Giguere stops 22 in shutout over Norsemen

Alex Kovalev, Dave Scatchard and Greg Classen each scored for the Winnipeg Jets tonight, while goalie J.S. Giguere turned aside all 22 shots he faced giving the Jets a 3-0 victory over the visiting Prince George Norsemen.

Giguere's shutout is the first of the preseason and will go a long way towards helping both he and the Jets round into form as the regular season approaches.

"I feel pretty good right now," said Giguere after the game. "I trained hard this off season and managed my nutrition a lot better then in the past, which is something I need to do a better job of as I get older."

The win give the Jets a 5-3-0 record with four games left remaining in the preseason. Giguere is expected to get at least three of those starts with backup goalie Alex Auld getting the call for one of them.

As for the Norsemen, their preseason record has fallen to 3-3-2 with Josh Harding getting all eight starts so far.

Hawks defeat Vampyres is penalty filled game

Moncton Hawks defesneman Brian Campbell put up three points tonight in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Vampyres with the Vampyres registering only nineteen shots on goal.

"It was a good game for me tonight," said Campbell. "I trained really hard in the off-season hoping to make a huge impact with the team this year. So far it looks good."

This is the Hawks third win in a row with the other two victories being over the Halifax Fleet and Toronto Gladiators. Given the Hawks have now won three straight and sit near the top of the preseason standings, their roster heading into the 2009-2010 campain is just about set. The only question remaining is a battle for the final defenseman spot remaining with both Doug O'Brien and Michal Barinka looking to fill the hole.

Unfortunately for Ottawa this game saw both Joe Thornton and Mike Knuble receive suspensions from the league for their involvement in two fights in the game. Thornton will be gone for 5 games or the remainder of the preseason, while Knuble was given a one game suspension.

"It's a bloody joke," said a frustrated Thornton. "How could the league possibly justify five games when I've seen much worse things happen in the league with little or no response from the league. I'm pissed and confused at the decision."

Posted by Commish on Sunday, January 8 @ 6:35 p.m.

Pekka Rinne stops 38 in win over Rockhounds

Minnesota Muskies backup goalie Pekka Rinne proved that he could be a very valuable piece of the Muskies going forward, as he stopped 38 of 41 shots tonight in a 5-3 win over the Houston Rockhounds.

A second round pick, 45th overall in the 2004 Entry draft, Rinne was at the top of his game tonight and made up for many of the defensive shortcomings of the team in front of him. With 41 shots in total directed his way, 20 of which came in the first period alone, Rinne showed that he has the skills needed to play at the highest level of hockey.

"It was a good game for me tonight," said Rinne. "I was seeing the puck well and did what I could to keep it out. Fortunately, I had a few lucky bounces go my way and we got the win."

This is exactly the type of performance that Muskies General Manager Marvin Wheeler was looking for as he ponders the fate of starter Nikolai Khabibulin who is on the final year of his contract and set to become a free agent at the end of 2009-2010.

As for the Muskie Skaters, they were not very strong or well positioned on the defensive side of the puck, but had no trouble on the offensive side. Putting five goals past Rockhounds goalie Niklas Backstrom from four different players, the Muskies looked like a team that will have no trouble scoring goals come the start of the regular season.

Posted by Commish on Sunday, January 1 @ 7:52 p.m.

Wildcats drop fourth straight, lose Johnson

Four consecutive loses was not way General Manager Robert Michaud thought the preseason would go, especially given some of the highly skilled players at his disposal.

Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of hole the Wildcats now find themselves in after losing by a score of 3-1 tonight at the hands of the Yellowknife Ice Dragons, one of the leagues best clubs.

"We're not playing very good hockey right now, " said Wildcats forward Sidney Crosby. "We're being sloppy and reckless and beating ourselves. We need to start playing smarter hockey in preparation for the regular season, which is exactly what we're going to do."

Also hurting the Wildcats was the loss of forward Ryan Johnson who was during the second period after taking a hit from Henrik Sedin and is now expected to be out of action for a week. The Ice Dragons are certainly not having any sympathy for the Wildcats as they themselves lost a player to injury in tonight's game. Defenseman Dan Boyle left the game early in the first period after blocking a shot and is also expected to be out a week.

Although the preseason has no real meaning in the great scheme of things, it is puzzling to see the Ice Dragons continue their dominate play from last season, while the Wildcats are looking for their first win.

Posted by Commish on Friday, December 30 @ 9:21 p.m.

Purple Aces bite off more then they can chew with Bulldogs

Two of the very best clubs in the American Conference faced off in some preseason action tonight with the Dallas Bulldogs playing host to the Chicago Purple Aces.

Fortunately for the Purple Aces this was only a preseason contest as they were pounded 6-0 by the visiting Bulldogs with the Dogs having 40 shots on goal compared to the Aces 23.

Five different players did the scoring for Dallas with Tim Connolly having two, while Chris Kelly, Daniel Briere, Francois Beauchemin, and Richard Park having one a piece.

"Our roster is pretty much set for the regular season," said Bulldogs coach Dave Tippett. "Now it's just a matter of working on our systems and plays before the regular season starts. We don't want a repeat of last year when we missed the playoffs."

The Purple Aces, just coming off a hard fought victory over the Minnesota Muskies looked slow an uninterested all evening long. This is an issue that the coaching staff will need to correct should they wish to make a strong showing in the playoffs.

On a side note, Jason Pominville left the third period with what is described as an upper-body injury and is expected to miss a week of action.

Posted by Commish on Thursday, December 29 @ 8:00 p.m.

Saint Paul Huskies hire Jeff Davis

The Saint Paul Huskies wasted no time with their decision on who the teams next General Manager should be, hiring Jeff Davis for the position. Just hours after releasing Nolan Anderson, the team held an impromptu news conference to introduce Davis.

"If feels wonderful to be back in the league,: said Davis. "I feel I'm up to the challenge of running this franchise and turning it into the envy of every other club around the league."

Davis will not get any rest in the immediate future as his club suits up for a match against the veteran laden Houston Rockhounds tomorrow night, followed by another tough preseason match agasint the Minnesota Muskies on Friday evening.

Regardless of where Davis takes this club, there is no question regarding the rebuild that has gone on. This is an organization that had five frist round selections in the 2009 draft and an incredible ten first round picks back in the 2008 draft. The Huskies have nothing but talented prospects in the system which Davis will be able to use to his advantage going forward.

Posted by Commish on Tuesday, December 27 @ 5:51 p.m.

Anderson steps down from Huskies

The Saint Paul Huskies brought in Nolan Anderson seven months ago to help bring credibility to an organization that was in desperate need of some. Unfortunately, that experiment did not work as Anderson stepped down from the team December 23rd, two days before Christmas.

It's unclear exactly which direction the team will now take, but their are persistent rumors about and old face returning to the league as the clubs next General Manager.

One thing is clear, this is an organization that has plenty of high-end propects and young players in the league. Led by Victor Hedman and Zach Bogosian along with Corey Crawford, Colin Wilson, Michael del Zotto, Cody Hodgson and Derek Stepen just to name some. There is no question about the long road ahead for this organization before it will be considered a genuine playoff threat, but given the right GM and the right amount of patience, this team has the potential to be one of the best in the league...just not yet.

Posted by Commish on Tuesday, December 27 @ 10:28 a.m.

3 Stars of the Week