Hello, my name is Ian Reusch. I'm a 20 year-old college student who loves hockey. I've been passionate about the sport for 11 years and hope to become a hockey journalist after college. I won't make any guarantees, but I will try to post something hockey related each day. Whether you're a hardcore or casual fan, I hope you'll all be able to find something that interests you about the greatest game on Earth!
This morning, I was saddened to hear of
the passing of Gordie Howe. I woke up and checked my Twitter, as I usually do
first thing in the morning, and my heart dropped when I received the news from
that very first tweet. The hockey world has just lost a hero and an icon. But I
am sure glad “Mr. Hockey” had such a long, fulfilling life and hockey career.
He will be greatly missed.
Howe
played hockey for a total of 32 years. 25 of them were spent in the NHL with
the Detroit Red Wings from 1946-1971. He then played for the WHA’s Houston
Aeros and New England Whalers between 1973 and 1979. He spent his last season
with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-1980 at the age of 51. For years, he held the
NHL record for goals (801), assists (1049), and points (1850). He won 4 Stanley
Cups, 6 Hart Trophies, and 6 Art Ross Trophies in his storied career.
Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins had
a chance to win their 1st ever Stanley Cup on home ice. The San Jose
Sharks, however, weren’t ready to have their season end prematurely. With an
impressive performance by goaltender Martin Jones, the Sharks forced a game 6,
which will be played back at SAP Center.
The Sharks got off to the fast start
they needed when Brent Burns came out from behind the net and beat Murray high
blocker side to put San Jose up 1-0 1:04 into the game. The Sharks once again
took advantage of the disorganized Penguins when Logan Couture deflected Justin
Braun’s shot behind Murray for an early 2-0 lead at 2:53.
The crowd at Consol was immediately
silenced by San Jose’s two quick strikes. Before the game, Sharks head coach
Pete Deboer had stated, “we need to get an early lead and build from there”. They
wasted no time in accomplishing that, and were all over the Penguins in the
first 4 minutes. Their momentum, however, would quickly shift the other way
when Dainius Zubrus took a delay of game penalty. Pittsburgh quickly converted
when Evgeni Malkin directed a shot into the net off of Justin Braun’s leg at
4:44.
It only took the Penguins 22 seconds to
tie the game. Nick Bonino sent a shot towards the net that bounced off the body
of Carl Hagelin to beat Jones. In a crazy turn of events, four goals were
scored in the first 5:06 of the game. It was on pace for a 25-24 score.
However, things really settled down for practically the rest of the game.
Melker Karlsson would give the Sharks the lead again when he shot the puck
under Murray’s arm after receiving an amazing pass from Logan Couture at 14:47.
Pittsburgh would have the majority of
scoring chances for the rest of regulation, but Martin Jones stood his ground
to keep the puck out. The Penguins would pull Murray with 90 seconds remaining
to try to tie the game. The Sharks stymied the attempt when Joe Pavelski
patiently deposited the puck into the empty net to seal it at 18:40.
The game ended with the Sharks being
outshot 22-46. Without the heroics of Jones, the Penguins likely would have
walked out with the Stanley Cup. The resilient Sharks now have chance to force
a 7th and deciding game when they return home to the “Shark Tank”
for game 6 on Sunday evening.
Yesterday, NHL Network analyst and
former player Scott Stevens was hired as assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild.
Stevens played 22 NHL seasons with Washington, St. Louis, and New Jersey. He
won 3 Stanley Cups with New Jersey, and was their longest serving captain. He
was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. He then served as an assistant
coach in New Jersey from 2012-2014.
At the beginning of the 2015-16 season,
Stevens became an analyst on NHL Network. He now returns to coaching, and will
work alongside Bruce Boudreau, the newly hired head coach in Minnesota.
Boudreau formerly coached in Washington and Anaheim. With all the coaching
experience the Wild have, I feel their future is very bright. Wild fans should expect
great things in the next few seasons.
