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12-14-2015, 12:53 AM | #41 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
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Saturday October 19th 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS
Arrows Insiders confirm sale rumours A high-placed member of the San Francisco Arrows has confirmed that the team's owner, Martin Kapla, is shopping the team to potential owners in San Francisco and other Californian cities. The source who does not wish to be named, stated that "Hockey in San Francisco is a struggle for us: playing to half-empty arenas every night is tough. I think we are trying to make something work that doesn't work, basically. Oakland failed in the 1960s and we're probably going to fail now. Quite why they expanded the league to the Bay when a team had already failed here, I'm not sure." Kaplan, who has sunk huge amounts of money into the team and not seen any return on his investment, is apparently beginning to believe he will never see his money back. The league is yet to issue an official comment. Center Ice Game of the Day: Seattle Nightmare 3 - 1 Vancouver Giants Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver The Giants and the Nightmare played out their second meeting of the season and this time the match was a little more one-sided as the Nightmare, led by Alexis Paquette's 1-and-1, left the Giants only able to ponder how they might improve as they slip in the rankings. The Nightmare were up 2-0 by the fifteenth minute of the game, first with Alexis Paquette taking advantage of an early powerplay to run a behind-the-net pass to Sergey Makiyevsky, and then with Stan Duoba finding the back of the net in a two-on-one rush with Jake Toews. The second period saw Geoffrey Rielly claw one back for the Giants, bringing them within one, but it took Seattle just 44 seconds to get that one back, with Paquette himself scoring on a wrap-around to register his tenth goal of the season and keep himself in touch for the Mathieu Lorenc Award. The third period saw the Nightmare completely shut up shop: though the Giants put 12 shots on net in the final term and 39 for the night, the Nightmare's Matt Wagner was up to the challenge and held the lead at 2 points to ensure Seattle walked away with the win, increasing their lead to six points atop the Mountain West. |
12-14-2015, 01:45 AM | #42 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
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Sunday October 20th - Saturday October 26th 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS OF THE WEEK
Los Angeles and Manitoba Execute Trade (22/10/1985) The Sharks have offloaded another "superfluous" goaltender this week, sending Manuel Lopera to the Manitoba Vikings, getting Tervor Jacklin (RW) in exchange to bolster their attacking options. Lopera, who has spent most of this season with the Hollywood Pilots in the minor leagues, will be immediately into action for Manitoba who have been struggling for consistent goaltending all year. Jason Finter of the Vikings called the trade "a steal". "To get a quality goaltender like Manny Lopera for just one player is a dream come true for us. We hope that Manny will be happy here in Winnipeg for quite some time to come." The Sharks, now left with just three first-string class goaltenders, will welcome the tough and experienced Jacklin to their checking line, hoping to give their team's on ice performance some much needed aggression and physicality, a lack of which currently has the Sharks languishing at the bottom of the standings despite, on paper, the best team in the league. Scores: Sunday October 20th 1985 Colorado Eagles 2 - 1 New York Giants Chicago Cougars 6 - 5 Los Angeles Sharks (OT) Michigan Stags 5 - 3 Calgary Mustangs Ottawa Nationals 2 - 2 Lehigh Vally Phantoms Quebec Nordiques 1 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals New England Whalers 3 - 6 Manitoba Vikings Montreal Champions 1 - 2 Charlottetown Islanders Monday October 21st 1985 San Francisco Arrows 4 - 3 Seattle Nightmare (OT) Quebec Nordiques 3 - 4 Charlottetown Islanders (OT) New York Centrals 4 - 2 Montreal Champions St. Paul Cardinals 4 - 1 Chicago Cougars Toronto Aces 4 - 2 Los Angeles Sharks Tuesday October 22nd 1985 no games played Wednesday October 23rd 1985 Michigan Stags 1 - 5 San Francisco Arrows Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 4 Vancouver Giants St. Paul Cardinals 2 - 3 Seattle Nightmare Thursday October 24th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 5 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals Ottawa Nationals 3 - 1 Manitoba Vikings Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 - 3 Quebec Nordiques Charlottetown Islanders 3 - 4 Vancouver Giants New England Whalers 1 - 1 Toronto Aces Montreal Champions 1 - 5 Calgary Mustangs Colorado Eagles 4 - 1 Michigan Stags Chicago Cougars 5 - 2 New York Centrals Friday October 25th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 2 - 5 Chicago Cougars New York Centrals 3 - 2 New England Whalers Saturday October 26th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 4 - 1 Quebec Nordiques Los Angeles Sharks 1 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 7 Manitoba Vikings Center Ice Game of the Week Colorado Eagles 5 - 2 Calgary Mustangs Federation Arena, Calgary The resurgent Eagles outskated and outshot Calgary in a classic at Federation Arena last night that was anyone's game until the very last minute when some Sebastien Thompson magic saw the Eagles run away with it. The first period was brutal and physical from the very first face off, and very evenly matched. Ray Helm was put in the box for interference but Colorado were unable to capitalise, and then Tim Hunt and Miroslav Michalica were shown the door and forced to show their checkbooks after a brawl on center ice. The teams shot 10 each and landed some huge hits against each other in a period that had a bit of everything. The second period saw the game see-saw even further as the teams exchanged goals. First Christian O'Regan had the presence of mind to back up Filip Petersson and the star winger rushed the net, picking up the rebound and hammering it home while Marcus Malm was still trying to track Petersson. A penalty to John Wheeler of the mustangs for slashing allowed the Eagles to get one back on the powerplay, as Ed Ray slapped it in from the blue-line, a well executed and well planned powerplay attack. Hugh Lecuyer scored his first of the season on a one-timer from Chris O'Regan, and then Larry Poole evened it up again in a one-on-one with Malm. The Eagles finally managed to get the lead at 8 minutes into the third period when Stewart Walters scored on a second attempt, rebounding off Malm and then sending it top shelf. The match was delicately poised heading into the final minutes, but Sebastien Thompson got the insurance marker at 19:06 of the third, set up beautifully by Gil Blanton. It was Thompson's tenth goal and Blanton's tenth assist of the season. Joel Fortier scored on the empty net just thirty seconds later as Calgary's last roll of the dice failed. Next week on Game of the Week: Seattle Nightmare visit the Centrals in New York. |
12-14-2015, 02:20 AM | #43 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
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Sunday October 27th - Saturday November 2nd 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Injury sidelines Bodie (31/10/1985) The Calgary Mustangs today confirmed that left-winger David Bodie will be sidelined for up to three weeks due to back spasms. Bodie, in the beginnings of a career year with 12 points from 17 games, was reportedly crushed by the prognosis. Calgary have not yet stated whether he will be put on injured reserve. Cass breaks hand against Nordiques (1/11/1985) First-line right-winger Reid Cass of the Los Angeles Sharks last night broke his hand in a collision with the boards, which will see him out of action for at least a month. The 35-year old veteran right winger believes he will recover much faster than this prediction, but team doctors stated that the recovery will not be rushed: "We want him around this club for a few years yet, so we're hoping to get him back to 100% before we get him back on the ice." Premier League Hockey Player of the Month Announced (1/11/1985) The first ever "Player of the Month" Awards for Premier League Hockey continue the long-standing tradition of the Mountain Hockey Association. The winner was Matt Jobke of the Seattle Nightmare. Jobke has put on 10 goals and 10 assists and helped the Nightmare to the top of the Mountain West. League president Quinn MacMurray, a former defenseman himself, labelled Jobke "one of the finest defenders I've ever seen." Goalie of the month went to Jordan Beck of the resurgent San Francisco Arrows, who after a horror start to the season have begun to climb out of the league's basement thanks largely to the much improved goaltending of Beck. Scores: Sunday October 27th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 5 - 4 New York Centrals Chicago Cougars 0 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Toronto Aces 3 - 0 Calgary Mustangs Montreal Champions 2 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals Ottawa Nationals 0 - 5 Vancouver Giants Michigan Stags 4 - 6 Quebec Nordiques New England Whalers 2 - 3 Colorado Eagles Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Monday October 28th 1985 New York Centrals 5 - 3 Seattle Nightmare Toronto Aces 3 - 4 San Francisco Arrows Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 - 2 Charlottetown Islanders St. Paul Cardinals 4 - 2 Montreal Champions Tuesday October 29th 1985 Chicago Cougars 1 - 1 New England Whalers Wednesday October 30th 1985 Calgary Mustangs 3 - 3 Montreal Champions Los Angeles Sharks 4 - 2 Michigan Stags St. Paul Cardinals 3 - 2 Charlottetown Islanders Thursday October 31st 1985 New York Centrals 4 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals Ottawa Nationals 3 - 2 Chicago Cougars Vancouver Giants 0 - 3 Calgary Mustangs Manitoba Vikings 2 - 2 Montreal Champions Toronto Aces 5 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Colorado Eagles 2 - 3 Seattle Nightmare Friday November 1st 1985 San Francisco Arrows 1 - 5 Charlottetown Islanders New England Whalers 3 - 4 Michigan Stags Quebec Nordiques 4 - 2 Los Angeles Sharks Saturday November 2nd 1985 Colorado Eagles 2 - 1 Chicago Cougars Calgary Mustangs 3 - 6 Manitoba Vikings Center Ice Game of the Week: Seattle Nightmare 2 - 1 New York Centrals Central Park Rink, New York City Two of the Mountain League's marquee clubs met at the Duck Pond last night in a rough-and-tumble encounter that saw the Nightmare turn what could have been a close game into a downright thriller as two rock-solid defences waited to see who blinked. As it turned out, it was New York, but up until that point it was a game well worth watching. The first period was full of energy and utterly bruising. The hit count for the game - 27-18 Seattle - tells the story of how these two teams played last night. Aware that New York's skill players such as Turner and Jephcott are more than a match for their own, Seattle opted to play turtle, hitting the Centrals hard and making them work for it. In many ways, the fact that only two penalties were awarded in the whole first period - Joe Warren of New York for hooking and Benn Laye of Seattle for high sticking - is a minor miracle. The only goal of the period was from Micah Turner, who converted a Chris Branigan one-timer into a goal in the seventeenth minute. The second period was scoreless - a testament to the brutal defenses of both teams. The third period, however, proved to be action-packed. The Centrals outshot the Nightmare, 8-7, but it was the Nightmare who scored twice: first left winger Morgan Jonsson scored on a breakaway to tie it up, then right winger Tyler Wappel crashed the net along with linemates Hale and Povilyagin to force a goal at the ten minute mark of the period. Michael Duchense, starting in his seventh game this season, was up to the task of holding off the late New York onslaught to ensure the win for Seattle and keep them atop the league. Next week on Center Ice: the Calgary Mustangs host interleague Canadian rivals the Charlottetown Islanders. |
