Crashing the Net Playoff Picks 2013: Round 2

crashingthenetblog — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:44:53 +0000

As we wrap up a memorable first round of the NHL playoffs, it’s time Crashing the Net makes their picks for the second round. After one, here are the standings:

1. Andrea (7-1)
2. Ashley (6-2)
3. Ariana (5-3)
4. Chelsey (4-4)

May 13, 2013: The Comeback

crashingthenetblog — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:43:29 +0000

“Don’t blame us if we ever doubt you, you know we couldn’t live without you.”

After having 2 chances to close out the series, and failing, the Boston Bruins found themselves in a do or die situation against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The pinnacle of the playoffs. Game 7. At one point, a point that seems so distant and blurry now, the B’s had a commanding 3-1 series lead heading into Boston for a 5^th game.

And again, had a chance to close it out in Toronto in Game 6. But they squandered both opportunities to put away the Leafs for good. Allow me to take a moment to give credit where credit is due though. The Toronto Maple Leafs gave the Boston Bruins a run for their money and should have, with statistics, history and every single possible odd in their favor, won Game 7.

But they didn’t.

Sitting in a 4-1 hole and on the brink of elimination, the Bruins found something. Experience, was it? Or something intangible? A hunger, a desire, a passion, from deep within their existence. The Bruins dug deep. They dug deeper than any team had ever before.

With just about a half a period of hockey left to play in their 2012-13 season, the Bruins began to chip away.

It all began with a Nathan Horton wrister that found twine 9:18 into the third period to cut Toronto’s lead in half. But we’d seen this before, right? The Bruins scrambling to score with only minutes left in the game? The Bruins showing up too late, right?

With Rask pulled and only around two minutes left in the game, Lucic scooped up a rebound and got one past Reimer.

They were within one.

There was something in the air. Something stirring. A force inside the TD Garden.

31 seconds later, Patrice Bergeron blasted one through a Chara screen and just like that, the game was tied.

The Garden was electric. This was happening. The game was going into overtime.

Toronto fans outside the ACC were quiet. The game wasn’t over yet, but there was silence. The crowd in Boston was alive. Momentum was on their side.

And then, just over six minutes into the overtime period, it was all over. In their very first shift together that night, the Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin line came up bigger than ever. They caused havoc in front of Reimer, resulting in juicy rebounds and costly turnovers that put the puck right on Patrice Bergeron’s stick. Bergeron put it in the back of the net and the Bruins did it.

They completed a comeback of epic proportions.

In a game where everything was on the line, in a city that had just recently suffered unspeakable tragedy, a hockey team, a band of brothers pulled off a miracle.

They made this nation of fans believe in the completely and utterly impossible.

Go Bruins.

Daniel Paille: The Unsung Hero

crashingthenetblog — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:05:05 +0000

I knew as soon as the 7^th Player award was announced that I needed to sit in front of my computer and air my grievances with the internet masses of hockey fans alike. There have been rumblings on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets by disgruntled Bruins fans over the recipient of the award this year. The fans choose who receives the award, and while I disagree with their choice, I was clearly in the minority of voters who actually pay attention the game and understand what a 7^th Player means to the team.

A 7^th Player is someone who may not get a ton of ice time but when he does, he out-skates, out-performs, and plays 150% every time he puts on the spoked-B uniform. He is a player who may not always be talked about by sports analysts and writers, but they acknowledge his contribution to the team as a whole. He most certainly is not a starter, but he could be.

edit by Judy (the-destroia)

So rather than complain about the outcome of the award, I want to talk about why I voted for Daniel Paille, and why I think he should be recognized by the Bruins fan base as more than just a member of the infamous Merlot Line.

Daniel Paille was sent to Boston from Buffalo back in 2009. He wears number 20 and he is the left wing on the fourth line of the Bruins, dubbed the Merlot Line for their merlot colored practice jerseys. He plays alongside fan favorite boxer Shawn Thornton, and handsome Gregory “Soupy” Campbell. Since Paille joined the Bruins in 2009, he has 35 goals, 39 assists, and an average of around 12:26 minutes played per game for the Bruins.

