Fleet overwhelm Bulldogs in 7-2 victory

Jeff Carter, David Booth and Sheldon Souray each has three points tonight as the Halifax Fleet punished the Dallas Bulldogs 7-2, for the teams second win in a row and eighth in the last ten games.

The Fleet dominated the game from start to finish, registering sixty shots on goal, the most they've had all season long, while limiting the Bulldogs to only seventeen shots.

In fact, the Bulldogs were a frustrated bunch right from the start as evidenced by Bulldogs goalie Chris Mason who was kicked out of the game after he attacked Fleet forward Ville Leino after Leino crashed into the net at the ten minute mark of the first period. The Bulldogs only managed four shots in that first period.

"Being able to compete against one of the best teams in the league will go a long way towards giving us confidence as a group," said Jeff Carter. "The Bulldogs have been one of the most consistent teams over the years and we really wanted to have a good game against them. I could never imagine it turning out this good.

Jeff Carter has really come on strong this season for the Fleet and has been the club's MVP all season long. Carter leads the team in goals with 27, assists with 41, points with 68, and is fifth on the team with a plus 20 rating.

As for Mason, he is expected to have a disciplinary hearing with the league tommorw afternoon where it will be determined if a suspension is necessary for his actions in tonight's game.

Posted by Commish on Saturday, May 19 @ 8:35 p.m.

Brayden Schenn scores first NHL goal

Although the Montreal Barracudas playoff chances are shrinking by the day, they're still providing some exciting hockey and showing off the youth the team has acquired over the last couple seasons.

Brayden Schenn is one of those young players the team is building around and has high hopes for. Playing eight games coming into last night's match-up with the Winnipeg Jets, Schenn has only two assists to show for his efforts and has looked like a boy playing against men at times.

Tonight was a little different for Schenn as he scored his first NHA goal on a beautiful wrist shot that went glove side on Jets goalie Alex Auld.

"It felt really good to get that first goal," said Schenn. "I've been holding my stick really tight lately wondering when it would come. Now that it's out of the way maybe I can relax a little and start putting more pucks in the net."

Also scroing for the Barracudas was Saku Koivu who had two goals on the night to give him sixteen on the season. The Barracudas went on to win the game 3-1 giving the team seven wins in their last ten games.

Schenn is not the only young player with great upside. Erik Karlsson, P.K. Subban, Derrick Brassard and Karl Alzner are all players currently contributing on the pro roster with prospects such as Jacob Markstrom, Kyle Turris, Jason Demers, Calvin de Haan and Zack Kassian waiting in the wings.

The Barracudas may not by much to behold now, but given some time and patience could be one of the best teams in the league in a few short years.

Posted by Commish on Thursday, May 17 @ 3:22 p.m.

Eagles climb into 8th with win over Warriors

After an incredibly slow start to the season for last year's Stanley Cup champs, the North Carolina Eagles are finally starting to look like their old selves. The Eagles have spent the entire season thus far on the outside of the playoff picture despite having some of the games most talented players.

Fortunatley for General Manager Chris Bagnato, things are finally headed in the right direction with the club going 6-2-2 in their last ten games including a 3-2 overtime victory over rival Manhattan Warriors tonight.

The Eagles now find themsleves sitting in eighth place in the tight American Conference with the players having every intention of moving further up the standings as the playoffs approach

"Not sure if we had some sort of hangover or what," said goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. "We had a really slow start the the season but are now finally starting to find our groove again. We belive in ourselves and are starting to proove it on the ice where it matters."

Tonight's game saw Eagles forward Martin Havlat come to the rescue with two goals and an assist for three points with one of the goals being the game winner three minutes into overtime.

The Eagles now have a very good shot at four more points as they play the Warriors once again tomorrow night, followed by a game on Tuesday against the lowly Seattle Thunderbirds. If the team can win both of those games, we could very well see the Eagles sitting in fourth place in the American Conference come Tuesday night.

Posted by Commish on Saturday, May 12 @ 8:56 p.m.

Disciplined play leads Panthers over Hitmen

Florida Panthers coach Peter DeBoer told the media before his team faced that Calgary Hitmen, that the Panthers would need to play a very discipled game if they wanted to defeat the Hitmen who heading into the contest were sitting atop the standings with seventy-one points.

Discplined is one thing. Down right stingy is another. The Panthers ended the game with only four minutes in penalties with all four coming from Nolan Yonkman.

