Power Rankings

Hockey - Week 8 Power Rankings


Being part of the GHL league allows some of us to become GMs and manage their very own teams to victory. Just like the real NHL though, some build their teams well and gain reputation while others simply fizzle out and eventually step down. It takes a strong draft and sometimes a trade to fine tune your team to stay in the running for the coveted GHL trophy.

After 8 games so far, here are where teams are ranked…

RANK

TEAM

RECORD

LAST WEEK

UP/DOWN

1.

Astro

6-2-0

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Whenever legendary captain Jim Sourges is involved, there is no questioning these guys. Unstoppable? Time will tell but Royal Lepage showed no signs of threatening to knock the Sourges clan of their top perch this past Sunday as Astro easily handed this hot team an easy loss to take sole possession of first place. Thirty three goals scored, for the Astro machine this season, that is more than double than Lixar's total tally. "Whiz kid" Peter Sourges is continuing to light up goalies and brother Michael continues to impress. Secondary scoring might be an issue moving forward, but not so far getting timely goals by veteran Jimmy Tsarouhas and the rest of the second liners. Truth is, whatever spot these guys finish in the end, no one wants to play them in any round. Absolutely no one.

2.

PKOM

4-1-3

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When asked if losing their first game to bottom team Spectrum on Sunday is good enough reason for a second place ranking… a clearly agitated Spero Papoulias replied, “Who gives a @^#$@3@*& and #!$#*. These power rankings don’t mean @$&%@# - all to us. We have the best all around team in the league, no doubt!! My son , my brother and I are top players. It’s a ^$3*# n conspiracy...

3.

Royal Lepage

5-3-0

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Was Sunday's loss to Astro just a game that got away from Valsamis’ team  or are there some cracks beginning to show for this squad? If anything the 4-1 drubbing showed that this team is definitely beatable. No doubt that the co-commish has picked a good team here and time will tell if they are all that. Rookie superstar Defenceman , Dylan McDiarmid is definitely a rock back there while offensive workhorse Jim Sarlis is playing like a first rounder. After Sunday’s loss to Astro, Royal Lepage captain George Valsamis was asked to comment on his team’s success so far and future rankings. The confident captain replied… Listen, we are in a good spot you know, I am their captain to start, I built a team that works hard, like me, plays great positional hockey , like me, gives 100%, like me…. I am hard on my players and expect the best of them. I am not happy with  any loss, only wins matters to me… .

4.

Desjardins

3-1-3

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Where is Waldo? I mean Chris, anyone seen Terry?  Seems to be the theme this year…. In the end no one should take this team for granted..  They are currently sitting 4th in the standings and this with the Dynamic Duo only playing together once… The champs got all they could handle this week and more as they went toe to toe with a surging Lixar team.  When asked if last place team Lixar showed the rest of the league the formula to playing them ...Captain Chris Theo smirked and then replied, “Sun shines on every dog’s ass once.  It’s tough to bet against any Chris Theo led club and now is not a good time to start. 

5.

S&G

3-4-1

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S&G played Sunday’s game versus Lafkas’ Holmes Security squad with something to prove about their guts and fortitude … mission accomplished.  Sainis’s squad looked like a team possessed as they jumped all over Holmes Security  from the first drop of the puck. S&G was clicking on all cylinders as they put together their best team performance yet.  Rumors have it that the usually mild mannered Sainis let’em have it before the game.. The club utilized a tenacious back checking effort to smother GHL scoring leaders Mike Holmes and Chris Lafkas  while their offense was full throttle as Tommy Spiliotopoulos, Steve Smith and  Guido ran wild thru the Holmes Security defense. Opposing goalie Louie Aivaliotis is still looking for his  jock strap after being completely undressed by the “Italian Stallion” Fiore Guido.. Question is … can this team repeat their performance and continue climbing the rankings or was this a one-off and fall off their high horse..  Time will tell…. At least they look damn good with those new jerseys!!!!!!

6.

Holmes Security

3-4-1

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After beating Astro a few weeks ago, sniper Mike Holmes was overheard talking about their upcoming game to S&G “ That 2 pad stack goalie of theirs and the rest of the shoemakers should be worried, they are safer playing on the 417 than playing against Lakfkas and I”.......... Holmes Security remain a thoroughly uncompetitive bunch as they continue to take one step forward and one step back.  Sunday’s lackluster 5-1 loss to S&G was just another example of a team that seems to be just going thru the motions. This team can definitely play well, as shown by their 5-3 win over top Astro and come back win over PKOM. Holmes Security’s and GHL’s top scorer Mike  Holmes and captain Lafkas remain a major offensive threat but due to a slow start and some inconsistent play, this team is in 6th place. If their defensive play improves and their offensive stars continue to produce, this team will definitely go up in the standings and surprise a few in the playoffs.

7.

Spectrum Supply

3-5-0

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After a very sluggish start to the season and many calling for Petrakos’ head, Spectrum  are starting to look like a playoff caliber team these days with back to back big game performances. A week after beating S&G in a controversial game none the less, Spectrum turned around and beat a very tough PKOM squad 2-1. With his recent great play, this  also marked the real return of goaltender John O'Keefe to the GHL. Asked after the game whether or not he thought his team had turned the corner captain/coach George Petrakos replied, “Not sure, but I like what I’ve seen the last couple of weeks from the stands, a pretty good building block for what lies ahead. Just hoping that when I return from my upper body injury, my team will continue to play as well”. If this team has any chance of doing anything this year, they will need to put it all together every game and keep relying heavily on their own “Whiz kid” John Kontogiannis and veteran Marc-Andre Parisien. Petrakos is still waiting for his workhorse “Kurtz” to score his first. Like a successful vasectomy patient, Kurtz has the potential to score, but lately is left holding his own, feeling shame and unable to please the crowd…...

8

Lixar IT

2-4-2

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Many claim that Rookie Captain Chris Zourdos drafted his own team to escape the grasp of Mr Valsamis. Tough to say if that was a good choice as his former captain’s team is top three in the league. Lixar has been a bit of a  Jekyll and Hyde team over the last two weeks. Two weeks ago they got hammered by PKOM 5-1. This past Sunday they beat the defending champs Desjardins 4-2. Offensively, they can be assured of some firepower from the “Cretan Wizard” Manny Tzanakakis… after that? Once again the rubber seems to be flying towards the Lixar goal crease as this squad has by FAR given up the most shots against in the GHL. Chris Zourdo’s stats don’t tell the whole story as this great young keeper has managed to help guide his team to a few wins and ties.  When asked how he plans on getting his team back on track, rookie captain Chris Zourdos replied… “ Well after our first team bonding night got out of hand a little bit, I need to put some curfews on some guys..... One things for sure, this team better clean things up , especially in their own end or Zourdos will be asking Santa for a new set of pads this Christmas. In the end, it will be interesting to see what version of Lixar shows up this weekend and for the rest of the year.