Western States Hockey League

kahunakats
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Western States Hockey League

Post by kahunakats » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:44 am

A Statistical Weekend Preview (February 27-March 2)

A marathon has turned into a short sprint, as just two weeks remain in the longest regular season in WSHL history. With all but two playoff spots already clinched, this weekend will go a long way to deciding who the final two playoff squads will be, as some claw for their playoff lives, while others look to improve their position, as the tempo gets taken up another notch.

Southern Oregon Spartans (12-27-4, 5th in Northwest Division) @ Missoula Maulers (15-22-4, 4th in Northwest Division)
Three-game series in Missoula, Montana
Southern Oregon Spartans
Home Record: 9-13-1
Away Record: 2-11-3
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Arturs Buss (43GP, 13G, 29A, 42P)
Top Goaltender: Ian Dvorak (6-15-1, 4.29 GAA, .873 SV%)

Missoula Maulers
Home Record: 9-8-1
Away Record: 2-14-3
Head-to-head: 0-3-0
Leading Scorer: Corey Schafer (36GP, 13G, 24A, 37P)
Top Goaltender: Sebastian Gronborg (6-4-1, 2.34 GAA, .917 SV%)
* Missoula clinches a playoff berth with anything other than three regulation losses over the weekend. A single point would also eliminate Southern Oregon from playoff contention *
El Paso Rhinos (38-2-0, 1st in Midwest Division) @ Tulsa Jr. Oilers (6-34-0, 5th in Midwest Division)
Three-game series in Tulsa, Oklahoma
El Paso Rhinos
Home Record: 18-0-0
Away Record: 18-0-0
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Matthew Plesa (36GP, 26G, 54A, 80P)
Top Goaltender: Adam Vay (22-1-0, 1.94 GAA, .932 SV%)

Tulsa Jr. Oilers
Home Record: 4-11-0
Away Record: 1-20-0
Head-to-head: 0-3-0
Leading Scorer: Derek Smith (30GP, 10G, 10A, 20P)
Top Goaltender: Adam Salisbury (2-4-0, 7.19 GAA, .846 SV%)
* El Paso has clinched top seed in Midwest Division, Tulsa has been eliminated from playoff contention *
Colorado Jr. Eagles (23-16-2, 3rd in Mountain Division) @ Dallas Snipers (20-18-2, 4th in Midwest Division)
Three-game series in Plano, Texas
Colorado Jr. Eagles
Home Record: 11-8-1
Away Record: 10-6-1
Head-to-head: 2-1-0
Leading Scorer: Levi Weber (41GP, 29G, 21A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Eric Messer (10-18-0, 3.78 GAA, .895 SV%)

Dallas Snipers
Home Record: 8-9-1
Away Record: 12-6-0
Head-to-head: 1-2-0
Leading Scorer: Emil Melin (39GP, 15G, 35A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Emil Eriksson (10-10-0, 4.06 GAA, .891 SV%)
* Colorado and Dallas have both clinched playoff berths, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
Long Beach Bombers (23-18-0, 4th in Western Division) @ Wichita Jr. Thunder (4-35-1, 6th in Midwest Division)
Three-game series in Wichita, Kansas
Long Beach Bombers
Home Record: 14-6-0
Away Record: 6-11-0
Head-to-head: 1-0-0
Leading Scorer: Filip Martinec (39GP, 38G, 56A, 94P)
Top Goaltender: Talon Miller (13-9-0, 3.24 GAA, .895 SV%)

Wichita Jr. Thunder
Home Record: 3-15-0
Away Record: 1-16-1
Head-to-head: 0-1-0
Leading Scorer: Joel Gellvear (40GP, 13G, 27A, 40P)
Top Goaltender: Jake Larson (2-14-1, 6.96 GAA, .857 SV%)
* Long Beach leads Lake Tahoe by five points for the #4 playoff spot in the Western Division, Wichita has been eliminated from playoff contention *
Ontario Avalanche (30-9-3, 2nd in Western Division) @ Fresno Monsters (33-5-2, 1st in Western Division)
Three-game series in Fresno, California
Ontario Avalanche
Home Record: 15-4-2
Away Record: 11-5-1
Head-to-head: 0-2-1
Leading Scorer: Antoine Maillard (41GP, 35G, 37A, 72P)
Top Goaltender: Daniel Cepila (13-6-0, 3.44 GAA, .904 SV%)

