Ryan Stottlemeyer Kings 3 Goals Tony Bonacorso Pirates 3 Goals Roy McDonald Crosby's 5 Goals, Shoot-Out Game Winner

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Moose (1-0, 3-2, 7GF 3GA) vs. Pirates (0-1, 1-3, 2GF 9GA) Zack Siniawski, the captain of the Moose’ franchise, was drafted by the Pirates with the 11th overall selection. Saturday, he was expected lead his team against the team he once played for, but Siniawski was placed on the IR this Monday. He was injured last week and will be out 2-3 weeks with what is known as an undisclosed lower body injury. The Moose instead look to rely on secondary scoring such as last week’s hero, Jay Haddad, who scored four goals against the Kings. The Pirates look to erase an opening day loss against the Jets, and it starts with defense. They allowed 9 goals to the Jets. This week, the likes of Joe “Package” Rogers and Mark Zelena will suit up for the Bucs, not to mention their leading scorer from the previous season, Tony Bonacorso. Cristallini Prediction: Pirates sweep series 3-0. Crosby’s (1-0, 3-1, 2GF 1GA) vs. Kings (0-1, 2-3, 3GF, 7GA) The 12:30 matchup puts the Crosby’s against the Kings. Last year, the Crosby’s took two out of three games against the Kings. The Kings were the only losing team from last week to take their series to a 5th game. Dave Kwolek led them with two goals last week, and Captain Jamie Zelena added one. The Kings are also expecting a big game from Mitch Wierchowski, who is going up against his former team. The Crosby’s had big shoot-out winning goals by Roy McDonald and John George in last week’s shoot-out contest with Boyle, which saw the three of four games go to a shoot-out. The Crosby’s saw their two-headed monster of McDonald and Zack Wahal each tally a goal as well. Cristallini Prediction: Crosby’s win series 3-1. Jets (1-0, 3-1, 7GF 2GA) vs. Bishop Boyle (0-1, 1-3, 1GF 2GA) Bishop Boyle is coming off of a rivalry game against the Crosby’s, which they lost in four games. Nick Siniawski scored the lone goal, and also added a shoot-out winning goal. Boyle is looking for more scoring, mainly from Captain Brian Grise and second round pick, Dustin Hess. On the other side, the Jets just got done dominating the Pirates with a four game series win last week. Brian Barca started the season off with a bang – 7 goal performance. Josh McIntyre and Zak Campbell are looking like all-stars and even without big guns like Gary Gerson and Bill Seaman, the Jets looked like the team to beat. Cristallini Prediction: Jets win series 3-1. Weather Report Expect early showers/light snow, but look for it to clear up by game time. High is 34 degrees. Other News

• Adam Cristallini Predictions - 0/3 last week.
• Weather issues should not affect the playing surface like last week.
• If you haven't turned in your $10 entry fee, bring it this week.
• Goaltender Craig Hixon will not be playing this week due to undisclosed reasons. Mr. Meade will be the goaltender.

Josh McIntyre Jets 2 Goals, 2 Assists, 4 Points Jay Haddad Moose 4 Goals Brian Barca Jets 7 Goals

With all the anticipation of the first week of the 2009-10 FHL season, the morning of December 19th couldn't come soon enough. The longest rivalry in the league had the Crosby's battle Bishop Boyle to kick off the season. Next saw a rematch of the 2009 FHL Championship as the Jets took on the Pirates. The week’s action would conclude with the Moose, playing their first ever game, taking on the Kings. Late Friday night, everyone knew that the weather would play a huge role in Saturday’s action. Despite valiant efforts to fix the surface, snow continued to fall, covering the entire playing area, making for a winter wonderland-type atmosphere for opening week.

The National Anthem was sung by local opera singer and lead singer of a local band called the Rivermen, John “JW” Walters.

11:00 - Crosby's vs. Bishop Boyle Lancers

The 11:00 game saw Brian Grise’s Bishop Boyle Lancers take on their rivals, the Crosby’s, led by John George. The first goal of the season was scored by franchise player Roy McDonald, on a pass from the new defenseman, Dave Gilson. Game one of the series was taken into a shootout after Nick Siniawski tied it with just a minute left in regulation. The Lancers took the first game of the series, but after that, it was all Crosby’s. Both Game Two and Game Three were 1-0 victories in shootouts, with the winner’s scored by Roy McDonald (Game Two) and John George (Game Three). Game Four was taken by the Crosby’s on a goal by Zack Wahal. The Crosby's took the series 3-1, giving them a solid start to the 2009-10 campaign. This was the first of four meetings between the two teams this season.

12:30 - Pirates vs. Jets In a rematch of the 2009 FHL Championship, the Jets took on the Pirates. Like the Championship of 2009, the Jets, led by Captain Zak Campbell and last year's MVP Brian Barca., defeated Andrew McDonald's Pirates 3-1. In dominating fashion, Brian Barca scored seven goals - two in Game One, one in Game Two, three in Game Three, and one in Game Four. The Pirates lone win came in game two, when Andrew McDonald scored twice, and added a shoot out winner, to propel the Pirates over the Jets. Jets Captain Zak Campbell had three assists for the defending champions.

2:00 - Moose vs. Kings The third and final series was between the expansion franchise Moose, led by Zack Siniawski, and Jamie Zelena's Kings. The Moose looked great in game one, winning 3-0 on two goals by Jay Haddad and one by Matt Gori. Captain Jamie Zelena scored the lone goal in Game Two. Dave Kwolek led the Kings to victory with two goals in Game Three. Game Four and Five were shut-out's by the Moose. Jeff Rogers and Siniawski put the Moose on top for Game Four, and Jay Haddad scored his fourth goal of the series to win the deciding fifth game.

Other Notes

• Goaltender Matchup: Craig Hixon took 7 out of 13 individual games.
• Brian Barca of the Jets is on pace to score 133 goals this season.
• Game Two's shootout of the Crosby's/Boyle series took 24 shooters to decide.
• Andrew McDonald is the only player who is 1/1 on shootouts, and four players are 0-3 (Brian Grise, Dustin Hess, Zack Wahal, and Mike Stadleman)
• SHOOTOUT STATS: Craig Hixon (22 saves on 24 attempts).

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by Adam Cristallini

Crosby’s (2009: 9-8, Semi-Finalist) vs. Bishop Boyle Lancers (2009: 7-10, Semi-Finalist)

This is the oldest rivalry in the history of the league, and what better way to start the year with an 11:00am blood bath. Captain John George brings in the new militia, along with franchise player Roy McDonald, looking to start the year off with a bang. On the other side Brian Grise, Tom Fetsko, Dustin Hess, and the rest of the Lancers are hungry to beat the Crosby’s.

• The Lancers and Crosby's split four games last season.
• This will be the debut of Crosby's winger Jeremy Jones.

Prediction: Bishop Boyle Lancers 3, Crosby’s 2.

Pirates (2009: 7-10, FHL Runner-Up) vs. Jets (2009: 13-4, FHL CHAMPIONS)

In a rematch of last year’s Championship series, the Pirates are looking to avenge a series in which they were over matched 3 games to 1. But the new look Pirates look like a team to watch out for this year, after a strong finish in 2009. Without franchise player Tony Bonacorso this week, old Pirate players such as Ryan Cleary and Brian Hreha look to follow up a great campaign in 2009, along with new faces like Buddy Doyle and Mark Zelena. Brian Barca, Jason Tatrai, Zak Campbell, and Jason Kortz lead the way for the revamped Jets team.

• Pirates Franchise player Tony Bonacorso will be out due to undisclosed reasons.
• Congratulations to Pirates defenseman, Joe “Package” Rogers, who is graduating from California University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Education and will not play.
• Jets players returning from last year will receive their championship rings before the game.

Prediction: Pirates 3, Jets 1.

Kings (2009: 8-9, Lost in 1st Round) vs. Moose (0-0, First Season)

A confident Kings team coming off a so-so year with ups and downs meet the Moose in their first ever game in the FHL, replacing Matt Gori’s Hawks franchise. Zack Siniawski, in his first game as captain, is hoping to start his career with the Moose on the right foot. Along with Zack are Jeff Rogers and Mark Fetsko behind him on Defense. The Kings, led by scorers, Drew Hruska, Adam Cristallini, and Matt Wierchowski, are looking to start their second year in the league with a bang.

• Before the game, there will be a ceremony for the retirement of Chad Kanz into the FHL Hall of Fame. Kanz played for both the Kings and the Hawks in his career. Prediction: Kings 3, Moose 2.

Weather Report Expect some snow showers most of the day, with a light wind and a high of 33°F and 40% precipitation. Other News

• This will be the third annual FHL Toy Drive. Don't forget to bring a toy, as they will go to Children's Hospital.
• All league entry fee's are due as soon as possible. The fee is $10 for everyone, except high-schoolers, who will be charged $5.
• Former FHL Goaltender Mr. Meade will serve as the referee, and will play goalie in any necessary case.