Ways to improve the college hockey game.

This week's Illegal Curve article I  discuss ways to improve the College Hockey game. There are a few of the suggestion that I would enact if I was in charge. I believe some of these tweaks would improve the college game quite a bit.


1.) First thing out of the gate, I would get rid of the mask or bird cage. In my opinion I believe the full cage is a reason there is so much stick work in NCAA Division one hockey. A couple times getting hit in the face might be what some of these kids need to clean up the game. There is way too much stick work in college hockey and I think the mask is the major reason for this. The players have no respect for their opponents and they feel invincible because of the mask.

2.) Put the 'Red Stop Sign' on the back of all jerseys in Division one hockey, still way too many checking from behind penalties in college hockey. If a player sees the 'Red Stop Sign' don't check the player in front of you.

3.) Get rid of the progressive game disqualification for fighting in college hockey. I think college hockey should be like junior hockey. Fighting is part of the game of hockey and if a player gets into a fight, both players should be out for the rest of that game. There is no need for additional punishment. I think the progressive DQ is too punitive, and is a cause of a lot of extra unnecessary after the whistle bravo sierra. Currently; college hockey players know that they don’t have to fight when they commit an egregious act or take a run at a team’s star players and from past years we know the refs don’t always catch these egregious acts or make the right call either. Because of the progressive DQ rule you get ugly incidents like the one that happened in Mankato last season. Players know that they can hide behind the officials and almost never pay for their miss deeds. In the NHL and junior hockey the players police the game themselves and it helps keep the players honest. Prediction: when the Gophers play the Mavericks this season Brian Schack and Channing Boe will meet on the ice this season and settle their score.

4.) All ties must be broken like the NHL. Over time should be a five minute period of four on four hockey and then a shoot out if there is still no winner. Award point points like the NHL 2 for a win and 1 point for an overtime loss and or for a shoot out loss.

5.) Call the game like they do in the NHL, obstruction in college hockey is still very much a part of the game no matter how many refs are on the ice. If the hand comes off of the stick to hold up a player it's a penalty, hooking is a penalty and not to be misconstrued as good defense. Skill and Speed should be rewarded. It doesn't take any skill to skate up and down the ice hacking and hooking their opponent. Over looking penalties by the refs is unacceptable.

6.) All arenas in college hockey should be required to have over head cameras and goal reviews so the right call can be made on all controversial goals. There also needs to be more than one angle to review these controversial goals, much like the NHL. The NCAA should require each conference to have a war room like the one in Toronto.

7.) I also like to see hockey go to a more durable stick, these carbon fiber stick suck. Sure they are awesome for shooting but I am sick and tired of seeing them break all of the time.

This article was posted at the [Illegal Curve].

Kessel deal confirmed.

The Boston Bruins have traded forward Phil "the Thrill" Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a slew of draft picks. Now former Fighting Sioux hockey player and current Toronto Maple Leaf Jason Blake will have a new team mate. In a nut shell the rumors of Kessel wanting 5+ million a year apparently true as Phil will be the next millionaire from the WCHA. Kessel is said to make 27 million dollars over five seasons. I am sure that Boston Globe Bruins beat writer Kevin Paul Dupont is really happy now that he had got his wish and Kessel has been dealt to the Leafs. I would be willing to bet KPD is probably having a drink and smoking a cigar right now as we speak.

Phil Kessel has been surrounded by trade rumors for most of the offseason. Tonight, one of the most frequently rumored came true.


The Bruins traded the 21-year-old sniper to the Toronto Maple Leafs for first-round picks in 2010 and '11 and a second-rounder in the next draft.

According to multiple reports, Kessel, a restricted free agent, quickly signed a five-year, $27 million deal with the Leafs.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed via press release at 10 p.m. that the Bruins had completed the deal.

Kessel is a gifted goal scorer, but he occasionally felt the wrath of Bruins coach Claude Julien for not committing to the Bruins defensive style.

