Sudbury at Springfield: A neighbour dispute?

The playoffs have begun in the CCHL and as always we in the media are looking to find the interesting stories for each playoff series and the Sudbury Miners and Springfield Isotopes series is no different.  The conference rivals played each other 6 times, two of those games ended in a shootout with each team winning one, the other four games ended with Springfield winning three and Sudbury with one.  Beyond that, it would seem that these are just two teams playing each other in a battle to make it to the next round, but it goes deeper than that.

As many of you may know, the Fort Erie Falcons have been bitter rivals of Springfield for many years but did you know that the general managers for both teams have been friends since they were 12 years old (sadly this puts it at nearly 28 years…ugh 40).  This was a result of Springfield’s Aaron Stacey moving next door to Fort Erie’s Matt Young.  Their friendship is what brought Stacey to the CCHL.  This was a friendship and professional rivalry that was a wonderful feature of the CCHL season in and out.

Unfortunately, it appears Matt Young has been stepping out behind Stacey’s back as he has done the exact same thing with his new neighbor.  Terry James the general manager of the Miners shares a fence with Matt Young and it appears that Young lured James into the CCHL in much the same way he did with Stacey years ago.  Now the two ‘neighbours’ of Young faceoff in the playoffs, in a (final?) battle for Young’s friendship.

Who will play beyond expectations? Who will play in the next round? and who will earn Matt Young’s love?  The answer will come as the series plays out.

No pictures could be found of Young and James.  I am not saying that Stacey is better but it is possible that Young has already made his choice.

Good luck to Sudbury, we are playing for more than the cup!

Springfield Times

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 22

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners:  Volume 22

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):


Miners Weekly Record:  2 wins, 1 losses, 0 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  41 wins, 28 losses, 12 OT Loss = 94 points total.  Currently sit in 5th place in the Canosa Conference, 8th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 20.8% (12th); Penalty Kill – 79.2% (9th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Center Vincent Trocheck (33G – 61A = 94 pts; 10th Overall in the CCHL)

 X - Clinched.

That’s what the Sudbury Miners are saying Monday morning after a week that saw them go 2-1-0 and clinch their first playoff berth in franchise history.  The Miners have been riding a hot streak to close out the year, having won 8 of their past 10 contests, while only suffering one regulation loss.  They have the potential to make a little bit of noise one the playoffs begin.

“Seeing that ‘X’ beside our name is a testament to the guys in this room”, stated Miner's defenseman Aaron Ekblad.  “They worked their asses off, and it was always our goal to make the playoffs this year, despite what some in the media thought.  We feel if we can keep digging in, we might be able to surprise a team or two when the dance begins.  We can’t wait to get this going”.

            Despite having clinched a playoff spot, the Miners potential match-up is still in flux.  Despite only having 1 game remaining (versus Georgetown), the Miners could finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th, but you can be assured that this young club will be a tough out, whoever they face.

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Frederik Andersen

Simply put, Andersen has developed into a top 5 goaltender in the league.  The butterfly style goaltender takes advantage of his massive 6’4, 230-pound frame to athletically cover the net and will deliver highlight reel saves on occasion.  He is a student of the game and is continually improving his technique through constant work on his style and his training.  One notable improvement is that he has upgraded his puck tracking in recent seasons.  He is a  competitor who has learned to channel his emotion with increased experience.  He is now proving that he has the stamina and conditioning to play 60 plus games. 

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Mike DiPietro

The Canadian World Junior starting goalie, DiPietro was named the top goaltender in the OHL last year, as he was often asked to carry a mediocre Windsor team to wins.  A mid-season trade to Ottawa has given him another excellent shot at a Memorial Cup this season, and he will be heavily relied upon to deliver.  He is one of the most entertaining goalies to watch outside the NHL due to how dynamic an athlete he is. He gets to pucks an average CHL goalie would have no chance at. He has a great glove hand and is a common name on the highlight reel.  DiPietro is a smart goalie too, and while there are times he can be a little all over the place, he generally makes good reads and tracks pucks well. His main issue is his height, as high shots from good shooters can squeak by him too easily.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2022-23.

The ‘Spring’ is back in Springfield!

The updates about Springfield during the year have not always been positive.  On November 20th, the Isotopes were sitting in 11th place in the Canosa Conference and not having fun.  This was day 48 of the season (the first red line, on this day SPR had an article about how the season had not unfolded as expected).  The team then went on to lose 8 games in a row at what could be best described as the low point of the season.  Jump ahead to today and Springfield has officially qualified for the playoffs and still has a chance at finishing as high as 3rd in the conference.

