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November 22, 2011
2 notes
The month of November was the tale of two halves. The early portion of the month featured a 3 game losing streak and various injuries to key players. However, by the end of the month, Hamilton found their winning ways, eventually producing a 4 game win streak at the tail end of their Eastern Conference road trip. Hamilton’s record on the season is 13-8-2 after two months, totalling 28 points and 8th in the Western Conference. However, they are only 3 points behind division leading San Jose and are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. The injury bug hit the Tigers hard this month. D Kris Russell missed a couple of weeks in the middle of November. Once he returned, his defensive partner Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered an MCL sprain and is out until early December. Another major loss is C Kyle Turris who continues to suffer from post-concussion syndrome. While he is expected to be back by mid-December, concussions are a hard injury to accurately gauge. Here are the current player stat leaders for the Hamilton Tigers: Chris Stewart in goals (12) and points (21), Keith Yandle in assists (13), Rostislav Klesla in +/- (10). Jason Labarbera saw more action in November, with both of his starts resulting in Tigers losses. Rask now has all 13 wins for Hamilton on the season with a 2.11 GAA with 4 shutouts. His save percentage is also increasing, and is now hovering around .913%. December has the Tigers playing on consecutive nights four times. This means the team will have to rely more on Labarbera’s play this month to keep them in the playoff race. As shown in the off-season, new GM Brett Smith isn’t afraid of making a roster shake-up. Expect to see another move if the team falls into another slump.

The month of November was the tale of two halves. The early portion of the month featured a 3 game losing streak and various injuries to key players. However, by the end of the month, Hamilton found their winning ways, eventually producing a 4 game win streak at the tail end of their Eastern Conference road trip. Hamilton’s record on the season is 13-8-2 after two months, totalling 28 points and 8th in the Western Conference. However, they are only 3 points behind division leading San Jose and are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

The injury bug hit the Tigers hard this month. D Kris Russell missed a couple of weeks in the middle of November. Once he returned, his defensive partner Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered an MCL sprain and is out until early December. Another major loss is C Kyle Turris who continues to suffer from post-concussion syndrome. While he is expected to be back by mid-December, concussions are a hard injury to accurately gauge.

Here are the current player stat leaders for the Hamilton Tigers: Chris Stewart in goals (12) and points (21), Keith Yandle in assists (13), Rostislav Klesla in +/- (10).

Jason Labarbera saw more action in November, with both of his starts resulting in Tigers losses. Rask now has all 13 wins for Hamilton on the season with a 2.11 GAA with 4 shutouts. His save percentage is also increasing, and is now hovering around .913%.

December has the Tigers playing on consecutive nights four times. This means the team will have to rely more on Labarbera’s play this month to keep them in the playoff race. As shown in the off-season, new GM Brett Smith isn’t afraid of making a roster shake-up. Expect to see another move if the team falls into another slump.

Tags: PS3 BDot10 NHL 12 dynasty Tigers November Russell Turris Stewart

Photoset
November 20, 2011
2 notes

October

The Tigers started their existence on the road and the Sharks didn’t know what hit them. In San Jose’s home opener, the Tigers were led by Chris Stewart’s 4 goal night in a 7-3 victory over their division rivals. Hamilton finished 2-1 on the opening road trip, splitting games against Dallas and Nashville.

The home opener in Hamilton was an emotional affair from the drop of the puck. The Tigers won a very physical game over the newly formed Winnipeg Jets 3-0 with Rask’s first shutout of the season. The rest of the first home stand for the franchise did not end as well. Hamilton dropped the next two games against Chicago and Los Angeles, which started a 4 game losing streak. The Tigers found their winning ways again at home against New Jersey then throttled rival L.A. 7-0 in their last game of October.

Through the first 10 games of the season, Hamilton finished 5-4-1 and currently sits in a 3-way tie for 7th place in the Western Conference with L.A. and St. Louis. F Chris Stewart leads the club in goals (7) and points (10). D Keith Yandle leads the team with 7 assists and a +6 rating. Rask has been inconsistent to start the season. Although he has a 2.47 GAA and 2 shutouts, his save percentage is sub-.900.

Hamilton starts November on the road for a game followed by a 3-game home stand. They then hit the road for 5 games, including 4 against Eastern Conference opponents including heavyweights Philadelphia and Washington.

Tags: PS3 BDot10 NHL 12 dynasty Coyotes Tigers October Stewart Yandle Rask

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November 18, 2011

The Dawning of a New Dynasty

Hockey in Southern Ontario recently received a shot in the arm. After years of declining ticket sales and ownership turmoil, the Phoenix Coyotes found new ownership this summer. The new ownership group sought to purchase the financially unstable franchise under one condition: a move out of Glendale. In a surprising vote, the Board of Governors approve the sale of the Coyotes under this condition – something Jim Balsillie was unable to secure from the league with a proposed deal to buy the Nashville Predators.

Hamilton, previously having a National Hockey League team in the early 1920s, welcomed the former Coyotes with open-arms in a newly renovated Copps Coliseum. To pay homage to the local hockey tradition, Hamilton decided to name their franchise the Tigers. The early Tigers existed from 1920-1925 when a player strike resulted in the dissolution of the franchise. While not always successful, the team finished first in the league in 1924-25, which was also their final season.

The new ownership group brought in a new General Manager to guide the team in Hamilton, with an early emphasis on getting established young players at the expense of veterans and multiple draft picks. He appears to be finished moving pieces as the pre-season begins Friday, but let’s take a look at the moves he made:

  • Trading G Mike Smith, LW Patrick O’Sullivan, and a 2012 1st Round Pick to Boston for G Tuukka Rask and RW Jordan Caron
  • Trading D Michal Rozsival, C Martin Hanzal, RW Radim Vrbata and 4 Picks to Columbus for D Kris Russell, C Jeff Carter, and C Ryan Johansen
  • Trading LW Ray Whitney, LW Raffi Torres, and 2 Picks to Minnesota for RW Cal Clutterbuck and D Jared Spurgeon
  • Trading LW Taylor Pyatt, D Derek Morris and 3 Picks to St. Louis for RW Chris Stewart and RW Ryan Reaves

There have also been a number for rumours of adding minor-league talent to fill out the depth of the organization in Portland. There have been no announcements of line combinations as the coaching staff said nothing would be finalized until opening night. The new franchise will continue to play out of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and open the season October 8, 2011 against division rival San Jose.

Tags: PS3 BDot10 NHL 12 dynasty Coyotes Tigers Off-season Rask Carter Clutterbuck

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November 18, 2011

NHL 12 Update

With the posts received, I am moving the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton. Stay tuned to my blog for further updates, including trades, injuries and stats.

Tags: PS3 BDot10 NHL 12 dynasty Phoenix Coyotes Hamilton

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November 17, 2011
Only 24 hours left to vote on my NHL 12 Dynasty team! So far, the winner is relocating the Coyotes or Islanders to Hamilton and working from there. Any other opinions? Which team should I choose?

Only 24 hours left to vote on my NHL 12 Dynasty team! So far, the winner is relocating the Coyotes or Islanders to Hamilton and working from there. Any other opinions? Which team should I choose?

Tags: PS3 BDot10 NHL 12 Dynasty team selection Coyotes Islanders

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November 16, 2011
5 notes
A couple of years ago on this blog, I did a dynasty/franchise/whatever you want to call it with the Los Angeles Kings. I’d chronicle the season month by month, including statistics, line changes, injuries, and other transactions. Seeing as I am taking a year off school, I have some extra time for those things again this year. A couple of people told me they enjoyed reading them, so I’m going to start those up again. However, this year will be different. I’ll be doing a NFL dynasty along with an NHL one. For the NFL, I’ve already selected the Houston Texans, a team that has never made they playoffs in their existence. They have a solid division in terms of video game players, so I think it would be fun. Also, I’m already using the Bills and 49ers in my online franchises. Ergo, my teams are already off the table. The problem I have is the NHL side. I don’t know which team to be. I haven’t done a GM Mode in NHL 12, so part of me wants to be my team, the Leafs. I just don’t always have the heart to make the necessary trades to make them better. This is where you guys come in. I’ll be taking suggestions for which NHL team to be. Since there is a planned PSN outage tomorrow, I’ll be starting this thing on the morning of Friday November 18, 2011. So, what team should I be?

A couple of years ago on this blog, I did a dynasty/franchise/whatever you want to call it with the Los Angeles Kings. I’d chronicle the season month by month, including statistics, line changes, injuries, and other transactions. Seeing as I am taking a year off school, I have some extra time for those things again this year. A couple of people told me they enjoyed reading them, so I’m going to start those up again.

However, this year will be different. I’ll be doing a NFL dynasty along with an NHL one. For the NFL, I’ve already selected the Houston Texans, a team that has never made they playoffs in their existence. They have a solid division in terms of video game players, so I think it would be fun. Also, I’m already using the Bills and 49ers in my online franchises. Ergo, my teams are already off the table.

The problem I have is the NHL side. I don’t know which team to be. I haven’t done a GM Mode in NHL 12, so part of me wants to be my team, the Leafs. I just don’t always have the heart to make the necessary trades to make them better.

This is where you guys come in. I’ll be taking suggestions for which NHL team to be. Since there is a planned PSN outage tomorrow, I’ll be starting this thing on the morning of Friday November 18, 2011. So, what team should I be?

Tags: NHL 12 Madden NFL 12 Maple Leafs Bills 49ers Texans dynasty 2011-2012 video games PSN PS3 BDot10

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September 12, 2011
In less than 24 hours, I’ll be playing this. When acquired, I’ll be the commissioner of two online leagues as well. EA Sports, I’ve given you a lot of money the last month or so. Please don’t let me down with this one. 

In less than 24 hours, I’ll be playing this. When acquired, I’ll be the commissioner of two online leagues as well. EA Sports, I’ve given you a lot of money the last month or so. Please don’t let me down with this one. 

Tags: EA Sports NHL 12 EASHL Madden NCAA groupie

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July 06, 2011

Oh man. I just want it to be September for this reason alone!

Tags: NHL 12

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May 27, 2011

God damn you, EA Sports! You keep bringing out great things in the NHL games that continually make me buy them. Winter Classic? Score! Crashing the crease and knocking down goalies? Score! Goalie fights? DOUBLE SCORE! September 13th can’t come soon enough.

Also, I love Tomas Kaberle, but he could never check anyone through the glass…

Tags: NHL 12 EA Sports Winter Classic goalie fights Kaberle