Guppies Win Semi Final game in Sudden Death OT to dethrone defending champs the MapleLeafs 6-5

10/12/02 - Acclaimed as the most brutal game of the season, strife with conflict and steeped in controversy, this game will live in infamy, and go down in history as one of the many, many, many great Guppy wins!

The Guppies and the Leafs came to play Saturday morning as they faced off at 10:03 am for the Division C first round Playoff Game. The winner of this game would advance to the final game on Sunday, and the looser would be sent packing till next season, everything was on the line.

The first half went quick, with few penalties, game play was hard as both teams would not let up, or slow down. The gap was no more than 1 goal for most of the first half, it was an exciting game to watch, with only a few seats left in the upper deck.
As the Guppies jumped ahead of the Leafs for an early goal and 1-0 start on the game as Mulcahy hits the net to start it up. Guppies would battle to a 4-2 lead going into the first half. The game was tight and both tenders playing well, this was far from over!

Who knew this one could go to the wire and who could foresee the mayhem and utter disregard for unbiased officiating that was about to take place. Showing up late for the game, a new ref was on the scene and she was having a bad day. At one point on the game she actually benched 4 Guppy players including our team captain for7+ minutes to give the defending Leafs the edge they would need to pull the game back into range.

Beating the odds on every power play, Zito, Kelly, Murphy, all playing outstandingly killing 2 on 4 power plays, Gil, Tim, Merk and Jonny, continued to boggle the Leafs O, and the crowed to the point of utter astonishment.

Yes folks it got ugly, and now the Gupps were tied going into overtime 5-5, it was a whole new game, sudden death, the Guppy perfect season and championship hung in the balance.

Like the great Guppy legacy that was 1996-1998 our angry fish battled through fearlessly digging deep and mixing up some real Guppy magic, the likes of which you would have to see to believe..

With 3 minutes still on the OT clock Brian Mulcahy did not disappoint. He started the scoring on the day and put the finish on in overtime to end the game 6-5. Guppies win, the crowed goes wild, flashback its 1998 all over again as the Guppies head victoriously for the locker room. The crowded stadium on their feet, can you feel the love….

This reporter is gripped with utter exuberance, words cannot describe…

Stats should be updated later today, I lost my notebook in a puddle of mud after game ones celebration…More news later, stay tuned, ..

Serge...

--Team Photos Etc...

DIVISION C CHAMPS
The Killingworth Guppies

Killingworth celebrates their first championship in 4years! Defeating the Scratches in Regulation play, 5-2 Season final, Guppies take it all -

10/13/02 - A physical game was in store as the Guppies faced of against the Scratches 4:31 pm Sunday afternoon for the Division Championship. Also winning their semi final game on Saturday the Scratches came to play, and hopefully dash the Guppy dream season.

The Scratches bid would go unanswered and the Guppy Offense would finish them 5-2, Guppy Defense was vicious, terminating many of the Scratch offensive moves and shutting down lanes, frustrating the Scratches offense all afternoon.

The Guppy winning machiene was fired up, in this to win, Guppy momentum from the great victory over the Leafs the day prior seemed to propel them forward as they finished off the Scratches to win the coveted title DIVISION C CHAMPIONS.

Guppies Parade to Victory..., As the Guppies are met with crowds of fans at their home coming parade, Team Captain Kelly was asked to sum up the season for all of the fans and onlookers who had come to join the guppy celebration, Kelly was quoted as saying, "The Long Road To Victory Proved, well Victorious"

 

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Guppies 2002 Trophy Case:

Calder Trophy(Rookie of the Year): Mike Halle

Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Joe Linskey

Lady Byng Trophy: Jason Zito & Marc Crayton

James Norris Memorial Trophy (Top Defenseman): John Carroll

Maurice Richard Trophy (Top Goal Scorer): Brian Kelly

Art Ross Trophy (Top Point Scorer): Brian Kelly

Frank J. Selke Trophy (Top Defensive Forward): Rob Murphy

Conn Smythe Trophy (Most Valuable Player in the Playoffs): Brian Mulcahy

Vezina Trophy (Top Goalie): Joe Linskey

MULCAHY LEADS THE GUPPIES TO PREFECTION!

