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Danglers Update

11/30/07 After another long summer and another disappointing playoff loss, the Danglers are back at the drawing boards. "It takes alot to become a championship team and we just haven't had it the past two summers. It's very disappointing to come up short like this again." said alternate captain Jarrett Scarpaci.

Going back to the drawing board includes looking at players on the team and deciding who to keep and who to release. "It certainly isn't an easy task looking at our roster and trying to weed out who we're going to keep and who we're going to replace. It's never easy telling a guy he's not going to be coming back, but we want to win here and unfortunately player movement is part of what is going to help us win." said team G.M. Pat Conley.

Of course there are a few players who are certainly due back in a Danglers uniform. Captain Scott McDougall, Alternate Captains Jon Hutcheon and Jarrett Scarpaci. Joining them will be veterans Jim Toomey, Andrew Scarpaci, Steve Bergin and Jeff Fanning. McDougall and J. Scarpaci retired from competitive hockey after last season their senior year at UConn. Hutcheon has played 4 games total this season, 2 with the Amarillo Gorillas of the Central Hockey League and 2 with the Knoxville Ice Bears of the Southern Professional Hockey League, he gathered 2 PIMs in those 4 games. Toomey is in his freshman year at St. Anselm's and Bergin is in his freshman year at UConn following the McDougall/Scarpaci legacy thru 8 games he has a 1-1-2 line. Fanning is also in his freshman year at Bowdoin with 1 assist thru 3 games.

"It's a solid core that we have to build around we're really hoping to get Mike Cornell under contract he's been a guy who was really looking like a solid prospect for us last summer but just couldn't make many games. There's a few other guys that we had on the team last year that we hope we'll be able to work something out with. We put ourselves in this situation by not winning though so we don't have time to feel sorry about this. We set very high standards for this club and when guys don't perform they don't last long." said Scott McDougall.

Goaltending is by far the biggest issue as of late. The Danglers were off to a very hot start last summer until they began to struggle in the defensive zone. Looking at numbers from the past two summers Todd Rowley appears to have the upper hand for the starting job, but there have been rumors that Salem State junior goalie Ryan Hatch has interest in becoming a Dangler.

"We're not pointing fingers at anyone players come and go we've all been through it. Some more than others and we all understand that it has to happen. The good thing is the 6 other veterans are already talking about the upcoming summer and hopes are high that we come away with a championship. This year we don't want any egos we want to go in do our business and have fun afterwards in the parking lots." said Jon Hutcheon.

Only time will tell how good the upcoming Danglers will be, stay tuned for updates as the Danglers will look to put together a championship team.

Steve Bergin

The loss was too much for him and his bag size was upgraded to economy size

Sidelined again with wrist injury

League Leader in points out indefinately

Will hope to lead team over Boozehounds

Personal rivalry on the line with Boozehounds captain Smith

Top Seed on the Line...

The game everyone has been waiting for is just a little more than 24 hours away. Your first place Danglers will take on the second place Boozehounds in a game that will decide which team takes the top seed going into the playoffs. Two and a half months have passed since the Danglers last lost in the NESHL summer league, the team that dealt them that crushing 6-4 defeat were the Boozehounds. Since then the Danglers are rolling on a 9 game winning streak while scoring an unprecedented 137 goals in 13 games. On the flip side the Boozehounds have the lowest goals against in the league giving up just 38 goals in 13 games. 14 of those 38 goals have been scored by the Danglers. "They're the best team we have ever played against down here, they have speed and they control the play very well. However, we feel like they have had weak goaltending the past two games we've played against them so we're hoping we can exploit that and regain first place." said Boozehounds captain Brett Smith.

The Danglers are on pace to score 158 goals this season, but will be without two of their big guns from last week who led them to an 11-8 win over Maynard. Captain Scott McDougall and Jim Toomey will both miss tomorrow night's game. McDougall, league leader in points with 26 goals, 43 points in 9 games, will be out with inflammation in his right wrist. And Toomey will be out the rest of the season after leaving for school tonight. "It's a big blow we've been dealt with not having Scott tomorrow night, he led the way last week and it's unfortunate we'll be without our leader. Some guys are going to have to step up, including myself and it will be a big help to have Bonitatibus back in the lineup." said Alternate Captain Jon Hutcheon.

"We're a team here but I was upset I had to miss last week's game and fall behind in the points race to Scotty, luckily he won't be there so I'll be able to make up some ground tomorrow night." said Justin Bonitatibus (20-20-40) who will be wearing the captain's C tomorrow in McDougall's place.

At the opposite end of the spectrum Nathan Scarpaci will play in his 2nd game of the season and is still looking for his first point in a Dangler uniform. "It's tough, all my life I've lived in my brothers' shadows and now I come here and Jarrett has 41 points and Andrew has 34, I just want to get a few tomorrow and make a name for myself." said the youngest Scarpaci rostered on the team Nathan. The trio of brothers are all represented by the same agent, their youngest brother Nick.

The personal rivalry between Boozehounds captain Brett Smith and Danglers alternate captain Jon Hutcheon will once again burn thick. The two previously spent a week playing with and against each other at Bruins prospects camp and will once again do battle for the NESHL regular season crown.

Game time is 8:20pm tomorrow night on rink 1.

3 goals in final Danglers game

6 goal night

Danglers jump on Captain's back, limp to 11-8 win...

After the worst 2 periods in Danglers history captain Scott McDougall rallied the troops going into the 3rd period. The boys took the 3rd place Maynard team lightly and it showed on the scored board, after the first frame Maynard held a 5-2 lead and after two periods of play Maynard was up 7-5. "It's a classic case of us thinking all we had to do was show up and they were going to give us the win. We knew they were fighting for a playoff spot and they battled us hard." said Andrew Scarpaci who chipped in 2 assists on the night.

