Saturday, March 26, 2011
Elis take the ice
In what could be an historic night, Bulldogs (Yale that is) take the ice for warmups of the NCAA Eastern Regional final in bridgeport. One step away..
Survive and Advance
YALE'S CHAD ZIEGLER SAVES THE ELI PUCK DREAMS...FOR THE MOMENT
Bridgeport, CT It was a game that Yale, currently in the 5th year of coach Keith Allain's success arc, simply could not lose as the top seed in the NCAA tournament against the lowest. Yale's program has been one of relentless progression under Allain, a Worcester, MA native. This strong-willled, no-nonsense coach has led his Elis to the NCAA 1st round in 2009, a regional final in 2010, and is currently boring in on the thin air of the Frozen Four. Yale enters the 2011 tournament as the #1 ranked team in the country, hosting a regional final 20 minutes from its New Haven campus.
The reality on the ice Friday night, however, did not fit the script. Under the supremely successful tactics of head coach Frank Serratore, the Air Force Falcons had survived Yale's early onslaught, tied the game, and were looking for the kill shot in the third period. Yale appeared spent, struggled to complete passes, and the ice was tilted toward their goal. Whatever energy Yale had left was spent driving pucks around their end boards in desperate attempts to clear the zone. For a team that averaged over 36 shots a game for the season, they managed a mere 5 in the third period against Air Force. Two years earlier Serratore's Falcons had scalped the Michigan Wolverines in an NCAA regional in this same building, and there was no doubt in his mind that he had the Yale Bulldogs just where he wanted them.
"We played rope-a-dope in the first two periods," said the vociferous Serratore in post-game press conference that became a torrent of sports cliches. "It was Katie bar the door, then the worm started to turn. Their legs were gone."
Regardless of his collection of mixed metaphors, Serratore was dead on. In three minutes of overtime, Air Force poured 5 shots Bulldog Goalie Ryan Rondeau, who repeatedly saved Yale's season. The ice around the Air Force goal was pristine, essentially untouched. It appeared that the Allain express, the Yale juggernaut that had shut out nationally ranked Cornell 6-0 in the ECAC Championship 6 days earlier, was about to be derailed.
But the Elis finally got the puck into the Air Force end, a defenseman mishandled it into a turnover, which led to a shot and a precious rebound. An unlikely hero in the form of Bulldogs junior winger Chad Ziegler extended all of his 6'2" frame, diving parallel to the ice to jab in the game-winning goal (see photo above). It was only his 8th goal of the year (three of them game-winners) for the Alberta native. It led to a delirious celebration that can only come from college kids who have stared down mortality.
"There ain't a more relieved guy in this building than Keith Allain," spouted Serratore in his closing comments. Then it was over: his press conference; his season; the career of his marvelous captain Jacques Lamoreaux. He marched out of the media zone, proud but eliminated.
Allain's turn in the presser came shortly thereafter, and he needed to re-frame the story. Prior to his spin it was a simple case of surviving thanks to a lucky bounce. His opening statement was certainly genuine. "We're pleased to be moving on and not have to play them again this year." No doubt. In their two games versus the Zoomies this season Yale suffered a loss and an overtime struggle against crew cut warriors that had worn his club down to sawdust in the slushy post-season ice. Allain's relief was palpable. He then went into damage control against the notion that his kids were drained and weren't in as good shape as their opponents from the armed service.
"I think we're pretty fit. We've got what I think is the best strength coach in the country in Joe Maher...we have a bunch of players who are willing to pay a price to do what they need to be fit; our guys have been literally been working towards this since last May, off the ice, on their own with a program, so I wasn't worried about our fitness level in any way, shape or form." End of story.
His players picked up on those proud words. "I think our energy was pretty good," said Jimmy Martin. "It took everything we had to come out and win, but speaking for myself I felt pretty good, the energy in the room was pretty good." Perceptions replaced reality, but survival was all that mattered.
