Noodle Enjoyer

1. It's not typically good form to cheer for someone else's misery... But in this case I make an exception. 2. I'd say Pittsburgh they really blew it but then again near the end of the year it seemed like all the wild card fighting teams seemed like they didn't want to win. 3. Of course following the league and seeing which teams I'm going to be up against next season is exciting. 4. Everyone loves a good center so I say it's @Gaikoku-hitos player 5. People should wear whatever they feel like... As long as it is within the law of course. 6. You can lift someones spirits however you cannot physically throw them. Unless in that case you're referring to alcohol.

Cologne Express final week. With only six games left in the regular season we're going to take a quick look at the outlook for the Cologne Express. As it stands Cologne currently holds the second best offense with 216 goals for while maintaining the second best defense as well with 151 goals against. This gives them the best goal differential in the league at +65. Now for a quick look at some the cast of characters that have made these numbers possible. First up we have to look at the goaltending in this regard their goalie Clark has been outstainding with a 0.936 save percentage and a 1.94 Goals Against Average Clark makes sure his team always has a chance to win and is a big reason for that stellar Goals against stat. As for the offense it is lead by BjorkaBjorn BjornaBjorkson he is among the top scorers in the league and has contributed with 33 goals and 47 assists in the 66 games played so far. His elite puckhandling ability combined with his wicked shot is what makes him so effective. The teams highest contributing centre is Alexandros Mograine who has tallied 25 goals and 48 assists his solid defensive abilities make him an elite two way centre who contributes all over the ice. On the blue line they have recently added Defensman Gul Dukat who has a total of 18 goals and 51 assists and is hoping to hold on to his slim defensman scoring lead over teammate Joseph Dubois and rival Benjamin Abenduct. It's going to be a hard fought race for first place in the league over the last few games and should be exciting to watch.

1. John Jameson, he's tearing it up 2. Lachlan Summers from Warsaw 3. I'm going with a nice big bowl of Pho 1. How confident are you in your playoff bracket predictions? 2. Is your team in the playoffs this year? If not who are you rooting for? 3. What's your go to hype up song?

With every team in all leagues having fewer than ten games remaining on the regular season the seeding for playoffs are beginning to take shape, however there are some close races to close out the regular season. In the VHL North American Conference the Toronto Legion hold a seven point lead over second place and are likely to have the top seed the real fight here is for the 5th spot which the Chicago Phoenix hold with 64 points behind them is the Calgary Wranglers with 60 points and then at 56 points we have the Vancouver Wolves who aren't statistically eliminated just yet, Chicago has played one fewer game then the other two teams so they just have to do their best to stay steady to hold on. In the European Conference the top five are more or less set all that the is left is to jockey for seeding, Both London and Malmo sit at 90 points for top spot however Malmo has played two fewer games. The next three teams are all within three points of each other Prague Phantoms, ( 84 ) Warsaw Predators, ( 83 ) and the Moscow Menace ( 81 ) These three teams will battle it out down the stretch to try and get the best matchup they can. In the VHLE Cologne currently leads the league with 94 points and is on a six game winning streak with the last two of those against third place Vasteras. The Oslo Storm sit five points back at 89 points but have played one fewer game they will be trying to use their elite offense to overtake them. At third with 85 points is the Vasteras Iron Eagles who most people seemed to think at the onset of the season would lead this league, maybe they're saving their best hockey for when it matters most. And then currently holding fourth place with a nine point lead on fifth is the Stockholm Vikings who has really been lead by stellar goaltending this year, they will be hoping said goaltending can steal a couple of series. Then in the VHLM our number one team is the only one in any league that has broken the century mark so far this season. The Ottawa Lynx sit atop the league with 102 points they have an eight point lead over the Halifax 21st who sit at 94 points then ten points behind them we have a dogfight for third between Saskatoon ( 84 points ) and Houston ( 82 points ) the Las Vegas Aces sit in fifth with 76 points and then battling it out for sixth is Philadelphia ( 66 points ) and Mississauga ( 65 points ) and then in eight place and the final playoff spot is Mexico City at 52 points they're twelve points ahead of ninth so should feel confident that they can cruise into the dance. In summary each league has one or two interesting battles for seeding to close out the year with the most interesting to me being the Malmo and London for the top of the European Conference. It should be a fun end to the season.

A big Trade As we're closing in on the trade deadline the Cologne Express have made a big move in trading for the top scoring defenseman Gul Dukat from the Rome Gladiators. The trade saw Cologne send Billy Joel and Taylor Swift over to Rome with the aforementioned Gul Dukat @MSouthworthand a S94 Rome fourth round pick. At the time of the trade Gul Dukat had an impressive 12 goals and 39 assists for 51 points in 40 games played with Rome, He has since played his first ten games as a member of the Cologne Express and in those game he scored 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points. Cologne currently sit atop the standings but their point lead over Vasteras has dropped to only 1 point as they have dropped quite a few games this week as they have been giving their backup his starts for the season. With Clark coming back in to finish the year they will be looking to build their lead back up as we approach the playoffs. It should be a tight race down the stretch and placement for playoff seeding could really come down to the wire especially with Oslo just 4 points back as well, it should be an exciting finish.

Rebrand Theme Week I've only been in the league for a little while now and so I don't have any strong ties anywhere just yet so coming up with a rebrand I thought might be hard for me. However there is a team that has an NHL counterpart that when they were coming into the league had a name pitched for them that I absolutely loved, and so for my rebrand choice I'm picking Las Vegas. So say hello to the Las Vegas Rat Pack this name is just so sick to me, for a logo you could have gnarly looking rat in front of a poker chip. For the Colour scheme I think I would go with black and purple as the primary colours and as a mascot you'd have to get the best rat of all time: Brad Marchand, I guess you could put him in a rat suit but I think that would just be redundant. They would need to go out and find an appropriate coach to teach the players the way of the rat, maybe Marchand could pull double duty somehow, or get someone like Nick Cousins and have Marchand as an special advisor in practice. Obviously the most important thing in practice would just be teaching and instilling the rat mentality into the players, showing the players the best way to get under opponents skin and how to sneak in cheap shots whenever possible. Of course we'd want them to be offensively talented too, Just look at our mascot He's and incredibly gifted player as well as maybe one of the top rats in hockey history. As for the players they'd want to bring in, they would want players who can mix it up and force opponents off their game, and also then of course capitalize on the mistakes they make when they are too agitated to play their game. At all times the Rat Pack would need at least one player with high end rat qualities to captain the squad, someone who has grit, speed, and a thunderous body checking ability but also the mental capability to trash talk opponents in a way that can get the most level headed player see red. Make them make mistakes, rush them into bad passes or plays and also take retalliation penalties. Then once they do take advantage and don't miss the opportunities that present themselves. Of course this is just a silly Idea and probably should never come to fruition, but even if you take out all the nonsense of forcing the roster to play like rats I think that Rat Pack is just such a sick name fo a team in Vegas. I don't know why but to me it just seems to fit, That being said Aces is still probably better for Vegas. But I'd be interested to see if any of the ideas submitted during this theme week get picked up and utilized in some way in the league. I've looked at a couple and some I think are really good and make a lot of sense.

1. I would say Frank, because he's my first VHL GM 2. Number one is activity 3. If you have like minded individuals than that should keep a room active 1. Who is your Hart trophy winner this year? 2. Who is your favorite player all time? ( any League ) 3. Who is your pick for Stanley Cup champions this year?

