Apropos of the, ‘fly Eagles, fly’ chants going around in these parts and with their run of play of late, I figure it’s time to put the Colorado Eagles at the top of the Power Rankings this week.
The Eagles are just two points off the Calgary Wranglers for the top spot in the Pacific and I like their run of form recently better than the Wranglers.
Calgary doesn’t stray far from the top, which I give to you now.
1. Colorado Eagles
Last Week: 4th (up 3)
Record: 27-13-4-2
Swept San Jose and are inching closer to Calgary for the top spot.
2. Laval Rocket
Last Week: 1st (down 1)
Record: 31-12-2-1
Rocket go 1-1 in the week. That one loss was 5-0 shutout loss in Belleville.
3. Rochester Americans
Last Week: 3rd (no change)
Record: 30-14-3-1
A chance to take over the top spot in the North as stymied Sunday by the Rocket who get the spot instead.
4. Calgary Wranglers
Last Week: 5th (up 1)
Record: 29-15-3-1
Just one this week against Ontario but these teams meet later today.
5. Hershey Bears
Last Week: 8th (up 3)
Record: 30-13-5
Bears sweep the Pens this week to put some distance on a hard charging Wilkes-Barre. Head to Charlotte this weekend which could be a trap.
6. Toronto Marlies
Last Week: 9th (up 3)
Record: 26-13-2-5
Marlies go 2-1 for the week. Laval on the schedule Monday.
7. Providence Bruins
Last Week: 10th (up 3)
Record: 27-16-4-1
Mastery of the Bridgeport Islanders hit a snag Sunday at home. Big three in three week coming up.
8. Ontario Reign
Last Week: 12th (up 4)
Record: 28-14-2-1
Reign getting closer to the top and beating Calgary like they did Saturday (in overtime) will help get them there.
9. Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins
Last Week: 2nd (down 7)
Record: 27-12-5-1
Penguins get points in three of four games this week. Seem to have a problem in closing out games now. These are points that they can’t cast off.
10. Milwaukee Admirals
Last Week: 16th (up 6)
Record: 25-16-3-4
Admirals use a 6-2-1-1 run in their last ten to tie for first in the Central.
11. Coachella Valley Firebirds
Last Week: 6th (down 5)
Record: 26-17-1-5
Needed a shootout to beat Bakersfield, otherwise the Firebirds would have been 1-2.
12. Bakersfield Condors
Last Week: 7th (down 5)
Record: 20-17-5-3
Lost all three games this week. Bad time to go cold in Bakersfield.
13. Abbotsford Canucks
Last Week: 15th (up 2)
Record: 26-19-1-1
Split in San Diego and beat Colorado at home, game 2 later today.
14. Charlotte Checkers
Last Week: 18th (up 4)
Record: 27-14-3-2
Checkers sweep the Wolf Pack at home, to bring them back in contention in the Atlantic, now host the Hershey Bears in a really important series.
15. Texas Stars
Last Week: 11th (down 4)
Record: 27-15-3
Split with Manitoba and those two points could end up biting them in an ultra competitive Central Division.
16. Cleveland Monsters
Last Week: 17th (up 1)
Record: 26-14-4-4
Monsters sweep the Wolves out in Illinois which tighten them up in the North with Rochester and Laval.
17. Henderson Silver Knights
Last Week: 14th (up 3)
Record: 19-28-2
Silver Knights see winning streak end Sunday at home against Tucson but I still like the trajectory of this team all of a sudden.
18. Grand Rapids Griffins
Last Week: 22nd (up 4)
Record: 26-18-3-1
Finally got back in the win column in Iowa, but the Griffs split with the Wild this week.
19. Utica Comets
Last Week: 13th (down 6)
Record: 17-22-4-2
Comets go winless this week. Big matchup with the Senators this week.
20. Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Last Week: 26th (up 6)
Record: 24-19-5-1
4 of 6 points this week for the Phantoms and the one loss was a narrow one Sunday against the Penguins.
21. Rockford IceHogs
Last Week: 27th (up 6)
Record: 19-22-5-1
Busy week and the IceHogs have to hold off a recently better Iowa Wild team here in an important week.
22. Belleville Senators
Last Week: 29th (up 7)
Record: 20-16-3-4
5 of 6 points for Belleville this week which isn’t bad by any stretch. Busy week on the road coming up.
23. San Diego Gulls
Last Week: 28th (up 5)
Record: 16-24-5-2
Gulls go 3-0 in the week. Madness in the Pacific because it seems no team is out of it yet.
24. San Jose Barracuda
Last Week: 23rd (down 1)
Record: 25-17-2-3
Barracuda are playing .500 hockey of late which has them 5th in a 10 team Pacific.
25. Springfield Thunderbirds
Last Week: 20th (down 5)
Record: 23-19-2-3
Thunderbirds go 1-2 in their Midwestern trip. Springfield is fading.
26. Chicago Wolves
Last Week: 19th (down 7)
Record: 24-20-2
Oof. Wolves go 0-3 in a three in three weekend.
27. Manitoba Moose
Last Week: 31st (up 4)
Record: 15-27-1-1
Good week for the Moose who split with the Stars and beat Milwaukee.
28. Syracuse Crunch
Last Week: 21st (down 7)
Record: 20-17-7-4
Crunch are in danger of losing out on a playoff spot. Going 1-2 doesn’t help. Laval and Toronto on the schedule this week doesn’t help either.
29. Bridgeport Islanders
Last Week: 24th (down 5)
Record: 12-32-3-2
Islanders finally beat the Providence Bruins, who were 9-0 against Bridgeport this season, on Sunday.
30. Tucson Roadrunners
Last Week: 30th (no change)
Record: 22-21-2-2
Roadrunners halt their slide with a big win over the surging Silver Knights Sunday.
31. Iowa Wild
Last Week: 32nd (up 1)
Record: 16-27-3-1
Split with Grand Rapids. Iowa could still make a push and if so it starts with an important series with Rockford.
32. Hartford Wolf Pack
Last Week: 25th (down 7)
Record: 20-23-5-1
OT win against Bridgeport is the lone bright spot for a Wolf Pack team that was swept in Charlotte.
Have a great week, everyone!
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