Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Monday Spreadsheet



NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Pittsburgh 2, Detroit 1 SO
At Washington 3, Tampa Bay 2
At Florida 2, N.Y. Islanders 0
Los Angeles 3, at New Jersey 2
Phoenix 4, at Dallas 2
N.Y. Rangers 3, at Colorado 1
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Norfolk 2, at Bridgeport 1 SO
At Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3, Manitoba 1
Lowell 4, at Worcester 3 OT
At Toronto 4, Lake Erie 2
At Providence 6, Springfield 0
At Hershey 6, Binghamton 1
Hamilton 3, at Milwaukee 2
At Rochester 2, Adirondack 1
Texas 2, at Peoria 1 SO
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Charlotte 3, at Johnstown 2
At Wheeling 5, South Carolina 3
Toledo 5, at Elmira 4 OT
Gwinnett 3, at Reading 2
At Stockton 3, Alaska 1
Idaho 5, at Ontario 2
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Quebec 7, Rouyn-Noranda 5
At Rimouski 6, Baie-Comeau 2
At Drummondville 3, Lewiston 1
At Chicoutimi 5, Montreal 4
At Acadie-Bathurst 6, Val-d'Or 5 SO
At Cape Breton 5, Victoriaville 3
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Sudbury 4, at Brampton 3 SO
Sault Ste. Marie 3, at Mississauga 1
Kingston 5, at Niagara 1
At Winnipeg 4, Sarnia 1
Ottawa 6, at Oshawa 2
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Calgary 3, Tri-City 0
At Edmonton 5, Prince Albert 4 OT
Kelowna 2, at Seattle 1 OT
Portland 4, at Vancouver 3
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
Sioux Falls 8, at Youngstown 3
At Team USA 5, Indiana 2
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.

Burke Adjusts the Storyline in Toronto



You have to admit that the royal suit worn by Don Cherry in the Coach's Corner segment last night was his most tasteful ensemble yet. Scary, but true.

Too bad there was so much time spent discussing life in Stratford, Ontario, during the Hotstove portion of the show, because it would have been nice to hear more about the moves that were being made by Brian Burke in Toronto.

Dion Phaneuf is coming from the Calgary Flames to the Maple Leafs. J.S. Giguere is leaving the Anaheim Ducks to help the Monster in Toronto. The Toronto Globe and Mail doesn't publish a paper on Sundays, but that doesn't stop them from putting out a full report when news happens.

Burke told David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail that the moves were made to break up the country club feeling of privilege that exists in Toronto.

Well, I don't know about Mr. Burke, but perhaps his team would feel less like the entitled class if the team wasn't granted the royal status on "Hockey Night in Canada," which usually schedules the Maple Leafs in the regal 7 pm Eastern time slot.

On Saturday, a very hot Ottawa team played host to Montreal in the afternoon slot. Sometimes, neither Ottawa nor Montreal merit a national audience on CBC, that is, unless they are playing the Leafs. (Francophones can catch the Habs nationally on RDS; Radio-Canada, the French television branch of the CBC, surrendered "La Soirée du Hockey" in 2002.)



Toronto is the center of the hockey universe, at least that is what we hear out of Toronto. Other teams that move from the end of the line to the middle are just that, middling teams. But when the Leafs move from the rear to a seat somewhere between the last row and the front row, they become contenders. That is what Burke is working against.

In Eric Duhatschek's thumbs up review of the Burke moves, he looks back at the 1992 Calgary-Toronto swap that included Doug Gilmour.

Gilmour’s presence turned the Leafs from a laughingstock into a contender.


He made them better, but a Cup contender? Well, they did lose to the Los Angeles Kings in the Campbell Conference finals in 1993. But contender should mean more than that. It should mean a contender to win the Cup from the start of the season through to the playoffs, not just in years when the really good teams are upset early and only the middling teams remain to win the Cup.

The good thing to come out of Burke's moves is that the Maple Leafs are now a more interesting team to watch the rest of the season.

The Sunday Spreadsheet

The Lounge would like to introduce the daily spreadsheet, which will put the results from the National Hockey League, the top two minor leagues, the top four junior leagues and the top six NCAA leagues, all on one platter for you to consume.

Did you see something about your team that you liked, hated. Is there something others should know about a particular player, coach. Click on the comment icon and leave a note for others to read as they dig through the daily spreadsheet.

