About M.E. myself and I

Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
I have been an M.E. sufferer for a long time now, but sports replay gaming is an easy hobby for me to enjoy. Originally from Canvey Island, Essex, I was introduced to replay gaming a few years ago, leading to my first purchase: Cricket World. Most sports I share will be common, but there are some more obscure replays thrown in. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy your stay. Feel free to say hello! - Chris

Friday 30 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Tampa Open, Consolation Heat

Tampa Open - Tampa, Florida
Consolation Heat
Norm Gibson, Darryl Lozier, Darrell Andresen, Reggie Banks, Chris Henton, Dick Garrett, Lynne Higgins, Randy Tondreau, Ed Smith, Scott Hutchins, Tom Gariepy

With Joe Ramage receiving treatment for the injuries sustained in his heat there were eleven drivers at the start of the consolation heat, and it was Norm Gibson whose run was shortest as he came off second best in collisions with Smith and Garrett before his coming together with Lozier put him down for good.

The next exit came five minutes in and it led to yet another stoppage, this time it was Reggie Banks who needed medical staff to help him and will certainly miss significant time with a leg injury. Ed Smith was the one who put the final hit on Banks before he too was taken out by a blindside hit from Tom Gariepy.

Chris Henton's hit on Garrett stalled the pair of them but Henton refired only to be eliminated by Darrell Andresen just prior to Garrett being counted out, and Gariepy's early assault on Scott Hutchins, who became a later target for Randy Tondreau, was for naught and both men were finished in sixth and fifth places respectively.

The final driver to miss out on the Tampa Open final was Andresen who put in six hits on five cars before stalling, opening himself up for the coup de grace by Darryl Lozier who makes his second final after finishing third in the Arizona Derby. He will be joined by fellow Canadian Randy Tondreau for his first final appearance and Lynne HIggins who once again was very quiet but made herself known with some hits to help Andresen on his way out, also finishing off Gariepy.

Race Result
Q. Darryl Lozier
Q. Lynne Higgins
Q. Randy Tondreau
4. Darrell Andresen
5. Scott Hutchins
6. Tom Garipey
7. Dick Garrett
8. Chris Henton
9. Ed Smith
10. Reggie Banks
11. Norm Gibson
12. Joe Ramage (DNS)

Thursday 29 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Tampa Open, Heat 3

Tampa Open - Tampa, Florida
Heat 3
Dick Garrett, Joe Ramage, John McCrory, Scott Hutchins, Phillip Ruffin, Lynne Higgins, Will Thompson, John Ruiz, Jess Yates, Danny Krol, Randy Corson, Rickey Grimes

Lynne Higgins was a popular girl at the start of heat number three as five drivers went straight at her, including Ricky Grimes who mistimed his hit on Higgins and left himself vulnerable to Danny Krol's vicious attack that took Grimes out in the opening minute.

John Ruiz was the next to break down as he hounded a stuck Jess Yates only to be crushed by a series of hits from the pack, and the derby had to be stopped so Danny Krol could be helped from his car after Scott Hutchins rolled him over. Only minor injuries were sustained and Krol should return for the next event.

Another stoppage for potential injury occurred soon after the eliminations of Yates who was successfully targeted eight times, Phillip Ruffin who managed to refire after a long stall but misses out on the consolation heat, and Lynne Higgins who performed quite poorly with two hits in over six minutes, suffering eleven hits against her. The action was then called to a halt when Joe Ramage was hurt on a big hit by Scott Hutchins, where the latter's car went up and over the top, and required medical assistance. Early indications are the injury is quite serious and Ramage will certainly play no part in the consolation heat.

Dick Garrett was a catalyst in the exits of Yates, targeting the ninth place man twice, but he also made heavy contact with Will Thompson on two occasions causing a big stall. Yet it was Arizona Derby winner Thompson who would continue while Garrett charged through as many cars as he could before his fifth place finish.

Another incident brought events to a halt when Scott Hutchins' vehicle caught on fire after he too tried to get at Thompson leaving the final three fighting it out. Thompson finally fell when John McCrory took advantage of him stalling for a second time before Randy Corson did the same to McCrory to take his first heat win of the season.

Race Result
1. Randy Corson
2. John McCrory
3. Will Thompson
4. Scott Hutchins
5. Dick Garrett
6. Joe Ramage (inj)
7. Lynne Higgins
8. Phillip Ruffin
9. Jess Yates
10. Danny Krol
11. John Ruiz
12. Ricky Grimes

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL 1967/68, 14th Dec

Thursday 14th December 1967
Chicago's first back-to-back wins in fifteen games move them off the bottom of the East with DeJordy picking up a nineteen shot shutout, his first of the season. D Hull (2) scored on a breakaway, Martins (8) and Mikita (20) insure the victory over Detroit.

The only two goals in the second game of the day came inside the first seven minutes and after that both goalies stood on their heads to keep it at 1-1. Angotti (6) put the Flyers ahead 1:11 and St Marseille (7) had the Blues level at 6:42. Philadelphia are unbeaten in five but couldn't score again on Hall who looked out of sorts for much of the game.