The story of the night by far is the Danglers record set tonight by McDougall. He has had two 5 goal games this season already but tonight he took it up to another level as he took the team on his back and put up a 6 spot against a tough Maynard goalie. "I was surprised at how bad we were playing tonight and I didn't want to lose to that team, so I did what I had to do tonight. But I don't want to take all the glory here, none of my goals were unassisted so without my teammates getting me the puck I wouldn't have been able to score those goals." said an estatic McDougall after the game. McDougall now has 43 points on the season to lead the league.

Another highlight of the night was the stellar goal scoring by Jim Toomey who had 3 goals and 1 assist in what is assumed to be his last game this summer before he goes away to school. "I wanted to go out with a bang and I got a lucky bounce to get our first goal and the puck was just bouncing my way tonight. I had a great time this summer and can't wait to do it all over again."

Along with McDougall taking over the points race, Jarrett Scarpaci hit the 40 point plateau with a goal and 3 assists to give him 41 points this season. His younger brother Andrew now sits with 34 points on the season and Jon Hutcheon had 3 assists which allowed him to hit the 30 point plateau. "It's been an amazing summer, we have 3 forwards with 40 points or more and 2 defensemen with 30 plus points. We've said it all along that we have firepower and this just proves it and we still have 2 more regular season games." said Andrew Scarpaci.

Also someone deserving his honor is young rookie defenseman Mike Cornell from the Foxboro Stars, the young 18 year old has only been able to make 4 games this season due to a committment with the Mass Satellite Overage camp. But, in those 4 games he has really showed terrific improvement. "We knew he could be an impact player from the start and after his first two games he really settled down and came into his own." said Scott McDougall. In the past 2 games Cornell has netted 8 points on two back to back games with a goal and 3 assists in each game giving him 11 points in 4 games.

Game time next week is 8:20pm on rink 1 against the 2nd place Boozehounds for the top seed going into the playoffs.

Danglers, Maynard ready for round 3...

Tomorrow night your first place Danglers will take on a struggling Maynard team who is still fighting for a playoff berth. Maynard sits tied for 3rd place with the Bears, each team holds a 4-8-0 record. A win tomorrow night could solidify a berth for Maynard, however a loss could put them out of playoff contention. "They're a team who has to play play-off hockey the rest of the way. Teams like that can be dangerous, it'll be a good test for us." said Jarrett Scarpaci, who will look to continue his scoring ways after his 6 point effort last week vs. the Bears. Game time is 10:10pm on rink 3.

In other news the team would like to send out a big hello to Rob and Lisa who head the New Hampshire based Danglers fan club. "I was able to go up and skate with them on Monday night in Hooksett at an adult skills session they do that my father runs. It was nice and kind of grounded me, as big time guys in college and above we sometimes take hockey for granted and these adults are just learning how to play. It was fun to go back to square one and be able to give them some pointers on what to do in certain situations." said Jon Hutcheon. "It's cool to think that they are always checking the website to see how we're doing each week."

There are about 10 people in the fan club and they are hoping to make it to a Danglers playoff game. "It was great to get the chance to hang out with Jon he's a great guy." added Rob. Team Owner Shawn Hutcheon who runs the adult skills session let Jon run the practice and said he gives the adults updates every week on the team. Thanks for following us guys.

Summer Season ending, players looking forward...

With the summer season winding down, the players on the Danglers are gearing up for their regular seasons. What that means for opposing clubs for the remaining games of the NESHL summer league is watch out. "We don't have alot of time left before we all move on to our regular seasons so I think most of us are going to be picking up the pace little by little until we are almost going full speed the last week of the season, which is hopefully the championship game." said captain Scott McDougall.

Three Danglers will be rookies this season, Andrew Scarpaci, Jon Hutcheon and Justin Bonitatibus will all be the youngsters on their teams. Scarpaci will join a Salem State College team this season that struggled a bit last year. "They lost alot of veterans after the season, so I hope it's a chance for me to step right in and make an impact." said the younger Scarpaci. Bonitatibus is in a similiar situation as he enters his first year in the highly competitive Hockey East with Merrimack. "They struggled alot the past couple seasons so it should be really exciting to hopefully be part of the team that turns the program around." offered an anxious Bonitatibus. Hutcheon is in a bit of a different boat as he prepares to take on his first full season of pro hockey with the expansion Rocky Mountain Rage, "A couple months ago I knew nothing about the league and then I got the offer to go play and I looked into, it's a great league with every team having an AHL affiliation is should be a great place to start." said Hutcheon.

Three other players will enter their sophomore seasons and look to take on a more responsible role for their teams. Dennis McCauley of Northeastern, Chris Diozzi of Trinity and Bryan Calabro of Worcester State all feel as though they got a feel for their respective leagues last season and want to build on their successful freshmen campaigns. "I feel as though I entered last year not knowing what to expect, but now I know what is needed to have a very strong season and hope to do just that." said Diozzi. Calabro added this "Last year I just hoped my back could make it through the whole season without acting up, now that I know that it isn't a problem I've been working hard with Hutch to make sure I play my way into a leadership role." The other sophomore to be, Dennis McCauley, will look to play with more consistency throughout the whole season, "I felt like the first half of the year I was trying to get my legs under me and had a great second half of the year. So now I just want to pick up where I left off."

The veterans of the collegiate ranks are also teammates and housemates at the University of Conneticut. Jarrett Scarpaci and Scott McDougall will live together again for the third year in a row and will join UConn as seniors this season. Both have hinted that this may be their last season of competitive hockey and want to make it a memorable one. "UConn Hockey is something that not a lot of people take seriously, but that doesn't mean we don't want to win. Hopefully this season can be a fun one and we can pick up some wins." said McDougall. Scarpaci also added "Just getting the chance to say we played college hockey is cool, but now we want to say we left a mark on the hockey program at UConn so hopefully we can come out of this season with a good amount of wins."

With 2 more summer games left plus playoffs the boys have plenty of time to get ready for the season and that can only mean one thing. The fans of the Danglers have yet to see this teams best hockey.

6 point night vs. the Bears

On his way to 50 point season

25 goal plateau right around the corner

Big Three lead the way...