NHL
At Philadelphia 2, N.Y. Islanders 1
At Ottawa 3, Montreal 2 OT
Los Angeles 3, at Boston 2 SO
Vancouver 5, at Toronto 3
At Carolina 4, Chicago 2
Columubus 3, at St. Louis 2 OT
At Nashville 4, Atlanta 3
At Phoenix 3, N.Y. Rangers 2
At Calgary 6, Edmonton 1
At San Jose 5, Minnesota 2
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AHL
Rochester 2, at Toronto 0
Norfolk 2, at Adirondack 1
Rockford 3, at Grand Rapids 2
Manchester 2, at Hartford 0
At Hershey 8, Albany 3
At Portland 2, Bridgeport 1
Manitoba 6, at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4
San Antonio 5, at Lake Erie 3
Providence 8, at Springfield 2
At Syracuse 5, Binghamton 1
Hamilton 3, at Chicago 2 SO
Houston 5, at Peoria 4 SO
At Texas 4, Abbotsford 2
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

ECHL
Toledo 7, at Johnstown 4
At Reading 3, Charlotte 1
Trenton 6, at Florida
At Kalamazoo 6, Cincinnati 3
At Elmira 7, Gwinnett 5
At Wheeling 4, South Carolina 3 OT
At Utah 3, Las Vegas 1
Idaho 3, Bakersfield 2
At Ontario 5, Alaska 2
Victoria 1, at Stockton 0 SO
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.

QMJHL
At Shawinigan 3, Halifax 2
At Prince Edward Island 4, Acadie-Bathurst 2
At Saint John 11, Val-d'Or 0
At Cape Breton 4, Victoriaville 2
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

OHL
At Erie 6, Kingston 1
At Peterborough 3, Ottawa 1
Sault Ste. Marie 6, at Belleville 0
At Plymouth 6, London 1
At Saginaw 4, Sarnia 2
At Barrie 5, Kitchener 2
At Owen Sound 3, Guelph 2 OT
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

WHL
At Moose Jaw 4, Regina 1
Saskatoon 7, at Swift Current 4
Prince Albert 5, at Lethbridge 1
At Red Deer 5, Edmonton 0
At Kelowna 7, Medicine Hat 2
At Portland 6, Seattle 2
Kootenay 4, at Spokane 3
At Vancouver 7, Prince George 4
At Everett 2, Kamloops 1
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

USHL
At Team USA 10, Waterloo 2
At Indiana 4, Chicago 3
Green Bay 7, at Des Moines 4
Fargo 2, at Lincoln 1
Cedar Rapids 3, at Omaha 2 SO
At Tri-City 3, Sioux City 1
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

AHA
Air Force 3, at Army 3 OT
Sacred Heart 3, at Connecticut 2
Bentley 5, at RIT 4
Standings, summaries and recaps are here.

ECAC
Union 2, at Brown 2 OT
Princeton 5, at Dartmouth 3
St. Lawrence 3, at Colgate 2 OT
RPI 4, at Yale 0
At Cornell 5, Clarkson 3
Standings, summaries and recaps are here.

HE
At New Hampshire 4, Merrimack 3 OT
Massachusetts 4, at Providence 1
Maine 4, at Vermont 4 OT
Standings, summaries and recaps are here.

CHA
At Bemidji State 5, Robert Morris 1
At Albama Huntsville 3, Niagara 2
Standings and summaries are here.

CCHA
At Notre Dame 3, Nebraska Omaha 2
At Miami 2, Western Michigan 1
At Northern Michigan 3, Alaska 2
Michigan 5, Michigan State 4 at Detroit
Ferris State 3, Ohio State 3 (Ferris State wins shootout)
Standings, summaries and recaps are here.

WCHA
At Alaska Anchorage 2, Minnesota 1
Minnesota State 3, at Michigan Tech 2
At Colorado College 6, St. Cloud State 4
At Minnesota Duluth 4, Wisconsin 0
Denver 4, at North Dakota 2
Standings, summaries and recaps are here.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

The Neighbors Are Having a Party



I guess you could say I have grown tired of the annual triple helping of Canadiana that is served by the CBC on Hockey Day in Canada.

Fortunately for the Lounge, the New York Islanders-Philadelphia Flyers game came at 1 Eastern, giving me an excuse to see Ron MacLean of "Hockey Night in Canada" wrap himself in the flag and spin his cotton candy odes to the land that gave us hockey.

Believe me, I appreciate Canada's bond with the game and it's important role in providing the National Hockey League with talent. But after a few years, this celebration has grown as old as the Super Bowl Sunday programming that surrounds the actual game in the United States.

The CBC production, which is being broadcast today on the NHL Network in the United States, seems more like a blanket to cover some apparent insecurities Canada has about its game.

Insulated from the United States, Russia or any other outside force, the Hockey Day celebration is Montreal vs. Ottawa, Vancouver vs. Toronto and Edmonton vs. Calgary. Many weekends out of the year, that is pretty much the same schedule on "HNiC."

For me, I'll drop in every now and then to catch the action on "HNiC." Still, every day is Hockey Day in New York here in the Lounge. College, juniors, pro, if I can find it I will watch or listen to it. Every one is welcome.

Thanks for dropping in.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At New Jersey 5, Toronto 4 OT
At Washington 4, Florida 1
At Buffalo 2, Boston 1
Anaheim 2, at Tampa Bay 1 SO
At Detroit 4, Nashville 2
At Dallas 3, Colorado 2
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
The standings are here.
The summaries are here.

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The scores are here.
Atlantic Hockey standings are here.
College Hockey America standings are here.
Hockey East standings are here.
ECAC standings are here.
CCHA standings are here.
WCHA standings are here.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Making Up for Lost Time



Too sick for hockey. I had never uttered that one before. Put it in the books.

Jan. 27 and Jan. 28. Turned the set on. Focused on the game. Head began to hurt. Eyes began to hurt. The set goes off.

Darkness. Relief.

What did I miss? The Chicago Blackhawks building a big lead, losing it and then winning in overtime against the San Jose Sharks. The Atlanta Thrashers waiting until the third period to come alive and snuff the Philadelphia Flyers. The New York Rangers taking another beating, this time at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Actually, the last one I started to watch. But I felt as bad as the Rangers. I had the luxury of leaving the scene of the accident. The Rangers had to stay for the duration.

After two days off, I am ready to resume my spot behind the bar in the Lounge. We're going to have Toronto/New Jersey on the main screen starting at 7 pm Eastern, but the the college game takes over the main screen at 8:30, with Denver facing North Dakota on the NHL Network.

Reminds me of time last year. I was feeling good on a Friday evening, running from the office to Grand Central Terminal. Made the eight-block commute safely without incident, and I headed to the lower concourse for my train. Two strides down the wide ramp, I noticed a guy in his NoDak gear (cap and sweatshirt) as he and his girlfriend (wife, friends??) were preparing to order from the To Go window at the Oyster Bar.

Well, the little Pioneers fan in me (I grew up in Colorado at a time when Keith Magnuson and the DU Pie-Ohs ruled the NCAA scene in the late 1960s) emerged in a devilish smile and a desire to slam that NoDak wearin-soup slurpin' guy right into the glass at the Oyster Bar. His body was turned slightly toward me, so it would have been a legal hit. OK, on the ice it would have been a legal hit.

I had to pass it up. But if that NoDak guy walks into Lounge tonight, he's gonna get hit. No question.

For those who want to watch more college hockey, the Big Ten Network will have the Michigan at Michigan State game tonight at 7 Eastern. The CBS College Sports channel will have Nebraska-Omaha at Notre Dame at 8 Eastern. The Denver-North Dakota game can also be seen nationally on the Fox College Sports Central channel at 8:30.

Wouldn't you know it, the Lounge gets all of those channels, as well as the NHL Center Ice package, the NHL Network, Versus, MSG, MSG-Plus and MSG-Plus2. Is this a great country or what? Let's watch some hockey.

THURSDAY'S SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Atlanta 4, at Philadelphia 3
Ottawa 4, at Pittsburgh 1
At Carolina 4, N.Y. Islanders 1
Los Angeles 4, at Columbus 1
Minnesota 1, at Colorado 0
At Phoenix 3, Calgary 2 SO
St. Louis 2, at Edmonton 1
Chicago 4, at San Jose 3 OT
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

WEDNESDAY'S SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Buffalo 2, New Jersey 1 SO
Carolina 5, at N.Y. Rangers 1
At Washington 5, Anaheim 1
At Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 0
At Minnesota 5, Detroit 2
At Dallas 4, Calgary 3 SO
At Vancouver 3, St. Louis 2
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

It Only Hurts When I Breathe



On the DL, Day 2.

Good thing I am not under consideration for any Olympic team. I am taking any cold medicine, pain reliever or strange brew that can get me through this period. If they make it, I will take it.

Sorry for being so brief. It hurts to look at the screen. Ha, ha, it may hurt you to read what I write, but it hurts me to read what I have written as I write it. I DO feel your pain.

So here is your instant pain reliever. I'll stop here. Gotta rest up for hockey.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Los Angeles 5, at Toronto 3
Washington 7, at N.Y. Islanders 2
At Atlanta 2, Anaheim 1
At Columbus 3, Nashville 2
Phoenix 5, at Detroit 4 OT
At Ottawa 3, New Jersey 0
At Florida 2, Montreal 1
Chicago 4, at Edmonton 2
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Albany 2, at Bridgeport 1 SO
At Portland 3, Manchester 2 SO
At Texas 5, Milwaukee 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Wheeling 3, at South Carolina 1
The standings are here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
London 6, at Kitchener 3
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Swift Current 3, at Moose Jaw 2 OT
Brandon 6, at Kootenay 5 OT
Medicine Hat 9, at Prince George 3
At Kamloops 8, Spokane 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
All-Star Game at Indianapolis
East 5, West 4 OT

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Does This Plan Fit an XXL Size Market?



I'm at home sick, and it's one of those days when you just hope for one easy breath of fresh air. Hard to come by when you have a cold, but you hold out hope for that one clear drag of air, a sign of better health ahead.

At a little after 1 pm Eastern today, Dave Maloney's comments on "NHL Live" served as a long needed breath of fresh air regarding the build 'em up, tear 'em down Rangers. You know the team. Couldn't win the Cup for a long time. Made a deal with the Devil and a boatload of teams to import players for the Cup victory in 1994. And then nothing.

A caller to the "NHL Live" show gave poor marks to the Rangers, as presently constructed, and then identified General Manager Glen Sather as the source of the odious stench of said team's performance. You know the drill. Team stinks. It's Sather's team. Sather stinks. Tic, tac, toe, biscuit in the basket.

But Maloney, a former Ranger and who is on Rangers radio and TV broadcasts, made the most intelligent point of the year (it's a young year). If you are constantly trying to rebuild on the fly -- Yankees style, if you will -- do you ever truly build a strong organization with skill and depth. Sure you can buy talent, but talent without skill players and depth on the roster will get you nothing.

Maloney said, sure the Rangers won in 1994, but there were former Oilers, Blackhawks, etc. The blueprint for that team was buy, buy, buy, buy, win. And it worked, for one year. Now, he asked, what did that strategy do for the team? And Maloney did point out that there have been several general managers tell Rangers fans and everyone else that New York fans need to win now, have to win now, and only stars will do.

And looking back to that 1979 Sasson jeans commercial, there's Phil Esposito and Anders Hedberg, who would tell you that the strategy for attracting big stars to Madison Square Garden predates Neil Smith. But with Ron Duguay and Maloney, you got the feeling the Rangers were filling in needed stars around their homegrown players. (In the commercial below, the homegrown Ron Greschner fills in for Duguay. Don Maloney takes his brother's spot.)

With Dave Maloney's thoughts in mind, perhaps it is time for the Rangers to start building, and that means drafting smart, trading smart. Spending smart? Sure, but spend for need, not spend for the marquee. Don't trade for the cover photo of the program. Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros, Wayne Gretzky, Theoren Fleury, Scott Gomez, Bobby Holik. You get the idea.

OK, so I was a little long winded. But when you have a cold, you have to live on that moment of fresh air for as long as you can.



THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 4, at N.Y. Rangers 2
St. Louis 2, at Calgary 0
At Vancouver 3, Buffalo 2
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Johnstown 5, at Cincinnati 1
Ontario 4, at Utah 0
The standings are here.

Monday, January 25, 2010

QMJHL Suspends Cormier for the Season



Patrice Cormier of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will not be allowed back on the ice in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season or for the playoffs. The league issued the suspension this morning. This is the penalty for his open-ice elbow to the head of the Quebec Remparts' Mikael Tam on Jan. 17.

Cormier, 19, could come back to the league next season as an overage player. The ban does not extend to next season. Cormier is a prospect of the New Jersey Devils, and there is no word on whether the terms of the suspension would be honored by the Devils or the minor pro teams they have working agreements with Lowell of the American Hockey League and Trenton of the East Coast Hockey League. This is part of the story being discussed on the Puck Daddy blog.

Lou Lamoriello, the Devils general manager, could have the option of sending Cormier to a minor pro team in a league that does not honor the QMJHL's ban.

Early this season, Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters was suspended for the year and the playoffs by the Ontario Hockey League after a hit from behind on Ben Fanelli of the Kitchener Rangers.



The OHL recently issued a 20-game suspension to forward Zach Kassian of the Windsor Spitfires for his head shot on the Barrie Colts' Matt Kennedy. TSN and Sportsnet offer reports on the situation.



Say what you will about the borderline hits and the over-the-line actions of the National Hockey League, but all of the actions detailed in the video clips above are by teenagers, basically. And actions learned or tolerated there will come up again should they graduate to a minor pro league or the NHL.

That is why the debate about how the juniors deal with these issues is important to hockey at all levels.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 2, at Philadelphia 1
At Carolina 5, Boston 1
At Colorado 4, Dallas 0
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Manchester 6, Hartford 1
At Chicago 5, Grand Rapids 1
Norfolk 1, at Lowell 0
Milwaukee 4, at San Antonio 3 SO
Syracuse 4, at Toronto 3 SO
At Providence 3, Springfield 0
At Rochester 3, Adirondack 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Kalamazoo 6, Toledo 3
Wheeling 3, at South Carolina 2
Bakersfield 5, at Stockton 2
At Idaho 8, Las Vegas 5
The standings are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Chicoutimi 5, Cape Breton 2
Moncton 5, at Quebec 2
Prince Edward Island 2, at Halifax 1 SO
Saint John 8, at Gatineau 0
Shawinigan 5, at Rimouski 0
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Guelph 5, Erie 3
At London 8, Peterborough 2
At Mississauga 5, Sudbury 3
At Ottawa 3, Kingston 0
At Windsor 5, Niagara 2
At Oshawa 3, Saginaw 0
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Calgary 6, Lethbridge 2
Medicine Hat 2, at Edmonton 1
At Portland 3, Vancouver 1
At Everett 3, Spokane 2
Kootenay at Regina PPD
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

A Boiling Pot? This Could Get Messy.



I've got oatmeal on the burner and the movie "Bottle Shock" on the main screen in the Lounge as I get ready for the Penguins/Flyers game today at 12:30 Eastern. Here's the one thing on my mind as I wait for smoke to come calling from the kitchen.

I've noticed on Twitter comments indicating that John Tortorella's TV audience is growing. That may not be a good thing for him. He has the difficult job of having to answer questions after a loss. Not a good job, or at least, not a comfortable one. But his actions have consequences, and when more people are tuning in to see if you are going to blow up or cause a fight rather than explain why your team cannot get the job done, it's time to reassess the situation. (Even Don Cherry wants Tortorella to answer the question.)



Tortorella's fault. News media's fault. Larry Brooks' fault. Doesn't matter. Spilled milk. The post-game conference has become THE show. (Look at all the microphones and cameras. Yes, it's Montreal, but those questions are in anglais, not en français.) Forget what the Rangers do, you want to see what Tortorella will do. It's not a the Lee Elia stage, by any means, or Hal McRae, for that matter. However, the increasing number of people checking in on TV, YouTube and any other outlet will tell you the Tortorella show is gaining traction because it has a familiar story line. Comedy? Tragedy? Yes. Yes, indeed.

Gotta go now. There's an oatmeal meltdown in the kitchen. While' I'm cleaning, here's something from the "Hockey Night in Canada" hotstove. Enjoy.



THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa 2, at Boston 1
At Philadelphia 4, Carolina 2
At Montreal 6, N.Y. Rangers 0
New Jersey 4, at N.Y. Islanders 2
At Washington 5, Phoenix 2
At Florida 2, Toronto 0
Los Angeles 3, at Detroit 2
At Tampa Bay 2, Atlanta 1 SO
Anaheim 4, at St. Louis 3 SO
At Minnesota 4, Columbus 2
At Vancouver 5, Chicago 1
At San Jose 5, Buffalo 2
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Texas 3, at Lake Erie 0
Houston 5, at Abbotsford 4 OT
Albany 3, at Adirondack 2
At Hershey 8, Manitoba 2
Norfolk 5, at Manchester 3
Lowell 4, at Portland 1
At Toronto 4, Hamilton 3
At Binghamton 5, Bridgeport 2
At Rochester 5, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3
At Springfield 2, Hartford 1 OT
Worcester 5, at Syracuse 4
Milwaukee 3, at San Antonio 2 SO
At Rockford 5, Grand Rapids 2
At Peoria 5, Chicago 4
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Elmira 8, at Toledo 2
At South Carolina 5, Reading 3
At Cincinnati 6, Kalamazoo 1
At Florida 5, Gwinnett 1
Ontario 5, at Utah 3
At Idaho 4, Las Vegas 1
Victoria 2, at Bakersfield 1
At Stockton 4, Alaska 3
The standings are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Moncton 6, at Drummondville 3
Val-d'Or 5, at Gatineau 4 OT
At Montreal 6, Saint John 4
Acadie-Bathurst 2, at Halifax 1
At Baie-Comeau 8, Cape Breton 4
Rouyn-Noranda 2, at Lewiston 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Sudbury 3, Brampton 2
At Belleville 5, Saginaw 3
At Plymouth 4, Peterborough 2
At Kitchener 6, Erie 4
At Owen Sound 7, Sarnia 1
At Sault Ste. Marie 6, Barrie 3
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Prince Albert 5, Kootenay 2
Brandon 5, at Saskatoon 2
Regina 5, at Swift Current 2
At Medicine Hat 9, Edmonton 2
At Red Deer 3, at Moose Jaw 1
At Chilliwack 4, Kamloops 1
Kelowna 6, at Prince George 2
Portland 6, at Seattle 1
Spokane 3, at Tri-City 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
Tri-City 4, at Indiana 3 SO
At Green Bay 2, Des Moines 1 OT
Sioux Falls 1, at Lincoln 0 OT
Omaha 2, at Waterloo 1
At Cedar Rapids 3, Youngstown 2
At Chicago 3, Sioux City 2 SO
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Béliveau and Tam Are Recovering



Just cleaning up the Lounge in preparation for a busy weekend.

***Doctors at McGill University Health Center tell the Toronto Globe and Mail that Jean Béliveau is recovering from a mild stroke suffered Wednesday. Béliveau's condition continues to improve.

***The Quebec Remparts' Mikael Tam conducted a press conference to discuss his injury at the hands of Rouyn-Noranda's Patrice Cormier. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will announce its punishment for Cormier on Monday. Provincial police are investigating the incident. Tam told reporters, "Today I am not sure how long I will be away from the game. I have suffered a traumatic brain injury, I have lost a few teeth and I feel very tired. With the help of the medical staff, my goal is to return to the ice at some point."

***Twelve games in the National Hockey League, starting with two 1 p.m. Eastern starts in Boston and in Philadelphia. Get the chores done quickly, or schedule them between 4 and 6:30 Eastern. That's the only other gap you will have tonight.



THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Montreal 3, at New Jersey 1
At Colorado 2, Nashville 1
Dallas 4, at Edmonton 3
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Bridgeport 2, at Albany 1
Toronto 4, at Grand Rapids 1
At Hartford 3, Manchester 2 OT
At Hershey 8, Manitoba 3
At Binghamton 4, Adirondack 3 SO
Lowell 4, at Providence 1
Hamilton 6, at Rochester 1
At Lake Erie 5, Texas 4 OT
Norfolk 3, at Springfield 2
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 6, at Syracuse 3
Chicago 6, at Milwaukee 3
Rockford 3, at Peoria 2
Houston 7, at Abbotsford 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Elmira 7, at Toledo 2
At Trenton 6, Johnstown 2
At Charlotte 5, Wheeling 4
At South Carolina 8, Reading 5
At Florida 3, Gwinnett 2
At Kalamazoo 7, Cincinnati 1
At Utah 5, Ontario 2
Las Vegas 6, at Idaho 5
At Bakersfield 4, Victoria 3 OT
Alaska 2, at Stockton 1 SO
The standings are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Lewiston 3, Rouyn-Noranda 2
Saint John 5, at Quebec 4 SO
Cape Breton 6, at Baie-Comeau 2
Prince Edward Island 4, at Acadie-Bathurst 3
At Chicoutimi 3, Rimouski 2
At Montreal 5, Val-d'Or 1
Moncton 6, at Victoriaville 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Kitchener 4, Windsor 3 SO
At Guelph 4, Saginaw 3
At Kingston 6, Oshawa 3
At London 7, Erie 4
Plymouth 5, at Mississauga 1
At Ottawa 3, Belleville 0
Brampton 4, at Sault Ste. Marie 1
Niagara 4, at Sarnia 1
Barrie 6, at Sudbury 4
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Regina 6, Swift Current 5 SO
Kootenay 5, at Saskatoon 4
At Brandon 6, Prince Albert 2
At Calgary 5, Moose Jaw 0
At Lethbridge 4, Edmonton 1
At Kamloops 4, Chilliwack 3
Kelowna 4, at Prince George 1
At Tri-City 4, Vancouver 2
Everett 4, at Portland 3
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
Tri-City 3, at Indiana 1
At Green Bay 2, Sioux City 1
Omaha 7, at Lincoln 0
At Waterloo 3, Youngstown 2
At Cedar Rapids 10, Sioux Falls 1
At Chicago 5, Des Moines 4 OT
At Fargo 4, Team USA 3
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Tortorella and Brooks Put the Act Back Together



I love the feisty approach that the New York Post brings to its sports coverage. It gets to the point, comes out swinging and isn't afraid to take a punch or two. On the hockey beat, Larry Brooks gets in there. Gets in deep. Irritatingly deep, a team might say.

But as a reader, you know Brooks was at the game or practice. And the coaches and players do, too.

So the little set-to he had with Rangers Coach John Tortorella after the Rangers took a 2-0 beating in Philadelphia was no surprise. In fact, I'm pretty sure there would be video of the two every night, if possible.

The next clip comes from the 2007 playoffs. Tortorella is running the Tampa Bay Lightning, which lost to the New Jersey Devils on this night to fall behind, 3-2, that playoff series.

Brooks has a question. Tortorella is sticking his chin out in full knowledge that most of the reporters in the scrum aren't going to take a poke. Guess who takes a poke?



The two are made for each other. It's a win-win situation for New York readers. Here is Brooks' game story in The Post this morning. Some background: Brooks and others in the reporter scrum want to know why no other Ranger stepped in when Marian Gaborik, the team's scorer, was getting a thorough pat down from the Flyers' Daniel Carcillo. For more of the story line, here is Puck Daddy's breakdown of the disconnect between the two.



Spot anyone who could have helped out Gaborik? It was old-time hockey in Philadelphia last night, from the drop of the puck until well after the last word was set in type or committed to pixels on your screen. Good stuff. Can't wait for the next round.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Columbus 3, at Boston 2
At Ottawa 3, St. Louis 2
At N.Y. Islanders 2, Florida 1 SO
At Philadelphia 2, N.Y. Rangers 0
Carolina 5, at Atlanta 2
At Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 2 OT
Washington 6, at Pittsburgh 3
Detroit 4, at Minnesota 3 SO
At Phoenix 4, Nashville 2
Chicago 3, at Calgary 1
At Vancouver 4, Dallas 3
At Los Angeles 4, Buffalo 3 SO
At San Jose 3, Anaheim 1
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Acadie-Bathurst 6, Shawinigan 3
The standings are here.
The recap is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At London 3, Kitchener 2
Owen Sound 4, at Peterborough 3
At Windsor 2, Brampton 1 SO
At Barrie 5, Kingston 2
At Niagara 2, Mississauga 1
Guelph 5, at Sarnia 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here and the Kingston/Barre recap is here.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The NHL in 2015? Here's a Peak



The NBA and the NFL have the quasi-professional ranks, also known as the NCAA, to serve as its development arm. Watch all those college games now to develop an understanding of who just might help your NBA or NFL team.

Baseball and hockey operate off the grid a bit in the United States. You might catch a college game here and there. But nothing regular, from the start of the season to the tournaments, on a national broadcast level. And junior hockey?

Well, that's where the Lounge comes in. We are trying to create better consumers of the National Hockey League by offering glimpses of who might emerge in the next few years to be the star or solid regular.

Above, are the highlights of the Top Prospects Game on Wednesday night in Windsor, Ontario. The players come from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League, the three top junior circuits in North America, if not the world.



Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires is expected to be taken first overall in the 2010 NHL draft this June in Los Angeles. But you might want to fill out your team's shopping plans by taking a few notes off the highlights from last night. But listen to the comments of Adam Kimelman of NHL.com, who went on "NHL Live" to fill out the roster of prospects who will join NHL general managers on the main stage at Staples Center during the draft.



Don't have time to go to NHL.com to queue up the highlights of every game? Well, the above report is the short version, which gets you through all the action. No waiting for endless calls of trifectas, three-balls, treys and the other oral graffiti that makes up an ESPN or local TV sports report. In the Lounge, we boil it down to hockey. Enjoy.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At New Jersey 2, Florida 0
St. Louis 4, at Montreal 3 OT
Vancouver 3, at Edmonton 2 OT
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
All-Star Game at Ontario, Calif.
American 10, National 9 SO
The recap is here.

CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Top Prospects Game at Windsor, Ontario
Team Cherry 4, Team Orr 2
The recap is here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Prince Edward Island 5, Shawinigan 4 SO
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Prince Albert 4, Brandon 1
Kootenay 8, at Swift Current 6
Chilliwack 2, at Kelowna 1 SO
At Portland 5, Kamloops 2
At Everett 3, Vancouver 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
Lincoln 6, at Tri-City 2
At Sioux Falls 8, Team USA 2
The standings are here.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Top Junior Prospects Game on TV

The Canadian Hockey League's Top Prospects game will be televised in the United States tonight at 7 Eastern on the NHL Network. In Canada, the game will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS.

Those who cannot see the game in the United States can listen on Internet Radio via outlets in Ontario (Toronto and Windsor) and in Michigan (Plymouth).

The top draft-eligible players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League are distributed to two teams and placed under the direction of Don Cherry and Bobby Orr. You can catch the future of the National Hockey League in action here. Many of the players you may have already seen during the World Junior Championship tournament.

The game will be played in Windsor, Ontario.

TEAM CHERRY
Forwards
Louis-Marc Aubry, Montreal (Q)
Jakub Culek, Rimouski (Q)
Emerson Etem, Medicine Hat (W)
Stanislav Galiev, Saint John (W)
Taylor Hall, Windsor (O)
Ryan Johansen, Portland (W)
Devante Smith-Pelly, Mississauga (O)
Brad Ross, Portland (W)
Ryan Spooner, Peterborough (O)
Austin Watson, Peterborough (O)
Jordan Weal, Regina (W)
Andrew Yogan, Erie (O)
Defensemen
Brandon Archibald, Sault Ste. Marie (O)
Brock Beukeboom, Sault Ste. Marie (O)
Cam Fowler, Windsor (O)
Austin Madaisky, Kamloops (W)
Alexander Petrovic, Red Deer (W)
Troy Rutkowski, Portland (W)
Goaltenders
Maxime Clermont, Gatineau (Q)
Calvin Pickard, Seattle (W)

TEAM ORR
Forwards
Alexander Burmistrov, Barrie (O)
Michaël Bournival, Shawinigan (Q)
Joey Hishon, Owen Sound (O)
Quinton Howden, Moose Jaw (W)
Ryan Martindale, Ottawa (O)
John McFarland, Sudbury (O))
Nino Niederreiter, Portland (W)
Tyler Seguin, Plymouth (O)
Steven Shipley, Owen Sound (O)
Jeff Skinner, Kitchener (O)
Petr Straka, Rimouski (Q)
Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa (O)
Defensemen
Jérôme Gauthier-Leduc, Rouyn-Noranda (Q)
Brandon Gormley, Moncton (Q)
Matt MacKenzie, Calgary (W)
Dylan McIlrath, Moose Jaw (W))
Mark Pysyk, Edmonton (W)
Stephen Silas, Belleville (O)
Goaltenders
Louis Domingue, Quebec (Q)
Mark Visentin, Niagara (O)

North, South and My Viewpoints in Between

Nothing adds to the angst of Maple Leafs fans, and perhaps to those nativists who seek fewer teams in the Southern United States, than watching Toronto squander a two-goal lead and lose to Atlanta. And the topper? Seeing the whole thing unfold on Empty Seat Night in Philips Arena.



Well there are many ways to look at the situations in Atlanta and Toronto. Here are a few.

