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Archive for May, 2011

True North set to buy Thrashers, relocate to Winnipeg

May 31

Posted by Chris in News | 4 Comments

The wishes of fans in Winnipeg have finally come true – the NHL is coming back to the city that lost their beloved Jets 15 years ago.

The True North Sports and Entertainment group announced today that they have completed a deal to buy the Atlanta Thrashers with the intention of moving the team to Winnipeg. The deal comes after weeks of speculation that True North would buy the Thrashers and move them back to Winnipeg, a city that previously housed the Jets before the team uprooted and became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996.

“Hockey in Canada has never been stronger,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “We get to be back in a place we wish had not left in 1996.”

The deal is still pending on final approval by the NHL Board of Governors, something expected to happen June 21 at the board meeting in New York. The Board requires 75 percent approval to transfer ownership of the team while only a majority approval is required for the move to take place.

“We don’t like to move a franchise,” Bettman said. “We’re not happy about leaving Atlanta. This was never about whether Winnipeg is better than Atlanta. The decision to come to Winnipeg was only made after the Atlanta ownership made the decision they were going to sell even if it meant the team was going to leave Atlanta.”

True North acquired the Thrashers for $170 million, including a $60 million relocation fee. The team will play out of the MTS Centre, where the Manitoba Moose of the AHL currently play, which has a seating capacity of just over 15,000.

“About 15 years ago, it was like someone stuck a fist through your rib cage and pulled out your heart. The fan support in this city was phenomenal,” said Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz of the relocation of the Jets to Phoenix. “The only reason the Jets left here was simply because of the fact we did not have a proper facility and the powers that be at the time could not get their act together to build a new arena.”

The new Winnipeg team – it remains to be seen if they will resurrect the Jets moniker – will be the seventh Canadian-based NHL franchise next season. Speculation continues on how the relocation will effect division and league alignment, but with schedules already in place for next season the belief is that the new Winnipeg franchise will occupy the spot held by the Thrashers in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference for the upcoming season and then the league will realign for 2012-13. Rumors have even arisen that the league will completely restructure to a Northern Conference and a Southern Conference to make the travel equal between all teams.

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Bruins Accept the Wales Trophy With Class

May 29

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

The Boston Bruins have taken the Eastern Conference Championship with a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The accomplishment was rewarded with the Wales Trophy by Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly to the Bruins’ Captain Zdeno Chara. Sticking with superstition, the Captain decided not to touch the trophy. However, the Bruins did receive the trophy with class as instead of the typical picture of the Captain, the presenter and the trophy, the whole Bruins’ team huddled around and took a picture. Whomever thought of doing such a thing is a class act guy. Below you can see the video.

A little tidbit about the Wales Trophy: The trophy in full is known as The Prince of Wales Trophy for Prince Edward, Prince of Wales. Prince Edward was the first son of King George V. Edward later became King after the death of his father, only to abdicate 326 days later. He was succeeded by his younger brother Albert, commonly known as Bertie by his family. Albert became King George VI. His daughter later succeeded him and to be known as Queen Elizabeth II who is still the Queen today.

If this all rings a bell then perhaps modern cinema has caught your eye. Both the Prince of Wales (Edward) and King George VI (Albert) were the focus in the movie A King’s Speech. If however, you have not seen the movie, I would suggest you do so. And in doing so, make note that you now know who the Wales Trophy is named after.

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Conference Finals- Day 12

May 29

Posted by Eddie in News | No Comments

Tampa Bay vs. Boston- It was one of the best games of this playoff season. Boston and Tampa Bay went back and forth for over 52minutes until Nathan Horton got the only puck past Dwayne Roloson at 12:27 of the third period.

Entering the game, Roloson was 7-0 when facing elimination, and his first career loss when facing elimination came by the slimmest of margins. He made 37 saves on 38 shots while Bruins backstop Tim Thomas earned the shutout when he made 24 saves. After Boston scored, Tampa Bay tried to force the puck into the Boston zone but costly unforced errors such as offsides doomed them in the third period.

