This past weekend marked the beginning of the ECHL season, with the welcome addition of seven teams from the CHL joining the fold. After the long off season, there is nothing more exciting for a hockey fan than opening night, even better when it is a matchup between heated rivals. The Stockton Thunder and the Bakersfield Condors kicked off their season openers with a 3-in-3 weekend series, with both teams playing host. The Thunder lost to the Condors on Friday night, 3-1 but then came from behind to win both games on Saturday down in Bakersfield and at their home opener on Sunday. Both teams have new goaltending duos and chemistry is still developing. For the Thunder the comeback wins gave them confidence, an important asset to have early in the season.
“We gained a little confidence,” said Thunder Head Coach Rich Kromm after the win Sunday night. “Being able to come back like that down in their building, here (at home) tonite, was a little bit frustrating for the guys but they stuck with it and were able to turn the tide and carry the play both last night and tonite which is a positive.”
Forward Tyler Maxwell echoed his coaches sentiment and added, “You really build up team camaraderie like this and we definitely become closer as a group.”
Ryan Constant checks Condors Francis Verreault-Paul
The Thunder have many new faces in the lineup this season and it will take a little time to establish a team identity and line chemistry. Garet Hunt, Ryan Hayes, James Henry, Ryan Constant and Shawn Boutin make up the core of returning players for Stockton. The team has certainly not lost any of its grittiness, with Hunt racking up the penalty minutes in the opening weekend series with 19 minutes (an ECHL league lead) assessed in Sunday’s game alone, and Constant not far behind. The defensive core is led by both Constant and Boutin, who lend a steady presence to the blueline. For the weekend series, they were down to just five defensemen, as Keith Seabrook was out of the lineup. Boutin, when asked how the defense can maintain given the extra load being short a defenseman can bring said, “We just try to keep it simple, do the simple things and work together as a unit, move the puck and pass to the forwards and let them do the rest.”
The home opener made it apparent that several of the new forwards have tremendous hockey sense and a knack for creative play. Jack MacLellan, Tyler Shattock, Robin Soudek, Lukas Sutter (part of the Sutter Hockey Dynasty) and Tyler Maxwell got a chance to showcase their skills and feed one another passes over the weekend games as Coach Kromm moved players around in the search for chemistry and to accommodate for penalty time.
Condors Ty Rimmer makes a glove save on Tyler Maxwell’s shot
For Maxwell, the line shuffling was a good thing that he felt brought his team closer together.
“I think the last three games, everybody played with everybody so it was just the way it worked out with penalty trouble or whatever but we are a really tight group right now already so it’s good to see.”
Shattock had a strong showing both in his goal scoring ability and his presence in board battles. Several times, he delivered hard hitting checks that brought a Condor player to a grinding halt. He collected a number of penalties (8PIMs) over the weekend for his aggressive style. In addition to collecting a goal and an assist over the course of the three game series, Shattock is tied with Ontario Reign forward Maxim Kitsyn in shots, totaling 15. After Sunday’s game, he commented on the need to play the body a bit more, especially in a three game series.
“Any time you can be physical on a team that likes to run and gun a little, I think it will wear them down and they get a little bit out of their game,” said Shattock. “Three games in two and a half days, I think you gotta play that way to wear them down in the third game.”
The Thunder have yet another weapon in their scoring arsenal, brought down from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and no stranger to the ECHL Western Conference in Peter Sivak. A former San Francisco Bull, the Czech native played for the Alaska Aces last season and was a major key to their Kelly Cup winning team, collecting 83 points in 67 games. As one of the most prolific scorers in the ECHL, Sivak wasted no time in starting his point streak, registering four points over the weekend in three games.
Boston fans are notorious for hitting the panic button and quickly. With the season skating into full swing, the Bruins have lost four games since opening night, but a statistic that seems to be overlooked is the fact that they’ve won three. Of course that statistic is meaningless in an already frustrating landscape for fans of the black and gold. The Bruins looked to carry over the energy from Saturday’s 4-0 win against the Sabres and they did just that, with Tuukka Rask manning the pipes.
The San Jose Sharks skated into TD Garden for their final game of a 5-game road trip, which began on the 14th in Washington and left them with a 2-2 record in the books, by games end they would find themselves 2-3. Finding repeated success between the pipes against the Bruins, Rasks’ fellow Finnish goaltender Antti Niemi took the ice, however allowing 4 goals on 32 shots, goal number 5 for Boston was an empty netter.
For the team and fans, it was just the type of win they were looking for on home ice. Chemistry for the Krejci-Lucic-Griffith line helped propel the Bruins into the win column, with Lucic recording three assists on the evening, and Krejci earning two-points with a goal and assist, it was 20-year-old newcomer Seth Griffith who tallied his first NHL goal at 4:50 of the third that had everyone talking. Ask any player their most memorable hockey moment and the responses remain consistent among them, first NHL game, first NHL goal.
“Yeah, sure did,” said Bruins Lucic on celebrating his first goal enthusiastically. “I remember getting my first goal and how much it meant and how special it was. It was great to see him finally get it.”
Seth Griffith
Griffith has been haunted by opportunity in terms of scoring, most recently clinking the post in a 6-4 loss to Montreal last week, his first goal couldn’t have come at a better time, with Boston down 3-2, Griffith’s goal not only lit the lamp, but a fire under the team.
“It was great,” said Griffith on his first NHL goal. “I’ve had a couple chances the past few games so it’s great to get the first one out of the way.”
The sentiments around the room post game mirrored one another, excitement for the win, desire to keep it going and a genuine thrill for their teammate’s first goal.
“You get goose bumps,” said Kelly on Griffith’s goal. “It never gets old seeing someone score their first goal and how excited they are. I think it brings a lot of us back to when we scored our first goal, so well deserved, and it couldn’t come at a better time. It was a big goal.”
It was consistent play and visible hard work that earned the young forward a slot on the first line, and ultimately kept him there throughout the entire game.
“Because he played well,” said Head Coach Julien on what he saw in Griffith. “When he was playing well I thought he made some great plays. Again, this isn’t because he scored, I think he scored because he played well. I just thought he was pretty good. That’s a big team and I thought he handled himself well along the walls and making good plays.”
The team, and Griffith will look to ride their two game win streak, when former teammate Johnny Boychuck and the New York Islanders skate into town on Thursday.
Fall is the best time of year, not only because it’s hockey season, but because the weather is just crisp enough to break out a sweater. Usually planning a media outfit takes priority and I’ve had something planned in my head a few days prior for game night. But what happens when what you picked just doesn’t work? You go back to basics. The basics I’m talking about, black and white.
When my maroon dress pants just weren’t making the cut and the clock kept ticking onward, I decided to keep it simple, black pants, nude pumps, white t-shirt and a cream and black leopard print sweater.
Breakdown:
White t-shirt, H&M, $12.95
Cream and black leopard print sweater, Forever 21, $14.90, clearance
Black dress pants, Gap, $34.95
Nude pumps, Target, $22.99
Statement necklace, Target, $16.99
Riley Brace, 22, spent the majority of his time with the AHL Worcester Sharks and Iowa Wild last season, recording five points in 48 games played between the two clubs. He also spent time at the ECHL level with the San Francisco Bulls and then moved to the Ontario Reign once the Bulls folded mid-season, playing in 13 games and registering nine points.
Starting his second professional season, Brace made an impact with the Nailers during Opening weekend, scoring three goals in his first ever game with the team on Saturday night against the Reading Royals. The points were recorded on four consecutive Wheeling tallies, starting with the goal that gave the Nailers a 3-2 lead at the 12:24 mark of the second period. Seven minutes later, Riley banged in his second goal of the period, putting the home team ahead by a pair. After assisting on Ben Shutron’s first professional goal, the Ottawa, ON native completed his first pro hat trick with 1:08 left in the game. The hat trick was Brace’s first since February 10, 2012, when he completed that feat as a member of the OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.
On behalf of Riley, a case of pucks will be donated to the Wheeling Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) by Sher-Wood Hockey, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Sher-Wood Hockey has donated more than 31,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.
Brace becomes the first Nailer to win Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week in 2014-15, after Cody Sylvester (2) and Zack Torquato won the honor last season.
It was announced on Monday, October 20, that the Calgary Flames will celebrate Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Night on Tuesday, October 21, when they face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
October has long been devoted to a variety of cancer awareness events among hockey teams of all levels, many holding their “Pink in the Rink” games during October.
Hockey Fights Cancer is an initiative founded in December 1998 by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association to raise money and awareness for “hockey’s most important fight.” The color lavender is associated with this initiative—to separate it from the more specific “Pink in the Rink” events dedicated to breast cancer.
To date, through the NHL’s various charitable foundations, both in the U.S. and Canada, more than $13 million has been raised for the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Moneys go to support national and local cancer research institutions, children’s hospitals, player charities and local cancer organizations.
In support of Hockey Fights Cancer, select Calgary Flames players will have lavender-colored tape on their sticks and all players will wear the Hockey Fights Cancer helmet decals. There is fan involvement scheduled as well. The fans are asked to participate in the “I Fight For” campaign where they can dedicate a card to someone they know who has fought or is continuing to fight against this dreadful disease. The fans’ cards will be found on the concourse and they are asked to post a picture of their card to their Twitter account in order to be entered to win a signed jersey of defenseman and team captain, Mark Giordano.
And look for a special pre-game ceremonial puck drop to take place with a youth participant from the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Hockey players, the NHL, and the teams are always great about honoring and recognizing the strength and determination required of those fighting against cancer throughout the year, but the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative is a special call to arms that allows fans to purchase attire showing their support. Proceeds from the sales of Hockey Fights Cancer apparel available in FanAttic stores during October will also be directed to the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.
If you want to visit a grand and elaborate barn, this is the place to go. Boardwalk Hall is not just a hockey rink, but a multipurpose arena that has hosted countless shows, sporting events and other special occasions including hockey games, Miss America Pageants and even the first indoor flight of a helicopter. With all of these memories, we believe that Boardwalk Hall deserves a spot in our Barn Blog series.
It was in the June 9, 1910 edition of the Atlantic City Evening Union where Councilman Victor Freisinger stated, “We must have a convention hall here . . . the resort needs some such institution in order to keep abreast of the growing demands of the national bodies which meet in the annual convention, and will urge the importance of the scheme for a convention hall as long as there is any possibility of its becoming a reality.” Sixteen years later, after buying land at Rendezvous Park , hiring Lockwood, Greene and Co. to be the architects and receiving approval, Boardwalk Hall was ready to be built. Three years after that, the new convention hall was opened on May 31st, 1929.
The entire project cost $15 million, was built upon seven acres on concrete, and a 137-foot high roof without pillar supports. According to the buildings website, the stage at the time was proclaimed the largest in the world at 110 feet wide, 85 feet deep and 165 feet between the wings. Also very notable is the buildings Pipe organ which is the largest in the world with 33,000 pipes. It’s composed of two consoles, one with seven keyboards and a portable one with five. The pipes were also organized into 8 different chambers to create a “surround sound” effect.
Boardwalk Hall has seen quite a bit of hockey throughout its years. It has been host to two professional teams: the Atlantic City Seagulls from 1930 to 1952 and the ECHL Boardwalk Bullies from 2001 to 2005. It has also hosted some NHL games on occasion for an Ottawa Senators vs. New York Rangers game (the very first hockey game played there), two Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers exhibition games, and several AHL and ECHL games.
The Seagulls inaugural season was on February 7, 1930 when they faced off against the Pennsylvania Athletic club. Later, on March 1, 1933, the Seagulls set up a game with the New York Rangers. According to the building’s website, Boardwalkhall.com, there were 22,157 fans in attendance of this game making it the largest crowd ever to see a hockey game. The price for admission was a food, clothing or fuel donation for the American Red Cross. In the end the Rangers beat the Seagulls 6-2, as they were professional and the Seagulls were only armatures. The Seagulls played their final game later on March 15th, 1952 against the New York Rovers.
The ECHL Boardwalk Bullies has their fair share of hockey memories while playing at Boardwalk Hall, as well. In their 2002-2003 season they won the Kelly Cup, beating the Columbia Inferno 4-1. As the team only lasted 5 years in the ECHL many of the players moved on to other teams or retired. Head Coach Mike Haviland went on to win the Kelly Cup with the Trenton Titans again in 2005, won the Stanley Cup as an assistant for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and now the head coach of the Hershey Bears in the AHL.
Playing in this historic stadium is special enough for the professionals who have played there, but for the College students who were lucky enough to make it to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men’s Championships in 2011, 2012, and 2013; it was a memory that will last a lifetime.
On January 29th and 30th of 2012 Boardwalk Hall hosted the AHL All-Star Classic. This was the first time the Classic was held at a location outside of the AHL team’s cities. The skills competition took place on Sunday. Magnus Nygren won the hardest shot competition with a 104.6 mph slapshot and tied Jason Jaffray and Ryan Strome. Mike Hoffman was deemed as the fasted skater at 13.990 seconds to complete one lap. Dustin Tokarski won best goaltender by blocking 16 out of 24 shots. On Monday the Western Conference beat the Eastern conference with a score of 8-7.
“Operation Hat Trick” was a game held on November 24, 2012 at Boardwalk Hall to help raise money for the victims of hurricane Sandy. Before 10, 792 fans, Brad Richards‘ of the New York Rangers team beat Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers team. The final score was 10-6. As fans cheered “we want hockey,” the game helped lead to the two month lockout. The game drew national media attention and showed many NHL players eager to take the ice again. Overall, the game raised $500,000 to benefit the New Jersey and New York victims of the hurricane.
As a multipurpose complex, Boardwalk Hall has seen a variety of events other than hockey. It has hosted numerous Miss America pageants, the first surgery televised in color, the first indoor nighttime college football game, the first indoor flight by helicopter, President Lyndon Johnson’s nomination convention, and other various concerts, sporting events and conventions. This extravagant barn’s concrete walls hold a lot of history and memories and continue to be a great place to visit no matter what the event is.
On Monday, the Calgary Flames announced that they have signed defenseman T.J. Brodie to a five-year contract extension.
T.J. Brodie
The 24-year-old is a native of Chatham, Ontario. He has begun the 2014-15 season with three goals and four assists for a six game point streak. At present, his point streak marks the longest in NHL on the season and is a career high for Brodie. He leads all players currently in the NHL with his impressive total of 176 minutes of ice time and he is tied with Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman as most points among defensemen with seven.
Brodie was drafted by the Flames in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Level Draft. During his time in the NHL, he has earned 11 goals and 55 assists for a total of 62 points in 192 games.
During the 2012-13 shortened season, after the Calgary Flames season ended, Brodie was invited to join Team Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Championship, after playing more than 20 minutes of ice time a game for the Flames and scoring 2 goals and 14 points in the 47 games. During the IIHF World Championship, he got one assist in the seven games he played before Team Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
At the end of the 2012-13 season he was a restricted free agent and signed a two-year contract extension. With the new contract, he will continue to represent the Flames and they have clearly recognized the growth he has shown and his commitment to the team and to making them a winning group.
When the puck dropped on Sunday’s game against the Portland Pirates, it looked like perhaps the Providence Bruins had found their jump. They quickly took control of the game, spending quality time in Portland’s defensive end and peppering the Pirates’ goalie Louis Domingue with shots..
As the buzzer announced the end of the first period, Providence had almost twice as many shots on goal as the Pirates and they were up two goals to none. It looked like the struggles displayed during their back-to-back against the Worcester Sharks were behind them. Having lost the first one on home ice Friday, they were determined to be tougher on Saturday and managed to pull out a point by forcing the game to overtime.
However, as the second period got underway, it appeared that perhaps the Providence Bruins were satisfied with their early two goals, as they definitely dialed back their attack and 6:52 of the second Pirates Captain, Alexandre Bolduc put one past Jeremy Smith, assisted by Jordan Martinook and Henrik Samuelsson (son of Ulf Samuelsson—who is no stranger to Boston Bruins fans).
