5-DEC-2009
A Division Grand Final
Sonics Complete Their Dominant Season
Grand Final: Glenmore Park Druids vs. Werrington County Sonics by Tim Brown
There have been a few Sonics v Druids grand finals over the years. Druids having the better of the encounters winning three of the four. This fifth grand final between the two teams was a chance for Sonics best chance to pull one back. Sonics finished the season on top of the table with only a single loss (Ravens) and a goal difference of +15. Druids on the other hand only just made it into the finals in fourth spot with a goal difference of -5, their defence, a real issue, conceeding more goals than any other team but as always potent in attack with only Sonics scoring more goals. So onto the game...which started with a face-off win to Druids and they were quickly on the attack and in fact their they stayed for most of the first half. Certainly a sound strategy for a team with defensive frailties was to make the other team do all the defending. Sonics really didn't know what hit them. Shots came flying in from all angles and best they Sonics could do was hang on. When they did get the ball a Druids pressed and forced a turnover. It was under this pressure that Druids took the lead, a hard shot managing to squeeze through onto the goal line then helped over the line by a Sonics defender (whose real intention was totally the opposite). Druids continued to pressure thought Sonics did make one notable foray up the ice a cross to Jason Wheeler whose shot was smartly saved by Hansen in goals for Druids. 1-nil at halftime Druids dominating the game. Sonics were happy to be only a goal down but a little shaken by how hard Druids had come out. Having come from behind a few times during the season and in fact in the qualifying final against Rangers they felt confident they could get back into the match. The second half saw Druids pressing once more but, Sonics started to find more space. Kerry Baxter providing a through ball over the redline and in behind the Druids defender for Jason Wheeler to run onto. Wheeler quickly closed on goal and shot into the bottom corner of the far post for Sonics equaliser, 1-1. Sonics then started to see more possession, a cross from Jason Wheeler volleyed in front of goal by Cecilia Kim but saved by the keeper. At about the midway point Sonics picked the ball up behind their own net, then a couple of passes around the boards to Kerry Baxter, seeing Tim Brown moving for a pass just inside the redline Baxter passed, two defenders then closed on Brown who was able to get the ball just over halfway and slip a through ball for Paul Stockbridge, who was now clean through on goal. Brown then also ran quickly up in support. Stockbridge drew the keeper before laying off the ball for Brown to one-time into the net. Sonics ahead 2-1. The closing minutes saw Druids pull their keeper and lay siege to Sonics goal, a final booming shot from Saxon Hooper, their last chance for an equaliser, bravely blocked by Baxter, the rebound picked up and held for the remaining seconds.

Goal 1 - Saxon Hooper	Goal 2 - Jason Wheeler	Goal 3 - Tim Brown

Mixed A Division Champions - Werrington County Sonics
Back From Left: Kerry Baxter, Tim Brown, Jason Wheeler, Paul Stockbridge
Front from Left: Cecilia Kim, Andrew Chapman, Dee Scarano, Amran Sinha




Mixed A Division Runners Up - Glenmore Park Druids
Back From Left: Dom Colyer, Damian Colyer, Ryan Findlayson, Saxon Hooper, Glen Butler-Fleming
Front from Left: Ghis Calloc'h, Allie Camac-Benson, Linda Findlayson, Bec Davis

5-DEC-2009
B Division Grand Final
Team IceBucket put Titan's Run on Ice
Grand Final: Titans vs. Team Ice Bucket by Liam Golding
A friendly grudge match, but with more at stake than usual, TIB hoping to reverse the result of the qualifying final, and numerous seasons a runners up, whilst Titans were hoping to repeat their performance, and take the title home in their first b grade season. TIB again finding a whole 6 players on the ice via Steph and Justin still felt outpaced by Titans plethora of players. However we controlled the ball in our half well, and ran the game at our pace as much as we could. All went smoothly except for my penalty for interference / body slamming Dave in-the-back Degruyter. One goal up at half time, we were still happy with our game, and continued pressure found another goal in the second half. A few minutes after that Titans got on the board, and you could see the energy in their team. This was fizzled out a few minutes later when Bry ran through their team - yes we've been working on him all season - but he ran and got the ball in our half, ran up to their goals and scored. 3-1 which we defended till time up. TIB finally going the distance and taking the title. :) :) :)

Mixed B Division Champions - Team IceBucket
Back From Left: Justin McMillian, Alex Williams, Bryan Macklin, Liam Golding, Lisa Price
Front from Left: Stephanie Day, Mark Price




Mixed B Division Runners Up - Titans
Back From Left: Reese Shepherd, Jesse Blakeny, Dave Degruyter, Russell Gregory, Greg Dezmen
Front from Left: Nissa Jones, Kathy Andrew, Skye Blakeny, Bryn Shepherd

5-DEC-2009
C Division Grand Final
Brass Monkeys Bag the Knights
Grand Final: Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
This season's C Grade Grand Final placed the Brass Monkeys against rivals The Knights Who Say Broomball after the Knights toppled the Ice Devils for a Grand Final spot. Due to the dreaded Schoolies week the Monkeys came into the game without Joshua "Cousin Josh" Coates and Jordan "Super-Goalie-yet-still-our-leading-goal-scorer" Martin-Waterhouse, leaving us with only five players. Thankfully, Justin MacMillan from the Ice Devils gave us a much needed sixth player giving us a full team (thanks heaps Justin). The first half started off relatively slow, until Bryn Shepherd rocketed a shot from nearly the half way point straight past most of the Knights into the back of the net (Im pretty sure everyone paused for a second in shock). Well that pretty much opened up the flood gates. Bryn went on to score a second, followed by Justin taking on two defenders to get his for the day, finished by Justin making an excellent pass to myself in front of goals to put us up 4-0. Whilst Ashleigh could have made it 5-0 with her miss in front of goals whilst the goalie was down, we wont hold it against her as she had just returned from Schoolies with an hours sleep. With the first half coming to an end the Monkeys went to the side line tired but knowing we still had to hold off the Knights who would be able to quite easily dissolve our lead if we slackened off. For the second period we worked at slowing the game down, which seemed to work as we only gave away one goal to a hard working Knights team, who seemed to be lacking the luck we had in the first. Both teams continued a fare amount of shots on goal but with neither team able to score the C-Grade season came to a finish with the Brass Monkeys winning our first title in our second year of competition, 4-1. Thanks to the Knights for not only a tough Grand final but also a challenging season, to the rest of the Brass Monkeys (Bryn and Reece Shepherd, Catherine McDonald, Ashleigh Priestly and Justin MacMillan) for playing an excellent game, and also to Joshua Coates and Jordan Martin-Waterhouse who played a large part of the Monkeys making our second Grand Final. Looking forward to next year for what should be an even better season.

Goal 1 - Bryn Shepherd	Goal 2 - Bryn Shepherd	Goal 3 - Justin McMillan	Goal 4 - Ryan Priestly	Goal 5 - Brett Ackling

Mixed C Division Champions - Brass Monkeys
Back From Left: Bryn Shepherd, Ash Priestly, Catherine McDonald
Front from Left: Reese Shepherd, Ryan Priestly, Justin McMillan




Mixed C Division Runners Up - Knights Who Say Broomball
Back From Left: Lana Kuipers, Lucy Kuipers, Bec Collier
Front from Left: Nathan Ackling, Pearce van da Pol, Josh Burton, Brett Ackling

5-DEC-2009
womens Division Grand Final
Furies Sneak Past HockeyRoos
Grand Final: Crimson Furies vs. HockeyRoos by Cecilia Kim
Second game for the season and also the last in this quick-and-the-dead knock-out comp! The HockeyRoos, relatively new to the ice, were up against the Crimson Furies, a team of more seasoned players. But the HockeyRoos were not to be underestimated! The Roos started the game with good possession of the ball. Strong defensive skills from both teams meant the first half was a struggle for both teams, not able to break free or clear shots past keepers Jo Mitchell and Katie Robson. Not even on a penalty advantage to the Furies when Ghislaine Calloc'h was called for holding. The second half saw more controlled passing, good one-twos between the Roos and an almost goal from Bec Davies on a breakaway. With about 5 minutes to go, and nil all round, Lisa Price was able to pass a quick ball to a keen Tracy Ivin who smacked the ball into the back of the net, bringing much joy to the Furies! Crimson Furies 1, defeated HockeyRoos 0.

Womens Division Champions - Crimson Furies
Back From Left: Kerry Baxter, Bec Collier, Tracy Ivin, Catherine McDonald
Front from Left: Cecilia Kim, Lisa Price, Bec Davis




Womens Division Runners Up - HockeyRoos
From Left: Danielle Mitrevski, Ghis Calloc'h, Allie Camac-Benson, Simone Lenic, Kerryn Lawler

5-DEC-2009
Mens Division Grand Final
Terminators Undefeated for the Whole Year
Grand Final: Warriors vs. Terminators by Tim Brown
Undefeated this season, and the season before, and bolstered by the return of Tim Roffey, who had missed every game this season, but missing a key player Davin Harvey, this match reporter really has no idea what he was building to by linking all that rubbish together into a single sentence ( probably it could be argued that, in fact, that was a valid sentence). Perhaps Terminators were looking good for another Grand Final, but with Harvey missing they were probably going to struggle. Then again I'm not that sure why Terminators keep winning. The team certainly isn't miles ahead of the other men's teams, especially todays opponents Warriors. I suspect it may be to do with James Kristof doing a sterling job between the pipes every match. This match, a grand final, was to prove no different. Warriors had their chances for sure in this game. Thanks to some good desperate defence and great keeping thought they couldn't find the net. The winner scored by Brown (me) was a practiced routine. Before this shot I'd taken about 4 hard shots on goal catching the keeper in the head twice and cracking two defenders in the helmet the other two. The goal, well the shot was hit hard enough for sure and from only about 5 metres from goal. It's direction though, I'd say the Chandelier in the lobby was relieved when it caught yet another defenders helmet, a glancing blow to the face cage, flattening the balls trajectory and directing it away from the goal keeper and into the far top corner of the net. Sorry Warriors not much you could do about that one, except duck I guess. Finals score Terminators 1 def Warriors 0.

Mens Division Champions - Terminators
Back From Left: Tim Brown, James Dymond, James Kristof, Dom Colyer, Tim Roffey
Front from Left: Reese Shepherd, Amran Sinha, Andrew Chapman, Greg Dezman




Mens Division Runners Up - Warriors
Back From Left: Martin Sultana, Ryan Findlayson, Saxon Hooper, Kieran McDonald, Jason Wheeler, Aaron Dymond, Luke Simmonds
Front from Left: Brett Ackling, Russell Gregory, Bryn Shepherd, Dave DeGruyter

3-DEC-2009
A Division - Finals
Druids v Sonics.. Again!
Preliminary Final: Glenmore Park Druids vs. Penrith City Rangers by Saxon Hooper
Druids have had a shaky season to say the least but a confidence boosting win over River Rats in the Elimination final gave them some hope going into the prelim final with Rangers. Druids started well settling into their offence, however no goals for them in the first half. Rangers with their pace are always dangerous on the counter however no goals for them either. Early in the second half Ryan Findlayson got a pass away to Saxon Hooper who scored. 1-0 druids just minutes into the second. Some good forecheck pressure and a turn over saw Dom Colyer with only the keeper to beat, 2-0 Druids. Druids held out until the last 8 seconds where James Kristof pulled one back for Rangers.. too little too late unfortunately. 2-1 Win for Druids, into the Grand Final vs Werrington County Sonics.

3-DEC-2009
B Division - Finals
Team IceBucket End Druids B Grade Domination
Preliminary Final: Glenmore Park Druids vs. Team IceBucket by Liam Golding
TIB came from the qualifying final, looking for another chance to prove their worth, whilst Druids B were hoping to continue their form from their elimination final against Huskies. TIB fielded a fuller team, including Bree, Steph and Justin. I cant even remember the score, but i can tell you we won, but not so easily.. I have this nagging thought in the back of my head that it was a 2-1 win, but that was also the penalty scoreline... I was the first to be sent off; either tripping or obstructively falling in front of damo as he ran for the goal... Then much later in the game Bry got done for interfering with Davin. But this turned into a double send off as Alana spent 2 minutes with Bry for misconduct. In the end though, we held out for a satisfying win.

3-DEC-2009
C Division - Finals
Knights Who Say Grand Final
Preliminary Final: Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Ice Devils by Josh Burton
Tonight showed the season progressing one step before the climax of the Grand Final. The grand final qualifier saw last week�s losers, wanting redemption, the Knights against the Ice Devils, attempting to go the hard road to the Grand Final. The match started out few attacking raids, to test the water, so to speak. The Knights pulled the first goal out of nothing, on the back of constant Ice Devils attack, and took the 1-0 lead into half time. The second half saw more evenly contested in seeing the Knights getting a 2-0 lead early on, thanks to Brett. Ice Devils produced some attacking flair to bring a goal to make it interesting, but was overshadowed by Pierce�s second goal to leave the score after the much relieved, but increasingly annoying stop clock 3-1 at full time. Congratulations to our team. We also give congrats to Ice Devils for great, competitive contests and hope everyone is back next season. (Another mention: The trend of the season, the girls getting all the penalties) Knights have a date for the title against the Brass Monkeys on Saturday afternoon.
Preliminary Final: Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Ice Devils by Bec Collier
Elimination finals saw friendly rivals Ice Devils come up against the Knight Who Say Broomball with both teams hungry for the win. At half time it was anyones game with only one goal let through, scored by Pearce from a Brett assist 1-0 Knights. Both teams pushed in the second half with plenty of shots on for Ice Devils, but Pearce was able to get a second goal for the Knights, much to his own surprise. Ffej managed to get one through for Ice Devils because his arms and legs are just too long for the normal person to challenge. Pearce getting more action than ever was able to get in there again with a brilliant pass to Brett for a wonderful third goal for the Knights to seal the win 3-1 KWSB. Full credit to the Devils for not only a great game but a fantastic season, with some new recruits to the sport this season stepping up, always a pleasure to come up against your team. Two McDonald's down, one more to go, bring on Brass Monkeys on Saturday!

30-NOV-2009
A Division - Finals
Sonics Straight Through
Qualifying Final: Werrington County Sonics vs. Penrith City Rangers by Tim Brown
Sonics started the game with a flourish pinning Rangers in their half for much of the first half. Rangers held firm though Cecilia Kim was close to opening the scoring when Paul Stockbridge crossed through a congested goal mouth with Ceez on the back post striking a shot but the keeper dove across making the save and then the defence scrambled it away. Sonics continued to press and create chances, then Ranger Liam Golding pressured Tim Brown forcing a mistake. Golding, with the possibility of a break, was unable to break through onto the loose ball, not sure why he did seem to have trouble gaining speed for some reason. Unbelievably the referee then sent Brown off for holding (which I would never do ;-). So Sonics short, Rangers won possession, James Kristof seeing a gap fired in a shot which seemed to take a deflecting - goal! Rangers converting their power play within 20 seconds. Sonics then back on the attack now behind, a Rangers turnover on breakout saw Brown in on goal with Kim in support. The keeper just sticking out a hand to make the save. Rangers with the lead at the break.
The second half again saw Sonics come out fast, but now Rangers were picking off a few passes and starting to look more dangerous. Rangers almost through on the 3 on 1 break but for one forward being too keen being called offside. Sonics a lob over the top from Brown to Baxter who controlled it then just shot wide. The Brown with the ball on the wing cut in off the back boards and toward the near post. Rangers defence there in numbers and Brown lost the ball but not out of reach, a shot, blocked the ball loose. Brown was able to flick the ball across to the back post where Paul Stockbridge had been waiting to knock in the equaliser. Back on equal terms Sonics seemed to lift their efforts again, minutes later Jason Wheeler made a break down the wing, his centering pass to Brown eliminating the remaining defenders. Brown's shot, well stuck, but at the keeper was fortunate to squeeze through and give Sonics the lead. The again not long after a ball from Brown over the top to Wheeler running through in behind the Rangers defence then a cross to Stockbridge to wrap up the game and put Sonics through to the Grand Final.

Elimination Final: Glenmore Park Druids vs. Parramatta RiverRats by Saxon Hooper
Rats and Druids met in the last round of the season in a high scoring encounter which saw Rats win by 4 goals to 2. Druids needed to lift if they were to survive the first round of the finals. Both teams missing stars, Sam and Karen Boer for Rats off to live in England for a year and Druids without Canadian super import JC Huet. Rats starting the better, good pressure leading to turn overs, leading to shots on goal. Good keeping keeping Druids in the game. Druids finally settled and started to create some chances of their own, however neither team could crack the others defence. 0-0 half time. It was Druids that broke open the game with Dom Colyer getting the ball and finding Ally CamacBenson who slotted it wide of the keeper. No long later Dom again the feeder putting saxon Hooper into the clear over half way. With the keeper coming out hard, Hooper dropped into a slide early, pushing the ball wide (maybe a wider than he meant to), smacked a super hand thingy goal into the top corner. 2-0 Druids. Rats didnt relent the pressure and were unlucky on a couple of occassions not to halve the lead, Druids hanging on for the 2-0 win. Druids now meet Rangers in the preliminary final for the right to take on Sonics in the Grand Final.

30-NOV-2009
B Division - Finals
Titans the Real Deal
Qualifying Final: Titans vs. Team IceBucket by Russell Gregory
Finals Time - The prelim final sees the top two teams, Team Ice Bucket and The Titans taking eachother on in an epic game, to decide who would be first through to the Grand Final on saturday. The Game was quick, very quick, and a see-saw battle ensued. Some good attacking opportunities for both teams went begging, and it was only a Liam goal in the dying seconds of the first half that saw the Buckets take the lead to the break. The Titans knew what they had to do, and some awesome defence from the girls in particular saw the score remain 1-0 to Buckets with only 6 minutes left on the clock. Bryn Shepherd took matters into his own hands, making a break down the left side and shooting backhanded rocketed one it to tie it up. Some tired defence from both teams saw the game locked up at 1 all at the end of the second. In to overtime we go. The Titans needed to get on the board early and exploited the overcommitement in attack from the Buckets, and slotted home a double to Bryn Shepherd. Reece Shepherd completed the brotherly hat trick and the Titans are on their way to the Grand Final in their First Season in B grade, a fantastic effort from the whole Team - Now, who will they play? a Druids team on the up or Team Ice Bucket out looking for redemption? Time will tell.......

Elimination Final: Glenmore Park DruidsB vs. Huskies by Matt Hellyer
Both teams in tonight�s game sported a full side and numerous subs, indicating that an intense game was to ensue. As the ball dropped, the fierce battle for possession commenced. Over the course of the first half both teams had sustained periods of offense, making frequent fast breaks, quick passes and hard hits in an attempt to score. It wasn�t until a run by DruidsB captain Damian Colyer, supported by Matt Hellyer, that the deadlock was broken. As Damian came in close to the goals he managed to draw out the defending keeper. A late pass to Matt as he slid past the other side of the goals was fortunately collected by an outstretched broom and dragged into the goals as he shot past them. This fired up both teams even more, and the regular subbing kept both sides fresh. Back and forth the ball went, with sometimes a foot, shoulder or goal post the only thing stopping more goals from being scored. The second half saw the level of competition increase, with a number of solo runs and great passes shut down by strong defensive play from both teams. In the dying seconds of the game, a scare came for DruidsB when Huskies were able to bring the ball right up to the goals, but were unable to send it to the back of the net before the siren sounded full time. A close game by all accounts and a strong performance by both Huskies and DruidsB with the latter ultimately successful winning 1-0.

26-Nov-2009
C Division - Finals
Brass Monkeys into Grand Final !!
Elimination Final: ATOmix vs. Ice Devils by Mitch Burret
Their prior encounters going into the match meant that Atomix and Ice Devils were tied at 1 match a piece, both wins scored in overtime. This was to be the decider.. The game started out at a fast pace with good offense and defence from both teams. An early goal by Steph was disallowed :( but that was soon followed up by Josh, who ensured we had a point on the board. ATO fought back, getting one past the keeper (me..whoops), to level the game going into half time. In the second half, the game resumed the fast pace, with both teams eager to gain a win that didn't happen in overtime. Kieran's long shot put one in the goals, but it was disallowed, followed by a heated discussion between the Cap'n and the Ref. Luckily no fisticuffs, and play continued. Justin capped off a good run by flicking the ball past the keeper bringing the score to 2-1 Devils way. (4-1 if we want to stroke our egos). That was all she wrote for the game, as ATO were unable to level the game. Thanks to Atomix for the competitive matches all seasons, and Devils look to their next match.

Qualifying Final: Brass Monkeys vs. Knights Who Say Broomball by Ryan Priestly
Thursdays Qualifying final placed the Monkeys up against the Knights in a fight to earn a place straight into the Grand Final. With both teams only having one sub it was always going to be a tough game. The Monkeys pushed hard at the start but struggled to get the ball past the keeper until Reece Shepherd rocketed a shot past the goalie to put us up 1-nil. This fired up the Knights but we were able to hold a strong defence and rebound with a goal to myself, putting us up by 2 to end the first half. After a quick talk on the side lines we were back to work for the second, however it was the Knights who started to dominate play. However the second remained scoreless until Reece got his second for the night through a short-handed goal, and even with the Knights making a few break-aways Catherine was able to make some great saves to give us the win for the night, 3-0. Looking forward to the Grand Final where we will play the winner between the Knights and the Ice Devils for the c-grade title. P.S "Congrats" to Ashleigh for her first Broomball penalty

23-NOV-2009
Womens Division - Week 1
Crimson Furies and HockeyRoos Through
Crimson Furies vs. The Femmes by Tim Brown
Furies took the lead midway through the first half an unmarked Dhyana Scarano on the back post tapping in a cross from Tracy Ivin. Then just before the break Sarah Roffey drew the keeper and passed to Alana Bracken who forced the ball past the last defender challenge into an unguarded net - 1 ALL at the break. Four minutes into the second half and Furies were pressing in attack. Bec Davis getting the ball on the wing and cutting in and blasting a shot which required an excellent reaction save from the keeper. The rebound came out and Kerry Baxter reacted first striking another hard shot past the keeper who was still recovering from the first shot (2-1). Furies then took control of the match, Bec Davis, getting a break down and speeding down the wing then cutting in and beating the keeper with an expertly diving and pushing the ball wide then striking it into the far corner of the goal leaving the keeper with no chance (3-1). The victory was sealed with 9 minutes to go. Tracy Ivin pouncing on a loose ball in front of the femmes net, striking it hard but wide, the rebound off the back boards was picked up by Ceez Kim who flicked it to an unmark Dhyana Scarano on the back post who volleyed it home (4-1).

Silver Snipers vs. HockeyRoos by Dani Mitrevski
Silver Snipers were off to a great start with a few shots at goal but couldn�t beat Alana Brackens goal keeping skills. Hockeyroo�s managed to hold Snipers out and Hockeyroo Simone Lenic jumped onto a ball in front of the goal to give the Hockeyroos a one nil lead. Both teams had a few shots at goal but the goalies held out both teams with some skilful saves. The hockeyroo�s were showing off their passing ability unfortunately just could not finish. Snipers Karen Boer and Linda Findlayson had a few close encounters with the Hockeyroos goalie by beating players and getting into good positions for shots at goal. In the second half a Snipers player was sent into the sin bin for slashing and Hockeyroos were quick to respond with a pass from Allie Camac Benson to Simone Lenic in front of the goal, and Simone slotted the ball away nicely. Snipers were not giving up being only 2 nil down. A quick break away by Linda Findlayson caused a one on one with the goalie and Linda put the ball away before the Hockeyroo�s got back. No other goals were scored the rest of the game. Final result 2-1 to the Hockeyroos, who will go into the grand final to play Crimson Furies on saturday the 5th of December. Good luck Girls the new players have improved a lot since the beginning of the season.

23-NOV-2009
Mens Division - Week 1
Warriors and Terminators Again
Terminators vs. Silver Snipers by Tim Brown
Terminators took the lead near the end of the first half, Terminator debutant, Greg Dezman, setting up Dom Colyer to continue is excellent scoring record from last season (1-0). Midway through the second a Dane Hansen pass released Louis Sultana to use his pace to break down the wing and then cut in strike the ball home (1-1). Both teams had struggle to break each other down and couldn't add to their scores - 1-1 at fulltime nothing between the two teams. So into OT. Terminators in possession, Dom Colyer running an overlap with Brown, confusion when Tim Brown mistakenly thought Dom was leaving the ball for him, an awkward moment as both players left the ball behind. Brown then manage to get to it before the Stench players but was instantly under pressure and was fortunate not to lose it in a very bad position...phew! (cause louie would have taken some catching from there). Brown got the ball over the redline and passed to Dom who had continued his run. Dom was through 1 on 1 his shot just squeezing under the last defenders desperate dive. Terminators winning in sudden death overtime and into the final to defend their title.

Warriors vs. Ticklers by Saxon Hooper
Second semi final between last season's runners up Warriors and 3rd place (although equal 2nd on points) Ticklers. Good even start to the game, both teams fresh and full of run making life hard for anyone to get free. A goaless first half. 9 minnutes into the second it was Warriors who opened the scoring, an outlet pass by Luke Simmonds was picked up by Bryn Shepherd sprinting down the wing. Brett Ackling had crashed the net hard and got the cross on the volley to make it 1-0 Warriors. Just 3 minutes later Ackling back in the action finding Martin Sultana who from marty range fired a rocket into the top corner. 2-0 Warriors with 8 to go, Warriors with 1 foot on the ice for a grand final berth. Ticklers though wouldnt go away with a goal 2 minutes later to Damian Colyer setting up a tight finish. Just when it looked like Warriors were going to hold easily some hard Tickler forecheck pressure resulted in a turn over beside the goals. Unfortunately for Ticklers they hit it into the side of the netting.. a scramble and a goal line clearence saw Warriors hang on somehow. Big effort from an undermanned Ticklers. 2-1 Warriors. Meaning Warriors and Terminators in the Grand Final on the 5th of December.

19-Nov-2009
C Division - Week 14
ATOMix: Better Late Than Never !!
Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Ice Devils by Kieran McDonald
A game where Ice Devils only started with 5 players (2 of which weren�t at full potential) It was going to be a hard game. The good news for Devils was that they were the only team out of six not fighting for their position. We were safely in third place. Due to the ice being poorly cut, it was a scrappy start to the game with Knights having most of the possession, this resulted in Brett Ackling getting the first goal of the game with help of a deflection from a defender. Shortly after Ice Devils� Josh Newell got a break from Kieran�s cross to be one on one with the keeper and put it past him. The score locked up at 1 all. The rest of the team managed show up just before half time to give a full strength side. The game went into the break tied up at one a piece. After the break, Josh Burton got a shot away to put the Knights in front. Shortly followed by a goal to Jeff Ferrara to even it back to 2 a piece. In David�s bright attempt to block the goals he left the ball at Josh Burton�s feet to get his second of the night, 3-2 with 5 mins to go. With less than 2 minutes remaining Josh Newell had a shot from the sideline to go top corner to add another goal to his tally. Full Time were dead even at 3 all. Overtime saw the Ice Devils have most of the possession which was awarded when Kieran took a shot from close to half way, the shot was stopped by beck only to realise the Josh Newell was there to slot home the winner. Great hat trick to Josh. Thanks for a great game and glad we could finally beat them!

Brass Monkeys vs. Journeymen by Ryan Priestly
What a night of epic broomballness! Knights needing to win to jump into first, The Journeymen having to win to keep fourth place, and the final match giving the winner between ATOmix and the Dugongs a chance to leapfrog into the finals (depending on the Journeymen's outcome). Well luckily for the Monkeys the Knights went down in OT to the Ice Devils so the pressure was off us to claim back first as we knew it was going to be a tough task to knock the Journeymen out of the finals race. The first half was very tightly played with neither team being able to pass the defence to get a shot on goal. The final minutes of the first saw the ball mainly in our end so we were relieved for the score to still be nil all at half time. With two more Monkeys turning up for the second half we were able to up the pressure, with both our late arrivals scoring our two goals, one to Jordan and one to Dale. Despite being two goals down the Journeymen continued to push hard but we were able to hold them off for our final win of the regular season, securing our first Minor Premiership! Thanks heaps to Bree from the Ice Devils for helping us out whilst being down a player. We are now looking forward to next weeks game where we take on The Knights who say Broomball for a spot in the Grand Final.

ATOmix vs. Dugongs by Dave Porter
The final regular game of the season and two teams eager to end on a high note, saw the ATOmix and Dugongs square off with plenty of gusto. The ATOmix left it to the last game of the season to get their teamwork and backing up together, which with minimal available subs was not only wise, but necessary. An early deflection courtesy of Patto & Supercoach opened the ATOmix's account, whilst Ash and Steve combined literally seconds before half time with a classy effort to put the ATOmix 2-0 up in the break. Spirited exchanges from both sides punctuated the second half, and with about 10min to go, Dave found a break up the middle and the back of the net in quick succession, to make it 3-0. Despite several strong attacking plays from the Dugongs in the dying moments, ATOmix held on for the win and fourth spot on the ladder. Thanks to the Dugongs for a hard and challenging match - a great way to end off the regular season!

16-NOV-2009
A Division - Week 16
Sam & Karen Boer Go Out Winners for Rats
Richmond Ravens vs. Penrith City Rangers by James Kristof
Rangers were coming into the game secure in the knowledge that whatever happened they were guaranteed 2nd on the ladder, Ravens on the otherhand were fighting for their finals lives. The entire game was evenly fought between the two teams, both having extended periods with the ball deep in the opposition's half, both forcing the goalies to make several saves, however as the game drew closer to full time it was the Ravens who stepped up their intensity as they pressed for a finals berth. The Rangers defence stood solid however, and the game went to OT locked at 0-0. Ravens dominated overtime, but struggled to get many shots on target, their best opportunity coming with only a few seconds left, but the shot, destined for the bottom corner, was deflected away as the siren went 5 seconds later. 0-0 at the end of OT.

Glenmore Park Druids vs. Parramatta RiverRats by Louis Sultana
This game was very important to the River Rats as they needed a win to secure a finals spot. It was also the last game for Sam and Karen Boer...off to London for at least a year. The game didn't start well for Rats, Saxon Hooper scoring after one minute, a quick backhand shot after some strong forechecking. Rats tied it up soon after, a Martin Sultana shot deflected in by Kerryn Lawler. Druids however went into the break with the lead after scoring their second goal through Linda Findlayson late in the first half. Halftime - 2-1 Druids. Rats lifted their intensity for the second half. Three consecutive goals to Dani Mitrevski, Daniel Wong and Sam Boer in quick succession gave Rats a healthy 4-2 lead. Fulltime 4-2 River Rats. The win ensures Rats are through to the finals. A perfect send off to the founding members of the River Rats. On behalf of all Rats players, I would like to wish them the very best of luck overseas.

16-NOV-2009
B Division - Week 16
Penguins Fall Just Short !!
Glenmore Park DruidsB vs. The Penguins by James Kristof
Penguins came into this game knowing that if they won they'd make the finals, and if they lost they'd be out of the finals. With this in mind, Penguins started off strongly, breaking out aggressively from their own half and trying to build the pressure on the Druids B goalie, but it was a fastbreak goal to Daniel Wong that saw the deadlock get broken. However, a few minutes later the Penguins were informed that they were having the goal stripped from them as they did not have Daniel's name on the scoresheet. Hilarity ensued. And by hilarity, I mean anger. The remainder of the half was a fairly even affair with both teams' goalies being called into action to make saves. 0-0 at half time. Penguins lifted their intensity in the second half, defending well when Druids B had sustained possession and built some pressure of their own, but attacking well also, with Shannan Heinitz giving the Penguins a 1-0 for the second time in the game. As the match drew to a close, Druids B stepped up their intensity and bombarded the Penguins defence, eventually drawing the game even with only a couple of minutes left on the clock. The match went into overtime and Penguins controlled the run of play, with Danielle Mitrevski scoring the match winner from a deflected long-range shot, giving Penguins a 2-1 OT win. Will those 3 points be enough to make the finals? Only the broomball gods - a.k.a. Saxon - can tell.

Ice Devils vs. Tigers by Ryan Findlayson
For the final game of the regular season, the stakes were set high. The winner would advance to exactly the same position they were already in, however the loser would drop down to exactly the same position they were already in. These positions being the high flying last and second last!! A massive crowd was in attendance for the start of the game, but they were only given a poor spectacle of crappy passing and a lot of bad ball control. About 10 minutes into the game, the bored crowd filed out the stadium, and the crickets could be heard in force. With the pressure of the crowd now lifted. The game started to improve. It was Tigers who pounced first. After some great pressure from the Tigers new recruits, it was the veteran Paul Stockbridge finding himself in the right position to tap the ball past a beaten keeper. The Ice Devils then piled on some pressure with good attacking possesion. They got a few shots off, but were repeatedly denied by the irreplaceable Angela Corfield in goals for the Tigers. So it was 1-0 at half time. Tigers with a 100% record after leading at half time (i.e. 1 from 1) were confident going into the second. A very early penalty against Kieran McDonald, put Tigers on the attack straight away. It didn't take long for them to take advantage. Ryan Findlayson at the top, with a few changes in direction to get outside the reach of the defender, and blasted one inside the near post. Shortly after, with the Devils back to full strength, the Tigers continued to dominate. A high ball into the goal mouth found Daniel Patterson who brought it down, drew the keeper and offloaded to Sally Ormistan, who made no mistake. The flood gates were open. Some great passing saw Linda Findlayson break up the middle, and beating the keeper with a casual flick for the Tigers fourth. Paul Stockbridge claimed the Tigers, and the games, fifth and final goal. Tigers finding form at the right end of the season with their first clean sheet. Unfortunately it came about five games too late.

