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NAHL races burning at the two-month mark

November 18, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release


With the NAHL season now at the two-month mark, the divisional races have started to take shape.

In the wild West Division, three points separate the top four teams.

Down South, Texas has jumped out to a strong lead, but there's only four points between second place Texarkana and sixth place Wichita Falls.

Up North, a mere eight points divides all six clubs, top to bottom.

Clearly, this year's NAHL features some very exciting and highly competitive races.

"I think it shows just how good the NAHL is right now, and how good our teams and players are," says Springfield Jr. Blues coach Nick Pollos. "It makes for great rivalries -- which we have -- and speaks well for the quality of this league."

NAHL coaches believe the races will just get tighter and even more competitive as the season progresses.

In the hotly-contested West Division, it seems each team has taken turns getting hot and making a good run -- even last place Bozeman, who started well but cooled off while being been victimized by seven one-goal losses. Billings had leapfrogged the others until stumbling last weekend.

"I think that's how it's going to be all season. We have a young team and I expected we'd have some ups and downs early in the season, but I think we actually overachieved," says Bulls coach Mike Aikens. "We had a bad weekend last weekend, going 0-3-1. You get a bad weekend once in a while, but if you only play one or two games it doesn't hurt you that much. I think we can get better and I expect that the adversity we've run into will help us down the road, especially when we get to the playoffs.

"Each teams in our division has good players capable of making a difference for them," Aikens continues. "We only saw Bismarck, Fargo and Minnesota for the first time this past weekend, so it's a bit tough to get a real good read on them. But Fargo has a very good team, all through the lineup -- very good forwards and defensemen. Minnesota has won a lot of games and they looked very strong as well.

"I think Bismarck is better than their record shows and they should be back in the hunt by the holidays. I expect them to be a factor in the second half.

"Bozeman has the type of coaching that will help turn that team around and, with a few adjustments and some experience, I expect they will have to be reckoned with before this is over."

But, Aikens says, "the team that really scares me is Helena. They've got some veterans, they can really score goals and they have picked up some players to help them defensively."

Despite Texas's lead in the division, their rivals are conceding them nothing. "Texas has a strong team and good program," says Pollos, "but this is still anyone's division, regardless of the standings at the moment.

"In our division, there's real depth, top to bottom," Pollos adds. "Some nights, a team's goalie might beat you and then the next night, that same team will just outscore you. Us, Texas and Texarkana like to open things up, use our talent. And some teams in our division play very good defense. It makes for a different game every night and it's kind of fascinating that way.

Of all the South teams, Pollos is "really impressed by Texarkana. Jon Cooper has done an excellent job there in only the second year of his program. You have to be on your toes every game against them."

It's more of the same competitiveness in the North, where Toledo coach Mike Mankowski observes, "The Soo, Cleveland and the U.S. Under-17 team may be younger, but they are gaining experience. And they can already capable of knocking off any of the other clubs in the division on any night.

"I think its going to go down to the wire as to which of the teams in this division finishes on top."

Among all the opposing teams and players who have made an impression on him through the first two months, Mankowski says, "Youngstown's top line of Rob Rassey, Aaron Rhyner and Anthony Canzoneri really stands out for me. They are very powerful. Their role players on that team have also done a good job, but that line really makes that team go."

That Phantoms line is one of three in the NAHL that has shoehorned all its members into the top ranks of the scoring race. The Youngstown threesome, the Texas trio of Brad Cooper, Tom Train and Karl Sellan and the Helena unit of Brandon Marino, Nate Rein and Andy Gevorkyan are nine of the top 14 scorers in the league.

Cooper leads all scorers and his Texas teammate Nick Mazzolini is runner up, followed by Springfield Jr. Blues Pat Lee, then Rassey and Train.

The top defensive scorer is Cleveland's Nick Biondo, with Texarkana's Matt Taormina (the leading goal scoring defenseman with 10) and Texas' Austin Miller (who leads all defensemen in assists with 14) right behind.

The NAHL's top goaltender through two months is Tornado rookie Ben Bishop. Bishop leads the league in goals against average and wins and is second in save percentage and games played.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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