October 2, 2009: The improvements began with the introduction of trophies for all tournament, league and competition winners, so you can now not only brag about your win, but show it off with a shiney new trophy! Also implemented during this update was the “online users” page, which is a great way to track down who’s online, see who has pro-pack and much more. The PPM team also introduced the PPM Facebook Page and Group.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2345238254
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PowerPlay-Manager/40840299922

October 12, 2009: Press Releases have been incredibly popular features of other manager games, and PPM has now implemented their own. You can now post press releases about your team, players, etc to share with the wider community. These are a spectacular way to help spread the word, brag about wins, inform about changes or simply act like a real hockey team and post regular updates. This update also introduced the PPM Twitter page. If you are a twitter user, be sure to follow PPM!

http://twitter.com/hockeymanager

October 15, 2009: This was a major update for fans of the propogation of the game, as PPM how reward those who help spread the word with a fantastic credit referral system. This is also a fantastic way for Support Team Captains to measure their marketing efforts and track new members.

“In hockey parlance, the court is passing the puck to the NHL, who can decide to take another shot at the sale net or it can pass off the puck,” Judge Baum wrote on Wednesday.

Balsillie said he would not appeal the decision. In a statement, Balsillie said, “nobody can deny that we are now a big step closer to having a seventh NHL team in Canada.  It doesn’t matter who owns that team.  When that day comes, I will be the first in line to buy a ticket to the home opener.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank my family for all their love and support. I also want to thank the more than 200,000 fans who supported the bid online and the countless others who contacted me personally to show their support. This bid always was about the game we all love,” said Balsillie.

Judge Baum threw out the $242.5 million (US) bid by Balsillie, saying it could not work because he could not properly satisfy the NHL’s rights regarding relocation. “In the final analysis, the court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL and the claims of the debtors and (Balsillie),” he ruled.

He then ruled that the NHL’s bid of $140 million would not work because it allows the league to specifically select which of the creditors will be paid. The NHL said it would pay all their creditors in full – with the exception of former head coach Wayne Gretzky and majority owner Jerry Moyes.

“There has been no determination that the Moyes and Gretzky claims are not ‘legitimate creditors.’ It would be inherently unjust for this court to deprive them of their possible rightful share of any proceeds without first providing all involved a fair trial on their claims.”

Baum’s 28-page ruling says the Balsillie bid was denied “with prejudice,” which means he cannot come back with an amended bid. As far as that bankruptcy court is concerned, it is done with him. The NHL offer was denied “without prejudice,” meaning that the door is open for league to come back to the court with an improved offer.

“We are pleased that the Bankruptcy Court has confirmed the League’s rights to select its owners and the location of its franchises,” Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement regarding today’s ruling. ”We are reviewing the opinion and considering how we can best address the Court’s concerns regarding our offer to purchase the Coyotes. It remains our goal to secure the long-term stability of the Coyotes in Glendale.”

Judge Baum noted in his ruling that the Coyotes have total losses of over $390 million between 2004-08. He wrote that “the Coyotes have not been a particularly successful team on the ice having never won a playoff series since moving to Arizona. More importantly, from a bankruptcy perspective, the Coyotes have lost money every year since moving to Arizona.”

The Coyotes originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 5, opening the door for Balsillie to make an offer to buy the club. The initial offer of US$212.5-million was made, conditional on the team moving north to Southern Ontario.

The NHL quickly responded, claiming they had been in control of the franchise since November 2008. The league insisted that because they were running the team, majority owner Jerry Moyes did not have the right to file for bankruptcy.

A week later, Hamilton’s city council approved a lease deal that would leave the door open until October, for the Coyotes to call Copps Coliseum home. The NHL contended that that territory belonged to the league, making it impossible for the Moyes/Balsillie deal to be completed.

As Balsillie’s group pushed forward, they announced Labatt Breweries and Home Hardware as corporate sponsors if and when the team made its way to the Steeltown.

The NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball all voiced their support behind the NHL’s stance regarding ownership transfer and relocation. Each league provided documents urging the courts to help them set a precedent in these matters. Judge Baum ordered Moyes and the NHL into mediation to establish who was in charge of the team.

In late May, Balsillie filed an application to the NHL Board of Governors, asking them to approve him as a potential owner of the Phoenix franchise. Balsillie also announced a $150-million renovation plan for the aging Copps Coliseum, to upgrade the facilities.

While no resolution had determined, in June, Judge Baum stated that the NHL had a right to demand payment for a team moving into the territory of Southern Ontario.