10/3/02- They did it!! They did what no other Killingworth Guppies Team has ever done, not even the great teams of 1996 & 1998, the 2002 Guppies are a perfect 10-0 for the regular season. Last night the Guppies faced-off against a determined Maple Leafs Team who needed this game for playoff positioning. The Leafs would strike first, scoring midway through the first
period. However, the Guppies answered late in the first when Mike Halle(2-0-2) took a great pass from Brian Mulcahy(2-2-4) and tied the game. Rob Murphy(2-1-3)would score at the end of the period and the Guppies enjoyed a one goal lead at the break. In the Second Period the Guppies game alive and it was time for the Brian Mulcahy show. Brian had already scored
early in the second period when he made a teriffic pass back to Tim Gessner (1-0-1) on the point. Gessner fired a rocket into the back of Leafs net for his first goal of the season. An amazed John Carroll stated "Tim's shot was unstoppable, I don't know where he was hiding that but hopefully he'll have that for the playoffs". Gessner wasn't alone, All four Guppie's Defensemen scored last night; Carroll (1-1-2), Halle (2-0-2), Miekiewicz (1-0-1), and
Gessner(1-0-1). With the win last night the Guppies will now face the Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. "It's great to have a regular season like this but we haven't won anything yet" explained Guppies forward Marc Crayton(0-3-3). That seemed to be the feelings of most of the Guppies last night, Jay Zito(1-0-1)"Second season starts now and that's the important
season. If we are going to be compared the other Great Guppie teams of the past we need to win the Championship". The Guppies start the Second Season next Saturday October 12, 2002 at 900am vs The Mapleleafs. Gates open at 8am and season ticket holders have the opportunity to secure their seats for the playoffs. General tickets will go on sale Sunday morning at the 9am. Tickets are available at the Z-rink ticket window, the Guppies Home offices in Killingworth, and also via ticketmaster.

Sidenotes:

-Guppies offered contract extensions to John Carroll and Tim Gessner
following the Guppies victory last night.
-Guppies management are still in talks with Jason Zito and his agent in the
attempt to sign Jason to a long term contract.
-The Guppies have agreed to play next session and will be moved up in the
Z-Rink B league.
-Former Guppie Brian Blair will be shipping out on October 7, 2002 for the
US Army Reserves. The Guppies would like to wish Brian the best of luck and
a safe return home, also the Guppies would like to Thank Brian for his
efforts.

Thursdays Scorers:
Carroll- 1
Gessner- 1
Halle- 2
Miekeiwicz-1
Mulcahy- 2
Murphy- 2
Zito- 1

Game Summarys - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

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More Unofficial Reporting By: Foreign Correspondent Serge Momesso -

 

Caviar and Cigarettes

Gupps pull off the perfect season, winning ten straight regular season games, defeating the MapleLeafs 10-3 in regulation time.

It was a late one for the guppies as the faced off against the Leafs with a start time of 10:30, (that's PM for those few who missed the game). Starting off a little slow our beloved fish fell behind 1-0 early in the first half on a bogy from the blue line.

Working the lines through a few times our aged guppies started to get loose and started schooling-it-up. At this point in the game three things we abundantly obvious to everyone in the overly packed house..:

1- Guppies were not passing up the perfect season!
2- nor would they consider giving up 4 point to the leafs to improve their bid for glory!
3- And the 4 horsemen came to win! Thundering through the Leafs O, the horses started the scoring flurry and finished the night outdoing the Guppy offense with 5 goals and multiple assists of their own. Gupp D was in-da-house all night long, Kudos to Halle with 2 and Merk with 1 on the night, Carroll and Gessnar picking up one each as well.

Again Joe Linskey was impenetrable as his titanium goal tending, sprawling, crawling and flipper flapping kept the Leafs at bay, much to the Leafs dismay (hey that rimes). Solid plays for Zito, Kelly Murphy and Fong with power 4-checking and penalty killing throughout the game, and Kudos to Tim Gessnar who spanked one past the Leafs tender late in the second period to put some icing on the Guppy's caviar bonanza..
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Moving on to the post game activities, a scuffle broke out in the parking lot late night as Joe Linskey struggled to keep his fans from smothering him for autographs and any Guppy memorabilia they could get their fish loving hands on. Again that Guppy Lour proved to be too much. Linskey ran from the parking lot clutching his few remaining articles of clothing and was last seen bolting across I-91 around 2pm carrying an empty bottle of Irish Whisky shouting "Ill always have the perfect season 2002 and no one can take that away from me, No One, No One….!".
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Update, 9:45 am October 4, 2002, "Lost guppy found"!!! We checked a few of the local hospitals, psychiatric wards and soup kitchens for Joe all night and into the early morning hours… You can all relax. The kind doctors at Killingworth Psychiatric Hospital found Joe just past 9:am today, apparently he had crawled under a bridge abutment still clutching his bottle and last remaining article of clothing, muttering to himself no one, no one, no one…

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