Kingpin was the 1996 movie starring Woody Harrelson as the former Iowa State Bowling champion turned amputee Roy Munson who discovers an improbable bowling talent in Amish farm boy Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid) and Munson’s whose life had been on the skids since his amputation saw a chance to get rich quick. Munson would take his bowling prodigy to Reno, meeting up with Claudia as Ishmael, Roy would attempt to hustle people to fund their trip. The final showdown was nearly ruined when Ishmael broke his hand trying to punch Roy Munson’s former nemesis Big Earn(ie) McCracken (Bill Murray) who made a rude comment about him and thus forcing Roy to have to bowl for the big prize himself. Sure enough he would eventually reach the championship but would come up just short of the ultimate goal. Maybe if Roy Munson was in the Pittsburgh area perhaps he would’ve seen promise in the Wild’s Kyle Brodziak who recently demonstrated his prowess on the lanes by sporting a 200 average during a team-bonding event at a local Steeltown bowling alley. As Roy’s father once said in the film, “If you put that in a bottle, you have something sweeter than Yoo Hoo!” It was Brodziak’s ability to pick up spares that gave his team the win in the bowling tournament. Perhaps that is a side effect of the confidence he’s been playing with lately.
The Wild go to Consol Energy Center for the first time, an arena shamelessly similar to the Wild’s Xcel Energy Center where they even copied the idea to put high school team jerseys on the walls of their concourse. Oh well, I guess if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em right? Minnesota will be best served taking a one-game at a time approach and not dwell too much about how far it has climbed up the standings. So will the Wild keep rollin’ or will they find themselves Munson’ed in Pittsburgh?
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The Penguins would control the play early as Evgeni Malkin dished the puck back to the point to former Wild defenseman Zbynek Michalek who fired a slap shot on goal that was steered wide by Jose Theodore. After this initial chance it was the Wild showing some good puck possession early as the 2nd line of Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Martin Havlat and Kyle Brodziak worked the puck well along the boards but were unable to set up much in the way of shots on goal. Pittsburgh would go back on the attack as the Penguins cycled the puck down low while Minnesota looked a little tired as they were chasing them in their own end, before setting up a long range shot from the point by Elk River, Minnesota-native Paul Martin which was just punched aside by Theodore. The Penguins kept applying pressure and it was Malkin skating into the slot where he unloaded a wrister that was just directed up and over the net on a shoulder save by Theodore who found himself under siege a bit. The Wild would earn a bit of a reprieve when Pascal Dupuis who was in the sin bin for high sticking. Minnesota’s power play was very sharp, creating a plethora of quality scoring chances, the first one set up on a blast from the point by Brent Burns that created a rebound that worked its way to Andrew Brunette who shoveled a shot just wide of the mark. Minnesota kept applying pressure with nice little plays of the puck and Andrew Brunette set up Burns on a back door play but instead of taking a one-timer he had to settle the puck where he pulled the trigger on a shot that was easily stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury. The Wild would come up empty but the puck movement and momentum they created was positive. Minnesota would take a penalty a few minutes later as Andrew Brunette was tagged for holding, but at the end of the play Jordan Staal jumped to try to side step the check of Clayton Stoner but he fell to the ice hard and was helped off the ice by the Penguins training staff. The Penguins power play found themselves being denied time and space as the Wild aggressively challenged them all over their own zone, and were only able to create a few long range shots which were stopped by Theodore who was seeing the puck very well early on. The Wild were skating well, and backchecking aggressively to frustrate the Penguins who seemed to struggle with Minnesota’s hustle. The hustle would be rewarded as the Wild would strike as the top line had some great puck possession before Mikko Koivu stole a puck along the boards and he rifled a wrist shot that struck Brooks Orpik and Chuck Kobasew before making its way into the back of the Penguins net to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. The Penguins would try to respond, as they went to their top line and they tried to work the puck down low but Nick Schultz and Burns were physical knocking down the Pittsburgh forwards and forcing them to again settle for a long range shot by Kris Letang which was absorbed by Theodore. Minnesota would try to ease some of the pressure with some hustle of their own, as Brad Staubitz won a nice battle along the boards where he worked it back out to the point and youngster Marco Scandella attempted a very weak and dangerous cross-ice pass that luckily did not turn into a disastrous turnover but it would turn into Penguins counter attack. With just under 2 minutes left, the Wild won a faceoff in the Pittsburgh zone and Bouchard fired a shot that was stopped by Fleury but Havlat was there to tap a shot by the Penguins goalie to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead. The Penguins tried to answer back and their defense was pinching as Kris Letang tried to join the play where he gathered up a puck in the Wild corner and he fed a pass out to Paul Martin who flung a shot that was gloved by Theodore and Minnesota would take its two-goal lead into the 2nd period.
