Okay, since you probably read this and other blogs you know that The Washington Capitals' ECHL affiliate South Carolina Stingrays captured the Kelly Cup - the ECHL Championship in Anchorage on Friday Night. It took 23 playoff games for the Rays to get 16 wins, but with a 4-2 victory in game seven, the South Carolina Stingrays knocked off the Alaska Aces and clinched their third Kelly Cup Championship!! Congratulations to the Rays Organization. The winning goaltender Friday Night, and the ECHL Playoff MVP, was James Reimer who stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced. The XX year old Reimer was a 4th Round, 99th overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2006 NHL entry draft, and as per Hockey's Future is part of the Leafs system, this season he played in Reading for the ECHL Royals, Toronto for the AHL Marlies, and South Carolina. He was a great pickup for the Stingrays by their coach/gm - Jared Bednar. Also on the winning team were Capitals prospects: Center & Team Captain Travis Morin, and Left Winger Maxime Lacroix.
The Capitals AHL affiliate Hershey Bears took a 2-1 Series lead in the AHL's Calder Cup finals with a 3-0 win in Hershey yesterday over the Vancouver Canucks' affiliate Manitoba Moose. The Bears try and make the series 3-1 this evening in Hershey with a 5:00PM faceoff while the Moose try and even the series up. Both Hershey and Manitoba are filling their buildings and the series is filled with solid hockey. Yesterday, The Bears found the back of the goal first, as Graham Mink netted his sixth of the postseason at 6:22 of the first period. Michal Neuvirth earned his fourth postseason shutout, turning aside all 28 Moose shots. The Hershey power play went 2-for-3, and the penalty kill silenced Manitoba on all five attempts. The three stars of the Game: 1. Michal Neuvirth (4th postseason shutout) 2. Alexandre Giroux (league-leading 14th playoff goal) 3. Staffan Kronwall (two assists, on ice for all three goals).
Good luck to the Bears today; hopefully next year at this juncture all three teams in the Capitals Organization, including those who regularly play at the Verizon Center will still be competing. Speaking of NHL Hockey how about those Red Wings? Last night's game was truly a lesson in puck control and self control by the Red Wings. Pavel Datsyuk notched two assists and almost had a third in his return to the ice after 18 days on IR. Chris Osgood turned away all 22 shots by the Penguins and the Red Wings as a whole totally frustrated both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Marc-Andre Fluery had his "human game" letting 5 of 21 shots by for a save percentage of just 0.762 before being pulled in the second period. By that point it was basically all over "except for the crying" as they say. The way this series has been nothing is for sure but there was no doubt who the better team on the ice last night was. Clearly Pittsburgh has a lot of adjustments to make over the next couple of days while Detroit seems to determined to try and repeat and not give the young talented Pittsburgh team anything to motivate themselves with. Lots of physical play and some of it marginal ensued last night, but in the post-game comments and Q&A, the Red Wings were clearly not biting on any leading questions and seem determined to let their play on the ice do their talking next game as well as this one. So Pittsburgh now has their backs against the wall and Detroit appears determined to try and win their 12 Cup overall and 2nd in a row in Pittsburgh. It should be a great game - I have a new poll - who do you think will win on Tuesday and who will win the Cup? I'm thinking Detroit holds it together and once again wins the Cup in Pittsburgh on Tuesday; I'm not making any predictions on scores, etc. though. I do predict that Franzen and Malkin will go at it before the end of the second period though.
Five more weeks till the Capitals Development Camp Opens ... in the meantime
LETS GO BEARS!!!! and once again
CONGRATULATIONS STINGRAYS!!!
Showing posts with label South Carolina Stingrays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Carolina Stingrays. Show all posts
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Caps 2 - Maple Leafs 1; Alzner Gets His First NHL Goal
December 6th Scores to Remember: Caps 2 - Maple Leafs 1; Navy 34 - Army 0 ; Hershey Bears 4 - Hartford Wolf Pack 2; Villanova 27 - James Madison 31...
Well tonight in Toronto it was a two point night for the Washington Capitals, despite all the help the help the referees tried to give the Maple Leafs. The lack of a call on Toronto when Alex Ovechkin was interfered with, hooked and basically pulled down on a breakaway in the last minute of the second period was a bad piece of officiating. However, the two penalties give
n to Ovechkin, especially the second holding call by an official who couldn't see the play while the ref who could didn't call any penalty was actually worse. Also, you couldn't tell from the replays that Brooks Laich did or didn't kick the puck in into the net, so since the call was a goal how was it overturned? I guess the guys in the booth had some video we didn't see. Finally since the Caps won 2-1 in regulation and ended a four game road losing streak, none of that matters, life is good. Well sort of good, since another Cap got injured tonight, Eric Fehr - that makes 9 + Brian Pothier, if your counting.
n to Ovechkin, especially the second holding call by an official who couldn't see the play while the ref who could didn't call any penalty was actually worse. Also, you couldn't tell from the replays that Brooks Laich did or didn't kick the puck in into the net, so since the call was a goal how was it overturned? I guess the guys in the booth had some video we didn't see. Finally since the Caps won 2-1 in regulation and ended a four game road losing streak, none of that matters, life is good. Well sort of good, since another Cap got injured tonight, Eric Fehr - that makes 9 + Brian Pothier, if your counting.Before reviewing the Caps game and play in Toronto, a comment has to be made about the depth of the Capitals organization. With the Capitals injury situation, so far this season 30 different players have played for the Caps. Over the past two weeks, the Caps have called up numerous players from the Hershey Bears, tonight in Toronto, the Caps lineup included Kieth Aucoin, Sami Lepisto, Karl Alzner, Bryan Helmer and Sean Collins. Add to that the fact that Tyler Sloan is still on the Caps roster but is injured and you have 6 players that started the season as Hershey Bears (5 Defenseman), that haven't been around Hershey much in the last week or so. Yet Hershey beat the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-2 tonight, that was the Bears 10th straight win. The call ups of course go all the way down to and affect even the Caps ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, the Stingrays played the Charlotte Checkers and dropped the game to them 3-2. Looking at the Stingrays - Checkers score sheet, it was a hard fought game (3 fights in the first period and one fight in the second). It also doesn't look like Charlotte outplayed the Rays, the difference of the game was a power play goal by the Checkers at the tail end of a 5-3 man advantage. So the depth of the organization is without question, just well ... pretty amazing.
