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European Hockey League - Final Standings 2002
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Overall Saxon GP W L T OL GF GA
W L
T OL GF GA W L
T OL GF GA Pts Teams in bold have qualified for the play-offs, where the best of 7 match-ups are;- West Norwood Nomads v Chichester Golden Seals Foxhall Flames v Hanalei Huskies First named teams are at home in games 1,3,5 and 7 Top Nomads
v Golden Seals 26-13. Nomads averaged a league best with nearly 4 goals per game, over half a goal per game better than any other team, although Seals did rank 3rd in scoring. Defensively Nomads were again amongst the leaders, allowing 2.7 gpg, tied for second best whilst Seals came in 6th at 3.13. Flames
v Huskies I'm not making any predictions this year, for reasons that are evident below! Top Nomads
v Seals The play-offs opened with a scoreless first session, despite Matt Barnaby's double minor plus misconduct for the visitors. Keith Primeau and Jeff Halpern then exchanged words and punches in the 2nd, and with them both cooling off Jagr sooned joined his team-mate. Master sniper Brett Hull took full advantage to put the Nomads in front, and with the defence allowing Seals just 4 shots in the session, it was 1-0 after 40 minutes. Mario Lemieux pounced just 48 seconds into the third and when Jan Hlavac made it 3-0 around 2 minutes later, Nomads seemed to have secured game 1. Adam Graves put the Seals on the board, and when Hull himself visited the sin bin, Halpern registered a PPG to make it 3-2 at 52.24. Seals' Sean Burke had been in grand form, making 9 IR saves, but he headed for the bench with little over a minute left and the gamble paid off when Marc Savard jammed the puck home, levelling the scores with 47 seconds remaining, to cap a terrific comeback. Into bonus hockey, and Marco Sturm took a penalty which Chichester did well to survive. Barely 70 seconds after exiting the penalty box though, Sturm was back there and this time it proved costly as Alexei Zhitnik rifled one home to give West Norwood the win. Nomads 4 Seals 3 (OT) Shots 32-29. IRSaves Joseph (Nomads) 3, Burke (Seals) 9. Those fans late to their seats missed the opening goal as Robert Lang slotted home for the Seals. Six minutes later Jeff Halpern doubled the score, and an open and entertaining period finished that way, Seals having outshot their guests 16-10. Nomads had more of the play in the middle session, and goals 72 seconds apart from Trevor Letowski and Eric Daze brought them level. The crucial next goal came a little over 5 minutes into the third, and it was Halpern's second of the night. Despite heavy Nomad pressure, Seals stood firm and Bryan Smolinski gave them the breathing space they needed, scoring at 50.48. Seals 4 Nomads 2 Shots 38-34, IR Saves Burke 4, Joseph 2 Another early strike, this time from Mario Lemieux after 96 seconds, gave the home side the lead. A dominant middle session saw Nomads score 3 times, through Bobby Holik, Jeff O'Neill and Shane Doan and with Curtis Joseph solid in nets, this game was over. Lemieux added a powerplay marker in a lacklustre third, the only other note being whether CuJo could register the shut-out, which he did. So Nomads head to Chichester with a 2-1 series lead. Nomads 5 Seals 0 Shots 32-22, IR Saves Joseph 4, Burke 3 With the home side needing a good start, Nomads came out in a tight checking fashion which was to limit the Seals offense. At 8.24 of the first Patrik Elias deflected Brett Hull’s shot to put West Norwood ahead. There was no further score in the session, however early in the second Chichester collected a bench minor penalty. They managed to kill off the penalty, only to see Rob Zamuner go straight to the penalty box as this expired. This time Nomads made it count, Elias again on the spot, and Nomads were 2-0 up. As the game continued, Sean Burke kept his side in the game and Seals had a couple of powerplays of their own which were unsuccessful, even with Bobby Holik sitting out a misconduct for the visitors. In the third, Nomads tightened their grip on the game, allowing just 6 shots on Curtis Joseph, who kept them out and completed consecutive shut-outs. Seals 0 Nomads 2 Shots 23-29, IR Saves Burke 7, Joseph 4 Seals were now in a must-win situation and were hoping for a little luck to beat CuJo. Well, they had a lot of ‘luck’ in the first period, all of it bad. Elias capitalised on a horrible turnover to give Nomads the lead at 6.20. Seals then survived a 5 on 3 only to see Jeff O’Neill score shortly after the sides were back at full strength. Then when Bertuzzi and Jagr took separate penalties, Dan McGillis and Mario Lemieux took full advantage and Nomads led 4-0 after the opening period. To Chichester’s credit and despite 7 consecutive periods without scoring, they didn’t fold their tents as they might have done. Todd Bertuzzi broke CuJo’s hex, with a wrister from the slot at 25.36 and with Burke now standing firm, Bryan Smolinksi’s PP goal made it 4-2 late in the second. With the home crowd becoming uneasy, Andrew Brunette made it 4-3 with 7 and a half minutes to play. Thoughts of another famous comeback were dashed though, as the referees handed Seals 3 penalties in the last 4 minutes and despite lifting Burke, Nomads held on to win the game, and the series. Nomads 4 Seals 3 Shots 31-24, IR Saves Joseph 1, Burke 8 Despite Sean Burke making 31 in-range saves, Nomads won by 4 games to 1, largely through creating many more In-Range chances (51 to 24). Top Flames
v Huskies A dour defensive struggle in which Huskies took until the 16th minute to register their first shot. Soon afterwards they were awarded a powerplay though and made it count through Peter Schaefer. The second session was similar, although scoreless, and fans waiting for some excitement were getting restless. Flames started pressing in the 3rd, creating more chances but also allowing Huskies more opportunities on the break, and the next goal came on a breakaway. However, it was Darcy Tucker who coughed the puck up, allowing Fredrik Modin to skate in and score for the home side, making it 1-1 with around 5 minutes to play. Similarly to the other series, we had overtime and an early penalty - Rhett Warrener the culprit. Justin Williams managed to slide the puck through the five-hole, and Huskies had sneaked the result. Flames 1 Huskies 2 (OT) IR Saves, Thibault (Flames) 1, Fernandez (Huskies) 5 Game 2 in Hanalei A total contrast to game 1 saw Huskies jump to a 2-0 lead in the opening 3 minutes, through Oleg Tverdovsky and Joe Nieuwendyk. Karl Dykhuis responded for Foxhall on 6 minutes, only for veteran Igor Larianov's quick reply to restore the 2 goal lead. With tension rising, Modin earned two minutes for roughing and Sergei Federov made it 4-1 on the advantage. Scott Stevens rounded off a devastating period with Huskies fifth goal and then to cap a dire session for Flames, Chris Pronger tangled with Tucker and earned a misconduct into the bargain. There were no goals in the next stanza, although there were further roughing calls made and Tucker and Pronger tangled a second time, this time getting just a minor apiece. However, the turning point arrived 2 minutes into the third period, as Jason Wiemer was called for a boarding major penalty, and ejected. Flames made his team pay - big time, as Modin, Mariusz Czerkawski and the key villain (to the home crowd) Pronger all scored on the one powerplay, and now it was 5-4. The next goal was obviously going to be huge and it came with 8 minutes to go, Sergei Brylin's re-direction of Tverdovsky's point shot enough to beat Storr in the Flames net and clinch the victory for the home side, and a 2-0 series lead. Huskies 6 Flames 4 Shots 37-22, IRSaves Fernandez 3, Storr 4 Game 3 in Foxhall Fredrik Modin put the home side on the board halfway through the opening session. Darcy Tucker levelled around the 16 minutes mark, but this was short-lived as Mariusz Czerkawski put Flames back in front. Manny Fernandez took centre stage in the second, standing on his head to keep Foxhall's forwards at bay, making 4 IR Saves and 14 saves in total in the period. Eventually, Jonas Hoglund found a way past Fernandez at 46.24 to give Flames a 2 goal cushion, and they followed up by scoring on their next two shots as well through Valeri Bure and Modin for a 5-1 lead. Huskies frustration boiled over and Georges Laraque was dismissed on a boarding major shortly afterwards. Peter Schaefer picked up a consolation goal short-handed, late on, but Flames were easy winners. Flames 5 Huskies 2 Shots 37-27, IR Saves Storr 1, Fernandez 7 Game 4 in Hanalei A lightning start from Huskies saw the red light on inside the opening minute, Darcy Tucker taking the credit. Igor Larianov doubled the lead later in the first, in what was otherwise a pretty even 20 minutes. At 3'36" of the second, Flames were level as Valeri Bure used his speed to strike twice inside a minute, both times with assists from Modin. Flames now had the better of the play for some time, and it was against the run of play when Sergei Federov nosed Huskies back in front at 33.12. Inside the last minute of the session and Cliff Ronning's strike restored the 2 goal advantage. Staring at a 3-1 series deficit, Flames just couldn't get going in the final period, Huskies defense largely shutting them down. When they did score, through Rhett Warrener, it was with Storr pulled and inside the final minute, but it proved insufficient. Huskies 4 Flames 3. Shots 33-31, IR Saves Fernandez 3, Storr 2 Game 5 in Foxhall Facing a "must-win" situation, Foxhall made a cautious start and the first period was distinctly low key. For the third game in a row though, Huskies first scorer was Darcy Tucker, as he deflected home a PPG at 18 minutes to put even more pressure on the home team. Into the 2nd and for the second time in the series, Laraque was ejected for a hit from behind. Despite the 5 minute advantage, Flames failed to generate any decent scoring chances as they began to look edgy. They also had to withstand a spell of 5 on 3 late in the session, but at the break it remained 1-0 Huskies. The decisive moment came halfway through the 3rd, as Modin picked up a dubious looking penalty for delay of game, which Scott Gomez capitalised on to put Hanalei 2-0 up. With Flames managing just 2 in-range shots all game, Fernandez registered the shut-out, and Huskies make their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Flames 0 Huskies 2 Shots 29-28, IR Saves Storr 3, Fernandez 2 Top Fittingly this season’s match-up pitted the two best teams from the regular season against each other. Overall champion West Norwood Nomads finished 38-18-3-1 for 80 points, 7 clear of Hanalei Huskies, whose 73 point 33-20-4-3 mark was a further 8 points clear of the third best team. Nomads were nearly invincible at home, winning 24 games whilst losing 6, one in overtime. Huskies proved to be the league’s best road team, on the back of a mean defense. Both sides allowed a total of 162 goals in the season, tied for second best, but the offensive firepower the Nomads have, scoring 238 goals compared to Hanalei’s 179, should tip the balance. That offensive ability is reflected in their 6 regular season meetings where Nomads were dominant. This was especially the case in West Norwood, where Huskies managed just three goals in three beatings, including a 10-1 shellacking in March. Back in Hanalei they fared a little better, but still only picked up two points, from a tie and an overtime defeat. Can Hanalei upset the form book, or will Nomads steamroll on to their second title (the first came in a previous incarnation as Herts Zambonis). Top Stanley Cup Final: Nomads v Huskies If both sides wanted to send a message in the opening exchanges, it was “physical” with Ronning and Primeau picking up off-setting minor penalties inside the first minute. Dave Karpa then earned a penalty and was slapped with a misconduct (his second in 2 games) and Brett Hull soon followed – and all this in the opening six minutes! Huskies dominated this scrappy opening phase, but Nomads soon began to get on top. Lapointe grabbed the lead in the closing minutes of the first on a line change. In the second, West Norwood took over, consolidating their position as Primeau also scored on a line change at 11.36. Jeff O'Neill added to the score at 16:24 which killed off the game as Nomads run the shot count to 30-17 at the 40 minute mark, Manny Fernandez managing to prevent a total blow-out. Hanalei fail to beat CuJo who notches his third shutout victory of the playoffs. Ultimately the Huskies managed to keep West