Professional Standings as of 1/24

National Hockey League

Eastern Conference

1. Washington 51 GP 33-12-6 72 PTS 195-143

2. New Jersey 50 GP 34-15-1 69 PTS 138-110

3. Buffalo 50 GP 30-13-7 67 PTS 143-122

4. Pittsburgh 53 GP 32-20-1 65 PTS 168-150

5. Ottawa 53 GP 28-21-4 60 PTS 147-154

6. Philadelphia 51 GP 26-22-3 55 PTS 155-144

7. NY Rangers 52 GP 24-21-7 55 PTS 135-141

8. Montreal 53 GP 25-23-5 55 PTS 140-144

9. Boston 50 GP 23-19-8 54 PTS 126-126

10. NY Islanders 52 GP 23-21-8 54 PTS 139-157

11. Florida 52 GP 22-21-9 53 PTS 144-153

12. Atlanta 51 GP 22-21-8 52 PTS 156-166

13. Tampa Bay 53 GP 21-20-10 52 PTS 132-157

14. Toronto 53 GP 17-26-10 44 PTS 139-182

15. Carolina 50 GP 15-28-7 37 PTS 127-171


Western Conference

1. San Jose 53 GP 35-10-8 78 PTS 179-128

2. Chicago 52 GP 35-13-4 74 PTS 170-120

3. Colorado 50 GP 29-15-6 64 PTS 149-136

4. Vancouver 51 GP 31-18-2 64 PTS 167-125

5. Phoenix 52 GP 29-18-5 63 PTS 139-135

6. Los Angeles 51 GP 29-19-3 61 PTS 151-143

7. Nashville 51 GP 29-19-3 61 PTS 143-142

8. Calgary 51 GP 26-19-6 58 PTS 132-132

9. Detroit 51 GP 25-18-8 58 PTS 131-133

10. Dallas 51 GP 22-18-11 55 PTS 148-164

11. Anaheim 52 GP 24-21-7 55 PTS 148-164

12. Minnesota 52 GP 25-23-4 54 PTS 145-156

13. St. Louis 51 GP 22-21-8 52 PTS 135-146

14. Columbus 54 GP 20-25-9 49 PTS 142-180

15. Edmonton 50 GP 16-28-6 38 PTS 133-172


American Hockey League


Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Manchester 46 GP 26-14-6 58 PTS 131-110

2. Lowell 47 GP 27-16-4 58 PTS 153-125

3. Worcester 44 GP 27-14-3 57 PTS 141-136

4. Hartford 45 GP 23-16-6 52 PTS 127-131

5. Portland 44 GP 21-16-7 49 PTS 130-124

6. Bridgeport 47 GP 22-20-5 49 PTS 116-125

7. Providence 45 GP 20-22-3 43 PTS 108-125

8. Springfield 48 GP 15-23-10 40 PTS 120-166


East Division

1. Hershey 45 GP 34-9-2 70 PTS 189-102

2. Albany 45 GP 24-16-5 53 PTS 124-119

3. W-B/Scranton 44 GP 21-21-2 44 PTS 126-127

4. Adirondack 42 GP 20-19-3 43 PTS 99-122

5. Binghamton 41 GP 19-18-4 42 PTS 133-126

6. Norfolk 44 GP 19-23-2 40 PTS 113-125

7. Syracuse 45 GP 16-23-6 38 PTS 121-167


Western Conference

North Division

1. Hamilton 46 GP 27-12-7 61 PTS 149-107

2. Rochester 44 GP 26-16-2 54 PTS 144-138

3. Manitoba 47 GP 23-19-5 51 PTS 113-139

4. Abbotsford 47 GP 21-19-7 49 PTS 126-139

5. Lake Erie 46 GP 21-21-4 46 PTS 132-138

6. Grand Rapids 45 GP 21-23-1 43 PTS 140-156

7. Toronto 44 GP 17-20-7 41 PTS 111-155


West Division

1. Rockford 49 GP 26-18-5 57 PTS 141-136

2. Milwaukee 45 GP 25-14-6 56 PTS 137-130

3. Texas 44 GP 24-13-7 55 PTS 123-102

4. Chicago 44 GP 25-17-2 52 PTS 145-121

5. Houston 46 GP 22-17-7 51 PTS 128-119

6. Peoria 44 GP 23-17-4 50 PTS 132-131

7. San Antonio 43 GP 18-19-6 42 PTS 113-124


Central Hockey League

Northern Conference

1. Rapid City 37 GP 26-10-1 53 PTS 149-109

2. Colorado 36 GP 24-9-3 51 PTS 155-114

3. Bossier-Shreveport 38 GP 20-14-4 44 PTS 117-115

4. Mississippi 38 GP 19-15-4 42 PTS 123-124

5. Tulsa 35 GP 18-16-1 37 PTS 115-120

6. Missouri 39 GP 17-19-3 37 PTS 118-143

7. Wichita 37 GP 4-30-3 11 PTS 67-139


Southern Conference

1. Odessa 40 GP 31-6-3 65 PTS 166-106

2. Allen 39 GP 27-9-3 57 PTS 125-102

3. Texas 39 GP 20-14-5 45 PTS 116-116

4. Laredo 38 GP 18-13-7 43 PTS 125-126

5. Amarillo 42 GP 17-19-6 40 PTS 131-154

6. Rio Grande Valley 37 GP 17-16-4 38 PTS 112-131

7. Corpus Christi 39 GP 16-17-6 38 PTS 121-120

8. Arizona 40 GP 13-24-3 29 PTS 121-142

Professional Standings as of 1/18

We are coming out of the Central Hockey League All Star Game while the American Hockey League will have their All Star Event tomorrow night. For the American Hockey League, it will take place at the Cumberland County Civic Center tomorrow night while the South Texas All Stars beat the CHL All Stars 9-4 with Sean Muncy of the RGV Killer Bees wins the All Star Game MVP Award.