How does a team plagued with so many injuries win two games in a row and break a four game road losing streak? Well first they play passionate hockey for sixty minutes and focus on the basics - that's probably the biggest thing the Caps did tonight. No we're not talking about "the system" here, though that's part of it, we're talking about simplifying the game plan to enable a lot of new faces to work well together and focusing on the basics. Combine that with the passionate play, and the high general talent level of the many young players in the Caps organization and you have the fundamentals required to facilitate winning hockey. The injury replacement call ups played well tonight. The defense pairings played within themselves and there appears to be good chemistry between the pairings put on the ice tonight. The Jurcina - Alzner pairing seemed to work especially well [ed note - I guess that's pretty easy to say since they scored both goals and Alzner had a goal and an assist.] Karl Alzner was second in ice time tonight at 23: 06 only to Ovechkin. Alzner had a goal, an assist, was +2, blocked 3 shots and had 1 hit - not a bad nights work for a 20 year old rookie. Sami Lepisto played 20:37 and had 3 hits, turning in a solid night's work. In 13:29 TOI, Kieth Aucoin played well he took 1 shot, had 2 takeaways and was 56% in the face off circle. Aucoin frequently generated traffic in front of the net and at least one scoring chance for the Caps. Bryan Helmer was very solid and confident, especially on the penalty kill, and his partner Sami Lepisto looked like the prototypical, big, mobile, two way Scandinavian/European defenseman that Peerless talks about here (see his discussion of Tomas Kaberle).
As for the other Caps on the roster, nobody had a bad night. The Maple Leafs scored their only goal on the power play, as such no one on the Caps roster was +/- negative, Alexander the Great had a good night leading the team in hits (6), shots on goal (7) and attempts blocked (8) as well as PIM (4) - he worked hard during every second of the 23:17 he was on the ice, trying to create and capitalize on opportunities. Tonight could easily have been Milan Jurcina's best game so far this season. In 19:56 TOI, including 1:31 of PK, Jurcina was +2, had a goal, blocked 4 shots, and had 2 hits; also, he was NOT on the ice when Antropov scored the Leaf's only goal in the third period. Brooks Laich, Nicklas Backstrom, Fleischmann, Nylander and Kozlov all had solid outings and contributed very positively to the game. Overall, the Caps played a solid 60 minute game of two way hockey. Brent Johnson was solid in net all night long despite facing only 20 shots. It was a fun game to watch as well and not just because the Caps won in regulation.
In Philadelphia today, Navy beat Army for the 9th time in the last 10 meetings. The score was 34 -0. President Bush attended and both teams debuted new uniforms.
Next up...
For Navy it'll be the EagleBank (formerly Congressional) Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington DC on December 20th (at which time the Capitals will be playing the Philadelphia Flyers in Philly). It looks like Navy will take on Wake Forest but this is apparently not definite yet.
For the Caps it's the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center in Raliegh, NC - tomorrow. Yep it's another of those "fun" back to back road games for the Capitals. The 'Canes are coming off a 2-1 home overtime loss to the Flyers tonight.
LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Looks Like Two As Yet Unamed Players Will Be Called Up From Hershey
This recently posted on the South Carolina Stingrays' site: "Lacroix and Pokaluk Reassigned to Hershey." My guess is that means the Caps will recall Sami Lepisto or Karl Alzner and either Chris Bourque, Oscar Osala or Quintin Laing from Hershey...but nothing is as yet posted on either the Capitals or Bears websites. My bet is it's Lepisto and Bourque. What's your guess?
Monday, November 3, 2008
So How Are Things Down On The Farm?
What's going on "down on the farm"? or "in the system?" Well despite the Capital' up and down performance which has captured 0.550 of the points available to them so far this season, the Capitals two Minor League affiliate the AHL Hershey Bears and the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays have gotten their seasons off to a good starts. As of the completion of Hershey's game in Philadelphia, against the Flyers' AHL affiliate Philadelphia Phantoms, the Bears are 8-3-0-1. So the Bears are actually flying high atop the AHL standings. The Stingrays have gotten off to a fair start and are 3-2-0 in five games played, they are in fifth in the ECHL's American Conference's South Division however they have at least one game in hand on the four teams ahead of them and three of those four teams are tied for second place.
In one of the more "interesting" goings on in the Capitals Minor League pipeline, it appears that Michael Nevirth is headed back to North America and the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays because of an inssue with his contract with the team he was being loaned to in the Czech Republic. In addition to Neuvirth the Stingrays have 10 other players on their current roster who are on contract to the Capitals, and zz players who are on contract to the AHL Hershey Bears. In addition to the prospects in the Caps pipeline the Stingrays also have several other players with NHL potential.
