Friday, March 30, 2012

March 30, 2012, Stanford-Minnesota postseason NIT Championship game story for San Francisco Chronicle



 

Stanford men rout Minnesota 75-51 to win NIT title


Denis Gorman

Friday, March 30, 2012

NEW YORK -- What goes around, comes around.

A Stanford season that featured an early trip to Madison Square Garden, where it lost to Syracuse in the NIT Tip-Off final game, ended back in the Garden with a 75-51 win over Minnesota in the NIT championship Thursday night.

It was Stanford's second postseason NIT Championship, and its first since 1991.

The Cardinal won 10 of their final 13 games to finish the season with a record of 26-11.

"This season was a little bit of a roller coaster ride for us," said Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins. "We started off so strong, battled some adversity in the middle and ended as strong as we ever could have imagined."

"When we look back ... I just think we have grown together," Dawkins added. "We have grown up."
Sophomore guard Aaron Bright was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He finished the two games in New York with 28 points (15 Thursday). Freshman guard Chasson Randle added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, Thursday night. Sophomore Anthony Brown contributed 11 points.

"I've been telling everyone it's great for next year," Bright said of the underclassmen taking on a leadership role. "We know what it takes to win the tournament now. I think we are going to use this experience for next year and (make) a run at March Madness."

Stanford led 31-25 at the break, thanks to a 14-4 run spanning the final 8:57 of the first half, and they took control in the second half as their defense forced the up-tempo Golden Gophers (23-15) into playing a halfcourt game for which they appeared unsuited. Minnesota took ill-advised shots and was careless with the basketball. Stanford forced 13 of the Golden Gophers' 22 turnovers in the second half and held Minnesota to 37.3 percent shooting for the game.

"I think defensively we are looking good," Bright said.

The missed shots and turnovers allowed the Cardinal to outscore Minnesota 44-26 in the second half.

Twenty-eight of the Cardinal's 75 points came off turnovers. Ten points came via the fastbreak, highlighted by a dunk by senior center Josh Owens (eight points, all tournament team) that gave the Cardinal a 68-40 lead.

Bright set up Owens for the two-handed dunk with a behind-the-back pass to complete a sequence that began with Brown grabbing a rebound of Minnesota junior guard Julian Welch's missed jumper.

"Those guys, they just had it going out there tonight. We definitely had some lapses in defense," lamented Minnesota forward Rodney Williams, who had 12 points to lead the Gophers. "That's definitely frustrating, but there's nothing that you can do but keep fighting."

With the win, Stanford improved to 11-4 at the Garden.

The win was the Cardinal's first in five meetings against Minnesota.

Denis Gorman is a freelance writer.

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This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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posted by Denis P. Gorman at 1:25 PM

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March 25, 2012, notes column for HockeyPrimeTime.com


NHL punishments allow perps to commit crimes Print
Columns
 Written by Denis Gorman   
Saturday, March 24, 2012 19:23

 

Last year, there was a changing of the guard in the NHL's Department of Player Safety as Brendan Shanahan replaced Colin Campbell with the assignment of cleaning up the NHL. So far it is not going well as unsafe hits barely get the necessary punishment.

 


 altThe mandate given to Brendan Shanahan when he replaced Colin Campbell as the Vice President of the Department of Player Safety last June was to clean up the NHL.

One year into his job and the league is still a mess.

The NHL’s lip service as it pertains to player safety came to the forefront once again last week when the Phoenix Coyotes’ Shane Doan (three games) and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Duncan Keith (five games) were barely punished for elbowing incidents against Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn and Vancouver Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin.

Doan elbowed Benn in the side of the head during the second period of Dallas’ 4-3 shootout win over Phoenix Tuesday while Keith elbowed Sedin in the face during the first period of the Blackhawks’ 2-1 overtime win Wednesday night. Neither Benn or Sedin had control of the puck at the time of the incidents.

Doan said he “accepted” the league’s decision. Keith said he “respected” the ruling.

How magnanimous of them.

Both Doan and Keith will return to the Coyotes and Blackhawks before the regular season ends. As such, their Acts of Contrition are painless. They will have opportunities to help their employers qualify for the playoffs.

Perhaps if the league allowed its Department of Player Safety to punish perpetrators and their employers, then the elimination of intentional and predatory hits might actually occur.

