The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League established May 1, 1997 Volume #4, Issue #13 - February 29, 2000 ************************************************************************** Current League Officers: Commissioner: Doug Norris (303-492-3692) Vice-Commissioner: Andy Bartalone Email List Administator: Andy Bartalone Email the whole league: mailto:nshl@buser.net NSHL Chat List: mailto:nshlchat@buser.net League Web Site: http://amath.colorado.edu/math/student/norrisdt/nshl/nshl.html ************************************************************************** A LOOK BACK: The Manayunk Bullies had the best week in the league, going 5-1-0 to move into a tie for ninth place in the league. The most impressive feat for the Bullies was a 4-2 victory in Miami over the powerful Florida Hellcats; ironically, their only loss this week was a home defeat to those same Hellcats. Long Island continues to hold down the top spot in the league, with a 3-1-3 record keeping them oh-so-close to a 70% win percentage. Steve Rucchin had two goals as the Berserkers knocked off the Bulldogs in Buffalo. The Vultures of Fresno went 0-5-2 this week, and still hold the second position in the draft from the St. Michael's Privateers, who went 1-5. The Bulldogs sent disgruntled wing Joe Murphy to division rival Capital City, where he will hopefully soon become gruntled. ************************************************************************** A LOOK AHEAD: Well, four weeks (twenty-four games) of intradivisional play, followed by a quick six-game orgy of divisional contests that will probably decide the fate of at least two divisional champions. Until then, conference leaders square off all across the continent. The Bulldogs head down to Miami to take on the Florida Hellcats in what usually proves to be an exciting, wire-to-wire, contest. The Bulldogs desperately need some wins to gain ground in the Northeast, but this game (and one in Winnipeg later in the week) may prevent them from doing so. Speaking of Florida and Fort Garry, each travels to league-leading Long Island, where the Berserkers continue to roll over opponents. Either could be a Farley Cup Finals preview. ************************************************************************** TWO WEEKS UNTIL TRADE DEADLINE: The trading deadline this season is at the end of Week 23/24; that is, March 13 at 10 p.m. MST exactly. There will be no exceptions to this rule; I must have confirmation by both owners, either on my office voicemail (303-492-3493), or by e-mail, or the deal will be null and void. Any questions regarding this rule, please ask. ************************************************************************** THE 125% RULE IS COMING UP FAST: Scott Shigemi has graciously prepared a Player Usage FAQ for the league, which I will re-print here. Any questions, please ask Scott, myself, or the league in general. Thanks, Scott! It is that time of the year when your players may reach that magical mark that the league has set. According to our constitution, a player may dress for a number of games equal to 125% of the number of NHL games he played the previous year. So without further ado here are some common questions about usage. Q: When calculating the number games a player may dress for, do I round up or down? A: You round down. So a player who played 63 games last season in the NHL can play 78 games in the NSHL. 63 * 1.25 = 78.75 rounded down to 78. Q: What happens to a player who was dressed but didn't play? A: He's still counted as if he played. As long as you dress a player, he's used up one game. Q: Okay, so what happens with the games lost due to injury, do I get to add them to the number of games he can play? Or are they counted as games played? A: No, sorry but the games lost due to injury only help you when a possible injury occurs in a later game. The games lost due to injury are not added as games played. They only affect what games you can't play them in, and are added to your NHL games for purposes of future injury. Q: How does usage affect goalies? A: Goalies still have a maximum number of games that they can appear in. In addition, they also are affected by fatigue which is separate from total games played. Remember even if your goalie only played one action card they are treated as if they played an entire game. Q: So, how many NHL games are required in order for a player to play all 84 NSHL games? A: Well, working backwards 84 games / 1.25 = 67.2. Knowing that you round down for calculating how many games a player can play, we have to round up in this case for a total of 68 games. Any player with 68 or more games played in the NHL last year will be safe to play every NSHL game. Scott, thanks again! ************************************************************************** IMPORTANT LEAGUE DATES: March 1: Week Twenty-Three begins. March 13: Week Twenty-Three GRS due to league office. March 13: NSHL TRADE DEADLINE (10 p.m. MST) - NO EXCEPTIONS! March 15: Week Twenty-Five begins. ************************************************************************** WEEK TWENTY-THREE/TWENTY-FOUR SCHEDULE: (Week 23/24 is a 3-1-2 week for fatigue purposes). Fresno at Baltimore Manayunk at Lyndonville Rush-Henrietta at Baltimore Montreal at Lyndonville Toronto at Baltimore Seattle at Lyndonville Baltimore at Brooklyn Brooklyn at Manayunk Cabbagetown at Brooklyn Detroit at Manayunk Capital City at Brooklyn Fort Garry at Manayunk Fresno at Buffalo Brooklyn at Montreal St. Michael's at Buffalo Florida at Montreal Toronto at Buffalo Fort Garry at Montreal Fresno at Cabbagetown Long Island at New Jersey Rush-Henrietta at Cabbagetown Montreal at New Jersey St. Michael's at Cabbagetown Seattle at New Jersey Rush-Henrietta at Capital City Long Island at Quebec St. Michael's at Capital City Manayunk at Quebec Toronto at Capital City Seattle at Quebec Baltimore at Detroit New Jersey at Rush-Henrietta Buffalo at Detroit Quebec at Rush-Henrietta Capital City at Detroit Vancouver at Rush-Henrietta Buffalo at Florida Lyndonville at St. Michael's Cabbagetown at Florida Quebec at St. Michael's Capital City at Florida Vancouver at St. Michael's Baltimore at Fort Garry Brooklyn at Seattle Buffalo at Fort Garry Detroit at Seattle Cabbagetown at Fort Garry Florida at Seattle Lyndonville at Fresno Lyndonville at Toronto New Jersey at Fresno New Jersey at Toronto Quebec at Fresno Vancouver at Toronto Detroit at Long Island Long Island at Vancouver Florida at Long Island Manayunk at Vancouver Fort Garry at Long Island Montreal at Vancouver ************************************************************************** WEEK TWENTY-ONE/TWENTY-TWO RESULTS: Long Island 4, at Baltimore 4 (OT) [Week 17/18] Montreal 2, at Baltimore 0 [Week 17/18] St. Michael's 2, at Baltimore 4 Manayunk 4, at Baltimore 3 (OT) Florida 6, at Baltimore 5 (OT) Buffalo 1, at Brooklyn 3 BRK Doug Brown - game-winning goal BRK Adam Oates - two assists BUF Sami Kapanen - power-play goal Lyndonville 2, at Brooklyn 2 (OT) BRK Robert Kron - game-tying short-handed goal LYN Jamie Langenbrunner - goal BRK Jason Dawe - goal Long Island 1, at Brooklyn 1 (OT) BRK Peter Bondra - game-tying goal LIB Jeremy Roenick - goal Brooklyn 2, at Buffalo 4 BUF Viktor Kozlov - two goals, including GWG BUF Joe Sakic - goal, two assists BUF Dimitri Khristich - goal, assist, +3 Rush-Henrietta 1, at Buffalo 3 BUF Arturs Irbe - thirty-six saves BUF Alexei Zhamnov - goal, assist RHC Ron Francis - goal Long Island 4, at Buffalo 3 LIB Steve Rucchin - two goals, including GWG BUF Yanic Perreault - goal, assist LIB Claude Lapointe - goal, assist, strong on faceoffs Toronto 3, at Cabbagetown 1 [played by Doug North] TOR Glenn Healy - thirty-one saves TOR Mikael Renberg - game-winning goal CRR Milan Hejduk - goal Detroit 1, at Cabbagetown 3 CRR Pierre Turgeon - two goals CRR Jean-Sebastien Aubin - seventeen saves CRR Milan Hejduk - goal Fresno 2, at Capital City 3 CCC Keith Tkachuk - game-winning goal, assist CCC Fredrik Olausson - two assists VOF Joe Murphy - two assists Seattle 1, at Capital City 1 (OT) CCC John Vanbiesbrouck - twenty-nine saves SEA Stephane Fiset - twenty-eight saves SEA Jozef Stumpel - game-tying goal Fort Garry 3, at Capital City 5 CCC Pavol Demitra - two goals FGF Eric Lindros - two goals CCC Keith Tkachuk - goal, assist Quebec 2, at Detroit 4 DET Petr Nedved - three goals, including GWG, assist DET Michal Grosek - goal, three assists DET Garth Snow - thirty-four saves, 7/9 GR Cabbagetown 3, at Detroit 2 (OT) CRR Mats Sundin - game-winning overtime goal CRR Jean-Sebastien Aubin - thirty-one saves, 5/5 GR CRR Theoren Fleury - game-tying goal (with 