The Penguins were trying to ratchet up their physical intensity to start the 2nd period where they were swarming early and Tyler Kennedy made a nice little hesitation to draw Clayton Stoner to drop and he skated around from behind the Wild goal for a quick shot that was held onto by Theodore. The Penguins were perhaps a little too aggressive as Maxime Talbot got his arms up into the back of Cam Barker who was skating near the boards to give Minnesota its 2nd power play of the game. The Wild had tremendous pressure on the power play as Minnesota was storming the crease and firing backhander after backhand shot on goal that were not missing by much. The Wild kept pressuring and Mikko Koivu drove to the net and was stopped by Fleury but the Wild kept hacking at the puck but a quick whistle bailed out the Penguins. Minnesota would get an additional bonus when Matt Cooke was given a tripping call after knocking down Cam Barker giving the Wild a 5-on-3. The Wild were extremely passive in the 5-on-3 with no real player movement at all and their best chance came on a diagonal pass by Martin Havlat that skittered through the crease that Mikko Koivu just couldn’t get his stick on and then moments later it was Koivu firing a wrister that was gloved by Fleury. Minnesota would come up empty but as the power play expired they had another great chance when Kyle Brodziak led a nice little rush where he backhanded a shot that was redirected up and over the net by Fleury. The Penguins tried to answer back and Evgeni Malkin had a wonderful chance at point blank range that was stopped by Theodore. Minnesota would counter attack and a long range shot by Barker which was redirected on goal by a roving Matt Cullen. The Wild kept working hard and Brodziak had a great shift along the boards where he drewa a hooking penalty on Matt Letestu. The Penguins would have the first good chance on the Wild power play as Maxime Talbot stole a puck near the blueline and he was off to the races on a breakaway where his shot was interrupted by the hustle of Matt Cullen. Just moments later it was again Talbot would have another chance where he wound up and unloaded a slapper that was deflected away by Theodore. The home crowd was enjoying the more aggressive penalty kill and Minnesota was only able to manage one long range shot that was directed aside with ease by Fleury. The Wild followed up the failed power play with a very physical shift from Eric Nystrom, Cal Clutterbuck and John Madden who created all kinds of havoc as Madden ripped a shot that Fleury struggled with and as bodies fell around the crease the puck would be pushed to the corner. Minnesota would get a pretty weak high sticking call on Mikko Koivu who lifted the stick of Malkin. The Wild’s penalty kill was very aggressive early on, throwing the body early and winning the battles for the puck and clearing the zone. The Penguins finally got a quality scoring chance when former Gophers’ defenseman Alex Goligoski stepped around Clutterbuck and he fired a shot on goal that struck a few bodies and the puck would be slapped out of the zone. Minnesota nearly hurt themselves just as the power play expired when Greg Zanon whiffed at a puck but fortunately the Penguins were not in a position to pounce and the Wild were able to escort the puck out of the zone. The pace of the game would slow down, but Minnesota was winning the races to the loose pucks and they were making the smart short passes and giving Pittsburgh very little to work with. Minnesota was content to just play keep away as the Wild were defending their lead which was inviting the Penguins to attack. With the crowd starting to get back into the game, and the bodies moving to try to screen Theodore the Penguins had a few shots from the point one of which a blast from Paul Martin struck Clutterbuck in the leg that sent him reeling and crawling towards the Wild locker room once he got back to the bench. Minnesota was just flipping the puck into the Pittsburgh zone killing off the rest of the period to hold their 2-0 lead going into the 3rd.
Minnesota was skating well to start the 3rd as the Penguins were ramping up the pressure with a 2-man forecheck. The Wild at times were a bit reckless with the puck, sort of passing it to no one and just settling for an area pass. The Penguins were taking every opportunity to shoot the puck, and were getting closer to registering their first goal as Zbynek Michalek pulled the trigger on a blast from the point that clanked off the right post and just angled out as the crowd gave a big “oohhh”. Pittsburgh was starting to win some of the races for the puck but Minnesota appeared calm as they patiently chipped the puck up and out of the zone but they started to take a few chances offensively. Pierre-Marc Bouchard found some space and he unloaded a slapper that was stopped by Fleury and the 2nd line continued to create some havoc as Havlat stole a puck and worked it back to Schultz who blazed a slapper that Penguins goalie held onto. Minnesota continued to counter punch as Cal Clutterbuck took a nice feed from Patrick O’Sullivan and he rifled a shot top shelf over the shoulder of Fleury to extend the Wild’s lead to three. The goal really demoralized the Penguins and Minnesota continued to control the pace of the play, cycling the puck with impunity and peppering Fleury with more shots on goal. The Wild had plenty of jump in their skates and they were consistently a step ahead of the Penguins. Minnesota would get a late power play when Michalek was given a high sticking penalty but the power play would be short-lived as Clutterbuck would bump into Fleury getting a minor for goaltender interference. The Penguins saw an opportunity to press for a goal so they pulled Fleury for an extra attacker, but this would backfire as an intercepted pass was flipped up into the air by Kyle Brodziak and the puck would bounce and trickle into the open goal to give Minnesota a 4-0 lead. With the game still at 4-on-4 the Wild’s Clayton Stoner would take a holding penalty. Pittsburgh’s back luck continued in the closing seconds as Malkin rang a wrist shot off the pipe and the Penguins would fall 4-0 to a small chorus of boo’s from those that stayed until the bitter end.
Theodore was again fantastic, making 26 saves in the shutout win over the Penguins. His ability to find pucks in traffic and then prevent the creation of rebounds is outstanding and a big reason the Wild have found success as of late. A few posts never hurt either. Defensively the Wild did a great job of keeping Pittsburgh to the perimeter and Minnesota was again perfect on the penalty kill and the team as a whole has been providing excellent puck support to keep loose pucks from ending up in the back of their own net.
Offensively the Wild are showcasing excellent synergy, as they have managed to create offensive pressure from its top two lines consistently as well as having solid contributions from its energy line as well. Cal Clutterbuck has been outstanding as a secondary scorer and he continues to make teams pay for bad turnovers and those are the kinds of players good teams have. Martin Havlat continues to be on a roll as well and his production has sparked Mikko Koivu too who is being more assertive as well. Perhaps not the best well known aspect of the Wild offense, but Pierre-Marc Bouchard has been a nice catalyst for this team and he registered his 8th assist of the season. The Wild did not score on the power play but they did created a number of excellent scoring chances that really put Pittsburgh on their heels.
In the post-game press conference, Penguins bench boss Dan Bylsma deflected criticisms of the Wild’s neutral zone trap that tore his team apart going as far as saying Minnesota’s system is basically the same one Pittsburgh uses. That’s right Pittsburgh, as much as you either don’t wish to admit it YOU PLAY THE TRAP and in a game between two trapping teams you just got owned. Deal with it Pittsburgh fans.
The Wild will travel home with a lot of good feelings after what was a ‘pretty good’ road trip. However they will not have long to recover before they play Dallas tomorrow afternoon. Dallas is a team the Wild have struggled with, but every point is important and hopefully Minnesota rests up well on the flight back and is ready to play what will likely be a tough game tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what Todd Richards does tomorrow considering the team’s play the last 4 games with Theodore between the pipes.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild’s roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, Chuck Kobasew, John Madden, Eric Nystrom, Patrick O’Sullivan, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Patrick O’Sullivan, Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Brad Staubitz, Marco Scandella, Clayton Stoner, Greg Zanon, Nick Schultz, Cam Barker and Brent Burns. Anton Khudobin backed up Jose Theodore. Jared Spurgeon was the lone healthy scratches. Niklas Backstrom is battling a groin injury and Marek Zidlicky will be out the next few weeks with an ‘upper body injury’. Antti Miettinen is currently struggling with flu-like symptoms and Guillaume Latendresse is still rehabbing from November surgery.
~ The 3 Stars of the game were: 1st Star Jose Theodore, 2nd Star Martin Havlat, 3rd Star Mikko Koivu
~ Attendance tonight at Consul Energy Center was 18,263.
