#12

Biscuits and Breezers

       Welcome to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! In this blog we will be talking about the Rangers vs. Devils series and how the Missoula Maulers have signed a J20 Superelit player. Starting off with the Rnagers vs. Devils series. What a turn out for the Rangers! With New Jersey tying things up last week and starting to regain some much needed momentum, New York has CRUSHED what little momentum they built up. Claiming Game 3, leading the series 2-1, and shuting out the Devils 3-0, the Rangers are on the fast track to meeting the Western Conference finalist sometime in May or June. Teams are starting to show the affects of the Stanley Cup.  The Devils losing on home turf will be quite a blow to their confidence. Even though Brodeur was a star of the game, that wasn't enough to lift the Devils past the Rangers. There was no scoring in the first or second period, but the first goal of the game was made by Canadian defenseman Dan Girardi proving that some of the best offense is a great defender. Dan's geno was made on a power play at 3:19 assisted by Canadian center Brad Richards. This goal really started the Rangers' firing ability. Goal number 2 was made by Boston College Rookie American left wing Chris Kreider at 5:16 assisted by American defenseman Ryan McDonagh and American capitain and forward Ryan Callahan. The last goal of the game was scored by the captain Ryan Callahan at 17:47 in the third assisted by American defenseman Brian Boyle and Ukrainian American left wing Ruslan Fedotenko. Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist shut out the Devils with a save percentage of 1.000 and made 36 saves! Way to go Henrik! Good job to the Rangers and Good luck to the Devils in the following games. Who do you think will win the Eastern Conference Finals? Will the Rangers dominate or will the Devils storm past the Rangers? Let me know in the comments below!

     Now we move on to the next subject. The AWHL Tier 3 Junior hockey team has signed on another Swede to play for them in 2012-2013 season. Following in the foot steps of Swedish defenseman Oscar Bjorkander,left wing Viktor Steenson will be coming over to Missoula,Montana from Vaxjo, Sweden. Viktor is 6ft 0in and 214lbs. It is a long way away from Sweden, but for the Maulers and for Viktor, it will certainly be worth it. Viktor is a physical player and isn't afraid to get physical to get the puck. The Maulers are getting a great addidtion to their roster after losing a fantastic player (Oscar Bjorkander!) With the Vaxjo J20 SuperElit Lakers, Viktor had 2 goals in 26 games, 0 assists, 2 TPs, and 12 PIMs. Oscar Bjorkander may or may not be back with the Maulers in the 2012-2013, but if he isn't, all the fans and friends of the Missoula Maulers will miss him desperately! Viktor will fill that hole hopefully, and improve the  Maulers with the sense of the European playing styles and the higher levels of playing. Good luck Viktor playing with the Maulers and Good luck to Oscar for his future playing career and playing more hockey in Sweden!

    Now we move onto the "Players of Today". For the European pick we have Czech HC Slavia Praha player Tomas Hertl. For the NHL prospect we have Czech American player Radek Faksa of the OHL Kitchener Rangers. Then, for the goalie pick we have Rochester Ice Hawks' goalie Michael Hynes.

    Starting off with the European pick. Tomas Hertl is 6ft. 0in, 187lbs, and is from Praha, Czech Republic. He is a center playing for the Czech team HC Slavia Praha and is signed with them through the 2012-2013 season. Tomas is also a 2012 NHL Entry Draft prospect and is expected to go to the Buffalo Sabres. In the regular season, he has 12 goals in 38 games played, 13 assists, 25 TPs, and 22 PIMs. In the Relegation rounds, Tomas had 3 goals in 12 games played, 0 assists, 3 TPs, and 6 PIMs. At the international Jr. competitions with the Czech Republic U20 team, Tomas had 4 goals in 8 games played, 3 assists, 7 TPs, and 2 PIMs. The 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey championships were held in Edmonton and Calgary Canada. Good luck Tomas in your future hockey career and in the NHL draft! Tomas has great puck control and really puts out the effort to make his team succeed!

     Next off we have the NHL Prospect player. Radek Faksa is 6ft. 3in, 203 lbs , and is a centerfrom Opava, Czech Republic. He is playing for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. In the 2011-2012 season, he had 29 goals in 62 games, 38 assists, 67 TPs, and 47 PIMs. Radek is an NHL entry draft prospect and is expected to go to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the playoffs, Radek had 2 goals in 13 games played. 4 assists, 6 TPs, and 10 PIMs. He also played on the 2012 World Ice Hockey Junior Championships and had 2 goals in 8 games played, 0 assists, 2 TPs, and 8 PIMs. Radek has great puck control and will take charge of the play to make sure the puck is going where it needs to go. Good Luck Radek in your future NHL entry draft and in your future hockey career!

    Lastly we have the goalie pick.  Michael Hynes is 5ft. 9 in, 160lbs, and is a goalie for the Rochester Ice Hawks from Brentwood, Tennessee,USA. Michael has 4 wins and 3 loses in 15 games played total, 0 ties, 414:37 minutes played, 205 shots on goal, 183 saves, 22 goals against, 3.18 goals against average, and a save percentae of .893. In the AWHL playoffs, Michael had 1 win and 0 loses in 7 games played, 91:24 minutes, 0 ties, 52 shots on goal, 50 saves, 2 goals against, and 1.31 goals against average, and a save percentage of .962. Michael can cover the net well and has great vision when pucks are constantly flying by the pipes. It is unclear where he is playing for the 2012- 2013 season. Good luck Michael in your future golatending career and with the Ice Hawks! 

  Thank you for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every episode will be filled with updated hockey news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time, don't get your breezers in a bunch because there is always hockey around the corner! Remember it's always a great day for hockey and it is a lifestyle not just a sport!