AMHL

A note from your Commissioner:

League, this year we’re planning an AMHL golf tournament on May 6, 2023 at the Pakenham Highlands Golf Course in beautiful Pakenham Ontario. 

We'll know more about the price, tee times, etc in the coming weeks.

It’ll be a 2 man scramble format. 

We’ll present the league awards after the tournament so it’d be great to have as many guys from the league as possible. 

We're not taking names for registration at this point but guys should block their calendars for this if possible.

Note: If any of you have connections at their work that could provide some prizes (like hats, beer cozies, new car) please reach out to league Commish Tim McGrath at tqmcgrath@gmail.com.

Almonte ON - What a series, what a game, what an overtime. For anyone who had the pleasure of taking in any of the finals action for this years Keg Cup you got to a watch an absolute classic. 

You wanna talk about two teams giving everything they had to hoist this great trophy you got it in the last week.

 This story starts on Tuesday when Bruce's Car Care came into the finals the favorite playing a Lee Plumbing team that had fought for 3 full weeks just to appear in front of them. The game was awesome, Lee Plumbing hopped out to an early lead and kept the lead until about 10 minutes left in the second period. They were up 4-2 and things were not looking great for Bruce's but they were able to fight back for what feels like the 15th time this season and save that game by tieing it with about 5 minutes left in the contest. The spectators at that game felt like we were destined to see a tie in that one but it wasn't to be for Lee Plumbing as Bruce's berried a third unanswered goal late to win game 1 of the series 5-4. Captain Luke Martin led the scoring in this game getting 2 and adding an assist. Kyle Killeen scored a beautiful goal late, while Brad Wilson and Alexander Zuna each contributed with a goal each. On Lee Plumbing's side, the scoring was distributed evenly with Danny Carroll, Shane Carroll, Erik Mask and Mack Miller each scoring 1 in the opening game of the finals. This game went back and forth the whole time but it really felt like Lee Plumbing had the edge. No one left the arena that night feeling like this series was over and they were right.

Game 2 on Saturday brought as much juice (maybe even more) as Tuesday. Lee Plumbing once again came out firing, scoring at will it felt like. Picking corners and scoring on every decent opportunity the team was able to mustard. Danny Carroll played especially well in this game. Scoring 2 goals and assisting another one after saving a breakout for Bruce's while on his back and finding Mack Miler in the slot. Mack scored 2, Danny scored 2 and Shane Carroll also scored a very nice goal in this one. It felt like Lee would display incredible offense and then Bruce's would fire right back with offense of their own. League veteran Matt McNeely got Bruce's on the scoreboard scoring from the point, Johnny Ostapiuk scored in this one as well and of course captain Luke Martin once again brought this team back into this game late. Up 5-4 with only about a minute left, Lee Plumbing knew that a win was the only way they could get the series to Overtime and they did everything they could to make sure Bruce's didn't get a chance to tie this game and have the Keg Cup awarded after a tie. This series didn't deserve that and Lee Plumbing made sure they would get their chance in overtime winning game 2 5-4. 

So that meant that we went overtime and overtime delivered. There is nothing worse for a spectator then when two teams who are evenly matched go into overtime and within 30 seconds to a minute its over. The spectators on Saturday (And there were plenty) wouldn't have to be worried about that in this Keg Cup final as both teams traded offensive chances for what felt like an eternity but really was only 8 minutes. With 13 minutes left in the overtime period, Captain Luke Martin tipped a puck from the blue line top shelf to win his first Keg Cup in incredible style.

This writer has spent many years bringing his keg cup drought to the attention of all of our readers on this website. Luke has never had an issue in the season but has struggled bringing home the keg cup until Saturday when he scored 3 goals (2 goals in a losing effort and the winning goal) to ultimately end this streak and change his narrative. He goes down as a regular captain now who can win in the big game. He'll join the likes of Matt McNeely (who played with him this season) and Jordan McCabe who have been in the big game and have lost several years in a row without hoisting that mug before ultimately winning it and getting the monkey off of their back.

But that Monkey has a tendency to never leave the league. It just hops on the back of someone else and unfortunately for Danny Carroll, his back will be the one the monkey choses for at least the next calendar year. Danny has now had back to back seasons where his dreams of becoming a keg cup winner has ended in Overtime of the finals. This is now Danny's 4th straight season of making the finals and coming away with nothing to show for it. He will be the new target of the "can he do it in the big game" conversation that will surely pick up again at the beginning of October later this year.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Almonte Men's Hockey League again this season! Having 5 teams back was something special and the parity in the league is getting better by the year. We hope to have everyone back but if you're leaving the league it was great having you! 

