CSHL Insider & the rest of our Associated Press return from a March Madness-induced hiatus to bring back America’s (Charlotte’s***) favorite newsletter. Unfortunately for myself but fortunately for everyone else, game logs are BACK so let’s dive into the action.
But before that, CSHL NEEDS YOUR HELP! We're short a couple of youth refs for THIS Saturday morning's games, if you can help fill in please text Josh Greco at (716) 523-9742. #itsforthekids
Credit to Tom Carriero, his High Voltage have been playing great team defense all season and this game is a perfect example of it. The Flying V’s have great shooters from outside & always have a body at the net yet they couldn’t get anything through a Voltage defense that covers the points and packs the center of the rink. This wasn’t the case with the Flying V’s defense who left Big John wide open in the slot & while Bergie made a great initial save, Big John put in a soft backhand to give the Voltage the lead.
Nick Russell took a ball off Szlachetkzchiaka’s stick in the crease end of the first to tie this up but it was all Voltage after that. The Flying V’s strategy of not covering any balls and just hitting them back into the middle of the rink was an interesting one, as they couldn’t get set or keep any possession. Carriero blasted a slapper from the neutral zone then Boiko (sneaky one of the best defensemen in B) scored on a grounder from ‘Nam that snuck in the near post and that sealed things in the second. The Flying V’s didn’t take advantage of the sun in Drake’s eyes in the third as their shots couldn’t get through the congested middle of the rink.
Josh Ahmego Cummings with the shutout! While Cummings gave the entire Cowbell bench a heart attack to open the second period (10:05 in the game video), the less experienced Fridge Raiders team was unable to take advantage of any chances or their speed throughout this game. Scotty Urquhart put in a glove slide one-timer from AJ Leshock and that was the ballgame where the Cowbell grabbed a much-needed 4 points as they look to climb out of a play-in game for the playoffs. CSHL veteran Colin Barrier laid his body & lineage on the line to seal a victory for his Cowbell.
Potentially the most lopsided game of the season, I think the Charlottans first shot of the game 20 seconds in may have been their last. James Borusso stopped this one from being 6-0 as he had at least 20 saves for the Charlottans including this incredible glove save in the third before Hill ripped one top shelf to put things away for the Flying V’s.
The Charlottans without Joe P (knee injury) & Ray Jasinski are in a free fall as this was their 6th straight loss.
Nick Carey snuck behind Tom C to put the Cowbell ahead as High Voltage saw flashbacks to week two when they lost to the Cowbell & their previous netminder. That didn’t last long as Lavella immediately put one in from the center line that somehow went straight through the middle of the net. Heitzman scored again from the neutral zone a minute later on a shot that deflected off of Steck’s foot then Boiko immediately followed it up with a slapper that hit Haley’s glove on the way to the net. Tom C scored another soft shot from deep in the second to put this one out of reach. Karson scored with ten seconds left in the second but it didn’t matter as the Voltage kept things under control in the third. Lavella had an amazing goal to end the game however the near side camera went out so we only have the far side view (sorry Nick).
The Voltage looked great today and should get stud defenseman & CSHL newcomer James Weber back for the playoffs.
In the rare two-hat trick game Joe Berg’s is the only one that matters as the Fridge Raiders dismantled the shorthanded Charlottans handing them their 7th straight loss of the season. Berg’s hat trick was complete with one second left in the…second as he took the ball off a lackadaisical Charlottans defender and put it past the surprised Borruso.
This came on a shorthanded play as Eric LeVigne wins our first CSHL Penalty of the Week for kicking Jeff Kennedy's stick to the moon.
