REG takes down Brick Oven

0-3-2, is the Brick Oven dynasty over?

I think we can all bid the Brick Oven hockey dynasty a fond farewell. Stick a fork in it, it’s done.
The Brick Oven won the last three town league titles in a row, four of the last five. The franchise, or brand, has a host of other titles to its name. Chainless race, softball titles, Gunnison fall league hockey championships and a couple of bike race wins here and there from the 24 Hours in the Sage to the Crested Butte Classic, not to mention a drag race title from Whatever USA.
But, it’s over. Five weeks into the 2015 town league hockey season and the Brick Oven has yet to win a single game. Thursday night their winless streak continued as they fell to REG (formerly known as Brick Oven Light but I think that’s over too) 3-0 at Big Mine Ice Arena.
It was a great run and they made some frenemies along the way, but in the end, the Brick Oven proved that they are more than just about winning.
And here’s why.
First of all, they put their best player, Deuce Wynes, in net this year. Deuce didn’t score a lot of goals, though he could have. Instead, he spent his time on the ice playing defense and preventing the other team from scoring while making the occasional coast-to-coast run to set up scoring opportunities for his teammates.
They didn’t have to put him in goal, but they did.
Secondly, they reached out internationally, building a Bridge of Hockey Hope between ‘Merica and Australia by drafting local Aussie Sheldon Licardy. The kid looks like a player but let’s be honest, you’re not going to win a hockey title with an Aussie. Maybe a rugby title, maybe an Australian Rules Football (whatever that is) title, but not a hockey title.
Side note: If you run into a big Aussie at the top of trail 401 and he says he plays Australian Rules Football, don’t say, “Isn’t that like rugby?”
It’s not and he will let you know it with a fervent diatribe on the differences between rugby and Australian Rules Football, concluding said diatribe with his opinion that “American football players are p***ies.” At which point you’ll get confused, at least I did, because did he mean football like we mean football or did he mean football like the rest of the world means football, as in, soccer. In which case, yes, a lot of American football (soccer) players are p***ies and, wait, what’s the difference between rugby and Australian Rules Football again?
Otherwise, if he’s talking about American football (as in NFL) players, try telling Rob Gronkowski he’s a p**sy. He just spiked a hockey puck at center (or is it centre) ice at a Bruins game and it deflected off the ice and into the stands.
Thirdly, the Brick Oven opted not to pick up Matt Gutter this year, losing 1/35th of their scoring power. A decision that apparently had significant repercussions at a holiday dinner.
But enough about the Brick.
REG is having quite the season, sitting in second place of the town league standings with a record of 4-1. They suffered a glitch in their town league title aspirations, losing Sam Evans to a knee injury but they are stacked enough to still keep their title hopes alive with the best goalie in town league, Zach Vandyke, between the pipes and a mix of top talent and rising stars, such as Gutter.
REG took immediate control of the game from the opening face-off, firing three quick shots in a row during the first minute. Wynes turned away the first two but the third time was the charm as James Allo grabbed the puck just inside the blue line and fired a low-wrister past Wynes for a 1-0 lead.
The Brick Oven returned to their former selves for the next eight minutes of the period, with Sharbel Dussault setting a furious pace and the rest of the team following suit.
But they shot themselves in the foot, racking up back-to-back penalties at the end of the first period. They held off REG in the first powerplay but succumbed to the pressure in the second powerplay. REG set up shop in front of the Brick net and Kris Bruun had a wide-open look but when Wynes slid across to shut him down, Bruun found John Chandler with a quick pass and Chandler finished the play for a 2-0 REG advantage.
Between the efforts of Licardy, Dussault, the Preston brothers, Dan Loftus and Chelsea Murray, the Brick Oven matched speed and play with REG in the second period but ran into a brick wall with Vandyke in net. Shots that typically score in town league were pushed aside by Vandyke and REG carried its 2-0 lead into the third period.
Feeling the Brick pressure, REG stepped it up another notch in the third period. Once again they pushed hard on the opening face-off and once again the initial effort paid off as Bruun carried the puck in off the blue line to score on a backhand shot, giving REG some breathing room.
With nothing to lose, the Brick Oven opened up their play to take some chances. The plan saw moments of success but also led to segments of chaos. Another former Brick Oven player-turned-REG-threat Mark Cram snuck behind the Brick defense for a breakaway. Wynes denied Cram and Dussault turned the rebound back up-ice to skate through the entire REG team for a shot on net, only to have Vandyke turn him away.
Ashley Brown combined with Bruun to lock down the Brick Oven attack for the rest of the game and REG skated away with the 3-0 win.