Kochan released by Chicago, signed by Houston
October 18, 2006
Dieter Kochan was released by the Chicago Wolves on Monday and was immediately signed by his former team, the Houston Aeros. Kochan was a memnber of the Aeros when the won the Calder Cup in 2003. Good to see Dieter sticking in the AHL, but too bad the Aeros never visit Binghamton.
Keith Aucoin Called up to Carolina
October 18, 2006
Keith Aucoin was called up from the Albany River Rats on Sunday by the Carolina Hurricanes. This is Aucoin’s first callup of the season. Last year he made his NHL debut and played in 7 games, registering his first NHL point. Aucoin played almost 6 minutes in Carolina’s 5-1 win over Tampa Bay on Monday and is likely to stay with the team for awhile after injuries to Andrew Ladd and Trevor Letowski.
Weekly Crosscheck Vol. 2, #3
October 16, 2006
Hi Everybody! Winnipeg Johnny again.
I made some great calls last week, and a few not so good ones. First of all, I have to apologize to Pucknut John. John… I’m sorry your team sucks. If it weren’t for your moderately good penalty minutes you would pretty much have gotten skunked. The only reason that you aren’t in the basement is because the lame duck 5 For Fighting turtled and did get skunked. I know you know this. I’m just making sure everybody else knows it too. What happened to the league champion Pucknuts? Time to fire the coach?
All other games went pretty much according to plan. Well, all that is except for A-Team vs Green Bay Monks. The Rangers went to sleep for a few days and that hurt the Monks. The series ended up a draw.
We do have a bunch of new season records to acknowledge, not the least of which is 61 PIM by SenStanley. What was Derek Morris’ infraction? I missed it. Moris already has half as many penalty minutes as he did for the entire season last year. Take Off Eh now has the GAA and Sv% records. What was it I said about Alex Auld last week? The Spankers got 122 shots on goal this week. That’s beatable, folks. Remember… there’s no such thing as a bad shot on net. Just ask Olli Jokinen. The Monks have the new record for Power Play Points (20), and the Sublimators have the new record for goals (18) - both also beatable. Camo tied the Pucknuts first week record of 5 wins. I don’t know if any of us will beat that soon. Take Off Eh and the Sublimators have a chance. What contending team doesn’t hold a record? The Ice Bats, of course. In fact my team is still trailing in overall PIM by one stupid 2 minute infraction. We’ll fix that this week.
Camo is still the team to catch, although there are only four points separating the top four teams. So the question is… what’s up for this week?
Week 3 Matchup
Ice Bats vs. Sublimators
I don’t think I stand a chance against the Sublimator’s goaltending, but the rest of the points (except for PIM) are up for grabs. This one is probably going to go the the Sublimators.
Green Bay Monks vs. Pucknuts
The Pucknuts have been beaten up pretty badly the last couple of weeks. Have heart John… the Rangers have started their early season slide so I think you have a shot at the Monks.
Take Off Eh vs. A-Team
The A-Team has been limping along while Take Off Eh has been consistently good. Take Off Eh will win this week and continue their run at the league leaders.
Spankers vs. SenStanley
What’s to predict? Spankers will spank SenStanley and catch up to the league leaders.
5 For Fighting vs. Spezztacular!
This is a contest to see which team will suck less. I’m guessing Spezztacular will suck less and take the week keeping 5 For Fighting in the basement.
Camo vs. Saberswinthecup!
The two top teams! Camo will win this one, but Saberswinthecup will take a few points including PIM. It will be a close goalie battle.
I’m going to be out of town for most of the next two weeks, so hopefully Pucknut can fill in for me on the next Crosscheck. I’ll leave you with this: Here are the logos for the teams that finished in the top six places in this league last year.
That is all.
-Johnny
The Hit
October 14, 2006
I missed the last Ottawa game, but I heard about the huge hit Dion Phaneuf laid on Denis Hamel. Here’s a great photo and Denis just after the hit. Ottawa fans were impressed by how quickly Denis bounced back up and got into the play.
BU Bearcats vs Hobart
October 13, 2006
| October 13, 2006 | ||
| 7:30 pm |
Binghamton University Bearcats vs Hobart @ 7:30pm
Chenango Ice Rink
Hamel Promoted to the 3rd Line
October 13, 2006
Denis Hamel was moved up to the 3rd line, playing alongside Dean McAmmond with Chris Neil on the other wing for last nights 1-0 loss against the Calgary Flames. Hamel continues to see increased ice time and even got some PP time. Word out of Ottawa is that he will stay on the 3rd line and Ray Emery will get his second start of the season after looking impressive holding Iginla and the Flames to 1 goal.
