By John Ward

Another 25 games in the NIHL are in the bank, and another 23 remain to be played in the first few months of 2005. The first half of the NIHL season saw good growth in our league with about 40 new players joining in to take part in ice hockey in Singapore. The growth in Singapore ice hockey has been fueled by both local and expat interest alike, which is a good sign for the future prospects of our league.

Even with the emergence of many new players in the league, many story lines remain the same. Jarko Salo and Russ Ramos respectively remain at the top of the scoring race and goaltending stats, while the devastating duo of Michael Loh and Loeve Chiong continue to tear-up Division 2 and Division 1. Although John Ward’s play on the ice suffered with a baseball induced tear of his knee ligaments, his management skills remained as strong as in the previous year, with his Brewerkz Bruins and Buzz squad again near the top of the standings.

...the Brewerkz Buzz have been even more stingy than their first division brethren, giving up just 39 goals on 344 shots...

Brewerkz’s squads would be at the top of both standings were it not for Jack Riggs’s two red teams. Jack’s Coq’n’Bull Bulls lead the tightest first half Division 1 race in the four-year history of the League, with just one point separating the first place Bulls and the Bruins. The Bulls lead the league in goals scored, with 70, while the Bruins stout defense has given up a league-low 53 goals, thanks largely to the goaltending trio of resurgent-but-soon-to-depart Michael Tothe, the I’ll-be-at-the-rink-in-five-minutes Yusof, and the returning prodigal goalie, Eugene Chin, in net. The Bruins have a slight advantage over the Bulls in goal differential, scoring 14 more than they have given up, leading the League in that category.

In Division 2, the Brewerkz Buzz have been even more stingy than their first division brethren, giving up just 39 goals on 344 shots, a miserly 3.00 goals against. They moved into sole possession of first place in the last game before the break, beating the second-place San Miguel Saints, 6-4, in a face-paced game worthy of Division 1 play.

With half of our season behind us, the good news is that the race for both League Champions is wide open, especially Division 2, where only six points separate the first place Brewerkz Buzz and the fourth place M1 Hornets. We wish we could say the same for the scoring race, but Jarko Salo continues to command the top of the scoring race all to himself.

With 37 points in only 9 games played, Jarko has separated himself from a pack of Division 1 Bruins, including Andrew Delios with 32 points and Timo Rasanen, a Finnish newcomer to the League, with 31 points. Darryl Eisler, another newcomer, and League founder Greg Blakney, are just behind, with 24 and 23 points, respectively. Blakney and Eisler make up one of the most formidable defensive pairings in the League, often generously lending their presence to the defensive squad on the opposing team, by making deep forays into the opponent’s zone. This makes them a threat to score, or to be scored on.

...Three Division 1 goalies have winning records – Michael Tothe, Larry Francis and Yusof Ali, who leads the League with eight Division 1 victories against five losses...

Rick Doiron and Shane Cumming, team manager for L’Estaminet, are also in the scoring race, with 22 points each. Shane has among the highest points-per-game averages but travel has kept him from being on the ice very often this year. Not far behind in the scoring race is Loeve Chiong, with 20 points. Scott Woodward has emerged as a big threat for scoring for the Bulls, but has been kept off the ice by sore ribs and the pursuit of holistic medical care during his business trips to India. Meanwhile Ken Kram and Bruce Argue, for the LT Lions, continue to show similar point and PM totals, although different results in their battles with age. Kram, who’s a big fan of Spartak, Dynamo and the former Big Red teams led by Kharmalov, Makarov, Larionov and Tretiak, successfully wins his battle against age and plays like Bobby Clarke against the Russians. Argue, meanwhile, loses his age battle, only to sometimes look like a battle worn Clarke.

Goaltending remains a bright spot for the League, with Division 1 save percentages at 84-89 percent among our six netminders, with Russ Ramos of the Linear Technology Lions leading the way. Three Division 1 goalies have winning records – Michael Tothe, Larry Francis and Yusof Ali, who leads the League with eight Division 1 victories against five losses. Larry’s 4.33 goals against average is tops in Division 1.

In Division 2, the scoring race is far from settled with newcomer Michael Maruziak tearing up the league. Doug Balzer follows in second place, then comes Michael Loh, Andreas, I-don’t-like-free-flow-and-taxis Andersson, the day-glo glove salesman Kenny Lam, and Loeve Chiong. Russ Ramos’ Division 2 save percentage would put Brodeur and Giguerre to shame as it now sits above 0.950. Other Div 1 goalies subbing in Div 2, Larry Francis and Chris Poohachoof, also have Div 2 save percentages above 0.900. Newcomer Steven Ong has been a welcome addition in the nets, having played the most Div 2 games next to Russ Ramos.

The second half of the season is looking to be an exciting one. It begins with six weeks of action, followed by Singapore’s own Brewerkz Invitational international hockey tournament. It then concludes with another six weeks of action, followed by two rounds of playoffs.

New players to our league can join anytime, so if you are new to Singapore, or living in Singapore and interested in playing ice hockey, please contact Andrew Delios at andrew@nus.edu.sg.