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02.25.05
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Josh
Olson was traded to the Hershey Bears from the San Antonio
Rampage on Friday.
Matt
Hendricks was promoted from the Florida Everblades of
the ECHL to Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. He
scored a powerplay goal on Friday night but the Springfield
Falcons.
With
two days left in the auction of AHL All Star warm-up
jersey's Buffalo's Dustin Brown's sweater had garnered
the highest bid of $1,400. Brandon Bochenski's
jersey had a high bid of $ 626 and Zach Parise's sweater
was going for $751. Keith Ballard had 26 bids
and was listed at $297.95.
Parise
was rated one of the top-10 prospects by The Hockey
News in their "Future Watch" edition.
Ken
Gernander remains out of the lineup for the Hartford
Wolf Pack.
Troy
Riddle returned to the lineup for the Worcester IceCats a
week ago after missing several games with a rib/oblique
injury. He has three points since his return.
Matt
Koalska missed four games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers
with a leg injury but scored a powerplay goal in his
first game back, his second goal of the season. Assistant
Captain Ryan Kraft will miss the remainder of the season
for the Tigers after having surgery to repair and injured
ankle.
Casey
Hankinson scored an assist on the game winning goal
as the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks topped the
Houston Aeros 3-2 on Friday. Hankinson and his
wife Holli are expecting their first child any day now.
Jason
Notermann, playing for the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, is
second in the ECHL in power-play goals with 12.
Teammate Dan Peters leads the Bullies defense with 11
points (4g-7a) and a +6 rating through 22 road games.
Chris Kenady is second in the ECHL in goals scored with
27 for the Long Beach Ice Dogs. 7 of those goals
were game winners.
Matt
Ulwelling has two game-winning goals in his last three
games for the Columbia Inferno.
David
Lundbohm got his first professional hat trick in his
Florida Everblades' 8-0 win at Texas on Friday.
NHL
Agents will meet with NHLPA officials this week regarding
the cancellation of the NHL season.
Mark
Hartigan is still bitter that he lost to Jordan Leopold
for the Hobey Baker award. In a recent profile
on theahl.com Hartigan said "it was kind of weird
that I beat him out for WCHA Player of the Year, but
I couldnt take the Hobey. Minnesota won it all
that year and I think that contributes to the voting,"
said Hartigan, who obviously forgot that voting for
the award was completed before the National tournament.
Hartigan also expressed bitterness about being released
from Atlanta because Bob Hartley, the new coach, didn't
like him. Hartigan reportedly was released not
for his playing but his off-ice problems that included
missing practices and an arrest for assaulting a bouncer
at a Minneapolis bar. He now plays with former
Husky teammates Joe Motzko and Duvie Westc ott with
the Syracuse Crunch, the farm team of the Columbus Blue
Jackets.
Quick Quotes:
"I am
extremely frustrated that the NHL season was canceled.
As an agent, we only get paid when our NHL clients get
paid. So no season means no revenue from NHL players.
We will aggressively pursue European options for
our NHL clients to ensure job security if there
is no NHL in 2005-06. We will continue to serve our
AHL and European clients as usual."
- NHL Agent Ben Hankinson
after Gary Bettman's announcement on Wednesday.
It
was an exciting season. I really didnt
know I broke that many records until after the year
was over and people were telling me about it.
- Mark Hartigan on his
record-breaking year with the St. Cloud State Huskies
in 2001 when he scored 37 goals and 38 assists in 42
games He set marks that season for goals
in a period (4), most goals in a season (37), most assists
in a season (t-38), most points in a season (75), most
short-handed goals in a season (6) along with setting
the record for career goals with 86. (theahl.com)
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02.18.05
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Click
here for Exclusives 02.22
Phil Kessel likely to pass on University of Minnesota
Gopher Great Brian Bonin Retires
Former
Wild forward Jeremy Stevenson has been suspended 5 games
by the ECHL. He was asessed a match penalty for
intent to injure on February 13th in a game that pitted
his South Carolina Stingrays against the Mississippi
Sea Wolves. Stevenson has scored 12 points in
18 games for the South Carolina Stingrays this season
and the team is 16-2 with him in the lineup.
Former
Badger goalie Kirk Daubenspeck has impressed in the
AHL since his recall from the South Carolina StingRays
of the ECHL. In three starts with the Pirates,
Daubenspeck is 3-0-0 with a 0.59 goals against average
and a .980 save percentage. He recorded back-to-back
shutouts in his first two starts. (Courier & Post)
Adam
Berkhoel made 28 saves to post his first professional
shutout as the Gwinnett Gladiators beat the Florida
Everblades 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Keith
Ballard capped a 10-game road trip with an appearance
in the AHL All Star Game. He flew to Manchester
with former Gopher Todd Richards, now an assistant coach
with the Milwaukee Admirals. Richards was the
assistant coach for the AHL Canadian All Star Team.
Ballard participated in the Skills Competition on Sunday.
In the Rapid Fire competition, he scored on three two
out of five shots against Jason LaBarbara. He
also scored in the Breakaway Relay again against LaBarbara.
In the All Star Game on Monday Ballard unfortunately
tipped a puck into his own net giving the Canadians
their first goal of the game. The Canadians scored
four unanswered goals until PlanetUSA rallied.
Brandon Bochenski scored late in the third period to
close the score to 3-4 and Wild prospect Mikko Koivu
tied the game in the third period. Ballard finished
the game -2. Zach Parise earned an assist for
PlanetUS A. Former Wild defenseman Travis Roche, now
with the Chicago Wolves, played for the Canadian All
Stars and finished -1.
Former
Gopher defenseman Travis Richards has missed several
games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, for whom he is
an assistant captain. Richards is suffering severe
back problems and may not be able to play in his home
state when the Griffins face off against Wild affiliate
Houston Aeros at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul March
7th.
Matt
Koalska remains day-to-day for the Bridgeport Sound
Tigers after injury his leg/knee just before the All
Star break.
While
Thomas Vanek failed in his attempt to help Austria secure
a berth to the 2006 Olympics the Latvian National team
did win their pool and will compete in Turin in a year.
It is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Sergei Zholtok,
who would have been on that team had he survived.
Look for the Latvian team to honor Zholtok at the World
Championships this spring.
Dwayne
Roloson is returning to Finland to finish out his contract.
His team would not release him from the terms of his
deal but Roloson only has to complete the 11-game schedule
before returning home.
Wild
defenseman Andrei Zyuzin has signed to play with Severstal
Cherepovets in Russia for the remainder of the
season.
Former
Wild goaltender Jamie McLennan has signed to play in
Great Britain with the Guilfdord Flames.
Quick Quotes:
"He's
been a big part of our success. Honestly, he's been
a huge part of it. His work ethic in practice
is what really impresses me. He does all the little
things during practice and during a game that help a
team win. When he goes into the corner it's his puck.
I bet 95 percent of the time, when the puck goes into
the corners or is along the boards he wins the puck.
You don't play more than 150 games in the NHL without
being able to do that well. He is starting to score,
too. I didn't expect him to come in here and score a
ton of goals, but he's starting to find his scoring
touch"
- South Carolina StingRays
head coach Jason Fitzsimmons on former Wild forward
Jeremy Stevenson. (Post & Courier)
"What's
been so confusing to me is how (the owners) state that
they can't trust one another. If they can't, why should
we trust them?"
- Brendan Morrison on
the NHL owners demand for a salary cap because they
exercise fiscal restraint with salaries. (Vancouver
Province).
"The
notion that the NHL can solve its problems with a salary
cap is ludicrous. It will increase profits for the best
teams, but it doesn't make the small-market teams viable.
The disparity of revenues across the league is greater
than in any other sport and there's no salary solution
to that problem. Some teams have 25 times (the local
TV revenue) of other teams. The only solution is to
get rid of the small-market teams or subsidize them.
Even if salaries were zero dollars per year, I question
if some small-market teams would have enough revenue
to cover costs. Blowing up the league is the likely
outcome because the big-market teams don't see revenue
sharing as being in their best interest,"
- Roger Noll, an
economics professor at Stanford University who studies
sports business issues on the NHL lockout. (CP)
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02.16.05
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Exclusive
- Paul Martin
responds to NHL cancellation
 At
12:00 central time today Commissioner Gary Bettman announced
the official cancellation of the 2004-2005 National
Hockey League season. Quick Facts spoke with New
Jersey Devils forward and former Gopher All-American
defenseman Paul Martin about the announcement.
"I'm bummed and confused," said Martin.
Martin spent the weekend celebrating old times with
his former Gopher teammates who were home for the AHL
All Star break. "As soon as (my agent) Ben
(Hankinson) called Tuesday and said 'start packing'
I was a bit worried about how I would feel."
"But I went on the Source (the NHLPA website
for players) last night and saw both proposals and letters
from Gary (Bettman) and Bob (Goodenow), I didn't think
there would be a deal," said a disappointed Martin.
"I don't know what to think," he said.
"All of a sudden we accept a cap. . . a lot
of the players were upset we were negotiating a cap."
Paul said he really doesn't know what he is going
to do now. He still skates three times a week
with other locked out players in the Twin Cities and
said he still expects to continue doing so, including
a scheduled skate at Blake School tonight.
Martin played several games in Fribourg Switzerland
this winter but returned home in the hope that the season
would resume and is not expected to sign another
contract overseas to join other NHL players in
exodus to Europe.
He is, however, looking forward to representing
USA Hockey at the IIHF World Championships in Austria
this spring, "something to break things up, some
fun playing again."
The Elk River native surprised some by playing in the
National Hockey League the entire season as a rookie
last year. However, his contract with the Devils
was only for a term of two years, meaning he will need
to renegotiate a new deal before he can play in the
NHL again. Something that becomes more complicated
without a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and without
a second season on which to base his performance.
"For me I was lucky, it was only one year, but
I got to play in the World Cup too, so I had
something. Others guys don't have that."
Confused was how Martin described his response to today's
announcement and his current feelings on the cancellation
of the NHL season. "I don't know what is
going to happen now," he said.
02.13.05
The
professional Gopher carnage continues this season:
After missing more than a month of his rookie
year with a fractured foot Bridgeport Sound Tigers center
Matt Koalska suffered a hyperextended knee on Friday
and left the game in the third period against the Hershey
Bears. The extent of the injury is unknown but
the All Star break, which begins Sunday, will allow
Koalska more time to heal.
Troy Riddle also remains out of the Worcester
IceCats lineup with a rib/oblique injury and is listed
as day-today.
Grant Potulny is home in the Twin Cities for
the All Star break and is recovering from sports hernia
surgery. He has been off the active roster for
the Binghamton Senators since the start of 2005.
Travis Richards, Grand Rapids Griffin with the
longest tenure, remains out with an ankle injury.
* Ken Gernander remains out for the Hartford Wolf Pack
with a rib injury.
Both John Pohl and Jeff Taffe are expected to
miss the remainder of the season after both underwent
surgery, Pohl for an injured thumb, Taffe for facial
reconstruction for fractured orbital/cheek bones.
