Jokers Of Doom

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.

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.

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.

The Jokers entered Tuesday night’s game versus the YellowJackets in desperate need of win to avoid an 0-3 start to the Spring season. Unfortunately once again the team quickly got down 2-0 after the first period and captain Jim Brunetti was not pleased. “We need more shots, guys” he was overheard imploring his team on the bench. Finally in the second period Phil Mrazik was able to pick up a pass across the goal mouth off the boards and turn and fire a quick wrist shot past the YJ goalie making 2-1. The momentum would not last as the Jackets scored again to make it 3-1 heading into the final period. Josh Berrelli scored his 3rd goal of the season once again cutting the lead to 1 goal at 3-2 and once again the momentum was quickly lost after a sniper like slapshot went over the shoulder of goalie Fernando Gomez and re-establish the 2 goal lead at 4-2. Midway though the 3rd period Ken Herren came of the bench on a line change and intercepted a wayward clearing pass, streaked down the right side and fired a shot stick side high to beat the goalie. For the 3rd time the deficit to was 1, but alas the Jokers could not punch through the tying goal as the Jackets withstood fierce pressure in the final minutes.

Notes: Tim Fisher and Justin Cossette missed the game for undisclosed reasons… Chris Dickinson made his season debut… Mrazik played his last game of the season and he has been recalled to Thailand… 17 day layoff until next game on April 15… no word on makeup date for 3/14 game.

In their only scheduled match-up against the Hurricanes last season, the Jokers of Doom couldn’t field a team and had to forfeit. The teams faced each other on Thursday night for the first time with both teams fully staffed. The game marked the franchise debut for goalie Fernando Gomez, and the return of forward Justin Cossette and Dave Dreschler who will play both defense and center. The Hurricanes opened the game with a ton of pressure and found themselves on the fortunate end of a quirky play when captain Shaun Langdon threw a pass toward the net from the corner. Joker defenseman Rich Orsini had center Vic Perry tied up in front and lifted Perry’s stick knee-high, directly into the pass for a deflection past Gomez for an early 1-0 lead only 55 seconds into the game.  The ‘Canes would bring pressure and control time-of-possession for most of the first period. The Jokers defense was outstanding though, blocking shots, clogging passing lanes, and limiting the opposition to                                                                                                        only eight shots the entire period.

Although the Jokers offense was finally generating opportunities and putting shots on goal, frustration was mounting as none made their way to the back of the net. Late in the second period, Cossette blasted a slapshot from his own zone which hit goalie Derek Hayden square in the chest. Hayden however, couldn’t control or locate the rebound which went high in the air, landed behind him and rolled in the net evening the score (and fluke goals) at one each. For the remainder of the game the teams battled cautiously, each bending, neither breaking. Late in the third period in an attempt to push a go-ahead goal across, Dreschler replaced forward Jim Brunetti, slid Josh Berrelli to wing, and manned center. Dreschler and Berrelli stayed together through the end of regulation and overtime each coming up just short on breakout plays. Gomez kept things even on the other side as well, making big stops and controlling the clock as the teams each grabbed a point in the standings with the 1-1 tie.

The Jokers of Doom opened the Winter 2017 season yesterday against the speedy Springfield Chiefs with no bench and emergency goalie Nick Lachance. The Chiefs, on the other hand, had a fully stocked bench but opted to begin the game short handed to match the Jokers until their fifth player arrived late in the first period. Even with a full five-man team, the Jokers knew this wouldn’t be a high scoring affair. The plan was simple; keep it close and pick spots on offense to maybe sneak a shot or two.

As usual, the Jokers’ defense stepped up and limited the Chiefs’ chances while Lachance turned aside all 13 shots in the first period while the Jokers mustered a mere six. Nearly halfway into the second period, defenseman Chris Dickinson kept the zone and dished to winger Ken Herren in the high slot. Herren wound and fired a slapshot that appeared to go in the net but came off of the crossbar where Frank Melillo was waiting and cashed in the rebound for a 1-0 lead. Although this provided a bit of breathing room, the Chiefs continued to hustle and look to get something going against the tiring Jokers. In spite of their best efforts though, the Chiefs would come up empty as the second period came to an end.

In the final period, the focus was on on playing smart and killing the clock. The Chiefs wouldn’t give up though, and managed a game-high 15 shots on goal in the third period. With 1:38 to play in the game, the Chiefs finally found the net on a shot through traffic that was deflected in front. Before their celebration could even begin though, the officials convened and ruled that the Chiefs had a player in the crease and disallowed the goal. With renewed hope the Jokers controlled the ball and cleared the zone, using the winding clock wisely and came away with the 1-0 win. Lachance stopped all 40 shots he faced in earning his first win and shutout in his first game with the Jokers.