Any Given Night



Pens sweep Hitmen to claim first title
Friday, March 18, 2016



It certainly wasn't an explosive end to the 2015-16 Dynasty Hockey League season, but a 4-0 victory over the Cole Harbour Hitmen was more than enough for the St. John's Penguins to complete a four game sweep in the finals and win their first Dynasty Cup in franchise history.

Winning the Dynasty Cup puts an exclamation mark at the end of a successful season for the Pens that saw the likes of Connor McDavid, Aleksander Barkov, and Evgeny Kuznetsov emerge as the core of the team and lead them to a third place finish in the regular season before claiming the ultimate prize. The playoffs started off rather bumpy though, as the Pens quickly fell behind two games to none to the Bedford Barons in the first round before rallying for the series win. They followed that up by disposing of the defending champion Fathom Harbour Oilers in the semi-finals before defeating the Hitmen in the quickest of fashions in the finals to claim league supremacy.

The Hitmen had arguably the toughest road to the finals, but rode the hot sticks of Filip Forsberg and Corey Perry past a number one seeded juggernaut Nova Scotia Voyageurs team, and then easily disposed of the five time champion number two seeded Halifax Atlantics en route to their date with the Penguins. However, it was not meant to be for the Hitmen as they ran out of steam against the brand new champs from St. John's.

With three different champions in three years, and four in five, the league is more competitive than ever and teams will begin their quest for future glory this off season as the Pens have transformed from the hunter to the hunted.


Voyageurs top Atlantics in explosive battle for first
Sunday, February 7, 2016



Erik Karlsson dished our four apples for the Halifax Atlantics who exploded for 17 on a night when they were only bested by their opponent and deserved a better fait than an 'L' in the standings. The Nova Scotia Voyageurs dropped a heavy 21 on the five-time champions on the strength of two goals and an assist from first-star Kris Letang, and a goal and two assists from third-star Sidney Crosby. The win moves the Vees three points clear of the Atlantics for first place overall with only four games for each team remaining in the regular season.

The St. John's Penguins brushed aside the champs from Fathom Harbour by a score of 8-6. The loss was the Oilers' sixth in a row and takes them out of the running for the number one seed for the playoffs. With the win, the Pens maintain their third place position and trail the second place Atlantics by just two points.

The Fredericton Express are the hottest team in the league after picking up their seventh consecutive victory, this time at the expense of the Westphal Destroyers by a score of 9-2. The loss was the knockout blow to the Destroyers' disappointing season as they are officially eliminated from the playoffs and sit a single point above the basement position. This winning streak by the Express has carried them to fifth place in the standings and just four points behind the Oilers for fourth place and home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

The Cole Harbour Hitmen used a goal and three assists from second-star Tomas Plekanec to puch their ticket to the post-season with a 12-10 victory over the Bedford Barons, and the O'Leary Maroons eked out a 9-8 win over the last-place Louisdale Habitants.


Top four face off with five to play
Saturday, February 6, 2016



Saturday in the Dynasty Hockey League sees the top four teams battling each other with only five game days remaining in the regular season. One of the co-headliners has a first-place showdown between the current league leading Nova Scotia Voyageurs and the second place Halifax Atlantics who trail the Voyageurs by only one point. The Atlantics have taken four of the previous six meetings between the teams heading into their final clash of the regular season. The winner of this tilt will emerge with the number one position with four games to go before the playoffs.

The other mega-matchup of the day involves the third place St. John's Penguins doing battle with the defending champion and fourth place Fathom Harbour Oilers. The Champs have dropped five straight and have seen the Pens leapfrog them in the standings by two points during their slide. A Voyageurs win coupled with an Oilers loss will see the champs with no path to finish the regular season in first place.

Elsewhere, the red-hot Fredericton Express, who are 9-1-0 in their last ten games, look to extend their winning streak to seven against a Westphal Destroyers team facing elimination from playoff contention with the next Cole Harbour Hitmen point in the standings. The Hitmen can collect this point and be the eighth and final team to punch their ticket to the playoffs today against the Bedford Barons. Rounding out today's action is a duel between the last place, and already eliminated, Louisdale Habitants and the seventh place O'Leary Maroons, who have dropped their last two games.


Pens win 10th straight; clinch playoff berth
Friday, January 15, 2016



The St. John's Penguins defeated the bottom-dwelling Westphal Destroyers by a score of 14-6 to extend their franchise record win streak to ten, and their unbeaten streak to 14 games (13-0-1). Evgeny Kuznetsov paced the Pens' attack with two goals and an assist enroute to first-star honours of the night. The win clinches a playoff spot for the Pens and keeps them five points back of the league leading Nova Scotia Voyageurs who handed the last place Louisdale Habitants an 11-9 defeat. The Vees' Pavel Datsyuk was named the night's second-star for his goal and two assists in the win.

Third-star Ryan Johansen tallied a goal and two assists as the Halifax Atlantics topped the O'Leary Maroons by an 11-3 score. Elsewhere, The champions from Fathom Harbour and the Bedford Barons settled for a 10-all draw, and the Fredericton Express won their fourth straight with a 6-2 victory over the Cole Harbour Hitmen.


Pens Surge; Four teams battle for first
Thursday, January 14, 2016



The St. John's Penguins have reeled off a franchise record nine consecutive wins and are unbeaten in their last 13 games, going 12-0-1 during that span. This hot streak, which hasn't seen them lose since December 15th, has vaulted them into second place in the overall standings with a record of 29-18-2 with only 13 games remaining in the regular season. The Pens are tied in points with the defending champion Fathom Harbour Oilers but get the nod due to one more win on the season.

Meanwhile, the five-time champion Halifax Atlantics have slumped as of late, posting a 3-6-1 record in their past ten, to drop to fourth place in the standings- one point behind the Oilers and Penguins and six points adrift of the league leading Nova Scotia Voyageurs who are the first team to punch their ticket to the post season. It's been a remarkable turn-around season for a Pens team that finished dead last just a season ago and now find themselves the hottest team in the league and in the middle of a tight four team race for the number one seed heading into the playoffs.

The second year O'Leary Maroons are putting together a solid season and currently find themselves in fifth place as they look to secure their first ever playoff berth. Next up, the Fredericton Express and Bedford Barons sit two points behind the Maroons with identical 21-25-3 records. However, the teams are moving in opposite direction as the Express have won three in a row and the Barons have dropped two straight. The Barons have not been able to maintain their strong start to the season and as a result have dropped down to seventh place. Rounding out the top eight and currently securely holding the last playoff position are the freshly minted Cole Harbour Hitmen who sit eight points above the playoff line.

The bottom of the table has seen the Westphal Destroyers and Louisdale Habitants take turns holding down the last place slot, which at the moment is occupied by the Habs at 15-33-1, four points worse than the Destroyers.


Big names on the move
Saturday, June 13, 2015



The DHL trade season officially opened on June 8 and there have been no shortage of big name players on the move in the first week of trading.

On June 10, the Fredericton Express and Bedford Barons pulled off the first trade of the summer season with Tyler Seguin and the 6th overall pick in the 2015 DHL Entry Draft now belonging to the Express, while Jordan Eberle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the 3rd overall pick in the 2015 DHL entry draft went to the Barons.

Two days later, the newest DHL team, the Cole Harbour Hitmen, pulled off their first trade as a returning owner as they sent Steven Stamkos and Sonny Milano to the Nova Scotia Voyageurs for Patrick Kane, Kevin Shattenkirk, Kasperi Kapanen and Michael Dal Colle.

Welcome to the Hitmen!
Monday May 18, 2015



The DHL has welcomed back the previous owner of the Dartmouth Swampdonkeys. Due to the unfortunate departure of the New Scotland Pack, the franchise has been handed over to Neil Cody, who has renamed the team as the Cole Harbour Hitmen.

After a 6-game win over the defending champion Halifax Atlantics, the Fathom Harbour Oilers are the new Dynasty Hockey League Champions! After making many significant roster moves prior to, and during, the 2014-15 season, the Oilers used a highly offensive team to defeat the Atlantics 4 games to 2. This is the first time a team other than the Atlantics or Voyageurs has claimed the DHL title.

Planning is already underway for the 2015-16 DHL season. All owners have until June 5 to submit their 35 man roster. On June 8, the trade season will officially open. We will determine a date for the 2015-16 DHL Entry Draft over the coming months and we will introduce some new changes over the summer based on feedback from DHL owners.


dynastyhockeyleague@outlook.com