Faceoff

Stuart, Bruins open season on Versus tonight

FELDY: So we can't catch the Wild opener on TV in Rochester, but we can watch Rochester native Mark Stuart and the Boston Bruins open their season tonight (Thursday -- sorry, I'm writing this late Wednesday night) at 6 p.m. on Versus (channel 35, Charter cable, Rochester).

It should be an entertaining opener, too. The Bs play host to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. A possible preview of the Eastern Conference Finals? What do you think, puck fans?

Also, if you can keep your eyes open late enough, you can get a peak at one of the Wild's Northwest Division rivals. The Colorado Avalanche open their season at home against San Jose, on Versus at 9 p.m.

Again, Phersy and I have office duty on Thursday night so we'll get our NHL picks and predictions posted at that time. We may even get around to our WCHA stuff. We know there are plenty of hockey fans who look at Faceoff each day, so pass along your picks, or your thoughts on our picks. Or just laugh at us. Either way, thanks for reading.

NHL: We'll open with one

FELDY: Mark Stuart is representing Rochester all by his lonesome to open the 2009-10 NHL season. The Boston defenseman is entering the final season of a two-year deal that will pay him a total of about $2.6 million, if I remember correctly, off the top of my head.

How many of us knew this nugget about Mark, though? He is the Bruins resident Iron Man, having dressed in 182 consecutive games. Stuart's blue-line partner, Dennis Wideman, had this to say about him: "He works harder than probably anybody else on our D corps. ... He makes the forwards on the other teams pretty miserable."

Mark's brother, Colin Stuart, was one of the final players sent down to the American Hockey League by the Calgary Flames. Colin Stuart was recently assigned to the Abbotsford (B.C.) Heat. 

Another Rochester native, Bryce Lampman, was sent down to the AHL by the St. Louis Blues a little more than a week ago.

And now that the junior hockey season is well underway, and college is set to drop the puck this weekend with exhibitions, I'll try to compile the annual list of former Rochester-area players in juniors, colleges and pros. As usual, I'm relying on members of The Nest to help me with ex-Ice Hawks.

Anything going on in Minnesota sports?

FELDY: My voice is just coming back after the Brett Favre-to-Greg Lewis play on Sunday afternoon and Faceoff rube Brew is probably just getting over his back pain after I jumped on his back during the celebration at Metrodome. We did have a good chuckle at all the fans who left at the two-minute warning. You know, beat the traffic, blah, blah, blah.

I'll be the first to admit Favre did not have a good game on Sunday, but he did throw for 300 yards and he Favred another team in the final seconds. It felt nice to be on the other side of a Favre-ing for once. So, go ahead, criticize his play on Sunday all you want. But there is no way Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels makes that play. In fact, there is no way the Vikings are even in position to win that game with T-Jack or Rosenfels calling signals.

* * *

I wrote about in last week's Faceoff column, but the crow I'm eating is well worth it in exchange for the excitement the Twins are providing in the waning weeks of the MLB season. I, like many Twins fans, wrote this team off three weeks ago. Now they're in position to leapfrog Detroit and make the postseason. If the Twins don't beat the Tigers tonight and tomorrow, we can throw away those playoff hopes for another year, but it's been an entertaining ride.

That said, if this club doesn't make the playoffs, GM Bill Smith had better make some moves to upgrade the lineup, the starting rotation and the bullpen in the offseason. All we've heard for the past four years is that when the new Target Field opens next spring, the Twins will be spending more money on players in an effort to put a championship-caliber team on the field. Of course, the Twins have slashed their payroll by $20 million over the past two years and all they'll do to "add payroll" is add that $20 million to get back to where they were two years ago. They can spin it however they want. If they don't win next year, the new ballpark won't really matter to some fans.

* * *

It's hockey season! The Wild open their season Thursday night at Columbus. Of course, we can't watch that game on TV here. Nor can we watch next Tuesday's home opener. So if you can't get up to The X on Tuesday, you'll have to wait until next Thursday to see a game on TV in Rochester (the Oct. 8 game at L.A. is a 9:30 start). There are still tickets available for the home opener, though, if you still want to go.

Phersy and I will talk all things Wild in our print edition Faceoff column tomorrow.

And we'll get our NHL picks and predictions up on the blog tomorrow night.

ICE HAWKS: Gameday update

PHERSY: In case you're too lazy to scroll down, there's an Ice Hawks contest in a post below this ... but now it's time for an update. Coach Fatis and the boys are leaving from the Rec Center at about 3:15 for tonight's game against the Edina Lakers.

Here's who is out of the lineup for sure: Justin Phelps (upper-body injury), George Jackson (lower-body injury), Cory Volk (lower-body injury), Andrew Fairbanks (lower-body injury), Sam Hingtgen (upper-body injury), Nik Tamanko (suspension), Myles Flott (illness), Alex Whitney (illness) and Zach Diltz (conditioning).

Coach Fatis said Diltz approached the coaching staff after last weekend and said he obviously wasn't where he needed to be as far as conditioning, since he came into camp late. "I think that showed what kind of kid he is," Fatis said. "So Zach went through some intense training this week. He basically went through training camp in a week, so he's pretty sore and beat up right now. But he's doing what he needs to do to help this team."

Other tidbits ...

Fatis said the team has had a great week of practice, a definite improvement over the previous week. "Hopefully we've come far enough so that we can put a mark in the W column tonight," Fatis said. "But if not, we're growing, and I know we'll get there. I saw a lot of maturity in practice this week, and you could tell things were starting to click for a few of the guys. I know the guys want this. If we're ready to start winning, we're ready. If not, we'll just keep growing." ...

Simon Eriksson will make his first Minnesota Junior Hockey League start in goal tonight. Eriksson missed a good chunk of the preseason due to injury, but he's starting to get back to full strength. "It was tough for him being out a few weeks, especially coming in as well as he did," Fatis said. "The injury basically put him out for three weeks, but we're excited to see him in his first league game. Remember, this is a kid who came into tryouts and everybody thought he looked great and everybody was excited about him. We're hoping he can get back to that form." ...

Last weekend, the penalty kill stunk ... to put it bluntly. It's an area the team worked on a great deal this week in practice. "We reviewed it, but the tough thing is the breakdowns on the penalty kill were different each time. We gave up five power-play goals, and I think it was a different type of mistake each time," Fatis said. "I think we're going to see more sound play tonight." ...

I also heard many people call the Ice Hawks "soft" after the loss to the Lakers. There wasn't as much physical play as Fatis would have liked, though he says that's always an emphasis for his teams. "We kind of came out and did the same thing in the first game last year against the Wildcats," Fatis said. "We wandered around and tried to outskate everyone. Physical play is something I feel is necessary. Now, you don't want the bad kind of physical play, like a roughing behind the play. But we like the more aggressive play, and we can accept those kinds of penalties.

Fatis said his forward lines are set for the night. But he's still waiting to make one final decision on the blue line. Right now, he's trying to decide if that final D-spot should go to Casey Wheatley or Adam Truex. "They're both good players. Casey hasn't had the best week of practice, but he's a junior hockey veteran, and he's got a great attitude. We demand a little more out of him than his last junior hockey team did and he's been working hard to get to that point. And Adam Truex is a great young player. He's doing well. They've both made it a tough decision for tonight. But even if it's one guy tonight, it might be the other guy tomorrow." ...

First-year Ice Hawk Chad Mundy will make his debut at forward. He played against the Wildcats as a defenseman, but he has now moved up front. "I just see this kid as having so many tools that could help us up front," Fatis said. "At the same time, if we see he has the potential to be a Division I defenseman, then that's where he's going to play. If we think he could be a college forward, he'll stay up there. It's really all about the development of these kids, and we just want Chad Mundy to be the best he can be, wherever he plays." ...

Veteran Alex Campbell will be in the lineup this week after being a healthy scratch last weekend. Fatis said Campbell has looked good in practice. ...

