Friday night’s scrimmage went a bit off script: the coaches decided to incorporate specialty teams play midway through both periods, with the teams alternating manpower advantages for the balance of the back half of the stanzas. There was also this pleasant surprise: sudden death overtime play. In the second 5-minute OT session Nicklas Backstrom swept across Simeon Varlamov’s crease with a cross-ice feed from linemate Francois Bouchard and tucked in the game-ender, giving Team Blue a 3-2 triumph. Don’t be surprised if that forward combination is one we see sirening red lights behind enemy cages in the years ahead.
That overtime flair was exceeded moments earlier by the save of the week, authored by Michael Nuevirth. Sean Backman flipped a clever, two-defender elluding pass on the left wing to Bryan Lerg, who raced in unimpeded on Nuevirth. Lerg made a terrific lateral move in tight, and lifted a game-winner targeting the unguarded top right shelf. Somehow, Nuevirth snared it with his glove. A number of us watching from center ice thought the game had ended on the shot.
This night, however, belonged to Jeff Lovecchio. The 6 ‘2, 195-lb. left wing completed a 34-pt. season for Western Michigan of the CCHA in ‘06-’07. The native of Chesterfield, Mo., has had a super solid week. Tonight he showcased his impressive speed, strength, and offensive zone grit better than any other forward.
“Lovecchio stands out because he works so hard,” Head Coach Glen Hanlon said afterward. “But remember he’s 22.” Hanlon spent some moments with reporters after tonight’s scrimmage delineating the careful evaluative process club officials are undertaking in an atmosphere that at times features five- and six-year age discrepancies among players out on a shift.
Another lasting image this week is what Joe Finley regularly does to undersized forwards (in other words, every one he faces) who run out of time and space in his end. You know how offensive linemen in football get credited with “pancakes” for flattening opposing lineman with technically brutal blocking? Well, Finley is inviting a category I’d term “rag doll-ing”: he simply thumps opposing forwards to the ice in close quarters with little effort of his shoulders.
More than a few veteran observers of pro hockey have this week pointed out that the week’s scrimmages appear to have been dominated by the blueline talent. While the scoring hasn’t been conspicuously low in the two, 30-minute, running clock formats, the shot volume has been. And the camp’s goaltenders have seldom been called upon to be spectacular. But consider what the camp’s forwards are facing in terms of blueline experience. Sean Collins is an ‘83 birthyear, with four seasons of NCAA hockey completed. Sami Lepisto is a veteran of the Finnish Elite League. Oscar Hedman is a vet of the Swedish Elite League. Karl Alzner is a big-bodied, top 5 pick renowned for his on-ice maturity. Joe Finley has just two seasons of NCAA hockey under his belt, but he’s bigger than Ballston Mall’s parking lot. And then you’ve got an awful lot of quality goaltending behind these defenders. Advantage absolutely to the D.
Seen and Heard at Kettler Capitals
* 2005 first-rounder Sasha Pokulok still hasn’t been cleared for contact skating, and while he’s participating in morning drills this week, quietly there is growing sentiment within the Caps’ organization that Pokulok’s blueline candidacy with the big club is fast approaching flickering candle status.* Earlier this week I learned that the voice of the Hershey Bears, John Walton, will debut his own hockey blog in advance of the upcoming hockey season. That should be special, particularly if Walton can set aside some modesty and upload a few of his famous calls, like Eric Fehr’s Eastern Conference winner in Game 7 sudden death in the spring of 2006. Think Ozzy Osbourne, unsedated, meets Howard Dean, actually nominated. The brigade from Hershey, Pa., grew tonight with the Patriot News’ Tim Leone arriving for his first visit to Kettler Capitals. He had a chance to chat a bit with Bears bench boss Bruce Boudreau, and when I asked him if anyone had particularly caught the coach’s notice this week, he said “Andrew Gordon sure has.”
* Those of you who’ve been OFB readers for more than a month know of my regard for Leone’s coverage of the Bears. Tonight he shared a kind word with me for my file on the old Hershey Arena earlier this spring, and he alerted me to the fact that he has a chapter on the great old barn in his history of the Bears, titled Hershey Bears: Sweet Seasons.
I hopped on over to amazon.com right as I returned home and found this reader review of Leone’s book:
“Well-researched and very interesting history about one of the oldest and most interesting ice hockey teams in the world. Interesting and in-depth, but very readable. For me, though, the book is worth it for the photographs alone. A must-read for any Bears fan or hockey historian.”
It’s already been added to my summer reading list. Put it on yours.
3 Comments
Is that a picture of the Kettler Ice Center? It looks like a fish tank on top of a concrete stand. Ugh, it’s ugly.
Thanks to OFB for the insights. That reminder about age differentials sent me back to the roster sheet handout. At the extremes, D Sean Collins was born in ‘83, while Andrew Glass was born in ‘89 and was a high schooler. Generally, advantage to the D for sure. Quite a roster of legit D prospects. Big positive change for the Caps.
That is a picture of Kettler. On the way to the scrimmage today, I’ll try to take a picture of it from further down Wilson Boulevard. From that vantage point, you get a better view…. it’s like Oz at the end of the yellow brick road. It is actually quite impressive and an improvement over any other parking garage.
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