Posted on: 08-15-11 09:20 PM Posted by: Clutch
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 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/hockey/nhl/wires /08/15/2040.ap.hkn.je
Winnipeg Jets C Rypien found dead in home
From SI
COLEMAN, Alberta (AP) - Winnipeg Jets center Rick Rypien was found dead in his home Monday, nine months after he took a leave of absence to deal with an undisclosed personal matter.
An official with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police called Rypien's death sudden, but not suspicious. Rypien, a cousin of Super Bowl MVP quarterback Mark Rypien, was 27.
"We would like to express our sincere sympathies to the Rypien family as well as Rick's friends,'' the Jets said in a release. "We also appreciate all of the support that has come pouring in from Rick's fans. Rick was a talented player with an extremely bright future. His hunger for the game made him a valued team member both on and off the ice. This loss has impacted us as more than just a hockey team.''
Rypien is the second active NHL player found dead this offseason. Former New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died in May due to an accidental mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Rypien signed a $700,000, one-year deal with Winnipeg last month after spending parts of six seasons with Vancouver. He had nine goals, seven assists and 226 penalty minutes in 119 career NHL games, often dropping the gloves against much larger opponents.
The Canucks announced on Nov. 25 that they had granted Rypien an indefinite leave of absence. It was the second time in three years the forward had left the team to deal with an undisclosed personal matter. Rypien also received a six-game suspension from the NHL last season after grabbing a fan on his way to the dressing room in Minnesota.
Rypien also took an extended personal leave after a rash of injuries two years ago, missing 70 games during the 2008-09 season.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/hockey/nhl/wires /08/15/2040.ap.hkn.je... |
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Posted on: 05-14-11 12:42 PM Posted by: Clutch
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http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/05/14/ran ger-forward-boogaard-dead -age-2...
New York Rangers forward Derek Boogaard was found dead Friday. He was 28.
Known as the Boogey Man because of his role as one of the game's most physical forwards, Boogaard was found by members of his family at his apartment in Minneapolis. Boogaard spent the first five years of his career with the Minnesota Wild before signing a free-agent deal with the Rangers last summer.
His first season with the Rangers was cut short due to a concussion and a shoulder injury. He played just 22 games, scoring 1 goal, adding an assis and earning 45 penalty minutes.
"Derek was an extremely kind and caring individual," Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather said in a statement. "He was a very thoughtful person, who will be dearly missed by all those who knew him. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time."
In 277 NHL games, Boogaard, a 6-foot-7, 265-pound winger, compiled 3 goals, 16 points and 589 PIM. He was very popular during his time with the Wild, winning over fans with an ever-present smile and an eagerness to help out his new community. He was also loved for his willingness to protect teammates on the ice. He's second on the team's all-time list for penalty minutes with 544.
The Wild released a statement Friday night: "The Minnesota Wild organization sends our deepest sympathies to the family of Derek Boogaard. Derek was a fan favorite during his five seasons with the Wild and will be greatly missed here in Minnesota and throughout the NHL."
As the news of Boogaard's death spread Friday night, it hit the hockey community especially hard.
"The news that we have lost someone so young and so strong leaves everyone in the National Hockey League stunned and saddened, Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement released Saturday morning. "The NHL family sends its deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Derek Boogaard, to those who played and worked with him and to everyone who enjoyed watching him compete."
It was his teammates and his foes, though, who knew Boogaard best. They saw past the intimidating stare and the reputation as the toughest man in hockey.
"Unreal guy - just a really big teddy bear," Wild goalie and former teammate Niklas Backstrom told the Minneapolis-Star Tribune. "Outside the rink, he didn't want bad for anyone."
Boston defenseman Shane Hnidy played with Boogard in Minnesota last season and was clearly upset as he discussed his former teammate and friend after Saturday's morning skate in preparation for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.
"It's really tough,” Hnidy said. "It hit me pretty hard last night when I heard. I send everything out to his family. It's a tough time for everyone.
"Everyone just saw the big tough exterior, but he was a great guy that really gave back. Especially in Minnesota, he was probably the biggest, most popular player there. He always gave back.”
Boogaard was active in a number of charities during his NHL career. Last season he started "Boogaard's Booguardians," where he hosted military members and their families at all Rangers home games. He also was active with the Garden of Dreams Foundation as well as the Defending the Blue Line Foundation, a non-profit foundation that ensures children of military members are given the chance to play hockey.
According to the Star Tribune, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that an autopsy would be conducted Saturday.
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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/05/14/ran ger-forward-boogaard-dead -age-2... |
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Posted on: 02-11-11 09:46 PM Posted by: Clutch
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http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/11/2649423/is landers-beat-penguins-wit h-f...
Islanders beat Penguins with fists and sticks
By IRA PODELL
AP Hockey Writer
Mark Lennihan
New York Islanders' Matt Moulson, front left, and teammates celebrate his second-period goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NHL hockey game, Friday, Feb. 11, 2011, in Uniondale, N.Y. Other Islanders are, from left to right: Moulson, Andrew MacDonald, PA Parenteau, Milan Jurcina, and John Tavares. Penguins' Craig Adams, top left, Marc-Andre Fleury (29) Maxime Talbot and Brooks Orpik, upper right, look on.
John Tavares, Matt Moulson and rookie Michael Grabner all scored their 20th goal of the season and the New York Islanders got some revenge against the injury-depleted Pittsburgh Penguins with their sticks and their fists in a fight-filled 9-3 victory on Friday night.
Just nine days after Brent Johnson beat New York 3-0 and knocked out Rick DiPietro in a one-punch fight that left the franchise goalie with broken bones in his face, the Islanders responded with four goals in the first period and four more in the second - with an all-out brawl in the middle of the offensive outburst.
That was just the appetizer for a third-period donnybrook - in which Johnson fought again - that caused a delay of about 15 minutes. With multiple ejections, both benches had only a handful of players on them for the final 12-plus minutes.
New York chased Johnson 3:46 into the second period when callup enforcer Micheal Haley made it 6-0 on the Islanders' 16th shot. As Johnson skated to the backup goalie seat in the tunnel leading to the Penguins' dressing room, he was showered with an avalanche of boos from the unusually large crowd that clearly remembered what he did to DiPietro.
But his night wasn't over. Johnson returned at the start of the third period and got bowled over 1:19 in when Grabner was knocked into him by a hard hit from Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik.
The second huge brawl broke out at 4:47, and Haley had two fights in the melee - first with Max Talbot and then with Johnson after the goalie skated out toward the blue line. Haley charged after him, and both players dropped their gloves and started punching. Eric Godard was also involved, trying to protect the Penguins' netminder.
Haley became an instant favorite among the 12,888 in attendance, who probably never heard of him before Friday. But they chanted his name every time there was another dustup, long after he was sent to the dressing room.
The second major uprising was sparked by New York enforcer Trevor Gillies' elbow that left Eric Tangradi prone on the ice. Tangradi was recalled on Friday from Wilkes Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Godard and Haley, who came up from AHL Bridgeport on Friday, were both ejected with double game misconducts.
Pittsburgh's Craig Adams and Gillies were also booted from the game. Johnson was forced to remain in the net and heard boos and derisive chants during the final minutes.
Travis Hamonic, Jesse Joensuu, and P.A. Parenteau added goals for the Islanders, who earned their second win in two days after beating Montreal on the road in a shootout on Thursday night. Mikko Koskinen earned both wins - his first two in the NHL.
Moulson and Grabner both added second goals to give them a team-leading 21 as the Islanders broke out with their highest-scoring game of the season. Grabner provided the final punch with a short-handed breakaway goal with 2:09 remaining in the game.
Kris Letang, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy scored power-play goals for Pittsburgh, which won at home in overtime against Los Angeles on Thursday and will play at the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon. It hardly mattered in this one that the Penguins were again without All-Stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The melee in the second period came when Matt Martin jumped Talbot in the neutral zone. The Islanders had made Talbot a marked man because of his hit against Blake Comeau in the previous game that has left the Islanders forward sidelined since with a concussion.
Martin's actions sparked fights between unlikely brawlers Josh Bailey of the Islanders and Pittsburgh's Pascal Dupuis, Hamonic and Penguins forward Mike Rupp, and another matchup of Martin and Deryk Engelland.
Bailey was ejected following his first NHL fight along with teammates Martin and Hamonic, and Pittsburgh's Engelland, Rupp and Dupuis. Martin was also hit with an instigator penalty and a separate 10-minute misconduct.
Marc-Andre Fleury allowed two goals on nine shots in 16 minutes, 14 seconds of action in the second period. Johnson then returned for his rough third period. He was slow in getting back to his skates after being down in a snow-angel position for a few moments after being hit by Grabner.
Notes: Haley, who played in his third career NHL game, had 144 penalty minutes in 50 games at Bridgeport this season. ... In addition to the absence of Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins were also without forwards Matt Cooke (suspension), Arron Asham (upper body), Mike Comrie (hip), Chris Kunitz (lower body), Mark Letestu (lower body). ... The Penguins hadn't allowed nine goals since an 9-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Nov. 8, 2003.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/11/2649423/is landers-beat-penguins-wit h-f... |
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Posted on: 02-10-11 06:17 AM Posted by: Clutch
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At 12:36 of last night’s second period, with the Bruins holding a 5-3 lead, Brad Marchand had no idea the play had been called offside when he slammed James Wisniewski into the end boards.
BRUINS 8, CANADIENS 6 Standing 8 count
And Marchand had absolutely zero clue that his actions would trigger a sequence that saw Tim Thomas sprinting from one end of TD Garden to the other, ready to engage Carey Price in what would be both goalies’ first NHL fight.
“It was getting into an outnumbered situation,’’ said Thomas, called to duty when Price left his crease to join the jostling. “That’s what I was thinking when I was getting down there. He was more than willing to fight. I had this big old plan. I was going to grab his right, then I was going to throw lefts, because I know he’s bigger and taller than me and has the reach on me. I thought I could do a better job of throwing lefts than him. When we went to grab, he got a good hold of my right arm and I got nothing. So then I was like, ‘Now what do I do?’ He’s got a big right cocked and ready to come.’’
The showdown, which ended when Price hauled down Thomas and got his jersey over his head, highlighted an evening of ill tempers. Nathan Horton (goal, four assists) and P.K. Subban went at each other all night. Andrew Ference threw down with Travis Moen. Johnny Boychuk repeatedly cuffed Jaroslav Spacek. Gregory Campbell fed Tom Pyatt with a string of lefts. Benoit Pouliot decked David Krejci with a right hand that had the Bruins center icing his lower lip after the game.
And, oh yeah, there was an 8-6 Bruins win amid all the belligerence (187 combined penalty minutes).
“It looked like back in the day in the ’70s and ’80s when there were those rivals,’’ Milan Lucic (two goals) said of the hatred. “I’m sure [assistant coach] Doug Jarvis knows all about those. He was in the middle of a lot of them. We’re just happy that we were able to get that win. They’ve been a tough opponent for us lately. We’d lost eight of our last nine before tonight. Most of all, we’re just happy to get those two points and keep getting up in the standings.’’
Ever since the nastiness of Lucic squaring off repeatedly with Mike Komisarek in 2008-09, there had been an easing of the bad blood between the clubs. Things got testy on Dec. 16 when Krejci threw down with Michael Cammalleri in the first NHL fight for both skilled players. On Jan. 8, tempers flared after Max Pacioretty shoved Zdeno Chara at the conclusion of Montreal’s 3-2 overtime win.
Last night, the kettle was screaming at full boil.
“It’s a rivalry you want to compete in and you want to beat each other,’’ said Michael Ryder (two goals). “We don’t want the other team to have the best of us. For Montreal, we knew it was a big game. We knew we had to be emotionally involved. A couple games against these guys, we haven’t done that. Tonight, we wanted to do it. I think we did.’’
