Oklahoma MoonDawgs: Adult Beginners Hockey Team

Dawgs Kick off winter season with 2 losses but build confidence.

2010-09-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

The Moondawgs fell for the 2nd time ( 1st in regular season) after getting knocked off by the league favorites , the Canadian Air Force on Sunday. The Moondawgs skated with the CAF team for the first 27 minutes but then the Canadians, being Canadians took over the game and exploited the MoonDawgs weaknesses. Scoring on 5 shots from the point that seemed to pinball off no less than 3 players was how the Canadians took the lead and the game. The final score was 11-5 but the 'Dawgs showed a never quit attitude by scoring 3 goals in less than a 4 minute window in the 3rd. The Canadians, once again being Canadians, flexed their hockey muscle by answering back with goals of their own within 30 seconds of 2 of the 3 goals scored by the 'Dawgs in the 3rd.

Overall the game was fun and the Moondawgs now know what they need to work on to compete in this league. Having a short bench did not help this week. We had a player out sick, a player out of town, and a player injured in the 1st. Couple that with 7 new faces on the squad this season and yeah, it is going to take some adjustments. Growing Pains if you will. Next game is next Sunday.

I will work on getting Bios for the 2010-2011 Moondawgs this week.

Moondawg Scoring Summary 9-18 vs Canadian Air Force
1st Period:
No Scoring
2nd Period:
Brett LaBare (1)
Donald Burrows (2)
3rd Period:
Robert Baker (1)
Evan Dawson (1)
Paco (1)

New winter season starts Sunday

2010-09-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

Winter Season starts Sunday. We have a sponsor which is Awesome. Thanks to A-1 Carbonic for sponsoring us.

We play those Tripods in the 1st game.. surprise, surprise eh?

Moondawgs have a few new faces and are excited about the season. We have a few guys who are no longer with us so we would like to welcome Trey, Ryan, Paco, Pooki, and Evan on to the squad. We had a great group of guys already and these additions are no different.

Trey and Ryan are a couple guys who were buddies outside of hockey but they are hockey players from the old school. I think Trey still uses wooden sticks , and I know he uses duct tape to tape his socks. Paco comes to us from the Smart Alecks and Pooki is his wife. Evan is a guy who played roller hockey and has just gotten into ice.

Sean who played forward for us is the new Goalie since our goalie last year was suspended.

All in all this has the makings of a great season. We are looking forward to it and hope you, our readers, are too. I will try to post pictures and videos as much as I can. I have a couple guys to help out on this blog this season so you should see more updates!

All good things must come to an end EH?

2010-08-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well the dream was dreamed and put into action. On April 19, 2010 the Oklahoma Moondawgs were finally and actually a real life hockey team starting their first season ever playing against the Smart Alecks in the Okc Mens Adult hockey league. On Aug 15, 2010 the 'Dawgs ended their season losing to those same pesky Smart Alecks. In what was one of the best games of the year for the 'Dawgs , the 'Dawgs fell 5-4 . They , for the most part, out played their opposition and the game was tied going into the third period. The last frame took its toll on the Moondawgs , as they only had 5 forwards and 3 D-men. The Dawgs gave up 2 goals very late and scored 1 with :34 seconds left to pull within 1. The last 34 seconds the 'Dawgs registered 5 shots on goal but couldn't put the equalizer on the board.

It was a great season and the main goal of improvement and competitiveness was , in my humble opinion, reached by pretty much everyone. We are already looking forward to winter season , and the excitement it brings.

-Nick

MoonDawgs Playoff bound...

2010-08-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Moondawgs end the regular season on a high note beating the Smart Alecks 6-2. The Moondawgs had to team up with a few tripods for the season finale due to 6 suspensions in a loss to TinkerHawks. The Dawgs take to the ice against the smart alecks tomorrow in the first round of the playoffs.

MoonDawgs hand Tinker their first loss of the season!!!

2010-07-25T16:55:00.001-07:00

MOONDAWGS WIN!!!!!! 8-5 against the No. 1 team in the league, The Tinker Hawks!!!!

Story to Follow!

2010-07-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

The Moondawg's first summer season is winding down. The Moondawgs lost to the Tripods in a close game Sunday, well the closet game we have ever played with them. We lost 5-2 . The goals were scored by M. La Torre and E. Lambeth. The Captains are very pleased with the team progress and thing are looking up for the winter season . There are still 3 scheduled dates left in the regular season and then playoffs. The Dawgs hope to pull a couple wins going into the playoffs to give them the confidence they need to pull off some upsets.

Next game is Sunday and 3:30 against the TinkerHawks. It will be played at Artic Edge.

Also Check out Http://DailyHockeyDeals.blogspot.com for great deals on gear. Right now they are doing their first free giveaway so check things out over there!

Moondawgs Split DOuble header to raise win Tally to 3

2010-07-18T10:42:00.001-07:00

Last week the dawgs raised their win total to 3 on the inaugural season. The beat the Sabres and Lost to the TinkerHawks

This is for KYLE..

2010-07-10T22:16:00.001-07:00

Here is your update... we got our Yams beat by the smart alecks two weeks ago.....

We were off for 4th of july last week.

This week doubleheader at Blazers. 445 against TinkerHawks , 715 vs Sabres!

MoonDawgs make it 2 in a row , after 7-2 win against the Sabres.

2010-06-20T15:11:00.001-07:00

Moondawgs played the best game of their young history when they beat the Sabres 7-2 on Sunday. Lambeth potted 2 goals but the big surprise was the number of new faces in the goal column. New goal scorers are as follows: Chris Robinette, Mike La Torre , Nick Fleehart, Robert Baker, and Luke Wood. Congrats to you guys and lets keep playing hard!! Article will be posted later.

Also I congratulated Kyle on getting married next week but another congrats is in order. Gail is also getting married next Saturday! Congrats to both of you two!!!

2010-06-19T10:31:00.001-07:00

Next game ... Sun Jun 20th .. 2:15 pm @ Artic Edge. The Moondawgs seek their 2nd win of the season facing off against the Sabres..

Check back , I should have the game winning goal from last week by B. Netterville uploaded sometime this evening!..

Congrats to Kyle Young #16 . He is getting married next Saturday!

MoonDawgs, Winless no longer!

2010-06-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today the Moondawgs tasted their first taste of victory after battling the Sabres at Blazers Ice Centre. The Dawgs scored on a short handed breakaway with 2 minutes left in the game to give them their first win of the season , and in the club's history. The game was a tight game with the Sabres answering every goal the Dawgs scored, well every goal but the last one.

The Moondawgs scored a goal in every period to improve their record to 1-8-0 . In my opinion the score was not indicative of the game. The Dawgs out chanced the the Sabres at least 2-1. The Sabres goalie stood on his head and kept the game close, stopping shot after shot. However a win is a win and the Moondawgs hope to extend their winning way next week when they play the Sabres again at Artic Edge an evening showdown.

Goal Scorers :
1st goal: J. Bauman
2nd goal: E. Lambeth
3rd goal: B. Netterville

Great game boys... I am proud of every one of you guys , it took a few ass kickings to get where we are now but I hope this is a confidence builder and lets you know that all the hard work will continue to pay off!

2010-06-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well the hockey team got the week off for MEMORIAL day! Personally I was happy for time off so I could rest my Sciatica riddled body!!! Getting old sucks!!! HAHA!

Anyway Next Game is This Sunday June 6 against the Tripods!

Captain and Assistant Capt has been named... Evan Lambeth is the Captain of the MoonDawgs and John Bauman is the Assistant. Both these guys have worked their tails off. They have taught us a ton and hope to learn more from them in the future!!! Thanks for all your help guys!!

On a side not June 6 is also my beautiful wife, Tanis' birthday. She will be 20-something haha!

Happy Birthday Tan, your a huge part of making the Moondawgs a reality. Thanks for putting up with me , the guys, and my gear whoring ways!!!! Love you

Dawgs fall twice on scoreboard but double up on the confidence.

2010-05-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

Although at the end of a game the score is all that matters , the Dawgs found out that the final score isn't the only indicator of whether or not the game was a good one for them. The MoonDawgs played their first double header of the season. They faced some adversity coming into the game. A couple injuries and couple of people missing were just a couple mountains they had to climb. The first game showed the dawgs play tough but fall 5-3 to the Smart Alecs. Their first win still elusively evaded them. The goals were scored by Jon and Evan ...again!! However the lines showed more chemistry and all had scoring chances.

The 2nd game was against those pesky Tri-pods. The Tripods had blown out the MoonDawgs in the first 2 meetings. This game had all the makings of another blowout. The dawgs had just played a game and had little to no rest. The Moondawgs scored first for their first lead ever against the Tri-pods. In the end the 'pods won 6-3 but the game was a lot closer than 3 goals. The other 2 Moondawgs lines had a ton of scoring opportunites and played AWESOME. Everyone was working together and playing well. A lot more puck movement was the key and the close games gave the MoonDawgs confidence. Playing well has definitely lifted the 'Dawgs spirits. All of them are ready to play but will have to wait since the league is off for Memorial Day.

Highlights of the day:
Evan's Hat trick on the 'pods
Baker trying to fight Crazy Dave
and since I write this, My first penalty which was roughing , and also me goading the Tri-pods goalie into a penalty by tripping me !!

Good Job Boys!

2010-05-23T09:36:00.001-07:00

Double Header today!!!

