THE 2010 DOUBLE-A DRAFT (sign-up, roster post, picks, discussion, etc)

[DaveG]

yep, my list is in.

Sweeney was most definitely on my list so he's going to be one of our 3 dmen.

 

[VanIslander]

I think the All-Star Event with be a 7 game series. Everyone will play with the All-Stars being the only guys to be immune from being scratched (except for the goalies, they will start all but 2 games. Probably Holmqvist/Hebert gm 1, Roloson/Salo gm 2 Wakely/Wregget gm 3 then Holmqvist/Hebert gm 4 onwards).

awesome!

 

[seventieslord]

Oh cut the hyperbole. I have 1st team all-star third liners Marks and Breen.

First of all, let's leave Breen out of this. Nothing about him at all suggests he should be considered a bottom-six player. (such as physical play, defense, leadership, grit, etc) He was a scoring star and that's all that is known. Just because you already had two centers and chose him to play on the 3rd line, doesn't mean I should view him in that light. FWIW, I do consider him the most offensively potent player in this draft.

Marks is a very good defensive player. Sorry if my "hyperbole" offeded you, LOL. But he didn't kill nearly as many penalties as Schock, Fonteyne, or Grier. Even Boutette killed almost as many as him. So it's not like he's some sacred cow.

And I think unselected Migay and M. Hunter are better than all your bottom-six except Schock.

A guy who only played 4 full NHL seasons, just three of them for a playoff team and none for a team that won a playoff round? I think not.

The only Hunter in history to not physically assert himself on a regular basis? I think not.

To do more direct comparisons, what twisted logic would make Migay better than Fonteyne? Both are O6 cupless PK specialists. Fonteyne went to 3 finals and played in over twice as many NHL games. There's also numerical evidence to support his penalty killing - he killed 41% of penalties for his post-expansion teams. the extent to which Migay was even used is unknown, especially considering who else they had - Armstrong, Kennedy, Stewart, and Nesterenko, who are all excellent penalty killers by reputation. The SH scoring stats are meagre but they definitely suggest he was no more than a secondary option, aside from '56 and '57.

And if you want to compare Migay to another center instead, I could compare him to Malone for you, but should I really have to? Come on.

As for a direct comparison to Hunter, how about Boutette? Both were tough wingers with decent offensive skills.

- Boutette played 128 more NHL games than Hunter
- Boutette was an ironman, playing 7 straight complete seasons (the 79 was from being traded), Hunter never played a full season and managed 70 games 4 times
- Both averaged 0.37 adjusted ESPPG
- Hunter has Federko to thank for his best offensive totals, Boutette owes his to Mike rogers, a far lesser player
- Boutette had 210 points in his 3 best years, Hunter had 206
- Boutette was a better scorer outside of his best 3 years, scoring 193 points in his next 5 best seasons to Hunter's 147
- Boutette was relied upon for penalty killing (27%) - Hunter wasn't (2%)
- They were about equal in the playoffs - Hunter was a bit part for a winning team, to his credit, and had 38 points in 79 games. Boutette had 24 in 46.
- Yes, I know it's about "how they played!!!" but I don't see anything in what's written about both players to suggest that Hunter had any sort of edge in toughness/grit/physicality on Boutette, who was consistently a fireball.
- Hunter was a more frequent fighter, with .17 per game. Boutette had .10.
- Both took about the same amount of non-fighting PIMs, Hunter 1.41 per game, Boutette 1.30.

So what makes Hunter better?

And why did you pick Boutette over Fonteyne?

Fonteyne's a better penalty killer.... that is all. I don't see what else he does better. If I'm building a team for myself, to go to war against your team, I want both guys to fill both roles capably. If I'm picking guys to travel to Moscow or wherever for the summit series, I want the guy who's the best at what he does, or most versatile, who has the best chance of fitting into that team, as I have no control over who else is sent from other teams. Boutette can play all three forward positions, Is perhaps the toughest forward in the AA draft, was an ironman, and has a career full-season low of 32 points.

