Spongee Memories…

 

2010-11

 

The anticipation of a another solid year could be felt in the Valley Gardens dressing room as the puck was dropped on another sponge season on December 12, 2010. Without the benefit of any pre-season games, Apocalypse Now came flying out of the gate and laid waste to the Club St. B Highrollers in a 7-2 season opening win. The jubilation didn’t last, though, as Apocalypse did not win again until Game 7. They ended the season with a respectable record of 6-5-3. New uniforms were unveiled with the number 19 on the left shoulder to commemorate Joe Moore, who passed away earlier in the year.

 

Other notable occurrences in the season included:

·         Patrick Nikolaus posted his first career hat-trick in a 5-5 tie against the Golden Geeks.

·         Jim Heim ended his streak of 38 consecutive starts in net due to a stomach flu

·         Apocalypse Now and Grand Beach Beer Bellies met for the 20th time in their long and storied histories.

·         Jeff Wrobleski scored the 250th goal of his career.

·         Guy Sever notched his 20th career hat-trick in a 9-8 win over Club St. B.

·         Myron Fiks hit the 300 point mark.  The third player in Apocalypse Now history to do it.

·         Fiks also won the scoring title for the second year in a row with a total of 31 points.

 

The Play-Offs

 

Apocalypse Now has not won a play-off title since the B-side final in the 2003-04 season. Curt Burnett celebrated with Champaign afterward. This year, the team appeared determined to end the six years of futility, and came out swinging on Play-off Weekend. They were firing on all cylinders as they knocked out the Sopranos, Junk and The Dukes one after another.  Apocalypse moved on to the A-side semi-final the next weekend, but were eliminated by the Skunky Dozen in a 5-4 classic.

 

Roster: Veterans:  Jason Allard, Myron Fiks, Jeff Wrobleski, Rob Moore, Jim Moore, Patrick Nikolaus, Bryan Finney, Bryan Wiebe, Tristan Carlson, Guy Sever, Jim Heim Rookies: Andrew Clark