GWMHL

Archive for the ‘BOS’ Category

Goaltender Neuvirth is Your First Quarter MVP

In BOS, News on January 3, 2012 at 8:54 am

Boston Banshees netminder Michael Neuvirth has been voted the most valuable player of 2011-2012’s first quarter.

In 10 starts, Neuvirth went 9-0-1 with a league-best .941 save percentage, driving the Banshees to a surprising tie for most points. The Banshees flipped veteran winger Mike Knuble for the second-year goaltender from Charleston prior to the season.

Neuvirth picked up 63% of the Q1 MVP votes, doubling second-place Daniel Sedin of the Baltimore Crab. Salem’s Patrick Marleau was third with one vote.

Surprises Abound After Q1

In BOS, DEL, DEN, News, PWH, SAL, STE, WVR on December 23, 2011 at 2:12 pm

The first quarter of 2011-2012 is in the books, and what a wild one it was. Consensus contenders Salem and Portland had strong starts (13-5-2 and 10-7-3 respectively) but they’ve both been overshadowed in the early-going by some surprising competition.

Banshees, Eagles Fly

The Sterling Eagles and Boston Banshees, neither of whom managed to top .500 last season, share the lead in the standings with 14-5-1 records. The secret? Goaltending. Boston’s tandem of Henrik Lundqvist and newly-acquired Michal Neuvirth and Sterling’s Tim Thomas and Johan Hedberg are simply getting the job done.

Wannabees Can Still Score at Will

The Wannabees (13-5-2) are just a point off the pace and, incredibly, are averaging a whopping 4.5 goals per game and outshooting their opponents by 15. Last year’s Gump Cup runners-up might be ready to take another shot.

River Rats Tread Water

But maybe the biggest surprise is the poor record of Crosby-less defending champs West Virginia (9-8-3), putting them fourth in the Sawchuk East. With the offensive depth on this team, it’s a dismal start. Will Crosby’s eventual return get the Rats back in the running?

Power Outage in Denver

The Denver Spurs wrapped a disastrous 7-12-1 quarter, and it’s easy to see why: Matt Duchene leads the team in scoring with just 13 points in 20 games. Vincent Lecavalier has just 3 points in 10 and Mike Richards just 11 in 20.

Advantage… Sturgeon?

The Delta Sturgeon are off to a league-worst start (5-15-0), but would anyone have guessed this team would start the season with the league’s second-best powerplay? The unit, featuring the likes of Jarret Stoll and Andrew Ladd, is clicking at 27.1%, just .2% behind first-place Portland.

So, Turns Out We’re in Love with Stay-at-Home Defensemen

In BOS, SAL, SCA, SFS, Special Features, VAN on December 4, 2011 at 10:54 am

Gaaah!

You wouldn’t think we’d love our solid-yet-unspectacular defensemen, but the numbers don’t lie.

We’re head over heels. We’d marry those guys and their good positioning and their low point totals if we could.

They’re our unsung heroes, our stay-at-home defensemen. And they have to do all the laundry, darn it.

Take a spin through the franchise games played leaders throughout the league and you’ll see: in many franchises, real longevity comes not from being a high-end sniper or silky setup man but a stay-at-home blueliner toiling away in the muck.

5. Mattias Norstrom

Norstrom never managed more than 17 points in a single season during his GWMHL career. In his day, he was one of the league’s best defensive defensemen, and after 12 seasons he’s the South Carolina Fire Ants franchise leader in GP with 832. (But not for long: Milan Hejduk and Marian Hossa are both poised to surpass him early this season.)

4. Darryl Sydor

Calling Sydor a “stay-at-home” defenseman is a bit misleading, considering he holds the league’s all-time worst career plus-minus. He put in several solid offensive seasons early in his career, but as time wore on his role became – allegedly – more defensive. The fact that he racked up nearly 1000 games (944, to be exact) with the San Francisco franchise is a testament to… something. We’re not sure what, actually.

3. Scott Hannan

Hannan’s the only player left from expansion Vancouver‘s inaugural year. He was drafted in 1999 and has been a steady – and mostly invisible – fixture on the blueline ever since. Hannan has a commanding lead as the Night Train’s all-time GP leader (694 to second place Filip Kuba’s 629). He’s also the only active Gump player on this list.

