Race For the Playoffs Heats Up

The race for final positioning is heating up in the NABHL and Shockers saved themselves from tumbling down the latter last night against the Expos.

Expos who have been struggling to find themselves a solid identity after being last season's champions have gotten a little wind in their sails as of late. No other team in the league knows what it's like to have a roller coaster season better than the Shockers who have mish-mashed line-ups all season to have a mixed bag of wins and losses.

Shockers, who are just 2 games out of being 500 for the season, knew they had to play hard last night as they were tied in the standings with the Expos and a loss would make either team play the District 5 Knights in the playoffs, a team neither the Expos nor Shockers found a great deal of success against.

Shockers came out of the gate with a 5-1 start in the first period, Ben Ducharme picking up a deuce while Andrew Stevens, Kosta Kastrounis and Alain Godard each netted one each.

Second period is where the Expos showed some sign of life scoring three but Shockers were right there with four of their own. Chris Diabo picked up a hat-trick and Godard scored his second of the game.

Third period was a quiet one, Ducharme got the lone goal to complete his hat-trick and give the Shockers a 10-4 victory.

"It was one of those nights where the ball was going our way for a change. Scoring three is a great feeling," commented Ducharme who finished off the night with 3 goals and 1 assist.

"Can't complain how we played," added Godard who had 2 goals and 3 assists.

The Shockers will take on the last place Warriors for their final two games of the season as should try to win them if they wish to hold their position for the playoffs.

Game Rescheduled

Please take note that last night's game against the Warriors that was canceled has been rescheduled to Monday, January 12th, 2009.

Tonight is Cancelled!

Tonight against the Warriors is cancelled!

Grinders Keep On Trucking

Last Monday hosted the first place Grinders and the struggling Shockers at Le Rinque. The Shockers who have been having a difficult time finding the right combination all season had another game of a mish-mashed lines with no real success in the scoring column.

Grinders jumped out of the gate with a 2-0 lead after the first and then sailed on from there potting another four before the Shockers could even mustard up a reply. 6-1 after the second and the Shockers already felt it was over but they added another only for the Grinders to add two more making the final score 8-2.

Amongst the goals were Alain Godard with a beautiful feed from Nick Sullo who made his first appearance in several games and Guillaume Cote who banged home a rebound from a Godard slapper.

Sullo played on defense and did a pretty good job keeping the powerful Grinders at bay. We would also like to mention that Sullo did not record a single penalty minute in the entire game.

Also making an appearance was Giancarlo Capaz who played a bit on defense and a bit on forward and seems to be making a comfortable impression on his teammates as the most all-around player on the team (goalie, forward and defense), what could be next? Coach? GM? Who knows!

Andrew Johnson also had a spot on the team and was seen on both forward and defense. He made a nice combination playing on the line with Capaz.

Shockers next game in this Sunday at 8:30pm against the Warriors.

Player Profile: Francois Hamelin

Francois Hamelin wasn't a household name until the day he stepped foot at Le Rinque. Hamelin liked to joke that he would be the Patrice Brisebois of the Shockers but even he underestimated his ability of determination and charisma.

Francois' unorthodox diving style during Shockers' games was inherited from who is believed to be his biological father, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Cousteau known for his discoveries under water was quite the active man between the sheets in his prime touring-the-world days. As it is not known how many children Cousteau may have blessed the world with, there are many similarities between himself and Hamelin including such points as standing positions, eye colors, passion for diving, his obsession for love-making and his liking for small tuques.

While on a diving expedition at Roché Percé in Gaspé, Québéc, Cousteau won over the heart of a beautiful, feisty young lady who enjoyed the outdoors more than ever. Cousteau shared his stories of the world and she shared her adventures of Québéc, it was a match from heaven, until Cousteau had to move on with his career. He had to make a life decision to leave his summer love behind and a child that he did not know was on the way or to carry on with his career. He chose his career.

Francois's mother moved to Quebec City to live with her Grandmother as she was resented by her own parents for having a child without a father. While in Quebec City, she began to take interest in hockey and watched the Québéc Nordiques religiously, almost to a point of obsession. She collected hockey cards of her favorite players and tried to get autographs while players were going to practice. Francois was finally born and as a baby, his mother found that hockey was a new form of breast feeding for her child.

Her longing for bigger and better hockey lead her and her child onto a bus, enroute for Montreal. Unfortunately, she had not checked the bus number and ended up in Vaudreuil, Quebec. While in Vaudreuil, by day, she had been hired as a waitress at a local diner but by night she would headman one of the biggest youth outdoor hockey operations known to the area. This is where Francois would find his happy-medium between the game his mother got him to love and the diving that was implanted in his genes from his biological father; as a result, it developed his own brand of hockey.

Francois grew up with the game but started to see hockey differently as an adolescent. The Boston Bruins had become his favorite team and this made times uneasy with his mother was a die-hard Montreal Canadiens fan. The hardships between the two led Francois to make a move to the big city of Montreal.

While in Montreal, Francois lost his kinship with hockey and vowed to leave the game as a part of the past. His parting from the game led him into a depression which then followed a few years of alcohol abuse.

He became friends with Alain Godard, captain of the Shockers, and Ben Ducharme, also with the Shockers. As concerned friends they decided to help Francois to get out of his depression. Hockey would be the solution.

The three began to organize outdoor pick-up games with the neighbourhood children. Hanging out with them made him also grow in love with the Montreal Canadiens and immediately started to follow the team religiously. Hamelin, Ducharme and Godard were inseparable when it came to hockey and the Canadiens. This would be the start of a new beginning.

