“I think it’s fantastic,” Esposito told the Lightning’s team website. “I feel very humbled and appreciative. There is no doubt this statue is among my greatest accomplishments in hockey and will be something I cherish and remember forever.”
Several famous hockey names paid tribute to Espo on the night, with one of the most prominent being Scotty Bowman. He praised not only Esposito’s skill as a player and executive, but also his foresight in bringing hockey to a “non-traditional” market
“Well, he brought hockey here to Tampa Bay, and not just that, but to all of Florida and the south,” Bowman said. ”You know, the Lightning were here before there was the Panthers, or the Dallas Stars, or a franchise in Atlanta. I think it all started with Phil. He started with an idea and it was great that it stayed here. It’s become a very strong franchise.
“He’s also been active in the community, which has made him an icon here and I think the people really look up to that. I think all the fans should be appreciative that he tried to bring hockey here to Tampa Bay, and succeeded, at a time when a lot of people thought the idea of hockey here would never work.”
NEW LINE COMBOS AS NHL TO REALIGN
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The NHL's Board of Governors on Monday approved a radical realignment plan, eliminating the current two-conference, six-division setup in favor of a configuration that features four conferences based primarily on geography. Two conferences will have eight teams and the other two conferences will have seven teams.
The Board authorized Commissioner Gary Bettman to implement this proposal in Monday evening's vote, pending input from the National Hockey League Players' Association.
The vote, which required a two-thirds majority of the League's 30 governors, passed on the first of two days of meetings here at The Inn at Spanish Bay. The League's new structure will go into effect starting next season.
The makeup of the yet-to-be-named four conferences is as follows:
* New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Washington and Carolina
* Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay
* Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg
* Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado
The four conferences are designed to alleviate geographic concerns among several current Western Conference teams that had been unhappy about their extensive travel through one, two, and sometimes even three time zones. Some of those teams argued that the late start of road games in the Pacific time zone were affecting fan interest, especially among younger fans.
The new alignment also enables the NHL to create a balanced schedule in which all teams will play each other at least twice every season, once at home and once on the road, giving fans a chance to see every team and superstar in the League. The remaining games will be played within the conferences.
In the seven-team conferences, teams would play six times -- three home, three away. In the eight-team Conferences, teams would play either five or six times in a season on a rotating basis; three teams would play each other six times and four teams would play each other five times. This process would reverse each season: An eight-team Conference member that plays an opponent six times in one season would play it five times the following season.
The top four teams in each Conference qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The first-place team would play the fourth-place team; the second-place team would play the third-place team. The four respective Conference champions would meet in the third round of the Playoffs, with the survivors playing for the Stanley Cup.
LOCAL LADS ADDED TO Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson will have some new experienced help behind the bench next season. Scott Gordon and Greg Cronin have been hired as assistant coaches on the Leafs staff, and both men come off recent head coaching stints. Gordon is the former head coach of the New York Islanders, a position he held for just over two seasons compiling a 64-94-23 record. He is from Prior to that, he was the bench boss for the Providence Bruins and was also an assistant on Cronin just completed his sixth season as the head coach of the Northeastern University Huskies of the NCAA. Cronin is from He was also the top man for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and was an assistant with the Islanders for five seasons. According to general manager Brian Burke, both Keith Acton, who has been an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs since 2000 and Tim Hunter who joined the coaching staff in 2008, will not be back with the team next season. Who would have ever imagined that the Maple Leafs GM, head coach, and two assistants would all hail from the
LEAFS COACHING STAFF
TALK ABOUT A WASTE OF TIME…our thoughts in red
MONTREAL (AP)—Police have completed their investigation into the Bruins’ Zdeno Chara for his hit on the Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty, forwarding the report to prosecutors. The coppers in
Crown lawyers will decide whether to charge
Authorities in
Pacioretty is expected to return to action next season. He was disappointed by the league’s failure to discipline Chara, but disagreed with decision for law enforcement to get involved. Even Max gets it…
How NOT to be a cameraman!
