Bill Brooks wins SJBHL Winter '08 season!

[JG]

Hi everyone:

Let me dispense with some basics:

1) My name is John Gaffney and I run the South Jersey Bubble Hockey League (S.J.B.H.L.) in Burlington, NJ, just off exit #47 of I-295, or exit #5 of the NJ Turnpike. My website is [glow=red,2,300]www.njbubblehockey.org [/glow]- you can check out league info there at any time.

2) We've got a great group of guys - there are 48 names on my email distribution list, and over half of the guys have played in the league at one time or another (the league has been around since 2004). We are always open to new members. We've got players in the league from NJ, PA, and even occasionally NY!

3) I own 3 Super Chexx bubble hockey tables, and the league is run from my basement - it is a fairly large basement and can hold 16-20 players comfortably at any time. League night participation can vary - sometimes as few as 4-5 players, but other times up to 11 or 12 at a time - and players should expect to play between 9-15 games on any given night. We also may do rotating pick-up doubles in addition to the singles play.

4) Stats are kept all season (Jan-March - see below for league dates), and we hold a season-ending playoff tournament at the end of the season for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies.

5) Game play is often very competitive (we've got 4 players who were Bud Light Bubble Boy Finalists in Anaheim in 2003, and several other tournament tested players, too), but the name of the game is fun - we enjoy playing, beer drinking is encouraged, and good natured trash talking and b.s.ing are the norm.

All game play will be on Thursday nights - that was the one day that worked for everyone who responded to my request for league days. We're going to start up in a few weeks - here are the proposed league dates for the S.J.B.H.L. winter 2008 season:

[glow=red,2,300]***Jan 17th, Jan 24, Jan 31, Feb 7, Feb 21, Feb 28, March 13, March 20, March 27, April 3rd (season-ending playoff tournament).[/glow]
Hope to see you all out for the league this time around. We start up in 3 weeks - Thursday Jan 17th. Last season's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers will get their trophies at that time. If interested in joining reply to this post or contact me directly at: [e-mail].

As the great Sully often says...Bubble on! And "Chairs FooCares!"

[JG]

The SJBHL winter '08 season kicks off next Thursday Jan 17th. We're looking at possible double digit turnout each night, which we've never had before. Look for updates posted here on Chexxfan or on www.njbubblehockey.org. Defending champ Scott Storck is back, as is 2x champ Bill Brooks. Several new faces, too. Should be a great season...more to come...

[JG]

The weather did not cooperate and a few guys had to drop out at the last minute on week #1 of the SJBHL winter '08 season, but we had 7 show and everyone played each other 2x for 12 games played (except Larry and I - somehow we only played 1 time as I juggled the bracket last minute. We'll make it up next week). We would have had 12 players were it not for weather, so next week should be at least 12-13, which will be sweet. Here's a brief run-down from week #1:

Bill Brooks - 12-0 - back and strong as ever, though he had a few 1 goal and O/T wins. Still, he's awfully tough when he is on his game...

me (John) - 8-3 - somehow missed a game with Larry. 2 tough losses to Bill, and a loss to Brian. Otherwise, no complaints on my play in week #1...

Dan - 7-5 - real strong. 2 losses each to me and Bill but took care of business all night long, including an 8-1 mauling of Brian and a 9-1 devastation of Jimmy B (the elder)! Yikes.

Brian - 6-6 - not shabby, though I'm sure he is disappointed with some up and down play all night (good wins followed by big losses), as he was the #3 man in the league last year.

Jimmy B (the elder) - 4-8 - battled back and neck trouble all evening (I suggested Old Chub - did he listen? No - and he was in pain all night as a result - a Chub NEVER hurts!).

Jimmy B (the younger) - 4-8 - Jim's young son came out for his first ever league night and came out with 4 wins, including one over his old man and a convincing win over Dan. Not so good for us old guys when the kid steps in and starts racking up "W's"...

Larry - 0-11 - Larry did lose a tough 3-2 game to Dan, and he did accomplish goal #1 for him each league night - score more goals than games played (16 goals in 11 games played). He did discover his r-dman slapshot at the end of the night and beat Dan in an after hours scrimmage, and teamed with me to beat Dan and Bill in several double games, so maybe good things are on the horizon...

