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Kulikov Headed to Pittsburgh

In News, PIT, Transactions, VAN on April 26, 2013 at 8:28 am

As the trade deadline approaches, the Pittsburgh Hornets have swung a deal for young defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. In return, the Hornets send veteran forward Johan Franzen and a 4th round pick to the Vancouver Night Train.

Kulikov, a Night Train worst -11 in limited action so far this year following a 41-point 2011-12 campaign, joins Slava Voynov and Victor Hedman on an up-and-coming Pittsburgh blueline, long a team weakness. Franzen, who’s played his entire career with the Pittsburgh/San Diego franchise, has 12 goals and 22 points in 30 contests this season and will be expected to boost the Night Train’s second line alongside Tomas Plekanec.

Ice Harbor and Saint Louis Make 6-Player Swap

In IHS, STL, Transactions on April 19, 2013 at 12:00 pm

The Ice Harbor Storm, well out of playoff contention as the season approaches the midway point, have made another deal – sending Alex Steen, Michal Hanzus, Nicklas Grossmann, and draft picks to the Saint Louis Blues for Brayden Schenn, Mikkel Boedker, and Erik Johnson.

It’s the first move for Saint Louis’ new management, and a bold one, as they unload a young group to add veteran depth for a post-season push. The Storm, meanwhile, continue their rebuild. Schenn and Boedker join a young core that includes Jordan Eberle, Nazem Kadri, and Kyle Turris, while Johnson may be called upon to help Kris Letang lead a blueline group that also features Adam Larsson and Tyler Myers.

To STL: F Alexander Steen, F Michal Handzus, D Nicklas Grossmann, 3rd round rookie pick in 2013, 2nd round free agent pick in 2013
To IHS: F Brayden Schenn, F Mikkel Boedker, D Erik Johnson

Ondrej Pavelec is Storm-Bound

In IHS, Transactions, VAN on March 3, 2013 at 4:16 pm

The Vancouver Night Train have finally settled on their starter.

After several seasons duking it out with Pekka Rinne for the go-to role in Vancouver, Ondrej Pavelec is headed to the Ice Harbor Storm.

The Storm acquired the netminder in exchange for two 2013 draft picks – a 2nd and a 4th – and goaltender Mathieu Garon.

The Night Train selected Pavelec five spots behind Rinne in 2008 and Pavelec has found himself playing catch-up ever since. In 27 games with the Night Train last season, he managed a 3.18 GAA and a save percentage of .897.

Note: This move will officially take effect at the conclusion of Q2.

Pilots Acquire Getzlaf

In GLP, NAS, Transactions on February 13, 2013 at 9:35 am

In one move, the Great Lakes Pilots may have solved their woes up the middle. The Pilots have acquired centre Ryan Getzlaf from the Nashville Knights in exchange for defenseman Barret Jackman and a second round pick in next year’s rookie draft.

Getzlaf likely slots right into the Pilots’ first line with Martin St. Louis – his 55 points for the Knights last season would have had him second among team forwards. Jackman, meanwhile, skated to an abysmal -25 last year but is still considered one of the league’s best stay-at-home blueliners. The Knights will hope he can stabilize a defense led by youngsters PK Subban and Justin Faulk.

Chiefs Make Two Huge Deals Up Front

In BAL, CHA, NAS, Transactions on January 29, 2013 at 6:51 pm

After a quiet draft, the Charleston Chiefs made a big splash in the trade market today with two moves, dealing away – among others – 3rd overall selection Sean Couturier to reel in centre Anze Kopitar from the Baltimore Crab.

Chiefs management had made it known they wanted to shore up on the left wing, and the team’s first move did just that – sending Wayne Simmonds to the Nashville Knights for Clarke MacArthur and a 3rd rounder.

That deal was quickly overshadowed by news that Charleston had acquired Kopitar from Baltimore in exchange for Couturier and longtime Chief Nathan Horton.

Kopitar endured a somewhat disappointing 2011-2012 season, scoring just 15 goals. He joins a formidable Charleston group at centre, highlighted by Steven Stamkos and David Backes.

Teams Load Up at 2012-13 Rookie Draft

In BOS, DEL, EDH, GLP, IHS, News, SFS, Transactions on January 26, 2013 at 2:26 pm

There were few big surprises on draft day in terms of players selected, but several GWMHL teams still managed to make ripples with some bold trades.

The Delta Sturgeons kicked things off by selecting dynamic centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first overall, but then the Boston Banshees – who had moved up several spots in the draft lottery – decided to make some noise. Boston dealt the second overall pick to the San Francisco Seals for the Seals’ first rounder (7th overall, Ryan Ellis) and power forward Milan Lucic. To no one’s surprise, the Seals took Gabriel Landeskog with the pick.

