Wednesday's Minor and Junior Hockey Results

cp.org — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:14:00 -0400

Results Monday:

IIHF Men's World Championship

Qualifying Round

Group E

At Quebec

Denmark 3 Belarus 2

Russia 5 Switzerland 3

Group F

At Halifax

Canada 6 Finland 3

Germany 5 Latvia 3

U.S. 9 Norway 1

End of Qualifying Round

AHL

Calder Cup Playoffs

Conference Finals

(Best-of-7)

Western Conference

North Division

Toronto 3 Syracuse 2

(Toronto wins series 4-3)

ECHL

Playoffs

Conference Finals

(Best-of-7)

National Conference

Las Vegas 5 Utah 2

(Las Vegas leads series 1-0)

IHL

Turner Cup Final

IHL Championship

(Best-of-7)

Fort Wayne 3 Port Huron 2 (3OT)

(Fort Wayne wins series 4-3)

Ontario Hockey League

J. Ross Robertson Cup

OHL Championship

(Best-of-7)

Kitchener 4 Belleville 1

(Kitchener wins series 4-3)

Marlies advance to Calder Cup semifinals with Game 7 win

cp.org — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:36:00 -0400

TORONTO - The comeback is complete.

Brent Aubin doubled his playoff output with a pair of goals as the Toronto Marlies became the 14th team in American Hockey League history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit, dropping the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 in Game 7 of the North Division final.

As if playing in a Game 7 wasn't motivation enough, Aubin got some big news on the eve of the contest that served as a little extra incentive.

"It's a great day for me, I just found out I'm going to have a little daughter, just right before the game, so it cannot be a better day for me right now," said the 22-year-old Aubin, who will become a father for the first time.

Aubin's linemate Alex Foster chipped in two assists and John Mitchell got what turned out to be the game-winner in the third to send a raucous crowd of 4,753 at the Ricoh Coliseum home happy.

Gilbert Brule and Derek MacKenzie answered for Syracuse, which dropped a third straight one-goal decision to the Marlies.

Scott Clemmensen turned aside 23 shots in the Toronto goal.

The Marlies, now 4-0 when facing elimination this post-season, have advanced to the Calder Cup's final four and will face either the Chicago Wolves or Rockford IceHogs in the Western Conference final.

Aubin, whose team also won a Game 7 in Round 1 versus San Antonio, believes Toronto never lost its confidence or focus despite being pushed to the brink of elimination by the Crunch.

"I think what's helped us is we always stayed calm, never panicked," said Aubin, adding the rowdy crowd helped spur his team on to victory. "When we were down 3-1 we just said, 'Hey guys, we've got character, just don't panic, go out there and do what we have to do' and we showed tonight again, when we play our game, I think nobody can beat us."

Adding to the Marlies pleasure was the fact Crunch captain Zenon Konopka was quoted in a Syracuse newspaper as saying his team would win Game 7 after losing Game 6 on home ice.

"It was on the board, so everybody read it before the game," said Aubin with a big grin. "Thanks to Konopka I think we responded pretty well. I was pretty pumped for that game knowing Konopka spoke those words."

Marlies coach Greg Gilbert was pleased with how his club responded to the adversity of having its backs firmly planted against the wall.

"It's a credit to the guys in the dressing room, they're the ones who gutted it out and won the battles, scored the goals at the big times," he said. "We're real proud of our guys, but we're only half way to where we want to go."

Aubin's two first-period goals gave Toronto a 2-1 advantage midway through the opening frame. The Marlies carried the bulk of the play, but Syracuse goalie Karl Goehring made 31 saves to keep his team one shot away from squaring the affair.

However, Mitchell lobbed a seeing-eye shot from the side boards that floated through a crowd and over Goehring's shoulder to give Toronto a two-goal cushion 7:20 into the third.

"I'd say that was more of a change-up than anything, you know let it go up real high and then just die right at the very end," Mitchell said about his eighth goal in the playoffs. "We'll take them anyway we can get them. I was just trying to throw it at the net."

As it turns out, the Marlies needed that buffer zone as Brule one-timed a shot past Clemmensen with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.

There were some tense moments including a late Toronto penalty kill and some incredible shot blocks by defenceman Jamie Sifers the rest of the way, but the Marlies managed to hang on and complete their improbable comeback.

The game opened with 10 frantic minutes that saw three goals scored and numerous solid bodychecks levied.

Aubin got his first of the night just 2:47 into the game after a careless giveaway by Syracuse defenceman Marc Methot. Foster picked Methot's weak clearing attempt along the side boards, threw the puck on goal and Aubin tipped it home.

But MacKenzie, who had four goals and 10 points in the series, answered back just 41 seconds later, whipping a backhander over Clemmensen's glove and just under the crossbar.

Both teams continued to generate chances and the Marlies broke through again when Aubin got the puck in the slot on his backhand, pivoted and ripped a shot to the back of the net. The chance was created by the aggressive forecheck Aubin and his linemates Foster and Stefano Giliati threw at the Crunch every time they hit the ice.

The Marlies now await the winner of Game 7 between Chicago and Rockford on Tuesday night. If the Wolves win, they will have home-ice advantage in the West final. If Rockford prevails, the Marlies will enjoy home ice.

Notes: Neither team scored a power-play goal in seven combined opportunities. ... The Crunch have lost five straight Game 7s. ... The three-game losing streak was Syracuse's first since October.

Gale and Nelson help Broncos edge Kodiaks 1-0 to win RBC Cup

cp.org — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:54:00 -0400

CORNWALL, Ont. - The Camrose Kodiaks may have been the stingiest team at the RBC Cup, but Taylor Nelson and the Humboldt Broncos one-upped them when it counted most.

Nelson stopped 31 shots and made Edward Gale's first-period goal stand up in Humboldt's 1-0 win Sunday over Camrose at the national junior A hockey championship final.

"I'm just basking in the moment while I can," said Nelson. "This team is like a big family, everyone has been great. I don't think I can find the words to describe how it feels right now.

"I just want to enjoy this while I can."

Gale's power-play goal at 16:39 of the first period was all the Saskatchewan team would need. He walked out of the right corner and tucked the puck behind Camrose goaltender Allen York.

The Alberta club had allowed just four goals while amassing a record of 5-0-0 prior to the final. Humboldt, meanwhile, led the five-team tournament with 24 goals coming in.

Both teams turned up the intensity in the third period and Mike Connolly had Camrose's best scoring chance when he ended up with the puck alone in the slot, but was stopped by Nelson.

Not even a late power play, coming with 59 seconds left after Jordan Shindel hooked Camrose star Joe Colbourne, helped them put a puck past Nelson.

The Kodiaks pulled York for an extra attacker, but despite steady pressure, ended up frustrated when Nelson made a game-saving stop with one second remaining.

"He is phenomenal," said Humbolt captain Russ Neilsen. "That save at the end, I don't think anyone in the rink will ever forget that one."

Humboldt missed a glorious opportunity to pick up some insurance in the second period when forward Laurent Benjamin was awarded a penalty shot.

He stole the puck inside the Camrose blue-line and was pulled down by Jesse Todd, but fired wide on the penalty shot.

Camrose head coach Boris Rybalka was left to lament his team's own missed chances.

"In a one-game shot, you get hot goaltending, you don't capitalize," said Rybalka. "If you don't capitalize, there's the difference in a one-goal game."

Marlies erupt for three third-period goals to force Game 7 with Syracuse

cp.org — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:39:00 -0400

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Toronto Marlies erupted for three goals in the third period to beat the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 on Saturday in Game 6 of their American Hockey League second-round series.

Derrick Walser broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal for the Marlies, who have climbed out of a 3-1 hole to even the North Division final at three games apiece. Toronto will host its second Game 7 of this playoff year Monday at the Ricoh Coliseum.

Alexandre Picard initially gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead at 17:46 of the first period, with assists going to Gilbert Brule and Duvie Westcott.

The Crunch nursed the one-goal advantage through the entire second period and into the early part of the third.

But the Marlies pulled even at 3:10 of the final stanza when Peter Tsimikalis scored unassisted for his first career AHL playoff goal.

Walser put Toronto on top at the 6:56 mark, and Bates Battaglia made it a 3-1 game at 10:53. David Ling assisted on both scores, giving the former Syracuse forward nine points over the first six games of the series.

Battaglia's goal would prove big, as Westcott cut the deficit to 3-2 with 6:15 left in regulation. But the Crunch could not find the equalizer.

It marked Battaglia's second game-winning goal in as many days, as he scored in overtime on Friday to give Toronto a 4-3 victory in Game 5. Marlies goaltender Scott Clemmensen earned the win Saturday with 30 saves on 32 shots.

Toronto, which posted a Game 7 victory over San Antonio at Ricoh Coliseum in the division semifinals, is now 3-0 this post-season when facing elimination. The Marlies will enter Monday's tilt seeking to become just the 14th team in AHL history to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-1.

Humboldt advances to RBC Cup final beating Cornwall

cp.org — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:25:00 -0400

CORNWALL, Ont. - There's always water close by, whenever Camrose and Humboldt meet with a national crown on the line.

It'll be a prairie battle on the shores of the St. Lawrence River Sunday in Cornwall, when the top-seed Camrose Kodiaks square off with the Humboldt Broncos (No.2) in the RBC junior A national title game.

The Broncos dominated the host Colts 6-1 Saturday to earn their first trip to the finals since 2003 when they beat Camrose 3-1 in the title tilt at Charlottetown.

"A coach can't ask for much more from his team," Humboldt's Dean Brockman said after his team improved to 5-0 when facing elimination this playoff year.

"That was our best game of the tourney. We were responsible all over the ice, and we buried our chances."

The Colts squandered a lot of their opportunities, going 0-for-8 on the powerplay.

"We just ran out of steam tonight, and our (lack of) execution on the powerplay didn't help," said Cornwall head coach Ian MacInnis, whose club was a surprising 2-2 in the round-robin.

"Overall I thought we did a helluva job this week. We weren't expected to win hockey games."

Said Colts captain Darcy Findlay, of Shawville, Que.: "We had the community behind us. It was nice, a lot of fun. But (losing is) kind of hard to swallow right now."

Cornwall got a shorthanded goal from Alain Joanette to tie the game 1-1 at 11:55 of the opening period. But Joanette was assessed a roughing penalty on the play when he crashed into goalie Taylor Nelson, and the Broncos had a two-man advantage for 61 seconds. The Colts killed off the first penalty but not Joanette's - Humboldt went back in front on Tory Allen's power-play goal at 13:15.

The Colts had a rare spurt of offensive pressure in the second period just before Humboldt went up 3-1 when Laurent Benjamin scored on Jordan Schindel's feed across the slot to conclude a two-on-one break at 10:45.

