CFHL Playoffs

Two close games came down to the final day, Easter Sunday...

Who Gives a Puck vs. Goon Crew 3-3

Stamkos celebrating one of his two goals!

This was a wild one that took a few turns and came down to one of the final games on Sunday.  Going into Saturday the Goon Crew held a solid 4-2 lead in the match up, but Who Gives a Puck had a huge day getting 5 goals, 6 assists, a whopping +10 vs. Goon Crew's 2 goals, no assists and a -1.  This flipped the score to 4-2 in favor of the Puck.  Stamkos had 2 goals an assist and +2 on Saturday to help the cause.

The Goon Crew would not be counted out however on Sunday.  Holtby and Price both started for the Goon Crew between the pipes and combined to save 59 of 61 shots on goal.  This lifted them to .901 SV% to take that category.  Unfortunately for the Goon Crew, Who Gives a Puck had the tie breaker since they won the season series 1-0-1.

Price and Holby were the reason for the Crew success

McDonagh had 5 assists!

But the Goon Crew still had some fire power left with Hossa and Pietrangelo up against Backes.  Hossa and Pietrangelo would get 2 assists after two periods and would need only one to tie Assists and move the score to 3-2-1, but they could not maintain another assist and the Who Gives a Puck won to make it to their first ever Cherry Cup.

While Stamkos played well for the Puck, Ryan McDonagh had 5 assists and a +3 to help the Puck to victory.



AshBusters vs. Assassins 3-2-1
The AshBusters edged the Assassins thanks to some outstanding net play from their goal tenders Halak and Bishop as they combined for 3 wins and an impressive .949 SV%.  Now wait...shouldn't that have been the stats for two of NHL's top Goalies, Rinne and Fleury from the Assassins?  Nope.  They had no wins and a lame .860 SV% and truly cost the Assassins the game.

Bishop came up big for the AshBusters

Malkin...epic fail!

But talking about costing the Assassins the game, they still had the game won going into Sunday with the game tied 3-3 and the Assassins holding the tie breaker as they beat the AshBusters in the regular season series.  Early on Malkin, who had been hurt earlier in the week got back in the line up and ended up with just a -1 on the day which tied up the +/- with the Assassins.  They would later get a +1 from Shattenkirk but so would Subban from the AshBusters.  They couldn't manage another point after that and fell to the AshBusters.

Their loss would ensure that a different name other than a Cherry would finally grace the Cherry Cup.  Booooo!

Cherry Cup Final:  Who Gives a Puck vs. AshBusters

Centers: Stamkos and Backes, Who Gives a Puck vs. Backstrom and Crosby, AshBusters
While the Puck has goal scorers at Center, the AshBusters have the advantage in assists at the Center position as they have combined for 111 assists.  Stamkos has 42 goals on the season.  Where the big difference is in PIM as Backes has 100 PIM.  Slight advantage to the Puck with the PIM advantage.

Backes leads the way for the Puck

Wings:  This one is close due to Simmonds listed as Day-to-Day.  Both teams have several wingers with over 20 goals.  AshBusters have advantage in assists with two players over 30 assists in Ladd and Kucherov.  AshBusters have more bruisers at the wings with a combined PIM of 202 compared to Who Gives a Pucks' 161.  Doesn't hurt to have Pavelski too with his 37 goals for the AshBusters.  I still give a slight advantage to the AshBusters.

The Kuch!!

Blueline:  This one not so close.  The AshBusters have all 4 D-men with over 10 goals each and and two with 40+ assists (Subban and Letang).  Chara for the Puck hasn't exactly lit it up this year.  Chara will have to step it up and McDonagh hopefully has a week like he had last week.  Advantage goes to the AshBusters,

Goalies:  Dubnyk and Lundqvist for Puck vs. Halak and Bishop for AshBusters.
Lundqvist is starting to get back to form and Dubnyk has really come on as of late.  Halak has struggled some as of late but Bishop is solid.  Advantage goes to Who Gives a Puck.

Dubnyk has been a pleasant surprise for the Puck

Prediction:  It will be a close one but Who Gives a Puck edges out the AshBusters 3-2-1.

CFHL 2 Weeks Go!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

  With two weeks to go it would appear that the 4 playoff teams are set but in one week seeds changed as the Who Gives a Puck took a solid 4 point lead now in the Norris over the Goon Crew.

