It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Today is the day that the real NHL season begins.

16 Teams battle it out to see who will be left standing to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup, and who will get their name forever engraved in the history of the NHL.  While the other teams in the NHL are making tee-times for today, three playoff series will get underway tonight.  It takes 16 wins to hoist the Stanley Cup. 16 of the toughest games any of these players will ever face.

During the playoffs you see a players true colors. A lot of guys can light it up during the regular season, but it takes a special breed to continue to do so over a potential seven game series, against the same opponent night in and night out. Sid the Kid, Sergei Fedorov, Chris Drury, Patrick Roy.The list goes on of guys who have single handedly led their teams to Stanley Cups. Who will put his team on his back and carry them to the Finals this year?

My bet is on the Canucks to take what should have been theirs last year.

Tonight’s Playoff Matchups (Click the Link to find out more about each teams playoff chances):

All Times EST:

• Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins– 7:30 P.M. NBCSN

Sid the kid is back, but is he healthy enough to make a cup run? How will the Flyers’ scorers respond if they face some adversity? Will they have the discipline to stay out of the box?  I see this one going the distance, with the Flyers winning in seven games.

• Detroit Red Wings at Nashville Predators – 8:00 P.M. CNBC

Are the Red Wings too old, and will they wear down in the playoffs?  Will their goaltending be good enough to steal a game or two on the road if the Red Wings have their backs against the wall?  Is the third time a charm for Nashville, can they finally make a deep run into the playoffs?  Is Radulov the answer up front and can he keep the offense going? My prediction here is Nashville in six, I think they are primed for a deep playoff run.

• Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks – 10:30 P.M. NBCSN

It will be interesting to see how LA responds after basically blowing a shot at the division title by losing their final two games of the season to San Jose.  They would have been a lot better off in the third seed instead of Phoenix, and I think they are way in over their heads against the defending Western Conference Champs. The only hope for the Kings is if Daniel Sedin misses most or all of the series.  But don’t forget the Canucks still have that other Sedin Twin, who is pretty darn good himself.  Canucks in five, and LA will kick themselves all summer for the way they played the last week of the season.

So let the Playoff Beards begin, comment here with who you think will win each series. Also, who has the best beard in NHL history?

Birdcage or Halfie?

  VS.

Prior to the 1980-81 hockey season, the NCAA decided to mandate the use of full-face protection masks in college hockey.  Until that point the decision to wear a mask was optional, and many players decided not to wear one because they feared it would mess up their vision.  The idea behind the mandate was to eliminate serious facial injuries. Ever since cages were brought into hockey, many coaches have thought that it makes players reckless, because they do not have to worry about their safety, or others around them.

Advancements in hockey equipment have put the emphasis on lighter, faster equipment that helps players skate faster and shoot harder.  Because of this, even at the NHL level, the number of head injuries (mainly concussions) has been on the rise for years.  The game is moving at higher speeds then ever before, so could switching to the half shield actually make players safer on the ice?  Many current NHL players who are alumni of the college game say the college game is dirtier, and that sticks and elbows get higher to the face because of the cages. Dominic Moore, who went to Harvard even suggests that the concussion rate may be higher in the NCAA then the NHL.

College hockey has also become a place where the dirty play can go relatively unpoliced by referees, as high sticks and elbows are missed because of the barrier the cage provides.  As Hurricane Ryan Carter (Minnesota State)  puts it:

So the half shield, when you call a spade a spade, there are times in college where guys hide behind a facemask. Going to a half-shield would help police that. And it helps keep sticks down.  Most kids coming to college played junior, so they wore a half shield before.

Of course there is the other side of the coin.  A study in 1999 conducted by the University of Calgary showed that wearing a visor increased the number of overall injuries increased, and there was no change in the number of severe injuries such as concussions or spinal cord injuries.

