W2 Power Grid & 3 Stars: By Thistle and Synergy

April 3 2020, 3:51 PM



Posts: 15
Team: Free Agent
Week 1 of the brand new season is over and it was quite an eventful week at that. The power rankings have some movers and shakers, not to mention some surprises near the top and some standout performances all over the ice...

3 Stars of the Week:

3rd- Synergy l97l (17G / 21P)
2nd- Fedxrov (14G / 25P)
1st- Geno x 51 (1.33 GAA / .904 SV% / 3 W)

Power Surge: Ontario Hitmen
Power Outage: Berlin Mafia
Electrifying Player of the Week: Geno x 51
(83 SA / 1.33 GAA / .904 SV% / 3 SO)

Geno had an absolutely dominant week and is on pace to put up career numbers. After a change of scenery late last season saw him take over the crease for Red Deer, he flourished in the post season and has continued this striking run of form early on through week 1. After shutting teams out in half the games he played this week, could Geno be the OHA’s Robin Lehner?

“The Power Grid”

1. The Curse (Prev: 3)
After a perfect week, The Curse look to be in mid-season form and are poised to take over the crown from the previous champions. A dominant game-by-game effort offensively was bolstered by strong goaltending and saw them make the leap from three to one. Watch out.

2. Ontario Hitmen (Prev: 4)
The Hitmen are perhaps the biggest surprise as they finish the week technically undefeated (in regulation). A team that looked good in the pre-season and doubly so now, the Hitmen should continue to be near the very top of the league for the rest of the season, even if they will eventually cool off.

3. Cancel (Prev: 5)
After being ranked near the middle of the pack entering the first week, Cancel have proven that just as predicted they are no joke. While the three spot was a toss up, Cancel edged out the next team by just a tad on the back of some strong performances this week. The only question surrounding this team...is Cancel back?

4. Evil Empire (Prev: 1)
A tough week for the previous top spot, after stumbling out of the gate the Empire find themselves at the fourth spot entering the second week. Although they did score quite a bit early on, they seem to be struggling to hold on to leads or get timely saves, even if their goaltending played well overall. All told, Empire should end up in a playoff spot and even near the top of the league, but for now they reside in the middle until they prove they can hang with the big dogs.

5. Puck Ups (Prev: 7)
The Puck Ups were not expected to surprise but that is exactly what they did in the first week, finishing off with a 6-4 record. Although by the end of the season this team will likely be lower on the list, at the moment they represent a top 5 team (at the time of writing they were actually tied at the 4th spot) and could float near the middle of the standings all season long. While the scoring touch is there, they’ll need to keep the puck out of their net if they hope to climb the board.

6. Red Deer (Prev. 2)
The Bandits came into this week as strong favorites to shock the system, however they finished with a whimper as their offense struggled out of the gate. Not all is lost though, they still boast a strong team that should bounce back and a goalie tandem headlined by Geno, who earned first star and player of the week honors. All in all a mediocre week that should be little more than a blip on the radar for the Bandits.

7. Puck Daddies (Prev: 8)
The PD had an average week, if not an underwhelming one, and edged out the next team on the backs of their defense and goaltending. It is unlikely that this team does much damage in week 2 and that is meant as no disrespect, but they don’t seem to have that ‘next level’ that is required of top flight teams, maybe they’ll prove that theory wrong. Whatever the case, this team does seem to be fairly median and project to finish in a playoff spot, if a lower one at that.

8. Bleacher Bums (Prev: 6)
The Bums started off the week in poor fashion as they dropped 6 straight games for a goal differential in the mid-twenties! However, a strong finish proved that you should not wake a sleeping giant. There are some bright spots, the goaltending has played well (even if the stats don’t show it) and without being biased yours truly is amongst the league leaders in goal scoring. A rebound looks to be on the horizon...

9. Toxic Hockey (Prev: 10)
On paper, Toxic is uninspiring, but they actually played fairly well this week and seemingly have a roster that can compete. Although they lack a strong presence in net they do boast a decent offense and could make some noise down the road. Just don’t expect TOO much...

10. Forfeit Kings (Prev: 9)
A tough showing for the Kings in the first week saw them drop in the standings heading into the second week of action. There may be light at the end of the tunnel though, as they seemingly stymied their porous play and stopped shoveling pucks out of their net by weeks end. The Kings should bounce back in a big way **IF** they find some chemistry.

11. Blueberry Faygo (Prev: 11)
There is no sugar coating it, Faygo had a terrible week. They seemingly can’t get a timely goal nor can they stop one, as to not elongate this drubbing, hopefully they find some semblance of consistency next week. Their saving grace is that it’s still early!

12. Berlin Mafia (Prev: 12)
The Mafia were bad in week 1 and there’s no sense in droning through the losses, hopefully they can pick it up next week. They sorely lacked offense, defense, and ultimately their goaltending failed to register any quality starts. The one bright spot for this team? Harden Was MVP could give this team a much needed boost after coming over via a trade. Only time will tell though...
April 3 2020, 4:09 PM



Posts: 5
Team: Yolo Snipers
10-0
April 3 2020, 4:21 PM



Posts: 2
Team: Free Agent
11-0