Hub Hockey

Preseason Habs Beatdown Highlights

B's @ Islanders (Preseason: Game Two)

	1	2	3	OT	F
Boston Bruins	0	1	0	0	1
NY Islanders	0	1	0	1	2

(credit: Rich Stieglitz)

Rask Makes 36 Saves, But B's Still Get KO'ed In OT
Wides Scores One, Earns Contract One Goal At A Time
Scott Gordon Curse?

NESN 08-09 Bruins Coverage (New Show)

NESN released its upcoming plans for the 2008-2009 Bruins season this week, including a new weekly show. Official NESN gameday coverage will begin on October 11th when the B's faceoff aganist the Minnisota Wild, since VERSUS will carry the Bruins season opener aganist the Colorado Avalanche on the 9th.

"The Bricks: Bruins Season Preview Special
Andy Brickley will set the stage for the regular season on Tuesday, October 7th with The Brick’s: 2008-09 Bruins Season Preview, a half-hour special that will look ahead to the coming season, introduce Bruins fans to the team’s off-season acquisitions and make his pre-season predictions about the Bruins and the rest of the NHL.

The Buzz
The Buzz is NESN’s weekly Top 10 countdown of all things Bruins that airs every Saturday night at 6:00 PM.  Hosted by Naoko Funayama, The Buzz, will feature a completely new look this season and continue to deliver the best highlights, interviews, sound, plays and more from the week that was throughout the Bruins season.

The Instigators
NESN will launch a new weekly show in December called "The Instigators" that will feature NESN’s Mike Milbury and two competing analysts who will debate the most news-worthy topics in the NHL. Milbury will serve as the moderator and score how each participant performs on each topic.  The winning writer/analyst will then debate Milbury at the end of the show."

Shawn Thornton Presents: "Beat Down"

B's vs. Canadiens (Preseason: Game One)

	1	2	3	F
Boston Bruins	1	4	3	8
Montreal Canadiens	1	1	1	3

(credit: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Mike Dembeck)

Bruins Rough Up The Habs, Prove The Playoffs Were No Fluke
Sobotka & Sturm Score 2 Goals Each
Bergeron Scores First Goal Since Injury
Sturm-Bergeron-Kessel Line Has Point Explosion

Campers Sent Home

A total of 10 players have been released from teams training camp, as announced today by GM Peter Chiarelli. This decision comes before the black & gold make their way to Halifax, NS today to face the Montreal Candiens in the first preseason game of the season.

Out of the ten players, only four will be reporting to Providence including: Scott Fletcher, Kevin Nastiuk, Levi Nelson, and Wacey Rabbit. Three other players will report to their junior teams including: Jamie Arniel, Michael Hutchinson, and Denis Reul. While the remaining three players have been released from their Amateur Tryout Agreements (ATO) including: Yuri Cheremetiev, Arthur Fritch, and Doug Krantz.

This would mean that the only rookies to make it out of the first two days of camp would be Kevin Schaeffer and Jeff LoVecchio.

Providence Bound:
- Scott Fletcher
- Kevin Nastiuk
- Levi Nelson
- Wacey Rabbit (best name in hockey)

Returning to Juniors:
- Jamie Arniel
- Michael Hutchinson
- Denus Reul

Released from ATO:
- Yuri Cheremetiev
- Arthur Fritch
- Doug Krantz

Bergeron: "Same Guy, Same Player"

Preseason Media Schedule

The preseason starts today but most of us who can not take the day off of work and travel to Halifx will miss it. The Bruins play a total of eight preseason games this year and it looks like only 3 will be covered by some sort of media.

NESN, the home of the Bruins, will carry only one game this year when the Bruins meet the Washington Capitals at the Garden this Saturday at 4PM. But I guess we really can't complain, since the Sox are currently chasing first place in the division and we should be lucky that NESN even thought of the B's.

For the rest of your Bruins game coverage you will have to put your iPod down and break out your radios. WBZ News Radio (1030AM) will carry three games this preseason also including this Saturday's game aganist the Capitals. On top of Saturday, WBZ will also broadcast games versus the Islanders and Capitals again on back-to-back days, October 4th and 5th.

WBZ 1030AM LIVE ONLINE STREAM

UPDATE (5:46PM): Today's game will be streaming live in english via the Montreal Canadiens NHL Radio feed CJAD 800AM feed.

Fernandez: Tonight's Starter

Manny Fernandez will get the start in the Bruins first preseason game tonight aganist the Montreal Canadiens. It will be Manny's first time back in action since going out early last season, after a much hyped deal to bring him to Boston. This is a good move by the Bruins coaching staff, throwing him right into the first game and not delaying the comeback process any longer than it should be. He needs this time to get back into things and it should help the most in his confidence. Let's just hope he uses this time to learn how to defend his "five-hole".

"You obviously can’t look back at the missed ice time, so I’ve got to take advantage of this practice time leading up to the season as much as possible." -Manny Fernandez

Rookie Fight Club

I present to you, the two fights from yesterday's rookie game versus the New York Islanders. Note, Matt Marquardt really needs to learn to fight. The kid has got the size and strength. And was able to stand in there the whole time, but Micheal Haley was throwing bombs at him as he just hung on for the ride.

Matt Marquardt vs. Micheal Haley


Scott Fletcher vs. Joel Rechlicz

Rookie Game vs. NYI Results (09/18/08)

4-8

Team	1	2	3	F
Boston Bruins	2	2	0	4
NY Islanders	1	5	2	8

Scoring Summary
Boston: First Period -Knackstedt (Lehtonen) 1:18, Nelson (Marchand) 14:24. Second Period – Wheeler (Fritch) 11:02, Sauve (Marchand, Fritch) 12:36. Third Period – none.
New York: First Period – Bailey (Smith) 11:37. Second Period – Marcinko (Gratchev) 6:24, Bentivoglio (Henniger) 10:09 PP, Smith (Bailey) 13:18, Bentivoglio (Nikiforov, Katic), Bentivoglio (Henniger) 19:23 SH. Third Period – Gratchev (Marcinko, DiBenedetto) 19:35 EN, DiBenedetto (Marcinko) 19:47.

Goaltending
Boston: Regan 15 saves, Hutchinson 13 saves
New York: Mannino 18 saves, Poulin 16 saves

Fighting Majors
Boston: Fletcher, 15:58, 1st. Marquardt, 15:07, 3rd
New York: Rechlicz, 15:58, 1st. Haley, 15:07 3rd.

(stat credit: Bish from BostonBruins.com)

Informal Workout Footage

(credit: NESN.com)

Hub Quick Hits

- ESPN redeems itself with a modest season preview of the Bruins, actually making points that any true Bruins fan can relate too. The only thing is the once small buzz in Boston over the Bruins after last season has seem to grown. As reports state season tickets and individual game tickets are selling at their highest rate in years. I mean there was a four hour wait at the Garden the day tickets went on sale to the general public.

- The NE Hockey Journal hit us with a few good articles this week. The first focusing on the Bruins goaltending core but more importantly the health of Manny Fernandez. They ask the raise the question, asking if Manny can stay healthy long enough to form the newest Bruins goalie duo with Tim Thomas. The next piece revolved around the ever growing defense, which this offseason got back the break out play of Dennis Wideman. The Bruins look at their defensive lineup, which remains basically the same as last season, to keep progressing and reach the level of play the coaching staff expects. Finally, article reviews some of the Bruins prospects participating in camp this year, mainly Yuri Cheremetiev. Hopefully, Yuri can meet his expectations after a poor performance so far during the first two days of camp.

- Fluto, of Bruins Blog fame, is reporting that Petteri Nokelainen will wear No. 29 this season. This is the same number that Nokie wore when he was with the Islanders and back when he played in the Finnish Elite League. Fluto also discussed the improved offense of the Bruins this season, mainly which is due to the signing of Michael Ryder and return of Patrice Bergeron. He finished up by touching slightly on rookie camp, which began this week.

- Bish from the Bruins official blog, The Bear Essentials, gives us time dated recaps of the first and second days of the Bruins rookie camp. It also looks like the whole team is finally in Boston, when Ryder finally made his appearance today.

- Nate Marquardt the veteran rookie?

- TSN writer Bob McKenzie brings up the fact that with the CBA in its final year there is no longer a performance bonus cushion. Thus cushion basically took any bonus money in a players contract out of the equation when figuring out the teams salary. The Bruins get hit this year by Phil Kessel, who goes from $850,000 last season to $2.2 million this season. Could this be just another sign in the ongoing rumor that the B's will be looking to unload Phil Kessel?

- Cam Neely is a fan with power. Neely basically tells April Leavenworth of Bruins.com that he came back to the organization to win. After last Wednesday's "State of the Bruins" event, I personally felt that Neely was the right man for the job after seeing the passion and devotion he spoke with. Plus, every time NESN goes up to him in the press box with the rest of the Bruins executives, I can't help but laugh.

- WEEI gives Bruins fans reason #1,596 to not pay any attention to them. I can't wait until the day I get to watch these guys jump back on the B's bandwagon as if they were there the whole time.

- Steve Babineau's book "Black and Gold: Four Decades of the Boston Bruins in Photographs" is finally out. I've heard a lot of good stuff about this book from friends and the reviews are great too. I'm going to pick up mine this weekend and you should too.

- Well, it looks like the Boston Herald woke up and realized the start of the hockey season is right around the corner. The Herald hit us with report after report the past few days and instead of giving you guys a short description, I'm mailing it in and just listing the titles.

• Bruins Expectations Soar
• Patrice Bergeron Jumps in with Bruins
• Key Bruins Newcomers
• Patrice Bergeron ‘Can’t Wait’ to Get Started
• Manny Fernandez’ Goal: Finish Comeback
• Comfortable Marc Savard Ready to Get Going
• Bruins Need Youngsters to Step Up
• Andrew Alberts at Full Health

- Finally, I will leave you guys with some photo buckets from the Bruins official website of recent B's related events such as the first day of rookie camp, Ice Girl tryouts, and the Bruins Foundation Gold Tourney.

• Bruins Training Camp 2008: The Rookies
• Marchand vs. Knackstedt Fight
• Ice Girls Tryouts
• 2008 Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament

2008-2009 Ice Girls Announced

(credit: BostonBruins.com)

Here are the 2008-2009 Boston Bruins Ice Girls, who were selected out of 150 woman who attended last weekend's try out. I see some familiar faces from last year in the group and some new ones as well. I also see the Bruins went the way of the redhead twice this year, and I was never happier. Hopefully, in the following weeks the girls bio's will be updated and we can get you more information on the new squad. Until, then I'll let returning Ice Girl Sam recap the evening for you.

Weekend Warriors

This weekend the Bruins will shift gears and move training camp to the Garden for their Saturday and Sunday sessions. These practices will be open to the public and free as always. On top of that, the concourse area of the Garden will be setup with different games and activities from 9:00AM to 2:00PM for younger fans (or older ones that have no shame).

Also, the Bruins announced that during training camp they will be holding a "Goal Light Special" giveaway. Basically, during each practice session, Saturday and Sunday, the first five people to purchase a Bruins ticket package will receive one of the following prizes: an autographed puck, Bruins shirt, or Garden Gold Card (best investment I ever made).

Don't have the money to purchase a 12 or 24 game ticket pack though? Well, don't worry because the Bruins also announced three new ticket plans.

• "Hungry for Hockey" 5-Game Plan which allows you to choose between four different game packages in the new all-you-can-eat section (individual seats for whole package start at $199).
• "Pick-A-Plan" Plan which gives you 17 games to choose from to create your own custom plan. The only catch is that you need to pick a minimum of 6 games (individual seats for each game start at $37.50).
• Weekend 6-Game Plan which is made up of 6 weekend games with seats in sections 320 and 321 (individual seats for whole package start at $174)

I don't know about you guys, but the Bruins really seem serious about this whole "We Want It As Bad As You!" motto they started for this year. Anyways, hopefully I see some of you guys there this weekend.

22 DAYS TO GO...

Hub NESN Quick Hits

Nothing going on this afternoon or Thursday night? Well your in luck because NESN will be there to kill some of your down time. The NESN show "Bruins Classics" will be rebroadcasting the November 30, 2006 game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning at 1PM. This game ended with shootout master Phil Kessel scoring his first game-winning shootout goal. Kessel currently own the Bruins franchise record for most game deciding shootout goals, with the magic number of nine.

Then on the next day, same time, "Bruins Classics" will rebroadcast Game 7 of the 1988 Conference Finals aganist the New Jersey Devils. This was the first Bruins apperance in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1978. The Bruins ended up losing in the Finals to Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in 4 straight games. Even though the outcome of this matchup was nothing to talk about, it will still live on in Bruins/NHL history due to Game 4. This is because Game 4 will always be known for being canceled due to fog and a power outage before a faceoff in the mid-point of the 2nd period.

Finally, NESN finishes up Thursday night with it's 3rd summer installment of "The Buzz". New Bruins rinkside reporter Naoka Funayama will replace Hazel Mae as the new host of the show (hopefully she learned how to pronounce Zdeno). Anyways, the show will feature a one-one interview with the newest Bruin Michael Ryder, a piece on the return of Bergy, the Bruins trip to the Jimmy Fund, and finally a tribute to Glen Murray.

RECAP:
Wednesday, September 17th
Bruins Classics @ 1PM: Boston vs. Tampa Bay 11/20/06 (Kessel's First Shootout Goal)

Thursday, September 18tt
Bruins Classics @ 1PM: Boston vs. New Jersey Devils 05/14/88 (Game 7 of 1988 Conference Finals)
The Buzz @ 7PM (10:30PM): Summer Edition #3

Summer Camp: Bruins Edition

(credit: Alan Sullivan/BostonBruins.com)

Bad news everyone, I will be working all week and it is now likely that I won't be able to head to any of the Bruins training camp sessions until Saturday. But thanks to the devotion of other fans out there, I can at least catch you up on what went down today. Thanks first needs to go to Stanley Cup of Chowder for recapping the whole day in great depth. Make sure you go and check out their blog also, it brings you the latest B's news with their own twisted sense of humor (a must-read).

Anyways, It looks like the rookies were broke up into four different squads for starters:

• Yellow: Blake Wheeler, Zach Hamill, and Mikko Lehtonen
• Blue: Levi Nelson, Wacey Rabbit, and Jordan Knackstedt
• White: Matt Marquart, Jamie Arniel, Brad Marchand, Maxime Sauve, and Yuri Cheremetiev
• Black: All defensemen

Then around 1PM the guys hit the ice and ran threw about six different drills during the first half of the day, which lasted about 45 minutes. Then after a quick zamboni sweep, the ys hit the ice again for another hour of drills. Nothing to important happened by this point. But during the second hour the intensity was raised as everyone started to get a little more physical. But, two players stuck out more than others as Brad Marchand and Jordan Knackstedt took it a step further during a half ice 5-on-5. After a shoving match and a an exchange of words, the two ended up dropping the gloves and got in a few jabs before being broke up. Both players looking to make an impression on the coaching staff, were looking to show EVERY aspect of their game I'm guessing. Other than that though, the day sounds like it went smoothly and while some players looked on top of their game, others looked unprepared and sluggish. Hopefully though the rust was shaken loose today and everyone will "show up" tomorrow.

The rookies hit the ice again tomorrow at 10AM, while the veterans will be swinging the clubs at the Boston Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament.

(Also, check out the Bruins Blog as Fluto also covered todays actionat the Ristuccia Arena. And of course Bish from the B's official blog, The Bear Essentials, was in attendance too.)

Bergeron on Sportsnet

(credit: Sportsnet.ca)

Training Day

Today officially marks the end of our summer woes as the Bruins kick off their Training Camp schedule. Only the rookies will be hitting the ice over at the Ristuccia Arena today though, while the veterans are to report by this Saturday, September 20th. Still, this should be an interesting week as a good amount of young players have a shot at making the B's roster this year and will be bringing nothing but their "A" games. Hopefully, we will be able to head down to a practice or two and grab some progress updates and pictures.

23 DAYS TO GO...

Hub Quick Hits

- Patrice Bergeron is looking forward to getting back on the ice almost as much as we are looking forward to it. Bergy has gained his playing weight back and feels he is ready to be as physical as he was before the injury. All signs so far have shown that Bergeron will not "slow down" after an almost career ending injury.

- Not to be outdone by Bergeron, Chuck Kobasew also is ready to get back on the ice after being taken out of the playoffs via a Zdeno Chara slapshot. "Knuckles" as touches on the improved leadership on the B;s with the addition of former teammate, Stephane Yelle.

- The NE Hockey Journal presents the main questions looking to be answered as the Bruins get ready for training camp. As no surprise to us, Kessel seems to be one of the main questions this offseason, no thanks to the trade rumors that have been tossed around the past two seasons, due to his "under performance".

- Could Albie be on the chopping block this season? Entering the final year of his contract, Andrew Alberts needs to prove to the Bruins (and the rest of the NHL) that he is ready to play the game everyone expects him too. Also, the possibility that he still shows the effects from his injury last season still remains unanswered.

- The Patriot Ledger has a nice recap from the "State of the Bruins" event last week. I was unable to attend last years event, so it is good to see that a positive change took place in between the two.

- Milan Lucic will be facing a lot of expectation this year after one of the most impressive rookie campaigns seen in Boston in the recent past. But with all the pressure, this young star still has a smile on his face.

"The big thing is, don’t be nervous. In the end, it’s just hockey," - Milan Lucic

-Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara show up again in another experts list of tough/skilled players. Former TB Lightning GM Jay Feaster mentioned both Bruins players when talking about the "most talented tough guys in the Eastern Conference".

“I would put him in the category of those types of players to watch in the future because he’s not going to back down,” - Jay Feaster on Milan Lucic

“He’s not going to go around looking for (trouble), but if you want a piece of him he’s going to gladly oblige.” - Jay Feaster on Zdeno Chara

- B's prospect, Zach Hamill is featured this week on the Bruins website as he expresses his hopes in making the Bruins roster this season. With recent additions I see another year in Providence for Hamill.

- Coach Julien is ready for the Bruins to improve on last season. Even though many fans here in the Hub see last year as a impressive and positive step out of the shadows, Julien knows that the Bruins could have done better. Hopefully, the team can stay healthy for him this year.

- Boston.com, in the wake of Tom Brady, compiled a list of the most significant injuries in Boston sports history this week. The list is made up of 19 players from the Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox. The Bruins mentioned includes: Patrice Bergeron, Cam Neely, Bobby Orr, Gord Kluzak, and Normand Leveille.

- NESN looks to have named Naoko Funayama as the host of "The Buzz", replacing Hazel Mae. Funayama will make her Buzz debut this Thursday (September 18th) at 7:00PM when the third summer edition episode premieres.

- Finally, The Boston Bruins held open tryouts Sunday afternoon for the 2008-2009 Ice Girls squad. Hopefully. we will be able to get you guys some news and pictures from the Garden this week.