Week 4 Update

There's still one more day of AHL games left this week, but I had time to do a quick stat update Saturday night so you can see where your team stands as the week is wrapping up. And as you'll find, things are going a little crazy this week! (Remember: These are NOT final scores yet.)

Out of four undefeated teams in the IceHL WEST, only two are ahead so far this week and even then by very close margins. The Renegades have been unstoppable for three weeks, they'll almost surely be dealt their first loss this week as the Lumberjacks up by 27 points on the back of a great performance by T.J. Hensick.

Also worth noting, our three winless teams are all within three points of their opponent meaning the Sunday games will very much be a factor in determining winners for Week 4. Most impressive are the Sharpshooters, who are currently tied with the Pioneers. Could one of these three teams finally get their first W?

The craziness doesn't end there. Check out the IceHL EAST.

As I mentioned in this week's preview, the big match-up to follow was the Barracudas and Lagers who both sit undefeated atop the IceHL EAST as Nos. 1 and 2. Somebody was going to suffer their first loss of the season. But as of right now — get this — it's dead even! One of these two teams will lose, but it won't be decided until Sunday night.

And speaking of the Sunday games, only the Barracudas will have a player in action — as long as Tomas Kundratek dresses for Hershey. (The Checkers have the night off and Mikael Granlund is injured.) With goals being the tie-breaker, the Lagers would have the lead. So unless Kundratek earns at least a point, the Barracudas are doomed to finally lose.

But that's not all. The winless Mammoths are up by 6 points and the Blue Crabs just broke the season record for most points in a single week. The Renegades previously held the record with 74 in Week 1. But you'll note their opponent is the undefeated Armada, who basically have no chance of coming back in one night. That means the IceHL EAST will have just one undefeated team left in Week 5.

Is it just me or is this season starting to get kind of exciting?

IceHL Week 3 Recap

The IceHL saw twists and turns this week, complete with a few upsets. Here's a look.

The upset of the week in the IceHL EAST was delivered by the Arsenal, who proved that a bow and arrow is no match for military firepower, as they struck down the Archers 47-22. Atlanta's efforts were led by Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, who picked up 2 goals, 2 assists and 8 penalty minutes for 22 points. Francis Wathier chipped in with 14 penalty minutes.

With its first loss of the season, St. Louis fell from 1st place in the overall league standings to 6th. Justin Schultz picked up three assists on the week, but with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ben Bishop missing in action, the Archers were bound to take a beating in Week 3.

The Nighthawks reigned as the highest-scoring team of the week, handily defeating the Steelcats 53-34. Jordan Eberle amassed an impressive 4 goals and an assist for 19 points as one of three players in double digits for the Charlotte club. Nino Niederreiter's goal and two assists led Hamilton but — even with five players putting up points — it wasn't quite enough to avoid a losing record.

With a new AGM at the helm this week, the Olympiques showed they're ready for a turnaround with a stunning 51-27 win over the Colonials. Newcomers Taylor Hall, Thomas Pock and Marc-Andre Gragnani combined for 24 points as Peter Holland tallied 3 goals and assist for 15 points, himself. Like Holland, Sean Couturier also notched 15 points for his team, but only two other Colonials earned any points.

The Lagers continued their march up the standings with a 46-32 victory over the Mariners. Both teams saw production from their entire rosters, but Milwaukee got more as new arrival Drayson Bowman notched a pair of goals and Justin Faulk grabbed a goal and 3 assists. The two combined for half of the Lagers' total points this week. For Hartford, only Chris Mueller found the back of the net as he picked up 11 points.

Elsewhere, Tampa Bay and Quebec quietly continued their undefeated runs to open the season. The Barracudas topped the Sentinels 38-32 while the Armada sank the Motorheads 46-21. Conversely, the Mammoths continued to go winless, falling 42-31 to the Hitmen. And in the league's lowest-scoring match of the week, the Guardians just edged out the Blue Crabs, 14-13.

Now let's see what happened on the other side.

