Bisons move on!

The Balgonie Bisons swept their first round series, 2 straight, against the Avonlea Arrows after a 4-1 win Friday night. The Bisons will now take on the Langenburg Warriors of the Triangle Hockey League. Langenburg took out the Cupar Canucks in their first round series.

The Bisons are looking forward to getting former Moose Jaw Warrior and U. of R. Cougar, Jason Weitzel, back for this round. Weitzel has been out for two months with a broken wrist.

Including the two Provincial games, the Bisons are 20-0-0 for the season and 53-6-0 over the last two seasons.

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Profile of the week.....

The Carolina Hurricanes ice team called the Storm Squad.

Check out the full squad here...

http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=45923

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I heard an interesting thing about the Leafs this year. They've had nine games with at least 40 shots and lost all of them. The problem is, the guys shooting the pucks aren't very good. Frustrating to say the least!

Later

Trade rumours.....

With the NHL trade deadline, March 3rd, closing fast, alot have big names have been mentioned in the media that could be traded.
The biggest name that could be on the move would be Ilya Kovalchuk. He will be a UFA in the summer and it doesn't look like Atlanta can sign him. The front-runner to acquire Kovalchuk could be the L.A. Kings. That have the the young players (Jack Johnson, Wayne Simmonds & Oscar Moller) and prospects (Brandon Kozun, Thomas Hickey & Colten Teubert) to make such a deal and not hurt their "core".
One other big name that could change teams would be Dion Phanuef. Calgary needs a shake up but i don't see many teams willing to take on his contract.
I hope the Leafs can aquire a few young players and/or draft picks but they don't really have any "assets" to move! Brian Burke has some serious work to do.

Later

Schwartz ranked 29th

Wilcox native, Jaden Schwartz, is ranked 29th for the upcoming 2010 NHL draft. Here is what TSN has to say about him..........

Centre - Tri-City (USHL)
Born: 06/25/92
Hometown: Wilcox, SK
5-10, 193 lbs.
Stats (Through Jan. 24): 20 G, 35 A, 55 PTS, 14 PIM

Notes: Despite being the youngest player on the team, Schwartz is the Tri-City Storm's leading scorer. He has great offensive instincts and is very strong on the puck despite his size. He has committed to Colorado College for next season. - International Scouting Services

January rumblings.....

I haven't blogged in the last month because i didn't really have anything nice to say. The whole Eric Tillman situation got a lot of people down, on both sides of the argument. My opinion was, because there is a "code of conduct" in place, the only decision was dismissal. It would be a political nightmare to keep him on. I don't think it would be fair to anyone, to have this distraction around for another season. Ok, enough with that!

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The Leafs have fell back to earth over the last month, only two wins in their last 10 games, after a promising start to December. Their goaltending and penalty kill have continued to be one of the worst in the league. Jonas Gustavsson will be given the chance, over the final 30 games, to become the Leafs starting goalie, for this season and beyond.

Phil Kessel continues his Jekyll and Hyde play. Awesome one week and then invisible the next. In his defence, he hasn't had anyone to play with. Hopefully that changes before next season. A true first line centre, would be a good start for the Leafs.

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The Bonnyville Pontiacs have been on a major slide as of late, 2-8-0 in their last ten, and have fallen to .500 for the first time this season. Injuries to key contributors has been the biggest issue this season.

Balgonie native, Tyler Henry, has had a good sophomore season with 43 points in 51 games.

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The Balgonie Bisons began their quest for a Senior A Provincial Title last week, with a 5-2 win over the Avonlea Arrows, of the Highway Hockey League. Balgonie has added former NHL'er, Jamie Heward, to their Provincial roster. Check out Jamie's pro career at ...... http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=2260

Game two, of the best of 3 first round series, goes Friday January 29th in Balgonie. The series winner faces the Triangle Hockey League's, Langenburg Warriors.

Later folks!

Kessel HAS made a difference!

The Toronto Maple Leafs are slowly turning around their season after a horrific start. Most folks thought that they would improve when Phil Kessel (recovering from off-season shoulder surgery) was inserted into the line-up but not this much.

Without Kessel - 1 - 7 - 4

With Kessel - 8 - 6 - 3

Now an 8-6-3 record is nothing to write home about but at this pace, at least they won't finish last overall and give division rival, Boston, that #1 pick!

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Life is better at KFC!

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Did you here the Canadian Women's Olympic team beat the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League on the weekend? Wow, i bet those boys are hearing it from their friends and family as well as the other teams in the AJHL.

Canadian goalie Shannon Szabados was the star of the game making 47 saves.

Later dudes.

Winter & the $336,000 play!

I haven't posted in awhile. Mainly because i guess i have the winter blues already (and it's still fall). With the way the Grey Cup ended and already being exhausted from dragging the boys from rink to rink, i could use a break.

I am excited, however, for another Rider offseason. It is always fun to see the make-over of the team, by the rider brass, and see what pieces are brought in to make sure we're not the bridesmaids again next season. We have over a dozen free agents and the reality is, we will probably only see half of them back in a Rider uniform.

One thing that won't change is our quarterback. Darian Durant had an exceptional season and playoff run, and i look forward to seeing him grow and improve over the next couple of seasons.

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One other thing about the gaffe at the end of the Grey Cup that no one has talked about, the money! The too-many men on the field call cost every Rider, $8,000!!!!!!!

Every player on the Grey Cup winner receives a $16,000 cheque while the losers get $8,000 each.

In the end, that play cost $336, 000 for the boys in green (42 players x $8,000)!! Wow!!

Later

Remembrance Day!

Good day folks! Thank you to all the veterans out there and men and women serving our country right now. I truly appreciate what you do!

The Riders are back at practice today and are preparing for the Western final on November 22nd. They don't know yet who they will face until this Sunday, as Edmonton visits Calgary for the right to come Taylor Field and the zoo that will await them. It's going to be a long week and a half waiting for that game.

A few Riders got some good news today as the Western division all-stars were announced. Darian Durant beat out past all-stars Henry Burris and Ricky Ray to get the nod for the first time. Here are the rest of the Rider all-stars..........

R Weston Dressler

T Gene Makowsky

C Jeremy O'Day

DE John Chick

DE Stevie Baggs

LB Tad Kornagay

LB Sean Lucas

HB Lance Frazier

Montreal lead the Eastern division with 17 all-star selections.

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I skated with the Balgonie Bisons senior team this morning at 0800. Yes, that's right, 0800 in the morning. Talk about dedication, there was even 14 players there.

I'm the teams 3rd goalie or practise goalie, take your pick, and an executive member (which consists of two members). I've played 11 years of senior but i don't have it in me anymore and my knees are too bad to be on the ice a couple times a week. Besides, i have more fun watching my two boys play than i have playing myself.

The Bison should have another dominate team again this season as they strive for their ultimate goal, a Senior A Provincial title. They lost in the final last season against a powerful Shellbrooke Elks team.

The Bison lost a few guys to retirement but have reloaded by adding former Moose Jaw Warrior, Jason Weitzel and also Lance Herauf, who played in the CHL and Europe over the last few seasons.

Their unstoppable top two lines will consist of the following players.........

Grant Selinger (BCHL, NCAA, CHL, France)

Mike Flaman (SJHL, CIS)

Chad Richardson (SJHL, NCAA)

Jason Weitzel (WHL, CIS, CHL)

Lance Herauf (SJHL, CIS, CHL, Holland)

The Bison home opener is this Friday, November 13th, against the visiting Milestone Flyers. See you there.

Later