2012 Winter Standings – FINAL (as of 4/27/2012)

* CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT

Schedule as of 2012/3/12

PLAYOFFS – TEAMS SEEDED AND RE-SEEDED AFTER SEMIS BASED ON FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS. Standings order will be decided based on following format:

• Most number of points in least number of games played
• Head to head wins
• Head to head goal differential
• Goals for overall
• Goals against overall
• Which team can drink the most beers in 10 minutes

Cavemen were finally able to return to glory days and hoist the coveted Woody Cup after stealing the crown from reigning champion Whalers with a 6-3 win. The finals matchup was decided after Cavemen beat Griffs 6-4 in semis and 4th place Whalers stunned first place Ernies with an exciting 5-4 victory. This past season was a blast and our longest campaign yet after kicking it off in October and running all winter thru to May. It was good to see an exciting playoff stretch run with Griffs, Whalers, and Bush Pilots all fighting to the end for a playoff spot. No breaks in hockey as the 2012 Summer Season kicks off next THursday! Bring it babay cause its the best dang game on earth!! (Below is foto of Championship Cavemen team; Front row (l to r): Dwayne Weenk; Derek Spaulding; Dave Weninger (goal); Jasper Lee; Andrew Pulsifer; Back row: Shawn Johansen; Jeff Dams; Derek Rothhaar; Bill Chase; David Treloar; Trevor Calder; Mark Gibennus; Amerino Gatti; Steve Williams; David Orr (injured) (Missing regulars were Bruce Robinson; Mark Zyskowski, and Keith Chiasson).

After an exciting finish right down to the wire, the 2012 Winter Season Playoff matchups have been decided. The Griffs pulled off a huge win over Whalers and a shootout loss versus Cavemen in the last 2 weeks to slide into 3rd with a semi final matchup versus Cavemen. The expansion team Bush Pilots put on a heckuva run but fell just short of 4th place to Whalers who have a dance to the semi-finals versus 1st place Ernies. Shaping up to be an interesting finish to the 2012 Winter Season! Have fun guys, play clean, skate hard, but remember to show respect to fellow hockey players, as well as the refs, who play a huge vital part to our game!

Two weeks to go and it is neck and neck for 3rd and 4th playoff spots, with Whalers, Griffs, and Bush Pilots all in a position to move on to the semis, or off to the golf course (at least for a few weeks until summer season starts up!!). If Whalers lose their last game to Griffs, they end up with 16 points. If Griffs lose their other game they end up with 16 points. If Bush Pilots win one of their final two games, and lose the other in a shootout, then they would also end up with 16 points. A three way tie! So then it comes down to head to head! Which teams will prevail? Hang on guys cause its fun fast and the best damn game on earth!

Got a heated race going on fellas, for first place between Cavemen and Ernies, but more significant is the stretch run for Whalers, Griffs, and Bush Pilots all currently tied for 3rd place with 12 points each. Some interesting matchups gonna be played in coming weeks as these teams play against each other at least once and maybe twice. Those have got to be must win games wouldnt ya think? Hang on folks, gonna be a fun stretch run!  But remember….as heated as it gets, keep your kule as you dont wanna be a fool of a mule sitting on the sidelines looking in!

Here we are folks, approximately half way through the 2012 Winter season. Not only is there is some pretty good hockey being played but we have some pretty interesting battles going on for positioning going down the stretch. For first place Ernies are giving the Cavemen a go, while Whalers and Griffs are close in the mid pack. Expansion team Bush Pilots are in the thick of things, after a slow start they pulled off 3 wins in a row, with 2 of them against first place Cavemen. Bush Pilots also have a few games up their sleeve to make a run for the 4th and final playoff spot. Should be a good second half…looking forward to it so “BRING IT baby!”…best damn game on earth!!!

Two teams starting off the new year differently. Congratulations to new expansion team Bush Pilots who won their first game (3-2) as a team in the Pond, upsetting the first place Cavemen, who saw their new year kick off with their first regulation loss of the season. The middle of the pack is relatively tight with only 5 points separating 2nd and 4th, between Ernies, Whalers, and Griffs (who have lost 6 of their 8 games by just one goal!). Now that the holidaze are behind us, time to get rid of the turkey fat and get back to some action on the ice with a regular campaign here on out until playoffs. Only 4 of 5 teams make it, who will be on the outside looking in?

HPHL welcomes new team the BUSH PILOTS to the league. Not sure if they are pilots from up north or if they spend a lot of time navigating their way thru “the bush”. Either way, kool name, and glad to see you join the most clean fun league in the city, with some pretty good hockey to boot. Bush Pilots will be merged into the current campaign, already in full swing, with Cavemen leading the pack with an undefeated record 6-0. Middle of the pack sees Whalers and Ernie’s Pub tied, with Griffs pulling up the rear, playing some good hockey but finding themselves losing most games by that one elusive goal. Will be interesting to see how the Bush Pilots make up ground with 6 games in hand on the rest of the league. Keep the clean hockey and the cold post game beers going fellas, cause there Aint Nothin’ Like the Pond!

The new season schedule has been posted to the Schedule and Standings page. Please refer to that page for the most up-to-date schedule for the league. Good luck to all the teams.

Heck uva game last nite on the pond, with Whalers pulling off an 8-7 victory over Cavemen. The game was a seesaw battle with the Whalers taking an early 1-0 lead and continuing to take the lead throughout the game only for Cavemen to battle back each time. Unfortunately time ran out on Cavemen efforts falling short by a goal to tie it up late, but fortunate for Whalers who captured their first Woody Cup after several seasons in the Houston Pond Hockey League. First star of the game easily went to Graham Parsons who scored 5 of Whalers goals, great job dude! Congratulations to Josh Lenard and the rest of the Whalers hockey team (Champion Team foto below!)

Will take a week or two off and resume the best damn game on earth starting October 13th, all games will now be played on Thursday nites only!