Alexander
Daigle of the Minnesota Wild has signed with Forward
Morges in the Swiss NLA.
Madison's
Joe Frederick was waived by the Las Vegas Wranglers
of the ECHL.
Long
Beach IceDogs forward Chris Kenady is tied for third
in the ECHL in goals scored with 22.
Jake
Taylor recently went down to the ECHL for a brief cup
of coffee and was recalled to the Hartford Wolf Pack.
He was assisgned to Charlotte on the 7th and recalled
on the 10th.
Erik
Westrum has scored 10 goals for the Utah Grizzlies this
season that's tied for tops on the team. Two of
those goals have been shorthanded tallies.
Bryce
Lampman returned to the lineup for the Hartford Wolf
Pack after missing a week due to injury.
Thomas
Vanek was held scoreless in the Austrian's 4-0 victory
against Khazakstan on Friday but was named Austria's
player of the game in their 1-1 tie against France and
NHL goaltender Cristobel Huet Friday. Vanek scored
on a 4-on-3 powerplay. Wolf Pack defenseman Thomas
Pock found Vanek with a cross-ice pass and Vanek chipped
it in to tie the game. Austria outshot France
33-16. With a win the Austrians would have
secured a berth to the 2006 Olympics in Turin.
As it is Vanek and the Austrians need a least a tie
when they face the Ukraine Sunday.
Sebastien
Bordeleau, who played for the Wild in 2001, welcomed
newborn daughter Jade on Tuesday and arrived in Austria
for the Olympic qualifying tournament Thursday.
Bordeleau has been playing in Switzerland for league
champion SC Bern and is competing with Team France.
Darby
Hendrickson wore an NHLPA fleece vest during his appearance
on Kent Hrbek Outdoors, perhaps a subtle hint of the
NHL labor dispute. Hendrickson took a three-day
flying fishing trip to Canada with his fellow Minnesota
native Hrbek, for the show.
Former
North Star Richard Matvichuk who spends his summers
at his lake home in Northern Minnesota has signed to
play with Slovan Bratislava.
Paul
Martin was originally scheduled to participate in the
Wild sponsored Pond Hockey tournament on Lake Phalen
but the event was rescheduled to this weekend due
to weather. Martin previously commited with former
teammate Jordan Leopold to participate in the Minnesota
Vikings' Arctic Blast snowmobile event for the same
weekend.
Quick
Facts predicted last year that once it was realized
that there would not be an NHL season this year more
NHL players would sign in the UHL and ECHL once jobs
in Europe were taken. The trio of Red Wings, former
Derian Hatcher, Chris Chelios and Kris Draper all have
signed with the Motor City Mechanics of the UHL and
were joined later by Bryan Smolinski and Sean Avery.
Quick Facts Exclusive:
When
Keith Ballard participates in the AHL All Star Classic
February 13th & 14th in Manchester New Hampshire
he will do so coming off a 10-day road trip with the
Utah Grizzlies.
Ballard was told of his All Star nod by his coach at
the morning skate on Friday. "I couldn't belive
it," he said. Though excited and honored
Ballard did admit he did have other plans. "I
was kind of looking forward to a break," he said.
Teammate and friend Barry Tallackson was thrilled to
see his former teammates be honored, despite the fact
they left the program before the end of their eligibility.
"Its a very big accomplishment for them.
They're always going to be Gophers and were always going
to be a family. and to see them do well is something
to be proud of. "
When asked if he had any regrets they weren't with the
team this year Tallackson said, "They're
having a great career where they are. We would
love to have them here, they were the top two player
si nthe year last year, it would be nice to hae them
back no doubt, but we're very proud of them and what
they're doing now. They're going to have very
long careers."
Ballard will head straight to Manchester following his
game at Bradley Center against Milwaukee on Saturday
the 12th. He believes that he will likely participate
in the accuracy shooting and/or perhaps the breakaway
relay in the Skills Competition, shying away from the
hardest shot contest because of the required stick.
Before learning that he wouldn't be playing in the All
Star game, Ballard was looking forward to the chance
to play with former teammate Thomas Vanek on the PlanetWorld
Stars team. "It will be fun to play with
Thomas again," said Ballard.
When asked his thoughts on his former players being
named to the AHL All Star team in their rookie year
Gophers head coach Don Lucia said, "they'd look
good in our lineup wouldn't they?" I just wish
they were WCHA All Stars, instead of American League
All Stars, this year."
"(Keith) wouldn't be a -22 for us" Lucia added.
Ballard will stop by the Twin Cities for a brief visit
following the All Star showcase before heading back
to join the Grizzlies for a game later in the week.
Quick Quotes:
"He's
a relentless worker; he's tireless, He's a good
all-around team guy, and his attitude is always great.
You can't always measure these things in statistics."
- Philadelphia Phantoms
Head Coach John Stevens on Edina's Ben Stafford. (Philadelphia
Inquirer)
"What's
been so confusing to me is how (the owners) state that
they can't trust one another. If they can't, why should
we trust them?"
- Brendan Morrison on
the NHL owners demand for a salary cap because they
exercise fiscal restraint with salaries. (Vancouver
Province).
We
were very disappointed last year when we were relegated
from the top pool of the world championship in Czech
Republic. Now we have a chance to do something good
here. It has been a crazy last couple of days. But my
wife and the kid are okay and we won, what more can
you ask for?
- Former Wild forward
Sebastien Bordeleau on paying for Team France in the
Olympic qualifying tournament. (IIHF.com)
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02.01.05
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Exclusive:
Quick Facts has learned that highly touted defensive
prospect Jamie McBain has committed to the University
of Wisconsin Badgers. That moves defensemen
Tyson Dowzak, David Fischer and Trent Palm up
the list of possible Gopher defensive recruits to join
Kyle Okposo, Mike Carman, Erik Johnson and Peter Mueller
in the University of Minnesota Men's Hockey freshman
class of 2006.
The
wagering between players participating in this weekend's
charity games in Duluth and Coleraine reportedly was
escalating by day before the games on Saturday and Sunday.
Paul Martin, Jordan Leopold, Andrew Brunette were amongst
those playing against Philip Kuba, Mark Parrish and
Chris McAlpine. The 'friendly' stakes were raised,
as were the incidents of trash talking, prior to the
weekend battles. While the games were a vehicle
to raise funds for the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association
and the Coleraine/Greenway Association, the players
ensured that golf games, cash and other incentives upped
the ante to contribute to increased competition between
the players and more exciting hockey for those that
purchased tickets to the events. The games were
a nice opportunity for the locked out NHL skaters to
play for something, anything, rather than just continuing
to skate on their own or in group practice or scrimmage
situations.
The
Great Lakes Classic Pond Hockey tournament was held
this weekend in Superior, Minn. The tournament featured
teams skating 4-on-4 without a goalie on a rink
slightly smaller than regulation and with a goal six
feet long by 10 inches high with games were
divided into two 15 minute halves and no checking was
allowed. Tournament officials turned teams away
after the field reached capacity last week. The
tournament champion qualifies for the 2006 World Pond
Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock. (some info from
DuluthNews)
Troy
Riddle returned to the Worcester Ice Cats lineup Friday
night after missing a few games with a rib injury.
He scored a goal and assist as the Cats beat the Lowell
LockMonsters but reportedly reaggravated the rib injury
and missed Saturday's game.
Troy
Riddle is out of the Worcester IceCats game with a rib
injury. He isn't expected to be out long.
Adam
Hauser may have been snubbed for an All Star nod - the
game is being held on his Monarchs' home ice in Manchester
- but he's still playing like an All Star. Friday
night Hauser held the Portland Pirates to one goal,
stopping 22 shots as the Monarchs got the 4-1 victory.
Bryce
Lampman had a goal and Jake Taylor added an assist as
the Hartford Wolf Pack topped the Hershey Bears 6-1
Saturday night. Taylor was +3 in the game.
Unfortunately Ken Gernander suffered a concussion during
the game and is out of the lineup.
Going
into the weekend the Bridgeport Sound Tigers were
ranked 27th in scoring in the AHL, only the Utah Grizzlies
were more snakebitten for scoring. They
certainly found their scoring touch this weekend.
The Tigers fell to the Providence Bruins Friday despite
scoring 5 goals, losing to Boston's affiliate 7-5. Bridgeport
beat the Philadelphia Phantoms 2-1 Saturday night. They
Tigers went down 3 goals to the Hartford Wolf Pack
on Sunday in front of a record crowd at Harbor Yard
Arena but finally found their scoring touch, thanks
in part to good specialty team play against the league's
best penalty kill. Bridgeport came back to
win the game 6-4 in a game that took more than three
hours to play. Following the game fomer members
of the New York Islanders put on a charity exhibition
game in front of the more than 8,000 fans who also had
an opportunity to have pictures taken with the Stanley
Cup which also w as in attendance. It was the
largest crowd ever to see a hockey game at Harbor Yard
Arena.
Former
UW goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck was recalled from the
ECHL to play for the Portland Pirates last week.
Sunday he got the chance to play and backstopped Washington
Capitals' affiliate to a 5-0 shutout over the Worcester
IceCats. The IceCats have never won a game the
former Badger has played against them.
Ben
Stafford scored two goals and BJ Abel added a third
as the Philadelphia Phantoms topped the Hartford Wolf
Pack 5-1 Friday night.
Thomas
Vanek had an assist as the Rochester Americans shut
out the Binghamton Senators 5-0 Friday night.
Vanek also earned an assist on the game-winner for the
Amerks Saturday night as they beat the Hamilton Bulldogs
3-2. The weekend victories helped the Americans
to a share of the league lead with the Manchester Monarchs.
The
Utah Grizzlies edged the Manitoba Moose in a shootout
Friday night 3-2. Keith Ballard, the sole Grizzly
named to the PlanetWorld All Star team had an assist
in regulation and Erik Westrum had a goal giving Utah
a 2-1 lead but Manitoba tied the score with less than
a minute remaining with the goaltender pulled for an
extra attacker. Westrum and Ballard both missed
in the shootout but Aaron Gavey and Fred Sjostrom scored
to give the Grizzlied the win. It was deja vu
all over again Saturday night as Utah took a 2-1 lead
into the last minute of play only to have the Moose
tie the score with the goalie pulled. Again the
game remained tied following the overtime session.
Lee Goren opened the scoring for the Moose in the shootout
but Erik Westrum scored twice giving the Grizzlies their
second victory against the Moose for the weekend, this
game won 3-2.
Brandon
Bochenski had an assist and a goal for the Binghamton
Senators Sunday, but the Syracuse Crunch came back to
win in a shootout 3-2 with Joe Motzko scoring the deciding
goal.
Josh
Olson scored a hat trick for the San Antonio Rampage
on Sunday edging Cincinnati 5-4 in a shootout Sunday
night. Olson notched the game-tying marker with
less than 30 seconds left in the game to complete the
hat trick. He also scored the game-winner in the
shootout. Andrew Canzanello had joined the Mighty
Ducks after playing in last week's ECHL All Star Game.
