GAMEDAY [11] -- PHOENIX COYOTES

:: Phoenix ain't no joke.Yeah, they're 3-4-0, but they are a solid team all the way through.The 'Yote's haven't played since they got smoked by Calgary on Saturday night. [Ice Chips]So that most likely means they are going to be pissed off.Plus Olli Jokinen always scores against the Pens.If you need a longer preview of the game, [pp.com] has it.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Some interesting off-the-ice news.The Pens are now worth $195 Million. [Forbes]We don't know jack about business, but the Pens had an increase of 26% last year, highest in the.nhl.Buries It bought them for $107 million in 1999, so that's pretty sick.To contrast, the Leafs are number-one with a worth of $448 million.The Coyotes are worth $142 million.Our favorite is the Lightning. [Forbes Magazine]:"In June, OK Hockey, a group of eight owners led by Oren Koules and Len Barrie, bought the Tampa Bay Lightning, the lease rights to the St. Pete Times Forum and 5.5 axces of land in downtown Tampa's Channelside District near the arena for $210 million, of which $204 million was for the team and operating rights to the arena. The new owners believe they can increase cash flow by $18 million a year. They better. Their purchase was financed with a $105 million, three-year bullet loan, meaning in 2011 they will either have to pay the loan off or refinance it." Like we said, we know nothing about business,but if Forbes Magazine is mocking you, you're screwed.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::We fielded some good candidates for the Gameday position tonight.It was a tough call.NICK G. comes through. Go PensSource

WHL's Roster

Some news to report on this Friday afternoon.Press ReleaseCALGARY, AB – The Canadian Hockey League and the Western Hockey League today announced the players and coaching staff competing in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge for Team WHL.The sixth annual ADT Canada Russia Challenge will take place November 17th to 27th, 2008 in Canada as Canadian Hockey League All-Star Teams, from each of its three member Leagues (WHL, OHL and QMJHL), take on the Russian National Junior Team in a six game series.Team WHL was selected by a special committee of WHL General Managers along with Al Murray, Hockey Canada’s Head Scout for the Canadian National Junior Team, as part of the selection process for the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships.The complete Team WHL roster consists of 25 players – two goalies, eight defenceman and 15 forwards. Top prospects for the 2009 Entry Draft including Brayden Schenn (Brandon Wheat Kings), Jared Cowen (Spokane Chiefs) and Evander Kane (Vancouver Giants) will compete in the series along with seven first round draft picks from the 2008 Entry including Kyle Beach (Everett Silvertips), Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets) and Colten Teubert (Regina Pats).The two WHL games will be hosted in the province of Saskatchewan by the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday, November 26th and the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday, November 27th. Game tickets are available at the Prince Albert Raiders office (306) 764-4263 and at the Swift Current Broncos office (306) 773-1509 Ext. 1.Since the introduction of the ADT Canada Russia Challenge in 2003, Team WHL has posted a 9-1 record against the Russian National Junior Team, outscoring their opponent 52-17. Overall the Canadian Hockey League has a 25-5 record during the ADT Canada Russia Challenge.The WHL also announced today that Canadian National Junior Team Assistant Coach Willie Desjardins of the Medicine Hat Tigers will serve as Head Coach while the 2007-08 WHL Coach of the Year Don Nachbaur, of the Tri-City Americans, will act as Assistant Coach. Also, Broncos General Manager/Head Coach Dean Chynoweth will be an Assistant Coach during the Swift Current game and Raiders General Manager/Head Coach Bruno Campese will serve as Assistant Coach for the Prince Albert game.“We are looking forward to bringing this major international series to two of our long standing small markets in Saskatchewan,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison, “It is the only time our top Canadian Players in the WHL have the opportunity to compete against their historic rivals from Russia.”Last year the CHL posted a 4-2 record during the series and have won the past five ADT Canada Russia Challenges which has coincided with the Canadian National Junior Team going on to win four straight gold medals at the World Junior Championship.2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge Schedule of GamesGame 1 – Monday, November 17 in Sydney, NSGame 2 – Wednesday, November 19 in Saint John, NBGame 3 – Thursday, November 20 in Guelph, ONGame 4 – Monday, November 24 in St. Catherines, ONGame 5 – Wednesday, November 26 in Swift Current, SKGame 6 – Thursday, November 27 in Prince Albert, SKAll six games will be broadcast nationally on Rogers Sportsnet with RDS televising both games from the QMJHL.The following is the list of WHL players participating in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge:Forwards (15): Club: Hometown:Bast, Jason Moose Jaw Moose Jaw, SKBeach, Kyle* Everett Kelowna, BCBenn, Jamie Kelowna Victoria, BCBoychuk, Zach* Lethbridge Airdrie, ABBroda, Joel Moose Jaw Prince Albert, SKCalvert, Matt Brandon Brandon, MBEberle, Jordan* Regina Regina, SKEnnis, Tyler* Medicine Hat Edmonton, ABKane, Evander** Vancouver Vancouver, BCKozun, Brandon Calgary Calgary, ABSceviour, Colton Lethbridge Red Deer, ABSchenn, Braydon** Brandon Saskatoon, SKSonne, Brett Calgary Maple Ridge, BCSylvester, Dustin Kootenay Kelowna, BCTyrell, Dana Prince George Airdire, ABDefence (8): Club: Hometown:Aulie, Keith Brandon Rouleau, SKCowen, Jared** Spokane Allan, SKHamonic, Travis Moose Jaw St. Malo, MBHickey, Thomas* Seattle Calgary, ABMyers, Tyler* Kelowna DeWinton, ABNegrin, John Kootenay Vancouver, BCSpurgeon, Jared Spokane Edmonton, ABTeubert, Colten Regina White Rock, BCGoaltenders (2): Club: Hometown:Pickard, Chet* Tri-City Americans Winnipeg, MBTokarski, Dustin Spokane Watson, SK* First round pick 2008 Entry Draft** 1991 birth-dates eligible for the 2009 Entry DraftMy friend Guy Flamming over at Coming Down the Pipe! had an interesting take on the ADT Canada Russia Challenge. He says make the team draft eligible and players that were privously passed over in the draft to showcase their stuff in front of the scouts. Russia hasn't taking the initative to field the best team possible for this event. The games will be more competative I think. It's not like Hockey Canada doesn't see the players during the season.Flamming's partner Dean Millard disagress with him. He makes an interesting point about Kyle Beach and how this event could help Beach. Beach of the Everett Silvertips, has had off ice issues, and was a problem child at the U-18's a couple of years ago, when he taped "TEAM OHL" over the Team Canada logo on his jersey, implying that head coach Dave Barr was giving preferential treatment to those from the Ontario Hockey League.Has Hockey Canada punished him enough? I say yes, as he is exactly the type of player that can help them drive for 5 in Ottawa. Invite him to camp, if he's acting up, send him home, if he's not keep him and let him start repairing his damaged reputation. That's what HC did with Steve Downie in 2006. Beach was using his freedom of speech. Do I agree on what he did but I think Hockey Canada should move past that. He could be a player that Canada could use "for the drive for 5 in Ottawa."Both make great points and glad each side was presented. The CHL wants to make money and if it isn't an all-star roster, fans won't go through the turnstiles, for the CHL and the three leagues that represent the CHL, that's a problem if the building empty. That's why Guy's proposal won't work.How about a new country for this event? Instead of Russia, how about the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland or Sweden? The Czech Republic and Slovakia would be the easiest because they have plethora of players playing in the CHL. That would mean more players from the CHL participating. Slovakia already has an Under 20 team that plays in the Slovakia Extraliga. It would give them confidence heading into the World Juniors. The Czech Republic would have plenty of talented players to make it competitive. Same with Finland and could see their true World Junior team. Sweden is unlikely because most of their top players are playing in the Swedish Elite League and I can't see a Victor Hedman or Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson type coming over. It would just be facing Russia over again. That's My Take(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Stars Visit Boston to Start November

It's beginning to look like the schedule makers forgot to bring a map with them when they produced the 2008-09 schedule. Last weekend, the Atlanta Thrashers came to Boston one night after a game in Detroit. Earlier this week, the Bruins went from Edmonton to Vancouver in one night (rather than nearby Calgary). Now this weekend, the Dallas Stars make their lone visit to the TD Banknorth Garden Saturday night, coming off of a 5-2 loss in Chicago less than 24 hours earlier. This trend won't be ending anytime soon. Boston's next back-to-back is in Chicago, then home against Montreal. Speaking of the Bruins, they enter Saturday's game after winning two out of three in Western Canada.Including Friday night's loss, the Dallas Stars enter Saturday night's game in Boston with a 4-5-2 record, good for 10 points, and third place in the Pacific Division. Dallas has alternated wins and losses for the last six games, a streak that the Bruins hope to put an end to with a win of their own. The Black and Gold are currently 5-3-3, good for 13 points, and third place in the Northeast Division. The last time these two teams met was back on opening night 2007-08, a 4-1 win for the Stars. Patrice Bergeron had Boston's lone goal that night, with Manny Fernandez taking the loss in his first game as a Bruin.Although it is only a month into the season, the early concern for the Stars is the performance of their goaltenders. Marty Turco has been Dallas' number one guy for the past five seasons, playing in the All-Star Game three times. So far this year, Turco has been far from his normal self with a 3-4-2 record, a 4.26 goals against average, and an .842 save percentage, but could turn that around at any time. With Turco struggling, the Stars have gone with Tobias Stephan in each of their last two games. The Swiss netminder is 1-1-0 on the season, with a 3.53 goals against average, and an .857 save percentage in four apperances. Considering Stephan struggled on Friday, and this is a back-to-back, the smart money is on Marty Turco getting the nod against the B's. As far as Boston is concerned, it's a toss-up at this point. Tim Thomas played well on the road trip, but Manny Fernandez hasn't played in a week.On defense, Dallas is without the services of Sergei Zubov, due to an injury. That leaves them on the young side, except for 35-year old Philippe Boucher, and 31-year old Stephane Robidas. Boucher has been a bit slow at the start with one assist, but Robidas is the Stars' leading scorer on the blueline, with six assists and seven points. Trevor Daley and Matt Niskanen are next in line with four and two points respectively, but Daley's minus-6 and Niskanen's minus-5 aren't very encouraging signs for defensemen. The defense rounds out with Niklas Grossman, Mark Fistric, and Doug Janik.The injury bug has also hit the offense for the Stars. Joel Lundqvist was recently put on injured reserve, while Brad Richards missed Friday night's game in Chicago, and is listed as being day-to-day. Despite Richards' absense, Dallas' forwards are still putting points on the board. The top two scorers are linemates Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro. Morrow has four goals and eight assists, while Ribeiro relies more on the pass, with one goal and eleven assists. Loui Eriksson is the third member of that line, and he seems to be fitting in quite well, with five goals and three assists. Another bright spot up front for the Stars has been rookie Fabian Brunnstrom. Brunnstrom has already picked up five goals in just nine games to start his career.Having Dallas in town also means that the Bruins will be forced to contend with superpest Sean Avery. It hasn't taken long for Avery to make friends in the Western Conference, as he has 33 penalty minutes in eleven games. Fans of the fisticuffs should enjoy watching this team play. The Stars only have eight fighting majors to this point in the season, but Avery, Steve Ott, Krys Barch, and BJ Crombeen have never been shy about dropping the mitts.On Friday night, the Providence Bruins continued their road trip. Unfortunately for the P-Bruins, they came out on the short end of a 4-2 score with the Houston Aeros. Providence took the lead in the first period on a goal by Matt Lashoff, but had it answered 1:16 later by Jason Deitsch. The Aeros got their first lead of the contest 1:52 into the second period from Krys Kolanos, but the Baby B's were able to tie it before intermission thanks to Levi Nelson. In the third period, Houston took the lead at the 3:26 mark, when Danny Irmen went top shelf for the go-ahead goal, and the Bruins were unable to recover. Bryan Lundbohm capped the scoring with an empty netter in the final minute. Peter Schaefer's brother Nolan picked up the win for the Aeros with 25 saves on 27 shots. Kevin Regan suffered his first loss in the AHL, despite stopping 20 of 23 shots for Providence.Believe it or not, both teams will be in action on the same night for the first time October 18th. The Boston Bruins are home for a 7:00 face-off with the Dallas Stars, while the Providence Bruins conclude their road trip against the San Antonio Rampage at 8:00.Source

Mats Sundin Leaving Canada for a Tax Loophole?

