Jokers fall, 5-2

The Jokers of Doom took a somewhat short handed squad into Friday night’s tilt with Charleston Chiefs with 3 available subs. Through 2 periods the Jokers held their own and findings themselves down 1-0 entering the 3rd period. In the 3rd, the Chiefs would add two more goals to go up 3-0 before the Jokers fought back with goals from Kevin LaPrade and Devon Sylvester to pull within 3-2. Alas, the Chiefs would grab a 4th goal and later add an empty net tally to make the final score 5-2. They will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive on Thursday versus the 0-5 Crusaders.

Jokers Improve to 1-3 with 2-1 win

The Jokers of Doom had dropped their first 3 games of the season by scores of 2-1, 6-2, and 3-1. They were desperate for a win last night vs Big Fish and short on players with only a single bench player. The score was 0-0 after the first period but in the second period Mike Bradigo finally broke through with a shot from the defensive point. It was a bit of a change up but it found it’s way to pay dirt. Later in the second Chris Dickinson picked off a wayward clearing attempt and fed a nice pass down low to Kevin LaPrade who fired a quick wrist shot past the goalie. The second period would end 2-0. In the third, the tired Jokers were trying to hang on when a loose ball and scramble in front of the net produced a Big Fish goal. The score was now 2-1 and the opponent pulled the goalie and attacked the net but in the end it was not to be as Jokers goalie Fernando Gomez withstood the barrage and preserve the victory.

Notes: The shorthanded Jokers had a lineup of Ken Herren, Chris Dickinson, Jim Brunetti, and Kevin LaPrade for offense and Richie Orsini and Mike Bradigo on defense… the Jokers were out shot 30-19… Frank Melillo was eligibile to return from his 3 game suspension but was unavailable for the game… next game is Saturday July 8 at 1:00pm vs Springfield Chiefs

Doomsters Drop Season Opener, 2-1

The Jokers of Doom welcomed back a couple of teammates of the past in the season opener  as defenseman Pete Hughes, winger Ray Glowicki, and center Kevin LaPrade returned for the summer. It was not a happy return though, as the new-look Jokers were a bit short on players and couldn’t overcome the Vikings in a 2-1 loss. Overall the team played well including out-shooting their opponent 30-19 but couldn’t punch through a second goal after taking a 1-0 lead on a Glowicki put-back off of a rebound in the second period. Ken Herren squandered two quality chances missing high on a cross goal pass from Devon Sylvester in the 2nd and firing a breakaway shot low and just wide of the net in the 3rd. The Jokers kept the pressure on even getting a power play and a 6-4 man advantage with their net empty for the last minute but couldn’t capitalize.

Notes: Fernando Gomez got the start in net and stopped 17 of 19 shots… Frank Melillo served game 1 of his 3 game suspension from last season’s playoff game melee… Jokers next take on the Tomahawks Thursday June 15 at 10:00pm.

Jokers Season Ends With Playoff Loss

The Jokers of Doom played very well at the end of the spring 2017 season to secure a playoff spot. Unfortunately, they ended up in the 4th position and a date with top seed Springfield Chiefs. Things did not go well from the start as the team found itself down 1-0 quickly in the first and couldn’t stop the onslaught as the lead eventually grew to 6-0 before Ken Herren finally flipped in a goal mouth pass to make it 6-1. A violent scuffle in the 3rd period would result in the ejection of 2 players including veteran Frank Melillo. The game would end with a final score of 7-1. The Jokers will look to improve in the upcoming summer session which will include an 8 team division. Captain Jim Brunetti is working the phones hard to fill out the roster.

Jokers Streak Ends at 4

It’s over. The Jokers rode a 4 game win streak into a playoff berth and had a chance to improve their standing to 3rd place in the division with a win or tie versus Charleston Chiefs. Although the momentum was there the effort was not in a lackluster 6-2 thumping. After being down 2-0 after one period there was signs of life as the deficit would only be 3-2 after two periods on goals by leading scorer Josh Berrelli and Dave Dreschler on a nifty intercept and quick shot goal. It would all fall apart in the decisive 3rd period on 3 goals by the Chiefs to close it out. Once again shots on goal were hard to come by as the Jokers could only manage 17, getting out shot overall 31-17. With the loss, the Jokers find themselves in 4th place and a very tough matchup versus the number 1 seed Springfield Chiefs on Tuesday May 30 at 8:00pm. In their single game during the season, the Springfield Chiefs won, 7-5.

