Windsor Tomcats

The long-awaited return of Tomcat netminder, The Terror, occurred last night. “Having Holy T back between the pipes was a sight for sore eyes’” exclaimed Soupy. And with the return of Terror, came a return of guys staying late after hockey to make a dent in the beer surplus.

The night also a mini tournament. With three willing goalies – Falcon, Terror and relative newcomer The Flower – the second link of this season was played. Will there be a third before the year-end Annual Tournament??? Bullwinkle, Soupy and Sunny drafted teams.

Teams:

Bullwinkle’s Little Red Corvette – The Terror in net, Bullwinkle, Smiley, Swifty, Swayze and The Professor

Soupy’s Knights in White Satin – The Falcon in net, Soupy, Chevy, Rocky, Shaft, Animal and Snowpants

Sunny’s Back in Black – The Flower in net, Sunny, Tonto, Matador, Shack and Skippy

Great fast action all night but the annual tournament caliber lineup of the Back in Black team was too much for the other to handle.

As with tradition, Snowpants planned Super Bowl squares for Tomcats to get involved in. $2 per square. Let Snowy know as likely some squares still exist.

What’s with the letter “S?”

It was noted last evening that most recent Tomcat additions have all been given nicknames starting with S:

• Swayze
• Smiley
• Shaft
• Swifty

Add this to kind-standing Tomcats like:

• Stevo
• Sea Lion
• Sparky
• Sunny
• Soupy
• Snowpants
• Shack
• Skippy

Realizing The Flower is new but his nickname does not start with “S,” it was decided he is now Sun Flower!

Skippy brought out his beer early and Matador brought out some pizza to share.

Year-End Tournament:

The BoD did not pick captains at the annual offsite meeting in May. Instead, they agreed to wait to early 2026 (now to decide). They are looking at options for 4 captains. 4 new guys with an “S” nickname? 4 vets that haven’t been captain for a while? A combo of the two? More to come soon. Rocky is getting a plaque added to Stanley’s Cup to show Rocky’s Killers as the 2025 champs. Whose name will be on the cup for 2026??

Big Nets were moved to next week. Please respond to Rocky’s weekly email quickly. Easier to plan without chasing guys.

Until then, take a look at the goalies warming up in front of the Tomcat Banner

The Tomcats played their first evening of the New Year and marked the 38th year of Tomcat hockey!!! Stop to think about that. 38 years of this group gathering on Tuesday evenings for some fun, fitness and camaraderie. Not many groups last that long. We have all done something special here.

Two team action last that looked good on paper but was ultimately a little lopsided.

Teams:

Bullwinkle’s Rebellion – The Flower in net, Bullwinkle, Smiley, Animal, Hobbs, Professor, Tonto and Matador

Soupy’s Insurgence – Bender in Net, Soupy, Shaft, Shack, Rocky, Snowpants, Big Ned and Chevy

The speed and scoring ability of the Rebellion proved too much for the Insurgence and they took both games. While the first game was by a large margin, in the second game the Insurgence took a 3-0 lead. However, in the second period, the Rebellion stormed the capital and ultimately took the game.

Beer Surplus:

This year, the Tomcats have built a stockpile of beer compared to the previous 37 seasons…where have all the beer drinkers gone??? To manage this, Snowpants presented an idea for the next few weeks of hockey. Guys slated to bring in a full case (refer to Beer Schedule tab on this website) are encouraged to bring in something other than beer to share on stage after the games. Maybe plan to have a pizza delivered, do a meat and cheese tray, etc. Essentially, spend money on something other than beer so guys can hangout and enjoy good company on stage. We’ll still have half-cases coming in and after a few weeks of beer consumption, if the overstock returns to normal levels, we’ll resume the full cases.

Big Net Night:

Next week is time for a scorer’s dream and goalie’s nightmare…we’ll bust out the big nets for the evening and see how that changes the dynamic.

Until next week, keep the peace and Tomcats Forever!

Almost two full teams last night, which allowed for plenty of rest, thus the pace of play was quick…almost tournament quick.

Before hockey started, one of the nets needed attention as a bolt had snapped. How many Tomcats does it take to fix a net??

After the repairs, the games ensued, and Father Time, aka Chevy once again provided electronic time with his new fancy dancy clock from Amazon.

Teams:

Big Ned’s NorthStars – Bender in net, Big Ned, Matador, Shack, The Professor, Animal, Swifty and Snowpants

Hobbs’ Whalers – The Flower in net, Hobbs, Tonto, Soupy, Rocky, Shaft, Flintstone, Bullwinkle and Chevy

The teams were selected using ShackGPT, and proved to be overall even as each team won a game.