Other moves included Delta dealing forward Valtteri Filppula to the El Dorado Lynx for El Dorado’s first rounder (15th, Brendan Smith), Boston flipping a third rounder to the Lynx for steady defender Matt Greene, and the Ice Harbor Storm  trading some picks to the Great Lakes Pilots for a selection next year.

Round 1
1. Delta – F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2. San Francisco (from Boston) – F Gabriel Landeskog
3. Charleston – F Sean Couturier
4. Ice Harbor – D Adam Larsson
5. Pittsburgh – D Slava Voynov
6. Baltimore – F Mark Scheifele
7. Boston (from San Francisco) – D Ryan Ellis
8. Winnipeg – F Sven Baertschi
9. Farmington – F Ryan Johansen
10. Great Lakes – D Jake Gardiner
11. Denver – F Carl Hagelin
12. Saint Louis – F Jaden Schwartz
13. South Carolina – F Matt Read
14. Nashville – D Justin Faulk
15. Delta (from El Dorado) – D Brendan Smith
16. Portland – F Brett Connolly
17. West Virginia – F Andrew Shaw
18. Sterling – F Mika Zibanejad
19. Vancouver – F Zack Kassian
20. Salem – F Gustav Nyquist

Round 2
21. Delta – F Marcus Foligno
22. Ice Harbor – D Erik Gudbranson
23. Pittsburgh – D Stefan Elliott
24. Baltimore – F Cam Atkinson
25. San Francisco – F Cory Emmerton
26. Winnipeg – D Jared Cowen
27. Farmington – F Craig Smith
28. Charleston – F Cody Eakin
29. Great Lakes – F Tommy Wingels
30. Denver – D Tim Erixon
31. South Carolina – F Gabriel Bourque
32. Saint Louis – D Simon Despres
33. Boston – D Alexei Emelin
34. Nashville – D Roman Josi
35. El Dorado – F Brandon Saad
36. Portland – D David Rundblad
37. West Virginia – D David Savard
38. Sterling – D Dmitry Orlov
39. Vancouver – F Devante Smith-Pelly
40. Salem – G Allen York

Round 3
41. Delta – G Matt Hackett
42. Ice Harbor – F Peter Holland
43. Pittsburgh – F Reilly Smith
44. Baltimore – F Scott Glennie
45. San Francisco – D Raphael Diaz
46. Winnipeg – G Thomas Greiss
47. Farmington – F David Ullstrom
48. Charleston – D Brayden McNabb
49. Great Lakes – D Erik Gustafsson
50. Great Lakes – (from Denver via Ice Harbor) – F Marcus Kruger
51. South Carolina – F Louis Leblanc
52. Saint Louis – D Alexander Urbom
53. El Dorado (from Boston) – D Mattias Ekholm
54. Nashville – F Tyson Barrie
55. El Dorado – F Dwight King
56. Portland – D Matt Donovan
57. West Virginia – F Roman Horak
58. Sterling – F Carter Ashton
59. Vancouver – F Corey Tropp
60. Salem – D Dylan Olsen

Round 4
61. Delta – D Paul Postma
62. Great Lakes (from Ice Harbor) – F Anton Lander
63. Pittsburgh – F Akim Aliu
64. Baltimore – F Tomas Vincour
65. San Francisco – G Ben Scrivens
66. Winnipeg – D TJ Brennan
67. Farmington – F Carl Klingberg
68. Charleston – G Anders Nilsson
69. Great Lakes – F Joakim Andersson
70. Denver – D Calvin de Haan
71. South Carolina – F Aaron Palushaj
72. Saint Louis – F Nick Johnson
73. Charleston (from Boston) – D Marc-Andre Bourdon
74. Nashville – G Richard Bachman
75. El Dorado – F Jason Zucker
76. Portland – G Anton Khudobin
77. West Virginia – F Kaspars Daugavins
78. Sterling – D Matt Taormina
79. Vancouver – F Jimmy Hayes
80. Salem – D Cade Fairchild

El Dorado Lynx Crowned 2012 Champions!

In EDH, News, WVR on July 14, 2012 at 3:50 pm

The El Dorado Lynx, a franchise that won it all in 2004 only to miss the playoffs for five straight seasons, are your new Gump Cup Champions!

The Lynx beat the defending champs, the West Virginia River Rats, in seven games: a hard-fought back-and-forth series with no shortage of intrigue. For one, the River Rats were missing leading scorer Sidney Crosby since game 4.

The Rats opened the scoring in game 7 with an unassisted tally by Eric Staal, his 10th of the postseason. West Virginia made it 2-0 as the second period was windown down – this time thanks to Corey Perry.