With only 7 players and a goalie the Danglers had to fight to extend their winning streak to 8 last night. With the efforts of Justin Bonitatibus, Scott McDougall and Jarrett Scarpaci that was not a problem as the three players combined for 9 goals and 18 points in a 12-8 win over the Bears. Jon Hutcheon chipped in 1 goal and 2 assists, Andrew Scarpaci had 2 goals and an assist and Mark Bates and Chris Diozzi had 2 helpers each. "It's crunch time, we don't want to lose our top spot. We want to go into the playoffs flying high in first place." said Hutcheon. Diozzi added this. "This was true summer hockey, we only had 7 guys and we just came out laughed and had fun, but turned it on when we needed to and came out with the win."

The 12 goal outburst propelled the Danglers to 126 goals for in 12 games, something that has never been seen in the NESHL summer leagues. "This is a summer league record, and they still have 2 games to play. They're a special group of players, truly fun to watch." said league commisioner Jim Lawler.

League leading 36 points

30 point scorer

McDougall came back from early season injury

Bonitatibus and McDougall battle early season adversity...

It wasn't an easy start to the season for two of the three captains of this seasons Danglers squad. For captain Scott McDougall it was battling thru grueling physical therapy to stregthen his wrist after surgery just weeks before opening night. For alternate captain Justin Bonitatibus it was dealing with the transition from the EJHL to the slower pace of the NESHL and not having the puck bounce his way. Both players are in the top 3 in league scoring, Bonitatibus leads all scorers now with 17-17-34, as McDougall has a 17-13-30 line good for 3rd overall.

Since the 5th game of the season when both were put on the same line the two have flourished. It was after a loss to the Boozehounds in the 4th game of the season that Bonitatibus realized he had to bring much more to the team to make the Danglers a championship caliber club. "I was struggling til we lost that game, then it really hit me I needed to pick it up." With just 7 points thru 4 games he put his mind to it and has scored 27 points in the last 7 games. "Playing with Scotty I don't know what it is, we just click."

After missing the first two games of the year, McDougall started slow as well. With just 2 points in his first game back he knew he would have to start playing with more intensity to be successful. "I was hesitating when I took a shot, hoping not to tweak anything in the wrist. And I knew I wasn't going to score much or help this team at all by not ripping shots." After that he scored 4 points against the Boozehounds, then set a Dangler record with a 5 goal, 8 point night against YYZ and then put up another 5 goal, 7 point night against the Bears two weeks later. "Scott has an uncanny knack to find the back of the net, he has a heavy and accurate shot making it tough for any goalie to stop." said goaltender Ryan McCauley.

With 3 games left in the regular season and these two really hitting their stride it isn't out of reach to have a possible 50 point guy in Bonitatibus and a 25 goal man in McDougall. "The two of them just really bonded this summer and have been unstoppable lately. It seems like whoever we throw out there on the wing with them blends right in because of the talent between Scott and Justin, they just make the players around them better." said alternate captain Jon Hutcheon.

Big 4 goal, 2 assist return for Morreale

Hutcheon led the Danglers with a 2-4-6 line

Danglers roll past Sticky Bandits...

With the returns of Mike Cornell and Mark Morreale to the Danglers lineup, as well as Ryan McCauley playing outstanding in net, the Danglers steamrolled the Sticky Bandits last night by a score of 15-3. "It's just all coming together at the right time for us." said Captain Scott McDougall. The Danglers were led by Morreale and Jon Hutcheon. Morreale came back from a 6 week absense, but looked as though he never missed a beat as he pumped home four goals and added two assists for a career night. Hutcheon also had a career night with 2 goals and 4 assists, and gives Hutcheon 10 points in the past 2 games. Once again alternate captain Justin Bonitatibus looked to move ahead in the points race and succeeded tonight with another 5 point night to give him 34 total points on the season, now 3 ahead of Jarrett Scarpaci, the previous leader from week one all the way to last night. Four Danglers racked up 4 points, Cornell came back hard and chipped in a goal and 3 assists, as did McDougall. Jim Toomey, who was rumored to have left the team earlier this week came back to put on a 2 goal 2 assist show and prove he can play with the best of them. The other player with 4 points was Andrew Scarpaci, who threw in 4 assists to keep himself very much alive in the points standings.
"What was great about tonight was we finally were able to limit the other teams offensive chances and played some decent defense in front of Juvi." said Jarrett Scarpaci who chipped in a goal and assist of his own. Chris Diozzi and Jeff Fanning rounded out the scoring with 2 points a piece.
The great goaltending from McCauley started in the first with a great stick save on a penalty shot and continued on throughout the game. "Sometimes those are the toughest games to play in, we were on fire in the offensive zone and I had to make sure I stayed focused all night. The Bandits weren't getting many shots on me but I knew I had to make the saves when they did come down on a few 3 on 1's and 3 on 0's. Overall I thought we played excellent, this last month of the regular season should be a great one." said McCauley. With only 3 games to go the Danglers are still in first place with an overall record of 10 wins and just 1 loss and an astounding 114 goals for, which is just over 10 goals per game.
Jarrett Scarpaci got the scoring started just 40 seconds into the game with an end to end rush. Followed by a Morreale goal assisted by Toomey 35 seconds later. After that Bonitatibus got on the board scoring two goals in a row, the first one was assisted by McDougall and Cornell the second one from Diozzi and McDougall. The Bandits finally managed to get on the board 6:52 seconds into the first frame after a costly turn over by Jon Hutcheon just inside his blueline. Although Hutcheon quickly redeemed himself by setting up Jim Toomey's first of the night 2 minutes later. To round out the adventuresome first McDougall added his one and only with 2 seconds remaining to give the Danglers a 6-1 lead after 1 period of play.
There were no signs of let up from the Danglers over the next two periods as the team banged home 5 and 4 goals respectively in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

Now to the play of the game, it was a goal scored with just 18 seconds remaining in the game on a long feed from Andrew Scarpaci, Mark Morreale caught a pass just feet from the Bandits blueline and was in all alone. After one deke to the backhand Morreale put the puck and stick between his legs and roofed a shot off the crossbar and in to seal the deal. Was it a bit of showboating? Of course, but who can argue with Mark all he wants is his well deserved hockey glory.

