Hell On Ice - NHL 2003

[shefellover93]

Irishman to take Charge at Continental Airlines Arena

Devils General manager Lou Lamoriello said today that coach Pat Burns had retired as head coach of the Devils due to 'Personal Reasons'. Burns, who won the Stanley Cup with the East Coast side, was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, he said during the conference "Really Hockey takes a backseat now, I have to call it quits, my family is all that matters to me at the moment."

Lamoriello said that the franchise agreed a deal with Irishman Kevin Galvin, this is the first time that an Irishman has been appointed a coach of an NHL team.

He said today "I'm so pleased to be appointed head coach. I supported NJD as a boy and it's amazing just to step through the doors of the Continental Airlines Arena"

The Devils start their season off with a game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Friday the 3rd of January

 

[Manly]

A hockey story... nice!

Shoulda picked the Canucks though.

 

[shefellover93]

Mighty Ducks get mighty start against Devils

A third quarter goal from Paul Karyia meant that the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim got off to a winning start at the Arrowhead Pond in front of a crowd of 12,374.

In a game played in the centre of the ice, a fight between Jamie langenbrunner and Kevin Sawyer in the start of the 3rd quarter sparked the game off somewhat 47 seconds in, and in the 5th minute a snap shot from Karyia after a Petr Sykora pass evaded the ever excellent Brodeur’s right glove and went into the net.

The star awards reflected the game as both second and third star went to Martin Brodeur and Jean-Sébastien Giguère respectively with British Columbia born Kariya getting first star.

Anaheim travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leaves on the 7th while the Devils play the Washington Capitals at the Continental Airlines Arena in their first home match of the season on Thursday the 9th

FT: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1-0 New Jersey Devils

Friday, 3rd January 2003 23:14 EST

 

[shefellover93]

Heroic Brodeur not enough to secure Devils points

New Jersey are still looking for their first points of the 2003 campaign after they lost by 1 goal yet again.

In a heated affair Capitals players Chris Simon and Brendan Witt were sent to the ice by headshots from Colin White and Turner Stevenson respectively. All serving the maximum 5 minutes in the bin.

The second quarter was a quiet affair with neither team able to break the deadlock. Fine goaltending by Canadian Martin Brodeur (NJD) and German Olaf Kölzig (WAS) meant that both teams were still 0-0 heading into the 2nd Intermission

But 40 seconds into the 3rd a Sergei Gonchar pass was struck home by Czech defenseman Jaromir Jagr into the home net and it ensured a tight finish. Witt didn’t learn his earlier mistake when he entered into a contest with Jamie Langenbrunner. It was Langenbrunner’s second in the space of 6 days, and Witt’s second of the match. Needless to say New Jersey had their third bout winner of that game.

But that accounted for nothing when the buzzer went, it was greeted by boo’s that echoed around the Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey take no points from their opening two encounters, and Washington make the short trip down the East coast with 4 points from a possible 4 under their belt.

Goaltenders once again featured in the stars as Brodeur picked up third and Kolzig second with goalscorer Jagr picking up first star.

Thursday, January 9th 2003 15:43 EST

 

[shefellover93]

Gomez faces 2 Weeks On the Sideline

New Jersey Devil Scott Gomez will miss the next two weeks of hockey action due to bruised ribs. The centre sustained the injury while playing against the Washington Capitals yesterday, a game that the Devils lost 1-0.

Gomez will now miss New Jersey's games against Nashville and the New York Islanders

"I got hit hard against the boards and I felt something straightaway, I was really looking forward to the local game against the Islanders but I have just got to get on with it and do my best to get fit. ASAP"

We wish the Anchorage native the very best recovery

Saturday 10th Janurary 2003, 20:43 EST

 

[shefellover93]

Devils Take 2 Points in 11 Goal Thriller

New Jersey took the long journey to Tennessee to take on the Predators in their quest for the first points of the season. In an action, goal and hit packed game, they came away with the 2 points, but not without a late scare. With Scott Gomez out for 1-2 weeks with bruised ribs, Sergei Brylin put them in the lead three and a half minutes into the match. Vitali Yachminev then responded with a goal of his own almost straight after the face-off. In a heated affair between the two teams Greg Johnson was taken off for medical care when he scuffled with New Jersey hard man Ken Daneyko, and he was checked through the air in an off the puck incident.

The second quarter started off slowly before a David Legwand goal in the 9th minute set the game alight, Brylin equalised 36 seconds later and we had a game on our hands. Foul play from Oleg Tverdovsky meant that the Ukranian was given his marching orders after being penalised of game misconduct for checking from behind. A shorthanded Devils then went ahead courtesy of a Patrick Elias goal from a well weighted pass from Daneyko.

Then two quick New Jersey penalties gave the Predators, who, like New Jersey started with a 0% record going into the game, a perfect opportunity to draw level with Colin White given a 5 minute major for boarding, and Daneyko felt hard done by when the Edmonton was charged for cross-checking, space at a premium in the Devils box.

But New Jersey amazingly rode the storm and battled to the end of the quarter unscathed, and the Tennessee crowd made sure that Head Coach Barry Trotz knew that they weren?t happy, a cacophony of boo?s sounded around the Sommet Centre as the players headed in for the second intermission. Tensions reached boiling point just after the intermission, when, in an explosive third quarter, Jamie Langenbrunner, who was making a habit of flooring fellow professionals, hit Scott Hartnell with a hard uppercut to leave him in a heap on the centre ice.

Good link-up play between Brylin and Brian Rafalski led Joe Nieuwendyk to score his first of the night. Then John Madden made it 5-2 13 with 7 minutes to go. The Predators than switched goalies, before star performer Yachminev slammed home a Andy Delmore pass to keep the Tennessee outfit in it. The home team then struck again with 2 and a half minutes to go the Russian got his hat-trick to put only a goal between the sides.

Nashville then decided to pull their goalie for the last two minutes and try and steal that all important goal, big mistake, Jay Pandoflo took the puck on a breakaway scored his first of the season, the Predators tried the trick again, but this time Star Centre Patrick Elias almost broke the net with a 95 mph shot that 6 man Predators were powerless to stop. Soon the buzzer went and New Jersey picked up their first points of the season, Sergei Brylin, John Madden and Vitali Yahminev took 3rd, 2nd, and 1st star respectively, all richly deserving their awards.

The Devils now return back home to take on conference rivals New York Islanders on the 14th. Nashville will look to end their unbeaten streak when they take on Toronto on the same day.

FT: New Jersey Devils 7-4 Nashville Predators
Saturday 11th January 2003 18:25 EST

 

[shefellover93]

Shotout stunner leaves Devils empty handed

New Jersey arrive into this game against rivals New York Islanders on the back of an excellent 3 goal win over the Nashville Predators. The Islanders, who haven?t won a single game so far this seaso, lost 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes Friday last.

For the Devils centre Scott Gomez is once again out with bruised ribs, while the Islanders lose Canadian Claude Lapointe to the flu.

New Jersey got off to the perfect start when Patrik Elias put them a goal up after only 75 seconds. From there the Devils somewhat controlled the pace of the game and besides the early goal the first quarter was a quiet one.

The second quarter got the game going, with Jamie Langenbrunner putting NJD two goals to the good 40 seconds in, but 9 minutes later Mattias Timander took a Mark Parrish pass and rifiled it past Martin Brodeur. The New Jersey net minder was beaten again a minute later when Shawn Bates drew the sides level. Bates struck again second before the second buzzer to put the Islanders one goal ahead and set up a nail biting third quarter.

Oleg Tverdovsky then took a face-off that was won by Stephane Richer and fired a slapstick into the bottom left corner. Then Langenbrunner had his fight club, knocking Adrian Aucion to the ground, 4 out of 4 for Langenbrunner. 6 minutes into the quarter Russian Alexi Yashin restored New York?s advantage before Tverdovsky repeated the trick from the face-off, drawing the sides level once more, before Bates got his third of the night 9 minutes from time to restore the lead.

Out went Brodeur and in came Corey Schwab for the final 10 minutes. But Aucion still managed to get a goal after his brief encounter with Langenbrunner in the 15th minue. New Jersey, 2 goals down with 4 minutes to go, game over, or so it seemed. Richer took a Jeff Friesen pass and blasted it past Chris Osgood in the away net. 6-5 and the 18 thousand plus fans packed into the Continental Airlines Arena crowd were on their feet, roaring the Devils onto victory, and also a large contingent of Islanders fans voicing their displeasure.

But it got worse for the away fans when, 30 seconds from the final buzzer, a slapstick shot from Sergei Brylin almost broke the Islanders goal, and put the Devils 6-6 level in what was a truly incredible game. With the new NHL rules overtime was skipped and the game went straight to a shootout. All 5 players missed their shots with the goalies ruling the roost. Up came Joe Nieuwendyk and he had his shot saved. It all rested on the shoulders of Mark Parrish and Corey Schwab. Parrish took the puck up, duked left, Schwab dived low, Schwab fake shot and took the puck across the goal to the right. Schwab found his feet and Yashin shot from a tight angle, Schwab brought up his left arm, knocked the puck into the underside of the crossbar, but it agonisingly went over the line to hand an important victory to the Islanders.

Oleg Tverdovsky, Sergei Brylin and Shawn Bates finished 3rd, 2nd, and 1st star in the match. The Islanders now lie one place above the bottom, the Devils occupying that place. New Jersey now travel to Colorado to take on the Avalanche, while the Islanders have another local derby, this time against city rivals Rangers .


FT: New Jersey Devils 6-6 New York Islanders
(Islanders win 1-0 in shootout)

Tuesday January 14th 19:56 EST

 

[DPRA]

What a great unique story this is mate!

Well done! Im going to be watching. Very different indeed!

 

[gutterman]

good stuff mate unlucky on only the one win so far but there are many more games to come kutgw

 

[shefellover93]

Classy Devils bag two more points

The Devils travelled to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday to take on the Colorado Avalanche. In a game almost completely dominated by New Jersey, the Avalanche were comfortably beaten 4-1.

Czech native Patrik Elias got the scoring going 54 seconds into the game, when Joe Nieuwendyk supplied the perfect cross-rink pass for Elias to smash home. Then Jamie Langenbrunner did what he does best when he won round 5 out of 5 against Adam Foote in the 7th minute. Brian Gionta then got his name on the score sheet 3 minutes from the 1st intermission to give the Devils a 2goal lead heading into the break.

New Jersey got off to a great start in the second when Joe Nieuwendyk when he put 3 between the teams 4 minutes in, the Devils able to manage without Scott Gomez. In a hot-headed encounter the second fight of the night broke out between giants Scott Stevens and Dan Hinote, with a second Avalnache player falling to the ice, Stevens making sure his punches counted, all to the head.

Sergei Nemchinov scored the last goal of the night to give New Jersey their fourth 4 minutes from the 3rd quarter, and after that point the Devils played contained hockey, losing their attacking flair, but that ensured that they lost no more than that, closing out the game 4-1, and handing them their second victory in 5 games.
New Jersey players took a clean sweep across the stars, with Nieuwendyk ending up third, Patrik Elias second, and Brian Gionta first.

Devils fans will hope now that the win can boost their team, and hopefully put them on the road for their second successive Stanley Cup triumph.

FT: Colorado Avalanche 1-4 New Jersey Devils

Friday 17th Janurary 2003 15:05 EST

 

[SciD]

Devils will probably win the Stanley Cup. But my team Ducks will be giving tough challengs.

Good luck with story.

 

[shefellover93]

Dynamite Devils win 3 consecutive games

The New Jersey Devils have won their third game on the trot after defeating a somewhat depleted Minnesota Wild side earlier today. Goals from Joe Nieuwendyk, Patrik Elias, Stephane Richer, Colin White and Christain Berglund meant that the Devils secured a 6-2 victory, moving the Devils up to 8th in the conference.

They got off the perfect start when Joe Nieuwendyk put the Devils in the lead 1 and a half minutes into the game. But Minnesota drew back 10 minutes later when Quebec native Hnat Domenichelli peeped the puck past Martin Brodeur in the home net, but that was all the action in a first quarter that really lacked intent from both teams.

New Jersey fell behind 28 seconds after the second intermission when Marian Gaborik scored from distance with a powerful slap shot. The Wild, without veteran centre Brian Bonin with a bruised ankle, and #1 goalie Dwayne Roloson with fatigue, could never keep their lead for long, and Patrik Elias slammed home his 7th goal of the season, the Czech centre bringing the teams level for the second time 2 minutes into the second quarter.

