All about the Wood

He's got the whole teamIn his handsHe's got the whole damned teamIn his hands...I'm going to hell ain't I?See you there!Go Wellwood!You know, Wellwood week might be extended if he keeps this up.Canucks coach Alain Vigneault thinks Kyle Wellwood may have gotten a wake up call when he was sent to the minor leagues 2 1/2 weeks ago.Wellwood says it was more of a much-needed break.The Canucks' Kyle Wellwood had two goals -- he has six this season. It was his first career multi-goal game. Whatever the reason, after battling injury and fitness issues for the last two seasons Wellwood is making the most of his latest chance to stay in the/nhl.- Associated PressKyle Wellwood has heard the jokes about being out of shape while walking around with his shirt off, and suffering the humiliation of being sent to the minors twice.All this after coming to Vancouver soon after the Canucks claimed him off waivers in June, spending gruelling weeks with conditioning coach Roger Takahashi and going on a special diet.Cut adrift after four years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he's feeling good again and making the most of his second/nhl tour of duty with Vancouver.Wellwood, a five-foot-ten, 180-pound native of Windsor Ont., who signed a US$997,500 contract with Vancouver, became the Canucks' leading scorer Tuesday by firing two goals in a 4-0 win over the Nashville Predators.He has six goals in seven games since being called up from American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose when Pavol Demitra suffered a rib injury.''For any athlete or professional, it's about yourself personally playing the game and that's where you're going to find the happiness,'' Wellwood said.''Not being able to play, feeling unhealthy and out of shape you're not going to feel so happy and confident. That was my main goal. I didn't care too much where I was going to play. I just wanted to get back.'' -TSN. And there is more about Woody at TSN.“I think we just wanted to keep going,” said Alex Burrows. “ I think we wanted to play a solid 60 minutes, and in the third period that second goal really helped us and obviously afterwards Kyle worked his magic. It was nice to see.”Wellwood rounds into form -Sportsnet. Still can't stop the fat jokes, hey you fucking jackasses? ..it’s an absolute delight to see guys like Kesler, Raymond, Burrows, Hansen and (ugh) even Wellwood play far better than anyone could have predicted. But as far as Wellwood being a PP God is concerned, I’m still not sold on him yet.-Yankee Canuck pre game. Mikey, Mikey, NOW DO YOU BELIEVE? NOW DO YOU BELIEVE? This guy is good. Scary good! (Hey, I'll gloat while I have the chance!)T Tags: Kyle+Wellwood+is+god Photoshop Jesus tribute Source

NTDP Wins in Shootout

With the World Junior A Challenge in full swing, another event has flown under the radar in Lake Placid, New York. The Under-18 Four Nations tournament got underway yesterday. The National Team Development Program defeated Switzerland Tuesday 4-2. Last night, they defeated Finland in a shootout 5-4.This tournament is being shown on the USA Hockey Website. I caught the final two periods of the Finland games and it was an entertaining contest. The Star of the game in my eyes was Mikael Grunlund of Finland. The play making abilities this kid has is unbelievable. He had three assists. He will be draft eligible in 2010. I don't have him listed in my Players to Watch for 2010 but he's going in that category. His line mate Toni Rajala had two goals which were set up Grunlund.For the Americans, Brandon Maxwell likes to play the puck. Some points he almost cost the team because of his aggressive play. He acted like a third defenseman out there. I was just waiting him to breakout like this goaltender.Cam Fowler can skate. He caught I believe Rajala on a short handed breakaway. I have heard he's isn't that physical. I couldn't really tell if he shyed was from the physical play.Jeremy Morin and Drew Shore had pretty good games. Morin had a shootout goal. The combo was back together. From the webcast, it seems like they put on different lines for the last few weeks. Kyle Palmieri was used on the point on powerplays. He has a good shot already.Overall you can see that there's chemistry on the Under-18 team. Everybody worked together. They were their best when they were on a 5-3 penalty kill which seemed went on for most of the second period. Jerry D'Amigo checked a Finnish player into the boards and got a five minute major and a game misconduct. It was no intention to injury but it was a nasty spill. The player skated off under his own power. USA had two minor penalties within that five minutes. The game was tied a 4 at that point but were able to kill all the penalties off. USA plays Sweden tomorrow at 4pm. Go to USA Hockey to catch the webcast or the audiocast.The Under 17 team is in Switzerland for their 4 Nations tournament. They defeated the host country in an exhibition 5-0 yesterday.The Going Five Hole Blog is reporting that the/nhl Network will be showing Team USA's Games at the World Junior Championships in Ottawa this year. This is very good news that USA's games will be on TV. I am assuming they will be picking up the Medal Round again this year. I think they should go ahead and pick up Canada's games also. If not there are ways to find the games on the internet.That's My Take(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