Fresno Monsters
Home Record: 11-3-2
Away Record: 19-1-0
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Mike Nolan (35GP, 25G, 32A, 57P)
Top Goaltender: Austin Piquette (15-2-1, 2.53 GAA, .900 SV%)
* Ontario and Fresno have both clinched playoff berths and home ice in the opening round of the playoffs, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
Boulder Bison (21-19-0, 4th in Mountain Division) @ Phoenix Knights (26-12-2, 1st in Mountain Division)
Three-game series in Chandler, Arizona
Boulder Bison
Home Record: 10-8-0
Away Record: 11-7-0
Head-to-head: 2-2-0
Leading Scorer: Charles Joly (38GP, 15G, 23A, 38P)
Top Goaltender: Colin Champine (12-11-0, 3.39 GAA, .891 SV%)

Phoenix Knights
Home Record: 13-3-2
Away Record: 11-7-0
Head-to-head: 2-1-0
Leading Scorer: Mitch Cobby (40GP, 29G, 51A, 80P)
Top Goaltender: Alex Taylor (14-7-1, 3.09 GAA, .901 SV%)
* Boulder and Phoenix have both clinched playoff berths, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
New Mexico Renegades (5-34-1, 6th in Mountain Division) @ Cheyenne Stampede (25-14-2, 2nd in Mountain Division)
Three-game series in Cheyenne, Wyoming
New Mexico Renegades
Home Record: 1-17-0
Away Record: 3-14-1
Head-to-head: 0-3-0
Leading Scorer: Zach Comfort (34GP, 14G, 8A, 22P)
Top Goaltender: Jacob Garvey (1-2-0, 5.00 GAA, .862 SV%)

Cheyenne Stampede
Home Record: 11-4-2
Away Record: 13-7-0
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Alexander Andersson (40GP, 23G, 38A, 61P)
Top Goaltender: Rasmus Hansson (13-4-1, 2.96 GAA, .894 SV%)
* Cheyenne has clinched a playoff berth, with exact seeding yet to be determined, while New Mexico has been eliminated from playoff contention *
Salt Lake City Moose (28-12-2, 3rd in Northwest Division) @ Lake Tahoe Blue (19-18-3, 5th in Western Division)
Three-game series played in South Lake Tahoe, California
Salt Lake City Moose
Home Record: 16-4-0
Away Record: 10-7-1
Head-to-head: 0-0-0
Leading Scorer: Pat Dwyer (42GP, 25G, 25A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Brad Robertson (14-4-2, 2.78 GAA, .911 SV%)

Lake Tahoe Blue
Home Record: 9-8-1
Away Record: 9-7-2
Head-to-head: 0-0-0
Leading Scorer: Edgars Homjakovs (39GP, 16G, 37A, 53P)
Top Goaltender: Troy Turpin (10-9-1, 3.87 GAA, .891 SV%)
* Salt Lake City has clinched a playoff berth, with exact seeding yet to be determined, while Lake Tahoe is five points behind Long Beach for fourth place in the Western Division *
Dallas Ice Jets (23-14-3, 2nd in Midwest Division) vs. Texas (22-15-3, 3rd in Midwest Division)
Three-game series played Friday in North Richland Hills and Saturday/Sunday in Grapevine, Texas
Dallas Ice Jets
Home Record: 10-7-2
Away Record: 10-6-1
Head-to-head: 1-2-0
Leading Scorer: Chris Schutz (40GP, 38G, 26A, 64P)
Top Goaltender: Tyler Hough (11-4-2, 2.11 GAA, .925 SV%)

Texas
Home Record: 11-5-1
Away Record: 9-9-1
Head-to-head: 2-1-0
Leading Scorer: Miguel Caron (39GP, 35G, 29A, 64P)
Top Goaltender: Oliver Eklund (10-5-3, 3.41 GAA, .900 SV%)
* Both Dallas and Texas have clinched playoff berths, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
San Diego Gulls (8-31-3, 6th in Western Division) vs. Valencia Flyers (24-15-4, 3rd in Western Division)
Home-and-home series played Friday in Valencia and Saturday in Escondido, California
San Diego Gulls
Home Record: 2-15-2
Away Record: 3-15-1
Head-to-head: 1-3-0
Leading Scorer: Michael Leone (41GP, 19G, 31A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Brody Cavataio (5-13-1, 3.97 GAA, .901 SV%)

Valencia Flyers
Home Record: 12-5-2
Away Record: 9-9-2
Head-to-head: 3-1-0
Leading Scorer: Austin Ehrlich (40GP, 22G, 35A, 57P)
Top Goaltender: Mark Becica (19-6-1, 2.65 GAA, .905 SV%)
* Valencia clinches playoff berth with one point, while San Diego has been eliminated from playoff contention *

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Post by Pounder » Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:49 am

Cut and paste a league press release?

Not the reason this caught my attention after glancing away from this for the better part of the month.

Silly story time.

I'm in Idaho to visit my daughter in October. I drive her up to McCall for the afternoon and evening... little Old West town on Payette Lake, mountains in the background, worth a trip. I've been to the Manchester Ice & Events Center before; a senior game involving a bunch of former pro Idaho Steelheads. The place is nice, kind of "oversized rustic cabin" motif, windows out towards the lake if you peer hard between the buildings across the street, seats not quite 600. We go to get tickets for the Junior Steelheads vs Valencia Flyers. Junior Steelheads are 3-time defending champions, tend to have a ridiculous W-L record, so the guy who sells us the tickets (it's a Friday afternoon before the evening game) apparently needs to sell to us that Valencia actually got a first period lead on Idaho during a road trip last year. About 150 in the stands. Final 6-1 Idaho.

It's a come-down from, say, the lot of WHL games I've seen the last few years; whether it's a step up from the NorPac Hockey League is another matter (probably yes, but I lack a sample size of game visits), and I can go on about how WSHL split off from USA Hockey and joined AAU, the politics are massively thick, there's always dubious operators around the corner, I can scarcely imagine the influence of hockey parents, and a lot of kids are stuck in the middle of it. There's got to be a better way when it comes to the lower levels of junior. However, for some reason, for all the games in different sports at higher levels I attend in a given year (not to mention the singular experience of being a season ticket holder and Timbers Army regular), going to a game at this level maybe once a year helps put a lot of things in perspective, whether it's the kids trying to get better at hockey, the nervous management, the very young skater doing her routine at intermissions, or the middle-school "cheerleaders" trying to keep the crowd motivated. Somehow I find myself going back.
Last edited by Pounder on Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mean Spirited Blogger #107

kahunakats
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Thorne Cup Finals Preview

Post by kahunakats » Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:06 am

26 weeks of the 2013-2014 regular season and two more arduous rounds of divisional playoff hockey have left just six teams to compete for the Thorne Cup, beginning April 2 in El Paso, Texas. Below is a synopsis of the six competing teams, listed by seed:

1. El Paso Rhinos (Midwest Division Champions, hosts)
The hosts of the 2014 Thorne Cup Finals had a spot in the tournament regardless of what they did during the post-season but it never looked as though slowing down was an option for Cory Herman and company, as the Rhinos swept their way to the seventh division title in team history.
The Plesa brothers headline the team up front and Matthew, Nick and Peter have been nearly unstoppable in their first season in El Paso, making no-look passes and sharp re-directs look easy.
You know a team is deep at the forward position when Eric Baldwin and Drew DePalma, the top two scorers for the San Diego Gulls when Cory Herman swooped them up at the trade deadline, are contributing on your third line.
Others rounding out the group include David Nelson, Jiri Pestuka, Tom Bartel and Austin Hoff, helping all four lines show the ability to score in bunches and play with a physical edge.
Herman’s defensive corps also features very few holes, with veteran Chris Wilhite headlining a group that has really rounded out their offensive game this season, with Jack Strusz, Roman Konecny and Kalvis Ozols all lighting the lamp with frequency.
The duo of Adam Vay and Bryce Fink is arguably the league’s best in net and each has been terrific throughout the post-season, giving Herman a true 1A and 1B in between the pipes.

