Wolves split weekend games

The Chicago Wolves split their games this weekend, with a road win Saturday at the Carver Center in Peoria and a road loss at the Toyota Center in Houston.

In the win over the Peoria Rivermen, Spencer Machacek had a three point night, including a power play goal, with eight shots on goal. Chicago stopped a Riverman 5:3 advantage for a minute in the second frame and led in shots on goal in each period of play to win the game 4-1. The win went to Robert Gherson with 20 saves, Manny Legace received the loss with 31 saves.

On Sunday afternoon, in Houston, Machacek had a two goal night and Mike Hamilton had five shots on goal. But Houston dominated the first tow periods of play, racking a 3-1 goal advantage. Going into the final period of play, the Wolves scored once on 16 shots on goal. But the Aeros, with just five shots on goal, scored again, to stay ahead.

Corey Locke of the Aeros was credited with a goal and an assist in the game. Kurtis Foster was credited with two points. Ondrej Pavelec received the loss with 29 saves. Barry Brust received the win with 30 saves.

It was a split decision weekend for the Rockford IceHogs also. They played both games at home.

In a Saturday night game at the MetroCentre, the Rochester Americans gave the Hogs a 4-3 win. The Amerks and the IceHogs are both near the bottom of the league with regard to their net special teams goals, from the table I'm presenting at the Chitowndailynews site (Blogger doesn't like tables):



Rockford gave the Amerks two 5:3 opportunities in this game, and the Amerks were unable to score on either. The Amerks dominated in shots on goal until the third period of play, but it was the Hogs who found the back of the net. Mike Brodeur started in net for the Americans, he was drilled out of the net at 1:38 in the second period on the third unanswered goal by the IceHogs. His nine saves were marked for the loss. Tyler Plante took over from there for the Rochester team, with 17 saves. The win went to Corey Crawford with 33 saves.

It seems odd to me that a team floundering in the offense would blame their loss on a goalie, as the Amerks implicitly did on Saturday when they replaced Brodeur. Clearly there is more going wrong, from shots on goal (defense) to a terrible offense. That's all clear in the table above. A goalie isn't going to stand a chance if no one is standing out front with him, throwing their body in front of shots.

Danny Groulx was credited with two points on the night. Pascal Pelletier had six shots on goal, but no points and Jack Skille had five shots on goal but no points.

In the Monday matinée game, the San Antonio Rampage took the IceHogs 4-3 in a hard fought battle. Two fights between bruisers Sean McMorrow and Francis Lessard marked the game. San Antonio took a 3-0 lead in the first frame with two goals by Kyle Turris and a goal by Dylan Reese.

The Hogs came back with a goal by Groulx. But it was answered by Kevin Porter in the early third frame. Rockford pressured the Rampage, putting 13 shots on net in the final 20 minutes, and scoring two goals in the process. But the Rampage were able to hold the Hogs scoreless for the final eleven minutes to win. Crawford was credited with 20 saves in the loss. Josh Tordjman, the game winner, was credited with 27 saves.

Skille racked up seven shots on goal, but came away pointless again. Tim Brent had a three point night with two goals and an assist. Petri Kontiola had two points. Turris had three points for the night, adding an assist to his first period blowout. Porter and Reese had two point nights with a goal and an assist each. David Spina also had a two points for the night.

There were a few other notes from around the league this weekend. Houston went 4/4 on the power play in a game against the Iowa Chops Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Matt Beaudoin had a hat trick in the game, with four shots on goal.

But even more spectacular was the weekend of Tim Kennedy. He was named the player of the week for his performance. On Saturday, in a wild game between the Providence Bruins and the Portland Pirates, the Baby Bruins accumulated a 4-2 lead at the end of the second period in a game at the Portland County Civic Center of Portland, Maine. The Pirates tied it up with three goals in the period, the last goal with just 1:10 to go. At that point Kennedy, on the Pirates side, had a point in each of the third period goals, a total of four points in the game based on seven shots on goal. AND, on the Baby Bruin side Mikko Lehtonen also had a four point night that included a hat trick with six shots on goal.

Portland was able to go 3/7 on the power play, that and Kennedy brought them back into the game. During the over time, Brad Marchand was called for boarding. The notes for the game say it was a two minute penalty, but most of these penalties are actually a minute in O/T. Portland was unable to use the resulting 4:3 to gain a goal. For Portland 39 shots on goal, for Providence, 35 shots on goal and a tied game after OT of 5-5.

So, the shootout; Portland shoots first and after the first set of skaters, no goals yet. Kennedy gets up and fails to score. But Lehtonen, after his hat trick, does score. After another score by Mark Mancari for the Pirates and Wacey Rabbit for the Bruins, it is a P-Bruins win.

On Sunday, the Pirates traveled to the Paul E Tsongas Arena to battle the Lowell Devils. It turns into another high scoring battle between the two teams. Portland enters the third frame with a 4-3 lead. Lowell has remained in the game on the strength of two power play goals. Although the Pirates had a series of power plays for the first ten minutes or so of the second period, they only came away with a single power play goal.

Lowell tied the game with a power play goal at 12:47 of the third period. Kennedy comes back with the Pirates to get a hat trick and put Portland back into the lead 1:06 later. But Lowell doesn't give up. They pull the goalie and Portland scores again on the empty net with a minute left. Now the lead is 6-4, Portland. Lowell still doesn't give up, scoring twice in the final minute of play to tie the game.

In total Lowell went 4/6 on the power play. Including the OT period, Jeff Frazee stopped 35 shots on goal for the Devils, John DeCaro stopped 44 for the Pirates. OT is scoreless but is dominated by the Pirates. Once again Kennedy isn't able to add to his stats a shootout goal, but the Pirates did win.

In total, among these two games, Kennedy had seven points and 15 shots on goal. In the second game with Lowell, not including Kennedy, there were five players credited with a three point night. Woah Baby!

IceHogs lose to Rampage 4-2

The Rockford IceHogs, AAA affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, suffered only their second loss in seven games last night as the San Antonio Rampage put them down 4-2 at the MetroCentre. The Rampage enjoyed two power play goals and an empty net goal on their way to the win. It was Corey Crawford's sixth regulation loss of the season. He is currently 12-6-2.


Adam Pineault blistered Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman with six shots on goal, but was unable to find the twine. Pascal Pelletier and Jack Skille each had a goal and an assist.

Rampage over the Wolves 5-3

The Chicago Wolves fell 5-3 to the San Antonio Rampage Wednesday night at the Allstate Arena. It was the fourth loss in a row for the Wolves, and their sixth loss in the last seven games. As in seasons past, the Wolves are in a post-holiday slump.

