Team USA kicked off their Four Nations Cup run with a bang yesterday when they defeated Sweden in a 10-0 shutout. The opening period of the game included 23 shots and 4 goals in a 4 minute span for the U.S.. Newly named captain Meghan Duggan opened the scoring at 13:01 and the U.S. women had a commanding 4-0 lead by 16:56.
“A quick start is something that we’ve focused on in practice a lot. We’ve been working on hustling every single play,” said defenceman Gigi Marvin, who scored in the first and third periods. “It’s just a reminder of that you play how you practice.”
The United States kept up their relentless pace for the rest of the game, allowing very little action in their own end. The second and third periods saw 2 and 4 USA goals, respectively. Eight players got in on the scoring and 11 had at least a point in the game. Swedish goaltender Sara Grahn had an outstanding 48 saves, but they were not enough to beat the deluge of United States goals. Jessie Vetter and Molly Schaus split time in net for Team USA and combined for just 8 saves in the shutout.
“I loved how our team played today,” said head coach Katey Stone. “We played with a lot of jump, a lot of intensity and a real sense of urgency. We played smart, simple hockey. We take everyday as it comes and we just have to find a way to win the game in front of us. We have great effort and hustle and I’m happy with where our team is at right now. We just need to work as hard as we can.”
Stone said she hopes to see the quick start become a trend as the tournament continues. The United States will face Canada tonight at 7:00. Canada beat Finland in a 3-1 decision in their opening game of the tournament. The winner of tonight’s game will be even closer to clinching a berth in the championship on Saturday, but the U.S. women expressed that they need no extra motivation when facing Canada.
“When we play Canada it’s the game we want to play and the game we train for,” said defenseman Kacey Bellamy. “We’re going to come out hard.”
For more information on the Four Nations Cup, including schedules and tickets; please visit USA Hockey’s website here.
Also, be sure to follow the exciting action streaming live on usahockey.fasthockey.com and on twitter@USAHockey and @usahockeyscores with the hashtag #4NationsCup.
Track the U.S. Women’s National Team throughout its journey to Sochi by following @USAHockey on Twitter or by liking U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team on Facebook.
If you have taken the time to read my Pink Puck bio then you are aware that I am brand spanking new to the sport of ice hockey. I’m not sure how you all are when you discover something new that brings you joy, but I know I tend to get a tad obsessive, I feel this need to acquire information about every aspect of my new-found interest until I feel like a mini expert. With Ariel covering the terms and rules of the game (which are benefiting me 100%) I decided to dig up the past and find out the history of how this magnificent sport developed and evolved. Not only will this be fun and educational for myself and other new fans, but I bet a lot of the most ‘die-hard’ fans could learn something new along with me.
After some long and extensive research I have discovered that to pinpoint the EXACT origin of ice hockey is impossible because it does not exist. The sport we enjoy and play today evolved from several different countries from various ‘stick-and-ball’ games. The only definitive piece of information I found was that the very first organized game was played on March 3, 1875, in Montreal. Furthermore the name “hockey” has no clear origin, although its first known mention in English dates to 1363 when King Edward III of England issued a proclamation banning a number of games. The word “puck” derives from the Scots Gaelic puc or the Irish poc (to poke, punch or deliver a blow).
A few games that predate hockey and may or may not have helped in its evolution are IJscolf, knattleikr, hurling, shinney, and bandie ball (an early form of field hockey). Thomas Chandler Haliburton a famous author, attended Kings College School in Windsor, Nova Scotia between 1800-1810 and in his book The Attache, written in 1844 is quoted saying “…you boys let out racin’, yelpin’, hollerin’, and whoopin’ like mad with pleasure and the play-ground, and the game at base in the fields, or hurley on the long pond on the ice…” Due to Haliburtons national acclaim for writing the first history of Nova Scotia, his quoted accounts of playing hurley on ice while a student are of great significance so much so that most historical findings are in agreement that the sport of ice hockey originated in the 1800s in Windsor as ice hurley and over a few decades developed into the ice hockey we know today.
Buffalo Sabres fans had something to cheer about when they woke up this morning as Buffalo was able to outscore the league’s 3rd overall team, the San Jose Sharks. This was a close game from the get go and Buffalo was finally able to out work their opponent and get the win in a shootout.