Yale now has to park this last experience, using whatever spin they choose, and move on. Another diabolical defensive power, the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs of the WCHA, await. They are three hours fresher than Yale, having dismissed the Union College Dutchmen of the ECAC in the matinee. Duluth faced nowhere near the resistance that Air Force threw at Yale.
The WCHA, stocked with national powers like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Denver and North Dakota, often sneers at the ECAC and their claims of a legitimate national contender. Should Yale fall to the OTHER Bulldogs, their remarkable season that includes a 6-week stay atop of the national polls, will be dismissed. If the Allain legend is to continue its annual growth, and the Yale Bulldogs are to gain true national gravitas, they have no choice this evening but to survive and advance.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Paper Tiger in the home of the Sound Tigers?
An ECAC Team as the top seed in the NCAA Div I hockey tourney? Ivy League no less. the Yale University skating Bulldogs. As number one seed in the East regional they play Air Force, second place finishers from a conference no one has heard of (Atlantic hockey). Should be automatic, right? they played a scoreless 1st period, with Yale carrying most of the play, but Air Force with the greater number of "Grade A" chances (3-2). Air Force beat them head to head in November, and posted a win in this same Bridgeport building 2 years ago against a dominant Michigan team. So...this has become a pick 'em game. #1 vs #20. Go figure. Yale has some serious work to do if they are to get to their historic first Frozen Four.
Monday, March 21, 2011
pee-wee hockey story...sticking together
The Kinnelon Colts capped their first season of pee-wee A travel hockey with a Championship trophy at the Shamrock Shootout tournament at the Protec Ponds in Somerset New Jersey. It was the culmination of an experiment in which a Rec-League team decided to test their mettle against the best A-league teams in the State for a full season, and they ended up with some precious metal themselves.
After years of dominating the Morris County house league at Mennen rink in Morristown, the Kinnelon Colts pee-wee program decided to take a bold step forward and join the prestigious NJYHL travel circuit, in the A-League no less. It was a show of faith that their venerable coach Nick Gakos would have them prepared so as not to embarrass the club, the parents or the kids.
Not everyone believed, 4 hockey go-getters abandoned the Colts program for greener pastures, playing for coach Meg Hishmeh's Skyland Kings travel program in the NJYHL. But there was a core group, including a special goalie (Jack McConeghy), a pair of twins that are the 21st century's answer to Tom and Huck (Patrick and Sean Grant), a kid who looks like a catelogue model and skates like young Larry Robinson (Michael Harrison), the coach's son (Steven Gakos), who has a none of the old man's bluster, but possesses that intangible hockey magic in his hands and feet, and a roly-poly defenseman (Evan Prestera) that might be the best athlete of them all.
From the opening face-off in September, the Colts earned more than respect: consecutive 3-goal third period comebacks sparked a lengthy undefeated streak, leaving bruised bodies and egos in their wake. The Colts were flirting with first place in the NJYHL southern division in November. They had quickly become the curiosity of travel-team hockey, and the club no one wanted to play. Too much to lose.
They entered a couple of tournaments, posed threats in both, but the hockey Gods did not smile on these renegades, and there was no hardware to show for their efforts. Coach Gakos lived up to his end of the bargain: the Colts played hard and clean and were always prepared. But they hit a wall, blowing a two-goal third period lead to the first place Penguins and a heartbreaker to the Junior Flyers in Voorhees. It cost them a shot at the playoffs, but the Colts simply would not quit. Twice they beat the Bridgewater Bears, the team with the most wins in their Division. Steven Gakos, having missed the entire previous season due to medical complications, literally carried his club in the last game against Bridgewater, scoring 3 magnificent goals against the Bears in a 4-2 shocker. The Bears fans left Twin Oaks Arena in disbelief, shut down by Gakos and Company, but it would be Bridgewater team entering the NJYHL playoffs, not Kinnelon. The Colts finished an impressive 9-5-2 in the southern division, 3 points out of a coveted playoff spot. They would have to find consolation in the Rec League.
