DAYTON'S 30 GAME WINLESS STREAK ENDS WITH WIN OVER ISOTOPES!!!

It took 49 days...

The streak...

Dayton went 0-28-2 in their last 30 games, over a period of 49 days...

The last time Dayton won a game was on October 13th, when they beat Niagara Falls.

The goal scorers that night for the Musicmen were Alex Barkov, Sean Monahan, Jake Guentzel and Francois Beauchemin. Only Beauchemin remains a Musicman. The winning goaltender that night was Brian Elliot.

A lot has changed since then.

Tonight the goal scorers for Dayton were Adam Cracknell, Jason Pominville, Tom Pyatt, Mikhail Grigorenko and Francois Beauchemin. The winning goaltender tonight was Mike Smith.

"Yes, yes - there's been a lot of changes since the start of the season," said Beauchemin. "Coach gives us a plan, it's our job to execute the plan. With all the changes, it's been hard to get a familiarity going with your defensive partner or your linemates. The last week or so, the lineup's been mostly stable. We got a few guys back from the DL. It all adds up."

Beauchemin had a strong effort tonight with a goal (5) and an assist, a +2, 2 blocked shots and 3 hits in 24 minutes of ice time. "Yes, it felt good tonight...nice to get the two points." he said.

What's next?

The team will be boarding a flight at 12:45AM for New York City where the Musicmen will play the Long Island Express tomorrow night at 7:05pm. That will wrap up the intra-conference portion of the season and the rest of the games will be played against teams within the Corfield Conference from this point on.

The Canosa Conference has clinched the season series with a 20 game lead with 11 games remaining.

With the trading of Damon Severson earlier today to the Sudbury Miners for two prospects, Mark Barberio was the team's 7th defenseman tonight and played 7 minutes.

Puffin Edge Chinook in OT...

Ben's blunder led to GWG for Puffin

Late-game heroics not enough for Chinook in 3-2 OT loss 

REJKJAVIK –  A dramatic final-minute, game-tying goal from Nino Niederreiter tied the game against the Puffin at 2 a piece, but a lackluster overtime proved costly as they fell, 3-2 to the Rejkjavik Puffin on Wednesday.

Lovejoy took a 5 minutes major by slashing Johnny Gaudreau at 16:39 mark of the third period which led to the game-tying goal from Niederreiter, the penalty carried over to the start of the overtime, a costly mistake by Shea Weber cost a turnover and Letestu eventually scored a breakaway shorthanded goal to end the game.  Carey Price made 15 saves in the OT loss. Crosby line was held pointless second game in a row.  Gaudreau finished the game with a goal and an assist. Anisimov and Tarasenko scored in regulation for the Puffin.

Despite the loss, Crosby said he was pleased with the overall performance of the game, Chinook had dominated the game outshooting Puffin 38-18, winning 32 out of 46 of the faceoff and spending the majority of the game at the offensive end.

"I thought we played great, Puffin is able to capitalize on their chances and it’s unfortunate we lost in overtime," Crosby said. "I think the newcomers de Hanna and Larsson played great, especially Larsson with 4 block shots to finish the game.  We are looking for someone to do just that the whole season."

Puffin struck first when a failed clearing attempt by Calgary allowed the Puffin to keep position down low, where Kucherov floated a pass into the slot and into the feet of Anisimov. Anisimov, who, in one motion, spun his body to sling it past Price to give the Puffin a 1-0 lead.

The Chinook had yet to play with a lead at any point during the game. But less than four minutes later, the Chinook would get one back. After corralling a pass at the left point, Gaudreau sent a wrist shot on net that deflected off a Puffin defenseman and past Holtby to tie the game at one. The goal was Gaudreau's eleven of the season and second in as many games.

NOTES:

Chinook won 31 of the 46 faceoffs.

Larsson led the team with four block shots.

UP NEXT:

The Chinook will travel to Georgetown to play against the red-hot Millers on Thursday who just pound the Owls 10-0 last night.

Miners rally late to extend unbeaten streak to five.

Miners rally late to extend unbeaten streak to five.

CANADIAN PRESS (Niagara Falls, ON)

Not a lot has gone right for the Sudbury Miners this season, but they caught a couple of breaks on Tuesday.

Joonas Donskoi scored with less than two minutes left in the third period to help the Sudbury Miners salvage a 2-2 draw with the visiting Wisborg Donuts.  With the result, the Miners unbeaten streak has now reached a season-high five games.

"I had to come up with a couple of big saves there and got lucky a couple of times off the post, but those are the bounces that haven't been going our way so it's nice to get a couple of those," said Miners goalie Jake Allen, who made 22 saves, including one in overtime. "I think we definitely have to build off it, but we can't get too complacent.”

William Karlsson scored the other goal for the Miners (14-33-3), who have only been unbeaten more than two games in a row on one other occasion all season.
"It's nice for our confidence right now," said Karlsson. "We came back from being down a goal. We are showing a lot more fight, a lot more resilience right now. It should go a long way for our team."
The Donuts (29-15-6), opened up a 2-0 second period lead on goals by Jannik Hanson and Johan Larsson, despite being outshot 2-13 after two periods.  In the third, the Miners pressed and scored two in the period to salvage the tie.  Goaltender Robin Lehner made 34 saves on the night, including two in overtime, to preserve the tie.

Miners Coach Derek Sutton, is hoping this is a turning point for his young squad.
"After we string a win or two together we seem to come out in the next game a little flat. We have to build off this and come out strong next game and build off that momentum moving forward."

MINERS NUGGETS

- For the first time this season, the Miners did not give the opposing team a power play. 

- Defenceman Chris Wideman now has a two-game point streak after assisting on Karlsson’s goal last night.

- With the trade of Adam Larsson late in the afternoon, the Miners moved quickly to replace the roster spot and signed free agent defenceman Cody Goloubef to a 1-year, $800K contract.

Miners deal Larsson to the Chinook for Kempe and draft pick.

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

With one team looking towards the future, and one team going all in, the idea of the Sudbury Miners and Calgary Chinook having trade talks made perfect sense.   Late Tuesday afternoon, after much discussion, a deal between the two teams was confirmed.

The deal breaks down as follows:  Sudbury trades defenseman Adam Larsson to Calgary in exchange for center Adrian Kempe and Calgary’s 1st round pick in 2019.

In a brief press conference prior to Tuesday’s contest, General Manager Terry James commented on the trade, in particular why they dealt for Kempe.

“Adrian is a great skater who can carry the puck at a high speed and he loves to challenge the defense one-on-one” James stated.  “He has good vision and hockey sense in the offensive zones and he scored some big goals for his Junior team in his draft year.  He is a player who can play in all situations and that is one of the main reasons we acquired him.”

Kempe was born in Kramfors, Sweden, which is where he also grew up. 

He made his Swedish Hockey League debut playing with Modo Hockey during the 2013–14 SHL season.  At the conclusion of the season, he was drafted in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2014 CCHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Chinook.  The following season he recorded a career-high 17 points in 50 games with cellar-dwelling Modo of the SHL.

In Adam Larsson, the Calgary Chinook, they get a solid, young defenseman who will be able to chip in on their 3rd defense pairing and penalty killing units.  He was selected third overall by the Reykjavik Puffin in the 2011 CCHL Entry Draft.  In 49 games this year, Larsson has recorded 2 goals and 6 assists, to go along with 12 penalty minutes.

Gaudreau scores lone goal as Price, Chinook shut out Express 1-0

Gaudreau scores lone goal as Price, Chinook shut out Express 1-0

LONG ISLAND – Sometimes one goal is all it needs.

Johnny Gaudreau scored his tenth goal of the season, Carey Price stopped 20 shots for his 4th shutout of the season and the Chinook defeated the Express 1-0 on Monday night.

“We just showed how we can play,” Price said. “This time of the season, that’s the way it is going to be. Going into the playoffs, towards the end of the year, every game is going to be tight. There’s not much room for error, so you’ve got to be pretty good.”

While the Express were able to outshot the Chinook in the first period, it was the Chinooks’ forecheck that set up the only goal of an intense and tight game.

The Chinook took advantage of penalty from Express’ Nelson, Johnny Gaudreau shot the puck through three layers of screen on the power play, goalie Martin Jones never saw it and he buried his shot 2:05 into the second period.

“We get in, put some pressure on them and we got a bounce,” Gaudreau said.

From that point on Calgary was able to rely on its sound defense.

“I think that’s the way we have to play,” Suter said. “We’ve got to get back to defense first and I think the last little bit we kind of went sideways and it’s good to see we’re back on track now.”

Despite the goal, Jones was brilliant tonight as he made 36 saves for the Express.

NOTES:

Chinook won 32 of the 50 face offs.

Vanek lead the team with 6 shots.

UP NEXT:

The Chinook will travel to Iceland to play against the Rejkjavik Puffin on Wednesday.

Miners run season long win streak to 4.

Miners run season long win streak to 4.

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON)

It is official, the Sudbury Miners are on a roll.

Third-pairing defenceman, Chris Wideman, had himself a night with a pair goals to go along with his two assists and paced the Miners to a 6-4 over the visiting Halifax Hammerheads at the Vale Centre on Monday night.

With the victory last night, the Miners extended their win streak to four games – a season high.

“Pucks were bouncing my way today," Wideman said. "It's cool to have a night like this but I am just happy to do what I can to help the team win."

Philip Danault had a goal and two assists and Radim Vrbata scored his team-high 16th goal to help pace the Miners attack. William Karlsson also chipped in with a goal, while Shea Theodore extended his season-high point streak to three games.

Goaltender Jake Allen made 26 saves for the win, his 6th win of the year.

Auston Matthews had two goals for Halifax, and Ian Cole had a goal and an assist.  Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves on 40 shots but suffered his 4th defeat of the season.

“It's fun when we're playing like this," Wideman said. "Everybody's having fun and making plays. When you hold on to the puck, it's a lot of fun.  We like winning games."

The Miners will go for their fifth win in a row on Monday night, as they take on the visiting Wisborg Donuts.  Game time at the Vale Centre is 7:00pm

MINERS NUGGETS

- Goaltender Jake Allen is on a season high three game win streak.

- Miners coach Derek Sutton indicated that there will be no changes to Tuesday night’s line-up.  This means that winger Tom Wilson will again check into the line-up in the absence of winger Anthony Duclair to injury.

- The Miners will again wear lavender jerseys as part the Hockey Fights Cancer campaign.  Each jersey will be autographed and auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society.  Cancer survivor and former NHL referee, Paul Stewart will be in attendance to drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff.

Dayton's Defense stands tall against Icecats, but offense falls short in 2-1 loss...

Mike Smith stopped 34 of 36 Icecats shots on goal, and Dayton defensemen blocked 7 shots on the night but it was all for naught as Siberia defeated the Musicmen 2-1 at the Soundstage in Dayton, OH.

"That's the third best team in the Canosa Conference right there. Third in offense and third in defense overall." said Dayton General Manager Bill Corfield. "When you get 5 shots on goal over the first 40 minutes and finish with nine for the entire game, you just can't beat a team like those guys."

The game started like it was going to be a total disaster for the hometown Musicmen as Siberia scores twice in the first :51 seconds of the first period. "No, that's not how we wanted to start." said Corfield.

From that moment on, the Icecats offense their fair share of shots against Mike Smith, but no more goals would get past the Dayton netminder.

Dayton also shut the Siberia power play down, holding them scoreless on just two man advantages.

Dayton's Francois Beauchemin scored the only goal, midway through the third period, to get within 1 goal, but there would be no more scoring the rest of the game.

Matt Irwin led all players with 3 blocked shots, Girardi had 2 and Beachemin and Mark Stuart each had one each.

"Shame this kind of effort didn't produce a better outcome, but if we can play like that against the 'Cats, we should be able to play that way against everybody..." said blueliner Irwin.

What's Next/

Dayton travels to Minnesota for a 9:15pm game Monday evening.

Miners extend win streak with win over the Thunder.

Miners extend win streak with win over the Thunder.

CANADIAN PRESS (Niagara Falls, ON)

The Sudbury Miners were not good guests last night in Niagara Falls.  

It was this night that the Thunder chose to honour former captain Keith Primeau, a very popular player during his time in Niagara Falls. However, the Miners would spoil the celebration skating to a 4-1 victory on Sunday night.  

With the win, the Miners tied their season-long win streak at three games set earlier in the year.

“This year, it seems that sometimes we haven’t been rewarded for our play, but I thought this was one of our better games in the last few and a step in the right direction. We still have to improve but it’s nice to be on a little roll in the right direction” stated Miners winger Tobias Reider.

Reider had a pair of goals and Radim Vrbata picked up three points in the victory.  Vincent Trocheck had the other goal for the Miners.  The Miners were outshot 34-19 in the game but Jake Allen was against solid in the Miners goal and made 33 saves to get the win.

The Miners were 1 for 3 on power plays, and the Thunder were 0 for 3.   Newly acquired Thunder goaltender Roberto Luongo made 15 saves in his Thunder debut.

With this current win streak, the Miners are feeling good about themselves, something that has been lacking for most of the year.

“Confidence is a funny thing," said Vrbata, who scored his 15th goal in the game. "When things are going great, you feel like you can beat anybody, but I think it's times like these that build the character of a group for the long term."

The Miners will go for their fourth win in a row on Monday night, as the Halifax Hammerheads pay a visit to the Nickel City.  Game time at the Vale Centre is 9:00pm

MINERS NUGGETS

- Winger Anthony Ducliar suffered an undisclosed injury early in the game on Sunday night.  Initial reports is that it is serious and he should be out of the line-up for the next 25 days.

- With Duclair’s injury, winger Tom Wilson will check into the line-up on Monday night versus Halifax.

- During pre-game warmups tonight, the Miners will wear lavender jerseys as part the Hockey Fights Cancer campaign.  Each jersey will be autographed and auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

The Thanksgiving Edition of Trade Sam!!!

Welcome everyone to the Thanksgiving edition of Trader Sam's Ultimate CCHL trade reviews.

I'm Trader Sam here to enlighten you with a little intellectual intercourse in terms of CCHL trading.  Ever wonder what a GM is thinking when he or she makes a trade?  I'm here to tell you all of that and more! 

Without further adieu, let's get to talking trade! 



CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...SPR trades T. Bozak & C. Fowler to GEO for N. Backstrom, P.Martin, GEO-7th(18), & 4.4M...

Well, it appears Springfield GM Aaron Stacey continues to be all in this season with this acquisition.  Trading Bozak and upgrading for Backstrom makes perfect sense even though both are free agents at the end of the year. Given Getzlaf's uncertain status for next year, it gives the 'topes options in the offseason. 

Dealing Fowler certainly hurts but he was vastly underperforming this season in Springfield but Martin is certainly an expensive replacement.  Springfield lacks toughness so another trade may be forthcoming.  The Isotopes might be a perfect destination for a player like Fort Erie's Jeff Petry who continues to want to contribute to a CCHL lineup. 

Georgetown got a solid defender in Fowler for years to come and perhaps a change of scenery is what the player needs to get going.  Georgetown loves their younger defenceman and on that roster, Fowler is considered a veteran. 

Overall I like this trade for both teams. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...FOR trades T. Seguin to MIN for M. Marner...

This is a great trade for both sides.  It's a well-known fact that Fort Erie GM Matt Young has coveted Marner for over a year.  It's also a fact that Seguin was not likely to get an RW rating next season and Fort Erie would have to deal with moving one of their solid four centers for a right-winger. 

Seguin immediately gives Minnesota a better goal scoring and offensive threat up front. While trading Marner hurts, Minnesota is in a good position to make such a trade given the depth of their younger roster. 

This is a solid trade for both teams and is Trader Sam approved! 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...NIA trades J. Toews to HAM for Jake Debrusk-p, Nikita Scherbak-p, Sebastien Aho-p, Joshua Jacobs-p, HAM 3rd-18, HAM 5th-18, FOR 6th-18 & NIA 6th-18...

Hamilton also declares themselves all in with this trade and land a Toews that appears to be on the downside of his CCHL career while making big money at over 13 million dollars on this contract. 

It will be a good investment for the Tigers if Toews can put them over the top and he could form a great shutdown pair with Ryan Kesler up front in the playoffs.  That could make things very tough for an opposing team. 

Niagara Falls did what they could to get a return, but lack a true bonafide star prospect in return.  I think Debrusk is a nice player but the others are very unproven.  At the end of the day, the Thunder managed to get Toews boat anchor of a contract off the books so that's a huge win for them as they deal with some financial uncertainty. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...FOR signs D. Grant to a 2 yr., $650k contract...

Fort Erie hopes that Derek Grant can join their lineup next season as a solid fourth line center that can do some penalty killing.  He's had a lot of ice time in the NHL this season in Anaheim so he might have this season translate well onto the disk if he can continue his strong play. 

It's a low-cost gamble for Fort Erie and one that could pay off next season. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...FOR waives J. Falk...(Wavier expiration date 11/30/17)...

Fort Erie wanted Falk's contract off the books and he wasn't going to report to their minor league team after being acquired in a trade.  While Falk is huge, he's not really good at anything else hockey-related and certainly could not play on Fort Erie's team.  Best of luck to Falk wherever he ends up. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...FOR trades N. Ritchie, J. Dotchin-M & S. Andrighetto to LAS for P. Byron & J. Falk...

Fort Erie trades for CCHL shooting percentage leader Paul Byron.  Byron doesn't get a ton of shots but does capitalize when he gets them with 20 goals in the books already.  The hope here is that with some of Fort Erie's big guns, that shooting success can translate even further as he gets more opportunities with some of the talented Falcons' forwards. 

Las Vegas did well in this deal as they got Nick Ritchie who Fort Erie absolutely hated to trade.  Andrighetto was off to a hot start in the NHL but could pick it up again in the near future as he has always been good offensively since moving to Colorado. 

Jake Dotchin is a regular as well in the NHL and should have good ratings next year.  The reality for Dotchin was that Fort Erie has a loaded defence and two more young kids joining the team next year in Dunn and MacDermid.  He'll get a much-needed opportunity next season in Las Vegas who should benefit from his grit going forward. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...Jeremy Smith & A. Burmistrov declared FA's...

Shocking.  Nobody is surprised that they cleared waivers.  The only way they could have been signed is if their agent happened to call a CCHL GM during an all-night drinking binge.  They'll look for work in the minor leagues or KHL to finish the year. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...DAY signs Tom Pyatt to a 3 yr., $1.1M contract...

A very under-the-radar signing for Dayton.  Pyatt will give the Musicmen solid minutes and will be a fan favorite during their rebuilding years.  There won't be much to cheer for in Dayton for awhile yet, but Pyatt will be fun for their fans to watch given his work ethic. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...DAY waives S. Doan...(Waiver expiration date 11/28/17)...

It appears to be the end of the road for the veteran winger.  He's had a good career and hopefully, he can join the CCHL office in some capacity. 

Well, folks, that's it for another edition of Trader Sam's bodacious trade reviews.  I hope you have enjoyed yourself and have managed to stay awake after the copious amounts of turkey a lot of you have likely eaten this weekend.

Trader Sam is thankful for all of his readers and the trades that take place in the CCHL.  Afterall, if teams aren't trading, Sam isn't writing. 

Until next time, take care of yourselves and be good. 

 

Miners extend win streak, defeat Orrsmen 5-4.

Miners extend win streak, defeat Orrsmen 5-4.

CANADIAN PRESS (Parry Sound, ON)

The Sudbury Miners started slowly, and the Parry Sound Orrsmen finished fast.

Still, Sudbury did enough in the middle of the game to pick up a 5-4 road win over the Orrsmen on Friday night. Vincent Trocheck led the way offensively for the Miners with a goal and an assist.

The Miners (12-33-12) got four straight goals from different players late in the first period and into the second period after Parry Sound had opened up a 2-0 lead early in the first. The win was the Miners second in a row.

Jordie Benn's goal at 15:44 of the third period was the difference for the Miners, who outshot Parry Sound 42-21.

The Orrsmen (14-31-2) fell behind 4-2 before a late rally. They lost their fifth straight game, but it wasn't for a lack of effort early or late.

Carolina had a 12-8 advantage in shots in the first period, many of which were top-notch scoring chances, but Miners goaltender Jake Allen, who had 27 saves, was strong early. The Miners have made it a habit recently to start sluggishly in the first period.

"The beginning is really important," Allen said. "We've got to be ready to play. The last few games we haven't been consistent in doing this."

The win Friday extended the win streak for the Miners, who travel to Niagara Falls on Sunday to take on the Thunder. Coach Derek Sutton said the slow starts will be addressed.

"We're just going to talk about it and fix it because the players aren't happy," Sutton said. "I'm not happy, so we'll fix that."

The offense picked up for Allen in the second period. Lauri Korpikoski scored 5:59 into the period and then Trocheck, on the power-play, added his fifth goal of the season. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad would round out the scoring for the Miners in the period, sliding one past Orrsmen goaltender Jacob Markstrom to give the Miners a 4-2 lead.

Parry Sound got to Allen for two more goals, from Mark Scheifele and Colton Scissons to tie the game at 4-4 before Benn’s game-winner. Allen was able to hold off a late 6-on-5 flurry from the Orrsmen to preserve the win.

"Jake was the man tonight for sure," Sutton said.

MINERS NUGGETS

- The Miners have now won two straight on the record, improving their record to drop to 4-22-0.

- Defenseman Shea Theodore was taken out of last night’s game due to the league’s concussion protocol. He is expected to be back in the line-up on Sunday.

Can you win a championship in the CCHL without spending a lot of money?

Can you win a championship in the CCHL without spending a lot of money?

Every year, the team that usually winds up as the Kehler Cup champion in the CCHL, has spent a lot of money on their path to glory.

How much money?

Do you have to have the highest payroll to win the Cup?

Do you just have to be in the top grouping of the CCHL big spenders?

Has a team ever won the Cup and not been in the upper range of salaries in the CCHL?

We have ten years of detailed salary and team payroll information to review. Back in 2007/08 season, we had twenty-four teams in the league up until the 2009-10 season, when we contracted a few teams and dropped down to the twenty-two teams that we've had ever since.

Let's look at the history:

YEAR         CHAMPION               PAYROLL         RANK         

2007-08:    DENVER                   $76.6M                 3RD

2008-09:    QUEBEC                   $50.5M                 7TH

2009-10:    RIVER CITIES          $54.7M                 5TH

2010-11:     COPENHAGEN        $52.6M                10TH

2011-12:     DAYTON                   $66.1M                1ST

2012-13:     NIAGARA FALLS    $60.9M                12TH

2013-14:     COPENHAGEN        $110.5M               1ST

2014-15:     COPENHAGEN        $113.4M               1ST

2015-16:      REYKJAVIK              $89.8M               7TH

2016-17:      DAYTON                  $129.9M               1ST

On average, the champion's team payroll has come in about 4.8th of all the teams in the league in their championship years. It seems that yes, if you want to contend seriously for Cup, you typically need to be in the top five payrolls in the league.

Obviously, there are exceptions...

Also, the four oldest season's data skewed away from being the most expensive. Looking at just the last six season, the Champ wound up, on average, with the 3.8th highest payroll in the league.

60% of the time, the Champion's payroll was among the 5 highest.

50% of the time, the Champion's payroll was among the 3 highest.

40% of the time, the Champion's payroll was 7th or higher.

20% of the time, the Champion's payroll was 10th or higher.

10% of the time, the Champion's payroll was outside the top 10.

Correlating this to this year's numbers:

  TEAM             CURRENT PAYROLL       CURRENT RANK IN OVERALL STANDINGS

1. CGY                           $129.2M                                                  1ST
2. REK                            $120.4M                                                 6TH
3. HAM                           $119.1M                                                 2ND
4. SPR                             $102.4M                                                 3RD
5. MIN                             $102.1M                                                10TH
6. WIS                              $101.7M                                                 5TH
7. GEO                              $ 98.6M                                                 8TH
8. FOR                               $ 97.3M                                                 7TH
9. SAN                               $ 95.5M                                                11TH
10. OTT                              $ 95.3M                                               16TH
11. HAL                              $ 90.2M                                                 9TH
12. SIB                               $  63.2M                                                 4TH

Having the highest payroll doesn't always mean you'll be in a top spot standings wise. Look at #2 REK and #3 HAM. REK has outspent HAM by $1.3M so far this season, yet sits 4 spots behind the Tigers.

Likewise, look at the spread between #3 HAM and #4 SPR. A single point separates these teams in the Canosa Conference despite there being a $16.7M difference in their payroll so far.

So many factors can effect a team's payroll yet not always contribute to its climbing higher in the standings. For example, older players with falling production but a pricey contract or a star player who's missed major time due to injury would both produce less than optimal results.

Siberia seems to be maximizing their efficiency so far with a payroll roughly half of what Calgary's is.

Looking at dollars spent per point ($$$/current total points) we see:

*****OVERALL TEAM RANKING*****
 # TEAM NAME       GP    W    L    T    Pts    PCT     Payroll $'s       Pts./$1.00
 1 Chinook         46   37    6    3     77   0.837       129.2M            $1.68M
 2 Tigers          46   30   12    4     64   0.696       119.1M            $1.86M
 3 Isotopes        46   30   13    3     63   0.685       102.4M            $1.623
 4 Icecats         47   30   13    4     64   0.681        63.2M            $.989K
 5 Donuts          46   27   14    5     59   0.641       101.7M            $1.72M
 6 Puffin          46   28   16    2     58   0.630       120.4M            $2.08M
 7 Falcons         47   27   15    5     59   0.628        97.3M            $1.65M  
 8 Millers         46   26   15    5     57   0.620        98.6M            $1.73M
 9 Hammerheads     46   23   15    8     54   0.587        90.2M            $1.67M
10 Norsemen        47   25   17    5     55   0.585       102.1M            $1.86M

Siberia spends substantially less to earn one point in the standings than does any of the other

top ten teams in the CCHL. Conversely, the Puffin seem to be spending more to earn one point 

in the standings than any of the other top ten teams.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you think your team is ready to take a serious run at a Kehler Cup, pay attention to the team payrolls and financials that Bobby generates. If you find your team performing well, and your payroll is among the five, you probably pretty close to where you want to be. If you can get into the top 3, that likely increases your chances to win.

The other side of the coin may be (because we don't know how this season turns out yet, do we???) keep an eye on how much your team has to spend to earn 1 point in the standings compared to those teams closest to you.

Falcons blank Islanders, 2-0..

Grubauer blanks Sanibal, 2-0

The Fort Erie Falcons won their second game in a row on Thursday night, defeating the Sanibel Islanders 2-0 in front of a packed home arena. 

A strong first period saw the Falcons outshoot the visitor 23-5, but were only able to get one puck behind Sanibel goaltender Ryan Miller in the frame. 

Max Pacioretty got the home team on the board in the last minute of the first period, finishing off a tic-tac-toe passing play with Slavin and Kadri. 

The score would remain the same until the final 2:37 left in the second period, as rookie defenceman Zach Werenski fired home his sixth goal of the season on a rocket from the point.  Sebastian Aho and Claude Giroux were credited with assists on the play. 

Philipp Grubauer shut the door the rest of the way for his third shutout of the season.  Grubauer now has a save percentage over .930 on the season and has really found his groove after some initial struggles in Fort Erie. 

"The guys, they played great in front of me tonight.  I only saw 19 shots.  It was a fun night and luckily I was not overworked like Miller was," said Grubauer of his third shutout. 

The Falcons are back in action tonight with their third game in three nights against former Falcon Brent Burns and the Siberia IceCats. 

