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Menu NYI Database Transactions
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- Only 30 seconds into the match captain Michael Peca helped put the Blue team up 1-0 after he regained a lost faceoff in the offensive zone. Peca fed the puck over to Mark Parrish who skated out from the corner to take a shot on Rick DiPietro. Rick made the initial save, but Kenny Jonsson, who scored in Saturday's scrimmage, pinched in and slammed home the rebound. Just two minutes later DiPietro made a great save with his trapper off a breakaway chance by free agent signee Derek Bekar, who was fed a pass by Rob Collins. - A few shifts later Peca's line was all over Alexei Yashin's line and the Blue team took a 2-0 lead when prospect Martin Chabada roofed his own rebound shot on DiPietro. The White team would cut the lead in half to 2-1 soon after when Eric Godard, who had much success against Garth Snow in last years training camp, would convert on a back and forth passing play with rookie Sean Bergenheim and Shawn Bates. Bekar has become a bit of an agitator in camp as he vies for a possible extra forward position on the team. Saturday he went at it a couple times with defenseman Eric Cairns and that little rivalry continued throughout Monday's scrimmage. Late in the first half of the scrimmage Martin Kariya would tie the game up 2-2 with a screened shot that trickled through Snow. Oleg Kvasha on the next shift almost put the White's up 3-2 but managed to ring one off the post to the left of Snow. - Before the first half came to an end, the Blue team regained their lead by going up 3-2 after Collins, who was stoned earlier along with Eric Manlow by DiPietro, took a pass from behind the net by Bekar and buried it behind Rick for the lead. For the second half, Wade Dubielewicz took over for DiPietro in the White team's goal while Dieter Kochan replaced Snow in the Blue net. The Bergenheim-Bates-Godard line continued their good showing as they tied the game up 3-3 for the White's. Cairns took a shot from the point that hit the post behind Dubielewicz. An unchecked Godard managed to slam home his second of the scrimmage. - Only 30 seconds later free agent Ryan Kraft, challenging Bekar for the extra forward position, put the White team up for the first time, 4-3, when he fired a long screen shot past Dubielewicz. The lead was short lived as the goals were coming at a furious pace. Right off the ensuing faceoff Bekar rushed in on Kochan on a breakaway and backhanded the puck into the net to make it 4-4. Kochan came up big some six minutes later when he stoned Jeff Hamilton in front after the forward received a pass from Justin Mapletoft behind the net. The winning goal would come about 15 minutes into the second half when Justin Papineau would deflect another point shot by Cairns by Dubielewicz to give the White team a 5-4 lead and eventual win. - Scott Stirling came in to replace the struggling Dubielewicz, which is rare in a scrimmage game, and came up big when he stopped Bergenheim on a nifty forehand to backhand play when the Finn received a penalty shot attempt after getting hauled down my Peca. That kept the White team from going up another goal. Kochan came up big late in the scrimmage and stopped the Blue team from tying up the game a couple of times. He stopped Mapletoft in front after Justin received a pass from behind the net by Hamilton. Kochan also stoned Jason Wiemer at the buzzer to preserve the White team win. - Mattias Timander missed another day with a stomach virus. Day 3...Conditioning: The Islanders did not scrimmage on Sunday but still held workouts. The team was broken up into two groups and they took turns out on the ice early in the morning. There was also plenty of instruction going on especially among the goaltenders Garth Snow and Rick DiPietro. The Islanders brought in goaltending guru Sudsie Maharaj late in the summer to work with the Islander goaltenders. Maharaj comes with an impressive resume. Born in the Caribbean of Trinidad and raised in Toronto Ontario, Maharaj was a member of the 1984-85 National University Hockey Championship York University squad. He later played professional hockey in Sweden, where he won two divisional championships over six seasons. He retired as a player in 1991 and became the goaltending coach at York University. He later served a goaltending coach to various junior teams around the Toronto area as well as several pros including former Islanders Kevin Weekes and Stephen Valiquette. Said DiPietro: "He's not looking to change either of our styles radically. Instead, he's helping us improve on our strengths and identify things and techniques that will make us better goaltenders."
