Adirondack Phantoms (PHI)
Despite the fact that all previous games between the Albany Devils and Adirondack Phantoms had been decided by two goals or fewer, the Devils put in a little extra Saturday and gave the Phantoms a 5-2 loss. The Phantoms were able to hold off the Devils as much as they could, holding them to two goals through two periods. The Phantoms got into penalty trouble, giving the Devils a 4-on-3 and changing the momentum of the third period in favor of Albany. Michael Leighton made 35 saves.
In Sunday’s rematch against Albany, the game looked like it was going to end in a similar manner. Down 2-1 after two periods, the Phantoms successfully staged a three-goal third period comeback to win the game 4-3. All four Adirondack goals were scored by Ben Holmstrom (2) and Denis Hamel (2). It was Holmstrom’s first multi-goal game of his professional career. The Devils game the Phantoms plenty of power play opportunities, and several Devils were handed 10-minute misconducts for various offenses. The Phantoms went 3-for-9 on the power play.
no comments
Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL)
Overtime was needed twice in deciding the final score in three of the Bulldogs’ games in the last week. Wednesday night Nigel Dawes extended his goal-scoring streak to a league leading 8 games when he scored a natural hat trick in a 5-4 overtime victory against the Milwaukee Admirals. His first two goals came in the opening stanza with an unassisted goal at 16:33 and his second at 18:11. He completed the trick just over a minute into the middle frame to get his 33rd goal of the season. The Admirals scored the next three goals to end the second. Dany Masse scored for the Bulldogs in the third as well but the Admirals answered to send the game into overtime. Captain Alex Henry got his first of the season as the overtime winner.
Saturday night the Bulldogs were shut out by the Toronto Marlies 2-0. Drew MacIntyre made 21 saves as the second goal was an empty net goal. The Bulldogs went 0-for-5 on the power play in the loss. The teams faced off again Sunday this time with Hamilton coming out on top 3-2 in overtime. Olivier Fortier got his team on the board halfway through the first period and Aaron Palushaj made it a 2-0 lead 5 minutes into the second period. The Marlies answered with two goals to tie it up and send the game into overtime. Brendon Nash got the game winner at the 2:21 mark in overtime.
Hamilton is now 34-22-1-5 at the top of the North Division. They embark on a four game home stand playing host to the Rockford IceHogs, Lake Erie Monsters, Texas Stars and Rochester Americans in the next week.
Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)
The Admirals still remain on top of the West Division and the Western Conference with 81 points, two ahead of the closest team. Milwaukee started the week by defeating the Toronto Marlies for the second time this season with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday. Netminder Mark Dekanich was back for his first start in nine days and stopped 31 shots in the win. Gabriel Bourque netted his 11th goal of the season, second power play goal, in the first period, putting the Ad's on the board. Mike Bartlett netted his sixth goal in the second period, while Grant Lewis scored a power-play goal at 15:12 of the third period.
Milwaukee fell in overtime to the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-4 at Hamilton. The Admirals did not get on the board until 4:31 of the second period with a goal from Teemu Laakso. Scott Ford and Andreas Thuresson with his ninth goal of the season, third on the power play, also scored in the second period, keeping the Ad's alive. Bourque tied the game up half way through the third period, sending the game to overtime, where a former Admiral would get the winning goal for Hamilton.
The Admirals went on to post a 3-1 win over the Chicago Wolves Friday night. Mark Dekanich stopped 42 shots earning his 22nd win for the season. Connor Shields scored at 3:01 of the first period, his first as an Admiral. Just 27 seconds into the second period on the power play, Ryan Thang gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Patrick Coulombe also scored his first goal as an Admiral at 3:42 of the third period.
Saturday was the showdown between the North and West Division leaders, with the Manitoba Moose coming to Milwaukee in their final meeting this year, defeating the Admirals 4-2. Dekanich made 26 saves in the loss. Grant Lewis at 9:47 of the first period with a power play goal put Milwaukee on the board. Ryan Flynn in the third at 2:59 scored the other Admiral goal.
no comments
Anton Khudobin got his second straight win as a Providence Bruins making 20 saves as his team blanked the Bridgeport Sound Tigers by a tally of 6-0 in front of 7,067 fans in a long game Sunday afternoon at the Dunkin Donuts Center. 9 different skaters notched points and Trent Whitfield tallied 2 goals and 2 assists. Over 120 penalty minutes were added up in the game with 88 belonging to the home team who got three players tossed from the game.