[glow=red,2,300]Next league night is next Thursday Jan. 24th - 7:00pm start[/glow]. See you all then.

PS - bubble is alive and well down here in South Jersey. I've taken some flack on this board in the past for my "basement" league, but I own 3 top notch Chexx tables and as far as I know run the only organized and competitive league ANYWHERE! I'll even likely hold an "invitational" tournament sometime in March or early April '08, likely with 4 tables. Hopefully more info to follow. Or check out my website - [glow=red,2,300]www.njbubblehockey.org[/glow] for all the latest info. Bubble On, FooCares!!!

[JG]

Hello all:

Week #2 of the Winter '08 S.J.B.H.L. season saw 9 players come out, including a first timer. Everyone played everyone else 2x/each for 16 games played in the night. Here's a brief synopsis of the game play:

me (John G.) - 15-2 on the night (had to play Larry 3 x to make up for a missed game last week). Only losses were to Bill and Scott, but wins over Bill and Scott, too, so a very good night for me. I gave up the 2nd fewest goals on the night (39 in 17 games), and defense is never my strong suit, so all in all one of my best nights in a while...

Scott and Bill - 14-2 each, with splits with each other. Scott scored the most goals in the night by far (112, including a ridiculous 17 in a game against Glenn!), and Bill gave up the fewest total goals on the night (only 30 in 16 games, with 2 shutouts and 5 1-goal games - incredible 'D"), so these guys were getting it done on both ends of the rink. They'll be damnn near impossible to stop when at the top of their games...

John L. (as in Ludden, for those of you who remember Larry Ludden - he's Larry's younger brother!) - a very impressive 8-8 on the night in his first league appearance, and the only other non sub-.500 record for the night. He played very well most of the night, and should be a player to be reckoned with on future league nights.

Brian - 7-9 for B-Dawg, but that included 4 1-goal losses and some tough luck (that's the perils of the bubble).

Chris (aka - "Monkey") - 6-10 for MeUnKey in his return to the dome. Very good considering he hasn't played any bubble since week #1 of the Summer 2007 league season back in August '07. The Monkey Shot was in gear most of the night, but Monkey's swiss cheese defense allowed the 2nd most goals on the night, costing him some "W's." However, it looks like Monkey may be back in the fold, and his game will only improve...

Dan - 5-11. Dan's "reckless-aDandon" style of play (Brian's quote, and a good one!) did not serve him well in week #2 - he scored the 3rd fewest goals on the night, and allowed 4 per game on "D" - perhaps an "Old Chub" or 2 (or 3, or 4, or...) might straighten him out...

Larry - 3-14, but his best showing in the league to date. 3 quality wins (Glenn, John L., and Dan) and a couple close losses. His right d-man slapshot found it's range a few times, and his overall defense has improved each league night.

Glenn - 1-15, with a solid win over Larry 5-3 and tough O/T losses to John L., Monkey, and Larry. Glenn did pump in 44 goals on the night, his best offensive showing since joining the league, and that against some pretty fierce competition. Glenn and I also ran the tables in a mini doubles tourney at the end of the night.

[glow=red,2,300]The next league night is this coming Thursday January 31st, 7:00-7:30pm start time.[/glow] We seemed poised for a double digit turnout for sure! Hope to see you all at the "IceHouse" in Burlington, NJ, this coming Thursday! Email me or call my cell # to confirm attendance for 1/31/08, that way I can have player brackets ready to go. CHEERS!

[JG]

Here is the lowdown from week #3 of the SJBHL:

- we had 7 players, who all played each other 3x for a total of 18 games played (the most ever in 1 league night);
- John (me) and Bill ended up 16-2 each on the night, but I actually won the head-to-head battle 2 games to 1, with both of my wins by 1 goal in O/T and Bill clobbering me in the other game 8-4. We both played real well on the night;
- Brian - back on track at 11-7, with a convincing win over me and a couple good games with Bill - he took care of business all night;
- Dan - also back on track with a 9-9 mark, as his "reckless adandon" style scored goals in florishes at time;
- Marc - 1st time out for the league but he turned in a not too shabby 5-13 record, with a bunch of O/T losses in there. Not bad at all...
- Glenn and Larry - 3-15 each, with Glenn beating Larry head-to-head 2 games to 1. Both played real well all night, with Larry equalling his career high in wins on a night and Glenn getting his career high! Both are coming around on the offensive side of the table, so things could get interesting later in the year...

