The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League Established May 1, 1997 Volume #11, Issue #20 - July 1, 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 ********************************************************************* FOURTEENTH WIN SECOND FRANCHISE CUP! In the Eastern Conference corner, the heavyweight Brooklyn Fourteenth who finished eighteen points ahead of anyone else in the regular season before cruising to their second consecutive Farley Cup Finals with only three losses in the first three rounds. In the Western Conference corner, another league cornerstone in the Houston Aeros, led by first-year owner Mike Kuduk, who fought off elimination three times in the Western Conference Finals to advance past Nevada. Could the Aeros ride their momentum to a Cup win? In the end, it was a heck of a series, with all but one game being decided by a single goal. And again, in the end, it was the Brooklyn Fourteenth becoming just the third team in NSHL history to have their name etched on the Farley Cup more than once, defeating Houston in five games to be crowned 2008 champions. The series started in typical Brooklyn fashion, with Olaf Kolzig dominating on home ice en route to 5-1 and 3-2 victories. The Aeros bounced back in Houston for Game Three, which led to the pivotal game four. The Fourteeth stormed out to a 4-1 lead before Brendan Shanahan's natural hat trick brought the game even at four. Ian Laperriere broke the tie for the visitors, but Sami Kapanen tied the game - and fatigued Kolzig - with 8:42 left in regulation. Unfortunately for the raucous Houston crowd, Kolzig was the only fatigued Brooklyn player, as the Fourteenth rattled off three consecutive breakaway shifts with veteran Jeremy Roenick getting the game-winner at 17:27 of the third. The Aeros could not recover, falling in game four. Game Five was a must with for the Aeros, and they played that way early, getting out to a 1-0 lead on a Brenden Morrow tally. The home team scored four of the next five goals, however, getting a two-goal lead that was necessary after Morrow converted a late-third period penalty shot to pull within one at 4-3. In the end, the Aeros could not close that one goal gap, and Brooklyn celebrated on home ice. Beliveau Trophy winner John Madden epitomized the character of the street-tough Fourteenth, who were out-powerplayed in the playoffs by a 92-68 margin. Madden's eight goals and nineteen points were vital to the Brooklyn efforts, but not nearly as vital as his stellar lockdown defensive efforts. Others considered for the honour were goaltender Kolzig from the victors and Shanahan from Houston. As commissioner Doug Norris prepared to pass the cup to Brooklyn captain Kyle McLaren, he remarked on the power of the club. "Since we expanded to four rounds of playoffs, no team has ever gone this far while only losing four times. It's not even close. The fans are great here, and they've really got something to be proud of with this team." To find the last team this dominant in the Farley Cup, you'd have to go all the way back to the year 2000, when the Long Island Berserkers rode through to the Cup with a 12-2 record. With ten years between championships, Peter Bondra found himself once again with Brooklyn, and once again with the Cup on the ice. Which Cup was better? "Well, I certainly played a bigger role back in 1998, but at that time, you're young, and you think you're going to win all of the time. At my age, you appreciate the effort it takes." Bondra got what was likely the loudest cheers from the partisan crowd as he took an extended lap with the Cup raised high. JT, I need your official list of names for the Cup - and if you include anyone who doesn't meet official requirements (41 regular-season games or one game in the Finals), please justify why. Thanks and congratulations! ********************************************************************* SUMMER CALENDAR OF