Have a great summer everyone and we'll see you in October when 5 captains begin their quest to lift this mug that Luke Martin now holds.

BML Ends Season with Valiant Effort Against Bruce's

Is the Keg Cup hangover real? It's really hard to tell. Although BML brought back many of the same players who hoisted this beautiful mug just a season ago, they came just short of giving themselves a coin flips chance at doing it again. They fought hard on Sunday, hoping out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Bryden Campbell's five hole goal. From there things didn't go according to plan. They found themselves killing off penalties throughout the game and left themselves with little time to do anything offensively. Defensively the squad came to play but it still wasn't enough to stop Bruce's on this morning. They took a 3-1 loss, ending their season a little earlier than planned.

BML had a great season for the most part, playing at the top of the league for most of the year. If it wasn't for an end of the season drought they may have found themselves playing someone else in this game but things unfolded as they did and they will join the other two teams at "could have been us" corner on Tuesday/Saturday.

Great season BML!

Bruce's Fights Hard. Win's Game 1

It wasn't easy. I think if you asked anyone in that room after the game, they would tell you it was their best win of the season. Put aside the fact that it was game 1 of the final but Lee Plumbing gave Bruce's Car Care everything they had and this game 

Trevor Foster Plays in Final Game in AMHL

Never easy to show up to a game at 11 PM with absolutely nothing on the line other than to capitalize on some pre-paid ice time but ProFoam Insulation Inc tried their best on Tuesday. Losing a close game 5-3 to a gritty Bruce's Car Care team. 

This game was more about league veteran Trevor Foster's last game though. Foster has been playing in this league for what feels like 2 decades and in those years he has easily suited up for 50 - 60 AMHL games per season (usually the majority of his games and at least an extra 15-20 games replacing a goalie who couldn't make it). If you haven't played with Trevor Foster at some point in this league, it means that you are likely the goalie that he's replacing. He's been rumored to have won as many as 6 straight Keg Cups in the peak of his days in this league and will be missed big time. 

This writer won't be surprised if he continues to get calls even if he won't take them. 

It's been a pleasure Trevor!

Lee Beat the Breaks off of Ryno Motors. Head to AMHL Finals

Lee Plumbing was being harassed all season by this writer to be better, to show up more often, to be more productive...and Lee Plumbing sent this writer to "should have been us" corner on Tuesday. In a tight opening period Lee suffered a goal against early in the contest to Ryno Motors but were able to climb themselves back into the game late in the period. Scoring two big goals before the teams headed into the half time break. Leading 3-1 the team ended up scoring 2 more goals in the second period. These goals were not ordinary goal by the way. These were goals where Mack Miller and Andrew Killeen were totally asserting their dominance in this game, walking through 3-5 guys to score. It was an impressive game from the shit we're used to from Lee Plumbing.

Lee has now done the unthinkable, from 5th place all the way to the final. What a two week stretch it's been for these guys. They will now head to the final to play Bruce's Car Care, a team that they don't have a great track record against. But what Lee Plumbing is now known for is that you are not allowed to look at the season record to determine their fate in this match up. This could be a finals for the ages.

Danny Carroll has been to 4 finals now in a row with nothing to show for it. Will he hoist his first mug? Or will he replace Luke Martin as a new captain who can't get it done when it means the most. Come out this Tuesday @ 10 and Saturday at 5:30 PM to find out!

Ryno Fails to Show up in Big Game. Season Ends.

Ryno motors didn't have the game they drew up when they entered the ice on Sunday morning. The last time they played Lee Plumbing they have a bad last minute of the first period and it costed them that game and this game was no different. With an offensive push from Lee Plumbing coming out of the first period, it didn't feel like Ryno Motors had what it was going to take to get them back in the game. They feel behind 5-1 in the second period and for 16 minutes, the team looked like they were having their final skate of the season.

This season went up and down for Ryno Motors. They started the season struggling to win, had a solid middle of the season and didn't end the season the way they would had liked to. Sam Hopewell for his part, did everything he could and even lead this team to a 1-0 lead early but not even he could stop Lee Plumbing on this day. Although the team will be standing in "could had been me" corner on Tuesday/Saturday, they felt pretty good about the season overall.

Great year Ryno Motors!

Follow the AHML on Instagram!

September 25, 2019 - The AMHL is proud to announce that we have joined Instagram. Our fearless leader Tim who will be running the account will be posting pics from the draft, announcing some of the selections as well as the winners of last years awards through this platform. The plan is to post through out the year with weekly scores and fun pics anyone takes. We encourage guys to take pictures relevant (and postable) to the AMHL! 

                                                                                                                                                                                             Give us a Follow: amhl_kegcup