SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Las Vegas High Rollers
GM Xan Ottenberg
Record: 39 GP – 26 W – 10 L – 3 OTL – 55 P
L10: 8-2-0-0
League: 2nd
Southern Conference: 1st
South West Division: 1st
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 18th - C Steven Banga – 25 – CAN
Tied for 5th in GF (135) and +17 goal differential, the High Rollers are red hot in the desert. Goalies Kyllian Lind, Alexander Sipula, and Sammie Mckelloch are all doing their part in the crease, but the story is the balanced attack in Vegas. Six players have 10+ goals, seven players have 20+ points, and 4 players with double-digit positive +/-. C Steven Banga is 15-29-35 and tied for the team lead in points with LW Terence Mazzei (14-21-35) but was hit with an injury and is currently on his way back from injury. The 25-year-old Canadian’s absence hasn’t been felt as the team is on an 8-2. I expected LV to surge upon his return and create more distance from the rest of the South. Will they be able to stay hot the rest of the way? The house always wins in STHS, so we will see.
Saint Paul Razorbacks
GM Matt Heitto
Record: 39 GP – 24 W – 11 L – 4 OTL – 52 P
L10 4-5-0-1
League: 4th
Southern Conference: 3rd
Mid West Division: 1st
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 19th - C Joe Sjoblom – 18 – FIN
18-year-old Sjoblom is something else in the Lamp’s inaugural season. He’s tied for the rookie scoring lead with 9-22-31 and second on the team in scoring. GM Heitto grabbed him as a foundational player, and he is living up to the billing. C Randy Meritie (30yo, FIN) and RW Jordie Daley (31yo, CAN) are the other scorer leading the +18 goal differential Razorbacks. There is only one player on this roster with a negation +/-, both goalies (Barron Dowler and Joska Laatikainen) have played well. Dowler, a 20-year-old American, is playing like a seasoned veteran, and is 4th is S% (.925), 3rd in GAA (2.61), and 2nd in wins (16). GM Heitto, and fans across Saint Paul, knows that they have something special in Sjoblom and Dowler. The present, and future, is bright for the Razorbacks.
Atlanta Royals
GM Noah Dawson
Record: 40 GP – 24 W – 11 L – 5 OTL – 53 P
L10: 8-0-2-0
League: 3rd
Southern Conference: 2nd
South East Division: 1st
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 13th - G Thatcher Goodyear – 25 - USA
ATL are hot going into the break with their only two losses coming in OT. Goodyear seems to have taken a back seat to 33-year-old Canadian keeper Benoit Loewen - 26 starts, 8th most minutes played (1481), and 5th most wins (15). Loewen seems to bring out the better in the Royals defense, and that compliments the plentiful scorers at the other end of the ice. C Joe Mckinlay, C Len Cozart, LW Anton Vekselberg have 40, 39, 38 points respectively. The Canadian, American, and Russian are all also top ten scorers at their positions (5th, 8th, 3rd). I don’t expect GM Dawson to make any drastic changes, but I suspect he’d like to add a defensive player for a Cup run.
San Francisco Orcas
GM Jason Karutz
Record: 39 GP – 20 W – 13 L – 6 OTL – 46 P
L10: 7-1-1-1
League: 7th
Southern Conference Position: 4th
South West Division: 2nd
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 21st - RW Keegan Ramkema – 27 – CAN
Orcas have been a nice story as of late. After stumbling out of the gate, SF have found a rhythm in the past 10 games (see above). Ramkema is second on the team in points (31) and 9th in the Lamp in goals (20). 35-year-old American LW Aston Critchley has been the story recently. Critchley is the Lamp’s 4th leading LW with a 16-21-37 line. Goaltending has been a bright spot for the Orcas as Korean G Mangjeol Su-Cheol and Russian G Yeim Rogozhkin have split time in the crease. With little drop-off between goalies and a +14-goal differential, GM Karutz has done well finding the line combinations to leverage his balanced approach.
Minnesota Dockheads
GM Kieran Green
Record: 36 GP – 19 W – 12 L – 5 OTL – 43 P
L10: 5-4-0-1
League: 11th
Southern Conference Position: 5th
Mid West Division: 2nd
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 14th - RW Rawley Boney – 25 – USA
Minnesota have put together a very well-balanced performance so far. The Dockheads are second in the Lamp in goals allowed with 109. G Cooper Fornataro, a 27-year-old Canadian, has literally been lights out. He’s second in the Lamp in S% (.930) and in GAA (2.61), and third in wins (15). GM Green’s first franchise selection has been leading the team on the offensive side of the ice. The American RW has notched 43 points (20g,23a) – good enough for 6th most goals, 4th most PP goals (5), 10th GWG (4), and second most points by an RW. The next closest scorer on the Docks is 20 points behind. Minnesota may look to find more offense outside of Rawley for the playoff push.