Who Gives a Puck vs. USSR 5-1
Who Gives a Puck handed the USSR an ass whipping taking all but one category despite losing in goals.  With Lundqvist out for the Puck, Talbot has picked up the slack nicely in net getting 3 more wins and a .969 SV%.  Stamkos led all players with 12 PIM.  Backes had 3 assists a +3 and 4 PIM.  The victory put them back in first in the Norris and have pretty much eliminated the USSR from a playoff bid.

Chara added a goal for the Puck

Mayhem on Ice vs. Goon Crew 4-2
After a strong couple weeks the Goon Crew fell short and lost first place to the Puck in the Norris after the Mayhem gave them all they could handle.  The Goalies let the Crew down getting only 2 wins and a SV% of .924 compared to the Mayhem's 3 wins and .956 from Crawford and Mason.  Getzlaf was able to tally 3 goals for the Crew.  Datsyuk manged a goal and 3 assists for the Mayhem.

Ovechkin tallied a goal and assist for the Mayhem

Tavares netted a goal and assist in losing cause

Assassins vs. Krampus Carols 4-1-1
The Assassins took care of the Krampus Carols and solidified their playoff position.  Kunitz went goon crazy getting 18 PIM.  Unfortunately that was about all he did with no goals and no assists and a -1.  Zetterberg had a great week with a goal and 5 big assists.  Krampus Carols just couldn't muster enough offense as only one player had more than one goal and only 2 players had more than one assist.

Checkers vs. AshBusters 4-2
The Checkers pulled off the upset of the Smythe leading AshBusters and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.  They are basically out of it but if the Assassins go win less and the Checkers get at least 8 wins in the next two weeks they might be able to knock the Assassins out.  You just never know...They paid a price however, as the AshBusters put the smack down on them racking up 55 PIM.  Simmonds had 14, Subban had 15 and Letang had 24!!

Rask finally living up to his billing

CFHL: 3 Weeks to go

"Let me tell ya something, eh?"

With three weeks to go its still and probably will be Goon Crew, AshBusters, Assassins and Puck in the playoffs.  USSR is mathematically still alive but will need things to go just right for them to catch the Assassins.  Here's a quick re-cap on last weeks action...

Krampus Carols vs. Who Gives a Puck 4-2
The Krampus Carols come away with an upset victory over the Puck and are beginning to enjoy the role of spoiler.  Tavares continues his MVP season racking 2 goals and 3 assists for the Krampus.  In a losing effort Who Gives a Puck had an incredible week between the pipes as Talbot and Dubnyk combined for 5 wins and a .951 SV%.

Tavares has played well for the Krampus

Goon Crew vs. USSR 3-2-1
Crew took advantage of the Puck losing to the Krampus Carols and took first place in the Norris and number one seed...for the time being.  It was an ugly win, but they will take it.  Both teams tied in goals at a pathetic 3 each.  Getzlaf and Perry didn't team up for much offense but did combine for 13 PIM.  Crew now 2 points ahead of Who Gives a Puck, but with 3 weeks left to go, anything could happen in the Norris Division.

Assassins vs. AshBusters 3-2-1
The Assassins knocked off the Smythe leading AshBusters to strengthen their hold on the 4th and final playoff spot.  Malkin led the Assassins with 2 goals, an assist and +2 while "Montgomery" Burns had 3 assists.  Sid the Kid tallied a goal and an assist in a mediocre week for Crosby.

Assassins Fan

Checkers vs. Mayhem on Ice 3-3
Checkers and Mayhem spit the week each winning 3 as the window is just about closed on the Checkers bid for their 4th title in a row.  A well rounded effort with 5 players on the Checkers scoring both goals and assists with Kopitar the Zombie getting 1 goal, 3 assists and a +5.  Ovechkin and Parise combined for 4 goals and 4 assists for the Mayhem who are just playing for pride now.

Checker Ice Girls!

CFHL Update

CFHL Regular season coming to an end...

I know its been a while since the last CFHL update so here is a recap on the teams in the Cherry Fantasy Hockey League as we head down to the final 3 weeks of the regular season.

With only 3 weeks to go the playoffs are already starting to take shape as the Norris Division will likely have three representatives in the playoffs.

Who Gives a Puck has a slim one point lead for first place in the Norris and #1 seed.  Despite injuries to two of their best players in Lundqvist and Kane they continue to hang on to the top seed.  It helps when you have Stamkos as well who has 35 goals and 23 assists and Steen's 32 assists.  Backes leads the Puck in PIM with 88 and now that Yandle is a Ranger, his productivity could increase.  Puck is running with 4 goalies right now and would do well to have Lundqvist come back, but Talbot has played well in his absence.