After captaining the ECHL All Star Game Luke Curtain
was recalled to the Rampage from the Boardwalk City
Bullies.
Despite
losing to Cincinnati Sunday, the Ducks have gone
13-4-1-1 since Dec. 18, shortly after acquiring Casey Hankinson.
The Ducks currently sit at 23-21-1-3 on the season,
good for 50 points and third place in the West Division.
Wyatt
Smith had a goal and assist as the Milwaukee Admirals
skated past the St. John's Maple Leafs Monday night
5-2. Smith has 15 goals and 34 assists for
this season, a huge improvement over last season's 16
points, but Smith also scored the Cup-winning goal for
Milwaukee in the Calder Cup finals last year.
Jay
Hardwick scored an assist on the overtime game-winner
for the Corpus Christie IceRays on Sunday as they skated
past the Austin IceBats 4-3. It was the third
assist in 40 games this season for the Warroad native.
Chris
Hartsburg, son of former North Star Craig Hartsburg
has 6 goals and 9 assists in 32 games with the Colorado
Eagles of the CHL. He is also a +4.
Nate
Metcalf has 6 goals and 14 assists, and is a +12 for
the Wichita Thunder of the CHL this year.
As
of Sunday evening Jon Francisco's ECHL All Star jersey
has a bid of $700 in an online auction benefitting charities.
Andrew Canzanello's game-worn jersey had a high bid
of $550, Curtain's sweater was at $400. Matt Hendricks'
jersey had the highest bid as of Sunday, receiving a
high bid of $1000. Bids will be accepted until
February 2nd at http://echlauction.at.edeal.com.
ECHL
San Diego Gulls center Brian Gornick has 7 goals, 3
assists in the last 10 games.
Congratulations
to Peoria Riverman assistant coach and sometime goaltender
Luke Gruden and his wife Lynzie. The couple welcomed
their first child, the six pound, 14 ounce Brady,
last Thursday. Gruden followed up the
arrival by dressing as the emergency backup for the
Rivermen over the weekend.
Reg
Berg scored four assists and the game-winning goal on
a power play, giving the Floriday Everblades the 6-5
victory over the Louisiana Ice Gators on Saturday.
Berg's goal was Florida's franchise record fifth power-play
goal of the night, and his line accounted for five of
the six goals. David Lundbohm also had a goal for the
Blades.
Mat
Snesrud was a member of the UHL All Star Team that played
in Glens Falls last weekend. He was held without
a point in the game. Snesrud has 8 goals and 26
assists in 45 games with the Missouri River Otters.
Ben
Clymer has 11 goals and 10 assists with HC Biel
Bienne in the Swiss Nationaliga B since joining the
team New Year's weekend. His season ends February
3rd.
Brett
Larson has two goals and three assists in 31 games with
the Odense Bulldogs in the Danish Elite League.
Teammate Derek Herlofsky has an assist as the goaltender
for the club.
The
Wild's Marian Gaborik has returned to Slovakia after
playing with Färjestads BK in Sweden.
Nick
Angell is the second leading scorer for the Frisk-Asker
Tigers in the Norwegian Elite League. He has 14
goals and 15 assists in 36 games and has 131 minutes
in penalties. Teammate Marc Chouinard of the Wild
has 9 goals and 5 assists in 11 games with
the Tigers who are in 4th place in the league.
Despite
signing with ERC Ingolstadt last week Jamie Langenbrunner
was unable to play in the weekend's games as he was
not yet licensed.
The
AHL All Star Roster reads like this year's NHL YoungStars
game should have. Players like Thomas Vanek, Kari
Lehtonen, Zach Parise and Keith Ballard would likely
have all been playing in the NHL had their not been
a lockout.
The
Minnesota Wild plan to lay off 11 employees in the coming
weeks as a result of the NHL lockout.
Quick Speculation:
Bob
Naegele, the CEO of the Minnesota Wild makes his home
in Naples, Florida, home of the ECHL Florida Everblades.
The Wild's primary ECHL affiliate, the Louisiana Ice
Gators are under operation by the league who took over
ownership this season to allow the team to finish the
season. The Gators are expected to fold following
the conclusion of this year leaving the Wild without
a AA affiliate. Now comes word from Naples that
current the 'Blades ownership group, KTB Sports, has
signed a letter of intent to sell the franchise to an
as of yet unnamed buyer. Quick Facts speculates
that buyer could be MSE, the ownership group of the
Wild. Germain Arena, home to the Everblades, is
included in the sale. Other names that have popped up
as prospective owners include Robert Brooks, co-owner
of the Wheeling Nailers, and Frank D'Alessandro, a Fort
Myers realtor.
Quick Take:
This
year's IIHF World Championships to be held in Austria
will likely be one of the best in recent memory.
Without the conflict of the NHL the rosters of national
teams playing for medals will be packed with talent.
This, hopefully, will be most evident with Team USA.
Last year USA Hockey tried a blackmail approach to lure
NHL players, who repeatedly refuse the call to represent
their nation in the spring tournament, by claiming that
those who played in the World Championships would receive
preference for the World Cup of Hockey roster spots.
The threat was not followed through with only three
members of the World Championship roster also playing
in the World Cup. Team USA's roster will
suffer this season for the number of AHL players who
will be unavailable due to the Calder Cup playoffs,
players like Brandon Bochenski and Zach Parise will
likely be unavailable, but names to look for on this
year's World Championship roster should include:
Team USA veterans Craig Johnson and Brett Hauer both
play in the German professional leagues and are virtual
sure-bets to make the team. Look for Paul Martin,
Jordan Leopold, Mark Parrish, Matt Cullen, Keith Ballard,
Erik Westrum, Erik Rasmussen and Darby Hendrickson to
all be considered for the Team USA roster at this year's
tournament in Innsbruck, Austria. All have represented
their country in the past, with Westrum being one of
the standout players helping Team USA earn a Bronze
Medal in last year's World Championships.
The World Championships could be the only opportunity
to see NHL players in competition as IIHF President
Rene Fasel had stated in the past that unless a new
NHL CBA be reached by the end of January 2005, NHL players
would not be allowed to participate in the 2006 Olympics
in Turino, Italy. While no one can say for certain what
impact playing the Olympics without NHL players for
the first time since Nagano would be, the most signifigant
effect will be felt amongst the minor leagues and college
ranks. In the past the University of Minnesota
lost players to the US Olympic team for full seasons.
While that would be unlikely, a USA roster without NHL
players, would most probably consist of players already
playing in Europe, minor league players whose teams
allowed them to be released for the term of Olympic
competition, and collegiate players.
Quick Take II:
How
exactly can NHL players agree to a new CBA based on
a salary cap when there is no agreement on the actual
finances of the NHL More than a few NHL owners
and managers have been convicted of fraud in the last
few years. The NHLPA is expected to take their
word for the figure on which to base a fixed salary
to revenue structure? Until a third party, whether
that be a mediator or an auditor, is brought into the
fray, there will never be a resolution to this conflict.
Quick Quotes:
"I'm
optimistic. I based this on the fact that the Thursday
meetings ended and the parties were not bad mouthing
each other. That tells me that the lines of communication
are still open and that they are looking for a solution."
- Minnesota agent Neil
Sheehy on his hopes for an NHL resolution. (Stan Fischler,
msgnetwork.com)
"It's
a great cause, what we're doing. Hopefully we lighten
their day."
- Atlantic City Boardwalk
Bullies captain Luke Curtain on the Bullies' second
annual Face-Off Against Kids Cancer where area children
are paired with different players at various events
and games. (Atlantic City Press)
"Curtin's
a big, strong guy. The knock on him was that his skating
was average, but I thought it was fine. I thought
he was the best two-way guy in the (ECHL) last year.
He can play both sides of the puck. He's a smart player,
and he sees the ice. He knows where to put the puck."
- New York Islanders coach
Steve Stirling on Luke Curtain. Curtain wasn't
signed by the Islanders to an AHL contract this season
due to the NHL lockout. (Atlantic City Press)
"They
want to have a partnership with the players. They need
to have a partnership with themselves."
- Jeremy Roenick on the
NHL owners and his believe that revenue sharing
is mandatory for any new CBA. (ESPN.com)
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01.28.05
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NEWSBREAK:
Keith Ballard, Thomas Vanek, Zach Parise and Brandon
Bochenski have all been named to the 2005 PlanetUSA
AHL All Star Team. Vanek and Parise were voted
starters by AHL fans. Parise is second in AHL rookie
scoring with 31 points for the Albany River Rats.
Vanek is tied for the rookie lead in goals with 18,
including 10 power-play markers and has a +3 rating
with the Rochester Americans. Bochenski leads
all rookies with 36 points and is a +7 for the Binghamton
Senators. Ballard has two goals, both scored on
the powerplay, and 12 assists playing all situations
with the Utah Grizzlies. All four players would most
likely be playing in the NHL had their not been a lockout
this season.
The 2005 AHL All Star Classic will be played in Manchester,
New Hampshire. The All Star Skills Competition
is held on Sunday, February 13th with the All Star Game
scheduled on Monday, February 1st. The All Star
Game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
(some info from the AHL).
Cloquet's
Jamie Langenbrunner has signed to play with ERC Ingolstadt
in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
10
players from each Colorado College and the University
of Wisconsin are nominated for the Hobey Baker award,
University of Michigan comes in with 12 nominees, the
most of any school. The University of Minnesota
Golden Gophers have 11 nominees, Chris Harrington, Andy
Sertich, Judd Stevens, Alex Goligoski, Barry Tallackson,
Gino Guyer, Jake Fleming, Tyler Hirsch, Kellen Briggs,
Danny Irmen and Ryan Potulny are all nominated.
Potulny was the leading vote-getter as of Monday evening,
first day of preliminary voting, with 362 votes.
Leading all nominees was Colin Murphy, the forward for
Michigan Tech that helped lead the Huskies to a weekend
sweep of the Gophers. There are a total of 49 nominees
for the Hobey Baker from the WCHA. Those registered
can vote for their favorite Hobey candidates once a
day at HobeyBaker.com. Unfortunately the website
was down for part of Wednesday.
Troy
Riddle is out of the Worcester IceCats game with a rib
injury. He isn't expected to be out long.
According
to Ryan Stewart of the Greenville Grrrowl the return
of Joey Martin to the team has been a welcome addition.
Martin missed several months with post-concussion syndrome
but returned shortly after New Year's. Stewart
said that Martin is still adjusting to play but his
work ethic and enthusiasm is appreciated by the coaching
staff. Martin has been added to the power play
unit where he has reportedly shown some offensive flare.
He has yet to notch his first official professional
point.
Roseau's
Dustin Byfuglien was named WHL player of month last
month. The defenseman leads Prince George in goals,
assists, points, plus/minus, PIMs, powerplay goals and shooting
percentage. Byfuglien is a Chicago Blackhawks
draft choice.
