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Well, THAT was interesting. The Texas Tornado have
come out of the turn and hit the accelerator to sweep Amarillo, Fairbanks
flipped the switch on Wenatchee, and the Tomahawks got swept in three games at
Michigan. I think we can say that 2013 is off to a bang.
#1 Amarillo Bulls 26-4-4 / Last
Week #1
Eight game winning streak? Over. Sibling rivalry with Tony Curtale? Big brother
took the Bulls behind the woodshed. Amarillo's balloon popped in Frisco and the
Bulls have little time to lick their wounds with the RoadRunners in town this
weekend. Topeka will try to extract their own piece of hide this weekend.
#2 Soo Eagles 25-8-3 / Last
Week #3
The Eagles have now won eight in a row after getting a pair of
wins over the K-Zoo. The Eagles have a big test this weekend with two games at
Jamestown before facing the Tomahawks Sunday in Johnstown.
#3 Texas
Tornado 26-10-1 / Last
Week #4
The Tornado are 9-1 since November 30th after
sweeping Amarillo at home. Curtale and the boys go to the beach again this
weekend for a chance to warm-up and snag another pair of Ws from Corpus
Christi.
#4 Wenatchee Wild 24-5-3 / Last
Week #2
The Wild gave up four points to their arch-rival
Fairbanks Ice Dogs at home and bench boss Bliss Littler can't be happy with the
turn of events. Littler and his boys jump on the bus for a long ride to a
Fresno team that is 4-1-1 in their last six.
#5 Austin Bruins 25-5-5 / Last
Week #5
The Bruins got a piece of humble pie served to them by Minot and
will need to get a max effort this weekend at Brookings.
#6 Fairbanks Ice
Dogs 23-10-1 / Last
Week #6
The Ice Dogs managed to take four-points out of Wenatchee and
have an opportunity to gain more ground on Wenatchee with Janesville in town
for a pair this weekend.
#7 Jamestown
Ironmen 23-8-3 / Last
Week #9
The Ironmen are on a five-game streak after getting the sweep at
Janesville. The Soo Eagles visit the Ironmen this weekend with an eight-game
win streak of their own. Something is going to give.
#8 Topeka
RoadRunners 21-9-5 / Last
Week #8
The RoadRunners continue to disappoint themselves by losing
games to teams well below their level of talent. Topeka gets a chance to turn
the tables this weekend at a suddenly red-faced Amarillo.
#9 Brookings
Blizzard 19-12-2 / Last
Week #12
The Blizzard four-game winning streak will get a
series challenge this week with the Austin Bruins in town for two.
#10 Johnstown Tomahawks 17-11-8 / Last
Week #7
The Tomahawks are just sick, no, I mean literally. The team
missed a pair of practices during the week in an effort to shake the
respiratory illness that was running through the group. Johnstown was able to muster just a single
point out of the three-game series at Michigan. Port Huron visits the Flood City on Friday and
Saturday before the red-hot division leading Soo Eagles visit Sunday.
#11 Kalamazoo
K-Wings 20-13-3 / Last
Week #10
The K-Wings made a
very important discovery up in Sault Ste. Marie, the Eagles are for real.
Kalamazoo is at Port Huron Wednesday and at Michigan Saturday before coming
home to face the Warriors again on Sunday.
#12 Minot Minotauros 18-15-3 / Last
Week #14
The Minotauros got a rock-solid performance between the pipes
from Ryan Ruck to stun Austin on Friday night. Things did not go as well on
Saturday for Tyler Parks in the shoot-out loss. Minot gets a chance to pad the
stats this weekend at Coulee Region.
#13 Bismarck Bobcats 19-13-2 / Last
Week #11
Bismarck wasted an outstanding effort by goaltender Aaron Nelson
Saturday night in their 1-0 loss to Brookings. The Bobcats can't afford another
dry-spell this weekend when they face Aberdeen in a home-and-home set.
#14 Corpus Christi IceRays 15-14-5
/ Last Week #17
The IceRays added to Odessa problems to secure the home sweep.
They say that all good things come to an end and Corpus Christi needs to
consider that fate this weekend. Curtale brings his Tornado to south Texas for
what promises to be another disappointing weekend for the IceRays.
#15 Janesville
Jets 15-16-6 / Last
Week #15
Janesville jets to
balmy Fairbanks this weekend after getting swept by Jamestown. The Jets should
visit Chena Hot Springs to enjoy the great Alaska outdoors. It's always
fantastic to visit Fairbanks in January.
#16 Kenai
River Brown Bears 14-16-4 / Last
Week #16
Kenai River just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong
time. The Monsters have found their grove and wrangled five of six points from
the Brown Bears. The rock-em sock-em Springfield Blues come to the Peninsula
this weekend.
#17 Port Huron
Fighting Falcons 16-19-2 / Last
Week #13
The Fighting Falcons are having a very
difficult time getting into the air lately and have dropped six in a row. The
K-Wings are in town on Wednesday before Port Huron embarks on a three-game
road-trip to Johnstown (Fri-Sat) and Jamestown (Sun).
#18 Michigan Warriors 13-18-5 / Last
Week #20
Don't look now but Moe Mantha's Warriors have won five in a row
and are having a great start to 2013. The Warriors get a home-and-home pair
with Kalamazoo this week.
#19 Springfield Blues 15-21-2 / Last
Week #18
The Blues have a big challenge this
weekend with the first set of four games in Alaska at Kenai River. Alaska teams
play big-boy hockey and the Brown Bears play on big ice.
#20 Fresno Monsters 10-17-5 / Last
Week #21
Fresno coach Eric Ballard
is smart enough to know not to spend too much time celebrating his team's rapid
turnaround with division leader Wenatchee on their way back to central
California.
#21 Wichita Falls
Wildcats 11-19-2 / Last
Week #19
The Wildcats won for the first time since November on Saturday
night when they slapped the RoadRunners with big loss. Nothing would make
Wildcats' Paul Baxter boss happier than to stack another set of losses onto
Odessa's losing streak this weekend.
#22 Coulee Region
Chill 9-20-5 / Last
Week #22
The Chill made yet another coaching change and managed to snap
their losing streak by slamming Aberdeen on Saturday night. That success
promises to be short-lived with Minot visiting this weekend.
#23 Aberdeen
Wings 8-23-4 / Last
Week #23
Now losers of twelve-straight after getting jacked by the Chill,
the Wings get a home-and-home weekend series with Bismarck.
#24 Odessa Jackalopes 5-27-2 / Last
Week #24
Paul Gillis could be the worst junior hockey coach on the
planet. Players are celebrating their departure from Odessa like a lottery win.
Simply stated, nobody wants to play for a coach that spews negativity like a
garden hose. 1-25-1 since October 6th, how much longer will Odessa's
owners allow the team to continue bleeding? Gillis is too proud to do the right
thing and just quit, not while nursing on that outrageous salary.
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Stephen Heisler resides in Puerto Penasco, Mexico with his wife,
Maria, and their two children, Sonia and Tomas. Tune in to his Mexico based
Classic Rock Station, GoPenasco Radio.
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