However the loss to the Rampage must be especially galling. First, the Chicago Blackhawks spanked the NHL affiliate Phoenix Coyotes 6-0 earlier in the week. But even just in the AAA, the Wolves have given more points to the Rampage than any other team, with a record of 3-3 this season. The Rampage would be circling the drain if it weren't for the Wolves. Their record is 28th out of the 29 teams. The win on Wednesday allows them a four point cushion on the league last place Rochester Americans.

The Wolves chance to take the game was probably blown during a 5:3 power play late in the first period. Granted that Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman is a worthy opponent, the opposition he faced in the bottom of the first frame was like the Keystone Cops.

Joe Motzko, who really is an on-ice leader, had two bad minutes on the ice that seemed to seal the deal for the Rampage, starting with a broken stick, then two whiffs that puttered behind the net. Finally, after his teammates gave him yet another chance to redeem himself, he put a pass to... well his own goalie, from behind the San Antonio goal.

It sailed clear down ice from one goal line nearly to the other. It was dismal.

And while the Chicago power play was 0 for five, the Rampage power play was three for seven. An empty net goal, was the final insult.

If we continue to beat the horse a bit, I'll note that while Alex Brooks was tough in front of the Wolves goal, refusing entry to Rampage probes, veteran blue liner Brian Sipotz didn't seem to mind having Rampage players insert themselves between him and his goal. His checks were lack luster, I've been struggling in the past month to identify what Sipotz is adding to the game.

On a positive note Brett Sterling had a spectacular goal in the third frame. It put the team within one and held the promise that something could be rescued from the game.

IceHogs shut out Aeros 4-0

The Rockford IceHogs shutout the Houston Aeros in a game at the Toyota Center tonight. Wade Flaherty turned aside 23 shots. Four Rockford players had goals. Martin St. Pierre, Troy Brouwer and Jim Fahey each had two point nights.

The IceHogs have 80 points, tied with the San Antonio Rampage. However, the Rampage have three games in hand on the IceHogs. The Aeros loss is a cloud in a surge by the Texan team. The two teams play again on Friday.

Wolves v Rampage; Hogs v MAds

The Houston Aeros, in fourth place in the West Division of the American Hockey League, are in a tight race with four teams fighting for the last two play-off spots, one in the West and one in the North Division.

They were helped by Wednesday’s win by the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins over the fourth place North Division team, the Syracuse Crunch. And, they were helped by their own efforts too, a win Wednesday night, 1-0 over the North Division Lake Erie Monsters of Cleveland.

Although I’d earlier forecast that Syracuse was out of the hunt for the post season, due to it being so far behind the four West Division teams fighting for fourth and fifth place, there is another possibility for the team, it could catch the third place Manitoba Moose or even the second place Hamilton Bulldogs. The Bulldogs, the Calder Cup winner last season, have 67 points in 58 games. The Moose have chalked up 66 points in 59 games and the fourth place Crunch have 61 points in 60 games.

So it is tight for the Crunch. They are in a hard spot. But it will be easier to beat two teams than to go on a run that beats four.

The Milwaukee Admirals, in fifth place in the West, beat the Rockford IceHogs 4-3. The IceHogs have been on a ride to nowhere lately, with only four points in ten games. Milwaukee, on the other hand has 13 points in ten games. The MAds are one of four teams in the West Division in a race for the two playoff spots, one in the West and one in the North, that seem up for grabs. The MAds are trailing the San Antonio Rampage in the standings by five points with the SAR having five games in hand.

The MAds have always been a hard-hitting team. But, I think they’ve met their match with the IceHogs, a physical team that is finishing its checks this year. The violence in hockey is usually confined to the ice surface and usually to the game. When it explodes outside of those limits, you have a problem defined outside the code. It would be fair to call it a personal problem.

The Hogs and the MAds had such a fight on Wednesday. Troy Brouwer, Colin Fraser, Kelsey Wilson and Alex Henry received a variety of penalties after the match. The two teams meet again on Saturday, March 8th at the Bradley Center. There should be fireworks.

I’m not a person to scream “fight, fight, fight” at games. But the Hogs need a boost. They need to regain their spirit. And a good scrum might help.

The Rampage hosted the Chicago Wolves for the first time this season. The Wolves, the number two team in the league, treated their hosts poorly, going ahead 5-0 at the end of the second period. But after putting 18 shots on the San Antonio goal in the first period, the Wolves seemed to relax: just 10 shots on goal for the remainder of the game.

San Antonio, on the other hand, put 40 shots on Ondrej Pavelec in the second and third frames. One of the things to look at in a team is the shots on goal. I remember games during the lockout when Kari Lehtonen was in net. The Wolves would typically give up 40, 50 and once I remember 60 shots on goal.

That’s poor defense. Have you ever heard people say it is hard to measure defense? There is a great measure of a team’s defense. I’ll put it this way: 40 shots on goal in two periods is equivalent to 60 shots on goal for 60 minutes. It is poor defense.

Visitors would complain that Kari’s numbers were inflated by off-ice officials in Chicago who favored him having a high save percentage. “They’ll give him a SOG for looking at a puck in the corner,” they said. Another way to look at it is that Lehtonen had a poor defense in front of him.

Forty shots on goal in two periods? Terrible defense. The Wolves are holding on by the grace of Pavelec. The Wolves are a good team and should be using this period leading up to the playoffs, not to rest, but to totally discourage every other team in this league. The defense needs to shut down the opposing offense. It can do it, the penalty kill numbers demonstrate it. Not only the penalty kill numbers, but in the one period the Wolves didn’t phone it in, SAR only had four shots on goal.

There’s another example of defense. Except this time it was clicking. Four shots on goal in 20 minutes of play.

These two teams meet again on Friday. Expect some fireworks. Whether true or not, a person purporting to be a former Wolves player went on a message board after the game to issue a challenge to the Wolves.

More trades in West

Al Montoya, a 23 year-old native of Glenview, has been traded by the New York Rangers to the Phoenix Coyotes. He has been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. Phoenix traded Montoya and Marcel Hossa for goalie David LeNeveu, Fredrik Sjostrom and Josh Gratton.

Montoya has played goal in 31 games for the Hartford Wolfpack this season. He has a 16-8-3 record, 90.8 save percentage and 2.54 GAA. LeNeveu appeared in 21 games this season for the Rampage. He posted a record of 9-7-3 with 91.1 save percentage and a GAA of 2.66.

