April 24th, 2010 Coach's Corner with Ron MacLean & Don Cherry

Back by popular demand.

Marian Hossa hit on Dan Hamhuis

This is the latest controversy in the NHL. I saw the hit and while it's a bad hit there is no question and I don't condone it one bit, I am not sure that the hit in question is as bad as the Alexander Ovechkin hit on Brian Campbell. Brian Campbell went more violently face first into the boards than the Hamhuis hit. Just my humble opinion, don’t take my head off. There are a lot of people that are upset that Hossa wasn't thrown out of the game and given a match penalty and Predators fans are even more unhappy that Marian Hossa scored the game winning goal. Will the league suspend Hossa? I don't know? The league doesn't have much time to make a decision, the Hawks play again Monday. Hossa doesn't have a history of dirty hits or questionable play. So who knows where the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice will land. Personally I don't think the play rises to the level where it deserves a suspension. Not every major penalty deserves a suspension.

War of the words; Ruff and Julien

This is turning into a pretty good drama between the two teams, it's playoff hockey. Personally, I hate the Buffalo Sabres and they sound like a bunch of whinny little cry babies, there has been excessive complaining about the officiating in this series by the Buffalo Sabres coaching staff. The fact remains that the officiating has been poor both ways. The game prior their coach Lindy Ruff had a temper tantrum at the post game press conference. I love it. I expect the next game to be even more intense. Some of this stuff is also tin foil hat crap though.

"I said [Friday] night, you run the risk of being suspended," Ruff said on Saturday. "The league's interpretation is what it is. I was arguing for the instigator. That's why I stayed on the bench. I had [Craig Rivet] go over and say, 'That's an instigator.'

"It really doesn't matter what I think. It really doesn't," Ruff added. "I don't think that little slash [from Gaustad] hurt [Chara], though. An instigator is an instigator. The referees deemed [Gaustad] was the instigator. I can find lots of little slashes in the game if you want me to find that."

In his media briefing on Saturday, Julien said he hoped Ruff was simply using coaching tactics and didn’t need any cheese with his whine. He also reiterated his disgust with what he believes to be one-sided officiating leaning in the Sabres’ favor.

"I've heard and read Lindy's comments," Julien said. "Hopefully, it's his way of taking pressure off his team. If not, it's a lot of whining. Simple as that. Every coach has his tactics. You just worry about yourself. We seem to be the team that's doing bad things. They seem to be the team that's on the nice side of all that stuff and they do nothing wrong. It's tactics. Those are things in the playoffs that coaches use, hopefully to their advantage. I don't pay much attention to it."

There is some speculation around the NHL that the league tends to resist suspending star players in the playoffs, and Ruff was asked if maybe that was the case here with Chara.

"I've heard that argument before and I'm not even going to go down that road,” Ruff said.

Rivet, the Sabres captain, also chimed in, saying he expected the Bruins captain to be in the lineup Monday.

"I'm not really surprised," Rivet said. "It's something I expect at this time of year. I think the action would have to be a lot worse to get a suspension. He was a little bit frustrated at the end of the game but I don't think it was really cause for a suspension."

One thing is for sure though: If Gaustad or any other Sabres player wants to take liberties with a Bruin again, they will get a similar reaction. Chara’s actions were questioned, because he could have put his team in a tough position if he was suspended. But with two seconds on the clock and the Sabres up 4-1, he and the Bruins weren’t about to let Gaustad and the Sabres rub salt in the wound.

“We stand up for ourselves, too, and it is about doing it at the right time,” Julien said. “Sometimes a guy takes a cheap shot at you at the time of the game, it gives you a power, play and you say, 'Well, OK, I know who it is and it is a long game.’ But the game [was] over [when Gaustad hit Chara]. Obviously, it was a cheap shot and it was unwarranted -- the two-hander -- and [Chara] responded.[NESN.COM]

Chara will not be suspended.

Here is the explanation on why Big "Z" will not be suspended for game six. As some of the pundits have said the Gaustad slash (at the end of this video) is probably the reason why Chara will not receive any additional discipline from the NHL.

Darren Dreger TSN - The Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres were informed by the NHL on Friday night that Boston captain Zdeno Chara will not be suspended for the end of game instigator he was assessed in the Bruins' 4-1 loss to the Sabres.

However, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli had to formally submit a written request to Terry Gregson, the NHL's director of officiating, to have the instigator rescinded.

Two instigator penalties during the Stanley Cup playoffs results in an automatic suspension.

Chara was not involved in any in-game incident prior to his retaliation which under Rule 47.22 provides the criteria for Colin Campbell, the NHL's Director of Hockey Operations, to lift the automatic suspension which coincides with this penalty.