A couple of years later, Francois found himself in the midst of a revolution. The start of the Shockers. The birth of a new era. As a silent co-founder he found himself in similar shoes as his mother in Vaudreuil. The start of the team made him reconcile the differences with his mother and in return she guided him through the ways of starting and maintaining a hockey team. Francois' new found knowledge helped him be a large cornerstone of the team's operations and communication as well as being one of the hardest working defensemen of the NABHL.

You can see Francois diving and sliding around le Rinque next Sunday, December 21, 2008 @ 8:30pm against the Warriors.

Until then, enjoy this montage of Hamelin's best moves.

All-Stars Announced

The NABHL all-star teams were announced on Monday night for this year's all-star game.

From the Shockers, there were three players selected:

• Alain Godard
• Andrew Stevens
• Giancarlo Capaz

The game will take place on Sunday, December 21st @ 5pm and then the Shockers will take on the Warriors the same night @ 8:30pm.

Each player had their opportunity to comment on their nomination.

"It was a surprise to me, I wasn't even aware an all-star game existed. Even though I was selected I still feel some of our defense should have made the team," commented Stevens.

"I thought it was a joke at first, it will be fun to play against [Capaz] and [Stevens]," Godard said.

"Well it was surprising for sure but it will be cool to play," added Capaz.

Here are the rosters for this season's intermediate all-star teams:

Team 1	Team 2
Alain Godard (Shockers)	Andrew Stevens (Shockers)
Chris Raffael (Warriors)	Carmelo Pilatis (Expos)
DJ Schwartz (D-5 Knights)	Chris Cormier (FW)
Greg Kates (Chiefs)	Danny Zollo (Grinders)
Javan Zawislak (Grinders)	Francis Courrion (FW
Matt Dispaldro (Grinders)	Francis Milloy (Decepticon)
Mike Hamou (FW)	Joey Cocsuna (Grinders)
Richard Quirion(Decepticon)	Marco Lavecchia (Grinders)
Ryan Schwartz (Expos)	Martin Poncelet (Warriors)
Steven Clement (FW)	Ralph Leider (D-5 Knights)
Goalie - Pino P (Grinders)	Goalie - Giancarlo Capaz (Shockers)

Figuring Out FW

Final Score
FW 8 - Shockers 3

So let's face it, when a team has your number it makes it extremely difficult to break the cycle and turn the tables in your favor. Shockers have had a 0% success rate against FW who had been pestering them since their debut season last summer and last night was another digit in the losing column.

Nonetheless, the Shockers were full of surprises, especially when everyone got to see former goaltender Giancarlo Capaz playing out as the 6th defenseman instead of in nets. Marco D'ambrosi, who was recently acquired last week, had a decent outting despite it being his first game as a Shocker and it had to be against the team that has given the Shockers the most problems in two seasons. Shawn McDermott was back in the line-up but was kept fairly quiet by FW's defense.

First period started off rocky as the Shockers fell down quickly 3-0. The second period was a bit better when Stevens and Godard potted one each but they were still down 6-2. The third was the icing on the cake when FW scored two more despite Kastrounis netting a nice feed from Sandhu.

The Shockers will have another battle on their hands when they take on the first place Grinders next Monday.

A Fresh Start

"A fresh start" is how Marco D'ambrosi described his recent signing with the Shockers as their starting goaltender this past week. D'ambrosi played the opening two games for the Grinders, and posted a 2-o record with a 4.0 GAA before the team decided to go with current goaltender Pino P.

"[Grinders] asked me to fill in for a couple of games and they seemed like they were leaning towards taking me on for the full season but that didn't work out," commented D'ambrosi.

D'ambrosi graces the Shockers with a lot of experience which includes several years of ice hockey and some outtings in ball hockey. He decided to take on the position with the Shockers after the team recently parted way with former starter, Giancarlo Capaz, who in fact stepped down after the 5-2 loss to Decepticons on November 17th. Capaz, had made an earlier statement that he would retiring after the season's end but decided to hang it up earlier due to other reasons which remain undisclosed.

Marco D'ambrosi's face is not an unfamiliar one to some members of the team as he has been a good friend of assistant captain, Andrew Stevens, for a number of years as well as he has been spotted at a couple of the Shockers practices these past few weeks.

"He's a great goalie and an even better guy off the ice. He is going to help out not only in nets but in the dressing room," Stevens spoke of the new netminder.

Marc Boucher and Francois Hamelin were both impressed by D'ambrosi during last weeks practice. Boucher explains: "He's got a good style and hardly anything gets passed him, this is a good thing!"

D'ambrosi will make his debut for the Shockers against the high flying FW who have been reaping in a great deal of success as of late, including a heart-crushing victory over the first place Grinders a few weeks ago. Afterwards, he will have to face his old team for the first time this season.

"That's the game I'm looking forward to. I know we have to take this one game at a time and i have to be focused on FW first but I want to beat [the Grinders] badly," commented D'ambrosi

Check out D'ambrosi's debut start for the Shockers at le Rinque, Sunday, December 7th when he faces Francois Courion and FW.

Big announcement

There have been some persisting rumors stating the Shocker’s would be close to fill out the vacant spot on D by signing All-Star defenseman Andrei Markov. Dominic Duchesne confirmed the persisting rumor by stating the following “He’s [Markov] been stopping by the bar recently to hang out with the Shocker’s. He’s a nice guy, he’s definitely the best tipper in the place, I never get a dime from those Shocker’s… Bunch of Buitre’s!”. Hamelin has been spotted recently trying to convince him to join the Shocker’s “It would be huge for us, but for now he has to fulfill his contract with the Habs. We’re looking more for a summer signing, it would allow Mr.79 to stay in shape and would give us that good first pass we’ve been struggling to get this year…”. Media will be keeping an eye on this story, meanwhile new goaltending sensation Marco D’Ambrosi didn’t seem too excited by the developing story [D’Ambrosi] “Don’t get me wrong, I think Markov would burn this league. I just wish the spotlight would be on the actual recent signing and not on something that might happen in a few month’s…”. Captain Alain Godard on the other hand would love to play with a player of this caliber [Godard] “ I would give my left nut just to play one game with this guy”. This is quite a statement from the captain, especially knowing he only has one nut…

More to come…

Until then, keep your eyes on the ball and your stick on the floor kids…

Capaz Steps Down

Giancarlo Capaz has been a cornerstone to the Shockers organization since the beginning and aided significantly in building and conceptualizing the dynasty-in-the-making. However, earlier this week, he announced that he would be stepping down from being the Shockers' goaltender.

