Associated Press:  Are you ready for some golf?  I realize this is a hockey team, but after the locker room doors slammed shut on us, the annual Greater Blades Open is what we look forward to.  Blades management has confirmed Blackledge Country Club, Gilead course for Saturday, September 22 at 10:00 AM.  This will be the 18th consecutive year for the tournament.  Vegas odds show Kelly and Bloomquist have moved up close to the top, but it is enough to overcome the reigning champ, Derick Esowski? If you're reading this, and interested in attending, contact Dennis ASAP to reserve your spot for golf, or for the cup presentation (beers) afterwards.

Yes, you read this correctly...  Derek Ezovski takes home the cup yet again...  Actually, he strategically "forgot" the cup at home (probably just in case he didn't win).  It never matters to the Blades hackers who wins, just a PERFECT day for golf at Top Stone in South Windsor where 9 players and offspring gathered for some good times. 
Congratulations Derek!  Full results below.  Next up:  Everyone is already talking about a night out with an expected bigger turnout for either a Wolf Pack or UConn hockey game at XL.  Stay tuned for date suggestions, and already looking forward to GBO 18 (yes, 18th year!).

GBO XVII FULL RESULTS:

PLACE      NAME       GROSS    ADJUST'D   

1               Ezovski          80                 73
2               TK JR            92                 74
3               Tom K           90                  75
                 Connors       114                 75
5               Steve S        109                 76
6               Adam E        107                 77
7               Doug B          97                  78
                 Chris D         109                 78 
                 Paul F           109                 78

 

The Blades continue their quest for the cup, the GBO Cup, that is.  Not surprisingly, Derek Ezovski gets the honors again by getting his name engraved for the 10th time.  It's all good as everyone had a great time on a great day out on the links.  In an interview after, Derek said "I played the best round of the year today.  These guys bring out the best in me."  The round didn't go without its controversy, as it's rumored that Derek hit the wrong ball on hole 18.  TMZ has 2 pictures of his 2nd shot, where he hits a ball towards the green, then found his initial ball afterwards.  KRAMER rules of golf (rule #41 about Steve Gennison) clearly state that you cannot pick up the ball and clean it unless it's on the green. But that rule has no impact with what happened here. 
All in all, 6 past Blades plus 3 sons and 2 friends had a blast during the 3 tee time outing.  This "band of brothers" attitude continues to show its strength even after the skates are hung up.

 

2016 Hackers:  Dennis Connors, Tommy Kelly, Tom Kelly, Bailey Doggett, Chris Doggett, Derek Ezovski, Adam Ezovski, Steve Stickles, Paul Freitas
(missing:  Corey and Steve, Doggett's entries... thanks for playing)

 

FINAL SCORES (Gross - Adjusted using the Calloway Scoring System):
Derek:  76 -73
Stix: 103 - 75
TK:  93 - 76
Chris:  102 – 77
Dennis:  109 – 77
Paul:  118 – 78

Scores for non-eligible:
Corey:  85 – 71

Tommy K:  91 – 74

Bailey:  95 – 74

Steve:  101 – 79

Adam: 109 – 79

 

On this perfect crisp fall day, the Blades hackers tried everything in the books to keep the cup from Ezo.  However, Derek played a great round ensuring his 9th engraving on the cup.

FINAL RESULTS:  Adjusted (gross):
Derek:  75 (89)
Tom:  76 (90)
Dennis:  76 (105)
Paul:  76 (106)
Stix:  79 (103)

 

The Blades were able to hold a very important board meeting to check on the status of the team, even if only in their minds.

 

Attendees:  Top Row:  S. Stickles, Freitas.  Middle Row:  Kelly, Bloomquist, Stolfi, Connors, Doggett.  Front Row: Massori, Reid, Ezovski.  Joining us after for reception dinner were Smith and R. Stickles.

Congratulations goes out to Tom Kelly, for winning his first GBO in 14 years, defeating out the 2013 defending champion, Chris Doggett, GBO's 5-peat winner the previous 5 years, and 5 other hackers.  The weather held up long enough to allow the GBO hackers to have a great time, enjoying some good laughs, and some spectacular shots (as well as "not so spectacular" shots). 

See more photos posted in PHOTO ALBUMS, then select BLADES 2014 GBO.

2014 HACKERS:  S Stickles, D Connors, D Bloomquist, P Freitas, T Kelly, T Kelly JR, D Ezovksi (missing: C Doggett)

 

 

 

GBO 14 FINAL STANDINGS:

Tom Kelly	73
Dennis Connors	74
Doug Bloomquist	74
Steve Stickles	74
Paul Freitas	74
Derek Ezovksi	76
Tom Kelly JR	76
Chris Doggett	78

EH Bladss board of directors met Friday night and debated in to the wee-hours to try and come up with a contract to bring back the Blades franchise.  But after many debates on to play ball or not, that Stix's knees could hold up, and for which beer to buy next, the Blades called it a night with little settled, except to have some good times... 

So anyways, that's how it ends...   for now.  More to come.

 

and so the Blades era ends... or did it?