ONLY IN HOCKEY Joe Pantalone. Joe Pantalone, goaltender for St. Augustine’s Prep in New Jersey. Perhaps for a day you can think of the word "Sportsmanship" and visually place Pantalone's picture next to the definition. There are often many negatives these days, but what Joe Pantalone did at the conclusion of his team's heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to rival Delbarton on March 13 should be a lesson dispensed in locker rooms all over. In the final game of his scholastic career Pantalone turned in one of his trademark brilliant performances, stopping 37 shots, but St. Augustine bowed when Delbarton's Peter McMullen scored 4:41 into the overtime at the Prudential Center in Newark. St. Augustine held a 2-1 lead and was 2:12 away from capturing its first NJSIAA Non-Public championship since 2007 before Delbarton defenseman Matt Killian struck for the equalizer. Then McMullen thwarted St. Augustine's hopes in overtime. Pantalone was prone in the crease, having gotten a piece of McMullen's shot. The puck was settling in the net. The game was over. The St. Augustine dream was over. What did Pantalone do? Slam his stick on the crossbar and fracture it? No, he reached into the goal, picked up the black disk and slipped it into his catching glove. When the teams lined up for the customary handshake line Pantalone waited until he shook McMullen's hand, then offered the puck to his opponent. "I thought about it being a player's dream to score a goal in overtime like that to win a state championship," Pantalone recalled, "and even though we had lost I felt I had to get that puck and give it to Pete (McMullen). He made a great shot and he deserved to have that puck." It is an act of such unselfish class that Pantalone is my Star-Ledger Hockey Sportsman of the Year. There is no official award, but he deserves it. Delbarton coach Bruce Shatel admits he was moved when informed after the game of Pantalone's offering. Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger"One of my assistants told me about it. It was a tremendous gesture of sportsmanship during a very difficult moment for an athlete. It really was pretty extraordinary for him to do that, and it says a lot about that young man's character. It goes to show what (St. Augustine coach) Tim Fingerhut is teaching his players and it's a credit to the entire St. Augustine program. It was really nice to see that kind of act." Aside from his solid career at St. Augustine, especially this season, Pantalone should always be remembered for what he did. Remember all his saves. But also remember the gift of sportsmanship. Hockey players are tough. They're gritty and competitive. They're battlers. But there is an unspoken respect and trust and code among of them. Pantalone showed how true that is. "We lost the game and it was a huge disappointment but I think it shows nothing is ever as bad as it seems," Pantalone said. "You can always turn something negative into a positive. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Things get thrown at you in life, so you can either pack it in or work harder and make it a positive. I feel like the friendship that Pete (McMullen) and I can have now is something to gain from this." McMullen approached Pantalone during the teams' post-game dinner at the Prudential Center and again thanked him. The two spoke then and have kept in contact on Facebook since. Peter S. McMullen, the younger McMullen's father and Executive Vice President, Operations for the New Jersey Devils, wrote a letter to Fingerhut a few days after the final. "It was a tremendous letter from Mr. McMullen and he was thankful and very appreciative of what Joe had done," said Fingerhut. "But that's the kind of kid Joe is. We preach about sportsmanship. We win and lose with class and he followed suit. What he did speaks volumes for the kind of a young man he is. I tell my players all the time to respect the guys you play against because one day you may be teammates or work together. "You learn a lot about your players over the course of four years through the wins and losses. After that game I couldn't have been more proud of Joe and my whole team. After the game I told Joe he had played so well that he put us in a position to win. He's a great competitor and I thanked him for everything he did for me as a coach. I'd really have to think hard and go back in the mental archives to come up with something similar to what Joe did with the puck." Pantalone is now looking to play next year or in two years at Middlebury or Merrimack. He may also go play junior hockey for a year. Pantalone's act should now follow him for a long time. "Even now people are coming up to me and asking me if I really gave the puck to the scorer, and I tell them yes," Pantalone said. "Congratulations to Delbarton for a great season. I mean, winning four straight championships is some feat. We were shocked when the game ended but we talked in the locker room about what a great run we had. We were like a family. I really think it was a special group of teammates. Nothing can ever be taken away from what we accomplished." As for his plans next season Pantalone is still trying to sort things through. "I'm trying to figure out what to do and make the right decision." I think he has already done that. FORMER BRUIN TURNS CRIME-FIGHTER
Two great stories
(Courtesy NJ.com/Paul Bruno)
While it may seem unusual to read a story about the ECHL Florida Everblades that doesn't focus on outlandish jersey designs, Drew Larman's is an exceptional story.
