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As the Providence Bruins season began to wrap up, Ryan Spooner began contributing to the team in his first game in the lineup with an assist and substantial power play ice time.
Spooner, the Bruins’ 45th overall draft pick in 2010, joins the team from the Ontario Hockey League’s Sarnia Sting after a first round playoff exit which saw the Sting defeated in six games by the Saginaw Spirit. The centerman had a goal and two assists in that playoff run, his fourth appearance in the playoffs in just as many seasons. Leading up to the playoffs, Spooner split his time this season with the Kingston Frontenacs and the Sarnia Sting. Between the two stints he had 66regular season points (29 goals and 37 assists).
Following Friday night’s 3-0 victory over the Worcester Sharks Providence Coach Bruce Cassidy joked that he thought Spooner was horrible and “should be sent back.”
In actuality, Cassidy said that liked what he saw in Spooner with regard to his speed and skill up the middle of the ice and added that Spooner brought a new dimension to the team. “He will [be in the lineup] unless he doesn’t play on the defensive side of the puck,” Cassidy said, “He’s earned it.”
The play that Cassidy liked out of Spooner is something that the 20-year-old said he thought he could do better on but added that he still has to adjust. Adjusting to a new system is not something new for Spooner, as Providence is the third system he is playing in this season alone.
Whether new or not, Spooner admitted that continuing to make these adjustments is “really tough.”
“Just because of the game of hockey,” Spooner says of the changes, “You get used to one thing and then next thing you know, it’s something totally different. It’s part of the game of hockey and you gotta pick up on it quick.”
Despite facing something new yet again, Spooner saw a difference between this experience and that he had last year in his first appearance in the Providence lineup.
“I was really nervous last year and I guess coming in this year I knew a lot of guys on the team and felt a lot more comfortable and good,” he said.
Spooner also said he focused on working on “little things” like faceoffs, aggressiveness and work ethic, in the year since he was last in Providence.
“Sometimes it’s hard to break those bad habits when you’re playing junior hockey,” he said, “When you come up here you really gotta focus and bear down on those little things.”
“[The little things are] things that you take for granted when you play junior hockey because you can get away with it,” Spooner explained, “When you come up here and make little mistakes, it ends up in the back of your net.”
As for Spooner’s future next year, he said he wants to take his time in Providence now to get used to everything because he thinks it is where he will be next season full time.
Cassidy said he would love for Spooner to make the Boston lineup, as he hopes for all the “kids,” but says it would be great to have him in Providence too.
“He’ll have to push a guy out of a job and if he does that, good for him and they’ll make room for him,” Cassidy said, “If not, he comes down here and he works on things that he needs to work on and gets better.”
Cassidy said that Spooner would benefit either lineup.
“For our benefit down here it’d be great to have all the good young kids but it doesn’t always work that way,” he said, “It’s good if he makes Boston for everyone in the organization and it’s good for us if he has to come here and learn how to hone his craft for a year.”
As for Spooner, he said he hopes to make the move from the OHL permanent.
“I played in the OHL for four years and it’s a great league but I think it’s time for me to move on,” Spooner said. “Hopefully I can make Boston next year but that’s kind of a long shot and I’ll probably end up here. It’s a great league and I’m looking forward to working towards my future.”
In a press release today, the Boston Bruins announced the callup of Carter Camper from Providence to meet the team in St. Louis. He'll join them for practice tomorrow. But who's Carter Camper, you may be wondering? Why would the Bruins not call up someone they've drafted in the last few years, like Zach Hamill or Max Sauve or even a veteran who can fill in on the fourth line like Trent Whitfield? Who is this undrafted newbie? Out of nowhere, he's become the P-Bruins' leading scorer this year, and has lead them from last in the conference to just a point out of a playoff spot right now.
Camper and Ryan Spooner talk during a game in April 2011.
Camper is a 5'9, right-handed shot born in 1988 who can play center or wing. He's from Rocky River, Ohio (hey, another American!) and played junior hockey in the USHL with Matt Bartkowski and Colby Cohen, among others of note, for one year in 2006-2007. He lead the Stars in points his only year there, with 71. In 2007, he headed off to college at Miami of Ohio, where he played for four years. He lead the team in scoring his sophomore year, and was top-three the other three years, outstripped twice by fellow AHLer Andy Miele. Unlike Miele, however, Camper went undrafted, and signed as a free agent with Boston after his senior season, on April 5, 2011. He finished his college career second on Miami of Ohio's points and assists lists.