Tanner Vandesype extended the lead to 4-1 with a powerplay marker 58 seconds into the third period, and Edward Gale scored his second of the night midway in the period. Matthew Rintoul closed out the scoring at 16:12.

Hockey transactions (May 9)

cp.org — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:20:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:

National Hockey League

COLORADO AVALANCHE-Announced the contract of Joel Quenneville, coach, will not be renewed.

DALLAS STARS-Signed F Favian Brunnstrom to a two-year contract.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS-Signed LW Garrett Klotz and C Darroll Powe.

LACROSSE

Major League Lacrosse

BOSTON CANNONS-Waived D Reece Pacheco, M Tanner Fogarty, G Chris Hettler, M Nicholas Bastis and M Craig Hammond.

CHICAGO MACHINE-Traded M Jordan Hall to Rochester for M Brian Clayton, M Matt Dasinger and a 2008 third-round draft pick. Claimed A Kevin Ross from the league player pool.

WASHINGTON BAYHAWKS-Claimed D Todd Evans from the league player pool. Waived D Matthew Mehrer.

Battaglia scores in OT as Marlies stave off elimination with win over Crunch

cp.org — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:55:00 -0400

TORONTO - Toronto Marlies left winger Bates Battaglia scored late in the first overtime period to beat the visiting Syracuse Crunch 4-3 in second-round American Hockey League playoff action on Friday night.

Battaglia, standing in front of the Crunch crease, got a stick on David Ling's centring pass and deflected the puck past Syracuse netminder Karl Goehring at 18:35 of the first extra frame.

"Linger made a great pass and I was just in the right place," Battaglia said. "He put the puck right on my stick. I was trying to get to the net and Ling made a great play and I just shovelled it in."

The win keeps the Marlies alive in the Calder Cup playoffs as they pulled within two games in the North Division final. Game 6 is Saturday at Syracuse.

"(Game 6) is going to be even tougher," said Marlies coach Greg Gilbert. "We've got to go there and play probably our best game of the playoffs and bring it back home here on Monday (for Game 7)."

Forwards Brent Aubin, John Mitchell and Ling also scored for the Marlies in front of 2,733 fans at Ricoh Coliseum. Kris Newbury picked up three assists, including a helper on the winning goal.

Tom Sestito and Gilbert Brule and defenceman Clay Wilson replied for the Crunch.

Toronto netminder Scott Clemmensen made 29 saves for the victory. At the other end, Goehring blocked 34 shots before Battaglia's redirection extended the series.

"It's good, basic hockey," Gilbert said. "You want to score goals, you've got to go to the dirty areas to do it. The goalies are so good nowadays, you're not going to score from the perimeter."

The game was tied 2-2 after the first period with all four goals coming in a 3:22 span and Toronto led 3-2 through 40 minutes.

The first period featured several big bodychecks as both teams tried to set a physical tone, but there were few scoring chances until late in the opening frame.

The Crunch opened the scoring when Sestito, standing in front of Clemmensen at the mouth of the crease, deflected Marc Methot's wrist shot from the point for a power-play marker at 14:34.

Less than a minute later, Aubin tied it up for Toronto when he beat Zenon Konopka in the faceoff circle, then quickly stepped around the Syracuse centre and wristed a high shot over Goehring's left shoulder at 15:27.

Mitchell, Toronto's leading goal-scorer in the playoffs as well as in the regular season, made it 2-1 at 17:32. With a delayed penalty on Syracuse, Newbury waited for Mitchell to find open ice in the slot and then fed the puck to the Marlies centre, who whipped a wrist shot past Goehring.

Mitchell has seven goals in 12 playoff games after firing 20 in 79 regular season contests.

The cheers had barely died down when Marlies defenceman Andy Wozniewski was stripped of the puck deep in the defensive zone by Syracuse's Alexandre Picard, who found Brule wide open in the slot. The Crunch centre finished off the play by beating Clemmensen with a wrist shot at 17:56 to tie the game at 2-2.

There was controversy at 10:39 of the second period when Ling's centring attempt from behind the net deflected off Goehring and bounced along the goal-line. The Crunch goalie swept the puck away with his stick and the referee initially didn't rule that it had crossed the goal-line. The red light also didn't flash, but the on-ice officials huddled with the goal judge and then awarded the goal to Ling.

There is no video replay to decide goals in the AHL, but there was no doubt in Gilbert's mind.

"Yeah, it was in," said the Marlies coach. "It was on its edge, it wasn't laying flat and you can see white (ice) between the bottom of the puck and the goal-line, so obviously the puck was over the line.

"It would've been nice to have it a little further in over the goal-line so there's not a controversy, but we'll take it. It was a smart play by David."

Wilson tied it up at 3-3 early in the third period, with Syracuse's second power-play goal, when Nate DiCasmirro's rebound bounced to Wilson in the slot and the Crunch defenceman fired a low shot past Clemmensen at 2:17.

It was a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the third period, but neither team could close out the game in regulation time. The pace continued in the overtime period as the clubs traded chances until Battaglia's game-winner with 85 seconds remaining in the extra frame.

Syracuse was 2-for-3 on the power play, while Toronto went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

Latest hockey results

cp.org — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:26:00 -0400

Results Thursday:

IIHF Men's World Championship

Qualifying Bracket

At Halifax

Canada 2 Norway 1

U.S. 6 Germany 4

At Quebec

Czech Republic 5 Switzerland 0

Sweden 8 Denmark 1

Royal Bank Cup

Canadian Junior A Championship

At Cornwall, Ont.

Preliminary Round

Camrose 6 Oakville 1

Humboldt 4 Pictou County 1

AHL

Playoffs

No Games Scheduled.

ECHL

Playoffs

No Games Scheduled.

IHL

Playoffs

Championship

(Best-of-7)

Fort Wayne 4 Port Huron 2

(Port Huron leads series 3-2)

Central League

Playoffs

No Games Scheduled.

QMJHL

Playoffs

No Games Scheduled.

OHL

Playoffs

Championship

(Best-of-7)

Belleville 2 Kitchener 1

(Kitchener leads series 3-2)

Schroeder nets two goals as Broncos rout Crushers in 4-1 win

cp.org — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:40:00 -0400

CORNWALL, Ont. - The Oakville Blades had their playoff hopes quickly dashed last night at the RBC Cup junior A national hockey championship.

The unbeaten Camrose Kodiaks (Alta.), who rested players including goalie Allen York and Canadian junior A player of the year Joe Colborne, scored three short-handed goals in just under eight minutes in the second period and went on to drub the Blades (Ont.) 6-1 on Thursday.

The loss eliminated Oakville (1-3) at the five-team, round-robin tournament. Camrose, the nation's top-ranked team, goes 4-0 at the event and will play the 4th-seed Weeks Crushers (1-3) from north-central Nova Scotia in Saturday's 2 p.m. semifinal.

Saskatchewan's Humboldt Broncos (2-2) finished in second spot after a 4-1 win over Weeks earlier Thursday. The Broncos will play the host Cornwall Colts (2-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m., with the winners advancing to Sunday's 1 p.m. championship game.

Calgary's Jesse Todd scored two of the short-handed goals, at 7:52 to snap a 1-1 tie and at 13:58, and he set up Mike Connolly for another shorty at 15:42 to push the Camrose lead to 4-1.

David Jacobsen made it 5-1 before the period was over. Andre Herman had the Kodiaks' first-period goal, and he added a second goal in the third period.

Nick McParland, a 10-goal scorer in four games at the Dudley Hewitt Cup in Newmarket two weeks ago, scored his first goal in four games at Cornwall 3:33 into the second period to tie the score 1-1.

Earlier Thursday, Steven Schroeder scored two goals as the Broncos dominated the Crushers.

The win halted a two-game losing streak for Humboldt, who go into the playoffs as the second seed.

The Broncos outshot the Crushers 20-10 in the first period, which still ended 1-1. Humboldt got some breathing room early in the second period with a quick strike for two goals. Mitchell Stretch's shot went in just 37 seconds into the period, and Schroeder connected 52 seconds later at 1:29.

Matthew Kirzinger's goal from a sharp angle just beside the net at 16:41 pushed the lead to 4-1.

Schroeder had opened the scoring at 11:56 of the opening period, but the Crushers tied it at 16:39 on captain Scott Lavigne's power-play marker.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:19:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Wednesday:

National Hockey League

BUFFALO SABRES-Signed F Felix Schutz to a three-year contract.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS-Signed LW Robin Figren to a three-year contract.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS-Fired Paul Maurice, coach.

American Hockey League

AHL-Suspended Syracuse RW Derek Dorsett one game for his actions in a May 6 game.

SPRINGFIELD FALCONS-Signed LW Garet Hunt.

WORCESTER SHARKS-Named Joseph M. Fellini director of ticket sales.

Crunch push Marlies to brink of elimination with overtime win

cp.org — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:46:00 -0400

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Joakim Lindstrom scored in overtime as the Syracuse Crunch beat Toronto 5-4 Wednesday, pushing the Marlies to the brink of elimination from the American Hockey League playoffs.

The Crunch lead the second-round Calder Cup series 3-1 and can wrap things up in Game 5 on Friday in Toronto.

The Marlies led 4-2 after two periods, but third-period goals from Derek MacKenzie and Derick Brassard sent the game to overtime.

Zenon Konopka led the Crunch with a goal and three assists, including helpers on the game-tying and game-winning goals.

Tom Sestito also scored for Syracuse.

Derrick Walser, John Mitchell, Kris Newbury and Jamie Sifers scored for Toronto. Jay Harrison assisted on all four goals.

Karl Goehring was outstanding again for Syracuse, making 39 saves. Scott Clemmensen was equally impressive for the Marlies, stopping 42 shots.

Oakville earns 7-6 win over Humboldt for first victory at RBC Cup

cp.org — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:13:00 -0400

CORNWALL, Ont. - The Oakville (Ont.) Blades are no longer ashamed of their play at the RBC Cup junior A national hockey championship.

Oakville vaulted back into contention for a semifinal berth Wednesday, earning a wild 7-6 victory over the Humboldt (Sask.) Broncos in a wild matinee game.

In other action Wednesday, the Camrose (Alta.) Kodiaks locked up the first semifinal berth with a 2-1 victory over the host Cornwall Colts.

A back-and-forth thriller swung in the Blades' direction for good in the third period when they scored three times in a 2:02 span to rally to a 7-5 lead. Welsh's power-play goal tied it at 4:58 of the third. Geoff Guimond put the Blades in front 47 seconds later.

A Lindsay Sparks snap shot from the bottom of the circle at the seven-minute mark extended Oakville's lead, and held up as the game winner.

The Blades can clinch a spot in one of two Saturday semifinals with a win over top-ranked Camrose on Thursday. Humboldt (1-2) needs a win over the Pictou County (N.S.) Weeks Crushers (1-2) to advance.

Sparks finished with a pair of goals, while Dustin Alcock added a single.

