=========================
Points
-------------------------
McNeely WSH 88
Lafayette HAM 79
Frye HAM 77
Thurman WSH 74
Alexander HAM 71
Costello WSH 70
Winchester NY 69
Camernitz QUE 67
Ilyushin QUE 59
Hart HSY 58
=========================
=========================
Goals
-------------------------
McNeely WSH 50
Alexander HAM 46
Frye HAM 36
Manning NY 36
Frost ANC 34
Bailes MIC 30
Mirac QUE 29
Nelson NY 28
Thurman WSH 27
Camernitz QUE 26
=========================
=========================
Assists
-------------------------
Lafayette HAM 63
Winchester NY 58
Costello WSH 54
Thurman WSH 47
Smyth HAM 42
Ericsson ANC 41
Frye HAM 41
Sanchez NY 41
Camernitz QUE 41
Ilyushin QUE 41
=========================
=========================
Penalty Minutes
-------------------------
Duckworth NY 102
McCallan BOS 97
Mulligan HAM 96
Trefilov DAK 94
Nistrumov SAS 89
Smyth HAM 86
Baker BOS 83
Meloche HSY 79
Hogaboom WSH 79
Gromov HSY 77
=========================
=========================
Plus/Minus
-------------------------
Alexander HAM 36
Frye HAM 36
Lafayette HAM 36
Kronstein MIC 36
Beruschko MIC 30
Madison MIC 28
Frederick ANC 25
Poulin MIC 25
Marlow MIC 24
Bailes MIC 23
=========================
=========================
Goalie Wins
-------------------------
Lundquist MIC 32
Tiktuunen QUE 27
Koskinen HAM 26
Worthington ANC 23
Colt HSY 19
=========================
=========================
GAA
-------------------------
Lundquist MIC 1.62
Lattimore QUE 1.80
Tiktuunen QUE 1.92
Mason HAM 1.98
Koskinen HAM 2.18
=========================
=========================
Save %
-------------------------
Lundquist MIC 0.936
Tiktuunen QUE 0.934
Koskinen HAM 0.929
Worthington ANC 0.925
Clarkson NY 0.921
=========================
“This is the time of the year when you’ve got to really sacrifice your body. I’ve got so many bruises from blocked shots and hard checks, my body looks like an abstract painting.”
The SHL selected Quebec Tigres RW Stephane Mirac as its Player of the Week. The Tigres had an exceptional week, going 4-0-1 to move within four points of Hamilton for the division lead. And Mirac was the engine that drove the Tigres’ offensive success, scoring 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists). Mirac now has 29 goals this season, which places him among the league’s top 10 in that category.
Quebec won both ends of a home-and-home with Washington this week, both by 5-2 scores. On Sunday in DC, Mirac had 2 goals and an assists; then on Tuesday at Centre Citadelle, he notched a hat trick and added an assist. Then on Wednesday, Mirac scored twice and assisted four times as the Tigres bombed Boston, 9-0.
“Stephane Miracle is back again,” said Tigres C Mikhail Ilyushin. “He is an offensive force of nature. Sometimes, I think he shoots so hard that he puts it through the goalie.”
SHL Digest: We’re here with a young star on a rising contender, Saskatchewan’s Napoleon Beasley. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Napoleon.
Napoleon Beasley
Napoleon Beasley: You bet! Glad to do it.
SHLD: Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first.
NB: Sure! Always good to get rid of those pesky elephants.
SHLD: Last month, the Shockers fired their coach, who also happened to be your dad. Was that a tough time for you?
NB: It wasn’t too tough, but it was a little awkward. My dad’s a professional, and he knows that getting fired comes with the territory. But I was basically hiding from the press, because I didn’t want to answer questions like ‘Did your dad deserve to get fired?’ or ‘Is the team going to get rid of you now that your dad’s gone?’ As if I was only on the team because my dad was the coach.
SHLD: Obviously not the case. With production like yours, you could play with any team.
NB: Thanks! I didn’t have any special insight on the situation just because he’s my dad, so I just didn’t talk about it.
SHLD: How did you find out your dad was fired?
NB: From him, actually. Right after he got done talking to [GM Cooper] Matthews, he called me and said, “Well, your old dad got the ax. See you at Easter!” He took it pretty well, it seemed like. I think he knew it might be coming.
SHLD: Obviously, one of the reasons your dad was let go was that the Shockers front office expects to contend for the playoffs. Do you think you’re there yet, as a team?
NB: Obviously we’re not yet, based on the standings. But I think it’s fair to have those expectations. When we started out, we were the joke of the league, but we’ve grown and gotten better since that. I think we should be striving for that next step of becoming contenders.
SHLD: You mention that “we” should be striving to contend. Your contract is up at the end of the season. Are you looking to re-sign with the Shockers, or will you plan to test free agency?
NB: Gosh, I don’t know yet. We haven’t talked with the team about an extension yet, and I don’t even know if they’re interested. But if they’re interested, I’d definitely want to have that conversation. We’ve got a good group of young players and I think we’ve got a bright future.
SHLD: One more question: yet another Shockers promotional event went awry last week, with the blimp incident. Do you think the Shockers will ever be able to have a promotion that doesn’t end in disaster?
NB: (laughs) Well, our promotions are always colorful, I’ll say that. Doof [Heinz Doofenshmirtz] is a real hands-on owner, and he has a lot of creative ideas. Some of those ideas might be a little better than others. But there’s never a dull moment.
SHLD: Well, thanks for another fascinating interview. Good luck with your next contract!
When the Omaha Ashcats switched parent clubs this offseason from the Seattle Sailors to the expansion Kansas City Smoke, most fans assumed that the team would take a step back in the standings. For the first month of the season, the Ashcats defied expectations, posting a respectable 11-8-0 record. Since then, though, gravity has reasserted itself: the team has gone 6-24-2 to sink into the Western division basement.
By and large, the fan base has accepted this decline with a shrug, as attendance in Omaha has remained strong all season. One diehard Ashcats fan, however, is distressed by his team’s slide – and is going to great lengths to bring his team some good luck.
43-year-old Karl Loesser, known as “Krazy Karl” to the Omaha faithful, has proclaimed himself “the Ashcats’ biggest fan.” He is a well-known and very vocal presence at the Switching Yard. He comes to games with a railroad whistle, which he blows to fire up the crowd, and a seemingly endless supply of posters and banners – “I’ve got one for everyone on the team,” he told reporters.
“If someone claims they’re an Ashcats fan but they’ve never heard of Krazy Karl,” said Omaha GM Steve Galesko, “then they’re not really a fan.”
When the Ashcats went on a lengthy losing streak earlier this season, Krazy Karl made an “offering to the hockey gods” by burning a T-shirt with the logo of that night’s opponent in front of the arena. But when the team hit the skids again after the trading deadline, he suspected that stronger measures might be needed.
As a result, Krazy Karl is now living inside the arena… and vows to keep doing so until the Ashcats win again.
“I’m offering myself up to the hockey gods this time,” Loesser said this week. “I don’t know what we did to piss them off, but it must have been huge.”
Krazy Karl approached Galesko to request permission to stay in the arena, and the GM was hesitant at first. “I love Krazy Karl, don’t get me wrong,” said Galesko, “but our security staff wasn’t wild about having a guy wandering around the arena in the middle of the night.”
But the GM worked out an arrangement with his superfan. Loesser spends the nights on a couch in the Ashcats’ locker room and uses the team showers in the mornings. He eats breakfasts and some lunches with team employees; during games, he has unlimited access to the concessions stands. For exercise and to pass the time, he walks laps around the concourse.
“It’s not a bad life, to be honest,” said Krazy Karl. “But I want the team to win so I can go home!”
Thus far, the Ashcats have not fulfilled his hopes. On Friday, they blew a late lead against Colorado Springs and fell 3-2 for their ninth straight loss. But Krazy Karl remains optimistic. “The hockey gods will recognize my sacrifice and reward us with a win soon,” he said. “It’s meant to be.”