I'm sitting at a coffee shop with free wi-fi and while watching my fantasy football team go down in flames, I decided to check out the latest sports headlines.A link from Kukla caught my eye due to the excellent line of:"Why Ron Wilson is the coach of the month in the: Name another coach who has fixed two teams, one by arriving and one by departing"So I headed on over to the Toronto Sun article to see if there were any other gems hidden inside. And it didn't disappoint.It started off with an interesting piece on the unsavory relationship between Bob Goodenow and David Frost and then capped itself off with this nugget:If Mats (Toronto is my home) Sundin has his house up for sale, don't bet on him playing for any Canadian team. It has to do with a tax loophole foreign athletes get. When he gets out of Canada, he gets a big cheque from the government. But if he stays, he gets nothing.Interesting. So if Mats leaves the country, we give him money. If he stays, we keep his money.But what do we do once he gets to the border, has one leg in the States, one leg in Canada and says "I can't make up my mind"?Source

Umberger back to center plus more

Puck-rakers is reporting that RJ Umberger is being moved back to center for tonight's game versus the Islanders.So the top lines will look they did on opening night:Nash-Umberger-HuseliusChimera-Brassard-VoracekI'm okay with this move although RJ at wing next to Peca and Torres had a solid game versus Chicago. Still unless Howson makes a move whom else can Hitch put there? Malhotra and Novotny certainly aren't the answers. You can't break up the only line that is really working for you in the "goat" line. The only two guys that haven't been tried are Peca and Murray and both of those guys aren't top 6 players.Hopefully now that RJ has a goal under his CBJ belt and has gained some confidence he can be a better fit this time around.Check out this quote from Derick Brassard from the Dispatch this morning in regards to his ice time which is only 7th best on the roster despite being the scoring leader:"It's early in the season and we have to gain his confidence," Brassard said. "I'm sure it will come. One time he is going to have no choice because we play well and play good for the team."Now Hitch has been quoted multiple times saying he wants to protect these kids and let Nash's line do the heavy lifting against the opposition top shut down pairs. I can understand that view but if Brass and his line keep playing the way they do Hitch won't have a choice as the opposition is going to target this line as the one to stop and make their own adjustments.At some point though he's going to have to turn these kids loose and roll with the punches. They've been that good.Syracuse went 1 on 1 on the weekend.On Saturday they nipped Rockford 3-2 off a 3 point night from Jonathen Sigalet. Tom Sestito also collected a goal while Steve Mason stopped 22 of 24 shots to earn his second victory as a pro.On Sunday the Crunch came up short falling 2-1 to Chicago. Again Sestito got on the board collecting the only goal for the Crunch and his 3rd on the year. Steve Mason stopped 20 of 22 shots.Through 3 starts Mason has a 1.63 GAA and a .937 Save% and is 2-1. Clay Wilson, Maxim Mayorov and Jonathen Sigalet are tied for the team lead in points each collecting 8 in 9 games played.You have to wonder if Sigalet may get a look soon on the big squad if they continue to sputter on the PP.Nikita Filatov had a quite weekend going scoreless as did Kris Russell.The Ohio State Men's hockey team had a very rough go of it over the weekend as they faced off against #8 Michigan in Ann Arbor. They dropped both of their games with a 4-3 loss and Friday and 6-1 shellacking on Saturday night. Their overall record drops to 2-5-1 on the season.TSN has an excellent read up in regards to players who are struggling out of the gate. What's interseting is that there are a lot of names that myself and others would have loved to add over the summer. A couple of them:Antoine Vermette, LW, Ottawa (1-1-2, minus-2 in 10 GP; two years, $5.525M)Comment: Sens keep looking for secondary scoring; Vermette not bringing it.Ryan Malone, LW, Tampa Bay (2-0-2, minus-1 in 9 GP; six years, $31.5M)Comment: Virtually impossible to match the production he had with Malkin last season.Pavel Kubina, D, Toronto (1-2-3, minus-6 in 10 GP; two years, $10.0M)Comment: Had an underrated year in 2007-2008, but off to a poor start this year.Jordan Staal, C, Pittsburgh (0-3-3, minus-1 in 11 GP; one year, $850K)Comment: Due for a contract extension before season's end, but lack of goal-scoring still an issue.Matthew Lombardi, C, Calgary (1-1-2, minus-1 in 7 GP; two years, $3.9M)Comment: Still waiting for him to build on previous 20-goal season.Brendan Morrison, C, Anaheim (0-1-1, minus-5 in 11 GP, one year, $2.75M)Comment: Still a step slow coming off knee surgery.Yikes... I really wanted Kubina and Vermette over the summer. I would have also liked Lombardi.Still though if these players continues to struggle it could present a nice opportunity for Howson to pick one up at a reasonable price and see if the ole "change of scenery" theory holds true for one of them.I don't expect any "name" players to move before the 20 game mark when GMs should really have a good read on their squads.The Jackets could certainly use another top 6 pivot and names like Lombardi, Staal and Vermette would still interest me.On the positive side, I think we may have caught a big break on Morrison shunning us over the summer and to some lesser extent Malone.-LTLSource