But, with every good play comes a bad play and tonight's goes to Jeff Fanning. While using a new stick and trying to blame it all on that, Fanning could not put the puck in the net, if it were a 2 dollar hooker with her legs open he still would have missed. He had 4 prime scoring oppotunities in one shift but could not bury the puck.

Next game is a rare Monday night game at 9:30 against the Bears on rink 1.

Forward Jim Toomey leaves team...

As of this afternoon 18 year old forward Jim Toomey will no longer be with the team after he asked for his release from the Danglers. It came as some surprise to team management but GM/Coach Mark Morreale had this to say, "Sometimes players feel they have outgrown the program and I think this is what happened with Jim. It was time to part ways after he asked for his release. We wish him the best this upcoming season at KUA." The forward had a 6-13-19 line through 7 games this summer with the Danglers.

Bonitatibus led the team with a 2-3-5 line

Hutcheon chipped in 4 assists

Danglers too strong for YYZ again...

On paper YYZ was much overmatched but that didn't stop them from coming out hard in the first period of play and even scoring the first 2 goals of the game. However after the Danglers, who had a week off, gathered themselves and found their stride the boys were too much for YYZ to handle and ended the night with a 10-6 win and are still riding high on a 6 game winning streak.
YYZ struck first at 1:26 and again at 2:19 but those were the only 2 goals the Danglers would surrender through the 1st two periods and it was then that the Danglers scored 9 straigh goals in the first and second periods. Justin Bonitatibus caught and tied Jarrett Scarpaci for the points lead on the team after Bonitatibus chipped in a 2-3-5 night. Newcomer Chris Murphy scored 2 and assisted on 2 and defenseman Jon Hutcheon added 4 assists. Joe Ahern got his first and second goals of the season 1:57 apart in the second period, both were assisted on by Hutcheon. Captain Scott McDougall had a relatively quiet night with a goal and an assist and Dennis McCauley had a nice welcome back party with a hat trick of his own.
"Bottom line is we came to play again tonight. And when we come to the rink ready to go no one in this league has the legs to keep up with us. I hope we can keep this going straight thru, we're coming up on the stretch run and we're still a point ahead of the Boozehounds for first place." said captain Scott McDougall after the game. With 4 games remaining on the schedule the next game will be against the Stickey Bandits next Wednesday at 8:30pm on rink 4.

Team rolls with new recruit...

The Danglers continued their winning ways last night with a 10-6 win over team YYZ. In a game filled with scoring one player stood out, it was Chris Murphy's first game in a Dangler uniform and the new guy made it count. After a few shifts of getting used to his new teammates Murphy scored the 4th Dangler goal of the first period to put the team ahead 4-2 going into the second and he never looked back from there. He added the games next goal 31 seconds into the second fram and added 2 assists in the second period for a big four point night. His 4 points ties the Danglers team record for most amount of points in a first game with the team.

The 19 year old Arlington, MA native will attend the University of Tennessee to play club hockey in college this upcoming season, only the second Dangler to play club hockey he was a standout in the EJHL this season scoring 31 points in 44 games. He had numerous scholarship offers that would have made him play another year in the EJ but when push came to shove Murphy decided it was time to move on and go the college route and have fun with it at UT. "I've always loved the game but juniors was so demanding and the campus at UT is unreal. I feel as though I've made the right career choice and plus have you seen the girls down there? They're unbelievable." said Murphy after the game. No matter what last night was a night Murphy won't soon forget.

YYZ, Danglers set to do battle...

Tonight at 8:20pm your first place Snipe City Danglers will take on the last place YYZ on rink 2. While on paper the Danglers completely over match YYZ, YYZ is a dangerous team. "Any time a team is in last place they're going to be a dangerous team. We've had a week off since our first place clinching win over the Boozehounds so we have to make sure we are sharp right from the start. Sometimes after big wins teams come out flat, hopefully that won't happen to us tonight." said Andrew Scarpaci. Team YYZ fell to 1-8-0 on the season after a disappointing 9-3 loss to the Stickey Bandits and will be looking to improve on their league low 34 goals in 9 games. That won't be an easy task as the Danglers will get their number goalie back, after a two week hiatus Ryan McCauley will be back between the pipes. "I tweaked my knee again in the game against Maynard and knew I needed some time off so I could be at 100% down the stretch and into the playoffs" said McCauley. Tickets are still available for tonight's early game on rink 2.

Ahern excited about 2nd game as Dangler

Ahern looking to score this summer

Joe Ahern will suit up for his second game in a Danglers uniform tomorrow night at 8:20pm and is extremely excited about the rest of the summer. After tomorrow nights game against Team YYZ, the winter season's runner up, Ahern will fly to Columbus, OH to take part in Team USA tryouts for the Winter World University games. More than 80 student-athletes at Division 1 club hockey schools in the country will attend the invite only tryouts, with only the top 23 making Team USA to compete in Turin, Italy this upcoming winter. Ahern, a 22 year-old junior at Arizona State University is excited about not only the tryout but the opporunity to hone his skills with the Danglers before going to tryouts and back to ASU as the teams leading scorer in his previous 2 seasons. As a sophomore this past year he scored 16 goals 13 assists for 29 points in 29 games to go along with 23 points in 24 games his freshman year. "The chance to go to Turin is once in a lifetime and I'm really excited about that. But I also have to thank the Danglers management for bringing me in for the remainder of the summer. It's a great team with some real good players and playing at this level with these guys will only help me be that much better this upcoming season.

