ABHL Season 4 MIDWAY POINT Report Cards - CASH ONLY

[R.Rishaug]

Cash Only 7-5-2 /Third Place/73GF 81GA

Its fairly difficult to give a grade solely on this teams forwards/defense as they have a versatile bunch that plays a combination of both. The green machine averages a very sound 6.0 goals per game which is third best in the league. The team shows flashes of offensive abilities, but seemingly has to work very hard to generate their offense. That being said they have a top 5 point getter in Ryan Tong who is on pace for career highs, and also a standout rookie in Eddy Loo who is top five in goals scored with 17. Bryan Lee is scoring well in his new forward position with over a goal per game pace. The team is definitely not locking other teams down so to be sitting third in the league with the second most goals allowed they must be doing something right. Cash Only is involved in the leagues most tight scoring games as 6 of their 7 victories have come by 2 goals or less. They usually don't lose games by a whole lot either with the exception of a few lopsided games vs the Chain Gang. Overall the team should be happy with where they sit as I don't think they have performed to their full capabilities yet and sit third in the league.

From a GM ing stand point Cash Only drafted fairly conservative and saved a lot of cap space. So Ryan Ho has not had to have been too active on the trade front. The verdict is still out on the one move CO has made this season. Charles has proven to be a solid rookie thus far, putting up just over a point per game scoring pace. Johnny has been in and out of the lineup, but has been mostly effective when he plays. Cash Only rolled off two solid wins in week 6 and is now over the cap. It will be interesting to see what crucial moves will be made by CO GM Ryan Ho. Will the core of Bryan Lee, Stanley Chan, Ryan Tong be able to stay together? We'll find the answer to that question after the Christmas break.

Cash Only has overcome the loss of their draftee Rob Mella fairly well. Although his added cap of 1.7 million at the moment could've been useful right now. Pending any major busts or developments, you can bet the house that Cash Only will be in the thick of things when the playoffs roll around. A relatively uneventful, but solid first half of the season leaves Cash Only with a mid season grade of a B-.

This is R.Rishaug reporting for TaSN – Edmonton. Stay tuned for the Roosters report card next.

[R.Rishaug]

Roosters 8-3-1 /First Place/79GF 57GA

Sitting first place in the league, this team means business. There is no championship hangover here as the Roosters have continued their winning ways. They have an astouding 57 goals against and to add to that they have the second most goals in the league. This all adds up to the best goal differential in the league and obviously is a huge reason as to why they are atop of the standings. The key to their success thus far has been the ability to role out a solid line up every week. Their attendance is the best in the league as they consistently trot out the same line up week in and week out. The trio of Wilson Le, Winslow Tang and Garvin Chow has found some chemistry and has translated into monster season for all three. Wilson has already surpassed his career high in goals and has tied his highest point total already. Winslow is also having a career season, and making quite the case for the league MVP. D converted forward Freddy Wong has found his scoring touch and will surely surpass his previous career high of 17 points. There isnt much to pick apart on this sound Rooster squad, headlined by their big three, the supporting cast is likely the best we've ever seen, veteran players Richard Tang, Joseph Florendo and Andrew Szeto make it always difficult to play against.

In the ABHL mo wins means mo money which means mo problems for the GM. The Roosters have burned through cap like no other. David Nguyen has done a fantastic job managing his all star cast, and will likely have to keep it up throughout the year. He wasnt a Season 3 champion for no reason. So far all his trades have been fair and equal value. Acquiring Wilson Le and Garvin Chow has proved to be a seamless transition even though they lost their superstar Vannak Chan. It'll be crucial that the Roosters GM keeps this core in tact while continuing their winning ways.This will be a headline to follow in the second half of the season.

The Roosters continue to dominate and currently might have an even better team than last years championship squad. The black cocks easily get a solid grade of an A+ half way through the season.

This is R.Rishaug reporting for TaSN – Edmonton. Stay tuned for the Shockers report card next.

[R.Rishaug]

Shockers 3-7-1 /Sixth Place/61GF 87GA

The shockers are currently sitting in sixth place. They have a goal differential of -26 and and league low 5.08 goals per game. But things are looking up for this squad. How you ask? Well in their last four games they are a very solid 2-1-1, and two of those wins came against CG and the first place Roosters. This didnt happen out of no where though, as GM Hon Yee recognized his team needed a major shake up. After week 4 the Shockers were a dismal 1-7, this was when the biggest trade in the history of the ABHL was made. Hon went for broke and acquired one of the most storied players in ABHL history in Keith Mah. Keith has been as advertised as he has proven he can carry a team. He was most recently named player of the week and has made his teammates around him better. Kevin Tai had a massive week 5 and Felix Cheng has found a scoring touch running with Keith.

So while it was a rough first half of the season, things are looking up in Shockerville. Not to mention they have the nicest gear in the league. Players Tees and Retro faded sweaters.
The one thing you cant grade with this squad is their effect on the fans and the crowd. It always seems lively in the gym when the yellow team takes the floor. Fast pace and hard working is their game style. Louis Lai was a rookie of the year finalist and should clearly add some stability on the back end. Unfortunately he is missing in action for the next couple of weeks. Dan Sune has stepped up his play, but had a rough first half of the season getting torched for a league worst 85 goals. A bit of improvement on his rebound control will go a long ways. Dan is a veteran goalie and I'm confident he will make the necessary adjustments.

If we were grading the last two weeks of the season so far the Shockers would get a solid grade, but this takes into account the entire first half and they still sit in the basement of the league. So the Shockers grade for the mid way point of the season is a C-.