Weekly Award Winners

WHL Press ReleaseCALGARY, AB. - The BOSTON PIZZA WHL Player of the Week is forward Dana Tyrell of the Prince George Cougars.Tyrell picked up seven points, scoring three goals and four assists, in two games over the past week, helping the Cougars post a 1-0-0-1 record in that span.On Wednesday, October 29th, the Cougars played host to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings at the CN Centre in Prince George. Tyrell netted two power play goals and an assist in a game that saw the visiting Wheat Kings erase a four goal deficit to down the Cougars 6-5 in a shoot-out. He was also named the games 1st Star.On Saturday, November 1st, B.C. Division rivals the Kamloops Blazers travelled north to take on the home team Cougars. Tyrell scored one goal and added three assists as the Cougars defeated the Blazers 7-2 at the CN Centre. He was also named the games 3rd Star.With the Cougars picking up three of a possible four points on home ice they find themselves just one point behind the Kamloops Blazers for 3rd spot in the WHL B.C. Division and one win away from a .500 record (8-9-0-1).Tyrell, a 19 year old Airdrie, Alberta product is in his fourth season in the Western Hockey League and with the Prince George Cougars. At the 2007 Entry Draft Tyrell was selected in the 2nd round - 47th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightening. He also was recently named to the Team WHL roster and will compete against the Russian National Junior Team during the 2008 Canada Russia Challenge.The WHL has also nominated Mark Guggenberger of the Swift Current Broncos for the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Guggenberger posted a 2-0-0-0 record this past week, stopping all 57 of 59 shots faced for a 1.000 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage. Guggenberger, a 19-year-old from Richfield, Minnesota, is in his second season in the Western Hockey League.Boston Pizza WHL Player of the WeekSept. 18 – Sept. 21: Jordan Weal, Regina PatsSept. 22 – Sept. 28: Joel Broda, Moose Jaw WarriorsSept. 29 – Oct. 5: Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver GiantsOct. 6 – Oct. 12: Evander Kane, Vancouver GiantsOct. 13 – Oct. 19: Jay Fehr, Brandon Wheat KingsOct. 20 – Oct. 26: Jamie Benn, Kelowna RocketsOct. 27 – Nov. 2: Dana Tyrell, Prince George CougarsQMJHL Press ReleaseBOUCHERVILLE, Monday, November 3, 2008 – Shawinigan Cataractes forward Philippe Paradis and P.E.I. Rocket netminder Bobby Nadeau today were named the TELUS offensive and defensive players of the week for the period extending from October 27 to November 2.In four contests, Paradis registered seven assists as well as a +4 rating. Moreover, he dished out serious punishment on the fore-check, collecting fourteen bodychecks. The forward enjoyed his best game of the week on Tuesday against the Titan, recording an assist on both the game-tying and game-winning goals. The Cataractes have won ten consecutive games, three shy of the franchise record.Danick Paquette (MAINEiacs), Mikhail Stefanovich (Remparts) and Chris Doyle (Rocket) were also considered.The defensive player of the week is Bobby Nadeau. The goaltender enabled the Rocket to collect five out of a possible six points in the standings thanks to two wins and a shootout loss. He allowed only six goals despite facing 112 shots, posting a 1.95 goals-against-average and .949 save percentage. P.E.I. has been playing solid hockey for the past few weeks and sits in fourth place in the Atlantic division standings.Timo Pielmeier (Cataractes), Charles-Olivier Roussel (Cataractes) and David Savard (Wildcats) were also strong candidates.OHL Press ReleaseThe Ontario Hockey League today announced the OHL Academic Players of the Month for October.West Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the West Division is defenseman Nathan Chiarlitti of the Sarnia Sting Hockey Club. Nathan, 16, a native of Maple, Ontario is currently enrolled at Northern Collegiate High School in Sarnia.“Nathan is off to a great start in his rookie OHL season. He currently maintains a 92% average with a full course load,” commented Caroline White, Academic Advisor for the Sarnia Sting.Midwest Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the Midwest Division is forward Jeff Skinner of the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club. Skinner, 16, a native of Markham, Ontario was the Rangers First Round Selection in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection.Dave Tennant, Academic Advisor for the Kitchener Rangers, had this to say about Jeff, “Jeff is a first year player in the OHL and is making an impact not only on the ice for the Kitchener Rangers, but also in the classroom. His hard work in making the transition to a new team, new community and new high school is being rewarded with excellent marks, ones that will allow him to pursue a post-secondary education at the school of his choosing.”Central Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the Central Division is center Freddie Hamilton of the Niagara Ice Dogs Hockey Club. Hamilton, 16, a native of Toronto, Ontario is a Grade 11 student at Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines.“Freddie Hamilton has not only adjusted to his new hockey surroundings in Niagara but is also focused on his academic endeavours. Freddie has achieved an astounding 98% average thus far in Grade 11 Chemistry, Computer Engineering and English,” raved Tim Tope, Academic Advisor for the Ice Dogs.East Division - The OHL Academic Player of the Month for October in the East Division is goaltender Kevin Bailie of the Oshawa Generals Hockey Club. Bailie, 16, a native of Belleville, Ontario, is a Grade 11 student at Henry Street High School.Tom Buchanan, Academic Advisor for the Oshawa Generals commented on Kevin’s achievements, “Kevin Bailie has made a smooth transition into the OHL. Kevin is taking university courses and has a 85% average.”Each month, the OHL recognizes a player from each Division who is striving to reach his full potential in his educational program while playing in the Ontario Hockey League.90% of the players currently playing in the Ontario Hockey League are attending high school or post-secondary institutions. For the 2007-08 playing season, 189 OHL graduates are currently attending Canadian universities on scholarships from their OHL teams.That's My Take(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Election Tuesday Vote Results: Obama Wins, But Here's Who Covers