The Colts did the expected, winning both the regular season and playoff Mennen Cup trophies without sustaining a scratch, but they wanted more. Although most of the parents thought the advent of March signaled the end of hockey, it was important for the Colts to have something tangible for their trophy case, something to symbolize their breakthrough year in the NJYHL. So they entered the Shamrock Shootout in Somerset, one of four NJYHL A teams. One trophy at stake, one set of medals.
With a twist of irony, the hockey gods pitted the Colts against the undefeated Skylands Kings for not one but two consecutive games on Sunday. The winner of the second game would leave with a trophy, the loser, nada. It was a matchup oozing with intrigue and past relationships. 4 of the Kings players grew up with and attended school with the Kinnelon core before "jumping ship" 2 seasons ago. Experts figured Coach Hishmeh's Kings as favorites for the hardware, the club with all that experience in travel team wars. But they were facing a foe that was extremely familiar to them, a Kinnelon team playing with a bit of a chip on its shoulder forged by being abandoned two seasons ago.
Game 1 saw the Colts jump out to a 3-0 lead, and then withstand a furious Kings comeback when they scored twice in a minute to close to 3-2 with 6 minutes remaining. Gakos signalled for a timeout, the Colts regained their composure, and All-Tournament center Steven Gakos slalomed through the offensive zone and buried a wrist shot, relegating the Kings goalie a mere bystander. Kinnelon's 4-2 win gave them top seeding and the status as home team for the Sunday evening Championship game.
The finale was tense affair that saw three different lead changes, including a rush and finish by Mountain Lakes resident John Rosseland that had scouts drooling over his combination of size, force and finesse. But nothing was settled in regulation that ended 3-3, and no goals were scored in a dramatic 5-minute overtime, a session in which the Colts were tantalizingly close. This game would be settled by a shootout, a format that had not been kind to the Colts a day before. Skylands went first and scored impressively. Fear, crept in--was it possible that this last attempt at legitimate hardware was slipping away? Coach Gakos turned the team's fortunes over to Danny Kramer, a newcomer who looked like a choirboy, but had deadly aim in shootouts. He blistered a wrist shot off the iron and in, and the Colts dream burned on.
Given a second chance, Kinnelon goalie Jack McConeghy's will took over, stoning the next two Skylands shooters. Steven Gakos misfired in a situation where he admitted to immense pressure, so it came down to another Mountain Lakes product, Kinnelon rookie Thomas Rappleye. He would be the third and potentially final shooter in this contest. He swerved 25 feet to his left before bearing in on the Kings goal, head up, the game on his stick. He squeezed off a quick wrester heading toward the glove side, but it connected with leather. Much of the crowd thought the game was still on, but there was little number 74 on a mad dash towards McConeghy, sprinting into a championship hug. "I was scared because it bounced off his glove," said Rappleye in the post game delirium. "But I saw it in the net and I was pumped." This was no rec-league award, this was hard-earned NJYHL hardware. The two-foot trophy was accidentally handed to the Skylands Kings, so a former Kinnelon player wearing a Kings uniform had to hand it over top the rightful victors, with a good deal of humility. The first-year travel club Kinnelon Colts had beaten the Kings, an 11-win team from NJYHL's all-powerful northern division, not once, but twice in a single day. No explanations were necessary, this club had arrived.
The team had their trophy, the kids all had medals hanging around their necks, and the Colts didn't need to justify to anybody who they were. Next year this group, led by Huck and Tom and the coach's kid and all the other "locals" who decided to stick together, will move up to bantams and seek more medals and more metal, paying tribute to time-tested values like loyalty and sticking together. In a culture where players in a team sport have become mercenaries constantly looking to better their individual needs, a neighborhood band of Colts stuck together and claimed a trophy. Maybe there will be more like Rappleye and Rosseland and Kramer who will gravitate toward this band of brothers.
After years of dominating the Morris County house league at Mennen rink in Morristown, the Kinnelon Colts pee-wee program decided to take a bold step forward and join the prestigious NJYHL travel circuit, in the A-League no less. It was a show of faith that their venerable coach Nick Gakos would have them prepared so as not to embarrass the club, the parents or the kids.