Stamkos trying to figure out the Puck.

Getzy and Pair looking to lead the Crew to Cup

One point behind Who Gives a Puck is the Goon Crew who have been keeping pace with the Puck with lack luster performances.  They are hoping Seguin, who lead the league in Goals before he went out with a MCL injury, is back in time for the playoffs.  Despite being out for 3 weeks he has 29 goals and 30 assists.  Getzlaf and Perry have picked up the slack scroing 20 and 27 goals respectively along with 41 assists from Getzlaf.  Where the Crew have racked up wins has been between the pipes with Price and Holtby who have combined for 66 wins on the season.


The Assassins sit as the final playoff seed and are 7 points behind the Crew in the Norris, but have a 8 point lead over the USSR for that final playoff spot.  Leading the way for the Assassins has been Malkin with 26 goals and 60 PIM and Voracek's 46 assists and 59 PIM.  In fact the Assassins have several players with substantial PIM including 77 from Hamonic and 67 from Wheeler.  They also have a strong netminders in  Rinne, who was is having a career year and 35 wins despite being out with an injury earlier this year and Marc-Andre Fleury who has 29.

Which one here doesn't belong??

In the final spot of the Norris division is the 3-time Champion Checkers.  This may be the end of their run and look to miss the playoffs.  This would mean that they would not complete the first ring on the Cherry Cup.  Sitting 13 points behind the final spot, will make it difficult.  Could this mean the end of their go all Kings lineup.  At draft day it looked like the Checkers tapped into another great strategy grabbing both Rask and Quick back to back.  This looked like a sure thing and a sure 2 Wins in goalie category.  They have struggled most of the year despite putting up 50 wins between them.

The Smythe Division seems to be a one team race as the AshBusters lead the division with 95 points, 14 points ahead of second place USSR.  They are a well rounded team even if Crosby hasn't put the puck in the net as many times as they were hoping he does have 44 assists as well as the full Backstrom package with 47 assists.  Pavelski leads them with 31 goals and the blue line is anchored with an impressive duo of Subban, Weber and Letang.  And to complete their team, Halak and Bishop have 64 wins and an ice SV%.

Caps' Backstrom or Portland's Backstrom?

USSR flash back...

USSR are 8 points behind the 4th spot for the playoffs and will have a lot of work to do to make that happen.  Tarasenko and Pacioretty both are 30 goals or more and have an impressive +/- ratings.  Centers Ribeiro and Tyler Johnson have 40 and 37 assists.  Injuries have bit them at goalie with injuries to Howard earlier.  Howard only has 18 wins and "Greasy" Luongo only has 23 wins.  Elliot backs them up and has 20 wins.  Thats 61 wins between three goalies, while the AshBusters have 64 with just two.  The Kremlin has not been happy this hockey sesaon.

The final two spots in the Smythe Division belong to the Krampus Carols with 74 points and the Mayhem on Ice with 64 points.  Its too bad the Krampus Carols couldn't have built a better team round John Tavares and Jamie Benn, a few of the only bright spots for the Krampus.  Tavares has 30 goals and 35 assists while Benn has 37 assists and 58 PIM.  There for a while the Krampus Carols were not even starting two starting goalies.  Niemi, who was acquired in a trade with Goon Crew, has put up average numbers (24 wins and .912)

Even with Ovechkin and his 41 goals and 24 assists, the Mayhem have no other help and their record shows it.  Poor SV% with Lehtonen and an injury to Miller in net has lead to struggles with getting wins in goalie categories.  Rest of team is mediocre at best.  Most all players are average with their stats and Lucic leads them all with 75 PIM.  The Mayhem are looking for next season or trying to screw over teams that are looking at Playoff spots.

So there you have it.  Playoffs will be upon us soon....

CFHL Week 9

Crew ice girls collecting hats
from Perry's hat trick Wednesday!

Goon Crew vs. Mayhem on Ice 4-1-1
After splitting the week with the USSR last week 3-3 the Goon Crew came into this week trying to keep pace with the surging Who Gives a Puck.  The Mayhem were coming off a close loss to the Checkers 3-2-1 last week.  The Mayhem nearly got shut out if it wasn't for a late assist by Datsyuk to take assists 16-15.  Corey Perry was the Number One Star of the game tallying 4 goals, an assist, and a +6.  Ovechkin did all he could to help the Mayhem by scoring 4 goals as well.  Crew managed to win goalie categories even with just one goalie most of the week as Carey Price was injured earlier in the week.