Sports will take a back seat to politics on Tuesday night as election results pour in. Forget about it. Barack Obama wins in a landslide. Forget the exit polls, we have the real projected election results 2008. The networks may be the place to go to follow black panthers intimidating voters, but we have the accurate projected results. Either way, go out and vote, collect your Chick-fil-A sandwich and Starbucks coffee as a reward, then win with OffshoreInsiders.com. But here's a look at the matchups trying to grab your attention in the Daily Sports Roundup. The Gridiron Spotlight Buffalo will host Miami-Ohio in Mid-American action in the only football game on tap for Tuesday night. The Bulls have been the superior team so far this season, both on the field and at the betting window. Buffalo is coming off consecutive wins over Army and Ohio which boosted them to 4-4 (5-3 against-the-spread) through eight games this year. The power of 620 sports services behind every selection is 122-70 in football. They have a sports service out of Midwest is the No. 1 all-time CFB service in units won. Their highest rated plays are Executive Plays. Their Weeknight Executive Play of the Year goes tonight for Miami ( Ohio )/ Buffalo . They are 61.2 percent with all Executive Plays in College football the last three seasons. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick. The MasterLockLine remains hotter than Irina Shayk. Miami-Ohio, on the other hand, was blasted 54-21 by Kent State last time out, and they're just 2-6 (3-4 ATS) on the season. The RedHawks will be trying to get back into the win column as road underdogs in this contest, as Buffalo was opened by the oddsmakers as 8-point favorites. Miami-Ohio won this meeting 31-28 at home last year, and in fact they've managed to beat Buffalo each of the last nine times that they've met. Other Notable Events There are three games on the NBA schedule for Tuesday night, including the Celtics playing on the road against the Rockets. Boston was bounced 95-79 at home by the Pacers last time out, dropping them to 2-1 on the season. Houston has lived up to the preseason hype this year, starting out with wins over the Grizzlies, Mavs, and Thunder. Rounding out the NBA's Tuesday slate are Phoenix at New Jersey , and Dallas at San Antonio . The Spurs are still looking to pick up their first win of the season, as they lost 103-98 to the Suns in their opener and then fell 100-99 to the Trail Blazers last time out. The Rest of the Schedule The is the busiest league on Tuesday night, with seven games on the schedule. That slate includes four games taking place in Canada , where the fans don't have to worry about making time to cast ballots. Those four contests: Washington at Ottawa , Carolina at Toronto , Phoenix at Calgary , and also Nashville at Vancouver in late action. The other three games on the ice on Tuesday are the Islanders at the Rangers, Anaheim at Los Angeles , and Minnesota at San Jose . The Sharks knocked off the Avalanche 5-3 on Sunday night, and they've now won four straight games (and six of their past seven outings) to sit with a stellar 10-2-0 mark. San Jose is also 6-0 at home. News from the Wire Heat forward Shawn Marion broke his nose over the weekend but is expected to play through the injury . . . Texans quarterback Matt Schaub suffered a knee injury on Sunday and had to give way to Sage Rosenfels . . . New Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper could be in the mix for playing time immediately . . . Bears quarterback Kyle Orton is expected to miss the next month of action because of a badly sprained ankle. A Peek at the Future The NFL has a Thursday game this week, with Denver at Cleveland . The oddsmakers opened the Browns as 3-point home favorites, with the total at 46.5 points . . . the best mid-week college football matchup takes place on Thursday as well, with No. 11 TCU at No. 10 Utah. The Horned Frogs opened as 1-point favorites . . . Jimmie Johnson leads Carl Edwards by 106 points heading into Sunday's Sprint Cup Series event at Phoenix .OffshoreInsiders.comSource

No Smith on All-Star ballot

Guess no one at the.nhl figured Mike Smith was going to have any kind of season, and the Lightning goaltender was left off the.nhl All-Star ballot. Forwards Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier are on the ballot. Voting for the starting lineups begins Nov. 12 and goes through Jan. 2. Go to vote.nhl.com to cast your ballot as many times as you want, and you can include Smith as a write-in. Here is the notice from the league: Six players from the All-Star host Montreal Canadiens -- goaltender Carey Price, defensemen Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek plus forwards Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay -- have been named to the ballot in XM.nhl All-Star Fan Balloting presented by 2K Sports. The Canadiens' ballot representation is tied with the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings for the most among.nhl clubs. The Canadiens, who captured the Eastern Conference regular-season championship in 2007-08 and have compiled a searing 8-1-1 start to this season, will host the 2009.nhl All-Star festivities in January as part of their year-long Centennial celebration. The 104-player ballot features 23 players under the age of 25. Ten of those players are making their first career appearance on the ballot: Dustin Brown, Los Angeles (24); Brent Burns, Minnesota, (23); Mike Green (23) and Alexander Semin (24), Washington; Patrick Kane (19) and Jonathan Toews (20), Chicago; Zach Parise, New Jersey, (24); Price, Montreal, (21); Mike Richards, Philadelphia, (23) and Shea Weber, Nashville, (23). Voting opens Nov. 12. In a first for all major professional sports leagues, the.nhl will provide real-time All-Star fan balloting results online at.nhl.com. From Nov. 12 through Jan. 2.nhl fans will be able to vote as often as they like to select the starting lineups for the 2009.nhl All-Star Game in Montreal. Fans around the world can vote online via interactive English and French ballots at Vote.nhl.com. Those in the U.S. and Canada also will be able to cast their votes via text message using any wireless carrier. During the voting period, real-time results will be available exclusively on Vote.nhl.com/results. This marks the third consecutive year the All-Star Balloting process is entirely digital. Fans can vote for up to six Eastern Conference players and six Western Conference players: three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender. For the first time, fans will be permitted to select as few as one player -- a balloted player or write-in -- per online ballot at Vote.nhl.com or via text message. The three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender from each Conference receiving the most votes will comprise the starting lineups. Each of the 30.nhl clubs has at least two representatives on the ballot. EAST Goaltenders Martin Biron, Philadelphia FlyersMartin Brodeur, New Jersey DevilsRick DiPietro, New York IslandersMarc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh PenguinsKari Lehtonen, Atlanta ThrashersHenrik Lundqvist, New York RangersRyan Miller, Buffalo SabresCarey Price, Montreal CanadiensVesa Toskala, Toronto Maple LeafsTomas Vokoun, Florida Panthers Defensemen Jay Bouwmeester, Florida PanthersZdeno Chara, Boston BruinsSergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh PenguinsMike Green, Washington CapitalsTomas Kaberle, Toronto Maple LeafsMike Komisarek, Montreal CanadiensAndrei Markov, Montreal CanadiensTeppo Numminen, Buffalo SabresChris Phillips, Ottawa SenatorsWade Redden, New York RangersKimmo Timonen, Philadelphia FlyersRyan Whitney, Pittsburgh Penguins Forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa SenatorsPatrice Bergeron, Boston BruinsDaniel Briere, Philadelphia FlyersRod Brind'Amour, Carolina HurricanesSidney Crosby, Pittsburgh PenguinsChris Drury, New York RangersPatrik Elias, New Jersey DevilsSimon Gagne, Philadelphia FlyersScott Gomez, New York RangersDany Heatley, Ottawa SenatorsTrent Hunter, New York IslandersSaku Koivu, Montreal CanadiensIlya Kovalchuk, Atlanta ThrashersAlex Kovalev, Montreal CanadiensVincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay LightningEvgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh PenguinsMarkus Naslund, New York RangersAlex Ovechkin, Washington CapitalsZach Parise, New Jersey DevilsMike Richards, Philadelphia FlyersBrian Rolston, New Jersey DevilsDerek Roy, Buffalo SabresMartin St. Louis, Tampa Bay LightningMarc Savard, Boston BruinsAlexander Semin, Washington CapitalsJason Spezza, Ottawa SenatorsEric Staal, Carolina HurricanesAlex Tanguay, Montreal CanadiensThomas Vanek, Buffalo SabresRay Whitney, Carolina Hurricanes WEST Goaltenders Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota WildIlya Bryzgalov, Phoenix CoyotesJ.S. Giguere, Anaheim DucksMiikka Kiprusoff, Calgary FlamesPascal Leclaire, Columbus Blue JacketsRoberto Luongo, Vancouver CanucksEvgeni Nabokov, San Jose SharksChris Osgood, Detroit Red WingsMarty Turco, Dallas Stars Defensemen Rob Blake, San Jose SharksDan Boyle, San Jose SharksBrent Burns, Minnesota WildBrian Campbell, Chicago BlackhawksNicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red WingsScott Niedermayer, Anaheim DucksDion Phaneuf, Calgary FlamesChris Pronger, Anaheim DucksBrian Rafalski, Detroit Red WingsRobyn Regehr, Calgary FlamesSheldon Souray, Edmonton OilersShea Weber, Nashville Predators Forwards Jason Arnott, Nashville PredatorsBrad Boyes, St. Louis BluesDustin Brown, Los Angeles KingsPavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red WingsShane Doan, Phoenix CoyotesMarian Gaborik, Minnesota WildRyan Getzlaf, Anaheim DucksMilan Hejduk, Colorado AvalancheAles Hemsky, Edmonton OilersShawn Horcoff, Edmonton OilersMarian Hossa, Detroit Red WingsJarome Iginla, Calgary FlamesOlli Jokinen, Phoenix CoyotesPatrick Kane, Chicago BlackhawksPaul Kariya, St. Louis BluesMikko Koivu, Minnesota WildAnze Kopitar, Los Angeles KingsPatrick Marleau, San Jose SharksMike Modano, Dallas StarsBrenden Morrow, Dallas StarsRick Nash, Columbus Blue JacketsMike Ribeiro, Dallas StarsBrad Richards, Dallas StarsJoe Sakic, Colorado AvalancheDaniel Sedin, Vancouver CanucksHenrik Sedin, Vancouver CanucksPaul Stastny, Colorado AvalancheJoe Thornton, San Jose SharksKeith Tkachuk, St. Louis BluesJonathan Toews, Chicago BlackhawksHenrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red WingsSource

