Of the 14 LRMHC members invited, 12 have confirmed that they will be attending, while newcomers Zach Nastro and Brett Nicholas (Of MHS fame) have not yet responded. It should be noted that of those 12, Donald Applegate will be unable to participate, due to recent thumb surgery. However, he will take over most of the Head Officiating duties. Also, League Commissioner Bryan Feiler will be seeing limited action, due to complications regarding a dentist appointment earlier in the day.
When considering that the top two players in the LRMHC will be running on reserve for most of the tournament, it would appear that the odds-on favorite to win would be none other than Ryan King, who currently sits in the second place position. However, so as not to let this prediction get to his head, let's take a look at some of the other grizzled veterans and untested newcomers who will be playing on Tuesday.
Veterans
Tim McCann
(4-3, Third Place in Post Black-Friday Tournament)
Tim (I?) looks to improve upon his finish in the PBFT, especially with the two players who finished ahead of him, Feiler and Applegate, not in serious contention. He'll look to use the sizes of all his extremities to his advantage, and with one tournament under his belt, will be able to use that experience to propel himself to a strong finish in this Extravaganza.
Jon Zella
(3-2, DNF in Post Black-Friday Tournament)
Jon, who was unable to stay long enough to play through the playoffs at the PBFT, looks to make his presence known in this tournament. Quick off the draw and a staunch defender, Zella is sure to be in the running for the tournament championship.
Nikesh Patel
(3-3, Fourth Place in the Turkey Cup)
Patel, the VP of Foreign Affairs and one of the Original Four LRMHC members, looks to expand upon his promising rookie campaign with a strong showing on Tuesday. Though he is weak at handling pucks in the corners, he has proven to be a very streaky player, for better or for worse. How he fares in the upcoming tournament depends strongly upon which type of streak he is riding upon.
Sean Doherty
(1-6, Last Place in the Post Black-Friday Tournament)
Ginger, the only participant of the PBFT not to receive some type of congratulatory award, has to hope that he can turn things around this time. With a dismal 1-6 record, he has to take advantage of unexperienced opponents, since he has shown that he is not yet at the same level as those he squared off against in the PBFT.
Mike Poppito
(1-6, Fourth Place in the Post Black-Friday Tournament)
Poppito made great use of his size in all of his contests in the PBFT, but it wasn't enough to beat some of the faster, more skilled stickhandlers of the LRMHC. Nevertheless, with a new crop of rookies coming in, with most of them being considerably smaller than the man affably called "Papa", he can put himself in good position if he can capitalize on that advantage.
Rookies
Zach Nastro, Ryan McKenna, Ryan Fitzgerald, Christian Hart, Brett Nicholas, Rob Pappilo, and David Sanders will all be experiencing their first taste of LRMHC action this Tuesday. While most have some sort of Hockey background, it is uncertain how these talents will translate to the unforgiving wood and rug of the LRMHC. Expect good things from this crop of rookies.
That being said, anything can happen in the Living Room Mini-Hockey Conglomerate. We'll be back Tuesday night with the results and commentary from the Press Box at the Living Room. Feel free to put in your predictions in the comment section. But in the meantime,
Nice Gallons.
Tim
No comments:
Post a Comment