The History of the Sasquatch
This unlikely group of guys, who have banded together to win two championships in three years of existence, started as two teams who had both failed to get enough players to field a complete squad. With the help of league commissioner Wes Mailhot, Tony Lopez ( captain of the then Fishtown River Rats) contacted Dave Lentz and together they were able to procure a full team. Originally known as the Avalanche, we were not without the usual problems. We needed to pick up a couple more players to fill out the roster, we had guys that didn't pay or were late paying ( you know who you are!!! ) and there were many games where having two lines was a relief. Through it all we've been to the finals three out of three seasons and won two championships. Many new friendships have been made and adversity now seems to be our ally. We're looking forward to many more great seasons, but here is a brief synopsis of the three we've completed.
1998-1999 Season
The season started out amidst chaos ( not against Chaos ) with bunches of players not familiar with each other playing together for the first time. We lost the first two games, the second a close 5-4 loss when we played without a goaltender (Frank!!). After that the team started to gel and rattled off four straight wins, nine of our last ten, and ended the season with 13 wins and 5 losses. Tony Lopez and Nick Tuozzolo led the team in points and goals, respectively, and placed second and fourth in the league point totals.
We opened the playoffs with a tough 6-3 win over the Dragons in the first round of the playoffs and faced the Flip Mode Squad in the second round. Flip Mode was the second best team in the regular season and our most difficult opponent. The playoff games were very chippy and a lot closer than the 7-2 and 6-0 scores ( Frank Loh picking up the big playoff whitewash ). That took us to the finals against the Ice Bandits, the number one team in the regular season, although we had beaten them 4-1. Things were looking good after the first game with us winning in OT on a tic-tac-toe play finished off by Jim Lopez. But the Bandits proved to be too much in game two and won 6-3. The third game was tied at 2-2 halfway through the game when injured scorer Jim Lopez, fresh off of elbow surgery, came out of the stands and strapped on the skates to help his struggling team ( here I come to save the day!! ). To no avail though, the Ice Bandits put in two goals in the third period and won the series. But our revenge would come!!
1999 Spring League Season
We started the season in the 'B' league, but after being spanked in our first game 8-0 we were moved back to the 'C' league ( thank god!! ). Towards the middle of the season we rattled off 7 wins in a row but ended the season struggling, losing four of our last seven. Nick Tuozzolo edged Tony Lopez for the team points total in the last game of the season and they placed second and third in the league points race, respectively. We got big seasons from Bill Super ( 18 goals in 17 games ), newcomer Carl D'Angelo ( 14 goals ) and goaltender Frank Loh played every game. Our regular season record was 14 and 7.
The playoffs started against WFW, a 9-5 win which was not as close as the score appears. Our second round opponent, the Crusaders, took us to overtime where Tony Lopez, playing defense due to a short bench, fired a game-winning slap shot with the big helper going to Tony Cirineo. That matched us against the Scrappers, by far our toughest opponent of the playoffs. The Scrappers one game one 6-5, outshooting our squad 43-27. Game two was all us, and goaltender Loh was huge, winning 4-1. Game 3 started out lopsided when we went up 5-0 early in the second period, but the Scrappers mounted a scary comeback. In the end we prevailed, 6-4, with the game winner going to Jim Lopez ( again!! ). With the Ice Bandits playing in the 'B' league this season we played the Avengers in the finals. The finals were really no contest and we won in two games, 5-2 and 7-1, with Jim Lopez having 5 goals in those two games alone. Off to Connie Mack's for some drinks!!
1999-2000 Season
We continued our winning ways going into the new season, winning our first seven, amidst some disarray. Forward Tony Lopez had decided to play goal ( a position he had played in high school and college ), and his teammates were skeptical at best. He gave them more to worry about early in the season, letting in many goals that should have been stopped. As he improved his play the team faltered, at one point winning only one of seven. The season ended on a good note with us winning three of our last four, putting us at 11-6-1 for the season. The big addition to our team this season was Billy Anderson. A natural goal scorer, Billy made the team forget that their leading scorer was in the nets. He managed an unbelievable 40 goals in 13 games! Also having a big season was Tommy Lesinski ( 29 points ). The season also marked the return of Mike Santoro, our stay at home specialist who isn't afraid to rush the puck. Late season pick-ups Denny Nilan and Pete Flicker were necessary to replace deadbeats that didn't pay ( Jim!! ).
The playoffs started with an easy 8-3 win over the Brew-ins and a 6-1 win over the Vipers. That again brought us to the Scrappers. After we won the first game 5-1 the Scrappers fought back ( almost literally ) to win game two 4-1. For the second time in two seasons this series would go to a third game. With big name players like Tommy Lesinski and Bill Shapiro missing for game 3 the Sasquatch had to rely on their big guns to come through...and they did. Billy Anderson had a hat trick and Carl D'Angelo had the game winner as we won 6-3. That brought us to the rematch that we were hoping for, the Ice Bandits. We were down in game one 3-2 when Anderson scored to tie the game with 3 minutes to go, and into overtime we went. Again Anderson proved to be the game breaker as he scored on a breakaway to win the game and survive a sub-par game by goaltender Lopez. Tony Lopez would rebound for game two and was almost unbeatable. A big first goal by Tommy Holzer put us on top at the end of two periods 1-0. The Ice Bandits came out firing in the third and scored 23 seconds in. That's the way it stayed until, again, Billy Anderson scored the game winner with 8 minutes left. Nick Tuozzolo scored an insurance goal in the last two minutes to finish off the Bandits 3-1. Revenge at last!!! ...and a good time was had by all afterwards