Bonvie signs with Pens
July 31, 2007
Everyone’s favorite alumni, Dennis Bonvie, has a signed a 1 year deal with Wilkes-Barre.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed right wing Dennis Bonvie to a one-year American Hockey League contract, it was announced by Pittsburgh Penguins Assistant General Manager Chuck Fletcher.…
One of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s all-time fan favorites, Bonvie has appeared in 235 regular season games during four seasons with the Penguins, recording 78 points (14+64) and 1,081 penalty minutes. He holds the team records for career penalty minutes (1,081) and single-season penalty minutes (431 in 2005-06).
Ottawa preseason schedule
July 30, 2007
Ottawa has lined up another long preseason. Hopefully they send down some players so the Bingo team has more time to prepare than last season.
Tuesday, Sept. 18 - Ottawa vs. Philadelphia in London, Ont., at 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 20 - Ottawa vs. Washington at Scotiabank Place at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 22 - Ottawa vs. Montreal at the Bell Centre at 7 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 24 - Ottawa vs. Toronto at the Air Canada Centre at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 25 - Ottawa vs. Philadelphia at Scotiabank Place at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 29 - Ottawa vs. Montreal at Scotiabank Place at 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 30 - Ottawa vs. Washington at the Verizon Center at 5 p.m.
UHL gone, reborn (recycled?) as IHL
July 28, 2007
This time of year I try tracking down some of our favorite alumni to see what they’re up to. While looking for Brad Jones I discovered that the United Hockey League has renamed itself the International Hockey League. Obviously a move to grab the marketability that the former IHL once held. The league has also cut down to only 6 teams.
The International Hockey League (IHL) will begin its inaugural season of play in the fall of 2007 and will consist of six teams. The Bloomington PrairieThunder, the Flint Generals, the Fort Wayne Komets, the Kalamazoo Wings and the Muskegon Fury join the league after being member clubs of the UHL during the 2006-07 season. The sixth IHL team will call Port Huron, Michigan its home. Port Huron (Governors Frank Kinney and Robert Lahiff) and Flint (Governors Bob Perani and Ron Sanko) both had a recent ownership changes that were approved by the league.
One of the key focuses of the IHL Board of Governors and the League Office will be to make on- and off-ice changes for the 2007-08 season that will create a better experience for the fans. At the top of the list, will be an emphasis on strong ownership so that the fans can count on our member clubs being a long-term part of the IHL and on making the on-ice product much more physical and exciting.
As for Jonesy, he stayed on as VP of Hockey Operations.
Brad Jones, 41, is in his first season with the International Hockey League after spending four seasons with United Hockey League in a similar capacity as Vice President of Hockey Operations. He is responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day hockey operations of the IHL, including player discipline and overseeing the on-ice officials.
Kane and Laich resigned
July 27, 2007
Boyd Kane resigned with the Flyers and Brooks Laich is back with the Caps for next season.
Preseason schedule announced
July 26, 2007
The Binghamton Senators have announced their preseason schedule for the 2007/09 season. There are 3 games this time, two at home, but the prices still suck.
The Binghamton Senators announced today three dates that have been added to their 2007-08 pre-season schedule, including a special “Hockey and Education Day” on Wednesday, Sept. 26. The Senators welcome the Hershey Bears to the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena for “Hockey and Education Day,” with a special 11:00 a.m. start time scheduled.
$3.00 tickets are available for all schools and day care facilities who wish to attend, while a lunch pack will be offered for an additional $4.00. School and day care facilities also have the option of bringing their own bagged lunches. To RSVP for “Hockey in Education Day,” please contact Jason Camp at (607) 722-7367. Tickets for the general public will be offered at $10.00.
The Senators will play a home-and-home series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. On Friday, Sept. 28, the B-Sens travel down I-81 South to take on the Penguins at 7:05 p.m. The Senators return home on Saturday, Sept. 29 to host the Penguins at 7:05 p.m. Adult and youth tickets will be available at $10.00 each.
I just don’t understand the $10 price on the preseason tickets. It seems like if you cut the price in half you could get twice as many people and then sell more concessions. I’m also interested in going to get a preview of the team, but for $10 I can’t justify it.
Former Binghamton Ranger named Hartford head coach
July 25, 2007
Ken Gernander was promoted to head coach of the Wolfpack.
The New York Rangers announced today that Ken Gernander will assume head coaching responsibilities for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, becoming the fifth head coach in franchise history.
“Ken has been an invaluable member of the Wolf Pack organization,” said Jim Schoenfeld, who has been promoted to assistant general manager, player personnel for the Rangers and general manager of the Wolf Pack. “His dedication, leadership and knowledge of the game have contributed to his success as a player and assistant coach, and will serve him well in his new role as head coach.”
Gernander, 38, has served as an assistant coach of the Wolf Pack for two seasons under Schoenfeld after concluding an illustrious 14-year playing career in 2005. A member of the Rangers organization since signing as a free agent in 1994, Gernander served as captain of the club’s AHL affiliate in each of his last 10 years on the ice (all eight years in Hartford, plus the final two seasons in Binghamton).
Murray on a roll, signs Schubert
July 24, 2007
Murray has avoided arbitration on other RFA, Christoph Schubert.
TThe Ottawa Senators have avoided arbitration with defenseman/forward Christoph Schubert as the two sides have agreed on a three-year deal.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The versatile German scored eight goals and collected 17 assists with a plus-30 rating in 80 regular season games last year, playing at left wing in 51 of those games.
Sens sign Emery, avoid arbitration
July 24, 2007
Murray passed his first test as GM and avoided arbitration with Ray Emery.
The Ottawa Senators and goaltender Ray Emery have avoided salary arbitration by reaching a last minute three-year contract agreement worth $9.5 milliion.
…
The 24-year-old Emery was a restricted free agent. He will earn $2.75 million next season, $3.25 million in 2008-09 and $3.5 million in 2009-10, for an average of $3.16 million a season, a big raise over the $925,000 he made last season.
Enforcer invited to camp?
July 23, 2007
Looks like I need to be a little more patient with Ottawa. Here’s a rumor from the sportsnet forums….
Brett Gallant was invited to training camp. He was the Saint John Sea Dogs’ enforcer in the Q for the past 2 seasons. He racked up 192 PIMS in just 48 games last year.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QfYea6zcGE4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cUzr7MYNFU8He was one of the top heavyweights in the Q, so he probably has a good shot at handling those duties in Bingo.
I also found this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h38RY-5O7R4
My first reaction was “Oh no, not another Chanse Fitzpatrick”, but Gallant looks more like a legit enforcer. I would rather get someone with AHL experience, but if this guy comes in knowing his only way of staying on the team is to drop the gloves…heck, I’ll give him a shot. He had 30 fights in 48 games last season…pretty good ratio. I’ll try to dig up some more info on this guy and see if I can confirm the rumor of the invite.
Murray address B-Sens toughness…
July 22, 2007
…and its bad news.
“We will have team toughness and we will have quote-unquote two or three guys that can legitimately go with the tough guys in the league,” Murray said Thursday after introducing Cory Clouston as the new B-Sens head coach.
“We will not get run out of the rink. That’s a goal of mine. Not to come in here and play goon hockey by any means. It’s to make our first-year pros comfortable and make them feel that they’re able to play their game without getting their head ripped off and nobody there to protect them.
“I don’t think you have to play fight hockey or goon hockey, but I certainly hope that we have the right people that will stand up for their teammates, and just not let the organization get pushed around.”
Returning right wing Danny Bois and new defenseman Matt Carkner are both proven enforcers to some degree at the American Hockey League level.
I have learned to hate the phrase team toughness. Maybe it means something in other organizations, but herewith the B-Sens it has always translated to “this team isn’t worth spending money on a real enforcer”. Bois must have a diaper rash from all the times he has tucked tail and run away from fights the last two seasons. Carkner I haven’t seen so maybe there’s a little hope. But the rest of the team? Sure, maybe they’ll be able to push guys around, but when an all star goon like Pete Vandermeer comes to town it will look like a wolf in the hen house. In this league if you want to succeed you absolutely need a guy who can control the other team’s goons.
The roster isn’t finalized yet so there is still hope that Murray can land us a legitimate fighter to protect this rookies. There are rumors that Sgroi will be back which, while not ideal, is still better than relying on Bois.
In other news Murray confirmed that Elliott and Glass will be our 2 starting goalies. This will go one of two ways: The 2 young goalies will battle for the #1 spot and elevate their play OR the team will lack confidence in the youngsters, play poorly in front of them, the goalies lose confidence and play terrible…repeat…and thus begins the downward spiral like last year.
As for Nycholat and Carkner, one of them will start in Ottawa as 7th D. Whoever gets that job, don’t expect them to be sent down for risk of losing them on waivers.