Siberia enters the evening with points in nine of their past and is one of the hottest teams in the league. 

Expect John Gibson back in the Fort Erie net tonight as Grubauer has played in the past two games.  Gibson, while struggling lately, has been working hard in practice and looks to re-establish himself as the number one man in the Fort Erie net. 

It should be a great contest in Fort Erie tonight with both teams looking to continue their fine play of late. 

Reider leads the way as Miners snap losing streak..

Reider leads the way as Miners snap losing streak...

CANADIAN PRESS (Dayton, OH)

When General Manager Terry James made a trade to acquire forward Tobias Reider earlier in the season, he was hoping he found a young forward with the potential to contribute.

Based on last night’s game, it sure looks that way.

Reider scored once and added an assist, helping the Sudbury Miners beat the Dayton Musicmen 4-1 on Thursday night, in a battle of the CCHL’s two bottom-placed teams.  With his performance in last night’s game, Reider is now tied for the team lead in points (29).

"I felt right off the bat we deserved that game," Reider said. "We outcompeted them, outskated them, and that's what we wanted."

“There's a lot to be excited about with Toby," Miners coach Derek Sutton said. "He's playing well offensively, and I'm happy with that part. But I'm really happy with the rest of his game.  He has been one of our most reliable players this season."

Joonas Donskoi, Lauri Korpikoski and Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Miners, who snapped a 7-game winless streak.  Goaltender Ben Bishop has a relatively quiet night, making 14 saves for his 6th win of the year. The Miners outshot the Musicmen 37-15 in the game, and at one point held a 29-5 advantage after two periods.

For the Musicmen, they were able to generate very few scoring chances and cashed in none of them in the first two periods, continuing their offensive struggles in November.  Dayton hasn't scored more than two goals in regulation during any of its ten recent losses.

The Musicmen finally scored a late consolation marker when Damon Severson put a low shot in front of the net and Josh Archibald rammed it past Bishop for his first ever CCHL goal. “Our offense just doesn't seem capable to generate very much. We just have to keep grinding. We'll win one of these days" commented Severson to reporters after the game.

The Miners are back in action on Friday night when they make the short trip down Highway 69 to take on their Northern Ontario rivals, the Parry Sound Orrsmen.  Game time at The Gardens is 7:00pm.

MINERS NUGGETS

- After allowing four (4) power play goals the night before in Fort Erie, the Miners penalty killing unit continues to struggle.  They allowed another power-play goal late in the contest and now have dropped to 13th in the CCHL.

Dayton lost (again) tonight as the visiting Sudbury Miners beat the Musicmen, 4-1. Sudbury dominated the first 40 minutes and led 3-0 before the third period began. The Miners totally controlled the game and held a significant lead in shots on goal, 29 - 5 after the second period ended.

The two teams traded goals in the third period, which saw Dayton rookie Josh Archibald score his first career goal after some nice work by Damon Severson and Jason Dickinson with slightly more than 4 minutes left in the game.

"A bright spot?" asked Severson. "I think our penalty killing was better tonight than its been in a while. Comeau and Pyatt really know what they're doing out there. They've been around a while. Other than that, not really. Our offense just doesn't seem capable to generate very much. We just have to keep grinding. We'll win one of these days."

The "streak" is reaching epic proportions.

The last game Dayton won was back on Friday, October 13 (yup, Friday the 13th, hmmm....) when they beat the Niagara Falls Thunder 4-3. That was 42 days ago.

Since beating the Thunder on October 13th, the Musicmen have gone 0-28-2.

That was the same day that Alexander Barkov was traded to the Calgary Chinook for a package of highly regarded prospects and picks.

Severson commented, "I don't think Alex leaving is the cause of the losing streak. We're trying to set ourselves up for the future so we don't have to go through this again. Its tough, it's really, really hard. The guys are trying their best, but right now we're not a good hockey club. Looking forward, at who's signed and coming in from the minors - there's good news and bad news. Defensively, once Sanheim and Hagg get here, that'll perk up our blueline. Hopefully, Mike will still be here in nets and he gives us a chance to win every night. That's the good news. The bad news there's not much coming in the way of offense just yet. Mattias Janmark will return, but he's coming off a helluva injury last season and hasn't really found his game yet. The kid from the Coyotes, Fischer - he'll be here, but he's a rookie...how much can one kid do?"

The Musicmen expect to have the following forwards under contract for next season:
Adam Cracknell
Jared McCann
Matt Nieto
Derek Ryan
Carter Rowney
Blake Comeau
Tom Pyatt

Players who may not appear on the next disc and may be on the reserve list include:

Jason Dickinson
Zach Sanford

Restricted Free Agents who's status is undecided at this time:
Gregg McKegg
Phil Di Giuseppe
Teemu Pulkkinen

Potential prospects making next disc:

Danick Martel

It seems likely that GM Corfield will need to pursue centers for the two top lines, two to three (maybe more) wingers who can score a few goals. The Musicmen's third and fourth lines should be adequate.

The defense sets up to be:

Damon Severson
Dan Girardi
Micheal Del Zotto
Chad Ruhwedel
Travis Sanheim
Robert Hagg

Potential RFA resigns:
Mark Barberio
Matt Tennyson
Patrick Wiercioch

9 dmen should be able to carry the team a good ways in the 18-19 campaign.

With some financial constraints, I don't see Dayton signing anyone of value via UFA bidding process.

Barring a trade, Mike Smith should be the clear cut #1 guy in nets with Laurent Brossoit and Malcolm Subban backing him up.

Doubtful Dayton will see any of its prospect netminders advance rapidly enough to make the next disc.