"(Rule 47.22)

Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime) - A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at anytime in overtime, shall automatically be suspended for one game. The Director of Hockey Operations will review every such incident and may rescind the suspension based on a number of criteria. The criteria for the review shall include, but not limited to, the score, previous incidents, etc. The length of suspension will double for each subsequent offense. This suspension shall be served in addition to any other automatic suspensions a player may incur for an accumulation of three or more instigator penalties.When the one-game suspension is imposed, the Coach shall be fined $10,000 - a fine that will double for each subsequent incident. No team appeals will be permitted either verbally or in writing regarding the assessment of this automatic suspension."

Donny Brook at the end of the Bruins and Sabres game.

The reason that Zdeno Chara goes after Paul Gaustad is that he slashes Chara as he skates by. Holy Cow! You've got to love playoff hockey. While the Sabres may have won tonight's game the Bruins have two games to win the series clinching game. Mark it down, the Sabres are not going to win this series.

Should the Bruins shut Marc Savard down?

Marc Savard has been cleared to practice with the team after being out for 6 weeks missing 22 games with post concussion symptoms as a result of a bush league blind side hit by uber hack Matt Cooke. While the bloggers and media will pontificate on when players should return from a concussion, I think the decision needs to be with the player and the team doctors.

A championship is not worth risking any athlete's health, let alone a first round series. This is why Peter Chiarelli and Claude Julien are wise to temper expectations for the return of dynamic center Marc Savard. This is why you hope the general manager and head coach of the Boston Bruins back up their words, even if their team's 3-1 lead over the Buffalo Sabres starts to dwindle after Game 5 on Friday in Buffalo.

The Bruins should not look for inspiration from a heroic return by Savard in this series against their division rivals. Julien is far better off sending the optimistic message, "Win this series and we get Savvy back for Round 2."

It would be so easy for the Bruins' brass to talk themselves into a Savard return. "We really need him on the power play, and no one's going to touch him there," could be one reasoning. "We'll break him in easily with some fourth line duty," is another. After all, with Bergeron and Krejci at center, the Bruins don't need Savard for his usual 18 minutes a game.

Hopefully, Julien will remember his words on Wednesday morning after Savard passed his neuropsychological exam and was cleared to practice. ][Fan House]

Everything I’ve done, I owe to hockey and UND

This letter to the editor was in today addition of the Grand Forks Herald, it's from a former Fighting Sioux hockey player that is also of Native American decent. I would like to see Sudie Hofmann or Winona LaDuke try to refute his letter...

By Bill LeCaine
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — I’m a Lakota Sioux and was born on the Wood Mountain Lakota Sioux reservation in Wood Mountain, Sask. That was where Sitting Bull and his people fled to in order to escape the U.S. Army after the battle of the Little Big Horn.

My mother took me off the reserve at age 4 or 5, and I lived with her on skid row until the government took me from her. After that, I lived in children’s shelters and foster homes.

I attended UND on a hockey scholarship and later played 14 years as a pro, including playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League.

I’m proud to have worn the “Fighting Sioux” logo and of what it stands for.

The name was chosen for all the right reasons: honor, pride, courage, respect and dignity, along with family and religious ethics that people are proud of.

Most alumni with whom I’ve spoken did not attend UND for the “Fighting Sioux” logo or name. But they did learn to love the name and school and everything that they stand for today.

Somebody once said that nothing happens until someone says something. More important, nothing happens unless someone is listening. I hope that 100 years from now, North Dakotans can say we made the right decision. Good things happen when good people do the right thing.

A few years ago, I met an author who wrote books about genocides that happened in the course of history. He also raised money for synagogues so that the world would not forget the Holocaust.

I asked him if he included in his books the genocide perpetrated on American Indians by our own government. He was embarrassed to tell me that he had forgotten that very significant part of our history and assured me it would be in his next book.

Only 130 years have passed since the battle of the Little Big Horn; how soon we forget.

The Fighting Sioux name and the programs that UND has for American Indians are a tribute to and should serve as a reminder of that part of history.

I’m also a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakota because of my great-grandfather, Black Moon, who fought with Sitting Bull. My grandfather, John O’kute Sica, was a historian and writer. A German publishing company just printed a book with his writings of history and what might happen in the future. This summer, it will be published in English.

For my part, I only hope that my writings of the present can say that good people who do good things can have a profound impact on history and on the Indian nations that have not had many good things happen to them.

And I hope that my writings about the future will say what an uplifting occasion this was for all American Indians.

Let’s think about the future and not get stuck in the “now and immediate” time frame.

To sum up, I can say that everything I’ve accomplished today as an athlete, a father and a business person, I owe to hockey and UND.

LeCaine is president and CEO of Arrow Technologies, an Indian-owned company that designs and installs copper and fiber-optic systems.

