Everyone, myself included seems to have an unspoken rule about wearing team colors as a member of the media, when you’re in the home arena. So, what happens when you have this new amazing skirt that you love and it’s yellow and your team is the Boston Bruins? You throw your beliefs out the window and refrain from pairing the skirt with anything black. For tonight’s contest against the Anaheim Ducks, I chose to do just that. But in an unusual turn of events, I wasn’t the only one at the game for the site. That means, double the style!
Winter’s Outfit:
Skirt: Vince, purchased at TJMaxx at an extreme discount, $23
Tank Top: Forever 21, $1.80
Sweater: Abercrombie & Fitch, purchased at TJMaxx, $12.99
Necklace: Goodwill, $2.50
Booties: Target, clearance, $9
Rhonda’s Outfit:
Mauve scarf -H&M $12.95 Black sweater – H&M – $9.95
Black skirt – H&M – $5.00
Red polka dot tights – Old Navy $1.00 on sale
Black stiletto booties – H&M $40
The National Women’s Hockey League, or NWHL, is a brand new league that will kick off next season and has announced it comes with a major perk for its players: a paycheck.
Mike Burse of Outlook Hockey released a statement from the league about its formation and its intentions to pay its players and for players to have a say in league rules. The statement said it will have a founding four teams: the Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale, New York Riveters and Buffalo Beauts. Each team has social media platforms established.
League commissioner Dani Rylan is a Northeastern grad who, in a past CUNY Sports Report, reported she was an advocate of expanding the CWHL with a sixth New York team. The CWHL remains a five-team league.
The NWHL has no affiliation with the CWHL.
The NWHL has announced it will hold a draft in which junior and senior college hockey players will be eligible. All players who have completed a college degree will be considered free agents. Players must register to be drafted by June 1.
A player may designate which team she prefers to play for if she is already committed to living with a family in that city, already has a full-time job in that city or is already committed to living with a partner in that city.
“The NWHLFoundation is a charitable and educational nonprofit corporation that provides long-range financial support for the NWHL and promotes the growth of women’s hockey.
The Foundation’s primary goals are to enhance the NWHL’s mission and activities; to provide funding for education, training, and opportunities to increase women’s participation throughout the country. The Foundation will leverage the sport of hockey to advance the lives of women and teach the core values of hockey: loyalty, sportsmanship, commitment, perseverance and teamwork.”
Yahoo! Sports editor Jen Neale contends, per the NWHL, there are at least 20 verbal commitments to the league, and Rylan is targeting both national and local sponsors for the teams. Neale also writes that Rlyan has approached the NHL about a possible partnership, and that Rylan sees her league as co-existing with the CWHL.
What about equipment?
“…This a professional league. The women will have their equipment provided to them. The equipment, tape, sticks, the necessities to play, will be given to them,” said Rylan, as quoted by Neale.
Stay tuned to The Pink Puck for more information on this new league as it continues to develop.
We want to hear from you: What is your immediate reaction to the news? What questions or concerns about it do you have? Let us know in the comments.
Over this past weekend the South Carolina Stingrays, the ECHL team affiliated with both the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals achieved their 21st consecutive win. This winning streak is second only to the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals who had an astounding 28-win streak during the 2011-12 season.
The Stingrays owe much of their impressive streak to a hot goalie—Jeff Jakaitis, who achieved a league record of four consecutive shutouts. His current shutout streak reached 321 minutes, 46 seconds and is second all-time to Brian Boucher’s 332 minutes, 1 second streak set while Boucher backstopped the then Phoenix Coyotes during the 2003-4 NHL season.
Jeff Jakaitis
A product of the USHL and collegiate route to the pros, Jakaitis played for the Lake Superior State Lakers in the now defunct Central Collegiate Hockey Association, which dissolved in 2013. It included such impressive collegiate programs as those of Ferris State University, Miami University, and the University of Notre Dame, all of whom along with Lake Superior have joined other divisions. Jakaitis has spent time on a number of teams, including a year in Italy, but right now he seems to have found his game with the Stingrays. Though his shutout minutes ended on Saturday, he sits tied for first in the ECHL with Daniel Berthiaume of the Roanoke Express (1994-95) with his 13-game winning streak by a goaltender in one season.