Matthew Kirzinger countered with two goals for the Broncos, while Dane Lindskog, Scott Schroeder, Brady Wacker and Tanner Vandesype also scored in defeat.

In Wednesday's late game, the Kodiaks (3-0) held off the Colts on a pair of goals from Dylan Olsen. Camrose netminder Allen York made the lead stand, stopping just nine shots in the victory.

Darcy Findlay had the lone goal for Cornwall (2-2), while Justin Roethlingshoefer made 27 saves in defeat.

Darryl Sittler's 10-point game becomes work of art

cp.org — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:02:00 -0400

HALIFAX - Many Canadians might consider hockey an art form and its best players scarred Picassos on skates.

But artist Graeme Patterson is literally pushing the connection between art and hockey.

Patterson is turning hockey legend Darryl Sittler's record-breaking 10-point game of Feb. 7, 1976, for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins into a short animated film using stop motion.

It all takes place on a huge table-hockey set being built to resemble the old Maple Leaf Gardens.

"The game is just something I'm so passionate about and to be able to combine it with art is great," Patterson said Wednesday as his hockey-themed exhibit was promoted at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

Patterson, who knows Sittler, met the former Maple Leaf star through a mutual friend, an art patron who commissioned this latest work.

It will be called "10-Point Game" and run about five minutes when it's completed in July, about the same time Patterson's tenure ends as artist-in-residence at the gallery.

"I'm gonna get Darryl to narrate the game, his recollections," said Patterson, who grew up in rural Saskatchewan.

Sittler laughed as he looked over the table Wednesday, noting the missing ceramic heads - they still have to be baked - on many of the hapless Boston Bruins, who got bombed 11-4 that night.

On the table, just in front of the porous Bruin netminder Dave Reece is the streaking outline of Sittler, number 27, looking to notch another goal.

"Kinda cool, eh?" said the grey-haired Sittler, chuckling at the bushy brown mop on top of his mini, mirror, younger self.

"It's an amazing part of my life, this 10 point record, and to see it in animation and in an art gallery is pretty neat."

Sittler admits he does not have much of an eye for art and the only thing he has collected over the years has been memorabilia from his own career.

"But I appreciate the skill and talent and creativeness of an artist and when I see it I say, 'Gee how did they come up with that idea?' "

The Sittler work-in-progress is part of a larger exhibit - "Arena: The Art of Hockey" - celebrating Canada's game at the art gallery.

Timed to coincide with the 2008 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Halifax and Quebec City, it features more than 50 other artists and almost 100 full colour illustrations.

Jeff Gray, director of development at the Nova Scotia gallery, said finding hockey art wasn't a problem and its volume has allowed them to mount their largest show ever.

"Contemporary art at the best of time reflects society and you have to say that hockey is a big part of Canadian society," he said.

"Our mission with this show was to bring more people into the gallery and if I can walk around and see a bunch of guys enjoying contemporary art then I've succeeded."

Sittler's record setting game, six goals and four assists, remains intact, having survived even the Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux eras in the National Hockey League.

But Sittler is philosophical about it all.

"You never know in this era of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. They've got the skill and talent, these young players, and if everything's working some night ..."

Sittler says he didn't even know he was about to break the record that cold February night in the Gardens.

He had seven points after the second period when the team statistician told him just one more would tie him with Maurice "Rocket" Richard for the most points in a game.

Sittler went out and scored three more in the third period, the last from behind the net, off the skate of Brad Park.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:04:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Tuesday:

National Hockey League

BUFFALO SABRES-Signed F Nathan Gerbe to a three-year contract.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS-Signed F Ian McKenzie.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS-Signed RW Joel Rechlicz to a three-year contract.

American Hockey League

AHL-Approved sale of Rochester Americans to Arrow Express Sports.

TORONTO MARLIES-Recalled F Tyler Doig, F Peter Tsimikalis and D Patrick Wellar from Columbia (ECHL).

ECHL

ECHL-Fined Wheeling an undisclosed amount for announcing a trade that had not been approved by the league.

Chubb has three points as Colts beat Crushers at RBC Cup

cp.org — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:23:00 -0400

CORNWALL, Ont. - David Chubb had two goals and an assist as the host Cornwall Colts hammered the Pictou County Weeks Crushers 6-1 Tuesday at the RBC Cup national Junior A championship hockey tournament.

The Colts improved to 2-1 with their second win in a row. The Crushers fell to 1-2. Joey Derochie, Darcy Findlay, Alain Joanette and Matt Pinder also scored for the Colts.

Scott MacManaman had the only goal for the Crushers.

Justin Roethlingshoefer made 25 saves for Cornwall, while Max Pelzner and Alexandre Quessy combined for 30 saves for the Crushers.

Mitchell scores three points, Marlies defeat Syracuse 8-2

cp.org — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:13:00 -0400

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - John Mitchell had two goals and an assist and the Toronto Marlies climbed back into their AHL playoff series with the Syracuse Crunch with an 8-2 win on Tuesday.

The Crunch still hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Jiri Tlusty, Andy Wozniewski, David Ling, Bates Battaglia, Kris Newbury and Jaime Sifers added goals for the Marlies, who got 27 saves from Scott Clemmensen.

Joakim Lindstrom and Nate DiCasmirro replied for Syracuse.

Adam Munro and Karl Goehring combined for 28 stops in goal for the Crunch.

The Crunch host Game 4 on Wednesday.

Hockey transactions (Apr. 5)

cp.org — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:26:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Monday:

National Hockey League

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS - Agreed to terms with G Antti Niemi.

FLORIDA PANTHERS-Agreed to terms with C Kamil Kreps and RW Wade Belak on two-year contracts. Signed D Luke Beaverson.

OTTAWA SENATORS-Announced the election of Danielle Robinson as president.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS-Named Laurence Gilman director, hockey administration.

AHL Penguins Nathan Smith to stand trial for streaking

cp.org — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:31:00 -0400

SCRANTON, Pa. - The captain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey team was ordered to stand trial following his streaking arrest.

Nathan Smith didn't show for his preliminary hearing Monday. In his absence, a judge ruled there's enough evidence to send the case to county court.

Smith was arrested April 27. Police say Smith apologized to the officer and said he acted on a bet.

He is charged with misdemeanour counts of indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct and a summary offence of public drunkenness.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:01:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:

National Hockey League

CALGARY FLAMES-Signed C Mikael Backlund.

LACROSSE

Major League Lacrosse

NEW JERSEY PRIDE-Waived G Howard Krongard. Traded A Jesse Hubbard and a 2009 second-round draft pick to Los Angeles for a 2009 first-round draft pick.

SAN FRANCISCO DRAGONS-Claimed M David Gerbarg from the league player pool.

Crunch manages 5-1 win over Marlies in Game 1

cp.org — Sat, 03 May 2008 03:40:00 -0400

TORONTO - The Toronto Marlies admitted they looked more like spectators than hockey players Friday night.

Derek MacKenzie and Clay Wilson each had a goal and two assists as the Syracuse Crunch opened the American Hockey League's North Division Final with a convincing win over the Marlies.

Syracuse leapt out to a 2-0 first-period lead and cruised from there despite being outshot 32-22 by Toronto - a result that flattered the listless Marlies.

"I think we came out and we watched them take the play to us," said Toronto forward David Ling, who had the lone goal for the Marlies. "We gave up the puck in (bad) spots and they capitalized and we got down and we couldn't get back in.

"I think we got away from our game."

Toronto head coach Greg Gilbert said the negatives outweighed the positives in the opener of their Calder Cup second-round series.

"One of the things we talk about is having everyone on board and willing to pay the price and sacrifice, especially in a series like this," he said. "Tonight we had some holes, it's as simple as that. We did some good things, but we did more things that hurt us."

Ling's power-play goal, a seeing-eye shot from the point, seemed to provide some hope for the home side, as it closed the gap to 3-1 with just over six minutes remaining in the second period.

But any dreams of a third-period rally were dashed with two quick Crunch scores. First, Mark Rycroft converted a nice 2-on-1 pass from Trevor Frischmon 3:30 into the final period. Less than three minutes later, Derick Brassard swatted home a loose puck while Syracuse was enjoying a man advantage.

Crunch goalie Karl Goehring, who stopped 31 shots in all, shut the door the rest of the way.

The Marlies had stirring moments, but overall played too loose in their own end to expect to win. Goalie Scott Clemmensen was unable to cover up his teammates' mistakes.

"We handed them too many opportunities and they finished," Gilbert said. "There's maybe one (goal) that Clem maybe could have had, the other three or four were point blank and turnovers in bad areas. You can't blame him on too many of those."

The bench boss was obviously prepared to take actions against those players he felt were playing too irresponsibly. Offensive blue-liner Derrick Walser saw his ice time severely cut in the second half of the game. When asked about Walser's status after the contest, Gilbert answered: "He sat on the bench and watched the rest of the game."

The North Division final began with Toronto tough guy Colin Murphy and Syracuse captain Zenon Konopka dropping the gloves just three seconds into Game 1.

Konopka won the decision, and his team pulled ahead soon after.

MacKenzie was standing to Clemmensen's right during a delayed penalty call when the puck bounced to him and he chopped it home just 1:40 into the game.

Midway through the period, Wilson picked off a poor Toronto clearing pass and absolutely hammered a slapshot home from the top of the circle over Clemmensen's glove.

The Marlies had their share of chances in the opening period, but couldn't convert. Most enthusiastic among the Toronto crew was Kris Newbury, who threw more than a couple bone-crunching hits in an attempt to set a physical tone and get the crowd of 2,931 at the Ricoh Coliseum back into the game.

"I thought Kris was outstanding; he plays to win every night," Gilbert said.

The Crunch were unfazed by Newbury's bodychecks and Nate DiCasmirro helped Syracuse open up a three-goal lead while enjoying a second-period power play as he tipped home a point shot from MacKenzie.

Toronto had a pair of quality shorthanded scoring chances earlier in the second, but couldn't convert. Jay Harrison also rung a puck off the post before Ling, who spent parts of three seasons with the Crunch, finally found the mark.

Gilbert knows when the Marlies get chances, they must cash because it's not a team laden with snipers.

"We're not a team of 40-and 50-goal scorers," he said. "We've got a few 20-goal scorers and we've had to work for every inch of ice. It's not like we haven't created opportunities, it's just that finishing part".

Game 2 goes Sunday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum.

Gilbert is hoping his team benefits from a hard lesson in the series opener.

"Maybe it's a blessing in disguise to get kicked in the teeth early, you wake up," he said.

Syracuse, which finished second to the Marlies in the hunt for the regular season division title, will host Games 3 and 4.

