Shanahan Pots 20th

(AP) Denver, CO
Brendan Shanahan potted his 20th marker today in what can only be described as a successful final campaign for him in the CCHL. The aging Shanahan has already announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the Denver Spurs' season, whenever that is. Said Shanahan, "When GM Poelker offered me a contract to play with Joe Sakic in Denver I couldn't pass it up. I decided to play one more season . Playing with Joe occasionally in my final CCHL season has been great. Having Joe on the ice for my 20th in my final season...well...it's special." While Sakic didn't register a helper on Shanny's 20th, he was assisted by Gionta & Hunwick, he had been elevated recently to Sakic's 2nd line due to an injury to portsider Marco Sturm. Marco Sturm...that's another story. Shanny, an old portsider himself, had been plying his trade of late at right wing with sporadic duty at lw on the 3rd line. No doubt, he still has the stones for the left side.

As for the aforementioned Sakic, Joe is also in his final CCHL campaign despite the 2 year contract he was given by the club as a free agent signee prior to the season. Heck, consider it a bonus for the '08 Cup! Currently Captain Joe, who scored his 17th in the same game, has 55 points in 67 games along with a +/- of +22. Quite a respectable farewell tour in the CCHL for Super Joe also...eh?!?!?

In relation to 'that's another story', near the end of the trade deadline Poelker made a move due to the Spurs' position in the reshaped CCHL. The Spurs have surprised some folks around Denver because many of the prognosticators didn't pick them to be so high in the standings this late in the season. Frankly, neither did I.
Poelker said, "Hey, as was just stated, didn't think we'd be where we were at the time either so when some talent came across my ticker as the trade deadline was coming up, I made some inquiries figuring I might be able to beef up a bit for the playoffs."
What was brought in has certainly 'beefed 'em up' as Poelker put it because the Spurs are currently on a 6 game win streak, their longest of the season. And have won 9 of their last 10. This has elevated them to 5th in the standings. Certainly a good time to get hot (5 games remaining in the regular season). Hopefully saying this doesn't put in the jinx because it would be great to finish the season with 100 pts since this type of performance wasn't expected.
Getting back to the deadline deals, portsider Sturm (currently injured) and rearguard Craig Rivet were brought in from the Niagara Falls Thunder (GM Bobby Nicol) and have been an integral part of the current success. Rivet was inserted at the first 1st D pair with Liles upon arrival, while Sturm has seen time with Captain Joe on the 2nd line along with PP & PK time. Not only has their play helped, but having a couple more leaders as evidenced by their 'A' (Sturm) and 'C' (Rivet) with former clubs doesn't hurt either. With Sturm's recent injury, Shanahan, as previously mentioned has been moved to the 2nd line LW. Rookie Milan Lucic, who was the 2nd line LW until Sturm's arrival, is currently being rested since this is his first full season of the rigors of the CCHL. GM/Coach Poelker wants him rested for the upcoming playoffs.
Also coming over in the deal with Sturm and Rivet was center Maxim Lapierre (right pic) who's being utilized with Ian Laperriere on the top PK unit. Yep...it's the 'Lappy Brigade'!!

Another surprise of late has been the play of winger Jamie Lundmark. A few weeks ago due to an injury to Shanny, he was inserted on the 3rd line with Lucic & Koivu and boy, did he respond. At one point he had burned the lamp 6 times over 2 games!!
In the last game when Shanny got his 20th, Jamie potted the first goal of the game, a 7-3 win over Copenhagen and the often maligned Andrew Raycroft, his 15th of the season!.
It appears Poelker has some decisions to make come playoff time with so many playing so well of late.
It's a nice 'problem' to have....eh?!?!?
Stay tuned for the upcoming CCHL Playoffs!!

Dasher Notes
In an unrelated deal, the Spurs sent top reargusrd prospect Bobby Sanguinetti to Victoria for thei 2nd rounder in the 2010 CCHL Entry Draft, another near deadline deal. While Sanguinetti was a prize prospect in the Denver organization, the 2nd rounder should replace his upside adequately.
The 5 remaining games of the regular season will see the Spurs play Springfield & Budapest on the road, league leading River Cities at home, then Long Island & Calgary on the road to close out the season. So, 4 of the last 5 on the road to close the season. The Spurs' will have to become Road Warriors of the highest magnitude to reach the century mark.

