Saginaw Spirit @ Soo Greyhounds, 11-21

The boxscore for this game is available from the OHL website.

Fritsch (7) reacts to tipping in Sproul's shot

I was privileged enough to see another great OHL game, this past Wednesday night. This time, the Saginaw Spirit made the trip up I-75 into Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, to take on the Greyhounds at Essar Centre. The game featured the return of Greyhound defenseman and Detroit Red Wing prospect Ryan Sproul, back from some six weafraid to jump into the attack. Sproul has one of the nicest shots in the entire league and used it to record a goal and an assist on the night. He assisted the second Greyhound goal, when Andrew Fritsch tipped in Sproul's point shot, and his goal came off a blast from point that found it's way through traffic and through the legs of Spirit goaltender Jake Paterson. Probably the Greyhound that stood out the most.

Paterson looked like a different goalie than the one who played against Plymouth last week. He made several quick saves down low, controlled his rebounds well, and generally was seeing the puck better. His performance on the night showed why Detroit drafted him in the third round, whereas last week left me scratching my head, wondering if Detroit needs a new goalie scout. The Greyhounds started rookie Justin Nichols in place the ill Matt Murray. Nichols doesn't fill as much net as Murray, to his detriment on the first two Saginaw goals, where there was a ton of room open glove-side high. He did make several great saves, including a double save on a breakaway early in the first period, and is becoming more of a "1B" goalie rather than a backup.

The best part of the night was the third period scrap between Alex Gudbranson of the Soo and Gregg Sutch of Saginaw. Sutch had taken an earlier penalty that led to Sproul's powerplay goal. After exiting the box, he crossed paths with the Greyhounds as they were celebrating their goal. Upon puckdrop of his next shift, he was challenged to fight by the Johnny Upton look-alike Gudbranson. As if it were the LNAH, the two dropped their gloves and helmets and skated out to center ice. The fight was usual fare, until both players hit the ice and, as the linesmen tried to jump in and break the two apart, Sutch and Gudbranson continued trying to wail on each other. After what seemed like a good ten to fifteen seconds, the linesmen finally separated the two and Gudbranson skated away with a primal scream that brought an equally loud cheer from the Essar Centre crowd.

That fight seemed to either energize the Spirit or serve as the last adrenaline dump of the Greyhounds, as Saginaw would come back to tie the game at three and win the game on a two-on-one in overtime, final score 4-3. The Spirit never seemed to get too high or too low, playing the game at a steady pace with no player standing out from the rest, while the Greyhounds started the first and third periods by throwing immense pressure at the Saginaw goal, but would peter out by the end.

From the Memorial Gardens to Essar

The Essar Centre is one of my personal favorite buildings to see a game in. The staff is friendly, as are the majority of the fans. At one end, they have preserved a sculpture, stained glass windows and war flags from the old Sault Memorial Gardens, and they feature the Sault Sainte Marie Hockey Hall of Fame. In the lobby, opposite the ticket office, you can find a list of all of the soldiers from the Sault who gave their lives in the wars since World War I. My favorite feature of the rinkscape is the Memorial Tower, just outside the main entrance. The tower was located at the main entrance of the old Gardens and was saved when the rink was demolished. It illuminates the night of every home game, and photos don't do it justice. If you arrive early enough, you can get a spot in the rink's parking lot. If not, there is plenty of parking in the Station Mall lot across the street. The mall is packed with hockey fans before games, and the Tim Horton's in the food court is a great place to catch a glimpse of the visiting team getting their pre-game cup.

Memorial Tower

And they have an inflatable mascot, too.

Chuck Barris On Ice: Plymouth Whalers @ Saginaw Spirit, 11-14

The box score for this game is available on the official OHL website.

Wendler Arena @ The Dow Event Center

Apologies ahead of time, but I must admit I do not remember much about this game.

I spent nearly the entire game laughing.

