HBIC YIR - Part One

Time certainly has flown this year as we're two days away from recycling those 2010 calendars hanging on walls and posted on desks. Hockey has seen some great things this year, and we've also lost some icons that made the sport much better with their presence. We've seen players emerge as superstars and we've seen superstars fall to below-average play. All of this is actually a statement about the game - it's fluid, and it's constantly changing and evolving through each shift, each game, and each season. Today, HBIC looks back on the first six months of the year, and the important stories that came from January to the end of June.

January Highlights

• January 1: We start every year off right with the NHL's Winter Classic, and the January 1, 2010 game was certainly memorable as the Philadelphia Flyers visited the Boston Bruins in historic Fenway Park. What a great day of hockey!
• January 2: Switzerland's World Junior Championship team pulls off a massive upset as they defeated Russia 3-2 to beat the Russians for the first time in history at the WJC.
• January 5: The 2010 World Junior Championship is decided in overtime as American John Carlson ends Canada's streak with his goal to give Team USA the gold medal. Great game, and a very impressive showing by America's best young hockey talent.
• January 21: If you've been following this blog, you know I'm a big fan of Frank McClelland's newest equipment invention. January 21 was the first time I was lucky enough to speak to Frank and bring to light what would eventually be his Skate Fenders product. A very interesting story to see how the plastic skate guards got started!
• January 23: I arrive in Minneapolis for the US Pond Hockey Championships, and the weather was very un-winter for the tournament. Strange weather is nothing new on the prairies, but January is rarely a month known for rain. Great uniforms seen at the tournament, and a few great stories!
• January 25: I express my disappointment with the NHL's stance on protecting its players after a major incident in the QMJHL.
• January 29: I bring to light the story of Alton White, the first professional black hockey player to record 20 or more goals in a season as well as the first professional black hockey player to record a hat trick in a professional game. Since it happened in the WHA, no one seems to care that he doesn't get this recognition. But I do.

February Highlights

• February 5: The hockey world stops for a few moments to grieve the loss of Brendan Burke, Brian Burke's son. Brendan worked as student manager for the hockey team while attending the University of Miami (Ohio), but made headlines when he announced to the world that he was a gay man. And I still believe in my words: "Being gay doesn't change who he is or how much respect I have for him. Nor should it change you."
• February 13: Phil Hecken of Uni Watch Blog and I take a look at what each team will be wearing at the Olympics. Some uniforms are good. Others are not.
• February 14: I discuss some of the ways that women's hockey at the Olympics can fix blowouts between the elite teams and the rest of the field. I still feel that getting more women involved from the other countries will make the game stronger.
• February 21: Team USA plays a much more complete game in the round-robin at the Olympics and beats Canada soundly. I'm hard on Canada and praise the Americans. And this will only set up the inevitable.
• February 28: The Goal. Need I say anything more? I take a look at the 2010 Winter Olympics as a whole, and celebrate "The Goal.

March Highlights

• March 4: Frank McClelland returns with some updates on his Skate Fenders. I'm truly a fan of Mr. McClelland's and LSSU's work, and this product is something that players should really look into for their own health.
• March 11: HBIC renews its commitment to the Vancouver Olympics by giving the sport of sledge hockey as much coverage as possible. I really like this sport, and there have been some excellent games as of late as a number of countries have improved in this sport.
• March 18: One of the countries that has improved? Japan. They defeated the heavily-favoured Canadian squad by a 3-1 score in the semi-final to earn a berth in the gold medal final. If you haven't seen a game of sledge hockey in your life, you're missing out.
• March 21: The 2010 Women's Frozen Four wrapped up in style as there were some incredible games played by the NCAA women. Congratulations go out to the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs who captured their fifth NCAA Championship!
• March 30: The 2010 CIS Men's Hockey Championship wrapped up, and the Canadian collegiate champions are the Saint Mary's Huskies! Canadian collegiate hockey, while not as prolific as NCAA hockey, is certainly one of the places where NHL teams can find some hidden talent. There are lots of good players studying across Canada!

April Highlights

• April 4: The Alberta Pandas, the women's CIS hockey team, pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the CIS as they defeated the McGill Marlets in the CIS Championship game to be called "Canada's best".
• April 5: Columbus Blue Jackets' forward RJ Umberger calls out the Washington Capitals, and makes a prediction for the playoffs about the Capitals' chances of going all the way. A number of people wrote Umberger off, but read his comments. Hockey players know hockey.
• April 10: The Boston College Eagles defeat the Wisconsin Badgers and capture the 2010 NCAA Men's Hockey Championship. The win was a great effort for a team that many didn't pick to win the championship, but the Eagles captured their fourth championship!
• April 18: I'm fairly harsh towards Hockey Canada and the effort put forth at the World U-18 Championships. I like Canadian hockey, but I hate lack of effort.
• April 27: The NHLPA decides to change the Lester B. Pearson Award to the Ted Lindsay Trophy. More hockey history is being killed, and I'm not happy about it.
• April 30: In the same fashion I criticized Hockey Canada's efforts in the U-18 Tournament, I rip the Washington Capitals for their lack of hard work. Another exit far too early in the playoffs, and the Capitals spend more time on the golf course.

May Highlights

• May 3: The KHL crowns a champion as Ak Bars Kazan won their second KHL Championship in consecutive seasons. While there are still major differences between the NHL and KHL, it appears that Kazan is becoming the "Detroit Red Wings" of the KHL.
• May 7: I found a great article in Popular Science from 1935 about the game of hockey! It's a very good read with lots of pictures, but it goes to show that some magazines were covering hockey before it was popular!
• May 14: A reader by the name of Chelsea sent me a great email about head trauma suffered by hockey players. She makes some excellent points in her email, and there are several NHL players who echo her sentiments.
• May 23: The Czech Republic snaps the Russian's 27-game winning streak at the World Championships, and captured the World Championship title! Jaromir Jagr's reason for winning? "They had stars and we had guys who play in the Czech Republic, but this shows that talent doesn't matter - you have to work hard." Hard work, kids. I can't say it enough.
• May 25: I still have no clue as to what happened to the Charlie Conacher Memorial Trophy that was awarded annually to an NHL player. Any ideas?
• May 28: Damian Cox goes absolutely loopy with his suggestion that the Chicago Blackhawks change their logo because it's offensive. Cox stirring the pot? Nothing new.

June Highlights

• June 1: A fabulous video from the National Film Board of Canada shows off a ton of Quebec Nordiques history. This video is amazing!
• June 7: More videos are posted, this time of the WHA in all its spectacular glory. I really wish I had more WHA video. Note this foreshadowing. It will come in handy next week.
• June 9: The Chicago Blackhawks are your 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Champions. They dispatched the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to capture their first Stanley Cup in 49 years. To the victors go the spoils!
• June 14: The AHL's Hershey Bears stand atop the pile of AHL teams as they capture the 2010 Calder Cup as AHL Champions! The Bears defeated the Texas Stars in six games to capture their second consecutive Calder Cup. Well done, Bears!
• June 22: In what seems like a crime against humanity, the Hockey Hall of Fame finally allowed women to be eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Women's hockey has its detractors, but the pioneers of the sport deserve their kudos as much as the men.
• June 28: More amazing hockey video is found through the National Film Board of Canada's website as we see the UBC Thunderbirds heading to China to help grow the game in the Communist country. This is another amazing video that shows how significantly-different cultures can work together to grow the game.

So there are the highlights from the first six months of HBIC's 2010. I really had a great time writing this year, and the interactions with you, the readers, are what makes this so rewarding. I love reading other opinions and ideas, and I encourage you to continue to email, comment, friend me on Facebook, and whatever else you to do to send me your hockey thoughts.

More tomorrow as we review the year that was from July to December!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Defence Wins Championships

There's something to be said about being dominant. The McGill Martlets, the University's women's hockey team, had built a program that simply did not lose. The proof of this were the last three CIS women's hockey championship titles, and the 86-game winning streak they had put together in that time. You read that correctly: 86 games without a loss or a tie. However, that win streak is now over thanks to another dominant hockey program. The University of Alberta Pandas are your 2009-10 CIS Women's Hockey Champions, and they dropped a hammer on the 86-game win streak in the process.

St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia played host to the CIS Women's Hockey Championship this season. Six teams took part, representing their respective conferences: the top-ranked McGill Martlets of the QSSF, second-ranked Wilfred Laurier University Golden Hawks of the OUA, third-ranked University of Alberta Pandas of Canada West, unranked University of Saint Mary's University Huskies of who finished third in the AUS, fifth-ranked St. Francis Xavier University X-Women of the AUS, and ninth-ranked Université de Montréal Carabins who finished second in the QSSF.

McGill opened the tournament on March 11 with a 2-1 win over conference-rival Montréal, and followed that up by defeating Saint Mary's 7-2 on March 13. McGill would advance to the CIS Championship game by winning Pool A on the strength of those two victories.