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Season Preview: Sawchuk

In BOS, DEL, FFS, IHS, NAS, PWH, SFS, STL, VAN, WVR on November 24, 2011 at 10:40 am

The last five Gump Cups have gone to Sawchuk Conference teams. The five years before that went to the Plante. Are we due for a sea change? With two flat-out powerhouses, a few perennial contenders, and several rebuilding teams poised to take the next step, there’s no shortage of intrigue in the Sawchuk this season. Here’s a look at what’s changed.

In – G Michal Neuvirth, F Marcus Johansson, G Devan Dubnyk, F Jordan Caron, D John Moore, F Nate Thompson, F Adam Hall
Out – F Mike Knuble, F Paul Kariya, D Niclas Wallin, F Jason Blake, D Jaroslav Spacek, G Jason LaBarbera, F James Wright

The Banshees, under new ownership eager to make a stamp on the team, made some significant moves this off-season, shipping out vets Mike Knuble, Jason Blake, and Jaroslav Spacek and bringing in two promising young netminders in Michal Neuvirth and Devan Dubnyk. But how much will they really play behind workhorse Henrik Lundqvist? A rested Lundqvist should terrify the rest of the conference come playoff time, though, and if Boston gets good performances from some of its younger players – notably Sam Gagner and Erik Karlsson – they should be in the running for a spot.

In – F Derek Stepan, G Kevin Poulin, F Linus Omark, F Mats Zuccarello, F Anthony Stewart, D Shane O’Brien, G Peter Budaj
Out – F Cristobal Huet, F Slava Kozlov, F Michael Nylander, D Wade Redden, F Mike Brown, F Tomas Kopecky, F Jay Pandolfo

There’s no question the Sturgeon are in full-on rebuild mode, and one that’s going quite well… up front. As players like Evander Kane continue emerging and newcomers like Derek Stepan get a chance to shine, they’ll improve. But there’s still major upheaval to come as its once mighty core retires or otherwise moves on, and there are big question marks on defense and in goal, meaning a young player like Alex Goligoski is going to have to be a number one defenseman this year, because Delta has no one else to fill those skates. And, seriously, Peter Budaj?

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6 Most Surprising Pre-Season Cuts of 2011

In BAL, BOS, PWH, SAL, SFS, Special Features on November 22, 2011 at 2:29 pm

If you’re a GWMHL general manager bent on taking your team anyplace other than the golf course, you’ve got to make some hard choices as you try to shoehorn yourself in the league’s strict 28-man roster limit. Drop that draft choice before he’s ever sniffed the pro game? Let go of the fading vet?

This year, GMs have been particularly ruthless, jettisoning some good (well, mostly once-good) players in favor of the latest toys.

6. LW Kristian Huselius, cut by Salem – The Wannabees are deep up front and Huselius is battling serious injuries, so this is no huge shocker, but he’s still a one-time 50-goal scorer and a big contributor to Salem’s run to the finals in 2011. He was also a top-3 draft pick once upon a time – and not a very good one.

Year   Name                       GP    G    A  PTS  +/-  PIM
02-03  Vancouver Sea Otters       79   21   14   35  -10   28
03-04  Vancouver Sea Otters       78   28   21   49    7   20
04-06  Vancouver Sea Otters       44    1    2    3   -4   18
04-06  Montreal Smashers           9    1    1    2   -3    0
06-07  Salem Wannbees             78   22   20   42  -12   26
07-08  Salem Wannabees            81   50   51  101   63   24
08-09  Salem Wannabees            80   20   17   37    0   14
09-10  Salem Wannabees            37    8   12   20    7   18
10-11  Salem Wannabees            68   17   33   50   14   38
                  Totals         554  168  171  339   62  186

5. D Cody Franson, cut by San Francisco – Franson might not be a bluechipper anymore, but he’s in his early 20s and managed a whopping 42 points in 52 games last season, his rookie year. The writing was on the wall when the Seals drafted Cam Fowler and Alec Martinez.

Year   Name                       GP    G    A  PTS  +/-  PIM
10-11  Oregon Rugrats             52   12   30   42   12   16
                  Totals          52   12   30   42   12   16

4. LW Jason Blake, cut by Boston – Blake’s bounced around, but he’s got a pedigree that includes a 48-goal year in ’07-’08. He only managed 9 goals last season for the Banshees, who are fairly deep on the wings.

