CANUCKS GET LABARBERA FROM KINGS
The Vancouver Canucks, still missing top goalie Roberto Luongo, added some insurance Tuesday night by acquiring Jason LaBarbera from the Los Angeles Kings for a seventh-round pick in the 2009 draft.
Labarbera will join the starting rotation of Curtis Sanford and rookie Cory Schneider who've been sharing Vancouver's goaltending duties since Luongo was placed on the injured list Nov.23 because of a groin injury. Luongo did resume skating on his own Tuesday, but isn't expected to be ready for game action for at least three weeks.
Sanford will also be out for a while after suffering a groin injury in Tuesday mornings skate. Although he did feel well enough to start that night's game, a 3-2 home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, he was replaced at the start of the second period by Schneider, and was then placed on the injured list following the game.
Both Sanford and Luongo are considered week-to-week.
LaBarbera went 5-8-4 with a 2.83 goals-against average, an .893 save percentage and posted two shutouts in 18 games with the Kings this season. Following the improved play by Jonathan Quick, who posted a pair of shutouts last week and was the NHL's number-three star of the week, the 28-year-old became expendable.
LaBarbera was selected in the third round of the 1998 entry draft by the New York Rangers, and in 98 NHL games has posted a 34-42-8 record with a 3.00 GAA, .901 SV %, and four shutouts.
CUJO GETS 450TH WIN
It took a while, but Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph got win number 450 Tuesday night as the Maple Leafs beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-3 in overtime.
The win didn't come easy for Cujo, who made 29 saves as the Thrashers took an early 2-0 lead, and after Toronto rallied to go ahead 3-2 Thrashers winger Colby Armstrong scored a power-play goal with 6:43 left in regulation to tie it 3-3. Pavel Kubina scored the game winner in overtime for the Leafs.
Joseph got his 449th win back on April 5, as a member of the Calgary Flames, and the 41-year-old will have a chance for win number 451 on Thursday when Toronot hosts the Buffalo Sabres.
GAGNE INJURES "UPPER BODY"
Philadelphia Flyers forward Simon Gagne sustained an upper body injury in the first period of Tuesday's game against the Vancouver Canucks and didn't return.
Gagne, who was limited to just 25 games last season due to a concussion, was hit hard into the boards by Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa on the first shift of the game. Gagne went to the bench favoring his left arm and shoulder.
The Flyers took exception to the hit, although no penalty was assessed, and captain Mike Richards immediately challenged Bieksa toa fight.
In 35 games this season Gagne has scored 18 goals and 22 assists.
BRUINS PLACE BERGERON ON IR
Having not played a game since suffering a concussion against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec 20, the Boston Bruins placed forward Patrice Bergeron on Injured reserve.
The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that Bergeron is still experiencing some headaches, following the severe concussion that forced him to miss almost all of last season.
In 31 games this season, Bergeron had four goals and 14 assist, and in 270 career NHL games has scored 76 goals and 131 assists.
There is no timetable for Bergeron's return to physical activity
Boston also announced that centre Martin St. Pierre, who scored his first goal as a Bruin in Tuesday's win over Pittsburgh, has been sent back to the Providence Bruins of the AHL, where he has 35 points in 30 games this season, tops for Providence.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
December 30th
LEMIEUX ANOTHER STEP CLOSER TO COMEBACK
The San Jose Sharks signed forward Claude Lemieux to a two-way contract on Monday, and per team policy terms of the deal weren't released.
A two-way contract allows the club to move a player to the AHL affiliate, where the player makes a different salary than with the NHL club.
The 43-year-old, who has not played in the NHL since the 2002-03 season, has been attempting a comeback and spent the last month playing for San Jose's AHL affiliate in Worcester and has two goals and four assists in 14 games.
Sharks General Manager, and Lemieux's longtime friend, Doug Wilson said "This is simply the next step in the evaluation process with Claude" and once he clears waivers will be assigned back to Worcester.
Once considered one of the biggest pests in the NHL, Claude played in 1,197 regular season games with Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado, Phoenix, and Dallas scoring 379 goals and 406 assists.
However it was in the playoffs where he shined winning four Stanley Cups, two with New Jersey and one each with Montreal and Colorado. In the 1995 playoffs with the Devils, Lemieux recorded 13 goals and three assists and was awarded the Conn Smythe as the playoff MVP.
In 233 playoff games over 17 postseason appearances he has scored 80 goals and tailed 77 assists.
The San Jose Sharks signed forward Claude Lemieux to a two-way contract on Monday, and per team policy terms of the deal weren't released.
A two-way contract allows the club to move a player to the AHL affiliate, where the player makes a different salary than with the NHL club.
The 43-year-old, who has not played in the NHL since the 2002-03 season, has been attempting a comeback and spent the last month playing for San Jose's AHL affiliate in Worcester and has two goals and four assists in 14 games.
Sharks General Manager, and Lemieux's longtime friend, Doug Wilson said "This is simply the next step in the evaluation process with Claude" and once he clears waivers will be assigned back to Worcester.
Once considered one of the biggest pests in the NHL, Claude played in 1,197 regular season games with Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado, Phoenix, and Dallas scoring 379 goals and 406 assists.
However it was in the playoffs where he shined winning four Stanley Cups, two with New Jersey and one each with Montreal and Colorado. In the 1995 playoffs with the Devils, Lemieux recorded 13 goals and three assists and was awarded the Conn Smythe as the playoff MVP.
In 233 playoff games over 17 postseason appearances he has scored 80 goals and tailed 77 assists.
Monday, December 29, 2008
December 29th, Part II
OVECHKIN, LITTLE, QUICK NHL'S 3 STARS OF THE WEEK
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, Atlanta Thrashers center Bryan Little and Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Dec. 28.
FIRST STAR -- ALEX OVECHKIN, LW, WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Ovechkin tallied six points (five goals, one assist) as the Capitals (23-11-3) went 3-0-0 and extended their Southeast Division lead to 10 points. He tallied three points (two goals, one assist) as Washington overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat the New York Rangers 5-4 in overtime at Madison Square Garden Dec. 23, scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Dec. 26 and recorded a pair of goals, including the game-winner, as the Capitals improved to 15-1-1 at home by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 Dec. 28. Ovechkin has posted 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) in his past 28 games, including a League-leading 12 goals in 13 December contests. He ranks second in League scoring with 49 points (25 goals, 24 assists) in 35 games.
SECOND STAR -- BRYAN LITTLE, C, ATLANTA THRASHERS
Little tallied a League-leading six goals for the week, beginning with a pair in a 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders Dec. 23. He tallied his first NHL hat trick in a 5-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Dec. 26 and concluded the week by recording Atlanta’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins Dec. 28. The Thrashers' first pick (12th overall) in the 2006 Entry Draft, Little leads the Thrashers with 18 goals and ranks fourth on the club in points (18-12--30), easily surpassing the offensive totals from his rookie season in 2007-08 (6-10--16 in 48 games).
THIRD STAR -- JONATHAN QUICK, G, LOS ANGELES KINGS
Quick posted a 2-1-0 record with a 0.67 goals-against average, .958 save percentage and two shutouts in three games. He recorded his first NHL shutout by blocking 24 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Dec. 23, stopped 24 of 26 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes Dec. 26 and recorded 26 saves in a 4-0 victory over the Coyotes Dec. 27. Selected by the Kings in the fourth round of the 2005 Entry Draft, Quick was recalled from AHL Manchester on Dec. 16 and has posted a 2-2-0 record with a 1.88 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and two shutouts in five appearances with the
Kings this season.
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, Atlanta Thrashers center Bryan Little and Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Dec. 28.
FIRST STAR -- ALEX OVECHKIN, LW, WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Ovechkin tallied six points (five goals, one assist) as the Capitals (23-11-3) went 3-0-0 and extended their Southeast Division lead to 10 points. He tallied three points (two goals, one assist) as Washington overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat the New York Rangers 5-4 in overtime at Madison Square Garden Dec. 23, scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Dec. 26 and recorded a pair of goals, including the game-winner, as the Capitals improved to 15-1-1 at home by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 Dec. 28. Ovechkin has posted 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) in his past 28 games, including a League-leading 12 goals in 13 December contests. He ranks second in League scoring with 49 points (25 goals, 24 assists) in 35 games.
SECOND STAR -- BRYAN LITTLE, C, ATLANTA THRASHERS
Little tallied a League-leading six goals for the week, beginning with a pair in a 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders Dec. 23. He tallied his first NHL hat trick in a 5-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Dec. 26 and concluded the week by recording Atlanta’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins Dec. 28. The Thrashers' first pick (12th overall) in the 2006 Entry Draft, Little leads the Thrashers with 18 goals and ranks fourth on the club in points (18-12--30), easily surpassing the offensive totals from his rookie season in 2007-08 (6-10--16 in 48 games).
THIRD STAR -- JONATHAN QUICK, G, LOS ANGELES KINGS
Quick posted a 2-1-0 record with a 0.67 goals-against average, .958 save percentage and two shutouts in three games. He recorded his first NHL shutout by blocking 24 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Dec. 23, stopped 24 of 26 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes Dec. 26 and recorded 26 saves in a 4-0 victory over the Coyotes Dec. 27. Selected by the Kings in the fourth round of the 2005 Entry Draft, Quick was recalled from AHL Manchester on Dec. 16 and has posted a 2-2-0 record with a 1.88 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and two shutouts in five appearances with the
Kings this season.
December 29th
OVER THE WEEKEND INJURY REPORT
STAJAN WILL MISS A WEEK AFTER FREAK MISHAP
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without forward Matt Stajan for at least a week after he was struck in the right eye with a soccer ball during a pre-practice warmup on Saturday.
Stajan suffered a hyphema, caused by a pooling of blood, in his right eye when he was hit while some members of the team were using the ball in the hallway -- something they regularly do. One report said Stajan was simply watching and not participating.
General Manger Brian Burke said the injury is not serious and expected the Toronto centre to be out for seven days or so while fluid drains from the eye, and added the exercise won't change.
"I'm not going to eliminate soccer (warmups) because one guy gets a ball in the eye", Burke said.
SABRES PLACE GAUSTAD ON IR
The Buffalo Sabres placed centre Paul Gaustad on injured reserve over the weekend because of an upper-body injury and recalled left wing Tim Kennedy from Maine of the AHL.
Gaustad, placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 17, has missed four games since he was injured against New Jersey, and also missed the first nine games of the season due to a thumb injury that required surgery.
Gaustad has three goals and seven points in 22 games this season.
Kennedy leads AHL rookies with 22 assists, and also has seven goals in 29 games for Portland, Buffalo acquired Kennedy in a draft-day trade with Washington after he was selected 181st overall by the Capitals in 2005.
HIP SURGERY TO END KARIYA'S SEASON
St. Louis Blues winger Paul Kariya will have surgery on his left hip and likely will miss the rest of the season.
The 34-year-old hasn't played since Nov. 5 in Anaheim, when his body was wrenched by a hit from behind and he tore muscle fibres near the top of his thigh. He had apparently recovered form the initial injury and skated with the team during Christmas week but cut his workout short on Friday after only about 10 minutes.
An MRI revealed additional damage inside the hip and Kariya and the Blues elected for surgery over the weekend after consultation with several doctors.
Team President John Davidson said there was no timetable for Kariya's return, and surgery had not yet been scheduled.
In the second season of a three-year, $18-million deal, Kariya has two goals and 13 assists in 11 games. In 914 regular-season games with Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville, and St. Louis he has scored 384 goals and registered 562 assists.
The St. Louis Blues, last in the Western Conference with a 13-18-3 record, have been bitten by the injury bug quite bad this season starting with number-one overall pick Erik Johnson who had a season-ending knee injury in a pre-training camp golf outing accident. The Blues also have had forward Andy McDonald (broken ankle), defenceman Eric Brewer (back surgery) and goalie Manny Legace (hip, concussion) suffer extended absences due to injuries.
CANUCKS PYATT OUT WITH BROKEN FOOT
The Vancouver Canucks will be without Taylor Pyatt for an indefinite period of time after the winger suffered a broken right foot against the Edmonton Oilers.
The injury looked to happen late in the second period when Pyatt's right skate caught a Willie Mitchell slap shot from the front of the Canucks net.
Pyatt has four goals and six assists with a minus-six rating in 36 games played this season.
STAJAN WILL MISS A WEEK AFTER FREAK MISHAP
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without forward Matt Stajan for at least a week after he was struck in the right eye with a soccer ball during a pre-practice warmup on Saturday.
Stajan suffered a hyphema, caused by a pooling of blood, in his right eye when he was hit while some members of the team were using the ball in the hallway -- something they regularly do. One report said Stajan was simply watching and not participating.
General Manger Brian Burke said the injury is not serious and expected the Toronto centre to be out for seven days or so while fluid drains from the eye, and added the exercise won't change.
"I'm not going to eliminate soccer (warmups) because one guy gets a ball in the eye", Burke said.
SABRES PLACE GAUSTAD ON IR
The Buffalo Sabres placed centre Paul Gaustad on injured reserve over the weekend because of an upper-body injury and recalled left wing Tim Kennedy from Maine of the AHL.
Gaustad, placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 17, has missed four games since he was injured against New Jersey, and also missed the first nine games of the season due to a thumb injury that required surgery.
Gaustad has three goals and seven points in 22 games this season.
Kennedy leads AHL rookies with 22 assists, and also has seven goals in 29 games for Portland, Buffalo acquired Kennedy in a draft-day trade with Washington after he was selected 181st overall by the Capitals in 2005.
HIP SURGERY TO END KARIYA'S SEASON
St. Louis Blues winger Paul Kariya will have surgery on his left hip and likely will miss the rest of the season.
The 34-year-old hasn't played since Nov. 5 in Anaheim, when his body was wrenched by a hit from behind and he tore muscle fibres near the top of his thigh. He had apparently recovered form the initial injury and skated with the team during Christmas week but cut his workout short on Friday after only about 10 minutes.
An MRI revealed additional damage inside the hip and Kariya and the Blues elected for surgery over the weekend after consultation with several doctors.
Team President John Davidson said there was no timetable for Kariya's return, and surgery had not yet been scheduled.
In the second season of a three-year, $18-million deal, Kariya has two goals and 13 assists in 11 games. In 914 regular-season games with Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville, and St. Louis he has scored 384 goals and registered 562 assists.
The St. Louis Blues, last in the Western Conference with a 13-18-3 record, have been bitten by the injury bug quite bad this season starting with number-one overall pick Erik Johnson who had a season-ending knee injury in a pre-training camp golf outing accident. The Blues also have had forward Andy McDonald (broken ankle), defenceman Eric Brewer (back surgery) and goalie Manny Legace (hip, concussion) suffer extended absences due to injuries.
CANUCKS PYATT OUT WITH BROKEN FOOT
The Vancouver Canucks will be without Taylor Pyatt for an indefinite period of time after the winger suffered a broken right foot against the Edmonton Oilers.
The injury looked to happen late in the second period when Pyatt's right skate caught a Willie Mitchell slap shot from the front of the Canucks net.
Pyatt has four goals and six assists with a minus-six rating in 36 games played this season.
Friday, November 21, 2008
November 21st Part II
Gophers Beat Mavericks 2-1
Marc Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Number-two ranked University of Minnesota Golden Gophers hosted the Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks in the first game of a weekend series Friday night at Ridder Arena.
The Gophers are coming off a sweep at Bemidji State last weekend shutting out the Beavers 3-0 Friday and 7-0 Saturday. All three Minnesota goaltenders took part in the shutouts as Alyssa Grogan made 20 saves in Friday's game improving to 4-0-1 on the season, and Jenny Lura started the game Saturday playing the first 25 minutes making seven saves and Kim Hanlon played the rest of the way making 20 saves in the combined shutout, while 11 Gophers registered a point in that Saturday game led by Kelli Blankenship's and Monique Lamourex's four points.
Minnesota State, on the other hand, was swept by St. Cloud State last weekend losing Friday 3-2 in overtime and 4-3 on Saturday. Mavericks junior forward Christina Lee scored four goals over the weekend, two in each game, including two power play tallies for her third and fourth multi-point games of the season.
Dating back to 1998, the Gophers hold an all-time record of 37-3-2 against the Mavericks, including back-to-back shutouts at Ridder Arena last season. The last time MSU beat the Gophers was during the 2006-07 season in which the Mavericks swept them 3-2 and 4-3 at All Seasons Arena in Mankato.
"For whatever reason we started the game very suggishly in the first period, and we certainly picked it up in the second and third with some good energy" said Gophers head coach Brad Frost, as Minnesota only got off seven shots on goal in the first and committed three penalties, but got it going in the second scoring the games first goal at 13:25. Junior Brittany Francis got a one-time pass from Senior Melanie Gagnon just to the left of the net to score her third goal of the season on the power play and give the Gophers a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota Freshman Monique Lamourex was able to weave her way through the Mavericks defense out of her end going coast-to-coast right to Minnesota State goalie Alli Altmann and lifting a backhanded shot past her to give the Gophers a 2-0 at 10:43 of the Third period.
The Mavericks were able to cut the deficit in half when on the power play Junior Christina Lee fired a slapper from just in few feet inside the blue line that found it's way to the back of the net at 15:47. That goal by Lee was the third power play goal she's scored in the last three games, and now leads the team with nine on the season, but it wasn't enough as the Gophers defeated the Mavericks 2-1.
With the win Minnesota improves to 9-1-1 in the WCHA and 10-2-1 overall, while the Mavericks are now 6-6-1 overall and drop to 3-5-1 in league play.
Both teams go at it again tomorrow, with the faceoff at 4pm.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
3--MSU--Alli Altmann
2--MN--Brittany Francis
1--MN--Melanie Gagnon
GAME STATS:
University of Minnesota Team Summary
Player G--A--PIM--Sh--(+/-)
Kelly Seeler 0--0--2--1--(+1) .
Melanie Gagnon 0--2--2--2--(+1)
Sarah Erickson 0--0--0--0--(0)
Laura May 0--0--0--3--(0)
Rachael Drazan 0--0--0--1--(0)
Kelli Blankenship 0--0--0--1--(0)
Jaimie Horton 0--0--0--2--(0)
Brittany Francis 1--0--0--4--(0)
Jocelyne Lamoureux 0--1--2--4--(+1)
Chelsey Jones 0--0--2--0--(0)
Emily West 0--0--2--2--(0)
Gigi Marvin 0--0--0--2--(0)
Monique Lamoureu x 1--0--0--8--(+1)
Anne Schleper 0--0--2--1--(0)
Dagney Willey 0--0--2--1--(0)
Jen Schoullis 0--0--0--1--(0)
Terra Rasmussen 0--0--0--0--(0)
Michelle Maunu 0--0--0--1--(0)
Alyssa Grogan 0--0--2--0--(0)
Totals 2--3--16--34--(+4)
Goalie Stats
Minnesota State
Alli Altmann 58:43 Min 2-GA 32-Sv
Empty Net 01:17 Min
Minnesota
Alyssa Grogan 60:00 Min 1-GA 14-Sv
Goals
MSU 0-0-1 1
MN 0-1-1 2
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
2nd--13:25--MN--PP Brittany Francis (Melanie Gagnon, Jocelyne Lamoureux)
3rd--10:43--MN--SH Monique Lamoreux (Melanie Gagnon)
3rd--15:47--MSU--PP Christina Lee (Holly Snyder, Lisa Edman)
Shots on Goal
MSU 7-4-4 15
MN 7-17-10 34
Penalties--Minutes
MSU 6--12
MN 8--16
Power Plays
MSU 1-8, 5 SOG
MN 1-5, 7 SOG
Faceoffs Won
MSU 39
MN 30
Gopher Women Sign Four
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
University of Minnesota Women's hockey head coach Brad Frost announced that Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Ill), Becky Kortum (Minnetonka, Mn), Mira Jalosuo (Lieksa, Finland) and Noora Raty (Espoo, Finland) have all commited to the U and will join the team in the fall of 2009-10.
Bozek, a 5-9 defenceman, enters the Gopher program with a high level of experience on the USA Hockey scene. In 2007 and 2008, she was a two-time member of the U.S. Under-18 team when she competed against Canada in a three-game series.
Kortum, a 5-7 forward, is in her senior season with Hopkins High School under head coach Vin Paolucci. As a junior, Kortum led the Hopkins Royals to a Classic Lake Conference title when she scored a team and league-high 37 goals and 59 points.
Jalusuo, is a standout 6-0 defenceman from Finland who was a member of the Finnish National Team that competed two weeks ago at the Four Nations Cup. She is also a two-year member Finland National Team in 2007 and 2008.
Raty, a 5-4 goaltender, has been Finland's top goalie since she started with the national team. The starting goalie for the Finnish Olympic Team, Raty was 15 at the time of the 2006 Olympics, and last year she helped Finland to a bronze medal at the 2008 World Championships.
Marc Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Number-two ranked University of Minnesota Golden Gophers hosted the Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks in the first game of a weekend series Friday night at Ridder Arena.
The Gophers are coming off a sweep at Bemidji State last weekend shutting out the Beavers 3-0 Friday and 7-0 Saturday. All three Minnesota goaltenders took part in the shutouts as Alyssa Grogan made 20 saves in Friday's game improving to 4-0-1 on the season, and Jenny Lura started the game Saturday playing the first 25 minutes making seven saves and Kim Hanlon played the rest of the way making 20 saves in the combined shutout, while 11 Gophers registered a point in that Saturday game led by Kelli Blankenship's and Monique Lamourex's four points.