According to Woody Wommack of the Naples Daily News, Larman was shopping at a Sweetbay Supermarket in Fort Myers on March 3 (his butler must have been under the weather) when he heard a scream.
The purse of Beverly Whaley had been snatched, and the 59-year-old did a face-plant in chasing the assailant.
So the 6-3, 195-pound Everblades center went into action mode, running after the perp in a full sprint and finally catching him at his car.
That's where the confrontation between Larman and the thief took place.
From Naples News:
Worried that the man could have a weapon, or perhaps an accomplice, Larman surveyed the situation for a brief second before realizing the man was acting alone. As the thief jumped into his car, Larman continued his pursuit, and proceeded to use his 6-foot-3 195-pound frame to stop the man from escaping with Whaley's purse.
"We he got to the car I realized he was just trying to get away," Larman said. "I knew if he got the door to his car closed that would be the end of it. As he was closing the door I literally lunged in front of the door, stopped it with my arm and my leg from closing and pushed the door wide open."
Wommack wrote that once the door opened, Larman was able to take the purse back from the stunned assailant, who fled the scene and is still at large.
As we said, it's an unusual story: Larman didn't give his contact information to the woman, the store or the police. He only volunteered the story later in the month to share a positive message with the community and because the Good Samaritan act was "like a spiritual high for me."
Larman had cups of coffee with the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins, and was a solid contributor to the London Knights' Memorial Cup run in 2005.
North Dakota finishes in top spot
BC ends at #2
Yale ends at #3
Merrimack ends at #7
UNH ends up at #10
Dartmouth ends at #15
BU finishes up at #17
Maine ends up at #17
USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
March 21, 2011
|
Team |
(First Place Votes) |
Record |
Points |
Last Poll |
|
|
1 |
North Dakota |
(37) |
30- 8-3 |
985 |
1 |
|
2 |
Boston College |
( 7) |
30- 7-1 |
951 |
2 |
|
3 |
Yale |
( 5) |
27- 6-1 |
901 |
3 |
|
4 |
Miami |
( 1) |
23- 9-6 |
841 |
6 |
|
5 |
Denver |
24-11-5 |
780 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
Michigan |
26-10-4 |
748 |
4 |
|
|
7 |
Merrimack |
25- 9-4 |
732 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
Union |
26- 9-4 |
605 |
9 |
|
|
9 |
Notre Dame |
23-13-5 |
546 |
8 |
|
|
10 |
Western Michigan |
19-12-10 |
539 |
12 |
|
|
11 |
Minnesota-Duluth |
22-10-6 |
509 |
11 |
|
|
12 |
New Hampshire |
21-10-6 |
507 |
10 |
|
|
13 |
Colorado College |
22-18-3 |
419 |
13 |
|
|
14 |
Nebraska-Omaha |
21-15-2 |
342 |
14 |
|
|
15 |
Dartmouth |
19-12-3 |
243 |
15 |
|
|
16 |
Rensselaer |
20-12-5 |
227 |
18 |
|
|
17 |
Boston University |
19-12-8 |
196 |
16 |
|
|
18 |
Maine |
17-12-7 |
140 |
17 |
|
|
19 |
Cornell |
16-15-3 |
92 |
20 |
|
|
20 |
Air Force |
20-11-6 |
75 |
NR |
|
|
Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin 67, Minnesota 25, Alaska-Anchorage 8, Bemidji State 5, Ferris State 5, Rochester Institute of Technology 4, Northeastern 3, Princeton 3, St. Cloud State 2 |
|||||
DELTA AIRLINES SAYS "NYET NYET"
TO RUSSIAN JUNIOR TEAM, KICKS 'EM OFF PLANE.