The lines have shifted. Here's what the lines will look like tonight, though coach said that could change tomorrow:

Mundy-Benson-Duwe

Sanchez-Walters-Campbell

Rucinski-Valasquez-Groth

Hurd-Anderson-Lloyd

So obviously the big change there is Valasquez in with Rucinski and Groth instead of Korby Anderson. "That's a move we made this week in practice. I just didn't feel like those guys were clicking fully," Fatis said. "They have great offensive chemistry, but they were having trouble with loose pucks. I think this spreads things out and makes us more dangerous all around." ...

Fatis said Ryan Hurd had another fantastic week in practice. And honestly, minus his little problem with speaking to the ref when he shouldn't have, I thought Hurd was one of the few guys who played well last weekend. "In the last two weeks of practice, Hurd has been my best player," Fatis said.

So that's it, that's all ... game time! Go Hawks! Need a win tonight, and another tomorrow. This team is capable, now they just need to do it.

ICE HAWKS: Contest time!!!

PHERSY: Well Ice Hawks fans, let's hope this is a better weekend for our favorite hockey team. The Ice Hawks head to cake-eater country tonight to take on the Edina Lakers, and then they return home for a 7:05 p.m. game Saturday against the Twin Cities Northern Lights.

So, we didn't do a contest last weekend ... but it's time to fire it back up. If I hear back from coach Fatis before the team leaves for Edina, I'll put an update on the blog in a separate post (hopefully with some lineup ideas, etc.) Here's the contest (for both games), with my guesses below (I'll give a shout-out to the winner on the blog):

1. Ice Hawks player with the most total points this weekend:

2. Ice Hawks total goals this weekend:

3. Opponents total goals:

4. Number of tweets done by JD Voice during the two games:

5. First Ice Hawks goal tonight:

6. First Ice Hawks goal Saturday:

7. Ice Hawks player with the most assists this weekend:

Phersy's picks: 1. Matt Rucinski; 2. 11; 3. Six. 4. 69. 5. Shaun Walters; 6. Korby Anderson; 7. Anderson.

H.S. Football Picks: Week 4

FELDY: Well, well, well. Look who's in the lead. There has been little trash talk out of Camp Phersy this week after a 6-1 showing by yours truly a week ago vaulted me into first place in our high school football picks contest.

I have to take this time to boast a bit because I think this might be the first time in the two years we've done this that I've actually had a lead on Phersy. My lead is a massive one, too -- I'm a whopping one game up as we head into Week 4. I'm batting .619 (a 13-8 record), a number that reminds me of Jesse Crain's ERA, if you slide the decimal point over one place. Phersy is 12-9, and he gets to pick first this week.

Here are the games we're looking at in Week 4:

BIG NINE
Owatonna at No. 9 Rochester Century
Rochester Mayo at Rochester John Marshall

HVL
La Crescent at Rochester Lourdes
Goodhue at Zumbrota-Mazeppa
Pine Island at Kenyon-Wanamingo

THREE RIVERS
Chatfield at No. 2 Rushford-Peterson
Fillmore Central at Southland

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PHERSY:

BIG NINE

Century 27, Owatonna 7:  I had a chance to watch the Panthers last week, and I was impressed. Carson Fossum is a solid running back, and Jared Malone is a dangerous athlete. But it's the defense that really impresses me. They swarm to the ball, and at times it looks like they have 11 linebackers on the field (and maybe a few from the sidelines). Century proves itself again.

Mayo 18, John Marshall 15: Both teams are down. I still like the JM skill players, especially at wide receiver, but those guys won't be enough for the Rockets to get their first Big Nine win of the season.

HVL

Lourdes 35, La Crescent 28: Lourdes lost the battle of size vs. speed last week. But this week is speed vs. speed, and I'll take the Eagles on the turf at Rochester Regional Sports Stadium.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa 20, Goodhue 12: This is a great matchup of two teams that love to play smashmouth football, though they both can throw it when needed. I like the Z-M offensive and defensive lines, and Ryan Anderson and Josh Shirley will get the job done when it counts.

Pine Island 29, Kenyon-Wanamingo 13: K-W is much improved, and Brady Anfinson looks like a solid QB. But Pine Island has been close all year ... their losses are to Triton, Lourdes and Z-M. PI finally gets a win.

THREE RIVERS

Rushford-Peterson 30, Chatfield 20: R-P might be questioned after last week's scary OT win. But I think the Trojans needed the close game, and they'll be good to go now.

Southland 14, Fillmore Central 6: In my mind, Southland is one of the area's biggest surprise teams. The Rebels hold off a much improved Fillmore Central team.

* * * *

FELDY:

BIG NINE
Owatonna 27, Century 23: Century is a vastly improved team this season, ranked No. 9 in the state, a great accomplishment. Owatonna is still the defending conference champ and the Huskies find a way with their odd offense to get it done this week.
Mayo 25, JM 21: Both teams have relied a lot on their skill-position players through three weeks. This one is going to come down to which team can control the line of scrimmage. Mayo made strides in that area last week, controlling the ball for nearly 30 minutes against Winona.

HVL
Lourdes 41, La Crescent 27: Sure, the Eagles took a loss last week, but that was against K-M, a team that finally found its way into the state polls after being deserving for three weeks. Lourdes has too much firepower for the Lancers.
Zumbrota-Mazeppa 28, Goodhue 21: Cougars hold serve on their home field and improve to 3-1.
Kenyon-Wanamingo 22, Pine Island 20: The Knights are riding high after a big win over Lake City last week. They carry that momentum into tonight's game.

TRC
Rushford-Peterson 26, Chatfield 18: R-P's defense is allowing just 10 points per game.
Southland 23, Fillmore Central 20: Home-field advantage to the Rebels, who received votes in the state poll this week.

 

Pro Hockey: Lampman demoted by Blues

FELDY: Sorry I missed this on Sunday, but Rochester native Bryce Lampman has been sent down to the American Hockey League's Peoria Rivermen by the NHL's St. Louis Blues. Looking at the lineups the Blues have used in their preseason game,

I'm not sure Lampman even got a fair shake to show what he could do in a game situation. He got caught up in a numbers game, as the Blues have also demoted talented d-man Steve Wagner and vets Darryl Sydor and Alex Pietrangelo are battling for roster spots.

Best of luck to Bryce in Peoria. We'll keep an eye on him there. The Rivermen open their regular season at home on Oct. 3 against Grand Rapids. They will play at Milwaukee -- their closest games to Rochester -- on Nov. 6, Dec. 2, March 7, April 2 and April 6.

Thoughts on the Purple, NFC North

FELDY: Neither Phersy nor I have spouted off much about the Vikings here because, well, there hasn't been a whole lot to say after the first two games. A 2-0 record against two bad opponents. Two wins by two touchdowns each.

The Vikings have beaten two of the worst four teams in the NFL in the first two weeks. They won't have the luxury of starting slow in their next two games, both at home.

That starts with a noon game on Sunday against the 49ers. It sounds odd, but Niners RB Frank Gore is probably looking at this week's game a lot like Pat Williams looks when Old Country Buffet comes in sight. Gore is coming off a 200-yard game and getting ready to face a normally-stout Vikings run defense that has allowed Jamal Lewis of the Browns and Kevin Smith of the Lions to run at will for the first two quarters of each game. If the Vikes allow Gore the same luxury, we'll be looking at a battle of 2-1 teams on Oct. 5 when the Packers roll into the Dome for Monday Night Football.

Of course, a battle of 2-1 teams would assume that Green Bay can go to St. Louis this weekend and beat the lowly Rams. That's no given, considering the Porous Pack offensive line turned into five Ryan Cooks on Sunday in a loss to the Cincinnati Bungles at the House that Ted Thompson Built.

Vikes fans, remember Antwan Odom, one of the defensive ends the Vikings targeted in free agency two years ago? You don't? Yeah, the Purple ended up with Jared Allen, but even No. 69 has roped his way to five sacks in a game, like Odom did against the Packers.

