Ducks' hack Ruutu suspended for one game - edit Erat to miss game 5

Jarkko Ruutu’s hit on Martin Erat will cost him a one game suspension, Ruutu has been suspended by the NHL and he will miss torrow night's game five between the Ducks and the Predators.

Edit: If you want to read an interesting perspective about the hit click on the link to the Duck's Blog at the Orange County Register, some of the comments are interesting. If you go and a read NHL rule 48 it appears that the hit by Ruutu is a textbook example of a violation of that rule. The rule is pretty straight forward. If the Ruutu hit on Erat was as soft as some Ducks fan s have claimed, then why is Erat going to miss game five? According to the Tennessean Martin Erat will not make the trip to Anaheim for Friday’s Game 5 and is being listed with an upper-body injury. So much for the Theory that Erat took a dive and it was a soft hit. Game, set and match.

TORONTO – Anaheim Ducks forward Jarkko Ruutu has been suspended for one game for delivering a late hit to Nashville Predators forward Martin Erat in Game Four of their Western Conference quarterfinal last night, the National Hockey League announced today.

The incident occurred 4:00 into the second period and Ruutu was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play.

Ruutu's suspension will be served tomorrow night (April 22) when the Ducks host the Predators in Game Five of the series.

Denver Post - Goon's Moron of the year...

North Dakota's Brad Malone checks Colorado College left wing Andrew Hamburg into the boards in a game on Jan. 28. Malone was charged with boarding (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

Wow! All I can say this that whoever wrote this from the Denver Post is my nominee for Moron of the Year. This is what I consider to be drive by gutter journalism, frankly it’s also unacceptable. That is why I like the beat writer that the Fighting Sioux have, you would never see him write a disgusting piece like this.

Seriously! The Denver Post can’t be hurting that much for readership that they needed to piss off Sioux fans and get everyone riled up among the DU and UND fans bases so they would come to the Denver Post site. The bush league aspect of this article is that the author doesn’t even include his/her name, which in my opinion is very classless... Everything written on my blog has a name to it and we take ownership for it.

My first guess was that article was written by the buffoonish Michael Chambers who is the beat writer for the DU Hockey team because its his modus operandi and it would have been my first selection when trying to put a name to this gem, however, that appears to not be the case because a readers posted on the blog that Chambers is on vacation. If it's not Chambers who is notorious for this kind of moronic journalism, then who wrote the piece of S_____? At least be man enough to stand up and put your game to it. Was it Kizla? Adrian Dater? Terry Frei?

I wonder if the Denver Post when referring to Brad Malone is going to mention that he broke Jesse Martin’s neck during a hockey play in every article that they write from here on out… If Malone makes the Avalanche are they going to write Brad Malone who broke Jesse Martin’s neck scored his first professional goal of his career for Colorado.

Avalanche signs Brad Malone, whose hit broke the neck of DU's Martin

The Avalanche on Wednesday signed an entry-level contract with college forward Brad Malone, the player whose on-ice hit broke the neck of Denver's Jesse Martin in a game last season.

Malone will report to the minor-league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters, the Avs said, for the beginning of the American Hockey League playoffs.

The 21-year-old Malone finished his senior season at North Dakota, helping them to the NCAA Frozen Four. His 40 points (16 goals and 24 assists) ranked fourth on the team. He led the Sioux with 108 penalty minutes in 43 games.

Malone was a fourth-round pick of Colorado's in the 2007 NHL draft.

"Brad just finished a strong four-year college career and we look forward to him beginning his pro career with Lake Erie," Avs general manager Greg Sherman said in a release.

In a game on Oct. 30, Martin took an open-ice check from Malone in a game at Grand Forks, N.D. The hit caused a concussion, multiple neck fractures and trauma to Martin's spinal cord.

Martin underwent major surgery and has since regained some use of his legs and arms.

Lastly, I don’t know a Sioux fan out there that isn’t pulling for Jesse Martin and cheering on his recovery, but also Sioux fans hope that Jesse is able to be able to once again play hockey for the Denver Pioneers. However, that being said the Denver Post has done nothing but try to stir up animosity between the two programs for some time now.

Former MTU Husky Andy Sutton signs with the Anaheim Ducks

Former MTU Husky tree trunk Defenseman Andy Sutton has signed a contract with the Anaheim Ducks.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks signed veteran defenceman Andy Sutton to a two-year contract worth US$4.25 million Monday, filling a major need on their depleted blue-line.

The 35-year-old Sutton played in 72 games and scored 13 points last season with the New York Islanders and Ottawa, which acquired him at the trade deadline. The 11-year veteran also finished second in the NHL with 204 blocked shots while ranking among the league leaders in hits.

"I'm definitely playing the best hockey of my career," said Sutton, who also has played for Atlanta, Minnesota and San Jose. "The mixture of experience and being in great shape has let me grow into a more poised player." [sportsnet.ca]