The Bruins and Leafs have been discussing swap for Kessel since the beginning of the summer, when reports were that the Leafs would send defenseman Tomas Kaberle to the Bruins for the former first-round draft pick.

That deal did not come to fruition, but the Bruins and Leafs finally agreed on compensation tonight. [Boston Globe Hockey blog]

Reger: Leafs and Bruins reach agreement on Kessel Trade.

Well it looks like a deal is going to get done. It will be interesting to see what the Bruins get back in return for Phil Kessel. I am sure that the Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli would like this head ache to end so he can set his line up in stone. The line up won't look as good with Phil Kessel not in the line up. At the State of the Bruins adress Chiarelli said, "there are players on the roster who “could pick up the slack.’’ One of them is Marco Sturm, who missed half of last season with a mangled knee that required surgery." Marco Sturm is not going to score 35-40 and doesn't have the upside or potential that Phil Kessel does. I would bet a $1,000.00 that Marco Sturm is not going to score 35-40 and doesn't have the upside or potential that Phil Kessel does. Sturm is 31 and Kessel is 21.

Sources tell TSN the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins have reached an agreement on a trade that will deliver Phil Kessel to the Leafs.

The trade is pending Kessel agreeing to a contract with Toronto. It's a process the Leafs are working on right now.

If the contract gets done, the deal is finalized and the trade goes through. If the Maple Leafs are unable to come to terms on a contract with Kessel, the deal may fall through.

The trade would end a saga that began during the lead-up to the NHL Draft when Kessel originally appeared to be headed to Toronto in exchange for defenceman Tomas Kaberle and a draft pick. However, the deal was scuttled at the last moment due to a miscommunication over the pick. [TSN]

Dion Phaneuf hammers Kyle Okposo

This is the hit that everyone has been talking about since last night. I looked at the hit a few times and the appears to be clean but kind of questionable, I think the hit is in the grey area, one could make the argument that it was a head shot, it does appear from the video that Phaneuf lead with his elbow when he hit Okposo. Now on the other end of the hit, Kyle Okposo never, never, never skate with your head down with the puck especially with Dino Phaneuf on the ice. Thank God, that Okposo is ok and was cleared to fly after the hit.
Props: [Light House hockey] [Two Line Pass] and [Puck Daddy]

Bruins unveil Winter Classic jersey

Today the Boston Bruins unveiled their Winter Classic hockey jersey and I have to say that this is a ugly  jersey. I would have went with a version of the third jersey that the Boston Bruins used last season.

[Boston Globe Bruins Hockey blog]

Chairman Says Tribe Won’t Approve Fighting Sioux Nickname

Very interesting situation. My first question is, if Ron His Horse is Thunder is voted out of office how is he going to continue continue to oppose the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname, even if he loses his re-election bid. my first question is how, if the people of the Standing Rock Tribe are allowed to vote and accept UND's use of the Fighting Sioux name. Is one man that powerful that he can stop the people from voicing their opinion?

From everything I have read that the Standing Rock Tribe is going to wait until after the tribal election to re-address the approval of UND's us of the Fighting Sioux nick name. It would be interesting to see what kind of action does RHHiT plans to use to stop it? The article says that the vote was 9-3 against the nick name but who is to say that they won't change their mind?

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe said Thursday that tribal officials will continue to oppose the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname, even if he loses his re-election bid later this month.
The North Dakota Board of Higher Education has voted to abolish the name and Indian head logo unless it gets a 30-year agreement from the state’s two Sioux tribes by Oct. 1. The issue was not on the agenda at the board’s meeting Thursday, but a handful of supporters and opponents of the nickname spoke during a public comment period.

Standing Rock Chairman Ron His Horse Is Thunder told the board that most recent vote by the Standing Rock tribal council was 9-3 against the nickname. He said the result shows the council’s position does not depend on whether he stays in office.

“Let’s move forward with this,” His Horse Is Thunder said. “We have beat each other enough as it is.”

