| Bandits eke out overtime goal to end season for Nordiques 1-0 |
March 19, Stamford, CT: It could not have been any closer. The game went like this:
First period: No score
Second period: No score
Third period: No score
First sudden-death overtime period: No score
Second sudden-death overtime period: No score
Third sudden-death overtime period: With 30 seconds left to go, Puck Bandits knock a rebound against the post and it dribbles in, to end the Nordiques Winter 2008 season.
The Puck Bandits had, as is their sleazy practice, brought down a few of their Tier 4 players to supplement their roster for this key playoff game, but the Nordiques rose to the challenge and battled them head to head, even killing off a 2-minute 2-man down penalty.
It was a rousing, exciting game that went down to the wire. Captain Paul Modugno fittingly summarized the season: "I could not be any prouder of you guys."
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| Nordiques edged 5-4 via sudden death in finals playoff game #1 |
March 17, Stamford, CT: The Nordiques answered the Puck Bandits goal-for-goal in a closely fought match for the first game of the Winter 2008 playoff finals; however, the Puck Bandits caught a rebound in the sudden-death overtime period to take the game 5-4.
The Nordiques were hampered by a string of unnecessary penalties, which cost them 2 power play goals by the Bandits.
George Comesana-Vila broke his dry streak by scoring 2 goals during the game. He commented afterwards: "À bon vin, point d’enseigne." C'est vrai!
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| Nordiques cudgel Norsemen 8-1, advance to finals |
March 13, Stamford, CT: The Nordiques completely dominated the Norsemen in a stellar Winter 2008 semifinal game, scoring 7 unanswered goals in periods 2 and 3. The Norsemen, handicapped with a short bench, were beaten to almost every puck and lost heart by the 3rd period.
The Nordique goals were of every type: A breakaway, a perfect tic-tac-toe, a scrimmage in front of the net, a slapshot, and yes, even a "junk" goal. All lines contributed to the goals in a picture-perfect game by the Nordiques.
With the win, the Nordiques advance to the finals to face off against perennial rivals the Puck Bandits, in a best of 3 series that starts Monday night.
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March 8, Stamford, CT: (No game report available.)
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March 6, Stamford, CT: (No game report available.)
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| Lightspeed 5, Nordiques 0 |
March 1, Stamford, CT: (No game report available.)
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| Nordiques spank Thrashers 8-2 |
February 17, Stamford, CT: Kevin Unger had a career-high 4 goals as the Nordiques defeated the Thrashers 8-2 on Sunday night.
Kudos go to George Comesana, who filled in as goalie for the first 5 minutes, then had to change costumes on the bench for his regular spot.
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| Norsemen down Nordiques 8-2 |
February 4, Stamford, CT: (No game report available.)
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| Nordiques tie Puck Bandits 3-3 but lose shootout |
January 23, Stamford, CT: The Nordiques vied with the Puck Bandits in a hard-fought match Wednesday night, but were clearly ragged from the two-week layoff, with a number of missed passes, fanned shots, and falls on the ice. Nevertheless, the Nords pulled ahead 2-0 in the first two periods, and were holding on to the edge until a 4-minute, 2-man down situation allowed the Puck Bandits to put three quick goals in the net.
Then came a true Nordiques moment. With 1:03 to play, the Nordiques pulled the goaltender, bottled up the puck in the Bandits' zone, and scored with 23 seconds left to even the game.
Unfortunately, the Nordiques were edged in the shootout, leading to an overtime loss, but still the moral victory was theirs.
Goalie Peter Fischbach played an absolutely stellar game, keeping the Nordiques alive against an extremely tough Puck Bandits offense. When asked for a comment after the game, Peter stated: "Au royaume des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois."
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| Nordiques repeat shutout of Renegades |
January 6, Stamford, CT: The Nordiques again shut out the Renegades in a taut 1-0 game Sunday night at Twin Rinks. The Renegades fought well, but could not penetrate the fierce forechecking of the Nordiques, and the Renegades were also hampered by a string of penalties in the 3rd period.
The game was also notable for the return of George Comesana to the Nordiques, after a long absence.
The Nordiques goal was scored by Matt Buecker, who commented after the game: "À la Sante-Luce, les jours croissent du saut d’une puce." Mais oui!
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| Mad Dogs nip Nordiques 3-2 |
December 14, Stamford, CT: In an invert of a previous game, the Nordiques held a two-goal lead 2-0 for most of the first and second perions; but then, the Mad Dogs roared back at the end of the 3rd period, scoring two shorthanded goals, to defeat the Nordiques 3-2. If was a disheartening defeat for the Nords. Paul Modugno commented, "I was proud of the boys for the effort they put in, but unfortunately our D was outmatched when their lower tier players decided to step it up a notch."
The next matchup of the winter season is January 6, against the Renegades. Happy New Year everyone!
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| Nordiques salve Stingers 5-2 |
December 3, Stamford, CT: Despite a pre-game contretemps regarding the roster, the Nordiques took the ice to defeat the Sting 5-2, with substitute goaltender Billy Tenca in net.
Note: This was Bill Farrell’s last game of this season as the PGA pro returns south to Florida for his winter training.