As you all know by now, I am a college hockey player myself.  I like the idea of going to visors because I think it will help change the culture out of the game, and take some of the dirty play out of the game.  I do have to raise a few questions: Are Student-Athletes going to have to pay the bills when they get a tooth knocked out, or get cut open? If not who is? I know a lot of kids who are already in debt, especially at the division III level where there are no scholarships, and many students are paying full tuition. That is my only worry, that players at the lower level of college hockey are going to see their medical bills go up.  This is an argument that the NCAA needs to take a close look at before making any kind of decisions.

What do you guys think? Answer the poll below and feel free to leave your own comments about this issue!

Playoffs? We’re talkin’ About Playoffs!

With just over a week to go in the NHL regular season, it is almost time for the best playoffs in all of sport. The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in any sport, and I dare anyone to come up with an argument against that.  Usually with five games left in the season, writers are talking about the potential match-ups, as they are usually close to set in stone, with maybe one or two teams in the playoff picture able to jump up higher, or maybe a team sneaking up to claim the last seed.

Enter the Pacific Division.  The San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes are separated by just two points.Up to three of these four teams may not make the playoffs.  The Colorado Avalanche sit in 9th place, just one point out of eighth, and the Calgary Flames sit in 10th just two points back.  The last 10 days of the season could see more teams jumping in and out of the playoffs than any season I can remember.  NHL.com breaks it all down here.

When the NHL decided to change the schedule to put emphasis on division rivalries, the Pacific division is exactly what they had in mind. In the last five or six games of the season, each one of these teams has mostly division games left, and which means even if teams need outside help, they still mostly control their own destiny.  Win and your in, lose and you play golf.

Check out this article, where bloggers from all five Pacific teams weigh in on why their team has a chance to win the division, and who will be left out of the playoffs.

With all of the Pacific Division teams beating each other up for the next ten games, can Colorado or Calgary sneak into the last spot? Both teams more than likely have to win every game on their schedule, but stranger things have happened. The Flames believe they still have a shot, with five of their last six games at home, a place where they boast a 20-10-6 record this season. As Mike Cammalleri put it:

In our room, we feel like we have nothing to lose- that’s usually a fun way to play- and try to be the Cinderella story that gets to the dance.

PREDICTIONS: 

Here is how I envision it playing out in the West.

1. St. Louis– Best record in the league, yet they are still underrated, and people do not give them enough credit for how good they are.  They may be the toughest defensive team come playoff time, giving up 1.8 goals a game, best in the NHL.
2. Vancouver– The defending Western Conference champions look to repeat, but goaltending questions keep them out of the top spot, but deciding between Roberto Luongo and Corey Schneider is a good problem to have.
3. Dallas Stars– Yes they have been inconsistent as of late, but they look like they want it and the effort is there. I also think they are the best team behind San Jose, and have you watched the Sharks play lately? Stars win the division.
4. Detroit Red Wings– Every year the Red Wings should be the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. I believe they are the most complete team in the NHL. Goaltending is their biggest weakness, but they have  strong enough defense to make up for it.
5. Nashville Predators– After a bunch of smart moves at the trade deadline, Nashville finally looks like a team that could do damage in the playoffs, and Pekka Rinne can stand on his head.
6. Chicago Blackhawks– A team who is always there at the end, but again can their scoring overcome the inconsistent goaltending? Special teams is also a question mark for the Hawks, who rank in the bottom five in both PP and PK stats.
7. San Jose Sharks–  As a Sharks fan, I want to say they will win the division, but they have played uninspired hockey over the last month, and have looked like a team that is in last place, instead of fighting for a division title. I believe just like the rest of this season they will do just enough to get in, but that is it. Another year of disappointment for Sharks fans who are still waiting for them to live up to their potential.
8. Phoenix Coyotes– The Coyotes play an exciting brand of hockey that is fun to watch. It wont be enough to win them a Cup, or win a division title but they will get into the playoffs and be a tough out for whatever team is forced to play them, and putting a top ten offense against the number one defense would be a fun series to watch.

That’s how I see it shaking out in the Western Conference. Thanks again for coming back and reading, sorry for the long break between posts, but Spring Break got the better of me. Check back on Friday for more Dangle Sauce.