Notes: The Marlies and Crunch each earned four wins in eight head-to-head regular season matches Syracuse finished the season with at least a point in its last 23 games, then beat the Manitoba Moose in six games in Round 1 The Marlies signed former Oshawa General and Mississauga native Dale Mitchell, 19, to an amateur tryout contract prior to the series, but he did not dress for Game 1.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:55:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Thursday:

American Hockey League

CHICAGO WOLVES-Signed G Craig Kowalski.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:32:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Wednesday:

National Hockey League

ANAHEIM DUCKS-Signed F Matt Beleskey, F Jason Bailey and D John de Gray to three-year entry-level contracts.

American Hockey League

CHICAGO WOLVES-Signed F Angelo Esposito to tryout contract.

TORONTO MARLIES-Signed F Dale Mitchell to tryout contract.

Hockey transactions (Apr. 29)

cp.org — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:31:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Tuesday:

National Hockey League

ANAHEIM DUCKS-Signed C Ryan Carter to a three-year contract.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS-Re-signed D Jan Hejda to a three-year contract.

LOS ANGELES KINGS-Agreed to terms with D Alec Martinez on a three-year contract.

American Hockey League

AHL-Suspended Wilkes-Barre/Scranton C Nathan Smith one game for violating team rules.

ECHL

ECHL-Fined the Reading and Cincinnati organizations, Karl Taylor, Reading coach, Chuck Weber, Cincinnati coach, Cincinnati G Cedric Desjardins, F Barrett Ehgoetz and Reading C Malcolm McMillian for their parts in an incident at the end of an April 28 game.

AHL player arrested for streaking

cp.org — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:52:00 -0400

SCRANTON, Pa. - Canadian Nathan Smith, the captain of the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, has been charged with indecent exposure after a police officer saw him running naked on a downtown street early Sunday.

Smith, a 26-year-old centre from Strathcona, Alta., told the officer he acted on a bet. Penguins forward Ryan Stone, a native of Calgary, was charged with public drunkenness.

Officials said Smith, a former first-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks who played his junior hockey for the WHL's Swift Current Broncos, was charged with misdemeanour counts of indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct, as well as public drunkenness. He was released on US$10,000 bail.

"I would like to apologize to the people of Northeast Pennsylvania, my teammates, and to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh Penguins organizations," Smith said in a statement. "I made an embarrassing and regrettable decision this weekend and understand I will face disciplinary action. My conduct was unacceptable and totally out of character - it will not happen again. I promise to do my best to win back your trust and support."

The team advanced to the second round of the AHL playoffs on Friday with a Game 5 win over the Hershey Bears. The Penguins will play Philadelphia or Albany in the next round.

The American Hockey League team suspended Smith for its second-round home playoff game Thursday. It was not immediately clear how Stone would be disciplined but the team said he would not be suspended.

Smith has two goals and two assists in five playoff games.

Stone, who has a goal and four assists in the playoffs, was drafted 32nd overall by the Penguins in 2003. The 23-year-old spent his junior career with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL.

Stone's arrest was his second this season for public drunkenness. He was cited for the same charge in October, pleaded guilty and paid a fine.

Hockey transactions (April 28)

cp.org — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:41:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Monday:

National Hockey League

ATLANTA THRASHERS-Assigned F Guillaume Desbiens, F Tomas Pospisil and D Chad Denny from Gwinnett (ECHL) to Chicago (AHL).

PHOENIX COYOTES-Signed LW Brett MacLean and assigned him to San Antonio (AHL).

ECHL

CHARLOTTE CHECKERS-Announced Allan Egeland, assistant coach, will not return next season.

Marlies edge Rampage in Game 7 to advance in AHL playoffs

cp.org — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:40:00 -0400

TORONTO - Bates Battaglia sent the Toronto Marlies to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time ever, and he didn't even see it happen.

Battaglia scored in the final minute of the third period and goalie Scott Clemmensen made 33 saves to lead the Toronto Marlies past the San Antonio Rampage 2-1 in Game 7 of the first-round American Hockey League playoff series on Monday night.

Battaglia scored at 19:01 of the final frame when his seeing-eye wrist shot from the blue-line eluded San Antonio goalie Josh Tordjman, giving Toronto its first-ever AHL playoff series win.

"Honestly, I didn't even see it go in," said Battaglia, who was at the end of a shift when he fired the low, harmless-looking shot from the right point. "I threw it on net and I saw one of my wingers put his arms up, otherwise I didn't know. I was just trying to get it there and see what it happens."

Kris Newbury, with a power-play goal midway through the second period, also scored for Toronto in front of 1,982 fans at Ricoh Coliseum.

Enver Lisin had the lone goal for the Rampage, on the man advantage at 6:51 of the third period.

Aside from the winning goal, both netminders were sharp throughout the game. After a cautious first period, the action - and scoring chances - picked up in the final 40 minutes.

Clemmensen made several tough stops in the second and third periods, while Tordjman, who shut out Toronto 3-0 in Game 6, kept the Rampage in it with 31 stops, including a number of key saves.

"No question, (Clemmensen) came up huge and made some real big saves for us," said Marlies coach Greg Gilbert. "He had the glove in the right spots so I guess he was in the zone and hopefully he's in the zone for a while longer."

The Marlies' first-ever AHL playoff series win came in the first Game 7 for either team. Toronto advances to play the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL quarter-finals. Syracuse advanced with a 3-2 overtime win over Manitoba on Monday. Game 1 is Friday at Ricoh Coliseum.

"It was a heck of a series, all the games were close," said Gilbert after his team prevailed in the fifth one-goal game of the match-up.

Said Rampage coach Greg Ireland: "Josh (Tordjman) had a great series to the end. I just talked to him and told him he finished the season the way he started it. He was the backbone for us and he was a strength for us.

"Both goaltenders battled hard. Bates' goalyou know, throw pucks at the net and sometimes things happen."

Toronto was 1-for-3 on the power play, while San Antonio went 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

The game was tied 0-0 after the first period the two teams traded goalposts early in the opening frame and Toronto led 1-0 through 40 minutes.

Newbury deflected Derrick Walser's slapshot from the point midway through the second period to draw first blood in a goaltending duel between Clemmensen and Tordjman.

Newbury, though, was in the penalty box for interference when Lisin blasted a point shot past a screened Clemmensen early in the third period to notch the game at 1-1.

The game appeared destined for overtime until Battaglia's harmless-looking shot slipped past a partially screened Tordjman, to the delight of the Marlies fans.

"That's exactly how it happens, overtime goals and stuff like that, usually it's not a pretty goalknocking around off someone's head or whatever.," Battaglia said. "It's not a surprise, but it's definitely something we're pumped about."

Syracuse eliminates Moose from AHL playoffs with OT win

cp.org — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:40:00 -0400

Trevor Frischmon's overtime goal led the Syracuse Crunch to a 3-2 win over Manitoba on Monday, eliminating the Moose from the American Hockey League playoffs.

Frischmon took advantage of a Manitoba defender's broken stick, shooting through a crowd in front of the Moose and beating goaltender Cory Schneider.

Syracuse won the first-round series 4-2 and will face Toronto in the next round. Five of the six games went to overtime, tying an AHL record.

Brad Moran opened the scoring for Manitoba, scoring on a 5-on-3 advantage. Poised at the bottom of the far face-off circle, Moran scored from a sharp angle.

Derick Brassard scored to tie the game 1-1. Syracuse cycled the puck around the Moose zone, and Brassard caught Schneider sliding in the opposite direction and beat the rookie goalie to his glove side.

With a Manitoba player serving a hooking penalty and another Moose infraction pending, Alexandre Picard pounced on a rebound and fired the puck into the net to give Syracuse their first lead of the game.

With less than five minutes left, Moran set up Jannik Hansen for a quick wrist-shot that found its way past Karl Goehring and into the net to tie the score 2-2.

Goehring made 30 saves for Syracuse, while Schneider stopped 40 shots for Manitoba.

Sudbury captures national midget AAA title with triumph over Winnipeg

cp.org — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:32:00 -0400

ARNPRIOR, Ont. - The Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves are at the top of the minor hockey world, with gold medals around their necks following an inspired 6-4 win over the Winnipeg Thrashers in the final of the Telus Cup on Sunday.

Trailing 3-2 entering the third period, the Wolves scored three power-play goals two minutes apart before the five-minute mark to rally for a 5-2 lead.

Steve Taylor, Deven Stillar, Mathieu Lecours, Justin Lockeyer, Denis Restoule and Stefan Herrington scored for the Wolves, who became the first Central Region representative to win a gold medal at the national midget AAA championships.

David Conrad, Dan Hrabowych, Kyle Lee and Corbin Baldwin scored for the Thrashers, who went 40-0-0 during their regular season, 9-0 in the league playoffs, 3-1 in the regionals and were 6-0 this week at the Nick Smith Centre heading into the final.

"That (Winnipeg) team deserves so much credit, they never stop working and they're such a class act," said Wolves coach Peter Michelutti. "We're a team that never gives up, and we found a way in the third period to come back for a win."

The Wolves took and early 2-0 lead on goals by Taylor and Stillar, but the Thrashers responded with goals from Conrad and Hrabowych before the end of the period.

Lee had the only goal of the second period to give the Thrashers a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

Then it all fell apart for the Thrashers.

Lecours scored during a 5-on-3 advantage at 2:36 to tie the game and Lockeyer gave the Wolves a 4-3 lead 20 second later during a 5-on-4 advantage. Restoule then scored what proved to be the game-winner at 4:39, this time during a 4-on-3.

"It was the greatest goal of my life and it's something I'll never forget," said Restoule. "We knew we couldn't give up. We came back in the semifinals of the (provincial championship) and then the finals, came back (Saturday) and we never gave up and never stopped skating."

Baldwin pulled the Thrashers to within a goal midway through the third and in the dying minutes Kyle Mulder was robbed by Wolves netminder Christopher McDougall with a glove save.

"I saw it all the way," McDougall said of the near-goal. "I knew the guy had the upstairs, so I just threw my glove out at him to cut down the angle and it just came in.

"I'm at a loss for words. I feel amazing."

Herrington secured the win scoring into an empty net with 24 seconds to play.

The loss was a difficult one for the Thrashers to swallow, as they felt they were in control heading into the final 20 minutes.

"We've always been a third-period team this year and we thought we'd be really in great shape to outwork them," Winnipeg head coach Kevin Benson said. "Everybody talked about that in the dressing room that we had lots of gas left and they had played late (Saturday) night and maybe that caused us to relax. We seemed to be a little too casual.

"We were 58-1 and we've had a ton of adversity but after a while you kind of expect to get things going in the third period and today we just came up against a team that played better than us. Credit to them, they were tired and their best players really played well while our top guys struggled."

In the bronze medal game Guillaume Asselin had a goal and two assists as the Seminaire St. Francois Blizzard from Quebec City defeated the Calgary Buffaloes 7-4 to claim their second straight third-place finish.

Tommy Giroux, Justin Ducharme, Jean-Phillipe Mathieu, Patrick Delisle-Houde and Tommy Dery also scored for the Blizzard.

The Buffaloes got goals from Jake Hayes, Chris Collins, Jordan Kanygin and Jona Szakacs.

Tordjman stops 38 shots as Rampage force Game 7 with Marlies

cp.org — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:23:00 -0400

TORONTO - The Toronto Marlies couldn't close the deal.

San Antonio's Josh Tordjman stopped 38 shots while Chad Kolarik and Dylan Reese each scored as the Marlies lost Game 6 of their North Division semifinal series 3-0 to the Rampage on Sunday , ensuring there will be a seventh and deciding game.

The winner-take-all contest goes Monday night in Toronto.

The Marlies, playing in front of just 1,829 fans at the Ricoh Coliseum, got down early and simply couldn't solve Tordjman.

"He was great, he played a great game," said Marlies defenceman Jay Harrison. "He's been pretty solid for them most of the series, so that's nothing new. You've got to expect to run into a hot goalie at least one game in a playoff series."

Kolarik and Reese beat Toronto goalie Scott Clemmensen with first-period markers, while Rampage defenceman Brendan Bell rounded out the scoring mid-way through the third with a power-play marker. Bell now has two goals and seven points against his old team in the series.

San Antonio's fast, aggressive play seemed to keep the Marlies from completely finding their rhythm. Toronto's frustration boiled over a bit toward the end of the second period, as some undisciplined play gave the Rampage an extended 5-on-3 advantage.

And whenever the Marlies were concentrating on scoring and managed to muster up a solid push, Tordjman was there.

"I think we played a really, really good game," said Harrison, adding his team just didn't have the finishing touch it needed on this night. "For the most part we did the things we wanted to do, got bit twice in the first period by tiny little errors that ended up costing us, but I think we came out as hard as we've come out all year. We've got to take that away from this one."

Captain Ben Ondrus saw plenty of positives in Game 6 too, even if the Marlies now have to concentrate on employing them for one more game this series.

"I thought we came out and we did exactly what we wanted to right off the bat and they got a couple breaks and capitalized on them, their goalie made some saves," Ondrus said. "We've just got to keep executing our game plan and bring it to them (in Game 7)."

The Marlies, who won Games 4 and 5 in San Antonio to seize a 3-2 series lead, carried the play in the first period, but still found themselves down a pair of goals after 20 minutes.

Kolarik, who had a two-point night, got San Antonio rolling when he ripped a low shot past Clemmensen to the stick side to open the scoring just over five minutes into the game. Toronto had several quality chances to tie the game after that, but Tordjman always had the answer. His best save came when he denied Marlies sniper Jiri Tlusty on a partial breakaway.

Then, with 3:20 remaining in the first, Reese finished off a beautiful three-way passing play to make it 2-0.

NOTES: David Ling, who took an elbow in Game 3, returned to the Toronto lineup after missing Games 4 and 5. ... The Marlies went 0-for-4 on the power play.

Syracuse beats Moose in OT to take 3-2 series lead

cp.org — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:03:00 -0400

WINNIPEG - Derek MacKenzie wasn't interested in discussing his overtime goal Saturday night - he wanted instead to rave about his star teammate.

MacKenzie's goal 10:54 into overtime lifted the Syracuse Crunch to a 3-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Saturday, and a 3-2 lead in their American Hockey League North Division semifinal.

MacKenzie took a perfect pass from Derick Brassard, raced to the front of the crease, outguessed Schneider and backhanded the puck into the net. After the game, MacKenzie lauded Brassard for setting up the game winner.

"Brassard made a great play," MacKenzie said. "He's a great player. He sees the ice very well. He got an opportunity up in Columbus with the Blue Jackets this year; so I haven't had much of a chance to play with him this year.

"He's going to have a long career in the NHL, in my opinion."

Brassard ended up with a goal and two assists. Nate DiCasmirro also scored and added an assist in the Crunch victory.

Greg Classen and Jannik Hansen replied for the Moose, who must now win a pair of road games in order to advance to the next round. Game 6 will be played Monday in Syracuse, with Game 7 (if necessary) going Tuesday.

Moose head coach Scott Arniel pointed to the team's 23-14-3 regular-season record away from Manitoba as proof the series is far from over.

"We'll have to go down there and turn up the heat," Arniel said. "We've been a good road club all year and we're still in it."

Karl Goehring stopped 21 shots to earn the win for the Crunch. Cory Schneider made 30 saves in defeat for Manitoba.

The Crunch dominated play in the scoreless first period, outshooting the Moose 13-4. Syracuse came out with its intimidating physical game and forechecked the Moose, who had few scoring opportunities, to a standstill.

Schneider was solid, holding the visitors at bay as they swarmed around the net in the opening period. His outstanding puck-stopping continued throughout as he faced 28 shots in regulation time and was the main reason the teams played their fourth overtime contest in five games.

The period was highlighted by a pair of fights, perhaps in a carry-over from the rough final minute of Game 4. Derek Dorsett of the Crunch, the most penalized team during the regular AHL season, went toe-to-toe with Moose strongman Mike Brown in a fairly even bout early in the first. Ten minutes later, Syracuse captain Zenon Konopka traded punches with Moose defenceman Nathan McIver.

Manitoba picked up the offensive pace in the second period, outshooting Syracuse 9-4 and opening the scoring at 2:37 when Hansen, from behind the net, skated out in front and backhanded the puck under Goehring's arm on his stick side.

The lead was short-lived, as the Crunch enjoyed a power-play following a Max Fortunus holding penalty. Defenceman Duvie Westcott took a hard slap shot that was deflected by DiCasmirro to tie the game at 4:49.

Classen, on the power-play, scored his first goal of the playoffs at 1:26 of the third to stake the Moose to a 2-1 lead. DiCasmirro had taken a needless cross-checking penalty at the 20-minute mark of the second period, putting the Crunch at a disadvantage to start the third.

Brassard tied the game at 10:28, beating Schneider on the short side with a quick wrist shot from just off to the side of the net.

Winnipeg reaches Telus Cup final with 4-1 win over Seminaire Saint-Francois

cp.org — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:51:00 -0400

ARNPRIOR, Ont. - Mark Stone and Michael Hay scored 22 seconds apart early in the first period as the Winnipeg Thrashers earned a 4-1 win over the Seminaire Saint-Francois Blizzard in Saturday's early semifinal at the Telus Cup Canadian midget hockey championship.

The win advanced the Thrashers into Sunday's final, where they will face the winner of the other semifinal showdown between the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves and the Calgary Buffaloes.

Unbeaten Winnipeg, the West Region champion, wasted little time putting pressure on the Blizzard, who needed a win Friday just to reach the playoffs. Stone opened the scoring 1:50 into the game, and Hay extended the lead at 2:12. Stone's second of the game made it 3-0 with 4:02 remaining in the period.

Dave Leclerc put the Blizzard on the board at 2:28 of the third period, but round-robin MVP Mathew Bodie restored the three-goal lead and concluded the scoring with a power-play goal at 15:50.

Brett Martyniuk earned the win with a 18-save performance for Winnipeg.

Jean-Philippe Gagnon turned aside 20 shots for Seminaire Saint-Francois.

Manitoba uses three-goal burst in second period to even series with Syracuse

cp.org — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:29:00 -0400

WINNIPEG - Jason Jaffray didn't need any extra motivation in his return to the Manitoba lineup - and he wasted no time making an impact on the final outcome.

Jaffray had one of three Moose goals in a 1:52 span of the second period as Manitoba cruised to a 5-2 win over the red-hot Syracuse Crunch in Game 4 of their AHL North Division semifinal Friday.

Jaffray returned to action for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury March 16. He was reunited with linemates Jannik Hansen and Brad Moran and the trio helped send the Crunch to their first regulation loss in 26 games.

"It took me a while to get started tonight," Jaffray said. "I was a bit tentative until I got my mind back in the game. I was tired in the early going, but my legs began to feel better as the game went on.

"It's not tough to get up for these kinds of games."

Alexandre Bolduc and Michael Grabner also scored during the second period outburst, while Danny Groulx and Mike Brown, into an empty net, added singles as the Moose evened the series at two games apiece.

Derek MacKenzie and Joakim Lindstrom replied for the Crunch.

Game 5 will be played Saturday night in Winnipeg with the teams returning to Syracuse for the final two games Monday and Tuesday, if necessary.

Things became chippy in the game's final seconds, when Syracuse left-winger Tom Sestito floored Manitoba netminder Cory Schneider with a punch after they came together in the Moose goal crease. After a few minutes, referee Kyle Rehman called the game in order to avoid a melee.

Sestito was assessed a match penalty for deliberate attempt to injure.

"Sure, there was lots of emotion in the game tonight," said Moose head coach Scott Arniel, who didn't seem upset at Sestito's actions after the game. "What happened, that's playoff hockey for you. "

The Crunch dominated play in the first period, outshot the Moose 16-8 and opening the scoring on the power-play at 11:26. Lindstrom unleashed a hard drive from the right faceoff circle and the puck caught the far corner and dropped into the net past Manitoba netminder Cory Schneider.

With just 10 seconds remaining in the first and the Moose enjoying a five-on-three advantage, defenceman Groulx fired a bullet from the centre of the left faceoff circle and beat Syracuse goalie Karl Goehring on the short side to tie the score.

Six seconds later, Derek MacKenzie took a foolish penalty when with the play stopped he skated by Alexandre Bolduc and slashed him hard on the leg sending the Moose forward to his knees. The Crunch centre was assessed a slashing minor and a misconduct for his actions.

Syracuse head coach Ross Yates lamented his team's inability to maintain a good pace from start to finish.

"I thought that the first period was our best, at least for the first 17 minutes," he said. "After that we lost our discipline and they took over."

Schneider kept Manitoba in the game with a number of acrobatic saves, and the Moose rewarded his efforts with their second-period eruption.

Manitoba broke the 1-1 tie at 10:18 when Bolduc raced to the edge of the Crunch crease and converted a Max Fortunus corner pass.

Jaffray, out of the lineup since March 16th, picked up a loose puck off the faceoff and beat Goehring from directly in front with a wrist shot.

Grabner, on the power-play, then notched his third goal of the series beating Goehring from a sharp angle to complete the onslaught in a period in which Manitoba outshot Syracuse 15-7.

Derek MacKenzie cut into the lead late in the period, racing down the left side while Syracuse was on a penalty kill and beating Schneider high to the far side.

Brown scored into an empty net to ice the game at 18:58.

Hockey transactions (Apr. 25)

cp.org — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:04:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:

National Hockey League

NEW YORK RANGERS-Agreed to terms with G Miika Wiikman. Recalled G David LeNeveu, D Andrew Hutchinson, D Corey Potter, D Bobby Sanguinetti, F Artem Anisimov, F Dane Byers, F Brodie Dupont, F Lauri Korpikoski, F Greg Moore and F P.A. Parenteau from Hartford (AHL).