Hope to see some more players out Feb 7th - email or call me to confirm attendance so I can set the player brackets. Cheers all!

***Look for the SJBHL power rankings coming soon (games played, w/l record, and winning % all factor in...) - the power rankings detemine seeding for the playoffs!

[JG]

Though there were lots of good story lines from week #4 (02/07/08) of the South Jersey Bubble Hockey League, one tops them all...

[glow=red,2,300]Larry Jefford over Scott Storck 6-5!!!
Larry Jefford over Scott Storck 6-5!!!
Larry Jefford over Scott Storck 6-5!!![/glow]

That is NOT a misprint! For those of you who haven't come out because you think "I can't beat some of those guys, so why bother?" look what Larry did! Larry has only started playing bubble hockey in the last 6 months or so, but he beat one of the best players in the country! So come on out, you guys - Larry is waiting...

We had 7 players total come out for week #4. Everyone played everyone else 2x for a total of 12 games played, and we snuck in some doubles later in the evening too (and Larry was the man again in doubles!). Here's a rundown on the league play:

Scott - 10-2 - lost to me in a 6-5 O/T game, and he lost one other game on the night...can't seem to think who beat him...who could it have been...wait - I remember:

[glow=red,2,300]Larry Jefford over Scott Storck 6-5!!![/glow]

Of course Scott took it out on the rest of us, posting 5 shutouts in 12 games (the rest of us only combined for 1 shutout). He swept Bill for the best overall record on the night.

Bill - 10-2 - his only losses were to Scott, and he wasn't even really tested in his other games. He even pilfered the way I do my right d-man slapshot, and pumped in 7 goals from that player on me in one game alone! As if he needed to get better - oh well, he just did!

John (me) - 7-5 - in an up and down evening. Beat Scott 1x, swept Brian, Jimmy, and Larry, but got swept by Bill and Dan (4-3 each time in O/T - ouch!) and crushed 10-0 by Scott. No consistency all night.

Dan - 6-6 - after verbally abusing himself for opening up with 3 straight losses, "Reckless-A-Dandon" turned it around and finished up 6-3. He still can't seem to figure out Scott or Bill (or Jimmy), but he lumped up the rest of us.

Jimmy - 5-7 - odd evening for JB, convincing wins but sound losses (only 1 O/T game all night). He had Dan's #, though, and he is always a threat for a "w" in any game...

Brian - 3-9 - what had happened to B-Dawg?1? He only scored 34 goals in 12 games, and his usual stingy defense didn't hold up. Still, he is a league front-runner and has proven he can beat anyone at any time - just an off night I suppose...

Larry - only 1-11 for the night, but did I mention:

[glow=red,2,300]Larry Jefford over Scott Storck 6-5!!![/glow]

***Just a reminder - NO LEAGUE NIGHT THIS COMING THURSDAY 02/14/07 (VALENTINE'S DAY).

Our next league night is Thursday 02/21/08, 7:00pm - see you all there. Email to confirm attendance - [e-mail]. JG.

[JG]

On 02/21/08 we had 9 guys (so close to double digit!!!) out for week #5 of the South Jersey Bubble HockeyL eague (SJBHL), and everyone played everyone else 2x for 16 games played on the night:

Bill - 16-0 - in dominating fashion, Bill went undefeated and was really only tested 1x, an early O/T win over Brian 5-4. Other than that, he was in complete control, giving up only 35 goals in 16 games!?! Unheard of good d-fense out of Mr. Brooks. He is in first place in the league right now and looking very tough indeed...

