Playoff dates are set for Jay Peak 2023. The tournament will be held from 3/31 - 4/2. Email catamounthockeyleague@gmail.com with any questions. 

Thanks. 

So tell me, Chris, was it an empty-netter?

Very good question and not the first time I have had to answer it.

In fact, there was, what I can only describe as a massive chunk of transparent ice lodged into the far blue line.  I can only assume that this "berg"  must have come from the Zamboni.  Please note that I am not insinuating any foul play or mal-intent by UVM, the opposing team, The Chiefs, or the referees (though the scorekeeper could be considered a person of interest; but we will leave that up to the proper authorities).

Once I had regained purchase of my skates I realized that I was disoriented and found myself skating deep into a very strange place that I was later told is called the "offensive zone".  At this point the fight or flight part of my brain took over and my keen survival instincts kicked in, telling my body the best thing to do was hunker down, blend in and wait for a whistle while standing in front of the opposing goalie. Once I had my fat ass safely out of the way, I happily watched my team cycle the puck around me with the skill and grace of what I can only describe as rivaling the best Olympic synchronized swimming team. I was standing there minding my own business leaning on my stick for balance and rest when something really scary happened. 

All of a sudden a really young, experienced hockey player was standing at the blueline in the exact spot where I usually hide. This player had the puck and he proceeded to shoot this dense disk (that was not even fluttering mind you) directly at me!!!

Luck would have it that the puck missed my person but came close enough to careen off the blade of my stick (ruining a perfectly unblemished tape job that I had carefully wrapped in 2016). The collision of the puck and my stick caused the puck to change direction and shoot up to the top shelf, where, I am told, "mama keeps the peanut butter".

At this point our hero (me) suddenly lost the very important 3^rd leg of his hockey tripod and proceeded to fall on top of what I can only describe as a very shocked and humiliated, one time college and Junior, goalie. The game was stopped as I was mobbed by both benches and the ref proceeded to offer me the game puck. 

I then remembered what the one-time great football coach Jimmy Johnson told his top scorers when they made it into the end zone: "ACT LIKE YOU BEEN THERE".  So I lowered my flag, declined the puck and headed straight to the locker room to cry by myself and call my wife, mom, therapist, high school coach and girlfriend.  

Editor's note: The Chiefs went on to tie the Hogs, 4-4. Also, the top shelf is normally reserved for cookies, not peanut butter, but given the author's heightened level of excitement from having scored for the first time in four or five seasons, we'll let that go.

Friday Night Banquet

Only 3 days until Catamount Playoff’s and annual banquet Friday 8:30pm to Midnight)!!!!

We have 9 Team sponsored raffle prizes this year worth over $600. 

1. Hockey Themed BBQ set
2. $60 Jay Peak Gift Certificate
3. Team Condo Snack Cooler
4. $60 Jay Peak Gift Certificate
5. VT Beer Cooler
6. $60 Jay Peak Gift Certificate
7. Car Care package
8. $60 Jay Peak Gift Certificate
9. Poker Set
10. $100 in cash

You must be present to win!

Food will begin being served around 8:30. Raffle starts at 10pm or when players from last game arrive!!!

There are busses running all evening right from your condo’s

2017-2018 Playoff dates are confirmed.

Jay Peak Playoffs are April 6th through 8th 2018

Welcome to the 2017-2018 Catamount Cup Season

The 2017-2018 season kicks off on Sunday October 8^th! 

The schedule is now online at www.csehl.com.

It is time to get reacquainted with your teammates that you have not talked to since last April!!

LESS THAN 2 WEEKS UNTIL THE SEASON OPENER ON OCTOBER 9TH!!!

LESS THAT 2 WEEKS UNTIL THE SEASON OPENER!!!!

LEAGUE PLAY BEGINS ON OCTOBER 9TH!!!

Playoffs Commence April 1

Playoff games will take place Friday, April 1 through Sunday, April 3.

Chiefs End Marcotte Vigil

The youth, freedom, and independence of one Ross Marcotte were officially assumed deceased as of this past Sunday, November 1, 2015. That wonderful trio of conditions had not been sighted together in Mr. Marcotte's presence for some time, probably not since some time in 2013. Many of his friends and acquaintances have been holding out hope of seeing them all together again, but Chris Thompson, captain of the Chittenden Chiefs and President and CEO of the CSEHL, finally gave voice to the obvious and disappointing truth at a press conference on Sunday evening. In a statement to the press, Thompson said, "It is with a heavy heart that I say to you tonight, it is time to face the facts: we've known for some time that Ross's independence was in trouble; his freedom, we know, was already greatly curtailed throughout all of last season; his youth, well... we can only assume that it, too, has gotten lost and trampled in the melee that is now Ross's personal and emotional life." Here, Thompson broke down and ended his remarks, visibly shaken by his own declaration.

Marcotte's youth, freedom, and independence are survived by his mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Marcotte, and possibly a sibling or two, we're not sure. Said Mrs. Marcotte regarding the loss: "It's a shame, really. His father and I loved getting out of the house on Sunday evenings and catching a Chiefs game. That young Eddie Montgomery still seems full of vim and vigor; maybe he'd like some supporters! He'd probably enjoy a good grilled cheese sandwich once in a while, too."