By the end of July, the NHL Board of Governors had voted unanimously (26-0) to reject Balsillie as a potential owner.

As the issue hit a fever pitch, Balsillie requested that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court probe the reasoning as to why the NHL owners’ determined he was unfit to own a franchise in their league.

The league put their support behind the bid of Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf in late July, but the bid was withdrawn on August 2. The NHL stepped up with their own bid of $140-million and another group, Ice Edge Holdings, also made a bid of $150-million.

The Ice Edge bid was short-lived and was withdrawn on September 9, after the group announced it was unable to work out a new arena lease with the city of Glendale.

As the date of the auction drew closer, Balsillie raised his bid to $242.5-million.

On the first day of the auction, Judge Baum told both bidders he might not award the team to either party.

Day 2 saw both sides make alterations to their respective bids. Balsillie adjusted his bid to ensure Glendale would receive $50-million if he was awarded the team and removed a deadline of September 21 for the sale to be completed.

The NHL changed their bid around so that $14-million of the money would be split between Moyes and Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky.

At the conclusion of the auction, Judge Baum made it clear he would take time to make his ruling. He said he wanted to word his decision clearly for the next court under the assumption the ruling would be appealed regardless of what it turned out to be.

The Coyotes opened camp on September 12, but Gretzky was not there due to uncertainty with his contract.

Phoenix was 36-39-7 last season and finished 13th in the Western Conference last season.

Source: TSN

Dave Upton is one of those guys who can only be described as a freak.  Naturally talented at most sports, Dave smashed his way into the AIHL with the Brisbane Blue Tongues at the age of 15, the youngest player ever to play in the league to date.  Since then fans have watched Dave grow, not just as an extremely talented hockey player, but as a person.

There are many highlight reel moments over the years including amazing goals, blazing speed and some of the best checking and hittin the Blue Tongues have seen.  Fans may remember the massive open ice hit Dave put on a Central Coast Rhino a few years ago in brisbane, or the countless times Dave’s passion and determination shone through as he worked hard to carry the team back into games.

It is fitting and pleasing then to know that Dave’s last game as a Blue Tongue was also a historical one; the Blue Tongues first ever AIHL finals game, a game that was the culmination of 5 years hard work, determination and pure grit by players such as Dave Upton.

Dave Upton’s hit on a Rhino’s player.  We apologise for the video quality.

Dave’s departure from the Blue Tongues leaves more than just an empty roster spot, it leaves a “Davie shaped hole” in the very heart of the team, as one fan was recently quoted as saying.  A lineup without Dave Upton wont feel like a proper Blue Tongues lineup.

We would like to thank Dave for the time and effort he has put into this team over the last 5 years, and want to express how deeply we appreciate the memories he have given us.  Whereever the future takes Dave, we know he will excel and do well.

So to #96, Dave Upton; farewell and thank you for the memories.

Adelaide Adrenaline, AIHL Champions

Congratulations to the Adelaide Adrenaline who played some of the best hockey this fan has seen in recent times, dominating the Melbourne Ice 6-1 in their semi-final and defeating the defending champions, Newcastle North Stars in a 3-2 overtime victory on Sunday to secure the championship.

With IHA declaring the revered Goodall Cup was going back to a state competition, the AIHL introduced a new trophy which AIHL teams will now play for.  The trophy was on display during the finals and handed to Adrenaline Greg Oddy as the captain of the victorious Adelaide Adrenaline.

The Gold Coast Blue Tongues made their first ever finals appearance to the roar of a dedicated Tongues fan base.  Players later expressed that the Blue Tongues fans, who numbered less than 20 out-screamed the packed North Stars crowd.  Keeping even through 2 periods, the Blue Tongues lost to the Newcastle North Stars 5-3 in their semi-final matchup.

The Melbourne Ice team, who were defeated 6-1 by the Adrenaline in semi-final #1 should take away many positive things from this season, one in which saw them rebuilding with youth and inexperience.  Greg Oddy and the boys did fantastic to get them to the playoffs.

Brad Smulders, AIHL MVP

Brad Smuldes was awarded the AIHL regular season MVP award.  He broke the AIHL scoring record, putting up 33 goals, 43 assists for 76 points, beating the old record by 7 points.

Cass Delsar of the Adelaide Adrenaline was awarded the playoff MVP, for what we can tell, deflecting a puck and scoring the overtime game winner agains the North Stars.  This has sparked a discussion as to whether scoring “that” goal is deserving of the playoff MVP.  We feel Greg Oddy or Thilthorpe would have been more deserving personally.

