More Cherry Tonight... And Stuff

The conclusion of Keep Your Head Up, Kid - The Don Cherry Story was on tonight, and naturally I was glued to the television set as the story transitioned from Don Cherry the player to Don Cherry the coach. I really enjoyed the entire story as produced by the CBC, and I felt that the story was told honestly and openly without raining on anyone's or any team's parades. I'm still working on an answer about when the DVD will be available of Don Cherry's story, but as soon as I know, you'll know. I have received emails from American readers about not having the opportunity to see this story, so my pledge to all my readers is to find out when this film will be released for home viewing. However, let's keep moving onto other hockey stories.

• As much as I was impressed with the debut of Jordan Schroeder in Manitoba this spring, there is another kid who is taking the AHL by storm, and he may not be with his AHL team next season. Jordan Eberle, just 19 years-old, has 17 points in 15 AHL games, and his first goal of the season this year came on his first shift with the Springfield Falcons when he battled past a defender to the slot and ripped home a wrist shot. My guess? Eberle will not be in Oklahoma City next season. He'll be playing in Edmonton with the Oilers.
• It's an interesting development, but the Saint Mary's Huskies are the Canadian Interuniversity Sport champions in men's hockey. Why is it interesting? They have a former NHL player suiting up for them. As you may recall, Mike Danton - he who served prison time for trying to hire a hitman - is slowly putting his life back together. He enrolled at Saint Mary's University in the fall, and was invited to play for the hockey team. Danton was on the ice when Brad Smith scored 9:13 into overtime to give SMU the 3-2 win over the University of Alberta Golden Bears. It may not be a Stanley Cup, but Danton appears to be doing very well as a student! More on Saint Mary's first CIS hockey victory tomorrow!
• About two weeks ago, the Alberta Pandas won the women's hockey title in CIS hockey when they did the unbelievable: the Pandas broke McGill's 86-game winning streak! Let me repeat that: 86-game winning streak. Not an undefeated streak, but a winning streak. The McGill Martlets hadn't lost or tied a game since December 30, 2007 when they were beaten by the Alberta Pandas by a 2-1 score. Alberta defeated the Martlets by a 2-0 score in the CIS Championship game, and won their seventh CIS Championship. Congratulations to the Pandas, and I'll have more on their win later this week!
• The KHL is set for the Eastern and Western Conference Finals as there are only four teams remaining in the Gagarin Cup Playoffs. Second-ranked HC MVD will play fifth-ranked Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in the Western Conference Final, while regular-season champions Salavat Yulaev Ufa takes on defending Gagarin Cup Champions Ak Bars Kazan. Salavat's Alexander Radulov still leads the playoffs in scoring with 15 points, and Kazan's Petri Vehanen leads the KHL in GAA with a sparkling 1.29 GAA. The Western Conference FInal begins on April 1, and the Eastern Conference Final will start on Friday.
• The NCAA's Frozen Four in Detroit, Michigan has been finalized. Miami University will play Boston College while the University of Wisconsin meets Rochester Institute of Technology. Both games will be played on Thursday, and the winners will meet under the lights of Ford Field at 7PM ET on Saturday night. RIT is clearly the underdog out of the remaining teams, but they did knock off hockey powerhouses in Denver and New Hampshire, so Wisconsin may have their hands full. I'm looking forward to the games this week, and I'll be tuning in to watch some great hockey!

You're now up-to-date in regards to all the championships that have happened or are happening across the globe right now in all the major leagues. I'm listening to the Manitoba Moose game right now as they battle division-rival Abbotsford as they attempt to catch the Heat in the North Division. Back to the game!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!