Coyote Ugly Situation

I've had a number of people email me over these last few days as the situation surrounding the Phoenix Coyotes nears the boiling point. I've said it before and I'll say it again right here: I'm not going to comment on any team moving to any other city without seeing the moving trucks heading out of town. Could I make comments? Of course. However, it's far better to not let speculation, innuendo, and rumour whip people into a frenzy when nothing may come of it. Besides, I still have a team that I'm passionately following, and I think that the AHL's Manitoba Moose are perfect for a city of Winnipeg's size. So let's tone down the Phoenix-to-Winnipeg chatter for the next few weeks, and let's focus on some more important hockey news.

First, some great news out of Toronto where the efforts to raise funds for the Pat Burns Arena has now broken through the seven-figure mark! The Stanstead, Quebec arena should not only wear Burns' name as a tribute to the NHL coaching legend, but all that he embodied should be a part of that arena. There still is some work to be done, though, as the city of Stanstead has to raise the remaining $1.2 million to reach the goal needed to put this arena on the map. Good job in getting halfway there! You're almost there!

Next, I received an email with a very impressive link in it, and I want to give some credit to Mr. Mark Divver for his work in researching Alton White's career at Providence as a member of the AHL's Reds. As you may remember from my January 29 article last year, Alton White was the first black player to record a hat trick in professional hockey and the first black player to record a 20-goal season as part of the WHA! Mr. Divver has taken a small part of Mr. White's hockey career and expanded on it wonderfully in his article. Thank you, Mark, for sending me a link to your excellent work!

Lastly, there was a very scary hit in the NHL tonight, and one player looks like he may not return until next season. Let's go back to January 8, 2011 where Montreal's Max Pacioretty and Boston's Zdeno Chara appear to be developing quite the rivalry.

Pacioretty scores the overtime winner, appears to shove Chara, and then a fracas breaks out. Fast-forward to tonight's game, and it appears this rivalry just crossed the line.

Wow. Listen to what NESN's Andy Brickley says in his commentary on the play:

"You cannot finish your check. You gotta release him... when that puck is chipped by. Chara's gotta let him go there. And not only does he ride him into the boards, he puts him into that dangerous spot and that is a defenceless position for Pacioretty."

I fully agree with Brickley's assessment on this one. Pacioretty was trying to go wide, and Chara was trying to slow him up. That's a textbook case of interference, but the fact that he was destroyed by the stanchion only makes this look a lot worse.

The good news is that Pacioretty was awake when they finally got him off the ice on a stretcher, so that's positive. He did spend approximately five minutes on the ice, so there is certainly some concern as to his long-term health. It's a scary situation, but I'm not sure that anything can be done in this situation in regards to punishing Chara. This is the kind of hockey play that coaches teach everywhere.

Personally, I'd like to see a game or two for Chara just for the NHL to send a message to the players that this kind of play, while a normal hockey play 99 out of 100 times, needs to be controlled. Thoughts on this one, readers?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Exams Are Killing Me

I'm not going to lie, readers, when I tell you that this school stuff is taking over my life. Next week, I'm faced with five exams on five days, and that means I'll be studying my rear end off. If my nose is stuck in a book or if I'm flipping through course notes, guess what I'm not doing? That's right: I'm not blogging. As a responsible blogger (at least I think I am), this doesn't sit right with me. I want to be able to spend some quality time with hockey, but I can't because I'm having an affair with books and information. Something, I feel, has got to give.

That's where you can shine, readers. For today, I am opening the doors to HBIC for anyone who wants to drive whenever they get the urge. Officially, I am accepting all articles written about hockey by you! If you have the urge to write something, get something off your chest, or simply post a few picture about hockey, the canvas is waiting for your paint, readers.

If you have an article you'd like to send through, please attach to an email and send it through to me. Full credit will, of course, be given to you, and I'll even chime in on your work. Normally, I'm a pretty supportive guy being that I'm a man by the people, for the people, and of the people, but it will all depend on what you submit. I may take issue, but I will certainly thank you for your work and give you all the credit you deserve.

If you're a college student who is working on some sports-related article, I'd be happy to send something to your professor or instructor stating that you've contributed an article that has been published. I'm not sure how much weight that will carry for you, but if they ask if you have any published works, you can say yes.

If you have something to submit, get it sent in! Otherwise, here are a few things I've found around the Interwebs that could use a little exposure. Some of these come from the Life magazine gallery found on Google. I'll note those where necessary.

• Love the images of the old rinks, especially when they have the chicken wire instead of glass. I'm not sure what that fellow is fixing, but he appears to have posed for this picture. If my eyes aren't deceiving me, it looks as though there is a game being played while he's working on the rink! This is a great shot from Life.
• Speaking of those old rinks, check out how close the fans are in Madison Square Garden to the visiting Canadiens. And they barely have a separator there! I guess life back in the 1950s and 1960s really was a different time. Life brings history into reality once again.
• Rarely do we get access to places like the team bus or train, but Life snapped this photo of Blackhawks star Bobby Hull and a teammate who appears to be Pierre Pilote sitting aboard the team train! While it's tough to say which newspaper Hull is reading, Pilote clearly is readying himself for the fairways with his edition of Golf magazine. I love this photo as it really shows a side of the players we don't get to see away from the rink!
• A lot of people I know weren't really fans of the Bruins' yellow alternate jerseys, but I hate to see how many people would really hate the Bruins if they went all yellow. If we go back to 1958-59, though, the Bruins did actually wear mostly yellow as seen here on Fern Flaman! The thing about how the Bruins looked in '58-59 is that there is just enough black to break up the yellow and white. I actually don't mind this look, but I don't know if I'd be happy with it forever. The Bruins just look better in black with yellow highlights.
• We all know how the Rangers have that very unique shadowing on their numbers, and they seem to be pretty consistent when it comes to using that shadow. My question to you, readers, is this: when did they start using it on their sleeve numbers? The reason I ask is that it appears they were shadowing the back numbers in 1963, but they did not do the same on the sleeve numbers as this picture shows. From what I can find, the earliest that they made the numbers on the sleeves similar to those on the back is 1978. Does anyone know if this is the earliest their numbers had similar shadowing?
• Just because I can: Wayne Gretzky in the Burger King jersey. Nothing like a little BK on a Friday night, right? No, I'm not selling out to Burger King either.
• I always like the old photos of international games, so this USSR-USA picture from the 1968 Winter Olympics ranks high. I love the lettering on the front of the USA jersey! The USSR squad has a very understated look for such a dominant team.

That's all for a Friday. I need to get myself ready for five exams next week. I'm pretty sure that my brain going to be mush by the end of next week. However, there is no crying or whining allowed here, so I must do what I have to do!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Antler Banter: Volume 20

It's been an interesting week on Antler Banter as the Moose find themselves stuck in neutral in February. All teams go on streaks, whether they be hot or cold streaks, but the Moose seem to be stuck in these extended streaks that have serious consequences on their overall standing. Going 3-4 so far in March has put a serious halt on the upward movement through the standings that the Moose saw in December and Janaury. Can they break out of this slump against the Toronto Marlies and Lake Erie Monsters? Make sure you stop by the Moose website for all your Manitoba Moose news and information. If you're interested in attending a Manitoba Moose game, please click here for seating information, ticket pricing, and availability. The Moose finish off their six-game homestand with a little Hardcore Hockey!

Scrivens Makes It Two

The Moose dropped the Tuesday night affair to the Marlies by a 2-1 score, so they were looking to bounce back against a feisty Marlies squad. They also needed to see if they could score more than one goal in a game after having only potted one marker in each of four of the last five games. Tyler Weiman got the call for the Moose as he hoped to reverse the Herd's fortunes, and he faced off against Ben Scrivens who was standing 200-feet away.