12-14-2015, 07:39 AM | #44 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
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Sunday November 3rd - Saturday November 9th 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Injury ends the career of Whalers goalie (5/11/1985) When the New England Whalers goalie Midkhat Shagiakhmetov collapsed into the goalpost last night against the St. Paul Cardinals, the team were barely aware there was anything wrong. But when he was unable to get back onto his feet, the team became rapidly aware that something was amiss. The Hartford Civic Center's medical staff had to assist Midkhat from the ice as the goaltender was cradling his arm and wincing in pain. The diagnosis was a rupture of the ulnar collateral ligament - an injury to the elbow that has virtually ended the goaltender's career. Doctors have stated that he is unlikely to ever be able to play hockey again. Shagiakhmetov was the Whaler's starting goaltender since their departure from the WHA to this year when he began sharing the spot with Dave Scopelleti. Midkhat has two St. Lawrence Trophy wins with the Whalers in 1982 and 1983 and was Playoff MVP in 1983. Our thoughts are with him and his family as he faces an uncertain future. Scores: Sunday November 3rd 1985 Vancouver Giants 5 - 1 Colorado Eagles Montreal Champions 2 - 2 Ottawa Nationals New England Whalers 3 - 5 Charlottetown Islanders Michigan Stags 3 - 4 Toronto Aces Calgary Mustangs 1 - 2 Los Angeles Sharks Manitoba Vikings 2 - 3 Quebec Nordiques Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 - 6 San Francisco Arrows Monday November 4th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 0 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks Quebec Nordiques 2 - 0 Seattle Nightmare New York Centrals 5 - 0 Chicago Cougars St. Paul Cardinals 2 - 3 New England Whalers Toronto Aces 4 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 - 4 Montreal Champions Tuesday November 5th 1985 Manitoba Vikings 3 - 4 Michigan Stags Wednesday November 6th 1985 Colorado Eagles 3 - 4 Los Angeles Sharks Thursday November 7th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 2 - 4 Colorado Eagles New England Whalers 4 - 5 St. Paul Cardinals Michigan Stags 0 - 4 Los Angeles Sharks Vancouver Giants 6 - 2 New York Giants Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 4 Manitoba Vikings Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 2 San Francisco Arrows Quebec Nordiques 2 - 2 Toronto Aces Ottawa Nationals 4 - 1 Calgary Mustangs Montreal Champions 7 - 4 Chicago Cougars Friday November 8th 1985 New York Centrals 7 - 3 Toronto Aces Saturday November 9th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 2 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Center Ice Game of the Week: Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 2 Calgary Mustangs Federation Arena, Calgary The Mustangs hosted the Islanders tonight in a must-win match that fizzled out into a 2-2 draw. Calgary's predicted strength this year - their incredible defensive stocks - is also proving to be their weakness as their skill players are not deep enough to get the puck to the net consistently. One of those skill players - the excellent Filip Petersson - mustered up his 15th goal of the season at just under 4 minutes into the game to put the Mustangs 1-0 up, but after this the period would simply become a mess of penalties. Petersson had already scored on a powerplay - Pyotr Yegunov was in the box for just eight seconds on his cross-checking call when Petersson scored - but Larry Follmer and Sam Fiddler of the Mustangs both went in, as did Johan Jonsson and Bruce Richardson of the Islanders. And finally, Juraj Gajdos and Michael Lazaruk were shown the gate for fighting. Despite the welterweight of penalties, Petersson scored the only powerplay goal of the period. The second period saw better discipline and better skating that allowed the Islanders to take the lead just 6 minutes in. First, Billy Hodges - just 22 years old but already establishing himself as one of the league's elite with 30 points from 24 games - performed one of the smoothest dekes you ever will see to slide past Mustangs defender Kevin Dennis and get an easy shot on goal just 34 seconds into the period. And then Matias Malmivaara took the lead for the Islanders with a one-timer from a Dom St. Croix pass at the six minute mark. Near the end of the period, however, David Mazur got the equaliser for the Mustangs, a net-crashing and forceful effort that saw the makeshift left winger team up with Keli Green to push one past Fred Lind in goal. After that, however, both teams shut up shop entirely: only 19 further shots in 25 minutes of hockey punctuated a somewhat anti-climactic third period in which neither team found the back of the net. A match that the Mustangs needed to win was probably most notable for a lack of desperation to make the victory: other than the relentless Roman Vrzacek, there was no drive, no passion. The Mustangs seemed to be out for just another regular season game. The season may be long, but play like that is a sure way to ensure it doesn't get any longer. Next week of Center Ice Saturday, the Quebec Nordiques host the Colorado Eagles at Colisee Pepsi. |
12-14-2015, 05:24 PM | #45 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
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Sunday November 10th - Saturday Novemer 16th 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Champions lose Bowman to back spasms (14/11/1985) The plague of back problems that is troubling the Premier League claimed another victim last night as Montreal Champions left winger Kevin Bowman was taken from the ice complaining of back spasms in the game against the Vikings. Bowman's injury is likely to sideline him for up to four weeks. The Champions could ill afford the loss, locked in a fierce battle for the Mountain East. Bowman has scored 21 points in 24 games this season. Scores: Sunday November 10th 1985 Colorado Eagles 5 - 3 Toronto Aces Chicago Cougars 3 - 4 Michigan Stags Los Angeles Sharks 3 - 3 Calgary Mustangs Ottawa Nationals 2 - 3 San Francisco Arrows Montreal Champions 2 - 1 New York Centrals New England Whalers 4 - 0 Vancouver Giants Manitoba Vikings 4 - 2 St. Paul Cardinals Monday November 11th 1985 New York Centrals 3 - 3 Montreal Champions Quebec Nordiques 2 - 4 Colorado Eagles Vancouver Giants 5 - 6 New England Whalers St. Paul Cardinals 3 - 2 Charlottetown Islanders Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 6 Michigan Stags Tuesday November 12th 1985 Chicago Cougars 4 - 2 Seattle Nightmare Wednesday November 13th 1985 Michigan Stags 2 - 4 Charlottetown Islanders Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 3 New England Whalers St. Paul Cardinals 2 - 1 New York Centrals Thursday November 14th 1985 Vancouver Giants 5 - 2 Colorado Eagles Chicago Cougars 5 - 4 San Francisco Arrows Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 1 Seattle Nightmare Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 - 3 Toronto Aces Ottawa Nationals 3 - 7 New England Whalers Montreal Champions 2 - 2 Manitoba Vikings Friday November 15th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 3 - 5 Toronto Aces Quebec Nordiques 2 - 2 Vancouver Giants New York Centrals 0 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals Calgary Mustangs 1 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Saturday November 16th 1985 Charlottetown Islanders 3 - 4 New England Whalers Los Angeles Sharks 3 - 2 Seattle Nightmare Center Ice Game of the Week Colorado Eagles 7 - 2 Quebec Nordiques Colisee Pepsi, Quebec City For the second time this week, the Nordiques and Eagles met. On Monday, the Eagles had trounced the Nordiques in Denver, a 4-2 win off the back of a 3-goal final term and all-round excellent team play. In the days since that match, both teams had played the Vancouver Giants - the Eagles beaten 5-2 on Thursday, the Nordiques holding them to a 2-2 draw on Friday. Now, they met again, this time in Quebec City, for a rematch for the ages. The Nordiques, after a slow start to the season, went on a solid run through the middle of October to put them atop the fiercely competitive Mountain East with games in hand on the New York Centrals. The Eagles, meanwhile, had gone from being easybeats in the Mountain West to fiercely competitive, and a win tonight would see them atop their division for the first time all year. The Eagles came out and started as they meant to go on, when Ed Ray set up first Rhett Ellacott and then Josef Blazicek for goals at either end of the opening period. Left winger Ray is not a natural scorer - the veteran 35 year old New Jersey native has only scored 9 this year - but his clear vision on the ice has proved invaluable to the Eagles second line and he has now mustered up 13 assists for the year thus far. The Nordiques struggled for possession in the first and though they got 9 shots on net (to the Eagles 11), Derek Kelly was up for the challenge and kept them scoreless at the first break. Ellacott got his second of the night early in the second period on a powerplay after Olin Poplawski was sent to the box for tripping. Poplawski's discipline would be called into question when he was sent back to the box later for hooking, though Colorado failed to capitalise on that occasion. Not that they needed the powerplay. Sebastien Thompson and Gil Blanton, two of the Eagle's biggest stars, scored just fine at even strength. Thompson's goal brought his total points for the night to three, having already had secondary assists on both of Ellacott's goals. In the midst of it all, Justin von Deuehren managed to put Quebec on the board halfway through the period, but they went into the sheds for the second time 5-1 down and lacking any kind of momentum. They gained some of the initiative in the 3rd when Eric Woods went on a 2-on-1 breakaway with Jamie Hohmann and scored the Nords second goal of the night at 7:31 in the third. But Colorado piled on the pressure from there, and Gil Blanton not only got his second for the night but Ryan Cook scored at 18:55 to leave the game a 7-2 blowout in favour of the rampaging Eagles. At the start of the year, the Eagles - who had won three Harris Shields in a row in 1982, '83 and '84 - appeared to be the victims of their own poor succession planning and rapidly encroaching old age. Now, it seems like 1985 may have been a blip on their radar, and that this team of veteran stars may have just one more championship left in them. Next week in a special Friday night edition of Game of the Week, we head to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a game between the Stags and neighbouring rivals, the Toronto Aces. Last edited by monochameleon; 12-14-2015 at 05:25 PM. |
