Mark Bochner has provided speed, scoring, and steady presence for the Bomber Hockey Club for quite some time.  The Winter 2018 season was no exception and the skilled forward earned the title of the Most Valuable Bomber and helped his club win the Federal League Championship in back to back seasons.  

Mark showed the same flash he did in 2006 when he won three consecutive Bomber scoring crowns.  His 16 points were tied for third on the team but its Mark's goal scoring that was the lead story.  Bochner scored 12 times to lead the club and most were in crucial points in the game.  His single minor penalty would be surprising for player so entrenched in all aspects of the game, except for the fact he has done that season after season after season. 

With that backdrop, the Bomber Hockey Club is ready to officially announce that Mark Bochner has earned the honor of the best on the club-the Most Valuable Bomber.    

Justin Eisenberg and his 20 goals, 7 assists and all around good nature earned the honor of being awarded the Most Valuable Bomber award.  The award is only given during campaigns that end in a Bomber championship and Eisenberg was visibly moved by the receiving the honor voted on by his teammates.  When asked for comments by the media after the awards ceremony Eisenberg commented "Thank you all for the honor of being named MVB! It’s truly a pleasure to play with you all and being part of the organization."  Eisenberg's focus appeared to be looking forward though as he stressed the need for the "Bomb squad" to defend the cup and get out of the team's current funk.  Eisenberg has been a big addition to the squad since his introduction as the "player to be named later" in the Silverman trade back in Fall 15 season.  Silverman has sinced moved on to the Vegas Humperdinks of the Western Adult League circuit but Eisneberg has remained as a new staple for the Bomber hockey club.  Eisenberg has mostly played with the Brothers Bochner since his arrival and the trio was the most productive line in the league in the Fall 17 season.

With a strong season and a stronger playoff run Dave Bochner won the inaugural Van Der Horn Citation given to the player that best represents the team in a combination of skill and sportsmanship.  Dave finished fourth in team scoring with 6 goals and 13 assists and went the entire season with going into the box.  The late Neil Van Der Horn had 15 seasons  in which he had one minor penalty or less in his illustrious Bomber career.  That fact was a manifestation of his sportsmanslike character all the while being a top 10 player in team points goals and assists at the time of his passing.  This season was the third in a row the forward has not been penalized and combined with his point this season Dave was an obvious choice for the award.  

Side Notes:

Had it been an award prior to this season and if the Bombers had won a few more titles, Dave's brother Mark might have won multiple Van Der Horn Citations.  Mark has a minute total of 54 career penalty minutes in 314 games while scoring 391 points.  

Rob Pellegrino, Dave Smith and Jason Rega finished in a three way tie for the Bombers D-Force award given to the team's best defenseman in a championship season.  All three of the d-men were called into action eating up a bulk of the minutes on a backline that was perhaps the best in the league and the strength of the team in their Fall 17 Federal League Championship run.

In a shocking development, Bomber management has confirmed that 'Sarge', #22 in your program but #1 in your hearts will play his last game for the Bombers on January 28, 2018, a tilt against the Comeback Kids. When first informed of the news, captain Bill Auld noted "Sarge has provided so much to this organization. He has patrolled our blue line with such skill and poise for so many years. But it's his leadership and character that really define the man. It's unbelievable!"

The Bombers beat the Flying Aces 3-2 in game one of the Federal League Fall 17 Finals after falling behind 2-0. The three unanswered goals were netted by Jay Rega and Justin Eisenberg in period two with the game winner going to Bill Auld with 6:40 remaining in the third. 
Mike Gilbert Jr was a late scratch with a lower body injury. 
Combine that with the absence of the defensive duo of Smith and Pellegrino who were called into action defending our streets, the short benched Bombers were happy to get out of the arena with a game one win. 
Mike Harney who has established himself as force between the Bomber pipes, was stout in net especially when the Aces put on a furious attempt to tie in the closing minutes.
Midway through the second the Bombers went with two D as Jay Rega and John Zimnoch ironmanned the remainder of the contest. This allowed Kyle Kappmeier to return to center and keep the Bomber forward lines in their normal rhythm. The move was crucial to a second half surge for the storied franchise. 
Jay Rega earned first star honors having a part in all three goals with 1 tally and 2 helpers. Game two is tonight at 9:00. 
Pellegrino and Smith will be back in the lineup adding a boost to the backline while Junior will be a game time decision.

