Hockey

[shadows]

Here are the scores from Jan 21st's games:

1. Columbus beat Boston 3-2. Columbus won again, and came back from a 2-1 deficit. Boston is reeling right now, and they are not playing very good hockey at all. They can say it is injuries, but Ottawa and Montreal had lost more man-games to injuries than Boston, and they have managed to play well and remain in the top eight. Lucic receiving a high-stick double-minor in the last two minutes of the game pretty well gave the game to Columbus.

2. Ottawa beat St. Louis 3-2. Don't look now, but Ottawa is climbing up the standings. I honestly don't think they'll get very far in the playoffs(if they end up making it at all), but at least they seem to be playing good hockey right now.

3. The Islanders beat Florida 2-1 in the shootout. Both teams had over 30 shots apiece, so it wasn't a snooze-fest like the score would suggest. Both goalies played well from the looks of it.

4. Philadelphia beat Gabor....I mean the Rangers 2-0. The Rangers really took it on the chin in this one, as did Gaborik. For some reason that only Gaborik will ever know, Gaborik dropped the gloves and challenged Dan Carcillo to a fight. As Jennifer can attest to, Carcillo is a "tough guy" on Philly, and easily won the bout. To add insult to insult(as Gaborik's only injury was to his pride) the Rangers lost 2-0! Another shutout loss for them!

Here's another fact about this game. The Ranger players on the ice, knowing that it was their STAR PLAYER about to get pummelled, chose to just stand around picking their noses rather than intervene! He is your star player, you idiots! Take a penalty if you have to, but you've got to protect him! What would happen if you lost him for a significant amount of time due to him breaking his hand on either Carcillo's helmet or his face made of rock? I am not even a Rangers fan, and I call that gutless! PROTECT HIM!!!!

At least Philly won.

5. Carolina beat Atlanta 5-2. This one wasn't even close. Eric Staal had a had trick in this one. Considering what a dismal season he was having before getting hurt, it is amazing how well he's playing now. He will help Team Canada for sure!

6. Tampa Bay beat sad-sack Toronto 3-2. This...is...pathetic. Toronto at least got a point, but these are games that they NEED to win! Argh! Anybody want a bandwagon-jumper on their team for the remainder of the season? I don't cost a lot, and I'm housebroken.

7. Washington beat Pittsburgh 6-3. This game was tied 3-3 at one point, and then Pittsburgh fell apart in the third period. Even though this was touted as a "rivalry" it didn't really seem that way to me. Neither Ovechkin or Crosby got into it, and there really weren't that many penalties in the game. Much ado about nothing, it looks like!

8. Detroit beat Minnesota 4-3 in the shootout. Minnesota rallied from down 3-1 but could not finish the comeback. The shootout went 8 rounds.

9. Phoenix beat Nashville 4-2. Nashville had a 2-1 lead going into the third period, but Scottie Upshall decided to take matters into his own hands and scored a hat-trick to give Phoenix the win. Nashville outshot Phoenix 43-23 but could not get the victory.

10. Chicago beat Calgary 3-1. A cure for the losing blues? Play Calgary and get a victory. Calgary is really struggling to score goals right now, and tonight was another example of this. They only had 20 shots on net, and that won't cut it the majority of the time(sometimes you can win with that tally, but not often).

11. Vancouver beat Dallas 4-3. Vancouver is on a roll! Not a lot of chances for either team(both had 23 shots), but they still managed to find some offense.

12. LA beat Buffalo 4-3 in the shootout.

13. San Jose beat Anaheim 3-1. If San Jose can play like this they have a very good chance to win the Stanley Cup. The big question is whether or not this will be the team that shows up in the playoffs, or if it will be a repeat of years past.

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Here are the scores from Jan 22nd's games:

1. Montreal beat New Jersey 3-1. The offense for the Devils looked to have disappeared again, but that is not the only reason they lost. Halak played well in net, again. I wonder if they really will trade him at the deadline, or if they will try to trade Price instead?

2. Colorado beat Nashville 2-1. Will Colorado be the Dark Horse pick for the Stanley Cup this season? It certainly looks like that could be the case.