Minnesota State, on the other hand, was swept by St. Cloud State last weekend losing Friday 3-2 in overtime and 4-3 on Saturday. Mavericks junior forward Christina Lee scored four goals over the weekend, two in each game, including two power play tallies for her third and fourth multi-point games of the season.
Dating back to 1998, the Gophers hold an all-time record of 37-3-2 against the Mavericks, including back-to-back shutouts at Ridder Arena last season. The last time MSU beat the Gophers was during the 2006-07 season in which the Mavericks swept them 3-2 and 4-3 at All Seasons Arena in Mankato.
"For whatever reason we started the game very suggishly in the first period, and we certainly picked it up in the second and third with some good energy" said Gophers head coach Brad Frost, as Minnesota only got off seven shots on goal in the first and committed three penalties, but got it going in the second scoring the games first goal at 13:25. Junior Brittany Francis got a one-time pass from Senior Melanie Gagnon just to the left of the net to score her third goal of the season on the power play and give the Gophers a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota Freshman Monique Lamourex was able to weave her way through the Mavericks defense out of her end going coast-to-coast right to Minnesota State goalie Alli Altmann and lifting a backhanded shot past her to give the Gophers a 2-0 at 10:43 of the Third period.
The Mavericks were able to cut the deficit in half when on the power play Junior Christina Lee fired a slapper from just in few feet inside the blue line that found it's way to the back of the net at 15:47. That goal by Lee was the third power play goal she's scored in the last three games, and now leads the team with nine on the season, but it wasn't enough as the Gophers defeated the Mavericks 2-1.
With the win Minnesota improves to 9-1-1 in the WCHA and 10-2-1 overall, while the Mavericks are now 6-6-1 overall and drop to 3-5-1 in league play.
Both teams go at it again tomorrow, with the faceoff at 4pm.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
3--MSU--Alli Altmann
2--MN--Brittany Francis
1--MN--Melanie Gagnon
GAME STATS:
University of Minnesota Team Summary
Player G--A--PIM--Sh--(+/-)
Kelly Seeler 0--0--2--1--(+1) .
Melanie Gagnon 0--2--2--2--(+1)
Sarah Erickson 0--0--0--0--(0)
Laura May 0--0--0--3--(0)
Rachael Drazan 0--0--0--1--(0)
Kelli Blankenship 0--0--0--1--(0)
Jaimie Horton 0--0--0--2--(0)
Brittany Francis 1--0--0--4--(0)
Jocelyne Lamoureux 0--1--2--4--(+1)
Chelsey Jones 0--0--2--0--(0)
Emily West 0--0--2--2--(0)
Gigi Marvin 0--0--0--2--(0)
Monique Lamoureu x 1--0--0--8--(+1)
Anne Schleper 0--0--2--1--(0)
Dagney Willey 0--0--2--1--(0)
Jen Schoullis 0--0--0--1--(0)
Terra Rasmussen 0--0--0--0--(0)
Michelle Maunu 0--0--0--1--(0)
Alyssa Grogan 0--0--2--0--(0)
Totals 2--3--16--34--(+4)
Goalie Stats
Minnesota State
Alli Altmann 58:43 Min 2-GA 32-Sv
Empty Net 01:17 Min
Minnesota
Alyssa Grogan 60:00 Min 1-GA 14-Sv
Goals
MSU 0-0-1 1
MN 0-1-1 2
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
2nd--13:25--MN--PP Brittany Francis (Melanie Gagnon, Jocelyne Lamoureux)
3rd--10:43--MN--SH Monique Lamoreux (Melanie Gagnon)
3rd--15:47--MSU--PP Christina Lee (Holly Snyder, Lisa Edman)
Shots on Goal
MSU 7-4-4 15
MN 7-17-10 34
Penalties--Minutes
MSU 6--12
MN 8--16
Power Plays
MSU 1-8, 5 SOG
MN 1-5, 7 SOG
Faceoffs Won
MSU 39
MN 30
Gopher Women Sign Four
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
University of Minnesota Women's hockey head coach Brad Frost announced that Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Ill), Becky Kortum (Minnetonka, Mn), Mira Jalosuo (Lieksa, Finland) and Noora Raty (Espoo, Finland) have all commited to the U and will join the team in the fall of 2009-10.
Bozek, a 5-9 defenceman, enters the Gopher program with a high level of experience on the USA Hockey scene. In 2007 and 2008, she was a two-time member of the U.S. Under-18 team when she competed against Canada in a three-game series.
Kortum, a 5-7 forward, is in her senior season with Hopkins High School under head coach Vin Paolucci. As a junior, Kortum led the Hopkins Royals to a Classic Lake Conference title when she scored a team and league-high 37 goals and 59 points.
Jalusuo, is a standout 6-0 defenceman from Finland who was a member of the Finnish National Team that competed two weeks ago at the Four Nations Cup. She is also a two-year member Finland National Team in 2007 and 2008.
Raty, a 5-4 goaltender, has been Finland's top goalie since she started with the national team. The starting goalie for the Finnish Olympic Team, Raty was 15 at the time of the 2006 Olympics, and last year she helped Finland to a bronze medal at the 2008 World Championships.
November 21st
End of an Era
This Saturday night marks the last time that the University of Minnesota will play host to a football game off campus and at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. This, as marked on the plastic collector schedule glasses handed out on every soft drink sold at the Dome this season, is "The End of an Era", and for many it's an Era that couldn't have ended sooner.
The Era, of course, is the non-collegete indoor football environment that's perfect for a NFL team like the Vikings, whom the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was built for, but not the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Like most Gopher football fans I could go on a five-page rant on why the Dome isn't and wasn't a good home for Goldy, but it's nothing that hasn't been discussed and voiced over the last 26 years.
It's sad to say, but there's a generation of Gopher Football Fans, not to mention all the University Graduates, that haven't experienced a home game outside and on campus. The last graduating class to walk from their doom room to Memorial Stadium, and maybe stop at Stub n' Herbs for a burger and beer before hand, are in their mid to late 40's and might have taken their kids to a Gopher game at the Dome or had one already graduate from the U without knowing the experience of a home game on campus.
While I don't remember a whole lot about "The Old Brickhouse" I do remember my dad taking me to a few games at that big stadium across from "The Barn" and sitting on a wooden bench. Most of my Gopher football memories revolve around going downtown to the Dome. I wasn't at the Nebraska slaughter in which the starters were still in game in the fourth quarter because 'Huskers coach Tom Osborn (well known for running up the score) wanted his running back to get 30 carries, but I do remember Ricky Foggie directing the offense, Darryl Thompson running out of the backfield, "Air Wacker" and those 56-52 games against Purdue, handing Wisconsin there only loss in 1993, beating Iowa for the PIg and seeing the Iowa bumble bee vans parked on the street outside the Dome, along with all those night games in the mid 90's, the 4th quarter collapse against Michigan in '03 and several other both good and bad memories that would fill more then 10 pages.
The question that has been asked over the last quarter century plus is, "Why did the Gophers move to the Metrodome when they already had a stadium to play in?" I don't know if there's really been a good answer given, by either the University or somebody else, but surly if the U knew then what they know now, either Memorial Stadium, or a renovated one would still be standing across from Williams Arena in Stadium Village.
As it stands the U will have that on campus stadium across from Williams Arena, just on the other side so to speak. While it might be a sign of the times, or the only way for the University to get public money to build the stadium, current season ticket holders who want their same seats, or to upgrade to better ones, have to pay a per seat charge. To be guaranteed a seat between the 40 yard lines is $500, and between the 20 yard lines it's $250 per seat. The New Yankee Stadium in New York, along with a few other new stadiums, have adopted this same "Fee" and in some cases it's been more. It's been suggested that this "Fee" is the team's/University's way of coming up with their share of the money, otherwise they would've had to ask for more public money and the stadium bond/bill might not have passed, etc... but no concrete reason has really been given. The bottom line is Gopher football season ticket holders who want to either keep their same seats or upgrade to better ones will have to pay either $250 or $500 per seat per year for the privilege of close good seats. (Unlike the one-time fee that was associated with the Williams Arena renovation back in the early 90's to guarantee first deck seats.) An interesting question is, what if you decide to pay the $500 for two-years then change your mind? Does that mean you're moved out of those seats and to the back of the season ticket holder line and reassigned seats in the back row of the end zone?
That along with several other questions have yet to be answered regarding TCF Bank Stadium, like if Alcohol will be served only in the suites or if the whole stadium will by dry?
Back in the days of Memorial Stadium (and Williams Arena) the ushers would give the adults a pass (allow them to leave) at halftime to walk across the street to Stub n' Herbs so they could get a "beverage" and get back in to watch the second half (I believe it was the firehouse with Williams Arena). Chances are that probably won't happen, as Stub n' Herbs is a few blocks away, so maybe it's fitting that for the final Gopher Football game at the Dome the adults will be able to enjoy a "beverage" to not only rejoice finally getting out of downtown and back on campus, but to celebrate and remember the past 26 years of Gopher Football and "The End of an Era" at the Dome.
This Saturday night marks the last time that the University of Minnesota will play host to a football game off campus and at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. This, as marked on the plastic collector schedule glasses handed out on every soft drink sold at the Dome this season, is "The End of an Era", and for many it's an Era that couldn't have ended sooner.
The Era, of course, is the non-collegete indoor football environment that's perfect for a NFL team like the Vikings, whom the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was built for, but not the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Like most Gopher football fans I could go on a five-page rant on why the Dome isn't and wasn't a good home for Goldy, but it's nothing that hasn't been discussed and voiced over the last 26 years.
It's sad to say, but there's a generation of Gopher Football Fans, not to mention all the University Graduates, that haven't experienced a home game outside and on campus. The last graduating class to walk from their doom room to Memorial Stadium, and maybe stop at Stub n' Herbs for a burger and beer before hand, are in their mid to late 40's and might have taken their kids to a Gopher game at the Dome or had one already graduate from the U without knowing the experience of a home game on campus.
While I don't remember a whole lot about "The Old Brickhouse" I do remember my dad taking me to a few games at that big stadium across from "The Barn" and sitting on a wooden bench. Most of my Gopher football memories revolve around going downtown to the Dome. I wasn't at the Nebraska slaughter in which the starters were still in game in the fourth quarter because 'Huskers coach Tom Osborn (well known for running up the score) wanted his running back to get 30 carries, but I do remember Ricky Foggie directing the offense, Darryl Thompson running out of the backfield, "Air Wacker" and those 56-52 games against Purdue, handing Wisconsin there only loss in 1993, beating Iowa for the PIg and seeing the Iowa bumble bee vans parked on the street outside the Dome, along with all those night games in the mid 90's, the 4th quarter collapse against Michigan in '03 and several other both good and bad memories that would fill more then 10 pages.
The question that has been asked over the last quarter century plus is, "Why did the Gophers move to the Metrodome when they already had a stadium to play in?" I don't know if there's really been a good answer given, by either the University or somebody else, but surly if the U knew then what they know now, either Memorial Stadium, or a renovated one would still be standing across from Williams Arena in Stadium Village.
As it stands the U will have that on campus stadium across from Williams Arena, just on the other side so to speak. While it might be a sign of the times, or the only way for the University to get public money to build the stadium, current season ticket holders who want their same seats, or to upgrade to better ones, have to pay a per seat charge. To be guaranteed a seat between the 40 yard lines is $500, and between the 20 yard lines it's $250 per seat. The New Yankee Stadium in New York, along with a few other new stadiums, have adopted this same "Fee" and in some cases it's been more. It's been suggested that this "Fee" is the team's/University's way of coming up with their share of the money, otherwise they would've had to ask for more public money and the stadium bond/bill might not have passed, etc... but no concrete reason has really been given. The bottom line is Gopher football season ticket holders who want to either keep their same seats or upgrade to better ones will have to pay either $250 or $500 per seat per year for the privilege of close good seats. (Unlike the one-time fee that was associated with the Williams Arena renovation back in the early 90's to guarantee first deck seats.) An interesting question is, what if you decide to pay the $500 for two-years then change your mind? Does that mean you're moved out of those seats and to the back of the season ticket holder line and reassigned seats in the back row of the end zone?
That along with several other questions have yet to be answered regarding TCF Bank Stadium, like if Alcohol will be served only in the suites or if the whole stadium will by dry?
Back in the days of Memorial Stadium (and Williams Arena) the ushers would give the adults a pass (allow them to leave) at halftime to walk across the street to Stub n' Herbs so they could get a "beverage" and get back in to watch the second half (I believe it was the firehouse with Williams Arena). Chances are that probably won't happen, as Stub n' Herbs is a few blocks away, so maybe it's fitting that for the final Gopher Football game at the Dome the adults will be able to enjoy a "beverage" to not only rejoice finally getting out of downtown and back on campus, but to celebrate and remember the past 26 years of Gopher Football and "The End of an Era" at the Dome.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
November 20th
Canucks Nip Wild
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
ST PAUL -- Fresh off a 2-1 Shooutout win Tuesday in Pittsburgh against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Penguins, the Minnesota Wild returned home for the first of a five-game homestand Thursday night hosting the Vancouver Canucks.
Just one-point seperated Vancouver (24pts, 11-6-2) and Minnesota (23pts, 11-4-3) heading into the game as both teams have either shared or at least had a share of first place in the Northwest Division since the season started, and both clubs have been playing well as of late. The Wild are 4-1-0 in their last 5 games, while the Canucks are 3-0-2, and won the first meeting between the two back on November 8th at GM Place 2-0.
Vancouver beat the Rangers 6-3 Wednesday night and is playing the second of back-to-back games in their third of 11 total back-to-back series this season, and so far this year has a 3-1-0 record in those games. Last season the Canucks were 13-14-3 in back-to-back series, posting a 7-6-2 record in the first game played and 6-8-1 in the second game played.
Curtis Sanford got his second start of the season in net for the Canucks, as Captain Roberto Luongo got the night off, and in 2 games played had allowed 5 goals with a .878 save percentage.
Both teams skated a scoreless opening period, but the crowd came to their feet 12:04 in as Erik Reitz of the Wild and Taylor Pyatt of the Canucks pushed each other in front of the Wild bench and were about to drop their gloves when at the last second Vancouver's Shane O'Brien got between the two and slashed Reitz, while they both went at it to a draw that saw several good punches thrown.
Minnesota broke the scoreless tie at 7:16 of the second period when Mikko Koivu fired a slapper from the left face-off circle that went five-hole on Sanford for his forth goal of the season. Vancouver tied it 1-1 at 12:00 when Steve Bernier in the high left slot turned around and released a wrister that went just a quarter-inch above Niklas Backstrom's glove to the high right corner of the net. Just 2:22 later Koivu scored his second goal of the game, a shorthanded one on a breakaway, to give Minnesota a brief 2-1 lead. Former Wild Forward Pavol Demitra scored a power play goal off a pass from the corner that took a weird bounce in the crease and found it's way to the back of the net at 16:10 to tie it 2-2. That power play goal was just the second Minnesota had surrendered at home this season, and only the fifth this season. Heading into the game the Wild had outscored it's opponents 9-1 in the second period at home this season, and marked the first time since October 29th in Dallas that they've allowed two goals in a period.
Since Daniel and Henrik Sedin came into the league in 2000, the Canucks have lived and died with the Sedin's, especially when both of them get involved or are shut down in a game, as Vancouver's record when both Sedin's register at least one point is 154-50-21. Henrik assisted on Demitra's goal in the second period and Daniel scored the game winner at 11:41 of the third to give the Canucks a 3-2 win over Minnesota and a three-point lead in the Northwest division standings.
Vancouver improved to 5-0-1 in the division and are the only team without a regulation loss versus the Northwest this season, while Curtis Sanford recorded his first win in almost a year dating back to December 12th, 2007 against Anaheim.
Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom lost at home for the first time in 15 regular season decisions (11-1-3) dating back to March 4th, 2008 as the Wild fell to 1-3-1 on the season when allowing three or more goals, lost for just the second time in regulation in the last eight overall meetings against the Canucks, and lost for the first time this season (8-1-0) when Koivu gets at least one point.
Minnesota will contuine their season long five-game homestand Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues, and then Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Monday.
Three Stars of the Game (Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey)
1--MN--Mikko Koivu (2 Goals, including a Shorthanded one in 2nd period)
2--VAN--Pavol Demitra (Goal and Assist)
3--MN--Cal Cutterbuck (8 Hits & a Blocked Shot)
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
ST PAUL -- Fresh off a 2-1 Shooutout win Tuesday in Pittsburgh against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Penguins, the Minnesota Wild returned home for the first of a five-game homestand Thursday night hosting the Vancouver Canucks.
Just one-point seperated Vancouver (24pts, 11-6-2) and Minnesota (23pts, 11-4-3) heading into the game as both teams have either shared or at least had a share of first place in the Northwest Division since the season started, and both clubs have been playing well as of late. The Wild are 4-1-0 in their last 5 games, while the Canucks are 3-0-2, and won the first meeting between the two back on November 8th at GM Place 2-0.
Vancouver beat the Rangers 6-3 Wednesday night and is playing the second of back-to-back games in their third of 11 total back-to-back series this season, and so far this year has a 3-1-0 record in those games. Last season the Canucks were 13-14-3 in back-to-back series, posting a 7-6-2 record in the first game played and 6-8-1 in the second game played.
Curtis Sanford got his second start of the season in net for the Canucks, as Captain Roberto Luongo got the night off, and in 2 games played had allowed 5 goals with a .878 save percentage.
Both teams skated a scoreless opening period, but the crowd came to their feet 12:04 in as Erik Reitz of the Wild and Taylor Pyatt of the Canucks pushed each other in front of the Wild bench and were about to drop their gloves when at the last second Vancouver's Shane O'Brien got between the two and slashed Reitz, while they both went at it to a draw that saw several good punches thrown.
Minnesota broke the scoreless tie at 7:16 of the second period when Mikko Koivu fired a slapper from the left face-off circle that went five-hole on Sanford for his forth goal of the season. Vancouver tied it 1-1 at 12:00 when Steve Bernier in the high left slot turned around and released a wrister that went just a quarter-inch above Niklas Backstrom's glove to the high right corner of the net. Just 2:22 later Koivu scored his second goal of the game, a shorthanded one on a breakaway, to give Minnesota a brief 2-1 lead. Former Wild Forward Pavol Demitra scored a power play goal off a pass from the corner that took a weird bounce in the crease and found it's way to the back of the net at 16:10 to tie it 2-2. That power play goal was just the second Minnesota had surrendered at home this season, and only the fifth this season. Heading into the game the Wild had outscored it's opponents 9-1 in the second period at home this season, and marked the first time since October 29th in Dallas that they've allowed two goals in a period.
Since Daniel and Henrik Sedin came into the league in 2000, the Canucks have lived and died with the Sedin's, especially when both of them get involved or are shut down in a game, as Vancouver's record when both Sedin's register at least one point is 154-50-21. Henrik assisted on Demitra's goal in the second period and Daniel scored the game winner at 11:41 of the third to give the Canucks a 3-2 win over Minnesota and a three-point lead in the Northwest division standings.
Vancouver improved to 5-0-1 in the division and are the only team without a regulation loss versus the Northwest this season, while Curtis Sanford recorded his first win in almost a year dating back to December 12th, 2007 against Anaheim.
Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom lost at home for the first time in 15 regular season decisions (11-1-3) dating back to March 4th, 2008 as the Wild fell to 1-3-1 on the season when allowing three or more goals, lost for just the second time in regulation in the last eight overall meetings against the Canucks, and lost for the first time this season (8-1-0) when Koivu gets at least one point.
Minnesota will contuine their season long five-game homestand Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues, and then Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Monday.
Three Stars of the Game (Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey)
1--MN--Mikko Koivu (2 Goals, including a Shorthanded one in 2nd period)
2--VAN--Pavol Demitra (Goal and Assist)
3--MN--Cal Cutterbuck (8 Hits & a Blocked Shot)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
November 15th
Wild Hang Up Jackets (Again)
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
Following a 4-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes Thursday, in which all their goals were scored on the power play. the Minnesota Wild hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center in downtown Saint Paul.
Saturday marked the second (and last) time Columbus will play at the "X" this season, as the Wild edged the Jackets 2-1 back on October 25th. Owen Nolan scored the game winning goal and added an assist while Niklas Backstrom recored 25 saves in that game to improve Minnesota's all time home record against their expansion rival to 11-3-1, with nine of those contests decided by one goal.
Columbus came into Saturday's game 4-1 in their last five outings, having defeated Buffalo 6-1 on Friday, which was their first five goal road victory since 2003. The Jackets also downed Calgary 3-1, Montreal 4-3 (SO) and Edmonton 5-4 in that stretch dating back to November 5th, while losing to Phoenix 5-2 on Wednesday. Rookie netminder Steve Mason was in net for 4 of those games (except Buffalo) posting a 3-1 record with a 2.96 GAA and .896 SV%
---on a brief side note, Marian Gaborik (lower body) missed game number 13 of the season, and while there's no merit to it the big rumor around the Al Shaver Press Box prior to the game had Toronto trading Nik Antropov to Minnesota for Gabby sometime in the next two weeks. Should this turn out to be true, entering Saturday Antropov in 9 years has played 463 games with 111 goals and 149 assists for 260 points but only has one 20+ goal season. On the other side Gaborik (487 games in 8 years, 207-208=415) has five 30+ goal season and one 40+ goal season last year. It's not usually mine, or this websites style to comment on something like this, but this rumor had a few unnamed individuals in the press box frothing at the mouth and angrily sending text messages---
On the ice it took 17:36 before the games first goal as Benoit Pouliot tipped in a power play goal off a rebound to give Minnesota a brief 1-0 lead. Columbus scored just 2:00 minutes later in the periods winding seconds. Derick Brassard fired a shot from the right face off circle that Niklas Backstrom stopped, and layed down thinking the puck was between his back and the ice, but it went just outside the crease to Kristian Huselius who had an open net to shoot at and tie the game at 1-1.