Thomas
Vanek scored a pair of goals during mid-week play for
the Rochester Americans. He scored the third marker
in the Amerks' 5-1 victory Tuesday against the Cleveland
Barons and earned an assist on the fourth. Wednesday
Vanek got on the board again this time with an early
first period goal against the Hamilton Bulldogs.
The Amerks scored three more goals in the first.
Hamilton answered back with a powerplay goal in the
second and added a late third period tally when Vanek
took an ill-advised slashing penalty late in the game
making the score 4-2.
Bryan
Lundbohm had an assist on the game-winning goal for
the Milwaukee Admirals as they topped the Houston Aeros
3-2 Tuesday. He was held scoreless and went -1
Wednesday as the Ads were felled by the San Antonio
Rampage 3-2.
Zach
Parise finally got back on the scoreboard Monday with
a powerplay goal against the Philadelphia Phantoms.
The Albany River Rats couldnt hold on to the lead, however,
giving up three third period goals to Philly.
Ben Stafford had an assist on the game-winner.
Parise
showed his scoring prowess Wednesday scoring two goals,
including the overtime game-winner leading the Rats
over the Worcester IceCats 4-3 Wednesday. Mike
Stuart was -3 for the Cats.
Josh
Langfeld had two goals including the late third
period game-winner, a shorthanded tally, as the Binghamton
Senators topped the Providence Bruins 5-4 Wednesday
night. Brandon Bochenski had the game-tying goal
in the third, assisted by Andy Hedlund, who had three
helpers in the game.
Andrew
Canzanello and Jon Francisco each scored an assist in
the ECHL All Star Game Wednesday night. The American
Conference jumped out to a 2-0 lead but after that it
was all National Conference, scoring 4 unanswered goals.
National Captain Luke Curtain was held scoreless in
the game. Former Wild goaltending prospect Barry
Brust had an assist on the last goal in the third period.
Brust was a last minute replacement for the National
Team. In the SKills Competition Curtain, Canzanello
and the American Conference's Matt Hendricks all scored
during the breakaway relay. Canzanello also won
the individual puck control relay.
Reed
Larson's Team NY Islanders didn't fare well in the Esso
3-on-3 tournament in Calgary last weekend losing 4-5
to Calgary and 3-2 to Edmonton. Reportedly
the players from the Islanders and Blackhawks teams
were at a slight disadvantage after checking out the
local watering holes Friday night before the games
at the Stampede. Over 6,000 fans showed up for the afternoon
games and the final where the Boston Bruins team
topped the defending champion Vancouver Canucks 2-1.
Former Moose goalie Tom Draper played well according
to Larson.
Shjon
Podein will return from playing hockey in Sweden in
April at which time he will be working with his Children's
Foundation to put on a fundraising event, likely a concert,
in Minneapolis to raise money for his charity.
This will be an additional event to his annual Celebrity
Party and Golf Tournament held the last weekend in June
in Rochester. The Golf Tournament is already filled
for the 2005 event but there are opportunitites to participate
with the Celebrity Party the night before.
Quick Quote:
"Some
people believe the NHL will be out one to two years
and they're saying, 'Do I want to put my son into [the
WHL] when they're not going to get drafted. Why
not explore the U.S. college ranks?'"
- Moose Jaw Warriors General
Manager Chad Lang (Globe & Mail)
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01.26.05
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Former
Gopher Jeff Taffe may be out for the season after undergoing
reconstructive facial surgery. Taffe suffered multiple
fractures to the orbital bone (cheekbone) during a fight
in December. Taffe underwent surgery in Arizona,
performed by a Phoenix Coyotes physician, having
three metal plates placed to stabilize the fractures
and repair the damage. Reports indicate that the
Coyotes most likely do not want Taffe risking further
and more permanent damage by playing for the Utah Grizzlies
this season. Should he return to play with a full
face mask there remains a large risk for injury from
a hit to the side of the head that a shield would not
protect against. The Grizzlies are at the bottom
of the AHL standings and will not make the playoffs
this season so the short time Taffe could play
with the team if he returned isn't likely worth the
risk for further injury he would incur.
Taffe
isn't the only former Gopher with injury trouble in
the pros this season. John Pohl is back in Minnesota
and will likely undergo surgery to repair a broken hand,
ending his season with the Worcester IceCats.
Grant Potulny is expected to miss at least six weeks
after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.
Travis Richards currently missing games with the Grand
Rapids Griffins due to an ankle injury. Joey Martin
recently returned to the Greenville Grrrowl lineup after
missing several months after suffering a concussion.
Ryan Kraft recently was knocked off the active roster
for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after he suffered a
concussion from being hit in the jaw by a stick, but
is expected to return soon. Earlier this year
Matt Koalska missed over a month with the Tigers as
a result of a broken foot. Jake Taylor only missed
four games for the Hartford Wolf Pack after taking a
puck to the face in practice, but played with a full
face mask so he could return. Reggie Berg just
returned to the Florida Everblades after missing several
months recovering from knee surgery. Matt
DeMarchi has missed parts of the season with back
ailments.
Friday
night the Bridgeport Sound Tigers edged the Albany River
Rats 3-2 in a shootout. Matt Koalska missed his
shot in only his second shootout attempt, Zach
Parise also missed. The win stopped an 8-game
losing skid for the Tigers.
Keith
Ballard notched an assist on Aaron Gavey's game-winning
goal for the Utah Grizzlies Friday night. It was
a rare win for the Grizzlies ending an eight-game
losing streak. "It felt really good" said
Ballard after the win.
Adam
Hauser suffered only his 5th loss of the season as the
Binghamton Senators topped the Manchester Monarchs 4-1
Friday night. Josh Langfeld and Brandon Bochenski
each had a goal and assist for the Sens.
Langfeld
also scored what would become the game-winning goal
for the Binghamton Senators leading them to victory
4-3 over the St. John's Maple Leafs Saturday. He
also had two assists in the game that helped put the
surging Sens atop the East Division standings.
Bochenski
had two assists and a powerplay goal on Sunday leading
the Senators to their 8th consecutive victory, this
time against the Hershey Bears 5-3.
Joe
Motzko scored the deciding goal in the Syracuse Crunch's 2-1
shootout victory over the Rochester Amerks. Thomas
Vanek was the only shooter to score for Rochester but
both Motzko and Hartigan found the back of the net for
the Crunch.
Bryce
Lampman scored the only goal for the Hartford Wolf
Pack in their 4-1 loss to the Worcester IceCats Friday
night. Mike Stuart had an assist and Troy Riddle
finished +1 on the night for the Cats.
Lampman
had two assists and went +3 as the Hartford Wolf Pack
beat the Lowell Lock Monsters 6-4 Saturday night.
Bryan
Lundbohm scored the game-winner for the Milwaukee Admirals
friday night as the Ads shut out the San Antonio Rampage
4-0. Wyatt Smith scored the second goal for Milwaukee.
Lundbohm
continued his recent hot streak Saturday, scoring a
goal for the Milwaukee Admirals against the Hamilton
Bulldogs Saturday. Wyatt Smith had an assist on
Tony Hrkac's late tally that helped the Ads tied the
score late. The Bulldogs eventually won the game
in a shootout 4-3.
Matt
Koalska missed on his second ever shootout attempt Friday
night but his Bridgeport Sound Tigers still beat the
Albany River Rats 3-2. Zach Parise was held without
a point in regulation and in the shooutout. The
victory ended an 8-game skid for the Tigers. The
Tigers fell to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-1
Saturday night. Ryan Kraft remains out of the
Tigers' lineup due to a concussion.
Casey
Hankinson assisted on the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks' game-winning
goal in overtime as they topped the Hamilton Bulldogs
4-3 Friday night.
Thomas
Vanek scored for the Rochester Americans in the shootout
Saturday night but both Mark Hartigan and Joe Motzko
scored for the Syracuse Crunch, giving them the 2-1
victory.
The
future of the Wild, if they ever return, was in
action Sunday night. Pierre Marc Bouchard and
Mikko Koivu both scored third period goals to tie the
Grand Rapids Griffins at three all. The game went
into a shootout but all Houston Aeros players were turned
away by Joey McDonald while Mike Smith allowed three
Griffins shooters to score giving Grand Rapids the 3-2
win. Travis Richards missed another game with
an ankle injury.
Colin
Stuart was recalled to the Chicago Wolves after spending
a brief time in the ECHL with the Gwinnett Gladiators.
A
luxury boat belonging to Wild Goaltender Manny Fernandez
was on display at the Boat Show recently held at the
Minneapolis Convention Center. The boat was reportedly
a new purchase for the netminder who is currently playing
in Europe during the lockout.
The
Esso 3 on 3 Pond Hockey Classic tournament was held
this weekend in Calgary. Reed Larson played on the
NY Islanders' team with former Minnesoa Moose goalie
Tom Draper. Joel Otto played on the Calgary Flames'
alumni team. According to their website, The 3
on 3 Hockey Classic has been staged in Calgary for the
last eight years, and through corporate sponsorship
and ticket sales, has been successful in raising over
$985,000 for Calgary Minor Hockey, Kidsport and selected
charities. The 3 on 3 Hockey Classic features 8 NHL
Alumni teams participating in a one day, 11 game tournament.
The Vancouver Canucks alumni were the defending champions.
Former
Minnesota Wild defenseman Jason Marshall has signed
to play with HC Plzen in the Slovakia.
Goaltender
Adam Hauser is ranked the 18th top prospect for the
LA Kings by Hockeysfuture.com. Hauser is currently
ranked as the third best netminder in the AHL.
Did
you know - that a goaltender can freeze the puck behind
the net and goal line as long as some part of his body
is in crease? If he is not in the crease then
the opposition would receive a two-minute minor penalty.
(Thanks to Greg Shepherd, WCHA director of officiating for
that tidbit)
The
ECHL All Star Game is being held this Wednesday.
Jon Francisco has been added to the roster as a replacement
for a player under recall to the AHL. The 23-year-old
Francisco has 20 points (9g-11a) in 34 games with the
Reading Royals.
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01.19.05
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EXCLUSIVE:
Grant Potunly underwent successful surgery to repair
a sports hernia and will be out of the lineup for the
Binghamgton Senators of the AHL for at least six weeks.
Potulny saw a specialist in Montreal last week to definitively
diagnose the abdominal injury that had been bothering
him for weeks and progressively got worse until he was
forced to stop playing. Potulny's surgery does
coincide with the AHL All Star Break in mid-February.
He will likely return shortly after play resumes after
the break.
ALSO:
Former Gopher John Pohl's season may be over.
Pohl suffered a hand fracture in mid-December while
playing with the Worcester IceCats of the AHL. He
has reportedly returned home to Minnesota and is considering
surgery to repair the fracture, which would effectively
end his season. Pohl has been in and out of the
Worcester IceCats lineup all season, both as an injury
and healthy scratch. In 13 games played with the
Cats this season Pohl has three goals and nine assists.
