We’ll be heading into the 7th week of the season this coming Sunday. A few thoughts and observations.
FUBAR are off to a great start at 13-3-2 to lead the league so far. They have a 4 point cushion on 2nd place. A lot of this has to do with their goalie Scott Shepard, who has only lost 3 games out of his last 42, dating back to late 2011 when he played 24 games without a loss before the league was forced to move to Harvey and Scott was unable to continue until this season. During this time he’s faced 13 different goalies, but only one has managed to get a win from him. Brandon Leet-MacFarlane has won the only 3 Scott has lost during 42 games. Scott also has 7 shutouts during the stretch, including 3 this season. The other contributing factors to FUBAR’s success would have to be their balance. Ian Stevens has taken over a lot of the scoring. His 38 goals put him currently in 2nd place. Known for his defense, Ian has left that primarily up to Peter Wolters and Mark Whitlock. They were defense partners during back to back record setting seasons for their teams a couple of years ago. Add in the solid play from new guys, Shawn Kane and James Morrison, along with relatively new guys Mike Hossack and Jeff King, and you’re looking at a team that’s proved hard to beat so far.
Up until last season, no one had scored more than 9 points in a game. In fact, many players were tied for that record with their 9 points, including Grant Donovan who did it during 2007/2008. All of his points were goals. Although Grant still holds the single game goals record, Marc Guitard broke through last season with 8 goals and 3 first assists during a game, setting a new record at 11 for the most points in a game. During week 5 this season, Collin Sleep tied the record with an 11 points game against the Collective. Collin had 5 goals, 5 first assists, and a second assist during the game. He continues to lead the league’s scoring at a torrid pace.
Despite the teams not showing real close in the standings, the games seem to be getting closer. We’ve had a lot of close games during the past month. Close meaning a game won by 2 goals or less. 43 of the last 60 games have been close. That’s 71.6%. We’ve had 12 ties during that time, which is 20%. Both high numbers. The Blues have already tied 7 games this season. They actually have more ties than wins or losses. As the teams get more used to playing with each other, this trend should continue.
This season’s new players have, for the most part, fit in quite well with their teams. Besides FUBAR taking advantage of their new players, the Warriors have enjoyed the services of new player Ray Chase, as he leads all new players in scoring along with his team’s goal scoring. Travis Muxworthy, their other new guy has become quite dependable and hasn’t missed a game yet. The Collective’s new guys, Mike and Mike immediately become keys to the team’s offense and defense. Mike Clarke with his offense, the 2nd highest scoring new player so far, and Mike Luff with his defense, paying off as the highest drafted new player. The Fog Devils’ drafted new players didn’t work out, but they were awarded a replacement new goalie in Michael Sutton, who was drafted as a player by the Blues. Mike has provided solid goaltending ever since. The Shooters drafted three but ended up with four new players. Jeremy Snow hasn’t missed a game and has fit in well all around. Also Mathieu Vaillancourt has become quite dependable. He tied a record last week for the most 2nd assists in a game with 5. Ironically it tied a record his captain, Yvon Mayer held. Frederik Mailhot-Landry has done well when he’s played but has missed a few games due to scheduling. As Yvon had the next pick, a few weeks ago he was awarded a new player in Pat Shannon, who seems to be getting more comfortable with his team. The Unicorns are taking advantage of the dependability of their new players, Craig Maranda, tied in fifth for points among new players, and goalie Dave MacFarlane. Either has missed a game. The Blues ended up with only two new players, despite drafting four. Gerry Heffernan and Jamie Williams have become solid and dependable players for the Blues, while another drafted new player ended up with scheduling conflicts and couldn’t continue. Michael Sutton also left as he was awarded to the Fog Devils to play nets. The Smokin’ Aces only drafted one new guy in Chris Benoit who has looked solid but has missed games due to scheduling. Either the Barrage or the Vipers have new players. The top scoring new players are Ray Chase (War) 49 pts., Mike Clarke (Col) 42 pts., Jeremy Snow (Sho) 32 pts., Mike Luff (Col) 27 pts., and Craig Maranda (Uni) 27 pts.