Notes: Fernando Gomez made 25 saves and ends the regular season with a 3-3 record and will be the starting goalie in the playoffs due to Tim Fisher not having enough games played… Jim Brunetti, Ken Herren, Rich Orsini, Jimmy Dowd, Josh Berrelli, Frank Melillo, and Devon Sylvester all confirmed to return next season… Rumors of a Kevin LaPrade return also continue to swirl, no comment from captain Jim… Top 3 scorers: Berrelli 17 points (14g, 3a), Dreschler 14 (5g, 9a), Herren 10 (6g, 4a).

Jokers Stay Hot with Thrilling 4-3 OT Win

The Jokers of Doom came into their Tuesday night game against the YellowJackets looking to extend their winning streak to 4 and also further solidify their playoff hopes. The first period was fairly even until Frank Melillo slid home a rebound in front off of a shot from defensemen Chris Dickinson with only 30 seconds left in the period. In the second period captain Jim Brunetti extended the lead to 2-0 knocking in a cross goal pass from Dave Dreschler. Later in the period Dreschler would add another unassisted goal off of a turnover making is 3-1 after two periods. Things would also get heated in the 2nd as leading score Josh Berrelli would get into a shoving contest resulting in game misconducts for both players. With much of their speed gone, the Jokers tried to hang on in the 3rd period but it was not to be as the YellowJackets would score 2 goals with the second coming with the goalie pulled and only 19 seconds left in the game. The playoff hopes seemingly were dimmed but the team remained confident heading into OT and that confidence translated into a huge victory as Ken Herren settled a aerial cross rink pass from Devon Sylvester and fired home a quick wrist shot. Herren would say after the game, “we have a lot of trouble with this team despite their record, but this was a huge win for us and there is one game left and playoff destiny is in our hands”. The Jokers now stand in 3rd place with 10 points, just ahead of the Vikings (10 points) due to their 5 wins versus 4. A win on May 22 versus the 2nd place Charleston Chiefs would lock up a playoff berth. As of this post they can finish anywhere from 2nd to out of the playoffs altogether, stay tuned!

Notes: Rich Orsini’s 8 game penalty-less streak ended with 3 PIM’s… John Deluca is now tied with Berrelli with 4 total penalty minutes… Goalie Tim Fisher will be unavailable for the final game, making him ineligible for the playoffs.

Jokers Win 3rd Straight, 7-0

The Jokers of Doom headed into Saturday’s contest with the Vikings with a shorthanded squad as several members were out partying with Matt Harvey including captain Jim Brunetti. Turns out the Vikings may have also had several members at the same event as they were only able to muster 4 players and a goalie. As such, the Jokers agreed to play a 4 on 4 game with 2 subs available. This game would also mark the triumphant return of Jimmy Dowd (1 goal, 3 assists) and he didn’t waste any time notching the first goal of the game with his patented quick slap shot from the wing about 20 feet out. The first period would end with only that one goal on the board. In the second the Jokers would pad the lead with two more goals including Ken Herren’s 5th goal of the season. The period would end with the score 3-0 although the shots on goal were a relatively even 20-17 for the game. The Jokers would pull away in the final period piling on 4 more goals, eventually resorting to dump ins after the score reached 7-0. The team will look to extend the winning streak to 4 games against the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday May 16 at 9:00pm.

Notes: Regulars John Deluca, Rich Orsini, Chris Dickinson, and Tim Fisher all missed the game… Fernando Gomez notched his first shutout with 23 saves… Defenseman Devon Sylvester racked up 3 assists and now has 5 assists on the season… After the game a team spokesman announced no suspensions were imminent for any of the missing players and the matter was closed.

BERRELLI!