12-14-2015, 06:19 PM | #46 |
Minors (Double A)
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Sunday November 17th - Saturday November 23rd 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Montreal and St. Paul Make Trade (20/11/1985) The Champions and Cardinals made a swap this morning. Montreal sent depth centre Jamie Carrick (32) to St. Paul for Loik Morin, a 30-year old defender. Carrick, a New Brunswick native, scored 14 points with the Champions this year - something that they are apparently willing to exchange for the fast-skating, physical play offered by Morin. Josse Estramboz, GM of the Cardinals, said that they are hoping Carrick can help bolster St. Paul's scoring chances, as the Cards currently sit 13th in the league for goals scored. Noah Ness out with sprained wrist (22/11/1985) The Montreal Champions may live to regret trading away Jamie Carrick as first-line center Noah Ness sprained his wrist when he collided with the Chicago Cougar's Andrew MacAskill during the second period of last night's 4-1 loss to Chicago. Clint McConnell will take over first-line duties. Ness is expected to be out for at least a month, adding even more to the Champions injury woes after last week they lost winger Kevin Bowman. Scores: Sunday November 17th 1985 Vancouver Giants 3 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Calgary Mustangs 1 - 4 Colorado Eagles Ottawa Nationals 5 - 3 Seattle Nightmare Michigan Stags 3 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals Chicago Cougars 4 - 2 Montreal Champions Manitoba Vikings 2 - 4 Toronto Aces Monday November 18th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 4 - 2 Montreal Champions Toronto Aces 3 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks St. Paul Cardinals 0 - 2 Michigan Stags New York Centrals 3 - 6 New England Whalers Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 1 Chicago Cougars Vancouver Giants 0 - 4 Manitoba Vikings Quebec Nordiques 4 - 5 Calgary Mustangs Tuesday November 19th 1985 no games played Wednesday November 20th 1985 Colorado Eagles 3 - 1 San Francisco Arrows Los Angeles Sharks 0 - 0 Charlottetown Islanders New England Whalers 1 - 4 Chicago Cougars Calgary Mustangs 4 - 3 Michigan Stags Thursday November 21st 1985 Seattle Nightmare 4 - 1 Vancouver Giants Manitoba Vikings 3 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Friday November 22nd 1985 San Francisco Arrows 5 - 1 Ottawa Nationals Colorado Eagles 0 - 3 Charlottetown Islanders St. Paul Cardinals 6 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms New York Centrals 4 - 2 Los Angeles Sharks Quebec Nordiques 1 - 4 New England Whalers Montreal Champions 1 - 4 Chicago Cougars Saturday November 23rd 1985 Seattle Nightmare 0 - 2 Quebec Nordiques Center Ice Game of the Week Toronto Aces 3 - 2 Michigan Stags Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids The Michigan Stags, locked in a battle in the most competitive division in the league - Mountain East - have had a see-sawing sort of a week. The Stags went from a 3-3 draw with the Cardinals on Sunday only to beat them at home 2-0 on Monday, before losing on Wednesday to Calgary 4-3. After such a busy week, the Stags were looking tired when they finally skated out onto home ice against the Aces. Toronto, themselves finding competition fierce in the Atlantic East where they, the Whalers and the Islanders are engaged in a three-way tussle for the division championship, had a tie with LA and a win over the Vikings to prepare them for this clash and a little more rest. In many ways, that rest proved the difference. The Aces were the more physical team - they outhit the Stags 24-16. They were the faster team, they clearly had more energy, and they nearly doubled the Stags shots on net - 20-39. In the end, it was less a surprise that the Aces won, more just a surprise that they didn't win by more. The first period went scoreless, with one powerplay that Michigan failed to capitalise on. As soon as the Stags had a man in the box, though, the Aces made the most of it. Guy Roy teamed up with Emmanuel Desrochers to execute a perfect odd-man play in between the hashmarks and put a one-timer straight on net to get the powerplay marker. Within a minute, Desrochers was at it again, setting up Ben Magnus for the first of two goals for the period. The Stags Dylan MacCulloch scored at the 12 minute mark, but by the end of the period the score was 3-1 and the difference between the two teams could not be overstated. The Stags were skating with no energy, running shorter shifts and changing more often. The Aces, however, were content to run down the clock, and even though Thierry Lockett scored in the third for the Stags, the Aces never seriously looked threatened. With that one exception, Toronto's defence was solid against the exhausted Stags, and the time ran out with the score at 3-2. The Stags have a brief rest before getting stuck back into it with Lehigh Valley on Sunday before hosting Quebec on Monday. The Aces will complete their road trip with a game against Montreal on Monday before heading home to host Vancouver on Thursday. Next week on Center Ice, the Cougars host the Sharks at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. |
12-14-2015, 07:03 PM | #47 |
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Sunday November 24th - Saturday November 30th 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Ed Blandford out for a month (24/11/1985) The Vancouver Giants will lose right winger Ed Blandford for at least four weeks after he collided Clint McConnell of the Montreal Champions last night and sprained his wrist. Blandford, the Giants leading goal scorer this season, was "furious with himself" according to team trainers. Larry Walton goes to the Sharks (30/11/1985) The Michigan Stags have parted ways with veteran center Larry Walton (33), sending him to the Los Angeles Sharks. In return, the Sharks dealt Maxym Houde (RW, 31) to the Stags. The trade is seen by many in the league as a win for the Sharks, who are hoping to recover the second half of the season in hopes of a cup run this year. Walton has already scored 26 points in 32 games this year. Houde's 34 games have netted just 16 points, but Michigan's GM Benjamin Swetnam said that they believe Houde will be "part of the team for years to come." Premier League Hockey Player of the Month (30/11/1985) The Player of the Month for November is Justin Homer of the Manitoba Vikings. The 36-year old veteran winger has had an exceptional month, scoring 19 points and skating tirelessly for the Vikings in spite of his advancing age. The Michigan Stags Ethan Ljubicic was named Goaltender of the Month. Scores Sunday 24th November 1985 San Francisco Arrows 2 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals Chicago Cougars 2 - 7 Charlottetown Islanders Michigan Stags 4 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Colorado Eagles 3 - 0 Los Angeles Sharks Calgary Mustangs 4 - 1 Ottawa Nationals Manitoba Vikings 5 - 2 Seattle Nightmare New England Whalers 2- 7 New York Centrals Montreal Champions 2 - 5 Vancouver Giants Monday 25th November 1985 San Francisco Arrows 4 - 0 Calgary Mustangs Toronto Aces 2 - 4 Montreal Champions St. Paul Cardinals 4 - 7 Manitoba Vikings New York Centrals 5 - 1 Charlottetown Islanders Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 - 6 Ottawa Nationals Vancouver Giants 2 - 4 Los Angeles Sharks Quebec Nordiques 4 - 2 Michigan Stags Tuesday 26th November 1985 no games played Wednesday 27th November 1985 San Francisco Arrows 1 - 3 Seattle Nightmare Michigan Stags 5 - 3 Calgary Mustangs Los Angeles Sharks 1 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals Thursday 28th November 1985 New York Centrals 4 - 7 Calgary Mustangs Colorado Eagles 4 - 1 Ottawa Nationals Vancouver Giants 2 - 3 Toronto Aces Lehigh Valley Phantoms 6 - 4 New England Whalers Charlottetown Islanders 4 - 6 Chicago Cougars Manitoba Vikings 3 - 5 Montreal Champions Friday 29th November 1985 San Francisco Arrows 5 - 4 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Montreal Champions 2 - 5 Colorado Eagles Ottawa Nationals 2 - 5 St. Paul Cardinals Quebec Nordiques 1 - 5 Manitoba Vikings Saturday 30th November 1985 Seattle Nightmare 1 - 5 Michigan Stags Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals Center Ice Game of the Week Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 4 Chicago Cougars International Amphitheatre, Chicago If there has been a surprise this season, it's been the Chicago Cougars. A team who are rebuilding and just trying to remain competitive are sitting second in the Atlantic West and third in the Atlantic as a whole with the fourth best goals-for stat in the league. Things aren't perfect in Chicago - just this week they lost 7-2 to Charlottetown before beating the same team 4-6 so clearly they need to work on their defence - but the point stands that the Cougars are shaping up to be a team to beat and, given their remarkably low average age, they could well be a team to beat for some time to come. The LA Sharks are a surprise but in a totally different way. As we approach the halfway mark of the season, the Sharks - pre-season championship favourites - are languishing in last in the Mountain League and battling with Calgary to see who gets left out of the playoffs. Whatever the Sharks were hoping to happen hasn't happened, and for all their strength in goaltending they have been unable to put shots on net or stop them to any great degree. These two surprise packets met in Chicago last night and the result was - well, not all that surprising. True to present form rather than pre-season predictions, the