12-NOV-2009
B Division - Week 15
Huskies Secure Top 4 Spot !!
Huskies vs. Tigers by Glen ButlerFleming
This was a must win game for the Huskies, who needed to win to be in the final four. The game started on time and with both teams sporting new recruits. Huskies scored first from Jordan Smith slotting one past the keeper. The Tigers answered the Huskies� goal with Stocky who was allowed to wind up and have a shot with no pressure from the Huskies. The Huskies� new recruits, Jordie and Josh, then used some well-timed passes to score the Huskies� second goal. Mark Kuipers, returning from injury, put the next in the net from a well-timed pass from Glen. In the last 50 seconds, the Tigers managed to claw one back to make the final score 3�2, Huskies� way. Special thanks must go to Jason �Shakin� Hall for his awesome keeping; and to our fantastic ladies, Sarah and Crystal, who with had just played a game prior, not to mention Bec Davis who had no sub all game. Well done Huskies � let�s keep up the good work!

12-Nov-2009
C Division - Week 13
Monkeys Head to the Top !
Journeymen vs. Ice Devils by Darren Pearce
The journeymen showed once again that they play better without a full team, barely being able to fill the ice at the start of the game. Despite this they played an energized first half, keeping the ball in the ATOmix's end for most of the time. Still, ATOmix were able to keep the score 0-0 until James made his way to the net to sneak one in. The second half was fairly well matched with both sides great defences and coordinated attacks, and with each side managing to get one into the net. Final score was 2-1, Journeymen way.

Brass Monkeys vs. Dugongs by Ryan Priestly
After playing on shocking ice in our last game both teams got a surprise tonight with possibly the best ice we have ever played on. The match up tonight placed the Monkeys up against the Dugongs, who we have had many a close battles with in the past. Our two week break showed at the start, with the Monkeys playing sloppy broomball. Our first goal came with a bit of luck when one of the Dugong's defenders accidently put the ball into their own net, with the goal going to Dale Peterson. Slowly, the Monkeys got into a rhythm and were able to convert again with Jordan Martin-Waterhouse continuing his goal streak to put the Monkeys up 2-0. The second half again saw the Monkeys start of a bit sloppy, seeming to struggle against the Dugongs on a powerplay and clearly hungry to get back into the game. The next goal came when I almost stuffed my break away chance but managed to pop the ball into the top of the net putting us up 3-0. Despite the Dugongs continuing to push for a goal the Monkeys were able to seal the win with Joshua Coates finding the back of the net. 4-0 to the Brass Monkeys in yet another good, clean game against the Dugongs. Next week the Monkeys take on the Journeymen in our final game before the finals whilst the Dugongs look to break into the top 4 in a game against ATOmix.

09-NOV-2009
A Division - Week 15
Sonics Finish Their Season with a Win
Glenmore Park Druids vs. Werrington County Sonics by Tim Brown
Sonics last game of the season, first place secured, yay! Their winning streak broken by those pesky Raven's last week, damn it. Looking to end on a positive before the finals. Druids desperate for a win to be in the running for 2nd spot. Sonics off to a great start good offensive forechecking pressure saw a Druids turnover to Brown who passed to an unmarked Wheeler to finish smartly before Druids defence could adjust. The a quick breakout for Sonics, Brown to Scarano who drew the defender then laid off the ball to Brown on the run. Over the redline and only one Druid defender challenging Brown's run meant he was able to centre to Wheeler, once again tearing through and once again blasting the ball into the back of the net. The rest of the match saw both teams with plenty of chances to score but no more goals. Probably the first time Sonics have beaten Druids in all encounters in a season. Sonics 2 def Druids 0.

09-NOV-2009
B Division - Week 15
Liam Writes the Biggest Write Up of all Time
Glenmore Park DruidsB vs. Titans by Matt Hellyer
Tonight DruidsB began the game short a few players and Titans made the most of the opportunity. Despite the mounting pressure, DruidsB managed to hold off any goals against them for the first seven minutes of the game. A long shot from Bryn Shepherd of Titans, assisted by Reese Shepherd was the first to go in. Undeterred, DruidsB responded a minute later with a well placed shot by Alana Bracken, causing a tumultuous uproar to be heard throughout the rink. By now the team was at full strength and the playing field was levelled. Soon however the upper hand was given to DruidsB when Dave Degrugter of Titans was sent off for tripping. A few minutes later a scramble at the nets led to a second goal for DruidsB, with Matt Hellyer slipping the ball past the keeper after a pass from Alana. With about six minutes left in the first half, DruidsB�s Aaron Parker was sent off for checking - an unfortunate call when both players came down after a ball challenge. The second half was completely scoreless, but not from a lack of effort by either team. A player from each team went off injured and a number of close calls came from fast breaks but ultimately the score remained 2-1 to DruidsB at full time.

Team IceBucket vs. Ice Devils by Liam Golding
Welllllllll, what can be said of our game against the Ice Devils? Our final regular-competition game for the season was coming off the back of the (self proclaimed) biggest upset so far, with Tigers rubbing our faces in it 3-1 on Thursday night. Our initial reaction to that was "what the hell?!? What went wrong?" Some major soul searching went on, and after a calming down period, we decided that it was not a major flaw in our game that was so detrimental to our last game, but rather an off night, coupled with the fact we were overconfident, what with having a full six players on the ice. So this week we ignored the fact we had no players, and decided to field all 4 of us, (with Byr and me subbing each other of course.) Bad idea! Less than a minute into the game, Ice Devils scored on us. They caught us too high off the drop, trying to protect the half way; they beat our two up top, leaving us flat footed, shot past us, two-oned around our last defender, and slotted home a very early goal. With thoughts of "oh no, this is going to be a rout," reverbeating through my head, we faced off again, hoping for a lightly better outcome this time. Luckily for us, it was. We took control of the ball and managed to put some attck on the them. We had a couple of shots, and were able to regather the saves to maintain the pressure. (Or at least maintain the not being under pressure; i don't know how well the Ice Devils felt under our attack.) After turning over the ball, our defence tried to make them chase hard, and really just kept throwing the ball over half way as best we could. Our defence was strained pretty hard, with just too many numbers attacking. Somehow though, we managed to keep the ball out of the net, despite some close calls. It just seemed to last forever though, as Ice Devils fully utilised their numbers crashing the net, and then crashing on us whenever we got the loose ball. Half-time was 1-0 their way. Half time was used to sort out our defence, and think it showed, as we defended much better in the second half. Utililsing our now defined double penatly kill defence style, the highlight of the match (for me) came when we held out Ice Devil attacks for what seemed like ages. They went around the horse-shoe a few times, shot - blocked - they retrieved it, round a few more times, shot - covered again, both times by defenders, not the keepers. Round the horse-shoe a few more times, and the shot went well wide, all the way out the side, gifting us the field position. After this point, I dont know if they were now demoralised or what, but we got some ascendancy, and id like to think, dominated more of the play. We started ot get lots of shots on goal, some looking perfect to score, but then being brilliantly saved at the last minute by their keeper. Even though i was thinking that we should just keep this up, the goal will come, I was starting to get a little woried when i looked up from the bench and saw the clock ticking past 6 minutes left. So with time fading, more shots on target here, a post hit there, we finally broke through with about 3 minutes left. Alex picked up the rebound from another great save from the keeper, and was then able to find the hole round his feet to level up the game. Feeling the most exhausted i have even been, we played out the final few minutes, defending heavily, and just keeping the ball out of our half, in order to take the game into overtime. Despite the fact I was liking the odds of 3 on 4 a bit better, we were again under almost immediate pressure, as Ice Devils controlled the ball, looking for that elusive goal. It finally came to Bry when on a breakaway - yes, he did run. He beat the second last defender, and caught their final man running backwards. Bry ran him down and waited till we all thought he had screwed up the opportunity, before diving round the man to hand TIB the win. Obviously extremely happy with the result, we have now decided that we play better without a full team, so that's what we're taking to the finals series. Well done to TIB, finishing minor premiers, and hoping to this year go all the way and win the final.. for once. :p

05-NOV-2009
B Division - Week 15
Tigers Tip The (Ice)Bucket !!
Team IceBucket vs. Tigers by Ryan Findlayson
The first vs last clash, with IceBucket yet to drop a game in normal time, and Tigers yet to win, or even take a game into OT. Last time these two played IceBucket got the 1-0 win, but played most the game a player down. This time however they had a full squad. Tigers have blooded a number of players into B grade, and introduced two more for this game. IceBucket keeping the game very fast, with their flood forward, followed by quick flood back game plan. Tigers still managed to restrict the number shots that IceBucket were able to get away, and moreover, were able to create some of their own opportunities and pressure, with some great flicks over the top. It was after one of these flicks late in the half that Tigers converted with Paul Stockbridge making the initial break a shot, then Ryan Findlayson first timing a backhand shot from medium range to the far post. The keeper getting a hand to it, but unable to stop it from going in. Tigers getting a taste of goals almost got another on the buzzer, when again a precise flick over the top found a sprinting Linda Findlayson who controlled the ball well, and got a good shot off, but was well saved right on the siren. Tigers, in the unusual position of leading at half time, felt confident going into the second half. This confidence was dented early when Liam Golding put in an attacking cross in to the goal mouth, which found Karen Bell of the Tigers, who thought that Liam was worthy of the goal, so deflected it in for him. 1-1 with most of a half to play. Tigers after some structured attacking possession, then put a speculative high ball into the goal region, after some air swings and scrambling in front of net, saw Sally Ormistan get her maiden broomball goal!!. 2-1 to Tigers. IceBucket then turned up the pressure, but Tigers weathered the storm and took the opportunity to counter. Some precise quick passing saw Paul Stockbridge break away, and put away a nice goal from an angle. 3-1 to the Tigers, and the upset was nigh. Tigers tripled their efforts in defense to ensure their first win of the season!!!

05-Nov-2009
C Division - Week 12
Josh Burton Scores 6 !!
Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Dugongs by Josh Burton
This week welcomed the clash between the Knights and the Dugongs. Two different stories, as the Knights are hoping for results to help them out for a minor premiership, while Dugongs are in the midst of a playoff battle with ATOmix for 4th place. Some chances early allowed both teams to adjust and take advantage of the good ice, with the ball falling Brett�s and the Knights way for the first goal. Dugongs, to their credit kept creating chances, but missing the link up at the final step. Knights 3-0 Half Time. Some good plays, lucky breaks and good, solid passing assists lead to the score to blow out. Full Time 7-0 Knights. Scorers: Josh with 6 goals, yes, (I lost count, I got egged on by Ryan to score and a Dugongs player painfully remembered me it was 6. Brett, 1 Goal, and with Lana, Bec and Pierce all with assists. We look forward to our clash with the Ice Devils in a fortnight and wish luck to Dugongs for their final hopes as they face the Brass Monkeys next week, followed by the big match up with ATOmix in the final week.

02-NOV-2009
A Division - Week 14
Ravens break Sonics 10 Game Undefeated Streak
Richmond Ravens vs. Werrington County Sonics by Dane Hansen
With both Ceez and Dee running late, Sonics took the ice with only 4 players. Ravens also struggled to field a full team. With Krys MIA, Craig at home with his new son (congratulations Craig and Beth), and Alana and Andrew broken down at the half way point, Ravens had an empty sub bench. Ravens pushed hard to take advantage of the 5 on 4 but sonics held out. Dee and Ceez joined the game giving sonics 2 subs. Ravens tried to play economically to conserve some energy for the second half but Sonics made them work hard. Just in the nick of time Alana and Andrew arrived and Ravens survived the first half. The second half was a good contest but Jo, Alana and Aaron caught Sonics pressing too deep in a forecheck and scored a goal at the other end. Sonics continued their attack but could not penetrate James. Dane and Aaron combined for a breakaway goal with 30 seconds to go. 2-0 Ravens inflicting Sonics first defeat of the season.

Glenmore Park Druids vs. Penrith City Rangers by Saxon Hooper
Rangers sitting pretty in second with Druids back in the pack needing a win to make sure they would be playing finals. Druids started well controlling posession and working hard on forecheck to trap Rangers deep in their own territory. Finally the sustained pressure lead to a Druids goal. off some good forechecking Druids centre Glen ButlerFleming picked up the ball and fired a shot in at goals. Dom Colyer who had trailed through was able to get a glancing stick on the ball to put it past the keeper. 1-0 Druids half time. Second half sawmore chances for both teams, none converted. Then with only a minute on the clock Luke Simmonds fired a shot on goals. It went into the outside side netting.. somehow recoiling out, spinning around the goal post onto the keepers calf and rolling back into the goals (I gotta learn me that shot). So 1-1 full time and into OT. Druids controlled posession in attack, working a good shot that was blocked. Dropping back into a 3-1 forecheck Rangers tried to force a ball through sticks on half way. Linda Findlayson made the steal and dashed forward only an open net in front of her. Patiently regaining control of the bouncing ball, just in front of the converging Rangers defence she calmly slotted home the OT winner. 2-1 Druids in OT.

02-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 14
ZULTAN Not So Magic After All !!
Glenmore Park DruidsB vs. Huskies by Matt Hellyer
Tonight DruidsB concocted a new game strategy. Revealed by captain Damian Colyer, the plan was to yell the word �zultan� whenever a shot at goals was being taken. According to legend, the use of this magic word brings an extra strength boost to the one who uses it. Tonight however, it just seemed to add comedic value to the game rather than any genuine advantage. In the first half of the game, Damian made two serious attacks on goals crying �ZULTAN� each time. His first shot sailed high over the goals and the second was deflected by the keeper. As Damian said afterwards, he was concentrating more on saying the magic word than actually taking the shot. This conundrum proved true for Dominic Colyer too, whose shots at goals were unsuccessful despite �zultan�-ing each time, much to the amusement of the Huskies. However, they were no more successful, with numerous attempts at goals stopped by defenders or saved at the last by the keeper, leaving the score nil all at half time. The second half saw more action than the first. Firstly a Huskies player got sent off for a high stick incident. Then DruidsB�s Davin Harvey lined up for a shot just past half way but forgot to hold onto his stick and sent it somersaulting some ten metres or more behind him. After this the first goal of the night was scored by DruidsB when a shot deflected off a defender�s leg straight past the keeper. Perhaps invoking �zultan� has effects other than what DruidsB expected. Huskies were not to be daunted so easily though, and with a minute and a half before full time they were able to equalise the score to force overtime. Despite five minutes of desperately close calls both ways, neither team were able to get a goal - �zultan�-ing or otherwise - and so the final score remained a 1-1 draw.

Titans vs. The Penguins by Russell Gregory
A rematch of a fiery game from only two weeks ago, with the Titans looking to Cement a spot in the Top 2 coming into the finals and the Penguins trying to stay in finals contention. The penguins came out with all guns blazing in the first few minutes, and were camped deep in the Titans half. Some spirited defence and awesome keeping were the only things that kept the score at Nil all. A Breakaway goal from Bryn Shepherd gave the lead to the Titans heading into the break. The break served the Titans well with a more organised performance, really controlling the movement of the ball around the Ice. The Penguins were desperate to pull the goal back, and in their haste over committed in attack several times, resulting in plenty of 3 on 1 play in their own half. Another goal late in the game to Bryn secured a double for him, and also just about locked the Titans into a top 2 finish in their first season in B Grade. Thanks to the Penguins, t'was a great game all around.

29-OCT-2009
Grudge Division - Week 1
Draw for Orange and Blue
NSW Orange vs. NSW Blue
A huge (and unexpected) crowd turned out to watch the replay of the Pacific Rim International final played just a month ago. Both teams at near full strength for the encounter, with Blues looking to assert their dominence and Orange looking to pull one back. Blue on the board first with a cross somehow finding its way into the net. Maybe a sly foot from Damo Colyer, didnt matter it was in the net and on the board. 1-0 Blues half time. Orange turned up the heat in the second and were all over Blue, hitting the post several times before finally a waist high cross was volleyed in by saxon Hooper. 1-1 with 5 to go. No further score so into 4-4 with goals OT to try pick a winner. Unfortunately one could not be found and the game remained a draw meaning Blue retains the NSW cup. Thanks to Bec Davis and Alana Braken for reffing.. good job. Orange and Blue are set to throw down again on Thursday the 29/11/2009. Come along and cheer !!!

29-OCT-2009
C Division - Week 12
ATOmix win One for Bill !
Brass Monkeys vs. ATOmix by Ryan Priestly
Once again the Monkeys were destined to play the first game of the night, this time against the ATOmix. Whilst we were there to play Broomball, the game could easily have been mistaken for a swim meet as thats pretty much what we had to do to get the ball. The game started of relatively slow but built up to a decent speed which saw both teams using their subs to their advantage. The game ended 6-0 to the Monkeys with Dale Peterson, Bryn Shepherd, Reece Shepherd and Ryan Priestly scoring one a piece and "Super-Goalie" Jordan Martin-Waterhouse getting two for his third week in a row. Unfortunately for the ATOmix the score did not reflect their level of play, as they did play a very good game but were unable to convert. Thanks for another good clean game and we look forward to playing you next time. As for the Monkeys, we have a two week break until we take on the Dugongs in which should be a very tough game.

Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Journeymen by
The second encounter between these two teams took to the ice. With both sides using the bare 6, the match should be interesting. The game started out slow at first, with both sides developing a passing game. This lead to a 1-0 score line to Knights with a goal to Pierce. The second half lead to more dominance being shown by Knights, with The Journeymen having no answer to goals by Josh, Brett and another by Pierce. Full Time 5-0 Knights. The Journeymen, however have a contest with ATOmix, who came off a tough loss this week to the Brass Monkeys. We welcome back Pierce from a couple of stressing weeks, and look forward to his contribution, along with Lucy�s, who was missing in action, against the Dugongs next week.

26-OCT-2009
A Division - Week 13
Druids on the Move
Glenmore Park Druids vs. Werrington County Sonics by Tim Brown
Sonics up against Druids, only the second time these two teams have meet this season. The first, back in round 2, saw Sonics tuck in an OT winner through the back door. The first half was notable for a lack of real clear cut chances. Saxon Hooper with the best of them cutting inside between two defenders to shoot but well saved by Kristof in goals. Sonics had difficult breaking down the Druids defence, getting a plenty of quick breaks but then unable to make that final passing combination to create a genuine chance on goal. Nil at half time. Sonics looked better in the second half, Wheeler and Stockbridge breaking breaking quickly then Wheeler laying back fro Brown to hit a first time shot - unfortunately straight at the keeper. Pretty much the story for the half, if not the game, some good chances created by both teams but the final shot not good enough to beat two keepers who weren't going to give one away. Overtime! Druids getting first use and getting down and setting up in attack. Kerry Baxter making a crucial block. Possession then swapped a couple of times before Druids once again setup a sustained offence and once again a series of blocked shots before Sonics secured the ball. Showing more patience this time Sonics moved the ball around until Brown centred to Wheeler, back to the goal, with Baxter down the wing, Wheeler turning and taking a shot on his left which tucked into the bottom corner. 1-0 Sonics in OT.

Richmond Ravens vs. Parramatta River Rats by Davin Harvey
The crowd was out for the Mainevent Monday night�Who knows where they were? Rats needing the win to keep their finals chances alive, Ravens probaly needed a win for some other reason. First half was mostly Rats pouring on some great offensive pressure, all were involved and the pressure paid off with Davin Harvey finding space in the slot, a lovely through pass from Louis Sultana and Davin was able to flick the ball over a charging keeper�s shoulder. As soon as the Rats took the lead, Ravens upped the pressure and Davin Harvey found himself quickly back in the bad books, 2mins for tripping. Rats did well to kill the powerplay, the ball in their half the whole time, but very little space given to Ravens left no opportunities to convert. Back to full strength, Ravens just kept coming and were unlucky not to level it up before half time. 2nd half, Ravens again came thick and fast with their attack. Rats struggled to get out of their half for the first 5mins. As Ravens pressure dropped Rats stepped up but neither team could finish off their opportunities. A 2nd penalty to Ravens came in the 2nd half, Dani going for Slashing. Again Ravens unable to convert on their advantage. As the game drew to a close the Ravens pulled their keeper�I think, it certainly felt like it, and the Ravens went all out. Rats could not break out and scrambled hard for the remainder of the period to hold the 1-0 win. Great to see the Rats get a Win, looking forward to many more on our run to the finals.

26-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 13

Huskies vs. Team IceBucket by Liam Golding
TIB again deciding to challenge ourselves, and play with five on the ice against a huskies outfit sporting some new faces. get it? SPORTING some new faces! lol, rofl, etc etc. That's what you get for making me write these things up. Anywho, to be fair, I think we entirely dominated the play, having plenty more attacking game than the Huskies did. I guess it could be said that the game was played in the midfield, but then again, Bry could also say that he runs when he's playing broomball (Editors note: Come on Liam, Bryan runs in broomball... when he has the ball). There were only a couple of chances for either team really in the first half. A couple of breaks down the sides for Huskies offered low percentage shots that were not excessively troublesome for our revolving keepers. Similarly, we found it difficult to create opportunities in their half by virtue of the fact we were playing with five players. A single penalty against Huskies for playing with six players meant that for a period of two minutes, we were equal. Despite hard pressure on the play, in a fashion somewhat similar to a power play, no goal for us. And no goals for them, so into the break nil all. The second half wore us down as we were playing with only five players, and the extra running without rest was starting to tire people out. The guys have of course become used to not subbing in recent weeks, so with increased fitness, it wasn't really until the final quarter that the fact we were playing with five players became apparent as the huskies started to break through and put a few more shots on goal. Bry, who strained his groin AGAIN because he refuses to warm it up properly, (or at all,) finished out the second half for me, and got a couple of good shots on goals... I could be making this up, but i think one hit a post... I was initially happy to reach overtime, thinking that at least then we'll be at four on four. But no, due to my fatigue from playing with only five players, I had forgotten that it was a girl we were short so we started overtime with only three on the ice. Huskies pushed up on us during the overtime, trying to really pressure us when they had the ball, utilising the fact they had four people on the ice to our three. The upshot of this was that I dont know how to stop running, and was able to threaten them when I got the ball over half way. They made some excellent saves including one perfectly timed stick check that got me just as I was push-passing at the open net from half way. So the problem was that all I did was threaten them. Bry made me crawl off the ice in the final minute, and owing to the fact that I collapsed, slightly tired from playing with three players on the ice, I didn't see what happened in that final minute, however summing up, the three of us on the ice held out the four of them on the ice, and after about four thousand opportunities, no goals were scored by either team, and the game mercifully ended.

The Penguins vs. DruidsB by Matt Hellyer
Tonight DruidsB came out in force. With ten players available, subs were quick and the team was kept fresh. Within two minutes the first goal was scored. Zac Law of DruidsB made a pass to teammate Dominic Colyer who promptly took a shot at goals and landed it at the back of the net. Barely a few minutes passed before DruidsB captain Damian Colyer was able to score from a solo run. It wasn�t all bad news for The Penguins however. Just over a quarter of the way through the game they were able to mount a successful attack that made the score 2-1 going into half time. The second half saw more penalties than goals, with players from both sides sent off - one for taking out an opposition player (me) and the other for taking out the opposition keeper in a botched attempt at goals. The only other goal of the night was an own goal against The Penguins, when a high powered shot was accidently kicked straight past the keeper and into the goal netting. Final score 3-1 to DruidsB. Watch out, because tonight�s result makes it the third win in a row.

22-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 12
Huskies over Ice Devils
Ice Devils vs. Huskies by Glen ButlerFleming
Huskies were missing Ryan Doyle and Jordan Smith due to the passing of their Grandfather and our condolences to the Doyle and Smith Families. Welcome to another Thursday night battle between these two teams. Huskies have gained three new players, Sarah, Josh and Jordie. This brings the Huskies up a full team. With the infusion of new blood Huskies started strong and maintain 80% of the possession for the game. Jordie Josh Sarah and Sarah�s Dad worked well and fitted right into the huskies line. Glen Butler-Fleming received a well timed pass allowing him to slot the ball between the keepers legs. The second came from good passing and positioning Glen Butler-Fleming passing to Bec Davis then to new recruit Jordie who was not marked. Jordie had time to wind up to get the ball passed the keeper to score his first B grade goal. Special thanks to Sarah�s Dad for bringing soccer skills to the game. Well done Huskies keep up the good team work.

22-OCT-2009
C Division - Week 11
ATOmix win One for Bill !
Knights Who Say Broomball vs. ATOmix by Dave Porter
It was without Apples who due to a broken hand couldn't help us front the Knights, whilst our crack goalie fielded a similarly weak excuse of surgery for his absence in this clash. Seriously though, hope to have you back on deck soon Bill... Structure, composure and staying on yer feet are words generally not associated with the ATOmix's flamboyant style of recent play. A brief meeting prior to the game saw Supercoach Mitchell getting the message across through her usual mixture of shouting, elbows and random intimidation, and fearful of her wrath (and a likely whitewashing at the hands of the highly rated Knights), the ATOmix took to the ice with renewed vigour and in some cases, fancy orange shoes. The first half was punctuated by set plays and deliberate passes and both sides threatened the net through several attacking runs. Knights opened their account through a confident early goal and after a scappy, shovel-in goal in reply, the Atomix took a 2-1 lead into the break on the back of a rather classy Dardo/Porter extra value combo. This set up a thrilling second half that saw great goals by each side slip past each goalie and a final desperate defensive effort by the ATOmix to seal our first win in regular time of the season at 3-2. A hearty distribution of high fives followed, and thanks to the Knights for a close & well fought game.

Brass Monkeys vs. Ice Devils by Ryan Findlayson
In yet another close game between the two sides the Monkeys came up against the Ice Devils for our second time this season. With a bit better ice then our last meeting the game was a lot faster with many a shots taken from both sides. The first half went our way with Jordan on fire in front of goals, scoring our two for the night despite tough defence from the Ice Devils. The second half continued the defensive battle however after a scramble in front of goals, Ash decided to be nice and pass the ball to one of the Devils players (only stirring Ash) who succesfully pushed the ball into the back of the net. 2-1 the Monkeys way but with five minutes to go we knew the Ice Devils would push hard to even the score. With the Ice Devil's goalie pulled we tried to get our third for the night but to no avail, the game ending 2-1 completing yet another tight game between the Ice Devils and the Brass Monkeys. Thanks for the close game. We are looking forward to next week when we take on ATOmix, who are coming off the biggest upset of the season after beating top-of-the-round-table Knights (theres my bad joke for the week) and look to be a genuine threat for the finals. Should hopefully be a close game.

19-OCT-2009
A Division - Week 12
Druids on the Move
Richmond Ravens vs. Penrith City Rangers by James Kristof
Rangers were keen to keep up the good form that they displayed against the unbeaten Sonics last week, and were able to do this in the early stages of the match, scoring two impressive looking goals off the back of some great teamwork. Tim Roffey scored the first goal in the game and his first ever A grade goal, converting a perfectly placed and timed Lisa Price pass by sending a rocket just inside the near post. Tracy Ivin scored the second off of assists by Bryan Macklin and Dave Degruyter, first-timing a centreing ball into the top corner of the goal. The second half saw Ravens amp up their intensity and really start to apply a lot of pressure to the Rangers defence, creating several opportunities, holding the ball deep in attack for extended periods of time, but were unable to convert, the match finishing at 2-0 to the Rangers.

Glenmore Park Druids vs. Parramatta River Rats by Saxon Hooper
Druids with their injection of Canadian import power have strung together two wins getting past Ravens last week and the Parramatta River Rats this week. Damian Colyer got Druids off to a good start combining with Linda Findlayson to give Druids a 1-0 lead 8 minutes in. Just five minutes later Louis Sultana showed some great desperation to regather a shot on goal diving full length (winding himself in the process) to shoot home the equaliser. Looking like being 1-1 going into half time, Druids broke on goals, good save by the keeper saw the rebound fall to Saxon Hooper, who pulled the ball round the keeper and into the net with only 20 seconds on the clock. 2-1 Druids half time. Second half was an even affair.. a number of penalties gave both team opportunities but none were converted. With only a minute on the clock, Rats pulled their keeper, and while in attack turned it over. A break and a shot on the empty net went wide, but Damo Colyer was on hand to slot it to Ally Camac-Benson who put it away sealing the win for Druids. 3-1. Druids get to test their Canadian Imports against the undeafed Sonics next week. Should be fun.

19-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 12
Titans Knock off Penguins
Tigers vs. Team IceBucket by Liam Golding
It was essentially a top of the table vs bottom of the table clash. (No offense to Tigers - just a fact.) I was pretty happy with the quality of our game on Monday night. Despite the first half played again with only 5 people, we controlled as much as we could, and fought hard to win the 50/50 balls, but didn't overcommit in attack. Sometimes this led to some rushed plays, but defence was solid, and only allowed a few breakaway chances for Tigers, which were repelled by some great keeping and a little bit of luck. A single penalty in the first half went our way, but we were unable to convert during the 5-5 "powerplay." Second half we settled down a bit, and got Lis to jump on the ice again (though we've been told we wont get her in finals [she does have her own team after all.]) We all tired as the half wore on, and we were finding it quite hard to get a decent shot off from anywhere near the office as Tigers defence blocked us out pretty well. Ever adaptable, (in true TIB fashion,) Alex instead scored the only goal of the game from a long range shot that may or may not have taken a minor deflection on its way in. Either way, 1-0, and it stayed that way till full time.

The Penguins vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
Second and third on the table faced off for what could be a decisive game in the race to the finals. This is the first time these two teams have met, and with speed and size on both sides it was sure to be a good match. Unfortunately for the Pengiuns, the Titans were on their game from the drop and on the back of some great passing and one-time shots, took a 2 - 0 lead to the first break. Another two goals to the Titans, and The Penguins were beginning to get frustrated and although they tried, the Titans shut them out with very little making it as far as the keeper, until the Titans El Capitano Rusty was sent for tripping within the last two minutes (which was actually an accident, despite all outward appearances). Penguins took advantage of the extra player and put a goal on with a minute left on the clock. A concrete 4-1 win for the Titans shows that the next matchup in a few weeks time will be a cracker. Titans cementing their place in the finals, trying for a title in their first season of B- grade.

15-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 11
Thursday Night Win For Titans
Titans vs. Huskies by Russell Gregory
The game was lucky to happen given the lack of players at the drop for the Huskies team. 4 players (including 2 a graders) was not going to be enough, however the cavalry arrived shortly after and the game began. Titans with their regular team, looking to get that winning feeling back after dropping only their second game of the season last week. The game started with a bit of end to end play, and a Nil Score ensued. With Six seconds left on the clock, Bryn Shepherd was sent for deliberate time wasting after knocking the ball over the wall and out of play (in his defence, he didnt know there was the rule, but he probably could have got away with it if HE DIDNT POINT AT THE SCOREBOARD and start walking to the Bench! DOH! ) Anyway, second half started and with a ankle injury to the scoring sensation Greg Dezman and saw him relegated to the Titans Crease for the rest of the game to play keeper. The Titans took it in their stride and adjusted the subs to suit, and a goal was the result (no idea who scored it). Some very soft penalties for both teams saw the Huskies and Titans reduced to 5 for parts of the second half, but despite a lot of pressure from the Huskies A Graders, the Titans held on for the win. Final score 1 - 0, with the Titans odds firming in the race to the finals.

15-OCT-2009
C Division - Week 10
Wins for Monkeys and Ice Devils !
Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
After a close loss to the Knights earlier in the season the Brass Monkeys knew they were in for a tough game, but only having five of us turn up was going to make it a lot harder. For the start of the game the Monkeys played a man down and, although playing relatively strong defensively, the Knights took advantage and managed to get up 1-0 early on in the first. Luckily, Nathan Fielding from the Dugongs joined us for the game to give us a full side (thanks heaps Nathan!) which allowed us to get back into the game. The remainder of the first half saw strong defence from both sides, keeping the score 1-0 in the Knights favour. After a quick team discussion the Monkeys came out fired up in the second, knowing they would have to push hard to even the score. The Monkeys had a lot of shots at goal, however most just missed or were stopped by the Knights goalie. Finally we were able to get on the board after a successful pass from Ash made it to Reece who set me up to slot the ball into the corner of the net. 1-1 with still the remainder of the half to go. Both teams worked hard but neither were able to get the advantage, bringing the game into our second overtime. Despite shots from both sides, both teams were too strong defensively with the result a draw for both sides. Thanks to the Knights for yet another close game. Hopefully we will get to play again in the finals. Oh and congrats to Ashleigh for getting her first point in Broomball. All I can say is Its About Time!

Dugongs vs. Ice Devils by Mitchell Burrett
Last week the Dugongs helped the Devils score a win over Atomix in the form of extra players. This week, both teams took to the ice as foes rather than friends. The game started out fast, with both teams showing good offense and defense. First goal of the night went to Josh, scoring from in front. Kieran followed suit by putting a terrific shot in, almost from the halfway point. Rounding out the first half was David, bringing the halftime score to 3-0 in favour of the Devils. Strong defense by both teams throughout the second half meant no more goals were scored, bringing the fulltime score to 3-0 with the Devils getting the W. Thanks to the Dugongs for the game, and we look forward to the rematch.

12-OCT-2009
A Division - Week 11
A Win for Druids
Werrington County Sonics vs. Penrith City Rangers by Tim Brown
With Ceez Kim held captive at a highly classified location, their usual change room locked, Wheeler forgetting his broomball pants and having to wear Kerry's spare tracky daks with the pink stripe, Dee almost forgetting her broomball pants but then finding them in the car, Rangers taking the ice first and picking the end Sonics have warmed up on every game this season so far..a superstitious team with a routine might find this off putting. They might think this could be the night that the winning streak is broken. Well one girly short the girly side of Sonics would just have to tough it out with no subs, Jason seemed quite happy with the pink striped traky daks. Rangers came out pumped with their foot on the accelerator, probably because they had the good end to warm up on. Plenty of opportunities for both sides in the first half but both teams held on covering well in defence but also some excellent keeping for Colyer and McDonald made for a scoreless first half. Sonics started the second half brightly working some good passes in attack and getting a shot rocketing for the far post but McDonald in goals was up to it making a great diving save. Rangers recovered well after the early Sonics onslaught, either team looking like they could win it. It wasn't until the last 30 secs a wild shot in from Brown, a shot on the loose ball from Stockbridge saved, but picked up by Chapman passing back to Stockbridge open in the slot to shoot, a deflection, the net blulged - Sonics 1 up. Rangers back for the faceoff, winning it and then into attack. Sonics all dropping back into defend the 1 goal lead. Golding to Kristof, he shoots - saved! Price to Kristof to Golding, he shoots - blocked! Ivin shoots - saved! Golding shoots - blocked! Golding lining up another shot, the buzzer goes! Sonics WIN!

Glenmore Park Druids vs. Richmond Ravens by Saxon Hooper
Druids have been on a bit of a slide lately but were confident tonight as the unveiled their new secret weapons. Dual Canadiens: Ghis Calloc'h back from Canada and JC Huet of Pogo's fame from Montreal. With this Canadian injection Druids we able to control the start of the game creating good chances, however as per the last few weeks, just not putting them away. Taking advantage of this Raven's were first on the board when Jo Mitchell set up Andrew Causby to slot home a hard low shot. 1-0 half time lead for Ravens. Druids on attack early in the second half with Saxon Hooper taking the ball down the wall, round through the office, round the back of the net, and slotting a ball into the crease looking for his forwards. However it went through everyone (just like I planned) and found JC Huet on the blue line. Finding his ice feet at last he found Damian Colyer close to the net. Damo fired and found the inside side netting on the far post. 1-1 with 17 to go. As usual in tight games, both teams had chances but couldnt bury them. 1-1 full time and into OT. Druids started well finally winning a face off, except that Ravens ran through and collected the lose ball. Posession Ravens and so began the game of cat an mouse. Druids ina tight Diamond formation not allowing any ball into it. Ravens around the edges not making mistakes with the ball, threatning to pull the trigger anytime. Minutes ticked by, both teams showing unbelievable patience, neither making mistakes. Then when it looked like time was going to run out, Damo blocked a Ravens ball and was away, over half way, over the blue line, no one in front of him.. shoot the ball.. shoot the ball.. stil he went closer, Dane closing the gap.. Eventually just 4 metres out, just as Dane closed on him the shot.. it looked like it was wide, but gently rolled inside the post giving Druids the OT win. 2-1 OT Druids over Ravens. Great game to play and finally a W for Druids.

12-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 11
Wins for Druids and Devils
Tigers vs. Druids by Matt Hellyer
Tonight DruidsB became Phoenix again because the team was on fire! The decimation began about five minutes after the drop when Alana Bracken slotted the ball past the keeper from right in front assisted by Matt Hellyer. DruidsB continued to maintain possession for most of the first half, and it showed. After a plethora of attempts at goals, Alana was rewarded with a second goal assisted by Matt and Damian Colyer. This was shortly followed up by a solo goal by Damian to end the first half 3-0. The second half saw Tigers up the ante a little and indeed they were first to score, with a messy goal by Paul Stockbridge assisted by Craig Sadler that left DruidsB keeper Kate Robson spinning on the ground like a starfish. Described as a sympathy goal by critics (i.e. Alana), captain Ryan Finlayson was heard responding �We�ll take all the sympathy goals we can get�. Next to score was Dominic Colyer with a great solo run a few minutes later. Tigers scored another goal soon after, this one clean and classy, with a fast break from Ryan Finlayson assisted by Linda Finlayson. DruidsB answered with a similarly fast break by Zac, who passed to Matt who delivered it to the back of the net. But the rampage wasn�t over yet. Alana, who was in a �winning mood�, decided that two goals weren�t enough for her, and promptly went on to score another two in the dying minutes of the game - one assisted by Scott Powell and the other by both Scott and Damian. Alana�s four goal hat-trick doubled the number of goals she has scored in total from her time with DruidsB - a fantastic achievement! There�s no doubt that this game was a career highlight both for her and the team. Final score 7-2 to DruidsB, their most convincing win to date.

The Penguins vs. Ice Devils by Brett Ackling
Last game of the night saw the Devils take on the Penguins. Game was hard and fast with the first goal going to Brett Ackling off a Causby pass. The Penguins hit back quick and scored about a minute later with a nice 3 on 1 with the goaly. Devils hit back with Brett putting in a nice across the ice pass for Keiren. Devils then scored again with Fejj getting a nice pass away to Brett yet again to score. Well that was the first half. The 2nd half was just as fast and hard but no one could convert the many opportunities. Final score 3-1 to the Devils. Cheers to the Penguins for the game.

08-OCT-2009
C Division - Week 9
Journeymen Win Again !
Ice Devils vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
The first game of the night placed the Brass Monkeys against the Ice Devils on extremely wet ice. The first half was a slow moving one, with the wet ice making hard to make any tricky maneuvers around opposing players. Despite this the Monkeys continued to push forward and were finally rewarded when Reece Shepherd made a pass from behind the net to myself who successfully placed the ball in the back of the net. First half finishing 1-0. The start of the second half was a tough one for the Monkeys with the Ice Devils dominating possession. We managed to hang in though and, after recovering from an attempted trip, Dale Peterson continued his good form in front of goals to put us up 2-0. The rest of the half saw chances from both sides but neither side was able to convert again with the game finishing 2-0 to the Brass Monkeys. Thanks to the Ice Devils for yet another close game between both sides.

Journeymen vs. ATOmix by No One
Jouneymen got the win, but failed to do a write up. -1 duty point.

Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Dugongs by Brett Ackling
Knights played yet another game with no subs and looked over nervously at what seemed to be a whole line change on the Dugongs bench. Game was a tuff match with no teams scoring in the first half dispite plenty of opportunities. Game looked like it was going to overtime when Brett Ackling put in the ball with a beautiful shot across the goals that just snuck in behind the goaly and found some net. Final score 1-nil to the Knights. Thanks to Dugongs for a hard fought game

05-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 10
Public Holiday Broomball - No Rest for the Wicked
Team IceBucket vs. Titans by Liam Golding
Public holiday doesn't mean day off from broomball people. The second meeting between TIB and Titans was always going to be a tough game. Titans have been doing quite well in B grade this season, I think undefeated, barring their first round loss to us previously. TIB have been doing it tough in recent weeks, searching for fill ins and sometimes going without, yet still coming away with the results. Well it felt like the good old days when we started the game with only 4 players. Titans would get a hold of the ball, and then we got to do some more of that defence we've been practicing lately. It seemed to work well enough though, because the Titans rarely got a good shot on goals. When we got the ball, we hid around behind our goal, before making a break for the red line. With about 3 1/2 left in the first half, we found Lis had made it onto the ice for us, and Mark had finally arrived also. Able to attack now, and put some pressure on, a loose pass from the Titans in front of their goals gave us an open shot to go into the break 1-0 up. Second half we probably held onto the ball a bit more than them; able to work some shots from the top, and also forecheck to regather sometimes. When Mark finally slotted a second goal in, we felt somewhat more secure. However Titans stepped up a bit and our now tiring players had to dig deep to cover the incresingly frequent Titan fast breaks. However on most of those occasions, the Titan runner was held wide, so we didn't offer them any easy shots. The last quarter was actually pretty even, Titan defence blocking much of our attack, which was by now really only one of us trying to tear up the boards and hang onto the ball anyway. The game finished at 2-0, but a deeply satisfying game for TIB, doing it in trademark fashion; without the numbers.

The Penguins vs. Huskies by James Kristof
The match started 2 mins late as Huskies initially only had 1 player as we all waited for 2 more huskies to arrive and for some fill-ins to be found. Once the game got underway, Huskies started strong and fast, trying to get an early advantage as without any subs and only 3 regular team members they knew they were going to struggle later in the game. Penguins were very scratchy in the first half, just doing enough to keep the Huskies goal-less but not doing enough to take advantage of their big line-up and massive bench of regular players. 0-0 at halftime. The second half saw the Penguins play a much more structured style, which soon yielded a goal for Kerryn Lawler off of a dual assist for Tim Roffey and Troy Viney. The game became fairly scratchy again after that as Huskies tired noticeably and Penguins fell into the trap of relaxing both with the ball and in defence. However, with a few minutes to go Penguins doubled their lead as Tim Roffey converted a long-range effort off of a James Kristof pass. A scratchy, yet comfortable 2-0 win for the Penguins, against a severely depleted Huskies side.

Glenmore Park DruidsB vs. Ice Devils by Matt Hellyer
DruidsB posted their best performance of the season in this game which was largely a result of having a full complement of players and plenty of subs to draw on. The first half was best described as explosive, with no less than four goals to DruidsB and none to the Ice Devils. Goals were scored by Dominic Colyer, Scott Powell (with a quick hook shot from the side of the goals), newbie Zac (his first of the season) and Matt Hellyer. Team work was excellent, with most goals scored from fast two player breaks. The second half saw Ice Devils score once after a number of good attempts that were successfully blocked by DruidsB defenders and the keeper. Even ex-DruidsB player Andrew Causby, good as he was, was unable to save the day and so the final score was 4-1 to DruidsB.

01-OCT-2009
B Division - Week 9
Titans on a B Grade Roll
Team IceBucket vs. Glenmore Park DruidsB by Liam Golding
A Thursday game for a grand final replay... In the last two seasons, Druids have beaten TIB in both grand finals, however that has been against the run of play in the seasons, as I recall at least one instance in a prior season that we beath them. Therefore, we entirley deserved to win this game. Knowing we were a girl short for this game, I couldn't be bothered trying to find a replacement, so we went with it and played with 5. Druids had a bit if a bench with new imports, and Dammo returning to the side.. First goal went to TIB via Bry, and then not too long after another to Mark R. I cant remember where half time fitted into all this, so ill just say now. Druids hit back with a goal making it 2-1. Then we scored to keep a margin 3-1. Then they scored, 3-2. Then we scored again 4-2. Then Alex got sent off, effectively meaning double power play against us. (I think he really just wanted a break though, cuz he looked utterly stuffed. Still running though.) Then in like the final minute with bugger all time on the clock I got sent off cause Scott didnt drop to his knees like a good keeper would, and so caused me to take him out in a big way. Hence it was all his fault. Barely time for the drop as Bry was getting on to the ice to keep it 4-6, especially as they pulled keeper for a final chance to get a goal back.. But time ran out, 4-2 scoreline to TIB, loving doing it understrength.

01-OCT-2009
C Division - Week 7
Journeymen on the Board !
The Journeymen vs. Dugongs by Darren Pearce
A once again understrength Journeymen took to the ice against the top of the table Dugongs. After the defeat handed to them the previous week the Journeymen came out with a new focus on their defence. Despite the Dugongs keeping the ball our half for most of the game the Journeymen managed to keep the goals empty. Through their solid defence the Journeymen held off the onslaught until Mitch was able to sneak one in off a pass from Jason, and then break away for his second of the season. It was a great game all round.

ATOmix vs. Ice Devils by Mitch Burrett
The Ice Devils were almost facing a forfeit going into the match, since we had only 4 players show up as the game began. We have to give a big thanks to the Dugongs players who volunteered to play a second game to give us a full team and some reserves. As usual, Jeff rolled in about 10 minutes into the first half, luckily the score was still nil all. Strong defense by both teams led to a 0-0 draw at the full time buzzer. Jeff redeemed himself in overtime, scoring the only goal to give the Devils the W. Thanks to Atomix for the match, and to the Dugongs for the subs.

28-SEP-2009
A Division - Week 9
Druids Struggling
Penrith City Rangers vs. Glenmore Park Druids by James Kristof
This was a very hard fought and high quality game of broomball. Both teams played very well, Druids dominating the running of play for the vast majority of the match, maintaining possession and territory for long periods of time, creating great pressure on the Rangers defence throughout the whole match. However, somewhat against the run of play it was Rangers who opened the scoring after a fast-break saw Dave Degruyter draw the keeper out of his crease and slot home the opener to give Rangers a 1-0 lead at half time. Rangers were tired after defending almost the entire half, but stayed committed to their structure and tactics throughout the second half, denying the Druids a goal to claim a hard earned win.

Werrington County Sonics vs. Parramatta River Rats by Tim Brown
The River Rats were in desperate need of a win currently in fourth position, only Druids below them, but Druids with two games in hand. Sonics took the lead near the end of the half breaking out with Scarano taking the ball up the left and over the red line drawing a defender then a good inside pass to Wheeler opening up the Rats defence. Wheeler then passed to Sinha on the right wing and broke toward the back post, Sinha beating the last defender on the outside was the able to cross for Wheeler to finish. A sliding Rats defender ended Scarano's night just before the half, her legs taken and an awkward fall meant she would take no further part. 1-0 to Sonics at Halftime. A careless trip on Brown saw River Rats in further trouble with a 2 minute minor. Sonics soon had the Rats defence in panic on the power play when Stockbridge struck a volley just wide, the loose ball picked up by Chapman, who passed quickly back to Wheeler, who set the ball for Baxter to shoot first time finding the bottom corner - Sonics 2 - Rats 0. River Rats pressed hard now with plenty of time left. Some neat passing and movement found Harvey in space crashing a shot passed the keeper with 7 minutes remaining. Sonics now tightened defensively getting a couple of chances on the break but for some great cover defence Rat's might have been another goal down. Then with a minute on the clock, Rat's pulled the keeper, and pressed even harder with the extra player in the field. A wide shot saw Sonics pickup the ball, with Rat's having the extra player Sonics desperately held onto possession in a real scramble until the final buzzer.

28-SEP-2009
B Division - Week 8
Titans and Penguins with Wins
The Penguins vs. Tigers by James Kristof
Last time these two teams met 2 weeks ago saw a 6-0 thrashing for the Penguins. However, the Penguins were not expecting a repeat of that performance, well aware that the new Tigers line-up are improving with every match, which they showed with a much tighter defensive set up.... I guess you could say that their defence was TIGHT LIKE A TIGER!! (Austin Powers 3 anyone...?) Penguins used their experience to dominate the running of play however, controlling the ball for much of the match and creating many opportunities, only to be denied by the Tigers. The match ended 3-0 to Penguins, with Shannan Heinitz, (INSERT NAME HERE), and Kerryn Lawler (who got attributed a goal from a Tigers own goal) scoring for the Penguins to improve their winning streak to 3.

Ice Devils vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
The Titans took on the Ice devils, with both teams coming off stong wins last week it looked to be shaping up as a good game. The Devils began one player short, however the speed of the game didnt suffer at all. Some quick breaks and some solid passing for the Titans saw them come into the half time break 2 -0 up (with the Devils unlucky to have a shot beat the Titans keeper and bounce off the inside of the post, and roll along the front of the goal without going in). The Titans really tightened up in the defensive department in the second half, and as a result kept the score to Zero. 5 Wins in a row for the Titans see them on a roll, without a loss since week one of this season. Final Score 3-0 to the Titans, thanks to the Devils for a good game. There is a blockbuster next week with the Titans to take on the only team to beat them in B grade, Team Ice Bucket!

24-SEP-2009
B Division - Week 7
Titans on a B Grade Roll
Titans vs. Glenmore Park DruidsB by Russell Gregory
Titans with a 3 & 1/2 week break between games coming into this battle with Druids B, and was always going to be a tough ask against the reigning Premiers of B grade. The Titans were a little bit Rusty starting out (with such a long break on the cards), but were able to keep the first wave of Druids attack out of the goals. 10 minutes into the 1st half, something clicked for the Titans and we began to dominate the possession, with the Titans Keeper only having to work to keep one shot out for the entire first half. Titans go to the break 2-0 up, with an upset looming on the horizon. The second half was very similar, until the Druids woke up and started pressuring the defence in much the same way that the Titans were tormenting them earlier in the game. A low shot bounced off the keeper and trickled over the line to make the score 2-1 with less than 3 minutes left on the clock. A marginal call on a penalty for tripping on Titans player Bryn Shepherd saw them reduced to 5 with 1.30 on the clock. Some scrambling defence saw the Purple team get the win and continue a stellar first season in B grade, with only one loss from their first 6 games.

24-SEP-2009
C Division - Week 6
Knights Score 8 again !
ATOmix vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
The first game of the night placed the Brass Monkeys up against ATOmix on very slippery ice. The Monkeys knew that ATOmix would be looking to avenge a big loss to the Knights the week earlier and they certainly put the pressure on. A slippery, low scoring first half saw only one goal for the Monkeys, through Dale Peterson, due to strong defence from both sides and excellent goal keeping from ATOmix. With the wet ice drying up a bit the second half became alot faster with Jordan Martin-Waterhouse scoring twice, ATOmix getting one back, and Dale Peterson scoring his second to end the game 4-1, a score not reflecting how tight the game actually was. Thanks to ATOmix for a tough defensive game. We look forward to playing you again later in the season.

Knights who say Broomball vs. Journeymen by Josh Burton
Tonight�s game saw the Knights taking on the newly formed Journeymen. This was expected to be a grudge match, as members of the Journeymen were ex-Knights players from last season. The game saw mostly Knights attacking with the Journeymen attacking on the counter. Defensive flaws showed for the Journeymen, as well as playing 1 man down, saw the Knights taking advantage. Despite some really good saves by Nathan, to keep Journeymen scoreless, and some good saves by the Journeymen�s goalies, the score ended 8-0. Goals: Nathan (Deserved one, he actually saw it go in), Bec (on a streak here), Brett (took too long to score) and Josh (ended with 5). Unlucky for Pierce not to get a goal, but we look forward to our next outing against the Brass Monkeys in 2 weeks, while we wish the Journeymen good luck against the Dugongs next week.

21-SEP-2009
A Division - Week 8
Druids Struggling
Penrith City Rangers vs. Richmond Ravens by James Kristof
Rangers were coming off a pretty dodgey last-time-out performance, which resulted in a few structural and tactical changes being implemented. Right from the first face-off they seemed to be working, as Rangers settled down quickly, building pressure in Ravens' half, with Dave Degruyter setting up Bryan Macklin on a run through a couple of Ravens defenders to put Rangers ahead 1-0. From that point on, despite Rangers playing really well, the match was evenly fought out as Ravens too stepped up their game and created pressure of their own, eventually cracking the Rangers defence with only a couple of minutes to play after a deep switch pass bamboozled both the Rangers' last line defenders and the goalie, allowing Aaron Dymond to equalise. Ravens controlled the first few minutes of OT but were unable to capitalise due to some great scrambling defence, and Bryan Macklin looked to have won the game for Rangers with under a minute to play after a long-range effort looked destined for the back of the net, only to curve at the last minute and hit the post and bounce out. 1-1 at the end of OT.

Glenmore Park Druids vs. Parramatta River Rats by No One
Rats won 1-0 in OT, deducted 1 duty point for not supplying write up.

21-SEP-2009
B Division - Week 8
B Grade Hots Up
Team IceBucket vs. Ice Devils by Liam Golding
TIB again struggling to field a full team, this week starting with 5 for a few minutes till karen was able to jump on and help us out. (many thanks karen) however Ice Devils didn't look much better with only 1 guy on the bench. I'm sorry to report that im not going to able to draw this out in the fashion to which you have all become so familiar and appreciate of. Anyway, as you may have guessed from the fact im writing this, we won, scoreline was 2-0. Only a single penalty of the match was against yours truly for stick into face. Pure accident, i swear. :) goals went to Mark Ruleski, and (i think..?) Mark Price. It could just be a habit of Pricey scoring that makes me think this....A tough well played game though.

Huskies vs. Tigers by Luke Simmonds
Huskies have downed a committed Tigers team 3-1. The score doesn't represent how close the match really was. Scores were level at 1-1 at the halftime break with a goal to Jordan Smith from Huskies and a nice goal in front of net from Linda Bell from Tigers. The second half was just as close and a good battle with both teams creating opportunities and defending equally well. A quick burst by the Huskies with 2 goals in the space of 2 mins from Luke Simmonds & Jordan Smith put the game out of reach for the Tigers.

17-SEP-2009
C Division - Week 5
OT Fest !
The Journeymen vs. Ice Devils by Jeff Ferrerrerra
The first match of the session started slowly while everyone adjusted their game to the world class Thursday night playing surface. Ice devils had plenty of possession early, with unpredictable breakouts from the fast Journeymen forwards keeping our defense honest. After some heavy pressure, Josh Newell hit paydirt mid way into the first half, finding the net through an unlikely deflection and putting the Devils up 1-0 going into half time. Arriving for the second half and screaming for a sub, David McDonald came off the bench an quickly made an impact, sprinting into action and immediately putting himself the in perfect position to sweep a stray ball past the keeper. 2-0 Devils early in the second half. Ice Devils again held the large majority of possession for the remainder of the game, but through the usual lack of quality shots on goal and good in-slot defense by the Journeymen were unable to convert, leaving the scoreline 2-0 Ice Devils at the final siren.

Knights who say Broomball vs. ATOmix by Josh Burton
Tonight�s match pited the Knights against the ATOmix in a return after 2 weeks off for the Knights. The game started with both teams exploring options, with Knights having most of the possession and attacking advantage, which lead to a 2-0 half time. The second half started with most of the same, with Knights running away with some good set plays and some lucky breaks. Full Time score 8-0 Scorers: Bec: 1 goal, Pierce: 2 goals, Josh: 4 goals and Brett: 1 goal. A good effort for the Knights. ATOmix were just very unlucky with the lack of possession, which cost them in the end. Knights look forward to their match with the Journeymen next match, while the ATOmix take on last year�s runners-up Brass Monkeys.

Dugongs vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
After a two week break coming off an unfortunate o/t loss to the Knights, the Brass Monkeys were pumped and ready for action against the Dugongs. As history has shown its always a tight match against the Dugongs so the Monkeys knew they were in for a tough match. The start of the match saw the Brass Monkeys pushing hard to get the first goal but strong Dugong defence made it hard to get a shot on goal. Finally after many attempts Dale Peterson finished off a one-timer to launch the ball into the net putting the Monkeys up 1-0. The remainder of the first half was more of the same but no more goals were added to the tally. The Brass Monkeys came into the second half feeling confident after a strong start to the game, although we still struggled to get shots actually on goal. Then the unexpected happened, something that seemed so impossible and, as some might say, even crazy to even think about. Joshua "Cousin Josh" Coates, after two seasons, scored his first broomball goal! After a mid game celebration we were back to the game but, with the Dugongs clearly not happy with Josh's goal, we were put back in our place with the Dugongs making a quick break and scoring to bring the score to 2-1, still in our favor thankfully. The game continued at a fast pace until Jordan "Super Goalie" Martin-Waterhouse launched a shot into the back of the net, bringing us to the final score of 3-1. Thanks to the Dugongs for yet another tough game. Look forward to playing you again towards the end of the season.

14-SEP-2009
A Division - Week 7
Sonics on track for Undefeated Season
Glenmore Park Druids vs. Richmond Ravens by Joanne Mitchell
Ravens plus Adelaide import Kate Irvine took on Druids in an evenly matched game. Druids were the first to score, with a Dominic Colyer shot past superkeeper James Kristof, into the corner of the net. Ravens matched the Druids goal for goal with a clean sweep into the net from Dane Hansen to answer Dom's goal, and an Andrew Causby special in response to the 2nd Druids goal of the night by Saxon, leaving the score at 2 all with 5 minutes to go. Ravens continued to create chances until Jo Mitchell found a loose ball in front of the net, and flicked it neatly into the keepers chest pad. Alana Bracken showed uncharacteristic patience as she watched the ball bounce into the air, and waited until she could tap the ball at just below her shoulder, to secure the first win of the season for Ravens.

Penrith City Rangers vs. Werrington County Sonics by Tim Brown
With star players Jason Wheeler (injured) and Paul Stockbridge (missing in action ;) unavailable it was going to be a big ask for the PacRim weary and defeated Sonics players (except Amran, who didn't play in the PacRim) to take on Rangers. Well that would have been true except that pretty much all of the Ranger players also played in the PacRim and were probably just as tired and sore. Rangers won the opening face-off and were straight on the attack but it wasn't long before a Sonics breakout saw the Rangers keeper tested early. Play continued with no goals both teams getting a few chances until Andrew Chapman put the finishing touches on a good passing move up the middle putting Sonics into the lead. 1-0 Sonics at the break. The second half face-off saw a bit of scrap for the ball, Tim Brown, eventually getting possession and slipping a ball over the redline for Andrew Chapman, with Rangers defence drawn into the redline tussle, to run through into space and cross for the fresh legs of Amran Sinha (who didn't play in the PacRim) to walk the ball into the goal. 2-0 Sonics. Rangers pressed hard as the clock ran down creating a number of chances, one off the cross bar, until finally a cracking shot hit the back of the net. Only a few seconds remaining however and Sonics took the win maintaining their unbeaten record this season.

14-SEP-2009
B Division - Week 7

Team IceBucket vs. Huskies by Liam Golding
First game after PAC RIM and I dont think anyone wanted to play.. except the refs who wanted to get the games going. So we started against the Huskies I think it was 3-5 in our favour. I say think because I was running around convincing Sally (of the not Yabsley variant) to fill in for us, (which she was luckily happy enough to do.) I know Jason seemed really enthusiastic.. lol. It was probably nearly half time before both sides eventually got a full team on the ice, so really it was only a 20 minute game. The whole first half was like some mad crazy all over the palce nuthouse game, with the man-up advantage flipping backl and forth even though there were no penalties!! So as both teams settled into the second half, we got the first goal from Mark Price through some neat one-two passing that should make Sally glad she agreed to play, because there were assist points in it for her too. The next goal came from Cale, again via some one-two passing with Alex and a sweet shot from a tight angle. With the clock winding down we felt more secure, however Huskies kept us on our game when they struck back, alledgedly through Chappo. We ended up winding the clock down to hang onto a win in a game that was definately a different one.

Ice Devils vs. Tigers by Brett (the least favourite) Ackling (at broomball)
Devils playing down their Captain with his Marriage later this week only had the one sub for the men. Luckily for the women we managed to con another to play giving them a sub as well. Game started off fierce with both teams pushing hard. First points of the night went to the Devils with Andrew thumping one past the keeper. The Devils took this 1-nil lead into the 2nd half and came out firing with another goal going to Sara our last minute ring in. This gave the Devils a bit of breathing space and as we settled back into defence some sloppy mid feild passing by the Tigers was intercepted by Brett who went away to slot another one past the goaly. Final score was 3-nil to the Devils. Chears Tigers for the game. All the best to Keiren and Shallon with their wedding this weekend.

12-SEP-2009
Mens 2009 Acacia Broomball Pacific Rim International
NSW Blue Win the Gold
NSW Orange vs. NSW Blue by Louis "We are the Champions" Sultana
NSW Blue has taken out the Mens division of the 2009 Pacific Rim International Broomball Tournament, defeating NSW Orange by 3 goals to 0. The round games saw each team record a victory with NSW Blue having the upper hand with the most recent win. NSW Blue scored the first goal after 10 minutes, Daniel Wong with a forehand push into the net, assisted by Shannon Heinitz. Play continued at both ends for the remainder of the first half but neither team was able to convert. 1-0 at half time. The second half saw some fast paced play from both teams despite the condition of the greasy ice. With little over 4 minutes to go in the first half, NSW grabbed the all important buffer goal, Jeff Ferrara and Marc Kuipers setting up Shannon Heinitz. NSW Orange tried to grab a late goal back but ultimately left their defence missing, Dane Hansen picking up an intercept from his own blue line and sent it straight to Marvin Dossi who raced away and slammed the ball in the top corner. 3-0 NSW Blue with little over a minute of play remaining. NSW Blue held Orange out to claim the Gold Medal. It was a great game by both NSW teams. The non elite players really stepped up in this tournament and NSW Broomball showed the depth that will make them a force for years to come. Congratulations to NSW Orange for making the final, each player competed exceptionally well in the tournament. Congratulations to the NSW Blue players for playing such a great tournament. It was a remarkable performance by NSW Blue, conceding only one goal throughout the entire tournament and winning 5 games straight. Finals Goals: Daniel Wong #98, Shannan Heinitz #19, Marvin Dossi #32

12-SEP-2009
Womens 2009 Acacia Broomball Pacific Rim International
Silver Snipers Win the Gold
Crimson Furies vs. Silver Snipers by Karen Boer
The Women's grand final was set to be a cracker, the first placed Silver Snipers Vs second placed Crimson Furies. In the first round the Snipers won 2-1, the second round game ended in a draw 1-1. The game started off at a high pace, much like the previous round games. However, after 6 round games over only 2 days legs were starting to tire. Snipers held posession in the first half, testing the Furies defense with some well structured attack. Early in the first half the Furies conceeded a penalty giving the Snipers a power play. The power play was well utilised by the Snipers who fielded a strong team during the 2 minute penalty. Shortly before the Furies were at full strength again slick passing between Em Blamey and Kate Irvine allowed Karen Boer room to shoot through 2 defenders and past the goalie giving the Snipers a 1-0 lead. The Furies pressured the Snipers in the second half, forcing Kate Yabsley to make some good saves in goals. Snipers had to scramble to ball out off the mouth of the goal to hold their lead. 2 penalties to the Snipers allowed the Furies attacking opportunity, however the Sniper defence was once again too good. Snipers took out the game 1-0. Thanks to all the girls for an enjoyable and well played tournament. See you at next Nationals!

12-SEP-2009
Mens 2009 Acacia Broomball Pacific Rim International
Bronze for ACT Flames
ACT Flames vs. QLD/SA Ravens by Ryan Priestly
The battle for the bronze medal placed 4th placed QLD/SA Ravens against 3rd placed ACT Flames in the final game for both sides in the Pacific Rim. ACT looked to redeem themselves after just missing out on a 2nd place spot whilst the Ravens just wanted to finally get a win on the board. Both teams came out hard in the first but ACT seemed to dominate possession of the ball, and with a break away by Trevor Banks, managed to score the first for the match putting ACT up by 1. The Ravens attempted a comeback but with the Flames hurting us on the turn overs it wasn't long until ACT scored their second through Anthony Drabsch. The second half proved to be a tighter game with opportunities for both, along with a few penalties, but no more goals being added to the score board. Final score 2-0 to the ACT Flames in a tough match earning themselves the Bronze medal for the tournament. Thanks to the ACT side for three very testing matches and also to both NSW sides for an enjoyable three days of epic broomball.

12-SEP-2009
Womens 2009 Acacia Broomball Pacific Rim International
HockeyRoos Win the Bronze
The Femmes vs. HockeyRoos by Kerryn Lawler
Coming into the Bronze medal play off The Femmes had beaten the HockeyRoos in both round games, so The HockeyRoos were probably considered as the Under dogs?�. The Femmes controlled most of the first half but thanks to our Superstar keeper Linda Jeffery from the ACT and our strong defence The Femmes were unable to convert. Nil all at half time. Coming into the second half, The HockeyRoos found some rhythm and had a number of quick breakaways, but unable to convert their opportunities. With 12 minutes to go The Femmes were one man up as Simone Lenic was sent to the sin bin for 2 minutes for a high stick. The Femmes quickly gained control of the power play and after quite a few powerful shots were still unable to put one in the back of the net. It was only with 6 minutes to go that Allie received the ball and was on a breakaway. Trailing closely behind was Dani Mitrevski and the Femmes defence. Allie hit a sweet shot through the centre which found Dani and after a few fumbles, Dani was able to tap the ball passed Kate�??s stick and into the goal. HockeyRoos 1-0. With 5 minutes to go, Mez talked the team into ??strategy?� mode, something the HockeyRoos weren'??t use to. The Femmes pressed hard and on various occasions broke our defence but once again The Roos keeper Linda was just too good. HockeyRoos winning the Bronze Medal play off 1-0 over The Femmes. Congratulations to both teams and a special congratulations to Kylie, Simone and Kirsten for their first Broomball tournament, well played girls.

07-SEP-2009
A Division - Week 6
Yet Another Sonics Win
Werrington County Sonics vs. Parramatta River Rats by James Kristof
An open start to the game saw chances to both teams, Sonics converting one opportunity with Tim Brown shooting (passing) the ball in from just inside the blue line directed in at chest height using the top of the stick handle by Cecilia Kim. Jason Wheeler on the board shortly after getting some space down the right the shot taking a deflection and beating the keeper. Rats kept attacking no chance they where out of this match, a narrow miss after good drawing the keeper and passing the shot just wide of the unattended goal. A high stick penalty against Rats then took some of their momentum though they really defended well while short giving Sonics no real opportunities. Sonics going into half-time with a 2 goal lead. The second half saw Rats pushing even harder in offence but a good breakout and the defence holding their ground allowed Dhyana Scarano to put a well weight through ball for Tim Brown to run in on goal and beat the keeper. 3-0 down and too their credit Rats keep looking for a way back into the match. Some good passing in the corner then a strong run to the drew Sonics defence then a neat last pass setting up Danielle Mitrevski to flip the ball past a desperate dive from the keeper, Rats on the board. Rats continued to press and Sonics looked for opportunities on the break leading to a length of the ice goal. Kerry Baxter in possession on Sonics goal line giving an inside ball to Tim Brown who took the ball forward to the blue line then flipping the ball in behind the Rats defence for Jason Wheeler to run in on goal going wide to the keepers left before shooting past the keeper, 4-1 Sonics and the final score.

Penrith City Rangers vs. Glenmore Park Druids by James Kristof
Like many other teams last season, Druids recent form against the Rangers was good, however this is a new season with a new history to be written. However, when Druids went up early with a goal from Saxon Hooper, history looked like it might be repeating itself. Druids took a 1-0 lead at half time, but literally from the first drop in the second half, Luke Simmonds lost the faceoff, tackled a Druids player for the loose ball and converted the ensuing 1-1 opportunity to tie the match at 1 goal apiece. Speaking of history repeating, from the following faceoff after that first goal, Luke Simmonds again won the faceoff, pounced on the loose ball and looked as if he would score again until he fell whilst shooting and hit his ankle instead of the ball and hilarity ensued. The game looked destined for OT until Bryan Macklin gave Rangers the lead with a few minutes remaining, a lead that Rangers held onto, to win 2-1.

07-SEP-2009
B Division - Week 6
B Grade building momentum
Tigers vs. The Penguins by James Kristof
Coming off a 5-0 victory on Thursday, Penguins were keen to consolidate their good form, and consolidate they did. Penguins dominated the run of play against a Tigers team in yet another rebuilding phase following a spate of experienced players leaving, scoring 3 first half goals and 3 second half goals to take the match 6-0. Dani Mitrevski scored a double, while Tim Roffey, Shannan Heinitz, Kerryn Lawler and Daniel Wong all got a goal each. 11 goals in 2 games has given Penguins a great confidence boost after struggling a bit towards the end of last season. This match can be summarised in 4 words - crouching Tigers, savage Penguins (thanks to Ryan for that 1).

Glenmore Park DruidsB vs. Team IceBucket by Mark Rulewski
The last match of the night saw Druids B and Team Icebucket playing each other for the first time since last seasons Grand final match. In their last encounter Druids B were able to defeat Team Icebucket, what would the outcome of their rematch be? Only 40 minutes of running, passing, sweating and hopefully scoring would tell. TIB still experiencing player issues, rejoiced at the return of the taller Golding, Cale, (who is down for the Acacia Pacific Rim Broomball Tournament, playing for QLD, though we chose not to hold that against tonight ;-)). Which meant the we would have a sub for the men, wooo! Liz from Penguins graciously stepped into help make up for our lack of female commitment. Thanks Liz! So the game started and TIB were quick to press up in attack, playing a more controlled style of play than usual using their players to set up attacks, and shots which paid off with Liam Golding, off a Cale assist, slotting one past the keeper to give TIB the lead early in the first half. Druids counter attacked very well, looking dangerous numerous times, with fast brakes and shots on goal, though they to were held scoreless by the TIB defense and the scoreline remained unchanged going into half time. Teams switched ends and play began again, with TIB pressing up hard despite their lead hoping to get another one on the board, or at the very least keep Druid B in their half. Druid B got tired of this and brought the fight back into TIB's domain, setting up their attacks well, though were unable to find the back of the net. Sometime during the second half, TIB was able to put another one on the board with our borrowed girl, Liz of Penguin descent, cleaning up the ball from infront of goals putting it away. Game played continued to at the same pace, with the Druids pushing up hard in the final minutes to claw one back only to be held out once more. The game ended 2-0 for Team Icebucket, happy to win one over the Druids B.

03-SEP-2009
B Division - Thursday
The Penguins on Fire
The Penguins vs. Ice DevilsB by James Kristof
For the second match in a row Penguins were sporting a line-up consisting of 12 players, which allowed them to utilise a fast and intense game plan throughout the entire match. However, Ice Devils B resisted in defence for a long time before Penguins eventually broke the deadlock through to gain a 1-0 lead at halftime. The flood-gates opened after halftime though as Ice Devils B struggled to maintain the pace of the enormous Penguins bench, 4 second half goals giving Penguins a 5-0 win, with 9 of the 12 players getting on the scoresheet - Tim Roffey with 2 goals and an assist, James Kristof, Dani Mitrevski and Shannan Heinitz with a goal each, with Sara Roffof, Troy Viney, Kerryn Lawler and Daniel Wong with an assist each.

31-AUG-2009
A Division - Week 5
Sonics Way Out in Front
Richmond Ravens vs. Werrington County Sonics by Tim Brown
Ravens scored early in the game but Sonics struck back shortly after Ceez Kim passing down the boards to Tim Brown who crossed to Dyhana Scarano arriving on the far post to smash the ball home. 1-1 at halftime, then an intended cross from Brown deflected off a Raven defender and in, no chance for the keeper and Ravens not having any luck on this one. Then Sonics then doubled the lead with Kerry Baxter sloting the ball home under pressure in front of the net. Then lastly at the death with Raven's keeper pulled, Jason Wheeler chased down a clearance then ran behind the goal to avoid the covering defence before come out on the far side and finishing from a tight angle. 4-1 Sonics !!

Penrith City Rangers vs. Parramatta River Rats by James Kristof
Towards the end of last season River Rats comfortably beat the Rangers on a couple of occasions and were looking to set about keeping this winning streak going. Rangers on the other hand were determined to begin a winning streak of their own, and when Bryan Macklin scored from just inside the blue-line, things were looking up for Rangers. The contest remained tight from then on out, both teams creating several opportunities only to be denied by great goal-keeping. The match ending 1-0 to Rangers.

31-AUG-2009
B Division - Week 5
The Bucket Cup
Tigers vs. Titans by Kathy Andrew
These two superb teams came toe-to-toe yet again in a back to back match in just over a week. The tigers were out to get a win after last week�s defeat. The first half was an action-packed, fast-paced game with neither team getting on the board. In the second half, the titans after a half-time reprimand/woo-hoo talk from their captain (AKA Rascally Russell Gregory), entered the game with renewed gusto. Rascally Rusty set the example by giving Jolly Jesse Blakeney the assist for the first goal of the match. The titans with this ego boost, proved strong in attack with all team members having a shot at goals, but Tiger�s keeper Agile Angela Corfield kept us out. Kuddly Kathy did a tricky, or some may say fluky shot through Lanky Linda Findlayson legs to Boastful Bryn Shepherd who put the shot through to make the score 2-0. With a bit of pressure off the titans defences relaxed with Rambunctious Ryan Findlayson bringing the score up to 2-1. Great game was had by all. Can�t wait for the rematch.

The Penguins vs. Team IceBucket by Mark Rulewski
The ice rink must have thought "deja vu!?", amongst other things, this monday night, the 31st of August, as it witnessed Team Ice Bucket facing off against Penguins once more. (Quickly the ice rink realised that Saxon was just having fun with the draw "haha Saxon, good one!" it thought icily. Though the bizarre moment of the ice rink being self aware, quickly passed and so it got on with its job of being an ice rink. I will follow the ice rink's example and get on with this match report). Round two of the Penguin Bucket cup began with the Penguins sporting a full side and the Buckets, just barely fielding a side with some the help of some Loan players (thanks Bryn and Nicole!). The first half saw some very strong and structured play from both teams, with the Buckets using good team work and passing to create some solid attacking chances, which were (unfortunately) denied by the competent level of defence and screening brought to bear by the Penguins. The Penguins replied in earnest, many dangerous plays at the buckets goal and were able to capitalise with one of the penguin ladies(sorry i dont know your name) shooting (whilst sitting down!) the ball straight past the keeper's wide open left, who was most likely not expecting a shot from that position. In any case the Penguins were the first to score blood! Beginning to tire from a lack of subs the buckets dug deep and were soon to reply with Bryan Macklin smashing a goal into the back of the nets after beating two defenders. The score was tied! Which is how it continued into the half time. Second half saw much of the same effort and intensity from both teams as they strove to gain the upper hand, not wanting to let the victor be decided by overtime once more. The winning goal came for the Icebuckets in the middle of the second half with Liam hitting/passing the ball from behind the goals, which found super sub Bryn shepard on the run which he was able to shoot past the keeper with a great diving shot. Now one goal up the buckets were eager to keep the lead as the Penguins renewed their offensive applying heavy pressure in attack. The buckets proved up to the defense task and were winners with the scoreline reading 2-1 their way when the buzzer sounded. Thanks to the Penguins for a great and satisfying rematch.

27-AUG-2009
B Division - Thursday
Huskies on a Romp
Huskies vs. Ice DevilsB by Glen ButlerFleming
Huskies were a girl down again but managed to recruit Aleasha, from the C grade team Dugongs. Huskies started the game well using all the ice, combined with good passing and positioning. Ice Devils were no match for the inform Huskies, Jordan Smith putting 3 into the net, with Simmo, Shakin, Kupiers and Butler-Fleming each putting one to help the Huskies in their win over the Ice Devils, Causby scored with a rocketing shot ending all chance of a mercy rule coming into effect. All Huskies played as a team, and a special thanks to Aleasha for playing and helping us out in our win.

27-AUG-2009
C Division - Week 2
OT Fest !
Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Brass Monkeys by Josh Burton
Welcome back for all C Graders, as we commenced Week 2 of the season, with the preliminary final rematch between the Knights and Brass Monkeys. The game started with some attacking and defensive highlights from both teams to no avail. Both teams holding their own until late in the 1st half, where a good set play ended by Catherine put Brass Monkeys ahead going into the half time break. The Knights came out rejuvenated, trying to not let history repeat, showed some heart to push on. The Brass Monkeys having some good attacking opportunities, only to fall at the last step. Finally, a goal was scored by Josh in favor of the Knights, which then was the catalyst for a very interesting 8 minutes left to the game. 1-1 full time. Overtime, commenced with both teams getting a chance to test the water, so to speak, with Knights putting away a goal by Josh/assist to Brett half way through the overtime period. 2-1 Fulltime win to the Knights. Knights 2 from 2, hope to get a streak going, and the game showed a finals intensity to hopefully another hotly contested C Grade Competition. Who said there wasn�t feeling in C Grade Broomball.

Ice DevilsC vs. Dugongs by Mitchell Burrett
A good competitive match, strong offense and defense from both teams, leading to a full time score of 0-0. Jeff Ferrara scored in overtime giving the Ice Devils the win. Thanks to the Dugongs for a good game.

24-AUG-2009
A Division - Week 4
Electrifying Sonics
Penrith City Rangers vs. Werrington County Sonics by Amran Sinha
In an electrifying game, celebrating Ceez Kim's 150th appearance in a-grade competition, Sonics held out Rangers to continue their dynamic start to the season. Stocky got scoring underway when he blasted from a tight angle. Just too much raw power for defenders and keeper to fathom. Sonics doubled their lead when Chappo made a clean break up the boards, drew in the defense and connected with a charging Kerry Baxter. Baxter took the pass in her stride and finished off beating the keeper with a high voltage finish. It seemed happy days for the Sonics but little did they know it was a set-up. Rangers lulled them into a false sense of security and went about surging the last quarter. Rangers created plenty of current and then Smoo was able to convert one such instance, with a fine strike. Fortunately, Sonics were switched on and closed for 2-1 win, thereby completing the first circuit of games undefeated.

Richmond Ravens vs. Parramatta River Rats by Dane Hansen
A nil all draw between Ravens and River Rats (a spectators delight). Rats Defence was as good as Ravens attack and vice versa. 0-0 Full time, 0-0 OT. Points shared.

Richmond Ravens vs. Parramatta River Rats by Sam Boer
River Rats and Ravens back to duke it out again this week, and the game has ended up being much the same as the previous encounter. Ravens dominated possession and had many good breaks. At one point in the first half they were in attack for more than two minutes. River Rats had a one-on-one chance through Sam Boer, but he was unable to beat Tim Brown. Nevertheless, it was nil-nil at half time. The second half saw a similar pattern, but the River Rats were able to scramble and hold in defence. Nil-all at full time. Overtime was a cautious affair until a long range stab from the Ravens that ended up in the back of the net was controversially ruled no-goal, as it was from behind half way. That was all she wrote: Nil all finish.

24-AUG-2009
B Division - Week 4
The Bucket Cup
Tigers vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
The game started off (LATE) with the Titans dominating possesion, due to some solid passing and set attacking plays, but also due to the Tigers lack of numbers. This was rectified early on in the first half and with the Tigers back to strength, the game evened up. Tigers making quick line breaks but unable to convert, and the Titans playing a more structured game in the tigers half. This culminated with a goal to Jesse Blakeney, off a sweet shot from the key, dead infront of the goals. Titans go to the break, as with almost all their games this season, leading on the scoreboard. The second half saw the Titans ratchet up the pressure and some awesome saves by the Tigers keeper kept them in the game, but a rebound goal to Skye Blakeney saw Titans go to a 2-0 lead early in the half. The tigers pulled one back with the solo excellence of Ryan "Dont leave me open" Findlayson saw the score go to 2-1. With Ryan "I Can't Score again" Findlayson , well, unable to score again, the Tigers tried hard but came up short of a Titans team determined to make the finals in their first season in B Grade. Both teams won't have to wait long for a re-match, as the draw has us up against each other next week.

The Penguins vs. Team IceBucket by James Kristof
After losing the Penguin-Bucket trophy again last season Penguins were looking to restore the natural order of the universe by taking back the trophy this season. What really helped in this noble quest was the fact that we had a full compliment of players (i.e. both guy AND girl subs in the same match.....craziness), whereas Buckets only had a couple of subs. Having said this, it was Buckets who started off the better, controlling most of the action in the first half, putting away an early goal after a bit of a scramble, with Liam Golding slotting home the goal. However, not long before halftime Tim Roffey equalised for the Penguins, scoring off a running flick shot after receiving a pass from Sara Roffof. Penguins controlled most of the second half, eventually scoring the match winner via Sara Roffof who put away a goal after receiving a pass from Kerryn Lawler in a 2-1 fastbreak. 2-1 to the Penguins, with one hand on the Penguin-Bucket trophy this season.

20-AUG-2009
C Division - Week 1
C Grade is Go !
Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Ice Devils by Rebecca Collier
Hooray for broomball being back and the beginning of the season kicking with the Devils vs Knights game which is always a pleasure. A very well played game by both teams, considering we have all been lazy in the break and forgotten what running is. Devils playing a man down for the first part of the game with the king of lateness living up to his name:P Knights on the other hand began with one sub but were unable to use this to our advantage early on in the game. Losing that sub in the first half was tough and I am sure Pearce would agree that it wasn't much fun. He is, however, happy to report that his manhood will be OK. Unwilling to come back on, the Ice Knights no longer had subs, leaving the teams now evenly matched. Half time saw a 0-0 scoreboard with both teams eager to prove themselves in the spirit of friendly competition. Ten minutes into the second half Beck passed into Josh who was finally able to pop it into the back of the nets giving Knights the 1-0 lead. Despite plenty of attempts fro m both teams, neither team was able to score again with Knights taking the win. That was fun, looking forward to a rematch.

Unforgiven vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
After the massive break we all had to endure from our beloved sport of broomball the Brass Monkeys were back (with some new faces) and pumped to get back on the ice. Our opponents for the night would be the newly formed Unforgiven who, despite having no subs, gave us a very tough first match for the season. The first half was tightly played, with the Brass Monkeys struggling to push through the Unforgiven's defence, and up against some very good goalies. The Monkeys finally managed to get in front of the goals, and after a few shots Jake Koss managed to slot the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to the Monkeys. The half continued at the same pace but it wasn't long before Jake set up an excellent one timer to Bryn Shepherd who sent the ball straight past the goalie to put us up 2-0. The second half still proved to be tight but with the Unforgiven beginning to tire, the Monkeys managed to keep the ball mostly in their half for the remainder of the game. Still, the Unforgiven weren't going to give up that easy, and managed to play some very strong defence, only giving away one more goal which went again to Jake. Final score 3-0 to the Brass Monkeys. Well done to the Brass Monkeys (except to Cousin Josh) for winning our first game back and also well done to the newly formed Unforgiven who, with the aid of some subs, look like they will be a strong force this season.

ATOmix vs. Dugongs by Scott Powell
The last time these two sides met, one of the closest and most entertaining games of the season was played, ending in a 3-3 draw. Both teams started fast, testing one another�s defense with some probing runs. The Dugongs were able to score off some good offensive pressure when Aaron trick shot the ball backwards, between his feet (and the keepers) to open the Dugong goal account for the second time in three seasons, 10 minutes into the game. The first half ended 1-0 to the Dugongs, with both teams defense more than capable of shutting down the oppositions attack. The second half started much the same as the first, with great keeping and goal line defense keeping the scores at 1-0, until Scott scored with a long range shot, which he followed up a few minutes later with a goal off a fast break. 3-0 Dugongs. Some tiring ATOmix defense was unable to stop Nathan from scoring very late in the game off a wonderful Pete pass, Dugongs 4-0 at fulltime in a game that was much closer than the scoreline indicates.

17-AUG-2009
A Division - Week 3
Sonics off to a Flyer
Parramatta River Rats vs. Werrington County Sonics by Jason Wheeler
Sonics came into this game following two satisfying wins over Druids and Ravens and were hungry for more. While River Rats turned up looking mightily relaxed and confident that they could spring an upset. Sonics fielded a full-strength side and dominated possession and run of play for most of the game. River Rats withstood an early onslaught but left a few too many gaps in defence. Tim Brown created numerous opportunities and was rewarded when he cleaned up the scraps to post the opening goal for Sonics (I'm sure it was more impressive than that but we've seen it too many times...unless of course you're a Sonic). Sonics held out the strong Rats counter-attack with some great scrambling defence and a bit of luck. Sonics second goal was delivered courtesy of a Jason Wheeler rocket which snuck inside the near post setting up a 2-0 lead. River Rats lifted their intensity in the second half (as if it wasn't already high enough) but were unable to crack the classic stonewalling defence of Sonics. A special mention must go to Andrew Chapman for his inspiring pre-game talk and lifting the pasttime of "Amran-bashing" to all new levels. Also well done to Amran Sinha for bringing juggling back to broomball.

Richmond Ravens vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Saxon Hooper
The new look Druids team up against a fairly settled Richmond Ravens line up. Good close games with both teams playing their strengths, Druids using control and posession, Ravens using counter and speed (in both attack and defence). 0-0 half time, both teams not converting any of their 1st half chances. Eventually some good forecheck pressure turn over the ball on Raven's net where Allie CamacBenson slammed a shot which took a neat deflection off a defender pass the keeper giving Druids a 1-0 win.

17-AUG-2009
B Division - Week 3
Huskies and Titans Draw
Tigers vs. DruidsB by Matt Hellyer
What a difference having extra players makes! For once the tables were turned. Joining the regular DruidsB crew was Scott Powell from the C grade team Dugongs, Matt, a first time broomball player, Aaron Parker who played in the first week and Jess Lee, a recent addition to the team. Subs all round! Compare this to Tigers who barely had enough players to make the six on the ice. Nevertheless, the game was a fierce one, with Tigers able to pull off some close calls after a sustained period of DruidsB possession early on. Back and forth the play went, with both sides defending well and keeping the opposing side out. The first goal of the night came when Dominic Colyer was able to slip one past the keeper, assisted by Alana Bracken to put DruidsB up 1-0 at half time. As the second half commenced, the level of competition only increased in its intensity. The new DruidsB players worked overtime to maintain the pace of the game. Occasionally this meant first timer Matt ended up on his backside, and at one point Jess came down with an ankle injury from a stick that landed between the pads. A pass from Dom to Aaron Parker brought the second goal to DruidsB. The pass reached Aaron right in front of the goal. He belted the ball so hard into the back of the net that it sprung right out again from the sheer force that had been applied to it. Again both teams had very close calls in the second half, but solid (albeit sometimes fortunate) defence and keeping left the score 2-0 to DruidsB at full time. A nice clean and friendly game was had, with no send-offs and even a couple of points when DruidsB captain Damien Colyer hugged opposing captain Ryan Findlayson who had possession at the time.

Huskies vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
Good match up between the Titans and the Huskies to kick off week 3 of the comp. Titans coming in with a good record so far in their first B Grade season, one loss and one win and were looking for more coming into this matchup. The Titans got out quickly with 2 great goals (including a really well constructed goal, all starting with Kathy Andrew playing centre for the first time ). Both teams went into the break with their heads up, but Titans with the lead. The second half was much the same, with the Huskies stepping up the pace in attack and it paid off, with them tying the score up with a couple of minutes left on the clock. The Full time siren went and it was on to overtime. Titans came out with a very conservitave strategy, content with taking their breaks where they could do it safely. The Huskies were being steered around the Ice by Glen Butler-Fleming and almost culminated in the winning goal, but some desperate blocking by the Titans saw the game end with a draw, 2 - 2. Thanks to the Huskies for a great game, was very close in the end.

Huskies vs. Titans by Glen Butler-Fleming
Huskies started with a girl down due to Bec Cashel being out sick, Titans coming from C grade having everything to prove. Huskies started well with some good passing but nothing coming from any of the opportunities. Titans scored from two break away goals and looked to be in control of the game. Huskies at second half gained Jess and that made all the difference. Huskies were able put two goals into the Titans net. The teams were evenly match and no one could get the upper hand even in over time. The Game ended in a draw which pleased both teams as it was a good and fair battle.

03-AUG-2009
A Division - Week 2
Sonics Break Druids Win Streak !!
Parramatta River Rats vs. Richmond Ravens by Sam Boer
River rats missing Kerryn Lawler tonight struggled to find cohesion early in the game. The Ravens pushed forward in a number of well constructed breaks, but without success. Davin Harvey thought it was a good idea to give the Rats some penalty kill practice with four penalty minutes in the game. The first was killed well early in the first half. Rats were able to create some chances late in the half, leading to a fortuitous goal after a ball deflected nicely for Dani Mitrevski to slam home. 1 nil Rats at half time. The Ravens continued to break out easily in the second half, but the Rats defence improved as the game went on, and clear scoring chances were hard to come by. The second Harvey penalty was possibly the Ravens greatest opportunity of the half, but again the defence was up to the task. A quick attacking flurry in last 30 seconds of the game by the Ravens failed to produce the equaliser. One nil Rats in a game they were very lucky to get away with.

Werrington County Sonics vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Tim Brown
Coming into this match Sonics were on a bad run against last seasons Premiers Druids. Druids having the better of Sonics last season including the Grand Final. The first half was a tough and fast paced, not bad considering a number of the players weekend running exploits. The first goal came in the second half with Sonics breaking out quickly, forcing Druids to scramble back and cover, successfully initially, forcing Sonics wide. But Druids scramble back left some of the slower lazy Sonics players unmarked at the top, Kerry Baxter to Tim Brown for a first time shot from distance - add a wicked little dip at the end, probably the ball went out of shape - and the keeper had little chance as it found the top corner, 1-0 Sonics. Four minutes to go an unsuccessful clearance by Sonics allowed Druids Alison Camac-Benson to centre the ball for Dominic Colyer to blast home, Sonics defence unable to cover quickly enough. 1-1 at fulltime took the game to OT. Both teams got possession and had some good opportunities but Sonics won it when Jason Wheeler passed across to Kerry Baxter to fire a pass to Tim Brown ghosting in unmarked on the back post to tuck the ball home

03-AUG-2009
B Division - Week 2
Titans Get 1st B Win !!
Huskies vs. DruidsB by Matt Hellyer
The first two and a half minutes of the game involved waiting for a female player to join the Huskies so that play could commence. An exciting beginning. When it started though, the game was on! Huskies began by barraging the DruidsB goals with long range shots, capitalising on the fact that they were once again short a player. It wasn�t long before they were rewarded with a goal, with a simple pass that placed Jordan Smith right in front of the nets. The game continued to look bleak for DruidsB, with Alana Bracken sent off for tripping, reducing the team to four for a couple of minutes. Huskies maintained possession in the DruidsB defensive half, and eventually, after solid efforts by the numerous rotating goalkeepers, they scored again. The second half saw David Buckley, a recruit for the night, join DruidsB � bringing the team up to full strength. In the second half, a good pass saw DruidsB�s Dominic Colyer clear of defenders and he was subsequently able to convert the opportunity into a goal. As the game drew to a close, the captain of DruidsB, Damien Colyer was given a clear run to goals and was able to even the scoreboard to two all. The resulting overtime saw a number of attempts to break the deadlock from both teams, but neither was able to in the time available, leaving the final score 2-2.

Ice Devils vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
The Titans coming into only their second B Grade game on the back of a solid performance against Team Ice Bucket, would take on the Re-Formed Ice Devils in the week 2 match up. The game was FAST! really fast. Ice Devils had the Titans on the back foot for a fair part of the first half, with an extraordinary defensive display the only thing that kept the Titans in the game. Going into the half, it was a 0-0 score line, and a pretty good reflection of the game so far. The second half opened with the Titans making a much more organised effort up front, and resulted in a goal to Skye off a rebound from the keeper. 1-0 Titans lead. The game continued on a very even keel, and when Bryn Shephered was sent for a high stick whilst trying to regather a rebound off his own keeper, the Ice Devils could sniff a goal coming. The Titans did absolutely everything right in the penalty kill, until Dave Degruyter was given 2 minutes for slashing. Titans down to 4 players for about 20 seconds, managed to hold out the Ice Devils who were throwing everything at trying to get a leveller. Ice devils were dealt a blow with Bec Collier sent for accidental contact with the facemask of Dave Degruyter, and the score remained 1 - 0 with two minutes left on the clock. The Titans girls were amazing in holding up the ball behind their own net eating up the clock, the passing between Kathy Andrew, Nissa Jones and Skye Blakeney particularly impressive with opposition players all around. They ate up enough time, and the final siren went with the Titans taking their first b-grade win in only their second game. Final score, 1 - 0 Titans over Ice Devils.

27-JUL-2009
A Division - Week 1
New Season - Game On !!
Werrington County Sonics vs. Richmond Ravens by Tim Brown
Sonics scored a cracking goal early when Jason Wheeler setup Tim Brown for a first time shot that flew past the hapless goalie. No other goals, plenty of chances to both teams. Ravens having a power play in the last two minutes but were unable to convert. Sonics 1 def Ravens 0.

Parramatta River Rats vs. Penrith City Rangers by James Kristof
After a disappointing last season Rangers were hotly anticipating being much more competitive this season, and showed it last night against a new look River Rats team. The match started off as tight affair, with River Rats controlling the better part of the play but were unable to penetrate the Rangers defence. Rangers took a 1-0 lead into halftime however, when Liam Golding pounced on a fast break, shooting the ball around an approaching keeper from the blue line. River Rats hit back soon after the start of the second half slotting home an equaliser. Niether team really took the ascendancy after that until Bryan Macklin got on a fast break and flicked the ball over the goalie's head to give Rangers a hard fought win.

27-JUL-2009
B Division - Week 1
Big Season Opener !!
Team IceBucket vs. Titans by Liam Golding
The off season (all 3 weeks of it) saw some major changes for TIB. With the Titans stepping up of the from a dominant performance in C grade, we lost a number of players who were also playing for us. So after much discussion and consideration, we managed to find some replacements for this season, however some of those new team members were unable to make the first round game, which was fittingly, against the Titans. With much history between the two teams, (the Titans initially formed from our fan club, before being dissolved, and then restored under Russell's guidance,) it was an exciting game for all involved. Titans no doubt wanting to prove they belong in b grade, and what better way than defeating former team mates, whilst we were hoping to prove that we still had some fire in our team. It was sorta weird; I almost had that older brother feeling, as our sibling team stepped up into our league. :p In the end we managed to borrow Kieran for the night so we could field a full team, as Bry and I subbing each other was the only time anyone saw the bench, except for an injury to lisa, and a rest break for Kieran. And I think its fair enough to allow Kieran those breaks, because the game went at 1000 miles an hour for the most part. It was pretty much a case of youthful energy in the Titans, with a large-looking subs roster fighting against the experience in our team. The game was fairly even with the Titans coming out firing. It took a while for us to settle into the game, and i think it could truly be considered a midfield sort of game. As the first half drew to a close, we started getting some shots off, and i picked up a loose save from their keeper, to put us up 1-0 30 seconds from full time. In the second half Russell started to push forward more, and lead his team from the front, as he no doubt relished being able to be on the ice with Dave in b grade. A penalty (the only one of the game,) was called against a Titan - Jesse i think - and we set up the traditional attack. Round the top a few times, and Lisa got a shot off. The screeners did their job perfectly, and the ball went into the back of the net untouched by anyone. 2-0 to TIB. As the second half progressed, we started to play more defensively as the lack of subs were really starting to show for most of us. Our defence held true though, and their were no more goals. An obviously satisfying win for us, particularly as we usually start poorly and leave our run till the end of the comp, but also a top game for Titans, who have plenty to be proud of, and will no doubt be capable of holding their own in b grade.

Huskies vs. The Penguins by Glen Butlerfleming
It was cold and everyone was thinking of warmer places to be, but we had a game to play. James Kristof was out due to injury and the Huskies were down an A Grade girl. So the teams were even. Huskies started like a team that had been playing together thru the off season and quickly scored thanks to Jordan Smith and Mr Smoo. Huskies control most the first half and put another another in the back of the net, with a lot of sure to be goals missed due to lack of control and Samitus. Second half Penguins came back and scored, then putting the Huskies under a lot pressure, Wong and Lawler combining to be a deadly breakaway team. Huskies managed to hold on and win the match and God only knows how. This was a lucky Huskies win.

DruidsB vs. Ice Devils by Matt Hellyer
As another season commenced, premiers DruidsB once again found themselves short on players. With five players continuing from last season and one recruit (with one to come), the whole game was played with one less than full strength. This fact however, a recurring theme throughout last season, has not seemed to daunt the team significantly, as recent history has shown that when the players are few, DruidsB rises to the occasion � with tonight�s game no exception. As the 10:30pm game began, Ice Devils started on the offence, maintaining ball possession and using the extra player to their advantage. The first goal of the night came when ex-DruidsB player Andrew Causby hit the ball with enough force to deflect off the keeper�s stick straight into the back of the net. Undeterred DruidsB continued to battle for possession, and were rewarded sometime after when Captain Damien Colyer made a quick break and slotted the ball past the Ice Devil�s keeper. The game was not without controversy, with no less than three DruidsB players being sent off over the course of the game for tripping and other violations, putting extra pressure on the four remaining players. A fast break by Dominic Colyer in the dying minutes of the game looked sure to put DruidsB ahead, but alas, the ball was pushed into the goals by hand instead of broom. Thus, overtime resulted. Very early on in OT, DruidsB�s Alana Bracken sent a long shot down the rink, which narrowly missed, passing across the face of the goals. A few minutes in, Dominic Colyer was able to bring the ball right up to the goals and flick it in, in front of a scrambling defence. Final score 2-1 (OT) to DruidsB.

13-JUL-2009
A Division - Grand Final
Glenmore Park Druids in OT Thriller !!
Grand Final - Glenmore Park Druids vs. Werrington County Sonics by Saxon Hooper
The Classic grand final between BAWS powerhouse clubs, Sonics and Druids. These two teams had met 3 times in the last 3 weeks, all close affairs with Druids getting the cookies on each occassion. But Grand Finals are different beasts and often throw up the unexpected and it was Sonics who came out of the blocks hard and were all over Druids. Wheeler breaking and shooting on goal to be denied, however the rebound fell to Paul Stockbridge to tap home (not quite was under some pressure). Druids struggling to contain Sonics pace and enthusiasm, luckily 1-0 down at half time. Second half evened out a bit as Druids regained some composure but being unable to score. Off an over committment from Wheeler (and a tricky stick check) Saxon Hooper broke down the wing, drawing the last line of defence found Damo Colyer who smacked a low hard one into the net to tie it up. 1-1 full time and another OT grand final. Sonics made the early running and were unlucky not to score on a couple of occassions however a holding call on Scott Murray put Druids on the power play. From the face off Druids possession, getting forward and setting up their perimeter offence. A bit of a scramble, a shot, some lucky bounces, saw the ball dribbled back out to Tim Ollerton. Reset attack, some good ball movement and a big shot, Linda finding Tim and goal. Druids up 2-1. Druids held out for the win. Great season by Druids only losing 2 games and Linda Findlayson and Saxon Hooper taking out the female and male ponts awards.

Goal 1 - Paul Stockbridge	Goal 2 - Damian Colyer	Goal 3 OT - Tim Ollerton

Mixed A Division Champions - Glenmore Park Druids
Back From Left: Damian Colyer, Ryan Findlayson, Saxon Hooper
Middle from Left: Linda Findlayson, Alyson CamacBenson, Tim Ollerton
Front: Glen Butler-Fleming



Mixed A Division Runners Up - Werrington County Sonics
From Left: Dhyana Scarano, Paul Stockbridge, Cecilia Kim, Scott Murray, Kerry Baxter, Tim Brown, Amran Sinha, Jason Wheeler

13-JUL-2009
B Division - Grand Final
Druids B With Late Winner
Grand Final - Druids B vs. TeamIceBucket by Matt Hellyer
Coming off the back of two finals wins, Team IceBucket had a full complement of nine players on the ice during the prematch warmup. Compare this to DruidsB, who had only four players ready to play with two changing from the previous game and one sub. Fortunately for DruidsB, the refs were kind enough to wait until the team was fully assembled before beginning play (Thanks Tim and Saxon). Then the ball dropped and the Grand Final competition commenced. Possession switched rapidly throughout the first half, alternating between TIB and DruidsB offensives. Back and forth the ball went, with both teams given opportunities for close encounters with the opposing goalkeeper. Solid defence both ways ensured no goals in the first half. With about four minutes until half time, DruidsB player Matt Hellyer received his first penalty of the season after a clear case of slashing right in front of the ref (thanks Saxon). After a false start with a hit to the ball before the drop, the second half began. It played out in much the same way as the first, until mid way through a quick break by Dominic Colyer and Matt of DruidsB led to a very near goal, TIB�s Liam Golding sliding straight into the goals and shifting them and the Bucket�s keeper injuring his back and having to sub off. The resulting faceoff saw Liam make a fast break down the side, but his pass was too fast for his team mates to intercept and so amounted to nothing. With just over three minutes remaining, Damien Colyer and Andrew Causby of DruidsB were able to make a break that gave Damien an easy shot and the first goal of the game. A desperate TIB ramped up their offensive measures, at one point surrounding Damien with three players trying to steal the ball when he was behind the DruidsB goals. However, despite a number of close calls, they were not able to even the score leaving the result 1-0 to DruidsB. Other notable events of the game included a couple of shots that rebounded off players� heads and a handpass that went the most of the length of the rink. All in all a tight game.

Goal 1 - Damian Colyer

Mixed B Division Champions - Glenmore Park Druids B
Back From Left: Ryan Priestly, Matt Hellyer, Katie Robson, Dominic Colyer
Front from Left: Andrew Causby, Damian Colyer, Alana Bracken



Mixed B Division Runners Up - Team IceBucket
From Left: Russell Gregory, Mark Price, Liam Golding, Lisa Price, Sky Blakeney, Dave DeGruyter, Mel Koehler, Bryan Macklin, Bryn Shepherd

13-JUL-2009
C Division - Finals
Titans Win their Second C Division Title !
Grand Final - Titans vs. Brass Monkeys by Russell Gregory
The C Grade Grand final rolled around with a surprising participant taking part. The Brass Monkeys, after fighting their way through the Elimination Final, took out the Knights who Say Broomball in the Preliminary Final in what has to be described as the upset of the season. The Knights had to Be disappointed after only losing 3 games all season. Their opponent was the undefeated Titans, who were having a stellar year and were expected to be finalists by just about everyone. The game began with the Brass Monkeys taking it to the Titans, making plenty of fast beaks and generally getting the Titans on the back foot. Some awesome keeping and some scrambling defence were the only two things that kept the score at Nil all. After finding their feet, the Titans got to work setting up the structure and form that has seen them with 16 games straight dating back to last year. The pressure kept building until Dave Degruyter slotted one into the goals from close range, making the Score 1-0 going into the halftime break. The big crowd in attendance was split between their allegiances, and the second half began very similar to the first. The Brass Monkeys getting the fast breaks and leaving the Titans defenders to keep them out. The fast pace of the game slowed about halfway through, and Titans Captain Russell Gregory took advantage of some lazy keeping to make the score 2-0. This is the Way it would stay until the final hooter went, and the Titans finished a full season without a loss. Thanks to the Brass Monkeys for a tough game, one of the hardest we played all season. Well done to the Monkeys as well for making the Grand Final in their first season! Some special mentions have to go out to the Whole titans team, who are moving up to B Grade next season - Kathy Andrew, Nissa Jones, Skye Blakeney, Jesse Blakeney, Bryn Shepherd, Greg Dezman, Mark Rulewski, Dave Degruyter and Russell Gregory - in the Regular Season 56 Goals for, 4 Goals against , 12 wins from 12 games , and not one goal against for any of the finals. We are looking forward to all playing together next season (that's ALL of us MARK! :P ) Titans Completed the sweep with Nissa Jones Picking up the Female points award and Jesse Blakeney taking out the Mens Points Award.

Goal 1 - Dave DeGruyter	Goal 2 - Russell Gregory

Mixed C Division Champions - Titans
Back From Left: Greg Dezman, Mark Rulewski, Jesse Blakeney, Russell Gregory, Dave DeGruyter, Bryn Shepherd
Front from Left: Kathy Andrew, Skye Blakeney, Nissa Jones




Mixed C Division Runners Up - Brass Monkeys
Back From Left: Ben Sloane, Fan #1, Dale Peterson, Fan #2
Middle from Left: Fan #3, Ashleigh Priestly, Reece Shepherd, Catherine McDonald, Hayden Pierce, Ryan Priestly
Front from Left: Jake Koss, Jordan Martin-Waterhouse, Joshua Coates

13-JUL-2009
Womens Division - Grand Final
The Femmes are Champions
Grand Final - Crimson Furies vs. The Femmes by Joanne Mitchell
The Hockeyroos are the newest team in the women's comp, making it to the final for the first time this season. The whole team played a great game, working as a team to create opportunities for themselves, and well done to their fearless leader Kerryn Lawler for capitalising on the cracks in the structure of the Femmes game, both times;) The Femmes used all players on the team to give a good demonstration of forechecking and break out structures, as tought to them by Saxon Hooper and Tim Brown, the coaches of the top Australian women's team, the NSW Sliders. Break aways by Mel Koeler and Sara Kristof kept the Hockeyroos on their toes, while the win was sealed with 3 thoughfully placed shots into three different corners of the net by the usual killer combination. To all the women's broomball teams: Thanks for a great season ladies, we have the strongest women's broomball league in the country!

Goal 1 - Sara Kristof	Goal 2 - Jo Mitchell	Goal 3 - Kerryn Lawler	Goal 4 - Sara Kristof	Goal 5 - Kerryn Lawler?

Womens Division Champions - The Femmes
From Left: Lis Viney, Melanie Koehler, Alana Bracken, Katie Robson, Joanne Mitchell, Sara Roffey, Gemma Butler-Fleming




Womens Division Runners Up - Hockey Roos
Back From Left: Leesa Luppino, Simone Lenic, Dani Mitrevski, Kerryn Lawler
Front Froom Left: Lauren Goulden, Kirsten Payne, Jess Lloyd, Alyson Camac-Benson

13-JUL-2009
Mens Division - Grand Final
Terminators in a Goal Fest
Grand Final - Terminators vs. Warriors by Tim Brown
Terminators, incredibly undefeated during the extremely long and exhausting men's season, were looking to extend there amazing run in the grand final to a massive 4 games. All started according to plan with Davin Harvey getting onto a through ball to cruise past the Warriors defence to calmly hand-thing a ball passed keeper 1-0 Terminators early in the first half. Warriors being the pesky mosquito like team they are equalized shortly after with a goal to Dave Degruyter. So 1-1 all at half time Warriors actually looking like a really humongous and blood thirsty mosquito at this point, totally impervious to any slapping (believe me we tried, especially Saxon - slapped him good). A stirring halftime talk from James Kristof gave Terminators a plan - When Dom calls for the ball in front of net, pass the damn thing to him. From the face off Terminators went on the attack, Tim Brown getting a ball on the wing and centering to Dom who slotted it home - Good plan James. Of course it wasn't long before Warriors equalized again with a goal to Jason Wheeler...they just wouldn't let it go. Until finally Tim Roffey lifted one over for a top and Tim Brown just beat the Keeper to it tipping it in for the winnning goal. 3-2 Terminators in a Thriller, completing a 4 game winning streak.

Goal 1 - Davin Harvey	Goal 2 - Dave Degruyter	Goal 3 - Dominic Colyer	Goal 4 - Jason Wheeler	Goal 5 - Tim Brown

Mens Division Champions - Terminators
Back From Left: Andrew Chapman, Dominic Colyer, Tim Brown, James Dymond, Davin Harvey
Front from Left:James Kristof, Tim Roffey




Mens Division Runners Up - Warriors
Back From Left: Luke Simmonds, Aaron Dymond, Martin Sultana, Kieran McDonald, Ryan Findlayson, Saxon Hooper, Jason Wheeler
Front from Left: Brett Ackling, Russell Gregory, Bryn Shepherd, Dave Degruyter

09-JUL-2009
A Division - Finals
Sonics Join Druids in A Final !!
Preliminary Final: Parramatta River Rats vs. Werrington County Sonics
Sonics ravaged by illness and work committments up against the form side of the month, River Rats. Rats certaintly started that way, with all the ball, all the pressure and the 1st goal. Sonics looked gone but hung in there, maintaining the 1 goal deficit until Cecilia Kim was on hand late in the game to knock one home. 1-1 full time. 1-1 at the end of over time. Marc Kuipers tripped Tim Brown and put Sonics on the power play in sudden death OT. Tim Brown finding an unmarked Jason Wheeler who flicked in the winner. Setting up another Druids vs Sonics grand final.

09-JUL-2009
B Division - Finals
Team IceBucket Through !!
Preliminary Final: Team IceBucket vs. Werrington County Sonics
Team Ice Bucket simply on fire in their last couple games. Defeating Sonics to move into the grand final vs Druids on Monday.

09-JUL-2009
C Division - Finals
Brass Monkeys in Upset !!
Preliminary Final: Knights Who Say Broomball vs. Brass Monkeys
The first game of the night matched the Knights Who Say Broomball against the Brass Monkeys. The winner of the night would earn a place in the grand finale against the undefeated Titans, the looser would have to wait until the next season to return to the ice. Coming into the game one win each, the Monkeys knew we were going to have a tough fight on our hands. The start of the game was fast paced, with both teams pushing hard to get the critical first goal for the night. Around the half way mark in the first, Catherine made a pass from the boards towards Jake, who sent a rippa into the back of the net. Monkeys up 1-0 but nowhere near the finish line. The rest of the half was more of the same, with both teams continuing to take shots with no result, yet with every minute the Knights seemed to apply more and more pressure but the Monkeys hung on to go into half time with the lead. If the first half wasnt entertaining enough, the second certainly provided. The Monkeys set up a few close one timers but it was Jordan's work in goals that kept us in the lead. The Knights threw breakaway after breakaway towards the goals but Jordan's superb goal tending denied every attempt, the frustration in the Knight's snipers growing more noticable with every save. Eventually the game closed into the final minutes with the Knights continuing the pressure but the Monkeys went into defence mode and held the game out to the final siren with the 1-0 lead they earned so early in the game. Thanks to the Knights who say Broomball for a very close final which im sure was as entertaining to watch as it was to play. Also well done to the rest of the Brass Monkeys who have played superbly for their first ever season. Look forward to playing with you all (except Ben) next season.

06-JUL-2009
A Division - Finals
Druids into Grand Final !!
Qualifying Final: Glenmore Park Druids vs. Werrington County Sonics
Druids ground out a 2-0 victory over Sonics in the qualifying final. 1st goal to Allie Camac-Benson deflecting in a bomb from Tim Ollerton. 2nd gaol to Saxon Hooper, from his standard slot point shot. Druids into the grand final. Sonics to take on River Rats in the preliminary final.

Elimination Final: Richmond Ravens vs. Parramatta River Rats
River Ras got out to a 2-0 lead before Dane Hansen got one back for Ravens. 2-1 meant a tight finish and it was all Ravens in the end, however no conversion. Rats elimiating Ravens and moving forward to take on Sonics in the preliminary final.

06-JUL-2009
B Division - Finals
DruidsB into Grand Final !!
Qualifying Final: Glenmore Park Druids vs. Werrington County Sonics by Matt Hellyer
As with A grade, the B grade Qualifying Finals saw minor premiers DruidsB take on SonicsB. For the first time in a long while, DruidsB actually had a full team, though only one A grade sub. A fierce game from the beginning, both teams were able to make many offensive breaks that were shut down each time by tight defensive play and goal keeping. Three penalties occurred throughout the game, with Jason Wheeler of SonicsB caught holding onto Andrew Causby as he went for a solo run; Andrew being sent for two minutes for a dangerous stick; and Brett Ackling sent off for sending Alana Bracken of DruidsB flying headfirst through the air. The only goal of the night went to Andrew, assisted by Dominic Colyer, when a well placed shot soared into the back of the net in the second half. Both teams came close to scoring further, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Final score 1-0 to DruidsB, cementing them a place in the Grand Final next week.

Elimination Final: Blacktown Butchers vs. Team IceBucket by Liam Golding
Finally, we got around to the last game of the evening, 3rd palced TIb faced off against 4th placed Butchers B. We really wanted to win in order to have another shot at Sonics B, and correct last weeks misnomer. And they had done their bit, and already slotted themselves into the Thursday night game. I guess because I'm writing the match report you can figure out that TIb won the game, or maybe even you just looked at it vaguely, and saw it was hell-long, and know that i can crap on for sooooo long, either way, perhaps i should furnish you all with some of the fuzzy details as i can recall. Despite that final round loss to Sonics B, we were actually riding prettty high, because we figured that if half a team could do as well as we did (a 1-0 loss) , just imagine what a full team could do. So with practically a full team, we stepped onto pretty decent ice this time around, and really took it to them. Out forcheck was a strong point again (at least i think so!) as we kept the ball down the other end, even when they had it. It was just the right mix of pressure to keep them out, without rushing up and getting stepped around. In defence we actually rushed back, and then created opportunities to help feed the ball out again. The loose balls in the middle were fought for well enough that ref Timmy was telling us all to calm down a bit. (Both teams i mean there.) Possibly i should have written this closer to the day, because i cant actually remember who scored our first goal, or which half it was in, but as Saxon usually vets my match reports anyway, and inserts or removes certain comments about people, it may look like i am confused if an actual name later appears here. But back to the point at hand, i have no idea who scored. It could even have been Skye, because she's finally figured out how to score, rather than just assist, though not in B grade if i recall correctly, which ive just said that i can't... Anyway, the second half ended however against the run of play, as Butchers B stepped it up a notch or three, pressing hard for the goal that comes just before the break. However our defence held fast and they didn't score, but we definately got some practice at said defence. The second half i have just realised was started at 1-0 up, because i recall my half time team talk where i told people to watch out for them stealing our face off win and running at our goals with it. Well can you guess what happened at the start of the second half? We won the drop, and then they lunged behind our guy, and nearly got it back; lucky it was just strong enough on the back-sweep to get it to one of us. Bry got the next goal; i remember this for sure because i had just yelled at him to "inject yourself on the game; go score a goal!" i feel the exclamation mark is an accurate reflection of they way it was said, because Bry was doing his usual thing of sitting in our backline and not running. Well that's not fair; he was doing more running than normal, but still... Anyway, he suggested a compromise, and still didn't run, but stood on the blue line and belted a shot at the goal which went in. 2-0 to us. I had my plethora of breakaway style opportunities, but decided that we were 2-0 up, and i didn't want to waste my good shots, rather save them for Thursday, so merely tried a couple of new things, including passing the ball to Parker when he was their keeper, weak flicks etc. We did get a third goal, but once again, as it was not about me, i deemed it unimportant, and decided not to remember it as no glory was to be bestowed upon me. Besides, whilst there's a 'me" in "team," there's no "everyone else," so i thought it better to focus my remaining efforts on coming up with new abuse to hurl at Bry on Thursday, and sending congratualtions to the rest of the team, with whom i have been sufficiently pleased with over the past few weeks. :) Three cheers for at least third place! Hip Horay, Hip Horay, Hip Horay. Now to dispatch with the Sonics B, and create a replay of last season's B grade final! GO TEAM.

01-JUL-2009
D Division - Grand Final
Hornets Win D Grand Final
Dugongs vs. Hornets by Josh Newell
This game saw Hornets against Dugongs in the D division grand final. With a tuff match in our sights we knew we needed to end the season with a win but with half of our best players out to illness or just not able to give it there all we knew it would be a hard one. Most of the first half was a very close game with both teams taking and stopping equal goal shots. It was getting even tougher with both teams tiring but with one lucky pass by our goally Caitlin was off getting past two defenders with a shot at goals. Iit was in the team went crazy, think this was the end with the half time buzzer and a BIG team talk from Tim we knew we had to get one more to seal the deal. While keeping a tight defence most of the second half was much like the first with both teams again getting a few shots at goals but both goallys were on fire. One slip up by the Dugongs and a great pass by Kyra to Josh another goal was scored putting the Hornets up 2 nil. The rest of the game was one of big errors by both teams with some big turn overs but no goals. End of game buzzer sounds Hornets - 2 Dugongs - 0.

2009 D Division Champions - Hornets



2009 D Division Runners Up - Dugongs

01-JUL-2009
C Division - Week 18
Titans into the Grand Final
Titans vs. Knights who Say Broomball by Russell Gregory
Preliminary Final matching up the two form teams in the C grade competition, the undefeated Titans and the Knights Who Say Broomball. The Knights had a great season, in fact if it was any other season they probably would have won the minor premiership. Unfortunately for them, the Titans had a season to remember so far with 12 wins from 12 games, a +51 goal difference for the season and only 4 goals against all season. The game began quickly with a few fast breaks, but the majority of play in the Knights half with Titans dominating the possession. Some good keeping left the score at nil all but the breakthrough came with Skye Blakeney tapping it in off a Greg Dezman pass. The goals came quickly after that, with a great effort from Bryn Shepherd off a good ball from Kathy Andrew going into the back of the net. At the end of the half, it was 3-0 to Titans and the Knights had all the work to do. The next half began with the Knights venturing out of their half, spreading the ball wide and moving it down the flanks. No goals resulted despite a good attacking presence from the Knights, and a very determined defensive performance from Kathy Andrew and Nissa Jones, and also a player new to the defence position Dave DeGruyter. Hehehe. . A penalty from Jesse Blakeney for High Sticking saw the minor premiers drop down to 5 on the ice (although it would have been a damn spectacular goal if he had got it, he flicked the ball over his own shoulder and bounced it off the cross bar). With Titans on the penalty kill, the Knights pushed up a little to much and a great pass from Russell Gregory off the Titans goal line (if I do say so myself) found Bryn Shepherd on the opposite side of the ice at halfway, and with only one defender in his way Bryn put it in the back of the net to take the score to 4-0. Celebrations ensued. Despite Jesse Blakeney's best efforts to test the Titans penalty kill line with another Penalty for tripping :), they still held the Knights to a zero Score. One more goal to Skye Blakeney (with a strong shot from outside the slot) finished off the game and sent the Titans into their Second Straight Grand Final, looking to make it 2 C Grade Premierships in a row and keeping their perfect season intact.

Ice Devils vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
Loosing our last three games of the regular season the Monkeys were desperate to get a win after such a long loosing streak but standing in our way was third placed Ice Devils, a team who we had failed to beat in two overtime losses. With Benjamin "Almost Goals" Sloane, Jordan "Super Goalie" Martin-Waterhouse and Ashley "Little Lass" Stone missing from our ranks we struggled to get a team together for the night and we knew we were going to have our work cut out for us. From the starting siren both teams showed how much they wanted the win, with both quick offense and strong defense making it hard to get a shot on goal, and when a player finally did get a shot off, a goalie was always ready to make the save. The first half ended 0-0, correctly showing how close a contest it was. Both teams came out fired up at the start of the second, following the pattern of the first half. The few break aways made by the Brass Monkeys were shut down by the Ice Devils goalie, who just didnt want the ball to pass the red line. Eventually the game moved into the last four minutes. The Monkeys had pushed their way into the Devils defence and from out of no where Reece Shepherd lets off an absolute screamer almost from the blue line, straight into the back of the net. The Monkey's two fans went wild. 1-0 in the Monkeys favour with under five to go. The Devils bought out their big guns desperate to bring the game into our traditional overtime period but the Monkeys held strong, and with Catherine McDonald too strong in goals, won our first final experience. Thanks to the Ice Devils who have given us three very close games through out the season, all decided by a single goal. We look forward to next thursday where we take on the Knights who play Broomball, who we are even with one game a piece.

29-JUN-2009
A Division - Week 17
RiverRats win their way into the finals !!
Glenmore Park Druids vs. Parramatta RiverRats by Sam Boer
River Rats knew going in that only a win would ensure they went into the finals. They started with lots of energy, forcing the forecheck and breaking out without too much trouble. Mid way into the half a long ball from Sam Boer in defence found Davin Harvey into space, who was able to deftly draw the keeper and then slide the ball across for Marc Kuipers to finish, 1-0 Rats. River Rats continued to control possession, chasing any dumped balls down and then finding space to quickly break out. It was one of these quick ball movements from Dani Mitrevski to Davin Harvey to again break into space, spooning to Daniel Wong for the finish. 2 -0 remained the half time score. The second half was more of an even struggle, with the Druids able to work the perimeter, but the finishing touch was lacking. Dani Mitrevski was sent for a high stick, but the Rats diamond was inpenetrable. Not so inpenetrable was Tim Ollerton patience, who lashed out at his archnemesis Daniel Wong in the final minutes, only to be sent for 5 mins. Karen Boer took a leaf out of the Ollerton school offence with a "pick" into Ryan Findlayson that deserved at least 5 matches. After the fracas was resolved, Rats were the winners. Odds on at the TAB for finals glory.

Richmond Ravens vs. Penrith City Rangers by James Kristof
Holy crap we won a match!!! Going into last night's match Rangers already knew that their season was over, which seemingly was just as well as they were missing Tracy Ivin, James Ray and Dave DeGruyter through injury, work & illness, and had James Kristof restricted to goalkeeping duties due to injury. However, Rangers blooded some new A graders: Tim Roffey, Shannan Heinitz and Mark Price, who all played out of their skin. Tim Roffey pretty much controlled the defensive line the entire match, Shannan Heinitz was crucial in attack, creating several opportunities on goal and Mark Price kept running all night from one end of the rink to the other. Having said that, the game was fairly close all the way through. Ravens are finals bound and have dominated against Rangers this season, and created several good scoring opportunities themselves only to be denied by a noticably more structured Rangers defence. The game remained deadlocked until about 10 minutes to go, when Liam Golding passed the ball to Shannan Heinitz, who half-passed half-shot to the back post where Skye Blakeney slotted the ball into the bottom corner for her first ever A grade goal (sorry Dave, but you missed it), to give Rangers a much needed and morale boosting win to finish off their season.

Werrington County Sonics vs. Blacktown Butchers by Louis Sultana
Last round game for the season had no bearing on the finals because of earlier results. River Rats caused the upset of the season, defeating the Druids by 2 goals and thus, cementing 4th spot. Druids had the minor premiership already and Ravens shock loss to last placed Rangers, meant Sonics finished in 2nd spot regardless of the last game, Ravens finishing 3rd. Still, Butchers wanted to finish the season on a high and send two players off on a winning note. It was the last game for at least two years for England bound Peter Yabsley and Lauren Goulden. Butchers started very well, a Gemma Butler-Fleming goal courtesy of a Peter Yabsley pass. Soon after, Butchers were on a power play and were quick to score, again Gemma scoring through a pass from Peter. Butchers up 2-0 after only a few minutes. Sonics grabbed their first just before the break, good scrambling by Sonics in front of the net. 2-1 halftime. Butchers started the second half strongly, not giving Sonics anything with good forecheck and defence. Butchers grabbed their third goal of the night with a nice bit of play from their own half. Louis Sultana lifted the ball pass the last line of Sonics defence. Gemma running onto the ball and with a nice hard pass found Dom Colyer in the centre. Dom made no mistake, one timing the ball into the net. There may have been a rebound from the post and a little help from the keepers back, but who cares? Butchers 3-1 up and with only a couple minutes remaining, Sonics surprisingly pulled their keeper. Andrew Chapman quickly took advantage of the empty net, sweeping the ball in from inside the blue line. Butchers almost grabbed their fifth goal on full time, the stray boot of the keeper the only thing stopping the ball. Fulltime: Butchers 4:1. A great finish for the Butchers, but unfortunately there was not enough of this play all season and the Butchers will not feature in the final series. It�s a real shame, with this form they could have caused some problems. I just wanted to wish Pete and Lauren all the best on their overseas adventure. It has been a great couple of years playing with them and I know NSW Broomball will miss them. They gave most of the Butchers� players their start in A-Grade and we are all very appreciative for it. Let�s hope they come back to NSW Broomball real soon.

29-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 17
DruidsB Grab the Minor Premiership !!
Huskies vs. Tigers by Andrew Chapman
A relatively complete Huskies line up would usually mean happy days for us, but recently we have struggled on form. Was tonight�s game going to bring Huskies back to their glory days? Yes. Yes it was. It was Glen�s night off, so that had us off to a great start. I think Mark Kuipers scored first, putting us up 1-0. Then Kieran scored, then Gemma, then we scored some more after that. Before I could say Holy Broomball Goals Batman! We were up 6-1. Gemma had some nice sweeps and scored a couple, Kuipers scored a gazillion goals, and I think someone else scored too, but I forget. We scored a total of 9 goals, and Tigers scored a couple, or maybe even a few. Good effort from the Tigers, they had some awesome defence, just unlucky for them that Kuipers kept cherry picking the ball on half way. But good for us. Yay team!

Team IceBucket vs. SonicsB by Jason Wheeler
Team Ice Bucket started without a few key players but they miracled their way through the first 5 minutes without conceding a goal. Clearly Jacko was watching over them from above (hah! see I told you he was innocent). Buckets fielded a full team for the remainder of the game while Sonics only managed 2 subs. Sonics continued the onslaught in the second half and opened their account by way of a classy Brett Ackling goal who trapped a ricochet off the back wall and threaded the ball cleanly past the keeper. Sonics were never under any sustained pressure and held onto to their advantage to win 1-0. Sonics now play Druids in the Preliminary final.

08-JUN-2009
Mens Elite - Grand Final
NSW Sliders Win Back to Back Titles
Grand Final - NSW Sliders vs. SA Sharks
NSW stamped their authority on the Mens Elite Division by defeating the SA Sharks by 5 goals to 0, to take back to back mens elite titles for the first time.

Individual award winners for Mens Elite:
Points Award - Saxon Hooper(NSW)
Most Valuable Player - Adam McClure(SA)
All Star Team:
 Centre - Saxon Hooper(NSW)
 Forwards - Louis Sultana(NSW), Matt Irvine(SA)
 Defence - Tim Brown(NSW), Adam McClure(ACT)
 Goal Keeper - Josh Gargiulo(ACT)

Goal 1 - Jason Wheeler Period 1	Goal 2 - Saxon Hooper Period 1	Goal 3 - Jason Wheeler Period 2	Goal 4 - Tim Brown Period 2	Goal 5 - Daniel Wong Period 2

2009 Mens Elite Australian National Broomball Champions - NSW Sliders
Back From Left: Dane Hansen, Kieran McDonald, Davin Harvey, Daniel Wong, Saxon Hooper, Peter Yabsley, Ryan Findlayson, Sam Boer, Tim Brown, Liam Golding, Luke Simmonds
Front from Left: Damian Colyer, Bryan Macklin, Louis Sultana, James Kristof, Jason Wheeler

08-JUN-2009
Womens Elite - Grand Final
NSW Sliders Take it in a Penalty Shoot Out
Grand Final - NSW Sliders vs. SA Sharks
Sally Yabsley-Bell got NSW the lead with a cracking shot. Alana Bracken tied it up with a great intercept and shot to send the game into OT. 15 minutes of OT left the game at 1-1. SA 1st in the penalty shoot out denied 8 times, NSW following denied 7 times. Up steps Dhyana Scarano, executes a great handy thingy and gives NSW the title.

Individual award winners for Womens Elite:
Points Award - Joanne Mitchell & Kerry Baxter(NSW)
Most Valuable Player - Joanne Mitchell(NSW)
All Star Team:
 Centre - Kate Irvine(SA)
 Forwards - Joanne Mitchell(NSW), Linda Luco(ACT)
 Defence - Mary Bishop(ACT), Sally Yabsley-Bell(NSW)
 Goal Keeper - Meagan McPhee(SA)

Goal 1 - Sally Yabsley-Bell	Goal 2 - Alana Bracken	Goal 3 - Dhyana Scarano Penalty Shoot Out

2009 Womens Elite Australian National Broomball Champions - NSW Sliders
Back From Left: Kerry Baxter, Jo Mitchell, Lisa Price, Lauren Goulden, Tracy Ivin, Rebecca Davis, Sara Roffey, Karen Boer, Cecilia Kim
Middle from Left: Kate Yabsley, Sally Yabsley-Bell, Gemma Butler-Fleming, Linda Findlayson
On The Knees: Dhyana Scarano

08-JUN-2009
Mixed Elite - Grand Final
SA Sharks Grab the Mixed Elite Title
Grand Final - NSW Sliders vs. SA Sharks
NSW started the final well scoring early with Saxon Hooper blasting one in. Despite the control NSW had, silly errors and penalties let the Sharks in. Scoring the next 3 goals to claim the title 3-1.

Individual award winners for Mixed Elite:
Male Points Award - Matt Irvine(SA)
Female Points Award - Sally Newman(SA) & Lauren Goulden(NSW)
Male Most Valuable Player - Matt Irvine(SA), Kieran McDonald (NSW) & Peter Yabsley(NSW)
Female Most Valuable Player - Meagan McPhee(SA)
All Star Team:
 Centre - Peter Yabsley(NSW)
 Forwards - Kim Shapley(SA), Kerry Baxter(NSW)
 Defence - Matt Hogan(SA), Ceitlin Walker(SA)
 Goal Keeper - Meagan McPhee(SA)

Goal 1 - Saxon Hooper Period 1	Goal 2 - SA Sharks Period 1	Goal 3 - SA Sharks Period 2	Goal 4 - SA Sharks Period 2

08-JUN-2009
Mens Intermediate - Grand Final
QLD Cyclones defeat NSW Sliders
Grand Final - NSW Sliders vs. QLD Cyclones
QLD proved too strong for NSW defeating them in the final 2 goals to 1.

Individual award winners for Mens Intermediate:
Points Award - Marc Kuipers(NSW)
Most Valuable Player - Julian Luco(QLD)

Goal 1 - Queensland	Goal 2 - Queensland	Goal 3 - Andrew Chapman

08-JUN-2009
Mixed Intermediate - Grand Final
QLD take the Silverware
Grand Final - NSW Mixed Intermediate 1 vs. QLD Mixed Intermediate
QLD's counter attack proved to be too effective as they piled on 3 goals to 1 to take the mixed intermediate division.

Individual award winners for Mixed Intermediate:
Male Points Award - Marc Kuipers (NSW)
Female Points Award - Mel McNamara (QLD)
Male Most Valuable Player - Graham Elix(SA), Jaben Sergeant(QLD)(NSW)
Female Most Valuable Player - Selina Nunn, Linda Luco (QLD)

Goal 1 - Queensland	Goal 2 - Queensland	Goal 3 - Queensland	Goal 4 - Dominic Colyer(NSW)

22-JUN-2009
A Division - Week 17
Finals Race Hots Up
Parramatta River Rats vs. Penrith City Rangers by Sam Boer
This was a must win game for both teams if they are to have any chance of making the finals. The game started relatively tight with no team able to create any great chances in the first five minutes. Slowly the River Rats were able to control more possession, and held the ball for long periods in attack, but to no avail. Sally Yabsley-Bell and Kerryn Lawler both had chances that flashed wide of the posts. Nil all at half time. The second half continued in the same vain, but the Rangers defence in front of the net was tight. As both teams began to tire, the Rangers were able to break the River Rats forecheck more effectively, but weren't able to build sustained attacking pressure. Six minutes from time, a crisp pass from Davin Harvey found Marc Kuipers on the move, who punched the one timer wide of James Kristof for the lead. One nil Rats. This sparked the Rangers into action, who moved easily into attack, and caused havoc on the Rats defence with some sharp movement in and out of the slot. Kieran McDonald made a couple of good saves to deny the Rangers. The Rats were able to scramble just well enough to hold out for the win, and one step closer to a potential finals berth.

Glenmore Park Druids vs. Werrington County Sonics
I need a write up template for these Druids v Sonics games, cut and paste, fiddle the scores and done. So as usual Druids setting up in attack moving the ball around the perimiter looking for a way through, around, under the tight Sonics zone. Sonics waiting for the mistake and turn over to blaze forward on the counter. So it was 10 minutes in Sonics driving into attack, with a nice 1-2 past the dozing Druids captain with Tim Brown Scoring. Druids were next to score, with Saxon Hooper finding the net to even it up. With only 3 minutes to go in the half, Tim Brown following through on a Jason Wheeler break picked up the rebound and slotted it for a 2-1 Sonics half time lead. Sonics maintained that lead for the first 13 minutes of the second half until Saxon Hooper was able to score from low down, some nice screening meant the keeper was unsighted. 2-2 seven to go. Druids maintaining some attacking pressure using the perimeter found Tim Ollerton on the right hand side around the blue line with enough time to line up and blast a huge shot it. After some pong action between the cross bar and the keeper the ball rolled back into the net to give the Druids the lead for the first time of the night. Sonics managed to get some nice chances off in the last minute and a half but couldnt manage the equaliser. 3-2 Druids in another thrilling game.

Richmond Ravens vs. Blacktown Butchers by Louis Sultana
Very Important game for Butchers, looking to leap frog River Rats into 4th spot, after Rats disposed of Rangers earlier in the night. Both teams had early chances could not convert. Midway through the first half, Butchers grabbed the first goal of the game, with Louis Sultana scoring a long range goal, just inside the Ravens half. Good screening by the Butchers gave the keeper no chance to see it. 1-0 halftime. Second half was much like the first half, but this time Ravens getting the equaliser. A weak pass by the Butchers towards the centre found nothing but the Orange jerseys of the Ravens (good pressure by Ravens). 1-1. Both teams pressed hard for the final minutes trying to grab the win but 1-1 at the end of normal time and we were headed for overtime. Ravens hit the post about 4 times and were unlucky not score the winner. Butchers held on but couldn�t grab the much needed extra point. 1-1 Fulltime. A very interesting final round coming up.

27-MAY-2009
BAWS FUND RAISING BBQ
Great Day for the BAWS volunteers
Huge thanks to all those who volunteered to help at the BAWS Fund Raising BBQ. Was a great day, fun, and damn busy !!.

So thanks to Louis Sultana who organised the whole day, bought all the BBQ stuff we needed.. peeled and sliced the onions and buttered the bread. Louis did the whole day there.. great work mate.

Thanks to the morning shift.. Scott Powell, Peter Cook, Sarah Cook, Marc Kuipers, Karen Bell and Ben Bell who were kept constantly busy.

