Amerks V Ads 3/3

OTR and I were at the Bradley Center last night for the game. Unfortunately we missed getting a matching set of Sads athletic supporters AND, because we drove the small car, we missed the opportunity to give the Carlsons a ride to their digs.

Pucknut, who has occassionally let me post on his Blog sent me this e-mail comment: "Happy Days? I just saw that Hurme was traded." Okay. Umm... Jani Hurme, who I often referred to as the sieve has been traded in a deal for the Mighty Ducks' Joel Stepp. Hurme was a sieve here. Which isn't to take away from his spirit. Anyone who can get back in condition after coming through what he did deserves that recognition. But I felt he should have been placed with an ECHL team, the Gladiators, to condition.

In any case, his return was a blow to the salary cap and with too many goalies in the Thrashers organization he had to go. So, the conditioning here and in Gwinett was a prelude to a trade.

Why are the Wolves not going to be in the playoffs? Well, lack of discipline, lack of effort, lack of talent, lack of leadership and a crucial period in November and December when all the gods of goaltending turned their backs on us... Jani Hurme was the first of two significant disasters in the pipes. The other... the return of Michael Garnett.

Hurme was thrust upon the Wolves. He lost game after game for us before he was able to beat back the opposition for 30 minutes. Then, he was gone to Gwinett.

That other situation, Michael Garnett, is worth an entry by itself. But not this morning. Using the techniques of established pundits, I'm giving five for the price of one.

1) Simon Gamache is no longer playing for the Admirals. I know this is coming as news to many people, especially those Sads fans who saw a guy by that name with the number ten on his back skate around in an Admiral sweater on Friday. But hear me out. This guy skates for Simon Gamache now, not for the Milwaukee Admirals. He is a hot dog and has forgotten what the name on the front means.

I've spent a good part of the winter expecting the Admirals to run the Aeros out of first in this division. It never happened. I'm not disappointed, in fact, now that I see how the playoffs are shaking out, it looks great. I think the reason the Ads are stuck in second is several fold. First, Noel can't hold together a team, several people in Chicago have talked about how the Admirals self-destructed in previous runs at about this point. The musicians are playing the tune again and look at Gamache play.

Gamache is headed into the autumn years of his playing. This year he had a solid shot at the big time. God bless him. The Blues salary dumped him and everyone else as they started their DIVE! DIVE! DIVE! for the number one draft pick. Now Simon has NHL fever. Hey Dufus! You play for the Milwaukee Admirals. If you play for yourself you are guaranteed to lose.

Now, when the Ads need some NHL experience, they've got a guy who has already shown himself to be a prima donna back in full bloom. YIKES! Admirals fans, you may love him, but for the sake of winning a cup, it is time for this fruitcake to go.

2) Haydar is obviously one of the best in the AHL. And it was surprising to see him flub several break-away attempts Friday night. I counted 3 out of four flubs. What's the story here? Why can't one of your best skaters, most experienced guys and your captain put together a break away that ends with a shot on goal at least half the time? I'm disappointed. I take back what I said about the Admirals about to clean Houston's clock.

3) OTR loves her Amerks. But there's a reason they are not going to be going to the second half dance. They are undisciplined. I loved running into the Amerk fan on the BC concourse. "It's all the officials fault." No, my midguided friend. Your defense was pulled out of position by the Ads, not the refs. And the PIMS. You may not believe this, but your guys are undisciplined and deserved that time in the sin bin.

4) TOOTOO. The Ads have Stortini. Why hang on to this second rate goon? I'm just not seeing him step up. Bring up the stats and explain it to me because it's just not obvious on the ice.

5) Why am I excited that the Ads may end in second place, as it now appears? Because the Riverguys of Peoria look to be in third. That means Chicago will be sitting between games in both cities (and of course there will be playoff hockey in Grand Rapids too.)

If we can't have it here, at least there will be lots of good hockey to see in April and early May nearby. But based on what I've seen this season so far, the Ads, the Aeros and Peoria are all going down in the playoffs to better teams playing to our east. Sad. Maybe the Moose will pull it out for IHL yet.

Sweden gets the gold

Well, my family went dark on the internet for a week. It was also a week that had the best hockey I've seen in so short a period. Because of the wedding of Wolfkeeper and Holly, I've had the chance to meet so many of the posters on Wolfkeeper.org face to face. I watched great Olympic hockey, what did you guys watch?

On Sunday morning, during the great gold medal match, the three NBC guys were discussing hockey. Which is better NHL, or the Olympic/ World championships? They all agreed it was the NHL.

I had to think about this. The Olympics are a different animal than the Stanley Cup competition: a sprint versus a marathon. Wide-open play versus the compression of the North American rink. I lov this game, played both international style and North American style. Those differences are rubbing the right parts. There is an intensity to the play I've seen these past weeks that is not present in the Stanley Cup or Calder Cup races. I like the race to the finish in the NHL and AHL, but when you strip it all away, it's really about money. There is elan' in the Olympic tournament that is unmatched in the NHL.

For me, as a fan, I loved to watch Italy, even knowing it had no chance, in this tournament. Although I had no stake, I felt the intense emotions of the Finns as they lost this morning to the Swedes.

One of the reasons I followed the Finns was that Antero Nittymaki was in the goal. Of all the people on the ice against the Wolves last season, he is the person I was most deeply impressed by. I've never met the man, yet, he has continued to be short-changed by the Philadephia fans and the AHL media despite his key roll in defeating the Wolves Calder Cup campaign in 2005. And, I've identified with him as a result of the backhanded treatment he's received by Philadelphia fans and the AHL East Coast media.