News From the CHL

CHL Top TenWednesday-November 05, 2008Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for this week. The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts. CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top-10 Rankings – Week 8 Rank Team (Record) Last Week Number of Weeks in Rankings1. Windsor Spitfires (17-1-0-0) 1 8 2. Moncton Wildcats (16-0-2-0) 2 7 3. Vancouver Giants (12-0-0-3) 4 6 4. Shawinigan Cataractes (17-4-0-0) 7 5 5. Calgary Hitmen (15-4-1-0) 3 3 6. Quebec Remparts (13-3-0-1) 5 5 7. London Knights (11-5-0-1) 6 5 8. Swift Current Broncos (13-5-0-0) - 5 9. Spokane Chiefs (10-3-0-3) 8 8 10. Guelph Storm (11-6-1-1) 9 6 Boston Player of the WeekToronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Dana Tyrell of the Prince George Cougars is the Boston Pizza CHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 2. Tyrell scored three goals and four assists for seven points helping the Cougars to a 1-0-0-1 record on the week. Tyrell was named the first star of the game on Wednesday night playing the Brandon Wheat Kings at home. He netted two goals on the power play and added an assist in the 6-5 shootout loss. On Saturday Tyrell would score one goal and three assists for third star of the game honours as the Cougars would beat the Kamloops Blazers 7-2 at home. Tyrell, a 19-year-old from Airdrie, AB is in his fourth WHL season with the Cougars. In 16 games this season he has scored 14 goals and nine assists for 23 points. Tyrell was a second round selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2007 Entry Draft. He will be representing Team WHL in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge November 26 in Swift Current and November 27 in Prince Albert. Philippe Paradis of the Shawinigan Cataractes was the QMJHL nominee for the award with seven assists to help the Cataractes win four games this week. Defenceman Ryan Ellis of the top ranked Windsor Spitfires scored two goals and five assists for seven points in two games and was the OHL nominee for the award this week. 2008-09 Boston Pizza CHL Player of the WeekNov. 4 – Dana Tyrell, Prince George CougarsOct. 28 – Jamie Benn, Kelowna RocketsOct. 21 – Matthew Pistilli, Shawinigan CataractesOct. 14 – Justin DiBenedetto, Sarnia StingOct. 7 – Stefan Della Rovere, Barrie ColtsSept. 30 – Joel Broda, Moose Jaw WarriorsSept. 23 – Michael Stinziani, Cape Breton Screaming EaglesADT CHL Goaltender of the WeekToronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Mike Murphy of the Belleville Bulls is the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending November 2. Murphy posted a 1.33 goals-against-average and a .962 save percentage compiling a 3-0-0-0 record this week for the Bulls.On Wednesday night Murphy would make 35 saves at home in a 5-1 win over the Peterborough Petes and was named the third star of the game. Murphy would again allow just one goal in the game at home Saturday night making 29 saves to beat the Owen Sound Attack 4-1. His week would conclude Sunday with a 37 save performance to beat the host team Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 3-2.Murphy, a 19-year-old from Inverary, ON currently leads all OHL goaltenders with a league best goals-against-average of 2.12 and save percentage of .938 in 14 games played. Last season Murphy was named the OHL Goaltender of the Year. Murphy will backstop Team OHL on November 24 in St. Catharines in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge.P.E.I. Rocket goaltender Bobby Nadeau posted a 1.95 goals-against-average and a .949 save percentage helping the Rocket to a 2-0-0-1 record this week representing the QMJHL nominee. In the WHL, Mark Guggenberger of the Swift Current Broncos went 2-0-0-0 this week with a goals-against-average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .966.Celebrating its 134th anniversary, ADT Security Services, Inc., a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, is the largest provider of electronic security services to more than six million commercial, federal and residential customers throughout North America. ADT's total security solutions include intrusion, fire protection, closed circuit television, access control, critical condition monitoring, electronic article surveillance, radio frequency identification (RFID) and integrated systems. ADT's web site addresses are www.adt.com or www.adt.ca.2008-09 ADT CHL Goaltender of the WeekNov. 4 – Mike Murphy, Belleville BullsOct. 28 – Nicola Riopel, Moncton WildcatsOct. 21 – Brandon Foote, Brampton BattalionOct. 14 – Calvin Pickard, Seattle ThunderbirdsOct. 7 – Olivier Roy, Cape Breton Screaming EaglesSept. 30 – Andrew Engelage, Windsor SpitfiresSept. 23 – Jamie Tucker, Vancouver Giants(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Sloan Recalled