0:20 left), assist Montreal 2, at Detroit 2 (OT) MON Corey Hirsch - twenty-nine saves, 6/7 GR MON Turner Stevenson - two goas DET Petr Nedved - game-tying goal New Jersey 4, at Florida 4 (OT) NJR Jason Allison - two goals, assist FLO Joe Nieuwendyk - two goals, assist NJR Alexander Karpovtsev - two assists Baltiore 2, at Florida 3 FLO Mike Modano - game-winning goal BAL Cliff Ronning - goal FLO Jeff Hackett - 6/7 GR Manayunk 4, at Florida 2 MAN Viacheslav Kozlov - goal FLO Petr Sykora - goal MAN Mike Grier - goal Seattle 1, at Fort Garry 3 FGF Jocelyn Thibault - twenty-nine saves, 5/6 GR FGF Alexei Yashin - two goals FGF Ray Bourque - two assists Capital City 5, at Fort Garry 6 (OT) [played by Scott Shigemi] FGF Adam Graves - game-winning goal, assist FGF Eric Lindros - two goals, assist CCC Bill Houlder - three assists, intimidation Vancouver 1, at Fort Garry 1 (OT) VAN Byron Dafoe - twenty-three saves, 8/9 GR FGF Jocelyn Thibault - thirty saves, 7/7 GR VAN Marty McInnis - goal Fort Garry 1, at Fresno 0 FGF Jocelyn Thibault - twenty-two saves, shutout VOF Ken Wregget - thirty-three saves FGF Adam Graves - game-winning goal Capital City 4, at Fresno 4 (OT) CCC Keith Tkachuk - goal, assist VOF Shawn McEachern - goal, assist VOF Andrew Cassels - two assists Vancouver 2, at Fresno 0 VAN Byron Dafoe - twenty saves, shutout VOF Curtis Joseph - forty-three saves VAN Marty McInnis - game-winning goal Brooklyn 1, at Long Island 4 LIB Shjon Podein - goal, two assists LIB Boris Mironov - two assists LIB Mark Fitzpatrick - eighteen saves Rush-Henrietta 0, at Long Island 3 LIB Nikolai Khabibulin - thirty-three saves, shutout LIB Jeremy Roenick - game-winning goal LIB Boris Mironov - goal Lyndonville 2, at Long Island 2 (OT) LYN Jamie Langenbrunner - two goals, including GTG LIB Bryan Berard - goal, assist LYN Steve Shields - thirty saves Rush-Henrietta 3, at Lyndonville 3 (OT) LYN Alexander Korolyuk - goal, two assists, +2 RHC Ron Francis - goal LYN Alexei Zhitnik - game-tying goal Buffalo 2, at Lyndonville 3 LYN Steve Shields - twenty-two saves, 10/11 GR LYN Miroslav Satan - two goals BUF Sami Kapanen - goal, assist Long Island 2, at Lyndonville 3 LYN Miroslav Satan - game-winning goal, assist LYN Steve Shields - twenty-eight saves, 5/6 GR LIB Kyle McLaren - two assists St. Michael's 1, at Manayunk 2 MAN Mark Messier - game-winning penalty shot goal MAN Guy Hebert - thirty-three saves STM P.J. Axelsson - goal New Jersey 0, at Manayunk 2 MAN Viacheslav Kozlov - two goals MAN Guy Hebert - thirty-one saves, 6/6 GR MAN Mark Messier - two assists Florida 4, at Manayunk 2 FLO Petr Sykora - game-winning goal, assist MAN Denis Pederson - goal FLO Michael Peca - goal Detroit 1, at Montreal 3 MON Corey Hirsch - nineteen saves, 3/3 GR MON Mark Recchi - game-winning goal DET Marco Sturm - goal Toronto 2, at Montreal 1 TOR Eric Daze - game-winning goal, assist MON Dwayne Roloson - twenty-nine saves, 5/6 GR TOR Oleg Tverdovsky - goal, assist Quebec 5, at Montreal 4 QPS Robert Lang - goal, two assists MON Magnus Arvedson - two goals, +3 MON Sebastien Bordeleau - three assists, +3 Fresno 3, at New Jersey 3 (OT) [Week 19/20] NJR Rob DiMaio - goal, assist NJR Jason Allison - goal, assist VOF Joe Murphy - goal Rush-Henrietta 2, at New Jersey 3 [Week 19/20, played by Dean Engemoen] RHC Larry Murphy - two goals NJR Jason Allison - goal, assist NJR Ray Whitney - two assists Baltimore 3, at New Jersey 4 [played by Doug North] NJR Cory Stillman - two goals BAL Niklas Lidstrom - two assists NJR Daniel Alfredsson - two assists Manayunk 2, at New Jersey 1 [played by Scott Shigemi] MAN Mike Grier - game-winning goal NJR Dan Cloutier - thirty saves, 7/9 GR NJR Sergei Berezin - goal on nine shots Montreal 1, at Quebec 4 QPS John LeClair - two assists QPS Rick Tabaracci - twenty-nine saves QPS Curtis Leschyshyn - game-winning goal Toronto 5, at Quebec 1 TOR Paul Kariya - goal, two assists TOR Dave Scatchard - goal, assist TOR Martin Brodeur - twenty-two saves Cabbagetown 3, at Quebec 0 CRR Kevin Stevens - game-winning power-play goal CRR Ron Tugnutt - nineteen saves, shutout CRR Martin Rucinsky - goal Brooklyn 2, at Rush-Henrietta 1 BRK Peter Bondra - game-winning goal BRK Jan Hrdina - momentum-changing goal BRK Olaf Kolzig - twenty-four saves, 3/4 GR Lyndonville 4, at Rush-Henrietta 5 RHC Ron Francis - two goals, assist LYN Alexei Kovalev - two goals, assist LYN Curtis Brown - two goals, assist Buffalo 2, at Rush-Henrietta 3 (OT) BUF Arturs Irbe - thirty-two saves, 8/8 GR BUF Joe Sakic - goal, assist, ten shots RHC Scott Young - game-winning overtime goal Detroit 2, at St. Michael's 0 [Week 17/18, played by Steve Kramer] Baltimore 0, at St. Michael's 2 [played by Steve Kramer] Florida 9, at St. Michael's 1 [played by Steve Kramer] New Jersey 5, at St. Michael's 4 [played by Steve Kramer] Fresno 0, at Seattle 5 SEA Jaromir Jagr - game-winning goal, three assists SEA Trevor Linden - goal, assist SEA Doug Gilmour - goal, assist Vancouver 1, at Seattle 5 SEA Jaromir Jagr - three goals, including GWG SEA Doug Gilmour - three assists SEA Stephane Fiset - thirty saves, 3/4 GR Fort Garry 8, at Seattle 1 FGF Eric Lindros - four goals, +3 FGF Alexei Yashin - two goals FGF Ray Bourque - two assists Quebec 4, at Toronto 2 TOR Steve Thomas - two goals QPS Rod Brind'Amour - goal, assist QPS Vitali Yachmenev - goal, assist Cabbagetown 2, at Toronto 1 CRR Robert Reichel - game-winning goal CRR Sean Burke - twenty-six saves CRR Owen Nolan - tied game early in third Detroit 3, at Toronto 5 DET Marco Sturm - two goals TOR Bobby Holik - goal, two assists TOR Paul Kariya - goal, two assists Fresno 2, at Vancouver 3 VAN Richard Matvichuk - game-winning goal VAN Brendan Morrison - two assists VOF Valeri Bure - goal, 3 GR Seattle 4, at Vancouver 3 SEA Eric Desjardins - two goals, assist, +4 SEA Trevor Linden - goal, three assists, +4 VAN Byron Dafoe - twenty-four saves, 6/8 GR Capital City 0, at Vancouver 2 VAN Darcy Tucker - goal, assist VAN Derian Hatcher - goal VAN Byron Dafoe - twenty-seven saves, shutout ************************************************************************** NSHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK / GOALIE OF THE WEEK: THE NOMINEES: MAN Viacheslav Kozlov - afraid of being known as merely Viktor's brother, the older Kozlov pumped four goals into opposing nets this week, adding helpers on two more (two GRS not yet in). FGF Eric Lindros - although not always given the respect he so richly craves, the "Crabby Captain" continues to perform in high-pressure games. Lindros scored eight times this week, adding two assists, as the Crabs continued their dominance of the West. FLO Mike Modano - the main reason for the Hellcats' success this year has been team balance; everyone contributes. On a team like this, it's hard to stand out, but Modano did his best, scoring seven goals and assisting on seven others, as the Hellcats went 4-1-1 this week. LYN Miroslav Satan - as the Blades try to hold onto a playoff spot, Miro keeps putting the puck in the net. Three goals and three assists for the import star. AND THE PLAYER OF THE WEEK IS: FLO Modano. The Hellcats keep plugging along, winning game after game, as a different star brings his "A" game each week. This time, it's Mr. Modano, looking for his first Farley Cup. NSHL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Week 1/2: Teemu Selanne, RW, Long Island (4G, 6A, +7) Week 3/4: Craig Conroy, C, St. Michael's (3G, 11A, +4) Week 5/6: Steve Yzerman, C, Florida (6G, 3A, 3GWG, +6) Week 7/8: Jaromir Jagr, RW, Seattle (5G, 5A) Week 9/10: Jeff Friesen, LW, Vancouver (5G, 2A, +4) Week 11/12: Joe Sakic, C, Buffalo (6G, 4A) Week 13/14: Peter Bondra, RW, Brooklyn (9G, 4A) Week 15/16: Ray Bourque, D, Fort Garry (2G, 6A, +5) Week 17/18: Scott Young, RW, Rush-Henrietta (6G, 3A, +4) Week 19/20: Adam Deadmarsh, LW, Seattle (5G, 4A) Week 21/22: Mike Modano, C, Florida (7G, 7A) THE NOMINEES: MAN Guy Hebert - the Bullies pulled off a 5-1 week, with Hebert in net for all six critical division matches. With a shutout, and two one-goal games, Hebert only gave up ten goals for the entire week, stopping 12 of 16 goalie ratings (in four games where this stat was kept). LIB Nikolai Khabibulin - with Long Island remaining atop the league, Khabibulin put on a show, highlighted by his thirty-three save shutout performance over the Rush-Henrietta Comets. FGF Jocelyn Thibault - the Fiddler Crabs were in dire straits when All-World netminder went down with a groin pull last week. With the much-maligned Thibault filling the nets for six crucial division games, nothing was to fear. T-Bo went 4-1-1 as an injury sub, with a 2.16 GAA and 91.8% save percentage, as the Crabs increased their lead to five points. AND THE GOALIE OF THE WEEK IS: FGF Thibault. Hebert's impressive performance notwithstanding, the Crabs looked to be in trouble, with three games against close division opponents Seattle and Vancouver. But Thibault worked all three games, and worked them well, including an 8-1 drubbing in the Emerald City. NSHL GOALIES OF THE WEEK: Week 11/12: Steve Shields, Lyndonville (2-0-1, 0.33 GAA, 98.6% sv, 2 ShO) Week 13/14: Nikolai Khabibulin, Long Island (5-0-1, 3 ShO) Week 15/16: Arturs Irbe, Buffalo (4-1-1, 96.5% sv, 0.99 GAA, 3 ShO) Week 17/18: Tommy Salo, Capital City (3-1-1, 94.8% sv, 1.38 GAA, 1 ShO) Week 19/20: Fred Brathwaite, Rush-Henrietta (5-0-0, 1.40 GAA, 95.7% sv, 3 ShO) Week 21/22: Jocelyn Thibault, Fort Garry (4-1-1, 2.16 GAA, 91.8% sv) ************************************************************************** 1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS: NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS PCT GF GA HOME ROAD IP Long Island Berserkers 66 41 15 10 92 0.697 222 151 23- 6- 4 18- 9- 6 -1 Rush-Henrietta Comets 66 34 24 8 76 0.576 163 154 22- 8- 3 12-16- 5 0 Buffalo Bulldogs 66 31 28 7 69 0.523 183 154 17-14- 2 14-14- 5 -4 Lyndonville Blades 66 27 29 10 64 0.485 162 168 16-14- 3 11-15- 7 -1 Brooklyn Gulag 66 20 32 14 54 0.409 152 183 13-10-10 7-22- 4 4 ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L T PTS PCT GF GA HOME ROAD IP Florida Hellcats 66 40 16 10 90 0.682 218 153 16-10- 7 24- 6- 3 4 Manayunk Bullies 66 30 27 9 69 0.523 132 137 19-11- 3 11-16- 6 -4 New Jersey River Rats 65 26 31 8 60 0.462 169 188 18-10- 4 8-21- 4 6 Baltimore Clippers 66 22 33 11 55 0.417 167 193 13-14- 6 9-19- 5 9 St. Michael's Privateers 65 20 39 6 46 0.354 140 183 17-13- 3 3-26- 3 7 WESTERN DIVISION GP W L T PTS PCT GF GA HOME ROAD IP Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 66 40 18 8 88 0.667 233 165 22- 7- 4 18-11- 4 -1+ Seattle Rainiers 66 34 17 15 83 0.629 186 150 17- 8- 8 17- 9- 7 N/A Vancouver Scouts 66 36 22 8 80 0.606 180 140 22- 7- 4 14-15- 4 -3 Capital City Cougars 66 29 25 12 70 0.530 165 160 23- 4- 6 6-21- 6 2 Vultures of Fresno 66 16 37 13 45 0.341 139 181 11-15- 7 5-22- 6 -8 CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L T PTS PCT GF GA HOME ROAD IP Montreal Wanderers 65 27 26 12 66 0.508 143 148 17- 9- 7 10-17- 5 3 Cabbagetown Red Rockets 65 26 30 9 61 0.469 149 162 15-11- 6 11-19- 3 0 Quebec Polar Sphinx 66 27 32 7 61 0.462 138 149 16-14- 3 11-18- 4 5 Toronto Arenas 66 21 37 8 50 0.379 151 200 8-22- 3 13-15- 5 0 Detroit LugNuts 66 16 45 5 37 0.280 147 220 11-20- 2 5-25- 3 -8 ************************************************************************** TEAM REPORTS - VULTURES OF FRESNO: "Cancerous Murphy Finally Dealt" by Doug North The Fresno season of turmoil continued this week as the Vultures dealt disgruntled and disappointing winger Joe Murphy to the Capital City Cougars for defenseman Bill Houlder and a conditional draft pick. GM and head coach Doug North pulled no punches when asked the reasons why for the trade. "This deal is absolutely addition by subtraction," North said minutes after the trade became official. "The guy has talents but the last thing this young team needs is a cancer...and that is what he [Murphy] had become with his constant whining and insubordination. You can only be told so many time to **** off." Murphy, who could not be reached for comment, had scored only one goal and was expected to do much more for a team struggling to score. "Maybe he can find his touch for a contender but he certainly wasn't getting the job done here," North said. Players seemed relieved to see the situation end. Some still kept their sense of humor about it all. "Things really came to a head during OT in the Cap City game," backup goalie Jamie Storr said. "Murph was hacked not getting a shift in OT and did his usual complaining. Coach asked if he had a problem and Joe told him to kiss his ass. Coach came back with 'Murphy point to a spot cuz you are all ass...........' I thought that was a pretty good line." The Vultures received veteran Bill Houlder in the deal. He comes at a good time as injuries have hit the D corps pretty hard in recent weeks. ************************************************************************** TEAM