Thanks to the arvo shift .. Jo Mitchell, Kerryn Lawler, Shannan Heinitz, Jason Wheeler, Dave DeGruyter, Nathan Ackling (who is now the favourite broomball Ackling) who probably got the short straw busy wise.. I remember looking back and seeing about 20 people waiting patiently.. and Louis coming up and saying I need 7 and 30 seconds later I need 5, and Jo saying I need 3 and me looking at the hot plate full of pink sausages and our cooked sausage reserve tin empty...

Finally to Tracy who was a tad under the weather but tagged along in the morning as well and did the emergency "get more sausages" run when we ran out, working into the arvo session as well.

So for the day we sold;

55kg of Sausages
10kg of Onions
210 Drinks
5L of Sauce
50 Loaves of bread

Used;
700 Napkins
A lot of ice

Profit = $1054.31 (not bad for a days work)

Bunnings were very happy with our BBQ performance.

Morning Shift from left: Karen Bell, Louis Sultana, Ben Bell, Peter Cook, Marc Kuipers, Scott Powell, Sarah Cook, Jimmy Ray (doing Broomball BBQ Happy Dance)




Arvo Shift from left: Jimmy Ray (doing Broomball BBQ Happy Dance)Jason Wheeler, Dave DeGruyter, Louis Sultana, Jo Mitchell, Shannan Heinitz, Nathan Ackling
Taking the photo: Kerryn Lawler

22-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 17
Druids Firming as Favourites !!
The Penguins vs. DruidsB by Matt Hellyer
The whistle blew with only two DruidsB players on the ice. Four more players arrived shortly, having been involved in the previous game. As a result of A grade player restrictions, once again DruidsB found itself a player down with no subs (Ryan, wherefore art thou?). Fortunately, Keiren McDonald volunteered to play with DruidsB, though he was not permitted to play as the keeper. DruidsB began with a strong offence in The Penguins defensive half with many good, albeit unsuccessful, attempts at goal. The first goal of the night went to The Penguins however, with a fast break all the way down the rink from Daniel Wong, who passed to Kerryn Lawler who put the ball past the keeper only a minute and a half into the game. It took some time for DruidsB to respond in kind, but when they did it was in force. An opportunity for DruidsB came when Andrew Causby was given a run by himself all the way down the middle. A nicely placed hook around shot evened the score. Not more than a few minutes later, the same technique was repeated by Andrew, this time assisted by Keiren and Dominic Colyer. A number of close calls came for The Penguins then, but all were stopped short by strong defensive play and keeping on the part of DruidsB. Shortly afterwards, Dominic made a break, and, assisted by Andrew, went on to convert it to points leaving the score 3-1 to DruidsB at half time. In the second half, The Penguins showed they meant business by scoring early on with a goal to Amran Sinha assisted by Sara Roffey. They did not have long to celebrate though, because Andrew was able to score again shortly thereafter, assisted by Matt Hellyer and Dominic. To seal the victory, a final goal was scored by Andrew assisted by Matt. The Penguins did not give up though, and in the dying minutes of the game mounted a couple of attempts at goals. Again, these were shutdown by some solid defence and goal keeping maintaining the final score at 5-2 to DruidsB.

ButchersB vs. Huskies by Peter Yabsley
Huskies starting the game with only four on the ice were always going to find it hard. Butchers scoring early after stealing the ball from the last defender and finishing it off nicely. Butchers content in defending the rest of the game which was made easy by the lack of forecheck pressure froom Huskies. Game finishing 1-0 for BrutchersB.

18-JUN-2009
C Division - Week 16
Hornets Upset Ice Devils
Titans vs. ATOmix by No One
Point deducted for no write up. Titans defeated an ever improving ATOmix by 2 goals to 0.

Dugongs vs. Knights who finally Say Broomball by Brett Ackling
The 2nd game of the night saw the Knights face off against the Dugongs. First points were put on the board by the knights smelly Captain Bec Collier, who couldn't believe that she'd finally managed to put one in. Dugongs had a few quick breaks but were shut down by the knights 2 goalies Nathan Ackling and Darren Pearce. With a few more missed chances from both sides the score was still 1-nil at the half. The Knights came out fired up in the 2nd half and Josh Burton managed to roll one over the Dugongs goalie off a Brett Ackling pass. Knights kept pushing hard on some quick breaks and were rewarded again with Brett Ackling scoring off a Josh Burton pass. Josh then rounded off the Knights night with another gaol. Final score was 4-nil to the Knights.

Hornets vs. Ice Devils by Josh Newell
Tonights match was game worth the wait with both teams showing some great team work and skill. In the last couple of weeks with the Hornets players knowing they needed the win, the game was off with hornets off to an early lead. With a goal from Josh and a second from Tim. The game was not yet over with some great shots from the devils but with some even better saves by Caitlin & Ashlea. After a few more shots devils landed one from the blue line GREAT SHOT. Half time finely arrived with some discussion from both teams second half was off with two more goals by Josh and a couple shots by the girls. The game was almost over with less than a minute to go justin Shoots and scores to make the game a 4-2 win to the Hornets. Great work team.

15-JUN-2009
A Division - Week 16
Druids Grab Lucky OT Win
Glenmore Park Druids vs. Blacktown Butchers
A tight game that ended 1 all after goals to Druid Saxon Hooper and Butcher Peter Yabsley the game moved into overtime. A to and fro affair with both teams having early chances. As the OT period moved on Butcher got more and more chances but were unable to capitalise, especially on two open nets. A turnover found Hooper on the blue line with the ball and all Butchers going the wrong way on very very very wet greasy ice.. A lob.. desperate dive from Pete to no avail. 2-1 Druids continuing their run of OT wins this season.

Werrington County Sonics vs. Penrith City Rangers by Tim Brown
Wet ice and post nationals blues lead to slow ponderous affairs. Certainly the earlier game was testament to that with two huge lakes with waves gently lapping against the boards in the corners. Talking to the ref after this game the passing from both Rangers and Sonics were complete crap. I guess I'd agree later in the game but, there were enough good passes early in the game for Sonics to put in two goals in the first half, both setup with some good passing and off the ball movement. Rangers left it very late, last 3 minutes, as Sonics started to give up the ball a little too often in the wrong areas, 2-1. Rangers final hope a shot from distance, Bryan I think ;), a real cracker to the top far corner the GK at full stretch to knock the ball up and by the time it dropped again the buzzer had gone and Sonics had a very valuable win.

15-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 15
Penguins Steal the Game on the Buzzer !!
Team IceBucket vs. Tigers by Liam Golding
TIB faced up against Tigers last night, with Dave, Skye, Lisa Bry and me all backing up from the a grade game just before.. But more importantly, all of us, and Russell too, playing off some nationals experience, which seemed to help us out quite a bit. Team cohesion was at an all time high, as we dominated the play, spending a lot of time on the attack. So much so that some of the guys were having difficulty in finding a good time to sub as we were pushig so hard. The girls were screening well, and we ended up finishing the game at 8-0... Least I think that's what the score was; one was left off the scoreboard (not the team sheet,) and there were so many. No disrespect to the tigers meant here, but tib played well, and didn't let up in the second half as our lead grew. The intensity was well maintained. Goals came to Bry, who had a screamer from well back of the blue line; nearly back at half way. I know I got one eventually at the end of the game, mostly due to excellent screening as I said before. Dave was in there, probably Mark as well. I really dont remember. I do recall some good air swinging from Dave, and Skye doing her best to maintain her aversion to actually scoring, usually happier to settle for assists.. :) So well done TIB, thourougly satisfied with the effort, and the result.

ButchersB vs. DruidsB by Matt Hellyer
The match began with DruidsB in short supply of players and ButchersB in surplus. Despite this, ball possession throughout the game remained fairly equal, with both teams able to mount a number of attempts at goals, none of which were successful. A very lucky escape for ButchersB came in the form of a near miss when captain Damien Colyer and Matt Hellyer of DruidsB launched a fast paced attack that had the ball narrowly slip past the right post. At the other end of the rink, Peter Yabsley set up some nice opportunities for other teammates with some excellent passes, but the defensive combination of Alana Bracken and Andrew Causby left them similarly scoreless. Some long range pot shots from ButchersB skimmed off the crossbar of the goals. With the second half came increasing tiredness for the player-down DruidsB. Part way through, Damien Colyer was able to slot a great pass to Matt Hellyer past the ButchersB defenders and a one-on-one with the goalie put DruidsB a goal up. Some time later, a similar opportunity, this time against the DruidsB goals, failed to convert into points. As the game wore on, the exhausted but dogged defence of DruidsB kept ButchersB from scoring. In fact, DruidsB were unlucky not to put more away with a number of shots at open goals. End result 1-0 to DruidsB.

11-JUN-2009
C Division - Week 15
Brass Monkeys on the Slide!
Titans vs. Knights who Blurb Broomball by Mark Rulewski
The Titans and the Knights Who Say Broomball battle it out once more. With the Titans just able to field a full team and the Knights with what seemed to be solid wall of red on the sub bench, it looked like there was going to be alot of running for both teams. The Knights dominated early in the first half with hard an fast play, putting the Titans on the back foot in the early minutes of the game. This pressure resulted in a Knights goal to Josh Burton who shot the ball into the top corner of the goal. The Titans feeling the pressure regrouped to fight back with more possession and fast breaks of our own only to be constantly denied by the frustratingly competent keeping of the Knights goalie. The first half continued to be very fast with lots of chances to both sides going unconverted. The half ended with the Knights in front 1:nil. The second half gave the sub-less Titans a respite with the Knights only able to field one girl in the second half. This tipped the balance in our favour allowing us to control the ball, though numerous attempts at evening the score were met with solid defence and quick counter attacks by the Knights. Thankfully in the middle of the second half Bryn Shepherd passed to an open Jesse Blakeney who shot one past the keeper. Finally the game is back to square one! The Knights fire up and step up the pace once more testing a tired but committed Titan defence who managed to keep them out. The match continues with solid attack and defence from both teams keeping the scoreline 1 a piece with overtime looking more and more likely. Thankfully late in the second half with a few minutes to go the Titans manage to gain the upperhand with a quick flick past the Knights goalie by Mark Rulewski putting the Titans in front. The final minutes played out to with the Titans in defence and the Knights in attack mode looking dangerous though unable to equalise due to some commited and at times desperate defence by the Titans. The game ended 2:1 the Titans way. It was an extremely tough and fast game. Congratulations to all the Titans who played and ran their hardest and thank you to the Knights for an intense and closely contested match.

Dugongs vs. ATOmix by Scott Powell
Another tightly fought �C� grade game saw the Dugongs and ATOmix both looking to press the advantage from the first whistle, 10 minutes into the half, after a period of solid attack, a Scott pass found Nathan in the middle of a defensive huddle, and the Dugongs went up 1-nil. The game went back to attack-counterattack until late in the first half another Scott pass found Nathan open, to put the Dugongs up 2-0 at the break. Both sides could not take advantage of their multiple shots early in the second half, some great keeping from both teams saved some fantastic shots. Dugongs managed to hold out while having two players sent off within 30 seconds of each other. Soon after returning to full strength, the ATOmix powered in a goal of their. Neither side gave up the hunt for more goals, but more solid keeping kept the scores 2-1 until the final 10 seconds where a brilliant run by the ATOmix saw them score an equaliser with 2 seconds on the clock. Golden Point extra time saw both teams take some shots, but neither could find the back of the net, the final score 2-2. A great game with a fantastic finish.

Hornets vs. Brass Monkeys
Hornets defeated Brass Monkeys.

04-JUN-2009
C Division - Week 14
How's them Apples ?!
Dugongs vs. Brass Monkeys by Scott Powell
Dugongs win their first consecutive match with a 2-0 victory of the Brass Monkeys. Both sides signalled their intent to attack from the first whistle, and in what would end up the theme of the night the ball went from goal to goal, before Nathan scored early in the first half from a tight angle, continuing his recent purple patch of good form. The early goal did not affect the tempo of the match, some great runs from both sides were met with defence equal to the task. Dugongs went into halftime with 1 -0 lead before a long range goal from Pete took a wicked turn, and slipped past the Monkeys keeper, Pete keeping his form of scoring when his #1 fan is absent from the crowd. Both sides continuing an attack-counterattack style of play, but great (and sometimes desperate) keeping from both sides nullified the many scoring opportunities both sides had. Thanks to the Brass Monkeys for a good fast game, and great work to our girls who really applied the defensive pressure when needed. Hope Nationals are going well for the NSW sides.

Hornets vs. ATOmix by David Porter
A depleted Atomix outfit were on hand for our clash with the Hornets this week, with Ash and Head nursing poor excuses and a trail of broken hearts respectively. We also faced the task without the barked sideline rantings of Supercoach Mitchell, but set Renee's camcorder to capture everything, to ensure a mid week, mouth-frothing berating could still be delivered. We knew that the Hornets would start strong this week, keen to avenge their recent 8-0 loss to the crew in black. The first half didn't disappoint, with spirited attack, defence and sledging demonstrated by both sides. Our Brandeen couldn�t quite taste the back of the net, despite threatening the goals and several larger players in equal measure all night. Atomix broke the deadlock close to half time through Dave who managed to stay on his feet for a change, and despite a strong Hornet attack took a one-nil lead to the break thanks to some inspirational goalkeeping and philosophical views dispensed by the Hairy One. The second half unleashed a devastating serve of Apples. Katie shrugged off the cold, dodgy shoes and several defenders in numerous tight contests and line breaks - the weight of territory gained and some great attacking combo's from all saw another 3 goals between Dave & Steve slip through, before a poetry in motion effort from Stacker was called back for offside... The Atomix resident wrestler also had a strong game, with his injury advice proving invaluable to Stacker who did her level best to impale herself on a stray stick (ahem) close to fulltime. Thanks to Steve for keeping the team focussed during the timeout, seizing the opportunity for a quick sub! EJ's usual game of elbows and random intimidation was curiously replaced with one of deft touch, finesse and hard painkillers, whilst Dan finally recouped some return on investment for the fancy getup with a goal of his own, to make it five-blot at the final siren. The Atomix celebrated their second win of the season at the local in the company of brown & surly barstaff and thank the Hornets for the contest, making the beer taste sweeter this time around.

Ice Devils vs. Knights Who Charade Broomball by Josh Burton
Tonight�s game welcomed an interesting scenario. The Knights were coming off a 2 week bye, while the Ice Devils were missing Jeff and Kieran due to Nationals commitments. The game started with some nervous play, with slight chances for both teams. As the game wore on, we saw Mitch fire a shot from around the blue line for the 1-0 lead. With time running out and the rare time off, saw the score extend to 2-0 thanks to Josh. Knights tried to assert more attacking prowess to no avail, with Ice Devils playing good defence. Sorry to the team, with no goal scorer, but special mention to the unfortunate �goal� to Nathan Ackling putting the ball into our net, making the full time score 3-1 Knights. Good gutsy win for the Knights, who look forward to the grudge match against runaway top of the table Titans, while Ice Devils enjoy the bye week off and prepare for the Hornets in 2 weeks.

01-JUN-2009
Womens Division - Round 3
Snipers Out in Front
Silver Snipers vs. Hockey Roos
Hockey Roos scored 3 goals to 1 to make their first ever womens final. Allie Camac-Benson woke up and scored 2 goals, with Kerryn Lawler scoring the other for Hockey Roos. Sally Yabsley-Bell scored Snipers lone goal.

The Femmes vs. Crimson Furies
The Femmes defeated Crimson Furies by 2 goals to 0. The Femmes goal scorers were Gemma Butler-Fleming and Sara Roffey.

04-JUN-2009
Mens Division - Round 3
Terminators Lock in Top Spot
Warriors vs. Ticklers
Warriors totally dominated this game but couldnt convert any of their chances. Carrying a 1 goal lead late into the game Warriors let Ticklers in with a chance. Down close to the goals Josh Newell poked home the equaliser. 1-1 draw.

Terminators vs. Silver Stench
Terminators completed the grand slam defeating Stench by 2-0. Terminators on top and favourites for the mens grand final in July.

28-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 15
IceBucket tame Huskies
Team IceBucket vs. Huskies by Liam Golding
Team IceBucket played Huskies in the Thursday night B grade clash. Tib won 2-1 with Cale Golding makin a cameo appearance. TIB played pretty well against their fast breaks and had some really good forechecking going on. Mark Price and Liam Golding scored the TIB goals.

28-MAY-2009
C Division - Week 13
Titans way out in front !
Dugongs vs. Hornets by Scott Powell
Matches between these teams are always close affairs, with the Hornets having a 2-1 win record against the Dugongs. This match looked to be no different, but the Dugongs started at a blistering pace, trying to take advantage of a depleted Hornets lineup, and managed to keep the offensive pressure up as the Hornets side came to full strength. The first half saw the Dugongs camped in their attacking half, and looked to score at every opportunity, but the Hornets defence was solid, and combined with the fabled Dugong bad luck when it comes to picking out the keeper with our shots, meant the halftime score was 0-0. The second half started the way the first half ended, with the Dugongs applying constant forward pressure, always harassing the Hornets goals. Aaron with a wide cross into Elicia who flicked the ball onto Nathan broke the deadlocked score. While the Dugongs continued to look like they were going to score, they couldn�t find the back of the net again. Hornets were able to setup some good runs late in the half but some great goal-keeping saw the Dugongs with a 1-0 victory. Great game by the Dugongs, every player was in top form, but great effort by the Hornets who stopped more shots and runs than I could count.

Ice Devils vs. ATOmix by David McDonald
The game got off to a slow start, with Ice Devils taking the ice with only five players while their remaining two found fitting shoes up against the 5 ATOmix subs. The score remained zip to zip most of the first half before a breakaway solo effort by Jeff Ferrara put the Ice Devils into the lead. Despite the Ice Devils controlling most of the possession for the rest of the game, they failed to convert this possession into goals. A few breaks by the ATOmix looked promising, but it was the Ice Devil's Steph Day who managed to secure the win off a Justin McMillan pass. Thanks to the ATOmix for a great game.

25-MAY-2009
A Division - Week 15
Druids in Rare Form
Parramatta River Rats vs. Penrith City Rangers by Sam Boer
River Rats defeated an injury depleted Rangers 3-1. Bryan macklin scoring Rangers only goal. Kerryn Lawler scoring a double and Daniel Wong getting a single for Rats. I was so moved by the performance of Kerryn Lawler, I wrote her a poem.

There once was a girl named Lawler
We hope no ill will ever befall her
She scored us two goals
Straight between the poles
What a delightful broomballer!

Werrington County Sonics vs. Glenmore Park Druids
Druids to take on in form but bye rusty Sonics in a top of the table red eye block buster and it started at a cracking pace. Sonics quickly on a counter from an error could have gone one up on their first foray into attack, just denied. Druids were wary of the fast break but couldnt contain it as Sonics again broke.. this time scoring.. Goal to Paul Stockbridge. 1-0 Sonics 5 minutes in. Seconds later it could have been 2-0 Sonics when on a break tim Brown just missed making good contact with a hand thingy shot. Not long after Jason Wheeler on a break and scramble put the ball into the side netting. Druids just hanging on. Druids settled and started to build some good offence through good forecheck pressure and when in posession good movement and give and go's. Some nice perimter passing between Linda Findlayson and Damo Colyer found the ball hard into the slot position for Alyson CamacBenson to one time for Druids 1st goal. Just a minute later Alyson had her second, another nice redirection. 2-1 Druids into half time. Into the second half by a couple minutes and saxon Hooper got posession in the slot zone. Realising the danger Wheeler went hard at Hooper yelling at his team mates to help, forcing a multitude of dekes, cuts, turns and fake shots, eventually Hooper got what he wanted, Wheeler couldnt resist and dove off his feet (tsk tsk). Hooper turned, side stepped a rushing Tim Brown, slid across from a recovered Wheeler and flicked the ball into the top corner. 3-1 Druids. With Druids starting to control posession in attack a Findlayson special was up next, Linda lobbing a ball through to Ryan who one timed the volley shot. 4-1 Druids 15 to go. With seven to go, Ceez Kim lobbed a ball over the top to Muz who went baseball on it, unfortunately for Damo Colyer he was in range and copped the stick. Two minutes for Muz and a power play for Druids. Working the perimeter Ryan ended up with it from Saxon and banged in a hard shot which caught a deflection off a defender. 5-1 Druids, an amazing result after the start. Druids seemingly in some good form heading into the nationals break.

25-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 15
Penguins Steal the Game on the Buzzer !!
ButchersB vs. The Penguins by James Kristof
The one time that these 2 teams met previously it was a fairly tight affair and last night's match was even closer than that one. Neither team had particularly strong opportunities to score, much of the game being played in defensive thirds without many shots on target. The game looked headed for OT when with 9 seconds to go, Cale Golding (filling in for Penguins) got the ball from behind his own goal, passed the ball to James Kristof at the top of the circle in his defensive third, saw 4 seconds on the clock and sent a hail-mary shot, that just passed underneath the disco-balls, landed in the Butchers goal-circle and bounced into the back of the net with literally less than a second on the clock, giving Penguins a 1-0 win.

Tigers vs. SonicsB by Jason Wheeler
Sonics entered the game with solid form but were missing a few of their stars while Tigers fielded a strong side. Sonics had the early run of play and placed the Tigers defence under heavy pressure. Following some great team play Jason Wheeler poked a shot through traffic to notch up the first goal of the night. Sonics maintained the pressure and won a face-off deep in Tigers territory, Cameron Parkes received the ball and fired a shot which Rick O'Shayed it's way into the back of the net. It was reminiscent of the Magic Loogie incident from Seinfeld, but was there a second spitter? Sonics 2-0 at half-time. Sonics put away a third goal courtesy of some Cameron Parkes magic. Tigers fought back with 2 goals to Ben Irmish to set up a thrilling final 5 minutes but Sonics rallied and withstood the Tigers onslaught. Sonics B won 3-2 and consolidated their spot in the top 2.

21-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 14
ButchersB over Tigers in the Yabsley Showdown
ButchersB vs. Tigers by Louis Sultana
Thursday �B� Grade action saw Butchers B against the Tigers. Good match with plenty of chances for both teams. In the end Butchers won 2-0, with a first half goal to Peter Yabsley and a second half goal to Louis Sultana.

21-MAY-2009
C Division - Week 12
Titans way out in front !
Dugongs vs. Ice Devils by
Ice Devils won 1-0, deducted 1 duty point for not supplying a write up.

Titans vs. Hornets by No One
Titans won 8-1, deducted 1 duty point for not supplying a write up.

18-MAY-2009
A Division - Week 14
Druids in Form
Blacktown Butchers vs. Penrith City Rangers by Louis Sultana
Blacktown Butchers met the Penrith Rangers with both teams in a tight struggle for the last finals spot. Butchers dominated the opening 10 minutes, not giving Rangers any space and holding them down in their own end. Butchers had plenty of chances but could not find the net. The rest of the half presented opportunities for both teams, good keeping from both ends kept the score 0-0 at halftime. Second half continued where the first finished with teams pushing hard for the goal. The first goal was posted by some brilliant passing by Butchers. Peter Yabsley found Louis Sultana in the centre, Louis fumbled a little but luckily Martin Sultana came from the Right Wing to help out. A wonderful pass through the Rangers defence found Peter screaming down the left wing and had plenty of open space. Peter fooled the keeper with a nice deke and finished with a backhand flick. Very Nice Goal, 1-0 Butchers. Rangers responded soon after with a breakaway goal to Liam Golding. Liam easily slamming the ball through the goalie�s five hole (Louis apologises to the keeper for his outburst). Game remained 1-1 and we were headed for overtime. Butchers played some smart Broomball in OT, passing well and having plenty of opportunities. A fortunate overtime penalty, gave Butchers a one man advantage. Butchers having plenty of shots but somehow Rangers kept them out. It wasn�t until 4 seconds remained that Lauren Goulden used the back wall with a pass (or shot) to find Louis on the other side, Louis tapping it home. Fulltime � Butchers Win 2-1 OT.

Richmond Ravens vs. Glenmore Park Druids
Druids, Ravens and Sonics seem to have a bit of a break on the rest of the field and games between these three teams will go along way to determing which 2 will finish top 2. A top 2 finish means a shot at going straight into the grand final, plus a second chance of making it if you miss the first one. So Ravens on top, Druids third looking to close the gap. An even start the game, both teams settling into their structures well. Druids broke through first with a goal to Saxon Hooper, a blast from close range past a well screened (blinded) keeper. Just 3 minutes later Saxon Hooper scored again, this time from right in front of the net, a ball from Alyson Camac-Benson across the face of goals, and a flick over the flailing keeper. 2-0 Druids. Hooper completed his hat trick with two minutes on the clock before half time. This time forecheck pressure turned the ball over to Hooper loitering in the slot. Another blast beat the keeper to his right. 3-0 Druids. A great half for Druids until Dane Hansen made a break, his shot on goal was ambitious, a tripple deke, left hand through the legs hand thingy, only Marvin Dossi has ever pulled one of these off in a game, as a result the ball dribbled past the outside of the goals. Keeper down and out, gave Aaron Dymond who had followed through nicely, time to pick up the ball and knock it into the open net with only a few seconds on the clock. 3-1 half time. The late goal giving Ravens some momentum into the second half where they had some good chances early. However Druids weathered the Ravens pressure and Damo Colyer sealed the game with 12 minutes to go making a long solo run to put the lead out to 4-1. Ravens never gave in and pressured well, hoever came up empty for the rest of the game. Final score 4-1 to Druids. Big game next week for Druids taking on other top two contender Sonics, result of this game could very well decide a top spot. Sonics have been on fire of late but like Druids before them have been on a lengthy run of byes.

18-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 14
Huskies in OT over DruidsB !!
Huskies vs. DruidsB by No One
Huskies won 3-2 in OT. Deducted 1 duty point for not supplying a write up.

The Penguins vs. SonicsB by
Broomball fans grieved for their beloved sport when these two great attacking teams played out a scoreless draw merely 3 weeks ago. Now with both teams looking for redemption, surely the fans would have their faith restored in Australia's fastest growing ice-based sport (excluding curling). Sonics have had some good wins this season and were sitting comfortably in second, while Penguins have struggled to gain momentum making this a must win game to stay in the hunt for a finals berth. Sonics controlled possession and managed to convert two of their numerous scoring opportunities. The first came from a Cameron Parkes scorcher which was deflected off the Penguins defence. A few minutes before the break, Jason Wheeler scored from a fast break to give Sonics a 2-0 lead. In the second half The Penguins battled hard and had a few chances of their own but ran out of gas but were defiant enough to deny Sonics a third goal. Sonics B took their first regular time win in almost a month by 2-0.

14-MAY-2009
C Division - Week 11
ATOmix break Win Duck !!
ATOmix vs. Hornets by Ash Backlund
The mighty ATOmix team met the Hornets for the 2nd time this season, determined to reverse the inexplicable 2-0 defeat they had suffered earlier in the season. With the ATOmix team losing all their games by an average of 4-0, it was unsettling that the Hornets had tried to ruin that by playing below their best. As the teams took to the rink, we knew that like the great Norwegian explorers Erik Heyerdahl and Roald Amundsen before us, the ice was there � simply waiting to be conquered. The ATOmix starting line-up of the well-clothed Dan Paterson, Bill � The Wall � Herreros, The Immovable Apples, EJ � That�s My Baby � Ryan, � Stacks-On � Stacker and Now Open for Sponsorship Offers Ash Backlund were determined to show that with all their years of guile and knowledge combined with literally minutes of broomball experience they would be a force to be reckoned with for at least 2 � 3 minutes. With the referee dropping the ball at the start of the game, the familiar words of Gandalf the Grey could be heard vocalised through Supercoach Jo � My Jersey�s Too Big� Mitchell � � � and, so it begins. � It was almost 5 minutes before the first goal was scored in this titanic struggle. The massed crowd of 11 people went deathly silent and the supporters singing and chanting fell quiet � it was as if time stood still. Like David before Goliath, like Tweety before Sylvester, like Mama Blob�s Home-Made Doughnut Shop before Krispy Kreme, the underdogs that were ATOmix had gone against all odds and scored a goal. Fans at the rink that night swear they heard angels singing, others claim that there was blinding light at one end of the rink as the unbelievable had occurred. Somewhere in Las Vegas, Jack Ripley was no longer believing it or not ! From that point on, it was as if hordes of Viking warriors had descended from the steppes of Valhalla such was the skill of the ATOmix team on the ice. From that first goal, there was to be no stopping the ATOmix team as a flood of goals was thrust into the back of the Hornet�s net. 3 goals from Dave � I can ride my bike on this ice if I want to � Porter, 2 goals from Steve � I don�t care what it is, I�ll drink it � Dardo, 2 goals from the ubiquitous and yet sometimes obstreperous Ash Backlund and one from the masked man Paul Robinson established an 8 � 0 lead that with 51 seconds to go, was reasonably well assured of guaranteeing their first win for the season. All the team played exceptionally well with Renee � Still on for a Nudie Run � Currell once again showing she was the best player on the team just by turning up and sledging above and beyond what was expected. The biggest thanks for the team�s performance must go to Anthony � Busy with the ladies � Head for not being there on the night and so helping the team to establish well and truly what our weak link is. Ta Anthony.

Knights Who Grunt Broomball vs. Ice Devils by Brett Ackling
Grudge match of the night. Were once the one team and many of us play B-grade for the same team so it was always going to be interesting. First goal went to Brett Ackling off a quick break 2 minutes into the first half. 1-nil to the Knights. Some tight defence from both teams saw this remain until the last 5 mins of the half with Mitch from the Knights putting one in off a pass from James. Lots of good defence in the 2nd half with only 1 goal scored about 10 minutes in by Mitch off a Bec ' Stinky Captain' Collier pass. 3-nil to the Knights at full time. Thanks to Ice Devils for a great clean game. Look forward to playing you again.

Dugongs vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
After a close game in the pre-season match ups the Brass Monkeys were looking forward to another close game. The Dugongs came out strong, putting alot of pressure on the Monkey's defence but the Brass Monkeys held their ground and soon managed to push towards the opposite end of the ice. Receiving a pass from behind the net Ben Sloane smashed the ball into the top of the net, putting the Monkeys up 1-0. The rest of the half was tightly played with both teams not allowing any shots towards goals. The start of the second half was more of the same until Jake Koss made a break away, sending the ball into the back of the net. 2-0 Brass Monkeys way. For the remainder of the match both teams fired a large amount of shots at goal but to no avail. Final score for the night 2-0 to the Monkeys. Looking forward to our next match which is again against the Dugongs which should prove again to be a tough game.

11-MAY-2009
A Division - Week 13
Druids Return with a Win
Richmond Ravens vs. Parramatta River Rats by Jo Mitchell
The first game of the night saw Richmond Ravens take on ex-team mates River Rats. A clean game with some great keeping from both Kieren and Damo, either team could have taken the game. The first goal was scored on a power play, with a Jo, Andrew, Dane combination resulted in an unlucky deflection into the top corner of the net. With 2 minutes to go, River Rats pulled their keeper to raise their chance to even the score. A smart move, that didn't pay off this time, as Dane intercepted a pass and ran the ball the length of the ice to score his 2nd goal of the night.

Blacktown Butchers vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Saxon Hooper
Druids first game back after 1000 years of byes (well maybe only 4 weeks.. but it felt long). After such a break Druids were a bit rusty but hung in there early. Butchers helped Druids out by giving away a numerous penalties, Linda Findlayson finding the net for Druids to go 1-0 up. The second half was moer of the same, silly penalties to Butchers allowing Druids to keep the pressure on. Eventually Damian Colyer sealed the game with a nice break away goal. 2-0 Druids.

11-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 13
The Penguins Win Back the Bucket !!
Team Ice Bucket vs. ButchersB by Liam Golding
Our game last night was TIB against Butchers. Both sides sported close to, if not totally full teams. We scored mid to late through the first half courtesy of yours truly via a break away from the half way. In the second half the butchers increased the tempo somewhat. Didn't help them when they lost someone to the sin bin. Throughout the game, I cant recall too many clean shots they got on target. A testament I think to how well we scrambled back. We actually created a few more opportunites in the second half. However we couldn't get any through either. That was until we went another goal up by... ummm... mental blank. God i really cant rememer it at all.. lol Now im in trouble! Oh, but i do recall Russell trying to emulate me by running headlong into the walls. He doesn't bounce off them as well as me though. But he's still alive. � So we won 2-0 in the end. A good team effort.

DruidsB vs. SonicsB by Matt Heller
From the outset, this game looked bleak for DruidsB. With only one sub, for the A grade guys, compared with SonicsB�s four, the only bright spot for the team was the addition of a full time goal keeper, Kate Yabsley, meaning that we actually had a complete team. Consequently, most DruidsB players played the entire game, and as the game progressed, it began to show. Two whole halves were played with no goals scored and no penalties given. The lack of goals were the result of some great keeping on both sides and quick defensive retreats that shutdown many an offensive attempt. As the DruidsB forwards tired, they switched into defensive positions and this strategy, along with good ball possession and passing, maintained the status quo. It wasn�t until overtime that the first goal was scored a couple of minutes in. A well timed pass from DruidsB�s Damien Colyer gave Andrew Causby a clear shot that was quickly converted into a win. Final score 1-0 to DruidsB.

07-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 11 - Thursday
OT win for SonicsB
SonicsB vs. Huskies by Jason Wheeler
Another classic Thursday night encounter resulted in an epic overtime win to Sonics B. Huskies were desperate to even the ledger after narrowly losing 2-1 to Sonics earlier this season. Sonics had a full complement of players all of them in red hot form, while Huskies were light on subs. It took Sonics all of 3 minutes to register the first goal courtesy of a Brett Ackling breakaway. Huskies struck back twice via Marc Kuipers and Huskies found they had plenty of momentum. Sonics lifted and replied with a fine goal to Catherine McDonald. 2-2 at the break. Neither team could break the deadlock and the game went into overtime. Sonics had the bulk of possession and Cameron Parkes looking more exhausted than usual got on a fast break and hot from the Huskies� blue line. The ball rolled straight between the posts and was never in doubt. Cameron was then stretchered from the rink and put on an IV drip. Sonics 3-2 in OT.

