Month: October 2023

Players and Referees

Everyone makes mistakes, at school, at work, or hanging out with family and friends and giving people the benefit of the doubt is paramount when employing human judgement.

Last night the Referees whistled on average 11.5 penalties resulting in 8 PP per game in a night where the home teams won 5 out of 6 games and had the most PP overall.

FHL Day Two

A solid 10-point lead with one injury prompting an immediate drop and not to IR, the reasoning being the player is past his 30^th birthday and his team is saying week to week where in reality it could be more than a month dropping his value considerably.

When team managers have to drop a player to make room for an older contributor coming off IR it could possibly disrupt their roster especially if the more recent player’s point production is higher.

NHL Heart stoppers and barn burners

Last night Toronto had a brilliant come-from-behind, two empty-net goal game versus Montreal to eventually win in a shootout 6-5 in their home opener, meanwhile Vancouver annihilated Edmonton in an 8-1 effort.

The Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 NHL Season is here!

Tonight the Sabres play host to the Rangers in what is the first game of the season that brings the playoffs back to Buffalo.

Chicago Surprise Winner and each team points in FHL

The Blackhawks Mr. Mrazek earned a .950 save percentage by stopping 38 out of 40 Pittsburgh shots after allowing the game’s first two goals, veteran Mr. Perry and rookie Mr. Bedard provided assists and Chicago skated to a 4-2 empty-net road victory.

Lord Stanley’s defenders also won with an empty-net victory and Tampa Bay defeated Nashville in yesterday’s first contest highlighted by the season’s first penalty shot.

In Buffalo Winter’s ESPN FHL all the teams earned at least a fraction of a point which would be more concerning for some managers if there were a full slate of games last night to point from, team Psychos has an impressive jump in the early standings.

Referees #5 Rooney and #26 Brenk Lighting vs Predators, issued nine penalties.

Five of them and one penalty shot against the visitors, and with the game tied at one after the second period Nashville took an early 2-1 third-period lead before being whistled four times for infractions resulting in two goals against, losing the lead and eventually the game.

Three early games and three late games, be sure to insert eligible players into your FHL team roster before seven this evening.

The NHL will not allow post-game interviews with referees.

Referees at all levels have it tough, during a game no one cheers for the officials but a few have as officials play to the crowd in recent seasons with a couple of referees embellishing their calls at center ice.

Today’s birthday October 10^th is HHOF referee “Bill” Chadwick who began as a linesman for one season [1940] before becoming a referee for the next decade and a half, what makes this official special is that he is the first to signal what penalties were being called with his hands.

For holding penalties, Mr. Chadwick grabbed his wrist and for tripping he would slap his shin initially fans thought he was showboating but actually, he was unknowingly developing a new way to communicate penalties to players and fans alike.

Statistical analysis at the end of the season could highlight protocol, trends, distinctive styles, or company line officiating, do they call fewer penalties in the third period of a one-goal game versus more in the first period of a scoreless tie or does it even matter?

Beginning with today’s officiating Buffalo Winter will track and monitor certain statistics of the 35 referees (not the nine minor officials under NHL contract) then chart, display, and analyze the information throughout the regular season with a season-ending assessment.

The 2023-24 NHL Season

No matter what time you have to go to bed tonight there is a start time to match your schedule, 5:30, 8:00, and 10:30 p.m.

NHL rosters are set and your FHL roster could possibly be improved utilizing the waiver wire, from September 26^th until this morning Buffalo Winter has made four waiver wire transactions attempting to improve the team.

Remember if you are attempting to be a successful FHL team manager you are going to have to put aside a few minutes each day to “manage” your team, real life is more important and things happen during a 22-week FHL season, but you have to pay attention.

Beginning today and every Tuesday until the end of the regular season “Tuesday Trivia” will be a regular feature highlighting Buffalo Sabres history and everything and everyone connected to our team here along the Lake.

Mr. Dahlin has agreed to an eight-year extension giving the player, team, and the fans what they wanted, our number one draft pick remaining with the team with enthusiasm and determination to bring Lord Stanley to Buffalo.

Based on facts and lore

The NHL has operated now for over 100 years and the origins and who began what gets blurred over time.

One of the most recognizable hockey traditions to most sports fans is the “Hat Trick” and only in hockey do you observe fans expressing appreciation for their team’s player’s accomplishments by flinging their chapeaus, from fedoras to baseball caps, onto the playing surface.

No less than three companies in three cities lay claim to initially “gifting” a fedora to a hockey player who scored three times in a game and the sport cricket also boasts of the term “Hat Trick” in their history.

No matter who really did begin this tradition it is still the fans who instituted it without influence tossing their fedoras onto the ice once word spread about what the hat company was providing for the players.