Week 4 Review

Istan 5-3 Sandusky

Ondrej Pavelec gave his former coach Andy Ries a middle finger after his shutout on Thursday evening. Ries called the move "bush league", while Lake stood behind his newly acquired goaltender by saying "emotions are just part of the game." Should make for an entertaining rematch on January 9. Jamie Benn and Joffrey Lupul led the Buls offense this week, with 5 points apiece. If Istan continues displaying this type of depth, they could find themselves deep in the POH playoffs again. Standouts: Jamie Benn (IST) 2 G, 3 A, 2 PPP---Jeff Skinner (SAN) 2 G, 2 A, 13 SOG

Branson 3-5 Latvia

This divisonal matchup was split right down the middle. The Lipsuckers won 5 of 5 offensive categories, with the Bull Frogs claiming 3.5 out of 4 in the goaltending department. Travis Todd and the Lipsuckers extended their division lead to 2 1/2 with the Slanderers loss this week. Alexander Edler continued his phenomenal start with 1 G, 5 A and 5 PPP this week for Latvia. Mike Smith led the way for the Bull Frogs goaltenders with 2 wins and 3 GA in two starts.  Steven Stamkos busted out for 4 goals this week, matching the rest of his Branson teammates. Standouts: Steven Stamkos (BRAN) 4 G, 1 A, 15 SOG---Alexander Edler (LAT) 1 G, 5 A, 5 PPP, 6 DEF

NWT 5-2 Newfoundland

Uh oh, the Moose are STILL unbeaten. A lot has been expected of Jared Stewart since he joined the league two years ago, and it appears he is finally hitting his stride. Daniel Sedin may have succeeded Alex Ovechkin as the best player in the Northwest Territories. His 2 G, 3 A week led the way for NWT, while Nicklas Lidstrom added 3 G, and 1 A from the blue line. The NorthStars were happy to see Matt Duchene breakout this week with 3 G and 2 A. Despite Nikolai Khabibulin's shutout, the Newfoundland goaltending stats were atrocious this week. Ewing needs Lehtonen and Miller to get back on track if he hopes to stay competitive. Standouts: Daniel Sedin (NWT) 2 G, 3 A, 3 PPP, 13 SOG---Matt Duchene (NEWF) 3 G, 2 A, 10 SOG

Winnipeg 4-4 Vancouver

The latest installment of the Winnipeg-Vancouver rivalry ended in a stalemate. The Wasps had a mammoth 13 G, 25 A week on offense, but wasted the effort with a less-than-stellar 2.95 GAA, .898 SV% goaltending effort. Despite having six less games on offense, the Villains were able to win the PPP and DEF category. James van Riemsdyk led the way for the Villains offensively with 2 G, 3 A in just two games. Loui Eriksson had 2 G, 4 A in a pair of games for Winnipeg. The two sides have one more meeting in the regular season beginning Jan. 2nd. Standouts: James van Riemsdyk (VAN) 2 G, 3 A---Patrick Kane (WINN) 2 G, 5 A, 12 SOG

Alberta 6-2 Lake Erie

The Bears got a much-needed victory this week, coming at the expense of the much maligned Lake Erie Shtonsters. Martin St. Louis woke up with a 5 A effort in Week 4, while fellow long tooth Ray Whitney had 1 G and 3 A for the Bears. Henrik Sedin made a strong opening statement in Lake Erie, with 1 G, 4 A in his debut. The Shtonsters had 1 start all week from their goaltenders. Evan Tynan has thrown in the towel on this season, an unexpected move for a manager who owns a Twelvosports Major championship. Standouts: Martin St. Louis (ALB) 5 A---Henrik Sedin (LE) 1 G, 4 A, 4 PPP

Question of the Week:

Best friends Jared Stewart and Sean Slevin meet this week. Stewart has said on several occasions that he hopes to one day be mentioned in the same breath as the Slevin's and Svitak's of POH. For the first time since joining the league in POH4, Stewart may have a team that is better than that of his mentor Snells Slorvin. Has the student become the teacher in this friendly rivalry? Let's find out.

League Leaders

Goals-Sandusky (48)

Assists-Winnipeg (83)

PPP-NWT/Vancouver (46)

SOG-Sandusky (448)

DEF-Latvia (32)

Wins-Newfoundland/Istan (17)

Shutouts-Winnipeg/NWT (4)

GAA-Latvia (2.234)

SV%-Newfoundland (.9252)

Week 5 Match Ups

Newfoundland @ Latvia

Winnipeg @ Sandusky

Lake Erie @ Istan

Vancouver @ Branson

Alberta @ NWT