With three goals and an assist in potentially the Fridge Raiders biggest game of the season, Joe Berg is CSHL’s B Division Player of the Week. This game was over at 4-0 after a DeRosa goal, however Kennedy scored three in a 3:44 span to make this game closer on paper than it was in person. His final goal with 1 second left off of a full-court Borruso pass was the fastest we’ve seen Jeff move since Breakaway.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: B Division
High Voltage have a top three seed locked up and the Flying V’s are 99.9% of the way there. A top-three seed is huge for CSHL teams as there is a play-in game between each division’s 4 & 5 teams to gain entry into the double-elimination portion of our playoffs. The Fridge Raiders get the short end of the stick playing the Voltage & V’s, but the big game of the day will be a Cowbell at Charlottans matchup that opens our B Division slate. With a big weekend & a little luck the Cowbell have a solid chance to make the jump from 5th to 3rd by the end of Sunday, and they have Cookie in net as Cummings is out & Keenan has a concussion.
Coming into this game Bombers Captain Mike Campbell & F23 first overall pick Josh Greco had incredible matching stat lines of 8 goals and 0 assists each however Nick Severins saved the day as he took a Greco pass and put a shot five-hole through PMart that looked to deflect off of Benny’s stick near the crease.
This was another bad break for Martin in an otherwise forgettable season for the Hoolies as they got smoked by a much deeper Bombers team. We didn’t get to see Realm Captains McKenna & Wood go at it as they were absent & without Zach’s shot the Hoolies relied on aging veteran Rich Wall for two of their five goals. Greco had a huge 4 point hatty & Campbell picked up two assists, however the most impressive assists on the day were from James Hotchner whose two points were more than both of his son’s (Jeremy - Mullets, Jon - Wieners) totals for the afternoon...however only one should have counted.
The Wieners came into this game short Nathan Hans because of a knee injury, and the Mullets left the day’s slate short their Captain Jack Ingalls because of ACL Surgery on 4/2, however, the Mullet Men rallied around their captain to come back and win this game after falling in the hole 2-0 by the end of the first period. Bateman stickhandled away from two defenders and ripped one past Hickey mid-first…
…and Jon Hotch took advantage of the extra man after Sernus ran onto the rink without his shin pads on, the second time this season the Mullets were called for an improper equipment penalty after Helinski did the same thing in week two. The Mullets got one back to open the second then also scored under a minute into the third off a high slot redirection by Helinski on a Sernus feed.
Jack put a screened slapshot under a minute later past substitute goalie Ryan Diaz and the Mullets were able to to hand on amid heavy pressure with the Wieners goalie pulled at the end of the game as Bateman hit one off the inside post that went behind Hickey.
After the draft we would’ve expected the Hoolies to be much higher than the newly formed Rapids at this point in the season however that’s not the case as they’ve really struggled this Winter season. Benny put his crease in the crease and scored a Q rebound as our previous champions jumped out ahead and carried the lead into our third period. Bobby Arkus finished a sweet backhand pass from Cookie to tie this one.
Q scored on a backdoor pass from Forbes then Bobby shook PMart out of his 7th set of pads to score on a breakaway after Q left the point to cut in the slot and Cookie sent a perfect saucer pass through traffic. Jayden scored an absolutely terrible backhand roller past regular season PMart for what should have been the GWG, yet we had a clock controversy to end the period. With time expiring on the countdown Commissioner Tom Ward said the clock hit zero before the shot went in but this call was overturned by the referee’s, ironically screwing over their “boss” Rapids Captain & CSHL CAO Chris Cookingham. This one finished in a 3-3 tie as I didn’t watch the third period because nothing happened.
Another shorthanded matchup was close as the Bombers were down Wood & the Mullet Men Helinski, Knox & Petrella. The Mullets jumped ahead as Sernus picked a corner off a backhand pass through traffic and the Mullets didn’t take advantage of their opportunities the remainder of the first.
As Greco found his scoring touch game one of the slate, he found his veteran scumbag touch game two as this savvy play of sliding away Jack's stick led to a great chance in transition.