According to USA Today’s NHL Suspension Tracker, the Department of Player Safety has handed down 41 suspensions during the regular season that cost players 132 games and $2.5 million in lost wages. That works out to an average of 3.2 games lost and $60,975 per suspension.

The punishments have not stopped players from targeting their brethren for unconscionable acts of violence. Nor has it caused their employers to demand those in their employ to eradicate predatory behavior from their skill sets. There is no need for players and their organizations to change deeds and policies.

But what would happen if the NHL had suspended Doan and Keith for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs, and the Coyotes and Blackhawks were fined substantially?    

Why then, the impetus for meaningful and lasting change would have been implemented.

*****

Come this May 2, it will be exactly 45 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs could last call themselves Stanley Cup Champions.

For a franchise whose DNA is woven into that of the NHL’s, it has been an unacceptably long 16,437 days since the night George Armstrong accepted the Stanley Cup at the Maple Leaf Gardens.  

Nevertheless, the drought will not end anytime soon.

The Leafs are 33-34-9 after losing Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada match against the New York Rangers. The Leafs are 12th in the East, nine points behind eighth-seeded Buffalo and appear earmarked to missing the playoffs for the seventh straight spring.

Fans booed the Leafs and called for General Manager Brian Burke’s ouster during Tuesday night’s 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders at the Air Canada Center. That indignity occurred a night after a humiliating 8-0 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. The Leafs managed just 13 shots on goal in Boston.

“Very much so. Very, very much so,” coach Randy Carlyle said following Tuesday night’s loss when asked if his team’s confidence was fragile.

Toronto’s flaws are manifold and it will take time to mend the Original Six franchise. Burke and Carlyle (4-6-1 since replacing Ron Wilson) favor a rambunctious style of play for which the forwards that populate the Leafs’ roster are ill-suited. The defense corps often appears indecisive as to when to and when not to jump into the play. Couple that with a penchant for getting out of position when attempting highlight reel hits and it is a formula for failure. Finally, the Leafs have lacked quality goaltending since Ed Belfour manned the crease in 2003-04 (34-19-6; 2.13 goals-against average; .918 save percentage).

Rebuilding on the fly will be difficult as the Leafs already have $59.4 million in guaranteed salaries for next season. The athletes that could bring back pieces in a trade that allow Burke and Carlyle to rebuild the franchise are the same that the Leafs are building around.

For those tasked with bringing the Cup to a metropolitan area that refers to itself as “The Centre of the Hockey Universe,” the undertaking has been and will continue to be Sisyphean.  

*****

Who wouldn’t want to see a seven-game playoff series between the Rangers and New Jersey Devils after what has transpired between the Atlantic Division rivals this season?

You can follow us on Twitter @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman
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   Last Updated on Sunday, March 25, 2012 16:08









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posted by Denis P. Gorman at 4:41 PM

Saturday, March 24, 2012

March 22, 2012, Detroit Red Wings-New York Rangers game story for Metro Newspaper in NYC

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Rangers earn OT win over Western power



DENIS GORMAN
NEW YORK

Published: March 21, 2012 11:58 p.m.
Last modified: March 22, 2012 12:11 a.m.
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The Rangers got exactly what they deserved Wednesday night.


Two points.


“I thought we played a good game,” John Tortorella said after the Rangers’ pulsating 2-1 overtime win over the Red Wings at the Garden. The win was the Rangers’ first against Detroit since Oct. 25, 2003.


With the win, the Rangers increased their conference lead to three points, 99-96, over Pittsburgh. The Rangers have nine games left this season while Pittsburgh has 10. The Penguins host Western Conference contender Nashville tomorrow night. There is a possibility that Alexander Radulov will dress in that game for the Predators.


Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan scored for the Rangers. Callahan’s bomb over Ty Conklin (32 saves) 2:42 into overtime was the game-winner. It was also his 27th of the season and it occurred on his 27th birthday.


“It’s a good gift, I guess,” Callahan said. “[Michael Del Zotto] finds me in the middle and I’m trying to go back against the seam.”


Henrik Zetterberg (3:36) and Richards (14:58) traded goals in the first. The teams then went 47:43 spanning the three periods and overtime until Callahan’s eighth game-winning goal of the season.


“He just had an unbelievable third period,” Tortorella said of Callahan. “He does so much for the hockey club. It’s fitting he gets the winning goal.”


Despite spotting Detroit the quick lead, the Rangers were the stronger team throughout. The Rangers outshot the Red Wings, 34-27, despite playing Detroit’s style of game. More importantly than the shots on goal, the Rangers possessed the puck against the puck-possession Red Wings.


“That’s fair to say,” Callahan said. “It was a bit more of a skating game [than Monday’s win over the Devils]. At the same time, I think we played that game well.”


Richards drew the Rangers even at 1-1 with his 24th of the season. With the Rangers on the power play, he carried the puck on an end-to-end rush while the Red Wings did not even offer even a nominal challenge.


After gaining the offensive zone, Richards snapped a shot through Conklin’s five hole as Niklas Kronwall half-heartedly attempted to poke-check the puck off his stick.


“I looked up and they tried to take away the delay,” Richards said. “I just tried to take my ice to see what would happen, if someone would come to me. I had a head of steam and a lot of ice to play on.


“You just see the ice and start making plays that happen.”


By his admission, Richards’s first season as a Ranger has not gone as he envisioned. Still, his 57 points rank second on the team and his 24 goals are third.


Tortorella has routinely reiterated his belief that “it is a mistake” to evaluate Richards by statistics. Instead, the coach has praised the “subtle” plays Richards has made throughout the year.


Yet Richards’ offensive production has improved in the season’s penultimate month. He now has six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 12 games.


“When you get a few you start to feel better about yourself,” Richards said. “It’s March, under 10 games left. You want to contribute; you want to help your teammates. I think the whole team is starting to feel better in the last few games. It’s a good time of year to start feeling that way.”



Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.



http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1131115--rangers-earn-ot-win-over-western-power

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 1:07 PM

March 22, 2012, Detroit Red Wings-New York Rangers notebook for Metro Newspaper in NYC

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Rangers Notebook: Girardi nominated, Anisimov returns



DENIS GORMAN
NEW YORK

Published: March 21, 2012 7:35 p.m.
Last modified: March 21, 2012 7:42 p.m.
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The attributes that have defined the Rangers in this most transformative season are the very same that characterize Dan Girardi.


Dedicated. Hard working. Mature.


So it is entirely fitting that Girardi was named the Rangers’ nominee for the Masterton Trophy by the New York chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association yesterday. Girardi finished ahead of Marc Staal and Ryan Callahan in a vote.


“It means a lot,” Girardi said before Thursday night’s match at the Garden against Original Six rival Detroit. “I’m just pretty excited. It means a lot to be nominated.”


The Masterton is awarded yearly to the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” PHWA’s 30 chapters nominate one player from every team. The chapters will then vote for a winner out of the 30 finalists.


The Rangers have had four players win the award: Adam Graves in 2001, Anders Hedberg in 1985, Rod Gilbert in 1976 and Jean Ratelle in 1971.


Girardi has played every game this season for the Rangers. He entered the game ranked fourth in the NHL in average ice time per game (26:28) and fifth overall in total ice time (1,905:54).


“It’s well deserved,” John Tortorella said. “All-Star now, the way he plays, the way he goes about his business, practice, everything about him falls in line. It’s very good for him.”


Anisimov back in lineup


Artem Anisimov returned to the lineup Wednesday night after missing two games with an upper body injury suffered in the second period of last Thursday’s 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh. Anisimov suffered the injury after absorbing a hit from Penguins center Joe Vitale.


Tortorella was emphatic that Anisimov needs to improve his consciousness.


“Artie needs to learn to be ready to take hits. He takes hard hits. He allows himself to be hit at times,” Tortorella said about the center. “We have to make him aware [that] he’s going to be killed one of these days. We show him, we do, but Artie’s Artie.”


Early returns


The Rangers are aware they accomplished something special Monday night by clinching a playoff berth. It marks the first time during the Tortorella era the Rangers will not have to go into the last game of the season needing a win to qualify.


While they are understandably proud of their achievement, the team is adamant that a playoff berth is just a first step.


“That’s your goal — to get in. We’re happy we’re in,” Tortorella said. “I just don’t want that being the focus. We have a lot of things to do to try and compete in it. That’s what I’m trying to say. I’m thrilled with how the team has played this year.


“I’m really happy with the progress of the team [and] the road we’re going down. We get our first step done, making the playoffs. Now we need to test ourselves.”



Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.


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http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1130864--rangers-notebook-girardi-nominated-anisimov-returns

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 12:57 PM