Mors Ab Alto 3, Squirrels 1

The Squirrels got a reality check Wednesday. After easily winning their first two games, they again dominated the zone most of the game, but fell 3-1 as Mors Ab Alto goaltender Ryan Meeks made 23 saves.

The shots just wouldn’t fall for the Squirrels, and Mors took the lead in the first period with a 2-on-1 break.

Rob Myers tied the game with a goal late in the first period. Midway through the second period, the Squirrels got two unlucky bounces in a 15-second span. In front of the net, the puck bounced over the defender’s stick, and Mors hit it in to regain the lead. On the next shift, a shot from the point deflected in through a screen.

Despite a desperate flurry in the final moments, Meeks saved the day for Mors Ab Alto, who only put up 13 shots in the game.

Don Marks and Tony Richelsen missed the game for the Squirrels. In other news, Juan Canchasto will be returning in place of Tony, who is out at least four weeks with an injury.

The next game is Wednesday, May 10, at 8:30 against the 5 Holes. The Squirrels then play on Thursday, May 11, at 8:30 against Snipe.

Squirrels 11, Storm 1

There was a big difference between the Squirrels’ 11-1 victory Tuesday and their 8-1 win against Storm last week. Forty-one shots to be exact. The Squirrels only needed 22 to force the mercy rule with 6:10 remaining in the game.

Jeff Ford, Chris Long, Phil Van der Vossen, Ed Bager, Kit Watson, Rob Myers, and Desi Richelsen each had a goal, while Ben Sumner and Matt Borlik had a pair each. Chi Pham had three assists.

Bob Sewell made eight saves in net. The Squirrels played without Don Marks and Tony Richelsen, who is out with an undisclosed upper-body injury he suffered in an Atlantic City tournament over the weekend with the Vipers.

The next game is Wednesday, May 3 at 8:30 against Mors ab Alto.

Squirrels 8, Storm 1

In the first game of the 2006 roller season, the Screaming Squirrels posted 63 shots on net – 25 more than their previous high – en route to an 8-1 victory against Storm on Tuesday.

Despite the lopsided shots, the game went more than nine minutes without any goals. That’s when Ben Sumner found himself on the breakaway and scored the first goal of the season for the Squirrels. Less than a minute later, Phil Van der Vossen redirected Desi Richelsen’s point shot to put the Squirrels up by two. Then, Jeff Ford — the Squirrels’ leading goal scorer last season — made a nifty move around the defenders and shelved the first of this three.

Storm cut the Squirrels’ lead to 3-1 late in the first period as Rob Myers lost the puck deep in the zone, allowing Storm to score short-handed. Myers was forgiven by his teammates, however, because he scored the championship-clinching goal a couple of weeks ago in the ice league, the most important goal in the Squirrels’ five-year history. Storm’s goal hardly mattered, however, as Chi Pham slapped in a long shot during a late-period power play, and the Squirrels entered the half with a 4-1 lead.

In the second period, Ford took over, scoring two more times and picking up an assist. Ed Bager finally got a shot to fall after Storm’s goaltender made numerous saves against him. Jon Magi, playing his first roller game for the Squirrels in more than a year, found himself one-on-one with the goaltender to put the Squirrels up by seven and force the running clock with 4:41 to play.

Storm substitute goaltender Bill Coluzzi made 55 saves in net, while Bob Sewell faced eight shots total. The Squirrels played without Don Marks, Tony Richelsen, and Matt Borlik.

The next game is Tuesday, April 25, at 8:30 p.m., also against Storm.

Roller Schedule Posted

The 2006 weeknight roller schedule has been posted, and the Squirrels will find themselves facing both new and familiar faces. The Chupacabras, last year’s runner-ups, will return to the C division, as will the 5-Holes, who started hot last year before the Squirrels knocked them out of the playoffs. The Bullhawks and Mors ab Alto will also return. Silver Spring, who played a level higher last year, will test their strength in the C division. New teams include Enigma, Snipe, and Storm. The Hurricanes – the Squirrels’ fiercest rivals during the last three seasons – will have their work cut out for them in the B-2 division.

In ice news, the league provided the Squirrels with 2005-2006 championship pucks for their victory last week against Dog Star.

Championship: Squirrels 2, Dog Star 1

The Screaming Squirrels did exactly what they set out to do at the beginning of the season: Win the championship. Despite finishing in third place in the C3-B division, the Squirrels got hot down the stretch, winning 11 of 12, including a 2-1 victory Monday against top-seeded Dog Star.

The game was exactly what everyone thought it would be: Low scoring, rough, and intense. In the first period, Tony Richelsen took the puck from the left side of the neutral zone, brought the goaltender to his knees and tapped in a shot at 8:50 of the first period.

The 1-0 score stood until 5:45 of the third period. The Squirrels took eight minutes in penalties in the third period, and that came back to haunt them as Timothy Deitz scored from the blue line through a screen on Squirrels goaltender Drew Thiemann.

A minute and a half later, Don Marks missed wide on a slap shot, but the rebound went behind the net to Matt Borlik, who passed to Rob Myers, and Myers scored to give the Squirrels the 2-1 advantage.

Dog Star took a very costly penalty with 1:14 remaining, and the Squirrels killed off the rest of the time. As the clock wound down to zero, the ice was a mess of gloves and sticks as a group hug ensued by the Squirrels net.

Thiemann made 26 saves, while the Squirrels put up 19 shots. Myers almost didn’t make it to the game, as he announced late in the day that he might get stuck at work. A few of the Squirrels suffered injuries during the game, including Ben Sumner, Desi Richelsen and Greg Wenograd, but all eventually got back onto the ice.

Marks, Borlik, Wenograd, Myers, Thiemann, Sumner, Phil Van der Vossen, Charles Wolste in, Ed Bager, Chris Long, Adam Hughes, Chi Pham, Sergio Balatan, Brian Jackson and the Richelsen brothers played for the Squirrels. Jon Magi was unable to play.

Unfortunately, the Squirrels will not be playing summer ice together, but intend on regrouping for the winter season. However, the roller team is back, and they will focus on repeating as champions in that league.