National Hockey League

Out East, the 3 Division Leaders are within 2 points of each other as the Capitals, Devils and Sabres are back and fourth towards claming the Conference Lead and looking to fend off the Pittsburgh Penguins who are just 4 points back of Atlantic Division Leaders and Sydney Crosby and company will look to lead the Atlantic as we approach the Winter Olympic Break. After the top 4, the Boston Bruins, NY Rangers, Ottawa Senators and the NY Islanders hold down spots 5-8 and are just separated by 4 points while a slew of teams that go from the 9th place Montreal Canadians through 13th place Tampa Bay Lighting.

Who are just 4 points back of the 8th place NY Islanders and these teams will look to overtake teams like NY Islanders and Montreal to get into the playoff spots. The only teams that look down and out right now are the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes who are 15 points back of 8th right now and have just won 14 games this season, they will be looking to possibly the #1 overall draft pick and possibly get Windsor Spitfires Standout Taylor Hall in June.

The Western Conference has the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks as the best teams in the West with a 10 gap between the top 2 and 3rd place Colorado who will look to hold off the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks which will be the toughest Division Race this season once again. Fighting it out for the final home ice spot for the 1st round is two of the biggest surprises this season as the Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes, currently the Preds have the edge by playing 1 fewer game and having more wins then Phoenix (NSH 29, PHX 28).

Down the line out west, are the other 2 Northwest Contenders as the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames are in 6th and 7th, but just 2 points back of Northwest Leading Colorado. With the top of the West being so talented.

It will be huge to win the Northwest Division as this will be the difference between having home ice and just fighting it out to make the playoffs. Los Angeles and Detroit are on the cut line right now with the Kings up just a point over the Red Wings who have had major injury problems this season.

Dallas, Minnesota and Anaheim are with 51 points and 5 points back of 9th place Detroit and a critical match up takes place tonight in Dallas as the Stars and Wild where the winner will take a huge step while the loser will fall even further with the Ducks have a game against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night at home in California.

St. Louis is looking to catch up to the Stars, Wild and Ducks as they are just 2 points back of this gap as they have a busy week ahead with games against the Blue Jackets tonight, Canadians on Wednesday, and the Senators on Thursday, and the Ducks on Saturday. This will give them a chance to catch up against some important teams that they are trying to chase, especially the Ducks on Saturday.

As for the Columbus and Edmonton, these are teams that won't much to play for right now as the Blue Jackets are 12 points of 8th while the Oilers are 20 points back and will look to battle the Carolina Hurricanes for the top pick in this year's NHL Draft.

American Hockey League

As we reach the AHL All Star Game tomorrow night, the Atlantic and West Division as the division title races are just 3 points separate the top 3 as the Manchester Monarchs are starting to be chased down by the Worcester Sharks and Lowell Devils. Out West, the Texas Stars who have been ahead for basically the entire season to this point are in 3rd, but are just 2 points back of the Division Leading Milwaukee Admirals and a point back of the Peoria Rivermen.

However, the Stars have 5 games in hand over the Peoria Rivermen which will give them plenty of chances to overtake and hold down the Rivermen, while it's starting to look like the Milwaukee Admirals and Texas Stars will go for the Division Title and home ice for at least the West Division Semifinals and Final Rounds of the Playoffs.

In the East Division, the Hershey Bears are opening up a huge gap with a whooping 16 point lead over the Albany River Rats where the defending champions have won an insane 32 of 43 games this season. It's also starting to become clear that right now, 4th place won't be good enough to make the playoffs as only the top 3 will make it in with the Albany River Rats are in 2nd with 50 points (23-16-4) while the Adirondack Phantoms and W-B/Scranton Penguins are tied with 42 points and could be the big battle for the final playoff spot out East.

However, the rest of the East is Edgar and waiting for one of these teams to slip up as Binghamton, Syracuse and Norfolk are just 4 and 6 points back.

Up North, the Hamilton Bulldogs have a 7 point lead at the Break, but the rest of the North is starting to tight up as the Rochester Americans who are in 2nd and looking to fend off the Manitoba Moose and Abbotsford Heat are well in striking distance while the Lake Erie Monsters are starting to heat up with a pair of impressive wins over the Hamilton Bulldogs, a strong performance on the road in Rochester and a great game despite losing in a SO over the Milwaukee Admirals.

The only team that looks to be way down is Toronto who has lost every game of a recent 7 game road trip where they will finish it up with a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins on December 22. The Marlies are currently 11 points back of 4th place Abbtosford and will most likely drift away during the 2nd half of the season.


Central Hockey League

The Northern Conference has the Colorado Eagles and Rapid City Rush battling for the top spot as the teams are both at 49 points with both teams coming off strong weekends as the All Star Break came to an end. Rapid City delivered a 6-1 beat down of Allen then a 4-3 win over Amarillo last weekend.

For Colorado, a pair of 1 goal wins over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs kept them tied for 1st. This week, Rapid City will face off against Amarillo again at home on Tuesday night while the Eagles will host the Laredo Bucks for a pair of games on Wednesday and Friday this week.

