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Friday, May 18th, 2012
On a day where I highly praised the coaching skills of Todd Nelson, and suggested as Sportsnet’s Mark Spector implied, that the Oklahoma City Barons’ bench boss is a legitimate candidate for the Edmonton Oilers coaching vacancy, the Barons struggled mightily Thursday night in a terrible 5-0 loss to the Toronto Marlies in game one of the American Hockey League’s Western Conference Final.
Spruce Grove native Ben Scrivens made 31 saves for the Marlies. Marcel Mueller and Nicolas Deschamps each had a goal and an assist, while top Toronto Maple Leaf prospect Nazim Kadri and Philippe Dupuis each had two helpers.
Speaking of Scrivens, have we seen a better goaltender to come out of Spruce Grove since Grant Fuhr? I don’t think so.
It will be a short turn around for the Barons, the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, and the Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the teams will play game two of the series tonight in Oklahoma City.
Meanwhile in the Eastern Conference Final, the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning hammered the St. John’s IceCaps 6-1 in game one of their series.
Tags: ben scrivens, grant fuhr, marcel mueller, nazim kadri, nicolas deschmps, oklahoma city barons, philippe dupuis, todd nelson, toronto marlies
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Thursday, May 17th, 2012
Miroslav Satan (Dan Nicholas, Wikimedia Commons)
For the second straight season Team Canada had a great round robin in the World Hockey Championships, only to lose in the quarterfinals.
Last year it was Russia who was the opponent. This year it was a hmmmmm, Slovakia.
Despite having a 3-2 lead with only six minutes left, Canada could not hang on to the victory. Milan Bartovic tied the game at three and then Michal Handzus of the San Jose Sharks scored the game winning goal on the power play with captain Ryan Getzlaf in the penalty box serving a five minute major for kneeing.
Miroslav Satan, a former Edmonton Oiler, also scored for Slovakia, who advances to the semi-finals where they will play their nemesis, the Czech Republic in the semi-finals Saturday. Finland will play Russia in the other semi-final. The final takes place Sunday morning at 11:30am from Helsinki.
Canada got off to a slow start where they fell behind 2-0 early, but dominated the second before the wheels fell off in the third.
Tags: michal handzus, milan bartovic, miroslav satan, world hockey championships
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Thursday, May 17th, 2012
It’s not often you find a World Record set in Chestermere Lake, in the town just east of Calgary, but on Wednesday, local sports fans saw just that.
Forty local players played hockey for ten and a half straight days, 246 straight hours, to head into the record books, setting the mark for the longest hockey game ever played. The final score? Team Cure defeated Team Hope 4,178-3,845. Dave Shillington, who used to play for the Calgary Royals of the Alberta Junior Hockey League led the way with 524 goals.
But the real winners this past week was the Alberta Children’s Hospital, who received $1.4 million in donations.
NHL players also came out to show their support. Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla was in attendance for part of the contest, while former Flame Brendan Morrison helped out as a referee. The game was also attended by country music star Paul Brandt, who sang his hit song I Was There.
Tags: brendan morrison, dave shillington, guiness records, jarome iginla
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Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
Team Canada will not have Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Mark Methot when they play their quarterfinal game tomorrow against Slovakia at the World Hockey Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Methot was suspended one game for slamming Belarussian Yevgeni Kovyrshin into the boards in Canada’s 5-1 win over Belarus on Tuesday. The physicality in the game began when Andrei Kostitsyn hit Corey Perry from behind. Perry was ok, but Kostitsyn was given a five minute major and game misconduct.
Then after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made the score 4-1, another scrum immediately pursued.
Canada is actually lucky only to hear that Methot will be suspended because they could have easily lost Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs as well for a hitting from behind infraction. If they are going to win the tournament, they will simply have to be more disciplined.
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Tags: luke schenn, mark methot, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, ryan o'reilly, world hockey championships
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Friday, May 11th, 2012
Cam Ward (Wikimedia Commons)
After rather a slow start in the World Hockey Championships in Helsinki, Team Canada got back on track today with a huge 5-3 win over the host Finns.
This game was a tale of two separate games. Finland dominated the first half of the contest and Canada dominated the second half. The big difference? It was clearly Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Cam Ward who had 35 saves, and made some of the remarkable variety.
Offensively, Team Canada was led by Jeff Skinner, John Tavares and Duncan Keith who each had two points. Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Evander Kane scored the game winning goal in the third period.
One area where Team Canada must improve is their special teams. Despite the 4-0-1 record (only loss came in overtime to the Americans last weekend), their penalty killing so far has been weak and their power play is disorganized. But what did a Brent Sutter coached team do on the power play all year this past season? Nothing! Sorry Flames fans.
Even though Team Canada will probably be in first place once the round robin finishes, don’t forget they finished in first place last year with an undefeated record and then lost to Russia in the quarterfinals.
Tags: duncan keith, evander kane, Jeff Skinner, john tavares, world hockey championships
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Friday, May 11th, 2012
The Canadian media may final pay attention a little bit more to the American Hockey League’s Western Conference Final.
Gosh, golly, gee? Could a network care enough to actually broadcast one or more of the games? Could The Score possibly step up and bring some quality programming for once?
I’m not sure, but you can stay in tune to www.anysportanytime.ca for complete recaps and analysis of the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers) and the Toronto Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs) which will start Thursday.
Friday night in San Antonio, the Barons defeated the Rampage (AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers) 4-3 to win the best-out-of-seven series 4-1 in the Western Conference Semi-Final.
The Barons and Rampage each scored a goal in the second period and two goals in the third period. So what was the difference? Well it was Mark Acrobello’s lone first period goal. Ryan Keller also had a huge impact in this one, scoring the game winning goal for the Barons on the power play with 2:06 left.
Tags: Edmonton Oilers, florida panthers, mark acrobello, oklahoma city barons, ryan keller, san antonio rampage, toronto maple leafs, toronto marlies
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Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
Chris Vandevelde (Wikimedia Commons)
The Oklahoma City Barons, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, took a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals of the Calder Cup playoffs on Monday night.
For the second straight game, the Barons won in overtime. Chris VandeVelde scored at 15:50 of overtime as the Barons defeated the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Josh Green scored the overtime winner for Oklahoma City on Saturday night to even the series.
Anton Lander opened the scoring for the Barons 1:18 into the first period of play before the Rampage tied the game at one with 8:54 left in the third period. The Barons dominated the play in the first period, outshooting the Rampage 10-3.
Yann Danis, who is one of the best goalies in the AHL, made 25 saves for Oklahoma City. The series continues on Thursday with game four.
Meanwhile, the Abbotsford Heat/Toronto Marlies series continues tonight with game four. Toronto leads 2-1.
Tags: abbotsford heat, anton lander, chris vandevelde, josh green, oklahoma city barons, san antonio rampage, toronto marlies, yann danis
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Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
Derek Morris (Michael Wifall, Wikimedia Commons)
The Phoenix Coyotes are going to their very first Western Conference Final in franchise history.
On Monday night, the Coyotes defeated the Nashville Predators 2-1 in game five of the Western Conference Semi-Final.
Defenceman Derek Morris, a former Calgary Flame who was born in Edmonton, got the Coyotes on the board early in the second period and then over ten minutes later Martin Hanzal put the Coyotes up 2-0.
Another area where Phoenix dominated was in the faceoff circle. Antoine Vermette and Boyd Gordon went a combined 24-8.
The Coyotes continued to get good news off the ice as well. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced plans are in place to sell the team to former San Jose Sharks Chief Executive Officer Greg Jamison.
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Tags: antoine vermette, boyd gordon, brad richards, derek morris, gary bettman, greg jamison, marc staal, martian hanzal, mike smith, nashville predators, new york rangers, phoenix coyotes, ray whitney, shane doan, washington capitals, winnipeg jets
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Sunday, May 6th, 2012
I'll Have Another (Wikimedia Commons)
When I’ll Have Another won the 2012 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, many Canadians rejoiced.
Why? Well, because I’ll Have Another had significant Canadian connections. First the horse was owned by J. Paul Reddam of Windsor, Ontario and its jockey was Mexican Mario Gutierrez who has spent significant amount of time riding and training in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I’ll Have Another’s odds were 15-1 heading into the race and in the early going seemed to struggle but had an excellent finish and breezed past pre-race co-favourite Bodemeister in front of a record crowd of 165, 307 fans.
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Tags: affirmed, bodemeister, i'll have another, j.paul reddam, kentucky derby, mario gutierrez
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Sunday, May 6th, 2012
For the second time on Saturday, a Green scored the game winning goal.
Last night, Josh Green followed up Mike Green’s game winner for the Washington Capitals, with a game winning goal of his own as the Oklahoma City Barons, the top minor-league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, defeated the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in overtime.
The Western Conference Semi-Final series is now tied 1-1. The Rampage are the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers.
Several Barons had multi-point games. Green and Magnus Paajarvi each scored a goal and an assist, while defencemen Bryan Rodney and Dylan Yeo and right winger Tyler Pitlick each had two assists. Defenceman Alex Plante was also strong as he was a +3.
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Tags: abbotsford heat, ahl, alex plante, bryan rodney, dylan yeo, josh green, magnus paajarvi, oklahoma city barons, san antonio rampage, toronto marlies, tyler pitlick
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Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
The Edmonton Oil Kings have got off to a strong start in their Eastern Conference Final in the Western Hockey League.
Jordan Peddle scored the game winning goal shorthanded as the Oil Kings defeated the Portland Winterhawks 3-2 to take a 1-0 series lead. Rhett Rachinski also had a multi-point game for the Oil Kings as he scored a goal and an assist as well.
The Oil Kings had a commanding 3-0 lead before the Winterhawks made things interesting with two late second period goals, one by Calgary Flames draft pick Sven Bartschi.
It will be interesting to see how Airdrie native Ty Rattie plays in game two for Portland. He got hit hard in game one and took a lot of time to get back up.
Meanwhile, the news wasn’t as good for the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City. The Barons lost 6-4 to the San Antonio Rampage in game one of the Western Conference Semi-Final.
Tags: Edmonton Oil Kings, jordan peddle, oklahoma city barons, portland winterhawks, rhett rachinski, san antonio rampage, sven bartschi, ty rattie
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Friday, April 27th, 2012
David Perron (Matthieu Masquelet, Wikimedia Commons)
Round Two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs gets underway this weekend with the Conference Semi-Finals about to begin.
The series I will be most interested in is the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings. Can Darryl Sutter incorporate a similar game plan to shock the Blues like he did the Vancouver Canucks? The Blues looked great in beating the San Jose Sharks in five games and look even more dangerous in the playoffs than they did in the regular season because they are very healthy. Andy McDonald, Alexander Steen and David Perron, who all missed considerable time during the regular season, combined for 14 playoff points in five games.
As for the Kings, captain Dustin Brown was their best player against the Canucks. He led the team with five points and was very physical along the way.
Game one is Saturday night at 5:30pm on TSN. My pick is Blues in five. Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
Saturday–ATP–Barcelona Open Semi-Finals–(3) David Ferrer–ESP vs. (11) Milos Raonic–CAN–5:30am–Sportsnet One–Milos Raonic won the match of his career on Friday, defeating Andy Murray of Great Britain in straight sets in the Barcelona Open quarterfinals. On Saturday, he will try and defeat another elite player in Spain’s David Ferrer. The Spaniard is 3-0 against Raonic including a victory in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2011. Spaniards Fernando Verdasco is playing Rafael Nadal in the other semi-final.
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Tags: alexander ovechkin, alexander steen, andy mcdonald, boston red sox, brad richards, chicago white sox, darryl sutter, david ferrer, david ortiz, david perron, dustin brown, fernando verdasco, kyle lohse, los angeles kings, milos raonic, milwaukee brewers, nashville predators, new jersey devils, new york rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, phoenix coyotes, RAFAEL NADAL, ray whitney, st. louis blues, st. louis cardinals, tampa bay lightning, washington capitals
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Friday, April 27th, 2012
Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins may have been the more high profile rookies in the Calder Trophy chase this season, but at the end of the day both of them would like to be in the shoes of Adam Henrique of the New Jersey Devils right now.
Henrique, who is considered by many as the third man in the Calder Trophy race, scored twice in game seven against the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 double overtime victory. Now the Devils are facing the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final while the New York Rangers are facing the Washington Capitals.
Henrique also becomes the first player since Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings in 1996 to score a goal in double overtime of game seven of a playoff series.
The other Devil to score last night was Stephen Gionta, younger brother of Montreal Canadiens’ Captain Brian Gionta. Stephen Gionta now has more career playoff goals (2) than he has career regular season goals over the last two seasons (1).
Tags: adam henrique, Gabriel Landeskog, new jersey devils, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, stephen gionta, steve yzerman
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Thursday, April 26th, 2012
This week the people of Edmonton had an opportunity to see proposed new designs of the possible downtown rink.
It’s possible because nothing has been finalized yet. Despite all the bickering by the city of Edmonton and the Katz Group, still no arena has come to fruition. Where the $100 million that is needed is still up for debate. Who knows, by the time all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, it could cost more than the $450 million estimate– much more.
According to the Canadian Press, the arena will have a futuristic look and shape. There have already been comparisons made to a boomerang. The arena will also be made of steel and glass.
For now though we know PCL has been named as the construction company that will build the arena. According to CBC News, the city of Edmonton and Katz are waiting on a maximum cost estimate on how much the arena will cost to build. But until there is a guarantee that the arena will be built, everything else, including the cool designs, are just rumors.
Tags: Edmonton Oilers
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On a day where I highly praised the coaching skills of Todd Nelson, and suggested as Sportsnet’s Mark Spector implied, that the Oklahoma City Barons’ bench boss is a legitimate candidate for the Edmonton Oilers coaching vacancy, the Barons struggled mightily Thursday night in a terrible 5-0 loss to the Toronto Marlies in game one of the American Hockey League’s Western Conference Final.
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