Rummmmble!!!
September 25th, 2007 by murph
Who doesn’t love goalie fights? More later on the pre-season mayhem at the Coliseum last night.
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Tag Archive for 'preseason'
New Isles, Young Isles Making an Impact
September 24th, 2007 by murph
After the July 1st Hempstead Turnpike traffic jam of Islanders leaving town, GM Garth Snow had his work cut out for him to fill in the holes in the Isles’ lineup. This was done via a combination of free agent signings and re-evaluating the talent the Islanders had in the minors at Bridgeport. If you thought Coach Ted Nolan’s job was tough last year, wait until you see this year with a large percentage of the lineup having little experience playing together. If there are two things we learned last year they are, 1) DP needs to stay in the $%@@! net and avoid collisions in March, and 2) Coach Nolan excels at getting the most out of his players.
Here’s a look at some training camp articles from NY Islander beat writer Greg Logan:
Arguably the Islanders’ biggest off-season signing, new first line center Mike Comrie.
The Islanders’ new No. 1 center made his first appearance in a training camp scrimmage today, and he couldn’t have been more impressive. Mike Comrie showed off his quick hands by scoring a hat trick to lead Team Gillies to a 4-2 victory over Team Bossy in regulation time before a shootout narrowed the final margin to 4-3.
The one thing I’m really impressed with is his leadership. Even in practice [on Friday when Comrie’s team didn’t scrimmage], he was taking control, asking questions and skating. He doesn’t go through the motions and wait until the season starts. We talked about it before coming here, and he wanted to be the go-to guy. He wanted to be the man. Early indications are that he’s demonstrating it with his actions.”
Young speedster Jeff Tambellini
Jeff Tambellini’s reward for a terrific training camp performance last season was an opening night start with the Islanders and then a one-way trip to Bridgeport because of a two-way contract that permits him to be sent to the minors without clearing waivers. But this season, Tambellini said yesterday, “is a different mind-set.”
Said Tambellini: “This is the year I can step up and show these guys I can play full-time in the league and be an impact guy.”
Last year, Tambellini was one of the spare forwards trying to make an impression. This camp, he’s playing left wing on the second line with center Josef Vasicek and right wing Miro Satan. Matched against the top line of Mike Comrie, Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko in yesterday’s scrimmage, the second line produced three goals, two by Tambellini and one by Satan, in a 4-3 win in regulation time.
Radek Martinek, an up and coming defender who’s season was cut short by an injury last year.
Martinek’s season ended Feb. 3 in Montreal when a bad landing after a collision left him with a fractured left leg. The Islanders missed him dearly, especially in their playoff loss to Buffalo. Teamed with free-agent signee Aaron Johnson, Martinek was a steadying presence for an Islanders team in a defensive mode against a veteran Canadiens lineup.
“Martinek looked really good, and Johnson continues to impress,” Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. “Marty was a big loss last season. He was in our top pairing with Brendan Witt, and losing him was a big blow. Watching him here tonight, I thought time’s a great healer.”
6 foot 6 inch defensive monster free agent Andy Sutton.
Early in the first period, Sutton dropped Kyle Chipchura with a crushing blast against the boards, and midway through the third period he smeared Duncan Milroy into the glass. After the game, coach Ted Nolan praised Sutton and Brendan Witt for their “nasty” play in front of the net, saying, “If anybody wants to come in that territory, they’ll have to pay the price to get in there. That’s what we got them for.”
Witt became a mainstay last season, but signing Sutton to a three-year, $9-million deal in the offseason was vital for the Islanders after losing Tom Poti and Sean Hill, who provided major minutes and experience on the blue line. The courtship of Sutton was prolonged, but the Isles finally got their man five weeks after the free-agent market opened.
“We had plenty of offers,” Sutton said of the signing process. “I was really holding out to get things right with the Islanders . . . This is a team on the up-and-up and making a lot of changes for the good. I really liked where the organization was going. It was a no-brainer for me.”
And finally, a young Islander who ended up playing in Finland last year due to a contract dispute, Sean Bergenheim returns to the Islanders this year.
Given his high-energy aggression, Bergenheim should fit the mold of a Nolan player. “I know I can play much better than I’ve played so far,” Bergenheim said before turning in an energized effort in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens Saturday in Montreal. “It’s a little bit of an adjustment for me to get back to the North American style. My style actually suits playing here.
“I don’t consider myself only being a checking line guy. Skating is my strong point, but I also want to be a smart player, not just a guy who runs around. I want to do some damage, scoring goals and playing a smart, two-way game.”
For now, Bergenheim is trying to make the adjustment to the smaller rinks and quicker reaction time required in the NHL, as well as to Nolan’s system. If he has to pay his dues a little longer to win a larger role, Bergenheim is prepared to do it.