Cougars ran through the Sharks 4-2 and furthered LA's problems for the season. Anthoni Labonte, one of the Cougar's veterans acquired in the New York Players dispersal draft, opened the scoring with a wrap-around, the end of four minutes of relentless pressure to open the game. The Cougars had come out with the clear plan to put the Sharks on the back foot straight away and boy did they succeed. It wasn't all good news for the Cougars - Milan Matz was given a game misconduct less than seven minutes in after arguing with the ref over a hooking call against him, which allowed Eric Nielsen to score for the Sharks on the powerplay. But the second period was all Chicago, and the home fans went wild. The Amphitheatre is the oldest building in the league and many complain that it is a cold, echoing barn. But when 19,000 pack in for a marquee game and the Cougars turn it on, it's one of the most atmospheric venues in hockey. Over the course of seven minutes in the second period, Tony Wacker, Adam Markup and Harlan Saworski all scored for the Cougars to put them at a 4-1 lead going into the third. Maxym Houde scored what would prove to be his last ever goal as a Shark in the third period, his tenth this season, to give the LA faithful hope. But it was not enough, and the expected momentum never came. The Cougars ran out winners 4-2 and solidified their standing near the top of the Atlantic League. The Sharks sink further into the Mountain basement and will have to impress in their home stand next week against Charlottetown and Ottawa to try and drag themselves out of it. Next week on Center Ice, New York host the Phantoms at the Duck Pond. |
12-14-2015, 08:16 PM | #48 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
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Sunday December 1st - Saturday December 7th 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Arrows Confirm Sale Rumours (4/12/1985) Despite an upturn in the Arrows' on ice fortunes over the last month, the team's owner, Martin Kapla, has come out an admitted that he is either looking to move the team out of San Francisco or looking for a buyer - who will likely be forced to do so. The Arrows Jameson Arena is considered one of the lowest quality arenas in the league, average attendance for the Arrows has fallen every year they have existed - and this after a team already folded in Jameson Arena in the 1960s, the Oakland Gold. A promised new arena is unlikely to materialise, and Kapla has stated that enough was enough. "When I bought the expansion franchise, I was assured by the league that they would help me make hockey work in San Francisco. I don't think this is likely. I would be happy to keep the team in California - maybe San Diego - but I think it's more likely we'll have to move east to have any real chance of success." Target cities are rumoured to include, along with San Diego, Oklahoma City, Regina and New Orleans. Scores: Sunday December 1st 1985 Toronto Aces 3 - 2 Quebec Nordiques Calgary Mustangs 3 - 1 Vancouver Giants Ottawa Nationals 4 - 2 Chicago Cougars Michigan Stags 0 - 1 Colorado Eagles New England Whalers 3 - 4 Montreal Champions Manitoba Vikings 2 - 3 San Francisco Arrows Monday December 2nd 1985 San Francisco Arrows 1 - 3 Toronto Aces Colorado Eagles 2 - 2 Calgary Mustangs St. Paul Cardinals 1 - 4 New York Centrals Vancouver Giants 1 - 6 Manitoba Vikings Lehigh Valley Phantoms 5 - 4 Seattle Nightmare Charlottetown Islanders 4 - 4 Los Angeles Sharks Quebec Nordiques 3 - 2 Montreal Champions Tuesday December 3rd 1985 Wednesday December 4th 1985 Thursday December 5th 1985 no games played Friday December 6th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 2 - 5 Calgary Mustangs Ottawa Nationals 4 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks New York Centrals 0 - 3 Vancouver Giants Montreal Champions 3 - 6 Michigan Stags Toronto Aces 3 - 1 New England Whalers St. Paul Cardinals 3 - 5 Quebec Nordiques Saturday December 7th 1985 Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 4 San Francisco Islanders Chicago Cougars 3 - 1 Toronto Aces Center Ice Game of the Week Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 2 New York Centrals Central Park Rink, New York The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, struggling at the bottom of the Atlantic East this year, met the New York Centrals tonight in a match that the league is hoping will soon attract as much ire and fire as the old Phantoms/Players match-ups of the 1970s. The Phantoms and the Centrals did a lot to live up to that hype when they played out this bloodbath that saw 36 minutes of penalties, 53 hits and 73 shots and yet still finished in a 2-2 draw. The Centrals rest atop the league for goals scored and powerplay percentage, so in many ways the Phantoms can emerge very proud that they stopped 31 shots and left the Centrals at zero for six on the man advantage. But then, after a brief flurry early in the game that saw them go up 2-0, the Phantoms never really looked like scoring again. After dominating the first two periods, they let the Centrals back in in the third and Zak Makin, who scored midway through the third to even up the game, seemed to score because it was inevitable. The second period would be remembered for the astonishing eight penalties - none complimentary - that punctuated it but on which neither team were able to score. Both of Lehigh Valley's goals came on the powerplay in the first period: one to Rasmus Bjorklund off a pass from Toby Fagerstrom, and another for Fagerstrom himself on a slap from the blue line. Next week we're back on Friday for the Ottawa Nationals visiting the troubled San Francisco Arrows. |
12-15-2015, 04:10 AM | #49 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
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Sunday December 8th - Saturday December 14th
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Injury Updates: Vikings, Stags, Nats hit with major injury concerns It's been a bad week for injuries in the Premier League of Hockey, with several major stars suffering major injury setbacks. Jamie Carrick, less than a fortnight after arriving in St. Paul from Montreal, sprained his ankle in the Cards match with the Nordiques and will miss up to three weeks. Steve Austin (RW) of the Manitoba Vikings was suffering back spasms after colliding with the goal during the game against the Calgary Mustangs and had to be benched, it now looks likely he will be out for at least four weeks - possibly the rest of the season. Michigan Stags star left winger Thierry Lockett will miss at least three weeks with strained triceps, but it was the Ottawa Nationals who will suffer the most after this week's run of injuries. First, rising star Walter Aldridge will miss at least 4 weeks with an elbow inflammation brought on after a bad fall to the ice. Aldridge was in the running for rookie of the year with 30 points this season. Just two days later, however, the news got worse when right winger Flynn Webb also suffered strained triceps that will put him out for a month. The Nats will be filling some holes, calling on their minor league affiliate the North Bay Knights to fill the gap. Major deals this week Two major trades were executed this week. First, the Arrows sent Adam Sigalet (LD, 30), Jared Kemp (LW, 23) and Braden Chamberlain (LW, 27) to the Chicago Cougars, and received Erik Soucek (G, 33) in exchange. Of the players involved only Sigalet has seen Premier League play, but both sides believe this is a trade for the future, and Chicago sources say they expect big things from Kemp in particular. In the east, the Whalers sent Dave Heinrichs (RD, 33), Skyler Mores (G, 29) and Eric Hebert (LW, 28) to the Quebec Nordiques, acquiring defenceman Juan Vargo (27). The jury is out on the quality of this deal: the depth acquired by the Nordiques is considerable, but the specific hole that the Whalers had is now filled. Scores: Sunday December 8th 1985 Vancouver Giants 1 - 4 Quebec Nordiques Montreal Champions 1 - 1 Seattle Nightmare Los Angeles Sharks 3 - 4 San Francisco Arrows Ottawa Nationals 2 - 4 Charlottetown Islanders Michigan Stags 2 - 3 New England Whalers Chicago Cougars 6 - 3 Colorado Eagles Manitoba Vikings 4 - 3 Calgary Mustangs Monday December 9th 1985 New York Centrals 3 - 1 Quebec Nordiques St. Paul Cardinals 5 - 4 Calgary Mustangs Vancouver Giants 1 - 3 Michigan Stags Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 - 4 Colorado Eagles Tuesday December 10th 1985 Toronto Aces 6 - 5 Ottawa Nationals New England Whalers 2 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Montreal Champions 2 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Wednesday December 11th 1985 Vancouver Giants 3 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Toronto Aces 2 - 4 Charlottetown Islanders Thursday December 12th 1985 Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4 - 3 Vancouver Giants Manitoba Vikings 4 - 3 Charlottetown Islanders Los Angeles Sharks 5 - 1 Quebec Nordiques Friday December 13th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 1 - 1 Chicago Cougars Calgary Mustangs 5 - 1 St. Paul Cardinals Colorado Eagles 2 - 4 Michigan Stags Montreal Champions 1 - 3 New England Whalers Saturday December 14th Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 3 New York Centrals Center Ice Game of the Week Ottawa Nationals 5 - 2 San Francisco Arrows Jameson Arena, San Francisco The Nationals came back from three losses this week to record a win against the Arrows - who, despite their front office troubles have been in better form in recent weeks than they had all year, finishing their recent run with a win against the LA Sharks on Monday. This Friday night showdown, however, was all Nationals. Though Sakari Malinen opened the scoring for the hosts, Ernest Mooneyham evened it up halfway through the first, and in the last minute of the first Marvin Terry and Mattias Ohman ran the exact same play twice in ten seconds, setting up first Ron McDowell and then Andreas Henriksen with silky passes to put the Nats up 3-1. In the middle period, Terry Brightman added to pain and Ron McDowell made it a brace to put the Nats up 5-1. Though Sean Halls scored his thirteenth goal of the season with just 10 seconds left in the game, this was far too little far too late and the Arrows walked away with a 5-2 loss. More concerning than this loss - their form has been consistent, after all - was the cavernous and echoing Jameson Arena. Neither good play nor the threat of losing their team in recent weeks has brought out the fans, and San Francisco is slowly becoming a hockey graveyard. If things don't turn around - and in a big way, and soon - the Arrows moving isn't just a possibility, it's an inevitability. Next week on Center Ice: the Seattle Nightmare attempt to arrest their decline in the standings when they visit the Champions in Montreal. |
