Saturday, 12.27.2014 / 6:13 PM
NIAGARA FALLS, ON – The White & Dark squads will each be gunning for a victory as they square off at the Gale Centre for their traditional holiday tilt, the 7th annual Scaringi Winter Classic.
Manned by a pair of brand-new Captains, each club will have extra motivation heading into Saturday night’s matchup after the team’s last meeting ended in a 14-all tie.
It was exactly one year ago – December 28, 2014 – when the two sides last met, captained by Tony & Joey G. The winning Captain is awarded the right to retain his Captaincy the following year (for up to three years), so as neither Captain won, two new leaders had to be elected. Brothers Antonio and Joey were given the nod one day before the event.
“When I saw I was Captain, I was excited,” said Antonio.
“I looked at the poster, but I didn’t get it,” said Joey. “My mom showed me and I had to stare at it for a few minutes before it sunk in.”
As neither Captain from 2013 lost the game, in a show of fairness, Tony was automatically nominated Assistant Captain for the Dark Team. His son Anthony was elected the second ‘A’ by Antonio. Joey named Vito Jr. and Richard Jr. his associate captains for the White Team. Former Captain Joey G. will not play in the upcoming contest but will instead serve as coach.
For the third consecutive year, Marcello will perform the ceremonial puck-drop with the team captains; he will be joined this year by newcomer Oliver.
Here are the projected line-ups: (Bold = Scaringi; Italic = extended family)
WHITE TEAM: Antonio (C), Tony (A), Anthony (A), Mike, Jimmy Jr., Giuseppe, Christian C., Dave D., Nick C.
Goaltender: Doug Blake (1st start)
Coaches: Jerry, Joey G.
DARK TEAM: Joey (C), Vito Jr. (A), Richard Jr. (A), Joe C., Joe M., Rocky A., Lenny C., Josh P., Jordan P.
Goaltender: Steve Auld (1-2 record)
Coaches: Jimmy Sr., Richard Sr.
Scratch Report: Joseph-James
TEAM STATS
Team | GP | Record | Last 5 | GF | GA | PP% | PK% |
WHITE | 6 | 1-3-1 | 1-3-1 | 60 | 62 | 0 | 0 |
DARK | 6 | 3-1-1 | 3-1-1 | 62 | 60 | 0 | 0 |
OVERALL SERIES
Date | Winner | Score | Win. Captain | Los. Captain | 1st Star | Recap |
12/28, 2013 | Tie | 14-14 | N/A* | N/A* | N/A | Video |
12/22, 2012 | DARK | 18-17 | Tony | Joe M. | Marcello | Story |
12/17, 2011 | WHITE | 20-19 | Mike | Vito Jr. | Chris G. | N/A |
12/30, 2010 | DARK | 11-9 | Mike | Joe C. | Anthony O. | Story |
12/30, 2009 | DARK | ??** | Mike | Joe C. | N/A | N/A |
12/30, 2008 | N/A*** | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
*Dark Team captained by Tony; White Team captained by Joey G.
**Score not recorded
***Score not kept
Goals By Period
Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
White | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
Dark | 1 | 6 | 4 | 11 |
Goal Scorers
WHITE: Nick C. 4, Jimmy Jr. 2, Mike 1
DARK: Richard Jr. 5, Vito Jr. 4, Joe C. 1, Joe M. 1
Team Stats
Team | Goals | Power Plays | Offsides | FO Wins | PIM | Penalty Shots |
White | 7 | 0/0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0/0 |
Dark | 11 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 |
Goaltender Comparison
Name | GA | TOI | Record |
Doug Blake [WHITE] (L) | 11 | 65:00 | 0-1-0 |
Steve Auld [DARK] (W) | 7 | 65:00 | 2-2-0 |
THREE STARS
*1st DARK Richard Jr. 5 Goals
**2nd DARK Steve A. Multiple Game-Saving Stops
***3rd Darko Vito Jr. 4 Goals
ADDITIONAL GAME FACTS
Referee: Angelo C.
Scorekeeper: Vito Sr.
Official Puck Droppers: Marcello, Oliver
Attendance: Tammy, Tara, Maria, Candida M., Nadia, Sienna, Kathy V., Antoinette, Felicia, Julie, Phyllis D., Luciano D., Trisha D., Nathan D., Giana D.
Inaugural “Wine-O” Award Recipient: Jimmy Jr.
Thank Yous:
-Kathy V. for helping all day with set-up
-Vito Sr. for renting the ice
-Angelo C. for officiating
-Marcello & Oliver for performing the ceremonial puck-drop
-All the skaters, goalies and coaches for participating
-All the girls who took photos
-Grand Central for hosting the after-party
-Everyone who donated to Project Share! This is really what it’s all about!
Auld, Dark Team hold off White Team
Saturday, 12.27.2014 / 8:29 PM
NIAGARA FALLS, ON – It started as a defensive battle, and when the smoke cleared, defense and goaltending won the day.
In a game that saw an extremely tight-checking first period, it wasn’t until midway through the middle frame that the Dark squad broke a 1-1 draw and opened the game up en route to an 11-7 victory Saturday night at the Gale Centre. The contest marked the 7th instalment of the annual holiday pick-up contest, the Scaringi Winter Classic, following a 14-14 tie one year earlier.
Richard Jr. led the way for the Dark Team, potting 5 goals, and netminder Steve Auld took it from there, backstopping the Joey Scaringi-led Dark club to its second win in its last three contests.
With the Dark Team leading 7-5 heading into the third period, Auld made numerous key, highlight-reel saves in the final frame, holding off a late White Team onslaught. The win marked Auld’s second in four starts in the Scaringi Classic. His counterpart Doug Blake had a solid outing as well, however, picked up the loss in his first Classic start.
“Richard and Vito played well for us,” said White Team captain Joey, “but our goalie [Auld] really kept us in the game.”
“Our goalie made probably a half-dozen big saves,” said Dark Team coach Jimmy Sr. “If you take those away, it’s a different game.”
The Antonio Scaringi-led White squad opened the scoring with the game’s first goal less than five minutes into the contest; however, the Dark club responded in short order with a tally of their own. As the game settled into a defensive chess match, the puck would not find the back of the net again until midway through the second period when the Dark squad would take their first lead of the night. As the game opened up, the teams would exchange goals from there.
In his second consecutive Classic appearance, Nick Caligiuri led Team White with four goals, while Jimmy Jr. and Mike added two and one, respectively. Dark Team forward Richard Jr.’s five goals were a game-high, with Vito Jr. potting four of his own. Joe C. and Joe M. rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece.
“We needed goals,” said White coach Jerry. “In the end, we just couldn’t find them.”
The two clubs combined for 18 goals, the lowest scoring Scaringi Classic in its history. The previous low score occurred at the third annual event on December 30, 2010, when the sides combined for 20 goals in an 11-9 Mike Scaringi-led Dark Team win.
Prior to the contest, the teams partook in the traditional team photo. This was followed by the Captain-brother duo of Joey and Antonio participating in the ceremonial puck-drop performed by Marcello and newcomer Oliver. Marcello even went so far as to don his bob skates and grab a hockey stick for himself.
“Marcello loved it out there,” said his dad Joey G. “It won’t be long before he’s playing in the game.”
A record crowd was on-hand for the contest and were treated to one heck of a hockey game. Everyone had a great time on the evening, which included a post-game “boys night out” party at Grand Central Sports Bar.
Players, coaches and fans all made donations to Project Share which were delivered two days later to families in need over the holidays. At the end of the day, winning and losing aside, this is what the holidays are all about.