The SHL Eastern Division made its case as the superior division over the last couple of weeks. The season’s second and final round of interdivision play concluded on Tuesday, and the East once again prevailed, going 29-24-3 against the West in their home arenas after going 28-23-5 against them at home in the first half of the season.
“For years now, we have said that the West is no longer the best,” said coach Martin Delorme, whose Quebec Tigres went 5-2-1 in this round. “Now we have the numbers to back it up with evidence.”
For the season, the East finished 57-47-8 in interdivision games, winning approximately 55% of the games. It’s a nice payback for the East after the West won both rounds of interdivision contests last season, in addition to winning the SHL Finals.
Somewhat surprisingly, the results of this round affected the Western Division race more than the East. The Tigres’ 5-2-1 mark allowed them to hold onto first place and the league’s best overall record, but they were barely better than their closest pursuers, the Boston Badgers and Hershey Bliss, each of whom went 5-3-0.
“We’re still within striking distance,” said Badgers coach Kyle Barrow. “We’ve got a dozen games left, and we’ll settle this thing head-to-head on the ice, which is the way it should be. Would we have liked to win one or two more here? Sure. But bottom line, we won more than we lost, and we’ll take that.”
Further down the Eastern standings, the Rhode Island Seekers (4-3-1) held onto the final playoff spot, but finished just slightly better than the Washington Galaxy and Hamilton Pistols (both 4-4-0). The only Eastern team to lose meaningful ground was the last-place Baltimore Longshoremen, who went 2-6-0 in this round and 5-11-0 overall, the only team in the division with a losing record against the West.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Growlers finished with the best overall record in this round, going 6-2-0 to surge into first in the Western race. Milwaukee got a significant boost after the Michigan Gray Wolves (3-4-1) and Anchorage Igloos (2-6-0) both stumbled, and the Portland Bleubacks (4-3-1) lost ground as well.
“We’ve taken the lead out of the clubhouse turn!” exalted Growlers coach Rodney Reagle. “We’re coming down the stretch, and we’re riding the prettiest horse in the race. I don’t know a lot about horse racing, but I assume that there’s a beauty contest that’s part of it.”
If the Igloos wind up falling short in their quest to win the West this season, they will likely have their interdivision record to blame. They went 6-10-0 against the East this season, the only one of the four top Western contenders with a losing interdivision record. The Igloos have given up 9 points to Milwaukee, 8 to Portland, and 5 to Michigan in interdivision contests.
“Not the result we wanted by any stretch, but we’ve got to put that behind us and move on,” said Igloos coach Sam Castor. “The good news is, the first two rounds of the playoffs are against the West, and we’ve done great against those guys this year, so I like our chances.”
One bright spot for the West: the last-place Saskatchewan Shockers went 3-4-1 this round, suggesting that they have broken free of their dismal midseason skid. “It’s a small step forward, but any steps forward are good for us,” said Shockers coach Jeffrey Marsh. “We found the rope, and we’re pulling ourselves out of the quicksand.”
Does the East’s superiority in interdivision play presage a potential Finals win, the division’s first since 2020? Delorme, whose Tigres have lost the last two Finals, certainly hopes so.
“I am not opening any champagne based on this,” said the Quebec coach. “But perhaps I will put a bottle in the refrigerator, in case we need it later on.”
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