The 2-4 Jokers of Doom came into last night’s contest with the 3-3 Tomahawks needing to win once again to keep any playoff hopes alive. The Jokers were up for the task and wasted no time jumping ahead just 24 seconds into the first period as captain Jim Brunetti picked up a loose ball behind the net and flipped it home while the Tomahawks goalie was still on the other side of the net during a scramble. In a closely contested first period, the Tomahawks would tie it midway through the first on a Jesse Tanguay blast. In the second period, the Jokers would retake the lead on a crazy fluke goal by Rich Orsini. He picked up a loose ball on his side of the red line and blasted it into the zone in order to set up a dump and chase situation but the ball would ricochet off of an unsuspecting Tomahawk defender and past the stunned goalie before he could react. It appeared the second period would end with a 2-1 lead but with just seconds left Ken Herren knocked down a clearing attempt with his hand and blasted a shot glove side low to provide a two goal advantage heading to the final period. In the 3rd, the Tomahawks clawed their way back into the game eventually tying it 4-4 on another Tanguay goal at 4:36. However with 2:11 left in the game leading scorer Josh Berrelli would knock home the game winning goal with assists from Orsini and John Deluca. The 5-4 win puts the Jokers into a 4th place tie with the Tomahawks and only a 1/2 game behind the 3rd place 3-4-1 Hurricanes. The Jokers final two games are against the 6th place 2-2-2 Vikings and the 1-5 Yellow Jackets, very winnable games as they make a final push to appear in the playoffs.

Notes: Orsini’s penalty free game streak has reached 7 games… Jokers had 5 different goal scorers (Brunetti, Orsini, Herren, Melillo, and Berrelli)… Chris Dickinson picked up his first point of the season assisting on Melillo’s second period goal… Fernando Gomez started in place of Tim Fisher and notched 22 saves… Berrelli leads the team in points and PIM.

Jokers Regain Stride

The Jokers of Doom came into Tuesday night’s tilt with the Hurricanes pretty much needing to win all of their remaining games to secure a playoff spot. Things did not start off well for the Jokers or goalie Fernando Gomez as the Hurricanes scored just over a minute into the game, however the team showed some resolve and urgency as Dave Dreschler took a deft saucer centering pass from Ken Herren and slipped a quick backhander past the Hurricanes goalie about halfway through the period. The first period ended in a 1-1 deadlock with the Canes holding an 8-6 shot advantage. In the second period the Jokers were out shot 14-6 but came out ahead in goals, 2-0. Leading scorer Josh Berrelli tallied an unassisted goal off of a turnover at 6:21 and Dreschler added another at 2:02. In the 3rd, the Hurricanes got one back on the power play just 43 seconds into the period on a slapshot goal from the point. Captain Jim Brunetti was heard cursing himself on the bench afterwards lamenting that he decided to defend a pass to the other point with a harder shot.  In the end, Berrelli would not be denied as he scored again at 5:16 to re-establish the 2 goal lead. The Hurricanes pulled the goalie in the closing minutes but were unable to close the gap and the game ended in a 4-2 Jokers victory.

Notes: Jokers were out shot for the game 33-14… Gomez made his 3rd start and gained his 1st victory and has 3.33 GAA for the season… Winger Jimmy Dowd is out (non-injury) for the remainder of the season… Berrelli now was 9 goals on the season and a team leading 11 points.

Jokers WIN!

The Jokers of Doom (0-3) entered Tuesday nights contest with the Charlestown Chiefs (2-1) in desperate need of win. Captain Jim Brunetti has struggled to find the right combination to unlock the offense. On this night, it would be a one man wrecking crew as Josh Berrelli would erupt with a natural hat trick en route to a tidy 4-1 streak busting win. First things first however as Frank Melillo would open the scoring at 4:23 with his first goal of the season, knocking home a quick cross net pass from Jimmy Dowd. This would give the Jokers their first lead of the season, however doubt started to seep back in as Joker nemesis Shawn Frobey would score off a failed clearing attempt at 8:24 to tie things up after one period. The second period would be all Berrelli as he fired home a goal just 1:15 into the second and than about halfway through the period he picked off a wayward clearing attempt between the circles and fired a quick wrist shot over Chiefs goalie Chris Rounds to make it 3-1 after two periods. Things remained even throughout the third period until the Chiefs pulled their goalie late and Berrelli sealed it with the open net hat trick goal. Reached after the game, Berrelli stated, “It felt good to finally be able to generate some offense for this club, but even better to get in the win column!”.

Notes: Goalie Tim Fisher grabbed his first win of the season stopping 17 of 18 shots… Rich Orsini remains penalty free after 4 games, the longest streak of this career… Jokers next face the 1st place Springfield Chiefs on Saturday in a 1:00pm tilt.

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