Dangle Sauce Blog’s Guide to Celly’s

Scoring a goal in ice hockey is arguably one of the hardest things to do in all of sports. The feeling that goes through your blood when the puck hits the mesh (or in my case usually the lower pad) is indescribable, a feeling of joy that few people beyond the sports world can understand. Its not like basketball, where one made shot is a bad day, or football where they give you six points. This is hockey, where people with big sticks are trying to take your head off while you light the lamp. I’m not taking away from any of the other sports, but scoring a G-note is like hitting a grand slam every time your at the plate.

That being said, and coaches are going to hate me for this, every good hockey player knows that what happens in the 5-10 seconds after you score the goal that means as much how you scored the goal itself. This is the celebration, or celly as hockey players call it.  Of course, situation means everything, you can’t celly hard after scoring the 9th goal in a blowout, but if the time is right, you give it everything you’ve got because you never know how long its going to be until the next opportunity.

The Following is a User’s Manual for proper cellying:

1. Preparation:  Celebrations can be planned days, weeks, or even in the summer months before the season, when you are yearning for that first game the next year. Some celebrations will obviously be spontaneous, but most of the fun is shooting-the-crap with your teammates about what you have in store for the upcoming game, and then delivering on the promise.
2. The Goal: It does not matter how you score the goal, there is a celebration for every type. Remember, make sure the goal counts! There is no guy on the ice easier to chirp (make fun of) than a guy who has a pre-mature celebration, and in fact there should be a penalty for it, and in juniors/pro you probably are going to get punched in the face. Once you know you have tickled the twine, let the fun begin!
3. The Celebration: There are four things that factor in to a good celebration; time of game, opponent, fans, and type of goal you scored. If you score to end the game in overtime, pretty much all of these rules fly out the window, just go insane, a la the great Theo Fleury (Best Celebration Ever in the NHL). But here are some basic examples for each type of goal:

• Greasy– You bang home a rebound and/or get knocked on your face as you do it. Or maybe you throw one at the net and it bangs home off a D-man’s leg or the goalie’s skate. Sean Avery had a classic celebration after banking one home against Thomas Vokoun (watch here). While I wouldn’t consider Avery to be a role model hockey player, this push-up celly is one of the classic ways to properly memorialize a greaser.
• Breakaway– I have to be honest with the readers here, I probably haven’t had one of these since my junior hockey days, but hey, a lot of my teammates have. After you’ve left the goalie’s jock strap in the crease, or tucked one cheese under the bar (hitting the top of the net), you normally have lots of room and time to celebrate because you are all alone. Usually a good move here is to go long slow fist pump usually down on one knee. The longer you hold the hand at the bottom and drag it on the ice the better, and then you meet your teammates for the usual celly hug. Blake Wheeler’s recent goal against Ryan Miller is a perfect example of what I mean.
• Sick Snipe– So you bury one from a tough angle over the goalies shoulder, or you blow it by him with a clapper, or go bar-down (for a clearer definition of snipe, check out this video.) Endless possibilities here. The classic bow and arrow, the sniper like Anisimov, or maybe your stick is on fire!

4. Post Celebration- Now that you have taken the time to put the spotlight on yourself, let it fizzle and get your teammates involved. There is no better way to end a celebration than by letting your teammates tackle you into the glass, then heading down the line to bump fists with the rest of your team. The most important thing I can say here is MAKE SURE YOU TOUCH YOUR GOALIE! Without him, you guys probably wouldn’t be in the game, and he is just as excited as the rest of the boys. Another important element to use is the crowd. If you have scored a big goal and the fans are going crazy take your celebration into the glass in front of them. Something such as the EASY button celebration can also be worked out in advance as well, and is always a classic to be remembered.

There you have it, you are ready to hit the ice and start cellying with the best of them.

I will leave you with a couple of videos for some more ideas. Dangle Sauce will be taking a break for spring break this upcoming week, but look for more during the week of March 19! Thanks to everyone who has read this so far I hope you are enjoying it.

TURCO, TURCO!

