Time to play catch-up

Edmonton/Anaheim Game 3
-This game was so boring until the third period. After the last two games ended in 3-1 wins for Edmonton, this game looked to be a similar kind of game. Rookie Toby Petersen, formerly of Colorado College, scored in the first for his first career playoff goal and that stood until the third. Each team scored four goals…not kidding. You should check out the highlights and read the recap (http://www.nhl.com/scores/recaps/323_3_recap.html). It was totally killer. The Oilers now lead the series 3-0 and can put the Ducks away in Edmonton on Thursday.
-I love the way Craig MacTavish says the word Calgary. No seriously, it sounds something like cal-GARY…absolutely hilarious…great coach though.
-Hometown boy Fernando Pisani scored the game-winning goal in this one.
-What I thought were just facial ticks from Dwayne Roloson, turned out to be him talking to himself and the posts…not kidding…he talks to the goal posts, almost constantly. I absolutely love the quirky things that goalies do…
-Randy Carlyle, Anaheim’s Head Coach, might just have the best hair of any NHL coach. I like to call his coif “the Peacock.”

Buffalo/Carolina Game 3
-This series could not be more different from the Edmonton/Anaheim series. It is so fast paced and exciting throughout 60 minutes.
-Daniel Briere has become one of my favorite players. He has style and is a great leader. Though he struggled throughout the season with and abdominal injury, he has definitely found his stride.
-Chris Drury, the other Buffalo captain and former Av, continues to show his worth and the Avalanche fan base just exactly what we lost.
-Rookie goal tender Cam Ward was pulled from the game in favor of veteran Martin Gerber after allowing 4 goals. Gerber played an amazing game for the Hurricanes and didn’t allow any goals.
-Buffalo was able to win this one 4-3 and now leads the series 2-1.

Edmonton/Anaheim Game 4
-Another obnoxiously boring game, with a few surprises.
-Randy “the Peacock” Carlyle decided to start John-Sebastian Giguere in goal rather than rookie phenom Ilya Bryzgalov. This might be the most genius idea of the playoffs and it paid off for the Ducks.
-The Ducks won this one 5-3 with very little trouble from the Oilers, who are suffering from the Flu, or so they say.
-The series moves back to Anaheim, where again the Oilers have the chance to eliminate the Ducks.
-Brett Skinner was a healthy scratch for the third night. Since being called up from the Manitoba Moose on May 19, he has not seen any ice time which is not really surprising at all. But it makes me hopeful that he will see time with the Ducks next season. Why else would they call him up unless they wanted him to get acquainted with the team? I have full faith in Randy Carlyle that he will do well for Skinner.

Buffalo/Carolina Game 4
-In a semi-surprising move, Peter Laviolette started Martin Gerber in goal rather than Cam Ward. Gerber hasn’t played in nearly a month since losing the job to Ward.
-Something I noticed about Gerber is he is so large he just seems to fill the entire net…
-Buffalo had a terribly lackluster performance and didn’t deserve to win this game. They lost 4-0 and the series is now tied at 2 games a piece. They return to Carolina for game 5 tomorrow night.

Presenting the Amazing Roli the Goalie...

It’s Sunday which means homework day. So while I am procrastinating on writing a 25 page research paper (that the minimum by the way) I thought I should post something….

-The Western conference finals kicked off last Friday when Edmonton faced Anaheim at the Arrowhead Pond in California. After nearly being bored to tears for 18 longs minutes in the first period, there was an absolutely amazing goal by Mike Peca. It’s so amazing, you have to see it for yourself…
-This video shows a long bit where the Anaheim coach discusses the short handed goal, then the best part, where Dwayne Roloson celebrates… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT61SrBmNfQ&search=edmonton%20goal
-Edmonton won the game 3-1 with one shorthanded, one powerplay and one empty net goal. Overall, it seemed that both teams were playing too tentatively. Hopefully tonight’s game will be more exciting.
-The Buffalo Sabres/Carolina Hurricanes game was a complete opposite to the Edmonton Anaheim game, it was exciting end-to-end hockey. The Sabres won 3-2, but towards the end, the Canes played the best hockey of the game. I think this series will definitely go to 7 games and will remain as exciting as the first game.
-Former DU All-America and would be Captain, Brett Skinner was called up to Anaheim from the Manitoba Moose. After being traded at the dealine from Vancouver to Anaheim, Skinner spent the remainder of his season with the Moose who were recently eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs of the AHL. Skinner had four goals and 21 assists in 65 games with the Moose in the regular season and four assists in 13 playoff games before they were eliminated. It’s assumed that he will only practice with the team, but it will be interesting to see if he suits up tonight.

Ryan “the Mullet” Smyth Picture of the Day

One step closer to the Edge...

Been terribly busy at work…some quick thoughts for today…

-Unfortunately San Jose is out of the playoffs. They lost on Wednesday 2-0 on Edmonton’s home ice. Great win for Edmonton though and their “Cinderella” story continues. I always found it interesting that the term Cinderella story was applied to sports teams...
-Edmonton faces Anaheim tonight at 7pm MST. I will be rooting for Edmonton. It’s Ryan Smyth’s mullet really that swayed my allegiance. It’s just so beautiful…but also my utter disdain for Teemu Selanne had a big part too. It’s heartening to know that he lost his team while playing the US in the Olympics…
-The Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes meet tomorrow at 12pm MST in the Eastern Conference Finals. I’m gonna have to go with Buffalo on this one. I have already expounded greatly on all the attributes of Ryan Miller. Not to mention former Av Chris Drury is just plain getting it done for Buffalo. I also love Daniel Briere…
-In other news, Matt Carle was named the Male Student-Athlete of the Year at DU. Another nice award for him to wrap up his college career.

Ryan “the Mullet” Smyth Picture of the Day

It's like the Oscars for DU...

At the 50th Annual Hockey Awards Banquet last Saturday, the following awards were presented:

Bill Masterton Memorial Award (MVP): Matt Carle
Keith Magnuson Memorial Award (Best Defensive Player): Matt Carle
Player's Bench "Star of the Year" Award: Gabe Gauthier
Dr. Ralph Verploeg Award as Most Inspirational Player: Gabe Gauthier
Bob Martin Award for Community Service: Gabe Gauthier
Barry Sharp Memorial Award (Rookie of the Year): Chris Butler
Murray Armstrong Award (Most Improved Player): Ryan Dingle
Dr. Ken Bredesen Award for Sportsmanship: J.D. Corbin
Dr. Art Mason Award as Denver's Top Student-Athletes: J.D. Corbin and Danny King
Leading Scorer Award: Paul Stastny

Also, Dr. Nancy Sampson recognized DU's 12 All-WCHA Academic honorees, as all earned a 3.0 GPA or better this season.
Zach Blom
Matt Carle
Steven Cook
J.D. Corbin
Glenn Fisher
Ryan Helgason
Jon James
Danny King
Brock McMorris,
Ted O'Leary
Paul Stastny
Andrew Thomas

In addition, Blom, Cook, Corbin, King, McMorris and O'Leary were recognized for winning WCHA Scholar-Athlete Awards for GPA's above 3.5.

Another one bites the dust...

Uugghh…I am almost too depressed to write. Yet here I sit in my office, listening to Anna Nalick and the sound of my boss droning on and on about meaningless nothings. Thoughts for today…


-I still can’t get over the sweetest mullet on the planet, way to go Ryan Smyth. It haunts my dreams. I almost want to root for it, but my allegiance to Matt Carle, one of my all-time favorite former DU stars, wins out. I really hope that San Jose can pull out the win over Edmonton tonight. A scary thought that, as the Oilers seem to be doing so well on home ice.
-In other Ryan Smyth news, he took a nasty hit to the mouth in the second period on a clearing attempt from Chris Pronger. His teammate said it best: "Not that he was pretty before, but he is not going to look good come game-time," said Oilers left-winger Ethan Moreau, who believes Smyth will be stitched up and ready for Game 4 Friday. Smyth lost 3 teeth and made a trip to the dentist yesterday. It’s really gotta suck when your own teammate tries to take you out…I think Pronger was mesmerized by the epic mullet and got distracted. Smyth came back into the game and assisted on the 3rdOT game winning goal. Now that’s what hockey is all about!
-What is going on with Martin Brodeur and the Devils? After their epic 15 game win streak ended, they haven’t put together a decent game. I almost feel sorry for them…almost…
-I think I may have taken for granted that my loyal readers follow the Avalanche, but it is possible that not everyone has heard about the Massacre of ’06. I nearly cried when the Ducks scored that empty net goal last night in their 4-1 win over the Avs. We can’t blame Pierre Turgeon for this one, since he didn’t even play. However, we can blame Patrice Brisebois. But I should be charitable and blame the whole team, as that would probably be closer to the truth. It should be interesting this summer as the Avs have 13 players who will be free agents this summer, most notably, Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Dan Hinote, Alex Tanguay, Karlis Skrastins, and Marek Svatos.
-How cool would it be if the Western Conference Finals came down to San Jose and Anaheim? It would be amazing! I also think it would be great for hockey in California. In the recent past, some stellar players have come from California, Gabe Gauthier of DU, Brett Sterling of CC (I really didn’t want to, but I have to respect that he is amazing player, just not against DU), Brian Salcido (see previous statement), Robbie Earl (not stellar but well known for his amazing accomplishment of All-American Diving team).
-In the Eastern Conference, I think I am going to have to go with Buffalo. Former Av Chris Drury is having an amazing post season, not to mention Ryan Miller is the future of USA hockey goaltending.

Attack of the hair...