Marcotte's nascent fiscal conservatism and early-onset sedentariness also leave behind a grieving Chiefs hockey team. Several members were somewhat surprised by Marcotte's absence as he had only last year still been one of the youngest players on an aging team. In fact, more than one Chief recently sighted Marcotte at the Oktoberfest and at the Art Hop in Burlington. At that time he was apparently still enjoying his youth and his freedom at least, in the presence of an attractive and engaging young woman. One player noted, "yeah, Ross looked like he was daydreaming about storm windows".

When asked to comment on Marcotte's departure, veteran centerman and father of two Mike Weber stated, "It's a dangerous precedent, a slippery slope. If you give up your men's league, what's next?" The hope among the Chiefs is that Ross doesn't have to find out. The hope is that Marcotte can revive most of his youth and some of his freedom and return to the Chiefs before too long. Independence, on the other hand, is likely overrated.

Thompson Scores 2nd Career Goal, Handles Slugs as Playoffs Draw Near

   Chris Thompson, legendary Chiefs defenseman and Hall of Fame GM, had a game for the ages last weekend in front of a capacity crowd against the Slugs in Stowe. It was a five point night (boxscores don't lie), including an empty-netter to seal the 9-5 victory for the visitors that sent shock-waves through the quaint mountain village. 

   Having switched to forward with the hopes of sticking a fork in the heart of the slumping Slugs, Thompson stole the puck from Chiefs forward and Stowe native Mason Graddock, toe-dragged all six Slugs, and rifled a blistering slapshot off the crossbar and through the twine of the netting for the goal.

   "It was a great day," Thompson said after the victory while he was eating his wings. "It started when I scored the game-winning goal in the semi-finals of the Lake Champlain Pond Hockey Classic. We didn't get to play in the final; you figure that one out. Then, of course, I dominated the ice out there tonight like I always do. Later, I'm hoping to score in my third arena of the day: the love nest."

   When asked for a comment, several Slugs simply said that Thompson did things on the ice that were "special" and "unbelievable," maybe even "mind boggling."

  Fellow Chiefs defenseman Ronny Dimasi said that he thinks of Thompson as "a mentor and a father figure, truly an inspiring individual, who has helped the entire Chiefs squad reach the next stage of our hockey careers. Soon, the whole team might be playing like him."

  Even though their next game against the Chiefs is more than a week away, rumors are circulating that the Waterbury Wings are holding extra practices just to develop a game plan to neutralize Thompson, specifically working on their forechecking and backchecking and head-slashing. It's just an example of the Wings' push to overtake Flex, but it's still unclear if adding leadership letters to their jerseys and adding whiteboards to their bench will be enough to get them over the hump and into first place.

   Chris Thompson isn't concerned. "I'm only focused on the Buckshots," he said. "I take it one game at a time, literally."

   Thompson will be at Gutterson early this weekend signing free autographs for any youth players wearing their organization's jersey. Players without a jersey will have to listen to one of Thompson's jokes.

Playoff Dates Announced

(AP) The Commissioner's office of the CSEHL announced Monday that the dates have been set for the playoff tournament for the 2013-2014 season.

The tourney will take place on the first weekend in April, starting on Friday, April 4th and culminating in dramatic fashion as always, no doubt, on Sunday, April 6th.

Details on the precise schedule of games for each seed were not yet available.

Week 7 Update - Youth Wasted on the Young

(AP) The results from this past weekend's CSEHL action show the Chiefs soundly defeating the Grizzlys in a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Going into the second half, the Grizzlys, despite their obvious orthographic challenges, enjoyed a 4 - 2 lead. Nick Kehaya quickly made it 5 to 2 when he netted his third goal of the game early in the second half. But that was all she wrote for the Grizzlys, as the Chiefs' resurgent goalkeeper, Christian Soucy, and his squad of blueliners started shutting down the Grizzlys' attack, and the Chiefs offense began to apply themselves in the offensive zone.

The Chiefs' renewed determination may have resulted from some unsavory comments that were heard coming from some of the more youthful Grizzly players on the ice in the first half. The Chiefs were reportedly "fat" and "old" and their style of play apparently evoked a mixture of pity and revulsion among some of the Grizzlys' more purist players.

Asked about the effect these comments had on their play, Alex Higgins paused while scarfing down a bag of Funions, a light snack he was enjoying between his calcium supplements and his post-game mixture of Bud Light and Ensure. "Yeah, that hurt, but I think it helped us. Hey, Sleep, pass me those donuts!" It was a big day for Higgins, as he notched his first goal of the already mature season after recording a record-setting 321 shots on goal over the first seven games of the season.

Somehow, despite their corpulence and advanced rheumatoid arthritis, the Chiefs rallied for no less than seven unanswered goals to close out the game. Of note was Mike Weber's hat-trick, with one in the first and two more in the second. As he rolled out of the rink on his colorfully festooned Rascal, Weber was heard to say, "Gotta go, got Bingo tonight up in Mississquoi!"

Bingo, indeed.

