2nd Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Set to Go!

The 2nd Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to go. So here is the breakdown of the upcoming series including Series schedules and predictions. We start off with the West.














Vancouver and Nashville will get us started. Here is the schedule for this series:

April 28 Nashville at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
April 30 Nashville at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
May 3 Vancouver at Nashville, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
May 5 Vancouver at Nashville, TBD CBC, VERSUS
May 7 Nashville at Vancouver, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
May 9 Vancouver at Nashville, TBD CBC, VERSUS
May 11 Nashville at Vancouver, TBD CBC, VERSUS

Now for this series, it will surely be an interesting one. This is the 1st ever meeting between these two clubs in the playoffs. Nashville is coming in off the high of winning their first ever playoffs series. Vancouver just finished a tough hard-fought 7 game series with the Hawks. Nashville may jump on Vancouver in the first game or two but the Canucks are going to be too much for the Predators I will take the Canucks in 6 games.


Now for the other Western Conference matchup which is:









Yes its the Sharks and Red Wings once again in the post season, which is starting to turn into a nice little rivlary. Here is the schedule for this series:

April 29 Detroit at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 1 Detroit at San Jose, 3:00 p.m. NBC, TSN
May 4 San Jose at Detroit, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 6 San Jose at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 8 Detroit at San Jose, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 10 San Jose at Detroit, TBD VERSUS, TSN
May 12 Detroit at San Jose, TBD VERSUS, TSN

These two teams have met 3 times before in the post season with San Jose winning 2 of the 3. Detroit may have a little bit of rink rust on them since they have had the longest time off after their sweep of the Coyotes. This series is going to go 7 games easy. Red Wings put up a good fight but I think San Jose is going to be too much for Jimmy Howard Sharks win this one in 7 Games.


Now then moving on to the Eastern Conference. Here is how we start things off.











Yes it's the 1-5 match between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Heres the schedule for this series:
April 29 Tampa Bay at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 1 Tampa Bay at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
May 3 Washington at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 4 Washington at Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m. TSN
May 7 Tampa Bay at Washington, 12:30 p.m. NBC, TSN
May 9 Washington at Tampa Bay, TBD VERSUS, TSN
May 11 tampa Bay at Washington, TBD VERSUS, TSN



Now as far as playoff history is concerned these two teams have met only once before with Tampa Bay winning that series in 6 games back in 2003. As for the here and now this will be a very high scoring series. Tampa will be a little banged up after playing that 7 game series with the Pens, and Washington has had time off after beating the Rangers in 5. So who knows what will happen in the 1st game. But for the series as a whole I'm taking the Capitals in 6 games. Here's why. Yes Dwayne Roloson has done a great job in goal for the Lightning but I think the Caps are going to be too much and I say Caps in 6.


Now for the final matchup of the 2nd round.












Yeah it's a rematch of last years second round between the Flyers and Bruins. Here is a look at the series:

April 30 Boston at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC
May 2 Boston at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
May 4 Philadelphia at Boston, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
May 6 Philadelphia at Boston, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
May 8 Boston at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC
May 10 Philadelphia at Boston, TBD VERSUS, CBC
May 12 Boston at Philadelphia, TBD VERSUS, CBC


Now these two teams have met 4 times in the playoffs all time with each team winning 2 series. And of course most of us remember what happened when these two teams hooked it up in the 2nd round last year. Both teams are battle tested having going 7 games in the last round, and both teams know each other after last season. This may be the toughest series of them all to pick. Again because these two teams are evenly matched it will take 7 games to decide it but I go with the Bruins in 7. The reason is because this is somewhat similar to the first round series between the Flyers and Sabres. But the difference is Boston has a bit more scoring punch then Buffalo. The Sabres took a lot out of Philly and Boston will finish the job Bruins in 7!

First Round of The Stanley Cup Playoffs in The Books

The First Round of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs is offically in the books. A very entertaning first round has come and gone, with 4 of the series requiring the full 7 games to complete, as ewll as 14 games having to be decided in Overtime. We are going to start with a recap of the Western Conference. First up was the 1 vs. 8 matchup out West as the Canucks took on the Defending Cup Champion Blackhawks.

Vancouver domintated the first 3 games of the series taking a comanding 3-0 lead. Scores were all in favor of the Canucks: 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3. It looked like this would be a clean sweep. Game 4 rolled around and the Hawks offense woke up, lighting up the Canucks 7-2. The offensive outburst kept coming in Game 5 as the Hawks won again this time by a 5-0 score. With Gmae 6 rolling around, Vancouver had a chance to put away the Champs but were unable to do so, as the Hawks came back to force Game 7 by winning in Overtime 4-3. However the miracle comback would fall just short. Had Chicago won Game 7 they would have become only the 4th team in NHL history to erase a 3-0 deficit to win a 7 game series. The other 3 teams were the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975 New York Islanders, and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers. The Canukcs kept the Hawks out of the history books, thanks to a goal by Alex Burrows in Overtime, giving the Canucks a 2-1 win in the game and a series win in 7.

Next up was the 2-7 and the only divisional matchup in the West as San Jose took on Los Angles. The battle of California was something to watch. The Sharks took the series in 6 games, with 3 of the wins coming in Overtime. Game 1 went to OT as Joe Pavelski proved to be the hero in the 3-2 victory. Game 2 was the only shutout of the series as the Kings won 4-0. Game 3 would again go to Overtime, with the Sharks taking the game 6-5 thanks to Devin Setoguchi. The thing with game 3 was the Kings had a 4-0 lead half way through the game. Moving on to game 4 San Jose took this in regulation 6-3. Game 5 went to the Kings by a 3-1 score. The dagger went into the heart of the Kings in Game 6 as this would again go to overtime. San Jose ended the series in game 6 thanks to Joe Thorton.