07-MAY-2009
C Division - Week 10
Brass Monkeys on the March
ATOmix vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly (and Ben)
The second game of the night matched the Brass Monkeys against ATOmix. ATOmix played very strongly defencively, making it hard for the Brass Monkeys to getanywhere near the goals. The Brass Monkey's first goal came from a rebound off the back of the goalie by Ryan Priestly, putting the Brass Monkeys up 1-0. The rest of the half was very close, with both teams taking a decent amount of shots only to be stopped by two hot (in the goals that is) goalies. The beginning of the second half matched the first, with both teams taking shots but unable to convert. Brass Monkeys second goal came from Jake Koss (not Ashleigh as she'd like to believe) around the half way mark, firing up the Brass Monkeys who increased the pressure. Feeling slightly safer with a 2-0 lead, Jake replaced Jordan Martin Waterhouse in goals, allowing Jordan to score his first broomball goal and put the Monkeys up 3-0. Once again, strong goal tending from both sides stopped anymore goals being added to the score board, with the game finishing 3-0 in the Brass Monkeys favour. Thanks to ATOmix for a good, clean, fair game that I think both sides enjoyed. We look forward to our next game.

04-MAY-2009
A Division - Week 12
Few more Days for Druids - Then Finally - Game On
Blacktown Butchers vs. Parramatta River Rats by Louis Sultana
Blacktown Butchers met the �Dirty� River Rats for the second time this season. Both teams had their early chances but could not break through with the early goal. Great keeping & defence from both sides. The first goal came from a Peter Yabsley face off win. The ball going straight to Louis Sultana, a shot, a scramble, a goal to Lauren Goulden. 1-0 Butchers. Heading towards the break the Butchers added one more to the tally, some slick passing between Butchers� players found a 3 man breakaway. With plenty of options, Dominic Colyer went for the hand thingy and finished it quite nicely. Congratulations to Dom for his first A-Grade goal, a great way to bring it up. 2-0 Butchers at halftime. Second half saw plenty of chances to both teams, but some good defence stopped any more goals being posted. Fulltime � Butchers Win 2-0.

Richmond Ravens vs. Penrith City Rangers by Jo Mitchell
5th placed Richmond Ravens took on the currently 4th placed Penrith City Rangers in the last game of the night. A subdued Rangers played a solid defensive game, after coming off a 5-1 loss to Sonics in last weeks round, but this was not enough to keep out the well-executed attacking plays of the Rickmond Ravens. Jo, and Aaron teamed up to slot the ball from behind the goals, with Andrew Causby putting on the finishing touch to pop the ball over the keepers shoulder. The 2nd goal was a beautiful display of teamwork from Dane and Krys, putting the ball cleanly in the net after a string of passes down the length of the ice. The final score: 2-0 Ravens.

04-MAY-2009
B Division - Week 12
The Penguins Win Back the Bucket !!
DruidsB vs. Tigers by Damo Colyer
DruidsB started the game with 4 ppl on the ice, but with some good defence and saves they managed to keep Tigers out for the first 15mins until help arrived. The game then evened out and some good oppurtunities for both teams. DruidsB to score first with Andrew Causby. Soon after Damian Colyer recieved a flick from over the top and managed to flick it past the keeper to make it two nil. Second half Tigers hit back with a goal to Paul Stockbridge. DruidsB held out until the final 3 seconds when Stocky got his second with a flick from Ryan over the top, alot of scrabling and a volley two seconds before the buzzer to even it up. Overtime ended in a draw with a couple of oppurtunities to both teams.

Tigers vs. DruidsB by Sally Yabsley
OK so not the best start for the tigers or for DruidsB the team formally known as Phoenix. Druids B the team formally known as Phoenix with 4 players and Tigers not taking advantage of it. As the rest of the team arrived DruidsB the team formally known as Phoenix picked up the pace. Tigers eventually joined in the pace for a controvirtial game. 2 all then into over time where nothing happened! I would say Tigers got lucky this time but will come back from sickness and do better next time! Go Tigers and well played DruidsB the team formally known as Pheonix.

The Penguins vs. SonicsB by James Kristof
The first half of the match between Penguins and Team Ice Bucket was, in want of a better word, boring. Both teams were very strong defensively, and consequently there was not even one shot on target. *Editors/Coaches Note: Whats so boring about strong defence ?!? However, the second half was a bit more attacking, with both teams forcing a few saves from the keepers, before Penguins finally broke the deadlock with 3:30 left on the clock when Tim Roffey put away a rebound off the keeper. Less than one minute later TIB squared things up as Bryan Macklin put a shot past 3 Penguins defenders and the keeper, but just over a minute after that Tim Roffey regained the lead for Penguins, completing his double and a much needed Penguins win, 2-1.

30-APR-2009
C Division - Week 9
Brass Monkeys Win the Rematch
Dugongs vs. Ice Devils by Nicholas Fittock
It was a tight struggle in the Ice Devils, Dugongs clash on Thursday evening but some persistent attack from the Ice Devils finally paid dividends in a last gasp victory during the first overtime period. The game started slowly on a slippery surface that had both teams struggling to make an early mark. The Ice Devils managed to come to terms with the conditions earlier, but they failed to convert their slight advantage as a number of opportunities went beckoning. Resilient defence from the Dugongs saw the score at half time remain locked at 0-0. It was a resurgent Dugongs that came out firing in the second half but against the run of play the Ice Devils� Justin McMillan was able to secure the lead after the ball rebounded off a Devil�s knee out of a gaggle of Dugong and Ice Devil arms and legs. The Dugongs quickly rallied to have most of the field possession for the remainder of the second half and converted this into a timely goal with barely 7 minutes remaining in normal time. A push down the line during the first overtime period was enough to give Nick a shot at the goals to win the match for the Ice Devils. Thanks to the Dugongs for a great close game.

Knights Who Mumble Broomball vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
After losing 2-1 to the Knights the week before the Brass Monkeys were hungry to get one back. Both teams fought hard to get the early lead but strong defence by both ends kept the game tight. Controlling the ball from behind the net, Jake Koss made a clean pass to Ryan Priestly, who with no defenders in the way, scored the first goal for the night. The rest of the first half was tightly played by both teams with shots being taken from left, right and center but both team's defence was just too good. After a quick talk on the side lines the Monkeys came out fired up, feeling that we actually had a shot at taking down one of the top C-Grade sides. Both teams came out firing, the Knights determined to even the score and the Monkeys pushing hard to extend the lead. The Knight's forwards let of some absolute screamers towards the goals but the Monkey's super goalie Jordan Martin Waterhouse (with the aid of his lucky singlet) was on absolute fire, letting nothing even get close to the back of the net. With under five minutes to go both teams kept the pressure on, but a massive break away from Hayden Davis lead to the Monkey's final goal, giving the final score of 2-0 Brass Monkeys way. Thanks to the Knights who gave us two really tight games over the past two weeks and well done to the rest of the Brass Monkey squad (except Ben who now not only holds the Brass Monkey's title of most penalties but also has the record for most "almost goals") who played their best game yet for the season.

Hornets vs. Titans by Dave De Gruyter
Titans missing a couple of players started the game well scoring 3 goals in the first 5 minutes eventually ending the first half with the score 5-0. A top effort was displayed by our girls with Skye Blakeney hitting the back of the net from a terrific pass by one of Nissa Jones assists. In the second half the Hornets produced a good defensive effort only allowing 2 goals to be added to the score line. It was a good team effort by the Titans with everyone contributing on the match sheet, final score 7-0.

27-APR-2009
A Division - Week 11
Sonics Dish out the Punishment
Blacktown Butchers vs. Richmond Ravens by Jo Mitchell
With the memory of last weeks overtime loss fresh on the minds of the Ravens players, both teams played a patient game. Andrew Causby lobbed a ball high, and as both teams prepared for a whistle, the ball peaked just short of the roof, bounced of both captain's hands, Dane's shoulder, Pete's stick, Dane's foot, to be picked up by Dane, who poked it through the keeper's gaping 5 hole. The score remained at one - nil, with a close call in the last 2 minutes, Raven's winger Aaron Dymond sending a slap shot only slightly left of the open net. A solid game by both teams.

Werrington County Sonics vs. Penrith City Rangers by Tim Brown
Sonics dusted off the ol' cat-o-nine tails to dish out a flogging to Rangers. The first lashing coming from the neat give-and go, Tim Brown passing to Jason Wheeler who held off a defender before returning the pass to Brown as he ran through shooting into the far corner of the goal. The lash came from similar opportunity that went wide and after a scramble behind the net the ball popped out to Wheeler near the post who shot the ball home. Scott Murray then applied a good handful of salt to Rangers wounds just before the half firing one in from just inside the redline. Sonics 3 Rangers 0 at the half. Mutiny was afoot after the break. Rangers came out strongly Dave Degrugter putting away loose ball after some slick passing had Sonics stumbling in defence wondering "What happened to our cat-o-nine tails". They soon realised they'd left it on their rather empty bench. Once recovered it was obvious the Rangers required more serious punishment to keep them in line so a nice through ball up the wall from, Sonics B, Sonics A debutant Bec Collier put Wheeler away on the break to score the fourth. The the final lash saw Brown and Wheeler on the break, Wheeler getting this hat trick after a dizzying exchange of passes left Rangers defenders and keeper sprawling on the ice and Wheeler the simple job of flicking the ball into an empty net. The final buzzer coming at last for Rangers a 5-1 defeat by Sonics.

27-APR-2009
B Division - Week 11
Late Night Draw
DruidsB vs. Huskies by Matt Hellyer
DruidsB hit the ice running, gaining ball possession from the drop and maintaining it in their attacking half as the game commenced. First to score was Alana Bracken of DruidsB with a well timed shot barely two minutes in. As the game continued, the DruidsB keeper was left a spectator, with further attacks leading to another goal, this time going to Andrew Causby with assistance from Damien Colyer. Huskies were able to mount a number of counter-offensives in the first half, but all of these proved to be unsuccessful. A long range shot from Damien Colyer made the third goal for DruidsB, which rolled by two team mates and the defending keeper untouched. Early in the second half, Huskies broke through the defensive line of DruidsB with a fast paced attack that resulted in a goal to Marc Kuipers. Later on, Huskies were able to press an attack on the goals, taking about four shots all of which were blocked by the DruidsB keeper except for one, which rebounded from the top of the crossbar and back out into play. Not long after, a one-on-one with the Huskies keeper was similarly unsuccessful. It wasn�t until 1:35 was left on the clock that Ghislaine Calloc'h from DruidsB was able to score, assisted by Dominic Colyer. Final score 4-1 in favour of DruidsB.

The Penguins vs. SonicsB by James Kristof
Penguins were once again short on guy players and thus fielded three girl players for the entire game, however this didn't slow down the Penguins' attack, as they pressed the Sonics B defence the entire game, only being denied by Sonics B goalkeeper Kieran McDonald who was in ridiculous form during the match. So the match headed to OT where Sonics B had a one man advantage for the first 2 minutes, controlling possession and territory for most of the OT period, however couldn't score a winner. The game ended 0-0 which in no way reflected the attacking nature of the match.

23-APR-2009
B Division - Week 10 - Thursday
DruidsB unable to hold out SonicsB
SonicsB vs. DruidsB by Jeff Ferrerrarrarra
Sonics B fielded a full-strength squad with plenty of subs giving players coming off C grade matches some much appreciated bench time. Sonics came up with plenty of opportunities early on, a number of good runs and some quick passing in Druid territory. It took a few near misses before Cameron Parkes managed find the back of the net mid first half, off a fast break through center ice. Druids came back fired up after conceding the goal, forcing the Sonics to muscle up in defence for the rest of the half. After a few worrying moments, including a shot that somehow managed to bounce off both posts without crossing the line, the siren sounded and it was Sonics 1-0 at the break. Both teams came out hard in the second, with some fierce melee's against the boards and nobody able to get a shot or even a clean pass away. Continued strong defence combined with some quick reflexes in goal by Kieran McDonald helped keep the scoreline in the Sonics favour. The Druids, at this point getting desperate for a goal, pushed up hard and very nearly came up with the goods, before Cameron Parkes managed to exploit a brief lapse in their otherwise solid defence, breaking from half ice before putting it away in a one-on-one with the keeper. This gave Sonics the much needed buffer, relieving some pressure and giving us the chance to take a breath before riding out the rest of the match for the win . . . 2-0 Sonics at the final siren.

23-APR-2009
C Division - Week 8
Titans Firm as Premiership Favourites
Knights Who Shout Broomball vs. Brass Monkeys by Brett Ackling
Knights had heaps of subs tonight but a lack of jersys that made interchanges interesting. Also had 1 new guy playing his first game, took him some time to find his ice feet but played well. Knights won 2-1 with both the Knights goals going to Josh Burton. Thanks Brass Monkeys for the game.

Knights Who Shout Broomball vs. Brass Monkeys by Joshua Burton
First match of the night featured the first meeting of the Knights and the Brass Monkeys. The match started off with chances on each side, which ended in no avail. It took until late in the 1st half, where Mitch ended a good play to convert for a 1-0 score line at half time. 2nd Half commenced with replays of the 1st half, a lot of back and forth play. The game broke out with Brass Monkeys equalising at 1-1. (Apologises to Brass Monkeys, as do not know who scored.) In quick succession, the one goal advantage was restored by Josh, with time to spare. This left nervous and tense minutes on the clock for both teams, but to Knights credit, pulled off a 2-1 victory. All parties are looking forward to the rematch next week.

Ice Devils vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
Both teams looking forward to a fast paced, clean game and it definatley started that way with Ice Devils pinning the Table leaders in their own half for the first few minutes of the game, though were unable to capitalise. The Titans re-grouped and were back on track with a goal around 4 minutes into the first half, which seemed to flick the switch to open the floodgates, and titans were 5-0 up at the break. Whatever the Ice Devils said to each other at half time obviously worked, as no more goals were scored by either team in a much closer second half. The score probably doesnt reflect the closeness of the game, however the fact that every single player on the Titans scored a point on the matchsheet probably displays why they are the team to beat. It was a great game, and we look forward to playing the Ice Devils again later in the season.

20-APR-2009
A Division - Week 10
Butchers in OT
Blacktown Butchers vs. Richmond Ravens by Sweet Louis Sultana
Blacktown Butchers met the Richmond Ravens for the first time this season. Both teams had their early chances but could not break through with the early goal. It was not until four minutes remained in the half when the first goal was posted. Ravens used some strong forecheck to force the turn over. The ball immediately went to Krys Lockhardt who was in a fortunate position in front of goals. Unmarked, he managed to volley the ball pass the keeper. 1-0 Ravens at halftime. The second half started well for the Butchers, pushing hard from the face off. Louis Sultana�s shot went wide but Peter Yabsley was there to gather the rebound and pushed the ball in for the equaliser. 1-1 after 2 minutes. Both teams had their chances to grab the lead but failed to do so, good keeping from both ends. 1-1 after 40 minutes of play and we were headed for OT. Ravens had much of the possession but couldn�t get the shot off with Butchers showing great patience in defence. A turnover for the Butchers and Peter Yabsley found Louis Sultana on the breakaway. With nothing but the net in front of him, Louis made no mistake, finding the goal with a left handed sweep. 2-1 OT Win Butchers.

Werrington County Sonics vs. Parramatta RiverRats by Tim Brown
Sonics defeated Rats 2 goals to 1 in a very open encounter contested right to the last second. Sonics Jason Wheeler scored first from a turnover in Rats half. Taking the ball on the turn and striking the shot hard into the top corner. Sonics second was scored on the break with Jason Wheeler passing to Dhyana Scarano to beat the keeper. Rats then scored with 5 minutes remaining Marc Kuipers volleying a cross home. Rats then pulled their keeper and applied plenty of pressure the game ending with a rough tussle behind the net as Sonics hung on desperately in the final seconds.

20-APR-2009
B Division - Week 10
The Penguins Get a Win
Tigers vs. The Penguins by James Kristof
The last time the Penguins met the Tigers was in round one where the Tigers thoroughly annihilated the Penguins 5-1, so Penguins were determined to get one back on the Tigers and were aided by the fact that they for once had a full compliment of both male and female players. Having said that, the match was fairly even for most of the first half, both teams creating opportunities to score but being denied by good scrambling defence. The second half saw the Penguins gain the ascendency in possession, Tigers having to defend for long periods of time which eventually told on the scoreboard as Shannan Heinitz gave Penguins the lead. Shannan doubled the lead only a few minutes later as Penguins then tried to starve a desperate Tigers offence of possession. 2-0 to Penguins was the final score.

Team IceBucket vs. ButchersB by Liam Golding
In the end, it turned out that TIB were down a few girls, but enough to field a complete team. Butchers sporting some new (to me anyway) faces, but filling their bench well. An early goal to Dave in the first half, once again using his well cut stick to great effect in firing a one timer shot into the back of the net, possibly off a face off win or similar. (As in either way it came from a cross to him.) There was no more scoring in the game, however the result was far from secure, as Butchers mounted some increasing pressure, particularly late in the second half. A send off for each team in the second half was (obviously) not enough to change the result. So a decent, if not slightly scrappy win for TIB

16-APR-2009
C Division - Week 7
Titans Well Clear Now
Titans vs. Dugongs by Russell Gregory
Titans came into this game undefeated, and with only 2 goals scored against them for the season it was always going to be a very hard game for the Dugongs to win. Titans dominated the game from the get-go, and never really got out of first gear for the entire first half, piling up 5 goals to nil at the break. Feeling very confident going into the second half, the Titans held out the few breaks that the Dugongs made without breaking a sweat. Another 2 goals and the game was put to bed, final score 7-0 for one of the biggest wins in a while for the Titans. Big thumbs up for all the Titans players - Bryn Shepherd with three goals, and goals to Greg Dezman , "Disco" Dave Degruyter, Jesse Blakeney and Mark Rulewski (with El Capitan Rusty being the only male non scorer for the week.... hmmm....who's in a drought now Dave?), and a great effort from our girls, Kathy Andrew, Nissa Jones and Skye Blakeney who are all becoming great attacking weapons in their own right. Tough game up next for the table leaders, taking on the Ice Devils on Thursday.

Ice Devils vs. Brass Monkeys by Kieran McDonald
Ice Devils went from 11 the week before to starting short and borrowing from another team. Brass monkeys did all they could to take advantage of the situation but devils defence was just too strong. Slowly but surely the rest of the devils showed up which made the game a whole lot faster. The score remained nil all at half time. In the second half devils found themselves getting very frustrated by the saves that the monkeys keeper was doing, likewise with the opposite. Full time still scoreless. 2 minutes into OT Steph Day put the ball in the back of the net which at first was disallowed until the second ref stepped in saying that it was legal. Making the final score 1 - 0 the the Ice Devils. Once again the Brass Monkeys proved a strong opponent only to get pipped in the dying minutes. Well done both teams.

Knights who Hum Broomball vs. ATOmix by Brett Ackling
Knights after playing most of the season with little or no bench finally got some new players. This seemed to inspire the team to up the ante and we came out pushing hard. First goal went to Brett of the Knights off a flick shot into the top of the net. Knights again pushed hard with another goal going our way from one of the new recruits Mitch. Unfortunately all our good work was slightly undone with a home goal sneaking in. The 2nd half was much of the same with the Knights pushing hard. Brett looked to score again but b-grade restrictions put a stop to this and backup (Beck our smelly captain) was slow coming. Soon afterwards though Josh of the Knights slotted one through from a 3 on 1. Finally another goal was scored but no one can remember who it was by so we'll put it down as the anonymous Knight. Final score was 4-1. Thanks ATO for great game.

09-APR-2009
B Division - Week 9(Thursday)
Team Icebucket Win the Famous Cup
The Penguins vs. Team IceBucket by Liam Golding (and not Jason Wheeler)
Penguins and TIB faced off for the Thursday ngiht game, and surprisingly there was little hype for our "friendly." :p I don't know if it was dodgy ice, or my new shoes, but I know I could barely walk out there, but Dave managed to get a good goal for us first early on in the first half. This was extra good for us, because normally the penguins just defend hard and then try to pinch a goal of there own here or there. So they were forced to come after us, and unfortunately, they did. James got a goal back against us a while later, apparently from a good shot; I wasn't watching from the bench, but he was pretty pleased with himself. In the second half we played some more broomball, and eventually I think it was Mark who picked up a loose ball spilt from the keeper's first save, and scored on the open net to end the game 2-1 to us. This means we retain the Penguin / TIB Trophy*.
* a penguin shaped ice bucket, depending on what happens with teams and player movements... The buying and selling of high profile players, (such as the notorious Penguin keeper Chris Helderman) is rife at the moment, with back door deals of the non-sexual nature being discussed in hushed tones in the dark of the night. Sigh, I have too much time, and not enough sleep!

09-APR-2009
C Division - Week 6
Dugongs on the Board
Brass Monkeys vs. ATOmix by Ryan Priestly
Having to play a player down it was always going to be a hard game against ATOmix, and they definatly put the pressure on. Both teams pushed hard to get the first goal but it was Hayden Davis from the Monkeys who got first honours. However, ATOmix werent discouraged and David Porter, determined to get ATOmix's first ever broomball goal, sent a screamer into the back of the net, leveling the game at 1-1. With only a few minutes left in the first half Ben Sloane managed to stay on his feet for a change and put the Brass Monkeys up 2-1, ending the period. The start of the second period was more of the same, with both teams trying desperatly to score on wet ice. Reese Shepherd was next on the score sheet, launching the ball under multiple players legs to find the back of the net. Almost feeling safe with a 3-1 lead with under ten minutes to go, the feeling of safety was soon taken away when two Brass Monkeys were sent off due to two penalties. With only three Monkeys left on ice ATOmix went all out attack with shots being launched from all directions. Special mention goes to Ashleigh and Hayden who managed to play some awesome defence to run out both penalties. With all players back on ice with a few minutes left Ryan Priestly managed to pass the defence to finally score, putting Brass Monkeys up 4-1, being the final score for the night. The Brass Monkeys would like to thank ATOmix for a really good game that was a lot closer than the score suggests.

Ice Devils vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
Top of the table clash between the Ice Devils and Titans, with the winner to take a big advantage going into the second half of the season. Titans dominated possession in the first part of the game, and with everyone committed to getting forward in attack and on the fore-check things were looking good. A lucky one timer goal to Titans Captain Russell Gregory on the cross from Kathy Andrew put them up 1-0. Though it must be said that It was deflected off a defender, off the keeper, off the inside of the post and then trickling over the line in an unlucky goal against for the devils. The game had a little bit of sparkle added when 'Disco Dave" Degrutyer" managed to loop a flick pass too high, which in turn sent one of the mirror balls crashing to the ice. It was lucky no-one was underneath when it crashed, but did take a fair bit of cleaning up before play could resume. Dave subbed off the ice to take some time and have a good hard look at himself in the mirror ball, after what he had done. Some on the Titans were saying he was reflecting on the situation. Others thought that he was trying to pull a patented move on the opposition, the "Murder with the Mirror Ball". Anyway, enough puns for the time being. Dave knows now that mirror balls don't bounce, and that twinkle in his eye is knowing that there are at least another 10 mirror balls above the ice for him to take aim at for the rest of the season. I cant remember who scored the other goal for the Titans, but a great defensive effort saw the score stay at 2-0 when the final siren sounded. A Good, clean game all around. Dave was disco dancing all the way home after the win .....

06-APR-2009
Womens Division - Round 2
Snipers Out in Front
Silver Snipers vs. Crimson Furies by Linda Findlayson
Snipers and Furies both had a good turn out with several subs on the bench - great work ladies! The game started with the Furies applying pressue and the Snipers a little slow off the mark. The Furies pressure paid off and after some scrambling in front of the net, the Furies went 1-0 thanks to Bec Davis. The Snipers were on the back foot but didn't give up. Some solid defense applied good pressure on the Furies resulting turn overs. Sally Yabsley got the ball deep in the Snipers defensive half, managed to get a great pass to the energiser bunny Steph Day, who managed to pass it to Linda Findlayson. Linda, one on one with the keeper, put in a nice low shot to the bottom left corner. 1-1 at half time:) The Snipers, with victory on their minds, started to dominate in the second half. Lauren Goulden created a turn over in the Snipers defensive half, got a quick pass to Linda Findlayson. Furies ran back hard, Linda got pushed left and then flicked the ball across the face of the goal in to the far right corner (sensational goal if I do say so myslef and even better cos I meant it!)! Furies applied loads of pressure in the last few minutes however couldn't equalise. Snipers victory 2-1 :)

The Femmes vs. HockeyRoos by Jo Mitchell
The 2nd women's game of the night saw a good standard of broomball that is now typical of our BAWS women's games. Both teams had a good showing of players of all levels. There were plenty of skillful plays and quite a few shots on goal, with defence on both teams having to work hard to keep the score at 0-0. Alana Bracken left her usual defensive position to play forward, unlucky not to score with 2 great shots in the 2nd half. Kerryn Lawler created good opportunities to be shut down by a tenacious Katie Robson.

06-APR-2009
B Division - Week 9
SonicsB Extract some Revenge
ButchersB vs. The Penguins by Peter Yabsley
Good overtime win for ButchersB. Strong defence from both teams keeping the scoring low. Good game from everyone involved.

SonicsB vs. Tigers by Jason Wheeler
The final game of the night shaped up to be a tight encounter. These two heavyweights met in the final round of last season, which Tigers won convincingly thereby knocking Sonics B out of finals contention. I'm still bitter about that one. So belated revenge was definitely on the Sonics agenda. Sonics started strongly, controlling possession and creating innumerable opportunities. The keeping of Paul Stocky Stockbridge held out a flurry of Sonics attacks. Jeff Ferrara opened the scoring with a fine shot and it was Sonics 1-0. Cameron Parkes extended the lead moments later with a one-on-one. Tigers replied late in the first half with a fast break through a disorganised Sonics defence. Sonics 2-1 at the break. The game continued to see-saw and Tigers pressed hard for an equaliser but Cameron Parkes managed to get his double and I picked up a late goal to make this a somewhat convincing 4-1 win for Sonics B.

02-APR-2009
C Division - Week 5
Dugongs on the Board
Dugongs vs. ATOmix by Scott Powell
Dugongs faced off against the ATOmix on the worst Ice either side had seen, making it near impossible to move freely in the opening half. Dugongs attacked from the first whistle, threatening to score repeatedly with some great attacking plays, but were denied by some solid goalkeeping. A misdirected hit from Scott saw the ball go wide to Nathan who smacked the ball in for a 1-0 lead halfway through the first half. Nathan finally breaking his goal-less drought. Dugongs kept applying the forward pressure, and went into halftime 1-0. The Dugongs started the second half a man down, but maintained their attack; a great run by Joel saw a deflected cross return straight to Scott who scored from a tight angle, while 3 defenders were marking the centre. 2-0 Dugongs. Not content with a 2 goal advantage, the Dugongs kept pushing forward, with some great runs from Daniel, Elicia and Pete, only some fantastic scrambling defence saw the score unchanged for most of the second half. A shot from Aaron deflected off the upright, one of many shots that only missed by millimetres. With only a minute left in the half, Joel who had been great in support all night opened his account with a determined and persistent assault on the goal. Dugongs 3-0 at the final whistle. Thanks to the ATOmix who put up a massive defensive effort on ice that was dangerous and difficult to play on.

Hornets vs. Brass Monkeys by Ryan Priestly
After almost having to forfeit due to a car breakdown, the Brass Monkeys managed to arrive at the ice rink with five whole minutes to get ready. The beginning of the game was tight but some tricky play in front of goals put the Hornets up 1-0. Determined to finally get a win on the board the Brass Monkeys fought back , with Reese Sheppard letting off a ripper of a shot to tie the game up one a piece. The Monkeys almost took the lead at the end of the first period only to be called up for accidently taking out the goalie. (My bad) The second period was tightly played, with both teams firing shots at goal but unable to convert through superb goal tending by both sides. With not long left, Ryan Priestly managed to score with a backhand, putting the Brass Monkeys up 2-1. The Hornets kept the pressure on, but tight defence by the Brass Monkeys secured our first "proper" win of the season. Thanks to the Hornets for a close game.

Knights Who Sing Broomball vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
Titans looking good, undefeated so far this season and looking to continue the streak against the Knights. The game started out very quickly, lots of running and neutral zone play. The Titans got on the board early with a goal to Mark Rulewski (i think) to go up 1-0. Dave Degruyter extented his streak of goals to two in two games later in the half, but some overcommitment in attack exposed the titans and a quick turnaround and subsequent break saw the Knights pull one back. 2-1 at the half, and both teams trying very hard to score again. The opening stages of the second half saw good break by both teams, but only the Titans were able to convert (not sure who scored this one sorry guys :) ) and pulled away for the win. 3 - 1 at the final hooter. Solid defence from Kathy Andrew and Nissa Jones and good commitment from the forwards means that the Titans Goals against are only 2 in 4 games, and goals for are at 15 - which is the best start to a season ever for the defending premiers. Looking forward to a tough game against the second placed team Ice Devils next week.

30-MAR-2009
Mens Division - Week 2
Terminators Stun Ticklers
Ticklers vs. Terminators by Tim Brown
Ticklers started the game better with lots of possession and pinning Term's down in their half. Then against the run of play Dom Colyer fired one in from the blue line, 1-0 Terminators. Terminators second came on a power play Cory Simon involved with an assist and Dom Colyer putting away his 2nd. Term's third, an Andrew Chapman swipe from close, Corey was in there somewhere for another assist. Then a good flick over the the red line from Chappo put Tim Brown through to beat the keeper on the near post...what's that now...1.2.3.4-0 to Terminators. Last goal another shot in Tim Brown deflecting it into the bottom far corner. Oh and Ticklers scored one right at the end, a consolation goal to Marc Kuipers. Final score 5-1. Great win for Terminators!!!

Warriors vs. Silver Stench by Saxon Hooper
Both teams coming off a loss needed a positive result to keep their finals aspirations alive. warriors missing a couple, called in Titans star Bryn Shepherd to debut in mens competition. Warriors stuck to their game plan which saw them dominate posession and territory vs Terminators (even if they didnt come away with the result in that game). However in this game it did pay off, with Wheeler opening the scoring 10 minutes in. 1-0 Warriors half time. Warriors doubled the lead early in the second when saxon Hooper roofed a shot from close range. 10 minutes later a warrior break, some quick passes and a hand thingy by Hooper made it 3-0 Warriors and the put the result beyond doubt. Some fine keeping by Kieran McDonald kept a clean sheet for the Warriors. 3-0 Warriors, setting up a finals position deciding match with Ticklers in early June.

30-MAR-2009
A Division - Week 8
Late Night Goal Fest Ends in Draw
Richmond Ravens vs. Werrignton County Sonics by Aaron Dymond
Ravens came at the Sonics early in the game and dominated most of the possession in the first half. With the Sonics not able to keep possession the Ravens cornered them in and moved it around until eventually they shot. Ravens were very quick to recover the ball and continually put pressure on the Sonics defence. Not much more to say about the first half the Ravens dominated in attack and the Sonics stood up to the challenge and defended extremely well in defence, 0-0 first half. Second half started with a lot more intensity for the Sonics and started to really test Ravens defence consistently for the first time in the game. But still no real big chances for goals with both teams defending brilliantly. Then mid way through the second half Aaron Dymond ran around the back of goals with the ball and tried to flick it in (I�ve never done it before but I saw a lot of other people do it so I thought I may as well try it) it came off the post and strait back to him where he passed it to Krys Lockhart who was in the centre. The keeper unable to react quickly enough to turn and get to the other post Krys Lockhart put it away 1-0 Ravens. This however didn�t dull the spirits of the Sonics. In the last 10 minutes they gave it their all but they were unable to get past the defence of the Ravens. Final score 1-0 Ravens

Penrith City Rangers vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Saxon Hooper
Druids started on fire, scoring on the first posession of the game. Saxon Hooper gaining posession deep, taking it around the net and threading a pass to Linda Findlayson who volleyed it in from point blank range. 1-0 Druids after less than a minute of play. Druids soon had their second. Some good man to man forechecking caused the turn over and some short passing between Linda and Saxon onto Ghis Calloc'h who pulled the trigger on a rocket launched shot. 2-0 Druids only 4 minutes into the game. Rangers hit back through a maiden A grade goal to Dave Degruyter. Then like Druids Rangers scored another goal just minutes later with Bryan Macklin tieing the game away at 2-2. 2 all at half time. Early in the 2nd, Saxon Hooper launched a shot from inside the blue line that squeezed into the top right corner of the goals. 3-2 Druids. Less than a minute later from behind the goals, Liam Golding looking for Tracy Ivin in the centre mishit into the keeper, but somehow it squeezed through and rolled in.. Tracy on hand to make sure of it.. even if it wasnt rolling in. 3-3 with 14 minutes still left in the game. No more goals however not even in sudden death OT. 3-3 late night goal fest over.

26-MAR-2009
C Division - Week 4
Defending Premiers in a League of Their Own
Ice Devils vs. Brass Monkeys by Kieran McDonald
Ice Devils had a full team this week with 4 new recruits to take their total to 12. The game was a close one with the brass monkeys opening up the scoring early in the first half. In the second half jeff farrara let a screamer go to put the score at 1 all. The game finished normal time at 1 a piece. In extra time Steph Day slotted home a goal to give the Ice Devils a continued unbeaten run for the season. Well done to the brass monkeys - it was a clean, fair and fun game.

