Fall 1998 Game Updates

Game 1
September 9th
Dead Wings 8 Americans 5
Season Record 0-1
Lack Of Subs Sink Americans!
(Sugar Land, TX) With just three Americans on the bench, the Americans jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with goals coming from the newest American Jim McRoberts. The Red Wings answered in the second period putting two quick goals past substitute goalie Dave "The Hammer" Stiller. With the game tied at 2 the Americans were depleted even further with the loss of Pete Babine. With just two players remaining on the bench for the Americans the Dead Wings erupted for six straight goals, taking an 8-2 lead. As always, the Americans hung tough with three unanswered goals coming from Paul Staszesky, Tony Raia and Rod Fenwick. Story of the game is Americans Rookie McRoberts getting off rookie beer duty in week ONE of the season. Beer duty for the next game will be split among MIA players Hodge, Lerner, O'Neill and Yocum.

Game 2
September 16th
Hooters 3 Americans 1
Season Record 0-2
Close But No Cigar, Monica!
(Sugar Land, TX) Both times the Americans met Hooter last season it was a 2 goal victory for Hooters. This game would be no different. Hooters scored in the first period on a shot deflected off an Americans defenseman. In the second, Dave "The Hammer" Stiller cranked a shot from the point to tie the game. Penalties cost the Americans as Hooters took the lead for good with a power play goal in the third. When the Americans pulled Mark "Yeastboy" Yocum at the end of the game, an empty net goal made it 3-1. Excellent goaltending couldn't make up for a lack of offense on a team that is just beginning to come together with a new roster. With Pete Babine out TFN, the first half of the season may be a challenge for the Americans.

Game 3
September 23rd
Panthers 4 Americans 2
Season Record 0-3
Panthers Avenge Playoff Loss
(Sugar Land, TX) Last time the Americans met the Panthers they unceremoniously bounced the Jersey Stealin' Panthers from the playoffs. The Panthers took the ice looking for revenge and jumped to an early 3-0 lead. Early in the second period Tony Raia put the Americans on the scoreboard with his second goal of the season. With 10 minutes left in the second period Rod Fenwick got the Americans back into the game with a goal on a tape to tape pass from Paul Staszesky . The Americans had several excellent opportunities to tie the game but couldn't bang the biscuit home. A point blank goal by the Panthers put the game away 4-2, dropping the Americans to 0-3 for the first time in team history.

Game 4
September 30th
Americans 6 Houston Brew 3
Season Record 1-3
Team Effort Gets Americans Win #1
(Sugar Land, TX) Six goals from six different players lifted the Americans past Houston Brew. Jim O'Neill got the scoring started 4 minutes into the game on a rebound of a Brendan Hilton shot. Minutes later Geoff Hodge scored to put the Americans up 2-0. The scrappy Brewmeisters battled back to tie it at 2-2 but Rod Fenwick's third goal of the season put the Americans ahead 3-2. The game was tied again at 3-3 before the Americans clamped down on "D" and kicked the offense into gear with 3rd period goals from Tim Madden, Paul Staszesky and Brendan Hilton. Thanks to backup goalie Brien Pierson for filling in for Yeastboy Yocum who was busy replenishing the team beverage supply. With the team anxiously awaiting next week's of Pete Babine next week, the scoring spirit of Babine was alive in Jim O'Neill who put up a goal and three assists as the "second line" outpaced the aging"Ben Gay Line".

NEXT GAME: Americans vs Blackhawks 9:45pm Sharpstown Ice Center October 7, 1998.

Game 5
October 7th
Black Hawks 5, Americans 3
Season Record 1-4
Too Much, Too Little, Too Late...
(Houston, TX) When the Blackhawks scored their first goal just :11 seconds into the game, you knew it was a bad omen. Messier's boys were up 3-0 before the Americans notched their first goal from Paul Staszesky on a rebound of Keith Lerner's backhand shot. The two remaining goals were also scored by the American's "D" as Brendan Hilton missed a hat-trick by the half the width of a puck. Beerman for next week is Geoff Hodge, courtesy of two trips to the penalty box. With next week's game also at Sharpstown, look for Hodge to install a cot and TV in the penalty box to make it seem more "homey".

Game 6
October 14th
North Stars 6, Americans 1
Season Record 1-5
The Iler Curse?
(Houston, TX) Never in the history of the Americans club have this many losses piled up against so few wins. Rather than attributing it to poor play, or an aging team, or even bad karma, let's just call it the Iler Curse. Marshall Iler was always one of the guys on the Americans with the most hustle, winning the weekly Johnny Hustle award. Since his departure in the offseason, the team just hasn't been the same. The Americans again got down early giving up three goals in the first period. The second period started off promising as Tim Madden got his own rebound to bring the Americans back 3-1. However the North Stars, looking very Millineum-esque in their new spaceman jerseys, rebounded with a combination of hustle, passing and checking that has been lacking in the American game. If there's such thing as Hockey Viagra, write these old men a prescription. Three stars of the game in a losing effort were Brian Hughes, Brendan Hilton and Pete Babine. Unfortunately the rest of the team was just a bit too heavy for them to carry. Rumor has it that Captain Tim Madden has an appointment with Marie Lavoux to try and get the curse lifted. Until then we may have to resort to a little more old time hockey, eh?

Game 7
October 21st
Americans 5 Roughnecks 4 OT
Season Record 2-5
Americans Battle Back For OT Win.
(Sugar Land, TX) For the first time all season the Americans shut down the opponents in the first period and battled back to take a dramatic OT win from the Roughnecks. After a scoreless first period, Pete Babine took a sweet behind the back pass from Brendan Hilton and put the Americans up 1-0. The Roughnecks scored three unanswered goals to make it 3-1 at the end of the second. In the third period goals by Paul Staszesky and Brendan Hilton tied the game at 3-3 Babine scored with 5 minutes remaining to give the Americans a 4-3 edge. But with 2:14 remaining a penalty on O'Neill left the Americans shorthanded. The Roughnecks wasted no time in scoring to tie the score at 4-4 and send the game into OT. Living up to their name, the 'Necks King Kong sized Derek Eichelle took out his frustrations on Brendan Hilton leaving both players watching the OT period from off the ice. (If these teams meet in the playoffs Hilton needs to add 100 lbs or so to get into Eichelle's weight class for the rematch). With under 2 minutes remaining in OT the 'Necks tackled Paul Staszesky leaving them shorthanded for the balance of the game. An interference call with just :13 seconds remaining put the Americans 5-3 with the faceoff in the Roughnecks end. Babine won the faceoff back to Dave "The Hammer" Stiller who threw it into the corner for Tim Madden. Madden zipped a pass back across the slot to Babine who punched in the game winner with :06 seconds remaining. Goalie Mark Yocum turned in a stellar performance stopping several breakaways earning him Co-MVP honors with Babine who scored a hat trick including the GWG.

Game 8
October 28th
Americans 2, Maple Leafs 2 OT
Season Record 2-5-1
A Kiss For Sis.
(SugarLand, TX) If a tie is like kissing your sister. Here's a kiss for sister Kate. It looked like the Americans were all over the Leafs. In fact, the first shift of the game was spent entirely in the Americans offensive zone. Tim Madden's deflection put the Americans up early but the Leafs battled back to tie. Late in the game with Geoff Hodge in his office (the sin bin) serving a five minute major, and the Americans doubly shorthanded due to a penalty on fill-in goalie Richard Dirusso, the Leafs scored on the 5-3 power play to make it 2-1. Continued hard work by the Americans paid off in the form of a goal from Pete Babine to tie things up and send it into OT. Stellar goaltending from Brien Pierson kept the Leafs in the game and sent the Americans home with just a tie. The theme for this season is AWOL. Playing a man short all season, plus with James McNoshow MIA since week #2 and Schmoopie Fenwick on a three game hiatus, Captain Madden finally took action. Joining the Americans to round out the roster for the remaining games is "Jiffymon". Will he provide the spark the Americans need to advance to the playoffs? We'll find out next week!

