Alumni In The Playoffs - 2011

[Josh '99]

Just one game of note last night:

AHL

The AHL divisional finals round started up last night, and the only game played was in Portland, where Colin Greening and the Binghamton Senators took the first game of their series against the Portland Pirates by a score of 3-2.  Greening was -1 with two shots on goal; Zack Smith scored the third-period game-winner for the Sens after the Pirates had tied the game at 2 on a goal by Colin Stuart (Colorado College) late in the second.  Greening will see at least a couple of familiar faces playing for the Pirates this series: Portland's starting goalie is David Leggio (Clarkson), and one of their defensemen is Alex Biega (Harvard).  The series continues tonight in Portland.

Two other series of note start up tonight:  Brendon Nash and the Hamilton Bulldogs host the Manitoba Moose, and Riley Nash and the Charlotte Checkers visit the WBS Penguins.  As I mentioned, if you find yourself at home craving some hockey, there's free audio for many games at AHL Live.  There's also pay video streaming, but at $9.99 per game (with bundles available at cheaper per-game rates) I can't imagine any quality level that would make it a worthwhile expenditure.

NHL

The Vancouver Canucks scratched out an overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in game 7 courtesy of two goals from Alex Burrows, so Douglas Murray and the San Jose Sharks will take on the Detroit Red Wings in the second round.  The series starts tomorrow night at 10pm EDT with live coverage on Vs.

[Josh '99]

More good results for our guys last night...

AHL

Colin Greening and the Binghamton Senators continued the surge of momentum from their come-from-behind series win over Manchester with a 5-3 win in Portland last night; the Senators now have a 2-0 lead in the series heading to Binghamton for the middle three games.  (I believe the AHL chooses between a 2-3-2 format and a 2-2-1-1-1 format based on how close the teams are to each other; the Portland-Connecticut series in the first round was 2-2-1-1-1 but all the others have been 2-3-2.)  Greening was even with one shot on goal.  Bob Raymond (RIT) scored the game-winner with 3:51 to play in the third period, and Kaspars Daugavins had two goals for the Sens, including a shorty to cut into an early 2-0 lead for the Pirates and an empty-netter to lock up the win.  Robin Lehner made 43 saves to get the win, while Jhonas Enroth, who played 15 games for the Buffalo Sabres while Ryan Miller was injured earlier in the season, replaced David Leggio (Clarkson) in goal for the Pirates but was unable to achieve a better result.  Game 3 will be played in Binghamton tomorrow night.

Riley Nash and the Charlotte Checkers also earned themselves a road win to start their series, defeating the WBS Penguins 3-2 last night.  Nash was even with one shot on goal; he was also part of the power play unit that scored the Checkers' third goal.  The Checkers were outshot 30-19 on the night, but Mike Murphy made 28 saves for the Checkers while Brad Thiessen (Northeastern) stopped just 16 of 19 for the Penguins.  Jon Matsumoto (Bowling Green) scored two power play goals for the Checkers, the first in the second period to break a 1-1 tie and the second coming in the third period to give the Checkers "the most dangerous lead in hockey".  Perhaps proving the adage correct, Brett Sterling (Colorado College) scored a power play goal for the Penguins just 1:23 later to make it again a one-goal game, but Murphy and the Checkers held firm, despite being outshot 13-6 in the third period, to preserve the victory.  Game 2 will be played in Wilkes-Barre tomorrow night.

Brendon Nash and the Hamilton Bulldogs are also out to an early lead in their divisional final series after defeating the Manitoba Moose 4-1 in Hamilton last night; Alexandre Bolduc scored 5:10 in for the Moose, but the Bulldogs responded with four unanswered goals.  Nash was -1; he was also part of the power play unit that scored the Bulldogs' third goal.  Aaron Palushaj (Michigan) and Dustin Boyd each had two points for the Bulldogs; Drew MacIntyre wasn't busy, but stopped 19 of 20 pucks that came his way in the Hamilton net.  Game 2 will be played in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon and then the series heads to Manitoba.

NHL

Just a reminder, Douglas Murray and the San Jose Sharks start their second-round series against the Detroit Red Wings tonight at 10pm EDT on Vs.

[Josh '99]

Updates from an eventful weekend:

NHL

Douglas Murray and the San Jose Sharks won the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal against the Detroit Red Wings.  On Friday night, the Sharks trailed 1-0 heading to the third period courtesy of a Nicklas Lidstrom goal, but Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) knotted the game with a power play goal, and Benn Ferriero (BC) won it in overtime with a shot that deflected off the stick of Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart and into the net; Murray was -1 with one shot on goal, three blocked shots and five hits.  Jimmy Howard (Maine) played a solid game in net for the Wings, stopping 44 of 46 shots.  Yesterday afternoon the Sharks extended their series lead with another 2-1 win; Antti Niemi stopped 33 of 34 shots, including 12 of 13 in the third period, to ensure that goals from defensemen Ian White and Niclas Wallin were enough offense for the Sharks.  Murray was even with two shots on goal, one blocked shot and four hits; he was also not on the ice for the third-period power play goal by Henrik Zetterberg that cut the Sharks' lead to one.  The series continues in Detroit with games on Wednesday and Friday nights, both of which will be televised on Vs.

AHL

Colin Greening and the Binghamton Senators stumbled at home on Saturday, conceding two goals within the last 5:09 of the game and losing 3-2.  Greening was -1 with one shot on goal.  Tim Conboy (St. Cloud) scored the game-winner with just 13 seconds left in regulation; Derek Whitmore (Bowling Green) was named the game's first star after scoring the tying goal and setting up Conboy's winner.  David Leggio (Clarkson) was back in goal for the Pirates and stopped 32 of 34 in a winning effort.  Games 4 and 5 are in Binghamton tonight and tomorrow night.

Brendon Nash and the Hamilton Bulldogs stretched their series lead over the Manitoba Moose to 2-0 with a 4-2 win in Hamilton yesterday.  Nash was +2 with one shot on goal.  Gabriel Dumont scored two goals for the Bulldogs, one an empty-netter that stretched the lead to 4-1 with 49 seconds to play before Chris Tanev (RIT) cut the deficit back to two goals 19 seconds later.  Drew MacIntyre stopped 24 of 26 shots in the Hamilton net.  The series continues with games in Winnipeg tomorrow, Wednesday and (if necessary) Friday nights.

On Saturday, Riley Nash and the Charlotte Checkers lost game 2 of their series against the WBS Penguins 3-0, and head home for the middle three games of the series tied 1-1.  Nash was -1 with two shots on goal.  Ryan Craig had an empty-net goal and an assist for the Penguins and was on the ice for all three goals; Brad Thiessen (Northeastern) rebounded from a disappointing game 1 to make 34 saves in the shutout.  Games 3, 4 and 5 will be played in Charlotte tonight, Wednesday night and Friday night.

[French Rage]

Updates from an eventful weekend:

NHL

Douglas Murray and the San Jose Sharks won the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal against the Detroit Red Wings.  On Friday night, the Sharks trailed 1-0 heading to the third period courtesy of a Nicklas Lidstrom goal, but Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) knotted the game with a power play goal, and Benn Ferriero (BC) won it in overtime with a shot that deflected off the stick of Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart and into the net; Murray was -1 with one shot on goal, three blocked shots and five hits.  Jimmy Howard (Maine) played a solid game in net for the Wings, stopping 44 of 46 shots.  Yesterday afternoon the Sharks extended their series lead with another 2-1 win; Antti Niemi stopped 33 of 34 shots, including 12 of 13 in the third period, to ensure that goals from defensemen Ian White and Niclas Wallin were enough offense for the Sharks.  Murray was even with two shots on goal, one blocked shot and four hits; he was also not on the ice for the third-period power play goal by Henrik Zetterberg that cut the Sharks' lead to one.  The series continues in Detroit with games on Wednesday and Friday nights, both of which will be televised on Vs.

Murray almost had a great goal during the game.  He more or less single-handedly fought for the puck behind the net, brought it out himself, shot, collected the rebound and shot again, and the puck got past Howard and was inches from the goal line but Datsyuk got scooped it out at the last second.  For a player like Murray who usually isn't creating goals on his own that would have been amazing had it gone in.  And he had quite a few solid hits.  All in all a great game for him on national TV.

[amerks127]

If "playoffs" also means "elections" and "alumni" stretches beyond hockey careers, then Ken Dryden's defeat in Canadian parliamentary elections tonight fits in well here.  There aren't any news articles yet, but I'm sure many will be posted tomorrow.  Oh well, Ken had to lose at something once in his life.

Relevant quotes from tonight:

"The Habs and Member of Parliament Ken Dryden bounced within five days of each other"

"Very sad Ken Dryden lost, he was the architect of a national child care program & he lost tonight. He always has inspired me."

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

If "playoffs" also means "elections" and "alumni" stretches beyond hockey careers, then Ken Dryden's defeat in Canadian parliamentary elections tonight fits in well here.  There aren't any news articles yet, but I'm sure many will be posted tomorrow.  Oh well, Ken had to lose at something once in his life.

Relevant quotes from tonight:

"The Habs and Member of Parliament Ken Dryden bounced within five days of each other"

"Very sad Ken Dryden lost, he was the architect of a national child care program & he lost tonight. He always has inspired me."

The Liberals came in 3rd - a major defeat.  He was just collateral damage.

[KeithK]

If "playoffs" also means "elections" and "alumni" stretches beyond hockey careers, then Ken Dryden's defeat in Canadian parliamentary elections tonight fits in well here.  There aren't any news articles yet, but I'm sure many will be posted tomorrow.  Oh well, Ken had to lose at something once in his life.

Relevant quotes from tonight:

"The Habs and Member of Parliament Ken Dryden bounced within five days of each other"

"Very sad Ken Dryden lost, he was the architect of a national child care program & he lost tonight. He always has inspired me."

The Liberals came in 3rd - a major defeat.  He was just collateral damage.

Nah. It was probably just Leafs fans eager to finally stick it to a Canadien.

[Larry72]

Great story on the Sharks website as to why Douglas Murray loves playoff hockey.

[Jim Hyla]

Sort of in the playoffs. Via ECAC site, Denver Post article on "Is Ryan O'Byrne the next Don Cherry?"

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Sort of in the playoffs. Via ECAC site, Denver Post article on "Is Ryan O'Byrne the next Don Cherry?"

Whew!  I thought it was going to say he wears ugly suits or is smug and obnoxious.::bolt::

[Josh '99]

NHL

Douglas Murray and the Sharks ran their lead over the Red Wings to 3-0 with a 4-3 overtime win in Detroit last night.  Murray was -1 with 7 blocked shots (ouch) and one hit; he was also on the ice during the Sharks' penalty kill that surrendered Nicklas Lidstrom's goal that tied the game at 1 late in the first period.  Devin Setoguchi had a hat trick for the Sharks, including the overtime goal (which came not long after he had served a holding penalty); Joe Thornton assisted on all three of Setoguchi's goals, two of which came on the power play.  Dan Boyle (Miami) had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, while Lidstrom (1 G, 1 A) and Henrik Zetterberg (2A) each had two points for the Wings.  The Sharks will attempt to complete the sweep tomorrow night in Detroit; if they can close out the Wings, they'll take on either the Vancouver Canucks or the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final.

AHL

Colin Greening and the Binghamton Senators lead the Portland Pirates 3-2 in the Atlantic Division Finals; they stretched their lead to 3-1 with a 6-1 win on Monday, but the Pirates forced game 6 with a 6-2 win the next night.  In game 4, Greening was -1 with two shots on goal.  Ryan Potulny (Minnesota) and Kaspars Daugavins each had two goals for the Senators, and Corey Locke had three assists; David Leggio (Clarkson) was removed from the Portland net after allowing 4 goals on 20 shots.  In the table-turning game 5, the Pirates chased Robin Lehner from the Sens' net with 4 goals on just 16 shots; Mark Mancari was the offensive star of the night, with two goals and two assists.  Greening was even with one shot on goal.  The series now returns to Portland, where Binghamton won games 1 and 2 last week.  Game 6 will be played tomorrow night, and game 7 (if necessary) will be Saturday night.

Riley Nash and the Charlotte Checkers have won the first two home games of their East Division Finals series against the WBS Penguins, and lead the series 3-1.  On Monday, the Checkers won 2-1 in overtime to retake the series lead they had surrendered with their game 2 loss.  Nick Dodge (Clarkson) scored in the second to tie the game after the Penguins had taken a lead into the first intermission, and Brett Sutter (yes, that "Sutter") won it 5:40 into overtime; Mike Murphy stopped 26 of 27 Penguin shots.  Last night, the Checkers eked out a 1-0 win (despite being heavily outshot) to bring the series to 3-1.  Chris Terry's power play goal early in the third period was the game's only scoring, and Murphy stopped all 44 shots he saw to earn the shutout; Brad Thiessen (Northeastern) stopped 31 of 32 but still took the loss.  In both games, Nash was even with no shots on goal or penalties.  The Checkers will attempt to close out the series on home ice tomorrow night; if the Penguins win, the series would return to Wilkes-Barre for games 6 and 7 on Saturday and Monday nights.

Brendon Nash and the Hamilton Bulldogs surrendered their early series lead and are now tied 2-2 with the Manitoba Moose in the North Division Finals.  On Tuesday, the Moose overcame a 2-1 deficit to win 5-4.  The turning point of the game undoubtedly came in the last minute of the second period:  with 35 seconds left to play, Jordan Schroeder (Minnesota) scored for the Moose to the the game at two goals apiece.  Hamilton's Ryan White took an interference penalty with two seconds left in the period; Marco Rosa (Merrimack) won the ensuing faceoff to Sergei Shirokov, who scored a power play goal at 19:59 to give the Moose the lead going to the intermission.  Rosa, who was named the game's first star, added a power play goal of his own early in the third to stretch the lead to 4-2, and though the Bulldogs twice cut the deficit to one goal, they were unable to tie the game.  Nash was -1 with three shots on goal.  Last night, the Moose won 2-1 in double overtime to tie the series.  For much of the game, the Bulldogs led courtesy of Gabriel Dumont's second period power play goal, but Guillaume Desbiens tied the game with 2:02 left in the third, and Mario Bliznak scored the winner 11:54 into the fifth period of hockey.  Nash had an assist on Dumont's goal and was even with one shot on goal of his own.  Eddie Lack stopped 43 of 44 shots for the Moose; in the Hamilton Net, Drew MacIntyre made 32 of 34 saves, including denying Desbiens on a penalty shot early in the first overtime period.  Game 5 will be played in Winnipeg tomorrow night, and then the series will return to Hamilton for game 6 on Sunday night and (if necessary) game 7 on Monday night.

[ftyuv]

Now that's a link!

[Josh '99]

Updates, including two Cornellians matching up against each other in an upcoming series...

NHL

Douglas Murray and the San Jose Sharks have been unsuccessful in their first two chances to close out the Red Wings and advance to the Western Conference Finals.  On Friday, the Wings stormed out to a 3-0 first period lead, the Sharks came back to tie the game at 3-3, but Darren Helm scored with 1:27 left in regulation to give the Wings the win.  Murray was -1 with three blocked shots and four hits.  Nicklas Lidstrom was the game's first star, scoring the Wings' second and third goals, while Ryane Clowe assisted on all three Sharks goals.  Last night the series returned to San Jose, and the Sharks looked to have a solid grip on a series-clinching victory when Calder Trophy finalist Logan Couture scored early in the third period put them up 3-1, but the Wings came back with three goals of their own to take a 4-3 lead, and Jimmy Howard (Maine) held firm to deny the Sharks an equalizer.  Murray was +1 with two shots on goal, two blocked shots and five hits.  Pavel Datsyuk had three assists for the Red Wings.  The series returns to Detroit for game 6, tomorrow night at 8pm EDT on Vs.; if the Red Wings are able to force game 7, it would be played Thursday night in San Jose.

AHL

On Friday night, Colin Greening and the Binghamton Senators shut the door on the Portland Pirates with a 3-0 win in Portland; the Senators won their series 4-2 to advance to the AHL's Eastern Conference Finals.  Greening was even with one shot on goal in the game, which featured one goal each from Jim O'Brien (Minnesota), Zack Smith and Kaspars Daugavins.  Robin Lehner stopped all 36 shots he saw to earn the shutout.  

The Sens' opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals will be Riley Nash and the Charlotte Checkers, who eliminated the WBS Penguins with a 4-3 win in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, one night after the Penguins had prevailed 1-0 in game 5 in Charlotte.  In Friday's game, Nash was even with one shot on goal.  Brad Thiessen (Northeastern) turned aside all 23 Charlotte shots and was named the game's first star, and Chris Collins (Boston College) scored the game's only goal about midway through the third period.  The Penguins looked to have Saturday's game won as well; they led 2-0 after two periods and Joe Vitale (Northeastern) scored shorthanded early in the third to stretch the lead to 3-0, but the Checkers put up four goals in the last thirteen minutes, including two from Chris Terry, and then held the resulting lead to win 4-3 and clinch the series.  Nash was +1 with two shots on goal.  Brett Sutter three points (1G, 2A) for the Checkers, and Ryan Craig had two (1G, 1A) for the Penguins.  The series between the Sens and the Checkers will start games in Charlotte on Thursday and Friday nights.

Brendon Nash and the Hamilton Bulldogs took a 3-2 series lead over the Manitoba Moose with a 5-1 victory in Winnipeg on Friday night, but had an unhappy return to Ontario, suffering a 1-0 loss last night to bring the series even at 3-3.  Nash was +2 in Friday's game.  Nigel Dawes scored two goals for the Bulldogs, including an empty-netter, and Drew MacIntyre was beaten just once on 23 Manitoba shots.  Yesterday, however, the Bulldogs were outshot heavily in their 1-0 loss, 34-25 overall including 12-5 in the third period.  Nash was even with no shots on goal and a tripping minor.  Alexandre Bolduc's second-period shorthanded goal was the only one of the game, and while MacIntyre had a second consecutive one-goal night in the Hamilton net, he was bested by Eddie Lack, who stopped all 25 for the Moose.  The teams will meet in game 7 in Hamilton tonight.

[Rita]

Yeah, I know, not our alumni, but did anyone else notice a few more wrinkles and age spots when you realized the NHL Eastern conference finals will feature Tim Thomas and Martin St. Louis? ::worry::

PS... Thank you Josh for the updates.

[ugarte]

Yeah, I know, not our alumni, but did anyone else notice a few more wrinkles and age spots when you realized the NHL Eastern conference finals will feature Tim Thomas and Martin St. Louis? ::worry::

PS... Thank you Josh for the updates.

Just the opposite. When guys from the old days are still playing it makes me feel less decrepit. It isn't like we were comparable athletes back then and I should feel bad that I've fallen apart while they've held it together. I started falling apart when I was 16.