Port City Privateers
GM Michael Green
Record: 37 GP – 20 W – 14 L – 3 OTL – 43 P
League: 12th
Southern Conference Position: 6th
South East Division: 2nd
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 2nd - G Andrew Dumont – 24 - CAN
Going into the all-star break, the Privateers are one of the hottest teams. GM Green seems to have found the right combinations of players and sliders. The big story here is defense and goal tending. Dumont was taken second overall in the Lamp’s inaugural draft and is living up to his selection. He isn’t hitting the GP threshold for the individual goalie stats but would occupy the top stop for GAA if he did. His counterpart, 22-year-old Canadian Pierre-Anthony Back, has somehow stolen the spotlight. Back is top ten in both GAA (9th) and SV% (6th) and has started more games (22) than Dumont (16). Both have led Port City to the fewest goals allowed (102), so I expect GM Green to continue to ride the hot goalie all the way playoffs.
Rochester North Stars
GM Tim Karutz
Record: 40 GP – 19 W – 18 L – 3 OTL – 41 P
L10: 2-7-1-0
League: 16th
Southern Conference Position: 8th
Mid West Division: 3rd
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 6th - G Pitt Kidwell – 28 - USA
Rochester has been spiraling over the past 10 games as the defensive chemistry has dissolved. The North Stars have seven players with -7 or worse and will continue to meddle until the GM solves the chemistry riddle.
Memphis Blues
GM Gavin Flewelling
Record: 39 GP – 20 W – 17 L – 2 OTL – 42 P
L10: 6-3-1-0
League: 14th
Southern Conference Position: 7th
South East Division: 3rd
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 4th - G Sampa Paunonen – 27 – FIN
Blues fans see a lot of goals scored. Their team is third in the Lamp with 140 GF – two short of second – but also first in GA with 155. As of today, 25-year-old RW Duma Dodrescu has lit the lamp light the most in the league with 25g-15a-40p. The Finnish sniper is one of three players with at least 40 points on the roster. C Kalle-Veikko Kekalainen (30) - another FIN - has 15g-28a-43, and Canadian LW Wes Pushka (26) 13g-29a-42. Defensively it has been another story for Memphis, and it starts and stops with goaltending. Paunonen is 11-5-0, but the backup goalie Ignat Omelichev is 9-12-2. The 34-year-old Russian is giving up a full goal per game more than his counterpart. If GM Flewelling can solve the riddle in the crease, then the rest of the South will need to watch out.
Tucson Muertos
GM Kriss Nissan
Record: 38 GP – 16 W – 17 L – 5 OTL – 37 P
L10: 4-5-1-0
League: 18th
Southern Conference Position: 9th
South West Division: 4th
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 8th - C Dalen Palmateer – 19 – CAN
Tucson’s Nowry has been scorching the desert in the first half with his 41 points (16g,25a). The 34-year-old Canadian has been anchoring the second line behind Meurtos’ franchise player Palmateer, and showing the youngster what it takes to be a pro while he sits as the 4th leading scoring center in the Lamp – his 25 assists are 7th most in the league. G Lars-Bjorn Sundholm has also been dazzling in the crease with the 6th best S% (.923) and 7th GAA (2.70). The framework is here for a second half run into the playoffs if the right adjustments on offense are made.
Los Angeles Dynasty
GM Stephen Clow
Record: 40 GP – 17 W – 18 L – 5 OTL – 39 P
L10: 5-4-1-0
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 17th - G J.T. Macleish – 27 - USA
I know hovering around .500 is not what GM Clow had in mind for this club. Macleish has been more than doing his part to keep them in contention as he leads the league in minutes played for goalies (1947) by over 400 minutes and is top ten in wins. Unfortunately, LA haven’t been able to solve the defensive chemistry issues with the four of the six starters having a negative +/-. Offensively, CZE LW Josef Dolnicek and CAN C Chris Neurauter lead the team with 32 points. I expect the Dynasty to continue to tinker and find the balance that Clow is seeking.
Miami Trident
GM Alexandre Bouchard
Record: 38 GP – 13 W – 19 L – 6 OTL – 32 P
League: 22nd
Southern Conference Position: 11th
South East Division: 4th
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 3rd - C Lenny Koonts – 18 - USA
The Trident find themselves currently locked in a battle for last place in the Southern Conference. Goal differential has been a boon for in South Beach with as they have allowed 24 more goals than they have scored. 32-year-old defender Leonard Mcchesney has been a liability with a -16 and now finds himself a healthy scratch. Canadian RW Marc-Andre Larochelle currently leads the team in scoring with 33 points (13g,20a) at 21 years old. He had 3 points (2g,1a) tonight in a big win against the Razorbacks and is trying to get this offense going. Fans are wondering why him and Koonts aren’t playing on the same line together though.
Motor City Mustangs
GM Kyle McCauley
Record: 35 GP – 13 W – 18 L – 4 OTL – 30 P
L10: 3-5-2-0
League: 24th
Southern Conference Position: 12th
Mid West Division: 4th
LTLHL Franchise Draft First Player Selected: 23rd - RW Rodney Brockman – 28 -USA
As we stand today, the Mustangs are in close race for the bottom of the South and stopping their opponents from scoring has been a big reason. With a – 15 goal differential, Motor City fans are hoping that McCauley starts to mix up some defensive pairings. Offensively, Brockman hasn’t quite lived up to is first round selection as he sits 6th on the team in scoring with a 6.5% sht%. The bright spot has been 35-year-old Canadian Centre Ugo Talawant leads the team with 38 points (18G,20A) – which is good enough the league’s 9th scoring centre.