FEBRUARY 22nd, 2004 : Deja Vu? D6 Blizzard Drop Season Opener To Blast In Near-Repeat of SemiFinal, 4-2

FEBRUARY 12th, 2004 : Lions Win D6 Championship, Defeat Blast in 3rd Game Of Finals

FEBRUARY 7th, 2004 : D6 Blizzard Narrowly Lose to Blast, 4-3
Lions and Blast Advance to Final Round

D6 Blizzard Defeat Bombers 5-1, Advance to Semi-Finals

JANUARY 31, 2004 - In a near-repeat of their regular season matchup, the Blizzard cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Bombers and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

The Blueshirts (wearing white) wasted no time in mounting a furious offensive, and racked up four unanswered goals in the first period.  Dave Friedman, Rob Lorenzo, and Geoff Kornberg, quickly gave the Blizzard a comfortable lead, and set the stage for the electric Goal of the Game by Brian Philage who tipped in a perfect G-man feed whilst diving across the ice, his second such goal this season.

The Blizzard switched to excellent defensive hockey throughout the second and most of the third periods and, along with goalie Stu Palatnick  and several electrifying glove saves, turned aside several strong surges from the Bombers and preserved the lead.  The Bombers finally came through with a burst of energy to net a tally with some five minutes left in the game, but Alan Lo responded with a final goal just two minutes later, and the contest was effectively over.

The Blizzard will face the Blast next Friday in a Semi-Final matchup that, if history is your guide, may be a referee's nightmare.

Game 18 Scoresheet

D6 Blizzard To Face Bombers in Playoff Round 1

JANUARY 29, 2004 - With the conclusion of the final games of the D6 season on Wednesday, the Bombers attained 5th place with their victory over the Blue Bombers, and will meet the 4th place Blizzard in the first round of the playoffs tomorrow.

D6 Blizzard Close Out Record Season, Await Playoff Matchup

JANUARY 25, 2004 - The Blizzard concluded the Fall 2003 season with a final victory over the Ice Storm to finish with a team-best 11-5-0-1 record.  This squad also set new highs in points, goals, +/-, etc. and builds upon the momentum of the Summer 2003 squad as they await the determination of their opponent in the first round of the playoffs next Friday.

Fish For Dinner?  D6 Blizzard Hook Marlins 5-4 in Nail-Biter

JANUARY 17, 2004 - Once again, "clutch is everything in life ", and Guy Langlais was the epitome of clutch last Friday as he netted the game-winning goal with a mere 1'52 left in regulation, lifting the Blizzard to a 5-4 decision over the Marlins.

Geoff Kornberg opened up the scoring with a sharp 40-footer from the point, and Brian Philage and Guy added tallies to give the Blizzard an early 3-0 lead.  The Marlins responded in the 2nd period with gritty play and numerous power-play advantages to rack up three goals of their own, and only a score from Gerrard Spencer kept the Blizzard with a slim lead into the final period. 

Ever resilient, the Marlins managed to find the equalizer early in the 3rd, initiating a tense 12 minute stretch of punch-counterpunch hockey, until Guy clinched the victory in the final minutes.

This win keeps the Blizzard in the middle of the playoff seeding with one game left in the season.

D6 Blizzard Calm Hurricanes 10-4, Jono Sails Into New Aventuras

JANUARY 11, 2004 - The Blizzard welcomed their first full lineup in a month, and notched an important two points in the homestretch for playoff positioning.

They also bade farewell to Jono Brody-Felber who will leave the safety of NYC to brave the challenges of E.Coli outbreaks, shuffleboard, and the unending party lifestyle of Madrid.  His enthusiasm will be missed, although the Blizzard know that he will need his charm and energy to counter his lack of fluency in Spanish, so he (and his dictionary) will be very busy.

Brian Philage pocketed yet another hat trick, along with contributions from Dan Arndt, Dave Friedman, Matt Kline, and Gerrard Spencer, and numerous assists from pretty much the entire roster, including two from Jono.