Not everyone believed, 4 hockey go-getters abandoned the Colts program for greener pastures, playing for coach Meg Hishmeh's Skyland Kings travel program in the NJYHL. But there was a core group, including a special goalie (Jack McConeghy), a pair of twins that are the 21st century's answer to Tom and Huck (Patrick and Sean Grant), a kid who looks like a catelogue model and skates like young Larry Robinson (Michael Harrison), the coach's son (Steven Gakos), who has a none of the old man's bluster, but possesses that intangible hockey magic in his hands and feet, and a roly-poly defenseman (Evan Prestera) that might be the best athlete of them all.
From the opening face-off in September, the Colts earned more than respect: consecutive 3-goal third period comebacks sparked a lengthy undefeated streak, leaving bruised bodies and egos in their wake. The Colts were flirting with first place in the NJYHL southern division in November. They had quickly become the curiosity of travel-team hockey, and the club no one wanted to play. Too much to lose.
They entered a couple of tournaments, posed threats in both, but the hockey Gods did not smile on these renegades, and there was no hardware to show for their efforts. Coach Gakos lived up to his end of the bargain: the Colts played hard and clean and were always prepared. But they hit a wall, blowing a two-goal third period lead to the first place Penguins and a heartbreaker to the Junior Flyers in Voorhees. It cost them a shot at the playoffs, but the Colts simply would not quit. Twice they beat the Bridgewater Bears, the team with the most wins in their Division. Steven Gakos, having missed the entire previous season due to medical complications, literally carried his club in the last game against Bridgewater, scoring 3 magnificent goals against the Bears in a 4-2 shocker. The Bears fans left Twin Oaks Arena in disbelief, shut down by Gakos and Company, but it would be Bridgewater team entering the NJYHL playoffs, not Kinnelon. The Colts finished an impressive 9-5-2 in the southern division, 3 points out of a coveted playoff spot. They would have to find consolation in the Rec League.
The Colts did the expected, winning both the regular season and playoff Mennen Cup trophies without sustaining a scratch, but they wanted more. Although most of the parents thought the advent of March signaled the end of hockey, it was important for the Colts to have something tangible for their trophy case, something to symbolize their breakthrough year in the NJYHL. So they entered the Shamrock Shootout in Somerset, one of four NJYHL A teams. One trophy at stake, one set of medals.
With a twist of irony, the hockey gods pitted the Colts against the undefeated Skylands Kings for not one but two consecutive games on Sunday. The winner of the second game would leave with a trophy, the loser, nada. It was a matchup oozing with intrigue and past relationships. 4 of the Kings players grew up with and attended school with the Kinnelon core before "jumping ship" 2 seasons ago. Experts figured Coach Hishmeh's Kings as favorites for the hardware, the club with all that experience in travel team wars. But they were facing a foe that was extremely familiar to them, a Kinnelon team playing with a bit of a chip on its shoulder forged by being abandoned two seasons ago.
Game 1 saw the Colts jump out to a 3-0 lead, and then withstand a furious Kings comeback when they scored twice in a minute to close to 3-2 with 6 minutes remaining. Gakos signalled for a timeout, the Colts regained their composure, and All-Tournament center Steven Gakos slalomed through the offensive zone and buried a wrist shot, relegating the Kings goalie a mere bystander. Kinnelon's 4-2 win gave them top seeding and the status as home team for the Sunday evening Championship game.
The finale was tense affair that saw three different lead changes, including a rush and finish by Mountain Lakes resident John Rosseland that had scouts drooling over his combination of size, force and finesse. But nothing was settled in regulation that ended 3-3, and no goals were scored in a dramatic 5-minute overtime, a session in which the Colts were tantalizingly close. This game would be settled by a shootout, a format that had not been kind to the Colts a day before. Skylands went first and scored impressively. Fear, crept in--was it possible that this last attempt at legitimate hardware was slipping away? Coach Gakos turned the team's fortunes over to Danny Kramer, a newcomer who looked like a choirboy, but had deadly aim in shootouts. He blistered a wrist shot off the iron and in, and the Colts dream burned on.