~ The Houston Aeros are starting to heat up; and a bit part of that has been the steady progress of their physical play as the addition of NHL / AHL journeyman Jed Ortmeyer gives the Aeros a great forechecking option as they put together a line of Ortmeyer, Warren Peters and Colton Gillies. They used this line to great effect in their most recent game against the Lake Erie Monsters where this line repeatedly punished the Monsters all night long. With Houston’s forecheck putting the Monsters on their heels, the Aeros peppered Jason Bacashihua with shots early on. The only thing that was able to slow the Aeros down was themselves as penalties just served to prevent Houston from continuing their domination of the Lake Erie offensive zone. The Aeros would get on the scoreboard when Jean-Michel Daoust was hauled down as he was on a breakaway, earning him a penalty shot. The diminutive forward made no mistakes about it as he deked out Bacashihua before roofing a backhander by him to give Houston a 1-0 lead. The Monsters tried to rally back late in the period but the steady Aeros defense led by Justin Falk, Nate Prosser and Drew Bagnall was able to keep Lake Erie off the scoreboard. Early in the 2nd period the Aeros again were swarming all over the ice, and a turnover in the neutral zone turned into another goal for Houston as Robbie Earl set up Chad Rau for a pretty goal to give the home team a 2-0 lead. The hitting would continue into the 3rd where you could even argue it was a bit too much as Carson McMillan ran the Monsters’ Justin Mercier giving him a 2 minute sit in the penalty box for charging. The power play did not come back to haunt the Aeros as Matthew Hackett was rock solid between the pipes and the Houston defense gave the Monster’s few scoring opportunities. The Aeros would put the nail in the coffin just inside the 4-minute mark of regulation when Peters set up Earl off the rush on a power play to seal 3-0 victory for Houston. Hackett was perfect, stopping all 25 shots he faced to earn his first shutout as professional. The Aeros play against the San Antonio Rampage tonight.
Wild Prospect Report:
D – Bjorn Krupp ~ Belleville Bulls (OHL)
2010-11 Stats: 34GP 1G 6A = 7pts 35 PIM’s -16
The Wild made a very quiet move almost two years ago when it signed Bjorn Krupp as a free agent defenseman after he went undrafted that summer. Krupp had a rough season last year, as did the Bulls and this year its not much different as Belleville currently sits in 4th place in the OHL’s East Division. Krupp has been a bit more responsible this season despite his -16 but he still has a lot to like in his 6’3″, 200lbs frame. A stay at home defenseman like his former NHL father, Uwe Krupp he has decent mobility to go along with his prototypical NHL size. It will be interesting to see what happens with him once this season is over.
Minnesota High School Boys Hockey Report:
East Ridge Raptors (East Suburban Conference) ~ 5-6 record
Most recent game: East Ridge 2, Roseville 3
There is an interesting link between Minnesota’s newest High School program and the Minnesota Wild, all one has to look at the team’s assistant coach Wes Walz and his son, the Raptors’ leading scorer Kelvin Walz. After a rough first season where the Raptors went 4-21-2, the Raptors are showing improvement at just under .500 this season. The Raptors are playing competitively against established East metro hockey powers White Bear Lake and Cretin-Derham Hall by scores of 5-2 and 2-1 losses respectively. Senior Kelvin Walz leads the team with 4 goals and 15 points and works well on a line with fellow senior Alex Idso (7 goals, 14 points). Head Coach Doug Long mainly goes to Andrew McDonough for the duties between the pipes where he has a 3-3 record, 2.71 goals against average, and a .892% save percentage. The Raptors are not likely going to be seen in the state tournament this season but they are progressing and we may be seeing them playing in the March sooner rather than later. East Ridge has another tough test this evening when the Eastview Lightning come to town.
Moorhead Spuds (Mariucci Conference) ~ 6-3-1 record
Most recent game: Moorhead 8, Thief River Falls 0
The more some things change, the more they stay the same which is something you might be able to say about the Moorhead Spuds who are trying to battle their way back to prominence amongst the elite teams in the State of Hockey. After suffering setbacks in a 6-0 loss at the hands of Duluth East the Spuds rallied back with a 2-1 win over a very dangerous Wayzata squad, and that has been a core part of Head Coach Dave Morinville‘s teams that they regularly challenge teams in the metro area and are not afraid to invite metro competition to make the trip up to the frozen wastes as they have late season matchups with Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Centennial and of course the outdoors showdown against Hill-Murray on February 12th as part of Hockey Day in Minnesota. The Spuds are led offensively by junior Eric Brenk who has 7 goals and 10 points. They are not a high-powered attack like Moorhead teams of the past and play a trapping style that is both frustrating and highly effective. Between the pipes, junior Michael Bitzer carries the mail for the Spuds, sporting a 6-3-1 record, a stingy 1.87 goals against average and .936 save percentage. Moorhead heads back to the Twin Cities to take on Minnetonka this evening.
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