One More to Go!

The Pittsburgh Penguins traveled down to Tampa Bay, Florida and ended up coming out with two wins. The Penguins now lead the series 3-1. The two teams face-off this Saturday at 12pm, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.




If the Pens do not come out on top the remaining schedule is as followed:
Mon. April 25th 2011- at TB- Time: TBD
Wed. April 27th 2011- at Pit- Time: TBD

Consistency of the NHL?!

Recently the NHL has been trying to cut down on head shots in the game. This year's playoff teams have already had some players suspended a few games for their hits to the head. Chris Kunitz, Steve Downie, and Raffi Torres are just a few players that have missed at least one playoff game this year due to suspensions. The NHL recently just suspended Jarkko Ruutu for his hit on Martin Erat. However, Max Talbot of the Pittsburgh Penguins was delivered a drastic blow to the head by Tampa Bay defenseman Eric Brewer. Brewer on the other hand was not given a suspension or even a penalty.
So I ask who deserves the suspension Ruutu or Brewer or Both??

 

What We All Have Been Waiting For

Tomorrow the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against the New York Islanders. The last time these teams faced each other the Islanders won the game 9-3. However the fans did not focus their attention to the scoreboard. In fact, this game was one of the craziest games of the season. Both teams combined for 65 penalties, totaling 346 penalty minutes. In addition, 10 players were ejected leaving both teams with about 2 lines of players left to play. 

Eric Godard Jumps off the bench to protect goaltender Brent Johnson

Tomorrow will be the first meeting since the brawl resulting in many suspensions, fines, and even some injuries. Fans have been patiently awaiting this second to last game of the season for the Pens. Many circling the date on the calendar, not knowing if the fighting will occur again, or if the teams have moved on from previous encounters.


The only way to find out is to watch the action take place, tomorrow night at 7pm on Rootsports.

And the Winner is...

Kevin Correia

The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced their Opening Day starter, Kevin Correia.  Correia is in his first season with the Pirates and played for the Padres last season.  With the Padres he managed a 10-10 record with an ERA of 5.40.  Correia is 30 years old and has pitched in 741 career innings.  


I am confused as to why he was named the Opening Day starter.  His ERA is high and it is his first year with the Bucs.  I would have though Paul Maholm or even James McDonald would have got the call before Correia.  We will see what this guy has to offer, hopefully its his best.

Ending the Season with a Bang

If you are a fan of the NHL then you know that some games can get out of hand quickly.  One example, of this occurring this very season was when the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins played each other earlier in the season.  Both teams goalies fought there was a bench clearing brawl, and fines and suspensions were handed out like ice cream on a hot sunny day.
Although most of these type of brawls occur in the NHL, sometimes they occur in other leagues as well.  In fact, the even appear in inline hockey game.  Recently one of the Slippery Rock inline hockey tier 3 teams squared off against La Roche College. The game was competitive until the end of the second period.  It was during this time La Roche pulled out to a big lead, and thats when everything went down hill.  The game became very physical and penalties were given to both teams, however Slippery Rock always seemed to be the one getting called for penalties the most.  At one point Slippery Rock had 4 people in the penalty box at one time.  (This isn't even the worse of it yet.) 
The worse came when their was a face off with about 1 minute left in the game.  La Roche one the face off and when their player touched the puck, one of the Slippery Rock players decked the kid to the ground.  This started the mele, and soon after all of the players that were on the rink surface started throwing punches and tackling each other. 

SRU takes down La Roche

The end results: 3 players from both teams are suspended for 3 games (playoffs).  SRU lost game 4-1 last minute of play was cancelled.

An Early Exit

Kemba Walker makes the game winning shot vs Pitt, 76-74

The PITT Panthers basketball team had a great season once again. The University was ranked #3 in the nation and were the sole winners of the Big East Conference. However, as for the Big East tourney, PITT didn't do so hot. In fact, PITT was in a back and fourth battle with UCONN. The game ended with Kemba Walker making a 2 pointer while the final buzzer sounded. With PITT losing in the second round of the Tourney (their 1st game) do they still deserve a #1 seed in the brackets?

NHL Possibly Facing Criminal Charges?

On March 8th, the Boston Bruins squared off against the Montreal Canadiens. The two teams are members of the original 6, which were the first six teams to be part of the NHL. As a result, the two teams have become rivals strengthening their rivalries every year. This year the the Bruins have just sparked the rivalry to a new level, when their captain Zdeno Chara laid a devastating hit on Max Pacioretty. The result, Pacioretty left the game on a stretcher with a severe concussion and a cracked vertebrae.
As a result, the NHL has clearly stated that Chara will not be suspended for the hit that left Max flying into the glass partition. However, Montreal Police are investigating the incident wanting to charge Chara with criminal charges? 

I think that the NHL has the right to whatever happens in the league. If a hit is so bad that criminal charges need to be in place, I feel the league should have the say so to enforce them. Hits are part of the game and police should not get involved without permission from the NHL.