The Texas Stars have taken our interests as far as June 14th. Win or lose, I'd take that deal every summer with a blog in need of content and hockey that I can watch and care about very much. Nevertheless, all good things must come to an end, and if the Texas Stars don't clear their minds of the last three horrible results that end will come a little sooner than they'd like. The Calder Cup will be skated in Hershey, PA again. Will it be game 6 or game 7?
Apologies to the faithful for the lack of posts on Saturday. Evidently it was a very busy day for the writers of DBD. Personally, I can tell you that the drive back to Dallas from Cedar Park seemed a lot longer than the drive down. I haven't seen the last of that place, though, I suspect.
John Tranchina of Dallasstars.com has some good quotes from Friday night...
"It was a great team effort, but we fell short," added Texas captain (and former Dallas Star) Landon Wilson. "We’re disappointed in that, especially in our last game here at Cedar Park, but that’s just the way the playoffs are and we just got to keep going and stay positive and roll with it."
"We’ve had success up there, which is something that most teams can’t say," said Texas defenseman Trevor Ludwig. "They’re usually pretty good in their barn and for whatever reason in this series, the home team hasn’t had the best outcome, so hopefully, that keeps going."
"Climie was real good, gave us a chance to win and that’s the kind of goaltending you need in the playoffs," Gulutzan said. "Your goalie has to give you a chance to win and he’s done that."
Hockey's future previews the Dallas Stars draft...
Defense and goaltending are lacking in the system. Tyler Beskorowany has yet to put anyone’s concerns to rest about his ability to be a professional player. He should get a good look in the minors next year though. Richard Bachman played just fine this year but he still is a long way from becoming starter material at the NHL level. It couldn’t hurt to add another goalie prospect into the system just in case the tandem of Beskorowany and Bachman doesn’t turn out at the pro level.
There are scant few defensemen in the system. Danish sensation Larsen is the most prominent of the bunch and is ranked No. 2 among all Stars prospects. The next is ranked 18th, and that’s the diminutive defensive defenseman Hubert Labrie. That tells the whole story. The Stars should be inclined to make this a defensemen-heavy draft.
Check out the rest of that preview here.
Before we move on, I'd like to address that thought about Beskorowany. Anyone who actually watched the young man at training camp with their own two eyes (Yo) last year doesn't doubt the fact that he can be a pro player. Just sayin...
Penn Live writes about Benn's series...
"We realize that Benn is a special player and we're certainly aware of him,'' said French, who has tried to match his top defensive pairing of John Carlson and Karl Alzner with Benn at every opportunity.
"We know you don't completely stop a player like that. But you try and minimize his effectiveness.''
The Stars have played the last two games without No. 1 defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, who suffered a lower-body injury in third period of Game 3.
Hutchinson has 16 points (five goals), good enough for 10th on the playoff scoring list.
But the latter part about Hutchinson is more relevant. They need him back. Yesterday.
The creditors in the Texas Rangers deal say the best deal was not accepted by Hicks and Co...
In a brief filed Friday in United States bankruptcy court in Fort Worth, Tex., the creditors cited correspondence from a lawyer for the Hicks Sports Group, which is selling the team, saying that a Houston businessman named Jim Crane offered a much better deal than Ryan and Greenberg.
Glenn West, legal counsel to H.S.G., wrote last December to a lawyer for J. P. Morgan, the creditors’ representative, saying, "Crane now has a clearly superior economic deal — and may always have had based on Greenberg’s current position."
Don't forget you can watch game six on Monday on NHL Network
The American Hockey League announced today that the remainder of the 2010 Calder Cup Finals series between the Hershey Bears and the Texas Stars will be televised live on NHL Network.
The AHL’s 74th championship series is currently tied at two wins apiece, with Game 5 set for tonight in Cedar Park, Texas. The Bears are the top affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals, and the Stars are the top affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars.
Landon Wilson's post game comments...
Texas Stars Captain Landon Wilson Post-Game Interview 6-11-2010 (via txstarsgirl)