Hockey

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Monday, November 20, 2006

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.