D7 Blizzard News & Recaps 2003-2004

Dec 20th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Get Royal Treatment From Imperials, 9-2

Dec 12th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Get Feathered, 6-3

Nov 21st, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Outworked By Tsunami, 4-2

Nov 15th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Bedeviled, 7-3

Nov 8th, 2004 : Wizards Bewitch D7 Blizzard, 3-1

Oct 31st, 2004 : Imperials Remain Unbeaten With 4-1 Victory

Oct 24th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Still Hawked, 5-1

Winter in October

Oct 10th, 2004 - The D7 Blizzard stormed Wally Kulakowski's expansion Ordinals in a rough introduction to D7 action Saturday night, downing the Ords 6-1. Game pucks go to goalie Mike Mitchell, whose 0.5 GAA is the lowest in the league and Sean Egeran, who got off to a quick start in his first game of the season with 2 goals. One of The Edge's goals was assisted by veteran Steve Reiss, whose recent comeback from forced retirement has added some much needed punch to the Blizz forwards. Ben Amar actually put on hockey pads for once and it seemed to help, as he slapped one in with a little help from cousin Laurent Mastey and captain Mike "New Haven CT, I play for the New York Blizzard!!" Richitelli. Richitelli earned a second assist along with Amar on a goal from Matt Logan, which was Logan's third trip to the net in two games. Jeff To scored for the second week in a row on an assist from Steve Reiss, while Justin Stone took out the garbage on a rebound after a supreme effort by center Nick Agrait. All the Blizz agreed, however, that the Ords played well for their first game, that they have some solid skaters, and that they will be a much tougher team to beat down the stretch.

D7 Blizzard Freeze Tsunami, 6-0

Oct 3rd, 2004 - The D7 squad brought an early winter blast to Chelsea Piers on Saturday night when they stopped the Tsunami cold. Netminder Mike Mitchell worked alongside a revamped Blizzard defense to serve up the first shutout for the Blizzard for the past two seasons (at least!). Newcomers Brett Tom, Vinny Losinno, and Tim Wilson worked to shut down the Tsunami attack and Losinno even contributed a goal in his first game on the Blizz. Among the forwards, Jeff To found the net in his first game back from rehab, Mike Richitelli racked up one more on top of the pile he scored over the summer, and Steve Reiss celebrated his comeback from retirement by slapping one in as well. Game puck, however, goes to Matt Logan for his team-leading pair of goals. Jeff Goldberg scored two assists and Tom Menner continued to rough it up for the Blizz as he got two minutes for beating up a fan. Menner has been reassigned from defense to the "Crash" line of Laura Ward, Menner, and Justin Stone.

August 15th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Unable To Stop Hawks, Imperials Also Advance to Championship Round

August 8th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Secure Playoff Berth, Will Face Top-Seeded Hawks in First Round

August 1st, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Rise to 4th, Await Final Week Results to Determine Playoff Spots

July 25th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Eke Out 1-0 Victory Over Wizards, Remain in Playoff Contention

July 18th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Imperiously Blanked,   2-0

July 11th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Thawed in Tsunami, 3-2

June 27th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Pecked By Hawks, 7-3

D7 Blizzard Lay Waste To Hogwarts, 8-2

June 20th, 2004 - Last Saturday against the Wizards, the Blizzard decided to test a six-skater pulled-goalie strategy for nearly the entire game and were surprisingly successful in the process, wresting an 8-2 victory from the same team that had beaten them in their previous encounter with a dramatic goal in the final seconds of regulation. Both teams had skaters fatigued from their participation in the NYCGHA tournament, however the Wizards were also missing some of their best players (reportedly due to alcohol) who watched from the lounge.

Captain Mike Richitelli and Jono Brody-Felber each garnered hat tricks whilst the hard-working Laura Ward tallied a rebound poke, but the clear star of the game was forward  Marc Nathanson who selflessly manned the crease without special equipment and single-handedly deflected and blocked pucks for some fourty minutes, before receiving a kind reprieve for the last 5 minutes of the game from Imperials goalie Brian Dinan, who stepped in to finish out the contest. (Thanks Brian.)