Alexei Kaigorodov will also make his debut tomorrow night in Montreal, centering the 4th line between Patrick Eaves and Chris Kelly. Brian McGratton will be benched for the first time this year. The Senators are desparate for some offense after being shutout last night and with their power play struggling with only 1 goal in 25 chances. Bryan Murray has been slowly moving the lines back to where they were at the start of last season when Ottawa had such a fast start to the season.
Joe Corvo continues to skate and hopes to return late next week at the earliest. No word on whether someone will be sent down at that time. If the Sens continue to struggle I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep Hamel and Kegger on the team and take advantage of the extra bodies to bench some of the struggling stars.
Email Fixed
October 11, 2006
Thanks to Gary and Pat who notified me that my binghamtonhockey.com email address was bouncing back their messages. For some reason the DNS was not setup correctly. All fixed!
Ottawa signs Kudelka
October 10, 2006
The Ottawa Senators signed Tomas Kudelka to a three year entry level contract today. Kudelka will remain with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL this year, but likely return to Binghamton in the spring when the WHL season ends. Last year Kudelka played 5 games with Binghamton and handled the transition to the pro game very well. His signing comes as no surprise after a solid training camp in Ottawa.
Weekly Crosscheck Vol. 2, #2
October 10, 2006
Hi Everybody! Winnipeg Johnny again.
The first week of hockey is over. There was plenty of action and lots to see. First of all, did you notice that there were fewer interference penalties handed out? What do you think? Were there fewer infractions, or did the refs finally get a clue? Also, the new stick blade curve limits didn’t seem to help with the shooters in the shoot outs. Just ask Antero Niittymaki and Henrik Lundqvist. Finally, there was something rotten in Buffalo, and it isn’t the way the team is playing. Did you notice? Here’s a hint.
Now.. on with the Crosscheck.
As Pucknut points out, the stats are now available through this Blog page.
My predictions from last week were pretty accurate, however what no one at Yahoo told us was that because of the shortened week, the three goalie game was waived. Those wankers! It didn’t alter the outcome much, except that Saberswinthecup! stole a point from the Spankers because they only played two goalie games (with the Dominator). We cry “foul”, but nothin’ Yahoo is going to do about it. We are considering awarding the current GAA league record to the Sublimators, however.
The Northern Division were pretty much no-shows this week, however Camo did end up blowing 5 For Fighting out of the arena and is currently in first place overall. Things were a little more competitive in the Southern Division with only 1 point separating the top four teams. I also have to point out that the Ice Bats are not winning the PIM category, but I’m sure we’ll pull ahead of the Sublimators this week. It’s not my fault that Jarkko Ruutu decided to become a sniper instead of a goon all of the sudden. Actually, I’m not complaining about it, really. Way to go Jarkko!
Week 2 Matchup
Ice Bats vs. Camo
Camo is the team to beat. I predict that the Ice Bats will fall behind early in the week, and catch up on Saturday, only to lose on Sunday because of goalie stats. Camo by 2 points.
Sublimators vs. Pucknuts
This will be the matchup to watch. It will be close all week. For the Sublimators Spezza needs to turn on his magic, and Bell needs to get healthy and get skating. I don’t see either happening, so I give this one to the Pucknuts.
Green Bay Monks vs. A-Team
No question about this one. The Rangers are hot and the A-Team is not. A-Team needs to put Connolly on IR, and get another goalie. Also Ward needs to stop acting like the biggest sieve in Ontario. Not going to happen. Matchup to the Monks.
Take Off Eh vs. SenStanley
This is an easy call too. Take Off Eh is shaping up to be a real contender and SenStanley is a lame duck. Alex Auld could take on both of SenStanley’s goalies all by himself. Better watch out Kathleen… Stephen isn’t going to be far behind you by the end of the week.
ShimerSpankers vs. Spezztacular!
Although Spezztacular did OK last week, this week is not going to go his way no matter how well Bertuzzi and Kiprussof play. The Spankers have a great all-around line-up and will probably be leading the southern division by the end of the week.
5 For Fighting vs. Saberswinthecup!
5 For Fighting is in dead last, and this week isn’t going to help. Saberswinthecup! need to fix up their line-up, but even if they don’t they will take the week easily.
Stay tuned hockey fans. Another great week is on its way.
That is all.
-Johnny
FHL Stats
October 10, 2006
Week 1 Fantasy stats have been compiled. I will now be posting this stats on the website!
