Well, what a long, long road I'll be hiking into.

Great month for ORHC! (minus losing to Empire City by 6).

Rugrat wrote:

Great month for ORHC! (minus losing to Empire City by 6).

Republic looks strong on all fronts. The offense has really turned around which bodes well for them.

Megildur wrote:

The Game of the Month and top Star of the Month have me feeling good about Narwhal. The -2 goal difference has me worried though. I like that Jugo is #34 especially though, because of David Ortiz and Paul Pierce and their respective places in Boston sports history.

​Narwhal completely turned things around, but goaltending still remains leaky. But Jugo appears to be the real deal (and still only 24) so definitely a bright spot for the club.
 

Calling all PENNterns!

PENN (Professional Entertainment & News Network) is looking for seasonal interns to write reports, spread rumors (both true and false) and cover PUCH on freelance basis. Merman Miller and Penn Pressor will randomly select a couple of interns for each season where you can get behind the scenes details and publish news and rumors for The Drop, a premier outlet of PENN.

This will be a fun way to encourage community input and participation! I will provide more details as we go.

To apply, PM or DM the editor-in-chief Merle "Merman" Miller with your alliterative reporter name and a brief bio of what makes them cool or crazy.

March 1982

Month Three of the PUCH season brings on the Ides of March, where teams must beware. An unfortunate injury to a key player could derail a season. A guy on the bottom line getting a huge boost could propel a team forward. With the Trade Deadline on April 1st, not only are teams hoping not to look too foolish heading into April, the Ides of March could also drastically impact their deadline plans. A mention is given for each team's lucky or unlucky winner of the 7 Sides of Life & Death roll.

EASTERN DIVISION:

District United's offense continued to nosedive as the lack of depth reared its ugly head. Bottom pair defenseman Ruben Kopstein suffered a nasty leg injury which further complicated their depth situation. The club remains in first place, however, and if the team can scale back and figure out ways to keep games tight, they can still make some noise.

Narwhal outscored the division in March and locked things down defensively as Al Bender seems to have found his groove as the blue line has tightened up their own play. Young center Danny Domhoff went on a scoring streak from the bottom six to give the team a huge boost with Jimmy Jugo continuing his own scoring boom.

Liberty Athletic weathered an early-month injury to Guerin to find some success in their offense led by Ficociello as the defense also erupted offensively with Mike Moon and Wayne Wren. Guerin seemed to work through the lower-body injury but remains hampered which is cause for concern.

Metropolitan NYC somehow pulled out some close wins despite virtually no scoring outside of Ken Yewdokimova who continues to impress. Eddie Baugh has held things down in the net even with the defense playing poorly. Metro winger Marvin Ratnam broke his jaw which will take at least a month to heal.

Empire City saw an offensive outburst from Vince Aberdeen and Andrew Jacobs-Warren but their defensive issues piled on Reggie Gisser who had trouble keeping softies out of the net. Veteran winger Oliver Besser suffered a horrific ankle injury that could end the 35-year-old's career.

WESTERN DIVISION:

Ohio Republic tapered off a bit and lost some close games but continued to keep their place atop the West. Their defense has suffered injuries in the bottom four, notably Izzy Kimbrell who is dealing with a lower-body issue. Fortunately Gary Dunlap hasn't lost his scoring touch and is keeping Ohio in the mix.

Toronto Fox saw their meteoric rise up the standings continue as they slid into second place after a hot March despite injuries to their top lines with Ron Rhodes and Alex Letortu both hampered. Ruben Thornhill has showed why he was the top pick and the defense has found their footing with Jerry Gosselin stepping up. Gary Gillen has put a step forward in the net above Larry Shore but the team will continue to go with a platoon.

Howler-Hawkins regressed after a tough month where the offensive sputtered out even with Stan Blackburn and the defense playing out of their minds. Tony LaRue had an incredible month from the blue line but with Roman Harrison forgetting how to score, the team has been inept on the scoreboard. Depth is a problem after a brutal knee injury to winger Todd Hollis.

Monarques de Montreal weathered a bizarre situation where goalie Abe Kohler had to leave the team for several weeks while sorting out a legal matter where he was involved in an altercation in his hometown Kenosha, Wisconsin. Even with Kohler out, Cameron Shiggs stepped up and played well as Morgan Blair and Eddie Frederick led the offense to stay in the race.

Motown Chrome continued their downward spiral as the coaching staff looked even more clueless than ever. They apparently mishandled a health situation that Louis Brooksfield was dealing with, where an infection turned into a nasty staph infection that put him in the hospital. It might be the last straw for the Craig Carlsson regime as owner Quincy Quarles and the fans are in an uproar.


Game of the Month: Toronto Fox 3-2 District United (OT)

1st Period
DUHC: Taylor Esner (Hitchcock, Hellerstein)
2nd Period:
TFHC: Jerry Gosselin (Thornhill, Howe)
3rd Period
TFHC: John Herbco (Gosselin, Thornhill) (Power Play)
DUHC: Luke Braxton (Esner, Gates) (Shorthanded)
Overtime:
TFHC: Ty Newberry (Thornhill)

Win: Gary Gillen | Loss: Dorian Hatcher

Game of the Month: Liberty Athletic 5-3 Empire City

1st Period:
ECHC: Stanley Harkins (Adams-Banks) (Shorthanded)
ECHC: Tyler Spears (Long, Saller)
LAHC: Geoff Ficociello (Poole, Wren)
2nd Period:
LAHC: Wayne Wren (Kane, Halcombe)
ECHC: Marc Minnemeyer (Jacobs-Warren, Aberdeen) (Power Play)
LAHC: Lincoln Kane (Halcombe, Carver)
3rd Period:
LAHC: Wayne Wren (Moon, Ficociello)
LAHC: Lincoln Kane (Moon, Halcombe)

Win: Todd Guerin | Loss: Reggie Gisser

Up next: With the April Fools trade deadline fast approaching, expect rumors to be flying all over the map as teams figure out what to do next. Your team voting forms are freshly updated with various scenarios on how your club can approach the trade deadline and influence their decisions.