This season, Paille has been nothing short of amazing for the Bruins. He already has 10 goals, 7 assists, and he’s +3 this season. In light of this short season, Paille has more goals than Lucic. He is tied with Bergeron and Krejci for goals scored this season. Let me reiterate, Paille, a fourth line left winger who only gets about 12 minutes on the ice, has more goals than one of our starters. Not only does he match the fan favorites for goals, but he only missed two games this season. Daniel Paille played in 46 out of the 48 games this season, whereas the recipient of this year’s award played in 42 and has been dubbed a healthy scratch for the first playoff match up between the Bruins and Maple Leafs.

Both Brad Marchand (who has scored 18 goals for the Bruins this season) and Paille have 2 short-handed goals. Only one other Bruin has scored a short-handed, and that would be Paille’s linemate, Campbell.

In my opinion, the statistics speak for themselves. Daniel Paille has matched some of the Bruins’ favorites in goals and short-handed opportunities. The Bruins have always been a team made up of “blue-collared players” – the type of guys who are not necessarily known all around the league, but who know how to play selfless hockey and capitalize on opportunities. He is the type of player that the Bruins organization is best known for.

Go out and buy a Daniel Paille jersey or shirt. Come up with witty signs for his name to bring to Bruins games. And for karma’s sake, I hope he scores the first goal tonight against the Maple Leafs.

Finally, to end on a good note: here are a couple of gifs of Paille so you can see just how adorable he is.

source: gaptaincanada.tumblr.com

source: bruinthecup.tumblr.com

It’s playoff time.

crashingthenetblog — Wed, 01 May 2013 03:12:48 +0000

Hockey East Player Spotlight 4/25/13 — Nick Bonino

crashingthenetblog — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:17:08 +0000

I am so excited to begin this Hockey East Player Spotlight here on CTNB with one of my favorite players from Boston University, Nick Bonino. Nick Bonino attended Boston University from 2007-2010, when he left after the 2010 hockey season at Boston University to join the Anaheim Ducks for the remainder of the season. Bonino was an integral part of the Boston University (Dominating) Terriers of 2008-2009, when they won EVERYTHING (literally – I remember the parade and they had a trophy for every senior graduating that year, which I guess was seven), including the NCAA Frozen Four title in Washington, D.C. against University of Miami (OH). Read more about Nick Bonino at Boston University, see some awesome Youtube clips, and more after the break.

At Boston University

During his collegiate career with Boston University, Bonino played a total of 116 games. He scored 45 goals, 72 assists (the most being 32 in the 2008-2009 season), and had a total of 117 points.In the 2008-2009 season, Bonino had a huge season with 18 goals in 32 assists in 44 games. In fact, Boston University was 24-0-3 when Bonino earned a point in a game. He was also the assistant captain in the 2009-2010 season. After that season, he elected to leave the Boston University hockey program and went off to the NHL. He was put on the Anaheim Duck’s in 2010 to play a total of 9 games. For the next two years, he bounced back between the AHL team Syracuse Crunch, and the Anaheim Ducks. This season he is the center for the second line. Now you might be saying, “I don’t know much about this kid. What can he do?” Well, let me show you his first NHL goal that he scored on March 29, 2010.

And if that isn’t enough for you, we can just watch this youtube video in awe over his tying goal in the final seconds of the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game against the University of Miami (OH). I remember holding my breath watching these final seconds as the Terriers battled it out on the ice. I actually think I might have forgotten how to breathe.

You don’t have to watch the whole thing, but I highly encourage you do. If you do decide to sit and awe over how amazing of a game this was, keep your eye on the time. This was one of the greatest NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championships ever. I don’t think anything will ever top this video for college hockey and Bonino was instrumental in sending the game into overtime with an assist and goal scored in the final minute of regulation.

In his first couple of years with the Ducks, Bonino has posted modest numbers. In the 2011-12 season, he had 5 goals and 13 assists in 50 games. So the numbers weren’t exactly there last season. The same thing happened to Bonino in his freshman year at Boston University – he didn’t post phenomenal numbers until his sophomore season (see all references to the 2008-2009 season). During the NHL lockout, Bonino traveled over to Europe to play in an Italian league.