330 and 445 pm playing the smart alecs and the Tripods

Short handed Dawgs fall hard to TInkerHawks

2010-05-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Coming into their 5th game of the year the Moondawgs thought their elusive 1st win was close. With two 1 -goal losses in the last two weeks, things looked like they were coming together for the dawgs. The Dawgs faced the Hawks at Blazers Ice centre on Sunday. The Dawgs were missing 1/3 rd of their team but the show must go on eh ?

The game started with a bang but not for the Dawgs. The Hawks scored 3 times in the first 4 minutes. Its was pretty much all Hawks for the rest of the day. The Hawks ended the 1st period 6-0 . The bright spots of the day were once again Lambeth and Bauman. Both potted goals for consecutive days. The score ended 11-2 in favor of the hawks.

The Dawgs will look to bounce back next week when they play their first double header of the year. They face the Smart Alecs and then the Tripods.

Still working on Article for Sunday ... Here is the scoring!

2010-05-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

Period 1 G: E. Lambeth (5) A: Fleehart (2) , K. Young (1)
G: J. Bauman (2) Unassited

Period 2 G: J Bauman (3) A: E. Lambeth (1) , N. Fleehart (3)

Period 3 None

Moondawgs 3 - Smart Alecs 4

2010-05-09T21:03:00.001-07:00

Well another 4-3 loss , disappointing especially since we had the lead again the 3rd.

Article forthcoming ...

2010-05-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

4th game tomorrow against the Smart Alecs. Its at 6pm @ Artic Edge rink

Please check out Http://DailyHockeyDeals.blogspot.com

There are some great deals listed

Moondawgs 3 - Tinkerhawks 4

2010-05-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

Moondawgs show some bite, but still fall short:
Written by Nick Fleehart

Sunday , the Moondawgs prepared for their 3rd game of the season against the Tinker Hawks. This matchup was up North at Artic Edge Ice Arena, game time was set for 3:30 pm. The previous week saw the Moondawgs blown out by the D3 team in D4 teams clothing, the Tripods. The 'Dawgs took the week and prepared using a stick&puck session on Wed and some private ice on Friday night. They worked primarily on skating and passing as they seem to be the biggest obstacles of many standing in the way of that elusive first victory. The work the 'Dawgs have been putting in finally decided to show its face in the from of a competitive game against the Tinker Hawks Sunday.

The Lines looked like this:
Dave-Mike-Chris
Nick-Evan-Luke
Sean-Baker-Kyle

Gail-Justin
Jon-Kyle
Evan-Gail

The game started out with a bang for the Moondawgs as the did something they have not done yet in regulation. The 'Dawgs opened the scoring and on only the 2nd shift of the game. Nick stripped the puck from a Hawk's defender and tied up the opposing players stick to allow Luke to take possession of the puck. Luke shoveled the puck toward the right hand boards where Kyle picked up the puck. Kyle wound up and unleashed one of his sizzling slap shots . The shot didn't even give the goalie time to react and put the ' Dawgs up 1-0 @ 3:52 in the 1st. The 'dawgs built the lead as the teams leading scorer, Evan, took a pass in the middle of his defensive zone and headed up the ice on a break away. A beautiful deke and a backhand laser later the 'Dawgs were up 2-0. The Period ended with a 2-1 lead for the 'Dawgs.

The 2nd period was played well by both sides and the Tinker hawks put up 2 goals to take the lead into the 3rd period.

The 3rd period started out 3-2 in favor of the 'hawks. The hawks scored early to put the 'dawgs down 2 goals and gave them a large hill to climb if they wanted to tie the game up. Both sides played great defensive hockey for almost the rest of the game. With 4 minutes left in the 3rd there was a scrum in front of the hawks goalie. Sean put a shot on goal and the rebound came out to Evan. Evan knocked home the rebound to score his 4th goal of the season and bring his team to within 1. The last 4 minutes of the game seemed to be all 'Dawgs as they put as many shots on goal in those 4 minutes as they did in the previous Sunday's game. Although they owned the last 4 minutes the couldn't net a goal to tie it up.

The 'dawgs fought back but fell short 4 - 3. They played a lot better than the previous game and showed immense improvement. If they continue to improve the 1st win shouldn't be too far off! There were many standouts in the game other than the goal scorers. Most of the guys played great hockey and stayed in their positions. Mike La Torre became a defensive dynamo by laying out an blocking like 6 shots. The passing looked crisper and we played in the other teams zone a lot more than we had in previous games. Its starting to feel a lil bit like hockey.

Good Job boys!

Tinker Hawks 4 - Moondawgs 3

2010-05-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

A lot closer , more competitive game today .. Will write a longer Article when I get time.