John (me) - 12-4 - swept by Bill, split with Dan and Brian. Scored alot at times, totally shut down at times. Scored a bunch (100 goals in 16 games) but gave up goals, too (Bill, Marc, Brian, and Dan all gave up fewer on the night). Facts are facts - guys are flat out getting better. My game will need to kick up a notch if I expect to advance come playoff time...

Brian - 10-6 - nice night by Brian, scored 71 and only gave up 51, beat me easily one game and was the only guy to take Bill into O/T. He held onto 3rd in the overall league rankings (see below).

Marc - 10-6 - real nice night from Mr. Krasner. He hasn't solved me or Bill yet, but he went 10-2 against everyone else and it is only a matter of time before he breaks through with some big wins (please be against Bill or Scott, please be against Bill or Scott, please be against Bill or Scott...). He plays solid D most games and controls pace of play.

Dan - 9-7 - more good play from Dan. Lumped me up 1x and lost a close 6-4 game to Bill, and his always solid D-fense gave up the 2nd fewest goals on the night (50 in 16 games). 4 O/T losses kept his record near .500 but it could have been much better...

Larry - 7-9 - Larry's no fluke! 7 solid wins on the night, including wins over Dan and Marc. His O and D are both improving every game, and his r-dman slapshot is getting very good!

Glenn - 4-12 - Glenn broke through with his most wins on a league night, including big wins over Dan and Joe. Like Larry, Glenn's O and D are both improving every game, too, and he throws a bunch of different shots and angles at an opponent. With a little more game play...

Joe T. - 4-12 in his league debut. Joe came in not expecting to do too well but he came up with 4 wins, including a nice 3-1 over Larry. In addition, this guy is a PHENOMENAL model painter! He brought a sample of his work painting bubble hockey players, and they were out of this world! Even had embroidered player #'s on the back of the players! Sweet! If anyone needs that type of work done, let me know and I'll forward his email address.

Adam - 0-16 - Adam is a friend of Bill's who came to hang out for the night and play some bubble. Good guy, had a couple of tough O/T losses, drank some beers - hey, it's a night out of the house!

Here are the updated league power rankings after Week #5, factoring in total wins, winning %, and appearance points:

Bill - 3 (1st in all categories - #1 in wins, #1 in winning %, tied 1st in appearances)
John G. - 6 (2,3, and 1)
Brian - 8 (3,4, and 1)
Dan - 11 (4,6, and 1)
Scott - 14 (5,2,and 7)
Larry and Marc - 20 (Larry - 7,12, and 1) (Marc - 6,7, and 7)
Jimmy and John L. 23 (Jimmy - 8,8, and 7) (John L. - 9,4, and 10)
Glenn - 28 (9,13, and 6)
Monkey - 29 (11,8, and 10)
Jimmy's son Jimmy - 32 (12,10, and 10)
Joe - 33 (12,11, and 10)
Adam - 38 (14, 14, and 10)

[glow=red,2,300]The next league night is this coming Thursday February 28th, 2008 - start time between 7:00-7:30pm. See you then![/glow] John.

[JG]

Cheers all:

First, a reminder - NO BUBBLE HOCKEY THIS COMING THURSDAY MARCH 6TH! Our next league nights are as follows (all Thursdays):

- March 13th, March 20th, and March 27th, with the season ending playoff tournament April 3rd. Start time is approx. 7:00pm each night.
Now, here is what happened in week #6. We had 7 players, and everyone played each other 2x for 12 games played for each player:

[glow=red,2,300]John (me) - 10-2[/glow], splitting with both Bill and Scott and getting the 2-0 against everyone else. The Old Chub was flowing, and my liver was groaning, but I can't argue with the results.

[glow=red,2,300]Scott - also 10-2[/glow] on the night, with a split with me and Bill. He played maybe one of the most amazing games I've seen in a long time against Dan - Scott won 3-2, but outshot Dan 31-4 in the game?!? Scott kept shooting, Dan kept making saves, and the puck kept coming back to Scott - the game was deep in O/T before Scott closed the deal. The rest of us just stood and watched for about the last 2 minutes in the O/T - craziness!

[glow=red,2,300]Dan - 8-4[/glow], swept my me and Scott, but Dan pulled off an even more amazing feat that his 3-2 loss against Scott - [glow=red,2,300]he swept Bill Brooks 2 games to 0![/glow] Both were solid wins, nothing flukey (4-2 and 5-3). Dan had never beated Bill before in dozens of games played over the years, yet pulled off the daily double last Thursday. Clearly his game is progressing exponetially. However, he discovered an affinity later in the night for the "O.P.P." ("old p*ssy pass") while goofing around after hours. We'll see how he manages to incorporate that play, the ultimate in slowdown tactics, with his usual "Reckless A-Dan-don."

[glow=red,2,300]Bill - also 8-4[/glow], with losses to me and Scott and the sweep by Dan. Shows how tough the league is getting when Bill Brooks has 4 losses on a night!

[glow=red,2,300]Jimmy - 3-9[/glow] - tough going for Jimmy B, but to be fair he hasn't played but a handful of bubble hockey games this league season, and the going was pretty tough last Thursday. His usual stingy "D" took some lumps, but he is still in the top half of the league standings.

[glow=red,2,300]Joe - 2-10[/glow] - not too shabby for a guy just getting into playing some serious bubble hockey, especially considering who the opponents were Thursday. He had decent wins over both Jimmy and Larry.

[glow=red,2,300]Larry - 1-11[/glow] - Larry's bubble burst last Thursday, as he could not get any offense going - he scored 3 or fewer goals in 10 of 12 games, not a way to pile up "W's." But he fooled around with some technique changes after hours, so next league night he too may have some new tricks up his sleeve.

I'll update the league power rankings after next week. See you all March 13th. Send an email or call my cell to confirm attendance. There is still time to qualify for the playoffs April 3rd!!!

[JG]

I try not to include myself in the headlines, but there was no way around it this time:

[glow=red,2,300]Glenn Curtis over John Gaffney, Glenn Curtis over John Gaffney, Glenn Curtis over John Gaffney 6-5!!![/glow]

Yep, Glenn got me fair and square in our 3rd game of the night - 6-5. He played great the whole game, including hitting a right d-man slapshot for the goal to send the game into O/T, then we each made several key stops on each other before the "perils of the bubble" got me as I hit the puck into my own net on a scramble play, giving Glenn the win. Great job by Glenn. I even forcasted my own doom and the win for Glenn when he scored his first goal about 2 ticks into the game, and I said "I have a bad feeling about this game.." Glenn and I went to O/T the game before that, so we battled all night.

Here's the rundown. 6 players, played each other 3 times each for 15 games played:

Scott - 12-3 - 2 losses to Bill, 1 to me, swept everyone else. Solid as always all night.

John - 12-3 - 2 losses to Scott and another loss to:

[glow=red,2,300]Glenn Curtis over John Gaffney 6-5!!! [/glow]

I played real well the rest of night, sweeping Bill, Larry and Dan 3-0 each and giving Scott 2 good games in my losses. No complaints at all, and Glenn flat out deserved to win.

Bill - 10-5 - 2 wins over Scott, but a loss to Dan and 3 to me dropped him down to 5 losses. He still is in first place overall in the league standings.

Dan - 6-9 - up and down night for the "ADandon"

Larry - 3-12 - 2 wins vs Glenn and a win over Dan. Larry's offense fizzled through the beginning games but he found his "o" later in the night, getting 2 of 3 wins in the last 5 games.

Glenn - 2-13 - solid win over Larry and the previously mentioned win over John...

Here's some photos of some past league action...











Can you tell who just figured out how to post pictures??

***Reminder - the next 2 league nights are Thursday March 20 and 27. The 20th we should have our biggest turnout of the year - me, Bill, Brian, Dan, Glenn, Jimmy, Joe, Marc, Larry, the return of Jason James, possibly Monkey, maybe even Adam and a guy I work with (another Bill)! See you all March 20th.

[JG]

Another real good night of bubblin' last Thursday night (03/20/08). A couple late cancels brought us down to 8 on the night. Everyone played each other 2x for 14 total games each:

Bill - 13-1, 93 goals scored and only 28 allowed - his usual dominating self. After a couple of subpar weeks (by his standards) he looks back on track.

