Alumni in the Playoffs - 2010

[Roy 82]

Versus announcers said Murray's nickname is Crankshaft.  What's that about?

Oh, I think it's more fun not knowing.

It's no secret. There was a whole article about him in the Sharks Program/Magazine a while back. Basically, it is because he is built like a crankshaft.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Versus announcers said Murray's nickname is Crankshaft.  What's that about?

Oh, I think it's more fun not knowing.

Oh behave.

[munchkin]

Murray and the Sharks win again to make the series 2-0 in favor of San Jose.  They're heading to the Joe Louis Arena for their next game in Detroit.

[Rita]

Murray and the Sharks win again to make the series 2-0 in favor of San Jose.  They're heading to the Joe Louis Arena for their next game in Detroit.

Murray picked up his 5th (::bugeye: playoff assist in the win. Douglas logged 17:38 of ice time and was even in the +/- column, and had 2 PIMs.

Ryan O'Byrne and the Habs tied up their series with the Pens. OB was a -1 in 13:37 min of ice time.

[Josh '99]

Updates:

Douglas Murray and the Sharks lead their series against the Red Wings two games to none, after holding serve in San Jose in games 1 and 2 by winning both games 4-3.  Murray had an assist in game 2 and had an interference minor in each game; Joe Pavelski has continued to lead the way offensively for the Sharks, with two goals and an assist in each game.  The series continues with games in Detroit tomorrow and Thursday.

Ryan O'Byrne and the Canadiens are tied 1-1 in their series against the Penguins, winning 3-1 yesterday afternoon after losing 6-3 on Friday night.  The first game saw the Penguins score 4 power play goals on 4 chances, with O'Byrne playing the third-most PK minutes of any Habs defenseman; yesterday O'Byrne was on the ice for the only goal against, and played only 13:37 in total, the fewest of any defenseman.  The series moves to Montreal for games 3 and 4 tomorrow and Thursday.

Ryan Vesce's return to the Worcester Sharks lineup was an unhappy one, as the Sharks lost 5-0 to the Manchester Monarchs in Manchester to fall behind 2-1 in the series.  Vesce was -1 and had 4 of the Sharks' 26 shots on goal.  On the bright side, Vesce sparked the Sharks in Saturday's game, scoring the game's first goal on the power play 11:12 into the first period; the Sharks went on to win 3-2, with Derek Joslin's game-winner coming at 19:26 of the third period, to even the series at two games apiece.  Game 5 is Wednesday night in Worcester, game 6 Friday night in Manchester, and game 7 (if necessary) Saturday night back in Worcester.

Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars are tied 1-1 in their series against the Chicago Wolves; both games ended 4-3 in overtime.  Sawada has yet to register a point (or even be on the ice when a goal was scored) or a penalty in the series, but has had a couple of shots on goal.  The series moves to Texas for the next three games, tomorrow, Wednesday, and Friday nights, before returning to Chicago for the last two games if needed.

The Idaho Steelheads are off to a good start in their conference final series against the Stockton Thunder, taking advantage of some home cooking to win game 1 4-2 on Friday night and game 2 4-0 on Saturday night.  Mark McCutcheon was named Friday's first star after tallying a pair of goals, one on the power play; Evan Barlow had two assists, one coming on McCutcheon's even-strength goal.  Steelheads goalie Richard Bachman was the game's first star on Saturday, after stopping all 28 shots he faced, but the Cornell boys rounded out the game's three stars:  McCutcheon, with assists on the game's first two goals (both shorthanded), was the second star, while Barlow, who scored the third goal, was the third star.  The series continues in California with games Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Doug Krantz and the Cincinnati Cyclones are going to have some work to do if they want to meet the Idaho-Stockton winner in the ECHL championship series, unfortunately, after losing the first two games of their series against the Reading Royals at home.  On Friday night, the Cyclones fell 5-2; Krantz had no points and an even +/- with one shot on goal.  The situation didn't improve any on Saturday as the Royals won 3-1, with Matt Dalton (many of us may remember him unpleasantly from this game) making 45 saves on 46 shots; Krantz was -1 with one shot on goal.  The series heads to Reading for games tomorrow, Saturday and (if necessary) Sunday.

David McKee's Allen Americans have lost games 4 and 5 of their CHL championship series against the Rapid City Rush, and now trail three games to two.  McKee was the backup for both games; he saw some action for the first time in a while, playing the third period of Allen's 7-2 blowout loss in game 5, but didn't make much of the opportunity, allowing two goals on just seven shots.  The Rush will have two opportunities to clinch the championship in front of their own fans; games 6 and (if necessary) 7 will be played in South Dakota Tuesday and Friday.

[Al DeFlorio]

Ancient history now, but The New York Times recalls Ken Dryden's Smythe-winning 1971 Stanley Cup performance in this piece on Jaroslav Halak: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/sports/hockey/04hockey.html?th&emc=th

[Josh '99]

Updates:

Douglas Murray and the Sharks are on the verge of a trip to the Western Conference finals, which would be just their second ever.  On Tuesday night in Detroit, they came back from a 3-1 deficit at the start of the third period to tie the game and force overtime, and then won the game on Patrick Marleau's goal 7:07 into the overtime to take a 3-0 series lead and push the Red Wings to the brink of elimination.  Murray had no points and was -1 in Tuesday night's game.  The Sharks will attempt to finish out the sweep tonight; if necessary, the series will return to San Jose on Saturday night.

Ryan O'Byrne and the Canadiens were unable to take a series lead on Tuesday night after winning game 2 on the road in Pittsburgh; they lost 2-0 and now trail their series 2-1.  O'Byrne had no points and an even +/- in 16:48 of ice time.  The Habs will try to even the series tonight in front of their home fans.

Ryan Vesce and the Worcester Sharks were foiled by a hot goalie last night; Jonathan Bernier stopped all 30 Sharks shots and the Manchester Monarchs won 1-0 in Worcester to take a 3-2 lead in their division final series.  Vesce had no points (obviously) and was on the ice for the lone goal in the game.  The Monarchs will attempt to clinch the series in Manchester on Friday night; if the Sharks are able to stave off elimination, game 7 would be played in Worcester on Saturday night.  The winner of the series will take on the defending champion Hershey Bears in the conference finals; the Bears swept the Albany River Rats in their conference semifinal series.

Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars are now tied 2-2 in their conference final series against the Chicago Wolves; games 3 and 4, played in Texas, ended 5-3 Chicago and 3-2 Texas, respectively.  Sawada had his only point of the two games on an assist in the 5-3 loss.  The teams are off tonight and play for a 3-2 series lead in Texas on Friday.  Games 6 and (if necessary) 7 will be in Chicago on Sunday and Tuesday of next week.  (It would appear that the AHL chooses between a 2-3-2 format and a 2-2-1-1-1 format on a series-by-series basis, based on the proximity of the two teams involved; two extra trips between Worcester and Manchester involve less time and expenditure than two extra trips between Chicago and Austin.)

The Idaho Steelheads were unable to stretch their series lead to 3-0, as the Stockton Thunder prevailed 1-0 in 3 OTs in California last night; the game was the 12th-longest in the history of the ECHL.  Ryan Constant netted the game's only goal on the power play 36 seconds into the third overtime, with Steelheads captain Marty Flichel in the box after a tripping minor late in the second overtime.  Bryan Pitton was the game's deserved first star, though, stopping all 49 shots he faced.  Needless to say, Mark McCutcheon and Evan Barlow were both scoreless; each took one minor penalty (Barlow for roughing in the second period, McCutcheon for interference in the second overtime), and they were the two players with the most shots on goal for the Steelheads, with 7 for Barlow and 6 for McCutcheon.  The next two games of the series will be played in Stockton tomorrow and Saturday nights; games 6 and 7, if necessary, will be played in Idaho next Tuesday and Wednesday.  

Doug Krantz and the Cincinnati Cyclones have a huge uphill battle on their hands; they trail 3-0 in their conference final series against the Reading Royals following a 4-2 loss on Tuesday night.  Krantz did not play in the most recent game.  The Royals will have two chances to clinch the series in front of their home fans, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Finally, David McKee's Allen Americans lost the CHL championship series in six games, falling to the Rapid City Rush 4-3 in double overtime in the clincher.  Scott Wray scored the series-winning goal for the Rush.  McKee was out of the lineup after his brief cameo appearance in game 5; it will be interesting to see where he lands next year.

[nyc94]

McKee was out of the lineup after his brief cameo appearance in game 5; it will be interesting to see where he lands next year.

Prison?

http://www.ocregister.com/news/jane-247439-doe-mckee.html

[munchkin]

And the Sharks advance over Detroit with a 2-1 victory.  Murray will be playing for the Western Conference championship.

[Josh '99]

Updates:

Douglas Murray and the Sharks were unable to complete their sweep, taking a 7-1 shellacking at the hands of the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena last Thursday night (Murray -2 with 2 shots on goal and a roughing minor), but clinched the series with a 2-1 win in San Jose in game 5 (Murray -1).  Their opponents in the Western Conference finals will be the Chicago Blackhawks or the Vancouver Canucks.  Down 3-1 in the series, the Canucks won 4-1 in Chicago last night to force game 6 in Vancouver tomorrow night; game 7, if necessary, will be in Chicago on Thursday night.

Ryan O'Byrne and the Canadiens trail their series against the Penguins 3-2, and will take the ice in Montreal tonight hoping to fight off elimination; game 7, if necessary, would be in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.  O'Byrne was +1 in Montreal's 3-2 victory in game 4, and even with one shot on goal in their 2-1 loss in game 5.

Ryan Vesce and the Worcester Sharks were eliminated from the AHL playoffs by the Manchester Monarchs on Friday night; the Monarchs won 2-1 in overtime to take the series 4-2.  Vesce, named the third star of the game, scored the lone Sharks goal 1:45 into the first period, but was also on the ice for Viatcheslav Voynov's overtime winner; Jonathan Bernier made 28 saves for the Monarchs.

Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars are tied 3-3 in their division final series against the Chicago Wolves.  Despite being outshot 46-23, the Stars won 5-3 in Texas on on Friday night to bring a 3-2 series lead back to Chicago; the Wolves evened the series with a 2-1 win yesterday afternoon.  Sawada had two assists and was +2 in game 5, and was -1 in game 6.  Game 7 will be played in Chicago tomorrow night.  The winner will advance to play either the Hamilton Bulldogs or the Abbotsford Heat in the Western Conference finals; the Bulldogs won 5-2 in Abbotsford on Saturday night to take a 3-2 series lead and will have two opportunities to win the series on home ice, tonight and tomorrow night.

The Idaho Steelheads lead their series against the Stockton Thunder 3-2; the Thunder won big in front of their home crowd on Friday night, knotting the series with a 7-2 win, but were unable to take a series lead the next night as the Steelheads rebounded to win 6-3.  Mark McCutcheon had an assist in Friday night's game, during which both he and Evan Barlow were -1; on Saturday, McCutcheon had a shorthanded empty-net goal and an assist and was +1, and Barlow had a goal and was even.  Games 6 and (if necessary) 7 will be played in Idaho, tomorrow and Wednesday nights, and the winner of the series will advance to the ECHL's Kelly Cup Finals.

The Cincinnati Cyclones have fought back from a 3-0 series hole to a more manageable 3-2 deficit with road wins each of the last two nights, 6-4 on Saturday and 5-0 last night.  Unfortunately, Doug Krantz remained out of the lineup for both games.  The Cyclones will have the opportunity to complete an improbable comeback on home ice, as games 6 and (if necessary) 7 will be played in Cincinnati tomorrow and Wednesday nights.  The winner of their series will take on the winner of the Steelheads-Thunder series in the finals.

[RatushnyFan]

Lots of Red Wing fans complaining about the blind hit Murray gave to fellow Swede Franzen in game 5.  A couple of Red Wing players doubled teamed Douglas later in the game and he seemed pretty woozy going back to the bench.  Hopefully Douglas is ok.

Separately, last night during the Blackhawks/Canucks game intermission report Brian Engblom raved about Douglas' game, i.e. his physical edge and ability to consistently make the simple play allows Boyle to skate all over the place and focus on being aggressive offensively.

[Trotsky]

Habs shake up their D pairings tonight and O'Byrne may be oat. :-(

[French Rage]

Lots of Red Wing fans complaining about the blind hit Murray gave to fellow Swede Franzen in game 5.

Lots of Red Wing fans are complaining about lots of things nowadays.

[Trotsky]

O'Byrne playing after all with the Habs' pairings all screwed up with Hal Gill hurt.

Murray was cheap shot back on the next shift, so Detroit got theirs back.

[munchkin]

Habs force game 7, O'B will play another game.  And really, the Pens suck so the Habs need to win this one.