Kevin Schultz , Islanders Point Blank:
On Saturday night in Massachusetts, David Ullstrom finished off a seven round shootout with what can only be described as the Swedish Backhand of Judgement (with all due respect to LHH and Frans Nielsen). This came after a sprawling, awkward, falling backwards save from Kevin Poulin in the sixth round. To read more of this story, click here
Kevin Schultz , Islanders Point Blank:
Update, Saturday 12:00pm: The official statement from the Sound Tigers:
Kirill Kabanov was cut in last night’s game on the left wrist, had surgery last night & is expected to make a full recovery. There is no timeline as of now on Kabanov’s return to the lineup. He will be reevaluated on Monday.
Thank you guys for all your support… Surgery went well.. Hope it is gonna hill quik… Thank you a lot again for supporting me and #BST
Kevin Schultz , Islanders Point Blank:
We’re going to take a break from Brooklyn Mania to talk about Connecticut hockey, as the Sound Tigers have three games in three days this weekend. Don’t worry, there’s a lot more Brooklyn discussion still to come.
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Two Saturdays ago, Anders Nilsson was scheduled to start the Sound Tigers’ second game of the year; their home opener against Providence. Nilsson was scratched from starting shortly before game time leading to Kevin Poulin getting his second start in as many nights, having also started the night before against the CT Whale.
This week at practice, Nilsson was still missing and CT Post beat writer Mike Fornabaio didn’t have any light to shed on the situation. When Fornabaio doesn’t know exactly what’s going on — he’s always on point with these things — it sets off a couple alarms in my head. To read more of this story, click here
It’s horrible luck for the young defender and former first round pick, who faces his third shoulder injury in as many years. De Haan was injured with about a minute to go on Saturday night in the Sound Tigers’ 3-2 win over Wilkes-Barre (video here). Per Mike Fornabaio:
Calvin de Haan reported out for the season with a dislocated left shoulder. #BST
— Michael Fornabaio (@fornabaioctp) October 22, 2012
Kevin Schultz , Islanders Point Blank:
Box Score — Official Recap — Fornabaio
The Sound Tigers won 3-2 against the Baby Penguins tonight in Pennsylvania. Kevin Poulin made 34 saves, John Persson had the game-winner. Calvin de Haan was hurt late in the third period, left the ice quickly with what appeared to be his left arm in pain. Here’s the video:
The day ended with quotes such as “today is not a good day,” from Union leader Don Fehr and “I don’t know what the next step is,” from commissioner Gary Bettman. And we’re back to the drawing board.
After this, many players sounded off on Twitter, including the Islanders own Kyle Okposo: To read more of this story, click here
Kevin Schultz , Islanders Point Blank:
Box Score — Official Recap — Fornabaio
Kevin Poulin got the start in net and earned his second win. Anders Nilsson was under the weather and so he didn’t start… Matt Donovan was a healthy scratch and replaced by McIver… Nino Niederreiter scored again, this time on a deflection of a Calvin de Haan shot from the point.
Highlights
Kevin Schultz , Islanders Point Blank:
Box Score — Official Recap — Fornabaio
Highlights: Cizikas (1 BST – 2 CT), Nelson (4 BST – 2 CT), Micheal Haley vs. Blair Riley
Greedy NHL owners and players be damned, there is hockey in North America. And we’re gonna watch it and write about it.
The Sound Tigers skated to a 6-4 victory in their season opener tonight in Hartford against the Baby Rangers/CT Whale. It was at times a dominating performance and, later in the night, it got frustrating. The latter you might expect from a young team and one composed of NHLers, aspiring NHLers, and a couple of career AHLers, none of whom have played together a whole lot.
Things started off with some tough luck for the Sound Tigers. They dominated the second half of the first period with the vast majority of the play in the offensive zone. The first half of the period was blacked out for me, as the video stream had some issues — but the Sound Tigers were down 2-0 after the period despite the solid play. The first tally was early in the period on a Whale powerplay and the second was a penalty shot goal from the Whale’s Kyle Jean. To read more of this story, click here
The Sound Tigers lead the CT Whale tonight 5-2 after two periods of play. All five BST goals came in the second. Nelson, John Persson, Nino Niederreiter and Casey Cikias (2) had the goals (don’t turn up your speakers, there’s no audio — sorry). The video above is Nelson’s goal, the Sound Tigers’ 4th, and his first as a professional.
Kevin Schultz , Islanders Point Blank:
A night after what should have been the start to the NHL’s season, the AHL will open its doors to competition that will be a bit fiercer than usual thanks to the influx of young NHL talent. The Sound Tigers start their season tonight in Hartford against the Rangers’ affiliate CT Whale. You can actually watch the game free online tonight here or here. Puck drop is 7:30pm.
For those tuning in, there really are a lot of interesting players to watch on the Sound Tigers side of things (not to mention Micheal Haley on the CT side). For starters, there’s the three top forward prospects: Brock Nelson, Kirill Kabanov, and Nino Niederreiter. In goal tonight will be Kevin Poulin, getting the nod over Anders Nilsson. Then there’s the defense with Travis Hamonic — back on the ice after that “slight, little” injury — Matt Donovan, and Calvin de Haan who has been plauged by shoulder injuries the last few seasons. All that doesn’t even include Casey Cizikas, Aaron Ness or a trio of Swedes (Ullstrom, Persson and Sundstrom).
Ladies and gentlemen, you may just be looking at your 2013-14 Islanders.
