3/14/2005

NUMBERS? SEE WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS BREAK...IT...DOWN!

3/14/2005

March 14, 2005 - Well, fans, you know the story. 19 points back. 16 games to go. Quad City is hot, perhaps inspired by my column on the Mighty Ducks Trilogy. If that’s the case, my deepest sympathies…it wasn’t intentional. But HUGE bonus points if you get the reference in the subject line! Email me at adammkaufman@comcast.net.
The Mallards are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, with the Mechanics at 6-3-1 but winners of three straight! Motor City’s yet to extend a winning streak past three all season so it’s a nice challenge for new man Danton Cole (3-1-0 to start).
With those fun facts in mind, I’d like to use this article to pass along some other notables about your Mechanics as of late, primarily based around statistics. I should also mention in advance that this piece won’t necessarily be funny but rather informational. Plus, my dad’s an accountant so I naturally like numbers!
Here goes nothin’:
1) Captain Blair Manning and (white jersey) Assistant Captain Brandon Fleenor are the teams’ two ironmen, having played in all 64 games this season. Neither, thus far, has fallen victim to the rule of having to sit a veteran each night in which all Mechanics are present.
2) Manning leads Motor City in both assists (38) and points (54).
3) Assistant Captain Joe Burton, if you heard a recent Pricey’s Puzzle, is the all-time leading American goal-scorer with 589 to date (565 coming in the Central Hockey League with the Oklahoma City Blazers). This year, he leads the Mechanics with 24 goals. In his 12-year career, he’s never had fewer than 32 goals in a season.
4) Manning and Burton are the lone Mechanics to have appeared in all 12 Motor City shootouts this season. Manning is 3-12 (25%) and Burton is 7-12 (58%).
5) Both Manning and Burton have hat tricks this season, as do Sean Avery and Jeff Goldie, for a total of four in Mechanics history.
6) Burton leads Motor City with 11 power-play goals and 192 shots. He is also tied for the team lead with 2 short-handed goals, along with All-Star defenseman Kevin Hansen and the departed Chad Peck (now in the Southern Pro League). Further, Burts has 3 game-winners, tied for the team standard with rookie Dave Bonk, veteran Dan Price and, now, Port Huron’s own Jeff Goldie.
7) More on Hansen – the 2 short-handed scores is tied for the league lead among defenseman with Danbury’s J.F. David. All this, and Hanny hasn’t played a game since February 19th. But he expects to be back in the lineup in 1-2 weeks. In the meantime, continue to catch him on the Internet with me on www.mechanicsradio.com and the radio on the New AM 1310 WDTW Detroit’s Progressive Talk.
8) On the subject of injury before we get back to statistics, sorry to report that defensemen Kyle Kos and Wade Paterson are both done for the season. Koser finished with 32 points (6 G, 26 A) in 53 games. At the time of his injury, Kyle was sixth in the league in points among defenseman. Paty had 11 points (2 G, 9 A) in just 38 contests.
9) Back to stats…Dave Bonk leads the team in rookie scoring with 31 points (11 G, 20 A) in 57 games. Bonker is still looking for his first career shootout goal…he’s currently 0-5. Other 0-for-Shootouts: Rick Smith (0-4), Bryan Smolinski (0-1), Brad Cruikshank (0-1), Sean Avery (0-1), Chris Gignac (0-3), Chris Chelios (0-2), and Ryan Baker (0-1).
10) Rookie Matt Hunter (and former Northern Michigan University teammate of Bonk) wins the award for “Hey, Did You Know This Guy’s Played Almost Every Game?” Maybe, we’ll call it the “Unsuspecting Candidate Award.” Hunts has appeared in 61 games (totaling 20 points), the most among anyone other than Mans and Flee (both 64), as earlier mentioned.
11) In 9 games played, NHLer Sean Avery has 11 points (8 G, 3 A) and leads with the team with a +9. He, Smolinski (+7), Chris Chelios (+2), and Chris Gignac (+1) are the only Mechanics in the positive. Unfortunate to report, Rick Smith takes the mark on the other side with a -30.
12) On the subject of the NHL guys, Smolinski (14 points, 11 games), Avery (11, 9), Hatcher (10, 15), and Chelios (10, 13) have combined for 45 points in 48 man-games. As is clearly indicated, that’s nearly a point per game! Chris Gignac also has 11 points in 11 games spanning his two Motor City stints this season.
13) Another note on Sean Avery: With his 8 goals on 41 shots, he leads the Mechanics with a shooting percentage of almost 20!
14) Streaks: Avery has 6 goals in his last 4 home games. Chelios has 7 assists in his last 6 home contests. Meanwhile, Manning has 13 points in his last 7 road games.
15) Rookie Jeff Doyle, since coming to Motor City in a cash trade with Mike Burgoyne after attaining 0 points in seven games, has 13 (6 G, 7 A) in 26 Mechanics games.
16) The man mentioned with Doyle, Mike Burgoyne, is in his second stint with the Mechanics this season. He spent 17 games with Quad City before coming to Motor City, was released, signed with Rockford, played four games, and was traded back to the Mechanics, where he has played 14 games this season. All told, he has 5 points (2 G, 3 A) this year, all with Motor City.
17) Assistant Captain Brad Cruikshank leads the Mechanics with 201 penalty minutes, followed closely by Fleenor’s 189.
18) Between goaltenders Rod Branch, Cory Campbell, Mike Fountain, Scott Murray, and Tyson Motz, Motor City is still looking for its first shutout in its young history.
19) Branch is third in the UHL in saves with 1,405 – 120 behind Elmira’s Greg Hewitt.
20) Three Mechanics have a chance at setting career-highs in points this season: Tim Laurila is 5 points away from a new high (12) though his three goals this year are a career-best by two; Brandon Fleenor is also five points away from a new high (13) and his next goal will tie a personal best; and Brad Cruikshank is 8 points away from a new high (21).
21) Looking more specifically at the team as a whole, the Mechanics are 19-16-5 since December 15th. If only November had gone better (1-10-1)!
22) Motor City has had five men serve as head coach this season: Danton Cole (3-1-0), Steve Shannon (6-3-0), John Blum (1-0-0), Mark Davis (1-1-1), and Garry Unger (11-30-6). The Mechanics have also used 42 players.
23) Attendance: Motor City is last in attendance by an average of just ONE PERSON with 1,687 fans per game. Support your Mechanics and let’s overtake this with some sellouts! TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE! Click here for options!
I really wanted to get to 25 because that’s my favorite number but I’m afraid those 23 are what I have for now. Thinking…thinking…
Stumped.