It was a "good, bad, and ugly" evening for the Moose powerplay. The good: Ryan McGinnis scored his first goal of the season with the man-advantage with less than five minutes to play. The bad: the Moose went 1-for-6 on the night, missing several excellent opportunities to put this game away early as Toronto found themselves in penalty trouble. The Moose had a 5-on-3 for a full two minutes and four minutes of total powerplay time, but could not capitalize. The ugly: Tyler Weiman whiffed on what appeared to be a routine glove save, giving up a shorthanded goal early in the second period that really seemed to deflate the squad. Overall, poor marks for the powerplay units on this night for not capitalizing on chances, and Weiman has to be better.

It looked like another night at the office for Sergei Shirokov as he picked up an assist on Guillaume Desbiens' second-period goal, but things went completely off the rails in the third period as Sergei Shirokov had had enough of Nazim Kadri's antics. After Kadri slashed the Russian sniper across the shinpads, Shirokov's soft hands lost the gloves as he and Kadri wrestled their way to the ice along the boards. I'd normally say that your best scorers shouldn't be fighting, but I fully believe that a player should be able to defend himself. Good on Shirokov for dropping the mittens and showing Kadri that he's not going to be pushed around.

It took the Moose nearly 56 minutes to wake up in this game as the Marlies built a 4-1 lead in that time. The Moose stormed back in the final four minutes to make it a 4-3 game, but Ryan Hamilton iced it with 2.2 seconds to play as the Marlies hung on for the 5-3 win. The Moose have now dropped two straight games to the Marlies after winning the first three, and see their record on the season drop to 29-19-6.

Monsters Frighten Moose

The Monsters were nipping at the heels of the Moose as they entered Friday's game, so that meant that the Moose needed to put four points on the board with two wins over a team that looked to overtake them in the standings. Eddie Lack looked to reverse the fortunes of the Moose while Jason Bacashihua got the call for the Monsters.

Kevin Connauton should feel responsible for the opening goal of the game. Connauton got muscled off the puck by Greg Mauldin, and then couldn't recover to chase down Mauldin. Mauldin circled behind the net, and Mark Flood left Ben Walter in front of the net to track down Mauldin. Connauton arrived in front of the net seconds late after Mauldin centered to Walter for the first goal of the game. I'm not sure what Connauton was doing, but he certainly seemed to give up after losing the puck in the corner to Mauldin. The effort shown by Connauton might be a reason why the Moose are on a two-game skid.

The Moose penalty killing units took a hit tonight as well as they gave up two powerplay goals to the Monsters. I'm not going to blame the penalty killing units for the result in this game, but they could use a little help from the other special teams unit. Manitoba's powerplay fired blanks again as they went 0-for-4 on the night, and find themselves ranked as the 25th best powerplay in the league. When the penalty kill has an off-night, it would be nice if the powerplay units brought their lunch pails to work and scored a couple of goals.

Overall, there wasn't much to brag about on the home side as the Moose got walloped by the Monsters in a 5-1 loss. The Moose fired 30 shots on Jason Bacashihua, but there weren't many of the high-quality variety that tested Bacashihua often. With the loss, the Moose drop to 29-20-6, and lose their spot atop the North Division standings as the Monsters leap-frog into first.

Moose Fly Past Monsters

It was a big night for one minor hockey team in Winnipeg as the Gateway Flyers took to the ice for their first AHL game in history! Ok, so they weren't the real Flyers, but the Moose donned the jerseys of the Gateway Flyers for their Saturday clash with the Monsters as part of the Community Jersey Program! It was weird seeing the Moose in black-and-orange for the first time in history, but it was easy to get used to when they began playing like the Flyers - scoring and hitting. Eddie Lack would take to the pipes again for Manitoba. Jason Bacashihua started the game for the Monsters, but he would be relieved by Trevor Cann after the Moose had staked themselves to a sizable lead.

It was another big night for Manitoba's Garth Murray. The scrappy, defensive forward scored a goal, added a helper on Sergei Shirokov's goal, picked up two minutes for tripping, had two shots, and finished the game as a +2! The scorekeepers certainly used a lot of ink on his stats tonight! Murray played really well at both ends of the ice, deserving some kudos despite not earning one of the three stars on the night. He scored, he played physical, and he was responsible in his own zone. That's the kind of effort the Moose need from all 22 players.

Manitoba's best player continues to make great plays as Sergei Shirokov scored a goal, added an assist, had four shots on net, and ended the night as a +2. Shirokov's assist was a gorgeous backhanded no-look pass to Mario Bliznak that seemed to confuse Jason Bacashihua. Shirokov made a move to head behind the net casuing Bacashihua to move off the post, but Shirokov threw the puck out front on the backhand. Bacashihua, realizing he made a mistake, went back to hugging the post, but Bliznak wired it past his right shoulder into the cage before Bacashihua could find the puck again. Great plays like that show you why Sergei Shirokov was an easy choice as Manitoba's AHL all-star representative.

The Moose really played well for 57 minutes before giving up a couple of goals to the Monsters. Despite giving up a pair of goals late, the Moose hung on for the 4-2 victory to jump ahead of the Monsters in the standings once again as they have a better winning percentage. With the win, the Moose snap their three-game losing streak and improve to 30-20-6 on the season.

Gotta Grind Out Some Wins

The Moose hit the road over the next week with games starting tonight against the Rochester Americans. They'll battle the Amerks again on Friday before heading into Toronto for games against the Marlies on Saturday and Sunday. You can catch the Sunday game against the Marlies on CBC as the AHL on CBC comes to the Ricoh Coliseum for the Marlies-Moose tilt.

The Americans come into the games having gone 6-4 over their last ten games. During that stretch, the Americans have beaten the Hamilton Bulldogs twice, the Hershey Bears once, and knocked off the Worcester Sharks. They're led by Tim Kennedy and Clay Wilson offensively as both men are nearing the 40-point mark on the season. Tyler Plante is playing fairly well in net, and is even sporting a blocker with the old-style holes painted on it! Or maybe they're real holes? Either way, that looks cool! The Moose have to keep winning as the Bulldogs and Monsters are breathing down their necks, so two wins over the Americans would help immensely!

The Marlies need no introduction as the Moose re-engage in battle with them. Kadri is becoming a thorn in the side of Moose players, Scrivens and Gustavsson are playing well in net, and the Marlies are closing the gap with each win over the Moose. Again, beating divisional rivals is vital if a team wants to go far in the AHL, so the Moose need to play well against the Marlies this coming weekend after dropping the these last two games at home against Toronto!

Eight points await the Moose if they are hungry enough to get them. Working harder than their opposition is a good way to start, and the talent that the Moose bring should put them over the top in each game if they work hard. Only one thing to say as the Moose head down the stretch: DO IT!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Quietly Carving Out A Niche

I was at school the other day, and someone asked me if I had ever heard of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. I have, in fact, heard of the league as I had done a story on the draft that took place to get the inaugural five teams up and running. It was then that I realized that I have seriously neglected the highest professional hockey league that women can compete in against other women. Because of this oversight, today is all about the Canadian Women's Hockey League, how each team is doing, what they are wearing, and where you can catch a game or two if you're interested.

I want to preface this article with this statement: if you spend the time telling me that no one cares about women's hockey through comments or email, your comments will not only be denied entry on to this article, but I'll categorically go back and delete any and all comments you have ever made. And any future comments will be denied entry as well. I'm tired of hearing "hockey fans" crap all over women's hockey like it means nothing. If that's the case, your kid's Timbits hockey or any minor hockey in general is just as meaningless. As a true hockey fan, this won't fly with me. Capisce?

First off, there are a lot of recognizable names playing on the five teams in the CWHL. The five teams are based out of Brampton, Burlington, Toronto, Montreal, and the lone American-based team in Boston. These teams were assembled through a draft that happened in early August of 2010, and the teams have been battling since the season started.

If you're a fan of Burlington Barracudas, you want to keep your eyes on Danijela Rundqvist, Becky Kellar, Ashley Riggs, and Shannon Moulson. Burlington has had a rough start in the inaugural CWHL season. They currently sit fifth out of five teams with a 4-17-1 record, including being 1-11-1 away from the friendly confines of the Appleby Ice Centre.

If you cheer for the Brampton Canadettes-Thunder, Jayna Hefford, Gillian Apps, Cherie Piper, and Lori Dupuis are probably household names. Brampton has been on a major tear recently having won eleven straight games, and this streak has propelled them into second-place in the CWHL with a 17-6-0 record! Brampton is pretty consistent when it comes to their play as they are 9-3-0 at the Cassie Campbell Comnmunity Centre and 8-3-0 away from home. Hefford is the CWHL's all-time leading scorer in the previous incarnation of the CWHL, so there's some history there too!

The Toronto Aeros are sitting in fourth-place in the five team CWHL, but trail third-place by only two points at the time of writing. Their 8-12-3 record sees them playing well at home where they are 5-3-0, but Toronto needs to be better on the road with their brutal 3-9-3 record. Jennifer Botterill leads the team in scoring, and she's joined by familiar faces Tessa Bonhomme and Sami Jo Small. The Toronto club is stocked with former NCAA players, so this young squad is coming along nicely as they mature through this season.

The Montreal Stars are the class of the league at this point, leading in wins and points in posting a record of 18-2-2. Caroline Ouellette is dominating the league with 58 points in just 22 games. Joining her on the Montreal squad are Emmanuelle Blais, Julie Chu, Sarah Vaillancourt, and Kim St-Pierre. Montreal is 11-2-1 on home ice at Aréna Étienne-Desarteau, but has yet to lose in regulation on the road with a 7-0-1 record.

The lone American-based team is the Boston Blades, and they currently sit in third-place in the CWHL. Boston is 10-13-1 through 24 games thus far, but are significantly better on American soil. The Blades have a 7-6-1 record at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore Center Arena, but have struggled to a 3-7-0 record while traveling through Canada. Led by Angela Ruggiero, Caitlyn Cahow, Erika Lawler, and Kacey Bellamy, the American-based team recently put an end to Montreal's undefeated season thanks in large part to a 74-save effort by by goaltender Mandy Cronin!

Just so you're aware, the Blades will play 16 of their 26 games at “home” – six apiece at Harvard and UNH, and single games at Providence College, Kennedy Memorial Rink in Hyannis and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Essentially, the "New England" Blades are making the tour through the NCAA circuit!

As you can see, some of the best women to ever lace up the skates are playing regularly in the CWHL. This will, of course, make the women's game much better as the women will regularly get to play at a high-level, and I commend the CWHL for its commitment to the teams, cities, and women who are putting their best game forward day in and day out.

In terms of recognizing the teams, there are some clear similarities between the CWHL and a few NHL teams. The first jerseys put forth were clearly designed from NHL templates. As you can see, the Aeros look like the Maple Leafs, the Stars look like the Canadiens, the Thunder are wearing the colours of the Ottawa Senators, and the Barracudas are shown in the colours of the Buffalo Sabres. All of them have the Dallas Stars' treatment on the front in this image.

Well, there were a few teams that stuck with those similarities, but one team decided to stick with their original colours and their original logo that they wore in a previous league. I have to say that there are very few images of CWHL players in comparison to other leagues. In saying that, here are how the teams look today.

Toronto is definitely blue at home and white on the road. The roster photos shown on their roster page have the players in this mock-up, but I have not seen this uniform used in any picture where the players are playing. I also have yet to see the alternate uniform proposed above, so I'm on the hunt for some of those images still.

Montreal proudly wears red at home and white on the road. Again, no sign of the alternate uniform, and I'm thinking this may be a cost-saving measure. Why create a third uniform in your first year of existence? Or when your uniforms look extremely sharp already?

Montreal should go down in the CWHL as the first team to wear a promotional jersey as well as the team wore pink jerseys on February 1 to help promote breast cancer awareness and to raise funds for the Fondation du cancer du sein du Québec to battle the disease. After the game, the Stars and their moms took to the ice for a photo! The Stars raised over $5000 for the charity on the night! Good on the Stars for helping this charity, especially since it hits close to home for a number of women playing in the game!

The Boston Blades look very familiar as they wear black with yellow at home and white on the road. Much like the Stars and Aeros, I have yet to see a third yellow jersey being worn by Boston, but I am still looking.

The Brampton Canadettes-Thunder have gone opposite to the norm, adopting the black third jersey as their home jersey while wearing white on the road. Instead of going red like the Senators do, the Canadettes-Thunder are wearing black. For a five-team league, you would think that Brampton could choose a different colour, but I'm not going to rain on their parade.

Burlington is the wild card in this five-team league as they decided to go with the template of the New York Islanders instead of the Buffalo Sabres. This may have been due to the fact that they wore orange and navy blue in their previous seasons, so this keeps their colour scheme intact. As you can see, the Barracudas wear white on the road while going navy at home. As you can see, Burlington has opted to keep their logo as they display it proudly across the front of their jerseys.

So there's your introduction to the Canadian Women's Hockey League. I'll be following these teams and players as the season progresses, and we'll have a full run-down of how well each team did at the end of the regular season along with a synopsis of how the players did in the race to win the scoring title!

I'd just like to point out that some of these amazing photographs were taken by Pasquale Stalteri and used with his permission. Please respect the copyright this amazing photographer has done, and I encourage you to check out his website or his blog where all of his amazing photography can be seen. I am truly thankful for the work Monsieur Stalteri has done with the CWHL, and for his generosity in allowing me to use some of his fantastic photography! A link to his site can be found on the menu to the right!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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I Wanna Be A Rockstar (Outdoor Classic)

I'm not sure if you heard or read about the latest outdoor game, but this one was also a first outdoor game. The WHL's Spokane Chiefs played host to the Kootenay Ice on Saturday afternoon in Avista Stadium which is normally home to the Class-A Spokane Indians baseball team. The two Western Hockey League teams met in the WHL's first-ever outdoor game, and the final score between these two teams looked more like a blowout in baseball than hockey. While not attracting the same glitz and glamour as the NHL's Winter Classic, the afternoon was truly memorable for all the fans who attended, both teams, and the WHL.

While the result of the game was certainly unexpected, the weather was warm which made for a great day of hockey outside. While the mercury climbed into the 40s - something not usually seen in Spokane in Janaury - the Kootenay Ice lived up to their name as they went ice-cold in the game while Spokane, like the temperature, was red-hot.

7075 fans turned out for the game as the Spokane Chiefs looked to rebound from a 6-2 loss in Kootenay in the first half of this home-and-somewhat-home series. The Chiefs avenged more than just the loss as they dominated the Ice in every facet of the game, winning the Rockster Outdoor Classic by an 11-2 score!

Collin Valcourt opened the scoring for Spokane just 4:02 in, and the Chiefs had built a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. Six more goals in the second period saw the Chiefs leading 10-1 after two periods, and six goals on eleven shots chased starting goaltender Nathan Lieuwen from the Ice's net. Brett Teskey didn't fare much better once he got to the blue paint. The two teams traded goals in the third period, and the result was an 11-2 victory for the Chiefs after the dust settled.

