A look at the VHLM Conferences through 42 games

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With the season a little more than halfway over, the conference standings are starting to shake out with teams pulling away in the first couple of spots and the teams at the bottom fighting for playoff spots in what will turn out to be a couple of tight races here in the second half of the season.

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

 

Mississauga – What can you say about the Hounds?  They are 39-3 on the season and will be clinching a playoff spot here soon.  They have the best offense in the league scoring nearly 200 goals in 42 games and only give up 89 goals which is just over 2 goals a game.  Spinelli in goal has a 1.96 GAA and a save percentage of .912 while winning 32 of 35 games.  Lambert, Nasherov and Wachiure lead the team in scoring and form a tough first line to matchup against.

 

Miami – The Marauders are in a distant second place but have a firm hold on a playoff spot with 56 points.  They currently have the second best defense in the league and can also put the puck in the net as well with 3 20 goal scorers in Alexander The Great, Trevor Wallace and Noah Mashford.  ClapbombsRUs has a 2.49 GAA and a save percentage of .883 this season.

 

Minnesota – The Storm sit in third place with an 8 point lead on the 5^th place team.  They have basically scored the same amount of goals this season that they have given up.  Grapes and Puhovs are their only two players averaging more than a point per game but Vaughn has been solid in net with a .885 save percentage and a 2.83 GAA.

 

Halifax – The 21^st are in the 4^th and final playoff spot, 5 games up on the 5^th place team but only 3 points behind the Storm.  They are better offensively than the other two, but not as good defensively.  Glass leads the team in goals, assists and points while they have split goaltending duties between Bustard and Johnson with Bustard having a little better season statistically.

 

Ottawa and Philadelphia – The Lynx and Reapers sit in 5^th and 6^th place respectively.  The Lynx are 5 points back of a playoff spot while the Reapers are 11 back.  The Lynx are not a bad team defensively, but are the worst team in the league offensively.  The Reapers can score but have trouble keeping the puck out of their own net as they are the next to worst team in the league defensively.

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

 

Saskatoon – The Wild lead the conference with 60 points and are ahead of the second place team by 7 points and are in no real danger of missing the playoffs.  They are second best team in the league goal scoring wise while being one of the better defensive teams.  Montana and Mackenzie have both over 70 points on the season with both players scoring 35 goals.  Bowman has 29 wins, a .890 save percentage and a 2.53 GAA. 

 

Houston – The Bulls are currently in second place and only two points up on 3^rd place Las Vegas in a battle for home ice in the first round.  They score less goals and give up more than Vegas but have more regulation and OT wins.  They also have two 70+ point scorers in Myers and Senjo and Van Giersbergen has been solid in net with a 2.89 GAA and a .890 save percentage.

 

Las Vegas – The Aces are in 3^rd place in the conference and have a playoff spot down while looking to move up into either second or first in which they are 9 points out of.  McDagg leads the team in goals and points while defenseman Tipton is second on the team in points and leads the Aces in assists.  Karlsson has been tough in goal with a 2.66 GAA and a .891 save percentage.

 

San Diego and Yukon – The real battle will take place between the Marlins and Rush for the final playoff spot.  The Marlins have a 5 point lead and a game on hand on the Rush.  The teams have a similar goal difference but the Marlins score less than the Rush and also give up less goals.  The Rush can score but cant keep the puck from going into their own net though.  The teams face each other 7 more times the rest of the season.

 

Mexico City – The Kings have only won 6 games on the season and have 14 points which is 23 behind the 4^th place Marlins.  Miklavz leads the team in goals with 22 and points with 47 while defenseman Sova has the most assists with 28.