REPORTS - LYNDONVILLE BLADES: "Blades Ready to Make Move in Northeast" by Mark McNeil With divisional play this week the Blades figured to come back to earth, especially with a pair of games each vs. Rush-Henrietta and Long Island. The week began with a tie at home vs. Rush-Henrietta and things looked to be going as planned with few points being gained. The Bulldogs visited next with a high-powered offensive attack, but the Blades scored a few of their own and managed to pull out a 3-2 victory. The Blades next went on the road to RHC and lost a heartbreaker, 5-4, after holding a 4-2 lead (Shields' worst outing of the season). The home-and-home with Long Island was played last night and the surprising Blades pulled off a 3-2 upset win at home and an even bigger upset tie, 2-2, on the Island for a 2-2-1 record. With results from Brooklyn pending the team has managed 5 out of 10 points so far for the week and should not have hurt their 10th place overall ranking. Manayunk is next in their sights as they try and move up the playoff ladder in quest of a first-round home game. The team has been surprising quiet on the trade front, with only a few minor discussions going on and nothing coming about. With the deadline looming next week, it looks as if the team may stand pat and finish their playoff run with the pieces they currently have. The line of Korolyuk-Satan-Brown has been on fire, scoring 75% of the teams' points the last 5 of 6 weeks. The return to the lineup of Lubos Bartecko after a 40-game injury should help the second line of Guerin-Kovalev-Bartecko take some of the load off of line one and keep teams from keying solely on them. Mike Dunham is slated to start all 6 games this week after returning from an injury and Shields will then probably start 10 of the last 12 games as the team makes its final push. Sami Salo will return to the lineup this week as Jason Marshall sits down for the road games with a sore right shoulder. The Blades seven-man rotation on defense has worked incredibly well this season and should leave the team in good shape for next year with Eric Messier included in that mix. ************************************************************************** TEAM REPORTS - SEATTLE RAINIERS: "Rainiers Falter as Streak Comes to an End" by Doug Norris With a 3-1 loss to the Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs (Feb. 19), the Seattle Rainiers' league-record nineteen-game undefeated streak came to a close. The last defeat for Seattle was on January 8, when the Rush-Henrietta Comets defeated them, 2-1...in the meantime: January 8, 2000: Buffalo 1, at Seattle 2 January 11, 2000: Cabbagetown 1, at Seattle 6 January 15, 2000: Baltimore 2, at Seattle 2 (OT) January 16, 2000: Seattle 5, at Toronto 3 January 17, 2000: Seattle 4, at St. Michael's 2 January 20, 2000: Toronto 1, at Seattle 2 January 21, 2000: Rush-Henrietta 2, at Seattle 3 OT January 28, 2000: Seattle 1, at Cabbagetown 1 (OT) January 29, 2000: St. Michael's 1, at Seattle 2 January 31, 2000: Seattle 4, at Buffalo 4 (OT) February 1, 2000: Seattle 7, at Baltimore February 2, 2000: Seattle 3, at Detroit 1 February 10, 2000: Lyndonville 3, at Seattle 4 February 11, 2000: New Jersey 2, at Seattle 2 (OT) February 12, 2000: Quebec 2, at Seattle 2 (OT) February 14, 2000: Seattle 2, at Florida 2 (OT) February 15, 2000: Seattle 5, at Brooklyn 3 February 18, 2000: Seattle 4, at Vancouver 3 February 19, 2000: Fresno 0, at Seattle 5 Over the course of the streak, the Rainiers improved their record from a middling 20-15-8 to a quality 33-15-14. What could the cause be for this improvement in play? First would be the help of the Rainiers' supporting cast - for much of the season, right wing Jaromir Jagr (48 goals) has carried the team, but recently, the other Seattle goal-scorers (Adam Deadmarsh (22 goals), Trevor Linden (19), Tomas Sandstrom (18)) have been stepping up. Add ten goals from defenseman Brian Leetch, and all of a sudden, teams that have been focusing on Jagr are watching the red light go on. Mainly, according to coach Doug Norris, luck is to be credited. "We were inconsistent, especially at home, early on this year. But when the puck starts to bounce your way, and you start to believe in your ability to win games, you start to find a way to get it done." One sad postscript for Seattle - immediately after the streak came to a close, the Rainiers suffered a franchise-worst 8-1 home defeat to the same Fiddler Crabs. ************************************************************************** INCENTIVE POINTS: Incentive points are not discretionary, and must be applied per the Constitution. However, all IP are subject to appeal by the Review Board. Appeal must be in writing, by the defending party, before the newsletter immediately following the IP award. IP penalties for Week 21/22 will occur in the next newsletter. BAL: 2 IP, missing 2 games. BAL: 5 IP, missing 5 GRS. BAL: -1 IP, playing Week 17/18 @STM. BAL: -1 IP, playing Week 19/20 @STM. BAL: -3 IP, playing three Week 21/22 @STM games. BRK: 2 IP, missing 2 GRS. CCC: 3 IP, missing 3 GRS. DET: -1 IP, playing CCC@FGF. DET: -2 IP, two other games that I didn't credit previously. DET: -1 IP, "Player Usage FAQ". FGF: -1 IP, press report "Thibault to the Rescue" on NSHL list. LIB: 2 IP, missing 2 GRS. LYN: -1 IP, team report. NJR: 2 IP, missing 2 games. NJR: 2 IP, missing 2 GRS. STM: 1 IP, missing 1 game. STM: 5 IP, missing 5 GRS. VAN: -1 IP, playing RHC@NJR. VOF: -2 IP, playing TOR@CRR, BAL@NJR. VOF: -1 IP, team report. ALSO: ************************************************************************** MISSING GAMES: The following games, according to the league office, have not been played. Please let me know their status as soon as possible, in order that I may assign them to others if necessary. WEEK GAME 23/24 St. Michael's at New Jersey (to be played by J.J. Schrems) 23/24 Montreal at Cabbagetown ************************************************************************** IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY: (Sixty-one points are necessary for a postseason berth) FIRST ROUND BYES: #1 Long Island Berserkers (92) #2 Florida Hellcats (90) #3 Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs (88) #4 Montreal Wanderers (66) FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS: #12 Quebec Polar Sphinx (61) at #5 Seattle Rainiers (83) #11 Lyndonville Blades (64) at #6 Vancouver Scouts (80) #10 Manayunk Bullies (69) at #7 Rush-Henrietta Comets (76) #9 Buffalo Bulldogs (69) at #8 Capital City Cougars (70) EARLY SUMMER VACATIONS: #13 Cabbagetown Red Rockets (61) #14 New Jersey River Rats (60) #15 Baltimore Clippers (55) #16 Brooklyn Gulag (54) #17 Toronto Arenas (50) #18 St. Michael's Privateers (46) #19 Vultires of Fresno (45) #20 Detroit LugNuts (37) ************************************************************************** NORRIS POWER INDICES: Norris Power Indices (NPI) are a measure of a team's strength (similar to Jeff Sagarin's power ratings). In summary, the NPI of a team is the number of goals they should be favoured by in a neutral-site game against an "average" opponent. ## TEAM NPI LW 1. Long Island Berserkers 1.235 1 2. Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 1.040 2 3. Florida Hellcats 0.945 3 4. Vancouver Scouts 0.745 4 5. Seattle Rainiers 0.689 5 6. Buffalo Bulldogs 0.409 6 7. Rush-Henrietta Comets 0.346 7 8. Capital City Cougars 0.161 8 9. Lyndonville Blades 0.044 10 10. Manayunk Bullies -0.107 13 11. Montreal Wanderers -0.129 11 12. Quebec Polar Sphinx -0.132 9 13. New Jersey River Rats -0.211 12 14. Cabbagetown Red Rockets -0.315 14 15. Baltimore Clippers -0.555 15 16. Brooklyn Gulag -0.584 18 17. St. Michael's Privateers -0.693 16 18. Vultures of Fresno -0.714 17 19. Toronto Arenas -0.746 19 20. Detroit LugNuts -1.427 20 ************************************************************************** ASSOCIATE LIST: SINCE GP Jason Liddicoat (jjlidder@hotmail.com) March 1999 7 Lance Milligan (coachm@home.com) July 1997 4 J.J. Schrems (jjschrems@email.msn.com) January 2000 3 Bill Muller (WJMIIIREP@aol.com) October 1998 0 Thomas Manna (samanna@acsu.buffalo.edu) October 1998 0 Roy Lamphier (lamphier@ibl.org) October 1998 0 Andrew Smith (crimsonace@yahoo.com) March 1999 0 Tim Lewis (pilarlopez@netzero.net) April 1999 0 George Ruse (rawpower14@aol.com) August 1999 0 Carl (missongear@aol.com) August 1999 0 Mike Steudle (plutodong@aol.com) September 1999 0 Patrick Brassard (bras@videotron.ca) November 1999 0 Paul Westover (pwestover@primary.net) November 1999 0 Jean-Paul Leboeuf (jeanpaul.leboeuf@sympatico.ca) November 1999 0 Rob Ortiz (ortizr@enterprise.navy.mil) November 