The game was so hard-fought by both squads that players sacrificed their faces in order to stop the puck from ending up on the wrong stick. Steven Stamkos fell victim to a deflected shot that hit him in the visor, cutting his nose and sending him off the ice for 10 minutes. He returned to the game wearing a full-facial cage. Had he not been wearing a visor, his nose or his eyes would have been as bloody as Old Faithful. Tampa Bay’s season may end, but with the team Steve Yzerman put together, they could be a rising force in the competitive Eastern Conference for years to come.

Below you can see where Stamkos was hit in the visor by a puck, to return 10 minutes later and continue to play.

By virtue of winning the Prince of Wales Trophy, Boston will travel to Vancouver to take on the Canucks for the Stanley Cup Wednesday night.

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HWB Takes Top Seed

May 28

Posted by EB in News | 1 Comment

In the not to distant caliber of the NHL, roller hockey team HockeyWorldBlog.com has taken the top seed of their league in last game’s win over the Ducks.

HockeyWorldBlog.com have had a rough couple of last few seasons. Last year in particular, the team started with a 2-0 record only to fall to a 5-5-1 overall. The mediocre season was followed by an early exit in the playoffs in a tough 3-2 loss.

“It was tough, there’s no doubt about it” General Manager Hank McCoy said. “We knew we had to change it up in the off-season.”

They had a complete overhaul, team name and all. Previously Non Rostered Skaters, the team donned the official name of their sponsor Hockey World Blog.

“It was either that or relocate to Winnipeg” defensman Chris said. “I don’t know about you, but Winnipeg sure is cold in the winter; and that doesn’t do wonders for my tan.”

Team name change was not the only thing altered as the team saw some moves to the roster.

“We needed to change it up. We opted to convert Eddie from forward to goalie and add a few free agents in Turtle and Mitch.” GM Hank commented. “This did come at a loss of a few good guys, but ultimately we had to do something different.”

HWB also made a trade for forward Koenig. The details of the trade were never publicized, but rumors have it that the trade required a bag of pucks and a gift card to Taco Bell.

The roster changes seemed to be working as the team has taken over first place after last night’s win. HWB came into the contest holding down third place with a 4-2-0 record. The competition, the Ducks, were holding onto the top seed at 5-1-0.

“We knew coming into the game that we were the underdogs. The Ducks have some solid players” forward EB said. “But we believe in ourselves, something we lacked last season.”

The puck drop was at 7:40 PM and the game got underway. Jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first, EB faked right and ended up putting a backhand pass the goalie.

“Evan made a great dish from behind the back of the net to the slot. From there I read what the goalie was doing and went with instinct.” EB said about the play. “Lately I’ve been mixing it up and going for more backhands. I haven’t really done many in the past, but the Blue Ice Nano Pro seems to be working in my favor.”

The second period saw HWB jumping out to a 2-0 lead as Evan put one off the goalie from the goal line in the corner. One fan said it looked like a Thomas Vanek bank shot.

The lead was cut in half as the Ducks put their first on the board only three minutes later. HWB was upset however as they felt the goalie was interfered with as the shooter ran into Eddie causing the puck to go in. The referee on the play saw a different angle and assessed a 2 minute roughing call to Koenig for levling the shooter.

Third period turned out to be the period to watch as 2:45 in Mitch put one by the Duck’s goalie. In a bad case of Déjà vu, Mitch barreled into the goalie only miliseconds after the puck crossed the goal line.

Two minutes after HWB went up 3-1, the Ducks once again inched their way within one with a low blister.

The next play was followed by some rough stuff as after Eddie made a big save, the Duck’s forward got a late slash in at the puck. Evan did not take to kindly to the matter and lifted and threw the forward to the ground. After the player got up, a high stick seemed to catch Evan which set him into a furry. After pleading his case in a not so nice tone from the penalty box, Evan was assessed a double minor for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct. The play also saw the Ducks taking a 2 minute high stick and a 2 minute power play after the coincidental penalties were over. The Ducks capitalized after a shot from the slot was kicked out to the stick of a Duck’s forward who buried it.