Game 9
November 4th
Americans 5, Hurricanes 4
Season Record 3-5-1
Americans Rally In A Jiffy.
(Houston, TX) Slow starts have been the downfall of the Americans all season. With the addition of Jiffymon the team hoped to reverse that trend. Plagued by another slow start, the first period ended with the Hurricanes up 2-0 including one shorthanded goal. The Americans didn't put up a point until 6 minutes remaining in the 2nd when Pete Babine skated past three Hurricanes to make it 2-1. The Hurricanes responded with a goal to make it another 2 goal lead at 3-1. On the ensuing faceoff, Tony Raia took a breakaway in to bring the Americans back 3-2. But the Hurricanes answered with another goal to end the second at 4-2. With the possibility looming of missing the playoffs for the first time in team history, the Americans took the ice in the third period looking like the Americans of old. (since the average age of the players is about 40, this really IS the Americans team of OLD!) Goals by Greg Jeffrey (aka Jiffymon) and Tim Madden (aka Chunks) tied the score at 4-4. Just as it looked like the Americans were headed for their 3rd OT game in a row, Paul Staszesky scored the game winner with 2:14 remaining. The smell of victory is sweet. And with the aging Americans squad, it smells a lot more like Ben Gay these days.

Game 10
November 11th
Dead Wings 6, Americans 3
Season Record 3-6-1
Wings Soar Past Americans, Again.
(Houston, TX) The last time these two teams met was in the season opener where the Dead Wings proved to be three goals better. After 9 more games were played, the result was the same. The Americans played shorthanded again with both Tony Raia and Jim O'Neill on IR. Jiffy accounted for two of the Americans goals and Keith Lerner scored shorthanded but it wasn't enough as the Americans loss puts the team in a position of possibly missing post season play for the first time in team history. Say it ain't so!

Game 11
November 18th
Americans 2, Panthers 1 OT
Season Record 4-6-1
Americans Edge Panthers in OT.
(Sugar Land, TX) For the last game of the regular season it was the FIRST game of the season that the Americans had every roster player on hand for a game. Better late than never. In the earlier meeting the Panthers jumped to an early 3-0 lead and beat the Americans 4-2. This time the Americans took an early 1-0 lead on the Panthers on a goal from Pete Babine from Paul Staszesky. A tight game is always expected with the Panthers and this held true to form as the Americans held the 1-0 lead until disaster struck with just :20 seconds left in the second period. With the Americans on a 5 on 3 power play the Panthers picked off an errant pass at the point and scored on a shorthanded breakaway to close out the second period. Neither team could gain the game winner and the Americans were headed for their third OT of the season. A couple clangs off the post were the only offense the Americans could muster until Panther Goalie Bob Emery headed for the bench. Pete Babine fought through a crowd at center ice and slid the game winner in with just over a minute left in OT. The Thanksgiving bye week comes just in time as several Americans were banged up in the game, most notably Paul Staszesky who suffered a large gash on the ankle which required a trip to the ER. Always a trooper Paul commented "it only hurts to think I can't hang around for a beer" as Nurse Cratchett hauled him away.

Game 12
December 2, 1998
Playoff Quarterfinal Game
Americans 3, Dead Wings 2
Season Record 5-6-1
Third Time's The Charm.
(Sugar Land, TX) This was the third meeting for the Americans and Dead Wings this year, and each time the Dead Wings proved three games better than the Americans, winning 8-5 in Week 1 and 6-3 in Week 10. It was obvious from the first shift that the Americans were determined to not let the Dead Wings sweep the season series. The Americans scored first on Brendan Hilton's shot from the point midway through the first period. With just :34 seconds left in the first Tim Madden banged the puck past Jesse "the glove" Bell to end the first period 2-0. The second period was almost the downfall for the Americans, giving up a shorthanded goal and a 1 degree angle "Eggie" shot in the span of two minutes. Jiffymon took control on the bench, settling the team down with incense and an chant from the Far East. Neither team could gain the advantage in the third and just when it looked as if the game was headed for OT, Paul Staszesky popped the game winner in with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game. The Wings may have won the season series, the Americans who live to skate another day. After the game, several theories were presented for the Americans heightened level of play. GM Jim O'Neill noted it was the first time he was in the lineup vs the DeadWings this season, making him the "X" factor. When the laughter died down, Goalie Mark Yocum claimed it was because he'd recently stopped sniffing glue. But, the favorite theory presented was that Geoff Hodge played the game of his life after receiving his signing bonus, a 500 series BMW. An adjunct to the theory was that Dave Stiller played the game of his life, inspired by all the legal fees Geoff would generate in his new ride. Pete Babine was inspired by the recent play of Drew "the finger" Bledsoe, Tony Raia was inspired because his fan club was at the game. Keith Lerner was just happy to get away from the dogs and Rod Fenwick was smiling because a new case of Peanut Butter arrived in time for the game. Whatever the theory, we'll see how it plays next week in round #2. MEDICAL NOTE: In Game #11 Paul Staszesky suffered a cut on the ankle which required several stitches, in the win over the Dead Wings, Geoff Hodge took a stick to the chin which required 8 stitches to close. Who's next for the needle and thread for the Blackhawks game?