With two regular games remaining, the 3rd to 6th playoff positions all remain in contention, which will make for an interesting finish to the fall season.

D6 Blizzard Spray Hornets 3-1, Clinch Playoff Berth

JANUARY 4, 2004 - Friday night was momentous for the Blizzard for a number of  reasons.  They saw the return of several of their teammates from serious injuries, no one else got injured during the bout, and they happened to win the game as well.  Most importantly, the team overcame the spectre of last season's homestretch breakdown, and clinched a playoff spot.  With three games remaining in the season, the Blizz can concentrate on winning games and chasing the Jaguars for the fourth spot.

Brian Philage netted a pair of goals, including an amazing highlight reel score around a diving goalie while sliding on his chest after being hooked to the ice on a breakaway.  Jono Brody-Felber added a 3rd period tally to round out the scoring.

The #1 star of the game, however, was the Hornets' goalie who made an astounding number of saves from near and far, to and fro, rolling and kicking...  Dominic Hasek would be impressed.  His solid work in the crease prevented at least a half-dozen sure goals and kept his team in the game right to the finish.

D6 Holiday Squad Wins 11-1, Mayor Gives Hat To Dezego

Mayor Bloomberg, a well-known closet hockey fan, makes comments on the Blizzard game during the 3rd period on ABC live television. Note that he is without a hat, probably because he threw it onto the rink to help celebrate Dezego's hat trick.

DECEMBER 21, 2003 - The combination of a raging flu epidemic, a holiday weekend, a late starting time, and a roster full of hypochondriacs, all led to a depleted nine-man lineup that faced the Blue Bombers last Friday. However, the Blizzard squad that showed up played an exceptional game of control and position, and defeated the BBs 11-1.

The Blizzard poured on the offense with four unanswered goals in the first ten minutes of play. The Blue Bombers came up with a single goal near the end of the first period, originating from an odd carom behind the Blizzard net that allowed the puck to find its way through several skate deflections and cross the line. That would be the only lapse in an otherwise perfect night of defense, as the Blizz continued to rack up scoring opportunities, netting seven more red lights to finish out the contest.

Rob Dezego led the scoring with his first hat-trick, Guy Langlais and Alan Lo both had multiple goal performances, along with tallies from Michael Boas and Brian Philage. On the backcheck, goalie Stu Palatnick put on a nearly perfect performance in the crease, whilst the 3-man defensive corps of Guy, Dave Ibrahim, and Michael Mills, thwarted nearly all scoring opportunites and accounted for over 18 total points.

D6 Blizzard Win Good, 3-1

Note: Due to holiday travel and an autumnal holistic retreat, the regular editors were unavailable. Therefore, this week's wrapup is courtesy of six-year old Harry Bovik, one of our players on the Baby Blizzard farm team.

NOVEMBER 7, 2003 - The Blizurd playd the Westsiderz last Friday. They playd good, really. It would have been funner for me if evrybody had scored lots more, cuz I got real sleepy by the ending part. But it was good too since Mom told me to finnish my speling homework during the game. Brian and Rob and somebody else had some scores. Stu lookt kinda board mostly, 'cept for when he was yelling and waveing his big stick and stuff like that. Dave got hurt but I hope he's all better now, cuz they need him back to fight with the lionz. That game should be awesum.

D6 Blizzard Celebrate Halloween By Getting Blasted

OCTOBER 31, 2003 - All-Hallows' Eve is usually a time of great joy, what with dead spirits arriving in the earthly world to wreak havoc, and strangers arriving on your stoop to demand food. This year, however, the Blizzard had their holiday dampened by an 8-1 loss to the Blast.

Despite a shortened bench and a mid-game injury, the Blizzard kept the contest within a goal throughout half of the game with a Gerrard Spencer tally and solid netminding from Keenen Brown. However, at 6'39 of the second period, the Blast began a six-goal scoring barrage primarily driven by two of their players for which the blueshirts had no answer.