The rest of the North of the exception of Wichita is just separated with Missouri taking over Tulsa for the 5th and final playoff spot with a 5-4 win over Mississippi paired with a 4-3 Oilers loss over the Texas Brahmas.

Unless either BOS, MIS, MIO, or TUL can pull away with a hot streak coming up, expect a very tight battle between these 4 teams as the Riverkings host the Mavericks on Friday night while Tulsa heads hosts the Wichita Thunder that same night.

Odessa has a 9 point lead over the Allen Americans with an impressive 154 goals scored this season as they expected to continue to run away with the South as the Jackalopes will have a rare 3 game series coming up this week against last place Arizona.

2nd Place Allen is playing a MLK Afternoon Game against the Arizona Sundogs today as the Sundogs are playing the final game of a 5 game road trip with a 2-2 mark with a pair of wins over Missouri and losses against Amarillo and Texas over the weekend.

Texas with a pair of home games against Corpus Christi this weekend as the Brahmas will look to at least to widen their gap on a very tight group for 3rd place and look to chase down local rival Allen as the gap from 4th to 7th is just 4 points as the Icerayz will look to catch up to the Laredo Bucks and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees to get into the Play In Round where they got beat by the Killer Bees in last year's Southern Play In Round Series.

For the Killer Bees this week, a 3 game road trip awaits them with games against Corpus Christi, Bossier-Shreveport and Tulsa. Laredo also has a 3 game road trip coming up playing the Northern Conference Leading Rapid City Rush and Colorado Eagles as this will be a huge week that set up their playoff chances in the final 2 months of the regular season.


National Hockey League

Eastern Conference

1. Washington 48 GP 30-12-6 66 PTS 182-136

2. New Jersey 46 GP 32-13-1 65 PTS 131-101

3. Buffalo 46 GP 29-11-6 64 PTS 127-106

4. Pittsburgh 50 GP 30-19-1 61 PTS 157-139

5. Boston 47 GP 23-16-8 54 PTS 122-116

6. NY Rangers 49 GP 23-19-7 53 PTS 127-131

7. Ottawa 49 GP 24-21-4 52 PTS 133-149

8. NY Islanders 48 GP 21-19-8 50 PTS 127-146

9. Montreal 50 GP 23-23-4 50 PTS 128-139

10. Philadelphia 47 GP 23-21-3 49 PTS 143-137

11. Atlanta 47 GP 21-19-7 49 PTS 149-155

12. Florida 48 GP 20-20-8 48 PTS 140-149

13. Tampa Bay 47 GP 18-19-10 46 PTS 122-144

14. Toronto 49 GP 16-24-9 41 PTS 130-170

15. Carolina 47 GP 14-26-7 35 PTS 118-162


Western Conference

1. Chicago 49 GP 34-11-4 72 PTS 165-110

2. San Jose 49 GP 31-10-8 70 PTS 157-123

3. Colorado 48 GP 27-15-6 60 PTS 141-135

4. Nashville 48 GP 29-16-3 61 PTS 137-132

5. Phoenix 49 GP 28-16-5 61 PTS 131-122

6. Vancouver 48 GP 28-18-2 58 PTS 155-119

7. Calgary 49 GP 26-17-6 58 PTS 130-120

8. Los Angeles 48 GP 27-18-3 57 PTS 143-133

9. Detroit 48 GP 24-16-8 56 PTS 123-124

10. Dallas 48 GP 20-17-11 51 PTS 137-154

11. Minnesota 49 GP 24-22-3 51 PTS 135-146

12. Anaheim 49 GP 22-20-7 51 PTS 138-154

13. St. Louis 47 GP 21-19-7 49 PTS 124-132

14. Columbus 50 GP 18-23-9 45 PTS 130-167

15. Edmonton 47 GP 16-26-5 37 PTS 128-159


American Hockey League


Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Manchester 44 GP 26-13-5 57 PTS 121-101