Now we look at the 3-6 Matchup, which was a rematch of last year, with Detroit knocking off Phoenix in 4 straight games. Detroit dominated the entire series, winning their games 4-2, 3-2, 4-2, and 6-3. This was a different series then we saw from last season, as last year Phoenix was able to push the series to 7 games. Despite Detroit being the older hockey club, they had more playoff experience and were able to roll to the series win.

Finally its the 4-5 matchup out West as the shock of the round the Nashville Predators win their first playoff series in franchise history beating the Anaheim Ducks in 6 games. Nashville took Game 1 by a 4-1 score. The Ducks respond in game 2 with a 5-3 win. Nashville responded with a 4-3 win in Game 3. Game 4 went to the Ducks 6-3. The only OT game in the series was in Game 5 and Nashville won 4-3 thanks to Shea Weber. The highlight was the sick goal scored by Bobby Ryan. Nashville ended the series in Game 6 with a 4-2 win on home ice.

Now that the West has been discussed lets switch over to the East and the 1-8 Matchup as the Washington Capitals took down the New York Rangers in 6. Game 1 went into overtime tied at 1. Then a few minutes in Alexander Semin sent the Washington fans home happy after a trunover by Mark Stall to give the Caps the Victory. Game 2 again went to the Capitals this time a 2-0 shutout on home ice. Game 3 the scene shifted to MSG and produced the lone Ranger win of the series as the Blueshirts won 3-2. Game 4 was a thriller as it went into double overtime before Jason Chimera won it for the Capitals 4-3. Washington put the series away in Game 5 thanks to a 3-1 victory on home ice. Now some critics I talked to said the Rangers chocked in this series. That didn't exactly happen the Rangers just never showed up. Washington was just the better team.

The 2-7 Matchup in the East was a fun to watch 7 Game series with the Flyers taking it from the Sabres. Game 1 went to the Sabres 1-0 as Ryan Miller pitched the shutout and Patrick Kaleta scored the lone goal. Philadelphia would respond in Game 2 with a 5-4 victory in one of the most physical games of the series. Game 3 the series moved back to Buffalo, and the Flyers walked away with the 4-2 victory. Game 4 Buffalo responded with another 1-0 victory. Ryan Miller got the shutout and Jason Pominville scored the lone goal. The next 2 games went to overtime. Game 5 went in Buffalo's favor with a 4-3 victory. The Sabres blew a 3-0 lead in regulation before Tyler Ennis wonit in OT with his 2nd of the Game, Game 6 was Buffalo's chance to win the series but they squandered a lead late in the game and Ville Leino won it for Philly forcing Game 7. In said Game 7 the Sabres just didn't show up and the Flyers rolled 5-2 to win the series.

The 3-6 Matchup was the lone divisional matchup in the playoffs as Boston knocked off Montreal in 7. Montreal took the first 2 games of the Series by 2-0 and 3-2 scores. When the series shifted to Boston, the Bruins woke up responding first in Game 3 with a 4-2 win. Then Game 4 would go to Overtime when Michael Ryder stuck it to his old ream for a 5-4 win. Game 5 would go to Double Overtime before Nathan Horton gave the Bruins a 2-1 victory. Montreal had to come back in Game 6 with the win and they did, defeating the Bruins 2-1. Game 7 was in Boston, and the Bruins had a lead but blew it as Montreal forced overtime. After about 5 minutes of OT, Nathan Horton struck again to score his 2nd OT winner in the series, and send the Boston Bruins on to Round 2.

The final matchup was the 4-5 in the East, another 7 game series, between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. The Penguins had to fight through this series without the services of Sidney Crsoby, Geno Malkin, and Matt Cooke. Game 1 went to Pittsburgh 3-0 thanks to a strong showing from Alexi Kovalev. Game 2 was all Tampa Bay as the Lightning rolled to a 5-2 victory. Martin St Louis and Vinny Lecavalier had huge games. Games 3 and 4 of the series went to the Pens giving them a 3-1 series lead. Game 3 was a 3-2 Penguins victory. Game 4 had to go to double overtime, before the Pens won it 3-2 on a James Neal goal from a bad angle. Tampa Bay's offense exploded for an 8-3 victory. St Louis and Steve Stamkos had moster games, including the 1st 2 career playoff goals for Steve Stamkos. Game 6 again went to tampa by this time by a 4-2 score. Game 7 of the series was a nail bitter with the Lightning knocking off Pittsburgh by a 1-0 score. Dwayne Roloson got the shutout and Sean Bergenheim scoring the lone goal. This series was a wake up call for the Penguins, showing the holes they have in the lineup without Crosby and Malkin dressed.

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs 1st Round Preview

Hockey Fans rejoice! The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin this Wednesday April 13th. After a grueling 82 game schedule the 2nd season, and the more exciting hockey, is ready to rock and roll this Wednesday. The following are the playoff matchups in the 1st round as well as the date and times of the games, National TV games, and my predictions for each matchup. We begin in the western conference.