Next week reminders:

• Regular hockey at 6:30
• Year-end Christmas party afterwards with pizza and drinks
• All Tomcats welcome but we need to know who is coming/staying for the party as the Director of Pizza Procurement, Professor has to make the order ahead.
• We need to clear the stage and move everything onto the floor after hockey (some concert happening in the gym on December 20th)

Please let Rocky know if you are in for the after party, especially if not playing hockey. Rocky himself will not be playing and showing up later for the party due to a function in Detroit that evening.

SSSSEXY AF – Soupy, Sunny, Shack, Shaft, Animal, Flower in Net

CHPS & BS – Snowpants, Chevy, Hobbs, Professor, Swifty, Bender in Net

What was looking like being an almost full tomcat night, was not to be, after some last minute cancellations due to all the illness going around right now. 4 guys cancelled Tuesday afternoon, leaving the tomcats with 1 spare each, but this didn’t stop the boys from flying around the floor. Great plays and some beauty goals were on display all night, both games were close until the end with The CHPS & BS taking both 4-2 and 6-5, respectively. 

Tomcat newcomers Swifty, Flower, and Shaft are fitting in really well, happy to see some good new guys! Flower is quickly becoming a top goaltender for the tomcats, might make tourney time VERY Interesting. 

A welcome surprise showed up last night. Having gone for what seems like years without the “Sparky Clock”. Chevy took it upon himself to purchase an electronic score clock for the boys! Took a few to get used to it, but it worked perfectly. The “Chevy Clock” is quite a bit smaller than Sparky’s, but as we Tomcats all know, size doesn’t matter. Way to go Chevy! 

Remember Tomcat Xmas Party is Tuesday December 16 after hockey, be sure to let Rocky or Soupy know if you plan on attending. Pizza and Beer will be provided. Let’s keep the good weeks rolling and try to get 2 full teams for next Tuesday! 

Guest Column by H’aida D’ Salami

A great two-team turnout last night with 3 subs on each team, making for great, quick hockey all night. Chico and Bender manned the nets. While exact rosters were not available at press time, the teams were evenly matched. Game 1 proved this fact when after 2 15min timer periods, the game ended in. 6-6 tie!

However, the Black team lost Young Hobbs early, and the loss of his speed, endurance, energy and wickedly quick release (think Lovie-type release), allowed white to lead all game and end the tilt by a score of 9-3. It was noted in the second game that Rocky might be black’s leading scorer. If a team has Rocky as their scorer, the team is in for a long evening.

Speaking of Rocky, he game dressed in very vintage, very valuable Tomcat swag:

Holiday Year-End Event:

December 16th is the last night of hockey. As tradition dictates, after hockey, we will bring in pizza and send off the Tomcats to the holidays and 2026. Rocky needs to know who is in for hockey and who is in for pizza and drinks afterwards. We are hoping a good turnout from Tomcats legends and retirees.

And speaking of drinks for that night, there will be no shortage of beer:

Rocky is out next week working on his tan. Bullwinkle has the book and Soupy wi be in charge. Rocky will send out the email, but responses will need to go to Soupy for next Tuesday.

Tomcats Forever!

Great goal tending last night from Tomcat Legend, Falcon, and newcomer, The Flower. Flashes of leather were in abundance. There was no lack of shooting, but it was not easy to get the ball past these fellas.

Teams:

Falcon’s Furry – Falcon in net, Swifty (new guy), The Professor, Rocky, Smiley, Bullwinkle and Chevy.

Flower’s Flames – The Flower in net, Shaft, Snowpants, Hobbs, Animal, Matador, and Tonto.

Bullwinkle invited out a new player, Pat, who was named “Swifty” by Chevy. Ask Chevy for the story but don’t be surprised if you watch a KC Chiefs game and think you see Swifty on the sideline wearing headphones.

Tomcats Concerned? – For the first time in Tomcat history, the Tomcats are accumulating a surplus of beer. Many in Tomcat land are wondering what would cause a drop in beer consumption. “This has never occurred in the hallowed halls of the Kapusta,” said long time Tomcat Rocky. “I used to be the only Tomcat that didn’t drink beer, but we have recruited others over the years, so maybe it is a shift in the type of Tomcats we recruit,” Rocky went on to say. However, in a clear indication Swifty is meant to be a Tomcat, he quickly pointed out he can help stem the tide and contribute quickly get the Tomcats back into a beer deficit. Natural order hopefully is restored.

Start planning for December 16th – year end party after hockey with pizza and drinks. All retired/former Tomcats wishing to take part should let Rocky know so enough pizza can be ordered.

Until next week,

Tomcats Forever!

Just a two-team night with 2-3 spares per side. Well balanced teams swapping wins for the first 2 games, but after a loss of a player and a splayed swap, more one sided for the rubber match.