New Stowe Rink is Open

Nov 18 2013

Playoff Dates Announced

(AP) The Commissioner's office of the CSEHL announced Monday that the dates have been set for the playoff tournament for the 2013-2014 season.

The tourney will take place on the first weekend in April, starting on Friday, April 4th and culminating in dramatic fashion as always, no doubt, on Sunday, April 6th.

Details on the precise schedule of games for each seed were not yet available.

Week 7 Update - Youth Wasted on the Young

(AP) The results from this past weekend's CSEHL action show the Chiefs soundly defeating the Grizzlys in a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Going into the second half, the Grizzlys, despite their obvious orthographic challenges, enjoyed a 4 - 2 lead. Nick Kehaya quickly made it 5 to 2 when he netted his third goal of the game early in the second half. But that was all she wrote for the Grizzlys, as the Chiefs' resurgent goalkeeper, Christian Soucy, and his squad of blueliners started shutting down the Grizzlys' attack, and the Chiefs offense began to apply themselves in the offensive zone.

The Chiefs' renewed determination may have resulted from some unsavory comments that were heard coming from some of the more youthful Grizzly players on the ice in the first half. The Chiefs were reportedly "fat" and "old" and their style of play apparently evoked a mixture of pity and revulsion among some of the Grizzlys' more purist players.

Asked about the effect these comments had on their play, Alex Higgins paused while scarfing down a bag of Funions, a light snack he was enjoying between his calcium supplements and his post-game mixture of Bud Light and Ensure. "Yeah, that hurt, but I think it helped us. Hey, Sleep, pass me those donuts!" It was a big day for Higgins, as he notched his first goal of the already mature season after recording a record-setting 321 shots on goal over the first seven games of the season.

Somehow, despite their corpulence and advanced rheumatoid arthritis, the Chiefs rallied for no less than seven unanswered goals to close out the game. Of note was Mike Weber's hat-trick, with one in the first and two more in the second. As he rolled out of the rink on his colorfully festooned Rascal, Weber was heard to say, "Gotta go, got Bingo tonight up in Mississquoi!"

Bingo, indeed.

Former Slug makes good in the AHL

See a former opponent (or teammate) make his mark for the Providence Bruins (don't quit till the 8-minute mark!): http://youtu.be/RubT225gvRU

Stowe Wins Championship

The Stowe Slugs turned back a resurgent Chittenden Chiefs squad to win the 2013 Catamount Cup Championship.

Jay Peak Playoff Accommodations

To register and more information go to www.PondHockeyClassic.com

 

2011-2012 CSEHL Champions

Team Flex

Jay Peak Playoff Accommodations

Information on condo/room location and pricing for the Jay Peak Playoff weekend is available here below.

** Please note that family and friends can take advantage of these rates, so if your booster club is ready to travel, bring them along! **

Rules for Booking using CSEHL Rates:

• All Players are responsible for their own accommodations
• All CSEHL Rate Below Requires Two Night Minimum
• Rates include per room/per night resort fee, 9% VT Room tax, and opening rink reception.
• Only one credit card per room can be charged
• All credit cards will be charged at the time of booking
• All cancelations must be made 14 days prior to arrival or 3/16/12 to get refund
• Any cancelations after 3/16/12 or no shows will be charged for full weekend
• One Credit card per room will be required upon check-in for damages and room charges only
• Lift Tickets - $40 (includes tax) per person/per day. Must be paid for upfront. Onsite purchases at regular rate.
• Waterpark - $21 (includes tax) per person/per day. Must be paid for upfront. Onsite purchases at regular rate.
• Condos do not have daily made service.
• All Reservations/payments made through Kyle Weed at 802-878-3100 or e-mail to kweed@selectshockey.com

Click here for complete information on condo/room types and pricing

Jay Playoff Weekend Scheduled for Friday March 30^th through Sunday April 1^st! 

All teams will be guaranteed at least 3 games (1 game on Friday afternoon/night and two games on Saturday).  Semi-finals and the finals will be played on Sunday.

Additional details will follow!!!!

Week 11 – Saturday January 7th Recap.

# 5 GoldenRods vs.#2  Chiefs –  Fresh off their week 10 upset of the #1 team Team Flex, the #5 GoldenRods’  arrived at Cairns in Saturday night looking to knock off the #2 team, Chittenden Chiefs.  It seemed that the Chiefs wanted to give the game away as they racked up 8 penalties giving the GoldenRods’ three 5 on 3 opportunities.  The Chiefs were able to kill 7 of the 8 penalties.  With less than 1 minute left in the game the Chiefs were leading 3-2.  The GoldenRods pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, seconds later the Chiefs were called for their 8^thand what would be the only costly penalty.  The GoldenRods were able to capitalize on the 6 on 4 advantage and score the game tying goal when Matt Bouffard scored his second goal of the night (and 3^rdpoint) with 13 seconds remaining on the clock.

#1 Flex vs. # 4 Buckshots – Top ranked Team Flex coming off their first loss of the season almost had more than they could handle with the #4 Buckshots.  The Buckshots came into Saturday’s game the hottest team in the league riding a three game winning streak including wins over #2 Chittenden Chiefs and #3 Barre Jets.  Team Flex came away with a 3-2 win!

#7 Essex vs. #8 Whalers – The #7 Essex Eagles and the #8 Burlington Whalers skated to a 5 to 5 tie on Sunday night with the Whalers Adam Krol scoring the game tying goal with 2:40 seconds left.  Pat Theriault had three of Essex’s five penalties in the tie.

#3 Barre Jets vs. #6 Stowe Slugs – no Score was reported by the time this article hit the wires!!

Week 6 recap

As promised the game of the week was played last Saturday night at Cairns.  However it was not Team Flex vs. Chiefs!!

The true game of the week was Buckshots vs. GoldenRods.  It was a seesaw game all night with The GoldenRods scoring and the Buckshots tying it up.  Late in the final period with the GoldenRods up 3 to 2 an unregistered Buckshot (#70) tied the game 3-3 and then with the clock winding down to the final seconds Buckshots’ Captain Adam Rumsey scored unassisted to win the game 4-3.

The late game on Saturday featured the battle of the 1^stplace unbeatens.  The expansion franchise Team Flex faced off against perennial CUP contender Chittenden Chiefs.  The game was dominated by Team Flex’s young legs and full bench.  Although no shot totals were kept, Team Flex must have outshot The Chiefs 40 to 5.  The final score was 6 to 1 in favor of Team Flex.  The story of the game was that Team Flex was without a goalie as late as Saturday afternoon.  Team captain Chris Talbert finally made the executive decision to call up the 14 year old brother of one of his players to play in net.  Although the youngster did not see many shots the ones he did see he will not experience again until he plays in college.

The Stowe Slugs faced off against The Essex Eagles in their final road game on Sunday prior to returning to comfy confines of Jackson Arena this weekend.  Stowe ended their early season road schedule with a 10 to 4 win.  In a more amazing story John Flint played in his second game of the season which coincides with Stowe’s second win. 

Barre got their revenge against The Whalers this weekend with a dominant 14 to 4 win.

We have new points and goal leaders.  Team Flex Captain Chris Talbert is tied with Stowe Slugs’ Captain Alec Genung with 19 points.  Chris Talbert also has the scoring lead with 13 goals.

Website improvements:  League wide Points and Penalty ranking are now accessible from the website home page. 

Upcoming improvements:  Career stats and career stat leaders are coming soon.

Week five is in the books. 

This past weekend The GoldenRods beat Barre 5-4 in what was reported as a very exciting game.  One of The leagues roving reporters stated that “Barre’s goalie stood on his head the entire game!” but the difference makers game in the 2^ndperiod when  The GoldnRods’ Dylan Berno top shelved a wrister “where mamma keeps the peanut butter” and Korey Drewniak’s “spread sauce all over the ice” with a blistering slap shot. 

The Chiefs’ ex-NHL goalie, Christian Soucy, is on the DL for an unspecified period of time after being diagnosed with blood clots in his legs.  The Chiefs Management worked quickly and were able to sign two exceptional goalies for the remainder of the season.  Travis Bezio, Chief’s fitness coach was quoted as saying “These signing were essential for us (Chiefs) to remain competitive as we have always been an average team with a great goalie”.  This Sunday the Chiefs had to sign Jesse Labrecque, the current Buckshot’s tender (and one time Essex and Chiefs goalie), to a 1 day contract to play against Essex.  Essex began the game with 2 quick goals against the Chiefs.  During the ½ time break the Chiefs coach made some critical adjustments including shuffling the lines to create a combination of Lou Dimasi and Alex Higgins.  It was then that the Chiefs were finally able to figure out Essex goalie Mike Basaliere and go on an 8-0 run to win the game.  Jesse Labrecque was quoted after the game as stating “it was sweet to win against the team that cut me right before the beginning of the season.  Although Mike Basaliere played a great game the result was the same as it was when we competed for the starting position in high school!  I WON!!”.  Lou Dimasi tallied 4 points this weekend to retake both the League’s goals and points leader titles (he is already planning on how he will spend that $100 award).

The Buckshots beat Stowe this weekend 1-0 due to a forfeit.  Adam Rumsey, Assistant Captain for Ed Helmer’s Buckshots was state as saying “those rich ski bums are afraid of us!!”.   The league is investigating if all of Stowe Vermont does not have access to the Internet and thus the website or if the Stowe players think Day Light Savings time means: move your calendar back by 1 day, as not one player from Stowe showed up for the game.

The Whalers had a chance to get back at 5 of their ex-players this weekend (Team Flex was created by Whaler players who defected over the summer).  The game was all Flex as they crushed the Whalers 13-0.

Website improvements:  Penalty leaders have been added to the home page of the website.

Upcoming improvements:  Career stats and career stat leaders are coming soon.

It is hard to believe that after this weekend we will be ¼ of the way through the season.  There have been some surprises and some status quo.

Surprises: 

1)      Whalers are all paid up!!!!!!!

2)      Both Team Flex and Team GoldenRod are in the top half of the standings. 

3)      Barre has already lost and tied a game. 

4)      Alec Genung is leading the league in both scoring and points.  Can anyone say cheating!!!!!

5)      Whalers beat Barre with Healy and Gustafson

Status Quo:

1)      Stowe is tied for last with only 1 win

2)      Chiefs are tied for 1^st

3)      No one is sending in game stories or updates

4)      Fenn still has not done any improvements or updates to  the web site

TV Game of the week if GoldenRods vs Barre in Barre.  Can this young team bounce back from the beating by the Chiefs to play a veteran team stacked with Ex-Pro’s and Norwich National champions?  Will the GoldenRods even be able to pull off an away game???  

CSEHL 2011-2012 Season Starts Saturday October 8^th

Welcome to the 6^th season of the Catamount League!!   The season schedule is now online at (www.csehl.com or www.catamountcup.com ).  We are excited to announce that the league has grown to 8 teams.  Please Welcome Team Flex (Chris Talbert-Captain/GM)  and The Colchester GoldenRods (Tyler Bouffard-Captain/GM). 

The 2011-2012 season opens on Saturday October 8^th in Jay Peak.  All teams will play their first league game in Jay during the day on Saturday.  Jay has extended to all players and guests for a special foliage Catamount League stay and play package:

Slopeside condos = $185 + tax  per night per person (sleeps 4-6 ppl)

Tram Haus Studio = $116 +tax  per night per person (sleeps 2-4 ppl)

Tram Haus 1 bdrm = $136 + tax  per night per person (sleeps 2-4 ppl)

Golf when added to lodging is $35 per round on Saturday.  Tee times must be reserved when booking lodging. There will be no special rates for walk-ups during the weekend.  There are limited tee-times available at this rate, so please book early.  If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer please call Rob Hodgkins, Director of Resort Sales at Jay Peak Resort at 802-327-2506. 

League Notes:

1.       The League supports our referees 100%!!!!  Any call made by a referee is final and all infractions are punished based on USA Hockey Rules.

USA Hockey Rules: www.usahockey.com/uploadedFiles/USAHockey/Menu_Officials/Menu_RulesEquipment/2011%20-%2013%20Rulebook.pdf

Major infraction rules: www.usahockey.com/uploadedFiles/USAHockey/Menu_Officials/Menu_RulesEquipment/MajorPenaltyReferenceTable3.0.pdf

2.       A player must play in a minimum of three (3) games for the same team to be eligible to to participate in the playoffs.

With the increase to eight teams the regular season will not be 21 games with teams playing each other 3 times. 

Based on all the positive feedback, the playoffs will be returning to Jay Peak this year (see schedule for dates)!  The playoff format will return to pool play for round one.  All teams will be guaranteed at least three games.  The top two teams from each pool will then advance to a, single elimination, semifinals and then Finals.

Good luck to everyone and have a great season!

CSEHL 2011-2012 Season Starts Saturday October 8^th

Welcome to the 6^th season of the Catamount League!!   The season schedule is now online at (www.csehl.com or www.catamountcup.com ).  We are excited to announce that the league has grown to 8 teams.  Please Welcome: Team Flex (Chris Talbert-Captain/GM) and The Colchester GoldenRods (Tyler Bouffard-Captain/GM).

The 2011-2012 season opens on Saturday October 8^th in Jay Peak.  All teams will play their first league game in Jay during the day on Saturday. 

Jay has extended to all players and guests for a special foliage Catamount League stay and play package:

Slopeside condos = $185 + tax  per night per person (sleeps 4-6 ppl)

Tram haus Studio = $116 +tax  per night per person (sleeps 2-4 ppl)

Tram Haus 1 bdrm = $136 + tax  per night per person (sleeps 2-4 ppl)

Golf when added to lodging is $35 per round on Saturday.  Tee times must be reserved when booking lodging.&

CSEHL 2011-2012 Season Starts Saturday October 8^th

Welcome to the 6^th season of the Catamount League!!   The season schedule is now online at (www.csehl.com or www.catamountcup.com ). 

We are excited to announce that the league has grown to 8 teams.  Please Welcome:

Team Flex (Chris Talbert-Captain/GM)

The Colchester GoldenRods (Tyler Bouffard-Captain/GM)

The 2011-2012 season opens on Saturday October 8^th in Jay Peak.  All teams will play their first league game in Jay during the day on Saturday. 

Jay has extended to all players and guests for a special foliage Catamount League stay and play package:

Slopeside condos = $185 + tax  per night per person (sleeps 4-6 ppl)

Tram haus Studio = $116 +tax  per night per person (sleeps 2-4 ppl)

Tram Haus 1 bdrm = $136 + tax  per night per person (sleeps 2-4 ppl)

Golf when added to lodging is $35 per round on Satur

Congratulations to The Stowe Slugs for Winning the 2011 Catamount Cup!!!

Two weeks have now passed since The Catamount Cup was awarded in Jay Peak and I have finally stopped crying long enough to write my season ending communication to the league.

The feedback I heard was that, except for the last 43.6 seconds in the Championship game, our playoff weekend in Jay was a HUGE Success!!

My therapist says writing about what happened at the Championship game will be cathartic for me and help me in the healing process…so here goes……

Stowe Slugs cruised to the Championship game through the winner’s bracket, including a 2^nd round drubbing of the Chiefs 8-2.  The Chiefs’ road to the Championship game was a little more exciting.  After losing to the Slugs the Chiefs played the Barre Jets.  Barre maintained a 2 to 1 lead for almost the entire game.  The momentum changed with less that 2 minutes left in the game when the Chiefs tied the game 2-2.  The game was destined for overtime until a last second desperation shot by Kevin Sleeper of the Chiefs saw the game winning goal slide over the goal line milliseconds prior to the horn sounding.  The Chiefs then used the excitement of the last second win to power past Essex in the Semi finals.  The Championship game was close during the first half with the Chiefs leading 2-1.  In the second half the Chiefs scored 2 more unanswered goals to lead 4-1.  Then the impossible happened.  With less than one minute remaining in the game Stowe pulled their goalie while the Chiefs began to celebrate on the bench, which is when John Flint snapped a shot passed Christian Soucy to narrow the game to 4-2.  Less than 15 seconds later Christian Soucy came out of the Chiefs’ net to clear the puck up the boards.  The puck deflected off a Chiefs player into the goal crease and Stowe tapped it in to make it 4-3.  The Chief’s captain then made the biggest mistake of his coaching career by not calling a time out to settle his team down.  With 15 seconds remaining in the game Ian Smith grabbed a loose puck and scored a back hand shot from an almost impossible angle to tie the score 4 to 4.  To make a long story short Alec Genung scored the game winning goal for Stowe 4 minutes into sudden death overtime.  The Stowe team cleared the bench to celebrate their miraculous comeback.

This remarkable story even made it into the Stowe newspaper http://www.stowetoday.com/stowe_reporter/sports/article_569589d4-5baa-11e0-b9d3-001cc4c002e0.html

The standings are set.  The schedule is final.  All teams are playing on Friday night.  Please note that there is a different playoff format this year.  To see Format/Schedule goto www.csehl.com.

2010-2011 Playoff Weekend in Jay Peak on March 25, 26 and 27!!

The managers at Jay Peak in an effort to showcase the improvements to the resort and  new arena, that will be the home of the new Federated Hockey League Team the Vermont Rock Crushers, have made an generous offer to the league to host our playoffs in a weekend event.    We have made the decision to go ahead and have the playoffs at the resort on March 25, 26 and 27.    The resort has given the league unlimited use of the arena for the entire weekend and offering lodging for the weekend for only $25 per person per night.   As you all know the playoffs were paid for as part of the full season dues this year.  Teams that chose not to stay and party at the resort will be able to play the entire playoff without any additional costs with an additional benefit unlimited ice time.  We will not have to worry about keeping a game to 1.5 hours.  All playoff games will consist of two twenty-five minute stop time periods and a sudden death over time.  Games will continue until there is a winner (NO TIES!!).  

 

Week 11, 12 and 13 in Review - Highlights

• Barre first home loss since record keeping began
• Stowe one win away from being out of the cellar
• 2 points separate the 3^rd through 6^th seeds
• League avoids stoppage for a few more weeks  as 2 teams try to get caught up with payments
• Lack of game reporting from players leads to News Letter Editor’s embellishments

The Chittenden Chiefs hold on to a 5-1 first half lead to beat the Jets 6 to 4 in Barre.  An energized Chiefs team came flying into Barre to pick up a crucial win.  The CSEHL players of the game were Christian Soucy and Shane Combres from the Chiefs and Barre’s Cory Gustafson who raised the flag 2 times for Barre to pass a mysteriously absent Curt Healy as the Jets top scorer

Stowe has a decisive 10 – 3 win over Essex.  John Flint, out of hiding, had 3 points to take over the #2 spot on the league’s points leader board (trailing Timmy Peters from the Buckshots) and pass Alec Genung as Stowe’s top scorer for the first time this year.  Essex Captain Tom Nelson was quoted as saying “it’s hard to get guys excited to come to Stowe now that Rock Bottom does not serve Pizza and gives us about 10 wings to fight over.”

The Buckshots beat the Whalers, 8 to 6, in a battle for 5^th place.  Colin Kriwox, the Buckshots second leading scorer, was held pointless this week as Adam Rumsey scored twice to take over as the Buckshots leading scorer.  A fan named Wes Welker was able to describe Adam’s night in this fashion: ”Adam was able to collect these goals at the right time in the season.  It goes to show that paying the fee of hard work pays off.”

Weekly Updates

There have been many comments and questions about what happened to the weekly update the last 3 weeks.  The CSEHL News Letter Editor decided to boycott the weekly update in protest of the lack of reporting from players.  The editor does this job pro bono and it gets tough researching games to come up with material.  The Editor would like to thank the Chiefs for constantly providing valuable stories and insights for the weekly update.  If you want to see these reports regularly then send your stories to info@csehl.com!

Week 10 Update

• Barre wins again
• Buckshots, Whalers losing ground

Barre continued their winning ways, beating a game Essex squad by a single goal in Week 9, then sternly dismissing the team from Stowe on the 17th, despite the short week.

Essex played the Jets tough, despite being out-shot and giving up several breakaways. The Eagles' goaltender, Jesse Labrecque, kept it close as the Jets appeared to be "all Swedish and no Finnish".

The Slugs' enthusiasm for promoting the scoring race for all comers was again in evidence as the under-over took a beating in the direction of 'way-over'. The final was 12 - 7, Jets. Standouts for the Granite City Airbus were once again Paul Clayton, Curt Healy, and Cory Gustafson, who netted 4, 3, and 2, respectively. Both Ryan Romano and John Flint scored twice for the Slugs, and to the suprise of his teammates, Flint appears on the scoresheet as having executed an assist on a goal by Dominick Donza. Said Donza, "does a rebound off the goalie's chest count as an assist?"

The Buckshots continued to slide down the slippery slope of the CSEHL standings with losses to the Chiefs and the Eagles. During and after both games, Buckshot Adam Rumsey was overheard complaining that the chips were stacked against his team and that the Buckshots continue to be "misunderstood" by the league, their opponents, the officials, and their mothers. Tom Nelson's son, playing for the Eagles and now playoff-eligible, commented: "yeah, Rumsey's perspective on things may be the best evidence yet of the verity of string theory and the existence of unseen dimensions. Even alternate universes. Yeah."

After a 5 and 0 campaign of shock and awe to start the season, the Whalers have now dropped five in a row, the latest disappointment coming at the hands of a depleted Chiefs contingent of 8 skaters. New father Doug Wright notched two goals, and the Chiefs, without their scoring leader and v-shoulder sufferer/inspiration, Mike Ludwar (broken skate blade), played a perfect trap and got second half goals from Kevin Murphy and Mike Weber to pull out a victory against the lackluster Whalers. The Chiefs have moved under the radar and now hold second place by two games over the Whalers, just one win below Barre. Meanwhile, officials from Addison County have filed a civil suit barring the Whalers from using the name of any township within that county, or the name of the county itself, in any way, shape, or form, in reference to the Whalers hockey team or club.

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CSEHL.com wants your perspective and comments regarding each week's games. Let us know what really happened by sending your take on things to  INFO@CSEHL.COM.

Week 8 in Review - Highlights

·         Barre claims sole possession of 1^st place with win in controversial Midnight Madness game vs. Chiefs

·         Stowe get first win

·          Website Trash Talk Section POST NOW!

·         Final team payment deadline is next week

·         CSEHL News accused of being part of Liberal Media

In what is hopefully the last 10pm game in CSEHL history, The Barre Jets beat The Chiefs Friday night 4-3.  The controversy involves possible coercion between a game ref and Barre player Curt Healey.  Healy clearly hooked Chiefs Defensemen Michael Ludwar with a no call from the ref and then scored the game winning breakaway goal.  After the goal a player overheard the ref say to Healey “You owe me one!!!”  The Chiefs already playing with 3 new players called up from their minor league system just to fill the roster dominated the game only to have a win ripped from its grasp.

Stowe finally seems to be getting back to 2008 form with a convincing win over the up and down Eagles 11-5.  Stowe team spokesman Alec Genung stated “It was nice to get that first win under our belts. Pete Graves was outstanding in goal, but John Flint is still struggling offensively.  Until he sobers up and regains his once prolific scoring touch we'll need to look elsewhere for our goals”. 

In other action The Buckshots beat the itinerant Whalers 12-2.  As this game was a battle for the middle of the pack the league did not have a reporter assigned to this game.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TEAM FINAL PAYMENTS ARE DUE BY DECEMBER 15^TH. PLEASE SEND CHECK TO (or call Krista to play be credit card)

Selects Sports Management
21 Carmichael Street Suite #102
Essex Junction, Vermont     

Fair and Balanced

 In an effort for full disclosure: The league wants everyone to know that the news division has been accused of biased reporting.  Barre Captain Clay Bell issued the following complaint to the league: “CSEHL is like NBC covering George Bush, we (Barre) beat Buckshots "escaped with win" , beat Chiefs "we had to drag guys off of street”… beat Whalers but “game was closer than score”... Combined score was 18-6...it's ok because I (Clay) won $20.00 because the League listed The Chiefs 1st on website...So please a little more "fair and balanced".  P.S. League is excellent this year year...very fast...any faster and I'll (Clay) will be playing for Barre Jr Jets".
Nov 23 2010

Week 7 in Review - Highlights

·         Three way tie for 1st

·         Peters still points leader, Essex Player ties Healy for Scoring leader

·         Ian Smith caught talking to Chief’s management

·          “Battle of the Bad Boys” goes off without incident. Almost!

The Chiefs won a competitive game against Stowe 4-2.  Stowe, onetime shining star, has yet to earn a victory this season.  Stowe was without veteran goaltender Peter Graves, there is speculation that he may have failed his team physical.  Reporters asked why the Slugs have fallen so far; a player who wanted to remain anonymous because of fear of retaliation said “the league has gotten so much better in the last few years and we do not have a large pool of young talent to recruit from”.  Our CSEHL reporter found that Stowe’s issues may stem from a team policy of “Once a Slug always a Slug”. He also reported that Stowe’s star defenseman, Ian Smith, was seen talking with Chiefs management.  Stay tuned..

