La notte di sabato del gioco di alimentazione di Hershey, accordata sei occasioni, convertite su 50 per cento di loro. The Bears’ penalty killers snuffed out all six Manchester man-up opportunities, and added a shortie for good measure.

Yet again Tomas Fleischmann looked sublime and spectacular, distributing savvy setups for his teammates time after time. His three helpers Saturday night gave him eight points in his last two games, both of them big games for his hockey club. Officially, the game’s three stars were awarded to Dave Steckel, Mike Green, and Frederic Cassivi, but Mike Vogel and I had identical standout designee lists of Steckel, Flash, and Chris Bourque. Bourque had been named the no. 1 star in each of the regular season meetings with Manchester, and he added another strong performance (two assists) Saturday.

The point is that Boudreau this postseason is getting quality and production from all four of his forward lines, and efficient puck movement from all three of his defensive pairs.

Early in the third period Saturday night Comcast’s Joe Reekie leaned over to me and said, “Do you realize how far Chris Bourque has progressed in one year?” I do. And I should have told Joe that Dave Steckel’s progression the last two seasons under Boudreau has been even more impressive. And the list of the well developed under Boudreau hardly ends there.

Vogel and I were left slack-jawed a half dozen times Saturday night by the stick wizardry of Fleischmann. He’s going to play in the NHL, somewhere, we agreed. “He’s got the stuff you can’t teach,” Vogel told me. But I worry about Flash getting lost in the grand numbers game in D.C., particularly as we approach the high stakes ‘07-08 season and there’s seemingly less room for young guy minutes during the drive for spot no. 8 in the East. “I worry about us giving up on Flash and seeing another [Andrew] Brunnette slip out of our hands,” I told Vogel.

Many of the names on the back of the Bears’ sweaters change, but the postseason results remain the same. Should the Bears go on to oust Manchester, they will tie an AHL record in winning seven consecutive postseason series. Since Boudreau stepped behind the Bears’ bench they’ve lost just one series-opening game, to Milwaukee in last season’s Calder finals. They’ve played 32 postseason games overall under his direction, and they’ve won an astounding 25 of them. More amazingly, only four of the team’s seven postseason losses have come in regulation. I need to type that again for myself to believe it: four regulation losses in 32 playoff games over two seasons.

And many of those games have been contested against 100-pt. AHL foes.

Seemingly sixty guys have worn Bears’ sweaters this season as a regular rotation of callups and significant injuries ravaged the Hershey roster. No matter. Wins and line cohesion remained.

Boudreau has been named Coach of the Year in the IHL, he’s won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup, and he’s won a Calder Cup and may be on the verge of adding another. You have to wonder how much longer his extraordinary winning ways will last unnoticed by the NHL.

The East finals are being contested in a 2-3-2 slate, making Sunday’s quick turnaround rematch a must-win affair for the visitors. Mark Morris needs a Jason LaBarbera we haven’t seen against Hershey yet this season. And meaning no disrespect to the coach, but a lot of folks up in New Hampshire who witnessed first-hand Bruce Boudreau’s work there over four seasons would this morning probably tell you that having him back would help too.

Filed in American Hockey League, Boyd Gordon, Brooks Laich, Bruce Boudreau, Chris Bourque, Hershey Bears, Joe Reekie, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (4)

Dispatch from the American Hockey League Road

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, March 10, 2007

Spring is encroaching on Washington, but not New England. Not yet. Friday afternoon I passed an ice fisherman in southern Massachusetts and a lone pond hockey player in Nashua, New Hampshire. Knowing such conditions were likely, I packed an Easton hockey stick and my gloves and skates. It was torture passing the snow-crusted banks of the Nashua pond without Winter Roadpulling over — that lone skater needed a passing buddy — but it was already 5:15 Friday evening and I’d driven straight from Maryland without a meal, stopping only for fuel. Faceoff at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester was at 7:30, and I needed a hot meal and a few early Friday evening beers after more than eight hours in the Jeep. I resolved to scout out a skating pond in Maine Saturday afternoon.

Three puckhead chums journeyed up to New England to join me this weekend, but they beat me here by a full day. Marleen rang my cell Friday while I was on the New Jersey Turnpike to alert me to some shinny she thought she observed while driving through Massachusetts. Turned out to be a guy ice fishing. “If you’re mistaking an ice fisherman for a pond hockey player,” I told her, “must have been Joe Reekie out there.” Hah.

Major League Baseball is already in its second week of exhibition games, but I’m hardly ready for spring, and so this long weekend journey north is spa-therapeutic for my hockey soul. One can almost chart winter’s staying power and depth with each 100 miles migrated north. In New York state, I regularly see massive crests of ice that have bled through rugged rockwall framing the highway.

This is my fifth or sixth weekend tour of the American Hockey League, and this one will include a Sunday Q’ League matinée in Lewiston, Maine. Fifteen minutes into my visit to Manchester, New Hampshire’s, Verizon Wireless Arena Friday night, I’m overcome by a conviction that this league has just about everything right while its big, far more expensive brother would do well to emulate approximately 75 of the A League’s features.

The most obvious: one can plop down $20 at the box office and two minutes later press one’s face against the glass. We can quibble about what are admission rates that are good for both owners and hockey families in the NHL, but 20 bucks sure seems right for a prime perch for minor pro hockey. And make no mistake — the ‘A’ is damn good pro hockey. Continue reading ›

Filed in American Hockey League, Hershey Bears, Joe Reekie, OFB, Pond Hockey, Puck Sodas, Shinny| Permalink| Comments (3)

Hockey ‘n Heels Round-up

By Mrs.Gustafsson
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Hockey 'n HeelsThe Washington Capitals hosted the inaugural “Hockey ‘n Heels” event on Monday February 26, 2007. The event was intended to bring more female fans to the game by showcasing skills, rules and behind the scenes looks at the players. Over 250 women signed up and the event was a complete sell out.

When Gustaffson first encouraged me to attend, I was a little “iffy” on the whole thing. The idea of traipsing around the Verizon Center with a bunch of women for three hours did not sound like my idea of a good time. I had mental images of hundreds of women making mad dashes to the players that attended, similar to the scenes that you see on television for the big wedding gown sales. But Gustaffson is intent on making me a diehard hockey fan, so away I went.

I will be the first to admit that I had a great time and the event was very well planned. Everyone was split into smaller groups and rotated through the five different activities, so the chaos was kept to a minimum. There was a wide range of women there as well, from hockey moms to puck bunnies and everyone in between. Yes, there were plenty of ladies in attendance hoping to snag some quality time with the young, single players. However, there were just as many women asking thoughtful hockey related questions. Plus, we all got to shoot pucks on the ice with Jamie Heward, Shaone Morrisson and Coach Dean Evason. After initial reluctance to get out there (I did have on 2 inch heels) I can happily say I not only stayed on my feet, but also made contact with the puck and got it into the goal! So what if the goal was only ten feet away? Continue reading ›

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Brent Johnson, Brooks Laich, Comcast SportsNet, Craig Laughlin, Donald Brashear, Jill Sorenson, Joe Reekie, Shaone Morrisonn, Steve Eminger, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (4)