Teams:

Ned’s Neanderthals – Big Ned, Shack in net, The Professor, Chevy, LaBamba, Soupy and Animal

Rocky’s Cave Dwellers – Rocky, Bender in net, Snowpants, Doc, Shaft, Bullwinkle and Tonto

The cave dwellers shot out of the gate quickly to slay the sabertooth tiger, and took game one 7-4. However, the Neanderthals, placing Ned in front of the net all night long, took game two by the same score 7-4.

After losing LaBamba to another commitment, Tonto joined the Neanderthals for game 3. This proved an uneven swap and the Neanderthals easily beat the Cave Dwellers in game 3.

Speaking of being Cave Dwellers, the Tomcats used a garbage can for beer when the cooler was hard to find. We are a bunch of knuckle draggers when it really comes down to it!

Please, please, please respond to Rocky timely each week. A consistent group of non-responders remain and Rocky is thinking of releasing the names. The Release the Rocky Files petition has begun as the government comes out of shutdown. You don’t want to be outed in these files.

Tomcats Forever!

Menorah Fornix called it! Is he a prophet, a clairvoyant, soothsayer…or just really lucky?

After Tomcats had to cancel hockey last week due to poor turnout, the guest column writer made a bold prediction…a mini tournament would be played this week. Despite incredibly steep odds, he was right!

With the return of some vets like Matador and Falcon, and with a brand new goalie being showcased (The Flower) as well as a second call up for recent showcase (Shaft), Tomcats had their best Tuesday night turnout since 2023.

Teams:

Flower’s Florals (you should have seen Chevy’s shirt) – Flower in net, Skippy, Soupy, Smiley, Flintstone (more on his growing nickname list in a moment), Tonto and Chevy.

Bender’s Brothels – Bender in net, Doc, Shack, Young Hobbs, Snowpants, The Professor and Animal.

Falcon’s Freemasons – Falcon in net, Shaft, Bullwinkle, Swayze, Rocky and Matador

Very even games for the most part with one game seeing scoring elevated but expected on the very first night of a new goalie. Besides that game, The Flower played amazing and once he adjusts to the speed, bounces and dynamics of the Kapusta, we have another great net-minder in the mix, which is a huge win for the Tomcats! By the way, the nickname comes from his butterfly style of play, reminiscent of Marc-Andre Fleury, thus The Flower.

And speaking of nicknames, the leader in most Tomcat nicknames stretched that lead…forced to play in his Levis when he realized he forgot his shorts, Flintstone, AKA El Choppo became now AKA Strauss .

After the mini was cut short by one game (took too long to play the first mini in a couple of years), beers were plentiful on stage. “Now this is how it should be,” exclaimed Bullwinkle. “A full stage of Tomcats enjoying each other’s company on stage on a Tuesday night,” he went on to say. That my friends, is what Tomcat hockey is all about.

Finally, the Tomcats are very closely linked to the Ukraine community. One of the Tomcats legends, and a super supporter of Windsor’s Ukrainian community is once again holding an event to benefit the community. See below for the fun evening Hollywood is planning as a fundraiser. Please consider taking part or donating. When the Tomcats have this much of a stand-up guy doing good for others, we all need to get behind it. Well done Hollywood!!

Until next time,

Tomcats Forever!

For nearly three decades the Tomcat organization has chugged along unbreakable, consistent, reliable.   Some would say it would be like finding an old record which has stood in the books only to be looked at in awe and not spoken of being broken.  Same could be said with trying to remember the last time a Tuesday night has had to be cancelled.  Trouble is – it just happened.  

Management, experts and think tanks have put forth a number of theories:  

Is it due to the ‘median’ (And undisclosed) ‘average’ age of the players, who now have family and work commitments?

Is it due to that same average player ‘age’ question which can be pointed towards the number of players on the ‘IR’ list?   

Was it due to the pivotal game 4 of the World Series (Which is my bet line), Or is it simply a string of bad timing that several of the staple/reliable tenders just happen to all be injured?

Adding to the goalie problem is the disappearance of Tomcat players also battling injuries, work and family commitments.  Add it all together and where once there were seasons with several ‘mini tournaments’, we now have a season forecasting ‘week to week’ evaluations ensuring enough players and goalies are lined up. 

Tough calls ahead – does Management recruit more players and risk too many guys showing up. Will more ‘part-time’ spots be opened to help alleviate shortages? 

So – bad news:  Tuesday ‘was’ cancelled.  Good news? Im confident the required move was a ‘rarity’ and not likely to occur again this season.  Why?  Management has confirmed a new tender has been secured and they will make their debut this coming Tuesday . Scouting reports indicate he’s a ‘true’ butterfly tender and is eager to challenge legends such as Falcon, Razor and Bender for playing time. When he was told the Tomcats enjoy reminiscing after a game on stage with ‘beverages’, I swear I saw him drool.  I’m pretty confident he’ll fit right in.  Vegas odds already project he’ll secure a first period shut out within 5 full games played. 