It wasn't until 1:48 of the third period that the tie was broken when Erik Reitz, a sixth round draft pick by Minnesota in 2000 who had played 363 games with the Houston Aeros of the AHL, scored his first NHL goal to give the Wild a 2-1 lead. That goal by Reitz snapped a streak of 191:52 in which Minnesota scored it's last even strength goal, November 6th in Colorado, as each of their previous five goals came with the man advantage.
The 2-1 lead only lasted for a few minutes as Rick Nash picked off a pass in the zone, just outside the left face off circle, and beat Backstrom on a one-handed-back-handed shot to tie it 2-2 at 7:20 for Columbus.
Both teams skated a scoreless rest of regulation and in overtime to send it to the Wild's first shootout at home this season.
Andrew Brunette was unsuccessful on his attempt in the "Skills Competition", but Marek Zidlicky and Antti Miettinen converted on their chances as the Wild won the Shootout 2-1, and the game 3-2.
With the win Minnesota improves to 12-3-1 against Columbus at home, having won the last four in a row against the Jackets, establishing a franchise record against their expansion counterpart.
Up next for the Wild is a nationally televised game at Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Three Stars of the Game (Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey):
1--MN--Marek Zidlicky
2--MN--Erik Reitz
3--CBJ--Rick Nash
Post Game Notes:
Goalie Niklas Backstrom improved to 11-0-3 with a 1.54 GAA and a .945 SV% in his last 14 home starts. He's 40-8-10 all-time at Xcel Energy Center. Backstrom also improved to 2-0 this season in shootouts, after going 4-10 in his first two NHL seasons.
Minnesota's power play goal was it's first against Columbus in the last six meetings, having gone 0-for-24 in the last five games versus the Blue Jackets. The Wild went 1-for-3 on the man advantage. Minnesota's penalty kill, ranked first in the NHL, was successful on it's lone attempt. At home, the Wild is an NHL best 23-for-24 (95.8 %) on the PK.
Centre Benoit Pouliot scored his fifth goal of the season - one off the team lead. Pouliot scored his third goal in the last six games - including two on the power play.
The Wild improved to 2-0 in shootouts, while Columbus is 1-3.
Ten of the 16 meetings between the teams at Xcel Energy Center have been decided by one goal.
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
Following a 4-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes Thursday, in which all their goals were scored on the power play. the Minnesota Wild hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center in downtown Saint Paul.
Saturday marked the second (and last) time Columbus will play at the "X" this season, as the Wild edged the Jackets 2-1 back on October 25th. Owen Nolan scored the game winning goal and added an assist while Niklas Backstrom recored 25 saves in that game to improve Minnesota's all time home record against their expansion rival to 11-3-1, with nine of those contests decided by one goal.
Columbus came into Saturday's game 4-1 in their last five outings, having defeated Buffalo 6-1 on Friday, which was their first five goal road victory since 2003. The Jackets also downed Calgary 3-1, Montreal 4-3 (SO) and Edmonton 5-4 in that stretch dating back to November 5th, while losing to Phoenix 5-2 on Wednesday. Rookie netminder Steve Mason was in net for 4 of those games (except Buffalo) posting a 3-1 record with a 2.96 GAA and .896 SV%
---on a brief side note, Marian Gaborik (lower body) missed game number 13 of the season, and while there's no merit to it the big rumor around the Al Shaver Press Box prior to the game had Toronto trading Nik Antropov to Minnesota for Gabby sometime in the next two weeks. Should this turn out to be true, entering Saturday Antropov in 9 years has played 463 games with 111 goals and 149 assists for 260 points but only has one 20+ goal season. On the other side Gaborik (487 games in 8 years, 207-208=415) has five 30+ goal season and one 40+ goal season last year. It's not usually mine, or this websites style to comment on something like this, but this rumor had a few unnamed individuals in the press box frothing at the mouth and angrily sending text messages---
On the ice it took 17:36 before the games first goal as Benoit Pouliot tipped in a power play goal off a rebound to give Minnesota a brief 1-0 lead. Columbus scored just 2:00 minutes later in the periods winding seconds. Derick Brassard fired a shot from the right face off circle that Niklas Backstrom stopped, and layed down thinking the puck was between his back and the ice, but it went just outside the crease to Kristian Huselius who had an open net to shoot at and tie the game at 1-1.
It wasn't until 1:48 of the third period that the tie was broken when Erik Reitz, a sixth round draft pick by Minnesota in 2000 who had played 363 games with the Houston Aeros of the AHL, scored his first NHL goal to give the Wild a 2-1 lead. That goal by Reitz snapped a streak of 191:52 in which Minnesota scored it's last even strength goal, November 6th in Colorado, as each of their previous five goals came with the man advantage.
The 2-1 lead only lasted for a few minutes as Rick Nash picked off a pass in the zone, just outside the left face off circle, and beat Backstrom on a one-handed-back-handed shot to tie it 2-2 at 7:20 for Columbus.
Both teams skated a scoreless rest of regulation and in overtime to send it to the Wild's first shootout at home this season.
Andrew Brunette was unsuccessful on his attempt in the "Skills Competition", but Marek Zidlicky and Antti Miettinen converted on their chances as the Wild won the Shootout 2-1, and the game 3-2.
With the win Minnesota improves to 12-3-1 against Columbus at home, having won the last four in a row against the Jackets, establishing a franchise record against their expansion counterpart.
Up next for the Wild is a nationally televised game at Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Three Stars of the Game (Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey):
1--MN--Marek Zidlicky
2--MN--Erik Reitz
3--CBJ--Rick Nash
Post Game Notes:
Goalie Niklas Backstrom improved to 11-0-3 with a 1.54 GAA and a .945 SV% in his last 14 home starts. He's 40-8-10 all-time at Xcel Energy Center. Backstrom also improved to 2-0 this season in shootouts, after going 4-10 in his first two NHL seasons.
Minnesota's power play goal was it's first against Columbus in the last six meetings, having gone 0-for-24 in the last five games versus the Blue Jackets. The Wild went 1-for-3 on the man advantage. Minnesota's penalty kill, ranked first in the NHL, was successful on it's lone attempt. At home, the Wild is an NHL best 23-for-24 (95.8 %) on the PK.
Centre Benoit Pouliot scored his fifth goal of the season - one off the team lead. Pouliot scored his third goal in the last six games - including two on the power play.
The Wild improved to 2-0 in shootouts, while Columbus is 1-3.
Ten of the 16 meetings between the teams at Xcel Energy Center have been decided by one goal.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
November 13th
Wild Tame Coyotes
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
After a 2-2 road trip and following their first shutout of the season, 2-0 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the Minnesota Wild returned home Thursday to host the Phoenix Coyotes.
Thursday's game marked the beginning of a stretch in which the Wild will play 10 of the next 12 games at home, and was just their sixth game at Xcel Energy Center this season. Only Edmonton (3) has played fewer home games this season.
This wasn't the first meeting of the season between the two clubs as back on November 1st in Phoenix, Minnesota beat the Coyotes 3-2. Niklas Backstrom recored 25 saves and improved his lifetime record against the Coyotes to 7-0-0 with a 1.29 GAA and .957 SV%. On the other side Ilya Bryzgalov is 0-5 with a 3.28 GAA and .894 SV% in six career games versus Minnesota (5 starts).
Both goalies were sharp early on as Bryzgalov made 13 saves and Backstrom 5 in the first period, with both teams skating a scoreless first frame.
Marek Zidlicky broke the scoreless tie 3:47 in the second period on the power play off an assist from Marc-Andre Bergeron to put the Wild up 1-0. Minnesota added another in the second at 15:43 with a two-man advantage as Andrew Brunette scored his sixth of the season and the Wild took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
Minnesota again started the third as they did the second period, getting a a power play goal in the periods third minute, 3:11 to be exact, from Eric Belanger who had a two point night (1-1=2) to put Minnesota up 3-0. Right on the faceoff Cal Cutterbuck of the Wild and Keith Yandle of the Coyotes dropped 'em.
"(Right on the faceoff) he (Yandle) came up to me and asked if I wanted to go" Said Cutterbuck who was fresh off the bench and decided why not. "I was excited, it's been a while since I fought anybody and it's always good to get that monkey off your back, it's almost the same as scoring a goal. You don't fight for awhile and you start doubting yourself".
The Wild added another third period, and their fourth power-play, goal at 18:53 when Zidlicky scored his second of the game as Minnesota won 4-0 to defeat Phoenix for the ninth straight time, which ties the Wild record for the longest winning streak against one team as Minnesota defeated Chicago in nine straight meetings from January 20, 2006 to January 11, 2008.
The last time the Coyotes defeated the Wild was almost two years to the day on November 14th 2006 at Jobing.com Arena.
With the Win Minnesota improves to 9-4-1 and Phoenix drops to 8-7-0, and the next meeting between the two is on December 11 at Jobing.com arena in Phoenix.
After a day off Friday, the Wild will host the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night with the face off at 710pm.
Three Stars (Picked by Wally Shaver of Lets Play Hockey):
1--MN--Marek Zidlicky
2--MN--Andrew Brunette
3--MN--Eric Belanger
Post-Game Notes:
Goalie Niklas Backstrom improved to 8-0-0 against the Coyotes, his second best record against any team. He is 9-0-0 versus Edmonton. Having posted his third shutout against Phoenix Thursday, it marked Backstrom's ninth career shutout at Xcel Energy Center - two off Dwayne Roloson's team record.
Minnesota went 4-for-7 on the power play (57.1%), after going just 5-for-43 (11.6%) in the previous 10 games, and 1-for-21 (4.8%) in the last five contests.
Thursday was just the seventh time in team history the Wild have scored at least four power-play goals. The Wild record for PPG in a game is Five (2/7/06 vs LA and 10/7/06 vs Nashville).
Defenceman Marek Zidlicky notched his third career two-goal game and first since February 11, 2006 vs. Columbus. Zidlicky also added an assist, tying a franchise record for points in a game by a defenceman done on eight other occasions, last by Brent Burns, who tallied three assists vs. Dallas on January 3, 2008.
Centre Eric Belanger added a goal and an assist, his first multi-point game since scoring two goals in the season opener Oct, 11.
Defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron registered a career high three-assists.
Left Wing Andrew Brunette scored his sixth goal of the season and his 31st all-time goal at Xcel Energy Center, tying Antti Laaksonen for fifth place on the all-time list.
Left Wing Owen Nolan, activated off injured reserve just before game time, registered two assists, notching his first point since October 27th (an assist against Chicago).
With two goals in the second period, the Wild has outscored its opponents 15-7 in the second period this season.
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
After a 2-2 road trip and following their first shutout of the season, 2-0 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the Minnesota Wild returned home Thursday to host the Phoenix Coyotes.
Thursday's game marked the beginning of a stretch in which the Wild will play 10 of the next 12 games at home, and was just their sixth game at Xcel Energy Center this season. Only Edmonton (3) has played fewer home games this season.
This wasn't the first meeting of the season between the two clubs as back on November 1st in Phoenix, Minnesota beat the Coyotes 3-2. Niklas Backstrom recored 25 saves and improved his lifetime record against the Coyotes to 7-0-0 with a 1.29 GAA and .957 SV%. On the other side Ilya Bryzgalov is 0-5 with a 3.28 GAA and .894 SV% in six career games versus Minnesota (5 starts).
Both goalies were sharp early on as Bryzgalov made 13 saves and Backstrom 5 in the first period, with both teams skating a scoreless first frame.
Marek Zidlicky broke the scoreless tie 3:47 in the second period on the power play off an assist from Marc-Andre Bergeron to put the Wild up 1-0. Minnesota added another in the second at 15:43 with a two-man advantage as Andrew Brunette scored his sixth of the season and the Wild took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
Minnesota again started the third as they did the second period, getting a a power play goal in the periods third minute, 3:11 to be exact, from Eric Belanger who had a two point night (1-1=2) to put Minnesota up 3-0. Right on the faceoff Cal Cutterbuck of the Wild and Keith Yandle of the Coyotes dropped 'em.
"(Right on the faceoff) he (Yandle) came up to me and asked if I wanted to go" Said Cutterbuck who was fresh off the bench and decided why not. "I was excited, it's been a while since I fought anybody and it's always good to get that monkey off your back, it's almost the same as scoring a goal. You don't fight for awhile and you start doubting yourself".
The Wild added another third period, and their fourth power-play, goal at 18:53 when Zidlicky scored his second of the game as Minnesota won 4-0 to defeat Phoenix for the ninth straight time, which ties the Wild record for the longest winning streak against one team as Minnesota defeated Chicago in nine straight meetings from January 20, 2006 to January 11, 2008.
The last time the Coyotes defeated the Wild was almost two years to the day on November 14th 2006 at Jobing.com Arena.
With the Win Minnesota improves to 9-4-1 and Phoenix drops to 8-7-0, and the next meeting between the two is on December 11 at Jobing.com arena in Phoenix.
After a day off Friday, the Wild will host the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night with the face off at 710pm.
Three Stars (Picked by Wally Shaver of Lets Play Hockey):
1--MN--Marek Zidlicky
2--MN--Andrew Brunette
3--MN--Eric Belanger
Post-Game Notes:
Goalie Niklas Backstrom improved to 8-0-0 against the Coyotes, his second best record against any team. He is 9-0-0 versus Edmonton. Having posted his third shutout against Phoenix Thursday, it marked Backstrom's ninth career shutout at Xcel Energy Center - two off Dwayne Roloson's team record.
Minnesota went 4-for-7 on the power play (57.1%), after going just 5-for-43 (11.6%) in the previous 10 games, and 1-for-21 (4.8%) in the last five contests.
Thursday was just the seventh time in team history the Wild have scored at least four power-play goals. The Wild record for PPG in a game is Five (2/7/06 vs LA and 10/7/06 vs Nashville).
Defenceman Marek Zidlicky notched his third career two-goal game and first since February 11, 2006 vs. Columbus. Zidlicky also added an assist, tying a franchise record for points in a game by a defenceman done on eight other occasions, last by Brent Burns, who tallied three assists vs. Dallas on January 3, 2008.
Centre Eric Belanger added a goal and an assist, his first multi-point game since scoring two goals in the season opener Oct, 11.
Defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron registered a career high three-assists.
Left Wing Andrew Brunette scored his sixth goal of the season and his 31st all-time goal at Xcel Energy Center, tying Antti Laaksonen for fifth place on the all-time list.
Left Wing Owen Nolan, activated off injured reserve just before game time, registered two assists, notching his first point since October 27th (an assist against Chicago).
With two goals in the second period, the Wild has outscored its opponents 15-7 in the second period this season.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
October 31st
Gophers Edge Huskies 2-1
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Number 2 ranked University of Minnesota Women's Hockey Team hosted the St. Cloud State Huskies Friday night at Ridder Arena in the first game of a home-and-home weekend series.
Since their first meeting in January of 1999, the Gophers and Huskies have played in 14 home-and-home series, including six consecutive times since January of 2006, with Minnesota holding an all-time record of 35-2-1. The two teams tied in their first series meeting last season 4-4, with St. Cloud winning the next game 2-1 which snapped the Gophers 24-game win streak against the Huskies.
Minnesota (5-2-1, 4-1-1 WCHA) is currently in one of its toughest stretches of the season having swept the then number one ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (Oct. 10-11) and then a sweep over then ranked number nine Ohio State two weeks ago. Last weekend the Gophers earned two points against top ranked Wisconsin (1-1 tie, 2-1 shootout loss), and for the third straight week received the Number Two ranking in the U.S College Hockey Online and the USA Today polls.
St. Cloud State (4-2-2, 1-2-1 WCHA) started the season with a series win over Quinnipiac and then a suffered two one-goal losses to North Dakota. The Huskies then took three points (four including the shootout) against Minnesota-Duluth, and got a win and tie last weekend against Brown.
The Huskies were looking to carry over there success against Brown and did so early on and throughout the first period against the Gophers. St. Cloud did a great job of disrupting Minnesota's attack and clogging their offense, not letting them get anything really going and it wasn't until 8:32 into the game that the Gophers registered their first shot on goal, and the Huskies also did a tremendous job of killing off Minnesota's first power play chance by not allowing a shot on goal and forcing the Gophers to turn the puck over each time they were able to get in the zone as the two teams skated to a scoreless first period, with St. Cloud out shooting Minnesota 12-4.
The Gophers only needed :22 seconds into the second period to break the scoreless tie, as after winning the opening faceoff skated in the zone and St. Cloud goaltender Ashley Nixon stopped Brittany Francis's shot from the left side but the rebound went right to Emily West as the Sophomore's scored her third goal of the season to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
A total of 11 penalties were called in the second period which brought a few 4-on-4 and 4-on-3 situations but both teams were able to kill each off as the Gophers went 0-4 and St. Cloud 0-2 with the extra attacker in the second.
The third period started with St. Cloud on a 5-on-3 power play for :02 seconds, and the Huskies won the opening faceoff, and brought the puck in the zone right as Junior Michelle Maunu came out of the box for Minnesota, Huskies left winger Sammy Nixon stopped on the left face off dot and her slapper went past Alyssa Grogan to tie the game 1-1. Senior Captain Gigi Marvin put the Gophers ahead at 12:38 as her shot was partially stopped but ended up trickling thru Nixon's pads for the eventual game winning goal. Marvin now has 148 points in her Gopher career (62-86=148) in 123 games and ranks 10th in school history in points and goals.
With the win Minnesota improves to 6-1-1 in the WCHA, while St. Cloud drops to 1-4-1 in league play. Both teams finish the home-and-home series Saturday night at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud at 7pm.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
3--SCSU--Sammy Nixon (Scored Huskies lone goal :08 into 3rd period)
2--MN--Emily West (Scored her 3rd goal of the season :21 into 2nd period)
1--MN--Alyssa Grogan (The Freshman had 25 saves and improved to 3-0-1)
GAME STATS:
University of Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 . 0 0 0 0
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 0 2 1 0
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 4 0 0
Laura May--------------------- 0 0 0 2 0
Rachel Drazan------------- 0 0 2 0 +2
Kelli Blankenship------------ 0 1 0 2 +1
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 1 0 2 +1
Jocelyne Lamoureux------- 0 0 4 3 0
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Emily West-------------------- 1 0 2 6 +2
Gigi Marvin-------------------- 1 0 0 4 +2
Monique Lamoureu x------- 0 0 2 5 0
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 0 2 0 0
Dagney Willey---------------- 0 0 2 1 0
Jen Schoullis----------------- 0 0 0 2 0
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 0 0 1 0
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 2 1 +2
Totals--------------------------- 2 2 22 30 +10
Goalie Stats
St. Cloud
Ashley Nixon (Loss) 59:09 Min 2 GA 28 SV
EMPTY NET 00:51 Min
Minnesota
Alyssa Grogan (Win) 59:46 Min 1 GA 25 SV
EMPTY NET 00:14 Min
Goals
SCSU 0-0-1 1
MN 0-1-1 2
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
2nd--00:21--MN--EV Emily West (Brittany Francis)
3rd--00:08--SCSU--PP Sammy Nixon (Caitlin Hogan)
3rd--12:38--MN--EV Gigi Marvin (Kelli Blankenship)
Shots on Goal
SCSU 12-6-8 26
MN 4-15-11 30
Penalties--Minutes
SCSU 11--22
MN 11--22
Power Plays
SCSU 1-8 (3 SOG, Time on PP 10:28)
MN 0-9 (6 SOG, Time on PP 11:58)
Faceoffs Won
SCSU 31
MN 36
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Number 2 ranked University of Minnesota Women's Hockey Team hosted the St. Cloud State Huskies Friday night at Ridder Arena in the first game of a home-and-home weekend series.
Since their first meeting in January of 1999, the Gophers and Huskies have played in 14 home-and-home series, including six consecutive times since January of 2006, with Minnesota holding an all-time record of 35-2-1. The two teams tied in their first series meeting last season 4-4, with St. Cloud winning the next game 2-1 which snapped the Gophers 24-game win streak against the Huskies.
Minnesota (5-2-1, 4-1-1 WCHA) is currently in one of its toughest stretches of the season having swept the then number one ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (Oct. 10-11) and then a sweep over then ranked number nine Ohio State two weeks ago. Last weekend the Gophers earned two points against top ranked Wisconsin (1-1 tie, 2-1 shootout loss), and for the third straight week received the Number Two ranking in the U.S College Hockey Online and the USA Today polls.
St. Cloud State (4-2-2, 1-2-1 WCHA) started the season with a series win over Quinnipiac and then a suffered two one-goal losses to North Dakota. The Huskies then took three points (four including the shootout) against Minnesota-Duluth, and got a win and tie last weekend against Brown.
