Hockey Night in Canada, a weekly institution where fans all across Canada and those watching via Center Ice sit and watch this celebration of hockey. For Canadian kids; they likely watched their favorite players and teams on HNIC to the legendary voice of Bob Cole and so for these kids they dream of someday playing in this weekend event. The butterflies will likely be there for Minnesota's Benoit Pouliot, Colton Gillies, and Cal Clutterbuck making their Hockey Night in Canada debut. While the queasiness of the youngsters will be of interest to see how they handle it; this is also a game that makes Wild captain Mikko Koivu's blood boil as Minnesota takes on their arch-rival the much-hated Vancouver Canucks. For Koivu, the memories of having two months of the season taken from him after a two-handed lumberjack slash by Mattias Ohlund has transformed him into a bit of a curse for the Canucks. Koivu has saved some of his best performances against Vancouver last season after he returned from injury, haunting the Canucks after a goal screaming loudly as he passed their bench in one of the more memorable moments of the Wild's 2007-08 season. While the memories from the past as well as being a showcased matchup on Hockey Night in Canada are nice, it must be stated that this is a very important Northwest Division game as Minnesota holds a narrow 1-point lead in the standings. With Calgary losing in Columbus tonight, the Wild have a great opportunity to create some space for itself before returning home. Can the Wild take advantage of this opportunity and deliver another big road victory this evening or will they simply have to be satisfied with returning home? The action was end to end early as Vancouver mounted an early rush where Alexandre Burrows crashed into Niklas Backstrom sending the net off its moorings. The Canucks had good jump in their skates early to start this game, but the Wild ever patient were waiting for turnovers to create offense through transition as Pierre-Marc Bouchard wristed a shot that Roberto Luongo gloved for a save. Vancouver went back on the attack and perhaps Erik Reitz was feeling a bit nervous as he cleared a puck into the stands for a delay of game penalty. On the power play Ryan Kesler moved the puck down low but his attempt to feed a waiting Kyle Wellwood would strike the net not allowing Vancouver to take advantage of a sprawling Niklas Backstorm. Minnesota did a great job of keeping the Canucks to the perimeter and getting into the shooting lanes to earn the big early kill. The Wild got caught attacking and Vancouver took a page out of the Wild's gameplan and counter attacked for a 4-on-2 as Burrows hit a trailing Vancouver defenseman and his shot hit the crossbar and went over the net. Unexpectedly, the Wild had a tremendous shift from its 4th line of Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot and Derek Boogaard who used their big bodies to drive to the Canucks' net giving Minnesota its best scoring chance but Luongo was able to keep the puck out of the net. A few minutes later Derek Boogaard was called for interference and the Canucks power play got a golden opportunity when a point shot turned into a flurry near the crease but Niklas Backstrom was able to make the initial save on Daniel Sedin, and Sedin's rebound attempt skittered through the crease harmlessly and Minnesota's penalty kill dodged a bullet. Minnesota's penalty woes continued as Colton Gillies got a bit carried away and shoved Ryan Johnson into the boards from behind earning a boarding minor. This time; the penalty would sting as Sami Salo took advantage of a screen and his blast from the point would find the twine behind Backstrom giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead. There would be an element of physicality after a decent hit on Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler by Boogaard he was challenged by the Canucks' Darcy Hordichuk. Boogaard did well in his first fight of the year as he landed a series of decent right hands that had Hordichuk sort of bent over and swingingly wildy as he tried to avoid obliteration before falling forward to the ice and he decided to stay down instead of standing back up for a bigger beat down by the Wild enforcer. One player who seemed to have some extra spark in his skates for the Wild was Pierre-Marc Bouchard as he was buzzing all over the Vancouver zone, showing surprising strength on the puck but unfortunately for all his good effort the Wild could not manage a quality shot on Roberto Luongo. A late high sticking call on former Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell with just over 5 seconds left in the period would result in a faceoff in the Vancouver zone and a nice little faceoff play to Marc-Andre Bergeron who unloaded a slapper that found the chest of Luongo placing the Wild still down 1-0 going into the 2nd. Minnesota started with a power play to start the 2nd period and the Wild got some big blasts from the point but nothing that forced Roberto Luongo to make a save on. Marc-Andre Bergeron was putting on a showcase of just how heavy his shot was but nothing was going on net. The Wild and Canucks traded rushes up the ice for the next two minutes but both Luongo and Backstrom were able to make the saves on the shots taken near the faceoff dots. The State of Hockey had a great scoring chance when Mikko Koivu worked a little pass to a waiting Andrew Brunette who one-timed a shot that Luongo held onto. A few moments later Roberto Luongo did his best attempt at winning an Oscar when he fell in apparent pain at very glancing bump by Andrew Brunette; as he laid back into his goal holding his head and wincing in pain for a collision that would not even have phased a 5-year old. Fortunately, the officials didn't buy the act and 5-on-5 play would resume. The Wild were throwing their bodies around as Craig Weller and Derek Boogaard leveled some Canucks defenseman with monster hits. Another great hustler for the Wild was Cal Clutterbuck who used his choppy stride to get around the Vancouver defense and drew a hooking call as he got a shot on Luong giving Minnesota a power play. The Wild had a great chance early on the man advantage when Benoit Pouliot appeared to have a good clear scoring opportunity but his snap shot was denied on a great save by Luongo. Minnesota kept attacking and they were swarming well in the Vancouver zone. The aggressive nature did give the Canucks some chances to establish some pressure in the Wild zone, one of the better chances coming off the stick of Mason Raymond but Backstrom stonewalled him. The near-miss appeared to embolden the Canucks and they kept attacking and Taylor Pyatt came close nearly redirecting a point shot that just missed the net. Minnesota had another great chance as Marek Zidlicky waited for a few secreens set up before flinging a wrister that got on goal that forced Luongo to stretch to stop, as the play ended the puck was flipped into the air and Zidlicky was called for interference on the 'jump' puck. Coincidental interference minors were caleld but in the 4-on-4 it was the Wild that looked like it was on the penalty kill as Vancouver stepped up its attack. The Canucks thought they increased their lead when Edler gave a blast from the point but his shot struck the right post and out. Minnesota would have a terrific chance of its own as Andrew Brunette moved as fast as he could on a breakaway but could not wrap a shot around Luongo. Minnesota would have a great chances late in the period. The Wild had a great point chance by Nick Schultz that created a rebound but neither Stephane Veilleux or Cal Clutterbuck who wree camped near the crease could chip in the rebound as Luongo was lying on the ice. Minnesota had an even better chance on some great stickhandling work by Benoit Pouliot who gave a great litle pass to Eric Belanger who quickly dished the puck to an open Pierre-Marc Bouchard for a wicked one-timer but Luongo got across his crease and made the great glove save to keep the Wild trailing 1-0 going into the 3rd. The 3rd period would start with both teams playing a passive 1-2-2 trap (yes, the Canucks trap too!) as they waited for the other to make a mistake to pounce upon. Minnesota's 4th line would create some offensive pressure thanks to a nice hustle play by Nick Schultz to keep the zone which ended up turning into a hard slapper by Craig Weller that Luongo stopped with a stretching leg pad save. The Canucks tried to create some pressure of its own with the Sedin line, as the two twins cycled the puck to one another down low, but the Wild's youngsters Cal Clutterbuck and James Sheppard were able to clear the Wild zone. Minnesota again created some offense with their hard charging style but nothing really threatening on Luongo. As if on cue, the Canucks responded again with the Sedin line and it had the desired affect of creating offensive pressure and also drawing a Wild penalty a minor for high sticking on Stephane Veilleux. On the Vancouver power play, the Canucks had good puck possession as Vancouver passed the puck quickly and efficiently before settling on a point shot by Edler that Backstrom held onto for a save. Minnesota would get the crucial kill but seemed to be a bit gassed