The Lynx wouldn’t get onto the board until early in the third. With El Dorado defenseman Eric Brewer serving a penalty, the Lynx managed to confuse the Rats’ powerplay unit and take advantage, with Vern Fiddler feeding veteran Jamie Langenbrunner for the shorthanded goal.

2-1 was the score until the last minutes of regulation, as Andrei Kostitsyn beat Ryan Miller, assisted by brother Sergei and Fiddler, to tie the game at two.

That set the stage for the most exciting situation in hockey: overtime in game 7. The home team was reeling from El Dorado’s late-game attack. Just three minutes in, Alex Ovechkin fed Christian Ehrhoff, who dished to one-time first overall pick Tuomo Ruutu, acquired by El Dorado in 2010. The winger made no mistake, beating Miller cleanly and earning the right to hoist the Gump Cup.

Read the rest of this entry »

Playoff Preview: Conference Semis

In EDH, NAS, News, PWH, SAL, SCA, Special Features, STE, VAN, WVR on May 5, 2012 at 11:18 pm

Plante Conference Semifinals

#1 Salem Wannabees (54-16-12) vs. #4 South Carolina Fire Ants (34-40-8)

Another year, another Salem powerhouse. Once again, no team was better in the regular season – or even really very close. The Wannabees have it all: scoring, defense, goaltending. That’ll make for a tough slog for a plucky, often-undermanned South Carolina, whose sub-.500 record was still enough to snag the last playoff spot.

Season Series: Salem won 4-1-1

#2 Sterling Eagles (44-24-14) vs. #3 El Dorado Lynx (43-27-12)

This is the Eagles’ first playoff appearance since 2006-2007 and they have goaltending to thank for it. Tim Thomas will lead the way for a team that allowed just 157 goals during the regular season (no other team had fewer than 200). The Lynx, meanwhile, finished just four points back of Sterling, so it’ll be tight — especially if the ageless Teemu Selanne plays the way he did all year. Of note: both teams averaged under 2 goals per game against each other during the regular season, and they even played to a 0-0 tie.

Season Series: Tied 2-2-2

Sawchuk Conference Semifinals

#1 Vancouver Night Train (49-26-7) vs. #4 Nashville Knights (39-32-11)

After finishing with just 72 points last season, the Night Train bounced back and captured the conference crown, narrowly avoiding a first-round series against Portland. The Night Train weren’t exactly dominant all year but found a way to win, largely thanks to Jonathan Toews and a cast of clutch scorers. The question is, can Pekka Rinne get his act together? And will Nashville be able to overcome their paper-thin D, as they did for much of the season?

Season Series: Vancouver won 6-1-1

#2 West Virginia River Rats (46-27-9) vs. #3 Portland Winterhawks (45-29-8)

The two highest-scoring teams of the regular season [check Salem] go head-to-head in the opening round. Can the Winterhawks get their dynasty back on track against the reigning Gump Cup champs? Crosby, Thornton. Staal, Spezza. Perry, Iginla. Vanek, Kovalchuk. This should be fun for everyone but the goaltenders.

Season Series: West Virginia won 4-1-1

River Rats’ Crosby Named Q3 MVP

In News, WVR on April 5, 2012 at 4:49 pm

West Virginia River Rats star Sidney Crosby, who made a triumphant second-half return from injury, has been named the third quarter MVP. Crosby, last season’s scoring champ, posted 46 points in 24 games and led the Rats to a 15-5-4 record.

Playoff Picture Sharpens as Q3 Ends

In EDH, News, PWH, SAL, STE, VAN, WVR on March 26, 2012 at 1:40 pm

The third quarter is the books. Just 18 games remain in the regular season. The once-blurry playoff picture is starting to come into focus — and the big races have emerged.

Wannabees or the Real Thing?

The Salem Wannabees — last year’s Gump Cup also-rans — continued their ass-kicking play, going 16-2-6 for a healthy lead atop the standings. It’s a good thing, too, because they’re playing in what might be the GWMHL’s toughest divisions. The Sterling Eagles, for example, allowed just 43 goals this quarter, or 1.79 per game.

Lynx Vault into Contention

The El Dorado Lynx’s stellar 16-3-5 quarter separated them from the Pilots and Chiefs in the Plante West for second overall in the entire league.

Crosby Makes a Splash

Sidney Crosby finally saw his season debut for the defending champ West Virginia, and made a huge impression. With 46 points in 24 games, he led all scorers league-wide and propelled the River Rats to a great 15-5-4 record on the quarter.

Can Portland Get Its Groove Back?

Portland struggled on the quarter (10-12-2), giving the Vancouver Night Train an opening to pull away atop the Sawchuk West. In fact, if the playoffs started today, the Winterhawks would be on the outside looking in — they’re a point back of Saint Louis and just two ahead of Nashville.