Alberta opened the tournament on March 11 with an upset over the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks in a hard-fought 1-0 win. Alberta continued its defensive ways by slamming the door on St. Francis Xavier 2-0, winning Pool B and sending them to the CIS Championship game.

And so it setup a game between the most-dominant team in Canadian University ice hockey and the last team to have handed them a defeat before they began their 86-game win streak. McGill's offence had carried them into the championship game whereas the Pandas' defensive play had put them in the biggest game of their season.

You know how coaches stress that defence wins championships? Well, that theme will come back throughout the championship game.

The Pandas opened the scoring when Melody Howard found herself one-on-one against a McGill defender on the right wing. Howard angled in towards the net fron the face-off circle, and got off a shot that went through the defender's leg. McGill goaltender Taylor Salisbury made the initial save, but the puck landed out in front of her for a juicy rebound. And Howard took that opportunity as she raced around the defender to the loose puck and slammed home a goal on Salisbury's glove side. Alberta led 1-0 on Howard's second goal of the tournament at 6:09 of the first period.

McGill and Alberta showed what shutdown defensive play looks like throughout the first period, and, aside from the rebound goal given up by Salisbury, both teams were quite evenly matched. Alberta did carry the play in terms of shots on net in posting the 8-4 lead, but several of the registered shots came from the outside where Salisbury could easily handle the shot.

Both teams continued their moves and counter-moves in preventing attacks from happening in the second period. Another goal was scored, but it took 18:49 for that to happen. A scrum in front of the net saw Alana Cabana poke-checked to prevent a great scoring chance in the slot. However, the puck slid out towards the blueline where Pandas' defenceman Stephanie Ramsey fired the puck back into the crowd. It hit Panda Tarin Podloski in front, and slid towards the net where it hit the post. A diving Cabana, however, corralled the loose puck and swept it into the net past Salisbury and three Martlet defenders. Cabana's second goal of the CIS tournament put the Alberta Pandas up 2-0 in the CIS Championship.

After forty minutes, it appeared that vaunted McGill offence would have to find a way to break the stingy Pandas defence if they wanted a chance at a fourth-straight CIS Championship. The Pandas led in shots through two periods by a 16-9 lead, and had the all-important 2-0 lead on the scoreboard.

The third period was all about Pandas goaltender Dana Vinge. The Physical Education and Recreation student put up a wall against all eleven shots she faced, and stonewalled the Martlets' opportunity to capture another CIS Championship. When the final horn sounded, Vinge and the Pandas skated to a 2-0 shutout victory over the most dominate women's team in Canadian University hockey.

Vinge shutout the Martlets in their 87th game since their last loss. The Martlets had not been beaten or tied in a hockey game since December 30, 2007 when they were beaten by the Alberta Pandas by a 2-1 score. From that game forward, the Martlets went on an insane 86-game winning streak! And it all came to an end in the last game of 2009-10 at the hands of a defensively-dominant Pandas hockey team!

What's more impressive is the fact that Vinge and the Pandas didn't surrender a goal in the three games they played at the CIS Women's Hockey Championship. If defence truly wins championships, the 2009-10 Panda hockey team is the epitome of that mantra, and deserve the title of Women's Hockey Champions for their achievements.

Congratulations go out to the University of Alberta Pandas women's hockey team in capturing the 2009-10 CIS Women's Hockey Championship. Not only did David slay Goliath, but David was crowned king, or queens, after the victory! Enjoy the win, ladies!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Huskies Are Top Dogs

It took a little longer than one may have expected, but the Saint Mary's Huskies can finally say they are CIS men's hockey champions. The eighth-ranked team in the CIS defeated the University of Alberta Golden Bears on Sunday night in overtime to win the biggest championship in Canadian University hockey. There were a number of stories that followed the Huskies this season, but everything worked out in the end as the Huskies hoisted the CIS Championship Trophy at the end of the season. Let's take a look at some of the stories that put the Huskies into the news.

The first thing that Saint Mary's University was in headlines for was the admittance of a former NHL player and criminal to their school and hockey program. Mike Danton, the former St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils forward, had enrolled into SMU's Arts program, and this caused some minor controversy as Danton had spent time in a US federal prison after having been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. However, both Danton and university officials stated that they were confident in Danton's rehabilitation after 63 months behind bars, and Mike Danton officially was part of SMU's student population.

