Ed’s going to finish out the playoffs with us, and said he’d be around for spot starts if needed. The Kings want to thank Ed for the years backstopping us, and we wish Ed the best of luck in his future, hoping he won’t be a stranger to the rink.

The Kings ended a disappointing summer season on a high note, with a strong team game to win over Check Republic 5-3. The Kings got on the board early, after a few good chances narrowly missed, Pete connected with John on the doorstep, who got his own rebound past the goalie. The Kings cashed in on a 5 on 3 power play with a goal from Bryan from the right point for a 2-0 lead; the lead wouldn’t hold and Check Republic scored two times before the period ended to tie the game. Early in the 2nd Greg and Paul got behind the D, but Paul got robbed by the goaltender who flashed a pad to kick out Paul’s onetimer on the right crease. Paul got it back later in the same shift to take the lead again. John got the eventual gamewinner early in the third when he got behind the defense again and went stick-side, and Bermy got into the scoring with a nice feed from Jeff high in the left faceoff circle, where he wound up and fired stick side again. Check Republic got another goal with half a second left in the game on a power play to close out the scoring. The Kings had some running around going on in their own end, but fortunately not too many great chances came of it, and Ed was up to the task on more than a few occasions. It was a good win; we rematch with Check Republic next week for the play-in game.

The playoff schedule is up on the NESHL website. We play Tuesday Sept 7th at 9:00pm in Dedham for the play-in vs. Check Republic. If we win, we make it to the double-elimination round starting Sept. 13th vs. the Maple Leafs.

Please be aware the gametime and location for tomorrow’s game has changed to 10:10pm in Dedham. Still playing Check Republic. Burger says he’s out; let me know if anyone else can’t make it.

The Kings lost the last two games by a combined score of 19-5. A grand total of 15 skaters over two games couldn’t hold off Eastcoast Bulldogs or the Pirates. Last week’s game, a 10-4 loss, was competitive for the first half, with the Kings battling back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie, but the Bulldogs scored 4 times in about 4 minutes to run away with the win. In last night’s game the Kings kept it close for the first part of the first period, but couldn’t keep up with a deeper bench for the Pirates. Despite the cheap shots and cheap showmanship by the Pirates, the Kings had some good passing going on for a lot of the game, and Jeff broke the shutout on a power play goal that went tic-tac-toe around the crease from John and Paul. Jeff almost had another one in the waning seconds as the Pirates goalie went sprawling to his left, only to reach back across the crease with his paddle and stop Jeff’s shot on the empty net.

Thanks again to the guys who turned out for the games. See you in two weeks.

Had a great ride this past weekend in the 2010 Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. I covered 186 miles in about 10 hours, 40 minutes, climbed 5700 feet of hills (and hit a top speed of 40 mph down one of them), and met some great people along the way, including this guy:

Overall it was a tremendous weekend for a great cause. Thanks a lot to all you guys who donated; I appreciate your support, and I can’t help make this happen without it. With your help, we’re hoping to raise $31 million this year. If you or anyone you know wants to help support the cause, click on the PMC 2010 logo at right, and click on the ‘donate to my ride’ button to make a secure online donation with your credit card; You can also bring a check made out to ‘The Jimmy Fund’ to any upcoming game.

Stats from my bike computer:
Day One
Day Two

Thanks again for your support!

A short bench didn’t help the Kings, who started out strong but couldn’t keep up with Check Republic, falling 3-1. The Kings held their own for the first half of the game, but three quick scores by Check Republic in the 2nd gave them all they’d need and the Kings played most of the rest of the game in their own end. Ed was sharp once again, turning aside some good shots and doing his best to keep it close, but the Kings couldn’t muster much offense through the game. Alan broke the shutout bid with just under 2 minutes left in the game, roofing a pass from Josh in the low slot.

The Kings survived a tough test against the Chowderheads Tuesday night, winning 5-4 in a tight match. Despite getting out to an early lead, eventually extending it to 4-1 at one point, the Chowderheads always seemed just a couple of quick strikes away, and managed to get the game within 1 twice. The Kings scored first, potting a goal after Paul picked up a loose puck off an offensive faceoff and got it over to John on the doorstep. The Chowderheads tied it up but Alan came back and roofed a top corner shot from the left circle that the opposition seemed to think didn’t go in. John and Paul struck again, with John chipping a rebound over the goalie’s shoulder, and Bob blasted a shot from the left point low stick side to push out the lead. However the Chowderheads battled back, including scoring on a 6-4 power play to get within one. Jeff got the eventual gamewinner, an empty netter after Pete muscled the puck up ice. The Chowderheads scored once more with 6 seconds left but the Kings were able to get the puck deep off the faceoff to seal the win.