1st matchup to look at is the #1 Vancouver Canucks taking on the #8 Chicago Blackhawks. Here is the breakdown of days and times of the 7 game series:

April 13 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks 10:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 15 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks 10:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 17 Vancouver Canucks - Chicago Blackhawks 8:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 19 Vancouver Canucks - Chicago Blackhawks 8:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 21 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks 10:00 pm Versus, CBC
April 24 Vancouver Canucks - Chicago Blackhawks 8:00 pm CBC
April 26 Chicago Blackhawks - Vancouver Canucks TBD CBC

The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the Western Conference regular season champions and Presidents' Trophy winners, earning 117 points. The Chicago Blackhawks qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 97 points. This is the third time in three years that Vancouver has met Chicago in the playoffs. Chicago took each of the previous two second-round series by a score of 4 games to 2, adn the 4th time overall these two have met in the playoffs, with the Hawks winning each time. The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cu[p Champions and looking to repeat, and the Canucks are looking to get to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1994. The Blackhawks are good I won't take that away from them, but I just think the Canucks are too much for the Hawks this year. Chicago puts up a good fight but will fall short in winning back-to-back Cups. i take the Canucks in 6 games.


Now moving on we have the #2 San Jose Sharks take on the #7 Los Angles Kings. Here is the breakdown of games for Sharks-Kings:
April 14 Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks 10:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 16 Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks 10:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 19 San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings 10:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 21 San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings 10:30 pm TSN
April 23 Los Angeles Kings - San Jose Sharks 10:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 25 San Jose Sharks - Los Angeles Kings TBD TSN
April 27 Los Angeles Kings- San Jose Sharks TBD TSN

The San Jose Sharks entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference after winning the Pacific Division with 105 points. The Los Angeles Kings earned the seventh seed with 98 points. This will be the first meeting of these teams in the postseason. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, justin Williams, and Ryan Smyth lead the way for the Kings and Jonathan Quick holds down the fort in net. However, the Sharks are going with Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Dany Heatley on offense and have Antti Niemi in net. Sharks, even thought they have had playoff troubles in the past, will roll in this one, Sharks in 5.


Now its time for the #3 Detroit Red Wings and the #6 Phoenix Coyotes. here's a look at the series matchup:
April 13 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings 7:00 pm Versus,CBC
April 16 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings 1:00 pm NBC, CBC
April 18 Detroit Red Wings - Phoenix Coytoes 10:30 pm Versus,CBC
April 20 Detroit Red Wings - Phoenix Coytoes 10:30 pm Versus,CBC
April 22 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings 7:00 pm Versus,CBC
April 24 Detroit Red Wings - Phoenix Coytoes TBD CBC
April 27 Phoenix Coytoes - Detroit Red Wings TBD CBC

The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference after winning the Central Division with 104 points. The Phoenix Coytoes earned the sixth seed with 99 points, losing tiebreakers to both the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators. Detroit and Phoenix played in the first round in 2010, which Detroit won by a score of 4 games to 3. Detroit is looking to get back to the Finals while Phoenix looks to get to the 2nd round for the 1st time ever. Sadly that wont happen this year wings roll in 5.


Finally we look at the #4 Anaheim Ducks and the #5 Nashville Predators. Here is a look at the series matchup:
April 13 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks 10:30 pm TSN
April 15 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks 10:30 pm TSN
April 17 Anaheim Ducks - Nashville Predators TBD TSN
April 20 Anaheim Ducks - Nashville Predators TBD TSN
April 22 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks 10:00 pm TSN
April 24 Anaheim Ducks - Nashville Predators TBD TSN
April 26 Nashville Predators - Anaheim Ducks TBD TSN

The Anaheim Ducks entered the playoffs as the fourth overall seed in the Western Conference with 99 points, by winning tiebreakers over the Nashville Predators and the Phoenix Coytoes. The Nashville Predators earned 99 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall. They lost the tiebreaker to Anaheim by having fewer games won in regulation and overtime. This will be the first playoff series between these two teams. This may actually be the most even matchup in the West of the first round. The Ducks have the playoff experiance and I give them the series in 6.


Now moving on to the Eastern Conference. we start it off with the #1 Washington Capitals against the #8 New York Rangers. Here's what the schedule looks like for this one:

April 13 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 15 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 17 Washington Capitals - New York Rangers 3:00 pm NBC, TSN
April 20 Washington Capitals - New York Rangers 7:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 23 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals 3:00 pm NBC, TSN
April 25 Washington Capitals - New York Rangers TBD TSN
April 27 New York Rangers - Washington Capitals TBD TSN

The Washington Capitals entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season champions, earning 107 points. The New York Rangers qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed with 93 points. This will be the sixth playoff series between the two franchises, with Washington holding a 3–2 edge in the past series. The two teams last met in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Capitals won the series 4-3. In the season series, the Rangers hold a 2–1–1 record, winning the last three games by a combined score of 15–1. I give the Rangers the edge in Goaltending right now. The Caps have the revolving door between Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov. I would go with Varlamov to start the series. Rangers make it a good fight but I go Caps in 6.


Now we look at #2 Philadelphia Flyers and the #7 Buffalo Sabres. Here's the breakdown of the games:

April 14 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers 7:30 pm Versus , TSN
April 16 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers 5:00 pm TSN2
April 18 Philadelphia Flyers - Buffalo Sabres 7:00 pm Versus, TSN
April 20 Philadelphia Flyers - Buffalo Sabres 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 22 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers 7:30 pm Versus, TSN
April 24 Philadelphia Flyers - Buffalo Sabres 3:00 pm NBC, TSN
April 26 Buffalo Sabres - Philadelphia Flyers TBD TSN

The Philadelphia Flyers entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Atlantic Division with 106 points. The Buffalo Sabres earned the seventh seed with 96 points, losing the tiebreaker to Montreal on regulation + overtime wins (38 to 41). This will be the ninth meeting of these two teams in the postseason, with Philadelphia holding a 5–3 edge on the past series. Now this series is the most interesting. Buffalo has a set goalie in Ryan Miller. The Flyers on the other hand have used Sergei Bobrovsky, who is a rookie, and Brian Boucher. They also still have playoff hero from last year Michael Leighton, so I wont be surprised if he gets playing time. Now this may annoy a lot of Sabres fans but I really don't think Buffalo has the depth to match the Flyers. Philly may faulter in later rounds but now I think its too much Flyers Philly takes this in 6 games.


Now on to the only divisional matchup in the East its the #3 Boston Bruins against the #6 Montreal Canadians. Here is the breakdown:

April 14 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 16 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 18 Boston Bruins - Montreal Canadiens 7:30 pm RDS, CBC
April 21 Boston Bruins - Montreal Canadiens 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 23 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins 7:00 pm Versus, RDS, CBC
April 26 Boston Bruins - Montreal Canadiens TBD RDS, CBC
April 27 Montreal Canadiens - Boston Bruins TBD RDS, CBC

The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Northeast Division with 103 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned the sixth seed with 96 points, winning the tiebreaker over Buffalo on regulation + overtime wins (41 to 38). This is the 33rd meeting of these teams in the postseason, which is the most frequent playoff series in NHL history. Montreal has earned a record of 24–8 against Boston in the playoffs. On April 10, the scheduled date of the French-language Canadian federal election debate between party leaders was changed from April 14 to April 13 so it would not conflict with Game one of the opening round between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. Carey Price has done a great job holding down the nets in Montreal. But Boston Has Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask.Both teams are evenly balanced in scoring. I just have one of those feelings about this one Boston in 7.


Finally we look at the most even matchup in the East the #4 Pittsburgh Penguins against the #5 Tampa Bay Lightning. here is the breakdown:

April 13 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00 pm CBC
April 15 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00 pm CBC
April 18 Pittsburgh Penguins - Tampa Bay Lightning 7:30 pm Versus, CBC
April 20 Pittsburgh Penguins - Tampa Bay Lightning 7:00 pm CBC
April 23 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins TBD Versus, CBC
April 25 Pittsburgh Penguins - Tampa Bay Lightning TBD CBC
April 27 Tampa Bay Lightning - Pittsburgh Penguins TBD CBC

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the playoffs as the fourth overall seed in the Eastern Conference with 106 points. The Tampa Bay Lightning earned 103 points during the regular season to finish fifth overall in the Eastern Conference. This will be the first playoff series between these two teams. The Penguins are good. This will be the most even series in the 1st round. Here is the upset as the Lightning take the series in 7 hard fought games.


So there you have it. The first round preview is all set. Now just sit back, relax and enjoy all the action!

2010-2011 New York Islanders Season Recap

The 2010-2011 Season for the New York Islanders has come to a disappointing end, with the club failing to make the playoffs for the 4th straight season. The season started off very promising for the club after going 5-1-1 through the first 8 games, at the time they were tied with the Penguins for top spot in the Atlantic Division. The 2 OT losses were a 5-4 Shootout loss to Dallas OPening Night and a 3-2 Overtime Loss in Pittsburgh. the one regulation loss was a 2-1 loss in Washington to the Capitals. That loss in Washington had some significance to it, as the lone Islanders goal was the 1st NHL goal for Nino Niederreiter, who only played 9 games all season registering a goal and an assist. After a 2-1 Overtime win in Tampa Bay against the Lightning, The Islanders would go on a awful 17 game winless streak that, for all intensive purposes, sunk their season. During that 17 game winless streak, there was one major milestone hit. On October 23rd in a 4-3 loss in Florida to the Panthers, John Tavares scored his 1st Careeer Hat Trick.

After a ten-game losing streak, the Islanders changed coaches on November 15, moving Scott Gordon into an adviser to the General Manager position and naming the Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach, Jack Capuano, as their interim head coach.[10] The Islanders ended a near franchise tying record of 15 straight games without a win on November 26 against the New Jersey Devils. The Islanders won 2-0 with Rick DiPietro securing the shutout. The Islanders ended the season with the worst average attendance in the NHL with an average of 11,059 (68.1% full). As of writing time, Jack Capuano has been named head coach for next season, getting the interim tag removed from his name.

The Islanders had a flare for the dramatic during the season, espically in Overtime. The Islanders won 7 games in Overtime this year. The Ot victories were as follows: Oct 18th in Toronto (Tavares), October 21st in Tampa Bay (Moulson), December 22nd at home against Tampa Bay (Tavares), December 31st in Detroit ( Parenteau), January 8th in Colorado (Tavares), Febuary 18th in Buffalo (Grabner), and March 8th at home against Toronto (Comeau).

Besides the flare for the dramatic in Overtime, and also the shootout, the Islanders had plenty of memorable games this season as well. The first had to be on Columbus Day October 13th, a 6-4 victory over the rival New York Rangers. The last 2 games of calander year 2010 were very good to the Islanders, as on December 29th the team played the Pittsburgh Penguins at home. Islanders won in a shootout 2-1 and at the same time snapped Sidney Crosby's point streak which heading into the contest had been 25 games. Then 2 nights later on New Years Eve the Isles went into Joe Louis Arena in Detroit and walked away with a thrilling OT victory over the Red Wings on the PA Parenteau. Two more games of note happen to come against the Buffalo Sabres. First was the game betweent he two at Nassau Coliseum on January 15th, a game in which the Islanders won 5-3. What was so memorable about that one was the natural hat trick scored by John Tavares in a span of 3:25 the 2nd fastest Islanders natural hat trick in team history. The other one was the game on February 13th at HSBC Arena in Buffalo which the Islanders won in OT 7-6. What was so great about that game was the 2 teams traded hat tricks. Drew Stafford scored one for Buffalo, but not to be outdone, Michael Grabner scored on for the Islanders, the 3rd being the OT Game Winner. The final really memorable game of the year was the 9-3 win over the Penguins on Friday February 11th at Nassau Coliseum. This game was memorable for not only the score but for the fights, as this game turned into a slugfest with 65 penalties, 10 ejections, 15 fighting majors, 20 misconducts, and 346 total minutes in penalties. And this was all in response to what happened 2 weeks prior in Pittsburgh with Rick DiPetrio getting knocked out by Brent Johnson of the Penguins in 1 punch.

