Sometimes I don’t get people, sometimes I don’t get people with lots of money. Take the family of Jack Johnson for example.
Johnson, who is 27-years-old, plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets as a defensemen. He is given a 7-year, $30.5 million dollar deal in 2011. What a sweet deal! He gives his mom the power over his money. Why not? He is young and to me, that makes a lot of sense, that kind of money can support Jack and his relatives for years to come.
But it didn’t.
His parents took over his bank account with glee. It is reportedly common in NHL circles for parents to spend some money when their child hits the big time. Why not? Most parents have changed their lives to give their child a chance at NHL glory. So when they hit the big time some parents may treat themselves financially. Most times it never amounts to very much. That was not the case for Johnson and his family. His parents went wild with the money, earned through their son’s hard work and dedication.
The Johnsons bought homes and cars, reportedly took out loans with high interest rates. Why look at rates when the funds amounted close to $30 million? Homes worth over a million in nice areas, luxury cars and such — I think you get the picture.
Johnson filed bankruptcy with over $6,000 in his checking account and over $2,000 in his savings account. All this with three more seasons left on his contract.
Making a good decision, he fired his parents, now surrounding himself with financial advisers and real legal professionals.
To me this is a sad story and a story I cannot get out of my head. Why would parents do that? I think Johnson is a level-headed man and was blessed with a talent that he worked hard to develop. His parents, I am not so sure. To me, I think Johnson is a good role model for young and older kids everywhere. I also believe that greed changes people and I think this story proves it.
After a lethargic 2-1 shootout loss on Saturday night against the Brampton Thunder,the Boston Blades (CWHL) salvaged their weekend series by rallying Sunday to a 6-0 win.
On Saturday, Casey Pickett notched the Blades’ only goal in the second period. Brampton would score the game-tying goal with give minutes left in the third period when Jesse Scanzano beat Blades netminder Genevieve Lacasse. After a scoreless overtime, Jamie Lee Rattray would net the game-winning goal when she put a puck behind Lacasse. Lacasse stopped 23 of 24 pucks in regulation time.
Sunday’s game featured the Blades coming back with a vengeance.
Jordan Smelker notched her first goal and hat trick in the victory, propelling the Blades to their win. Tara Watchorn notched one goal and two assists; Hilary Knight scored one goal and registered one assist. The sixth goal came from Monique Lamoureux, unassisted, in the third period.
Despite their lead the Blades never let up throughout the game, and peppered Thunder goaltenders Erica Howe and reliever Liz Knox with 34 total shots.
Blades goaltender Brittany Ott stopped all 15 shots she faced. It was her second shutout of the season.
The Blades captured three of four points in the series, and their record falls to 4-0-1. The Thunder are now 2-6-1.
The true test for the Blades will come next weekend in a three game series at home against the red hot Calgary Inferno. The Inferno are 6-1-1, and hold first place in CWHL league standings. Their roster boasts big names of Canadian National team fame such as Rebecca Johnston (14 points), Haley Irwin (11 points) and Brittany Esposito (7 points).
The Blades will face off against the Inferno next Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
“I think the chances are there. I think it’s, hopefully, like the big build up of a dam and it’s going to break soon and we’ll start getting on a winning streak.”-Patrick Marleau after the loss to the Calgary Flames
If you watch the San Jose Sharks consistently, they are a perplexing team. Coming off a 4 game losing skid and a lackluster performance that resulted in a goose egg against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, the Sharks pulled a rabbit out of their hat and got a 6-4 win over a tired Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks showed up for the first period of play; it was the first time in a while they have looked so full of life in the first. They applied pressure on the young Anaheim defensemen early, who spent a lot of time on the ice in their loss to the Chicago Blackhawks the night before. The Sharks used the neutral zone effectively, gaining speed and space to generate solid offensive chances in the Ducks’ end. By the time the period was over, San Jose had scored one even strength, one shorty and one power play tally, for a team that had struggled to get a goal in the first period, let alone even 3 goals in a game, it was a breakthrough. The goal buildup, the dam analogy that Patrick Marleau had used after the disappointing loss to Calgary seemed to be coming to fruition.
Grade A Effort from Couture, Pavelski and Wingels
Sharks forward Logan Couture stepped up for the team despite spending the better half of a game day sick and in the hospital. Coach Todd McLellan said,”I don’t think he felt that bad. I just think the doctors were concerned. But he had a hell of a game, probably the best game of his season, in my opinion.” Couture started the offensive drive in the first period, scoring his 9th goal of the season off a play that began with a fast zone entry and a precision cycle in the Ducks end. Patrick Marleau entered the zone with the puck, made a tight turn along the boards and then passed cross ice to Tommy Wingels. Wingels passed it back to Marleau who fired from the point, Wingels caught a piece of it and Couture served up the rebound to Ducks netminder Frederik Andersen, giving San Jose the 1-0 lead at 9:05 of the first period.
After the Ducks evened the score with an innocent looking play from defenseman Hampus Lindholm on a low to high cycle to allow Matt Belesky to go five hole on Niemi, the Sharks would need to kill off a penalty as Mike Brown went to the box on a delay of game call. As the Ducks tried to set up shop in San Jose’s zone, a pass went awry near the blueline and Couture turned on the jets and headed up ice. He sent the puck through the legs of Andersen, netting a shorthanded goal, and putting the Sharks ahead 2-1. “We needed a spark like that,” said Joe Pavelski about Logan’s breakaway shorthanded goal. “He made a great shot on his breakaway and we were rolling from there.”
Pavelski pushed the Sharks ahead 3-1 with a powerplay goal of his own. Again, the play began in the neutral zone as Pavelski grabbed the puck and skated, chipping it into the corner for Tommy Wingels, who then found Joe Thornton behind the net. Thornton then sent the puck through the slot in traffic and Pavelski found it, scoring his tenth goal of the season, and the sixth on a power play.
The flood of San Jose goals continued as Wingels tipped it in after the Sharks won the faceoff and Marleau made a perfect saucer pass to Wingels, who collected his third point of the game. Tomas Hertl then walked in, showcasing his footwork and soft hands, going backhand and top shelf on Andersen. It was a play that began with James Sheppard stealing the puck in the neutral zone and then following through with boxing out the defense and allowing Hertl the space to score. That would be the end for Ducks Andersen, with LaBarbera coming in relief as the Sharks sat with a 5-1 lead.
The Dynamism of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf
Say what you will about Corey Perry, there is no doubt that sharing ice with Ryan Getzlaf is nothing but fireworks for the two of them. Through the first period of play Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau had split up the duo, trying to spread out his teams ice time, particularly since the team had played a day game the day before and many of their top players are out with either injury or illness. By the second period, the two were back together and the Ducks comeback began. After several penalties were handed out to both sides of the ice, Anaheim got a jump in their stride and Getzlaf and Perry led the rush.
“We have to get a spark somehow,” said Perry. “It’s our duty to be ready to play. As leaders on this team, we had to step up. We fell behind the 8-ball, but if we keep playing the way we did the second half of that game there’s going to be a lot of good things to come.”
The duo combined to score three textbook goals in the second and third period, capitalizing on miscommunication and turnovers by the Sharks and giving the Ducks an opportunity to take the game away from San Jose. Halfway through the third period Anaheim was within 1 of tying the game, with a score of 5-4, the Sharks dominant start all but evaporating.
Neet Empty Net for Nieto
If anyone needed a goal more, it was Sharks young forward Matt Nieto, whose tenacity and speed with the puck hadn’t been rewarded since the first game of the season. Granted it was an empty-netter, but it took the game away from the Ducks, allowing San Jose a 6-4 victory and got the monkey off Nieto’s back so to speak. Wingels assisted on the play, giving him a four point night, a career high.
Jekyl and Hyde Sharks
The Sharks have a way, though, of letting games get away from them after a strong start, and the Ducks woke up halfway through the second period and never looked back. Sharks netminder Antti Niemi was forced to make some key saves to keep his team from losing the lead as the team fought off wave after wave of Anaheim offensive rushes through the neutral zone. Defensive end turnovers didn’t help San Jose’s cause and the game quickly went from a 5-1 comfortable lead for the team in teal to a “too close for comfort” 5-4 game less than halfway through the third period of play.
“Tonight kind of epitomizes our team,” said Head Coach Todd McLellan. “We come out and do exactly what we want to do. We play with a straightforward mentality, no turnovers, hard forecheck, physical on pucks, special teams are sharp, we get a lead and then we want to play a different game.”
Indeed, San Jose’s first 30 minutes of play contrasted sharply from their last thirty and their lack of consistent effort nearly cost them a much needed 2 points. The Sharks sit just outside of a wild card spot in the standings right now, a concept that is a bit foreign in recent Sharks memory. A full 60 minutes of drive, doing exactly as McLellan says they should, will be the breaker for the Sharks to snag a playoff spot.
The Lightning acquired the six-foot-three thirty-five year-old from the St. Louis Blues on February 28, 2011 in a trade for Brock Beukeboom and Tampa’s third round pick in the 2011 draft. Between 2002-2007 he played internationally for Canada at several World Championships, the 2004 World Cup in Toronto, and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Even though they lost a strong defensive player, they were able to get Victor Hedman back on the ice. He was back after missing 18 games with a fractured finger suffered in early October.
David Legwand of the Ottawa Senators opening the scoring in the first with a power-play goal against Ben Bishop and the Sens were able to keep that lead going into the second. Ryan Callahan evened up the game with his third goal in the last two games. He is now second best in scoring on the team with 11 goals on the season.
The game was tied at the beginning of the third until Alex Killorn got a go-ahead goal to put the Bolts in the lead. The goal, his seventh of the season, extended his career-best point streak to seven games. The game became 3-1 when Brenden Morrow scored his first goal in a Bolts sweater in front of a sellout crowd of 19,204 at the Amalie Arena. The last goal saw Nikita Kucherov scoring a power-play goal thanks to the help of Tyler Johnson.
Johnson now leads the team with 17 assists, and Jason Garrison also earned his 12th assist of the year.
Tampa Bay entered Saturday’s game ranked third in the NHL for third period goals with 25 and with the victory, the Lightning win their third in a row
Bishop earned first start of the game by stopping 26-of-27 shots in a dominating performance in goal for the Lightning. Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn were second and third stars.
The Lightning are on the road for back-to-backs against the New York Rangers on Monday, December 1, and the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, December 2. The Bolts return to Amalie Arena for a four-game homestand, starting with the Sabres again on Thursday, December 4.
The Ontario Reign ended their nine-game road trip with their second loss at 2-1 to the Colorado Eagles. They turned their luck around a bit after their last game that resulted in a shutout but it just was not enough to win Saturday’s game.
After the shutout loss against the Eagles on Friday, Saturday’s game was their chance to do something different and turn things around. Colorado took a ton of penalties on Friday night and Ontario could have used that to their advantage. The Eagles had a total of 36 minutes in the sin bin, which was the most minutes for any team the Reign had to face this season. The Reign also has been seeing power-play troubles and if the Eagles were as undisciplined as before, Ontario could have used that as a chance to try to get more power-plays and actually score.
Things looked up in the first period for the Reign. A failed breakout for the Eagles gave Reign left winger Everett Sheen the perfect chance for a score. His first shot rebounded off of Eagles goaltender Clarke Saunders but Sheen took it again and made the goal that time around at 1:37. Their early lead did not last very long as Colorado woke up and was ready to rumble. The Eagles avenged the score with a power-play goal at 7:51 when Jordan Kwas took a rebound that was originally shot from Derek Rodwell and got it right past through Reign goaltender Jussi Olkinuora. The first ended in a tie with 12 shots on goal from Ontario and eight from Colorado.
The second period did not go any easier for Ontario. Eagles’ Nathan Moon brought Colorado to the lead by scoring on a subsequent penalty shot at 17:28. Both teams fought all the way to the end but Ontario just could not catch a break. The second ended with zero shots on goal for the Reign while the Eagles had five.
The third period was the last chance for the Reign to step their game up, especially after that second period. Ontario took the chance by pulling Olkinuora for an extra attacker with the hopes of evening out the game at the last minute. The extra man was just not the key and the period ended at 2-1 with no other goals from both teams. Olkinuora took the loss with 19 saves while Saunders stayed on top with 32.
The Ontario Reign will be taking a break from their long road trip and will be back at home against the Colorado Eagles once again on Dec. 5 and 6.
One secondary assist and one goal later, he left the game as 1 of only 5 active NHL players with 1000 points to his name–1 of 6 to wear a New York Rangers uniform while doing so–and 1 of 81 players in NHL history to have reached this milestone.
“I got a chance to play 1000 games last year, and that was really special to me. Now to get 1000 [points], it’s a great accomplishment…I’m proud of that,” said St. Louis after the game. “Do it on a win, do it on a goal, I think that makes it special, and the boys really played well tonight.”
The Rangers (10-8-4) defeated the Flyers (8-11-3) 3-0 in Philadelphia in the first game of this home-and-home set. While the Rangers took control offensively, goaltender Cam Talbot continued his hot streak against Philly, tallying his second shutout in as many starts and extending his shutout streak against the Flyers to 156:27 over three games. The Rangers have now registered shutouts in three of their last four games, and they lead the NHL in total shutouts so far this season with six.
The Rangers shot out to a 1-0 lead in the first period with a power play goal by Dan Boyle at 6:10, assisted by Derek Stepan and St. Louis. This was St. Louis’s 999th point as well as one of Stepan’s three primary assists on the night.
St. Louis, who would later receive First Star of the Game accolades, reached his milestone in the opening minutes of the second. As the Flyers struggled to establish possession in their own zone, the Rangers took advantage of several Philadelphia turnovers and attacked the net. Four minutes into the period, Chris Kreider centered the puck to Stepan. Flyers goaltender Steve Mason was able to block Stepan’s shot, but St. Louis was there to convert the easy rebound and give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. And with that goal, St. Louis officially joined the ranks of the elite.
From the opening puck drop, New York set the quick pace of the game, and they utilized their speed to push the puck up the ice and maintain offensive possession at key moments. The Rangers also had a handful of shorthanded opportunities, including early breakaway chances by Carl Hagelin and Jesper Fast, which ultimately culminated in a 3-on-1 shorty goal by Rick Nash in the third. Nash’s goal rounded out the scoring and put New York up 3-0 with 14:30 left to play. Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh, back on the ice for his first game since being injured earlier this month, added the secondary assist on Nash’s sixteenth goal this season.
“It’s always a tough road when you’re injured…so to be here today and to feel I made a good contribution, a little bit of an impact, it’s a good start,” said McDonagh.
The captain added that this win was a true team effort: “You see our fourth line taking hits to make plays, and the penalty killing stepped up huge, and the power play got us going, so [contributions from] a lot of areas and obviously a great goaltender for us tonight in Talbot.”
The Rangers and the Flyers will continue their rivalry with a game tomorrow at Madison Square Garden. As New York looks to continue their shutout success, Philadelphia hopes to break a 3-hour on-ice scoring drought against New York.
Here’s to another great chapter in this storied rivalry.
The Ontario Reign suffered a 3-0 shutout to the Colorado Eagles on Friday night. Their three-game win streak came to an end in just the second game of their Thanksgiving weekend series.
Ontario’s ability to outshoot their opponents was one of their main keys to try to keep their streak going. During Wednesday’s game they managed to keep the Eagles at just 30 total shots on goal while they had 31. That was the sixth time that the Reign had outshot the opposing team this season. Goaltender Joe Cannata‘s recent trip to the AHL’s Utica Comets left fellow teammate Jussi Olkinuora large and in charge. He was forced to start back-to-back and did not disappoint with his performance. He helped bring Ontario to victory and their third straight win on Wednesday with 27 saves. Even after Friday’s loss, Olkinuora is still a complete threat to Colorado.
The first period was definitely a slow one for both teams. Ontario outshot the Eagles 8-7 but just could not catch a break to get an early lead. Both teams woke up during the second period when Eagles’ Darryl Bootland scored with a power-play goal at 1:14. The rebound flew past Olkinuora with assists from forwards Trent Daavettila and Nathan Moon. Ontario outshot Colorado again but Eagles goaltender Clarke Saunders proved to have the upper hand for both periods as he did not allow even one pass through.
At just about five minutes into the third period, Eagles defenseman Curtis Gedig beat Olkinuora with a wrist shot to have Ontario trailing behind 2-0. The assists went to Daavettila and Moon once again. The Reign had a perfect chance for a goal finally at 8:14 when it was thought that Jeff May got past Saunders with a slap shot but the call ended up as no goal. The ruling was that during the play, Saunders was interfered with. The Eagles got their final game winning goal in at 13:39 with a backhanded shot by Brett Kulak to make the final score 3-0. The game ended with Olkinuora taking the loss with 23 saves while Saunders proved victorious with 27.
The Ontario Reign is hoping to turn things around and start a new streak on Saturday during their third game against the Eagles.
Andress, founder and commissioner of the CWHL, has worked for the past seven years to give women a place to play professional hockey, and ultimately make a living doing it.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized by the Women’s Executive Network, and to be listed among these incredibly intelligent and inspiring female leaders,” Andress said. “It is so wonderful to see more women break through glass ceilings across all sectors, from private businesses to sports organizations, and honoring them helps inspire the next generation of female leaders to believe anything is possible and make their own dreams come true.”
In 2013, Andress received a “Women of Distinction” award by the YWCA for her work in furthering accessibility and diversity in sports. She was also named one of “The Powers of the Future” by The Hockey News. Andress started playing hockey at 16 and became the first woman to ever play for a men’s college varsity team when she played for Centennial College in 1978.
“I truly believe that the possibilities for future generations of women are limitless,” she said.
The CWHL has five teams: The Calgary Inferno, Brampton Thunder, Boston Blades, Montreal Stars and Toronto Furies. It is the premiere place for elite female hockey players, and is centrally funded with all participating teams receiving equal access to financial support. It is a non-profit organization with every dollar going toward building a league dedicated to raising the profile of women’s hockey.
The seas of red in opponents’ rinks and hundreds of consecutive standing-room only home games are a testament of the Blackhawks‘ ever-expanding fan base.
The Blackhawks held the most top-10 spots on the leaderboard of any team so far, according to an NHL press release.
Forwards Patrick Kane (with 73,551 votes) and Jonathan Toews (71,734) are ranked fourth and fifth, while defenseman Duncan Keith (66,723) takes sixth and goaltender Corey Crawford sits in eighth place. By Friday, defenseman Brent Seabrook moved up to 10th – giving the Hawks five spots out of the top 10.
On Oct. 26th, he earned his 500th career point–a career he’s spent entirely with the Blackhawks, bringing in two Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Calder Memorial Trophy.
Jonathan Toews
Toews is part of the Kane-Toews duo that has brought two cups to the Windy City in just a few years. Toews also has Conn Smythe Trophy, as well as the Frank J. Selke Trophy. He has some milestones of his own this season, including scoring his 200th goal earlier this month.
Duncan Keith
Keith is a two-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, an award given to the league’s best all-around defenseman. He consistently excels offensively in addition to his role on defense.
Brent Seabrook
Another member of the “core,” Seabrook is another strong two-way defenseman. Awarded the alternate captain honor repeatedly throughout his eight seasons as a Blackhawk, Seabrook is continuously relied upon in high pressure moments.
Corey Crawford
Another clutch player and beauty on the ice is starting netminder Crawford. Winner of the William M. Jennings trophy and in-net acrobat, Crawford is good for stopping points in touchy situations. He has a .926 save percentage and 1.98 Goals Against Average so far this season.
Voting concludes Jan. 1, the same day as the Bridgestone Winter Classic, when the top six (three forwards, two defensemen, one goaltender) will be selected for their places in the 2015 Honda NHL All-Star game. As an example, if the team were set based on Friday afternoon’s standings, Crosby, Kane, Toews, Subban, Keith, and Price would be the fan selections.
Fans can log their votes, in English, French, German, Czech, Finnish, Russian, Slovak, and/or Swedish, at: NHL.com/vote.
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