Norwood's no.1 line quiet, only for the second and third lines to net all the goals. Nomads 3 Huskies 0 Shots 39-24, IR Saves Joseph 3, Fernandez 10 Again there was an early exchange of penalties, but this time the game settled down and had more flow than game 1. A quick pass from Joe Nieuwendyk created the first scoring chance, sending Slava Kozlov away on a breakout and he deked CuJo before slipping the puck through the five-hole to put the home side ahead. And it remained that way at the first interval. The Russian connection struck again, with Karpa in the box for Nomads, as Federov picked off a pass and lifted the biscuit high over Joseph on another breakaway, and Huskies were 2-0 up after 26 minutes. However, the Nomads first line, who’d been shut-out in game 1, stepped up and Mario Lemieux converted a sweet passing move to make it 2-1 72 seconds later. This seemed to spur the visitors on, and they began to dominate the session, with Shane Doan getting what was an almost inevitable goal at 39.36. All square into the third then, and as the tension built Huskies were coming back into the game. Lapointe and Wesley then exchanged words, and after a scuffle, each was awarded a double-minor. Another double-minor, this time on Huskies Georges Laraque who tangled with Holik, handed Nomads a powerplay. The penalty unit stood firm, and then the possible villain turned hero, as Laraque skated out of the sin-bin, arrived on the edge of Nomads’ crease, and after a goalmouth scramble, roofed the game-winner with under 3 minutes to go. Finally, when it mattered, Huskies had beaten the Nomads and squared the series. Huskies 3 Nomads 2 Shots 35-33, IR Saves Fernandez 5, Joseph 2 Curtis Joseph stops 25 shots to record his second shutout of the series and fourth of the playoffs. Brett Hull grabs two goals and an assist in the Nomads 5-0 win in game 3. It was a tense, error filled first period with nothing between the sides. Eric Daze grabbed the lead for West Norwood at 6:00 of the second thanks to great forechecking by the home side. The lead was doubled by Brett Hull's sniper strike two minutes later. Meanwhile, Joseph thwarted the visitors efforts to get a foothold. And, in the third the Nomads converted this advantage by slotting in three more goals. Jeff O'Neill knocked one in at 6:00. Hull added to his tally at 11:36. In the final two minutes Elias iced the cake with West Norwood's fifth. Nomads 5 Huskies 0 Shots 32-23, IR Saves Fernandez 1, Joseph 5 A walk in the park for the Nomads - who after a tight opening let loose their power play line (which until this game had been held goal-less) and the end result was 4 powerplay goals and a 6-1 stuffing of the Huskies - Brett Hull scoring a hat-trick but by then most of the crowd had left resigned to having seen their last hockey of the year. Nomads 6 Huskies 1 Shots 30-25, IR Saves Fernandez 7, Joseph 4 Hanalei claws back into the series with a gutsy win. At the end of a tight first period, Kozlov roofs a rebound to give the Huskies their first lead at West Norwood. The home side survives a 5 minute power play in the second after Domi goes bonkers. They capitalise with a late second period goal by Jeff O'Neill. But, the visitors are keeping the Ns no.1 line quiet again. Hanalei looks strong and Darcy Tucker converts their good play into a second goal. It's then end to end for the rest of the period, but West Norwood can't convert their opportunities. Fernandez stops 16 third period shots and 33 altogether. Back to Hanalei for game 6. Huskies 2 Nomads 1 Shots 27-34, IR Saves Fernandez 5, Joseph 3 After the surprise game 5 victory at the Nomads, the pack returned to the Huskie dome with renewed excitement and witnessed a crushing Huskie victory to send the Cup to a decisive Game 7. The big difference was the much defeated penalty killing line which stepped up as the Nomads converted 0 out of 9 powerplay opportunities, in a penalty ridden game. Before the fighting started at the end of the first period Tverdosky and Federov had twice combined and the Huskies lead 2-0, this was to become 3-0 by the end of the second through a Nieuwendyk steal and shot. The third period was a succession of penalties, Powerplay goals by Ronning