All Star Game Draws Almost 7,000 to Celebrate Women’s Hockey
In professional sports, star-studded all star games usually do not matter very much.
Saturday’s inaugural Canadian Women’s Hockey League All Star Game in Toronto was the complete opposite.
More than 6,800 people attended the game (even more watched on Sportsnet and the NHL Network), which featured 19 Olympians and National team players from all five teams in the CWHL. Team captains were decided by an online vote, and Charline Labonte and Jessica Campbell won the C’s on their sweaters. They held a draft for the first five picks of their teammates, and the rest of the teams were decided by a random stick pull.
Labonte’s red team edged Campbell’s white team, 3-2. All six goaltenders – Labonte, Christina Kessler and Erica Howe for red and Sami Jo Small, Delayne Brian and Genevieve Lacasse for white – each played one period for their teams in the game. Goal scorers included Natalie Spooner and Kelli Stack for white, and Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux, Jamie Lee Rattray and Rebecca Johnson scored for team red.
More important than the score of the game, however, was what the game meant for the sport as a whole. The event was an effort to celebrate how far women’s hockey has come, promote the sport, and remind people still how far it has yet to go.
Hilary Knight, two-time Olympic silver medalist and a forward for the Boston Blades, had to take a minute to let the true meaning of the game sink in.
“This All-Star Game is phenomenal for our sport and the CWHL is a great place to compete, especially in a non-Olympic year, to be able to jump in after the Olympics and play. It’s a great competitive spirit and it’s been fun to be part of the All-Star Game,” she said.
Her vision for the future of the sport, Knight said, is that the next generation of women hockey players can cash a paycheck for playing the game.
“I hope that little girl at home watching us is like, ‘I want to be like them, I want to play in the CWHL’ and hopefully by the time she’s this age they get paid the big bucks, those million dollar contracts. But it’s fortunate to have a league to play in and have this high caliber competition.”
Boston Blades Goaltender Genevieve Lacasse agreed with Knight, hoping some young girls were inspired watching the game.
“I hope that a little girl at home sees us, wants to play and when she’s older, she’s getting paid,” said Lacasse. “I hope they think that it’s possible.”
The game also provided an opportunity for the players to have fun and play side-by-side against women they normally consider rivals. It certainly was a rare occasion for Knight to call someone like Natalie Spooner her teammate.
“The best part was being able to play with players you usually go head-to-head against, and having fun. It was a fun atmosphere to compete in,” said Knight. “I think it’s great when, as a U.S. player, you can play with the Canadian girls you’re usually playing in the corner with. It was fun to play with them and I appreciate their skill.”
Lacasse got to support both her Boston Blades teammates and fellow Canadian National Team members between the pipes. It was a time for her to see so many familiar faces join together to celebrate the game.
“Being out there during the Canadian National Anthem was pretty special, hearing the crowd join in, it was a huge moment for women’s hockey,” she said. “There are still a lot of steps to take but it’s a step in the right direction and hopefully we can build on this every year.”
Game Night Gallery: Ducks 2 – Oilers 1 on 12/10/14
Game Day Gallery: Ontario Reign 2 – Utah Grizzlies 1
The Tale Of The Home Made Rink
The story goes something like this:
Picture beautiful Quebec Canada. Well picture Sherbrooke in Quebec Canada. Nice town, lots of snow in the winter and bitter temperatures during the nights. Picture a backyard ice rink, father waters it almost every night to make sure it is smooth and all sides are even. See the father and his friends putting up side boards around the rink. Now picture people playing hockey on this rink. Different ages playing against each other. Hear the laughter? Hear the shouts of glee when someone puts the puck into the net?
Now look at the next door neighbour. He is a nice guy. He just hates the ice rink because of the bright lights during the night. He also dislikes the loud noises of the puck being slam against the boards. He took his complaint to the city.
The city people including the mayor told the rink owner that he needs to take the rink down because of the noise and the lights. He was also told he needed a permit to build an ice rink with backboards. The owner of the rink checked out the city’s website and found nothing about any permits or zoning rules.
After this story got out and into the main stream media, the city got in touch with the rink owner and was told he can rebuild his rink. He can build his rink as far away from his neighbours side as his backyard permits.
