Luke Fulghum has a goal in his last two games and seven points (4g-3a) in six games for Elmira. Teammate Kevin Ulanski has a three-game assist streak (4a) and leads the team with nine assists and 13 points.  The Jackals are coached by Steve Martinson.

Bakersfield Condors defenseman Joe Dustin is tied for the team lead with seven assists and 11 points.

Troy Riddle scored his first goal of the season for the Houston Aeros against the Peoria Rivermen in the 3-1 victory for the Aeros.
 
The Tampa Bay Lightning traded defenseman Bryce Lampman to the Dallas Stars for defenseman . The word is Lampman was going to leave Tampa's minor league affiliate Springfield for Russia, forcing the Bolts' hand.  Tampa traded Lampman so they didn't lose him for nothing. Lampman was the last cut of training camp and started slowly with the Falcons and was behind other Minnesota defenseman like Mike Lundin and Matt Smaby on the depth chart for the Lightning so his chances for recall and finding a solid spot in Tampa were slim.  Lampman joins Toby Petersen, Marty Sertich and Junior Lessard with the Iowa Stars and would join Matt Niskanen on the Dallas blueline if given the opportunity in the NHL.
 
Wednesday night before Thanksgiving was Mike Modano Tribute Night in Dallas.  The tribute was to honor Modano for becoming the all-time leading American-born point getter in the NHL. In his 14th season as a member of the Dallas Stars and 19th NHL season overall, Modano accomplished the feat on Wednesday, Nov. 14, in a game at San Jose. The ceremony will include former UMD Bulldog Brett Hull and Phil Housley, whose record Modano eclipsed as well as Joe Mullen.
 
Ryan Potulny has a point in eight of his 11 games with the Phantoms (8-3-11), and his eight goals are tied with for the team lead.
 
Drew Stafford & Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres will make an appearance and perform with Ronan Tynan and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra -- under the direction of JoAnn Falletta -- at “A Night With Ronan Tynan and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra” presented by First Niagara on Sunday, December 30 at 7 p.m. at Kleinhans Music Hall. Both players are accomplished musicians.
 
Kellen Briggs of the Idaho Steelheads is the Rbk Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Nov. 19-25. The Colorado Springs rookie was 2-0-0 with a shutout, a 0.50 goals-against average and a .973 save percentage as the Steelheads went 2-1-0 against West Division leader Victoria. After making 13 saves in a 4-1 win against Victoria on Nov. 23, the 24 year old turned aside all 23 shots he faced to register his first professional shutout in a 3-0 win against the Salmon Kings on Nov. 24. The 5-foot-11 and 185-pound Briggs is 3-2-1 in six games and ranks third in the ECHL with a goals-against average of 1.83 and is tied for third with a save percentage of .935.
 
 
Quick Quotes:
 
"You always want to stay, but you're never afraid to try new things [in Finland]," said Lampman, who played 10 games with the Rangers. "But I thought the best situation would be to stay for the next year and then be a free agent. I had basically told New York to trade me or let me try to go somewhere. The Rangers had some young guys like Marc Staal that they wanted to develop big time, so they were pretty much going to get the benefit of the doubt because they were prospects of the future.  It was a little sad leaving, but you still have to look where the best opportunity is for you. I think the AHL is still the best way to get to the NHL, so it was definitely a tough decision after being in Hartford for five years. You get comfortable in a spot where you feel like it's home, but there comes a time where you've got to say, 'Hey, I have to look out for my career.'"

- Bryce Lampman on leaving the Hartford Wolf Pack and NY Rangers to sign with the Lightning organization and playing against his former team for the first time (Hartford Courant)
 
“P.J.’s a very serious individual.  He’s very competitive about hockey. He’s a very good person off the ice. He leads by example in that department. On the ice, he’s been one of our offensive defensemen. He’s been jumping into the play and creating offense for us. He’s doing a good job of that. We needed that. There was a lot of pressure on him because we didn’t have a lot of guys who could do it.”