If you were awake to see the game on the east coast, ending at 1:30 am, you say a great game by the Sabres, the first real team effort. We were still out shot 51-36, but we were able to put a solid effort on the ice and San Jose just didn’t play like they usually do. Buffalo handed San Jose their third straight loss after they were off to a great season, winning 10 out of their first 12 games. Buffalo now improves to 3-13-1.
The first period, as usual, was all San Jose. They out shot Buffalo 16-10 and was able to get on the scoreboard first with a nice backhand shot from Marty Havlat, playing in just his third game from an off season surgery.
The second period was all Buffalo as they were able to grab two goals and go ahead in the game 2-1. Just two minutes into the period, Buffalo’s Drew Stafford scored his second of the season after a nice pass from Jamie McBain. Just three minutes later, Cody McCormick got his first goal of the season and Stafford was able to assist on that goal, bringing his best game of the season.
The third period seemed to be where all the action was, and where I was no longer able to stay awake to watch it. There were 5 goals scored in this period and 4 within the first 8 minutes. Buffalo scored first with a power play goal from Tyler Ennis, only his second goal of the season. San Jose grabbed the next two goals to tie the game up at 3. Tyler Kennedy and Tomas Hertl scored 1:10 apart to get San Jose back in this game. Buffalo went back in the lead a few minutes later with a slapshot from Henrik Tallinder, his second of the season. With just 4 minutes to go in the period, San Jose’s Tommy Wingels scored his 4th of the season and tied the game back up at 4 and sent it into overtime.
No goals were scored in overtime but there was one questionable call when Tyler Kennedy’s shot went off the post and it was thought that the puck went in quick and bounced back out but it was ruled no goal so onto a shootout we went. San Jose’s only goal in the shootout came in the first round with goal by Logan Couture. Buffalo’s two goals came from Matt Moulson and Cody Hodgson.
Sabres Ryan Miller made 47 saves while Sharks goalie Antti Niemi made 32 saves. Buffalo continues their California road trip with a game against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday while the Sharks stay at home to take on the Vancouver Canucks, also on Thursday.
The Bakersfield Condors, ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers announced specially themed sweaters to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. The Jerseys will be worn for the game against the Stockton Thunder on Sunday November 10th. Following the game, the jerseys will be auctioned off right off the player’s back. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Bakersfield ARC, an organization that helps people with developmental disabilities in the areas of job training, employment and support services.
This is certainly an interesting topic to place on a hockey sweater and we look forward to seeing them in action on ice. What specialty jerseys are your favourites? Any ones that are flops?
For more information of the upcoming Specialty Jersey night in Bakersfield head on over to the Condors website.
When you ask most hockey players where they grew up and got their start playing the game, Canada is the common beginning. It makes sense when kids in Canada are thrown on the ice and in skates by the age of three, learning to skate before they walk. As hockey has grown in popularity, it has expanded beyond the northern border and taken root in places where the only water that is frozen is in your freezer; places like Texas, California, Florida, Las Vegas. Yes, Hockey is thriving in the Sin City and believe it or not two Las Vegas natives play for the ECHL’s Wranglers this season, forward Chris Francis and defenseman Eddie DelGrosso. Despite being born in Niagara Falls, New York, blueliner DelGrosso is a product of the Las Vegas hockey system, developing his game in the Nevada desert. He started on the ice at three, when his family was still in Niagara Falls and moved out to Vegas when he was six years old. There was only one rink in town then and only one team per age group that traveled to play teams in California and Arizona. He said it was tough getting people to come out for hockey and that most of the time from his mites to bantam years the teams only had 12 guys. DelGrosso thinks that getting an early start and being part of a smaller hockey community helped him get to where he is today.
“I think for me, looking back on it, it might have been a good thing starting out like I did so young back in New York. It probably helped me and then coming out here was probably a good thing too because you don’t get lost in the shuffle and you have more time and ice to develop and kind of try to stand out a little bit more.”
Many players who develop outside Canada do so through roller hockey and DelGrosso is no exception, playing mostly during the summer. For him roller was an off-season endeavor although he did end up playing on a team for his last year of high school. His focus has always been ice hockey and his inspiration for pursuing the Dream was close to home. His cousin Marc Magliarditi was a netminder for the Las Vegas Wranglers and seeing him play even before he got there, when he played in the USHL and major juniors, pushed DelGrosso to further his game. The biggest impact on DelGrosso’s development came from Rob Pallin, Assistant coach for the Wranglers during the 2011-12 season.
“He was my coach all through midgets and a real close family friend. He helped me out a lot and he was the one who moved me back to defence to play. We also kept in contact throughout the years and he was the one who said you’re good enough to go play junior, and good enough to play college.”
He decided to stay in the States to play juniors before spending four years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The USHL was a great experience for him and he would be back there in a heartbeat if he could. His first year in the USHL he played for the St Louis Heartland Eagles and then spent the next two years with the Indiana Ice and lived in Indianapolis, which made an impression on him.
“I had such a great time in Indianapolis. I think it’s one of the best places to go play in juniors. It’s a great downtown city and the neighborhood we lived in was beautiful and the ownership there treated us amazing…I had a lot of fun there, that part made it easy to relax and just play hockey. I think the development of the hockey part was great and going in to school later for me I think helped me out a lot as far as making sure maturity wise that I was ready for school and hockey at the same time and the maturity of your body too.”
For a defenseman, a mature body is essential to cope with the physical demands of working the defensive trenches. DelGrosso has always been more of an offensively minded defenseman but as he worked through juniors and college he became more comfortable with being a shutdown guy and working to compete in all three zones of the ice. Good defensemen also bring a sense of calm to the blueline and DelGrosso says that is one thing that he is naturally good at.
“I always keep my composure, whether it’s never getting too high when we are up big or never getting too low, and hopefully that carries over (to the team).”
DelGrosso spent last season playing in the Netherlands and he had a good time playing over in Europe with HYS The Hague. The team had a great season and won the Dutch Cup for 2012-2013. During the summer he thought about heading back there but he said being away for so long starts to wear on you. When he heard that Mike Madill would take over as head coach for the Wranglers, the decision to stay at home to play was an easy one.
“I think having Mike come in as the coach changed a lot of the things here and a lot of the attitude around the organization. He’s such an even-tempered guy and such an easy guy to deal with and I played with him a little bit, I know the type of person he is and I would love to play for the guy. “
DelGrosso will bring his expertise to the power play unit. The Wranglers have struggled in the past year on the power play but he thinks they now have the right group of guys to change that for the better. He knows that he can contribute a steadiness to the blueline and he believes in his Coach, a hard-working guy that the team respects and is willing to work hard for to get the win.
The NHL just tweeted the following video with players discussing their celebrity crushes. It gave us a smile and in case you missed it, we wanted to share it with you. Our favorite response is a toss up between San Jose Shark Logan Couture or Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. Watch below!
After a few weeks of voting, 28,500 New Jersey Devil fans have decided– the new goal song will be “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.
Over 67 percent of fans voted on The White Stripes’ song, followed by “The Whip” by Locksey (with 20% of the votes) and “Righteous Smoke” by Monster Truck (with 13% of the votes).
You can read about the reason behind the song change at here, but the bottom line is: the Devils organization was not too fond of the “Hey, You Suck!” chant that has previously sounded off after every goal.
Now that the fans have picked their song, it’s up to the Devils to score so they can hear it.
The Devils only have 26 goals in their first 14 games. That averages out to be about 1.8 goals a game. They also only have 2 home wins on the season (6 goals total at home)– that doesn’t give the fans much opportunity to feel out their new goal routine.
On top of New Jersey’s 7 regulation losses, they also have 4 overtime losses. Overtime is not a new issue for the Devils. Including last year’s shortened season, they have a total of 14 overtime losses, which is the most in the league.
If they were able to come out on top in overtime and the shootout for those 4 games, they would currently be tied with Washington for third place in the division. Instead, they are seventh– only in front of Philly by two points (and actually have one less win than the Flyers).
The Devils were able to come out on top against two very good teams in the past few day. They beat the Bruins (8-5-0) and the Lightning (10-4-0) last week, only to then fall to the Flyers who were coming off an 7-0 loss.