Did you see my edited bio on him? I did it a day or two after I picked him.

seventieslord, you didn't pick 2nd all-star team Wayne Babych. Please honour the process and drop a forward from your selection list.

consider it done. Frood, go home.

 

[VanIslander]

Nice analysis. I undervalued Boutette.

... let's leave Breen out of this. Nothing about him at all suggests he should be considered a bottom-six player. (such as physical play, defense, leadership, grit, etc) He was a scoring star and that's all that is known.

He was known for his CHECKING!

Fonteyne's a better penalty killer.... that is all. I don't see what else he does better. If I'm building a team for myself, to go to war against your team, I want both guys to fill both roles capably. If I'm picking guys to travel to Moscow or wherever for the summit series, I want the guy who's the best at what he does, or most versatile, who has the best chance of fitting into that team.

Hence why I thought Fonteyne a quality fourth line left winger. You went instead with the more versatile player, a good extra forward.

 

[Hedberg]

All votes are in. Results imminent.

 

[Hedberg]

Results:

1. John Hopkins Blue Jays
2. Madison Ice Muskies
3. Saskatoon Shieks
4. New England Whalers
5. Middlebury Panthers
6. Edmonton Road Runners

Thanks everyone for voting so quickly. I'd recommend a 4 team playoff (voting would work if we could vote on Sunday, then again on Wednesday, getting the finals over by Christmas) but the direction is open.

 

[VanIslander]

Last place.
Yes, ignore my team for the playoffs.
At least you all liked Gionta, Knuble, Ragnarsson and Rathje.

 

[VanIslander]

I thought Edmonton was better than that. The team was a bit too modern for my liking but several good picks.

Results:

1. John Hopkins Blue Jays
2. Madison Ice Muskies
3. Saskatoon Shieks
4. New England Whalers
5. Middlebury Panthers

I'd recommend a 4 team playoff

I'm willing to wait if the 4th and 5th place teams wish to play a series to see who clinches the last playoff space and right to play the top seed.

 

[VanIslander]

voting would work if we could vote on Sunday, then again on Wednesday, getting the finals over by Christmas) but the direction is open.

vote on Sunday? Too early. Discussion would be great! Recommend Wednesday or Thursday vote (gives time for New England vs. Middlebury series this weekend if they are up to it) and have the final series begin as late as the day after Christmas if needed. There is no big hurry as long as it's all done BEFORE the end of the year, which is two weeks away.

 

[tony d]

Yeah I will go for the 4/5 series.

 

[VanIslander]

2010 DOUBLE-A ALL-STAR SERIES


TEAM TIPPETT

Mike Cammalleri - Walt MacKechnie - Brian Gionta
Erik Cole - Jeff Carter - Mike Knuble
Marco Sturm - Ron Schock - Wayne Babych
Dave Hunter - Greg Malone - Mike Grier
Shawn McEachern - Mikko Koivu - Pat Boutette
Shawn Horcoff

Marcus Ragnarsson - Mike Rathje
Sean Hill - Mike McEwen
Gerry Hart - Kyle McLaren
Jeff Norton - Bryan Marchment

Guy Hebert
Tommy Salo
Ken Wregget


vs.


TEAM HARTLEY

Shirley Davidson - Viktor Yakushev - Sergei Svetlov
Lars-Erik Lundvall - Nils Nilsson - Ronald Pettersson
John Marks - Billy Breen - Jim Fox
Brent Ashton - Vaclav Prospal - Martin Rucinsky
Darcy Rota, Bob Berry, Ales Hemsky

Al MacNeil - Dmitri Mironov
Ron Plumb - Don Sweeney
Scott Hannan - Rod Flett
Duke Dukowski - Paul Martin
Joni Pitkanen

Leif Holmqvist
Dwayne Roloson
Ernie Wakely
​

1st team all-star
2nd team all-star

 

[VanIslander]

Of the all-stars

Stolen from my shortlist: Davidson, Holmqvist, Gionta, Babych
Taken from my longlist: Sturm, Ragnarsson, McEwen, Nilsson, Hannan, Dukowski, Hunter
Had decided not to select: Carter, Knuble, Rathje, Marchment, Lundvall, Rota
Got schooled by the selection: MacKechnie, Malone, Flett
Still not sold on: Norton, McLaren, Cole, Horcoff
Intrigued about: Boutette, Hart, Berry

 

[VanIslander]

Just like with defensive defensemen, some great all-time worthy fourth liners never make it to the all-star game but should imo. So, I'd like to honour the following with the Yelle Appreciation Award:

Val Fonteyne - Rudy Migay - Tom Fitzgerald​

Val Fonteyne, LW

- Stanley Cup Finalist (1961, 1963, 1966)
- Killed 41% of Pittsburgh's penalties from 1967-1972
- 229 points in 820 NHL games
- 13 points in 59 playoff games
- just 38 PIM in 1033 NHL/WHA games
- 3rd-most playoff games among available players as of his 1972 retirement
- In 1964 and 1966, as Detroit's primary PK forward, led them to league's 2nd best PK

used primarily in a defensive role and for penalty killing...

Left-winger Val Fonteyne was a solid two-way player whose unselfish approach to the game earned him the respect of his teammates. He was also one of the cleanest players in the league, drawing only 13 minor penalties in a career that lasted 820 games between 1959 and 1972.

...Fonteyne looked solid while playing 69 games as a rookie in 1959-60. In all, he played four years in Motown and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1961. The New York Rangers in the 1963 Intra-League Draft claimed the hard-working winger. He formed an effective forward unit with Don Marshall and Vic Hadfield in 1963-64 then found himself back in Detroit part way through the next season.

Rudy Migay, the offensive star of two Memorial Cups in 1947 and 1948 and an AHL co-MVP all-star in 1959, but inbetween he found himself playing 418 NHL games on a defensive-oriented line with Ron Murphy on his wing. Known most for his penalty killing at the NHL level, he did score 20+ points per season for five consecutive seasons between 1953-54 and 1957-58, including back-to-back seasons 4th in Leafs scoring.

Rudy Migay was a defensive player with the Toronto Maple Leafs and known as an elite penalty killer. He was nicknamed “Toy Terrier” because of puny size – 5′6″ , 150 lbs and that he played the game with a ubiquitous and tenacious style of play.

http://awinninghabit.com/2010/11/22/toronto-maple-leafs-hockeys-rudy/

Rudy Migay was a spectacular player at the minor league level, but primarily a defensive player with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was best known as a penalty killer along with usual partner Ron Stewart.

The Fort William, Ontario native made quite a name for himself at the junior and AHL levels as a playmaking center. He was adoringly nicknamed "Toy Terrier" because of puny size (he stood just 5'6" and 150 pounds) combined with his tenacious style of play.

However the Leafs were a powerful team in the late 1940s, especially at center ice. Names like Max Bentley and Teeder Kennedy made it next to impossible to get much ice time. Migay was resigned to play with the Pittsburgh Hornets for 4 years before finally cracking the Leafs lineup.

Needless to say, Migay was definitely excited to join the Leafs, although he had to reinvent his game. It took him nearly three years to score as many points as he did in his last year of junior. Migay was content to play in a checking role for nearly 6 complete seasons with the Maple Leafs.

By the end of the 1957-58 season Migay's days in Toronto were coming to a close. He had finished the year in the minor leagues, and aside from the 20 more big league games, he wound up his career in the minor leagues both as player and as a playing coach.

It was a bitter ending for Migay, who felt he could have played at the NHL level over those final years of his career.

"I thought I might have a chance at coming back. I was hoping for a trade," said Migay, who along with Stan Mikita and Elmer Vasko was one of the few players of Slovak descent in the NHL's younger years.

