Hockey Laughs
Meghan Duggan Named Captain of U.S. Women’s National Team
Meghan Duggan has been named captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team en route to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Her captaincy will oversee the U.S. Women’s team in their Bring on the World Tour: a stretch of games including the 2013 Four Nations Cup and three games against Canada, aimed at preparing team USA for their quest for gold and glory in Sochi this February.
“Meghan has been a valuable leader for our team and exemplifies all aspects of what we expect from our players,” said Katey Stone, head coach of the 2013-14 U.S. Women’s National Team and the 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team. “She has earned this opportunity with her effort on the ice and by the example she sets for her teammates.”
Duggan’s accolades include a 2010 Olympic silver medal and medals in five IIHF Women’s World Championships (gold-2008, 2009, 2011, 2013; silver-2007). She has also represented the United States in six Four Nations Cups (1st-2008, 2011, 2012; 2nd-2007, 2009, 2010), during one of which she served as captain (2011); and one IIHF Twelve Nations Invitational Tournament Series (2011). Duggan also won the 2013 Clarkson Cup as a member of the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
She has played 86 games for the U.S. in her seven seasons (2007-current) and recorded 33 goals and 23 assists for a total of 56 points.
Before her professional career, Duggan played four years at the University of Wisconsin of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Her team earned no less than three NCAA Division I national championships (2007, 2009, 2011). In 2011, she earned the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and was named USA Hockey’s Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year, along with being named a finalist in the 2011 Sportswoman of the Year, presented by the Women’s Sports Foundation.
The Four Nations Cup, during which Duggan will lead Team USA, begins today in Lake Placid, N.Y.
For information, 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.
Panthers’ Yormark and Family to Host Boys & Girls Club Children for Thanksgiving Dinner and Golden Boy Boxing Event
Michael Yormark, President and CEO of Florida Panthers’ owner Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, and his family are proud to be hosting 250 children from the Lauderhill Boys & Girls Club for Thanksgiving this year. The event will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at the BB&T Center and will feature a Thanksgiving feast and a Golden Boy Boxing match.
“My family and I are thrilled and honored to raise the Thanksgiving spirits of local at-risk children and their families with this special Thanksgiving feast during the Golden Boy boxing event on Nov. 26 at the BB&T Center,” said Yormark. “I am proud to be a Boys & Girls Club of Broward County board member and am looking forward to a special evening with the children from the Lauderhill Boys & Girls Club.”
The Golden Boy Boxing Live! match pits former World Champion Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver against West Virginia veteran Mike Sheppard.
Any South Florida executives or businesses interested in supporting the event are encouraged to call SSE EVP Matt Sacco at saccom@floridapanthers.com or 954-835-7713.
A Theme Song is No More
By Rochelle Bergman
A new song is needed in town now! The “Hockey Night in Canada” theme song is no more. In an era where technology roams faster than the western skies, this is a sad moment. Pinned “Canada’s Second National Anthem” the hockey song was written in 1968 by a woman named Dolores Claman.
I remember the theme song making my blood pump faster, my legs used to speed up in the house when I heard that song on TV. I still hum the tune once in a while. When I heard that song in Maple Leaf Gardens, I screamed for joy as emotions filled me up. Emotions that ranged from pride for a team to the overwhelming feeling of how awesome and huge everything was to me. This tune, or I shall call it a song, made an introduction to the game for generations of hockey lovers. How could it not be used?
A few nights ago I watched a game on TV. The theme song that was used was chosen from a contest. The song was up-beat but it had words! How can the theme song have words? To me, the theme song was much better without words. Who needed words when the song itself performed the magic?
The old hockey song made me feel like I was in a club. A club of hockey lovers. Yes the club was huge, but for me the feelings were like we were all brothers and sisters. We were together standing up for our team. I believe to this day that part of this feeling was due to the theme song! Do you?
Our theme hockey song will be laid down and a new song will take its place. Will this new song be anything like the one Dolores Claman wrote? Could it last 40 years? I really don’t know. All I know is that an era of a truly spirited theme song is no more and I am truly sad.
Photo credit: flowersinhisgarden.blogspot.com
Devils’ Jon Merrill Injured During Wild-Devils Game
One of the highly touted prospects for the Devils, Jon Merrill made his NHL debut for the Devils tonight — and two shifts in, ended up bloodied and leaving the ice with the help of the trainers and his teammates.
As of 9:57 PM the latest from of Fire & Ice was that he’s got “lacerations” and wouldn’t return to the Devils game. He was hurt while racing for the puck with Minnesota Wild forward Torrey Mitchell. He seemingly lost his footing and then Mitchell’s body tangled with him to propel him face-first into the boards.
During the 2012-2013 season while playing for the University of Michigan, he fell after being hit during an exhibition game into the boards and ended with a fractured vertebra. He missed 19 games and was confined to one of those full upper body neck braces that left him unable to move for months.
Tonight, Merrill made his debut because Peter Harrold was put on retroactive IR and he was called up from the Devils AHL team in Albany where he has been playing this season. According to the Devils play-by-play announcer, Steve Cangialosi, he flew from Albany to Minnesota this morning and some of his friends and/or family were also at the rink.
@DevilsTweetFeed has a NSFW / super bloody picture of the aftermath of Jon Marril’s face here on his twitter feed.
The Devils ended up losing 4-0 (or they won 1-0 if we are to go by what MSG said) after they lost last night 1-0 to the Flyers with Ray “Probably Should Not Have Been in Goal” Emery getting the shutout win.
According to Tom Gulitti at close to 11 PM (EST), Merrill was not available to talk after the game and even more importantly, he had a base line test (i.e. to check, even if it’s never really 100% accurate, for concussions) as well as, obviously a few stitches to put his face back together.
Here’s hoping that he’ll be okay and have a “great” story to tell his grandchildren about his NHL debut at the start of his long and healthy NHL career.
Stockton Thunder Go Pink and Sweep Utah Grizzlies in Weekend Series
(Andrew Clark eyes the puck, photo: Jack Lima Photography)
The Stockton Thunder hosted the Utah Grizzlies for a two game series on pink ice. Thunder Goes Pink VIII is an annual event to raise awareness and support those affected by cancer with proceeds of the 2-day event going to St. Josephs’ Foundation-Breast Health Services. The ice is dyed pink and the team dons special pink jerseys that were auctioned off during a live event following Saturday night’s game. Some players wore pink laces and others had pink sock tape and sticks. For Stockton Thunder defenseman Mike Dalhuisen, the weekend event is more personal as he honored the memory of his mother who passed away from various cancers including breast cancer when he was 18. His story of moving past his mom’s passing was captured recently by Stockton Record reporter Scott Linesburgh and can be read here.
Mike Dalhuisen, his pink stick carries his mother’s initials who passed away from cancer when he was a teenager.
With such a big event, the pressure was on the Thunder to take the series against the visiting Utah Grizzlies and they did not disappoint. Friday night’s game opened with Thunder Captain Garet Hunt squaring off with Grizzlies forward Danick Paquette to get the crowd into the game. Utah’s Berkley Scott took a penalty to put the Thunder on the power play. Stockton’s power play unit has been hot this year and defenseman Mike Dalhuisen rocketed a shot in from the right point off a feed from Corey Trivino to put the Thunder up 1-0. After the game, Dalhuisen talked about the power play goal. “It was a great pass coming in from Trivino from the corner. My job is just to rip pucks and usually I just try to shoot for rebounds so the boys can pick up the rebounds but today we had a nice screen in front and it just found it’s way through.” Just nine seconds later, Utah answered as David Vallorani snuck one in past netminder Parker Milner, who was making only his second start of the year. The puck found the back of the Thunder net once more as Grizzly forward Berkley Scott was able to tap it in to put Utah up 2-1.
The Thunder started the second period on a power play but could not create much of a push, only registering one shot on goal. The two teams saw action on both ends of the ice but Utah maintained the momentum through the frame. Stockton nearly got the puck to the back of the Grizzly net as Kirill Kabanov fired one in, but rang the crossbar instead.
The third period began with a power play for the Thunder and Andrew Clark tipped in a pass from Ryan Hayes just 27 seconds in to tie the game. Clark said it was important that they got the goal as quickly as they did to start the final period. “We were down 2-1 going into the 3rd and we had a power play to start so you want to try and get a goal and get a little bit of momentum. It was nice to get a goal there and get the boys going.”