Thoughts on some recent games

-Ryan Smyth of the Edmonton Oilers has the coolest Mullet I have EVER seen!! Watching him during the warm-up was amazing, he’s like a mullet god…His little bangs wisp around in the wind as he skates while his manly mane waves like a flag for white trash around the world! It is truly amazing…props also go to OLN commentator Brian Engblom for his epic mullet; second only to Ryan Smyth’s of course.
-Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres definitely redeemed himself in a 43 save night in Ottawa. Including an amazing save sprawled on his stomach where only his calves’ kept the puck from going into the net…
-After a stellar performance in round 1, Ray Emery of the Ottawa Senators seems to be finally feeling the pressure of the playoffs. While his game was much improved in the last game, he still couldn’t steal the game for the Sens. It doesn’t help that Ryan Miller seems to have found his stride.
-Patrick Marleau might just be the most underrated player in the NHL. As Jonathan Cheechoo and Joe Thornton struggle to find a way to score while being defended by Chris Pronger, the best the Oilers’ have to offer, Marleau is stealing the show and proving why he remains the Sharks’ captain.
-Tom Preissing, former Colorado College standout defenseman, got his first playoff goal on a sweet shot through traffic.
-Mick McGeough should really wear a helmet. I think all the hits to his head from loose pucks have seriously affected his ability to make calls. Either that, or he went to Bob’s Basement Referee College and majored in BS Calls (props to Megan for coming up with that one…) or he is actually the WCHA’s most hated ref, Todd Anderson, in disguise.
-Dwayne Roloson has some amazing facial ticks. It never fails, whenever play is stopped, he just ticks away. He also might be one of the funniest looking goalies around, excepting Manny Legacy of course and the way his hair sticks out of the back of his helmet…
-Jose Theodore played so amazingly well last night, but the Avs’ loss overshadowed it. He robbed Teemu Selanne not once, but three times.
-Pierre Turgeon should really just retire. He needs to face the fact that he is too slow for the new NHL. He took three selfish penalties last night and allowed some costly turnovers.
-Patrice Brisebois is the biggest liability on the team. Yes, he makes some great outlet passes, but he allowed the turnover that led to the game-winning goal for Anaheim. I think JQ should put Bob Boughner in his place and bench Breeze-by for the next game. But what do I know?
-Where’s Joey? I see someone skating around who looks like Joe Sakic, but he sure doesn’t play like Joe Sakic…
-The playoff beards just keep getting better and better. By far Scott Niedermayer of Anaheim has the very best. Not only is it full and mountainmanish, but also graying a bit. The funniest might be Dan Hinote’s. It’s patchy and uneven but totally killer….

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Time for some round 2 updates….it was quite a depressing weekend for Avalanche fans. Read on and learn of our sorrow…

Western Conference
4 San Jose vs. 8 Edmonton, series at 1-0: in a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers at the Shark Tank, the San Jose Sharks took the first game of the best of seven series. The lone Edmonton goal came on the power play after former DU standout Matt Carle took a careless hooking penalty 55 seconds into the game. San Jose tied it up just 5 minutes later on a goal by Sharks’ captain Patrick Marleau. Christian Ehrhoff scored the game winner 3:14 into the second stanza. The Sharks managed to catch up to the speedy Oilers and only allowed them 2 shots on goal in the second period and only 16 during the entire game. Dwayne Roloson turned in another great performance for the Oilers making 28 saves on 30 shots. The series continues tonight at 8:30 MST and can be seen on OLN.

5 Anaheim vs. 7 Colorado, series at 2-0: yes that’s right; the Avs lost the first two games in the series while playing at the Pond. That’s not even the worst part about it. Both losses were shutouts. 25 year old Ilya Bryzgalov, former back-up for J.S. Giguere on the Ducks’ squad, actually set an NHL rookie record set in 1945 for the longest amount of shutout time for the post season. He hasn’t allowed a goal in 229 minutes and 42 seconds, which happens to be not only first among rookies, but 4th overall for any goalie, and he set a franchise record recently held by Giguere (217:54 set in 2003). The only thing that can be said about the play of the Avalanche is that it was atrocious. Absolutely terrible…the first game was lost by a score of 5-0, the second by a score of 3-0. The only possible explanation is that they had too much time off (5 days, while Anaheim had only 2 days). This could be to the Avs’ advantage is the Ducks tire as the series goes. But one thing is for sure, they CANNOT afford to lose a game in Colorado. The series moves to Colorado for game 3 on Tuesday at 6pm MST and can be seen on OLN, TSN, and RDS.

Eastern Conference
1 Ottawa vs. 4 Buffalo, series at 0-1: In the only game where the home team lost, the Buffalo Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators by a score of 7-6 in OT. Former Av Chris Drury netted the game winning goal 18 seconds into 1 OT on a sloppy attempt to clear the puck by Ottawa. At 5 different times of the game, Buffalo was down and 5 times they came back. Here’s the kicker though, Buffalo’s Ryan Miller allowed 6 goals on 33 shots, while Ottawa’s Ray Emery allowed 7 on just 23 shots. I think that definitely points to the sloppiness of both teams in this first game. The series continues tonight in Ottawa at 5pm MST.

2 Carolina vs. 3 New Jersey, series at 1-0: If there is one team that actually played worse than the Avs, it’s New Jersey. This team hadn’t lost since March 26, that’s 15 games, 11 in the regular season and 4 in the post season. On what turned out to be a terrible 34th birthday for Martin Brodeur, the Devils lost 6-0. Brodeur was pulled late the third after allowing 6 goals on 35 shots. Carolina counterpart rookie Cam Ward, on the other hand made 21 saves on 21 shots for his first career playoff shutout. This series continues tonight at 5:30pm MST and can be seen on OLN.

Interesting fact:
Let’s take a look at the ages of the goaltenders and how they have done in the 2nd round:
Western Conference
5 San Jose-Vesa Toskala, 29 won
6 Anaheim-Ilya Bryzgalov, 25 won, won
7 Colorado-Jose Theodore, 29 lost, lost
8 Edmonton-Dwayne Roloson, 37 lost

Easter Conference
1 Ottawa-Ray Emery, 24 lost
2 Carolina-Cam Ward, 22 won

4 Buffalo- Ryan Miller, 25 won

Winning Goaltenders
2 Carolina-Cam Ward, 22 won
4 Buffalo- Ryan Miller, 25 won
5 San Jose-Vesa Toskala, 29 won
6 Anaheim-Ilya Bryzgalov, 25 won, won

Losing Goaltenders
1 Ottawa-Ray Emery, 24 lost
3 New Jersey-Martin Brodeur, 34 lost
7 Colorado-Jose Theodore, 29 lost, lost
8 Edmonton-Dwayne Roloson, 37 lost

It appears that age and experience are not on the side of goaltenders in the new NHL.

Round 2

Round 2 of the playoffs start tonight. Here’s a preview of the Anaheim/Colorado series.

This is a highly evenly matched series. In the 4 games these two teams played during the regular season, all were decided by one goal. Colorado holds the advantage having one three games during the season. Also, this game sees the return of Steve Konowalchuk, who has missed most of the season with a wrist injury. We are glad to see him back! Go Avs!

What Anaheim has:
-Teemu Selanne. The former Av is in the middle of a renaissance. He has had one of the best seasons in recent memory and seems to be on a roll. In the series versus Calgary, Selanne had a team-high 3 points and 6 points.
-Scott Niedermayer. Undoubtedly the Ducks’ best defensemen. He will key in shutting down Joe Sakic and his line. Too bad for Anaheim that Niedermayer can’t play the whole game as there are many other scorers to look out for.
-Francoise Beuchemin. To coin a phrase from my best friend, “Who? He plays what?” This guy came to Anaheim in the Sergei Fedorov trade to Columbus, an after thought really. But since coming to Anaheim and getting back into peak physical shape, he has been having a career year. He plays alongside Scott Niedermayer and has been instrumental in shutting down other teams’ top lines.
-Ilya Bryzgalov. This guy has been huge for the Ducks in net since taking over for J.S. Giguere. After shutting out Calgary, I think this guy is positioned to steal a few games for the Ducks.

What Colorado has:
-Joe Sakic. I said he would come up big and he did. He’ll do the same for the Avs in this series.
-Rob Blake. He had 2 goals and 1 assist in the 1st round. Look for him do to more of the same. Also, he blocked 21 shots and is still healthy.
-Jose Theodore. He has shown us flashes of pure brilliance. I think he should continue to play well, getting better each game. Not to mention, he is communicating well with his d-corps and things seem to be moving more smoothly.
-Brett Clark. Surprise, surprise. He had 2 goals and 1 assist in the 1st round and logged nearly as much ice time as Rob Blake. Not to mention him beautiful (and completely legal) check of Mike Modano that stunned the Stars in game 5.
-Wojtek Wolski. I really can’t say enough about this kid. He was named the OHL MVP this week and had 1 goal and 3 assists in his first 5 NHL playoff games. I think he is going to become more and more comfortable as the playoffs go on.

Why Anaheim wins:
If the Ducks can keep their defense strong and keep up with the speedy Avs they should have a good chance. The key is to keep the Avs from scoring. Anaheim is not a high scoring team per game (in the 7 games of the first series, the Ducks scored a total of 17 goals giving them a goals per game average of 2.42. The Avs scored 18 but scored at least 3 or more in all but one game where they only scored 1 giving them a goals per game average of 3.6) so they have to keep the Avs off the board.

Why Colorado wins:
Jose Theodore needs to play better in the early part of this series than he did in the Dallas series. While he never allowed more than 4 goals against, he allowed at least 2 in each of the 5 games. Also, the defense has to be as good as it was in the last series. Not to mention, the forwards need to do their job on the fore check and in the scoring department. The key will be for the Avs to score as much as they can as early as they can and support Jose.


The series begins tonight in Anaheim.
Gm 1: Fri, May 5 8:00 p.m. Colorado at Anaheim Altitude,
OLN, TSN
Gm 2: Sun, May 7 1:00 p.m. Colorado at Anaheim NBC, TSN
Gm 3: Tue, May 9 6:00 p.m. Anaheim at Colorado OLN, TSN
Gm 4: Thu, May 11 8:00 p.m. Anaheim at Colorado OLN, TSN
Gm 5: Sun, May 14 1:00 p.m. * Colorado at Anaheim NBC, TSN
Gm 6: Tues, May 16 TBA * Anaheim at Colorado Altitude,
OLN, TSN
Gm 7: Thur, May 18 TBA * Colorado at Anaheim Altitude,
OLN, TSN
* if necessary
All times mountain

The end is only the beginning...

There was only one game last night as every other series had ended in 6 games or less.

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, Anaheim won series 3-4: Amidst a lackluster performance by the Calgary Flames, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks won the seventh game of the series last night in a 3-0 shut-out of the Flames. Rookie goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves in his first playoff shutout in just his fourth playoff game. Miikka Kiprusoff at the other end made 29 saves on 31 shots for 2 goals, the third coming at an empty net shot from Jeff Friesen. Teemu Selanne scored first in the second period on a 30-foot wrist shot while Calgary’s Jordan Leopold was screening Miika Kiprusoff. The Ducks scored again after a Calgary turnover in their end. Ruslan Salei was fed the puck by Vitali Vishnevski who intercepted a clearing attempt. It was a nice win for Anaheim but a superbly disappointing loss for Calgary.

Now, the final four teams standing in the Western Conference are 5 San Jose, 6 Anaheim, 7 Colorado, and 8 Edmonton. I think that the fact that the bottom four seeds all beat the top four seeds shows a definite weakness in the Western Conference and the way the NHL schedules games within divisions. If you look at how the divisions are set up, you will find the following:
Central Division- Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Nashville, and Saint Louis.
Northwest Division- Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Vancouver.
Pacific Division- Anaheim, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Jose.