"It was perfect," Spokane general manager Tim Speltz told Nick Patterson of The Herald. "It was an unbelievable event for our organization, our players, the hockey community. It couldn’t have gone any better."

While the game itself definitely a success from this writer's point-of-view, there were some major costs associated with this game. After all, you don't normally turn a baseball infield into a hockey rink without some additional equipment. Add in the costs of additional scoreboards and the added staff and security, and the costs begin to pile up.

"Sometimes," said Chiefs owner Bobby Brett, "you just do things."

While that may be true, John Blanchette of The Spokesman-Review outlined the costs. Get your calculators out, kids.

• Rental of a portable ice-making unit = $200,000.
• Brand-new scoreboards = not listed. Conservative estimate? $100,000 each.

Those two costs don't even take into consideration the amount or water used, the cost of staffing such an event, the cost to rent the portable rink, and the electricity used to generate power from January 3 until January 15. My best guess is that this game might have cost somewhere in the range of $750,000 to $1 million.

"It was so much work for a one-game event," Speltz told Nick Patterson of The Herald. "There’s times when you’re thinking, 'Holy cow, how much could this be?' But at the same time when it went off as well as it did, it’s something that’s a real credit to our organization and a lot of the people who had to go above and beyond to put it on. It was very rewarding.

"Financially, I can see why it hasn’t been done before, and I can see why it probably won’t be done on a regular basis," Speltz added. "But for us it was a great challenge and something we’ll never forget."

In the end, isn't that what these games are all about?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Ontario Rules The Rink

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge wrapped up this evening in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and there was a ton of sensational hockey seen this week at the tournament. Goals, saves, hits, and drama were all part of the action over the last couple of weeks, and one team reigned supreme as Team Ontario downed Team USA at MTS Centre last night by a 5-3 score. The final was a great battle that saw Ontario jump out a lead and not look back, but the Americans made it interesting before an incredible penalty shot goal sealed the deal for Ontario.

First, we'll go to the goal. Mathew Campagna scored a goal that many Winnipeg Jets fans remember as "the Zhamnov". Of course, most people will associate it with Peter Forsberg, and that's fine too. There were probably players who pulled off this move many times before those two men began using it in the NHL. But Mathew Campagna of the OHL's Sudbury Wolves shows a whole lot of moxie on this penalty shot late in the third period of the gold medal game.

First off, the video is not mine. Someone graciously put it up on YouTube, and they are to thank for the video since TSN apparently won't allow its feed to be embedded on a website.

Secondly, the win by Ontario in a rematch of last year's finalists prevented the Americans from winning their second consecutive gold medal at the World U-17 Championships. Ontario went undefeated through the tournament, and was led by Sean Monahan of the Ottawa 67's. Monahan had two goals against the Americans, and also scored both goals in Team Ontario's 2-1 win over Team Quebec in the semi-final.

Thirdly, huge kudos go out to the 12,060 fans who saw the game at MTS Centre tonight as a new record was set for the gold medal game. This was a definite increase from the old record of 8,896 set at the 2008 World U-17 Challenge in London, Ontario. Winnipeg always seems to support Hockey Canada's endeavours, and this tournament saw Manitobans and Canadians come out in droves to support all of the Canadian teams in this tournament. Well done, Canada and Manitoba!

Most of these young men from across the eight teams will find themselves playing against each other at a higher level soon enough. Canada routinely has these players vying for World Junior Championship roster spots and World U-18 Championship roster spots. And, of course, some of the very good players will find themselves in the NHL one day.

Before that happens, these kids get to play some more hockey. They'll go back to their respective leagues and work towards an ultimate goal. However, Team Ontario can proudly display their gold medals as champions of the World U-17 Hockey Challenge!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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HBIC YIR - Part Two

We're back for the second half of Hockey Blog In Canada's Year In Review. Champagne, good food, and friends and family should be on the docket tonight, so HBIC will run through some of the highlights from the second half of the year. Yesterday, we took a look at the stories from January to June that attracted some attention, and we'll do the same today as we work through July to December. Happy New Year, everyone, and we'll be back in the normal fashion starting on January 1 with more hockey-related news and stories. Until then, all the best in the new year, and may health and happiness find you no matter where you are!

July Highlights

• July 2: An interesting Sports Illustrated article from 1976 shows that some of rules instituted by the NHL in the last few years are the same ones that players in the 1970s wanted. History does indeed repeat itself, it seems.
• July 5: Hockey loses one of its most feared players as Bob Probert passes away. I always respected Probert as a hockey player because he was the ultimate hybrid of guts and skill. Unfortunatley, his star burned out far too early.
• July 9: The National Film Board of Canada has another video gem in their archives. The Rocket is all about Maurice Richard, and is a fascinating film!
• July 16: The Hartford Whalers. I love the Whale, and I really wish the original Hartford Whalers were still playing. This article brings back some great memories.
• July 26: ESPN runs an interesting column that looks at the cleanliness and overall food quality of arenas and stadiums. A very interesting read for those attending games.
• July 29: Sports Illustrated's 1969 article about how Vancouver was going to become competitive as an expansion team is almost too incredible to believe. Except it happened, and Sports Illustrated ran the story.

August Highlights

• August 4: We get out first glimpses of what the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames will be wearing during the 2011 Heritage Classic. Also included: my comments.
• August 12: HBIC recaps the first-ever Canadian Women's Hockey League draft. There are some good teams being assembled, and I think this league deserves a little recognition.
• August 15: Some incredible WHA news was reported in this 1979 Sports Illustrated article. It's amazing to read some of the interesting stuff that happened in the "Dub".
• August 31: Seventy-four year-old Chris Chelios announces his retirement from hockey. Immediately after, hell freezes over.

September Highlights

• September 4: HBIC's month-long road trip through the midwestern US takes me through Kansas City, Missouri. Lots of good hockey history in that city, and I look at some of it.
• September 5: The following day had me in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Great city, and some solid hockey history there. I really enjoyed my time in the city.
• September 8: Houston's WHA era was interesting, and certainly has some very cool history behind it. The Howes, the flirting with the NHL, and their eventually dissolution are all covered in this piece.
• September 9: Houston's WHA Aeros led to the IHL's Houston Aeros being born in memory of the WHA franchise. Some more excellent hockey history here.
• September 20: San Antonio is a gorgeous city, and I really enjoyed my time there. Because of my visit, I wrote a piece on San Antonio's hockey history.
• September 23: My stop in Des Moines, Iowa was short, but I drove through the city rather than going around it. A lovely little city that has a solid hockey history attached to it.
• September 29: The Whale return! Unfortunately for Hartford, the Whalers continue to not exist while the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack will become the Connecticut Whale. I'm not impressed with these developments.

October Highlights

• October 2: Washington shows off its uniform choice for the Winter Classic. While the jersey choice is highly appropriate, Reebok's lack of effort in recreating the uniform is more than disappointing considering the magnitude of the game.
• October 17: Found some great viral video from France that features a guy showing people what it looks like when a player gets bodychecked into the boards. Hilarious!
• October 29: The Penguins show off their chosen duds for the 2011 Winter Classic. It's kind of a mish-mash of former uniforms, but it gets a pass.

