Season 1 Game 8: Lokomotiva @ Dancing Bear - W 8-1

Led by the solid defensive efforts of alternate captain Chris Gmiter, Lokomotiva steamrolled over the Dancing Bears in a lopsided 8-1 win.

As usual, Rob and Matty took charge of putting up the games first points. Rob scored the games first goal 36 seconds into the game and Matty scored the next two. Joey Jurinko roofed a wicked wrister for goal number 4, his first goal of the season.

In the second period, Pete fed Sammy a no look pass from below the goal line for a blazing, one-timer. Rob potted his second of the night with a long range slapper. 

When the third period started, Loko had a comfortable 6-0 lead but their shutout hopes were dashed when a Dancing Bear grabbed the puck off the opening faceoff and stormed in for a breakaway goal. Pete buried a puck on a two-on-one for goal number 7 and Rob closed out the scoring with a hat trick, putting a puck through the five-hole. 

As was evident by only allowing one goal, the defense played a defense-first game and allowed very few shots on net. Goaltender Anthony was seen skating in circles while the play was held for long periods of time in the offensive zone. 

Next up is the first place Brigade. Lokomotiva will be looking for vengeance for their season opening debacle against the Brigade and they'll be doing it without the help of their top goal scorer Matty. Stay tuned. This seasons going right down to the wire.

By: Yehuda Miller

Season 1 Game 7: Korner Pub @ Lokomotiva - W 9-6

5 long weeks. No problem. Lokomotiva hockey club jumped right back in where they left off. First minute goal by Matty, as he stole the puck and scored a fast one. Another Matty goal was erased by two quick ones from the Korner Pub. Rob Danzuso took matters into his own hands when he blasted a screaming slapper from the right circle to give Loko a lead they wouldn't surrender. Mike Shomin added a PPG and Rob had one more before the first period ended 5-4.
Goaltender Martucci had had enough. In the next 40 min he only let up 3 goals and made some incredible glove/kick saves to secure his 4th win. In the 2nd period Rob netted his 3rd for his first hat trick of the season. Sammy "Superman" Spina scored on a great end-to-end individual effort, the eventual GWG, and they were back up 7-4. Okay, they let 2 more in but not to worry because Pete Thompson blew a wrister by their lumbering goalie on a delayed penalty and finally, yes finally, our beloved captain, Chris Gardner, popped one in the empty net with 10 seconds left to send Loko back into second place in the standings. Full bench led to fast and mostly seamless line changing and for the most part, they stayed outta the penalty box. With another game in 4 days the defense looks to crunch back down and the offense hopes to stay hot.
Keep it real, 

By: Matty Miller

Season 1 Game 6: Lokomotiva @ Knuckleheads - W 6-2

Last night, Lokomotiva didn't have the greatest 0-60 speed but once we got to 60 we put the car into cruise control and easily dismantled the Knuckleheads.

Rob opened up the scoring but the Knuckleheads quickly equalized it with a power play goal. Rob scored his second goal of the game to give Lokomotiva a lead they would never relinquish. Sammy scored what would end up being the game winner for the teams' third goal of the night. Matty scored the next two goals before those pesky Knuckleheads scored their second, and final, goal of the game. Sammy closed out the scoring with a breakaway goal in slow motion.

Although the scoring didn't portray it, there were many more chances that were thwarted by the Knucklehead goalie and by some unfortunate iron piping behind her. Joey had several great scoring opportunities and all three of the goal scorers had several opportunities to complete their hat tricks.

The theme of the game though, and really the last two games, was defensive responsibility. With a defensive core of Gmiter, Koerbel, Smith and Y. Miller playing a defense-first game and shutting down the opposition, the Loko forwards had much more time and space to work in the offensive zone. The many odd man rushes from the Knuckleheads were a non-factor as they were often stood up at the blue line, channeled into the corners, or forced to take an early shot that was easily stopped by our backup goalie Dustin.

All in all, a great team effort was put in by everyone and we've now won our last two games by a combined score of 15-6. As we enter a 5 week break it's going to be important to stay in game shape and keep the attitude we've adopted and make sure to dust off the rust before the next game.

Speaking of the next game, we next play the currently winless (0-4-0) Korner Pub on Saturday, December 14 at 10:10pm. Stay sharp and get Loko!

By: Yehuda Miller

Season 1 Game 5: Butter Cream Gang @ Lokomotiva - W 9-4

Thursday night's Lokomotiva game vs. the Butter Cream Gang was seen as a test for Loko.  This was the fifth game of the season and a win or a loss could determine a lot at this point in the 10 game schedule, including and especially playoff seeding.  Coming off a recent 6-5 loss, Loko was eager to get back into the win column and cement a spot at the top half of the standings.

Lokomotiva kicked scoring off in the first period with a Matty Miller goal.  Soon after, the BCG would tie the game on a fluke backhand snipe over Anthony Martucci's shoulder.  However, the rest of the game would not go as smoothly for the BCG.

Loko clamped down on defense and goaltending and spent most of the second and third periods in the BCG zone, seemingly scoring at will.  A flurry of seven goals were scored by Lokomotiva before the BCG would score their second.

Highlight reel goals were rattled off by Rob Danzuso, Pete Thompson, and Derek Kaiser, who brought the house down and impressed his family watching in the stands as he deked his way through the BCG defense and scored from midair only to end up hurtling into the boards, reminiscent of the famous Bobby Orr Cup-wining goal.  It should be mentioned that Derek's birthday was the day after the game.  Not to be outdone and not finished scoring yet, Matty would score three more goals on his way to a 4 goal, 5 point night and Rob Danzuso would add another tally.

Lokomotiva was in control for most of the third period, but let up a couple fluke (read: lucky) shorthanded goals to the BCG during a Loko power play and added one more late goal to draw the score up to 8-4.  Chad Smith then answered with a deflected blast from the point to put the nail in the BCG coffin and sealed the win for Lokomotiva.  Lokomotiva is now enjoying a second place position out of 8 teams with a record of 3-2.  The next game will be at 11:00 PM on November 5th.  Loko will take on the Knuckleheads, who are currently tied for 4th place with a 2-2 record.

Although not everyone showed up on the score sheet, Loko played a complete, team first game.  Forwards changed quickly to keep their legs fresh, and defensemen did the same.  The game plan was simple: get the puck up the boards and keep it in the offensive zone for as long as possible.  Anthony made several key saves during the game, backstopping his way to his 3rd win in a Loko uniform.  Lokomotiva likes where it stands now and looks for more success in the season's second half.

By: Chris Gmiter

Season 1 Game 4: Lokomotiva @ Average Joe's - L 6-5

Lokomotiva evened their record back to .500 last night in a loss to Average Joe's. AJ opened up the scoring early to take a 1-0 lead.

Matty got the game tied up at 1 and then gave us a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the game. AJ tied the game again at 2 before Rob gave us a 3-2 lead. Matty netted the first hat trick in Lokomotiva franchise history and just like that, Loko had a comfortable 4-2 lead.

That's when things started to break down. AJ scored another goal to pull within 1. Loko held the lead for a while but on the opening faceoff of the third period, while on a Lokomotiva power play, AJ won the faceoff and tore into the zone to score a shorthanded, game-tying goal.

AJ went on to score the next two goals and now they were the ones playing with a 2 goal lead.

With about 5 minutes left in the game, Yehuda passed a puck out of the zone to Rob. Rob carried it into the AJ zone and passed to Matty. Matty passed right back to Rob who buried his second of the night and got Loko back in the game.

While a late period flurry gave Loko some life, we weren't able to cash in, even with the net empty in favor of the extra attacker. Loko would fall with a final score of 6-5 and their record dropped to 2-2.

Loko was missing a handful of key players last night and, while missing personnel is not an excuse, there was a noticeably different atmosphere on the bench. That, combined with the extremely late start time (11:20pm), combined with a lot of missed opportunities (several hit pipes and crossbars) led to a disappointing outcome. We'll get back out there next time though and kick some ass.

Next up is Butter Cream Gang (currently 1-2-0) on 10/24/2013 at 10:30pm.

By: Yehuda Miller

Season 1 Game 3: Lokomotiva @ Direct Energy - W 6-5 (Shootout)

The Lokomotiva Hockey Club was coming off their first victory of the season, and hoping to continue its push up the standings.  Loko would begin its winning streak after pulling out a shootout thriller 6-5. This would advance them to 2-1-0. Good for 2nd Place in the league.

The team was missing a few key players, but lacking any one player will not set this high octane team back. Loko dominated puck control in the opening period which was capped by Pete Thompson scoring fairly early, to put Loko ahead 1-0.  Derek Kaiser had a beautiful single-handed play by pokechecking the puck in his own end and taking the breakaway straight to a 2-1 lead.  Which was also shortly lived and we were tied at 2.

After Direct Energy took a 3-2 lead, Mike Shomin went to the corner for the puck and fed Rob Danzuso in the slot, which he ripped by the goalie to tie it back up. 

With the game all tied up, defensemen Tom Koerbel slapped a shot from the point, which was redirected perfectly by Jon Butzke to give Loko another lead.  Tied yet again at 4,  Matty Miller put what looked like a harmless shot top shelf that went right by the glove hand 5-4 Loko.

