It probably seems like a world away for the Wild as they enjoy the far more moderate weather of Southern California while fans back in the State of Hockey are frozen in a winter wasteland of piles of snow, ice and a bitterly cold wind that bites at them whenever they gather the willpower to go outside and shovel. Another Minnesota sports team knows just how devastating the weather can be as the Minnesota Vikings pre-emptively postponed today’s game but it would take another more dramatic turn when video of the internal security cameras at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome captured the collapse of the roof as it simply could not withstand the weight of the heavy snow. The youtube clip of the roof collapse has gone viral and the Vikings will now play their game at Detroit’s Ford Field tomorrow. While the loss of the Metrodome’s roof was dramatic and unfortunate, I would hate to be a season ticket holder of the Vikings right now because what are you going to do? The team has stated it will allow fans to go see the Vikings in Detroit but honestly who is going to be able to make it there to watch them play? At least the Detroit locals will be able to attend the game for free; what a treat for them even though their Lions gave them something to cheer about already by beating the Green Bay Packers today. It will be interesting to see what the team does with its remaining home games, perhaps they’ll end up playing at TCF Bank Stadium and we can see if Vikings fans are willing to watch outdoors as much as some claim they do. Either way the Wild is probably very happy to be in the California sun as it completes the 3rd game of its 3-game road trip with a test against the Anaheim Ducks this evening.
The Wild are coming off a game where they were fairly undisciplined and managed to steal a 3-2 overtime victory with the help of a few terrible miscues by the Kings’ Jonathan Quick. Minnesota cannot depend upon the Ducks to beat themselves the way the Kings did; nor can it expect to have success if it takes 8 penalties the way it did Saturday night. The Wild may not be able to return to Minnesota right away, but will they have the warm feelings of a victory to comfort them or will they give the fans of the State of Hockey the feeling of dread normally reserved for the knowledge of having to brave the elements to go shovel some more snow?
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The Wild did not have a good start, giving up a goal to Corey Perry with just 19 seconds into the 1st period as he scored off the rush putting Minnesota on its heels right away. Minnesota would regroup and they would actually have some decent offensive pressure for a good portion of the period. The 2nd line of Kyle Brodziak, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Martin Havlat was able to create some scoring chances as Havlat was like a man possessed on the forecheck stealing the puck multiple times before setting up Brent Burns for a pretty play near the top of the crease. Unfortunately, the Wild would give up a goal right away just 30 seconds later as Ryan Getzlaf blasted a shot by Niklas Backstrom which killed the team’s momentum. The Wild tried to regroup, and they were even able to create some good scoring chances as a blast from the point by Cam Barker nearly managed to beat Jonas Hiller who was being screened by Warren Peters. Defensively the Wild were backchecking very well and disrupting the Ducks’ rush. Mikko Koivu looked to be laboring a bit, as he struggled to find time and space and was reaching at the puck instead of skating to it. The Wild had fairly good energy overall considering they played the night before and while trailing 2-1 may not be ideal it was a not bad 1st period effort.
Minnesota had a horrendous start to the 2nd period, as Marek Zidlicky took a lazy hooking call to put Anaheim on the power play and just seconds into the man advantage would take a bench minor for too many men on the ice to give the Ducks a long 5-on-3. The mistake would prove costly as a lack of passing options forced Ryan Getzlaf to just take his chances and he wired a slap shot that hit the left post and in to put the Ducks up 3-1. Minnesota would kill off the remainder of the Ducks’ power play but the damage had been done. The Wild tried to step up their play and the Wild would draw a penalty as Jason Blake would take a penalty in the Minnesota zone. On the man advantage the Wild had several quality scoring chances as Patrick O’Sullivan set up Martin Havlat near the top of the crease but his shot was stopped by Hiller, and Minnesota kept working the puck out to the point where Brent Burns tried to move in and fire a shot by the Ducks were denying shooting lanes well. Seconds after the failed Wild power play they’d earn another when Luca Sbisa slashed O’Sullivan’s stick. The Wild would capitalize on the chance as they moved the puck very quickly and efficiently as a one-timer from the right faceoff dot by Mikko Koivu reached Hiller who kicked it aside right onto the stick of Marek Zidlicky who buried the rebound to cut the Ducks’ lead to one, 3-2. With Minnesota feeling good about itself, this is when the wheels would come off for the Wild. It all started on another Wild power play when a pass to the point to Martin Havlat was intercepted by Perry who kept chugging towards the Minnesota zone as he was hooked at by both Havlat and Barker who eventually threw Perry to the ice giving the Ducks a penalty shot. Perry would race up the ice where he’d make a slight shoulder fake before firing it by Backstrom to extend the Ducks lead back to two, 4-2. The Wild failed to do much of anything else on the power play and the Ducks went on the attack and after winning a prolonged battle for the puck along the boards, a point shot by Toni Lydman would rebound out to a wide open Bobby Ryan and he’d bury it to give Anaheim a 5-2 lead. The Wild were not happy and they protested whether Ryan scored with Koivu’s stick which should be a penalty but to no avail (actually there is no NHL rule regarding this, so as strange as it was it was 100% legal). Now being down by 3 goals, the Wild did not help itself when Nick Schultz pitchforked Corey Perry’s lid off his face with a careless high stick and the Ducks would have nearly a 3 full minutes of power play time to start the 3rd period.