The Providence Bruins had success on both the penalty kill and power play in the afternoon game frequently whistled game. The team went 3-for-9 on the power play and killed off 9 penalties including a handful of 5-minute major calls.
“Our penalty kill was good, our special teams have been better as of late,” Coach Rob Murray said following the game, “It makes a huge difference.”
Whitfield, who was also named the AHL’s Reebok Player of the week, thought his team played well in terms of the penalty kill but knows they want to be more disciplined. “On other nights we could get burned having to kill that many 5 minute majors,” he admitted, “Tonight was the night we were able to get it done on the kill, we haven’t been able to get it done all year so hopefully that is a good turning point for us.”
Kitchener Rangers forward Tyler Randell was drafted by the Bruins in 2009 and the NHL club has until this June to decide whether to sign the power forward to a contract or set him free. A lot was riding against Randell until now. With the bevy of draft picks and prospects the Bruins own the rights to, a decision will have to be made on whether to use one of the maximum of 50 contracts allowed under the collective bargaining agreement on Randell.
While he won’t get mentioned in the same sentence as his OHL brothers, Ryan Spooner of the Kingston Frontenacs and Jared Knight of the London Knights, or his potential teammates in the AHL like Jordan Caron and Max Sauvé, this observer’s eyes tell me that he’s earned his chance.
Randell has helped propel his Rangers to within striking distance of first place in the Ontario Hockey League's Western Conference. It started out on Feb 21st when he recorded one assist in a 5-2 victory over the Mississauga Majors. The key game, however, was on Friday, February 25th, at home against Saginaw. Randell recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, assist and a fight. His goal was also the game winning goal that vaulted Kitchener over Saginaw for second place, to within two points of first place Owen Sound, with a game in hand.
This was the sixth time this season Randell was within reach of the Gordie Howe hat trick. In his previous five attempts he had the two most difficult out of the way with a goal and a fight, but couldn’t get that elusive assist. This time though, he had the fight and assist out of the way before notching the game winning goal.
no comments
Photo courtesy of Scott Slingsby
Viatcheslav Voynov is solid, aggressive, quick thinking and unselfish. Called Slava by his teammates and fans, Voynov is in his second season as a defenseman for the Monarchs. This 21-year-old was a second round pick in 2008 for the Kings organization, and he has gone above and beyond his call of duty. Last season, Voynov accrued 10 goals and 29 points in 79 games for Manchester.
This season, he leads defenders in scoring and already has 40 points and 12 goals. He almost never turns pucks over, but in crucial moments he finds the open space to attack and the intuition to score. Voynov sees the ice completely, knows where his teammates will be at all times and isn’t afraid to use his tremendous slapshot to light the lamp. His +/- score so far is 17, the highest on the team and a strong indication of his abilities as a puck-moving defenseman. Voynov also had the honor of playing in the AHL All-Star game for 2011 in Hershey and helped to lift the Eastern Conference team to an 11-8 win over the Western Conference. Though Voynov’s first language is Russian, we had a chance to talk to him with the help of a Russian translator, Glen Frieden.
no commentsWhile Saturday night’s game featured new players making big impacts in their new jerseys, the feelings shared for each other were the same as ever- hatred. A sentiment like that in a game leading up to the post season for two teams who could eventually meet means one thing: physical play. And that’s what fans got in this match up- fights, big hits, and scrums after whistles. One guy who knew this all to well was Johnny Boychuk- a man with a personal vendetta with the Penguins’ Matt Cooke. Boychuk in this one, like every time he faces the Penguins, was all over Cooke, attempting to run him through the boards on every opportunity. But the physical game the Bruins would bring on this evening would prove to not be enough to overcome the Penguins in this match up as the home team would fall short in overtime, 3-2.
The Bruins started this affair of strong, putting together a 1st twenty minutes of play filled with hitting, strong breakouts, and a flurry of opportunities. While they were kept scoreless by Fleury, they did show why the team had been unbeaten in seven straight. The keys to the Bruins in this period, as it has been in their previous games, was to keep their feet moving. The speed added to this line up by Peverley and Kelly along with the quick transition brought by Tomas Kaberle, made the breakout and play in transition exceptional for the Bruins. On many of rushes, the Bruins succeeded in turning the Penguin defenseman and brought plays right to the net. No opportunity was better in the first than Michael Ryder’s drive through the zone to deke Fleury and attempt to put one home on the down goalie. Fleury would come up big for his team on this one though, getting his left pad back into place and denying the Bruin forward.