After Camper's three games in Providence in April, the PBruins were done, having missed the playoffs. Camper went back to school to finish up his degree, came back this year with a vengeance. He was Providence's only All-Star in Atlantic City this year, and far outstrips the rest of his team, with 38 points. Second is Josh Hennessy with 30; Craig Cunningham is next with 24. Camper also scored his first professional hat trick last weekend.
It's always good to see undrafted guys work hard to attain an NHL roster spot, and although Camper is undersized, he's proving his doubters wrong, rewarded with a callup. Interestingly enough, this will be the first time since 2009 that Camper faces off against former Boston University star Kevin Shattenkirk, when Miami of Ohio lost in the Frozen Four Championship.
It's no secret to Bruins fans that Andrew Ference is a green kind of guy. He recycles, composts, rides his bike to work, and talks about the environment to anyone who will listen. He's done videos on eating natural foods like acai, has spoken at conferences about environmental issues, and has travelled to Africa to support Right to Play. And now he's the star of his own web series, Beyond the Puck, on the National Geographic Channel.
(Photo by National Geographic Channel: Following tradition, Andrew gets to spend his day with the Stanley Cup. Players often take the cup to their hometowns, but Andrew decided to lead a parade through Boston on his bicycle.)
National Geographic has taken notice of Ference, an oddity among athletes for being so incredibly devoted to the causes he loves. This Thursday, February 16th, the 10-episode web series "Beyond the Puck" premieres on National Geographic Channel online.
From NatGeo Channel:
Andrew Ference, an eco-warrior and NHL hockey player, offers a rare glimpse into his sustainable lifestyle in the new 10-episode web series Beyond the Puck.
But he is not your typical hockey player. Andrew's an environmental activist, a Stanley Cup champion, the husband of a former professional snowboarder, and father of two girls. He rides his bike to “work” and doesn’t mind being called a tree hugger — he’s just as comfortable checking opponents on the ice as he is teaching kids about composting in elementary schools.
Inspired by his friend, environmentalist David Suzuki, Andrew has embraced an eco-friendly way of life at home and on the road. He’s achieved the ultimate victory in hockey — winning the Stanley Cup — and is ready take on the challenge of inspiring others to care about the planet.
The episodes look promising, with such themes as "A Day in the Life" and "Monster Dad." Check out the trailer below, and the site here, with more videos previewing the series, and be sure to tune in online on Thursday!
The changes the Bruins applied for this game appear to be in working order. After going down early to Toronto off a David Steckel shot from the high slot, the Bruins stormed back to dominate the first period. Leading the way so far has been the Bruins power play. With the Bruins converting both chances (Nathan Horton down low and Zdeno Chara on the one timer), the extra man play appears to be on fire. Compared to last year, the play shows a world of difference; better puck movement, more play down low, better rotations and a feel of more skill and creativity overall on both units.
The Bruins wouldn't stop with just the two power play goals though, Chris Kelly would add to the total with the Bruins first even strength goal of the game. After receiving a pass down low from Lucic, Kelly proceeded to outwork the Toronto defense to secure a shot and rebound to put over the stretched pad of Gustavsson. The 3-1 lead would be where the period ended with a team that has been frustrated lately going to the locker room with a sense of renewed faith.
The guys on fire tonight appear to be Benoit Pouliot, Zdeno Chara and none other than Andrew Ference who contributed with an assist on all three goals giving him a new personal best for points and assists in a single game. Both power play goals provided points as well to the Bruins' captain who has shown a mix of offensive and physical play in the first. Pouliot, while not being on the score board has shown why the Bruins have welcomed his play so far this season. His intensity, hard skating and always looking to make a play have lead to chances as well as the drawn call that gave the Bruins the power play goal and lead tonight. If he is able to keep this game up for the season he will be one of the best pick ups for the money across the NHL this past off season.
Correcting the pregame notes, Davide Krejci is back and playing this evening, sending rookie Jordan Caron upstairs this evening. Krejci, while appearing slightly rusty his first shift or two, seems to be right back into the mix at this point; skating well, active on the power play and even taking shifts centering who else but Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin. While it looks as though Kelly will still get the majority of the time between the two this evening, the plan to get Krejci back in there soon could come to fruition Saturday when the Bruins host the Sharks.
Going into the 2nd period expect to see the Bruins come out and try to run away with this game. Gustavsson being rusty has shown and the Bruins are doing what they need to to make sure he does not get comfortable down low. If they can continue to keep the pressure up then this game could be over quickly. Toronto will not go away easy though and any let ups by the Bruins could lead to an upset home crowd. Don't be surprised if Mike Miccoli's pregame prediction ends up true though and the Bruins finish this up with a score of 6-2.
The Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL are set to retire Patrice Bergeron’s number this upcoming season, making him the first player to receive such an honor since the team moved to Bathurst in 1998 according to an article on RDS.com.
The ceremony will be held on September 25th in a Sunday afternoon game against the Rouyn-Norand Huskies.
Picture from RDS article featured below.
A Quebec native, Bergeron was drafted in fifth round of the 2001 QMJHL draft out of AA Bantam hockey where he played for the Riviere-Nord Governeurs. Bergeron spent the 2001-02 season in Midget AAA hockey with the St.Franois Blizzards and played four games with Acadie-Bathurst where he notched one point from an assist.
Bergeron really broke out with Acadie-Bathurst in the 2002-03 season when he played 70 games and amassed 73 points. He had 23 goals and 50 assists, which was second in scoring among rookies.
Following that season the center was drafted 45th overall in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins and the rest is nearly history.
Bergeron, who wears one of the “A”s on his jersey, has made comebacks from two concussions and is a Stanley Cup Champion. Aside from the Bruins, Bergeron played for Team Canada in 2010 where the team won gold. He also won gold as a member of Team Canada in the 2004 World Championships and 2005 World Junior Championships. He is only the 25th player to win in the Olympics, World Championships and Stanley Cup.
Read the article (in French) here.
no commentsIt's the afternoon before puck drop outside TD Garden, and from the looks of things, you'd never be able to tell that it's a workday.
From the tour buses and duck boats honking at hockey fans as they pass, snippets of Bruins history floating audibly from their loudspeakers, to the Canucks and Bruins fans mingling in front of the NHL Network's outdoor set, to the multitude of fans from both sides of the continent posing with the Bobby Orr statue - it was a picturesque afternoon. The weather was perfect for all the hundreds of jerseyed spectators outside TD Garden. When I got there, it was too early for the Bruins' sponsored fanfest, yet people milled around as if it were an hour to gametime. Usually there's some commuter traffic due to the Garden being located above North Station, but never to this extent.
There were Vancouver fans aplenty, in all manner of jerseys, from the terrible old orange V to the blue and green hockey-stick logo, and contrary to popular belief - all was civil. Passersby asked a pair of Canucks fans if they could take a photo of the Vancouverites' flag they were toting around, and several Canucks fans expressed delight at having gotten to go on different Boston city tours. Aside from lighthearted razzing along Canal Street, and maybe a few feisty "Let's Go Bruins!" chants in the vicinity of those guys dressed in blue and green, thre was no animosity.
After all, when all is said and done, why should there be? The Bruins and Canucks are playing hockey in June. It's a beautiful day outside, with perfect weather. The NHL playoffs have run longer than either the NBA playoffs or last year's Stanley Cup run. Deep down, don't we all sort of want this to go on forever?
And why, really, should we get angry at Vancouver fans in our house, especially if game 6 goes in the Bruins' favor? They're not exactly guaranteed to see their team win here. And at the same time, it's a greater win for the city at large - they boost our economy, eat in our restaurants, visit our historic landmarks. Why wouldn't we want to bounce them back to the West Coast with a sour flavor in their mouths from the game - but a great memory of our city?
It's a beautiful day for hockey. Welcome to Boston, 'Nucks fans.....let's go B's.
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For the past few seasons, we in the USA have been able to catch the occasional CBC broadcast of playoff games, primarily on NHL Network or through other means. One of the things CBC's telecasts have become known for are their amazing pre-game montages, typically set to really solid music - and more than often incredibly moving in their presentation. Above is the montage for game 4 - set to the Black Keys' "Howlin' For You."
It's become a habit of mine this playoffs - especially as the Bruins' run has gone deeper and deeper - to go looking for these montages the morning after games. You can find most of them on this youtube page. Watching the above video, however, got me thinking yesterday, back to the first of these montages I ever saw, and each subsequently more amazing one.
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Image courtesy of Ace Ticket.
By now, most hockey fans are familiar with the antics of these two Canucks fans. Dubbed 'Force' and 'Sully', these characters parade around in full-body spandex suits, an 'original' gimmick ripped directly from the popular television show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Somehow, they accrued enough faux stardom to warrant a paid trip to Boston for games 3 and 4.
One particular Boston-based ticket seller, however, would have none of their shenanigans this week. In any other regular season game? Any other playoff game? I'm certain Ace Ticket would have no problem selling to opposing fans. But this is the Stanley Cup Final, these are the most obnoxious of opposing fans, and our fanbase should be proud of what Ace Ticket did when the 'Green Men' walked in to buy tickets on Monday.
In an email from Ace Ticket account coordinator Tom Taylor on Tuesday morning, the situation was laid out.
Ace Ticket, one of Boston’s top ticketing agencies, is certainly doing their best the keep the Garden full of Bruins fans… even if it comes down to declining a sale.
Early, Monday afternoon, two men dressed fully in green body suits, decided to take their chances in buying game-3 Stanley Cup tickets from Boston’s top ticketing agency, Ace Ticket. For some odd reason, The Green Men, who have mocked, pranked, and played annoyance to every team that their Canucks have faced, thought that Ace Ticket, an official sponsor of the Boston Bruins, would help them get any closer to the ice. Not on Jim Holzman’s watch.
As the CEO of Ace Ticket, Holzman has heard it all when it comes to scoring tickets to big games. From a free year of landscaping, to a weekend in Nantucket, Holzman has dealt with every scenario – all of which he has had to turn down. Though, not often is it that he takes the liberty to REFUSE to sell.
Growing up in Boston, Holzman’s ties lay close to our fellow Boston sports scene. It’s not everyday that a ticket broker – whose main concern is sales – decides to decline a customer, but it as of right now, this only seems fitting.
It's great to see Ace Ticket trying to keep the local fanbase in the local seats, for sure - on a stage this big, Bruins fans deserve to watch their own team in their own building. That being said, I feel absolutely no pity for those Canucks fans who shelled out the dough to see the 8-1 shellacking last night at the Garden. Props to Ace Ticket - whom you can find on twitter at @aceticket - and go Bruins.
Today’s topic is not going to come as some shocking revelation, but it’s something worth discussing nonetheless (especially in light of the recent game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals): the selective blindness of the playoff official.
It's a fact that even during the regular season, referees both miss calls and actively overlook things. From the outside looking in, it can be difficult to tell what has happened in a situation, and there are plenty of players who do their ‘best’ work when the referee’s back is turned. There will always be games where penalties are handed out like candy, but they’re memorable because they’re the exception to the rule. In professional and Division I hockey it’s even more noticeable than it is in the lower levels, because the power play is expected to have a certain minimum level of effectiveness. Earned or not, a slanted scoresheet in the penalty section raises eyebrows and sets tongues wagging.
That being said, a perfectly balanced scoresheet does not automatically mean that a game was well-called, and neither does a sheet full of infractions. Teams have off nights where they’ll act out (or take stupid penalties - Delay of Game and Too Many Men are calls that can’t be ignored), and sometimes minor penalties are seen as an acceptable price to pay for preventing a goal or sending a message. Officiating is a subjective exercise, and calls can be influenced by everything from the angle of the referee’s gaze to the significance of the game and who he happens to be partnered with that night. Every on-ice official has their own standard of enforcement, and the trick is in making sure that standard is fairly and evenly applied. Calling every minor hook and trip may ascribe to the letter of the law, but a hockey game needs movement and flow, and that often requires discretion to be applied in the form of a blind eye.
Hello, NHL, it's been a while. The Bruins haven't been one of the last two teams standing for 21 years. That's a pretty long time.
The last time the Bruins made it to the Conference Finals was 1992, but they were swept by Mario Lemieux's Pittsburgh Penguins en route to their Stanley Cup victory, also a sweep, over the Chicago Blackhawks. We have to go back a little further to 1991 for the last time the Bruins won a game in the Conference Finals - they won two, actually, but fell (again) to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won four games to two.
The last time the Bruins got as far as they are now - sitting in a Western Canadian city, ready to start the Stanley Cup Finals - was 1990. 21 years ago. Obviously, times have changed significantly since then. For starters, the Bruins last played a Stanley Cup Final game in May, in the Boston Garden, a building that fit entirely in TD Garden's front parking lot. It's certainly been a while since that building was knocked down.
Can you imagine BizNasty trying to tweet from something like this? Welcome to cell phones circa 1990.
If you can remember the last time the Bruins got this far, congratulations - you're sort of old. What else was going on in the world in 1990?