Capaz, did announce earlier in the season that he had been experiencing discomfort in his back and would be hanging it up after the season closed out, but due to his personal reasons has decided to cut his season short.

In a brief conversation with the masked man, he had mentioned that he would test the free-agent market and see if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Capaz leaves the team with a league leading 11 games played with 6 wins and 6 losses, 67 goals against and a 6.09 GAA this season.

Shockers have a two week break before resuming the season and will shop around for a goalie. They already have a key prospect in mind and should not be too long before the club talks contracts.

On behalf of the Shockers players and organization as well as the fans and loyal blog readers, we wish Giancarlo Capaz a great amount of success in his future endeavours and much success with his other team.

All Things Comes to An End

Highlights of Shockers vs. Decepticons

"You can't win them all," is all that assistant captain Andrew Stevens said in a post-game interview.

The Shockers fell 5-2 to the Decepticons on Monday night to snap their three-game winning streak; a team the Shockers clearly should have beaten.

"These are games we have to win and when it doesn't turn out the way we'd like it to turn out, it is a real slap in the face for us," Francois Hamelin explained, "a real slap of reality, that's for true."

Shockers, who had decent success against the Decepticons beating them twice in shootouts the last two times these teams have met, let the bottom drop-out in Monday night's match-up.

"We were playing well and then we changed something. We let our coverage down and next thing you know there were open guys in the slot area. We let ourselves lose the game and we let down our goalie," said Dwayne Pilon, who is quite vocal about what the team needs to do in order to win games.

The only production from the Shockers bench was Andrew Stevens scoring a powerplay goal after Gary McDermott's shot from the point hit him just millimeters from his man-business and Guillaume Cote, who received the call-up once again, jammed it home in a crowded crease area. Otherwise, the Shockers' big guns were shutdown by opposing goaltender, Maxime Delisle-Vaillancourt, and a little help from the posts.

Shockers have about two weeks off before they embark on a tough two games where they will take on FW, who is enjoying a two-game winning streak including giving the Grinders their first loss of the season 4-1, and the following week will be against the Grinders.

Connect Four?

Just like the old children's classic, Connect Four, the Shockers are looking to make a connection of their own when they take on the Decepticons and try extend their winning streak to four games. Winning is not exactly a steady wave the Shockers have been riding all season and every game is a constant battle for the squad, captain Alain Godard explains:

"We were happy to start off the season with a win but things got rocky from there. Picking up some key defensemen helped us out a bunch but we're really working on playing a good defensive game. Every game is a battle for us to remain consistant, I think that is one of our biggest issues."

Shockers have been dabbling in some recent success however, where they have been getting point production from both first and second lines up front and much alike from the defense.

"Keeping the ball out of our net is your main objective but when you blast the ball out of your zone and it goes in their net, that's where this game gets sweet," elaborated Marc Boucher, who baffled everyone at le Rinque with his highlight reel howitzer goal all the way from the faceoff circle in his zone.

Decepticons, who are coming off a close-call loss against the District 5 Knights 4-3, will look to battle back hard expecially since they lost the last two against the Shockers in shootouts. Dwayne Pilon, who notched the game-winner in the shootout last time these teams met commented on how the Shockers need to win it in regulation time this time around:

"We're all good and happy to win the game but we have to win it in regulation time to take the pressure off [Giancarlo Capaz] and ourselves. These guys are beatable, so let's do it!"

Shockers Outbattle the Warriors

Highlights of Shockers vs. Warriors

Making it back to the 500 club seemed like a dream that had been slipping away for the Shockers when they stared themselves in the mirror after suffering 4 straight losses back in October. November, however, has been an interesting turn of events for the team who has been able to turn the tables and pick up a handful of victories.

Last night at le Rinque hosted Shockers against the Warriors. The Warriors, who have yet to win a game this season, has started to look like a bigger team when three Poncelet brothers click together. Shockers knew they had to come into this game with a clear mind and not take the team lightly.

Shockers would be without Nick Sullo in the line-up so Guillaume Coté was called upon to suit up in his place and Shockers also brought in Richard "Magic Man" Dinelle to help out.

First Period started off rocky for the Shockers as they feel behind quickly 2-0 against the speedy Warriors until the Shockers finally woke up and struck back when Andrew Stevens blasted home a slapshot from center ice. Soon after, Kosta Kastrounis knocked in his fourth of the season off a Dwayne Pilon rebound. A little bit later in the frame, Alain Godard snuck in a shot from the above the faceoff circle that beat the goaltender farside to give the Shockers a 3-2 edge. But the Warriors would strike back on the powerplay beating Giancarlo down and out after a series of tiny rebounds. Just as the period looked like it was about to be over, Shockers struck back with two quick goals, both by Alain Godard, including a setup by Andrew Stevens to beat the buzzer.

Going into the second point down 5-3, Warriors needed to get something going and they did when Martin Poncelet let a taint slapper go from the left side that beat Capaz five-hole making it a 5-4 game. However, that celebration would be short-lived when Stevens sent a long bomb down into Warriors territory that would be tipped down by a defender and in turn sprung loose Godard, who then demonstrated a great deal of patience before shelfing it on the opposing goaltender. Ben Ducharme would drive the dagger deeper when he netted a shot from within the slot off a Dinelle pass. Warriors retaliated with a fancy passing play of their own but within just minutes, fan-favorite, Marc "The Claw" Boucher would rip one from his own end (no pun intended) beating the Warriors pipe-warmer to give him his second goal of the season. That appeared to be the end of the game right there but Martin Poncelet would have the final word, scoring within the last ten seconds of the game as he benefitted off a deflection off Dwayne Pilon's stick, rainbowing over Capaz and in the net. Shockers would walk away with this one, 8-6.

Alain Godard had nothing but good things to say about his team when asked about the game: "We battled hard and won the game by putting the ball in the net. The boys played great!"

When Godard was asked about his 4-four performance, he simply added: "I was where I was needed. It was one of those good days where everything was going well."

Shockers can celebrate during their week off but will resume action on Monday, November 17th when they take on the Decepticons. Shockers have experienced success against them, beating them in both meetings in shoot-outs. Despite the victories, Shockers are expecting to take the 'W' in regulation time next game, Andrew Stevens commented on the matter: "Enough of the shoot-outs, it is too nerve-racking! We know what we have to do, play the man, make sure we have fresh legs out there and put the ball in the net anyway we can...doesn't have to be fancy all the time."

Can Shockers make it 4 in-a-row? Find out Monday, November 17th @ 8:30pm!

Making it Two-in-a-Row

Highlights of Shockers vs. Chiefs

When you have a three-way tie to advance in the standings it makes for some interesting games on tap. Last night was a perfect example of two teams who are battling for better positioning in the standings as the Shockers would look to take on the Chiefs.

First period action kicked off with the Shockers playing surprisingly well as they have been struggling to make strong presence in the opening period all season. Ben Ducharme started the scoring when he banged home a stray Alain Godard ball that made its way through the slot. Godard would soon add a follow-up goal when he hacked in the rebound from Andrew Stevens' shot from an odd angle. The Shockers continued to truck along in the first adding another when Gary McDermott whizzed a shot by the screened Chiefs netminder.

"Fuck yeah!" exclaimed the big and intimidating Jeff Jasmin when asked if he thought his team played a better first period.

On to the second. The Shockers experienced a little lapse in communication when a turn-over sprung a Chiefs attack and, using a defender as a screen, they meshed one past Giancarlo Capaz to make it 3-1. Shockers would reply in a short amount of time when Jasmin received a feed from Shawn McDermott and fired it to the back of the net. With the game at 4-1, Chiefs started to panic, however, panic would turn to celebration as a shot from the corner took a weird bounce off some feet and trickled in to make it 4-2.

The third droned on with exchanges of fair chances for both sides. The silence would be broken when Godard would score his second of the game when he buried a long-ball shot from Francois Hamelin. Hamelin quoted on the play, "PTB [Pony-tailed Bastard] stole my shot, but whatever, it went in and that's what counts, that's for true!"

Chiefs would score their third and final goal of the game with a little less than five minutes left in the game, when they buried home a tipped shot from the point on the power-play. Goppy Sandhu would put the icing on the cake with minimal time left in the game when he snuck in a rebound from Dwayne Pilon's shot from Shockers' territory to make the final score 6-3 and not to mention, his first of the season.

Shockers make it two wins in a row and they can attribute their recent success to hard work on defense and a new found energy upfront for they have been achieving scoring success from both lines.

Chiefs' #15, Ryan Riback, commented about the Shockers after the game: "They're really good!"

"We know what we have to do every game and there are few things to change from game to game, it is just whether we're going to do it every time we're out there, that is the main question," commented the hard-hitting Dwayne Pilon who's motivation on the bench has kept his team's head high.

"[Pilon] knows what he's talking about so it is in our best interest to hear him out," Andrew Stevens spoke about Pilon.

Despite the Shockers' win, there was a loss that came attached to it. This morning team management confirmed that they received a letter of resignation from forward Nick Sullo. Sullo, who had been ejected from last night's game for unsportsmanlike conduct was involved in a behind-the-bench altercation with another teammate. The team did say to the press that Sullo did apologize to the team and to his teammates and does believe that the team can move on without him upfront. He ends this season with 1 goal and 4 assists.

Speaking of loses, in a post-game check-up Capaz had been diagnosed with back spasms and is still marked as questionable for tonight's match-up against the Warriors. Capaz has been suffering from back spasms this season had recently announced his retirement from hockey due to his injuries, however, he did confirm to finish the season as the Shockers starting goaltender. The team did not comment on who will be between the pipes for tonight's game.

Shockers have a chance to make some leg-room in the standings as they will take on the winless Warriors. The Shockers vow not to take the Warriors lightly as they have been experiencing recent success with scoring against the teams the Shockers have had a great amount of trouble against.

"There isn't a team you should take more lightly than others. You should always come out firing on all cylinders," commented Pilon.

Time Change for this Sunday's Game

This Sunday's game against the Chiefs has been scheduled for 9:30pm instead of 10:30pm.

Capaz's Final Countdown

Giancarlo Capaz, Shockers' star goalie, has announced today that this season will be in fact be his final season with the team and possibly his last of his hockey career. Capaz made his reasons short and to the point stating that he reached this decision after experiencing discomfort in his back. Capaz also freelances for a few other teams in other leagues and it is not for certain whether he will drop hockey all together or fill in on an on-call basis for those teams if needed in the future.

"We're sad to see him go. When you are building a dynasty or even just a normal team to play, you think about goaltending a lot, you got to have someone you can trust between the pipes and [Capaz] was our guy. He's got to look out for himself though," commented team captain, Alain Godard.

Capaz has confirmed that he is all cleared to finish the rest of the season with the Shockers and hopes to bring home the cup for his last season.

"I made it twice to the finals with the Blues [former NABHL Elite Division team] and never won it, it'd be nice to go out on a high note," Capaz said.

With Capaz stepping down, this opens the door for a new face but as this was such a shock to the Shockers' organization, there has been no mentionings of a replacement for next season.

"We'll keep our focus on this season and worry about next season when the time comes," said Andrew Stevens.

Shockers End Losing Streak in Shoot-outs

Highlights of the Shockers vs. Decepticons

Final Score
Shockers 4 - Decepticons 3 (SO)

For a team who has been struggling to find the right combination the Shockers certainly looked like a different team in last night's bout against the Decepticons.

The Shockers did not give up a single goal in the first period which has been rather uncharacteristic since the first period always seems to be a sleepy one for the team to get moving. Quite the opposite this time around. The forwards were coming back to help the defense, the defense was making sure the front of the net was clear and the zone exits were near perfect each time they moved the ball.

Last minute call to bring up Shawn McDermott to center Kosta Kastrounis and Nick Sullo ended up being a huge success as the line potted 2 out of the 3 regulation goals, picking up 2 assists for himself and over-all, they moved the ball well amongst the three.

Giancarlo Capaz, who has arguably kept the Shockers within contention all season was stellar once again between the pipes especially in the shoot-outs where the Shockers relied heavily on him to be on his game.

"It was definitely a different game for us, we played it smart and didn't give them much opportunity to score," commented Andrew Stevens who was blanked of the score sheet for the second time this season.

"It was fun to play something different, I'm not used to this league and to le Rinque so it was a nice change of pace for me," commented Shawn McDermott and then briefly spoke about his shoot-out miss,"...I usually get that shot everytime, but it come off my stick a bit weird and it went high and wide."

Kosta Kastrounis had two goals on the night, both from great passes by Shawn McDermott to add to his point total on the season (3G - 4A).

Shockers (3-5-0) will go up against the Chiefs (3-3-0) next Sunday; both teams are tied in the standings and both are looking to go ahead in the standings. The last time these teams butted-heads the Shockers came up on top for the win, 6-4.

Time Change for Sunday's Game

Please note that the time of the game on Sunday, November 2nd has been changed to 8:30pm instead of the previously scheduled time of 10:30pm.

Also, bring your navy blue shirt to the game as we will need to wear that one for the game. For those of you who do not have a navy Shockers shirt, bring a blue, navy or even black shirt just in case the spare Shockers shirts do not fit you.

To recap: Sunday, November 2nd against the Decepticons is @ 8:30pm.

Bring your navy Shockers shirt!

Don't Call it a Comeback

Shockers goals against the Expos

The Shockers were left scratching their heads last night as they suffered their fourth straight loss in a come from behind victory by the Expos, 6-5. The Expos, who have been struggling to find their game since being league champs this past summer, were able to capitalize on a handful of Shocker mistakes and turnovers.

Shockers looked solid showing up to Le Rinque to warm-up with their heads much higher than after their 9-1 whooping from the previous night against the District 5 Knights and a game-plan to go along with it.

"We talked and discussed about it all day, we knew what we had to do," Francois Hamelin commented.

For the first time the Shockers actually looked organized during their discussion before the game and actually had a chant to start them off which, believe in team-spirit or not, helped them jump out to a two goal start within the first shift; one from Ben Ducharme and the other from Andrew Stevens respectively.

Shockers would get back to business when Marc Boucher would find the back of the mesh with a blast from the point. Soon after the Expos would get on the board to make it 3-1 before the end of the first period.

Shockers would open up the second with a second goal from Ducharme that would spark up some pushing and shuving, Jeff Jasmin was quick to intervene to calm the situation down. Check out the video!

"I had to make them crackers don't get on my boys like that, that's all," added Jasmin.

However this would be where the Shockers would go downhill making a series of mistakes and key turnovers that energized the Expos comeback. Expos netted back-to-back goals to make it a four goal scoring route giving them a 5-4 edge until the Shockers responded with a 2-on-1 break out with Gary McDermott and Ben Ducharme which the end result was a Ducharme hat-trick with a beauty Bobby Orr-like flying finish.

With the game tied 5-5, it looked like the game was going to shootouts until the recent streak of bad luck returned to haunt the Shockers where an oddly timed turnover landed the ball on the stick of the Expos and they were able to bang it home for the 6-5 victory.

Despite the loss, the Shockers looked to be moving more than their last couple games, maybe still not as much to keep up with teams like FW and District 5 Knights but it was a better effort. Also, the first period defensive man-to-man coverage was a decent effort and for awhile was remanencant of the Shockers squad that took on the Grinders.

Overall the Shockers have their work cut-out for them when they go to take on the Decepticons next Sunday @ 10:30pm to stop the current losing streak.

It was the Knights' Night

After the Shockers demonstrated one of their most whole-hearted efforts this season in the 5-2 loss to the Grinders last Monday, the Shockers returned to their bad habits and were dismantled 9-1 last night against the all-surprisingly quick District 5 Knights.

The Knights proved to be the balls, bronze and grit as they pummeled the Shockers in all aspects of the game. New-comer Gary McDemott commented: "...their a much younger team, they're quick. Our guys ran out out of steam quick and it looked like we weren't even running or trying to run."

