The Laurel C division will have some familiar faces as the 2007 roller season begins in a couple of weeks. The Squirrels will be reacquainted with Silver Spring, The 5 Holes, Chupacabras, Enigma and Mors ab Alto, and will face Washington Whale and the Swingers for the first time. The Squirrels will play these teams three times each, except for the Swingers, who they will only play twice.
A quick look at each team:
The Screaming Squirrels will make a push for a third championship in five years after adding high-scorer Chris Wautel from the 5 Holes to their roster.
Defending champs Enigma are expected to be a threat with new skater Mike Vogt, who also plays for the Dragons in the B Division, and used to play with the Shockwave on Sundays with Squirrels Kit Watson and Bob Sewell.
Silver Spring started strong last season then fizzled. If attendance is not an issue for this team, they can beat anyone at any time.
The 5 Holes, runner-ups two of the past three seasons, will have to step it up a notch as they not only play without Chris Wautel, but must overcome a couple of suspensions carried over from last season. However, they managed to pick up the league’s leading scorer, Greg Goldkind, after Goldkind’s team, Snipe, folded. Goldkind led the league in scoring by a wide margin last season.
The Chupacabras once in a while pull off a victory against a top-notch team, but typically finish in the middle of the pack. Two seasons ago they knocked off the heavily-favored Hurricanes to make it to the championship game before getting beat by the Squirrels
Unless Mors ab Alto added some scorers, they may be bottom-dwellers again.
Washington Whale comes from the weeknight B division. They have hard-nosed players and can skate with just about anyone, but an aging lineup has presumably slowed them over the years.
The Squirrels will no longer have to worry about Snipe, who folded after being told they would move up to the B division, or the Hurricanes, who requested to be moved back down to C. Also gone are the Bullhawks and Storm. The Squirrels know little about the Swingers.
The Squirrels team practice will be Thursday, April 12, at 8 p.m. All games this season will be in the Logsdon Pavilion, aka the back rink.