Only two teams finished in the top 5 in both Seasons 1 and 2, and both are in the Top 3 this year. One is Copenhagen and the other is that sly entry from Bavaria, the Munich Fox. Paul Faulkner’s team put together a 104-point season in year 1 and equaled the feat a season later under coach Bob Hartley. Faulkner is actually the team’s third GM, but none had them knocking on the President’s Cup door like Faulkner has. That race is a virtual dead heat halfway through the season between the Fox, Moscow and Copenhagen, with Paris and a few other teams coming up in the outside lane.
Munich’s hallmark is defense. Their 2.55 goals against per game average is the best in the EURO. But they are only 11th best in shots allowed, meaning their goalies must be doing very well. Munich had the third pick in the initial league draft and they went for Jonathan Quick. In his two and a half seasons, Quick has compiled a .918 save percentage and a 2.44 goals against average, good enough to make him arguably the best goalie so far in the league’s history. Last year, he won the league’s Best Goalie trophy. Slovenian Robert Kristan, in his second year, has quietly become a good backup goalie this season. His averages are 2.73 for goals against and .900 for save percentage.
The Fox are currently tied at the top of the overall standings with Moscow at 62 points although they have played one more game than Spartak have. And in their own Schloder Division, the Fox have a 10-point cushion over Berlin and Zurich. Obviously, they didn’t get there from goaltending alone. Dan Boyle and Dion Phaneuf, who Munich selected in the fourth and fifth rounds of the initial draft, are still together as the pillars of the Munich defense corps. They are both excellent skaters who can handle the puck. Boyle, 37, has piled up the points for Munich in his career. He has scored 42 goals (4th all-time among defensemen) and 131 points (7th all-time) in a Fox uniform and this year he has not slowed down at all, at least offensively. Phaneuf will be looking for his 100th career point on Thursday, when the Fox host Milan. Dion also represents a toughness component. He is 11th all-time in hits and third all-time among defensemen in penalty minutes.
Up front, captain Jumbo Joe Thornton has been the strongest. With 21 goals and 44 assists in 44 games, he is the league’s top scorer at the moment. At the pace he’s producing, by game number 62 this season, he will eclipse his personal best season of 91 points. Thornton leads Munich in most statistical categories.
Dany Heatley (17 goals, including 10 on the powerplay) and Patrik Elias (14 goals) have been the main beneficiaries of Thornton’s passing genius, but a forward whose work has been invaluable this season is David Bolland. The two-way center is tied for the league lead in both short-handed goals and shootout goals and he is fourth on his team in scoring with 14 goals and 43 points. He is also tied with rookie defenseman Eric Gryba for the team lead in plus-minus, with a plus 17 rating. He also leads the Fox in takeaways and is second on the team in shots. This is unquestionably his best season ever in the EURO League and Munich is his third team. Coincidentally, the two teams that used to employ Bolland are the two teams Munich is battling for the top spot overall: Moscow and Copenhagen. Bolland centers the Fox’s second line between Ray Whitney and Steve Downie. The Munich forward corps is a mix of young and old. They have six players between the ages of 32 and 41 and six between 21 and 27. Two veterans who this season lost their starting jobs to rookies are waiting in the wings, ready to contribute, but neither has gotten much time this season, presumably due to salary cap concerns. Munich has the highest payroll in the league. So waiting for injuries are Paul Gaustad, who lost his job to Damien Brunner this season, and Torrey Mitchell, who lost his job to cheaper rookie Andrew Shaw.
The Fox sputtered a bit earlier this month, losing three straight one-goal games. But they have responded with seven straight wins. In the last six games, their defense has been spectacular. They allowed just 1 goal in five of the six games and in the other, they shut out Copenhagen, which is something no other team has been able to do this season. In their last game, they shelled Bratislava 6-1, with Whitney leading the way with 2 goals and 2 assists.
