The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League Established May 1, 1997 Volume #12, Issue #19 - July 31, 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 ********************************************************************* WINNER, WINNER, FARLEY CUP DINNER! In the battle between two of the league's most accomplished non-Cup winning owners, the St. Michael's Privateers stormed past the Topeka Tarantulas in five games to capture the 2009 Farley Cup championship. Although the Privateers were moderate favorites entering the championship round series, they showed why they made short work of the Eastern Conference this season, scoring 20 goals in their three home games while keeping the Tarantulas at bay. In the pivotal Game Four - the only game won by either squad away from home ice - Tim Thomas was the difference in net, stopping thirty-nine pucks (10/11 GR) in a 4-2 win. "I think that the nature of this league's championship history shows just why it's the hardest trophy to win in team sports," remarked commissioner Doug Norris just prior to handing the Cup to captain Pavel Datsyuk. "Mr. Bartalone and his squad have a lot to be proud of today." For more on the Privateers' triumph, please see Andy's excellent article (thanks, Andy!) later in the newsletter. ********************************************************************* COMMISH UPDATE AND SCATTERED NOTES: I'm still working on finding a method for retriving the data lost from my hard drive, which included much of my Strat-o-Matic materials. Aside from that, Qwest is still telling me that my DSL is fine, which it isn't. Thirdly (and hopefully lastly), due to a miscommunication at CU, I lost access to my account for several days (it's back now). Due to these problems, I'm a bit behind on trophy finalists and overusage penalties, but I'd like to resolve them both before Tuesday at the latest. Anyhow, hopefully everything's on the way up now, and I'm rarin' to go and start the 2009-10 season! REMEMBER! Your team must be at a maximum of 26 skaters by the end of August 12. The 2009 NSHL Entry Draft will occur on Saturday, September 12. More details on this as the date approaches. Also, trading season is now officially open! I know that there are some trades in the hopper waiting to be announced; when you send them to me, please title your e-mail something that's indicative of the trade. Gmail likes to combine e-mail threads together that have the same name, so if you reply to this, then I end up with this in my inbox again, and if several people do this, then I end up with a mix of trades I've processed and trades I haven't processed all in my inbox. Thanks. ********************************************************************* PRIVATEERS TRIUMPH IN SEASON OF CHALLENGES Andy Bartalone, St. Michael's owner It's been a week since the St. Michael's Privateers finished thier series with the Topeka Tarantulas, winning the Farley Cup for the first time. The parade was on Sunday, and we have 225,000 people out on Tighlmann Island for it. For any of you that have been here to Eastern Shore, you understand the magnitude of that. St. Michael's has won their conference four times, but this was their first trip to the Finals, usually being tripped up by Brooklyn or Long Island and not meeting expectations. There was alot of trepidation going into the Finals after a very long and physical series with Quebec City. The coaching staff was not admitting it, but a lot of guys were dinged up, and injuries could have been a factor. In many cases the Topeka series was about a bounce here or a pass being perfect, getting help offensively from places where you don't expect it. Robyn Regehr plays for my team every day simply by keeping other guys from scoring, he scored 4 goals in the series; tied for the team lead with Pavel Datsyuk. Duncan Keith was second overall in goals with 11 and was a +19. But the person that made it all work with Tim Thomas - he never gave up more than 4 goals, and only did that 5 times spread out amoung the 23 games he played and a .924 save %. The summer has already started here on the shore and there are rumors that a few people were very unhappy with their playing time during the playoffs, and could be on thier way out of town. Right now the town of St. Michael's is just enjoying having the Cup, and is looking forward to training camp just one month away. ********************************************************************* OVERUSAGE PENALTIES: Penalties coming soon, but these are the overusage situations (and culprits) as determined by Brian and myself: Buffalo Fernando Pisani, one game. Corner Creek Matt Cullen, two games. Nevada Doug Weight, one game. North Calgary Joe DiPenta, five games. North Calgary Thomas Pock, one game. Pittsburgh SC Curtis Joseph, two games. Quebec City Sergei Zubov, one game. If you see your team's name here, expect penalties. If you don't, then you're free for the year (and thank you for your compliance!) ********************************************************************* FARLEY CUP FINAL RESULTS: Topeka 2, at St. Michael's 5 [St. Michael's leads series, 1-0] STM Erik Cole - two goals, assist, hit STM Robyn Regehr - goal, assist, two takeaways, two hits STM Pavel Datsyuk - power-play goal, two assists Topeka 2, at St. Michael's 8 [St. Michael's leads series, 2-0] STM Pavel Datsyuk - two goals, assist STM Nik Antropov - goal, two assists, takeaway STM Tim Thomas - thirty-three saves, 7/8 GR St. Michael's 3, at Topeka 5 [St. Michael's leads series, 2-1] TPK Brent Burns - goal, two takeaways, four hits TPK Wade Redden - three assists, hit STM Robyn Regehr - two goals, takeaway St. Michael's 4, at Topeka 2 [St. Michael's leads series, 3-1] STM Tim Thomas - thirty-nine saves, 10/11 GR STM Pavel Datsyuk - goal, two assists, hit STM Jean-Pierre Dumont - game-winning goal, assist, two takeaways Topeka 1, at St. Michael's 7 [St. Michael's wins Farley Cup, 4-1] STM Martin St. Louis - goal, three assists, takeaway STM Antoine Vermette - goal, two assists, 10/12 faceoffs STM Duncan Keith - three assists, takeaway ********************************************************************* CALENDAR OF EVENTS: August 1 - trading officially begins again August 12 - teams must be down to 26 skaters or less by today September 12 - 2009 NSHL Entry Draft September 13 - 2009 NSHL Waiver Draft ********************************************************************* 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 0.126 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 1.948 6.138 -0.015 1 2. St. Michael's Privateers 1.222 6.985 -0.150 2 3. Seattle Sasquatch 0.745 5.271 0.115 3 4. Topeka Tarantulas 0.625 7.050 0.031 4 5. Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 0.608 8.051 0.108 5 6. Houston Aeros 0.569 7.578 0.048 6 7. Quebec City Patriotes 0.508 7.250 -0.110 9 8. Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 0.477 5.833 0.017 7 9. Nevada Thunder 0.447 6.178 0.132 8 10. Pittsburgh Hornets 0.310 6.783 -0.081 10 11. Capital City Cougars 0.207 5.109 0.178 11 12. Seattle Rainiers 0.149 5.807 0.103 13 13. Corner Creek Green Calves 0.143 8.499 0.026 12 14. Brooklyn Fourteenth 0.002 8.615 -0.037 15 15. Montreal Wanderers -0.122 6.911 -0.024 14 16. Long Island Berserkers -0.127 8.007 -0.069 16 17. Florida Hellcats -0.525 7.486 0.030 17 18. Buffalo Bulldogs -0.563 5.259 -0.015 18 19. Lyndonville Blades -0.786 6.028 0.001 19 20. Manayunk Bullies -0.812 7.539 -0.019 20 21. Hampton Roads Hounds -0.842 7.714 0.101 21 22. North Calgary Hawks -1.278 9.280 0.184 22 23. Stone Harbor Sound -1.438 6.914 0.027 23 24. Minneapolis Massasauga -1.465 5.944 0.154 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. STM - newsletter article, -1 IP 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 -2 IP SES -1 IP TPK -1 IP VAW -3 IP ********************************************************************* ASSOCIATE LIST: SINCE GP 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 ********************************************************************* TRANSACTIONS: Transaction season begins now! ********************************************************************* 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) *********************************************************************