- Reading Royals head coach Karl Taylor on PJ Atherton (Reading Eagle)

 

Mike Vannelli was reassigned from the Philadelphia Phantoms to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL on October 16th. He played only two games with the Nailers, his first two official professional games, in which he tallied two assists, but Vannelli left a week ago and returned to Minnesota and is said to be giving up hockey after turning down a chance to play in Finland. 
 
Tyler Hirsch has signed to play with HPK Hämeenlinna in Finland on a try out.
 
Former Gopher Craig Johnson has also found work in Europe, signing with Red Bulls Salzburg in Austria.
 
Ben Eaves, son of Mike Eaves, has signed to play with Blues Espoo in Finland.

Tyler Arnason is one point shy of 200 in his NHL career, he has 76 goals and 123 assists in 363 games.
 
Former UMD Bulldog TJ Caig is back playing with EC Heilbronner in Germany of the 2. Bundesliga after a brief 10-game stint with EC Graz in Austria.

Tyler Arnason is one point shy of 200 in his NHL career, he has 76 goals and 123 assists in 363 games.
 
Former UMD Bulldog TJ Caig is back playing with EC Heilbronner in Germany of the 2. Bundesliga after a brief 10-game stint with EC Graz in Austria.
 
Erik Johnson and Steve Wagner are giving the St. Louis Blues a great one-two Minnesota punch on the blueline. Wagner was recently called a top-four defenseman on the Blues even with players like Jay McKee, Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson returning from injury. Not bad for an undrafted college kid from Grand Rapids in his rookie year in the NHL.  
 
Luke Stauffacher has signed with the Manchester Phoenix in England.

Former Gopher Erik Rasmussen, who has remained without a contract so far this season, will play with the Lowell Devils on a PTO beginning this weekend to try to get some exposure, play some games, and attract attention from teams who may need a gritty forward.
 
Jamie Langenbrunner returned to play his first game of the season for the New Jersey Devils after recovery from sports hernia surgery and promptly scored a goal 32 seconds into the game against the New York Rangers. He added a second goal late in the third period, the only two tallies for the Devils. Langenbrunner is matched with former Sioux forwards Travis Zajac and Zach Parise.

Ryan Potulny was named AHL player of the Week for the period ending November 11, 2007. Potulny scored five goals and an assist for six points in three games as the first-place Phantoms (13-1-1-0) continued their torrid start to the 2007-08 season. After missing the previous six games due to injury, Potulny had a hand in six of the Phantoms’ seven goals on the week and scored three consecutive game-winning tallies. He single-handedly gave Philadelphia a dramatic 3-2 win over Bridgeport with a natural hat trick on Friday night, scoring twice in the final 1:43 of regulation before potting the decisive goal 2:11 into overtime. On Saturday, he registered a power-play goal as the Phantoms defeated Binghamton, 2-0. And Sunday, he had a goal and an assist in the third period of Philadelphia’s 2-1 come-fom-behind win over Albany. Potulny had points in six straight AHL games (7-2-9) before being held off the scoresheet in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton… The streak was interrupted in the middle by an injury and a call-up to the Flyers.

Left Wing Clay Wilson has been acquired by the Columbus Blue Jackets from the Anaheim Ducks.

A new website has been launched serving Gopher hockey alumni. The site was created by Mark Bahr and Tom Newman
 
Shorewood native John Curry backstopped Team USA to a second place finish in the Deutschland Cup with a 2-0-1 record and was one shootout goal away from a Championship Trophy. Curry was phenomenal in his two games, sharing duties with former Gopher netminder Adam Hauser. In the Championship game he got Team USA tied through overtime stopping 34 of 37 shots, allowed the first shootout goal against the Swiss, but his US teammates failed to score one shootout marker so the Swiss skated with the championship, but the rookie goalie made a great impression, especially since he is just on the heels of hip labrum surgery recovery and rehabilitation. Curry, who earned rookie of the week honors his first week of pro play with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL, has now been reassigned to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL while fellow Minnesotan Karl Goehring, Curry's roomate, has been released. Curry will split time with Ty Conklin in Wilkes-Barre.