The Blast also made certain to play their version of a "complete" game by racking up over a dozen penalties (the scorekeeper lost count), at least seven of which were after the game was well out of reach. Although the Lady Byng may not be in their future, the Blast's victory keeps them at the top of the standings, whilst the Blizzard drop to a tie for second.

Bombers Grounded By Flurries, D6 Blizzard Extend Winning Streak to 5 Games

OCTOBER 24, 2003 - The undefeated Bombers entered last Friday's matchup having given up only four goals in four games. The Blizzard surpassed that figure in less than two periods of hockey, en route to a decisive 5-1 victory. The blueshirts dominated in speed, possession, and scoring opportunities, as well as discipline with an overall 11-2 PIM advantage, maintaining energetic play for all three periods. The Bombers' goalie made many key saves and did a great job of keeping his team in the game, but the Blizzard defense effectively thwarted any counter-attack and sealed the win.

Goalie Stu Palatnick continued his excellent play and has now allowed a paltry 1.75 GA in his last four starts. Rob Dezego, David Friedman, Geoff Kornberg, and a double dose of Dan Arndt provided the scoring, and a special mention should be made for the excellent backchecking work of the entire team which held the Bombers to only a handful of shots throughout the contest.

With this fifth consecutive victory, the Blizzard are now tied for first place in the division and head into Halloween with a key showdown against the Blast, a fellow contender for the top spot.

"The G-Man Cometh", and D6 Blizzard Exterminate Hornets 5-2

OCTOBER 17, 2003 - Off the ice, Gerrard Spencer is an actor, capable of playing many different characters and emotions. On the ice, he is just one character, a ball of Canadian fury and intensity. Friday night, he channelled this method into a hat trick as the Blizzard won their fourth straight game. David Friedman displayed his great skill and patience as he assisted on all of G's goals, set up countless other scoring chances, and netted a goal in the third.

With a short bench and many odd-man situations, the Blizzard were somewhat disorganised in the first period and allowed the Hornets to gain an early 2-0 lead. They regrouped and settled down to dominate the second period with dozens of scoring opportunites and regained control of the game with a 3-2 lead by the second intermission. For the third period, the Blizz adopted a more conservative approach, playing more defensively and completely taking the sting out of their opponents with a 2-0 wash to complete the contest.

The game was, as expected in any game involving the Hornets, a festival of infractions with some 16 penalties and 40 PIMs handed out by the striped-shirts in their valiant effort to keep the players out of the hospital. Fortunately, everyone on both teams should be healthy enough on Monday to continue supporting the booming U.S. economy.

Arndt You Thrilled as D6 Blizzard Save East Coast From Perilous Weather

OCTOBER 10, 2003 - The Blizzard fulfilled their Red Cross contract and reduced the Hurricanes to mere tropical storms by defeating them 12-4 Friday night.

Dan Arndt led the barrage with a hat trick, Guy Langlais and Alan Lo each chipped in a pair, and the entire squad participated in the twelve-goal blur of scoring that propelled the Blizzard over .500 and into the top half of the division standings.

With much of their roster out of the country, the Hurricanes utilised the talents of guests such as Lions power forward Vinny Cericola and a number of other unfamiliar faces with odd jerseys to keep the contest interesting. The Blizzard stalled out of the gate, allowing the Hurricanes to take a 2-0 lead early in the first period, until they woke up and employed their Lemaire-inspired system to rack up seven unanswered goals by the first intermission. The Hurricanes put forth a strong surge in the second period to net two more tallies, shrinking the margin to 7-4, but the Blizzard responded in the third with a perfect 5-0 period to close out the game.

"Guy" Whiz! How Did We Miss This One?

OCTOBER 9, 2003 - The Blizzard editorial staff would like to humbly apologise for missing the fact that Guy Langlais also had a hat trick in last week's game. It says a lot about Guy's character that he didn't even point this out until a random exchange in this week's pregame skate, and probably wouldn't have mentioned it at all had I not drawn attention to last week's article. So, in addition to great class, Guy had a six point night! Congrats and thanks...