2. Worcester 43 GP 26-14-3 55 PTS 136-132

3. Lowell 45 GP 25-16-4 54 PTS 145-123

4. Hartford 43 GP 22-16-5 49 PTS 122-122

5. Portland 43 GP 21-15-7 49 PTS 129-120

6. Bridgeport 45 GP 21-19-5 47 PTS 112-119

7. Providence 44 GP 20-21-3 43 PTS 107-121

8. Springfield 46 GP 14-22-10 38 PTS 116-162


East Division

1. Hershey 43 GP 32-9-2 66 PTS 173-97

2. Albany 43 GP 23-16-4 50 PTS 120-115

3. Adirondack 40 GP 20-18-2 42 PTS 94-115

4. W-B/Scranton 42 GP 20-20-2 42 PTS 117-119

5. Binghamton 39 GP 17-18-4 38 PTS 124-121

6. Syracuse 43 GP 16-21-6 38 PTS 114-156

7. Norfolk 42 GP 17-23-2 36 PTS 105-120


Western Conference

North Division

1. Hamilton 44 GP 26-11-7 59 PTS 140-102

2. Rochester 42 GP 25-15-2 52 PTS 138-129

3. Manitoba 45 GP 23-17-5 51 PTS 108-123

4. Abbotsford 45 GP 21-18-6 48 PTS 121-127

5. Lake Erie 44 GP 20-20-4 44 PTS 127-131

6. Grand Rapids 43 GP 21-21-1 43 PTS 137-144

7. Toronto 42 GP 15-20-7 37 PTS 103-151


West Division

1. Milwaukee 43 GP 24-13-6 54 PTS 130-122

2. Rockford 47 GP 24-18-5 53 PTS 133-132

3. Texas 42 GP 23-13-6 52 PTS 116-97

4. Chicago 42 GP 24-16-2 50 PTS 132-113

5. Peoria 42 GP 22-16-4 48 PTS 125-124

6. Houston 44 GP 20-17-7 47 PTS 116-114

7. San Antonio 42 GP 18-19-5 41 PTS 111-120


Central Hockey League

Northern Conference

1. Colorado 33 GP 23-7-3 49 PTS 143-101

2. Rapid City 34 GP 24-9-1 49 PTS 137-98

3. Bossier-Shreveport 35 GP 18-13-4 40 PTS 107-109

4. Mississippi 36 GP 17-15-4 38 PTS 114-121

5. Missouri 36 GP 17-16-3 37 PTS 114-130

6. Tulsa 33 GP 17-15-1 35 PTS 112-115

7. Wichita 34 GP 3-28-5 9 PTS 61-134


Southern Conference

1. Odessa 37 GP 28-6-3 59 PTS 154-99

2. Allen 35 GP 24-9-2 50 PTS 110-95

3. Texas 37 GP 19-13-5 43 PTS 113-110

4. Laredo 35 GP 16-12-7 39 PTS 112-115

5. Rio Grande Valley 35 GP 16-15-4 36 PTS 106-119

6. Amarillo 38 GP 15-17-6 36 PTS 117-139

7. Corpus Christi 36 GP 15-16-5 35 PTS 110-111

8. Arizona 36 GP 13-20-3 29 PTS 112-126

Professional Standings as of 1/11

National Hockey League

With just a month till the Olympic Break, the midway point of the season has some interesting surprises in the West as teams like Nashville, Colorado and Phoenix would be in while others like Dallas, Detroit and Anaheim would be out of the playoff picture right now. Just like the East, San Jose and Chicago are expected to fight it out for the Top Spot in the Conference and possibly the Presidents Cup Title for the Home Ice Advantage throughout the playoffs.

As for the 3rd Place Calgary Flames, they will be in the best Division Race as the Flames lead but the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche are just 1 point back in the Division (Vancouver in 5th and Colorado in 6th). Every game between these 3 teams will be huge towards both the Division Championship and playoff seeding as these 3 will look to keep teams like Nashville and Los Angeles who are just behind them.

The Los Angeles Kings hold down the 8th and final spot while the Detroit Red Wings are just a point back and the Stars are 4 points back of the Final Playoff spot. However, Minnesota and Anaheim are starting to catchup to the Stars who loss ed the first of a 3 game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets and have been woeful on the road this season. If somebody like Dallas, Minnesota or Anaheim doesn't get on a hot streak before the Olympic Break, these teams may start beginning to drift away from the playoff spots.

Meanwhile in the Eastern Conference, The New Jersey Devils lead the East with the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals in 2nd and 3rd right now. Defending Cup Champion Pittsburgh in 4th is attempting to track down the Devils while the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals have some pretty comfy leads in their divisions right now as both teams lead by double digits. Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference.

The gap from 5th from 10th (Boston, NY Rangers, Ottawa, Montreal, Philadelphia and NY Islanders) where the gap is just 5 points separated right now as these teams will look to make up some room to catch the Penguins who are currently in the 4th and final spot for 1st round home ice when the league returns from the Olympic Break in Early March.

Unless New Jersey or Buffalo topple to give up their lead, expect the Devils and Sabres to possibly compete for the top seed in the East as Devils goalie Martin Brodeur continues to set all sorts of goalie records as he is beginning to cement his legacy as the leagues best goalie of all time.

American Hockey League

Two teams that got off to great starts are starting to fade somewhat as the Texas Stars have lost their lead in the West they have held onto since the beginning of the season where they taken over by the Milwaukee Admirals.

For the Manchester Monarchs, the Atlantic Division Lead has been shrunk to 5 points as the Worcester Sharks and Lowell Devils have been on hot streak. For Manchester, a loss to Springfield gave them a wake up call who is last in the Atlantic Division where they had to comeback and gave up a 1-0 lead recently.

After the Monarchs, the gap between 2nd and 6th place is 5 points where the Portland Pirates who are in 5th would make the playoffs because they have a stronger record then the Adirondack Phantoms who are 4th in the East.

Speaking of the East, the defending champion Hershey Bears are opening up a 14 point lead over the Albany River Rats where winning 9 of their last 10 are starting to prove that they want to be in the race to defend the Calder Cup and at the moment would have home ice advantage through the entire playoffs right now.

Until someone can stop the Bears, it will be a race for 2nd in the East as the Albany River Rats have the 2nd spot and the W-B/Scranton Penguins have the 3rd spot. After that, the rest of the East is hoping that the Atlantic Division cools it jets since the 5th place team in the Atlantic could be in the post season if they have a stronger record then the 4th place team in the East. The good news for the East is that the bottom 4 spots are just separated by 2 points and if anyone can get into a 2nd half surge, they could easily get into the playoff race.

Like the East, the Hamilton Bulldogs up north are separating themselves in the pack as the Bulldogs have won 7 of their last 8 and are a perfect 4 for 4 on the current 7 game homestand. The Bulldogs have 2 games against the Lake Erie Monsters and a match against the Rochester Americans to end the home stand before a 7 game road trip starting on 1/16 against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The rest of the North continues to be very competitive as the Rochester Americans, Manitoba Moose and Abbotsford Heat are just 3 points apart which separate 2nd through 4th place and the Grand Rapids Griffins are just 4 points back, but winning just 2 of their last 10 have them concerned going into the All Star Break could have them concerned with a surging Lake Erie Monsters is looking to take them over.

Finally in the West Division, the Texas Stars have lost their division lead after a bad December and not being able to find their grove into the New Year has them in 2nd and may lose a lot more as the Rockford, Houston and Peoria all looking to take advantage. From top to bottom, the West is shaping up to be the Toughest Division with the entire gap being just 11 points right now.

Central Hockey League

Heading into the All Star Game which is on Wednesday night as the Rapid City Rush have caught the Colorado Eagles with being one of the hottest teams in the North. Going into the All Star Game, leading scores Les Reaney and Scott Wray have lead the Rush to win 5 of their final 6 to end the first half of the season with the exception of a 4-2 loss back on Saturday at home against Shreveport. For Colorado, the Eagles go into the break losing 5 of their last 6 including a loss to the Rapid City Rush back on December 27.

Elsewhere in the North, it's a very tough battle from 3rd through 6th as the gap is just 6 points right now as the Tulsa Oilers look to overcome a couple of dreadful years recently as they sit in 5th.

For the Expansion Missouri Mavericks, they have been able to stay in the race where Jeff Christian has helped them with 17 goals while help from players like Bill Vandermeer and Jeff Macdermid have the team in 6th, but just 2 points back of 5th place Tulsa as the Mavericks have 19 home games which is one of the heaviest home schedules left in the regular season after a 14 game road trip to start the season.

This includes a 6 game home stand in early Feb. which includes two games against Tulsa and one against Bossier-Shreveport which will be huge towards the Mavericks chances of making the playoffs in the teams first season.

Easily the biggest surprise has been the success of the Allen Americans as they have a strong footing in 2nd place. They are 7 points back of Odessa for the Conference Lead, but 9 points ahead of the 3rd place and Local Rival Texas Brahmas.

Leading the way for Allen is Justin Bowers and Bryce Graham who are in the top 5 of scoring leaders in the Central Hockey League. After Odessa and Allen, the gap from 3rd thru 7th is just 6 points where Corpus Christi and Amarillo have been on hot streaks to challenge the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and the Laredo Bucks are looking to hold on to the 4th and 5th playoff spots which would be the Southern Conference Play In Round.

National Hockey League

Eastern Conference

1. New Jersey 43 GP 31-11-1 63 PTS 126-94

2. Buffalo 44 GP 28-11-5 61 PTS 123-102

3. Washington 44 GP 27-11-6 60 PTS 162-121

4. Pittsburgh 46 GP 28-17-1 57 PTS 146-126

5. Boston 44 GP 22-15-7 51 PTS 114-107

6. NY Rangers 45 GP 22-17-6 50 PTS 120-122

7. Ottawa 46 GP 22-20-4 48 PTS 126-141

8. Montreal 47 GP 22-21-4 48 PTS 119-126

9. Philadelphia 43 GP 22-19-3 47 PTS 130-124

10. NY Islanders 46 GP 19-19-8 46 PTS 118-144

11. Atlanta 44 GP 19-19-6 44 PTS 137-149

12. Tampa Bay 43 GP 17-17-10 44 PTS 110-128

13. Florida 45 GP 18-20-7 43 PTS 128-140

14. Toronto 46 GP 15-22-9 39 PTS 123-160

15. Carolina 44 GP 13-24-7 33 PTS 110-152


Western Conference

1. Chicago 46 GP 31-11-4 66 PTS 152-102

2. San Jose 45 GP 28-10-7 63 PTS 147-117

3. Calgary 45 GP 26-14-5 57 PTS 123-108

4. Phoenix 46 GP 26-15-5 57 PTS 120-112

5. Vancouver 45 GP 27-16-2 56 PTS 145-109

6. Colorado 46 GP 25-15-6 56 PTS 135-132

7. Nashville 45 GP 26-16-3 55 PTS 128-127

8. Los Angeles 45 GP 25-17-3 53 PTS 134-128

9. Detroit 44 GP 23-15-6 52 PTS 115-110

10. Dallas 45 GP 19-15-11 49 PTS 128-141

11. Minnesota 45 GP 22-20-3 47 PTS 122-134

12. Anaheim 46 GP 20-19-7 47 PTS 129-143

13. Columbus 47 GP 18-20-9 45 PTS 124-154

14. St. Louis 44 GP 18-19-7 43 PTS 115-130

15. Edmonton 44 GP 16-23-5 37 PTS 121-147


American Hockey League


Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Manchester 41 GP 25-11-5 55 PTS 113-90

2. Worcester 39 GP 24-13-2 50 PTS 123-117

3. Lowell 41 GP 23-15-3 49 PTS 134-114

4. Hartford 41 GP 21-15-5 47 PTS 118-116

5. Portland 40 GP 19-14-7 45 PTS 118-115

6. Bridgeport 41 GP 21-17-3 45 PTS 103-105

7. Providence 41 GP 19-20-2 40 PTS 101-112

8. Springfield 42 GP 11-21-10 32 PTS 98-148


East Division

1. Hershey 39 GP 29-8-2 60 PTS 149-84

2. Albany 40 GP 21-15-4 46 PTS 108-101

3. W-B/Scranton 39 GP 20-17-2 42 PTS 112-103

4. Adirondack 37 GP 17-18-2 36 PTS 85-110

5. Binghamton 37 GP 16-17-4 36 PTS 119-116

6. Norfolk 39 GP 16-21-2 34 PTS 98-111

7. Syracuse 39 GP 14-19-6 34 PTS 99-143


Western Conference

North Division

1. Hamilton 40 GP 26-9-5 57 PTS 129-85

2. Rochester 40 GP 23-15-2 48 PTS 128-121

3. Manitoba 41 GP 21-15-5 47 PTS 97-107

4. Abbotsford 41 GP 20-16-5 45 PTS 110-114

5. Grand Rapids 40 GP 20-19-1 41 PTS 129-136

6. Lake Erie 40 GP 17-19-4 38 PTS 113-118

7. Toronto 39 GP 15-17-7 37 PTS 98-136


West Division

1. Milwaukee 40 GP 22-12-6 50 PTS 115-111

2. Texas 40 GP 21-13-6 48 PTS 109-96

3. Rockford 43 GP 21-18-4 46 PTS 118-122

4. Houston 41 GP 19-15-7 45 PTS 108-104

5. Peoria 39 GP 20-15-4 44 PTS 117-116

6. Chicago 38 GP 20-16-2 42 PTS 115-106

7. San Antonio 38 GP 17-16-5 39 PTS 102-109


Central Hockey League

Northern Conference

1. Colorado 31 GP 21-7-3 45 PTS 134-94

2. Rapid City 32 GP 22-9-1 45 PTS 127-94

3. Bossier-Shreveport 33 GP 18-12-3 39 PTS 100-100

4. Mississippi 34 GP 17-13-4 38 PTS 108-110

5. Tulsa 32 GP 17-14-1 35 PTS 109-111

6. Missouri 34 GP 15-16-3 33 PTS 103-124

7. Wichita 33 GP 3-27-3 9 PTS 59-130


Southern Conference

1. Odessa 35 GP 26-6-3 55 PTS 146-93

2. Allen 33 GP 23-8-2 48 PTS 105-87

3. Texas 35 GP 17-13-5 39 PTS 103-103

4. Laredo 33 GP 15-11-7 37 PTS 106-112

5. Rio Grande Valley 33 GP 16-13-4 36 PTS 101-109

6. Amarillo 36 GP 14-16-6 34 PTS 109-131

7. Corpus Christi 34 GP 14-15-5 33 PTS 106-107

8. Arizona 34 GP 13-18-3 29 PTS 104-115

Professional Standings as of 1/4

As we head into the New Year, New Jersey and Chicago are leading the Western & Eastern Conferences as the Chicago Blackahawks have the slight edge for the best record in the NHL. As for the Divisions them self, the Northwest once again is going to be the best race as the Colorado Avalanche have just a one point lead over the Calgary Flames and 3 points ahead of Vancouver who's been one of the longest road trips in team history as Arena Staff get ready for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics next month.

In the East, the 3 division leaders in the New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals all have strong leads with Washington having a 12 point lead over the Atlanta Thrashers. Currently, the Washington Capitals would be the only team in the Southeast that would make the playoffs.

Dallas is 4 points out of a playoff spot currently in 10th place just 1 point behind Detroit who's in 9th where injury problems have just wrecked their season. The other big surprise in the Pacific Division is Phoenix where they currently sit in 4th and would have home ice advantage in the 1st round playoffs, while on the other end of the Division is Anaheim where they are in 13th place right now only ahead of the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets who also have been very disappointing this season.

In the AHL right now, the Texas Stars have seen their Division Lead shrink to just 4 points where it looked like a win on Saturday against Manitoba before giving up a game tieing goal to former Dallas Star Mike Keane to get the game to a SO where the Moose would win it. The rest of the division is also starting tighten up where improved play from San Antonio and hot runs by several teams have the gap between 2nd and 6th at just 4 points.

Elsewhere, Hershey is widening its gap in the East Division with a 15 point gap between them and the 2nd place River Rats. Keith Aucoin is leading the lead in goals with 19 and is 2nd overall in league scoring with 43 points in 30 games played this season. The Atlantic division is the Manchester Monarchs who are up 4 points over the Worcester Sharks and 5 points over the Lowell Devils as the rest of the division is starting to tighten up with the exception of the Springfield Falcons and the Providence Bruins.

Up North is the Hamilton Bulldogs where a 5 point lead over both the Rochester Americans who were leading the Division for the last several weeks along with the Manitoba Moose who had a strong weekend by beating the Texas Stars in both games. Abbotsford with a pair of wins on the road against Houston and San Antonio has them in the 4th and final playoff spot up north where they are just 2 points up on the Grand Rapids Griffins. However, both the Toronto Marlies and Lake Erie Monsters have won 6 of their last 7 to get them out of the North Division Basement.

The Central League has the Odessa Jackalopes and the Allen Americans on top of the Southern Conference while up north, the Rapid City Rush have caught the Colorado Eagles which included a huge road win back on December 27 with a 5-2 win in Colorado has the Rush just one point back of the Conference Champion Eagles.

However, in both conferences, it gets very murky after the top 2 in the South as the gap from 3rd to 6th is just 5 points with the Texas Brahmas leading this group. Up north, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs lead a pack that is separates 3rd-6th that is also just 5 points right now as reach the half way point of the season. Getting the 3rd spot is huge because they would avoid playing in the Play In Round and having to play the top seed in the playoffs in the Conference Semifinals if they win.

Finally for the Wichita Thunder, it's a case of how low can they go as through 31 games. Just 3 wins and have scored just 57 goals this season as they look to avoid being one of the worst teams in league history. For the teams in the North, especially Bossier-Shreveport, Mississippi, Tulsa and Missouri. Any points loosed would be a huge opportunity to catch up in the conference standings.

