We’re halfway through the season and the new year is here. The following are some thoughts and observations on the season thus far. A half time report, if you will.
After a year and a half, we finally have been able to take advantage of playing in Freddy again, but so far the league has had it’s ups and downs. Besides the obvious issue of having to move to a different location, a few teams have had issues with missing players and often end up borrowing from other teams or using designated spares. Of course, unfortunate injuries and recent suspensions also contribute to a borrowing situation. That being said, the league soldiers on and provides a good competitive game for the most part. The added players are required.
While I’m headed that way already, I’ll start this review of the first half providing a look at this season’s participation so far. Every team started the season with 7 players and one goalie, with the exception of the Shooters, who were short one player and were assigned their 7th a couple of weeks into the season.
Based on having at least 7 runners giving you 100% participation, here’s how the teams fared during the first half. FUBAR led the way, only losing 15 man games, meaning the team has played the first half of the season with 92.9% of it’s team. Next is the Unicorns, who have only missed 20 man games at 90.5% participation. The Vipers come in at 3rd with 24 games missing at 88.6%. After that there’s a bit of a drop with the Barrage losing 41 man games giving them 80.5%. Next are the Smokin’ Aces with 78.6%, missing 45 games. With the rest of the teams suffering player issues during the season, there’s a significant increase in man games lost. The Warriors are a good example of this, as they ended up drafting a player who didn’t play at all, leaving them with only 6 runners so far on the season. Despite this they’re still running at 72.4% after losing 58 man games. The Shooters have been short staffed often, missing 65 man games, including 4 of their players missing at least 10 games. They also only have 6 runners on their roster. The team is currently at 69% participation. Another 6 runner team, the Fog Devils are at 68.1%, losing 67 man games. Close behind are the Collective who have lost 68 man games, running at 67.6%. An upside for the Collective is that they still have 7 runners on their team. The last place team in participation are the Blues by a wide margin. They’re only running at 51.4% and have already lost 102 man games. It’s like saying they’ve averaged 3 and a half players per game. The Blues currently only have 5 runners as the other 2 players were unable to play the season.
Now here’s the rest of the story.
FUBAR have a had an impressive first half, only losing 3 games on their way to a comfortable lead in the standings. Their participation has been key along with the balance of the team. They are strong offensively and defensively, backstopped by goalie, Scott Shepard who is putting up some amazing numbers. Offensively Ian Stevens carries the load, already scoring 53 goals. FUBAR show no signs of letting up so far and established themselves as the team to beat. FUBAR looks to continue to be the team to beat during the 2nd half of the season.
The Barrage are currently holding down 2nd place by 3 points. They’ve showed they can win any game and are only one of two teams that have managed to beat FUBAR. Their’s and the league’s top scorer is racking up goals at an alarming rate, already with 65, despite missing 6 games. The Barrage will hope to continue their high level play through the 2nd half.
The Warriors are in 3rd place and have played relatively consistent throughout the season. Ray Chase leads the team’s goal scoring with 39. while Jon Loubert it at 36, to provide the majority of scoring for the team. Jeff Smith is providing solid goaltending. The Warriors will look to maintain their consistent battle to stay near the top of the standings.
The Blues are in 4th place at the break, despite their player issues. Most of their decent start can be attributed to Mike Moore and Brandon Leet-MacFarlane, along with Jamie Williams who has been dedicated. Mike takes care of the majority of the offense with 53 goals, while Brandon’s 2nd best goals against average takes care of the defense. Brandon is the only goalie to beat FUBAR this season. The Blues will look forward to having a few more players out during the new year.
The Smokin’ Aces are currently in 5th place, three points behind 4th. The Aces have been up and down this season but still have a better than 50% winning percentage. Tim O’Leary’s 45 goals along with Vince MacDonald’s 36 are providing a large part of the team’s offense, while Tyson Taylor creates added mobility on defense. The Smokin’ Aces will look for more consistency in the new year to help them move up the standings.
The Fog Devils are in 6th place at the break, only one point behind the Aces. Collin Sleep leads the way offensively and already has 53 goals and 101 points. James Campbell has provided some added offense as well, while balancing defensive duties. The Fog Devils are even at the break with an 11-11-8 record and should get a boost into the new year when they get injured Scott King back.
The Vipers hold 7th place at the break, only one point behind 6th. The team has been quite competitive for the most part with Jim Taylor leading their offense with 42 goals so far. Their defense seems to be provided by an overall team effort. The Vipers hope to continue their solid play and to stay healthy for the rest of the season.
The Unicorns got off to a rough start but have been much better during the 2nd quarter of the season and now hold 8th place. Offense doesn’t seem to be a problem as they lead the league so far. Brent McKenna 46, Greg Geurts 44, and Bruno Dugas 41, have provided the team’s offense, while Craig Maranda has also chipped in 33 goals. The Unicorns continue to get better as they look forward to the rest of the season.
The Shooters currently hold 9th place after dealing with goalie and player issues during the first half. Bobby Woods has provided the majority of offense with 43 goals so far, while Yvon Mayer and Jeremy Snow have been dedicated. The team hopes to get their numbers issues resolved for the new year and find some consistency.
The Collective sit in 10th place at the break, 3 points behind 9th. They have also had some player issues, mainly due to injuries. The team’s offense is lead by Mike Clarke’s 41 goals and Rod MacIsaac’s 38. The Collective are looking to get off to a fresh start for the 2nd half with a healthy full team for the first time this season.