Thanks to their discipled play, two power-play goals of their own and some solid goaltending, the Panthers walked away with a 6-1 victory over the best team in the league.

"We did accomplished all the things we set out do do as a team," said captain Alex Ovechkin. "We stayed out of the box, limited their chances and capitalized on our own scoring opportunities. It was a great all-around game for us.

The win was the Panthers third in a row, giving them fifty-seven points in the very tough American Conference. The team currently sits two points up on the eighth place Minnesota Muskies but only four points up on the eleventh place North Carolina Eagles.

Scoring for the Stephen Regier, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Jochen Hecht, Gavin Morgan and Alex Ovechkin with two.

Up next for the Panthers is a home game against the Saskatoon Wildcats tomorrow night, while the Calgary Hitmen will get a much needed day of rest before facing the Quebec Remparts on Tuesday.

Posted by Commish on Sunday, May 6 @ 4:31 p.m.

Storm distance themselves from Wildcats

For much of the season the Summerside Storm have fluctuated between very good and very bad. Given the veteran talent on the roster there's no explaining why the club has struggled to find consistency in their game.

Fortunately, the fortunes of the Storm seem to be changing and the hockey club appears to be getting back on track, thanks to a 4-1 defeat of the Quebec Remparts tonight and six wins in their last ten games.

The victory places the Storm solidly in eighth position overall in the Canadian Conference and four points up on the Saskatoon Wildcats who have played eight more games.

"It's simple. Our best players were our best players tonight," said coach Alain Vigneault after the game. "Cam played a great game for us allowing only the one goal, while Staal showed that when the games matter most, he's right there getting it done.

The Storm have a great opportunity ahead of them now. With games against the Oil Kings, Avangard, Ice Dragons and Barracudas coming up, the team could easily take three of the four games which would go a long way towards pushing them further up the standings and into a better playoff position

We'll have to check in on this team in a week's time to see how they've done.

Posted by Commish on Tuesday, May 1 @ 6:39 p.m.

Miller perfect, Bulis injured as Vampyres defeat Rockhounds

The Lonnee brothers faced off against one another tonight as the Houston Rockhounds played host to the Ottawa Vampyres.

These are two teams that have been headed in two very different directions all season long with the Rockhounds tumbling down the standings and the Vampyres working towards a second straight President's trophy.

This was exactly the type of contest you would expect from rivals hockey clubs. It was a hard-hitting, low scoring, intense affair that saw both goalies playing their very best.

In the end, it was the Vampyres coming away with a 1-0 victory thanks in large part to Ryan Miller who played arguably his best game of the season with forty saves and a shutout

The victory also came at a huge cost as the Vampyres lost both Chris Phillips and Jan Bulis to injuries. Phillips is expected to be out a minimum of one week with a separated left shoulder. Bulis suffered the more serious injury in the third period after taking a hit from Rockhounds defenseman Jay Boumeester with a strained right elbow that will require surgery and will keep Bulis out of the line-up two months.

"This victory came at a high cost for us," said captain Joe Thornton. "Jan and Chris and really important guys for us. Hopefully their quick healers and get back in the line-up soon as we battle for a championship this season.

Up next for the Vampyres is a tough match tomorrow night when they visit Boston for a game against the Ravens, while the Rockhounds will get a day off for some rest and regrouping before playing the Hitmen on Monday evening.

Posted by Commish on Saturday, April 28 @ 9:24 p.m.

Remparts hire man with vision

After many months of going without a permanent General Manager and interviews that never seems to result in a final decision, the Quebec Remparts finally pulled the trigger on the hiring of a new Presidend and GM.

Tim Pettit was introduced to the fans and media yesterday at a news conference held at the newly named Wildside Arena. Pettit is a proven winner and a man with plenty of hockey experience not to mention a clear vision.

"The only way to win in today's game is to draft well and draft often until such point as the organization can fill holes from within instead of going to free agency for players," said Pettit. "I strongly believe in the draft and he impact that it has on the long-term impact to a franchise.

Pettit also wasted no time in letting the hockey world know that the Remparts are open for business and willing to discuss trade possibilites with any team that comes calling.

With only 39 games left in the regular season, there's a good chance that the team we see hitting the ice today, will not be the same team hitting the ice for game 82.

Posted by Commish on Tuesday, April 24 @ 6:25 p.m.

3 Stars of the Week