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You can vote for Ryan Dzingel to get the Hobey Baker Award here:  http://www.hobeybaker.com/awards/the-hobey-baker-memorial-award/vote

Wednesday's lunch is on March 13th in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Maybe I'll have my grandson give me a tattoo before I go.

Boundless Tattoo Company

16030 S Lincoln Hwy, Plainfield, IL 60544, USA

 

Phone(779) 234-6420 ask for Mike Lopatka

You may find the following links useful:

Drago's Hockey Lessons

Here is a video, thanks to Perry and Paula. on How to be a Hockey Player 

Here is a link to all 40 past Duffer Road Trips. Duffer road trips

Go to Duffer History

Duffer Nicknames

Wags Hockey

Duffers Make Blackhawk History during the Great Blizzard of 1978

 

Duffer News

Duffer Fun in Ann Arbor!

Romeoville, IL February 27- March 2, 2014  Attendance: 26

Donny Granato put the Duffers on Speed!


We had a great time, we played, we watched, we played, we watched and watched again at Wild wings. 
Thursday, February 27: The bus was a little late leaving because Tweedy was impersonating the King with his late arrival.  He took time and got on the bus with his son's 2 foot 6 inch stick saying, "Hey Tom, I brought your stick!"  He managed to insult 2 Toms with that prank.  That got as many

We had three lines and 2 goalies thanks to Donny G.

laughs as his "Mop and a plunger prank".  We got moving and watched DVDs with pictures from past road trips that were put to music.  We were slowed down by some snow at the southern end of Lake Michigan.  That gave us an extra hour to drink and laugh, no one complained.  We checked in just in time to watch the Hawks play the Rangers.  We had a big screen TV along with pizza and beer in the lobby. 
Friday, February 28: Donny G supplied us with 2 goalies and a number of very good players that produced a very fast game with 3 lines and 2 centers. Greg Z had 4 goals for the Whites  Before the game, the Czar informed T&A that he just became meaningful, so he celebrated with 4 goals for the Reds. Harvey added one to give the Reds a 5-2 Meaningful win.  Thor scored the 2 meaningful goals for the Whites.  "Daring" Darrin, who drove in from Toronto with "Lepin" Lou, had 3 for the Whites and V-Man had a pair. Donny G had a goal and many assists. Tweedy and Tommy Z had several goals for the Reds.  After the game we went up to a nice restaurant and had a meal with late arriving Bill BTW and Rags.  Fred never made the game and lost his perfect attendance.  Bill took vacation days to be with us, but he was on the phone while we were eating and quenching our thirsty bodies.  Thor finally got him off of the phone by singing, "I've been working on the Railroad" into Bill's phone.  BTW was then able to join in the fun at the table where we all started singing "I've been working on the Railroad"  After lunch, thanks to the Czar, we had tickets to the sold out Michigan, Ohio State game that OSU won in a shootout.  We met with Ryan after the game then caught the bus to the

"Arena". (Great name for a bar)  Thor Tweedy and Bill BTW were throwing knives and forks until Beak disarmed them. Bill then reached for the ketchup, but decided against squirting anybody and escalating the bar war.  The weapon of choice became sugar packets.  Nobody got hurt and Lou gave the waitress a hundred dollar bill to keep

us from getting kicked out of the bar.   

Tweedy, Ryan and Tom

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Saturday, March 1st we played at 4:00 with 2 different goalies. The young one was as young as the Anvil , the older one (Pictured with Tom and Greg) was almost as old as Beak.  We had a USA versus Canada game when the Canadians (Bill BTW, Darrin and Lou) all wore White.  The Reds (USA) again came up with 5 Meaningful goals. Tom O'Connor 3, Beak and Harvey each scored one. Team Canada scored 4 meaningful goals with 2 from Thor. T&A and Lou each scored once. The Meaningless score was tied at 7 in the closing minute when Tommy Z gave the USA an 8-7 thrilling win with 20 seconds left on the clock. We started chanting USA, USA when the final buzzer sounded.