The Huskies were looking to carry over there success against Brown and did so early on and throughout the first period against the Gophers. St. Cloud did a great job of disrupting Minnesota's attack and clogging their offense, not letting them get anything really going and it wasn't until 8:32 into the game that the Gophers registered their first shot on goal, and the Huskies also did a tremendous job of killing off Minnesota's first power play chance by not allowing a shot on goal and forcing the Gophers to turn the puck over each time they were able to get in the zone as the two teams skated to a scoreless first period, with St. Cloud out shooting Minnesota 12-4.
The Gophers only needed :22 seconds into the second period to break the scoreless tie, as after winning the opening faceoff skated in the zone and St. Cloud goaltender Ashley Nixon stopped Brittany Francis's shot from the left side but the rebound went right to Emily West as the Sophomore's scored her third goal of the season to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
A total of 11 penalties were called in the second period which brought a few 4-on-4 and 4-on-3 situations but both teams were able to kill each off as the Gophers went 0-4 and St. Cloud 0-2 with the extra attacker in the second.
The third period started with St. Cloud on a 5-on-3 power play for :02 seconds, and the Huskies won the opening faceoff, and brought the puck in the zone right as Junior Michelle Maunu came out of the box for Minnesota, Huskies left winger Sammy Nixon stopped on the left face off dot and her slapper went past Alyssa Grogan to tie the game 1-1. Senior Captain Gigi Marvin put the Gophers ahead at 12:38 as her shot was partially stopped but ended up trickling thru Nixon's pads for the eventual game winning goal. Marvin now has 148 points in her Gopher career (62-86=148) in 123 games and ranks 10th in school history in points and goals.
With the win Minnesota improves to 6-1-1 in the WCHA, while St. Cloud drops to 1-4-1 in league play. Both teams finish the home-and-home series Saturday night at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud at 7pm.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
3--SCSU--Sammy Nixon (Scored Huskies lone goal :08 into 3rd period)
2--MN--Emily West (Scored her 3rd goal of the season :21 into 2nd period)
1--MN--Alyssa Grogan (The Freshman had 25 saves and improved to 3-0-1)
GAME STATS:
University of Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 . 0 0 0 0
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 0 2 1 0
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 4 0 0
Laura May--------------------- 0 0 0 2 0
Rachel Drazan------------- 0 0 2 0 +2
Kelli Blankenship------------ 0 1 0 2 +1
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 1 0 2 +1
Jocelyne Lamoureux------- 0 0 4 3 0
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Emily West-------------------- 1 0 2 6 +2
Gigi Marvin-------------------- 1 0 0 4 +2
Monique Lamoureu x------- 0 0 2 5 0
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 0 2 0 0
Dagney Willey---------------- 0 0 2 1 0
Jen Schoullis----------------- 0 0 0 2 0
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 0 0 1 0
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 2 1 +2
Totals--------------------------- 2 2 22 30 +10
Goalie Stats
St. Cloud
Ashley Nixon (Loss) 59:09 Min 2 GA 28 SV
EMPTY NET 00:51 Min
Minnesota
Alyssa Grogan (Win) 59:46 Min 1 GA 25 SV
EMPTY NET 00:14 Min
Goals
SCSU 0-0-1 1
MN 0-1-1 2
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
2nd--00:21--MN--EV Emily West (Brittany Francis)
3rd--00:08--SCSU--PP Sammy Nixon (Caitlin Hogan)
3rd--12:38--MN--EV Gigi Marvin (Kelli Blankenship)
Shots on Goal
SCSU 12-6-8 26
MN 4-15-11 30
Penalties--Minutes
SCSU 11--22
MN 11--22
Power Plays
SCSU 1-8 (3 SOG, Time on PP 10:28)
MN 0-9 (6 SOG, Time on PP 11:58)
Faceoffs Won
SCSU 31
MN 36
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
October 28th
NHL MOVES BACK TRADE DEADLINE
The National Hockey League announced that the trade deadline has officially been moved one day later from Tuesday March 3, to Wednesday March 4.
The League and Playes Association came to the agreement largery because there are 12 games on the NHL slate on the 3rd and only two games on the 4th.
Last season there were 25 deals on deadline day that saw 45 players change teams.
COYOTES CLAIM KLEE OFF WAIVERS
The Phoenix Coyotes have claimed veteran defenceman Ken Klee on re-entry waivers.
The 37-year-old was acquired by the LA Ducks of Anaheim eariler this month in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers, but played only three games with the Ducks before being sent to the American Hockey League.
The Ducks and Coyotes will split the remainder of his $1.25-million salary since he was acquired off re-entry waivers.
Phoenix is Klee's sixth team since the NHL lockout. He has 54 career goals and 184 points in 866 regular-season games.
The National Hockey League announced that the trade deadline has officially been moved one day later from Tuesday March 3, to Wednesday March 4.
The League and Playes Association came to the agreement largery because there are 12 games on the NHL slate on the 3rd and only two games on the 4th.
Last season there were 25 deals on deadline day that saw 45 players change teams.
COYOTES CLAIM KLEE OFF WAIVERS
The Phoenix Coyotes have claimed veteran defenceman Ken Klee on re-entry waivers.
The 37-year-old was acquired by the LA Ducks of Anaheim eariler this month in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers, but played only three games with the Ducks before being sent to the American Hockey League.
The Ducks and Coyotes will split the remainder of his $1.25-million salary since he was acquired off re-entry waivers.
Phoenix is Klee's sixth team since the NHL lockout. He has 54 career goals and 184 points in 866 regular-season games.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
October 18th
Gophers Win Big (Again) 8-2
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- The Number 2 ranked University of Minnesota Women's hockey team wrapped up their weekend series with the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.
The Gophers had 13 skaters earn a point Friday night in their 8-1 win over the Buckeyes, and also had six with multiple points. Sophomore Jen Schoullis scored two goals, Sophomore Emily West registered three assists, and Senior Melanie Gagnon had two assists. Junior Raelyn LaRocque scored the Buckeyes lone goal.
Ohio Started the game with a spark, as the Buckeyes won the opening faceoff and Freshman Natalie Spooner fired a shot at Minnesota goaltender Jenny Lura that was kicked away, but that would be the only shot on goal for the Buckeyes for the next 11 minutes.
Minnesota once again struck in the games early minutes as Freshman Jocelyn Lamoureux fed fellow Freshman Sarah Erickson who's back handed shot went over the stacked pads of Sophomore Ohio State goaltender Deidre Facklis, who Friday night came in relief of Liana Bonanno to start the third period. The Gophers added another first period goal at 14:06 when Jen Schoullis's slap shot from just above the right face off circle was tipped in by Monique Lamoureux.
Down 2-0 to start the second period, Ohio State needed only :33 to cut the lead in half as Natalie Spooner carried the puck in the zone and her backhanded shot went past the blocker of Jenny Lura, and just 1:50 later the Buckeyes tied it 2-2 when from behind the net Natalie Spooner fed Freshman Laura McIntosh who was set up on the left side of the crease. At that point Ohio State had scored on 2 of their first 3 shots on goal to start the period. The lead would be short lived as the Buckeyes found themselves two players short and Minnesota took advantage scoring a 5-on-3 goal at 4:29 from Jen Schoullis to take a 3-2 lead. Junior Kelli Blankenship added another tally at 6:34 and Freshman Nikki Ludwigson scored her first career Gopher goal at 12:02 as Minnesota carried a 5-2 lead into the second intermission, after killing off a 5-on-3 Ohio State power play at 14:25.
The Gophers got three more goals in the third period from Senior Captian Gigi Marvin on the power play at 3:34, Senior Rachael Drazen at 10:25, and Junior Chelsey Jones on the power play at 15:58. Minnesota out-shot Ohio State 23-2 in third period and 57-13 in the game.
With the win Minnesota improves to 4-0-0 in the WCHA and 5-1-0 overall, while Ohio State drops to 0-4-0 in league play and 2-4-0 overall.
The Number 2 ranked Gophers will travel to Madison to take on the top ranked Wisconsin Badgers next weekend, and their next home game will be on Halloween against St Cloud State at Ridder Arena at 6pm.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
3--MN--Nikki Ludwigson (Scored First Career Gopher Goal)
2--MN--Sarah Erickson (1 Goal and 2 Assists)
1--MN--Monique Lamoureux (1 Goal and 3 Assists)
GAME STATS:
University of Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 0 2 2 0
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 1 0 2 0
Sarah Erickson--------------- 1 2 2 5 +2
Rachael Drazan------------- 1 1 0 5 +2
Kelli Blankenship------------ 1 1 0 4 0
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 1 0 1 +1
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Jocelyn Lamoureux------- 0 2 0 5 +2
Chelsey Jones--------------- 1 1 0 2 0
Emily West-------------------- 0 0 2 1 0
Nikki Ludwigson------------- 1 0 0 1 +1
Gigi Marvin-------------------- 1 0 0 9 0
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Monique Lamoureu x------- 1 3 0 8 +2
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 0 0 3 +1
Jen Schoullis----------------- 1 2 0 5 +1
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 1 0 1 +1
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 1 0 1 +2
Totals--------------------------- 8 16 8 57 +15
Goalie Stats
Ohio State
Deidre Facklis (Loss) 60:00 Min 8 GA 49 SV
Minnesota
Jenny Lura (Win) 59:47 Min 2 GA 11 SV
EMPTY NET 00:13 Min
Goals
OSU 0-2-0 2
MN 2-3-3 8
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
1st--03:00--MN--EV Sarah Erickson (Jocelyne Lamoureux, Monique Lamoureux)
1st--14:06--MN--EV Monique Lamoureux (Jen Schoullis, Sarah Erickson)
2nd--00:33--OSU--EV Natalie Spooner (Laura McIntosh)
2nd--02:23--OSU--EV Laura McIntosh (Natalie Spooner, Kelly Wild)
2nd--04:29--MN--PP Jen Schoullis (Monique Lamoureux, Sarah Erickson)
2nd--06:34--MN--EV Kelli Blankenship (Jen Schoullis, Chelsey Jones)
2nd--12:02--MN--EV Nikki Ludwigson (Jamie Horton, Terra Rasmussen)
3rd--03:34--MN--PP Gigi Marvin (Melanie Gagnon, Rachael Drazan)
3rd--10:25--MN--EV Rachael Drazen (Jocelyne Lamoureux, Monique Lamoureux)
3rd--15:58--MN--PP Chelsey Jones (Michelle Maunu, Kelli Blankenship)
Shots on Goal
OSU 4-7-2 13
MN 17-17-23 57
Penalties--Minutes
OSU 8--27
MN 4--8
Power Plays
OSU 0-4 (4 SOG, Time on PP 6:58)
MN 3-8 (19 SOG, Time on PP 11:55)
Faceoffs Won
OSU 23
MN 38
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- The Number 2 ranked University of Minnesota Women's hockey team wrapped up their weekend series with the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.
The Gophers had 13 skaters earn a point Friday night in their 8-1 win over the Buckeyes, and also had six with multiple points. Sophomore Jen Schoullis scored two goals, Sophomore Emily West registered three assists, and Senior Melanie Gagnon had two assists. Junior Raelyn LaRocque scored the Buckeyes lone goal.
Ohio Started the game with a spark, as the Buckeyes won the opening faceoff and Freshman Natalie Spooner fired a shot at Minnesota goaltender Jenny Lura that was kicked away, but that would be the only shot on goal for the Buckeyes for the next 11 minutes.
Minnesota once again struck in the games early minutes as Freshman Jocelyn Lamoureux fed fellow Freshman Sarah Erickson who's back handed shot went over the stacked pads of Sophomore Ohio State goaltender Deidre Facklis, who Friday night came in relief of Liana Bonanno to start the third period. The Gophers added another first period goal at 14:06 when Jen Schoullis's slap shot from just above the right face off circle was tipped in by Monique Lamoureux.
Down 2-0 to start the second period, Ohio State needed only :33 to cut the lead in half as Natalie Spooner carried the puck in the zone and her backhanded shot went past the blocker of Jenny Lura, and just 1:50 later the Buckeyes tied it 2-2 when from behind the net Natalie Spooner fed Freshman Laura McIntosh who was set up on the left side of the crease. At that point Ohio State had scored on 2 of their first 3 shots on goal to start the period. The lead would be short lived as the Buckeyes found themselves two players short and Minnesota took advantage scoring a 5-on-3 goal at 4:29 from Jen Schoullis to take a 3-2 lead. Junior Kelli Blankenship added another tally at 6:34 and Freshman Nikki Ludwigson scored her first career Gopher goal at 12:02 as Minnesota carried a 5-2 lead into the second intermission, after killing off a 5-on-3 Ohio State power play at 14:25.
The Gophers got three more goals in the third period from Senior Captian Gigi Marvin on the power play at 3:34, Senior Rachael Drazen at 10:25, and Junior Chelsey Jones on the power play at 15:58. Minnesota out-shot Ohio State 23-2 in third period and 57-13 in the game.
With the win Minnesota improves to 4-0-0 in the WCHA and 5-1-0 overall, while Ohio State drops to 0-4-0 in league play and 2-4-0 overall.
The Number 2 ranked Gophers will travel to Madison to take on the top ranked Wisconsin Badgers next weekend, and their next home game will be on Halloween against St Cloud State at Ridder Arena at 6pm.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
3--MN--Nikki Ludwigson (Scored First Career Gopher Goal)
2--MN--Sarah Erickson (1 Goal and 2 Assists)
1--MN--Monique Lamoureux (1 Goal and 3 Assists)
GAME STATS:
University of Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 0 2 2 0
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 1 0 2 0
Sarah Erickson--------------- 1 2 2 5 +2
Rachael Drazan------------- 1 1 0 5 +2
Kelli Blankenship------------ 1 1 0 4 0
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 1 0 1 +1
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Jocelyn Lamoureux------- 0 2 0 5 +2
Chelsey Jones--------------- 1 1 0 2 0
Emily West-------------------- 0 0 2 1 0
Nikki Ludwigson------------- 1 0 0 1 +1
Gigi Marvin-------------------- 1 0 0 9 0
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Monique Lamoureu x------- 1 3 0 8 +2
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 0 0 3 +1
Jen Schoullis----------------- 1 2 0 5 +1
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 1 0 1 +1
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 1 0 1 +2
Totals--------------------------- 8 16 8 57 +15
Goalie Stats
Ohio State
Deidre Facklis (Loss) 60:00 Min 8 GA 49 SV
Minnesota
Jenny Lura (Win) 59:47 Min 2 GA 11 SV
EMPTY NET 00:13 Min
Goals
OSU 0-2-0 2
MN 2-3-3 8
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
1st--03:00--MN--EV Sarah Erickson (Jocelyne Lamoureux, Monique Lamoureux)
1st--14:06--MN--EV Monique Lamoureux (Jen Schoullis, Sarah Erickson)
2nd--00:33--OSU--EV Natalie Spooner (Laura McIntosh)
2nd--02:23--OSU--EV Laura McIntosh (Natalie Spooner, Kelly Wild)
2nd--04:29--MN--PP Jen Schoullis (Monique Lamoureux, Sarah Erickson)
2nd--06:34--MN--EV Kelli Blankenship (Jen Schoullis, Chelsey Jones)
2nd--12:02--MN--EV Nikki Ludwigson (Jamie Horton, Terra Rasmussen)
3rd--03:34--MN--PP Gigi Marvin (Melanie Gagnon, Rachael Drazan)
3rd--10:25--MN--EV Rachael Drazen (Jocelyne Lamoureux, Monique Lamoureux)
3rd--15:58--MN--PP Chelsey Jones (Michelle Maunu, Kelli Blankenship)
Shots on Goal
OSU 4-7-2 13
MN 17-17-23 57
Penalties--Minutes
OSU 8--27
MN 4--8
Power Plays
OSU 0-4 (4 SOG, Time on PP 6:58)
MN 3-8 (19 SOG, Time on PP 11:55)
Faceoffs Won
OSU 23
MN 38
Friday, October 17, 2008
October 17th
Gophers Rout Buckeyes 8-1
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- The No. 2 ranked University of Minnesota Women's hockey team (3-1-0, 2-2-0 WCHA) hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes (2-2-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) in the first of a two-game weekend WCHA series Friday night at Ridder Arena.
The Gophers are coming off a sweep over the defending National Champions, the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Last Friday in the WCHA season opener Melanie Gagnon scored the game-winning power play goal with :25 seconds left in overtime to give the Gophers a 4-3 win over the top-ranked Bulldogs, and then Jenny Lura made 36 saves and freshman twins Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux each scored to complete the sweep with a 2-0 win Saturday. UMD had not been swept on its home ice since Wisconsin won twice there on Jan. 6-7, 2002, and the last time the Bulldogs were shutout at home also came against Minnesota when Kim Hanlon won, 3-0, last year on Nov.18.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were swept in their season and WCHA opener last weekend by the Wisconsin Badgers 7-4 and 4-0, which dropped the then No. 9 ranked team out of the polls. In their first four games of the season, freshman forward Natalie Spooner leads the Buckeyes with four points (3-1=4), followed by senior forward Hayley Klassen (2-1=3) and freshman forward Laura McIntosh1-2=3) with three points. Senior goaltender Liana Bonanno has made 30 or more saves in all four games this season and posted a 3.50 goals against average and .905 save percentage.
Friday marked the 41st meeting between the two schools, dating back to the start of the WCHA in 1999. During that span Minnesota holds a 31-8-1 record against OSU, including a 3-1-0 record against the Buckeyes last season. The Gophers swept OSU 7-3 and 5-1 at Ridder Arena Feb. 8-9. However, prior to the series sweep last February, Minnesota and OSU had split five consecutive series meetings.
It didn't take long for Minnesota to prove that they deserved their Number 2 ranking, as just 1:21 into the game freshman Monique Lamoureux got the puck at centre ice and skated right toward the net and OSU senior goalie Liana Bonanno, gave her a great deke and slid the puck past her for a 1-0 Gopher lead. Minnesota followed with their first power play goal of the game at 11:40 from junior Brittany Francis, and Senior Rachel Drazen's turn around wrist shot from the right face off circle at 13:38 gave the Gophers their second power play goal in as many chances and a 3-0 lead which they carried into the first intermission.
After winning the opening faceoff to start the second period, Minnesota held the puck in the zone for just over 2 minutes and fired off 5 shots at Bonanno. The Buckeye goalie wasn't so lucky the rest of period as the Gophers added four more goals from freshman Jocelyne Lamoureux at 5:35, sophomore Jen Schoullis at 12:22 and again at 16:20, and sophomore Laura May at 18:23.
After 7 goals given up and 32 shots faced, OSU head coach Jackie Barto pulled Liana Bonanno and put sophomore Deidre Facklis in net, who gave up one goal to Minnesota forward Laura May at 7:27, but made several impressive saves, 9 in all, in relief.
Ohio State's lone goal was scored just as they had killed off a penalty at 4:56 of the third period when junior Raelyn LaRocque went top shelf on Minnesota freshman Alyssa Grogan.
With the win Minnesota improves to 3-0-0 in the WCHA, 4-1-0 overall, while Ohio State drops to 0-3-0 in the WCHA and 2-3-0 overall. Game time for tomorrow afternoon's game at Ridder Arena is 4pm.
GAME STATS:
Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 . 0 4 3 +3
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 2 0 2 +1
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 2 2 0
Laura May--------------------- 1 1 0 2 +2
Rachael Drazan------------- 1 0 0 3 0
Kelli Blankenship------------ 0 0 0 1 +1
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 1 0 2 +2
Brittany Francis-------------- 1 1 0 3 +1
Jocelyne Lamoureux-------1 0 2 1 +2
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 1 0 0 +1
Emily West-------------------- 0 3 2 5 0
Nikki Ludwigson------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Gili Marvin--------------------- 0 1 0 5 0
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 2 4 +2
Monique Lamoureux--------1 1 2 3 +2
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 1 0 1 +2
Jen Schoullis----------------- 2 0 0 3 +2
Terra Rasmussen----------- 1 0 0 2 +2
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 0 0 +1
Shots on Goal
OSU 4-2-6 12
MN 13-19-10 42
Faceoffs Won
OSU 32
MN 29
Penalties--Minutes
OSU 9--18
MN 7--14
Power Plays
OSU 0-3 (1 SOG, Time on PP 6:07)
MN 2-6 (11 SOG, Time on PP 8:41)
Goals
OSU 0-0-1 1
MN 3-4-1 8
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
1st--01:21--MN--EV Monique Lamourex (Melanie Gagnon)
1st--11:40--MN--PP Brittany Francis (Melanie Gagnon, Gigi Marvin)
1st--13:38--MN--PP Rachael Drazen (Emily West, Gigi Marvin)
2nd--05:35--MN--EV Jocelyne Lamoureux (Brittany Francis, Emily West)
2nd--12:22--MN--EV Jen Schoullis (Chelsey Jones)
2nd--16:20--MN--EV Jen Schoullis (Monique Lamoureu, Anne Schleper)
2nd--18:23--MN--EV Laura May (Unassisted)
3rd--04:56--OSU--EV Raelyn LaRocque (Kelly Wild, Teal Bishop)
3rd--07:27--MN--EV Terra Rasmussen (Laura May, Jaimie Horton)
Goalie Stats
Ohio State University
Liana Bonanno (Loss) 40:00 Min 7 GA 25 SV
Deidre Facklis 20:00 Min 1 GA 9 SV
Minnesota
Alyssa Grogan (Win) 60:00 Min 1 GA 11 SV
EMPTY NET 00:06 Min
Three Stars of the Game
3--MN--Laura May
2--MN--Emily West
1--MN--Jen Schoullis
Mark Christopher, Sophomore Writer
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- The No. 2 ranked University of Minnesota Women's hockey team (3-1-0, 2-2-0 WCHA) hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes (2-2-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) in the first of a two-game weekend WCHA series Friday night at Ridder Arena.
The Gophers are coming off a sweep over the defending National Champions, the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Last Friday in the WCHA season opener Melanie Gagnon scored the game-winning power play goal with :25 seconds left in overtime to give the Gophers a 4-3 win over the top-ranked Bulldogs, and then Jenny Lura made 36 saves and freshman twins Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux each scored to complete the sweep with a 2-0 win Saturday. UMD had not been swept on its home ice since Wisconsin won twice there on Jan. 6-7, 2002, and the last time the Bulldogs were shutout at home also came against Minnesota when Kim Hanlon won, 3-0, last year on Nov.18.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were swept in their season and WCHA opener last weekend by the Wisconsin Badgers 7-4 and 4-0, which dropped the then No. 9 ranked team out of the polls. In their first four games of the season, freshman forward Natalie Spooner leads the Buckeyes with four points (3-1=4), followed by senior forward Hayley Klassen (2-1=3) and freshman forward Laura McIntosh1-2=3) with three points. Senior goaltender Liana Bonanno has made 30 or more saves in all four games this season and posted a 3.50 goals against average and .905 save percentage.
Friday marked the 41st meeting between the two schools, dating back to the start of the WCHA in 1999. During that span Minnesota holds a 31-8-1 record against OSU, including a 3-1-0 record against the Buckeyes last season. The Gophers swept OSU 7-3 and 5-1 at Ridder Arena Feb. 8-9. However, prior to the series sweep last February, Minnesota and OSU had split five consecutive series meetings.
It didn't take long for Minnesota to prove that they deserved their Number 2 ranking, as just 1:21 into the game freshman Monique Lamoureux got the puck at centre ice and skated right toward the net and OSU senior goalie Liana Bonanno, gave her a great deke and slid the puck past her for a 1-0 Gopher lead. Minnesota followed with their first power play goal of the game at 11:40 from junior Brittany Francis, and Senior Rachel Drazen's turn around wrist shot from the right face off circle at 13:38 gave the Gophers their second power play goal in as many chances and a 3-0 lead which they carried into the first intermission.
After winning the opening faceoff to start the second period, Minnesota held the puck in the zone for just over 2 minutes and fired off 5 shots at Bonanno. The Buckeye goalie wasn't so lucky the rest of period as the Gophers added four more goals from freshman Jocelyne Lamoureux at 5:35, sophomore Jen Schoullis at 12:22 and again at 16:20, and sophomore Laura May at 18:23.
After 7 goals given up and 32 shots faced, OSU head coach Jackie Barto pulled Liana Bonanno and put sophomore Deidre Facklis in net, who gave up one goal to Minnesota forward Laura May at 7:27, but made several impressive saves, 9 in all, in relief.
Ohio State's lone goal was scored just as they had killed off a penalty at 4:56 of the third period when junior Raelyn LaRocque went top shelf on Minnesota freshman Alyssa Grogan.
With the win Minnesota improves to 3-0-0 in the WCHA, 4-1-0 overall, while Ohio State drops to 0-3-0 in the WCHA and 2-3-0 overall. Game time for tomorrow afternoon's game at Ridder Arena is 4pm.
GAME STATS:
Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 . 0 4 3 +3
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 2 0 2 +1
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 2 2 0
Laura May--------------------- 1 1 0 2 +2
Rachael Drazan------------- 1 0 0 3 0
Kelli Blankenship------------ 0 0 0 1 +1
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 1 0 2 +2
Brittany Francis-------------- 1 1 0 3 +1
Jocelyne Lamoureux-------1 0 2 1 +2
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 1 0 0 +1
Emily West-------------------- 0 3 2 5 0
Nikki Ludwigson------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Gili Marvin--------------------- 0 1 0 5 0
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 2 4 +2
Monique Lamoureux--------1 1 2 3 +2
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 1 0 1 +2
Jen Schoullis----------------- 2 0 0 3 +2
Terra Rasmussen----------- 1 0 0 2 +2
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 0 0 +1
Shots on Goal
OSU 4-2-6 12
MN 13-19-10 42
Faceoffs Won
OSU 32
MN 29
Penalties--Minutes
OSU 9--18
MN 7--14
Power Plays
OSU 0-3 (1 SOG, Time on PP 6:07)
MN 2-6 (11 SOG, Time on PP 8:41)
Goals
OSU 0-0-1 1
MN 3-4-1 8
Prd--Time-Team--Scored by (Assists)
1st--01:21--MN--EV Monique Lamourex (Melanie Gagnon)
1st--11:40--MN--PP Brittany Francis (Melanie Gagnon, Gigi Marvin)
1st--13:38--MN--PP Rachael Drazen (Emily West, Gigi Marvin)
2nd--05:35--MN--EV Jocelyne Lamoureux (Brittany Francis, Emily West)
2nd--12:22--MN--EV Jen Schoullis (Chelsey Jones)
2nd--16:20--MN--EV Jen Schoullis (Monique Lamoureu, Anne Schleper)
2nd--18:23--MN--EV Laura May (Unassisted)
3rd--04:56--OSU--EV Raelyn LaRocque (Kelly Wild, Teal Bishop)
3rd--07:27--MN--EV Terra Rasmussen (Laura May, Jaimie Horton)
Goalie Stats
Ohio State University
Liana Bonanno (Loss) 40:00 Min 7 GA 25 SV
Deidre Facklis 20:00 Min 1 GA 9 SV
Minnesota
Alyssa Grogan (Win) 60:00 Min 1 GA 11 SV
EMPTY NET 00:06 Min
Three Stars of the Game
3--MN--Laura May
2--MN--Emily West
1--MN--Jen Schoullis
Saturday, October 11, 2008
October 11th
Wild Win Season Opener
St. Paul, Mn -- The Minnesota Wild opened the regular season Saturday night at the Excel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul against the Boston Bruins, and in addition to the regular season opening festivities the Wild raised their first Northwest Division Title banner to the rafters.
Going into Saturday night, Minnesota ranked fifth in the NHL on opening night with a .643 win percentage (4-2-1 all-time) including 4-0-0 in season openers that are home openers. The only tie was the Wild's first ever regular season home game against Philadelphia on 10/11/00 (3-3), and Marian Gaborik is the only player who has remained with Minnesota from the roster that night. Also since the Wild's first NHL season in 2000-01, they rank fourth in the league in GAA (2.47). Only New Jersey (2.30), Detroit (2.36) and Dallas (2.37) have given up fewer goals per game in the last seven NHL campaigns. In that same span, Minnesota goaltenders have the highest Save Percentage of any NHL team (.915). The LA Ducks are second with a .912 SV %. Also since 2000-01, the Wild has the third-best home GAA of any NHL team (2.25). Only Dallas (2.24) and New Jersey (2.24) have given up fewer goals at home over the past seven seasons.
Six skaters made their regular season Wild debut Saturday. Right Wingers Owen Nolan, Craig Weller, and Antti Miettinen along with Defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron, Marek Zidlicky, and Tomas Mojzis. Left Winger Andrew Brunette, who played for Minnesota from 2001-04, officially started his second tour of duty with the Wild Saturday night. During his first tour, the 35 year old played in 245 games and registered 164 points (54-110=164) and has played in 453 consecutive NHL games, the most of any active player.
Also interesting to note is that Defenceman Erik Reitz is the only American on Minnesota's opening night roster. That is the fewest number of United States-born players of any NHL team.
For Boston this was their second game of the NHL season, as the Bruins defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 on Thursday in Denver, and looked the part as they won the opening face off and got their first shot on goal :11 in.
In a night and season of first's, Owen Nolan registered the Wild's first shot on goal of the season at 1:41 into the game, a wrist shot from 17 feet on the right side. Brent Burns was called for the Wild's first penalty, and double minor, of the season at 3:06. Minnesota killed off the four-minute penalty, but it wasn't too long after that the Wild found themselves trailing for the first time. Former University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Phil Kessel got off a wrist from the right face off dot that went past Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom, playing in his 100th NHL game, to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The Wild got their first power play goal of the season, on their second chance, at 18:32 when 19 year-old Colton Gillies fed Eric Belanger, who was set up on the right side of the net, and fired a wrist shot past former Minnesota goalie Manny Fernandez to tie it 1-1.
Minnesota started the second period, just as they had finished the first, on the attack and charging the net. At 1:49 the Wild fired several shots which were stopped by Manny Fernandez, who finished the night with 22 saves, but it wasn't until 4:01 that Minnesota took the lead. Marc-Andre Bergeron fired a slap shot just a few feet in front of the blue line, that Fernandez got his pads on but didn't fully stop as it trickled thru him and past the goal line for the Wild's second power play goal of the night. At 10:22 as Minnesota brought the puck in the zone and was charging the net Andrew Brunette fed Antti Miettinen on a tic-tac-pass-shot that Fernendaz wasn't able to react to for the Wild's first even strength goal of the season. At 12:28 Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who was set up behind the net, fed Eric Belanger whose slapper gave the Wild a 4-1 lead, which they carried into the second intermission.
Boston cut the lead in half to 4-2 at 11:51 of the third period when Michael Rider skated into the zone and stopped by the boards and turned around just to the right face off circle, and fed Marc Savard whose wrist shot went over the blocker of Minnesota netminder Niklas Backstom. The Bruins also got a late goal, again from Savard, but it wasn't enough as the Wild won it 4-3.
Next up for Minnesota is a three-game road trip to Atlanta, Florida, and Tampa Bay starting on Tuesday, and the Wild's next home game is on Thursday October 23rd against the Buffalo Sabres at 7pm. On the other side, Boston will continue their season opening four-game road trip in Montreal on Wednesday. The Bruins home opener comes on Monday October 20th against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Post-Game Notes:
C Eric Belanger tallied his first two-goal game as a member of the Wild. It was his sixth career multi-goal, with the last coming March 2, 2007.
D Marc-Andre Bergeron became the first defenceman to score in his Wild debut since D Kurtis Foster scored twice on Nov. 19, 2005, against Nashville. Bergeron was held to just two points (1-1=2) in his last 26 games last season with the New York Islanders and LA Ducks.
LW Antti Miettinen scored his second goal in as many regular season games, having finished off the 2007-08 season with Dallas with a goal against San Jose on April 6.
RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard notched his 46th career multi-point game with two assists. The Wild improved to 40-5-1 all-time when Bouchard has at least two points.
The Wild improved to 7-0-1 all-time in home openers, with seven straight wins. Minnesota is 5-0-0 in home openers that also begin a season.
Wild D Kim Johnsson had an assist in his 599th career NHL game.
G Niklas Backstrom improved to 53-15-10 in his last 78 decisions, and 44-12-8 in his last 64. Saturday was his 100th NHL appearance overall. He has won seven straight regular season home games dating back to last season, and is 8-0-4 in his last 12 decisions since his last home regulation loss on March 4, 2008.
Dating back to last season, the Wild has won seven straight regular season home games.
Minnesota went 8-24-5 when allowing the first goal last season.
C Marc Savard scored twice for the Bruins, while former Minnesota Golden Gopher Phil Kessel scored Boston's first goal. G Manny Fernandez, the Wild's all-time leader with 113 wins in net, made 22 saves in his first game back at Xcel Energy Center since a July 1, 2007 trade.
3 Stars of the Game (Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey)
1- Minnesota - Eric Belanger (2 Goals)
2- Minnesota - Mikko Koivu (2 Assists)
3- Minnesota - Brent Burns
St. Paul, Mn -- The Minnesota Wild opened the regular season Saturday night at the Excel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul against the Boston Bruins, and in addition to the regular season opening festivities the Wild raised their first Northwest Division Title banner to the rafters.
Going into Saturday night, Minnesota ranked fifth in the NHL on opening night with a .643 win percentage (4-2-1 all-time) including 4-0-0 in season openers that are home openers. The only tie was the Wild's first ever regular season home game against Philadelphia on 10/11/00 (3-3), and Marian Gaborik is the only player who has remained with Minnesota from the roster that night. Also since the Wild's first NHL season in 2000-01, they rank fourth in the league in GAA (2.47). Only New Jersey (2.30), Detroit (2.36) and Dallas (2.37) have given up fewer goals per game in the last seven NHL campaigns. In that same span, Minnesota goaltenders have the highest Save Percentage of any NHL team (.915). The LA Ducks are second with a .912 SV %. Also since 2000-01, the Wild has the third-best home GAA of any NHL team (2.25). Only Dallas (2.24) and New Jersey (2.24) have given up fewer goals at home over the past seven seasons.
Six skaters made their regular season Wild debut Saturday. Right Wingers Owen Nolan, Craig Weller, and Antti Miettinen along with Defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron, Marek Zidlicky, and Tomas Mojzis. Left Winger Andrew Brunette, who played for Minnesota from 2001-04, officially started his second tour of duty with the Wild Saturday night. During his first tour, the 35 year old played in 245 games and registered 164 points (54-110=164) and has played in 453 consecutive NHL games, the most of any active player.
Also interesting to note is that Defenceman Erik Reitz is the only American on Minnesota's opening night roster. That is the fewest number of United States-born players of any NHL team.
For Boston this was their second game of the NHL season, as the Bruins defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 on Thursday in Denver, and looked the part as they won the opening face off and got their first shot on goal :11 in.
In a night and season of first's, Owen Nolan registered the Wild's first shot on goal of the season at 1:41 into the game, a wrist shot from 17 feet on the right side. Brent Burns was called for the Wild's first penalty, and double minor, of the season at 3:06. Minnesota killed off the four-minute penalty, but it wasn't too long after that the Wild found themselves trailing for the first time. Former University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Phil Kessel got off a wrist from the right face off dot that went past Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom, playing in his 100th NHL game, to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The Wild got their first power play goal of the season, on their second chance, at 18:32 when 19 year-old Colton Gillies fed Eric Belanger, who was set up on the right side of the net, and fired a wrist shot past former Minnesota goalie Manny Fernandez to tie it 1-1.
Minnesota started the second period, just as they had finished the first, on the attack and charging the net. At 1:49 the Wild fired several shots which were stopped by Manny Fernandez, who finished the night with 22 saves, but it wasn't until 4:01 that Minnesota took the lead. Marc-Andre Bergeron fired a slap shot just a few feet in front of the blue line, that Fernandez got his pads on but didn't fully stop as it trickled thru him and past the goal line for the Wild's second power play goal of the night. At 10:22 as Minnesota brought the puck in the zone and was charging the net Andrew Brunette fed Antti Miettinen on a tic-tac-pass-shot that Fernendaz wasn't able to react to for the Wild's first even strength goal of the season. At 12:28 Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who was set up behind the net, fed Eric Belanger whose slapper gave the Wild a 4-1 lead, which they carried into the second intermission.
Boston cut the lead in half to 4-2 at 11:51 of the third period when Michael Rider skated into the zone and stopped by the boards and turned around just to the right face off circle, and fed Marc Savard whose wrist shot went over the blocker of Minnesota netminder Niklas Backstom. The Bruins also got a late goal, again from Savard, but it wasn't enough as the Wild won it 4-3.
Next up for Minnesota is a three-game road trip to Atlanta, Florida, and Tampa Bay starting on Tuesday, and the Wild's next home game is on Thursday October 23rd against the Buffalo Sabres at 7pm. On the other side, Boston will continue their season opening four-game road trip in Montreal on Wednesday. The Bruins home opener comes on Monday October 20th against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Post-Game Notes:
C Eric Belanger tallied his first two-goal game as a member of the Wild. It was his sixth career multi-goal, with the last coming March 2, 2007.
D Marc-Andre Bergeron became the first defenceman to score in his Wild debut since D Kurtis Foster scored twice on Nov. 19, 2005, against Nashville. Bergeron was held to just two points (1-1=2) in his last 26 games last season with the New York Islanders and LA Ducks.
LW Antti Miettinen scored his second goal in as many regular season games, having finished off the 2007-08 season with Dallas with a goal against San Jose on April 6.
RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard notched his 46th career multi-point game with two assists. The Wild improved to 40-5-1 all-time when Bouchard has at least two points.
The Wild improved to 7-0-1 all-time in home openers, with seven straight wins. Minnesota is 5-0-0 in home openers that also begin a season.
Wild D Kim Johnsson had an assist in his 599th career NHL game.
G Niklas Backstrom improved to 53-15-10 in his last 78 decisions, and 44-12-8 in his last 64. Saturday was his 100th NHL appearance overall. He has won seven straight regular season home games dating back to last season, and is 8-0-4 in his last 12 decisions since his last home regulation loss on March 4, 2008.
Dating back to last season, the Wild has won seven straight regular season home games.
Minnesota went 8-24-5 when allowing the first goal last season.
C Marc Savard scored twice for the Bruins, while former Minnesota Golden Gopher Phil Kessel scored Boston's first goal. G Manny Fernandez, the Wild's all-time leader with 113 wins in net, made 22 saves in his first game back at Xcel Energy Center since a July 1, 2007 trade.
3 Stars of the Game (Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey)
1- Minnesota - Eric Belanger (2 Goals)
2- Minnesota - Mikko Koivu (2 Assists)
3- Minnesota - Brent Burns
Friday, October 3, 2008
October 3rd
Colonials Stun Gophers 3-2
Minneapolis, Mn -- The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Womens hockey team opened the regular season Friday night hosting the Robert Morris Colonials at Ridder Arena in the East/West Shootout.
While it was the first meeting between the two schools, it wasn't the first time Robert Morris faced a WCHA opponent . Last season the Colonials played Wisconsin, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State and Minnesota State, and posted a 2-5-1 record. Overall they finished the season 12-22-1 (2-11-0 CHA) under second year coach Nate Handrahan.
The Gophers played two exhibition games last weekend beating the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) 8-0, and losing in overtime to the United States Select Team 3-2. On the weekend, Minnesota had 15 players earn a point. Freshman Sarah Erickson had a goal and three assists, as well as scoring a goal during the shootout against Team USA. Kelli Blankenship scored a goal in each game and tallied an assist for three total points. Also earning multiple points over the exhibition games were Gigi Marvin and Brittany Francis with three points (one goal, two assists), Monique Lamoureux (2-0-2) and Emily West (1-1-2).
On the other side, Robert Morris opened their season last weekend with an exhibition game against the Guelph Gryphons winning 4-1, and getting two goals each from senior Megan Picinic and sophomore Sara O'Malley.
Minnesota had no problem from the first face-off getting into the zone and setting up their offense, the problem was they couldn't get any past Colonials goaltender Brianne McLaughlin. The sophomore made 18 saves in the opening period, and finished the game with 63.
Robert Morris converted their first power play chance of the game, when Senior Morgan Beikirch's wrist shot from the side of the net hit off Gophers netminder Kim Hanlon's back and into the net at 8:02 of the first period. The Colonials added another one at 17:46 from freshman Brianna Delaney and took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Minnesota started the second period with a barrage of shots on McLaughlin, but she once again turned all of them away. Robert Morris scored their second power play goal of the game at 5:46 off the stick of junior Jacki Gibson and led 3-0.
Having given up three goals on seven shots faced, Gophers head coach Brad Frost decided to make goaltending change and pulled Hanlon in favor of Sophomore Jenny Lura.
Minnesota finally got on the board as Freshman Anne Schleper scored her first career goal on the power play, a slapper from the left face off dot, at 6:42, to cut the deficit 3-1.
With just a few minutes left in the third, the Gophers called timeout, pulled their goalie, and with the extra attacker sophomore Emily West scored at 18:55 to cut the lead Colonials lead 3-2, and the Gophers scored the what looked like game tying goal with :41 seconds left but it was waived off due to a player in the crease, and despite being outshot 65-10 Robert Morris won it over third ranked Minnesota 3-2.
Face off for Saturday nights game is 7:07pm.
Game Note:
It was a homecoming of sort for Colonials Maria Stoa. The former Eden Prairie Eagle played in 31 games last year registering 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points. The sophomore centre finished the game a plus-1 with one shot on goal and was called for a hooking penalty at 18:10 of the third period.