The tandem of Jakaitis and Adam Morrison hold the best goals-against averages in the ECHL with Morrison at the top of the list with a 1.88 GAA and Jakaitis right behind him with a 1.96 GAA. Morrison sits second among the league’s netminders with a .928 save percentage and is tied for second with four shutouts. Jakaitis is fourth in save percentage at .925 but leads the ECHL with six shutouts.
Saturday night’s game unfortunately saw the end of his shutout time, and with his team down by a goal, head coach Spencer Carbery elected to pull Jakaitis on the power play and go with a six-on-four opportunity that paid off when forward Caleb Herbert put the game-tying goal in with just 1:12 remaining in regulation. Despite a power play opportunity for the Cincinnati Cyclones in overtime, the game would go to the shootout and be decided in the fifth round when Herbert again stepped up and got the game-winner.
The team begins a seven-game road trip Wednesday night when they meet the Cyclones again for a rematch. Audio of the game will be available on StingraysHockey.com and video can be purchased on ECHL.TV.
Wednesday night’s game could also see the team clinch a berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs if the Stingrays win and the Elmira Jackals lose or if South Carolina loses in overtime/shootout and Elmira loses in regulation.
This team has been on fire and there are many who will be watching Wednesday night to see if they can continue this stunning streak.
The regular season is just a few games from announcing it’s end and an early trip to the golf links for 14 of the teams. In Boston, what this time means, is the fund raiser, now in it’s eighth year, where the Boston Bruins players get their heads shaved to raise money for cancer, especially for kids with cancer.
Lucic talks to media
For some of the players, like Milan Lucic, this was his eighth event—he is the only player who has been involved each year. A couple of players usually prefer to donate money—last year Shawn Thornton got Tuukka Rask to donate $5000 to keep his hair. However, with Thornton moving on, the mantle of this season’s event fell on Patrice Bergeron, who was able to get all of the players to agree to sit in the chair and let the highest bidders shave their heads.
How did he accomplish this? Well in a Bruins Feature video, Bergeron indicated that he tried the “nice” approach, rather than the intimidating approach his predecessor had employed. However, in episode 11 of Behind the B, one method Bergeron employed was the “you’re a rookie, you have to do it” approach—which saw Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak with no opportunity to opt out. And during the event itself, a couple of players indicated that Bergeron employed the “peer pressure” approach.
Bergeron talks to media
Regardless of how Bergeron did it, the whole group was there for the event, including Zach Trotman who was just recalled as a result of the injury to Dougie Hamilton this weekend. And there was plenty of joking, an occasional wager and lots of chatter from Brad Marchand.
This is a great event with a VIP hour where those who are lucky enough to purchase a VIP ticket before they sell out (as they do every year) get a chance to interact with the players, get pictures and autographs. Those photos that get taken are “before” photos when the players still have their hair.
And then the real fun begins as the players come out in groups of four to have their heads shaved by their highest bidders. Many of those doing the shaving are children who have been fighting the cancers that the funds raised from the event go to help find a cure.
It also puts into perspective who the true warriors are. So many of the players comment on how happy they are to be involved and what an honor it is to participate. They point out how the kids they meet at this and other events—those fighting cancer on a daily basis—are the true heroes. The players appreciate this opportunity to put a smile on the faces of those children.
Even the rookies had fun.
David Pastrnak
“I enjoyed it and had a lot of fun,” said Pastrnak after the event. “I always like to support a good thing like this one.”
This year, the players may also be happy to put aside the hockey for a bit, given how their season has been going. Having a chance to joke with and get to know the fans and have a day to kid each other—and there was plenty of that—while raising money for a good cause is definitely a double-win situation.
Pastrnak did admit that his new look was not his style, but since everyone else looks like he does, he was okay with it. Lucic mentioned that it was the Cuts for a Cause that increased his cap collection. And many of the players were seen tugging their tuques on or putting a well-worn cap on almost immediately after exiting the stage.