3. Dallas beat Edmonton 4-3. This was a heart-breaker for Edmonton. They tie the game late from a puck bouncing off the Dallas player's leg, and then give up the winning goal 39 seconds later. Edmonton just continues to find ways to lose. Lottery pick for them?

Another big night of hockey coming up, and I don't want to run out of room so this concludes this one. Part 3 coming up.

[shadows]

Here are the scores from Jan 23rd's games:

1. Ottawa beat Boston 2-1. The hits keep coming for the Bruins. They are spinning their wheels right now, and it seems they are getting deeper and deeper as time goes on. Jason Spezza scored his 6th goal after returning from an injury that kept him away for a long time.

2. Philadelphia beat Carolina 4-2. Even though the Flyers will lose their next game to Pittsburgh, they are now in 6th place in their Conference! I told you not to give up on them yet, Jennifer. I do have some good advice from time to time.

3. Montreal hammered the Rangers 6-0. This was ugly folks. Ugly like Gaborik trying to fight Carcillo! Cammalleri had 4 points in this one(2 goals and 2 assists). Lundqvist got yanked after Montreal scored 4 goals in about a 6 minute span(give or take a few seconds). This was also the second game in a row where the Rangers were shutout! Their offense is pretty bad! No fights for either Gaborik or Avery in this one, which is probably a good thing for them.

4. New Jersey beat the Islanders 4-2. I thought for a little while that this would be like the previous game for the Devils(have a 1-0 lead and then not be able to score another goal the rest of the game), but they proved me wrong! They picked up their pace and took the victory.

5. Washington beat Phoenix 4-2. Closer game than you might think, as the fourth goal was an empty netter. Ovechkin got the cherry-picker goal.

6. Florida beat Toronto 2-0. Toronto lose? No! It can't be! They never lose! Oh wait. They never win! That is what I meant to say. At least Wilson said that Gustavsson is now the #1 goalie for the rest of the year. It should have been like that since the start of the season. Bandwagon jumping sounds good this time of the year.

7. LA beat Detroit 3-2. Detroit blew a 2-0 lead in this one. I don't think you would see that happen last season, or at least not with as much regularity as it happens this season.

8. Tampa Bay beat Atlanta 2-1 in the shootout. *snore* Wh...? Oh, hello there. Yep. This was a snoozefest.

9. Anaheim beat St. Louis 4-3 in the shootout. St. Louis had a 3-0 lead and they gave it away(they really should not be taking lessons from the Leafs).

10. Minnesota beat Columbus 4-2. Columbus losing again. Are they back to their losing ways?

11. Vancouver beat Chicago 5-1. Wow. Vancouver is looking good right now, and Chicago(besides the Calgary game) is looking rather ordinary. Goal-tending woes for the Blackhawks? Not good for the playoffs if that is the case. Henrik Sedin had 2 goals and 1 assist and Daniel Sedin had 1 goal and 2 assists. Man, I wish they were on the Leafs. What a duo!

12. San Jose beat Buffalo 5-2. Honestly, I was expecting Buffalo to be more of a challenge to the Sharks. They had Miller in net, but that did not make a difference.

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Here are the scores from Jan 24th's games:

1. Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia 2-1. This was a weird one. Arron Asham of the Flyers accused Matt Cooke of Pittsburgh of biting his finger. What makes this all the more bizarre is that Scott Hartnell(of the Flyers) was accused of biting the finger of a Pittsburgh player last year(I can't recall who's finger he is accused of chomping on like a Chicken McNugget). Weird game full of penalties. I guess these two teams don't like each other very much.

2. Carolina beat Boston 5-1. Boston had a bad night in net, and they could not score again! I can just imagine how frustrated smc is right now(you thinking of doing a bandwagon jump for the rest of the season too, my friend?)

3. Colorado beat Dallas 4-0. Anderson was stellar in net for the Avalanche yet again. He's a good one!

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Here are the scores from Jan 25th's games(I'm finally caught up! Yay!):

1. Pittsburgh beat the Rangers 4-2. At least the Rangers scored a goal tonight. Since Gaborik signed up to be a test subject in Carcillo's Head-Club For Men project, he has had 0 points. Maybe he is a little shaken up?

