Niskanen Update

     Here's a Dallas Morning News update on Stars rookie defenseman Matt Niskanen who has been a healthy scratch the last two playoff games, including Thursday's Western Conference opener in Detroit. The series resumes Saturday in Detroit:

      Stars rookie defenseman Matt Niskanen sat out for the second consecutive game Thursday in a 4-1 loss at Detroit. He did not receive a healthy scratch in the regular season.
     Niskanen, 21, continues to improve, coach Dave Tippett said.
     "He learns fast, and he has responded well to adversity during the season," Tippett said.
     Said Niskanen: "I have to be better defensively, better making little plays."

Posted by: pates on 5/9/2008 at 3:37 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Kodiaks Roll On

     Camrose (Alberta) won a fourth straight game at the Royal Bank Cup Canadian Junior A Championships on Thursday night, 6-1 over Oakville (Ontario), in Cornwall, Ontario. Minnesota Duluth recruit Mike Connolly had a goal and an assist as Camrose scored three shorthanded goals.
     The Kodiaks face the Weeks Crushers of Nova Scotia in Saturday's semifinals, while Humboldt (Saskatchewan) plays host Cornwall.
      Here's a game report from Thursday from the tournament Web site:

Just how good are the Camrose Kodiaks?

     They rested their starting goaltender, their top defenseman and the 2008 RBC Canadian Junior A Player of the Year, and still had little trouble with a motivated Oakville Blades team Thursday night.
     Player of the game Jesse Todd scored shorthanded twice in 6:02 in the second period and set up Mike Connolly for another goal while a man down in the middle frame as the Kodiaks completed a perfect round robin at the 2008 RBC Cup with a 6-1 win over the Blades.
     The win means that the Kodiaks will face the Pictou County Weeks Crushers in Saturdays first semifinal (1 p.m.).
     Having already wrapped up first place thanks to their 2-1 win over the Cornwall Colts on Wednesday, the Kodiaks rested goaltender Allen York, blueliner Karl Stollery and national player of the year Joe Colborne in order to get all of their players a taste of game action.
     The missing firepower didnt seem to hurt the Pacific Region champions.
     Despite needing a win to advance, the Blades found themselves on the defensive side of the puck for much of the first period, and were in a 1-0 hole after Andre Hermans wraparound banked off the skate of goaltender Oliver Wren and in.
     The Blades finally showed signs of life early in the second period, as Nick McParland  Oakville player of the game  cut into the middle of the ice and rifled a shot over the glove of Camrose netminder Mathieu Larochelle to draw the Central Region champions even at 1-1.
     They had a chance to grab their first lead of the game when the Kodiaks were whistled for four consecutive minor penalties midway through the period, but instead found themselves down by three goals after a remarkable shorthanded flurry by Camrose.
     Todd got it started with a stirring solo effort, snapping the puck past Wren from his knees, and scored his second just over six minutes later, taking a gorgeous cross-ice feed from Connolly and beating a sprawling Wren.
     Todd returned the favour 1:44 later, setting up Connolly for another shorthanded marker, which spelled the end of the night, and the tournament, for Wren.
     Craig Rylett was welcomed into the Oakville net by David Jacobsen, who beat the 16-year-old with the first shot he faced, making it 5-1 heading into the second intermission.

Posted by: pates on 5/8/2008 at 10:23 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Carmose in Semifinals

     Minnesota Duluth recruit Mike Connolly scored the winning goal Wednesday night as the Camrose (Alberta) Kodiaks remained undefeated at the Royal Bank Cup Canadian Junior A championship round-robin tournament in Cornwall, Ontario.
      Here's a report from the tournament Web site:

     The Camrose Kodiaks are going to the semifinals of the 2008 RBC Cup the same way they came into the tournament  as the number one seed.
     Camrose, the top-ranked Junior A team in Canada according to the Canadian Junior Hockey League, got goals from David Andreassen and Mike Connolly to pull out a 2-1 win over the Cornwall Colts on Wednesday night, wrapping up first place in the round robin.
   Twice in their previous four trips to the Junior A Championship  in 2001 and 2003  the Kodiaks were the number one team after the preliminary round, but only once, in 2001, were they able to claim the championship.
     With both teams having already locked up semifinal berths, the game was about first place, and who would arguably have an easier road to the championship game.
     Camrose (3-0) came out with the momentum early, with the top line of Connolly, Joe Colborne and Jesse Todd keeping the Colts hemmed into their own zone for much of the games opening minutes.
     It wasnt until late in the first period, though, that the Kodiaks finally got on the board, as Andreassen tipped a Karl Stollery shot past Cornwall goaltender Justin Roethlingshoefer for a 1-0 lead.
     After being denied on numerous chances in the opening 20 minutes, the big line struck for the Kodiaks just 3:02 into the second as Connolly picked up a blocked shot in the slot and snapped the puck far side on Roethlingshoefer to give the Pacific Region champions a 2-0 lead.
     Undaunted, the Colts came back with pressure of their own, and pulled to within a goal just past the periods midway point when Darcy Findlay  who has been arguably Cornwalls best player in the tournament  batted the puck past Camrose netminder Allen York.
     The Kodiaks dominated the third period, outshooting the Colts 11-2  they had a 29-11 advantage overall  although Findlay had what would have been his second of the game disallowed midway through the period.
     Camrose ends the round-robin portion of the tournament Thursday night against the Oakville (Ontario) Blades.

Posted by: pates on 5/7/2008 at 10:19 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Canada Stays Unbeaten

     Former Wisconsin player Dany Heatley scored the winning goal with 46.8 seconds remaining Tuesday to lift Canada to a 5-4 victory over the United States at the World Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Americans trailed 3-0 in the opening seconds of the second period.
     It was Heatleys second goal of the game and sixth of the tournament, beating U.S. goalie Craig Anderson. It was the 12th straight tournament win for the defending champions.
     Brent Burns, Jonathan Toews and Derek Roy also scored for the Canadians (3-0).
Zach Parise, Patrick OSullivan, Dustin Brown and Jason Pominville scored for the Americans (2-1).

Posted by: pates on 5/6/2008 at 6:40 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Cover Couple

     Duluth native Kara Goucher of Portland, Ore., and husband, Adam, are featured on the cover of the June Runner's World. Both are preparing for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June in Eugene, Ore. Kara Goucher was recently on the cover of Running Times.

Posted by: pates on 5/6/2008 at 4:46 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink