Denis Brodeur, father of New Jersey Devils’ goaltender Martin Brodeur, passed away on Sept. 26.
Brodeur, 82, was a former goalie who helped Team Canada win the bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics. Since his days of playing, he became one of hockey’s most distinguished photographers. He was the official photographer for the Montreal Canadiens for many decades.
The New Jersey Devils issued the following statement:
“The entire New Jersey Devils organization is tremendously saddened by the loss of
Denis Brodeur, Sr. The Brodeurs have been part of the Devils’ family for over 23 years.
Denis proudly dedicated his life, on and off the ice, to the game of hockey and for that
he will be fondly remembered. Our thoughts and prayers, right now, are with Martin
and his family. We ask that you respect the privacy of Martin and his family at this
time. ”
Brodeur is survived by his wife Mireille, children Denis Jr., Claude, Martin, Sylvie, and Line, and grandchildren including Anthony Brodeur who was drafted by the Devils in June. Earlier in the day, Anthony tweeted, “Sad, sad day. Miss you so much already Grandpapa. Rest In Peace. Je T’aime ❤”
Martin Brodeur will miss tonight’s preseason game against Philadelphia as he flew home to be with his family.
Photo courtesy of CBS New York
Seven Northern States Junior Hockey league teams will hit the ice this weekend, and while one team will look to keep their win streak going, the pressure is on another to get their first win of the season.
The Maine Wild will hold their first-ever home game on Saturday, hosting the AHI Fighting Spirit. The Wild will be looking for their first win of the season, and Head Coach Mike Tenney thinks playing on home ice will give the team the boost it needs.
“This week in practice we have really been focusing on playing small area games to improve skills in a game like situation,” he said. “I felt as though there are things (that while we have been practicing them in drills) it has been tough to simulate game situations.”
On Tuesday, the team did an hour and a half of small area games to create the situations they needed to work on, Tenney said.
“(Today) and Friday will see us focus in on special teams. I would like to see us keep our PIM’s down to 10 or under per game this weekend, but if we go above it, our penalty kill has to be ready,” he said. “I think the first home games in the organization’s history will be a big adrenaline rush for the guys. I just hope we keep the emotions in check, keep the game simple and give the home crowd a couple of good games to watch between two good hockey teams.”
The Wilkes-Barre Miners are hoping to get three more W’s as they travel to the Syracuse Stampede Friday before coming home to host the New England Stars in a two-game series Saturday and Sunday.
Miners Head Coach Jason MacDonald is excited to bring his team on the road for the first time this season.
“We’re coming off a great weekend where we really took a step in the right direction with our discipline as well as the way our team wants to play,” said MacDonald of the Miners’ sweep against the Maine Moose. “Despite a couple of suspensions and an injured player, we are hoping to keep the momentum up.”
The Stampede split their games last weekend against the Jersey Shore Wildcats after two very close match-ups. However, their 4-3 overtime win will give them confidence against the Miners, said Stampede Head Coach Mike Beavis.
“We are expected a high-tempo, high-energy game from both teams,” he said. “They had a strong weekend last weekend and we know they will be coming in here on a high note, looking for two more points. We need to make sure our energy level is up.”
Stampede Associate Coach James Muscatello said he has high expectations for the team on Friday.
“We need to take better care of the puck and keep our feet moving,” he said. “We need to use our team speed and drive the net. We have worked a lot in practice this week on these two areas and I expect we will show improvement during our game. It will be nice to be on home ice and I expect a solid game from both teams.”
New England Stars Head Coach Darryl Green knows travelling to face the Miners in their barn will be a challenge this weekend.
“Wilkes-Barre swept in last weekend’s games, which were both at home, so I’m sure they will be ready for another two home games this weekend,” he said. “I know that this is our first road trip of the season and our first two-game weekend of the season, so I am interested and excited to see how we handle things.”
This weekend’s games:
Friday, Sept. 27
Wilkes-Barre @ Syracuse Stampede, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28
Jersey Shore Wildcats @ Cape Cod Islanders, 5:20 p.m.