What I do remember is two teams struggling to defend and help out their goaltenders, who were beyond help on the night. Saginaw saw off Whalers starter Matt Mahalak after twelve minutes and three goals against. Mahalak was not great, but neither were the defenders in front of him. Enter Riley Corbin. Look up "in over his head" in the dictionary and you will see his picture. A picture of him kicking a rebound out right onto the tape of a Spirit player. The goal judges needed treatment for their thumbs, and the Dow Event Center goal light switches have now been reinforced. Spirit goaltender Jake Paterson did not cover himself with glory, either. He fought the puck all night, losing the puck on a few occasions when it was shot high, and had difficulty following rebounds. Like the Whalers goalies, Paterson did not receive much help from the team in front of him. However, unlike Corbin, Paterson came on in the third period and made a few great saves down the stretch to keep his team ahead.

About the only other thing I can recall about the game is the bus that is Tom Wilson. Washington's first rounder from this past year's draft is pure hell on skates. He hits everything that moves and can contribute offensively, as well. Wilson lit up Marselis Subban in the first period, was lucky not to get a penalty for contact to the head on a huge hit at the end of the second, and finally got called for a head-check late in the third on an absolutely massive hit. If he doesn't take the penalty, Plymouth likely would have tied the game in the last two minutes, and the way the game went, they could've won it before overtime. Although a bit short on discipline, I really like Tom Wilson.

I liked The Dow Event Center, too. Perhaps the last nice thing left in Saginaw. A beautiful atrium as you enter the rink, which houses the ticket office and separates the theatre from the rink. The rink layout is like Joe Louis Arena, where you can walk around the concourse to your section, and you are right in the middle of the section. There is likely not a bad seat in the place, and the only negative from my seat was the railing in the sight-line of everyone sitting in the first two rows of the upper section.

What I took away from the game was the beauty of junior hockey. Even if you have no rooting interest in the teams, get out and catch a junior hockey game, you will be entertained. Think of it this way, if you watch a junior hockey game, you are going to see kids developing their skills; they are going to make mistakes, many more than in higher levels of hockey. Mistakes lead to scoring chances, scoring chances to goals. You may not see the individual brilliance that you will see in the NHL, but you will be entertained.

And you'll see a giant, inflatable mascot.

Sparty On, Wayne! Michigan State @ Lake Superior State, Saturday, October 27, 2012

The boxscore for this game can be found by this link to collegehockeystats.net.

Taffy Abel Arena was jam-packed to the rafters on Saturday to see the Michigan State Spartans take a 4-2 win over the Lake Superior State Lakers. Kevin Murdock got a rare start for the Lakers, in place of the ever-present Kevin Kapalka, who picked up an injury after conceding the first Spartan goal Friday night. Murdock is a junior who transferred from Minnesota State after his freshman year. He was called upon to make plenty of saves on Saturday night, most of which were fairly routine, thanks to a tight LSSU defense. He did get beat cleanly to the glove side twice; from where I sat, it appeared that he occasionally leaves too much net to shoot at on the glove side. Michigan State gave Jake Hildebrand his first collegiate start on Saturday. Hildebrand displayed nice lateral movement and was only left out to dry on the first Laker goal, when Chris Ciotti got in behind Jake Chelios and managed to stuff the puck past the Spartan goaltender.

The differences between the two teams were evident. Lake Superior defends. And defends. And defends some more. They do a great job of clogging up the ice and preventing quality scoring chances. Their team is blessed with great size, but not necessarily great speed or smooth skating. The Lakers are not the most exciting team to watch, but on their day, they can shut a team down. Michigan State was the more entertaining of the two teams, looking to pass their way out of their own end, to great success, and a quick transition game would create plenty of scoring opportunities and drew penalties. The Spartan power play was equally impressive, going 3 for 6 on the night against a Laker team usually solid on the penalty kill.

