CCM Exhibition 2009

The TSHA took part in another CCM Ball Hockey Showcase at Amazing Square on Friday, March 20, 2009.

A number of TSHA and MHL players were unavailable for the tournament so it was more of a two team showdown instead of a tournament. The two teams were the TSHA Allstars and the Ushida Tigers.

The first two games ended in ties; 0-0 and 1-1. Don't let the scores fool you, the games were quite exciting with lots of chances on both ends. Great saves by Eric "Slider" Cho kept the TSHA in the first game as the Tigers came out strong. The TSHA the poured it on in the last half but was unable to break through the wall in the Tigers net. Newcomers Greg and Ronnie fit right in with the TSHA (which isn't as bad as it sounds) and showed more skill on both the offensive and defensive end than anyone expected.

The TSHA fell behind early in the second game off of a nice passing play by the MHL. A late appearance by John seemed to give the TSHA new life as they came out flying. Luckily, John was hopped up on Red Bull and, due to an impressive individual effort, he was able to get the TSHA on the board with about three minutes remaining. The low point of the second game was when the invisible gunman swooped in an capped Gord once again. Let's hope he is good to go for Korea 2009.

The third game also ended in a 0-0 draw. The MHL goaltender was tested much more but again proved virtually impenetrable. The game continued to go back and forth but the stars once again were the two goaltenders who held there teams in the game with numerous saves on both ends. They continued to stand on their heads during the overtime which meant a shoot-out was the only way to decide the game (and the tournament.)

Like usual, John got confused during the janken and thus the TSHA had to shoot first. Coach John chose himself to shoot first and despite his hustle, was unable to put it in.

The first shooter for the MHL was Dennis. He came in quickly on the left side and cut straight in front of the net. Eric appeared well beat but somehow managed to swoop his body over and snatch the ball away from the yawning goal. GREAT SAVE!

The pressure was now on Chad to score. As always, he decided to do the complete opposite of what Paul advised him to do. The play was a spitting image of John's earlier attempt and so was the result...no goal. This meant that Tomo, one of the MHL's top players, had the chance to finish it. He came prancing in and shot a bullet past Eric from about 2 meters out, clinching the victory for the MHL. Another shoot out loss for the TSHA...guess we need to practice these a bit.

Following the tournament, the boys hung around for an hour and played some more 4-on-4 pickup. There was an unfortunate injury (ambulance needed) during the pickup to a fellow who had never played before. The moral of this injury is two-fold:

1. Don't play hockey if the chance of aggravating a current injury exists.

2. Loafers are not appropriate shoes to play ball hockey in.

Once the body was removed from the scene, we continued the 4-on-4 until about 7:30 then headed over to the cat-piss-bongo restaurant to eat the healthiest dinner anyone in the TSHA has had in a long time (minus the beer, of course!) After a hearty dosage of tuna, potato, pineapple, banana, and takenoko, we called it a night and went home to dwell on another unfortunate shoot out loss.