Nickname supporter Archie Fool Bear, also of the Standing Rock reservation, asked the board to allow more time to vote on the nickname and logo.

“I say that with a good heart and an open mind because I respect everybody’s opinion,” Fool Bear said. “If it’s negative and it’s bad against the logo, I respect that opinion. But our culture has always been considered by a lot of people to be a strong point for surviving as a Sioux nation.”

Thursday reading.

Here is an interesting story on former BU star Colin Wilson: It will be interesting to see if he ends up in Nashville or Milwaukee. [Tennessean.com]

He stands 6-foot-1, weighs 230 pounds and produced some of the best offensive numbers in college hockey last season.

So there's little doubt that Predators prospect center Colin Wilson has the size and skill to thrive at some point in the NHL.

But is his time now?

That's what the 19-year-old Wilson will begin to tell everyone today, when he steps onto the ice at Sommet Center to play his first NHL preseason contest.

Here are some questions the Predators will be asking themselves as they try to determine whether the best course of action is for Wilson to start the season on the NHL level or with Milwaukee of the American Hockey League.

Can he keep up? If there's one knock on Wilson's game, it's that he's not a swift skater. In addition, it usually takes time for prospects to adjust to the speed when making the jump from the junior ranks, college or even the AHL.

"Some people have questioned his skating, but I think it's improved and it certainly wasn't a problem in the rookie games,'' GM David Poile said. "It didn't seem to be a problem playing with our guys here (in Wednesday's scrimmage). I just think he needs a few games under his belt.''

Can he be a threat offensively? There wouldn't be much point to Wilson making the roster as a fourth-line grinder, because his skills wouldn't be used effectively and he wouldn't be getting much ice time. He'd probably be better off playing on the first or second line in Milwaukee.

Former Fighting Sioux forward Zach Parise is ok after practice collision with Miami University defender Andy Greene. [Faceoff.com]

Defenceman Andy Greene was apologetic Thursday after colliding heavily with New Jersey Devils star centre Zach Parise at practice Thursday. Fortunately for both parties the 45-goal scorer was unhurt despite falling hard into the boards - but he still got some digs in at his teammate.

"I'm used to that from that guy," Parise said jokingly to the Bergen Record. "He likes to cross-check guys and run guys from behind in practice. He's known as a practice tough guy. . . .

"The D ran me from behind. I thought I was in a pretty vulnerable position - three feet away from the boards, facing the boards."

Not letting Greene off the hook, Parise also suggested the NHL should review the play.

From the Boston Globe today regarding Phil Kessel. [Boston.com]

After the game, Chiarelli spoke outside the locker room with Wade Arnott, Phil Kessel’s agent. “Got nothing for you,’’ said Arnott. The Leafs continue to be interested in Kessel.

Got nothing eh? Apparently there is a big time deal in the works between Boston and Toronto, seems like we hear that every day. Now apparently the Wild are also in the mix, I am not sure where they are going to put Phil's 4.5 to 5 million dollar contract since they are maxed out on cap space...

Because of the looming threat the Bruins will not be able to match an offer sheet for free agent Phil Kessel, two well-placed sources in Toronto said the team is close to pulling off a blockbuster trade involving the 21-year-old sniper.

According to the sources, the deal likely will be finalized within the next week, as four teams are in the running. Toronto and Nashville have made the best offers in talks with B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli. Minnesota and the New York Rangers also are in the mix.

The Bruins hoped all along to keep Kessel but could not re-sign him despite making a lucrative offer, so they are close to getting what they can for him and moving on.

“We’re obviously at an impasse,” Chiarelli said before last night’s preseason game against the Maple Leafs, where he expected to speak to Toronto counterpart Brian Burke. [Boston Herald]

So if Burke makes Phil Kessel an expensive offer and the Bruins don't match is Burke going to apologize to the the Oiler GM Kevin Lowe? In essence; wouldn't that also make Burke a hypocrite? Because if he offers Kessel an expensive deal and Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli doesn't match, wouldn't Burke be doing the same thing he accused Kevin Lowe of doing?

