Photo Credit: Liam McHugh, NBC Sports
By Tina Kolokathis
In last night’s New York Ranger win against the Philadelphia Flyers, Rangers defenseman Mark Staal was smacked with the puck in what was intended to be a slapshot by Kimmo Timonen. The puck was deflected off the stick of Flyers’ Jakub Voracek and landed on Staal’s right eye. Take a look at the shot here.
The injury left Staal writhing in pain and blood dripped rapidly to the ice. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lunqvist commented on the incident, telling ESPN, “That was scary. He was in a lot of pain. It was tough to focus after that.”
There is no word yet on Staal’s condition. Staal’s brother Eric, a center for the Carolina Hurricanes, told NHL.com‘s Dan Rosen, “It’s hard to say now. They’re just waiting for the swelling to go down. He sounded like he was in OK spirits but we don’t know a lot right now… We’ll know more with some more time.”
The injury, which was one of the worst we’ve seen this season, will undoubtedly bring debate over whether visors should be regulated by the league. At the moment, visor use is not mandatory, although the NHL does advocate for players to wear them. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told USA Today Sports, “We have worked with the players’ association for a number of years spanning at least back to the early 2000’s on further regulation in this area and at least to (this) point, the PA has consistently supported maintaining this as a matter of ‘player’s choice.'”
This is not the first time a player has been injured due to a lack of protection. Back in the 2005-2006 season, AHL player Jordan Smith of the Portland Pirates lost vision in his left eye after a puck to the face. Philadelphia Flyer Chris Pronger has not returned to the game as of yet due to an injury in 2011 in which he was hit with a stick.
Despite Staal’s injury, the Rangers took a 4-2 win against the Flyers. The team also claimed defenseman Roman Hamrlik this afternoon as he was taken off waivers, so hopefully losing Staal for a few games won’t hurt the Ranger’s odds for the rest of the season.
What are your thoughts on visors? Should they be regulated by the NHL?
When one thinks of hockey, it’s not often their mind jumps to the Harlem Shake, but recently more and more teams are trying their hand at the latest dance craze. The Oklahoma City Barons – the Edmonton Oilers AHL affiliate are no exception. Just last week some “security footage” from the teams store was leaked onto the Barons website, and 12,000 plus views later it’s already a Harlem Shake classic. [tubepress video=”2OBCCSVzu5c”]
We had a chance to talk to Colten Teuburt – the video’s ring leader – about the upcoming WHL Draft, playing with the Oilers and of course, the Harlem Shake.
The Pink Puck: You were drafted first over all to the Regina Pats back in 2005, with the WHL Bantam Draft coming up, do you have any advice for eligible players?
Colten Teuburt: I would say just don’t look into it too much. Obviously I was the highest pick and I was obviously pretty developed back then, I was tall and big and strong, but I think for young kids who are just playing to really focus on being positive – cause a lot of players who don’t get drafted go on to be better players than those who are drafted. I think they should just stay positive – if they don’t get drafted just keep working and if you do just don’t take it for granted.
The Pink Puck: I can imagine moving from White Rock to Regina at 14 was pretty hard, do you have an advice for players who will have to do the same next season?
Colten Teuburt: I actually liked it, I mean it was a good way to grow up fast. Obviously you get put in a situation that’s more uncomfortable than your own household. Where you’re living with billets and obviously meeting new guys from around the western league. It was a good experience and I think some advice would be to just have fun with it and be yourself.
The Pink Puck: With 55 games in the books, how do you feel this season has gone so far?
Colten Teuburt: It’s kind of been an up and down, I mean we’re just battling right now to get into a playoff spot. Obviously our main focus is to make the playoffs. It was a little different, having the NHL guys down for a bit. I’m obviously trying to work my way back up there so that’s just the way it was with the lockout, but it’s been fun so far.
The Pink Puck: Having played 24 games with the Oilers last season did that help develop a team chemistry during the lockout when a few of your teammates were sent down?
Colten Teuburt: Yeah I think so, I also played with [Jordan] Eberle during the World Juniors and obviously on the [Regina] Pats, so I knew him, but with Hallsy [Taylor Hall] and [Ryan] Nugent-Hopkins, those guys – it was nice to play with those guys again because they’re really good players and we obviously enjoyed having time with them in OKC.
photo: San Francisco Bulls
What is the identity of a team? Is it the players you cheer for? Is it the colors they wear? The city or town in which they reside? Is it steeped in tradition? Minor League hockey is its own animal, filled with shifts and changes in the team that can baffle anyone who knows only the dynamics of the NHL. In the span of two weeks, the San Francisco Bulls have in a way gone through an identity crisis. They have lost part of their soul as last minute transactions swirl before the trade deadline. In some respects, the Bulls had their first blow to their identity when Justin Bowers, the player who gave us the iconic bull horns and the team’s first Captain, was traded to the Gwinnett Gladiators, back in early January.
The last weeks of February saw the Bulls lose grit in Kris Belan to Manchester, an AHL call-up, and Alex Tuckerman, Martin Lee and Rylan Galiardi to trades. The start of March has not been any easier as two more of the original core Jordan Clendenning and Jonathan Lessard finish out the season with Utah along with more recent players Cody Carlson and Sebastian Trudeau. Each one of these players has given something of themselves to the identity of this fledgling team. The new players who have joined the team to make the playoff push will each leave their mark on the ice. Some will capture our hearts in the fleeting moments that they don our colors and call our city home. Some will even create traditions that will live on in our barns long after their skates have left ice. Ultimately, the love of the Game is what binds us all, whether we are cheering in the stands or lacing up the skates for that late night game. It is Hockey.
The UBC Thunderbirds women’s hockey team is headed to the national championships for the first time in school history, thanks to their 36-year-old goalie.
Last year, the T-birds women’s hockey team just won one game in the entire season. This year, they’ve won 23 and counting. They’re heading to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) in Toronto. They hired a new coach in the off season, and they got a new goalie, an old goalie. Head Coach Graham Thomas is 32 and goalie Danielle Dube is 36. Besides family, hockey, taking a full course load online, Dube is also a fulltime firefighter, a career she started after winning four world titles with the Canadian National Team in the 90s. “I came to the team expecting to do some goalie coaching. The offer was there for me to throw on my gear for camp, and I thought oh well I’ll take it on. I haven’t been on the ice in a while, why not,” says Dube.
UBC now tries to write the perfect ending to their Cinderella season as they play their opening game in the CIS National Championships in Toronto on Friday.
The Washington Capitals bested the Boston Bruins during the Stanley Cup playoffs last season; sending Boston packing after the first round. The two teams will face-off a total of three times this season, the first of those meetings in Washington with a ____ outcome.
Braden Holtby was a force to be reckoned with last season, but was no match for Brad Marchand at 6:29 of the first period; when Marchand was awarded a penalty shot and put the puck between the pipes.
“I read some scouting reports before the game on him [Holbty],” said Bruins Brad Marchand. “I went five-hole and I was thinking that [skating] the whole way down.”
Fast forward to 17:07, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored to make it 2-0. Putting the Capitals in an already precarious position, Dougie Hamilton sniped the puck at 18:30 for his third goal of the season. Hamilton has found success on the ice recently and scored his second goal of the season on Sunday night in Boston’s 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Clearly skating with fire, the Bruins headed to their locker room up 3-0.
5;46 of the second was finally a moment for Capitals fans to cheer. Mike Ribeiro scored on a feed from Alex Ovechkin and Steve Oleksy, who was skating in his first NHL game and gaining his first NHL point. Another newcomer was intrical in the Capitals comeback when Tomas Kundratek netted his first NHL goal at 11:32 from Eric Fehr and Nicklas Backstrom.
The third period was anyone’s game, with opportunities on both ends of the ice neither team could pull ahead and the Bruins lackluster play finally gave way to a Capitals opportunity. At 13:55 Wolski found the back of the net with assists from yet again, Eric Fehr and Nicklas Backstrom. The goal evened the score at 3-3 and sent the game to an extremely abbreviated overtime as Eric Fehr beat Bruins Rask at just 37 seconds into the period.
Similar to seasons in the past, Boston has become a repeat offender in striking early, followed closely by “giving the game away”. For two games in a row the final score was 4-3 and not in the Bruins favor.
Boston is back at it tomorrow night when the Toronto Maple Leafs skate into town. The Leafs who have found themselves ablaze as of late, in part to Nazem Kadri will look to hand Boston a hat trick of losses.