Bryan Calabro

Chris Diozzi

Sometimes on a team full of all-star caliber players players get lost in the mix. Chris Diozzi and Bryan Calabro are doing their best not to allow that happen to themselves and are doing a good job getting noticed for their strong play all summer. Diozzi, the teams best defensive defenseman to date, has been on fire as of late scoring 5 of his 7 points in the last 3 games. Included in those 5 points was his 1st goal as a Dangler, a truly special moment. "It was something I was trying to keep my mind off of because when you start thinking about it, it seems like it never happens. But I finally got a chance and just buried it against Maynard a few weeks ago. It's a good feeling and I want to thank Bryan for grabbing me the puck, that thing is still up in the mantle in my house." said Diozzi

The Bryan he is talking about is forward Bryan Calabro. A diminutive forward with surprising quickness and a knack for the net. Always a playmaker growing up Calabro is starting to find his scoring touch this summer. With a modest 5-5-10 line in only 6 games, Calabro is picking up points much more rapidly lately than at the beginning of the summer. "It just seemed like thru the first couple of games the puck didn't want to bounce my way at all. But lately I've calmed down alot and things have been going my way." says Bryan.

With these two starting to rack up the points along with the torrid scoring pace of the rest of the Danglers it comes as no surprise that the team is not only in first place in the league, but also lead the league in goals for with 89 goals scored in just 9 games. "We're fast and can move the puck and bury it when we need to, I don't know if there is a team around who can stop us." added Calabro. And only time will tell.

Mid Season Rankings

We are now a little past the midway point of the season and the team is sitting pretty holding a one point lead over the Boozehounds for first place. A little update on the teams leaders:

Goals: Scott McDougall 15

Assists: Jarrett Scarpaci 18

Points: Jarrett Scarpaci 27

Penalty Minutes: Jon Hutcheon 6

Games Played: Jarrett and Andrew Scarpaci 9

Defensemen Points: Jon Hutcheon 14

Danglers steamroll into 1st place...

On the shoulders of captain Scott McDougall the Danglers blew past the Boozehounds for 1st place in the league last night with an 8-6 win. McDougall led all players with 5 points on the night, continuing his offensive prowess. "It's something that has really come together for me the past 3 games. My first 2 games I was playing very cautious because of my wrist, but lately I've been getting opportunities to rip shots from the slot and they've been going in for me." Jeff Fanning made his debut with the club a memorable one with 2 goals and an assist. Fanning was signed to the roster late yesterday afternoon, missed the team's morning skate and just made it to the rink on time to suit up for the game. "The whole day was crazy, one minute I'm laying out by the pool and all of the sudden at around 6pm my agent calls me and tells me he finally worked out a deal with the team. I grabbed my gear and was out the door...it was awesome, I've been hoping something would happen all summer and it finally did." His first goal in a Danglers uniform was assisted by Jon Hutcheon "The pass was what made the play, Hutch was able to sauce one thru center ice and it landed perfectly on my blade all I had to do was bury it." Hutcheon was in great form last night recently off his stint with the Boston Bruins reality show training camp and chipped in 3 points. And again Justin Bonitatibus was able to continue his all-star scoring ways with another hat trick. Another player making his debut was forward Joe Ahern who chipped in 2 apples in the win. "It was a great experience to play with these guys and I'm happy to have been signed on for the rest of the season." The teams skated to a 3-3 tie after one period of play and then the Danglers took control of the game in the 2nd with 2 goals in the same shift from Bonitatibus and 1 on the next shift from Fanning. That was all the boys needed as the score was 6-4 after 2. The teams shared a pair of goals each in the 3rd to wrap up the scoring. Next week the Danglers are off and are back on Wednesday August 2nd at 8:20pm against last place team YYZ.

Alternate captain Bonitatibus making a name for himself...

Management knew what 20 year old center Justin Bonitatibus was capable of, which is what earned him the "A" at the beginning of the season. That is also why no one in the front office or on the bench panicked when Bonitatibus' offensive numbers weren't outstanding after the first 3 games of the season. "Justin is the type of player you love to play with, you know he's going to bring something to the rink every game. Whether it's on the scoreboard or in the face-off circle or in our defensive end he always comes ready to play. Some nights all facets of his game is on and he's spectacular and other nights he only comes with two thirds of his game and he's still one of the top players on the ice." said linemate Andrew Scarpaci. The offense has started to come for Bonitatibus who is currently ranked 3rd in the points race with 21 points in just 6 games, what's more astounding is his prowess in the face-off circle as he leads the league winning 87.6% of his draws. A former Eastern Junior Hockey League All-Star, he will continue his playing days at Merrimack College this upcoming fall as a freshman. Before he steps foot on campus at Merrimack and goes after a Hockey East championship his mind is set on winning an NESHL championship this summer. "It would be a great way to end the summer and go into school on a winning note." said Justin

Danglers make public appearance...

At least 5 Danglers were seen at the Kenny Chesney concert this past weekend. Justin Bonitatibus, Jon Hutcheon and Chris O'Brien were all seen together by numerous fans and were stopped more than once for autographs. "We read about these guys all the time on the website and have been planning a trip to NESC to watch them play, but to look behind us and see them right there was unbelievable. Poor Jenna was so excited she threw up some of her weakness." said Tricia Helkey, refering to her friend Jenna Distensil who lost her lunch when she was so overjoyed at the sight of the 3 Dangler stars. Also in attendance were the McCauley brothers who were sitting in the 10th row and may have been bigger celebrities to the girls around them than the singers on stage. Be sure to come see all the boys this Wednesday at 10:20pm on NESC 4 against the Boozehounds. Tickets on sale now.

Boys still within 1 point of first place...

With last weeks 11-3 blowout over Maynard the Danglers are still only 1 point out of first place. That point could be made up on Wednesday as the boys prepare to face off against the number one team in the league the Boozehounds. The beer hungry dogs are led by defenseman Brett Smith, a former standout at St. A's who will attend the Boston Bruins training camp this fall. It'll be a reunion of sorts for Brett and Dangler alternate captain Jon Hutcheon who spent last week together at the Boston Bruins "Be A Bruin" training camp. The two are excited about playing against each other on Wednesday. "It should be fun, Smitty and I played on the black team together last week for 3 days before I was traded to white, he's a solid player and it should be a good pace game with first place on the line." said Hutcheon. "Hutch played well all week last week and was real close to jumpstarting the white team to a couple wins after he got shipped across the hall, I can't wait to play in a fun game against him and share some more laughs." said Smith. Both of the players had good showings at training camp in a Bruin uniform as Hutcheon notched a goal and 3 assists in 5 games and Smith scored 1 goal, 4 assists in 5 games. Hutcheon knows he's headed to the Central Hockey League next season, however the whereabouts of where Smith is going are being a well kept secret from the public. Come down to the NESC to see these 2 do battle at 10:20pm on rink 4 Wednesday night.

