Monday, December 28, 2009

AMHL Friday Firsts


From the first Friday to the finale, I present a few fond memories of the first-ever AMHL Friday season:

First games
September 11, 2009: Stars 8, Hawks 6; Kings 7, Whalers 2

First hat trick(s)
September 11, 2009: Steve Nicolle (Kings) Jonathon Corke (Stars)

First goalie to record an assist
September 11, 2009: Chris Bade (Stars)

First time two sets of brothers and two sets of fathers/sons have played in the same division
Paul (Stars) and Gene (Kings) Costanza; Dev and Bill Barron (Hawks); Randy and Jonathon Corke (Stars); Kevin and Brendan Lyons (Whalers)

First time (to this reporter’s knowledge) anyone has ever worn Khakis instead of hockey pants
December 4, 2009: Mike Osofsky (Stars)

First time the “Forever .500s” (Kevin Paul Dupont’s sobriquet for the Hartford Whalers) had a .500 record
October 9, 2009: The AMHL Whale had lost the first three games but then won the next three.

First points leader (regular season)
Jonathon Corke (Stars): 25G + 17A= 42

First Playoff series and results (courtesy of the Friday Ticker)
December 11, 2009

Round 1 Playoff Results: The Barron Brothers were too much for the first place Stars, Dev’s 2-2 and Bill’s 2-1 play. Despite being spotted one goal to start the game and scoring in the first minute of play, the Stars couldn’t hold off the Hawks and lost 5–4. In Rink 2, Backed by solid goaltending by Mitch-the-Commish, the Whalers knocked off the Kings by the score of 6–3. Kevin Lyons had a pair of goals and Gene Costanza a pair for the Kings. Next up, Hawks and Whalers play for the Cup and the Stars and the Kings will battle for 3rd place.

First Championship
December 18, 2009

The Red Barrons (Bill and Dev) each scored a goal, and the Grecian Formula (Paul Anastas and Peter Kokas) combined for three goals to lead the Hawks to a 7–6 victory over the Whalers. John Arathuzik’s empty-netter proved to be the game-winner. Despite yielding six goals, Hawk goalie Bobby Kilkenny earned First Star of the Game honors. Kilkenny, who made a few routine saves look difficult and several difficult saves routine, won his first AMHL championship as a goalie.

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