Mike Crowhurst of Slapshot.com.au has posted that DVDs of the finals games (all 3 of them) are available for purchase via their website: http://www.slapshot.com.au.  According to Mike, they had 300 people tuning in to watch the games!  A huge thanks to Mike, Mischa and the rest of the Slapshot boys for making the games available to the world.

The AIHL Trophy

The AIHL off-season is a long one, stretching through til April/May next year.  Over the next 7 months teams will work on securing new imports, work on training the local guys and prepare for another AIHL season.  The AIHL is notorious for it’s rumour mill, so here are few to whet your appetite.

According to people in the know, the talk around the league is that there could be new teams in the AIHL next season.  Nobody has been able to confirm anything as yet, however 3 names keep popping up; Melbourne, Central Coast and Brisbane.  Melbourne have their new ice arena next season, making room for another team down there.  The Central Coast has the Rhinos, although I find it hard to believe they would be back if the same owner is involved.  Brisbane used to have the Blue Tongues, so has the ability and fan base to hold a team.

According to sources who we believe had one too many, Matt Ezzy’s days in Newcastle are over, and he could be on the move to a new team.  This rumour was also popular this time last year, so take it as you will.  I sincerely hope he does not move to the Gold Coast unless he welcomes the taste of humble pie, as there is zero chance fans up there will worship him as the Newcastle crowd do.

Loads of rumours of returning import players, including 1 from the Blue Tongues, 1 from Newcastle and 1 from the Adrenaline.

The weekend however was not without controversy.  Going into the weekend, Blue Tongues fans were aware that the veteran Milan Novysedlak would be starting in net, a move which had fans and opponents alike wondering “WTF?”.  It turned out, this sentiment was not had by only Tongues fans.

Saturday evening during the first intermission between the Blue Tongues and North Stars I had a number of North Stars fans ask why the Blue Tongues regular season starter, Luke Fiveash, was not in net.  We could only shrug of course, because that question is one we’d like to know the answer to also.

It must be said that Milan played a solid game in net on Saturday, and this blog post is not designed to take anything away from him or his game, merely to beg the question as to why he got the nod over Luke Fiveash.

According to the AIHL website, Luke Fiveash played 14 games this season (7W, 6L + 1 game where we lack correct stat data), averaging just 2.97 goals against and putting up an 88.86% save percent.   He had the best GAA of all starting netminders (those who played 50% or more of their teams games).   His save percent was equal to that of Newcastles Matt Ezzy.  Luke also outplayed Matt Ezzy in 2 games earlier this season on the gold coast, only to have the defense let him down resulting in 2 shootout losses.

Compare this to Milan, who played 4 regular season games (3W, 1L), having missed the majority of the season due to a bad injury.  His first game back after that injury was a bad 9-3 loss to the Melbourne Ice just 2 weeks ago.

OneNorth Stars fan commented that they were shocked that the Blue Tongues would play Milan when Luke was not only ready to play, but had already proven his ability to take on the North Stars.  I had similar comments come from Ice, Ice Dogs, Bears and Adrenaline fans, as well as 2 business owners in the Newcastle region.

Since the game, there are rumours floating around that Milan may be announcing his retirement.  Could this be connected to why he started?  I don’t know.  I feel for Luke.  He’s a solid netminder who is a solid team guy, always doing what’s asked of him and never complaining.  He helped carry the team to the playoffs, fans would have liked to see him where we believe he belongs; between the pipes.

Unlike the Bledisloe, where the All Blacks are by far the better team (go on, admit it, you know it’s true), the Ice Blacks are not so fortunate.  Over the years, they have never beaten Australia, something that as a fellow kiwi, i can’t say i’m all too pleased about.

So how is this year different to any other year?  Well, the Aussie team is not actually THE Aussie team, instead it’s a rep team put together from the Newcastle North Stars and Sydney Bears AIHL teams.  This rep team isn’t just some mix-match either, they have some solid import players such as John Halverson and great Australian local players in Rubes, Stransky and Matt Ezzy.

That said, the Kiwis are ready.  They know they’re the underdog, and they’re ok with that.  One thing is certain, this coming weekend things will heat up on the Ice in Dunedin, NZ!

But when do we draw the line and say enough-is-enough, let’s be the bigger people.  Or, to put it more bluntly, when do we grow a pair and be adults.

Those who frequent the Gold Coast Blue Tongues games know and understand that there is a highly passionate group of fans who sit directly behind the opposition bench, an area that is often considered by travelling fans to be where opposition fans should sit.  What people need to understand is that the LizardPit, which we refer to that section behind the opposition bench has always been used by this group of fans, and at no point in time at our rink, has that area ever been an area for opposition fans.   In fact, those who sit there, do so for a reason.  The Blue Tongues journalist sits there and need to be able to hear the referees and/or the people running the penalty box and we often have a photographer / web updater there who use the gap to get photos.

That said, I want to talk about fan etiquette.

We had a large contingency of fans for an opposition team at a Tongues game recently who took exception of these Blue Tongues fans.  I’m not going to mention the team name on purpose, please accept that.  On Sunday, instead of approaching the rink or these people and asking them, as adults if they could give up their spot so the opposition fans could all sit together, they went the manipulative route, and deceptively bypassed the rules of our home rink by going in before the general public.  How they got in is irrelavent, although it is known.

Here’s the thing… this is an organisation that claims to be high-class and professional, yet in a situation that would have been resolved simply by asking the fans if they could move for one game, they acted unprofessionally, and in the most classless manner imaginable.   For future reference, any act of professionalism is going to be marred by the fact that certain people are all talk and no show, which is a pitty.

I can’t help but wonder, what would happen if another team traveled to their rink and did this?

I wish to point out, that the Blue Tongues fans in question did choose to move and be the better people.

In the future, to all involved, please be as professional and classy as you claim and ask, you’d be surprised at how accomodating we can be.

We would also like to congratulate Blue Tongues import Brad Smulders on breaking the AIHL scoring record, previously of 69 points held by Brad Wanchuluk of the Newcastle Northstars in 2007.  Brad finished the season with 33 goals, 43 assists for 76 points off just 22 games.

The Blue Tongues finished the regular season in 4th spot with 14 wins, 7 losses and 3 overtime losses, good for 44 points off 24 games.

The Blue Tongues will take on top seeded Newcastle Northstars in their semi-final matchup, scheduled for 7:30pm, Saturday 29 August, 2009.

So no doubt there was a bit of “what the?” going on when word came down recently that the AIHL will not be playing for the Goodall Cup this year, and the cup will return to it’s old purpose, as a State tournament trophy.  Not a bad idea, afterall that’s where it’s roots lie.

But one must ask the question… why?

Ice Hockey in this country is shaky at the best of times.  We have a loyal fan-base across the nation and it is growing each year.  When it comes to hockey in Australia, people are going to think of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) long before they think of the State tournament.  Does the State tourny have a name?  10 points if you can think of it.

The fact is, the AIHL is the best hockey in this country, and realistically the best thing that has happened to hockey in Australia.  Young local players are getting to skate alongside proven import players such as AIHL record holder Brad Smulders and former NHL players, such as Rob Zamuner and Steve McKenna.

So why does it feel like the IHA and AIHL have some kind of internal battle going on, and why, after parading the Goodall Cup around in front of AIHL fans recently are they now saying “no, your team can’t win this”.  It just all seems a little strange to me.

That said, a new cup designed just for the AIHL is a great move, and will allow the AIHL to build a legacy of its own.

This weekend, August 1 & 2 the Gold Coast Blue Tongues take on the Canberra Knights at Bundall on the Gold Coast.  Getting 6 points from a back-to-back victory will be a huge boost for the Blue Tongues, but not so huge as the implication it will have heading forward.

You see, if the Tongues can pull of a double this weekend, they mathematically eliminate the Sydney Ice Dogs from playoff contention, and in the process secure their first ever AIHL playoff berth.

This years 11-6-3 record has been a major improvement for the Blue Tongues, who finished 2008 with a dismall 8-17-3 record getting just 27 points and finishing 7th in last years 8-team league.

A major part of the teams success this season has been the outstanding play of import forward, Brad Smulders.  Smulders, a native of Canada leads the team and league in goals (30), assists (35) and points (65).

This year has seen some major improvements both on and off the ice.  Disciplined play, successful special teams and an increase in crowd numbers have all been a huge bonus to the teams success.

2009 also happens to be the debut season of Ross Howell as team captain.  Rosco as he’s affectionately known is one of Australia’s top defenseman and has played this season as both defense and forward, where his outstanding 2-way play has been paramount to the teams winning record.

With just 4 games remaining in the AIHL season, all of them at home, the Blue Tongues have plenty of reasons to feel confident.