Another great thing for Bonino this season? He gets to have his number. If anyone has played sports before, having your lucky number is IMPORTANT. For Bonino, that number is lucky 13. In an interview with the Orange County Register on January 14, 2013, Bonino expressed his happiness to have 13 for the 2012-2013 season with the Ducks. He also expresses his humility when it comes to playing in the NHL. He goes out and tries his best every day. Other players on the team, his line mate Bobby Ryan, says he is happy to have Bonino on the team and enjoys playing with him (source: http://www.ocregister.com/sports/bonino-383457-year-one.html)

There is no question about it, Bonino was a stand out player at Boston University for the three seasons he played for the Terriers. Though his NHL career has only just begun and he has posted modest numbers, I think we can all expect big things from him in the 2013 season and the years to come. He is a great example of how Hockey East players have become key components to teams and have continued to grow in the NHL.

Pregame notes: Bruins vs. Sabres 4/16/13

crashingthenetblog — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:43:48 +0000

The Boston Bruins will be playing with “heavy hearts” tonight, as many inside locker room called it, as this is the first professional sports game to be played in Boston since the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday, April 15.

As a safety precaution the Garden has maximized its security for the game and expects fans to arrive earlier than usual. They’re also not allowing any bags inside the building tonight.

Fans should expect an emotional pregame as the organization has a lot planned for the TD Garden tonight. Both Bruins and Sabres players will be wearing a special blue and yellow “Boston Strong” ribbon decal on their helmets for the game tonight. There will likely be a moment of silence as well as a Boston Strong video played prior to puck drop.

According to Comcast Sportsnet’s Joe Haggerty, Bruins players have donated 80 tickets for tonight’s game to the first responders. Brad Marchand announced that he will be raffling off his suite for the playoffs, and all proceeds will be donated to Martin Richards’ family, the 8-year-old who lost his life on Monday.

“Hopefully we can take people’s minds off what happened and give them some sense of relief,” Shawn Thornton told the media.

In the most emotional game of the season, the Boston Bruins will be looking to defeat the Buffalo Sabres and finally clinch a playoff spot.

Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron return to the lineup tonight after suffering mild and moderate concussions not too long ago. Carl Soderberg also joined the B’s today for their morning skate but will be sitting out of the lineup tonight. Wade Redden gets his first start while Adam McQuaid and Matt Bartkowski will get a night to rest.

The Bruins vowed to go out and play their hearts out for the victims and all those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings earlier this week. Boston is in mourning and all of this is still so raw, the Bruins will do anything they can to bring happiness to these people.

Project lines

Marchand – Bergeron – Seguin
Campbell – Krejci – Jagr
Paille – Kelly – Horton
Lucic – Peverley – Thornton

Chara – Boychuk
Seidenberg – Hamilton
Redden –Ference

Khudobin

Final thoughts: The front of the jersey is really gonna mean a hell of a lot tonight.

Pregame notes: Bruins vs. Maple Leafs 3/25/13

crashingthenetblog — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:35:30 +0000

In the second half of the home-at-home between Boston and Toronto, the Bruins will be looking to avenge their rare loss to the division rival Maple Leafs. The B’s fell to Toronto by a score of 3-2 on Saturday night after allowing a season-low 13 shots on goal. Anton Khudobin wasn’t looking his sharpest as he gave up the 3 goals on those 13 shots. Going into the match-up, the Bruins had a 20-5-5 record against Toronto dating back to 2007. To put it simply, the B’s just don’t lose to Toronto very often. But let’s look at it this way, the last time the Bruins lost to the Leafs (March 31, 2011 – a 4-3 shootout loss) the B’s went on to win the Stanley Cup. Maybe it’s a sign?

In practice yesterday Claude Julien thought it was time to shake things up. He had wingers playing on their off-hand for the start of the practice and mixed up the lines more than he’s had in quite some time. Julien has made it apparent that he’s frustrated with the way the team is playing right now. When asked about why he made these changes he simply said, “Because I can. Because I’m the coach.”

These changes would put a red-hot Daniel Paille on the second line alongside Bergeron and Seguin; Paille is arguably having one of the better seasons of his career. Paille has scored 3 goals this month, a month that has proved to be quite the struggle for this team. Paille has tallied 5 points in the month of March and is a +1. First-line winger Milan Lucic on the other hand hasn’t tallied a goal since February 24^th and is a -5 this month. But let’s not throw Lucic under the bus here, he’s not the only one that needs to bring his game to another level. That being said, Julien demoted Lucic to the third line in practice alongside Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron. This might just be the spark he needs.