New England Stars @ Wilkes-Barre Miners, 7:30 p.m.
AHI Fighting Spirit @ Maine Wild, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 29
New England Stars @ Wilkes-Barre Miners, 10:45 a.m.
AHI Fighting Spirit @ Maine Wild, 11 a.m.
Jersey Shore Wildcats @ Cape Cod Islanders, 11 a.m.
For the latest results and league news, Like NSHL on Facebook and follow on twitter @NSJHL.
Things are looking up for the New Jersey Devils as they begin to wrap up the preseason.
On Tuesday, the Devils signed former Red Wing Damien Brunner. Brunner, 27, has played in three preseason games with New Jersey so far and has notched two assists.
Another good sign for the Devils is that 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr is practicing again. After leaving the first day of training camp with “soreness”, he was back to the ice on Tuesday. Now that he is back, he is currently on a line with Michael Ryder and Adam Henrique– a potentially lethal mix of youth and experience for the Devils.
According to their General Manager Lou Lamoriello, Mattias Tedenby and Andrei Loktionov are also expected to be back soon.
As far as the preseason games have gone, they have currently won three and lost two. While the outcome doesn’t matter much in preseason, a definite upside for the Devils is that they have been scoring. Putting the puck in the net was a big issue for the Devils last year, especially in the latter half of the season. So far, they have scored a total of 12 goals from 11 different players in five games. So, as heartbreaking as the Kovulchuck retirement was for most Devils’ fans, it has forced everyone else to step up. Without Kovy, they won’t have one person to rely on. It will need to be a more balanced effort from the rest of the team, which is how it has looked in preseason so far.
Cory Schneider has also been on top of his game. He has played in three games so far and stopped 60 of 61 shots faced.
With only one preseason game left, the Devils will want to get as many of their new faces on the ice as possible to get ready for their October 3 season opener in Pittsburgh. The Devils have a ton of talent on their team this year; now, it’s about finding the chemistry and bringing everything together.
Chills.
Blood. Sweat. Tears.
Now, five days until the banner is raised and a new season begins.
“Great moments are born from great opportunity,” as Herb Brooks said.
Let’s do this.
I saw the SI cover today:
Is it exciting? Yes! Do I love seeing it? Absolutely.
And wouldn’t it be amazing for what they wrote there, on that cover, to happen again?!
I can’t actually say that because as soon as I saw this image, Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious” started playing in my head and I covered my eyes, occasionally stealing peeks.
I’m not sure if I can permit myself to read it. If anyone else wants to read a little more, here’s the preview.
Normally, I’d collect any reference to my beloved team in Sports Illustrated. Now, I’m trying to will it away and shake off the jinx potential these authors have brought upon us.
Maybe not all hockey fans are superstitious, but I am among the many who are.
I wear the same shirt or sweater repeatedly when my teams are on a winning streak and if a game happens to take a turn for the worse, I will promptly change. When that didn’t work for one game, I asked my boyfriend to change. We won.
Last season, I noticed we had grilled hot dogs for dinner for our early playoffs win. Chicago-style Vienna beef with poppy seed buns — it started as a cute theme. We ate a lot of hot dogs for dinner over the next several weeks. I was vacuuming poppy seeds all over the place.
I didn’t talk about the winning streak being a winning streak. I didn’t talk out loud about the Blackhawks winning the C-U-P until the team could actually hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.
So, you just don’t say or do certain things. And one of those is declaring a team a winner before the first official puck drop of the season.
Brandon Pirri, who had an assist against the Penguins last night, was safe from today’s round of Blackhawk roster cuts.
Pirri was the AHL’s leading scorer last season but has faced a lower-body injury during camp.
The Blackhawks announced today they have assigned forwards Terry Broadhurst, Drew LeBlanc, Phillip Danault, Byron Froese, and Kyle Beach to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.
Surprisingly, goalie Antti Raanta has been assigned to Rockford as well. LeBlanc has performed well this preseason also.
Joining them will be forwards Brad Mills and Maxim Shalunov. Mills has an AHL contract and Shalunov has a tryout agreement.
