Grant's home pageFebruary 25, 1997
We are down to two weeks left in the EFHL regular season. This last week cleared up the playoff situation somewhat, as basically one spot is still up for grabs. In addition, Tom and Rich, who looked like they might challenge Rick and Chris in the total points battle, both pretty much fell out of contention with miserable weeks. Here is a brief review of the last week plus a look at where each team stands now.
Tortured Souls 41 - Free Radicals 28
Chris continues to roll as he ups his record to 13-6. He is 11-2 in
the last 13 games. Chris has of course been led by Mario. The rest of his
team has been pretty solid, with Bondra, Modano, or someone else occasionally
contributing a good week. Over the last two months or so, Chris has been
creeping up on Rick for the total points lead, and currently trails by
seven points. He will end up in first place unless he loses his last two
and Rick wins his last two, and he loses the total points tiebreaker.
Brett has now lost two in a row after he began to make his move with a five game streak without a loss. Brett is one of the three teams looking for the last playoff spot, but is now one game out of fourth. He most likely has to win his last two to have a chance to sneak in.
Ice Dogs 27 - Cougars 12
Tom went into Monday night with four points. Thanks mainly to Shanahan’s
two goals and two assists, he didn’t end up with the lowest score ever.
It was a bad week for Tom because it allowed me to move into fourth and
dropped him into fifth and it basically dropped him out of contention for
total points. Tom was coming off some good weeks and had moved to within
38 points of Rick for the total points lead.
I control my own destiny for the final playoff spot. With wins in the final two weeks, I will be in. However, this will be a tough task going against Chris and Rick. And since I lose every tiebreaker, Tom or Brett will be able to slip past me if I lose one or both of those games. All this despite the fact that my team still sucks. However, it is a model of consistency. And consider the fact that, despite the fact that I’m buried in last place in total points, I am one of three teams that have more points for than points against. All of this adds up to being lucky as hell and being in fourth place.
12 Monkeys 31 - Plaindrifters 18
These two teams continue in opposite directions. Tony wins his third straight
again led by his defensemen, who scored half of his points. Rich goes goalless
from his forwards and loses his fourth straight after looking like he might
make a playoff run. So much for my prediction of Rich making it to the
EFHL finals.
Tony’s defensemen continue to carry his team, scoring a whopping 36% of his points. Rich’s defensemen have the next highest percentage (31%). The next highest percentage is Brett (22%). In addition, getting rid of some dead weight (Janney and Daigle) has helped Tony solidify third place. He can miss the playoffs only if he loses his last two, and Grant and Tom win their last two, and Tom beats him in the points tiebreaker.
Rich has had tough year. He is in third place in total points, but now he has fallen to 47 points behind Rick, and he is 7-12 and out of the playoffs. Yes, he has been inconsistent, but he has not caught any breaks this season as he has the highest points against.
Beaver Slappers 37 - Fargon Iceholes 29
Rick basically clinches a playoff spot with this win. Rick continues
to hold the total points lead, but now only by seven over Chris. Forsberg’s
injury, Gretzky’s much publicized goal drought, and mini-slumps by Mogilny
and Palffy have allowed Chris to close in. If everything is true to form
(although it usually isn’t), Chris and Rick will meet in the finals, and
have the total points money on the line as well. That could amount to $310
for the winner and $90 for the loser.
Rob’s team is, well, "far gone" and has never recovered from his 2-8 start, highlighted by a seven game losing streak.
For those of you who don’t have a life, here are some things to look forward
to over the next few weeks.
· If you didn’t notice last week, shame on you for six weeks,
but I added NHL stats for active players to the report. For those of you
who really don’t have a life, you can check my calculations.
· I will have a summary that shows each team’s week-by week scores
at the end of the EFHL regular season. This will be sent to those getting
mailings in two weeks and also posted on the web.
· During our playoffs, I may attempt to do unofficial stats updates
every day or two. (This is especially true if I’m in the playoffs.) If
I do, I will post some kind of update on the Web as well. I will still
be doing the official weekly report. If you don’t have Web access and want
to know where you stand in between the weekly reports, you can e-mail me,
call me, or keep track yourself. I will let you know what the plans are
at the end of our regular season. Speaking of the playoffs, this may need
repeating one more time. You are allowed to make moves weekly (to the extent
you have moves remaining) during the playoffs despite the fact that the
playoff matches are more than one week. And since the sixth period runs
during our playoffs, nonplayoff teams’ points count and they are allowed
moves as well.
· As of now, our draft for the NHL playoffs is scheduled for Saturday,
April 13, 1997 at 8:00 pm at Chris’ place. This is the second-to-last night
of the NHL regular season. It will probably be $30 again this year.
That’s it for right now. Good luck to those who still may need it.
Standings and total points
Player statistics by team:
| Tortured Souls | Cougars | Free Radicals | Ice Dogs |
| 12 Monkeys | Beaver Slappers | Plaindrifters | Fargon Iceholes |