Ken Gernander and the Hartford Wolf Pack staved off elimination in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Eastern Conference Finals Friday night, beating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-1 in Pennsylvania. Toby Petersen scored the lone goal for the Baby Pens. Gernander finished a +2 on the night.

In the deciding Game 7 of the AHL Eastern Conference Finals it was the Penguins that were victorious. Matt Murley deflected Colby Armstrong's flip from the right wing between the legs of a screened Jason LaBarbera and the Penguins claimed the Eastern Conference Final and a the ticket to face the Milwaukee Admirals for the Calder Cup Championship. Ken Gernander for the Wolf Pack and Toby Petersen for the Penguins were each held scoreless and both were even on the night.  The finals series begins Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

Captain Ken Gernander, who has the longest tenure of any player in the NY Rangers system, hopes to resign for one more season with the WolfPack. It would be his eighth season with the franchise and it looks likely that Rangers General Manager and WolfPack General Manager Jim Schoenfeld appear prepared to bring back the only Captain the Hartford WolfPack has ever known. Petersen, a former Colorado College Tiger, is reportedly battling some serious undisclosed injuries throughout the post-season. He missed several games in the Division final series but was listed as a healthy scratch.

There have been 112 players to wear a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins uniform since the team was born in 1999, but three stand out above the rest.  Tom Kostopoulos, Toby Petersen and Eric Meloche occupy the top three spots on the team's all-time scoring list.  They are also the only three players left on the Penguins roster from the team's first visit to the Calder Cup finals in 2001 where they lost to the St. John Flames. (Citizen's Voice)

When the Milwaukee Admirals play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the AHL Calder Cup Championship, Curtis Murphy will be competing for his 4th Championship. The former North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and two-time Eddie Shore AHL Defenseman of the Year, won the NCAA Championship with the Sioux in 1997, won the Turner Cup IHL Championship with the Orlando Solar Bears in 2001 and last year won the Calder Cup while in the Minnesota Wild system with the Houston Aeros. 

Murphy has a contract to play Russia in the top professional league next season with Metallurg Magnitorgorsk one of the top-paying leagues in Russia. Murphy can expect at least a tax-free 6-figure salary as well as benefits like a car and luxury housing.

When Milwaukee Admirals blueliner Curtis Murphy won the 2001 Turner Cup in the last year of the International Hockey League before it folded and most teams merged into the AHL, he played with former Gopher defenseman Todd Richards. Todd Richards is now the assistant coach for the Milwaukee Admirals and is responsible for the defenseman. 

The Admirals franchise is expected to be sold to an investors group lead by Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold this summer.

Darryl Sutter publicly challenged Jordan Leopold to play better in the playoffs before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals.  Leopold's ice time had shrunk to under 20 minutes in the last few games where he had been averaging the most on the Calgary blueline. The chastise-ment isn't new for Sutter though, he has already done the same for Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Martin Gelinas, Robyn Regehr, Craig Conroy, Toni Lydman and Denis Gauthier since the playoffs began. Leopold responded to the challenge in Game 3 by playing more minutes than he had seen in the previous two games and earning an assist on the game-winning goal.

Leopold's 9 points, all on assists, is tied for first amongst all defensemen in this year's playoffs. He is +5 and his average time on ice in the playoffs still exceeds 25 minutes a game.

With the Tampa Bay Lightning losing two players to injury, head coach John Tortorella chose to play Ben Clymer for only his second game of this playoff year he was on the ice for 8:12 in Game 4. In his previous game, in the first round against the Islanders, Clymer only logged 3:43 in ice time. Clymer was inserted into the lineup and placed on a line with Martin Cibak who had also not played many games for the Bolts.  Clymer played well on the fourth line and had at least two big scoring chances for the Bolts.  He was given kudos by Captain Dave Andreychuk and Head Coach John Tortorella in their post-game press conferences.

Jordan Leopold had two good scoring chances for the Flames but was held scoreless.  Both Leopold and Clymer had even ratings in Game 4. The series returns to Tampa Bay tied at two games each after the Flames dropped Monday's game 1-0.

2002 First Round Draft pick Daniel Paille agreed to a three-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres needed to sign Paille before June 1 or lose their rights. With Paille now signed the Sabres will likely now turn their attention to making an official offer to 2003 first round pick Thomas Vanek. Vanek has said he would consider an offer and leave the University of Minnesota early, if he deemed the offer good enough.

Former Wild prospect Peter Bartos was released from his Czech team HC Ceské Budejovice.

Elk River's Joel Otto recently took part in a Calgary Flames alumni charity golf tournament.  Otto is one of the most active Flames alumni and resides in Calgary. Otto will likely be joining the Calgary Hitmen franchise in a spokesman/-marketing position. He was an integral part of the Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup winning team.

If you won a large lottery jackpot, but someone came to you and said that the State of Minnesota, that sponsored the lottery, would be much better off if you gave back part of the money, would you? 

That is in essence what NHL owners are asking NHL players to do. The players agree that they have been overpaid and have offered an across the board 5% salary decrease as part of the NHLPA's offer to the league for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. But to ask the players to accept far lower salaries, to ask them to make that self-sacrifice, so that owners can make more profit, is unfair.

NHL owners took part in a huge cash-grab opportunity with the latest round of expansion, that included the Minnesota Wild.  They then used those monies, $80 million per team divided amongst owners, to pay huge salaries to star players and even marginal players, causing the NHL pay structure to escalate out of control.

Now the NHL is claiming poverty and asking the players to take the hit for their own fiscal irresponsibility. What the owners fail to mention is that while they may not be seeing huge cash flows, their franchise values for the most part, have at least doubled in the last two decades. The Calgary Flames were sold from Atlanta to Calgary for around $20 million dollars and are worth at least five times that now.

While profit margin is one way to measure a business' success, return on investment is another.  The NHL owners are saying that they are losing money hand over fist, in a system that they helped create. But the fact that their franchises are worth far more than they paid for them never seems to enter into the equation, and it should.

Twice the NHL closed a window of opportunity to renegotiation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. They chose to do that in order to secure the NHL's participation in the Olympic Games and allow for expansion, both money-making endeavors for the league and its owners.
If anyone should be willing to compromise in negotiations for a new CBA, it should be the owners. It was their actions, and decisions that brought the league to where it is today. The players have already offered to give back part of the lottery they won in the escalating inflation of NHL salaries, they offered 5% salary reduction, to make the league stronger in the future.  Now it is time for the owners to acknowledge their responsibility for the current status of the league, and concede something themselves. It is the owners' turn to hand back some of their winnings.
 

"He's playing a lot of minutes because we need Jordan Leopold to play better for us to have a chance to win this series. I don't know if Jordan hit 20 minutes in either game. We certainly need more than that. With the injuries to Gauthier and Lydman, we can't afford to have anybody not maxing out their game." - Flames head coach Darryl Sutter calling out Jordan Leopold, when asked why Andrew Ference is playing so many minutes. (Calgary Herald)

"Everyone had set higher goals.  You can say what you want at the start of the season about wanting to win things, but at some point, you can determine if it's a realistic goal, and everyone felt winning the Calder Cup was a realistic thing. You couldn't say anyone was selfish or his heart wasn't in it, but guys in the white hats don't always win. That's why it's so disappointing." - Hartford WolfPack Captain  Ken Gernander after losing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

"I think you're going to have a few veterans like Gernander, who is great for the franchise, to stabilize things and keep the youngsters growing every year.  But you can't have a bunch of veterans and expect to keep the development process going." - Rangers GM Glen Sather on what he expects to see the Hartford WolfPack roster to look like next season. (Hartford Courant)

The Milwaukee Admirals are the AHL Western Conference Champions. They defeated the Rochester Americans 4-1 Wednesday night in Rochester to clinch the title, their first as a franchise, and will vie for the Calder Cup for the first time since their inception as an International Hockey League team. Former NHL goaltender Wade Flaherty, in winning three straight games against Rochester, allowed just four goals on 123 shots. He stopped 44 shots in the series clincher. Centers Vernon Fiddler and Greg Classen each scored two goals.  Wyatt Smith was a -1 in the game for the Ads and Rick Mrozik was a +1 for the Amerks. The Admirals had the AHL’s best record in the regular season 46-27-7, including three overtime losses.  As conference champions, Milwaukee captured the Robert W. Clarke Trophy, which is named for the co-founder of - ironically enough - the Rochester Americans.

Jordan Leopold was tied for the playoff point lead amongst NHL defenseman with Tampa's Dan Boyle before Thursday's game.  Boyle, however, scored a goal while Leopold was held scoreless meaning Boyle now has the lead with 10 points on 2 goals and 8 assists.  Leopold has 9 assists.  Both d-men have stellar +/- rankings, Boyle's +7 edging Leopold's +5.  Leopold is averaging 1.45 shots on goal per game and has an ice time average of 25:36 minutes per game, which ranks him second amongst all players still competing for the Cup.  Only fellow Calgary blueliner Robyn Regehr averages more per game at 26:13 minutes.

Leopold played okay in Thursday's game, seeing ample time on Calgary's many power plays and part of their 3-5 penalty kill, but not in many other situations. He was credited with only one shot on goal (a few other attempts were blocked) and was a -1 logging his second-lowest ice time total of the post-season.  He did have a dandy hit on Maxim Afanasenkov though, knocking him to his tuchas.

Former Gopher defenseman Nick Angell has signed to play for the Frisk-Asker Tigers of the Norsk Eliteserien, (Norwegian Elite League) next season.  The team plays in a suburb of Oslo, on the ocean.  He played well last year in the Swedish Allsvenskan, his first season overseas after playing professionally in the UHL.  During Angell's sophmore season at the U of MN the Gophers played an exhibition game against Valerenga, of the same league Nowegian league.  Angell took Swedish as his foreign language at the U of M so the language barrier for him isn't great.  He is finishing his degree this summer in the Twin Cities.  Also playing in Norway is former UMD Bulldog Chris Marinucci, who helped his club win the Championship this season.

Toby Petersen and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins face Ken Gernander and the Hartford WolfPack Friday night in Game 6 of the AHL Eastern Conference Final. The Baby Pens lead the series 3-2.

Before going off the air for a final time ESPN's NHL2Night produced their list of the top 100 NHL players of all time. Phil Housley came in at 86 next to Mike Modano at 85. Dino Ciccarelli was 78. Bob Clarke was 41, Brett Hull 27.  Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux were ranked the top three players, respectively.

Some people have forgotten but Flames captain Jarome Iginla, the favorite for the Hart Trophy and likely Conn Smythe Trophy winner, was traded by the Dallas Stars to Calgary with Cloquet's Corey Millen in exchanged for Joe Nieuwendyk.

A poll on the front page of NHL.com asks visitors to vote for the defenseman they believe will make the biggest impact on the Stanley Cup Finals.  After 12167 votes were cast the Flames' Robyn Regehr leads the pack with 48.58% of the votes, Flames d-man Andrew Ference is second with 17.87% of the votes and Jordan Leopold is third with 13.31% of the votes.

Congratulations to Steve Griggs, Vice President of Customer Service and Sales for the Minnesota Wild, who was named one of the top local executives under 40 by Twin Cities Business Journal.

The NHL's winner of the 7th Man Award, Minnesota Wild Fan Theresa Gould rang the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday.  Gould wore the Wild's red third sweater.  Gould was chosen from among 30 team winners by an expert panel of ABC and CBC hockey analyst John Davidson; ESPN announcer Linda Cohn; TSN hockey analyst Pierre McGuire; actress/hockey fan Whoopi Goldberg; entertainer and hockey enthusiast Denis Leary; last year's 7th Man Award winner Roger Farina; and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Former Edmonton Oilers captain Lee Fogolin and his family are in mourning after his teen son died in his sleep yesterday. Michael Fogolin, a 17-year-old defenceman with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League, died at his Edmonton home.  The cause of death has not been determined. An autopsy will be performed but the results are not expected for two to four months. (CP)

The agreement under which the NHL and CHL do business and agreement separate from the CBA, expired last week with the conclusion of the Memorial Cup.

Woodbury's Adam Berkhoel was named the USA Hockey College Player  of the Year.  Established to recognize the accomplishments of the top American-born player in college hockey each season, the recipient of the USA Hockey College Player of the Year Award is chosen by a committee that includes members of the media and leading coaches from NCAA Division I hockey.  Zach Parise was named the USA Hockey Bob Johnson Award Winner recognizing his play with the 2004 U.S. National Junior Team, winning the gold medal. Created in 1992, the Bob Johnson Award recognizes excellence in international ice hockey competition during a specific season of play. Mike Eaves was named winner of the USA Hockey Distinguished Achievement Award for 2004. (USA Hockey)

Former UW Badger Andy Wozniewski signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"There's no changing where we are, but I don't think any negative emotions are really going to help anything, so the guys are positive. I don't think you should mistake being loose for not being serious or that we don't understand the gravity of the situation. We don't change our game plan because we're down, 3-2. You just have to dictate what kind of game you play. You have to have a sense of urgency, but you can't replace it with a sense of panic." - Ken Gernander on the Hartford WolfPack trying to avoid elimination in the AHL Eastern Conference Final on Friday night. (Hartford Courant)

The Minnesota Wild have signed free agent defenseman Ryan Stokes to a contract.  Stokes played last season for the Mississauga IceDogs.

Jordan Leopold and the Calgary Flames beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 Tuesday night in the opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Leopold saw his ice time dramatically reduced while bluline mates Andrew Ference and Robyn Regehr's increased. Leopold was on the ice for 19:38, below his playoff average, and went even on the night with two shots on goal.  It ended his three-game point streak for the Flames.

Ben Clymer hasn't been in the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup for over a month and has only played a few minutes of one game in the post-season.  Clymer simply isn't physical enough to push either Andre Roy or Chris Dingman out of the Bolts' lineup. If he does not play in a Stanley Cup finals game, the rules dictate that he would not get his name inscribed on the hallowed trophy should the Lightning win. However, there have been exceptions to that rule in the past.

Ken Gernander and the Hartford WolfPack are one loss away from elimination in the AHL Eastern Conference Final.  The Pack fell 4-3 to the Wilkes-Barre Penguins Tuesday in overtime. Toby Petersen set up Shane Endicott on the game-winner just 32 seconds into the extra session. The loss was Hartford's first in five overtime contests this postseason. The Penguins improved to 4-4 as they played their AHL-record eighth OT game of the Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs. Petersen was even with one point on four shots in the game and Gernander was even with two shots.  Eric Meloche, son of former North Stars goalie Gilles Meloche, scored a goal for the Penguins. 

Gernander moved into a tie with former Adirondack Red Wings and Rochester Americans winger Jody Gage for second place on the AHL's all-time playoff games played list with 115 after playing Tuesday night and needs only five more games to tie Fred Glover for the all-time record with 120 games played. Gernander is the marquee player in Wolf Pack history. He has been with the team since its inception in 1997, moving with the franchise from Binghamton, and is the only captain the franchise has known.  The former Gopher has more tenure in the New York Rangers organization than any other current player, including Mark Messier, having joined them in 1994. Gernander has played 27 NHL games during his stay with the Rangers, including three games this season, his first in seven years. (some info from Citizen's Voice)

Milwaukee Admirals head coach Claude Noel said he does not enforce a curfew for his players, and he relies on a veteran group of players like Curtis Murphy, Ray Schultz, Wyatt Smith, Wade Flaherty and Tony Hrkac to enforce discipline.

When Milwaukee plays the Rochester Americans in Game 5 of the Western Conference final on Wednesday, it will be the first official home game for the Amerks because they were forced out of their own arena by the circus and played their games at the home of their parent club, the Buffalo Sabres.

Wild forward Andrew Brunette took in the Timber-wolves Western Conference playoff Game 2 at Target Center on Sunday.

Reggie Berg was working as a stock broker in Minnesota before deciding to come out of retirement to play hockey again with the Florida Everblades last fall.  He suffered two concussions and was out of the 'Blades' lineup for months before returning late in the season. He made his return from injury on Reggie Berg Bobblehead night in Naples and marked the night by scoring a hat trick.  He was a veteran leader who helped the 'Blades reach the Kelly Cup final this season.  He was joined by teammate and friend Brendan Buckley, who also came out of retirement to play for Florida.  The two were best men at each other's wedding.  The pair led the ECHL playoffs in scoring.  Both are facing the same decision this summer, whether to return to professional hockey or not.  They have three months to make a decision.

First the North Stars move to Dallas, now the WHA franchise that was originally slated for Minneapolis looks to be headed there as well.  When Target Center changed management groups the lease proposal in the hands of WHA officials was voided and the franchise owners began looking elsewhere. They are likely following in the footsteps of the North Stars and will play at Reunion Arena. The Dallas Morning News reported that co-owner of the franchise Rick Munro had an oral agreement with Reunion Arena officials. Of course, they did with Target Center as well. 

A poll on the WHA website asks visitors to vote for which rule change they would most like to see the WHA implement.  49% of respondants have replied that they want to see an elimination of the red line.  19% voted for no-touch icing, 12% cast votes for serving minor penalties in their entirety and 12% want to see no limit on the curvature of a stick blade.  Only 8% wanted to see three-on-three overtime periods.

Minnesotans drafted in the Western Hockey League include:  Jim O'Brien (Lake Angelus) drafted by the Kamloops Blazers , Patrick White (Grand Rapids) drafted by the Seattle Thunderbirds and Nick Jasowiak (Minneapolis) drafted by the Vancouver Giants.

A recent auction on Ebay for a John Pohl bobblehead doll, given away at a Worcester IceCats game late this season sold for $50.50.

There are very strict rules regarding professional contract offers and maintaining NCAA eligibility. The recent AP story about Thomas Vanek was irresponsible in the characterization of contract talks between Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier and a family advisor to Vanek.  Thomas doesn't want to jeopardize his NCAA eligibility and the information that formal talks had begun was false.  Regier had only spoken to Vanek's advisor on the weekend to touch base after the story broke. No contract terms have even been mentioned. The only way, per NCAA regs, that Buffalo can contact Thomas to offer a contract is personally through his family or an attorney representing the family. Buffalo hasn't done that yet. Thomas may choose to roll the dice and return next year hoping for a better offer after the work stoppage due to the increased likelihood more players will leave or retire, freeing up more salary and roster space. That all depends on what Buffal o wants to offer and the length of that contract. But to put a student athlete's eligibility at risk, not to mention the integrity of the University of Minnesota program, was irresponsible and shoddy journalism.

* There has been much talk about the Tampa Bay Lightning's poor fan base and the lack of hockey knowledge in Florida.  With the Bolts in the Stanley Cup finals and the ECHL Florida Everblades breaking attendance records all season in the ECHL there should be little doubt that hockey can thrive in the Florida market.  THe Everblades particularly have a solid core fan base that is at least five thousand strong, huge in comparison to the size of the market. The Kelly Cup run for their team galvanized them just as the Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup run has done for their fans. For those who need evidence that hockey should be in that market you only need to ask those fans. While hockey expansion had its flaws, there is no doubt that it is currently successful in Tampa and Naples. And bringing the love of hockey to new markets, is always a good thing.

Jay Legault scored his second overtime goal of the postseason to help the Florida Everblades avoid being swept in the best-of-seven Kelly Cup finals with a 3-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads in Game 4 in front of a sellout crowd of 5,771 at the Bank of America Centre. Legault, who managed just one assist over the first three games of the series, netted the game-winner 7:01 into the extra session with Reggie Berg posting an assist, his league-leading 14th helper of the playoffs. Berg also ranked second in scoring with 19 points. (ECHL)

Unfortunately Berg, and teammate Keith Anderson fell short of making the series any closer, losing game 5 to the Steelheads on Saturday. Idaho, which joined the ECHL this season as part of the merger between the WCHL and ECHL, won the Kelly Cup championship beating Florida 5-2 on Saturday. Berg's 14 assists were tops in the ECHL playoffs and he finished second in scoring.

Going into Saturday night's tilt, Ken Gernander had played 112 Calder Cup Playoff games . Only Fred Glover (120) and Jody Gage (115) have played more. Hartford topped the Penguins 3-2 with Gernander scoring two shorthanded assists in the game, including the game-winner. Toby Petersen notched an assist on the second goal for the Pens but it wasn't enough as the Pack skated away with the win.

Gernander's WolfPack, however, fell to the Wilkes-Barre Penguins 5-4 Sunday so that the Eastern Conference final series is now even at two games each.  Toby Petersen had three shots on net and was even for the Pens.  Gernander was a -1 with no shots or points for the Pack but is one playoff game away from tying Jody Gage for second most ever played in the AHL.  The two teams will meet Tuesday in Hartford hoping to take a series lead into Game 6.

In the Western Conference finals Wyatt Smith and the Milwaukee Admirals have edged the Rochester Amerks to a 3-1 lead in the series. The Admirals topped the Amerks 2-1 in overtime on Saturday. Rick Mrozik earned the helper on the Amerks late third period goal to tie the game and had a game-high 6 shots on net.  But the Ad's Brad Tiley scored at 6:46 in the sudden death overtime to clinch the win. Milwaukee then beat Rochester in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory on Sunday. Rochester jumped to an early 2-goal lead in the first, with Rick Mrozik scoring an assist on the second goal for the Amerks,  but Smith and his linemates Libor Pivko and Timofei Shishkanov answered the challenge.  Pivko tallied the first Ads goal, assisted by Smith late in the first period and Smith nothched the helper on Shishkanov's game-winner midway through the third period.  The Admirals are now one win away from the Western Conference title and a chance to compete for the Calder Cup. Wyatt finished with two assists and a +1 rating.  Milwaukee will meet Rochester in Game 5 on Wednesfay in Rochester.

Contrary to reports elsewhere in the Twin Cities, Casey Hankinson does hope to return to professional hockey next season.  He signed a one-year deal with the Ducks last summer and had a successful year as the captain of the Ducks' farm team in Cincinnati and played well during a recall to Anaheim. The impending NHL work-stoppage, however, could affect Hankinson's contract options for next year. Casey has one course left to receive his degree from the University of Minnesota.  He and his wife Holli are currently living in the Twin Cities.

The Calgary Flames now own the record for the top-selling 'new' jersey of all-time, according to Flames director of merchandise and product development Kip Reghenas. "The jersey that held the record was the New York Rangers third jersey with the Statue of Liberty," Reghenas says. "That was the one with the largest sales and we've surpassed that. "The Hockey Company hasn't confirmed the exact numbers but they've told us we've exceeded (the record)."  (Calgary Sun).

The Calgary Flames took turns taping song introductions for MTV Canada, which had a film crew in the team's dressing room. The introductions will precede videos with fire-related themes, an obvious tie-in to the Flames' appearance in the Stanley Cup final beginning Tuesday in Tampa Bay. The MTV spot airs May 31. (Calgary Sun)

Hockey-crazy brothers Andy and James McCreath have received so many compliments on their Hangin' in the 'Dome, Chillin' with Jarome T-shirts -- complete with a picture of a nine-year-old Iginla -- the St. Albert natives are making more shirts, with proceeds to be shared between KidSport and the Vibe 98.5 Kid's Fund. To get your shirt, visit www.vibe985.com. (Calgary Sun)

Quick Facts had predicted a Tampa Bay Stanley Cup victory before the beginning of the playoffs, but is now having second thoughts.  No one is playing as well and as much like a team as Jordan Leopold and the Calgary Flames.  This finals series, which if the so-called experts are right, won't be watched by many in the US, is likely to be one of the fastest and most fun series to watch than has been possible in the last several seasons.  Both teams play a heavy forecheck and rely greatly on team speed, which means end-to-end action, stellar goaltending and great transition play are likely.  While Tampa Bay may, on paper, look to have the edge, Quick Facts thinks that Calgary's momentum could help them carry Lord Stanley back to Canada for the first time in over a decade. Whatever the outcome, it is going to be fun to watch!
 
Will Jordan Leopold be able to baptise his daughter Jordyn Maria in hockey's holy grail?  Tune in to find out, because if you don't, you're going to miss some of the best hockey you're ever going to see!

Jordan Leopold got of two early shots on goal in Monday night's Western Conference Final game between the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks.  Leopold, who saw his ice time eclipsed by Andrew Ference for the second straight game, was a team-high +2 in the 3-0 victory for the Flames, and finished with three quality shots on net. Leopold's Flames are now one victory away from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. Fans can vote for Leo as the best blueliner in the Flames' Game 5 win on ESPN.com. Leopold was leading all candidates with 38% of the 8,600 people who cast their vote Wednesday afternoon.  Leo's sometime linemate Robyn Regehr was second with 33% of the votes.

Tom Preissing has been a healthy scratch for most of the series between the Sharks and Flames but may be back patrolling the Sharks' blueline when they face the Flames in Calgary in Game 6.  Preissing has been rotated in and out of the lineup as the 6th D-man for San Jose with Rob Davison and Jim Fahey. Former Wild blueliner Jason Marshall has seen his role increase for the Sharks with the lack of success and depth San Jose has shown within the defensive corps.

Wyatt Smith scored a goal and Tony Hrkac added the game-winner with 56 seconds left in the game for the Milwaukee Admirals as they beat the Rochester Americans 2-1 Wednesday night in the opener of the AHL Western Conference Final.  Smith scored a rebound goal on the powerplay just 38 seconds into the third period after crashing the net, following up a defenseman's shot from the point. Smith had a team-high 5 shots on goal.  Rick Mrozik was scoreless for the Amerks with one shot registered.

Toby Petersen earned an assist in the opening goal, a power-play tally, for the Wilkes/Barre Penguins in their 3-1 victory over Ken Gernander and the Hartford WolfPack in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.  Gernander registered one shot on goal and went even on the night.

Florida Everblades forward Reg Berg has 14 points (5g-9a) in his last 10 games and leads the postseason in assists (13) while ranking second in scoring with 18 points (5g-13a) and is tied for the post-season lead with 5 game-winning goals.  The Everblades will attempt to chip at a 2-0 series deficit to the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals Wednesday night in Idaho.

Hardly anyone in the Twin Cities seems to have noticed, but that guy on the Philadelphia Flyers' bench to the right of Head Coach Ken Hitchcock is former North Star Craig Hartsburg.  Hartsburg is an assistant coach for the Flyers. Paul Holmgren is the Assistant GM for Philly and can usually be seen next to Bob Clarke in a skybox during games. Chris Hartsburg, the son of Craig, is a center in the New Jersey Devils organization, playing with the Albany River Rats.

There is a Minnesotan on three teams vying for the Stanley Cup, Tom Preissing for the Sharks, Ben Clymer for the Lightning and Jordan Leopold for the Flames. There are no Minnesotans on the Philadelphia roster, though they do have Ben Stafford in the system.

The Shjon Podien Children's Foundation will hold their seventh annual celebrity party and concert at McMurphy's Sports Bar/Aquarius Night Club on Sunday, June 27th.  Minneapolis reocrding artist gb leighton headlines the concert and the evening will feature silent and live auctions. Tickets are on sale now for a $50 donation to the Shjon Podein's Children's Foundation at Face the Music in Rochester (507) 281-0499.  All proceeds benefit Team25 youth programs.  Celebrities currently scheduled to appear include Peter Forsberg, John LeClair, Dan Hinote, Ray Ferraro, Stephane Yelle, Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Nicole Sullivan, Michael O'Neill, Jon Wysocki, Jake Schroeder, Sally Taylor and Wendy Woo.  The Podein Charity Golf tournament is scheduled for Monday, June 28th at the Rochester Golf & Country Club.  There will be one flight of 36 teams with an 11:00am start time.  Contact Jim Renn at 507-288-4941 or 1-800-825-3246 to discuss sponsorship opportunities for the Golf Tournament.

The NHL future of former Gopher goaltender Adam Hauser just got brighter. Los Angeles Kings goaltender Milan Hnilicka signed a three-year contract with Liberec in the Czech League on Tuesday.  Hauser and Hnilicka split time in the AHL this season with the Manchester Monarchs, the farm team for the Kings.  Hauser signed as a free agent with the Monarchs after starting the season in the ECHL with the Reading Royals.  Hauser had a goals against average of 1.94 and a save percentage of .930 in 42 games this season with 7 shutouts.  He was also stellar in the AHL playoffs recording back-to-back shutouts against the Worcester Ice Cats.  The departure of Hnilicka leaves the Kings with only Mathieu Chouinard, Cristobal Huet and Hauser as viable goaltending prospects behind Roman Cechmanek currently in the system.  Matt Underhill is the other goalie they currently have under contract.

Recent World Championship Bronze Medalist Erik Westum answers questions for Apple Valley Youth Hockey players on their website at http://www.applevalleyhockey.com. Westrum, who will be married in June, sponsors a group of underprivileged kids with his "Westy's Wackey Bunch."

Trent Klatt was named the winner of the Mark Bavis Memorial Award for best newcomer by members of the Los Angeles media. He was also named the Kings' Unsung Hero by members of the team.

Last year over a dozen Minnesota players were nominated for the PHPA Ironman award including Byan Lundbohm, Jeff Panzer, Toby Petersen, Ben Stafford, Keith Anderson, George Awada, Dan Carlson, Matt Noga, Tyler Deis, Peter Armbrust, Geno Parrish and Matt Ulwelling.  The award is presented annually to one PHPA Member playing in the American Hockey League and one Member playing in the ECHL, respectively, who has participated in every one of his Club's regular season games and has displayed outstanding offensive and defensive skills. Nominations are based upon player statistics, with the eventual winners being selected by a panel consisting of PHPA representatives. This year, for their contributions, the chosen PHPA Members will receive one of a kind PHPA framed prints. The winners are announced at the PHPA Annual Meeting of Player Representatives in June.  Geno Parrish is the lone Minnesotan nominated this year, playing with the Greensboro Generals of the ECHL.  John Wroblewski of Neenah, Wis. was also nominated for his play with the Fresno Falcons.

The 2004 Gopher Men's Hockey Seniors will be signing autographs for a fee on May 23rd at Rosedale from 12:00-2:00pm.  Autographs will cost $5 for things like pucks, cards or photos.  Premium autograhs, on Jerseys for example, will cost $10.00. 

Ryan Malone's father helped him with his two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins and does not yet have an agent. Malone, who won the Bronze medal with Team USA said he planned a trip to the Bahamas, a visit to his grandparents in Canada and a stop in Minnesota to hang with his old St. Cloud State buddies. "I'm going to kind of relax, let the body heal a little," he said. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). 

When Bob Goodenow and the NHLPA met with NHL player-agents last week in Toronto, less than 20 minutes total was spent talking about the CBA according to agents in attendance. 

Look for Apple Valley's Peter Mueller to be heavily recruited by the University of Minnesota to play for the Golden Gophers.

"I have talent and character, which are two things all teams need. I feel like I can fit in with any team and help out. I feel I can play a role for any team. I feel that a team would be getting a player that knows what he wants and that really wants to play in the NHL." - Breck High Schooler and future Gopher Blake Wheeler on why he thinks an NHL team should draft him. McKeen's rates Blake as the 39th best prospect in the draft.  (mckeenshockey.com)

"They’re a quick team, a good transition team, and if you turn the puck over in the neutral zone they’ll stuff it back down your throat,”  Rochester Americans defenseman Rick Mrozik on his Western Conference Final opponent Milwaukee Admirals. (Democrat & Chronicle)

"We've been workmanlike doing what we think we needed to do to be prepared and are anxious and ready to go.  It's hardest mentally to stay sharp. There's that one extra notch or percentile that you give in a game that's pretty hard to find in practice. We're kind of expecting to be a little rusty, but hopefully we don't make any big mistakes while we're working through it." - Hartford Wolf Pack Captain Ken Gernander on the layoff prior to Tuesday's first game of the Eastern Conference Final. (Hartford Courant)

Former Gopher Jordan Leopold won the Hobey Baker Award and the NCAA Championship with the Golden Gophers his senior year.  Now in only his third NHL season Leopold will have an opportunity to compete from the most hallowed of all hockey trophies, Lord Stanley's Cup.  Leopold and the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final to earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Leopold had an assist on the Flames' first goal of the game, a power-play tally by Jarome Iginla after Curtis Brown was whistled for a double minor for high sticking.  Leo skated almost 25 minutes in the game.  His average ice-time throughout the playoffs is 25:25, good for 15th amongst all players and all defensemen.  He enteres the Stanley Cup Finals with a +6 rating.  Tom Preissing did not play in their final game of the playoffs and former Wild defenseman Jason Marshall wa s held scoreless for the Sharks.

The win for the Flames at home marked the first victory for a home team in the series. Though not decreed by the team as mandatory, Flames players decided to stay in a hotel together Tuesday night and bus to the rink rather than drive themselves, a routine on road trips.  THe move is common in the Stanley Cup playoffs but it seemed to pay off well for the Flames. (Calgary SUn)

Reg Berg and the Florida Everblades skated to a scoreless tie with the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals through regulation.  Idaho's Scott Burt scored just 1:18  into the first overtime period to give the Steelheads a 1-0 victory in the game and a commanding 3-0 series lead. After Berg drew a penalty with 53 seconds left in the second period, the Everblades scored — but they didn't. On the penalty kill, Damian Surma stole the puck just above Idaho's blue line in the closing seconds and ripped a shot past Ellis into the back of the net, but time had expired before the puck crossed the goal line and it was waved off. Idaho's goaltender, a Dallas prospect, Dan Ellis came up with some big saves in the game, stoning Keith Anderson once from the slot and Berg on a strong rush on the power play from just outside the crease.(Naples Daily News)

Ken Gernander and the Hartford WolfPack have evened their AHL Eastern Conference Final series against the Wilkes-Barre Penguins.  Bryce Lampman scored 5:16 into overtime to give Hartford a 3-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Game 2.  Gernander was held without a shot or point as was Toby Petersen for the Penguins.