In fact, the Stingray's lineup includes these players under contract with the Capitals and the Bears. Twenty four year old Center Travis Morin, a 9th round choice in the 2004 entry draft who spent 4 years in the NCAA before signing with the Caps in March 2007; twenty-one (21) year old LW Maxime Lacroix, a fifth round pick by the Capitals in the 2006 entry draft; twenty-four (24) year old right wing Steve Pinizzotto who looked very good at the Caps Rookie Camp this summer but wasn't getting enough playing time during the first 5 games of the AHL season up in Hershey; 20 year old defenseman Josh Godfrey, a 2nd round (34th overall) pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft, who look like with some seasoning is a potential NHL'er; 22 year old defenseman, Sasha Pokulok; a first round selection (14th overall) from the 2005 NHL entry draft who has yet to "come into his own" and reach the potential orginally seen in him; Russian Victor Dovgan, a 20 year old defenseman who was a 7th round pick in the 2005 entry draft by the Caps and who is here in North America for his first season after spending a couple of seasons in the Russian Elite league "bulking up"; and Hershey Bears "properties" - 20 Year old LW Michael Dubuc, who recently signed a two year contract with Hershey; twenty- two year old right wing Tom Maxwell; twenty-three year old foward, Keith Johnson, a University of Maine product; and twenty-five (25) year old goaltender Bobby Goepfert, who has been up with Hershey for the last week while Simeon Varlamov nurses an injured groin. In two games with Hershey this past week Goepfert has had a save percentage of 0.903and a 1-0-1 record. In fact as of the end of this past weekend Goepfert has the best save percentage of the three goalies who have worn a Bears sweater so far this season. When he gets back to South Carolina, the Stingrays will be with the services of a top notch netminder.
All these things should make the Stingrays highly competitive with the elite in the ECHL this season and should mean that Hockey Fans in and around Charleston, SC will see a lot of good hockey. In addition to prospects in the Caps development pipeline South Carolina has a few other solid players with developmental prospects. Looking ahead it sure seems like the South Division of the ECHL's American Conference will likely be a battle between the Stingrays and the Florida Everblades who also have a very solid roster.
Things in Hershey are going simply "swimmingly." How else can one describe an 8-3-0-1 record in 12 games. Even though this weekend the Bears went 0-1-0-1 against the Philadelphia Phantoms in a "Home-Home" pair of games, Hershey is remains 2 points ahead of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the East Division of the Eastern Conference of the AHL. The Bears have four players in the top 20 scorers in the AHL: scoring leader Keith Aucoin with 18 points (5 goals, 13 assists) in 12 games, #5 Aleaxdre Giroux with 13 points (9 goals, 4 assists) in 12 games; #12 Graham Mink with 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 12 games; and #14 Chris Bourque with 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 10 games played. Bourque has also played one game already this season with the Capitals.
So things "down on the farm" are solid, hopefully after these past couple days of reaffirming the importance of accountability here in DC, things will return to being on a solid footing for the "Big Club." All accounts indicate that the Caps had a hard, solid practice on Sunday to shake the memories of Saturday's poor outing against the Sabres from the teams collective psyche. Now the team Capitals can begin to prepare for their upcoming game against Ottawa on Tuesday.
LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!
In one of the more "interesting" goings on in the Capitals Minor League pipeline, it appears that Michael Nevirth is headed back to North America and the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays because of an inssue with his contract with the team he was being loaned to in the Czech Republic. In addition to Neuvirth the Stingrays have 10 other players on their current roster who are on contract to the Capitals, and zz players who are on contract to the AHL Hershey Bears. In addition to the prospects in the Caps pipeline the Stingrays also have several other players with NHL potential.
In fact, the Stingray's lineup includes these players under contract with the Capitals and the Bears. Twenty four year old Center Travis Morin, a 9th round choice in the 2004 entry draft who spent 4 years in the NCAA before signing with the Caps in March 2007; twenty-one (21) year old LW Maxime Lacroix, a fifth round pick by the Capitals in the 2006 entry draft; twenty-four (24) year old right wing Steve Pinizzotto who looked very good at the Caps Rookie Camp this summer but wasn't getting enough playing time during the first 5 games of the AHL season up in Hershey; 20 year old defenseman Josh Godfrey, a 2nd round (34th overall) pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft, who look like with some seasoning is a potential NHL'er; 22 year old defenseman, Sasha Pokulok; a first round selection (14th overall) from the 2005 NHL entry draft who has yet to "come into his own" and reach the potential orginally seen in him; Russian Victor Dovgan, a 20 year old defenseman who was a 7th round pick in the 2005 entry draft by the Caps and who is here in North America for his first season after spending a couple of seasons in the Russian Elite league "bulking up"; and Hershey Bears "properties" - 20 Year old LW Michael Dubuc, who recently signed a two year contract with Hershey; twenty- two year old right wing Tom Maxwell; twenty-three year old foward, Keith Johnson, a University of Maine product; and twenty-five (25) year old goaltender Bobby Goepfert, who has been up with Hershey for the last week while Simeon Varlamov nurses an injured groin. In two games with Hershey this past week Goepfert has had a save percentage of 0.903and a 1-0-1 record. In fact as of the end of this past weekend Goepfert has the best save percentage of the three goalies who have worn a Bears sweater so far this season. When he gets back to South Carolina, the Stingrays will be with the services of a top notch netminder.
All these things should make the Stingrays highly competitive with the elite in the ECHL this season and should mean that Hockey Fans in and around Charleston, SC will see a lot of good hockey. In addition to prospects in the Caps development pipeline South Carolina has a few other solid players with developmental prospects. Looking ahead it sure seems like the South Division of the ECHL's American Conference will likely be a battle between the Stingrays and the Florida Everblades who also have a very solid roster.
Things in Hershey are going simply "swimmingly." How else can one describe an 8-3-0-1 record in 12 games. Even though this weekend the Bears went 0-1-0-1 against the Philadelphia Phantoms in a "Home-Home" pair of games, Hershey is remains 2 points ahead of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the East Division of the Eastern Conference of the AHL. The Bears have four players in the top 20 scorers in the AHL: scoring leader Keith Aucoin with 18 points (5 goals, 13 assists) in 12 games, #5 Aleaxdre Giroux with 13 points (9 goals, 4 assists) in 12 games; #12 Graham Mink with 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 12 games; and #14 Chris Bourque with 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 10 games played. Bourque has also played one game already this season with the Capitals.
