1991 REGULAR SEASON

Willard Division: In the first week the Whales had a scare with a nasty knee injury to Bill Bronkowski that nearly derailed the season. D Eli Priestley kept them in the hunt until Bronko could return late in the year and squeak into a wildcard spot. Meanwhile the Anchors made good use of it and rose to the top of the division behind great play from Jack Kovak and JoJo Gorka. It was the Sina Serpents who looked like a different squad with rookie #1 pick Patrick Quinn taking control of the leadership and helped them to a team-first playoff berth. Both the Rockets and Pioneers struggled as their teams are aging or rebuilding.

Hatch Division: The Kodiaks picked up where they left off and ran roughshod on the division, notching another title. Stellar play from the whole unit earned them a Louis Trophy for best record as the Romanovs had no trouble behind a sticky defense and tight net play from Rocco LaPlante. The Swans struggled early but came about late behind Ray Parrino to notch the 4-seed. Just behind them, the Wizards adjusted with Gian Guilano and Sam Sebastian finally took off as Alko found enough chemistry to earn a wildcard. The Blazers put up a good fight but faded late as the season was a good showing for some of the young players. The Neptunes showed a major drop-off in talent as their stars have aged or retired. The Herons' rebuild was as expected, finishing in last place while still managing to play exciting hockey.

Elam Division: John Roszak led the league in scoring and earned an MVP trophy as he led the Captains to the division title and the 2-seed. Stingy defense by Len Rutkowski and G Vassily Wuopio kept the other teams at bay. The Snappers, though, made a good showing and surged ahead of the faltering Crusaders and Barbarians to earn a playoff berth behind good play from David Tennfjord and an invigorated D Steven Orban. Quebel disappointed for a second straight season as the forwards suffered too many injuries and scoring was a problem. The Barbarians had trouble winning games even though Frankie Albertelli did his best. The Heralds were expected to be bad and focused on development as top rookie Fredric Perreault looked good in limited action.

Rankin Division: Kings' goalie Manu Harmaajarvi put the division on lockdown as he played a magical season in the net, earning Best Goalie while Pete Lentini and Co did enough to win the division. The Electrics kept pace for most of the season behind lights-out scoring from Denis Lemieux, who has taken the reins from Leo Stendahl, and earned a 9th-straight playoff berth. The young Falcons showed major improvement as Bobby Kozun and Bryan Klein were tough to stop and the Sava Side is becoming exciting again. The Killers saw a huge year from goalie Austin Ellis go to waste as the offense was decimated with injuries and the team missed the playoffs. The Glaciers expected to improve but didn't make much progress as some wonder if head coach Pete Clayton is holding them back. The Bucks played better even with a bad roster but remained the second-worst team in the league as the staff has a lot of work to do to improve the team.




Hockey on the Mount:

A tepid version of HOTM due to budget cuts in anticipation of the '92 acquisition of Elite Vision, the turnout was small but the game ended up being good. The Anchors pulled out a win against a banged up Whales squad without Bronkowski.




Playoff Preview:

Serpents vs Whales
Sina's introduction to the playoffs is a date with the battled-hardened Whales who are finally healthy

Snappers vs Wizards
DC's been pesky all season while the Wizards are finally seeing some chemistry

Kings vs Electrics
These teams know each other well and could make for a long series

Anchors vs Swans
These teams are fairly evenly-matched and the bookmakers are at odds on who is better

Byes: Kodiaks, Captains

C&C always appreciated!
Up next: 1991 playoffs