John - 11-3 for the night, losses to Bill, Jimmy, and Dan. And WAY too many brewskis! Actually, no food, three (3) 12.5% Allagash Fours, and a 64 oz jug of homebrew made for quite the spectacle by me. Though standing and walking straight and speaking clearly and not spilling my beer were all quite the challenge for me, I managed to go 10-1 before my last 3 games, where I was 1-2. Perhaps I need to stick to having beers WHILE playing bubble, not BEFORE and WHILE playing bubble. And the headache the next day...

Brian - 9-5 - DJ Wheels was back in form. He had trouble with Bill and the drunk guy, but went 9-1 against everyone else. Gettin' his groove on just in time for playoffs...

Dan, Jimmy, and Marc - all were 6-8 for the night and had pretty similar stats. If anyone had the edge, Dan swept Jimmy and all the other matchups with those 3 were splits. All will be tough matchups come playoff time - it will be very interesting to see who the higher seeds pick to play against in the playoffs...

Larry - 4-10. Larry's offense came and went on him all night. In 6 games he only scored 1 goal each game, but in 7 others he scored 4 or more goals each game?!? Interesting. And he is mastering the "footie" as he calls it - look out for the footie (and the reverse footie!)!

Joe - 1-13. Tough going for Joe on the night. He did beat Dan, and had several tough O/T losses. His defense was up there with the best on the night, but he had troubles putting the biscuit in the basket. But he brought some mean soft pretzels and has a sweet website and wrote a cool article on the league- check it out if you get a chance:
[glow=red,2,300]http://freudianslipsincreativewriting.blogspot.com/2008/03/blog-post_22.html[/glow]Soon my website (www.njbubblehockey.org) will have a direct link to his site - coming soon...

The next league night is this Thursday, March 27th. It also is the last regular season league night, so let's try to get as many guys out as we can. The playoffs are scheduled the following Thursday April 3rd.

***Scott has requested that we change the playoff date to another day earlier in the week - Mon 3/31, Tues 4/1, or Wed 4/2. He can't make it Thurs 4/3. I have no issue with this as long as everyone of you guys who plans on making the playoffs agrees to another day of the week. Let me know, or we can discuss it this Thursday. Cheers!

[JG]

We had our last regular season league night in the South Jersey Bubble Hockey League (SJBHL) Thursday night March 27th. 9 players came out. For all the results check out [glow=red,2,300]www.njbubblehockey.org [/glow]for a recap of the action and the final regular season standings and playoff rankings.

The season ending playoff tournament will be this coming Thursday night, April 3rd, 2008, with a 7:00pm start time (if everyone can make it then - if anyone will be late let me know asap - thanks). As of right now I don't think Scott can make it - I had tried to move it to a different day of next week to get him here but there was no day that all of you could make it except Thurs, so it stays Thursday. That stinks for Scott, but it also opens up the playoffs significantly, as Scott would assuredly have won a trophy on the night. If Scott can make it, he is playoff eligible. Here are the seedings assuming everyone can make it out next Thursday:

#1 - Bill Brooks

#2 - John Gaffney

#3 - Dan Pettit

#4 - Scott Storck (head to head tiebreaker over Brian 4 games to 0)

#5 - Brian Nelson

#6 - Larry Jefford

#7 - Jim Bernard (head to head over Marc due to 1-1 record but +1 goal differential)

#8 - Marc Krasner

#9 - Joe Tornatore (head to head over Glenn 3-1)

#10 - Glenn Curtis

#11 - Adam

If Scott can't make it everyone moves up 1 spot but the order doesn't change.

Higher seeds get to choose their opponents in each round, just like last year - remember, though, that you can only pick an opponent 1x, and it will be triple elimination again, so choose wisely...

See you all next Thursday night, and as always thanks to everyone for being great guests in my house and treating my tables with care and respect - it is always my pleasure to have you guys over for some bubblin', and Lisa and I appreciate that all of you always make it a fun time and I appreciate that you guys treat the tables like your own. Thanks again - good luck Thursday (but not too much luck!). JG.

