Windsor Tomcats

Hello Tomcats. Hopefully everyone’s summer is off to a good start. Kids are about to be done school and the weather is heating up. What are Tomcats planning for the summer? Lots of golf, travel to a beach somewhere, plenty of fresh cold ones with friends? The Tomcats want to know. We would love to share photos each week of Tomcats doing offseason stuff. Send your pics to Rocky and we’ll get a weekly update blog going. Tomcat swag in the photo, especially in exotic locations, is always fun to see. However, family and friends pics from a backyard BBQ are also awesome to see!

Let us know what you are up to!

The Tomcat Board of Directors, and other involved Tomcats, took part in the annual meeting last evening at the Soup-R-Dome in Tecumseh. In attendance for the meeting:

Rocky, Soupy, Sunny, The Rake, LaBamba, Chevy, Skippy, Kamikaze, Doc and Snowpants.

Stevo, Hollywood and Green Giant provided some thoughts ahead of the meeting but were not able to attend.

Here are key decisions made for the 2024-2025 Season:

– The hall is always in question so backup options are trying to be identified in case we need to pivot

– Season Dates: Start September 17th. Last night in 2024 is December 17th. First night back in 2025 is January 7th, last day of season is April 12th (read below

– Costs: $60 to start (up $5 from last year), still $5 per night.

– Start of Season Gift – Hollywood has a cool idea and the BoD approved. All will have to wait and see.

– Tournament: Big, Big change here. Stevo’s Christmas will not be the last Saturday in February. We will play the tournament on Saturday, April 12th and will finish the season with the tournament. This will give more lead time for commitment and hopefully be easier for more to attend.

Captains will be:

The Professor, Killer, Kamikaze and Skippy

Captains will draft honorary Coaches from a list of available retired Tomcats. A great way to have all Tomcats take part in our special day. Other retired players will also still be asked to take part per usual.

The longer format of playing each team twice will occur with 10 min periods and 3 min half time breaks. ALL GAMES MUST BE PLAYED on tournament day.

Rule Changes: No new rules but rules will be clarified and reminded to all Tomcats at start of season including: slap shots (waist height/stick parallel to floor at max), high stick is shoulder height, no chopping of sticks of any kind, no attempting to play ball if goalie is about to cover it.

– Other Tomcat events:

Christmas gathering in early December at Schooley’s bar – informal but agree on date and time and everyone shows up

Look to merge some of the various golf outings as there are too many related to Tomcats. No official Pantalone de Neige Tournament for 2024 being planned.

Special Nights – 2 Big Net Nights planned – one in fall, one after the New Year.

– Recruiting: More young talent needed. Players such as Toretto, Hobbs, Splitter,Sunny’s boys considered for full time status. Falcon’s boys, still being teenagers will be considered key fill-in players. Tomcats are asked to consider their friends for good Tomcat-like guys and potential invite out. Snowpants and Skippy have identified one potential candidate.

Franchise Player Tag – The BoD approved Sunny as the Franchise Player. Motion put forth by Stevo and unanimously approved. Sunny did not vote as that would be a conflict of interest.

Finner Award: The Rake was awarded the Finner Award. This award is given out from time-to-time to a Tomcat who goes above and beyond off the floor. Even though retired, The Rake showed up to help clean the Kapusta before the season, brought out snacks and drinks for the boys during the season, agreed to be a coach at the recent tournament, prepared a feast for the last night of hockey, came to the board meeting last night. This guy still bleeds Tomcats even though he had to hang up his gloves. An award ceremony will occur in the fall. Congrats Rake!

Other items stemming from round table:

– floor needs a deep cleaning. Looking at options

– need light solution for Tomcat room

– we will be donating unused sticks from Tomcat room. More details to come by sticks will be move to other side of stage, guys will have a defined timeframe to claim sticks, only allowed to keep two in the room, and all others will be donated to a charity.

– no politics on stage. Tomcat hockey is a break from the BS of the world. Zero reason to debate on anything politically charged or polarizing on stage. This is our happy place!

– Most Improved Award – new award to be given out at tournament recognizing a regular Tomcat player that has elevated his game during the season (not measured in goals or wins)

– Tomcats need to call themselves out if they make a bad play. If you high stick, hold yourself accountable and stop play. Get too physical, call it out. We are adults, we are mature and we should not act like teenagers trying to get to away with something to gain an edge.

– new players will be asked to bring an initiation 1/2 case on their second night

– Tomcats to stock a slush batch of beer to account for guys missing their beer nights.