Reported by Peter Puckhead (voice of the Spurs)

Denver Mid-Season Report

(AP) Denver, CO Here we are at midseason and to the surprise of this writer, the Spurs find themselves in 10th place in the 22 team CCHL and one point over .500 to boot. Amazin...eh? Amazin to me anyway. Pekka Rinne has been the main netminder of late and while his stats leave a bit to be desired, somehow has managed to post a 3-0-1 record in the last 4. Overall he has appeared in 22 games with a 3.38gaa, .898 SvPct to go along with a 9-11-1 record to date.
The scoring side of the club finds the top line still leading the way with Vinny Lecavalier (left top pic) in the top spot with 19g 30a 49 pts +12, Ryan Smyth (right pic) 20g 28a 48pts +11 and Petr Sykora (left middle pic) 19g 21a 40pts +16. Next up on the scoresheet are a couple of blueliners, the first being top RD Lubomir Visnovsky (right mid pic) with 6g 19a 25pts +10. He is followed by fellow blueliner John- Michael Liles (right bottom pic), who has played on all three defense pairings and both the right and left side throughout the season in posting 6g 15a 21pts with a plus/minus of zero. Liles has posted his numbers while playing in only 30 of the teams' 41 games to date. The big surprise is that +16 Sykora has posted over the first half of the season which leads the entire team! The old warhorses of the Spurs; Sakic, Brodeur and Shanahan, have helped the club admirably with Captain Joe posting 8g 12a 20pts +8 in 31gp, Shanahan 7g 10a 17pts +/-0 in 28gp while Marty Brodeur has posted a 8-5-5 record with a 2.32gaa and .930 SvPct in 18 games.


Dasher Notes
The last game, game 41 of the season for the Spurs, saw them throttle the Express on Long Island in a wild one by a score of 7-3. What was wild about it is that with the score tied 2-2 at the start of the 3rd, the Spurs lit the lamp 5 times during the period to come away with the 7-3 win in only their 5th road win of the season. John-Michael Liles netted two goals in the period, one the eventual game winner, and posted a +4 for the game. Easily his best game of the season to date. Smyth, Sykora and Visnovsky also tallied 3 points during the contest.
WHere the Spurs will finish over the second half of the season is anyone's guess. I sure won't venture to say either way, given the up and down performaces to date.
The Spurs travel to Calgary tomorrow to kick off the 2nd half of the season. Pekka Rinne is slated to start in net.

Reported by Peter Puckhead

Spurs at quarter mark

(AP) Denver, CO Here it is at the quarter mark of the season and the Spurs find themselves playing below .500 hockey (8-10-3, 19 pts in 21gp). It's a far cry from the recent glory days. However, the past 10 games have seen the Spurs post a 5-3-2 record, so a bit of a resurgence. While 12 points in 10 games is nothing to shout about, it's not bad for the way this Spurs' edition has been going. Leading the team in scoring is the top line of Lecavalier (9-12-21), Sykora (11-8-19) and port sider Smyth (5-10-15). The surprises to date are rookie blueliner Hunwick (2-9-11 +2) and winger Sergei Kostitsyn (3-7-10 in only 12gp). Marty Brodeur leads the goaltending corps, as usual, with a 2.05 5-4-3 .937 SvPct in 12gp. Newcomer Pekka Rinne has been a disappointment to date posting a 2-5 record with a 3.80, .886 in 8gp.
Dasher Notes
Recently, right winger Brian Gionta was acquired from the Victoria Ronin for a 4th rd pick. While he has injury problems next season and his contract also expires after next season, he's viewed as a stopgap measure for the time being. To date, he has been seeing a lot of ice time on the 2nd line and seems to be responding well. He had been relegated to the Ronin's 4th line and is liking his increased playing time with the Spurs. In another deal, blueliner Jeff Finger was dispatched to the Budapest Honved for a 5th rounder in the 2010 CCHL entry draft. While Finger was part of the recent above .500 team play, moving him for the 5th was better than nothing for the upcoming UFA. His departure will probably see John-Michael Liles being re-inserted in the lineup. He had been benched due to his woeful -10 plus/minus.

Reported by Peter Puckhead

3 point weekend

(AP) Denver, CO It was a successful weekend for the fans of the Spurs at the Denver Coliseum. First, the Spurs managed a tie with the visiting Springfield Homers, thanks to, surprise, Marty Brodeur. Then the next game saw the Spurs comeback from a 2-1 deficit at the start of the 3rd to defeat the visiting Crusaders of Copenhagen 4-2! Vinny Lecavalier put the game away in the 3rd scoring two goals, his 3rd & 4th of the season! The 3 point weekend brought the Spurs to the .500 mark at home with a 2-2-1 record.
Dasher Notes
Brodeur has now posted a 3-2-1 record to date with a 1.65 gaa & .950 SvPct to date. Plus he finally got a win without a shutout! Thanks goodness for small favors. Who know where the Spurs would be without him. Probably knocking on the cellar door. The Spurs leave for an extended road trip in the morning heading to Portland, Dayton & Victoria before returning home in 10 days for a game vs. Reykjavik at the Coliseum in Denver.

