Just caught wind of a Twitter contest the NHL is hosting this Saturday. With all 30 teams playing, the NHL is giving away a trip for two to any regular season NHL game if you can correctly guess the winners of all 15 games. Only one person will win, and the Winter Classic at Fenway doesn't count. I guess we can't have everything.
Info on how to enter is in the above link. Check it out. Oh - and St. Louis will beat Detroit that night.
9.29.2009
9.16.2009
8.20.2009
It's Official
Even though we knew it was coming for a few weeks now, the BU-BC match-up at Fenway is officially a go. January 8th will feature a 4:00pm women's game between UNH & Northeastern preceding the 7:30pm face-off.As if this didn't feel enough like an early Christmas, apparently tickets will start as low as $5.00. $5.00. God only knows where those seats will be, but I will take that offer any day of the week.
8.15.2009
LinkNation
I read a ton of great hockey stuff everyday, so why not share it? I figure it's a good way to keep things going here during the off-season. Check 'em:
+ Coyote Ugly: A Call for 10 Depositions (James Mirtle)
Mirtle is a go-to guy for anything hockey. He's been doing an awesome job covering the whole Coyotes mess. It's where I go to try and make sense of it all.
+ Pens Universe Preseason Top 20 (Pens Universe)
A look at some of the top prospects in the system. For the most part I agree with the rankings. I would move Strait up a spot or two; Rummel is absolutely right when he says Brian's game is simple and solid, but it's also very smart. Then again, that's at the college level. I think he'll have no problem adjusting after a little while.
I'd also relax a bit with the Thiessen 'overtaking Curry by the end of the season' remark. I like Thiessen a lot, but I still think he has some maturing to do (as most goalies do when they transition). Curry beats him out by a mile there. That extra year at Northeastern would not have hurt Thiessen, but oh well. What can ya do. He'll be alright.
+ BC-BU Hockey a go at Fenway (Boston Herald)
January 8th is the magic date. It will be unbelievable. My only complaint: BC would be the 'home team'. Um, Fenway is pretty much ON the BU campus. So that really makes no sense. But whatevs. I think I'll be as nervous for this game as I was in the playoffs.
Hey -- remember when BU was down 3-1 but scored three goals in 59 seconds to push the NCAA championship game to OT? And then they won in OT? Unbelievable.
+ The Hockey News' AHL Jersey Rankings (The Hockey News)
Ugh, who picked these this year?! Okay, I agree with the first three. They're cool. But then it's all downhill from there. I would get into it, but I'm not even sure where to begin.
+ AHL Regular Season Schedule (The AHL)
DO IT PENS. Even if you did lose pretty much all of your offense.
+ The Replacements (Empty Netters)
A look at who might replace Talbot while he's out for the first two months.
+ War Simulation Puts Ducks' Battles in Perspective (OC Register)
Bobby Ryan & George Parros (how can you not love that guy?) visited Fort Irwin and got to see what it's like over in Iraq. Love seeing them do this stuff. Helps them see how really, really, really lucky they are.
+ Coyote Ugly: A Call for 10 Depositions (James Mirtle)
Mirtle is a go-to guy for anything hockey. He's been doing an awesome job covering the whole Coyotes mess. It's where I go to try and make sense of it all.
+ Pens Universe Preseason Top 20 (Pens Universe)
A look at some of the top prospects in the system. For the most part I agree with the rankings. I would move Strait up a spot or two; Rummel is absolutely right when he says Brian's game is simple and solid, but it's also very smart. Then again, that's at the college level. I think he'll have no problem adjusting after a little while.
I'd also relax a bit with the Thiessen 'overtaking Curry by the end of the season' remark. I like Thiessen a lot, but I still think he has some maturing to do (as most goalies do when they transition). Curry beats him out by a mile there. That extra year at Northeastern would not have hurt Thiessen, but oh well. What can ya do. He'll be alright.
+ BC-BU Hockey a go at Fenway (Boston Herald)
January 8th is the magic date. It will be unbelievable. My only complaint: BC would be the 'home team'. Um, Fenway is pretty much ON the BU campus. So that really makes no sense. But whatevs. I think I'll be as nervous for this game as I was in the playoffs.
Hey -- remember when BU was down 3-1 but scored three goals in 59 seconds to push the NCAA championship game to OT? And then they won in OT? Unbelievable.
+ The Hockey News' AHL Jersey Rankings (The Hockey News)
Ugh, who picked these this year?! Okay, I agree with the first three. They're cool. But then it's all downhill from there. I would get into it, but I'm not even sure where to begin.