He was the first American Indian to play in the National Hockey League.

Savard en route to Buffalo

This is good news for the Boston Bruins because it mean that their best players is getting better and could make a return to the ice soon. It's no mystery that the Boston Bruins who are already offensively challenged are a much better team with Marc Savard in the line up.

Marc Savard will travel to Buffalo this afternoon and participate in tomorrow's morning skate. Savard visited with Dr. Kelly McInnis this morning, and although he hadn't gotten any results, he believes he has been cleared for contact. Tomorrow will be the first time Savard skates with his teammates, although given the nature of morning skates, it doesn't project to be a high-tempo session.

"Just getting my wind back," Savard said. "You can do biking or whatever you want. But nothing's like being on the ice. Just keep taking it a day at a time and get stronger that way." [Boston Globe Hockey Blog]

Lindy Ruff unhappy with the officating.

I know it sounds cliché but this series is a perfect example of why you have to play a full sixty minutes to win a hockey game. The Sabres have had two goal leads in two of the four games and the Bruins have come back to win the games. The Bruins made the adjustments so far in this series and the Sabres didn’t.

The Bruins cashed in on their opportunities last night and the Sabres did not. The Sabres coach, Buffalo media and the Sabres fans can blame the officiating for the loss last night but the officiating was equally poor on both ends of the ice last night. That dog doesn’t hunt in this case.

If anything the officiating has been consistently poor in every game that I have watched. The other night I watched Andrew Ference get a 10 minute misconduct for getting punched and not fighting back. So if anything both team have legitimate complaints about the poor officiating. If anything the level of officiating has degraded and taken a step back this year. It is what it is, the fact remains the Bruins have out played the Sabres for most of this series and that is why the Bruins are on the verge of eliminating the Buffalo Sabres and sending them to the golf course. If it wasn’t for Ryan Miller the Bruins would have won the series 4-0 all ready.

BOSTON — Lindy Ruff's wallet could be a few bucks lighter after he's finished paying a fine for criticizing the officials, but you could understand his frustration after the game Wednesday. A terrible call in the third period shifted momentum to the Bruins and enabled them to crawl back from another two-goal deficit.

Cody McCormick was summoned by Buffalo from Portland to add some much-needed muscle and tenacity, and that's exactly what he provided. He made a great play to set up Tim Kennedy for the first goal. And he was going hard to the net when he was taken off of his feet before slamming into Tuukka Rask, leading to goaltender interference.

Terrible call? Definitely.

Tough break? Yes.

Ruff had a legitimate beef and allowed his emotions to get the better of him, plain and simple. He could blame Drew Stafford for jumping off the bench too soon, which led to Miroslav Satan, of all people, scoring on a power play backhander in the second overtime. All it takes is one bad play, one mental mistake, to cost a team in the postseason.

The Sabres are in a world of trouble after the 3-2 loss in TD Garden. They're staring down the barrel of elimination Friday with the best-of-seven series shifting back to Buffalo. They have lost three straight to the Bruins. They put together their best performance in Game Four, and it wasn't enough.

No, it does not look good.

Craig Rivet vs Milan Lucic

This was a good fight for Milan Lucic as he handed it to Craig Rivet. I think the fight also fired up both teams. For Lucic to be affective he must play tough and finish his checks.

NHL on TSN - Opening Montage - Avatar Style - Apr 21st 2010

Check out this opening montage for last night's game between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadians. Think the NHL is banking on Ovechkin keeping peoples eyes glued to the television.

Tuukka Rask saves the Bruins

Check out this amazing save by Tuukka Rask in third period of tonight's game. I would say that this is the save of the season for the Boston Bruins.

Boston Bruins on the Verge of a series win.

What a beautiful goal by former Buffalo Sabre Miroslav Satan to beat the Sabres. I must say that I am very happy because it's been 18 years since the Boston Bruins have beaten the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup playoffs, (1991-1992 season Bruins win series 4-3). The Boston Bruins are on the verge of winning the series against their heated rival.

Joe Pavelski's OT goal against the Avs

Not a former Fighting Sioux hockey player but a former WCHA star. Former Wisconsin Badger Hockey player Joe Pavelski scored the game winning goal against the Colorado Av's last night to even the series with the Av's 2-2. Seriously, what a shot to end the game by the former Badger forward. Pavelsi blew the puck past Anderson, making him look like a rented goalie.

Hoeven: Give everybody time to speak

Governor soon to be North Dakota Senator John Hoeven has finally manned up and stepped into the nickname process. This is the right decision. Frankly, I have wondered what has taken Hoeven so long? I wish some of the states other political leaders would have stepped up earlier in this matter.

Gov. John Hoeven has advised the chancellor of the North Dakota University System to “give due consideration to any vote by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe” regarding the UND Fighting Sioux nickname if it occurs before Nov. 30.