2. St. Louis beat Calgary 2-0. Calgary's offense was absent again. If this happens much longer, they will be expelled for prolonged truency.

3. Vancouver beat Buffalo 3-2. Both Henrik and Daniel Sedin had 2 points in this one. They are flying right now!

Two nights in a row with all games ending in regulation! Can we go for three in a row tomorrow? Looking at the games that are on tap, all signs point to "Not A Chance".

[smc]

Originally Posted by shadows

Carolina beat Boston 5-1. Boston had a bad night in net, and they could not score again! I can just imagine how frustrated smc is right now(you thinking of doing a bandwagon jump for the rest of the season too, my friend?)

Never, never, never.
I will, obviously, choose teams to root for other than the Bruins when the playoffs begin, assuming the Bruins don't make it (a fairly safe assumption right now), but a "bandwagon jump"?!?!

That is the equivalent in Boston of being a "pink-hat" Red Sox fan.
Never, never, never.

(Ask me what the pink hat is all about if you're interested.)

[transjen]

Originally Posted by smc

That is the equivalent in Boston of being a "pink-hat" Red Sox fan.
Never, never, never.

Oh come one i love the pink hats and would be happy to wear one even tho i'm a Phillies fan
Jerseygirl Jen

[shadows]

Originally Posted by smc

Never, never, never.
I will, obviously, choose teams to root for other than the Bruins when the playoffs begin, assuming the Bruins don't make it (a fairly safe assumption right now), but a "bandwagon jump"?!?!

That is the equivalent in Boston of being a "pink-hat" Red Sox fan.
Never, never, never.

(Ask me what the pink hat is all about if you're interested.)

I was only saying that in jest. Of course us true fans never bail on our team no matter what, and we will be their fans until the day we die(which will probably be a long time and I'll be old and gray by the time the Leafs win...but I digress).

I will also choose a team to root for once the playoffs hit(because, let's face it, there is NO chance the Leafs are going to even have a sniff of the playoffs this season).

And even though Jennifer could wear a pink hat(and look very beautiful in said hat), I have to inquire what you mean by that pink hat comment. I don't think I've ever heard it before.

[shadows]

Here is a post I have to make. Believe it or not, Patrice Cormier is appealing his suspension rather than taking it like a man. Gutless. He (and his team) are calling it too "excessive". Excessive? What the are they talking about? The only thing excessive about all this was his elbow! I hope they turn around and give him a longer suspension now!

The article is below and it is from tsn.ca.

HUSKIES PLAN TO APPEAL CORMIER'S SEASON-LONG SUSPENSION

Patrice Cormier will not accept his suspension by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after all.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies said Tuesday they will appeal the suspension handed Cormier for his hit to the head of Quebec Remparts defenceman Mikael Tam.

Coach and general manager Andre Tourigny said on a conference call that the suspension for the rest of the season and the playoffs was "excessive."

"He could serve up to 48 games, that's too much," Tourigny added.

Later, Cormier read a short statement to The Canadian Press over the telephone. It said:

"I respect the decision of the QMJHL even if I find it too severe. I deeply regret the circumstances surrounding this event and I wish Mikael Tam a speedy and full recovery. Thanks for your attention."

He declined to answer questions on the decision.

Earlier Tuesday, the Huskies centre had seemed to suggest he had accepted the league's ruling in statement released through his Halifax-based agent Tim Cranston.

"I fully respect the Quebec Major Junior League's decision regarding the Mikael Tam incident," Cormier said in that statement. "I deeply regret the circumstances surrounding this event and wish Mikael Tam a speedy and full recovery."

A spokesman for the QMJHL said in an email that the league had no comment on the appeal and added it had yet to receive the appropriate paperwork. No date for a hearing has been set and Cormier will remain suspended during the appeal process.

The league gave one of the longest suspensions in its history to Cormier on Monday for his hit in a Jan. 17 game that sent Tam into convulsions and left the 18-year-old with brain trauma and several broken teeth.