New Jersey has the potential to be a good team; despite losing Kovalchuck in the offseason, they made some smart moves and have a solid team. Now, they need to find a way to get back to the old Devils style of play and find their consistency before it’s too late.
Every year hockey fans unite from around the world over who will win the Stanley cup. There is always plenty of excitement in the many matches played throughout the season and there are plenty of opportunities for punters to place bets both in play and outright markets. If you were lucky enough to have the Chicago Blackhawks down as the winners last season you might want to be on them again this time. The bookies favourites this season seem to be the Pittsburgh Penguins, with most bookies offering odds of around 11/2.
Further afield fans of the New York Rangers are facing odds of around 30/1 on their team defying the odds and winning the cup. For fans of all teams there are great opportunities coming up in the new season to bet on upcoming and individual matches. Even though the Eastern conference are said to have really tough competitors this season it might be worth placing a bet in that direction as the Rangers have odds of 14/1 to win. If deciding who looks most likely to triumph looks tough then there is always the option of online casino sports games like the game Break Away.
Nowadays online casinos like JackpotCity online casino feature games based around pretty much every sport. You should therefore have no problem finding a game that suits your Ice Hockey needs. The game Break away provides a mix of both Ice Hockey and casino betting with its up to date graphics and animations. The sound effects that come with the game are so lifelike that fans will think they are actually seated around the rink. This doesn’t mean that Break Away also isn’t a favourite among non-hockey fans. Actually it is given its impressive 243 paylines and exciting action. Some have been known to even give watching ice hockey a try after experiencing this thrilling online casino slot machine.
If you haven’t heard about Be the Game, you’re truly missing out. Founded in 2008 by Joe Drexler, the program lends a glove in a variety of ways, all aimed towards being kind and ending bullying.
“An organization dedicated to making a difference in children’s lives. Inspired by an act of kindness that bestowed upon him and his family, the torch was lit and Joe decided he was going to give back too. Since Be The Game was founded in 2008, Joe has dedicated his life to build strong kids from the inside out through the power of sport and his BTG-Strongkids school and sports programs. Recognizing that 1 in 3 families can’t afford to put their children in youth sports, Joe created Be The Game to help children build their confidence, self esteem, character and to develop tomorrow’s leaders today within these children.”
While love for the game conquers all in a child’s’ eyes, the opportunity to play is costly and for some families not a viable option. Be The Game skated to the net and created their “Be the Game Pro Hockey Camps for Deserving Children”, the camps exist to give the gift of camp to children in need at no cost to them or their families. While the camp is a positive experience that touches many, Be the Game has a much greater outreach that expands past the rink walls and floods into schools across Canada and now the United States as well.
Holding the attention span of a child can be a difficult one, but engaging them and allowing them to be interactive often proves more beneficial. The 21 Day Challenge does just that in it’s efforts to prevent bullying;
“The 21 Day Challenge to End Bullying was developed as an interactive program that conditions the students mindset to focus on positives and helping one another rather then hurting one another.”
http://youtu.be/HEvnCFrlU1A
The challenge gives students the tools for learning, helping them to shift into a positive mindset, complete with daily booklets to track their kindness and school wide inspirational morning PA announcements. While the 21 Day Challenge has touched many students, the program and Be the Game are about to bring positive influence to so many more. In September the #KindEverytime Tour launched, hitting the road from September 2013 – June 2014 the tour will visit over 100 cities across the US and Canada.
Bringing the challenge to schools can be a costly one and the desire to grow awareness is at the forefront of the program. Fundraising is the first stop in helping to bring the challenge to more schools and classrooms across North America. Be the Game has partnered up with the artistic talent at Hockey Spirit Calendars in a creative fundraising effort.
The purchase of one Hockey Spirit Calendar affords 20 children to be apart of Be the Games programs. Your donation of $20 CAD allows you the opportunity to support the efforts of a fantastic program, while reaping the benefits of a beautiful hockey calendar. If you love the game, you know the spirit that comes with it, the feeling you get when you step onto the ice or watch a loved one shoot the puck for the first time – the calendar encompasses that and quite beautifully.
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