Minnesotans Bryan Lundbohm, David Lundbohm, Nick Angell, Mike Stuart, Andrew Canzanello, Andy Hedlund, Brett Hauer & Mike Carmen all played for Team USA in the Deutschland Cup with Hauser and Curry. Carmen played in all games but went pointless for the US. According to Minnesota team spokesman Jim Strick Carmen is on schedule to rejoin the Gophers for the Dodge Holiday Classic following his one-semester suspension.

PJ Atherton and Travis Morin tied for Plus Performer of the Month in the ECHL both with +7 ratings in October. Atherton is tied for seventh among ECHL defensemen with eight points (3g-5a) in 13 games for the Reading Royals. Morin is tied for the ECHL rookie lead with eight goals and ranks third with 13 points in nine games for the South Carolina Stingrays, though he is currently on recall to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Morin was also named Rookie of the month in October in the ECHL when he had 11 points with six goals, two power-play goals, two shorthand goals and one game-winning goal, five assists and a plus-minus rating of +7 rating as the Stingrays went 4-2-1.
Mark Cullen leads the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL with 12 points while Mark Hartigan leads the team with 7 goals.

Former Gopher Jake Taylor scored his second goal in 135 career AHL games for the Hartford Wolf Pack in a 4-1 win over Albany on Nov. 10, and it turned out to be the game-winner… Taylor’s first AHL goal came on Oct. 22, 2005, in a 6-5 win at Hershey
 
Bloomington native Toby Petersen posted five goals, six points, and a +4 rating in three games for the Stars last week, and Iowa won all three contests… Petersen’s week included a natural hat trick in the Stars’ 4-3 shootout win over Peoria on Nov. 6. Petersen leads the AHL in scoring with 9 goals and 11 goals in 15 games this season for the Iowa Stars.

Joe Motzko's hat trick in Hershey’s 5-3 loss at Norfolk on Nov. 7 marked the first such accomplishment for a Hershey skater in 69 all-time games against the Admirals to that point. Motzko is skating with fellow Minnesotans Grant Potulny and Ben Clymer with the Bears this season. Potulny is the second leading scorer on the Bears behind Motzko with 3 goals and 4 assists in 11 games this season.
 
Samantha Hankinson, daughter of former Gopher Casey Hankinson took in her first Gopher game at Mariucci Arena last Saturday. Casey currently works for United Properties.

When the University of Minnesota Gophers team photo was delayed it was because they were waiting for Evan Kaufmann who was late after being held up following an interview for an internship. The good news is he had several offers and has settled on an opportunity with PriceWaterhouse Cooper.
 
Tim Hambly is currently ranked fifth in scoring amongst defenseman in the AHL with 3 goals and 7 assists in 16 games for the Quad City Flames this season.
 
There is a new professional hockey league that began this season; the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League. According to a league statement "the purpose of the MAHL is to "serve as a training ground to develop professional players, coaches, and personnel on and off the ice." There are five teams, The Indiana (Pa.) Ice Miners, Jamestown (N.Y.) Vikings, Mon Valley (Pa.) Thunder, Valley Forge (Pa.) Freedom, and Wooster (Ohio) Warriors.  So far it does not appear that there are any Minnesota players on the rosters of the teams, with players primarily from the region, and some from California.
 
The Colorado Avalanche are deferring comment on Ryan Stoa's injury to the University of Minnesota officials but there is no doubt they have their physicians and scouts keeping a close eye on his surgery and rehabilitation.  Stoa was a second round pick of the Avalanche in the 2005 Entry Draft.
 
The Avalanche generously allowed injured defenseman Jordan Leopold to fly back to Minnesota with the team this weekend for the game against the Wild. Leopold is recovering from a second surgery to repair his injured wrist.
 
The Pittsburgh Penguins just released final images of their new arena. When Sidney Crosby and the Pens were in Saint Paul recently Penguins officials took a tour of the Xcel Energy Center with HOK architects and engineers, the same firm designing the new arena in Pittsburgh.  Taking notes of what they liked. Since Xcel was built the NHL buildings HOK has done have been virtual copies with simple tweaking of the details with elements like the open concourse, glass wall, bowl seating, etc being incorporated in Phoenix, New Jersey and now Pittsburgh. Reportedly one of the things Pittsburgh officials insisted on was that it fit with the area and have a decidedly "Pittsburgian" look.
 