12-15-2015, 05:46 AM | #50 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
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Sunday December 15th - Saturday December 21st 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS
Injuries Continue to Plague League Stars The Ottawa Nationals injury woes grew to what head coach Guy Sorotzky described as "practically comical" when right winger Andreas Henriksen strained a groin muscle. Now missing three of their major stars for up to a month, the Nationals enter into the business end of the season struggling for momentum. Meanwhile, Vancouver's medical staff confirmed that defender Bob Haguen will be out for three weeks with a torn meniscus. "This is not where I want to be or how I want to be feeling," the 35 year old Giant said. The biggest injury news of the week, however, was the Seattle Nightmare, who lost team goal and points leader Alexis Paquette for between six months and a year with a torn posterior cruciate ligament. Paquette was, reportedly, "gutted" by the news that he was out for the rest of the season in what had been a breakout year for the 28 year old. Coaching Changes After a long history of difficulty with the team's owners, the Chicago Cougars sent coach Ben Young packing on Sunday. Young, who had led the Cougars to second in the Atlantic League despite the young and inexperienced line-up he had to work with, said he was "not surprised" by his firing. "I think they viewed me as a building block," he said, "and now they want someone who can win them a championship. Might have been fun to see if I could do it." The Cougars replaced Young with Arni Por Alaykin, a former coach of the New York Players. Alaykin, 60 years old, said at his first press conference with the team: "I believe that we have what it takes to go all the way in this league. We have the talent, we have the will. We can challenge for the cup - not next year, not later, but right now." Other coaches whose jobs are under threat are Dan McLerie of the St. Paul Cardinals, Keith Muto of the Colorado Eagles and Ronald Dow of the San Francisco Arrows. Trades Shake Things Up for Christmas Two major trades took place this week. The Ottawa Nationals, increasingly desperate for healthy players to put on the ice, sent back up goaltenders Dewitt Sykes and Harry Armstrong to New England in exchange for Tom Mueller (LW) and 18-year old prospect Clay Smothers (RD). The Whalers, keen to locate a replacement for Midkhat Shagiakhmetov who was forced into retirement in early November, are expected to start Sykes in several games this season as a back-up for Dave Scopeletti. In one of the most baffling trades thus far this season, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms sent star forward Rasmus Bjorklund (33) to the Colorado Eagles in exchange for 35-year old defender Christopher Buckingham who, as of the trade, had not played a game all season for either Colorado or their minor league affiliate. A source close to the trade talks said the hope was to make a more significant deal, but this was what came out of it instead. We can only imagine what the more significant deal was, but we somehow don't think this was a fair compromise. Scores: Sunday December 15th 1985 Colorado Eagles 5 - 1 Toronto Aces Chicago Cougars 1 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals Michigan Stags 1 - 5 Seattle Nightmare Ottawa Nationals 4 - 2 Quebec Nordiques Calgary Mustangs 2 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Manitoba Vikings 3 - 2 Vancouver Giants New England Whalers 1 - 6 San Francisco Arrows Montreal Champions 3 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks Monday December 16th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 3 - 2 St. Paul Cardinals Charlottetown Islanders 7 - 2 Quebec Nordiques New York Centrals 1 - 2 Michigan Stags Toronto Aces 2 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Vancouver Giants 5 - 6 Chicago Cougars Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 - 5 Los Angeles Sharks Tuesday December 17th 1985 Colorado Eagles 4 - 7 New England Whalers Wednesday December 18th 1985 Calgary Mustangs 2 - 2 Manitoba Vikings Michigan Stags 4 - 6 Charlottetown Islanders St. Paul Cardinals 3 - 2 San Francisco Arrows Thursday December 19th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 3 - 5 Charlottetown Islanders Colorado Eagles 2 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Vancouver Giants 2 - 2 Montreal Champions New England Whalers 2 - 5 Ottawa Nationals Toronto Aces 2 - 2 Chicago Cougars Manitoba Vikings 2 - 4 Los Angeles Sharks Friday December 20th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 2 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks New York Centrals 4 - 3 Ottawa Nationals Quebec Nordiques 6 - 0 Calgary Mustangs Center Ice Game of the Week: Seattle Nightmare 0 - 6 Montreal Champions Mount Royal Arena, Montreal In a matter of a month, the Seattle Nightmare have gone from being ladder leaders to also-rans. The team who were dominant in October are, deep in December, just looking to remain competitive. The Montreal Champions tonight drove a few more nails into the coffin of the Nightmare's dominance with a 6-0 thrashing in front of 16,000 screaming fans in Mount Royal Arena. Kevin Bowman and Noah Ness celebrated their returns from injury with goals in the first period, and Bowman went on to have a ripper of a game, backing up his goal with two assists in the 6-0 drubbing. Nick Terreri scored two goals - one in the second and one in the third, while Erik Mather notched his sixteenth goal and twenty-third and twenty-fourth assists for season to leave him leading the Champions in all offensive categories. This is all to say nothing of Russel Card, who registered his first shutout of the year last night. Card has enjoyed a solid year since his dramatic departure from the Greenshirts, and last night's 22 saves was the perfect cap on that in a lot of ways. The fact that his performance could be said to be understated emphasises how much Montreal managed to dominate the Nightmare last night. The Nightmare put 22 shots on goal but never seemed to seriously threaten. There were no periods of long, applied pressure. They had six powerplay opportunities but never scored a goal with the man advantage. Part of this could be blamed on the Nightmare still being in shock over the season-long loss of their best forward, Alexis Paquette. But actually, this massive loss is just symptomatic of something that has been coming since long before the injury. The Nightmare have lost their menace. They have lost their fire. And they need to get it back if they want to have any chance of being a force come April and the playoffs. Next week on Center Ice: a Founding Four Rivalry when the Charlottetown Islanders visit Allentown to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. |
12-15-2015, 06:37 AM | #51 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
|
To those of you who are reading this league - first, thanks. Second - I'm looking for suggestions for expansion markets for the next season. The caveats are:
- Non-NHL markets in 1986 (note: in this alternative universe, Indianapolis and Houston joined the NHL instead of Quebec and Hartford). - One must be in the East and one must be in the West. Any and all help is appreciated, I'd love to see where you think the league should expand to in the new season. |
12-15-2015, 09:42 AM | #52 |
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: those blue remembered hills
Posts: 955
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Enjoying your reports. I've just bought FHM (really to support Markus, I'm a long-time OOTP player) but I intend to have a go at a fictional league set-up. A couple of questions if you don't mind: Do you act as commissioner or coach a team? do you watch any of the games or just sim? do you have minor leagues or just a reserve list. Thanks, and look forward to seeing your dynasty develop.
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12-15-2015, 04:30 PM | #53 | |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
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Quote:
This league has a minor league and a junior league of 12 teams to develop prospects in for the draft. Thanks for your questions and I'm glad you're enjoying the match reports. |
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12-16-2015, 06:27 AM | #54 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
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Sunday December 22nd - Saturday December 28th 1985
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Injuries This Week The Giants, the Phantoms and the Centrals will all suffer the loss of various stars for the next month, all ill timed as the teams prepare to run into the second half of the season. The Giants lose Andrew Ketteridge with a broken arm, suffered when he collided with the boards against San Francisco this week. Phantoms goaltender Joe Logan, who has started 21 games for Lehigh Valley this season, will be benched for 4 weeks with a shoulder complaint. And Nicky Jephcott, one of the leagues leading offensive powerhouses, will be out for three to four with back spasms, which became hard to control during the Centrals-Islanders game on Boxing Day. New York/Quebec Trade The day after Christmas saw the presents being packed up for several players in New York and Quebec City. The Centrals sent Ladislav Liksa (RW, 34), Danny Clapper (RD, 24) and Rich Albaugh (LW, 26) to the Nordiques in exchange for Ron Holt (C, 36). Though the media questioned whether the trade was made in response to the Jephcott injury, the Centrals denied this, saying it had been in the works for some time. Given Holt's return this year of just 5 points from 41 games, many have suggested that the prospects Clapper and Albaugh make this a strongly one-sided trade for the Nordiques benefit. Time will tell if any of the former Centrals can crack the big leagues, however. Scores Sunday December 22nd 1985 San Francisco Arrows 1 - 1 Vancouver Gaints Chicago Cougars 0 - 5 Quebec Nordiques Michigan Stags 3 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Toronto Aces 0 - 2 New York Centrals Calgary Mustangs 1 - 3 Seattle Nightmare Manitoba Vikings 7 - 4 Ottawa Nationals Colorado Eagles 3 - 2 St. Paul Cardinals Montreal Champions 2 - 2 Charlottetown Islanders Monday December 23rd 1985 New York Centrals 2 - 4 Los Angeles Sharks Quebec Nordiques 1 -1 Charlottetown Islanders Vancouver Giants 1 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Manitoba Vikings 4 - 5 Calgary Mustangs Toronto Aces 2 - 2 Michigan Stags St. Paul Cardinals 1 - 4 Chicago Cougars Tuesday December 24th 1985 Colorado Eagles 4 - 1 Quebec Nordiques Calgary Mustangs 3 - 2 Michigan Stags St. Paul Cardinals 2 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Wednesday December 25th 1985 no games played Thursday December 26th 1985 Vancouver Giants 0 - 1 