ECHL and CHL To Merge...???

((HT: Pro Hockey Talk/Mahiban))

The HQ finds this interesting on a few fronts...

Dhiren Mahiban is rolling off a Tweet from agent Darryl Wolski that says the two leagues are in talk to come together.

Mahiban is maintaining that the Western Division of the ECHL- long an odd situation with regular season and playoffs with their four teams- could be losing them all to the American Hockey League so they could have a true Western Division base.

Which makes sense...

In return, the Central Hockey League, with ten teams of their own could help squinch the geography of the ECHL if they merge leagues.

It would project out to something like this in the ECHL/CHL of 2015-2016.

Northeast Division

Brampton
Reading Royals
Wheeling Nailers
Elmira Jackals
Kalamazoo Wings
Cincinnati Cyclones
Toldeo Walleye

Southeast Division

Fort Wayne Komets
Evansville IceMen
South Carolina Stingrays
Orlando Solar Bears
Greenville Road Warriors
Florida Everblades
Gwinnett Gladiators
Indianapolis (expansion)

Central Division (All CHL)

Allen, Texas
Missouri
Rapid City
Quad City
Tulsa
Wichita
St. Charles

Western Division

Denver
Arizona
Alaska Aces
Utah Grizzlies
Idaho Steelheads
Colorado Eagles

And they'd all be chasing what Alaska did last season
((HT: Alaska Aces their own selves))


This is contingent on the Western Division currently all being taken as a block- leaving the four teams currently in the projected West.

And it also presents an interesting issue when it comes to talent. The Central Hockey League is considered, in some circles to be more like single-A baseball while the ECHL is double-A. How would the ECHL front offices mesh with their triple-A brothers and how would the single-A front offices mesh with their double-A brothers...???

Both financially and in personnel matters...
Food for thought for all of the teams in the three leagues to figure out if this comes to pass...

Tim And Sid Make It Famous In Britain Over Gold Medal Celebration

((HT: Sportsnet))

You remember the reaction of FOSG Tim and Sid when the Canadians beat the US in the gold medal women's ice hockey game...

Their reaction has now made it back across the pond...

Funny stuff... even if it was "Gold Medal In The Face..."

Team Canada Takes Gold In Overtime

((HT: Sportsnet))

Yes, the HQ is full of dammit, dammit, dammit right now...

After hitting a post on what could have been an empty-netter that could have sealed the gold medal for Team USA...

It still smarts when the top two countries in the world when it comes to women's hockey trade blows into sudden death overtime...

And Team USA doesn't come out on top...

Daren Millard and John Shannon discuss what it means to Team Canada...
This is what Millard is referring to... ((HT: NBC/IOC))
Clever... and jingoistically unfunny...

What's The 411 On Canada's Lack Of Offense...???

((HT: Sportsnet))

It showed in the barrage against Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis- who stopped 53 of 55 shots against Team Canada...

And the HQ has seen, like the rest of the world, that the Canadian defense has more points in the Sochi tournament than the front lines... and THAT is the cause of concern as they head into the semi-finals against Team USA

Tim and Sid discuss...
Steve Yzerman chose wisely when he drafted him for the Lightning's depth in the position...

Is Team Canada Already Gripping...???

((HT: Sportsnet))

Although, at first glance, the HQ would wonder why in the hockey preliminaries...

But...

By failing to win in regulation and having to take the Finland match to overtime, Canada did not clinch the top seed and a favourable matchup in the quarter-finals. It means the Canadians are the tournament’s third seed and could face Switzerland in their next game.

Sixth-seeded Switzerland and 11th-seeded Latvia play Tuesday in the qualification round.
The winner meets Canada in the quarter-finals Wednesday.

So... is there cause for alarm...???
The Hockey Central team discusses...

So, Now's The Time For Revenge In Ice Hockey With USA and Canada

((HT: Sportsnet))

For the sake of remembering, here's the end of the Vancouver tournament...
((HT: OBS/IOC))


So, now with all the wild cards hanging around in multiple nations, the focus on this side of the world is on a gold-medal rematch between the two... leaving the home team out of it...

Here's Dan Bylsma discussing...
And on the women's side, the HQ thinks that it will be a rematch between the Teams USA and Canada- but we know that, when the two hook up tomorrow- a lot of us will be thinking about what happened in Grand Forks a month ago... ((HT: NBCSN))
The HQ admits that we're not a fan of the accelerated seeding process since we think it takes the fun out of the round-robin...

But, as supporters of Megan Bozek, we're ready to go...