The Boston Bruins for a few years have had the most dominating 1-2 goalie combination in the National Hockey League. Anyone who knows me understands that it takes a lot for me to actually admit to saying something nice about the Bruins, but there it is, in print, THE BRUINS HAVE HAD GREAT GOALTENDING. But all of a sudden the unthinkable has happened. Tim Thomas has been playing very shaky lately, and is more worried about making political statements, then stopping pucks.  Backup Tuuka Rask is injured, and out 4-6 weeks with a lower abdomen injury.

Thomas’ inconsistencies have caused his goals against average (GAA) to shoot up since the All-Star break from 2.12 to 2.32, and his save percentage is also in decline, just .904 since the break. There is an old saying in the hockey world that goalie is the most important position in hockey, and it seems that the latter is true for the Bruins.  As Tim Thomas has struggled, the Bruins have struggled as well.

In the past, when the Bruins have struggled, they have been able to rely upon their “goaltender of the future,” Tuuka Rask. For some reason the pairing seems to feed off each other, and the Bruins could always count on one or the other to lead them to victory. I would argue that even though Tim Thomas was the team’s playoff leader last year, the Bruins never would have won the Stanley Cup without the solid play of Rask during the regular season. With Rask out for an extended period of time, the Bruins needed to find a goaltender that could supplement Thomas, and keep him fresh come playoff time. The past shows that some teams that are forced to ride their goalie for too long usually fail in the playoffs (see the San Jose Sharks in the Evgeni Nabokov era).

Prior to signing Marty Turco on Monday the Bruins back up plan lied with 21 year old netminder Michael Hutchison, who has played just 66 professional games, none of which in the NHL. The Bruins needed a veteran presence, and Turco is the immediate answer.

Turco who is most known for his 9 years with the Dallas Stars last played in the NHL during the 2010-2011 season for the Chicago Blackhawks. He has been playing this year in Austria, in hopes an NHL team would come calling. Over the course of his 10 year NHL career he has amassed a 2.35 GAA and a .910 save percentage, and at one time was thought to be among the top 3 goalies in the league. The Bruins are betting that he can take some of the pressure of the struggling Thomas. But can he do it, and help the Bruins gain momentum before the playoffs?

Yahoo! Sports contributor Steve Silverman says that the Bruins problems in goal could get worse before they get better. Turco has not faced an NHL shot in over a year, and nothing can compare to the day in and day out grind that is life in the NHL.  It will be interesting to see how quickly Turco can get himself back into form, and also how he adjust to life on the bench.

Even though he is ineligible to play for the Bruins in the playoffs because he was signed after the trade deadline, Turco says he is happy to contribute in whatever way coach Claude Julien uses him (Watch the interview). After clearing waivers at noon today, Turco said:

It felt good and more than anything it was good to be back on the ice under the bright lights and with NHL players, never mind the Boston Bruins,” said Turco. “It’s a great day for my family and me, it feels good and I’m very appreciative of the phone call.

The Bruins are finally starting to put goals up on the board again and if they can get consistent, solid goaltending for the rest of the season there is no reason to believe that the Bruins would not be the favorites to repeat as Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup Champions. But, if the situation does not get better it could be an early round exit for the mighty Bruins.

For my roommate  #3 David Ciminelli, the biggest (and only)  Stars fan I know, here is a tribute to Marty Turco:

Deadline Winners and Losers: Nashville a Cup Contender?

This year’s NHL trade deadline will go down as one of the most boring deadline’s in recent memory. The Jeff Carter deal to Los Angeles was by far the biggest deal that went down even after a weeks worth of rumors about Rick Nash going to several different teams. Rumor has it that the New York Rangers were the closest team to getting Nash, as GM Glen Sather apparently offered a package that the Rangers would have been stupid to let go, and would possibly have ruined the team that is currently making them a favorite to reach the Stanley Cup. Larry Brooks of the New York Post outlines what it would have cost the Rangers.

This steep price was not enough to get Nash out of Columbus, as GM Howson of Columbus wanted another first round draft pick that looked to include another first round pick (possibly Chris Kreider of BC, an NHL player as soon as his college season is over). All of this for one player? I think Ranger fans should thank their lucky stars that Nash stayed in Columbus.

