The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League Established May 1, 1997 Volume #12, Issue #16 - April 28, 2009 ********************************************************************* 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 ********************************************************************* EXAMANA! Doo doo, de do doo. Examana! Do do dee do. Examana! Do dee, do dee do, do dee do, do dee do do do dut dut dut dut dah. Thanks to a combination of series that ran waaaaay late, my DSL being down for nearly a full week, and a massive exam on Friday, this will be a bare-bones newsletter. I'll release another issue next week at some point with award nominees, overusage, and other things. Articles welcome! I'm not joking. Thanks to Brian for his excellently excellent article this issue. It's sweet! Hoping for NetPlay games in all series if possible! They're a blast! ********************************************************************* CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS IN REVIEW: It was the shock heard 'round the world - or at least the hockey world - as eighth-seed Capital City came into Vancouver and stole the first game of their series against heavily-favoured Vancouver with Jonas Hiller making 31 saves. The Whitecaps would even things in Game Two, but then Hiller and the Cougars would knock off the best regular season team in history with one-goal wins in Game Three and Four. Series-ending Game Five was the least close, with Capital City coasting to a 4-1 win on Vancouver home ice. And it's now a wideopen race for the Farley Cup! For more on the Cougars - Whitecaps tilt, see Brian's superb article below. A four-goal second period outburst gave the other #8 seed, Florida, a split in their first two games of their series in St. Michael's, in a battle between two of the league's original teams. The Privateers then took control, advancing in five with Brad Richards guiding the club to the second round. The first playoff game in the history of the long-suffering Pittsburgh Hornets franchise was an exciting one, with Lemieux Trophy nominee Patrick Kane beating Nikolai Khabibulin 93 seconds into overtime. The momentum continued with a 4-1 win in Game Two, but the Hornets got some bad news as they prepared to board the plane to Sweden - Sheldon Souray would not be accompanying them. The Hornets managed to still gain a 3-1 series lead before watching the Green Calves take Games Five, Six and Seven to advance. Guillame Latendresse scored twice in the deciding game. Things were just as exciting - but not much better - across town for the Sound Chasers, who fell to the Nevada Thunder in a thrilling seven-game series in which all seven games were won by the home club. The Thunder reigned in Game Seven with a 4-1 win, with Niklas Hagman and Martin Straka pacing the way. Playoff hockey was all the rage in Seattle, as the Sasquatch rode backup Ty Conklin to a 2-0 lead over visiting Fort Garry, despite losing up to five of their rostered forwards at one point. Long Island's Evgeni Nabokov stole the first game of their season in Montreal with twenty saves in a 2-0 win. Unfortunately for the Berserkers, the Wanderers then won the next four, cruising to a five-game series win. Dan Ellis was stellar for Montreal after being picked up by Minneapolis mid-season. Mid-season acquisition Jean-Sebastien Giguere was solid for the Patriotes in a six-game series win over defending Farley Cup champion Brooklyn. Alex Ovechkin was the star of the series, but could not overcome a balanced Quebec City attack. Last (chronologically) but certainly not least, Central Division powers Topeka and Houston fought tooth and nail (and skate and puck) in a seven-game clash. The clubs split 3-2 overtime decisions in Topeka, then split once again on Houston ice. Home teams gained blowout wins (7-1 and 8-0) in Game Five and Six, setting the stage for a decisive Game Seven. Andrei Kostitsyn sent the hometown fans home happy, beating Tomas Vokoun glove side with 1:46 left in regulation in a 4-3 win. ********************************************************************* EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS: All-Quebec battle between the Wanderers and Patriotes, while St. Michael's takes on the sole remaining Northeast Division club, Corner Creek. #7 Corner Creek Green Calves at #1 St. Michael's Privateers #4 Quebec City Patriotes at #3 Montreal Wanderers ********************************************************************* WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS: Divisional matchups rule the day, with worldbeating Capital City facing Topeka, and the Sasquatch carrying the flag of Seattle into Nevada. #8 Capital City Cougars at #2 Topeka Tarantulas #4 Seattle Sasquatch at #3 Nevada Thunder ********************************************************************* COUGARS BEAT ODDS, UPSET VANCOUVER (AP) LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.....When Cougars coach Brian Leahy named rookie goaltender Jonas Hiller as the starter for the Western Conference quarterfinal series against the Vancouver Whitecaps, it raised a lot of eyebrows. Given his 3-8 record in the regular season, it was an off the chart move and uncharacteristic of what one normally goes with entering the playoffs against a formidable opponent. "(Hiller's) regular season win-loss record really does not do him any justice," Leahy said in a recent interview, "if you look at the games he lost, the margin was two goals or less. While Marty (Legace) carried us all season long, he was in a slump at the end of the season and felt it was better to give him a rest at the start of the series and see what the kid could do." Indeed. Of the eight losses Hiller was tagged with, two came in overtime and another two came in the shootout. Legace had lost all of his final six starts at the end of the season. The Cougars' other goalie, Marty Turco, had seen action so infrequently over the course of the season, tabbing him as the series starter was ruled out quickly. So, with Capital City being the #8 seed and going into Vancouver, the conference and league #1 seed, the task of trying to come away with a road win seemed daunting, especially with an unproven rookie between the pipes. Nevertheless, Jonas Hiller provided to be an adequate backstopper and, along with the Cougars offense showing up as well, were able to take game one by a 3-2 score. The media outlets weren't convinced. The following day, the talk was more about how Vancouver didn't perform than how Capital City did. Some adjustments were made by both teams and game two took place a couple of days later. Vancouver's offense DID show up, putting a blistering 49 shots on the young Cougars goalie. Hiller, though, showed up as well. Despite it ending up to be in a losing effort, he did his part in keeping Capital City in the game. It wasn't until there was less than two minutes in regulation when a 1-1 tie was broken by Henrik Zetterberg to give Vancouver the win and the home ice split. Now, the media and all those with an interest in the series began to take notice. With the series shifting back to Nebraska, what would happen? With a renewed energy that Vancouver CAN be beaten, would Capital City have a chance in the series? Game three was played in front of a standing room only crowd. There was electricity in the air, but a twinge of tension as well. Jonas Hiller once again got the nod to start for