Given a second chance, Kinnelon goalie Jack McConeghy's will took over, stoning the next two Skylands shooters. Steven Gakos misfired in a situation where he admitted to immense pressure, so it came down to another Mountain Lakes product, Kinnelon rookie Thomas Rappleye. He would be the third and potentially final shooter in this contest. He swerved 25 feet to his left before bearing in on the Kings goal, head up, the game on his stick. He squeezed off a quick wrester heading toward the glove side, but it connected with leather. Much of the crowd thought the game was still on, but there was little number 74 on a mad dash towards McConeghy, sprinting into a championship hug. "I was scared because it bounced off his glove," said Rappleye in the post game delirium. "But I saw it in the net and I was pumped." This was no rec-league award, this was hard-earned NJYHL hardware. The two-foot trophy was accidentally handed to the Skylands Kings, so a former Kinnelon player wearing a Kings uniform had to hand it over top the rightful victors, with a good deal of humility. The first-year travel club Kinnelon Colts had beaten the Kings, an 11-win team from NJYHL's all-powerful northern division, not once, but twice in a single day. No explanations were necessary, this club had arrived.
The team had their trophy, the kids all had medals hanging around their necks, and the Colts didn't need to justify to anybody who they were. Next year this group, led by Huck and Tom and the coach's kid and all the other "locals" who decided to stick together, will move up to bantams and seek more medals and more metal, paying tribute to time-tested values like loyalty and sticking together. In a culture where players in a team sport have become mercenaries constantly looking to better their individual needs, a neighborhood band of Colts stuck together and claimed a trophy. Maybe there will be more like Rappleye and Rosseland and Kramer who will gravitate toward this band of brothers.
Friday, March 18, 2011
St. Patrick a day late in Newark
One team is a league super power: steeled by adversity, the Washington Capitals are now riding the NHL's best talent to within 2 points of the top of the Eastern conference. They have the best player who appears to be on a mission, they just fell of an 8 game win streak, narrowly losing to Detroit on the second of back-to-back games. They arrived in the New York area yesterday and are rested and ready to embark on their mission to the capture the top seed in the east. Wise money says they will accomplish that with ease.
Their opponent tonight? The New Jersey Devils, a team that just cam off a disheartening loss to last place Ottawa last night, and traveled home in the dead hours, clearing customs after midnight. A look at the standings reveals a team that has fallen to 12th place with a dozen to play. Losing saps more energy than the back-to-back games. Logic says this should be a cakewalk for the Ovechkin and the Capitals. Logic be damned.
Even though the calendar says March 18, the Devils and their "Army" will be in full celebration of St. Patrick's Day. The skaters, and many of their fans, will be clad in their throwback uniforms prior to 1982, which possess plenty of green. The last two years the Devils have won emotional victories at home on St. Patrick's Day, brimming with energy they blew out a great Penguins team last year, first star PAtrik Elias ignited the crowd sporting a kelly green bowler when he acknowledged first star honors. The Prudential will be a howling mad house tonight.
The Devils embark on a brutal 4 game road trip, and who knows what kind of shape they will be in when they return. But tonight, on surrogate St. Patrick's Friday, the joint will be jumpin at the sold out Rock. This will be the Devils Stanley Cup final. Look for the Devils to keep the dream alive with a dramatic energetic win.
Their opponent tonight? The New Jersey Devils, a team that just cam off a disheartening loss to last place Ottawa last night, and traveled home in the dead hours, clearing customs after midnight. A look at the standings reveals a team that has fallen to 12th place with a dozen to play. Losing saps more energy than the back-to-back games. Logic says this should be a cakewalk for the Ovechkin and the Capitals. Logic be damned.
Even though the calendar says March 18, the Devils and their "Army" will be in full celebration of St. Patrick's Day. The skaters, and many of their fans, will be clad in their throwback uniforms prior to 1982, which possess plenty of green. The last two years the Devils have won emotional victories at home on St. Patrick's Day, brimming with energy they blew out a great Penguins team last year, first star PAtrik Elias ignited the crowd sporting a kelly green bowler when he acknowledged first star honors. The Prudential will be a howling mad house tonight.
