Blue Tongues Clutch Victory

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

With a huge win over The Bears in their season home opener, the pressure was on the Blue Tongues to once again prevail over the league leaders. Having been introduced to the smaller rink and hard checking style of play produced by Gold Coast, The Bears were expected to hit back, and fast, against the Blue Tongues in their second game of the double header.

The Bears did not disappoint, coming at the Blue Tongues early in the game and changing their tactics to not only start playing a physical game, but also stamping their authority over the control of the game. Both teams seemed to lack the energy they had during Saturday’s game, and some simple rookie errors caused a line change for the Gold Coast team, starting to run two lines instead of three. Despite The Bears claiming control of the puck for majority of the first period however, it was Dave Upton of the Blue Tongues who netted the only goal of the first.

Tempers flared in the second, with roughing calls on both teams, and it was clear that neither team were giving up on their race to be the next to pot a goal. Both Sydney’s goaltender John Daugulis and Gold Coast’s Simo Mustonen had their work cut out for them in net as each team made shot after shot on goal. However, once again the Blue Tongues made some silly mistakes, costing them dearly on the penalty kill. It was The Bears that led going into the third, winning the period 3 goals to the Gold Coast’s lone goal, ending the period 3-2.

Excitement ruled the third, as the Blue Tongues tied up the scores on 3 a piece, before The Bears took advantage of a lapse in concentration and took the lead once more at 4-3 with little more than 8 minutes left in the game. The Blue Tongues never gave up, and with just under 2 minutes left, tied the game 4-4.

Anticipation was high in the stands as the teams took to the face off after a penalty was called on The Bears, giving the Blue Tongues a powerplay with a minute left in the third. Their fans behind them, Gold Coast focused on the job at hand and with 46 seconds left in the game, defenseman Ross Howell netted the game winning goal. The Bears failed to even up the scores in the dying seconds of the game, giving the Blue Tongues their third victory in the last three games.

The first star of the game was Blue Tongues Captain and centre, Billy Crumm. Second star of the game was Blue Tongues Defenseman, Don Burke and third star of the game was Bears’ Roberto Franchini.

Next weekend, the Blue Tongues face the Newcastle North Stars on June 21 & 22 at Gold Coast Iceland, Bundall. Games start at 3.30pm.

Article Source: Gold Coast Blue Tongues

Tags: IceHockey, AIHL, Blue Tongues, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney Bears, Gaetan Royer, Brian Lachance

Tags: amp, article, Author, back, Billy, blog, BLUE, Brian, call, cap, captain, chance, Change, check, checking, coast, com, cost, Cut, D, Dave, day, defense, defenseman, des, end, error, FAN, fans, First, Game, games, goal, Goals, goaltender, hand, hat, head, hockey, home, Ian, Ice, Ile, intro, John, June, key, lachance, lack, lead, league, league leaders, line, man, Me., min, minute, Net, New, Newcastle, news, one, opener, OUT, penalty, period, play, point, Powe, power, Powerplay, pressure, Produced, puck, rd, Red, right, rink, RIT, Rookie, ross, row, Roy, Saturday, score, season, second, shot, size, source, Star, Stars, start, style, Team, teams, th, Tie, Title, victor, victory, Wee, week, Weekend, win, work, www

Gold Coast Blue Tongues destroy Sydney Bears

Bundall, Qld - The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues played the Sydney (Penrith) Bears tonight in a regular season league fixture of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The Bears, who have dominated the league so far this season had an 11-1 record going into this game, and were playing a Blue Tongues team who had played their season so far on the road, going 5-2. These 2 teams are the extreme oppsosites on the AIHL ladder, with the bears holding the #1 spot and the Blue Tongues coming dead last.

Import Gaetan Royer (from Quebec Radio X) and locals Dave Upton and Ben Spillane helped drive the Blue Tongues to an almost white-wash of the Bears, with the Tongues winning 9-1. Royer netted 4 goals on the evening with Spillane netting 2.

The 2 teams will play each other again tomorrow.

Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues Ice Hockey Club

Tags: Australia, blog, BLUE, club, coast, com, D, Dave, des, Domi, evening, Game, goal, Goals, hockey, Ian, Ice, ice hockey, key, ladder, league, min, Morrow, Net, New, night, Other, play, Quebec, rd, RECORD, Red, right, RIT, road, row, Roy, season, site, size, spot, style, Team, teams, th, THIS, Title, tomorrow, tonight, win, www

Sharks hire Detroit assistant as new coach

The San Jose Sharks have hired a new head coach.  Todd McLellan, formerly an assistant coach with the Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings will be formerly announced as the new head coach on Thursday.

“It’s a very good feeling,” McLellan said in a statement released by the team. “From the first moment Doug called to the moment he offered the job, I felt comfortable. I think the Sharks have done a tremendous job. You don’t get that close to 50 wins for a number of years in a row without a lot of talent. It’s a matter of getting over the hump. There are some real parallels between the Wings and the Sharks.”
- NHL - Yahoo! Sports

The Sharks hope that McLellan, who has experience with cup winning teams will help take the Sharks all the way.

Tags: sanjose sharks, detroit red wings, todd mclellan, ron wilson

Tags: amp, bet, blog, call, cap, coach, com, cup, D, day, Detroit, detroit red wings, ease, end, Erie, experience, First, hat, head, head coach, hockey, jose, key, Lose, lot, Mar, Matt, moment, New, news, NHL, NJ, number, NY, one, OUT, Red, red wings, right, ron wilson, row, San, San Jose, san jose sharks, Sharks, size, Sport, Sports, Stanley, Stanley Cup, statement, style, talent, Team, teams, th, Thursday, Title, type, way, Wee, win, Wings, www, yahoo, year

Kings Fire Coach Crawford

After a conference low 71 points last season, the Los Angeles Kings have given head coach Marc Crawford his marching orders.

Crawford, who’s record over his 2 seasons with the Kings is a dismal 59-84-21.  Last season the Kings tied with Eastern Conference bottom feeders, the Tampa Bay Lightning on points.

In a division that includes strong teams such as the Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, the Kings need to do far better to compete.

Tags: losangeles kings, dallas stars, anaheim ducks, san jose sharks, marc crawford, dean lombardi

Tags: amp, Anaheim, anaheim ducks, BAY, bet, blog, bottom feeders, call, cap, coach, com, conference, D, Dallas, dallas stars, day, Dean, des, Division, ducks, East, Eastern Conference, end, fit, hat, head, head coach, hockey, jose, key, kings, Les, lightning, Los Angeles, los angeles kings, Mar, marc, March, New, news, NHL, order, OWN, point, rd, RECORD, Red, right, row, San, San Jose, san jose sharks, season, Sharks, size, Sport, Sports, Star, Stars, style, TAMPA, Tampa Bay, tampa bay lightning, Team, teams, th, Tie, Title, Tuesday, type, WOW, www, yahoo

Ron Wilson to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs

A month after being fired from the San Jose Sharks, Ron Wilson has a new job, one that to many, could be considered a promotion.

It was announced today that Ron Wilson has been hired as the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I’m the happiest person in the National Hockey League today,” Wilson said. “I’m fulfilling a dream.

“Obviously if you lose your job in the league you often wonder if you’ll get another opportunity,” he said. “The furthest thing from my mind at any point in my hockey career was that I would have an opportunity—ever—to coach a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs with their incredible history.”
- NHL - Yahoo! Sports

When talking about the Maple Leafs as a team, Ron Wilson was quoted as saying;

Ron Wilson, who’s coaching career in the NHL stands at 518-446-127 has coached for the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks before heading to his last post in San Jose.

Tags: sanjose sharks, toronto maple leafs, ron wilson, nhl, national hockey league, head coach, coach

Tags: amp, Anaheim, anaheim ducks, blog, cap, Capitals, Care, career, coach, com, D, day, ducks, end, hat, head, head coach, history, hockey, jose, key, Leaf, Leafs, league, Lose, lot, man, Maple, maple leafs, mapleleafs, Mar, min, mind, month, national hockey league, New, news, NHL, NJ, NY, one, opportunity, Other, OUT, point, post, rd, Red, right, ron wilson, row, San, San Jose, san jose sharks, say, Sharks, size, Sport, Sports, story, style, Team, th, thing, Title, today, Toronto, toronto maple leafs, transition, type, View, Washington, washington capitals, work, www, yahoo

Red Wings G Dominik Hasek retires

After 18 seasons in the NHL, 2 MVP awards and 6 Vezina Trophies, “The Dominator” Dominik Hasek has announced his retirement.

“Physically, I’m felling great—as well as ever,” Hasek said Monday as he announced his retirement. “I just don’t feel that I’m ready to compete on the highest level.“I need motivation. Right now, I don’t feel it’s there and I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”
- Yahoo! Sports

Hasek was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks and spent his rookie years as backup to Ed Belfour.  In his career he spent 2 seasons with Chicago, 9 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, 4 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and a short 1 season stint with the Ottawa Senators.

During his career, Hasek has won:

• Hart Memorial Trophy for MVP twice (nominated 5 times)
• Lester B. Pearson Award twice (nominated 3 times)
• Vezina Trophy 6 times
• William M Jennings Trophy 3 times
• Stanley Cup in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings
• The 2002 gold medal at the Nagano Olympic Games for the Czech Republic

Hasek has named on:

• NHL first All-Star Team 5 times
• NHL All-Rookie Team in the ‘91 and ‘92 season
• NHL All-Star Game 5 times (although did not play in 2000 due to injury)

In his NHL Career, Hasek played a total of 735 games, totaling 42836 minutes of ice time.  He collected 389 wins, 223 losses, 82 ties and 13 overtime losses with 81 shutouts.  His career GAA and SV% stand at 2.10 & .922 respectively. 

Tags: amp, back, backup, belfour, black, Blackhawks, blog, Buffalo, call, Care, career, Chicago, chicago blackhawks, com, cup, Czech Republic, D, day, Detroit, detroit red wings, Domi, dominik hasek, Draft, First, gaa, Game, games, Great, hat, hockey, Ice, image, Images, injury, key, lack, Les, level, line, loss, losses, Mar, Me., min, minute, Monday, MVP, name, New, news, NHL, NJ, NY, olympic, one, Ottawa, ottawa senators, OUT, overtime, Photo, play, point, rd, Read, Red, red wings, redwings, right, Rookie, row, Sabres, season, senators, shutout, size, Sport, Sports, Stanley, Stanley Cup, Star, style, sv, Team, th, Tie, Tim, time, Title, Total, Trophy, TWICE, type, Ward, win, Wings, www, yahoo, year

Anaheim on the edge of elimination

A week ago who would have thought that the Anaheim Ducks would be on the edge of playoff elimination in game 5 against the Dallas Stars.  All but die-hard Dallas Fans appeared to have that much confidence in this Stars team, but they went out and they battled hard.

And today, in less than 12hrs time the Dallas Stars stand on the edge of 2 major milestones; elimination the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks from the playoffs, and more importantly making it past a first round.

Although the Stars share their victories and defeats equally, netminder Marty Turco needs this more than ever.  Turco has been the brunt of the public backlash over the last fews seasons, even last year when he posted 3 shutouts in a 7 game series against Vancouver, which the Stars eventually lost in.

“Tonight I felt really good,” said Turco, who made 28 saves. “I had an opportunity to see all the shots that came my way. There were some anxious, scrambly moments in the second period. But the guys were doing all they could to help me.”
- Yahoo! Sports

The Stars have momentum and a “knowledge” that they can win.  Now, they just have to go out there and take it.

Tags: Anaheim, backlash, brunt, confidence, Dallas, edge, Elimination, Game, hockey, marty turco, momentum, netminder, opportunity, period, playoff, Round, Series, share, Stanley Cup, Stars, Team, time, tonight, Vancouver, way, yahoo, year

Contenders Not Pretenders

After 3 disappointing first round playoff exits, the Stars have finally found their game.

For the first time in two years, the Dallas Stars won a game in which Marty Turco did not shut out the opposition.  In doing so they served notice to the league that they are indisputable contenders, not pretenders.
- Bleacher Report

Contenders, not pretenders.  That’s exactly the message the Dallas Stars are sending to the rest of the league right now.

The Stars are leading the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 in their first round series.  2 straight wins against the Ducks is impressive, no doubt.  What makes this extra special is the Stars did it on the road, without their top playmaking defenseman Sergei Zubov, who is out due to Hernia surgery.

The key to Dallas success so far has been team-play.  The entire team has played well, and the chemistry issues that plagued the team going down the last stretch toward the playoffs appears to be a thing of the past.  Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow are dominating plays.  Mike Modano is showing he still has what it takes to be a top player in this league and newcomer Brad Richards is shining whenever his skates touch.  Richards appears to have gelled with young winger Loui Eriksson, who has a goal in each of the 2 games played in this series.  Jere Lehtinen and Steve Ott have also played a role in the scoring.

The Ducks travel to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX this Tuesday for game 3.

Image source: Yahoo Images 

Tags: American, Anaheim, Bleacher, Brad Richards, Brenden, Center, chemistry, Contenders, Dallas, defenseman, doubt, Eriksson, Game, goal, Hernia, hockey, image, Images, league, Lehtinen, Loui, marty turco, message, Mike Ribeiro, Morrow, notice, opposition, past, player, playoff, Pretenders, report, rest, road, role, Round, Sergei Zubov, Series, source, special, Stars, Steve Ott, stretch, surgery, Team, time, Tuesday, yahoo

McKeon on Richards and the Stars

Todays article by Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports is all about the Brad Richards trade to the Dallas Stars, and talks about how Richards shines during the post season.  Richards fit into the Dallas system didn’t come easy however.  After a career best 5pt game in his first appearance for the Stars, the star forward went the next 11 games with only a handful of points.

“It was a lot tougher than I ever imagined,” Richards said in preparation for Saturday’s Game 2 of a best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series the Stars lead over the Anaheim Ducks. “The last couple of weeks I wasn’t doing anything wrong but I wasn’t doing anything right either. I had clogged my head with too many things. It’s tough when you get traded and your new team loses. It’s a new experience for me.”
- Yahoo! Sports

And then there was 2 days ago in Anaheim, in the Dallas Stars post season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks.  A game that saw the Stars, with Richards assistance win by a convincing 4-0 shutout.

…Tippett said it was Richards’ best game as a member of the team, and that includes the Feb. 28 score-a-thon against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It’s like when a traded player finishes up and comes back the next season. Everything comes easier, and that’s what we’re looking for right now,” Tippett said. “And (Game 1) was a byproduct of that transition from one phase to another.”
- Yahoo! Sports

Anaheim Ducks players and coaches alike had nothing but praise for Richards after his impact on Game 1 of the series.

“You’re talking about an MVP of the playoffs, we’re not talking about a player who doesn’t know how to get around the rink,” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said.

“He’s one of those guys who can cause everyone a lot of headaches when they’re on the ice because it’s up to everybody to play smart and be in position to protect breakout passes and stuff like that,” Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer added.
- Yahoo! Sports

Game 2 between the 2 clubs starts this evening, and the Stars can be sure to see a much more physical and determined Ducks team than they did in game 1.

Tags: Anaheim, anything, appearance, article, assistance, Blackhawks, Brad Richards, byproduct, Chicago, coach, couple, Dallas, doesn, everybody, everyone, Everything, experience, Feb, Game, handful, head, Ice, impact, lead, lot, member, MVP, nothing, opener, player, post, praise, preparation, right, rink, Ross McKeon, Saturday, Scott Niedermayer, season, Series, shutout, Stanley Cup, Star, Stars, system, Team, Tippett, Todays, trade, transition, wasn, Western Conference, win

On the eve of Round 1 Game 1

The 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are here.  In just a few hours the pucks will drop on a series of Round 1 games, marking the start of 2 months of grueling battles to find an eventual victor.

This is a good time then to take a look at the battles for Round 1.

In the east

Montreal Canadiens (1) Vs Boston Bruins (8)
The Bruins struggled this year.  First they lost Patrice Bergeron to a season ending concussion, then later in the year Marc Savard goes down with an injury.   Yet,  somehow they scraped through to the playoffs, and they go into them equal to all other teams.  Montreal however are a hot team who have the leagues best Powerplay.  Boston, in order to keep in this series will need to stay out of the box.

Pittsburgh Penguins (2) Vs Ottawa Senators (7)
Ignoring the fact that Brian Murray accused the Penguins of throwing their last game, am I the only one who hopes to see the Penguins kick some serious ass this series?  Last year the fresh faced Penguins were routed from the playoffs in just 5 games by a stronger, more powerful Senators team.  This year the teams are evenly matched and both offensive powerhouses.

Washington Capitals (3) Vs Philadelphia flyers (6)
The classic Cinderella story.  Alexander Ovechkin is in the playoffs for the first time, and with him is a solid determined Capitals team.  The management of that team deserve awards for the progress and improvements they made with the team.  The Flyers have been inconsistent, and will need to be 110% on their game to beat the Caps.

New Jersey Devils (4) Vs New York Rangers
The battle of the creek, as it was referred to earlier on today.  These 2 teams have plenty of reasons to hate each other, and you can guarantee a very passionate series.  Unfortunately neither team can guarantee an offensive display, so expect physical defensive style hockey.

In the west 

Detroit Red Wings (1) Vs Nashville Predators (8)
There is nothing bad you can say about the Red Wings this year.  Top of their division, top of their conference and top in the league on points.  The best goalie duo (by stats) in the league.  Nashville don’t have a Crosby or Ovechkin.  They don’t have a Hasek.  They do however have a very potent young goalie in Dan Ellis, and a very effective Pack Mentality style play.  At the end of the day however, the Predators may find themselves a little behind the eight-ball.

San Jose Sharks (2) Vs Calgary Flames (7)
If there was going to be an upset, this might be it.  Going into the last day of the regular season, there was a chance that the Sharks may face the Avalanche in the first round.  In fact, most Sharks fans wanted them instead of the Flames.  Look for Iginla to lead the Flames to a long series against the Sharks, possibly even 7 games.

Minnesota Wild (3) Vs Colorado Avalanche (6)
Veteran leadership Vs Young blood.  That’s how this series may end up being.  The Avalanche have been reuniting old team mates, the question now is whether the likes of Sakic and Forsberg are able to content with the young speedsters like Marian Gaborik.

Anaheim Ducks (4) Vs Dallas Stars (5)
Defending champions the Anaheim Ducks have had a strange type of season.  If not for the controversial return of both Selanne and Niedermayer earlier in the season they would not be in the playoffs.  Their leading scorer, Corey Perry is out and Chris Pronger is likely going to do something to get himself a suspension.  Unlike last year the Ducks don’t have a powerful attack this time round.  They do however have the best Blue Line in the league with Pronger, Niedermayer, Schneider and Beauchemin.  Dallas will have to battle with their own demons however.  Getting past the first round is the goal of this team, and you can expect goalie Marty Turco to be on his game.  The inclusion of proven playoff performer Brad Richards in the lineup may have the desired impact.  The Stars, unlike the Ducks, can score this year, so expect a very hard hitting, physical game.

Predictions?

I know people like predictions, so here are my wildly unpredictable, highly unlikely, but what they hey predictions…

East:
Montreal Canadiens in 5 games
Pittsburgh Penguins in 5 games
Washington Capitals in 6 games
New Jersey Devils in 7 games

West:
Detroit Red Wings in a 4 game sweep.
Calgary Flames in 7 games
Colorado Avalanche in 6 games
Dallas Stars in 6 games

Tags: alexander ovechkin, Anaheim, Avalanche, battle, Boston, Brad Richards, Brian Murray, Bruins, Calgary, canadiens, Capitals, Caps, Chris Pronger, cinderella, concussion, creek, Dallas, Dan Ellis, Detroit, Devils, display, Division, East, fact, flames, Flyers, Game, goal, hockey, injury, league, management, marc savard, marian gaborik, marty turco, Minnesota, Montreal, nashville, New Jersey, New York, NHL, nothing, order, Ottawa, Patrice Bergeron, Penguins, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, playoffs, plenty, Powerplay, predators, progress, Red, San Jose, season, Series, Sharks, Stanley Cup, Stars, start, story, style, Team, time, today, victor, Washington, west, Wings, year