#4

Biscuits and Breezers

Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Today we will be taking about Los Angeles’s win 4-0 in the Semi –Finals and the outcome of the Hossa/Torres predicament.  Taking a look back, no one thought the Kings would even make it close to the Finals or even the Semi-Finals.  Well, they beat the odds and are the first team to land a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Kings are the team that if they put their minds and strength and wrap it all into one, can be an unstoppable team. As we all saw in Game 4 in LA. Home ice wins are always the best feelings to a team who came from behind. Racking up a 3 goals on LA’s side from center Jordan Nolan at 4:36 in the first period assisted by Dustin Penner, team Captain Dustin Brown at 18:17 also in the first period assisted by left winger Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty, and then firing back with another goal into an empty net was LA’s team Captain Dustin Brown again showing off the Kings’ stuff at 19:34 in the third period assisted by Russian left winger Anze Kopitar and American Defenseman Matt Greene. The Kings found Blues’ goaltender Brian Elliott quite a sieve with an .889 save percentage in these post season games. We have to give the Blues a round of applause though for the efforts in the Stanley Cup Semi-finals. Good try Blues, see you again next year! Great job to the LA Kings for making the Finals and breaking the 19 year waiting streak to get into the Finals! Looking forward to the teams who get into the Finals!

Moving on to the ongoing argument between Czechoslovakian winger Marian Hossa and the hit given by Canadian left winger Raffi Torres. During Game 3 between the Blackhawks and the Coyotes in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, Hossa had just passed the puck and was hit in the side by a known intense and physical player basically the enforcer Raffi Torres. Torres targeted Hossa and charged ahead, targeting his head, left his skates, and bluntly landed Hossa on the ground. In the first period, Hossa was taken off the ice on a stretcher and briefly hospitalized.  Torres was not penalized on the play but was called on by the NHL as violating league rulers with interference, charging, and an illegal check that targeted Hossa’s head. NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan sentenced Torres a 25 game suspension that was tied second longest in NHL history. He has been sidelined the rest of the playoffs. Torres, disagreeing with the sentence, is trying to have an appeal to this suspension. Hossa has been recovering off the bench since the hit. Torres is a repeat offender with targeting opposing players including Nate Prosser’s head hit on January 2, 2011 following with a two game suspension and Jan Hedja’s forearm strike on December 29, 2011 that resulted in a $2,500 fine. He also struck Edmonton Oilers’ Jordan Eberle in the head on April 6, 2011 and was followed by a four game suspension and ANOTHER hit to Blackhawk’s Brent Seabrook’s head twice in one game, having to have Seabrook leave the game, but was only given a minor penalty.

Now, let’s move one to the” Players of Today”. Today we are reviewing Finnish Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and Jokenit U20, Kiekko-Vantaa player Teuvo Teravainen, NHL draft prospect Ottawa 67’s Cody Ceci, and NHL Pittsburgh Penguins Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

Let’s start this off the European player pick Finnish player Teuvo Teravainen who is also an European Prospect for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Teuvo is from Helsinki, Finland. When the 5ft 11 in, right winger, 165 lb Finn plays for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Kiekko-Vantaa, Jokenit U20, he had 12 goals in 11 games played, 8 assists, 20 TPs, and 4 PIMs for the Jokenit U20 that he went to the playoffs with. He went on loan to Kiekko-Vantaa and had 1 goal in 3 games played, 2 assists, 3TPs, and 0 PIMs. He then went to Jokenit and had 11 goals in 40 games played, 7 assists, 18 TPs, and 6 PIMs all in the 2012-2012 season. He is signed with Jokenit through the 2012-2013 season. In the NHL entry draft, Teuvo is expected to go to the Carolina Hurricanes. Teuvo is very solid at scoring and has great on ice vision, he is the type of player who is needed on power plays and has great puck handling. Good luck Teuvo in the draft and on your future career!

Next, we have NHL Prospect Player Cody Ceci. Cody is a very prominent prospect for the NHL Entry Draft. Cody is 6ft 1in, 209lbs, and is a defenseman from Orleans, Ontario, Canada. He currently plays for the Ottawa 67’s.  Cody had 17 goals in 64 games played, 43 assists, 60 TPs, and 16 PIMs. He went to the 2011-2012 playoffs with the 67’s and had 2 goals in 18 games played, 13 assists, 15 TPs, and 4 PIMs. It is unclear where Cody is signed on for the 2012-2013season. He is currently one of the top prospects for the NHL draft and he is expected to go to the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Cody is the type of defenseman that can stop breakaways, win a race to the puck, and really dig into the plays. He quarterbacks the power plays and Cody has great agility and is great at defense. Good luck Cody and best wishes to you in your future with hockey!

Lastly we have, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He is 6ft 2in and is 180lbs. He was drafted in 2003 and he won with Team Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. His nickname is flower coming from the English translation of Fleuris (Fleury).  Marc-Andre lived with Mario Lemieux briefly while looking for other arrangements. Marc-Andre played his major junior hockey years with the QMJHL cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He is from Sorel-Tracy Quebec, Canada. While playing for the Penguins in the 2011-2012 season he has a .913 SV%, 2.36 GAA, 3,896 minutes, 67 games played, 42 wins, 17 loses, 0 ties, 4 overtime wins, 3 shut outs, 153 goals against, and 1,768 shots against. On his mask Fleury has the initials EFGT honoring his four grandparents, and always a fleur-de-lys on the backplate; also it frequently has some sort of flower artwork on it. Good Luck Fleury and keep rocking with the Penguins! You are doing a great job!

Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers. Blogs will always be filled with updated hockey news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time, don’t get your breezers in a bunch because there always more hockey just around the corner. It is always a great day for hockey and remember it is not just a sport, it’s a lifestyle!