John Zimnoch played like it was 1997 not 2017, scoring twice and anchoring a strong defensive performance in the Bombers 5-3 win over the struggling Shamrocks.  Justin Eisenberg reaped the benefits of a new conditioning program scoring once and assisting on another all the while pressing the Shamrock defenders.  The win put the Bombers in a tie for first and depending on the outcome of the Smoke's next game could mean the final game of the season. a matchup of the two clubs, will be for first place in the Fed.

The Bombers faced off against the Primates looking for a third win against them in three tries this season.  Things looked good as the Bombers built up a 4-1 first period lead and were on cruise control.  But this is adult league hockey and things can change quickly.  The Primates tied the game midway through the second and then piled on enough goals to build up a 8-4 margin in the third.  Did I mention this is adult league and things can change quickly?  The Bombers decided enough was enough eventually getting the score down to 8-6 with 2 and half remaining.  The Bombers pulled Harney from the net for the extra attacker (he wasn't stopping anything anyway).  Just kidding, jeez.  It was clearly the fault of the defense because the forwards certainly aren't to blame-they are forwards afterall.  With the goalie pulled the Bombers got two more goals including a game tying tip in by Tony D'anna from a shot from the recently called up Joey Rega.  

Miraculously the Bombers were back in a game they never should have been out of.  "It would have been a shame to waste the effort of Mark Bochner and his 3 goals and 2 assists." noted Bomber captain Bill Auld.  Bochner earned first star honors but was pushed in that honor by Tony D'anna who had the game tying goal and the eventual shootout winner.  

Game Notes:

Kyle Kappmeier proved his versatility again by jumping back on D for the second game in a row.  

Jay Rega and brother and call up Joe Rega both netted a goal in the win.

The Bombers leaped back into first place in the tightly contested Federal League.

Mark Bochner protected the AS Cup from the paparazzi but forgot to bring it to the rink for the Bombers matchup with the Flying Aces.  As Lee Trevino once said, the most stressful putt is the one you bet $10 on when you only have $5 in your pocket.  Lee usually made those putts and it looked like the Bombers would come through too building an early 2-0 lead on goals by Patrolman Rob Pellegrino and Jean Eric Hoyer'.  But the Aces are always pesky to play even without their goon squad of Kevin Smith (suspended) and Mike Petersen (healthy scratch) and they fought their way back to a 5-3 victory. The game definitely had a feel more akin to the early years of the friendly rivalry before the aforementioned goon squad established themselves as a force to be avoided. 

Game notes:

Mike Gilbert Jr played a great seven and half minutes even though he finished the game with no goals, assists, hits and was a minus one it was great to have him there.  I guess it was 10:15 somewhere.  

TD Tony D'anna made his return to the friendly confines only to face a wardrobe malfunction that kept him off the ice for the first period and a half.  D'anna was solid after the repair getting numerous scoring opportunities.  He also gave a pat on the cap of former "suck it!" rival, Nick Minarek, after a particularly good save.  

Lets join in wishing the current Federal League leader in points, Justin Eisenberg a Happy Birthday!

The Bombers earned the first point of the season for a Federal League team vs a Pioneer League team with a 6-5 overtime loss.  The Bombers were powered by three assists from Junior and goals from Bill Auld (2), Dave Smith, Justin Eisenberg and Jean Eric Hoyer'.  Hoyer's goal, a shorty in the waning minutes, looked like it could be a game winner.  But just nine seconds later the Dutchmen even the scoresheet.  Amazingly the Bombers found time to go ahead again with seconds ticking away in regulation but more amazingly the Dutchmen countered quickly tying the game twelve seconds later, forcing overtime.  The Bombers then fell prey to some bad puck luck when a deflected shot bounced off multiple players, finding a spot on the goal line to the left of Bomber netminder Josh Burke.  The puck was deposited in the net by the Dutch and the game was over.  The Bombers earned the OT point which put them in sole possession of first place but they couldn't help feeling they deserved a better fate. 