National Hockey League

Eastern Conference

1. New Jersey 40 GP 29-10-1 59 PTS 118-89

2. Buffalo 41 GP 26-11-4 56 PTS 112-93

3. Washington 41 GP 24-11-6 54 PTS 145-116

4. Pittsburgh 43 GP 26-16-1 53 PTS 133-116

5. Boston 40 GP 21-12-7 49 PTS 105-95

6. Ottawa 42 GP 22-16-4 48 PTS 122-125

7. Montreal 44 GP 21-20-3 45 PTS 114-120

8. NY Rangers 41 GP 19-17-5 43 PTS 108-115

9. Atlanta 41 GP 18-17-6 42 PTS 132-135

10. Tampa Bay 41 GP 16-15-10 42 PTS 103-121

11. NY Islanders 43 GP 17-18-8 42 PTS 107-134

12. Philadelphia 41 GP 19-19-3 41 PTS 117-118

13. Florida 42 GP 17-18-7 41 PTS 123-135

14. Toronto 42 GP 14-19-9 37 PTS 115-145

15. Carolina 41 GP 11-23-7 29 PTS 102-146


Western Conference

1. Chicago 42 GP 29-10-3 61 PTS 137-90

2. San Jose 42 GP 27-8-7 61 PTS 142-106

3. Colorado 43 GP 24-13-6 54 PTS 128-124

4. Phoenix 43 GP 25-14-4 54 PTS 111-99

5. Calgary 41 GP 24-12-5 53 PTS 114-98

6. Nashville 42 GP 25-14-3 53 PTS 121-119

7. Vancouver 42 GP 25-16-1 51 PTS 132-103

8. Los Angeles 42 GP 24-15-3 51 PTS 124-120

9. Detroit 41 GP 21-14-6 48 PTS 108-104

10. Dallas 41 GP 18-12-11 47 PTS 122-127

11. Minnesota 42 GP 20-19-3 43 PTS 111-124

12. St. Louis 41 GP 17-18-6 40 PTS 108-121

13. Anaheim 42 GP 16-19-7 39 PTS 115-137

14. Columbus 43 GP 15-19-9 39 PTS 112-143

15. Edmonton 42 GP 16-22-4 36 PTS 115-138


American Hockey League

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Manchester 38 GP 23-11-4 50 PTS 106-85