A more economical way to sign a few players may be the waiver draft after the disk has come out. Corfield won't find any top six wingers to get excited about, but the depth guys and perhaps an interesting rookie who is available would be the optimal targets.

Falcons find power play in win over Miners...

The Fort Erie Falcons have been searching for success on the power play for almost the entire season and Wednesday night they finally found it.

The Sudbury Miners were in town for their first and only visit of the season, and gifted the home squad with 11 opportunities to put their power play on the ice.

While some of the calls were questionable, Fort Erie were able to take advantage of the opportunities to score four power play goals on the night, in a 5-1 victory over the visitors from the Nickel City.

Blake Wheeler and Nazem Kadri both had a pair of power play goals in the victory, while Jared Spurgeon added an unassisted goal in the 60 shot onslaught.

Following the game, Wheeler was particularly happy with his team's success with the man advantage.

"The guys played great.  We tried a few new things.  Perls (Brendan Perlini) made his season debut for us and really helped out our spacing on the power play.  He was good.  We played hard and I'm glad we got the two points tonight," said Wheeler.

Fort Erie General Manager Matt Young was also very pleased following the win.

"We finally found out power play.  That's a really good group in Sudbury on the PK, but we managed to pull it off.  They seemed a bit sluggish to start.  I think perhaps they spent too much time at Happy Jack's buffet when they got into town last night.  Too much MSG can really screw up your game, you know" quipped Young.

Next up for the Falcons is a game on Thursday night against the Sanibel Islanders.  The Islanders are on the outside of the playoffs right now after leading the Canosa Conference less than a month ago.

The Falcons know they'll be facing a hungry team on Thursday night.

"We've got to be ready to go on Thursday.  Tonight's win was big but we know tomorrow night Sanibel are going to be hungry for points.  It's a good team and we had better be ready" added Wheeler.

Sluggish Miners can’t stay out of the box, lose to Falcons 5-1.

Sluggish Miners can’t stay out of the box, lose to Falcons 5-1.

CANADIAN PRESS (Fort Erie, ON)

Maybe it was being in Fort Erie. Maybe it was one too many chicken balls at the rookie dinner on Tuesday night. Whatever the cause, the normally disciplined Sudbury Miners could not stay out of the penalty box and the Fort Erie Falcons made them pay on their way to a 5-1 win on Wednesday night.

The Miners “earned” 22 minutes in penalties during the game and their fatigued penalty killing just could not handle a potent Falcons power play as they went 4-for-11 on the night. Nazem Kadri and Blake Wheeler led the way offensively for the Falcons, each with a pair of goals. Former Miner goaltender Philip Grubauer made 22 saves for the win.

Jesper Fast scored the lone goal for the Miners, while Jake Allen made 55 saves in the loss.

“I don't think the start was particularly what we talked about but were lucky. Jake made some big saves for us" said Miners coach Derek Sutton, whose team actually led 1-0 after the first period. "I thought they responded after that and really took it to us."

"They were definitely hemming us in our zone," Miners goalie Jake Allen said. "When they play like that, they are hard to contain.”

“They won all the battles," Miners forward Vincent Trocheck said. "We couldn't get any momentum on our side, but tonight we played lazy…..we were half there and not committed. You can't play like that against a team like this. They're very skilled and fast and make you pay.”

The loss drops the Miners road record to a league worst 2-22-0, something that the Miners’ players are well aware of.

"It's disappointing," Allen said. "I don't think any of us are very happy right now. We can't keep coming on the road and having the same talk after every road game. We've got to dig within, look at ourselves in the mirror here and find a way to get wins on the road. We're clicking at home for most game, it's just about finding that win on the road now."

MINERS NUGGETS

- Defenseman Shea Theodore is now riding a 3-game point scoring streak.

- Defenseman Toby Enstrom tweaked an ankle early in the second period last night. Right now, he listed as day-to-day.

- The Miners have little time to think about this loss. They travel to Dayton to take on the Musicmen on Thursday night in a battle of the CCHL cellar dwellars. Game time is 7:00pm.

Happy Thanksgiving Around the CCHL!!!

Well, the clock says its been Thanksgiving 2017 for about 20 minutes here in the United States. It's a big deal holiday where families reunite, catch up, enjoy a big meal. Sometimes we even reflect a bit on the last year or so and usually resolve to be a little bit better human.

Here's a list of what yours truly thinks each of the 22 CCHL franchises are most thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day 2017...



CALGARY CHINOOK - "Thankful that Corfield decided to do a major rebuild this year..."

DAYTON MUSICMEN - "Thankful that I like drafts a lot!"

DARTMOUTH LAKERS - "Two words: Clayton Keller"

FORT ERIE FALCONS - "The season that Nazem Kadri is having so far"

GEORGETOWN MILLERS - "That Brock Boeser will be centering one of our top lines next year!"

HALIFAX HAMMERHEADS - "Austin Matthews leading us to the playoffs this season!"

HAMILTON TIGERS - "Thankful we picked up Devan Dubnyck!"

LONG ISLAND EXPRESS - "Thankful I drafted Logan Brown with my first pick in '16 draft!"

LAS VEGAS ACES - "Nolan Patrick"

MINNESOTA NORSEMEN - "Anders Lee and his 19.8 shooting percentage!"

NIAGARA FALLS THUNDER - "That Dayton is close to being finished trading this year!"

OTTAWA BARRACUDAS - "We're only 3 points out of a playoff spot!"

PARRY SOUND ORRSMEN - "Cody Glass and Haydn Fluery!"

PORTLAND OWLS - "We still own our 1st rounders in the next two drafts!"

REJKJAVIK PUFFIN - "When our UFA's leave, we'll immediately lower payroll by 25M bucks!"

