Chirps from Center Ice

Not a bunch of radical movement up or down in the Week 16 Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings this week. Your Oklahoma City Barons are the biggest risers this week up 7 spots to 22nd this week. See, that’s just the thing this week, there really isn’t that much room for movement. Five teams in the Top 10 didn’t move from last week.

Your Adirondack Phantoms and Milwaukee Admirals are on the biggest slide this week, down 6 spots each.

The Toronto Marlies are your new numero uno this week. OT wins over the Wild and Wolves while the Monarchs and Stars both lose a game by wide margins are enough to vault the Marlies to the top spot.

If you didn’t link in direct, hop through the jump to see where everyone ended up this week.

Read more of this post

Here at the Chirps from Center Ice Power Rankings Politboro, if you run down and catch a team that was way out in front of you a few weeks ago, you get massive brownie points. Also, if you lead your division by a wide sum, you get much consideration.

I am talking about your Texas Stars, your new number one this week, and your Grand Rapids Griffins, who lead the Midwest Division by 10 points, the biggest margin in the AHL. The Stars overtake Abbotsford for first in the West with a win Friday against the Heat. The Heat were obliterating everything in its path a few weeks ago.

Are the Grand Rapids Griffins better than four teams in the East Division? They lead their division by 10 points and until each team plays the other in a season we may never know.

The Norfolk Admirals are the most overrated team in the Rankings this week. Hershey is on a tear. Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre have both led the East Division for weeks now, yet the Politboro says they remain third.

The aforementioned Griffins and your Syracuse Crunch are the biggest risers this week, up 8 spots. The Springfield Falcons and Lake Erie Monsters are both down 10 spots from last week.

Alright, enough talking. If you didn’t link in direct, jump through to see where everyone else ended up.

Read more of this post

Week 14 of the AHL Power Rankings are here, and boy, is there some ridiculous travel coming up for some teams.

Springfield, your new number one this week, host Albany Friday then are in Hershey Saturday then have to go all the way back to Massachusetts for an afternoon home game with Norfolk.

Hershey, all of a sudden hot, are in Binghamton Friday, host the aforesaid Falcons Saturday then go all the way to Albany Sunday. Edit: No, they go to Atlantic City to play the Devils, not all the way up to the Capital District of New York. My error.

Portland is in St. John’s to start the week for two games, then return to the States for a home game Friday, then two road games Saturday and Sunday.

Providence and Syracuse have a home and home. There’s no easy way in and out of Providence.

So yes, tough slogs ahead for some teams.

Anyway, your highest climbers this week are Adirondack, Charlotte and Oklahoma City, up seven spots this week. The biggest drops belong to Albany and Adirondack, both down eight.

If you didn’t link through, hit the jump to see where everyone else landed and safe travels!

Read more of this post

In the Week 13 Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings, it would appear that I am dissing teams with their rankings.

For example, the Binghamton Senators. The B-Sens are your highest riser this week, up 15 spots to 9th, but the Norfolk Admirals are up 5 spots and slot in 3rd. How can I rank the B-Sens, who lead the East Division by a point over the Penguins and two over the Admirals, six places behind the Admirals?

How are my top two teams second place teams in their respective divisions? Yeah, Manchester stumbled this week, but are still 7 points ahead of the Devils in the Conference. The Heat are six points ahead of the Stars for both their Conference and West Division.

The Chicago Wolves win two games this week and go down one spot? Huh?

It’s not a “what have you done for me lately” ranking system. If you win more than you lose, you are rewarded with a higher seeding. If you lose three straight and win two, lose three and win two, you don’t jump up as high as others.

I haven’t heard anyone say to me that my rankings are terrible either, so I must be doing something right.

Anyway, if you haven’t figured it out yet, the Albany Devils and the Texas Stars take the top two spots this week. It’s a four way tie for teams with the biggest slide down the rankings this week from last, down 8 spots this week. If you didn’t link in direct, click through to see who, and where everyone else ended up….

Read more of this post

I think we have seriously underestimated the Manchester Monarchs. Best team in the league points wise? Check. Best record in the AHL and best points percentage?

Um, no. That belongs to the Springfield Falcons, who have four games in hand on the Monarchs. Regardless, these two teams are the class of the AHL at the Christmas break.

Two other minor things. First, the St. John’s IceCaps were off this week with no games so their position is frozen at 9th. Finally, January features a bunch of Monday games, which I have usually waited for their conclusion to drop the rankings. For now, at least, the rankings period will run from Monday to Sunday, instead of Monday to Monday.

Biggest risers this week are your Iowa Wild, up six to 17th this week. Biggest fall belongs to the Providence Bruins, down ten to 25th and losing sight of the Monarchs who are running away with things.

If you didn’t link in direct, click through for the rest of the rankings….

Read more of this post