Danglers short bench rolls over Maynard 11-3

Short bench and all the boys who did show up came ready to play. The scoring started immediately and never really let up. The boys were without captain Scott McDougall due to prior commitments and alternate captain Jon Hutcheon because he was at the Boston Bruins "Be a Bruin" training camp all week. They were also without Dennis and Ryan McCauley, a backup goalie was called in to play. However, the team was led by Bryan Calabro, Jarrett Scarpaci, Justin Bonitatibus, Andrew Scarpaci and Chris O'Brien who all had 4 points on the night.

Brothers leading the way...

Jarrett Scarpaci and younger brother Andrew have always been two of the premier players on any team they've ever played on. However, due to a 2 year age gap growing up they never played together until high school. Even in high school it was only for Jarrett's senior season. But the brothers are back together again this summer and are tearing the league apart together. Thru 7 games this summer the two have combined for 39 points, 13 goals and a staggering 26 assists. Jarrett has led the team from day one and now has a team leading 20 points, only to be followed closely by Andrew who has 19 points. The two say playing together has always been a dream and even though it's only summer hockey they cherish every moment of it. "Growing up he was always the guy I looked up to, the older brother playing varsity hockey in high school as a freshman when I was in 7th grade. Jarrett was definately a good role model for me, I always tried to follow in his footsteps." said the 20 year old Andrew. Although their styles aren't very much alike, their offensive numbers are. Jarrett is the speedy forward who looks to make a play before shooting, while Andrew grew up as a forward but in the summer usually turns back to defense, where he controls the play with his smooth skating ability and great shot from the point. "We grew up playing street hockey in the front driveway everyday from the time I was 8 or 9 years old. Even if it was just myself and Andy we were always out there horsing around. It helped us both out and it's fun to get the chance to play with him this summer before my senior year and UConn and his freshman year at Salem St." said the 22 year old Jarrett. Although one is graduating from college next May and one is just starting college, the two will always be neck and neck on the ice.

Danglers out growl Bears... The season continues to roll along so do the Danglers, as the team came up with their 6th won of the season last night over the Bears. 8 different goal scorers made up for a 13-8 win. The was once again led by the return of captain Scott McDougall whose 5 goals and 3 assists were once again tops among the team. The Danglers came out quick and opened up the game with a 5-2 lead after one period of play. However, a defensive implosion in the 2nd led to 5 Bears goals and threatened the lead of the Danglers only for alternate captain Justin Bonitatibus to lead a late 2nd period rally. In just a minute and 40 second time span the line of McDougall, Bonitatibus, Jarrett Scarpaci, Andrew Scarpaci, and Jon Hutcheon combined for 4 goals to retake the lead and it would stay that way the rest of the game. The boys added 4 more in the 3rd to wrap up the 13-8 win. "It's something that has killed us all summer long, our defensive play seems to lack for a bit in the 2nd for some reason and we leave Ryan out to dry in net. Lucky for us he pulled through with some big saves tonight and we were able to regain our composure late in the 2nd and put them away for good." said alternate captain Jon Hutcheon. "Hopefully next week we can put together a full 45 minute game and run away with another win against Maynard who played us hard the last time we squared up against them. They're a team who won't quit on you and we have to be ready to go." Next week's game will be played on Wednesday July 12th at 10:20pm on rink 3. Come show your support as the Danglers try to regain 1st place.

Danglers keep rolling along...

With 3 of the regulars missing including their captain and alternate captain things look gloomy. They looked even worse after regular goalie Ryan McCauley was a late game scratch for unknown reasons. But the boys pulled it together behind the strong efforts of Justin Bonitatibus and Jim Toomey on offense and the goaltending heroics of newcomer Mark Pulde the Danglers reeled off their 5th win of the season with a 8-5 win over the struggling Stickey Bandits. The Danglers next game is Wednesday July 5th against the Bears at 9:30pm on rink 2. More news to come as well as stat updates and an updated schedule.

Danglers improve to 4-1-0

With only 8 guys in the Danglers locker room, but the spirits high the Danglers came out strong against YYZ. The scoring started early as Scott McDougall scored the first of his 5 goals on the night just 3:09 into the first frame. That set the tone for the 1st period and the Danglers held a 4-2 lead going into the second period. The second frame was a sloppy period for the Danglers as they allowed 3 goals and came out of the second with a 5-5 tie. After a little pep talk from their captain the boys came out to score 5 unanswered 3rd period goals. McDougall led the troops with 5 goals and 2 assists, behind him were Andrew Scarpaci and Mark Morreale with a goal and 3 assists each. Jarrett Scarpaci and Jim Toomey chipped in 3 points a piece and rounding out the scoring were Jon Hutcheon and Mike Cornell with 2 points each on the night. Next up for the boys is a first week rematch against the Stickey Bandits. It's a Wednesday night matchup on rink 1 at 9:10pm. The Danglers will be without leaders Scott McDougall, Jon Hutcheon and Mike Cornell as all 3 will be working a hockey camp in Cushing Academy.

Danglers ready to face-off with YYZ...

After last week humiliating 6-4 loss to the Boozehounds the boys vowed it would be the only loss of the summer. YYZ will see if they can break that vow tonight at 9:50 in NESC. YYZ (1-3-0) are coming off a win over the Stickey Bandits last week and will be looking to extend the Danglers losing streak to 2, that will be no easy task the Danglers are fired up to play tonight. "I think last week proved to us that we are beatable, but only when we don't show up to play." said rookie forward Jim Toomey. "We are a competitive group of guys who hate to lose, even though there are no easy nights we are hoping to make tonight an easy win for ourselves to get us back on track."