Did anyone see the Bengals' victory coming? Not even Bengals fans thought it would happen. The Packers looked very good in their Week 1 win over the Bears, but if they can't get their line in shape by Sunday, their game at St. Louis might be tougher than it looks on paper.

Speaking of the Bears -- and speaking of teams whose fans thought they didn't stand a chance -- Chicago turned what could've been a disastrous start into more than a glimmer of hope with a win against Pittsburgh in Week 2. They did it without Brian Urlacher and they did with an already-maligned QB who looked better in Week 2 than he did in Week 1.

As for the Lions, they looked much better than they did a year ago, even though they lost to the Vikes by two TDs, whereas both of their games against Minnesota a year ago were one-score decisions. Matthew STafford, the No. 1 pick in the draft, looked shaky, but it was just his second start as a pro. There is definitely a player in that body and it might be a good thing that the Vikings caught him at Ford Field in Week 2. He's going to get better, he has an underrated RB in Kevin Smith and one of the best receivers in the game in Calvin Johnson.

All of that considered, the Lions are still a 4- or 5-win team, if that many. However, they're going to be a team to contend with in the next 2-3 years. New coach Jim Schwartz and o-coordinator Scott Linehan called a nice game on Sunday and put their young players in position to be successful.

Hopes are high in Motown that the 19-game winless streak could end this week against Dan Snyder's fantasy team that hasn't lived up to his hype since he bought the team.

Ice Hawks: I died a little inside

PHERSY: If you didn't make it to the Rec Center on Saturday, consider yourself lucky.

OK, OK, I won't hammer the Ice Hawks too bad. But it was ugly Saturday. Really ugly. I've covered the Ice Hawks for almost four years now, and I've never seen it any worse. As coach would say, that went left in a hurry.

The Ice Hawks suffered a 9-2 loss to the Edina Lakers in their home opener in front of about 1,800 fans.

It was tough to stomach in every way. I felt horrible for coach Fatis, knowing how much he puts into this team and this organization. If you want to read a little about the game, here is the short story that ran on the front of the sports section, and here's the longer story from the inside. Basically, I just let Shaun Walters and coach Fatis say everything ... I've never really written stories that way, but I thought those two guys said everything, and there wasn't much for me to say other than that. Thanks to those two for some great, honest quotes. FYI, there's also a photo gallary for this game on the P-B Web site, and can be found by clicking on either story.

So what happened? It's tough to say ... well, it's tough to pinpoint, anyway. There were points when it was a lack of effort. There were points when it was a matter of not trusting the systems. There were definitely points when it was a matter of the goalies just not stopping the puck.

There's plenty of blame to go around. As I type this, I have a feeling coach Fatis is at the Rec Center skating his players into the ground ... there might not be any ice left by the time they're done!

There is some good news ... No. 1, it can't get worse, that much I promise. This team isn't that bad, and they'll be better this coming weekend.

What I really think Saturday proved is that this team misses guys like George Jackson and Justin Phelps more than we all knew. Jackson makes that Sanchez-Walters-Jackson line go ... with him, it's one of the better lines in the league. And Phelps? He's all heart, and I have a hard time believing guys would have been giving less than 100 percent if Phelps was on the ice. He demands 100 percent out of his teammates.

So what has to happen moving forward? First off, guys have to trust the systems. Saturday, there were way too many guys trying to do things themselves, not running the systems the way they're intended to be run. That's a huge problem. As Fatis said, this program has had loads of success, and you don't have that kind of success without running good systems.

Second, there needs to be 100 percent effort 100 percent of the time. Right now, that's not happening. It's definitely not every guy on the ice, but it's too many guys. And really, one guy is too many.

Third, the goaltending has to be better. I think that's obvious after Saturday. Those guys need to figure out if they want to be in Rochester, because Fatis sent some very good goaltenders packing after camp. They'll be back with the team before you know it if guys don't step up.

Am I worried? A little bit. Is it the end of the world? Nope.

