November 17, 2008
Feel Good Stories in Pro Hockey (NHL and AHL)

• The San Jose Sharks are the NHL's best team as we near the quarter pole. Dan Boyle (Miami), who came to the Bay Arena from Tampa Bay in an off-season deal, is thriving with 6-10—16 in 18 games.

• The first Alabama-Huntsville alum to reach the NHL, Jared Ross, the son of longtime Charger coach Doug Ross has skated in five games for the Flyers but is still in search of his first point.

• Ex-Vermont goalie Tim Thomas was expected to split time with Manny Fernandez this season for the Boston Bruins, but Fernandez has taken a back seat to Thomas, who leads the league in both GAA (1.78) and save percentage (.944).

• Alex Goligoski (Minnesota): It's not a rich rookie crop on the blue line this season; still, the former Golden Gopher blueliner leads all first-year rearguards in goals and points for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

• Say this about North Dakota forwards, they sure can snipe. Drew Stafford (Buffalo Sabres) and Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) each have three shootout goals this season, tied for the best in the NHL. Ex-Sioux star Zach Parise, now with New Jersey, is one of 10 players with two tiebreaker goals.

• The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have the most points in the AHL (12-3-0-2, 26 pts.) and are led by six ex-collegians. All three goalies that have seen action — Peter Mannino (Denver), Yann Danis (Brown), and Nathan Lawson (Alaska Anchorage) — and the team's three top scorers — Kurtis McLean (Norwich/Division III), Mike Iggulden (Cornell), and Trevor Smith (New Hampshire).

• If they keep going like this, the traditionally impatient fans in Buffalo will be clamoring even louder, despite a decent start by the Sabres. Rookies Nathan Gerbe (Boston College) and Tim Kennedy (Michigan State) have made a splash already for Buffalo's top minor-league affiliate in Portland, Maine. Through 13 games, the Pirates are 11-1-1-0 and Gerbe has 12-7—19 and Kennedy has 4-15—19 to rank tied for fourth in the AHL in scoring.

• There's no doubt that Roberto Luongo is the number one man in the nets for the Vancouver Canucks, and that means good news for Vancouver's affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, where former first-round pick Cory Schneider (Boston College) leads the AHL with a 1.30 goals-against average. The Moose have the second best winning percentage in the league, and Schneider has a 9-1-0 record while Karl Goehring (North Dakota) is 3-2-0.

• The Syracuse Crunch are in first place after winning 12 of their first 16 games, despite having just two players ranking in the top-50 in the league in scoring. Mike York (Michigan State) is 25th with 3-13—16 and defenseman Clay Wilson (Michigan Tech) is 41st with 7-7—14. Wilson and Jonathan Sigalet (Bowling Green) with 5-6—11 are among the top-10 in defenseman scoring, and Sigalet's plus-14 rating is second best in the AHL.