Now you know the story of the misunderstood ice rink in Quebec Canada! Is it true or false?
It is true. This is an actual story that took place in Quebec Canada. One question that kept me thinking was: Is this the first ice rink the family put up? If it was I could understand both parties. But if the family has put up ice rinks for years, is he a new neighbour then?
I love the reaction of the city and mayor. Anytime one can get more money, one tries!
There might be a few morals in this story. There might be some ideas in how to treat your ice rink neighbour in this story. But I believe it is just a story.
Be nice to your neighbours. Enjoy the winter and everyone- play hockey!
USA Hockey’s Player of the Month Julia Sinople Leads On the Ice and Off
Julia Sinople is a good hockey player, and a great kid. Thirteen, smart as a whip, and recently selected by USA Hockey as their Youth Player of the Month, Julia has been in skates for roughly half her life.
“I was playing on a boy’s team when I was little, and I shot the puck,” she recalls, laughing. “It wasn’t the best shot in the world. It just went right through the goalie’s five-hole, and I was so happy. I just remember that. I think that was my first goal.”
Sinople’s feet first met the ice in figure skates, but one look at her brother’s hockey gear changed her mind. A Chicagoland native, Sinople is now familiar with almost all the city’s suburbs and most of its rinks. Like most young female hockey players, she bounced between boys’ teams and travel teams, moving up in the levels to find competition that suited her skill.
“This year I started [with the Chicago Fury] and it’s a really awesome experience. The level of skill is so much higher than the travel [teams], and it’s just made me such a better hockey player,” Sinople says. “Girls are very competitive. They will really challenge you. I was surprised–they challenge me so much, and I feel like I’m just getting better every second I’m on the ice.”
And Sinople is on the ice a lot. With aspirations of playing D1 hockey, she knows she has to be. She’s been inspired by the U.S. Women’s Olympic team, Megan Bozek in particular after having the opportunity to meet her.
“She’s a big role model to me,” Sinople says. “It’s how she acts every time she gets on the ice. Every time she goes to practice, she works so hard. She’s given me a lot of advice, like skate your hardest and never give up and don’t be nervous before a game because your nerves will affect your play.” She laughs. “Just like, um, chill.”
It’s good advice, and Sinople seems to have taken it. Though she has the same speech patterns of any thirteen-year-old, her calm composure is impressive. She’s determined to talk about her work in local soup kitchens; in fact, it’s the only time that she truly takes over the conversation, her answers becoming more long-winded.
“The average age for a homeless person is nine years old,” she tells me, incredulous. “I feel like people don’t really know how many homeless people there are, or they have a bad view of them, like they did it to themselves, but sometimes it’s just like, life, you know? They’re smart people, they just … don’t have enough money.”
Giving back to the community matters a lot to Sinople, who also plays the violin in a local orchestra, called Strings of the Valley. Members span from the very young to the very old, and they play to audiences of seniors, veterans, and hospital patients.
“It’s a really great thing,” Sinople enthuses. Her Chicago accent thickens when she’s excited.
Between playing hockey and volunteering, Sinople makes plans. Having met players from the Sochi Olympic team, Sinople knows you can’t hope to get to that level without putting in the hours. For now, she has her eyes on college hockey, but after that, who knows?
“I mean, everyone can see themselves there,” she acknowledges when I ask if she can imagine herself putting on the Team USA sweater. “But yeah, I can. I’ll try my best to get into a college team and then just … do my best from there. There’s a lot of tough competition now and the girl’s hockey community is really rising. And I know if I work hard enough and put my mind to it and do extra hours on the ice, with other things off the ice, I think I can pursue that goal.”
She pauses. When she speaks again, she sounds a little more hesitant, maybe knowing she’s poking at the elephant that lives in any female’s hockey player’s room. “Women’s hockey is very limited. There’s no professional league in a lot of countries like there are for men, and, well … after hockey, I can have a job that actually makes an income. That’s … another thing.”
It’s something of a surprise to hear a thirteen-year-old think that far ahead, but maybe it shouldn’t be. There’s no event like the Olympics to remind us all just how limited professional sports options can be for young girls with big dreams.
“I would really like to go to college and play D1 hockey,” Sinople picks up again, sounding determined. “I guess that’s every girl’s dream, but I’m really passionate about the sport. I’m willing to work the hardest to get to my goals. I can take sacrifices for those goals. I’m not the biggest risk-taker, but I will take risks to pursue them and never stop until the very last second.”
“I think I can make it there,” she says.
I think she can, too.
It’s about the Chocolate!
It’s the most beautiful time of the year! Its full of laughter and cheer, joy and good times. It can also be a time for companies to join their products together and sell them as a pair.
Photo: Twizzlers
My favorite pairing is Twizzlers (my favorite candy) and the NHL. The candy company remade the shape of these cherry flavour candies to look like mini ice skates! Tell me, how cool is that! I had to buy them to check it out and yeah, they look like the real thing.
It is hard to get a NHL License Agreement. The agreement is dealt with the marketing division of the NHL Enterprise. The product needs to be in the public eye for five years at least. If your thing is shirts, then you need to be talking to the Players Association. All Associations have strict rules and regulations to follow. The NHL has given their name in the past to furniture, hats, clothing, toys, sports gear and much more.
This article is not about agreements, it’s about candy, the NHL and the holiday! There is not much around on the web for NHL candy. But, I did see some.
Candy to some is an immature gift. It could be. But as a hockey lover nothing is really immature for the holiday. It’s just a gift! So, with that in mind I looked up Hershey’s. Yes, they have a few NHL treats. They do make some candies and chocolates that have a NHL buzz about them. In case you are wondering, I am a chocolate lover, there is no bad chocolate in my world!
I noticed that the private candy makers are really the ones who make candies/ chocolates that includes the NHL logo. Some companies make a package with your favorite team colors. One adds six candy canes and a chocolate puck. Others already are selling chocolates in the shape of the cup. Its a bit early for that, I think?
I have a list of a few candy websites for the hockey lover on your list: nantoncandy.com, monsterpuck.com, and HockeyCandy.com
So you have it, a hockey lovers guide to paradise! Remember more is merry, liquor is great and all eat-able gifts are welcome! So, bring it on!
Coyotes’ Can’t Catch A Break
Last Saturday, the Arizona Coyotes set a new team record for losses at home in a row with 7 after the 5-2 game against the Boston Bruins. Last night, they took the streak to 8.
One good thing that came out of that last showdown was the fact that they finally scored a goal after going scoreless for 185:34 minutes at home. Creating offense has been a big emphasis this whole year, considering the team is immensely lacking on their execution.
The ‘Yotes had a four game gap between their last game and last night’s game against the Nashville Predators. During the break, they were given a few days off to perform some community service, and then hustled in practice for the next days leading up to the tussle against the Preds.
Nashville has been on fire this season, so the struggling Coyotes going up against the hot team is tough all in itself.
The Coyotes weren’t low on chances, but that always talked about “execution” wasn’t there, yet again. The puck is there, but they just aren’t getting it in the net, the only place that it needs to be. Offensively, there isn’t much to them. They need their players to turn out goals on chances, because just chances aren’t good enough if they seriously want to be playoff contenders.
We’ve heard the guys say before “it’s tough to score in this league”, and we’re really seeing this take a toll on the team.
Nashvilles’ Pekka Rinne is a very strong goalie, and you could say that he has had a lot to do with Nashville’s success this season, but the Coyotes not producing on the chances they get is a problem that they can’t seem to skate away from against most teams. Rinne is 19-5-1 on the season so far, and can take a big part of the credit for the teams 19-7-2 record.
The Defense That Keeps On Giving (Up Goals)
The Coyotes are turning the puck over way too much in their own zone. That has cost them more goals this season than anything else. You can blame it on the goaltending all you want (which hasn’t been so fantastic), but what it comes down to is the ability to help your goalie out, and keep the puck from getting as far as the ‘tender.
The Coyotes’ goalies have let in 93 goals so far this year. When the only player on the team with a plus rating (+1) is a call up who’s played in only two games, you know it’s rough. Defender Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Lauri Korpikoski are tied for worst +/- with -14, and most guys aren’t far from there.
You can read an interesting article from Fox Sport’s about OEL’s role on the team here.
Defenseman Keith Yandle stood out in last night’s game, though, jumping on the puck and having chances at goals. He looked hungry for the “W” and fought hard. His efforts went unrewarded, though and he went -3 on the night.
Consistency Is Killer
The phrase “at least they’re consistent” is a harsh reality to what the team has been. They have consistently been struggling in the same areas. While, yes, they might have got a goal early, but yet again, they couldn’t catch up to a lead. They keep letting the lead slip farther and farther away and it is downright killing them.
It’s been a tough pill to swallow for the team, seeing as they’ve been consistently sub-par, but in order to get what they want, they have to play without the same mistakes. They’ve had many players-only meetings and the conclusion has really been not to point fingers and think about the part that each player personally contributes to the team.
Antoine Vermette, who scored the teams lone goal, commented again on keeping regular in their game play saying, “you’ve got to find that consistency.”
“There are areas that we have to improve and we’ll keep pondering away at those, and we need our goaltending to try to improve to clean up some of the mistakes we are making.”- Coach Tippett on the improvement that they need to make
That Dang Penalty Kill
Now one thing that they really have been up-and-down with is the penalty kill. The Coyotes can’t seem to pick how they want to play on this. It started out good at the beginning of the season, went over to sucky, then started improving, and now last night it was downright ugly.
They gave up two power play goals in a row, and that’s partly due to sloppiness.
Coach Dave Tippett shared his thoughts on their penalty kill saying, “It’s one thing to take penalties, but when you can’t kill them off that’s the second part, poor coverage on the third one, really poor coverage by our two defensemen. Then we’re chasing the game.”
Nashville Proving They’re Legit
Nashville has been on a roll this season. They only trail the Chicago Blackhawks one point in their division, after being ranked #1 for quite some time.
No doubt the goaltending has been a huge part of why they are where they are, but their offense is stellar.
Getting James Neal from the Penguins in the offseason was a huge acquisition and he has proven himself to be an asset to the team. He scored his 11th goal of the season last night, and it seems as though he is headed for a successful season as a whole. He was given a leadership role begin named an assistant captain, and he’s certainly made a point that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Their head coach Peter Laviolette has done a full 180 with the team, and taken what used to be someone who struggled to have a winning season, and turned them into a potential playoff team. After trailing the game 1-0 on an early power play goal from the Coyotes, he didn’t seem to be too worried. That is due in part to the fact that he said the team has “given up the first goal maybe 50 percent of the time this year”, and it won’t stop them from making a comeback. That is certainly what they did, and they did indeed make a comeback.
“It doesn’t really seem to phase us and it hasn’t all year so I’ve never felt like we are behind, there is too much game and too much time to play. Our guys just do a really good job of staying with the process of how we want to play and we are able to get back in it.” -Laviolette on the early goal from the Coyotes
Next Up:
The Coyotes play the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, December 13th at home. Should be a good matchup, and hopefully a win for the desperate team.
Lightning Weekly Strike: Stammer’s 250th, Drouin and the WJC, and more
On Tuesday, December 9th against the Washington Capitals, Steven Stamkos snapped his 250th goal behind goaltender Braden Holtby. The goal that put Stamkos as 10th youngest player to the 250 mark came from an assist by Ryan Callahan. It just so happens that Lightning general manager, Steve Yzerman, is sixth on the list.
YOUNGEST PLAYERS TO 250 GOALS
1. Wayne Gretzky – 22 years, 28 days
2. Mario Lemieux – 23 years, 77 days
3. Dale Hawerchuk – 23 years, 289 days
4. Alex Ovechkin – 24 years, 126 days
5. Pierre Turgeon – 24 years, 199 days
6. Steve Yzerman – 24 years, 222 days
7. Jimmy Carson – 24 years, 241 days
8. Mike Bossy – 24 years, 275 days
9. Michel Goulet – 24 years, 302 days
10. Steven Stamkos – 24 years, 305 days
11. Jaromir Jagr – 24 years, 312 days
(via tampabay.com)
Before the Lightning’s Thursday game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Lightning vice president and general manager, Steve Yzerman, announced that the team would not be releasing forward Jonathan Drouin to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships. Yzerman said that the team felt it best if Drouin remained with the Lightning to continue his progression as a professional instead of going to the tournament that starts on December 26th in Montreal and Toronto.
“If you went and watched him play last year, you would notice a significant…improvement: played center, became a real good face off man, an penalty killer, strong in the D zone,” Yzerman said, referring to Drouin’s season last year with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. “The NHL is a different league, and it’s just going to take a little time adjusting. We’re asking him to do more than just score, (to) be good in all aspects of the game and he’s committed to it and we want him to get as much opportunity here.”
Drouin has one goal and 10 assists in 20 games entering the Carolina game. He scored his first professional goal in his third NHL game at Winnipeg.
Also before Thursday’s game, the Lightning announced forward Ondrej Palat is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Yzerman said Palat being out also played a part in the decision to keep Drouin in Tampa Bay.
As far as Palat, Yzerman didn’t have a timetable for his return and said the Lightning currently have no plans to recall a player from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse. But, Vladislav Namestnikov is just “a phone call away” he added.
(via lightning.nhl.com)
In fan news, the Lightning are selling t-shirts designed after the fake third jersey prank. T-shirts are now available to purchase at Tampa Bay Sports powered by Reebok at Amalie Arena. The men’s version of the shirt is going for $35, with the women’s v-neck selling for $40. Fans who cannot make it out to the arena to purchase should be able to purchase theirs at tampabaysports.com in the next week or so.
The Lightning have also announced that they have launched a new free mobile app for smartphones. The new app, Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Club, is now available for fans to download on their mobile device. Now this is not just an update to the old app, this is a completely new redesign and fans who download and sign up for the app in the first 10 days will be entered to win a Tyler Johnson autographed jersey! Fans also have the chance to win Lightning tickets and signed Lightning items.
The app comes from the Lightning partnering with Sporting Innovations. The release is the first step of several to come over the next 12-18 months. This new app will allow Lightning fans the opportunity to more conveniently to follow team news, game stats, special offers, and updates.
Special offers will include access to seat upgrades, Zamboni rides, venue information around Amalie Arena, and much more. Plus, the new app will feature proximity based special offers and game notifications.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR IOS
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID
Ontario Shut Down Grizzlies in a Quick Comeback
The Ontario Reign took a small step forward after their 2-1 win against the Utah Grizzlies on Friday night. This sudden bounce back came after two consecutive losses just two days before.
Losing three games in a row just wasn’t an option for the Reign. They knew they were going to have to take some different approaches if they wanted to beat Utah in the fifth meeting between both teams so far this season. Newcomer Tyler Scofield has been off to a hot start with another point on Thursday after he assisted Maxim Kitsyn on the third period power-play goal. Utah’s weakness in penalty kills was also the key for Ontario being able to take advantage and get a mile long head start in the game.
The Reign had the first period in their grabs completely. After a penalty to Channing Boe, Ontario took the opportunity to use the power-play to get the puck into the offensive zone. Defenseman Matt Register slap shotted a goal right past Grizzlies goaltender Igor Bobkov at 15:52. The rest of the period remained scoreless for both teams to add on the pressure for the rest of the game.
Ontario extended their lead in the second period and things were starting to look good for a hopeful shutout by the end of the game. The Grizzlies failed a clearing chance so Reigns’ Nolan Julseth-White got the puck and fired a wrist shot that beat Bobkov at 2:07. What made up for the lack of goals from both teams was made up in penalties. Later into the period, Norm Ezekiel was called for interference at 17:47 then the Reign was whistled again for having too many men on the ice at 18:04. That led to a 5-3 penalty kill situation for Ontario. Reign goaltender Jussi Olkinuora took the pucks for the team and managed to not allow any past him during the Grizzlies’ power-play. The second period ended with a score of 2-0.
The Grizzlies finally got themselves on the scoring board and shut down the chance of a shutout thanks to Mathieu Aubin. He snapped the puck from the left wall and beat Olkinuora at 6:15 to give Utah a last minute chance at redemption but Ontario kept them back for the rest of the time. The Reign had the period under control though when it finally ended with a winning final score of 2-1. Olkinuora took the victory with 28 saves while Bobkov had 17.
The Ontario Reign have a break until next Wednesday when they go up against the Idaho Steelheads once again.
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