The Tomcats tried out a new, young netminder last night. “Our goalie ranks have been thinning a lot lately, we need some new blood between the pipes,” said Coach Sea Lion. The Tomcats welcomed 10Carat to the Kapusta.

The youngster did well in his debut, never an easy thing, quickly adjusting the speed, and the intricacies of the Kapusta floor. While the first game was a little rough, getting behind 10-3, the second game saw 10Carat lead his team to victory.

Teams:

Black Gold – 10Carat, Rocky, Kamikaze, The Rake, Shack, Jingles, Stevo and Sparky

White Diamonds – Bender, Cribzie, Killer, Skippy, Animal, Hurricane and Checy

Snowpants was a no show…not like him.

Shoutouts this week:

Stevo does a solid and orders pizza for the boys after hockey (Great job Sparky!)

Hollywood shows up for a visit and brings beer

Skippy brings out a case for the boys

Tomcat spirit is alive and well.

Let Rocky know by Friday if you are playing next week.

The Kapusta is no longer empty and quiet. After another COVID pause, the Tomcat season resumed. The hockey did not disappoint and very little rust shown after a month and a half layoff.

The Rocky Algorithm for picking teams was not leveraged, so we let the next best thing to AI pick the teams…Soupy! As stated by Sparky, “Soupy is AI as his intelligence is artificial.”

Teams:

Soupy Stars – Shack in net, Sparky, Soupy, Animal, Kamikaze, Noah and Snowpants

Tonto Tornadoes – Bender in net, Stevo, MayDay, Rocky, Tonto, Hurricane, Killer and Chevy

The Stars took both games and not surprising as the average age of that team was 15 years less than the Tornadoes. AI doesn’t always work.

The return of hockey also included return of great Tomcats doing great deeds and just being awesome to have around:

– Junior came out for a visit and brought beer. He also cleared the stage for the boys

– Sheepdog sent beer in with Stevo

– Sparky brought his beer in ahead of schedule

– Stevo set up the entire floor, while other Tomcats watched. Doesn’t he do enough already?

– Tonto paid the nightly fees for his entire team!

These Tomcats rock!

Next Week: Please come early and help set up. Don’t be a guy that just shows up an play. Be more like Stevo, Sunny, Snowpants. They are always working. We may want to make more room on stage so come and help move stuff up to the other room. Contribute.

Let Rocky know by Friday if you plan to play next week. A new, young goalie may make a debut as the Tomcats need to replenish at the goalie position.

Speaking of goalies:

– Shack made his season debut, played net and was on fire. Nice work Shack!

– Bender showed up with custom Tomcat goalie gear. See below. That is a true Tomcat!

Yes sir, we are staring back up! Next Tuesday, February 8th at 6:30pm sharp. If you haven’t done so yet, let Rocky know if you plan to be there. We still need to make sure we have enough goalies and players.

Vaccination proof still required for anyone who has not come out since the fall. See Rocky when you show up.

BEER – we will continue with the schedule as is. So check to see if this Tuesday was your night. We will adjust for the change in the Tournament schedule and have the lucky guys who missed their nights during this shutdown provide beer for the adjusted days and the actual tournament in April…all will work out in the end.

See everyone Tuesday night!

Tomcats Forever!

Good morning Tomcats.

Tomcat Management is currently working with the Kapusta leadership group to confirm a restart to the season. With restrictions lighting at the end of the month, the opportunity exists to return to play. Right now, the tentative target date is Tuesday February 8th. This gives us a little more time after the reduced restrictions come into play to let things settle down a bit more.

Stay tuned for further updates and once confirmed, we will ask for who is ready to come back. No change in playing requirements. Only fully vaccinated Tomcats are allowed to attend Tuesday night hockey.

In the meantime, some facts to ponder…

• Did you know 11% of people are left handed
• Did you know August has the highest percentage of births
• Did you know unless food is mixed with saliva you can’t taste it
• Did you know the average person falls asleep in 7 minutes
• Did you know a bear has 42 teeth
• Did you know an ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain
• Did you know lemons contain more sugar than strawberries
• Did you know 8% of people have an extra rib
• Did you know 85% of plant life is found in the ocean
• Did you know Ralph Lauren’s original name was Ralph Lifshitz
• Did you know rabbits like licorice
• Did you know the Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters
• Did you know a lobsters blood is colorless but when exposed to oxygen it turns blue
• Did you know armadillos have 4 babies at a time and are all the same sex
• Did you know reindeer like bananas
• Did you know the longest recorded flight of a chicken was 13 seconds
• Did you know birds need gravity to swallow
• Did you know the most commonly used letter in the alphabet is E
• Did you know the 3 most common languages in the world are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English

Soon gentlemen, we will be back to this…

Good morning Tomcat Nation!

We hope you and your families are doing well during what seems like the 10th wave of the pandemic. This thing is a bitch but hopefully we finally get past it soon.

Tomcat Management is anxiously awaiting the next announcement from the province and WECHU to figure out when we can return.

2022 Tournament: We will host a tournament in 2022 and will do so as an end of the season event. The organizers need your commitment by January 25th. The date will be Saturday April 9th. Commit now and block your calendars!

While we wait for word from health officials, here are some recent (and not so recent) memories.

Who would have thought that after a year ago, where there no chance of playing Tomcat hockey, we would start of 2022 with no hockey? Well here we are. However, there is hope this can be short-term and the Tomcats will be back come February. As long as amateur sports can resume, we will resume.

This does mean we will look to push off the Annual Tournament to make sure we can actually play it without restrictions. Look for an email coming soon. To be clear…we fully intend to have an annual Saturday tournament, after missing it in 2021.

In other breaking news, the Tomcat contract with Miller has expired. That means our official beer is no longer MGD. Instead, we have agreed to use Rush beer as the official beer after negations with legendary Canadian power trio band. “Why not have two Canadian forces of nature, Rush and The Tomcats, partner up,” said an excited Tomcat President and life-long Rush nut, Rocky? Geddy Lee, front-man for Rush indicated, “we love reading the Tomcat blog each week and we have always found inspiration for our songs from the creative writing of Harry Ballsonue.” “While both Rush and Harry are now retired, the beer agreement still makes perfect sense for both parties,” continued Geddy.

Stay safe and stay tuned for more information about the return to hockey and the tournament.

Tomcats Forever!

What a whirlwind start to the 2021-2022 season. Navigating the COVID pandemic, necessary precautions, almost losing the Kapusta to a baseball club…it was not without a lot of worry and planning. Nonetheless, the Tomcats prevailed and played 12 consecutive weeks of hockey after cancelling the entire 2020-2021 season. That is as sweet as victory as ever witnessed by the Tomcats.

Thanks to all those Tomcats that did what was necessary to make this happen…getting vaccinated, foregoing playing if potentially exposed or not feeling well…these things made this season so far possible.

Not sure what the remainder of the season brings with Omicron, but we will navigate it as necessary in the only way we know how…the Tomcat way.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Tomcats and their families. We are all part of a special and unique family that has brought us all together and kept us together since 1989!

Tomcats Forever right?

As a little trip down memory lane, here are some photos from Tomcat family holiday gatherings of yesteryear. Can’t wait to make these events happen again when we are past the pandemic!

The Tomcats did it! They finished a full first-half of the season under COVID without any issues. Guys stepped up and avoided coming in if they felt sick or had any exposure via work, school, personal lives. That is part of being a solid Tomcat these days.

As for the hockey, two team night with full benches. The goalie ranks are really thin for the Tomcats these days so The Matador was set to fill in as one of the netminders. However, the Tomcat Team Generator algorithm was thrown a curveball when Tonto was subbed in for The Matador. Huge props to Tonto for taking the helm in net for the first time ever as a Tomcat. He is truly a pro!

Chico’s White Winters took both games but Tonto’s Black Treetoppers put up a valiant fight all evening.

After hockey the boys headed down to the bar for drinks and pizza. Several legends came out to celebrate including Sea Lion, Turk and The Bundura. Being true Tomcats, Sea Lion brought a bottle of rye to share and Bundura came with beer. This is a week after Turk brought out food and drinks for the guys. You wonder why they are still legends to this day? “Proud of how the boys have been playing,” stated Head coach Sea Lion.

Thanks to all who played and came out to celebrate. Thanks to Jingles for ordering pizza, thanks all Tomcats that stayed to clean up afterwards. Happy Holidays everyone!

Hockey starts back on January 11th unless omicron forces our government into bad decisions. We’ll keep you posted.

First the cold…the Kapusta was a little nippy due to the winter weather and the fact some windows were left open. The guys were not very anxious to take off their hoodies and long pants for warmups. Thanks to The Rake and Chevy for finding the offending windows and getting them closed. On the opposite end of cold, was Tonto. That man was hot last night. Scoring from everywhere, seemingly everywhere on the floor at the same time…career night for Tonto! “Who needs the Lone Ranger when you have Tonto?” asked Sparky.