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| Nordiques stun Lightspeed in last-minute comeback |
November 29, Stamford, CT: What a come back! It was hailed as one of the top 5 Nordique efforts of all time. With Billy Tenca in net, the Nords were down 1-3 with two minutes left in the game. It seemed impossible to come back, but the Nordiques dug deep and scored three goals in the span of two minutes, to notch a 4-3 victory!
Paul Modugno commenting on the game, exclaimed: "À cœur vaillant rien d’impossible!" How true!
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| Nordiques defeat Thrashers 4-1 |
November 10, Stamford, CT: With substitute goalie Peter from Westchester BMW again in net, the Nordiques outplayed the Thrashers 4-1. Billy Tenca, in goal for the Thrashers, kept them in the game as 3/4 of it was played in their defensive zone.
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| Nordiques freeze Norsemen 5-2 |
November 1, Stamford, CT: With substitute goalie Peter from Westchester BMW between the pipes, the Nordiques skated a tight passing game, outplaying the Norsement 5-2. The Nords ran into some trouble in the 2nd period when the Norsement adopted a "swarm the net" strategy, but recovered their poise and backchecking skills to mostly dominate the 3rd period.
Paul Modugno, commenting on the game, observed: "Qui aime bien, châtie bien."
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| Puck Bandits filch game from Nordiques 6-4 |
October 26, Stamford, CT: The Nordiques, playing with NO goaltender for first period, ultimately could not hold off the Puck Bandits in an unconventional game Sunday night.
Regular goaltender John "Rock" Nawrocki was not available for this game, and neither were our usual substitute goaltenders. Paul Modugno spent four days trying to find the Nordiques a goalie, but ultimately had to ask Rich Gioia to dust off his goaltender pads. Then, at the 11th hour, with Ron Kim’s permission, we were able to use goalie Peter who works with Rich Bruno at Westchester BMW. However....he was coming from Queens NY. With the combination of bad weather and never having been to Twin Rinks before, he missed all the first period, even after numerous phone calls trying to guide him to the rink. (He was so lost that he was up in the back roads of New Canaan -- a fate worse than playing the Puck Bandits, certainly.) Luckily, Rich Gioia had his goalie equipment in his car, and as the game was about to start he was sent him off the ice to get his gear, on otherwise the refs were going to require the Nordiques to forfeit the game after 7 minutes. Well, as we all know, goalie gear is not easy to get on, especially when one is rusty -- and it took Mr. Gioia 14 and a half minutes to appear on the ice. In other words, the Nords played the whole 1st period without a goalie. The Puck Bandits were rubbing their thieving hands together in glee....however, they were held to some tough D. They finally got a goal halfway into the 1st period. They screamed for joy, but the Nordiques came screaming back to tie the score with a shot from the point that managed to find its way through. So at the end of the 1st period it was 1-2 with the Bandits in the lead.
At this point, Rich Gioia put in a good 10 minutes between the pipes, giving up just one goal. Finally our substitute goalie made his way out of New Canaan and onto the ice, forcing Gioia to switch his gear out for the third time that night. (He spent more time during the game in the locker room than on the ice.) The Nords built a 4-2 lead going into the third but could not hold on. Paul, Cookie, Bill, and Ich scored for the Nords. When Ich scored he was so excited that the ref came over to the bench to ask me if we wanted the puck for Ichiro's first goal. We declined, as Ich has scored plenty of times for us in the past.
Oh, and did we mention that the clock was running all night because there was no scorekeeper?
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| Nordiques calm Renegades 3-0 |
October 14, Stamford, CT: The Nordiques, playing with substitute goaltender Jason from the Norsemen, defeated the Renegades 3-0 Sunday night. The Renegades, a newly formed team from the clinic, definitely have some good players but lacked cohesion as a team, leading to a number of missed opportunities, and their inexperience with league conventions led to unnecessary physical contact -- although it must be said that the Nordiques too took their share of completely unnecessary penalties throughout the game. Ron Kim, playing as a courtesy for the Renegades against his usual teammates, thwarted a number of Nordique attempts and helped keep the scoring down.
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| Nordiques rob Puck Bandits 5-4 |
October 3, Stamford, CT: The scoring was a near-repeat of the first game of the season, in reverse: The Puck Bandits kept scoring, the Nordiques kept evening the score. At the end of the night, however, the Nordiques edged forward 5-4 and that's how it ended, despite a desperate empty-net end game battle by the Bandits.
The Nords picked up steam in the game, practically dominating the 3rd period, and only letting the Bandits score on a power play. Goalie John "Rock" Nawrocki commented on the game thusly: "L'allouette en main vaut mieiux que l'oie que vole."
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| Mad Dogs edge Nordiques in opener |
September 23, Stamford, CT: The Nordiques kept scoring, and the Mad Dogs kept evening the score, for 2 and 1/2 periods at the Nordiques Winter 2008 season opening game on Sunday night. At the end of the night, however, the Mad Dogs edged forward 8-7 and that's how it ended.
All agreed it was a fun game, and clean, with a trivial number of penalties. Goalie John "Rock" Nawrocki, laconic as usual, commented, "A brebis comptée, le loup en mange."
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