What a great meeting.

Articlulate, knowledgable, very funny.  All of the qualities of a great person, as well as a great hockey player.  That sums up the meeting with Mike Sillinger last night at the Long Island Marriott.

Someone in the crowd who heard Mike comment about a beer in one of his responses, decided to provide Mike with a sample.

It was a great meeting.  For members of the club, there will be a newsletter coming out in the next 10 days or so, which will have a breakdown of the meeting.

The next meeting is March 6th.  Details will follow.

The Booster Club are also the official voters of the Bobby Nystrom award.  We will have the voting up on our site around March 1st.

For more information, visit www.nyiboosterclub.org

Mike is coming tonight…. What an ironic tale.  Should be fun.  Check out the site tomorrow.

Also - kudos to a Pittsburgh blog, http://igloodreams.blogspot.com/ who mentioned this blog yesterday.

Remember folks, we are all HOCKEY fans first, then root for our teams second.  Check it out - it seems like a nice site….

G

Glad I took my blood pressure medicine today….

This was the most exciting game that I have seen this year.  I felt just about every emotion that I could possibly imagine.  Fear, anger, sadness, exhiliration, ecstasy.

Well - maybe not everyone - it is a public place, you know…

This game is a real step towards not only respectibility, but it is kind of like grabbing the next rung of the ladder.  I feel that this team is moving forward, and it takes attempts like this to make it happen.

Ok - is Mike Sillinger the story of the year?  12 teams in his career, and there are still so many hockey experts that think that he is gone. 

No freaking way!  He is going nowhere!  Not only does he provide scoring touch (# 20 on the year today), but the presence in the locker room, the calming influence on the rest of the guys.  To the Isles, Alexei Yashin is the captain of the team, but to me #18 REALLY is!

I think that all four lines played really well.  The only real problem with this team today was the fact that the for the first minute of each period, the Pens scored a goal.  Ryan Malone, scoring a hat trick today, has six of his twelve goals on the season against the Islanders.  I think that the defense played a decent job on Crosby and Malkin.  Crosby got four assists, but his shooting was kept to the outside, so no point blank shots were received by Ricky.Witt and Hill were the battering rams, with a dash of Campoli.  The physical game is key to the success of the Isles, this game was no exception.

Welcome to the Island, Marc-Andre!  He played extremely well, and I really enjoy his offensive game.  He has more goals than the rest of the defense, and is definitely not afraid to shoot the puck.  And boy, does he have a BLAST of a shot!  He got two points in his Islander debut, which is making Garth Snow look like a freaking genius.

Chris Simon was excellent as well, scoring his first two goals in nearly 30 games.  There really wasn’t a bad Islander today.  Yes Ricky gave up five goals, but when he needed to, made some great saves.

By the way - the Isles have had some visitors from the UK for the last two games.  They came from Belfast, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, and Nottingham, among others.  They have enjoyed watching the Isles, as they also saw them in Toronto.  Their trip took them to Detroit, Toronto, Buffalo, New Jersey, and the Garden.  Their last game is tomorrow in Jersey against the Rangers.  The jerseys they wear are real cool looking.  I had a picture with a bloke named Mark from Belfast.  Unfortunately, my wife took a picture that did not come out too well (note to Mark - if your picture came out, please e-mail it to webmaster@nyiboosterclub.org). 

THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1. Mike Sillinger - Game winning goal - what a lucky thing that the Booster Club has a meeting tomorrow and Sillinger is the guest.
2. Marc-Andre Bergeron - welcome and thanks for bringing that slap shot of yours.
3. Chris Simon - two goals - welcome back!

GOLD STAR

• The UK fans - see above

TIN TWIT

• Officiating - I usually don’t gripe on this - but I really think Don Koharski has either fuzzy vision of dark objects, or his cruller addiction is getting the best of him.  He officiated the last two games we played, and he has been nothing short of pathetic.  I know that even with the two referee system does not produce a 100% efficiency rating, but Koho and van Massenhoven were real bad on Saturday against the Devils, and Donut boy and Tim Peel were just as worse.  I am so tired of the Islanders getting the short end of the stick.  As of today, we are a -81 of PP as opposed to PK.  It really sucks.  Hey refs. how about paying a little more attention to the game, ok.