Five seconds after Lucic scored his first to give the Bruins a 5-3 edge, Marchand’s check ignited the powder keg. Brian Gionta crashed into Marchand, which brought all 10 skaters together. Then when Price got too close to one pile, Thomas joined the fun. Briefly, when Thomas missed with a lunge and Price had his right fist at the ready, the Boston goalie acknowledged thinking of Brent Johnson one-punching Rick DiPietro and breaking the ex-Terrier’s face.
“Only a little bit when I didn’t get the arm I wanted to get,’’ said Thomas. “He had a good grip on my arm and was free to do it with the big right. The thought crossed my mind that I don’t want to be DiPietro.’’
By the time every piece of equipment was gathered, six Bruins were stuffed into the penalty box, creating a clown-car effect.
“Half of us couldn’t even sit down, we had so many guys in there,’’ said Marchand, who scored one of two goals (Dennis Seidenberg netted the other) in a 12-second span in the first period. “Especially when guys stick up for each other like we did, everyone’s getting in there and it’s good. It’s a good feeling when you’re sitting in the box.’’
The Bruins, up, 6-4, after 40 minutes, saw the Canadiens turn it into a one-goal game when Pacioretty netted a power-play goal at 7:06 of the third. At 9:18, after Zach Hamill drew an interference call on David Desharnais, Ryder’s power-play goal was waved off. It was ruled that Marchand had interfered with Price, when replays showed that he was knocked into the goalie by Yannick Weber. But Ryder gave the Bruins the cushion they needed with a PPG at 10:01 to make it 7-5.
If the game was over by then, the hate was not. At 17:06, after Horton and Subban clashed, Krejci and Pouliot squared off. At 19:19, Ference, Thornton, and Boychuk were nabbed for fighting. At 19:35, Adam McQuaid tried to goad Pacioretty into a fight and was tagged with a roughing double-minor.
“As players, we all had fun in tonight’s game,’’ Lucic said. “I think the fans definitely had a lot of fun watching tonight’s game. We were able to play with a lot of emotion. We were able to keep our heads on straight to get that win. That’s the most important thing.’’
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. |
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Posted on: 02-09-11 09:03 AM Posted by: Goldenscud
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Flyers' tough guy Schultz thinks players should provide their own 'protection'
POSTED: February 9, 2011 By ED BARKOWITZ
barkowe@phillynews.com
One of the problems with hockey today, Flyers' legendary tough guy Dave Schultz was saying, is that players no longer have the freedom to monitor each other.
"There were guys like [Wayne] Gretzky who used to say, 'We need protection,' and now the only protection star players have is the National Hockey League's judicial system: Colin Campbell," said Schultz, whose single-season record for penalty minutes has stood for 35 years. "[But] players can police themselves. There used to be a thing called the code. The code is kind of gone."
Schultz was a key member of the Flyers' Stanley Cup-winning teams in the 1970s. While he scored a combined 29 goals in the two championship seasons, Schultz was most valuable for his role as an enforcer. In 1974-75, Schultz racked up the record 472 penalty minutes and had 25 fights.
"There's still certain rules and [current fighters] follow them," he said. "Like if a guy's hurt, you don't fight him."
But if an opponent took a cheapshot at one of the Flyers' skilled players, he could expect a quick visit from the man still affectionately known as "The Hammer."
"Today, you can drive Danny Briere's head into the boards and get suspended and lose some money," Schultz said. "In my day, you'd have to turn around because there would be guys lined up and you'd have to fight. That prevented a lot of guys from doing a lot of B.S."
Schultz and other proponents of hockey fighting argue that the instigator rule instituted in 1992 actually has made life less safe for star players. The rule gives a penalty to a player for unilaterally starting a fight. As such, retribution for a hit on a star player could wind up costing the aggrieved team even more.
"That's a bad rule," he said. "The instigator rule changed the game. It changed players being able to protect their teammates."
Suspensions and fines also are laughable, Schultz argues. There is no greater deterrent to cheapshots than being forced to fight after delivering one.
"I was only suspended one time," Schultz said. "I head-butted [Bruins' nemesis Terry] O'Reilly because he was holding my hands."
Sounds like O'Reilly violated "the code" and Schultz made him pay. What a concept. *
Read more: http://www.philly.co...l#ixzz1DSVwv4xo |
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