The University of Michigan condensed the seven-hour process at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor into about two minutes via viral video.
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After being swept by Vancouver in the NHL's Western Conference playoffs, the St. Louis Blues reassigned former Maine goalie Ben Bishop to Peoria of the American Hockey League.
Well, not quite. Estero, Fla., is about 20 miles north of the stretch of Interstate 75 that connects southeastern Florida to southwestern Florida (and, oh yes, is known for its reptile population). But three former Maine hockey players are in Estero with the Florida Everblades, the Florida Panthers' ECHL team.
Matt Duffy, Andrew Sweetland and Peter Metcalf are on the Everblades roster - Duffy was assigned to Florida for the playoffs, after Rochester's season ended in the American Hockey League. The Everblades open the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs Friday against the South Carolina Stingrays.
NHL.com reports that Paul Kariya will not be in the lineup tonight when the St. Louis Blues face the Vancouver Canucks tonight in the fourth game of a Western Conference quarterfinal.
"It's a no-go," Kariya told NHL.com columnist Larry Wigge today. "But I'm getting closer every day."
Kariya helped Maine win the national championship in 1993 and is a 14-year NHL veteran who joined the Blues last season. However, Kariya has been sidelined since November and has undergone two surgeries to repair labrum problems in both hips.
The Canucks lead the Blues 3-0 in the best-of-seven series and Kariya said he wants to play in Game 5.
At the combine, more than 100 draft-eligible hockey players from around the world will be taped, stretched, clamped, weighed, tested and analyzed to determine their draft worthiness.
The V02 max test measures oxygen efficiency and a person's aerobic capacity. Dumoulin said the bike test will be one of the most grueling tests at the combine.
"You have a 10-minute break in between bike tests and then you jump on another bike for the V02 test," said Dumoulin, who will play at Boston College in the fall. "You pedal and pedal, and it's awful. I've heard about guys passing out, or throwing up or dry heaving after it. It goes for 10 to 12 minutes and you can't stop."
Here's a closer look at last year's NHL combine in Ottawa.
Here's another tidbit - Dumoulin and other college prospects can spend no more than 48 hours at the combine in order to maintain their amateur status. And while combine participants are given a hat, t-shirt and shorts to wear during the combine, they must pay a nominal fee for them. Otherwise, it would be considered a gift, a no-no by NCAA standards.
That was the game-winner, scored by Colby Cohen in overtime to clinch the national title for the Boston University hockey team.
Via the New York Times, the Terriers were on a mission. Underneath their uniforms and padding they wore t-shirts that said "Burn the boats" - a reference to Hernando Cortes, a Spanish explorer from the 1500s who found gold in Mexico (a controversial discovery) and whose expedition led to the fall of the Aztec Empire. (an even more controversial downfall)
When he reached the Yucatan Peninsula from Cuba, Cortes destroyed his fleet. His rationale? If we're going back, we're taking the boats of our enemies. Seems as if "win at all costs" is a historic attitude.
Think about it. In two months, only one team has beaten the Terriers - Maine, which beat BU 6-3 in the second game of a Hockey East quarterfinal.
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In case you're driving in Boston on Tuesday, plan to detour around Commonwealth Ave. - BU's celebration parade route will go from Kenmore Square to BU's Marsh Plaza.
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The Rochester Americans finished the regular season Saturday with a 4-2 loss at Syracuse, and former Maine defenseman Matt Duffy finished with two goals and four assists in nine games.
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Could Paul Kariya be back in uniform soon?
Over the weekend, the St. Louis Blues qualified for the NHL playoffs and then, as a result of some shifting in the standings, earned the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. The Blues open the playoffs Wednesday at No. 3 Vancouver, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Blues are weighing whether or not they should bring Kariya, a former Maine standout, back for the playoffs. Kariya hasn't played since November, as he underwent surgery after suffering a hip injury.
A piece of hardware will be handed out tonight, as three Hockey East players - Boston University forward Colin Wilson and defenseman Matt Gilroy, and Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen - are the finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top Division I college hockey player.
My money is on Wilson who is arguably one of the most complete players in college hockey, but others are betting on Gilroy, who's got a Hobey-worthy story.
Miami of Ohio athletics is more than just Ben Roethlisberger - and I'm not just saying this as a Steelers fan. The Red Hawks face Bemidji State at 5 p.m. this afternoon in Washington in the first national semifinal of the Frozen Four. Miami Coach Enrico Blasi captained the school's first NCAA tournament team in 1993 and is in his 10th season of coaching.
"There were really a lot of former players and coaches who are the backbone," Blasi told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Miami was on the verge of being cut as a hockey program, and a lot of people stepped forward to save it to where it was fully funded for the first time in 1990. A lot of time and sweat went into building this."
Following Miami-Bemidji is arguably the marquee game, Boston University (the favorite to win the national title) against Vermont at 8:30 p.m. Get this - Vermont took the season series from the Terriers 2-1 ... but the teams faced each other three times in the first two months of the season.
And on a related note - the Boston Globe is confirming that Fenway Park will host the 2010 NHL Winter Classic.
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The Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced tomorrow, and this much is true - the winner will be from Hockey East. The three finalists for the award are BU's Colin Wilson and Matt Gilroy, and Northeastern's Brad Thiessen.
When you were in elementary school, you probably learned the tall tale of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox - you know, the larger-than-life lumberjack who created the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Mount Hood in Oregon?
Paul Bunyan and Babe, as well as the rest of northern Minnesota, are now watching what's going on in Washington this weekend, as Bemidji State faces Miami of Ohio in a national semifinal on Thursday.
Pat Borzi (a former PPHer) writes a primer on Bemidji State, and even offers a locator map with the story, as well as proper pronunciation of the town's name: Be-MIDGE-ee.
Bemidji State, however, is bringing everything but the funk. Via D.C. Sports Bog, George Mason's pep band, "The Green Machine," will fill in for BSU's "Red Line Swingers," who were unable to get out of a previous commitment.
I guess some didn't have high hopes of Bemidji going to Washington ...
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Carey Wilson stole a line from Broadway hit "Avenue Q" - "It sucks to be me."
That's what Wilson, the father of Boston University forward Colin Wilson, told the Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press. Carey Wilson won't be able to go to the Frozen Four in Washington because he has been delegated to river watch.
"Somebody's got to guard the house," Colin Wilson told the Free Press. "I'll call after every game to let him know what's going on and, obviously, he'll let me know how the house is doing."
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Wild E. Cat, New Hampshire's mascot, isn't going to the Frozen Four. But his services were necessary elsewhere - at a New Hampshire wedding, in honor of a couple who first met at a UNH hockey game. Wild E. Cat attended the wedding as the date of the maid of honor.
Shawn Sirman, a goalie with the Kingston Voyageurs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, gave a verbal commitment to the Black Bears over the weekend.
Sirman, 18, said this afternoon that he will sign a National Letter of Intent to play hockey at Maine this week, and anticipates joining the Black Bears in the fall.
"(Maine Assistant Coach) Dan Kerluke contacted me last week about coming to Maine and said that the Maine coaches were coming to watch me in Oakville," Sirman said. "Dan and Tim (Whitehead) both made the trip."
The National Letter of Intent signing period began Monday and ends on Sunday (April 12). Division I coaches are not allowed to comment on recruits until after they have received a recruit's signed National Letter of Intent.
In the regular season, Sirman went 21-5-0-3 with three shutouts, with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .926 saves percentage. In 21 playoff games, Sirman, is 17-4 with three shutouts, a 2.25 goals-against average and a .932 saves percentage.
Sirman will join goalies Scott Darling, Dave Wilson and Josh Seeley on Maine's roster. Maine has already received a verbal commitment from Matt McNeely, a goalie from Mendota Heights, Minn., who will join the program in the fall of 2011.