Enough with the rumors, there were 16 “major” deals that went down on Monday, and a few teams in the league made themselves better, while others did nothing, or even I would argue made themselves worse.The following are two winners and two losers after Monday’s trade deadline.  To see every deal, check out the ESPN 2012 Trade Tracker.

WINNERS:

1.  Nashville Predators- In my opinion the Predators did the most at the trade deadline, acquiring Hal Gill, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Paul Gaustad. Although they gave up a home-grown favorite in Blake Geoffrion, and four draft picks in the next two years, the Predators are going for it now. In the brief history of the franchise, the team has never made it past the second round of the playoffs, and have only made it past the first round one time. Gill brings blue-line depth, and alongside Shea Weber the Predators boast booming shots from the point that teams will have to be careful of all season. Kostitsyn and Gaustad are solid veteran forward who bring solid two way play up front. The Predators are a team to watch out for, and at the end of the year we may be talking about them as one of the favorites in the Western Conference to Reach the Stanley Cup.
2.  San Jose Sharks– Ill be honest, there is a little bias in this pick, but I think the Sharks have finally addressed the issues that have plagued the team all year, penalty killing, and D-zone. GM Doug Wilson traded for T.J Galiardi and Daniel Winnik. Both of these guys bring grit and toughness to the third or fourth line of the Sharks, and are both also tremendous Penalty Killers. This move is interesting by the Sharks as many thought they would go after a scorer like James van Riemsdyk or a defensemen, after the Sharks gave up 3.89 goals a game on a nine game road trip that saw them go 2-6-1. Shark’s Insider Kevin Kurz outline’s the Sharks defensive woes in a CSN Bay Area Article. If the Sharks want to win the Pacific division again this year, Galiardi and Winnik are the type of players they need to step up and keep pucks out of their own net, or they may miss the playoffs altogether.

LOSERS:

1. Toronto Maple Leafs- An underachieving team that continues to underachieve. Prior to the start of this season, people were saying the Maple Leafs were back. But just over halfway through the season, it looks like another season of disappointment for arguably the most storied franchise in the NHL. The Leafs have missed the playoffs every year since the lockout of ’04-’05 and this year barring a miracle will be no different. GM Brian Burke is notoriously known for making deals at the deadline, trading away and gaining elite talent that does not pan out in the end. Stuck in a 1-8-1 stretch over the last ten, Burk says its not time to panic yet, but shouldn’t he have done something to make his team better? If the Leafs Make the playoffs then the lack of trades will look genius, but if not, fans will be in uproar.
2.  Vancouver Canucks- Involved in one of the last deals of the Day, the Canucks traded Cody Hodgson and defenseman Alexander Sulzer to Buffalo in exchange for Zack Kassian and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani. The Canucks made a good move earlier in the day trading for Sammy Pahlsson. But in the Hodgson deal the Canucks gave up a future franchise center, a player who has put himself in the conversation as one of the best young players in the game. The Canucks are worried about contending with the tougher teams in the Eastern Conference, after getting out-muscled in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Boston Bruins last year, and getting drubbed by them again when the teams met earlier this season. But to give up Hodgson for Kassian, who is tough don’t get me wrong, but is he a game changer or put the team over the top? I would argue no. I think the Canucks did more to hurt their future than help in the present, which is why they are in the losers category.

So that raps up one of the most boring trade deadlines in recent memory, feel free to add your thoughts on winners and losers in the comments section, and Dangle Sauce will keep an eye on these moves as the year progresses.

NCAA GROW UP AND LET TEAMS WIN!

If you play any team sport I don’t have to sit here and describe this feeling of playing an overtime. Both teams have locked themselves into a stalemate, with neither team ready to let the other team score to send them home. Then, after a while one team scores that last point to send the foes home disappointed. Elation erupts in the building from either the home crowd or the visiting bench and its an indescribable feeling that sticks with you for days.

Enter NCAA hockey, the official home of the tie. I get it NCAA, you like sportsmanship, but seriously a tie? You didn’t win and you didn’t lose so here you go, here is one point for your troubles, and hey maybe you’ll get them next time.

After the NHL lockout, the players and owners new that they needed a way to get fans back in the stands, and the year before the lockout 14 percent of the league’s games ended in a tie. That means that 170 times the fans, who paid outrageous dollars to see their team play, left with a bland taste in their mouths. Who knows how many patrons the NHL lost because they didn’t feel it was worth it to pay too much to watch a tie. So what did they do? They adopt the shootout. Now when you go to a game you know you will see a winner and a loser and hopefully a move like this along the way.

According to this livestrong.com article:

According to NHL.com, 28 percent of NCAA college hockey games end in a tie after regulation. Sixty-five percent of those games remain tied after a five-minute overtime period, indicating the current overtime procedures may not be enough to reduce the number of tie games.”

In 2008, The Central Collegiate Hockey Association became the only NCAA league to adopt the shootout rule.  Since then they have even altered the standings point system to three points for a regulation or OT win, two points for an shootout win, and one point for a shootout loss. Read more here. Every year the vote to keep the current format is accepted because it keeps the fans happy.

The CCHA remains the only conference in college hockey to utilize the shootout, and I am calling for the NCAA to make the shootout mandatory in all levels of collegiate hockey. From a personal perspective, I know our league (the MASCAC) is a new league, and a lot of the schools in the conference struggle to get fans/students to attend games. Early in the season a team must win at home to keep their fans coming back for more, which I think would be less of a struggle if we implemented a shootout.

Fans storm the court after an impressive upset in basketball or football, but what does college hockey have to stand out? The talent level is there throughout college hockey, all I am asking is to let the kids showcase their talents. Let them do this:

Some of the NHL’s Best, and Hopefully one day there will be a video like this for the NCAA:

Kings Sign Jeff Carter, Best Hockey Player Since Gretzky, In His Mind Anyway

If you are an NHL Fan you have no doubt read the news by now, the first blockbuster deal of the 2012 trade deadline has taken place, sending whiny baby Jeff Carter out of Columbus to the Kings for up and coming young defensemen Jack Johnson and a conditional first round draft pick.

This move is going to either make GM Dean Lombardi look like the biggest genius in the league this year, or the biggest goat. See Scott Burnside’s Waterloo comparison. Every year in this league one team takes a chance on a certain player that most people see more downside in taking then upside. A player with a certain attitude that people just hate to be around. Bring in Jeff Carter. Unhappy from the start with his trade from Philadelphia to Columbus (but lets be honest who would be happy with that trade?), he has been injury plagued all year scoring just 15 goals this year while playing in just 39 games.

The only thing that seems to be working right with Carter is his negative attitude in Columbus. Puck Daddy.com mentions this article Rick Curran, Former Editor of the Hockey Writers is a Columbus resident who says that :

Both “emerging media” and traditional media were rife with stories of Carter not wanting to be in Columbus. Both Carter and the Blue Jackets issued the usual rebuttals to this, although they seemed to ring hollow.

Independent sources have confirmed that there have been inquiries about a Carter trade, but they cooled to the notion of a trade when his unhappiness/attitude with Columbus were confirmed to the interested teams.

The move also reunites Carter with his former teammate in Philly, Mike Richards. Both men signed large contracts in Philly before being shipped out of town before the next season started. But reunited again, can they produce together? The Kings are betting a lot of money that they will.

The move puts the Kings on the hook for the remainder of a contract that lasts for 11 years at $5.2 million per year. A rather large investment for a team counting on a player who has been inconsistent this season, and hardly played very much. This makes this contract a dangerous one that could leave the Kings in shambles for the next 10 years if it does not pan out. In a salary cap league teams have to be careful about where they spend their money, and this move could go down as reckless if it doesn’t pan out.

Columbus is looking to bolster its team, already looking forward to next year and giving themselves some cap room by getting rid of Carter’s lengthy contract. They have made two moves already to this point and the Jackets are looking to make more with players like Rick Nash still on the table for teams to take interest in.