[JG]

The 2008 Winter edition of the South Jersey Bubble Hockey League (S.J.B.H.L.) held it's season ending playoff tournament Thursday night April 3rd, 2008. The format was a triple elimination event - 3 games series in both the winner's bracket and loser's bracket, and single games in the elimination bracket. Higher seeded players got the pick their opponents throughout the tournament, but you could only choose an opponent 1x (unless there were no other players left to pick from). Here's how it broke down - lot's of surprises and upsets throughout, but in the end the top dawgs were left standing:

In the winner's bracket (all best of 3 game series):

#7 seed Marc Krasner beat #10 Adam 2 games to 0 (5-0 and 7-0).
# 8 seed Joe Tornatore had a tremendous battle with #9 seed Glenn Curtis before Joe prevailed 2 games to 1 (1-2, 5-3, 5-2).

#1 seed Bill Brooks dispatched Joe in 2 games (6-1 and 7-2).
#2 seed John Gaffney had a surprisingly fierce war with #5 seed Larry Jefford before finishing off a 2 games to 1 series win (5-3, 4-5, and 8-4 in the clincher).
#3 seed Dan Pettit was beaten in 2 games by Marc in tight defensive clashes (2-1 and 3-2).
#6 seed Jim Bernard upset Brian Nelson in 2 games (5-2 and 6-2).

In the winner's semi-finals:

#1 seed Bill took out Marc 7-2 and 9-0 in 2 games.
#2 John struggled with #6 Jimmy before prevailing in 3 games (7-2, 5-6, and 9-1 in the 3rd game).

Bill then upended John in 3 games (3-5, 9-1 and 7-3) to advance to the winner's bracket final.

In the loser's bracket (all best of 3 game series):

Dan knocked down Adam in 2 games (11-3 and 6-0), and Brian beat up on Glenn in 2 straight (10-3 and 6-1). Brian then swept Larry (5-3 and 7-2) while Dan sent down Joe in 2 very tight games (6-3 and 4-3 deep into O/T). Jimmy continued his run of solid play by beating Dan in 3 great O/T games (5-6, 6-4, and 3-2 in the clincher). Brian also had a great series with Marc, winning in 2 tight O/T battles (4-3 and 5-3). Brian got a chance for revenge against Jimmy in the loser's semis and took advantage, winning 2 games to 1 in another all-out war (4-3, 6-7, and 5-4 - all games = O/T thrillers). John and Brian met in the loser's bracket finals, and John won out in 3 games (10-2, 3-4, and 7-3). John and Bill renewed acquaintances, but Bill won out again in 3 games (6-3, 1-4, and 7-3 in the clincher).

In the elimination bracket (single games):

Joe smoked Adam 11-4 and Glenn surprised Larry 3-1.
Dan ended Glenn's tournament with a 5-1 win, but Joe shocked higher seeded Marc 4-3.
Dan struggled with Joe before putting him away 5-3, ending rookie Joe's 1st SJBHL season.
Dan next advanced with an O/T slug-fest win over Jimmy (6-5).
But Brian ended Dan's run through the bracket with a serious 7-2 lumping.
John took out Brian 5-3 in the 3rd place game, leaving John and Bill once again matched-up in the finals:

Bill won out 2 games to 1 (can't remember the scores) to win the SJBHL 2008 Winter League Championship!! John took 2nd place, and Brian 3rd. Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who came out for the playoffs. The competition was exceptionally fierce all night long. Lots of upsets and close games throughout. As always I enjoyed myself and hope all you did too.

The next league season starts up in August 2008 - hope to see you all there, and as always new players (and old ones!) are always welcome. CHEERS! See some pictures below from the playoff tourney!

Joe vs Dan, Brian vs Jimmy in early game action!


Same players, different view, with Larry looking on...


JG and Brian battle late in the night with everyone looking on...


JG vs Bill Brooks for the 1st place cup!


The 2008 SJBHL winter league champs - JG 2nd, Bill Brooks 1st, and Brian Nelson 3rd place!!


The winners sip sweet Old Chub from the cups!!


Thanks again to everyone who came out, and here's to seeing the same faces and maybe some new ones in the Summer/Fall 2008 league season. BUBBLE ON!!!