– Doc and Rake offered to come out and help even though not playing. Doc agreed to ref on a routine basis. If we have a ref, ball drop after each goal. If no ref, then the team who just got scored on starts with ball

– Skippy approved to borrow Sparky clock this June for his special tournament that raises money for a local charity

That is all for now

Enjoy the summer all!

The 34th installment of Tomcat Hockey concluded last night. Yes, 34 seasons have been played. This speaks to the power of The Tomcat’s and the friendships built.

Based on the Tomcat’s staying power, it was only fitting that Tomcats current and former took part on the last night of hockey, which included a feast afterwards. Several retired Tomcat Legends were in attendance including Stevo, The Turk, The Bundura, Sea Lion and The Rake. Other players on IR also came out to celebrate including Hollywood, Doc, Big Easy, etc.

And speaking of the feast, shout outs to The Rake for offering to organize and make sure the feast was the best on-stage food the Tomcat’s ever had. Supporting The Rake was Mrs. Terror with some fabulous pasta salad and Hollywood’s Mother-in-law with her famous cheezy potatoes.

Teams:

Sunny’s Dispositions – Terror in net, Sunny, Skippy, Chevy, Animal, Matador, Chico and Killer

Kamikaze’s Pilots – Falcon in net, Kamikaze, Rocky, The Professor, Soupy, Green Giant, Snowpants and Bullwinkle

The Sunny Dispositions took both games on the heels of amazing goal tending by the Terror. The Kamikaze Pilots had issues getting the ball past him all night. Falcon had to adjust his game to different pads as the Falcon’s usual pads were lost in transit after being unloaded from the equipment hold of the Tomcat Team Antonov 225.

Once hockey was over, the celebrations began which included, after a toast from Rocky, with a rendition of Tomcat’s Forever.

Board of Directors – Wait for word on date and time of BoD meeting. It will be held at the Soupy Sanctum. All Tomcat’s welcomed to take part. Once date is announced, Rocky and Soupy will need a headcount.

Cheers to another great season Tomcat Nation!

Two full teams last night with 4 guys on the bench, allowing teams to strategically run 2 full lines. 15 minute periods were played given the bench sizes, despite the warm air in the Kapusta. The Falcon and Terror were troopers dealing with the heat wearing all that equipment.

TEAMS:

Black Antumbra’s – Terror in net, Max (aka Speed Stick), Skippy, Soupy, Killer, Green Giant, Rocky, Bullwinkle and Hurricane

White Totality’s – Falcon in net, Kamikaze, Big Ned, The Professor, Sunny, Animal, Chevy, Jingles and Chico

Pretty even teams but the Antumbra’s took the night. The winning team featured a forward line that spanned the largest amount of years in age between players – Speed Stick and Hurricane. The lineup proved to be a lot to handle despite the age discrepancy. By the end of the night, the pairing was referred to as Speed Stick and Old Spice.

Shoutouts to the following Tomcats for being true Tomcats by showing up with some goodies for the boys:

– Soupy brought a case

– Sunny brought a case

– Sparky showed up despite still rehabbing the hip with a case

– The Rake showed up despite being retired with beer and some meat, crackers and cheese

These guys remind us all what being a Tomcat is all about!!!

Speaking of The Rake. He has graciously offered to help plan a feast for after hockey (the last night of the season) next Tuesday. He is enlisting the help of Hollywood, Terror’s wife and possibly others from what I am told.

The Tomcats want to invite all Tomcats, old and new, to come out for the final night to play or to just hang out and take in Feast de la Rake. Rocky will send the usual email but needs to know total head count for food and drinks. Let’s send out 2023-2024 with a bang!

Board of Directors Meeting – Like always, a BoD meeting is being planned for a couple of weeks after the last night. Any Tomcat can take part, not just the BoD members. Come and have a say in the future of The Tomcats. Look for more details shortly.

Until next week,

Tomcats Forever

In what was the third-last might of hockey for the 2023-2024 Tomcat Season, we had yet again, a mini. Two mini’s in a row…that hasn’t happened in forever! Lots of interest lately and lots of new young players contributing.

Splitter, who was brought out recently by The Matador and has shown great prowess on the floor, played in net for the first time. He looked like anything but a first-time goalie on the Kapusta floor. “This guy is legit between the pipes’” said future president Soupy. “We may finally have a new goalie to add to the rotation,” added Soupy. This came on the heals of having a young Falcon, Dillon, play net the previous week, giving the Tomcats an even younger up and coming goal tender. These guys make the future of Tomcat goal tending very bright!

Teams:

Terror’s Tighty Whiteys – Terror, Kamikaze, Toretto, Animal, Shack, Bullwinkle and the Professor

Falcon’s Green Garter Belts – Falcon, Green Giant, Matador, Killer, Chevy, Hobbs and the never-ever-respond-to-an-email-and-show-up Jingles

Splitter’s Black Bustiers – Splitter, Chico, Big Ned, Hurricane, Soupy and Snowpants

Very even teams with most games being very close. Splitter and the gang took the night going undefeated (but that includes a tie).

Reminder – couple of physical plays last night including the running of Terror. How many times do we have to say there are no scouts in attendance. We need to be competitive but realize this is for fun and our personal stats do not matter. Play smart and make sure your friends can walk away uninjured each night. Simple stuff really.

Final Night – The Tomcats are soliciting ideas for the final night of hockey (April 16th). The Rake has reached out to ask how he can help and take part. Maybe we bring in some dogs and sausage and grill a little? Send Rocky your ideas.

Bullwinkle Dozers – Hobbs, Shack, Snowpants, Professor, Skippy, Bullwinkle, Falcon in net

Animal Back Hoes  – Matador, Green Giant, Max, Hurricane, Animal, Jingles, Chico, Dylan/Chico in net

Big Ned Mother Truckers – Soupy, Big Ned, Chevy, Chip, Killer, Kamikaze, Terror in net

What a night at the Kapusta…

It’s feast or famine with the Tomcats these days. We went from not having any goalies to having too many; from having to cancel weeks due to not enough guys, to last night, the first Mini Tournament in months, maybe years! 

At the end of the night, it was the Animal Back Hoes taking the tourney handily. The Falcon Triplets shined bright, working hard, making great saves, and fantastic plays all night. A little bit of controversy when Dylan’s (Falcon Jr) night was cut short after feeling ill and puking. Chico stepped right up and strapped on the pads! Chico was quoted after saying, “I may get Ebola from wearing the sick guys equipment, but at least I won’t have to pay the $5 for hockey!” Jingles, who came out just to watch and bring beer, ended up playing and was dominant on defence, stepping in for Chico. 

A desperate call for help yesterday morning by Soupy looking for beer, yielded 4 cases showing up! A couple guys that had missed their night due to absence, and a couple that brought a case “just because” namely Kaze and Jingles. Great move fellas! 

After hockey on the stage is where the night got interesting. The beers were cold, and the jokes and laughs abundant. Soupy was showing off his “ELITE” softball skills to upcoming Coach Matador at the 1st ever Tomcats Combine. There may or may not be video evidence of Soupy hitting “dingers”, and rounding the bases, no Tarp. Some would say he has a body like a milk bag, but the clean up crew had to be called in to mop up after the ladies in attendance! Unfortunately, he was brought back down to earth, after being embarrassed by the Terror in a foot race.  

That wraps it up for this week, be sure to let Rocky know if you are in for next week! There are only 3 weeks left in the season, let’s see a good turnout to finish off. 

Enjoy Guys…

Guest Column by H’aida da Salami

With many of our typical goalies still unable to play, the Tomcats once again had to have Soupy suit up and face shots. After getting most rust off last week, Soupy was seeming much more confident and seasoned. Squaring off against Chico is no easy task, and Soupy was able to play neck-and-neck with Chico, keeping both games close.

Soupy’s Stars:

Soup Daddy in net, Killer, Sunny, The Professor, Rocky, Snowpants and Torreto

Chico’s Cheetahs:

Chico in net, Jingles, Bullwinkle, Animal, Chevy, Matador and Hobbs

Youngster’s Torreto and Hobbs were called up again. These two show the Tomcats are being built for the future. Rocky noted the entire Tomcat group seemed to elevate their game speed to match the play of the youngsters. “These were incredibly fast-paced games tonight,” said Rocky as the teams walked off the floor.

Soupy noted during intermission that Chevy’s shots seemed slower, making them more difficult to react to. After some analysis, it was determined Chevy’s shot was in fact not slower. It only seemed slower comparing to the speed and release of Torreto and Hobbs. The new blood is shifting the Tomcat paradigm!

4 weeks left. Check the beer list as our supplies are gone. Shout out to Tonto…he dropped off his beer at the hall during the day knowing he cannot play, but that it was his night. That there is real Tomcat spirit!