Teams:

Hurricane’s Heaters – Chico in net, Big Ned, Stevo, Hatchie, Tonto, LaBamba, Hurricane, Rocky and Kamikaze

Rake’s Radiators – Bender in net, Beep, The Rake, Animal, Soupy, Sparky, May Day, Snowpants and Chevy

After game 1, where the Heaters were man-handled, losing by a margin of 8-4, people were questioning the team drafting algorithm used by Rocky to pick teams each week. So far, this year, the algorithm has been pretty spot on, with really close games. Somehow, the Heaters messed up their lineup, leading to an unbalanced game.

After some tweaks, the teams balanced out by the Heaters winning convincingly 7-3. So for the night, the algorithm worked as both teams scored the same amount of goals. Technology is a beautiful thing!

Hard Reality:

The Turk made an appearance and brought out drinks and food for the boys. But this was no ordinary visit. George came out to announce his official retirement from the Tomcats. After a couple of years of being on IR, having knee surgery, Tomcat doctors have forced George into retirement. “While the knees are good for everyday activities, especially golf, the constant starting and stopping is just not ideal,” explained The Turk.

After such a stellar career, including having the shot blocking record (one that may never be broken), the Tomcats used the evening to recognize The Turk. A banner has hung along the Wall of Legends to memorialize Turk’s career.

Tomcats Forever was sung and tears were shed as we wished The Turk well. He will be around, but just not suiting up any longer. Cheers to a great career!

Shout out to The Big Easy as well. He came out to say hello (still on IR) and brought out some beer for the boys. Put’er there Big Easy!

Next Week:

Final night of hockey with pizza and drinks afterwards. So far, sports and athletics are not restricted, so we are a go. Rocky needs to know by Friday who is in so we can plan accordingly.

“We have been trying to land the Hatchmo for 15 years, and finally we signed him in the summer and he got to play his first game last night, what a thrill not only for the Windsor Tomcats, but for Tomcat Nation.” Stated Coach Sea Lion

Hatchmo, who has been sought after for quite some time, got to play for his home town, in front of his family and friends. Drafted by the Carolina Cardinals, of the World Floor Hockey league, he was assigned to the Fayettevill Frogs, Hatchmo toiled in the minors for years, as Captain he lead them to 9 Brazen Cup Finals winning four of them. In 2014, his rights were traded to the Florida Tucans were he signed a 7 year 7 million per deal. This summer, taking a hometown discount, he signed with the Tomcats for 2 years at 3.5 per.

Hatchmo brought a 15 pack of Coors Banquet, ‘Just Because’, put her there……
“It is a great honour to finally don the Black Silver and White and play for my hometown team.” A weeping Hatchmo stated.

Rake made his season debut tonight. “He did not seem to be missing a step out there…quick as a bunny he is..” Indicated Killer
Snowpants, although not playing, put away the sticks and the clock. What kind of Tomcat Team spirit is that, fabulous.
Shack showed up and brought some beer for the boys, what a Tomcat, thank you Shackalicious.

TEAMS
Rake Meteors Rake, Chico (G), La Bamba, Soupy, Hatchmo, Stevo, Tonto, Hurricane

Killer Comets Killer, Bender (G) Chevy, Beep, Rocky, Anvil, Big Ned and Sunny
Very very good hockey with Team Meteors taking both games, 4-3 in the first and 5-4 in the second. Great goaltending on both sides. If you have not been playing, you are missing some fine action on the Kapusta Kow Floor.

Mr. Gordon’s Golf Report

The Mr. Gordons Dirty Growler Golf League wrapped up their golf season on Thursday with their annual banquet. Some highlights included Rookie of the year, going to Hollywood, because he is a golfer now, Best Dressed, Cribzie,(He is so dreamy) and the Mr. Gordon’s – Dirty Growler, golfer of the year, went to: May Day. Hatchmo (as last years winner ) presented the trophy to May Day. “He was selected by the committee and there is no better man to get this award this year, for all the organizing and the improvement in his game, he truly is the golfer of the year.” Indicated Hatchmo.

League to start back up on Monday’s in March, if you are interested in playing, all you have to do is let the Commissioner know you want to play the coming Monday by Wednesday at noon. Until then, we have the golf channel for now.