2. Fresno Monsters (Western Division Champions)
One of only two teams to beat the Rhinos this season, the Fresno Monsters look more the part of a champion contender than ever and the Western Division Champions will be making their third straight Thorne Cup Finals appearance after sweeping their way through the divisional rounds.
Rookies Mike Nolan and Evan Ingram have been terrific from the outset and each has been strong in the playoffs, while veterans like Mike Fabie, Austin Browning, Filip Winkler, Justin Plate and Jordan Fontaine can all get hot in a hurry and depth players like Conner Osborne and Nico Wilton add the grit.
The defensive unit is strong in all facets, with veterans Gunnar Dircks, Michael Freeman, Cory Sikich, Mark Shroyer and Dan Fitzgerald, combining with newcomer Anthony Pena to make up a stout group that can do a little bit of everything.
Goaltending was an issue in the Long Beach series but Austin Piquette turned things around against Ontario, allowing one goal in each game to pick up the two wins, while Jerry Kaukinen is a solid option behind him and as we’ve seen in these quick events, having two strong goaltenders is a must.

3. Ogden Mustangs (Northwest Division Champions)
The Ogden Mustangs head to El Paso as a team oozing with confidence, as they won the Northwest Division title by beating the three-time defending champion Idaho Jr. Steelheads on their home ice in McCall, a feat that had not previously been done.
Like El Paso and Fresno, Ogden also has plenty of forward depth, with Simon Teodorsson, Jimmy Peplinski, Brody Decker, Craig Moore and Jon Mencer joining veterans Schuyler Seyfert, Sean Haltam and Dusty Watt to help carry the load, with someone different stepping up each time out. They have size, they have speed and they are playing like a team possessed.
One of the biggest keys to Ogden’s success has been the offense they’ve gotten from their defensemen, with captain David Clements leading a group that is responsible in their own end and lethal at the other. Mike Kowicki, George Babos, Cam Russell, Charlie Reed and the aforementioned Clements all finished the regular season with double digits in scoring.
Fallica has been the guy in net for the second straight year and has been on top of his game over the last few weeks. Not very big, he relies on his athleticism to make saves and continually stands on his head to get the job done.

4. Phoenix Knights (Mountain Division Champions)
Now carving out their own winning tradition, expect the Knights to put up a fight against whoever they face, as their forwards can score with anyone, led by Jordan Cullum, one of the league’s best over the last season and a half.
They also boast one of the hottest players in the league at the moment, in Ryan McNeely, who finished the regular season with points in his last 11 straight games, including 20 over his last five and followed that up with 10 points in six playoff games.
Also playing well are the two big additions that came over in deadline deals from the nearby Arizona Redhawks, forwards Mitch Cobby and Mattias Marten, both of whom took their game to another level in the Colorado series, while Max Mahood, Robert Smith, Brynton MacNab, Robert Crisci and Matt Gamblin have all chipped in as well.
The Knights can also put the puck in the net from the blue line, led by captain Kelby Minshull, who is trusted in all situations by his coach and Brennan Johnsson, who has really rounded out his offensive game this season. Others like Tanner Branch, Charlie Allen and Nick Kujawa provide veteran leadership, while also showing offensive abilities themselves.
Goaltending has been a bit of an issue since Troy Anderson was shipped off to Arizona to complete the deal that brought Marten to town, leaving veteran Alex Taylor to assume most of his minutes. Meanwhile, Luke Stripp, a late season addition from British Columbia, is 4-0-0 in the post-season, as he came on in each series to take the final two games and is likely the starter moving forward.