Los Angeles Sharks Chicago Cougars 2 - 3 San Francisco Arrows Charlottetown Islanders 3 - 1 New York Centrals Montreal Champions 4 - 4 Seattle Nightmare New England Whalers 3 - 0 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Michigan Stags 1 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Friday December 27th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 4 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Toronto Aces 3 - 2 Colorado Eagles Quebec Nordiques 6 - 6 St. Paul Cardinals Saturday December 28th 1985 Seattle Nightmare 4 - 3 Ottawa Nationals Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 5 New York Centrals Center Ice Game of the Week Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Silence Arena, Allentown The Founding Four are some of the oldest teams in pro hockey, and have been playing together in the same league for nearly 90 years. And while that may not have much bearing on the quality of their play, it does mean that the rivalries between the Islanders, the Aces, the Phantoms and the Cougars is amongst the fiercest in the sports world. Therefore, it was unsurprising to see Silence Arena packed to the brim for the game tonight against the visiting Charlottetown team. They got a fierce show, too, reflective of the rivalry in question. Though the Phantoms have struggled to some degree this season, this match saw them lift and play at their most competitive. Petr Justa led off for the Phantoms, netting one at 13:23, deking out Dan Dubielewicz to put it in the back of the neck on the breakaway. The news was less goof for the Phatnoms later in the period: first, William Ekbom, the team's best penalty killer, was sent to the box for interference against Cedric Rutherford, opening the door for Matias Malmivaara to score on the powerplay. Then Derek Power scored his fifteenth goal of the season with just 30 seconds left in the period to put the Islanders up 2-1. The second period was a hard-fought, see-sawing effort in which neither team were able to gain any sort of advantage. The momentum seemed to swing to the home team early when Billy Hodges was put in the box for cross-checking, but they were unable to captalise at all. It wasn't until halfway through the third that anyone scored again: Petr Justa this time set defender Blake Zaporzan up as Justa, Zaporzan and Ekbom crashed the net and tied the game at 2-2. Matt MacKenzie, starting his 26th game this year, managed to hold on for his seventh tie, and shows the Phantoms that he may, after all, be up to replacing Joe Logan while he is out injured, keeping out 35 shots for a .949 save percentage. Next week, a Friday night special as the ladder-leading Manitoba Vikings host the struggling Ottawa Nationals. |
12-16-2015, 07:33 AM | #55 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
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Sunday December 29th 1985 - Saturday January 4th 1986
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Premier League Hockey Players Poll Results The PLH Players Association published the results of their first ever "players poll" on New Years Eve to celebrate the end of the first calendar year of Premier League Hockey. The results: Best Skater: Nicky Jephcott, New York Centrals Hardest Shot: Michal Vavra, San Francisco Arrows Smartest: Thorn Tramel, St. Paul Cardinals Toughest: Brayden Fraser, Lehigh Valley Phantoms Fastest: Matthew Kavanagh, Los Angeles Sharks Best Role Model: Matt Jobke, Seattle Nightmare Cleanest: Alex Mullen, Los Angeles Sharks Toughest goalie to beat: Matthew Kavanagh, Los Angeles Sharks Coach You'd Most Like to Play For: Arni Por Alaykin, Chicago Cougars The awards fly in the face of a few stats, with Harold Hawking (CHT), Colby Forehlich (VAN) and Tanner Simm (NYC) all having better save percentages than Kavanagh. And the selection of the practically brand-new coach of the Cougars as the Coach most players would like to play for has raised some eyebrows around the league's front offices. Major transactions for the New Year As the trade deadline closes in many clubs are beginning to try and organise what they believe will be playoff winning rosters. Firstly, the Los Angeles Sharks and Vancouver Giants completed a deal that will send Kevin Mackey (LW, 32), Ed Harrison (G, 24) and Mike MacTier (C, 19) to LA while Brian Morrow (C, 29) will have a new home in Vancouver. Though Morrow started for the Sharks this year he has spent the recent months with the Hollywood Pilots. Vancouver also got into another major trade, this one with the Colorado Eagles. The Giants sent right-winger Jack Gurston (32) to Denver while acquiring Filip Olander (LW, 33), Ken O'Foley (RW, 30) and Jim Pennington (C, 30) in a deal likely to send the Saskatoon Blades to the playoffs in the American Minor Hockey League moreso than effect the play of the Giants. PHL Player of the Month Rewarded for an excellent December after slowing down a bit in November, Trevor Spivak of the Ottawa Nationals said he was honoured to be named the PLH Player of the Month. The NY Central's Burt Magee was named Goalie of the Month. Changes at the SF Arrows Front Office The still-for-the-moment San Francisco Arrows have parted ways with GM Paul Perkins, apparently on reasonably good terms. Perkins said: "I think the team is going one way and I'm going another. It's the way it goes sometimes and I hope I've been part of building a powerful franchise, wherever it ends up." Perkins has been replaced with Victor Aiken, formerly GM of the Arrows' minor league affiliate the Bayside Hawks. Sunday December 29th 1985 Colorado Eagles 3 - 2 Vancouver Giants Quebec Nordiques 1 - 2 Seattle Nightmare Los Angeles Sharks 1 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Chicago Cougars 2 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Montreal Champions 6 - 4 San Francisco Arrows Calgary Mustangs 5 - 5 Toronto Aces Michigan Stags 1 - 3 New England Whalers Monday December 30th 1985 San Francisco Arrows 2 - 5 Manitoba Vikings Toronto Aces 3 - 2 New England Whalers New York Centrals 1 - 2 Colorado Eagles Chicago Cougars 2 - 3 Ottawa Nationals Vancouver Giants 0 - 4 Charlottetown Islanders St. Paul Cardinals 2 - 5 Montreal Champions Tuesday December 31st 1985 Wednesday January 1st 1986 no games played Thursday January 2nd 1986 Montreal Champions 4 - 4 Charlottetown Islanders Friday January 3rd 1986 San Francisco Arrows 3 - 4 Colorado Eagles Michigan Stags 1 - 4 Quebec Nordiques New York Centrals 3 - 0 Toronto Aces New England Whalers 5 - 1 Chicago Cougars St. Paul Cardinals 4 - 2 Los Angeles Sharks Vancouver Giants 1 - 0 Calgary Mustangs Lehigh Valley Phantoms 0 - 5 Seattle Nightmare Saturday January 4th 1986 Seattle Nightmare 1 - 1 Los Angeles Sharks Charlottetown Islanders 0 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Center Ice Game of the Week Ottawa Nationals 0 - 4 Manitoba Vikings Manitoba Technical House, Winnipeg The Vikings, a little over halfway into the season, are 10 points clear at the top of the league. A record of 31-9-7 has them on 69 points being chased by the Eagles and possibly the Islanders. After that, just 13 points separate the fourth-placed Nightmare (50) from the last placed Giants (37). There are few leagues that are so competitive and tight in the history of major league sports, so how is it that the Vikings are so far out in front? For one, good teamwork. Justin Homer, Jonathan Gagnon and Marcus Loow are all in the midst of career years, giving the Vikings three players in the top 10 for assists and two in the top ten for points. When the dominant Gagnon and Loow came down injured, Homer stepped up and now leads the league in points by 6 over Billy Hodges. The team leads the league in goals, goals per game, goals against, goals against per game, shots per game and shots against per game. They are an all round hockey club and they are, as a result, miles ahead. And on Friday night, they showed exactly the talents that have got them to this position in a 4-0 blanking of the Ottawa Nationals. As if on cue, all the team's stars - not just Homer and Gagnon but Woombil, Gray and goaltender Manny Lopera as well - fired up for the home crowd. Lopera's shutout was remarkable but moreso is the fact that he is merely part of a goaltending tandem - one of that most difficult of balancing acts for a coach - with Ryan McIsaac. Lopera's record of 15-5 is excellent but the young McIsaac's 14-4 means that no matter who the Vikings have in goal, it won't be an easy time for the opposition. The Vikings four unanswered goals came from Charles Martel, Justin Homer, Jonathan Gagnon and Ryan Huddy, and they all came from well-set plays orchestrated by Chris Miller, the team's second year coach. This team is a well-oiled machine and provided a stark contrast to the Nationals who looked practically lost out on the ice. The Vikings have firmed into unbackable favourites to win the Premier's Trophy and have the depth and experience to back it up to win at least the St. Lawrence Trophy, if not going on to the Phillips as well. Next week we're on Friday again to see the Toronto Aces take on the Montreal Champions in another all-Canada showdown. |
12-16-2015, 05:35 PM | #56 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
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Sunday January 5th - Saturday January 11th 1986