Empty load out will be next week. Please show up early to help load Soupy’s truck. Rocky is out of town next week so Soupy will run the show.

Until next week…

Tomcats Forever

After a cancelled week of hockey due to so many Tomcats being away or injured, we were close to calling this week too. However, thanks to Hurricane and Soupy, who offered to play in net, we were able to have a night of post-tournament hockey.

As well, to prevent the Tomcats from having to play 3-on-3, LaBamba recruited some youngsters from his recent scouting trip in Sweden. “Not sure what the feed these kids over in Sweden, but man are they able to release shots fast and furious,” said an impressed Sunny. The Tomcats have been looking to fill the ranks with young talent and we may just have found a great dynamic duo.

Teams:

Wearing Black: Hurricane, Sunny, Kamikaze, Rocky, Torreto and Big Ned

Wearing White: Soupy, Bullwinkle, LaBamba, Animal, Hobbs and Snowpants

Game 1 started off with Torreto making a quick impression, scoring in the first minute of his Tomcat debut. The game was a little lopsided as Soupy was playing net for his second time ever.

Game 2 was much more balanced but black kept a slight edge.

Great hockey overall with some great passes and wicked shots coming from the Swedish recruits.

Next week is empty week so we need guys to help load the empties before hockey. Also, check the beer list. Stock is running low and we have 5 more nights of hockey. Hopefully some good turnouts to finished the season strong.

The good guy Stevo has amassed ‘many’ accolades, stories, high-light reel goals, and a Stanley’s Cup as a player; prior to injuries forcing him to retire.  This years Tomcat tourney offered a new role – ‘Coach’ Stevo, who after watching endless Tomcat tapes was able to select a tournament team; aptly named Stevo’s Golden Seals.  

A tourney first for Coach Stevo; three teams, and the typical Coach’s headache with a player being unavailable (Matador).  ‘If’ you read the Tomcat blogs, you would have known due to some unforeseen circumstances, Matador was replaced with Solstice and ‘youth’ was added alongside some wily veterans already selected.   

I’m sure the ‘trade’ will be looked at, dissected, and cause many to wonder if the trade itself lead to Coach Stevo hoisting the Stanley’s Cup as a Coach.  Speaking of the ‘win’; Coach Stevo now enters the hollowed Tomcat record book as being the first player, and Coach to boast ‘winning’ a tournament.  That fact is an ‘accolade’ well deserved and my hats tipped to Stevo’s Golden Seals.  

As per usual I continue my streak of NOT correctly picking the winning tournament team.  By this point I’m wondering if teams are thinking my annual ‘incorrect’ pick is similar to the ‘Drake’ curse.  It seems once I pick a team – they have ‘yet’ to seal the deal; but there’s always ‘next year’….to either get it right; or continue the ‘curse’…

For those wondering I have photo evidence Snowpants did indeed arrive ‘on time’ for the tourney.  I also ‘heard’ Matador has already regretted ‘not’ being able to attend; and he’s currently watching via close circuit the ‘after party’ parade and celebration whilst wondering ‘what if’….

A week of rest is likely to follow allowing the Golden Seals to travel the globe with the ‘cup’.  While you’re wondering about scores/highlights and other tournament gossip, I noticed your HANDZONMECAC. 

YURRI

Who would have guessed it was a mere ‘3 sleeps’ till tourney time?  Despite the ‘short’ lay over before the ‘big’ game, play was consistent, crisp, fast-paced and players held nothing back.  Matador was heard (in an exasperated voice) saying; ‘I don’t think I ever run this hard all year’.  

Tomcats are a sturdy and steady crew and Rocky selected ‘very’ even ‘pre-tourney’ teams featuring the Sunny Skiers and Soupy’s Snowmen.  Sunny was surrounded by playmakers Matador, Tonto, Snowpants, Animal, Skippy and the Terror in net.   Soupy had Citico, Bullwinkle, Rocky, the Professor, Bullwinkle and Bender in net.   

Per usual the Tomcat algorithm played out and produced a win for each team – and after all was said and done: the scores were nearly identical.  

Snowpants was reminded the annual tournament expects players to arrive at 8am for a 8:30AM SHARP start time – which has been the case for like ‘ever’….

Speaking of ‘even’ teams; I gotta say after spending weeks crunching stats, watching game tapes and running the teams thru John Maddens XBox hockey; i don’t think I’ve ever seen such balanced Tourney teams.   That said my readers demand I make my annual ‘incorrect’ picks. 