The Springfield Falcons made a little bit of AHL historywhen they won their game on Sunday, March 3rd against the Worcester Sharks. Due to a unique set of circumstances, they earned 8 points in less than 48 hours. That is unheard of in the AHL. With the four wins, Springfield is tied for most points in the league with the Syracuse Crunch and the Texas Stars, but have played two fewer games that the other two teams. Springfield goaltender Curtis McElhinney also registered his eighth shutout of the season in just his thirty-sixth game of the season.
“Nobody told this group that they can’t do something. They kept pushing. They don’t give up,” Head Coach, Brad Larsen, said of the 8 point weekend. “We’ve got a lot of bodies out of the lineup with call-ups and injuries. But everyone is playing hard.”
The Springfield Falcons played a rare partial double header on Friday as they resumed play from a suspended game. On February 17th, the Falcons hosted the Adirondack Phantoms. With just over three minutes left in the second period, Falcons forward Wade MacLeod suffered a seizure while skating back to the bench after being hit into the boards. Brandon Manning of the Phantoms got two minutes for boarding but MacLeod got up at first before collapsing. Both teams unanimously agreed to suspend the game there and resume at a later date. The two teams picked that game up at 6pm on Friday, March 1st before their 7:30pm regularly scheduled game. The Falcons came from behind to win the suspended game and went on to sweep the weekend.
By the time Sunday afternoon came around, it was clear at the start of the first period that the Falcons were a little bit tired. The Sharks was finishing up a three in three themselves, but all contests had been on the road. The Sharks had a five-on-three power play chance midway through the first period, but could not get anything set up. Then, towards the end of the first, the Falcons got one by Sharks goaltender, Harri Sateri. Sean Collins passed the puck from behind the net to Jonathan Audy-Marchessault who immediately took a shot. The puck bounced back to Ryan Russell who buried it easily. The Falcons took advantage of Sateri losing sight of where the puck was for just a second.
Nazem Kadri kept his point streak alive in Toronto’s come from behind 4-2 win against the New Jersey Devils Monday night at the ACC.
After a bleak first 40 minutes, the Leafs finally started to play in the third with Clarke MacArthur, Jay McClement and Phil Kessel all scoring for Toronto. This game marks the second third period comeback for Toronto this season. Kadri scored in the first and assisted on MacArthur’s goal to earn points in his fifth straight game. He leads the Leafs with 23 in 23 games.
James Reimer started between the pipes for Toronto, making his first appearance at the Air Canada Centre since February 11. His recovery from a mild medial collateral ligament strain appears complete – he made 28 saves for the win and kept the Leafs in the game earning him first star of the night.
The Devils, which have lost their last five, went into Monday’s game minus a very important piece with goalie Martin Brodeur on the bench. The hometown crowd didn’t seem to mind the missing superstar –cheers rose to the rafters on the announcement of his absence due to a sore back.
With the win, Toronto is now situated in 5th and ready for a playoff push. The Leafs host Ottawa Wednesday.
In the recent months, we’ve been adding some fantastic women to the Pink Puck roster of writers. Some of the ladies have played, others have watched and a few are still looking to get onto the ice. If you’re new to the site, we wrote an article with tips to get yourself out on the ice last May, well we thought we’d recycle it in the hopes it would inspire a few more women to stop cheering and start playing…
Is it possible to become a player this late in the game?
For some, you’ve known how to lace your skates long before you could tie your shoes. For others, lacing, tightening or even putting on a skate is a daunting thought. Passion is often lumped with desire and if you’re passionate about something the time may come when you have the desire to try it.
The moment you decide to cross the blue line is a beautiful thing.
Once you’ve made the decision to play, it can be both exciting and terrifying. Don’t let the fearful thoughts take center ice, give them a good slash and place them in the penalty box.
Being a fan of the game is half the battle, the other half is finally getting on the ice.
Research: The internet is your best resource for getting in the game.
If you’ve only ever worn figure skates, find out the public skating times for your local rink and give hockey skates a try. Learning to “hockey stop” can be quite the adjustment, don’t be afraid to use the boards as a stopping point. Chances are you won’t be skating at NHL speeds and any contact with the boards probably won’t be a dangerous one.
