Tigres Open Lead in East

The SHL’s Eastern Division has been a horse race all season long. For most of the first half, the Quebec Tigres and Boston Badgers were involved in a two-horse race. Around the All-Star break, the Hershey Bliss got hot and made it a three-way race. Now, with the season hitting the three-quarter mark and getting ready to head down the stretch, the Tigres have opened up a lead, and may be on the verge of pulling away from the Badgers and Bliss and putting the race out of reach.

“We have been working hard all season, and now we are coming into our ideal form,” said Tigres coach Martin Delorme. “If we can hold on to this caliber of play and maintain it for the rest of the season, then we will be very dangerous indeed.”

Over the last couple of weeks, the Tigres went on a 7-0-1 streak (which finally snapped on Sunday when they lost 5-1 to Kansas City). During that run, they never gave up more than two goals in a game, and had a stretch of six games in a row in which they allowed just one goal per game.

“Defense has always been central to our identity,” said Delorme. “And our defense feels as though it is clicking together into place at the best possible time.”

Getting the defense to click was a top priority for the Tigres coming into this season. Coming off of back-to-back Finals losses, Quebec found itself incorporating two rookies, Axel Borgstrom and Olezka Bulakov, into its blueline corps. That kind of turnover would require adjustment for any team, but particularly a team as defense-dependent as this one.

The project of incorporating the two rookies only became more challenging due to a string of injuries. In the first week of the season, the Tigres lost Borgstrom to an injury. No sooner did he return than McKinley – the longtime captain of Quebec’s blueline corps – suffered an injury that required surgery and kept him out of action for three weeks. Bulakov later missed a few games himself.

“It’s hard to incorporate new guys and really get used to skating as a unit if you can’t even get everyone on the ice at the same time,” said McKinley. “It wasn’t really until the second half that we’d had enough reps to really start to feel comfortable with each other.”

That adjustment period is reflected in the stats. Quebec is allowing an average of 27.3 shots per game, good for fifth in the league; a credible number, but a notch below the league’s best defenses. On the bright side, Borgstrom and Bulakov both bring an offensive upside that was missing from previous Quebec defenses. The Tigres are averaging 2.8 goals per game, solidly middle of the pack – which is excellent for a team that typically operates at a slower and more deliberate pace than most SHL clubs.

Perhaps mot remarkable, Quebec has remained at or near the top of the division all season in spite of these injuries, which have also extended to the team’s forward group – most notably an early-season absence from LW Walt Camernitz.

RW Stephane Mirac believes that the injuries – and the fact that the team needed to play through adversity – may have been a blessing in disguise. “Because we were so often shorthanded, especially at the start of the season, our secondary players had to step up,” said Mirac. “The fact that they did this beautifully, and we continued to win even in the absence of our stars, I think prepared us to be strong from the top of the roster to the bottom. And that has shown in our results.”

As encouraging as Quebec’s performance has been so far, there’s still a major question to be resolved. After all, the Tigres have been here before. Last year in particular, the Tigres looked utterly dominant all season, and seemed to be the odds-on championship favorite – right up until they were dismantled in the Finals by a Michigan Gray Wolves team that seemed a lot less imposing on paper.

While the regular season has been fun, the Tigres know that they won’t be regarded as a truly great team until – and unless – they bring home a Vandy.

“I don’t like to use the term ‘championship or bust,’ but we know what the stakes are,” said McKinley. “We’ve had a championship-worthy squad for three seasons running, but we haven’t captured the big prize yet. At some level, it doesn’t matter how many regular-season games you win, or how many times you go to the Finals – until you get the Vandy, there’s always an asterisk on your record. I know it, Coach Delorme knows it, we all know it. And we’re all hungry to take the next step and fill in that last blank on our resume.”

The Tigres will be very pleased if they can lock down first place over the next couple weeks. But they’re keeping their eyes fixed on the bigger goal, the ultimate prize that will get this team the recognition they believe they deserve.

2024 SHL Eastern All-Star Roster

The roster for the 2024 Eastern Division All-Stars, as announced by coach Martin Delorme, is as follows:

First Line

LW: Walt Camernitz, Quebec. Fans of the East’s top two teams, Quebec and Boston, were highly active in voting. As a result, players from both teams were prominently featured in the starting lineup. Camernitz makes his third straight All-Star appearance (fourth overall) and second consecutive start. Although the gritty winger’s numbers (9 goals, 8 assists, 15 blocks, +6, 50 CF%) may look a bit underwhelming compared to those of others at the position, Camernitz compiled them in just 22 games, having missed several weeks of action where recovering from an injury.

