Week 12: Final Scores

Some of us thought it would never end, but at long last, the NHL lockout is over! The two sides have agreed to a deal that should be ratified within the week. The plan is to begin a 48-game season on Sat., Jan. 19. That means our AHL experiment officially ends now.

Week 12 will be the final week using AHL players and stats. Week 13 will pick up as soon as the NHL begins play and will be operated through our League Offices as ESPN.com (links above). The IceHL will take a short hiatus in the interim. For now, a look at our final week of AHL action.

Our final week with the AHL came with more than its share of surprises. For one thing, we saw a lot of underdogs do some damage. The last-place Gators surprised the second-place Winterhawks with a 64-55 victory. New Orleans was powered by a combined 54 points from Jordan Eberle and Richard Panik who, together, earned 9 goals and 3 assists. Simply outstanding efforts from these two.

After an unbelievable start that kept them at the top of the league standings for seven straight weeks, the Winterhawks have now lost three in a row. But it wasn't all bad news. Winnipeg's defense put their forwards to shame with the blue line pair uniting for 32 points, including 2 goals and 6 assists.

Also making noise from the bottom of the standings were the Sharpshooters, who slammed the Renegades 65-33. Radko Gudas added an assist to his 19 penalty minutes for 22 points while Chris Bourque picked up a goal and 2 assists on his way to 14 points for Saskatoon. Mark Mancari led the way in Regina with 2 goals and 2 assists.

The Hellcats had their best week of the season as they shot down the Narwhals 72-40. Houston got double digit points from four players, a feat last accomplished 10 weeks ago. Eric Selleck and Ryan Stanton each contributed 12 PIMs while goalie David Leggio backstopped two wins and a shutout for 16 points. Tomas Tatar was the star for the Narwhals with 2 goals, 3 assists and a minor penalty for 19 points.

Not surprisingly the Aviators led the IceHL WEST with the most points this week, knocking off the Cavalry 78-61. Penalty minutes were the name of the game for Seattle with a combined 40 of them between Peter Holland and Cameron Gaunce. Calgary got a 32 total PIMs from Eric Tangradi and Bobby Robins and, despite a 16-point week from netminder Ben Scrivens, couldn't hang on for the win.

The week's closest match saw the Beasts edge the Kodiaks by two points, 56-54. Brendan Smith put 4 assists toward an 18-point effort for Boulder as Mike Sgarbossa and Mikael Granlund each talled 11 points. Taylor Hall, meanwhile, was a "beast" for Edmonton, collecting 2 goals, 3 assists and 4 penalty minutes for 21 points. Mark Arcobello added 5 assists as the Kodiaks really showed their offensive teeth in this one.

Elsewhere, the Wave squashed the Scorpions 32-27 with help from James Sheppard's 13 points. The Huskies stopped the high-ranked Outlaws with a 65-54 win as Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and goalie Dustin Tokarski came together for 42 points themselves. And Pioneers beat the Lumberjacks 51-45 with impressive offensive numbers.

Now back east.

Back in the IceHL EAST, the top teams were reinvigorated. The Barracudas moved back into sole possession of first place with a 71-38 thumping of the struggling Mammoths. Jason Zucker made big noise with 33 points on 2 goals, 5 assists and 10 PIMs this week for Tampa Bay. That combined with 3 wins and a shutout from Dustin Tokarski helped the Barracudas run away with this one.

Under new management, Minnesota was starting to turn its luck around before the AHL portion of the season came to its conclusion this week. Tim Erixon led the way from the blue line with 3 assists and 6 penalty minutes for 15 points.

Two high-powered, high-scoring teams created fireworks in the final week of AHL action. The Nighthawks defeated the Hitmen 90-75 — a whopping 165 points between them. Jordan Eberle was the big man for North Carolina, tallying 5 goals and 3 assists for 29 points! The defense united for another 33 points — thanks in part to 15 PIMs from Mark Fraser. The Hitmen had all but one player in double digits as Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist each picked up 19 points. Perhaps most impressive for Chicago was that only 4 of its 75 points came from penalty time.