Prior to the injury, it was likely Pohl would be traded.
Troy
Davenport is leaving Cornell University and returning
to the USHL. Davenport is the goaltender who lead
Simley to the Minnesota High School Hockey Championships
two years ago. Davenport played for Green Bay
of the USHL before joining Cornell.
Luke
Curtain was named a Captain for the 2005 Coors Light
ECHL All-Star Game on January 26 at the Sovereign Center
in Reading, Pa. Curtin will be making his second start
and third appearance in an ECHL All-Star Game. While
playing for Baton Rouge, Curtin was named as a starter
for the Southern Conference in 2000 and was selected
to the Southern Conference roster in 1999. (ECHL)
Ryan
Kraft does not have a broken jaw and is listed day-to-day
for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after taking a puck
off his chin Saturday night during a game. The Tigers
have lost 110 man-games to injury so far this season.
The
Sound Tigers, farm team of the NY Islanders, will play
a game on the Island in Nassau Coliseum on February
18th.
Former
North Star Basil McRae will play with Barry Melrose
and Steve Martinson on the Adirondack Red Wing Alumni
team against ESPN personalities Darren Pang, John Saunders,
John Buccigross and the rest of the UHL Commissioners
Team in an exhibition game during UHL All Star Game
festivities this weekend in Glens Falls. Proceeds
from the game and a jersey auction will benefit the
Ronald McDonald House and the United Way.
Bryan
Lundbohm opened the scoring for the Milwaukee Admirals
against the San Antonio Rampage Tuesday night.
Early in the third period Josh Olson tied the score
at two all, but Milwaukee's Dan Hamhuis, assisted by
Wyatt Smith, scored again for the Admirals, what proved
the be the game-winner. Smith added an insurance
goal as the Ads topped the San Antonio Rampage 4-2.
Wednesday,
in a head-to-head matchup of two of the leading candidates
for AHL Rookie of the Year honors, Thomas Vanek and
Zach Parise, it was Vanek who came out on top, on his
birthday no less, with the Rochester Americans shutting
out the Albany River Rats 4-0. Vanek had an assist
on the game-winner but was held without a goal despite
five shots on net. Parise was held scoreless on
two shots.
Mikko
Koivu scored the game-winner, assisted by Kyle Wanvig
and Stephane Veilleux, as the Houston Aeros shut out
the Edmonton Road Runners Wednesday night.
Casey
Hankinson scored the insurance goal in a shootout as
the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks topped in-state rival Cleveland
4-3 Wednesday night. Hankinson's goal was the
third in the first round for the Ducks, only one Barons
skater tallied against Cinci in the shootout.
Jake
Taylor was a +2 and Ken Gernander and Bryce Lampman
assisted on the game-winning goal for the Hartford Wolf
Pack as they downed the Springfield Falcons 5-0 Wednesday.
Voting
continues for the Hobey Baker Award nominees.
Ryan Potulny is currently leading nominees with Mike
Sertich and Kellen Briggs second and third respectively.
All players receiving 25 nominations will be included
in the voting round.
Matt
Snesrud was named an All Star and will play in the UHL
All Star Game representing the Missouri River Otters
and the Team Mountain Dew on January 24th. Snesrud
is third among all UHL defensemen in scoring with
26 points (6, 20) and he has a solid plus/minus
rating of plus-6.
Center
Yannick Carpentier is one point shy of passing Richard
Keyes for third place on the Michigan K-Wings All-Time
points list. He is also three assists shy of tying Minnesotan
Matt Loen for third place on the K-Wings All-Time assist
list.
USA
Hockey, the governing body for the sport and the chief
advocate for the spread of the game among young people,
had nearly 25,000 under-18 teams registered last year,
a total of some 366,000 players, up from 166,000 in
1991. That includes more than 48,000 girls, a nearly
eightfold increase in the same time period. (New York
Times)
Angela
Ruggiero has signed to play with the Tulsa Oilers of
the CHL. Ruggiero is considered one of the top
womens hockey players in the world.
Installation
of the new video scoreboards at Mariucci Arena is hoped
to be completed by the second week in February.
As well as the new video replay boards the installation
includes a wireless camera, a content delivery system
and an instant replay server. Equipment costs
for both Williams and Mariucci Arena video upgrades
totals $725,700.
Quick Quotes:
"The
Mayor certainly supports fiscally responsible management
of Target Center, including maximizing the revenue brought
in for additional events in the facility, but he
does not get involved in the day-to-day management of
Target Center."
- Laura Sether, Senior
Policy Aide and Press Secretary for Minneapolis Mayor
RT Rybak in response to the management company for Target
Center rejecting the World Hockey Association's overtures
to possibly locate a franchise for the new league in
the building owned by the city.
"For
the past two and a half years I've heard it quite a
bit too much for what it probably means to both
of us. As far as I'm concerned it's always been
team against team but the media always makes it Parise
vs. Vanek and Vanek vs. Parise. Individual success is
not big for me. Winning is."
- Thomas Vanek when asked
about another head-to-head matchup against fellow AHL
rookie Zach Parise. (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
"There's
no intrinsic economic benefit from building a sports
facility. You have to look at the details of the
financing, the facility and the location."
- Andrew Zimbalist, a
leading sports economist who teaches at Smith College.
(NY Times)
"Mat
has been playing both ends of the ice very well. He's
making the power play accountable, and he's just doing
a lot of the little things, keeping the game simple.
He's one of the best skaters in the league defensively,
and he makes good decisions with the puck."
- Missouri
River Otters Head Coach Ken Kuminski on Minneapolis
native Mat Snesrud.
Quick Speculation:
Quick
Facts has learned that top US Prospect Phil Kessel is
most likely to commit to the University of Wisconsin
but will probably wait until visiting the University
of Minnesota on February 19th to formally announce.
Quick
Facts sources also indicate that the most likely additional
recruit for the 2006 Gopher freshman class will be Jamie
McBain, joining Mike Carman, Kyle Okposo, Peter Mueller
and Erik Johnson who have all committed to the program.
Quick Take:
"If
or when it were ever to happen, we would review the
relevant documentation and make an appropriate determination.
We choose not to deal in hypotheticals."
- Bill Daly on the possibility
that control of Lord Stanley's cup may be wrested from
the NHL by a movement in Canada. (Toronto Star)
However his statement is ironic in that he states that
the league does not deal in hypotheticals but their
entire argument for a salary cap and their denial of
the NHLPA's recent proposal is entirely based on a hypothetical
view of revenue and expenses. The NHL states that
the salary rollback offered would be more than made
up for in two years, but that is hypothetically based
on the premise that NHL owners are too stupid to learn
from their previous mistakes and would quickly make
them again.
Everything in the NHL CBA labor dispute has been hypothetical.
Until someone sits down and gets a real accounting of
the exact revenue and income of the NHL's teams there
can never be an agreement because the principle the
NHL is clinging to is that the only way to acheive cost
certainty is through a salary cap while the players
insist that other methods can be used to ensure competitive
balance and bring finances back to a manageable level
for all teams.
That elusive number, that hypothetical number is what
is necessary to have any hope for a return of the NHL.
And the NHL will have to accept that hypothetical or
they will have to discover the hypotheticals of what
losing two entire NHL seasons will bring to the sport
and the future of the league.
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01.12.05
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CLICK
HERE for a Quick Facts Exclusive Feature
An Interview with Grant
Potulny
Keith
Ballard and Erik Westrum finished an 8-game road trip
in Rochester against Thomas Vanek and the Americans
on Sunday. Prior to the game they were outscored
30-5 and shut out three times without leading scorer
Jeff Taffe, who is recovering from facial surgery after
suffering a fractured orbital bone in a on-ice fight.
Erik Westrum was called on a penalty late in the third
giving the Amerks a penalty shot but David LeNeveau
made the stop. Keith Ballard was the victim of
a nasty spear for which Jason Pominville was ejected
from the game. Ballard was on the ice in the last
minute of play with the Grizzlies on a two-man
advantage powerplay with LeNeveau pulled.
Ballard and his teammates had several opportunities
but Utah couldn't capitalize, losing 2-3. Thomas
Vanek was scoreless on 6 shots for the Americans.
Former
Gopher Joey Martin was activated from injured reserve
for the Greenville Grrrrowl on Friday. Martin
has been out of the lineup since October after suffering
a concussion during practice. He returned to the Grrrowl
and played on Saturday, a 6-3 victory against the Pee
Dee Pride.
The
Amerks played their third game in three days Sunday,
coming off a 5-1 loss to the Binghamton Senators Saturday
night, bringing Rochester's five game winning streak
to a halt. Grant Potluny remains out of the Sens
lineup due to an abdominal injury.
Saturday
night Karl Goehring was yanked from the Syracuse Crunch
net, twice. Crunch coach Greg Agnew claimed it
was out of mercy. According to the Syracuse Post-Standard
Agnew started Goehring, then replaced him with Penner
in the second, then pulled Penner after one shot, then
subbed Penner back in for Goehring for the entire third.
The Crunch fell 4-2 to the Cleveland Barons. Joe Motzko
scored one of the Crunch goals.
Josh
Olson scored the opening goal for the San Antonio Rampage
Saturday night helping the Rampage to the 2-1 victory
against the Edmonton Road Runners.
The
Houston Aeros didn't have a strong outing in front of
Wild coach Jacques Lemaire Sunday as they fell to the
Manitoba Moose 3-1. Mikko Koivu, assisted by Brent
Burns scored the only Houston goal after the Moose has
staked a 3-0 lead going into the third. Jesse
Schultz, younger brother of Wild defenseman Nick Schultz,
plays for the Moose as a Vancouver prospect. The
younger Schultz was signed as a free agent by former
GM Brian Burke after going undrafted.
The
Bridgeport Sound Tigers played their third game in three
days Sunday, playing without Ryan Kraft. Kraft
took a puck to the face in Saturday's loss requiring
several stitches. The possibility remains that
Kraft suffered a broken jaw as well, he will be reexamined
on Monday. Former Denver captain Ryan Caldwell
scored his first goal of his professional career Saturday,
just as a power play expired. The Lowell Lock
Monsters ended up on top in the game, 3-1 giving Bridgeport
their 7th consecutive loss. The Tigers are without
all of their top scorers and due to injury.
Matt Koalska returned after missing several games due
to injury but remains scoreless despite strong play.
Koalska has reportedly changed his game to show more
of a gritty effort especially since he doesn't have
the opportunity to showcase his playmaking ability with
so many of the top point-getters for the Tigers out
of the lineup.
The
Bridgeport Sound Tigers will host Scout Weekend next
Sunday with hundreds of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts expected
to be in attendance. Also attending the weekend's
festivities will be Lord Stanley himself. Photos
taken with the Stanley Cup will cost $10 with all proceeds
going to the Children's Glaucoma foundation. There will
also be an All Star game held following the Tigers'
weekend matchup against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Expected to play in the exhibition game are Brad Park,
Ken Hodge, Jim Craig, Ken Morrow and John Bucyk.