"It Takes A Philage", as D6 Blizzard Pitch 10-0 Shutout

OCTOBER 3, 2003 - NY Senator Hillary Clinton was reportedly considering a change for the title of her best-selling book, as Brian Philage increased his hat collection at the expense of the Blue Bombers last Friday night. Each of Philage's three goals was set up by the crafty playmaking of Guy Langlais, and Philage returned the favour by setting up a Langlais goal in the final period, punctuating their four-point evenings.

The rest of the squad played solidly at both ends of the rink, peppering the Blue Bombers with dozens of shots in every period and executing a smothering defence that allowed only a handful of opportunities throughout the whole contest. The Blue Bombers' goalie did a fantastic job of keeping his team in the contest, allowing only one goal in the first period despite constant pressure. However, the floodgates opened up early in the second period and nine more pucks found twine by the final buzzer.

Stu Palatnick celebrated fatherhood with a perfect performance in the crease, and Juan Brenes scored in a turnaround slapshot from the point that looked amazingly like a sequence from EA's NHL2004.
The victory takes the Blizzard to .500 and puts them squarely back on the road to success.

D6 Blizzard Gain First Win of Fall Season, Downing Ice Storm 7-3

SEPTEMBER 26, 2003 - The D6 Blizzard took a step forward with a solid win over an improved Ice Storm team with a 7-3 win last Friday night on the West Rink at Sky Rink. The victory improved the Blizzard to 1-2-0-0 as they head into this week's showdown with the first-place Blue Bombers, who downed the Hurricanes 4-2 last week to move to a division-best 3-0-0-0.

The current D6 Standings can be viewed here. D6 Blizzard player stats should be updated later this week.

D6 Blizzard Drop Second Straight; Jeff To Out At Least 2 Months with Broken Ankle

SEPTEMBER 19, 2003 - The D6 Blizzard continued the rocky start to their Fall 2003 campaign with a 6-4 loss to the Jaguars last Friday night at Sky Rink. The 0-2 start was compounded by the loss of forward Jeff To, who suffered a broken ankle during the second period when an opposing player fell awkwardly on him. X-rays revealed a fracture that will keep To in a cast for the next two weeks, followed by 4-6 weeks in a protective boot.

Doctors have yet to offer any indication of when To might be cleared to return to the Blizzard lineup.

D6 Blizzard Drop OT Thriller in Championship Game, Chiefs Prevail 4-3

SEPTEMBER 4, 2003 - The Blizzard entered the trophy game with a straightforward plan to stifle the high-scoring ringers of the undefeated Chiefs, and they executed the strategy to near-perfection and built a 3-1 lead by the middle of the final period. Brian Philage tallied a pair of goals, and the entire team put forth a remarkable effort to keep the opposition in check.

Unfortunately, a number of interesting penalties in the final minutes opened the door for the Chiefs to score several power-play goals, levelling the score at 3-3 as time expired.

In the overtime shootout, the Chiefs goaltender again did a great job in the crease, allowing no goals on the Blizzard's three attempts, while the Chiefs managed to nab 1 of 3 in their opportunities.

The Blizzard congratulate the Chiefs on their win, and can take some pride in an excellent season and in having taken the undefeated champs to the very brink of defeat in such an exciting finale.

D6 Blizzard Fight Terror, Advance to Finals with 4-3 Playoff Victory

SEPTEMBER 2, 2003 - The Orange Alert adopted their name from the tax-funded geniuses who gave us the National Terror Alert colour-coded warning system, so your outfit can match your level of dread (thanks to Jon Stewart). The Blizzard did their best to simplify the system by eliminating the Orange Alert in a hard-fought playoff game Tuesday night, 4-3.

This was no easy task, as the Orange Alert was a formidable opponent, and the score see-sawed several times before settling to a 3-3 tie midway through the final period, with goals from Rob Lorenzo, Jono Brody-Felber, and Dave Fine. With some five minutes remaining, Brian Philage put away a remarkable go-ahead goal which proved to be the game-winner, as the squad showed great defensive discipline to close out the contest.

The Blizzard now advance to the championship game this Thursday against the Chiefs.