Projected lines:

Marchand – Krejci – Horton

Paille – Bergeron – Seguin

Lucic – Peverley – Caron

Pandolfo – Campbell – Thornton

Chara – Johnson

Seidenberg – Hamilton

Ference – Bartkowski

Rask

*The defense is become more and more depleted by the game, but let’s not forget that we still have one of the stronger defenses in the league with Rask between the pipes.

Final thoughts: Let’s get back on track tonight boys, okay?

Quinnipiac advances to ECAC semifinals in dramatic double overtime win

crashingthenetblog — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:53:34 +0000

This weekend at High Point Solutions Arena in Hamden, Connecticut brought unrelenting excitement to the world of college hockey. Top-ranked Quinnipiac squared off against ninth-ranked Cornell in a gritty three games series to determine who will advance to the ECAC Tournament semifinals. Still riding their top ranking in the USCHO Poll and PairWise Rankings, the Bobcats were heavily favored in this match-up. But it’s always important to remember that the playoffs are a completely different animal. The Bobcats were reminded of this after they dropped the first game of the series 3-2, putting them in a must-win position going into the next game.

Junior Connor Jones opened the scoring for the Bobcats in the first period of Game 1 with a power play goal, giving Quinnipiac an early 1-0 lead. Cornell Freshman Brian Ferlin quickly erased the deficit in the third, scoring a power play goal himself to tie the game at 1 apiece just 23 seconds into the period. Kellen Jones answered minutes later with a goal set up by Matt Peca and Loren Barron. Things quickly went south for the Bobcats as Cornell scored once more at the 5:34 mark with a goal from Madison Dias, and another, the game-winner from Brian Ferlin once again. Quinnipiac put forth a valiant effort in Game 1 but couldn’t squeeze another one past a red-hot (and injured) Andy Iles.

Game 2 was a different story. The Bobcats came out flying from the get-go, potting 2 goals in the first, one from Connor Jones and the other from freshman Travis St. Denis. But in the second the Bobcats put the pedal to the floor, putting together a 7-goal period. Cornell struggled with a goaltending situation as they pulled Iles for backup Omar Kanji only to restart Iles in the third. St. Denis grabbed his second of the night early, followed by goals from Matthew Peca, Cory Hibbeler, Ben Arnt, Kellen Jones (2), and Jordan Samuels-Thomas. Quinnipiac lead 9-0 after 2 periods, completely demoralizing the Big Red. As if that wasn’t enough, defenseman Zach Tolkinen tallied his first goal of the season and the tenth goal of the game for the Bobcats when he blasted one past Andy Iles at 15:20 of the third.

With a do-or-die sitting before them in Game 3, the Bobcats faced the daunting task of following up such an incredible high after a high-scoring affair. More importantly, they faced the task of proving why they’re the best in the country. Cornell made a statement that they came to play when Braden Birch game flying into the zone and scored just 48 seconds in the game. The Bobcats of the first period looked similar to the team in Game 1; the effort was there but the puck wasn’t finding the net.

Quinnipiac finally answered almost 10 minutes into the second when Zach Tolkinen found twine, blasting one past a screened Andy Iles to tie up the game at 1-1. Unfortunately, this was short lived when none other than Brian Ferlin sniped one past Eric Hartzell just minutes later.

The rest of the game was tight and frustrating. Both teams saw their fair share of chances throughout the course of the third. One thing was for certain; Quinnipiac was slowly running out of time to potentially send this thing to overtime as they watched the chances of their first ECAC title begin to slip from their grasp. The Bobcats pushed hard until the final minutes of the third period, and this effort paid off when Clay Harvey got one past the Big Red net-minder with only little over a minute to play. The Bank exploded with noise. But everyone in that building knew it wasn’t over just yet. This game was heading to overtime.

The full fifteen-minute intermission gave the players time to get much needed rest and preparation for arguably one of the biggest hockey periods of their career. From the puck drop at the start of the first overtime period, Quinnipiac was controlling the pace. The Bobcats made strong defensive plays in front of Hartzell and had fantastic opportunities to end this once and for all, but the team struggled to find the back of the net.

Eighty minutes just wasn’t enough time to settle the score between these two as the game was sent into double overtime. The strategy looked relatively similar for both teams as they entered the second overtime; Cornell dumped the puck into the zone frequently, this approach could partially be due to the fact that they were rolling only 4 defenseman all weekend and were probably running out of gas. But neither team was showing any signs of quitting.

Fourth line senior Kevin Bui saw a few chances to finish this game toward the end, bringing an energy and grittiness to the ice that was much needed for this Bobcat team. And then came the golden goal. After a sweet pass from senior Loren Barron, Bui came motoring into the zone. Bui with the Cornell d-man beat put the puck on his backhand a slid one right through the five-hole of Andy Iles. The fans erupted once again as the Bobcats came pouring out onto the ice to celebrate. Equipment was flying, the glass was rattling, and Cornell players lie defeated on the ice.

Bui, an unlikely hero, just lifted the team into the ECAC Tournament semifinals.

The Bobcats were going to Atlantic City.

This Friday, Quinnipiac will square off against the Brown Bears at 4:00 in New Jersey. The winner of this match-up will face either Yale or Union in the ECAC Championship.

In a weekend of line brawls, high-scoring affairs and high-drama, the Bobcats emerged victorious and lived to see another day.

Pregame Notes: Bruins vs. Capitals 3/5/13

crashingthenetblog — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:14:02 +0000

Let’s cut to the chase: it’s time to bounce back. After suffering a frustrating and narrow defeat to rival Montreal, the Bruins will be looking to pick themselves up and dust themselves off as they face off against the Washington Capitals. After last year’s playoffs, there’s a little more spice to this match-up. The Capitals knocked out the B’s in overtime of Game 7 in the first round. Now, the B’s and Caps will be facing off for the first time this season. Now let’s not let last year sway us. The Bruins and Capitals are in two very different places right now. Boston is riding a 14-3-2 record and are arguably the strongest team in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Capitals hold a pathetic 8-11-1 record with only 17 points on the season. Although despite the record, Washington has been improving and are never a team you can look past.

Players to watch:

Brad Marchand – Kind of hard to leave him out of this conversation when he’s playing completely out of his mind. In 18 games, Marchand has 11 goals and 17 points with a +/- rating of +12. Good things happen when this guy is in the ice. Another noteworthy stat is penalty minutes. Marchand has only tallied 4 on the year. On and off the ice, one can observe that the 24-year-old winger has matured immensely over the past few seasons. Expect him to pose a threat night in and night out.

Braden Holtby – Holtby put on incredible performance in the playoffs last year against the B’s, stepping up and playing unlike anything anyone could have ever predicted. While his numbers aren’t stellar this season (7-7-0 record, 3.01 GAA) Holtby can be phenomenal. He’s also already put up 3 shutouts on the season. If he gave the B’s trouble before, he can do it again.

Projected lines

Lucic-Krejci-Horton

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Peverley-Kelly-Bourque

Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Chara-Boychuk

Seidenberg-Hamilton

Ference-McQuaid

Rask

Final thoughts:

The B’s haven’t lost 2 games in a row at all this season. Let’s keep that going and turn things around against a depleted Washington team.

Quinnipiac Dethrones Minnesota

crashingthenetblog — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 03:09:06 +0000

After endless weeks of coming up short, the Quinnipiac Bobcats have dethroned Minnesota and have taken hold of the #1 spot in the USCHO Poll. This team is on top of the college hockey world.

The Bobcats saw yet another successful weekend as they swept their road trip against Cornell and Colgate. Quinnipiac downed Cornell by a score of 4-1 on Friday night, and stole one from Colgate 3-2 on Saturday. This was enough to solidify the top spot.

The dominance of this hockey team is impressive, but what makes it so special is how far Quinnipiac hockey has come in such a short amount of time.

Quinnipiac hockey began as an independent Division II program in 1975. It wasn’t until 23 years later, in 1998 did the team move to the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) where they became a Division I team.

The Bobcats spent a few seasons residing in the MAAC until they made the jump to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Joining the ECAC put Quinnipiac in a conference with 6 Ivy League schools, these schools being Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton and in-state rival Yale University.

As far as the team’s success goes, Quinnipiac were conference tournament champions only once, in 2002 (and this was not with the ECAC). In the same year, they made their first and only NCAA Tournament appearance.

Over the past few years, Quinnipiac was the type of team that coasted along in the middle of the pack throughout the course of a season. To have this team make it to #1 in the nation, beating out some of the biggest powerhouses in the country, is exceeding all expectations.

Games are selling out, there’s a buzz in the air on campus, and the team is receiving national recognition. This team is putting a little school of just over eight thousand students on the map.

But most importantly, they’re making history.