2. Worcester 36 GP 22-12-2 46 PTS 111-104

3. Lowell 38 GP 21-14-3 45 PTS 126-107

4. Hartford 37 GP 19-13-5 43 PTS 108-107

5. Portland 37 GP 18-13-6 42 PTS 108-104

6. Bridgeport 39 GP 19-17-3 41 PTS 97-101

7. Providence 38 GP 18-19-1 37 PTS 94-105

8. Springfield 39 GP 11-19-9 31 PTS 93-140


East Division

1. Hershey 37 GP 27-8-2 56 PTS 144-81

2. Albany 37 GP 19-15-3 41 PTS 99-94

3. W-B/Scranton 36 GP 19-15-2 40 PTS 104-93

4. Adirondack 34 GP 16-16-2 34 PTS 79-102

5. Binghamton 34 GP 15-15-4 34 PTS 112-104

6. Norfolk 36 GP 15-19-2 32 PTS 91-101

7. Syracuse 37 GP 12-19-6 30 PTS 93-141


Western Conference

North Division

1. Hamilton 37 GP 23-9-5 51 PTS 118-81

2. Rochester 37 GP 22-13-2 46 PTS 118-111

3. Manitoba 39 GP 21-14-4 46 PTS 94-102

4. Abbotsford 39 GP 18-16-5 41 PTS 103-111

5. Grand Rapids 37 GP 19-17-1 39 PTS 119-125

6. Toronto 35 GP 15-15-5 35 PTS 91-121

7. Lake Erie 37 GP 16-18-3 35 PTS 107-111


West Division

1. Texas 37 GP 20-11-6 46 PTS 103-87

2. Peoria 36 GP 19-13-4 42 PTS 110-108

3. Milwaukee 36 GP 18-12-6 42 PTS 102-105

4. Rockford 39 GP 19-16-4 42 PTS 108-111

5. Houston 38 GP 18-15-5 41 PTS 100-96

6. Chicago 35 GP 18-15-2 38 PTS 108-100

7. San Antonio 35 GP 15-15-5 35 PTS 95-103


Central Hockey League

Northern Conference

1. Colorado 29 GP 21-6-2 44 PTS 127-85

2. Rapid City 30 GP 21-8-1 43 PTS 121-87

3. Bossier-Shreveport 30 GP 17-12-1 35 PTS 90-90

4. Mississippi 32 GP 16-13-3 35 PTS 102-104

5. Tulsa 31 GP 16-14-1 33 PTS 105-110

6. Missouri 31 GP 14-15-2 30 PTS 93-111

7. Wichita 31 GP 3-25-3 9 PTS 57-123


Southern Conference

1. Odessa 33 GP 25-5-3 53 PTS 141-89

2. Allen 31 GP 22-7-2 46 PTS 101-81

3. Texas 33 GP 16-12-5 37 PTS 97-99

4. Laredo 31 GP 14-10-7 35 PTS 100-104

5. Rio Grande Valley 31 GP 15-12-4 34 PTS 97-101

6. Amarillo 34 GP 13-15-6 32 PTS 105-126

7. Corpus Christi 32 GP 12-15-5 29 PTS 97-106

8. Arizona 31 GP 10-18-3 23 PTS 92-109

Professional Standings as of 12/6

National Hockey League

Eastern Conference

1. Washington 29 GP 18-5-6 42 PTS 108-82

2. Pittsburgh 30 GP 20-9-1 41 PTS 97-80

3. Boston 29 GP 15-9-5 35 PTS 76-72

4. New Jersey 27 GP 19-7-1 39 PTS 78-61

5. Buffalo 26 GP 16-8-2 34 PTS 73-59

6. Atlanta 26 GP 15-8-3 33 PTS 87-73

7. Ottawa 27 GP 13-10-4 30 PTS 79-84

8. Tampa Bay 28 GP 11-9-8 30 PTS 74-82

9. NY Rangers 29 GP 14-14-1 29 PTS 83-88

10. NY Islanders 29 GP 11-11-7 29 PTS 76-89

11. Montreal 29 GP 13-14-2 28 PTS 73-86

12. Philadelphia 26 GP 13-12-1 27 PTS 79-76

13. Florida 29 GP 11-13-5 27 PTS 80-100

14. Toronto 28 GP 8-13-7 23 PTS 78-102

15. Carolina 28 GP 6-17-5 17 PTS 67-103


Western Conference

1. San Jose 31 GP 19-7-5 43 PTS 104-82

2. Chicago 28 GP 18-7-3 39 PTS 85-64

3. Calgary 28 GP 18-7-3 39 PTS 86-69

4. Colorado 31 GP 16-9-6 38 PTS 94-95

5. Los Angeles 30 GP 17-10-3 37 PTS 93-92

6. Phoenix 29 GP 17-11-1 35 PTS 73-68

7. Nashville 29 GP 16-11-2 34 PTS 73-80

8. Dallas 29 GP 13-8-8 34 PTS 85-85

9. Detroit 29 GP 14-10-5 33 PTS 83-82

10. Vancouver 29 GP 16-13-0 32 PTS 91-75

11. Columbus 29 GP 13-11-5 31 PTS 89-105

12. St. Louis 27 GP 12-10-5 29 PTS 70-73

13. Minnesota 28 GP 13-12-3 29 PTS 78-86

14. Edmonton 29 GP 12-13-4 28 PTS 87-93

15. Anaheim 28 GP 10-13-5 25 PTS 79-92


American Hockey League

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Manchester 28 GP 18-7-3 39 PTS 82-61

2. Worcester 27 GP 15-10-2 32 PTS 75-81

3. Lowell 27 GP 14-10-3 31 PTS 93-83

4. Bridgeport 29 GP 14-13-2 30 PTS 70-79

5. Providence 26 GP 14-11-1 29 PTS 76-76

6. Hartford 27 GP 13-11-3 29 PTS 80-82

7. Portland 28 GP 12-11-5 29 PTS 80-88

8. Springfield 27 GP 10-11-6 26 PTS 73-89


East Division

1. Hershey 26 GP 17-7-2 36 PTS 97-59

2. Albany 27 GP 14-10-3 31 PTS 75-72

3. Binghamton 25 GP 12-10-3 27 PTS 84-70

4. Norfolk 27 GP 12-14-1 25 PTS 68-69

5. W-B/Scranton 23 GP 11-10-2 24 PTS 59-58

6. Adirondack 23 GP 10-11-2 22 PTS 49-69

7. Syracuse 25 GP 9-12-4 22 PTS 60-92


Western Conference

North Division

1. Rochester 24 GP 18-5-1 37 PTS 84-62

2. Manitoba 31 GP 15-12-4 34 PTS 69-85

3. Hamilton 25 GP 14-6-5 33 PTS 69-55

4. Abbotsford 28 GP 14-10-4 32 PTS 84-82

5. Grand Rapids 23 GP 14-9-0 28 PTS 74-65

6. Toronto 24 GP 11-9-4 26 PTS 65-72

7. Lake Erie 25 GP 8-15-2 18 PTS 57-81


West Division

1. Texas 27 GP 18-5-4 40 PTS 77-50

2. Rockford 29 GP 14-12-3 31 PTS 78-75

3. Milwaukee 24 GP 11-8-5 27 PTS 60-68

4. Peoria 25 GP 12-10-3 27 PTS 76-82

5. Houston 26 GP 12-11-3 27 PTS 60-58

6. Chicago 25 GP 12-12-1 25 PTS 66-67

7. San Antonio 23 GP 9-11-3 21 PTS 64-74


Central Hockey League

Northern Conference

1. Colorado 19 GP 14-4-1 29 PTS 85-54

2. Rapid City 19 GP 12-6-1 25 PTS 67-55

3. Tulsa 20 GP 12-7-1 25 PTS 80-71

4. Mississippi 22 GP 11-9-2 24 PTS 69-68

5. Bossier-Shreveport 19 GP 9-10-0 18 PTS 51-60

6. Missouri 19 GP 8-10-1 17 PTS 54-65

7. Wichita 21 GP 3-15-3 9 PTS 39-77


Southern Conference

1. Odessa 22 GP 16-4-2 34 PTS 94-66

2. Allen 20 GP 15-4-1 31 PTS 68-51

3. Laredo 19 GP 11-4-4 26 PTS 65-58

4. Rio Grande Valley 22 GP 10-9-3 23 PTS 67-73

5. Texas 22 GP 10-9-3 23 PTS 63-70

6. Amarillo 22 GP 8-10-4 20 PTS 70-87

7. Corpus Christi 20 GP 8-10-2 18 PTS 60-62

8. Arizona 20 GP 6-12-2 14 PTS 60-75