June 13th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Suffer 7-1 Failed Exorcism

June 6th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Tie Imperials, 4-4

May 23rd, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Bested By Buzzards, 4-1

May 16th, 2004 : Wizards Cast Spell On D7 Blizzard In Final Seconds, 2-1

May 9th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Expel Demons, 2-1

May 2nd, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Get Imperialed, 7-0

April 24th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Sail Through Tsunami, 6-2

April 18th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Get Hawked, 5-2

April 4th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Narrowly Lose to Devils, 2-1

March 28th, 2004 : D7 Blizzard Tame Tsunami, 5-0

D7 Squad in a Valentine's Day Heartbreaker Against Imperials

FEBRUARY 14, 2004 - The Blizzard put forth a valiant if confused effort Saturday against the Imperials. The matchup was the season's last between these two teams and the Blizzard obviously came to play. Captain Mike Richitelli scored two goals, one in the final minutes of the third period that breathed some life into an exhausted Blizzard bench. The Blizzard were often out of position but were all heart and second effort every minute of the game.

Goalie Jason Colon had perhaps his best game of the season. He frequently stopped three of four shots in rapid succession while leaping all over the ice. At the end of one particularly impressive barrage, he actually made a save from his stomach by kicking his left heel up and knocking down a desperate Imperial shot. He kept the Blizzard in the game during the moments of total confusion. NHL scouts contacted his agent after the game and the heel save made the Sportscenter top 10.

Blizzard Drown Tsunami, 4-2

JANUARY 31, 2004 - The D7 squad came snapped its losing streak with solid win over Tsunami Saturday night. Matt Logan and captain Mike Richitelli padded their season totals with a goal each, while defenseman Wally Kulakowski scored his second goal of the season. Norris trophy rumors abound...

Perhaps the strangest Blizzard goal occured in the third period when Seth Bloom fired a waist high pass in front of the Tsuanami netminder that hit Justin Stone's stick and curved into the net behind the hapless goalie. Stone could take no credit for the goal however, given the total lack of movement on his part.

D7 Blizzard Dropped by Imperials in Romp

NOVEMBER 22, 2003 - The D7 Blizzard suffered a tough loss on Saturday at the hands of the Imperials. The Blizzard had difficulty settling down in first period and the Imperials took advantage to jump out to a 6-0 lead. The second period was much better, as the Blizz netted one on a nice goal by newcomer Jeff Goldberg and the Imperials eked out one goal in the final minute of the period. However, the shorthanded Blizzard began to tire in the third and the Imperials sealed their victory with another pair of goals. All-in-all, it was a tough night for the Blizzard.

Hawks Skate Past D7 Blizzard, 8-3

NOVEMBER 8, 2003 - The D7 squad's two-game win streak was broken by the Hawks Saturday night. The Blizz were even with the former Slashers well into the second period after Mike Richitelli tied the game at 1-1 on an assist by Jeff Goldberg while Jason Colon's inspired play prompted angry comments from the frustrated Hawks. Yet in the second period, several Hawk players loitered so long near the Blizzard goal that the NYPD finally came by to move them along, but unfortunately not before the Hawks came up with a a flurry of goals that pushed them ahead 5-1. Three more goals in the third failed to diminish the spirit of the Blizzard, however, and the team responded with two goals in less than one minute by Seth Bloom and Jeff Goldberg. Mike Mills helped out with an assist on Goldberg's score.

While the Blizz came up short, the team played with intensity until the final minute, as evidenced by Ben Amar's spirited response to a penalty call by the referees, which earned him an early trip to the showers for politely suggesting that perhaps it was time for the ref to invest in a pair of spectacles. Although Amar offered the name of his own optometrist, the ref instead recommended that Ben go find the rest of his equipment.

D7 Blizzard Take Second Straight in 3-1 Win Over Tsunami

NOVEMBER 1, 2003 - The D7 Blizzard notched their second win in a row against Tsunami on Saturday night. "Rookie" Matt Logan led the team in scoring with two goals, one of which came on an nice assist from Laura Ward. After surviving 12 minutes of Blizzard penalties in a chippy second period, the Blizzard were up 2-1 in the third, thanks in no small part to the acrobatic goaltending of newcomer Jason Colon. It was then that Allan Roopchand came up with the play of the game and sealed a Blizzard victory with an unassisted breakaway goal, beating the Tsunami netminder and two defenders during a Blizzard line change. To their credit, Tsunami fought the Blizz to the end, but Colon's netminding and some tight "D" from Luc Feldman, Walt Kulakowski, Mike Mills, and Nicole Kinnan kept the Blizz ahead. In all, it was a well-played game and a nice win for the Blizz.