The Thunder came back to life, determined to get the go ahead goal. Another penalty for Utah, a bench minor too many men, sent Stockton back on the power play and they went to work. This time Clark would feed Hayes a beauty of a pass to an open net. Clark said of the third power play goal of the night, “It was a good shot and we had good traffic in front. The puck kinda just bounced to me and I saw him out of the corner of my eye and the goalie was playing me for a shot. He overplayed a little bit I think and Hayes had a wide open net and put it in.”
Stockton then went into shutdown mode, stopping the zone entry of Utah and denying them a tying goal. Dalhuisen stepped up to slow the Grizzlies offense. After the game he talked about his defensive play in the third and the team’s regroup after a difficult second period. “They were stretching guys all night and they were just trying to get it down low in the second period. We were struggling on gaps and we regrouped in between the 2nd and the 3rd period. We needed to outwork them. I was gapping up on the blueline and when we do that it makes it a lot easier for everybody.”
Ryan Hayes summed up the team’s effort: “We had a rough start. We got scored on pretty quick and we came out and responded and got the goals we needed at the right time. We all battled and everyone saw it in the third how hard we had to work. We came out with a win, which was nice.”
The teams met for a second set on Saturday night and the Thunder took over the scoring and dominated the game. Six different players registered goals for the evening. Defenseman Shawn Boutin opened the scoring in the first period, getting the puck past Utah netminder Aaron Dell. Kirill Kabanov, having been denied a goal in Friday nights’ contest, lured Dell out of the net, putting the Thunder up 2-0. The Grizzlies answered back with a goal from defenseman Tyler Hinds, putting them only down a goal. Unfortunately for Utah this would be the last time they scored as Stockton went to work to score 4 unanswered goals over the next two periods.
Nathan Deck registered his first goal of the season on a pass from Ben Rosen and Ryan Hayes would follow up 3 minutes later to put the Thunder up 4-1, chasing Dell out of the Utah net to be replaced by Ben Meisner in the second period.
James Henry, a teammate of Garet Hunt’s back in juniors with the Vancouver Giants, snagged his first professional goal to open the third period. Henry commented “It was pretty fluky play, but just throwing the puck at the net and you never know, good things can happen.”
Hunt would close out the period with a goal of his own putting the Thunder up 6-1 over the Utah Grizzlies. Goaltender Brian Foster continued to impress with his 27 out of 28 saves and the defense continues to shutdown the other team at the blueline.“It was a well rounded game for us,” said Head Coach Rich Kromm. “I thought we competed in every area.”
Lowell Sweeps UNH in Home & Home Series
With eight different players finding the back of the net, The UMass Lowell River Hawks ran past the University of New Hampshire Wildcats this weekend, 5-3 on Friday and 3-2 (OT) on Saturday.
On Friday, the Wildcats registered the first point of the game at the 6:06 mark of the first period when Trevor van Riemsdyk beat River Hawks netminder Connor Hellebuyck through the five-hole. However, River Hawks Captain Josh Holmstrom tied the game just over two minutes later to rally the bench and set the tone for the come-back.
The ‘Hawks extended their lead when Adam Chapie took a pass from Scott Wilson at the 11-minute mark in the second period to make the score 2-1. Blue-liner Jake Suter scored his first goal of the season and second goal of his career just over two minutes later after a one-timer had eyes for the back of the net behind UNH goaltender Casey DeSmith. The period ended 3-1 in the River Hawks’ favor.
Kevin Goumas of UNH narrowed Lowell’s lead at 17:22 in the third period, making the score 3-2. But at 11:52, Lowell’s Ryan McGrath got a beautiful breakaway after poking the puck away from a WildCat D-man; he tip-toed in on DeSmith and back-handed the puck into the net.
Penguins draft pick Scott Wilson notched his first goal of the year for the River Hawks 23 seconds later, giving Lowell the 5-2 lead. With 19 seconds left in the contest, UNH forward Nick Sorkin put a puck behind Hellebuyck to make the final score 5-3.
“It’s great to get the two points and be on a bit of a roll right now,” Wilson said.
On Saturday, River Hawks Head Coach Norm Bazin gave goaltender Doug Carr the nod, as he started in net in the Wildcats’ barn in Durham, N.H.
The back-and-forth contest ended in overtime with Derek Arnold netting the game-winning goal behind DeSmith.
“I saw a ton of room, and I had to take the shot,” Arnold said. “I got it elevated, and it was lucky to go post and in.”
After a slow start to the game and a scoreless first period, Wildcat Brett Pesce registered the first goal of the game at 10:28 in the second period. River Hawk Joseph Pendenza would then tie the game after capitalizing on the man advantage. Just over two minutes later, Lowell took the lead after defenseman Christian Folin shot a rocket with eyes for the back of the net past DeSmith. The period ended with the River Hawks leading 2-1.
The Wildcats battled back when they found themselves on the power play in the third period when Holmstrom was sent to the box. With DeSmith pulled for the extra attacker, Grayson Downing tied the game with just over a minute to go in regulation. Time expired and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, the ‘Hawks found themselves on the penalty kill again after Holmstrom was called for roughing. After surviving the penalty, Lowell found themselves on the man advantage after a holding call on Trevor van Reimsdyk. Arnold capitalized after a pass from D-man Zack Kamrass, who got assists on all three of Lowell’s goals on Saturday.
Overall Bazin was proud of the way the River Hawks played this weekend.
“It was a great weekend,” he said. “Whenever you can pick up points against a quality opponent like UNH, you’ve got to be very pleased. It wasn’t a work of art, but we plugged through the first period, and I thought we got better as the game went along. Both the penalty kill and the power play were big factors this weekend.”
It’s Official: 2015 NHL All-Stars Destined for Columbus
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced last night before the contest between the Blue Jackets and the Penguins that the city of Columbus has been selected to host the 2015 NHL All-Star Celebration. Of the decision, Bettman said, “Columbus is an ideal city for our All-Star Celebration. The facilities are first-rate, the Blue Jackets are exciting and entertaining and the fans passionately support their team and our League. Our players, sponsors, media and guests are looking forward to being in Columbus for the All-Star activities.”
Columbus was originally set to host the 2013 All-Star Weekend, before the event was canceled due to the lockout. As club Majority Owner John P McConnell stated, “The All-Star Celebration is a marquee event featuring the best players in the world and the Blue Jackets are thrilled to be able to bring it to Central Ohio for our fans and community. Columbus and the Arena District offer an unmatched setting for this celebration of hockey and the NHL’s commitment to having the events here speaks volumes about the support of our fans and the strength of our market.”
The weekend features a host of events, entertainment, and activities, including a draft, skills competition, and All-Star game. Blue Jackets season ticket holders will be guaranteed the opportunity to purchase All-Star Game and/or All-Star Skills Competition tickets.
The All-Star Celebration will take place Saturday, January 24 and Sunday, January 25.
Worcester Sharks Blank IceCaps, Win 3-0
The Worcester Sharks and the St. John’s IceCaps will meet for a record 10 times this season. Despite being in the same division, the distance has kept the teams apart. Last season, they only faced off 4 times. St. John’s made their first New England road trip of the season ending with a Saturday night game against the Sharks. The IceCaps were coming off of two convincing wins against the Portland Pirates on Wednesday and Friday.
Throughout the first period, the teams struggled to get anything set up. Each side had a couple of good shots, but seemed to struggle to really get anything set up. Rookie goaltender Troy Grosenick for the Sharks made a couple good saves and was really working hard to control the rebounds. He got good help from his defensemen in front of him.
The real break came at the end of the first period for the Sharks. With just over a minute remaining, the IceCaps were called for the first penalty of the game. Patrice Cormier went off for kneeing and the Sharks went on the power play. It looked like the teams would skate to the first intermission scoreless. With 6 seconds remaining, defenseman Matt Tennyson fired a shot from the blue line and Daniil Tarasov tipped it in. It was the team leading 6th goal for the second year forward.
Worcester came out with even more energy during the second period. They were not willing to let St. John’s use their speed to get ahead. The Sharks were a team desperate for a win to help climbing back from their slow start to the season. Despite outshooting the IceCaps 11-6 in the second frame, the score remained the same. However, the Sharks did get a spark from veteran forward Bracken Kearns when he tousled Kael Mouillierat. Both ended up with fighting majors.
When the third period started, Sharks fans were wondering if their team would be able to hold onto a lead or if they would be going home disappointed. The answer seemed to come at the 7:37 mark. Defenseman Sena Acolatse, known for having a hard shot, fired one from the blue line that seemed to curve just on the inside of the post. That gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead with assists to Brodie Reid and Tarasov.