Will take the day off tomorrow - we have a Booster Club meeting, on Wednesday, I will show some pics and some highlights of the meeting.

Courtesy of Roger Farina - via Seth Guindine
 
EASTERN CONFERENCE (66)

1. Buffalo - 83 [59] ——— vs. 8. Toronto - 66 [59]
2. New Jersey - 78 [59] — vs. 7. Carolina - 67 [61]
3. Tampa Bay - 69 [60] —- vs. 6. Atlanta - 69 [61]
4. Pittsburgh - 71 [57] —– vs. 5. Ottawa - 71 [59]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS

9. NY Islanders - 64 [59] -2
10. Montreal - 64 [60] -2
11. NY Ranjerks - 61 [58] -5
12. Boston - 58 [57] -8
13. Florida - 57 [60] -9
14. Washington - 55 [58] -11
15. Philadelphia - 40 [58] -26
(-) = hurts Isles, (+) = helps Isles, (+/-) no affect or BOTH help/hurts

SATURDAY’S EASTERN CONFERENCE RESULTS

Philadelphia 5 @ NY Ranjerks 3 (+)
Boston 4 @ Buffalo 3 SO (-)
Carolina 5 @ Montreal 3 (+/-)
New Jersey 2 @ NY Islanders 0 (-)
Atlanta 3 @ Ottawa 5 (+/-)
Edmonton 3 @ Toronto 4 (-)
Tampa Bay 4 @ Florida 5 OT (+)
SUNDAY’S EASTERN CONFERENCE GAMES

Chicago @ NY Ranjerks - 3:30
Washington @ Pittsburgh - 3:30
Montreal @ Columbus - 6:00

WESTERN CONFERENCE (69)

1. Detroit - 82 [60] ——– vs. 8. Minnesota - 69 [59]
2. Anaheim - 78 [59] —— vs. 7. Calgary - 70 [59]
3. Vancouver - 70 [58] — vs. 6. Dallas - 70 [57]
4. Nashville - 81 [60] —— vs. 5. San Jose - 73 [58]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS

9. Edmonton - 61 [59] -8
10. Colorado - 60 [58] -9
11. St. Louis - 57 [59] -12
12. Chicago - 53 [58] -16
13. Phoenix - 53 [59] -16
14. Columbus - 51 [58] -18
15. Los Angeles - 48 [60] -21

883 games played - 183 into OT - 20.7%.
183 OT games - 109 end in shootout = 59.6% OR 12.3% of ALL games end in
shootout.
yesterday - 71 goals scored in 11 games = 6.46 goals per game.
total - 5,215 goals scored in 883 games = 5.91 gpg.
the Isles have scored 171 = 2.90 gpg.
the Isles have allowed 165 = 2.80 gpg.
 

I was really hoping that the guys would have seen what the Penguins did to Jersey, and do the same thing.

However, was I wrong….

The Devils, for all intents and purposes, stopped the Isles from creating traffic in front of Marty, and the Devils took advantage of the Islanders mistakes, and beat New York by a score of 2-0.

This is the third shutout by Marty against the Isles this season, and the 11th on the year for the future Hall-of-Fame member.  Is he ever going to show signs of slowing down?  This was Brodeur’s 29th straight game.  Scott Clemmenson has the greatest job in the NHL!  Making money for sitting on his arse.  What a deal.

THREE STARS:

1. Rick DiPietro - played a solid game.  Had no chance on the first goal and unfortunately, I did not see the second one.
2. None
3. None

GOLD STAR - Great to see a few dozen hockey fans from across the pond today.  They are a group trip seeing nearly 10 games all across the North East.  They were at the game last night - and will return on Monday against the Pens.  I will get a picture and some quotes from them for Tuesday’s entry.

BERGERON an Islander.  Marc-Andre Bergeron, was dealt from the Edmonton Oilers to the Islanders along with a 3rd round pick for Denis Grebeshkov.  To me, this move is a freaking steal.  With Bruno and Martinek on the shelf, this is a great addition, for basically nothing. Grebeshkov probably would never end up here, and Bergeron is only 26.  With 33 goals in 189 games, he is very offensive oriented; and only 101 penalties during that time, it seems that he plays a positional and smart game, becuase of his diminished size (5-9, 180).

With his lack of size, it will be a definite need to pair him up with Witt, a strong backminded d-man.  He will not be a 23-27 minute man, but 16-20 would be good, and his shot on the PP will be most important.  He already has 8 goals on the season, which is more than the entire defense combined. 

I like this deal a lot.

On the UK front - as I type this - the Sheffield Steelers are at home playing the Belfast Giants.  The night before, the Steelers defeated Newcastle 2-0.  Netminder Jody Lehman notched his sixth clean sheet of the season.  The Steelers are stil lin third place in the league, one point ahead of the rival Nottingham Panthers.  On Wednesday, the Steelers lost 4-3 to the Conventry Blaze in the first leg of the Challenge Cup final.  The second leg will be in the end of March at the House og Steel.

Go Steelers…. If any of you readers are from the UK, please let me know.  Thanks for the support! Cheers!

Hello?  Open the freaking door, here!  Let us in?

That is right NHL - the Islanders are coming, and we will NOT be refused.

A solid 3rd period, led by Mike (I am not going to my 13th team) Sillinger, vaulted the Isles to a 4-1 win over the anvil dropping Bruins, to give the Isles a 3 way tie for the 8th and final playoff spot.

Their 7-1-4 record over the last 12 games, has been key to their leapfrog over the cellar dwellars and hope to continue their hot play against the only team that has beaten them over the last 12, the New Jersey Devils.  That game will be tomorrow night at the Coliseum.

Again - the Sillinger line was the catalyst for the team in the 3rd period last night.  Silly made some great moves, and slid a backhander past Tim Thomas to make the 2-1 lead for the Islanders.  Then on a great 2 on 1, Randy Robitaille slid a toe drag shot over Thomas with a few minutes left in the game.  Robitaille added an empty net goal to seal the deal.

Now if you look at my preview article, did you notice who I picked as the player to watch????  Am I a freaking genius or what???

Although the crowd was just over 10,000, it was loud and raucous when the Islanders lit the lamp.  Hopefully with two big games coming up on the weekend (Jersey tomorrow - Pittsburgh Monday).  Four critical points in the division that need to be won.

Nolan has to keep the Isles crisp and ready.  They have to find ways of making the traffic in front of Brodeur nasty and difficult for him to see shots coming in.  The Devils type of game must not be seen.  The Isles need to get the lead, and keep it.  Ricky has been playing so well, even against the Devils.  He deserves to get some love from the Islander faithful for his efforts against New Jersey.

Talk tomorrow.

With a Canadiens loss last night - the Isles are two points behind the 8th place team.  Now - with the next seven games on home ice, it is time, FINALLY, for this team to take a big step up.  This will do two things:

1. Shut up the critics that believe that we are just going to dump our players and run the proverbial table until the season ends
2. Start putting team in the rearview mirror.

Ricky has been BIG of late - he has done the kind of things that will begin to put your name among the elite.  The numbers are not there yet, but they will be.  He is 3rd in the league in shutouts, and he will not reach Brodeur levels, his name is improving on that list.

Now we need to get the offensive players on the ball, and home cooking is just the remedy.  Satan, Hunter and Kozlov, have responded to the coach’s call for offense.  Now it is time for the Robitaille’s, Hilbert’s and especially, the Blake’s of this world to get their collective chests pumping.

