LHT 3 - 19 Aug, 2006
Awards
Singles
|
Doubles
|
Summaries
Singles Tournament
The singles tournament was
by far our most exciting yet.
There were a lot of questions to be answered...
Could Ryan overcome his pre-tournament streak of losing to
rookies? Would Adrian manage to choke yet again?
Would Tony just waltz in, get eight shut-outs and win the
whole thing? Would Anne
reclaim her rightful title as craziest?
Would Dave finally win the cup?
Well, the double elimination tournament did not disappoint.
The games began with the sisters matchup, Jane versus Anne,
which was - to everyone's disappointment - not as exciting a game as
its potential promised.
Dave proceeded to show
Trent
why he was last year's MVP, and Paul set the stage for the rest of
the tournament by defeating last year's phenom Alex.
Among all of the first round games, however, the most highly
anticipated was Randy's face off against Tony.
Tony did not disappoint.
Randy continued in his motif of facing off against extremely
difficult competitors... and the home ice advantage did not help
enough as Tony dismissed him 5-2.
First round byes sent Adrian, Alan, James & Ryan into the winner's
bracket with no gameplay experience.
Two of these, Adrian and Alan faced off in a familiar setting
and history held true as Adrian advanced and Alan went over to face
his sister and at the beginning of his long road through the losers
bracket James had the unfortunate pleasure of facing Tony who seemed
to find his rhythm and scored 11 goals in a single game!
The margin of victory was nine goals... this guy meant
business.
Jane and Ryan, old rivals, faced off next, but Jane was stunned by
Ryan's opening game play.
Right off the bat Ryan scored 12 goals setting the bar higher
for this tournament. If
this could continue for Ryan it didn't look like anyone would stop
him and he would be on his way to a second championship.
Dave’s first game was against a rookie and so was his second.
But Paul had already defeated Alex who had advanced further
than Dave in November.
Paul, on the other hand, had heard about Dave's fantastic skill and
couldn't help but be intimidated by the sheer size of the friendly
giant. Both were
nervous and both knew how important this game was.
In the end it was the rookie Paul who edged ahead by scoring
six of his seven goals with his center.
Who was this "Sidney Crosby" of table hockey?
On the losing side of the bracket Alex and Trent had an
extremely exciting game that went into overtime after an 8-8 draw.
On the final round of the penalty shots Alex successfully
blocked
Trent 's attempt
and won the shoot out 2-1.
Alan narrowly defeated Anne 5-4 in another overtime thriller
where Anne was unable to land a single penalty shot in the back of
the net, which eliminated her from the tournament.
Dave and Randy both known for narrow victories, played an
intense game that ended 3-2 in favor of the big man... sending Randy
packing after another bad singles draw.
In a surprising upset, last year's rookie MVP, fell short (pardon
the pun, Alex) to one of this year's best rookies: James.
It was a game of all offense, and no defense as James’
defenders were a little less nonexistent.
Though she was now eliminated, Alex secured for herself
craziest competitor and promises to be back with something to prove
in January.
After an embarrassing show against Ryan, Jane had something of her
own to prove. This was
not a good situation for Dave who had to face her in that do-or-die
situation. It was a
very narrow victory for the two-time Female MVP mostly because of
her stellar goaltending.
Dave took shot after shot like it was target practice
(landing 24 shots in all) but Jane's goalie literally "saved" the
day.
The next game was definitely one that had divided predictions would
it be the undefeated host Adrian?
Or the undefeated superstar Tony?
Well, in a game whose score was not indicative of how close
the game really was Adrian
managed to squeak by the legend.
This game set all sorts of tournament records including 27
combined goals (where was the defense?)
And 65 combined shots.
In pre-tournament and play Paul had Ryan's number.
Now was the former champion's chance for redemption.
But in a low-scoring thriller Paul netted one goal more and
secured himself a spot in at least the top three.
Could anyone stop this rookie sensation?
On the left side of the bracket Alan put James’ hopes to rest in a
convincing victory and Ryan again established his dominance in the
rivalry with Jane, leaving her with the sixth place finish overall.
Alan showed his fantastic defensive skills by holding Tony's
phenomenal offense to only two goals and ending his run at
fifth-place and most valuable rookie.
Now things were getting tense.
The next game was between two worthy competitors who have
proven themselves as leaders in the LHT, Ryan versus Alan.
Neither approached with any fear… both were brimming with
confidence. They had
both expected this matchup and attempted to exploit various
weaknesses in the others’ game.
The game was a nailbiter in the crowd was not disappointed
when it was decided by only one goal.
Ryan would not win the cup this year but he would settle for
fourth-place and once again claimed the coveted John Musters - Most
Productive Defense Award.
By this point Paul was starting to fix his gaze on the golden cup.
He had already knocked off three tournament greats, Alex,
Dave and Ryan. Why not
take advantage of the fact that Adrian always chokes in tournament play and
beat him to? Well, it
did not turn out that way for Paul, and although he would have his
chance at revenge, he had to travel to the left bracket to face Alan
who was now on a four-game winning streak.
This game may have been the most exciting one of the whole
tournament. It was
absolutely the most intense.
Although both were somewhat reserved at first, that
hesitation quickly dissipated and it became a frenzy of incredible
shots with spectacular saves.
It was a very high shooting game with 74 combined shots
(setting a new tournament record) but only four combined goals.
At 2-2 this battle for the finals was going to penalty shots.
Over time, however, was not quite as close and it was decided
even before they had each taken their five shots because Paul was
just too dominant. The
rookie would have his chance for revenge against
Adrian
while the veteran, Alan, would settle for third place and best
offense. Now in the finals Adrian took comfort in
knowing that Paul would have to beat him twice, but he was still
haunted by the memory of last year's final.
Paul, the rookie who had gone farther in the tournament than
any other rookie (except for the first tournament when we were all
rookies) was humble and modest as he approached the table, but he
knew he could do it.
Paul would stick to his game plan of a balanced attack and a strong
defense Adrian would stick to his regular style of play with no
notable defense but an air raid attack by the center forward.
The latter proved more successful. Paul’s exceptional play
earned him tournament Male MVP and established him undisputedly as
one of the LHT greats from now on.
And for the first time in tournament history Adrian did not choke.
Finally he could drink from Lord Hubbard's cup and take his
place in the Hall of Fame.
Doubles Tournament
The doubles tournament was not initially full
of hopeful competitors.
Deep down everyone knew that Randy was going to win the tournament
for a third straight time.
Randy and Jennie had never been beaten in doubles and there
was just no reason to think that today would be any different.
In Preston and Hollie's
absence we needed to find a doubles table to use.
Tony Hernandez offered for us to use one of his Super Chexx
tables which offer we could not refuse.
This table was a thing of beauty and we are all in complete
awe that Tony owns four of them.
Not only are we grateful that he brought a bubble hockey game
for us to use, but we were relieved that Tony had decided not to
participate in the doubles tourney so that we all had a chance at
placing in the top two.
(As I said, most had already conceded that Randy would have his name
on the trophy or a third time).
The first game pitted rookies Paul and Trent against the
second-ranked Clearfield Bruns.
On paper it didn't look like this was going to be a close
match at all... but as the game proved, table hockey is rarely a
predictable science. In
true Bruns form Anne & Ryan managed to score a goal on themselves
which proved to be very costly.
At the end of regulation time the score was tied 4-4.
And although statistically it looked like Anne and Ryan would
win it (they had more shots) it was the rookies who scored next and
advanced.
The second game to be played was Alan and Alex taking on Jane and
Adrian. Both teams had
performed rather poorly last year and wanted this chance to turn
things around. Only the
Musters could take advantage though in their 4-1 victory.
There was some discussion of whether we should actually
bother with the third game between Randy & Jennie and Somer & James
Griffiths .
After all, how could a couple of rookies even hope to compete
with the two-time champions?
But you don't argue with the "Bertuzzi's" and for the first
time ever, the "Newlyweds" learned what it was like to place second
in a match.
The Munson's were able to advance to the second round without
playing which made them a little nervous because they now had to
face the rookie team of Paul and Trent who had just come off a big
upset of Anne and Ryan.
But although the rookies took them to overtime in a 1-1 thriller, it
was Dave and Cara who would advance.
In the losers bracket was an unexpected matchup of two
stunned teams – Alan & Alex versus Randy & Jennie.
Before the tournament if you knew these two teams would face
each other you would likely have predicted it would be in the
finals. But now they
faced each other in a situation where one would be eliminated and in
the first shut-out of the tournament Alan & Alex were sent home and
secured seventh place.
Coming off their big upset of the champs, James and Somer looked to
continue their streak against the hosts Jane & Adrian.
But the Musters had something else in mind as they scored
five goals with the center to defeat the rookie phenoms 5-2, sending
the Griffiths
’ back to face the Newlyweds again.
This game was Randy & Jennie's chance to avenge their loss
and keep their hopes of a three-peat alive.
It was a very exciting game that shattered the doubles record
for shots (93 combined) but the young blood would prove to prevail
as the champs were relegated to fifth place and the rookies
advanced.
The only two undefeated teams would now face each other for a spot
in the finals. Neither the
Musters nor the Munson's had really been tested yet.
It was the lowest scoring game of the tournament (and the
lowest score possible) as the Munson's shut out Jane and Adrian 1-0.
At this point there were only four teams competing for a
chance to play the Munson's for the championship.
To see who would play against the Griffiths, the Bruns’
once again faced off against Paul & Trent.
This was a conservative game where none dared to make any
mistakes. Yet again the
lowest score possible was achieved as Ryan netted the only goal of
the game and Paul & Trent finished in sixth
place - definitely disappointed and vowing to do better next time.
There was no rest for the team that called themselves the
Heffernan's because now they had to face Somer & James Griffiths who
were able to do what Anne & Ryan never could - defeat the Newlyweds
Randy & Jennie. In fact
no other team had ever defeated them.
It would prove to be a game where goaltending mattered most.
Although not breaking the record set previously there were 78 shots
taken. Somer was
perfect (much to the dismay of the Bruns’) turning away every single
attempt they made. It
was a decisive 2-0 victory for the Griffiths who now had their
chance for revenge at the Musters.
The Bruns were relegated to fourth place.
But having stood on her head just minutes ago, the Griffiths goalie came up
short this time as Jane scored twice.
Although he neglected his
goalie duties or most of the game (bad habits) Adrian somehow managed to come up with the
shut-out. Thus ended
the incredible rookie performance of Somer & James at third place.
Jane & Adrian on the other hand were, for the first time, in
the finals.
In order to win, the Musters would have to defeat the undefeated
Munsons - and they have to do it twice.
After the first game it looked like they just might do it
too. Jane was, yet
again spectacular - scoring all four goals... but the Musters’
defense almost blew it as the Munson's nearly came back in the last
minute. This time there
was no overtime, and the championship rested on one final game.
They switched sides and faced off for the last time.
Both teams had lost only one game, neither team had ever been
to the finals before.
Both wanted it more than ever.
Now in previous games when a team has played conservatively
taking few risks it usually proved to be their demise so everyone
expected a game of 70 + shots where caution was thrown to the wind.
But with only 18 combined shots, it was a very careful, very
calculated match. And the
precision paid off for Dave & Cara as they held on to an early lead
to finish 3-2, deflating Jane and Adrian, and earning them a spot in
the Hall of Fame and on the doubles championship trophy forever.
Statistics
Click here for LHT 3 stats (coming soon)