to knot the game at 2. Bob DeCusati got the helper. The Heroes would go up one goal at 7:08 when center Rob Lovaglio skated 150 feet, into the OZ, and jooked Getz to go up 3-2. Lavaglio was assisted by Steve "Doc" Schmitz. Not to be outdone, the 5 Holes came storming back, scoring two goals (one SH) to end the second period in their favor 4-3.

IMH defense, including tenacious backchecking by its forwards, tightened up in the third. Risky forechecking by the Holes left tons of open ice which the Meat took advantage of. At 13:20 in the third, Lavaglio beat two flat-footed defensemen and goalie Getz to tie the game at 4. Lovaglio was assisted by Block. The Red would again take advantage of aggressive advances by the Holes and score a SHG at 7:26 when D-man Howard Lagomarsino fed a streaking Kenny Lohr who slid a low shot past Getz, ending the game 5-4. Shots favored the Heroes 38-26.

IMH takes on the B League Icons at 6PM on Sunday, October 23rd at the MSA.

IMH Squash Squatch

The Italian Meat Heroes stopped a two-game losing skid by beating Osin Kos Squatch 9-2 on Saturday evening at the MSA.

Hero Rob Lavaglio got off to a red-hot start by completing a natural hat trick in less than 7 minutes into the first period. Lavaglio was assisted by winger Bob DeCusati on the first and third goals.  Jerry Goodson chipped in a pretty goal from a laser-guided feed from Lavaglio that beat OKS goalie Stephen McIninch longside at 6:34 of the first. Tom Osinkosky scored for the Squatches with 25 seconds remaining to end the period 4-1.

IMH continued to put relentless pressure on McIninch as they peppered him with shots inside the offensive zone. Kenny Lohr lit the lamp at 14:16 in the second with assists going to wingers Bill Hay and Chris Cole.  Less than two minutes later, Lavaglio would score again, taking advantage of McIninch's copious 5-hole, with the assist going to Meat D-man Tony DiOrio. Osinkosky would score again at 2:42 of the second to end the period 6-2.

Meat scoring continued in the third when Lohr beat McIninch at 15:05. Hay and Cole got the helpers.  Taking advantage of a power-play opportunity, defenseman Dalton Ford teed up a low slapper from the blueline that just squeaked by McIninch's toe for a PP goal at 7:43. DeCusati was credited with the assist. 18 seconds later, IMH winger Cole would cap off the night with a goal with an assist from Andy Block.  Shots in the game favored the Heroes 46-25.  IMH goalie Arthur "Sig" Sigmund was huge in net again with a .920 save percentage on the night.

Monday, October 10, 2011

A Note About IMH Shirts

I believe I misspoke last night regarding the ship date for the shirts.  The shirts are expected to arrive October 21st. Thanks to Howard, Chris, Thomas, and Doc for their payments.








Currans Spank Meat

A short bench made for a long night as the Heroes fell to the Hot Currans 7-2 Sunday night at the MSA.

The Currans got up early, crashing four skaters into the slot, and scored three unanswered goals in the first 7 minutes of the first period.  The Heroes tightened up their defense, stemmed the bleeding, but could not generate many quality scoring chances in the period.

IMH defenseman Howard "The H-Bomb" Lagomarsino broke the Meat's goose egg in the second period when he skated the puck 150 feet into the Green zone and beat Curran goalie Kelsey Haley blocker-side to make the score 6-1.

The Heroes would tally once more in the third when "Battlin' Bob" DeCusati scored with an impossible-angle shot from the goal line that beat Haley shortside. DeCusati was assisted by defenseman Dalton Ford.

Meat goalie Arthur Sigmund maintained his composure and played well under the constant barrage of shots that were in favor of the Currans, 46-29.

IMH play a double-header, of sorts, next weekend when they meet Osin Kos Squatch in a matinée game on Saturday, October 15th at 5:45PM and then battle SawYer 5 Hole on Monday, October 17th at 8:15PM at the MSA.