Player to watch:  Randy Robitaille.  With York a busts in two cities this year - it seems like we can call the Randy Robitaille deal a wash. However, it would be nice for #27 to get his game going in the right direction.  He has a good shot, and has had some decent chances at times.  Other times, he looks like a lost puppy - seeking his toy bone.

Is Yash playing?  Maybe his face should be on the body of Waldo…

And speaking of Waldo - where is Keith’s favorite basher?  Will Bates play again - - - ?  I am sure we all know what KPMats wants to see happen????

Well - enjoy the game! 

BTW - Story on Sheffield’s game last night in the Challenge Cup against the Coventry Blaze, courtesy of www.sheffieldsteelers.co.uk.

02/14/2007 11:19 PM

Both teams had chances in a very competitive 1st period, but at the end of the first twenty there was one goal separating the teams. The goal came the way of the home team at 13.26 on the powerplay as Adam Calder fired home his 23rd of the season. Moments later Steelers had a 5 on 3 powerplay and despite numerous chances on the Blaze goal the home side held firm to maintain their lead. Blaze doubled their advantage at 25.12 with a second powerplay goal as Sylvain Cloutier shot home his 20th of the season. The Steelers cut the deficit at 31.14, as Dan Tessier with his 13th was on hand to tip past Trevor Koenig. With 37.48 on the clock the Blaze powerplay unit came good for the third time on the night as Adam Calder with his second of the game shot home his 24th. With only seconds remaining in the period Dan Tessier almost got his second but his shot rebounded off the bar. Mark Thomas with only his 3rd goal of the season got the visitors right back into the game as he netted at 42.17 to make it a one goal game but within two minutes the Blaze regained their two-goal advantage as Ashley Tait with his 19th found the net at 44.44. But the Steelers showed great character as they came right back into it yet again at 48.03 as they finally got their poweplay play unit to work at the seventh attempt with Ryan Finnerty netting his 5th goal in seven starts to make it 4-3 to the home side. With just over 4 minutes remaining the gods were against the Steelers for the second time as Shaun Sutter saw his shot come off the bar. At the end of a pulsating 1st leg, Coventry hold a slender advantage but the Steelers must still fancy their chances with home advantage to come on 27th March at the Sheffield Arena. Period Scores: 1-0, 2-1, 1-2 Penalty Mins: 20-12 Shots On: Trevor Koenig 35 – Jody Lehman 38

We all know of my support for the Islanders…

But how about some noise for the SHEFFIELD STEELERS!!!!

Yes - the most successful team in the history British Ice Hockey, the Sheffield Steelers have terrorized team in the UK since 1990.  The team has won two different Grand Slams, the most recent in 2001.  That means they won four different titles during that season.  The regular season championship, the playoff final, and two other tournaments during the season.

Many talented players from Canada, US, Europe, as well as the UK have been Steelers.  Tony Hand, considered the Wayne Gretzky of England, was a star for the Steelers for a short time.

A couple of former Islanders played for Sheffield.  Derek Laxdal, who played for the Isles for a brief time in 1990 was a Steeler, and Brad Lauer finished his hockey playing career in Sheffield in 2002.

Jason Sessa, a native Long Islander, and former Maple Leaf draft pick, spent a year there in 2004.

Now - why does a Long Islander know so much about this team???

Well - got a minute?

Early in 2000, I got an e-mail from a bloke in Doncaster, who needed tickets for an Islander game.  A friendship quickly ensued.  I have now made 4 trips across the pond and have seen nearly 10 Steeler games.  I can honestly say that of all the games I have ever been to, my first Steeler game is one that made the hair on my arms stand STRAIGHT UP!

We (Claire and I) were invited to drop the ceremonial first faceoff before the game (they do this before EVERY game).  I could not hear the instructions from their game night staff, as over 8,000 were SCREAMING  at the top of their lungs, as a banner was raised to the rafters celebrating their regular season championship three weeks before the season ended.  They were telling me to go right outside the benches for the faceoff.  Now - I did not hear this, but tell me New York Hockey Fans, where do ceremonial faceoffs happen?

Of Course CENTER ICE!

So what did I do?

I went to CENTER ICE!

The fans could not believe what this Yank was doing - but what the hell.  When I got there, the Sheffield captain who was doing this, came up to me and said,

You sure have a set of balls to do this?

Yes I do!

There started a great experience going to games at the Hallam FM Arena, or what Steeler fans call THE HOUSE OF STEEL!  From the constant chants, songs and yells from start to finish; to the PA Announcer from his perch called THE WHITE HOUSE, asking the fans to make some noise for the SHEFFIELD STEELERS at the loudest decibel level possible; to riding the referees and the opposing players at ever turn, they at 5-6000 make a full Nassau Coliseum sound like a morgue.  I am so intrigued by their passion and love for the game.  And I will tell you, they know as much if not more than we do.

And the Steelers natrual rival, the Nottingham Panthers have a Ranger like streak, that they have not won their league title since 1954, I think.  So it is nice to whip on the Kitty Kats!

Also - the hospitality and warmth that the people of South Yorkshire, made Claire and I feel so at home. They would give the shirts off their backs to us.  We have made so many friends since our first trip, that it doesn’t feel like we are going to a foreign country anymore - it’s like a homecoming. 

So since my first visit, I have tried to make sure that when I see anyone in a UK jersey - I show some return hospitality for them - to repay the favor that my best friends did on our first trip.

So last week - the trend continues.  A couple from West Yorkshire have written me to let me know that they are coming to the Coliseum to see the Isles take on the Rangers on the 25th.  The welcome wagon has officially re-opened for Andy and Joanne Willoughby, and I am looking forward to their visit.  It may only be a day, and it may only be the small chance to hang for the day, but it is a great opportunity to bring the signs of hockey friendship to us. 

To check out the Steelers, please go to www.sheffieldsteelers.co.uk

Well - back to my bowling (since this is Tuesday night).  And my wife just beat me the last game 184-171, so I am dead meat.  I am not writing tomorrow, since it is Valentine’s Day, as well as my one year Anniversary being married to my wonderful wife Claire, who I love twice as more today, than I did yesterday.  Have a great day, everyone!

From Seth Guindine

You remember when there was a place that you, as a child, hated to go to?  Someplace that as a 4 or 5 year old, you would end up screaming and kicking your way.  Perhaps it was a supermarket or store?  Perhaps it was Aunt Edna with the lazy eye? (BTW - I do NOT have an Aunt Edna - this is rhetorical)

Ring a bell? 

With the exception of a few, these guys do not remember the last time as Islanders that the team won in the city of Toronto.  A few weeks ago, the demons of Montreal losses were squashed, as on the eve of the Super Bowl, the Isles defeated Les Habs.  Now, it is time to the same to Toronto.

Rake up the Leafs!

With the potential of making some more ground up, and doing that famous leapfrog, the Isles need this game badly.  Even with the positive stretch of games with points in nearly all of them, not getting this game can make those improving baby steps look like a giant mirage.

Toronto has a large 7th man, and that is the over 19,000 Southern Ontario mutants, known as Leafs nation.  They are the ones that first need to be squelched.  You take the fans OUT of the game, and you give yourself a quick chance.  Then, Coach Nolan and the boys need to take it to them.  Toronto is such a large, strong team on their skates.  Neutralizing that, and forcing them to chase you, is a potential case for an Islander win.  With seven home games on the horizon, this road win can be even more critical, as we head into the ’trade zone’. 

Player to watch.  Ricky D.  I usually try to stay away from him as the key, but stopping the Toronto forwards will be a big help.  Again, taking the crowd away.  Having a stong influence in goal will help this team more than usual.  Ricky has been at times, incredible.  Tonight - we need that same incredible effort. Stars need to pick up the boot straps and lift the whole team to a new level.  Alexei, unfortunately, has been unable to do that.  Well - Ricky, can you?

Hope we get 2 and keep the lead over the Ranger$.  See ya!