after the penalty kill and struggled to make plays work and started to take long stretch passes to catch Vancouver a bit off guard. Minnesota would earn a power play when Sami Salo had to hold an attacking Colton Gillies but the Wild's power play was disjointed earlybut Andrew Brunette was aggressive and he charged into the crease trying to stuff the puck through Luongo but he made the stop and the loose biscuit was cleared into the Canucks' bench. Vancouver was waiting for the Wild at the blueline making it tough for Minnesota to enter the zone. A tremendous effort by the Wild's top line of Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen and Andrew Brunette was good for a variety of different chances but the Canucks did a great job at getting bodies into the shooting lanes to keep the pucks from going on net. The Wild really ramped up their intensity and were flying all over as Vancouver played rope-a-dope. Minnesota had a brilliant chance with about 3:30 left when Andrew Brunette fed Miettinen who was all alone in the slot but his chance must've hit a body because it never went on goal. With the Wild pressing it made Minnesota vulnerable to a counter attack and a great stretch pass by Henrik Sedin to his brother Daniel Sedin and inexplicably Backstrom went down on his side and Daniel lifted a shot into the goal to put Vancouver up 2-0. Minnesota did not just put their heads down and give up and the Wild continued to attack as they tried to cut into the Canucks' lead. A few great set up chances from the high slot; the first by Kim Johnsson hit a Vancouver defender; and the 2nd by Benoit Pouliot that missed just wide. Frustration started to settle in as Stephane Veilleux would earn a double-minor for roughing as he tried to start something with Alexandre Burrows. The Canucks more or less just played keep away preserving a 2-0 shutout victory.It is impossible to blame Niklas Backstrom who gave up just 2 goals on 29 shots. He may want that 2nd goal back, but for the most part he gave the Wild a lot of time to tie up the game. Roberto Luongo was not tested much early but as the Wild really turned on the pressure late in the 2nd and in the 3rd he stood on his head to shut the door on Minnesota. It was Luongo's 5th shutout of this season already. The Wild certainly did not lack for effort and really threw everything the had at the Canucks but just came up short. While some pundits may talk about who was not in the lineup; the Wild still put in the effort to have possibly won this game and they should feel proud of how hard they worked at the end of a long road trip. Minnesota returns home and hopefully it can heal some of its wounds, and while it will sting losing the Northwest Division lead it still knows its playing fairly well with a lineup riddled by injuries. Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire summed it up quite well, "It was a great game for both teams, I was happy, the guys played hard, I know this might not make people happy because there wasn't a lot of goals but we'd have to change both goalies to do that." What was very nice to see was the offense that the Wild's 4th line was able to create, and not only were they creating some pressure by working the puck near the net but delivering the hits as well. Losing is never fun, but Minnesota will definately be ready when the two teams faceoff against one another on November 20th at the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center. Revenge will be sweet!Wild Notes:~ Wild roster tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Derek Boogaard, Cal Clutterbuck, Colton Gillies, Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot, Eric Belanger, Stephane Veilleux, James Sheppard, Kim Johnsson, Nick Schultz, Marek Zidlicky, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Erik Reitz, and Martin Skoula. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Krystofer Kolanos and Tomas Mozjis and were the healthy scratches, while Brent Burns, Marian Gaborik and Owen Nolan are out of the lineup with injuries. ~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Roberto Luongo, 2nd Star Ryan Kesler, 3rd Star Mikko Koivu~ In WCHA action, the #4 ranked Minnesota Golden Gopher's men's hockey team took on the #5 ranked New Hampshire Wildcats. The two teams battled to a tie on Friday, and had a similarly tough battle through 2 periods in Saturday night's tilt but the game busted wide open in the 3rd with Minnesota lighting the lamp four times to cruise to a 6-2 win in front of raucous Marriucci Arena crowd. Source
Monday, December 8, 2008
Roberto Luongo shutsout Wild in 2-0 road loss to Vancouver