The Devils embark on a brutal 4 game road trip, and who knows what kind of shape they will be in when they return. But tonight, on surrogate St. Patrick's Friday, the joint will be jumpin at the sold out Rock. This will be the Devils Stanley Cup final. Look for the Devils to keep the dream alive with a dramatic energetic win.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Bring your passport; treated like foreigners in Ottawa
Sign on Devils Whiteboard after Tuesday's game: "On Ice 2 PM. Bring your Passport." A lot of hockey people think if you take of all the details in the room, your create an atmosphere conducive for success. The Devils would be crossing an international border shortly after the Wednesday practice, and they needed those passports if they were to enter Ottawa. A packed back would be nice, a passport would be necessary. Critical details, nothing extraneous.
Devils trailing late in the second period, but throwing a lot of rubber at Curtis McIlhenney. MSG TV provides closeups of Elias grimacing and cursing on the bench. The Devils frustration grows in equal proportion to the confidence of McIlhenney. Rival Toronto is down 3 goals to Florida, creating a perfect scenario for the Devils to leapfrog them in the standings to 10th, alive and well. If they lose it appears likely the will fall to 12th, in dire straits. McIlhenney must be solved. The second period is now over, an excellent one for Jersey with 10 shots on goal, but none in the net. Someone must make a play, a heroic clutch play in third period, or the Devils will return to .500 and a rested Capitals team laying in wait in Newark.
The last thing they need is more pressure, but everyone associated with the club must feel it. In 20 minutes of hockey there are bound to be a half-dozen grade A chances, where a player gets a swipe at a puck in scoring range with only the goalie to beat. Someone must be calm enough to deliver, or the Devils will be in danger of nosediving at the absolute worst time of the year. With so many other teams in the mix, a step backward could be fatal. I'm thinking defenseman Anssi Salmela.
20 seconds into the third period the Senators defense collapses, the Devils get two grade A chances and 4 shots. Senators convert on a strange bounce seconds late. My guy Salmela inadvertantly knocks the puck into his own net. Video review does not help the Devils, and McIlhenney has a 2 goal cushion. The Devils score but it is waived off because of Adam Mair interfered with Curtis Mac. Replays show the officials made impeccable calls in both cases. All this action taking place in the first 2 minutes of the period.
I don't see a lot of energy out of Kovalchuk. It is unlikely that individual efforts will be successful on this night. Tedenby fires away with 2 shots in close, penalty is called. Devils get power play and convert with a super slapshot from Brian Roslton. David Clarkson creates a superb jumping screen. The game has transformed into a scrambly affair chock full scoring chances and coach's agida. TV commentator Chico Resch calls it "bubbling."
Devils called for goalie interference, critical PK for the Devils game, season. A crappy call. They are on the road. Devils SH rush lkeads to a fallen player, no makeup call. Colin White blocks a shot with a gaping net behind him. Took it bravely in the hand. Penalty is killed, 6:40 to play. 2-1 Sens. Kovalchuk breakaway...stoned. It is not his night. Is there a hero? Icing takes it back to Devils end with 5 and change left.
Lines have been changed up with high-energy Tedenby getting more than his share of ice. Ottawa trapping look like Devils at their trapping best, quicksand in neutral ice. Brodeur makes 4-bell save on Svatos. Tedenby hauled down on subsequent chance, no call. He has been reunited with Josefson. Another Broduer tricky stop. Faceoff in Jersey end 1:50 left. .. attackers at the 1:20 mark. Salmela takes a slapper into a shin pad, Sens collect and Chris Neil scores the empty netter. Devils in 12th place after 3-1 loss to pesky Sens. My guy Salmela is wearing the horns, doing exactly what coach Lemaire described in a post-game complaint 3 games ago even though scored the OT winner that night. Lemaire knows of what he speaks.
The Great 8 and his Capitals rest and watch in Newark, then a road trip that might end the dream: Columbus, Boston, Pittsburgh and then Boston again. .500 will be difficult, and .550 won't be enough. This was their game to win. Are the Devils good enough? Doubts arise...