Vermont Coach Kevin Sneddon has led the Catamounts to their first Frozen Four since 1996 - Vermont faces Boston University on Thursday in a national semifinal.
Sneddon, who won a national championship at Harvard in 1989 (Sneddon's teammate was current Crimson Coach Ted Donato), is only Vermont's fourth coach in 45 seasons.
Sneddon took over the program in 2003, three years after the school administration suspended the second half of the season in the wake of a hazing scandal.
"He loves to talk about how he's a Boston-grown guy and how he's been a part of Boston University practically forever," BU's Matt Gilroy told the Boston Herald. "He's always talking about how he grew up here, how he went to high school here, how much he loves the Sox and the Pats. You never have to wonder where Coach Parker came from."
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Going through the morning's Google alerts, I stumbled upon the personal blog of former Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen, "In The Crease With Thiess."
Thiessen is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Why would Thiessen choose to go to a team with Marc Andre-Fleury and former Boston University goalie John Curry in its system? Thiessen explains the decision:
"Everyone seems to ask why go there, they have Fleury and former BU goalie John Curry. My response would be to say no team is going to sign a goalie with no NHL experience and say that they are going to be their #1 starter in the NHL. There is going to be competition at every level, nothing is going to be handed to you. In saying that Pittsburgh was the team that to me would give me the best opportunity to play in the American League and develop as a goalie. I'm extremely excited and look forward to the challenge."
Duffy, a former UMaine defenseman from Windham, scored his first professional goal while donning a pink jersey on March 27, part of the Rochester Americans' campaign to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness.
(Rochester goalie Mike Brodeur)
The campaign raised $27,954 and as part of the fund-raiser Rochester's pink jerseys were auctioned off, including Duffy's pink sweater. Rochester communications coordinator Warren Kosel said the jersey auction raised $8,580 and Duffy's fetched $548.
Seems someone out there collects Matt Duffy jerseys - the University of Maine is auctioning two of Duffy's jerseys and the highest bid on Duffy's baby blue alternate jersey is $435, while his home jersey is at $143.
Three Hockey East players - Colin Wilson and Matt Gilroy of Boston University and Brad Thiessen of Northeastern - have been named finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top player in Division I college hockey.
Gilroy and Wilson
Thiessen
It's the first time in nine seasons that the three finalists are from the same conference.
The Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced April 10.
Memo to Citizens Bank of Philadelphia: James van Riemsdyk is ready to open an account.
Van Riemsdyk, New Hampshire's leading scorer this year, signed a professional contract this afternoon with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Van Riemsdyk, a sophomore forward from New Jersey, led the Wildcats with 17 goals and 23 assists this season. The Flyers selected van Riemsdyk as the second overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, behind Chicago's Patrick Kane.
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Just an April Fool's joke: Buffalo will not be adding college hockey in the fall of 2010. If you read the entire story, you probably read the fine print at the end, too.
*April Fool's Issue Disclaimer - The content of this article was published as a "joke" and may contain invalid or false information.
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This one's no joke: The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Notre Dame forward Christian Hanson, AKA Son of Slap Shot.
Hanson's father, Dave, was one of the famed Hanson brothers from the cult film classic "Slap Shot."
Rachel is in her fifth year as a sports reporter at the Portland Press
Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. A former college soccer and softball player,
she covered sports at newspapers in Pennsylvania, Texas and Colorado before
joining the Press Herald/Sunday Telegram staff in June of 2004.
Rachel takes over coverage of the University of Maine hockey team and was
introduced to Maine hockey as a seventh-grader in Annapolis, Maryland, after
reading a 1988 Sports Illustrated story about Shawn Walsh's impact on the
program. Nearly 20 years later, she still has the four-page article in her
possession.
She and her husband, Tommy (who also works for MaineToday Media, Inc.)
are avid sports fans who root for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh
Penguins and Kansas Jayhawks. After a year of marriage, their next step in
life is to find a bigger house!
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