Oh man I like seventh game OTs

I really fell badly for my Never B's teammates who root for the Bruins. This looked like their year.
Check out This Old Jock to see first hand how a Bruins fan is feeling today.
BUT, as a hockey fan, what is better than OT in game 7? Walk off homers? Sure, they get you pumped. I was at a Dolphins-Jets game in the early 80s and saw Ken O'Brien hit Wesley Walker for a long bomb in OT to win the game. Exciting. Nothing like hockey OT though.
Every rush, every shot could be the one. Both teams had their chances until Boston's Public Enemy No. 1 -- Scott Walker -- buried the winner at 18:46 of the first OT. Heartbreaking? Yeah. Exciting playoff hockey that shows why the sport is like no other. Definitely yes.
What a series. The Bruins have to battle back to force a game 7 and then it goes OT. Looking forward to Canes-Pens. And I'm rooting hard for the Canes.
The original 6 match up in the west doesn't have me too excited. I like the Red Wings, have for years, but Chicago is a good story. I picked the Red Wings but either one going to the Cup final is OK by me. In the east, on the other hand, Cindy Crosby needs to go home.

Random great hockey video


Gotta like a guy that hits like this.

Newsday says Tavares was on LI
Greg Logan is reporting on his blog that "John Tavares was the first of three top prospects for the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft to visit Long Island."
Thank you. I feel better for the moment.
Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene are also said to be coming in for a look.

Crosby... yeeeesh

Yeah, Pittsburgh won, but I still cant stand Crosby. This is one of my favorite Crosby videos.
For those of my friends who mistake my dislike of young Cindy Crosby as my thinking he has no talent, no. I know Crosby can outright play. I just can't stand the constant whining to the refs. The icing on the cake had to be when he went to the refs early in the Caps series and asked them to make an announcement telling fans to stop throwing hats on the ice after Ovechkin's hat trick. Bite me.
He came into the league as the "face of the NHL" and comes off as someone who thinks he's entitled to play by a different set of rules. Play the game Cindy, maybe people won't despise you so much.

MORE ON PLACID

For more info on the strange doings of the Never B's earlier this month in Lake Placid, check out Goalie/defenseman Brion O'Connor's blog, This Old Jock.
He DOES come close to breaking the "what happens in Placid stays in Placid" rule. He goes right to the edge but then pulls himself back to safety.

John Tavares

Had a meeting with an Islanders rep this week about possibly playing a game or two at the Coliseum prior to an Islanders game. Looks like we are going to do it and it should be loads of fun.
I ended the meeting with a request that the agent give Garth Snow a message.
"Please" I said. "Tell Garth to draft Tavares or I will jump off a roof."
I'm just sayin'.

Do you believe in miracles?!!

Fresh back from a weekend in Lake Placid with my friends the Never B's. Played three games and the only miracle is that no one got locked up.
We didn't win, heck, we didn't even score. But, if you've never been there, the town is really nice and scenic, the people are friendly and the beer can be Canadian.
For a U.S. player, the "80 rink" is, or should be, special. Every time I come through the hallway to step on to the ice I get a chill. I have been playing in CHE tournaments and adult camps since 2004 and it never gets old. This is the spot. USA 4, USSR 3. Just sitting on the benches is cool.
But enough about my goosebumps. The tournament, although rough to take on the ice, was a blast. We have a great team that keeps its sense of humor about things. We get crushed in the morning. No problem, go to lunch and laugh. Lose at night, hey, the bars are open and there's free beer at the hotel and, for the women on the team, French-Canadiens in the bars on Main St.
Its a wacky time. For the most part, in a month or so I will not remember the games at all, but I will remember the laughs and am already looking forward to next year.
I have a playoff game tonight so I will post m,ore details on the Never B's later this week.
CAPS UP 2-0
I know it wont happen but I hope Cindy Crosby and the Penguins get swept.

ISLES DRAFT CONTEST

Islanders web page has a contest offering a trip to the draft in Montreal. Please enter and tell them to take Tavares. For me. I'm beggin' ya.

Good bye Rangers

So John Tortellini hits a woman in the head with a water bottle and gets a game off. Too bad. The Rags should be done just for dressing Avery, the guy who old Johnny boy benched for his silly behavior. Gotta love this. I like the whining from the Rags too. Ohh, he skated into the goalie. Ooooh he bit me. Brashear tried to hurt on of us.
Bite me. The team lost all credibility when it let Avery suit up on Sunday.
Andrew Gross of the Bergen Record reports there was a mark on Brandon Dubinsky's arm, but a nbite. C'mon, when did Shoane Morrison become Mike Tyson.

Season over

But, Justin DiBenedetto scored his first pro goal tonight in the Sound Tigers 4-2 loss to Wilkes arre in the opwening round of the AHL playoffs.
The OHL's third-leading scorer this year, DiBenedetto scored the Tigers' first goal. He hasd three shots in the first period. Like I said the other day, the kid shoots it. Can't score if you don't shoot it.

OVECHKIN

Man that guy is fun to watch. It must just scare the crap out of a goalie to see him coming. The one tonight was almost typical vechkin. Beat one guy, make a move on the next, lose the puck, kick it back to your stick, fall to your knees, shoot and score. Easy right.
Man he's worth the price of admission.
Stick with the video, its worth it.

Tigers on the brink

Another close one, but the Soundtigers fell 2-1 to the Penguins last night. Bridgeport trails the Wilkes-Barre Penguins 3-1 in the best of seven series. Things look bleak. Go to the Soundtigers web site for a recap and boxscore.
On the plus side, I got a look at prospect Justin DiBenedetto (right) who is seeing action with the Tigers. He looks confident, moved well without the puck and had two shots on goal. Both shots reminded me of Sean Bergenheim when he first came to the Islanders. Not sure what to do? Shoot the thing. He didn't hesitate, just fired away. He was the third leading scorer in the OHL this year, so that should tell you something. He might have been the steal of last year. They picked him 175th overall (sixth round) and he looks like a player.

Another playoff game, another Nystrom goal

Man he would look good in blue and orange.

Dr. Hook on TV

One of the new TV shows I like is the Unusuals. They film in New York and Brooklyn and the stories are quirky enough to keep my attention. And last night, as an added bonus, one of the guest stars was Paul D'Amato, or, to those of us who know the greatest hockey story ever told, Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken.
That's my daughter and me with Paul at a recent Soundtigers game.

Nystrom scores in playoffs

OK OK so it was Eric Nystrom that scored last night for Calgary. But Islanders fans of a certain age get all warm and fuzzy thinking of Nystrom and the playoffs. The guy was just clutch. And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Eric scored five goals this year. Three of them were game winners. Sound familiar.
I wish the Islanders had grabbed him in the draft. Wish they had taken Zach Parise, too. Anyone see Milbury's lame comments about skating issues whne they asked him about Zach?
I'm convinced the real reason is he had a problem with the Islanders legacy and he wanted , here's ego for ya, to make his own mark. Yeah, brilliant.
Here's why it took me a long time to dislike Mad Mike. He DID go into the stands at the garden, take a Rangers fan's shoe off and beat the guy with it.
Watch for number 26.