D: Richard McKinley, Quebec. Score another starter for Tigres fans. The reigning SHL MVP makes his fourth All-Star appearance and his third start. Like Camernitz, McKinley missed several weeks with an injury during the first half, but when healthy he continued to produce impressive numbers. In just 22 games this season, McKinley has produced 21 points (6 goals, 15 assists). He also blocked 54 shots; extrapolated over a full half-season, that would be a league-leading pace in the category. His +9 rating and 50.9 CF% testify to the fact that good things happen when he is on the ice.

C: Alain Beauchesne, Boston. The Badgers fans voted one of their own in this time, with strong support from his home market powering a win over Hamilton’s Calvin Frye by less than 4,000 votes. Beauchesne makes his fourth trip to the midseason showcase, although this is his first start. The __-year-old center has firmly established himself as one of the league’s elite scorers; he has lit the lamp 15 times this season, most of any player in the East and tied for fourth in the league overall. He’s no slouch on defense either, leading all centers with 24 blocks on the season.

D: Wyatt Barnes, Washington. Despite the furious voting contest between Badgers and Tigres fans, Barnes was having too good of a season to be denied a slot, winning by less than 2,000 votes over both Boston’s Matt Cherner and Quebec’s Serge Rimbaud. Despite this being his seventh All-Star nod (five for the West, two for the East), this is the first time that Barnes has been voted into the starting lineup. Barnes is known as one of the league’s best and most fearless defenders; his 74 blocks leads the East and ties him for second in the SHL as a whole. He’s also no slouch as a scorer; his 10 goals on the season ties him with Steve Cargill of Hershey for the most among Eastern blueliners.

RW: Stephane Mirac, Quebec. This is something of a down year for right wings in the East; none of the league’s top 10 in goals, assists, or points are Easterners at this position. Nonetheless, Mirac has done enough to capture his fourth straight All-Star appearance (fifth overall) and his third start. As a player gifted in both shooting and passing, it seems only fitting that Mirac has the same number of goals and assists (9 each). As is typical for Quebec’s ferocious forwards, Mirac also plays hard in his own end, with 20 blocks on the season to date.

Second Line

LW: Steven Alexander, Hamilton. It’s easy to overlook amid the wreckage of their miserable first half, but the Pistols have had several sterling individual performers, including Alexander. After being left off the All-Star squad for the first time last year, the heart-and-soul star has made it back onto the roster. Whatever the cause of Hamilton’s struggles this year, you can’t lay the blame at Alexander’s skates. As usual, he is scoring at a prodigious rate, with his 12 goals tying him for eighth in the SHL. But he’s also good at setting up his linemates, to the tune of 12 assists on the season. And although Alexander is generally less known for his defense, he’s doing well there too, with 18 blocks so far this year.

D: Reese Milton, Hershey. Although the longtime Bliss star didn’t have the voters to garner his fifth All-Star start, he remains one of the league’s premier blueliners, and he did land his seventh trip to the game. (2021 is the lone year that Milton was left off the Eastern roster.) The squirrel-loving Milton has long exemplified the two-way defenseman, and this year is no exception: he is tied for the SHL lead in points (with 33) and is alone atop the assist leaderboard (with 26). Defensively, he is also elite, with his 68 blocks placing him in a tie for sixth leaguewide.

C: Calvin Frye, Hamilton. Coming into this season, there were five SHL players who had been chosen for every All-Star Game. Due to a combination of disappointing seasons and surprising snubs, four of them failed to make it on the rosters this time around. The lone exception: Frye. Like his linemate Alexander, Frye has continued to shine even amid a lackluster Pistols season. His 14 goals tie him for sixth in the SHL (but place him alone in second in the East), while his 28 points place him in a tie for seventh league-wide. On the defensive end, Frye has notched 16 blocks.

D: Albie Glasco, Baltimore. The first half has not unfolded the way Longshoremen fans might have hoped, with the team in last place and their coach fired. However, they have been able to see a few bright spots amid the gloom. One of those is Glasco, who is one of five players on the Eastern squad making their All-Star debut. Glasco has rocketed into the elite class of blueliners since Baltimore plucked him in the expansion draft, and the fact that he had not been chosen previously is a testament to the crop of quality young D in the East in recent seasons. Glasco’s 68 blocks ties him with Milton and several others for sixth in the SHL in this category. On the offensive end, Glasco has recorded 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists).

RW: Levi Rudyard, Boston. Rudyard makes the All-Star squad for the second year in a row, moving up from the third line to the second. The promotion is symbolic of the way the 26-year-old winger has steadily improved every season and become an essential piece of the Badgers’ attack. The Granite State native is third on the Badgers in both assists with 13 and points with 20. He is a key facilitator on Boston’s tremendously effective top line, as his +6 rating and 53.7 CF% attest.

Third Line

LW: Lance Sweet, Hershey. Despite the fact that the Bliss are running a strong third in the East, Sweet is the only member of the team’s famed “Love Line” to receive the All-Star honor this time around. (The three linemates have four All-Star appearances together; RW Christopher Hart missed the cut for the first time this year, while C Justin Valentine hadn’t been left out since 2019.) Despite missing five games with injury in the first half, Sweet’s 23 points are fourth-most on the Bliss and higher and either of his Love Line colleagues. His 18 assists tied him for seventh in the league as a whole.

D: Hercules Mulligan, Hamilton. Mulligan joins Alexander and Frye as the three Pistols to receive All-Star nods. The rugged blueliner is making a habit of these appearances; this is the sixth time in the last seven years that Mulligan has been on the Eastern squad. Mulligan’s 29 points tie him for fifth in the SHL, while his 21 assists are good for sole possession of third place in that category. Of course, Mulligan is best known as a game-wrecker on defense, and he’s living up to that this season, with 58 blocks, a +3 rating, and a 50.8 CF%.

C: Landon O’Quinn, Hershey. The last of the Bliss’ three All-Stars, the 20-year-old O’Quinn is another first-time honoree in his sophomore season. Promoted to a top-six role this season following the trade of Spencer Kirkpatrick, O’Quinn has blossomed into a fascinating player who may soon be mentioned among the league’s elite centers. His 28 points ties him with Frye and others for seventh in the SHL, and his 20 assists are good for a fourth-place tie across the league. His puck-possession stats are also strong, given his +7 rating and 52.3 CF%.

D: Serge Rimbaud, Quebec. Delorme stated that he did his best to spread the All-Star love around as evenly as possible among teams. “Every team this year is good,” said the East coach, “and deserves recognition.” That said, he did pick a couple of his own players, including Rimbaud, who is another first-time All-Star. All told, the Tigres have five members on the Eastern squad, most of any team. Rimbaud stepped up and assumed a top-pairing role when McKinley was sidelined by injury. He has blossomed into a two-way defensive star in McKinley’s mold, as demonstrated by the 20 points (7 G, 13 A) and 50 blocks he has put up so far this season.

RW: Tyler Cloude, Rhode Island. Cloude is one of three members of the surging Seekers to receive All-Star honors. The longtime Smoke winger has never been chosen for the midseason game before this season. Cloude has been a key contributor for a Rhode Island that seems to be gelling into a pesky opponent and dark-horse contender. He is tied for second on the Seekers in both assists (14) and points (20), while his 6 goals tie for third on the team. He’s also contributing defensive, with 18 blocks, a +7 rating, and a 51.2 CF%.

Fourth Line

LW: Rod “Money” Argent, Rhode Island. This spot was intended to go to Baltimore’s Vaughn Asperlin, having a breakout year in his sophomore season. However, Asperlin is hurt and cannot play in the game, so Delorme tapped Argent instead. This is Argent’s third time attending the midseason festivities, although his first time on the Eastern side; he’d previously attended in 2020 and 2022 as a member of the Western squad during his Portland days. The hard-working winger is having a solid season offensively, with 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) so far on the season; however, he’s really stood out on defense, leading all Seekers forwards with 24 blocks.

C: Elliott Rafferty, Rhode Island. Argent and Rafferty, linemates in Rhode Island, will link up again on the East’s bottom line. Rafferty’s All-Star history is a lot like Argent’s. The longtime Saskatchewan star made two midseason appearances on the Western squad, in 2019 and 2021. (He was chosen in 2022, but was unable to participate due to injury.) Like Argent, Rafferty is playing a fantastic 200-foot game that makes the Seekers so frustrating to play against. The center leads Rhode Island in goals with 10 and in points with 14. With 23 blocks, he’s just one behind Argent in that category.

RW: Jefferson McNeely, Washington. Although the 3_-year-old McNeely has yet to make an official announcement, many observers around the SHL believe that this is likely the veteran winger’s last season. With that possibility in mind, Delorme extended a note of grace, naming McNeely to the Eastern All-Star team for the sixth time. McNeely was injured a couple weeks before the break, and there was considerable concern that he might not be able to play in the game. However, he announced yesterday that doctors had cleared him to play and that he intended to do so. “I’m really grateful to Coach Delorme for giving me this opportunity,” said the winger, blinking back tears. “It means a lot to me.” Though McNeely is far from the feared scorer that he once was, he remains third on the Galaxy in points (18) and is tied for third in assists (12).

