Reference List For The CHL Hockey Fan

While I am on vacation (will return February 18) posting some of what I call "Best Of Allen Americans Blog" that maybe you missed when first posted or might enjoy rereading. I published this one back in September to share those places where you can keep up with CHL hockey.

I was having trouble coming up with something to write about today so proceeded to do what I always do when in this predicament and that is find something clever that someone else has written about and share that on my blog. As I was traveling around the web and social media it dawned on me that it might be useful to share some of the places to find information for those of you that can't get enough hockey info. So for those of you that are always pining for more information this blog post is for you. For you diehard fans there may be little new but lets hope there is at least one idea, location, or site you find helpful. This is not intended to be all inclusive and you are encouraged to share your "go to" places in the comments section at the end of the post.

WEB SITES:

Team web sites are the obvious place to start when trying to find the latest information. Looking at all of the CHL team sites is a good way to find out what is happening around the CHL. It is also a good way to see how your team stacks up with others around the CHL in "quality of web site." For Allen fans the site is allenamericans.com

- centralhockeyleague.com: News and Information, Stats, Standings, & Schedules are on the site but it also includes the complete CHL rule book, all time records, playoff format,  and list of CHL staff with contact information.

- phpa.com: This is the site of the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA). This site contains an executive summary of the collective bargaining agreements (CBA) for the CHL as well as the AHL & ECHL. Want to know about the salary cap, veteran rules, per diem, injured reserve, playoff pool, minimum salary, what equipment the team must provide each player? You can find it all here.

- hockeydb.com: This site has what they call the largest hockey data base on the internet. You can search by player or team and get a wealth of information. Want to know the most penalty minutes coach Steve Martinson had in a season as a player, it is easy to find. He had 432 penalty minutes in 1985-1986 playing for the Hershey Bears (AHL). He added 56 more minutes in three playoffs games.

- eliteprospects.com: This site is similar to hockeydb but does a better job of tracking players playing overseas. It also has some great screens such as the shortest, tallest, lightest, heaviest, oldest & youngest players by league. It currently shows Alex Lavoie as the second youngest and lightest player signed thus far in the CHL. The more you move around in this site the more information you discover.

- pointstreak.com: Pointstreak is the software that many sports teams including the CHL use as their real time scoring and official  league statistics. The statistical information in news releases and blogs usually comes from pointstreak. Again, the more you move around their web site the more useful info you will find.

- chlforums.com: This is a site created by fans and for fans. There is a section for each CHL team and fans can discuss whatever is on their minds. An opportunity to share your views and engage others about your team or other teams in the league. While you have to wade through some posts that don't add much value some of the most knowledgeable fans from around the CHL are regular contributors on this forum. Many times you can find out what is happening before any official announcements are made. You need to register to post but can view without registering.

- hockeymayhem.com: similar to chlforums.com but has sections for all hockey leagues. Easy to navigate and see what is happening. Not as active as chlforums.com

- dropyourgloves.com: this site tracks hockey fights and you can search by league, team or player. If you look at CHL stats for last year you will find Allen had the most fights (91) while Denver was second (73). If you search new Allen defenseman Ross Rouleau you will find he had four fights last year while playing for Fort Worth. All four were against Allen as he fought Adam Pineault, Mike Berube, Darryl Bootland & Jim McKenzie. This is a fun site to search for your favorite players past or present.

 Social Media:

Twitter is great for those fans that can't get enough information about their team. All you need to do is sign up (very easy) and you can start following your favorite players as well as others that  frequently post information about CHL hockey. It takes very little time and you can decide who you want to follow. For those of you already on twitter here are a few of my favorite people to follow for hockey information.
@Stars_Insider
@YahooPuckDaddy
@darrlywolski
@SPHL_Nation
@SinBinMavs
@ML_HockeyReport
@americansblog
@American_Fans
@CHLprohockey
@100degreehockey
@prohockeynews
@allenamericans
@RobLoeber1
@osctoday
@jmals24
@shannaleighwray

I did not list any Allen Americans current or former players, players wives/girlfriends, agents, team staff, or other CHL teams which are all useful to follow. I did list a couple of broadcasters I follow from other teams and one player's wife from another team who writes a blog and is extremely humorous (sorry Shanna). I'm sure I have left out many other people to follow including many fans who provide much useful information.

Facebook is another great way to keep up with information about your team. There are many Facebook pages you can "Like" that will feed you information.

Here are the official sites for the Allen Americans:

WEB: allenamericans.com
Facebook: Allen Americans
Twitter: @allenamericans
Twitter: @tommydaniels99

Finally the information for this blog. If you are on Facebook please give the page a "Like" and if you are on Twitter please give me a "Follow"

WEB: allenamericansblog.blogspot.com
Facebook: Allen Americans Blog
Twitter: @allenamericans1

Now, I just need an idea for tomorrow. I am hoping to sit down with Americans head coach Steve Martinson this week to get his take on the upcoming season and am also working on the "20 Questions" series with some of the new players. Hoping to complete Phil Fox and Jonathan Lessard this week.