The Tomcats ended 2023 with the usual festivities…hockey (in this case a mini), followed by drinks and pizza in Kapusta VIP Room. However, with esteemed Tomcat alumni in the house for the event, the Tomcats also honoured Stevo’s retirement (recall, Stevo walked away from his historic career at the end of last season). Stevo’s number was raised to the rafters with other former Tomcat legends, and made front and center in the Kapusta Ring of Honour. Rocky stated while other numbers in the rafters are available for recirculation, 19 will not be. That will always be Stevo’s number! A toast was made and Stevo led the Tomcats in singing Tomcats Forever!
The Tomcats also did a ceremonial ball drop letting Stevo have the honours to commemorate the night:
Sparky, still in IR, came out to enjoy the evening and quickly resolved last week’s issue with the Sparky Clock. But the third game, the lights were back on!
Special shout outs to Soupy, The Turk and Sealion for all coming with a bottle in hand to share with the boys! Also, LaBamba, who played hockey, left to play another game with Red Deer Antelope’s of the Alberta Premier league, then flew back on his private jet for a drink in the Kapusta VIP Room, also brought a case to share. Kamikaze brought out mixers so we could enjoy the liquor. Finally, the Minister of Pizza, Jingles made sure the right amount of pies arrived just in time and toppings that were approved by The Turk. Thanks for being great Tomcats gents!
Our second Mini Tournament of the season was played with the teams selected by the fabled Tomcat Algorithm were:
Doc’s Dashers wearing red (then yellow) – Bender in net, Jingles, Sunny, Doc, LaBamba, Big Ned, Matador and Killer (remember to hit send Killer)
Chevy’s Comets wearing black – Falcon in net, Animal, Rocky, Soupy, Nico, Chevy and Shack
Bullwinkle’s Blitzens wearing white – Terror in net, Green Giant, Tonto, Kamikaze, Snowy, Bullwinkle and The Professor
Games were all tight with fast paced action still continuing from the past several weeks. The first couple of games required manual time intervention so thanks to Chico (IR due to large ball syndrome) and The Rake for managing time for those games.
While games were all close, the Comets won the mini (like that really matters).
The Kapusta camera crew caught a nice moment after Stevo arrived. He made his way through greeting all the guys and ended the hug line with an embrace from his son, Big Ned. The fans needed Kleenex.
The Tomcats would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will pick back up in January on the 16th. We will also immediately begin planning for the February Annual Tournament, now officially referred to as Stevo’s Christmas.
Tomcats Forever!