Michigan State has a nice group of forwards, none of whom particularly stood out to me, but I really liked their defense. I was most impressed on the night by the pairing of Jake Chelios and John Draeger. Chelios, the son of NHL legend and Gary Bettman's worst nightmare, Chris Chelios, is smooth on and off the puck, a great skater and plays almost as passionately as his father. He was also not afraid of the game's physical element, executing a nice takedown on Matt Bruneteau after he had grabbed Chelios' facemask in a scrum after the second MSU goal. Along with Chelios, John Draeger ran the power play for the Spartans. During a late first period power play, Draeger scored the first goal with a beauty shot over the glove of Murdock. He also made quick decisions with the puck, helping the Spartans transition from defense to offense. Chelios is an undrafted junior, while Draeger is a freshman and was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft. With three more years to further develop his game in East Lansing, he will be more than ready to take the next step.

Aside from the game, a night out at Taffy Abel is affordable and easily accessible in Sault Sainte Marie. There is plenty of parking on site, for a $2 fee, and the parking attendants do a great job of funneling people in and out; there was little to no time stuck in a traffic jam on the way out. I also appreciate the complimentary Wi-Fi, with next to no hassle for access. Concessions were reasonably priced and available at both ends of the rink. The concourses are not the widest you'll find, understandable in an older building, but they weren't terribly congested on the night, either.

LSSU mascot "Seamore the Sea Duck"

Shifting gears

As my displeasure with professional hockey grows at a rate not unlike that of the greed of the owners and players, I'm going to shift the focus of this blog. I am making it my goal to see as many games in as many different rinks and leagues as possible, posting my observations and thoughts on the game as I go. First up is Saturday's CCHA game between Lake Superior State and Michigan State.

UFA Prediction game

Just a quick little post, before free agency opens up at noon.

Leafs will end up with three P's: Penner, Prust and Parros.

Another "P", Zach Parise will end up in Pittsburgh.

Ryan Suter will don the red and white again, this time for Detroit.

Not so much of a prediction as it is a wish to see Shane Doan leave Phoenix... for Winnipeg.

Anxious to see how it all turns out in 24 hours time.

NHL Draft, the after

So Edmonton actually took Yakupov. Apparently the offers for the top pick were not impressive, so they took the best player available. A sensible choice, except for their glaring weakness on defense, easily filled in a defense-rich first round. They didn't end up taking a defenseman until the top of round four, which was slightly surprising, especially given some of the prospects still available in round two.

Edmonton did end up taking Michigan Tech's incoming freshman Jujhar Khaira in the third round, making him the highest drafted Tech player since David Weninger was chosen by the Washington Capitals in round three in 1996. With the addition of Khaira and Jamie Phillips, taken in round seven by the Winnipeg Jets, to New Jersey Devils prospect Blake Pietila, Tech will have three players who have been drafted on the team for the first time since the 1998-99 season (the trio of Mat Snesrud, Paul Cabana, and Weninger).

Ryan Murray went second to the Columbus Blue Jackets, giving them someone to play alongside Jack Johnson in the near future. Perhaps the most shocking thing with this pick is the rumor that the New York Islanders offered their entire draft to Columbus for this pick, conditional upon whether Nail Yakupov was available at 2, or perhaps not, depending on who you talk to. Shocking that the Islanders, look more towards ownership than at GM Garth Snow for this stroke of genius, would offer such a package for the second pick in a draft, and that Columbus would turn it down. The Blue Jackets would have still got a great prospect at pick #4 and would've been able to patch the holes of organizational depth within an afternoon. As for the Islanders, if you like a prospect enough to offer your entire draft for him, why not offer it to the Oilers at the one, instead of the Blue Jackets at two? I would find it hard to believe that the Oilers would turn that offer down, as they would have gotten a glut of prospects, including the defenseman they need at four, and could've moved those picks in a package to pick up NHL ready talent. Straight out of the Book Of Milbury, GM edition. Similar, if not identical to the Book Of Charles Wang, "How not to run an NHL franchise".