GAME STATS:
Minnesota Team Summary
Player --------------------G A PIM Sh +/-
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 0 0 8 0
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 0 4 0
Laura May------------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Rachael Drazan------------- 0 1 2 7 -1
Kelli Blankenship------------ 0 0 0 2 0
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 0 0 3 0
Jocelyne Lamoure------------- 0 1 2 5 -1
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 0 2 3 0
Emily West-------------------1 0 2 5 0
Gili Marvin-------------------0 1 0 4 0
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 2 0 0
Monique Lamoureu -------- 0 1 6 11 -1
Anne Schleper--------------- 1 0 0 6 0
Dagney Willey---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Jen Schoullis----------------- 0 0 4 2 -1
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 0 0 0 0
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Goalie Stats
Minnesota
Kim Hanlon (Loss) 25:47 Min 3-GA 4-Sv
Jenny Lura 32:13 Min 0-GA 3-Sv
Empty Net 02:10 Min
Robert Morris
Brianne McLaughlin (Win) 60:00 Min 2-GA 63-Sv
Scoring
RMU 2 - 1 - 0 3
MN 0 - 1 - 1 2
Prd - Time - Team - Goal (Assists)
1 - 08:02 - RMU - PP- Morgan Beikrich (Megan Picinic)
1 - 17:46 - RMU - EV - Brianna Delaney (Unassisted)
2 - 05:47 - RMU - PP - Jacki Gibson (Kylie Rossler)
2 - 06:42 - MN - PP - Anne Schleper (Monique & Jocelyne Lamourex)
3- 18:55 - MN - EX - Emily West (Rachael Drazan, Gigi Marvin)
SOG
RMU 5 - 4 - 1 10
MN 18 - 23 - 24 65
Penalties--Minutes
RMU 11-22
MN 11-22
Power Plays
RMU 2-8 (4 SOG, Time 12:12)
MN 2-8 (25 SOG, Time 11:51)
Three Stars
1 - Robert Morris - Brianne McLaughlin (63 saves)
2 - Robert Morris - Morgan Beikirch (PP goal)
3 - Robert Morris - Brianna Delaney (goal)
Minneapolis, Mn -- The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Womens hockey team opened the regular season Friday night hosting the Robert Morris Colonials at Ridder Arena in the East/West Shootout.
While it was the first meeting between the two schools, it wasn't the first time Robert Morris faced a WCHA opponent . Last season the Colonials played Wisconsin, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State and Minnesota State, and posted a 2-5-1 record. Overall they finished the season 12-22-1 (2-11-0 CHA) under second year coach Nate Handrahan.
The Gophers played two exhibition games last weekend beating the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) 8-0, and losing in overtime to the United States Select Team 3-2. On the weekend, Minnesota had 15 players earn a point. Freshman Sarah Erickson had a goal and three assists, as well as scoring a goal during the shootout against Team USA. Kelli Blankenship scored a goal in each game and tallied an assist for three total points. Also earning multiple points over the exhibition games were Gigi Marvin and Brittany Francis with three points (one goal, two assists), Monique Lamoureux (2-0-2) and Emily West (1-1-2).
On the other side, Robert Morris opened their season last weekend with an exhibition game against the Guelph Gryphons winning 4-1, and getting two goals each from senior Megan Picinic and sophomore Sara O'Malley.
Minnesota had no problem from the first face-off getting into the zone and setting up their offense, the problem was they couldn't get any past Colonials goaltender Brianne McLaughlin. The sophomore made 18 saves in the opening period, and finished the game with 63.
Robert Morris converted their first power play chance of the game, when Senior Morgan Beikirch's wrist shot from the side of the net hit off Gophers netminder Kim Hanlon's back and into the net at 8:02 of the first period. The Colonials added another one at 17:46 from freshman Brianna Delaney and took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Minnesota started the second period with a barrage of shots on McLaughlin, but she once again turned all of them away. Robert Morris scored their second power play goal of the game at 5:46 off the stick of junior Jacki Gibson and led 3-0.
Having given up three goals on seven shots faced, Gophers head coach Brad Frost decided to make goaltending change and pulled Hanlon in favor of Sophomore Jenny Lura.
Minnesota finally got on the board as Freshman Anne Schleper scored her first career goal on the power play, a slapper from the left face off dot, at 6:42, to cut the deficit 3-1.
With just a few minutes left in the third, the Gophers called timeout, pulled their goalie, and with the extra attacker sophomore Emily West scored at 18:55 to cut the lead Colonials lead 3-2, and the Gophers scored the what looked like game tying goal with :41 seconds left but it was waived off due to a player in the crease, and despite being outshot 65-10 Robert Morris won it over third ranked Minnesota 3-2.
Face off for Saturday nights game is 7:07pm.
Game Note:
It was a homecoming of sort for Colonials Maria Stoa. The former Eden Prairie Eagle played in 31 games last year registering 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points. The sophomore centre finished the game a plus-1 with one shot on goal and was called for a hooking penalty at 18:10 of the third period.
GAME STATS:
Minnesota Team Summary
Player --------------------G A PIM Sh +/-
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 0 0 8 0
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 0 4 0
Laura May------------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Rachael Drazan------------- 0 1 2 7 -1
Kelli Blankenship------------ 0 0 0 2 0
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 0 0 3 0
Jocelyne Lamoure------------- 0 1 2 5 -1
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 0 2 3 0
Emily West-------------------1 0 2 5 0
Gili Marvin-------------------0 1 0 4 0
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 2 0 0
Monique Lamoureu -------- 0 1 6 11 -1
Anne Schleper--------------- 1 0 0 6 0
Dagney Willey---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Jen Schoullis----------------- 0 0 4 2 -1
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 0 0 0 0
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Goalie Stats
Minnesota
Kim Hanlon (Loss) 25:47 Min 3-GA 4-Sv
Jenny Lura 32:13 Min 0-GA 3-Sv
Empty Net 02:10 Min
Robert Morris
Brianne McLaughlin (Win) 60:00 Min 2-GA 63-Sv
Scoring
RMU 2 - 1 - 0 3
MN 0 - 1 - 1 2
Prd - Time - Team - Goal (Assists)
1 - 08:02 - RMU - PP- Morgan Beikrich (Megan Picinic)
1 - 17:46 - RMU - EV - Brianna Delaney (Unassisted)
2 - 05:47 - RMU - PP - Jacki Gibson (Kylie Rossler)
2 - 06:42 - MN - PP - Anne Schleper (Monique & Jocelyne Lamourex)
3- 18:55 - MN - EX - Emily West (Rachael Drazan, Gigi Marvin)
SOG
RMU 5 - 4 - 1 10
MN 18 - 23 - 24 65
Penalties--Minutes
RMU 11-22
MN 11-22
Power Plays
RMU 2-8 (4 SOG, Time 12:12)
MN 2-8 (25 SOG, Time 11:51)
Three Stars
1 - Robert Morris - Brianne McLaughlin (63 saves)
2 - Robert Morris - Morgan Beikirch (PP goal)
3 - Robert Morris - Brianna Delaney (goal)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
October 1st
Wild Herd Buffalo 3-2
St. Paul, Mn--The Minnesota Wild played their final home preseason Wednesday night hosting the Buffalo Sabres at the Excel Energy Center in Downtown Saint Paul. This was the second meeting of the two teams in the preseason, as the Wild beat the Sabres in the shootout Sunday 2-1 at HSBC Arena.
Minnesota is playing their second game in as many days after beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 Tuesday night on Stephane Veilleux's goal with :24 remaining in overtime. This by the way, is the only time the Wild will play back to back games on consecutive days at home this season, or at least until the playoffs, but that's getting way ahead of ourselves.
Already without defenceman Marek Zidlicky because of a sore ankle, the Wild lost Marc-Andre Bergeron in the second period Tuesday night after he broke his nose in a fight with Kyle Beach. It was Bergeron's third fight in three preseason games. Strangely, his only NHL fight came during his rookie year in 2002-03.
Wednesday marked the sixth all-time preseason meeting between the two teams and the last of which was a year ago in Grand Forks, N.D., a 2-1 Minnesota win. The Wild will host Buffalo during the regular season on October 23rd. It's interesting to note that it's been over two years since the Wild last played the Sabres at Excel Energy Center, and now the two clubs are playing each other twice in St. Paul in less then a month.
Ryan Miller got the start in net for Buffalo and stopped the first shot he faced, a Derek Boogaard back-hander, but wasn't able to do the same for the next few fired his way. Minnesota scored the games first goal 5:23 into the game off the stick of Antti Miettinen, got a power play goal from Owen Nolan at 11:34, and a short handed goal at 13:32 from Brent Burns, and were able to convert three straight shots on the Buffalo goaltender for goals. In all the Wild scored goals on three of their first four shots on goal and took a comfortable 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
The Sabres finally got on the board at 14:24 of the second period on a Daniel Paille breakaway goal, and even though they out shot Minnesota 22-12 through two periods found themselves trailing 3-1. It could have been much worse if not for the excellent play of Ryan Miller who stopped six Wild shots toward in goal in the period's closing minute.
At 7:38 of the third period Minnesota defenceman Martin Skoula's stick was deflected toward Wild goalie Josh Harding and caught him in the eye. The severity of the injury to Harding isn't yet known or if he'll miss the rest of the preseason as a result.
In the games closing minute the Wild had a goal waived off due to goaltender interference, and the Sabres Andrej Sekera scored a 6-on-4 goal with :02 seconds left, but it wasn't enough as Minnesota won it 3-2.
The win improves the Wild's preseason record to 4-1 and assures them of their 7th winning preseason in 8 years.
After a day off Thursday, the Wild will close out the preseason with back to back games in Columbus and Montreal on Friday and Saturday before opening the season Saturday October 11th at home against the Boston Bruins.
THREE STARS
(Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey)
1- Minnesota - Defenceman - Brent Burns
2- Minnesota - Centre - Mikko Koivu
3- Minnesota - Defenceman - John Scott
SCORING
Prd - Time - Team - Goal (Assists)
1 - 5:23 - Mn - EV - A. Miettinen (J.Sheppard, S.Veilleux)
1- 11:34 - Mn - PP - O.Nolan (P.Bouchard, E.Belanger)
1- 13:32 - Mn - SH - B.Burns (Unassisted)
2- 14:24 - Buf - EV - D.Paille (T.Lydman)
3 - 19:58 - Buf - PP - A.Sekera (A.Kotalik)
PENALTIES--MINUTES
Buffalo 8--16
Minnesota 8--16
POWER PLAYS
Buffalo 1-6 (11:18 min)
Minnesota 1-6 (9:01 min)
SHOTS ON GOAL
Buffalo 12--10--10 32
Minnesota 5--7--12 24
St. Paul, Mn--The Minnesota Wild played their final home preseason Wednesday night hosting the Buffalo Sabres at the Excel Energy Center in Downtown Saint Paul. This was the second meeting of the two teams in the preseason, as the Wild beat the Sabres in the shootout Sunday 2-1 at HSBC Arena.
Minnesota is playing their second game in as many days after beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 Tuesday night on Stephane Veilleux's goal with :24 remaining in overtime. This by the way, is the only time the Wild will play back to back games on consecutive days at home this season, or at least until the playoffs, but that's getting way ahead of ourselves.
Already without defenceman Marek Zidlicky because of a sore ankle, the Wild lost Marc-Andre Bergeron in the second period Tuesday night after he broke his nose in a fight with Kyle Beach. It was Bergeron's third fight in three preseason games. Strangely, his only NHL fight came during his rookie year in 2002-03.
Wednesday marked the sixth all-time preseason meeting between the two teams and the last of which was a year ago in Grand Forks, N.D., a 2-1 Minnesota win. The Wild will host Buffalo during the regular season on October 23rd. It's interesting to note that it's been over two years since the Wild last played the Sabres at Excel Energy Center, and now the two clubs are playing each other twice in St. Paul in less then a month.
Ryan Miller got the start in net for Buffalo and stopped the first shot he faced, a Derek Boogaard back-hander, but wasn't able to do the same for the next few fired his way. Minnesota scored the games first goal 5:23 into the game off the stick of Antti Miettinen, got a power play goal from Owen Nolan at 11:34, and a short handed goal at 13:32 from Brent Burns, and were able to convert three straight shots on the Buffalo goaltender for goals. In all the Wild scored goals on three of their first four shots on goal and took a comfortable 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
The Sabres finally got on the board at 14:24 of the second period on a Daniel Paille breakaway goal, and even though they out shot Minnesota 22-12 through two periods found themselves trailing 3-1. It could have been much worse if not for the excellent play of Ryan Miller who stopped six Wild shots toward in goal in the period's closing minute.
At 7:38 of the third period Minnesota defenceman Martin Skoula's stick was deflected toward Wild goalie Josh Harding and caught him in the eye. The severity of the injury to Harding isn't yet known or if he'll miss the rest of the preseason as a result.
In the games closing minute the Wild had a goal waived off due to goaltender interference, and the Sabres Andrej Sekera scored a 6-on-4 goal with :02 seconds left, but it wasn't enough as Minnesota won it 3-2.
The win improves the Wild's preseason record to 4-1 and assures them of their 7th winning preseason in 8 years.
After a day off Thursday, the Wild will close out the preseason with back to back games in Columbus and Montreal on Friday and Saturday before opening the season Saturday October 11th at home against the Boston Bruins.
THREE STARS
(Picked by Doug Johnson of Lets Play Hockey)
1- Minnesota - Defenceman - Brent Burns
2- Minnesota - Centre - Mikko Koivu
3- Minnesota - Defenceman - John Scott
SCORING
Prd - Time - Team - Goal (Assists)
1 - 5:23 - Mn - EV - A. Miettinen (J.Sheppard, S.Veilleux)
1- 11:34 - Mn - PP - O.Nolan (P.Bouchard, E.Belanger)
1- 13:32 - Mn - SH - B.Burns (Unassisted)
2- 14:24 - Buf - EV - D.Paille (T.Lydman)
3 - 19:58 - Buf - PP - A.Sekera (A.Kotalik)
PENALTIES--MINUTES
Buffalo 8--16
Minnesota 8--16
POWER PLAYS
Buffalo 1-6 (11:18 min)
Minnesota 1-6 (9:01 min)
SHOTS ON GOAL
Buffalo 12--10--10 32
Minnesota 5--7--12 24
Sunday, September 28, 2008
September 28th
Team USA Beats Gophers in OT
Minneapolis, Mn - The University of Minnesota Women's hockey team played their second and final exhibition game Sunday afternoon against the U.S. Women's National Team at Ridder Arena. The Gophers were coming off an 8-0 win over the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) back on Friday, and Team USA made the 227 mile drive from Bemidji where they defeated the Beaver's Saturday afternoon 7-0.
Since the 2006 Olympics the University of Minnesota has had 17 players within USA Hockey, including current Gophers Gili Marvin and Rachael Drazan who helped the Americans win a gold medal at the 2008 IIHF World Championships, along with Kelli Blankenship (Under-22), Sarah Erickson (Under-18), Alyssa Grogan (Under-18), Jocelyne and Monique Lamourex (Four Nations Cup, Under-18), Anne Schleper (Under-18, Under-22, Four Nations Cup), Kelly Seeler (Under-18), and Emily West (Under-22).
Also with Minnesota ties playing in the game for Team USA were former Gophers (and current assistant coach) Natalie Darwitz, Anya Miller, and Erica McKenzie, as were former University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Jenny Potter and Jessica Koizumi, and Minnesotan's Megan Van Beusekom from Loretto who played at Princeton alongside Erin Keys from St. Paul who played at Ohio State.
Even though this was an "Exhibition" game, it was apparent from the drop of the opening faceoff that neither team was playing it as such and wanted to win. Both teams seemed to feed off each others energy and the U.S National team scored the games first goal off a mistake. Erica McKenzie picked the Gophers pocket at neutral ice and staked into the zone turning around at the last second and scoring on the backhand past Kim Hanlon for 1-0 USA lead at 4:40. Just a few seconds later Minnesota committed back to back penalties and found themselves two players short. Senior Kim Hanlon stopped two barrages of shots, 6 in all, and the Gophers killed off the 5-3 powerplay which lasted 1:34. The Gophers tied it up at 9:03 when Kelli Blankenship and Brittany Francis charged the net and Francis fed Blankenship whose wrist shot went past USA's Megan Van Beusekom.
For the second game in a row, but not a hugh surprise, Minnesota Head Coach Brad Frost played all three of his goaltenders one period, as Kim Hanlon got the start, Alyssa Grogan for the second, and Jenny Lura for the third and overtime periods, as well as the shootout.
Both teams added a goal in the second, but not till the periods closing minutes. On a delayed penality Team USA's Anya Miller scored with the extra attacker on the ice to give the American's a brief 2-1 lead. Gopher Sophomore Left Wing Emily West tied it at 2-2 on a power play goal with just :37 left in the second period. It could have been much worse for Minnesota, as Team USA's Julie Chu missed a open net off a one time pass at 8:30 and had another shot hit off the post at 9:42.
The third period was even stevens with both the Gophers and Team USA each getting off 12 shots and killing off the others power play chances, three for Minnesota and 2 for the Americans.
Team USA's Erica McKenzie scored the winning goal 1:31 into overtime on the power play as Jenny Lura stopped her shot, but it managed to trickle through her pads past the goal line to give Team USA the victory.
Just like in their previous exhibition game Friday night, there was a shootout practiced, per new WCHA rules, and while it didn't count in the official stats Sarah Erickson converted for the Gophers while Erica McKenzie and Natalie Darwitz converted two of the three Team USA chances.
GAME STATS:
Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 0 15 1 -1 .
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 1 6 0 +1
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 2 4 0
Laura May--------------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Rachael Drazan------------- 0 1 2 0 -1
Kelli Blankenship------------ 1 0 0 6 +1
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 1 0 1 +1
Jocelyne Lamoure---------- 0 0 2 3 -1
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 0 0 1 -2
Emily West-------------------- 1 0 0 3 -2
Nikki Ludwigson------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Gili Marvin--------------------- 0 1 0 3 -1
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Monique Lamoureu -------- 0 0 0 0 0
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Dagney Willey---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Jen Schoullis----------------- 0 0 0 6 0
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 0 2 0 0
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Shots on Goal
USA 19-6-12-1 38
MN 6-12-12-0 30
Faceoffs Won
USA 38
MN 26
Penalties--Minutes
USA 11--33
MN 9--29
Power Plays
USA 1-8 (11 SOG, Time on PP 10:01)
MN 1-10 (10 SOG, Time on PP 15:06)
Goals:
USA 1-1-0-1 3
MN 1-1-0-0 2
Prd--Time--Team--Scored by (Assist/s)
1st--04:40--USA--EV Erica McKenzie (Unassisted)
1st--09:03--MN--EV Kelli Blankenship (Brittany Francis, Melanie Gagnon)
2nd--17:01--USA--EX Anya Miller (Erin Keys)
2nd--19:23--MN--PP Emily West (Rachael Drazan, Gigi Marvin)
OT--01:31--USA--PP Erica McKenzie (Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom)
Goalie Stats
U.S. National Team
Megan Van Beusekom (Win) 61:25 Min 2 GA 28 SV
EMPTY NET 00:06 Min
Minnesota
Kim Hanlon 20:00 Min 1 GA 18 SV
Alyssa Grogan 20:00 Min 1 GA 5 SV
Jenny Lura (Loss) 21:31 Min 1 GA 12 SV
Minneapolis, Mn - The University of Minnesota Women's hockey team played their second and final exhibition game Sunday afternoon against the U.S. Women's National Team at Ridder Arena. The Gophers were coming off an 8-0 win over the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) back on Friday, and Team USA made the 227 mile drive from Bemidji where they defeated the Beaver's Saturday afternoon 7-0.
Since the 2006 Olympics the University of Minnesota has had 17 players within USA Hockey, including current Gophers Gili Marvin and Rachael Drazan who helped the Americans win a gold medal at the 2008 IIHF World Championships, along with Kelli Blankenship (Under-22), Sarah Erickson (Under-18), Alyssa Grogan (Under-18), Jocelyne and Monique Lamourex (Four Nations Cup, Under-18), Anne Schleper (Under-18, Under-22, Four Nations Cup), Kelly Seeler (Under-18), and Emily West (Under-22).
Also with Minnesota ties playing in the game for Team USA were former Gophers (and current assistant coach) Natalie Darwitz, Anya Miller, and Erica McKenzie, as were former University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Jenny Potter and Jessica Koizumi, and Minnesotan's Megan Van Beusekom from Loretto who played at Princeton alongside Erin Keys from St. Paul who played at Ohio State.
Even though this was an "Exhibition" game, it was apparent from the drop of the opening faceoff that neither team was playing it as such and wanted to win. Both teams seemed to feed off each others energy and the U.S National team scored the games first goal off a mistake. Erica McKenzie picked the Gophers pocket at neutral ice and staked into the zone turning around at the last second and scoring on the backhand past Kim Hanlon for 1-0 USA lead at 4:40. Just a few seconds later Minnesota committed back to back penalties and found themselves two players short. Senior Kim Hanlon stopped two barrages of shots, 6 in all, and the Gophers killed off the 5-3 powerplay which lasted 1:34. The Gophers tied it up at 9:03 when Kelli Blankenship and Brittany Francis charged the net and Francis fed Blankenship whose wrist shot went past USA's Megan Van Beusekom.
For the second game in a row, but not a hugh surprise, Minnesota Head Coach Brad Frost played all three of his goaltenders one period, as Kim Hanlon got the start, Alyssa Grogan for the second, and Jenny Lura for the third and overtime periods, as well as the shootout.
Both teams added a goal in the second, but not till the periods closing minutes. On a delayed penality Team USA's Anya Miller scored with the extra attacker on the ice to give the American's a brief 2-1 lead. Gopher Sophomore Left Wing Emily West tied it at 2-2 on a power play goal with just :37 left in the second period. It could have been much worse for Minnesota, as Team USA's Julie Chu missed a open net off a one time pass at 8:30 and had another shot hit off the post at 9:42.
The third period was even stevens with both the Gophers and Team USA each getting off 12 shots and killing off the others power play chances, three for Minnesota and 2 for the Americans.