The trade never materialized, of course. It was a different time back in the 1950s and 1960s. Teams could easily bury a player in the minor leagues and hope that the exiled players would tear up the minor leagues and possibly command more from in a trade. Migay held up his part of the deal - he went down without complaint and worked his butt off - scoring 82 points in just 51 games and shared the AHL's Most Valuable Player award (along with Bill Hicke)

http://mapleleafslegends.blogspot.com/2009/06/rudy-migay.html

Tom Fitzgerald, F

- universal defensive forward, prolific penalty killer and good leader
- over 1000 regular season games plus 78 in playoffs
- played important role in two underdog playoff runs

Fitzgerald scored 27 points and was a key defensive player when the Islanders upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to reach the semi-finals in 1993. A few weeks later he was claimed by the Florida Panthers in the Expansion Draft and assumed greater responsibility with his new team. The hard working forward scored a career high 18 goals in the club's inaugural season in 1993-94. Two years later he scored eight points in 22 playoff games as the Panthers shocked the hockey world by reaching the Stanley Cup finals.

Late in the 1997-98 season, the Colorado Avalanche picked Fitzgerald up at the trading deadline. He was a solid player for them but was not resigned after Colorado failed to win the Stanley Cup. The expansion Nashville Predators signed him as a free agent and he became a team leader on the club as it held its own in the league.

A solid defensive player and penalty killer with the young Preds', Fitzgerald went on to play four seasons in Nashville before he was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks in the latter half of the 2001-02 season.

 

[seventieslord]

He was known for his CHECKING!

Leave it to me to miss the one critical word in the bio the first time I read it when you posted it, and then again yesterday when giving it another last check...

With that said, it is just one word. I wouldn't attempt to sell Walt mcKechnie, Wayne Babych, Oren Frood, or Tom Fergus as bottom-six players and there's much more written to support their abilities in those regards:

uses his size (6'2", 195) effectively, a hard but clean hitter, fast skater, good playmaker, and can dig the puck from the corners.

hard nosed player... big, strong... combative nature... two-way worker... was one of the game's best forecheckers... good at working the boards and will hit or be hit to make a play... good upper body strength, can hold his own in the corners...

tough guy Oren Frood seemed to bite off a bit more than he could chew when he got the worst of a fight with big George McNamara... Frood was one of the bigger men in the game and was noted as much for his rough play as for his great shot and outstanding scoring ability...

reliable defensively... doesn't take a lot of penalties but still plays an aggressive, hard-driving game... can't be pushed around... good at digging the puck out of the corners... acquiring him was one of the Leafs' best moves of the past 10 years... intense checker... served as acting Captain when Vaive was stripped... hard worker, intense checker, team's top faceoff man, assistant captain, enjoys killing penalties."

But that's not really the type of players these guys primarily were, and it's the same with Breen. Believe me, I'm giving major credit where it's due here. But some more substantiation is needed before we should believe Breen is going to shut anyone down or rough them up.

His PIM totals were quite low, FWIW.

 

[seventieslord]

Let me just clarify that when you picked Breen and I said "holy ****, nice find" it was more to do with what I found than with what you said. Because I checked him out on sihr right away, and sorry for not bringing this up until now (you must wonder why I am so high on his offensive ability) but he truly was a scoring star:


Skater Statistics Regular Season Playoffs

Season Team League Tournament No. GP G A P PIM GP G A P PIM


1899-1900 Winnipeg Winnipegs WSrHL -- 3 2 1 3 0 -- -- -- -- --

1900-1901 Winnipeg Winnipegs WSrHL -- 4 4 * 0 4 * 0 -- -- -- -- --

1901-1902 Winnipeg Winnipegs WSrHL -- 3 4 1 5 * 4 -- -- -- -- --

1902-1903 Winnipeg Rowing Club WSrHL -- 6 10 * 3 13 2 -- -- -- -- --

1903-1904 Winnipeg Rowing Club WSrHL -- 5 20 * 3 23 * 4 -- -- -- -- --

Winnipeg Rowing Club WSrHL St-Cup -- -- -- -- -- 3 3 0 3 --

1904-1905 Winnipeg Rowing Club MHL Sr. -- 7 19 1 20 9 -- -- -- -- --

1905-1906 Winnipeg Winnipegs MHL Sr. -- 9 26 * 3 29 * 9 -- -- -- -- --

1906-1907 Winnipeg Winnipegs WSrHL -- 5 20 * 1 21 * 0 -- -- -- -- --

1907-1908 Winnipeg Strathconas MHL Pro -- 12 24 11 * 35 9 -- -- -- -- --

1908-1909 Winnipeg Winnipegs MHL Pro -- 1 4 2 6 0 -- -- -- -- --

Totals 55 133 26 159 37 3 3 0 3 0

Those stars mean he led the league. So yeah, it was just senior hockey, but he had 5 scoring titles and regardless of league, that's damned impressive. That's what I think he should be known for, not the word "checker" being inserted into a website bio 100 years later.

 

[Hedberg]

Is voting on the 26th for the semis and 30th for the finals okay?

 

[Hedberg]

Game 1 of the AA All-Star Series:

Game 1: Tippett 2 Hartley 1
2nd Period:
1-0 HAR Lars-Erik Lundvall PP 1 (Ronald Pettersson, Martin Rucinsky) 6:55
3rd Period:
1-1 TIP Greg Malone 1 (Unassisted) 10:43
2-1 TIP Erik Cole 1 (Jeff Carter, Mike McEwen 19:49

HAR Holmqvist: 32 Saves
TIP Hebert: 26 Saves

Three Stars:
1. Guy Hebert
2. Leif Holmqvist
3. Erik Cole

Both netminders were fantastic in this game, each making some brilliant saves. The scoring was opened on a cross ice one time from Lars-Erik Lundvall that sent the water bottle flying behind Hebert. Half way through the third, Greg Malone intercepted a clearing attempt and throw it on net. Holmqvist stopped the first shot, but Malone pounced on his own rebound, jamming it into the net to tie it up. The game appeared to be heading to OT, especially after Holmqvist's robbery of a Mike Cammalleri breakaway in the final minute. However, a low wrister beat Holmqvist above the pad blocker side to put team Tippet up by 1. Team Hartley pulled the goalie for the extra attacked in a vain effort to tie it up, but their cross ice pass was broken up by Sean Hill

Other individuals played notes:
- Mike Grier put in a great effort on the PK, getting several clears
- Marcus Ragnarsson was the game's most physical defender, crushing Jim Fox on a memorable hit
- Ron Schock had three whacks at the puck in front of Holmqvist, but was unable to bury the puck
- The scratches were Berry, Dukowski, Hemsky, Martin, Pitkanen, Rota for Team Hartley and Boutette, Horcoff, Koivu, Marchment, McEachern, Norton for Team Tippett.

 

[seventieslord]

- Ron Schock had three whacks at the puck in front of Holmqvist, but was unable to bury the puck

Exactly! Good player, not so good goalscorer

 

[Hedberg]

Game 2: Series Tied at 1

Hartley 6 Tippet 3
1st:
1-0 HAR Lars-Erik Lundvall 2 PP (Nils Nilsson, Ronald Pettersson) 7:54
1-1 TIP Wayne Babych 1 (Ron Schock, Bryan Marchment) 14:21
2-1 HAR Ronald Pettersson 1 SH (Al MacNeil) 19:19
2nd:
3-1 HAR Billy Breen 1 (Ales Hemsky, John Marks) 2:14
3rd:
4-1 HAR Lars-Erik Lundvall 3 (Ronald Pettersson, Nils Nilsson) 7:15
5-1 HAR Darcy Rota 1 (Unassisted) 8:04
5-2 TIP Mike Grier (Greg Malone, Shawn McEachern) 13:25
6-2 HAR Shirley Davidson 1 (Viktor Yakushev, Al MacNeil) 14:15
6-3 TIP Wayne Babych 2 (Ron Schock, Bryan Marchment) 19:35

Tommy Salo 20 saves
Dwayne Roloson 28 Saves

Three Stars:
1. Ronald Pettersson
2. Lars-Erik Lundvall
3. Wayne Babych

This was simply not Tommy Salo's night. For the second straight game, Lundvall opened the scoring on the PP with a wrist shot right under the crossbar. Wayne Babych tied it up for Team Tippett with an awkward back hand shot that beat Roloson right under the crossbar. Team Tippett carried their momentum with a series of great shifts that culminated in a Don Sweeney penalty. However, Al MacNeil managed to spring Ronald Pettersson on a short handed breakaway where Salo got the first shot with his pad, but Pettersson banged in the rebound

The second period was relatively uneventful, with Billy Breen scoring the only goal from the shot on a beautiful pass from Ales Hemsky

Tommy Salo fell apart in the action filled third period. Lundvall threw a harmless wrister on Salo that found it's way in five hole. Less than a minute later Darcy Rota stripped Mike Rathje of the puck and also scored on a fairly far out shot on Salo. Mike Grier responded on a wicked wrist shot short side on a 2-on-1 with Greg Malone. Team Tippett struck back quickly, with Shirley Davidson's shot hitting Salo in the cuff of the glove and bouncing off into the net. In the final minute, Wayne Babych would get his second on his ninth shot of the game to cut Hartley's margin of victory to 3

Individual player thoughts:
- Mikko Koivu and Wayne Babych had great chemistry in the game
- Brian Gionta was robbed twice by Roloson, with a memorable save coming from a Roloson pad stack
- This was a much looser defensive game, although the shots do not indiciate it, from the last game
- A very clean game with only two penalties being called after four penalties in game 1
- The most notable player not to hit the score sheet in either game was definitely been McKechnie. Sean Hill and Marcus Ragnarsson had been rocks defensively as well.
- On the dissapointing side so far would be Sergei Svetlov, Dmitri Mironov, and Mike Knuble. The only time I noticed Knuble was when he spun around a defender only to shovel the puck significantly off the mark.
- The scratches were Ashton, Dukowski, Flett, Fox, Martin, Rucinsky for Team Hartley and Boutette, Hart, Horcoff, Hunter, McLaren, Sturm for Team Tippett.

 

[VanIslander]

The Madison Swedish line of Lundvall-Nilsson-Pettersson sure are clicking!

 

[Hedberg]

Puck about to drop for Game 3. Wregget and Wakely in net

 

[Hedberg]

Instant Classic sees Team Tippett take it 5 to 4 over Team Hartley in Double OT!

Game 3: Team Tippet 5 Team Hartley 4
1st:
1-0 HAR Viktor Yakushev 1 (Al MacNeil) 0:14
2-0 HAR Ronald Pettersson 2 (Don Sweeney, Lars-Erik Lundvall) 11:02
2-1 TIP Wayne Babych 3 (Bryan Marchment, Ken Wregget) 16:53
2nd:
3-1 HAR Billy Breen 2 (Ales Hemsky) 11:50
3rd:
3-2 TIP Ron Schock 1 (Wayne Babych, Bryan Marchment) 8:24
4-2 HAR Lars-Erik Lundvall 4 (Nils Nilsson) 13:29
4-3 TIP Pat Boutette 1 (Mike Grier, Greg Malone) 19:16
4-4 TIP Wayne Babych 4 (Ron Schock, Gerry Hart) 19:28
1st OT:
NO SCORING
2nd OT:
5-4 TIP Wayne Babych 5 (Ron Schock, Mikko Koivu) 10:12

Ken Wregget: 59 Saves
Ernie Wakely: 41 Saves

Three Stars:
1. Wayne Babych
2. Ron Schock
3. Ken Wregget

Team Hartley opened the scoring very quickly with Yakushev winning the faceoff back to MacNeil, who passed it back to Yakushev, who carried into the offensive zone and snapped a low wrister that caught Wregget by surprise five hole. Ronald Pettersson later scored on a wrist shot from the circles. Hartley had a chance to go up 3-0, but Wregget made the save of the series, diving across the crease to glove a Pettersson shot. Wayne Babych put Tippet on the board with a slap shot that beat Wakely glove slide.

Like the last game, the only goal was on a Hemsky pass to a waiting Billy Breen, who launched a puck above Wregget's pad into the goal.

Team Tippett drew to within one on a delayed penalty when Wayne Babych tried a power move that was stopped by a sprawling Wakely only to have Schock shovel the puck past the prone netminder. Tippett went hard after a tying goal, but were caught on a two on one. Nilsson's wrist shot was blockered away by Wregget, but Lundvall scored the goal of the series so far, batting the puck out of mid air into the net. For reasons unknown, Tippett had his fourth line out in the final minute, but it paid off as they crashed the crease and Boutette chipped the puck past Wakely. Just 12 seconds late, with the extra attacker pulled, Babych's quick wrist shot eluded Wakely to tie the game up. Hartley had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Wregget robbed Marks.

The first overtime was only the second scoreless period of the series, but it was not without chances. Sergei Svetlov hit the post on a wide open net and then tried a wrap around that was foiled by Wregget. Bryan Marchment took a penalty, giving Hartley a powerplay, but Wregget put on a show, stopping 5 Team Hartley chances. On a 3-on-1 shortly after the power player, McKechnie hit the cross bar, causing the puck to hit Wakely in the back only to hit the cross bar again and die on the goal line, where Wakely covered it.

Wayne Babych won the game and completed his hat-trick off a beautiful cross ice pass from Ron Schock (itself set up by a wonderful hold at the line by Koivu) that he one-timed past Wakely

Player Comments:
- Ice Time Leaders: Dmitri Mironov's 37:34 for Team Hartley and Mike Rathje's 33:39 for Team Tippet
- Wayne Babych again led in shots with 11.
- Gionta can not buy a goal. He was stopped by Wakely on a breakaway (as was Cammalleri)
- Despite the win, expect Team Tippett to juggle their lines as the offence looks a bit off. They're being carried by the bottom two lines.
- Still no goal by a defencemen, although Mironov was fantastic tonight. Bryan Marchment added another 2 assists, continuing his surprising series.
- Seeing the slow-skating Mike Rathje split the Hartley defence was bizarre
- The scratches were Berry, Flett, Fox, Martin, Pitkanen, Prospal for Team Hartley and Horcoff, Hunter, McEachern, McLaren, Norton, Sturm for Team Tippett.

 

[Hedberg]

Team Tippet pushes Team Hartley to the brink of elmination

Game 4: Team Tippet 2 Team Hartley 1

1st:
NO SCORING
2nd:
1-0 TIP Mike Cammalleri 1 (Unassisted) 13:48
3rd:
1-1 HAR Ales Hemsky 1 (Unassisted) 16:40
2-1 TIP Mikko Koivu 1 (Unassisted) 18:30

Holmqvist 15 Saves
Hebert 21 Saves

Three Stars
1. Guy Hebert
2. Mikko Koivu
3. Mike Cammalleri

This was a much tighter defensive affair than prior games. The first period was boring and the second wasn't much better until Mike Cammalleri intercepted a clearing pass and his slap shot found the back of the net. Team Hartley was given a chance to tie up the game soon after on a lengthy 5-on-3 with Hart and McKechnie in the box, but were unable to generate much other than a Shirley Davidson break-away. Aside from the wonderful efforts of Schock and Grier on the PK, Hartley was constantly overthinking their powerplay, trying to execute intricate passing plays rather than get shots on goal.