The
Philadelphia Phantoms game against Albany originally
scheduled for Sunday next week was rescheduled for Monday
when the Eagles beat the Vikings and will play at the
same time in the NFC Conference Final.
In
a sign that the NHL armageddon has indeed arrived, the
NHL's official puck supplier has laid off half its staff.
After suffering through a terrible Christmas season,
InGlasCo, of Sherbrooke, Que., laid off 20 of about
40 employees from a plant that normally produces about
300,000 pucks along with souvenirs for the 30 NHL teams.
(CHL)
David
Hale is out of the Albany River Rats lineup with a kidney
problem. In honor of his milestone 344th point with
the Hartford Wolf Pack making him the franchise's all
time leading scorer, Ken Gernander received a framed
team autographed photo inscribed "Courageous Captain,
Outstanding Player, And An Even Better Person."
Aaron
Fox is the leading scorer in the 2.Eishockey Bundesliga
with 20 goals and 22 assists in 32 games with EHC Freiburg
Wölfe. Teammate Geno Parrish has 4 goals
and 22 assists in 32 games. Fox was recently resigned
with the team to play next season as well. Former Gopher
Cory Laylin has left the Rockford IceHogs of the UHL
to accept a contract to play for Freiburg, joining Fox
and Parrish.
TJ
Guidarelli leads the Deutsche Oberliga Süd
in scoring with 25 goals and 40 assists in 29 games
for SC Reissersee. Mike Muller is the leading
scorer amongst defensemen with 16 goals and 18 assists
in 26 games for EV Ravensburg. Jay Woodcroft,
the brother of Wild video coordinator Todd Woodcroft,
is ranked as the 9th leading scorer in the same German
minor league with 17 goals and 23 assists for the Stuttgart
Wizards.
The
Minnesota Wild's Pascal Dupuis has signed with HC Ajoie
of the Swiss Nationaliga A along with Montreal Canadiens
forward Pierre Dagenais. Ajoie is ranked the worst team
in the league.
Wild
defenseman Alex Henry signed to play with ESV Kaufbeuren
2.Eishockey Bundesliga.
Tray
Tuomie has transferred from SSI Vipiteno Broncos in Italy
to ERV Schweinfurt in Germany's.
In
a WCHA trifecta Brandon Bochenski leads all AHL rookies
in scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists in 30 games;
Thomas Vanek leads in goals scored,16 and Zach Parise
leads in assists,21.
Jake
Riddle, brother to Troy, has played 18 games scoring 3
goals and 8 assists with 50 penalty minutes with the
Peoria Rivermen of the ECHL since being traded from
Wheeling to join Troy in Indiana. Riddle was activated
from injured reserve recently. The elder Riddle
only played a few games with his little brother because
he was promoted to the AHL Worcester IceCats shortly
after the acquisition of Jake.
Reggie
Berg was activated from injured reserve by the Florida
Everblades. Berg suffered a knee injury early
in the season and was the leading scorer in the ECHL
when he was hurt. Berg returned after missing
30 games on Saturday against the Columbia Inferno.
He scored in his first game back, chipping a shot
into the upper left corner of the net at 15:38 of the
second period. In the third period, Matt Hendricks converted
on the power play to tie the game at three a little
over 12 minutes into the period, forcing the game into
overtime but the Inferno ended up on top 3-2. (some
info from Florida Everblades)
Former
Gopher Craig Johnson is the third leading scorer in
the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Playing with the Frankfurt
Lions Johnson has 16 goals and 23 assists in 36 games
with the Lions. Frankfurt was knocked out of the
European Champions Cup tournament this weekend in St.
Petersburg Russia, falling 3-6 to Kärpät Oulu
of the Finnish League.
Avangard
Omsk also made it to the Gold Medal game in the IIHF
sponsored tournament. Omsk were lead to the Gold Medal
game by former Wild forward Maxim Sushinsky who scored
three goals and two assists against HV71 Jönköping
to earn the berth. Omsk won the Gold Medal on
Sunday, beating Kärpät 2-1. Jaromir
Jagr scored the game-winner, with an assist to Sushinsky.
Taking
in the Gophers' game against the Minnesota State Mankato
Mavericks' at Xcel Energy Center Friday night were more
than a few NHL scouts, among them former North Star
Gilles Meloche.
Quick Quotes:
"We
shot ourselves in the foot, and that was unacceptable
in the first two periods. We can't wait until
the third until we start playing hockey. We're making
stupid mistakes right now."
- Joe Motzko on his Crunch
loss to Cleveland Saturday night (Syracuse Post-Standard).
"He
has one of the best shots on the team, as far as one-timers
go. That was an NHL shot."
- Rampage forward Greg
Jacina on Josh Olson's goal on Saturday. (San Antonio
Express News)
"There's
no intrinsic economic benefit from building a sports
facility. You have to look at the details of the
financing, the facility and the location."
- Andrew Zimbalist, a
leading sports economist who teaches at Smith College.
(NY Times)
"It's
great that they are having success. I love them. I love
rooting for them. It's tough to keep up with every game,
but I check USA Today every week to see where they are
in the standings and how they did every week."
- Former
Gopher Travis Richards on this year's success of the
Golden Gopher Men's Hockey team
|

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01.12.05
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CLICK
HERE for a Quick Facts Exclusive Feature
An Interview with Grant
Potulny
The
WHA scheduled a press conference January 13th and was
expected to announce the launch of a spring hockey league.
However after the NHL canceled their Board of Governors
meeting the WHA canceled their press conference.
The WHA had expected to begin play this fall but arena
lease issues and questionable ownership groups forced
the league to sell the name and logos. A new group
hopes to launch the league this spring to take advantage
of the NHL lockout.
The
Minnesota Wild's ECHL affiliate, the Louisiana Ice Gators,
have been taken over by the league for the remainder
of the season. on Thursday that the Board of Governors
has voted to terminate the membership of Gator Play,
LLC in the ECHL and approved the operation of the Louisiana
IceGators by a corporation which will be owned, at least
in part, by ECHL Properties LLC for the balance of the
2004-05 season. The move preserves ECHL hockey
for the fans of Louisiana and ensures the completion
of the 2004-05 schedule. (ECHL)
The
University of Minnesota Men's Hockey Class of 2004 will
be conducting their summer hockey camps again this summer.
Camps are likely to be held in Edina, Brooklyn Park
or Columbia Park and Buffalo and will be open to squirts,
mites and pee wees. Paul Martin, Joey Martin,
John Waibel, Troy Riddle, Grant Potulny and Matt Koalska
will be instructors. The camp website, back-2-backplayerscamp.com, should
be active by next week for more details.
Rallying
back from a 3-0 deficit, the United States University
Select Team skated to a 3-3 tie with Neumann College
(NCAA Division III) in exhibition at The Gardens Ice
House tonight. Team USA will depart for Innsbruck, Austria,
tomorrow for the Jan. 12 start of the 2005 Winter World
University Games. Blaine's Eric Johnson of Weber
State University scored USA's second goal of the game.
(USA Hockey)
Chris
Snow, the Wild beat writer for the Star Tribune
last year, has left the paper to take a job on the Boston
Red Sox beat. Snow, who is from the east, took
over at the Strib from Tom Jones who returned to Tampa
Bay after three years covering the Wild. The StarTribune
now has no one specifically assigned to cover NHL hockey.
Wednesday
night Ken Gernander scored his 344th point with Hartford
Wolf Pack franchise on an assist on the opening goal
of the Pack's game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
That point broke a tie with Brad Smith for the all time
franchise lead in points making Gernander the all
time leading scorer for the franchise. He received
an ovation from the Hartford crowd when it was announced.
Gernander's milestone was and early highlight
of an otherwise penalty-marred game. Ryan Kraft
was cross-checked in the face by Jamie Lundmark in the
third period for which Lundmark received a give minute
major and a game misconduct. Kraft suffered a
cut but remained in the game. The game ended in
a 2-2- tie after overtime sending it to a shootout.
Matt Koalska scored in his first-ever shootout attempt
but the Wolf Pack ended up on top 3-2 in the shootout
and the game. Jake Taylor, playing for the Pack, got
into a scuffle with the Tigers' Eric Godard during the
game but received only a roughing minor.
Taylor
is only required to wear a half sheild now, down from
the full shield he required after suffering severe facial
injuries after being hit in the face by a puck shot
by his coach during practice. "It's nice
to get the full cage off," said Taylor. Taylor
is also happy with the team's recent success and his
increased responsibilities and playing time.
Jeff
Panzer scored the only goal of the game for the Syracuse
Crunch in front of parent Columbus Blue Jackets fans
and execs at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Wednesday
night. The Ferraro twins, Chris & Peter, got
the assists in the 1-0 Crunch shutout of the Cleveland
Barons. Karl Goehring earned the shutout stopping
all 24 shots he faced.
BJ
Abel had a goal as the Philadelphia Phantoms topped
the hot Binghamton Senators 4-2 Wednesday. Brandon
Bochenski had a goal and assist in the loss for the
Sens. Senators forward Grant Potulny missed his
third game with an abdominal injury. See below
feature for a Quick Facts exclusive interview with Potulny.
Thomas
Vanek's recent scoring woes continued Wednesday but
his Rochester Americans still came out on top of the
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 1-0.
The
U.S. University Select Team fell, 8-1, in its first
preliminary game of the 2005 Winter World University
Games in front of a standing-room-only crowd of over
8,200 at the Olympic Ice Rink in Innsbruck.
Quick Quotes:
"He's
looked different in practice. He's confident. He's a
more visible player. It's a team game, 10 skaters
and two goalies, and somebody's got to stand out. ...
Somebody's got to step up and be visible."
- Bridgeport Head Coach
Greg Cronin on Matt Koalska following the former Gopher's
return from injury (Connecticut Post).
"I
feel confident. The whole game, the mentality
out there, is getting better every day. I'm practicing
for a purpose. I'm visualizing what I can do in the
future."
- Matt Koalska on his
improved play since returning from a broken foot.
"This
is supposed to be a business in crisis, in peril.
They say they lost $237 million, and yet not one person
in their management has been fired or replaced for incompetence.
What does that say to you?"
- Agent Michael Gillis
on the NHL's claims of financial losses. (Calgary Herald)
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01.07.05
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Quick
Facts Exclusive - Hobey Baker winner and Golden
Gopher standout Brian Bonin has officially retired from
professional hockey. After playing only four games
of a tryout contract with the Worcester IceCats
Bonin decided his heart wasn't in the game and chose
to hang up the skates and return home to Minnesota.
Watch Quick Facts for a feature story on Bonin's retirement
soon.
Andy
Disch rejoined the pro ranks for three games last weekend,
getting an opportunity to play for the Rockford IceHogs
of the UHL. Disch, a former St. Thomas standout
and Pittsburgh Penguins draftee scored an assist in
his second of three games played. He drove to
Rockford with Mike Reimann who also was signed to play
with Steve Martinson's Dogs for just the weekend.