Sure, that one was high-scoring but this one was high-scoring and tight! The Blue Crabs edged out the Olympiques 78-72 in another offensive slugfest. Richard Panik's 4 goals helped him toward an amazing 25 points. Only Slava Voynov was in single digits, but at least his stat was a goal. On the Montreal side, two players topped 20 points! Peter Holland relied on time in the box while Taylor Hall was a scoring machine. Definitely an exciting one to watch here.

The streaking Guardians were brought down by the Colonials this week, 51-44. Boston got a combined 4 goals and 8 penalty minutes for 24 points from Alexandre Bolduc and Sean Couturier. Curtis McElhinney led New York from the crease on a pair of wins. No player in this match-up was left off the scoresheet.

The week's top-scoring player helped the Armada to a 61-34 stunner over the Steelcats. New addition Brandon Bollig earned 31 points for Quebec on a goal and 27 penalty minutes. Hamilton, meantime, got 12 points each from Brett Connolly and Nino Niederreiter in the defeat.

Elsewhere, the Sentinels topped the Mariners 59-53 with Joe Colborne grabbing 2 goals and 3 assists toward 19 points for Washington. The Arsenal broke a five-game losing streak with a 41-38 win over the Lagers and have Jonathan Audy-Marchessault to thank for it. And in a surprising twist, the Archers were felled by the Motorheads 48-45 as the 4-7 team beat the 7-4 team. Detroit got four double-digit performances this week.

And so that wraps things up for now. The IceHL will now take a 12-day break — think of it as an extended All-Star break without the All-Star Game. The season will pick up with Week 13 match-ups on ESPN as soon as the 2013 NHL season gets underway.

Here's a quick look at our Week 13 opponents:

• IceHL EAST: Barracudas vs Colonials; Hitmen vs Blue Crabs; Armada vs Archers; Nighthawks vs Olympiques; Lagers vs Sentinels; Guardians vs Mammoths; Arsenal vs Mariners; Motorheads vs Steelcats
• IceHL WEST: Kodiaks vs Wave; Cavalry vs Beasts; Winterhawks vs Hellcats; Pioneers vs Aviators; Scorpions vs Lumberjacks; Gators vs Renegades; Narwhals vs Outlaws; Sharpshooters vs Huskies

Who's psyched for NHL hockey?!

Week 11: Final Scores

First, my apologies for the delay in getting updates out this week. Now let's go!

We saw an IceHL record get positively shattered in Week 11. For six weeks, the Portland Pioneers held the record for points in a single week with 92. Then the New York Guardians came along, destroying the Lagers 108-24 — and securing first overall in the IceHL EAST standings. The Guardians primarily have Patrick Maroon to thank, as he amassed 45 penalty minutes during the week and tacked on a goal and an assist for 52 points! That, too, may be a new IceHL record. But you can't discount the big help from T.J. Brennan, who tallied a goal, 5 assists and 6 PIMs for 25 points.

The Lagers, meanwhile, continue their slide with one win in the last eight weeks. Mikael Granlund came back in a big way with 3 goals and an assist for 15 points. But Milwaukee got little else as three players, including goalie Justin Peters, were held scoreless this week.

The Archers, who held the No. 1 spot last week, fell all the way to fourth at the hands of the Olympiques by a score of 62-51. Cory Conacher led Montreal with 2 goals and 3 assists for 24 points. Taylor Hall added another 3 goals and 2 assists for 18 points. It all proved to be a bit too much for St. Louis, despite a combined 33 points from Cam Atkinson and Matt Frattin.

The Steelcats jumped back above .500 after a surprising 69-42 victory over the Hitmen. Hamilton all but one member of its roster in double digits this week. Nino Niederreiter notched 3 goals for 12 points while Marcus Foligno added another 18 points. The Cats even got help from another shutout win by goalie Braden Holtby. A pair of wins from goalie David Leggio (12 points) along with an offensive burst from blue-liner Mark Barberio (11 points) gave Chicago a boost, but couldn't get the job done.