This leaves the Blackhawks with 16 forwards, 10 defensemen, and two goalies. There are five cuts left to make.
Remaining with Pirri are forwards Ben Smith, Joakim Nordstrom, Brad Winchester, Jeremy Morin, and Jimmy Hayes, and defensemen Michael Kostka, Ryan Stanton, and Theo Peckham.
Forward Bryan Bickell drew first blood with a mighty swing in the Blackhawk’s preseason loss against the Penguins last night.
Despite his capabilities as an enforcer when needed, it was on the scoreboard and not in fisticuffs that he showed his skills.
After seeing this play, it isn’t too surprising Bickell has a history in baseball.
In a player blog post last postseason, he admitted that at 15 he was scouted by the New York Yankees.
“The funny thing is I would also play baseball in the summer because my parents wanted me to shift my focus away from hockey for at least a little while. They didn’t want me to be thinking about hockey all the time. I got pretty good at baseball.”
A year later, the two sporting schedules conflicted just when prime scouting took place.
“That’s when I realized I needed to choose, and it was not really a choice. Growing up Canadian, you dream of becoming a hockey player, not a baseball player,” Bickell shared.
For that, Blackhawks fans are certainly thankful. Not only was he an excellent contributor toward the Cup, his talents yielded two goals in last night’s preseason game.
The Penguins’ Kris Letang answered those in the third period, tying the game. In yet another shootout, Sidney Crosby and James Neal scored while Bickell and Brandon Pirri were unable. The Blackhawks lost 3-2.
Penguins’ Captain Crosby joined Letang, Neal, Evgeni Malkin, and Chris Kunitz in the game, an all-star lineup for a preseason showing.
It was a somewhat uneven matchup otherwise–the Blackhawks without Captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Patrick Sharp.
Pirri battled for a Blackhawks roster spot before regular season. Another round of cuts is expected this week.
Recently, Coach Joel Quenneville sent forwards Alex Broadhurst, Mark McNeill, and Garret Ross, defensemen Dylan Olsen, Adam Clendening, and Klas Dahlbeck, and goaltender Kent Simpson to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.
Also released and expected to go to Rockford is defenseman Viktor Svedberg.
Standout forward Teuvo Teravainen returned to Jokerit SM-liiga of Finland. Forward Ryan Hartman will head back to the Ontario Hockey League Plymouth Whalers.
Goalie Nickolai Khabibulin made a solid 31 saves.
The Blackhawks play the Washington Capitals Saturday, a preview to the season opener October 1. Fans are relying on Coach Q and the gang to restore chemistry by then.
The Penguins took their time showing up to the Chicago game tonight, but once get got there they played the kind of hockey that makes it fun to be a fan, snagging a 3-2 win in an overtime that went to a shootout.
Chicago didn’t dress most of its big stars for this game; Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Chicago’s Most Beautiful Patrick Sharp all stayed off the ice. Alternately, the Penguins brought out the kind of roster that fans have been waiting to see since last season — Sidney Crosby, James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin all played in their usual combinations. Beau Bennett skated with Malkin and Neal, and showed the same kind of ballsy physicality that he’s played with all season, proving that he deserves to be in that second line spot. Bennett’s a skinny dude, but he plays like he isn’t.
In fact, if I had to name Bennett’s game throughout the preseason it would be “Bruce from Finding Nemo.”
Not only do they have identical, terrifying sharp teeth, but Bennett brings the same attitude to his hockey that Bruce does to being a vegetarian: he’s fast and earnest and hardworking, but when push comes to shove he’s probably got a pantry full of fish hidden somewhere. (This is a real analogy.)
The game truly belonged to Kris Letang, however, whose two goals in the third period brought the Penguins back from a 2-0 deficit. Letang had a brilliant scoring season last year, leading the league’s defensemen. He hasn’t lessened any of that intensity in his preseason games, which certainly helped the Penguins tonight. Letang’s defensive partner tonight was Rob Scuderi, who wore an A. It was nice to see Scuderi in that role.