If I hadn't followed the Wolves, a minor league team, Nittymaki wouldn't have shown up on my radar. I understand that hockey is Canada's real national sport. I hope the International Olympic Committee continues to support hockey and offer improvements. I'm so happy it has become my personal sports interest.

Rockford Ice Hogs and the Olympics

The Rockford Ice Hogs, who I've briefly written about here, have an 11 game winning streak going, have run away with the Western Division (? Conference) and are just two games from tying the longest winning streak in UHL history. Assuming they beat Fort Wayne tonight in Rockford, they'll play to tie the record in Flint Friday and then break it in Muskegon on Saturday.

Two key Hogs are not on the ice as crunch time comes. Michel Robinson, has been given a try out by the Milwaukee Admirals. Robinson has been up and down before. He was here at one time in the season during the worst of the turnstyle days. He was on the bench in Chicago just days ago, called up by the Crunch. Released today, he was quickly grabbed by a Milwaukee team that has sudden goalie problems. He was named UHL rookie of the month and goalie of the month this month.

Bob Nardella is captain of the Italian Olympic team. Nardela is a guy you often see in Wolves colors at the end of the season and the post-season. It seems we often need defence help, and Bob has been there for the Wolves for 1994-2004. He was also a member of the Milan (Italy) club and Alleghe, also of Italy.

Bob has played with the Wolves in each post season, except last season and 2002-3. The Italian team, of course, are there as a courtesy to the host country. Italy would not have been able to compete otherwise this year. Go Bob.

They may be affiliated with the Ads, but go Hogs.

The Olympic flame always burns a bit brighter when someone you have seen at this level is out there. Personally, we were hoping a niece would compete, sadly she withdrew last year. Instead we have Nardela and two goalies: Antero Nittymaki of the Philadelphia Flyers is third goalie for Finland. I credit Nittymaki with shutting the Wolves out of the Calder Cup last year. Without Nittymaki, who was then playing for the Phantoms, the final series would have been very different. I'll be hoping for metal for Antero.

Another net minder, one who I hope gets crushed, is Ilya Bryzgalov of Russia. Now in his second Olympics. I know he was expected to be the third choice for Russia in goal. He isn't on the roster right now, I hope that continues. This cheap shot artist now plays for the Ducks of Anaheim. Last year, while playing for the team formerly known as the Ducks of Cincinnati, he was in net against Chicago. Karl Stewart made a break away, was tripped by one of the defending Ducks, slammed into the boards-- unconscious. It's bad enough that Stewart was given a penalty on a play that sidelined him with a concussion for most of the rest of the playoffs. This Russian cheap shot artist in goal proceeded to slash the unconscious Stewart.

A lot can be written about former minor league hockey in Cincinatti, I think that incident will forever sum my thought on their play.

The NHL Refs are here

The good news this week, for AHL fans, is that the NHL has sent its experienced refs to the AHL during the Olympic break as a refresher. The bad news is that it appears that Harry Dumas continues to ref AHL games after a terrible game in Binghamton, January 20 versus Wilkes Barre/ Scranton.

In that game, Dumas, who has a ranking among the ten worst refs in the NHL, according to the web site Internet Sports Ranking DB, awarded 121 minutes of penalties, most in the second period, to Binghamton, versus 35 minutes to Wilkes-Barre.

One of the minor reasons I've not been able to write recently is a struggle with the issue of Harry Dumas. He is as much a block to my writing at the moment as he is to an enjoyable hockey experience. It is easy, too easy, to blame Harry Dumas for everything that went wrong recently in the game between Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton and Binghamton. Let's lay out a few thankless ideas: The Senators lost control and were rewarded with a lot of penalties. The calls were 12 minutes against the B-Sens in the first period, two of which were in the final eight seconds of the period, 107 minutes in the second period, two minutes in the third period.

The Senators hadn't lost their cool yet in the first period and they had regained their composure in the final period. I think that the first and third period of Senator play demonstrates a central thesis I believe about sports: players and coaches must adjust to the official. The Senators were able to do that in the final period. They were not in the second frame.

I also feel, that whatever wrath Dumas deserves, Senator fans should look at their own organization for the reasons the team couldn't discipline itself enough to adjust to Dumas. Lack of discipline, could it be a reason the team sucks this year?

At the end of the first frame, the score was already 2-0 Pens. The Senators were already behind, and the poor officiating hadn't even begun yet. The fact is, the Senators needed to play a more disciplined game of hockey in the final frames to win, and they didn't. And, they lost.

Why was I surprised that Dumas continues to work in the AHL? Well, there appears to be a hole in the schedule, no Dumas, a little Dumas, then no Dumas again. From what I can research, it appears that Dumas was assigned to a game on January 22 between Hamilton and Toronto. After that, the next games I can find are a pair of games involving Wilkes-Barre in February, two weeks ago.

I asked the AHL to respond to the seeming light load award Mr. Dumas. They have not responded. Undoubtedly, two of the reasons his load is light is the arrival of the NHL officials and the AHLAll-Star game.

But, Dumas lacks the maturity that is necessary to officiate heated contests. Fans are not paying to see games in which the officiating is the issue. Fans are not paying to see games in which the outcome is cast in doubt by poor league management.

The on ice official must share responsibility for the management of the game. Dumas, who was challenged by Bingo players to explain his calls throughout the second period, responded by penalizing these attempts. Clearly Dumas didn't have to explain anything, and he didn't. And because he didn't, the game became a farce.

What you'll note about having the NHL refs on AHL ice this month is that they are explaining their calls. For a related story on the burn-out of minor league referees.

Milwaukee on top heading into 2nd half

Houston continues to lead many pundits lists in the West. Completely wrong. Milwaukee is headed for the top here, which doesn’t mean that I have less respect for the Aeros, but that Milwaukee is just a better team. The facts are there if you look.