Russia's gold-medal celebration at the world junior hockey championship went into overtime, preventing the team from boarding its flight Thursday morning from Buffalo, N.Y.
About 30 members of the Russian contingent were asked to get off a Delta Air Lines flight to Atlanta after boarding for takeoff early Thursday morning, an airport spokesman said.
"To ensure the safe operation of the flight, the crew of Flight 1266 denied boarding to 30 passengers who were travelling together and displaying unruly behaviour," Delta spokeswoman Susan Chana Elliott said. "The passengers are being rebooked on a future flight."
Russia overcame a three-goal deficit in the third period to stun Canada 5-3 in the gold-medal game Wednesday night. It was the country's first gold medal since 2003.
An hour and a half after the upset win, several Russian coaches and trainers came on the ice — one holding a bottle of what appeared to be liquor and others sipping from paper cups — to pose for pictures in front of the scoreboard that had been lowered to ice level after the game.
The players, all 20 years old or younger, had left the ice, though some of them were later spotted partying and drinking with other members of the Russian contingent at the bar in their hotel. They celebrated with frequent chants of "Beat Canada!" and "Russia! Russia!"
Buffalo Niagara International Airport spokesman C. Douglas Hartmayer said that after leaving the flight, the group headed to the baggage terminal to collect their belongings, which were taken off the plane.
Tournament officials had no immediate comment.
The Russians enjoyed a wild on-ice celebration once the final horn sounded, players throwing their gloves and sticks in the air as they jumped off the bench to mob goalie Igor Bobkov.
The celebration eventually spilled over into the media interview area, where team captain Vladimir Tarasenko and teammate Yevgeni Kuznetsov hugged and chanted "We're champions! We're champions."
The Russians proved to be the comeback kids during the 11-day tournament. They reached the final by overcoming third-period deficits to win their previous two games.
They weren't counted among the favourites in a tournament that featured Canada and the defending champion United States. Russia was also coming off an embarrassing sixth-place finish last year.
"Yes, Igor, what ees it"
"Let's get wasted for flight to Atlanta, no?"
"Ees good idea, yes, get bottle of Russian Standard vodka, and we drink it all, no?"
"Da, da. We already piss off Canadian team with our sophmoric celebration, let us now try to incense the members of United States Federal Aviation Administration. I hear Homeland Security is full of guys with good humor. Certainly they will want to swing with us, no?"
"You are so full up with good knowledge. Da, Homeland Security will love us. I am sure they will be impressed with our Gold Medals and bronze teeth."
"Good one Comrade, you know how to tickle my funny bone. Maybe I will swing on the plane and get to be member of the mile high club."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
AFTER RUSSIA STUNS CANADA, THEY DECIDE
WHOOP IT UP
A couple of notes...the Russians will never win any Gold Medals for singing, and there appears to be a shortage of qualified dentists in Russia.
========================================
EPIC COLLAPSE IN WJC
Video courtesy Festrunk Bros.
Russia completed the biggest comeback in world junior championship history to beat Canada 5-3 and win the gold medal in Buffalo on Wednesday night.
It was Russia's first gold medal since they won in 2003 over Canada in Halifax. For Canada, it was a second straight silver medal after they lost to the USA 6-5 in overtime in last year's final in Saskatoon.
Canada cruised to a 3-0 lead after two periods in a game that had the pro-Canadian crowd rocking and the Canucks in full control of the play. Ryan Ellis, Carter Ashton, and Brayden Schenn each scored to chase Russian starting goalie Dmitri Shikin on 18 shots.
But in the opening minutes of the third period, the game changed dramatically. Artemi Panarin and Maxim Kitsyn both scored from close range just 13 seconds apart to stun the Canadians and the crowd to pull to within 3-2. Just over four minutes later, Vladimir Tarasenko wired a one-timer past Mark Visentin to tie the game.
In all, the Russians scored their trio of comeback goals in just 4:56.
Then with less than five minutes to play, Panarin potted his second of the game past Visentin to give Russia its first lead. Nikita Dvurechenski scored an insurance goal with 1:16 to play to ice the game for the Russians.