Goalies

Sherman Carter, Boston. Nobody expected Carter to be one of the league’s top goaltenders this season. Once a highly-touted prospect in New York’s system, Carter posted occasionally promising but uneven results with the Night. New York’s patience was finally exhausted after the 2022 season, and they dealt Carter to Portland, where he underwhelmed again. This offseason, the Bluebacks shipped him up to Boston, where the Badgers needed a replacement for the retiring Roger Orion. The Badgers hoped Carter could at least provide some consistency. Instead, he’s lit the world afire, going 16-5-2 with a 1.94 GAA and a .921 save percentage. He leads the league in wins and leads all starting goalies in GAA. Now, for the first time, he will be an All-Star.

Riki Tiktuunen, Quebec. Once Carter won the starting vote for the goaltender slot, it was all but inevitable that Tiktuunen would be his backup, since they are clearly the East’s two best netminders this season (apologies to Hershey’s Nash Gould, who has been brilliant but splits more starts with backup Hobie Sanford). This is the sixth time that the Finnish-born goalie has received All-Star honors. Tiktuunen’s 13 wins tie him for third in the SHL, while his 2.06 GAA is just a shade behind Carter’s, and his .923 save percentage places him third among starters.

Badgers, Tigres Square Off for Division Supremacy

Throughout the first half of the season, the top of the SHL’s Eastern Division has been a two-team race between the Quebec Tigres and the Boston Badgers. Quebec had the edge for the first month of the season, but Boston has been gaining ground lately. That made Tuesday’s clash between the teams at Shawmut Arena a critical test of strength for both clubs.

Both teams recognized the stakes of the game coming in. “There’s a good chance this is a preview of the division finals, right here,” said Badgers LW Casey Thurman. “For us, this is almost a must-win. It’s on our home ice, in front of our crowd. This is our chance to show out.”

Tigres LW Stephane Mirac concurred. “For us, this is a victory we very much want,” said Mirac. “It does not decide anything, but this is our big rival for the year, so this is the one we want.”

As Thurman noted, the Badgers had the advantage of home ice. On the other, Quebec came into the game fully healthy, while Boston was a bit banged up. They were missing D Victor Addison, along with fourth-line C Caden Ritz and Marlon Crane, the player summoned from the minors to replace Ritz.

As it turned out, the game was fairly anticlimactic, with the Badgers rolling to a 4-1 win. “I liked the way our guys showed up ready to play from the opening drop,” said Boston coach Kyle Barrow. “We took control early and never let go. Big win for us! I know it’s midseason, but this was a measuring-stick game for us, and we passed with flying colors.”

The Badgers took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish just 2:21 into the game, when rookie LW Weston Levering stationed himself right in front of the net, took a perfect feed from RW Elmer Sigurdson Jr., and stashed it beneath the blocker of Tigres goalie Riki Tiktuunen.

“Westy’s been a great addition for us,” said Barrow. “He’s not afraid to go to the dirty areas and bang bodies. Between him and Siggy, and Humps [C Derek Humplik] in the middle, we’ve got some real beef on that third line. We’re really fortunate; our third line has the speed and skill of most team’s second lines, and the brawn of a checking line. I can throw them out there in basically any situation, and they’ll produce.”

The first period end with Boston’s 1-0 lead intact. They doubled it to open the second when C Alain Beauchesne won the faceoff back to Thurman, who started a rush up ice that ended with a Beauchesne wrister that beat an off-balance Tiktuunen. Late in the second, Quebec D Axel Borgstrom was called for roughing; on the ensuing power play, Thurman tipped one in to make it a 3-0 game.

Ex-Badger C Warren Marlow scored for Quebec with 6:17 left in regulation to avert the shutout. But in case the Tigres had any thought of a comeback, thee Badgers’ Howie McClane – centering the fourth line in place of the injured Ritz and Crane – picked off a pass in the neutral zone and was off to the races, beating Tiktuunen with a beautiful curl-and-drag to restore Boston’s three-goal edge, which is how the game ended.

Thanks to the win, the Badgers ended the week in first place, two points up on Quebec. “Long way to go still, but even so, good to take care of business here at home,” said Beauchesne.

Tigres coach Martin Delorme, meanwhile, took the loss in stride. “In the end, it is a single loss in the middle of the season,” said the Quebec coach. “Not our best game, certainly. If we are playing this way in late April, then I will be concerned. For now, we can review the tape and then move on.”

The Badgers and Tigres have been keeping their eyes on each other all year, but they might want to take a peek in their rear-view mirror. The Hershey Bliss crept within four points of Quebec by week’s end. They aren’t playing the world’s most beautiful hockey – scratching out unsightly ties left and right – but they were riding a 13-game unbeaten streak (8-0-5) until Saturday, until it was snapped by – ironically enough – the Tigres.

