ECU Hockey wins BRHC regular season, rolls over VT

ECU club hockey team continues to roll this season, as they now sit at 10-2 in conference play, 17-5-1 overall. The highlight of their year so far was beating VT in Blacksburg in front of approx 6,000 people

the Pirates are hosting the BRHC Championship at Bladez On Ice in Greenville starting Feb. 2oth.

Lo and Behold: The Schedule

Ahhh yes.

A little relief today for the malnourished Caniacs / hockey fans - we can start planning our next 9 months (and hopefully another 3+ months).

Champion Caniac Bloghead Bubba gave the Hurricanes 2008-2009 schedule the business down there today. Check out his post for some can't miss games and fun-filled facts about the coming season!

I've started up the Panthers vs. Hurricanes Facebook Event page. If you're a facebooker - join in the fun and perhaps keep yourselves entertained and hyped for opening night.

Happy Blogiversary to CasonBlog & Red and Black Hockey!

Farewell to Colesy, Hello Joni

I'd been clamoring for some kind of news out of the Hurricanes, well that clam opened up big time today. I've had some time to sit a spell and do some research on Pitkanen and think about the proper send-off for #26.

Erik Cole, from his 2002 rookie year until April of '08, was a true power forward. From his legendary days with the BBC Line, to his extremely frightening and career dangering neck injury, to his triumphant return in games 6 & 7 before the Cup win and through last season - you couldn't have asked for a classier guy.

Whether he was charging up the ice or laying out the opposition, living a quiet Southern lifestyle or raising money for his home town's library; Cole was the player that you could always look to set the example.

Caniac Nation will certainly miss him but the timing was right and the situation was necessary for him to move on. Take care up there, Erik.

I'm sure that there is a near-endless amount of clips to choose from, but I'm picking this one as his C.O.I. swan song:



On to Joni Pitkanen.

Is it pronounced "Yo - nee"? I heard a radio talking head say it as "Yanni" today. Let's hope it's not "Yawn-nee".

Covered In Oil offered a pseudo-scouting report on him in their post the other day after speculating that he might indeed be traded:

"Joni Pitkanen is probably gone, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Actually, wait, no, I really love somewhat chaotic, flaky Finnish defenceman, especially 24-year-old ones who are capable of skating an entire lap with three effortless, platonic strides. " - DMFB

Back in 2003, The Sporting News had this to say on the budding young Finn:

" His ability to handle physical play is a concern. He has had shoulder and knee surgeries and will have to shake off a reputation of being injury-prone. "He can be overaggressive sometimes and take risks that don't work," says the scout. His shot has force but is not very accurate." - Kara Yario

I'm gonna have to trust in my boy Jimmy on this one. Judging from his propensity to scout and eventually sign former Philadelphia Flyers, he's obviously had his eye on Pitkanen for quite some time. Oh yeah, and he's an offensive defenseman - in case you haven't heard. My main concern is bringing in another injury-riddled player after what the Canes have been through in the past two seasons especially.

I do think that he will be a good compliment to one Joseph Corvo seeing as Joni shoots left and Corvo right. He should also be a good compliment to the suddenly very Euro-friendly Hurricanes squad. Only time will tell.

UPDATE: per TSN, Joni Pitkanen is signed to a 3 year deal, total of $12 Million. About as close as expected. He's now our highest paid defenseman, BTW.

Ruutu's back - the boometh shall be loweredeth for one more year

Fear the Ruutu. I'd type more, but I'm afraid that my computer monitor will body check me across the glass.

Timmy Gleason is back for four more, Hordichuk a big maybe

Sweet! Some actual news for all of us hockey-starved Caniacs!

Tim Gleason signs to a four year deal & Darcy (tee hee, Darcy) Hordichuk's rights are acquired by Carolina from Nashville for a 5th round pick.

The Tiiiimmmmmmmmaaaaah news is outstanding, for it seemed that all the negotiations on re-signing him were going nowhere. I figured that my boy Jimmy was low-balling him. Young stud defenseman don't just grow on trees these days, nowdon'tyaknow... but the strides he has made in the past two seasons have been great and it's good to know that his reliability is here to stay. Love his toughness too. Favorite moment from this past season was when he body slammed Nathan Horton onto the ice. Looking forward to many more occasions like such. I'm thinking that the 4 year $11.5Mil contract is a number that all sides can live with, though I bet Gleason and his agent were after a bit more.

In another off the wall move today, the Canes brought in Darcy Hordichuk from the Nashville Predators who I'll admit I know very little about. Judging from his stats - he appears to be a hit or miss kind of player who has dealt with the injury bug before (welcome to Raleigh, you'll fit right in!). He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent as of July 1st, but something tells me that Jimmy Boy will get a contract on this cat before that happens. The good thing about this player is that he's the "tough guy" who can actually win a fight. Check out his fight card over at Hockeyfights.com.

So if Hordichuk signs to play on our fourth line, you can pretty much guarantee that Wade Brookbank won't be back... (Darcy loves the ladies, is someone stepping into the Pimp hat role for the departed John Grahame?)

