#43

Biscuits and Breezers

          

              Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! In this blog we will be talking about Blake Geoffrion's skull injury and one of my AWHL team's games. Starting off with the Canadiens. He was recently hospitalized for a depressed skull fracture and has undergone surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery. Playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs, Blake was driven into the boards with his head down by Syracuse Crunch defenseman Jean-Philippe Cote. With his hands to his face and covered in blood, he was skated off the ice to the dressing room. Jean-Philippe wasn't penalized for the clean hit on Geoffrion but did get a fighting major for roughing it up with Bulldogs team mate Mike Blunden. Blake is the grandson of former Canadiens star Bernie Geoffrion. Hopefully he gets better soon because 24 is too young to stop playing the sport you love. It is always devastating when something like this happens because yes there is a chance that he will turn around and recover, but then again there is always a chance that his head injury could prevent him from playing ever again. But let's be hopeful! Best of luck and have a speedy recovery Blake!

          The next thing I want to talk about is the Missoula Maulers game. It was the 2nd game of a doubleheader and did not end in the Maulers' favor. The game before was won 4-3 in overtime by  a goal from Anders Nord. This time the Gillette Wild struck back. It really was a game of who had the best goaltender. The Wild had Nick Vittori and the Maulers had Cody Janzen/McKinlee Baum. Unfortunately, in the last minute of the game, Cody Janzen was run over in the cage by a Wild forward with both skates and was painfully taken off the ice. An update came later that there were no broken bones or muscle damage, but he does have nerve damage that is creating numbness in his legs. He has punctured the nerves in his upper leg. Losing the game 7-6, both teams weren't going down without a fight. Taylor Motsinger from Gillette had a hat trick and Zach Paisley had two goals roughly 8-15 seconds apart. Gillette had goals from Motsinger, Boris Knyazev, Tyler Cavan, and  Brandon Castleberry. They had assists from Moco Willis, Ronnie Whilshusen, Bobby Solari, and Matt Rose.  Missoula had goals from Anders Nord, Zach Paisley, Michael Cummings, and  Brock Brothers. There were assists from Tyler Zandhuisen, Jordan Wheatly, Paige Stensgar-Maul, Joey Sundgren, Brett Mathews, and Dylan Chase. After the game it was Skate with the Maulers, which I obviously didn't  miss, and met some great guys. It was very good to meet Matt Chamberlain, Niko Pukkila, Zach Paisley, and Viktor Steenson. Thanks for meeting with me! Both teams played a great game and these teams were very compatible. Great job to both teams!

  

         Now we have come to the "Players of Today" segment. For the NHL pick we have the Captain for the San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton. For the junior pick we have Missoula Maulers defenseman Niko Pukkila. For the European pick we have Sault St. Marie Greyhounds right wing Sergei Tolchinsky.

    Starting off with the junior player. While I got to meet Niko this week, we had an interview. But first let's get some information. Niko is 6 ft  0in, 206 lbs, and is from Post Falls, Idaho, USA. I don't have stats for the 2011-2012 season but I do have some current stats from when he transferred from Philadelphia. His current statistics with the Missoula Maulers are 0 goals in 4 games played, 1 assist, 1 TP, a +/- of 2, and 2 PIMs. Now we can get to the interview. I met him at a skate with the players and it was very fun. He is a great guy on and off the ice. The first question I asked him was "How do you think your season is going to go since you transferred from Philly?" With that he responded, " A lot better. Philly wasn't the best and I love it here. I think my season will go really good." The next question I asked Niko was, "How are you fitting in? Are they accepting you as a family?" He answered, "I love it here. The coaches are great, I love my billet family, and the players are awesome." Then the final question I asked was, "Do you think you will stay in Missoula for another season?" He responded to this question, "I think that if I don't move forward next year I will try to spend it here." Niko is a very solid defenseman who is very good on the blue line, very attentive to where the puck is, and to where the puck will be. He has a lot of potential and definitely shows it. I think that he definitely needs to move up next year because teams in the higher leagues would greatly benefit from his skills and soft hands out on the ice.  Unfortunately he is out with a concussion and a broken nose so hopefully he gets better soon! Thanks for the interview and it was very nice to be able to talk with you. Good luck Niko with the Maulers and your future hockey career!

   Next off we have the NHL player. Joe is 6 ft 4 in, 225 lbs, and is from London, Ontario, Canada. He was drafted 1st round 1st overall by Boston in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded later on to San Jose in exchange for defenseman Brad Stuart, center Marco Sturm, and center Wayne Primeau. In the 2011-2012 season he had 18 goals in 82 games played, 59 assists, 77 TPs, a +/- of 17, 31 PIMs, 4 power play goals, 0 short handed goals, 2 game winning goals, 156 shots, and a S% of 11.5. Joe is a very good captain who puts his team before him self. Joe has very soft hands and sometimes plays the bodies but doesn't resort to that very often. He has very soft hands and quick skates. Joe connects with his players well and always makes things happen on the shifts. Good luck Joe with the Sharks and your future NHL career!

    Last but not least we have the European pick. Sergei is 5 ft 7 in, 150 lbs, and is from Moskva, Russia. In the 2011-2012 season with the CSKA-Krasnaja Armija Moskva MHL, he had 19 goals in 51 games played, 15 assists, 34 TPs, 26 PIMs, and a +/- of 17. This season he is playing for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL. Currently he has 11 goals in 23 games played, 10 assists, 21 TPs, 6 PIMs, and a +/- of 2. Sergei is a very impressive player that always seem to know when to do the right thing at the right time. He thinks what his other team mates think and that is why he is able to get the goals and find the puck. He has fast skates and quick hands. It is like the ice knows which way to move his skates. Good luck Sergei with the Greyhounds and in your future hockey career!

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