Welcome to Cologne @MSouthworth

The VHLE Season is halfway finished and I thought I'd look back at what I expected the standings would look like, and what they currently look like. First place is where the Cologne Express presently reside, I had them picked as one of the top teams but I had them at number two, I'm pretty surprised that not only are they first but almost have a 10 point lead on the next team. I think a lot of the success can be put on the shoulders of their goaltender Clark @cl4rkas he has won them a lot of games where their skaters didn't score much. At second is where the Vasteras Iron Eagles roost, I had these guys pegged as the team to beat this year. They sit comfortably in second and currently have a seven point gap between them and third place. Goaltending has been very strong for them with Vencko @Mutti holding a .939 and Lovstrom @Pifferfishwith a .936 save percentage and the scariest part is they're still improving. In front of the two young netminders we have a pair of young stars leading the way in Del Rocco @Victor18 goals 24 assists 42 points and Leitner @LucyXpher7 goals 25 assists 32 points. I expect them to close the gap on Cologne in the coming weeks. In third is exactly where I had the Oslo Storm in my preseason predictions as I stated earlier they are seven points behind Vasteras and are eight points clear of fourth presently. Oslo has one of the most potent offenses in the league with 117 goals for but their defense almost levels it out with 110 goals against. Their offense is led by Gretzky @MubbleFubbles21 goals 29 assists 50 points and first overall pick Bucatini @CowboyinAmerica21 goals 21 assists 42 points. Oslo will want to keep piling in goals in order to storm their way up the standings. In fourth at this moment is the Stockholm Vikings who I had ranked fifth to start the year, they are in a tight fight to hold onto their current spot and only hold a two point lead on fifth. The big reason for their success this year is goaltending Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussuis an absolute superstar holding a .943 save percentage and a 2.39 goals against average. If they can improve more in front of him this could be a really scary team down the stretch. In fifth we have the Rome Gladiators who I had at fourth ahead of Stockholm this team has high end talent but it seems a lack of depth is hurting them. They are led by Ecker @Nathan_822 goals 26 assists 48 points and Dukat @MSouthworth11 goals 36 assists 47 points. Only being two points behind Stockholm I expect them to push hard to move ahead of them. And at last we come to sixth where we have the Bratislava Watchmen who we knew would be here this is a big rebuild year for them, however they do only sit six points back of fourth so they could sneak into the top four. They are led by Jigglejawns CXXXVII II @.sniffuM18 goals 24 assists 42 points and Weiss @jfaly15 goals 27 assists 42 points. Looking at where everyone is at the moment I actually think this will be the order of the standings at the end of the season. So I look forward to the standings being flipped on their head by then.

1. It seems like the team is really coming together as we get into the middle of the season, everything seems to be clicking just a little bit better. 2. We had a lot of great performances tonight, it was a stat padding night for sure. 3. Pucks on net and nonstop offense, we suffocated our opponents in their own end tonight. 4. One interesting thing that happened in the 2nd game tonight was Annie Oaks ended up taking 22 faceoffs winning 12 of them, making her the best on the night in that regard. 5. The team really seems to be clicking at the moment and if we can keep up the offense it will be hard for opponents to match us. 6. I'd say taking less penalties and maybe improving our PP percentage. Those are probably the two things that could use the most work.

