ANN ARBOR– Ashley’s Hopslam defeated defending champion St. Anky’s Beer 5-0 Tuesday night to capture its first championship since joining the league. For many of the players like forward Scott Coates, it’s their first cup since 2006, when the team (in its previous iteration as Ruination) won the Tier II championship.
Hopslam wins its first championship
“I’m not sure if I should engrave the trophy with the name Hopslam or Ruination,” quipped league director Abe Colwell, referring to several Ruination players who joined Hopslam this season.
The score did not reflect the tension in the rink. Several players arrived late, delayed by summer storms knocking out power lines. In addition, the equipment manager failed to bring pucks for warm-ups for the second game in a row, prompting Coates to openly question GM Mark Woods’ ability to run the team.
“It’s not easy,” admitted Woods. “I’m barely keeping the ship above water.”
“And that’s only because it’s on ice,” suggested forward Andrew Thompson, who had a goal in the win.
However, doubts over the administration were quickly quieted when Matt Schaefer (2 goals, assist) took the cross-ice pass from Shawn Lopez (assist) and beat St. Anky goaltender David Aguilar five-hole for a shorthanded goal. “That changed the momentum,” said defenseman Steve Gorham.
In fact, it was Gorham’s steal and backhand shot for the fourth goal that eliminated all doubt mid-way through the third period. “That was a big goal,” said netminder Ricky Winowiecki, who earned a shut-out and a gaudy 1.00 GAA for the playoffs. “Had he failed to score and they went on to score four goals, we would have lost.”
Sean McGrath added the exclamation point with the team’s fifth goal (Lobert, Meden assist) with under two minutes to play, fulfilling his prophetic claim that Hopslam would score five goals in the decisive win.
To celebrate, the team enjoyed an evening at Ashley’s, despite a bellicose Coates, who attempted to enter with an expired license. “That (bleep) hole won’t let me in!” exclaimed Coates, in regard to the door man/bouncer. However, a quick conversation between the GM and Ashley’s pub manager smoothed the situation, and Coates was allowed to sit with the team, ogle tattooed waitresses, turn his nose at delicious curry chicken fries, and swipe forward Chris Sutton’s tip to use to pay his own tab.