A month into the AHL Season, the Texas Teams are looking very strong right now as the Texas Teams are in the top 3 spots in the West Division. The Expansion Texas Stars are on top with the San Antonio Rampage in 2nd with last years Conference Finalist in 3rd place.

Elsewhere, the North Division is looking like it's going to be the strongest division with the Rochester Americans having a slight edge over the Hamilton Bulldogs, Manitoba Moose and the Abbotsford Heat as the top 4 in the north are just 2 points apart.

In the Atlantic Division, Manchester is starting to put a gap on the competition as the lead is up to 4 points over Worcester. The Monarchs defense is also among the best in the league right now as the team has given up only 17 goals this season as a team. 

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Another poll question for you the members here. This time it deals with the upcoming playoff matchups to determine the final spots for the FIFA World Cup. Starting on November 14, 6 World CUp Playoff Matchups will play the 1st leg of games on who will round out the field for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

4 European Matchups will feature 8 of the Group Runner ups as we got some great games coming up on November 14 and 18. The marquee matchup will take place in Dublin as Rep. of Ireland will take on France while Portugal will travel to take on Bosnia-Herzegovina. The other matchups will feature EURO 2008 Semifinalist Russia against Slovenia and Greece taking on Ukraine.

In the international matchups, the 4th place team from CONCACAF will be Costa Rica as they look to advance to their 3rd straight World Cup against Uruguay as this is their 3rd straight time being the playoff team in South America. Finally, Oceania Champions New Zealand is taking on Bahrain who upset Saudi Arabia to get to this point.

These playoffs are comprised of 2 legs (1 game in both places) and the score will be based on combined score from the 2 games. 1st leg on November 14 and the 2nd leg is on November 18.

Who will Win the World Cup Playoff Matchups?

Rep. of Ireland VS. France

Bosnia-Herzegovina VS. Portugal

Ukraine VS. Greece

Slovenia VS. Russia

Costa Rica VS. Uruguay

Bahrain VS. New Zealand

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Here's a look at the Major Junior Games as most teams are nearing the 20 game mark of the season. Espically in the QMJHL. A change in the time, since we falled back over the weekend. The games in Saskatchewan are now considered Central Time. This is imporant to consider because they don't have daylight saving time in Saskatchewan. This imporant for the World Junior Championships when they take place in Saskatoon and Regina during the Winter Holidays. (more)

Here's a look at the schedule and current standings for the United States Hockey League and the North American Hockey League.

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And more to the point, how about that James "Don't Call Me Jamie" Neal and his OT game-winning goal? As colleague Mike Heika points out in today’s SportsDay story, home ice really did heat up just in time in Dallas Stars' 4-3 overtime win.

Per usual, I go to Heika for my local puck knowledge. As he points out, the lowly “Leafs (1-7-2) were coming off their first victory of the season and playing with purpose and poise.”

Thanks, Mike. But when it comes to getting the pulse of hockey nation — Canada — I go to my Aunt Jeanie. The Cranbrook, B.C., resident says the Leafs — a storied organ-I-zation — is in such bad shape that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is “threatening” to cancel broadcasting Toronto’s games on “Hockey Night in Canada” unless Toronto management rights the ship.

Yeaaaaa-right. To put this into perspective, this would be on par with NBC deciding to not air Dallas Cowboys games on its lucrative “Sunday Night Football.” So basically it’s just a bunch of talk. Just consider the absurd ratings and gaudy price for advertising during a Cowboys game. (You telling me a broadcaster is gonna say bye-bye to those numbers?!?!)

The standings don’t matter. The product on the field doesn’t matter. When the losses outnumber the wins, the tabloid write-ups matter. The off-field issues matter.The GM’s crazy personnel moves matter. The talk radio yappers matter. The Leafs, like the ’boys, are popular win-lose-or-draw (in the case of hockey, win-lose-or-shootout loss). But for how long will this be the case?

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Nearly a month into the AHL Season, all 3 Texas teams have been playing well. For the Texas Stars and San Antonio Rampage, they are currently 1st and 2nd in the West Division are looking strong right now, Texas is currently 5-2-2 and currently has the 2nd best defense in the Western Conference by giving up just 19 goals, only ahead of them is the Hamilton Bulldogs where they have given up just 14 as the 2 teams are playing each other tonight. However, if the Stars are going to compete in the West Division and the Conference as a whole, the offense will half to get better as Sergei Korostin leads the team with just 4 goals.

Elsewhere in the AHL, the North Division is looking to be the strongest division from top to bottom as the Rochester Americans are leading the North with a 8-1-1 record. The gap between 1st and 4th place Abbotsford is just 6 points. The other teams in the Grand Rapids Griffins, Toronto Marlies and the Lake Erie Monsters will be in the race all season with all of them having 8 points.

Even though the Atlantic Division Atlantic is looking strong, the Manchester Monarchs and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers are the class of the Atlantic Division. Greg More is becoming very dangerous on the PP as 3 of his 4 goals so far this season have come on the PP and their balance attack is becoming strong as 7 players have 5 or more points already this season for the Sound Tigers.

For the Central Hockey League, it's been a slow start for the Brahmas after getting out of the gate at 1-2-1. However, the schedule has been very tough with games against the Colorado Eagles and the Mississippi Riverkings who are looking to contend in the Northern Conference as both teams went deep into the playoffs. Else where in the South, the Amarillo Gorillas have been very hot with a 5-1-0 record after finishing with the worst record last year.

Also, this is a huge week for the 2 metroplex teams Texas Brahmas and the Allen Americans as they will play the 1st of 9 games against each other this season on Saturday night.

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The Calgary Hitmen are leaving where they left off as they have a 4 point lead over a group like the surprising Moose Jaw Warriors and the and East Division leading Saskatoon Blades out east. While out west, The Vancouver Giants, Portland Winterhawks and Tri-City Americans are shifting between each other for the Western Conference Lead as the top of the west is going to be very tight as the Kamloops Blazers are looking to get back up in the battle.

Below them is the Kelwona Rockets in 5th. Out east, the Swift Current Broncos have been the big turnaround team in the east as they lost to Medicine Hat in the 1st round of last years playoffs. One of the big disappointments so far is the Brandon Wheat Kings as the goaltender has been shaky so far while Prince Albert and Edmonton round out the Eastern Conference Playoff teams. Out west, it's the Chilliwack Bruins and Spokane Chiefs are the 7th and 8th spots while Seattle and Prince George are looking to get back in the Conference Playoff spots.

In Ontario, the defending Memorial Cup Champions Windsor Spitfires are back on top of the west after a slow start, they are 12-3-1 through 16 games. Out in the east, Mississauga has a 4 point lead in the Conference as they are clearly in the stronger division in the East with teams like the Barrie Colts and Nigara Icedogs.

For the QMJHL, the West and Atlantic Division races are going to be intense. The Gatineau Olympiques are looking like the 2007-08 team that won the QMJHL Title with a 12-4-0 record with a very strong defense with a +35 GD and an offense that's looking great so far. Rouyn-Nornda is nipping on their heals just one point back.

When the season started in the Atlantic, Moncton and St. John were picked as the teams that would battle for the Division. However, P.E.I. Has been making things interesting and if they improve their defense, the Rockets could be a strong contender for the Atlantic Division title.

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With nearly a month into the USHL and a month and a half in the NAHL Seasons.

The USHL season as the top 3 teams in both divisions are starting to get some separation. In the East, Chicago, Cedar Rapids, and Green Bay are all battling for the top spot in the East as all 3 teams are just 2 points separate in the East. In addition to the Steel leading, they scoring nearly 5 goals a game and their turnaround has been strong after finishing 13 points out of the playoffs and probably would been last if it weren't for Des Moines who won just 12 games last season.

Down in the east is defending champion Indiana where most of their top players are gone from last year like Stanislav Galiev and Brandon Richardson that helped them win the Clark Cup last year. Bringing the rear in the East are the Youngstown Phantoms, Waterloo Blackhawks and and the USNTDP.

Out west, League powerhouse Omaha is back on top of the division with a slim lead over the Tri-City Storm and the Sioux Falls Stampede. Tri-City has had even a bigger turnaround then Chicago after finishing dead last out west while the Lincoln Stars have been struggling with a 4-5-0 record and currently being in 5th after losing in the West Division Final to Fargo after finishing on top on the West Division during the regular season. 

From top to bottom though, the West Division is looking stronger this year then the East.

In the NAHL, The top of the South and North Divisions are going to be very strong as the Traverse City North Stars and Marquette Rangers will be fighting it out for the top of the North Division title as a balance scoring attack with 7 players already being in double digits already as Andy Huff already has a dozen goals this season while Eric Mclintock is looking strong all over the ice as he has 17 points (8G 9A) so far this season.

For Marquette, they may not have a big offense, but their defense is among the best in the league so far as they have the best team defense by only giving up 32 goals in 14 games so far and a very strong PK nearing 86%. 

In the South Division, Topeka and St. Louis are going to be battling as the Roadrunners will look for revenge after the Bandits just killed the Roadrunners in the Division Final last season. Ryan White, has looked very strong after being the South Division Player of the week with a big week, other players include Edgars Lipsbergs and Erik Higby have been great on offense.

For the defending champion Bandits, it's the great goaltender that's been the story for them as Garrett Bartus has an impressive 6-1-1 record with a strong looking 2.14 GAA and a .911 SV% that's frustrating opposing teams. However they offense may not be that great though, they leading scorer Daniel Olszewski is leading with just 14 points (7G 7A).

As for the Tornado, they looking to find some consistently as the Tornado sit 4th in the South Division with a 6-6-2 record. So far, only one player is in double digits in points with Jack Prince leading with 12 Points (5G 7A).

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Your very own Allen Americans defeated the Laredo Bucks tonight to start thier inaugural season 4-0. Next up: Texas Brahmas in North Richland Hills Oct. 31 at 7:05 p.m.

For more details on the win, check out the story: http://neighborsgo.com/index.php?page_id=1000&site_page_id=5&post_id=44833

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Check out the story about the Americans' third win: http://neighborsgo.com/index.php?page_id=1000&site_page_id=5&post_id=44829
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