Capital City. Vancouver changed things up and gave Craig Anderson the start. The game went scoreless through two periods, and although each team had a few chances to break the deadlock, both goaltenders were stellar. Late in the 3rd period, with just under six minutes remaining, Cougars hero Daniel Alfredsson potted his second goal of the series. It also stood to be his second game-winning goal of the series as well. Somehow, the Cougars kept Vancouver off of the scoresheet and came away with another win. Once again, Hiller had put the team on his shoulders with his incredible goaltending. "Vancouver is a great team," said Hiller, shortly after game three, "our defense has really come together in this series. Our team has been up and down over the course of the season, but we really got a great boost of confidence after how we did on the road against them. We're playing some good hockey right now." For game four, Coach Leahy opted to start veteran Manny Legace and give Hiller a much needed rest. His thinking? Leahy was worried that the series could end up going the distance and he wanted Hiller to have a chance to make it to the end and not be fatigued. Hiller had not played back-to-back games during the regular season, so playing him in four straight was a concern. Legace, however, jumped at the opportunity after getting some rest himself. Vancouver picked up where they left off and constantly sent a barrage of shots Legace's way. In all, the Whitecaps pressed Legace with 52 shots, while Capital City put up a modest 29 shots on Craig Anderson. Somehow, mainly via the power-play, the Cougars were able to come away with a 3-2 victory in overtime, which was capped by a Joe Sakic score at the 8:29 mark of the extra frame. Capital City now found themselves in a favorable position, leading the series 3 games to 1. Although the series shifted back to Vancouver, they also had a rested Jonas Hiller as well. At the same time, Vancouver was still the opponent and no lead was a guarantee of anything. The Cougars players had guarded optimism as they boarded the charter and headed north of the border for game five. With Vancouver back at home and in familiar surroundings, Niklas Backstrom was once again in goal for the Whitecaps. Jonas Hiller was back for Capital City. The crowd was doing all it could to try and disrupt the visitors. In the opening period, both teams played close, tight checking hockey and it ended scoreless. Towards the end of the period, defenseman Hal Gill took a penalty and gave the Cougars a power-play. The second period saw an offensive outburst. Just sixteen seconds in, Daniel Alfredsson scored a power-play goal and the Cougars went up, 1-0. A couple of minutes later, Jason Chimera found his way to the penalty box and put Capital City on the man advantage yet again. This time, however, the power-play was short lived as Daniel Cleary scored just four seconds after the faceoff! The Vancouver crowd grew quiet and with the Capital City players celebrating Cleary's goal, the Whitecaps shook their heads in collective bewilderment. Unlike most periods in the series, the one was controlled by the Cougars. Previously, Vancouver outshot Capital City in 12 of the 15 periods they had played. To cap it off, centerman Eric Belanger found the back of the net past Niklas Backstrom with one second remaining to put the Cougars up 3-0 after two periods of play. In the third period, the Whitecaps had a renewed attack and came out shooting. Yet, just over a minute in, John Madden added a tally for Capital City and the lead expanded to 4-0. While the quick goal stunned Vancouver, it was only for a moment, for they resumed their pressing offense shortly thereafter. What the Cougars defense