El hombre del Sur ayuda a ganar de nuevo Ases

On a rare winter trip to Canadian territory, Aces owner and special southern correspondent Joe P inspired a banged up group of athletes to a key 4-2 win over the Battlers.

Shaking off the debilitating effects of a mid-winter tan, Joe struck for a key goal early in the game. Perhaps inspired by this brave performance, the Aces taxi squad hit for 3 more goals and hung on for a 4-2 victory in spite of most players having to play through an injury of some sort. The list of injuries at this point in the season is long and varied:

• Jeff: hip dysplasia
• Al: groin pains
• Aubrey: stab wounds
• Rich: frozen shoulder
• Andrew: swimmers buttock
• Maurice: carpal funnel syndrome
• Raj: gas. So much gas.
• Bruce: heartworm
• Ralph: hysterical blindness
• Paul F: skiers bladder

Injuries would not stop a determined Aces side, however, as they played a physical game all night long as evidenced by a steady stream of black shirts into the penalty box. Other goal scorers on the night were Ralph, Andrew and Aubrey.

In an odd turn of events, players missing from the roster were the only ones not injured. Of course they all had airtight excuses for not showing:

• Mike K: what, and miss The Bachelor?
• Brian M: still working on his Academy Awards pool picks
• Joe D: won't play if there's another Joe on the ice
• Bob J: passed out at hot yoga class, missed bus

I'd say let's hope for a better turnout next game, but the Aces seem to do better without a full bench. Nos vemos el miércoles amigos

Aces Non-Skiers Eke Out 6-6 Tie

With roughly half the Aces’ regulars out of the lineup due to ski season, it fell to the non-skiers on the team to hold off a hard-charging Wyse Guys bunch last game. The addition of 2 red shirts to the Aces’ lineup was necessary, as a decimated black squad could only ice 7 skaters and a goalie.

The two stand-ins came in handy, scoring the first two goals of the game while the regulars slowly got themselves into gear.

Black eventually pulled things together, withstanding the untimely injury of D-man and hack journalist Jeff M to pull ahead 5-4 with 5 minutes remaining in the third. The lead would not hold, however, and with Jeff on the bench nursing a broken hip the two teams traded goals until almost the final buzzer.

After the game, a dejected Aces squad was nevertheless philosophical about the results.

“Not our best game of the year” opined an exhausted back-up netminder and team aromatherapist Aubrey S “but I hear the conditions at Whistler are pretty sweet right now, so that makes up for it.”

Team luthier Bruce H was similarly minded after the contest. “As long as Rich and Paul and the other skiers on the team are enjoying themselves, then whatever happens out there on the ice is really secondary” he said wistfully “I mean it’s our duty to hold the fort while our brothers are engaged in the vitally important task of breaking fresh powder in the back bowls at Blackcomb or wherever they are, so this tie against the last place club is really a victory for all of us.”

Other notable absences included Al H (pain in the thorax), Brian M (still on the International Space Station) Joe Himalaya (starring in the Khatmandu Thespian Society stage production of Jersey Boys), Mike K (malfunctioning GPS unit) and of course Art W (still recovering from a tragic hibachi accident).

We hope to see more able bodies out for the next game, though your humble scribe is doubtful due to the aforementioned broken hip.