The last time anyone in Boston saw the Bruins, they were giving up a late lead against the red-headed stepchild of the Northeast Division. The 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs was the last game those Bruins would lose as a unit, as Peter Chiarelli hit the phones hard, shipping away prospects, picks and Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart to get the long-desired Tomas Kaberle and add Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly.
With the new members of the Black and Gold in tow, the Bruins left for a six-game road trip which they swept, winning every game in regulation and besting the NHL-best Vancouver Canucks in the process. And when the suddenly re-energized squad finally hit TD Garden ice, the changes were apparent.
There, in the first period, was a skating game that hadn’t been seen in the previous 65 games. There was an improved physicality used to throw the Tampa Bay Lightning off of their game. And there was Mike Smith, standing on his head as the Bruins assaulted him with pucks and bodies alike.
But at the end of the day, it was the old guard that got the job done.
Steven Kampfer made up for an earlier mistake that led to a Steve Downie goal when he scored the tying goal at 6:06 in the second on a designed play that had him move the puck from the right point to the center and fired a slapshot stick side past a prone Smith. The rookie’s fifth goal tied it at one, but Kampfer didn’t have much to celebrate as he left the game early after taking a big hit in the corner late in the third.
Tempers started to flare later in the period, as Milan Lucic and Eric Brewer went at it after Lucic and Nathan Horton had already been assessed minor penalties. Brewer didn’t throw a punch, but took a few good hooks from Lucic, who spent two of the next five minutes watching his teammates kill off a 5-on-3 Tampa Bay advantage that never really amounted to much.
Neither team was able to generate any offense off the power play, as the Bruins went 0 for 3 and haven’t scored a man-advantage goal in five games. Tampa Bay was 0 for 4, despite having scored five times in 14 opportunities coming into the game.
Bruins head coach Claude Julien called the kill the “turning point” of the game.
The physical play ultimately tilted the ice in the Bruins favor, as Lucic gobbled up a loose puck from under a dogpile of Bruins and Lightning in the Tampa Bay crease and lifted it into the back of the net above a helpless Smith. The goal gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish, as Tampa’s struggles with the man-advantage continued once they pulled Smith for the extra attacker.
“Everyone was on the ice including their goalie so I just shot it high and hard and it went in,” said Lucic, whose 28th goal of the season is both a team- and career-high.
After a six-game road trip which saw the Bruins gain the attacking zone with relative ease, Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher’s trademark 1-3-1 trap gave Boston problems again, just like it did in their first meeting of the year, a 3-1 Tampa win. The Bruins dumped and chased more in one game at home than they had in six games on the road, but still managed to secure the win.
“We tried to get their system figured out tonight. I think they played a little better, they were more defensively sound,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who spent a majority of the game getting under the skin of Tampa forward Viktor Hedman. “It’s part of their game, they can’t beat us easily if they can’t get under guys’ skin, try to get them off their game.”
If anyone took that rule to heart, it was Horton, who after being dropped by the Lightning’s Dominic Moore in the first period followed the Tampa center back to the bench to give him a piece of his mind, and had to be forcibly directed to his own seat by the linesman.
“I don’t even remember what I said to him,” Horton admitted after the game. “I just know that I was mad because he hit me.”
Horton, who’s never been a part of something like the Bruins have - seven seasons in Florida produced exactly zero playoff berths - is enjoying the ride as much as he can. When asked if he’s ever been a part of something like this, Horton flashed his signature ear-to-ear grin and noted that while it was exciting, there’s still work to be done. “We’ve won seven in a row, and we’ll try to be perfect the rest of the way, too.”
While Horton may not have dropped the gloves, he was successful in bringing the physical presence that has made his line with David Krejci and Lucic so successful, and that has made the Bruins as a team such a strong contender late in the season.
Tampa came into the contest as the fourth-least penalized team in the league, lacking a heavyweight to trade punches with the likes of Lucic, Horton, Shawn Thornton or Adam McQuaid. The Bruins’ ability to take the physical play to the Lightning and set the tone for the game gave them the upper hand when all was said and done.
Setting the tone is something the Black and Gold has done well of late. In the six games since these Bruins started playing together, they’ve allowed only seven goals, including just three against two of the League’s top-five offenses. They’ve done it by skating and they’ve done it by being physical, and they’re quickly starting to look like a team that might be around for quite a few more months.