“It’s up to the coach, and for me, I accept everything I get,” Bergenheim said. “Whatever Teddy wants me to do, I will do. But certainly, I believe that if I play well, I can earn a higher spot on the team. It’s all up to me.”
Isles/Rangers Pre-Season Tilt at Coliseum Tonight
September 24th, 2007 by murph
The Islanders have returned from training camp in Canada to settle into the start of the 2007-08 season. They’ve still got a couple of pre-season games left though, including tonight’s first pre-season game at the Coliseum vs. the Rangers.
The game will be broadcast on the radio and is also available for streaming on NewYorkIslanders.com tonight.
The Islanders have earned points in three of their four exhibition contests, going 1-1-2 to start the preseason. The Islanders captured their first win of the preseason on Wednesday with a lineup of veterans, including the top line of Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedotenko, which has already showed the makings of an exciting triumvirate.
In their latest preseason contest, the Islanders fell in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Friday. Sporting a lineup of young veterans and rookies, the energetic Islanders made it difficult for the more experienced Canadiens team.
Islanders Pre-Season Schedule Released
August 24th, 2007 by murph
The Islanders have released their Pre-Season schedule which has them playing 9 games in 14 days, all over southeast Canada and northeast U.S.A. There is even a game vs. the Rangers at the Coliseum on Monday night September 24th.
This season, the Islanders training camp will be held in Moncton, New Brunswick, where Ted Nolan coached the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL to a league championship. After nearly a week of practicing and intra-squad scrimmaging at camp, the Islanders will faceoff against opposing NHL teams.
Starting on Monday, September 17, the Islanders play games on three consecutive nights in three different Canadian Provinces. First, they take on the up and coming Atlanta Thrashers at Memorial Gardens in North Bay, Ontario. On Tuesday, the Islanders continue their pre-season rivalry against the Boston Bruins, traveling to Mile One Stadium in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Finally, the Islanders return to Moncton and clash against the Montreal Canadiens at the Moncton Coliseum.
Following a day off, the Islanders visit their fourth province of the week to re-match against the Canadiens in Montreal at the Bell Centre.
On Saturday, September 22, the Islanders return to Long Island not even halfway through their exhibition schedule.
Monday the 24th sees the return of hockey to the Nassau Coliseum, when the Islanders take on their archrivals, the Rangers. The Blueshirts then host a contest at Madison Square Garden on September 28. Between those two games, the Islanders travel to Lowell, Massachusetts on the 26th and take on New Jersey at the Paul Tsongas Arena.
DATE TIME OPPONENT LOCATION ARENA 9/17 7:00pm Atlanta North Bay, ON Memorial Gardens 9/18 5:30pm Boston St. John’s, NL Mile One Stadium 9/19 6:00pm Montreal Moncton, NB Moncton Coliseum 9/21 7:30pm Montreal Montreal, QC Bell Centre 9/24 7:00pm NY Rangers Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum 9/26 7:00pm New Jersey Lowell, MA Paul Tsongas Arena 9/28 7:00pm NY Rangers New York, NY Madison Sq. Garden 9/29 7:00pm New Jersey Bridgeport, CT Arena@Harbor Yard 9/30 4:00pm Boston Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
In somewhat related note, I’m still waiting for the official announcement of single game ticket availability (gotta get my home opener and Al Arbour game tickets!). There is no on-sale date yet, but the Islanders’ home games are now listed on TicketBastard.com TicketMaster.com, so I think we are getting closer. Ticket sales usually start on a Saturday - it’s a safe bet that they don’t go on sale tomorrow, and I doubt they would go on sale the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, so maybe you want to circle Saturday September 8th on your calendar…in pencil…at least until an official announcement.
The New NHL.com (also a Ranger gets crushed)
October 3rd, 2006 by murph
Have you seen the new NHL.com website? They’ve given it a much needed refresh. The old style was at least two seasons plus the lockout old. I like the new top banner “Frozen Moment” and top team menu, although they’ve got an advertisement up above that (I cropped it out), and combined all three take up a lot screen real estate. The Frozen Moment changes, when I first noticed the site design it was the Carolina Cup celebration. Now it’s a picture of Rangers defenseman Karel Rachunek doing a face plant in front of Chris Simon during last Friday’s preseason game.
Check out the site, let us know what you think in the comments section. I think NewYorkIslanders.com is due for a redesign too.
[Update 1] They changed the image this morning, so the link doesn’t work anymore. I took it down. Should have grabbed a screen capture of the Simon picture. Sorry.
Preseason Over, Regular Season Starts Tomorrow
October 3rd, 2006 by murph
With two solid wins versus the Rangers (2-1) and Devils (3-0) last weekend, the Islanders’ Preseason is over. Regular season NHL action starts up again tomorrow night - Buffalo @ Carolina, Ottawa @ Toronto and Dallas @ Colorado. Isles get started late Thursday night @ Phoenix.