Happy Cup Anniversary Caniacs

Today marks two years to the date that the Hurricanes raised Lord Stanley's mug after Game 7 in Raleigh. It can seem like it was just yesterday; the nervousness before the game, the sweating, the "it's really OK if they end up losing - I have a life outside of the team, right?" thoughts... but it can also seem like a REALLY long time ago if you consider that there has been two other teams now that have raised it since the Canes.

Anyhow, Happy Cup Day to you all.

NHR: My Brother the Fish Wrangler

You've gotta love when you get an e-mail the first day back to work after a holiday weekend, like this one from my brother, Bryson today:

"I caught this big ol catfish Sunday night in the Wateree River off a shrimp. He weighed in at 41 lbs, 2oz."

With a fish that big, do you really need to add the "2oz." at the end? Anyhow, well done bro. Nice shorts.

A/V Delight: Drayson Bowman is the goodness

The million dollar question about this kid is when will he skate in a Canes uniform.

DB blows up the spot with a hat trick and SO Winner earlier this year:

Bowman's first goal of this Memorial Cup run:

November 2007: Drayson gets his 2nd straight game with a hat trick:

Luke's been having to answer that question a lot lately. His Spokane Chiefs that he has carried through the season, WHL Championship and now the Memorial Cup bout today at 4:30 on the NHL Network. Nice to hear about the Carolina brass finding a young stud for the stable.

Because hockey people are good people

Back in September, the wife and I had arguably the worst week of our lives. Nothing turns your life upside down like an unexpected tragedy. As the late great Phil Hartman would say during his SNL Frankenstein , "FIRE BAAAAD!!!".

Well as I returned from hiatus, I titled a post "I might have to buy a new jersey after all". My Roddy Brind'amour "A" jersey that I'd had since 2003 and worn (without washing) all through the 2005-2006 Cup run year was in the same condition as all of my other clothes: covered in a nasty yellow soot stain.

I had been tinkering around on the Canes Country Forum and made some e-friends, but had yet to meet any of them. We had been discussing joining up for a tailgate party before a Canes game.

It ended up being one of the 40 games we had against the Florida Panthers last season.

So there we were, having a grand 'ol time enjoying the pre-game festivities. My new friends and I were getting along like we had all known each other for years.

With about an hour or so before the 7:00 puck drop, people starting telling everyone to gather around me. Someone went to their truck to get something. He came out with a white bag from "The Eye" (the Hurricanes merch shop). Sure enough, they had bought me a shiny white new Rod Brind'amour jersey.

I was speechless. I still am. How could these people do something so nice for someone that they had never even met? With a poo-eating grin on my face, I happily accepted it and immediately threw it over my body. Fit like a glove.

So Thank you to Bob, Janey, Brian & East for what you did for me. I won't forget it.

Coming clean about the Chuck Norris of Hockey

OK, so the fine folks at 850 the Buzz revealed to Chad LaRose that he is referred to as "The Chuck Norris of Hockey" in what has become a cult following among Caniacs. Though I did not coin the term, I feel the time is no better than to let my faithful readers know that I'm the Dave that calls in to the aftermath while leaving games to brag about Rosey (pre-broken leg, of course).

Is Chad the toughest dude in the NHL? No. Does it matter? Certainly not. He earned that moniker by his scrappy, never-say-die attitude that he carries on the ice. Fans of other teams will certainly disagree. But isn't it nice to have a character like Rosey in the locker room to bring much needed comic relief, all the while being the yip-dog that he is? He's not much of a fighter but you won't see him backing down from anyone. Gotta love the heart in the kid.

Keep in mind, he is a true Hurricane system guy. He was one of the all time leading scorers in Peter Karmanos' Plymouth Whaler squad. Yet he goes undrafted, comes up to Raleigh after a year in Lowell (split with FLA Everblades) and gels perfectly into the team's fourth line w/ the Adamses.

God bless you young man. Welcome back. "I'll show you 'out for the season'!!!"

Joe Corvo's Carolina-fication

Heeding the advice of CasonBlog, Joe Corvo has quicky relinquished the "gay viking raider" look in favor of a more conservative, less flashy do.

He's been nothing short of spectacular here in his dozen or so games with the Canes. Granted, the entire team has been firing on all cylinders but Joe has certainly lived up to the potential. It has been well documented that Stiller & Commie are not fulfilling their end of the trade with a floundering Ottawa club. There have been very few signs of the Joe "Uh-Oh" Corvo that our Sens friends warned us about. He's been defensively sound and responsible playing the point on a potent power play unit.

All reports on Joe say that he is shy and soft-spoken. He's been letting his play speak for him. That's good, as we wouldn't want him cracking under the pressure of a bush league coach or media, would we?

Ruutu Rocks - Another reason to love the newest Cane

Cason summed up Tuomo's arrival quite well yesterday. As if Caniac Nation needed another reason to be hyped about the guy...

U Rock!

Gotta dig the extra style points he gets. He's got the "dog dragging his ass across the driveway" look on his face (see old school Dana Carvey for reference).

Update: Apparently, he is an expert air-drummer as well. What doesn't this guy do?

UNC Wilmington falls one goal short of conference championship

Got an e-mail from the busy Team President / Goalie / BRHC Tourney coordinator / graduating Senior, Pete Schwarz of the Seahawks tonight as his squad lost to Old Dominion in the championship game on Sunday. From all respects, the Wilmington club hockey team has taken tremendous strides this year between hosting the conference tournament to having a 9-1-0-1 record in their final 11 games or tripling the amount of fans in the rink.

ODU Monarchs 8, UNC Wilmington Seahawks 7

You want class? Class is having this on your website after losing a heart breaker to their rival:

The Seahawks congratulate ODU and wish the team best of luck at Nationals

Congratulations on a successful season and many more to come.

Seniors graduating: Blake Cute, Tim Haggerty, Ian Aldrich, Colin Rossi, Todd Nixon

Everybody Clap Your Hands!

Just pretend these are the game highlights:



Because our #1 beat writer is the man: Carolina 5, Atlanta 3

But be sure to check out this must read: Knee rehab can't slow down Brind'amour

Woooooooooooooo!!

One photo to sum up the game last night

Because like my Eastern NC style BBQ sandwich, the game was outstanding.

Hurricanes 5, Panthers 4.

Canes handle Pens as power play explodes

Yeah. That's right. The Albany Hurri-rats, RiverCanes, whatever you wanna call them - joined forces with the remainder of healthy regulars and dominated the surging Pittsburgh Penguins tonight atta the RBC. Check out a newb's recap with CaniacD as I'm too zonked to let it flow.

But the win comes at a cost. Brindy leaves the game with a knee injury. Hope for the best. This is the last thing this team needs right now.

Update**** Dear God. Brind'amour tears ACL. Likely out for season. Seller mode time? Stay tuned, but more than likely - this team is screwed.

A Canes blogger heads to the press box

Just in case any of ya'll missed it - check out Bubba's recap of his adventure to the Washington Capitals press box for the game last friday vs. the Canes. Be sure to congratulate him but also make sure he goes through the proper intitiation / hazing process of being a press box blogger.

Reading his story, I just pictured a wide-eyed dude who must'a had a poo-eating grin on his face the whole time! (or looking like a deer in headlights). Well done, Bob.

A/V Delight: Having A Lookie See At Corvo & Eaves

Here's big Joe Corvo:(Canada.com)

Did we just sign a hockey player or the lead singer of Buckcherry?
Here's Mr. Patrick Eaves:

(BC Eagles)

Now is it just me or does the look on his face say: "I WANNA GO TO HAWAII YEA!" ? No? Perhaps there's something going on outside the view of this frame, maybe an Eagles cheerleader is tickling his undersides, Dunno.

Here's Corvo breaking the hearts of Buffalo last year in the playoffs (well, then, Welcome to Raleigh!)

And here's Pat Eaves showing off what he can bring

Bring it on gentleman! Tattoos, goofy-faces and all!

Why the Canes need Wade Brookbank

A few weeks ago during the rash of the flu and season ending injuries that grabbed a hold on the Hurricanes, one of the first Albany River Rats to be called up was Wade Brookbank. Not exactly known for his offensive prowess, his primary role on any hockey team he's with was to drop the gloves.

After the Dec. 26th NY Rangers game where Carolina was out gunned, out hustled and out hit, fans and media alike were clamoring for Jimmy Boy to bring in an enforcer. Enter Wadey Boy. We simply couldn't allow teams with the Sean Averys and Colton Orrs to come in and knock out the team's weapons (Cullen is STILL out with lingering effects from Orr's hit). He's seen one assist in 16 games with 32 penalty minutes. He always seems ready to go to blows even when he's fighting a guy 1/2 a foot taller than him. His attitude and grittiness have prompted some locals to start referring to him as "Wade Bloodbank".

What I like about the guy is that every fight we've seen him in, he's usually getting his face handed to him. I've seen a couple of draws but for the most part he's taking a beating for his team on any given night. He fought during the 1st period of the NJ game the other night hoping to spark any kind of fire under his slacker team mates.

Now, we've got someone on the team already who can, will and DOES win fights when he needs to, but considering his offensive presence and energy combined with his injury history, Scottie Walker has been told to refrain from fighting.

Drawing a fight may not always end up providing the spark you hoped for but at the very least he's giving the fans something to see. Even on nights when the rest of the Canes don't bother showing up.

Another KO in OT on TO

Downright entertaining game last night at the giant ATM with the Canes finishing off the Leafs in OT on a Brind'amour goal. 'Twas a fine way to close out the month of January winning 4 of their last 5 and two in a row.

Despite giving up the 1st goal (again) to internet dong-slinger Jiri Tlusty, the Hurricanes maintained pressure and had their way with the Leafers in the offensive zone.

How about Tim Gleason? The man played a sound defensive game but scored the 1st goal and had the primary helper on Scott Walker's tip-in in the 3rd. Who needs Jack Johnson? :)

The team will hit the road for what will be the longest remaining road trip of the season starting Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Great way to begin the trek with a head full of steam.