Per the Washington Capitals press release:The Washington Capitals have recalled defenseman Tyler Sloan from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.Sloan, 27, is a seventh-year pro who is in his third season with the Bears. This is his second recall of the season, as he played four games with the Capitals last month. Sloan made his debut on Oct. 21 in his hometown of Calgary, Alberta and scored his first goal on Oct. 25 at Dallas.The 6'4", 203-pound Sloan has played in seven games for Hershey this season, recording four assists and 12 penalty minutes. He saw action in a combined 124 games with Hershey the past two seasons after making his debut with the club during its run to the Calder Cup championship in the 2006 AHL playoffs.Sloan, who wears No. 89 for Washington, signed with the Capitals as a free agent on July 2. Source

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

what you missed last night while you were eating grilled cheese and tomato soup

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a great combo, just like Jordan Staal and third periods, or Chris Higgins and high blocker side, or Sergei Zubov and Mike Modano.Penguins come back to beat the Red Wings, 7-6 in OT: Quite simply, what a game! Kids who watched this game learned to go to the net. Thats how Crosby scored (off a great feed from Satan) and how Rik Zetterberg scored (off a great pass from Hudler). I thought the sweetest goal was Datsyuks rip in the 2nd period. Obviously the shot was sick, and Tommy Holmstrom in front did a great job, but Marian Hossa made the most perfect saucer pass I've seen. It was so difficult, because he had to get it up and down so quickly and of course it was right in Pavel's wheelhouse. Back to going to the net, well thats pretty much how Staal scored all three of his third period goals. And lets not forget about the pick pocket (of Datsyuk) and feed to Fedetenko for the gwg.Flyers beat the Islanders, 3-1: Since I was at work yesterday and couldn't rightly honor our veterans by going to the Islanders game, internet radio and/nhl: On the Fly highlights had to suffice. The score says it all, well I guess not. The Islanders did NOT have a 1-0 lead going into the the third and then lose the game. So I guess thats a positive.Flames win over the Maple Leafs, 4-3: The only goal in this game that I thought was truly special was Dion Phaneuf's blast. Iginla sauced a cross ice pass to Phaneuf that he settled, then walked in and ripped slap shot off the far post and in. It is always so impressive to me when players can find those spots. You know with goalies being so big and usually perfect on their angles.Predators beat the Sharks in OT, 4-3: Dan Ellis made a lot of saves. Devin Setogouchi scored a nice one timer. The OT winner was a nice slapshot. Whatever, this game was on late, I needed sleep. East coast bias.Canadiens shut-out the Senators, 4-0: Chris Higgins had 3 of those goals. One of them was a great pass, so all he had to do was put it in the empty net. The other 2 were breakaways (one was semi) and he sniped Alex Auld high blocker both times. Such a good release.Kings beat the Stars in the shoot-out, 3-2: Mike Modano scored from practically the corner on off a Zubov pass. It might have been a one timer and it went far post and in. Dustin Brown had 2 memorable hits. The first put Stephan Robidas into the Kings bench and the second bloodied Mike Ribiero and cause Brendon Morrow to attack him. Ribiero was fine and scored a sweet goal in the shoot-out. A twist on the leave behind, adding a through-the-legs element.Source

Goalie Helmets

Hockey goalie masks are one of the coolest things about sports, right up there with sudden death overtimes, moguls and ring girls. The NFL fines its players if they wear their socks too low and MLB will make pitchers cut undershirts that stick out under the uniform yet the lets goalies design their masks as they please with little exception. Think about it, in what other sport can an individual show some creativity in part of their uniform? Soccer goalies? They only get to wear a different color sissy shirt. NASCAR? You are talking about a fucking Ford, guy. And if you thought figure skating then you need to close down this window and go back to reading MarioLopez.net.The only time I’ve ever played goalie was a few times in street hockey so I would design my mask by putting a picture of something from my childhood. I would take it all the way back to ball hockey and fat pencils and pay tribute to a true legend. I would rock a helmet designed with pictures of Mylec street hockey pads.DirtyJust the sight of these pads brings me back to the days when I played in a ball hockey league where all the middle schools in my town would play each other. I can remember one game where I jumped in net and was so dominant that I got my name announced on the school’s loudspeaker the next day. I was sliding around out of position in my Mylec’s and had to make 7 kicksaves in a row. 7! A few of the park’s crew got word that a young phenom was putting on a clinic at the street hockey court and all of a sudden I had an And-1 sized crowd going apeshit after every save. My Mylec street hockey pads and I were literally on fire. Seriously, tt got so crazy that at one point the ref had to stop the game so Travis Barker and DJ AM could kick out a window and escape from my asshole. I think it would only be right to pay tribute to those Mylec pads.How would you design your mask? I like my girlfriend’s idea of making the helmet look like the gas can on a chopper with flames all over it. Maybe you could paint the mask to have a mini mohawk and some tattoos so it looked like Chuck Liddell’s head was on your shoulders. Maybe you could paint the mask to give the illusion that you had a mullet. Those are always funny, especially on Mexican guitar players. I also like the idea of keeping a plain white mask to show that you plan on leaving town for the highest bidder next year like some mercenary. I think that pretty much any idea is solid as long as you don’t spell anything wrong or hype a stupid website.How would you design your mask?-Nemmy Source