When the final buzzer sounded, Team Russia stormed the ice in a raucous celebration while the Canadians watched in stunned silence.
"This is the worst feeling I've ever had," said Canadian defenceman Tyson Barrie.
"I don't think we ran out of gas, they just took over," said Canada's Zack Kassian. "Hockey is a weird sport. Sometimes you have momentum swings and you just can't stop it. We didn't fold the tent. They just kept coming and coming and we stopped getting the bounces and it made us look like we were standing still.
"We were ready to go in the third, but they just took off and we couldn't find our game."
Things started well enough for Canada when captain Ellis fired home a power-play goal to open the scoring at 4:50 of the first. Ashton added a goal late in the period to double the lead, and Schenn scored his 8th of the tournament in the second period to give Canada a three-goal advantage.
With a goal and an assist, Schenn finished with 18 points, which tied him with Dale McCourt (1977) for the most points by a Canadian in one tournament.
"It's pretty tough to take right now, hard to believe," said Schenn. "If only you could go back in time and do it over again I'm sure it would be a different result for our team. It is what it is, it obviously wasn't meant to be for us. It was a tough third period there."
It was disclosed after the game that Schenn played despite suffering a separated shoulder in Sunday's quarter-final win over Switzerland.
Russian goalie Igor Bobkov relieved Shikin after he was pulled, and stood up to hold Canada off the scoresheet for the remainder of the game. Canada had the overall edge in shots, 38-27.
"We're the best team in the world right now and we proved it," said Russian forward Yevgeni Kuznetsov. "We always believed because we are Russians and we have the best team."
Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron tried to stay positive after the disappointing result.
"Take away that third period collapse and we played some really solid hockey," said Cameron. "We almost got the result we wanted. We did more right than wrong."
Canadian defenceman Calvin de Haan was asked to compare this loss to last year's defeat against the Americans.
"A thousand times worse," de Haan answered. "It's disappointing. I'm just in shock now. I don't know what to say. Things happen for a reason and I guess this was meant to be."
The game marked the seventh time since 1999 that Canada and Russia met in the championship game at the World Juniors. Russia won three straight meetings in 1999, 2002, and 2003, while Canada won the next three consecutively between 2005-07.
It was also the 10th straight time that Canada played in the gold medal game at the tournament. Canada's last gold medal victory was in 2009, when they beat Sweden in Ottawa.
The win allowed Russia to avenge a 6-3 loss to Canada on Boxing Day in the tournament's opening game.
In the bronze medal match earlier on Wednesday, Team USA defeated Sweden 4-2. It was the first-ever medal for the Americans on home soil after five tries.
Notes: Three Canadians made the tournament all-star team. Ellis, Schenn, and Ryan Johansen were chosen, while Schenn was named the overall tournament MVP. Russians Dmitri Orlov and Yevgeni Kuznetsov were also selected.