Shockers did not catch any breaks during the game as they had a handful of great opportunities to score but could not seem to find the back of the net. Also, the Shockers bared witness to a bouncing ball that seemed to find its way to an opposing player to bury it passed Giancarlo Capaz. Capaz, despite not enjoying a 9 goal-against night made all the neccessary saves to keep the Shockers in the game but it was the rest of the team that would let him down.

"We got to get the ball out and stop making bad turnovers in our zone," commented Capaz after the game.

One thing that lacked in the Shockers performance was the denfensive man-to-man play that we saw the other night against the Grinders. A game where the forwards were more concentrated on defense rather than looking for the long-bomb breakouts and ended up panning out well for them that night.

"We fell back into our old habits of standing at the other end of the ice looking for the long passes. Their defense were picking off our passes from the point and we were stuck in our zone for more than half the game," explained Andrew Stevens who remained off the scoresheet for the first game this season.

The Shockers will need to have a big game tonight as they take on the struggling Expos to snap a three game losing streak.

Player Profile: Jeff Jasmin

Name: Jefferson Jasmin
Born: June 7 1977, Saint-Bernard-De-Michaudville
6’2” Weight 225
D

Jeff was born in a small community, roughly an hour drive north of Montreal. With less then 500 resident, everybody knew each other, a tightly knit community and no need to say that black people we’re not a majority in that area. [Jeff] “The classic story, only black family in a town of crackers…”. His dad, Dany Laferrière-Jasmin showed Jeff he could defend himself with words but Jeff insisted to use the good old punch on the head. He quickly made a name for himself and was invited to be part of the regional Pee-Wee team. Jeff kept the rough stuff on the hockey rink, helping his team to make it all the way to the finals, losing to the Chateauguay Cavaliers (Andrew Stevens would join the Cavaliers a few years later). Dany L.-J. was loved by all the woman of the community, pleasing most of them with his black ding-dong. He actually published a book to train them properly: Dany's L.-J. book . Jeff was closer to his mother, Marcelle Jemima, she was very protective of him, and always there to comfort him with stack’s of pancakes. In 1988 she opened a pancake house, modest family business that slowly turned into a success story. The name Jemima is world famous now and a few Shocker team member have express their love of the tasty syrup [Alain Godard] “That stuff is good, I use it on pancakes, Eggo’s, mincemeat pie… Everywhere, every time all over my body, that’s it! that’s all folks!”. Jeff will eventually be a syrup millionaire, giving him the option to pursue his dream, play hockey [Jeff] “For now him having a blast playing with the Shockers and I want to stick around for a while, we started this shit to win a cup and I'm not leaving before I kissed that thing a couple of times”. Jeff has been seen a few times by fans playing with his rock band “Jeff and the pussy willows” [Jeff] “Preparing my after career, I want to Rock’n’Roll all night bitch and party every day… Live fast, live hard, rocker style... Smack, crack, cocaine… Date rape, glory hole, tranny’s… A bukake of fun!”. The pussy willow's will be performing next Thursday in the parking lot of the Verdun Couche-Tard located 38 Place du Commerce in Verdun. [Jeff] "Come one come all, big party... You get a free 1.18L of Colt45 with every ticket! What, what!!!"

You can see Jeff and the PW Thursday @ 10pm in Verdun (Several Shocker players should attend, unique opportunity to get drunk and clunk with your favorite player). Or pass by the Rinque Next Sunday @ 9:30 and/or Monday @6:30 when the Shockers plays the D-5 Knights and Expos respectively.

Until then, keep your eyes on the ball and your stick on the floor kids…

Shockers Down 2 in 2 Games

Highlights of the Shockers vs. Grinders game

Shockers suffered two losses in just two games against two of the hottest teams in the league, FW and Grinders. Sunday night hosted the match-up against the infamous FW who the Shockers have not been able to figure out in club history and Sunday was no exception as FW handed the Shockers their second loss of the season, 9-2.

Shockers tried to keep the goals against low in the first period as they always seemed to have let the opposition get the best of them but FW poured it on netting five in the opening period. FW would roll on from there and not look back. Team captain and current team point leader, Alain Godard, potted a deuce to better his point record this season. Andrew Stevens, Ben Ducharme and Francois Hamelin each picked up an assist. Shockers did look rather dead-footed and lost out on the surface against the great passing plays of FW and it was clear that netminder, Giancarlo Capaz, was not enjoying the bombshelling; he commented on the matter: "It is hard to even try swallow a loss like that when your team looks like it is standing still half the time, we got to keep running and I don't think everyone gave 100%. Look, FW plays well together, and we weren't ready for them."

Despite the game being a rather one-sided affair and was mutually quite boring to spectate the action kicked in in the third period where the Shockers got on the board with Godards pair of goals but also with a five-man brawl to close out the game. Nunchucking dragon hunter, Nick Sullo, duked it out with an opposing player sparking a gathering in front of FW's bench with about 1:30 left to play. Evidently, the game was called soon after the dust and testosterone settled. Sullo would have to serve a game the following night when his team took on the league's team-to-beat, the Grinders.

FW bettered their season record to 2-1 getting both their wins against the Shockers.

Monday night was a whole different team as the Shockers had no choice but to suit up with the least amount of players they have ever played with in club history. Taking on league favorites, the Grinders, it was no easy task, Godard comments: "We played really hard. With such a short bench, guys backing out last minute and not able to fill in those gaps with spares, it was tough."

Shockers played their best first period by far this season playing excellent defense and even scoring one within the first minute of the game when Stevens picked off a lazy pass by the opposing goaltender and dishing it to Godard for the one-timer to the back of the net.

"Dude got caught, straight up!" exclaimed defensive dynamo, Jeff Jasmin.

However, the second period is when the fatigue started to kick in, the Grinders battled back to bang home three quick goals before the period's end.