In an already talented packed Pacific Division the Kings find themselves 5 points out of first place behind the division leading San Jose Sharks. If the Sharks, along with other divisional teams do not make deadline moves to counter the one made by the Kings, Carter could lead the Kings to a division title, if he can stay healthy and produce. More to come on that Monday or Tuesday as Dangle Sauce will analyze deadline winners and losers.

21 Straight Wins, What does this record mean?

Since I have said that this blog was going to be my honest opinion I start with one here:

I do not care for the Red Wings, and yes it probably has something to do with the fact that they are so good year in and year out. I dislike them for the same reason the people hate the Yankees, all they do is win. One of my first playoff hockey memories as a kid was going to the Shark Tank and watching the 1994 playoffs on the Jumbotron when the Sharks upset the highly favored Red Wings in seven games. Remember the good ol’ days when ESPN used to actually cover hockey? Arturs Irbe was my favorite player in those days, and it used to amaze me the way he could stand on his head, even at just 5 foot 8. Sorry for the aside, back to the Red Wings now.

On Tuesday, the Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 to win their 21st consecutive home game, breaking the NHL record previously held by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers, who won 20 straight. It has been over three months since the Red Wings have lost at home. Here are all 20 game winning goals at home.

Now that the Wings have set the record I want to put into prospective just how hard it is to win 20 games in a row:

• As mentioned in previous posts I play NCAA Division III hockey, and our entire season is 25 games (excluding playoffs and the national tournament). This means the Wings are 4 games away from winning enough consecutive games at home to finish an entire Division III season.
• The longest road winning streak in NHL history, also held by the 05-06 Red Wings is 17 games.
• This record stood for over 35 years and twenty games in a row has only been accomplished twice, ever, which in itself makes it a truly unbelievable accomplishment.

Some people, mostly Philadelphia Flyers bloggers, bitter their record was broken, are downplaying the record because three of the wins came by way of the shootout. This was mentioned in the Detroit AP article written following the win. Does this matter? It compares to saying that Roger Maris’ 61 homers should have an asterisk because he had more games to do it. Its a silly argument by old time hockey players/fans that want to live in the past and never see records broken. But why keep track of new records if the old ones cant be beaten?

The Red Wings are playing the game the way it is set out for them, and getting two points is getting two points, its never an easy task, and just because they have a few shootout wins a long the way it does not take away from their accomplishments in the least.

Westfield State University Pink The Rink Fundraiser

WESTFIELD STATE STUDENTS PAY ATTENTION!

Next Thursday, February 16, The Westfield State University Men’s Ice Hockey team will host their third annual “Pink the Rink” night.  Every year the NHL hosts its own breast cancer awareness month, but in college hockey, Pink the Rink takes on a whole new meaning.  Across the college hockey landscapes many teams have adopted fundraising nights into their schedule to raise awareness for certain causes.  Probably 99% of people in this country know someone thats life has been directly or indirectly affected by cancer. This game serves as a way for the hockey team, as well as the Westfield community to do their part to find a cure, so no loved one ever has to suffer again.

This year, in a fundraising effort, the hockey team will be selling replicas of their jerseys at the game. The jerseys will cost $75 and can be seen here . Proceeds will be donated to the local Cancer House of Hope.

“The idea of the event is to raise awareness about all forms of cancer and raise as much money as we can for the local Cancer House of Hope to help aid cancer research,” said Westfield assistant hockey coach Mike Young.

The major success of this event every year is the attendance by students. Admissions money goes to the Cancer House of Hope, and students can also donate as they wish. Last year, in front of a packed house, the Owls beat Fitchburg State 7-5. Call your friends, call your siblings, get down to Amelia Park Ice Arena next Thursday and do your part in cancer research.

Upcoming, Dangle Sauce looks back on the career of Owen Nolan, one of the greatest San Jose Shark players of all-time (has to be number two behind Arturs Irbe…I kid I kid).

UPDATE:  Westfield State Defeated Salem State 5-4 in an Overtime thriller! Thanks to all who came out to support the cause!