Game Notes: "Superstar" John Zimnoch returned to the lineup and helped anchor a core four on D that had Zimnoch, Rega, Smith and Pellegrino.  The Bombers still are not 100% even with Zimnoch's return as Kyle Kappmeier was placed on the IR with bursitis in his knee.  

In the fall of 2016, after Josh Burke became an Amish farmer and started to become unavailable for many games due to the length of time it took his horse drawn buggy to make the trip from Lancaster, the organization had to look for a viable backup.  Kyle Van Nuys was given the task for half a season and although a standup indivdual, the standup goalie didn't find a long term home.  Ever since that point there has been talk of a Van Nuys curse due to the fact the netminder has confounded the Bombers on multiple occasions while playing for other Federal league teams.  He eventually found a permanent home with the Shamrocks, the Bomber opponents on Monday night's tilt.  

Last night's game started on a bad note, not so much cause of the Shamrock goaltender but more the Shamrock skaters who were shot out of a cannon to start the game.  Three goals in the first four twenty nine left the Bombers reeling.  Josh Burke showed the veteran skill set that was crafted over a more than 12 year career and shut down the Rocks for the remainder of the game.  Burke's poise in net allowed his skaters to find their groove and the Bombers forged back getting two goals from Eric Hoyer and Bill Auld as well as one each from Justin Eisenberg and Mark Bochner.  

Game Notes:

Bomber fans will apparently be seeing more of Kyle Kappmeier's "Merica" themed pajamas.  The Bomber utility man, who played D on this night pointed to the stars and striped themed undergarmen as one of the lucky charms for the win.  

With the victory Josh Burke became one game closer to 200 wins in his Bomber career needing seven more to reach the milestone.  The second place holder in the Modern Era statistics for Bomber wins is Bobby Michelaides who is only 170 victories behind with 23 wins.  

John Zimnoch is not done yet.  Rumors have been swirling around the Bomber practice facility that stalwart D/F John Zimnoch may be returning sooner rather than later from his lower body injury that most people believe is a knee.  Zimnoch is third on the orgination's  career scoring list.  The change in injury status went from "indefinitely" to "game time decision" skipping right over "week to week" and "day to day".  The Bombers, currently in first place, would solidify their roster with a healthy Zimnoch and fans can only hope these reports are more than rumors. 

Rob Pellegrino and Justin Eisenberg both scored in the shootout and Mike Harney held back enough of the Primate shooters to give the Bombers their second win over the Primates this season.  Eisenberg scored twice in the regulation and Bill Auld added the other in the 4-3 shootout win.  

Newly commissioned officer Rob Pellegrino started honing his skills of interrogation in the locker room by pestering Harney on the reasons why he blew the initial shootout attempt by the Primates.  "The kid is excited about his new job" noted Harney adding "I am into anarchy myself so I don't quite get it.  Pals for life though."  

With the win the Bombers held on to first place in the Federal League with a 3-2 record-holding off the Primates who sit in the second position.  

A year and half after the last bomberhockey.blogspot.com post the Bomber Hockey Organization has formed a new internet presence with the website you are reading here.  In the absence updates have come from the FIAHL facebook league page but those posts are league written and not Bomber-centric.  So Bomber fans here you are, a new forum to get your Bomber fix.  Follow all your Bomber faves, team news, stats schedules and everything else Bomber Hockey.  A new addition from the old blogspot is the Modern Era Statistics tab which has career stats and leaders from the "Modern Era" which covers the 2003 Twin Oaks season to the most recently finished season.  The "Hoyer Wins MVB Title" post will serve as a transition to the new site as it is the last post of the old blog.  A link to the bomberhockey.blogspot.com blog will be posted on this site if you want to check the archives. And remeber- Bomber Hockey-Always only a week away.

Hoyer Wins MVB Title