Team USA's Erica McKenzie scored the winning goal 1:31 into overtime on the power play as Jenny Lura stopped her shot, but it managed to trickle through her pads past the goal line to give Team USA the victory.
Just like in their previous exhibition game Friday night, there was a shootout practiced, per new WCHA rules, and while it didn't count in the official stats Sarah Erickson converted for the Gophers while Erica McKenzie and Natalie Darwitz converted two of the three Team USA chances.
GAME STATS:
Minnesota Team Summary
Player -------------------------- G A PIM Sh +/-
Kelly Seeler------------------- 0 0 15 1 -1 .
Melanie Gagnon------------- 0 1 6 0 +1
Sarah Erickson--------------- 0 0 2 4 0
Laura May--------------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Rachael Drazan------------- 0 1 2 0 -1
Kelli Blankenship------------ 1 0 0 6 +1
Jaimie Horton---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Brittany Francis-------------- 0 1 0 1 +1
Jocelyne Lamoure---------- 0 0 2 3 -1
Chelsey Jones--------------- 0 0 0 1 -2
Emily West-------------------- 1 0 0 3 -2
Nikki Ludwigson------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Gili Marvin--------------------- 0 1 0 3 -1
Alexandra Zebro------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Monique Lamoureu -------- 0 0 0 0 0
Anne Schleper--------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Dagney Willey---------------- 0 0 0 1 0
Jen Schoullis----------------- 0 0 0 6 0
Terra Rasmussen----------- 0 0 2 0 0
Michelle Maunu-------------- 0 0 0 0 0
Shots on Goal
USA 19-6-12-1 38
MN 6-12-12-0 30
Faceoffs Won
USA 38
MN 26
Penalties--Minutes
USA 11--33
MN 9--29
Power Plays
USA 1-8 (11 SOG, Time on PP 10:01)
MN 1-10 (10 SOG, Time on PP 15:06)
Goals:
USA 1-1-0-1 3
MN 1-1-0-0 2
Prd--Time--Team--Scored by (Assist/s)
1st--04:40--USA--EV Erica McKenzie (Unassisted)
1st--09:03--MN--EV Kelli Blankenship (Brittany Francis, Melanie Gagnon)
2nd--17:01--USA--EX Anya Miller (Erin Keys)
2nd--19:23--MN--PP Emily West (Rachael Drazan, Gigi Marvin)
OT--01:31--USA--PP Erica McKenzie (Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom)
Goalie Stats
U.S. National Team
Megan Van Beusekom (Win) 61:25 Min 2 GA 28 SV
EMPTY NET 00:06 Min
Minnesota
Kim Hanlon 20:00 Min 1 GA 18 SV
Alyssa Grogan 20:00 Min 1 GA 5 SV
Jenny Lura (Loss) 21:31 Min 1 GA 12 SV
Saturday, September 27, 2008
September 26th
After a 3+ month off season, Christophers Crease is back. Pete Waggoner and myself are still working hard (well mainly Pete) for several of the new changes to both TheStitch.us and MyFoxHockey.com along with a weekly radio hockey show starting in just a few weeks.
It felt kinda weird at the Wild's first preseason game on Wednesday against Columbus getting back into the swing of things. It didn't seem like five months had past since last being in the Al Shaver Press Box during the playoffs. It felt surreal in a sense, as did the Gopher Womens game tonight. Guess it goes to show that the media along with the players needs a training camp/few games to get back into the grove.
Be sure to check back as between the Crease, The Stitch, and My Fox Hockey we'll have plenty of Wild, Gopher Women, and Gopher Mens coverage for you, and thanks for your support.
GOPHERS DOWN SASKATCHEWAN 8-0
Minneapolis, Mn - The University of Minnesota Womens Hockey team opened the 2008-09 season Friday night at Ridder Arena with an exhibition against the University of Saskatchewan (Canada). The Gophers are coming off a 27-7-4 season (21-5-2, 2nd WCHA) in which they returned to the NCAA post-season after a year hiatus, helped in part to a 21-game unbeaten streak (19-0-2, November 18th to February 23rd), but lost a 3-2 heartbreaker in overtime to Wisconsin in the NCAA Regionals and just missed going to the Frozen Four.
Gone from last years roster are Whitney Graft, Erica McKenzie, Anya Miller, Jenelle Philipczyk and Bobbi Ross, who led the Gophers to two national championship games and 110 wins, and three of the top five scorers in McKenzie, Ross and Miller. Minnesota does return 15 letterwinners, including first-team All-WCHA selections Gigi Marvin and Rachael Drazan. Marvin, a second-team All-American, led the team in scoring with 54 points, which was good enough for 2nd in the Conference and eighth in the Nation. Drazen was second among defensewomen in scoring, and led them in plus/minus with a rating of +19.
The Gophers didn't waste any time once the puck dropped as they got their first offensive chance and shot on goal just :23 in, as Senior Gili Marvin's wrist shot went off the blocker of Saskatchewan's Vanessa Frederick. Junior Kelli Blankenship's fired a slapper from the left circle at 5:46 that hit off the pipe, and it wasn't until 6:44 that Minnesota's Gili Marvin scored the games first goal on the power play. The Gophers added another one about six minutes later off the stick of Freshman Monique Lamoureux, again on the power play. It wasn't until 15:15 in that Saskatchewan got their first shot on goal, and at periods end were trailing 18-1 in that department, as Minnesota established control early on and converted two of three power play chances on four total shots in the first period.
As is usually the case in most exhibition games the Gophers played all three of their goaltenders one period. Sophomore Jenny Lura for the first, Freshman Alyssa Grogan for the second, and Senior Kim Hanlon for the third.
Minnesota added three more goals in the second period from Junior Brittany Francis, Lamoureux's second, and Junior Kelli Blankenship, and got third period goals from Freshman Nikki Ludwigson, Sophomore Jen Schoullis, and Freshman Sarah Erickson.
New to WCHA play this year is the shootout. Just like in the NHL, if the score is tied at the end of regulation a five-minute overtime period is played, and if no one scores there will be a best of three shootout. Even though the game ended with the Gophers winning 8-0, the shootout was still practiced. For the record, Minnesota won it 2-1 with goals from Gili Marvin and Monique Lamaureux, and Chelsea Purcell converted for Saskatchewan.
The Gophers will play another exhibition game against the U.S. National Team at Ridder Arena on Sunday at 2pm, before opening the season October 3rd and 4th at home against Robert Morris.
GAME STATS
Shots on Goal:
SASK 1-6-3 10
MINN 18-13-16 47
Faceoffs Won
SASK 31
MINN 36
Penalties--Minutes
SASK 5--10
MINN 5--10
Power Plays
SASK 0-5 (2 SOG, Time 8:08)
MINN 2-5 (10 SOG, Time 7:24)
Goals:
SASK 0-0-0 0 (SO 1)
MINN 2-3-3 8 (SO 2)
Prd--Time--Team--Scored by (Assist/s)
1st--06:44--Minn-- PP Gili Marvin (Emily West)
1st--12:22--Minn-- PP Monique Lamoureux (Sarah Erickson, Anne Schleper)
2nd--10:31--Minn--EV Brittany Francis (Kelli Blankenship, Sarah Erickson)
2nd--16:20--Minn--EV Monique Lamoureux (Jocelyne Lamoure, Alexandra Zebro)
2nd--19:05--Minn--EV Kelli Blankenship (Brittany Francis, Sarah Erickson)
3rd--12:58--Minn--EV Nikki Ludwigson (Terra Rasmussen)
3rd--15:23--Minn--EV Jen Schoullis (Kelly Seeler)
3rd--18:22--Minn--SH Sarah Erickson (Gigi Marvin)
Goalie Stats:
Minnesota
Jenny Lura (Win) 20:00 Min 0 GA 1 SV
Alyssa Grogan 20:00 Min 0 GA 6 SV
Kim Hanlon 20:00 Min 0 GA 3 SV
Saskatchewan
Vanessa Frederick (Loss) 40:00 Min 5 GA 26 SV
Chauntal Armet 20:00 Min 3 GA 13 SV
It felt kinda weird at the Wild's first preseason game on Wednesday against Columbus getting back into the swing of things. It didn't seem like five months had past since last being in the Al Shaver Press Box during the playoffs. It felt surreal in a sense, as did the Gopher Womens game tonight. Guess it goes to show that the media along with the players needs a training camp/few games to get back into the grove.
Be sure to check back as between the Crease, The Stitch, and My Fox Hockey we'll have plenty of Wild, Gopher Women, and Gopher Mens coverage for you, and thanks for your support.
GOPHERS DOWN SASKATCHEWAN 8-0
Minneapolis, Mn - The University of Minnesota Womens Hockey team opened the 2008-09 season Friday night at Ridder Arena with an exhibition against the University of Saskatchewan (Canada). The Gophers are coming off a 27-7-4 season (21-5-2, 2nd WCHA) in which they returned to the NCAA post-season after a year hiatus, helped in part to a 21-game unbeaten streak (19-0-2, November 18th to February 23rd), but lost a 3-2 heartbreaker in overtime to Wisconsin in the NCAA Regionals and just missed going to the Frozen Four.
Gone from last years roster are Whitney Graft, Erica McKenzie, Anya Miller, Jenelle Philipczyk and Bobbi Ross, who led the Gophers to two national championship games and 110 wins, and three of the top five scorers in McKenzie, Ross and Miller. Minnesota does return 15 letterwinners, including first-team All-WCHA selections Gigi Marvin and Rachael Drazan. Marvin, a second-team All-American, led the team in scoring with 54 points, which was good enough for 2nd in the Conference and eighth in the Nation. Drazen was second among defensewomen in scoring, and led them in plus/minus with a rating of +19.
The Gophers didn't waste any time once the puck dropped as they got their first offensive chance and shot on goal just :23 in, as Senior Gili Marvin's wrist shot went off the blocker of Saskatchewan's Vanessa Frederick. Junior Kelli Blankenship's fired a slapper from the left circle at 5:46 that hit off the pipe, and it wasn't until 6:44 that Minnesota's Gili Marvin scored the games first goal on the power play. The Gophers added another one about six minutes later off the stick of Freshman Monique Lamoureux, again on the power play. It wasn't until 15:15 in that Saskatchewan got their first shot on goal, and at periods end were trailing 18-1 in that department, as Minnesota established control early on and converted two of three power play chances on four total shots in the first period.
As is usually the case in most exhibition games the Gophers played all three of their goaltenders one period. Sophomore Jenny Lura for the first, Freshman Alyssa Grogan for the second, and Senior Kim Hanlon for the third.
Minnesota added three more goals in the second period from Junior Brittany Francis, Lamoureux's second, and Junior Kelli Blankenship, and got third period goals from Freshman Nikki Ludwigson, Sophomore Jen Schoullis, and Freshman Sarah Erickson.
New to WCHA play this year is the shootout. Just like in the NHL, if the score is tied at the end of regulation a five-minute overtime period is played, and if no one scores there will be a best of three shootout. Even though the game ended with the Gophers winning 8-0, the shootout was still practiced. For the record, Minnesota won it 2-1 with goals from Gili Marvin and Monique Lamaureux, and Chelsea Purcell converted for Saskatchewan.
The Gophers will play another exhibition game against the U.S. National Team at Ridder Arena on Sunday at 2pm, before opening the season October 3rd and 4th at home against Robert Morris.
GAME STATS
Shots on Goal:
SASK 1-6-3 10
MINN 18-13-16 47
Faceoffs Won
SASK 31
MINN 36
Penalties--Minutes
SASK 5--10
MINN 5--10
Power Plays
SASK 0-5 (2 SOG, Time 8:08)
MINN 2-5 (10 SOG, Time 7:24)
Goals:
SASK 0-0-0 0 (SO 1)
MINN 2-3-3 8 (SO 2)
Prd--Time--Team--Scored by (Assist/s)
1st--06:44--Minn-- PP Gili Marvin (Emily West)
1st--12:22--Minn-- PP Monique Lamoureux (Sarah Erickson, Anne Schleper)
2nd--10:31--Minn--EV Brittany Francis (Kelli Blankenship, Sarah Erickson)
2nd--16:20--Minn--EV Monique Lamoureux (Jocelyne Lamoure, Alexandra Zebro)
2nd--19:05--Minn--EV Kelli Blankenship (Brittany Francis, Sarah Erickson)
3rd--12:58--Minn--EV Nikki Ludwigson (Terra Rasmussen)
3rd--15:23--Minn--EV Jen Schoullis (Kelly Seeler)
3rd--18:22--Minn--SH Sarah Erickson (Gigi Marvin)
Goalie Stats:
Minnesota
Jenny Lura (Win) 20:00 Min 0 GA 1 SV
Alyssa Grogan 20:00 Min 0 GA 6 SV
Kim Hanlon 20:00 Min 0 GA 3 SV
Saskatchewan
Vanessa Frederick (Loss) 40:00 Min 5 GA 26 SV
Chauntal Armet 20:00 Min 3 GA 13 SV
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
June 3rd
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT, AND STAY TUNED...
Both Pete Waggoner and myself would like to thank those of you for logging onto the Stitch.us and MyFoxHockey.com this past hockey season and also during the High School off-season and joining us during Wild Chatter.
For those of you wondering why the two sites along with "Christopher's Crease" haven't been updated the last few months since the Wild were eliminated in the first round and the Pioneers defeated the Hornets in the Championship game.....We've been working behind the scenes getting things in order for the start of the 2008-09 High School and Hockey seasons.
Look for some new changes come late September/Early October, and thanks for your support.
Both Pete Waggoner and myself would like to thank those of you for logging onto the Stitch.us and MyFoxHockey.com this past hockey season and also during the High School off-season and joining us during Wild Chatter.
For those of you wondering why the two sites along with "Christopher's Crease" haven't been updated the last few months since the Wild were eliminated in the first round and the Pioneers defeated the Hornets in the Championship game.....We've been working behind the scenes getting things in order for the start of the 2008-09 High School and Hockey seasons.
Look for some new changes come late September/Early October, and thanks for your support.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
May 6th
'HAWKS AGREE TO TERMS WITH NIEMI
The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms with Finnish goaltender Antti Niemi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Niemi posted a record of 26-6-14 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in 49 games last season with Pelicans of the Finnish Elite League.
"Antti is one of the top European goaltenders and had been courted by the majority of NHL teams," said Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon. "We like his size, athleticism, ability and the depth that this gives us at this position. We're thrilled to add a young talent like Niemi to our stable of prospects."
The 24-year-old Niemi notched a mark of 56-44-29 with a 2.71 GAA over the past three seasons with Pelicans.
LEAFS SIGN MITCHELL TO ENTRY LEVEL DEAL
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Dale Mitchell to a three-year entry level contract.
Mitchell was the Maple Leafs' first choice, 74th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
The 19-year-old skated in 15 playoff games for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League in 2008 with 16 points and scored 24 goals and 60 points in 63 regular season games.
Over the past three seasons with Oshawa, Mitchell has played in 195 games, collecting 183 points (87 goals, 96 assists) along with 223 penalty minutes.
Mitchell signed an amateur try-out contract with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies last week and will join the Marlies for the Calder Cup playoffs.
START TIMES AND COVERAGE ANNOUNCED FOR CONFERENCE FINALS
(Game--Date--Time--Home Team--Network)
Western Conference Final: #1 Detroit vs #5 Dallas
Game 1--Thur, May 8--630pm--@ Detroit--Versus
Game 2--Sat, May 10--6pm--@ Detroit--Versus
Game 3--Mon, May 12--7pm--@ Dallas--Versus
Game 4--Wed, May 14--7pm--@ Dallas--Versus
*Game 5--Sat, May 17--1230pm--@ Detroit--NBC
*Game 6--Mon, May 19--7pm--@ Dallas--Versus
*Game 7--Wed, May 21--630pm--@ Detroit--Versus
Eastern Conference Final: #2 Pittsburgh vs #6 Philadelphia
Game 1--Fri, May 9--630pm--@ Pittsburgh--Versus
Game 2--Sun, May 11--630pm--@ Pittsburgh--Versus
Game 3--Tues, May 13--630pm--@ Philadelphia--Versus
Game 4--Thur, May 15--630pm--@ Philadelphia--Versus
*Game 5--Sun, May 18--2pm--@ Pittsburgh--NBC
*Game 6--Tues, May 20--630pm--@Philadelphia--Versus
*Game 7--Thur, May 22--630pm--@Pittsburgh--Versus
*If Necessary
The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms with Finnish goaltender Antti Niemi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Niemi posted a record of 26-6-14 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in 49 games last season with Pelicans of the Finnish Elite League.
"Antti is one of the top European goaltenders and had been courted by the majority of NHL teams," said Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon. "We like his size, athleticism, ability and the depth that this gives us at this position. We're thrilled to add a young talent like Niemi to our stable of prospects."
The 24-year-old Niemi notched a mark of 56-44-29 with a 2.71 GAA over the past three seasons with Pelicans.
LEAFS SIGN MITCHELL TO ENTRY LEVEL DEAL
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Dale Mitchell to a three-year entry level contract.
Mitchell was the Maple Leafs' first choice, 74th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
The 19-year-old skated in 15 playoff games for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League in 2008 with 16 points and scored 24 goals and 60 points in 63 regular season games.
Over the past three seasons with Oshawa, Mitchell has played in 195 games, collecting 183 points (87 goals, 96 assists) along with 223 penalty minutes.
Mitchell signed an amateur try-out contract with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies last week and will join the Marlies for the Calder Cup playoffs.
START TIMES AND COVERAGE ANNOUNCED FOR CONFERENCE FINALS
(Game--Date--Time--Home Team--Network)
Western Conference Final: #1 Detroit vs #5 Dallas
Game 1--Thur, May 8--630pm--@ Detroit--Versus
Game 2--Sat, May 10--6pm--@ Detroit--Versus
Game 3--Mon, May 12--7pm--@ Dallas--Versus
Game 4--Wed, May 14--7pm--@ Dallas--Versus
*Game 5--Sat, May 17--1230pm--@ Detroit--NBC
*Game 6--Mon, May 19--7pm--@ Dallas--Versus
*Game 7--Wed, May 21--630pm--@ Detroit--Versus
Eastern Conference Final: #2 Pittsburgh vs #6 Philadelphia
Game 1--Fri, May 9--630pm--@ Pittsburgh--Versus
Game 2--Sun, May 11--630pm--@ Pittsburgh--Versus
Game 3--Tues, May 13--630pm--@ Philadelphia--Versus
Game 4--Thur, May 15--630pm--@ Philadelphia--Versus
*Game 5--Sun, May 18--2pm--@ Pittsburgh--NBC
*Game 6--Tues, May 20--630pm--@Philadelphia--Versus
*Game 7--Thur, May 22--630pm--@Pittsburgh--Versus
*If Necessary
Monday, May 5, 2008
May 5th
STANLEY CUP CONFERENCE FINALS START THURSDAY
The National Hockey League today announced the dates for the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Finals, which begin Thursday, May 8, when the Detroit Red Wings host the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. The Eastern Conference Final begins on Friday, May 9, when the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Starting times and national broadcast information will be announced later today. NBC and Versus are the national rightsholders in the United States.
Western Conference Final, #1 Detroit vs #5 Dallas
Game 1--Thurs, May 8--Dallas @ Detroit
Game 2--Sat, May 10--Dallas @ Detroit
Game 3--Mon, May 12--Detroit @ Dallas
Game 4--Wed, May 14--Detroit @ Dallas
*Game 5--Sat, May 17--Dallas @ Detroit
*Game 6--Mon, May 19--Detroit @ Dallas
*Game 7--Wed, May 21--Dallas @ Detroit
Eastern Conference Final, #2 Pittsburgh vs #6 Philadelphia
Game 1--Fri, May 9--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
Game 2--Sun, May 11--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
Game 3--Tue, May 13--Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
Game 4--Thur, May 15--Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
*Game 5--Sun, May 18--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
*Game 6--Tues, May 20--Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
*Game 7--Thur, May 22--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
*If necessary
OFF-SEASON DECISION FOR JAGR, RANGERS
It's possible that Jaromir Jagr has played his last game in a New York Rangers uniform, but not likely he's played his last in the NHL.
Jagr and the Rangers dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday afternoon, losing their Eastern Conference semifinal in five games and prompting plenty of questions about the Czech wingers future.
Jagr's contract carries over into next season only if he wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP, but that's pretty much an impossibility now that the Rangers have been eliminated.
When Jagr, a five-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL's scoring champion, becomes a free agent this summer, Rangers general manager Glen Sather must decide whether he wants to resign the 36-year-old winger.
"I don't think I'm going to retire from hockey," Jagr said after Sunday's loss. "I know I'm going to play somewhere. I don't know where.
Jagr played brilliantly down the stretch and throughout the playoffs — he still leads the post-season with 15 points — after leading the Rangers in scoring during the regular season with 71 points in 82 games, so there are bound to be plenty of suitors for his services.
But several of his teammates want him to return as the team's captain.
"He is obviously one of the best players in this game and if he wants to stay, it's great for us," goalie Henrik Lundqvist said.
As for Jagr, he is no rush to make a decision about his future.
"I'm just going to take time and see what happens. I'm not going to make any decision 30 minutes after we lost a hockey game," Jagr said. "It's going to be a long time."
The National Hockey League today announced the dates for the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Finals, which begin Thursday, May 8, when the Detroit Red Wings host the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. The Eastern Conference Final begins on Friday, May 9, when the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Starting times and national broadcast information will be announced later today. NBC and Versus are the national rightsholders in the United States.
