Former Gopher Adam Hauser is featured in a new AHL Prospects & Heroes trading card set manufactured by In The Game, Inc.  Zach Parise is also part of the set.  The trading cards feature up and coming players with legends of the past.  Hauser and Parise are in good company with the likes of Al Montoya, Chris Bourque and Wild prospective goaltender Josh Harding as well as legends Cam Neely, Martin Brodeur and Grant Fuhr.  The 2005-06 Heroes & Prospects set will be available in both a Hobby version and a special Arena version, and will include a variety of autograph cards, game-used memorabilia cards and In The Game’s popular He Shoots, He Scores Decoy/Redemption cards. For more details, visit In The Game on-line. (theahl.com)

Rochester's Jason Notermann is the 5th leading scorer in the UHL.  Notermann, playing with the Steve Martinson Rockford Ice Hogs has 13 goals and 18 assists and a stellar +14 rating in 23 games.  The Hogs recently signed an affiliation with the Nashville Predators and Notermann was signed to a PTO with the Nashville AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals on Tuesday and played with the Ads against Omaha on Wednesday night, scoring a goal and an assist.  Notermann last year played with the now-defunct ECHL Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies where he had an astounding 28 goals and 27 assists in 67 games, his second professional season since finishing at the University of North Dakota.  His first year as a pro he played wi th the Johnstown Chiefs where he had 54 points in 68 games.  Prior to Wednesday, Notermann had only played one game in the AHL with the Binghamton Senators.

Jon Francisco of the ECHL Reading Royals has a nine-game scoring streak with 6 goals and 7 assists in that span, he has 5 points in his last three games.

Fresno’s Luke Curtin has four assists in his last two games and is tied for third in the league with 17 assists.

The Minnesota Wild have not recalled Erik Westrum from Houston, despite the fact that he has lead the AHL in scoring for most of the season.  The Wild already have an abundance of centermen but Westrum can and has played wing equally as good.  However, with the new CBA rules, it was necessary for Westrum to clear waivers upon being sent down, which he did, but he would also need to clear again if recalled for a short stint and reassigned again.  There is virtually no chance that Westrum would clear waivers a second time given his strong per formance in the AHL, his versatility and his grittiness, all very desireable qualities in today's NHL.  Westrum bargain basement salary is also a reason other teams would snatch him up; he poses very little salary cap liability, especially for those teams in injury trouble.

The New Jersey Devils may be in a world of salary cap trouble as soon as Patrick Elias is activated from injured reserve.  They will be shopping more than one high-profile, high-salary player as well as some utility players.  Amongst those on the block could be Jamie Langenbrunner and Erik Rasmussen as well as defenseman Colin White.

Rochester's Jason Noterman is the 5th leading scorer in the UHL.  Noterman, playing with the Adirondak Frostbite (who are owned by Barry Melrose and Steve Levy of ESPN), has 13 goals and 18 assists and a stellar +14 rating in 23 games with the Frostbite.
 
Cory Hessler is the 4th ranked defenseman in scoring in the UHL with 4 goals and 16 assists in 23 games with the Rockford Ice Hogs.  The Hogs are coached by Steve Martinson, a St. Cloud alumnus.

Thomas Vanek scored on a penalty shot last week for the Buffalo Sabres.  It was the first successful penalty shot for a Sabres player since Miroslav Satan beat Rangers 'tender Mike Dunham on February 15, 2003.
 
Matt Jones, a former defenseman with the University of North Dakota, was called up the Coyotes for a cup of coffee this week.

Joe Motzko was recalled and reassigned by the Columbus Blue Jackets again, he has had several recalls and reassignments so far this season.  The Blue Jackets are likely the NHL team with the most transactions so far this season.

Brad DeFauw has been loaned from EHC Visp to EV Zug in Switzerland.

Latvian goaltender and former NHL star Artus Irbe has joined Darby Hendrickson in Austria, leaving Riga Latvia to play with Red Bulls Salzburg.  Irbe and Hendrickson shared a close friendship with the late Sergei Zholtok.  Hendrickson has 6 goals and 12 assists in 20 games with Salzburg, who are in secon place in the Erste Bank EHL.

TJ Caig has moved into first place in scoring in the Netherlands.  He has an astounding 31 goals and 13 assists in 21 games with the Nijmegen Emperors.  Dave Ianazzo is ranked 4th with 19 goals and 16 assists in 19 games with Destil Trappers Tilburg.  Tyler Palmiscno is 6th in scoring with 12 goals and 19 assists in 21 games with Vadeko Flyers Heerenveen.

Aaron Fox is the second leading scorer in the Deutche 2. Bundesliga.  Fox has 11 goals and 22 assists in 23 games with EHC Wölfe Freiburg.
 
Mike Muller is the 5th ra nked defenseman in scoring in the Deutche Oberliga.  Muller has 13 goals and 11 assists in 25 games with EV Ravensburg.
 