- Coach Steve Stirling and staff have decided to break up the popular line from last season of Jason Wiemer-Dave Scatchard-Jason Blake by putting Blake up on the second line and moving Arron Asham into his spot on the third line. The move has looked good so far in camp. 10 minutes into the scrimmage Asham put the Blue team up 1-0 when he wristed a turnover caused by Wiemer up over Rick DiPietro's glove hand. The scrimmage picked up in intensity when Scatchard reportedly plastered defenseman Brandon Smith into the boards. Later, free agent signee Derek Bekar began making his bid to make the team when he got into it with big Eric Cairns. The White would later tie the game up 1-1 when they forced Garth Snow into a turnover in his own end. Shawn Bates put on pressure and rookie Justin Papineau jumped on the loos puck and put it into an empty net. But the Blue team got their lead right back going up 2-1. Once again Arron Asham was involved as this time he fired the puck towards the net where Wiemer was waiting to redirect it behind DiPietro. After the two sides took a 10 minute break, Dieter Kochan came in to replace DiPietro in net. Scott Stirling replaced Snow for the Blue team. Kochan would immediately receive pressure from the Asham-Scatchard-Wiemer combination. Off a Scatchard faceoff win, and with Asham and Wiemer crashing the net, Kenny Jonsson would put the Blue team up 3-1 with a shot point that found it's way through Kochan. The White team would mount their comeback on the next shift thanks to free agent signee Kevin Colley. A turnover by the Blue team led to a two on one with Roman Hamrlik finding Colley breaking down the right side for a one timer that alluded Stirling. With the Blue team up 3-2 the Isles projected first line of Oleg Kvasha-Alexei Yashin-Mariusz Czerkawski tied things up 3-3. Czerkawski got the puck over to Janne Niinimaa who in turn fed Kvasha with a pass. Kvasha made a beautiful toe drag that froze the defense and he then tied it up with a backhander past Stirling. Free agent Ryan Kraft almost won it late when Trent Hunter sent him off on a breakaway, but Stirling came up big with the stop. But soon after Martin Kariya won the game for the White team 4-3 when he jumped on a loose rebound and blasted a shot off the left post and Stirling.
- Coach Stirling pointed to the Islanders top four on defense which arguably is the best in the NHL headed up by Adrian Aucoin, Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson and Janne Niinimaa. This will be Niinimaa's first full season with the Isles as well, so he should get more accustomed to the Islanders system. Plus the Isles feel they have dependable depth with Radek Martinek, a healthy Eric Cairns and Mattias Timander in the 7th slot. Timander did not practice on the first day due to a stomach virus. Stirling expressed that Cairns should hopefully regain his confidence as he will give the towering defenseman more of a chance than recent coach Peter Laviolette, who seemingly soured on Cairns and cut down his ice time last season. All in all Stirling is very optimistic on the first day of practices at the Civic Center in Wheeling, WV. "For many of the returning players, the summer is over. And I believe it was a long one for a lot of the guys. They didn't like the way their season ended last year. But we need to put that behind us and focus on one goal, which is to win the Stanley Cup." Stirling also pointed to the battle in goal during camp, but it's obvious the #1 and #2 jobs belong to Garth Snow and Rick DiPietro, as there are really no other NHL caliber goaltenders in camp. It will be interesting to see which though gains the #1 job, the veteran Snow, or will the former first overall selection in the 2000 draft, DiPietro, finally grab the reigns? There are a good crop of rookie players in camp this year. With one to two spots possibly open among the forwards, look for Justin Papineau, Justin Mapletoft and Trent Hunter to give injured Mattias Weinhandl a run for a regular spot on the roster. One player that could surprise and surpass them all is 2002 first round pick Sean Bergenheim. The Islanders have worked out a deal with his Finnish team Jokerit that if the youngster does not make the team he will be returned to Finland. On defense, the Islanders have been really impressed with their first look during rookie camps at 2003 6th round selection Bruno Gervais, who they scouted for months before the draft actually took place in June. He is still only 18 years old and has another year of junior eligibility left in the QMJHL. But to sum up the first day, Stirling used it to begin building an identity for the team and stressing defense. The players were split into two groups and practice sessions as well.
- The players took part in 13 exams Thursday. Among them were: a general health exam, dental and vision tests, the flexibility screening, an ab strength test, orthopedic exam, weight room challenges, EKG tests in order to check for cardiac abnormalities, and newly-instituted NeuroPsych tests, the results of which help establish baselines for treating concussions. The project, a joint effort of the NHL and NHLPA, will assist team doctors treat concussions more effectively. - The most disliked tests among the Islanders were the bike test and having to give blood. The VO2 test is among the most grueling of tests. "It's a bike test," said defenseman Sven Butenschon. "You're hooked up to this machine, with noseplugs, sucking air through a straw, with 40 pounds on your head." Rookie Sean Bergenheim agreed: "It's not a lot of fun. It's worse than giving blood." More Additions: The Isles have invited LW Graham Belak to camp again for the second straight season. A former second round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 1997, Belak went on to split time between Bridgeport(30 games, 1 assist), Trenton Titans(2 games) of the ECHL and the Cincinnati Cyclones(40 games, 1 goal) of the ECHL in 2002-03. He racked up 232 PIM's in those 72 games. D Cole Jarrett, a 5th round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2001 left unsigned, seems to have caught the eye of Islander management and is in camp. He took part in the early rookie camp that began last weekend. Why Wheeling?: Some of you may be wondering why the Islanders are holding camp this year in Wheeling, WV and not the usual Lake Placid, NY. Well, now former Islander coach Peter Laviolette came up with the idea because he was familiar with the area back when he coached in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers during the late 1990's. He thought it was a nice place for the team to get away and try something different. Well, following Laviolette's dismissal, it was too late to change plans and venues since the Islanders management had already booked and scheduled their trip at the tail end of last season.
- Bekar, 6-3 and 197 lbs., hails from Burnaby BC and saw action in 6 NHL games with the LA Kings in 2002-03, all scoreless. He has spent the last two years with LA's AHL affiliate in Manchester, where he notched a career high 27 goals in 2001-02 in 74 games played. Originally an eighth round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues in 1995, Bekar was dealt from the Worcester IceCats to the Washington Capitals in early 2000-01 and finished out the season with Portland. His first NHL game came in 1999-00 with St. Louis. Bekar played for three season at the University of New Hampshire where he scored 32 goals and 60 points in 35 games in the 1997-98 season. - Collins, 5-10 and 174 lbs., is a 25 year old center from Kitchener Ontario. He scored 123 points in 145 games played between 1998-02 with Ferris State University. That ranks him among the schools all-time leading scorers. He is the nephew of Hall of Famer Bob Gainey. Two of his Father's brothers were also drafted by NHL teams. Rob signed as a free agent with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins late in the 2001-02 season and in 2002-03 he notched 31 points in 73 games while adding another 11 points in 15 playoff games. 2001-02 Bulldogs Hockey Feature: Rob Collins
Isles 3, PHI 1: All three of the Islanders goals were scored on the power play as Greg Cronin was behind the bench for the Islanders victory in Voorhees, NJ. Brad Topping, Isles 7th round pick in 2002, played the first two periods in goal stopping 15 of 16 shots he faced. Wade Dubielewicz, signed as a free agent out of the University of Denver this summer, saw action for the third period. - Sean Bergenheim impressed in his first appearance as an Islander as he showcased his speed and made some nifty plays. He managed to record an assist, along with camp tryout D Cole Jarrett, on a 5 on 3 power play goal scored by Gervais that put the Isles up 1-0. Scatchard would score his first of the game with just under 5 minutes remaining in the first when he jammed in a shot on goal taken by 2003 7th round pick D Denis Rehak. The younger Scatchard, after putting up the Isles up 3-1 in the second period, almost had a hat trick late in the third but was stopped on a point blank shot. - There were a number of scraps as the tougher guys look to find different ways to make an impression early on in camp. Tryout Niel Posillico fought twice. Tryouts Andrew Brown, Grant Jacobsen and Bridgeport D Jody Robinson each dropped the gloves once. Probable future Sound Tiger Kevin Colley was thrown out of the game for getting into a scrap after Posillico's second fight had already ended. Game 2, Sept 9th PHI 4, Isles 1: The Flyers got their revenge in the second of the two game rookie series. The Islanders took the 1-0 lead in the first period on a power play goal by free agent signee Martin Kariya, with an assist to Kevin Colley. Philadelphia tied it in the first and then broke it open in the second with 3 more goals including two with the extra man. Brad Topping once again got the start for the Islanders and played the first two periods. Free agent signee Scott Stirling saw action in goal for the third period.