It'll be a fun second half of the season for the Shocker squad, and im sure Shockerville will be cheering in full force.

This is R.Rishaug reporting for TaSN – Edmonton. Stay tuned for the Slammers report card next.

[R.Rishaug]

Slammers 8-4-0 /Second Place/65GF 63GA

As usual the Slammers are among the top teams in the league. This makes it four straight seasons they are among the elite in the ABHL. Although this is the first time they are not in first place at the midway point of the season. It's been one helluva a ride if your an SHJB fan. The day finally came this season when the red team had to trade the face of their franchise away. They are a mediocre 2-2 since the deal, and have allowed a whopping 7goals per game in the last two weeks. This is very unlike SHJB hockey. On the plus side this team has grown a set of kahonas with their new additions. Kevin Chan aka "KNasty" was the lone enforcer on the squad. He has since added fellow hard nosed players Gene Carandang and Robin Chu.

SHJB has some chemistry issues to sort out, but any team with new faces has to go through this process. When this team is flying they have shown flashes of dominance. A key factor will be regulating their shifts as they have a 8 man roster as opposed to every other teams 9 man roster. Also SHJB will have to stop relying on last second game tying goals. They have notched 3 game tying goals in the last seconds vs the Flying Tigers this season. They are a stellar 3-0 in the shootout as well.  An oddity in the schedule has made it so SHJB hasnt faced CG yet, those two teams will be seeing a lot of each other in the second half and those games could determine a lot in the standings. SHJB has had a tough time vs the Roosters so far as they are 0-3 and have lost those games by a combined 10 goals.

John Pho has played through any potential sophomore jinx and proved his rookie season was no fluke. With Keith Mah, this team will have to score by committee a whole lot more. Daniel Mah has already seen the effects since losing his wingman depart as he has 1 point in the 4 games without him. Daniel knows he will have to step up his production if SHJB was any chance at their fourth straight finals appearance, and more importantly a second championship.

If we were grading the last two weeks of the season so far SHJB would get a poorer grade, but this takes into account the entire first half and they still sit second overall. So SHJB receives a B- grade.

This is R.Rishaug reporting for TaSN – Edmonton. Stay tuned for the Chain Gang report card next.

[R.Rishaug]

Chain Gang 6-5-1 /Fourth Place/83GF 70GA

Its been a up and down season so far for the blue team. CG has gone 2-0 only once and nearly every other week has been alternating one win and one loss. The only consistent thing has been CG's ability to put the ball in the net. Their 83 goals ranks number in the league for offensive output. Where this team struggles is keeping it out for long period of time. CG is prone to a very fast pace game which often leads to many defensive breakdowns. Something that will need to be addressed if they want to have any success long term. CG has had their hands full in the first half when playing the Shockers. Cg has lost two games vs the Shockers and one of the games they won was via the Shootout. This last week Cg lost two games, and were lacking something. Being one of the most active GM's in the league Felix Wong likely will make some moves to adjust the roster.

CG's top trio of Vannak Chan, Eric Huynh, and Felix Wong are continuing to get things done as they have combined for a whopping 94 points in 32 games. This line has to play well to carry the blue team to success. Another player who has flown under the radar but has played unreal is Rookie Brendan Lee. Brendan is a versatile forward who can play a checking role, goal scoring, playmaking or defensive role. Look for this underrated forward to keep quietly trucking on. While CG tends to make a lot of noise with their flash and goals, the mediocre record of 6-5-1 and a fourth place standing isn't living up to the pre season expectations this team had. Overall grade for the first half of the season C+

This is R.Rishaug reporting for TaSN – Edmonton. Stay tuned for the Flying Tigers report card next.

[R.Rishaug]

Flying Tigers 4-5-3 /Fifth Place/65GF 68GA

For a team that oozes talent, its rather disappointing seeing them in fifth place. The team has championship quality goaltending,defense and offense. Its just a matter of all three coming to play on the same day or if at all. Over the last three weeks they have been missing key components to their lineups. Alex was missing in week 5, Bernie Chu missed week 5 for personal reasons and just this past week Ricky Gregorio missed due to personal reasons. If the committment and dedication comes in the second half of the season watch out for this team. They started the season hot going 3-1-2 and picking up points in 5 out of 6 games. In the last three weeks they've gone an ugly 1-4-1. The team is still in good shape though, as if you take back 3 last second game tying goals and Shootout losses, this team could easily be in second place.

Hau Nguyen has continued to prove his worth and justifying is first overall status. hes notched a stellar 26 points in 12 games. Only problem is he'll need more support from the rest of the cast as the next highest is Steve Wong with 18 points and Bernie with 17 points. Dave Ly has scored fairly consistently and is an explosive week away from really making his mark. The key forward of this squad that needs to step up his production is Will Chan. He is still producing at just over a point per game with 12 in 10, but needs to find his season 1 scoring touch to really vault this team to the top. Mind you he is just rounding into form after taking 2 seasons off after a major knee injury. Look for him to turn it up in the second half.

The tigers still have some cap space to work with, but will likely need to make another move before the season ends. Tiger's GM Bernie Chu has a plethora of attractive bargaining chips and should be able to keep a solid core together. Overall the Tigers first half of the season has been a bit underwhelming and to an extent quite disappointing. Their grade is a C-.

Hope you all enjoyed this seasons mid way report cards. Have a wonderful Christmas Break.
This is R.Rishaug reporting for TaSN – Edmonton.

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