Finally finding their second win of the year were the Mammoths, who defeated an imploding Sentinels club 35-10. Minnesota was led by 12 points from goalie Robin Lehner. D-man Tim Erixon also contributed 3 assists for 9 points. Washington, on the other hand, got production from just two players — and the only offense was a single goal by Joe Colborne. The Sentinels have some roster changes in store for the second half of the season.

Elsewhere, the Barracudas just edged the Mariners 41-40 to move back into second overall. The Blue Crabs again have a winning record after pinching the Motorheads 46-37. The Colonials topped the Arsenal 23-20 in the week's lowest-scoring match-up. And in a battle of titans, the Nighthawks wiped out the Armada 54-40 with the help of 11-point performances from Kyle Palmieri and Brendan Smith.

Time to go out west.

If Week 11 brought surprises to the IceHL EAST, it brought some major shockers to the IceHL WEST. For one thing, the Winterhawks were dethroned, falling out of first place for the first time since Week 4, as they lost 80-58 to the Wave. California got big help from Patrick Maroon's penalty-heavy 52-point effort as well as another 11 points from James Sheppard.

Winnipeg put up strong numbers as well, but almost nothing can touch a team when one of its players tallies more than 50 points. Marcus Foligno grabbed 2 goals, an assist and 7 penalty minutes for 19 points. Brett Connolly was good for another 13 points on 3 assists and 4 PIMs. The Winterhawks have now lost back-to-back games for the first time all season.

Taking the Hawks place at the top this week are the Aviators, following a 44-16 trouncing of the Gators. Seattle got points all the way down the roster, including a combined 21 from Kris Newbury and Tyler Johnson. New Orleans was again led by Jordan Eberle, who earned a goal and 2 assists for 10 points, but half the team was left with goose eggs in this one.

Also continuing a climb up the IceHL WEST standings are the Kodiaks, after a 68-58 win over the Sharpshooters. Edmonton sits atop its division after getting double digits from four players in Week 11. Taylor Hall and Mark Arcobello each picked up 18 points this week, including a combined 4 goals and 6 assists. Despite the loss, Saskatoon is continuing to improve with its second-best performance of the season. Ondrej Palat and Radko Gudas both earned 13 points to lead their team.

After a couple of weeks of relying on self-proclaimed "goon hockey," the Cavalry beat the Narwhals 48-27 on a bit of an offensive explosion. D-man T.J. Brennan got a goal, 5 assists and 6 PIMs for in impressive 25 points. Northwest was led by goalie Carter Hutton with 12 points as most of the roster was pretty quiet.

Elsewhere, the Renegades held off the Beasts 49-44 with a solid offensive showing. The Pioneers locked up the surging Outlaws with a 42-31 victory. The Hellcats got the edge over the Lumberjacks 25-22 as both teams relied on goaltending. And the Huskies had one of the best weeks while the Scorpions had their worst with Alaska coming out on top 62-19.

Some interesting notes from the standings at the halfway point of 2012-13:

• Week 10 brought us a 4-way for first in the IceHL EAST. In Week 11, we got the same thing in the IceHL WEST as the Aviators, Winterhawks, Wave and Outlaws each sit at the top with 8-3 records.
• It'll take more than just a winning record to make the playoffs in the IceHL EAST. After 11 weeks, 10 of 16 teams are above .500, but only 8 teams can qualify for the postseason. And three of the top four are in the Southeast Division.

What else have you picked up on this year? What do you expect for the second half of the season? Who will make the playoffs?

Week 10: Final Scores

Week 10 seemed to go by in flash. In fact, it was only five days long, so maybe I'm not imagining things. However, it only took a short week to topple some giants. Let's dive in.

