The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League Established May 1, 1997 Volume #11, Issue #15 - March 19, 2008 ********************************************************************* Current League Officers: Commissioner: Doug Norris Vice-Commissioner: Brian Leahy (7/15/07 to present) Email the whole league: mailto:nshl at yahoogroups dot com NSHL Chat List: mailto:nshlchat at yahoogroups dot com Web Page Administrator: Guy Caron League Web Site: http://nshl.org Files Adminstrator: Brian Leahy / Tom Vinacci League Files Site: http://www.highrantdistrict.com/SOM/NSHL Team Websites: Capital City Cougars: http://members.tripod.com/~CapCity/ Seattle Rainiers: http://math.colorado.edu/~norrisdt/rainiers/rainiers.html ********************************************************************* BEGIN NOTES: Enjoy the newsletter, and more importantly - enjoy the playoffs! The highlight of this week's edition is clearly the excellent playoff preview put tigether by Junu, Dan, Andy and Mike - it ready very well and could easily appear in a league trade publication. NOTE: Computer-only players can NOT play in the Farley Cup playoffs. Aside from that, players are limited to their actual NHL games played in the playoffs. I will roll an injury chance after each postseason game. NOTE: Please re-read the preceding note. Here are the games predictions based on a random sample of 10,000 simulated series using the Norris Power Index. Note that these take into account historical performance only and do not include short-term matchups or injuries/suspensions: #8 CORNER CREEK GREEN CALVES at #1 BROOKLYN FOURTEENTH: PREDICTION: Brooklyn in five games (Brooklyn wins 86.0% of series) #7 MANAYUNK BULLIES at #2 QUEBEC CITY PATRIOTES: PREDICTION: Manayunk in six games (Manayunk wins 54.5% of series) #6 ST. MICHAEL'S PRIVATEERS at #3 BUFFALO BULLDOGS: PREDICTION: Buffalo in six games (Buffalo wins 80.4% of series) #5 LONG ISLAND BERSERKERS at #4 FLORIDA HELLCATS: PREDICTION: Long Island in six games (Long Island wins 50.1% of series) #8 HAMPTON ROADS HOUNDS at #1 HOUSTON AEROS: PREDICTION: Houston in five games (Houston wins 74.7% of series) #7 SEATTLE SASQUATCH at #2 FORT GARRY FIDDLER CRABS: PREDICTION: Fort Garry in six games (Fort Garry wins 62.0% of series) #6 CAPITAL CITY COUGARS at #3 NEVADA THUNDER: PREDICTION: Nevada in six games (Nevada wins 67.1% of series) #5 SEATTLE RAINIERS at #4 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS: PREDICTION: Rainiers in six games (Rainiers win 52.0% of series) ********************************************************************* SUBMIT YOUR TROPHY NOMINEES. Please submit your nominees for the NSHL's 2008 awards ballot by March 29th. You may submit as many nominees for a "name" trophy as you would like - so long as you don't get ridiculous. Here are the trophies to be voted on this spring: GRETZKY TROPHY (Awarded to the league's most valuable player) SAWCHUK TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top goaltender) ORR TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top defenseman) LEMIEUX TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top first-year player) BLAKE TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top coach) GAINEY TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top defensive forward) HARVEY TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top defensive defenseman) PARENT TROPHY (Awarded to the comeback player of the year) NORRIS TROPHY (Awarded to the owner/associate who best exemplifies the spririt of the league and its members) For the league's postseason all-star team, please nominate one player from each position (left wing, centre, right wing, left defense, right defense and goal) from your team. ********************************************************************* WEEK TWENTY-ONE IN REVIEW: The Brooklyn Fourteenth coasted to the league's best record in Week 21, finishing thirteen points ahead of their closest rival - who happens to be division rival Buffalo. The Fourteenth will square off against another division rival, Corner Creek, in the conference quarterfinals. The Fourteenth also featured the league's leading goal- and point-scorer, with sophomore Alexander Ovechkin pacing the NSHL with sixty-two goals and 136 points. Ovechkin also led the league in plus-minus (+47) and game-winning goals (14). Pittsburgh's Saku Koivu was the NSHL's top helper with eighty-five assists. The Fourteenth also had the league's best statistical goaltender, as Olie the Goalie had a sub-2.00 goals-against average (1.98) to go along with a 92.9% save percentage and nine shutouts - the latter was tied with Florida's Ray Emery. Buffalo's Rick DiPietro finished with an incredible forty-eight wins (one more than Kolzig), while the league's runnerup in both save percentage and goals-against average is Seattle's super sub Vesa Toskala (2.24 goals-against average and 92.4% save percentage in 32 games). Will Toskala get the nod over Dwayne Roloson when the Rainiers start the playoffs against Vancouver this week? ********************************************************************* 2008 NSHL PLAYOFF PREVIEW by Junu Kim, Dan Irvine, Andy Bartalone and Mike Kuduk This year's NSHL playoff series features an intriguing mix of teams. There are perennial legitimate contenders, along with upstarts who are looking to solidify their position among the NSHL elite. Here's a quick look at this year's first-round NSHL playoff series. Eastern Conference Brooklyn 14th (East #1) vs Corner Creek Green Calves (East #8) Records: Brooklyn, 61-15-4-126, 1st in the Northeast; Corner Creek, 35-36-9-79, 4th in the Northeast Head-to-head records: Brooklyn, 5-0-1; Corner Creek, 1-5-0 Leading scorers: Brooklyn: Alexander Ovechkin, 60-70-130; Corner Creek: Daniel Sedin, 41-51-92 ** Forwards: The Brooklyn offense is led by superstar Alexander Ovechkin and his centerman Michael Nylander (53-54-107). They both scored over 50 goals and 100 points with Ovechkin leading the league with 134 points. But it's not just about scoring: Brooklyn has seven forwards who have a 4 defense rating. Corner Creek has a force of its own in Daniel Sedin, who led the team with 41 goals. They have eight other guys in double-digit goals and several guys with solid defensive ratings. Advantage: Brooklyn ** Defense: The Brooklyn defense features five guys with 4 D ratings ~V one of whom also tallied 19 goals (Mike Commodore, 19-23-42). Their defense has contributed 41 goals this season, which is fine production from the back line. And the team has been built on defense for as long as I can remember. With Craig Rivet and Kim Johnsson as its leaders, Corner Creek has a defensive corps that is solid, but not spectacular. Advantage: Brooklyn ** Goalie: Brooklyn's Olie Kolzig has been an NSHL mainstay and posted a stellar .930 save percentage this year. Meanwhile, although Nikolai Khabibulin has been between the pipes for the Green Calves for most of the season, late addition Chris Mason should make this tandem an interesting matchup. Mason, who came over from Hampton Roads, finished the year with a .922 save percentage and a 2.49 GAA. Advantage: Even ** Special Teams: Brooklyn's special teams units finished in the top six in power play efficiency and penalty killing percentage. Corner Creek, meanwhile, placed about in the middle of the pack in both areas (14th on the powerplay, 11th in penalty killing). Advantage: Brooklyn ** Intangibles: Brooklyn coach Jeff Tsurouka seems to do more with less better than any coach in the NSHL, and he has streaked out to an astonishing lead in the league. If Robert Karlsson and his Green Calves pull an upset here, it would be one of the biggest in league history. ** Prediction: Brooklyn in 5. Alexander the GR8's march through the playoffs should continue. -- Andy Bartalone * * * * * * * * Quebec City Patriotes (East #2) vs. Manayunk Bullies (East #7) Records: Quebec City, 43-30-9-95, 1st in the Atlantic; Manayunk, 39-36-7-85, 4th in the Atlantic Head-to-head records: Quebec City, 5-1-0; Manayunk, 1-4-1 Leading scorers: Quebec City, 35-48-83, Manayunk, Michal Roszival, 15-43-58 ** Forwards: Quebec has the Big Three in this matchup, with Briere, Olli Jokinen (29-50-79) and Martin Havlat (30 goals in 61 games), and Manayunk does not have the firepower to match this trio. But when you look at all four lines, there's not a whole lot of difference in scoring overall. It will probably come down to how well Manayunk can contain Quebec's Big Three. If they can be contained this series could go longer than some expect. Advantage: Quebec ** Defense: Manayunk's defense is led by Roszival and Roman Hamrlik (12-32-44). Yet the Patriotes offer a few more talented blueliners in Kevin Bieska (10-35-45 and 193 PIM), Tomas Kaberle (57 assists), Ron Hainsey (37 assists) and Anton Volchenkov (104 intimidations). Advantage: Quebec ** Goalie: Manayunk's Dominik Hasek and Quebec's Manny Fernandez have almost identical cards. Yet Fernandez slightly outperformed the Dominator, posting a .917 save percentage for Quebec compared to Hasek's .907 for Manayunk. Advantage: Quebec, slight ** Special Teams: Both teams were around the middle of the pack in both power play and penalty killing percentage. Sami Pahlsson plays a big role on Manayunk's 1st PK unit and both teams have similar talent on the PP. Advantage: Manayunk, slight ** Intangibles: Quebec has some proven veteran leaders in Lang, Briere and even Jokinen and also are the physical team more suited to the playoff style hockey. ** Prediction: Quebec in 7. This looks to be a very interesting series with some key matchups. These two teams have a very similar structure and talent levels. Even both managers have very similar coaching records over the years. Despite Quebec having more advantages, this series will come down to some shrewd coaching decisions. -- Dan Irvine * * * * * * * * Buffalo Bulldogs (East #3) vs St. Michael's Privateers (East #6) Records: Buffalo, 56-23-3-115, 2nd in the Northeast; St. Michael's, 41-36-5-87, 3rd in the Atlantic Head-to-head records: Buffalo, 3-1-0-6; St. Michael's, 1-2-1-4 Leading scorers: Buffalo, Martin St. Louis, 43-68-111; St. Michael's, Brad Richards, 47-53-100 ** Forwards: It's fitting that Buffalo's got wings ~V though I don~Rt mean the kind you serve with celery and ranch dressing. The Bulldog attack is led by former Privateer St. Louis, who scored 43 goals and otherwise had an all-world year, Ilya Kovalchuk ~V who had an "off-year" with 43 goals ~V and Miroslav Satan (38 goals). That Buffalo had the second-best record in the NSHL with a first-line center who scored only 11 goals shows how important St. Louis and Kovalchuk are to the Bulldogs. Ironically, the Privateer attack revolves around the center ~V well, center Richards, anyway. He's complemented by mid-season addition Nathan Horton (40-24-64) and versatile Antoine Vermette (30-25-55). Those Privateer forwards aren't bad, but toss gritty role players like Chad Kilger, Fernando Pisani and rookie Jordan Staal (25 goals, including 9 SHG) into the Buffalo mix, and ~E mmm, wings~E. Advantage: Buffalo ** Defensemen: Both teams offer mobility and sound defensive play, but Phaneuf is enough. In just his second season, Buffalo's Dion Phaneuf has established himself as a dynamic, game-controlling blueliner. Not only did he score 24 goals ~V which just about equals the entire goal total of all Privateer defensemen ~V but he plays a bone-jarring physical game. Advantage: Buffalo ** Goalie: St. Michael's Tim Thomas quietly assembled a nice year for the Privateers, turning in a 2.79 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 62 games. Yet Buffalo's Rick DiPietro had an even better season, winning 48 games and posting a 2.54 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 68 games. Advantage: Buffalo ** Special teams: St. Michael's scored a mere 57 PPG and converted on 17.4 percent of its man-advantage opportunities. Both numbers are the worst among the 16 playoff-bound teams. Buffalo, meanwhile, scored 72 PPG on a 23.7 percent conversion rate. The two teams' penalty killing squads turned in similar numbers ~V though Staal's nine SHG shows how the Bulldogs can be dangerous on the PK. Advantage: Buffalo ** Intangibles: Here's another reason St. Michael's has a tough road to hoe: Buffalo collected 51 points on the road, while St. Michael's earned only 35. What could the Privateers order from room service that would make them feel at home? ** Prediction: Buffalo in 5. In a season where Brooklyn rolled to 62 wins and the Northwest Division had five teams with 99-plus points, did anyone outside of western New York state notice how well the Bulldogs played? The rest of the NSHL will recognize this soon. Unfortunately for the Privateers, they're the first team to see this first-hand. -- Junu Kim * * * * * * * * Florida Hellcats (East #4) vs Long Island Berserkers (East #5) Records: Florida, 41-33-8-90, 2nd in the Atlantic; Long Island, 42-36-4-88, 3rd in the Northeast Head-to-head records: Florida, 1-2-1-4; Long Island, 3-1-0 Leading scorers: Florida, Daymond Langkow, 44-46-90; Long Island, Vincent Lecavalier, 46-58-104 ** Forwards: Langkow was the big gun for the Hellcats this year, scoring almost 25 percent of the team's goals. Long Island, meanwhile, brings an attack that both more balanced and more potent, with Lecavalier, Marian Gaborik (32), Evgeni Malkin (26) and Trent Hunter (25) all scoring more than 20 goals. Advantage: Long Island, big ** Defensemen: Florida's Lubovir Visnovsky had a sensational year, going 20-58-78. And Rob Scuderi and Jason Smith provide physicality in front of the Hellcat net. Yet the Berserkers have ace defenseman Zdeno Chara (13-39-72, 130 intimidations), with Ryan Whitney and Tom Poti contributing some offense. Advantage: Long Island ** Goalies: With Long Island's Evgeni Nabokov serving a seven-game suspension, the goaltending duties turn to Jose Theodore (3.63 GAA, .869 save percentage). Meanwhile, Florida's Ray Emery compiled a solid percentage of .918 and has won his last seven games. Give Emery the nod here ~V assuming he can keep control of all those rebounds he seems to let go. (Insert your own joke about off-the-ice rebounding here.) Advantage: Florida ** Special teams: Nothing really special here. Florida was 16th on the power play and 10th on the penalty kill. Long Island was 8th on power plays, but 17th in penalty killing. Advantage: Even. ** Prediction: Florida in 7. It looks like Long Island has the advantage, with better scorers and defenders. But Emery is the one player who can change the direction of the series single handedly. If he gets hot, Florida will not be stopped. -- Mike Kuduk * * * * * * * * Western Conference Houston Aeros (West #1) vs. Hampton Roads Hounds (West #8) Records: Houston, 54-26-2-110, 1st in the Central; Hampton Roads, 45-28-9-99, 3rd in the Central Head-to-head records: Houston, 2-4-0; Hampton Roads, 4-2-0 Leading scorers: Houston, 40-53-93, Hampton Roads, Paul Kariya, 21-57-78 ** Forwards: The Aeros get a big advantage here because of their depth. They're led by Sundin, Simon Gagne (41-45-86) and Patrick Elias (31 goals), and they can throw a fourth line of Brendan Morrow, Jeff Halpern and Sami Kapanen. If Hampton Roads has any strength, it's that they have a balanced attack led by Kariya and Eric Staal (34 goals). Yet the Hounds will be hard pressed to keep up with Houston's forwards. Advantage Houston ** Defense: Here again, Houston has more depth than the Hounds, thanks to the Aeros' two future Hall of Famers, Nicklas Lidstrom (10-63-73) and Chris Pronger (8-53-61). Advantage Houston. ** Goalies: Both teams have solid goaltending. Houston's Tomas Vokoun had a 2.42 GAA and a .916 save percentage in 43 games. Hampton Roads will go with Cristobal Huet (2.56, .920) Advantage: Even ** Special Teams: The Aeros outperformed the Hounds both on the power play (73 goals to 60) and in the penalty kill (64 goals allowed to 71) Advantage: Houston ** Intangibles: Houston comes into this year's playoffs as one of the favorites ~V again ~V to win the Farley Cup, yet the franchise has made earlier-than-expected playoff exits in the last two seasons. Will this finally be their year? Also: Both teams have some character players that can lead by example, but Houston seems to have more of them. Look for the Aeros to have different players take the lead at various times in a series or even a game. ** Prediction: Houston in 5. Convinced that a playoff appearance wasn't in the cards, the Hounds were sellers at the trade deadline and moved Nathan Horton and John-Michael Liles. But to their surprise, the team turned things around and they are now facing the task of meeting the top seed in the West. Interestingly, Houston also started slowly but caught fire. That momentum, along with their talent and depth, makes Houston one of top teams to beat. -- Dan Irvine * * * * * * * * Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs (West #2) vs Seattle Sasquatch (West #7) Records: Fort Garry, 51-25-6-108, 1st in the Northwest; Seattle, 47-30-5-99, 5th in the Northwest Head-to-head records: Each team went 3-3-0-6; the home team won each of the six games Leading scorers: Fort Garry, Joe Thornton, 24-84-108; Seattle, Rod Brind'Amour, 32-78-110 ** Forwards: Fort Garry's top line of Ryan Smyth (27-42-69), Thornton and Marian Hossa (53-53-106) is the NSHL's best line. The trio brings the complete package: offense, backchecking, grit and finesse. And the supporting cast, led by Ryan Getzlaf, Steve Sullivan and Alex Steen, isn't too shabby. The Sasquatch, meanwhile, arguably made the biggest deals at the trading deadline by importing Brind'Amour and Teemu Selanne (41 goals) from North Calgary. They complement Marc Savard (29-67-96) and Milan Hejduk (42-42-84), giving the Sasquatch a potent attack. Not only did the Sasquatch score 282 goals, but they had 12 forwards with 10-plus goals. But the Fiddler Crabs' forward crew is deeper and more talented. Advantage: Fort Garry ** Defensemen: The Sasquatch's blueline crew is the NSHL's most underrated. Dan Boyle quietly turned in a quality year, going 23-57-80, while Ruslan Salei and Andrei Markov also completed solid campaigns. Fort Garry's defense corps can move the puck (Kimmo Timonen, 17-42-59, and Mattias Ohlund, 9-35-44) and play solid D (Willie Mitchell, Zbynek Michalek). But the Sasquatch would never have had this good a year without the contributions of Boyle, Salei and Markov. Advantage: Seattle, slight ** Goalie: Hey Marc-Andre Fleury, there's no pressure here. You just have to outduel Fort Garry's Roberto Luongo. Fleury won 40 games and had a 3.10 GAA, but Luongo won 45 games and compiled a 2.42 GAA and a .919 save percentage. Advantage: Fort Garry, big ** Special teams: The clubs' power play outfits were both successful, scoring on 25.6 percent of their power play opportunities (tied for second in the league). But Fort Garry's penalty killers finished No. 1 in the NSHL, allowing only 41 goals and killing a sparkling 85.9 percent of penalties. The Sasquatch PK unit ranked 13th in the NSHL, at 79.1 percent. Advantage: Fort Garry ** Intangibles: Both clubs have major points to prove. At one point of the season, Fort Garry was 27-5-2 ~V or 22 games above .500. Yet the Fiddler Crabs finished at 51-25-6 ~V meaning that they won only four games than they lost over the last 60 percent of the season. Meanwhile, the Sasquatch's late-season trade of up-and-comers Jason Spezza and Joni Pitkanen to North Calgary for veterans Brind'Amour and Selanne implies that this is the Sasquatch's year. The pressure is on the two imports to prove Sasquatch management right. ** Prediction: Fort Garry in 6. The big difference is the Fort Garry penalty killing unit (which includes Luongo). With Seattle's power play being neutralized, this series becomes a low-scoring affair. Who wants to bet against Luongo in a low-scoring series? -- Junu Kim * * * * * * * * Nevada Thunder (West #3) vs Capital City Cougars (West #6) Records: Nevada, 50-27-5-105, 2nd in the Northwest; Capital City, 48-27-7-103, 2nd in the Central Head-to-head records: Nevada, 3-1-0; Capital City, 1-1-2 Leading scorers: Nevada, Mike Sillinger, 29-65-94; Capital City, Joe Sakic, 35-76-111 ** Forwards: Nevada sports two full lines~R worth of 25 plus goal scorers. Jaromir Jagr and Bill Guerin each topped 40 goals, Jason Blake and Brian Rolston each tallied more than 30, and Sillinger and Jason Arnott both got at least 25. Cap City has five players with over 20 goals, but only Daniel Alfredsson (45) and Sakic broke the 30 mark. The Cougars, though, have better two-way players in Alfredsson, Sakic and Mats Naslund, which may negate some of the Thunder~Rs goal scoring ability ~V especially 4/4 guys Alfredsson and Sakic. Advantage: Nevada, big ** Defense: Nevada's stalwarts are Sergei Zubov (9-60-69, +34) and Steve Staios (1-28-29, 125 PIM). After that comes a significant dropoff. Cap City~Rs top pairing of Philippe Boucher (13-36-49) and Mathieu Schneider (16-31-47) combine good defense with some offensive punch. Overall Cap City~Rs defensemen are more physical. Advantage: Capital City ** Goaltending: The Thunder's Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned in a nifty .922 save percentage, third in the NSHL. Manny Legace won 30 games for the Cougars, though at a .907 save percentage. Don't be surprised to see Marty Turco (40 games .892 save percentage) occasionally start for Cap City. Advantage: Nevada, slight ** Special teams: Despite its firepower up front, Nevada scored a mere 64 power play goals ~V 12th best among this year's playoff teams ~V and tallied on only 20.2 percent of its manpower chances. Yet it also held opponents to 47 PPG at an 82.8 percent effectiveness rate, good for third in the whole circuit. In a nod to consistency, Cap City finished 9th in both power play effectiveness and penalty killing. Advantage: Even. ** Prediction: Nevada in 7. Nevada's better goaltending and prolific offense should help the Thunder advance ~V but it won't be easy. -- Mike Kuduk * * * * * * * * Vancouver Whitecaps (West #4) vs. Seattle Rainiers (West #5) Records: Vancouver, 49-27-6-104; Seattle, 50-29-3-103 Head-to-head records: Vancouver, 4-2-0; Seattle, 2-4-0 Leading scorers : Vancouver, Sidney Crosby, 49-79-128, Seattle, Dany Heatley, 47-63-110 ** Forwards: The Whitecaps have eight forwards with double-digit goal totals, including the Big Three of Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg (44) and Michael Cammalleri (43). Their forwards also can play a little bit of defense. The Rainiers, meanwhile, are all power, all the time, with 12 forwards who scored in double digits. That crew also can play some defense. Advantage: Seattle, slight ** Defense: Vancouver sports a balanced blueline crew, with three 4-rated defensemen and a couple of 3-rated backliners. The corps also added 35 goals, led by Sami Salo's 19. The Rainiers are a pretty average team on the backline, with only three 3-rated D guys and only 16 goals from the whole pack. Advantage: Vancouver ** Goalie: Vancouver will start "rookie" Niklas Backstrom, acquired late in the year from Empire State, who registered a .916 save percentage. Look for backups Craig Anderson and Wade Dubielewicz to see playing time. The Whitecaps netminders combine for about a .932 save percentage on their cards and have played at about .922 this season. Interestingly, that figure is the save percentage for the Rainiers' Dwayne Roloson; look for him to get the bulk of the work in the playoffs ~V and to keep the Rainiers competitive. Advantage: Vancouver, slight ** Special Teams: Rule 1 of this series: Don't take any penalties. The Whitecaps finished fourth in both power play effectiveness and penalty killing. The Rainiers led the league in power play goals (83) and effectiveness (25.9 percent). Yet Seattle finished in the bottom third of the league in penalty killing. (By the way, about Rule 1: Vancouver was shorthanded 302 times, Seattle 301.) Advantage: Vancouver ** Intangibles: This is a matchup of a veteran playoff seasoned team against a team of youth grown from within in a very short period of time. Seattle is the defending Farley Cup champion, sports a playoff-seasoned roster and has a coach who's guided the team two Farley Cups. Meanwhile, Vancouver might be the team that matches up with Brooklyn the best. The Whitecaps arguably have been the best-run organization in the league for the last four years. They are so young that Derian Hatcher's nickname is "Blue." ** Prediction: Vancouver in 6. It's the NSHL's version of a classic matchup between an "Original Six" team and an upstart expansion club. -- Andy Bartalone ********************************************************************* RAINIERS FACE TOUGH TASK IN QUARTERS by Doug Norris, Seattle owner Seattle made a late push in Week 21, but not quite enough to gain home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and will face the young and talented Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference Quarterfinals this week. The Whitecaps finished a mere point better than Seattle, causing Rainier faithful to wonder "what if" regarding the club's lacklustre performance late in the year. The Whitecaps compiled a 4-2 mark over Seattle in the regular season (with one win coming in overtime), including two big victories late in the campaign that proved pivotal in the end-of-season standings. And with the Rainiers missing two key defensemen (Ed Jovanovski, Chris Chelios) as the second season starts, who is going to stop second-year star Sidney Crosby? That man might be backup goaltender Vesa Toskala, who outperformed starter Dwayne Roloson in every category. Insiders suggest that Roloson's postseason credentials will get him the nod, but the veteran was in goal for both of Seattle's late season losses to their rivals. In the end, Interstate 5 will be buzzing as fans travel across the border crossing in Blaine - all seven games sold out within an hour of tickets going on sale. May the best team win! ********************************************************************* WEEK TWENTY-ONE RESULTS: Minneapolis 1, at Brooklyn 8 BRK Mike Comrie - two goals BRK Alexander Ovechkin - goal, two assists BRK Jarret Stoll - goal, assist, hit Pittsburgh 3, at Buffalo 1 PIT Keith Tkachuk - game-winning goal, assist PIT Martin Brodeur - thirty-two saves, 3/3 GR PIT Patrick Eaves - goal St. Michael's 0, at Capital City 1 CCC Manny Legace - thirty-five saves, shutout, 8/8 GR CCC Joe Sakic - assist CCC Markus Naslund - game-winning goal Topeka 2, at Corner Creek 7 CGC Daniel Sedin - three goals, assist, hit CGC Ray Whitney - goal, four assists CGC Matt Cullen - three assists Capital City 4, at Empire State 3 CCC Vyacheslav Kozlov - two assists, takeaway CCC Pavol Demitra - two assists, takeaway ESA Kari Lehtonen - forty saves, 6/7 GR Vancouver 3, at Florida 1 VAW Wade Dubielewicz - thirty-two saves, 3/3 GR VAW Chris Clark - power-play goal, assist VAW Jay Bouwmeester - two assists, hit Long Island 4, at Fort Garry 3 [played by Dean Engemoen] LIB Trent Hunter - power-play goal, assist, hit FGF Zbynek Michalek - power-play goal, assist, two takeaways LIB Marian Gaborik - goal, assist Stone Harbor 2, at Hampton Roads 1 SHS Lee Stempniak - goal, assist, takeaway, hit SHS Thomas Vanek - game-winning goal, assist SHS Henrik Lundqvist - thirty-four saves, 6/7 GR Florida 3, at Houston 1 FLO Ray Emery - thirty-three saves, 6/7 GR FLO Chris Gratton - goal, takeaway, hit FLO Daymond Langkow - game-winning goal, takeaway Hampton Roads 3, at Long Island 5 [played by Junu Kim] LIB Trent Hunter - game-winning goal, seven shots on goal, takeaway HRH David Clarkson - first two career NSHL goals HRH Cristobal Huet - thirty-five saves, 4/7 GR Houston 2, at Lyndonville 1 LYN Ryan Miller - thirty-eight saves, 14/16 GR HOU Tomas Vokoun - thirty-one saves, 6/7 GR HOU Chris Pronger - two assists, takeaway, hit Seattle Sasquatch 2, at Manayunk 1 SES Rod Brind'amour - shorthanded goal, takeaway, hit SES Marc-Andre Fleury - twenty-eight saves, 6/7 GR MAN Dominik Hasek - twenty-seven saves, 8/10 GR Manayunk 2, at Minneapolis 0 MAN Michal Rozsival - power-play goal, assist, takeaway, hit MAN Marco Sturm - two assists MAN Joey MacDonald - eighteen saves, shutout, 2/2 GR Nevada 4, at Montreal 3 NEV Jaromir Jagr - two goals, assist, two takeaways NEV Sergei Zubov - two assists, two takeaways NEV Jamie McLennan - twenty-four saves, 3/4 GR Buffalo 2, at Nevada 6 NEV Brian Rolston - three goals BUF Marc-Andre Bergeron - two goals NEV Alexei Yashin - three assists, takeaway Empire State 2, at North Calgary 4 NCH Sheldon Souray - shorthanded goal, three assists, takeaway, three hits ESA Patrick O'Sullivan - two goals NCH Pavel Datsyuk - goal, assist Montreal 3, at Pittsburgh 1 MON Alexander Semin - two goals, takeaway MON Mikael Tellqvist - thirty saves, 4/5 GR MON Steve Reinprecht - two assists Seattle Rainiers 4, at Quebec City 1 SEA Patrick Marleau - power-play goal, assist, two takeaways SEA Dany Heatley - goal, assist SEA Stephen Weiss - power-play goal, assist North Calgary 4, at St. Michael's 5 (SO) STM Sebastien Caron - twenty-eight saves, 4/5 GR, 3-of-3 in shootout NCH Miikka Kiprusoff - thirty-two saves, 8/9 GR, 1-of-2 in shootout NCH Zach Parise - two goals, hit Corner Creek 0, at Seattle Rainiers 4 SEA Vesa Toskala - thirty-four saves, shutout, 6/6 GR SEA Dany Heatley - goal, assist, hit SEA Patrick Marleau - two assists, takeaway Brooklyn 4, at Seattle Sasquatch 5 SES Milan Hejduk - two goals, two assists BRK Alexander Ovechkin - goal, two assists, takeaway SES Ruslan Salei - goal, assist, two takeaways, fight Fort Garry 3, at Stone Harbor 0 FGF Marian Hossa - two goals, two takeaways, hit FGF Pascal Leclaire - twenty saves, shutout, 5/5 GR FGF Joe Thornton - two assists, takeaway Quebec City 4, at Topeka 3 TPK Matthew Lombardi - two goals, assist TPK Henrik Sedin - three assists, takeaway QCP Olli Jokinen - goal, assist Lyndonville 0, at Vancouver 3 VAW Nicklas Backstrom - thirty saves, shutout, 5/5 GR VAW Jamie Langenbrunner - game-winning goal VAW Jay Bouwmeester - two assists, takeaway, two hits ********************************************************************* PLAYER OF THE WEEK (WEEK 21): Sheldon Souray, North Calgary. Souray had a blueliner's dream week for the Hawks, putting nine shots on net for one (shorthanded) goal and four assists, adding a takeaway and four hits. A strong candidate for the Orr Trophy, Souray finished with seventeen games and fifty-six points, and hopes that his club's fortunes rise with him in 2008-09. +/- SOG G A PIM PP SH FO-W AC IT TA HIT SP AS 3/12 at STM -1 5 0 1 2 0 0 0-0 53 28:42 0 1 1 2 3/13 vs ESA 3 4 1 3 2 0 1 0-0 53 29:56 1 3 0 2 Also having solid weeks were Brooklyn's Alexander Ovechkin and Jarret Stoll, Nevada's Sergei Zubov and Ray Whitney in Corner Creek. 2007-08 NSHL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: October 31: Daymond Langkow, Florida November 14: Henrik Zetterberg, Vancouver November 28: Jarome Iginla, Pittsburgh December 12: Alexander Ovechkin, Brooklyn December 26: Mats Sundin, Houston January 16: Daniel Alfredsson, Capital City January 30: Daniel Sedin, Corner Creek February 13: Dion Phaneuf, Buffalo February 27: Saku Koivu, Pittsburgh March 12: Alexander Ovechkin, Brooklyn March 19: Sheldon Souray, North Calgary ********************************************************************* GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK (WEEK 21): Ryan Miller, Lyndonville. The next great American goaltender? The Blades certainly hope so. Although the Blades didn't make the postseason in 2008, Miller finished strong despite getting peppered in the team's final two games. Miller saw a total of 78 shots and 25 Goalie Ratings, stopping twenty, in two narrow defeats. MIN SHOTS GA ENG GR GRS 3/12 at VAW 60 38 3 0 9 6 LOSS, 0-3 3/17 vs HOU 59 40 2 0 16 14 LOSS, 1-2 Finalists were Stone Harbor's Henrik Lundqvist, Capital City's Manny Legace and Pascal Leclaire of Fort Garry. 