Danton's passion for hockey hadn't diminished, and he was interested in playing for SMU's hockey team. Again, there was some concern about Danton playing hockey, but SMU stood behind their student.

"This is a unique opportunity to prove that a university can offer someone a second chance, whether they have been challenged economically, socially or by other circumstances. I am proud to be associated with Saint Mary's University and the role we are playing in this case," said SMU Athletic Director Steve Sarty in November.

"If we say no to Mike Danton, who are we going to say yes to?"

That was the question, and Danton showed that he would be an integral part of the team. The 29 year-old former NHLer scored his team's only goal in his first game, a 4-1 loss to the Acadia Axemen on January 27, 2010. Through to the Atlantic University Sport championship, Mike Danton played in 16 games for the Huskies. He recorded nine goals, four assists, 28 PIMs, 55 shots, and was a +11 in those games. Not bad at all, I'd say.

But the story of the Huskies this season doesn't stop there. Saint Mary's finished the season 16-8-4 to finish third in the AUS Conference. That qualified them for the playoffs, but the biggest test lay before them as they embarked on the quest to win the AUS Conference.

The Huskies knocked the Université de Moncton out in the quarterfinals in two games. They knocked out Acadia University, who had secured a first-round bye by finishing second in the AUS, three games to one. And it was a three-game sweep of St. Francis-Xavier University, the fifth-ranked team, to give the Huskies the AUS Championship.The championship run by Saint Mary's resulted in their qualification to the CIS Championship tournament.

Their first round-robin game on March 26 in Thunder Bay saw the Huskies face the McGill Redmen out of Montreal. Saint Mary's won that hard-fought game by a 4-2 score. March 27 saw Saint Mary's hammer the University of Manitoba Bisons by a 5-0 score. Their 2-0 record in Pool B of the round robin allowed the Huskies to advance to the final as one of the top-two teams.

The final saw the Huskies matched up against the University of Alberta Golden Bears. Alberta was the Canada West Conference Champions, and had a stellar record of 25-5-1 up to that point. The Huskies needed to play an excellent game in order to defeat the Golden Bears.

Alberta got on the board first at 14:21. Tyler Metcalfe scored the only goal in the period as his shot got past goaltender Neil Conway, and the Bears led 1-0. The most telling stat in that period was the shots-on-net. The Golden Bears outshot the Huskies by a 12-5 margin, and turned that into the 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Just an aside from the game, check out Alberta goaltender Travis Yonkman's mask. I love the Hanson brothers on it! Excellent paint job on his mask! That might be one of the best masks I've seen this season!

The second period saw the Huskies pull even when Cam Fergus buried a shot past Yonkman at 10:37. However, the real story was the goaltending of Neil Conway in the Huskies' net. Conway stood on his head again as the Bears outshot the Huskies in the second period by an 11-8 margin for a 23-13 advantage through two periods. But the score on the scoreboard is the only one that matters, and the Huskies and Bears were even at 1-1 after 40 minutes.

The third period saw the Huskies pull ahead. Andrew Hotham notched Saint Mary's second goal of the game just 3:46 into the third period, and the Huskies led 2-1. Alberta battled back, though, and finally broke through at 15:17. Derek Ryan tied the game at 2-2 for the Golden Bears, and the two teams were headed for overtime after the final 4:43 played out without any additional goals. Another period of the Bears outshooting the Huskies, this time by an 11-9 margin, saw the shots stand at 34-22 at the end of regulation time.

The CIS Championship was decided 9:13 into overtime. Saint Mary's Marc Rancourt fired a shot on Yonkman from a sharp angle, and Yonkman couldn't control the rebound. Brad Smith was standing on the doorstep, and he whacked the loose puck past Yonkman to give Saint Mary's the 3-2 overtime victory.

Saint Mary's secured their first CIS Championship in school history, and celebrated accordingly. Defenceman Andrew Hotham received the Major W.J. "Danny" McLeod award as the tournament's MVP. He was also named as a tournament all-star, and was joined by Huskies goaltender Neil Conway, forward Cam Fergus, and forward Cody Thornton. Alberta's Ian Barteaux and Chad Klassen rounded out the all-star team.

Congratulations goes out to the Saint Mary's Huskies for their championship victory!

And, for Mike Danton, his return to public life after 63 months away from it is starting out pretty good. He's getting an education, he has won a CIS hockey championship, and he's only 30 years-old. I'd say that his road to redemption might be paved with gold for a while yet!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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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!

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