Can't ignore the Edmonton and Winnipeg game this week. The Kodiaks have seen their ups and downs so far this season, but did they ever luck out against the Winterhawks — who had their worst week yet! The Kodiaks slid by with a win 34-27, handing the Winterhawks their second loss all year. Oddly, D-man Tyson Barrie was the offensive juggernaut for Edmonton this week. His goal and 4 assists were worth 16 points.

Winnipeg had single digit points from its skaters and a big goose egg from Eddie Lack for the fifth week in a row. Interestingly, this is the first time all season that the Winterhawks didn't have at least one player in double digit points. The shortened holiday schedule did not treat the Hawks well at all.

Now, onto the most jaw-dropping score of the week. The Lumberjacks absolutely eviscerated the the Huskies 85-9. That's a 76-point difference and it may well be a league record. Vancouver was powered by a whopping 44 points from T.J. Hensick, who tallied a goal, 2 assists and 34 penalty minutes! Gustav Nyquist chipped in with another 15 points to help things along. Meanwhile, Alaska struggled with points from only three players and no one with more than 4. By the way, the Pioneers still hold the league record of 92 points in a single week.

Calgary and Dallas met for the second and final time this season, and just like the last meeting, it was another close one. The Outlaws edged the Cavalry 61-59 — just two points. What's funny is that in Week 5, again the Outlaws only won by a couple of points. This isn't what you'd expect from two teams at opposite ends of the standings. But Keith Aucoin and Sean Couturier each topped 20 points for Dallas while Calgary had four players in double digits, including new goalie Ben Scrivens.

The Beasts extended their winning streak to three games with a 44-30 win over the Gators. Mike Sgarbossa and Bobby Sanguinetti teamed up for 21 points for Boulder. New Orleans suffered from minimal production despite a pair of new faces this week. Blue-liner Kevin Connauton led the team with 9 points on an assist and 6 PIMs.

The Pioneers second three-game winning streak was halted by the Narwhals by a close 37-33 score. The Narwhals improved to .500 with the help of goalie Carter Hutton's 12 points. Portland was led by Mike Kostka who had a goal, 3 assists and 2 penalty minutes for 15 points. Trevor Smith also figured in offensively with 9 points.

Elsewhere, the Aviators continue flying high after a 59-30 win over the Renegades, led by Kris Newbury's 19 points. The Wave jumped back into the top four after defeating the Sharpshooters 47-42.  And the Hellcats grabbed their third W of the year, finishing 42-33 over the Scorpions.

Now, back east.

The IceHL EAST is where the giant-toppling was really taking place. After six consecutive weeks at No. 1, the Barracudas dropped to third following a 45-37 loss to the Nighthawks. At 528, North Carolina has more points than any other IceHL team. And this week, it was the heroics of forward Keith Aucoin that put them over the top. Aucoin had a goal, 5 assists and 4 PIMs for an impressive 23 points.

Tampa Bay has struggled with three losses in its last four games. Still, Tyler Johnson and Jason Zucker combined for 21 points this week. But their efforts weren't enough to overcome the league's highest-scoring team. The Barracudas will need a little more stability if they're going to remain at the top.

Jumping into first place with a big win were the Archers, who trounced the Blue Crabs 71-54. T.J. Hensick was a monster for St. Louis, amassing 44 points, comprised mostly of penalty minutes. For Baltimore, Kris Newbury and Mike Kostka came together for 34 points on 3 goals and 5 assists.

The Guardians darted into second place in the EAST with a 52-31 victory over the Arsenal. Andy Miele and T.J. Brennan each racked up 15 points on the same configuration of stats — 2 goals, 1 assist and 4 penalty minutes. Curtis McElhinney also had a shutout win for another 10. Atlanta, meanwhile, was led by Tyson Barrie's 16 points but got little else in terms of production.

The rest of the games this week all had very close scores. The Colonials topped the Lagers 44-41 to get back to .500 and up a couple of places in the standings. Sean Couturier led Boston with 21 points on a goal and 5 assists while Brayden Schenn added another 10 points on a goal and 2 assists. Zach Boychuk and Bobby Sanguinetti combined for 23 points as Milwaukee continues to struggle.