2008 Hockey Book Reviews

Black And Gold Canada On IceDon Cherry's Stories and StuffHockey Now!Hockey's Top 100 Honoured Canadiens Ice Warriors Meaning Of Puck Montreal: 100 Years Of Glory My Greatest DayNight Work: The Sawchuk Poems /nhl-hockey-treasures.html">Official/nhl Hockey TreasuresOpen Ice Patrick Roy Reflections 2008 Road To Hockeytown St. Michael's CollegeSaving Face Shooting From The LipUnbeatable Martin BrodeurUltimate Book Of Hockey Lists100 Great Cdn Sports MomentsAlso See2008 Paperback Releases 2008 Hockey Books For KidsBargain Books at Chapters 2008 DVD Releases Source

Rock the Red, Rock the Vote

.nhl 2009 All-Star Game Logo" src="http://www.onfrozenblog.com/assets_c/2008/11.nhl_All-Star_Game_Logo_2009-thumb-200x136.jpg" class="mt-image-right" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 20px 20px; float: right;" height="136" width="200" />What, you thought voting had ended? Hardly. The.nhl has included 3 Washington Capitals on the 2009 All Star Ballot: Alexes Ovechkin and Semin, and Mike Green. Starting November 12 the polls open, so vote early and often. Read more about it here. Source

Darkly Dreaming Balls

The new third jersey was unveiled at The Mall at Robinson Wednesday. PENSOur old friend ICETHETICS has some pics.Or just go look up Winter Classic pics.The bigger story is how that COSTCO up in Robinson is its own country. Jesus.Bing responds to the Semin crap. PG"I saw them," Crosby said of the quotes. "I'd be better off keeping my opinion to myself, I think. He can say what he wants, but I'll keep mine to myself about him.""It's not the first time," Crosby said of criticism involving him. "It probably won't be the last. The sad part is every time somebody brings up something about me, I have to answer about them.""I think he's a good player," Crosby said. "He's got great hands.":: Jordan Staal wants to keep his emotions in check. PGOkay.:: If you want to know how slow the Penguin world is,we're linking a Dave Molinari Q&A without jobbing him. PG:: Pens are 10th in some power rankings. TSN::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: FACEOFF FACTOR takes a look at injuries around the league.:: USA TODAY looks at some developing trends in the young season.:: PUCK DADDY breaks down a recent Forbes Magazine list of the top fighters in the.nhl in correlation with their salaries.:: MELROSE ROCKS Tom Renney is jacked. ESPN is stupid.They did some study to see what.nhl team has the most loyal fans. POOP STAINThe criteria they used is what team people list in their ESPN.com profiles. Seriously?Number one. Hockeytown is still a joke.#2Canadian teams take 6 of the bottom 9 spots.With Edmonton coming in last.ESPN does a little elbow jab into everyone's sides,saying Edmonton fans better pick up their game.TSN, Canada's ESPN, could not be reached for commentsMolinari is a joke.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::The Oilers choked, but thankfully not enough. BANKGood to know your goalie's eyes are closed.St. Louis e-mailed us an F-YOU before bedtime. FAILThat runs our record to 9-3,which will probably be obliterated this weekend.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Okay, this one is disturbing.We love homosexuals.We just get a kick out of homophobes getting uncomfortable when they see men making out.Maybe a new Gameday candidate.Source

We got some straightening out to do...

Our very own Minnesota Wild is playing in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche tonight at the Pepsi Center. This will be Andrew Burnette's first time facing off against his old team, and he seems pretty apprehensive about it. Lucky for him, his mentor Joe Sakic more than likely won't be on the ice, so he won't have to walk skate on eggshells too much. What is it with these hockey players? I get it, you used to play on the team, they're your friends, nostalgia is great. But this is business. Friends off the ice. Fight til the end on the ice.I'm getting my hair done this evening. I let the summer blonde stay in a little long this year, but tonight we'll be going a little darker. Booooooo I want a tan...Did you know that Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings roster has his own blog on the Pioneer Press website? Kind of interesting, and beat my expectations upon reading it based on my initial reaction when I heard about it. The only other blog written by a football player that I've read is on the KFAN website, by Minnesota's own Mike Morris, and that's...quite a blog. Nicole is in love with....Jared Allen (haha NS, betcha weren't expecting THAT name to be at the end of the sentence), so she's going to be extra excited about this blog. So to mix things up a bit, I'm going to do a little daily installment post of "what I learned from JA's blog today" for the rest of the week. And each post will somehow link back to the Minnesota Wild. Get excited.Our Minnesota Wild roster is part of a featured article on THN by Edward Fraser, which actually comes from an article from the Twin Cities own John Shipley. A few of the Wild players gave their thoughts on the possible relocation of.nhl teams from the southern belt to the northern region. I have to say that I really agree with those who voiced their opinions in the article, that the.nhl would be much better off by moving those struggling teams in the south to a northern US or Canadian market where they have a strong hockey fanbase that will support the team (aka buy.nhl tickets).Again on the Winter Classic: I want to go. And I really want one of the fab vintage jerseys they came up with.There's a new Minnesota Wild commerical on the streets. And it's pretty darn funny.Source

Pens v Oilers (W 5-4)