If you’ve never skated before, a lot of rinks have Adult Learn to Skate programs. If that’s just not a feasible option, the above method will work too. Public ice times are the best and usually inexpensive. Use the boards to your advantage or as a crutch until you get comfortable. Every few laps, distance yourself a bit more, eventually you’ll find that you won’t need them.
Next up is finding a program that fits you. Similar to the Adult Learn to Skate programs, many rinks are now offering Adult Learn to Play programs as well. These programs are usually offered at different levels from beginner to intermediate and are often coed at the beginning levels. If the thought of learning to play hockey with the guys is out of the question, don’t fret. Many rinks offer female specific programs that sometimes segway into leagues upon program completion.
If a program isn’t being offered in your area and you can’t wait til’ one skates into town, try public hockey. Many rinks are realizing the demand for hockey in the public format. Public hockey can take on many forms depending on how many people show up. These ice times can range from shooting the puck around alone, or a scrimmage with 10 people. It’s a great opportunity to meet other players who are just learning, and you might receive some tips from your peers. Public hockey is very back to basics, anything goes. It’s a lot easier to not feel silly if you mess up, when it’s an anything goes sheet of ice.
With the NHL lockout finally over and hockey fans deeply immersed into another season, thinking about another sport is probably not on the radar. The Stanley Cup playoffs will come and go quicker than one may think and most fans will be left longing for October. Smart fans however will be hitting the field or arena to watch a similar sport, lacrosse. Not just a sport reserved for the summer months, the National Lacrosse League (NLL) plays games throughout the winter and throws just as many punches as your NHL heavy hitters. Cue Athan Iannucci, a name that may not be familiar to many hockey fans, but one that is familiar and well recognized throughout the lacrosse circuit. This 6’4″ Vancouver native snipes and celly’s with the best of them and was kind enough to answer a few lacrosse and yes, hockey questions for The Pink Puck.
The Pink Puck: What may come as a surprising fact for some, lacrosse is actually the national sport of Canada, not hockey. Can you talk a little bit about the similarities between the two sports and why a hockey fan should give lacrosse a try?
Athan Iannucci: Hockey and Lacrosse are both similar (speaking of indoor lacrosse) in that they are both fast-paced, physical and intense sporting events to be a part of and or watch. The scoring in lacrosse is higher typically 10+ goals to win a game. Lacrosse is very interesting though because of what players can do with a lacrosse stick and ball. As opposed to largely being limited in terms of the puck originating from ice level, in lacrosse the ball can be passed or shot from virtually every angle and plane.
The Pink Puck: Growing up outside of Vancouver puts you in Canucks territory, but you also spent many a season in Philadelphia. What NHL team do you cheer for?
AI: Honestly I don’t follow any sports. I know it’s weird being an athlete and all. That being said I do enjoy the athleticism and skill etc of a hockey, basketball, or football game here and there. It’s funny I actually know quite a bit about who’s who in the NHL but that knowledge almost exclusively comes from playing NHL on my PS3 lol. In that game though I like Boston and Chicago.
I am proud to announce that my Alma Mater, Oswego State, was able to beat their rivals in the SUNYAC title to punch their ticket to the Division III NCAA Tournament.
It’s not very often that the Plattsburgh State Cardinals win against the Oswego State Lakers during the two regular season games and then lose in the postseason, but that is exactly what happen this past Saturday. Oswego was able to win the game 4-0 and give their coach, Ed Gosek, a birthday present he will never forget.
Oswego was able to get on the board with less than 5 minutes left in the first and would never look back. With most of the second period gone, Plattsburgh looked to be getting their legs working and were trying to get the tying goal. However, on a delayed too many men call, Oswego would capitalize and up the score to 2-0. Plattsburgh would not be able to gain back that moment as Oswego worked all sides to make sure they were winning that SUNYAC Title. Both teams penalty kills would prevail as Oswego was unable to get any goals on the Power Play.
The sold out crowd at the Campus Center would count down the final 10 seconds as the Oswego bench emptied onto the ice and over to tournament MVP goalie Andrew Hare.
This is Oswego’s ninth SUNYAC Title and they are on to their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Osewgo will play their first game this Saturday in Michigan against Adrian College. Oswego lost to Adrian in the Seminfinal game back in 2011. The Lakers will be looking for redemption against the Adrian Bulldogs in an attempt to make it to the Final Four at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY on March 15.
Prev1...373374375...412Next 
Page 374 of 412
