Tag Archives: sports

Hatty Valentine’s Day Courtesy Spezza and Kovalchuk

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by Hat tricks, Hockey in the News • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Two NHL players had a ‘Hatty’ Valentine’s day yesterday night. The first hat trick was from Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators and the next was from Ilya Kovalchuk of the New Jersey Devils. Both teams ended up winning their games. Good Valentine day gift for fans from New Jersey and Ottawa! Here are those highlights:

Spezza’s hatty (I like the delay before the shot on the 2nd goal): 

Kovalchuk’s hatty (Check out Parise’s steal on the 3rd goal): 

Valentine’s day also proved to be fairly interesting on social media with the hashtag #nhlvalentines. People took the opportunity to create their own ‘roses are red, violets are blue’ poems, completely bashing other teams and boosting their own. Alright here are some favorites (for some of the more racy ones, just search the hashtag):

2013 Winter Classic, Great for City of Detroit and NHL Fans

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by Hockey in the News, Winter Classic • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The NHL had their press-conference at Comerica Park today to discuss the 2013 Winter Classic. It was officially announced that the game will take place at the University of Michigan’s Big House and will be an original six match-up between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings. Most of us already knew this, but it was nice to get confirmation and also hear some new details about the festivities surrounding the Winter Classic.

Speeches were made by league commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners of both the Wings and the Leafs. Bettman said that extra activities would take place in Detroit including open skates on the outdoor ice and numerous other hockey games. This ‘Hockeytown Winter Festival’ that will take place mostly around Detroit and Comerica Park, will include minor league affiliate battles (Granad Rapids Griffins vs. Toronto Marlies), OHL games (Saginaw Spirit, Plymouth Whalers, London Knights and Windsor Spitfires), youth games, and the Red Wing vs. Maple Leaf alumni game. The press-conference speakers kept repeating that there will be “something for everyone” which certainly seems like it must be true if you like hockey at all.

There was also a video shown during the press conference that featured past Winter Classic games and the age-old rivalry between the Wings and the Leafs. This rivalry was also talked about by owners during the conference. One of the stats given was that the Wings have played the Leafs 644 times. The Leafs have won 276 of those games while the Wings have won 275 (I realize this does not add up, I am assuming they were not accounting for ties). Pretty close though wouldn’t you say? The rivalry was said to have peaks in the 40s and 60s.

This game will be the largest Winter Classic ever played. The Big House is said to hold 109, 901 seats for the game which is much higher than any other Winter Classic game ever played. This game also has the potential to be the biggest hockey game of all time. Yeah, pretty amazing.

Is this the best thing to ever happen to Michigan/Detroit? There is definitely a convincing argument that could be made. Detroit or “Hockeytown” as they refer to themselves, are huge hockey fans and they seem thrilled to have the chance to host the Winter Classic. And the city could really use the positive impact of the Classic (socially and more importantly economically). And the $3 million the NHL is paying the University of Michigan to rent the Big House has to be huge for students and the people affiliated with the University. What is best is there is no way we will have to worry about weather delays this year- Michigan is darn cold!

Spin-O-Ramas taking over NHL Shootouts, One Spin at a Time

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by Hockey in the News • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Over the last couple years, there as been an increase in the number of shootouts in professional hockey. Because of this, a new trend has begun to form amongst NHL players. 

May I introduce you to: The SPIN-O-RAMA (yes, the capital letters were needed for major emphasis).

What is the Spin-O-Rama you ask? Only a phenomenally exciting technique/move used by the best players in the league to school goalies and get their team a win after overtime. Some Spin-O-Ramas were featured during the shootout elimination challenge during the all-star game and Evgeni Malkin successfully converted one against Carey Price last night. See that video here:

Spin-O-Ramas are thrilling to watch and are way more effective than you would imagine. Who knew spinning in a circle and shooting the puck at the last second could throw off a goalie so much? You just have to make sure progress continues forward during your spin (people who play NHL ’12 and have tried this move know just how difficult this can be). Here are some of my favorites from the last couple years.

Steven Stamkos at the All-star Game: 

Todd Bertuzzi: 

Martin St. Louis:

Jason Blake: 

Sam Gagner’s Crazy 8 Point Night

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by Hockey in the News • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

For those of you who didn’t hear (aka Americans who don’t get proper hockey news coverage)… Last night Sam Gagner tallied 8 points for the Oilers in their win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Sam Gagner becomes the 3rd Oiler player to score 8 points in a game (with Gretzky and Coffey– good company huh?)

Even more impressive is that no one in the NHL has been able to make this feat since Mario Lemieux scored 8 points in the late 1980s. So is Gagner really on par with the 8-point superstar club? Is it fair to put him in a grouping with Maurice Richard, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, and Bryan Trottier? I mean, he did earn it. Eight points in a eight-goal win is pretty impressive. He scored 4 goals and 4 assists in the game and fans couldn’t get enough. It is reported that after Gagner’s fourth goal, one fan (who had already thrown his hat for the hat-trick) through his shoe on the ice- now if that isn’t excitement and serious commitment I don’t know what is! Gagner’s name also started to trending on Canadian’s twitter accounts yesterday and quickly became the number 1 topic trending worldwide on twitter. To top it all off, Gagner is going to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Can you imagine what he could do for a franchise that has a decent record and is building a strong, young team?

Here are the highlights of Gagner’s 4 goals and 4 assists from last night:

History Will Be Made

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by Hockey Commercials • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

I know these commercials are old news, but I still absolutely love them. How many other commercials do you look up on youtube to see every one ever made and all the spoofs? They are inspiring and they really get your blood pumping. How could you not get excited for hockey after watching these? Here are some of my favorites.

Miracle on Manchester:

Flying Bobby Orr: 

Super Mario Lemieux: 

Pat Kane and the Blackhawks win the cup: