3rd Line Grind Airs Tonight At 6pm

Some people said it couldn’t be done – but we’ve done it! The 3^rd Line Grind radio program has made it all the way to episode two! It airs tonight!

Tonight’s show topics include:

• Memorial Cup talk – recapping what’s happened and previewing what’s to come
• NHL and QMJHL coaching firings and hirings
• Attempting to not fall asleep when discussing the NHL’s conference semi-finals
• Other stuff… probably

Tune in tonight at 6-7pm on Local 107.3 FM in the Saint John area, listen live online at localfm.ca, or check us out on Rogers channel 949 and Aliant 824.

Also, follow us on Twitter @3rdlinegrnd and like us on Facebook to keep up to date on show happenings.

Patrick Roy Headed To Colorado

Today is a sad day in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. From the Colorado Avalanche website:

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the organization has reached an agreement in principle with Patrick Roy to become the franchise’s Head Coach/Vice President of Hockey Operations. Due to the Memorial Day weekend, the Avalanche will hold a press conference next week in Denver to formally introduce Roy. 

Roy, 47, becomes the sixth head coach in Avalanche history and the 14th in franchise history. In addition to his head coaching duties, Roy will also work with Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic in all player personnel decisions.

Roy provided unlimited amounts of entertainment - and wrote quite a few cheques as well - during his time with the Quebec Remparts. It just won’t be the same watching the Remparts without him standing behind the bench and whistling for line changes.

The Q has posted a congratulatory message on their website.

Per the Avs website, “he guided the Remparts to a 348-196-0 record (.640) in 544 regular season games behind the bench” over eight seasons. Despite all the regular season success, the 2006 Memorial Cup is the only championship the Remparts won in the Roy coaching era.

Roy never guided the team to a QMJHL title and they only appeared in the league final once (2006) and the semi-finals three times (2006, 2009, and 2011). They also blew a 3-0 series lead in the second-round of the 2012 playoffs to the Halifax Mooseheads.

It’ll be interesting to see how Roy at the NHL level. He’ll no doubt provide some entertainment.

It’ll also be interesting to see who Roy brings in as assistants. Will he dip into the QMJHL?

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Forward vs Defenceman

By Andrew McGilligan

SN Staff

As the Memorial Cup has unfolded, fans have seen flashes of brilliance – some more sustained than others – from the potential top two picks in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Portland Winterhawks defenceman Seth Jones and Halifax Mooseheads forward Nathan MacKinnon have had very solid showings thus far with MacKinnon and the Mooseheads coming out on top in the round-robin meeting between the two.

The Colorado Avalanche are no doubt watching the pair closely as they hold the top pick and many believe Jones to have the inside track. When you have the first overall pick, you’re looking for the face of a franchise, a transcendent talent, a player who will be the cornerstone of a championship team.

With this in mind, drafting a defenceman first overall is a very risky proposition. This has nothing to do with Jones, but rather the historical impact blue-liners selected first overall have had on the game.

The first indication of how risky picking a rearguard first overall can be is how seldom it happens. A defenceman has been taken with the top slot just six times since 1980 and there’s not one sure fire Hall of Famer among them. Here’s the list:

1982 – Gord Kluzak
1992 – Roman Hamrlik
1994 – Ed Jovanovski
1995 – Bryan Berard
1996 – Chris Phillips
2006 – Erik Johnson

The second factor pointing toward taking MacKinnon over Jones is impact. Struggling teams – namely the ones that pick high in the drafts – need immediate help. Forwards tend to make an impact sooner in the NHL. For instance, there were two forwards selected in the top 10 of the 2012 draft. Coincidentally, those two players – Nail Yakupov of the Edmonton Oilers and Alex Galchenyuk of the Montreal Canadiens – were the only ones to play in any NHL games.

A third reason is when there’s some debate about whether or not to pick a forward or blue-liner at the top, recent history favours the forward. In 2009, the New York Islanders selected John Tavares over Victor Hedman who went second overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tavares is a Hart trophy finalist this season while Hedman is still trying to find his game in Tampa.

Pens Make History; Moose Off To Final

Alex Grant and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins made some history on Wednesday night.

The Penguins advanced to the American Hockey League’s Eastern Conference Final with a 5-0 Game 7 victory over the Providence Bruins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost the first three games of the second-round series but won the next four, becoming the third team in the 77-year history of the AHL to come back from a 3-0 series deficit and win.

The Pens will play the Syracuse Crunch in the in the Eastern Conference Final. In the West, Tomas Jurco and the Grand Rapids Griffins will take on the Oklahoma City Barons. The winners advance to the Calder Cup Final.

The Penguins finished fifth in the AHL’s Eastern Conference with a 42-30-2-2 record. The Bruins had the AHL’s best regular season record at 50-21-0-5.

Grant was a +1 with two penalty minutes in this game. Providence defenseman and former Sea Dog David MacDonald was a -1 with two penalty minutes.

Elsewhere on Wednesday night…

• The Halifax Mooseheads will play in the MasterCard Memorial Cup Final on Sunday, meaning that the national championship game will feature a QMJHL team for a third straight year. The Moose advanced straight to the final thanks to a 4-2 Portland Winterhawks win over the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades will now play the London Knights in tomorrow’s tie-breaker with the winner moving on to play in Friday’s semi-final against the Winterhawks.
• Also, via Buzzing The Net, Wednesday’s game featured this hit.

Big Win For Mooseheads

The Halifax Mooseheads steamrolled the London Knights on Tuesday night at the Memorial Cup.

Halifax scored five times in the first period en route to a 9-2 victory over the Ontario Hockey League Champions. It was a fabulous bounce back game by the Moose who were coming off a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday.

With the win, Halifax can advance straight to Sunday’s championship game with a Portland Winterhawks win on Wednesday night. If Portland loses, the Moose would have to play in Saturday’s semi-final game.

London’s loss means the Knights will have to take the long route if they want to make it back to the final. London will play the loser of Wednesday’s Portland/Saskatoon contest in Thursday’s tie-breaker game.

Martin Frk had a hat trick for the Moose on Tuesday night while Darcy Ashley had two goals. Singles came from Ryan Falkenham, Luca Ciampini, Stefan Fournier, and Brent Andrews. Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin each had three assists. Zach Fucale made 26 saves in the win.

Former Sea Dog Stephen MacAulay had one assist, two penalty minutes, and a +1 rating.

Other Tuesday night notes…

• Tomas Jurco and the Grand Rapids Griffins advanced to the AHL Western Conference Final. They defeated the Toronto Marlies 4-3 to win the series in six games. Jurco was a -1 with four shots in the game. They’ll play the Oklahoma City Barons in the next round, a series that begins on Friday night.
• Wednesday night, Alex Grant and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins face David MacDonald and the Providence Bruins in Game 7 of their second-round series. The winner takes on the Syracuse Crunch in the Eastern Conference Final.

Sea Dogs Notebook

MEMORIAL CUP

Every team at the 2013 Memorial Cup sits at 1-1 entering action tonight. This evening, the Halifax Mooseheads battle the London Knights at 9pm and tomorrow the Portland Winterhawks take on the Saskatoon Blades.

All the possible scenarios about who advances to which game and how can be found on the CHL website.

The Mooseheads lost their first game of the tournament on Sunday night, a surprising 5-2 loss to the host Blades. The Moose have not lost much all year and they’ll need to rebound quickly.

MACAULAY

Former Sea Dog Stephen MacAulay is having a solid Memorial Cup so far. He sits fifth in tournament scoring entering tonight's game with two goals and an assist in two games.

Playing in his third straight Memorial Cup, MacAulay has two goals and two assists in 10 career games at the national championship. Despite all the success he has had at the junior level, he currently is not affiliated with a NHL club.

“In my mind I think I deserve a shot, hopefully an entry-level deal but if not, maybe something else,” MacAulay told the Chronicle Herald. “I think I’ve done everything I could do but one last Memorial Cup won’t hurt, especially if I play well and do well personally. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

THE STATION

Forget to post this the other day so... here it is.

Stefan Fournier says the CUC looks an awful lot like Harbour Station in Saint John, N.B.
— Patrick King (@SNPatrickKing) May 17, 2013