1st 2nd 3rd F
CHI @ 1 1 1 3
DET
0 0 0 0

CHI DeJordy (8-6-4 .888) 19/19, Powerplay 0/9
DET Edwards (4-10-2 .885) 24/27, Powerplay 0/4



1st 2nd 3rd F
StL @ 1 0 0 1
PHI
1 0 0 1

StL Hall (6-7-4 .895) 21/22, Powerplay 0/3
PHI Parent (10-6-2 .909) 20/21, Powerplay 0/1

East Division GP W L T Pts
Boston Bruins 26 15 7 4 34
Toronto Maple Leafs 27 14 9 4 32
Montreal Canadiens 28 13 11 4 30
Detroit Red Wings 27 12 12 3 27
Chicago Blackhawks 29 10 14 5 25
New York Rangers 27 10 13 4 24
West Division GP W L T Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 26 15 9 2 32
Minnesota North Stars 26 11 6 9 31
St Louis Blues 27 11 10 6 28
Pittsburgh Penguins 27 8 13 6 22
Oakland Seals 27 7 14 6 20
Los Angeles Kings 27 8 16 3 19

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Tampa Open, Heat 2

Tampa Open - Tampa, Florida
Heat 2
Jamie Eilers, Tom Gariepy, Bob Alexander, Jason Ingle, Leo May, Ed Smith, Randy Tondreau, Darryl Lozier, Will Murphy, Sam Harbin, Rob Remaley, Kenny Rose

Like the previous heat the second heat also had a large pack fighting long and hard for the best part of ten minutes after Sam Harbin and Bob Alexander were the only drivers eliminated during the opening six minutes. Harbin, runner-up in the Arizona Derby, had Jason Ingle and Darryl Lozier as regular dance partners, and Alexander was too eager in his pursuit of Ingle and Tom Gariepy who he blindsided three times, to last the distance.

Jamie Eilers finished in second place at Frostbite but will miss the final for a second derby running after taking eight hits, three of which came from Ed Smith as they had a good old battle between them before Eilers caught Kenny Rose off guard twice in quick succession.

Ingle was next to fall in ninth as after surviving the early onslaught from Alexander he had a pack of four cars closing in with several hard shots within the space of a minute, and the eighth spot went to Kenny Rose who suffered the wrath of Rob Remaley throughout before he and Tom Gariepy finished the job.

Gariepy would end up in sixth, the early damage done by numerous Bob Alexander blindsides taking their toll, but not before the elimination of Ed Smith in seventh place as his sneak attack on Leo May was ill-timed, resulting in his car giving up the ghost.

The final two consolation heat places went to the Canadians Randy Tondreau and Darryl Lozier, the former working over Eilers before he stalled and became stuck to leave him a sitting duck, and the latter chasing both Murphy and Remaley before he was forced to call it a race.

Both Murphy and Remaley were giving joint second place as a final big hit from Murphy finished them both off. This left Leo May to win his first heat of the season hitting seven of the twelve entrants with Kenny Rose and Jamie Eilers, both of whom caught him with blindsides, the more common victims.

Race Result
1. Leo May
2. Rob Remaley
2. Will Murphy
4. Darryl Lozier
5. Randy Tondreau
6. Tom Gariepy
7. Ed Smith
8. Kenny Rose
9. Jason Ingle
10. Jamie Eilers
11. Bob Alexander
12. Sam Harbin

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Tampa Open, Heat 1

Tampa Open - Tampa , Florida
Heat 1
Bill Malbrough, Chris Henton, Timmy Barnes, Andy Bing, Bambi Rogers, Reggie Banks, Ben Hadsell, Norm Gibson, Matt Welliver, Darrell Andresen, Steven Redden, Charlie Clayton

There were early exits for Bambi Rogers and Charlie Clayton as they both sandwiched Andresen prior to stalling themselves out of the derby. The rest of the pack survived past the eight minute mark when Bill Malbrough was also counted out thanks to a stall.

Timmy Barnes, Reggie Banks and Steven Redden were swapping a lot of paint between themselves, Barnes in particular would focus on one of his opponents only to be blindsided by the other. Chris Henton tried to get involved but only entangled his vehicle with that of Redden and they both had to wait for contact with Andresen to set them free again.

Steven Redden was next to go in ninth, a lack of attention his biggest enemy, and he was swiftly followed by Redden and Henton; the latter another stall victim but enough to earn him a second chance in the consolation heat. He would be joined by Banks, Norm Gibson and Darrell Andresen, all three just finishing before the dismissal of Andy Bing who took third place.

Matt Welliver will be hoping to improve upon his two eleventh place finishes as he makes it three finals out of three after coming out second best in a real hard-hitting battle against Frostbite winner Ben Hadsell.