So things "down on the farm" are solid, hopefully after these past couple days of reaffirming the importance of accountability here in DC, things will return to being on a solid footing for the "Big Club." All accounts indicate that the Caps had a hard, solid practice on Sunday to shake the memories of Saturday's poor outing against the Sabres from the teams collective psyche. Now the team Capitals can begin to prepare for their upcoming game against Ottawa on Tuesday.
LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Next Round of NHL Playoffs Start Tonight as do NOVA High School LAX Playoffs
The NHL Conference Championship Round of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs start tonight when the Dallas Stars faceoff against the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 EDT at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. It's a pretty safe bet that even the HOT Dallas Stars Goalie, Marty Turco, will have his hands full with the "pucksters" from "Hockeytown". Both Conference Championship series: Dallas - Detroit, and the next chapter in the Pittsburgh - Philadelphia rivalry should be a treat to watch. Now that San Jose is out of the action my last team in the playoffs to root for - Philadelphia - is playing the team that IMHO Caps Fans like to watch get beat the most, so my allegiances are once again fully aligned. It's nice to be "unconflicted" once again.
Closer to home the Battlefield HS Boys Lacrosse Team takes on the Osborn HS Eagles at Osborn in Manassas, VA. The Battlefield Bobcats, in just their fourth year of existence have amassed a regular season record of 9-5 while the Eagles are 10 -3. They will meet in the Virginia Cedar Run District Playoffs on Thursday. In the regional power rankings Osborn is #85 and Battlefield is 188th, so the Bobcats will be looking to pull off an upset to avenge their 11-5 defeat at the hands of the Eagles earlier this season on April 9th. LETS GO BOBCATS!!!!
The playoffs continue for the Captials ECHL affiliate South Carolina Stingrays on Friday when The 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs American Conference Finals will begin in Cincinnati when the North Division champion Cincinnati Cyclones host the South Division champion South Carolina Stingrays in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series at the U.S. Bank Arena. It is the third trip to the conference finals for South Carolina and the second trip for Cincinnati. The Stingrays won in each of their previous trips to the conference finals in 1997 and 2001, going on to win the Kelly Cup both times, while Cincinnati lost in seven games in 2003 to eventual Kelly Cup champion Atlantic City. Cincinnati will host Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday before the series travels to the North Charleston Coliseum for Games 3 and 4 at 7:05 p.m. ET on May 14 and 16. The winner will advance to the Kelly Cup Finals where they will meet the National Conference winner. The National Conference Finals begin on Monday when top seed Las Vegas hosts sixth-seed Utah in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series.
Finally, here's a pretty cool on-line article about "The Great Eight".
Closer to home the Battlefield HS Boys Lacrosse Team takes on the Osborn HS Eagles at Osborn in Manassas, VA. The Battlefield Bobcats, in just their fourth year of existence have amassed a regular season record of 9-5 while the Eagles are 10 -3. They will meet in the Virginia Cedar Run District Playoffs on Thursday. In the regional power rankings Osborn is #85 and Battlefield is 188th, so the Bobcats will be looking to pull off an upset to avenge their 11-5 defeat at the hands of the Eagles earlier this season on April 9th. LETS GO BOBCATS!!!!
The playoffs continue for the Captials ECHL affiliate South Carolina Stingrays on Friday when The 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs American Conference Finals will begin in Cincinnati when the North Division champion Cincinnati Cyclones host the South Division champion South Carolina Stingrays in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series at the U.S. Bank Arena. It is the third trip to the conference finals for South Carolina and the second trip for Cincinnati. The Stingrays won in each of their previous trips to the conference finals in 1997 and 2001, going on to win the Kelly Cup both times, while Cincinnati lost in seven games in 2003 to eventual Kelly Cup champion Atlantic City. Cincinnati will host Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday before the series travels to the North Charleston Coliseum for Games 3 and 4 at 7:05 p.m. ET on May 14 and 16. The winner will advance to the Kelly Cup Finals where they will meet the National Conference winner. The National Conference Finals begin on Monday when top seed Las Vegas hosts sixth-seed Utah in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series.
Finally, here's a pretty cool on-line article about "The Great Eight".
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Let's Meet the Guys in The Caps System Still Playing Hockey
Ladies and Gentlemen here's your South Carolina Stingrays:
Defenseman:
#2 Patrick McNiel; Date of Birth: 03/17/1987, Height: 6' 0", Weight: 195 lbs, Shoots: L Resides: Strathroy, ONT Biography: McNeill made his professional debut in 2007-08 after playing the last four years with the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL, where he accumulated 53 goals and 129 assists for 182 points in 249 career junior contests. He was the Capitals’ 4th round selection (118th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He led all OHL blueliners with 77 points during the 2005-06 campaign and was a 2nd Team All-Star. McNiel served as Saginaw’s captain during the 2006-07 season, and was the 1st overall pick in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection Draft. In Hershey this year, the 21 year old McNiel played 48 games, had 1 goal and 13 assists and 16 penalty minutes. In the 5 ECHL playoff games he's competed in this year, McNiel has 2 assists, is -3 and has 4 penalty minutes.
#6 Sean Collins; Date of Birth: 10/30/1983, Height: 6' 1" , Weight: 212 lbs, Shoots: R Hometown: Troy, MI Collins played four seasons at Ohio State University before signing with the Capitals in 2007. The 25 year old made his professional debut in South Carolina this year and played 31 regular season games and had 1 goal, 13 assists was +/- +7 and had 16 penalty minutes. So far in the 2008 ECHL playoffs, Collins has played all 15 games and has 1 goal, 8 assists, is +4 and has 18 penalty minutes.
#44 Sasha Pokulok; Shoots: R Height: 6-5 Weight: 230; Birthdate: 1986-05-25 Birthplace: Vaudreuil-Dorion, PQ. This towering 22 year old defenseman enjoyed a stellar freshman year with the Cornell Big Red in 2004 - 2005 that culminated with a selection to the ECACHL All-Rookie Team. In 2005-06, Pokulok was a member of the 2006 Canadian WJC team. He turned pro in 2006-07 after two years at Cornell. He suffered a concussion in the first game of the season with the Hershey Bears. He returned in January and was reassigned to the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays. He suffered another concussion after playing about a month. Pokulok’s use of his size, matched with his good stick-handling ability, made him one of the best defensive prospects in the Capitals' system before the injuries. If Pokulok had stayed healthy throughout the 2006-07 season it would be very likely that he would be contending for a job in the NHL. But now, a good season will just mean staying healthy throughout the rest of the ECHL playoffs and turning in some decent numbers and games. So far he's played 14 of 15 games and has 5 assists, is +/- +4 and has 12 penalty minutes.
Forwards:
#27 Center, Travis Morin, Shoots: L Height: 6-2 Weight: 195 Birthdate: 1984-01-09 Birthplace: Brooklyn Park, MN. Morin played 2002-03 season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. He had 47 points (21 goals, 26 assists) in 60 games played. His 47 points ranked him third on the team in scoring and his 26 assists ranked him second on the team in that category. Then in 2003-04: Morin completed his NCAA Freshman season at Minnesota State University-Mankato; and he had 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 38 games played. His 21 points ranked him fourth on the team in scoring. He turned pro at the end of senior season (2006 - 2007) and joined the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays roster. The 24 year old center is a tenacious competitor whose play along the boards is quite good. He is defensively responsible and plays very well in one-on-one situations. His great puckhandling and passing skills enable him to play the point in power-play situations. He possesses a good, quick release as well. Morin is a decent skater, but it is one area that could use some improvement. During the 2007-08 Regular Season with the South Carolina Stingrays, he played 68 games scored 34 goals and had 50 assists, a +/- +16, and 30 penalty minutes. He made the 2007 - 2008 ECHL All Star Team. So far in the ECHL playoffs, Morin has played 15 games and has scored 10 goals, has 5 assists, is -5 and has 16 penalty minutes.
#7 Right Wing Andrew Gordon. Shoots: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 180 lbs Birthdate: 12/13/1985 Birthplace: Halifax, Nova Scotia. Selected by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round, 197th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, this 22 year old right wing made his professional debut this year after completing his junior season at Saint Cloud State last year. During the 2007-2008 season Gordon played 58 games with the AHL Hershey Bears and 11 regular season games with the Stingrays. During his 58 games in Hershey, he scored 16 goals and had 32 assists and 39 penalty minutes. During his 11 games in South Carolina, he scored 8 goals and had 6 assists and 6 penalty minutes. Gordon plays the game with loads of energy and intensity who seems to always be around the puck. He has an excellent scoring touch combined with great hockey sense and awareness that makes him a difficult player to defend against. Gordon has a keen sense of knowing where the play is going and often times is able to put himself in great scoring position. He is relentless in his puck pursuit and is a fierce competitor. He doesn’t shy away from getting physical to win the battles for pucks or space on the ice. Gordon skates with speed and has good acceleration. He possesses a great wrist shot and gets his shots off very quickly. So far during the 2008 ECHL playoffs Gordon has played 4 games, has 1 goal and 1 assist and is +/- +2.
#18 Right Wing Steve Pinizzotto Shoots: Right Height: 6-1 Weight: 195 lbs Birthdate: 1984-04-26; Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario. He was acquired/signed as an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2007; prior to turning pro Pinizzotto played two seasons at Rochester Institute of Technology. During the 2007 - 2008 regular season he played 40 games for South Carolina in the ECHL and 23 games for Hershey. He has split his playing time between playing Right Wing and playing Center. In his 40 games with the Stingrays this season, he scored 15 goals, had 17 assists, was +9 and spent 58 minutes in the "sin bin." During his 23 regular season games in Hershey, Pinizzotto had 4 assists and 12 penalty minutes. Pinizzotto’s game combines great offensive ability and some grit. He can set-up and finish plays. Where Pinizzotto is particularly dangerous is around the net. He can often be found making things happen around the net. He is also quite strong along the boards and in the corners. Pinizzotto is a tough competitor and won’t shy away from the physical aspects of the game. He moves the puck extremely well and possesses nice passing skills. Pinizzotto has a strong shot with a quick release. He's played 5 games has 1 goal, is -1 and has 12 penalty minutes.
#19 Right Wing Stephen Werner Shoots: Right Height: 6-0 Weight: 195 lbs Birthdate: 1984-08-08 Eligible for Draft: 2002 Hometown: Washington, D.C. This 23 year old "hometown hero" was drafted 83rd overall in 2003 Entry Draft by the Capitals. He played college hockey at UMass. Werner is a good two-way player with good playmaking and decision-making skills. He has a hard shot and is good through traffic. He could stand to be more physical. During the 2007 - 2008 season, he played 25 regular season games with South Carolina and scored 6 goals, 15 assists, was +/- +8 and had 24 penalty minutes. So far in the 2008 race to the Kelly Cup, Werner has played 14 games and has scored 5 goals, has 6 assists; is + 1 and has 4 penalty minutes.
Defenseman:
#2 Patrick McNiel; Date of Birth: 03/17/1987, Height: 6' 0", Weight: 195 lbs, Shoots: L Resides: Strathroy, ONT Biography: McNeill made his professional debut in 2007-08 after playing the last four years with the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL, where he accumulated 53 goals and 129 assists for 182 points in 249 career junior contests. He was the Capitals’ 4th round selection (118th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He led all OHL blueliners with 77 points during the 2005-06 campaign and was a 2nd Team All-Star. McNiel served as Saginaw’s captain during the 2006-07 season, and was the 1st overall pick in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection Draft. In Hershey this year, the 21 year old McNiel played 48 games, had 1 goal and 13 assists and 16 penalty minutes. In the 5 ECHL playoff games he's competed in this year, McNiel has 2 assists, is -3 and has 4 penalty minutes.
#6 Sean Collins; Date of Birth: 10/30/1983, Height: 6' 1" , Weight: 212 lbs, Shoots: R Hometown: Troy, MI Collins played four seasons at Ohio State University before signing with the Capitals in 2007. The 25 year old made his professional debut in South Carolina this year and played 31 regular season games and had 1 goal, 13 assists was +/- +7 and had 16 penalty minutes. So far in the 2008 ECHL playoffs, Collins has played all 15 games and has 1 goal, 8 assists, is +4 and has 18 penalty minutes.
#44 Sasha Pokulok; Shoots: R Height: 6-5 Weight: 230; Birthdate: 1986-05-25 Birthplace: Vaudreuil-Dorion, PQ. This towering 22 year old defenseman enjoyed a stellar freshman year with the Cornell Big Red in 2004 - 2005 that culminated with a selection to the ECACHL All-Rookie Team. In 2005-06, Pokulok was a member of the 2006 Canadian WJC team. He turned pro in 2006-07 after two years at Cornell. He suffered a concussion in the first game of the season with the Hershey Bears. He returned in January and was reassigned to the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays. He suffered another concussion after playing about a month. Pokulok’s use of his size, matched with his good stick-handling ability, made him one of the best defensive prospects in the Capitals' system before the injuries. If Pokulok had stayed healthy throughout the 2006-07 season it would be very likely that he would be contending for a job in the NHL. But now, a good season will just mean staying healthy throughout the rest of the ECHL playoffs and turning in some decent numbers and games. So far he's played 14 of 15 games and has 5 assists, is +/- +4 and has 12 penalty minutes.
Forwards:
#27 Center, Travis Morin, Shoots: L Height: 6-2 Weight: 195 Birthdate: 1984-01-09 Birthplace: Brooklyn Park, MN. Morin played 2002-03 season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. He had 47 points (21 goals, 26 assists) in 60 games played. His 47 points ranked him third on the team in scoring and his 26 assists ranked him second on the team in that category. Then in 2003-04: Morin completed his NCAA Freshman season at Minnesota State University-Mankato; and he had 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 38 games played. His 21 points ranked him fourth on the team in scoring. He turned pro at the end of senior season (2006 - 2007) and joined the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays roster. The 24 year old center is a tenacious competitor whose play along the boards is quite good. He is defensively responsible and plays very well in one-on-one situations. His great puckhandling and passing skills enable him to play the point in power-play situations. He possesses a good, quick release as well. Morin is a decent skater, but it is one area that could use some improvement. During the 2007-08 Regular Season with the South Carolina Stingrays, he played 68 games scored 34 goals and had 50 assists, a +/- +16, and 30 penalty minutes. He made the 2007 - 2008 ECHL All Star Team. So far in the ECHL playoffs, Morin has played 15 games and has scored 10 goals, has 5 assists, is -5 and has 16 penalty minutes.
#7 Right Wing Andrew Gordon. Shoots: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 180 lbs Birthdate: 12/13/1985 Birthplace: Halifax, Nova Scotia. Selected by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round, 197th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, this 22 year old right wing made his professional debut this year after completing his junior season at Saint Cloud State last year. During the 2007-2008 season Gordon played 58 games with the AHL Hershey Bears and 11 regular season games with the Stingrays. During his 58 games in Hershey, he scored 16 goals and had 32 assists and 39 penalty minutes. During his 11 games in South Carolina, he scored 8 goals and had 6 assists and 6 penalty minutes. Gordon plays the game with loads of energy and intensity who seems to always be around the puck. He has an excellent scoring touch combined with great hockey sense and awareness that makes him a difficult player to defend against. Gordon has a keen sense of knowing where the play is going and often times is able to put himself in great scoring position. He is relentless in his puck pursuit and is a fierce competitor. He doesn’t shy away from getting physical to win the battles for pucks or space on the ice. Gordon skates with speed and has good acceleration. He possesses a great wrist shot and gets his shots off very quickly. So far during the 2008 ECHL playoffs Gordon has played 4 games, has 1 goal and 1 assist and is +/- +2.
#18 Right Wing Steve Pinizzotto Shoots: Right Height: 6-1 Weight: 195 lbs Birthdate: 1984-04-26; Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario. He was acquired/signed as an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2007; prior to turning pro Pinizzotto played two seasons at Rochester Institute of Technology. During the 2007 - 2008 regular season he played 40 games for South Carolina in the ECHL and 23 games for Hershey. He has split his playing time between playing Right Wing and playing Center. In his 40 games with the Stingrays this season, he scored 15 goals, had 17 assists, was +9 and spent 58 minutes in the "sin bin." During his 23 regular season games in Hershey, Pinizzotto had 4 assists and 12 penalty minutes. Pinizzotto’s game combines great offensive ability and some grit. He can set-up and finish plays. Where Pinizzotto is particularly dangerous is around the net. He can often be found making things happen around the net. He is also quite strong along the boards and in the corners. Pinizzotto is a tough competitor and won’t shy away from the physical aspects of the game. He moves the puck extremely well and possesses nice passing skills. Pinizzotto has a strong shot with a quick release. He's played 5 games has 1 goal, is -1 and has 12 penalty minutes.