Sure, Detroit won the President’s Trophy, but they played a majority of their games against teams who were in the bottom of the league. St. Louis finished dead last, Chicago finished at 28, Columbus finished at 25. Not to mention, they spent most April playing games that didn’t have any meaning to them. Whereas teams like Colorado and Edmonton spent most of April fighting for their playoff lives and thus were much more prepared mentally for the playoffs than the Red Wings. I am a strong proponent of changing the way the NHL schedules teams to include more games between conferences. I think this will not only make the teams work harder for playoff positioning but personally, I would love to see the Avs play more Eastern Conference teams throughout the year. I definitely think that the Eastern Conference has more talent spread through the divisions and that makes them stronger competitors. Honestly I think they have an advantage over Western Conference teams and that a team from the Eastern Conference will win the Stanley Cup (yes I am picking them over the Avs…heinous I know).

An upset, a draw, and a blowout!

From The Hockey News:

“I feel like going home and hanging myself, that's what I feel like."

Red Wings goaltender Manny Legace on what he feels like, after getting ousted from the playoffs by the eight-seeded Oilers. Legace gave up 18 goals in the series.

I just couldn’t resist. Sure, Manny Legace might be the nicest guy in hockey but he’s kind of a sieve…don’t believe me? Read on…

Western Conference
1 Detroit vs. 8 Edmonton, Edmonton WON!!!: Sorry, I know, I should be less partial but who am I kidding? The final period in the Detroit/Edmonton game may be one of the greatest periods in hockey! Due to my terrible schedule (I work from 8am-6pm so I can take a class during the day) I was only able to watch the final period of the game on Monday night. When the third period began the score was Detroit 2, Edmonton 0. So I didn’t see much hope of Edmonton pulling out the win in this one, but I was (thankfully) wrong. It all started with Fernando Pisani. He scored two goals roughly 4 minutes apart to tie the game at 2-2. Then Detroit’s Johan Franzen scored 4 minutes after that to give the Red Wings a 3-2 win. Exactly 6 minutes following that goal, Alex Hemsky was making a play on net after a pass from Shawn Horcoff when he was pushed into the net by Nicklas Lidstrom and consequently, the puck went into the net. After a lengthy review of the play in order to ensure that Hemsky hadn’t used a kicking motion to deflect the puck in, the officials ruled that the goal stood, tying the game 3-3. With less than a minute and a half left in the game, Alex Hemsky scored again to win the game for the Edmonton Oilers. After the buzzer sounded, the crowd was shown cheering and hugging and I swear I saw some grown men crying. It was a beautiful thing! Congratulations Edmonton!

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, series tied 3-3: On Monday night the Calgary Flames had a chance to eliminate the Anaheim Mighty Ducks from the playoffs, but unable to rise to the occasion. Calgary scored first at the 10 minute mark of the first period on a goal by former Av Stephane Yelle. Shortly after, an Anaheim goal was waved off by the officials as they ruled that the Calgary goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff, had been interfered with. I didn’t agree with the call, but whatever. Another former Av, Teemu Selanne scored the game tying goal in the second period. Then with less than 6 minutes remaining in the third Scott Niedermayer scored on the power play to lift the Ducks to a 2-1 win over the Flames. I think the Ducks made the right decision in playing Ilya Bryzgalov rather than J.S. Giguere who has played terribly throughout the playoffs. The series will finish tonight in Calgary and will be shown on OLN.


Eastern Conference
2 Carolina vs. 7 Montreal, Carolina won 4-2: In a hard fought game last night, Carolina completed their come-back and eliminated the Montreal Canadiens from the playoffs. After Montreal won the first two games, Carolina went on to win 4 games in a row to win the series. Both team scored in the first, Souray at 6:31 for Montreal and Recchi at 7:01 for Carolina, however the next two periods proved to be a goaltending battle between Cristobal Huet and Cam Ward, who replaced the struggling Martin Gerber. Both goalies played excellent games, but ultimately it was Huet who broke first. Cory Stillman scored 1:19 into the 1st OT to win the game for the Hurricanes. The winning goal came on a shot from the point, 53 feet away from the goal.

4 Buffalo vs. 5 Philadelphia, Buffalo won 4-2: In a blowout at the Wachovia center in Philadelphia, the Buffalo Sabres eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers from the playoffs. Six different players scored and Chris Drury scored twice for the Sabres to give them a 7-1 win over the flyers. Branko Radivojevic scored the lone goal for the Flyers with a little over a minute left in the second period. Robert Esche was pulled 7:19 into the second after allowing 5 goals on 17 shots, Antero Niittymaki (whose name I LOVE saying) allowed 2 goals on 11 shots. Sabres tender Ryan Miller, who was overlooked for the US Olympic team for Robert Esche, made 21 saves on 22 shots.

Second Round Match ups:
In the Western Conference, these match ups have not been decided, as they hinge on who wins in tonight’s game of Calgary and Anaheim. Personally, I am hoping that Calgary wins tonight as they seem to be an easier team to play than San Jose. However, possible match ups include:
Calgary vs. Edmonton
San Jose vs. Edmonton
San Jose vs. Colorado
Anaheim vs. Colorado

In the Eastern Conference, the match ups are all set. They are:
Ottawa vs. Buffalo
New Jersey vs. Carolina

In other news....

The Colorado Eagles bid to repeat as President’s Cup Champions fells short as they were defeated in 4 games by the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in the Northern Conference Finals of the Central Hockey League.

In other CHL news, Colorado will be getting a new CHL team for the 2006-2007 season. They will be the called the Rocky Mountain Rage. For those of you who don’t know much about Colorado, Broomfield is roughly 30 minutes north of Denver. I had no idea that they were that interested in hockey up there in, as my grandparents fondly call the area, the boonies….I’m not sure if Colorado will continue to have the Eagles but it appears that we will. These teams will be roughly 45 minutes apart from each other so that should make for some interesting hockey.

University of Denver Assistant Coach Seth Appert has accepted the Head Coaching job at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Located in Troy, New York, RPI has an enrollment of 4,500 and it academically very similar to the University of Denver. It is a member of the ECAC so DU won’t get to see the Engineers very often. RPI has won two national championships, one in 1954 and the other in 1985. I wish all the best the Coach Appert. He did an amazing job of cultivating the goaltenders of DU during his tenure and I hope he can continue his coaching success at RPI.

This is the time of year when many bright shining stars of College Hockey decide to make the big leap to the NHL (or AHL). Thus far 14 college stars have signed with NHL teams. Some have reported straight to their NHL teams while others have been assigned to their teams’ AHL affiliates. Some of the major losses thus far are as follows (in order of most recent, not most important):
-Kris Chucko (Minnesota) signed with the Calgary Flames and will try out for their big club this summer. Personally I don’t think he is ready but he really only went for the money. Good luck!
-Robbie Earl (Wisconsin) signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was sent straight to their AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies. He played in 3 games with no assists, goals; well basically he didn’t do anything. Now the Marlies season is over. This one was kind of funny because about a week before, he promised 3,000 screaming Badger fans that he would not be signing with Toronto…
-Travis Zajac (North Dakota) signed with the New Jersey Devils and reported straight to their AHL affiliate the Albany River Rats. He played in 2 games, had 1 assist, was a minus-3, and had 2 penalty minutes. I think he could be ready for big show, but he definitely could have used some more time at UND.
-Matt Smaby (North Dakota) signed with the Tampa Bay Lightening and will join the team this summer for their training camp. I think he will spend the next year with Tampa Bay’s affiliate.
-Danny Irmen (Minnesota) signed with the Minnesota Wild. First of all, how funny is it that a kid from North Dakota has played most of his hockey career in Minnesota? Maybe the irony is lost to you but my friends from North Dakota assure me it’s pretty funny! Anyway, I think Danny left because his good buddy Ryan Potulny left. But I think Danny will spend the next year with the Houston Aeros, the Wild’s AHL affiliate.
-Matt Stefanishion (Ferris State) signed with the Washington Capitals. I think he has a pretty good chance of breaking into the line-up next year considering Washington is such a young team as it is.
-Jamie Hunt (Mercyhurst) signed with the Washington Capitals. If the Caps wanted this kid that bad, I’m pretty sure he will break into the line-up next year.
-David McKee (Cornell) signed with Anaheim. Well, Anaheim is having some major problems with goaltending recently, and I think this Hobey Baker Finalist will be just what the doctor ordered in a few years time after he has had time to elevate his game. If only Giguere could hold on for that long…
-Daniel Winnik (New Hampshire) signed with Phoenix. This is a team badly in need of some talent, and though I have never seen Winnik play, if the Great One wants to sign him, he must be worth something…
-Ryan Potulny (Minnesota) signed with Philadelphia. Bandwagon much? He just wanted to be cool like Matt Carle and leave early. Everything that Matt Carle did, Ryan Potulny wanted to do to only he couldn’t quite cut it. Since signing on April 7, he has played 2 games and had 1 assist. He has been a healthy scratch ever since.
-Bill Thomas (Nebraska-Omaha) signed with Phoenix. Ditto what was said for Winnik.
-Matt Carle (Denver) signed with San Jose. I know I have extolled on the greatness of the greatest Denver Defensemen in a long while, but here I go again. In Carle’s 17 games with Sharks, he has 3 goals, 6 assists, is a minus-1 and has 14 penalty minutes. Not to shabby….
-David Backes (Minnesota State Mankato) signed with St. Louis. He will report to the team in the summer. St. Louis definitely needs this guy. He will be great asset to the team that finished last in the NHL. Good Luck!
-Alex Foster (Bowling Green) signed with Toronto and was assigned to their AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies. In 8 games with the Marlies he had 1 goal, was a minus-2 and had 6 penalty minutes.

Good Luck to all these fine young men. And with any luck we won’t loose too many more!

Playoffs Baby!!

Sorry for getting so behind…it’s a crazy thing when work gets uber-busy then I lose the internet connection at home…damn technology! Just kidding…

Western Conference
1 Detroit vs. 8 Edmonton, series at 2-3: GO Edmonton! After winning two in a row, Edmonton lost at home last Thursday in a 4-2 game. In a game that saw 5 of the 6 goals come on the power play, and livid Craig MacTavish, the Red Wings evened the series at 2-2. Sure, the Oilers took some silly penalties (Rookie Matt Greene had 3 penalties all on his own) but this game came down to determination and the Oilers simply didn’t have any. However, on Saturday the tables were turned. Playing in Detroit, Edmonton was able to score 3 goals in the second period as was able to hold off Detroit’s final flurry for a 3-2 win over the Red Wings. The Oilers have a chance to close out the series tonight, as they head back to Edmonton. Of the three wins the Oilers have posted in this series, two have come at Detroit while the third came in Edmonton, after the Oilers has won in Detroit. Hopefully that bodes well!