Scoring Summary
1st Period
Goal: K. Young (1) - Assists - L. Wood (1) N. Fleehart (1)
Goal: E. Lambeth (3) - Assists - Unassisted

2nd Period
No Scoring

3rd Period
Goal: E. Lambeth (4) Assists: S. Netterville (1)

2010-04-29T06:37:00.001-07:00

Next Game ... Sunday 3:30pm at Artice Edge vs Tinker Hawks...

Also check out this blog.
http://dailyhockeydeals.blogspot.com

MoonDawgs down but not out!

2010-04-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Moondawgs down but not out!

The Moondawgs played their 2nd game on Sunday but met the same opponent and fate as the previous Sunday. It was pretty much the same song and dance this go 'round too. Goals were scored and lots of them and none by the Moondawgs. The 1st period saw the Moondawgs only down a couple , the 2nd period just down a few more. However, in the 3rd period is when the Tripods really poured it on. A lot of cherry picking and breakways seemed to be their modus operandi, not seeming to care that the score was already 8-0 . I have to give it to them , they decided to stop shooting with 4 mins left after they were up 12-0. Swell group of guys huh ?

The Moondawgs were held off the score sheet but it wasn't for lack of effort. Believe it or not we actually spent more time on offense than we did the prior week. We just couldn't convert on those opportunities or the 4 or 5 breakways we had ourselves.

The only thing the Moondawgs can do is continue to skate and try to get better. I think now , most of us have realized that its going to be a long road. Its something I had forseen but hoped for a little more positive reenforcement than we have seen. I guess we really should not measure ourself based on the guys who have played for a while and chose to be in the lower leagues so they can feel good about their past hockey glory days. A true measuring stick will come a week from this Sunday on May 9th when we get to play some teams that are more on our level . Until then, we take our lumps and see where it takes us.

Keep Skating hard and good things will come guys!

-Nick Fleehart

Next Moondawgs games
Sunday May 2nd against Tinker Assault Hawks @ Artic edge. Game time is 2:15pm!

Next Game: Sunday April 25th , 2:15pm @ Blazers Ice Centre

2010-04-23T11:21:00.001-07:00

Guess who we play again!!!! Yup the Tri-pods!!!

Moondawgs Improve but Score still Lopsided....

2010-04-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Moondawgs Improve but Score still Lopsided....
-by Nick Fleehart

The Adult beginners team , the Oklahoma Moondawgs, from Oklahoma City rang in their inaugural season Sunday April 18th. The Moondawgs formed this February and consists of 16 guys , all but 3 having no previous hockey or skating experience.

They opened their season in the OKCAHL against the Tri-pods. The Tri-pods have been in Division 4 for a couple of years and have many experienced players. The Tri-pods came out victorious in 9 - 2 game. The Moondawgs highlights lent them self mainly to two players. Evan Lambeth with both goals coming unassisted and then also the Goalie Brian Kraft. Brian faced tons of shots , as it seems we played the whole day in our zone. Brian was a machine for us but its hard to stop every piece of rubber sent your way when facing over what seems like 50 shots in a game. The Tripods scored early and often but got a lil showy later in the 3rd when a couple big timers decided to rub in their garbage goals.. Not to mention the cow bells that were a-ringin' from their fans. Very frustrating for a team like the 'Dawgs to have to be subject to that , and more frustrating for a team of experienced guys to want to play in the lowest division so they can do this to beginner ( or as they said 'Easy") teams. I guess some people take pride in being king turd on Shit Island eh?

The Moondawgs, while taking the loss , still showed fight and determination. They played til the game was finished and didnt give up regardless of the score. The big thing is the team is starting to play better as a team. We are moving the puck more and this will create the badly needed offense soon!

The guys have been sticking and pucking pretty regularly for the past couple of months and its starting to show. There are a lot of small things we can do to make us immensely better and these are the things we are going to work on. We also will keep rotating positions to see what works for us. I want to commend all the guys for keeping their heads up and looking past this game. It's really exciting to see a team shake something like this off and already be excited and looking forward to our next game this upcoming Sunday. As my boy Baker says "I feel a win a'comin on".

==============================================

Dawgs on a personal note, you guys have improved drastically. If we keep improving like this we will fit right in with all these teams in less than half the season. Just keep doing what your doing and being students to the game. Thanks for being a great team , its still turning out to be a great season!

Question of the Day?
Have any of you ever dealt with teams/players that should obviously be playing against more experience or better competition? What did ya think about it and how did it affect you and/or your team? Leave answers in comments box.

2010-04-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone I have a link I want you guys to check out , if nothing more than for support. I have played a lot of softball in my lifetime , and i took it pretty serious at one point. Our teammate baker still plays. This blog is about one of the people who was in our softball community and was in a horrible accident last August. He suffered some very very serious injuries and is now battling with therapy. I follow and read this blog religiously and send many prayers toward this family.

http://prayforkevin.blogspot.com/

I just want you guys to read and support this family in a very tough time.
Thanks guys!!