Honestly, the Pens often play their best when they’ve backed themselves into the tough spot. The first two periods weren’t bad, per se; the first period saw no goals from either team and the Blackhawks played hard for their goals in the second. But it was clear that Pittsburgh hadn’t bothered to fully show up yet. Not even captain Sidney Crosby’s brief scuffle — don’t get excited, it wasn’t anywhere close to an actual fight — could light the fire that the Penguins seemed to need. It wasn’t until Letang’s third period goal that the team seemed to snap alive, and we saw the kind of team game that we’re used to, focused on good passing and playmaking.
Once they made up their minds to play, the Penguins had clear control over the game. The Blackhawks played well, and managed to keep the score even, but the puck stayed down in Chicago’s zone. The Bennett-Malkin-Neal line skated with beautiful chemistry, showing off some gorgeous passes and getting a few good shots in.
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, when the Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis line played at their usual level it almost looked choreographed. Crosby had a beautiful backhand pass that didn’t end in a goal but will hopefully be GIF’d and immortalized forever, and Dupuis made an excellent shot that was deflected. Pascal Dupuis should get all the “Underrated Player” awards.
Jeff Zatkoff got the opportunity to show off tonight, stepping in for injured back-up Tomas Vokoun, and didn’t disappoint. He had a few incredible saves, including a last-minute dive back into the net to stop a shot.
Starting goalie Marc-André Fleury dressed as his backup and seemed in a good mood on the bench. It’s always good to see Fleury smiling, since his biggest problem has always been his own brain. A happy Fleury is a confident Fleury is a brick wall gymnast goalie Fleury. We like that Fleury, and we’ve been worried about him.
Overall, it was good to see all the boys back out on the ice together. When the Penguins are good, they’re incredible, and we saw flashes of that tonight in their puck handling and the way they seemed to make the game look simple. It’s easy to forget that hockey is a beautiful sport when fists are flying and forwards are tied up against the boards. It’s always nice to be reminded.
Saturday, September 21, 2013 marked the first ever NHL game at the future home of the New York Islanders, the Barclays Center. Changes are coming for the New York Islanders, this past season the team made their first playoff appearance in the past seven years, John Tavares was recently named the Franchise’s fourteenth captain, and finally, the team will be moving to the Barclays Center for the start of the 2015-2016 season.
The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (known by fans as “The Coliseum” or “The Coli”) has been the venue the New York Islanders have called home since their inception in 1972. To many Islanders fans “The Coliseum” is home.
As many NHL teams began to build new arenas, Nassau Coliseum quickly earned the reputation of having one of the worst locker rooms in hockey according to players. Team owner, Charles Wang knew that without updated facilities the team would have a hard time attracting big name players who could help the team get out of their rut. A proposal was put in place for residents of Nassau County to vote on a new design plan for the Nassau Coliseum, the proposal failed and so the team was forced to look for other options. Although the team had previously said no to the Barclay’s Center it was now the only option if the team wanted to stay in the area.
Fast forward to Summer 2013, after months of hype and build up, finally Islanders fans were given a glimpse at the team’s future home via the seating chart on Ticketmaster when tickets for this past Saturday’s game were put on sale. Needless to say there were many signs that this might not be a good fit.
Upon entering the arena, which when set up for hockey holds only 15,813 it is evident that this is not a venue built for hockey, but rather a venue with a hockey arena crammed into it. The first problem is the fact that there are no seats right behind the goals on both, the attack and defensive zone sides. The rink side seats only wrap around three quarters of the way around the rink. The seats that are surrounding the rink have a barricade in front of them and so in order for spectators to bang on the boards they must stand up and reach over the railing.
On the defensive zone side there are no rink side seats at all, so the goal is backed by a black curtain and empty space. On the attack zone side there is a tunnel leading to the locker rooms right behind the goal and so again, the amazing seats right behind the goal don’t exist in this arena. In addition to no goal seats, there are very few seats available in the higher sections in back of the goals, these areas are occupied by press areas, handicapped seating, and boxed seating, leaving one of the most desired vantage points practically unavailable to fans.