When the second period came to a close, the Pirates had outshot the Bruins 12-10 in the period, and though the Bruins held a one goal lead, it felt tenuous at best. It was questionable which version of the Bruins would take to the ice in the third.
Third period saw the return of the tenacious team that taught hockey in the first and Providence again outshot the Pirates and in the last minute, while on the power play, after the Pirates pulled their goalie, the Bruins managed to get the empty netter to ensure their victory.
However, two issues were clear from the three games, and most especially from the Bruins game against the Pirates. First was their penchant for backing off when up by a couple of goals. Second was the continuing struggles to get both units of the power play to produce.
Post game, Head Coach Bruce Cassidy addressed both issues, pointing out that Sunday’s game could have been one of many more goals.
“We had lots of energy, a lot of jump [when we started]. A couple of guys in our line up give you that – [Ryan] Spooner and [Seth Griffith] back in there,” he said. “We just didn’t finish well enough…so we made it tougher.”
He called specific attention to the second period, and it was clear that he no doubt had brought that up during the second intermission to the players under his guidance.
Seth Griffith
“I don’t want to be disrespectful, [we made it] tougher than it had to be. I think if we could have just had a little more push there in the second,” Cassidy continued. “And then they got back in it and they earned the right and it went right down to the wire.”
Cassidy indicated that it was good to get the win, but they have often been on the losing side of such one-goal games so far this season. This lack of his team to be able to force a separation and get further out in front is not lost on Cassidy and he made a point of saying that it was something that he would work on.
The fact that he had Spooner and Griffith back in his line up is not something he can rely on for that jump or push. Griffith has already been recalled by the Boston Bruins and is expected to play with them on Tuesday when they take on the San Jose Sharks. So, the team needs to figure out how to bring that energy when they don’t have the skills of Spooner and Griffith on hand.
The second problem that persists is the power play, or lack of production during the power play. Cassidy mentioned that in many cases since the game against the St. John’s Ice Caps on October 10, that the team really hadn’t had much opportunity on the power play. Usually shortly after going on the PP they have negated the man advantage by taking a penalty themselves. However, in addition to that, Cassidy called out the second unit of the power play for their number of turnovers and their lack of fight for the puck.
At the end of the weekend, Providence had three points out of six, but they made it much harder than it should have been and hopefully they will learn from the experience and refuse to back down going forward. This coming weekend the team will take on the Norfolk Admirals on Friday, October 24, when they don their Pink in the Rink jerseys that will be auctioned to benefit Breast Cancer. And then they will travel to New Hampshire to take on the Manchester Monarchs for the first time this season.
On July 1st of this year, 42-year-old goaltender Martin Brodeur became an unrestricted free agent and was not offered a contract by the only team he’d ever played for, the New Jersey Devils (or any other team, for that matter).
Brodeur’s made it very clear that he wants to keep playing, but only if he can play a significant number of games for a Stanley Cup contender. However, most of the teams he’d be okay playing for didn’t have a spot on their roster for him. He’s also said he prefers not to play for a Metropolitan Division team, that he’d rather not face the Devils several times a year.
The chances of Brodeur playing again looked slim coming into the season. Now, just a week and some change into the year, there’s an opening in Colorado after the Avalanche placed starter Semyon Varlamov on injured reserve Thursday.
Avs’ backup goalie Reto Berra started for Colorado against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, but he left in the first period with an injury after John Mitchell and Kyle Turris got tied up and slid into Berra, sending him into the back of the net. Calvin Pickard, a call-up from the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, was dressed as an NHL backup for the first time tonight. He came in and made his NHL debut just 2:46 into the first period. In the remainder of the game, Pickard allowed four goals on 27 shots as the Avalanche would lose, 5-3.
Varlamov is out for Colorado with a groin injury, and depending on the severity of Berra’s injury, the reigning Central Division winners will need to add another goaltender to their roster to stabilize the team early in the season.
Their best options of who to sign come down to Brodeur and 40-year-old Tim Thomas, each unrestricted free agents with plenty of NHL experience.
This could be the chance Brodeur has been looking for. Although Colorado was knocked out of the first round of the 2014 playoffs by the Minnesota Wild, they still made it there, unlike the Devils.