Ryan Kraft has moved into a tied for 20th in scoring in the Deutche Eishockey Liga.  Kraft has 9 goals and 16 assists in 29 games with the Kassel Huskies.

Craig Johnson has had surgery in October and will be out of the DEG Metro Stars' lineup for at least six weeks.
 
Adam Hauser had a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) snapped by Springfield on Dec. 3, has gone to overtime in each of his last nine starts in net for Manchester.

Andrew Alberts was recalled to the Boston Bruins on Monday, just in time to return home to Minnesota when the Bruins face the Wild on Thursday.
 
Former Badger Bernd Bruckler was released by the Hartford Wolf Pack.
 
One of the best players in the Israeli hockey league died of a heart attack while playing in a game last week.   The 44-year old Alexander Golubovich left the ice after the second period suffering shortness of breath.  Paramedics were summoned but he died in the ambulance en route to hospital.  Golubovich was a player/coach for the Israeli team Bat Yam II and had a stellar career in Russia and Latvia before moving to Israel.  He is survived by his wife Lola, and two children, a son, aged 17 and daughter aged 13. (Eurohockey.net)

Quick Speculation:
 
Its no secret that Mike Milbury has shopped Mark Parrish in the past; the Islanders would like to unload some salary burden thanks to the outrageous Yashin contract they are saddled with.  Parrish would love to play for the Wild, and reiterated that sentiment in a recent news story.  In the last trade rumors Milbury was said to be seeking a pac kage of a good prospect and draft pick or picks in exchange for Parrish. Brian Lawton represents Parrish and his salary demands will not be low this summer.  Considering the Minnesota Wild has the second lowest payroll in the league (second only to the Washington Capitals), Parrish is too expensive for the Wild to even consider.  Quick Facts doubts Risebrough would pull the trigger on a trade or free agent signing of Parrish, unless the Minnesota native accepts a much lower salary to stay home to play.
 
If Jason Blake's injury suffered in a scary collision with the Wild's Kurtis Foster keeps him out of the lineup, Matt Koalska could be recalled as a replacement player for his first chance at playing in the NHL.  Koalska has 8 goals and 7 assists in 25 games and has an even rating with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  However, it is more likely that the Islanders will recall someone who has previous NHL experience, like Se an Bergenheim.

Read A Quick Feature on Duluth's Cade Fairchild commiting to the Gophers.

Brandon Bochenski, who helped lead the AHL in scoring last season and was the leading rookie scorer in the league, impressed during the Ottawa Senators' training camp this fall, enough to earn a spot on the starting line with Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley.  But his scoring touch left him as did his confidence and he was reassigned to the AHL team in Binghamton.  
Bochenski was recalled on November 30th to replace and injured Martin Havlat after spending more than a month in Bingo and promptly scored a hat trick on Monday leading the Sens to a 6-3 victory over Florida.  He also added an assist for a 4-point night.  Bochenski had only two career NHL goals prior to Monday.

Wyatt Smith was recalled to the New York Islanders for a second time this season.  That leaves only Matt Koalska and Bruno Gervais as the only top scorers on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers who have not been recalled to the parent club.  Ko alska has 8 goals, 6 assists and a +5 rating for the Tigers.  He scored his 8th goal on Friday, but missed games on Saturday and Sunday after suffering a charley horse during the game on Friday.

Jeff Taffe has two goals and 9 assists in 15 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Brian Gornick has been returned to the Dayton Bombers after recall to the Syracuse Crunch.
 
Joe Motzko was returned to the Syracuse Crunch from his recall to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After spending three months with the Boston Bruins, Andrew Alberts was reassigned to the Providence Bruins after the Bruins acquired several players in the Joe Thornton trade.
 
Gino Parrish leads the Stockton Thunder defense with 11 points (1g-10a) and 10 (3ppg-7ppa) are on the power play.

Casey Hankinson and Dave Spehar were amongst 15 former Gopher teammates who reunited at Mariucci Arena for the Friday night Wisconsin game.  Hankinson now works for United Properties and Spehar works for ThinkEquity.

John Pohl's game-worn Toronto Marlies' sweater is being auctioned off on Ebay by the team.  The bid for Pohl's jersey, worn in games on December 2nd & 3rd,  is up to $405 (C) on Ebay currently. 
Go here to see the auction of the Argonauts styled jersey. Bidding ends on December 9th.  A team-issued Pohl sweater is also available on Ebay.  Pohl scored his 13th goal of the season over the weekend, a game-winner.

Two members of the Florida Everblades recently tied a re cord for the fastest two goals scored in the ECHL  Kevin Bergin and Paul Cabana scored within three seconds of each other in the second period of the Everblades 6-4 win against Gwinnett on Friday.  The record is also held by former Gopher Justin McHugh and Jeff Gabriel who scored three seconds apart for Jacksonville on Feb. 21, 1996 and was set in 1992 by Howie Rosenblatt and Martin St. Amour of Cincinnati.

Troy Riddle has removed the half-shield eye protection he wore last year with the Worcester Ice Cats last season.  He is playing a more physical checking role with the Peoria Rivermen this season and has 6 goals and 4 assists in 20 games this season.