Disch is an assistant coach with the Totino Grace Hockey
team and was a Minnesota High School Elite League coach
last season.
Disch
and partner Alan Nathe, also a former Tommy, have founded
a local newspaper called Strictly High School.
It its writen by high school students for high school
students, based in the Twin Cities. The paper features
sections for athletics, fine arts, academics, news,
creative writing and editorial writing. Disch
and Nathe are looking for contributions and advertisers.
Those interested in advertising in the paper can contact
Disch at adisch@strictlyhighschool.com for more details.
For submissions or other questions about the paper contact
Nathe at anathe@strictlyhighschool.com. The website
for the paper is simplyhighschool.com.
Wild
forward Richard Park is on his third European team this
season. He just transferred to the SCL Tigers
of in Switzerland from MIF Redhawks in Sweden.
Marc
Chouinard has joined Nick Angel with the Fisk Asker
Tigers in Norway.
Former
St. Cloud State Husky Ryan Malone has transferred from
Blues Espoo in Finland to AS Renon in Italy.
Blaine's
Matt Hendricks was selected to be a first-team starting
ECHL All Star for the American Conference. Selected
in the fifth round (131st overall) by Nashville in the
2000
NHL Entry Draft and under contract to Lowell of the
American Hockey League and in his first professional
season with the Florida Everblades, the former St. Cloud
State Husky leads ECHL rookies with 16 goals and is
tied for the rookie lead in scoring with 33 points while
ranking fourth in assists with 17.
Sheboygan,
Wisconsin's Jeff Englehardt was named to the American
Conference ECHL All Star Team. He has been on
loan to St. John's of the AHL since December 14, he
is tied for second among league rookies with a team-leading
14 goals and tied for 12th among rookies in scoring
with 23 points in 21 games.
Luke
Curtain was named a starter for the National Conference
ECHL All Star Team. This is his second start and
his third appearance in an ECHL All-Star Game. Curtin
was named as a starter in 2000 and selected to the South
Conference roster in 1999 while playing for Baton Rouge.
Curtin leads the league in assists with 27 and is tied
for the league lead in power-play points with 14 and
power-play assists with 12 while ranking second in scoring
with 36 points in
31 games.
Rochester's
Andrew Canzanello was named to the ECHL Northern Conference
All Star team. Under contract to Cincinnati of the AHL
the rookie defenseman has 12 points (2g-10a) and
25 penalty minutes in 25 games with the San Diego Gulls.
Also
selected to the Northern Conference All Star Team is
Connor James. Selected in the ninth round (279th
overall) by Los Angeles in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft
and under contract to Los Angeles of the NHL, James
is tied for the league lead among rookies with three
shorthanded points and is tied for second among league
rookies with two shorthand goals. James has 19 points
(9g-10a) and 20 penalty minutes in 24 games with Bakersfield
and eight penalty minutes in six games with Manchester
of the AHL.
Quick
Facts sends deepest sympathies to the family of Bud
Poile. Poile died Tuesday, he was 80 years old.
A memorial service will be on held on Friday afternoon
in Vancouver. Poile was honored with the Lester Patrick
Award, presented for outstanding service to hockey in
the United States, in 1989, and was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2001, the AHL instituted
the Bud Poile Trophy, which is today awarded to the
regular-season champions in the Western Conference.
Anyone wishing to make a contribution on Poiles
behalf can donate to the Canucks for Kids Fund, 1690
Matthews Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 2T2. (AHL)
Zach
Parise scored a goal and went +2 on Wednesday night
but the Hershey Bears beat his Albany River Rats 5-3. Friday
night the Hershey Bears defeated the Rats 2-1, scoring
the game-winner with less than a minute remaining.
Zach Parise score the Rats' lone goal. Matt DeMarchi
returned to the lineup after missing several games due
to injury. Parise is the scoring leader amongst
rookies with 6 goals and 21 assists in 30
games.
Doug
Doull of Utah was ejected from Wednesday's game
against the Manchester Monarchs for attempt to injure.
Doull was attempting to exact revenge against Joe Ruillier
who fractured Jeff Taffe's face during a fight, knocking Taffe
out of the lineup for at least six weeks, in the last
meeting between the two teams. Ruillier also received
a misconduct penalty. Manchester won the game
against the struggling Grizzlies 5-1. Taffe underwent
surgery Tuesday to stabilize a broken orbital bone and
is reportedly doing well.
The
Worcester IceCats beat the Wilkes-Barre/Sranton Penguins
Wednesday night 2-1. Troy RIddle was even but
scoreless with one shot for the Cats.
Nate
DiCasmirro scored only his second goal of the season
last week but it seems to have signalled a return to
his offensive touch. The former St. Cloud State
Husky scored the second goal of the game for the Edmonton
Roadrunners against the Rochester Americans Wednesday
night.
Tim
Conboy scored his second goal of the season Friday night
but it was Cleveland's lone goal against the Rochester
Americans who scored 5. Thomas Vanek earned an
assist on the night.
Josh
Langfeld scored one of the Binghamton Senators' five
goals as they topped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Friday
night. Brandon Bochenski had an assist for the
Sens.
Ryan
Kraft scored a goal but the Bridgeport Sound Tigers
dropped another game losing to the Norfolk Admirals
5-2 Friday night. Matt Koalska went even
on the night with three shots on net.
The
punchless Utah Grizzlies lost again Friday night, shut
out 0-6 by the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. The
Grizzlies almost didn't arrive in time for the game,
being held on a delayed plane Thursday night.
Utah has not been home since just after Christmas.
Mark
Hartigan scored the opening goal for the Syracuse Crunch
on Friday night against the Philadelphia Phantons.
TIm Jackman and Karl Goehring got the assists as the
Crunch earned the victory 2-1. Goehring stopped
22 of 23 shots for the win.
Adam
Hauser's save percentage took a hit Friday night after
his Manchester Monarchs lost to the Lowell Lock Monsters
3-1 Friday night. Hauser stopped only 15 of 17
shots faced with Lowell adding an empty net goal to
seal the win.
Troy
Riddle opened the scoring for the Worcester Ice Cats
Friday night with an unassisted goal. Less than
four minutes later the Cats scored an unassisted shorthanded
goal which was all that was needed for the Cats' 4-1
win. Mike Stuart was +1 on the night.
Wyatt
Smith had an assist and the game-winning goal for the
Milwaukee Admirals against arch-rival Chicago Wolves
Friday night, the Ads edging the Wolves 3-2.
Joe
Cullen was loaned from Edmonton Road Runners to the
Lowell Lock Monsters.
The
contract with Daktronics ratified by the Board of Regents
in early December will provide for an upgrade to the
existing center-hung scoreboard at Mariucci Arena.
The U of M is only the third university to select the
technology. Daktronics' ProStar® VideoPlus
displays (10 mm pixel spacing) will be retrofitted for
the installation at Mariucci, which is expected to be
completed in February.
The
Canadian Press released a story about boyhood friends
and fellow redheads Junior Lessard and Stephane Veillieux.
Lessard, the Hobey Baker winner who played at the University
of Minnesota-Duluth, and Veillieux, a Wild prospects,
both play for the Houston Aeros of the AHL. According
to the story, twelve of the Aeros live on the same city
block. Lessard, having had roommates for four years
of university, chose to fly solo this time. Veilleux
and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, live next door.
While
there has been nothing but rhetoric about the NHL CBA
in the media, very little has been mentioned about the
fact that the transfer agreement between the NHL and
IIHF has expired. That leaves each European hockey
federation to negotiate individually with NHL teams
who have drafted players from that federation for financial
compensation to allow that player to leave for the NHL.
Under the previous agreement the NHL had with the IIHF
all Federations were given $100,000 per player.
No new negotiations for an IIHF agreement are scheduled
and it is unlikely that an agreement would be reached
in time for this season. That means teams that
drafed last year's top European players, like Eyvgeni
Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin will be extorted
for millions in order for those players to be allowed
to join the NHL. IIHF meetings are scheduled for
this week in Saint Petersburg, Russia but it isn't likely
that a new NHL agreement will be dis cussed until a
new CBA is in place.
Canadians
seem to be missing hockey now. They tuned in in
droves to watch the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. The
Sports Network's (TSN) coverage of Sunday afternoon's
Canada vs. Czech Republic semifinal game from the 2005
IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship attracted a national
average minute audience of 1.9 million viewers*, making
it the third most-watched program in TSN history. Audience
levels peaked at 2.4 million viewers from 6:30 p.m.
to 7 p.m. ET during the final 30 minutes of Canada's
3-1 victory. TSN's top four most-watched
programs of all time are World Junior broadcasts. TSN's
coverage of the Gold Medal Game from the 2003 World
Juniors in Halifax attracted the largest audience in
network history with 3.5 million viewers, followed by
the semifinal from Halifax, which was televised in prime
time and attracted 2 million viewers. TSN
and RDS are the official broadcasters of Hockey Canada
at both international and domestic hockey events, such
as the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, World
Under-17 Hockey Challenge, Royal Bank Cup, World Hockey
Championships, TELUS Cup, ESSO Women's National Hockey
Championship and IIHF Women's World Hockey Championships.
(TSN)
There
is much speculation about Shattuck's Kyle Okposo and
the fact that the University of Minnesota is heavily
recruiting the talented hockey player. Should
Okposo accept a tender from the Gophers he would be
the first-ever African American player to wear the 'M'
crest.
Quick Take:
The
biggest issue in the labor dispute between the NHL and
its players is the fact that the NHL has not presented
a clear financial picture of their true revenue and
losses. Until a complete and independent audit
is completed then there can be no salary cap or luxury
tax numbers set.
The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, a Massachusetts newspaper
recently ran a truck through the holes in the Levitt
report, calling it a poor financial review and not something
that could be relied on to negotiate a salary cap.
And they proved it with the help of actual CPAs and
auditors who reviewed the document.
Quick Facts suggests that the NHL owners let the Canadian
Government tax auditors have access to all NHL books
and come up with an independent analysis of the true
financial state of the NHL. PM Paul Martin has
offered to help broker a deal so take him up on it and
have a government entity, who knows how to find loopholes
and hiding places for money, get a true picture of the
NHL financial status.
Everyone keeps claiming that the players are the greedy
ones but the recent review of the Levitt report only
serves to prove that the owners are just as greedy if
not more so, but they're making it worse by lying about
it. Only with an independent number to base an
agreement on can a compromise be reached.
The players are willing to make concessions, until the
owners take responsibiliy for doing so as well there
will never be a new NHL CBA.
|

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01.03.05
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Former
Breck star goalie John Curry could have been a Gopher.