2 Dallas vs. 7 Colorado, Colorado won the series at 1-4: Last Friday night the Colorado Avalanche had a chance to end the Dallas Stars’ season as game 4 was played in Denver. However, Colorado was not able to close the deal in a 4-1 loss to Dallas. A desperate Dallas team was able to pull out the win on the brink of elimination. Rookie Brad Richardson scored the only goal for Colorado in the first period on a pass from behind the net from Antti Laaksonen less than 5 minutes into the game. However the desperation felt by Dallas was enough to propel them to the win. Dallas iced the game with an empty net goal in the third to force a fifth game. On Sunday, the series headed back to Dallas. In an absolutely stunning win, the Avalanche eliminated the Dallas Stars from the playoffs. Jose Theodore, who allowed only 1 goal in five third periods, made 50 saves. Though it is cliché, he really gave the Avs a chance to win. He looked the most solid I have seen him and made some truly spectacular saves, while making very few “mistakes.” In the 3-2 OT game, Dallas scored first on a power play breakaway by Jussi Jokinen, the shootout God of the NHL. Colorado scored next on a nifty tip by Jimmy Dowd, who was able to find a hole between the post and Mary Turco’s leg to net his seventh career playoff goal. Joe Sakic scored next with less than a minute left in the first period to give the Avs a 2-1 lead. Bill Guerin scored Dallas’ second tally when he poked the puck away from Kurt Sauer in the offensive end. In the OT, Dallas out shot Colorado 11-4, including seven shots in the OT’s only power play. Andrew Brunette scored the winning goal on a rebound from a Joe Sakic shot. CONGRATULATIONS to the Avs!!!

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, series at 3-2: In a 3-2 OT win, Anaheim tied the series at 2-2 last Thursday. After a quite first period with no scoring and only one penalty, Anaheim scored twice in the second period less than 4 minutes apart to take the lead in the game. However, Jerome Iginla scored twice in less than 3 minutes in the beginning of the third to tie the game. Much to the chagrin of Calgary, Sean O’Donnell scored 1:36 into the first OT to win the game for Anaheim. In game 5 last night, Tony Amonte scored 5 minutes into the game to start off scoring. Once again Jerome Iginla scored twice, once a little over 10 minutes after Amonte scored and then again 1:03 into the second period. J.S. Giguere was pulled after Iginla’s second goal after giving up 3 goals on 8 shots. Anaheim’s back-up Ilya Bryzgalov made 11 saves in the second and 8 saves in the third to shut out the Flames, but his efforts were not enough. Any McDonald of Anaheim spoiled Miikka Kiprusoff’s chance at a shutout when he scored a power play goal in the third. Then Anaheim pulled within one on Rob Niedermayer’s power play goal with 33 seconds left in the game. The series continues tonight in Anaheim as the Flames have a chance to close out the best of seven series.

4 Nashville vs. 5 San Jose, San Jose won the series at 1-4: In another Western Conference upset, the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 last night in Nashville. After winning the first game in the series, Nashville lost 4 in a row. Their third loss came on Thursday in the Shark Tank after putting up a great fight in the 4-5 game. San Jose’s captain, Patrick Marleau scored a hat trick, while University of Denver product Matt Carle had two assists for his first multi-point playoff game. On Sunday, in a 2-1 victory in Nashville, the Sharks eliminated the Predators from the playoffs. The first period went quietly until a flukey goal with .3 left in the first period gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead over the Predators. Scott Hannan passed the puck to Milan Michalek, who shot it from the left circle and Steve Bernier bumped it past Preds goalie Chris Mason. After a review, the officials (not only on the ice, but in the NHL’s war room in Toronto) ruled that it crossed the line before the time expired. Patrick Marleau Scored on the power play in the second for the game-winner. Then Paul Kariya of Nashville scored in the third on the power play to end Vesa Toskala’s shut-out.

Eastern Conference
1 Ottawa vs. 8 Tampa Bay, Ottawa won the series 4-1: After an embarrassing 8-4 loss, Tampa Bay seemed to lose any momentum they had. In game 4 of the series last Thursday, Tampa Bay lost 5-2 to a very strong Ottawa team. 4 of their 5 goals came at even strength. Not to mention John Grahame’s performance in goal for the Lightening was less than stellar, allowing 4 goals in 17 shots is simply not good enough. He was pulled in the third for back-up Burke, who allowed 1 goal on 8 shots in 20 minutes of play. In the final game of series, Tampa Bay struggled to make ends meet again, allowing 2 even strength and 1 power play goal while only managing to score 2 even strength goals in the second. A change in goal did not help. Struggling goalie John Grahame played backup Saturday to veteran Sean Burke who made 35 saves in the loss. It was his first playoff start since he and the Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated from the playoffs by San Jose in 2002. While they applied pressure to the Senators, the Lightening just couldn’t seem to muster the strength to win.

2 Carolina vs. 7 Montreal, series at 3-2: In a tough 2-1 OT loss to the Hurricanes, Montreal surrendered their first game on home ice. Carolina caught some breaks for their first win in the series after losing two at home. The game winner was scored on the power play 3:38 into the first overtime when Huet lost sight of the puck and Eric Staal was able to slide it past him. In perhaps an even more tough loss, the Canadiens surrendered the lead in the series in a 3-2 game that saw more than just the loss of the game. In a scary moment, Saku Koivu received a high-stick to his face that caused an eye injury. Justin Williams, the Hurricanes player who perpetrated the hit was not penalized. Koivu was rushed to the hospital and it is still unclear how much damage was done to his eye. Though he was wearing a half shield, it still did not protect him from the stick that slid under the shield. The Hurricanes took the lead in the series on Sunday with a 2-1 win on their home ice, the first for either team. Cam Ward had a stellar game saving 30 shots in his third straight start after taking the job from Gerber. He seems to be carrying this team. Eric Staal and Matt Cullen scored power play goals for the Canes while Alex Kovalev scored the only goal for the Canadiens. Cristobal Huet had 26 saves on 28 shots.

3 New Jersey vs. 6 New York R, New Jersey won 4-0: In a maybe not so surprising sweep of the New York Rangers, New Jersey advanced the second round of the playoffs as the only team to completely sweep another team. Even the return of Jaromir Jagr could save the Rangers. In a shutout last Wednesday night in Madison Square Gardens, Martin Brodeur made 25 saves. Langenbrunner scored and had an assist to garner the games’ first star, while Patrick Elias also scored and had an assist to earn the games’ second star. Not surprisingly Brodeur came in at the third star (honestly what does a goalie have to do?) In a surprisingly quiet and ironic game (only 5 penalties, 2 in the first and 3 in the second) New Jersey took the third game of the series by a score of 3-0, the last tally coming from former University of North Dakota star Zach Parise. In the final game of the series, the Rangers scored both first and last and again lost the services of Jaromir Jagr. Patrick Elias upped the ante again by have an assist and scoring two goals in the win while Brian Gionta scored the game winner unassisted. The Devils have now won an amazing 15 games in a row. Can anyone stop them?

4 Buffalo vs. 5 Philadelphia, series at 3-2: After losing two on the road, Philadelphia pulled out two home wins to tie the series. Peter Forsberg chose a great time to show the Flyers why they pay him so much. He scored two goals and tallied one assist in a 4-2 win over Buffalo. I should mention however, that the assist came on an empty net…In the second home win, the Sabres didn’t go so quietly, in a 5-4 win, Forsberg again scored twice and added an assist to earn the first star of the game. But let’s not overlook Daniel Briere, the heart and soul of the Sabres franchise who scored two goals himself. On Sunday, rookie Ryan Miller, the Sabres’ goaltender single-handedly took control of the game as he posted a shutout for the lead in the series. Miller made 24 saves, two of which were deflections off of his teammates. He became the third rookie in franchise history to post a shutout in the playoffs. Robert Esche on the other end of the ice also deserves praise as he made 30 saves on 33 shots. The Sabres look to finish this series off tomorrow in Philadelphia.

Wow….that was a lot of writing….

Playoff Update

It’s been another couple of days chock full of great games. Here’s the skinny…

Western Conference
1 Detroit vs. 8 Edmonton, series at 1-2: So a lot of people said that the first two games were a fluke…Edmonton had pushed to 2nd OT by sheer luck and won game two by even more luck. Well, eat that critics! Edmonton won last night at home in another 2 overtime game by a score of 4-3. It was a good win for them, although I don’t think they played as hard as they could have. I wonder what is going through the minds of the Detroit players…I mean they have to be in complete shock. With any luck, they will continue their stupor and lose the series…not that I’m biased or anything….

2 Dallas vs. 7 Colorado, series at 0-2: In a 5-4 OT nail biter, the Colorado Avalanche won game two of the best of seven series versus the Dallas Stars. After scoring 3 goals in the first period, the Avalanche and Jose Theodore allowed 4 goals by the Stars in the second period. In the third period, Brett Clark scored his second goal in his second career playoff game with 2:04 left in the period. In the first overtime, Jason Arnott of the Stars hit the post seconds before Joe Sakic scored the game winning goal on a shot from point by John-Michael Liles at 4:36. The series moves to Denver tonight for game three at 7:30 MST and can be seen on Altitude, OLN, and TSN.

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, series at 2-1: In a 5-2 contest last night, Calgary took the lead in the series as it moved to Anaheim. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots while J.S. Giguere saved 19. In a game where 22 total penalties were called (12 for 27 minutes for the Flames and 10 for 23 minutes for the Ducks) special teams played an important role. Of the seven total goals scored, 5 (including both Anaheim goals) were scored on the power play. The series continues tomorrow in Anaheim.

4 Nashville vs. 5 San Jose, series at 1-2: San Jose took the lead in the series last night in a 4-1 win over the Predators at the HP Pavilion. Captain Patrick Marleau scored twice and goalie Vesa Toskala made 16 saves. Rookie Steve Bernier scored his first playoff goal late in the second which turned out to be the game winning goal. The series continues tomorrow in San Jose.

Eastern Conference
1 Ottawa vs. 8 Tampa Bay, series at 2-1: In a highly unimpressive game by the Tampa Bay Lightening, Ottawa took the lead in the series last night with an 8-4 win in Tampa Bay. The highlight of this game however came with 2:17 left in the final period. NHL.com described the brawl best when they wrote “Heatley squared off in a fight with Nolan Pratt, and Chara locked up with Vincent Lecavalier. Ottawa's 6-foot-9 defenseman cocked his right arm and held it menacingly over Lecavalier, who was down on the ice, but restrained from throwing the big punch. The melee, sparked by Vaclav Varada's boarding penalty against Tampa Bay's Ruslan Fedotenko, capped a physical game that featured 139 penalty minutes - 79 for Tampa Bay - five fighting majors, and seven misconducts.” It was an interesting end to a rather boring end as it appeared that there were half a dozen players on each bench as the final minutes of the game ran through.