Krampus Carols vs. Assassins 4-2
After getting thumped the week before by Who Gives a Puck 5-1 last week, the Krampus Carols played much better this week defeating the Assassins who were coming off a 4-2 victory over AshBusters.  Amazingly the Krampus Carol won scoring only 3 goals all week.  Assassins had two players with 4 goals, Perron and Zetterberg.  Krampus won the assist battle, thanks to 4 from Tavares and the goalie categories now that they are starting 2 goalies, including Niemi who had 2 wins and .909 SV%

Tavares had 4 assists

Checkers vs. AshBusters 3-3
The AshBusters move into first place of the Smythe Division after splitting the week with the Checkers and watching the USSR lose big to Who Gives a Puck 5-1.  The Checkers made a comeback to tie the game by winning Goals and PIM on Sunday.  Checkers were down 9-8 in goals and managed to out score the AshBusters 3-1 in goals, getting 2 from Nash Sunday afternoon.  PIM were tied at 19 and the Checkers got 8 PIM on Sunday including 6 from Byfuglien, which is no surprise from that fat goon.  Crosby had 3 goals and 4 assists for the AshBusters.

Rick Nash tallied 2 goals Sunday!

Who Gives a Puck vs. USSR 5-1

Who Gives a Puck fans supporting
favorite player Tatar!

The Who Gives a Puck continues to roll and now has a 7 point lead in the Norris Division.  They dominated in almost every category winning goals 16-8, +/- by +11, PIM 27-6, Goalie Wins 3-1 and SV% .936 vs .910.  Tatar was the Number One Star as he scored 5 goals, 2 assists and a +5.  Not to be out done, Stamkos had 4 goals and Steen had 3.  Lundqvist had 2 wins and .941 SV%.  They seemed to be hitting on on cylinders now. The USSR now trails the AshBusters by 2 points in the Smythe and will look to rebound this week against the Mayhem.

CFHL Week 7 Update

Well there was a shake up in the standings since we last updated as the top team in the league got their ass handed to them...

AshBusters vs. Goon Crew 4-1-1
After dispensing the Krampus Carols the week before and sitting comfortably a top of the Norris Division, the Goon Crew ran into a hungry AshBuster team that hadn't won a week all season yet.  It was a battle as the Goon Crew came up one goal short and both teams tied with an impressive 5 goalie wins, which would have beaten every other team besides the Mayhem this week.  Plus it doesn't hurt to get 13 assists in one night.  Friday night the AshBusters racked up 13 assists, including 4 from Crosby.
Goal Scorer of the game: Pavelski, AshBusters: 3 goals
Assist leader: Crosby, AshBusters: 5
Goon of the Game: Vatanen, AshBusters: 6 PIM
Netminder of the Game: Price, Goon Crew: 3 Wins, .952 SV%

Is Pavelski a mouth breather?

Sure seem like it...

Yep, he's a mouth breather!

Who Gives a Puck vs. Assassins 3-1-2

Steen on his 3 assist night

The Goon Crew loss was the opportunity the Puck needed to overtake them in the Norris and they took full opportunity to do so and now lead the Goon Crew by 2 points in the Norris division after they defeated the Assassins.  It was a come from behind victory by the Puck  as they were behind in goals going into Sunday and manged 3 goals on Sunday to the Assassins 1 and beat them by one goal.
Assist Leader: Steen, Puck: 5
+/- Loser: Streit, Puck:  -5
Netminder of Game: Lundqvist, Puck: 2 wins, .917 SV%

Krampus Carols vs. Mayhem on Ice 4-1-1

Oshie's wife Lauren.
Apparently Oshie
doesn't just score on the ice

The Krampus Carols, with the Christmas season behind them, were finally able to focus on hockey and came away with one of their best weeks this season tallying 13 goals, 21 assists, +8 and 16 PIM! They even split the goalie categories with starting only one goalie.  It was like the Olympics all over again with T.J. Oshie (Krampus) vs. Ovechkin (Mayhem), as the two skaters combined for 8 goals, 5 assists and a +8.  Krampus Carols are still in last place but have closed the gap and may be heading in the right direction finally.
Goal Scorer of the Game: Oshie, Krampus: 5
Assist Leader: Duncan "Cousin" Keith, Krampus: 6
Goon of the Game: Karlsson, Mayhem: 8 PIM
Netminder of the Game: Lehtonen, Mayhem: 3 wins, .934SV%