The Phil Kessel saga could be coming to a conclusion soon.

While the Maple Leafs remain the front-runners for Kessel’s services, a well-placed source told NESN.com that the Nashville Predators are in the running as well and have offered a package the Bruins like just as much as the Leafs’ reported offer of two first-round picks and more. According to the source, the Predators have offered a first-round pick, the rights to forward Alexander Radulov (who is currently playing in the KHL in Russia) and a top defensive prospect.

On Thursday’s Leafs Lunch on AM 640 in Toronto, host Darren Dreger claimed that a deal could be reached by this weekend because Leafs GM Brian Burke’s patience is wearing thin. Dreger says the Leafs have tabled the best offer, and if the Bruins don’t take it, Burke will go the route of an offer sheet.

Dreger cited Kessel’s wishes to play in Toronto over Nashville as the reason the Leafs remained the front-runners, and the aforementioned source said the same. The Bruins, however, don’t want to trade within the Eastern Conference, let alone with a division rival such as Toronto. That, apparently, is why Peter Chiarelli hasn’t dealt the 21-year old sniper that led the Bruins with 36 goals in 2008-09. [NESN.COM]

Wild Sign Peter Sykora to a contract.

I just hope he Sykora can put 20+ goals behind the goalie this season and doesn't end up being that player that only played in 7 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On the flip side of that equation, if Sykora can score 20-25 he could fill a void the Wild lack through the forward lines. There isn't many in the Wild line up that have the ability to score 25 goals.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—The Minnesota Wild have signed right wing Petr Sykora(notes) to a one-year contract.

Sykora skated with the team on a tryout basis for two practices. His deal was done on Thursday.

The 32-year-old ranked fourth on the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins last season with 46 points in 76 games. He had 25 goals, giving him 300 over his 14-year career. Sykora has played in the Stanley Cup finals five times.

The Czech Republic native has played for five other teams, first with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 after they made him their first-round draft pick.

Gandalf The Red hammers CHN Poll.

I have to link this blog post because it is awesome, it hits the ball out of the park, it's an ensemble that hit all the right notes. This blog is also one of my personal favorites and I love the banter back and forth between Badger fans and Gopher fans.

I like Gandalf the Red was kind of taken back by the CHN poll because the College Hockey News has been known in the past as being the counter balance for INCH, usually have been pretty good, "emphasis mine." I don't get the logic and I can't imagine that CHN is hurting for hits. None the less, Gandalf the Red really hammers home a point that I have and a few others been making for years, beating crappy EZAC teams and racking up wins against the weak sisters of the poor proves nothing other than you can beat crappy teams. Your stats mean nothing. That is the flaw with the current RPI/PWR ranking system, your better off stacking up wins against crappy teams because you're rewarded for it in the end.

None of this really matters, its just fun for discussion's sake. Reading the comments over at CHN and on Goon's blog, no one really sees the ECAC worthy of three teams in the top 10. I'd have to agree, simply because the PWR favors three good teams from the same bad conference doesn't mean they belong in the top 10 of any poll or in the NCAA tourney. Does an ECAC fan really want to debate that Cornell, Yale and Princeton all belonged in the NCAA tourney last year over Wisconsin and minnesota? See when you play a panzy ass schedule like the ECAC (or the CCHA) the PWR favors you because you can rack up wins against bad teams, only facing tough competition on occasion. In the WCHA, where are the bad teams? Oh sure Tech and UAA and Mankato are regularly at the bottom, but while they are bad by WCHA standards they are still better than any team outside of the top 3 in the ECAC, and probably just as good as those. Last season Wisconsin had something like 30+ games against TUC's in the PWR, I think Yale or Princeton had just enough (10) to use the criteria in the ranking. So they skate in w/ just enough TUC's, meaning that 2/3 of their games were against teams not in the PWR top 25, and that is suppose to be impressive?

This doesn't even bring in the KRACH rankings from last season. Yale ranks 10th, Cornell 17th and Princton 20th. Wisconsin was 11th, BC was 12th, the gophers 13th and UMASS Lowell 14th. So you really want to tell me that these ECAC teams are better than those four teams and Cornell and Princeton deserved spots in the tourney over them?

I wasn't even planning on going on that tangent until I started in and realized once again the facts are there, and the ECAC has no business getting the respect it does, playing the weak ass schedules they do.

Also the analysis on the Gophers being ranked 6th Gandalf is also spot on. The Gophers lose almost 50 points from their line up with Ryan Stoa (24g-22a-46pts)signing a professional contract and apparently that has no bearing what so ever on the pre-season rankings? Give me a break. This is almost as silly as suggesting that UAA is going to finish in the top five of the WCHA standings. Granted the Gophers get a few recruits that have blue chip numbers, that could make an immediate impact but they aren't seasoned veterans. I still don't think their defense is going to be that great either, it will be improved.

6. minnesota: A usual NCAA postseason staple, the gophers fell short of expectations last season, but if their late-season run showed anything, it was that they'd be back with a vengeance in 2009-10. They lose top scorer Ryan Stoa to the pro ranks, but return Jordan Schroeder, who excelled as a freshman, and Jay Bariball on a deep offense that will be complemented by a defense led by Cade Fairchild and Aaron Ness, both of whom matured nicely as the roller coaster season continued. The biggest piece of the puzzle will be seeing which Alex Kangas shows up in net -- the one who gave up 42 goals in a 12 game mid-season stretch, or the one who allowed just 19 over the final nine matches of the season.

I was unaware that INCH fired all their idiots and CHN gave them jobs. Late season run? You mean the three games in a row they won before losing to Duluth at the Final Five play-in game? I guess they forgot about them going 2-7-2 in the 11 games before that; quite the late season surge. They almost blew home ice by losing to Tech on the last friday of the regular season and they were making a run? That was Tech's second win in WCHA play.

I don't really care who is in any top 10, the only rankings that matters is first the WCHA standings, and second the PWR after the last buzzer sounds to end conference tourneys, but I expect a little more out of CHN, since someone is paying this writer to put this together, they at least should qualify an absurd statement like "late season run," especially when one didn't happen. They are spot on about Kangas though, like poison in a well.

Report: Kessel blockbuster trade likely

This thing is starting to drag on and on and we have heard this before. It would be nice to get some closure on this before the season begins.

Because of the looming threat the Bruins will not be able to match an offer sheet for free agent Phil Kessel, two well-placed sources in Toronto said the team is close to pulling off a blockbuster trade involving the 21-year-old sniper. [sportsnet.ca]

CHN Poll.

When I saw this CHN poll I thought you have got to be kidding me? This is a joke right? I mean seriously we have three EZAC teams in the top ten. The same three teams that if you put them in the WCHA would be struggling to make the top five to gain home ice for the WCHA playoffs. I know there are many that feel the same way as I do.

Maybe your league should win an national title in this decade and then maybe you will get the props you deserve. This is the same league that went 1-3 in the 2009 NCAA tourney. Please! I think UND and Wisconsin deserved to be in the top ten. I don't have a problem with the top three teams but I am to believe that Cornell is fourth best team in division one hockey.

1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Boston University
4. Cornell
5. Michigan
6. Minnesota
7. Princeton
8. Notre Dame
9. UMass-Lowell
10. Yale

Spirit Lake issues nickname resolution

Some very good news came out of Spirit Lake Today. Now hopefully we can get a resolution from Standing Rock. This is just one step in the process. Nothing is over yet.

[Tu-Uyen Tran, Grand Forks Herald] ----- The Spirit Lake Tribal Council has approved a resolution recognizing the tribe’s support of UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname.

According to nickname opponent Terry Morgan, whose mother is tribal Chairwoman Myra Pearson, confirmed that the council did make the decision. He said that rather than embracing the nickname, the council simply acknowledged the vote.

In the tribe’s April election, 67 percent of tribal members voted to support the nickname.

It was part of an effort by nickname supporters to win the council’s blessings for the controversial nickname. The settlement between UND and the NCAA, which consider American Indian nicknames to be hostile and abusive, requires the university to win formal support from councils at Spirit Lake and Standing Rock.

Morgan said he doesn’t believe the resolution is the support UND needs at all.

The resolution itself has this to say:

“Now therefore be it resolved that the Tribal Council goes on record to officially accept election results of April 23, 2009, for University of North Dakota logo and name retention.”

“Be it further resolved that the Tribal Council concurs with the wishes of the Spirit Lake people.”

The resolution also said that “a significant majority of the membership voted in favor of allowing UND to continue using the Fighting Sioux name and logo.”

Nickname supporters at Spirit Lake say they think the resolution is exactly what the NCAA wanted. State Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who negotiated the settlement with the NCAA, concurs

Indians ask Supreme Court if "Redskins" offends

It would be interesting to see if the Supreme court would actually hear their case or not. Your starting to get into first amendment issues. With the current make up of the court I would doubt they would rule in their favor. This goes back to the issue that not all native Americans are offended by Native American caricatures/logos. What is going to happen next? Are these groups going to go after sports teams that are named sacred animals such as Eagles, Wolves, Bears, Owls, Bison?

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of American Indians who find the Washington Redskins name offensive wants the Supreme Court to take up the matter.

The group on Monday asked the justices to review a lower court decision that favored the NFL team on a legal technicality.

The seven Native Americans have been working through the court system since 1992 to have the Redskins trademarks declared invalid. A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office panel ruled in their favor in 1999. But they’ve been handed a series of defeats from judges who ruled that the plaintiffs waited too long to bring their suit in the first place.

A lawyer for the group says he’d like to see the highest court decide whether the Redskins name defames Native Americans.

Hump days news.

Former BU defenseman Matt Gilroy is looking good in the practice as well as on the ice for the New York Rangers.

The 25-year-old rookie took his first turn in a Blueshirt Tuesday night as the Rangers opened their preseason schedule against the Bruins at the Garden. The Rangers got a glimpse of where their blue-line future lies, what with 19-year-old Michael Del Zotto also in the lineup, along with the returning Marc Staal. Of all of them, Gilroy has created the most buzz.

"I definitely got chills," Gilroy said of his first Blueshirt experience, a 2-1 loss to the Bruins. "And to hear that first goal song go off, even though I'm on the bench, it was pretty cool, too."

The Fargo Force have an all-UND flavor to them. Head coach Steve Johnson and assistants Chad Johnson and Mark Pivetz. Maybe they will send UND a few recruits. [UND hockey blog]

dggoddard from Lets Go DU has some all stirred up again with a recent blog post. Remember before you get too personal it's supposed to be humor, I guess I could see the humor. If you don't like don't like what he has to say about UND don't read it. DU is one of our rivals and little smack talk doesn't hurt. [Lets Go DU]

Gandalf The Red has predicted the Golden Gophers to finish 5th in the WCHA this season. I think the ranking is about right. Maybe this year the Gophers can make the NCAA tourney. Baby steps. [60 Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets]

Gandalf The Red the red also has Gopher fans all worked up with a debate over their two teams recruiting policies. Can we all just get along? [60 Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets]

Bentley Picked Seventh in AHA Preseason Coaches' Poll. Yawn! I am surprised they are picked to finish that high. [Bentley Falcons]

Former SCSU defenseman Brett Hedican will hang up the skates and retire. Hedican played in the NHL for 17 seasons. Hedican played with Mike Commodore in 2006 when the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. [Star Tribune]

UNO just got a major donation from the Sokol family.

OMAHA, Neb. – The UNO athletic department announced today the receipt of a major financial gift from the family of David and Peggy Sokol.

“As an institution and as a department, we are humbled by the generosity of the Sokol family,” said Trev Alberts, UNO’s Director of Athletics. “David and Peggy Sokol have such a distinguished history of giving to the greater Omaha community, and we are grateful that they have seen fit to support our mission of making UNO athletics one of the premiere programs in the country.

“The Sokols’ gift will be applied to the improvement of training and competition facilities for UNO student-athletes. Those students continue to give their best on the playing field, and it is up to our department to provide them with the means to succeed. This gift will go a long way toward fulfilling that goal.”

The Sokols’ donation is begin given in honor of their late son, D.J. Mr. Sokol is a graduate of UNO and a former student-athlete himself as a member of the UNO football team.

Check out this picture.

I really like the facial expressions of these two hockey players in this Boston Globe picture of former Gopher Blake Wheeler and former Fighting Sioux hockey player Jason Blake.

Significant NHL Dates

Oct. 1: Start of the regular season
Nov. 9: Hockey Hall of Fame Induction
Dec. 26 - Jan. 5: World Junior Championship in Regina/Saskatoon
Jan. 1: 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park
Feb. 15 - Mar. 1: Olympic Break
Apr. 11: Last day of regular season
Apr. 14: Start date of Stanley Cup Playoffs
May 7 - 23: IIHF World Championship in Germany

Former Boston Bruins voice Fred Cusick dead at age 90

I would like to extend my condolences to Fred Cusick's family as we lost a great hockey announcer. I got to listen to a lot of games done by Cusick on NESN and WSBK TV 38 when I lived in Ayer Mass during 1988 till 1990. RIP Fred you will be missed.

Fred Cusick, the popular play-by-play voice for the Bruins for more than 40 years, has died, his family confirmed to the Globe this afternoon. He was 90 years old.

Cusick, who is scheduled to be inducted to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame tomorrow night, was a signature voice of the Bruins during their 1970s heyday.

His simple trademark call of "Score!" whenever Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Cam Neely and countless other Bruins put the puck in the net served as familiar punctuation on their goals.

Upon returning from a stint with the Navy during World War II, Cusick began his career with the Bruins in 1952, handling the play-by-play on their radio broadcasts until 1970.

In 1963, he led the push to get the Bruins on television, editing and voicing over tapes of the Bruins' Saturday night games, which would then air on Sundays. The replays were popular enough that the games aired on live TV within a couple of years.

Cusick called the Bruins' 1970 Stanley Cup championship for WBZ-FM (1030), then moved to television in '71, taking over play-by-play duties at Channel 38 and holding that position until 1997, when he retired after 45 years calling Bruins games.

He also was the play-by-play voice of the Bruins on NESN from 1984 to '93.
[Boston Globe]

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Bruins and Leafs still talking.

The Bruins and Leafs are still talking trade and draft picks. It will be interesting to see how long this plays out? Looks like the Leafs are also regretting signing former SCSU Husky Jeff Finger to that rather large contract. There is no way that he is worth 3+ million a season.

DANGLING PICKS

Burke continues to probe middle ground with the Bruins to acquire Kessel for a package of draft picks. The Boston Globe echoed reports of the past few days that the Leafs are dangling two first-round picks and a second-rounder and would want at least a third-rounder coming back, but despite his salary cap crunch, GM Peter Chiarelli might also take a player from the Leafs.

Burke played down speculation that the Leafs are trying to force Boston's hand by insisting a deal gets done in a couple of days, before they go the offer sheet route. Boston could match a Leafs offer, but would then need to move other players to get under the cap to accommodate Kessel. A trade would net a better return for Boston.

To get his own house in order, Burke also said he will demote some players to the Marlies if they don't play to potential at camp, but that rarely has been an issue with White.

He beat the odds to stay with the Leafs last season, making the team as a right winger. He won the club's Bill Masterton Trophy nomination for his perseverance.