The arena also has partial view seats. These seats will apparently be offered at discounted prices during games with good reason, when seated in these sections you are unable to see the goal unless you turn your body 180 degrees. Since the Barclays center was originally intended to only host the Brooklyn Nets and concerts, the area was not set up for hockey and as a result, the scoreboard is not lined up with center ice, it hangs off to the right slightly and while this does not have an impact on the viewing of the game, it is not aesthetically pleasing.
Aside from structural problems with the arena, the staff did not know the norms of a hockey game. The staff did not allow fans to go down to watch pre-game warm ups and they did not let people wait for a stoppage of play to go to their seats. These are issues that can be worked on by the time the Islanders move to the arena in two years.
As a fan, I am not looking forward to the move. I feel that Barclays is not fit for hockey, there are too many things that are wrong structurally with the arena and will prevent people from getting close to action and enjoying the game. I am curious to see what, if any action will be taken by Barclays in response to the negative feedback the venue is receiving from fans. Only time will tell, until then I will be enjoying the last two seasons of New York Islanders Hockey at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Below is a link to an album featuring all of my pictures from the arena!
http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/marissadgreenberg/slideshow/
While playing for Los Angeles, defenseman Dustin Penner earned the nickname ‘Playoff’ Penner’ due to his lackluster performance during the regular season and sudden shift to clutch player during the post season. Kings fans (and probably Ducks fans) were interested to hear raw quotes from Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau following yesterdays on-ice training camp in Anaheim…
On Dustin Penner’s play so far:
“Mediocre. We had a talk with Dustin today. We want him better, but I think he wants himself better too. Sometimes big men take a little longer. We did a little extra skating today with him and we’ll probably do that on a continuous [basis] until the season starts anyway. It’s just tough. Sometimes you play fourteen minutes and you’re a big-bodied man and you need more. So we’re going to try to give him some more.”
On whether Penner is a boom or bust guy:
“When you’re trying to win the Cup, you shoot for the moon. We had tremendous success with Dustin the last time he was here. If we can rekindle some of that success—both for him, remembering what it was like, and for us, big-bodied forwards… He’s won two Cups in the last five or seven years. I sure wish I had that in my resume. He knows how to win. When you watch the play-offs, he played extremely well for the Kings. We just want him to continue that in the regular season.”
With Penner back in Anaheim it wasn’t long before rumors of the infamous “Kid Line” consisting of Ducks players Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Dustin Penner being reunited. The trio was a force to be reckoned with during the 2006-2007 season, the same year the Ducks won their first ever Stanley Cup. Kings fans were not surprised when it was announced Penner had signed a one year contract over the summer with the first team he had won the Stanley Cup with. Whether fans embraced ‘playoff’ Penner or were happy to see him leave, no one can deny his contribution and pivotal role in Los Angeles in 2012 when the Kings were able to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time ever in franchise history and for that we thank you Playoff Penner!
Both teams will meet tonight in Los Angeles for the second time this preseason. We’ll see if the ‘Kid Line’ gets their chance to shine or if the Kings shut them down for a second time, either way with the trio in and nearing their 30’s maybe a new nickname is in order.
The Fiesty Bernier LA Would Never See
Another former King, goaltender Jonathan Bernier has been making headlines with his contribution to the chaos during the Toronto/Sabres Game Sunday night. Within minutes Kings fans were sharing picture and video of the fight across the social media world. Lisa Dillman of the LA Times spoke with several current Kings players to get their reactions
The fight didn’t come as a surprise to some Kings fans. During the 2013 Western Conference Final against the Blackhawks, goaltender Corey Crawford joined in a fight against LA’s Kyle Clifford after the referee motioned for him to stay in his crease. A video taken from the angle behind Bernier shows him making a very distinct motion in the direction of Crawford that most interpreted as Bernier calling Crawford out. The video can be seen here and the action of Bernier can be seen at 29 seconds in.
In the end I think we can all agree with what Drew Doughty has to say about the fight over all:
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