However, despite the two goal lead, the most surprising and possibly the most exciting moment of the game came with about two minutes left. Daniil Tarasov, who has been impressive in his goal scoring, took a slashing penalty with less than 4 minutes remaining. During that penalty, the IceCaps pulled their goalie for a 6 on 4 opportunity. Sharks fans had been here before and were worried about how this would turn out. The puck went over the blue line and Sharks agitator Curt Gogol went tearing after it. He amazingly won the race the puck and scored a short handed, empty net goal. That made it 3-0 for the Sharks for just their 3rd win of the season.
Rookie Sharks goalie Troy Grosenick has only started two games and now has wins in both. In his first professional start, he led the Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Portland Pirates. Now, in his second start, he can add his first pro shutout to his list of accomplishments. Grosenick seems to be making the adjustment from college to professional just fine.
The teams will meet again for a 3 game series up in St. John’s when Worcester heads up there for games November 13th, 15th, and 16th. The Sharks are back in action on Friday against the Portland Pirates. The IceCaps head home and will host the Manchester Monarchs on Friday and Saturday.
Photo Credit: Worcester Sharks
Coyote’s Smith Stumps Sharks: Lose in Shootout 3-2
(photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
With fifty shots registered on goal for the Sharks, the anticipated outcome eluded San Jose. The Coyotes Mike Smith stopped 48 shots and Phoenix took the game to the shootout where Antoine Vermette got past Niemi to give San Jose their first home loss of the season.
The opening period did not begin well for the Sharks. On a clearing attempt by Dan Boyle to Brad Stuart, the puck got stopped up at the blueline and was quickly taken in to the zone by Vermette. He then put it in behind Niemi to get the Coyotes on the board first with just 36 seconds gone by in the first period. The rest of the period found the Sharks struggling to generate much in the way of offensive drive down the ice until San Jose’s Tommy Wingels went off for interference halfway through the period. Marleau broke away down the ice just as Wingels exited the box, but Mike Smith would stuff the opportunity and deny the Sharks a tying goal. A golden opportunity to score would come for San Jose when Phoenix’s Vrbata delivered a high stick to Scott Hannan drawing blood and the four minute penalty. San Jose put intense pressure on the Coyotes’ penalty kill unit but Smith continued the shutdown and sent the Sharks into the first break ahead 16-7 in shots but behind a goal.
The Sharks came out stronger in the second and wasted no time in getting the equalizer. Pavelski would pick up a feed from Matt Nieto out of their zone. As Pavelski skated up on the right, Nieto put on the jets creating a 2 on 1 rush that caused netminder Smith to hesitate. Pavelski fired it in after faking a pass to Nieto with 1:16 gone by in the second period.
Phoenix then took a penalty, putting San Jose on the power play and patience paid off for the Sharks. The Coyotes penalty killing unit got hemmed in their zone as San Jose cycled the puck. Boyle came to the right circle and wristed the puck over Smith’s shoulder. The game was the first back for Boyle after he was drilled into the boards by the St. Louis Blues’ Maxim Lapierre on October 15th. Both Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton notched assists on the goal. The assist was the 800th of Thornton’s career. The 2-1 lead would not last as Phoenix answered back not more than 2 minutes later with their first shot on goal for the period. Boedker snuck past the stick of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and fired the puck in at a harsh angle beating Niemi and tying the game 2-2.
The third period was a stalemate as neither team could get a puck in the net. San Jose dominated the scoring chances as Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Martin Havlat and Pavelski all tried to solve the Mike Smith riddle but came up empty. The shots piled up and at the end of regulation the chances were 50-23 in favor of team teal.
Phoenix made the Sharks scramble in overtime registering seven shots but Niemi and Vlasic kept it all tied up at 2 forcing the game to a shootout. Logan Couture potted San Jose’s lone shootout goal and Phoenix tallied two with Vrbata and Vermette scoring for the Coyotes.
The Pacific Division is tightly contested with just one point separating Phoenix and Vancouver, and Anaheim closing in on the Sharks. Although it is still early in the season, the competition is stiff and very little wiggle room will be had by any team moving forward. The Sharks look to snap their 2 game skid on Tuesday when they take on the Buffalo Sabres on home ice. The puck drops at 7:30 at the SAP Center.
Prev
POPULAR NOW