"Unfortunately, Whitey's in that group," Wilson said of the limbo Leafs. "When you have eight or nine NHL defenceman, they get to a point where they say: 'Do I have to prove myself again'? But there's nothing wrong with that. That's the way it should be."

Finger, signed to a four-year, $14-million US contract by the previous regime, also is looking over his shoulder.

"The competition should bring out the best in us," he said. "If it doesn't, I won't be playing much."

The day the Jets died

Being 150 miles south of Winnipeg, the Jets were a very convenient trip north up I29 across the border to Hwy 75. I can still remember going to a few games during that final 1995-1996 season. During that final season I went to games between the Flyer's vs Jets, but also the Blackhawks and Jets. It was doubly hard to watch the Jets leave Winnipeg because a few years earlier I had watched another one of my favorite team the North Stars leave Minneapolis shortly after making a run at the Stanley Cup and then relocate to Dallas because of Norm Greed. Now we have a mess in Phoenix and you have to wonder if the Jets would have been better off playing in Winnipeg than the black hole known as Glen Dale.

Western College Hockey gives Sioux the kiss of death

Chris from Western College hockey gave UND the kiss of death. While I think UND is going to be very good hockey team this season I don't know if they are going to finish in the top spot. It's not outside the realm of possibility. I think DU is going to finish there based on who didn't leave for the NHL and who they have coming in this season. Funny no mention of the law mower throwing incident.

1. North Dakota

The Sioux are the defending MacNaughton Cup champs, and had it not been for a couple terrible starts to their season, they would probably have two or three more in recent years.

Last year North Dakota was a bit different from previous Sioux teams in that they didn’t have much in the way of superstar NHL prospects—it’s probably telling that nobody left school early for the pros last summer—but they were a much deeper team, and that seemed to serve them better over the long haul of the season(though it also produced their shortest postseason run in years).

This year’s North Dakota team looks similar, though they’ll probably have less scoring at the top, and more scoring throughout the rest of the lineup. Chris VandeVelde is one of the strongest players in the WCHA, but probably isn’t going to score at much than a point per game pace. Jason Gregoire could be due for a breakout season as a sophomore.

On defense, they return Chay Genoway, who some thought was the WCHA’s player of the year last season, and they have a solid goalie in Brad Eidsness.

They’re going to be a tough, physical team from top to bottom, and hopefully more consistent than in year’s past. It might take more points to win the league than it did last season, but with their goaltending situation settled, and a more experienced lineup, I don’t see North Dakota having the struggles they did early last season.

The Pre-Season Preview went like this...
1. North Dakota
2. Denver
3. Wisconsin
4. Minnesota
5. Minnesota-Duluth
6. St. Cloud
7. Colorado College
8. Minnesota State
9. Alaska-Anchorage
10. Michigan Tech

What the heck was that?

Here is an interesting interview that was on NESN.COM.

I didn't like this guy before but now KDP is really starting to piss me off. Why would a sports writer have an agenda to get a player run out of town? I mean really first it was Big Joe Thornton now Kessel. I would suppose that next year is he going to focus on Marc Savard, because he is tough enough and doesn't check people through the boards. Fan unrest a lot of Bruins fans are upset with the way this has been handled. This is mind boggling. Can we trade sports writers?

Based on fan unrest over Phil Kessel’s status expressed on Internet sites, especially boston.com, those who plan to attend may be asked to empty their pockets of tomatoes and eggs as they report for the 6:30 p.m. start. Fans love scoring, because it’s the most obvious of the game’s multiple, complex arts. Three years ago, prior to Zdeno Chara’s arrival, the Bruins couldn’t dream of letting Kessel go. But now, with a winning and defense-first game plan in place, it’s a club that can take the calculated risk of moving on without him. The hardest micro-decision in keeping Kessel is whether or not to deal away the 29-year-old Michael Ryder instead. Ryder makes $4 million, and something around $5 million would likely be enough to take care of the 21-year-old Kessel. But for now, Chiarelli & Co. seem intent on keeping Ryder over Kessel.[Boston Globe]