At 11:54, on Thursday, November 15, 2012, the EH Blades heard the horn sound ending their final game on Zrink, as they lost 4-2 to the Mother Puckers in the first round playoff game in this fall 2012 season. The Blades skated off the rink and to their locker room not with their heads down low, but rather held high, knowing they just completed an era of roller hockey that no one else ever did, as this could could be the longest running roller hockey team ever to skate not only on the state, but the country. I challenge anyone to find a team that lasted longer than the EH Blades.
Special thanks to ALL past and current EH Blades roster, including all of the Stickles brothers (Rob, Jeff and Steve) who were part of the original team in 1991 along with Mike Stuka in nets. Through the years, die hard teammates have come and gone like Doug Bloomquist, Paul Freitas, Matt Ing, Jay Creel, Brian McGuire and Ken Spencer... along with Bill Dechesne, Patrick Doyle, Tony Dalaura, Todd Disque, Gyslain Bordeau, Will Harrison, Bob Taylor, Bob Burbank, the late Steve Lambert (R.I.P.), and especially Jon Reid, who was a pivital player for the Blades throughout many years. The EH Blades recently welcomed players from the "other Blades" team like Pat Massari and Dave Stolfi, and especially players from our brother team, the RipTides like Jon Graney, Troy Hazen, Chris Larue, Tom Accomazzo, and Dave and Mike Balamucki. Chris Doggett and Derek Ezovski are the longest running non-original teammates that were picked up 10+ years ago in East Hartford have created the team that we are today. The core of the team that have been there for the full 21 years are Tom Kelly, Jim Smith and Dennis Connors. It's hard to believe that so many years have been played together to bring home 14 championships after 21 years, but it's even harder and sadder to imagine that this could be the end of this era... or is it? With the hope of a new rink to be constructed in the near future and local to all, this team may once again skate together as the "band of brothers" they have grown to be. If not, it has been with great pleasure to play with such a variety of guys, that have grown into such great sportsmanship and friendships.

If not on the rink, hopefully everyone looks forward to hitting the links next year for the 13th annual GBO, when Ezo willl have to fight off a 5 stroke disadvantage after winning 5 years in a row.

Stay tuned to this website, and may everyone have a happy and safe holiday season. The Blades would like to gather where they can enjoy some brews at a CT Whale game, tentatively looking at Saturday, January 26, 2013 vs Springfield. Or better yet, we hope to see you all again in a few months back on the rink to continue this era of the longest running roller hockey team in the country, maybe the world. Honestly, I challenge someone to find a longer running team containing some of the original players.

LAST ONE OUT, HIT THE LIGHTS!

G.B.O. XII has come and gone, with similar, but outstanding results, with Ezo taking home the cup again to display proudly on the mantle for Adam. Congratulations again to Derek for winning the his 5th straight GBO cup with an unbelievable 70 adjusted score (73, 3 over par un-adjusted score). Coming in 2nd place again, is Tom Kelly, who is "always a bridesmaid, but never a bride". Aside from playing 4 holes of golf in a good rain, with 2 holes in a monsoon, the day out was a success with 8 hackers hitting the ball very respectively. Congrats again to everyone for coming out, as well as Pat Massari and Dave Stolfi who joined us for the after festivities. A special thanks goes out to Tom and Chris Kelly for opening their home to smelly, wet golfers. Final GBO XII results are as follows:

Hacker: Adjusted Callaway Score (Gross Score)
Ezovski: 70 (73)
Kelly: 72 (82)
Connors: 74 (94)
S. Stickles: 74 (99)
Freitas: 75 (97)
Bloomquist: 75 (99)
Smith: 75 (102)
Doggett: 76 (102)

The EH Blades did it again, winning their 14th overall championship by defeating the pesky Fog Cutters 7-5 in a hard fought, see-saw game, with both teams coming up with good chances to put the game away.

More news to come......

Next up: The 12th annual Greater Blades Open to be announced soon. Stay tuned...

EH Blades captain Dennis "Stouts" Connors met his idol Saturday night at the CT Whale game, when Mr. Stoughton was inducted into the CT Hockey Hall of Fame. Stouts expects to be joining him in the Hall in the near future. Dennis is also contemplating re-growing his mullet. (In the background, Mike Liut holds his head down in shame that he was not asked to be photographed with Dennis).

Yes, it's true, the inevitable happened again, as Derek Ezovski took home the cup for his 5th straight year, and his 7th time overall. Derek shot an incredible 83 gross, but adjusted to 72 after the Callaway scoring system was put into play. Paul Freitas AGAIN tied Derek in this final adjusting scoring, however, the tie breaker goes to the lowest gross score. All other GBO hackers just watched in awe as Mr. Ezovski brings home the cup to this son yet again. Congratulations Derek/Adam, in another win.
Hackers shown in picture below are Paul Freitas, Steve Stickles, Rick Boggio (last minute fill-in, who also tied Derek & Paul with adjusted score of 72), Dennis Connors, Tom Kelly, Derek Ezovski, and Chris Doggett.

Below are the final standings for the the GBO 11.
D Ezovski - 72 (83 gross)
P Freitas - 72 (92)
T Kelly - 73 (88)
S Stickles -74 (108)
C Doggett - 75 (101)
D Connors - 76 (109)