Wine House stomps onto town league scene

I love the sound of the Zam in the evening

I love this time of year, town league hockey season. Probably more than I love the town league softball season. It’s just got so much to offer. I love the Zamboni, the hockey, the cold, the ice. I love watching the former high school all stars searching for one last shred of magic and the never-evers searching for a shred of balance. The never has beens and the almost weres. I love lamp.
And after the first game on the first night of the 2015 town league hockey season, it appears there’s a new sheriff in town, the Wine House.
Years ago I ridiculed the Wine House as their player/owner Scott Strouse struggled through the draft to end up with a junk show of a squad. Yet as the years progressed, Strouse got his feet under him and is quickly becoming an up-and-comer on the hockey upper management scene.
Last year the Wine House gained steam over the course of the season only to fizzle once the post season hit. This year, the team Strouse put together could make a serious run for the town league title. Then again it’s early but still, they got talent.
Acme Liquors isn’t half bad either, they just ran into a buzz saw in the opening game Tuesday night falling to the Wine House 9-4.
It was somewhat evident before the puck even dropped (that is once a puck was found to actually drop) that the Wine House might have the upper hand. As Acme Liquors shuffled around trying to get their lines figured out, the first line for the Wine House was on the ice waiting to play.
About the only Acme Liquors player ready once the game got underway was their goalie Shawn Harrington, as he proceeded to turn away a flurry of shots in the opening two minutes of the first period.
The Wine House ultimately broke through in the fourth minute of the game when Jeff Duke fed Kevin Williams in the slot for the one-timer and a 1-0 Wine House lead.
David Bright provided some early hope for Acme Liquors stripping the puck off a Wine House defender to fire a shot but Wine House goalie Brad Bodell made the stop and the Wine House turned immediately up ice to score again as Joe Otsuka set up Tyler “Hammerstein Ballroom, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em, If I Had a Hammer I’d Hammer in the Morning, Dumber Than a Sack of Hammers” Hammer for a no-brainer.
Midway through the first period Acme Liquors started showing some signs of life, firing off some shots, but Bodell made the necessary saves to keep the Wine House in control.
Following one particular potent surge from Acme Liquors, the Wine House collected itself to rattle off two more goals as Duke fed Williams again and Otsuka skated through the Acme defense to pick the upper corner for a 4-0 Wine House lead.
The Wine House picked up where they left off, scoring in the first minute of the second period as William Muller set up Williams for his second goal of the night. Ed Dujardin provided the next spark for Acme Liquors, blazing up ice for a one-on-one with Bodell but again, Bodell could not be beat.
The game then opened up into a back-and-forth affair with Harrington and Bodell trading off great saves until Acme Liquors finally broke the seal on the Wine House net; Tom Consentino ripped a wrist shot off the post to beat Bodell and put Acme on the scoreboard.
But before they could even bask in the glory of their first goal of the 2015 town league season, Muller took the puck on the ensuing face off to score another Wine House goal for a 6-1 lead heading into the third period.
By this time, Acme Liquors was good and warmed up and it showed in the final period of the game as they played even hockey against the Wine House.
Granted the Wine House scored early in the period again when Otsuka set up Hammer for another easy poke, but Acme continued their efforts despite the score. Acme turned to their forecheck to do most of the damage and it paid off in the fifth minute of the third as Bright pressured the puck to push it loose and feed Dom Eymere in the slot for the goal. Three minutes later Akell set up Bright for a third goal and things were clicking for Acme Liquors. That is, until the next three minutes as both Williams and Muller scored to put the Wine House on top 9-3.
Never ones to fold when the going gets tough, the Dujardin brothers connected in the final minute of play as Will fed Ed for one last Acme goal, putting at least a sliver of a silver lining on the overall cloudy 9-4 defeat.