NHL Playoffs: Round 2 Preview

(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (7) Anaheim Ducks
The Wings should roll in this series; although the Sharks should have demolished this soft Ducks squad in round one. Detroit has too many weapons up front, and as much as I don’t really trust Chris Osgood between the pipes anymore, he has an impressive resume. The Ducks really don’t have much fire power after the Ryan Getzlaf line, and though they’re riding high after an upset, the glory train gets derailed rather quickly.
Prediction: Detroit in 5 games

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks
I don’t know what to think about this series – I thought the Flames would knock around a young Chicago squad in round one, but instead it was the youthful ‘Hawks that pushed around the veteran savvy Flames. Chicago has impressed all year and hasn’t slowed down, but Roberto Luongo is possibly the best in the business. This is a tough one to call, but I have to go with the Canucks in a real battle. Youth usually isn’t a winning formula come playoff time, and while Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (along with a roster full of others) are among the brightest young stars in the game, but experience can win playoff series and Vancouver has plenty of that.
Prediction: Vancouver in 7 games

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes
There is no way that Hurricanes hang in this series. They might win one of the games in Raleigh, but the Bruins are just too good. I’d expect a real close game one, then the B’s take over, with maybe one loss on the road. Tim Thomas, despite the cynics, is one of the best in the game right now. Unorthodox? You bet, but he has the numbers to back it up and has the last three years. The ‘Canes are a gritty bunch, so every game will be close, but the teams aren’t even on the same planet when you compare talent. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Eric Staal is possibly the most overrated player in the entire National Hockey League. Besides, the B’s dominated the season-series 4-0-0, and while that doesn’t always matter when you talk about a seven-game series, the Bruins controlled all of those games from start to finish.
Prediction: Boston in 5 games

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
The Capitals, and their terrible goaltending, were able to squeak by the spiraling New York Rangers in the first round, but there is no way the tandem of Simeon Varlamov and Jose Theodore can shut down the Penguins – zero chance. It’s going to be great to watch the league’s two biggest stars – Ove and Sid – going at it toe-to-toe. The Caps have better defense, especially in transition, but it isn’t enough to close the gap between these two clubs.
Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6 games

Merrimack’s Rogowski named POTY

Men’s Lacrosse senior All-American Greg Rogowski was named the Northeast-10 Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Year on Monday, headlining an all-conference team that includes six other Warriors.

Rogowski leads the conference with 51 goals and 80 points and leads the country with 5.71 points per game. The senior ranks third in Division II history with 210 career goals and fourth with 309 career points. This is the second time Rogowski has been named the Northeast-10 Player of the Year.

This kid has been a scoring machine for the Warriors since he arrived four years ago.

The Warriors are 13-1 and are ranked fourth in the country. Their only loss was a 5-4 defeat at the hands of Le Moyne, the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation. They’ll play in the NE-10 semifinals on Friday against a yet to be determined opponent. As it was last year, this year’s NCAA Lacrosse Final Four (Div I and II) will be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, home of the New England Patriots.

It’s Monday Morning …

It’s a Monday – it’s springtime, and while there is no college hockey going on, there’s still plenty of puck (and other random things) to talk about.

*I’m all for the Boston Bruins sweeping the Montreal Canadiens out of the playoffs, but this prolonged break is going to hinder them in the next round (at least for Game 1). You can say it helps, and I’d rather have a break than go from one series right into the next, but such a long break creates lazy play in Game 1 of their next series, you watch.

*Speaking of the B’s, any fan has to be wanting the New York Rangers in here for round 2. From the greedy standpoint of a journalist, there is a TON of storylines. Put the whole Boston-New York rivalry aside, the Rangers bring with them Sean Avery and Colton Orr, who had a shoving match with Donald Brashear before Game 6 on Sunday afternoon. And let’s not forget John Tortorella who looked as if he wanted to jump the glass and attack a fan before calming himself and just chucking a water bottle over the glass, hitting a woman in the face.

But just as someone who wouldn’t mind seeing the B’s extend into the Eastern Conference finals, the Rangers are clearly the easiest path. Henrik Lundqvist is good, and can steal a few games, but I doubt he could steal an entire series. Last week, the Rangers were the last team I wanted to play, but watching their games 5 and 6, they’re a defeated team. They’re broken and battered and are spiraling out of control. If they somehow get by the Washington Capitals in Game 7, the B’s might be looking at another sweep in round 2 (if the 10-day vacation between games doesn’t hurt them that badly).

*As for some other playoff thoughts – Mike Komisarek is flat-out thug. It shows me something (and it’s not good) when a guy who is clearly defeated and whose team is on the brink on elimination takes a run at Milan Lucic’s face in the closing minutes. Just a punk move and he looked foolish.

At the same time, Lucic isn’t neat and clean sort of player, either. He demolished Maxim Lapierre in Game 3 with a vicious cross check to the face after a whistle. Lapierre was coming in with the intent to confront Lucic, sure, but Lucic two-handed him in the teeth, ouch!. … I love his game, but some of what Lucic has done early in the playoffs shows me that he still has a LOT of maturing to do. What summed it up for me was after a goal in Game 4 (I forget which one), the camera clearly shows him yapping at some Hab’s fans who were taunting him. Just immature stuff, that’s all. He’ll get it eventually, he’s a young kid he just needs to learn how to control some of that emotion.

I will give him a ton of credit for not smearing Komisarek’s face into the ice after the Montreal defenseman went high on him in the closing minutes of Game 4. That’s when I would have expected Lucic to respond with a right hook to the jaw, but instead he let the scoreboard do the talking.

*Okay, San Jose, what’s going on here? The Sharks are on the brink of elimination from the Anaheim Ducks? Maybe this is what the Sharks need to wake up. Game 6 is tonight in Anaheim, and a win pushes the series back to San Jose for a decisive Game 7. If the Sharks win the series, and they very well still could (and I think will) watch out for these guys. Consider this a lesson learned and they might just roll through, steamrolling their way to a Stanley Cup.

*If you asked me two weeks ago what would be the best series in the first round, I wouldn’t have said Calgary and Chicago. Oh well, I’ve been wrong before, and will be again. I thought the Chicago kids would get creamed by the veteran-savvy Flames, but the ‘Hawks have stood their ground.

*The Red Sox swept the Yankees over the weekend and one thing is clear – the Bronx Bombers have NO bullpen outside of Mariano Rivera. Sure, he blew a save on Friday, but he’s still very good. The problem for the Yanks isn’t the back of the bullpen, it’s getting to the back of the bullpen.

*Why does the IIHF hold the World Men’s Hockey Championships in the middle of the NHL playoffs? Why not just wait and hold the tournament in July? Does it really matter? The world is technologically sound enough at this point to make ice and run tournaments in warm weather. And, if you hold it in mid-summer, you’ll have more NHL talent and a better representative of a World Championship. Will everyone play? No. But some will for sure. How about holding it in late August, right before training camp.

*If Bemidji State can’t find a new home after making a Frozen Four run, then there is something wrong with the world.

*What if, in some bizarre universe, Sidney Crosby’s parents were staunch supporters of him getting a four-year eduction at an American college or university, and told him he could play hockey, but needed to graduate before he could pursue an NHL career. What if, in this same bizarre universe, he agreed with his parents and didn’t tell them to jump off a bridge, and went to, say, Merrimack, for four years. He’d be a senior right now. Imagine the points he would have put up? We’re talking about a guy who has 397 points in 290 NHL games.

*So I hit the links for the first time this season on Saturday at Mount Hood in Melrose, Mass., not far from where I grew up and the home course where I played four years of high school golf in the ultra competitive Catholic Conference (okay, it’s golf, not football, but you match up with St. John’s Prep and B.C. High enough and it’s a grind. Besides, a kid I played with at Malden Catholic is in the midst of qualifying for the PGA Tour, as are two kids I played against, so at least some of us had talent).

The 10th green at Mt. Hood

I’m not sure how many of you are golfers, and how many have ever played the ‘Hood, but that course, while relatively short, takes a toll on you. The second and 10th holes are the only two that are flat, and both of those greens are protected by giant bunkers and if you go long, you’re either hitting a rock cliff or in someone’s backyard. But with the warm weather we had in New England, I hope all you golfers had a chance to make it on a course. I haven’t played nearly enough the last few years, but plan to change that this summer. Some local courses I’ve been known to frequent – Mount Hood (Melrose), Bellevue CC (Melrose), Sagamore Springs GC (Lynnfield), Scottish Highlands (Salem, N.H.), The Colonial (Wakefield) and the Ferncroft (Danvers). If any of you have other suggestions, send them my way! There’s a relatively new course in Dracut, the name escapes me, that I’ve been told to check out, too.

Vipers sweep Doyle Cup

With a 5-2 win in Grande Prairie on Wednesday, the Vernon Vipers swept the Storm en route to a convincing win in the

Merrimack recruit Kyle Bigos; Credit: Roger Tepper/Edge Photography

Doyle Cup. The Vipers are home to ‘Mack recruits Kyle Bigos (‘09) and Mike Collins (‘10).

“We’re really a tight-knit group, we’re a family here and that’s something we pride ourselves on,” Bigos told the Vernon Morning Star.

The Vipers will play their first Royal Bank Cup (Canada’s Jr. A National Championship) game against the Canada East representative – either Summerside, PEI or Sherbrooke, P.Q. – at 2 pm on May 3. Games will follow on May 4, 5, and 7. The two semi-final games are on Friday, May 8 and the final on Sunday, May 10. All games will be played at Victoria’s Bear Mountain Arena.

ANALYSIS: Great job by these two – the Warriors have had quite a few players skate through the RBC on their way to North Andover. You might remember Karl Stollery, Chris Barton and Jesse Todd all played in the tournament with the Camrose Kodiaks.

Bigos, who I am fairly certain will arrive this coming fall with Joe Loprieno signing with San Jose, is a bruiser. A friend from B.C. has been sending my mpg files of all the games starting with the BCHL Championship; I haven’t watched last night’s game yet, but Bigos was extremely impressive in games I’ve seen.

In his own end, he hits like a truck; literally going through people. He was also a fixture on the power play, which I don’t get the impression he was last year (listening to the announcers, anyway). He has good vision on the PP and has a boom low-riding slapshot that almost always finds its way to the net and creates a heck of a lot of rebounds.

For a big guy, he can skate well – has nice acceleration. He just seems to be control every time he is on the ice; he’s the one steering the ship. And God forbid you’re a forward entering the zone along the wall, because you might very well find your head detached from your shoulders by the time you’re done.

Brodhag commits for 2009

NAHL sniper Brandon Brodhag has given the Warriors a commitment for the fall of 2009.

A member of the North Iowa Outlaws last season, Brodhag totaled 65 points in 56 games this season, including sniping 33 goals which lead the Central Division.

“Its been a goal of mine to play Division I hockey and I’m excited that this opportunity with Merrimack has happened” Brodhag said. “It’s a great school with a hockey program that is on the rise and when I visited a few weeks ago there was so much that I liked.”

Brodhag is the fourth member of the Outlaws’ current roster to commit to a collegiate program joining Dan Durham (Air Force), Anthony Raiola (UMass) and John O’Neill (Minnesota-Duluth).

Other North Iowa alumni include Maine’s Scott Darling, and Northeastern’s Alex Tuckerman.

This was Brodhag’s first season with the Outlaws, but his second in the NAHL after spending last season with the Southern Minnesota Express. He scored 29 goals last season and was named the Central Division’s rookie of year in 2007-2008.

Brodhag, along with the rest of the Outlaws, are currently preparing for the 2009 USA Junior A Hockey National Tournament which will be played in Mason City April 28-May 3.

Mike’s Mailblog (sort of)

There have been quite a few of you leaving comments on posts lately (which I love, by the way), but instead of answering your questions in the comment section, I thought I would swing them into a post. Here we go:

ChiefWahoo: Unfortunately Albie O’Connell was the coach with the Viper’s connection. Northeastern has already recruited Braden Pimm.

McMahon: That’s true, Chief. Albie had a connection with the Vipers which landed Collins there to begin with. Collins had a USHL tryout and was cut (how do you like him now?) and Albie made the call and got him in with Vernon. Things have worked out well for the kid, too.

Don: Mike, who do you see as the six defensemen on the ice, if all are healthy, and assuming Bigos comes in this fall? I’d have to assume Stollery, Allan, Bowen, Ross, Sadlowski and Bigos.

McMahon: In no particular order – Stollery, Bowen, Bigos, Allan, Demers, and Ross, with Sadlowski rotating in and out. There’s only seven defenseman on the roster next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them add one more.

Don: Demers sat out all last season. Is he someone who can play? What was people’s impressions of him from practice? He put up big numbers as a d-man in a weak junior league, but they were still big numbers.

McMahon: All indications are that yes, he can be a player at the NCAA level. He sat out due to some weird academic issues. It had nothing to do with grades, and more to do with classes he took in Quebec that didn’t translate into proper American classes and he couldn’t get cleared by the NCAA. He should be fine for next year. He’s a puck-mover, from what I’m told, probably in the Grant Farrell mold.

John: Will Collins come in next year now that Ricci has left? If not, who do you think will fill Ricci’s spot on the roster?

McMahon: It wouldn’t totally shock me, although I think the feeling among the team is that he could use one more year in Vernon, likely as their top center. As for who will fill his slot, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Joe Cucci take a step up. Jesse Todd can play center, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get even more ice time. Obviously Stephane Da Costa will take a big chunk of those minutes, too. Carter Madsen and Elliott Sheen are two guys who scored a truck load in juniors, in a tough AJHL league, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of those players take giant steps as sophomores. Plus, Matt Moulakelis, if healthy, needs to be in the lineup every night, no doubt. The kid is tough as nails and is a leader. He is going to score some gritty goals, too.

Don: Stephane Da Costa will be a go-to guy in the lineup as far as freshmen goes. I’ve seen Morton, Richard, and Heffernan all play in the EJHL. I think Heffernan has good size and decent hands. Morton can score, but he was an older player in the EJ so I wouldn’t expect too much production from him or Richard. Montagna, 4 years younger than Morton on the same Syracuse team, is a UVM recruit and he can flat out play.

McMahon: Don, you’re right on. Morton is a scorer, but like you said, he was a 20-year-old playing against younger player. I think he will be a Jeff Velleca-type player. Richard is a wild card. Da Costa will be a player right away; he could be the best forward on the team as a freshman. Heffernan has all the skill in the world, but needed to play tougher and he learned to do that in juniors, from what I saw.

Collins, Bigos win BCHL Championship

Mike Collins, '10 MC recruit

Kyle Bigos and Mike Collins, both Merrimack recruits, won the Fred Page Cup as champions of the British Columbia Hockey League last weekend.

“I just can’t believe this is actually happening,” said Bigos, an assistant captain. “This is what you dream about, pretty much all your junior hockey career and when when you’re little watching the juniors play. Just to be a part of it is unreal.”

Collins, a 2010 recruit, has 11 points in 16 playoff games as a rookie on the club. Collins was a senior at Catholic Memorial last season.

Bigos, a native of Upland, Cali., has six points in 17 playoff games with 37 PIM.

The Vipers now move on to the Doyle Cup Championship series, a best-of-seven slate against the AJHL champions, the Grand Prairie Storm. The winner of that series goes to the Royal Bank Cup, the Junior “A” National Championship.

Karl Stollery won the Doyle Cup last year with the Camrose Kodiaks. The year before that, Chris Barton, Jesse Todd, and Stollery won the Doyle Cup in 2007, all with the Kodiaks.

The series gets underway on Friday night at Vernon’s Civic Arena.

ANALYSIS:

You always want to see your incoming players come from winning junior programs. It’s no mistake that Stollery, Barton and Todd were among the best at their positions this past season.

Bigos is NCAA ready, and will be in uniform for the Warriors next season most likely, especially after Loprieno signed.

Collins is likely two years away – a 2010 – but has really shown some signs of offensive life as a BCHL rookie. He’ll be a top-forward for the Vipers next season.

Bigos, Cannata ranked for NHL Draft

Incoming defenseman Kyle Bigos and freshman goaltender Joe Cannata are both ranked by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service in its final rankings for the 2009 NHL Draft.

Merrimack recruit Kyle Bigos

Cannata, who just finished his rookie season, is ranked 15th among North American goaltenders. He’s the highest ranked college goaltender on the list. Cannata finished the season with a 2.35 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

Bigos wasn’t featured on the preliminary or the mid-term rankings, but was ranked 169th among North American skaters in the final rankings. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound defenseman was originally slated as a 2010 recruit, but with the departure of Joe Loprieno to the NHL, he will likely arrive this fall. Bigos, in his second BCHL season, has upped his point totals from 19 to 39 points (including 10 goals in 75 games). He also leads the Vernon Vipers with 163 PIM.

ANALYSIS:

Cannata was tremendous as a freshman, and is only going to get better. There were plenty of NHL scouts at Merrimack’s games this year, some of whom I had conversations with. A scout with the Vancouver Canucks said his organization was interested (the Canucks currently employ former Hockey East goalie Cory Schneider). The Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins were also semi-regulars at Merrimack games this past season.

Bigos is a bit of a surprise on the list. He really picked up his offensive contributions in the BCHL this year, and at 6-foot-5, will always be attracted to the NHL scouts who are looking for the next Zdeno Chara. Given his ranking, once you factor in Europeans and goaltenders, he’s probably in the 5th-7th round range if he’s picked.

New Recruit: Clayton Jardine

Credit: Paul Grue and Jet Stream Photography

Merrimack has received a verbal commitment from ‘91 forward Clayton Jardine.

Jardine, a 5-foot-11. 160-pound forward from Lacombe, Alberta, has played the last two seasons with the Camrose Kodiaks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The Kodiaks have also sent Chris Barton, Jesse Todd and Karl Stollery to Merrimack.

Jardine is young, having just turned 18 years old last month. He’s either a 2010 or 2011 recruit.

He played for Team Pacific at the 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, which is a tournament featuring five Canadian teams (broken up by region), as well as teams from the United States, Finland, Slovakia, Germany and Russia.

With the Kodiaks, he finished third on the team in scoring while being one of the youngest on the roster with a 13-20–33 line in 58 games; he also has a 4-2–6 line in 11 playoff games.

Kodiaks’ head coach Boris Rybalka has churned out quite a bit of talent from the small Alberta town. Along with the three Merrimack players mentioned, some of his former players include Joe Colborne (Denver freshman, Bruins first-round pick), Mason Raymond (played for Minnesota-Duluth, now with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks), MacGregor Sharp (former Minnesota-Duluth forward who just signed a deal with the Anaheim Ducks), T.J. Fast (former Denver defenseman now with the St. Louis Blues), Dan Bertram (former BC forward now with Chicago Blackhawks organization) and Richard Petiot (former CC defenseman now with Tampa Bay Lightning) – and those are just the ones off the top of my head.

Jardine has been added to the recruit page.

New recruit coming Wednesday …

Merrimack has added a recruit to either its 2010 class, or possibly the first of the 2011 class, depending on development next season.

I am absolutely swamped at the office at the moment, but plan on doing some research tonight/tomorrow morning. Look for an update around lunchtime tomorrow (Wednesday).

For now, I’ll leave you with a hint … ALBERTA!