Reported by Peter Puckhead

Ibex wax Spurs

(AP) Denver, CO Day 11 of the season saw the Spurs return home to the Denver Coliseum last night to face the Bismarck, North Dakota Ibex. Unfortunately for the Spurs, Martin Brodeur could not continue his magic between the pipes and the Spurs lost 4-2 to the visiting Ibex.
Brodeur said to sports columnist Woodrow Paige of the Denver Post, "What can I say. I stopped 41 of 44, it was a shooting gallery, I can't score 'em too."
Uh oh, Marty doesn't sound too happy. While he did face a barrage of rubber the score remained close going back and forth. It was knotted 2-2 when Alfredsson (3), left pic, scored the game winner in a scramble in front of Brodeur's crease at 18:25 of the 3rd. Perry (4) salted it away for the Ibex with an empty netter at 19:31.
Clemmensen (right pic) was more than adequate in net for the Ibex in stopping 25 of 27 shots (.926 SvPct).
Dasher Notes
Laperriere notched his 1st of the season at 9:09 of the 3rd to tie the score. The defense pairing of Sauer and Staios were outstanding during the game. Although not known for their scoring, they picked up 3 points between them, with Sauer scoring his first of the season at 01:34 of the 2nd and Staios picking up assists on both goals scored by the Spurs.
Next up are Cam Ward and the Springfield Homers. The Homers currently sport a .500 record so it will be a challenge for the .333 Spurs

Reported by Peter Puckhead

Brodeur Blanks Wings

(UP) Eissporthalle Linz
Martin Brodeur blanked the Blackwings earlier tonight as the Spurs skated to a 5-0 win. In addition to Brodeur's outstanding effort, rookie blueliner Matt Hunwick helped lead the way. Surprisingly, Coach Q had Hunwick on the top defense pairing with Lubomir Visnovsky to start the game and the rookie responded with 3 assists.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would assist on goals by Joe Sakic, Vinny Lecavalier and Petr Sykora.
I'm pumped", the excited Hunwick said in an after game interview with the Neues Volksblatt sports reporter.
Blueliner Jeff Finger, in his first appearance of the season, logged an incredible 27 minutes of ice time while starting the game assigned to the second unit defense pairing.
Coach Q said after the game, "Looks like we'll be rolling the same lineup tomorrow night back home in Denver vs. Bismarck. No reason not to after this performance. Get your rest on the plane boys."
Dasher Notes
In addition to Brodeur and Hunwick's performance, Captain Joe posted a goal and 2 assists while Peter Sykora lit the lamp twice himself including the game winner. Sykora suddenly finds himself leading the Spurs in goal scoring with 4 in 5 games including both game winners.

Reported by Peter Puckhead

Former Champs near bottom

(AP) Denver, CO The Spurs have gotten off to a rocky start this season. They currently sport a 1-3 record and are near the bottom of the new league standings format. i.e. All one league, no conferences or divisions for the 22 CCHL franchises. The offensive effort to date is tied for 20th in the league with the defense tied for 16th. Looks like the glory days are over for the entry from Denver and the Rocky Mountain West.
A triumvirate of goaltenders have been utilized so far with Brodeur 1-1, 2.oogaa .943svpct posting the only win. Backup Pekka Rinne in his lone appearance was a woeful 0-1, 7.00gaa .774.svpct. Perhaps he doesn't have the makeup to man the net in the CCHL. Next in the rotation was Steve Valiquette, who while fairing better than Rinne, lost to the Honved in Budapest 4-3 in OT, while posting 3.69gaa .892svpct numbers.
Goal scoring has been non-existent for the punchless Spurs who have managed to pot only 7 goals thus far in 4 games.
Leading the club in scoring to date are Smyth 2g 2a 4pts, Liles 1g 2a 3pts but sports a team low -5 and Captain Sakic who has 3 assists in 3gp out of the 4 total games the Spurs have played to date. There has been a lot of
personnel and line shuffling the first few games. The result being that 27 of the 29 players on the pro roster have been utilzed in the 4 games to date. The lone blueliner who hasn't played, Finger, will be suiting up for the next game with Liles spending some time in the pressbox for the time being with his -5. That will leave only one player yet to see ice time. That being center Andrew Ebbett. His time will come, no doubt.
Coach Quenneville said, "It's been rough, but I have to see who plays best with whom. The chemistry...ya know? To be honest, I don't have a clue yet. John-Michael needs to get his head straight. He's been jumping into the play too much. For some reason he doesn't have the 'feel' yet this season for when to jump in and when to lay back. It's been burning us. But, ya know, he doesn't wear that CCHL Champs ring for nothing. He was a big cog in that championship run a couple of season ago."
Dasher Notes
Brodeur will be between the pipes for the Spurs' next game at the Eissporthalle Linz vs. the Blackwings. After the game the Spurs will board the charter jet for the non-stop all night flight back to Denver to face the Bismarck North Dakota Ibex back home the very next night. While they'll gain about 8 hours or so during the trip it still doesn't bode well....eh? I guess the league office never heard of jet lag! Whoever made up this travel schedule ought to be shot! Winger McCormick was injured in the game vs. Budapest when he was run into the boards with no ensuing penalty! It appears he will be out for an extended period at press time. Coach Q is going to experiment with free agent Jamie Lundmark at LW since he has played the port side earlier in his career. Other players besides Liles are going to sit out with players who didn't play in Hungary suiting up vs. the Ibex. Coach Q is hoping this will combat the travel fatigue factor and result in the 2nd win of the season.

Until Next Time...









This is Peter Puckhead signing off