Race Result
1. Ben Hadsell
2. Matt Welliver
3. Andy Bing
4. Darrell Andresen
5. Norm Gibson
6. Reggie Banks
7. Chris Henton
8. Steven Redden
9. Timmy Barnes
10. Bill Malbrough
11. Charlie Clayton
12. Bambi Rogers

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL 1967/68 Dec 13th

Wednesday 13th December 1967
Boston jumped out toa 4-0 lead early in the third period to give them back-to-back wins for the first time in eleven games. Williams (12) and Hodge (14) were among the goalscorers for the Bruins as Montreal left it too late, H Richard (7) and Duff (8) scoring for them, to go 3-10-3 on the road.

Chicago pick up their second win in thirteen, goals from R Hull (12) and Mohns (7) enough to beat New York's solo score from Hadfield (7), and the Kings have a second three game losing streak in their last eight games, losing in Minnesota. Los Angeles led 2-1 through Amadio (2) and Menard (2) before the North Stars extended their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) with goals from Boudrias (10), Goldsworthy (10), Fitzpatrick (1) and a game winner from Collins (4).

It's another dry spell for Oakland, four winless now, as only Burns (7) could get on the board for the Seals while St Louis win their first in five matches. B McCreary (12) scored a pair and J Roberts had two himself along with a first period fight against K Douglas.


Konik (6) manufactured his own breakaway for the Penguins but Toronto held on for their win, a fourth victory in five game, M Pronovost (3) and a shorthanded goal from Pappin (2) enough to move them above Montreal in the East.




1st 2nd 3rd F
MON @ 0 0 2 2
BOS
0 3 1 4

MON Worsley (6-6-3 .904) 30/34, Powerplay 1/3
BOS Cheevers (10-5-2 .887) 22/24, Powerplay 0/3




1st 2nd 3rd F
NYR @ 0 1 0 1
CHI
0 2 0 2

NYR Giacomin (8-13-2 .880) 23/25, Powerplay 0/0
CHI D Dryden (2-7-1 .873) 17/18, Powerplay 0/5




1st 2nd 3rd F
LAK @ 1 1 0 2
MIN
1 1 2 4

LAK Rutledge (8-9-2 .889) 27/30, Powerplay 0/0
MIN Maniago (8-4-7 .909) 19/21, Powerplay 1/4




1st 2nd 3rd F
OAK @ 0 1 0 1
StL
1 0 3 4

OAK Hodge (7-10-4 .904) 25/29, Powerplay 1/1
StL Martin (5-3-2 .905) 19/20, Powerplay 0/0




1st 2nd 3rd F
PIT @ 0 0 1 1
TOR
0 1 1 2

PIT Binkley (6-7-4 .911) 29/31, Powerplay 0/2
TOR Bower (8-5-2 .914) 16/17, Powerplay 0/0


East Division GP W L T Pts
Boston Bruins 26 15 7 4 34
Toronto Maple Leafs 27 14 9 4 32
Montreal Canadiens 28 13 11 4 30
Detroit Red Wings 26 12 11 3 27
New York Rangers 27 10 13 4 24
Chicago Blackhawks 28 9 14 5 23
West Division GP W L T Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 25 15 9 1 31
Minnesota North Stars 26 11 6 9 31
St Louis Blues 26 11 10 5 27
Pittsburgh Penguins 27 8 13 6 22
Oakland Seals 27 7 14 6 20
Los Angeles Kings 27 8 16 3 19

Monday 26 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Tampa Open Preview

The cavalcade of carnage moves to Florida in early February and both Scott Hutchins and Danny Krol have secured sponsorship deals that should see them financially stable for the remainder of the season, but other drivers are expected to hit hard times with so much travel throughout the year. This leaves Tommy Miller and Don Davis back on the sidelines awaiting another opportunity to impress, and one more change sees a swap of alternate drivers: Kenny Rose makes his season debut in place of Bobby Gallagher due to the latter not getting his documentation in order.

Sunday 25 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Arizona Derby, Standings

Will Thompson stands tall after two derbies, his victory in Arizona leapfrogging him over both Ben Hadsell and Jamie Eilers as both men failed to reach the final. Sam Harbin, Darryl Lozier and Will Murphy all enter the standings after their top four finishes, and both Darrell Andresen and Rob Remaley join Thompson in the exclusive group who scored in both finals; Matt Welliver also made it to the finals but finished eleventh both times.

Name Pts
Will Thompson 36
Ben Hadsell 21
Jamie Eilers 15
Sam Harbin 15
Darryl Lozier 12
Will Murphy 11
Scott Hutchens 10
Darrell Andresen 8
Lynne Higgins 8
Randy Corson 8
Rob Remaley 6
Bob Alexander 5
Steven Redden 5
Charlie Clayton 4
Jess Yates 3
Danny Krol 2
John Ruiz 2

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL 1967/68, Dec 10th

Sunday 10th December 1967
The LA Kings suffer a fifth loss in five games, their three goals in three minutes not enough to get them out of the hole they were in. Boston rampaged with Bucyk (15) scoring two goals and two assist, Stanfield (8) registering a three point game and Awrey (1) getting them underway with his first of the year.


G Tremblay (13) scored twice, B Harris assisting on both, to keep Montreal on the right track with just on defeat in their last nine, and New York had powerplay goals from Howell (2) and Kurtenbach (3). Philadelphia defeated the Blackhawks for their ninth win in twelve, Selby (9) grabbing a pair including the game winner while Sutherland (9) also score two as part of a three-pointer. Chicago have lost three on the bounce for the second time in eight games, W Maki (4), R Hull (11) and Mikita (19) doing what they could.

Pittsburgh would have been shutout if not for Price (1) and Andrea (1) scoring their first point and goal respectively as Minnesota ran wild over them. Connolly (15) and Cullen (9) scored twice each with seven points between them and Balon (5) knocked one home on the powerplay as part of a four point night to give the North Stars their first three-in-a-row of the year.

After their 0-5-2 run Toronto have since gone 5-2-1 with Gamble's shutout, his second, in St Louis. Despite not scoring himself Walton was involved in all three goals, Ellis (10) and F Mahovlich (10) twice scoring their goals on the man advantage. The Blues are four games without a win.



1st 2nd 3rd F
LAK @ 0 0 3 3
BOS
2 2 3 7

LAK Rutledge (8-8-2 .888) 36/43, Powerplay 2/4
BOS Johnston (5-2-2 .874) 25/28, Powerplay 1/3



1st 2nd 3rd F
MON @ 1 1 0 2
NYR
1 1 0 2

MON Worsley (6-5-3 .906) 20/22, Powerplay 0/0
NYR Simmons (2-0-2 .915) 32/34, Powerplay 2/4



1st 2nd 3rd F
CHI @ 1 2 0 3
PHI
2 1 2 5

CHI DeJordy (7-6-4 .884) 36/41, Powerplay 0/1
PHI Parent (10-6-1 .906) 21/24, Powerplay 2/2



1st 2nd 3rd F
MIN @ 0 4 3 7
PIT
0 0 2 2

MIN Bauman (4-2-1 .906) 26/28, Powerplay 1/2
PIT Bassen (2-5-2 .885) 26/33, Powerplay 0/4



1st 2nd 3rd F
TOR @ 0 2 1 3
StL
0 0 0 0

TOR Gamble (6-4-2 .919) 29/29, Powerplay 3/3
StL Hall (6-7-3 .892) 16/19, Powerplay 0/2

East Division GP W L T Pts
Boston Bruins 25 14 7 4 32
Montreal Canadiens 27 13 10 4 30
Toronto Maple Leafs 26 13 9 4 30
Detroit Red Wings 26 12 11 3 27
New York Rangers 26 10 12 4 24
Chicago Blackhawks 27 8 14 5 21
West Division GP W L T Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 25 15 9 1 31
Minnesota North Stars 25 10 6 9 29
St Louis Blues 25 10 10 5 25
Pittsburgh Penguins 26 8 12 6 22
Oakland Seals 26 7 13 6 20
Los Angeles Kings 26 8 15 3 19

Saturday 24 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Arizona Derby, Final

Arizona Derby - Mesa, Arizona
Final
Jess Yates, Lynne Higgins, Darrell Andresen, Matt Welliver, Sam Harbin, Will Murphy, Dayyrl Lozier, Rob Remaley, Bob Alexander, John Ruiz, Will Thompson, Andy Bing

The final of the Arizona Derby started off with Darrell Andresen and Jess Yates being hit four times so it was no surprise that they were among the first drivers out. The first to exit however was Andy Bing who was unable to prepare his car so soon after the consolation heat, stalling at the start.  

Matt Welliver made a hit on each of the three aforementioned drivers before he was eliminated in eleventh when Bob Alexander hit him so hard he traveled up and over Welliver's vehicle, and it was this group, which also included John Ruiz and Rob Remaley, that stuck to each other until all seven were out of the final.

Lynne Higgins finished in the top five after an early battle with Yates before a stall nearly took her out, but she regrouped and attempted to repay the favour shown by Lozier in their earlier heat when the Canadian went all out in the final minutes to wipe out Higgins. Darryl Lozier did end up stalling out of the derby but not before Will Murphy, who was happy to hit Ruiz and Remaley three and two times respectively early on, was eliminated.

The race then came down to Will Thompson, who finished fourth at Frostbite, and Sam Harbin. Harbin will need to be quick to learn to keep his head on a swivel as he was blindsided three times while lining up his own targets. This certainly contributed to his eventual second place result but Thompson was good for his win as he survived what looked like a race-ender at the hands of Alexander, but carried on and mostly focused his assault on Andresen and then Higgins.