First, Milwaukee still has one game in hand and is just six points behind the Aeros. Plus, look at the games that brought the Aeros to the attention of these Eastern geniuses: until its win against Chicago on Sunday, the Aeros had played 14 games in a row in Texas, all but two at home.

It is not a feat to defeat San Antonio anywhere. I think the low scoring Rampage are god’s gift to the Chicago Wolves, saving them from the ignominy of a last place showing. Two wins for the Aeros there on New Years Eve and New Years Day. Only Grand Rapids and Iowa snapped the home game-winning streak. Plus, the Ads have not shown their faces in the Lone Star State yet this season. The only collision was a 6-1 drubbing of the Aeros in Milwaukee October 28.

More bad news is that recent loss to Grand Rapids. They’re one of the few worthy foes for the Aeros in a long time and the Aeros dropped the ball at home. More losses earlier in the season against Manitoba. I’ll admit that my analysis isn’t perfect here, Milwaukee has had a hard time getting traction against Grand Rapids this season too. Any Western opponent is going to expect to face either the Griffins or the Moose in post-season. So, a better Milwaukee probably spells an early golf outing for the West.

But, it is still some time before that is determined. At the moment, I’ll only say this to the Eastern pundits, wake up and look at the schedule.

Scouting the Providence Bruins

Providence is averaging a healthy 6,142 attendance. The P-Bruins are led by Scott Gordon. Gordon is in his second year at head coach. He has spent five years as a member of the coaching staff. The Bruins have been on a roll since December 4 when a 3-0 victory over Lowell lit a 10-4-0-2 run that will probably extend as the next team up is the River Rats.

Overall, they have 40 points in 35 games, and they look well positioned to take on the Wolf Pack and the Monarchs for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Power Play is working 16.8 percent of the time and is ranked 15th in the league, while the Penalty Kill is running at 87.1 percent, second in the league.

Tim Thomas is ranked 4th among AHL goalies. His 92.3 percent save percentage and GAA of 2.26 could cause him to be called up at any time. Jeremy Reich has a chance of making goon status as he is currently listed as having 100 penalty minutes. Close behind is Garret Stroshein with 85 points.

The top skaters are Eric Healey with 36 points, Nathan Robinson with 32, Tyler Redenbach with 27 and Ben Guite and Ben Walter with 22 points each.

Scouting the Springfield Falcons

Springfield is running uphill in the second half of the season. As I write this, the team has 34 points in 37 games and is winning just 45.4 percent of their games. The power play is just 15 percent, 20th in the league, the penalty kill is running at 82.6 percent or 16th in the league. Finally, they are being sent to the sin bin an average of 17.3 minutes per game, ranked 25th in the league in penalty minutes. Mitch Fritz has 97 penalty minutes this season, the only Falcon with a shot of being honored as a goon.

The Springfield Falcons average just 3,229 attendance, among the worst in the league. But with a poor record on ice, should you be surprised at poor attendance too? The team hasn’t had a streak of more than three games won this season. And most periods are like the current one, a six game losing streak. They play Hershey tomorrow. Their next best bet for ending this terrible streak is an away game against the B-Sens on Friday.

Jason Jaspers anchors the team with 35 points, joined by Ryan Vesce with 33 points. It’s a long way back to the next skater, Jim Campbell with 22 points. Affiliated with the well-known Johnstown Chiefs, the Falcons most recent trade was to acquire Ray Schultz from San Antonio. Development appears not to be a word known in Springfield. Dirk Graham, a former Blackhawk coach could be reason one. Yes, Virginia, there is life after you associate professionally with $Bill$ Wirtz: you end up coaching a nowhere team in Massachusetts.

Gerald Coleman is in the pipes, he has a 3.41 GAA and is stopping 88.9 percent of shots. There is hope here, if Tampa doesn’t grab him, he was on the London Knights last season, where he won 32 of 38 games. Coleman is an Evanston native.

Scouting the Bridgeport Sound Tigers

As I write this, Bridgeport is running at .500 with 39 points and 39 games under their belt. So at the halfway point in their season they need to step up to be guaranteed a spot in the post season. The Sound Tigers fought the Wolves for the Calder Cup in my first year as a season ticket holder. The championship series sold me on the sport, the championship game on becoming a season ticket holder. So, I have a special place in my heart for the Sound Tigers.

Attendance is running 3257 on average, which is among the bottom five of the AHL. They’ve won 6 of their last seven home games, including two against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. An extended home stand ends on the 14th when they play the Bingo Senators. During this home stand, when they played eight of nine games at home, they won seven games, taking them out of the depths of the division.

No Sound Tiger player is currently in triple digits for Pims. And the team ranks 24th in the league for penalty minutes. The Power Play is running at 14.1 percent, 21st among the AHL, while the Penalty Kill is running at 81.9, 22nd in the league. Rob Collins leads the team in scoring with 32 points, followed by Bruno Gervais with 27, Jeremy Colliton with 25, Sean Bergenheim with 24 and Matt Koalska with 21. Two former Wolves are in the line-up, Greg Naumenko and Paul Flache. Flache has been battling problems related to a concussion suffered earlier in the season.

Two pipemen have taken their turn for the Sound Tigers, Chris Madden, 3.05 GAA and stopping 90.7 percent of shots and Wade Dubielewicz, 3.12 GAA and 90.8 percent stops. Dave Baseggio was named head coach this year. He was the assistant coach of the Sound Tigers since 2001.

Scouting the Lowell Lock Monsters

I’m doing an occasional series on teams that the Wolves will not play. Today, the NHL sharks announced they’ll be moving their affiliation to Worcester, a town that was home to the Ice Cats last season, before they in turn became the Peoria Rivermen. The Rivermen themselves were an ECHL team that was once an IHL team… Have I bored you yet?