EVENTS: July 7: 2008 Constitutional Amendment ballot released to league. July 21: 2008 Constitutional Amendment ballots due. ALL OWNERS MUST VOTE! August 13: All teams must have a roster of no greater than 26 players. September 13: 2008 NSHL Entry Draft, 11:00 am EDT. September 20: 2008 NSHL Waiver Draft (conducted via draft lists). ********************************************************************* 2007-08 TROPHY WINNERS: Last season, Brooklyn's Alexander Ovechkin won the Lemieux Trophy, the Gretzky Trophy, and was a key contributor to the Eastern Conference Champions. This year, the sophomore Russian won the Gretzky Trophy and the Farley Cup. Which makes everyone wonder, what are his plans for 2008-09? Ovechkin took home the Gretzky in a runaway landslide over the rest of the NSHL field, making it two in a row for the Russian who is well on the way to being the league's next iconic player. Ovechkin wasn't eligible for the Lemieux this year, but a surprise name was - Montreal's Alexander Semin. Semin played just twenty-one games in the 2004-05 campaign, making him Lemieux-eligible in 2007-08. After being away from the game for more than two full seasons, Semin was also eligible for the Parent Trophy as the NSHL's comeback player of the year, and he took home both awards in an unprecedented double-double. The tightest votes in the NSHL are usually in the "human" categories, and it was similar this year. Farley Cup champion Jeff Tsuruoka took home the Blake Trophy as the league's top coach, while Guy Caron and Junu Kim split the Norris Trophy in a close vote, edging past Brian Leahy. All three should be recognized as worthy finalists, as the league would not be worth it without their substantial efforts (and the efforts of many others). Not surprisingly, Ovechkin also took the portside spot on the all-star first team, being joined by teammate (and Sawchuk winner) Olaf Kolzig. Other first teamers are Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa, Nick Lidstrom, and Orr Trophy-winner Dion Phaneuf. Top defender awards were won in runaway ballots, with Zdeno Chara the top defensive blueliner and Mike Fisher the top defensive forward. Full awards voting follow. Remember that these are all votes among the finalists - so if your favourite candidate didn't get a lot of votes here, that does not mean that he was not highly regarded. Thank you to the fifteen owners who voted - it's most appreciated and helps add to the flavour of our league. GRETZKY TROPHY (Awarded to the league's most valuable player) BRK Alexander Ovechkin 14 SES Rod Brind'amour 1 SAWCHUK TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top goaltender) BRK Olaf Kolzig 13 FGF Roberto Luongo 2 ORR TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top defenseman) BUF Dion Phaneuf 10 HOU Nicklas Lidstrom 3 PIT Scott Niedermayer 2 LEMIEUX TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top first-year player) MON Alexander Semin 12 LIB Evgeni Malkin 3 BLAKE TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top coach) BRK Jeff Tsuruoka 5 VAW Junu Kim 3 SES Scott Shigemi 3 BUF Tom Vinacci 3 GAINEY TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top defensive forward) SEA Mike Fisher 10 SES Rod Brind'amour 4 HARVEY TROPHY (Awarded to the league's top defensive defenseman) LIB Zdeno Chara 14 HOU Nicklas Lidstrom 1 PARENT TROPHY (Awarded to the comeback player of the year) MON Alexander Semin 8 SES Ruslan Salei 6 HRH Cristobal Huet 1 NORRIS TROPHY (Awarded to the owner/associate who best exemplifies the spririt of the league and its members) MON Guy Caron 6 VAW Junu Kim 6 CCC Brian Leahy 3 2007-08 ALL-STAR LEFT WING: BRK Alexander Ovechkin 73 VAW Henrik Zetterberg 36 BUF Ilya Kovalchuk 11 2007-08 ALL-STAR CENTRE: VAW Sidney Crosby 61 LIB Vincent Lecavalier 34 PIT Saku Koivu 25 2007-08 ALL-STAR RIGHT WING: FGF Marian Hossa 48 SEA Dany Heatley 26 BUF Martin St. Louis 25 CCC Daniel Alfredsson 21 2007-08 ALL-STAR LEFT DEFENSE: HOU Nicklas Lidstrom 68 QCP Tomas Kaberle 34 BUF Marc-Edouard Vlasic 11 NCH Sheldon Souray 9 2007-08 ALL-STAR RIGHT DEFENSE: BUF Dion Phaneuf 55 LIB Zdeno Chara 32 PIT Scott Niedermayer 30 HOU Chris Pronger 3 2007-08 ALL-STAR GOALTENDER: BRK Olaf Kolzig 62 FGF Roberto Luongo 32 PIT Martin Brodeur 15 BUF Rick DiPietro 11 ********************************************************************* NEWSLETTER? No guest articles this week from league owners, despite some interesting situations. Has the newsletter outlived its usefulness? Let me know your thoughts and how we can make the newsletter better for everyone. ********************************************************************* 2008 FARLEY CUP FINAL RESULTS: #1 HOUSTON AEROS at #1 BROOKLYN FOURTEENTH Houston 1, at Brooklyn 5 [Game One, Brooklyn leads series, 1-0] BRK Olaf Kolzig - thirty-seven saves, 8/9 GR BRK Michael Nylander - two goals, takeaway BRK Matt Pettinger - two power-play goals Houston 2, at Brooklyn 3 [Game Two, Brooklyn leads series, 2-0] BRK Olaf Kolzig - twenty-five saves, 10/12 GR HOU Tomas Vokoun - twenty-five saves, 8/9 GR BRK Ian Laperriere - game-winning goal, assist, takeaway Brooklyn 1, at Houston 2 [Game Three, Brooklyn leads series, 2-1] HOU Scott Gomez - both Houston goals HOU Tomas Vokoun - twenty-seven saves, 5/5 GR BRK Barret Jackman - power-play goal, two takeaways Brooklyn 6, at Houston 5 [Game Four, Brooklyn leads series, 3-1] BRK Alexander Ovechkin - power-play goal, two assists, takeaway, three hits HOU Brendan Shanahan - three goals, takeaway, hit BRK Jeremy Roenick - game-winning goal, two assists, takeaway, two hits Houston 3, at Brooklyn 4 [Game Five, Brooklyn wins series, 4-1] BRK Michael Nylander - game-winning power-play goal, assist, hit BRK Jeremy Roenick - two assists, two takeaways, hit HOU Brenden Morrow - two goals including penalty shot goal, takeaway ********************************************************************* 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 ********************************************************************* 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. CUMULATIVE INCENTIVE POINTS: BRK -2 IP CCC exempt FLO -2 IP HRH -1 IP HOU -1 IP MAN -3 IP MIN -1 IP NEV -2 IP NCH -2 IP QCP 1 IP STM -1 IP SES -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 0.237 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 1.437 3.903 -0.048 1 2. Houston Aeros 1.228 8.134 0.073 2 3. Nevada Thunder 1.085 6.796 0.183 3 4. Buffalo Bulldogs 0.827 6.023 -0.064 4 5. Seattle Rainiers 0.805 8.293 0.152 5 6. Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 0.586 9.050 0.107 6 7. Vancouver Whitecaps 0.574 5.723 0.125 8 8. Seattle Sasquatch 0.562 7.399 0.199 7 9. North Calgary Hawks 0.391 7.371 0.108 9 10. Capital City Cougars 0.377 6.047 0.012 10 11. Hampton Roads Hounds 0.111 7.969 0.021 11 12. Long Island Berserkers 0.047 8.452 0.010 12 13. Quebec City Patriotes 0.008 5.309 0.000 13 14. St. Michael's Privateers -0.019 8.251 0.037 14 15. Manayunk Bullies -0.023 5.085 -0.097 15 16. Corner Creek Green Calves -0.036 6.191 0.078 16 17. Pittsburgh Sound Chasers -0.056 7.127 -0.034 17 18. Florida Hellcats -0.109 8.140 -0.046 18 19. Lyndonville Blades -0.327 6.159 0.044 19 20. Stone Harbor Sound -0.777 5.554 -0.003 20 21. Empire State Americans -0.980 5.686 0.045 21 22. Montreal Wanderers -1.422 6.401 0.016 22 23. Topeka Tarantulas -1.597 7.081 0.079 23 24. Minneapolis Massasauga -2.693 4.403 0.171 24 ********************************************************************* POSTSEASON INJURY REPORT: This will change with every playoff game, and will be announced to the relevant owners at that time. BRK - Mike Comrie out 1 game. HOU - Simon Gagne out 1 game. ********************************************************************* 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) *********************************************************************