Photo courtesy of Scott Slingsby
There’s something to be said about a mother’s intuition. In December we talked to Colten Teubert’s Mom, Shauna Poppy, and though she said she’d love to visit Manchester again, she never knew where Colten would be playing. Sure enough, Teubert's career as a Manchester Monarch was halted yesterday when he was traded to the Oilers Organization--along with a first-round draft pick in 2011 and a conditional draft pick in 2012--for forward Dustin Penner. At only 20-years-old, Teubert is making some trades of his own: he's packing up his snowy New Hampshire condo and California dreams for a plane trip to Oklahoma City and a contract with a homeland team.
Colten had become an integral part of the Monarchs defense and a physical contributer. He was a first round pick for the Kings in 2008 and was selected 13th overall. Though he tallied 2 goals and 8 assists this season and has a shockingly hard slapshot, he is primarily a stay-at-home defenseman. He's solid in front of the net and hardly ever turns pucks over. At 6'4" and 195 pounds, he's a big body with some speed a lot of grit. Teubert isn't afraid to skate hard into the corners, commit to checks or mix it up on occasion. Like any player, there are things you'd like to see him do more of, but what he will bring to the Oiler's organization is an aggressive defensive mindset. He'll report to Oklahoma to play with the Barons in the AHL, and with the trade deadline being just a week shy of his 21st birthday, Teubert is just beginning his professional career. His future is bright, his potential enormous. While the Oilers gave up offensive consistency in Dustin Penner, they invested in guys like Colten who will help the organization develop in the next few years to come.
Though Colten is a jokester with his teammates and his family, he's serious and focused on the ice and in the locker room. There's no doubt he got the brightness of his personality and his blond hair from his mother Shauna, who is sweet, friendly and like most hockey moms, doting. Though she was once the mother of a King, she won't have to use her passport when she goes to watch Colten as an Oilers uniform in the next few years. Good luck in Oklahoma City and Edmonton, Colten. Thank you for all your hard-work in Manchester and your contributions in a Monarchs Country. We talked to both Shauna and Colten about growing up in British Columbia, making sacrifices for the game and Colten's missing teeth.
no commentsWhen I was looking for a picture to include with this post, I found this one from Khudobin's birthday couple of years ago. He had just played an absolutely electric playoff game and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to him as he accepted his first star honors.
Anton Khudobin. Photo by Fred Trask
We've posted a lot of player and game pictures over at The Third Intermission, but this is probably my all time favorite because Anton is just... Anton. It was a glorious moment to be in the building.
Whatever anybody wants to say about him, there is no question he’s made an impact on fans everywhere he’s played, and I know he’ll make an impact on Providence fans, too. Anton, whom we nicknamed Dimples (though his mask says Dobby, but last time I looked, he‘s not a House Elf) for pretty obvious reasons, is from Kazakhstan, but spent his formative years in Russia.
If you’ve watched Nabokov much, you’ll find that Anton’s style is similar. Narrow stance, plenty of old school stuff (pad stacks and scrambles, ahoy!), but a solid technical repertoire to take care of the easy saves. He’s a small guy so he spends a lot of time challenging well outside of his crease. He’s pretty fearlesss and knows he has to do this to cut down the angle.
He’s charismatic. A little flourish on glove saves and he does this thing on dump-ins where he dives out and slows it down with his stick along the goal line rather than letting it bounce off the kick plate. It’s just one of many charming little Khudobinisms.
He’s also a funny guy and the beat writers there are going to love him. He says what’s on his mind, even if it doesn’t fit the hockey clichés. And frankly, his accent makes stuff that’s just marginally amusing into pretty hysterical. He’s got a great goldfish brain in that nothing really sticks to him. He’s happy-go-lucky, always smiling. He’s confident to the point of cocky sometimes, but when he’s YOUR goalie? That’s just a recipe for fun.
He will give you a hundred heart attacks a game, because he’s scrambling and diving and battling, but while it may look unorthodox, he finds a way to get ‘er done. Also…. He’s really really good in shootouts. Like… REALLY. And just fun to watch. Super patient, confident, and just does incredible things in shootouts thanks to his acrobatic athleticism.
If there’s a major knock against him, it’s that his focus is inconsistent. He’ll stand on his head and spin plates and sing show tunes one minute, and lets in a beach ball the next. But I attribute a lot of that lately to basically knowing there’s no place to move up in the Wild organization since they signed Dennis Endras to be Nik Backstrom’s backup in Minnesota next year.
What I’m saying is, Anton plays best when he’s hungry and I think a change of scenery will induce that hunger in him again. He’s got a whole new bunch of folks to impress and being in a barn like the Dunk, filled to the rafters as it was when I saw Binghamton play there in January, will put the wind in his sails again. And if that happens, there will be no stopping him.