Interesting to see the Penguins stock the goalie cupboard this weekend, taking Soo Greyhounds' Matt Murray in the third round and Boston University bound Sean Maguire in the fourth. I wouldn't necessarily see this as the Pens being down on Marc-Andre Fleury after that abysmal playoff this past season. Both prospects will need time in junior/college and likely the AHL before being ready for the next step. Murray was progressing well as the starter on a defensively-challenged Greyhounds team, then the trade for Jack Campbell happened and it seemed to shake up the young goalie, who didn't really regain his early season form. He'll be given the reins again to start the season in the Sault, who have tried to improve their defense this summer, but I wouldn't expect that Murray's numbers this season would accurately reflect his talents.

I touched on Tom Wilson and "Boo" Nieves in the pre-draft blog. Wilson went to the Washington Capitals, and he'll mesh well regardless of who out of the Caps' talent he plays with. Nieves was taken at the end of the second round to the Rangers. After some time under Red Berenson, he should round into one heck of a pro.

NHL Draft, the before

Each year, the NHL Draft is one of the events I anticipate the most. With the Leafs holding the fifth pick overall, this year will be no exception. The intrigue starts four picks higher, at the top of the board with the Edmonton Oilers. The consensus top prospect in this year's draft is Nail Yakupov, a dynamic right winger. The Oilers, however, are loaded to the gills with exciting young forwards and have a glaring need for defensemen with any discernible skill. Don't be at all surprised if Edmonton takes a pass on Yakupov to take a defenseman in a defense-rich draft; most feel they are sweet on Ryan Murray.

Columbus picks second and would be a great landing spot for Yakupov, especially with the impending departure of Rick Nash via trade. Having watched both Yakupov's evident skills and Columbus' lack thereof, it would seem a match made in heaven. However, Columbus may be swayed to trade down a few spots, not only by a good offer from another team, but because of past experiences with the stereotypically enigmatic Russians Nikolai Zherdev and Nikita Filatov. Both were selected high in the draft and had big time talent, but couldn't find success in the NHL. The Blue Jackets are in need of talent in every position and may be tempted to accrue a few extra picks, move down and still get a talented prospect.

The Leafs are in dire need of a center, and there are a few who could fit that bill, just not for the upcoming season. The name most associated with Toronto in mock drafts and insiders has been Alex Galchenyuk, but there is no guarantee he would get past Montreal at three or the Islanders at four. Brian Burke has said he usually drafts the best available athlete, but this time around he is tempted to pick by positional need. Given how talentless Toronto has been down the middle, I expect Burke will go for a center, but he will be tempted by some of this year's crop of defensemen.

Other guys I'll be watching further down the board

Tom Wilson has caught a lot of eyes with his physical play with Plymouth in the OHL. Projected to go sometime mid to late first round.

Cristoval "Boo" Nieves might squeak into the late first, but should go in the second round and is headed to the University of Michigan for this upcoming season.

Jujhar Khaira will go sometime on Saturday, and this fall, he will join Blake Pietila as a Michigan Tech draftee.

It'll be interesting to see how a down season in the OHL will affect Gianluca Curcuruto. He didn't have a great season on the blueline for the Soo Greyhounds, but he wasn't alone in that category. Curcuruto is rumored to want a trade, and one may be imminent with the recent arrival of fellow draft eligible defenseman Alex Gudbranson.

"You Know You're A Leaf When..." #2

Going back a round in the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Marlies seal the series win over the Oklahoma City Barons with an empty net goal scored by Matt Frattin. Scan to about the 2:00 mark of this video:




A seemingly routine empty netter. Except that Frattin blows out his knee on the play, ruling him out for the rest of the playoffs and the start of next season. Completely shocking, until you realize the colors Matt Frattin would have been wearing at the start of the 2012 NHL season: blue and white.

“You Know You're A Leaf When…”

Restarting the blog with a feature I’ve cooked up with the aid of the eternal misfortune of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here is the game-winning overtime goal in the Calder Cup Final Game 3. Only in the blue and white…