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Colorado shows Keith Muto the door Keith Muto, coach of the Colorado Eagles, has been let go by the Eagles. Despite a season which sees Colorado sitting atop the Mountain League and building momentum at the right time of year, Muto has found himself looking for work. The Eagles have poached Doug Richmond, coach of the Toronto Reds in the AMHL, to take his place. We would suggest to Keith Muto that the Toronto Aces organisation will therefore probably have a place for him. Scores Sunday January 5th 1986 Toronto Aces 0 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals Calgary Mustangs 4 - 2 Ottawa Nationals New England Whalers 5 - 3 Colorado Eagles Montreal Champions 2 - 1 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Chicago Cougars 2 - 3 New York Centrals Michigan Stags 4 - 3 Vancouver Giants Monday January 6th 1986 San Francisco Arrows 1 - 0 Quebec Nordiques Chicago Cougars 0 - 4 Montreal Champions St. Paul Cardinals 0 - 2 Toronto Aces New York Centrals 2 - 5 Seattle Nightmare Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 1 Ottawa Nationals Vancouver Giants 4 - 1 Charlottetown Islanders Los Angeles Sharks 6 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Tuesday January 7th 1986 Colorado Eagles 3 - 2 San Francisco Arrows Wednesday January 8th 1986 Ottawa Nationals 1 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 0 Chicago Cougars Calgary Mustangs 3 - 2 New England Whalers Michigan Stags 1 - 3 Toronto Aces Thursday January 9th 1986 Colorado Eagles 0 - 1 Seattle Nightmare Manitoba Vikings 1 - 3 Charlottetown Islanders New England Whalers 3 - 3 Calgary Mustangs Montreal Champions 2 - 3 Vancouver Giants Friday January 10th 1986 San Francisco Arrows 1 - 1 Charlottetown Islanders Ottawa Nationals 4 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals New York Centrals 1 - 4 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Quebec Nordiques 6 - 2 Manitoba Vikings Saturday January 11th 1986 Seattle Nightmare 5 - 2 Michigan Stags Center Ice Game of the Week Toronto Aces 2 - 3 Montreal Champions Mount Royal Arena, Montreal The Mountain East division has ended up being breathtakingly competitive this season, with just three points separating last (Michigan Stags, 21-22-6 for 48) and first (Quebec Nordiques, 21-18-9 for 51). The banner for Mountain East Division Champs could still go to any of the four teams and the Montreal Champions are very keen that it go to them. The Atlantic East is a little more flexible - the Islanders hold a lead on 55 points but the Aces have five games in hand on them on 54 points and the Whalers have six in hand with 52, so look for that division to shoot up and down as well. With all that in mind, there was definitely a lot on the line when the Aces met the Champions on Friday night at the Royal. These two teams had a pre-made grudge match after Randy Reynolds and Russ Card swapped teams at the start of the year, so there was already plenty of fan and player interest even before the ladder implications came into it. Erik Mather extended his great season - he leads the Champions in all offensive categories - by opening the scoring for Montreal off an assist from Noah Ness. Ness then scored himself, showing that despite the injuries that have interrupted his season he is still a force to be reckoned with. As if this needed underlining, he then scored on a powerplay early in the second to put the Champions up 3-0 and leave the Aces wondering what kind of truck had hit them. Perhaps the most telling statistic is the shots on goal: in the first period, Montreal put 20 shots on net to the Aces' 8. In the second, it evened out to 12-13, but it wasn't until the final session that the Aces dominated possession at all, winning in shots 13-5. Reflective of their play in the third period was the fact that Toronto finally managed to score - and twice, at that. Brian Kelly scored on a powerplay (Paul Pearson, high sticking) and then Simon Svensson scored at evens to bring the Aces within a goal. But they never scored the equaliser - despite backup goalie Vojtech Baron being in net, the Champions were able to hold off the fast finishing Aces and keep themselves in the race for the Mountain East, while the Aces will be looking closely at the New England Whalers for the next few games to see if they can raise a banner come April. Next week on Center Ice: we head to Denver where the Ealges and their new coach Doug Richmond face off with the Michigan Stags in a Mountain League classic grudge match. |
12-16-2015, 06:44 PM | #57 |
Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 114
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Sunday January 12th - Saturday January 18th 1986
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Injuries hit Giants, Nightmare Injury concerns for Seattle and Vancouver this week as both teams lost start defencemen. The Nightmare will go into February without Harold McNary, who strained a hip muscle and will miss as many as three weeks. Bob Haugen of the Giants is suffering from a cervical hyper extension and will probably miss the same length of time. Haugen's experience will be sorely missed by the Giants as the 35 year old veteran begins to show signs of age. Trade and Free Agency for Chicago, St. Paul The Cardinals and the Cougars announced a trade on Monday morning as St. Paul sent Frederik Fallesen (LW, 31) to Chicago in exchange for Harry McKinning (G, 31). McKinning has lost 2 of 3 starts for the Cougars this season and is 11-15 with 1 shutout for Tampa Bay in the AMHL. Fallesen, meanwhile, has been a solid third liner for the Cardinals all year and has 28 points from 51 games. The Cougars also became active in the free agent market by signing 28 year old goaltender Samuel Turnbull to fill the newfound space on their goaltending staff. Arrows Show Ronald Dow the door The San Francisco Arrows sent Ronald Dow packing after repeated clashes with the management and owner. Dow, a vocal advocate of the team staying in San Francisco, improved the Arrows from 0-6 after six to 23-24-5 at the current time, but the coaching ability appears to have been less of an issue than his loud and vocal disagreements with the team. Dow has been replaced with Brandon Jackson, called up from Junior Hockey Canada club the Charlotte Checkers. Jackson described the role as "a dream job" - one that will almost include the stress of overseeing his new team's move to a new city. Scores Sunday January 12th 1986 Vancouver Giants 2 - 4 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Ottawa Nationals 2 - 5 Chicago Cougars Manitoba Vikings 1 - 2 San Francisco Arrows Toronto Aces 3 - 0 Calgary Mustangs Quebec Nordiques 1 - 4 New York Centrals Los Angeles Sharks 0 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals Colorado Eagles 4 - 2 New England Whalers Michigan Stags 6 - 8 Montreal Champions Monday January 13th 1986 San Francisco Arrows 2 - 5 Quebec Nordiques Charlottetown Islanders 1 - 3 Chicago Cougars New York Centrals 6 - 3 Colorado Eagles New England Whalers 5 - 2 Seattle Nightmare Vancouver Giants 1 - 2 Calgary Mustangs Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 - 3 Toronto Aces Tuesday January 14th 1986 no game played Wednesday January 15th 1986 Toronto Aces 2 - 3 New York Centrals Los Angeles Sharks 5 - 3 Montreal Champions Colorado Eagles 5 - 2 Vancouver Giants Michigan Stags 3 - 5 Manitoba Vikings Thursday January 16th 1986 Seattle Nightmare 4 - 3 San Francisco Arrows New England Whalers 2 - 1 Vancouver Giants Charlottetown Islanders 3 - 8 St. Paul Cardinals Chicago Cougars 1 - 2 Toronto Aces Ottawa Nationals 4 - 4 Montreal Champions Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 3 Quebec Nordiques Friday January 17th 1986 San Francisco Arrows 3 - 5 New England Whalers Quebec Nordiques 1 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Colorado Eagles 6 - 5 Manitoba Vikings Calgary Mustangs 2 - 4 New York Centrals Saturday January 18th 1986 Seattle Nightmare 2 - 5 Ottawa Nationals Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 3 Vancouver Giants Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 3 Montreal Champions Center Ice Game of the Week Michigan Stags 0 - 0 Colorado Eagles Whitefall Arena, Denver In one of the most bizarre games all season, the Stags and Eagles played out a horrendously anti-climactic showdown at Whitefall Arena, leaving the arena without having lit the lamp once. A 0-0 draw that was a fine effort from goaltenders James Bradley of the Stags and Marcus Malm of the Eagles - both of them backups - but that also saw the usually potent Eagles offence completely disappear and the Stags completely fail to capitlaise on three powerplay chances. The Eagles new coach, Doug Richmond, said in a press conference after the game that he was "bitterly disappointed" in his team's performance. "We took 27 shots on goal and couldn't get one of them in," he said. "This is a team who can do the basics so well and tonight, we just failed in that regard." Next week on Center Ice, it's Thursday Night Hockey as the Whalers and the Mustangs do battle in Calgary. |
12-16-2015, 08:53 PM | #58 |
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Sunday January 19th - Saturday January 25th 1986
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Transactions this week The trade deadline is less than a month away and the clubs of the Premier League are feeling it. Colorado got Dan Gardener (RD, 30) and sent the Sharks Steve Parker (LW, 27), and the Mustangs sent Jason McIlleriach (LW, 29) to Ottawa for Mark Shaw (LD, 27). But these were all minor league trades. The big news was in two other deals. The Nationals, perhaps flush from their trade with the Mustangs, sent Andreas Henriksn, Daniel Johnson and Bryce Lott to Vancouver, getting Bob Haugen - a still-injured Bob Haugen at that. Haugen, a star in the twilight of his carer, would want to lead the Nationals to the Cameron Phillips Trophy to be worth the same as Andreas Henriksen, a rising star left winger. In the other major league trade, Chicago sent Tony Wacker (RW, 33) and Joe Miles (RW, 19) to Montreal while the Champions sent Jan Beck (RW, 29) and Vojtech Baron (G, 33) to the Cougars. Baron is 6-8-4 from 19 this year and will step into the void left by Henrik Jensen's recurring back injuries. League goal leader out with injury The Calgary Mustang's star left winger Filip Petersson (32-27 from 55 this year) will miss three weeks with triceps tendinitis. The left winger said, "I hate not being able to be out there helping my team. I'm paid to play hockey, not rest and rehab. It's extremely frustrating." San Francisco finds a new home After much debate and back room deals, the Arrows have a new home. A group of investors out of Portland, Oregon have purchased the team and the franchise will relocate to Portland for the 1986/87 season. Kapla will retain a 44% stake in the team as part of Northwestern Hockey Ltd. A moniker for the team has not yet been chosen but Portland Bears and Portland Shadows are both believed to be favourites. The Arrows will retain a presence in San Francisco, however, with the team's minor league affiliate to be rebranded with the Arrows current logo, name and uniforms. Scores Sunday January 19th 1986 Toronto Aces 8 - 1 San Francisco Arrows Calgary Mustangs 1 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals New England Whalers 3 - 3 Quebec Nordiques Manitoba Vikings 1 - 1 Michigan Stags Chicago Cougars 5 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Monday January 20th 1986 Seattle Nightmare 2 - 2 New England Whalers Vancouver Giants 3 - 4 Ottawa Nationals Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 - 4 St. Paul Cardinals San Francisco Arrows 2 - 3 Calgary Mustangs Charlottetown Islanders 4 - 4 Colorado Eagles New York Centrals 3 - 4 Chicago Cougars Toronto Aces 2 - 5 Manitoba Vikings Tuesday January 21st 1986 no games played Wednesday January 22nd 1986 Calgary Mustangs 1 - 7 Montreal Champions St. Paul Cardinals 1 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Michigan Stags 1 - 3 Quebec Nordiques Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 3 Colorado Eagles Thursday January 23rd 1986 Vancouver Giants 0 - 3 San Francisco Arrows Charlottetown Islanders 0 - 3 Toronto Aces Montreal Champions 1 - 3 New York Centrals Ottawa Nationals 1 - 2 Seattle Nightmare Manitoba Vikings 0 - 1 Chicago Cougars Friday January 24th 1986 New York Centrals 6 - 5 San Francisco Arrows Colorado Eagles 0 - 2 