and Federov put the Huskies an unheard of 5-0 up, then the dream of a Fernandez shut-out was blown by Elias and Daze scoring, but any comeback was stopped by a beautiful Brylin breakaway goal. The Huskies had stopped the Nomads winning the cup on their ice and the crowd left rather happy. Huskies 6 Nomads 2 Shots 41-31, IR Saves Fernandez 4, Joseph 3 So, it was back to West Norwood for an unexpected game 7. Could the Nomads bounce back from a 6-2 shelling 48 hours earlier? Or would Hanalei ride the momentum of two straight victories to score their first Cup triumph? The sides lined up as before, with West Norwood sticking to Robert Svehla in place of Adam Foote in defence: the two have alternated home and away throughout the playoffs. The Huskies fancied their chances especially as their power play had begun to click and they had outgunned the Ns in game 6. Curtis Joseph, with four shutouts to his name in playoffs wanted to erase his 6 goal horror in game 6. Sergei Federov was out to "do" his old side to claim his championship ring. And, Mario Lemieux was on the verge of capping a remarkable come-back from retirement by leading the Nomads to the cup. It was a nervous start by both teams. Larionov took a roughing penalty at 6:48 which his teammates killed successfully. A breakthrough came almost immediately afterwards when ageless Brett Hull shot the Ns into the lead. In all previous of this final's games the first scorer went on to win. Would this pattern be broken? Four minutes after West Norwood went ahead, Shane Doan was left out on a line change. He took full advantage blasting a slapshot past Manny Fernandez in the visitor's goal. Double the lead and double the confidence it seemed for the Ns. Within the minute, Dan McGillis, West Norwood's stand-out blue-liner this season, crashed in a third. The home crowd rose to it's feet as one to applaud a typical Norwood blitz. Hanalei fought bravely to get back on terms, but as so often during the series West Norwood pegged them back. Shane Doan added his second tally at 18:24. It was now a question of counting down the clock and counting up the goals thought the crowd. Well, the second period was an anti-climax after the first. Hanalei could muster but four shots in the middle stanza. A penalty each for each side including, much to the crowd's delight, two minutes for Sergei Federov. The Russian was never a big favourite in his Zamboni days and leaving Bow/West Norwood on free agency did little to endear him to the Norwood faithful. Dave Karpa continued his less than love affair with officials when midway through the final period he copped yet another 10 minute misconduct after disputing a high-sticking penalty. His mates killed the 5-on-6. By that time they had also killed the game. The seconds ticked by, but otherwise the scoreboard was not troubled. It read 4-0 at the end. It left West Norwood to take a long, well-earned ovation. Curtis Joseph completed a remarkable fifth shutout in nine playoff games. He was deservedly named Nomad MVP of the playoffs. Super Mario lifted the cup ending a unbelievable, long and topsy-turvy season for the Bow/West Norwood Zambonis/Nomads. At times it looked as though the club would fold. They lost Federov and other key cogs to free agency. Then swooped on draft day to pick up Mario and Chris Chelios. On the ice, they dominated most games. Mario was awesome when he played. Patrik Elias blossomed into a superstar. There were key contributions from unlikely heroes Jan Hlavac, Igor Ulanov, Keith Primeau and Eric Daze. In the end, Chelios made little impact and missed the playoffs. And, of course, Brett Hull was there as always. He has completed every Zs/Ns season and hopes for more. When things didn't click, the Ns they looked very ordinary. Tony C's fateful prediction of Cup champions was (surely) a bad omen. But, they knocked that albatross of its perch and exorcised the ghost of seasons past when the Zs missed the playoffs by a whisker. All that's history now. Well played Hanalei: their time will come. For now, West Norwood hold the cup with two firm hands. Nomads 4 Huskies 0 Shots 33-20, IR Saves Fernandez 3, Joseph 1 |
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