As a bit of an experiment, we here at the Springfield Times wanted to take a look at the season and see if there was a ‘turning point’.  The figure below shows the expected points at the end of the season based on the average points per game. The horizontal (green) line is the expected points (88.5 points) needed to qualify for the playoffs based on the current status of the Canosa Conference.

The second red line was another article where SPR talked about getting no respect.  Springfield can now feel like they have gained some respect as changes in lineups and rosters have come together to save what appeared to be a lost season.  In terms of a turning point, it seems to have been soon after the losing streak, though the reasons for this remain somewhat unclear.

GM Stacey said “People have asked, ‘How did you turn it around?, I am not sure that I can give them a good answer.  I knew the team should be performing better than we were.  We made some minor tweaks and some major roster moves and we think that we might have finally figured out something that works. We are on a seven-game win streak right now but the postseason is obviously a different experience so we will see what we can do.”

Springfield has two games left in the regular season at home against Siberia and on the road against Wisborg.

State of the Loons ; Conference Champs!

Last night was an off night for the Loons, but the Nest was still lit up and rocking. The Loons organization opened up the doors and allowed season ticket holders and fans who had purchased the 10-game ticket plans to come in and watch last night's Minnesota Norsemen vs Wisborg Donuts game live on the jumbo tron. These lucky fans also had the pleasure of sitting alongside of the Loons players to watch the game.Once Minnesota winger Radulov scored early into the third to put Minnesota up 4-1 -  the Nest turned into a party. 

"We would have liked to clinch it on the ice, but It was pretty cool sharing it with the fans," commented Captain Dubois. "Also, it didn't hurt being there to hug a few of our female fans either!" Dubios said with a smile on his face and a dr. Pepper in his hand (PLD is only 20 after all).

Looking back at the past year there were a lot of memorable moments. "We faced a lot of criticism throughout the year starting with the blockbuster deal that brought us our Captain. We gave up a lot and maybe could have gotten more elsewhere, but we identified PLD as someone who not only had a ton of talent but is a leader and a player that we could build an organization around." GM Czepiel commented as he spoke with reporters. That trade was the first of MANY during the off season and throughout the season too. " Its hard taking over someone else's roster and not having the type of guys that we wanted - so a roster turnover was necessary." Czepiel continued. " We got lucky in free agency and landed a top 5 CCHL scorer in Krejci and a number 1 defenseman in Niskanen. We will need to be active and just as lucky next year. But maybe our biggest move was bringing in Sedin. 60 points in way more then we could have hoped for but his greatest value was the leadership he brought to the team and his mentoring of PLD."

The CCHL faced huge changes this year and the Loons were smart to participate in both the Summer league and the Pre season in order to find out early on what worked, what didn't and what type of players they needed to bring in. Czepiel went on " We failed a lot during the year, we thought bringing in a top player like Claude Giroux was a no brainer, but we saw immediately that he was not going to be a good fit. We also  traded away a couple of guys in Ferland and Barberio that we underestimated how important they were to us on the ice and in the locker room once they were gone. Our team went into a tailspin after they were moved, and are hopefully just now starting to emerge from." The Loons were obviously not afraid to make changes and that was crucial to their success. 

Next up are the playoffs, this should separate the men from the boys. Capeside will have the advantage of a first round bye but will lose momentum and experience. Changes will have to be made quickly if things start to go wrong or this dream season can be over very quickly.

 Looking back at our preseason predictions we picked the Loons to make the playoffs but as a 6 seed  and to lose in the first round. We have never been so happy to be wrong.

 #goLoonsgo

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 21

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):



Miners Weekly Record:  3 wins, 0 losses, 0 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  39 wins, 27 losses, 12 OT Loss = 90 points total.  Currently sit tied for 3rd place in the Canosa Conference, 7th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 21.4% (9th); Penalty Kill – 79.7% (8th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Center Vincent Trocheck (32G – 57A = 89 pts; 11th Overall in the CCHL)



One step closer.

That’s what the Sudbury Miners are saying Monday morning after a week that saw them go a perfect 3-0-0 and vault them into 3rd in the Canosa Conference.  The Miners have now won 6 of their last 7 games, and that run has helped them inch closer to solidifying a playoff position as they now sit 10 points ahead of 7th place Long Island with 4 games remaining. Long Island has a game in hand.

“It was a solid week for us to get a few more wins and put us that one step closer to getting that little ‘X’ by our name”, stated Miners defenseman Josh Morrissey.  “We have been able to put a bit of a run here in our last 10 games and it has helped give us a little breathing room, but we can ill-afford to take our foot off the gas.  We haven’t clinched anything yet”.

            While not yet certain, it would seem barring an epic collapse, the Miners will clinch a playoff spot, but their actual finishing position and potential match-ups are still in flux.  Despite only having 4 games left, the Miners could finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th, but just making the playoffs is a step in the right direction for this young club.



MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Sean Monahan

Monahan has developed into a multi-purpose forward blessed with a balance of skill, grit, and determination.  He is not very flashy, but is more skilled than he appears.  He uses his large frame for puck protection when cycling under pressure or in puck battles and creates opportunities with patience and poise with the puck.  He has a “pass first” mentality - rather than challenging 1-on-1 and stickhandling past defenders but his snapshot has a tricky release, requiring minimal windup.  Despite his size, he doesn’t initiate much physical contact.  Monahan is also a solid and aggressive penalty killer, and is fearless and competitive.  His skating, while not his best attribute, has improved but scouts believe with more work, his speed and mobility can improve.  He is easily a Top 6 forward.



MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  K’Andre Miller

A product of the U.S. Development Program, Miller has been plying his trade at the University of Wisconsin this year.  Miller is praised for his athletic ability on the ice, including his powerful skating ability despite being 6-4” and 200 lbs.  At the very least, he projects as a modern day shutdown defender who can use his size and mobility to dominate the defensive end.  With that being said, scouts have suggested that his game possesses offensive upside despite his skill set being a bit raw.  He will likely spend a few years at the College level before turning pro, but should make a solid pro with a chance at being a true impact player down the road.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2022-23.

"Schedule" Sam reports from Dayton, OH on the Musicmen's scheduling controversy...

Dayton, OH - March 15, 2019

Hey, folks, it's Scheduler Sam here to break down the latest activity at last night's Dayton City Council meeting to discuss the availability of the Dayton arena. 

City Council called an emergency meeting last night to discuss how arena time will be allocated next season at the request of the Dayton Musicmen. 

Oddly enough, we can call this the battle of the Corfield's as Dayton GM Bill Corfield tries to obtain a more balanced schedule from singer William Corfield. 

The Musicmen are attempting to avoid the scenario that sees them play nine games in 11 nights to conclude the season, all while battling for a playoff spot in the CCHL. 

Dayton GM Bill Corfield lobbied to the council on Friday night that the arena distribution needs to be more fairly allocated next season. 

"Listen, I get that it's great for the city of Dayton to have the arena booked all the time.  It's not every day that a city like ours gets an act like William Corfield to play on such a regular basis.  He's a Vegas quality act in our city and it's great, but in the interest of competitive balance, we need to be able to play in the building with our schedule balanced better.  This is going to really hurt our chances to bring back another championship to this great city," said the Dayton GM. 

The moment Dayton Musicmen GM Bill Corfield met music sensation William Corfield at city council in their battle over the arena time.  

On the other side of the battle, William Corfield says that he needs the arena too as the summer months are when he plays outdoors. 

"Listen, folks, I need to have access as well.  Bill is right I could play in Vegas but I choose to make Dayton a must-see place for entertainment because I love this city."

"In the summer I play outdoor venues but my fans are elderly and need the comfort of the arena during the winter.  Last year you all made great strides in renovating the arena to include 15 wheelchair entrances so I think you all agree that it's important for their quality of life.  Remember for some of these folks that don't have any loved ones left or nearby, this could be their only opportunity to get out and smile.  Let's not take that away in the winter months," said the other Corfield. 

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said that she agreed that greater balance needed to exist. 

"We don't want to take away the number of shows, but perhaps a better balance is required.  William Corfield is a great performer and deserves to play as many shows, maybe just not as frequently each week and it can be balanced out.  I think we can easily achieve better balance while not disappointing his rabid fan base," quipped the Mayor. 

The Mayor continued and dropped a shocking statement. 

"Ultimately it comes down to this folks.  The Dayton Musicmen may miss the playoffs and I'll be sick to my stomach if those pukes, the Fort Erie Falcons get in before our team in Dayton.  Bill Corfield is right, we need to obtain balance and finally, this is a decision we can make without taxing our constituents." 

It appears that we have reached an agreement but stay tuned in the coming weeks as the two crafty Corfield's continue to meet and hash out a better schedule next season. 

That's all from Dayton City Hall.  I'm Scheduler Sam reminding you to call me should you have any scheduling issues.  I care about your schedule so much it's even in my name. 

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 20

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):



Miners Weekly Record:  3 wins, 0 losses, 1 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  36 wins, 27 losses, 12 OT Loss = 84 points total.  Currently sit in 3rd place in the Canosa Conference, 8th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 21.4% (11th); Penalty Kill – 79.7% (9th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Center Vincent Trocheck (27G – 56A = 83 pts; 11th Overall in the CCHL)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   After the Sudbury Miners played what could be classified as their worst stretch of hockey (previous week record of 0-3-1 and 2-4-4 in their past 10), the Miners responded with a spirited effort this past week.  Their busy 4-game schedule this past week, saw them go 3-0-1 and vault them into 3rd place; 6 points up on 7th place Long Island.