In other news defenseman Mike Cornell will rejoin the team tonight after missing last weeks game while he was at the Green Bay Gamblers mini camp. "It was a great experience, even though I knew I wasn't going to leave Foxboro it was good to see what kind of competition I'm up against out in the west." Also, alternate captain Jon Hutcheon has entered a contract agreement with the Rocky Mountain Rage of the Central Hockey League. It will be Hutcheon's second pro camp, "I think last year in Danbury I learned alot and now I can use that knowledge going out to Rocky Mountain. I can't wait to go and get the season underway with the new team." Rocky Mountain is the only team in the CHL without an AHL affiliation but one is in the works according to Rage head coach Tracey Egeland.

One more player excited about debut...

Paul D'Agostino has signed an ATO with the Danglers and will make his debut Wednesday night against Maynard. It was a move that was kept highly under wraps even from Captain Scott McDougall it was only known by Jon Hutcheon and Danglers management. Dags is coming off his sophomore season at UMass Lowell and is another wily vet of the summer ranks with the boys as he was a key contributor to the Stars in the Bay State hockey league two summers ago. In 21 collegiate games Paul as notched 8 assists and is a great playmaker who has speed and great vision on the ice. He should fit right in with the team right away and will most likely iron out a one year contract within the two week ATO time frame. Paul was reached on his cell phone late last night and had this to say "It would be the highlight of any players career to receive a phone call from the management of the Snipe City Danglers and for me to recieve that phone call and get this opportunity is truely a dream come true. I can't wait." Neither can the fans. Game time is 9:30pm Wednesday June 7th.

Cornell, McDougall await debut...

Mike Cornell and Captain Scott McDougall are ready to go for Wednesday's game against Maynard. Cornell, who missed the first 2 games due to school committments, will step in on defense and should help out immediately. He will join alternate captain Jon Hutcheon, Chris Diozzi and Jake Henry on defense. Henry is also scheduled to make his Dangler debut.

McDougall, who missed the first two games recovering from wrist surgery, can't wait for the start of his summer season either. "These past two weeks have felt like an eternity, it's been rough. Especially last week when we were short on guys, but the wrist just wasn't ready and I didn't want to rush things. I feel confident that I will be able to contribute to the offense right away." said Scott.

"I can't wait to play with the team, but I'm happy for Scotty, he worked hard to get himself ready for this so it's good that he'll be able to play this week." Cornell said about his captain.

Hutcheon in the meantime hasn't had any time off since the last Danglers game (a 14-5 win). After last Tuesday's game he played one game with Superskills hockey and then joined Buddy Johnson's team in the President's cup in Quincy, in which he was joined by alternate captain Justin Bonitatibus. He is looking for some much needed rest before Wednesday's game but is excited about the possibility of going 3 and 0 on the young season. He also has agreed to go to rookie camp with the Huntsville Havoc, of the SPHL in August. "Going 3 and 0 will be a great way to start off our season and hopefully we will be able to pull it off. We'll have everyone back including Dougall and Cornell so that should help us out alot."

Danglers staying busy...

With a week in between games it is sometimes tough for players to stay sharp, not so with this group of guys. Captain Scott McDougall has started skating and is a probable to play in his first Danglers game this upcoming Wednesday. Also due to make his debut will be 18 year old defenseman Mike Cornell, who just finished up his senior year at Mount St. Charles and is ready to go. In the spirit of staying on the ice alternate captain Jon Hutcheon will be playing in the highly touted President's Cup in Quincy this weekend, the tournament will feature some of the top collegiate and pro players from Massachusetts.

In other news, Mark Morreale has agreed to a one year contract with the Danglers. Mark was previously on an Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO) with the team and with his 2 week ATO coming to an end last night at midnight, Danglers management and Mark were able to hammer out an agreement. Morreale has been on fire in his first two games with the squad notching 7 points on 4 goals and 3 assists putting him tied for second in the points race, leaving the Danglers no other choice but to offer him a contract. "Getting Mark for the whole season was really a no brainer, we knew all along he could be a force if he could come in and shake the rust off and he has done that alot quicker than any of us expected." said Player/Coach Scott McDougall. Mark himself was estatic to sign his one year deal, "This is something I wanted from the start, these are guys I grew up playing with and wanted to show them I still had it. I am going to make an announcement to my inline team that they're only 100 point scorer will no longer be in attendance this season. At this time I just want to thank the Danglers for giving me an opportunity these past two weeks and now I have a chance to show everyone what I have for the whole summer." When the news reached alternate captain Justin Bonitatibus he was also very pleased with the transaction, "I think some of these guys who are in here on ATO's like Batesy and Yetten can really learn from a guy like Mark. Morreale was a guy we really only expected to have around these first two weeks and then sparingly after that so for him to come in and earn himself a spot after just two weeks says alot of his intensity and desire."

The Danglers have also announced the addition of the "Danglers Connection" which will be a mailing list keeping you informed on when the website is updated and other news that you may not hear on the website such as player appearances and early playoff ticket availability. If interested send an email with Danglers Connection as the subject to JHutch923@hotmail.com or reach us at www.myspace.com/jonhutch

The Danglers will be off this weekend and will have practice next Monday and Tuesday in Saugus in the morning, then it's time to get back at it Wednesday night against Maynard. Puck drops at 9:30pm

Danglers find scoring touch...