November Highlights

• November 7: Buffalo and Toronto clash in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame game, and Buffalo shows up with some serious problems on their uniforms.
• November 12: The New York Rangers officially unveil their new alternate uniforms just weeks after Sean Avery unveiled them on his website.
• November 13: The Saskatoon Blades donned their "Canadian tuxedo" uniforms to welcome the Professional Bull Riders Association, as well as Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed.
• November 20: Pat Burns, the legendary NHL coach who won three Jack Adams Awards, succumbed to cancer after a long battle. Burns' contributions to hockey will live on forever, and we lost a great man far too soon.
• November 25: The Columbus Blue Jackets unveil their new alternate jersey, and I express my unhappiness with their choices. This won't be the last time we talk about these uniforms, I assure you.
• November 26: Another day, another alternate unveiling, more unhappiness from Teebz. This time sees the Anaheim Ducks squarely in my cross-hairs.
• November 30: It was a tough November as the hockey world lost another great. Hall of Fame writer Jim Kelley lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, and the world loses one of the most passionate hockey voices on the planet.

December Highlights

• December 2: The Portland Winterhawks unveil a new alternate jersey, but it looks remarkably like a jersey from a team in a different sport. To err is to be human, but this one just makes the team look bad in ripping off another team's idea.
• December 9: The University of Michigan and Michigan State University look to make history as they play an outdoor game in The Big House at Ann Arbor. Lots of cool information here about outdoor games.
• December 13: Remember those Blue Jackets' alternate uniforms? Apparently, the team has decided that superstition will kill them off as Columbus looks to mothball them.
• December 18: Donald Fehr is introduced as the new Executive Director of the NHLPA. Baseball laughs and mocks the NHL over their horrible luck. However, Fehr sounds like he's more interested in making hockey better.
• December 20: The world of Teebz and HBIC are changing. Actually, they already have by this point, but I've now charted a better future for me. Cross your fingers, kids!
• December 23: John MacLean is fired by the New Jersey Devils, and Jacques Lemaire is brought back. I point a finger at the $100M root of all the problems in New Jersey.

So there's another year down in the history of Hockey Blog In Canada. I'm really looking forward to next year already, and it starts with the 2011 Bridgestone Winter Classic tomorrow afternoon evening. Hunker down in front of the old cathode ray tubes, and enjoy some outdoor hockey from Sid the Kid and the Great Eight!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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TOE = Tuesday's Odds And Ends

The foot to the left has five toes on it, but today's article brings you only this TOE: Tuesday's Odd and Ends. These are more images and stories that have been sitting on my desktop that need their stories told, and we'll do that today. It's an eclectic mix of things from several leagues, so we'll work through these as orderly and quickly as possible. Some of the images are interesting while some are strange, but they are all entertaining in their own right. Needless to say, this little piggy had better get to market and write this article before Christmas gets here! Here are some random things from the world of hockey. Enjoy!

• I was looking through the New York Islanders' website on Sunday evening for some information on the fans from Quebec City who had made the pilgrimage to Nassau Memorial Coliseum. I didn't find very much information, but I did find that the Islanders' photo gallery page is actually a time-travel portal! Yes, that gallery is dated for January 1, 2011. And just like the product they roll out onto the ice, the quality control people still have that date on the website at the time of writing this article!
• Huge kudos go out to everyone who attended The Big Chill at The Big House on Saturday! A Guinness record-setting 113,411 people were at the game, and they got to see the Michigan Wolverines knock off the Michigan State Spartans by a score of 5-0. John Merrill was named as the game's first star as he scored two of Michigan's goals. I am definitely impressed with the fans in Michigan who showed up for this game, and you certainly deserve a spot on Guinness' lists with that effort! Well done, fans!
• The AHL decided to roll out their newest All-Star Game uniforms in conjunction with the Hershey Bears. The Bears, as you may know, are hosting the game this season, and I expected something quite traditional with the AHL celebrating its 75th anniversary. Well, we got traditional as the AHL unveiled their home Eastern Conference uniforms and road Western Conference uniforms for this year's game. I do like the look of them, but I immediately thought of these past NHL All-Star Game uniforms. They seem pretty similar, no? Does anyone in hockey have any creativity left?
• Great article from Brett Zarda of The New York Times about a small Canadian town that has solved the issue of springtime ice in their arena without a refrigeration system. Fort Chipewyan, a tiny outpost on Lake Athabasca in northeastern Alberta, has invested $559,000 into synthetic ice for their arena over the summer. The cost of a refrigeration system in the arena would have been into the $2 million range plus annual maintenance costs. The synthetic ice is no different than regular ice: players still use their regular skates on the synthetic ice, only there is far less maintenance involved with the synthetic ice. If you're interested in reading more about this, click the linked article above or click here to visit the Global Synthetic Ice website. It's a very cool product!
• I had never seen this before, but a friend sent me a picture of a patch that the Vancouver Canucks wore in 1986-87. The "Rick Hansen - Man In Motion World Tour" was started in 1985 from the Oakridge Mall in Vancouver, and eventually saw Mr. Hansen travel more than 40,000kms on his trip while confined to his wheelchair before finishing on May 22, 1987 at BC Place. While support was slow at the start, Hansen eventually raised over $26 million for for spinal cord research and quality of life initiatives. The Vancouver Canucks supported Mr. Hansen in his efforts, and wore a patch to help bring his work to light. A very cool patch for a great cause!
• Last, but certainly not least, is a friendly holiday greeting from the 1941-42 Chicago Blackhawks! I'm not sure how many teams would actually send a team photo to fans in this day and age, but I was tickled pink when I saw this holiday message from the Blackhawks! Bill Thoms, second from the right at the top of the card, would lead the team in scoring that season with 45 points (15G, 30A) in 47 games. Two brothers, Robert and William Carse, can be seen on the bottom row while Doug Bentley stands beside Robert Carse. Earl Siebert can be seen at the top-left as well. Missing from that team photo are Max Bentley and Billy Mosienko - two very important players in Blackhawks history!

There are a few of the odds and ends that I've had kicking around my desktop the past few weeks. I'll begin collecting some new ones as time progresses, and I'm sure we'll have another edition of TOE. Or maybe WOE if it happens on a Wednesday. Or Foe if it's a Friday. In any case, I'll see what else I can find for another episode of Odds and Ends!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Michigan's Big Chill

This weekend sees the first outdoor game of the hockey season in any league as the Michigan Wolverines host the Michigan State Spartans in The Big Chill at the Big House. This game has all the makings of something extra special: two rivals who have unbridled hatred for one another, 110,000 rabid fans, the magic of an outdoor game, and some serious NCAA hockey action. If this doesn't get you into the hockey spirit, I'm not sure you have a pulse. There are so many little details about this game that will make it one of the most memorable games in recent hockey history, and I'm here to outline as many as I can.

First off, this game is completely sold out. There isn't a seat to be had at The Big House on Saturday as 109,901 people will pack the stadium for the outdoor game. Not only will that set an NCAA record for highest attendance at a collegiate-level game, but it will also set the record for the highest attendance at a hockey game at any level. The current record is held by Veltins Stadium in Germany where 77,803 fans packed the soccer stadium to watch Germany play the USA at the 2010 IIHF World Championships. To give you perspective on this, that's 32,098 more people than the Germans' record-setting game, and just slightly less than the 37,592 fans that the 2010 Frozen Four Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit brought in last season. The Big House is going to be a-rockin'!

Of course, there is some great history with this rivalry, and this isn't the first time that these two storied programs have met on outdoor ice. On October 6, 2001, Michigan State University hosted the Michigan Wolverines in front of 74,554 fans at Spartan Stadium for the Cold War. However, nothing was resolved that day as the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie after all was said and done.