Devils trailing late in the second period, but throwing a lot of rubber at Curtis McIlhenney. MSG TV provides closeups of Elias grimacing and cursing on the bench. The Devils frustration grows in equal proportion to the confidence of McIlhenney. Rival Toronto is down 3 goals to Florida, creating a perfect scenario for the Devils to leapfrog them in the standings to 10th, alive and well. If they lose it appears likely the will fall to 12th, in dire straits. McIlhenney must be solved. The second period is now over, an excellent one for Jersey with 10 shots on goal, but none in the net. Someone must make a play, a heroic clutch play in third period, or the Devils will return to .500 and a rested Capitals team laying in wait in Newark.
The last thing they need is more pressure, but everyone associated with the club must feel it. In 20 minutes of hockey there are bound to be a half-dozen grade A chances, where a player gets a swipe at a puck in scoring range with only the goalie to beat. Someone must be calm enough to deliver, or the Devils will be in danger of nosediving at the absolute worst time of the year. With so many other teams in the mix, a step backward could be fatal. I'm thinking defenseman Anssi Salmela.
20 seconds into the third period the Senators defense collapses, the Devils get two grade A chances and 4 shots. Senators convert on a strange bounce seconds late. My guy Salmela inadvertantly knocks the puck into his own net. Video review does not help the Devils, and McIlhenney has a 2 goal cushion. The Devils score but it is waived off because of Adam Mair interfered with Curtis Mac. Replays show the officials made impeccable calls in both cases. All this action taking place in the first 2 minutes of the period.
I don't see a lot of energy out of Kovalchuk. It is unlikely that individual efforts will be successful on this night. Tedenby fires away with 2 shots in close, penalty is called. Devils get power play and convert with a super slapshot from Brian Roslton. David Clarkson creates a superb jumping screen. The game has transformed into a scrambly affair chock full scoring chances and coach's agida. TV commentator Chico Resch calls it "bubbling."
Devils called for goalie interference, critical PK for the Devils game, season. A crappy call. They are on the road. Devils SH rush lkeads to a fallen player, no makeup call. Colin White blocks a shot with a gaping net behind him. Took it bravely in the hand. Penalty is killed, 6:40 to play. 2-1 Sens. Kovalchuk breakaway...stoned. It is not his night. Is there a hero? Icing takes it back to Devils end with 5 and change left.
Lines have been changed up with high-energy Tedenby getting more than his share of ice. Ottawa trapping look like Devils at their trapping best, quicksand in neutral ice. Brodeur makes 4-bell save on Svatos. Tedenby hauled down on subsequent chance, no call. He has been reunited with Josefson. Another Broduer tricky stop. Faceoff in Jersey end 1:50 left. .. attackers at the 1:20 mark. Salmela takes a slapper into a shin pad, Sens collect and Chris Neil scores the empty netter. Devils in 12th place after 3-1 loss to pesky Sens. My guy Salmela is wearing the horns, doing exactly what coach Lemaire described in a post-game complaint 3 games ago even though scored the OT winner that night. Lemaire knows of what he speaks.
The Great 8 and his Capitals rest and watch in Newark, then a road trip that might end the dream: Columbus, Boston, Pittsburgh and then Boston again. .500 will be difficult, and .550 won't be enough. This was their game to win. Are the Devils good enough? Doubts arise...
Third line asset from Tre Kronor
Happy times for Mattias Tedenby, A.K.A. Ted
They are not the "Chicken Swedes" of Don Cherry's yesteryear.
Yes, Mattias Tedenby (5'10, 175 lbs) and Jacob Josefson (6'1" 190) are small, fast and offensively gifted, but they don't shy away from contact. They are trustworthy in their own end, and they are tough. And they might be the most important ingredient in the Devils improbable (impossible?) push to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
When asked, Jacques Lemaire is cool on the Swedes, putting no pressure on them. "The kids will do their share, they have come up with goals on different nights, chip in, but everyone has to."