The second period was a snooze fest as the Mullets killed about 2:30 in the opposition’s zone on repeated faceoffs and the Bombers were unable to break out effectively. The Mullets length and forecheck lead to a lot of stoppages of play and the frustration can build for opposing teams when it’s hard to get in the flow of the game. Caleb took things into his own hands in the third as his newly acquired dad bod added a few extra MPHs to the slapper and he ripped one from mid-court past Tim’s shoulder to tie the game heading into the final minutes.
Just after barely missing a wrister above the bar, Lindvall won a ball in his own end and took it all the way to bury one over Hotch’s shoulder and give the Mullets a win.
This sealed up first place for the Mullet Men in our A Division and went 2-0 in Jack’s final weekend. CSHL’s DAWG of the YEAR goes to Jack Ingalls who played the previous six games on a torn ACL. He’ll be coach/captaining his teams from the side this rest of 2024 as the Mullet Men have the playoffs & Charlotte Rise their NBHL season ahead.
A complete blowout as the Wieners’ shooters really don’t match up well with the Rapids’ speed. Arkus shows his hands around the net as he took one from between Jon’s legs and finished around Diaz to start the game.
The Rapids immediately followed that up with zero defense and JY rolled one five-hole through the Rapids’ substitute goalie Mahoski. Cookie scored to end the period, Bobby put in a second off a back wall rebound where the D didn’t tie him up (shout out Prusia for the 3 assists this game), Cookie jumped a pass at the point from JY and scored on his own rebound, then Olivas got on the board at the end of the third. Hopefully Hans can play in the playoffs but with the Wieners defense, I’m not sure they can string together the 3-4 wins they’ll need for a Championship. In true Bobby Arkus style, he scored 4 goals and 0 assists on the weekend earning the Rapids big points and himself a share of the CSHL A Division Player of the Week Award with his teammate Chris Cookingham who had 2G, 2A & set up two of Arkus' finishes with absolute DIMES.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: A Division
CSHL’s A Division is going to be a complete cluster fuck this weekend, and unfortunately, I won’t be there to see it. Teams in A are missing on average 4+ runners per team with many guys heading to Pottstown to play in the North American Ball Hockey Championships & there will be a ton of B Division call-ups to fill the empty roster spots. Oh, it will also be 3v3, so teams will line up each with 3 runners + 2 subs on the bench. The Mullets & Bombers are locked into the 1 & 2 seeds, and the Rapids currently hold 3rd by one point due to a shutout. The Rapids have to face the Mullets & Bombers while our second game of the day, a battle between the Wieners & Hoolies, will have a lot of say in the final standings.
Editor's Note: The scoring title looks like Jeremy's for the taking as Greco, Wood & Bateman will all be playing at the NABCH's in Pottstown this weekend. However, if Q shows up he may get off a record amount of shots in 3's at Waymer.
Click game title for WK6 videos
All week six photos can be found HERE.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Matthews Fire & EMS are hosting a kickball tournament and CSHL is looking to submit a team!
When: April 13th @ 830AM
Where: Mt Harmony Baptist Church
Who: 10 or 11 CSHL members
Cost: $20 per player
Sarah Couzzo is putting together the CSHL team so please email Sarah.cuozzo@charlottestreethockeyleague.org if you are interested in playing!
SHE DANGLES: Women's Hockey Clinic in Charlotte
Join UWBHF, ballhockeybootcamp, and Charlotte Street Hockey League for a women’s ball hockey clinic that will include skills, drills, and games! Guaranteed fun for all! Learn tips, tricks, and techniques for everyone from a beginner to an advanced player to enhance your stickhandling and game skills, and learn to “dangle.”
Led by Ashley Mouzzon, UWBHFs experienced coaching staff will meet you where you are and push your skill level up a notch! Recommended for ages 12 and up.
When: Saturday, April 27
Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Where: Waymer Park Hockey Rink
Recommended donation:
- Supporter: $10
- Believer: $20
- Advocate: $50
- Change Agent: $100+
Register here: https://wkf.ms/4bCn551
Donate here: http://tinyurl.com/UWBHFSheDangles
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