“There was not much we could do on that one” GM Hank said. “Chris was clearing out the front of the net and swapped off at the right moment to put pressure on the shooter. The rebound seemed to go straight to their stick and no goalie could have stopped that.”

With the game tied at three a piece, and time winding down, HockeyWorldBlog.com defensman Brendan ripped one from the high circle low glove side pass the goalie and into the back of the net. With three minutes left on the clock, the fans were standing on their feet for the end of this one.

“That was a big goal for us. I knew if we got the lead I would do my best to keep the puck out of the net,” Eddie said. “They started running a diamond offense scheme in the second period that allowed them to get wide open scoring opportunities late in the game but I managed to keep the puck out of the net.”

HWB were able to hold off the Duck’s as the time was nearing 90 seconds left. A faceoff in HWB’s zone gave the Ducks an opportunity to call timeout and set up a game plan as well as get the extra attacker on the rink.

“Once the puck was dropped it seemed like time slowed as they seemed to get off four or five quality scoring opportunities. To be honest, I do not know how the puck didn’t go in.” EB said as he viewed the game from the bench.

“There was a point there where they got a good shot off but it was blocked right in front. Guys were everywhere; on the ground, falling, going for the puck that was at the top of the goal crease.” Chris said. “The only one who was standing was Matt who looked like Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots out there. Every time a Duck would go for the puck which was at Matt’s feet, Matt just knocked them down, punching with one glove and then the other.”

Fans seemed to be laughing at the spectacle that took place in the last 15 seconds of the game. The media asked Matt about the play after the game only to Matt saying nothing but showing an ear-to-ear grin.

HockeyWorldBlog.com ended up holding the Duck’s off, pinning the puck in a corner scrum as the final few ticks finished.

The team plays again next week and looks to hold onto their number 1 seed against a 3-2-2 CT. HWB will be missing defenseman Curlew as well as forward EB. A call to their minor league team will hopefully result in a few call-ups.

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George Parros Goes Green

May 26

Posted by EB in Media | No Comments

The playoffs this year have been everything intense and suspenseful. Take a break for a moment and watch tough guy George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks talk up the natural gas Honda. Sure his hands have beat a few guys down, but that smile was made for commercials.

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Conference Finals – Day 10

May 25

Posted by Matt in News | No Comments

Vancouver CanucksVancouver vs. San Jose – Thanks to a fortunate bounce for the Vancouver Canucks, they are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994. Kevin Bieksa scored the game winning goal for the Canucks in double overtime after the puck took an odd bounce off the glass. Sharks players had no idea where the puck was at, as it bounced straight to Bieksa. He fired a shot from the point which easily beat a clueless Antti Niemi, and the celebrations in Vancouver began.

Alexandre Burrows started the scoring for Vancouver midway through the first period. That goal was his seventh of the post-season, and was assisted by Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Patrick Marleau evened things up midway through the second on a power-play goal. Despite not showing up until game seven of the Detroit series, Marleau tallied points in each game against Vancouver, including five goals.

Just twenty-four seconds into the third period, Devin Setoguchi scored his first goal of the conference finals to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead. Vancouver waited until the last minute, but managed to tie the game with fourteen seconds left when Ryan Kesler redirected a point shot past Niemi. The goal was Kesler’s seventh of the post-season, and now gives him goals in back-to-back games and 18 post-season points.

The overtime periods were controlled mostly by the Sharks, and they outshot Vancouver 16-9 in that time. However, Vancouver got the one that counted as the Bieksa winner came at 10:18 of the double overtime period.

Roberto Luongo played out of his mind in net, and had one of his best games of the post-season making 54 saves. Both Sedins continued to shine in this series, Henrik had two assists in the final game and Daniel had one assist. Henrik Sedin now leads all playoff scorers with 21 points (2 goals and 19 assists).

Vancouver will now go on to face the winner of the Boston/Tampa Bay series, which Boston currently leads 3-2. Regardless of who advances, you have to like Vancouver’s chances in the finals. The Sedin twins will be hard to stop, and if you manage to, Ryan Kesler will be there to make you pay. After a rough start against Chicago, this team has really found their stride.

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Nathan Horton is Boston Bruins’ MVP

May 25

Posted by EB in Soap Box | 3 Comments

The Boston Bruins are up 3 games to 2 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. What seems to be in a good place having home ice advantage if needed for game 7, the Bruins could not have made it this far without the help of forward Nathan Horton.

Horton’s career started in the 2003-2004 season with the not-so-solid Florida Panthers. While there, Horton immediately stepped onto the ice and had a positive impact. In his rookie season, Nathan had 14 goals and 8 assists for 22 points in 55 games. In the six seasons with the Panthers, Horton had 5 seasons above the 45 point mark and a career high of 62 points in back-to-back seasons from 2006-2008.

Today, Horton calls Boston home after competing in his first of three year deal. In the 80 games played, Horton had a balanced year with 26 goals and 27 assists for a total of 53 points. Overall, he had a +29 rating, the best of any Bruins offense.

The real news is that this is Horton’s first NHL playoffs. Yes, his first, the time where the men are separated form the boys. Quite common, new players experiencing the faster, tougher playoff tempo fall short of their fan’s and team’s expectations. Horton however has risen to the occasion with 7 goals and 7 assists in the 16 games played, 2 of which were game winning goals. His stats are second to only Patrice Bergeron.

At 6’2″ and 229 pounds, Horton is a physical and dominating presence. Factor in that he is coming into his peak years at 25 years old, now is better than any for the Bruins to have him don the black and yellow B. With his big presence and stats to back it up, Horton is by far the Boston Bruins MVP.

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CCM V08 Ice to Inline Conversion

May 24

Posted by Matt in Gear | 8 Comments

CCM V08 Ice to Inline Conversion

CCM V08 Ice to Inline Conversion

For the longest time, I have wanted to do an ice to inline conversion. While I have spent more of my hockey playing days on an inline rink, I’ve never had a pair of skates that were up to par. However, for playing ice hockey, I’ve always made an effort to get the best pair of skates for my foot, regardless of brand. A few weeks ago I continued this process, and picked up a brand new pair of CCM U+ 10 skates. After making the change, this left me with a good pair of CCM V08 skates which were still perfectly usable.

For inline skates, I had been skating on a pair of Tour Cobalt 8.8′s. Prior to that, I had an old pair of missions that always did the trick. I liked the Hum’er frame on the Tour skates, and liked the boots along with it, but began noticing a breakdown in the boot after about 18 months of usage. I continued to push on with the broken down skates, despite my knowing that they weren’t good anymore. The boot finally got to the point where I could pinch each side together over the tongue using just my thumb and index finger, with only a simple squeeze.

I desperately needed something new, and could no longer take my Cobalt’s anymore. But rather than buying a new pair of inline skates now, especially with the new lines coming out in the fall (Bauer APXR and Mission T10), I wanted to make due with a temporary solution.

From here, my CCM V08 skates came back into play. Despite being used for a year or so, they maintained relatively good stiffness. So, I packed up my old Tour skates, and my CCM’s and took them to my local hockey store for a conversion. For only $40, I figured I could not go wrong. Less than 24 hours later, my new old skates were complete and looked great. But not only that, since the CCM boot was so light, I shaved a ton of weight off from my previous setup. These converted skates are actually the lightest pair of inline skates I have ever had.

Tonight will be my first skate on the new setup, and I’m pretty pumped to try them out. While it certainly is not my dream skate (a pair of One95′s or Total One’s with the Hum’er chassis), it will do for now. The old skates were so broken down that I was much slower, got exhausted much more quickly, and had a pretty good pain in both ankles following every skate. We’ll see how these converted skates work out for me, and I’ll be sure to follow-up with a review. In the meantime, let me know what you think of my ice to inline conversion.