Here are the final stat totals for the players from this season:

#
91 John Tavares 79 29 38 67 -16 53
15 P. A. Parenteau 81 20 33 53 -8 46
26 Matt Moulson 82 31 22 53 -10 24
40 Michael Grabner 76 34 18 52 13 10
57 Blake Comeau 77 24 22 46 -17 43
51 Frans Nielsen 71 13 31 44 13 38
12 Josh Bailey 70 11 17 28 -13 37
47 Andrew MacDonald 60 4 23 27 9 37
36 Travis Hamonic 62 5 21 26 4 103
38 Jack Hillen 64 4 18 22 -5 45
44 Rob Schremp‡ 45 10 12 22 -19 12
20 James Wisniewski‡ 32 3 18 21 -18 18
21 Kyle Okposo 38 5 15 20 3 40
27 Milan Jurcina 46 4 13 17 -4 30
24 Radek Martinek 64 3 13 16 -5 35
17 Matt Martin 68 5 9 14 -13 147
93 Doug Weight 18 2 7 9 -3 10
28 Zenon Konopka 82 2 7 9 -14 307
58 Jesse Joensuu 42 6 3 9 -6 33
8 Bruno Gervais 53 0 6 6 -14 30
42 Dylan Reese 27 0 6 6 -12 15
6 Ty Wishart 20 1 4 5 5 10
16 Jon Sim 34 1 3 4 -10 22
7 Trent Hunter 17 1 3 4 -3 23
10 Mike Mottau 20 0 3 3 -12 8
4 Mark Eaton 34 0 3 3 -2 8
37 Jeremy Colliton 15 2 1 3 -7 10
59 Micheal Haley 27 2 1 3 -4 85
25 Nino Niederreiter 9 1 1 2 -1 8
14 Trevor Gillies 39 2 0 2 -3 165
81 Justin DiBenedetto 8 0 1 1 -2 2
71 Mark Katic 11 0 1 1 -9 4


Goaltenders
# Player GP TOI W L OT GA GAA SA Sv% SO G A PIM
39 Rick DiPietro 26 1533 8 14 4 88 3.44 773 .886 1 0 1 25
30 Dwayne Roloson‡ 20 1206 6 13 1 53 2.64 629 .916 0 0 1 2
35 Al Montoya 21 1154 9 5 5 46 2.39 585 .921 1 0 1 2
60 Kevin Poulin 10 491 4 2 1 20 2.44 262 .924 0 0 0 0
52 Nathan Lawson 10 384 1 4 2 26 4.06 243 .893 0 0 0 0
1 Mikko Koskinen 4 208 2 1 0 15 4.33 118 .873 0 0 0 0




Now having said what has been so far, I think it was an OK year for the team despite finishing with a 30-39-13 record. Now things would have been completly different, I feel, had the team been able to stay healthy, as they had the most man games lossed due to injury in the league. Think about this for a moment. Okposo missed a little more than half the year, Weight and Hunter played under 20 games each this year, Streit missed the entire year, and the team used 6 different goalies to protect the nets. Just imagine how much better this hockey club could have been with everybody healthy and in the lineup. All Islanders fans really have good things to look forward to for next season with what is currently in place.

Oswego State Men's Hockey 2010-2011 Season Recap

The 2010-2011 season proved to be another very successful one for the Oswego State Lakers. Even thought it didn't end with a National Championship, still getting back to the Final 4 was a very big accomplishment. The year started with the addition of new players added to the lineup to replace some of the talent lost from last season. And the team didn't disappoint.

The year started off with, in reality it wasn't very much of a contest, a 17-0 whooping of the GMHL All-Stars in an exhibition at the Campus Center. The regular season officially kicked off with a 4-1 win over Elmira at home on October 22nd. The next night both teams met again, this time from the Murray Athletic Center in Elmira. The result was the same as the night before, with Oswego picking up the 4-2 victory. Halloween weekend was the kickoff of a 5-Game homestand for the club, with the team going 5-0 during that time. IT all started October 29th with a 5-2 win over Buffalo State. October 30th produced a 3-0 victory over Fredonia. Paul Beckiwth got the win making 17 saves for his 1st career shutout. Oswego went a perfect 4-0 in the month of October.

November rolled around and the first weekend proved to be the biggest home weekend of the year as Potsdam and Plattsburgh made their annual trip to the shores of Lake Ontario. Potsdam was 1st up on November 5th in a 7-1 beatdown by the Lakers. Paul Beckwith made 33 saves, Justin Fox scored a pair and Luke Moodie connected for a natural hat trick. The big game however was the next night as on November 6th Oswego and Plattsburgh added another chapter to the storied rivalry. For the 4th consecutive game, Oswego took down their archrivals by a 5-3 score. Luke Moodie and Andrew Mather gave the Lakers the early lead but Plattsburgh came back to tie the game at the end of the 1st. The middle frame was quiet and the offenses erupted in the 3rd. Tyler Leimbrock gave the Lakers the 1 goal lead before Dylan Clarke tied it a few moments later. Then late in the 3rd Ian Boots connected for his 4th of the year to give Oswego the lead, and in doing so became an instant fan favorite. Owen Kelly capped the game off with an empty netter.