1999 0 If you're still an active associate, and aren't on this list, please get in contact with me. Thanks! Doug ************************************************************************** INJURIES: (note: for easier reading, "Week 9" refers to the bi-week beginning with week nine, etc.) Injuries new to this newsletter are prefaced by a "*" BAL - Dave Andreychuk out through Week 25, and Week 27 road games. -*Martin Gelinas out Week 23 at Detroit, Week 23 at Fort Garry, Week 23 vs. Rush-Henrietta and Week 23 vs. Toronto. - Sergei Gonchar out Week 23 home games. - Valeri Kamensky out Week 23 road games, Week 23 vs. Fresno and Week 23 vs. Rush-Henrietta. -*Chris Pronger out through Week 25, and Week 27 road games. -*Mike Richter out Week 23. -*Pavel Trnka out Week 23. BRK -*Bryan McCabe out Week 23 home games. -*Adam Oates out Week 23 vs. Cabbagetown. BUF FLO -*Martin Straka out Week 23 vs. Cabbagetown. -*Glen Wesley out Week 23 at Montreal. LIB -*Igor Korolev out Week 23 home games, and Week 23 at Quebec. LYN -*Jason Marshall out Week 23 at St. Michael's and Week 23 at Toronto. MAN - Rich Brennan out through Week 25, and Week 27 at Florida. -*Shawn Chambers out Week 23 home games, and Week 23 at Quebec. - Murray Craven out through Game Two, FCQF. - Rumun Ndur out through Week 27. - Derek Plante out Week 23 home games and Week 23 at Lyndonville. -*Chris Taylor out through Game Two, FCFR. NJR - Bruce Gardiner out Week 23 road games and Week 23 vs. Seattle. RHC -*Roman Turek out Week 23. STM - Jan Bulis out through Game Three, FCQF. -*Bret Hedican out through Week 25, and Week 27 home games. - Peter Schaefer out Week 23, and Week 25 road games. -*Terry Yake out Week 23, Week 25 road games, and Week 25 vs. Rush-Henrietta. CCC CRR - Dimitri Mironov out Week 23. -*Niklas Sundstrom out Week 23 vs. Rush-Henrietta. DET -*Stu Barnes out Week 23 vs. Buffalo. -*Rene Corbet out Week 23 home games, Week 23 at Manayunk and Week 23 at Seattle. -*Jaroslav Spacek out Week 23. FGF MON -*Shayne Corson out Week 23 vs. Florida and Week 23 vs. Fort Garry. QPS - Steve Chiasson out through Week 25, and Week 27 vs. Toronto. -*Brent Fedyk out Week 23 home games, Week 23 at Rush-Henrietta and Week 23 at St. Michael's. -*Benoit Hogue out Week 23 vs. Manayunk. -*Curtis Leschyshyn out Week 23 vs. Manayunk. SEA - Dave Babych out through Game Five, FCFR. -*Jozef Stumpel out Week 23 at New Jersey and Week 23 at Quebec. TOR VAN -*Donald Audette out Week 23 road games, and Week 23 vs. Manayunk. - Sandis Ozolinsh out Week 23, Week 25 road games and Week 25 vs. Quebec. VOF -*Brad Bombardir out Week 23, Week 25 road games, and Week 25 vs. St. Michael's. (note on playoff injuries: each round is designated as follows... FCFR: Farley Cup First Round, FCQF: Farley Cup Quarterfinals, FCSF: Farley Cup Semifinals, FCF: Farley Cup Finals) ************************************************************************** TRANSACTIONS: Transactions are announced weekly in the newsletter based on confirmations received throughout the week. CCC - TRADE Bill Houlder and a conditional draft choice (*) in 2000 draft to VOF for Joe Murphy. - SIGN Jim Cummins. - SIGN Ed Ward. - SIGN Brad May. - SIGN Matt Johnson. DET - TRADE Michal Grosek, Brian Holzinger, DET#2 and LIB#2 to QPS for QPS#1 and future considerations ($) QPS - TRADE QPS#1 and future considerations ($) to DET for Michal Grosek, Brian Holzinger, DET#2 and LIB#2. - RELEASE Dan Keczmer. - RELEASE Brantt Myhres. VOF - TRADE Joe Murphy to CCC for Bill Houlder and a conditional draft choice (*) in 2000 draft. (*) if Joe Murphy scores fifteen goals or more in the 1999-2000 NHL season, VOF receives BUF#4; otherwise, VOF receives BUF#6. ($) Following the conclusion of the 1999-2000 NSHL season, QPS sends Mike Wilson to DET. ************************************************************************** League Governing Boards Responsibilities of the following governing boards are outlined in the Constitution. Review Board Tom Vinacci, Buffalo Bulldogs Patrick Shea, Long Island Berserkers Mark McNeil, Lyndonville Blades Constitutional Council Head: Patrick Shea (isles2@idt.net) Doug Norris, Commissioner Andy Bartalone, Vice-Commissioner Lance Milligan, Fresno Owner Dean Engemoen, Vancouver Owner **************************************************************************