Hockey
Herb Brooks' legacy continues to help youth hockey
By RACHEL BLOUNT
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
About eight or nine years ago, Bill Weller and his cousin, Herb Brooks, spoke to a youth hockey group in North St. Paul, Minn. They shared their vision for a new way of doing things, one that would encourage more kids to participate and develop their skills while having plenty of fun.
Brooks had long been dismayed by a youth hockey culture that revolved around elite traveling teams playing overstuffed schedules.
"We talked about revamping the way things were done," Weller said.
Europeans now stars of NHL show
By ROSS McKEON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
As much as they hate to hear it north of the border, Canada is losing its grip on hockey _ or what it calls "Its Game."
A look at what is happening in today's National Hockey League shows the European invasion is taking hold.
Penguins' Malkin quickly at home in NHL
By SHELLY ANDERSON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The first time Evgeni Malkin hit California, he soaked in everything.
"I was impressed," the Penguins' center said earlier this week with teammate Sergei Gonchar acting as translator.
'The Great One' not so great as a coach
By RICK SADOWSKI
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Great players rarely make great head coaches, and Wayne Gretzky is discovering that standing behind a bench and barking out instructions to lesser talents is a lot more difficult than performing his own feats of magic on the ice.
Former Olympians pay price to keep playing hockey
By RACHEL BLOUNT
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Many professional athletes insist they play for love, not for money. The Minnesota Whitecaps don't have the luxury of pondering such questions, but they do dream of the day when women's hockey players are earning checks rather than writing them.
The Whitecaps are the only U.S.
Russian phenom Malkin readies for his debut
By SHELLY ANDERSON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
In a way, it's a little like the Pittsburgh Penguins' season will be starting over Wednesday night.
At least coach Michel Therrien will have much the same lineup he hoped to open with four games ago.
That's because Russian rookie Evgeni Malkin will make his NHL debut against New Jersey, giving the Penguins the overall look and depth at center that they were counting on before Malkin got hurt last month.
Coaches debate proper shootout order
By ROSS MCKEON
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Coaches of the home team for games that go to a shootout have an intriguing decision to make this season: Changed from 2005-06 when the penalty-shot format was introduced to eliminate regular-season ties, the home team can opt to shoot either first or second.
Hockey has problems, but they'll always have Lord Stanley's Cup
Monday night I got goosebumps. It wasn't because the air conditioning was too cold, or because I was watching "Saw" or some other horror/gross-out flick.
Instead I was watching NBC and the euphoric reaction of Carolina Hurricanes fans when they caught their first glimpse of the majestic Stanley Cup.
The throngs inside the RBC Center in Raleigh were already loudly cheering for their beloved 'Canes, who had just won their first NHL championship. But when the Cup appeared - carried to the ice by two men wearing gloves, mind you - the fans started jumping up and down and the decibel level rose to an intensity usually reserved for rock stars _ or somewhat sentient human beings, anyway.