It may be an oxymoron, but MAN what a frustrating win! The recap follows Friend of The Show Moriah W.'s photos from the unveiling of the 3rd jersey:So today (11/05/08) they premiered the new 3rd jersey. Godard, Goligoski, Kennedy, Letang and Bissonette were the "models". They answered questions and did trivia with the crowd and rewarded correct answers with $25 Dicks gift cards.Steigy emceed the event. The guys were very personable. When a girl yelled out "Kennedy's my future husband" he totally blushed and Biznasty didn't miss a beat in teasing him about it. Godard surprised me with how interactive he was (I just have it stuck in my head that the fighters are tough guys off the ice); he stayed afterwards for quite awhile signing things for the crowd-which was massive!FIRST PERIODBack to back giveaways to Miroslav Satan led to chances for Mad Max Talbot and Siddo respectively, but Mathieu Garon stopped them both. The Oilers developed a 3-on-2 early, but Marc-Andre Fleury robbed Fernando Pisani in front of the goal. Mad Max and the Saint looked amazing together. (At this point in my notes, I actually wrote a reminder that I needed to mention that I thought that something big was about to happen for them...) Max fired a shot that Garon was able to block but not cover. He went down on the play, and the puck was in front of an open corner with Sid right there on the doorstep. Ordinarily, I'd be telling you about a goal, but tonight, Garon stunned the world with his wrist strength when he reached our behind himself, put his stick down, and swept the puck off the goal line and down to his side. O_o Shortly thereafter, Eric Godard and the larger Steve MacIntyre decided to do the man-dance: Advantage: Godard. :)The Oilers got their first power play when Daryl Sydor was called for holding. The Pens looked great on the penalty kill and prevented the Oilers from scoring on their advantage. After the Pens had something like 137 chances on one particular shift, Satan scored the most beautiful goal I've seen all season. As he skated past the near goalpost, he put the puck between his own legs and angled the puck into the net from behind himself. UNREAL!!! [Pens 1, Oilers 0]Jordan Staal made a key save just as Kris Letang was called for slashing. Remember, the PENGUINS were shorthanded as Siddo stole the puck and went 2-on-1 with Mad Max. Sid shot the puck, Garon made a pad save, and the rebound went right to Mad Max, who promptly scored the shorthanded goal. [Pens 2, Oilers 0] Upon watching the replay, Bob Errey seemed convinced that Sid purposely aimed for Garon's pad hoping for it to do exactly what it did. What a player! The Oilers didn't score on their power play.Sydor made a nice diving poke check to clear the puck to center ice. Then MacIntyre leveled the MUCH smaller Letang, knocking his helmet off and cutting the bridge of his nose. He made his way to the bench where he doubled over in pain. And while it was a douchey move, it wasn't illegal, so no penalty was issued. Godard immediately hit the ice and went after MacIntyre for a rematch, but Sheldon Souray (who is a much braver human being than I am) would not remove himself from between the two giants. As a result, Godard was given a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct with 2 minutes left in the period. Hal Gill made a great save that Staal then cleared, and Letang returned to the ice to help keep the Oilers scoreless through the end of the first period.SECOND PERIODCan I just say it right now? The 81-87-25 line is absolutely brilliant. The three of them are unbelievably good together. :) Gill was called for tripping. Shawn Horcoff fired a wicked shot that forced Flower to make another great save. Mad Max has shown he is MORE than worthy of his self-imposed nickname - he really is a Superstar! He went for two more shorthanded chances. Both were denied, but he definitely earned an E for effort! Sid made a few sick stick handling moves and drew a delayed penalty on an Oiler. MAF was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. As the Pens launched an assault on Garon, there was a second penalty called against the Oilers. Geno Malkin fired a shot on goal that Satan redirected into the net. [Pens 3, Oilers 0]The goal negated the original penalty, but Erik Cole went to the box for tripping. The Pens didn't score on their power play. As Cole came out of the box, the Oilers had a 2-on-1, but Flower made a big save. Matt Cooke took a run at Dustin Penner but missed and went flying. Right off a faceoff, Geno got the puck and quickly sent it to Petr Sykora, who scored with a quick wrister. [Pens 4, Oilers 0]Flower made another great save. Siddo backchecked and stole the puck. In doing so, he drew a slashing penalty on Sam Gagner. Just as Paul Steigerwald was explaining that Syko was getting himself to the front of the net, Geno again fired a shot that Syko finished off with another wrist shot. [Pens 5, Oilers 0] Garon was then pulled and replaced by Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (who will henceforth be known as JDD for obvious reasons).Errey mentioned that Syko has never scored a hat trick before, which, in my mind, effectively jinxed him. (For anyone who doesn't know, Syko is the scoringest NHLer to never have gotten a hat trick in his career.) With just 1:27 left in the period, Pisani broke Flower's shutout. [Pens 5, Oilers 1]THIRD PERIOD (Yes, there is actually a third period in hockey.)Hmmm... I wonder if I can recap the third period without using profanity? Well, I'm going to try...Penner douched Letang by knocking him down over Flower after the whistle. He was penalized for roughing, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage AND as Penner emerged from the box, he got the puck and set up Tom Gilbert for the goal. [Pens 5, Oilers 2]Twenty-eight seconds later, Ales Hemsky stole the puck. Flower didn't get his right pad out far enough, so Hemsky was able to angle the puck around the goalie and into the net. [Pens 5, Oilers 3]"What is happening?" I shouted at my screen, not yet realizing that things were still heading downhill. Cooke did his best Brooks Orpik impression. He drilled Gilbert and then Gagner. Theo Peckham took exception to it and decided he wanted to prove something to his teammates by going after Cooke. FAIL. Peckham kept hitting Cooke even after the refs stepped in to separate them. Both men kept shouting at each other all the way to and while they were in their respective sin bins. After the dust finally settled, Cooke was given 2:00 for roughing, while Peckham 2:00 for instigating, 5:00 major for fighting, and 10:00 for misconduct. WHOOPS! Somebody went too far! So as a result, the Pens had an opportunity to score as much as they wanted for 5 minutes. A melee broke out in the middle of Peckham's penalty. Tyler Kennedy and Cole were each given roughing minors, and Souray was given 2:00 for refusal to play. So now, the Pens had a full 2:00 5-on-3. And they did not score. Both Max and Sid hit the post. But somehow, the Oilers used the disadvantage to their advantage: Souray came out of the box and took a lead pass for a breakaway. He didn't mess around. [Pens 5, Oilers 4]With 2:43 left in the game, Lubomir Visnovsky was called for delay of game after sending the puck over the glass. The Pens didn't capitalize on their advantage. As soon as Visnovsky was out of the box, JDD was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. Despite fighting all the way to the end (including a last ditch effort from Horcoff in which he plowed into and knocked down MAF), the Oilers were unable to tie the game. As Jay Caufield remarked, "The Pens escaped with the win."Oy. I've never been so upset with the Boys following a win before. They came thisclose to blowing it. They were lucky this time. Hopefully they learn something from this as they move forward. I just don't know what it is about the third period! >:(Big thanks to Moriah for sharing the pictures from the jersey reveal at Dick's Sporting Goods! Oh, and Syko can thank Errey for jinxing him and keeping his hat trick-less streak alive. Geesh.GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!