Some Junior hockey talk
While I am glad that the NHL is back, I am more into Junior A hockey these days. One of my Sports links is to the official site of my hometown Wichita Falls Wildcats of the NAHL. What a season it has been so far for the Wildcats and their division in the NAHL. The 'Cats have a record of 15-8-0 and 30 points. That is good enough for third place in the South Division, but these days that is mighty good. I can't speak for the rest of the league, but I can definitely say that the overall level of play in the South is way up from last year. The top three teams in the division have a combined winning percentance (as of today) of .699--far and away the best among the four divisions in the league (the others are .639, .625, and .599). Every year the NAHL has a showcase in which all 20 teams play in a four-day round-robin format. The South Division had the best record in the Showcase: 13 wins, 5 losses, and 2 losses in overtime. The action has been fast, with lots of good, clean hitting, and some spectacular goalie play (which I really like).
Speaking of goalies, the South division currently has the #2, 4, and 5 goalies in the entire league. A recent home game here featured the Wildcats' #1 goalie, Tom Billick, stopping 30 of 31 shots, and some of the saves were amazing. The Springfield goalie, Mike Garman, was even better, stopping 42 of 42 shots in one of the best performances I have seen in four years of Junior hockey here. Last night in Frisco, Texas, the #1 goalie for Texarkana, Riley Gill, outdueled the top goalie for the Texas Tornado (the two-time defending NAHL champions) Troy Redmann (currently the #2 goalie in the league) 1-0 in overtime. Man, I love great goalie play!
As for fan support, four of the top six in attendance are in the South Division.
Every team in the South Division is good. The fourth place team, Springfield, would be probably be second or third in any of the other divisions. Santa Fe is currently in fifth, but they have many of the top players from last year's very good team, and they will improve as the season progresses.
I'm telling you, the NAHL is not some little league imitation of hockey. This is real, quality hockey. Anyone who is in or near a city with a team in the NAHL should go out and support these teams. If you can't go to the games, you can catch them on the radio or the internet (go to the NAHL site for links to the teams and internet broadcasts).
I will probably have several future posts about the Wildcats, but for now I will say the most improved player from last year in my opinion is Tom Billick. He started out as the #1 goalie last year, but went to backup once Dan DiLeo (who is currently playing at Cornell, backing up last year's top NCAA goalie, who came from the Texas Tornado) was acquired halfway through the season. Some guys might have gone downhill after that, but Tom has been absolutely rock-solid this year. Way to go, Tom!
Speaking of goalies, the South division currently has the #2, 4, and 5 goalies in the entire league. A recent home game here featured the Wildcats' #1 goalie, Tom Billick, stopping 30 of 31 shots, and some of the saves were amazing. The Springfield goalie, Mike Garman, was even better, stopping 42 of 42 shots in one of the best performances I have seen in four years of Junior hockey here. Last night in Frisco, Texas, the #1 goalie for Texarkana, Riley Gill, outdueled the top goalie for the Texas Tornado (the two-time defending NAHL champions) Troy Redmann (currently the #2 goalie in the league) 1-0 in overtime. Man, I love great goalie play!
As for fan support, four of the top six in attendance are in the South Division.
Every team in the South Division is good. The fourth place team, Springfield, would be probably be second or third in any of the other divisions. Santa Fe is currently in fifth, but they have many of the top players from last year's very good team, and they will improve as the season progresses.
I'm telling you, the NAHL is not some little league imitation of hockey. This is real, quality hockey. Anyone who is in or near a city with a team in the NAHL should go out and support these teams. If you can't go to the games, you can catch them on the radio or the internet (go to the NAHL site for links to the teams and internet broadcasts).
I will probably have several future posts about the Wildcats, but for now I will say the most improved player from last year in my opinion is Tom Billick. He started out as the #1 goalie last year, but went to backup once Dan DiLeo (who is currently playing at Cornell, backing up last year's top NCAA goalie, who came from the Texas Tornado) was acquired halfway through the season. Some guys might have gone downhill after that, but Tom has been absolutely rock-solid this year. Way to go, Tom!
posted by WCharles @ 11/27/2005 04:31:00 PM
8 Comments:
We have an AHL team here in Binghamton, the Senators. They're a farm team for the Ottawa Senators. I think they've won 2 games so far and are probably in the cellar. My son played hockey in HS many years ago so I had to go to all of his games. Hockey is pretty big in this area with many different levels of competition.
I figured hockey talk would be pretty good since the holiday weekend was not a good NFL experience for either of us...
I don't know, wanna talk about the upcoming Giants/Cowboys game? The one where the Giants will prove they are number one in the division.
It should be a good game. On my fantasy team, I will likely start Eli at QB, as whenever I do that he does not have a good game, and when I do not start him, he goes wild. :-)
And BTW, did you notice that I did not make any comments after the first Cowboys-Giants game?
Seriously, I think it is going to be a hard-hitting defense-dominated game.
It will be a close game. Eli runs hot and cold. If he is hot, Giants win it.
Speaking of sports, you'll like this since you are such a big fan of t.o. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5119324
That story about Specter was one of the first things I saw when I logged on this morning. I am contemplating a new post about it--if I calm down.
As a lawyer who used to represent plaintiffs in employment cases (a lost cause in this state), I can honestly say that the way the Eagles handled this situation seemed more than fair (although I have not read the CBA). I'm guessing that you would agree from an H.R. perspective. And that's one of the things that just pisses me off about all of this. At any regular workplace, t.o. would have been out on his ass much sooner, and it all would have been perfectly legitimate and legal. Moreover, the little bitch is still getting paid, and once the season is over he can talk to any team he wants. In the lawyer bidness, that is what we call "no injury."
I better stop now before I start getting really worked up.
The outcome was more than fair to t.o., but far from fair to the team and the fans. I agree, in a normal business, t.o. would have been fired probably with no golden parachute and no chance of UI. And speaking of prima dona treatment, in my world if an employee fails a drug test they are gone, no plea bargaining, no arbitration. They are terminated, anihilated, summarily walked to the door and booted... no second chance. We take the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 seriously, but we have to unlike professional sports.
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