Stephane Richer then put the Devils in the lead a minute into the third quarter with a brilliant solo effort. The Canadian waltzed through the Wild defence and sent a powerful slapstick shot past Minnesota’s second choice goalie Mannie Fernandez. Turner Stevenson won the only fight of the night when he put Willie Mithcell to the ice with a crunching uppercut with 9 minutes to go. Colin White joined Stevenson in the box 3 minutes later when he was binned for Cross-Checking.

But the Nova Scotia native made up for it when he slammed home a rocket 20 metres out to put New Jersey 2 goals to the good with 3 minutes remaining, there was time for one more goal in the dying seconds, with Minnesota pulling their goalie to try and pull back the game, Christian Berglund sneaked a quick shot from the blue line with 18 seconds left and make the final score 5-2 in favour of New Jersey.

It was all Devils when it came to the stars, with Joe Nieuwendyk picking up yet another award at three, Colin White was two, and Stephane Richer scooped 1st star in front of the 14,00 strong attendance.

Next up for 13th placed Devils is a home game against local rivals the New York Rangers, while 16th position Wild travel to Atlanta to take on the Thrashers

FT: Minnesota Wild 2-5 New Jersey Devils

25th January 2003, 21:10 EST

 

[gutterman]

superb win for devils kutgw

 

[shefellover93]

Shootout shutout breaks Rangers hearts

The New Jersey Devils took their winning streak onto 4 when they overcame a nail-biting shootout to defeat local rivals New York Islanders at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford yesterday. An under strength Islander roster with Mark Messier to a groin pull and Radek Dvorak to a torn ACL. In an 1st quarter totally void of any action the teams were unable to break the deadlock in the first 20 mins.

The match kicked into life 2 and a half minutes after the intermission, when Czech international Petr Nedved fired New York into the lead. The Islanders then doubled their advantage 3 minutes later when Sandy McCarthy fired an Andres Johansson pass into the back of Martin Brodeur?s net. Sergei Brylin took his season tally to 5 when he put New Jersey back to a goal behind.

That gap lasted all of 37 seconds as Pavel Bure replied with an excellent flick wrist shot into the top right hand corner of the net. Johansson went from provider to finisher when the gap was increased to 3 11 minutes into the 2nd quarter. Jamie Langenbrunner got his name on the score sheet 2 minutes later. Brylin then got his second with an accurately places backhand shot to pull the difference to just 1. Then a fatal error by Brodeur gifted Johansson?s second, he took the puck in his glove, but a misfired pass fell straight to the stick of Andreas, he needed no second asking in firing the puck into the empty net.

Two goals down and with 6 minutes to go things were looking grim for the East Rutherford outfit, but Jeff Friesen wasn?t prepared to disappoint the 15,748 crowd packed into the Arena. He scored with a humongous slap shot to put 1 between the teams. With time running out and with the Devils one goal down it seemed that another defeat for the Stanley Cup holders was on the cards. But up stepped the Meadow Lake native, Scott Stevens intercepted the pass and gave it to Friesen, it was do or die time with time running out, Friesen deked to the left and faked out Richer in the Ranger net to give himself an unguarded goal in which to flick the puck into. It was a high class goal from a high class player and was priceless to keep the Devils campaign on track.

The buzzer sounded and the teams went into the shootout. This was the Devils second shootout, )they were defeated 2-1 in the first against the Islanders) and they were hoping to steal two points that rightfully weren?t their?s. It was the Rangers first, and it would be interesting to see how it went.

Eventually it was a Partik Elias slap shot goal that ended it in a goalie dominated shootout. An amazing performance by Martin Brodeur meant that he kept a shutout during the crucial stages of the competition. Hats also go off to Mike Richter, who managed to keep 4 out of 5 shots at bay, but once again the Czech centre Elias secured another two points for the Devils.

Andreas Johansson was capped third star with his excellent 2 goals and 1 assist. Sergei Brylin finished second star, while Jeff Friesen was awarded with the 1st star on the night.

FT: New Jersey Devils 5-5 New York Rangers
(Devils win 1-0 in shootout)

Monday, 27th January 2003 12:00 EST

 

[Manly]

Can we get Western and Eastern Conference Standings?