In his letter to Chancellor Bill Goetz, dated Tuesday, Hoeven noted that the state Supreme Court recently affirmed the State Board of Higher Education’s “authority and responsibility to decide on the use of the logo” subject to a lawsuit and settlement agreement involving UND and the NCAA, which considers American Indian nicknames and logos hostile and abusive.

The board on April 8 directed UND to begin the transition away from the 80-year-old nickname.

“It is important, however, that all involved in the process of deciding whether or not to retain it feel that they have been adequately heard,” the governor wrote.

Hoeven was asked last week by nickname supporters at the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe to use his influence with higher education officials to allow the people of Standing Rock to speak to the issue. He forwarded a copy of that appeal, from the Spirit Lake Committee for Understanding and Respect, to Goetz and to Richie Smith, president of the higher education board.

Under terms of the lawsuit settlement between UND and the NCAA, the university had until Nov. 30 to win the blessing of the two namesake tribes or begin retiring the nickname and logo.

Spirit Lake voters gave their support last year, but the Standing Rock Tribal Council, citing procedural hurdles and calling such a vote a low priority, has not scheduled one despite the presentation by nickname supporters on the reservation of petitions containing more than 1,000 signatures.

Tribal officials have said they are looking into what would be required by tribal law and the Standing Rock constitution to hold a plebiscite on the nickname.

Eunice Davidson, one of the signers of the Spirit Lake appeal, said that she and others on her committee “would have liked a more forceful response” from the governor.

“But I think he responded the best he could, and we are grateful for the governor’s statement,” she said. “I believe it leaves the door open, if Standing Rock does have their vote, for the Board of Higher Education to revisit their decision.”

Duaine Espegard, a member of the state board from Grand Forks, said today the board “absolutely” would revive the nickname issue if Standing Rock votes and offers its support.

“It appears the governor agrees with what we’ve been saying,” he said. “Should they vote at Standing Rock, and it is positive (toward continued use of the nickname), we would certainly give them consideration — and beyond that, go with them.”

So far, “no progress has been made” on arranging a vote at Standing Rock, Espegard said. “But if they do vote, and they give approval and a long-term agreement, absolutely I’ll bring it back,” he said.

“It’s what I anticipated the governor would say,” board member Grant Shaft, also of Grand Forks, said.

“We all agree it would be the best scenario if Standing Rock members were able to vote,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been asking for for 2½ years. And if they do vote, the board should give that due consideration.”

Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Charles Murphy and Jesse Taken Alive, a council member who opposes UND’s use of the nickname, were not immediately available for comment.

Davidson said she has talked with Archie Fool Bear, a leader of the Standing Rock petition drive seeking a vote there. “I think a thousand people, their signatures on a petition — that says a lot,” Davidson said. “So I hope they (members of the tribal council) allow them to have a vote. They should.” [Grand Forks Herald]

Jarkko Ruutu thumps uber hack Matt Cooke

Not that I am fan of Jarkko Ruutu (this is the same clown that bit Andrew Peters) but it was nice to see Matt Cooke getting more of what he deserves. I would like to give Ruutu a medal for him punching one of the biggest hacks in the NHL and that is saying a lot because there are many of them.

Vladimir Sobotka vs Andrej Sekera

Decent fight by Sobotka. I want someone to tell me what Andrew Ference did to recieve a 10 minute misconduct? Not to Ference if someone is punching you like that stop being a puss and fight back. You look like a clown pleading to the ref to rescue you. What you should have done is punch Craig Rivet back.

The Canucks goal that wasn't

I was watching this game last night and the Vancouver Canucks had an apparent legal goal waived off. If I had been reffing I would have ruled it a legit goal. Puck Daddy thinks the Canucks were jobbed. I think looking at the video there is a case for the argument that the Canucks were screwed in the ruling.

1. Did Sedin and the Canucks get jobbed?

Totally. The only reason many felt it was a borderline call when it went to replay is because we know how the War Room treats these situations. By the letter of the law, it's legal. From the NHL Rulebook, as a refresher:

While the goal being waved off by the refs was a factor in the Canucks loss last night, their goalie Roberto Luongo was brutal and so was the Canucks penalty kill as well. Wild fans are probably smiling today.

Andy Sutton runs over and destroys Jordan Leopold

You have to wonder if Andy Sutton (MTU) doesn't like his fellow WCHA alums as this is the second guy in a week that he took out with a tough legal hit. Former Gopher Jordan Leopold looks like he was out cold after running into the tree trunk that is Andy Sutton. Andy Sutton also destroyed former Sioux Drew Stafford with this hit.

HNIC - Coach's Corner - Saturday Apr 17th 2010

Back by popular demand.