Six different scorers added up to 14 goals and a 14-5 rout of the Bears on Tuesday night. Due to the change of nights the Danglers only had 8 players, but 8 was plenty as the goals came in bunches. Every single player had at least 3 points on the night and were paced by the debut performance of superstar Dennis McCauley and Jarrett Scarpaci, both had 7 points. McCauley had 4 goals and 3 assists, as Scarpaci chipped in a goal with 6 assists. Mark Morreale had 3 goals and 2 assists, good for 5 points, following him were newcomer Nick Yetten (2 goals, 2 assists), Andrew Scarpaci (3 goals, 1 assist) and Jim Toomey (4 assists). Rounding out the scoring was fill in player Mark Bates and Jon Hutcheon, Bates had 3 assists and Hutcheon had 1 goal along with 2 assists. The Danglers power play was on fire as they went 2 for 3 on two beautiful goals by McCauley and J. Scarpaci, which improves the team powerplay percentage to 75%. Between the pipes Ryan McCauley was a force stopping 23 of 28 shots and he is only looking to improve, "Tonight was the first night back in almost 6 months after leaving Texas and I felt a little rusty at first. I think that with each game though I will get better and better, I mean hand it to the guys who played in front of me it's always easy to play goal when your team is pumping in 14 goals on just 30 something shots."

Also, it is worth noting that it was the second straight game that the Danglers did not commit a penalty, something that isn't always easy in summer hockey. "I think that we're staying disciplined and not allowing the other teams hacks and whacks get to us is definately going to be a major key for being successful in this league." said Hutcheon after the game.

With the win the Danglers improve to a 2-0-0 record on the young season with hopes of continuing the high scoring next week when they face Maynard at 9:30pm on Wednesday.

Team readies for 2nd game of the season...

The Danglers spent the past 5 days resting and getting themselves ready for game 2 of the summer season. Tonight will mark the beginning of the McCauley reign in net, as Ryan McCauley will get the nod between the pipes. Also, available tonight will be Dennis McCauley, Mark Bates and Jake Henry. All three players will be making their Danglers debut. The team looked well rested in practice on Sunday morning and are gunning towards another win in the young season. Andrew Scarpaci was proud to announce his plans on becoming a Salem State Viking next season, Scarpaci will be a freshman for the 06-07 season and is ready to up his game to the college level. He had this to say Sunday after the team skate, "You know it's a step up from where I've been playing, but I'm ready for the challenge. I think it will be fun and who knows what will happen after 4 successful seasons, I just want to help the team out."

Tonight's game against The Bears starts at 10:30pm on rink 5 at NESC. Also in the news, Captain Scott McDougall is eyeing June 7th as a potential debut for him as he thinks his wrist may be fully healed by then. Assistant Captain Jon Hutcheon has also starting talking with 2 teams in the SPHL, but that is all that has been released to the press at this time.

Danglers take season opener...

5 different scorers add up to a 5-2 Win

The much anticipated Snipe City Danglers lived up to the hype of their season opener with a 5-2 shlacking over the Stickey Bandits last night at NESC. It didn't take long for the Danglers to open the scoring as Bryan Calabro scored just 2:54 into the game assisted by Mark Morreale and Jarrett Scarpaci. And just 24 seconds later Justin Bonitatibus got his first of the year assisted by Andrew Scarpaci. It was a big night for Andrew as he netted a goal and two assists. The Bandits scored two goals at 6 minutes apart in the opening frame to tie up the game but from that point on Pat Watson shut the door on the Bandits. The Danglers would strike quickly in the 2nd on Jim Toomey's first of the season assisted by A. Scarpaci and Jon Hutcheon. That was all the scoring the second period had to offer but it was more than enough for the Danglers to seal the deal. However, the Danglers carried the play in the 3rd and added 2 insurance markers Morreale picked up a goal 6:13 into the period assisted by J. Scarpaci and Calabro and just 31 seconds later A. Scarpaci finished out the scoring with assists going to Bonitatibus and Toomey on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play where all 5 Danglers touched the puck. After the game injured player turned coach Scott McDougall wasn't very pleased with the amount of turnovers committed by the Danglers and sloppy defensive play "That was a team that shouldn't have been on the same ice with us, but give them credit they came out and worked hard and were able to stay with us even though we carried much of the play. But, before our next game we really need to be aware of the neutral zone turnovers and lack of defense we played, thank god for Watty in the pipes. It's just unexceptable for Dioz and Burnsy to be a minus 2 in a 5 to 2 win, but it was only the first game so we can only get better from here."

Juvi looks ready to go

May 23rd, 2006

Newflash...

This morning 3 of the Danglers top players Justin Bonitatibus, Chris Diozzi, and Jon Hutcheon took part in the optional team practice at Saugus Hockeytown. The 3 were joined by 3 other chumbums and played a 3 on 3 game for close to 3 hours. Diozzi's team topped Justin and Hutcheon by one goal. Overall though it was a good showing, especially for Bonitatibus who had some terrific goals and even better dangles. Some uplifting news was Diozzi skated the full practice and reported little backpain and said he would be able to go tomorrow night.

We were able to catch up with all three of them and asked both alternate captains Bonitatibus and Hutcheon how they felt the season would go, "Well we know we have a very strong squad and there's no doubt that this could be a very successful season. It's going to take some hard work but with the talent of this team I don't see any reason why we aren't having a celebration parade through the streets of our hometowns come September." said a very confident Hutcheon. "I see very few weaknesses, I mean when someone is injured we're going to be able to bring in a guy just as skilled if not better. No one will touch us anytime soon." added Bonitatibus.

And it is finally time for the boys to show what they can do with their much anticipated season opener just 24 hours away. Puck drops at 9pm on NESC rink 1. Tickets available thru the Dangler box office at 978-767-5731 or email at JHutch923@hotmail.com See you there!

May 22nd, 2006

The Danglers season opener is only 2 nights away and defenseman Chris Diozzi could be a possible scratch for that inaugural game. Diozzi was working out with teammate Justin Bonitatibus earlier tonight when he wrenched his back. Early indications say the injury is just a minor tweak and team chiropractor/yoga man at Gold's Gym in Arlington was able to work the kinks out. Chris will take part in the optional morning skate tomorrow at 10am in Saugus and see how he feels after that. His situation right now is day to day. "It's just a little uncomfortable right now, so I'll ice it tonight and see how it feels after the skate in the morning. I should be ready to go though, not much would keep me from missing opening night." said Diozzi.