didn't thwart, Jonas Hiller turned away, though, but the battles in the corners remained tough. Finally, just after the midway mark, Vancouver found their way onto the scoresheet. Dustin Brown beat Hiller just under his glove and the home crowd roared back to life. In the last half of the period, the Cougars gave the Whitecaps two more power-play chances, but were able to kill them both. In all, Vancouver had eight power-play opportunities in the game and came away with no goals with the man advantage. In the waning minutes, the Cougars buckled down on defense, held the puck a little longer to take precious seconds off of the clock and were able to prevent any more goals by Vancouver to help seal the game and capture the series. An amazing series, a surprising result to many and a newfound confidence for a team that many had predicted would be bounced out of the first round in quick fashion. NEWS & NOTES Next up, a division rival in the Topeka Tarantulas. The number two seed in the conference, Topeka won the season series with the Cougars, 5 games to 1. In the series, though, all games but one were decided by one goal. The other was decided by two goals. The matchup is expected to be an interesting one as the border rivals go head-to-head in their quest to move on to the Western Conference finals. ********************************************************************* TROPHY NOMINEES AND VOTING: (coming soon!) ********************************************************************* OVERUSAGE PENALTIES: (coming soon!) ********************************************************************* 2009 CONSTITUTIONAL PROPOSALS: Please get your proposals in to Patrick and myself no later than May 24th. Thanks! ********************************************************************* CONFERENCE QUARTERFINAL RESULTS: Long Island 2, at Montreal 0 [Game One, LIB leads series, 1-0] LIB Martin Lapointe - two goals LIB Evgeni Nabokov - twenty saves, shutout, 3/3 GR LIB Fredrik Modin - two assists Long Island 1, at Montreal 2 [Game Two, series tied, 1-1] MON Dan Ellis - thirty-three saves, 12/12 GR MON Mike Green - game-winning goal, three takeaways, hit LIB Evgeni Nabokov - thirty-four saves, 7/9 GR Montreal 6, at Long Island 5 (OT) [Game Three, MON leads series, 2-1] LIB Evgeni Malkin - three goals, takeaway, ten shots on goal MON Nikolai Zherdev - two power-play goals, assist MON Kyle Brodziak - goal at 16:18 of overtime, two takeaways Montreal 5, at Long Island 4 [Game Four, MON leads series, 3-1] MON Jonathan Toews - two goals, assist MON Dan Ellis - forty saves, 8/10 GR LIB Zdeno Chara - power-play goal, assist, two takeaways, two hits Long Island 2, at Montreal 3 (OT) [Game Five, MON wins series, 4-1] MON Dan Ellis - forty-four saves, 8/9 GR MON Steve Reinprecht - power-play goal at 10:28 of overtime, takeaway LIB Jiri Hudler - goal, assist, three takeaways Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 1, at Nevada 2 [Game One, Nevada leads series, 1-0] NEV Sergei Fedorov - two power-play goals PIT Martin Brodeur - thirty-two saves, 9/10 GR PIT Paul Ranger - assist, three takeaways, two hits Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 3, at Nevada 4 [Game Two, Nevada leads series, 2-0] NEV Sergei Fedorov - game-winning power-play goal, two assists NEV Niklas Hagman - goal, assist, takeaway PIT Freddy Meyer - assist, two takeaways Nevada 3, at Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 5 [Game Three, Nevada leads series, 2-1] PIT Jarome Iginla - three goals, two assists, hit PIT Cory Stillman - two goals, three assists, two takeaways PIT Paul Stastny - five assists Nevada 0, at Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 4 [Game Four, series tied, 2-2] PIT