After taking down the Cards Oswego's next challange was Cortland in the last game of the homestand. Oswego showed no after effects beating the Red Dragons 6-1. The next night Oswego took their show on the road. November 13th the date. The opponent was the Utica Pioneers at Utica. As has usually been the case Utica gave Oswego a fight but the Lakers came away with the 3-1 victory on the start of a 4-game road trip. Oswego had one more game before the thanksgiving break and it turned into another victory on November 20th with a 4-2 victory at Morrisville. Then December rolled around and came a semi-west road trip to Brockport and Geneseo. Another weekend another pair of wins for Oswego, a 4-2 win on December 3rd over Broackport and a 4-0 victory over Geneseo on December 4th. The 4-0 shutout against Geneseo was the 2nd of the season, and 2nd of the career for Paul Beckwith. However that win in Geneseo came at a price as Paul Beckwith would be lost for the next 3 weeks with a collar bone injury.

So the goaltending duties were handed over to Dan Jones for the next little while. His first career start came on December 10th at home against Utica. This night was in the Lakers favor as they pulled out a narrow 2-1 victory giving Dan Jones his 1st career win. With the win oswego extended it's overall record to 12-0. That streak would be snapped the next night as in Hobart on December 11th Oswego suffered its first defeat of the season a 5-2 loss to the Hobart Statesman. So Oswego ended the 1st half of the season at 12-1-0.

During winter break Oswego's struggles seemed to continue a bit as in the start of the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic the Lakers were defeated by Hamilton College 5-1 on Home Ice. That loss was the 1st loss on Home Ice since February 20th 2007 in a 4-2 loss to Potsdam. On New Years Eve Oswego got back on track with a 6-1 win over Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After this win Oswego would rattle of 2 straight shutouts. First came on January 4th with a 2-0 shutout over Skidmore College, which was the 1st career shutout for Dan Jones, then on January 8th a 3-0 shutout of Curry College. The win over Curry was the first win as a Laker and the 1st career shutout for Andrew Hare.

Oswego kicked off the 2nd half of the season, and a return to conference play with a 5 game road trip. IT started on January 22nd with a win at Buffalo State by a 4-1 score. The following night at Geneseo, Oswego needed to find an overtime hero. The Lakers had a 4-1 lead going into the 3rd period, but were unable to hold the lead as the Ice Knights came back to tie the game and force overtime. That is when Paul Rodrigues made his mark as he ripped home a one-timer a minute into OT to win the game for the Lakers.

Oswego kept it's winning ways going the last weekend in January, this time in Northern New York. It started on January 28th with a 8-1 win over Potsdam. January 29th was the anticipated rematch with the rival Plattsburgh Cardnials. Plattsburgh outplayed Oswego for most of the hockey game but the Lakers were able to skate away with the 4-3 victory. For the 2nd time in 2 years Oswego was outplayed by the Cardnials in PLattsburgh but were able to come away with a victory. Oswego ended the 5-game road trip with another OT thriller this time a comback victory at Cortland on February 4th. Oswego took a quick 1-0 lead on a early goal from Jon Whitelaw but by the end of the 1st Cortland had a 2-1 lead. They would stretch the lead to 3-1 early in the 3rd but late goals by Luke Moodie and Dan Bremner tied the game and sent it to Overtime. With 1 minute left in OT Paul Rodrigeus struck again roofing a wrist shot on a breakaway to win the game 4-3. It was the 2nd OT winner for Rodriges on the year.

The Lakers returned home from the 5 game trip on February 12th only to run into a road block. The visiting Morrisville Mustangs pulled off the surprising upset by a 5-2 score. Oswego responded in a very big way on Senior Weekend. February 18th Oswego pounded Brockport 7-1, capped of by 2 goals and an assist from Ian Boots. The next night was senior night and boy did the seniors go out with a bang. Geneseo was the opponent and they where whooped by a score of 7-1. Chris Laganiere had a hat trick and Ian Boots had 5 assists. Oswego had seemed to hit their stride.

SUNYAC Playoffs rolled around and Oswego's 1st opponent was the Fredonia Blue Devils. The night didn't go the way Oswego wanted as the Blue Devils came in and pulled of the shocking 2-1 overtime victory. Oswego was the #1 seed in the SUNYAC tournement and got shocked on home ice. However Oswego's record was good enough to get them back into the NCAA Tournment for the 2nd straight year. Oswego had not been in back-to-back NCAA tournments since 1987-1988-1989.

The first round for Oswego was a rematch of last years first round against the Bowdin Polar Bears. This year was the same result as last, an Oswego Victory. This year it was a 7-5 victory for the Lakers propelling them to a 2nd straight Final 4 apperance, something that Oswego has never done before. And of course we all know what happened with that one. There was a major milestone reached during the season, as Senior Chris Laganiere joined the Oswego State 100 point club, finishing his career with 101 points.

Now I think I can speak for most Oswego State Hockey fans when I say this. To the seniors on this years team: Kevin Huinink, Chris Laganiere, Stephen Mallaro, Justin Fox, Joe Hall, Owen Kelly, and Dan Bremner. Guys it has been a real honor and pleasure watching you play over the last 4 years. You have made a major impact on this program, this team, this college, this community, and everybody who has ever had the previladge to watch you play. Gentleman thank you so very much for the memories.

Oswego State Hockey Season Ends With 5-3 Loss To Adrian in NCAA Semifinal

(Photo courtesy of Oswego State Sports Information)

After 6 months of grueling hockey, the Oswego State Lakers 2010-2011 hockey season came to an end thanks to the Adrian Bulldogs. The following story is courtesy of the Oswego State Sports Information Department.

The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team tied the game against Adrian 1:18 into the third period, but a Bulldog goal just over a minute later proved to the game-winner as the Lakers fell, 5-3, in the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Semifinal contest on Friday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Oswego State saw its season end at 23-5-0, while Adrian improved to 25-3-1.

The Lakers had two odd-skater rushes early in the first period, but were unable to get quality shots on Bulldog goaltender Brad Fogal. Scoring started midway through the frame when Adrian went on the power play at 12:39 after Oswego State was whistled for a tripping penalty. The Bulldogs capitalized on the opportunity as Laker goaltender Paul Beckwith stopped the initial shot by Joel Workman. However, Zach Graham was ready to pounce on the rebound to give Adrian the early 1-0 lead at 14:19. Brad Houston also received an assist on the play.

The Bulldogs struck again with 14.9 seconds remaining in the period when Andrew Dovey took control of an Oswego State turnover in its defensive zone. His shot from the left face-off circle found its way just inside the right post to put Adrian ahead 2-0 at the break.

Oswego State went on the attack 49 seconds into the second frame when the Bulldogs committed an interference penalty. Stephen Mallaro’s blast from the center of the blue line clanged off the top of the crossbar, but Andrew Mather one-timed a pass from Mallaro at the right face-off circle at 17:25 to pull the Lakers to within one. Jon Whitelaw was also credited with an assist on the play.

Adrian had another power-play chance at 8:26 after a boarding penalty, and it took 22 seconds for the Bulldogs to score as Shawn Skelly’s shot went between Beckwith’s legs into the back of the net to regain the two-goal edge. Oswego State had another extra-skater opportunity at 11:15 after a tripping penalty was called, but came up empty.

However, Adrian sent another skater to the penalty box shortly after the tripping penalty expired. Mather made the Bulldogs pay as he wristed a pass from Whitelaw into the top right-hand corner of the goal at 14:45 to make the score 3-2. Chris Laganiere received the second assist on the goal, which proved to be the last marker of the period.

All-American Ian Boots leveled the score 1:18 into the third period when he wristed a shot high glove-side past Fogal after he was fed a pass from David Titanic and Andrew Mather. Adrian answered back quickly at 2:23 when Skelly scored his second goal of the game with an assist going to Miller.

Both squads had power-play chances midway through the period to either cushion the lead or level the score. Oswego State controlled the puck in its offensive end for much of the way down the stretch, but were unable to find the back of the net, forcing the Lakers to call timeout with 1:12 to play and pull Beckwith. The Bulldogs added an empty-net goal with 42.6 seconds left by Mike Towns after a pass from Kyle Watson. Oswego State left the goal empty after facing a two-goal deficit, but could not capitalize.

Paul Beckwith finished the game with 26 saves, while Brad Fogal ended with 39 stops.


With the loss the team season came to an end, and so did the careers of 7 Seniors: Joe Hall, Stepehen Mallaro, Owen Kelly, Justin Fox, Dan Bremner, Kevin Huinink, and Chris Laganiere. Guys it has been a real honor and pleasure to watch the 7 of you play over the past few years. It's been a lot of fun. Thanks for the memories boys. Stay tuned to Solly on Sports for a complete season recap!

Oswego State Women's Hockey 2010-2011 Season Recap

In a season of Change for the Oswego State Women's Hockey team, nobody knew what to expect when the season started. The season ended last weekend with new heights reached for the program. The team ended with new club records for wins with 13 and a few other surprises.

The season started with an exhibition against the Aurora Panthers and a 6-2 victory. The 2010-2011 campaign officially got underway with a 2-game weekend series at Adrian College. Game 1 resulted in a 2-0 loss. Game 2 then turned in favor of the Lakers picking up their first win of the year 3-1. First goal of the year came of the stick of Kelly Collins 3:30 into the hockey game. At the beginning of November the first homestand of the season came in the form of a 2-game set against Nationally Ranked Elmira College, who Oswego has had problems with in the past. 1st game of the series Oswego stuns everybody by walking away with a 1-1 tie on home ice. Elmira took the lead on a Tori Charron goal a little over 9 minutes into the 3rd. Oswego roared back 5 minutes later thanks to Kristin Metzger's late game heroics. Nobody could score the rest of the game and Oswego was able to earn a point. The next afternoon however was a different story as Elmira seemed to find their game again and take down the Lakers 3-1, with Mackenzie Lee getting the lone Tally for Oswego. That performance by Oswego was good enough to get them votes in the USCHO National Coaches poll for the first time ever. The rest of November saw Oswego drop both of their games to Utica College on Home Ice, 2-1 and 3-1 scores respectively. They followed that up by going on the road and tying both games at Cortland 1-1 and 2-2.