The Mammoths, still in search of their second win of the season and now with new management, fell to the Mariners 44-39. Hartford was led by Radko Gudas, who had a pair of assists and 7 PIMs for 13 points. The rest of the team figured in with solid numbers. For Minnesota, however, a pair of new faces in Brendan Gallagher and Derek Meech came together for 18 points the team wouldn't have otherwise had. And goalie Robin Lehner bounced back with 12 points after three scoreless weeks.

Elsewhere, the Motorheads beat the Olympiques 38-31, thanks to 3 goals from Chris Bourque. The Sentinels trumped the Steelcats 31-26 with help from Mike Sgarbossa's 11-point week. And the Hitmen will spend another week in the top four after a 43-39 win over the Armada, who, despite the loss, got an amazing 20 points from new goalie Cristopher Nilstorp with 2 shutout wins. Three typically high-scoring players had donuts for Quebec.

So there you have it. Once we get through this holiday week, we'll be at the midpoint of our season. Think you know who's going to the playoffs? If the first 10 weeks have taught us anything, it's that predicting the IceHL is impossible!

Week 9: Final Scores

Time to recap another exciting week of IceHL action. Let's start here.

Without question, the game to watch in the IceHL EAST in Week 9 was Milwaukee and North Carolina. Could a team riding five straight losses stand up to Jordan Eberle's incredible performance? In fact, the Lagers did beat the Nighthawks, if only by a point, 67-66. Credit goes to goalie Justin Peters who was a wall with 3 wins and a shutout for 22 points! Add to that Zach Boychuk's 5-assist effort for another 15 points as the Lagers held on for the win.

The Nighthawks also got production from all six guys so the disappointing loss wasn't for lack of trying. Eberle scored 5 goals, 3 assists and 4 penalty minutes for an amazing 33-point week!  Other than that, Keith Aucoin chipped in with 2 goals while Kyle Palmieri had 2 assists. As a group, the Nighthawks just didn't have quite enough to overtake Milwaukee and dropped from 3rd to 6th in the league standings.

The team that tallied the most points this week ended up facing the team that earned the fewest. The Archers walloped the Mammoths 73-24. St. Louis picked up an impressive 10 goals this week from all five skaters, including 3 each from T.J. Hensick and Justin Schultz. Minnesota, meanwhile, remains the only team in either league without multiple victories so far this season.

Swimming at top speed once again were the Barracudas, who topped the Motorheads 60-29. Dustin Tokarski led Tampa Bay from the crease with 2 wins and a shutout for 16 points. Trevor Smith and Matt Taormina each picked up another 10 points. Detroit saw minimal scoring from its side as Jon Matsumoto was the only one with a goal this week.

Taylor Hall powered the Olympiques to a 69-28 beating of the Sentinels. Hall notched 3 goals, 3 assists and 4 PIMs for 25 points. Cory Conacher, who's hot streak has cooled in recent weeks, chipped in mostly with time in the box this week. For Washington, half of the roster was left with goose eggs. Mike Sgarbossa, however, picked up a solid 15 points on a goal and 3 assists.

The Guardians pulled ahead of the Armada in the standings with a 57-44 victory. Four players were in double digits for New York, led by Martin St. Pierre's 3 goals and assist. Meantime, Nazem Kadri and Sena Acolatse combined for 27 points, including 12 penalty minutes from Acolatse.

Elsewhere, the Hitmen were led by the boys behind the blue line as they beat the Arsenal 43-28. Chicago's defense and goaltending came together for 34 of those points. Chad Johnson's 3 wins weren't enough to put the Colonials in the win column this week as they fell 40-32 to the Steelcats. And the Mariners defeated the Blue Crabs 55-47 with the help of 19 points from Jon DiSalvatore.

That's how it was in the East. Now the West...

The Wave were the high-scorers this week in the IceHL WEST as they shattered the Lumberjacks 70-34. Four players had a dozen points or more for California. Most impressive was a combined 29 points from the blue line, but James Sheppard led the way individually with 16 points on 3 goals and 4 PIMs.

Vancouver has now followed a three-game winning streak with a three-game losing streak. T.J. Hensick was sharp with 3 goals for 12 points but overall the team underwhelmed this week. On the other hand, the Lumberjacks are seeing good numbers from newcomer Zach Redmond who picked up a goal, an assist and 4 penalty minutes for 11 points after getting 9 points last week.

Week 9's biggest shocker saw the 1-7 team crush the 7-1 team. Records were of no issue as the last-place Gators knocked off the 2nd-place Outlaws 56-37. Jordan Eberle was the driving force behind New Orleans' upset as he tallied 5 goals and 3 assists for 33 points! Little else happened on the scoresheet in this one. Dallas' top-scorer was netminder Braden Holtby with 2 wins and a shutout for 16 points.

The Winterhawks now remain the only team with no more than one loss this season as they stunned the Sharpshooters 68-42. Winnipeg's forwards had a solid 44 points this week on 6 goals and 4 assists. But it was D-man Justin Schultz who grabbed 3 goals and 3 assists for 21 points. Sasktoon was no match as Jeff Taffe led the team with 12 points on 4 assists. The silver lining for the Sharpshooters, however, was that all six players produced points.

Back above .500 are the Beasts after a 42-32 victory over the Pacific Division-leading Aviators. Mike Sgarbossa led Boulder with 15 points on a goal and 3 assists. Mikael Grandlund, with a goal and an assist, is also helping out once again since returning from his injury. Seattle suffered from substandard efforts this week, including only one minor penalty each from the defense.

Calgary's newfound strategy for piling up penalty minutes failed them this week as the Cavalry lost 51-41 to the Pioneers. Portland is nipping at the heels of the divisional-rival Aviators. Cam Atkinson posted 2 of each stat category for 16 points as Mike Kostka pitched in 11 points on D. And after depending upon penalties for their first wins of the season — and 47 points last week from their goon pairing — Calgary saw just 18 points from Bobby Robins and Brett Gallant in Week 9.

Elsewhere, the Huskies held off the Steelcats 49-44 thanks to 2 wins and a shutout from Dustin Tokarski. The Kodiaks, with the help of a 25-point effort from Taylor Hall, defeated the Scorpions 57-50. And in this week's low-scoring match-up, the Renegades edged the Narwhals 27-22 as each team saw only three players earn points.

And that's the way it was in the IceHL in Week 9.

Week 8: Final Scores

We're just over a third of the way through the IceHL season. Here's how things stand.

Last week, they earned their first victory after attempting a new strategy. This week, the Cavalry shattered their previous season high point total as they crushed the Scorpions 83-45. Once again, Calgary relied on Bobby Robins and Brett Gallant for a combined 47 points — all from the PIM column. Eric Tangradi tacked on another 11 penalty minutes along with a goal and 2 assists for 21 points.

Salt Lake City was above average this week as forwards Brayden Schenn and Nazem Kadri teamed up for 28 points on 3 goals and 4 assists. Curtis McElhinney continued his unbelievable hot streak with another pair of wins this week. On Sunday, Scorpions GM Kyle Grossman tweeted, "Hard to win when [Calgary] puts up 36 PIM through Saturday." He added hashtags #Buzzkill and #GoonHockey.

Two IceHL WEST powerhouses squared off in Week 8 but saw only below-average points. The Aviators (5-2) defeated the Wave (5-2) by a 33-27 score. Despite the win, Seattle tallied no goals this week. Blue-liner Matt Donovan led the club in scoring with an assist and 6 PIMs for 9 points. Meanwhile, California got much-needed production from Oliver Ekman-Larsson after a quiet week. He was the only Wave player in double digits.