There were some pretty recognizable names playing in the Cold War game. Mike Cammalleri, on the right, of the Montreal Canadiens had two goals for the Michigan Wolverines that day. Jed Ortmeyer of the AHL's San Antonio Rampage suited up for the Wolverines. Mike Komisarek patroled the blueline for the Wolverines that day as well. On the other side, Jim Slater, on the left, of the Atlanta Thrashers scored his first NCAA goal in the final minute of the game to propel the MSU Spartans to the tie. Adam Hall of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored the opening goal for the Spartans. Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks scored a powerplay goal for Michigan State as well. Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres was the goaltender of record for the Spartans that day. Not a bad list of players featured in that game!

Here are the vital statistics you need to know for Saturday's game:

• The rink being used on Saturday will be Olympic-sized: 200' x 100' rather than the NHL-sized 200' x 85'. The center-ice red line will run on top of the 50-yard line, and the end boards will extend to reach the 17-yard lines.
• All-time, the Wolverines lead the series between these two teams with a 136-121-18 record. MSU's records state that UM actually leads 140-122-18 due to when UM's varsity status was being attained.
• Michigan has won the last three games against Michigan State.
• Michigan is ranked #12 in the nation while MSU is unranked at this time.
• Michigan will wear special jerseys for this game. The Wolverines will take to the ice in throwback jerseys from the 1945-1948 era that look similar to what the hockey players from UM wore those years. Why this era? The 1947-48 Wolverines won the inaugural NCAA Hockey Championship in 1948. Adidas is manfacturing these uniforms for The Big Chill.
• This will be the third outdoor game for the University of Michigan, and the fifth in NCAA history. Michigan tied MSU 3-3 in the Cold War in 2001, and lost 3-2 to the Wisconsin Badgers at the Camp Randall Hockey Classic in February 2010. Michigan State's only appearance in an outdoor game was in the Cold War game in 2001.
• This is the 281st time these two teams will battle - the most of any two teams in NCAA history. This is collegiate hockey's version of Red Wings vs. Blackhawks.
• TV feeds of this game are available on FS Detroit locally, Big Ten Network nationally, and LeafsTV in Canada.
• Michigan Sports Network will carry the radio feed while the Internet webcast can be found through Fox Sports Detroit.

I, for one, am excited for this game. I think it will be one of the most memorable games in history simply due to the rivalry and the fans. As we've seen in NCAA football and basketball, people bleed for their universities, and there's no doubt that Spartans bleed green and Wolverines bleed maize and blue. One can only hope that this game is of "epic" status to put this in the upper echelon of fan memories. With the temperature forecasted as being between 28F and 34F, this should make for a great winter day!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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St. Petersburg Will See Stars

The building to the left is probably a little "foreign" to most readers on this side of the pond, but Russians, and people from St. Petersburg in particular, will recognize it as the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Get it? Foreign to North Americans because it's in Russia? Anyway, the 2011 KHL All-Star Game will take place in St. Petersburg this year, and it will feature Team Jagr's team of international stars battling with Team Yashin's squad made entirely of players from Russia. We're less than two months away from this game, so let's check the particulars of what is happening at this year's KHL All-Star Weekend.

If you're marking this on your calendars, circle February 5, 2011 as the date of this year's KHL All-Star Game. While I've been hunting for English-based channels that may be carrying the game, I have yet to find any. However, the KHL All-Star Game will be broadcast live on "Russia-1" while the skills competition will be broadcast on "Russia-2". Behind-the-scenes reports and interviews will be carried throughout the day on KHL TV, the official league channel.

Now you're probably saying, "Teebz, I don't have Russian television programming". I'll be honest: I don't have it, either. But all is not lost as the KHL TV feed does work for free for all KHL regular season games and the 2011 All-Star Game! All you need to do is click here to get to KHL TV so you can watch your favorite former NHL stars kick a little butt over in Russia!

If you are reading this from somewhere in the vicinity of St. Petersburg or have the inclination to travel to St. Petersburg during the month of February, I'm happy to report that tickets to the KHL All-Star Game are quite reasonably priced! Tickets range from 190 rubles, or $6 USD, to 1900 rubles, or $60 USD, and will be available for purchase shortly at the KHL's official All-Star Game website. Honestly, they have cleaned up that website very nicely, and it looks like it could be a great source for news and information as we near the event's date.

It's just a short entry today on an event that was pretty entertaining last season. If you can, try to check out a game or two of KHL action on the KHL TV site, and make sure you check in at that site on February 5, 2011 for all your KHL All-Star Game fun!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Antler Banter : Volume 4

Antler Banter finds its way back on Wednesday, and we have a lot to talk about today. Four games were played in the last week with another one on-tap tonight as the Moose play seven games away from MTS Centre. Road trips are always tough when playing teams from the Great Lakes region, so we'll look back at how the Moose fared against the Lake Erie Monsters twice, the Grand Rapids Griffins, and the Hamilton Bulldogs. If you're looking for any Manitoba Moose news or information, don't forget to check out the Moose website. If you're interested in attending a Manitoba Moose game, please click here for seating information, ticket pricing, and availability. Let's check out this week's Hardcore Hockey!

Scaring The Monsters

Manitoba arrived in Cleveland on Friday to battle the Lake Erie Monsters, and needed to start the roadtrip off right with a win. Being a division rival, the Moose had to start on the right track in terms of defeating the Monsters if they want to have a shot at one of the top seeds in the North Division come Calder Cup time.

The Moose faced former NHL netminder in Jason Bacashihua in this game, and they came out buzzing. Bacashihua, however, was equal to the task in the first frame as he stopped all eight Manitoba shots. Former Monster netminder and current Moose goaltender Tyler Weiman matched Bacashihua save for save as he stopped all seven shots he faced.

Give credit where credit is due, and that will go to head coach Claude Noel tonight. Noel matched Sergei Shirokov, Cody Hodgson, and Bill Sweatt on a line, and that new trio counted for two goals and five points on the evening. This Moose team still appears to be a work-in-progress for the new coach, but Noel is finding combinations that work. Getting Hodgson on the scoresheet often with his talent is certainly what the Moose need.

He didn't hit the scoresheet, but defenceman Travis Ramsey deserves some spotlight. Ramsey is a workhorse in his own zone and never shies away from physical play. He blocks shots, he rubs men out along the boards, and he opens up shooting lanes for his goaltenders by moving opposing forwards out of the way. Ramsey won't win any scoring titles, but defenders like him are what every coach and team loves. Yet he never demands any credit for his work, so I'll give him some here as the big defenceman is truly looking like a force in his own zone.

Some great work by the Moose to rally behind Tyler Weiman's solid effort in between the pipes. Down 3-1 in the second period, Manitoba rallied by scoring five straight goals over the last 30 minutes of the game to give the Moose the 6-3 win. With the victory, the Moose improve to 5-2-0 on the season and start this roadtrip off with a big win.

Griffins Prove No Fluke

Manitoba were set straight on the second weekend of the season by the Griffins as they rolled into MTS Centre and rolled out with two wins. The Moose looked to salvage the season series with the Griffins by winning two games at Van Andel Arena - a place that has not been so kind to the Moose in their history. Thomas McCollum got the start in net for Grand Rapids while Eddie Lack suited up for the Moose.

It would a great thing to say that the Moose improved upon their play from a night before, but that would be entirely inaccurate. They were still aggressive, but the Griffins did what all good teams do: score on the powerplay. The Moose gave the AHL's second-best powerplay unit far too many chances, and they paid for it twice. In both cases, it was the defensive pairing of Lee Sweatt and Nolan Baumgartner that were victimized, so it might be time to look at moving one of those men off that unit. Sweatt is an offensive defenceman, so I'd start with him. Great offensive player, but I'm not sure his skills are best for a penalty-killing unit.

Travis Ramsey must also have the book thrown at him in this one. If Ramsey is going to be considered one of the elite defensive defencemen in the league, he needs to stay out of the penalty box. Both powerplay goals were scored with him having a front-row seat in the penalty box, and it is imperative that Ramsey be on the ice as the team's best defensive player. A hooking penalty and a holding penalty are lazy penalties to take, and Ramsey was guilty of both of them.

The Moose held a 2-1 lead, but the Griffins capitalized on a powerplay to tie the game, and then went ahead with 8:53 to play in the game. Once they were ahead, they played shutdown hockey much like they did in Winnipeg. An empty-net goal by Jamie Tardif sealed the Moose's fate as they drop their third game in a row to Grand Rapids by a 4-2 score. With the loss, the Moose fall to 5-3-0 on the season.

Monsters' Revenge

Halloween afternoon saw the Moose return to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland where they met the Halloween-appropriate Lake Erie Monsters in the matinée. The rematch featured the same two goals as seen on Friday night as Lake Erie started Jason Bacashihua while the Moose responded with Tyler Weiman. After dropping the game against the Griffins the night before, the Moose were looking for redemption.

For a team like the Moose that has an abundance of firepower sitting on the bench, it's nearly unbelievable to think that they could be shutout. Jason Bacashihua did his job in stopping all 19 shots fired his way, and the Moose left Cleveland with a doughnut on their record. What makes this more disappointing is that Manitoba's leading shooter was defenceman Lee Sweatt. I get that Sweatt is an offensive defenceman, but he outshot every other player on the Moose roster by a large margin. Simply put: not good enough.

Tyler Weiman deserves some credit for his effort. Weiman allowed only one goal on a cross-crease pass, and made several key saves to keep the Moose in the game early. His breakaway stop on Greg Mauldin early in the second period was his best of the day, and Weiman provided the Moose with solid goaltending once again.

If you can't score, you're not going to win, and the Moose proved that true. Lake Erie's Joel Chouinard scored the game-winner midway through the third period, and Julien Talbot iced the game with an empty-net goal late. Lake Erie takes the Halloween game by a 2-0 score, and pushes the Moose's record to 5-4-0 on the season.

Bitten By The Dogs

The Moose and Bulldogs had another battle on Tuesday night as the Moose visited Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Manitoba had won the first two meetings at MTS Centre by 4-3 shootout scores, and were looking to push the season series to a 3-0 margin. Eddie Lack got the call for Manitoba while former Moose goaltender and current Bulldog Curtis Sanford took to the nets for Hamilton.

Goaltending might be the best part of the Moose roster this season as both Lack and Weiman are making fans forget about Cory Schneider. Lack made 26 saves on 28 shots, and looked very comfortable in turning away the Bulldogs on numerous chances. Lack was perfect through the second period when he was peppered by 12 Hamilton shots, including a great save on Ryan White's breakaway chance. Again, the Moose get quality goaltending, but can't give their 'tenders anything more.

Noel's combination of Shirokov and Hodgson looks like it might be clicking. Shirokov set up Hodgson for his third goal of the season, and the two youngsters are the only line that seems to be scoring over the last four games. Hodgson has enough creative talent to make great passes to Shirokov, and Shirokov really came into his own last year as a great offensive player. Bill Sweatt, the left winger on that line, had a team-high five shots, so it appears that the Moose may have found a solid second line. Now they just need the other three lines to get on the same page.

Another great goaltending performance by Eddie Lack goes all for naught as the Moose drop a 3-1 decision to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Hamilton's Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist in the win, and the Bulldogs simply outworked and outskated the Moose. With the loss, the Moose fall to 5-5-0 on the season.

Adding More Talent

If a change to the lineup is what the Moose need, they received it on Tuesday. The Vancouver Canucks assigned winger Jeff Tambellini to the Moose, and he should be available for the rematch against the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

The 26 year-old had two goals and one assist with the Canucks in the six games he played with the NHL club this season, and he was an adept scorer for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers two seasons ago before making the leap to the NHL with the New York Islanders. In 169 AHL games thus far in his career, Tambellini has amassed 96 goals, 98 assists, and 112 PIMs. He recorded a career-high 38 goals and 38 assists in 57 games with Bridgeport in 2007-08, so Tambellini is a proven scorer at the AHL level.

With the scoring woes the Moose have experienced on this roadtrip, he will be a welcomed addition on the ice and in the dressing room.

Looking Ahead

As stated above, the Moose have another game with the Bulldogs this evening, and then move onto finish the season series with the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday. Saturday night will see the Moose in Rockford to visit the IceHogs to finish up this seven-game, nine-day trip away from the confines of MTS Centre.

The Moose sit a .500 - far below expectations thus far - but they can salvage this roadtrip with three wins in their next three games. Put your noses to the grindstones, gentlemen, and start playing some smart hockey! DO IT!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Some Tuesday Thoughts

As I work through another week here at HBIC headquarters, I'm proud to say that the upgrades went wonderfully yesterday. There were no hiccups to report, and everything is working much better with the increased amount of RAM I installed to give the old box o' chips a much-needed speed infusion. Because I really wasn't watching any hockey on a very quiet Monday in the hockey world, I do have some thoughts that occurred to me while working on my computer last night. Some of these will certainly come with pictures, but others will simply be questions with potential answers. All in all, I have some thoughts I want to get down, and this is the place to do it. Let's go!

• Just an update from that story from Sunday about Miami University (Ohio) defenceman Will Weber. If you missed the info, Weber's neck was cut inadvertently byu a skate. Weber has been released from hospital, and apparently is doing well. The only thing that's hard to take? That wound that required 15 staples and 100 stitches to close. I'd never wish that kind of injury on anyone, but Weber is truly ready for Halloween. Stay strong and get well, Will!
• Speaking of Halloween, the San Jose Sharks are continuing a good NHL tradition of jerseys and charity. The Sharks wore Halloween-themed jerseys for practice once again, much in the similar vein as they did two years ago. All of the practice jerseys will be sold during an auction on two nights: October 27 vs. the New Jersey Devils and October 30 vs. the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks will also offer up one Halloween jersey via the NHL Auctions page, and Ryan Clowe's jersey is up for grabs. The online auction ends November 3. All proceeds will benefit the Sharks Foundation in assisting local non-profit organizations in the San Jose area. Good cause, great font, love the execution of this idea.
• In keeping with Halloween, it was nice to see Mike Bossy honored by the New York Islanders last season. The only problem is that Satan was honoring him! That's Miroslav Satan in the Bossy vintage jersey, and I really think the Islanders should do more of these kinds of events to bring back the former Islanders fans who may have moved on.
• It has long been stated that the reason for the broken center red line was for black-and-white television to ensure that viewers could differentiate between the blue lines and red lines on the ice. But what about teams that weren't televised on the old Hockey Night broadcasts? The Quebec Aces prove that solid red lines can be used for non-televised hockey teams, despite the blue lines in the background looking somewhat similar. So television really may be the reason for the center line to have a pattern. I still love that old Aces logo, though.
• I've got nothing but praise for Steven Stamkos this season as he is truly proving he is a bonafide NHL scoring machine in leading the NHL in scoring, but he's really abused one team in his division: the Atlanta Thrashers. He has 12 goals and nine assists in 14 career games against Atlanta, and doesn't appear to be slowing down after picking up four points in his most recent game against the Thrashers. Perhaps the Thrashers should be a little more aware of Stamkos when he's on the ice, and get under his skin a little to get him off his scoring streak.
• After losing his starting job last season to Tuukka Rask, there were rumours all summer about Tim Thomas being traded to various teams. The 2009 Vezina Trophy winner has shown that he's back to his dominant form, and really looks like the man he was two years ago. Thomas is 4-0-0, and is playing some of the best hockey in the early-going that I have seen in some time.

There are some photos and thoughts on Tuesday. Antler Banter is back tomorrow as I take a look at the Moose through three weeks, and we'll see if they can get back on the winning track against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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Cornucopia Of Hockey Goodness

It's a holiday in Canada thanks to Thanksgiving, so there's a pile of stuff that I need to clean out of the old inbox. I don't have any pumpkin pie or turkey, but I do have some rather cool stuff from readers and some stuff for you to possibly win. It also gives me a chance to say thanks to the readers and the generous people who contribute stuff to contests, so I'll take a little time to do that as well. After all, it is Thanksgiving in Canada, and HBIC is proud of his heritage. Let's get cracking on some of these items in this horn of plenty today.

CHANGING PANTS: I received an email from Brian who read the article on the game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks. In that article, I had stated that "the Canucks wore breezers with Bauer on the thigh". While it's true that some of the Canucks did, there were also a number of Canucks who wore the standard Reebok breezers. Brian pointed this out, sent me the linked picture, and has counted a total of eight Canucks in the Reebok breezers from that game.

Now I understand that some players have contracts with equipment manufacturers that override the Reebok contract, but it's hard to believe that fourteen players from the Canucks have equipment deals with Bauer. As JTH stated in the comments from yesterday, perhaps the breezers are a personal preference item like the equipment worn under the uniform. However, I am almost positive that Reebok's contracts states that all visible equipment must be a Reebok-endorsed item unless the player has a contract with another manufacturer. Can anyone elaborate more on this?

Big thanks to Brian and to JTH for their input on this one, and thanks for reading, gentlemen. You guys are awesome!

RED LINE INGENUITY: I got an email from a gentleman by the name of Mackenzie Swartz. For the majority of people in the hockey world, that name doesn't really ring a bell in terms how popular Mr. Swartz is. However, I'm here to tell you that he has done something absolutely incredible in Toledo, Ohio. Here is his email.

My name is Mackenzie Swartz, and a year ago I stumbled into an operations job at the newly-built Huntington Center, which is the home for the ECHL expansion Toledo Walleye. Being the only lifelong hockey geek, my supervisor decided that I'd be the one learning everything I could about running zambonis, building ice, etc.

"The team is now going into their second season, and for this ice build, I was given permission to do whatever I wanted - make it my design. The first thing that came to mind were letter stencils, something that would be different and classy-looking. It was either going to be Toledo Hockey or Walleye Hockey, and I let the team choose that.

"I measured and laid them out on the concrete weeks ago to see how they looked. As for how they came out for real, you can decide. All the feedback I've had here from the team, management, fans, even some officials, has been very positive."

How cool is that design? I'm completely impressed with what Mr. Swartz has done in Toledo, and he should be proud of what he has accomplished in his first season of full creative control.

Big thumbs-up from me, Mr. Swartz. You have essentially gone outside the box in terms of center ice design, and I commend you for it. Thank you for sending in the pictures and the email about your design!

What say you, readers - yay or nay on Mr. Swartz's red line design?

KEEPING IT CLEAN: I've worked with a number of companies to offer up a variety of free stuff for my readers, but this email caught me a little off-guard simply due to what is available for you to win.

"OxiClean’s newly-launched stainbusting site is offering your readers a chance to win a brand new LG Steam Front Load Washer and Dryer! To enter, visit stainbusters.ca, and tell us how with the help of OxiClean, that nasty stain came out. Be sure to include all the messy details!

"Keeping your hockey equipment clean is no easy feat – well, at least your other half thinks so. Maybe it’s time you showed them your gratitude with this brand new prize!"

You read that correctly - a brand-new LG Steam Front Load Washer and Dryer is up for grabs! All you have to do is explain how your stain came out with the help of OxiClean! This prize package is worth a bundle of cash, so get in on it!

Thanks to OxiClean for the heads-up about this contest!

There's your cornucopia of hockey goodness on this holiday Thanksgiving Monday. Enjoy!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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TBC: One Hockey Night

Teebz's Book Club is gearing up for National Young Readers Week in the United States with another book geared towards the younger hockey fan. As you may be aware, HBIC wants to get more kids reading and more kids interested in hockey, and I'm happy to do both of these through the books being reviewed here. Today, TBC is proud to present One Hockey Night, written by David Ward, illustrated by Brian Deines, and published by North Winds Press, a division of Scholastic Books. With kids having been in school for over a month now, it won't be long until the snow flies in the northern climates, and that means hockey! One Hockey Night looks at the story of Owen, a young boy who moves to Nova Scotia, and really begins to miss hockey as he used to know it.

David Ward is a Canadian author who now lives in Portland, Oregon. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in British Columbia. Mr. Ward worked as an elementary teacher for eleven years before switching professions and starting his writing career. He has also planted trees and worked on a chicken farm, but now spends his time writing and completing his PhD in Language and Literacy. He has written seven books since 2006, and enjoys spending time with his wife and three children when he's not writing his next book. Mr. Ward also writes a blog on his work, and you can visit his website here.

Brian Deines is an accomplished author and illustrator. He graduated from the Alberta College of Art, and has contributed to a number of excellent works with his illustrations. Dragonfly Kites, written in 2002 by Tomson Highway and illustrated by Mr. Deines, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Illustration and nominated for a Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award. Mr. Deines currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

One Hockey Night is the story of Owen and Holly, a brother and sister who find themselves living in Nova Scotia after having moved with their parents from Saskatchewan. Owen is a little down because it's December and all his friends are playing hockey in Saskatchewan while he's adjusting to a new life on the east coast. There was no frozen lake in Kettle Harbour like there was in Saskatchewan, so how could he play the game he loved?

When Holly asked Owen to play hockey, they went out to the front street instead of the backyard. Dad had prevented them from going out back, but he promised it would just be for a little while before they could head out to the backyard. "Sort of a secret," he told them.

Strangely, a large number of people began to show up at Owen's and Holly's front door, most carrying lobster crates. CJ and his mom, neighbours of Owen and Holly, were the first to drop off the crates, and Owen invited CJ to play street hockey in the future. But why were people bringing lobster crates to his house? It was too cold to catch lobster in December, yet they had collected a large number of crates. What was going on?

Owen missed hockey on the lake. He and Holly reminisced about playing on the lake back in Saskatchewan, and Owen finally assumed that no one played hockey in Kettle Harbour. Owen and Holly believed they would never play pond hockey again, but Mom and Dad had a special Christmas gift up their sleeves. What was it? Were the kids going back to Saskatchewan for Christmas? Did Mom and Dad find a lake for the kids to play on? All of these answers are waiting for you in One Hockey Night!

The story of One Hockey Night actually is based on real-life events. Mr. Ward has written an original story based on several events in Canadian life, including his own, but has captured the Canadian spirit of hockey and life in the Great White North. He writes an excellent note before the start of the story, and I commend Mr. Ward for writing this story based on the real-life experiences of a few special Canadians.

The artistry of Mr. Deines is top-notch, and really makes the story come alive on the pages. His pictures are warm and inviting, and really add to the story by putting faces and places to the words written by Mr. Ward. The illustrations provided by Mr. Deines for One Hockey Night not only add to the story, but bring the words to life as you read them.

Mr. Ward's warm story combined with Mr. Deines' excellent artistry makes One Hockey Night a must-read for the young reader. The story spans 32 pages, so it's a perfect way to get your elementary school child into reading, and the story should get the hockey fan stirring in your house! Because of this, One Hockey Night certainly deserves the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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