- The 23 year old scored 6 goals and 23 points in 47 games last season, his rookie year. Weinhandl so far in the last year with the Islanders has proven to be a bit injury prone. He sprained his shoulder last November after his first call up with the Islanders and then missed the Isles playoff series with Ottawa when he broke his toe in the second to last game of the regular season. No indication as to how or when this latest injury happened.
- The Islanders were impressed with the play of some of their young players during a rookie camp back in July. Last Friday a group of rookies and free agent invitees began another mini-camp in preparation for the start of Islanders training camp. This mini-camp will be a competitive one right from the get go as Bridgeport head coach Greg Cronin and Islanders goaltending scout Billy Smith will be in charge of getting the young players ready for two rookie games, one of which was scheduled for today at 1pm against the Philadelphia Flyers' rookies in Voorhees, NJ. For a list of the rookies as well as the free agent invitees invited to camp on tryouts check out the links below. Recent News: - The Islanders and GM Mike Milbury may have been quiet over the last month or so, but there have been a few little moves made: The Islanders and Bridgeport Sound Tigers confirmed the signing of G Dieter Kochan. The 29 year old left catching goaltender played in 25 games for the Minnesota Wild's AHL affiliate the Houston Aeros posting a record of 15-6-3 with a 2.53 GAA. He entered the playoffs as the team's #1 goaltender until he was oddly stricken with a case of Lime Disease. He has fully recovered from the disease and is looking forward to challenging rookie Wade Dubielewicz for the #1 job with Bridgeport. He will also have to compete with Steve Stirling's son Scott who was also signed by the Sound Tigers a week ago. By the way, in Kochan's Houston bio he listed the Islanders as his favorite childhood team and the great Mike Bossy as his favorite player. As for Scott Stirling, the 26 year old was a surprise call up to the Sound Tigers last season when he went 8-2-0 in the final month of the season, helping Bridgeport out of a slump. He spent most of the 2002-03 season with Atlantic City of the ECHL where he backstopped them to the league championship. In other news, the Islanders picked up the option year on C Jeff Hamilton's contract. Finally, the Sound Tigers also signed 24 year old C Kevin Colley, who has spent most of his professional career since 1999 in the ECHL and was a teammate last year of Stirling's. He's also seen some AHL action. - The Islanders have hired a new goaltending consultant by the name of Sudarshan "Sudsie" Maharaj. He will work predominantly with Garth Snow and Rick DiPietro while last years consultant and former Islander great Billy Smith will remain as a mentor to the Isles goaltending prospects as well as scout new talent for the team. Maharaj is known to be a well known consultant around the NHL as he has worked with several goaltenders including former Islander and current Carolina Hurricane Kevin Weekes as well as former Islander prospect Stephen Valiquette.
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Lets Go Isles! |
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1998-2003 Tom Mascioli
