Media Week 1 - Surprises to kick off the season

After a long off season, s28 has finally kicked off and already we find ourselves with some interesting stories developing after week 1 of 9. While the East Atlantic was touted as the strongest conference, specifically the Atlantic, there were several surprises after the opening week.

IMO there is 4 major talking points in this conference after week 1: Hartford, Springfield and Providence in the Atlantic ; Toronto in the North.

Two teams I had predicted at the bottom of the pack in their divisions came out swinging; Hartford (3rd) and Toronto (2nd). While they didn’t necessarily put up an amazing week, they did enough to stay ahead of the competition, for now.


On the up!


Toronto (5-3-1) - While I don’t feel they had the hardest week, it was still a respectable one with Laval, Lehigh Valley, Utica, and Providence standing in their way. That being said, they did lose to 3 of those 4 teams this week. But they came out with a big win against Providence (6-3 W) on Wednesday to close out the week against arguably the strongest line they faced all week. @Black Paperclip seemed to have put in work for this team with 9 goals and 4 assists. Toronto will need him to stay hot if they hope to continue as week 2 has them touring the West Pacific against some strong teams, we will see if they can continue to build off his early success and that win on Wednesday.

Hartford (5-4-0) - Arguably the biggest surprise after week 1. Hartford got off to a poor start going 0-2 against a strong Lehigh Valley squad and the 14th place Belleville Senators. However they managed to get their footing and put up some wins against 3 of the predicted lower rank teams. What’s interesting here is if they pulled off the win against Toronto and Belleville (2 matchups in which they certainly had a chance in), we could be looking at a 7-2-0 Hartford squad. I don’t think anyone would have predicted these guys in 3rd after the first week. Hats off to them for finishing strong against Hershey and Providence. They will be paying a visit to the West Central next week which was predicted as the weakest division in the AHL. Look for them to try and string together some wins to hold their spot in the Atlantic.


Slow out of the gate


Providence (3-5-1) - This team was regarded as one of the better teams going into the start of the season. After flying high in pre-season games going 5-0, @SpruceMoose91 , @DatsyukianxDeke , and @Drake0807 ; the boys dropped their 3 games this week, leaving their team 6th in their division and 12th in the East. They seem to have run into some defensive issues as they gave up 6 goals in 2 of their games. Look for them to bounce back next week though, they have too much chemistry to stay cold.

Springfield (2-7-0) – I am not sure what happened here. While I had them pegged at 3rd in the division, these guys came out flat. Someone needs to wake their FWD’s up because they only managed 14 goals for in their first 9 games. I do however feel they had 6 out of 9 difficult teams to play this week. They managed a win against Rochester and Wilkes Barre Scranton who both put up good weeks. Though I must say it isn’t a good look after week 1 as if I recall correctly, this is one of the only teams I saw ego it up in the chatbox other than Stockton preseason. We will see how they fair against the predicted weakest division in the AHL in week 2 when they visit the West Central.


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Now for the Western conference. Week 1 was a little tamer in the West, the Pacific went down almost exactly to my prediction. With Ontario and San Jose at the top; while Tucson, Texas, and San Diego bring up the rear. The bigger surprises of the week are mostly within the Central division, where the talking points are IMO: Colorado, Rockford, and Chicago. But we can’t forget the 11-1 loss for Bakersfield on opening night.


Surprises in the Central


Rockford (5-3-1) - I had these guys as 7th in the division for my preseason rankings. These guys lost to all of the teams I would have expected them to: Ontario, San Jose, Cleveland, Bakersfield. Yet they pulled off 2 big wins against Manitoba and Colorado, and they made sure to let me know about it in my power rankings post (sorry Moose ). While I am impressed with their start, we will see if they can keep it up with another tough week against the Atlantic in week 2. Good luck to you gentleman, I hope you guys can keep sticking it to me.

Colorado (3-5-1) – After soaring through their first 2 games, it seems someone has clipped their wings. The @Eatchy , @Position banc , @Bryce18xx716 line got them off to a 2-0 start and it was all downhill from there. Running into a good Stockton lineup then facing off against Rockford, San Jose, Ontario, Cleveland, and Manitoba, their depth was put to the test early. I wouldn’t count these guys out though, @eh iTz Horty has a good squad put together and looks to bounce back against the Atlantic next week. Though it’s been mentioned several times that the Atlantic is the toughest division, after week 1, they have the most teams under 10 pts – (5 of them).

Chicago (2-7-0) – A little too much partying in Vegas for this organization this week it seems. They got off to a slow start despite having a decent looking roster. The good news for Chicago is that it’s only week 1. @C4NADA and @Smitterr were able to salvage a poor week by putting up 2 wins in their final 3 to avoid the week 1 skunk. I can’t imagine they will be at the bottom for too long, but like the rest of the Central, they face off against a power struggling Atlantic division next week. A .500 or above week for them could go a long way to not slip too far behind.


Opening night disaster!


Bakersfield (5-2-2) - Opening night was far from ideal for @Da Young Buck and the Bakersfield Condors. While we’ve heard their management, among others, discuss their powerhouse defense; they were no where’s to be found on Sunday. After allowing 11 goals in one game, its hard picture what happened unless you were there or watching. The silver lining here is that they were able to bounce back by putting up 5 wins and snagging a couple points in 2 OTL. A good early show of remaining calm under pressure.


Good luck to all in week 2!

 

Another solid unbiased write up. Good work!

 

Hoping a couple tweaks makes a difference. Had some tough games and our lack of chem hurt us when we had to switch things up.

Good write up

 

You're forgetting one more surprise. @Lyons x 63 managed to not go 0-3 this week

 

great write up

 

Colorado logo is in ECHL section haha

 

I am dumb. Thanks LOL.

 

rip wolves

 

RIP @Drake0807 @SpruceMoose91 @DatsyukianxDeke

 

Where people like @Dan Hutton belong.

 

Now he can be expected to go 0-3 for the rest of the season.

 

Hey, i'm just doing what a good backup should do

 

You're just trying not to get waived

 

Talk about Manitobas amazing signing at G

 

Yeah Kapper is great

 

This is the first positive thing I've seen anyone write about us @Clancy2113 . Please frame this and put in on the fridge.

 

Already ahead of you it's on there!