Game 13
December 9, 1998
Playoff Semi-final Game
Americans 5, Blackhawks 3
Season Record 6-6-1
Hodge Leads Americans To Victory.
(Sugar Land, TX) When the Americans met the Blackhawks in week 5, Geoff "Beaver" Hodge had two trips to the penalty box and zero points. This game, in front of his cheering section, Hodge scored the game tying goal and left his mail in the box. This game was a complete reversal of the first meeting in many ways. Not only was the score 5-3 in the Blackhawks favor last game, this time it was the Americans who got off to a quick start on Rod Fenwick's goal in the second minute of the game. The first period ended with the Americans holding a thin 1-0 lead, which the Hawks erased early in the second period. Brendan Hilton put the Americans back on top 2-1 but in an :08 second span the Hawks came back to score two goals and take a 3-2 lead. As Hodge took the ice in the 3rd period he blew a kiss to his fans in the stands. With 9:44 remaining it was his moment in time. (insert Chariots of Fire soundtrack here) Pete Babine won a faceoff in front of Blackhawks goalie Sammy Grooms, drawing it back to Hodge at the point. Geoff released a quick wrist shot that found the far side of the net. "Man I shoot good with my eyes closed" Hodge commented after the game. With 6 minutes remaining Tony Raia found Jim O'Neill alone in "the office" and O'Neill slid the puck in to put the Americans up 3-2. Coach Madden clamped down the American defense for the balance of the game and with :48 seconds remaining Jiffymon scored on the "diamond puck" shot from inside his own blue line and icing the win for the Americans. The Americans have now won 5 of their last 6 games with one very important game left to play in the season. Unfortunately that game will not be the rematch vs. Hooters that the team wanted thanks to the North Stars 4 unanswered goals to boot Hooters from the playoffs 4-2. CLICK HERE to read their excuse page.

Game 14
December 16, 1998
Fall Championship Game
Americans 2, North Stars 1 OT (6)
Season Record 7-6-1
Yeastboy Rises For Championship Game.
(Sugar Land, TX) If you're a fan of great goaltending, this was your game. Both Mark"Yeastboy" Yocum for the Americans and Richard Dirusso for the Stars brought their "A" games for the last game of the 98 season. Neither goalie gave up a point in the first period and it was the Stars who drew first blood midway through the second. The Americans answered with a goal from Geoff "Beaver" Hodge who'd scored the tying goal in the semi-final game the previous week. For the rest of the third period and 27:57 in overtime all you heard was the sound of pucks hitting leather, gloves, posts, sticks and blockers. The winning Americans goal was scored as Jiffymon and Paul Staszesky broke up the ice on a 2-1. Jiffy let loose a shot the clanged off the post and Paul was there to put in the rebound. It took 72:57 in the final game, only one loss in the last 8 games and a determined team effort to bring the Americans from a 1-5 cellar dweller to the champs of the fall season. Congratulations also to the North Stars for an excellent season and an extremely well played final game. HHA historians are paging thorough the record books to see if any Championship OT game went longer. We seriously doubt it. Oh, and a HUGE thanks to all the friends and families who stayed through this ordeal. In possibly the longest game in HHA history the #1 fan of the game goes to all the ladies who stayed during Christmas shopping season with the First Colony mall only 100 yards away. Very tempting. Watch for playoff PIX here soon. See you next season!