Hockey Night in Canada, a weekly institution where fans all across Canada and those watching via Center Ice sit and watch this celebration of hockey. For Canadian kids; they likely watched their favorite players and teams on HNIC to the legendary voice of Bob Cole and so for these kids they dream of someday playing in this weekend event. The butterflies will likely be there for Minnesota's Benoit Pouliot, Colton Gillies, and Cal Clutterbuck making their Hockey Night in Canada debut. While the queasiness of the youngsters will be of interest to see how they handle it; this is also a game that makes Wild captain Mikko Koivu's blood boil as Minnesota takes on their arch-rival the much-hated Vancouver Canucks. For Koivu, the memories of having two months of the season taken from him after a two-handed lumberjack slash by Mattias Ohlund has transformed him into a bit of a curse for the Canucks. Koivu has saved some of his best performances against Vancouver last season after he returned from injury, haunting the Canucks after a goal screaming loudly as he passed their bench in one of the more memorable moments of the Wild's 2007-08 season. While the memories from the past as well as being a showcased matchup on Hockey Night in Canada are nice, it must be stated that this is a very important Northwest Division game as Minnesota holds a narrow 1-point lead in the standings. With Calgary losing in Columbus tonight, the Wild have a great opportunity to create some space for itself before returning home. Can the Wild take advantage of this opportunity and deliver another big road victory this evening or will they simply have to be satisfied with returning home? The action was end to end early as Vancouver mounted an early rush where Alexandre Burrows crashed into Niklas Backstrom sending the net off its moorings. The Canucks had good jump in their skates early to start this game, but the Wild ever patient were waiting for turnovers to create offense through transition as Pierre-Marc Bouchard wristed a shot that Roberto Luongo gloved for a save. Vancouver went back on the attack and perhaps Erik Reitz was feeling a bit nervous as he cleared a puck into the stands for a delay of game penalty. On the power play Ryan Kesler moved the puck down low but his attempt to feed a waiting Kyle Wellwood would strike the net not allowing Vancouver to take advantage of a sprawling Niklas Backstorm. Minnesota did a great job of keeping the Canucks to the perimeter and getting into the shooting lanes to earn the big early kill. The Wild got caught attacking and Vancouver took a page out of the Wild's gameplan and counter attacked for a 4-on-2 as Burrows hit a trailing Vancouver defenseman and his shot hit the crossbar and went over the net. Unexpectedly, the Wild had a tremendous shift from its 4th line of Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot and Derek Boogaard who used their big bodies to drive to the Canucks' net giving Minnesota its best scoring chance but Luongo was able to keep the puck out of the net. A few minutes later Derek Boogaard was called for interference and the Canucks power play got a golden opportunity when a point shot turned into a flurry near the crease but Niklas Backstrom was able to make the initial save on Daniel Sedin, and Sedin's rebound attempt skittered through the crease harmlessly and Minnesota's penalty kill dodged a bullet. Minnesota's penalty woes continued as Colton Gillies got a bit carried away and shoved Ryan Johnson into the boards from behind earning a boarding minor. This time; the penalty would sting as Sami Salo took advantage of a screen and his blast from the point would find the twine behind Backstrom giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead. There would be an element of physicality after a decent hit on Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler by Boogaard he was challenged by the Canucks' Darcy Hordichuk. Boogaard did well in his first fight of the year as he landed a series of decent right hands that had Hordichuk sort of bent over and swingingly wildy as he tried to avoid obliteration before falling forward to the ice and he decided to stay down instead of standing back up for a bigger beat down by the Wild enforcer. One player who seemed to have some extra spark in his skates for the Wild was Pierre-Marc Bouchard as he was buzzing all over the Vancouver zone, showing surprising strength on the puck but unfortunately for all his good effort the Wild could not manage a quality shot on Roberto Luongo. A late high sticking call on former Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell with just over 5 seconds left in the period would result in a faceoff in the Vancouver zone and a nice little faceoff play to Marc-Andre Bergeron who unloaded a slapper that found the chest of Luongo placing the Wild still down 1-0 going into the 2nd. Minnesota started with a power play to start the 2nd period and the Wild got some big blasts from the point but nothing that forced Roberto Luongo to make a save on. Marc-Andre Bergeron was putting on a showcase of just how heavy his shot was but nothing was going on net. The Wild and Canucks traded rushes up the ice for the next two minutes but both Luongo and Backstrom were able to make the saves on the shots taken near the faceoff dots. The State of Hockey had a great scoring chance when Mikko Koivu worked a little pass to a waiting Andrew Brunette who one-timed a shot that Luongo held onto. A few moments later Roberto Luongo did his best attempt at winning an Oscar when he fell in apparent pain at very glancing bump by Andrew Brunette; as he laid back into his goal holding his head and wincing in pain for a collision that would not even have phased a 5-year old. Fortunately, the officials didn't buy the act and 5-on-5 play would resume. The Wild were throwing their bodies around as Craig Weller and Derek Boogaard leveled some Canucks defenseman with monster hits. Another great hustler for the Wild was Cal Clutterbuck who used his choppy stride to get around the Vancouver defense and drew a hooking call as he got a shot on Luong giving Minnesota a power play. The Wild had a great chance early on the man advantage when Benoit Pouliot appeared to have a good clear scoring opportunity but his snap shot was denied on a great save by Luongo. Minnesota kept attacking and they were swarming well in the Vancouver zone. The aggressive nature did give the Canucks some chances to establish some pressure in the Wild zone, one of the better chances coming off the stick of Mason Raymond but Backstrom stonewalled him. The near-miss appeared to embolden the Canucks and they kept attacking and Taylor Pyatt came close nearly redirecting a point shot that just missed the net. Minnesota had another great chance as Marek Zidlicky waited for a few secreens set up before flinging a wrister that got on goal that forced Luongo to stretch to stop, as the play ended the puck was flipped into the air and Zidlicky was called for interference on the 'jump' puck. Coincidental interference minors were caleld but in the 4-on-4 it was the Wild that looked like it was on the penalty kill as Vancouver stepped up its attack. The Canucks thought they increased their lead when Edler gave a blast from the point but his shot struck the right post and out. Minnesota would have a terrific chance of its own as Andrew Brunette moved as fast as he could on a breakaway but could not wrap a shot around Luongo. Minnesota would have a great chances late in the period. The Wild had a great point chance by Nick Schultz that created a rebound but neither Stephane Veilleux or Cal Clutterbuck who wree camped near the crease could chip in the rebound as Luongo was lying on the ice. Minnesota had an even better chance on some great stickhandling work by Benoit Pouliot who gave a great litle pass to Eric Belanger who quickly dished the puck to an open Pierre-Marc Bouchard for a wicked one-timer but Luongo got across his crease and made the great glove save to keep the Wild trailing 1-0 going into the 3rd. The 3rd period would start with both teams playing a passive 1-2-2 trap (yes, the Canucks trap too!) as they waited for the other to make a mistake to pounce upon. Minnesota's 4th line would create some offensive pressure thanks to a nice hustle play by Nick Schultz to keep the zone which ended up turning into a hard slapper by Craig Weller that Luongo stopped with a stretching leg pad save. The Canucks tried to create some pressure of its own with the Sedin line, as the two twins cycled the puck to one another down low, but the Wild's youngsters Cal Clutterbuck and James Sheppard were able to clear the Wild zone. Minnesota again created some offense with their hard charging style but nothing really threatening on Luongo. As if on cue, the Canucks responded again with the Sedin line and it had the desired affect of creating offensive pressure and also drawing a Wild penalty a minor for high sticking on Stephane Veilleux. On the Vancouver power play, the Canucks had good puck possession as Vancouver passed the puck quickly and efficiently before settling on a point shot by Edler that Backstrom held onto for a save. Minnesota would get the crucial kill but seemed to