Cologne Express Weekly Recap. Game 9 of the year would be against the Rome Gladiators and Baby Moo Moo would score in the first period. The scoring would dry up until the third period where BjornaBjorkson and Devote would add another two as Cologne gets a 3-0 shutout against Rome. Express player of the game goes to Clark for his 25 save shutout performance. Game 10 would see these teams matchup again and this time in a high scoring affair. Rome would get five goals in the first period from Kolesinska, Lawson, Hughie, and two from Dukat, Cologne would only get two both from Mograine. In the second period Cologne would get three goals one each from Bungle, the beast, and von Schweetz while Rome would get one from French to go into the third with the 6-5 lead which is how this game would end as there were no goals scored in the third. Express player of the match goes to Alexandros Mograine for his 2g 1a performance. Game 11 saw the Express taking on Vasteras and no goals would be scored in the first period, in the second period they would trade goals with Mograine scoring for the Express and Highmore replying for the Eagles. In the third Vasteras would score two from Del Rocco and Crosby to close out this game 3-1. Express player of the game goes to Clark with 28 saves on 30 shots faced he just didn't get the offense in front of him tonight. Game 12 would be a rematch and the beast would open the scoring with the only goal of the first period. The second period would see these teams trade goals with one from BjornaBjorkson and then Ivanov. In the third period Content would add one more for the Express as they reverse the score from the previous game to win 3-1. Express player of the game is once again Clark as he stopped 24/25 shots for the win. Game 13 was a heated game between the Vikings and the Express, jr would score for the Vikings before Oaks and BjornaBjorkson would reply in the first for the Express. They would trade goals in the second with one from tyrone Johnson and shcrute replying late in the 2nd, the teams would each add one more in the third from von Schweetz and Byrd and the game ends 4-3 for Cologne. express player of game goes to BjornaBjorkson for their 1g 1a effort. Game 14 against the Bratislava Watchmen would see Cologne jump out to a 3 goal lead in the first with goals from Mograine, BjornaBjorkson, and Joseph Dubois would score his 1st of the season, Cologne would add one more from the beast in the second and then cruise to the 4-0 win. Express player of the game goes to Clark for his 18 save shutout. Game 15 would be a tight one agains Rome Gul Dukat would open the scoring for Rome with the only goal of the first. In the second Cologne would score two and Rome would get one as Moo Moo and von Schweetz would score for Cologne with Ecker getting one for Rome. With no scoring in the third or in overtime we would see this one go to the shootout and Kolesinska would score the only goal of the shootout for Rome to win the game. Express player of the game goes to Clark once again for his 38 saves on 40 shots faced. Game 16 would be the Express versus the Vikings and von Schweetz would score early in the first period to give the Express a 1-0 lead, then the beast would score in the second and the game would end as a 2-0 shutout for Cologne. With a 23 save shutout Clark is the Express player of the game once more. Game 17 in this game Cologne would pile on the shots agains Bratislava outshooting them 57 to 29. However after the first Bratislava would have a 2-1 lead with goals from GLendenning and Jigglejawns CXXXXVII II with Bungle getting the lone goal for Cologne, the second period would see the Watchmen add one more from Weiss. Cologne would pour it on in the third getting four goals, 2 from Mograine and with Devote and Oaks each adding one. Express player of the game goes to Mograine with his 2g 1a statline. Game 18 was a matchup of Cologne and Rome that would see Mograine and Moo Moo score in the first for Cologne while French would get one back for Rome. The lone goal in the second would be Mograine's 2nd of the game to put Cologne up by two, then in the third Ecker would move Rome within one late before BjornaBjorkson would put this one away. Express player of the game goes to Mograine with his 2g 1a performance once again.

Early Season struggles We're now 20 games into the VHLE season and are starting to get an idea of how the season will play out. Vasteras and Cologne battling it out for first place, and Stockholm and Oslo fighting it out behind them with Rome and Bratislava a little further behind them. One thing we took notice of was a young players early struggles on Cologne: Annie Oaks who was picked 6th overall in the VHLE draft has not been able to get on the scoresheet with much regularity this year with only 8 points in 20 games played ( 3g 5a ) which is far less than what she or many of those around the league expected. She has been focusing her training on rounding out her game so far this year, and despite the fact scoring has been such a struggle for her she has said that she will not alter her training regimen. "it's a process, and being the best VHLE player was never the goal. I'm going to continue to work on what I believe will make me the best VHL player that I can be even if I'm not seeing results now. It's about the future." Despite her lack of scoring Cologne continues to sit near the top of the league in the standings, so if she can start contributing with more regularity it would be amazing to see how much Cologne's win and point totals would rise.

1. This is my "main" sim league. 2. It is 3. I'm only in one sim league so it's easy 4. I suppose I'd go to the forum 5. I usually use my desktop, but sometimes browse on my mobile 6. I'm really hoping I get a thousand TPE for VHL Christmas!