The last game before the thanksgiving break was just what the Lakers needed as it was a 5-1 victory over Hamilton College on home ice. Providing the offense on this night would be Carly Henderson, Lauren Gilpin, Meagan Big Snake, and a pair from Mackenzie Lee. This win would kick off what would be a 5-game winning streak to end the first half of the season. After knocking off Hamilton, Oswego went on to take down Potsdamn, by scores of 2-1 and 5-2, then beat Sacred Heart for the first time ever, 7-0 and 5-2. During that span, Oswego got 2 goal performances from 3 different playes. Kelly Collins had 2 seperate 2 goal games during the span (12/4 vs Potsdam and 12/11 vs Sacred Heart). Also Megan Howe (12/11 vs Sacred Heart) and Mackenzie Lee (12/10 vs Sacred Heart) had 2 goal games. So Oswego ended the first half of the year at a record of 6-4-3 and 2-4-3 in ECAC West play.

Riding high of the 5-game winning streak to end the first half Oswego could not keep up that momentum to start the 2nd Half as they split a weekend road trip to Neumann. The first game went in favor of the Knights 3-1 while Oswego turned around the next day and beat Neumann by the same 3-1 score. Oswego then kept the 3 game road trip going to Hamilton College, however it was in a losing effort as Hamilton walked away with a 7-4 victory. The Lakers started the 2nd half of the season at home with a weekend sweep of Chatham University on the 22nd and 23rd of January. On the 22nd Emi Williams picked up the shutout as Oswego rolled over Chatham 6-0. Scoring for the Lakers were Kelly Collins, Jillian Bergeron, Megan Howe, Carly Henderson, Emily Grippin and Melissa Seamont. The following afternoon Oswego hung another 6-spot on the Cougars, rolling to a 6-2 victory. Emi Williams was again victorious in net and providing the offense was a pair of goals from Lauren Gilpin, Kelly Collins, Mackenzie Lee, Jillian Bergeron and Megan Howe.

Oswego ended the Month of January at one of the toughest buildings in Division 3 hockey to play in, the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh against the Plattsburgh State Cardinals. The closer of the 2 games came on January 28th as Plattsburgh walked away with a 2-1 victory. Brenna Weber scored Oswego's lone goal. The next day Plattsburgh's offense erupted for 6 goals as they downed the Lakers 6-2. Mackenzie Lee scored both of Oswego's goals.Oswego's final weekend series happened to be senior weekend as Buffalo State made the trip to the Campus Center. Oswego took the first game of the set by a 3-1 score. Emi williams got the win and got offensive support from Kelly Collins, Brenna Weber, and Sarah Hannon. Senior day was the next day and the team got to send the Seniors out right. Oswego beat Buff. State 3-0. Emi Williams got her 4th career shutoout and Kelly Collins, Sarah Hannon, and Carly Henderson provided the offense.

Next up was the toughest test of all for the Lakers, the final road trip of the season to Frank Ritter Arena to play, at the time, teh #1 ranked RIT TIgers. RIT took the 1st game of the weekend by a 3-1 score. Oswego had set the tone with Jillian Bergeron scoring 21 seconds into the game, but RIT was too much on this night and scored 3 unanswered to take it. The next day proved to be the greatest game in the history of this program as Oswego did what many thought was impossible. They beat the best team in the nation the RIT Tigers by a score of 2-1. Mackenzie Lee and Olivia Boersen provided the offense and Emi Williams made 46 saves to preserve the victory. RIT outshot the Lakers 47-10 but Oswego held on long enough for the victory. After this game RIT was no longer undefeated and no longer #1 in the nation. It was by far the biggest win in the history of the Oswego State Women's Hockey Team. The regular season ended with a 4-1 win over Caselton State at home, before losing in the playoffs to Neumann in double OT.

Oswego finished the season with an overall record of 13-10-3 and a 8-7-3 recored in ECAC West play. The 13 wins recorded by the team is a new club record. Leading the team in scoring this year was Transfer Mackenzie Lee with 15 goals and 24 points. The 15 Goals Lee scored tied the single season club record for goals, which was set by Jessica Lister in 2006-2007. Lee's 24 Points is now the single season record for the Lakers. Originally the record had been 22 points in a season which was set by Jessica Lister in 2006-2007 by Lee beat the record by 2 points. Coming in 2nd in scoring was Freshman Megan Howe, who recorded 7 goals and 12 assists good for 19 points. Howe's 12 assists ties the single season assists record, along with the 12 helpers Erica Shapey had in 2007-2008. Jillian Bergeron and Kelly Collins now move into a 4-way tie for 2nd place in program history in total points with 36. They join Stephanie Esposito and Angie Friesen. They trail the programs all time leading scorer Jenna Kirkwood by 11 points heading into next season.

This was the final season of play for 5 seniors on the club, Goalie Emi Williams, Defensmen Brenna Weber and Megan Big Snake and Forwards Sarah Hannon and Emily Grippin. First we start with Emi Williams. Williams finishes her college career having played in 65 games a career record of 24-36-3 with 7 Shutouts a 2.56 GAA, and a .921 SV%. Emi has been the backbone of the team for the past 4 years and will be sourly missed in net. As for the blueline the team says goodbye to Brenna Weber (77 GP 4G 12A 16P) and Megan Big Snake (77 GP 1G 5A 6P). Both have been solid defensemen over the last 4 years. Both have done a great job of shutting down the oposition and making Emi William's job a little bit easier. Finally the forwards Emily Grippin (90 GP 13G 12A 25P), and Sarah Hannon (93 PG 10G 12A 22P). Grippin was one of the team's most reliable centers and without a doubt the fastest skater on the club, while Hannon was one of the more hard working forwards. The two without a doubt are going to leave a big hole to fill on the PK unit next season.


Ladies Thank You SO MUCH for the memories this past season. It was truly an honor and a privlege to watch the team this year. And to the Seniors; thank you so much for your dedication and passion over the past 4 years. This team, this college, and this town will miss you all very much We wish you nothing but the best of luck in all your future endovures.