The most surprising win of the weekend was Essex’s trouncing of the Whalers 12 to 4.  This year’s expansion franchise Whalers had a surprise run to open the season, now entering the middle of a long grinding season the Whalers have suffered back to back losses and there is some concern about the Whalers stamina.  It is reported that The Whalers asked for a break when the 2nd period still showed 40 minutes to play.

For Essex the game brought two generations of Nelson’s showing their skills at the same time on the ice. Unfortunately for Tom, youth beat experience that night with his son collecting a few points.
In a concerning turn of events, Essex’s franchise player and possible hypochondriac, Pat Theriault, finished the game watching from the bench after pulling his groin for a reported 175th time in his career.

Finally in the game touted as “Battle of the Bad Boys” the game did not disappoint.  Barre escaped with a win 6 to 3 over the Buckshots.  Colin Krixox, a player for the Buckshots who prefers to be anonymous was quoted as saying “the game was pretty close in the first half. Things got heated like they do, and Paul Clayton (??) yelled to Gabe Coleman "take off your cage!". Gabe, who is known to take directions well, went to the bench and immediately took off his mask.  Upon returning to the ice Gabe realized that Paul was missing at least one tooth and was sporting a fresh black eye. Gabe immediately retuned to the bench and put his mask back on, jumped back on the ice, and resumed flapping

Week 6 Update

Important Rule change starting this week 11/21/2010.  The last 2 minutes of the 2nd period will be stop time.  To ensure the game does not go beyond our allotted 1.5 hours of ice, score keepers will set the clock for 5 minutes less than the actual time remaining.  Example:  If at the start of the 2^nd period there is 25 minutes left for ice time, then the score keeper will set the clock for 20 minutes.  The period will be played 18 minutes of running time and the last 2 minutes will be stop time. 

1)      Pre game warm-up is only 3 minutes.  Team captains must tell the refs/scorekeeper to start the game. 

2)      All Essex games now start at 6:45 (not 7pm) and will run until 8:30.  Please DO NOT enter the ice prior until the figure skaters get off. 

Highlights

• Whalers suffer first loss; Stowe still winless; Chiefs bounce back
• Timmy Peters claims sole possession as points leader;  Healy still scoring leader

The league front office was recently informed of a possible scandal involving Stowe’s scorekeepers.  Officials are traveling to Stowe to verify rumors that Stowe Team Captain may have sent Brett Farve-esque pictures.  Stowe actually lost to the Buckshot 8 to 5.  In reviewing our reporter’s notes: Stowe's Assist. Capt, Alec Genung, was actually quoted saying "We suck…if John Flint actually showed up to a game we could get our first win behind us.  Now that candle making season is finally behind Ian and Jackson Arena is finally open we can resume our Wednesday practices. We have always been a second half team so we should lose a lot more in December”.

In other breaking news Paul "the jet" Clayton has regained his scoring touch since his demotion to Barre’s 2nd unit…"dump and chase is my style of hockey" adds Clayton "the pressure that comes with playing with Healy and Gustafson can be too much”.  The homeless Whalers were the target of the Clayton brothers’ angst as they finally suffered their first defeat at the hands of Barre 7-2. 

The Chiefs beat Essex 9 to 4 .Mike Ludwar had a 3 point night all while suffering from what doctors are calling "V" shoulder.  Ludwar, a recent Norwich Hall of Fame individual inductee, was quoted as saying “Healy! Did he even play at Norwich?  He has nothing on me, I expect to pass him in points be the end of December”. Another CSEHL milestone was reached yesterday when Sophomore Chiefs' defenseman Anthony Canale notched his first CSEHL goal.

CSEHL Week 5 Update

The Whalers have officially beaten all the teams in the league and remain atop the league at 5-0. However, their first win of the season was due to a forfeit by the Barre Jets. The Nomadic Whalers face Barre in week 6.

Barre was back in 2009 form on Friday night, beating The Chiefs 5-1 in Waterbury. Friday night would have been a great night to do something illegal in Barre because it looked like the whole town traveled to Waterbury and sat on Barre’s bench during the game. On the other side of the ice the Chiefs have had a rash of injuries in the last few weeks that caused them to pull players off the street just to fill 10 spots for the game. The bright spots for the Chiefs were the spectacular play by their goalie Christian Soucy and of course their star defensemen Chris Thompson, who wears his first initial on the front of his Jersey so the fans can recognize him.

Essex beat a talented Buckshots team and finally seem to be showing some of the skill that allowed them to make the miracle run through the playoffs last year and capture the 2010 Catamount Cup.

In the box score section Curt Healy of the Jets now shares the top spot with fellow teammate Ryan LaCroix and Timmy Peters of the Buckshots. Healy had a 4 point night against the Chiefs that included a hat trick.

If you would like to contribute to the weekly update e-mail info@csehl.com by Monday morning of each week and we will try to add it in. This weekend (week 6) is the last game before the Thanksgiving break. Good luck to everyone this week and remember the refs are paid to help keep our games safe and fair, please assist them in doing their job by supporting them!

Week One games are next Saturday and Sunday. Please make sure you review the schedule fo your game time and location.