Race Result
1. Will Thompson
2. Sam Harbin
3. Darryl Lozier
4. Will Murphy
5. Lynne Higgins
6. Bob Alexander
7. Rob Remaley
8. Jess Yates
9. John Ruiz
10. Darrell Andresen
11. Matt Welliver
12. Andy Bing

Friday 23 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Arizona Derby, Consolation Heat

Arizona Derby - Mesa, Arizona
Consolation Heat
Bambi Rogers, Bob Alexander, Jason Ingle, Tommy Miller, Leo May, Ricky Grimes, Chris Henton, Ben Hadsell, Reggie Banks, Norm Gibson, Andy Bing

The consolation heat lasted less than eight minutes as a group of six drivers all capitulated inside the space of a minute. Prior to the mass exodus Frostbite winner Ben Hadsell was rampaged by Bambi Rogers before she too was eliminated, and Norm Gibson stalled out immediately.

The big incident of the heat came when Tommy Miller was disqualified when his hit on Leo May was deemed unfair and resulted in the loss of May himself when his car caught fire. Reggie Banks was a target throughout the heat even as he tried to extricate himself from a barrier and his favourite victim Chris Henton was blindsided twice to put him down. Jason Ingle was the final driver who would fail to reach the final.

The three who progress on to the final kept out of each others way for the most part but Andy Bing became focused on Bob Alexander towards the end while Jess Yates put in the finishing hits on both Grimes and Henton.

Race Result
Q. Bob Alexander
Q. Jess Yates
Q. Andy Bing
4. Jason Ingle
5. Chris Henton
6. Leo May
7. Reggie Banks
8. Ricky Grimes
9. Tommy Miller
10. Bambi Rogers
11. Norm Gibson
12. Ben Hadsell

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL1967/68 Dec 9th

Saturday 9th December 1967
Giacomin looked out of sorts from the start as his Rangers side are held at bay by G Gardner for his first Detroit shutout. MacGregor (7) and G Jarrett (15) both score a pair and, along ith P Mahovlich (7), made the Red Wings the first team to score one hundred goals this season.


Fonteyne (5) and K McCreary (8) put Pittsburgh into the lead twice but Minnesota remain unbeaten in three straight thanks to two goals from Goldsworthy (9) and  three-point game from Boudrias (9). Chicago have just one win in eleven after Worsley earned his third shutout of the year for Montreal to put the Canadians 8-2-2 in their last twelve; Harper (3), Ferguson (7) and Cournoyer (10) with the goals.

Sabourin's (11) game tying goal on the powerplay earned St Louis a point but they are winless in three straight, and Oakland go unbeaten back-to-back for just the third time this year, R Harris (2) also scoring with the man advantage.

The Maple Leafs pull within two points of Boston by defeating the Bruins, their second back-to-back loss of the year. Toronto's Armstrong (8) and Boston's Esposito (14) both score twice with a shorthanded goal each.



1st 2nd 3rd F
NYR @ 0 0 0 0
DET
3 1 1 5

NYR Giacomin (8-12-2 .879) 28/33, Powerplay 0/4
DET G Gardner (3-0-0 .933) 31/31, Powerplay 0/0



1st 2nd 3rd F
PIT @ 1 1 0 2
MIN
0 2 3 5

PIT Binkley (6-6-4 .909) 32/37, Powerplay 1/2
MIN Maniago (7-4-7 .909) 27/29, Powerplay 0/0



1st 2nd 3rd F
CHI @ 0 0 0 0
MON
0 2 1 3

CHI D Dryden (1-7-1 .868) 25/28, Powerplay 0/3
MON Worsley (6-5-2 .906) 17/17, Powerplay 0/0



1st 2nd 3rd F
StL @ 0 0 1 1
OAK
1 0 0 1

StL Martin (4-3-2 .900) 27/28, Powerplay 1/5
OAK Hodge (7-9-4 .906) 25/26, Powerplay 1/6



1st 2nd 3rd F
BOS @ 0 1 1 2
TOR
1 3 1 5

BOS Cheevers (9-5-2 .886) 32/37, Powerplay 0/4
TOR Bower (7-5-2 .912) 25/27, Powerplay 1/8

East Division GP W L T Pts
Boston Bruins 24 13 7 4 30
Montreal Canadiens 26 13 10 3 29
Toronto Maple Leafs 25 12 9 4 28
Detroit Red Wings 26 12 11 3 27
New York Rangers 24 10 12 3 23
Chicago Blackhawks 26 8 13 5 21
West Division GP W L T Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 24 14 9 1 29
Minnesota North Stars 24 9 6 9 27
St Louis Blues 24 10 9 5 25
Pittsburgh Penguins 25 8 11 6 22
Oakland Seals 26 7 13 6 20
Los Angeles Kings 25 8 14 3 19

Thursday 22 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Arizona Derby, Heat 3

Arizona Derby - Mesa, Arizona
Heat 3
Randy Tondreau, Will Murphy, Ed Smith, Phillip Ruffin, Andy Bing, Will Thompson, Jason Ingle, Steven Redden, Norm Gibson, Bill Malbrough, John Ruiz, Bob Alexander

Another exciting heat in Arizona as only three drivers fell by the wayside in the opening seven minutes. Steven Redden and Bill Malbrough both stalled out early on, the latter not even moving from his start position, and Randy Tondreau was left down in tenth after he was hit five times out of a total ten collisions.

There were plenty of vehicles that stalled in the heat but the remaining drivers all refired their engines in the end so all other eliminations were down to good old fashioned crash and bang. This was especially true for the eighth and ninth placed drivers Phillip Ruffin and Ed Smith who drew competitors to them like magnets with Smith heavily contributing to the downfalls of both Tondreau and Ruffin.

These two exits started a chain of five eliminations in less than three minutes as Bob Alexander was blindsided by John Ruiz and Norm Gibson became the favourite target of the pack. The fifth place man Jason Ingle hit no less than six different drivers during the heat but found a willing partner in Frostbite's fourth place finisher Will Thompson, coming off second best in that contest to end outside of the automatic qualification spots.

The final four would make the derby last another few minutes with Murphy and Ruiz finishing off Andy Bing after he had gone hard at the pair of them throughout the heat. The climax saw Thompson go first. He had stalled four times only to go on and reach the final but not before he was blindside by Murphy, and John Ruiz had a trio of stalls himself before his final collision with Murphy stopped him for good. And to keep the stalling theme going Will Murphy came close on two occasions to being counted out in the heat.

Race Result
1. Will Murphy
2. John Ruiz
3. Will Thompson
4. Andy Bing
5. Jason Ingle
6. Norm Gibson
7. Bob Alexander
8. Phillip Ruffin
9. Ed Smith
10. Randy Tondreau
11. Steve Redden
12. Bill Malbrough

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Arizona Derby, Heat 2

Arizona Derby - Mesa, Arizona
Heat 2
Darryl Lozier, John McCrory, Joe Ramage, Lynne Higgins, Tommy Miller, Dick Garrett, Bambi Rogers, Sam Harbin, Randy Corson, Ricky Grimes, Reggie Banks, Don Davis

The second heat featured two replacement drivers and both female competitors and there wasn't nearly as long to wait for the first drivers to fall out as John McCrory was swiftly disqualified for his roughhouse hit on Ramage, and Don Davis had a very brief cameo stalling at the start.

Randy Corson had a lucky touch as the four cars he initiated contact with all made at least the consolation heat, but the attention received from Sam Harbin proved too much ending his race in tenth one spot ahead of Ramage whose earlier incident started a chain of problems to all but guarantee his early demise.

The final driver who would miss out on further action in Mesa would be Dick Garrett who stalled out, resulting in Bambi Rogers, Reggie Banks, Rickey Grimes and Tommy Miller making their way into the consolation heat with Miller getting stuck and Rogers' car catching fire.

Lynne Higgins, who refired from a stall to finish off Rogers, Banks and Miller, was fiercely pursued by eventual heat winner Darryl Lozier, hitting her four times in quick succession. Lozier then survived an onslaught from Harbin to take the two points.

Race Result
1. Darryl Lozier
2. Sam Harbin
3. Lynne Higgins
4. Tommy Miller
5. Rickey Grimes
6. Reggie Banks
7. Bambi Rogers
8. Dick Garrett
9. Joe Ramage
10. Randy Corson
11. Don Davis
12. John McCrory

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL1967/68 Dec 8th

Friday 8th December 1967
Just one game on this day but there were fourteen goals scored as the in-form Flyers, who have two losses in the last ten, went to play the LA Kings who have won three of nine. Robinson (4) got the home side on the board amid an early flurry of Philadelphia goals with Kennedy (6), LaForge (2), Hannigan (7) and Rochefort (9) scoring.

The second period was more of the same as Hannigan (8) and Rochefort (10) adding to their totals while the Kings tried to stay in touch through Irvine (5) and Flett (10). Sutherland (7) was enjoying a good night for Philadelphia scoring in the third period to go with his three assists, and Blackburn also had three helpers including setting up the goal that completed Hannigan's (9) hat trick.



1st 2nd 3rd F
PHI @ 4 3 3 10
LAK
1 2 1 4

PHI Favell (5-3-0 .891) 26/30, Powerplay 4/10
LAK Sawchuk (1-6-1 .874) 19/26, Rutledge (8-7-2 .893) 20/23, Powerplay 2/6

East Division GP W L T Pts
Boston Bruins 23 13 6 4 30
Montreal Canadiens 25 12 10 3 27
Toronto Maple Leafs 24 11 9 4 26
Detroit Red Wings 25 11 11 3 24
New York Rangers 24 10 11 3 23
Chicago Blackhawks 25 8 12 5 21
West Division GP W L T Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 24 14 9 1 29
Minnesota North Stars 23 8 6 9 25
St Louis Blues 23 10 9 4 24
Pittsburgh Penguins 24 8 10 6 22
Oakland Seals 25 7 13 5 19
Los Angeles Kings 25 8 14 3 19

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Arizona Derby, Heat 1

Arizona Derby - Mesa, Arizona
Heat 1
Timmy Barnes, Matt Welliver, Leo May, Tom Gariepy, Jess Yates, Chris Henton, Darrell Andresen, Rob Remaley, Ben Hadsell, Jamie Eilers, Charlie Clayton, Bobby Gallagher

The first heat started out with all twelve drivers involved in a barnstorming affair for over five minutes before the runner-up at Frostbite, Jamie Eilers, was eliminated. He had focused a lot of his attention on Clayton and May while trying unsuccessfully to avoid the pressure coming from Yates and Andresen.