That's not Ice Hawks hockey ... and I'm certain it's not the way the rest of the season will go. There's plenty of talent on this roster to get it done again this season. Some of the newcomers just have to start trusting the systems, and once they grasp the fact that it takes 100 percent effort on every shift, things should be back to normal.

I guess now the question is ... who's going to be with this team this weekend? Will Fatis make major roster changes right away or not? As soon as I hear anything, I'll let you guys know.

Hang in there Ice Hawks fans ... next weekend will be better!

Ice Hawks: Can you feel it?

PHERSY: Are you ready Ice Hawks fans? Before you know it, Saturday will be here. And, at 7 p.m., the Ice Hawks will get the party started ... the Lakers don't know what they're in for!!! I expect the Rec Center to be rockin!

I wanted to give you all a little update before the game, so I checked in with coach Fatis this afternoon. Oh, but don't forget ... the Ice Hawks' new mascot will hatch tonight (6 p.m.) at Apache Mall. Also, there will be about 20 Ice Hawks there, signing autographs and posing for pictures with all of you crazy Ice Hawks fans. If you get time tonight, head on out to the mall and shake their hands ... they're going to be providing us with plenty of entertainment this season. The Ice Hawks will be at the mall from 6-8, so don't miss it! And kudos to PA announcer Jeff Boehmer for getting the ball rolling with this sweet season kickoff event.

So, back to the update ...

Coach said the team has had a great week of practice, though they took a little bit of a step back today, especially on the power play. He still sounded pretty pleased about where the team is at for being this early into the season. "As long as we come out and compete and get to where we need to be, I think we'll be fine. We should know a lot after this game against the Lakers," Fatis said.

There are several players who will not dress for this game due to injury. Justin Phelps, Cory Volk (knee), George Jackson and Andrew Fairbanks are all out for sure. Fatis also said Andrew Bromberg and Nik Tamanko will not dress. After that, everything is still up in the air.

"We have a lot left to decide," Fatis said. "Defensively, Adam Truex has looked good, and McCamey continues to look good. Zach Diltz has been solid at times, but it's still a learning process for him since he hasn't been here since Day 1. There are a few defensive spots still up for grabs.

"And then at forward, we're in a really tough spot. We've had Chad Mundy up there a bit, and he looks good at forward, but he might be a week away from being ready for the lineup in that spot. Brent Duwe does everything right, and there's no reason he shouldn't be in the lineup; he just lacks experience right now. Myles Flott is in the mix now, and he's showing some good things. And then Hurd has had a great week of practice. Everything is still up in the air for that last line, and really some spots on the last two lines."

There are two lines locked in for Game 1: Rucinski-Anderson-Groth and Walters-Whitney-Sanchez. Sounded like the third line is pretty much set, too, but Fatis didn't want to give that one away.

The goalie situation is still very much up in the air, too. Fatis said that's a decision he will make later tonight. If he feels Sammy Hingtgen is ready to go and 100 percent healthy, he'll be the starter on Saturday. If not, it will be between Simon Eriksson and Mike Becker. "I feel like everyone has had the chance to step up and prove themselves at the No. 1 other than Sammy. So if he's ready to go, we need to give him that chance," Fatis said. "And if he's not ready, I have total confidence in Simon and Becker. They've been good at times, too."

So, that's about all the news for now. Fatis said the Lakers are a solid team, and they're definitely better than they were a year ago. The Lakers are 2-1 so far this season, including an impressive win over the Northern Lights earlier this week. Their loss came against the Lumberjacks, 3-2. They opened with a 5-0 win over the lowly Wildcats. One interesting thing to note ... through three games, the Lakers have 11 goals, and eight of those 11 goals have come in the third period. Guessing that means they're a deep team ... but who knows! Former Dodge Co. resident Mark Huber has three goals to lead the team in that category, while Mitch Wynia and Cody Essel lead the team with four points each.

Anyway, that's all for now. Let's drop the puck!!! See you all at the Rec Center tomorrow! Nesty, you better get the chant going! Speaking of, please consider that my nomination for the new mascot's name ... Nesty!