By: Shawn Bell - AKA Belly, or the GOAT

The Hockey News -- Season 7, Week 8 

Less than 30 days to go until seasons end. Some teams are entering crunch time, and difficult decisions are on the horizon for our wonderful commish. Lets get into six thoughts for the week that was…

• 1. Delinquents We are starting week 9. Two months are down, and 30 days to go. Even at the slowest pace possible, everyone should be 2/3 done their season. That’s something around 50 games. There are currently 11 teams under 50 games. Not good. But even more concerning are the guys who are way, way down. Silicon remains indefinitely at 19 games. Inglewood at 26. Orange County at 26. Caledonia at 38. There are other guys in the 40s who are going to struggle to finish as well. But the four named above are really concerning at this point. A plan is needed for what happens in 30 days. Lord knows that any suggestion to Sim 40 or 50 games for one team is going to met with outrage, and fair enough. That much simming could drastically re-shape playoff positions. At the very least, we at THN are of the opinion that MattyA should be put to use playing games for Inglewood and Orange County. Between the three of them, those guys should be able to finish the two seasons. And let’s be honest, its not going to matter much whether Yoda, Don Don or MattyA plays those games. Those two teams are going to finish bottom 3 regardless.

  2. Vittoria Italy! We sung the praises of Italy EBC last week, and they just kept it up in Week 8. Now on a 9-game winning streak, over 47 games the Red, white and green are at .617. Huge improvement since the trade deadline when they were under .500. By winning percentage they’re up to 5th, and looking more and more like a playoff lock. Lots of hockey left, but it’s a team on the rise.

  3. Presidents Race The Ticklepuss and the Pike are in a sprint to the finish line. Tegucigalpa has played 9 more games, and sit 18 points ahead of Thunder Bay. But a couple of recent losses has opened the door just a crack for the Pike. Thunder Bay has zero room for error unless the Puss loses a couple more games – and with 2 versus Hoth, 4 versus Sunnyvale and 2 vs Silicon Valley, there is a chance for a few close matches. As it stands Thunder Bay will need to pretty much win out. Can Ticklepuss keep the pressure on? Home ice if these two meet in the finals on the line.

  4. Purple Turtles The two purple teams are neck and neck in the slowest playoff seeding race in W history. Richfield is at 48 games played, with a winning percentage of .604. North Bay is at 43 games played, with a .605 winning percentage. They both have 24 wins. The Knights are at +19, the Oracles at +10. At the pace these two have been playing, this race is going to go down to the wire. Which means that playoff seeding will not be known for a long long time.

  5. Intramural stranglehold Pitt continues to roll along, at 9-1-0-0 over their last ten. They’re now up to .815 on the season, and it’s a good thing too – since Renfrew keeps winning as well. Pitt has a solid lead on the division, and would need to seriously stumble down the stretch to open the door for the Cream Kings. It has been a remarkable bounce back season in Pitt land.

  6. Overtime Losers There are certain teams who, if they were only better at OT, would be in a different spot. Thunder Bay is the main culprit – they’ve played 15 OT games, and lost 8. If they won OT games at the same pace as they win regular time games, the Pike would be in the drivers seat for 1st overall. San Diego is another one – 9 OT losses in 16 attempts. That’s nine points they’ve narrowly missed, and even if they grabbed five of those, the race for the final Brule spots would be a very different animal. Sonoma is out of contention, but 8 OT losses doesn’t help. Alberta likely makes the playoffs, but 6 OT losses might impact their final seeding.