2007-08 NSHL GOALTENDERS OF THE WEEK: October 31: Olaf Kolzig, Brooklyn October 31: Ray Emery, Florida November 14: Henrik Lundqvist, Stone Harbor November 28: Miikka Kiprusoff, North Calgary December 12: Martin Brodeur, Pittsburgh December 26: Tim Thomas, St. Michael's January 16: Henrik Lundqvist, Stone Harbor January 30: Martin Brodeur, Pittsburgh February 13: Josh Harding, Montreal February 27: Rick DiPietro, Buffalo March 12: Roberto Luongo, Fort Garry March 19: Ryan Miller, Lyndonville ********************************************************************* 2007-08 REGULAR SEASON LEAGUE STANDINGS: NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Brooklyn Fourteenth 82 62 16 2 2 128 0.780 280 181 36- 3- 1- 1 26-13- 1- 1 Buffalo Bulldogs 82 56 23 2 1 115 0.701 287 213 32- 9- 0- 0 24-14- 2- 1 Long Island Berserkers 82 42 36 0 4 88 0.537 257 259 22-18- 0- 1 20-18- 0- 3 Corner Creek Green Cal 82 36 37 2 7 81 0.494 233 242 24-12- 2- 3 12-25- 0- 4 Lyndonville Blades 82 31 42 4 5 71 0.433 218 241 21-15- 3- 2 10-27- 1- 3 Empire State Americans 82 30 42 3 7 70 0.427 177 253 14-21- 1- 5 16-21- 2- 2 ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Quebec City Patriotes 82 43 30 3 6 95 0.579 245 242 24-12- 2- 3 19-18- 1- 3 Florida Hellcats 82 41 33 4 4 90 0.549 231 237 21-17- 2- 1 20-16- 2- 3 St. Michael's Privatee 82 41 36 2 3 87 0.530 229 236 25-14- 0- 2 16-22- 2- 1 Manayunk Bullies 82 39 36 3 4 85 0.518 226 215 18-20- 1- 2 21-16- 2- 2 Stone Harbor Sound 82 31 44 1 6 69 0.421 178 231 15-23- 1- 2 16-21- 0- 4 Montreal Wanderers 82 25 52 1 4 55 0.335 183 291 10-28- 1- 2 15-24- 0- 2 NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Fort Garry Fiddler Cra 82 51 25 3 3 108 0.659 259 202 27-10- 2- 2 24-15- 1- 1 Nevada Thunder 82 50 27 3 2 105 0.640 284 216 25-15- 0- 1 25-12- 3- 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 82 49 27 3 3 104 0.634 256 231 24-13- 1- 3 25-14- 2- 0 Seattle Rainiers 82 50 29 2 1 103 0.628 302 231 25-15- 0- 1 25-14- 2- 0 Seattle Sasquatch 82 47 30 0 5 99 0.604 291 275 24-14- 0- 3 23-16- 0- 2 North Calgary Hawks 82 43 33 2 4 92 0.561 281 252 22-15- 2- 2 21-18- 0- 2 CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Houston Aeros 82 54 26 0 2 110 0.671 308 212 29-11- 0- 1 25-15- 0- 1 Capital City Cougars 82 48 27 3 4 103 0.628 276 246 23-13- 2- 3 25-14- 1- 1 Hampton Roads Hounds 82 45 28 4 5 99 0.604 247 221 20-16- 2- 3 25-12- 2- 2 Pittsburgh Sound Chase 82 40 38 0 4 84 0.512 243 242 20-19- 0- 2 20-19- 0- 2 Topeka Tarantulas 82 23 51 3 5 54 0.329 188 314 12-27- 0- 2 11-24- 3- 3 Minneapolis Massasauga 82 7 71 2 2 18 0.110 129 325 3-37- 1- 0 4-34- 1- 2 ********************************************************************* 2007-08 EXPANDED LEAGUE STATISTICS: EXPANDED STATISTICS Total Home Road NORTHEAST DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO Brooklyn Fourteenth 59-16 1- 2 2- 2| 35- 3 0- 1 1- 1| 24-13 1- 1 1- 1 Buffalo Bulldogs 45-23 2- 2 9- 1| 27- 9 0- 0 5- 0| 18-14 2- 2 4- 1 Long Island Berserkers 35-36 2- 0 5- 4| 18-18 1- 0 3- 1| 17-18 1- 0 2- 3 Corner Creek Green Calv 32-37 2- 2 2- 7| 22-12 0- 2 2- 3| 10-25 2- 0 0- 4 Lyndonville Blades 25-42 3- 4 3- 5| 16-15 3- 3 2- 2| 9-27 0- 1 1- 3 Empire State Americans 24-42 2- 3 4- 7| 13-21 1- 1 0- 5| 11-21 1- 2 4- 2 ATLANTIC DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO Quebec City Patriotes 38-30 1- 3 4- 6| 20-12 1- 2 3- 3| 18-18 0- 1 1- 3 Florida Hellcats 34-33 2- 4 5- 4| 17-17 1- 2 3- 1| 17-16 1- 2 2- 3 St. Michael's Privateer 34-36 1- 2 6- 3| 21-14 1- 0 3- 2| 13-22 0- 2 3- 1 Manayunk Bullies 35-36 1- 3 3- 4| 16-20 1- 1 1- 2| 19-16 0- 2 2- 2 Stone Harbor Sound 23-44 2- 1 6- 6| 11-23 2- 1 2- 2| 12-21 0- 0 4- 4 Montreal Wanderers 20-52 3- 1 2- 4| 8-28 1- 1 1- 2| 12-24 2- 0 1- 2 NORTHWEST DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO Fort Garry Fiddler Crab 41-25 4- 3 6- 3| 20-10 3- 2 4- 2| 21-15 1- 1 2- 1 Nevada Thunder 43-27 1- 3 6- 2| 22-15 0- 0 3- 1| 21-12 1- 3 3- 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 42-27 4- 3 3- 3| 21-13 3- 1 0- 3| 21-14 1- 2 3- 0 Seattle Rainiers 44-29 5- 2 1- 1| 24-15 1- 0 0- 1| 20-14 4- 2 1- 0 Seattle Sasquatch 33-30 6- 0 8- 5| 17-14 5- 0 2- 3| 16-16 1- 0 6- 2 North Calgary Hawks 37-33 3- 2 3- 4| 17-15 3- 2 2- 2| 20-18 0- 0 1- 2 CENTRAL DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO Houston Aeros 50-26 2- 0 2- 2| 28-11 0- 0 1- 1| 22-15 2- 0 1- 1 Capital City Cougars 44-27 1- 3 3- 4| 22-13 0- 2 1- 3| 22-14 1- 1 2- 1 Hampton Roads Hounds 40-28 1- 4 4- 5| 17-16 0- 2 3- 3| 23-12 1- 2 1- 2 Pittsburgh Sound Chaser 37-38 1- 0 2- 4| 19-19 0- 0 1- 2| 18-19 1- 0 1- 2 Topeka Tarantulas 17-51 2- 3 4- 5| 8-27 1- 0 3- 2| 9-24 1- 3 1- 3 Minneapolis Massasauga 7-71 0- 2 0- 2| 3-37 0- 1 0- 0| 4-34 0- 1 0- 2 ********************************************************************* 2008 FARLEY CUP PLAYOFF WATCH: PTS: points currently achived in 2007-08 regular season GL: games left in 2007-08 regular season. MN: number of points necessary to clinch a playoff berth. TN: number of points necessary to be eliminated from the playoffs. EASTERN CONFERENCE RNK TEAM PTS GL MN TN 1. Brooklyn Fourteenth 128 0 -56 --- 2. Quebec City Patriotes 95 0 -23 --- 3. Buffalo Bulldogs 115 0 -43 --- 4. Florida Hellcats 90 0 -18 --- 5. Long Island Berserkers 88 0 -16 --- 6. St. Michael's Privateers 87 0 -15 --- 7. Manayunk Bullies 85 0 -13 --- 8. Corner Creek Green Calves 81 0 -9 --- 9. Lyndonville Blades 71 0 --- -9 10. Empire State Americans 70 0 --- -10 11. Stone Harbor Sound 69 0 --- -11 12. Montreal Wanderers 55 0 --- -25 IF THE EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY: They do begin today! WESTERN CONFERENCE RNK TEAM PTS GL MN TN 1. Houston Aeros 110 0 -25 --- 2. Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 108 0 -23 --- 3. Nevada Thunder 105 0 -20 --- 4. Vancouver Whitecaps 104 0 -19 --- 5. Seattle Rainiers 103 0 -18 --- 6. Capital City Cougars 103 0 -18 --- 7. Seattle Sasquatch 99 0 -14 --- 8. Hampton Roads Hounds 99 0 -14 --- 9. North Calgary Hawks 92 0 --- -6 10. Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 84 0 --- -14 11. Topeka Tarantulas 54 0 --- -44 12. Minneapolis Massasauga 18 0 --- -80 IF THE WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY: They do begin today! ********************************************************************* NSHL CALENDAR March 22 - Conference Quarterfinals begin! March 29 - Please submit your trophy nominees by today. April 5 - all Conference Quarterfinal results must be in. ********************************************************************* INCENTIVE POINTS: Incentive points are not discretionary, and are assigned strictly per formula without respect to extenuating circumstances. Incentive points may be appealed through the Review Board. NCH: 1 IP, missing home game VAW: -2 IP, LIB CM and LIB home game VAW: -1 IP, newsletter article NEV: -1 IP, newsletter article STM: -1 IP, newsletter article HOU: -1 IP, newsletter article CUMULATIVE INCENTIVE POINTS: BRK -2 IP CCC exempt FLO -2 IP HRH -1 IP HOU -1 IP MAN -3 IP NEV -2 IP NCH -2 IP QCP 1 IP STM -1 IP SHS -2 IP TPK -2 IP VAW -7 IP ********************************************************************* 2007-08 NSHL NORRIS POWER INDEX To calculate the predicted margin of victory for an upcoming game, take the NPI of the home team, subtract the NPI of the visiting team, and add the calculated home-ice advantage (currently 0.194 goals). NPI: projected "power" of the given team VAR: variation in a team's NPI. SOS: strength of schedule (average NPI of opponents to date) NORRIS POWER INDEX NPI VAR SOS LW 1. Brooklyn Fourteenth 1.368 4.529 -0.135 1 2. Houston Aeros 1.269 8.320 -0.125 2 3. Nevada Thunder 0.990 7.284 0.060 4 4. Buffalo Bulldogs 0.988 5.395 -0.085 3 5. Seattle Rainiers 0.903 8.401 0.066 5 6. Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 0.748 8.160 0.070 6 7. Vancouver Whitecaps 0.611 5.690 0.080 7 8. Capital City Cougars 0.413 6.287 -0.046 8 9. Seattle Sasquatch 0.407 7.041 0.111 11 10. North Calgary Hawks 0.382 7.346 0.113 9 11. Hampton Roads Hounds 0.265 7.149 -0.051 10 12. Long Island Berserkers 0.042 8.280 0.016 15 13. Manayunk Bullies -0.027 5.096 -0.122 12 14. Pittsburgh Sound Chasers -0.036 7.102 -0.022 14 15. Quebec City Patriotes -0.055 5.519 -0.098 13 16. Corner Creek Green Calves -0.079 6.591 -0.007 16 17. Florida Hellcats -0.132 7.770 -0.061 17 18. St. Michael's Privateers -0.216 8.346 -0.109 18 19. Lyndonville Blades -0.322 6.229 0.042 19 20. Stone Harbor Sound -0.797 5.512 -0.012 20 21. Empire State Americans -0.996 5.673 0.038 21 22. Montreal Wanderers -1.445 6.364 0.003 23 23. Topeka Tarantulas -1.570 7.088 0.091 22 24. Minneapolis Massasauga -2.709 4.405 0.183 24 ********************************************************************* POSTSEASON INJURY REPORT: This will change with every playoff game, and will be announced to the relevant owners at that time. BRK - Peter Bondra out 2 games CCC - Pavol Demitra out 2 games - Andy Sutton out 4 games FLO - Dan Fritsche out 3 games FGF - Willie Mitchell out 2 games HRH - Owen Nolan out 1 game HOU - Ken Klee out 1 game LIB - Marian Gaborik out 3 games - Evgeni Nabokov out 7 games (suspension) MAN - Ryan Craig out 1 game - Mark Giordano out 2 games - Ryan Shannon out 3 games NEV - Jason Arnott out 2 games - Martin Gerber out 4 games - Michael Peca out 1 game (suspension) - Brian Sutherby out 2 games (suspension) - Andy Wozniewski out 35 games QCP - Juraj Kolnik out 5 games STM - Todd Bertuzzi out 14 games (injury - suspension will occur concurrently) - Sebastien Caron out 1 game (suspension) - Dan Hinote out 27 games (suspension) - Karel Rachunek out 3 games - Scott Thornton out 2 games (suspension) SEA - Chris Chelios out 7 games - Ed Jovanovski out 1 game SES - Radek Bonk out 1 game - Colin White out 1 game (suspension) ********************************************************************* ASSOCIATE LIST: SINCE GP Dean Engemoen June 16, 2007 17 Francois Lessard December 10, 2006 8 Steve Kramer December 13, 2004 0 Greg Ralls December 14, 2004 0 Andrew Smith November 19, 2005 0 J.J. Schrems May 1, 2006 0 Scott Bruner June 18, 2007 0 Dale Ripley September 11, 2007 0 Steve Beren February 2, 2008 0 If you're still an active associate, and aren't on this list, please get in contact with me. Thanks! Doug ********************************************************************* TRANSACTIONS: All free agents *must* play in at least six of your team's games the following biweek. Violation of this results in the player being released immediately. ********************************************************************* League Governing Boards Responsibilities of the following governing boards are outlined in the Constitution. Review Board Tom Vinacci, Buffalo Bulldogs Patrick Shea, Long Island Berserkers Mark McNeil, Lyndonville Blades Constitutional Council Head: Patrick Shea (patrickjshea at verizon dot net) Doug Norris, Commissioner Brian Leahy, Vice-Commissioner Andy Bartalone, St. Michael's owner (vacant) *********************************************************************