The unstoppable Renegades maintained their dominance of the IceHL WEST with a 47-35 win over the Hellcats in Week 3. And for once this season, a goalie was the star in a match-up. Jeff Zatkoff stood tall for 2 wins and a shutout, leading Regina with 16 points. But once again, the Renegades got points from every man on their roster.

And it's not like Houston didn't put up a fight, either. Coming off a huge win in Week 2, the Hellcats were led by Justin Faulk's 13 points. All but one player worked his way onto the scoresheet this week. But only one other player besides Faulk actually figured in offensively, as Ben Holmstrom scored the team's only other goal.

Outscoring all other teams this week were the Kodiaks, who tackled the Beasts 55-37. Four players hit double-digit points! Taylor Hall's goal and 10 penalty minutes (14 points) were second only to Tyson Barrie's 16 points (includes carryover). Netminder Ben Scrivens was the only Kodiak not to earn points this week. Chris Kreider led Boulder with 13 points on an assist and 10 PIMs as Mikael Granlund was the only guy with a goal. Newcomer Rob Klinkhammer was the only player without points in Week 3.

The week's closest match-up saw the Huskies sneak past the Gators 46-44. And really, this one was all about Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Jordan Eberle as they dominated for their respective teams. Audy-Marchessault amassed 22 points on 2 goals, 2 assists and 8 minutes in the box while Eberle notched 4 goals and an assist for 19 points. Each team got production from five of their six players.

It was more of the same for Dallas and Saskatoon this week as the Outlaws kept up their winning ways with a 42-19 victory over the Sharpshooters, who are still struggling to find a foothold. For the Outlaws, this one was all about Sean Couturier and Keith Aucoin, who combined for 31 points. Couturier had a goal and 3 assists as Aucoin sat in the box for 16 minutes. Chris Bourque was the only player to bring substantial production for the Sharpshooters on 2 assists and 4 PIMs.

Elsewhere, the Lumberjacks hit a new league-low, falling 26-6 to the Pioneers. Vancouver was the only team without a single goal or assist in Week 3. Winnipeg and California remain undefeated as the Wave beat the Cavalry 20-14 and the Winterhawks edged the Narwhals 40-35. And the Aviators doubled up on the Scorpions 52-26 with a defense that collaborated for 23 points.

One more item worth a mention. If it seems like the IceHL WEST's scores tend to be higher than the EAST's, you're not imagining it. Overall, the IceHL EAST teams have scored 1,881 total points through three weeks while WEST teams have scored 1,994 total points. So based on that stat alone, it certainly seems like the GMs/AGMs of the WEST are better at picking AHL talent.

What other conclusions are you starting to draw from the IceHL stats this season?

IceHL Week 3 Mid-Week Update

I know I said I wouldn't make a habit out of this, and now it's three weeks in a row. But I had a few minutes to gather stats from this week, so why keep them to myself?

• Week 3 Mid-Week Scoreboard Update

See how your team is doing. And remember, if you want to make a roster change for Week 4, the deadline, as always, is Monday at 3pm ET.

IceHL Week 2 Review

That's another one down. After two weeks, the IceHL via AHL is getting into its groove and certain teams are really beginning to stand out. For the look back at Week 2, we'll start with the IceHL WEST.

It's astounding to see the Renegades thriving this season after two years of struggles. The AHL has definitely been good to the team from Regina as the club continued to display its dominance in Week 2 with a 59-36 win over the Pioneers — all thanks to an offensive outburst by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Last week, Mark Borowiecki's penalty minute explosion launch the Renegades to victory. This week, Nugent-Hopkins helped them to a more legitimate victory with an outstanding 22 points on 2 goals, 4 assists and 2 penalty minutes. But it was a group effort as all six members of the team figured into the scoring.

The best performance of the week came from the Wave, who crushed the Huskies 71-33. California picked up assists from every skater for a league-high of 11 total. Meanwhile, Alaska got less-than-stellar numbers from its stars following a solid opener.