The third opened up when the Grinders wedged in a rebound passed Capaz and made it 4-1. Shockers answered back after a handful of good opportunities when Godard scored his second of the game making it a 4-2 game but with time winding down the Grinders would put the nail in the coffin with a howitzer of the inside of the post and in the net.

Despite the Shockers valiant effort during this loss the team overall poured their hearts into the game and gave it their all. Jasmin explains, "we worked our asses off out there, we have to be first on the ball all the time, regardless of the situation and that's what we tried to do!"

The Shockers next game is Sunday against the new-comers to the league, the District 5 Knights who have turned some heads with their 3-1 start this season. The Knights handed the Expos two back-to-back losses and then beat FW 8-7 in a close-call game and their only loss was against the Grinders where they were downed 5-3. The Shockers will have Sullo, Sandhu, Ducharme and Pilon back in the line-up and look to have a full bench but only time will tell how the Shockers will bounce back.

Shockers Bounce Back to Smoke Chiefs

Final Score
Shockers 6
Chiefs 4

"It was a nice comeback on our part, we just got to figure out how to play all three periods," stated team captain, Alain Godard in regards of last night's victory against the Chiefs, 6-4.

Shockers once again fell behind in the first period (2-0) marking another straight game where they have experienced a slow start in the first period.

"We haven't figured it all out," added Shockers' scoring leader, Andrew Stevens, "at least we're putting the ball in the net but we have to stop it from going in ours, especially in the first period."

A positive of last night's game is that the Shockers had production from both the first and second line as well as from their defense; including firsts for Nick Sullo, Kosta Kastrounis, and Marc "DFEK" Calavaris.

Despite being down 2-0 after the first period an early second period goal from Kosta Kastrounis' point shot from a face-off deep in Chiefs' territory put the Shockers within one. However, Chiefs would reply with two quick goals to make it a 4-1 game. Shockers battled back when Stevens lit the lamp by burying home a Ben Ducharme shot from the slot and then not even two minutes later Calavaris banged home a feed from Goppy Sandhu to close out the second period at 4-3. The third would be all Shockers when Stevens capitalized on the Chief's goaltender being out of position not once but twice to complete his hat-trick. The game would be ended with Nick Sullo coasting in the nail-in-the-coffin on an open net.

"Les defenses étaient malade en penis, les gars en avant ont jouer bien aussi, Giancarlo [Capaz] a fait son job pis on a pas fourré le chien dans deuxième et troisième. C'est un victoire, pointe finale," commented assistant captain, Marc Boucher, during a post-game interview.

The Shockers will need to step it up next week when they play Sunday and Monday back-to-back against the team to beat, FW and the Grinders respectively.

Game Notables: Ben Ducharme smokes a Chiefs defenseman into the boards at the beginning of the third period to pump up his team, there was no call on the play. On the official scoresheet, Alain "PTB" Godard picked up three assists. Jeff Jasmin rounded up two assists and Kosta Kastrounis got a goal and one assist. Since Kastrounis, Sandhu, Dfek and Sullo each scored a point, there is only one player on the Shockers roster to not have a point, and that is Mr. Jon Sante.

Searching for the Missing Piece of the Puzzle

Many of the players from the Shockers have been sitting around losing a lot of wood from being out of action (both on the ice and in the bedroom) for the past 3 weeks...so much that some have been heard making statements that they possibly forgot how to play hockey.

Captain and pony-tailed phenom commented on the situation: "...it has been pretty tough to keep motivated when you see other teams playing and we're kind of just chilling on the sidelines dicking out."

"Criss... j'ai perdu plein d'bois!" added Marc "The Claw" Boucher.

Despite being sidelined so that the league can catch the newly added Expos up to speed, some Shockers have been discovering other activities to keep them in shape.

"Sex!" announced notorious panty wetter, Nick "Double D" Sullo.

"I like picking apples and drinking beer," added Francois "El Pene de Diablo" Hamelin.

The Shockers will be once again juggling the lines around to try snap the scoring drought of the second line. However, nothing is expected to change for the Stevens-Godard-Ducharme line, there still remains a missing piece to the puzzle for Sullo and Kastrounis to find their scoring touch. Thus far, most of the Shockers production has come from the Stevens-Godard-Ducharme line or from the defense, with the exception of the game Steve Diabo was introduced to the Sullo-Kastrounis duo.

"We need a guy like Steve to come in and help out, but we can't rely on one guy everytime. Everyone needs to work and give 110%," commented new-comer Dwayne Pilon.

"We all know this stuff happens, I mean Nick had a great season in the summer, he put a lot of numbers up. In the summer, I had dick all for points, made me pretty soft but I'm glad I found the back of the net's throat with my shot this season. It will turn around for Nick and Kosta, they just got to keep running and keep digging," lectured Andrew "the Shit Show" Stevens.

The Shockers look to bounce back after their 8-4 loss to FW on Monday when they take on the Chiefs. A new face will be added to the dressing roster and will mark his NABHL debut, Dfek, looks to mix things up for the Shockers line-up.