USSR vs. Checkers 4-0-2
The three time defending champs Checkers were nearly shut out completely, but did manage to tie in PIM and Goalie Wins.  (20 and 2).  The Checkers are now 10 points out of first place in the Norris Division.  The USSR on the other hand are tied for first in the Smythe with the AshBusters and only 2 points behind top spot in the CFHL.
Goal Scorer of the Game: Pacioretty, USSR: 3
Assist Leader: Ribeiro, USSR: 6
Goon of the Game; Byfuglien, Checkers: 10 PIM

Those wild USSR hockey fans!

CFFL Fantasy Bowl XXX

FANTASY BOWL XXX

Cherry's Chislers 30  Cabucki Crush 13

Rivers and Brees face off again in a FB

CHICAGO, ILL - In a relatively uneventful Fantasy Bowl the Chislers won one for the thumb and have claimed to be a true dynasty in the CFFL.  It started out with all but one player for the Crush starting in the early games, while the Chislers only had Dez Bryant and Phillip Rivers (not a bad pair to only have playing).  Rivers was back in the starting role as the Chisler QB after being benched the last two weeks in favor of Roethlisberger in which Rivers out performed him both weeks.  The Crush was counting on Drew Brees putting up some big numbers as well as Jeffery, Watkins and Jennings.  If not they would only  have their kicker Matt Bryant left in the later games, who was at home playing for a playoff spot.

"psst..we won and I didn't do shit"

One of 2 Dez Bryant TDs!

The scoring got going as Dez Bryant of the Chislers, acquired in a trade with the Juggernauts, would haul in 2 TD passes, giving him 6 TDs in the post season!  Rivers would come up empty.  Brees could only manage one TD making the score 12-4.  Then the Cowboys D would return an fumble for a TD to help the Crush pull with in 2, 12-10.  Back up kicker for the Crush, Bailey, had 14 points and could have made it a bit more interesting.    But nothing from Watkins, Jeffery, Jennings, Vereen, LaFell, That's a lot of goose eggs on the scoreboard as they would go and face the Green Bay Chislers in the second half (Lacy, Nelson, Crosby, and Green Bay D).

The Falcons looked pathetic and Matt Bryant only manged one FG for the Crush and would be all they would get.  The Chislers however, still sweating out the fact that Matt Bryant could still kick more points, uncharacteristically got zeros from Nelson and Lacy.  The Green Bay D would however step up and had a punt return for a TD to make the score 19-13, a solid 6 point lead.

Chislers match Crush D score with GB punt return

Boldin was the Nail in Coffin

Boldin would catch a TD, oh wait there was a flag on the play...didn't count.  Boldin would catch a TD...oh wait again, another flag...but this time it counted giving the Chislers a 25-13 lead.  The nail in the coffin for sure.  They would add a few more points from Crosby and a safety from their D,to make the final 30-13 giving the Chislers their 5th Fantasy Bowl Title, more than any other franchise in the history of the CFFL.

The Chislers did it not based on their superior fantasy football knowledge by making the right moves based on match ups, etc...In fact those moved hurt them as even when they put Rivers back in, he would score 0 while Roethlisberger would throw for 2 TDs.  They did it with what no other team has...Chisler Luck!

Oh and Dez Bryant, who was the Playoff MVP scoring 36 points and was critical in their first round victory over the Crew.  His three TD performance in the first round tied for most WR points in a playoff game (tied with 5 other players), and his 36 points tied Marvin Harrison for 2nd most points in the playoffs second to only the great Jerry Rice who had 48 back in 1987.

Bryant was MVP and glad the Juggs traded him

The Chislers' One for the Thumb was their 3rd title in 4 years.  They won in 2011, 2012 and now 2014.  It appears this decade belongs to the Chisler Dynasty.  This was their 10th trip to the Fantasy Bowl and are now 5-5 in Fantasy Bowl.  Oh and by the way they have won 3 straight Cherry Cups in the CFHL as well.  No other owner has experienced such success in Fantasy Sports as Rick Cherry owner of the Cherry's Chislers and Checkers.

Chisler fans flood the streets to celebrate!

That's five trophies for the Chislers

Looks like for the 4th year in a row it will be this picture again!
(Cherry Brother Domination)

Just random hot football chicks....