In Peoria, Dave Eminian is predicting moves by the St. Louis Blues on trade day were “no help” to the Peoria Rivermen. Jeff Woywitka, a blueliner with 30 points, has skated in 52 Peoria games this year.

Other moves in Peoria, prior to trade day, St. Louis assigned Chris Beckford-Tseu and Marek Schwarz, both goalies, to the team. Derek Gustafson was released from a PTO. Schwarz has played 23 games this season with the Rivermen, posting a record of 9-10-2, with a save percentage of 89.1 and a GAA of 2.57. Beckford-Tseu has been in 28 games for the Rivermen, posting a record of 15-9-2. He has a 90 percent save rate and a GAA of 2.61.

SAR finishes best road trip in franchise history

Melissa Martinez at The Raw Feed reports that the San Antonio Rampage, traditionally the cellar dwellers of the American Hockey League Western Division, completed one of their long road trips, taking 18 of 28 points. It was the best showing by the team in the franchises’ history the report says.

The road trip moved the Rampage to third place in the Western Division, from fourth, with a possibility of catching the stumbling Rockford IceHogs in second.

Rockford loses home opener in SO

Rockford, Ill.--- The Rockford IceHogs started their home play, after a road trip of nine games, losing a shootout to the San Antonio Rampage 3-2. Despite the loss, the IceHogs are well positioned in the Western Division, with their entire home stand in front of them and almost a quarter of the road games complete, the team had 14 points on Sunday morning, with a 63.6 percent win ratio.

The sell out crowd at the Rockford MetroCentre was greeted to an opening video noting the history of Rockford sports championships, drawing a roar of crowd approval on the Colonial Cup victory of the IceHogs in the United Hockey League last season. Then the video announced: “that was then—this is now!” leading into a segment of Chicago Blackhawks legacy.

After several minutes of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and other ‘Hawks greats, the theme of the season was announced: “the road to Chicago starts in Rockford.” As the Indianhead logo was stitched together on the new jumbotron, a rock band started to play and the crowd saw their IceHogs and the Hawks become joined on screen with quick shots of Rockford players and Blackhawks.

Then the band came on for a video, playing in their IceHog sweaters.

An opening ceremony with American Hockey League President Dave Andrews and members of the Blackhawk front office came on ice followed by a moving rendition of the National Anthem played by a six-year-old.

But game on. The MetroCentre has lost the aisle that separated the lower bowl and the upper bowl to “luxury boxes.” Really, placed between row M and N, these represent a wide table height counter and office chairs placed in the old aisle. The concourse of the MetroCentre is that much more crowded now, and a sell-out crowd of just 6,500 people demonstrates the age and lack of amenities in the building.

Still, the Rockford crowd is among the best in hockey, and they did not allow that to dampen their spirits. The game featured two of the heavy weights in the AHL: the Rampage’s Peter Vandermeer and Rockford’s Colin Fraser. It was a disappointment to me that these two did not have a go at each other in the game, although Fraser did pick a fight with the Rampage’s Cam Paddock late in the second period.

The two teams seemed evenly matched in the first period, with San Antonio registering ten shots to just five for the IceHogs, and both teams coming out of the period tied 1-1 after a power play goal for the Hogs by Troy Brouwer, assisted by Cam Barker and Evan Brophy, and an answering score for San Antonio by Enver Lisin.

The second frame saw the Hogs keep the puck in the Rampage end for much of the period. Late in the period, the Rampage put pressure on the Hogs goalie, Corey Crawford. A breakout by the Hogs saw David Aebischer go post to post to stop Rockford rebounds before finally giving up the 2-1 goal by Kris Versteeg, assisted by Jack Skille and Brophey at 17.48.

San Antonio returned to the Hogs zone immediately after this, and after a collision involving Dustin Byfuglien, Byfuglien gets into a dance in front of the Hogs net. In jumps Vandermeer, a third man in! But it is Byfuglien, Vandermeer and another Hog, Jordan Hendry who get sent to the sin bin, all with minors. Apparently Nigel Pelletier, the referee, was not looking.

With the second frame ended, the Hogs are now up 2-1 in a tightly matched game. Mid-way through the period, Chris Durno gets sent to the box for two minutes, giving the IceHogs one of their five power plays of the night. But the puck is stolen, fed across the Rampage blue line by Freddy Meyer to the racing Bill Thomas who fakes Crawford out for a short handed goal, tieing the game at 2-2.

Two other important penalties take place, both against Rockford. At 19.15 Bryan Bickell is called for interference, giving the Rampage the power play for 1:15 of the overtime. Then, after that expires, Skille is called for hooking at 3.10 of the OT, giving the Rampage another 1:50 of power play in the OT.

Despite this, the Rampage are unable to convert their opportunities. In the shootout, Joel Perraul and Keith Yandle scored for San Antonio and Versteeg for the Hogs, allowing the Rampage to win. Crawford stopped 28 shots on goal. Aebischer received the win, stopping 15 shots on goal.

Hogs Squeels— Dustin Byfuglien was the first Hog called up since the home opener. He is the second Hog to move down I-90. The Hogs are averaging more than 30 minutes of penalties per game, more than any other team in the AHL.

Chicago perfect 6-0 with 4-1 win over Rampage

The Chicago Wolves went 6-0 for the season, defeating the San Antonio Rampage 4-1 at the AllState Arena Friday night. Wolves Center Alexandre Giroux potted two goals in a span of just 2:15 early in the first period to push the Wolves to their win.

Steve Martins and Joel Kwiatkowski each earned three points in the game, with a goal and two assists each. Fred Brathwaite, the Wolves goalie, meanwhile, stopped 30 Rampage shots on goal and backstopped a defense that shut down nine power plays, including two 5:3 power plays in the second frame.

San Antonio could not find any traction in their effort against the Wolves and although they largely kept up with the Wolves in the shots on goal, they could not find the back of the net.

Lack of discipline early in the first period created a series of three power plays for the Wolves in the first half of the first frame. Giroux potted his first puck during a power play and returned to the ice shortly to pot a second.

And, still the Rampage penalties continued to mount, with Kwiatkowski taking advantage of a power play to make the score 3-0 Wolves. Despite a television timeout just a whistle away, Rampage coach Greg Ireland called his guys together to try to regroup after the Kwiatkowski goal. Whatever Ireland said must have worked, in part, as the Wolves finally stopped lighting Rampage goalie David Aebischer like a Christmas tree, but continued to take penalties too.



After scoring a goal with less than three minutes in the period, and putting the game back in play, Rampage wing Peter Vandermeer started chasing Jordan LaValle. A line brawl ensued, but one in which most of the Wolves skated away from the roughing. Karel Pilar, who was on the ice when the brawl started, skated to the bench before realizing it. His return to the ice from the bench violated the rule prohibiting leaving the bench in a brawl and he was given a game misconduct. LaVallee, despite refusing to fight, was given two minutes in the sin bin.

However three San Antonio players were given time in the bin giving the Wolves an advantage through the end of the frame and into the next period too.

Starting the second period with the score 3-1 Wolves, it appeared as though San Antonio would repeat the first period’s lack of discipline: Steve Martins scored a goal in the period shortly after a power play expired. However, it was the Wolves who began visiting the sin bin in the second half of the frame. First Kwiatkowski was called for tripping. Then, about 17 seconds later, Nathan Oystrick was called for hooking.

When the Wolves had killed that penalty, they were given a penalty for too many men on the ice. About a minute later Kevin Doell was called for hooking, another 5:3 penalty kill. Rampage Center Joel Perrault had a terrific slap shot that caught Brathwaite on the wrong side of the net. Brathwaite sprawled on the ice as the referee looked through the back of the net.

As Perrault celebrated, Brathwaite opened his glove to reveal the puck inside. Replays showed clearly he never crossed the goal line. No goal!

As the period bell sounded, the pressure became too much for the Rampage. Josh Grafton and Andre Deveaux started to dance in the Wolves right circle. A full line dance started, with Wolves pairing up with Rampage players for a Texas two-step. When it was all straightened out Grafton and Deveaux were each given 10-minute misconducts to start the next period. Despite the two 5:3 San Antonio advantages, the score was now 4-1 Wolves.

Vandermeer made himself known again in the third period first with a high sticking call at 5:40 that, along with a penalty on a fellow player, created a 5:3. And then, at 11:21 into the period he charged Boris Valabik, striking him in the face with his gloves still on. This is a violation not only of the rules but also of the Code. His actions did put Valabik in the sin bin for five minutes, but generated two minors on himself for instigating and high-sticking, a game misconduct for instigating and a major for fighting. That put the Wolves on a 5:3 again for two minutes.

The Wolves could not score on either power play attempt.

In total there were 114 minutes of penalties called, Vandermeer receiving 33 minutes of the total. Brathwaite, who had brought the crowd to its feet several times, stopped 30 shots and received the win. Aebischer stopped 34 shots and received the loss.

“There were so many penalties that it was hard to get a rhythm out there,” Coach John Anderson said. Anderson said he was happy with the team’s efforts. The Wolves are the last team in the American Hockey League with a perfect record. It will be tested tonight at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee against the Milwaukee Admirals on the start of a season high seven-game road trip.

San Antonio 1 0 0 -- 1
Chicago 3 1 0 -- 4

First Period---1, Chicago, Giroux 2 (Kwiatkowski, Martins), 4:24 pp; 2, Chicago, Giroux 3 (Crabb, Martins), 6:39; 3, Chicago, Kwiatkowski 2 (Pilar), 7:48 pp; 4, San Antonio, DiSalvatore 2 (Helmer, Spina), 17:13. Penalties---Crabb, Chicago (tripping), 0:15; Yandle, San Antonio (hooking), 1:48; Bell, San Antonio (cross-checking), 3:27; Gratton, San Antonio (roughing), 7:25; Schultz, Chicago (highsticking), 8:38; Doell, Chicago (hooking), 10:38; Kwiatkowski, Chicago (hooking), 11:53; Yandle, San Antonio (holding), 18:48; Gratton, San Antonio (double-minor roughing), 18:48; Vandermeer, San Antonio (crosschecking, misconduct), 18:48; LaVallee, Chicago (roughing), 18:48; Pilar, Chicago (game misconduct), 18:48.

Second Period---5, Chicago, Martins 3 (Kwiatkowski, Crabb), 7:31. Penalties---DiSalvatore, San Antonio (closing hand on puck), 2:32; Durno, San Antonio (tripping), 5:28; Deveaux, Chicago (interference), 8:19; Helmer, San Antonio (holding), 10:49; Kwiatkowski, Chicago (tripping), 12:17; Oystrick, Chicago (hooking), 12:34; Bench, Chicago (too many men), 14:51; Doell, Chicago (hooking), 15:54; Gratton, San Antonio (misconduct), 20:00; Deveaux, Chicago (misconduct), 20:00.

Third Period---None. Penalties---Thomas, San Antonio (hooking), 5:40; Vandermeer, San Antonio (high-sticking), 5:40; Vandermeer, San Antonio (high-sticking, cross-checking, instigating, fighting, misconduct), 11:21; Valabik, Chicago (fighting), 11:21; Meyer, San Antonio (roughing), 15:14; Paddock, San Antonio (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:34; Giroux, Chicago (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:34.

Shots on goal---San Antonio: 13-9-9--31. Chicago: 12-12-14--38. Power plays---San Antonio: 0-9. Chicago: 2-14. Goalies---San Antonio, Aebischer (34-38). Chicago, Brathwaite (30-31). A---4,313. Referee---Chris Ciamaga. Linesmen---Al Stensland and Roger Behling.

Sightings-- Atlanta General Manager Don Waddell was seen leaving the AllState, accompanied to his car by Chicago Wolves General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. The Atlanta Thrashers also had a number of former Wolves players in the stands and on the concourse. They play the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night at the United Center.

Several things come immediately to mind, first a meeting between Waddell and Cheveldayoff was expected when the schedules were announced. Second, Waddell is expected to interview John Anderson this weekend for the Atlanta coaching job. Third, if the Atlanta Thrashers cannot win tomorrow against the Blackhawks, or worse, get stomped, there are going to be some big changes in the line-up in Atlanta and in Chicago. (What a great time for it, everyone will be packed as both teams are on road trips. Line them all up and assign them to either the Chicago bus or the Atlanta bus). And finally, why hasn't anyone mentioned Cheveldayoff as a coaching candidate?

Wolves make it 5; Defeat San Antonio 4-3 in Shootout

Make it five. The Chicago Wolves are perfect, still, this season, defeating the San Antonio Rampage at the AllState Arena in Rosemont in a shootout by a score of 4-3 Wednesday night. That leaves the Wolves with five consecutive victories this season, one of just two American Hockey League teams with a perfect record.

It was a hard fought victory as the Rampage, now coached by Greg Ireland, jumped to a lead late in the first period when Joey Tenute snuck the puck past Fred Brathwaite. It was the first time this season that an opposing team had scored the first goal against the Wolves.

The Wolves answered in the second period on the power play with a goal by Jordan LaVallee but a seesaw battle started as San Antonio winger Enver Lisin scored a go-ahead goal about two minutes later on their own power play.

In the third frame the Wolves Andre Deveaux was charged with goal tender interference after he collided with Rampage net minder David LeNeveu during a scoring attempt. When the Rampage weren’t able to capitalize on this, the Wolves were able to tie the game once more when defender Brian Sipotz scored his first goal of the year.

The Wolves went back on the defense just moments later as first blue liner Boris Valabik and then center Steve Martins were called for hooking, giving San Antonio a 5:3 advantage on the ice. Bill Thomas was able to take advantage of this, putting the Rampage in the lead again, with 2:23 remaining on the clock.

Wolves Coach John Anderson pulled Brathwaite from the net, putting a man advantage on the ice for the Wolves. They were able to tie with just 28 seconds remaining to play on a goal by Alexandre Giroux.

Both teams struggled to score in the sudden death overtime period with both Brathwaite and LeNeveu making outstanding stops. The shootout was the first this season for the Wolves. The Rampage LeNeveu had lost a shootout against the Houston Aeros last week.

Chicago took the lead in the shootout round with a goal scored by Jesse Schultz. However Keith Yandle tied the shootout and then Rampage center Joel Perrault put the Rampage ahead. Wolves winger Tomas Pospisil tied the teams again as the shootout headed into sudden death.

Ireland sent Matt Murley back for a second try on Brathwaite, which was deflected. Jason Krog, on his second shootout attempt put it past LeNeveu for the win.

“It’s a great feeling to score my first goal in such a big win,” Giroux said, “when you come to a new team you find yourself pressing a bit more to make that impact.” Giroux was awarded three points in the event, including the goal. The win was ninth consecutive win for the Wolves over the Rampage and also marks the 17th time the Wolves have gained at least a point against the Texans.

Chicago and San Antonio play again on Friday at the AllState Arena in a 7:30 P.M. game.

San Antonio 1 1 1 0 (0) -- 3
Chicago 0 1 2 0 (1) -- 4 Shootout

First Period---1, San Antonio, Tenute 4 (DiSalvatore, Roche), 17:41. Penalties---Martins, Chicago (hooking), 5:35; Murley, San Antonio (interference), 9:29; Gratton, San Antonio (cross-checking), 13:40; Meyer, San Antonio (hooking), 13:53; Martins, Chicago (hooking), 18:11.

Second Period---2, Chicago, LaVallee 3 (Kwiatkowski, Giroux), 15:34 pp; 3, San Antonio Lisin 3 (Tenute, DiSalvatore), 17:26 pp. Penalties---Thomas, San Antonio (hooking), 4:55; Oystrick, Chicago (tripping), 8:32; Meyer, San Antonio (roughing), 15:08; Stuart, Chicago (cross-checking), 16:07.

Third Period---4, Chicago, Sipotz 1 (Giroux, Pospisil), 10:55; 5, San Antonio, Thomas 3 (Tenute, Yandle), 17:37 pp; 6, Chicago, Giroux 1 (Krog, Oystrick), 19:32. Penalties---Deveaux, (goaltender interference), 1:31; Lisin, San Antonio (tripping), 3:07; Valabik, Chicago (hooking), 14:24; Martins, Chicago (hooking), 15:43.

Overtime---None. Penalties---None.

Shootout---San Antonio 2 (Roche, NG; Bell, NG; Murley, NG; Yandle, G; Perrault, G; Murley, NG). Chicago 3 (Krog, NG; Schultz, G; Giroux, NG; Doell, NG; Pospisil, G; Krog, G).

Shots on goal---San Antonio: 9-9-8-1-0--27. Chicago: 6-14-14-2-1-37. Power plays---San Antonio: 2-7. Chicago: 1-6. Goalies---San Antonio, LeNeveu (33-36). Chicago, Brathwaite (24-27). A---2,926. Referee---Chris Ciamaga. Linesmen---Bryan Pancich and Aaron Mills.

[Late edit: the Pavelec tour of the NHL continues with a Tuesday shootout win by the Atlanta Thrashers over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Although Pavelec was not in goal for the game, one of the four regulation goals was assisted by the Wolves line.

It is difficult to make a case for ever returning Darren Haydar under these conditions. Fortunately, the Chicago Wolves are winning without Haydar. Now if they take Krog...

There is another hockey team in Chicago. Tuesday, at the Chicago United Center they dropped one 4-7 against the Columbus Blue Jackets with three of the four goals scored by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

It is very hard to make the case this year that the Blackhawks are Chicago's second minor league hockey team. Still, losing against the Blue Jackets, even one coached by Ken Hitchcock, must be galling to the Chicagoans.

Of course regular Chicagoans don't know about this yet because the team is still not broadcasting its home games. Rocky Wirtz has made moves to turn this around. However with television schedules set far in advance, the first game is not scheduled to occur till November 11.

The puck has dropped; Wolves tougher on D

Chicago’s 2007-8 hockey season has started with games Saturday for both the Chicago Blackhawks, winning an overtime game against the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Wolves at home, winning an overtime game against the Milwaukee Admirals.

The key story of the new season is the passing of Bill Wirtz, the controversial owner of the Blackhawks. This week saw the Hawks give Bob Pulford a “promotion” within the Wirtz-held companies. Fans critical of the management of the Hawks cheered the move, seeing Rocky Wirtz taking quick control of the long mismanaged team.

The Hawks made news too in the areas minor leagues as their American Hockey League affiliation moved from Norfolk, Va. to Rockford, Ill. The team, the once and future Rockford IceHogs, has struggled off the pad, with a 1-1 record, looking rather powerless against the Quad City Flames a week ago Saturday. Yet it is a team with great promise for promoting fierce rivalries and strong playoff possibilities.

The AHL Western Conference has had a significant tinkering over the summer, and a quick run through of the changes is in order. The Western Division had consisted of the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, affiliated with the Calgary Flames; the Chicago Wolves, affiliated with the Atlanta Thrashers; the Milwaukee Admirals, affiliated with the Nashville Predators; the Iowa Stars who were affiliated with the Dallas Stars; the Peoria Rivermen, affiliated with the St. Louis Blues; the San Antonio Rampage, affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes; and the Houston Aeros, affiliated with the Minnesota Wild. The teams finished the regular season in the order of that list, with the Peoria Rivermen just edged out of gaining a wild card seed into the North Division, over the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Rockford team joins this crowd. The former Norfolk Admirals have made the playoffs each of the last five years in the Eastern Division. That division featured a very tight race for first among three tough teams, including the Admirals. The Hawks, who have by-passed the AHL with two of their top prospects, Jonathan Toews and Mike Kane, still have a powerful team on the ice. Figure that this team will be in the playoffs again in the Western Division.

The Milwaukee Admirals have lost a number of key players as the Nashville organization has gone through a fire sale. The biggest loss, however, was Coach Claude Noel to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Many people, including this writer, expected Pekka Rinne, their goalie, to be a sure thing in the NHL this season. However, he is back in net in Milwaukee instead. Figure on a weaker Admiral team probably not making the playoffs this season.

The San Antonio Rampage has finally let the lackluster Pat Conacher go. The team was a graveyard of prospect hopes, as the organization above seemed to crush their interest in winning. With the former Grand Rapids Griffins coach, Greg Ireland, now in control, figure on the Rampage to be competitive for the final playoff spot for the first time.

The Quad City Flames are basically the same as the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights from the previous season, with new local ownership in Moline. This team has played together for three years, without a lot of personnel changes. They won the Western Division last season. They will be competing for a playoff spot.

Peoria has just missed making it to the playoffs for two seasons. Their playoff hopes were for two seasons. Now with another team in the Western Division, teams will be under even greater pressure to perform. Peoria now joins four other teams in Northern Illinois and one, the Rockford, feeding players to another NHL team in its parents division. Expect them to compete for a playoff spot too.

The Wolves--- they are back with a better blue line and maybe a better scoring line too. Plus, with Fred Brathwaite and the Atlanta prospect Ondrej Pavelec in goal, the final line of defense should be even tougher. It was the weakness of the Atlanta system last season that it depended on the health of one person: Kari Lehtonen. Now, with a prospect being developed and good people to back Lehtonen in both Blueland and Chicago, both the Wolves and Atlanta should be in better position for their playoff runs. The Wolves will be playing for one of the four playoff spots again this season.

Brathwaite, considered a key player in the playoff run last spring, is a well respected veteran player whose game-three shutout of the Calder-Cup winning Hamilton Bulldogs was a highlight of the 2007 season, is probably near the end of his playing career. From a come from behind victory in the Memorial Cup to the NHL and the Russian Super League, Brathwaite has seen a great deal. His charge, 20 year-old Pavelec, will be in his first professional season. The Czech native is being groomed to play in Atlanta.

Darren Haydar, the regular season AHL MVP, and line-mate Jason Krog are returning to the Wolves. Together with Brent Sterling and sometime linemate Jordan LaVallee, their line made up the highest scoring line in the AHL last season. Krog, who played in Atlanta and for the New York Rangers last season, played with great heart in the 2007 playoffs. While Haydar, formerly a Milwaukee Admiral winger, has not been able to stick to the Atlanta line-up. Called to Atlanta this week following a minor injury to Ilya Kovalchuk, he now wears the C for the Wolves. Expect him to return within 30 days to Chicago. [10/16/07 Correction: it was Atlanta Thrasher Marian Hossa, who suffered a groin injury, not Ilya Kovalchuk. Darren Haydar was brought in to cover the opening in Atlanta this week. Haydar continues to play in Atlanta, although Hossa has returned from injury.]

In a development league, like the AHL, the blue line is always a place for turmoil. One of the best things to have happened to the Wolves blue line in 2007 was the loss of Atlanta’s number one draft pick, Braydon Coburn. Whatever magic Coburn had, was not evident in either Atlanta or Chicago last season. The blue line notably improved when he was traded.

Today’s blue line has big and short-tempered Boris Valabik, Nathan Oystrick and Brian Sipotz anchoring it. Newcomer Chad Denny has a wicked slap shot while Scott Lehman, Karel Pilar, prospect Grant Lewis and Brian Fahey have all shown great promise. It is the best blue line in many years on the team and starts stronger than the blue line that competed for the Western Conference title last season.

The outlook, another high scoring season with a better defense backing it. It should be a deadly combination for Wolves foes. The next home game is Friday, October 19 at the Allstate Arena against the Rockford IceHogs.

Uninspired 3-2 win over SAR puts Wolves back in 1st

An uninspired 3-2 win over the San Antonio Rampage Sunday evening let the Chicago Wolves slip back into first place. Center Cory Larose and Rampage center Alex Leavitt each scored two goals in the Wolves win. Jason Krog was held pointless for the first outing this season, ending a 26-game streak, the third longest in Wolves franchise history.

“We’ve been struggling for the last week or so, so a win like this is baby steps for us,” Wolves coach John Anderson said. The Wolves have been in a slump, losing four in a row, including two against the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, allowing the Knights to take the lead in the West division. The team has also been on a home game slide, winning just 12 of 29 contests.

It has 11 games remaining in the Rosemont Allstate Arena, 17 games total.

Scoring started at 4.24 of the first frame when Rampage center Leavitt found the back of the goal. The Wolves took a little over three minutes to reply when Joey Crabb fed Larose on a power play to light the lamp. Later in the first frame Andy Delmore and Jordan LaVallee working the power play fed Larose in the slot for a backhander past Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman.

However, San Antonio evened the score less than 40 seconds later with Leavitt’s second goal of the night.

Things stood 2-2 through most of the second frame. Late in the period Colin Stuart made a break for the net, using a SAR blue liner to screen his shot, he shot the puck over Tordjman’s pads for the game winner at 15.21.

Michael Garnett received the win, stopping 24 SAR shots. It was the 17th win for Garnett this season. Tordjman stopped 19 shots for the loss.

The Wolves play the Houston Aeros tonight in the Allstate. The Aeros are currently five points behind the San Antonio Rampage, an unaccustomed last place for the Aeros.

Second Place Chicago Wolves

The Chicago Wolves are in second place in the Western Division. It seems like it was an inevitability given the three games the Wolves dropped last weekend, two games to the second place Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.

It is bad mojo for the Wolves to play at home this year. They have only won 11 of their 27 games played at home, taking points in four other games. The coaches don’t know what to do about it, there have even been suggestions the team stay in hotel rooms during home stretches, to work the bad mojo out.

There are 13 more games to go at home and just six on the road, till the end of the season. No one is talking about the Wolves not making the playoffs, with 77 points they are almost a lock for the post-season right now.

