By Andrew Delios

It’s April, and another regular season of the NIHL is in the books.

The 24 game seasons in Division 1 and Division 2 saw record numbers of participants in both divisions. We had 78 players take part in Division 1 action and 104 players play in Division 2 games. We had increasing numbers of Singaporean, expatriate, men, women and youth hockey players, for a good representation in our league from each of these groups.

Each night of hockey generally saw teams ice at least 8 skaters, with many Division 2 nights in particular, seeing teams with rosters of 12, 13, 14 or more skaters. These numbers and the participation of all players speaks well to the promise of these two Divisions for Singaporean ice hockey. Thanks to all the players who took part in this season’s action.

This season saw the Brewerkz squads lead the Division 1 and Division 2 standings. The Division 1 Brewerkz Bruins finished ahead of the Coq’n’Bull Bulls, to top the standings with 39 points, for a winning percentage of 0.8125. This was the second past season in the five year history of the NIHL, surpassed only by the Continental Wings magical season in 2001-02, when they had a winning percentage of 0.821. In Division 2, the Brewerkz Buzz worked their way to 30 points, to finish ahead of the second place San Miguel Saints.

... Timo began the year in Division 2, and his stellar play in Division 2, where he finished ...

The scoring races saw new leaders as well. For the first time since moving to Singapore, Jarko Salo did not finish at the top of the Division 1 scoring race. He was passed by another Finn, newcomer Timo Rasanen. Timo began the year in Division 2, and his stellar play in Division 2, where he finished second in scoring to Buzz skater Kenny Lam, allowed him to move up to the Division 1 team. He quickly justified his placement in Division 1, averaging more than 4 points per game, in accumulating 81 points in the season.

This season was a tough one on the goalies, as defense was a secondary consideration for all teams all season. Russ Ramos faced a record 1079 shots in Division 1, or about 45 shots per game. Russ performed up to his usual high standards with a save percentage of 0.886. Chris Poohachoff likewise turned in a strong performance with a save percentage of 0.873. More interestingly, Chris’s team, the L’Estaminet Beers, were only able to win one of the seven games in which he did not play.

This season saw the departure of some of the stalwarts in the league including Eddie Guay and Eugene Chin who man the nets in both Division 1 and Division 2. With the unavailability of netminder Yusof for much of the season, several new goalies entered the nets in NIHL games. With the shortage of goalies, Russ Ramos took part in a large number of Div 2 games, where he pitched 4 shutouts, while maintaining a save percentage of 0.946.

... The referees and scorekeepers, who are volunteers in our league, like the league committee, did yeoman’s work in making sure...

Division 2 action saw the usual among the usual, which is Andy Ho Kian Soon showing up for every game. Dependable Andy now has played 61 consecutive Division 2 games, and his ice time is reflected in his performance, as he led all Division 2 scorers with 17 goals. Perennial stalwarts Löeve Chiong and Michael Loh also had good season, while newcomer Michael Marusiak looked like he was going to run away with the scoring title, until a mid-season scoring slump.

The good seasons of Michael and Löeve left them at the top of the all time scoring standings for Division 2. Meanwhile, Greg Blakney continued his assault on the Division 1 scoring statistics, becoming the all time leader in goals and points for Division 1 games, even though the itinerant Matt Wheeler did his best to hold on to his lead. Greg also leads the all-time all leagues scoring standings, standing just 4 points shy of 300, which incidentally is just 10 points short of his total penalty minutes.

Overall, penalty minutes were down on the season, even though the games remained competitive. The referees and scorekeepers, who are volunteers in our league, like the league committee, did yeoman’s work in making sure each game went smoothly, and that all stats were recorded well, so that we can keep track of stats on pages like these, and so that the games remained enjoy and competitive for all.

Here’s hoping the playoffs maintain the same good, competitive atmosphere, as there might be a couple of upsets in store for a few teams

Stay tuned for more updates at the end of April.