PR - Hurricanes

HURRICANES COMPLETE UPSET OVER SAINTS WITH A 3-1 VICTORY
Calgary sweeps Saskatoon in Semi-Final Action

Calgary, AB - You look around the Hurricanes dressing room and it wasn't
the top line that abolished the Saints.  It was the second kid line of
Jason King, Matthew Lombardi, and Maxim Afinogenov.  The Hurricanes
completed their sweep of the Saints with a 3-1 victory in Calgary on
Wednesday.  The Hurricanes who were at one point dead last in the
conference find themselves ready for the final four stand off against
either the Bobcats or Misconducts.

"We're simply a rejuvenated team and we are on a mission, the TFHL Cup."
said centre Shawn Bates.  The team has taken it to both the Marauders
and the Saints, and now they are ready for the next match up.

"That Saints team has a lot of talent and depth.  We just managed to
find holes in there, and it seems they focused on our top line while
letting our second line essentially finish them off." said Coach Marc
Crawford, going to his 2nd stint in the Eastern Conference Final in 4
seasons.

The Hurricanes were not expected to make it to the third round, let
alone the playoffs.  But the young dynamics of King, Lombardi, and
Afinogenov have contributed to a dynamnic that Hurricanes have never had
before.  Add in post-season rookie Ryan Parent, and it appears the
future is good for the 'Canes, and heck, the present looks pretty darn
good too.

After a disappointed 2nd round exit to the Saints awhile back, the
Hurricanes are back on top, for now.  Thanks Geoff for a great history
of rivalry, this is another one for the books.


Calgary Sun 2006

Round 2 Preview

OFFENSE

The Bobcats ranked second in the Eastern Conference with an impressive 294 goals scored this season. Their first line is made up superstars Simon Gagne, Sergei Samsonov, and Jaromir Jagr, they were the top three scorers for the Bobcats this season. But this is much more than a one line team. There second line is just as good and twice as young. Masi Marjamaki, Erik Cole, and David Legwand can put the puck in the net almost as good as their first line. The third and fourth lines for the Bobcats consist mainly of roleplayers like Shane Willis, Mike Peca, and Curtis Brown. In the first series the Misconducts scoring came alive, mostly the second line wingers Kristian Huselius and Brian Rolston. Each scored a hat trick in the first series and helped the Misconducts win the final two games to advance to the second round. The Misconducts are still waiting for Peter Forsberg to get on track and hope that moving leading scorer Jan Hrdina to the first line with help snap the funk that both Forsberg and Kris Beech are going through right now. If Forsberg and Beech don't get on track soon. This could be a very short series for the Misconducts.

Advantage : Bobcats - The Misconducts can't simply match up with the Bobcats first two lines

DEFENSE

Matt Jones, Martin Skoula, Andy Delmore . . .is the answer. What makes the Bobcats defense better than Misconducts . . .is the question. Those three alone can carry any defense in the league. And they where a big reason why the Bobcats swept the Aces in the first round. Jakub Klepis, Nick Boynton, and Nick Schultz round out the defensive corps of the Bobcats. They have give the fewest amount of goals of any remaining playoff team thus far. Jones, Skoula, and Delmore can also contribute on the offensive side of the rink as well. The Misconducts took a big hit to their defense in series against the Owls where Teemu Laakso was lost for a few games due to injury and Shawn Belle was suspend for the last two games of the series and the first two games against the Bobcats. Boris Valabik and Carlo Colaiacovo were to step in nicely and help to finish off the Owls. But the Bobcats are a different team offensively than the Owls where and Belle being out for the first two games could be critically to the outcome of the series.

Advantage : Bobcats - By a Delmore, Skoula, and Jones

GOALTENDING

This series is being viewed as the battle of the Martins as Martin Brodeur will lead the Misconducts into battle against Martin Biron of the Bobcats. Biron is having a Vezina type season. He had the second best record in the league as well as finishing second in GAA. He has carried his outstanding regular season into the playoffs. He was the main reason the Bobcats where able to take out the Aces in such sort work. Brodeur on the other hand struggled to find his game in the regular season but has been incredible for the Misconducts in the playoffs. With the exception of one game in the Owls series he has kept things close and provide the Misconducts with the oppurtunity to win. If his strong play holds up the Misconducts might be able to steal a win or two away from the Bobcats this series.

Advantage : Bobcats - The numbers don't lie . . .Martin Biron . .is really that good

PREDICTION

The Bobcats wasted little time sending the Aces to the golf course in the first round and this series looks to be no different. With two balanced scoring lines and a solid defense in front of all world goalie Martin Biron, The Misconducts may have biten off more than they chew this time. It was nice for Miami to get back to the playoffs this year . . .it was nice to see them win a round in the playoffs . . but their good fortune is about to run out. The Bobcats will have a harder time beating them then they did beating the Aces, but not much of a harder time.

Prediction : Bobcats in 5

Round 2 Predictions

East Conference

Saints (1) and Hurricanes (5)
Once again, the Saskatoon Saints and the Calgary Hurricanes meet in the playoffs. This is the first time the two arch rivals have played each other past the first round. The two previous first round match ups were long series (7 games) with the Saints prevailing a couple seasons ago only to be swept in the second round. The Hurricanes easily knocked off the Marauders in 5 games to advance to the Eastern Semi-Finals while the Saints barely took out the eighth placed Rednexs in the seventh game after originally taking a 3-1 series lead. The Hurricanes-Saints series will likely be another long series (6-7 games) with some close games. Cloutier (Saints) will be facing off against Boucher (Hurricanes), and the two goalies are about equally talented. Offensively, the Hurricanes need Naslund and Svitov's first line to get scoring in order to advance to the East Finals. Right now, Afinogenov has had a superb first round with 5 goals (7 pts in 5 games) and has allowed the Hurricanes success thus far. The Saints' Higgins has been the leading scorer for Saskatoon with 10 pts in 8 games. This series will be long and a doozy to watc h and it might just be too close to call.

Prediction: Hurricanes in seven.

Bobcats (2) and Misconducts (6)
In sweeping the Aces in the first round, the Bobcats were the only team in the TFHL to sweep another club this year so far. But this Misconducts team is solid and likely will give a bit more trouble for the Bobcats who with Biron in net, is the clear favourite to move on to the East Finals and probably the TFHL Finals. Brodeur has shown to be quite solid so far the Misconducts which answers some of the criticisms for the Misconducts when entering the playoffs. Huselius has been a huge surprise for the Misconducts but the whole team has great depth and they all contribute. The Bobcats look much, much, better on paper but the Misconducts franchise has a history of surprising their opponents. For the last few seasons, the Misconducts have had great playoff success which means Gagne and Jagr need to contribute more offensively but their defence has been spectacular with Skoula, Delmore, Klepis and company. But Biron will likely be the story this year and he is more than due for a TFHL Championship ring.

Prediction: Bobcats in six.

West Conference

Flames (1) and Raiders (6)

This series boasts extraordinary goaltending with Nabokov (Raiders) and Theodore (Flames) and we'll see who will steal the show. Chara is the anchor and heart of the Raiders franchise with 7 pts and 47 hits in 8 games. Chara might just be the new “Pronger” of the league and may lead the Raiders to the cup like Pronger's championship year with the Hurricanes. Despite the Flames' deep and strong offense, Chara may give the Raiders the edge. However, Theodore may be due for leading the Flames to the West finals. As well as Chara, the reason why the Raiders are in the playoffs, and now the second round, is because of Nabokov who has been a winner since joining the club. Raiders, although they lack the “super-star” offensemen like the Flames' Gaborik or Calder, but nonethless, the Raiders are well balanced throughout and will give the Flames a rough ride.

Prediction: Raiders in six...with a VERY likely game seven thats too close to call.

Sioux (2) and Achaeans (5)

The Sioux have their work cut out for them as they face off against the wiliey defending Champs. The Achaeans have championship depth, veteran experience and Kolzig has been a solid goaltender thus far. The inexperienced, albeit impressive Sioux lineup, faces-off against the veteran and likely favourite Achaeans. The Sioux have exceptional offence with a couple players: Shkotov and Hulva. So if the Sioux have any chance of winning this series, these two will be the reason. This being said, the Achaeans are boasting the best offensemen in the league (Regular Season and Playoffs), Gregory Campbell is without a doubt, the best all-around forward in the league and the most dependable. With a good veteran and proven lineup behind Campbell, the Achaeans will win this series, and probably quickly.

Prediction: Achaeans in five with the chance of the sweep.

PR - Hurricanes

CALGARY HURRICANES KNOCK OUT THE MARAUDERS IN 5 GAMES

Calgary, AB - They did it again, somehow.  The Hurricanes knocked out
the Marauders in only 5 games.  Ironically enough the only loss was an
8-0 shell shackling that seemed to re-energize the sense of urgency
within the Hurricanes dressing room.

"We had some key guys pick it up in this first round.  Maxim Afinogenov
came through for us in a big way, and it shows as he is leading our team
in points.  With Wade Redden out we gave Ryan Parent from our farm team
a chance and he's been a big factor each each of the games.  And I can't
say enough good things about Brian Boucher, although we got hit hard in
Game 3 with the 8-0 loss, he rebounded and was very successful." said
Coach Marc Crawford.

The Hurricanes Top Scorers:

Maxim Afinogenov: 3G 2A
Ryan Parent (Rookie): 1G 3A
Brendan Morrison: 3G

Brian Boucher: 2.39GAAVG

The Hurricanes are still waiting for the top line of Shawn Bates, Markus
Naslund, and Alexandre Svitov to turn it on.  They have become more of a
defensive liability rather than a productive line scoring goals.  "They
did a good job of shutting us down.  I don't know why it wasn't working
for us but we will need to be better for the next round." said Asst.
Captain Markus Naslund.


WHO'S NEXT?
The Hurricanes await the results from the remaining series to determine
who they will play in the second round.  If the Owls and Rednexs are
eliminated, the Hurricanes will play the Saskatoon Saints.


Calgary Sun 2006

PR - Misconducts

Misconducts Take Lead in Series

After being embarrassed 6-2 by the Owls in the first game of the series, the Misconducts have rallied around the strong goaltending performance of Martin Brodeur to take a 2-1 series lead last night. Brodeur has stopped 44 of 47 shots in the last two games and was named one of the three stars in each game, both Misconducts victories. The offense in game two was carried by Brian Rolston who got a hat trick and Jan Hrdina who set up two of Rolston's three goals. The Misconducts won the game 4-1. In the third game, a late 2nd period goal by Sergei Federov was the difference as the Misconducts where able to hold on for a 3-2 victory. Tonight the Owls will look to even the series on home ice. But if Brodeur continues to play like he did in the last two games that could be a tough task. Then again if the Brodeur who played the first game shows up, the Misconducts will come back to Miami with the series tied.

Awards

The Misconducts have announced a few of their season awards today. The Wayne Gretzky award which is awarded to player with the most points went to Jan Hrdina who finished the season with 82 points. The Ron Francis trophy awarded to player who excells at both the offensive and defensive ends of ice went to Daymond Langkow who was a plus 11 and scored 30 points in 48 games for the Misconducts. The Paul Coffey award was handed out to Teemu Laakso who finished the season with 12 goals, 46 points, and plus minus rating of 6. The rest of the awards will be handed out a banquet after the team has been eliminated from the postseason.

Draft Rumors

Word around the league is that the Misconducts are trying to package multiple picks in this years draft to move up into the top 5. With 12 picks in the first three rounds in the next two drafts, the Misconducts believe they have the ammunition need to land a top 5 pick. They are hoping to move up to secure a forward who will develop into a first line talent. They feel very confident in their young defensive corps that they are willing to give up both first round picks they have this year to secure a future playmaker. Stay tuned, depending on how far this team goes in the offseason will depend a lot on who makes this team for next season and who is shipped out. If the team can make it deep into the playoffs, it could make it hard for all 7 draft picks to make the team thus meaning two or more picks could be packaged to move up in the draft.

PR - Misconducts

OFFENSE

Anyone who likes goals should like this series with both teams averaging over 3.25 goals a game during the regular season. The Owls offense is lead by Joe Thornton who finished second in the scoring race this season with 41 goals and 100 points. But Thornton is not the only one who can put the puck in the net for the Owls. Both Mike Modano and Petr Sykora scored over 30 goals this season and the Owls had 7 players with more than 50 points. While the Misconducts had the same number of players with more than 50 points, they didn't have anyone in the top 10 in scoring and only one player in the top 30. That player was Jan Hrdina who was one of the few players to remain with the team from start to finish. He was the stabilizing force on offense this season for Miami. However, he is not the most dangerous forward the Misconducts possess. The honor goes to Peter Forsberg. Forsberg , who by all accounts had an off year, can take over a game at point. He has the ability to lead the team into the next round of playoffs. Whether or not he will step up is some concern for the team. But this is the first time in a long time that the Misconducts scoring is not limitted to just the first line as Forsberg, Hrdina, Daymond Langkow, Kristian Huselius, Brian Rolston, Glen Murray, Sergei Federov, and Kris Beech have all made solid contributions to the offense this season.

Advantage : Owls - while both teams have a top notch forward . . only the Owls Joe Thornton has performed like one

DEFENSE

The Owls can lay claim to having one of the best defenses in the league all though you wouldn't know it by the 288 goals that they gave up during the regular season. Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester, and Pavel Kubina could all be the number one defenseman on Misconducts. Through former first round pick of the Misconducts Brian Lee into the equation and the Owls just might have the solution to the first two lines of the Misconducts. Not to mention the fact that their third defensive pairing isn't bad either with the likes of Kimmo Timonen and Steve Montador. Together the top six defensemen for the Owls should give the Misconducts more problems then they can handle. The Misconducts may have the deepest group of young defensemen in the league and might have the best defense in the league in 3 or 4 seasons. Karel Rachunek is the veteran of the corp at the age of 27. Jeff Jillson and Dmitri Kalinin are 26. The rest of the defense is made up of young dmen like Shawn Belle, Teemu Laakso, and Matt Smaby. Not to mention the amount of youth they have in the minors with guys like Boris Valabik, Robby Blaze, Mark Fistric, Carlo Colaiacovo, and Brendan Mikkelson. However having a good future defense will not help the Misconducts this season. They will need players like Belle, Rachunek, Smaby, and Jillson to play above their heads if they hope to slow down the high powered Owls attack.

Advantage : Owls - ask me this question 2 season from now and I'll probably answer Misconducts . .but right now it is the Owls by a big margin

GOALTENDING

Even though the Misconducts seem to be the underdog in this series, they had more points in the regular season than the Owls. The reason for that is simple goaltending. The Misconducts have two quality goaltenders both of whom they fell very comfortable starting in the playoffs. Tomas Vokoun who was with the team to start the season, traded, and then traded for has provided not only a solid backup to Martin Brodeur. But he has even out performed Brodeur for most of the season posting a better winning percentage, a better save percentage, and a better GAA than Brodeur. However, the Misconducts have stated that they are going to go with Brodeur because he gives them the best chance to win night in and night out. It maybe the wrong choice to make but if they strugle in the first few games don't be surprised to see Vokoun make an appearance or two. The Owls on the other hand have a clear cut number one goalie in Alexander Auld. But Auld is a rookie in the league and has not played in the playoff game yet. His numbers for the season aren't bad but they aren't good either. If the Misconducts put a few pucks by him early on it could be a long series for the Owls.

Advantage : Misconducts - they have two goalies better than the starting goalie for the Owls.

PREDICTION

The Misconducts will need one of two players to step up in order to make it the second round of the playoffs. Those players are Martin Brodeur and Peter Forsberg. Brodeur was struggling when the team acquired him and he has gotten better since the season has gone on. The defense in front of him is young and the Owls offense is one of the better ones in the league. He'll have to stand on his head to keep games close. Will will see the Martin Brodeur of old ? Or will we see the guy who look average at points this season ? That will go a long towards determining the winner of this series. The other X factor for the Misconducts is Peter Forsberg. There have been times when Forsberg has looked like the best player in the league. Unfortunately there have also been times when Forsberg has looked like one of the worst players in the league. Peter has even stated that at times this season he didn't feel a hundred percent and that his age is finally starting to catch up with him. But we wants to make up for his bad season with a good post season. However it remains to be seen if he the gas in his tank left that it takes to make a post season run. If either of those two players step up for the Misconducts they will be in the 2nd round. However don't count on either one doing the job. They are both past their prime and with the lack of other talent around them this will turn out to be a very long series for Misconducts fans.

Prediction : Owls in 6

TFHL 16 Playoff Preview

TFHL 16 Playoff Preview

The 16th TFHL Regular Season wrapped up on Wednesday with the Flames winning the President's Trophy. The defending TFHL Champion Achaeans will try to repeat with a 1st round matchup against the Blades - who are hoping to rebound from the last few season's in which the failed to make the playoffs. After repeated appearances in the playoffs in the West Conference, the Ice and Blackhawks are left out of the highly competitive West Conference. Two-time TFHL Champs, the Pain, easily finished first in the league for Goals For while also boasting 4th best for least Goals Allowed this season - the Pain once again are one of the favourites for the West Conference Championship. In the East, the Saints and Bobcats finish the season 1st and 2nd overall - both teams' personal best seasons - are in a league all of their own (as of stats) with the 3rd place Misconducts, who claimed the Hitman Division Title finished 12 pts back from the 2nd place Bobcats. The Flames had a similar cushion in the West which puts these three teams in what can only be called likely Cup contenders.
Likely Cup Contenders: Flames, Bobcats, Saints, Pain
Just as likely's: Sioux, Achaeans, Hurricanes
Dark Horses: Rednexs, Aces, Owls

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Round 1 Preview of Matchups

Eastern Conference

by Geoffrey Young

Saints z* (1)
Rednexs (8)

The Saints and Rednexs face-off in the 1st round. Rednex's first line of Lindstrom, Bertuzzi and Kovalev is, without a doubt, the strongest offensive trio in the TFHL and has been for the last few seasons. The #1 centre for Rednexs, Joakim Lindstrom (87 pts), and Christopher Higgins (94 pts), the #1 centre for the Saints, are two of the most talented young players in the league. Offensively, the Rednexs had far fewer goals for in the Regular Season but the top line is enough to win any series if they keep the pressure on the Saints. Rob Blake for the Saints will have to lead the way with his past experience and shut down the Rednexs' top line. The Saints' leading goal scorer this year was Pierre Marc-Bouchard with 44 goals in 86 games who tied for second best in the league in that department. Bouchard and Sjostrom (38 goals in 72 games) both play on the 2nd and third lines respectively. Goaltending is quite even so we'll see who can outscore who. Red is the colour of martyrs and saints but pilsner is the favourite of rednexs - both are loved by Saskatonians so this series should be a beauty!

Prediction: Saints in 6 games.

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Bobcats (2)
Aces (7)

The Bobcats have tremendous depth and with the acquistion of Biron, they have positioned themselves for perhaps their first ever TFHL Championship. But first they must face the equally talented and young Aces. Veteran GM Dave Walter has won championships before and with Brust in net, the Aces may be the dark horse of the East Conference. Last year they surprised their opposition and they could do the same again. This series will be a goaltender duo between two of the best goalies in the league - Biron and Brust. Although Samsonov was terrific for the Bobcats this year, the Aces may have trouble finding any leadership on their offence with a relatively hesitant leader in Kovalchuk. Roenick is the only veteran player on the roster and after an injured ridden season, we'll see if he has the experience and wisdom to lead a young club to upset a stacked Bobcats roster. In Bobcat Blackjack, the Ace's are looking for a hit, but they might just Brust.

Prediction: Bobcats in 5 games.

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Misconducts y* (3)

Owls (6)

On a roster with Forsberg and Langkow, its quite surprising to see Jan Hrdina as the lone 80+ pts scorer for the Misconducts. With some solid goaltending, the MIsconducts have had a great season and could quite possibly be a possible finalist in the East Conference Championship. But there are some questions, particularly with their defence. But even Brodeur, who is a solid #1 goaltender, has always been a flop in the playoffs which makes many wonder whether this is finally the year for Brodeur? Probably not, for even in the season, Vokoun overshadowed Brodeur which raises questions whether the Misconducts have what it takes in net to make a playoff run. The Owls on the otherhand, with superstar Joe Thornton (100 pts), is quite stronger offensively and with the championship winning Pronger heading up the Owls defence, they look like they could very well upset their Division rival Misconducts in the 1st round - keep in mind only 7 pts seperated these two clubs in the Regular Season. But the Owls probably have the most bizarre goaltending situation in the league with Auld and Hedberg (both glorified backups) as the likely candidates for starting tomorrow with a total of five total goalies who have played this year. This certainly will not be a series to watch the goaltending! Will it be lights out and good night for the Owls or will the Czech Hrdina be enough for a Misconduct.

Prediction: Owls in 7 games.

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Hurricanes (4)
Marauders (5)

When I say 'Marauders,' what player comes to mind? Well if you have no idea, than you are thinking the same thing. Now this could be an insult but it is anything but. For when we think of the Owls, we think Thornton, Rednexs - Bertuzzi/Kovalev, Hurricanes - Naslund, Pain - Giguere etc. But the fact is that the Marauders have no ONE or small core of extraordinary players but have REPEATEDLY been competitive over the past seasons. The reason for this is because they have what is called, a team. For this reason, I can't quite figure out why they are successful or even why they are in the playoffs but I think ultimately, that they have a solid, well rounded, well disciplined and incredibly AVERAGE team. The team is so average that it might just be possible that it could win the cup this year. The Hurricanes will have to be extremely careful as the underrated Marc Denis (Marauders) faces off against the equally respectable Brian Boucher (Hurricanes). Since losing Burke to retirement and especially since trading Pronger, the neo-Hurricanes have yet to regain their past glory of the early New TFHL. The Hurricanes are certainly rebuilding with a younger, quicker and perhaps even more talented squad. But perhaps this might not be the year yet they are lacking the EX and LD they lost in Pronger. This series is far too close to call but since all rationality shows that the Marauders don't have what it takes to win anything (even making the playoffs), they most likely will win this! The King of Lombardi is Jason, Hurricane Markus still rages in the East - while Erik the Red might just lead the Marauders in a Druken campaign of pillage and plunder: The King is Deadmarsh, long live the King!

Prediction: Marauders in 7

Western Conference

by Tyler Young

Action in the Western Conference was, to put it mildly, erratic. At one point eleven teams were in competition for the playoffs with only spread of at times ten to twelve points from second to eleventh. Every team except the Flames seemed to flash between long winning streaks and prolonged losing skids. In end nine teams made it interesting and eight made the cut.

If the regular season could be trusted then the Flames would be the easy favourites to carry the conference. They were solid most of the year and were substantially better than the competition. The Pain and Achaeans both had somewhat disappointing seasons, but given their experience and talent they are both contenders. The Sioux and Blades both started hot, fell hard in the latter part of the season, and then played decent after picking-up Tommy Salo and Roberto Luongo respectively. The Sioux’s adequate play down the stretch coupled with weaker showings by the Pain and Raiders allowed them to surprisingly secure second place in the conference and the Blades finished the year one of the hottest teams in the league. The Raiders, Wheat Kings, and Apocalypse are old hats at this and all can be considered dark horses – this is the west, and things get wild.

Flames (1) vs. Apocalypse (8)

The Apocalypse squeaked their way into the playoffs battling off the Blackhawks. With a well rounded roster which is a bit weak in net, the Apocalypse have an outside chance of winning a couple games, but realistically they’ve drawn a very short straw. A perusal of the Flames roster sparks a lowly GM with awe: the players are big, talented, and stars in their own right. Unlike the Patriots or Pain who are probably loaded with too much talent, the Flames are perfectly balanced and use the (my) Young Line System nearly to perfection. This may be the season for the Flames, or at least that’s the way it seems. However, the Flames have a long tradition of ‘Flaming-out’ in the playoffs, some would suggest they just lack heart. Nevertheless, the Flames are entering their prime and this may be their season. If they meet a hot team the Flames will go down like the Hindenburg, but they are nearly guaranteed to make it through this round. Flames in five.

Sioux (2) vs. Wheat Kings (7)

Of the top four teams in the league, the Sioux are perhaps the most fallible. The Sioux played most of the early season on an unwarranted hot streak before the market correction kicked in and they began to fall. A couple savvy deals by GM John MacDonald in picking-up Bill Guerin and Tommy Salo not only got the Sioux home ice, it may have also kept them in the playoffs. Jakub Hulva (who no doubt would love to stick-it to his former team) and Alexei Shkotov are the heart of the team, if the Kings can manage those two they can manage this team. The Kings, after a dismal start, went into rebuilding and resurfaced against their own wishes. They are young, which may hurt them, and they are going into the playoffs with a rookie goaltender in Jamie Howard. For the Kings this is a learning experience, but they also have good chance at prolonging the lesson. This series likely has one of two outcomes: either a very hard fought battle won by the Kings or a quick and easy victory for the Sioux. The safer bet is on Agrian Regicide: Sioux in five.

Pain (3) vs. Raiders (6)

The once mighty Pain find themselves fifth in the league as they continue their demise. However, old tigers still are lethal when prodded to a fight. Statistically the Pain are still worthy. They had more wins and a far better goal differential than the Sioux, yet finished third. They still have their loaded roster full of plenty of good players (some would say too many good players) and a very solid goalie in J-S Giguere. The Raiders fell hard in the late season and lost home ice, but they do have one slight advantage against their formidable foe: net. Evgeni Nabokov is the kind of goalie, when hot, who could take a team like the Pain down. Fortunately for the Pain Nabo is tired. Pain in six.

Blades (4) vs. Achaeans (5)

This series is perhaps the biggest toss-up. The problem is there is no way to judge the Blades. Like the Sioux they benefited from being undeservedly hot for much of the first half of the season, but then flatlined before again steaming their way into playoffs after the acquisition of Roberto Luongo. Luckily for the Achaeans Luongo has never been a playoff goalie (but you just got to know he will spite me even more by finally learning to play goal in the playoffs) and the Blades really don’t have a defence. Against the Achaean onslaught the Blades really don’t have much hope and the Achaeans defence should be enough to handle Scott Hartnell and Jason Spezza. The only Achilles’ heel for the Achaeans is in net: with Kolzig injured they are in serious trouble. This series should be Achaeans in four, but with Kolzig out the Blades have a chance. It is more tragedy than epic that a team with three players could upset the defending champion, but it is very likely. Achaeans in seven.

PR - Wheat Kings

Season Over, Finally.

Three seasons ago the Wheat Kings missed the playoffs with a record over .500,
this year they posted their first sub-.500 season in the new TFHL and finished
seventh in their conference.  After the mid-season selling spree, the feeling
in Saskatoon was that this was going to be a rebuilding year and in the end it
was mediocre tale of nothing.  The Kings flirted with home ice late in the
season until the usual late season line disasters lead to a collapse.

"There's not a lot to be happy about this year, hopefully we can change that in
the playoffs." GM Tyler Young said.

Despite the clouds of pessimism surrounding the Kings, there were some bright
spots.  Dimitri Kazionov and Steve Bernier continued to develop and will be
expected to carry this team from now on.  Kazionov looks to be establishing himself
as the premiere sniper in the league.  He won the Rocket Richard with 46 goals,
and if he hadn't been injured for the last bit of the season he may have hit
50.  Byron Bitz was a a dynamo following a late-season call-up, racking up over
two points a game in the final stretch. Mattias Ritola, a trade deadline pick-up
from the Misconduct, finished the season a little over a point-a-game with the
Kings.

The Wheat Kings will meet the Sioux in the first round of playoffs.

PR - Saints

Saints Capture Eastern Conference Title

The Saskatoon Saints have for the first time in franchise history have won their division and their conference. The Saints finish the regular season second best in the TFHL only two points behind the Flames in the West. "The city and our fans are ecstatic. We have never had such a consistent and successful regular season. We have a very young team, and we expected that we would be competitive over the next couple seasons but this is a pleasant surprise for the regular season but we now have to consider the playoffs a whole other season starting tomorrow." At his playoff press conference this afternoon, Young continued on and analyzed the match up against the Rednexs. "Despite the fact that we finished 21 pts ahead of the Rednexs this season, I think our teams are almost completely even. They have a solid goaltender, good young depth and some magnificent goal scoring on their top line. We can only win this series if we can shut down their top line of Lindstrom, Bertuzzi, and Kovalev and use our greater depth on our second and third lines to outscore the opposition."

The series will likely be a high scoring battle as the Saints finish the season tied for the second best Team Scoring in the TFHL. However, the goaltending in this series is the greatest unknown. Cloutier for the Saints, who led the Achaeans to their first ever TFHL Championship last year is looking to repeat again with the Saints and capture their first Championship this offseason. With the Saints, Dan Cloutier, 30, had an impressive 13-5-3 record with a 2.38 GAA anbd a 9.14 Save %. The Rednexs have a similar goaltender, in age and style. Brent Johnson, 29, hopes to build on past playoff series wins with the upset against the Saints in the 1st round. Many hockey analysts consider the Rednexs with their top offensive line and Johnson in net as the darkhorse of the East. If it were not for a recent slump, the Rednexs would of easily captured their Division title. This series features too old-TFHL GM's with Ambrose Garvey (Rednexs) and Geoffrey Young (Saints) and should certainly be a hard-fought and long series. The series begins tomorrow night in Purgatory, Saints' home arena downtown Saskatoon.

PR - Misconducts

Misconducts Finish Season Strong

Over past couple of weeks the Misconducts had fallen on some hard times. However last night against the Raiders the Misconducts woke up after a two week nap and finished the season strong by shutting out the Raiders and crusing to a 5-0 victory. The Misconducts offense was powered by the second line of Jan Hrdina, Brian Rolston, and Kristian Huselius who accounted for three goals and six points. Martin Brodeur stole the show though stopping all 28 shots that he faced and earning the games number one star.

Playoff Matchup Set

Even though the Misconducts haven't played well since the trade deadline, they were still able finish third in the league and guarantee themselves of at least one home series in the playoffs. That series will be against the Owls who have such star players as Joe Thornton, Nathan Horton, Petr Sykora, and a familiar face to the fans in Miami Mike Modano who was with the Misconducts the last time they were in the playoffs and was one of main reasons they were able to the reach the finals a few years ago. There defense is just as impressive as their offense firepower. The have a solid of group of dmen lead by the likes of Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester, and Pavel Kubina. But the goaltending edge should be in the Misconducts favor as both Martin Brodeur and Tomas Vokoun can start for them. Alexander Auld will put up a solid fight but he is a little ding up right now and if he is unable to go, the Owls would have to rely heavily on Johan Hedberg. This looks to be the makings of a good series which should go six or seven games with either team having a legitimate shot to advance to the second round.

Down on the Farm

The Phoenix Felony are coming off their best season ever in which they finished in the league in points. This may be the most round team that orginization has ever had. The offense has talented forwards like Martin Hanzal, Corey Perry, and Eric Nystrom. The defense is lead by the amazon 6-6 Boris Valabik who was the teams capatain last year. He ended up playing ten games in the pros this year do to various injuries to players like Rachunek, Laakso, and Smaby at different points in the year. It won't be long before he is playing in Miami on a regular basis. He wasn't the only force on defense this year for the Felony, Robby Blaze, Nathan Saunders, Carlo Colaiacovo, and Mark Fistric who was reacquired at the trade deadline also project to be playing in the pros some day. However, the man who probably carried them game in and game out was goaltender Hannu Toivonen who finished fourth in the GAA for the league. He showed great improvement for last season and may even have a future as the replacement for Martin Brodeur or Tomas Vokoun down the line. While the Felony played extremely well this year, next year looks to be even better for them. The only prospects with a chance of making the pro roster next are Hanzal, Nystrom, and Valabik with Hanzal having the best shot out of the three. And on top of that the orginization has seven picks in the first three rounds of the draft this summer. The future looks real bright in Phoenix which means it's only a matter of time before the people in Miami see the fruits of their labor.

PR - Hurricanes

LET'S GET STARTED: HURRICANES VERSUS MARAUDERS
Hurricanes finish 4th in the conference and prepare for Game 1

The Atlanta Flames win the President's Trophy; Gregory Campbell wins the
Art Ross Trophy; and no Hurricane wins a major season performance
award.  Which is no surprise to many around
the Hurricanes organization as this has been one of the worst seasons in
recent memory.

"I think we lost focus on the goal scoring touch that we had.  We have a
lot of young players, new faces, and a lot of new challenges.  I think
it's a transition year this year, and I think we'll see
more improvements in our regular season next year.  For now, it's about
the playoffs, we're playing good now, and we'll be ready for the
Marauders." Said Coach Marc Crawford.

It's been a whirlwind of the season to the point where the Hurricanes
were out of the playoffs by 10 points at one time, to finish 4th is an
incredible feat.  The team has positioned themselves in a unique
spot where they are on a roll with many players playing with a lot of
confidence including youngsters like Jason King and Matthew Lombardi.

HOW THEY STACK UP?

Centre: The Calgary Hurricanes have a veteran and former TFHL Champion
in Shawn Bates.  He's played with Markus Naslund since the "new" TFHL,
and continues to provide dominance down the middle for the Hurricanes. 
He'll be playing against any one of Eric Lindros or Alex Tanguay.  Bates
is quite comparable with Lindros.

Left Wing: Markus Naslund.  The all-star forward, former Art Ross and
Rocket Richard winner, and TFHL Champion is looking for another cup. 
He's getting up there in age but still managed to put up over 40 goals
for another season.  Naslund will be battling it out with Paul Kariya. 
Naslund has an edge in regular season stats as the Hurricanes leading
scorer with 81 points.

Right Wing: In Addition to Bryan McCabe and Sheldon Souray, the third
individual of the "Bash Brothers" is scoring star Alexandre Svitov. 
Svitov has played his entire career for the Hurricanes since being
drafted by the team 3 seasons ago.  Svitov will be providing a physical
presence on the top line along with Naslund and Bates.  His counterpart
on the Marauders will be either Richard Zednik or Jani Rita.  Svitov has
the edge in the regular season with 76 points.

Defense: The Hurricanes feature a strong depth of defensemen.  Wade
Redden will miss atleast the first game of the series with a lower body
injury, however Bryan McCabe is fresh off of his second 4 game
suspension of the season.  He will be anchoring the top line along with
either Brian Campbell or Robert Schnabel.  Calgary has been sloppy on
defense all season long, and they will need to be sharp for a strong
defensive team in the Marauders including the likes of Tim Ramholt and
Brad Ference.


The Hurricanes have plenty of depth, but the team has had struggles
finding chemistry all season long.  The second half proved to show some
possibilities but now it will come down to whether or not the team can
carry that momentum into the playoffs.


Game 1 begins in Calgary on Friday.

Calgary 2006