Western Conference Final, #1 Detroit vs #5 Dallas
Game 1--Thurs, May 8--Dallas @ Detroit
Game 2--Sat, May 10--Dallas @ Detroit
Game 3--Mon, May 12--Detroit @ Dallas
Game 4--Wed, May 14--Detroit @ Dallas
*Game 5--Sat, May 17--Dallas @ Detroit
*Game 6--Mon, May 19--Detroit @ Dallas
*Game 7--Wed, May 21--Dallas @ Detroit
Eastern Conference Final, #2 Pittsburgh vs #6 Philadelphia
Game 1--Fri, May 9--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
Game 2--Sun, May 11--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
Game 3--Tue, May 13--Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
Game 4--Thur, May 15--Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
*Game 5--Sun, May 18--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
*Game 6--Tues, May 20--Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
*Game 7--Thur, May 22--Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
*If necessary
OFF-SEASON DECISION FOR JAGR, RANGERS
It's possible that Jaromir Jagr has played his last game in a New York Rangers uniform, but not likely he's played his last in the NHL.
Jagr and the Rangers dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday afternoon, losing their Eastern Conference semifinal in five games and prompting plenty of questions about the Czech wingers future.
Jagr's contract carries over into next season only if he wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP, but that's pretty much an impossibility now that the Rangers have been eliminated.
When Jagr, a five-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL's scoring champion, becomes a free agent this summer, Rangers general manager Glen Sather must decide whether he wants to resign the 36-year-old winger.
"I don't think I'm going to retire from hockey," Jagr said after Sunday's loss. "I know I'm going to play somewhere. I don't know where.
Jagr played brilliantly down the stretch and throughout the playoffs — he still leads the post-season with 15 points — after leading the Rangers in scoring during the regular season with 71 points in 82 games, so there are bound to be plenty of suitors for his services.
But several of his teammates want him to return as the team's captain.
"He is obviously one of the best players in this game and if he wants to stay, it's great for us," goalie Henrik Lundqvist said.
As for Jagr, he is no rush to make a decision about his future.
"I'm just going to take time and see what happens. I'm not going to make any decision 30 minutes after we lost a hockey game," Jagr said. "It's going to be a long time."
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
April 23th
CHARA, LIDSTROM PHANEUF NAMED NORRIS TROPHY FINALISTS
Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames are the three finalists for the Norris Trophy in 2007-08, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position".
Members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association submitted ballots for the Norris Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters announced as finalists.
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Chara, who as a member of the Ottawa Senators finished second to New Jersey’s Scott Niedermayer in 2004, ranked third among NHL players in average ice time per game (26:50) and set career highs for goals (17), assists (34) and points (51) in a season. He led the Bruins and ranked eighth in the League with 223 hits and improved his plus-minus rating from -21 in 2006-07 to a team-high +14 this season.
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Lidstrom, who has won the award five times, earned his ninth Norris nomination in the past 10 seasons. The Norris winner 2001 through 2003, plus 2006 and 2007, Lidstrom helped the Red Wings post the NHL's best defensive record in 2007-08 -- a League-low 2.16 goals per game. In 76 games, Lidstrom led all NHL defensemen in scoring with 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists), ranked second in the NHL to teammate Pavel Datsyuk in plus-minus (+40) and was fourth among all players in average ice time per game (26:43).
Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames
The 23-year-old Phaneuf, who finished third behind Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in 2006 Calder Trophy voting as the League's top rookie, is a first-time Norris finalist. Along with leading Flames defensemen in scoring with a career-high 60 points (17 goals, 43 assists) in 82 games, Phaneuf led the Flames in average ice time per game (26:25) and hits (194). He also ranked second on the club in shots (263) and third in power-play goals (10).
The Norris Trophy was presented to the National Hockey League in 1953-54 by the four children of the late James Norris, in memory of the former owner-president of the Detroit Red Wings.
TROTZ SAYS WITH PREDS
Barry Trotz isn't taking the fall for the Nashville Predators' first-round playoff exit.
The NHL team rewarded the only coach in its 10-year history, signing Trotz to a contract extension on Tuesday.
His assistants, associate Brent Peterson, assistant coach Peter Horachek and goaltending coach Mitch Korn, also extended their deals.
Trotz guided the Predators to the playoffs despite a chaotic season that included the threat of possible relocation, a botched sale, new owners and a long negotiation on their arena.
"Despite much adversity of the past year, the team never used that adversity as an excuse — a tribute to the efforts of the coaching staff," Predators general manager David Poile said in a statement. "I am pleased that this group will remain together in our pursuit of a Stanley Cup for Nashville."
The Predators also endured a poor start after a fire sale shed their roster of several top players.
Nashville finished with a 41-32-9 record and fell in six games to the top-seeded Red Wings in a Western Conference quarter-final.
Just making the playoffs this season was considered a success.
Last year, the team let top scorer Paul Kariya leave for St. Louis as a free agent, traded away goalie Tomas Vokoun along with captain Kimmo Timonen and forward Scott Hartnell. They managed to make up for the lost production, becoming only one of seven teams to make the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.
Trotz has coached all 738 regular-season games in the Predators' 10 years, going 324-308-106.
Nashville has yet to get past the first round of the post-season or win any road playoff games.
The contract extension keeps Trotz as the second most-tenured coach in the NHL with his current team. The only coach with a longer active tenure with one team is Buffalo's Lindy Ruff, who has been with the Sabres since 1997.
CANUCKS TO CHOOSE MIKE GILLIS AS NEW GM
According to the Canadian Press, Mike Gillis will be introduced as the new general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.
The 49-year-old replaces Dave Nonis, who was fired April 14.
Gillis has spent the past several years an an agent, representing players like Canucks captain Markus Naslund. He also played in the NHL from 1978-84, posting 33 goals and 76 points in 246 games with the Colorado Rockies and Boston Bruins.
Nonis was promoted to GM on May 6, 2004, replacing Brian Burke, and compiled a 130-91-25 record before being relieved of his duties.
After the Canucks set franchise higs for wins (49) and points (105) last season, they lost seven of their final eight games and missed the playoffs by three points this season.
NHL Stanley Cup Semi-Final Playoff Schedule
Eastern Conference
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs (6) Philadelphia Flyers
Thur. April 24, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal
Sat. April 26, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal -- Versus
Mon. April 28, 6pm -- Montreal @ Philadelphia -- Versus
Wed. April 30, 6pm -- Montreal @ Philadelphia -- Versus
*Sat. May 3, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal -- Versus
*Sun. May 4, 6pm -- Montreal @ Philadelphia -- Versus
*Tue. May 6, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (5) New York Rangers
Fri. April 25, 6pm -- NYR @ Pittsburgh -- Versus
Sun. April 27, 1pm -- NYR @ Pittsburgh -- NBC
Tue. April 29, 6pm -- Pittsburgh @ NYR -- Versus
Thur. April 29, 6pm -- Pittsburgh @ NYR -- Versus
*Sun. May 4, 1pm -- NYR @ Pittsburgh -- NBC
*Mon. May 5, 6pm -- Pittsburgh @ NYR -- Versus
*Wed. May 7, TBD -- NYR @ Pittsburgh
Western Conference
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs (6) Colorado Avalanche
Thur. April 24, 630pm -- Colorado @ Detroit -- Versus
Sat. April 26, 2pm -- Colorado @ Detroit -- NBC
Tue. April 29, 9pm -- Detroit @ Colorado -- Versus
Thur. May 1, 9pm -- Detroit @ Colorado -- Versus
*Sat. May 3, 12pm -- Colorado @ Detroit -- NBC
*Mon. May 5, 9pm -- Detroit @ Colorado -- Versus
*Wed. May 7, TBD -- Colorado @ Detroit
(2) San Jose vs (5) Dallas Stars
Fri. April 25, 9pm -- Dallas @ San Jose -- Versus
Sun. April 27, 8pm -- Dallas @ San Jose -- Versus
Tue. April 29, 630pm -- San Jose @ Dallas
Wed. April 30, 8pm -- San Jose @ Dallas -- Versus (JIP)
*Fri. May 2, 9pm -- Dallas @ San Jose -- Versus
*Sun. May 4, 8pm -- San Jose @ Dallas -- Versus
*Tue. May 6, 9pm -- Dallas @ San Jose
* = If Necessary
(JIP) = joined in progress
Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames are the three finalists for the Norris Trophy in 2007-08, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position".
Members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association submitted ballots for the Norris Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters announced as finalists.
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Chara, who as a member of the Ottawa Senators finished second to New Jersey’s Scott Niedermayer in 2004, ranked third among NHL players in average ice time per game (26:50) and set career highs for goals (17), assists (34) and points (51) in a season. He led the Bruins and ranked eighth in the League with 223 hits and improved his plus-minus rating from -21 in 2006-07 to a team-high +14 this season.
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Lidstrom, who has won the award five times, earned his ninth Norris nomination in the past 10 seasons. The Norris winner 2001 through 2003, plus 2006 and 2007, Lidstrom helped the Red Wings post the NHL's best defensive record in 2007-08 -- a League-low 2.16 goals per game. In 76 games, Lidstrom led all NHL defensemen in scoring with 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists), ranked second in the NHL to teammate Pavel Datsyuk in plus-minus (+40) and was fourth among all players in average ice time per game (26:43).
Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames
The 23-year-old Phaneuf, who finished third behind Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in 2006 Calder Trophy voting as the League's top rookie, is a first-time Norris finalist. Along with leading Flames defensemen in scoring with a career-high 60 points (17 goals, 43 assists) in 82 games, Phaneuf led the Flames in average ice time per game (26:25) and hits (194). He also ranked second on the club in shots (263) and third in power-play goals (10).
The Norris Trophy was presented to the National Hockey League in 1953-54 by the four children of the late James Norris, in memory of the former owner-president of the Detroit Red Wings.
TROTZ SAYS WITH PREDS
Barry Trotz isn't taking the fall for the Nashville Predators' first-round playoff exit.
The NHL team rewarded the only coach in its 10-year history, signing Trotz to a contract extension on Tuesday.
His assistants, associate Brent Peterson, assistant coach Peter Horachek and goaltending coach Mitch Korn, also extended their deals.
Trotz guided the Predators to the playoffs despite a chaotic season that included the threat of possible relocation, a botched sale, new owners and a long negotiation on their arena.
"Despite much adversity of the past year, the team never used that adversity as an excuse — a tribute to the efforts of the coaching staff," Predators general manager David Poile said in a statement. "I am pleased that this group will remain together in our pursuit of a Stanley Cup for Nashville."
The Predators also endured a poor start after a fire sale shed their roster of several top players.
Nashville finished with a 41-32-9 record and fell in six games to the top-seeded Red Wings in a Western Conference quarter-final.
Just making the playoffs this season was considered a success.
Last year, the team let top scorer Paul Kariya leave for St. Louis as a free agent, traded away goalie Tomas Vokoun along with captain Kimmo Timonen and forward Scott Hartnell. They managed to make up for the lost production, becoming only one of seven teams to make the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.
Trotz has coached all 738 regular-season games in the Predators' 10 years, going 324-308-106.
Nashville has yet to get past the first round of the post-season or win any road playoff games.
The contract extension keeps Trotz as the second most-tenured coach in the NHL with his current team. The only coach with a longer active tenure with one team is Buffalo's Lindy Ruff, who has been with the Sabres since 1997.
CANUCKS TO CHOOSE MIKE GILLIS AS NEW GM
According to the Canadian Press, Mike Gillis will be introduced as the new general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.
The 49-year-old replaces Dave Nonis, who was fired April 14.
Gillis has spent the past several years an an agent, representing players like Canucks captain Markus Naslund. He also played in the NHL from 1978-84, posting 33 goals and 76 points in 246 games with the Colorado Rockies and Boston Bruins.
Nonis was promoted to GM on May 6, 2004, replacing Brian Burke, and compiled a 130-91-25 record before being relieved of his duties.
After the Canucks set franchise higs for wins (49) and points (105) last season, they lost seven of their final eight games and missed the playoffs by three points this season.
NHL Stanley Cup Semi-Final Playoff Schedule
Eastern Conference
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs (6) Philadelphia Flyers
Thur. April 24, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal
Sat. April 26, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal -- Versus
Mon. April 28, 6pm -- Montreal @ Philadelphia -- Versus
Wed. April 30, 6pm -- Montreal @ Philadelphia -- Versus
*Sat. May 3, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal -- Versus
*Sun. May 4, 6pm -- Montreal @ Philadelphia -- Versus
*Tue. May 6, 6pm -- Philadelphia @ Montreal
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (5) New York Rangers
Fri. April 25, 6pm -- NYR @ Pittsburgh -- Versus
Sun. April 27, 1pm -- NYR @ Pittsburgh -- NBC
Tue. April 29, 6pm -- Pittsburgh @ NYR -- Versus
Thur. April 29, 6pm -- Pittsburgh @ NYR -- Versus
*Sun. May 4, 1pm -- NYR @ Pittsburgh -- NBC
*Mon. May 5, 6pm -- Pittsburgh @ NYR -- Versus
*Wed. May 7, TBD -- NYR @ Pittsburgh
Western Conference
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs (6) Colorado Avalanche
Thur. April 24, 630pm -- Colorado @ Detroit -- Versus
Sat. April 26, 2pm -- Colorado @ Detroit -- NBC
Tue. April 29, 9pm -- Detroit @ Colorado -- Versus
Thur. May 1, 9pm -- Detroit @ Colorado -- Versus
*Sat. May 3, 12pm -- Colorado @ Detroit -- NBC
*Mon. May 5, 9pm -- Detroit @ Colorado -- Versus
*Wed. May 7, TBD -- Colorado @ Detroit
(2) San Jose vs (5) Dallas Stars
Fri. April 25, 9pm -- Dallas @ San Jose -- Versus
Sun. April 27, 8pm -- Dallas @ San Jose -- Versus
Tue. April 29, 630pm -- San Jose @ Dallas
Wed. April 30, 8pm -- San Jose @ Dallas -- Versus (JIP)
*Fri. May 2, 9pm -- Dallas @ San Jose -- Versus
*Sun. May 4, 8pm -- San Jose @ Dallas -- Versus
*Tue. May 6, 9pm -- Dallas @ San Jose
* = If Necessary
(JIP) = joined in progress
Today in NHL History April 23th
1903: The New York Highlanders won their first major-league game with a 7-2 decision over the Washington Senators.
1919: Anticipating a poor season at the gate, the major leagues open a reduced 140-game season. Despite the lack of close races, attendance remains high all year and every club will show a profit.
1924: On WMAQ, Hal Totten, a Chicago Daily News play-by-play reporter, does a play-by-play radio report of the 12-1 Cubs' victory over the Cardinals. It will be the first broadcast of every Cub and White Sox home game of the season marking the first time a team's games have been on the airwaves on a regular basis.
1936: Carl Hubbell's first start of the season is a three-hitter against the Boston Bees. For the Giants ace, it is his 17th straight win, dating back to July 17 of 1935.
1939: Rookie Ted Williams went 4-for-5, including his first major-league home run, but the Boston Red Sox lost to Philadelphia, 12-8, at Fenway Park.
1946: Ed Head of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves at Ebbetts Field.
1952: Bob Cain of the Browns and Bob Feller of the Indians each pitch one hitters, with the Browns prevailing 1-0. This ties a major league record for the fewest hits by two teams in a game (since broken). Bobby Young hits a triple in the first inning and scores on an Al Rosen error as the Browns move into first place. The Indians only hit is a single by Luke Easter. it is the fourth time he's tossed a one-hitter against the Brownies.....Giant hurler Hoyt Wilhelm homers in his first major league at-bat. In his second big league appearance at the plate two days later he will hit a three-bagger, but during the next 21 years, covering a span 1070 games, the knuckle-balling hurler will never triple or homer again.
1954: At Sportsman's Park, Hank Aaron hits the first of his 755 major league home runs off Vic Raschi of St. Louis. The Braves win in fourteen innings 7-5.
1955: At Kansas City's Municipal Stadium, the White Sox tie a modern major league mark for most runs scored by a single team in a game as they drub the A's, 29-6. The Red Sox also scored 29 runs against Browns in 1950.
1958: Gil Hodges hits his 300th home run and Pee Wee Reese plays in his 2,000th game, but the Dodgers lose 7-6 to the Cubs.
1962: Jay Hook gives the New York Mets their first regular-season victory, a five-hit 9-1 win at Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is now 10-1 for the season, but the Bucs will lose 13 of their next 17 games.
1964: Houston's Ken Johnson becomes the first pitcher ever to lose a nine-inning no-hitter. Second baseman Nellie Fox's error allows the only run as Cincinnati wins 1-0.
1978: Reds second baseman Joe Morgan commits an error during a 2-1 win over the Giants, ending his major league record streak of 91 consecutive errorless games which began July 6, 1977.
1989: Nolan Ryan came within two outs of his sixth career no-hitter, losing it when Nelson Liriano ripled in the ninth inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1. Ryan finished with his 10th lifetime one-hitter.
1994: Orioles closer Lee Smith picks up his ninth save in Baltimore's 16th game to reach nine saves faster than anyone else in major league history.
1999: The St. Louis Cardinals crushed the Los Angeles Dodgers 12–5. Third baseman Fernando Tatis set a Major League record by hitting two grand slams in a single inning (the 3rd). He simultaneously set a record with eight RBIs in that inning. Dodger Pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first pitcher this century, and only the second ever, to surrender two grand slams in a single inning joining Bill Phillips of the 1890 Alleghenys.
2000: In a 10-7 victory over the Blue Jays, Yankees Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada become the first teammates to have each homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.....The Dodgers defat the Reds to notch their 1,000th victory over the Reds, baseball's oldest professional franchise. Since 1970, Los Angeles is the only National League franchise to play over .500 ball (120-115) in Cincinnati (Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field.
1919: Anticipating a poor season at the gate, the major leagues open a reduced 140-game season. Despite the lack of close races, attendance remains high all year and every club will show a profit.
1924: On WMAQ, Hal Totten, a Chicago Daily News play-by-play reporter, does a play-by-play radio report of the 12-1 Cubs' victory over the Cardinals. It will be the first broadcast of every Cub and White Sox home game of the season marking the first time a team's games have been on the airwaves on a regular basis.
1936: Carl Hubbell's first start of the season is a three-hitter against the Boston Bees. For the Giants ace, it is his 17th straight win, dating back to July 17 of 1935.
1939: Rookie Ted Williams went 4-for-5, including his first major-league home run, but the Boston Red Sox lost to Philadelphia, 12-8, at Fenway Park.
1946: Ed Head of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves at Ebbetts Field.
1952: Bob Cain of the Browns and Bob Feller of the Indians each pitch one hitters, with the Browns prevailing 1-0. This ties a major league record for the fewest hits by two teams in a game (since broken). Bobby Young hits a triple in the first inning and scores on an Al Rosen error as the Browns move into first place. The Indians only hit is a single by Luke Easter. it is the fourth time he's tossed a one-hitter against the Brownies.....Giant hurler Hoyt Wilhelm homers in his first major league at-bat. In his second big league appearance at the plate two days later he will hit a three-bagger, but during the next 21 years, covering a span 1070 games, the knuckle-balling hurler will never triple or homer again.
1954: At Sportsman's Park, Hank Aaron hits the first of his 755 major league home runs off Vic Raschi of St. Louis. The Braves win in fourteen innings 7-5.
1955: At Kansas City's Municipal Stadium, the White Sox tie a modern major league mark for most runs scored by a single team in a game as they drub the A's, 29-6. The Red Sox also scored 29 runs against Browns in 1950.
1958: Gil Hodges hits his 300th home run and Pee Wee Reese plays in his 2,000th game, but the Dodgers lose 7-6 to the Cubs.
1962: Jay Hook gives the New York Mets their first regular-season victory, a five-hit 9-1 win at Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is now 10-1 for the season, but the Bucs will lose 13 of their next 17 games.
1964: Houston's Ken Johnson becomes the first pitcher ever to lose a nine-inning no-hitter. Second baseman Nellie Fox's error allows the only run as Cincinnati wins 1-0.
1978: Reds second baseman Joe Morgan commits an error during a 2-1 win over the Giants, ending his major league record streak of 91 consecutive errorless games which began July 6, 1977.
1989: Nolan Ryan came within two outs of his sixth career no-hitter, losing it when Nelson Liriano ripled in the ninth inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1. Ryan finished with his 10th lifetime one-hitter.
1994: Orioles closer Lee Smith picks up his ninth save in Baltimore's 16th game to reach nine saves faster than anyone else in major league history.
1999: The St. Louis Cardinals crushed the Los Angeles Dodgers 12–5. Third baseman Fernando Tatis set a Major League record by hitting two grand slams in a single inning (the 3rd). He simultaneously set a record with eight RBIs in that inning. Dodger Pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first pitcher this century, and only the second ever, to surrender two grand slams in a single inning joining Bill Phillips of the 1890 Alleghenys.
2000: In a 10-7 victory over the Blue Jays, Yankees Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada become the first teammates to have each homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.....The Dodgers defat the Reds to notch their 1,000th victory over the Reds, baseball's oldest professional franchise. Since 1970, Los Angeles is the only National League franchise to play over .500 ball (120-115) in Cincinnati (Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field.
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