1. Burned by years of mismanagement involving all four professional teams in Atlanta, the hometown fans are resistant to spend time (in traffic jams) and money (good after bad) waiting on the Thrashers to find their way. If the owners are not on the same page, why should Ilya Kovalchuk sign any page the Thrashers put in front of him.

2. If Maple Leafs fans acted the way Thrashers fans do, perhaps the management of the Maple Leafs would have found a way to solve the team's on-ice misfortunes. Perhaps it is better to be amassing a fortune with a terrible team, which has been the case in Toronto. There's money to be made in bad hockey. Toronto, has proven that.

3. Box score says 10,208 tickets/seats/people/comps were tallied. Math wasn't my best subject, but. ...

4. According to those commenting on the Ice Man blog, which keeps track of all things Thrasher, TSN announcers made a point of describing the obvious bad crowd during their sportscast. Surprised? No. It's there job. Now, when those same Canadian crews start to repeatedly point out the empty seats in Ottawa and Edmonton, then I'll be surprised.

5. Atlanta and Toronto, get both of your houses in order. This New Yorker enjoys visiting your cute little towns when I escape the city. Hockey just adds to that charm.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
At N.Y. Rangers 8, Tampa Bay 2
At Philadelphia 5, Columbus 3
At Washington 3, Detroit 2
At Atlanta 4, Toronto 3
At Ottawa 4, Chicago 1
At Pittsburgh 6, N.Y. Islanders 4
At Anaheim 5, Buffalo 4
San Jose 5, at Los Angeles 1
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
All-Star Game at Portland, Maine.
Canada 10, Planet USA 9 SO
The recap is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
All-Star Skills Competition
National 11, American 10

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Baie-Comeau 3, at Prince Edward Island 2 OT
Shawinigan 5, at Halifax 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Calgary 7, Lethbridge 5
At Tri-City 6, Kamloops 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Trouble in Calgary, Boston and the QMJHL



Some quick thoughts after a late night in the Lounge.

***San Jose has some of the best restaurants in the nation, that is, if you are only counting those with drive-through lanes and value menus. And Sharks fans were treated to the opening of another drive-through, this one involving the Calgary Flames, who had no answer in a 9-1 loss to the Sharks on Monday night. Eight different scorers.Two goals for Dany Heatley. A full order of heartburn, to go, for Flames Coach Brent Sutter. Click on that link and you will see a picture of a man who doesn't need any late night chili or two-for-99-cent tacos to feel upset after last night's performance by the Flames.

***Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley doesn't get out much, or at least out to the West Coast much, and it sounds like he wants to give the Bruins a pass for their weak effort Monday afternoon at home against the Ottawa Senators. The trail of tears for the Bruins can be traced to their oh-so-tough three-game visit to California. Oh, did he mention that the Bruins never have to leave the Eastern time zone the rest of the regular season? Checking, checking, looking, searching. Nope. The big, bad, drowsy Bruins will never face the challenges that, say, Vancouver does. The Canucks are in a division with three teams in the Mountain time zone and one in the Central. The Western Conference has teams in the Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern time zones. The Eastern Conference? All in the Eastern time zone. Weak. Lame. Lazy. That's for the column angle, the Bruins' performance and the schedule that tucks the Eastern Conference teams in bed at a reasonable hour for all but a handful of games.

***Patrick King of Sportsnet asks whether the star power of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League player Patrice Cormier will allow him to avoid the type of punishment Michael Liambas drew from the Ontario Hockey League for a hit from behind earlier this season. Cormier, who was the captain of Canada's silver-medal team in the 2010 World Junior Championship tournament, is a top prospect for the New Jersey Devils. Liambas, a role player in the OHL, did not have an NHL team waiting for him. After being banned from the OHL, Liambas fell to the International Hockey League, were he was recently punished for an illegal hit from behind. Cormier, who delivered questionable hits in tune-ups for the WJC, has the support of Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello, who told the Bergen Record he believed that neither criminal charges nor a season-long suspension was warranted for the elbow. The QMJHL gave an indefinite suspension to Cormier on Monday, pending a full review of the incident involving his hit on Quebec's Mikael Tam, who has been released from the hospital. In the meantime, Puck Daddy gives a full review of the situation and what others are saying around junior hockey and the National Hockey League.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa 5, at Boston 1
At N.Y. Islanders 4, New Jersey 0
Tampa Bay 3, at Carolina 2
At Columbus 4, St. Louis 2
Buffalo 7, at Phoenix 2
At Florida 1, Atlanta 0
Toronto 4, at Nashville 3
At Dallas 4, Minnesota 3
At Colorado 6, Edmonton 0
At San Jose 9, Calgary 1
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
All-Star Skills Competition
Canada 18, Planet USA 12
The recap is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
Charlotte 6, at Gwinnett 4
At Reading 4, Trenton 3
The standings are here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Plymouth 7, Windsor 4
Kitchener 6, at Erie 1
The standings are here.
The Kitchener/Erie recap is here, and the Windsor/Plymouth recap is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Youngstown 7, Team USA 3
The standings are here.