Cormier, who served as captain of Canada's team at the world junior championship, had already served two games and is to miss the Huskies' 18 remaining regular season games, plus the playoffs.

The 19-year-old New Jersey Devils prospect had a five-day window to appeal.

Tourigny called Cormier's hit "regrettable" and that the team accepted that it deserved "severe" punishment, but that the league went too far.

The Huskies were gunning for a league championship and participation in the Memorial Cup tournament and made a handful of trades in the January dealing window to bolster their roster with experienced talent.

Among them was a trade with the Rimouski Oceanic to land Canadian junior team players Cormier and Jordan Caron in exchange for two 17-year-olds and a package of draft picks. They also acquired defenceman Steven Delisle and forward Antoine Quevillon from other clubs.

Cormier was in only his third game with the Huskies when the hit on Tam took place.

Video of the ugly hit has been replayed numerous times over the past week. On the play, Cormier came off his team's bench and caught Tam with an elbow in the neutral zone, sending the Quebec defenceman into convulsions.

Tam spent two days in hospital with head trauma before returning to Quebec City last week.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

[COLOR="Navy"][B]Here is a post I have to make. Believe it or not, Patrice Cormier is appealing his suspension rather than taking it like a man. Gutless. He (and his team) are calling it too "excessive". Excessive? What the are they talking about? The only thing excessive about all this was his elbow! I hope they turn around and give him a longer suspension now!

This is true bull. It was a deliberate premeditated hit. Cormier is lucky that I don't have a say in his punishment or he would be sitting in a jail cell right now for assault. His intent was to injure Tam and he used a weapon that he knew would accomplish long lasting effects. He is a coward and his team management are cowards. I have no respect whatsoever for him nor for his team. I hope the QPP investigation results in charges of assault against Cormier.

Play hockey dammit. Don't assault players and quit whining!!!!!!

Yes, I'm pissed. I'm more than pissed really. It's goons like Cormier and the gutless management of his team that are ruining hockey.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by ila

This is true bull. It was a deliberate premeditated hit. Cormier is lucky that I don't have a say in his punishment or he would be sitting in a jail cell right now for assault. His intent was to injure Tam and he used a weapon that he knew would accomplish long lasting effects. He is a coward and his team management are cowards. I have no respect whatsoever for him nor for his team. I hope the QPP investigation results in charges of assault against Cormier.

Play hockey dammit. Don't assault players and quit whining!!!!!!

Yes, I'm pissed. I'm more than pissed really. It's goons like Cormier and the gutless management of his team that are ruining hockey.

I don't blame you Ila, you have every right as a hockey fan(and human being) of being pissed over this. We see it every day as well when criminals are let off easily in Canada(justice? What a pipe-dream, eh?), and can it be any different in sports? Actually, it can...thank goodness. He can appeal, but that doesn't mean anything. They can say "Tough shit(well, I am paraphrasing, but you know what I mean), you take your punishment like we say you're going to take your punishment, coward!" if they want to. I think the judgement will stand, to be honest. They basically have to if they want to have any respect from most hockey fans.

He is a coward and I hope they actually give him more time this time.

[ila]

Originally Posted by shadows

.......6. Tampa Bay beat sad-sack Toronto 3-2. This...is...pathetic. Toronto at least got a point, but these are games that they NEED to win! Argh!

It is indeed sad losing to a sunbelt team. Is there a priest around that can exorcise the ghost of Harold Ballard?

Originally Posted by shadows

Anybody want a bandwagon-jumper on their team for the remainder of the season? I don't cost a lot, and I'm housebroken.

You may jump on the Montreal bandwagon, but be prepared to eat a lot of pea soup.

[shadows]

Originally Posted by ila

It is indeed sad losing to a sunbelt team. Is there a priest around that can exorcise the ghost of Harold Ballard?



You may jump on the Montreal bandwagon, but be prepared to eat a lot of pea soup.

I was gonna give you some Rep for that pea soup comment(I got a good laugh from that), but I have to spread it around first. I figured I would let you know that I liked the comment, though.