Going Streaking

If there's a phenomenon in sports that can both significantly help or significantly hinder a team, it's a streak. Hot streaks, as you likely know, usually see teams playing good hockey which allows that team to vault up the standings thanks to a prolonged period of time where both execution and luck favour that team. A cold streak usually involves some errors, a team struggling to score, or a combination of the two which results in seeing other teams overtake the slumping squad in the standings while teams that group is chasing pull away. It can be hard to explain why either happens when teams have played together all season and have all sorts of video to prepare for opponents, but that's simply the nature of sports at any point in history.

As you're likely aware, I've been keeping an eye on what's been happening over in the SDHL when it comes to tracking former Canada West players. There was a clash between Leksands IF and SDE HF earlier today as Anna Purschke and Jordan Colliton, formerly of the Mount Royal Cougars, squared off against the Swedish UBC Thunderbirds as SDE boasts all of Mathea Fischer, Hannah Clayton-Carroll, Kelly Murray, and Celine Tardif as well as former Alberta Pandas netminder Lindsey Post.

The end result in this game was a big win by Leksands IF by a 3-2 score over SDE HF, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Hannah Clayton-Carroll had a pair of assists in the game while Anna Purschke scored the goal that put Leksands IF up 2-1. Lindsey Post suffered the loss in this game, but I'm focusing less on individual stats and more on what's happening in the standings when it comes to these two teams and MoDo who has a couple more Canada West players on its roster.

We'll start with SDE HF because they have been struggling mightily for nearly a month at this point. Going back to November 5, SDE HF has a record of 0-6-0 while being outscored 24-7 in those games. The end result has seen SDE stuck in neutral as teams like MoDo and Djurgårdens IF pull away while Linköping HC and Leksands IF creep up on them. Before the six-straight losses, SDE HF had a record of 5-5-1-2 to find themselves in the middle of the pack in the standings. After dropping those six games, they're still in the middle of the standings in fifth-place, but they trail fourth-place Djurgårdens IF by 14 points.

To make SDE's matters a little worse, they lost to Leksands IF earlier today which tightened the gap between the two teams once more. As stated above, the 3-2 win by Leksands over SDE now has Leksands one point behind SDE with a 4-9-1-4 and 18 points. Leksands recent play has seen them win two-straight games over HV71 and SDE which added six points to their overall standings, but this is why regulation wins matter so much in a three-point scoring system. In the last three weeks, Leksands has gone from ninth-place to sixth-place thanks to beating a couple of teams ahead of them in the standings.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is MoDo who have made third-place their home while trying to hunt down both Luleå HF and Brynäs IF who simply do not lose very often. Making things a little harder for MoDo is Djurgårdens IF who are breathing down their necks as they sit one point back in the standings with 33 points. MoDo, however, did themselves a favour in defeating Djurgårdens IF 3-2 in a shootout on November 26, so they need to keep this five-game winning streak going.

If we put things into context, though, MoDo is 5-1-2-0 since dropping a 4-2 decision to Djurgårdens IF back on October 15, and that's a big reason why they're sitting as the third-place team in the SDHL. Everything seems to be clicking for them, and they'll have a chance to gain a few points against second-place Brynäs IF next Saturday when those two teams meet. The last time they did, MoDo came away with a 4-3 victory. That was the last loss that Brynäs IF recorded as they'll meet MoDo boasting a seven-game win streak with all seven games won in regulation.

With all of these former Canada West women having played in a three-point system thanks to their university days, they likely all know how important it is to get points any way one can when it comes to success. However, if one wants to climb the standings quickly, three-point regulation wins are the best way to do it. Losing six-straight games while not getting a point in any of those games is a shot at 18 points squandered while winning seven of eight in any fashion is at least 14 of a possible 24 points gained. That's a huge 32-point swing in the standings for teams headed in opposite directions.

There will always be streaks in hockey, but maximizing a winning streak as MoDo is currently doing and minimizing a losing streak - something SDE desperately needs to do - will likely mean finishing higher in the standings. I mentioned the 14-point gap between fourth-place Djurgårdens IF and fifth-place SDE HF earlier which seems more like the Grand Canyon right now, but that gap can start to close tomorrow when SDE and Djurgårdens meet. They also meet on January 21, and SDE has three games against teams chasing them between those two dates - one against AIK and two against Linköping HC.

With some solid play and a little help, SDE and Djurgårdens could meet on January 21 with just two points separating the teams assuming that SDE goes on a four-game winning streak starting tomorrow while Djurgårdens hits a cold snap. It's not inconceivable that it could happen, but it starts with one solid game from SDE to end their currently losing streak. Picking up points of any kind over these next four games, however, may prove vital if SDE has any hope of catching Djurgårdens, so Sunday's game will be a big one.

As a fan of the three-point system, this is why regulation wins are so important. If you don't believe me, just take a quick peek at Luleå HF's 18-1-0-0 record that has them sitting comfortably in first-place with 54 points. That's a heckuva streak to start a season, but it has virtually guaranteed that they'll have home-ice advantage throughout the SDHL playoffs... and it's only the beginning of December!

Winning streaks and losing streaks can have profound effects on a team's finish to a season, so make sure you're streaking in the right direction if you're on one. While it's not the end of the world to experience a losing streak, it's always better to be on a winning streak in a three-point system where standings can change dramatically thanks to the point swings. While there can only be one SDHL champion at the end of the season, I'm hoping SDE breaks out of their slump while MoDo and Leksands continue to find ways to win.

No matter what happens this season, though, I'll still be cheering for and watching the former Canada West players on these teams' rosters!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!