Tonight the Wolves play the Hamilton Bulldogs. (Good seats are still available) A third-place team in the North Division and a possible post-season opponent in the third round. That’ll be a tough game. The Bulldogs won their previous visit to Chicago this season. The Wolves won two overtime games played in Hamilton. So, in other words, the Bulldogs have won a point in every contest they’ve played against the Wolves this season.

Tomorrow San Antonio plays the Wolves. I doubted the Gretzky magic extended to the Rampage last year and earlier this year I expressed the view that Pat Conacher is not up to the task of minor league management. The facts are that the Rampage have dropped six games to the Wolves, one in overtime, with only one win to their credit, this season.

The Rampage have traditionally made their golf reservations at this point in the season, and I don’t see a reason for that to change. They are the doormat of the Western Division… Well, not so fast. The Wolves underestimated SAR the last time they played them, on February 23. And, take a look at the standings and you'll see that SAR has not only climbed out of the basement with the other cellar dwellers like the Syracuse Crunch and the Binghamton Senators, but are above the Houston Aeros in the standings. That hasn't happened in years.

The fact is that over the last ten games, the SAR have the same win/lose record as the Wolves, granted the Wolves lost two games after regulation. Add considering the bad mojo that is happening to the Wolves at the Allstate Arena and Chicago could easily drop that game.

Wear your away sweaters fellas and book a hotel room 'cause there isn't an easy win left in the West Division any more

Wolves drop Rampage 7-2

The largest season crowd in the AHL so far, 14,927, saw the Chicago Wolves defeat the San Antonio Rampage 7-2 Saturday night at the Allstate Arena. Leading by one goal, at the end of the first frame, the game looked to be another nail biter for the Wolves. Two goals by the Rampage in the first five minutes of the second period even made it look like the Wolves might drop a game to the perennial cellar dwellers of the league.

But a missed goal by referee Conrad Hache seemed to light the Wolves fire. They responded with 27 shots in the final two frames of the game, producing six goals. It was the second win in a row by Wolves goalie Michael Garnett, who stopped 33 of 35 shots. San Antonio goalie Josh Tordjman stopped 28 shots in his loss.

Blue liner Mark Popovic scored the first goal, while Brent Sterling potted two. Brian Fahey, Cory Larose, Jordan LaVallee and Darren Haydar each scored one goal. For the Rampage, goals were scored by Bill Thomas and Yanick Lehoux. Only fourteen minutes of penalties were assessed in the fast-moving game. Just two of them to Chicago. The win leaves the Wolves in the lead in the West Division by two points over the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.

Wrist shots

1) Ever heard of the Florida Seals? A member of the Southern Professional Hockey League, the team had a walkout by the players and was locked out of the Silver Spurs Arena earlier this month when team checks began bouncing. ProhockeyNews has been following the story closely. Without housing, visas and possibly health insurance, the players may be in need of additional help. Stay tuned…

2) At least "two to three" NHL teams are interested in an affiliation agreement with the Norfolk Admirals, according to a story in the Virginian Pilot. The paper quotes owner Ken Young as saying the team is pursuing options and plans to meet with several teams during the AHL All-Star meeting later this month in Toronto.

"I think during all-star weekend, and the beginning of that week, we should have a feel for what we'll be doing," Young told the Pilot.

The Winnebago County Board meets January 25 to reconsider the approval of the $20 million Metro Centre bond package. A difference between the city of Rockford and the county approvals left the acquisition of the Rockford IceHogs up in the air. IceHogs ownership then lobbied the board to adapt the city measure. However, the county could not reconsider the measure until the 25th.

3) Here is more hy-jinks by the zebras with orange: Frederick L'Ecuyer was given a player list for the Rochester Americans versus Syracuse Crunch game January 13th. It didn’t include Mark Mancari. When Mancari was involved in a fight with Crunch Andy Canzanello late in the game, Mancari’s penalty wasn’t read aloud by the PA announcer. So, Mancari continued to play. Only it was totally illegal. He should have been ordered off the ice.

The league intends to discipline the on-ice officials.

4) The Crossbar broke the story of Mathieu Brunelle. Brunelle left the Bloomington Prairie Thunder December 15, reporting to the St. Jean's Chiefs of the LNAH. He is still carried on the Prairie Thunder roster injured reserve. He must be seeking that excellent socialized medicine.

5) John Awe, who played for a few games in Chicago Wolves colors last week, won the ECHL skills competition for the fastest slapshot. A burning 102.2 MPH, it broke the previous record of 99.3 MPH, a record that stood for eight years. Awe returned to the Gwinnett Gladiators.

6) Speaking of the Gladiators, the few games I’ve seen I’ve been entranced by the lovely Megan Guthrie, the Gladiators trainer. Half in jest, I’d asked for her autograph in Dayton last month. Megan gets her day in the sun in an article here: LINK

7) Over in IceHog land, a fan favorite, Robin Big Snake, has been in trouble off and on all season. His most recent problem on January 5th he passed up an empty-net opportunity near the end of the game in favor of passing to Paul Brown. Brown needed one more goal to obtain the team’s first hat trick performance of the season.

8) Michael Franke is one of the most successful minor league hockey owners anywhere. He is warning the United Hockey League that it needs to reconsider moves that make it more like the NHL and the AHL. Specifically, in a Fort Wayne News-Sentinel story, Franke says the fans want to see heavier hitting hockey in the minors. “Now you have no hitting. Players are afraid to hit because they will get penalties. We are telling our players to not hit one another. There’s no fighting any more. If you are an instigator, you’re going to get thrown out. We’re taking all the things the fans want to see away from them.”

9) The Atlanta Thrashers met the New York Rangers for the first time since the Rangers lifted Jason Krog off the waiver wire, preventing the Thrashers from sending him back to the Chicago Wolves. The Rangers lost the game 3-1. Krog was used in a number of face-offs, winning more than losing them.

10) The Chicago Blackhawks dropped another game last night, against the Nashville Predators, 6-3. The Blackhawks are now 1-7-2, meaning they have only won one game in regulation or overtime in ten outings. Any more talk of a post season on Madison Avenue is just hot air.

Shots on Goal

The Rockford IceHogs MetroCentre deal continues to dominate hockey discussion in Rockford. One of the local newspapers, the Rockford Register Star, has editorialized in favor of the $23 million plan and has backed its editorial with heavy coverage.

Outside of Rockford my attention has been on Norfolk. The owners of the Norfolk Admirals, one of the two possible franchises that are most likely to move to Rockford, have said the team will stay in Norfolk next year, whether or not there is an affiliation with the Chicago Blackhawks. That would leave just one American Hockey League franchise available in the most likely scenario: the former Edmonton Road Runner franchise, owned by the Edmonton Oilers.

The coach of the Rockford hockey team warned the MetroCentre that they had underestimated the cost of acquiring the AHL franchise. If the number of possible teams declines, the price should go up. It sounds like the coach knows more about business and hockey than the managers of the MetroCentre.

The Norfolk Admirals, meantime, are in third place in the East Division, within three points of the Calder Cup champions Hershey Bears, the division leader. The Admirals were swept by the Bears in the 2006 Eastern Division semifinals. It is early in the season to make predictions, especially about a division that rarely play this far west. Yet, this seems to be the strongest Norfolk team this decade.

A cynic might ask why the Blackhawks are considering moving a successful program. The answer is that the only part of the current IceHogs organization that will stay is the front office. There is virtually no chance the current roster would be present next season.

And, making national sports news, Enver Lisin, a troubled rookie in the Phoenix Coyotes organization, was suspended for not reporting to San Antonio. Lisin, who has a +/- of –18, instead flew home to Russia where he is expected to play for Ak Bars Kazan in the Russian League.

This is not the first time NHL players have taken a hit rather than play in the AHL. And, the loss of Lisin is probably not troubling for the Phoenix organization, given his terrible record. However, the word on the street is that the San Antonio club is mean.

That sounds like an opponent talking, but that comes from the inside, team mates talking about team mates. Mean. That’s a description that sounds appropriate describing a third-grader, not professional hockey athletes. Something really smells in the Phoenix organization’s Texas crew. Lots of money in the off-season has had virtually no effect. The NHL side of the organization is just as disappointing.

Finally, the Chicago Wolves play the 500th home game in franchise history against Omaha this week. Starting in the International Hockey League, the Wolves and the IHL were part of a strategy to challenge the NHL. Today the IHL is a memory. But the Chicago Wolves have one of the highest attendance figures in the AHL year after year, while downtown the Blackhawks have one of the lowest attendance figures in the NHL. The Wolves broadcast every game on cable, the Blackhawks only broadcast selected home games, sell outs and away games.

The Wolves have played in post-season every year but one since their founding. The Blackhawks regularly play golf starting in mid-April.

Finally, this week, Forbes magazine estimated that Bill Wirtz’s Blackhawks was among only three NHL teams that lost value since the lockout season. In Rosemont, Wolves owner Don Levin is rumored to be among the possible bidders for the Chicago Cubs. Clearly, the Wolves have been successful in challenging the Blackhawks. Sadly, the two teams will never meet on the ice. With three of the top scorers in the AHL, I have no doubt who would win such a match.

Go Wolves!

Wolves stampede Rampage

Tyson Nash, a San Antonio Rampage winger, blamed the 6-1 stampede Wednesday night, won by the Chicago Wolves, on defense. In an interview with the San Antonio Express yesterday, he said the game would have been 15-1 if not for goaltenders Philippe Sauve and David LeNeveu. The Rampage had the material, he said, but couldn’t put together 60 or even 20 minutes of hockey.

Sauve and LeNeveu split duties in the loss, the third road victory for the Wolves. The Wolves now have a perfect season, they’ve won every road game and lost every home game (3-2). It does seem that if the guns get rolling, the Wolves win. And they can’t seem to get things going, yet, at home.

Fred Brathwaite did a great job between the pipes for the Wolves, putting aside 25 of 26 Rampage shots on goal. In addition, the line of Darren Haydar and Steve Martins was on the ice for three of the Chicago goals, with another goal by Haydar on a line with Derek MacKenzie, Kevin Doell, Nathan Oystrick and Jimmy Sharrow.

Haydar and Jason Krog are currently number two and four in the AHL for top scorers with nine points each. The two Wolves previously played together on the University of New Hampshire Wildcats for one season, 1998-99.

The Wolves play the Rampage again tonight. They have six points in five games played, behind the Iowa Stars with eight points and four games, and the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights and Peoria Rivermen with seven points. They return home for a rare Tuesday night game against the Manitoba Moose.

Scouting San Antonio-- more of the same

Last year the key question I had about the San Antonio Rampage was what is the Gretzky touch. The Rampage, then, and their NHL affiliate, were broadcasting the connection to the great one. Yet what I saw on the ice was a lot of players from the Utah Grizzlies moved to Texas. The Grizzlies hadn’t done well in the lockout year and yet the San Antonio team was stocked with them.

It’s a year later and by all accounts a very large yacht payment has been invested into the Rampage. No one is expecting a repeat of the terrible season they had last year. Last place in the AHL and a record low 153 goals in the season.

Will money turn the league rug into something to respect? I have to wonder. Change is happening from the bottom in San Antonio. I’m not talking about the Zamboni guy, but the players. The top three people, Laurence Gilman, the GM and coaches Pat Conacher and Gord Dineen are unchanged from 2004. They still have to have one winning season.

The roster has changed a lot. Ten players remain from last year, which is about the same as many teams. However there has been some power added. Don MacLean, who played on the Grand Rapid Griffins last season and had 32 points.

Ryan Garlock had 20 goals in the Ontario Hockey League last season. Bill Thomas out of the University of Nebraska- Omaha had 27 goals in his last season. Kyle Wilson, out of Colgate University, had 23 goals last season. Oliver Latendresse, up from the Quebec juniors, had 41 goals last season. That’s just about the entire front line. I’m not real impressed.

The D has Matt Jones, a native of Downers Grove is returning. Travis Roche, a former Wolf, Bryan Helmer and Nick Martens, former Grand Rapid Griffins, and Logan Stephenson, up from the Western Hockey League juniors, are new to the defense. The addition of the experienced players from the Griffins and Chicago help.

Finally, in the nets, the team has returned David LeNeveu. The stats for anyone from San Antonio are startling. So let’s say we don’t know how he’ll do. I always considered Karl Goehring the best goalie on the team last year and he’s in Milwaukee now. Joining LeNeveu between the pipes is Philippe Sauve. I guess he’s a bit of a mystery too. Like LeNeveu, Sauve played last year—13 games in with the Calgary Flames and the Phoenix Coyotes during which he let in 39 goals.

The owners of the Rampage also own the National Basketball San Antonio Spurs. They hope to create a sports community, much like the Brewers owners hope to do with the Milwaukee Admirals. It doesn’t seem to be working in Milwaukee and to date it’s not happening in San Antonio either.

I think the addition of some money will help, but change has to occur at the top. I’ve read some assessments saying the Rampage will be at the top of the league at year end. I don’t see it.