Peter Mueller - power-play goal, two assists PIT Darcy Tucker - game-winning goal, assist, hit PIT Martin Brodeur - twenty-five saves, shutout, 2/2 GR Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 0, at Nevada 1 [Game Five, Nevada leads series, 3-2] NEV Martin Gerber - forty-seven saves, shutout, 7/7 GR PIT Martin Brodeur - thirty-nine saves, 6/6 GR NEV Jason Blake - game-winning goal, hit Nevada 0, at Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 2 [Game Six, series tied, 3-3] PIT Martin Brodeur - forty-two saves, shutout, 6/6 GR PIT Jarome Iginla - power-play goal PIT Paul Gaustad - goal Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 1, at Nevada 4 [Game Seven, Nevada wins series, 4-3] NEV Niklas Hagman - game-winning goal, assist, takeaway NEV Martin Straka - goal, two takeaways NEV Martin Gerber - thirty-one saves, 2/3 GR Corner Creek 4, at Pittsburgh Hornets 5 (OT) [Game One, PIH leads series, 1-0] PIH Radim Vrbata - two goals, assist, takeaway CGC Brian Gionta - power-play goal, assist, three takeaways, hit PIH Patrick Kane - goal at 93 seconds of overtime, assist Corner Creek 1, at Pittsburgh Hornets 4 [Game Two, PIH leads series, 2-0] PIH Jason Arnott - power-play goal, two assists PIH Sheldon Souray - power-play goal, three hits PIH Ilya Bryzgalov - thirty-two saves, 2/3 GR Pittsburgh Hornets 2, at Corner Creek 7 [Game Three, PIH leads series, 2-1] CGC Daniel Sedin - two goals, two assists, takeaway CGC Richard Park -two goals, assist, takeaway CGC Ray Whitney - two power-play goals, two takeaways, hit Pittsburgh Hornets 4, at Corner Creek 1 [Game Four, PIH leads series, 3-1] PIH Radim Vrbata - two goals, hit PIH Ilya Bryzgalov - thirty-five saves, 6/7 GR PIH Sam Gagner - power-play goal, assist Corner Creek 3, at Pittsburgh Hornets 2 [Game Five, PIH leads series, 3-2] CGC Ray Whitney - goal, assist, takeaway CGC Curtis Glencross - game-winning goal, hit PIH Shawn Horcoff - assist, three takeaways Pittsburgh Hornets 1, at Corner Creek 3 [Game Six, series tied, 3-3] CGC Daniel Sedin - two goals CGC Brian Gionta - two assists, two hits CGC Chris Mason - nineteen saves, 3/3 GR Corner Creek 5, at Pittsburgh Hornets 2 [Game Seven, CGC wins series, 4-3] CGC Guillaume Latendresse - two goals CGC Daniel Sedin - power-play goal, assist, takeaway CGC Richard Park - game-winning power-play goal, assist Brooklyn 1, at Quebec City 4 [Game One, QCP leads series, 1-0] QCP Jean-Sebastien Giguere - twenty-nine saves, 7/8 GR QCP Brian Rolston - two goals, hit, nine shots on goal QCP Tomas Kaberle - three assists Brooklyn 1, at Quebec City 5 [Game Two, QCP leads series, 2-0] QCP Jean-Sebastien Giguere - thirty-eight saves, 6/7 GR QCP Brian Rolston - two goals, assist QCP Jaromir Jagr - game-winning goal, assist Quebec City 1, at Brooklyn 3 [Game Three, QCP leads series, 2-1] BRK Alexander Ovechkin - two goals, assist, takeaway, hit BRK Michael Nylander - goal, two assists BRK Olaf Kolzig - twenty-seven saves, 2/3 GR Quebec City 2, at Brooklyn 3 [Game Four, series tied, 2-2] BRK Alexander Ovechkin - two goals, takeaway, two hits BRK Olaf Kolzig - thirty-two saves, 5/6 GR BRK Michael Nylander - two assists Brooklyn 2, at Quebec City 4 [Game Five, QCP leads series, 3-2] QCP Olli Jokinen - power-play goal, assist, takeaway, ten shots on goal QCP Jean-Sebastien Giguere - fourteen saves, 6/6 GR BRK Martin Biron - thirty-nine saves, 8/9 GR Quebec City 4, at Brooklyn 2 [Game Six, QCP wins series, 4-2] QCP Jean-Sebastien Giguere - thirty-five saves, 9/10 GR QCP Anton Volchenkov - game-winning goal, assist, two takeaways BRK Alexander Ovechkin - power-play goal, two takeaways, ten shots on goal Florida 2, at St. Michael's 4 [Game One, STM leads series, 1-0] STM Pavel Datsyuk - goal, two assists, takeaway STM Jean-Pierre Dumont - three assists STM Jarret Stoll - game-winning power-play goal Florida 4, at St. Michael's 3 [Game Two, series tied, 1-1] FLO Trevor Daley - game-winning power-play goal STM Brad Richards - goal, assist, takeaway FLO David Booth - goal, assist, takeaway St. Michael's 7, at Florida 3 [Game Three, STM leads series, 2-1] STM Brad Richards - two goals (including PS goal), two assists STM Pavel Datsyuk - power-play goal, three assists, two takeaways, hit STM Jean-Pierre Dumont - two goals, takeaway St. Michael's 6, at Florida 3 [Game Four, STM leads series, 3-1] STM Duncan Keith - two goals, four takeaways STM Brad Richards - goal, two assists, three takeaways STM Martin St. Louis - goal, two assists, takeaway Florida 1, at St. Michael's 5 [Game Five, STM wins series, 4-1] STM Pavel Datsyuk - three goals, assist, hit STM Tim Thomas - twenty-seven saves, 6/7 GR STM Jean-Pierre Dumont - goal, two assists, takeaway, hit Fort Garry 2, at Seattle Sasquatch 4 [Game One, SES leads series, 1-0] SES Radek Bonk - two goals SES Ty Conklin - twenty-six saves, 3/4 GR SES Marc Savard - goal Fort Garry 0, at Seattle Sasquatch 5 [Game Two, SES leads series, 2-0] SES Ty Conklin - thirty saves, shutout, 3/3 GR SES Milan Hejduk - two goals, assist SES Kristian Huselius - two assists Seattle Sasquatch 2, at Fort Garry 1 (OT) [Game Three, SES leads series, 3-0] SES Ty Conklin - thirty-five saves, 5/6 GR FGF Roberto Luongo - thirty-four saves, 5/6 GR SES Milan Hejduk - goal at 6:47 of overtime, hit Seattle Sasquatch 6, at Fort Garry 2 [Game Four, SES wins series, 4-0] SES Milan Hejduk - two power-play goals, assist SES Marc Savard - two goals, assist SES Ruslan Salei - three assists Capital City 3, at Vancouver 2 [Game One, CCC leads series, 1-0] CCC Jonas Hiller - thirty-one saves, 5/7 GR CCC Mathieu Schneider - goal, assist CCC Yanic Perreault - goal Capital City 1, at Vancouver 2 [Game Two, series tied, 1-1] CCC Jonas Hiller - forty-seven saves, 14/15 GR VAW Henrik Zetterberg - game-winning goal VAW Aaron Ward - goal Vancouver 0, at Capital City 1 [Game Three, CCC leads series, 2-1] CCC Jonas Hiller - thirty-five saves, shutout, 7/7 GR VAW Craig Anderson - twenty-eight saves, 6/6 GR CCC Daniel Alfredsson - game-winning goal, takeaway Vancouver 2, at Capital City 3 (OT) [Game Four, CCC leads series, 3-1] CCC Daniel Alfredsson - three assists CCC Manny Legace - fifty saves, 8/9 GR CCC Joe Sakic - goal at 8:29 of overtime Capital City 4, at Vancouver 1 [Game Five, CCC wins series, 4-1] CCC Jonas Hiller - thirty-six saves, 9/10 GR CCC Daniel Alfredsson - goal, assist CCC Joe Sakic - two assists Houston 2, at Topeka 3 (OT) [Game One, TPK leads series, 1-0] TPK Ilya Kovalchuk - two goals including goal at 0:34 of overtime, assist, two takeaways, two hits TPK Wade Dubielewicz - twenty-four saves, 3/4 GR HOU Shane Doan - goal, two takeaways Houston 3, at Topeka 2 (OT) [Game Two, series tied, 1-1] HOU Brendan Shanahan - goal at 1:33 of overtime, assist TPK Kari Lehtonen - twenty-five saves, 7/8 GR HOU Chris Pronger - two assists, three takeaways Topeka 1, at Houston 0 [Game Three, TPK leads series, 2-1] TPK Wade Dubielewicz - thirty-five saves, shutout, 9/9 GR TPK Corey Perrry - game-winning power-play goal HOU Tomas Vokoun - twenty-seven saves, 4/5 GR Topeka 1, at Houston 3 [Game Four, series tied, 2-2] TPK Kari Lehtonen - thirty-nine saves, 5/5 GR HOU Tomas Vokoun - thirty-two saves, 3/4 GR HOU Rob Blake - assist, two takeaways, two hits Houston 1, at Topeka 7 [Game Five, TPK leads series, 3-2] TPK Viktor Kozlov - two goals TPK Shea Weber - power-play goal, assist, takeaway TPK Matthew Lombardi - goal, assist Topeka 0, at Houston 8 [Game Six, series tied, 3-3] HOU Brendan Shanahan - three goals, takeaway, hit HOU Shane Doan - two goals, assist, hit HOU Tomas Vokoun - twenty-five saves, shutout, 4/4 GR Houston 3, at Topeka 4 [Game Seven, Topeka wins series, 4-3] TPK Dominic Moore - series-winning goal with 1:46 remaining HOU Rick Nash - goal, two takeaways, three hits, fight TPK Andrei Kostitsyn - goal, takeaway, hit ********************************************************************* CALENDAR OF EVENTS: April 28: conference semifinals begin! May 12: all conference quarterfinal games must be reported ********************************************************************* 2008-09 REGULAR SEASON LEAGUE STANDINGS: NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Pittsburgh Hornets 82 50 24 4 4 108 0.659 259 229 26-11- 2- 2 24-13- 2- 2 Brooklyn Fourteenth 82 39 30 3 10 91 0.555 269 253 23-12- 0- 6 16-18- 3- 4 Long Island Berserkers 82 41 34 5 2 89 0.543 268 263 19-17- 3- 2 22-17- 2- 0 Corner Creek Green Cal 82 42 36 1 3 88 0.537 256 246 22-18- 0- 1 20-18- 1- 2 Buffalo Bulldogs 82 34 44 0 4 72 0.439 232 271 18-20- 0- 3 16-24- 0- 1 Lyndonville Blades 82 30 47 2 3 65 0.396 218 270 17-23- 0- 1 13-24- 2- 2 ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road St. Michael's Privatee 82 53 22 2 5 113 0.689 290 192 33- 6- 1- 1 20-16- 1- 4 Montreal Wanderers 82 44 29 5 4 97 0.591 244 245 25-13- 2- 1 19-16- 3- 3 Quebec City Patriotes 82 44 35 1 2 91 0.555 264 242 23-16- 1- 1 21-19- 0- 1 Florida Hellcats 82 40 40 2 0 82 0.500 216 254 19-21- 1- 0 21-19- 1- 0 Manayunk Bullies 82 35 43 2 2 74 0.451 212 275 18-21- 1- 1 17-22- 1- 1 Stone Harbor Sound 82 21 56 1 4 47 0.287 188 287 8-30- 0- 3 13-26- 1- 1 NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Vancouver Whitecaps 82 68 13 0 1 137 0.835 332 169 35- 6- 0- 0 33- 7- 0- 1 Nevada Thunder 82 50 25 3 4 107 0.652 272 246 24-11- 2- 4 26-14- 1- 0 Seattle Sasquatch 82 49 26 1 6 105 0.640 263 224 29- 9- 1- 2 20-17- 0- 4 Fort Garry Fiddler Cra 82 49 27 0 6 104 0.634 285 227 22-15- 0- 4 27-12- 0- 2 Seattle Rainiers 82 39 33 5 5 88 0.537 257 251 19-19- 2- 1 20-14- 3- 4 North Calgary Hawks 82 24 48 5 5 58 0.354 205 304 8-26- 2- 5 16-22- 3- 0 CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OL SL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Topeka Tarantulas 82 52 27 1 2 107 0.652 267 226 27-11- 1- 2 25-16- 0- 0 Pittsburgh Sound Chase 82 47 30 3 2 99 0.604 266 233 23-14- 2- 2 24-16- 1- 0 Houston Aeros 82 45 31 2 4 96 0.585 285 243 27-12- 1- 1 18-19- 1- 3 Capital City Cougars 82 35 27 6 14 90 0.549 241 240 18-15- 3- 5 17-12- 3- 9 Hampton Roads Hounds 82 33 44 3 2 71 0.433 211 291 16-21- 3- 1 17-23- 0- 1 Minneapolis Massasauga 82 20 53 4 5 49 0.299 181 300 9-30- 2- 0 11-23- 2- 5 ********************************************************************* 2008-09 EXPANDED LEAGUE STATISTICS: EXPANDED STATISTICS Total Home Road NORTHEAST DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO Pittsburgh Hornets 41-24 2- 4 7- 4| 20-11 2- 2 4- 2| 21-13 0- 2 3- 2 Brooklyn Fourteenth 37-30 1- 3 1-10| 23-12 0- 0 0- 6| 14-18 1- 3 1- 4 Long Island Berserkers 37-34 1- 5 3- 2| 16-17 1- 3 2- 2| 21-17 0- 2 1- 0 Corner Creek Green Calv 35-36 3- 1 4- 3| 19-18 1- 0 2- 1| 16-18 2- 1 2- 2 Buffalo Bulldogs 24-44 6- 0 4- 4| 14-20 2- 0 2- 3| 10-24 4- 0 2- 1 Lyndonville Blades 26-47 2- 2 2- 3| 16-23 1- 0 0- 1| 10-24 1- 2 2- 2 ATLANTIC DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO St. Michael's Privateer 46-22 4- 2 3- 5| 27- 6 4- 1 2- 1| 19-16 0- 1 1- 4 Montreal Wanderers 40-29 0- 5 4- 4| 23-13 0- 2 2- 1| 17-16 0- 3 2- 3 Quebec City Patriotes 37-35 1- 1 6- 2| 18-16 0- 1 5- 1| 19-19 1- 0 1- 1 Florida Hellcats 30-40 1- 2 9- 0| 15-21 0- 1 4- 0| 15-19 1- 1 5- 0 Manayunk Bullies 26-43 3- 2 6- 2| 13-21 2- 1 3- 1| 13-22 1- 1 3- 1 Stone Harbor Sound 16-56 2- 1 3- 4| 6-30 1- 0 1- 3| 10-26 1- 1 2- 1 NORTHWEST DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO Vancouver Whitecaps 63-13 2- 0 3- 1| 34- 6 0- 0 1- 0| 29- 7 2- 0 2- 1 Nevada Thunder 44-25 3- 3 3- 4| 22-11 2- 2 0- 4| 22-14 1- 1 3- 0 Seattle Sasquatch 35-26 5- 1 9- 6| 22- 9 5- 1 2- 2| 13-17 0- 0 7- 4 Fort Garry Fiddler Crab 42-27 4- 0 3- 6| 19-15 2- 0 1- 4| 23-12 2- 0 2- 2 Seattle Rainiers 33-33 3- 5 3- 5| 15-19 3- 2 1- 1| 18-14 0- 3 2- 4 North Calgary Hawks 20-48 3- 5 1- 5| 7-26 0- 2 1- 5| 13-22 3- 3 0- 0 CENTRAL DIVISION REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO REG OVT SHO Topeka Tarantulas 41-27 4- 1 7- 2| 19-11 2- 1 6- 2| 22-16 2- 0 1- 0 Pittsburgh Sound Chaser 40-30 4- 3 3- 2| 20-14 1- 2 2- 2| 20-16 3- 1 1- 0 Houston Aeros 39-31 0- 2 6- 4| 24-12 0- 1 3- 1| 15-19 0- 1 3- 3 Capital City Cougars 28-27 4- 6 3-14| 15-15 2- 3 1- 5| 13-12 2- 3 2- 9 Hampton Roads Hounds 26-44 1- 3 6- 2| 11-21 0- 3 5- 1| 15-23 1- 0 1- 1 Minneapolis Massasauga 18-53 2- 4 0- 5| 9-30 0- 2 0- 0| 9-23 2- 2 0- 5 ********************************************************************* 2008-09 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 0.070 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. Vancouver Whitecaps 1.950 6.136 -0.013 1 2. St. Michael's Privateers 1.174 7.118 -0.170 2 3. Seattle Sasquatch 0.805 5.304 0.086 5 4. Topeka Tarantulas 0.643 7.487 0.017 4 5. Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 0.609 8.040 0.109 3 6. Houston Aeros 0.569 7.594 0.051 6 7. Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 0.481 5.831 0.015 7 8. Nevada Thunder 0.396 6.301 0.095 8 9. Quebec City Patriotes 0.340 7.355 -0.101 10 10. Pittsburgh Hornets 0.329 6.783 -0.079 9 11. Capital City Cougars 0.206 5.367 0.141 15 12. Corner Creek Green Calves 0.168 8.550 -0.055 13 13. Seattle Rainiers 0.152 5.802 0.105 11 14. Montreal Wanderers 0.038 6.898 -0.068 14 15. Brooklyn Fourteenth -0.012 8.629 -0.047 12 16. Long Island Berserkers -0.114 7.993 -0.061 16 17. Florida Hellcats -0.530 7.479 0.026 17 18. Buffalo Bulldogs -0.565 5.261 -0.014 18 19. Lyndonville Blades -0.787 6.033 0.002 19 20. Manayunk Bullies -0.816 7.537 -0.022 20 21. Hampton Roads Hounds -0.836 7.705 0.104 21 22. North Calgary Hawks -1.285 9.261 0.185 22 23. Stone Harbor Sound -1.447 6.907 0.024 23 24. Minneapolis Massasauga -1.471 5.927 0.153 24 ********************************************************************* 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: BUF 1 IP FLO -1 IP HOU -3 IP LIB -1 IP MAN -4 IP MIN 2 IP NEV 5 IP PIH -2 IP PIT 2 IP STM -1 IP SES -1 IP TPK -1 IP VAW -3 IP ********************************************************************* ASSOCIATE LIST: SINCE GP Dean Engemoen June 16, 2007 30 Dale Ripley September 11, 2007 28 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 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 ********************************************************************* CONFERENCE QUARTERFINAL INJURY REPORT: This will change with every playoff game, and will be announced to the relevant owners at that time. CGC - Dennis Seidenberg out 4 games through Game Four, ECSF HOU - Peter Forsberg out 65 games through Farley Cup Finals - Simon Gagne out 25 games through Farley Cup Finals - Justin Williams out 16 games through Game One, FC Finals QCP - Sergei Zubov out 10 games through Game Three, EC Finals SES - Kris Beech out 15 games through Game One, FC Finals - Teemu Selanne out 8 games through Game One, WC Finals ********************************************************************* 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) *********************************************************************