be a bit gassed after the penalty kill and struggled to make plays work and started to take long stretch passes to catch Vancouver a bit off guard. Minnesota would earn a power play when Sami Salo had to hold an attacking Colton Gillies but the Wild's power play was disjointed earlybut Andrew Brunette was aggressive and he charged into the crease trying to stuff the puck through Luongo but he made the stop and the loose biscuit was cleared into the Canucks' bench. Vancouver was waiting for the Wild at the blueline making it tough for Minnesota to enter the zone. A tremendous effort by the Wild's top line of Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen and Andrew Brunette was good for a variety of different chances but the Canucks did a great job at getting bodies into the shooting lanes to keep the pucks from going on net. The Wild really ramped up their intensity and were flying all over as Vancouver played rope-a-dope. Minnesota had a brilliant chance with about 3:30 left when Andrew Brunette fed Miettinen who was all alone in the slot but his chance must've hit a body because it never went on goal. With the Wild pressing it made Minnesota vulnerable to a counter attack and a great stretch pass by Henrik Sedin to his brother Daniel Sedin and inexplicably Backstrom went down on his side and Daniel lifted a shot into the goal to put Vancouver up 2-0. Minnesota did not just put their heads down and give up and the Wild continued to attack as they tried to cut into the Canucks' lead. A few great set up chances from the high slot; the first by Kim Johnsson hit a Vancouver defender; and the 2nd by Benoit Pouliot that missed just wide. Frustration started to settle in as Stephane Veilleux would earn a double-minor for roughing as he tried to start something with Alexandre Burrows. The Canucks more or less just played keep away preserving a 2-0 shutout victory.It is impossible to blame Niklas Backstrom who gave up just 2 goals on 29 shots. He may want that 2nd goal back, but for the most part he gave the Wild a lot of time to tie up the game. Roberto Luongo was not tested much early but as the Wild really turned on the pressure late in the 2nd and in the 3rd he stood on his head to shut the door on Minnesota. It was Luongo's 5th shutout of this season already. The Wild certainly did not lack for effort and really threw everything the had at the Canucks but just came up short. While some pundits may talk about who was not in the lineup; the Wild still put in the effort to have possibly won this game and they should feel proud of how hard they worked at the end of a long road trip. Minnesota returns home and hopefully it can heal some of its wounds, and while it will sting losing the Northwest Division lead it still knows its playing fairly well with a lineup riddled by injuries. Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire summed it up quite well, "It was a great game for both teams, I was happy, the guys played hard, I know this might not make people happy because there wasn't a lot of goals but we'd have to change both goalies to do that." What was very nice to see was the offense that the Wild's 4th line was able to create, and not only were they creating some pressure by working the puck near the net but delivering the hits as well. Losing is never fun, but Minnesota will definately be ready when the two teams faceoff against one another on November 20th at the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center. Revenge will be sweet!Wild Notes:~ Wild roster tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Derek Boogaard, Cal Clutterbuck, Colton Gillies, Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot, Eric Belanger, Stephane Veilleux, James Sheppard, Kim Johnsson, Nick Schultz, Marek Zidlicky, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Erik Reitz, and Martin Skoula. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Krystofer Kolanos and Tomas Mozjis and were the healthy scratches, while Brent Burns, Marian Gaborik and Owen Nolan are out of the lineup with injuries. ~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Roberto Luongo, 2nd Star Ryan Kesler, 3rd Star Mikko Koivu~ In WCHA action, the #4 ranked Minnesota Golden Gopher's men's hockey team took on the #5 ranked New Hampshire Wildcats. The two teams battled to a tie on Friday, and had a similarly tough battle through 2 periods in Saturday night's tilt but the game busted wide open in the 3rd with Minnesota lighting the lamp four times to cruise to a 6-2 win in front of raucous Marriucci Arena crowd. Source
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