“Shhhhhh,” joked Bliss coach Morris Thompson when a reporter asked about Hershey’s recent run of success. “We’re trying to sneak up on [Boston and Quebec]. Don’t spoil the surprise!”

If the Bliss do manage to crash the Badgers’ and Tigres’ party, it will make the second half that much more interesting. For now, though, even a two-team race promises plenty of excitement in the weeks to come.

No Big Conclusions from First Interdivision Round

Saturday marked the end of the first round of interdivision play in the SHL for this season. Anyone looking for any grand revelations to emerge from these games – about which division is superior, or about which teams are poised for a big season – came away disappointed.

The East emerged with a slight edge, going 28-23-5 in this round – but given that all of the games were held in the East’s arenas, that’s about the result that would be expected if the two divisions were equally matched.

Also, none of the top contenders in either division made a strong impression one way or the other. The East’s top two contenders, the Quebec Tigres and Boston Badgers, finished just about where they started. Quebec, which went 4-4-0 in interdivision play, picked up a point on Boston, which went 3-4-1.

“Of course, we would like to be better,” said Tigres coach Martin Delorme. “But overall, we are still in first, where we hope to stay.”

In the West, the three favorites – the Michigan Gray Wolves (5-3-0), Anchorage Igloos (4-4-0), and Milwaukee Growlers (4-3-1) – also ended up in roughly the same places. Anchorage and Milwaukee remain slightly above .500, while Michigan maintains a steady but not insurmountable lead.

“Not a glamorous showing, but we’ll take it,” said Wolves coach Gilbert McCoyne. “We don’t have to win big or flashy, as long as we keep winning.”

The teams that did the best in this round of play all hail from the league’s middle tier. The only team to go undefeated was the Hershey Bliss, who went 5-0-3 to gain (at least for the moment) a solid grip on third place. The Bliss’ moribund offense saw an uptick during interdivision play, averaging 3.13 goals per game during the last two weeks vs 2.5 goals a game prior.

“We’re starting to click a little better now,” said Hershey C Justin Valentine. “Our passes are crisper, and we’re settling into Coach [Morris] Thompson’s system a little better. Overall, we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”

Another Eastern club on the way up is the Hamilton Pistols, who went 6-2-0 in interdivision play to rise into fourth place and continue their turnaround from a slow start. The Pistols’ success was fueled by an offensive explosion; they averaged 4.25 goals over the last two weeks, moving into the overall league scoring lead.

“When Alex [LW Steven Alexander], Fryer [C Calvin Frye], and our stars are popping, it’s really tough to beat us,” said Hamilton coach Keith Shields. “All the folks who were writing our eulogy a few weeks ago are probably feeling pretty silly about now.”

Out West, the kings of interdivision play were the Portland Bluebacks, who went 4-1-3 to climb ahead of Anchorage and into second place in the division. For Bluebacks coach Nick Foster, whose previous SHL coaching stops came in New York and Washington, the last two weeks offered a touch of home.

“I love it in Portland, but I’m still an East Coast guy at heart,” said Foster. “I got to fill up on real pizza, cheesesteaks, hoagies – my kind of food! And we got some nice Ws in the bargain. I might have to petition the league to let us join the Eastern Division full-time.”

On the other end of the spectrum, the Utah Blizzard (2-5-1) and Saskatchewan Shockers (1-7-0) both struggled against the East. The Shockers, who had been hanging around the playoff picture earlier in the season, appear to be succumbing to gravity. But Utah, with their continued struggles to avoid giving up goals, remains in the division basement for the time being.

“Our allergy to defense continues to be our chief problem,” said Blizzard coach Flim Dahlgren. “Unfortunately, this is a problem that antihistamines won’t solve.”

Arguably the team that had the wildest ride in interdivision play was the Washington Galaxy. They lost four in a row last week, only to come roaring back with four straight wins this week to tie Hamilton for points. (The Pistols technically sit in fourth, as they have one more win than Washington.)

“Last week, all our fans were out on the ledge,” said Galaxy LW Heath Forbert. “And now, we look like world-beaters. I have no idea what it means, but it’s exciting!”

Those commentators looking to draw any sweeping narratives out of these games came away disappointed. But fans looking for fun and competitive games had much to appreciate. And fans, players, and coaches alike are looking forward to the next time these teams meet up out West in the second half.

“Can’t wait to welcome the boys from back East here to Portland,” said Foster. “Voodoo Donuts awaits you! Trust me, it’s worth it.”