5. Idaho Jr. Steelheads (Northwest Division runners-up, wild card)
Despite not winning their division, the Idaho Jr. Steelheads still have a chance to win their fourth consecutive Thorne Cup Title in El Paso, as the current Thorne Cup and United Hockey Union Champions earned a berth as the wild card team.
They still have scorers as Dak Dice, Victor Carlsson, Hunter Lester, Macky Power and Bryan Hodges can all put the puck in the net but they don’t have any Stefan Brucato’s walking through the door to completely take over a game for them. One of the few bright spots in the series against Ogden was the play of role players, like Randy Patzner and Jesper Jensen, both of whom have been on their game as of late but Grabowski is still looking for more players to step up and help carry the slack that was left when guys guys like Kirk Van Arkel, Jan Blasko and August Von Ungern-Sternberg departed.
Ben Hull was fantastic during the two divisional rounds for Idaho, as he notched six points from the backend and is turning into one of their most consistent performers but few others chip in from the blue line, another big change for Idaho.
They’re still very solid on the backend however, as veterans Anton Virtanen and Victor Ivarsson have been steady, as have newcomers Dmitiris Jones, Oskar Af Bjur and Ian Patrican, all of whom can skate well and limit shots with positioning and great stick work.
Sean Healy hadn’t lost back-to-back games in goal all season, before the Mustangs got to him in the divisional finals. He’s still one of the league’s best and his regular season numbers prove that but he’s got to get his confidence back.

6. Texas Brahmas (Midwest Division runners-up, received berth with El Paso already having entry into event as hosts)
The Texas Brahmas punched their ticket to the Thorne Cup Finals when they took down the rival Dallas Ice Jets in the opening round of the playoffs over two weeks ago, setting up a clash with the Rhinos for the division tittle the next week, with both teams having a spot in the finals regardless of the outcome.
They have a good mix of skill and grit up front but need some of their more talented players to step up, including Miguel Caron, who is as skilled a player this league will see but suffers from inconsistency and has been quiet in the post-season.
Sebastien Tremblay has been the Brahmas best forward since coming to the team late in the season and the feisty French Canadian was right in the thick of things against the Rhinos, while veterans Landyn Howze and Dalton Foster play a strong two-way game.
They’ll also need small but skilled guys like Eric Lewis and Austin Murray to put the puck in the net, as each can create their own chances, while Seth Ensor and Chris Stovall, two of their better players against El Paso, can both bring the pain.
Although offense is almost non-existent from the backend, Cody Letsinger, Jesse Foskey, Jimmy Anderson, Keith Bendall and Jeremy Quenneville are all steady d-men that don’t take many chances and are sound positionally. I really liked the way Ian Atrencio played in El Paso during the divisional finals, as he got into a few post-whistle skirmishes, while trying to pump his team up, something they need more of going forward; fire.
Veteran Oliver Eklund is the steadier of the two goaltenders on the roster but Ryan Mulka has the big-save ability he doesn’t.

Wednesday April 2 (Designated home team listed first)
11 AM- Fresno Monsters vs. Texas Brahmas
3 PM- Ogden Mustangs vs. Phoenix Knights
7:30 PM- El Paso Rhinos vs. Idaho Jr. Steelheads
Thursday April 3
11 AM- Texas Brahmas vs. Ogden Mustangs
3 PM- Idaho Jr. Steelheads vs. Fresno Monsters
7:30 PM- Phoenix Knights vs. El Paso Rhinos
Friday April 4
11 AM- Ogden Mustangs vs. Idaho Jr. Steelheads
3 PM- Fresno Monsters vs. Phoenix Knights
7:30 PM- El Paso Rhinos vs. Texas Brahmas
The two semi-final winners will then meet for the Thorne Cup on Sunday April 6 at 4:30 PM, with each assured of a spot in the United Hockey Union National Championships, which begin April 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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