Charlie Clayton and Tom Barnes wiped each other out with the former taking it from all sides and the latter being a three-time target for Leo May, and Tom Gariepy stalled after chasing Yates while avoiding the rest of the pack.

While Gariepy was unlucky in the way his derby ended, replacement driver Bobby Gallagher, who was not shy about hitting anyone, had even less luck after he was denied a place in the consolation heat, ruled out just seconds before May and Chris Henton were eliminated. May had Jess Yates as his nemesis and Henton survived two stalls but was overly aggressive in his approach, causing more damage to himself than others. They will enter the second chance race along with Yates and Frostbite winner Ben Hadsell as they crushed each other hard.

The three who would go on into the final were soon one as Rob Remaley was double-teamed, the attacks leaving Welliver stalled and a sitting duck for Darrell Andresen to finish off and claim his second heat win in two derbies.

Race Result
1. Darrell Andresen
2. Matt Welliver
3. Rob Remaley
4. Ben Hadsell
5. Jess Yates
6. Chris Henton
7. Leo May
8. Bobby Gallagher
9. Tom Gariepy
10. Timmy Barnes
10. Charlie Clayton
12. Jamie Eilers

Monday 19 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Arizona Derby Preview

The season leaves the ice of Edmonton and heads down to the desert of Mesa for the Arizona Derby and three drivers have not made the trip. Bill Edgington sustained a neck injury in the opening minute of the season forcing him to miss the next eight events, and both Danny Krol and Scott Hutchins have had to skip Arizona as they finalise sponsorship deals.

Bobby Gallagher has been drafted in to replace the injured Edgington while Don Davis and Tommy Miller have limited action ahead of them with the financial victims due back for the next event.

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL1967/68 Dec 7th

Thursday 7th December 1967
Despite enjoying a 2-1 lead heading into the second period, with Esposito assisting on both goals from Shack (6), Boston lose out to New York. Gilbert (11) opened up the scoring and also grabbed the game winner, D Marshall (4) and Ratelle (8) help the Rangers to a fourth win in eight games.

Detroit fell behind and came back to tie the game three times through Delvecchio (11), G Jarrett (13) and MacGregor (5) but were unable to keep pace with the Canadians through the whole match. Rousseau (4), Beliveau (4) and H Richard (6) each put Montreal in front before they were pegged back, but the goal from Backstrom (5) was enough to be the game winner. Cournoyer (9) and Provost (2) made sure that the Habs enjoyed a fifth win in six games moving them up to second place in the East.



1st 2nd 3rd F
NYR @ 1 1 2 4
BOS
2 0 0 2

NYR Simmons (2-0-1 .906) 25/27, Powerplay 2/4
BOS Cheevers (9-4-2 .887) 28/32, Powerplay 0/0



1st 2nd 3rd F
DET @ 1 1 1 3
MON
2 1 3 6

DET Edwards (4-9-2 .885) 36/42, Powerplay 0/0
MON Vachon (6-5-1 .897) 32/35, Powerplay 1/4

East Division GP W L T Pts
Boston Bruins 23 13 6 4 30
Montreal Canadiens 25 12 10 3 27
Toronto Maple Leafs 24 11 9 4 26
Detroit Red Wings 25 11 11 3 24
New York Rangers 24 10 11 3 23
Chicago Blackhawks 25 8 12 5 21
West Division GP W L T Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 23 13 9 1 27
Minnesota North Stars 23 8 6 9 25
St Louis Blues 23 10 9 4 24
Pittsburgh Penguins 24 8 10 6 22
Oakland Seals 25 7 13 5 19
Los Angeles Kings 24 8 13 3 19

Sunday 18 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals, Standings


One event down, thirty-one to go, and the first ten points scorers are on their way. Ben Hadsell leads with a near perfect start to the season as he won the final and tied for first in his heat with Rob Remaley who rounds up the standings with a point in both the heat and final. Will Thompson finished a place behind Scott Hutchins in the final but is a place ahead of him by virtue of winning his heat.

Name Pts
Ben Hadsell 21
Jamie Eilers 15
Will Thompson 11
Scott Hutchens 10
Randy Corson 8
Darrell Andresen 5
Steven Redden 5
Charlie Clayton 4
Danny Krol 2
Rob Remaley 2




















Saturday 17 November 2012

Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals Final

Frostbite Winter Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
Final
Danny Krol, Scott Hutchins, Matt Welliver, Rob Remaley, Ben Hadsell, Jamie Eilers, Charlie Clayton, Will Thompson, Jason Ingle, Steven Redden, Darrell Andressen, Randy Corson

The first ever final saw two of the qualifiers from the consolation heat burn out early without taking any points. Jason Ingle was made a victim by Eilers, Andressen, Thompson and the third qualifier from the consolation heat Steve Redden, while Matt Welliver did not even move once the race got under way due to stalling.