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING-Announced Steve Stirling, coach of Norfolk (AHL), has been reassigned to a college scouting position and Norfolk will not exercise their option on Darren Rumble, assistant coach.

American Hockey League

CHICAGO WOLVES-Recalled C Matt Anderson from Gwinnett (ECHL).

Seminaire Saint-Francois clinches berth in Telus Cup playoffs

cp.org — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:57:00 -0400

ARNPRIOR, Ont. - The Seminaire Saint-Francois Blizzard clinched a playoff berth Friday with a 9-1 drubbing of the Ottawa Valley Titans at the Telus Cup Canadian midget hockey championship.

Philippe Halley and Patrick Delisle-Houde each scored twice to lead the Blizzard (2-3-0), who will face the unbeaten Winnipeg Thrashers (5-0-0) in Saturday's early semifinal. Seminaire Saint-Francois won the last three Telus Cup championships as the Gouverneurs de Ste-Foy.

Halley, Delisle-Houde and Guillaume Asselin scored in the game's opening nine-and-a-half minutes to chase Ottawa Valley starting netminder Justin Gilbert. Frederick Roy extended the lead with the lone goal of the second period, and Seminaire Saint-Francois added five goals in the third period to complete the rout.

Dominic Beausoleil, Tommy Giroux and Laurent Dumont added singles for the Blizzard.

Brent Bisdee had the lone goal for the Titans (0-4-1), spoiling netminder Jean-Phillipe Gagnon's shutout bid with 29 seconds left in the third period.

Winnipeg clinched first place in the round-robin with a 5-4 win over the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves (3-1-1). Mark Stone scored the game-winner into an empty net with 10 seconds left in the third after Sudbury pulled its goalie. The Wolves needed a victory to overtake the Thrashers for first place.

Sudbury will face Calgary in Saturday's late semifinal. The West Region-champion Buffaloes (2-2-1) concluded their round-robin with a 4-3 loss to the Cole Harbour McCains (1-3-1).

The Thrashers took home some early hardware, garnering three tournament awards which were based on round-robin competition. Mathew Bodie took home most valuable player and top defensive honours, while Stone was the tournament's top scorer.

Kris Moore of the Buffaloes named top goaltender, Sudbury's Mathieu Lecours took home the top forward trophy and Jordan Burke of Cole Harbour earned most sportsmanlike player honours.

Marlies win again in San Antonio to take series lead heading home

cp.org — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:54:00 -0400

SAN ANTONIO - The Toronto Marlies hit the road and seized control in their best-of-seven American Hockey League opening-round series with San Antonio.

Scott Clemmensen turned aside 26 shots and the Marlies scored twice in a 5:15 span of the second period to beat the Rampage 2-1 in Game 5 of their North Division semifinal.

The Marlies now have a 3-2 lead in the series, and will host Game 6 on Sunday afternoon. Game 7, if necessary, will be played Monday night in Toronto.

Toronto escaped with a pair of wins in its three-game jaunt through Texas, thanks in no small part to some sensational goaltending from Clemmensen. The veteran netminder allowed just three goals on 64 shots in the Marlies' past two games, both victories.

After Jon DiSalvatore opened the scoring for the Rampage late in the first period, Andy Wozniewski drew the Marlies even with his first goal of the playoffs 3:35 into the second. John Mitchell added his third of the post-season at 8:50 to give Toronto the lead for good.

Josh Tjordman stopped 22 shots in defeat for San Antonio.

Goal in 5th OT ends longest game in AHL history as Philadelphia beats Albany

cp.org — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:56:00 -0400

ALBANY, N.Y. - Ryan Potulny scored in the fifth overtime, ending the longest game in American Hockey League history as the Philadelphia Phantoms beat the Albany River Rats 3-2 Thursday night.

The marathon game clocked in at 142 minutes, 58 seconds and eclipsed the previous record of 134 minutes, 56 seconds set in Game 2 of the 2003 Calder Cup final between the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Houston Aeros. Michael Ryder scored the winner as the Bulldogs escaped with a 2-1 win in a game where Hamilton netminder Ty Conklin and Houston goaltender Johan Holmqvist combined to make 162 saves.

Philadelphia took a 3-2 lead in the first-round Calder Cup series with the win.

Albany goaltender Michael Leighton made an incredible 98 saves in a losing effort. Leighton's performance made Scott Munroe's exceptional 65-save effort look pedestrian in comparison.

Jared Ross scored twice in regulation for Philadelphia, including the game-tying goal at 15:13 of the third period.

Kiel McLeod scored both Albany goals.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:52:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Thursday:

National Hockey League

LOS ANGELES KINGS-Agreed to terms with F Bud Holloway on a three-year contract.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING-Signed F Paul Szczechura to a two-year contract.

American Hockey League

PROVIDENCE BRUINS-Announced Boston (NHL) has assigned C Vladimir Sobotka to the team.

ECHL

LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS-Announced Carolina (NHL) assigned G Daniel Manzato to the team. Released G Joey Perricone.

Sudbury continues unbeaten run at Telus Cup with 3-0 win over Cole Harbour

cp.org — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:34:00 -0400

ARNPRIOR, Ont. - Landon Noel turned aside 23 shots as the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves locked up a semifinal berth Thursday with a 3-0 win over the Cole Harbour McCains at the at the Telus Cup Canadian midget hockey championship.

Deven Stillar, Denis Restoule and Kenton Valliant had goals for the Wolves (3-0-1), who are looking to become the first Central Region champions since the New Liskeard Cubs in 1997 to win the Telus Cup.

Philip Wright had 16 saves in a losing cause for the McCains (0-3-1), who still have a slim chance to reach the playoffs.

With the win, Sudbury remained one point behind the tournament-leading Winnipeg Thrashers. The West Region-champion Thrashers (4-0-0) rode a two-goal performance from Kyle Lee to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Valley Titans (0-3-1).

The Calgary Buffaloes (2-1-1) clinched the third of four semifinal berths with a 1-0 win over the Seminaire Saint-Francois Blizzard (1-3-0). Tyler Horton had the lone goal of the game early in the second period while Kris Moore preserved the win with a 29-save performance.

Round-robin action concludes Friday.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:13:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Wednesday:

National Hockey League

DALLAS STARS-Assigned D Nolan Baumgartner to Manitoba (AHL).

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS-Signed F Luca Caputi.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS-Named Mike Gillis general manager. Signed F Mark Derlago.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS-Agreed to terms with Bruce Boudreau, coach.

American Hockey League

AHL-Suspended Philadelphia D Denis Gauthier for one game for his actions during an April 22 game.

Winnipeg remain perfects at Telus Cup with win over Cole Harbour

cp.org — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:19:00 -0400

ARNPRIOR, Ont. - Mark Stone and Jesse Hall had two goals and two assists apiece as the Winnipeg Thrashers remained beaten with a 4-3 victory Wednesday over the Cole Harbour McCains at the Telus Cup Canadian midget hockey championship.

The win improved the West Region champions to 3-0 in round-robin play, while the Atlantic-champion McCains fell to 0-2-1.

For the second straight game, the Thrashers used superior special teams to earn the win. Winnipeg scored three power-play goals, and Hall also scored while short-handed. Tuesday, the Thrashers scored four times with the man advantage to beat the Seminaire Saint-Francois Blizzard 5-2.

Theodore Hannah, Stuart Lenehan and Stephen MacAuley countered for Cole Harbour, which led 2-1 midway through the first period before surrendering three unanswered goals.

The Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves (2-0-1) kept pace Wednesday with a 3-2 win over the Blizzard (1-2). Stefan Herrington and Craig Laliberte scored 49 seconds apart midway through the second period to lead the Wolves to the win.

Elsewhere, Brody Sutter scored twice as the Calgary Buffaloes (1-1-1) rode a four-goal first period to a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Valley Titans (0-2-1).

Round-robin play continues Thursday.

Harrington's empty-netter helps Marlies edge Rampage

cp.org — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:57:00 -0400

SAN ANTONIO - Chris Harrington's empty-net goal proved vital as the Toronto Marlies held on for a 3-2 win over the San Antonio Rampage in American Hockey League action Wednesday.

The first round series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 in San Antonio on Friday.

Harrington's goal gave the Marlies a 3-1 lead, but David Spina scored with nine seconds left in regulation to make it interesting.

John Mitchell and Michel Leveille also scored for the Marlies.

Steven Goertzen had San Antonio's other goal.

Scott Clemmensen made 34 saves for Toronto, while Josh Tordjman stopped 30 shots for San Antonio.

Sesito scores in overtime, Crunch take series lead over Moose

cp.org — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:53:00 -0400

WINNIPEG - Tom Sestito was hoping to catch his coach's eye, and he picked a good way to do it.

Sestito scored 11 minutes into overtime to lift the Syracuse Crunch to a 2-1 win over the Manitoba Moose in American Hockey League playoff action Tuesday. The Crunch have a 2-1 lead over the Moose in the first-round series. Sestito managed to get his stick on defenceman Brett Motherwell's blue-line drive and redirected it past Cory Schneider for the game winner.

"I was trying to stir up things out there and get things started," Sestito said. "I hope it gets me more ice time."

Syracuse head coach Ross Yates certainly took notice.

"Tommy was all over the ice and creating chances," he said.

Zenon Konopka added a goal and an assist for Syracuse, while Michael Grabner replied for Manitoba.

Both Crunch goaltender Karl Goehring and Schneider were outstanding, with Manitoba outshooting Syracuse 36-30.

All three games in the North Division best-of-seven semifinal have now gone into overtime. Games 4 and 5 will also be played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Friday and Saturday with Games 6 and 7, if necessary, in Syracuse.

Moose head coach Scott Arniel didn't like his team's approach to the game.

"We were much too loose," Arniel said. "We ended up extending a few of our shifts and were getting caught. We had a ton of chances to win the game. It was ours for the taking.

"We weren't as sharp as we needed to be."

Grabner agreed.

"We didn't play our best game, we let it slip away," he said. "We've got to get back to our system or we can't beat this team. We didn't shoot the puck enough and we tried to be too fancy.

"We play well on the road and now we have to bring that game home."

The Crunch and Moose played a scoreless first period as both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play. Manitoba outshot Syracuse 12-9 with few good scoring opportunities and a multitude of blocked shots on both sides.

Manitoba winger Grabner opened the scoring at 12:19 of the second period with his second goal of the series. Moose forward Jannik Hansen raced in on a breakaway, fired the puck over the net and hit the glass. The puck then bounced off the glass and bounced into the crease and Grabner jammed it past Goehring.

The lead was short-lived as Konopka,standing off to the side of the crease, shot the puck in off Moose forward Rick Rypien at 16:37 to tie the game 1-1 going into the third period.

From that juncture the teams played tentatively sending passes along the boards and chipping the puck out into neutral ice.

Veteran NHLer Mike Keane, in his 20th season of pro hockey, was a tower of strength in the penalty-killing department for the Moose. In regulation time both teams were 0-for-6 on the power play.

Hockey transactions (Apr. 22)

cp.org — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:27:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Tuesday:

National Hockey League

LOS ANGELES KINGS-Agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract with F Oscar Moller.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS-Extended the contracts of coach Barry Trotz, associate coach Brent Peterson, assistant coach Peter Horachek and goaltending coach Mitch Korn. Assigned F Rich Peverley to Milwaukee (AHL).

NEW YORK ISLANDERS-Signed F Tomas Marcinko to three-year entry-level contract.

Mid-Atlantic Hockey League

INDIANA ICE MINTERS-Named Bob Yusko general manager.

Thrashers use power play to earn comeback victory over Blizzard at Telus Cup

cp.org — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:35:00 -0400

ARNPRIOR, Ont. - The Winnipeg Thrashers scored four power-play goals in the final two periods in a 5-2 comeback win over the Seminaire Saint-Francois Blizzard on Tuesday at the Telus Cup Canadian midget hockey championship.

The win moves the West Region champions to 2-0.

Winnipeg's Cole Pruden opened the scoring just 2:59 after the opening faceoff, but Saint-Francois replied with goals from Guillaume Belanger and Dave Leclerc to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.

The Blizzard (1-1) began to get into penalty trouble early in the middle frame, handing the Thrashers a 5-on-3 advantage that David Conrad would convert, taking a cross-ice feed from Corbin Baldwin and snapping a one-timer past an outstretched Jean-Phillipe Gagnon in the Saint-Francois goal.

Baldwin finished with three assists.

The third period was all Winnipeg, as the Pruden gave the Thrashers their first lead since early on with his second of the game on the power play, and Jesse Hall and Michael Hay added man advantage goals in the final 10 minutes to give the Manitobans a little insurance.

Winnipeg goaltender Brett Martyniuk and the Thrashers defence stood tall over the final 40 minutes, holding the Quebec champions to just 15 shots over the second and third periods. Winnipeg finished the third period with a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal, and outshot the Blizzard 32-21 overall.

In other games, the host Ottawa Valley Titans tied the Cole Harbour McCains 1-1 and the Calgary Buffaloes played to a 2-2 draw with the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves .

Stephen MacAuley salvaged a tie for Cole Harbour (0-1-1) with a third-period power-play goal. The host Titans (0-1-1) had opened the scoring in the first on a goal from Brent Bisdee.

Meanwhile, Denis Restoule scored the game-tying goal with just under nine minutes remaining as Sudbury (1-1-0) remained unbeaten.

Deven Stillar also scored for the Wolves.

Brody Sutter and Adam Thompson had power-play goals for Calgary (0-1-1).

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:04:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Monday:

National Hockey League

MINNESOTA WILD-Reassigned C-LW Benoit Pouliot and D Erik Reitz to Houston (AHL).

American Hockey League

HARTFORD WOLF PACK-Signed D Brad Brown.

MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS-Named Aaron Sims ticket sales account executive.

SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE-Assigned C Curtis Fraser to Las Vegas (ECHL).

ECHL

LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS-Signed G Joey Perricone. Released G Tyler Sims.

Thomas scores winner; Rampage take series lead over Marlies

cp.org — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:35:00 -0400

SAN ANTONIO - Bill Thomas scored the game-winning goal as the San Antonio Rampage beat the Toronto Marlies 3-2 in American Hockey League playoff action Monday.

The Rampage lead the first-round playoff series 2-1, with Game 4 Wednesday in San Antonio. David Spina and Jon DiSalvatore also scored for San Antonio.

Brent Aubin and Jay Harrison replied for Toronto.

Josh Tordjman made 32 saves for the Rampage, while Scott Clemmensen stopped 37 shots for the Marlies.

Sudbury opens Telus Cup with win over Ottawa Valley

cp.org — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:13:00 -0400

ARNPRIOR, Ont. - Mathieu Lecours scored three goals and the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves held on for a 6-4 win over the host Ottawa Valley Titans on Monday at the Telus Cup Canadian midget hockey championship.

Sudbury (1-0) carried a 5-1 lead into the third period, but Ottawa Valley scored three straight goals to make it close. With the score 5-4, Stefan Herrington gave Sudbury some breathing room with a power-play goal, and the Titans (0-1) couldn't recover.

Deven Stillar and Denis Restoule also scored for Sudbury.

Sebastian Goulet, Devin Cobbold, Nathan Siydock and Devon Rice scored for Ottawa Valley.

In other action, the Winnipeg Thrashers blanked the Calgary Buffaloes 3-0 and Seminaire St-Francois Blizzard defeated the Cole Harbour McCains 3-1.

The Thrashers (1-0) improved to 53-1 on the season. Winnipeg rolled to a 49-0 record in Manitoba play, regular season and playoffs, and dropped only a round-robin game to Notre Dame at the West Region championship.

Joel Rewucki turned aside all 18 shots he faced and the Thrashers got goals from Jesse Hall, Cole Pruden and Mark Stone.

Sean Cahill made 26 saves in a losing effort for Calgary (0-1).

The Blizzard (1-0), last year's bronze medallists, had goals from William Cloutier, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc and Tommy Giroux in their tournament-opening win.

Jordan Mock had the lone goal for Cole Harbour, who saw their 11-game winning streak - dating back to the Nova Scotia provincial playoffs - snapped with the loss.

Moose beat Crunch, tie first-round series 1-1

cp.org — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:41:00 -0400

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Mike Brown scored in overtime as the Manitoba Moose beat the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 in American Hockey League action Saturday.

The first-round series is tied 1-1 with Game 3 going Tuesday in Winnipeg.

Michael Grabner and Danny Groulx also scored for Manitoba, which took a 2-0 lead into the third period. Syracuse tied the game on goals by Andrei Plekhanov and Duvie Wescott.

Cory Schneider and Drew MacIntyre combined for 34 saves for the Moose.

Karl Goehring stopped 33 shots for the Crunch.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:02:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:

National Hockey League

ANAHEIM DUCKS - Re-assigned RW Bobby Ryan to Portlant Pirates (AHL).

American Hockey League

AHL-Suspended Portland RW Mike Hoffman for one game for his actions in a game on April 17.

ECHL

LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS-Announced D Tyson Strachan has been returned to the team by Peoria (AHL).

Lindstrom scores in OT as Crunch beats Moose

cp.org — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:35:00 -0400

SYRACUSE, NY. - Joakim Lindstrom fired the game-winner 30 seconds into overtime to give the Syracuse Crunch a 2-1 victory against the Manitoba Moose Friday in Game 1 over their AHL best-of-seven series.

While rushing up the Moose zone, Lindstrom beat Cory Schneider with a quick release from the middle of the face-off circle.

In the second period, Manitoba's newest acquisition, Zack Smith, burst into the Crunch zone with fellow rookie Juraj Simek. Though Karl Goehring stopped Smith's original shot, Simek snapped back the rebound to score Manitoba's first playoff goal for 1-0 Moose lead.

Syracuse fired three shots to Manitoba's two in the first five minutes of the third period, and a penalty to Moose defender Nathan McIver kept the home team on the offensive for two more minutes. With 22 seconds left in the power play, David Cullen got the equalizer.

Goehring made 29 saves.

Game 2 is Saturday in Syracuse.

Sloppy play costs Marlies as Rampage even series

cp.org — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:30:00 -0400

TORONTO - The Toronto Marlies learned the hard way that sloppy play simply doesn't fly in the spring.

The Marlies committed far too many turnovers and the San Antonio Rampage took advantage by downing Toronto 6-3 in Game 2 of their best-of-seven North Division semifinal. The series is now knotted 1-1 as the teams head to Texas for Game 3 on Monday night.

Toronto coach Greg Gilbert felt his team turned in a sub-par effort on this night.

"We were sloppy in just about every area of the game," he said.

"They came out, they challenged us physically and we didn't respond. They're a fast team and they play physical and you have to rise to the challenge and do the same. That's the way we played all year, get pucks deep, get on the body and tonight we played pretty much a soft game."

Captain Ben Ondrus, who scored for the Marlies along with Jay Harrison and Bates Battaglia, kept his analysis simple and accurate.

"We can't expect to pull a win out when we don't execute our game plan," he said.

Rookie Chad Kolarik notched a hat trick for San Antonio, while Joey Tenute added a pair to key the Rampage offence.

San Antonio seemed to get a lift by replacing Game 1 starter Al Montoya with Josh Tordjman in goal for Game 2. Conversely, Toronto starter Scott Clemmensen was chased from the net and replaced by Justin Pogge before the game was half over.

Gilbert said getting Clemmensen out of the game was more about the team's play than the goalie's.

"The reason I actually pulled Scott was because he was getting shelled, they were all over us from minute one almost," the coach said.

When talk turned to who would start Game 3, Clemmensen and Gilbert seemed to have diverging opinions. The veteran goalie expects Pogge will get the call, but Gilbert said that might not be the case.

"I haven't made that decision yet," Gilbert said. "Chances are Scott will be going back in.

If he does, the move will come as a surprise to Clemmensen.

"If the roles were reversed, I would have expected to start Game 3, so I'm expecting (Pogge) to start," Clemmensen said.

Toronto feel behind 1-0 in the first period, Toronto essentially self-destructed to start the second frame.

After San Antonio's Chris Durno thumped the Marlies' Chris Harrington in a fight before the puck was even dropped to start the period, the Rampage tallied three goals in just 3:12.

Tenute got the ball rolling when his centring pass bounced off Toronto defenceman Jamie Sifers and past Clemmensen just 2:28 into the period.

Kolarik then banged home a rebound during a San Antonio power play before a Toronto giveaway led to the fourth Rampage goal. That came when Michel Leveille made a soft pass up the middle in his own zone that was easily picked off by Tenute, who wired a shot past Clemmensen.

Pogge replaced Clemmensen at the next stoppage of play and the move seemed to spark the Marlies as Ondrus put Toronto on the board by swatting home a rebound just as a Marlies power play had expired.

But Kolarik answered back just 26 seconds later, sliding a rebound under Pogge for his second of the night.

Harrison beat Tordjman with a shot from just inside the blue-line at 6:12 of the third. Battaglia's shorthanded effort a few minutes later gave the Ricoh Coliseum crowd of 3,367 some hope, but the hole was simply too deep for Toronto to crawl out of.

Kolarik's third of the game killed any potential rally.

Toronto had a great chance to open the scoring early on, but failed to score on an extended 5-on-3 power play. That seemed to swing the game's momentum, as San Antonio started carrying the play in the second half of the first period.