Kellen Briggs is ranked 9th in the ECHL amongst goaltenders but has played only 3 games for the Idaho Steelheads. He has a save percentage of .935 with a goals against of 2.29, with one win, one loss and one shootout loss.  Footage of the Steelheads was recently featured on a recent episode of the ABC show "Men in Trees" but it is unknown if Briggs was the one in net for the game shown.
 
Aaron Slattengren leads the Augusta Lynx in scoring with 6 goals and 3 assists in 11 games this season. Slattengren and former Bulldog teammate Tim Hambly remain friends and still see each other during summers.
 
Matt Koalska has returned home to Minnesota.  A heart condition he has had for some time, including when he played with the Gophers, something that hadn't limited him before now, prevented European teams from being able to complete his contracts this year. So he is currently working with skating coach Diane Ness and will work with hockey coach and former Gopher Bill Kohn in Highland this winter as well. Koalska is also making plans to enroll back at the University of Minnesota to complete his degree this Spring and will consider his options, which may include retiring as a professional hockey player.
 
Troy Riddle is playing on a line with Dan Irmen for the Houston Aeros currently where he has an assist in seven games on recall with the team.
 
Did you know that brothers Ryan Potulny & Grant Potulny are cousins with Buffalo Sabre Paul Gaustad?
 
A shocking and tragic story in the world of hockey comes from Utah where Kenneth G. Dolezsar, 50, an assistant coach for the Utah Valley State College hockey team, was shot to death just before 7 a.m. outside the Village Inn, 150 W. 10600 South, in Sandy, Utah. So far the shooting appears random. The Wolverines plan to hold a moment of silence in Dolezsar's honor during their game against the University of Utah, Olsen said. The team has memorialized Dolezsar. (Salt Lake Tribune)


Quick Quotes:
 
"I don't think I've ever taken anything good about scoring in a loss. It's about getting a win."

-Jamie Langenbrunner on scoring two goals in his season debut after returning from sports hernia surgery but the Devils losing the game. (Bergen Record)

 
"It's been tight the last few days. I've been trying to loosen up my lower body. It happened earlier but the hit from Marc Staal made it worse. Right now it doesn't look like anything serious. "

- Paul Martin on his recent injury trouble (Newark Star Ledger)


"It feels better now than it did last night and early this morning It's just been aggravated. There's always muscles that are gonna try and compensate for where the injury is and everything kinda gets off line."

-Martin further on his injury (NY Post)


"Not just one guy is gonna replace him.  He kinda leads us out there . . . We all have to kinda take a step up in the leadership role now too."

- Devils defenseman Andy Greene on what losing Paul Martin would mean to the Devils blueline. (NY Post)

 
“You just can’t snap your fingers and go, ‘Let’s be the Russians. We’re going to get together and figure out the best way to make that happen.”  

- Brett Hull on his first day on the job as Co-General Manager of the Dallas Stars (St Louis Dispatch)


"I don't know, I guess getting 200 points in the NHL is pretty good. 200 points isn't bad in 360 games. I'm not going to compare myself to Joe Sakic."

- Tyler Arnason on his impending 200 point milestone (Rocky Mountain News)
 

"He battled it out in the minors, and now he's getting his chance and he's really stepped it up. It's nice to see. He's very solid defensively and very physical. I played with him in the minors, and he's the same type of player now. It's just a matter of waiting for your break." - Brett Clark on former St. Cloud State Husky Jeff Finger playing well for the Colorado Avalanche this season (Denver Post) "Tim Hambly may never play in the NHL because of his skating ability. But what he lacks in that area, he makes up for in the American Hockey League with his head and his smarts. And that is a great attribute. If (he) keeps going like he has you never say never.”

- Quad City Flames head coach Ryan McGill on undrafted defenseman Tim Hambly (Quad City Times)


Quick Speculation:
 
With Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks cleaning house, firing General Manager Doug Armstrong. Look for former sports agent Brian Lawton to be a primary candiate for that open position. Lawton's top former client, Mike Modano is already thought to be lobbying for that recommendation. Lawton stepped down from his sports agency Octagon recently to focus his efforts on pursuing a career as an NHL General Manager.

11.13.07

Golden Gophers earn weekend sweep over Mavericks

by Fiona C. Quick

Kyle Okposo broke out of his scoring slump in a big way with two goals and freshman defenseman Cade Fairchild tallied a three point night as the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers beat the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks 5-2 on Saturday, but the excitement of the weekend sweep was tempered with concern for senior foward Mike Howe, who was carried off the ice on a stretcher after a heavy collision with the boards late in the first period.
 
For a second consecutive night Minnesota dominated the second period against the Mavericks to earn their first two WCHA victories of the season.
 
Said Mavericks head coach Troy Jutting “40 minutes of the game we actually beat them, 20 minutes of the game they really whooped us, and that was the difference.”

Less than a half minute into the game Justin Bostrom was called for checking-from-behind and assessed a game misconduct, giving the Mavericks a five-minute major penalty, and putting the Gophers a man down for the remainder of the game after his ejection.  Minnesota's penalty kill performed well, however, limiting Minnesota State to few shots on that initial man-advantage.
 
Just prior to the penalty expiring, the Mavericks' Jerad Stewart was called for a kneeing major for sticking his leg out dangerously against Gopher freshman defenseman Stu Bickel.  Stewart was also given a game disqualification.
 
With fourteen seconds left in the power play Jay Barriball flipped the puck through the crease to a crashing Ben Gordon who flipped the puck into the net for the first goal of the game, giving the Gophers the 1-0 lead.
 
Not long afterward Evan Kaufmann got stuck on the ice on a long shift and drew a hooking penalty on Jon Kalinski but 43 seconds into the man advantage the Mavericks turned the puck up to the Gophers end on a two-on-two break.  Jon Kalinski scored shorthanded on a rebound of his own shot.
 
Shortly after the Mavericks tied the score Mike Howe was injured on an innocent play, what appeared to be a missed check.  The hush at Mariucci was palpable as Howe lay on the ice while being tended to by University medical personnel but measures were largely seen as precautionary as the assistant captain was seen moving his arms and legs despite slamming his head heavily into the boards after an awkward fall.  Howe gave a “thumbs up” to the Gopher faithful as he was carried off the ice and the game resumed.
 
The Gophers were understandably shaken and Minnesota State took advantage, with RJ Anderson off for hooking Mick Berge gave Minnesota State a 2-1 lead to end the first period.
 
But when the Gophers came out of the locker room for the second period the story and most obviously the attitude had changed.  Minnesota was playing with a purpose.
 
Said Cade Fairchild “Howe is a big guy, he would put his neck on the line for any one of us. After the (first) period we said we have to pull this one out for Howie.”  
.
Kyle Okposo had scored only one goal all season but with RJ Linder in the box for hooking Okposo ripped a shot from the point that sailed into the net, sending the crowd into an explosion.
 
“Wow, monkey off the back,” said a grinning Okposo.  “It did feel good to pop that first one.”
 
Jutting said “Hes a great player, hes one of the best players in college hockey.  Tenth game of the season and he’s only got one goal; that’s not going to last long.”
 
Just two minutes and two seconds after the first goal Okposo scored his second goal of the game off a feed from Jay Barriball from behind the net, and a second assist from senior Tom Pohl and usual Howe linemate, who had been moved up to the top line.
 
“I got the one and (then) found myself in front and haven’t been there a lot this year when someone has found my tape.  It was a great pass by Jay and I had my stick on the ice and I was alone.  Hopefully the floodgates stay open.”
 
Head Coach Don Lucia said, “the more Kyle scores the more we’re going to score on the power play and the more we’re going to win hockey games.”

Following Okposo's two goals, Tony Lucia scored his second of the season with Ryan Flynn setting a screen in front of goaltender Dan Tormey.  After a short review to check for goaltender interference the play stood.
 
Cade Fairchild finished his three-point night scoring his second goal of the season on a delayed penalty.  Ben Gordon showed great patience holding onto the puck and dishing to an open Fairchild who had snuck down to the side of the net for fifth goal of the night, the first time the Gophers had scored more than four goals this season.
 
Said Fairchild of his pinching in so deep for the Gophers’ last goal “It was a delayed penalty; since it was a delayed penalty I thought ‘why not?’”.  

Lucia had high praise for his freshman blueliner “Cade’s got great vision.  Right now he’s probably our top offensive defenseman.”

Minnesota weathered the third period to hold the score at 5-2 to complete the sweep and their first two league victories of the season.

The weekend sweep was likely as important from a confidence and team morale standpoint given the youth of the squad, as it was from a points perspective given the parity of the WCHA this season.  
 
“Going 0-6 would have been a pretty big hole to come out of but we were able to buckle down and now we’re 2-4 in the league and we feel that that’s a more manageable hole that we’re in, and we climbed over Mankato in the standings this weekend and hopefully we can keep climbing over teams,” Kyle Okposo said.

Lucia added “Now we know they can do it, the trick is finding a way to get them to sustain it for games and weeks and weekends.”

Minnesota will find out whether they can continue the effort with a pair of games against Alaska Anchorage at Mariucci Arena this weekend.  If Kyle Okposo continues to score, their chances are much better.
 
Note:  Mike Howe remains out of the line up for the Golden Gophers and will not be in uniform against the Seawolves.  

Just prior to end of the first period of the University of Minnesota versus Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks game Senior Forward Mike Howe went awkwardly into the boards after missing a check, hitting his head first against the boards and then the ice.  Howe was attended to by medical personnel for several minutes on the ice and was then carefully strapped to a stretcher in full equipment and carried off the ice and taken to a local hospital for testing for head and neck injuries.  Howe was seen moving his extremities, including his fingers and feet following the incident but all precautions were taken to prevent any further injury.  Any update will be posted as soon as it is available.  The score at the end of the first period of the game was Minnesota State-Mankato 2-University of Minnesota 1.

10.19.07

IceBreaker Tournament
Review

The University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey Team opened the season with two wins at the IceBreaker Invitational Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul this weekend but the wins didn't come easily and they came with a major cost.
 
For the first two periods of Friday night's opening game against the Rensaelaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers it didn't look good for Minnesota.  RPI came out with a strong forecheck that kept the Gophers hemmed in their own end for the majority of the first two periods.

It wasn't until a goal by Ryan Stoa opened the floodgates and shook up the team that things started clicking. Then, according to the RPI head coach the hometown WCHA advantage on penalty calls did the rest.  Minnesota played the majority of the third period on the power play, especially after a five minute major penalty following a checking from behind call.
 
The Gophers escaped with the 4-3 victory behind a solid effort from Jeff Frazee and a very strong third period thanks to the extended power play time.  The win marked head coach Don Lucia’s 500th victory behind the bench.
 
Saturday night's game against the University of Michigan Wolverines began much better for Minnesota with two quick goals by the Gophers.  
 
But the young blueline still struggled defensively after the first period.  If not for the solid goaltending of Jeff Frazee, who made 44 saves on the night, the game would have fallen much closer in Michgan’s favor.  
 
Said Lucia “Frazee earned his scholarship this weekend.”  And Minnesota secured  the 4-3 win and the IceBreaker title.
 
The worst news for Minnesota, however, was late in the first period a big hit in the corner to star forward Ryan Stoa left him severely hobbled.  
 
Stoa struggled to leave the ice and coach Don Lucia said after the game that he expected him to miss a lengthy period of time with a knee injury; MRI results were pending following the game.
 
The injury to Stoa forced Lucia to do some serious juggling of lines.  
 
Said Lucia trying to explain how he decided the combinations, “For a while we went three left wings, then the third period I double shifted Kyle, then it was after power plays or specialties is was ‘Who are my centers?’  and you just mix and match.  I tried to get more set lines in the third.”
 
Lucia did give the nod to Mike Hoeffel, however, whom he singled out as playing very well and whom he said expected to vie for the spot on the top line.
 
When informed of Lucia’s vote of confidence Hoeffel said, “It is an honor.  Obviously it’s a loss when a leader like Stoa goes out for us but if (Lucia) said that then I've really got to focus now and take advantage of the opportunity to best help our team.”
 
Two days after the game it was announced that Stoa will miss the remainder of the season and Mike Hoeffel will now have that opportunity to step in.  Ironically Hoeffel just returned from a year of rehabilitation from virtually the same injury as Stoa has suffered.
 
Said Hoeffel, “Its just so unfortunate and unlucky it could happen to anyone. Its so hard to see a guy like him go down, being such an important guy to our
team, being a leader and a guy everyone respects both on and off the ice.”

When asked if he had any advice for Stoa, having just recovered from the himself the freshman forward said “just to focus on the positives and take
rehab very seriously.”
 
The pair of weekend wins at the IceBreaker Tournament was a good test for the Gophers but a test that came at great cost.
 
The WCHA season opens this weekend against Colorado College.  Obviously their next test is how the Gophers can move on without Ryan Stoa.



10.15.07

Matt Koalska's contract with HC Bolzano was canceled reportedly due to a failed medical exam. Koalska had already played in exhibition games and was to start the season when the announcement was made October 3rd. In a statement the club president Dieter Knoll said "This is truly regrettable, Matt showed us great things in training and could become the star of our championship."
 
John Curry is still rehabbing from surgery to repair his injured hip. Curry drove to the Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp with Alex Goligoski and the former Boston University standout and Hobey Baker nominee is now rooming with Karl Goehring another Baby Pens goaltender. Curry is expected to start playing again soon after a minor setback.
 
Jordan Leopold, playing with the Colorado Avalanche, is hurt again, this time a hip injury. While not considered serious it is beginning to seem like Leopold is cursed. He missed the first 25 games of last season while after surgery to repair a sports hernia, and then missed another cumulative 42 games with wrist and adductor muscle injuries.
 
Alex Goligoski scored his first goal of his professional career off a rebound from Jeff Taffe's original shot in a game against the Philadelphia Phantoms, a team that features Mike Vannelli & Ryan Potulny. Jeff Taffe is off to a hot start in the AHL with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins, he has 4 goals and 2 assists in his first 5 games playing under former Gopher Todd Richards with the Baby Pens.
 
Ryan Potulny has two goals and an assist in five games with the Phantoms while Vannelli has yet to play a game for the Philly farm team this year. The Phantoms have five consecutive wins to start the year.
 
Erik Rasmussen is still without an NHL contract. Rasmussen is reportedly seeking a one-way contract and may look at his European options instead if injuries don't open up that market. Rasmussen finished the season extraordinarily well, skating on the second line for the New Jersey Devils.
 
Don't be surprised to see Tim Hambly with the Calgary Flames soon. He is playing very well with the Quad City Flames, two goals and two assists in three games, while the parent Flames are struggling.
 
Saturday October 6th marked the 300th AHL game of center Mark Cullen's career, spanning six seasons in the league. Cullen had a goal and an assist for the Grand Rapids Griffins, who won the game 3-2 over the Lake Erie Monsters. Matt Hussey, who played for the Griffins last season, scored the first goal of the game for the Monsters, which happened to be the first goal in Lake Erie Monsters franchise history.
 
You would have thought Steve Martinson was still coaching the Rockford Ice Hogs. They opened their inaugural season as a new AHL franchise against the new Quad Cities AHL franchise and the two teams combined for 100 penalty minutes.
 
You can tell Dan Hinote is healthy again. He scored two goals against his former team the Colorado Avalanche as his St Louis Blues skated to victory 4-1 on October 12th.  Hinote had been a healthy scratch for two consecutive games after playing less than six minutes in the season opener against Phoenix.
 
Former Wild forward Andrew Brunette has the third longest active consecutive games played streak in the NHL at 375 games.
And Richard Park, another key component of that 2002-03 Wild playoff run signed a two-year contract extension with the New York Islanders.
 
Former Gopher Phil Kessel scored his first career hat trick on Friday night as the Bruins beat the LA Kings 8-6 and Brady Murray scored his first career NHL goal in the same game.  Former Wild goaltender Manny Fernandez got his first win as a Bruin as well.
 
Mike Modano is now within four points of matching Phil Housley's all time mark for points by a defenseman. Modano has 1,228 points, scored in 1,243 games while Housley, who will be inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame this week, scored 1,232 points in 1,495 games.
 
According to publically released records on the Federal Elections Committee website Minnesotan Bret Hedican has made a $ 2,300 political contribution to presidential candidate Mitt Romney.  Minnesota Sports & Entertainment Chairman Robert O. Naegele also contributed to Romney, but a much smaller amount $500. Other notable contributions from members of the Wild ownership group included Vance Opperman's $1000 contribution to Bill Richardson. Interestingly, Vance K. Opperman made a $2,300 donation to Hilary Rodham Clinton. Edwin Gage contributed $2000 to Rudy Giuliani. Stanley Hubbard made a $2,300 donation to Giuliani while Stanley S. Hubbard made a $2,300 contribution to Bill Richardson's campaign. The Wild's owners are not the only NHL group reflected on the list with the Bruins' Jeremy Jacobs' multiple donations to John Edwards shown, Jeremy M. Jacobs made donations to both Clinton and Romney. Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars, and Thomas O. Hicks both made donations to Giuliani. The late William Wirtz, owner of the Blackhawks made donations to Bill McCain, Mitt Romney and Tommy Thompson. Peter Karmanos, owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, made $2300 in contributions to Mitt Romney.
 
Congratulations to Darren Haydar, a longtime minor league star who finally caught an NHL break and scored his first NHL career goal over the weekend. In just his eighth NHL game played Haydar, the reigning AHL MVP was set up by rookie Brett Sterling and scored against future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur.  The Devils beat the Atlanta Thrashers 6-5 but Haydar will no doubt take solace in his milestone, as will Sterling on his first career NHL point. The two were linemates with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL where Sterling was the Rookie of the Year, and award Haydar won in 2003.  Haydar also had his first NHL assist in the game.
 
Troy Riddle and AJ Thelen are on the preseason rosters for the Texas Wildcatters of the ECHL.  Riddle's ECHL rights were held by the Trenton Titans (now the Trenton Devils) but the Wildcatters arranged a trade for future considerations (the deal will reportedly be finalized this week) to allow the former Gopher to play for the Aeros' affiliate. They join Dan Welch, Ross Carlson and John Adams who are also with the Texas ECHL club.
 
Another former Gopher Peter Kennedy is with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL with former teammate Andy Sertich & Gino Guyer returned to the Alaska Aces after missing the majority of last season following knee surgery while PJ Atherton moves from the Johnstown Chiefs to the Reading Royals this year.
 
The Minnesota Wild may want to take note of the trend in Denver, the Avalanche, after years of success and great brand equity, have yet to sell out a home game this season.  The Avalanche had their streak of 487 game sellout streak, the NHL's longest, end last year.
 
When former Shattuck St. Mary's head coach Andy Murray coached the St.Louis Blues against the Los Angeles Kings he became just the fourth coach in NHL history to oppose his son in an NHL game according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Murray's son Brady is a rookie with the Kings.  No other family members could be in attendance at the game as his daughter Sarah had a game with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and son Jordy was playing with Shattuck.  Brady had made his actual NHL debut earlier in London, England when the Kings began the season against the Ducks at the O2 Arena there.

 
Quick Quotes:
 
"It's nice, but you try to approach every game the same. You saw those goals. They were just lucky bounces. When it happens against your old team, it's kind of nice, but a lot of it's luck."

- Dan Hinote on his two goals for the Blues against his former Avalanche team (Denver Post).
 

"It was pretty exciting. It was one of those nights. I got lucky on a couple. We just went out there and played hard, got some bounces, and things happened for us. We had eight goals, which was good for our offense, but we've got to clean up the defense. Giving up six goals doesn't cut it."

- Phil Kessel on scoring his first career hat trick. (AP)