Image via WikipediaThere is a lot of news today in the hockey world. Sidney Crosby made his much anticipated return to the Penguins after missing over 10 months with a concussion. Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron is glad to see Sidney Crosby back in the Penguins line up as well. “I am happy to hear that not just for him as a hockey player but for him a person first and foremost,” Bergeron said. “I think his health is the most important thing and I’m very happy to hear that. It’s obviously a good thing for the league and good for him.”The Boston Bruins with their ninth win in a row actually vaulted to the top of the North East Division. Chris Kelly is the Boston Bruins of the week with his solid play. [the Bruins Blog]
North Dakota – North Dakota is on this list for all the wrong reasons. The Sioux lost a bunch of firepower from last year’s club, but I don’t think anyone saw this coming. North Dakota is tied for 10th place in the 12-team WCHA with a 2-6-0 conference record to go along with an ugly 4-7-1 record. Adding insult to injury, the Sioux have been swept by rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin already this year. Making matters worse, they’ve just lost freshman phenom Rocco Grimaldi (who’s been hampered by injury all year) for the next 6-8 weeks. More on that in a bit…Apparently the Badgers center Mark Zengerle was less than impressed with the WCHA on ice officials and got a 10 minute misconduct penalty for chirping at the refs. Looking at the box score from the game reveals that Derek Shepherd, Matt Ulwelling were the on ice officials for that game. I can't say that I blame Zengerle, most of us have been upset with the WCHA officiating from time to time.
Overall, there have been a lot of intriguing things happening in college hockey. Part of that may have to do with the ever-increasing parity. Save a few teams with tremendous records, everyone else has been pretty average. Typical powers like Boston University, Denver and Michigan haven’t been exactly dominant. In fact, each has mostly been average. Perhaps that’s good for college hockey. The fact that any team can win on any given night makes for some exciting match-ups. Expect this season to heat up even more, just in time for it’s national debut on VERSUS (featuring two of the best teams in the country in BC and Notre Dame) on New Year’s Eve.
Sophomore center Mark Zengerle compounded the first episode when he was assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty for chirping at the officials, a misdeed that resulted in him sitting on the bench 10 minutes once he got out of the penalty box.
"I hope it's a lesson that (Zengerle) remembers," Eaves said.[Madison.com]
Image via WikipediaThis kid might be good at this hockey thing. The 16 year-old defenseman was part of the U.S. U-17 Team, which won its third straight Four Nations title over the weekend scoring two goals (three if you include an exhibition game) during the tournament.The NHL Hockey GM’s are going to discuss the 1-3-1 defense. Personally, I don’t know what they are going to discuss? Playing the trap is perfectly legal in the NHL and in all levels of hockey, “all” teams play it from time to time. [NHL.COM]
Scoring goals in an international tournament is just adding to what’s been a good year for the Devils Lake, N.D. native.
“It’s really good,” said Thompson a few weeks before the tournament. “Everything is going good. Hockey is doing good. Every thing is going really good. Its kind of rainy out here so I’d say that’s the only bad thing.”
"I'm really surprised and even more confused," Canucks winger Alex Burrows said after the ruling. "I've been trying to figure it out and I don't know if goalies are in play now if they're out of their crease. This might set a precedent. Shanahan played the game and he probably knew that he [Lucic] had time to move and growing up you learn you can't really hit the goalies. I would have dove at the puck or have tried to get out of the way.Alex Burrows can’t be serious; this clown doesn't have a leg to stand on or the moral compass to make these comments. In case anyone forgot, this was the same buffoon that bit Patrice Bergeron last spring in the Stanley Cup Finals.
"I thought there would be repercussions. We're concerned. I thought we were trying to get those kind of hits out of this league and now it might be back to old-time hockey. The next thing you know, you might have a line brawl or a bench clearing."
Zachary Cox; NESN ----- Songs from the Dropkick Murphys have been a staple at Boston sporting events for years, as the band makes it clear where its allegiance lies.
"Tessie" and "Time To Go" were written as tributes to the Red Sox and Bruins, respectively, and the Dropkicks' hit "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" is nearly unavoidable at any game played in New England -- Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon even uses it as his entrance song.
Ironically, the band went on tour through Canada soon after the Bruins' Stanley Cup victory over the Vancouver Canucks in June. While there, they made sure that Canadians didn't forget who the NHL champion is.
According to Yahoo Sports' Puck Daddy blog, the Dropkicks entered the stage to Queen's "We Are the Champions" at several shows across Canada, including one in Vancouver.
The band also sold Bruins-themed merchandise at the shows, including one T-shirt that featured a tweaked Red Sox logo -- with skates instead of socks on the front -- and the words "Bite This Burrows" in black and gold on the back -- an obvious reference to Alexandre Burrows' infamous bite of Patrice Bergeron's finger in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe Boston Bruins made NHL history last night with their first Stanley Cup Championship in 39 years. The Boston Bruins needed three (3X) game sevens to win the 2011 Stanley Cup, with that accomplishment the Bruins were the first team in history to do this.[1], [2]While the Bruins sprinted across the ice to mob him at the buzzer, Tim Thomas tapped both goalposts, sank to his knees and rubbed the ice in front of his empty goal.I think it’s safe to say that if it wasn’t for Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas the Bruins could have been eliminated a long time ago. Thomas became the 15th goaltender to win the Conn Smythe, Tim Thomas posted an impressive 1.98 GAA and .940 save percentage and 16-9-0 record during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tim Thomas’ final crescendo was even more impressive as he stopped 37 of 37 shots securing his place in history as being one of the best goalies in NHL history.
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThis article is also worth a look. I would imagine it’s not as accurate as the author claims, I know a lot of fans from the Western Conference hate the Vancouver Canucks, if you don’t believe me just ask Wild and Blackhawks fans, add to the fact that a lot of hockey fans hate the on ice antics of the Vancouver Canucks. Jonah Keri; GQ ---- "WE WANT THE CUP!"
Of course you want the Cup. Everyone wants the Cup.
They want it in Buffalo, where snake-bitten fans have seen their dreams crushed for decades. They want it in Minneapolis and St. Paul, where two different franchises have struggled in vain to get close. They want it in Winnipeg, 15 years after the Jets left town, months before a new, nameless team takes the ice.
If any of those teams win Lord Stanley's grail, that would be fine with the hockey world. Those cities have seen enormous sports heartbreak, their spirits deflated as they trudge through January blizzards waiting for their shot at the big one. If a parade runs through Chippewa Street next summer, mazel tov. They'll deserve it.
But you, Bruins fans? No one wants you to have it.
Oh sure, there are plenty of perfectly good reasons to jump on the Bruins bandwagon. This is an anonymous, lunch pail-carrying team. Only one Bruin cracked 30 goals this season, and he's a gritty two-way player from Vancouver who goes by Looch. One of their best players is a 21-year NHL veteran, also from B.C., still going strong at 43. Boston's goalie was a 217th overall draft pick, toiled for years in the minors and in Europe, didn't become a starter until age 31, and six years later might be the best netminder on the planet.
This series should have reinforced pro-Bruins sentiment. Vancouver's Alex Burrows biting Patrice Bergeron's fingers was a punk move, one that would have been handled with a flurry of right hooks to the head if this were 30 years ago and the game hadn't turned away from fighting. Maxim Lapierre's Game 2 taunt, where he stuck his fingers in Bergeron's face and dared him to bite back, wasn't much better.
And there's The Hit. Five minutes into Game 3, Aaron Rome lined up Nathan Horton, watched him get rid of the puck, took three strides, dipped his shoulder, leapt for the head, and blew him up. However you felt about the hit, you had to feel for Horton, laid out on the ice, his teammates and 17,565 spectators looking on in horror, medics fumbling with a stretcher, trying to stabilize the big Ontarian before the frantic ride to Mass General.
The Bruins responded with eight goals in the final two periods. After the game, they placed The Jacket—an old Bruins warmup awarded to a player who made a special contribution to that night's victory—in Horton's locker. The last player to receive The Jacket was also Horton, after his game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. This was Win One for the Gipper stuff, the 1970 Willis Reed-inspired Knicks crossed with the '93 Islanders rallying after Dale Hunter cheapshotted Pierre Turgeon's shoulder into oblivion.
And you know what? We're still not rooting for you.
No one in Canada wants you to win, of course. Not when a Canadian team might bring the Cup back home for the first time in 18 years.
But U.S. hockey fans aren't behind you either. There's none of that (slightly weird) national pride here. Flyers fans hate Boston. Rangers fans hate Boston. Casual hockey fans in Boise or Mobile are, at best, indifferent about Boston.
You know what everyone really hates? When Boston fans complain about The Drought. The Bruins haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1972. Old-timers get weepy for Orr and Esposito and Bucyk, wish for one more Cup before they die.
Sure, Boston was once a suffering sports town. Injuries derailed Larry Bird's career, and Lenny Bias' tragic death sent the Celtics into mediocrity for nearly two decades. The mismanaged Red Sox ran out a series of bloated, overpaid veterans, only to see the rest of the division—Toronto, Baltimore, and the hated Yankees—stomp all over them. Curse or not, 86 years without a title would wound any sports fan. The Patriots? They just sucked. So yeah, those were tough times for Boston sports fans.
Now? You sound like the douchebag who bitches that, after the three-bedroom in Tribeca, the place in the Hamptons, the kids' boarding school, the annual trips to Paris and Aruba, the four cars, and two alimonies, you've barely got enough left for that third bottle of Dom at Per Se.
The vast, vast, vast majority of Bruins fans are also Sox fans, C's fans, and Pats fans. The Celtics won the city's most recent title, in 2008. If the Bruins win the Cup this year, the Boston pro sports team with the longest championship drought will be the Patriots, who won the Super Bowl in...2004.
Meanwhile, the Canucks have existed for 41 years and haven't won jack. Vancouver had an NBA team once. They were run into the ground by an incompetent stooge, then shipped off to Memphis.
We hope Nathan Horton makes a full recovery. We feel for the 12 Bruins fans who've shunned the city's other franchises and waited nearly 40 years for their shot.
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeVancouver Canucks Defenseman Kevin Bieksa was whining to the media yesterday about the big bad Bruins. After watching last night’s game it would appear that the Boston Bruins have gotten into the Vancouver Canucks head’s. Douglas Flynn; NESN --- NHL vice president Mike Murphy announced on Tuesday that "the garbage that is going on" had been addressed and further displays, such as players shoving their fingers in an opponent's face, will draw penalties.
While the Bruins appear to have taken Murphy's warning to heart about the excessive extracurricular activity in the series, the Canucks refuse to take any responsibility for the ugliness seen so far. According to Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa, they're just innocent victims being bullied by the big, bad Bruins.
"This group in here, we're fine with that," Bieksa said of the league's crackdown after Wednesday's morning skate before Game 4. "We know to stay away from it. Last game, yeah we were holding our ground, but I don't think you saw any scrums in front of our net. They were always in front of their net, their guys pushing and shoving after the whistle and flexing their muscles and proving how big and bad they are, but during the whistles we're the top-hitting team in the league so we're going to punish them during the whistles and we'll let them do that stuff after. The finger pointing and all that stuff, it's getting a little old really quick. When you're the sixth guy to do it, I don't think it's that funny anymore. We'll see if there's any more of that [in Game 4]."
So by Bieksa's logic, teammate Maxim Lapierre's initial taunt of Patrice Bergeron in Game 2 after Alex Burrows was not suspended for biting Bergeron in Game 1 was just fine. But Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic doing the same to Lapierre and Burrows, respectively, in Game 3 wasn't "funny anymore."
On that, at least, Bruins coach Claude Julien would agree. He was upset to see his players stoop to the Canucks' level and happy to hear that the league was cracking down on such antics going into Game 4.
"It's unfortunate," Julien said. "I was one of those guys that voiced my opinion that I wouldn't accept it. I certainly didn't share that with my team. Consequently, we were responsible for a couple of those. Obviously it was clear after the game what I expected from our guys. I'm certainly not a guy that encourages that kind of stuff
Douglas Flynn; NESN -- They chose not to whine and complain when Vancouver forward Alexandre Burrows was not suspended for biting Patrice Bergeron in Game 1. They didn't use it as an excuse when Burrows was not only in the lineup for Game 2, but scored the game-winner in overtime.
And they're not going to stoop to the Canucks' level in responding to Maxim Lapierre's Game 2 taunt of Bergeron. Lapierre stuck out his finger at Bergeron after a whistle, challenging him to bite it, then was seen laughing about the incident on the bench.
"I can't really talk about their team," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Monday's morning skate in preparation of Game 3 at the Garden. "I'm going to talk about mine because I don't handle those players. I don't deal with those players on a one-on-one basis. It really isn't up to me to, I guess, comment on it. If it's acceptable for them, then so be it. It certainly wouldn't be acceptable on our end of it. I think you know me well enough to know that.
"[There's] not much I can say on that," Julien added. "The NHL rules on something and they decide to make a mockery of it. That's totally up to them. If that's their way of handling things, then so be it. Again, we can't waste our time on that kind of stuff. We really have to focus on what we have to do. The last time I looked, we're down two games to none, and all our energy has to go towards that."
The rest of the Bruins downplayed the incident as well.
Image via WikipediaLooks like the War of Words is continuing between the Blackhawks and the Canucks; I also have to say that I agree with Chicago Blackhawks Center Dave Bolland and what he had to say about the Vancouver Canucks, “Typical, pulling hair and biting people. Sort of like a little girl.” CBS Chicago ---- “It does get pretty painful watching and seeing that team in it,” Bolland told Fred Mitchel, of the Chicago Tribune.
“It sucks seeing them there.”
The Canucks took the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals with a goal by Raffi Torres with 18.5 seconds remaining in regulation. Torres was the same player who delivered a hit to Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook’s head. It was a hit that kept Seabrook out of two games of the Blackhawks-Canucks first round series.
And the fact that Vancouver’s Alex Burrows appeared to bite the finger of Bruins center Patrice Bergeron in the first period didn’t take Bolland by surprise.
“Typical, pulling hair and biting people. Sort of like a little girl,” Bolland said. “But things happen during games. Stuff like that isn’t meant for hockey. So some of those things have to be taken care of.”
Michael Hurley; NESN ---This isn't a cry of injustice, a plea for a suspension or anything of the sort. Alex Burrows wasn't suspended by the NHL, and he probably didn't deserve to be. At this point of the year, in the Stanley Cup Final, biting a finger probably isn't enough to keep you off the ice for 60 minutes, and definitely not for 120 minutes.
That's what the folks at the NHL think, and you know what? That's fine. The problem is that they're not telling you that. They're telling you that there was "no conclusive evidence" to prove there was any biting. They're telling you that those videos you've seen, and the photos you've looked at -- they don't exist. They're basically telling you that you're an idiot.
They're insulting your intelligence.
There was conclusive evidence. We saw it. We saw Burrows chomp down on Bergeron's finger the same way I bite down on my morning apple (just kidding, I rarely eat fruit). If Mike Murphy, whose decision it was to hold off on supplemental discipline, really wanted more evidence, he'd go look at Bergeron's finger. It's got teeth marks in it.
Image via WikipediaFor the self congratulatory hockey pundits that had said there is a conspiracy for the Boston Bruins because Colin Campbell’s son Greg Campbell plays for the Boston Bruins; that conspiracy has been proven to be unfounded and has been shot full of holes to boot. Vancouver Canucks "hack" Alex Burrows will not be suspended for biting Patrice Bergeron. VANCOUVER -- National Hockey League Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy today announced that there will be no supplemental discipline on Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows for an alleged incident in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
"After reviewing the incident, including speaking with the on-ice officials, I can find no conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron," Murphy's statement
VANCOUVER (AP)---- Boston forward Patrice Bergeron wasn't surprised how quickly the Stanley Cup finals turned nasty, but he was shocked to feel Canucks counterpart Alex Burrows chomp down on the tip of his finger.
Burrows denied it, but could still face discipline from the NHL after replays appeared to show him bite Bergeron's finger during a melee at the end of the first period of Vancouver's 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night.
''I don't mind rough play and scrums at the end, as long as it's just pushing and shoving and all that,'' Bergeron said. ''But biting? I mean come on.''
In a game with an unexpected amount of edge between teams that meet once a season, Burrows and Bergeron were in the middle of a big scrum behind the Boston net at the end of the first period. That's when Bergeron says Burrows bit down as he reached over a linesman to put his glove in Burrows' face.
''Oh yeah, he did. He cut me a little bit on my finger,'' said Bergeron, whose right index finger was wrapped in a small bandage. ''One of his teeth caught under my nail. We just disinfected it and I'm going to take some antibiotics just to make sure. Obviously, it's not that bad but I don't want to take any risks.''
Bergeron, who played mostly against the Canucks' top line, went straight to the referees after holding up his injured finger.
''They didn't see it,'' Bergeron said. ''We were speaking French, me and (Burrows), and I told him, 'Why did you do that?' That linesmen speaks French, and his explanation was he said that I put my finger in his mouth and he had to do it. I'll leave it at that, but I'm sure the league is going to look at it.''
Burrows, who received a double minor for roughing – Bergeron only got one minor penalty for roughing – denied biting Bergeron.
''I don't think so,'' Burrows said. ''He had his fingers in my mouth, but I don't think I bit him. He put his hand up and put it in my face and his fingers in my mouth and that's what happened.''
Asked if he expected to be suspended, Burrows glared and said, ''next question.''