Goalie pulled for DE...the game seemed sure in hand until some sloppy play in our own end lead to another tie game with 38 seconds to go.  Here comes the shootout to determine the winner:   Rob Danzuso scored the only shootout goal for either side, as Anthony Martucci froze all 3 shooters for Direct Energy. Loko wins 6-5!

The game was overall yet again dominated by Lokomotiva, but risky mistakes lead to letting Direct Energy claw back into it, time and time again.  A lot of positives were taken from this game, but the team strives to become better each and every game, so although a win is great, much work lays ahead of the team. Back in action October 13 @ 11:20pm.

By: Chris Gardner

Season 1 Game 2: Puckheads @ Lokomotiva - W 6-4

The Lokomotiva Hockey club found itself looking to rebound from a gut-wrenching loss in their inaugural game. Loko would get their much anticipated first victory in thrilling fashion on a brisk Tuesday evening in September. The game would see back and forth scoring, as well as a parade to the penalty box.

The club would be without two defensive stalwarts in Chris Gmiter (Concussion-like Symptoms) and Chad Smith (Suspension) for the game, forcing Demetrio Vega and Derek Kaiser into spot duty on the back-end. The pair performed admirably using a blend of speed and deft poke-checking to successfully turn aside wave after wave of Puckhead attacks. With the changes on defense, netminder Anthony would be asked to rise to the occasion.

The Puckheads opened the scoring early in the first period but Rob Dansuzo opened the scoring for the orange and white side with a backhander from the slot to tie it up. Dansuzo would strike again shortly thereafter with his second of the evening pulling Loko ahead by one. Matty Miller would show a great display of stick handling on a breakaway going backhand-forehand to pull the home side further ahead. The younger Miller was also a spark-plug for Loko using his speed to create multiple chances and draw penalty after penalty against the slower Puckhead side.

However, lack of chemistry, defensive breakdowns, and penalty trouble would see Loko allow the Puckheads to claw their way back into the game. With under ten minutes to play in the third and Loko on the penalty kill an untimely breakdown would result in the Puckheads evening the score. It seemed that Lokomotiva would be heading for a similar fate as their first game.

However, a flurry of events would make sure this was not the case. With less than five minutes remaining in regulation Demetrio Vega would become tangled up with a Puckhead forward on his way to the net. The opposing forward took issue with Vega which resulted in pushing and shoving all the way up the ice to the front of the Loko bench. A few well chosen words by Vega resulted in a heavy crosscheck from the Puckhead forward resulting in his ejection from the game and a forthcoming one-game suspension. Despite Vega earning a game-ending penalty of his own, Lokomotiva found themselves with a five on four advantage that would last the remainder of the game...

Smelling blood in the water, the team captain and founder would put his best troops on the ice in an attempt to pull Loko ahead for the win. Sammy Spina, Pete Thompson, and Danzuso found themselves on the ice with the game on the line; they did not disappoint. Spina was able to corral a puck off the boards below the goal line in the offensive zone. The young center, with head up, surveyed the offensive zone for options. A defensive miscue by the Puckheads left Thompson alone and uncovered in front of the net. Spina picked out his winger and delivered a pass to his tape. Thompson, making no mistake, one-timed the pass between the legs of the Puckhead netminder putting the orange and white up by one. Spina would later find himself coming down the right wing boards, puck on his stick, and empty net ahead. He coolly flipped the puck into the unattended cage, essentially icing the game away for his Lokomotiva mates.

While happy to break the seal on the first win in franchise history, the talk and focus of the locker room focused almost exclusively on missed opportunities and need for improvement. There will be growing pains and lessons to be learned, but the Loko Train has at long last left the station, and notice has been served to the rest of the league that it will take a Herculean effort to slow it down.

By: Joey Jurinko

Season 1 Game 1: Lokomotiva @ The Brigade - L 4-3

The first game has come and gone. There were ups and downs of course. We took lots of penalties (Smith with the first one 38 seconds into the game) but line changes and line chemistry were phenomenal. We really started jelling quickly and everyone played really well.

Y. Miller started the scoring off with the first ever Lokomotiva goal. Pete followed that up to make it 2-0. The next two went the way of The Brigade to tie the game at 2 in the second period. Rob got Loko goal number 3 in the third period but penalties nagged us and The Brigade tied it up again at 3. An altercation in our end cost us Chad (total bullshit since an open ice helmet to helmet hit on Rob didn't even merit a minor penalty). 

At 1:02 of the third period The Brigade put up their 4th goal which turned out to be the winner. It was the first time they had the lead. 

It's ok though. There were lots of positives to take from this game and we'll all take the next two weeks to lick our wounds and come out stronger for it. 

The L train is rolling! Lets go get 'em!

By: Yehuda Miller