St. Paul Cardinals Quebec Nordiques 5 - 1 Vancouver Giants Saturday January 25th 1986 Los Angeles Sharks 3 - 4 Toronto Aces Center Ice Game of the Week New England Whalers 5 - 1 Calgary Mustangs Federation Arena, Calgary The Mustangs and the Sharks have been left to duke it out to see who gets left out of the ridiculous new playoff format that will see all but two teams - one Mountain, one Atlantic - reach the postseason. This format may make sense when the league expands but at the moment it makes the regular season look decidedly anti-climactic with division titles being all there really is to play for. The Whalers, meanwhile, appear to be the team most likely to dethrone the Aces from the top of the Atlantic East and as such are very focussed on their pennant race to ensure they get something to put in the rafters this year. The Whalers closed in on the Aces tonight when Dewitt Sykes, registering his seventh win from 11 starts with the Whalers this season (prior to being traded he won just one of 11 with the Nationals), held the Mustangs to 1 goal and gave his teammates the confidence to go n the attack - which they did. While David Bodie of the Mustangs scored the first goal of the game - on a powerplay handed to Radek Kovalovsky for unsportsman like conduct - the Mustangs never looked close again. Terry Lowe scored a brace and an assists, Tyler Wheeler got two helpers and Benjamin Suffa went 1 and 1 to put the Whalers up 5-1 at the end of the game. The Mustangs look lost without Filip Petersson, their leading scorer, and were never able to penetrate the Whalers defence after that first goal. The Mustangs may decide now to close up shop for the season and concentrate on getting the right mix for next year. Next week we're back on Saturday night when the St. Paul Cardinals visit the New York Centrals. |
12-16-2015, 10:30 PM | #59 |
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Sunday January 26th - Saturday February 1st 1986
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
Transactions of the Week In a blockbuster trade, the Colorado Eagles sent veteran star Rhett Ellacott (C, 36) to the Toronto Aces in exchange for some added depth with Glenn Suiter (G, 34), Brent Murdock (C, 22) and Lukas Janicek (RW, 24). Ellacott, a long time star for the Eagles, was a surprise trade offer, but Colorado are reportedly happy with the swap, which netted them young potential in Janicek. Murdock never even got to Colorado before the Eagles traded him on, along with Lee Lowe (C, 18) and Derek Kelly (G, 27) for Anton Nyrkov (C, 29) of the Vancouver Giants. In possibly the most one-sided trade this season, Nyrkov has scored 12 points in 60 games while Derek Kelly leads all the league's goaltenders in wins. Finally, the Chicago Cougars acquired Jon Russel (LD, 24) from the Eagles, who got Terrance Gyrba (C, 29), Jared Kemp (LW, 23) and Lukas Axelsson (C, 20) for their troubles. In contract news, Jamie Carrick (C, 32) resigned with the St. Paul Cardinals. He has scored 14 points in 23 games since being traded to Minnesota from Montreal. Scores Sunday January 26th 1986 Colorado Eagles 3 - 4 Charlottetown Islanders Chicago Cougars 1 - 3 Vancouver Giants Manitoba Vikings 2 - 6 Montreal Champions Ottawa Nationals 1 - 3 Toronto Aces Calgary Mustangs 2 - 2 Quebec Nordiques Los Angeles Sharks 1 - 5 Seattle Nightmare New England Whalers 3 - 5 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Michigan Stags 3 - 5 St. Paul Cardinals Monday January 27th 1986 New York Centrals 7 - 3 Michigan Stags Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 5 Manitoba Vikings St. Paul Cardinals 5 - 6 Colorado Eagles Vancouver Giants 3 - 1 Chicago Cougars Quebec Nordiques 3 - 2 San Francisco Arrows New England Whalers 3 - 2 Charlottetown Islanders Montreal Champions 4 - 5 Calgary Mustangs Tuesday January 28th 1986 no games played Wednesday January 29th 1986 Colorado Eagles 2 - 3 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Los Angeles Sharks 2 - 2 San Francisco Arrows Calgary Mustangs 5 - 2 New York Centrals St. Paul Cardinals 2 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Michigan Stags 4 - 3 Chicago Cougars Thursday January 30th 1986 Charlottetown Islanders 2 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 - 2 Vancouver Giants Toronto Aces 3 - 7 Quebec Nordiques Montreal Champions 2 - 3 Ottawa Nationals New England Whalers 4 - 1 Seattle Nightmare Friday January 31st 1986 New York Centrals 0 - 0 Quebec Nordiques Colorado Eagles 2 - 3 Chicago Cougars Saturday February 1st 1986 Charlottetown Islanders 0 - 3 San Francisco Arrows Calgary Mustangs 2 - 2 Los Angeles Sharks Center Ice Game of the Week St. Paul Cardinals 0 - 1 New York Centrals Central Park Rink, New York The Centrals finally cracked the top of the Mountain East - now the challenge for them will be to hold on. They made a good start at it last night by winning a thriller at home, and the credit can be heaped at the feet of goaltender Tanner Simm. In just five starts at Central Park Rink this year, he has 2 shut outs, a remarkable record. In this case, the shutout came despite the fury of a St. Paul team trying desperately to gain ground on the Colorado Eagles in the race for the Mountain West. The Cardinals had three powerplay opportunities, on which they were unable to score. Zak Makin of the Centrals netted one at 5:07 of the third period - with Nicky Jephcott, back from injury, scoring his 40th assist of the season - to put the Centrals up 1-0, a scoreline that remained for the rest of the game. The Centrals turned up their play after that - landing nine hits in the last period to finish the game with a 13-23 hit count. The Centrals piled on pressure and outshot the Cards in the last period 13-10 after trailing the shot count all game. And Simm was a complete brick wall in goal. It was a close game and the Cardinals may feel unlucky to lose it. But as we close in on the playoffs, it's worth remembering that sometimes it's that luck that you need, and somehow it finds the better teams. The Centrals now need to stick to their guns and finish strongly to give themselves momentum for the playoffs. Next week on Center Ice, the Sharks host the Nordiques in LA. |
12-17-2015, 10:09 PM | #60 |
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Sunday February 2nd - Saturday February 8th 1986
PREMIER LEAGUE HOCKEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
One week to the trade deadline With the trade deadline on Saturday the 15th, teams across the league are frantically trying to put together the right team to challenge in the playoffs. Several major deals went down this week, but two will standout, both involving the Chicago Cougars. In the first, the Manitoba Vikings sent John Eyar (LD, 32), Kevin Garrison (LD, 33), Leigh McCoach (RW, 30) and Scott Whalen (LD, 25) to Chicago. In exchange, the Cougars packedRasmus Pettersson (LD, 27) and Henrik Jensen (G, 25) off to Winnipeg. Before the dust had settled on Chicago trading away their best goaltender, a second deal saw the Cougars acquire Dan Dubielewicz from the Islanders in exchange for Bob Washington (RD, 30). While the latter trade was clearly excellent, the wisdom of essentially swapping Jensen (15-15-12) for Dubielewicz 15-24-9) seems questionable at best. Next year will probably tell which of these two young goaltenders was the better pick for these two clubs. McLerie Out at the Cardinals The St. Paul Cardinals have let go of coach Dan McLerie in spite of a winning season. Though McLerie described his own performance as "under-par" at a press conference this afternoon, speculation remains as to why he was fired given the Cardinals solid recovery after a poor start to the year. Randy Randolph was announced on Friday as the new coach of the Cards, for whom he was formerly a scout. Scores Sunday February 2nd 1986 Vancouver Giants 4 - 7 St. Paul Cardinals New England Whalers 2 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks Manitoba Vikings 3 - 2 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Toronto Aces 2 - 0 Seattle Nightmare Chicago Cougars 5 - 1 Calgary Mustangs Ottawa Nationals 2 - 5 San Francisco Arrows Montreal Champions 3 - 2 Michigan Stags Monday February 3rd 1986 New York Centrals 3 - 3 Manitoba Vikings Colorado Eagles 3 - 2 New England Whalers St. Paul Cardinals 4 - 3 Michigan Stags Vancouver Giants 1 - 0 Seattle Nightmare Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 1 Quebec Nordiques Charlottetown Islanders 1 - 5 Ottawa Nationals Montreal Champions 3 - 4 Toronto Aces Tuesday February 4th 1986 no games played Wednesday February 5th 1986 San Francisco Arrows 7 - 3 Montreal Champions St. Paul Cardinals 4 - 5 Vancouver Giants New England Whalers 3 - 0 Manitoba Vikings Calgary Mustangs 1 - 2 Michigan Stags Thursday February 6th 1986 Seattle Nightmare 1 - 6 Quebec Nordiques Chicago Cougars 0 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks Manitoba Vikings 4 - 0 Colorado Eagles Charlottetown Islanders 0 - 5 New England Whalers Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2 - 1 Michigan Stags Toronto Aces 5 - 6 Ottawa Nationals Montreal Champions 5 - 3 St. Paul Cardinals Friday February 7th 1986 San Francisco Arrows 4 - 2 Toronto Aces New York Centrals 4 - 2 Ottawa Nationals Saturday February 8th 1986 Seattle Nightmare 2 - 2 Vancouver Giants Center Ice Game of the Week Quebec Nordiques 3 - 3 Los Angeles Sharks Memorial Forum, Los Angeles The Sharks, desperate to avoid missing the playoffs and to relegate Calgary to that unfortunate distinction, have begun to look exceptionally desperate and this week called up Isak Hederberg, their third goaltender, to replace their struggling starters Kurka and Kavanagh. And it has paid off for them: Hederberg, who has led the Hollywood Pilots to the top of the AMHL with a 19-9-6 record this season, has a win and a tie in his first two games in the majors. Neither team could get on the board in the first period but Nathaniel Alderson and Vincent Lachance traded markers in the second to put the teams at 1-1. Alderson scored on a powerplay chance when Jim Morris was pinged for boarding, while Lachance had to put his in the hard way. Alderson and Lachance both got their seconds in the first ten minutes of the third period, with Martin Weaver assisting on both of Alderson's goals. Vincent Lachance suddenly finding his scoring touch is good news for LA as Lachance has struggled all season in putting the puck on net. Daulton Berk scored his ninth goal of the season to put the Sharks up 3-2 with eight minutes left in the last frame, but Filip Sevcik got it back at 16:00 on a breakaway to leave the game tied at 3-3. Despite 1:05 powerplay in overtime, the Nordiques were unable to break the deadlock, and the teams were left to split the points. Next week, the Eagles visit Allentown to play the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. |
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