For the tourney I’m going all in on The Rakes (Name not yet picked) crew.  Despite ‘rumours’ of Falcon playing hurt and having missed several weeks (Which caused some Vegas odds to question whether he’d have any playing ‘rust’), on paper I think the Rake has crafted a ‘very’ dangerous team.  

I also can’t help but note the three teams already come in with a 33.3% chance of taking the ‘Stanley’s Cup’; since we only have the three teams playing.  I also wonder how the victors and vanquished will truly feel once a new champion is crowned.  Will this be the year an ‘*’ is added to the record book?   Call me crazy but I think the annual tourney needs to be moved to the last ‘day’ of hockey.   Think about it – play the tourney; crown a champion and end the night with drinks/pizza and comradery; then begin the count down to the ‘next’ season.  

Tournament Details:

Arrival: 8am

Tournament Start: 8:30am sharp

Costs:

$20 to your Coach/Captain (coaches to provide full amount for their team to Rocky – $140)

$10 to Jingles for pizza

Game Schedule:

H A

Cribzie’s War Pigs vs. Stevo’s Golden Seals

Stevo’s Golden Seals vs. Rake’s Dragons

TEAM PHOTO

Rake’s Dragons vs. Cribzie’s War Pigs

Cribzie’s War Pigs vs. Stevo’s Golden Seals

Stevo’s Golden Seals vs. Rake’s Dragons

Rake’s Dragons vs. Cribzie’s War Pigs

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

To determine which teams make the championship, it is based on:

⁃ Most Points

– Best +/-

⁃ Most goals for

⁃ Least goals

⁃ Record against the opposing team

⁃ Shoot out

Win is 2 points, tie is 1 and 0 for a loss. Yes, regular games can end in a tie.

Games will be two 10 minute periods (adjusted for having only 3 teams – less overall games). Stop time last 2 minutes of each period. Time between periods is 3 minutes, 5 minutes between games.

If OT is needed for the Championship, refer to Tomcat Rules on the website.

One 30 second timeout allowed per game.

1 minute penalties will be called for rough play.

Referee:

We will have a ref on the floor. Reffing is a tough job. Whatever is called is accepted. We will not tolerate any arguing with the ref.

While you’re wondering if Snowpants will make it in time for the tournament, I noticed your  HANDZONMECAC.  

YURRI

Sunny Spartans – Sunny, Soupy, Nico, Hurricane, Sally, Jingles, Professor, Snowpants, Chico in net

Matador Marlies – Chevy, Matador, Green Giant, Killer, Animal, Splitter, Big Ned, Mayday, Bender in net

The boys brought back “Greek Night” at the Kapusta, only Greek not in attendance was Shack. The 3 Salaris’ we’re passing the ball around faster than Soupy’s high school girlfriend got passed around Petrolia. 

A big night, with 4 spares a side. The Spartans took both games 5-3 and 5-1. The pace was fast, the passes crisp, and the benches were rockin’, as we had some of the best hockey we’ve seen all year! 

New comer Splitter showed why he got his nick name, quick feet and slick hands, he was buzzin’ all over the floor! He claims he never played organized hockey, but I don’t believe it, apparently badminton was his sport…

Making his return to the Tomcats was Sunny’s son, Solstice, or Sally. He got to play with his dad, and his hero, cousin Soupy. He showed no rust, and will be stepping in for the Matador in the tourney. 

It has been nice to some young blood on the floor, with Big Ned becoming a regular, and Sally, Splitter, and Nico all playing. It really pushes the pace of play. Surprisingly, with all the speed, it was a very clean night, and has been such as of late, well done Gents! As Snowy remarked afterwards, no one was injured, however that could have been due to the fact that Chico was playing net, he had no opportunity get injured, or injure others around him! Hurricane also extended his Tomcat record as the oldest tomcat to score a goal, the streak just keeps on going! 

A few shout outs from last night, The Rake showed up with 3 Hot N Ready’s for the boys and ran the clock all night. Sparky came out with his case of beer for the boys even though he’s been on the IR for most of the season! Great guys! This is what it means to be a Tomcat, all around class! 

That wraps it up for this week, be sure to let Rocky know if you are in for next week! Last week before the tournament. 

Enjoy Guys…

Guest Column by H’aida da Salami

From the Minister of Squares, Snowpants: