Patrick Kane goal and did Johan Franzen take a dive?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Eric Burton

Patrick KaneNice goal by Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane. One of the lone bright spots in tonight’s game for the Blackhawks. The Redwings proved to be the better team again for a second game in a row.

If you’re a fan of either team, you might not be the one to ask. Watch the video; I want to see if anyone else is seeing this as well. It appears that Detroit forward Johan Franzen embellished this hit just a bit; I am not saying he wasn’t hit from behind, because he was.

But in my opinion, I think that Franzen could have received an academy award for his acting ability.

Thoughts… Should the refs blown the whistle on the play? In my opinion, I thought the refs made the right call my not blowing the play dead. Feel free to disagree if you like.

Continue reading →

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Wild and Racers: Looking Forward to the Next Season.

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Neil Tucker

hockey playerThe 2013 season may have just ended but eyes are on the 2014 season already. The National League will see the biggest shake up with 2 new teams ready to take to the ice.

The new kids on the block will be the Widnes Wild from Merseyside who will enter NIHL North 2 and returning to competition will be the London or Harringay Racers who have been admitted to NIHL South 2.

Widnes Wild have already made their mark with a PR drive that has seen the team produce a website, gain a presence on twitter and engage with local schools as the pupils chose the name and teams new logo.

It is good start for the side that are based at the new Hive Leisure Park in Widnes not far from the city of Liverpool.

When the Wild take to the ice in September it will be the first time since 1982 that Merseyside has iced a senior team and so far they look ambitious.

However with the Manchester Phoenix just down the road drawing in fans from across the North West and the side’s sledge hockey team using the Widnes rink for sessions, the Wild’s biggest task will be pulling in more than just a curious crowd. Continue reading →

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Leadership Wins Game As Senators Win in OT Over Pens 2-1

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Coach Nye

SenatorsWith the game on the line the Ottawa Senators looked to a old reliable source to move them past the Pittsburgh Penguins last night to take game 3 and jump right back into the series 2 games to one.

With a short handed goal scored at the 28.6 second mark of regulation time, Sens Captain Alfredsson took control of the puck in his own end, made a drop pass to Gonchar who then in return feed it up to Michalek all the while Alfredsson was breaking hard to the net to deflect a pass sent to him by Michalek.

Alfredsson`s Tieing Goal

With this heroic play it sent the game into overtime only to have it reach the 7:39 minute mark in the second period of OT when Colin Greening reached around a Pens defender to backhand the puck into the net. Ottawa`s Greening scoring in OT

Instead of being down 3-0 in games the Sens have new life going into game 4 on Wednesday night in Ottawa where they will look to even up the series. Continue reading →

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Offensive Onslaught Allows Bruins To Take Commanding Lead

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Shawn Taggart

Bruins BearRangers – 2 Boston – 5
Goals: (NYR – Callahan, Nash BOS – Krug, Campbell. Boychuk, Marchand, Lucic)

The Rangers sloppy play, and lazy passing cost them game 1 in overtime. With two days off between games, the Rangers took the time to watch a lot of video to break down game 1 in hopes to find ways to retool their batteries and get another take on the game.

Between games 1 and 2, Coach John Tortarella made headlines once again.

We all know what he said regarding the Washington Capitals, calling them whiners and saying that their complaining cost them the series against the Rangers, but this time it was about one of his own.

A question was brought up to Tortarella about the powerplay, and why forward Carl Hagelin has yet to see powerplay time. Quick to answer, Tortarella called Hagelin a jitterbug, and claimed that while he’s a good player, he downright “sucks” on the powerplay. Continue reading →

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Catch Up Hockey Is Losing Hockey-Pens Downs Sens 4-3

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Coach Nye

Crosby-goal-game-2-290x168Have puck will score – Call S. Crosby……  that was the sign that should’ve been plastered all over the Consol Energy Centre last night because that’s what happened in Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators last night.

Crosby’s second career hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs he now has become the fifth player in franchise history to top 100 career points in the postseason.

Crosby’s first one came back in 2009.

He finished the game with 102 points total to move into fourth place on the Penguins all-time playoff scoring list. Only Kevin Stevens, Jaromir Jagr and some guy name Mario Lemieux (Super Mario to the rest of you!)  are ahead of him.

But really it wasn’t all Crosby out there believe it or not, he did have some help. That help coming from the likes of defense men Kris Letang and Paul Martin who both had 2 helpers each, setting up plays to help Crosby’s attack. Also Chris Kunitz playing alongside Crosby kicked in an assist on Crosby’s second goal which was a true beauty! Continue reading →

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NCAA Hockey: Tweaking the Pairwise and other college hockey issues

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Eric Burton

hockey refereeTodd Milewski Executive Editor of USCHO has a couple of interesting blog posts that are posted up on USCHO and think there are a couple of points that are worth addressing… They are as follows.

Minor discussions on rules

The rules committee is in the middle of a two-year rule book cycle, so no changes can be made this offseason.

There were some small discussions, however, on giving on-ice officials the ability to use video to review major penalties and ways to increase offense.

Anastos, the rules committee chair, said the most prominent idea presented to increase scoring opportunities was to not allow players to intentionally leave a skating position (i.e., kneel or lay down) to block shots.

First off, shot blocking is part of the game of hockey and any talk of taking shot blocking out of hockey should immediately be dismissed and discredited. I can’t see that going anywhere and any talk of this needs to stop. This would be a good way for college hockey to lose the top blue chip recruits to the CHL immediately. Continue reading →

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NHL Award Nominees (Calder, Vezina, Hart, and Norris) – Breaking Down the Candidates

Posted on May 17, 2013 by GosensGO

trophiesAward: Calder Trophy (Best Rookie)

Candidates: Brenden Gallagher, Jonathan Huberdeau, Brandon Saad.

This years NHL rookies have looked great. Jonathan Huberdeau has led the race in rookie scoring this year with a total of 31 points (Tied with Nail Yakupov). Huberdeau, 19 has a bright future and many consider him the favourite for the Calder award. However; don’t count these other two out.

Both Gallagher and Saad were great impacts on their teams this year and had 28 and 27 points respectively.

Honurable Mentions: Nail Yakupov (EDM), Cory Conacher (OTT), Alex Galchenyuk (MTL).

My Pick: Jonathon Huberdeau

Award: Georges Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender)

Candidates: Sergei Bobrovsky, Antii Niemi, Henrick Lundqvist Continue reading →

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