Picture this - 11-14-08

EN reader Teri Springer, who we should all be jealous of, had some great seats to Tuesday's amazing Penguins' win in Detroit. She was kind enough to send us some photos of that splendid night:EMPTY NETTER ASSISTSPenguins-Dave Molinari's recap from last night.-Here's the entire shootout from last night's game: (Kudos to EN reader Marla Schwartz for the heads up.)-If you pre-ordered that Brendan Shanahan Penguins jersey, we've got some bad new for you.-Rob Scuderi is all of a sudden an expert on the shooting ability of Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.-Despite being 10-4-2, can the Penguins improve?-Maxime Talbot cares not for Alexander Semin.-The additional costs for the Penguins' new arena were approved by the Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority..nhl Network will re-air Tuesday's game against the Red Wings Saturday.-Has Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's rivaly with the Binghamton Senators been re-kindled?Atlantic Division-Joey MacDonald made 29 saves for the Islanders in a 3-1 win at Ottawa. The Senators have lost three consecutive games while New York snapped a three-game losing streak. -Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo, the Islanders' last two first-round picks, were put on a line together and connected on a goal.-Rangers forward Scott Gomez (right) is dealing with an ankle injury.-The Flyers are not fans of the shootout.-Even though he played last night, the Flyers put defenseman Lasse Kukkonen on waivers.Northeast Division-The Bruins broke a 12-game regular season losing streak to the rival Canadiens in a big way. Stephane Yelle had two goals and an assist in Boston's 6-1 rout of Montreal. -Bruins forward Milan Lucic and Montreal defenseman Mike Komisarek went at it last night: -Tomas Kaberle had a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs in a 5-2 win at Edmonton.-Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake rebounded after being a healthy scratch in Toronto's prior game.-Is the Northeast Division the toughest in the.nhl?-Senators forward Jarkko Ruutu is a nice guy... off the ice.-In a bit of irony, Ottawa forward Ryan Shannon took an elbow to the head last night. He was in the lineup to replace Ruutu who was suspended two games for elbowing.-It doesn't sound like the Bruins will court free agent general manager Brian Burke.-Sabres forward Tim Connolly (right) is dealing with a bruised chest.-Buffalo goaltender Patrick Lalime might play his former team, the Penguins, Saturday.-Maple Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher has done a marvelous job re-tooling Toronto.Southeast Division-The Capitals signed 2008 first-round pick John Carlson.-Washington plays New Jersey tonight. The Devils are the only Eastern Conference team Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has never recorded a multi-point game against.-Check out the new mask of Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson.-Has Panthers forward Gregory Campbell earned more playing time?-Lightning coach Barry Melrose wants his team to play more like the Red Wings. Lightning players want their coach to have a sterling head of hair like Detroit's Mike Babcock instead of some tacky, greasy mullet.Central Division-Pavel Datsyuk, Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 4-3 win at Tampa Bay. Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood made a "whopping" 15 saves in the win. He improved is career record against Tampa Bay to 17-0-0.-Lightning goaltender Olaf Kolzig is no fan of Detroit forward Tomas Holmstrom.-Barry Melrose loves the Winged Wheel.-The Blues returned defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to his junior team.-With Pietrangelo out of the picture, the Blues recalled former Penguins prospect Cam Paddock from Peoria of the AHL.-A few weeks after being fired as the team's head coach, Denis Savard was hired as an abassador by the Blackhawks.-Should Chicago retire the jersey of former defenseman Chris Chelios?-The Blues Jackets have a log jam in goal.-Predators forward Radek Bonk (foot) and Martin Erat ("upper-body") are dealing with injuries. The foot injury to Bonk (right) has apparently caused him to make weird, dazed faces.-Northwest Division-Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild in a 4-0 shutout of the Coyotes. Minnesota got two goals and an assist from Marek Zidlicky. The Wild has nine consecutive wins against the Coyotes.-The Wild activated forward Owen Nolan from injured reserve while former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forwad Krys Kolanos was demoted to Houston of the AHL.-Flames defenseman Jim Vandermeer is dealing with a broken ankle.-The Canucks unveiled their new "old" third jersey:-It's essentially a revamped version of their original jersey. While we're certainly fans of the Johnny Canuck logo, we're not crazy about the alternate logo on the shoulders. And we would not have "updated" the "C" logo on the chest, but considering the Canucks' seemingly never endless assault on fans' retinas with some of their jerseys, we can't complain.-Here's a video from the team explaining things a bit better than we could ever hope to: -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa is dealing with a foot injury.-Colorado forward T.J. Hensick is finally playing with confidence.-The Oilers wore their third jerseys last night. That alone is worth a picture:Pacific Division-The Sharks got two goals and an assist from Joe Pavelski in a 6-1 rout of the Flames. San Jose set a franchise record with nine assists by defensemen.-San Jose was relentless against Calgary.-Erik Ersberg (right) made 24 saves for the Kings who edged the Stars, 3-2. Los Angeles has won four consecutive games.-Stars coach Dave Tippett doesn't think his players trust each other.-Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.-Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky is all about defense these days.-FSN in California will adjust Rinkside View for its broadcasts that Kings and Ducks fans have complained about.-The Ducks are not distracted by the departure of general manager Brian Burke.Patrick Division-Robert Morris' men's hockey team will host Ohio State tonight at 8 p.m. at Mellon Arena.-Twenty-six Pittsburgh-area players are competing in Division I NCAA hockey.(Photos: Gomez-Nick Laham/Getty Images; Connolly-Don Heupel/Associated Press; Bonk-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images; Canucks-Vancouver Canucks; Oilers-Jimmy Jeong-Canadian Press; Ersberg-Matt Slocum/Associated Press)Source