Jason Blake led the team with 2 goals in 4 games, 8 other players had 1 goal. Alexi Yashin and Tom Poti led the team with 4 points.
Then of course there is the $67.5 million dollar man, who all eyes were on this preseason. Ricky and Mike Dunham’s stats are below. Ricky had a solid preseason with a GAA under 2.00 and a Save% above 90% to go with his 8 penalty minutes (which he was tied for most on the team with Zhitnik). Now can he do that over 60+ games? The saves, not the penalties that is. LCS Hockey has all the NHL Preseason stats here.
GOALTENDER GP MINS AVG W L OT EN SO GA SA SV% PIM DiPietro, Rick 4 152 1.97 1 1 0 0 0 5 52 90.4 8 Dunham, Mike 3 88 4.09 1 1 0 0 0 6 36 83.3 0 TEAM TOTALS 4 240 2.75 2 2 0 0 0 11 88 87.5 8 OPPONENT TOTALS 4 240 2.50 2 2 0 0 0 10 121 91.7
Isles/Rangers - Radio Only Tonight
September 29th, 2006 by murph
OK, so we beat NewYorkIslanders.com to the scoop on the Fox Sports Preview story earlier this week. They got us back this morning, with the scoop on tonight’s game though:
There’s great news for Islanders fans who can’t make it to the Coliseum for Friday night’s game against the Rangers: Bloomberg 1130 AM will cover all the action as if it were a regular season game.
New play-by-play announcer Steve Mears will make his Islanders debut, joined in the booth by longtime radio color commentator Chris King. The pre-game show starts at 7:00 followed by the game 30 minutes later. And when the exhibition contest is over, Mears and King will be in the Blue Line restaurant at the Coliseum, hosting a 30-minute post-game show with a guest Islanders player.
Isles’ 3rd Period Comeback Sinks Rangers
September 26th, 2006 by murph
Part of me says “It’s only preseason”, and the other part of me says “F**k yeah! We beat the Rangers!”. The Isles lit the lamp four times in the final period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and collect their first preseason win of the year. Jason Blake led the 3rd period charge with 2 goals - the first a nice little tip in off a beautiful Shawn Bates pass, the second a powerplay slapshot four minutes later.
DP started the game and played about halfway through before turning it over to former Ranger Mike Dunham. DiPietro stopped 14 of 15 shots, Dunham 16 of 17.
Also of note was the Islanders special teams play which frankly, sucked last year. 3-3 on the powerplay and 6-6 on the penalty kill, although they did allow a shorthanded goal by Ivan Baranka in the first period.
The game was on TV last night and available on MSG-HD as well. Next game is Friday 7:30pm, Islanders/Rangers at the Coliseum this time. I looked, but I cannot confirm whether or not it will be on TV - it looks like it won’t be according to MSG Network and Fox Sports.
Last night’s lines:
Defensemen
32 Brendan Witt - 77 Alexei Zhitnik
6 Sean Hill - 14 Chris Campoli
8 Bruno Gervais - 3 Tom PotiForwards
45 Arron Asham - 79 Alexei Yashin - 25 Viktor Kozlov
7 Trent Hunter - 16 Mike York - 81 Miroslav Satan
15 Jeff Tambellini - 17 Shawn Bates - 55 Jason Blake
12 Chris Simon - 26 Peter Ferraro - 53 Brandon Cullen
Islanders/Rangers Preseason Game on TV Tonight
September 25th, 2006 by murph
What a lame weekend for the Islanders, losing both preseason games to the Bruins. Hey, how about those J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS! though? Seriously though, things are crazy at work today because of the latest unpatched Microsoft vulnerability. Just a reminder from IslandersArmy.com that tonight’s Islander/Rangers preseason game will be on MSG Network tonight @ 7pm, hopefully in HD. For most of us, it’s our first look at the revamped Islanders lineup, enjoy the game.
Islanders Pre-Season Roster
September 22nd, 2006 by murph
Here is the official roster for the two pre-season games vs. the Bruins this weekend.
Goaltenders
1 Mike Dunham
39 Rick DiPietroDefensemen
2 Rick Berry
3 Tom Poti
6 Sean Hill
8 Bruno Gervais
14 Chris Campoli
32 Brendan Witt
77 Alexei ZhitnikForwards
7 Trent Hunter
10 Richard Park
11 Andy Hilbert
12 Chris Simon
15 Jeff Tambellini
16 Mike York
17 Shawn Bates
26 Peter Ferraro
45 Arron Asham
51 Frans Nielsen
55 Jason Blake
57 Blake Comeau
58 Masi Marjamaki
79 Alexei Yashin
81 Miroslav Satan
