Wade Belak Clears Waivers

Wade Belak has cleared waivers!

Don't know what's going to happen next, but hopefully he'll be playing with with some aggression because this team needs some serious attitude tonight against Carolina.

Prospects: Week of 11.17.08

Rochester had two games this week, hosting the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday and on Friday, the Manchester Monarchs.

Chris Beckford-Tseu has remained the Amerks' go-to guy thus far. Sometimes, I really wonder why they signed him to a two-year deal. But regardless, Tyler Plante hadn't been good enough to take the top spot away from him, and David Shantz hasn't really had a great opportunity, yet. Though it may be coming very soon.

Wednesday, Rochester buried themselves with two poor, early penalties that put them down two men and the Marlies quickly capitalized, jumping to a 1-0 lead. A goal later and the Marlies took the game into the first intermission on top, 2-0.

2 and-a-half minutes into the second, Stefan Meyer scored his fourth (Keaton Ellerby and Jordan Henry with assists) and put the Amerks to within one, but the momentum quickly died as Toronto scored two goals within 100 seconds -- only two minutes after Meyer had put the team to within a goal.

Rory Fitzpatrick scored a power play goal in the third -- his first goal of the year -- with Jason Garrison and Michal Repik getting assists, but Toronto had already added a fifth, and this one went final at 5-2 Marlies.

Friday night was the same. Early two-man advantage for the visiting team, early 1-0 deficit. Beckford-Tseu faced eighteen shots in the first fourteen minutes of the game and even made some good stops, but he allowed the Monarchs to jump out to a 2-0 lead on a weak shot from the blue line. Head coach Benoit Groulx pulled CBT and put David Shantz into the game before the team could be any more discouraged on this particular evening.

Dan Collins scored a pair of goals a little over two minutes apart in the second period to tie the game, although at the time, the first goal was credited to David Brine -- eventually, he was taken off the scoresheet for the tally and Jacob Micflikier and Franklin MacDonald ended up getting the assists. Brine did assist on the game tying goal, though.

Shantz faced two shots in his limited time in the first and six in the second, stopping the eight total, but he was beat when Manchester went on -- yes, another 5-on-3 power play. Manchester carried the 3-2 lead through the period until scoring a short-handed empty-net goal at the end to put the icing on the cake; 4-2 Monarchs.

David stopped 18 of 19, although through two games, he's allowed five goals. His goals-against-average is at 2.93 and his save percentage is at .906%.

One other note about Rochester is that they sent Jacob Micflikier back down to the Florida Everblades. Micflikier isn't Panthers' property, though. Still, I thought I'd sahre this: in his first game in Estero, Micflikier had two goals and four assists, while the 'Blades won, 12-0. There were 11 player ejections and a ton of fights and penalties, two line brawls, I believe.

ECHL

Dayton played four games, winning two and losing two. Tyler Plante played in two of those games, first on Friday against Gwinnett. Plante stopped 33 of 37, but the Bombers lost, 4-2. On Sunday, however, Tyler Plante was able to finally pick up his first win of the season. Still with limited offensive support, Plante managed to turn aside all but one of the 29 shots he faced. In the process, helping Dayton past Augusta, 2-1.

Plante is now 1-2 with a 2.69 GAA and a .914%.

Juniors

Adam Comrie scored a goal in the first of three Saginaw games this week -- the second Spirit goal in a 3-2 victory against Owen Sound -- and was a +1 in each of the three Saginaw wins. With the 3-0 weekend, the Spirit are now 15-7-0-1, yet they're thirteen points behind division leading Windsor (22-2-0-0). . . James DeLory, the Panthers' potential future tough-guy got in to his first fight since being returned to the OHL on Friday with Kyle Neuber. Despite the size advantage for DeLory, Neuber is one of the OHL's toughest (remember that Hockey's Future Q&A with James? He mentions Neuber there). And Neuber shows us why he's got that reputation in the fight, while DeLory looks to have held his own well. But DeLory did more than just fight this weekend -- he scored his second goal of the season on Sunday, going +2 in a 4-3 loss. Meanwhile, DeLory's teammate, potential #1 draft pick John Tavares, may be headed to the already talented Windsor Spitfires. . . The Plymouth Whalers were scheduled to play two games this week, but conditions for travel were hampered by the weather, so the Friday game against Owen Sound was postponed, but they did play on Saturday, and A.J. Jenks added two assists (5) and even a fight in the second period. But despite Jenks' two points, he was a -2 in what proved to be a 5-4 overtime loss to Sault Ste. Marie. . . Corey Syvret was unable to help Guelph put anything past Barrie's Michael Hutchinson, who stopped all 36 shots, on Friday. The game was the only one the Storm played this week. The result, 1-0 Barrie. . . Brady Calla is back with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL and in his return Wednesday, Calla picked up two assists as the Blazers skated to a 4-2 win against Prince George. He was kept off the board in Friday's 6-4 loss to Vancouver, and then on Saturday, scored the Blazers' only goal in a second straight loss to Vancouver, this time by a 6-1 score. . . Colby Robak injured his shoulder last week and didn't play in any of Brandon's three games. Fortunately, the defenseman is only day-to-day. . .

CCHA

Matt Rust spent the weekend on the third line as #9 Michigan took on #7 Miami (Ohio). The Redhawks beat Michigan in both games (0-2, 1-2) and kept Rust off the board, although he's been playing on the Wolverines' penalty kill and they've been doing a great job. But Rust was assessed a five-minute major for checking from behind in the first period of Saturday's game, and with it, a game misconduct. . . This week, Ohio State was on the road to play Northern Michigan. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski was on the top pairing for the OSU Buckeyes for both games, firing five shots on goal over the weekend. None made it through, but Ohio State split the weekend series, losing 3-1 on Friday and winning 2-0 on Saturday. . . Ryan Watson and Western Michigan were off this week. . .

WCHA

Derrick LaPoint played on the top pairing for North Dakota as the Sioux visited Minnesota-Duluth for two games. North Dakota played to a 2-2 tie on Friday and on Saturday, lost 3-1. The Sioux are now 4-7-1. . . Denver, ranked 10th in the nation, hosted #1 Minnesota for a two-game series and in the first game, the Pioneers were easily handed a 5-2 loss. Freshman defender John Lee was a -2, while goaltender Marc Cheverie gave up the five goals on twenty-two shots and was replaced in net in the third period. But Saturday was a MUCH different story. While John Lee added his second assist since moving to college, Marc Cheverie was absolutely unbeatable. Not only did he help carry Denver past the top team in the nation, he completely shut them down, making 34 saves on 34 shots for the first shutout of his career. So it was only fitting that the Chevy was the first star in Denver's 4-0 upset of Minnesota on Saturday night. . .

Hockey East

Maine hosted Merrimack, while Matt Duffy played on the middle pairing Friday and the top pairing on Saturday. The Black Bears won 2-1 on Friday night and on Saturday, skated to a 1-1 tie. . . Brian Foster returned for the New Hampshire Wildcats and in his first game since the injury, turned aside 33 of 36 Northeastern shots, including a 17 shot second period in which he stopped them all. Still, the Wildcats lost the penalty-loaded game (12 penalties for each team, over 60 minutes in all) 3-2. On Saturday, Foster was back in the win column as he stopped 32 of 35 from Northeastern and helped snap UNH's 4-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory. . .

Sweden

Everybody's favourite Swedish goalie played in all three games for Brynäs this week, and he's playing very well once again. On Tuesday, Jacob Markström stopped 29 of 31 as Brynäs upended Djurgårdens, 4-2. Thursday, he stopped 24 of 26 in a 2-2 draw against Färjestad, and on Saturday, 25 of 28 in another deadlock, this time against Luleå, 3-3. That all adds up to a save percentage a little under 92% and just over 2 goals against per game over the last three outings.

Czech Republic

Martin Lojek has two goals (two points) with Havířovská hokejová společnost (HC Havirov) in fourteen games. . . Václav Nedorost played in two games this week and added one assist (11). . .

2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge

Sergey Gayduchenko has been in net for the Russian Selects during the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge, which began on Monday last week. Gayduchenko stopped 16 shots but allowed four goals in game one against Team QMJHL, while a fifth goal came with an empty-net in the third.

Game two, also against the QMJHL, was played on Wednesday. Gayduchenko faced 33 shots, stopping 30 as the Russians won the second game by a score of 4-3.