Colorado is still a good team, complete with the 2013-14 Calder Trophy winner Nathan Mackinnon and young captain Gabriel Landeskog. They also added the seasoned Jarome Iginla, and they’re poised to be a contender once again.
In addition, the Avalanche will only face the Devils twice this season. The first meeting isn’t until November 15th, so there’s a chance Brodeur may not even be with Colorado at that point if Varlamov gets healthy quickly.
This isn’t an idea Devils fans have wanted to ponder, but the three-time Stanley Cup champion has held off on retirement and made it crystal clear that he wants to keep playing. Now, with a mini-crisis between the pipes out in Colorado, Brodeur in an Avalanche jersey could be a very real possibility.
Since the Blackhawks’ home opener Saturday the 11th, they’ve struggled to play a dominant 60 minutes of regulation hockey a game–a characteristic that could inevitably come back to bite them. With two wins and an overtime loss in their past three games, despite the advantage of a home crowd, it may be tough to call out the flaws. But the team can do better.
“Sometimes when we’re locked in a tight game like that and it’s sloppy and ugly, we’ve just got to find ways to win,” Toews said. “It’s not always going to be perfect. It’s not always going to be exactly the way we want to play, but we’ve just got to grind it out and stay positive through [the whole game].”
But, his goal shouldn’t have been necessary. The team led the game in shots 37-20 and had five Power Plays to Nashville’s four.
The rest of regulation was a tradeoff of penalties and kills, leading to Toews’ salvaging goal.
Goalie Corey Crawford made 19 saves while former Blackhawks prospect Carter Hutton stopped 35 for Nashville.
Blackhawks burned by Flames
Despite barraging the Flames with shots 50-18, the Blackhawks couldn’t pull off a win against the Calgary team at their second home game last Wednesday.
Chicago had the offensive edge but Calgary’s defense showed up to play–with netminder Jonas Hiller saving 49 out of 50 and on-ice defensemen blocking plenty more.
Again, and without surprise, the Blackhawks were unable to capitalize on Power Plays–scoring just once in seven man-advantages. They were, however, able to hold their opponents scoreless in the single penalty kill. It was a fairly disciplined game aside from getting the puck in the net.
“Our best shots that we got, we probably had six or seven A-plus chances that [we] didn’t even get a shot on net,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We were looking for a better play, a missed shot, blocked [shot] or [we were] in too tight or missed the net. So, those were the ones that didn’t even add up on the score sheet as far as shots, but those were the quality chances that we missed.”
Daniel Carcillo missed a couple seemingly “gimme” shots, but he was not alone.
The Blackhawks responded, but not until about 5:45 left in the game. Shaw knocked in a shot from Patrick Sharp (also assisting, Toews) for the tying goal–on a Power Play, no less.
“Good ending,” Calgary coach Bob Hartley said. “That’s almost like a golf game. Our drive went in the woods, but we took a stroke and we found a way to [make] par.”
“Playing with those two guys, you know they’re going to make plays,” Shaw said. “I try to go to the dirty areas and get them the puck and go to the net. They seem to make a lot of things happen.”
The second period was relatively uneventful–with the Hawks narrowly leading the Sabres in shots 11-9.
“Our [first 40 minutes] tonight wasn’t bad,” Quenneville said. “Just because it was 2-2, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t as complete as we’d like. I think across the board we were 100 percent better than we were [in Dallas] the other day. [This] put us back on the right track.”
But, in the third, Chicago showed the kind of hockey the team is capable of playing, scoring four unanswered goals for a 6-2 final.
Enroth made 41 saves out of 47. Crawford stopped 21 out of 23.
This game should be a model for Chicago as the team moves forward. Though not everyone has perfect chemistry together yet, they found a way to work together and produce. They minimized time in the box and had their best yet percentage of Power Play goals–though that needs some serious work. They played hockey for a full 60 minutes, preventing extra time on the ice and guaranteeing a win.
They’ll need this kind of action as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday then hit the road again Thursday.
*Bolded links include previous blogs and scoring videos.*
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