With playoff hope on the line the last two games, the kids, Tedenby and Josefson, have combined for 6 points (2 goals and 4 assists) on a team that barely manages two goals per game. They are providing vital 3rd line scoring on a team that begs for second line production. And the kids are safe. In a season in which the Devils have been outscored by 26 goals, these two Swedes are both +2. "They are responsible in their own end," says Marty Brodeur, and that says a lot. 3rd line defenders, and clutch scorers. Couldn't come a better time with the Devils in 11th place in the Eastern conference playoff traffic jam.
Tedenby at 21 is the veteran of the two. He's got all of 45 games under his belt entering Thursday's clash with Ottawa, Josefson 15. Tedenby is missing front teeth and has the facial scars of an NHL veteran, Josefson still sports a baby-face, for now. But despite their contrasting looks, they are beginning to think and act as one. With the game tied Tuesday night against the Thrashers in the third period, the two went to work cycling down low. Tedenby jumped on a loose puck.
"My mind was, when I went down to the corner quick, do a quick turn to look. And I saw Jacob, he was open there."
Jacob was between the face-off dot and the top of the circle, about 18' out. Tedenby had more than one option, but Josefson was ready to shoot when the pass arrived. "I saw that he saw me. Tedy made a great pass." Josefson released it instantly and Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec never moved. Add a GWG to Josefson's resume. "It's
fun to score goals, it's a great feeling."
It's no accident that the two Swedes are on the same wavelength, even though they grew up over 4 hours away from each other, Jacobson in Stockholm and Tedenby in Vetlanda . They both played in the prestigious Sweden national program, playing on national Under 18 teams and the World Juniors. They won World Junior silver and bronze together in 2009 and 2010, and according to Joesfson, got to know each other's tendencies. "Sometimes we played on the same line together." Josefson was with Team Sweden's World Junior team in Lake Placid this past July, a team that gained notoriety for it's feisty aggressive play. "They were chippy and obnoxious," said one journalist after watching them play team USA in an exhibition. "Hitting late, taunting. It was kind of a role reversal with the North Americans, who were kind of gentlemanly." This is no accident. The Swedish national program is gearing up their young players for the rigors of North American hockey. They are building new "hybrid" rinks (about 192' wide) that are narrower than Europe but wider than North America. This progressive Swedish program has served these two well in preparation for the NHL. And yes, they're young, but not all that small--Tedenby plays bigger than his 5'10", and Josefson is 6'1".
When Josefson returned from a broken hand that cost him 30 games, he and "Ted" were originally matched with young Russian Vladimir Zharkov. It was only after David Clarkson replaced Zharkov in the March 12 Islander game that their offense exploded. "They're both really good skaters," said Josefson of Clarkson and Tedenby. "Quick feet, we keep the puck."
Clarkson, a new father, is delighted to be playing with a couple of babies. Did he consider missing a shift after getting his face gouged by Al Montoya's butt end last Saturday? "No way!" His primary contribution? "Speed is what I'm bringing to this line."
Getting Josefson back from his knee injury in early March is the equivalent of a major deadline deal for the Devils, except there is no time penalty as the acquired player tries to mesh with new teammates. Josefson complements Tedenby perfectly having learned each others tendencies years ago while their hockey brains were still developing. They are premier NHL talent, both blue chip first round draft choices and products of Sweden's elite national team. Think of them as the Devils answer to the Sedin twins, maybe a notch below their offensive wizardry, but honest two-way players with little defensive risk and a huge upside.
"The young players are quick, fast and grind in the corners," says Brodeur. Swedish smurfs who grind in corners. Welcome to the new NHL. They are honest players who spend large chunks of their shift wearing down the defense with relentless cycling and puck chasing in the offensive zone, coupled with the fact that they have European skills and skating, AND an innate sense of what the other one is thinking. For a third line, what's not to like?
"I like this little line," said Lemaire soberly. "If they take care of their defensive responsibilities, I'll keep them together." For a veteran coach in the playoff chase of his life, those words are euphoric.
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