Player Profile: Marc Boucher

Name: Marc Boucher

Born: October 10^th 1980, St-Hyacinthe

5’9” weight: 198

D

Boucher was born in 1980, his father was a well known tennis man, Robert Boucher. A native of St. Hyacinthe (Quebec), Robert Boucher was Canada's top ranked tennis player for an amazing eleven consecutive years. His mother, Mary Rose-Anna Travers was a very popular singer, better known as "La Bolduc". They had their first kid in 1980, Marc Boucher, and a second one in 1984, Billy Boucher. He started to skate at the age of 3 and played for various local team from age 5 to his teen years. Marc was a prolific hockey player, noticed by the scouts of several junior teams, he had a brilliant hockey career ahead of him. But he slowly started to lose power in his shot, his accuracy wasn’t what it was, nobody could figure out why he was regressing. His coach, Ron Vanderbush, recalls the downfall of Boucher [Vanderbush] “It was really unusual for a player of his age and talent to regress, especially when all the other ones improved… We were puzzled”. Then coach Vanderbush was silent for few seconds and added “When I found out he was a chronic masturbator and his hand was turning into a claw, I was baffled… I couldn’t believe he would throw away a pro career just to play with his pipi!” Slowly over the years, Boucher started to control his urges and was able to regain his power shot, giving him the opportunity to play point for the Shocker’s. [Marc Boucher] “It was a dark period for me, I had so much testosterone and there was just no trim in St-Hyacinthe. I had to do everything myself, sacrifying my velvet hands for a moment of pleasure.” Boucher doesn’t enjoy revisiting the past and prefers avoiding the subject. [Boucher] “I’m focusing on my second season as a Shocker and can’t wait for the season to resume. It’s been a few weeks since our last game, the NABHL is a real mess this year, no wonder teams are considering signing elsewhere.” Other Shocker players have voiced their discontent towards the league [Jeff Jasmin] “This league is broken down… So broken even tape couldn’t fix it! Let’s just hope that Boucher can control his urges and doesn’t start beating off his **** like it owes him money.”

You can all come and cheer for the Shocker’s next Monday when the season resumes. Marc “The Claw” will be looking to rip it from the point…

Until then, keep your eyes on the ball and your stick on the floor kids…

Player Profile: Andrew Stevens

Name: Andrew Stevens
Born: August 8 1985, Dublin Ireland
5”10 weight 195
Right Wing

Born in Dublin in 1988, Andrew Stevens moved to Chateauguay (Quebec) in his early teen years. Having only a few options available for his hockey career in Ireland, Stevens moved to the south shore of Montreal. The Cavaliers were part of the bukake of teams that were interested in adding Stevens to their lineup. [Stevens] “In the end, the Cavaliers made the best offer and my family was happy to move to Chateauguay, the night life there is just crazy”.

The Stevens family was adopted by the community from day one. His father [Seamus Stevens] brought with him hundred of years of beer brewing knowledge.Seamus started to brew his beer in his basement, in an old tub found by the side of a cigarette shack. His wife [Orla Stevens] was sceptical but always followed Seamus, even in his craziest experiment. It wasn’t a secret that Seamus married way above his level, but Orla fell for the crazy old kook. In a short amount of

time, Bock Beer was the most popular drink on the shore. Andrew is proud of his dad and he's been a great ambassador for the family business [Andrew Stevens] “This is a really tasty drink, have a couple glass of this stuff and you’re ready to fight a ninja”. Andrew recalls good times with long time friend and Shocker member Jon Sante [Andrew Stevens] “Me and my buddy Jon have made a lot of testing for my dad’s beer, some crazy times I tell you… I got dick slapped more then once and Jon blew a couple dead bears”.

Andrew has been a great contributor to the Shocker’s attempt to build a long lasting dynasty. He has great contacts all over the south shore and even beyond. The Shockers fans can thank him every time they get to see the Diabo brothers make an amazing goal, or Sante block a shot and fall on his ass randomly or for the latest addition of Dwayne [Pilon] and Gary [McDermott]. [Andrew Stevens] “I’m glad my cousin Gary decided to join, he’s got some power in that shot… it’s like a big donkey punch from the point. It’s cool to spend some time with him, he was also a huge contributor to the Bock beer testing, he sharted his self to sleep a couple times to help my dad make the perfect brew.”

You can see Stevens grinding style of play on October 13^th when the Shockers meet the Chiefs. Come one come all, you might see Andrew dish another hard hit and dislocate another player’s shoulder… Magic!

Until then, keep your eyes on the ball and your stick on the floor kids…

Schedule Final Changes

Please note the schedule has changed one more time, here it is or go to the nabhl.com website.

Schedule Change - No Game this Monday!

Please take note at the schedule change (see right hand side, click the image or on NABHL.com).

The schedule was changed to allow Summer 2008 champions, the Expos, return to Intermediate as they were not able to hack it in Elite this season.

As per the new schedule, the Shockers will not be playing Monday, September 29, 2008 as previously scheduled. Also take not that, the Shockers will be playing twice on Monday, November 17th, 2008.

Player Profile: Benoit Ducharme

Name: Benoit Ducharme

Born: September 14th 1975, Lanoraie

5”10 weight 177

Center

Born in a small working class town, his father, Bruce “Rummy” Ducharme, worked on the family farm. Working long hours he hoped his son would never have to go through the steps he did. Ben often recalls his dad’s words “The land, she gives us nothing”. He [Bruce Ducharme] use to bring his son to the pond every night and teach him the rudiment of hockey. Often getting laugh at because he had to use his sister’s skates and play with frozen dog turds, he quickly had the other kids running away. [Ben] “I use to wrist shot the turds at them, that’s how I develop my accuracy”. Today, it’s pay back time for his detractors “who’s laughing now, I made center for the Shocker’s! They can kiss my ass”.

His mother, Rita Ducharme, was always protective of him, well know in the town for her cooking, she was known as the Pie Lady. “My mom is a huge inspiration for me, she showed me that hard works pays off and that whatever people say about you, it doesn’t really mater in the end.” His mom went through a rough time, people didn’t accept her at the beginning [Rita] “ It wasn’t easy to win their hearts, especially being a cartoon character I really felt different”.

You can enjoy watching Ben’s velvet hands next Monday @ 6:30, when the Shocker’s meet Outcast for the first time this season.

Until then, keep your eyes on the ball and your stick on the floor kids…