Weekend in Syracuse

In a nutshell: Won the first three games, lost the next two, including the quarter final in a shootout to a team from our own league.

The Hockey Game That Wasn't

So we drive all the way to freakin' Kanata in freakin' rush-hour traffic, and the boneheads forget to book referees for the game! What a p***off! We were gonna clobber them, and strengthen our hold on first place.

Oh well, that's the way the puck bounces sometimes.

Next stop: Syracuse this weekend!

Rangers 5, Seaway 1

First place beats last place. I wasn't at the game, but Coach Trevor tells me that when Seaway scored its only goal to make the score 3-1 at that point, the kid who scored it celebrated as if he had just won the Stanley Cup.

My response: Are we starting to have that effect on the other teams?

Next stop: Kanata again, Wednesday night. A Rangers win will put a bit more distance between us and them, making our hold on top spot a bit less tenuous.

Rangers 4, Blazers 3 : Now THIS is Rangers Hockey!

Two big wins on back-to-back nights.

Tonight's victory over Kanata was hard-fought and well-deserved, to say the least. We were down 3-1 going into the third period. Maxwell Sunohara potted the tying goal, and Stephen Fullum got the winner. After letting in a stumper just a few seconds into the game, Goaltender Brett Foster turned his anger into focussed, positive energy, and came up with a great game.

We are now firmly in first place in the league. Every ounce of pride felt by team members tonight is absolutely justified.

Gloucester Rangers 6, Cumberland Barons 3

A good game. As Coach John says, "That's Rangers hockey." Goalie Chris played a superb game, showing signs of getting his confidence back. That grin that was spread right across his face after the game was well deserved.

Not a lot of time to savour this victory, however. Our next big test is tomorrow night in Kanata against the Blazers.

Thank goodness for Mama Bhullar

I was trying to do a good thing, and post a bunch of photos on our website, but I messed up and it didn't work.

G's mom came to the rescue, and cleaned up my mess. So if you want to see the individual photos that I took the night of the Rangers photo session, check out http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=rangers-aa .

Thanks again, Jatinder.

Kingston Cougars 3, Gloucester Rangers 0

A bump in the road. The streak starts again on Wednesday night against Cumberland.

Syracuse Schedule

Friday, Nov. 24th, 14:35 vs Chicago Chill @ Coca-Cola Coliseum

Friday, Nov. 24th, 21:45 vs Niagara Falls @ Lysander Radisson Arena

Saturday, Nov. 25th, 12:00 vs Philadelphia Jr. Flyers @ Coca-Cola Coliseum

Saturday, Nov. 25th, 20:15 vs Mid-Fairfield Blues @ Coca-Cola Coliseum

Note: We only start the tournament on Friday, not Thursday as anticipated, and the playoff round is Sunday, not Monday, so two fewer nights away, staying in a hotel. Your wallets and credit cards will appreciate that news.

ARENA AND HOTEL MAPS:
http://www.arenamaps.com/view_arena.php?position=0&arena_name=lysander&city=&state=NY&zip=&country=&id=622&sport=0

Coca-Cola Coliseum:

http://www.arenamaps.com/view_arena.php?position=0&arena_name=coca-cola+coliseum&city=&state=NY&zip=&country=&id=2935&sport=0

Holiday Inn:

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/syrwe?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/hi/1/en/hotelsearchresults

Last night: Rangers 9, Rapids 4

Not pretty, but we'll take it.

Big Nickel Tournament news

The Rangers are just back from the Big Nickel Major AAA tournament in Sudbury. Our team won the first two games on Thursday, playing excellently. Yesterday: Not so well. We dropped both Friday games. We had to hang around Sudbury until about 12:30 this afternoon, to see how the wild card designations shook down.

Next tournament date: Syracuse, New York in three weeks.