Is it just me, but is Bullwinkle the sexiest Tomcat ever? Thanks for reading, I’m Ophelia Butts.

In Ending:

If you cannot play or want to play next week, contact Rocky directly, either in email or in a text. (No faxes or smoke signals).
Tomcats Forever.

By Ophelia Butts

On Saturday, Tomcats picked up The Animal off waivers, he was put on Waivers by the Edmonton Kozaks. “He was injected into the line up on Tuesday night. “We need to fill our roster with a few more players because we have had guys not coming out, COVID, injuries, unknown reasons, so the Animal was a perfect pick up for us.” Stated General Manager Finner.

“It has been a whirlwind, I thought I was going to clear waivers and be sent down to the Bismark Bisons but then the Tomcats picked me up and here I am in my first game with this great club’, stated The Animal.

TEAMS:
Bullwinkle Swamp Rabbits Bullwinkle, Sunny, Bender (G) Rocky, Stevo, The Animal, Kamikaze

Tunzie Lizard Kings Tunzie, Tonto, Falcon (G) Sparky, Chevy, Chico, Kramdon

First game, the Lizard Kings took it 5-2 in the second game, the Swamp Rabbits won 6-3.
Kramden could not miss and scored 6 goals he was like Leon Draisaitl out there.

Highlight of the night
A cross floor pass, with Chevy blasting one at the net and Bender came across and made the save. That is your highlight of the night.

“I thought the team played well in both games, the post was my friend tonight, I think Chico hit the post three or four times on me tonight”. Stated a beaming Bender.

Special thanks:
Sunny would like to thank all the Tomcats that brought in non perishable cans of food and to those who gave money for such, “The Tomcat Spirit is alive and well, so great to see”, stated Sunny.

Thanks to those who came early and helped with the empties for Sparky, thanks to the Animal, Bullwinkle, Chico and Stevo. Rocky presented a beautiful wallet to Sparky for all his hard work.

Animal was presented with two tee shirts and a Tomcat coozie and was welcomed to the team, it was too emotional for him to say anything, he began to weep when the tee shirts were presented to him. Tunzie an old team mete of his from the Beirut Bandits said, “He is overcome with the love the Tomcats have poured on him and can’t speak, he is crying uncontrollably up in the Tomcat room. He thanks everyone for their support and can’t wait to be back in the line up next Tuesday.”

Thanks to Sparky, for getting The Rake to pick up cheese, Kobassa and a case of Steam Whistle. The Rake came up on stage after hockey and put out the spread, thanks to Sparky and The Rake for doing that.

In Ending
Please let Rocky know if you are able to play next week. A simple text is greatly appreciated.

Is it just me or does Sunny not have the greatest blue eyes you have ever seen?
Thanks for reading, I’m Ophelia Butts.
Something Cute…. Like Sunny

Not quite sure if we can call it a ‘short’ bench with 2 spares a side because play certainly didn’t seem to slow down much between games; but I did hear a few players wishing for another body….

The Chico Chargers featuring the stellar scoring duo of Soupy and Sparky took the first game; whilst the Bender Bulldogs featuring a newly ‘we can build it better’ Rocky (sporting a sweet knee brace with ‘flame’ decals) and high scoring return/first game for the Matador (more on that in a minute) took the second. Man; it was like a completely different team and approach for the Bulldogs; who were completely unstoppable in the rematch and really hammered the other side into submission.

Definite highlight of the night was a sweet-sweet deke by the Matador on Chico. You know it was ‘bad’ when Sparky turned around and whispered: ‘here’s that jock strap you lost’ to poor Chico. Coach Sealion chimed in as well; ‘defensively we let our goalie down. I mean how can you leave Skippy back there alone as a D man? The lad has no stick skills; shot; scoring or real playmaking ability. If it wasn’t for the numerous shots he blocked (Rake would be proud); the score may have been even more lopsided. Good to see his cardio improving and nice to see he can play well as a D’

Better highlight of the night was summed up perfectly by the Matador afterwards: ‘I really don’t care about the hockey; it’s about the camaraderie with the guys afterwards’. Yes; I swear the Matador said ‘camaraderie’. Who would have thought the big man with the sweet ‘Stevo’ like dekes had such a big heart?

Next week Sparky’s seeking a few good Tomcats to come early and clean out the empties. If you can help; show that Tomcat spirit and come early to lend a hand. As Rocky says; ‘those empties really add up and keep the beer flowing’

Finally; let Rocky know if your ‘in’ for next week