Dugongs vs. Titans by Russell Gregory
Titans came into this game without a few key players, Greg Dezman and Kathy Andrew, but with a good frame of mind. Dugongs with subs to spare were always going to try to speed the game up, but some quick early goals from the Titans forwards ensured that the Defending Premiers got out to a good lead. Dugongs playing a game of "protect the net" made it hard for long shots to come in but Titans worked in enough crosses to the goal area to knock in 4 unanswered goals. I think Mark, Jesse, Bryn and Dave scored the 4 (yes, you heard right! Dave De Gruyter has broken the drought!!) Titans with a tough stretch over the next 2 weeks, against the 2nd and 3rd placed teams in succesion, the Knights and the Ice Devils but looking forward to the challenge.

Knights Who Chant Broomball vs. ATOmix by Lana Kuipers
Thursday nights clash between ATO Mix and The Knights proved to be an interesting game to watch. Tight defence from both teams meant an evenly matched game. Tight passes were the key weapon from both teams. A nice run late in the first half saw Josh Burton put away a goal for The Knights. Going into second half, score still 1-0, a goal was put in by Brett Ackling and this saw Knights moral rise considerably. Concentration was then again put into defence before Josh took off and once again put the ball into the back of the net. In the last few minutes of second half, with a goal he was 100% committed to, Brett put a second goal in, only to realise with his B-Grade restrictions it was deemed null and void. Luckily it didn't determine the win or loss. Final score 3-0 to the Knights.

23-MAR-2009
A Division - Week 7
Druids Run Over the Top of Rats
Blacktown Butchers vs. Werrignton County Sonics by Tim Brown
Butchers were caught out early when Sonics "came at 'em like Spider Monkeys" early in the half. A quick breakout then a Jason Wheeler pass to Tim Brown who turned on the defender, shooting low into the bottom corner of the far post, the keeper unable to react quickly enough. Butchers struck back midway through the first half with Dominic Colyer intercepting a pass then getting the ball to Lauren Goulden who sent an awkward ball toward goal at a keeper wrong-footed by the intercept and unable to prevent the ball nestling in the net. Butchers had another chance hitting the post but at the half it remained 1-1. The second half saw plenty of goal mouth action as Butchers continued to press the attack and sending plenty of quality crosses into the goal mouth only to be scrambled away by desperate Sonics defence. Sonics then started to get some good opportunities on the break, Jason Wheeler, having three breakaway chances, but unable to convert and no teammates on hand to pickup the loose ball. Then in the final minutes Amran Singha, laid off a ball to Tim Brown on the wing, then made a run into the slot. Brown returned the pass to the storming Singha who smashed a low shot toward goal, the keeper well screen by Kerry Baxter could only slow the shot and then could only watch it roll into the bottom corner of the net. 2-1 Sonics their second win over Butchers this season.

Parramatta River Rats vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Saxon Hooper
Druids got over River Rats 2-0 in their debut A grade game. However Rats have won their last couple and are starting to gel as a team. A pretty even start with both teams able to gain control in attack and keep possession and create pressure, none of itleading to goals though. Then with Druids deep in defence in control of the ball setting to break out. Tim Ollerton with the ball looked to send a hard pass round the back of the goals and up the boards to Linda Findlasyon. Instead he drove it hard at the goals, beating the keeper on the near post and just sneaking it in on the far post. There was a moment of silence as what happened registered with all the players and spectators. Then some cheering from Rats (the loudest from Davin who was credited with the goal after being the last Rat to touch it some 30 seconds before), a groan from Druids and some laughter from the crowd. Tim who has represented Australia for Hockey, Floorball and Broomball got out his "havent done that yet" list and crossed off "score a very embarrassing own goal". 1-0 River Rats half time. Druids a bit deflated from the goal were a bit flat going into the 2nd half and Sam Boer took advantage of it slotting a shot in through the crowd into the corner of the goals. 2-0 River Rats. Druids needed to lift and did, starting to create a lot of opportunities, especially in front of the net where Alyson CamacBenson and Linda Findlayson were all over the loose ball. Many good saves and scrambling defence saw the score still 2-0 with 10 to go. However the pressure eventually told and Saxon Hooper found himself with the ball not far from the net. A hard low shot (not quite where I aimed it ie. straight to the middle of the goals, rather than the corners I prefer) found the net 2-1 Rats, with Druids on the charge. More scramble and pressure from Druids and it looked like they might pull off the come back. Eventually ball falling to Ryan Findlayson who nailed the shot. 2-2 and overtime called on. Rats got first use of the ball but didnt manage an effective shot. Druids turn and a turn over had them scrambling back and setting up defence. Another turn over and it was Druids turn. This time Ryan had the shot and nailed it top corner from a Linda Findlayson assist. 3-2 OT win for Druids. Rats a little unlucky but are really starting to form a good team. So far we have had 14 A games for this season and apart from a 2-0 win for Druids over Rats and a 4-1 win for Sonics over Rats every single game has been decided by a single goal.. So thats 12 out of 14 games decided by 1 goal. In those 12 games 4 have been OT results. So a nice even competiton.

23-MAR-2009
B division - Week 6
Buckets Run Rampant
Huskies vs. Team IceBucket by Jason Wheeler
Coming off a game well played last week, despite the eventual 3-1 score line going against us, TIB were looking forward to tonight's games as we were sporting a larger line-up, the only absentees being Bryan and Lisa Price. Even Mark Price, with the assistance of a new car and license, had made it along this week, and had even brought a friend! (Chris Chettleworth, or similar.) Also playing for TIB was the new recruit Bryn Shepherd. However the game got off to a bad start for us, as I won the drop (stranger things have happened!) and Mark Kuipers took the ball from behind me, stepped one or two of our defenders, and put the ball in the back of the net in about less than ten seconds. Not the fastest goal ever though, because the clock was running before we actually started. It was probably about 5 minutes after that that TIB evened up the score as I got some stick on the ball mid-air to deflect it past the keeper. Then the game settled into some fast back and forth. I reckon we probably held onto the ball a bit more than the Huskies, as their attack was more fast breakish than ours, and Mark or Glen or someone else was always streaking up the sides making us scramble hard. But scramble we did, and went into the break 1-1. The second half was more of the same sort of thing. In my opinion, the Huskies backed off their aggresive forecheck a little, evidenced by the fact I had time to drop my stick for no reason, fall over, get up, chase my stick down, and get back to the ball before they pounced on me. :p In contrast, our forecheck stepped up as the others discovered that, with subs, they can actually keep running. However the score still remained until about 4 or 5 mins out from full time we struck from the face off. Swept back to Bryn, he shaped for the shot, then flat passed to Dave who finally belted one first time, and with the benefit of the corners cut off his stick's head, blasted the back of the net. Now content to defend our lead, the Huskies stepped up their attack and started pushing hard. This however gave way for Bryn to make a fast break and seal the game with a successful 1 on 1 with their keeper. Now even more happy to wait out the clock, I parked myself in our half, and watched Russell Gregory take the ball over half way, wait until he was somewhere just past the blue line(?) and fire one (finally) at the goals. It slipped past the keeper about half a second before time, giving us a 4-1 win. Really good for TIB to get a good solid win after some dissappointing results of reccent weeks. The score in no way reflecting the closeness of the game, but (obviously) pleasing to see the effort from TIB rewarded. I think the biggest thing was that we kept up our intensity for the duration, so well done guys!

Tigers vs. ButchersB by Sally Yabsley
This was a Big match from the 1st ball drop to the last! I think Karen Bell said it best when she said "it was always going to ba a grudge match" Yabsley Family on both teams not to forget inlaws also palying. Josh an exTiger from way back and big brother Peter looked big and Scary, but were no match for our own Big Ben Irmish! With a big powerful swing even the opposition's foot getting in the way couldn't stop our 1st goal! Many Many shots from both teams were attempted only to be shut out. That is until mad 2nd half Leanne Irmish gave her best try for a goal, it got deflected strait to her waiting hubby who slammed in another big shot! A Great Game by all a 2-0 win to TIGERS!!

16-MAR-2009
B division - Week 6 - Thursday
ButchersB Out Score DruidsB
DruidsB vs. ButchersB by Louis Sultana
A schedule clash saw both teams struggle to field strong teams. Druids B had only one girl for the entire game but had a few subs for the guys. Butchers B had no subs with four girls on the ice and two guys. Butchers scoring first with a nice one timer � Stephanie day scoring from close range. Druids hit back quickly after a deflection fooled the keeper. Druids then hit the lead after some solid play around the net. Butchers tied it up before the break with Stephanie�s second goal. 2-2 halftime. The game slowed down in the early parts of the second half as both teams tired. Butchers players finding refuge subbing as goal keeper. Damien Colyer grabbed the lead for Druids B with a nice shot that snuck through the keeper and the post. Josh Yabsley equalised soon after with his a low drive into the net. 3-3. There was only a few minutes left when Butchers grabbed the lead through a breakaway goal to Louis Sultana. Druids pushed hard to find a late goal but Butchers played very well to secure a 4-3 victory. Good effort by both teams considering the lineups for the night.

16-MAR-2009
C Division - Week 3
C Grade Starting to Roll
Titans vs. ATOmix by Russell gregory
Titans Backing up after a bye Kicked things off early with a goal to Russell Gregory. Russell one on one with the keeper, collecting the rebound from the first shot and slotting in behind the keeper. Titans dominated possesion for most of the game, and at one stage was up 4-0. Atomix played well, and managed their first (I think) goal of the competition late in the Second Half (after a very comical defence from the titans which involved one defenceman tripping over the other). This fired up the defending premiers and they eventually put the game to bed with a 6-1 scoreline. 2 goals each to Bryn Shepherd and Jesse Blakeney, one to Mark Rulewski and Russell Gregory. Dave Degruyter tried hard but couldnt find the back of the net, the drought continues... sorry Dave..... Good effort all around after the week off.

Dugongs vs. Hornets by Josh Newell
Dugongs got off to an early lead with great attacking and team work. The Hornets took time to collect themselves and equalised with some beautiful ball skills by Liam and brother Daniel before Liam scores. Is all tied up for the most of the game with both teams playing great defence. With 1 min to go Dugongs defence tires and Josh Newell slips through with a great pass from Jordan. From half way Josh Newell slipped one past the keeper for the win..... 2-1 Hornets.

16-MAR-2009
A Division - Week 6
Butchers on the Board, Kuipers with 1st A Grade Goal.
Blacktown Butchers vs. Penrith City Rangers by Louis Sultana
Blacktown Butchers were still looking for their first win of the season. The Rangers coming off a good win over the River Rats. The game was played at both ends with neither team converting their early chances. It was not until 4 minutes remained in the half, when the first goal was posted. Peter Yabsley snatched a loose ball at the centre line, turned and fired it towards the net. A deflection caught the keeper off guard and the ball found its way in the net. 1-0 half time. The second half was much the same, with chances to both teams and no one converting. The Rangers pressed hard for the final few minutes but the Butchers held it together to take the vital four points.

Parramatta River Rats vs. Richmond Ravens by Sam Boer
This game showed the importance of quality forechecking. Both teams struggled to build offence due to continued pressure from the forecheck. A slow start to the game was brought alive through a power play to the Ravens. Their good ball movement was rewarded with a fireball from the stick of James Dymond. One nil Ravens. River Rats struggled to make any inroads as possession was turned over regularly by both teams. A turnover led to a River Rats break late in the half, which was finished with a shot from Sam Boer, that miraculously ricocheted off 10 pairs of feet and 20 sticks. One all the half time score. Both teams continued to struggle to build offence in the second half, the best chances coming from broken play. Sally Yabsley one timed a shot that came off the inside of the post and out. The game looked destined for overtime until Mark Kuipers stole a ball at halfway and didn't look back, deftly maneuvering the ball past an outstretched keeper with less than a minute to go. A much needed win for the River Rats, 2-1 the final score.

16-MAR-2009
B division - Week 6
The Goals Were Flowing.
SonicsB vs. Team IceBucket by Jason Wheeler
Sonics B fielded a near full-strength squad for tonight�s grudge match with Team Ice Bucket. Buckets went down to Druids B in last season�s grand final not long after they were spanked by Sonics B 4-1. Buckets fielded a streamlined team of 6 players but were short handed for the entire game due to having two A Graders in Bryan and Liam. Sonics B were managed by supercoach Steady Eddy and it reflected in their play. Shaky at first but you got used to it after a while. Then came the punchlines, 3 of them in fact. Sonics scored first through Jason Wheeler after several minutes of sustained pressure. Buckets replied quickly through Liam Golding who maintained his record of only being able to score from his backhand side. Soon after, Jason Wheeler was penalised for a blatant and frankly idiotic high stick. With both teams having 5 players, Cameron Parkes who was actually on the scoresheet this week broke away for a fine solo goal. Sonics 2-1 at half-time. The second half was fairly even, Sonics squandered a few good opportunities and Buckets countered with several threatening fast breaks. Sonics put the game beyond Buckets reach when Jeff Ferrara scored with 3 minutes to go. Sonics 3-1. Mark Price played an excellent game, holding possession for much of the game and creating several opportunities including Buckets only goal. Buckets had a superb game playing short-handed. The Sonics girls had an awesome game, playing without a break for the second consecutive week. Great effort guys and we look forward to our next game with Buckets when they will surely be at full strength and even more desperate for a win.

Huskies vs. Tigers by Glen ButlerFleming
HUSKIES were 2 players short due to injury and sickness. Tigers looked good in their bright orange as always, and so the game started huskies kept control of the ball for most of the first half, huskies scoring from a well timed flick from Glen Butler-fleming to Smoo�s Squeeze Beck who finished it off to score. Act 2 second half, huskies fell apart in the second half losing the ball to the Tigers from silly passes and bad team work, still the Huskies manage to score 2 more times thanks to Mark Kuipers (machine). Tigers managed to get two back one coming off the stick of Glen Butler-Fleming to score against his own team and the other coming from Ryan Findlayson with a one on one with Bec Cashel (goalie) who he bowled over like a ten pin and in the process getting himself 2mins. Great work to both teams!!! Huskies winning 3-2.

09-MAR-2009
C Division - Week 2
C Grade Starting to Roll
Ice Devils vs. Hornets by Kieran McDonald
Ice Devils have a relative new team this season with five newbies in Bree, Nat, Jenny, Mitch and David. Welcome aboard!! The game started slowly with scrappy play while the ice was very wet. Once the ice dried up play got better, about 10 mins to go Jeff passed to Steph to score the first goal of the game. For the rest of the half Ice Devils were playing defensively. Half Time 1-0 Ice Devils Almost Immediately into the second half, we got a breakaway - 2 on 1 steph passed to justin to get his first ever goal. At about 12 to go Hornets got one back through Josh Newell, who passed the last defender (me) who fell over, and easily slotted it past the keeper. 2-1 Ice Devils. This gave the Hornets a new burst of energy but the Devils defence was too strong. In the dying minutes of the game Devils sealed the win when David passed to Justin who thought he had his second goal only to be denied by an A-CLASS deflection into the net by Stephanie Day and took the keeper completely out of contention. Final Score 3-1 ice Devils! Well Done guys for an undefeated season to date.

Dugongs vs. Knights Who Say Broomball by Josh Burton
A new season as the Knights and Dugongs started their campaign for the C & D Titles. Dugongs started with a stacked side compared to the Knights 4 man brigade, which managed to open to scoring in the 4th minute (By shear luck). Constantly played attack from both sides lead to worrying moments in defence, with no reward, until a last ditch by Brett Ackling converted a 2-0 lead in the break for the Knights. After half time, the Dugongs came out with an attacking mind. Unforunately, their attack was spoiled at the last hurdle. Full Time: Knights 2-0 Dugongs. Hopefully, this is the game for the rush to shake off, and both teams showed moments on confidence which show in the later games of the season.

09-MAR-2009
A Division - Week 6
Druids... Just
Penrith City Rangers vs. Parramatta RiverRats by James Kristof
This was the first time that championship winning ex-Rangers stars Daniel Wong and Kerryn Lawler came up against their old team. River Rats have been improving with each new outing and Rangers had started the season fairly slowly, not yet fielding the same line-up in consecutive matches. However, it was Rangers who pressed hard in the first half, scoring two goals within a brilliant 3 minute period with Bryan Macklin scoring the first and Tracy Ivin getting the 2nd, giving the Rangers a 2-0 lead at half time. The second half saw the River Rats completely dominate the run of play, applying strong pressure both with and without the ball in the Rangers half for extended periods of time, with Danielle Mitrevski eventually pegging a goal back for River Rats after a scrap in front the Rangers goal mouth. However, this kicked the Rangers defence back into gear, as they defended much stronger in the closing minutes to finish the game with a 2-1 lead.

Werrington County Sonics vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Saxon Hooper
Sonics were undermanned for this one, missing Kerry Baxter, Cecilia Kim and Scott Murray. Druids were just missing Tim Ollerton. Both teams played their usual games.. Druids getting into attack and maintaining possession there working for shots, Sonics happy to sit back and wait for a fast counter. So the game went on.. Sonics creaiting many breaks but not converting, Druids having lots of posession and not converting. 0-0 half time. Much of the same in the second half until late in the game Alyson Camac-Benson put away a shot into the right corner of the goals for her maiden A division goal. This ignited Sonics who poured on the pressure as Druids tried to hold onto their 1 goal lead. With only a minute to go Sonics broke through the Druids 4-1 forecheck and got a break on goals and equalised. 1-1 full time. Overtime was all Druids, winning the face off, walking the ball into attack, setting up their offence, working the edges until an open Ryan Findlayson launched a thunderbolt into the top right corner. 2-1 OT win to Druids.

09-MAR-2009
B division - Week 6
Now Penguins over Huskies
DruidsB vs. Team IceBucket by Matt Hellyer
For reasons unbeknownst to most, DruidsB played Team IceBucket for the second week in a row. From the outset this was a tougher match, with both sides mounting sustained offensives. The first half met with some conflict, as a penalty shot was awarded to Bryan Macklin of TIB because of a tripping incident caused by the last DruidsB defender. Unfortunately for TIB, the attempt was unsuccessful with the keeper able to block the shot at goals. This was followed by some confusion as the refs decided where to continue play from as well as if a two minute penalty was required. That was it for the first half with neither team scoring. Early in the second half DruidsB possession close to TIB�s goals lead to a shot that had their keeper scrabbling for the ball. The ball crossed the line with the keeper the one who got it there. Counted as a goal to Ryan Priestly and as an assist to Corey Simon, this put DruidsB up 1-0. Throughout the second half TIB launched a number of fast paced assaults at the DruidsB goals, including one only a few seconds before the siren went, but these were ultimately unsuccessful and so the game again went to DruidsB.

The Penguins vs. Huskies by James Kristof
Having met just last Thursday, Penguins and Huskies knew each other's games pretty well, and it showed during the match. Both teams fairly evenly matched, with Penguins only just having the edge of the run of play for 30 minutes, eventually going up 1-0 when James Kristof slammed home a single-hander from a Kerryn Lawler pass. Amran Sinha returned to Penguins after a David Beckham style 1 year loan deal with Sonics B, playing as keeper the whole match and doing an awesome job, stopping a 1-on-1 fast break by Marc Kuipers, only to get tangled up with Marc in the aftermath, allowing Marc to sneak home an equaliser late in the second half. 1-1 at full-time, Penguins were out for the victory after getting thumped 3-1 by Huskies on Thursday night, within the first 30 seconds of OT Dani Mitrevski slotted home the winner giving Penguins their second win of the season.

05-MAR-2009
B division - Week 5
Huskies Over Penguins
The Penguins vs. Huskies by Glen ButlerFleming
It was a Thursday "first game of the night" ice cut and the B game was in the house. Penguins started well putting pressure on the Huskies. However Huskies then put together a good set of passes to score the first goal of the night, scored By Jordon Smith. The inform Mark Kupiers was second to score. 2-0 Huskies. Still it was a tight game but lady luck was smiling on Huskies when Mark Kupiers scored another in the second half. That was all the goals the Huskies were allowed to score. The penguins managed to claw one back right at the end of the second half. Well done to both teams for a good game on wet ice. Should be interesting when they meet on Monday to do it all over again.

02-MAR-2009
Mens Division - Week 5
All Mens Action
Ticklers vs. Silver Stench by Amran Sinha
Round 1 Game 1 of Merry Monday saw last seasons finalists� rematch with the Ticklers securing the same 1 nil result. There weren�t many highlights in the first half with both teams failing to convert chances. The second half was definitely more exciting, especially when a Peter Yabsley face-off pass found sharp shooter Damo Colyer. From distance Colyer produced a low drive which may or may not have taken a deflection crashing into the goal net. That was more than enough motivation for the Stench, as they pressed hard for an equalizer. In the end some fine keeping and scrambling defense from Tickers kept the Stench scoreless. Because of the duration of the competition this win was very critical to the Ticklers as they look to maintain their finals culture.

Warriors vs. Terminators
Terminators won 1-0, but havent submitted a write up.. so lose a bonus point.

02-MAR-2009
B division - Week 5
ButchersB on the Board
DruidsB vs. Team IceBucket by Matt Hellyer
DruidsB began the game with one sub compared to TIB�s three, with most players on both sides having already played gruelling Men�s comp. For the first six minutes, DruidsB maintained possession in their attacking half, keeping up good pressure on TIB�s defence. Then TIB took control of the ball and fought back. Much of the game was played in this manner, with both teams having some good attempts at goal. First to score however was Damien Colyer from DruidsB part way through the first half with a great solo run and sliding shot that hooked around the keeper. Thanks to some solid DruidsB defence and keeping, the score remained 1-0 at half time. The second half saw a couple of sendoffs on both sides, but neither was enough to allow a goal. A well timed pass from Damien gave Matt Hellyer a clear run through the opposition�s defence which was shortly converted into a second goal for DruidsB. Numerous attempts at goal by TIB were repelled throughout the rest of the second half with the final score 2-0 in favour of the �Baby Drus�.

ButchersB vs. SonicsB by Peter Yabsley
An early season rematch saw a reversed result from round 1 with ButchersB winning 2-1. Good goals from Jenny and Steph Day. Score would have been 2-2 if Cameron Parkes had put his name on the scoresheet after arriving late. Good come from behind win after SonicsB had scored first.

23-FEB-2009
A Division - Week 4
Rangers Win with Late Winner
Blacktown Butchers vs. Parramatta RiverRats by Karen Boer
Both the Blacktown Butchers & Parramatta River Rats were looking for their first win in this game. River Rats tried some new combinations which brought an early reward with a tap in goal to Sam Boer off Danni Matrevski. The weight of possession swung back to the Butchers as the game progressed who were able to break out with relative ease at times. They scored a sharp equaliser from �The Go To Man� Louis Sultana. The game breaker came not long after when �The Enforcer� Davin Harvey screamed into some open space collecting a pass from Sam Boer which he fumbled but managed to scramble a second attempt placing the ball nicely into the corner of the goal. Some fine keeping from Jimmy K prevented a late equaliser under some pressure from the Butchers. River Rats are delirious with glee with their first win in their history.

Penrith City Rangers vs. Richmond Ravens by Luke Simmonds
The game started of fast with both teams making fast breaks. Ravens controlled possesion well in the first half but were unable to find the back of the net. There werent too many shots with some tight defence from both sides which resulted in a scoreless first half. Early in the second half Ravens went ahead with a good oppurtunist goal.. Alana Bracken sneaking in and stealing the ball off the Rangers keeper close to goal hitting it too a well placed and unmarked Aaron Dymond in the centre who gratefully slapped the ball into the open net. 1 nil Ravens. Rangers pressed hard but good scambling defence from Ravens and fine keeping shut down the attack. Rangers equalizer came through a bit of magic from Liam Golding. Running onto a crossed pass on the halfway line Liam managed to tap the ball delicately and perfectly over the defenders head then raced through to place a low hard shot past the keeper into the bottom right of the net. Very slick indeed. 1 all and looking like a tight finish. Both teams tried hard for the next goal but Rangers had the momentum going and struck the final blow with only a few minutes remaining. Liam Golding yet again on another fast break moved the ball up the left wall passed to Luke Simmonds who held up the ball in front of goals drawing the keeper out and tapping it back to a flying Liam who hit in for his second goal and the match winner. Both teams played really well with stong defence on display only the finishing touches of Liam Golding proving the difference.

23-FEB-2009
Womens - Week 1
All Square Week 1
The Femmes vs. Silver Snipers by Linda Findlayson
A rematch of last year�s grand final was always going to be a good game. The Snipers had two new additions in Jenny and Steph, who added some much needed speed! The game started out fairly even, however the Snipers started to dominate attacking play in The Femmes half. The major risk to the Snipers was a fast break by The Femmes (or the team dying of laughter from Lani's sledging), however the Snipers defence managed to hold them out. Several shots were had on goal by both teams, however no one was able to convert so some shooting practice is in order! 0-0 was the final result in a game that was fun to play.

Crimson Furies vs. Hockey Roos
HockeyRoos with new recruit Ghis Calloc'h took it right to Crimson Furies. Both teams had a lot of chances but couldnt find the back of the net. The second womens game of the night to finish in a draw.

21-JAN-2009
C GRADE TRAINING
SKILLS SESSION
Next THursday the 26th February we will be hosting a 1 hour skills session for C grade players at 8pm. All C graders are welcome to join us. Will spend an hour going over the basics of the game, passing, ball control, shooting etc. Cost will be $5 per player (bargin). See you there.

16-FEB-2009
A Division - Week 3
Ravens First to Defeat Sonics
Richmond Ravens vs. Werrington County Sonics by Joanne Mitchell
Starting the game short-handed, Ravens took on Sonics on greasy first-game-of-the-night ice. Considering the less than ideal ice, and the short time back from xmas break, both teams showed disciplined team work and many scoring chances were created. After a scoreless game, Ravens managed to control the ball in overtime, scoring a smooth James Dymond goal off a well-placed cross from Dane Hansen.

Penrith City Rangers vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Saxon Hooper
Rangers were up for there first game of the season somewhat understrength missing Tracy Ivin, Lisa Price and Bryan Macklin. However they were welcoming exciting A grade prospects Skye Blakeny and David DeGrughter. Druids already had a win and a loss under their belts from the earlier rounds and needed a good result to consolidate their season. Druids took control early maintaining possession and forechecking strongly. The goal came just five minutes in with Damian Colyer putting in a hard cross, which was controlled by Druid Canadian import Ghis Calloc'h and tapped home. Somewhat against the run of play Rangers tied it up with a goal to James Kristof, set up by Liam Golding. Half time 1-1. Second half saw Druids dominating, but unable to grab the winner. 1-1 full time. OT was all Druids, working the possession closer and closer with Linda Findlayson, Damian Colyer and Saxon Hooper working in for the shot. Some good screening from Ghis Calloc'h allowed the shot from close range. 2-1 OT win for Druids.

16-FEB-2009
B Division - Week 3
Huskies Dominate ButchersB
DruidsB vs. The Penguins by Matt Hellyer
From the outset this match was going to be a tough one. DruidsB sported a record team of ten, adding the rarely seen Ben Robson (from China) and recently arrived Ghis (from Canada) to the list of regulars, whilst Penguins had their usual array of talent fired up and ready to go. Once the duty team decided to turn up the game commenced with the usual clash of brooms. Much of the first half was played without event, except for a send off or two for tripping and slashing. Both teams fought for control with a number of unsuccessful breaks being made, until Shannon Heinitz slammed one past the DruidsB keeper. Sometime later Dom Colyer responded with a hard hit long range shot that was right on the mark, evening the score to one all. That was the way the game stayed, with no goal for either team in overtime.

DruidsB vs. The Penguins by James Kristof
The game between Penguins and Druids B was tight all the way through. Penguins again struggled to field a full team and consequently had Josh Yabsley filling in for them, whilst Druids B were at near full strength. Druids B had the run of the play in the early stages, but it was Penguins who scored first when Shannan Heinitz slotted one home. In the second half when James Kristof was on the penalty bench, Druids B equalised through Dominic Colyer. 1-1 at full time. OT was fairly even, Penguins having the best chance when Daniel Wong missed an open goal from just beyond the halfway line, the game ending 1-1.

Huskies vs. ButchersB by Glen ButlerFleming
We were expecting a pretty tough game against the newly formed Butchers B, led by Peter Yabsley. Huskies took a little while to warm up but luckily the Butchers took longer. It took almost the entire first half for the first goal to be scored - a Huskies goal by Marc Kuipers from a Gemma Butler-Fleming assist. The Butchers almost looked like a new team early in the second half with lots of aggression and being quick to the ball. Thankfully the Huskies' tactic of shutting down the best Butchers' attackers was beginning to pay off and before long the Huskies began to work together really well, showing some of the teamwork that led them to their record Winter 08 grand final victory. Jordan Smith was next to score with a sweet scoop in front of the net that completely mystified the Butchers' keeper (and the laws of physics in general). Jordan and Marc both put away an extra goal each and Glen Butler-Fleming also added one to the Huskies' tally to win the game convincingly 5-0. Special mention to Huskies' new keeper Tangi George for some awesome saves throughout the game.

09-FEB-2009
A Division - Week 2
Sonics Run Riot
Richmond Ravens vs. Glenmore Park Druids by Jo Mitchell
Team changes saw new Ravens player Alana Bracken taking on her old team Druids in the 2nd game of the season. Druids displayed their usual disciplined structure and commitment to offensive forechecking, with Ravens replying with determination to stick to their fluid attacking strategy. Both teams created chances in the first half, with the play dominated by strong forechecking by the green machine. After the half time pep talk, the Ravens came out with renewed strength. Using the Horsley-Dymond-Lockhart combination, Ravens attack managed to carry the ball the length of the ice, fool the keeper, and scoop the ball into the net. Druids created many chances to even the score, but were shut down consistently by the Ravens defence. Ravens will miss founding members Karen, Sam and Sally, but would like to welcome their new players Alana Bracken and Andrew Causby.

Parramatta River Rats vs. Werrington County Sonics by Tim Brown
No Spider Monkeys required this week as Sonics went back to the old Hedghog formula for a convincing win over the new critter on the broomball block with a 4-1 victory over the River Rats. That makes it two wins in a row for Sonics and two first up losses for Rats. I'd feel sorry for the Rats but hey they do carry the plague and I'm sure they'll come good, this just being a small hedgehog on the road to broomball success. Congrats to Jason Wheeler for finally scoring some of the many chances his team mates set him up for and to Paul Stockbridge for getting his once a season rocket into the bottom corner out of the way early in the season. There was some joy for Rats when Karen Boer, from a Davin Harvey pass, neatly slotted the first ever goal for the new Rats franchise.

09-FEB-2009
B Division - Week 2
Tigers Roar
SonicsB vs. Huskies by Jason Wheeler
After the heartbreak of narrowly missing the finals last season, the new look SonicsB produced their second win of 2009. But they had to do it the hard way against a revitalized Huskies outfit. With the demise of Girl Germs (yet again, but they�ll be back), Huskies welcomed back their girls to field a team which was reminiscent of the one that won last winter�s Grand Final by over 10 goals. To set the scene of last night�s game, the ice was in legendary condition (it was blessed by some dude in a funny robe and pointy hat), many thousands of adoring fans turned out for an epic encounter (thankyou Rent-A-Crowd), and the first nude broomball game in Australia had just been abandoned due to having too many balls on the ice. Sonics B appointed no-nonsense Jack Bauer as coach to watch for snipers in the crowd and to interrogate the officials. Huskies seemed to have enough position and possession to take this game away from Sonics but they struggled to execute. Jordon Smith scored for Huskies mid-way through the opening half. He must have learnt a few tricks during his season with Sonics. Sonics on the other hand executed poorly and should have capitalised on at least one of their numerous breakaways. The half-time score read Huskies 1-0. A few minutes into the second half, Cameron Parkes made a promising break with only the keeper to beat. He was felled, illegally by the Huskies defence, and left the ice with a suspected broken coccyx, femur, and thumb. The officials stopped play and after speaking with Sonics coach Jack Bauer in private returned to award Cameron Parkes a penalty shot. Ever the walking wounded, Parkes returned to the ice in a full body cast but still managed to run the ball from half way and rocket the ball cleanly past the keeper into the back of the net. A massive boost for Sonics which locked the game at 1-1. Sonics lifted their intensity and used their subs to good effect. Huskies pressed for a winning goal but found the Sonics defence difficult to penetrate. With 5 minutes remaining Sonics made a crucial interception and breakout through Pearce who passed to Jason Wheeler in space. Under pressure from the Huskies defence I ran a few metres right of goal and timed a sweet shot from a tight angle. The keeper failed to protect the near post and the gap was large enough for the ball to squeeze through. Sonics 2-1 with just under 5 minutes remaining. Huskies pushed hard for an equalizer but Sonics held firm. Final score SonicsB 2 Huskies 1.

Tigers vs. The Penguins by Sally Yabsley
Well what a game for all! The Tigers got off to a great start with a scuffel in front of goal and a tap in by Ben. Then for a break away, a few shot's and another goal to Ben. What a way to start the game. The end score was 4-1 to the Tigers. Let's hope for some more score lines like this from the Tigers. Go Tigers and Go Broomball. Have a great week!

29-JAN-2009
2009 is HERE
A and B Grade Set to Start Monday
Finally xmas and new years celebrations are over and its time to get back on the ice. Monday will see the commencemnt of A and B grade. Big season, 6 A grade teams with the introduction of the Sam Boer lead Parramatta River Rats. B grade is 8 teams again with Girl Germs backing up, Raptors have been absorbed by the Butchers Franchise and will be known as Butchers B. So time to dust off the broomball gear and be ready to hit the ice Monday. James Ray from Penrith City Rangers is so excited about starting up again he burst into a spontaneous dance !!