The widest margin of victory in Week 2 saw the Winterhawks slam the Scorpions, 67-25. Justin Schultz packed in 22 points from the blue line as forwards Charlie Coyle and Brett Connolly teamed up for 29 more to lead Winnipeg to victory. Salt Lake City will be making some key roster moves in Week 3, taking advantage of the top spot in the waiver order.

The Hellcats impressed after a rocky opening week, shooting down the Kodiaks in a 69-37 stunner. Only one player failed to top double-digit points for Houston. Geoff Walker lead scoring with 18 points. On the Edmonton side, a quiet defense resulted in a mediocre week.

Keeping things interesting were the Gators and Cavalry, who actually played to a statistical tie, 57-57. But because the IceHL doesn't do draws, the tie-breaker went to New Orleans, who tallied 7 goals this week on the backs of four different skaters. If not for that, these are two of the most evenly-matched teams in the league — especially when you remember they also earned the same number of points as each other last week.

Elsewhere, the Narwhals picked up their first win of the year with a 67-46 win over the Aviators. The Outlaws outgunned the defending champion Beasts 52-39. And the Lumberjacks edged out the Sharpshooters, who were the most-improved franchise in Week 2 — despite still sitting in last place overall.

Now let's have a look at what went down in the IceHL EAST.

Things weren't as wild in the IceHL EAST in Week 2. The Lagers followed up their jersey contest victory with one that actually counts in the standings. Milwaukee steamrolled the Sentinels 61-23. Zach Boychuck and Justin Faulk each nabbed 15 points by utilizing all three stat categories while a shutout win put Justin Peters in double digits as well.

On the Washington side, big names are doing small numbers, making it hard for the team to gain traction in the early going of the season. Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad have not been living up to expectations. But they'll need to if the Sentinels hope to be a contender.

This week, the Archers claimed the top of the standings by relying on the league's widest margin of victory in a 56-16 pounding of the Mariners. The St. Louis blue line provided the offensive rush as Justin Schultz and Oliver Ekman-Larsson combined for 34 points. It was a similar situation with Hartford as defenseman Radko Gudas was the only player to register on the scoresheet, returning to action with 16 penalty minutes.

After claiming a championship in their debut season, the Nighthawks opened the new year with a sizeable loss. But they turned it around in Week 2 with a little help from the whole roster, defeating the Hitmen by a 55-48 margin. Jordan Eberle put up 16 points on a goal and 3 assists for North Carolina while Chicago got a combined 5 goals and 4 assists from Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist.

It was a close one for the Armada, who barely beat the Arsenal. In the 44-41 tilt, Quebec saw points from all six players while only one failed to figure in for Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Barracudas just beat out the Olympiques 50-44 on big penalty-minute points from Trevor Smith. But it was D-man Tomas Kundratek who made the most noise with a goal and 3 assists.

The Guardians nabbed their first W of 2012-13 against the Motorheads by score of 59-49. The Colonials posted a strong follow-up after a weak start, soundly beating the Blue Crabs 61-49. And the Steelcats bounced back from Week 1 woes with a 51-32 win over the Mammoths.

Big thanks to Sharpshooters GM Tony Pomposelli for giving me a hand with the manual stat-tracking this weekened! Huge help!

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GMs/AGMs were given an additional day this week to make roster changes. Waiver claims will be processed Tuesday at 3pm ET. Check back for the Week 3 preview.

IceHL Week 1 Review

The first week of the IceHL's 2012-13 season is now behind us. And what a week it was. The standings above tell you how it all ended but doesn't even begin to tell you the whole story. So I'll do my best to break it all down. First, the full scoreboard, then my analysis. IceHL EAST first, then the WEST.

I'm pleased to say my Barracudas reigned over the IceHL EAST to get the season started. Our 63 points would've topped anybody this week. But all we had to do was get past the Arsenal, who hit only 30. A respectable number to be sure, but not quite enough for the win.

Turns out that when we're dealing with AHL rosters, my inclination for snapping up Lightning players (or future Lightning players, in this case) is paying off so far. Tyler Johnson had 2 goals, 3 assists and 4 penalty minutes for a 21-point week and Dustin Tokarski picked up 3 wins between the pipes. 

The defending champion Nighthawks were no match for the Archers, who won handily, 59-31. The win was mostly thanks to Oliver Ekman-Larsson's IceHL EAST-leading 24 points (2g, 2a, 10pim). The Archers saw production from all five skaters while goalie Ben Bishop has yet to dress for a game this season.

In fact, only one team enjoyed contributions from all six members of its roster. The Lagers left the Mammoths feeling a bit woozy after a 54-15 pounding. Minnesota's performance was a league-low this week, due in part to the fact that two of its players have yet to see AHL action this season. Mikael Granlund was the star in Milwaukee with 2 goals and 4 assists for 20 points.

Elsewhere, the Hitmen saw four players top double digits, propelling them to a 54-26 victory over the Motorheads in Week 1. (Already looking like an improvement over last season.) And it was the blue line that helped the Blue Crabs to a 52-21 win against the Steelcats. Mike Kostka and Slava Voynov combined for 23 points, which included 3 goals and 3 assists.

By far the closest match-up of the week took place between the Quebec rivals with the Armada just edging out the Olympiques by one point, 31-30. The expansion Mariners made a victorious IceHL debut, beating the Colonials 40-27, while the Sentinels walloped the Guardians 40-21.

Before you share your take on these results, have a look at the IceHL WEST.

It was a week of extremes in the IceHL WEST as the top-scoring team exceeded the 70-point plateau and the lowest-scoring team failed to even reach double digits.

The Renegades sit atop the league this week after a stunning 74-29 win over the Narwhals to open the season. But this match-up would've been a lot closer had it not been for Mark Borowiecki going a little nuts over the weekend. The blue-liner was credited with 42 points!

On Saturday, Borowiecki picked up a pair of major penalties for boarding and fighting halfway throught the first period. He then tallied a goal in the second period before being assessed another minor penalty in the third. And before it was all said and done, he found himself in yet another fight — his third major of the game — which triggered an automatic game misconduct (AHL Rule 20.4). That's 27 penalty minutes in one night!

Regina's win was impressive but they only won by 45 points. The Huskies finished the week 50 points ahead of the Sharpshooters, in a match-up that ended 59-9. Radko Gudas was MIA while Matt Fraser and Emerson Etem have been quiet on the scoresheet for the Sharpshooters. Meanwhile, the Huskies enjoyed an offensive outburst from Cory Conacher and Zack Kassian, who combined for 5 goals and an assist. Kassian threw in 14 penalty minutes for good measure.

The IceHL WEST defending champion Beasts were true to their name as one of three teams to get production from all six players as they crushed the Cavalry, 66-21. Mikael Granlund and Chris Kreider put up 37 points together, on Granlund's 2 goals and 4 assists and Kreider's 17 penalty minutes. The Cavalry's problem stemmed from having a pair of players who aren't even playing AHL games at the moment in Taylor Hall and Ryan Ellis.

Another team to see six-way performance was the Winterhawks, who stumped the Hellcats with a 62-32 win. Marcus Foligno and Justin Schultz notched 3 goals apiece. Tim Erixon was the only skater without a goal, but he made up for it with a little time in the box. For Houston, goalie David Leggio's pair of wins made him the team's leading scorer this week.

The closest match-up of the week saw the Wave edge out the Lumberjacks, 46-41. But things might have gone differently had it not been for Oliver Ekman Larsson's 24-point performance for California. Cody Hodgson and Slava Voynov each had 12 for Vancouver.

Elsewhere, the Kodiaks' defense powered them to a 41-28 victory over the Scorpions as blue-liners Tyson Barrie and Mark Barberio combined for 2 goals and 5 assists. In the battle of the Pacific Northwest, the Aviators topped the Pioneers 52-38, while the Outlaws outpaced the Gators 30-21 in the week's only match-up without a single player in double-digit points.

How's that for some number-crunching. Share your insights in the comments. What do you think we'll see in Week 2? Are certain AHLers posed for a point explosion?