Spooner was wearing a cap as he signed autographs and took pictures before climbing onto the stage and that cap was right back on his head when he agreed to answer a few questions. He took the event in good nature, joking that the hat would remain on his head—coming off only when his helmet went on. But he admitted that he used to get his head shaved for the summers when he was a teen, so it wasn’t as traumatic for him as it appeared to be for some of the players.
Spooner also admitted that such “all in” team responses like this do have a bonding affect on the team, acknowledging that they have struggled of late. And perhaps showing up in the locker room Wednesday morning and looking around at each other’s similar coifs will draw them even closer together, though this is definitely a tightly knit group.
The timing of this event does speak to that final bonding phase that corresponds with the final push to the post season. But Tuesday night it was all about raising funds to fight a terrible disease. And raise funds they did. The final total was an impressive $130,027.02.
What it’s all about!
The previous seven years saw this event raise a combined total of $360,000. Adding in this year’s funds and this even has brought almost a half million dollars to the fight against cancer. And that deserves stick taps for the team and the fans who contribute every year!
You can see a gallery of photos from the event here.
Coach Joel Quenneville tallied his 750th career victory, making him the third-winningest NHL coach behind Hall-of-Famers former New York Islanders coach Al Arbour at 782 and current Blackhawks senior advisor of hockey operations Scotty Bowman who amassed a whopping 1,244 victories, leading three teams to the Stanley Cup. Quenneville has coached the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and, since 2008, the Blackhawks. Now, at 56 years old, with 18 seasons of coaching, he’s hit 750 wins. This feat’s been accomplished so quickly because of Quenneville’s impressive record. He’s never coached a season below .500–and that’s putting overtime losses in the loss column. His outstanding record came on the heels of a less-than-impressive win. But this time of year, points don’t have to be pretty. “I really liked those two points,” Quenneville told media of the win that gave him his milestone. “They were definitely necessary.”
The Captain’s Points
Captain Jonathan Toews earned the 500th point of his eight-season career with an assist on Andrew Shaw‘s late-game empty-netter Monday. This followed a two-game “drought” for the captain.
With an assist in #CHIvsCAR, Jonathan Toews (@NHLBlackhawks) became the 16th player in franchise history to record 500 points (218-282—500). — NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 24, 2015
“It wasn’t the ideal way to get [the 500th point], but it was a big goal by Shawsy at the end to close it out,” Toews said. “It’s kind of a cool thing to think about. The main thing is we got our two points tonight.”
Fortunately, Crawford held the Hurricanes to just one goal that period.
“When we go into the third period with a one-goal lead, we’re thinking that we’re going to keep working and keep checking and key off the other team’s offensive mistakes,” Toews said. “We had some great goaltending by Crow, and that’s the reason we snuck that one out.”
Much of the second and third periods looked like a penalty kill for Chicago. They blocked 25 shots to Carolina’s nine for the game. And Crawford made 44 saves to Anton Khudobin‘s 22.
Khudobin was pulled to give Carolina an extra attacker when Shaw scored an empty-net goal set up by Toews and Joakim Nordstrom with 40 seconds left in the game, sealing victory for Chicago.
“I thought we had an excellent first period,” Quenneville said. “Then, what we did to them in the first, they did to us in the second. We hung on there in the third. [Crawford] was solid, but I think we’ve still got to be better than that.”
The win, which brought them up to 94 points, moved them closer to the second place St. Louis Blues (96) and first place Nashville Predators (97) in the Central Division.
Mile Markers on the Road to the Playoffs
Blackhawks-Stars
It also came on the heels of an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the Dallas Stars Saturday, ending a four-game win streak and seven game point streak for the Blackhawks.
Despite leading in shots 33-29, the Stars were able to dominate by scoring two out of three power play goals while the Hawks couldn’t gain any other advantage.
Blackhawks-Rangers
For another milestone, Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling had his first NHL shutout in the Blackhawks’ 1-0 defeat of the number one New York Rangers March 18 at Madison Square Garden.
With luck and talent, the Blackhawks defeated the New York Islanders 4-1 on St. Patrick’s Day. New York outshot Chicago 39-30 at the United Center, but the guys in red skated away with victory.
Toews and Hossa each had two goals for Chicago, while Nikolay Kulemin tallied the Isles’ lone goal.
The Isles are in second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Despite being active with his injury, Kane’s timetable to return has not yet changed. The Blackhawks would have to make it to the second round for him to join them on the quest for Lord Stanley.
There are 10 remaining regular season games, including two against the St. Louis Blues.
“We want to get home ice for the playoffs,” Crawford said. “Our building is a fun place to play in the playoffs. We just have to take it game by game, but we’re definitely chasing for first.”
That means they’ll need to stop the second-period slumps and forget about coasting through games to remain competitive.
“We’ll win ugly if we have to, on the road,” Toews said after Monday’s win. “We’ll do what we have to to win those tight games.”
As a writer, you find yourself contributing countless articles throughout the seasons. The good, the bad, the ugly and on occasion, the beautiful will pass through your fingertips. I often hear the word blessing casually tossed around throughout the sports world – it’s a blessing to be able to cover games, it’s a blessing to do what you love, it’s a blessing, said on repeat. And yes, most of the time, it is an amazing opportunity, and while it may be a blessing, it’s one that many journalists work extremely hard to achieve. For me, it’s an opportunity to be immersed into the game that I’ve loved since the age of six and to showcase my passion through writing about that game.
So, what happens when one day you wake up and find yourself to be a ghost on paper, unable to put words to print? As a writer, I all but guarantee that day will find you and you’ll feel as lost as I have recently. Countless hours watching games have converted into countless hours staring at a blank white screen, with the cursor taunting me. Do I want to drop the gloves? Yes. Punch out my writers block, serve five minutes and get back out there? Yes. But sadly, life doesn’t play out like the 60 minutes of an NHL game and my writer’s block stands tall, blocking the creative crease to my mind.
When inspiration fails me, I find solace in the team that surrounds me. The creative women and men that make up the Pink Puck – the roster of writers that sends me encouraging messages and picks up the slack when my words simply aren’t there. The biggest advice to offer in anything? Remembering that the frustration will fade, and the words will come, as long as your passion perseveres.
At the end of the day, re-visiting the past can help spark the present. I started this website with a hockey bag full of things that make me happy, and I started it with a handful of posts, including the one below. So far, the site has exceeded my expectations and I can only hope that it will keep putting a smile on the faces of our readers. With spring skating into view, the days on the pond are surely numbered — but the memories never fade.
Until next shift,
Winter
The Original Game; Pond Hockey
*This article was originally posted on December 1, 2011, here.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the Original Six, the original six for me means something slightly different.
In the NHL the Original Six is defined by the Bruins, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Canadiens, Rangers and Maple Leafs. To me, the original six is defined by my sister, two brothers, uncle, my neighbor across the street and the little mill pond which freezes in the winter and creates the backdrop for childhood ambitions. The original game; pond hockey.
As winter approaches, I always get to thinking about the original game of hockey; before all the fan fare, salaries, professional players and pure politics of the greatest sport on Earth. I’m talking about the original untouched beauty of a sport that’s played year round, but at its best in the cold winter months of New England, Canada and the northern most parts of the United States. Pond hockey, outdoor hockey; the kind of hockey where all you need is a pair of skates, a stick and whatever kind of sweatshirt you can pull on first and fastest to get you out on that sheet of ice.
Pond hockey for me was played on many surfaces throughout my childhood. While the mill pond was always preferable, occasionally it just wasn’t feasible. For awhile it was a flooded parking lot near my elementary school because that was deemed the safest surface. Then I got a little rebellious and realized that as long as the ice is sort of frozen my chances of catching hypothermia and drowning in a pond that I could stand in are pretty minimal.