Out of the three heat winners Rob Remaley was the first to depart but also the first to score a point in tenth position thanks in part to Scott Hutchins' rabid attention, and he was soon followed by heat one winner Darrell Andressen after missing his intended target and crashing into the wall. Between those exits Danny Krol also had an incident involving the scenery as he was unable to free himself from the barrier he had become caught up on.

The final seven became four in a blink of an eye with Charlie Clayton, who had only been hit once but inflicted his own downfall by coming off second best in many attacks, Steven Redden and Randy Corson all falling by the wayside. The remaining drivers saw Will Thompson finished off before Scott Hutchins was double-teamed until he too was eliminated.

This left heat one runner-up Jamie Eilers and the winner of heat three Ben Hadsell going head to head with an extra five points up for grabs available to the last man standing. Both men had focused on finishing off Hutchins but Eilers had garnered more attention throughout the derby than his remaining opponent and this proved to be the difference earning Hadsell a cool twenty points, in addition to the two he claimed for winning a heat, to start of the season.

Race Result
1. Ben Hadsell
2. Jamie Eilers
3. Scott Hutchins
4. Will Thompson
5. Randy Corson
6. Steven Redden
7. Charlie Clayton
8. Darrell Andressen
9. Danny Krol
10. Rob Remaley
11. Matt Welliver
12. Jason Ingle

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL1967/68 Dec 6th

Wednesday 6th December 1967
The fight between Pittsburgh's Boivin and Marotte of the Hawks with the score tied at 1-1 turned the game in favour of the Penguins to give them their first back-to-back wins of the season. Bathgate (10) hit the net twice with Mohns (6) scoring the lone Chicago goal, leaving them on two wins in their last thirteen.

The Kings held 3-0 and 5-1 leads, Labossiere (8) scoring twice, but the Blues kept trying to find a way back, J Roberts (7) also a double goalscorer, and after eight wins in eleven the Toronto Maple Leafs have just three in thirteen after they managed to s core just one goal through Walton (17). The North Stars move up to second place in the West with their first victory in five matches, P MacDonald (8) continuing the night's theme of two-time goalscorers.



The big score of the day came in New York where a Nevin (10) hat trick was not enough to prevent the Rangers losing their fourth in six games as Detroit ran out winners of a twelve goal thriller. Henderson (6) scored twice and the Wings enjoyed a a lot of time on the powerplay, Howe (14), Prentice (10) and G Jarrett (12) scoring with the man advantage.

And it has taken twenty-three games but Philadelphia finally tie a game as Oakland blow a 3-0 lead after Boyer (4) scored with another two from Burns (6). The Flyers started their comeback through Gauthier (3) 15:29 in the middle period and completed the job in the third thanks to Dornhoefer (8) and Rochefort (8).



1st 2nd 3rd F
PIT @ 1 1 2 4
CHI
0 1 0 1

PIT Binkley (6-6-4 .913) 27/28, Powerplay 0/3
CHI DeJordy (7-5-4 .884) 23/27, Powerplay 0/0



1st 2nd 3rd F
StL @ 0 1 2 3
LAK
3 0 2 5

StL Hall (6-6-3 .894) 28/33, Powerplay 0/1
LAK Rutledge (8-7-2 .894) 24/27, Powerplay 0/1



1st 2nd 3rd F
TOR @ 0 0 1 1
MIN
2 2 0 4

TOR Bower (6-5-2 .911) 28/32, Powerplay 0/0
MIN Maniago (6-4-7 .908) 21/22, Powerplay 0/0



1st 2nd 3rd F
DET @ 2 1 4 7
NYR
2 0 3 5

DET Crozier (5-2-1 .911) 33/38, Powerplay 3/10
NYR Giacomin (8-11-2 .881) 28/24, Powerplay 1/4



1st 2nd 3rd F
PHI @ 0 1 2 3
OAK
2 1 0 3

PHI Parent (9-6-1 .908) 24/27, Powerplay 0/4
OAK Hodge (7-9-3 .903) 26/29, Powerplay 1/1

East Division GP W L T Pts
Boston Bruins 22 13 5 4 30
Toronto Maple Leafs 24 11 9 4 26
Montreal Canadiens 24 11 10 3 25
Detroit Red Wings 24 11 10 3 24
New York Rangers 23 9 11 3 21
Chicago Blackhawks 25 8 12 5 21
West Division GP W L T Pts
Philadelphia Flyers 23 13 9 1 27
Minnesota North Stars 23 8 6 9 25
St Louis Blues 23 10 9 4 24
Pittsburgh Penguins 24 8 10 6 22
Oakland Seals 25 7 13 5 19
Los Angeles Kings 24 8 13 3 19