Best part?  I’m hoping Tuesdays required full and half case will be added to this coming weeks ‘supply’. 

Side bet:  After missing a rare week off, Tomcat players come out in full force and we see our seasons first mini tournament.  When Rocky asks who’s coming this week – answer the call and come see if this ‘try out’ goalie lives up to the hype. 

Special write up by Menorah Fornix 

The Tomcats finally had a decent amount of guys playing to avoid 3-on-3 or running hot with 1 or no subs. This made for a very fast-paced evening with lots of pretty passing, goals and saves.

Both Bender and Shack were between the pipes once again. Thank God for these two net minders. Without them so far, there were not be hockey to play.

However, next week, Shack is unable to play so will the Tomcats have another goalie to actually play? Time will tell.

Teams from last night were:

Chevy’s Black Corvettes – Shack in net, Rocky, Doc, Professor, Bullwinkle, Soupy and Chevy

Big Ned’s White Vipers – Bender in net, Tonto, Smiley, Hobbs, Animal, Snowpants and Bid Ned

The first game was taken by the Black Corvettes. While older on paper, the Corvettes showed game smarts and some good old grit to hold off the younger Vipers.

In the second game, the Vipers had to drop a player (Hobbs) so Soupy moved over to the Vipers for the final period. While the Birthday Boy Soupy made an impact, the Corvettes were able to prevail in game two as well. “Being half the age of Snowpants now, I feel I am 90% more efficient than one-quarter of the Tomcats 10% or more older than men’” explained Soupy, the birthday boy. Tomcat statisticians and on-contract data scientists are still trying to figure out exactly what Soupy was trying to convey.

Both Soupy and Rocky are out next week so Bullwinkle will run the operations.

Please, please, please check the beer list and make sure you have lived up to your responsibilities. Also, respond to Rocky as fast as possible each week. It makes Tuesday planning much easier.

Until next time,

Tomcats Forever!

Slightly better turnout this week than last where the Tomcats were able to play the regular 4-on-4 with a sub each (at least for the first game). Not quite as hot this week finally and seems like game speed is picking up as the boys start to get more into season shape.

Teams:

Swayze’s Swords – Shack in net, Animal, Swayze, Hobbs, Rocky and Tonto

Professor’s Pistols – Bender in net, Chevy, Soupy, Professor and Bullwinkle

Despite Bender’s concerns that the Pistols were out matched as the teams warmed up, the Pistols had no issues taking game one. Will it ended in a 7-6 score, the Swords were out early, but then gave up the lead and never gained it back.

Bender and Shack played stellar and the score is not indicative of how many shots were taken.

Each team lost a player after game one so 3-on-3 to 3 was played where the Swords prevailed.

Ice maker is functioning again so the beer was cold on stage. Speaking of beer, have you checked the list yet? Have you missed your night? Make sure the Tomcats are made whole.

Due to lower turnout, the Tomcats need to recruit. Have any good guys to bring out that will be a great Tomcat addition (think blending in nicely on stage after hockey)? Sounds like Bullwinkle and Swayze each have a guy. Let Rocky know. Some Tomcats with injuries or other commitments are supposed to be out soon, so that should help.

Until next week, Tomcats Forever!

Another hot one at the Kapusta last night. Making the heat even hotter…more running. The boys had to run more as we played 3-on-3 due to low turnout. Injuries, other commitments, nice weather, etc. might be keeping Tomcats from playing. Also, Flintstone was a no-show without letting Rocky know so is our first 6-pack fine of the year.

Shack’s Black Bandits – Shack in net, Soupy, Snowpants, Smiley, The Professor and would have included Flintstone

Bender’s White Lions – Bender in net, Hobbs, Tonto, Animal and Rocky

A single game was played with plenty of breaks taken. while the Lions jumped out to an early lead, the Bandits were too much and ultimately took the night by a score of 7-4.

Shack made some impressive saves to hold off the Lions pretty handedly. Rocky and Soupy made their season debuts and the running made it tough. “I should have done more pre-season running,” said an exhausted Rocky during the second break. “I am a little embarrassed this is kicking my ass so much,” he went on to say.

The hot night took an even darker turn on stage…no ice for the beer so warm beer was the only option. Seems like Tomcats do not like warm beer. We will need to bring ice each night until the hall fixes the ice maker. Snowpants offered to bring ice next week. PLEASE check the beer schedule and bring in your case on time or early.

Let’s hope the numbers grow next week. If you have a good Tomcat candidate, let Soupy and Rocky know. We might need to recruit more.

Until next week,

Tomcats Forever