Hockey was played on a mill pond by my house when I was little and even now, years later it’s still the activity of choice no matter what the weather. The little mill pond seems microscopic for the full fledged games that we now choose to play; but somehow we manage. The original 5-on-5 when I was five has been reduced to a 3-on-3. No matter what the setup; the backdrop is just as beautiful and just as fun as the first time I strapped on my skates and attempted to navigate my way with a shovel to clear the ice.
Pond hockey has shaped many a player. Pro or amateur it’s a quick slap to reality when you hit that first divot of the ice and nose dive right into the trash can that serves as a goal. Hockey played under these conditions are not only the most fun; but they certainly form a different confidence in navigating the puck, finding comfort in your skates and dominating your opponent. Families verses families, neighbor verses neighbor, sibling verses sibling; the perfect equation for blood (lots of it), sweat (check that off the list) and tears (I have brothers, I’m a girl, need I say more?)
The point I’m trying to make is that I can see and feel the excitement when the upcoming Winter Classic takes place or when you see the kids on the local pond. You see full grown men turn into little boys and little boys and girls become pros in front of your eyes. It might be because they are right back to playing in the element and situations that forged a career so long ago. Or they are honing talents to forge ahead with dreams of the majors.
Put simply, the Winter Classic played on New Years Day is just a game of pond hockey. The objective is the same, the fun is still there and instead of siblings as opponents it’s the Sidney Crosby’s, Alex Ovechkin’s and Zdeno Chara’s of the world. But watching the classic reminds me that they are all just little boys who like to have fun playing a sport that they love.
If you’ve never tried pond hockey, it’s an escape from the confinements of an ice rink. A chance to flee reality and an instant time warp back to childhood; or a slap shot towards a dream. What better way to beat the winter blues than grabbing a pair of skates, your stick and venturing out into the elements. I’ll see you on the ice.
A car is a car. Some say that a car can tell a lot about the driver. Some others believe that it represents their lot in life. If you are like me, you look, you pant and you dream.
I was sitting at my computer the other day when I landed on the Autotrader website. One of the articles on the site was about athletes and their vehicles. Before I could say ‘transport’ my fingers jumped onto the keys and an article about NHL players and their rides came onto the screen. Before I knew it, once again, I was staring and drooling at the impressive cars some of them own. Just to let you all know–I also stop and stare at beautiful and exotic cars when I see them on the streets or when I notice them parked. I usually look, pant, dream and then walk away.
There are two sides to this car buying stint. Some players drive vehicles that no one notices while others go the whole mile and drive classic and expensive cars. I guess being in the press all the time makes some drivers pray to be left alone when driving? Who (as in the public) really needs the hoopla when a player gets spotted and then the crowds fall upon his car, especially when it happens to be the car in front of you? Just thinking of another ‘traffic jam’ makes me want a horse and buggy!
So who owns the everyday and blah(ish) cars? Alexander Ovechkin has a custom Mercedes. Instead of buying a new car he painted it a nice blue. That is a loyal Mercedes lover! Matt Niskanen drives his 2001 Pontiac Sunfire. He didn’t jump and buy himself a hot vehicle when he could afford it. The one and only Sidney Crosby drives a Range Rover. Really he does! These three players can pass you on the street and you would never know it. Being famous and wealthy sometimes means a desire to be left alone with your thoughts, your music and your family/friends.
On the other side of the puck there are the older players and the players who buy the expensive vehicles. Donald Brashear who retired in 2010 owes a Lamborghini Gallardo and so does Teemu Selanne. Selanne played for 21 seasons and his driveway is still full of high-end vehicles. His garage is a virtual ‘who’s who’ of cars. Some players like Vincent Lecavalier drive a Ferrari 360 Spider. His other car is a Hummer H2. What a 4×4, the ultimate in over the road driving! My favorite 4×4 is the older Hummer!
Does the vehicle help make the man or does the man make the vehicle? Do you believe that the choices in vehicles says something of the personality of the player and the team they play on?
In the end does it really matter what any of the players are driving as long as they are driving the puck away from their own nets and into the net of their opponents?
Skirt: Vince, purchased at TJMaxx at an extreme discount, $23
Mauve scarf -H&M $12.95
Prev