After graduating from Breck Curry played a year at Taft
prep school looking for a Division I shool for
which to play hockey. The son of former Notre
Dame defenseman and Edina native Steve Curry, now the
CEO of Knutson Construction, wanted to be a walk-on
for the Gophers, but Coach Lucia didn't have a place
for Curry. Happy to accept a third-goaltender position
and the opportunity to play, Curry accepted the role
with Boston University. This year the Shorewood
native became the starting goalie for the Terriers
as a sophomore and has helped the team to a national
ranking and helped them knock off the number
one ranked Golden Gophers Monday night.
Former
Gopher defenseman Travis Richards and his wife Angie
welcomed their third child, Katie, on October 18, joining
Riley 6 and Ellie 2 1/2. Richards has played with
the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins for nine seasons.
Richards and his family hosted Griffins teammates for
Thanksgiving this year.
Josh
Langfeld helped the Binghamton Senators ring in the
new year with two strong games over the weekend.
Friday Langfeld scored two goals and an assist as the
Sens beat the Springfield Indians 7-1. Brandon
Bochenski had a three assist night in the big win.
Saturday Langfeld scored a goal for the Sens against
the Worcester IceCats but the Cats got a rare 3-2 win
after a shot trickled into the Senators net after .
Brian Bonin was -2 and Troy Riddle had three shots
and went even for the Cats. Grant Potulny had
one shot on net and was even on the night for the Sens.
Worcester
dropped Sunday's game to the Hershey Bears 5-1.
Brian Bonin was scratched from the lineup. Troy
Riddle was scoreless but even on the night for
the Cats with three shots.
Matt
Koalska returned to the ice New Year's Eve for the first
time since suffering a fractured foot during a
game on Thanksgiving. He had five shots on net
including at least two quality scoring opportunities,
including a shorthanded breakaway thwarted by goalie
Marc Andre Fleury, but the Tigers, playing with
only 16 skaters due to injury and illness were outmatched
by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins dropping the game
1-5.
Thomas
Vanek was shut out again but the Rochester Americans
beat the Albany River Rats 3-1 in front of more
than 15,000 in Buffalo Friday night. Vanek has
been slowed by a strained groin but has not been a liability
defensively. Vanek blocked two shots in the final minute
of a short-handed situation in Albany on Wednesday and
hustled to get back to catch a guy in the defensive
zone on Friday, according to local sources.
Vanek
opened the scoring for the Amerks on Sunday against
the Philadelphia Phantoms. ROchester staked themselves
to a three goal lead until the second period when Patrick
Sharp got Philly on the board. BJ Abel, on recall
from the Trenton Titans, pulled the Phantoms within
one with an unassisted goal just over a minute into
the third period, it was his first AHL goal of the season.
Vanek earned an assist on an empty net goal at the end
of the game to seal the 4-2 win for the Amerks.
Rick
Mrozik and Nate DiCasmirro got the assists on Tony Samelainen's
game winner for the Edmonton Roadrunners Friday night
as they beat the Cleveland Barons 5-4. DiCasmirro
scored shorthanded and unassisted on Saturday night
to give the Runners the 4-3 win in the rematch against
Cleveland. Goalie Nolan Schaefer misplayed a clearing
attempt and put the puck on DiCasmirro's stick, who
scored the easy tally for his second goal of the
season.
Ben
Stafford scored two assists and scored the winner in
the shootout to help the Philadelphia Phantoms top the
Albany River Rats 5-4 New Year's Day, breaking a five-game
losing streak for the Phantoms. Zach Parise had
two assists and also scored in the shootout for Albany.
It was Albany's 8th consecutive loss. Matt DeMarchi
has missed six straight games for the Rats.
The
Hartford Wolf Pack edged the Utah Grizzlies 3-2 Friday
night. Hartford again topped the hapless
Grizzlies Saturday by a score of 5-2. Jake Taylor
got the helper, his first official AHL point, on
Hartford's opening goal. Jeff Hamilton scored
on Taylor's rebound. Taylor also earned a minor
penalty per period, one roughing call and two unsportsmanlike
calls. Keith Ballard squared off against the Pack's
Lucas Lawson in the second period, both earning five
minute visits to the box. Ken Gernander earned
an assist on the insurance fifth goal in the third period
for the Pack.
Jeff
Taffe is out of the Grizzlies lineup for at least six
weeks after and will undergo surgery for a fractured
orbital bones suffered after being hit in the eye by
Joe Ruiller, who leads the AHL in +/- with a +24, during
a fight against the Manchester Monarchs December 28th.
Taffe is experiencing blurred vison and swelling from
the injury. Surgery will be performed by Phoenix
Coyotes doctor Jeffrey Edelstein. Taffe was the
leading goal scorer for the Grizzlies before the injury.
No word on whether a plate will be necessary to set
the broken facial bones.
Adam
Hauser was called for tripping in early in the second
period of his Monarchs' game against the Providence
Bruins Saturday night. It cost Hauser as the Bruins
capitalized on the ensuing powerplay. Hauser was
pulled for an extra attacker midway through the third
and the Monarchs closed the scoring within a goal. In
a game that had a bit of everything the Monarchs were
awarded a rare penalty shot, and a shorthanded one with
Manchester's Dan Welch already in the box for tripping.
Jason Holland converted and tied the score 3-3. Four
minutes later the Monarchs scored again, this time
on the powerplay, giving Manchester the 4-3
edge. Hauser was called for high-sticking with
only three minutes left in the game but his club fought
off the man advantage and added the insurance
goal giving Hauser his 12th win of the season, Manchester
topping Providence 5-3.
Casey
Hankinson scored early in the second period for the
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks as they faced the San Antonio
Rampage Saturday night. Josh Olson had an assist
for the Rampage but the Ducks won the game 4-3.
Tim
Jackman scored a goal but his Syracuse Crunch fell to
the St. John's Maple Leafs 3-5 on Saturday despite
peppering Jean Sebastian Aubin with 66 shots.
Joe Motzko extended his point streak to five games with
an assist. He has a goal and four assists during
the streak. Aubin has more than 100 saves in his last
two games for the Leafs.
Sunday
night Motzko lead the Crunch to victory over the Hamilton
Bulldogs. Motzko scored the equalizer for Syracuse
at 7:13 of the third period to tie the score 3-3.
Motzko also got the game-winner in the shootout after
7 rounds. Mark Hartigan scored on his first shot,
Hamilton evened the score when Tomas Plekanec found
he back of the net but Motzko put it away scoring on
his second shootout shot in the seventh round.
Motzko continued his point streak to six games.
Travis
Richards' Grand Rapids Griffins have dropped seven consecutive
games.
Luke
Curtain played in his 400th game Saturday night as his
ECHL Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies felled the Trenton
Titans 2-1. BJ Abel got the Titans' only score.
Abel has been the Titans' most consistent center this
season, with four goals and 16 assists in 23 games
and was recalled to the Philadelphia Phantoms Sunday
for his work. The Titans and Bullies are vying for first
in the division.
Reggie
Berg is still targeting late January for a return to
the lineup after a major knee injury. Berg was
the leading scorer in the ECHL when he was hurt.
He began skating again regularly last week.
Rockford
IceHogs head coach Steve Martinson wore a tuxedo behind
the bench on New Year's Eve but his team fell to the
Muskegon Fury 3-7. Mike Riemann, just brought to the
Hogs from the Fort Worth Brahmas was ejected in the
game.
Goldy
Gopher lost the CapitalOne Mascot Bowl to Monte the
Grizzly, the mascot for the University of Montana.
Adam
Hauser will be holding a goalie clinic at the Ice Den
in Hooksett, New Hampshire on February 21,
2005. The one day clinic is to be run by Hauser Goaltending
Camps Director, and current member of the Manchester
Monarchs, Adam Hauser. The hour and a half event costs
$75 and is set to begin at 1:20 pm local time.
The clinic is open to goalies of all ages and levels.
Content will include basic and advanced skills needed
for the goaltender position. Registration for Hauser's
summer hockey camps is currently available on Hauser's
website. Camps are scheduled for June 20-24 in Somerset,
Wisconsin, July 11-15 in Elk River and August 1-5 in
Minnetonka. Go here for more information:
adamhauser.com
Members
of the 2004 Gopher Hockey Senior Class, Jon Waibel,
Matt Koalska, Troy Riddle, Joey Martin, Grant Potulny
and Paul Martin, plan on conducting the second
year of their their Back-2-Back Players Hockey Camps
again this summer. Camps will be held the second
and third weeks in Blaine and fourth and fifth weeks
at Breck Ice Arena. Dates, times and other session
locations will be confirmed soon. If you are interested
in the camps you can send an email to Quick Facts at
quick13@yahoo.com
and your information will be passed along. Further
details will be updated in Quick Facts when they become
available.
Thomas
Vanek was ranked the fifth best NHL prospect in the
AHL by The Hockey News. Goaltender Kari Lehtonen
repeated as number one. Ryan Suter was number
two, Ryan Miller number three and Zach Parise number
four. Lehtonen and Suter are ranked as "future
franchise players" while Miller, Vanek and Parise
are considered "future NHL stars." Drew
Stafford was ranked the third-best collegian behind
Al Montoya and Patrick Eaves.
The
US Women's 'Minnesota Line' has been broken up this
week in intense practices in Boston this week.
Head Coach Ben Smith is going to mix up line combinations
including separating Krissy Wendell, Natalie Darwitz,
and Kelly Stephens.
Quick Quotes:
"I
think he was trying to do a saucer over my stick or
something and I was right there to pick it up. I skated
all the way into the top of the crease - I wasn't missing
that one, I'll tell you that right now. I got
it and I was like 'Oh, nice! I didn't want to
stickhandle, I didn't want to take a chance of him hitting
me and losing it. I just slid it in along the ice, no
top shelf or nothing. If I get 15 or 20 then I'll start
going top shelf. Hopefully my luck will start
changing."
- Nate DiCasmirro on scoring
his second goal of the season, shorthanded, unassisted, to
give the Edmonton Roadrunners a 4-3 win over the Cleveland
Barons Saturday night. (Edmonton Sun)
"He's
always been a solid defensive player for us and it looks
like he's starting to put the other part of his game
back together, hopefully we'll see that continue to
fall his way.''
- Edmonton head coach
Geoff Ward on Nate DiCasmirro's winning goal Saturday
night. (Edmonton Sun)
"You
miss a month, it's tough to come back 100 percent.
'm optimistic, but at the same point disappointed. I
have a lot more to show. On the ice, I feel stable.
Getting the consistency back, that takes time."
- Jeff Panzer on trying
to get back into playing at the crowded center position
for the Syracuse Crunch. (Syracuse Post Standard)
"I
think the turnaround came when they put Curry in net,
and that kind of solidified things. Since they put him
in, they've played very well."
- Don Lucia on BU goalie
John Curry (St. Paul Pioneer Press).
"We
wait all summer for the schedule to come out so we can
see where the team is playing on Halloween, Thanksgiving
and the birthdaysChristmas is about the only day we
can really plan for because they never play. We just
do the best we can with the other holidays."
- Angie Richards, wife
of former Gopher and current Grand Rapids Griffin Travis
Richards (Grand Rapids Press)
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