#19 Right Wing Stephen Werner Shoots: Right Height: 6-0 Weight: 195 lbs Birthdate: 1984-08-08 Eligible for Draft: 2002 Hometown: Washington, D.C. This 23 year old "hometown hero" was drafted 83rd overall in 2003 Entry Draft by the Capitals. He played college hockey at UMass. Werner is a good two-way player with good playmaking and decision-making skills. He has a hard shot and is good through traffic. He could stand to be more physical. During the 2007 - 2008 season, he played 25 regular season games with South Carolina and scored 6 goals, 15 assists, was +/- +8 and had 24 penalty minutes. So far in the 2008 race to the Kelly Cup, Werner has played 14 games and has scored 5 goals, has 6 assists; is + 1 and has 4 penalty minutes.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
South Carolina Stingrays Best Columbia Inferno 2-0 to Advance in ECHL Playoffs
Last night the Capitals ECHL Affiliate South Carolina Stingrays bested their cross state rival Columbia Inferno 2-0 in regulation at the North Charleston Coliseum to stay alive in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Stingrays now play a 7 game series against the Cincinnati Cyclones who bested the Reading Royals 6-1 in their "rubber match" last night in Cincinnati. If the Stingrays beat the Cyclones they will then compete for the ECHL Championship (the Kelly Cup). LETS GO RAYS!!
In local high school sports Osborne Park beat Battlefield in Boy's Lacrosse last evening. This evening Battlefield completes their regular season home games boys lacrosse schedule against Loudoun Valley in a makeup game for a rain out. It's senior night at Battlefield as they take on a tough opponent and try to get their 10th win of the season. This evenings game is "at home" - Battlefield High School - in Haymarket, VA. LETS GO BOBCATS!!!!.
Finally, what about the weather today. This morning driving down the George Washington Parkway to work at 6:30AM I was really struck by how much I love this time of year here in DC. The only way it could be better would be if it was us instead of those blasted Flyers fans buying tickets to home playoff games against the Penguins. LETS GO CAPS!!! and what the heck - LETS GO .... SPRING !?!?!?!
In local high school sports Osborne Park beat Battlefield in Boy's Lacrosse last evening. This evening Battlefield completes their regular season home games boys lacrosse schedule against Loudoun Valley in a makeup game for a rain out. It's senior night at Battlefield as they take on a tough opponent and try to get their 10th win of the season. This evenings game is "at home" - Battlefield High School - in Haymarket, VA. LETS GO BOBCATS!!!!.
Finally, what about the weather today. This morning driving down the George Washington Parkway to work at 6:30AM I was really struck by how much I love this time of year here in DC. The only way it could be better would be if it was us instead of those blasted Flyers fans buying tickets to home playoff games against the Penguins. LETS GO CAPS!!! and what the heck - LETS GO .... SPRING !?!?!?!
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Week Ahead - Into The Breach Without Caps Hockey for a Diversion
Well the week ahead looks pretty busy and hectic as usual. So even though the Caps have concluded their season, this week like last will probably just fly by.
On the professional front, it's another couple proposals, in process and looming. As we at ICx Technologies look toward our next couple of months we have several large US DoD Force Protection related procurements that are in process or looming that will keep us busy over the next couple of months. First on the horizon is a task order proposal related to a "Joint Capabilities Technologies Demonstration" or JCTD that needs to be completed this week. If I get that done early in the week then I can go out to the West Coast to look at some interesting technology the DoD is using to fuse CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives) sensor data with, if I don't get the proposal done early in the week, then that's what I'll be doing till its done. Hopefully, we'll also hear about the next steps in a program procurement the Army has in process for a proposal we submitted about 10 months ago, soon as well. The the Air Force has their next large Force Protection program procurement coming out later this month. All in all it should be a busy couple of months and with some good fortune it'll be a happy time for those of us who have been working these types of things. On the product side things also continue to move forward briskly and in a positive but busy fashion, we've started closing early sales of our CohesionIF(tm) - sensor integration software - and that too will mean we'll be increasing our capabilities in providing CBRNE and Advanced Wide Area Surveillance sensors for incorporation and integration to enterprise-wide security solutions. I'm very excited about our prospects in both areas as they are things I've been working towards since joining the ICx Team, 17 months ago.
On the personal front, we are getting prepared to be empty-nesters in Bristow when our son Chris enters the United States Merchant Marine Academy, in Kings Point, NY - he'll report for "Indoctrination" - sounds ominous doesn't it? - on July 10th. It's not that ominous, for the record, I reported to KP for Indoctrination on July 10, 1978, 30 years before my son enters to the day but I started on a Monday, he'll start on a Thursday. Indoctrination is a 2 1/2 week period prior to the start of classes where entering Freshman - Plebe Candidates in USMMA "speak" - receive their first taste of Academy life and their first "Indoctrination" to "Regimental Life" - it's basically the start of their military training prior to the start of the academic year. They "learn" the rules of the regiment as well as a significant amount of historical information about the Academy - "Plebe Knowledge" and start their PT (Physical Training) and learn to march, etc. While not all that ominous, it will be a large change for most Midshipman, including our son. However, yesterday, he told me he was looking forward to "finishing this stuff and starting the next thing in his life" - hopefully, he'll keep that attitude going forward, I believe he will.
On the "hockey diversion front" both the Caps and Hershey Bears are now out of their respective playoffs, however the South Carolina Stingrays will play a series ending (one way or the other) game 5 tonight to see if they or the Columbia Inferno continue on in the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs. The winner of the Stingrays - Inferno series will play the winner of the Cincinnati Cyclones - Reading Royals series who also play their "rubber match" game on Monday evening in Cincinnati.