We went to the grand opening of Wild Wings near our hotel and had lunch.  At 7, we went to watch Donny G's U-17 team battle the Dubuque Fighting Saints

to a 5-3 loss. We went back to Wild Wings and watched the 2nd and 3rd periods of the Hawk-Penguin outdoor game in comfort.  Then we partied in the lobby and rested all the way home. On the bus when Beak ran out of road trip DVDs, The Czar put in Smokey and the Bandit and the Honeymooners.  What a great trip!  Thanks Mike and Thanks T&A for keeping those coolers full of ice and beer. 
Memorable Moments:  Sent in by T&A
1. Thor's one liners on the bus kept everyone amused! A Duffer bus ride would be boring without Thor or Eddie. I hope that we have them both on our next trip.
2. Ryan Dzingel shaking hands with the Duffers and thanking them for coming to his game. He never stopped smiling the whole time he was talking to Beak, Tweedy, & Tommy Z. Then he hugged every Duffer before boarding his bus back to Columbus, thanking us again. He is one of the classiest young 20+ year olds that I have met!
3. Tweedy losing his jacket and car keys at the bar! 
4. Rags discussing his new foreplay moves with his fingers.
5. Harvey keeping his scoring streak alive in Michigan on Friday and Saturday. The only way to stop him from scoring on Sunday was not to play a game. Harvey flattened V-Man then stood over him while V rolled around in agony like a French Soccer Player.
6. Don Granato Jr. making the weekend fun and memorable with his kindness!
7. Darrin telling the Michigan Gymnastics team's parents that Beak was a Olympic Silver Medal winner in the 1960 Olympics!
8. Having Duffer legends, Frank & Klinger to share some beers and laughs with us.
9. Beak catching all the action on his pink camera. He cannot retire. I look forward to skating with him when he turns 99, like his jersey #.
10. The Czar making everything go so smooth every trip. We are all so lucky that he is in charge.
The Czar rubbed Lou into the boards and Lou came away looking like that guy in Slap Shot after he wet his pants.  Fortunately it was only Lou's trick shoulder out of the socket.  Lou came back on his next shift and scored his first Meaningful Duffer goal.  The Czar presented him with the puck on Sunday Morning before he and Darrin headed back to the Great White North.  When we arrived back at Yorktown, all cars were there. Only Frank's car needed a jump. Beak and Thor spent the next hour digging Thor's van out of a snow bank in Beak's yard.

(Left) Lou was tickled pink with the puck from his memorable goal.

(Right) All cars were there and only Frank's 1998 car needed a jump

 

Go to the Last Duffer News

Go to 2012 The Last MLF Game

Go to 2011 MLF Game

(Anvil's Daughter won it!)

Go to 2010 The First MLF Game

Visit The Rampage Women's Hockey Team web site at: http://www.rampagehockey.org/index.cfm

They Have 2 WODs and  on their team. Their DOD moved to Canada for Graduate School.

WOD=Wife Of a Duffer, DOD = Daughter of a Duffer

Links to Duffer Hockey Newsletters

2008-2010 Stats page

Tweedy's Wags Game

Links to 2013

Links to 2012

Links to 2011

Links to 2010

Links to 2009

Links to 2008

Links to 2007

Links to 2006

Links to 2005

Links to 2004

Links to 2003

Links to 2002

Links to 2001

Links to 2000

Links to 1999

Links to 1994

Bar-toons

Peoria History

Nashville Game 2

Bill Gaston interview

Michelle Spillman hits and fields

      

To E-mail the Duffer News Web master, just click here! g.lopatka@comcast.net

You can e-mail History updates to Beak. 

 

Duffer road trips

 

 

 

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Michelle Spillman

Michelle Spillman 10-31-10

Michelle hits a 2 run home run for Romeoville High School in a 3-0 victory against Joliet Catholic Academy.

JC-Homerun.MOV

Michelle Spillman hit a 2 run Home run to beat Joliet Catholic on April 18, 2012. ... greg Lopatka ... Michelle Spillman and Romeoville High School. ...

Highland Park-Homerun.MOV

Michelle Spillman hit her 4th homerun on April 21, 2012 to beat Hershey High. ... greg Lopatka ... Michelle Spillman "outdoor sports" ...

 

Michelle3Base hit.MOV

Michelle hit a triple to help beat Highland Park High 8-5 on 4/21/2012.

 

Patrick Kane Stickhandling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REAqCB9vfbU

Brandon Bollig Stickhandling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3B8v_ZHA10