2 Carolina vs. 7 Montreal, series at 0-2: First of all, I find it interesting that one of the biggest trades this year, David Aebischer for Jose Theodore, left each team in the same place in their respective conferences with the same records in the playoffs. Moving on. In a 6-5 two overtime win over Carolina, Montreal heads home with the lead in the series. Huet made an astounding 41 saves while Gerber made 10 saves on 13 shots before being pulled and replaced by Ward who then made 20 saves on 23 shots. The series continues tonight in Montreal.

3 New Jersey vs. 6 New York Rangers, series at 0-2: Without Jaromir Jagr, who was out with an upper arm injury, the Rangers seemed to flounder in a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. But defense may be the Rangers biggest problem. Of the 4 goals scored by New Jersey, two were short handed, one came on the power play and the last came at even strength. Those numbers are truly unacceptable for a team that wants to win the Stanley Cup. This series continues tonight and Rangers face the Devils at home in Madison Square Gardens.

4 Buffalo vs. 5 Philadelphia, series at 2-0: In a very convincing 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Buffalo Sabres took the game 2 of the series. I guess I can’t say this enough, for a team with so little playoff experience, the Sabres are playing some amazing hockey, while the Flyers are barely putting up a fight. This series continues tonight as the Sabres meet the Flyers in Philadelphia.

Playoff time!!

Well it was an amazing weekend of playoff hockey in the NHL. Four series (Detroit/Edmonton, Calgary/Anaheim, Nashville/San Jose, and Ottawa/Tampa Bay) started Friday night while the remaining four series (Dallas/Colorado, Carolina/Montreal, New Jersey/New York R, and Buffalo/Philadelphia) started on Saturday. Here’s the scoop incase you missed anything…

Western Conference
1 Detroit vs. 8 Edmonton, series tied 1-1: This series began on Friday with a 3-2 2 overtime win for Detroit. I have to admit I was so surprised to hear that a) Edmonton scored, b) the game went into two overtimes, and c) Edmonton scored. I thought Edmonton didn’t stand a snowflake’s chance in hell of at least making this series interesting, but they did it! The plot thickened on Sunday when Edmonton beat (yeah I said BEAT!) Detroit 4-2. Edmonton did an amazing job of clogging up the neutral zone and keeping the Red Wings from having too much puck possession time in the offensive end. Way to go Edmonton! They head to the third and fourth games in Edmonton, followed by games five and six (if necessary, hopefully!) in Detroit.

2 Dallas vs. 7 Colorado, series at 0-1: This series began on Saturday with a 5-2 win for Colorado. Five Avalanche players (Wolski, Hejduk, Blake, Clark, and Liles) scored five unanswered goals on 31 shots to win the first game. The Stars had 18 shots for their 2 goals. Jose Theodore let in 2 goals on 5 shots in the first period but looked solid throughout. Rookie Wojtek Wolski scored a goal and notched two assists in his first NHL playoff game giving him the most points out of any player on Saturday. The series continues in Dallas tonight at 7pm MST and can be seen on Altitude (for those of you in Denver), OLN, and TSN.

3 Calgary vs. 6 Anaheim, series tied 1-1: This series began on Friday with a 2-1 overtime win for Calgary. Miika Kiprusoff stayed true to form and allowed 1 goal on 34 shots. Anaheim came in at a disadvantage as their number one goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere sat out the game with a lower body injury. However, with the return of Giguere on Sunday, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks were able to pull out a 4-3 win over Calgary. They now head to Anaheim for games three and four, followed by a return to Calgary for games five and six (if necessary)

4 Nashville vs. 5 San Jose, series tied 1-1: This series began on Friday with a 4-3 win for Nashville. Despite the loss of their number one goalie, Tomas Vokoun, to a blood condition, the Predators were able to secure a convincing win with their 4 power play goals. Fill in goalie Chris Mason was able to keep super scorers Jonathan Cheechoo and Joe Thornton from netting any goals. In relevant Hockey in Colorado News, former DU Pioneer standout Matt Carle had an assist on the Sharks’ first goal of the game, also former CC rearguard Tom Preissing assisted on the Sharks’ second goal. The series continued on Sunday with a 3-0 Shark shutout. Vesa Toskala made 25 saves and Jonathan Cheechoo scored the game winning goal as well as assisted on the two other goals for the Sharks. The series continues in San Jose on Tuesday and Wednesday then returns to Nashville for games five and six (if necessary) Friday and Sunday.


Eastern Conference
1 Ottawa vs. 8 Tampa Bay, series tied 1-1: The defending Stanley Cup Champions Tampa Bay Lightening put in a disappointing performance in the first game of the series on Friday by allowing 4 goals, two power play, one short handed, and one empty net, in the third period to lose the game 1-4 to the Ottawa Senators. Despite the loss of their number goalie, Dominik Hasek to an injury sustained during the Olympics, Ottawa’s goalie, Ray Emery stood strong in net, only allowing a goal while the Senators were down 3 players to 5. On Sunday the Lightening looked like a new team. John Grahame, a Denver native, made 22 saves to keep the high scoring Senators to only one goal per period and the earn his first win in four playoff games. Tampa Bay’s strength was shown in their ability to score even strength goals; all four of their goals came at even strength.

2 Carolina vs. 7 Montreal, series at 0-1: In a surprising move by Montreal, Cristobal Huet received the nod to backstop the Canadiens in the first game of the playoffs. Why is this surprising considering Huet had a great season and put Jose Theodore to shame? Huet lost his last two starts for Montreal while David Aebischer had looked solid in net recently. At first, it looked like a bad move. At the 50 second mark of the game, Carolina scored. It would be their only goal of the game. Apparently, the move was not so surprising after all….Huet made 43 saves in the 6-1 Canadiens win over Carolina. The series continues tonight in Carolina, and then moves to Montreal for games three and four.

3 New Jersey vs. 6 New York Rangers, series at 1-0: In a 6-1 whipping of the New York Rangers, New Jersey scored an amazing and playoff-record, 5 power play goals. An amazing 16 penalties, for 43 minutes, were taken by the Rangers. Martin Brodeur made 29 saves on 30 shots while rookie Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves on 30 shots. Some of the biggest news from this game comes from Jaromir Jagr, who might miss the second game of the series due to an arm injury. While fore checking Scott Gomez, Jagr somehow hurt his arm and was helped to the dressing room. Still no word on whether he will play or not. The series continues tonight in New Jersey and can be viewed on OLN at 5pm EST.

4 Buffalo vs. 5 Philadelphia, series at 1-0: The big story here was that the Buffalo Sabres feature a young team with little to no playoff experience. Just to put it in perspective, the entire Sabres’ roster had a combined 295 playoff games, in comparison, the same amount that Philadelphia’s Peter Forsberg and Eric Desjardins had between them. However, after taking the Flyers into the second overtime, Daniel Briere tipped in Jochen Hecht’s centering pass for a 3-2 Sabres’ victory over the Flyers. This series continues tonight in Buffalo, and then moves for games three and four in Philadelphia on Wednesday and Friday.

Let's get ready to rumble...

Let’s take a look at the upcoming first round playoff match-up of the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars.

What Dallas has:
-Mike Modano. He is like a Stars playoff God…
-Jason Arnott. Second only to Mike Modano on the teams’ scoring list his year. He is only one point behind.
-Jere Lehtinen. He led the Stars in goals scored with 33. He’s a defenseman! What makes him even trickier is that he is solid in his own end as well.
-Sergei Zubov. He has decent seasons, but always kicks it up a notch (where would the world be without Emeril?) during the second season. In 142 playoff games, he has 101 points and a plus-30 rating. Did I mention he’s already won two Stanley Cups?

What Colorado has:
-Joe Sakic. Where Mike Modano is a Dallas’ playoff God, Joe Sakic is Colorado’s God. He’s Mr. Clutch for Colorado. He always comes through.
-Rob Blake. Hands down one of the best defensemen in the game. He can routinely shut down the top lines of every team. Plus, he is the top scoring defensemen for the Avs with 51 points.
-Jose Theodore. I don’t think I stand alone when I say that this guy could be the deal breaker here. He has looked solid in his last 5 games. Yes, he has only won one of those games, but much of that comes down to the rest of the team not supporting him as they should. I think he is highly motivated to make a comeback (but let’s be honest here, I’m probably pretty biased!).
-Alex Tanguay. Since his knee injury that had him out for 10 games, he has looked pretty good. This week off will have given him a chance to heal up some more and return to his game.
-Wojtek Wolski. I’m sure you’re saying to yourself, “Who?” I can’t wait to see this kid get some action. He spent the season in the OHL playing for the Brampton Battalion. However, he spent 9 games early in the season with the Avs. In those games, he scored 2 goals (both on the power play) had 4 assists, was a minus-5 and had 4 penalty minutes. Now you are really wondering why I (and really EVERY Avs fan is excited about this kid), so here goes. In 56 games with Brampton this season, he had 47 goals, and 81 assists for 128 points. The closest teammate had 72 points. He was plus-21, had 46 penalty minutes and 30 power play goals. Amazing…

Why Dallas Wins:
Dallas can win if they can get 3 or more goals in the game. In the four meetings between these teams this season, Dallas won three of those by scoring more than 3 goals. Their loss came in a 3-2 overtime loss. Also, Marty Turco has to stay strong in net. Of the 16 teams in the playoffs, only 3 teams have scored more goals this season than Colorado.

Why Colorado Wins:
Score, Score, Score. If the Avs can score, they can win. The one win that Jose Theodore has came from a 6-4 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. In the three losses and one overtime loss, the Avs scored 3 or less goals. So the same holds true for the Avs, if they can score 3 or more goals they can win.

What these games come down to:
Goaltending and defense. Bottomline. Theodore and Turco have to be strong but they are going to need help from their defensive corp.

Series starts tomorrow at 1pm MST. The first game will air on NBC. The following is the complete schedule:
April 22 - Sat - 1:00 Dallas Away American Airlines Center 950 AM NBC
April 24 - Mon - 7:00 Dallas Away American Airlines Center 710 AM Altitude
April 26 - Wed - 7:30 Dallas Home Pepsi Center 950 AM Altitude
April 28 - Fri - 8:00 Dallas Home Pepsi Center 950 AM Altitude
April 30 - Sun - 12:00 Dallas Away American Airlines Center 950 AM NBC
May 2 - Tue - TBD Dallas Home Pepsi Center 950 AM Altitude
May 4 - Thu - TBD Dallas Away American Airlines Center 950 AM Altitude

Avs at Oilers 2-4, Kings at Sharks 4-0

Avs lost 4-2 last night to the Edmonton Oilers. This game was so incredibly boring I stopped watching it before the third period started and guess what? I didn’t miss much…The Avs play was lackluster and not up to par, but understandable. This game was a chance for the Avs to take their fate into their own hands. If they won, they would most likely play the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs. I say most likely because Anaheim would have had to lose to Calgary for that scenario to work. If they lost, they would play the Dallas Stars. So which team would the Avs want to play? Definitely Dallas. With the way that the Flames kicked their butts earlier this week, you can bet that the Avs didn’t want to face that (and Miika Kiprusoff) anytime soon. Let’s not forget also, that Dallas’ strength this season came in the shootouts and sorry to burst their bubble, but there aren’t going to be any shootouts in the playoffs. I saw a graphic last night about how the points have changed since the addition of the shootout. Dallas would have 99 points rather than the 111 they actually have. The Avs would have 92 rather than the 95 that they actually have. That’s a pretty big difference for Dallas. I’ll come back to the playoff matches another day though.

Since the Avs game was so boring, I decided to watch the Kings/Sharks game. Again, I was highly disappointed in the play of the team I was rooting for, the Sharks that is. But again, I can understand that since this game didn’t matter in the scheme of the playoffs, there was no point in wasting energy. Also, last night was Luc Robitaille’s last game as an NHL player. I think a big part of the Shark’s loss was in deference to one of the games’ greatest scorers.

I can’t describe how excited I am that they playoffs are just around the corner. There is some very good hockey in the horizon and though I’m not quite sure how far the Avs will go, I know I will be watching hockey until the Stanley Cup is awarded!

Ps…Ryan Caldwell, former captain of the 2004 National Champions DU Pioneers played his first NHL game on April 15 for the New York Islanders. Congratulations! More on this later.

Time to play a little catch-up

Well, as sometimes happens, I got a little behind on my blogging…it was the weekend, so sue me. But really, let’s talk hockey.

The Avs lost a nail biter on Thursday to Calgary by a score of 2 to nothing. The biggest problem the Avs had was that they couldn’t score! Miika Kiprusoff was (yes I am going to say it, at the risk of sounding like Peter McNab…) amazing. He was just too good! The Avs had some quality scoring chances but just couldn’t finish the job with Kiprusoff throwing off their game. It was a really a hard fought game by both teams. Congrats to Calgary for winning their first divisional title since 1992. Jose was amazing in his own right though. Considering he let in one goal on 26 shots, I think we should all be happy with his performance. This one just came down to how amazingly Kiprusoff played and how the Avs were unable to capitalize on good scoring chances.

The Avs lost in OT to Vancouver on Saturday by a score of 3-4. While I didn’t get to see the game (yet, I taped it while I went to church), I did see the goal that won the game in overtime for the Canucks. It seems that Jose has a problem with stopping goals on the glove side. I think that he always tends to just move his shoulder up in the hopes of blocking the shots rather than trying to catch them. But maybe this has worked for him in the past. Plus what do I know about being a goalie anyway?

In other Colorado hockey news, the Colorado Eagles of the CHL won in game 7 of the Northern Conference Semi-finals against the Oklahoma City Blazers by a score of 6-2. The Eagles play in Loveland, CO at the Budweiser Events Center. They won the CHL championship last season and looked to be in a good position to do the same this year. This is their third year in Colorado. I have had the pleasure of attending an Eagles game and it was so much fun. I recommend it for anyone looking for a relatively inexpensive way to experience great hockey. Good luck to the Eagles!

Avs vs. Phoenix 6-4

Wow, that was a crazy game…by the numbers:
-6 Avalanche goals in 29 minutes by 6 different Avalanche players
-6 penalties on the Avs in the first period, 9 total for the game
-5 penalties on the Coyotes in the first period, 10 total for the game
-21 saves in Jose’s first start and win with the Avalanche
-26 saves in the 29 minutes that Sauve played before he was pulled in the second period
-8 saves in the 31 minutes that Leneveu played
-2 5-on-3 opportunities for each team in the first period
-3 goals allowed by Jose in the final 8 minutes of the game

All in all, a good game by the Avs. The third period was almost painful to watch though…it just seemed like the team lost some steam. They looked tired. Jose looked unfocused. But a win is a win…now the Avs head off to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to finish off the regular season. Good luck to them!

Caps at Bruins 2-1

The Avs had yesterday off, so I decided to catch a game on OLN. I am so happy that OLN has been covering games all season because it has allowed me to see teams and players that the Avs don’t generally play. Last night, I watched the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins in overtime 2-1. Here are my thoughts on the game and it’s milestones:

-Mark Stuart, slated to be the captain of the Colorado College tigers for the 2005-2006 season but opted to leave early, scored his first NHL goal which turned out to be the only Bruins goal. He played his first NHL game about a month ago on March 11. In the 14 games he has played for the Bruins, he has assisted on one goal, giving him 2 career points, he is -1, has 10 penalty minutes, and is 12.5% on the percentage of shots that have resulted in goals.

-This was the first time I have had the opportunity to see Alexander Ovechkin play. I have to say…I was completely amazed! He works so hard on the ice, he makes BIG hits and he is able to puck handle like you wouldn’t believe! Don’t believe me? Watch this: Alexander the Great!

-Speaking of Alexander the Great, he became the sixth rookie to score 100 points in a season. He has scored 49 goals, and had 51 assists. If he can score another goal in the final four games of the season, he will become only the second rookie to score 50 goals in a season. The only rookie to achieve this feat thus far? Teemu Selanne, he had 76 goals and 132 points for Winnipeg in the 1992-1993

-It was obvious to me from watching this game, why these two teams have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. They made soooooooo many mistakes that I am used to seeing in College hockey. They whole game felt like I was watching a college game. There was no spark, no fighting, it was just kind of dead. I hope that the Capitals are able to turn around this off-season and find ways to be successful because I would love to see Alex Ovechkin do well.

-After the game, during the post-game interviews, Alex was discussing what the Capitals are playing for and was given a shaving cream pie to the face by team captain Jeff Halpern. Alex laughed for a couple seconds, then just kept on going like nothing was going on. Someone gave him a towel and he wiped most of it from his face, but the poor interviewer was trying to keep it together but couldn’t. It was absolutely hilarious! See the incident for yourself here: Talk about a pie in the Face!

-for more great stuff on Alex Ovechkin, go here: Ovechkin Fans

~Catie

Avs vs. Minnesota Wild 2-5

This one hurt...a lot! But I think that the Avs lost not because of a lack of effort or bad goaltending (which I will get to later) but because Manny Fernandez was on fire! Marion Gaborik didn't do too bad either as he got his eighth career hat trick. Here's what went down:

-the Avs came out with a lot of energy and played really well.
-about 4 1/2 minutes in, Gaborik scored the first goal of evening. 42 seconds later, Dupuis scored the second goal. Peter Budaj who started his 13th consecutive game for the Avs was pulled. Jose Theodore, who hadn't played since January 31st, had dressed as the backup goalie for the evening and at this point was put in net in Budaj's place.
-The Avs were able to kill a 4 minute double minor to Karlis Skrastins and kept the Wild from scoring again in the first.
-At this point, it was completely possible for the Avs to make a comeback. Fernandez had made 17 saves in the first period and seemed to be solid, but there was still the chance that the Avs could get some kind of offense going.
-The period saw a solid period for both teams. Fernandez made 14 saves to deny the Avs a goal, while Theodore made 7, allowing one goal in the second on a power play.
-The third period was perhaps the best period for the Avs. They finally managed to solve Fernandez and scored twice, once on the power play, once at even strength. However, the Wild made some opportunistic plays and were able to score twice as well.

All in all, it was a great game. The Avs played pretty well, but were denied by a hot goaltender focused on earning the $13 million he just resigned for and a 30th win in this season. Jose Theodore look pretty solid in net for a guy who hasn't seen any action since January 31st. In the beginning, it was obvious he was still a little shaky but as the game went on, he gained some confidence and played well. I think this was a great step in his recovery and hope he will play amazingly on Tuesday against the Coyotes. I am fairly sure he will start on Tuesday as it was announced he would start then before this evenings' game.

Avs vs. St. Louis 4-2

A much better game for the Avs! Still a little penalty problem (6 penalties for 12 minutes) but much better than lately. Things I was impressed with:

-the team didn't leave Budaj out to dry...One of St. Louis goals was on a power play, the other at even strength. They helped a lot more than they have been lately. I think that contributed a lot to the win.

-scoring came from three of the four lines! Super Joe got the first goal for the Avs in the second period (assisted by Brisebois of all people!), Ian Laperriere scored early in the third (Sauer [WHAT!?!?!] and McLean assisted), Dan Hinote and his new line of Cody McCormick and Brad Richardson scored, and last but by no means least, Milan Hejduk just touch the puck that went in for the empty net goal with Joe and Skrastins getting assists. AMAZING!!!! This is the way the team should ALWAYS(!!!!) play.

-it seemed like they team didn't work as hard as they could have in the first and they saw St. Louis score on the PP. The second period was a little better, then in the third, the whole team just exploded. It was great!

-the game was broadcast on NBC. I really don't like the way NBC broadcasts games. I know, they paid an exorbitant amount of money for the rights to show the NHL on NBC but still...It just bugs me...


In other Avs news...If all goes well, Propecia Joe will be starting on Tuesday against the Phoenix Coyotes. Coach Q said Jose would dress Tomorrow vs. Minnesota as the backup, and as long as Jose keeps going in the right direction, he will be the starting goaltender!!!! So excited to finally see him play! I know I make fun of him a lot but I really like him and hope that he will be able to do well for the Avs.

~Catie

Frozen Four (last one I promise)

The national championship game was tonight...Wisconsin won by a score of 2-1 against Boston College. Not a lot to say about this game. Here are my thoughts:
-Robbie Earl should really look into the Diving team at Wisconsin. He is such an excellent diver that I feel quite confident in his abilities to rank high amongst college divers. But seriously, I have never seen a player dive as much as the Spawn of Satan does...He is my very most despised college hockey player, which is really saying something because that list also includes (in no particular order) Brett Sterling, Brian Salcido, Chris Porter, Ryan Potulny, Danny Irmen, Phil Kessel, etc, etc.

-Cory Schnieder was amazing in goal! This was to be expected. He made 37 saves on 39 shots! He is so completely underrated.

-Wisconsin became the first team in NCAA history to have both its Men's and Women's hockey teams win the national championship in division I in the same year. What's even cookier than that is that Adam and Nicki Burish (siblings) were on both those teams...That's probably a first too, siblings winning a national championship in the same year for different teams.

-Wisconsin also became the first team to ever win a national championship without leaving their home state throughout the NCAA tournament. I wonder how the Athletic director paid to have that...

-Chris Collins (and several other members of the BC team) cried on camera after they lost. They were completely classy though, they actually sat there through all of Wisconsin's celebrating (not surprising that they made BC wait so long as they are completely devoid of class or sportsmanship) so that they could shake hands with Wisconsin and salute the 250 BC Fans (out of 17,000 fans at the game, so much for a neutral site. Out of those 250 fans, 50 of them were members of the BC pep band).

-Mike Eaves (a native of DENVER, CO!!!), coach for Wisconsin became the 4th person to win a national championship as both a player and as a coach. Let's not forget that Coach Gwozdecky did that only better. He was the 1st person to EVER win a national championship title as a player, assistant coach, and as a head coach, then he did a second year in a row. Fun facts: Coach Gwozdecky and Mike Eaves played for Wisconsin in the 1976-1977 season when they won the national championship together. The next season, Coach Eaves played with Mark Johnson at Wisconsin, Mark (a native of Minneapolis, MN) stayed for two seasons, then went on to play in the 1980 Olympic games winning a gold medal with the Miracle on Ice team. Mark is now the coach for the Women's hockey team, at you guessed it, Wisconsin!

-Two of Mike Eaves' sons, Ben (currently playing for the Ottawa Senators) and Patrick (an assistant video manager for BC) played hockey for Boston College.

~Catie

Hobey Baker (cont)

MATT CARLE WON THE HOBEY BAKER!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing. I went with a friend to The Lazy Dog, the only place in Denver actually showing the ceremony. It turned out that the whole hockey team had planned an outing and had reserved a room for DU fans. The show was 30 minutes long. It had spots on each of the three finalists. They actually got Brian Elliott to do a moosecall, followed by his father doing one...absolutely hilarious! When they announced Matt's name a great cheer came from every person in the room! People were clapping and cheering right up until he started to make his speech, then you could have heard a pin drop in that room! He made the classiest speech I have ever heard. He congratulated the other two finalists and wished them well, thanked the team, his parents and family, and everybody else. It was just so nice. A great honor for him and the University of Denver. I don't think I have ever seen Coach Gwozdecky so happy! It was just so amazing...

Hobey Baker

Today is the announcement of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Winner. The field has been narrowed to just three players, Matt Carle of DU, Chris Collins of BC, and Brian Elliott of Wisconsin. My pick is Matt Carle. That shouldn’t be surprise to anyone, but here’s why:
Matt Carle a junior Defenseman and Co-Captain for DU played in 39 games, scored 11 goals and assisted on 42 goals for 53 points. He committed 29 penalties for 58 minutes. What’s more, in 112 career games, he scored 29 career goals, had 94 career assists for 123 career points! Chris Collins is a senior Forward and Assistant Captain for BC. He played in 41 games, scored 34 goals, and assisted on 29 goals for 63 points. He committed 13 penalties for 26. In 161 career games, he scored 63 goals and had 59 assists for 122 career points. I’ve already enumerated all of the stats of Brian Elliott and so I won’t repeat myself. I will just say that he is the leader in all goaltending stats.
Okay, so why did I choose Matt Carle (besides my obvious bias)? He had a record season! 53 points for a defensemen is so insane…he joined DU’s century club this year as a junior defensemen which is pretty much unheard of. He is second on the all-time points by a defensemen in a single season, first in assists by a defensemen in a single season, third in career points by a defensemen, and second in lifetime assists by a defensemen. Imagine where he would be if he had stayed for his senior season! This year he was named Player of the Year and Defensemen of the Year by the WCHA, INCH, and USCHO. Also, he maintained a 3.3 grade point average (not an easy task at DU!) and was an all-around good guy.
Some (well one) drawback to Matt Carle is that his team didn’t make it to the NCAA tournament. That’s it. There aren’t any other drawbacks. He’s the whole package. Let’s hope that he wins it!! GOOD LUCK MATT!!!!

Frozen Four (cont)

Boy was I wrong on the NoDak/BC game…here’s what I forgot, Parise has lots of playoff experience, but he has this terrible habit of choking in HUGE games…I’m not quite sure how I forgot that after how he played last year in the National Championship game against DU.

So needless to say, NoDak lost 5-6 to BC. It was a crazy game. I got to watch the first period at Spanky’s (the local hockey, I mean sports bar next to campus) during my lunch break. In the first period alone, BC scored 3 unanswered goals. In the second, NoDak was finally able to score, but so did BC. Anyways, long story short, Parise choked, none of the NoDak big names scored, BC’s Chris Collins (one of the Hobey Hat Trick finalists) posted a hat trick, and the biggest surprise perhaps is that Cory Schneider allowed 5 goals. That’s more than he’s allowed in his last 5 games (!).


As for the Wisco/Maine game, a 5-2 loss for Maine (no surprise there!) I was pleasantly surprised by the play of Ben Bishop, the freshman goalie for Maine. At 6’7” he’s a pretty imposing guy and he definitely uses his size to his advantage. The game started with two deflected goals against both teams, oddly enough, both goals were deflected into the net by each teams own defensemen. This was followed by two unanswered goals by Wisco, one shorthanded, and another breakaway. Maine seemed to lose their steam. They got a little back in the third when they were able to score again. But Wisco took control short after. Here’s why I hate Wisconsin: they hate absolutely NO CLASS!!! The Spawn of Satan (aka Robbie Earl) scored an empty net goal with less than two minutes left in the game when Wisco was ahead 4-2 and celebrated like it was a game winner. He just rubbed that shit it like salt on a wound, what an ASSHOLE!!!! If I ever saw him on the street I would definitely kick the shit out of him…it would be so worth being arrested for assault. Another thing, it’s just not right for hockey fans to dance around liked five year olds and not see as single thing wrong with that. Yeah, I’m all for having fun at hockey games, but the entire arena shouldn’t make fools of themselves and hockey fans in general. But I suppose what else are you gonna do in Wisconsin?


My favorite thing seen in the Bradley Center: Sure seeing fat men wearing only paint is thrilling but ever better is seeing a kid with a sign that reads: Lunch at Goolsby's: $25. Two tickets to Frozen Four: $150. Phil Kessel at home watching on TV: Priceless.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA boy they REALLY hate Phil Kessel in Wisconsin (he’s such a traitor), but really, who doesn’t hate Phil Kessel except for Media Homers who have an inexplicable hard on for "talented" ass clowns like Kessel?

Frozen Four!!!

The Frozen Four is upon us at long last! The Semifinals take place in a little under two hours, beginning with North Dakota facing Boston College. Then this evening, Wisconsin will face Maine. Here’s my take:

North Dakota vs. Boston College
I wouldn’t want to be the Fighting Sioux right now. BC is a real threat. They have won 5 of their last 6 games, allowing 2 goals or less in each game. Their last two games (the NCAA Northeast Regionals), they posted 5 goals in each game and allowed none. That’s right, two back to back shutouts for sophomore Cory Schneider. However, the Fighting Sioux are nearly as impressive, winning all 6 of their last 6 games and allowing 3 or less goals in each game while scoring between 3 and 5 goals a game. Jordan Parise has definitely turned in some amazing performances this season.
Ultimately I think this one comes down to a goaltending battle (surprise, surprise). Jordan vs. Cory, both standouts on their squads, both are the number one goalies for their squads, both wear the number 1. Here’s how they match up-

Jordan Parise is a junior from Minnesota. He has played 33 games for 1,959:23 minutes. He has allowed 68 goals and made 943 saves for a total of 1011 shots faced. He has a save percentage of .933, with a goals against average of 2.08. He has posted 24 wins, 8 losses, and 1 tie. This gives him a win percentage of .742. He played 72.3% of the time for the Sioux.

Cory Schneider is a sophomore from Massachusetts. He played 37 games for 2,241:32 minutes. He has allowed 76 goals and made 1,015 saves for a total of 1,091 shots faced. He has a save percentage of .930, with a goals against average of 2.03. He has posted 23 wins, 12 losses and 2 ties. This gives him a win percentage of .649. He played 91.7% of the time for the Eagles.

While Jordan is older and has more NCAA playoff experience, Cory has led the US junior world team to two medals, Silver and Gold.

My pick: North Dakota. They came so very close last year to winning it all; they are definitely hungry for it. Not to mention they have, I think, the best freshman class this year, which was a major factor in Denver’s win last year.

I never thought I would say this but, GO SIOUX!!!!

Wisconsin vs. Maine
This one is tough, but I think it is fair to say the Wisconsin has the advantage here. They are basically playing on home ice in the Bradley center in Milwaukee. Not to mention, Brian Elliott is once again hot, which has been the story of their season. He has posted shutouts in his last three games, including a scary Midwest final that went into 3 overtimes before Wisconsin’s Jack Skille could score the one and only goal of the game, talk about a goalie’s battle…I really don’t think Maine stands a chance. But I really hope I am wrong and Wisconsin gets their asses handed to them…can you tell how much I like the BADgers?

Let’s go Blackbears!

~Catie

Avs vs. Sharks 1-2

"Hockey is like heroin. Only drug addicts do heroin. It's not like a recreational drug. It’s never like, No, that's O.K., I'm not going to have heroin. You guys go right ahead. Hockey is kind of the same way. Only hockey fans watch hockey.''
Chris Rock in SI 9-26-05

I love this quote. So very true…

So the Avs lost last night. There were some bright spots in the game though. Budaj played so well. He made 30 saves on 32 shots with 16 minutes of being down a man. He really gave the Avs a chance to win it. Plus I am not completely convinced that the first goal scored by the Sharks, a crazy shot by Joe Thornton, was actually a goal. It hit the left post and appeared to just pop right off the post. There didn’t appear to be review of the goal. So I’m guessing the ref had a good view of it, but still, it just didn’t look like a goal.

Another good thing was Joe Sakic extended his point streak to 11 games, Andrew Brunette extended his point streak to 6 games, and Milan Hejduk extended his point streak to 5 games. This could also be seen as a bad thing, as the Avs don’t seem to be getting a whole lot of production from their three other lines.

Major problem: penalties! The Avs had 8 penalties for 16 minutes to the Sharks’ 2 penalties. The Avs managed to make it through a minute of 5-3 disadvantage during the second period. However, those 16 minutes really tired out the PK guys and made it that much harder for the Avs to win.

Other notes on the game: I got to see Matt Carle play for the first time since he signed with the Sharks after deciding to forego his senior year at DU. It was great! He looked pretty solid on the Power Play and in general. He was on the ice for 12 minutes and was a minus 1. It was really hard not to root for him because I think he is an amazing player and I’m so used to rooting for whatever team he is playing one!

At one point, Antti Laaksonan was handling the puck and Matt Carle was Defending against him and I just starting thinking about how special DU’s hockey program is…it was a great moment!

~Catie

Avs vs. Chicago Blackhawks 4-3

Last night the Avs played the Chicago Blackhawks in Denver. I was unable to see the game as I had to work, but I read all about it...from what I heard, the Avs played terrible and it was a complete miracle that they won at all! I'm so disappointed. I was looking for the Avs to bury the Blackhawks. Sure, Chicago doesn't really have anything, but their jobs, to lose so I should have taken that into account. But honestly, the Avs should have played a lot better. I can't know for sure, but it's my guess that a lot of the reason for the goals against the Avs went in is because of breakdowns in the D Corp.

I sometimes wonder about the D. I mean, Rob Blake is amazing, no two ways about it. John-Michael Liles can be okay, but I think he might have lost sight of his defensive core and has become too concerned with scoring goals, which he hasn't been doing lately. Brett Clark is a solid D-man but he's not Blake. Karlis Skrastins (or as I like to call him Scratch and Sniff) is also solid, but needs some work. Then we have my two least favorite, Bob Boughner (Booger as I like to call him) and Patrice Brisebois (Breeze-by as many Avs fans like to call him), both these guys just aren't pulling their weight. Booger is often a healthy scratch, while Breeze-by lives up to his name and just skates around getting in the way of the other Avs out there. Last we have Kurt Sauer, who spent most of the season with the Hershey Bears of the AHL on a conditioning assignment, meaning in the year of the NHL lockout, he didn't do anything...the loss of Ossi Vaananen has really hurt the D. For example, he hasn't played since the week before the Olympic break, in that time, he still has the second highest plus/minus on the team behind Milan Hejduk (+13), and tied with Joe Sakic (+10).

On the other hand, we need to have some defensively minded forwards. Brad May isn't helping anyone with is -13..

I hope that the team is not pleased with their performance last night and that they refocus their game for the Wednesday match-up with the San Jose Sharks. There is no way I am missing that game, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo, not to mention the return of Matt Carle to Denver since he decided to forego his senior season and signed with San Jose. Should be a great match up as they are coming off a win against Dallas.

~Catie

Hockey Awards

This is the time of year in college hockey when awards are handed out in bunches. Today, I'd like to weigh in a few of the awards recently given out.


I'm going to start with Inside College Hockey's annual awards. I highly respect this site and have to admit that I visit it several times a day. This year they selected DU's own Matt Carle as both the Player and Defensemen of the year. There's not enough anyone can say about the year that Matt Carle is having. Sure, DU didn't make it to the NCAA Regionals, hell they didn't even make it to the WCHA Final Five, but that is not Matt's fault. He put up stellar numbers all year long but it just wasn't enough. Matt also was named the WCHA Player of the Year and the WCHA Defensemen of the Year, a feat never which has never occurred before in the history of the WCHA. It was surprisingsuprising to anyone that after the NCAA Tournament Selection show, Matt announced that he had signed with the San Jose Sharks of the NHL. Thus far he has played three games, has two goals, and eight penalty minutes. Finally, Matt is one of the "Hobey Hat Trick," meaning he is one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Trophy. Good Luck Matt!

For Goalie of the Year, INCH chose Brian Elliott of Wisconsin, Cory Schnieder of BC as the runner up. This is a tough category, as sometimes truly great goaltenders play for teams that just can't seem to make it, like Bobby Goepfert of Saint Cloud State. I guess (though I hate to do it) I'm going to have to agree with INCH on this one, as Brian Elliott had a HUGE impact on Wisconsin this year, for example, when he was injured in January, the Badgers lost 5 in a row, AT HOME! If that isn't an impact, I don't know what is...

For Rookie of the Year, INCH chose Phil Kessel, that completely over-hyped Gopher from Wisconsin. Every time I saw him play, I was completely unwowed (now, I have to be straight and say that when I heard all this stuff coming into the season about him, I said to myself, "Catie, give this kid a chance, it's hard to be amazing during a freshman season with so many people watching. DON'T judge him!) So I didn't. Now looking back at the season, I just can't see what is so great about this kid, but maybe it was all the hype. I like the runner-up, TJ Oshie, much better. That kid can just flat out play! His stats may not have been as good as Kessel's, but he had an impact when it really mattered, he scored 2 goals in the NCAA regionals to help his team to go the Frozen Four. Whereas in the last three games of Minnesota's season, encompassing the WCHA Final Five semi and consolation games and the Semi game of the NCAA tournament, Kessel had two assists, and that was in the 7-8 overtime loss to Saint Cloud State.

Last but certainly not least, for coach of the year, INCH chose Bob Motzko of Saint Cloud State. I have to fully agree with INCH on this one. After the resignation of their previous coach, the team seemed to be standing on shaky ground. Motzko completely turned this team around, and they eventually became major contenders. They were so very close to attaining home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Then they managed to beat CC on their home ice to make it to the play-in game of the WCHA Final Five. They beat Minnesota-Duluth, and Minnesota in consecutive nights, then went on to play North Dakota for the chance to get an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament, their only chance of making it. They fell short but should be proud of their efforts. Motzko made a big impression in his first year and we should look for St. Cloud to be a true powerhouse next year.

I'm not going to go into the All-American teams because honestly, they don't mean a whole lot to me, not to mention, I'm not completely familiar with all of the players on the teams. If you're interested, go here: INCH Awards


Next, we'll move to USCHO.com's award winners.

Again, Matt Carle earned both Player and Defensemen of the Year honors. So all I have to say is if you don't know anything about him, go here: Carle for Hobey!

Enrico Blasi of Miami (Ohio) garnered Coach of the year honors, and I do believe he is quite deserving. Like Bob Motzko, he took a team that was predicted to do poorly (6th in the CCHA) and made it great. They were a REAL threat throughout the year. They completely dominated the CCHA, running away with the regular season title, but faltering during the playoffs.

Rookie of the Year Honors were split between Phil Kessel and Jeff Lerg of Michigan State. For info (ie my opinion) on Kessel, see above. I did get the chance to see Jeff Lerg play in net for Michigan State in the regional games against New Hampshire and Maine. He was able to shutout New Hampshire with 36 saves in 60 minutes. His team lost to Maine in the East final, in the final minute of the third period, Lerg was pulled as Michigan State was behind one point. Maine's Greg Moore scored an empty net goal for a score of 5-3 but with 5 seconds left in the game, Michigan State's Drew Miller scored for a final score of 5-4. A hard fought game.

Again, USCHO.com has All-American teams, as well as some other awards, go here: USCHO.com Awards


Now for the real live awards, the ones that when a player is in the NHL, showup on their past awards list. As I'm really only interested in the WCHA, that's all I'll be talking about.

WCHA Player of the Year
Matt Carle, Jr, D, University of Denver


WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year
Ted O'Leary, Sr, F, University of Denver


WCHA Defensive Player of the Year
Matt Carle, Jr, D, University of dDenver


WCHA Rookie of the Year
Phil Kessel, Fr, F, University of Minnesota


WCHA Coach of the Year
Don Lucia, University of Minnesota Bob Motzko, St. Cloud State University


WCHA Scoring Champion
Paul Stastny, So, F, University of Denver


WCHA Goaltending Champion
Brian Elliott, Jr, University of Wisconsin

Again, All-WCHA Teams, go here: WCHA Awards

All-Academic Team (must have completed at least a year [two semesters or three quarters] at present school and have a minimum 3.00 GPA on a 4.00 scale) has 92 members, for DU the following players received honors (those with * by their names are previous honorees):
University of Denver:
Zach Blom (Jr, D, Englewood, CO);
Matt Carle* (Jr, D, Anchorage, AK);
Steven Cook (Jr, F, Denver, CO);
J.D. Corbin* (Jr, F, Littleton, CO);
Glenn Fisher* (Jr, G, Edmonton, AB);
Ryan Helgason* (Jr, F, Woodbury, MN);
Jon James* (Jr, D, Arnold, MD);
Danny King* (Jr, G, Colorado Springs, CO);
Brock McMorris* (Jr, F, Cherry Hills, CO);
Ted O'Leary* (Sr, F, Arvada, CO);
Paul Stastny (So, F, St. Louis, MO);
Andrew Thomas (So, D, Bow, NH).

For complete coverage of the Awards Banquet, go here: WCHA Awards


~Catie

Avs at Calgary: 3-6

Oh this was just terrible to watch. In the first period, I thought the Avs really had a chance. They came out kind of flat, but picked it up as the period went on. Then Super Joe scored at 14:26. An amazing goal in a wide open net, completely fooled Kiprusoff...then 25 seconds late, Super Joe scored again, in a wide open net. His line (Brunette, Hejduk, Sakic) has a way of fooling everybody and leaving somebody wide open for an "easy" goal. The Avs took a 2-1 lead into the 1st intermission.
During this break, Peter McNab (aka the Devil incarnate) interviewed Propecia Joe. He was absolutely ADORABLE. I know, I know that word should not be applied to a hockey player, but truly, he was just too cute. Maybe cute is not the word. TOTALLY HOT!! He had on a suit with a button down shirt and no tie with the top buttons of his shirt opened...mmmm. It was a great interview too. I missed the very beginning, but he talked about finally getting the chance to skate today and how extremely excited he is to be playing for a "classy organization like the Avalanche." Now I know, he was prolly coached to say those things, but they seemed REALLY genuine. Honestly, I can't remember what else he said, cuz I was just too preoccupied with the look of him. He's got incredible eyes...anyways...
In the second period, the Avs just didn't play like they wanted to win. Again they came out flat and couldn't keep control of the puck. Calgary scored THREE unanswered goals in the second period. It was just terrible. Going into the second intermission, the score was 4-2, Calgary.
In the third period, things went from bad to worse. At one point the Avs had a 5 on 3 man advantage for a full minute and 26 seconds and they couldn't score!! I firmly believe that if a team can't score on a 5 on 3, they can't win a game, and it was proved tonight. Cody McCormick scored at 5:55 in the third to cut Calgary's lead to 2, but about three minutes later, Calgary scored again for a score of 5-3. The Avs lost any chance of making a comeback when a shitty call allowed a penalty shot for Calgary's Lombardi. It was such a dumb call. Yes there should have been a penalty because he was tripped but the trip didn't call for a penalty shot as Lombardi had a chance to get a shot off that Budaj made a clean save on. Needless to say, the shot went in 5 hole for the final score of 6-3. After the penalty shot, Budaj was pulled and Kolesnik (who hasn't played since March 9th, which is not his fault) was put in cold. He made one save that was really great.
All in all, I would not blame Budaj completely for the loss. Sure, he let in some flukey goals and he needs to work on closing his 5 hole as several of the goals went through there, but he was not supported by the D at all. He seems to be able to grab pucks out of the air quite well, also seems to see through screens well too. But when the opposing team is charging the net and being relentless on rebounds, while the D corp is busy trying to be offensive defensemen, Budaj is definitely going to have a hard time.
At any rate, having the next couple of days off should be helpful (although the team had not played since Tuesday before tonight), not to mention they will be playing at home on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks. While Chicago doesn't have a great record and has no chance of getting into the playoffs even if they won every one of their last games, they are still a dangerous team to play right now. They have nothing to lose...They showed this tonight by beating Dallas who stand in second place in the Western Conference. This is not team to be taken lightly. Hopefully the Avs will refocus a bit and be able to turn in a better performance in front of their home crowd on Monday.

~Catie