Conference Finals – Day 9

May 24

Posted by Matt in News | No Comments

Brad MarchandBoston vs. Tampa Bay – The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t waste much time getting on the scoresheet in game five. Simon Gagne made it back-to-back games with a goal, as he gave the Bolts the early lead just 1:09 into the first period. The goal was his fifth of the post-season, and was assisted by Steve Stamkos. That would be the only scoring in the first, and unfortunately for the Lightning, their only goal of the game.

Early in the second period, Nathan Horton tied the game 1-1 with his seventh of the playoffs. He is having an outstanding post-season, and is proving to be a great off-season pick-up for the Bruins. At 15:56 of the period, it was Boston’s Brad Marchand with his sixth post-season goal, giving the Bruins a huge 2-1 lead late in the second.

The third period was good for the Bolts, as the continued to press and make an offensive charge. However, the Bruins Tim Thomas would not let anything by him as he made incredible save after incredible save on the potent Lightning attack. His 33 saves on the night include this highlight reel stop with his stick. That save, on what should have been the game-tying goal, basically secured victory for the Bruins. Thomas lead them the rest of the way, and Rich Peverly potted an empty net goal with 13 seconds left to seal the deal. Bruins now have a 3-2 series lead as they head back to Tampa Bay.

Tim Thomas has been exceptional all series long, including his shutout and the amazing save from last night. At age 37, he is a prime example of what a great goaltender in the NHL should be. Thomas has had some great help, however, and that includes the play of Patrice Bergeron. Sidelined with a concussion not long ago, Bergeron has come back to score two goals and pick up an assist in his past two games. His 15 post-season points lead all Bruins skaters.

In the opposing net, we saw Mike Smith get the start over Dwayne Roloson. This may come as a surprise to some, but Smith definitely earned it. He played outstanding in the come from behind win in game four. Roloson, who is a veteran of the game, should have no problem shaking off the cobwebs  if he is to get another start for the Lightning. Smith, however, continued his great play in game five. He only let in two goals, but only faced 19 shots in the loss. It will be interesting to see who gets the start in game six, back in Tampa, and whether or not the Bolts can lengthen the series.

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Brian Rafalski rumored to announce retirement from NHL

May 23

Posted by Chris in News | 1 Comment

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski plans to officially announce his retirement from the NHL after 11 seasons according to reports circulating around the internet.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland stated that Rafalski hasn’t notified him of his intentions yet and the Wings are awaiting confirmation on the decision. Neither Rafalski nor his agent have officially announced the decision yet.

”I think (retirement) is an option for him,” Holland said. “He wanted to take some time (to decide).”

Rafalski has one more year left on his contract at a cap hit of $6 million.

As one of the better puck moving defenseman in the NHL, Rafalski initially struggled to break into the league after playing four seasons for the University of Wisconsin – Madison. After several seasons in Europe, Rafalski signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils in 1999. He went on to win two Stanley Cup championships during his seven year tenure with the Devils. In 2007, the Michigan native decided to sign with the Detroit Red Wings where he won a third Stanley Cup championship in 2008. Throughout his NHL career, Rafalski appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals a total of five times and also played for Team USA at the Olympics three times, the last time being in 2010 where he serves as an alternate captain and led all defenseman in the tournament with four goals and four assists en route to a silver medal and was named to the tournament All-Star team. Rafalski scored 40 or more points in 10 of his 11 NHL seasons and reached the 50-point plateau four times.

While Rafalski has been hampered by injuries over the past few seasons, including a lingering knee injury that kept Rafalski from skating on off days during this year’s playoffs, the decision for Rafalski to retire comes as a big surprise  – especially since so much speculation focused on whether teammate Nicklas Lidstrom would retire this offseason. If Rafalski does in fact announce his retirement as reports are indicating, the Red Wings will have some major decisions to make in terms of replacing Rafalski on the blue line. Luckily there are plenty of available high-end unrestricted free agent defenseman this offseason. Players like Ed Jovanovski, Andrei Markov, Thomas Kaberle, Kevin Bieksa or James Wisniewski could all be potential targets for the Red Wings. However, the Wings could also choose to put money toward a high-end free agent forward, such as Brad Richards, and opt to bring up their younger defenseman or sign a more cost-effective defenseman.