 “I love the never-quit attitude that we are developing in the room.  Given the stretch of hockey we had been playing, we could have easily folded up shop and respectfully fall out of the playoff race.  There is just too much pride in the room, and we feel if we can just get to the dance, we may have an opportunity to show teams what we are building to in Sudbury.  It’s an exciting time to be a Miner”, stated Miners goaltender Fredrick Andersen.

  With only 7 games remaining for the rest of the season, the Miners can ill-afford to let their foot off the pedal.  Any slip up may be the difference between them playing hockey in April or simply just booking their tee-off times.

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Aaron Ekblad

Ekblad, still only 22 years old, is a hulking defender who combines size with decent skating ability and outlet passing into a capable puck-moving ability.  He possesses a rocket-like shot but it is used less in favor of getting pucks on net.  He is physically-intimidating in his own end and can punish opponents with monstrous body checks and often uses his massive frame to separate the man from the puck along the boards.  He has good hockey sense and makes good decisions knowing when the proper moments are to jump in and support the rush.  But, if there is a knock on Ekbald is that his skating is far from elite, and needs to improve his backward mobility.  With that being said, there is still room for improvement given his age.  He is a first D-pair material.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Sean Durzi

Durzi’s production when he has been healthy is top notch.  Last year, his 1.23 points per game rate placed him second among all OHL defensemen and led him to be drafted in the second round in his second year of draft eligibility.  Like most of the defensemen in this day and age, Durzi has above average mobility and puck skills, while lacking somewhat in the size department.  The coveted right-handed shot grades out as above average in most of his attributes, outside of physicality.  His vision is advanced although he needs to time his pinches better.  Projected to be a bottom pairing defenseman with some offensive potential.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2022-23.

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners: Volume 19

A Weekly Look at the 2018-19 Sudbury Miners:  Volume 19

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Weekly Record:  0 wins, 3 losses, 1 OT loss.

Miners League Standing:  33 wins, 27 losses, 11 OT Loss = 77 points total.  Currently sitting tied for 5th place in the Canosa Conference, 11th overall in the CCHL.

Miners Special Teams:  Power Play – 20.8% (13th); Penalty Kill – 78.5% (13th)

Miners Scoring Leader:  Center Vincent Trocheck (26G – 55A = 81 pts; 10th Overall in the CCHL)

            The Sudbury Miners could not have picked a worse time of the year to play their worst hockey of the season.   After going a dismal 0-3-1 this past week (and 2-4-4 in their past 10), the Miners are barely holding on to a playoff spot as they sit tied for 5^th place, just one point up on Springfield for the final playoff berth.    

“There is just no other way to put it…..we were dogsh*t this week!  It’s embarrassing to go through a stretch like this, especially at this time of year, given what is at stake.    We need to get our heads out of our collective asses and get to work”, stated Miners forward Vincent Trocheck.

            His comments reflect the current mood of the team during this tough stretch and it may be a sign that the pressure may be getting to this young club with a playoff birth within their grasp.  Whether they make the playoffs or not, this final stretch of games will give this young Miners squad some valuable experience when it comes to high-tense, high-pressure situations.  It is something to build on.

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK:  Rasmus Ristolainen

A rugged defenceman with size, Ristolainen has both his good points and bad points.  He is an adept puck handler through the neutral zone and can also stretch the play with long passes and intelligent outlet passes.  He holds the puck to stave off pressure in controlled defensive zone breakouts and is quite good at supporting the rush.  In the offensive zone, he walks the line fairly well to use his top weapon - a heavy slapshot.  His strength and aggression are his prime attributes.  His skating is not his strongest attribute.  He feet are strong but heavy and he is not terribly quick and lacks some lateral mobility.  It is obvious to see that he is a better forward skater than backward, where he has trouble generating momentum and will switch back to forward to better defend attacks.  He can sometimes get lost in positioning during chaotic periods in the defensive zone, and can be underwhelming when his energy level dips and his feet stop moving.   All that being said, he is a solid top-4 defenseman, with room to grow.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW:  Tyler Madden

A chip off the old block, Madden, whose father John was a Selke Award winner in the 1990s with New Jersey, is a defense-first center with some skill.  Short and slight, he is more than just a defensive specialist as he has flashed skills as both a playmaker and puck handler.  He will be at Northeastern for the next couple of years but will have every opportunity to not only add bulk to his small frame but also to further develop his offensive skills.  Expected CCHL arrival:  2022-23.