Minnesota was unable to get much of anything accomplished in the 3rd period as they would sit back in a passive 1-2-2 and hope for turnovers, but the Ducks were moving their feet well and dumping the puck deep into the Wild zone and they would keep Minnesota bottled up in its own end. The Wild just didn’t seem to have either the desire or the energy to mount much of a counter attack to get back in the game. The Ducks had plenty of hustle and jump in its skates to stymie and attempt by the Wild to create offensive off the rush. Minnesota spent most of the period chasing the Ducks around its own zone and you could sense a level of frustration as Cal Clutterbuck gave a vicious check to the back of Luca Sbisa for an easy boarding call. Minnesota’s penalty killers did a decent job of winning the little battles for the puck and Mikko Koivu and Brent Burns would help alleviate pressure with some big clears of the zone. The Wild would get the kill but its relief would be short-lived as the Wild’s Jared Spurgeon would be tagged with his first NHL penalty. It would prove to be costly as the Ducks would add the coup de grace when Corey Perry lit the lamp on the power play for his first career hat-trick as Anaheim now had a 6-2 lead. With the hats raining down on the ice I’m pretty sure the Wild just hoped this game would end without further incident. Anaheim tried to give some of its lower lines some more ice time and Nick Bonino nearly tallied on a backhander that skittered through the Minnesota crease. The Wild just managed 4 shots on goal in the 3rd period as they fell by four to the Ducks.
Niklas Backstrom cannot be blamed for this one, giving up 6 goals on 36 shots but he did not have a whole lot of support beyond the first period. Minnesota’s defense just did not have any legs starting in the 2nd period and of course it did not help it put itself on the penalty kill 6 times in the game after having 8 the night before. Once the team was worn down with a few Ducks power plays the Wild just didn’t have what it needed to do much of anything let alone crawl back into the game. The writing was on the wall when Corey Perry drew a penalty shot while the Wild were on the power play. Anaheim’s top line operated with impunity scoring all 6 of the Ducks’ goals and the Wild couldn’t seem to shut them down.
Offensively the Wild’s power play was much improved with quick passes and decent execution to set up quality scoring chances. Unfortunately, the team could not seem to do much of anything 5-on-5. The top line of Koivu, Brunette and Miettinen were a complete non-factor and the 2nd line was neutralized due to Minnesota’s lack of discipline placing it on the bench for much of the game. Minnesota got some nice contributions from its defenseman as Brent Burns and Marek Zidlicky had the goals tonight but the Wild needed more from its forwards and that just didn’t happen. Martin Havlat had some good flashes of creativity but he needs to take the initiative and shoot the puck when the opportunities present themselves.
Overall the road trip was fairly successful with the Wild winning 2 out of the 3 games, but Wild Head Coach Todd Richards seemed annoyed as he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune‘s Michael Russo in the post-game press conference, “A couple of big moments, we get on the power play and we’re in the game and we make a few mistakes they score and we’re chasing.” When Fox Sports Net North‘s Kevin Gorg stated that the team should feel a bit good about this road trip he dismissed it saying he felt the team had a chance and the mistakes killed their chance to win the game. Hard to argue with that, and Minnesota must be ready to play against a desperate Ottawa Senators team on Thursday. No matter what, they must be more disciplined and the penalties really killed the team’s energy. No offense to Ex-U.S. Army Ranger J.B. Spisso, but apparently motivation wasn’t enough for the Wild to get it done in Anaheim.
Wild Notes:
~ Wild roster tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, Chuck Kobasew, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Cal Clutterbuck, Patrick O’Sullivan, Martin Havlat, Warren Peters, Brad Staubitz, Kyle Brodziak, Eric Nystrom, Cam Barker, Greg Zanon, Nick Schultz, Jared Spurgeon, Marek Zidlicky and Brent Burns. Jose Theodore backed up Niklas Backstrom. Clayton Stoner was the lone healthy scratch while Matt Cullen and John Madden are out with upper body injuries. Guillaume Latendresse is still recovering from surgery he received about a month ago.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Corey Perry, 2nd Star Ryan Getzlaf, 3rd Star Bobby Ryan
~ Attendance for tonight’s game was 14,338 at Honda Center.
~ About 36 hours ago, Casey Wellman had his best single day as a pro scoring 4 goals for the Aeros in a 5-3 victory over the San Antonio Rampage, but today’s tilt against the Lake Erie Monsters was far different. Wellman failed to register a single shot on goal and was a -1 as the Aeros fell 5-2 to the Monsters. The Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche rallied back from a 2-1 1st period deficit to score 2 goals in quick succession in the 2nd period and they never looked back. The Aeros tried to rally back but just didn’t seem to have the legs or the firepower to make it happen. Anton Khudobin was pulled early in the 2nd after giving up the lead and Matthew Hackett stopped 7 of 8 shots he faced. Former Golden Gopher Ryan Stoa led the way for the Monsters, scoring twice. Chad Rau had his first goal of the season after coming off a broken jaw and Carson McMillan had a shorthanded tally for the Aeros. The loss ends the Aeros 3-game winning streak, Houston plays on Tuesday against the red hot Hamilton Bulldogs.
NHL Prospect Report:
C – Tyler Johnson ~ Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
2010-11 Stats: 29GP 22G 24A = 46pts 22 PIM’s +10
Let’s hope the Wild scouts have not forgotten about Tyler Johnson and so far he’s having a season making that nearly impossible to do. The former tryout at Wild’s prospect camp had a 6 point night (2 goals, 4 assists) in a 10-5 Spokane victory over Kamloops. The undrafted forward is small at just 5’9″, 175lbs but he has terrific hands and natural playmaking ability he played a role in Team USA’s gold medal at the U-20 tournament last year. The Spokane, Washington-native oozes skill and has been a go-to scorer throughout his entire junior career with 97 goals and 213 points in 224 games. Hopefully Minnesota brings him into the organization to add more skill to the team’s forward prospects.
High School Boys Hockey Report:
Grand Rapids Thunderhawks (Iron Range Conference) ~ 5-0 record
Most Recent Game: Grand Rapids 8, Warroad 3
Grand Rapids are a team that is on the rise as they currently stand atop the Iron Range Conference standings. The Thunderhawks are led by senior Patrick Moore who has 4 goals and 13 points in just 5 games. Led by Head Coach Bruce Laroque the Thunderhawks already look to have a great chance to improve on its very un-Grand Rapids-like 11-13-2 record from a season ago. With a power play that operates at almost 40%, the Thunderhawks make teams pay for a lack of discipline and that played a role in its most recent win, an 8-3 rout of the always tough Warroad Warriors (currently ranked #5 in class 1A). Senior Zack Dick had a hat-trick while Moore provided a goal and 5 assists in a game that was perhaps a statement to the rest of the teams in the region (as well as those teams in section 7AA) that the Thunderhawks are again a force to be reckoned with. Grand Rapids has a huge test Thursday in a game against #3 (2A) Edina at Brae Mar Arena in Edina on Thursday.
Apple Valley Eagles (South Suburban Conference) ~ 3-1 record
Most Recent Game: Apple Valley 3, Eastview 0
The Apple Valley Eagles surprised just about everyone when it won section 3AA and then went onto defeat the highly touted Blaine Bengals led by then 2010 Mr. Hockey Nick Bjugstad in the State Quarterfinals. What makes the Apple Valley Eagles scary is that last season they were a team that was primarily made up of Sophomores, now most of their team are juniors so this team still has a lot of room to improve. The Eagles are not going to be able to hide in the South Suburban conference anymore, as they are one of the favorites to be conference champion. Apple Valley’s Head Coach Jimmy Hayes has a plethora of riches in talented youngsters in juniors Trent Heuer and go-to goal scorer A.J. Michaelson and Sophomore stud Hudson Fasching who looked like an upper classman in the state tournament last spring dominating as just a freshman. The Eagles have a very tough test waiting for them Tuesday when #2 ranked (2A) Wayzata comes to town. The Wayzata Trojans led by some uber talented youngsters of their own in Tony Cameranesi and Mario Lucia will be a great test for the Eagles and their stingy goaltender Aaron Gretz. The Eagles clearly have the respect of the hockey establishment in Minnesota as they are the #7 ranked team in class 2A and if they can manage to win or even tie Wayzata that could be a giant statement that they may be a lot more than just youthful upstarts but perhaps a championship contender.
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