Thursday, the games moved to Ontario but Gayduchenko didn't play. The game was tied through two periods, but three unanswered goals for the OHL's best put the score at 6-3, and that's where it would end.

Game four is today, and then the focus shifts to the WHL for two games on Wednesday and Thursday. There are no Panthers' prospects playing on the Canadian side in the tournament.

Belak on Waivers

The Panthers waived Wade Belak today.

Belak has played in 14 games, with an average of 4:21 per game. He's only been able to drop the gloves once this year -- against Minnesota's Derek Boogaard. And Wade took away one of the Boogeyman's teeth.

Since then, no one has fought Wade.

I don't think there's a two-way clause in his contract, but apparently, money is not the issue.

The Panthers have been pretty bad lately, and this seems to be an attempt at a locker-room shakeup. Is it the right guy? I don't know. But, Wade is a well-liked player, and you would hope his (maybe former) teammates respond to this. JM has basically just told them that their lackluster performances have forced a good guy, and friend, off the team. I hope that means something to them.

Friday Night Bites, Olesz a Healthy Scratch

Tonight, I predicted a 5-3 Bruins victory, but I was wrong. It was a 4-2 Bruins victory.

Jassen Cullimore's knee injury doesn't seem to be all that serious, and he was wearing a brace at the time, which no doubt helped him out. So that's good news. Cory Stillman didn't play either, but Kreps was back in.

Rostislav Olesz was the Cats' healthy scratch tonight. Said DeBoer, "We're 17 games in, and I haven't seen enough yet. This is the next step to getting him to where we need him to be. I'm a big believer in giving an opportunity and then putting you on notice. This is the next step. This is the only tool a coach really has. He has to be better for us. He's a nice kid and a smart player. But we need more than that. We don't have the luxury to wait for guys like that for 15, 20 games. We just don't." DeBoer also said that, at least for now, the Nathan Horton experiment at center is over.

Anyway, Boston's a great team, and they're a physical team. Boston's a fun team. And tonight, it was "Ode to Slap Shot" night -- the movie -- so it was fitting that there was a fight. Midway through the second, Milan Lucic hit Michael Frolik and Nick Boynton immediately came to Frolik's defense. Lucic's a big guy, though, and it was a pretty decisive victory for the young Bruin while Boynton's face got cut up a bit.

Tonight's Panthers looked like a team that knew they were outmatched, and they responded as such. After an early Bruins goal on a Phil Kessel breakaway, David Booth shot in and fired a wrister so fast off the post that they had to review the shot to confirm that the post that it hit was in the back of the net. That was the end of the Panthers' competitiveness, though.

Patrice Bergeron scored for the Bruins not long after, redirecting a shot by Matt Hunwick past Tomas Vokoun, and then it pretty much went down hill from there.

In the second, the puck came up the boards to Keith Ballard, and Ballard fell forward while winding up to shoot the puck. The fall led to a 3-on-1 for Boston, Noah Welch being the Panthers' defenseman. Welch played the pass, and when it came across, he blocked the shot. Unfortunately, the puck bounced off Welch right to David Krejci who scored an easy goal. Soon after, a Bruins power play yielded a goal from Marc Savard, and the Panthers were done like dinner.

They fought back and Ville Peltonen picked up a goal off a rebound. It was his first of the season, by the way.

Peltonen actually had 16:51 tonight in ice time. 16:12 for Frolik. On the flipside, Wade Belak had 2:53, while Anthony Stewart had 7:10. Bryan McCabe had 28 minutes, which led the team, and Nathan Horton led the forwards with 18:31.

During the intermissions, I was listening to the Amerks game as they were hosting the Manchester Monarchs. Down 2-0, I tuned in just in time to hear David Brine score his first of the year. And then only a couple minutes later, Dan Collins scored -- with Brine picking up an assist. Eventually, the Brine goal was changed and credited to Collins, so it's a two-goal night for Dan.

Chris Beckford-Tseu had been pulled in the first after giving up two goals on eighteen shots, and Shantz held his own, allowing only one on nineteen shots as the Monarchs scored in the third, then iced it with an empty-netter at the end.

So if you came looking for good news, I'm sorry to disappoint you. In the end, it's just another tough night for the Panthers and their affiliate in Rochester. Both teams dropping their games, 4-2.

Matthias Article in the Democrat & Chronicle

If you've been following Rochester, or reading about Matthias here, or wherever, you probably know that he hasn't exactly been lighting it up with his 4 points and -17 rating. So, if you're interested, Kevin Oklobzija has an excellent article about Shawn on the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle website.

Here's the start of the article, and the rest is linked:

The Call to Duty and Halo showdowns between Shawn Matthias and Keaton Ellerby are quickly building from a casual, pass-the-day activity to true gamer rivalry.

"We have some good matches," Matthias said, "but I'm getting the best of him."

He wouldn't stoke the I'm-best fire, though. Trash talk is not Matthias' game.

Unless, of course, he's talking about himself. Then he'll beat himself up.

The Rochester Americans' first-year centerman has found the transition to pro hockey to be very difficult. He has gone from star in the Ontario Hockey League and overtime hero for Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championship to overshadowed, overwhelmed American Hockey League rookie.

And he knows it. No one needs to yell at him or criticize him. He's doing that all himself.

Through 17 games, he has scored just three goals, assisted on one and his plus/minus rating is a team-worst minus-17. . . READ MORE

With his slow start, people have already considered Matthias a bust, but it's way too early to think something like that. He has worked hard in juniors to get this far, and he will have to do it again, that's all.

There was a quote that Matthias didn't play as hard as he should have when he was dismissed from Panthers' camp, and it's earned him the label of being a 'primadonna'. I disagree wholeheartedly with that assessment, though. Rochester still is, but had been struggling badly at the time, and everyone knows that when things are bad, they only seem to get worse. So when that quote came along, people didn't see Matthias as an inexperienced kid who had a lot to learn. Instead, he was perhaps unfairly thrown under the bus as just another one of many negatives in this bleak Rochester season.

For now, though, waiting seems the only option as Matthias has a long way to go to become the NHLer he will someday be. However, the situation in Rochester is going to force him to grow up fast.

Panthers 1 | Devils 3

Well, you probably didn't enjoy the game, unless you're a fan of the Devils -- or at least a fan of Michael Frolik. Why? Yes! He finally scored! Actually, he got robbed earlier by Clemmensen, too.

Here's the early AP writeup on the game, because I honestly don't feel like writing anything about it right now.

Short summary.. they shut down the Devils shooters in the latter two periods, but some fancy passing and great teamwork made for some pretty easy looking New Jersey goals. Meanwhile, Cullimore was injured when Stephen Weiss came crashing down on to his leg. It looked awfully painful, and after a minute on the ice, Cullimore was helped off the ice, putting no pressure at all on the leg. Let's hope it's minor, but it didn't look to be that way.. and of course, Frolik's first goal. He deserved it, for sure. Anyway, here you go. Sorry it's not more lively tonight..

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta each had a goal and an assist in the New Jersey Devils' 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Defenseman Paul Martin ignited a two-goal spurt in a 62-second span early in the third period, and Scott Clemmensen came within 11:18 of his first shutout in more than four years as the Devils won their second straight game after losing four in a row.

Clemmensen finished with 23 saves.

Michael Frolik, the 10th pick overall in the 2006 draft, spoiled Clemmensen's bid for a third career shutout, scoring his first NHL goal on a power play.

Elias and Gionta combined to break a scoreless tie at 6:47 of the second period on what turned out to be the Devils' only shot on Tomas Vokoun in the stanza. . . READ MORE

No, you didn't misread. They only had one shot on goal in the second. And it was IN the goal.

This should be fun..

Next Tuesday (November 25), Panthers' director of player personnel, Jack Birch, will join the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle for a live, one-hour open chat.

While I'm sure Panthers' questions would be welcomed, I don't expect any. Hell, I'm not even going to ask about the Panthers. Birch was quoted yesterday by LetsGoAmerks.com as saying, "We spend $2 Million a year on scouting," when asked about free agents. So I'm thinking Amerks questions, and frustrations, are going to be in abundant supply.

Putting on his shoes for a moment, I can understand why he'd be aggravated when someone that "doesn't know" tries to tell him how to do his job. But it's not earning Jack Birch -- or the Panthers -- any fans, by giving a seemingly disinterested and arrogant response.

So this chat is a good about-face from that, and it will at least give fans something. There are so many questions to be asked. There's just so little time.

If you go ahead and jump in and participate, whether you like Birch or not (assuming you've dealt with him), the only encouragement I can give is that this is something that could be very interesting, and maybe it will provide some real, valuable insight into the situation. Maybe. So if you just want to rip the guy, consider saving it for the games. It may just take time away from someone that has a good question.

I'll write again the night before for a reminder in the off-chance you actually want to ask something about the Panthers (like about Frolik, for example). Otherwise, If I'm able to, I'll copy the stuff so you can read it all later. Depending on whether it gets reprinted or not, we'll see. I'll have to ask.

For now, the Panthers and Devils are seconds away from the opening faceoff, so enjoy the game.

Brady Calla Sent Back to Kamloops

Right winger Brady Calla was removed from the Rochester Americans' roster and returned to the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers to play out the rest of the season.

Calla, 20, managed one assist in eight games with the Amerks. The decision will send him back to the WHL to let him further his development at a more practical level, and hopefully, bring him back next year having benefited from the experience.

At the end of last season, Calla did play in a handful of games for Rochester under then-coach Randy Cunneyworth (now an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers), scoring two goals and two assist, however those six games came at the end of his junior season.

Panthers @ Lightning | 7:30 PM (No TV!)

Tonight's game is radio only. Even if you have Center Ice, the only way you're watching this game is if you're at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. So, hopefully you're a fan of radio, because it's Moller and Lindsay tonight. Tune in or listen online at 790 The Ticket.

Even if you don't like radio, there are few things more entertaining (and random) than Randy Moller.

Stillman's had a recurrence of after-effects from his concussion, so he's not playing tonight. Likely not for the rest of the week, so DeBoer's just saying "indefinitely". Cory suffered the concussion on November 2nd against Atlanta, returned on the 12th and played in two games, though with no offensive production. When the symptoms returned, the organization chose to take the safe -- and smart -- route and give him ample time to make sure everything's going to be 100%.

Kreps might be back tonight. He skated with the team, but if they don't think he's good to go, it's just like with Stillman. Kreps, if you don't know, is recovering from a concussion of his own, so it's the same thing. Just have to be safe.

Brett McLean was, or maybe still is, down here dealing with a family matter, but he'll be with the team in time for the game.

With the injury to Stillman, Michael Frolik gets to move up and take another crack at the top line. So, expect to see (not really, since it's radio only) Frolik - Horton - Olesz up top tonight.

He was quoted on the Cats' site after being asked about his recent struggles and missed chances:

[It's] been hard. I just can’t put it in. I just have to play hard at practice, shoot more at practice and I have to think the right way and think it’s going to come.

He's got the right attitude, but if it doesn't come soon, at what point do the Panthers have to get worried about his confidence taking a major, major hit? Is he already getting down on himself? Maybe he can get that first goal tonight. I've wanted to see Frolik and Olesz on a line (for more than one or two shifts) for quite some time..

With that line and the recent production from the Booth - Weiss - Zednik line, that's likely line two. Noah Welch is the Cats' healthy scratch and Vokoun is in net.

So what else..?

Melrose is out, Tocchet's in for the Lightning, so I don't think we're going to see the same team that the Panthers beat 4-0 on Wednesday.

Steven Stamkos will be on the top line for Tampa with Lecavalier and St. Louis, and former Cats Chris Gratton and Gary Roberts will make up two-thirds of a rough, gritty fourth line. Ryan Craig is a healthy scratch, so no Boynton/Craig rematch, and Ryan Malone is out with a leg injury.

Prospects: Week of 11.10.08

It was another tough weekend to be an Amerk fan as the team not only lost all three games, but had great chances to win all three.

Friday night, the Amerks got goals from Michal Repik (3) and Stefan Meyer (4), and took the defending AHL champion Chicago Wolves into a shootout. Rochester went 0-for-5 in the shootout, while Chicago went 1-for-5, and skated off with a 3-2 win. Janis Sprukts had two assists and Jason Garrison and Rory Fitzpatrick each had one. Chris Beckford-Tseu stopped 32 of 34.

On Saturday, Rochester was in Ontario to play the Hamilton Bulldogs, and jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a shorthanded goal from Sprukts (2) and a power play goal by Mike Duco (5). Hamilton pulled to within one, and then Meyer scored his third of the season early in the second. But only two minutes later, Hamilton again drew to within one, and fifteen seconds later, they had tied the game. It would stay tied until the 18:37 mark of the third, when, with a two-man advantage, Hamilton took a 4-3 lead. Beckford-Tseu stopped 27 of 31, and Kenndal McArdle, David Brine, Meyer and Sprukts each tallied assists.

Against Hamilton again on Sunday, the outcome was no better. David Shantz got his first start, and Rochester again claimed the lead in the first period off the stick of Jordan Henry (1). Hamilton tied the game -- shorthanded, and thirty-one seconds later, still on a power play, Repik scored his fourth to make it 2-1. Hamilton scored early in the third, and then scored two straight shorthanded goals 25 seconds apart, before cushioning their lead with an empty-net goal. 5-2 final. Fitzpatrick and Garrison assisted on the Repik goal.

ECHL

Tyler Plante didn't play for Dayton on Friday as he was still on standby for the Panthers, but he returned and played his first ECHL game of the year on Saturday night. The Bombers came in to the game winners of four straight with a 7-2-1 record, but Plante wasn't able to carry the team in his first start. Two power play goals against and one at even strength found Plante pulled for the extra attacker, but Johnstown iced it with an empty-net goal and went on to beat the Bombers, 4-1. Plante didn't play Sunday.

Juniors

James DeLory, now a right wing, played for the first time since being returned to the Oshawa Generals and appeared in all three games this week. After going unnoticed on the scoresheet Wednesday, DeLory assisted on what proved to be the game winner, and on Sunday, he picked up his first goal of the year on the power play. John Tavares centered DeLory a bit this weekend. . . Adam Comrie was even in plus/minus and without points through two games, Saginaw falling in both. . . A.J. Jenks was blanked this week as Plymouth* finished with a win (5-1, vs. Saginaw) and a loss (6-2, vs. London). . . Corey Syvret was a -1 with 2 PIM as Guelph went 1-1 for the weekend. . . Colby Robak (pictured) had an assist and 2 PIM in a 6-2 win on Tuesday, but left Friday's game (2-1 loss to Calgary) in the first period with a shoulder injury. He didn't play Saturday, and is day-to-day. The Wheat Kings lost Saturday's game to Seattle, 5-4. . .

* Plymouth Whalers head coach Greg Stefan resigned last Monday, and took a position with the Carolina Hurricanes. Mike Vellucci, Plymouth's President and General Manger -- and winningest coach in franchise history -- has reclaimed the coaching duties. If you're interested, Carolina Hurricanes' owner Pete Karmanos also owns the Plymouth Whalers. And yes, he owns the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, too.

CCHA

After going without points this weekend for Michigan, Matt Rust now has only one in his last six games. The Wolverines dropped from #8 to #9 in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll. . . Matt Bartkowski had one of Ohio State's 17 shots on goal and was on the starting defense pairing in the Buckeyes' lone game this week: a 4-0 win against Robert Morris University (near Pittsburgh). Bartkowski also took two minor penalties, one for interference and the other for roughing. . . Ryan Watson (Western Michigan) did not play in either game this week. . .

WCHA

Denver's John Lee was a +2 without points as the Pioneers were beaten in both games by St. Cloud State, with Marc Cheverie on the hook for both losses. Chevy stopped 29 of 33 in a 4-2 loss Friday, and 24 of 26 in a 2-1 loss on Saturday. The Pioneers fell from #4 to #10. . . North Dakota made it to #15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll and Derrick LaPoint was on the ice to start both games, although he was unable to add any offense. North Dakota won the latter of the two games. . .

Hockey East

New Hampshire fell from #5 to #10 without Brian Foster, who suffered an ankle injury earlier in the week. The Wildcats gave up eight goals in each of their two games, and allowed a total of 72 shots on goal. . . Maine swept Providence in their two-game weekend series, while defenseman Matt Duffy played on the top pairing for a night and the bottom pairing for the other. . .

Sweden

Jacob Markström was back in the net for Brynäs on Thursday. In a road loss against Linköping, Markström let in three goals on only twenty shots, but he recovered nicely against Frölunda on Saturday, turning aside 25 of 26 as Brynäs won the game, 2-1.

Russia/Czech

Evgeny Dadonov has three goals and three assists for Chelyabinsk. In the Czech league, 26-year old Vaclav Nedorost has eight goals and eighteen points in twenty-three games. Martin Lojek, who returned to the Czech Republic, apparently was not impressive with Oceláři Třinec, and is currently playing for Havířovská hokejová společnost (HC Havirov Panthers) in the Czech first division.

What's in the bag? It's Panthers swag!

As I'd written before, I won a Panthers/Puck Daddy contest, and with it, four tickets to the ADT Club for last night's game. The food and drinks in said section were free (and good) and I got a gift bag, as well.

First off, the bag. It was a nice bag that I can probably use to carry my skates around if I ever get sick of just hanging them off my shoulder.. I only took a couple of pictures, so you can't really tell. But it's a nice bag.

In the bag were two navy blue Florida Panthers hats with the Cats' logo on the front. I lost my last Panthers hat the last time I moved, so this is good. And now I have a spare..

There were also two wallet schedules, so added to the many that I've already gotten at games and that came with my season tickets, plus the ones that have been sitting around in piles at other random places, I could start distributing the things and still have too many. But, they are definitely useful, and no, I never take the whole pile when I see them lying around.

I put my Growl magazine in the bag after the game, and just pulled it out. So we'll pretend that was in there, too.

What else..? You know those goofy thundersticks? They threw a pair of those in there so if I ever get the urge to bring two large, inflatable noisemakers, the option is there. You just never know.

Refrigerator magnet schedules. Big ones. This is good. I've wanted to get one, and now I have two, so I'll have to find a place to put the other one so that I can see it by the computer.

I laughed when I pulled out the Panthers' sweater beer koozies. They're pretty neat, so even if I never really put them to use, they'll look good on display somewhere.

There's a box.. maybe a shirt or something? It's pretty heavy.

This is sytrofoam, so I doubt it's a shirt. Nope, it's definitely not a shirt. It's a Stanley C. Panther bobblehead! It's cool, although it looks a little creepy. My cat attacked it the first time I tried to take a picture of this stuff.

I was surprised at how heavy it was, though. It isn't some cheap, crap quality plastic bobblehead. But don't get me wrong, it's nifty, just surprisingly heavy.

And I've saved the best for last. Not only is it a puck, but it's an autographed puck. And they've outdone themselves. It's signed by Rostislav Olesz! If you'll note the banner image I made at the top of the page, you'll see that Olesz is there twice. This is pretty awesome because Olesz is pretty awesome.

So, a couple of pictures..

Panthers, Amerks Fall to Champs

Both the Panthers and the Amerks lost tough games tonight, each against the defending league champs.

In Florida, the Cats battled back from a 2-0 deficit against the Detroit Red Wings only to come up short when they were unable to apply the same pressure that had helped them through the first forty minutes -- especially during a stretch in the second period where the pace was just phenomenal at both ends.

After a Cullimore holding penalty, the Wings made it 3-2, and with only six shots on goal in the third, the Panthers fell by that same 3-2 score.

I thought, despite a few mistakes, that Michael Frolik played arguably his strongest NHL game to date. He's getting more confident with the puck, but he also managed to stay on his feet. Early on this season, Frolik has looked to be extremely easy to knock down and take out of the play. He's improved there quite a bit since the season started.

Craig Anderson was pulled after only two goals, the first of which was just a terrible goal to let in. Vokoun played well, and the team scored their two goals after the switch had lit the fire; first by Richard Zednik and the second by Stephen Weiss -- from Richard Zednik.

The loss doesn't help the Panthers in the standings, though. Despite having more wins than the Lightning (who just fired Barry Melrose.. seriously, already?) are a point behind, one point above the Islanders -- worst in the league.

Now, moving north, the Amerks played last year's AHL champions, the Chicago Wolves. Unfortunately, the eventual outcome was the same. But, the Amerks took it to a shootout.

Apparently Rochester had scored a goal in the first, which replays seemed to confirm, and referee Chris Brown signaled that it was, in fact, a goal. After the goal was contested by the Wolves' bench, Brown conferred with a linesman who was away from the play, and overturned the decision. Why? I have no idea.

In the second, the Amerks tied the game at one, this time without having the goal overturned, and it came on the power play off the stick of Michal Repik (Garrison and Sprukts with assists). Rochester peppered Wolves' goaltender Dan Turple with 18 shots in the period, but a potential backbreaker came with 22 seconds left in the second when Chicago reclaimed the lead.

With less than five minutes to play in the third and with Rochester on another power play, Stefan Meyer delivered the second game-tying goal (assisted by Janis Sprukts and Rory Fitzpatrick), and helped the Amerks send a game they may well have been winning, into overtime, ultimately to a shootout, which they lost 1-0. Repik, Meyer, Sprukts, Larman and Matthias were the shooters for the Amerks.

This was probably the Amerks' best game of the year, and they just can't catch any breaks. It's a shame. The players are working hard every night, and they deserve better.

Moving on, I read a rumour that a certain NHL team is in danger of not making payroll this week. From what I've heard, one station in New York speculated that it was the Florida Panthers, but the second, citing 'several sources' points to the Tampa Bay Lightning. And right now with the mess that they've got with Melrose getting fired and everything that has been going on, I guess it's possible. Don't know if there's anything there or not, so I guess we'll see.

As for Tyler Plante, he never did end up dressing for the Panthers. Vokoun, obviously, was good to go, so he was on the bench (and eventually in the game) tonight. Plante should be back in Dayton by now.

One last note, and it's not a good one, is an injury to New Hampshire goaltender Brian Foster. He hurt his ankle and is out 'indefinitely'. The Wildcats played without Foster against UMass-Lowell tonight and lost, badly. The final score favored Lowell, 8-3.

I'll write about the Panthers/Puck Daddy contest and what I got sometime tomorrow.

Cheverie, Foster Earning Praises

Earlier this week, goalie prospect Marc Cheverie was named the WCHA's Defensive Player of the Week.

University of Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie, who backstopped the Pioneers to a two-game sweep over visiting league rival Minnesota Duluth last weekend, is the Red Baron® WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for November 11-17. . . FULL STORY.

But he's not the only one picking up the good word. Brian Foster was named Hockey East's goalie of the month for October, and last week, he found himself the subject of a College Hockey News feature, which is well worth the read in its entirety.

This season, Foster is making up for lost time. The athletic goalie from Pembroke, N.H., has helped lead New Hampshire to a 4-1-2 record and a 2-0-2 record in Hockey East going into this weekend's non-league games at Minnesota. In six games, Foster, a Florida Panthers draft pick, has gone 4-1-1 and has a 1.48 goals against average and a .951 save percentage.

"I wanted to come in have good year right from the start," Foster said. "But most importantly, I wanted to give my team a chance to win."

Foster is certainly doing that. The Junior has gotten wins against Wisconsin, Rensselaer, Boston University and Northeastern -- three of which are nationally ranked. But maybe even more encouraging for New Hampshire is the fact that Foster has stepped in perfectly and not allowed the team to miss a beat after the departure of Regan.

"He took the spot right over," New Hampshire coach Dick Umile said. "He's a No. 1 goaltender. He's proven that he's going to be a top goalie." . . . FULL STORY.

One extra note, still on the subject of goalies. Jacob Markström played in his first game since being struck in the neck by a puck on November 3rd.

Brynäs took on league-leading Linköpings on Thursday and despite outshooting their opponents 26-20, Markström and Brynäs fell, 3-1.

One Step Forward and Two Steps Back?

Less than a week after being reassigned from the AHL's Rochester Americans to the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL, Panthers' prospect Tyler Plante has been recalled once again -- but this time, it appears he's coming to the NHL.

According to reports, Tomas Vokoun didn't pull a full practice on Wednesday, although the decision to start Craig Anderson had already been made.

It seems that the starter is suffering from back spasms and unlike against Tampa, the Panthers want to make sure they're able to put a healthy goaltender on the bench in the event that a goaltending swap has to be made.

So if indeed the Cats have recalled Tyler Plante, they elected not to use him against Tampa. He may not even dress for the game tomorrow against Detroit. Or, he may be reassigned by then, but for now, it seems he's around -- just in case.