Washington DC Area Hockey fans continuing to follow the Stanley Cup playoffs know the Eastern Conference Championship series starts later this week in Pittsburgh when the Penguins face off against the Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile in the Western Conference the Detroit Red Wings will face off against the Dallas Stars. The Stars beat the San Jose Sharks with a 2-1 win in the fourth overtime last night in Dallas. Both NHL games contested yesterday were exciting to watch. An earlier post provides the highlights of the Penguins - Ranger finale. The Sharks - Stars game went into a fourth overtime and was an exciting, fun game to watch. Throughout the entire game, the goal tending was superb, but the stupendous saves that both Evgeni Nabakov and Marty Turco made in the first three overtime periods were pretty mind-boggling. Through 6 periods of hockey the Sharks had 61 shots and the Stars had 51, even more amazing than their respective save percentages of of 98.36% and 98.04%, was the nature of some of the saves made by Turco and Nabakov. There were numerous scoring chances where it seemed the Goalies were superhuman. Both played top notch hockey through 131 minutes of hockey, and they both amassed several games worth of highlight reel saves throughout the action. In reality, both goalies played to a 1-1 tie in the first "game 6", then to a 0-0, dual shutout, tie in the second "game 6". The game went on like this until in the seventh period/fourth overtime when, at 9:03, Brenden Morrow scored a power by deflecting a pass from Stephane Robidas as the Stars and eliminated the pesky San Jose Sharks 2-1 in a game that ended early Monday morning. It was the longest game in the NHL playoffs this season, and the longest in San Jose history. The sad thing is that by the end of this game, both teams deserved to win, as did both goaltenders, but in the end only one team could win and that was Dallas. So Dallas now faces the Detroit Red Wings to see who from the Western Division will play for the Cup.
On the professional front, it's another couple proposals, in process and looming. As we at ICx Technologies look toward our next couple of months we have several large US DoD Force Protection related procurements that are in process or looming that will keep us busy over the next couple of months. First on the horizon is a task order proposal related to a "Joint Capabilities Technologies Demonstration" or JCTD that needs to be completed this week. If I get that done early in the week then I can go out to the West Coast to look at some interesting technology the DoD is using to fuse CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives) sensor data with, if I don't get the proposal done early in the week, then that's what I'll be doing till its done. Hopefully, we'll also hear about the next steps in a program procurement the Army has in process for a proposal we submitted about 10 months ago, soon as well. The the Air Force has their next large Force Protection program procurement coming out later this month. All in all it should be a busy couple of months and with some good fortune it'll be a happy time for those of us who have been working these types of things. On the product side things also continue to move forward briskly and in a positive but busy fashion, we've started closing early sales of our CohesionIF(tm) - sensor integration software - and that too will mean we'll be increasing our capabilities in providing CBRNE and Advanced Wide Area Surveillance sensors for incorporation and integration to enterprise-wide security solutions. I'm very excited about our prospects in both areas as they are things I've been working towards since joining the ICx Team, 17 months ago.
On the personal front, we are getting prepared to be empty-nesters in Bristow when our son Chris enters the United States Merchant Marine Academy, in Kings Point, NY - he'll report for "Indoctrination" - sounds ominous doesn't it? - on July 10th. It's not that ominous, for the record, I reported to KP for Indoctrination on July 10, 1978, 30 years before my son enters to the day but I started on a Monday, he'll start on a Thursday. Indoctrination is a 2 1/2 week period prior to the start of classes where entering Freshman - Plebe Candidates in USMMA "speak" - receive their first taste of Academy life and their first "Indoctrination" to "Regimental Life" - it's basically the start of their military training prior to the start of the academic year. They "learn" the rules of the regiment as well as a significant amount of historical information about the Academy - "Plebe Knowledge" and start their PT (Physical Training) and learn to march, etc. While not all that ominous, it will be a large change for most Midshipman, including our son. However, yesterday, he told me he was looking forward to "finishing this stuff and starting the next thing in his life" - hopefully, he'll keep that attitude going forward, I believe he will.
On the "hockey diversion front" both the Caps and Hershey Bears are now out of their respective playoffs, however the South Carolina Stingrays will play a series ending (one way or the other) game 5 tonight to see if they or the Columbia Inferno continue on in the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs. The winner of the Stingrays - Inferno series will play the winner of the Cincinnati Cyclones - Reading Royals series who also play their "rubber match" game on Monday evening in Cincinnati.
Washington DC Area Hockey fans continuing to follow the Stanley Cup playoffs know the Eastern Conference Championship series starts later this week in Pittsburgh when the Penguins face off against the Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile in the Western Conference the Detroit Red Wings will face off against the Dallas Stars. The Stars beat the San Jose Sharks with a 2-1 win in the fourth overtime last night in Dallas. Both NHL games contested yesterday were exciting to watch. An earlier post provides the highlights of the Penguins - Ranger finale. The Sharks - Stars game went into a fourth overtime and was an exciting, fun game to watch. Throughout the entire game, the goal tending was superb, but the stupendous saves that both Evgeni Nabakov and Marty Turco made in the first three overtime periods were pretty mind-boggling. Through 6 periods of hockey the Sharks had 61 shots and the Stars had 51, even more amazing than their respective save percentages of of 98.36% and 98.04%, was the nature of some of the saves made by Turco and Nabakov. There were numerous scoring chances where it seemed the Goalies were superhuman. Both played top notch hockey through 131 minutes of hockey, and they both amassed several games worth of highlight reel saves throughout the action. In reality, both goalies played to a 1-1 tie in the first "game 6", then to a 0-0, dual shutout, tie in the second "game 6". The game went on like this until in the seventh period/fourth overtime when, at 9:03, Brenden Morrow scored a power by deflecting a pass from Stephane Robidas as the Stars and eliminated the pesky San Jose Sharks 2-1 in a game that ended early Monday morning. It was the longest game in the NHL playoffs this season, and the longest in San Jose history. The sad thing is that by the end of this game, both teams deserved to win, as did both goaltenders, but in the end only one team could win and that was Dallas. So Dallas now faces the Detroit Red Wings to see who from the Western Division will play for the Cup.
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