The Lowell Lock Monsters have always intrigued me. The name is so romantic for one thing. How could you not like a team with a name like that? Yet, they are another team that seems to have rumors about their continued play in Lowell. Lowell is outdrawing Cleveland (now officially dead) and the Omaha Knights, but that’s it. There are lots of ECHL teams that are doing better in the draw than Lowell. And with the Omaha Knights end predicted here (if I haven’t done so yet, there it is. They will move). I think it’s sad to see an end to Lowell also.

Lowell is currently at 33 points, staying above bottom thanks to the good people of Albany. The Power Play is running at 15.6 percent and the penalty kill at 86.4 percent. That PK is quite good, ranked fourth in the league. It seems that teams in this league have either a good PK or a good PP, but not both.

Tom Rowe has been the GM of the Monsters since they were formed in 1998. He was named coach two seasons ago. Last year he took them into the post season with a record of 47-27-1-5, a franchise best. I think people were surprised that the team was defeated in post season play by Providence. Keith Aucoin is widely respected in the AHL, he has 43 points. It’s a long drive to meet the next scorer, Brad Richardson with 17 points. Vitaly Kolesnik has a 91.5 save percentage and a GAA of 2.82.

Griffins update 01.13

Grand Rapids enters the second game of the Comcast Cup series with a 8-1-1-0 record in the last ten games. Chicago in fact broke a six game winning streak for the Griffins on December 30. The Griffins are in first place in their division at 55 points, with the Moose following them at 51 points.

League attendance is 9th for the Griffins. Joey MacDonald has replaced Drew MacIntyre. MacDonald has spent five seasons with the Griffins and will be very accustomed to seeing a Chicago team. His stats are 88 percent saves and a 3.67 GAA. Not too encouraging and I doubt he’ll see much more time in the big league, or even the AHL.

There’s not much to updates, as I wrote the indepth analysis just a few weeks ago. Darryl Bootland is now up to 185 Pims, from 164 previously. He ranks third in the league, behind Josh Gratton and Dennis Bonvie.

The Power play is running at a 22 percent clip, a close second in the league, while the kill is running 80.5 percent, which is near the bottom of the league.

Harry Dumas watch

Harry Dumas called his first games with the Chicago Wolves this year. Whatever happened or didn’t happen in the NHL, he’s back in the AHL, to our regret. In these two games, Billy Tibbetts acquired more penalty minutes than in the previous month, including two majors for fighting and a suspension for instigating in the last five minutes. List of Tibbets games

Tibbetts stepped up to dance with Krys Barch twice. These two must have some sort of history, perhaps Tibbetts killed Barch’s dog or Barch “borrowed” Tibbetts pick-up and forgot to return it. I'm sure it was something like that. In the first of the two incidents, Tibbetts received a two minute roughing, five minute fighting and a ten minute misconduct. Barch received five minutes for fighting.

In the second of the incidents, Tibbetts received two minutes slashing, two minutes instigating, five minutes fighting, ten minutes/game misconduct- instigating and was tossed from the game. He also received a one game suspension. Barch received five minutes for fighting. (A tip of the hat to Wolfkeeper for the stats). Interesting spread of penalties.

So, in two games with Dumas calling, we lost two. It should be interesting to watch. (Does your team have a history of Harry Dumas? Please, please send them to me).

HARRY DUMAS SCOREBOARD
1/6/06 Chi 1 at Oma 3 18 Pims ea. (8 Tibbetts)
1/7/05 IA 5 at Chi 1 29 Pims/ 57 Pims (36 Tibbetts)

Dumas has been associated with 30 AHL games so far this season. The only teams to not have the pleasure of his visit so far are San Antonio and Milwaukee. He has referred for six Hershey games, giving Hershey 9 points standings and 126 Pims. Bridgeport has hosted him five games, getting three points and 93 Pims. Albany has hosted him four games, has never won a point and leads the penalties with 191 Pims.

The zebras were busy the next night too. Brandon Pruist of the Omaha Knights received 32 minutes, plus a game misconduct for his dance with Braydon Coburn of the Wolves. Pruist, who is now 21, broke his stick on the way out of the arena, just inches from Lineman Stephen Campbell’s hand and Chicago Goalie Steve Shields. Fans could have been injured as well as the careers of these two people. Time to grow up Braydon. The game misconduct was for the pique of anger and I think we’ll see a suspension too.

Update Omaha playing on 01.06 and 01.08

The Omaha Knights enter the fray twice this weekend with the Wolves, first playing at home, then an away game against the Admirals before playing the Wolves again on Sunday at the Allstate. Holding the honor of the worst attendance in the AHL and among the worst in all the minors, you have to wonder how long this franchise has left. It will have played its 21st home game when the Wolves land on the Civic Auditorium, and I don’t expect we will see a 41st regular season game played there.

Despite the lack of support, the Knights are holding on to third place in the division. A scrum is developing in the division for the third and fourth playoff spots as there is only a five point difference between the Knights who, in third, have played 37 games and the Wolves, in sixth, with just 32 games. Last year, teams needed about 85 points to make it to the playoffs, or 43 points by the half, and the Knights look to be just short of that goal.

The team has dropped five of its last six games, perhaps in part due to a lengthy road trip. Their last two games in Chicago were victorious for the Knights, as they blasted Jani “the sieve” Hurme. Their top skaters remain Carsen Germyn with 30 points, 17 goals and +3 and d-man Mark Giordana with 29 points, 8 goals and –3. Brandon Prust is leading the team with 114 Pims, followed by Cam Severson with 110.

Curtis McElhinney is stopping 91.8 percent of shots and has a GAA of 2.3. Brent Krahn is stopping 91 percent of shots with a GAA of 2.67.

The power play is scoring 16 percent of the time, while the penalty kill is working 84.6 percent of the time, ranked sixth in the league. They are the only team in the division with a shootout win percent that is below the Wolves, it is working just 12 percent of the time.

Iowa update 01.07.06

The Iowa Stars had a great end of the year run of 11-2-1-1 in their last 15 games. They currently place just above the Wolves with 36 points in 33 games, a tie with Peoria for 4th place overall. A game in Milwaukee tonight sets up their event with Chicago on Saturday.

They are winning 75 percent of their shootouts and 62 percent of their overtime games. The power play is running a pathetic 12.8 percent, while the penalty kill is currently running at 82.4 percent. Mike Smith is stopping 92 percent of shots on goal and has a 2.38 GAA, ranked 8th among AHL goalies. Teamate Dan Ellis is stopping 92.1 percent of the shots and has a GAA of 2.57, He is ranked 12th in the league. Both have roughly 1,000 minutes of ice time, so either could be in goal.

Toby Petersen leads the team with 24 points, 9 goals and a +/- of +4. Rookie Vojtech Polak follows him with 19 points, 8 goals and a +/- of –1 and then rookie Yan Stastny with 18 points, 8 goals and a +/- of +1.

The world of hockey at year end 2005

Look, today, as soon as possible, at the following link. Better yet, in case it changes, here is a picture of the link. There at the bottom of the East Division, Eastern Conference is our old friend the Philadelphia Phantoms, better known to Chicago fans as the Phucs.

It must have been a wild year indeed for the two teams that fought for the Calder Cup last year to be near or at the bottom of their division. The time has come, I think, to take stock of this year, or at least of the last few months in this season.

Minor league fans expected many of their teams to change significantly as players moved to the NHL, however, the tightening of the rules on veterans has significantly effected the Wolves and I expect the same can be said for some other teams as well. (The Phantoms, the Senators, the Penguins?) Minor league fans may support a “development league,” but do we need to be reminded of this by having our vets move on to Europe or the ECHL or retirement? The top management of the AHL has a development league mentality. They support changes that hurt teams that are independent of and successful despite their NHL ties. For my money, I want a minor league team that is stable and successful despite what happens to the NHL affiliate. More on this in a minute.

My money is just as good if it is spent on minor league hockey or college sports or an annual trip to Vegas. The continued tightening of the vet rules are leaving me cold. It hurt this year hard. Not only did the better players move to the NHL, leaving many new faces on the ice, but some old faces are gone. It was bad timing. The Vet rules could have been relaxed this year. Last year was the best year ever in the AHL. Why? There was superior play led by veterans and NHL level players. But, the AHL wants to avoid a repitition of this. Their management apparently wants the good AHL player material to be young prospects. They are choosing to enforce rules limiting AHL teams from using too many vets. I grade this D.

The fact is, the enforcement of on-ice rules sucks. Our teams are all playing as if Harry Dumas were calling the game. It’s strict enforcement to the point where the game is being broken up and the flow interrupted. Harry Dumas calling every game? The games he officiates aren’t fun when they go your way. Relax some of the interference calls. Let’s keep it in perspective, would it have cost a shot on goal?

My solution in the AHL is to add another set of eyes on ice and relax some of the calls. First, statistically, when you have three people calling, versus four, the calls are most likely to be better balanced. Second, the officiating is missing some calls that should be called. This, in turn, leads to the calls for better officiating. And, finally, if the AHL is a development league for officials, as well as players, the league should be striving to reach the NHL level too. You’ll need to spend more money here Dave Andrews. C+

I have to support the rules changes otherwise. The game is more open and faster. It is more exciting to see a game that would be put away last year still have potential this year. No more clutching, holding, defensive playing hockey? A grade of B.

The shootout? Yuck! Count me as among those who hate it. I don’t want to go to a hockey game and spend 60 minutes of terror to have it end in a skills contest. Count this grade F. If the teams test themselves for that long and can’t determine the better set of men, it is a tie.

Changes to goalie equipment, goalie movement, etc. This set of rule changes is great. Unfortunately, there was a price to pay, many injuries among the goalies who were not in shape. But a hockey game is exciting to watch because of the rules changes. “How did he stop that?” is no longer an empty phrase. I was watching a game two or three nights ago and the goalie came out to the circle to freeze a puck. He got a penalty for interference. A+. Yes, great change.

There is one more change which the Shanahan think tank suggested during the lockout, one minute minor penalties during OT. Games shouldn’t be decided by officiating. We approach football if we let that occur. Here is a link to an article by sports writer Jamie Fitzpatrick on the Shanahan think tank.

The real question at this point isn’t what is the overall grade. The real question is what is the experience like versus the previous year? That’s how season ticket holders and other fans decide to spend their money. Is the experience better or worse? In general it is better. However, I dread the coming post season.

The Wolves, last year, were dogged by accusations of buying their way to the Calder Cup because of a deal that brought two players from the Florida Panthers, through San Antonio, to their roster: Steven Wiess and Jay Bouwmeester. The deal, which was cut in early March 2005, was priceless, Wiess and Boumeester played for the remainder of the season with the Wolves, their appearance started the development of the Black Aces squad at the Wolves. These Black Aces are players who had played for the Wolves, getting them to a point to compete for the Calder Cup, but were not allowed to play in the post season due to a limit of dressed skaters. (A link to an article on the Black Aces).

The Black Aces squad appears on any team that is competing in post season play. There is some discussion among some Wolves fans on the negative effect of the signing of Weiss and Boumeister on the 2005-6 team. You’ll need to read between the lines on the thread I’m linking to, Did you give up yet?, but the questioning of the Wolves organization is clearly there.

Now, the point of this five paragraph intro, where is the integrity of allowing players who have never played with the team in the regular season, or only played after the clear day roster, to play in the post season? If the Bouwmeester and Weiss deal was questioned and it occurred before the clear day roster announcement, what about the juniors who appear in post season or at the very end of the regular season? Help me understand that one, please? Once again, my money is just as good if it is spent on minor league hockey or college sports or an annual trip to Vegas. I want to see the same post season team on the ice as I’ve seen during the regular season. I want the winner of the Calder Cup to be the same team that brought them to post season play.

There is usually a Black Aces group on every team. That’s the team I want to see play, the one dressed and the one not, from regular season play. Not a team padded with last minutes PTOs and junior call ups. Development league, shlevelopment league. Calling up players to pad the roster is good for the team, and leaves a bad taste in the mouth of fans. Change the rules to stop it. If a player hasn’t played by the clear day roster deadline, they cannot play in the playoffs.

Scouting the Grand Rapids Griffins

Chicago will be closing out a five game home stand for the Griffins. They play tonight against Omaha and on Friday against the Bulldogs. They are currently on a four game winning streak. A tough team this year, the Griffins are at the top of their division with 46 points and are considered by many to be a favorite to witn the North Division and the Western Conference this year. The Grifs have a team balanced between some veterans and some youngsters new to the AHL.

The Grifs also sport the best AHL home power play, scoring on 27.6 percent of power plays at home, 21.2 percent overall. They’ll also be playing with among the worst pks, with 18.8 percent of them falling, ranked 21st in the AHL. Of course, they play the Wolves, who have an away power play that is even worse, 12.6 percent succeeding, 13.1 overall, ranked 23rd in the league. And, the Griffins have no worries with their 8th ranked shootout percentage against the Wolves. If it should come to that, the Wolves remain on the bottom of the league for shootout wins

Greg Ireland is the new head coach of the Griffins. The former assistant coach is on a one year contract extension. The Griffins have seemed to win in spurts, including a 12 game win over the final five weeks of the 2004-5 season and the off and on streaks of this month. His defensive strategies have led to a franchise low 166 goals, 2.08 GAA, during his tenure last year. Aside from hockey, the coach has a love for lacrosse, coaching several Canadian junior and midget teams to national championships, as well as working with youths in Michigan.

Jim Paek backs Ireland as the assistant coach. The first Korean to play in the NHL and win a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Paek has also won two Turner Cups. Prior to working with the Griffins, Paek was head coach of the Orlando Seals.

The game Saturday will feature what is billed as the largest indoor fireworks display in Western Michigan and an intermission spectacle by the Red Panda Acrobats.

Jimmy Howard and Drew MacIntyre hold the pipes for the Griffins, with a 91.2 and a 90.8 save percentage, respectively. They have almost identical GAA’s of 2.52 and 2.53 making their saves and GAA very similar to Brian Finley’s. MacIntyre played for Sherbrooke in the 2002-03 season, ending with a 2.75 GAA and 31-24-5 record in the regular season. Last year with Grand Rapids he had a 2.69 GAA. Howard has seen some NHL bench time this season. If he gets called up it could be Joey MacDonald in the pipes. MacDonald is saving 87.7 percent of shots with a GAA of 3.87, somewhat worse than Jani Hurme.

Jiri Hudler is in competition to lead the league in scoring with 41 points so far, 17 of those are goals. Eric Manlow follows him with 34 points, 12 goals, and +8, then Valtteri Filppula with 30 points and 12 goals. Filppula played with Jockerit Helsinki for the past two seasons, scoring 30 points in the last season. This is his first season with the AHL. He is commuting between Detroit and GR this year.

D men Kyle Quincey, with 18 points and Bryan Helmer with 17 points are among the top 20 AHL defensemen. Quincey played with Mississauga last season where he scored 46 points in regular season play.

Meanwhile Darryl Bootland is third in league penalty minutes at 164. He follows Josh Gratton of the Phantoms, 165 and Dennis Bonvie of the Penguins with 176. Kent McDonell, lags way behind, with a 78 Pim so far. Bootland, who once spent a lot of time commuting between Grand Rapids and Toledo, scored 34 points with the Griffins last year. Nevertheless, it’s hard to see another NHL try for Darryl, who is probably going to play in the AHL for the remainder of his professional career.

Nate Dicasmiro leads the Grifs in +/- with 10, followed by Greg Amadio at +9 and Travis Richards and Manlow +8.

Ryan Oulahen was a captain of the Brampton team last season. He scored 58 points there. Directly from the Griffins web site:

"Voted “Most Underrated Player” and “Hardest Worker,” and shared “Best Penalty Killer” honors in the OHL Eastern Conference Coaches’ Poll…Finished second in “Best Defensive Forward” and third in “Best on Faceoffs”voting.”

He’ll be someone to watch grow.

Derek Meech played for Red Deer until this year, and has experienced several Memorial Cup runs with that team. Eric Himelfarb moved from Sarnia to Barrie finally spending the 2003-4 season in Kingston, where he scored 107 points. He only played seven games in the Griffins that season, earning another five points. Last season he scored 43 points and 19 goals with the Griffins.

Brad Bonello worked his way around the OHL before ending his time there with Ottawa where he had 66 points in his 2004-5 season. Clay Wilson played college hockey at Michigan Tech and two short seasons with the Muskegon Fury. With 10 points in 15 games he has more going now then anytime in the past. Something is finally clicking with the young guy.

Todd Jackson played in Maine in the 2003-4 season, with the Griffins for part of the next season and also Toledo. He clearly had some ice time in Toledo where he scored 25 points in 35 games last season. He is still spending time commuting between Toledo and Grand Rapids.

Nick Martens played with Michigan for the last several seasons. He hasn’t seen a lot of ice time with the Griffins and hasn’t really shown much in his amateur career to recommend it now.

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Six points lost

It was a six point weekend for the Wolves. Six lost points. The only home game was against the Milwaukee Admirals. I thought Hurme played well through about 30 minutes of the Admirals game. Then, I thought he seemed tired. That's when we began seeing the Hurme we hate, again. Softies, long shots, looking the wrong way... the list go on.

The man is in rehab. Does he really need to play a full 60 minute game? Has anyone who has gone through a major illness, as this guy has, been kept in when they are obviously not as good at the end as at the beginning? It is not clear what is going on here. I'd like to know.

Milwaukee is my pick to top the West in regular season play. I was disappointed in the play of Finley on Saturday. He has been in the pipes against the Wolves for years and this is the first time I can say his play is off. There are a lot of new faces on the ice for the Ads. One writer took me to task on a message board for saying the Ads are rebuilding. I'm not backing away yet from saying they are the best team in the West, but this is a new team and in my eyes they are rebuilding.

The Billy Tibbets Show continues on the ice. Every two-bit goon in the league wants Tibbets to take a poke at them. It's like watching one of the Westerns as a kid. The reformed bad guy is constantly being taunted and goaded. Will he finally explode, and return to the way of the outlaw or will he hold on? Will there be a defining moment when Tibbets explodes for some sort of good, as in the old movies.

Fierceness. I wrote that word back to a fan on one of the boards who admonished me for hating the little Pens. If you’ve read this blog, you’ll recognize that it is a hate born of love. Keep writing.

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Irrational hate

It was a gray morning, Thursday. The darkness of my soul matched by the winter weather outside. It was empty inside. What to do when you’ve decided that the team you hate isn’t worthy of your hate anymore? Although I am a Chicago Wolves fan, some time ago I decided that I hated the Wilkes-Barre Penguins. It wasn't an easy decision in the first place. The Wolves and the baby Pens hardly ever play each other for one thing. And the other thing is there is a lot to admire going on in Wilkes-Barre.

For one thing, I think they have the best fans in hockey. I really mean that. I’d met a few of these poor souls in Milwaukee several years ago when the Sadmirals made their Calder Cup run. They were so down-to-earth, regular folks. And they were not wealthy at all. I mean they were camping out, following their team to Milwaukee in May. It couldn’t have been easy for them.

They were just regular folks: coal miners, moms with their daughters and wage earners. They were committed fans and a real joy to talk to. Milwaukee fans were playing the usual meanness on these poor people.

They explained how the team had allowed them to fly with them to Milwaukee. The coach had insisted they not talk to the players. They spent their own hard-earned dollars to follow the team to Milwaukee, were camping out in the cold, wet Wisconsin spring and they weren’t allowed to talk to the players? Oh, puleze!

They were from Wilkes-Barre. There’s not a lot of money in that town. What type of creep would do that? That was the moment I decided to hate the baby Pens.

It ran against the grain of Chicago Wolves fans. We hate the Admirals. Well, to be frank we hate the Bucks, Brewers and Marquette too, so anything from Milwaukee… Well come to think about it some more, we hate the Badgers and the Packers, cheeseheads in general and anything from the dairy state… Hmmm… Okay, let’s see, we hate the Admirals. That much is clear. And, we hate the Griffins. Okay, I hate the Griffins. Although they have a nice arena and their fans are pretty nice… They are from Michigan… and the only good wolverine is a dead wolverine…

Look… I’m getting lost in the entire hate thing here. The fact is that it is easy, so very easy to hate your traditional rivals. I wanted something mythic, I wanted the unreachable. I wanted a rivalry which would only have a full and complete consummation when the Wolves met their rivals in the Calder Cup. And the Penguins fit the bill nicely.

Beside for the great fans, it is obvious that the baby Pens have these great players, and it is one of my dreams to see a game in the Wachovia Center some night. They sell out practically every game. The place must rock!

It is a big commitment to hate something. Sports fans know. If the Yankees left New York, would Boston hate them as much? Would Cubs fans hate Cards fans as much if they were in different divisions or even leagues? I grew up in a family of White Sox fans. I hardly knew there was a team playing baseball in St. Louis. The answer is no. NO! Stop insisting the BoSox fans will never give up their storied hate of the Yankees. NO!… Okay, yes.

It’s a commitment thing. You commit your soul to the hatred of another team in sports. You see evil ooze from the other team and watch their victories with envy and defeats with glee.

So, on Thursday morning, the world changed. It was crooked. When the Pittsburgh Penguins took every person without skates on from Wilkes-Barre, every person including the Zamboni driver, the organist and the peanut vender, the world became askew. I didn’t realize it at first, but it was crooked. I didn’t hate the players. I can hardly name them. And I’ve already admitted I like the fans and would like to attend a game.

It was the management I didn’t care for. And they were in Pittsburgh. I immediately transferred my hate to the Pittsburgh Penguins. But I don’t follow the NHL. What do I care about the damn big Pens?

Life, as I knew it, had lost its meaning.

I need help. I could call Dr. Phil. Apparently he helps hockey players, coaches and managers, at least there is a blogger who says he does. But, really, I need help. Maybe… maybe my fellow fans understand and will help. I need to rethink this entire hate thing. Maybe the baby Pens are still worthy of my hate, as my wife, who hates the Crunch, says.

Why I should continue to hate the Pens or another team. The Moose or the Amerks (Opps, can’t hate the Amerks, the wife is from Rochester) might fit the bill. Who would you suggest I hate now?