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Chiefs Deal Neuvirth to Banshees

In BOS, CHA, News, Transactions on October 29, 2011 at 7:27 pm

The Charleston Chiefs have solved their brewing goaltending controversy by shipping 23-year-old Michal Neuvirth to the Boston Banshees for veteran winger Mike Knuble and a fourth round pick in 2012.

Neuvirth played 8 games for the Chiefs last season, winning five, but behind Miikka Kiprusoff and Jonathan Quick his chances of playing much were next to nil. Now he’ll be back up Boston workhorse Henrik Lundqvist.

Knuble is a two-time 30-goal scorer about to enter his 13th GWMHL season. He was originally drafted in by Bridgewater in 1998 who later signed as a free agent with the eventual Banshees.

Neuvirth, Michal
Year   Name                       GP    W    L    T   GAA   SAV%   SO
10-11  Charleston Chiefs           8    5    3    0   2.38  .925    3
                  Totals           8    5    3    0   2.38  .925    3

Knuble, Mike
Year   Name                       GP    G    A  PTS  +/-  PIM
98-99  Bridgewater Rangers        53    3    3    6   -2   10
99-00  Bridgewater Rangers        41    6   16   22   -4   14
00-01  Bridgewater Rangers        62    8    9   17  -24   40
01-02  Bridgewater Rangers        42    0    1    1   -6   19
02-03  Kansas City 99'S           29    4    0    4   -5   10
03-04  Kansas City 99'S           62   11   24   35    2   32
04-06  Kansas City 99'S           82   16   16   32  -15   32
06-07  Kansas City 99'S           82   30   21   51    2   70
07-08  Boston Banshees            50   10   15   25   -5   40
08-09  Boston Banshees            58   21   13   34  -18   54
09-10  Boston Banshees            77   31   12   43  -14   70
10-11  Boston Banshees            46   15    8   23   -3   28
                  Totals         684  155  138  293  -92  419

The GWMHL Wants You!

In BOS, News, PWH, SAL, WIN on August 17, 2011 at 12:55 pm

The Gump Worsley Memorial Hockey League is looking to fill some ownership vacancies as we head into the 2011-2012 regular season! Read on to find out more…

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Checkers, Veterans Head List of Off-Season Player Releases

In BOS, DEL, GLP, NAS, News, SAL, SCA, SFS, STE, STL, Transactions, VAN, WIN on July 1, 2011 at 6:42 pm

The GWMHL has officially announced the list of player releases due to under-use, effective immediately. The list is headlined by veterans like Mike Modano, Adam Foote, and Chris Osgood, as well as two surprises – utility winger Tomas Kopecky, formerly of Delta, and center Darren Helm, who recently helped the Salem Wannabees to its second straight Gump Cup Finals.

All players who are now free agents who, if eligible, will be available in the pre-season Free Agent Draft.

The full list:

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The 5 Biggest Letdowns of 2010-2011

In BOS, CHA, Special Features, STE, STL, VAN on June 11, 2011 at 8:34 am

Who doesn’t like a feel-good story? When a player breaks through and makes a difference, it makes for good headlines… to bury in the sports pages next to the cricket scores.

Because if there’s one thing we all like more than a feel-good story, it’s a tale of misery and woe. An 82-game car wreck.

Failure is fun.

So here it is – the companion to our profile of the biggest breakthroughs of 2010-2011 in the form of five brilliantly disastrous performances from the season gone by.

5. Justin Williams, Charleston Chiefs

Williams has had all kinds of injury trouble in recent years, but the Charleston winger is a lot better than the four – four! – goals he scored in 38 games this year. The Chiefs needed a big bounce-back season from him after a one-goal 2009-2010, and he quadrupled that output, so… success?

4. Cam Ward, Saint Louis Blues

Saint Louis was one of the league’s best teams for much of the season, so it’s weird to list their starting goaltender. But Ward just wasn’t very good. His .901 save percentage – a big drop from last season – doesn’t say “starter on a league-leading team” and if it wasn’t for Scott Clemmensen’s 15-5-2 record, the Blues might have struggled to make the post-season at all.

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