Archive for January, 2010

The Vancouver Canucks said ‘adieu’ to GM Place on a high note Wednesday, grabbing their sixth straight win, amidst a controversial slashing call. With an unparalleled 14 game road trip on the horizon, the Canucks did themselves a solid, leaving GM Place (the Garage) behind for 45 days on winning terms.  The win vaulted the hot hockey club into sole possession of 1st place in the Northwest division, leap-frogging the Colorado Avalanche.    The Canucks played catch-up after Keith Tkachuk shelfed a nice cross crease pass over Roberto Luongo’s trapper.   Mason Raymond, the game’s first star, put the Canucks ahead [...]

Christian Ehrhoff and the Vancouver Canucks prevailed over a Dallas Stars club that initially burned bright, but faded as the game wound down. The match had some of the look and feel of the previous night, where Vancouver was outplayed early by the Edmonton Oilers.  Dallas was successful using a quick counterattack against Vancouver.  Though Vancouver went up 1-0 at the 14 minute mark of the first period, Dallas replied only 2 1/2 minutes later with Loui Eriksson beating Loungo for his 21st goal of the season.   Mason Raymond beat former Canuck goaltender Alex Auld with a seeing-eye backhand that [...]

It’s been said that time is the great equalizer, and if you wound the Vancouver Canucks’ and Edmonton Oilers’ clocks back 25 years, the adage appears true. The year was 1985, and it was a cold, snowy January day in Quesnel, British Columbia.  My mother, Marilyn, was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen as I watched the Vancouver Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers.  I still remember the anxiety I felt watching the game, as my favorite team started to lose, and lose badly, to an amazing Oilers club.   Hope flickered late in the first period, as the Canucks scored to [...]

On the same day that Colin Campbell and Gary Bettman decided to withhold discipline from Stephane Auger and fine Alex Burrows $2500, the Canucks misfortune spilled onto the ice. Derek Boogaard of the Minnesota Wild threw more controversy at the Canucks camp.  Boogaard, who hasn’t scored in 200 games (Jan.7, 2006) told the Minnesota Star-Tribune that just prior to his fight with Darcy Hordichuk, Hordichuk said: “The coach is making us fight you guys.” Hordichuk was given a 5 minute major for fighting, as well as a 10 minute misconduct penalty, but thus far there hasn’t been any indication of [...]

In the third period of Saturday’s match between the Canucks and the Calgary Flames, CBC Commentator Mark Lee described the game as having a “Nasty tone”. Particularly in the third period did both teams dish out physical punishment.  Both coaches, Alain Vigneault and Brent Sutter, regularly dispatched their third and fourth lines, trying to match brawn.  In a couple of instances, the result brought most players on the ice together in scrums, face-washes, punches, and take-downs.  As pictured, Rick Rypien and Brandon Prust threw the gloves to the ice twice, comprising the ‘Main event’.  Rypien had a slight edge in [...]

Alex Burrows penned his name alongside a 23 year old Vancouver Canucks scoring record of back to back hat tricks, originally set by Petri Skriko in 1986/87. The Phoenix Coyotes got the short end of the straw Thursday night during their visit to the Garage, outplaying the Canucks for large stretches.   But the rules of physics applied, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and the Canucks, winners of 12 of their last 14 games, did just that. Just as the Coyotes had a few fortuitous bounces in their previous game in the desert, so too did the [...]

The Vancouver Canucks have hit the midway point in their quest for hockey’s holy grail, Lord Stanley’s Cup, – here are 5 more players with the top grades so far this season. Christian Ehrhoff, A Even after registering 15 points in his first 13 games with the Canucks, “B-Mac” from Team 1040 (radio) still wasn’t sold on Christian’s defensive abilities.   But I say that’s why Vancouver has the Mitchell’s and the Salo’s – they’ve got shutdown defencemen.  The ex-Shark gives the Canucks a dimension lacking in seasons past, and that’s an offensive upside.  The other undeniable part of his game [...]