+ AHL Regular Season Schedule (The AHL)
DO IT PENS. Even if you did lose pretty much all of your offense.
+ The Replacements (Empty Netters)
A look at who might replace Talbot while he's out for the first two months.
+ War Simulation Puts Ducks' Battles in Perspective (OC Register)
Bobby Ryan & George Parros (how can you not love that guy?) visited Fort Irwin and got to see what it's like over in Iraq. Love seeing them do this stuff. Helps them see how really, really, really lucky they are.
8.04.2009
Janne Goes to Russia
Call it inevitable I guess. Janne Pesonen has reportedly signed with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL. I don't blame him.
The guy got screwed. He did not get a fair chance -- not even from Bylsma. I won't get into it here; look up my other posts on Pesonen for my in-depth feelings (particularly this one and this one).
Bottom line is the guy could have easily played in the NHL. Not only that -- he could have been great. He wasn't a huge guy, but my God those hands. Wow.
KHL wins this one.
The guy got screwed. He did not get a fair chance -- not even from Bylsma. I won't get into it here; look up my other posts on Pesonen for my in-depth feelings (particularly this one and this one).
Bottom line is the guy could have easily played in the NHL. Not only that -- he could have been great. He wasn't a huge guy, but my God those hands. Wow.
KHL wins this one.
7.22.2009
A Hero Returns to North America
Huge, huge news for Baby Pens fans coming from Jonathan Bombulie over at the Penguins Insider. Word on the street is that Andy Chiodo is about to sign with the Binghamton Senators. Yes, THEE Andy Chiodo. This one:
Yes, the Andy Chiodo who watched every other goalie get a shot at playoff games before he had to come in and save the day. And I mean, literally save the day. The guy who became a hero in WBS. The guy who survived by working hard, not just on pure skill.
There are certain players that Baby Pens' fans will never forget. The list starts like this: 1. Dennis Bonvie 2. Andy Chiodo. You can argue that John Slaney and Tom Kostopoulos might come before Chiodo. I put them after.
And now he's back. Not with the Baby Pens unfortunately, but with a team close enough that he'll be playing in the Wachovia Arena a handful of times during the season.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Chiodo, he was a Baby Pen for three seasons. He was typically the back-up, and his regular season numbers were good -- nothing spectacular but not bad. He even saw action in eight games for Pittsburgh. His moment of glory came during the playoffs. My God was he a playoff goaltender. Maybe the best I've ever seen.
In the 2004 Calder Cup playoffs, WBS faced Bridgeport in the first round. Michel Therrien gave both Marc-Andre Fleury and Sebastien Caron a shot before Chiodo. The Pens went down 3-games-to-1. Therrien decided to give Chiodo a shot, and magic happened. WBS won that series in OT of Game 7 -- after Chiodo made some heart-stopping (seriously, I think my heart stopped) saves throughout the series. They went all the way to the finals that year. They lost, but it was still a great ride.
The same thing happened in the postseason the following year. Chiodo didn't get the initial start, but he ended up on top. The Baby Pens defeated a stacked Binghamton Sens team (we're talking Spezza, Vermette, etc) in the first round. He was so much fun to watch, and he earned every bit of recognition and praise he got. Unfortunately, no one else gave him a shot after his third year here. He packed up and headed to Finland.
Bombulie mentions the response he'll receive when he returns to Wilkes-Barre. He thinks it will be lukewarm because people forget. This is true. People do forget. But those that saw him play through those playoff series will not. And they will be on their feet when he steps out on that ice.
Welcome back Chico.
Yes, the Andy Chiodo who watched every other goalie get a shot at playoff games before he had to come in and save the day. And I mean, literally save the day. The guy who became a hero in WBS. The guy who survived by working hard, not just on pure skill.
There are certain players that Baby Pens' fans will never forget. The list starts like this: 1. Dennis Bonvie 2. Andy Chiodo. You can argue that John Slaney and Tom Kostopoulos might come before Chiodo. I put them after.
And now he's back. Not with the Baby Pens unfortunately, but with a team close enough that he'll be playing in the Wachovia Arena a handful of times during the season.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Chiodo, he was a Baby Pen for three seasons. He was typically the back-up, and his regular season numbers were good -- nothing spectacular but not bad. He even saw action in eight games for Pittsburgh. His moment of glory came during the playoffs. My God was he a playoff goaltender. Maybe the best I've ever seen.
In the 2004 Calder Cup playoffs, WBS faced Bridgeport in the first round. Michel Therrien gave both Marc-Andre Fleury and Sebastien Caron a shot before Chiodo. The Pens went down 3-games-to-1. Therrien decided to give Chiodo a shot, and magic happened. WBS won that series in OT of Game 7 -- after Chiodo made some heart-stopping (seriously, I think my heart stopped) saves throughout the series. They went all the way to the finals that year. They lost, but it was still a great ride.
The same thing happened in the postseason the following year. Chiodo didn't get the initial start, but he ended up on top. The Baby Pens defeated a stacked Binghamton Sens team (we're talking Spezza, Vermette, etc) in the first round. He was so much fun to watch, and he earned every bit of recognition and praise he got. Unfortunately, no one else gave him a shot after his third year here. He packed up and headed to Finland.
Bombulie mentions the response he'll receive when he returns to Wilkes-Barre. He thinks it will be lukewarm because people forget. This is true. People do forget. But those that saw him play through those playoff series will not. And they will be on their feet when he steps out on that ice.
Welcome back Chico.
7.21.2009
Pens Sign Johnson
Pittsburgh went ahead and signed goaltender Brent Johnson to a one-year, one-way contract. Decent signing. The Pens needed a back-up, and he's a back-up. I'm not sure I have much more to say on that front. It's about exciting to me as the headline I went with.
Seth Rorabaugh over at the Post-Gazette mentioned Johnson being "solid insurance should the unproven John Curry not be up to the task of being Fleury's backup next season," but I think the signing counts Curry out altogether. Johnson signed a one-way. I could be wrong, but I'm not sure how good Pitt would feel about paying an NHL contract at the AHL level. No organization is a huge fan of doing that. It's happened before, and it can happen again, but I think Curry is looking at another year in the A. Then again, he has surprised people his whole life. He could have a stellar camp and win the spot.
I like Johnson. Nothing against him. I'm protective over Curry (as you all know already), and I was hoping he'd get a solid chance at the back-up spot next year. But you know what? Another year will be good for him. I actually think it'd be better. He can really fine tune his game and work out some kinks.
Photo.
7.13.2009
Good For Some Laughs
The Two-Line Pass over at Puck Daddy just had me laughing with this week's What We Learned post. I thought it was worth noting. Especially with:
Okay, so I didn't laugh at this. But it is true: he IS the handsomest man in hockey.
Check out the post for more laughs ... because it's all true.
Evander Kane was apparently a beast at Thrashers rookie camp this weekend. He scored in the first scrimmage of the weekend, had the lowest body fat (4.1 percent), won the push-up contest and (55) but only came in second during fastest skater. Which means this draft was another total failure. Way to go, Waddell.
The Handsomest Man in Hockey, Colin Wilson, will probably start his pro career in the AHL. No shock there.
The Flames got their new enforcer: Brian McGrattan(notes). I believe this brings Calgary's total number of Edmonton natives and former Coyotes and/or Panthers to an even 600.
Check out the post for more laughs ... because it's all true.
7.07.2009
AHL Division Realignment
The AHL released its division realignments today. The East Division (arguably one of the top two divisions year in and year out) will now look like this:
Adirondack Phantoms
Albany River Rats
Binghamton Senators
Hershey Bears
Norfolk Admirals
Syracuse Crunch
WBS Penguins
They moved Bridgeport out of the East and stuck them in the Atlantic with teams like Worcester, Providence and Hartford. I'll miss the Sound Tigers being in the East; a mini rivalry has developed between them and the Pens after some unreal playoff battles between the two. Then again, they're usually a pretty good team. Maybe I won't miss them that much.
Syracuse is moved in. This makes sense. They've been in the Western Conference for the past few seasons, and it seemed silly since they're only an hour and a half up Interstate 81 from WBS.
Albany River Rats
Binghamton Senators
Hershey Bears
Norfolk Admirals
Syracuse Crunch
WBS Penguins
They moved Bridgeport out of the East and stuck them in the Atlantic with teams like Worcester, Providence and Hartford. I'll miss the Sound Tigers being in the East; a mini rivalry has developed between them and the Pens after some unreal playoff battles between the two. Then again, they're usually a pretty good team. Maybe I won't miss them that much.
Syracuse is moved in. This makes sense. They've been in the Western Conference for the past few seasons, and it seemed silly since they're only an hour and a half up Interstate 81 from WBS.
Barack <3's Ovechkin
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