Team Hartley got on the board thanks to Mike McEwen pulling a Steve Smith. Circling in front of his net with the puck, his stick became entangled with Hebert's stick and the puck floated through Hebert's legs. The goal was credited to Ales Hemsky. It was looking like another OT game, but Mikko Koivu stripped Hannan of the puck and his bank shot from the side boards along the goal line caught Holmqvist's back and trickled over the line. Mikko Koivu had a chance at the empty goal in the final minute, but passed up for a drop pass to McKechie. McKechnie's shot was blocked by Plumb, who's rush up the ice ended when Grier tripped him, giving Team Hartley a powerplay in the final minute. However, once again they failed on the powerplay.

Player Comments:
- Team Tippet dominated the draw, winning 22 of 31 faceoffs
- Nils Nilsson led the game with 7 shots
- Darcy Rota gets a decent amount of chances for a 4th liner, but has struggled to bury them
- Team Hartley went 0/5 on the PP. Team Tippet did not receive a powerplay.
- The series almost had a goal from a defencemen, but Dmitri Mironov hit the post
- The scratches were Ashton, Dukowski, Flett, Pitkanen, Prospal, Rucinsky for Team Hartley and Carter, Hunter, McEachern, McLaren, Norton, Sturm for Team Tippett.

 

[Dreakmur]

The Madison Swedish line of Lundvall-Nilsson-Pettersson sure are clicking!

Best line of the draft

 

[Hedberg]

Billy Breen Keeps Team Hartley Alive

Game 5: Team Hartley 3 Team Tippet 2

1st Period
1-0 HAR Billy Breen 3 (Unassisted) 16:51
2nd Period
1-1 TIP Erik Cole 2 (Unassisted) 7:24
3rd Period
2-1 HAR Nils Nilsson PP 1 (Unassisted) 6:04
2-2 TIP Jeff Carter 1 (Mike Cammalleri, Sean Hill) 7:28
OT
3-2 HAR Billy Breen 4 (Shirley Davidson, Al MacNeil) 9:22

HAR Holmqvist 46 Saves
TIP Hebert 26 Saves

3 Stars:
1. Leif Holmqvist
2. Billy Breen
3. Nils Nilsson

On the brink of elimination, two players carried Team Hartley; Billy Breen and Leif Holmqvist. The first period was played cautiously with Breen managing to open the scoring with a intercepted pass that he shoveled on his back hand through Hebert's legs

In the second period, Erik Cole took advantage of another careless clear, launching a slap shot top shelf behind Holmqvist.

In the third, Hartley's re-configured powerplay managed to score, with Nils Nilsson crashing the crease for the goal (and the series' sixth straight unassisted goal). Jeff Carter quickly replied for Tippet, thankfully with assists, on a wrist shot high. In the final minute, Team Tippett was given a chance to win the series on a powerplay, but Holmqvist came up huge sliding saves on Wayne Babych twice. Billy Breen then launched himself on a breakaway shorthanded, but was denied by Hebert

In overtime, Sergei Svetlov again failed on a great chance to win the game. Holmqvist was brilliant in overtime, robbing of all people Mike Rathje who activated off the point only to be robbed with a quick pad stop. Billy Breen ended the game and kept Team Hartley alive with a wrister that sent the water bottle flying.

Player Comments
- Billy Breen led the game with 8 shots, including 3 on breakaways
- Team Tippett continued their domination of the faceoff circle
- Team Hartley played a physical game, the first time that's been seen significantly from either team.
- Mike Grier had a shorthanded shift were he had four shots on goal.
- The amount of give-aways in this game was staggering. Both teams are going to want to tighten up for next game.
- Both Marcus Ragnarsson and (shockingly) Darcy Rota cleared pucks off the goal line
- McKechnie still hasn't hit the score sheet, but I've been very impressed with his two-way play. Gionta again had great chances but was continually robbed by Holmqvist.
- The scratches were Ashton, Berry, Dukowski, Fox, Flett, Martin for Team Hartley and Horcoff, Hunter, McEachern, McLaren, Norton, Sturm for Team Tippett.