Matt Murley opened the scoring when he took a drop pass from Mike Zigomanis and ripped a wrist shot past a screened Clemmensen from a bad angle. Murley, San Antonio's leading scorer in the regular season, has two goals in the series.

NOTES: Toronto left-winger Robbie Earl and defenceman Derrick Walser both missed the game with undisclosed injuries. ...The next three games will be in San Antonio, beginning Monday. If Game 6 is required, it will be back in Toronto on Sunday, April 27. ... The win was San Antonio's first post-season victory in franchise history, having dropped its previous four playoff games.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:54:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Thursday:

National Hockey League

ANAHEIM DUCKS-Recalled G Jean-Philippe Levasseur from Augusta (ECHL).

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS-Agreed to terms with F Dan Bertram and D Mike Brennan.

MONTREAL CANADIENS-Recalled C Kyle Chipchura, F Matt D'Agostini, F Brock Trotter, D Mathieu Carle, D Pavel Valentenko and G Yann Danis from Hamilton (AHL) and F Ben Maxwell from Kootenay Ice (WHL).

American Hockey League

AHL-Suspended Albany D Tim Conboy for eight games and Hartford F Josh Gratton for one game for their actions during games on April 16.

LACROSSE

Major League Lacrosse

CHICAGO MACHINE-Claimed G Michael Kruger, M Joseph Barile, D Ryan OConnor , D Paul Stansik, A Sidney Jones and A Scott Falatach from the league player pool. Placed D Chad Clark on waivers.

LONG ISLAND LIZARDS-Claimed D Emanuel Plummer from the league player pool.

Bentley Generals reach Allan Cup semis with 5-3 win over Lloydminster

cp.org — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:42:00 -0400

BRANTFORD, Ont. - Darryl Laplante and Dwayne Hay scored twice each as the Bentley Generals beat the Lloydminster Border Kings 5-3 on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Allan Cup.

Kent Beagle scored the other Bentley goal, while Ryan Rivett, Greg Brown and Craig Hartman tallied for Lloydminster.

The Brantford Blast and Whitby Dunlops played the other quarter-final later Thursday.

The Shawinigan Xtreme and Dundas Real McCoys, who finished first in their divisions, already booked places in Friday's semifinals, which will take place at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The championship game for the Canadian senior AAA hockey championship is set for Saturday (3 p.m. ET).

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:23:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Wednesday:

National Hockey League

CAROLINA HURRICANES-Signed RW Sergei Samsonov to a three-year contract, signed C Stefan Chaput and RW Nick Dodge to entry-level contracts.

ST. LOUIS BLUES-Fired Dave Baseggio, coach of Peoria (AHL).

American Hockey League

HARTFORD WOLF PACK-Recalled G Matt Zaba from Idaho (ECHL).

ECHL

ECHL-Suspended South Carolina D Rory Rawlyk one game for his actions during an April 15 game against Augusta.

Tlusty scores winner to give Marlies playoff win over Rampage

cp.org — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:05:00 -0400

TORONTO - With none of his teammates to dish the puck to, Jiri Tlusty took matters into his won hands.

The Toronto forward scored late in the third period to lift the Marlies over the San Antonio Rampage 4-3 in the opening game of their first-round AHL playoff series Wednesday.

Tlusty picked up a loose puck behind the Rampage net, circled in front and beat San Antonio goalie Al Montoya with a wrist shot over the left shoulder at 13:29 of the third period.

"No one was around me," said Tlusty. "At first I was looking to pass. No one was there so I just decided to shoot and Montoya went down and I went high."

Tlusty, who spent most of the regular season up with the parent Toronto Maple Leafs, has five goals and 11 points in five games with the Marlies since being sent down to the AHL after the Leafs' season ended.

"It's been great," said the 20-year-old native of the Czech Republic. "I enjoy being here with the guys because they are like my second team. It's unbelievable being here.

"I'm just trying to play hard and play for our guys in the room. We just play for each other because, you know, we want to go a long way in the playoffs."

Forwards Kris Newbury, John Mitchell and Alex Foster also scored for the Marlies in front of a season-low crowd of 1,063 fans at Ricoh Coliseum.

The victory gives the Marlies a 1-0 edge in the division semifinal as the franchise pursues its first-ever AHL post-season series win.

David Spina and ex-Marlie Brendan Bell had power play goals for San Antonio, while Matt Murley added a short-handed goal.

Centre Mike Zigomanis collected two assists in a losing cause.

"When we utilized our speed, when we played with pace, we were difference-makers," said Rampage coach Greg Ireland, whose team rallied from deficits of 2-0 in the second period and 3-2 in the third before coming up short. "We have to play at that pace. We have to be a little more committed down low and be smarter on our coverage."

While San Antonio's special teams provided all three of the Rampage's goals, the Marlies outscored the visitors 4-0 at even strength.

Toronto goalie Scott Clemmensen, getting the start over prospect Justin Pogge, stopped 27 of 30 shots for the victory. At the other end, Montoya made 24 saves on 28 shots.

"(San Antonio) has a lot of skilled guys and this is playoff hockey," Clemmensen said. "This is a team we don't know a whole lot about, but we knew they had a lot of firepower up front and they showed it at times, that's for sure."

The game was a 0-0 draw after the first period, which featured several more bodychecks than scoring chances, before play opened up and it was tied 2-2 through 40 minutes.

Newbury opened the scoring at 2:07 of the second period when he slid a backhander between Montoya and the left goalpost after the Rampage goalie gave up a rebound in the slot.

Less than two minutes later, Mitchell made it 2-0 for the home side when he snapped a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle past Montoya at 3:51.

The Rampage responded with a power-play goal midway through the second, with Spina driving hard to the net and tapping in a nice cross-ice pass from Enver Lisin at 11:29.

San Antonio's special teams struck again late in the second period, just nine seconds after Rampage defenceman Dylan Reese was sent to the penalty box for interference.

Zigomanis won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Murley, who whipped a one-timer past Clemmensen's glove at 19:42.

Toronto regained the lead when winger Colin Murphy - who dropped the gloves with Rampage winger Steven Goertzen just three seconds into the game - fed Foster in front and he fired a wrist shot that beat Montoya low to the stick side.

Bell, who spent three seasons in the Toronto organization, tied the game at 3-3 when he blasted a slapshot from the left faceoff circle past Clemmensen's glove at 10:57 of the third.

Less than three minutes later, Tlusty's shot gave the Marlies the early edge in the series.

"Big goal," Clemmensen said. "We took it to them in the first part of the game, then took our foot off the gas pedal after we scored two goals and let them back in it and then we had to come back again, then we let them back in it and then we came back again.

"It showed good resolve by us and it was a big goal by Jiri, obviously."

Game 2 is Friday in Toronto.

Hockey transactions

cp.org — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:01:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Tuesday:

National Hockey League

CALGARY FLAMES-Recalled G Curtis McElhinney, F Brandon Prust, F Grant Stevenson, and F David Van der Gulik from Quad City (AHL).

DETROIT RED WINGS-Signed RW Jamie Tardif to a two-year contract.

FLORIDA PANTHERS-Announced Jacques Martin will remain as general manager.

ST. LOUIS BLUES-Assigned F Ryan Reaves and G Chris Beckford-Tseu to Alaska (ECHL).

WASHINGTON CAPITALS-Signed RW Francois Bouchard to a three-year contract.

American Hockey League

AHL-Suspended Hershey D Grant McNeill six games for his actions in an April 12 game.

MANITOBA MOOSE-Signed C Zack Smith.

PEORIA RIVERMEN-Assigned F Eric Neilson to Alaska (ECHL).

SYRACUSE CRUNCH-Announced RW Stefan Legein has been assigned to the team by Columbus (NHL).

TORONTO MARLIES - Released F Matt Grennier.

ECHL

READING ROYALS-Announced Providence (AHL) assigned D Kevin Schaeffer to the team.

Hockey transactions (Apr. 14)

cp.org — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:17:00 -0400

Movements in the world of hockey Monday:

National Hockey League

BUFFALO SABRES-Signed D Chris Butler.

DALLAS STARS-Recalled LW Chris Connor, D Dan Jancevski, LW James Neal, RW Konstantin Pushkarev and LW Francis Wathier from Iowa (AHL).

EDMONTON OILERS-Signed D Denis Grebeshkov.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS-Signed F Mark Santorelli and G Mark Dekanich.

PHOENIX COYOTES-Signed F Kevin Porter.

American Hockey League

HARTFORD WOLF PACK-Announced G Chris Holt and F Tom Pyatt have been assigned to the club by the N.Y. Rangers. Recalled F Mark Lee, F Jordan Owens and D Ryan Constant from Charlotte (ECHL). Released F Mike Taylor.

IOWA STARS-Announced Dallas (NHL) recalled LW Chris Conner, D Dan Jancevski, LW James Neal, RW Konstantin Pushkarev and LW Francis Wathier.

ECHL

ELMIRA JACKALS-Announced Binghamton (AHL) assigned C Scott May and D Tomas Kudelka.

Eastern Professional Hockey League

EPHL-Announced the addition of a franchise in West Orange, N.J.

International

Dunlops score late to salvage tie with Dundas at Allan Cup

cp.org — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:29:00 -0400

BRANTFORD, Ont. - Peter MacKellar scored his second goal of the game with 1:14 left in regulation and the Whitby Dunlops salvaged a 4-4 ties with the Dundas Real McCoys Monday in the opening game of the 2008 Allan Cup senior hockey championship.

Jay McAuley also had two goals for Whitby. Rob DeCiantis, Ryan Christie, Todd A. Harvey and Brandon Merli scored for Dundas.

Brett Leggat made 43 saves for Dundas, while Chad Ford stopped 27 shots for Whitby.

The host Brantford Blast faced the Shawinigan Xtreme Bionest later Monday.

Marlies left-winger Tlusty named AHL player of week

cp.org — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:16:00 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Toronto Marlies left-winger Jiri Tlusty was named American Hockey League player of the week Monday.

Tlusty, who spent most of the season with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, had 10 points (4-6) and a plus-6 rating in four games for the Marlies last week.

The Slany, Czech Republic native was selected by Toronto with the 13th overall pick of the 2006 NHL entry draft.

Bulldogs close season with drubbing by Syracuse

cp.org — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:06:00 -0400

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Duvie Wescott scored and added three assists, and the Syracuse Crunch ended Hamilton's season on a sour note, hammering the Bulldogs 7-1 in American Hockey League action Sunday.

Zenon Konopka had a goal and an assist for Syracuse while Derek MacKenzie added a goal and two assists. Clay Wilson, Gilbert Brule and Derick Brassard also scored.

Jonathan Ferland had Hamilton's only goal.

Karl Goehring made 25 stops for Syracuse. Yann Danis stopped 23 shots for Hamilton.

The Bulldogs finished with a 36-34-3-7 record.