SANIBEL ISLANDERS - "That we'll have virtually a different team after the next UFA Bidding!"

SEATTLE REIGN - "That's simple. Nico Hischier!"

SIBERIA ICECATS - "Matt Murray being under our control for another 7 years!"

SPRINGFIELD ISOTOPES - "Being able to add both MacKinnon & Malkin this season!"

SUDBURY MINERS - "Ten first rounders in the next two CCHL drafts!"

VICTORIA RONIN - "The freedom my job grants me to scout Europe on a regular basis!"

WISBORG DONUTS - "Leon Draisaitl!"

Springfield: How did we get here?

How did we get here?

Just last month the CCHL marked an anniversary that went unnoticed.  The General Manager of the Springfield Isotopes, Aaron Stacey, celebrated his 4^th year with the team.  There have been many changes since he took over in 2013, some good and some not so good.  The anniversary offers a chance to look back at the team to see the transactions that came together to bring this team to where it stands today.

Current roster players (who play) are highlighted in Bold.

Year	Acquisition	Comment
2017	SUD trades R. Getzlaf to SPR for R. Nugent-Hopkins, M. Danault, SPR 1st-17 & CAL 2nd-17...	Picking up the first #1 C the ‘topes have had….cost a lot
	GEO trades P. Hornqvist to SPR for GEO 3rd-17...	A UFA signing that has really helped out
	SPR trades P. Martin, WIN 3rd-17, & GEO 8th-17 to GEO for J. Braun...	Martin leaves again but Braun has done well in his place
	FOR trades A. Goligoski & M. Nutivaara to SPR for E. Kane & M. Grigorenko...	Isotopes needed some D and Kane had to go
	SPR trades M. Methot & DAY-1st-18 to DAY for J. Muzzin...	This trade made sense to improve the D overall but could hurt if the draft pick is high
	FOR trades T. Bozak, M. Staal & Christian Jaros-p to SPR for J. Petry, S. Andrighetto & A. Burrows...	This trade was about shoring up the C position and worrying about Petry’s contract
	DAY trades N. MacKinnon to SPR for J. McCann, Victor Mete-p, Jeremy Roy-p, Warren Foegle-p, Danill Tarasov-p, DAY 2nd-18 & SPR 4th-18...	Can’t say this didn’t hurt but getting MacKinnon could be the difference in the future.
	SUD trades A. Dell to SPR for Jo. Benn & SPR 11th-18...	Remember that time the CCHL conspired to hurt both ‘topes goalies? And all we read about is a phantom elbow drop to some FOR backup??
	SPR trades A. Anisimov, K. Russell, SPR-2nd(18), & SPR-5th(18) to REK for E. Malkin & A.Greene...	Starting to add more punch to the lineup and bring Greene into give another 4 on D.
	DAY trades S. Upshall to SPR for SPR's 10th-18, SPR -12th-18 & SPR 11th-19...	PK is becoming important
2016	M. Tkachuk – Drafted 4th overall by SPR	A tough and skilled LW for the future….also the only real draft pick on the team
	FOR trades Nikita Zaitsev-p to SPR for Cliff Pu-p & Jack Lafontaine-p...	A draft day trade that brought a somewhat underwhelming Zaitsev
	SPR trades V. Nichushkin to MIN for R. Luongo, L. Komarov, & MIN 2nd (2018)...	SPR needed a backup and was able to find one
	M. Grabner waiver pickup	A skilled PK specialist at a good price
	SIB trades S. Andrighetto, K. Brodziak & I. Pakarinen to SPR for D. Brown & B. Orpik..	Expiring contract in Brown moved for bodies…one turns into a key PK guy
	SPR trades R. Suter, SPR 4th-17 & M. Grabovski to CGY for K. Turris, K. Russel, CGY 2nd-17, Nick Merkley-p & Kale Clague-p...	We had Suter?? Traded to a stacked CGY team that seems to help both teams, some prospects still to come out of this
2015	MIN trades P. Berglund, Caleb Jones-p & MIN 4th to SPR for C. MacArthur...	An expiring MacArthur gets moved for some assets
	SPR trades D. Krejci to FOR for MIN 2nd, Charles Hudon-p, Viktor Arvidsson-p, Phillip Danault-p & J. Williams...	A nice little haul for Krejci, the team would look different without Arvidsson
	GEO trades S. Bobrovsky, B. Saad, & M. Geertsen-p to SPR for M. Fleury & S. Doan...	The second time that Bobrovsky is traded for Fleury but this time he comes back to Springfield
2014		No current player was picked up in 2014!
2013	SPR trades P. Martin & D. Seidenberg & M. Kruger to MIN for C. Fowler & Nikita Zadorov-p & Danny Kristo-p...	First trade: Looking to shed some salary and add some prospects the Isotopes(Homers) made a trade that brought current d-man Fowler to the roster.  A note of interest, Martin would later join the team again only to be traded late last season.  Zadorov and Kristo never played for Springfield though Zadorov was important in a trade that brought Suter to the team a year later.
Prior	FOR trades S. Bobrovsky & Brendon Gallagher-p to SPR for T. Thomas...	Current Isotopes Captain was picked up prior to Stacey joining the team. Bobrovsky joins the team but gets moved later by Stacey.

What this activity has shown me is that the ‘topes seemed to be a constant state of transition as the team worked to find an identity.  2014 featured no moves that have anything to do with current players which is just shocking.  Another outrageous stat is that Tkachuk is the only SPR draft pick that is playing on the team.

The outlook is pretty good in Springfield and hopefully more picks will join the roster soon but for now it appears that the Isotopes have relied on some “smooth” trading to build its current roster.

Springfield Times