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Chicago Wolves v Milwaukee Admirals 12.17

Milwaukee returns to the AA on Saturday night Simon Gamacheless, but with 36 points. Although this puts them in second place for the West Division, behind the Aeros, the Aeros have played four more games than the Ads. The Ads are sneeking their way into first place and the people back east are not noticing.

Scoring on 19.3 percent of the power plays, the Ads are only matching the Bingo Senators, but they are killing 86.3 percent of penalties. Michel Robinson, formerly of the Ice Hogs, should be fronting the team as Nashville recalled Pekka Rinne.

D-Man Kevin Klein has 17 points in 22 games, among the best in the AHL for defense. It’s an evolving team that is surprising me with its strength. Aside from Gamache and Rinne, familiar names you will not find on Saturday include Tootoo, Finley and Zanon, all up in Nashville.

Since the December 2nd victory over the Wolves, the Ads have won one in regulation, one in OT, one in a shootout and dropped two games.

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Chicago Wolves v. Iowa Stars 12.16

The Iowa Stars enter the Friday night game against the Wolves leading the Chicagoans by two points in the standings, but just barely doing better than the home town favorites in percentage of games won. Overall, we should catch them as we play more games. Iowa has dropped 3 of its last four, only defeating the Wolves in a shootout in Des Moines last week.

Questions are being raised about whether the Iowa franchise will remain in Des Moines, but team officials assured the Des Moines Register recently that they plan to stay. Mike Ellis and Dan Smith man the pipes with Smith ranked 7th among AHL goalies with a 91.5 percent save ratio and a 2.5 GAA. Ellis is ranked 20th with a 90.9 percent save ratio and a 2.89 GAA. Smith has notched two shutouts this season so far.

The Stars have one of the worst power plays, scoring on just 11.8 percent of their chances at home, 12.9 percent overall. The PK also needs some work as it is working just 81.5 percent of the time, 82.2 percent at home.

However, that shootout win was no accident. They’ve had four chances and have taken home the brass ring three times. The Wolves, in comparison are particularly weak on shootouts, having taken only one of their four.

The usual goons are still among the top penalty earners in the league: Garrett Burnett has 104 Pims, but sadly his talents were deemed… well, he was sent down. Zack Stortini has 101 Penalty minutes however, and we can look forward to his goonery tomorrow night. The most likely match-ups if the gloves drop appear to be Stortini and B J Crombeen from the Stars. They might face who? Abid perhaps, and Lessard.

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The Billy Tibbets Show

Okay, back to the Chicago Wolves, another team that has struggled after a terrific season last year. Coach Anderson wasn’t getting the message across, the players didn’t care, and the captain was on ice, having broken his ankle in the first minute of the first game. A roster of terrific AAA goalies was devoured by Atlanta as its goalies went down to injury. If it wasn’t for the San Antonio Rampage, the worst team in the AHL, the Wolves would be in last place in their division. Pschologically they were already there, DFL.

I think it came down to this, on December 3 the Wolves lost 4-6 against Omaha, having dropped four in a row. Not even a shoot-out loss, and three of the four games at home. Whatever was happening, had to stop. The Wolves made the amazing announcement on November 25th they had signed Bobbie Hull and that Atlanta had assigned Jani “the sieve” Hurme to Chicago. Okay, so Hull was coming aboard as a charity effort, so was Hurme. Hurme, it may be recalled, was a top goalie prospect for the Thrashers in the days before the CBA. If he came back then the Thrashers would be required to pay his contract, which would put them over the salary cap. Hurme, following a life threatening bout with a post operative infection, hadn’t played in two years.

At first, the Wolves fans on the boards were ecstatic. Then they saw him in the pipes. I have never left a game so disheartened as after watching Hurme in his first two starts. He couldn’t stop a pee-wee dribbler, let alone the Omaha Knights. And the Wolves were stuck with him for god only knows how long.

On December 8th the Rockford Ice Hogs announced they had loaned Billy Tibbets to the Wolves. Tibbets is to hockey, I suppose, as Dennis Rodman is to basketball. He is highly talented and very volatile. I cannot even begin to cover the problems, mainly criminal matters, that this guy has left behind on the teams he played with.

The low point came December 9th. For some reason, my wife was home that morning, and I was going into work late. She was on the telephone to the Wolves explaining how we are season ticket holders and who made the Tibbets decision? She said she worked with pregnant 12 year-olds and didn’t want to associate with a team that had a guy like Tibbets on it.

Being a bit of a smart ass, I asked her if Tibbets was joining the Wolves “Read to Succeed” program, where the players read to school age children in libraries. The “Look” was my reply, and if you’re married, you know the look.

The Wolves played Peoria that night at the Allstate. And the losing streak ended. How?

Peoria is undoubtedly hot, though I think that will be coming to an end soon. Tibbets was on the ice, scoring the first Wolves goal. Later, refusing to face Rivermen goon Rocky Thompson. In fact Tibbets has appeared in three games with the Wolves, and each time been challenged to fight, and each time has turned and skated away, leaving the goon with a penalty and the Wolves on the power play. He has scored, additionally, three points, including two goals in the three games he played in, being blanked by San Antonio last night.

In addition Hurme is finding his way to stop shots too. Enough for 25 saves and a win.

It could be a last chance for Tibbets in the sport. Is his presence turning the Wolves? He cares and is playing with heart, which is more than I could have said for many of the Wolves before he showed up. There appears to be a difference on the ice. There is hustle again. There is movement for a full 60 minutes.

For Tibbets, and the Wolves, it is time to show us what they’ve got. It is becoming exciting to be a fan again.

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