BOSTON MUNICIPAL COURT DOCKET NO.: 123223 Case: COMM. VS JONATHAN AND MATTHEW PARKER MATTHEW PARKER: Well your honor, me and Jon are wicked sorry for causing this trouble. We really didn’t plan on gettin’ grabbed by the cops. JONATHAN PARKER: Your honor, what caused us to go on the ice was because the concession stand in our section had stopped servin’ beer, and instead of walking halfway around the rink, before we dropped outta school I ‘member learning that a straight line is like shorter than a circumference, so we figured we could just run across the ice and save time. JUDGE MANSFIELD: Young men, you realize your actions were not only sophomoric but reckless, and your reasoning seems dubitable. MATTHEW PARKER: Huh? JONATHAN PARKER: I, uh, don’t know what you mean, your honor. JUDGE MANSFIELD: Figure it out. I also want to reiterate that you have opted to represent yourselves in lieu of counsel. There’s an old adage in law…he who represents himself has a fool for a client. MATTHEW PARKER: Yuh, I seen a show on TV once where they said that. JONATHAN PARKER: I agree with that. JUDGE MANFIELD: As do I. Barring any further discussion, I will set the next court date for January 11, 2011. You are both ordered to stay out of the TD Garden permanently. JONATHAN PARKER: WHOA, your Honor. I mean, ain’t that cruel and unusual punishment? We got balcony seats for the Penguins game next month. MATTHEW PARKER: Yuh, and them seats are FAR from the ice. Now I’m not sayin’ I will, but if I happened to be on the ice, I’d give Matt Cooke a smackdown, know what I’m sayin’? JONATHAN PARKER: Um, Mr. Judge. Can I appeal bein’ banned from the Garden? I got two seats for wrestling next month, and I was gonna bring a girl to it for our first date. We just met in a chat room and she seems wicked nice. Has most of her teeth and only a few tattoos. JUDGE MANFIELD: That decision to keep you out of the Garden is final. MATTHEW PARKER: Well, just so you know…me and Jon is close to getting’ our GEDs, and afta’ that we once thought of going to lawyer’s school. We think it would be pissah to be in court, but actually NOT be the one in trouble, ya know? JUDGE MANFIELD: It’s good to have goals. Maybe one day you can both take the bar exam. JONATHAN PARKER: That’d be cool. I’ll start studyin’ now! MATTHEW PARKER: Yuh, what bar do you want us to study at?
TRANSCRIPT FROM PARKER BROTHERS APPEARANCE IN COURT:
DATE: Dec. 21, 2010
Charge: DISTURBING A PUBLIC ASSEMBLY
She also really likes wrestling, and she used to be a wrestler.
JUDGE MANFIELD: This session is closed. To be continued on January 11th.
The Parker Brothers mug shots (Matt, left/Jon, right)
The Parker Brothers didn't get far.
===============================
TWO BRUINS FANS SKIP MENSA MEETING, GET ARRESTED AT GARDEN
Two dopes from New Hampshire will be arraigned tomorrow on charges they jumped onto the ice during the Boston Bruins game Saturday night against the Washington Capitals.
Jon Parker, 20, and Matt Parker, 17, scaled the boards and got onto the ice at the TD Garden, interrupting the game, police said.
The 9:30 p.m. incident delayed the game for a few minutes, police said. Authorities said they detected “a strong odor of alcohol emanating” from both suspects.(In civilian terms, that means they were wicked bombed.)
The men were charged with disturbing a public assembly and disrepecting the spoked B, and will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court, said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.
Matt Parker, when reached in his trailer in Epping, NH, had this to say. “Me and Jon, we was wicked tired from workin’ all day in the shop, and we like went to Sully’s Tap before the game to have a few beers. So afta, like, nine or ten Buds, we go ovah to the Gahden. Jon’s always wanted to meet Ovechkin, so in the third period, he goes to me, ‘hey, there’s him, there’s Ovechkin.’ and I says to him ‘why don’t youse go ovah the glass and meet him?’ Afta all, Jon has his Lucic shirt on, so they probably woulda thought he was a playah, you know? So he goes, then I goes too, and next thing we’re gettin’ arrested.”
We reached Jon Parker via cellphone in the van he resides in, down by the Pemigewasett River. “Uh, like, me and my brothah were ripped before we even got to da Broons game. We was supposed to meet two chicks before da game, but they musta got lost or somethin’, cuz they nevah showed up, so we goes into a bar to have a couple or ten beers. Then we stumbled ovah to da Gahden, and den towards da end of duh game, I wanted to tell Ovechkin that I think he’s pissah, but he wouldn’t skate ovah to me…I dunno why. So my brothah goes like, just climb ovah da glass, and I does, and he do, too, and the rest is now history.”
When asked for a comment on their sons’ arrests, Mr. Parker declined comment, but Mrs. Parker had this to say. “My husband and I are obviously shocked at the situation. We feel betrayed. Both boys told us they were traveling down to Cambridge to check on their Harvard applications in person.”
NHL's NEW RULES VIDEO
STARRING
Matt Cooke at the dastardly aggressor
Marc Savard as the innocent victim
===========================================
Edmonton's Linus Omark...in HIS FIRST NHL GAME!!!
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