Momentum is building for the Sharpshooters who shot down the Hellcats 65-51. For the first time, Saskatoon saw four players in double-digit points. Jeff Taffe and Chris Bourque had 30 points together on 8 assists. And Niklas Svedberg, the new addition between the pipes, picked up 2 wins for 12 points. Houston leaned on penalty minutes this week and Alexandre Bolduc and Ryan Stanton combined for 27. Goalie David Leggio has now put together back-to-back 0-point weeks after a strong start to the year.

After being handed their first loss of the season, the Winterhawks rallied in Week 8 to edge the Huskies 36-33. Brett Connolly had 2 goals, 1 assist and 4 PIMs for 15 points for Winnipeg while Jonathan Audy-Marchessault was Alaska's star, grabbing a goal and 3 assists for 13 points.

The Pioneers demonstrated their strength with a 41-31 win over the Kodiaks. Cam Atkinson had 3 goals and 2 assists for 18 points to power Portland. Only Cade Fairchild failed to make his mark on the scoresheet. At the same time, the goaltending woes continue for Edmonton as Petr Mrazek also put up a goose egg. The Kodiaks have just a single goalie win in eight weeks.

Elsewhere, the Narwhals extended the Gators' losing streak to six games with a close 43-41 win. The Outlaws were one of a handful of teams to get points from their entire roster this week as they clobbered the Renegades 46-22. And the Beasts rode a 49-36 victory over the Lumberjacks back to .500 this week.

Now, the other league...

The big story of the IceHL EAST this week has got to be how the fast descent of one team happens to be coinciding with the slow rise of another. It was demonstrated rather poetically as the Motorheads defeated the Lagers 42-32 in Week 8. After an 0-4 start, Detroit started to turn things around with back-to-back wins. And they only lost last week by a tie-breaker. Chris Bourque and Jason DeSantis combined for 29 points this week as every skater had something to contribute.

It was a different story for Milwaukee. Three goose eggs graced their scoresheet this week as Drayson Bowman did all of the heavy lifting with 2 goals, 1 assist and 7 PIMs for 18 points. As the AHL's Charlotte Checkers have cooled, so have the reliant Lagers. Meanwhile, Mikael Granlund returned from his injury this week but has yet to make a mark.

The defending champion Nighthawks are pushing their way back to the top, dealing the top-ranked Barracudas their second loss of the year by a score of 48-36. Jordan Eberle and Brendan Smith each put up 11 points as goalie Niklas Svedberg led the way with 12 points on 2 wins. For Tampa Bay, almost every skater contributed a goal and an assist, but all were below 10 points while netminder Dustin Tokarski's struggles continue.

The Guardians continued to quietly climb the standings with a 40-23 win over the Blue Crabs. Martin St. Pierre chipped in with 13 points on a goal, an assist and 6 penalty minutes while backstop Curtis McElhinney nabbed a pair of wins for 12 points. Baltimore, meanwhile, was just surprisingly quiet this week. The team saw minimal points this week except for defenseman Slava Voynov, who was above his season average with 9 points.

The Armada edged the Mariners, 31-29, to pull in line with the Barracudas at 6-2 on the year. Nazem Kadri and Kevin Connauton combined for the lion's share of Quebec's points this week with 22. Meanwhile, Radko Gudas led Hartford with 11 points — all penalty minutes.

Two struggling teams finished the week just a point apart. Nino Niederreiter led the Steelcats to a 31-30 win over the Sentinels. Niederreiter had a goal and 3 assists toward 17 points while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was out of action all week. For Washington, Mike Sgarbossa and Jake Gardiner teamed up for 28 points.

Elsewhere, the Hitmen stung the Olympiques 34-26 on a 12-point effort from Tomas Tatar. The Archers beat the Arsenal 46-35 thanks to Cam Atkinson's heroics. And the struggling Mammoths lost another one in spite of impressive points from Roman Horak as the Colonials claimed victory, 52-40, led by hot forwards.

This week may not have had the big shockers of Week 7, but it was certainly interesting to watch it all unfold this week. Here's to more excitement in Week 9!