Zach Parise was a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career last Wednesday.  Parise has struggled after a good start, he has scored just one goal and assisted on two others in the past 17 games.  A move from center to wing a few weeks ago did little to break him out of his slump so Parise was scratched against the Flyers and former Gopher Barry Tallackson inserted instead.  Tallackson was reassigned to Albany the following day.
 
At the NHL season's quarter pole, audiences are up 31 per cent on the regional television networks: up 175% in San Jose, 127% in Minnesota, 125% in Nashville. National ratings on OLN are about half of what they were on ESPN. The NHL begins airing on
NBC this January. (Toronto Star).
 
The National Hockey League posted the best November attendance in its 88-year history, attracting 3,346,812 fans to 199 total games and setting an attendance record for the second consecutive month. The November average of 16,818 per game was 91.2% of capacity and two percent above the previous November high of 16,490, set in 2001.  Twenty-four of the 30 NHL clubs are even with or ahead of their 2003-04 performance.

The top gainers are:
Pittsburgh Penguins (+35%)
Carolina Hurricanes (+26%)
Calgary Flames (+24%)
Tampa Bay Lightning (+24%)
Boston Bruins (+18%)
Florida Panthers (+16%)
Nashville Predators (+16%)
San Jose Sharks (+13%)

(Sports Business News)
 
The NHLPA is in turmoil.  First the election of Ted Saskin is at issue, now comes word that Jeremy Roenick together with former Blackhawks teammated Bob Probert and Denis Savard have filed a letter of inquiry challenging the union to make a proper accounting of the dues paid by the players as well as monies received from the marketing of players (trading cards, video games, jersey sales, etc.).  According to the NHLPA constitution the union is required to provide members “an annual report of the financial operations of the Association."  According to Roenick, Savard and Probert none of them recall receiving such a document.  T hey have hired an attorney to represent their interests and the examination could lead to the true upheaval of the union, especially in conjunction with the litigation that has been filed by Trent Klatt and his supporters.
 
From the Buffalo Sabres, a little humor about the new NHL Rules made to improve the game and increase excitement.  Here's their suggestion for seven new rules:  

7- Hit a post, do a shot.
6- No more goalie masks.
5- To make Overtime more exciting, "Sudden Death" will now be taken literally.
4- One player from each team gets a pool cue and a garbage can lid.
3- Alexander Daigle's name will now rhyme with "Bagel".
2- All pucks must have creamy filling.
1- Goodbye Shootout, Hello Limbo!

Quick Speculation:
 
Quick Facts would not be surprised to see Doug Risebrough make some changes to the Wild lineup through some trades in the weeks before the Olympic break, a change that could involve a trade involving veteran center Wes Walz, who, besides Manny Fernandez, is the Wild's most shoppable player.
 

Quick Quotes:
 
"Wyatt is a great two-way center who plays solid, well-rounded hockey at both ends of the ice, which was evident when he was not only called-up by the Islanders but played some serious minutes." 

- Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach Dave Bassegio on Wyatt Smith.
 
"Matt has been a lot better this season.  He's playing with more conviction and assertion.  When he skates hard and keeps mo ving, he's a fun player to watch."

- Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach Dave Bassegio on Matt Koalska.
 
"P.J. Atherton is a strong and mobile player.  He has a good shot and is a solid two-way defenceman and he is still developing.  He is playing more than he ever has this season, he is being a physical force and leading the way.  Our long range plans include PJ, the onus is on him to prove that he wants to be a player, and if this season is any indication, he has chance to play pro in our organization. How high up will be up to PJ.

- Dave Heitz pro scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning on P.J. Atherton.
 
"Considering I didn't have three goals prior to this game, it was definitely exciting to have three in one game. I don't know what else to say." 

- Brandon Bochenski on scoring his first NHL career hat trick. (AP)
 
"I never heard of this guy before, but obviously I'll know who he is from now on"

- Roberto Luongo on Brandon Bochenski scoring his first career hat trick against the Florida goalie. (AP)
 
"Huselius is probably a skilled offensive player who needs to be in the right situation to be productive. Sometimes these players never find that right situation."

- Wild Scout Tommy Thompson on Kristian Huselius who was shopped to the Wild before being traded to Calgary Flames.
 

Quick Take:
 
The Houston Aeros lead the AHL West and Roman Voloshenko, Kirby Law, Erik Westrum and Patrick O'Sullivan continue to dominate in scoring, especially on the power play.  Benoit Pouliot is tearing it up with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL with 33 points in 22 games.  The Minnesota Wild are floundering, desperate for offense and struggling to find consistency on defense.  It looks like the Minnesota Wild may have put their faith in the wrong group of prospects and players.  It couldn't hurt to overhaul the lineup to include these players, but the Wild are not likely to do so due to financial and CBA concerns.  The team continues to dominate at the box office, with television viewers and radio listeners so there really is no need to dominate on the ice.