Cologne Express Weekly Recap. In the first game of the season we saw the Cologne Express take on the Rome Gladiators in which we saw a load of goals in a 5-4 shootout win for Rome. The games scoring was opened up in the first period when Steve French potted his first of the year, in the second period Cologne outscored Rome 3-2 with BjorkaBjorn BjornaBjorkson, Jean-Pierre Devote, and Barry McOckiner scoring for Cologne. Going into the third period tied the teams would trade goals as Vanuza Kolesinska scored for Rome while Alexandros Mograine replied for Cologne. Overtime would solve nothing and Rome would win this one in the shootout. The Express player of the game for this one goes to Vanellope von Schweetz with their three assists. Game two this year was a match against the Oslo Storm in which Oslo would jump out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first on goals by Benjamin Abenduct, kodie Curran, and Antonia Bucatini. In the second period Cologne would begin their comeback with a goal by Alexandros Mograine before in the third period Scrungle Bungle and Baby Moo Moo would score to tie the game and force overtime. In overtime BjorkaBjorn BjornaBjorkson would score to win it 4-3 for Cologne. Express player of the match goes to BjornaBjorkson for his two assists and game winning goal. The third game of the season was a rematch against Oslo in a low scoring affair which was really a one goal game as the second was scored on an empty net late in the third period. The game winning goal in this game was scored by Bryce tyrone Johnson in the second period. Express player of the game in this one was Clark as he stopped all 31 shots he faced for the shutout. The fourth game of the year would see the Stockholm Vikings lay a beatdown on Cologne scoring early and often putting up three in the first, two in the second and BjornaBjorn BjornaBjorkson scored the only goal for the Express making him our Express player of the game in this 6-1 loss. Game five would see Stockholm and Cologne face off once again and Cologne would get on the board in the first with a goal scored by Vanellope von Schweetz. Then in the second the teams would trade goals with Trimiskez Artav scoring for the Vikings and Tyrece the beast replying for Cologne. Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen was stellar for the Vikings with 48 saves on 50 shots but Stockholm falls 2-1 with our Express player of the game is Clark who stopped 24 of 25 shots. On to game six where we would get a tightly contested match between Cologne and Rome Didier Verhault would score in the first for Rome and then Thijs Mooij scoring for them in the second. Then in the third BjornaBjorkson and the beast would score to tie it and force overtime where Baby Moo Moo would finish it. Express player of the game would be Clark once again stopping 30 of 32 shots against. In game seven of the year Rome and Cologne would match up once more and in the first they would trade goals with Vanellope von Schweetz scoring for Cologne and Steve French replying for Rome. Then in the second Scrungle Bungle scored his third of the season to put Cologne ahead and they would hang on to win this one 2-1 and once again Clark wins Express player of the game honours by stopping 41/42 shots against. Game eight of the year would be Cologne versus Oslo and they would trade goals in the first with Greg Hickman scoring for Oslo and then Annie Oaks would tie it up before the end of the first. In the second Jean-Pierre Devote would put Cologne on top, and then Wayne Gretzky would tie it up at twos before the end of the period. In the third Oslo would score two, one from UghSike and another from Swinsola and Oslo wins this 4-2. Express player of the game goes to Annie Oaks scoring her first of the year. And that concludes the first week of Hockey for Cologne in Season 93 a decent start but the team desperately needs to start scoring more goals to help out star goaltender Clark. They can't keep relying on him to play as amazing as he has so far this year.

Slow start for Rookies in Cologne In Cologne right now there are three talented rookies all of which have only scored 2 points each in the first seven games of this young season. These rookies are Annie Oaks 0g-2a-2p, Forum Content 0g-2a-2p, and Jean-Pierre Devote 1g-1a-2p these slow starts are a bit surprising, however it hasn't hurt Cologne so far this year. Cologne is currently standing atop the league with a 5-1-1 record for 11 points so far in the early stages of the season. If these young phenoms can start to produce we may just see Cologne extend their point lead on the rest of the league. Currently Vasteras sits just 2 points back with a record of 3-0-3 and are yet the only team to not have suffered a regulation loss yet this year, this could be an exciting race with Stockholm and Oslo also having quality starts while Bratislava and Rome would likely want to have a redo of the first 6-7 games of the season. This season looks like it could be an exciting one with a number of stellar rookies throughout the league and could very well come down to the last few games of the year to determine playoff seeding. So make sure you follow all the action this year as it should prove to be one to be remembered.