Ronnie Francis is not quite done with the Hurricanes. While he's no longer an on-ice presence for the Carolina team, he continues to work behind the scenes as Director of Player Development.

Francis retired after 23 seasons, 549 goals, 1,249 assists and 1,798 points, yet when he stepped onto the ice Thursday, he still very much looked like a guy that could play the game at the highest level.

"I was comfortable moving on," Francis was quoted in saying in an article in the Albany Times Union. "I have no desire to go out there and play."

Francis now resides in Raleigh, North Carolina and is happy with the change. "I can walk in the rink in Raleigh or here and enjoy a game as a fan."

His visit to the Rats was to dispense advice and suggestions, not just to the Canes prospects, but also the Colorado Avalanche prospects who share the Cane's AHL farm team.

"This is great for our guys to have him here," Rats head coach Tom Rowe said in the same article. "When you have a Hall of Famer in your midst, you definitely want to take advantage of it."

The Rats responded with two wins this weekend, shutting out the Springfield Falcons 4-0 on Friday, and downing the Providence Bruins 2-1 on Saturday.

Strangely, it was largely the 'Lanche kids who responded in Friday's game as Johnny Boychuk, Jeff Finger, and Cody McCormick all scored with Mark Flood, Ben Guite, and McCormick all picking up assists. Pat Dwyer was the only Hurricanes prospect to tally in that game, while Kevin Estrada, a Carolina third round draft pick in 2001, added an assist.

Canes prospect Justin Peters made 24 saves, improving his record to 4-9-0.

Guite, a free agent prospect for Colorado, also tallied on Saturday night, while Scott Kelman, a Hurricanes free agent prospect, netted the game winning goal at 14:42 of the second period. Peters turned way 29 shots in the win.

Francis will make several more trips to Albany during the course of the season, and will stop down in Southwest Florida to check on the Carolina prospects playing with the Everblades.

"He knows what it takes to be in the NHL," said Rats captain Keith Aucoin, who has spent some time with the NHL Carolina Hurricanes. "We have to use this as an advantage and ask him questions. We all want to get to the next level. He's been there."

Friday
Game Summary
Game Report
Boxscore

Saturday
Game Summary
Game Report
Boxscore

Vince Bellissimo, a Panthers 6th round draft pick in the 2002 draft that is now playing in the Hurricanes system, had a goal and an assist in the Florida Everblades 6-5 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators on Sunday afternoon. Bellissimo's wrist shot from the slot was his 7th goal of the season, and opened a 4-2 lead for the Florida crew.

Mike Vigilante opened the scoring for Gwinnett at 1:41 of the first, but the Blades answered back on Steve Czech's first professional goal, and Reggie Berg's 300th career point on his 134th goal. The Gladiators tied the game at two for finish off the first, on vigilante's second goal of the night.

The Blades talled four goals in the third with Brent McDonald, Niko Tuomi, Brett Peterson and Bellissimo all finding the back of the net.

Panthers propsect Dustin Johner had a three point night, all on assists, as did veteran forward Reggie Berg, with a goal and two assist. Tuomi and Bellissimo each had two point nights with goals and assists each.

Goalie David Shantz made 41 saves to hang on to the win through the third period as the Blades, exhausted from their previous two games against the Pilots, let Gwinnett chip away at their lead in the third. It raised Shantz's record to 8-2-0, however, the ten goals he gave up over the weekend raised his GAA to 3.15 and his save percentage droped to .900.

The Blades get the week off, traveling to Augusta on Friday to face the Anaheim affiliated Lynx for a 7:35 PM game.

Blades explode past Gladiators
Outburst in second lifts Blades to win
Game Summary
Game Recap
Boxscore

Canes prospect Kevin Nastiuk allowed 6 goals in a 6-2 Las Vegas loss to Stockton Saturday night. Nastiuk made 29 saves in the game, dropping his record to 3-1-2. Nastiuk was a Canes 4th round draft pick in 2003.

The Florida Everblades take to the ice against the Texas Wildcatters again tonight at Germain Arena, hoping for a different result than Tuesday night's game.

The Blades will rely on Carolina talent to get them through as Craig Kowalski gets the start in net and forward Bill Kinkel, who was a healthy scratch on Tuesday returns to the ice.

"They came out crashed and banged and they knocked us around," Kinkel said to the Fort Myers News Press in regards to the opening night game against Texas. "The next night I went in and (forward Brad) Parsons went in and the game was a little different. They weren't going to do the same (expletive) with me on the ice."

The crashing and banging on Tuesday cost the Everblades Panther prospect Derek Damon and Amerks farmhand Jonathan Lehun. Damon has a knee injury and will a miss a month, while Lehun suffered a concussion.

"I need to let them know it's going to be a different game," said Kinkel, who leads the team in penalty minutes (33), fights and black eyes. "They're not going to get way with the (expletive) they got away with in the last game."

Panther prospect Jeremy Swanson was promoted to Rochester earlier this week, in exchange for Franklin MacDonald, who played in Tuesday's game.

The Blades will also be going with the regular goalie rotation, despite the fact that Kowalski replaced David Shantz part way through Tuesday's loss. Shantz will play Saturday night's rematch against Texas.

“This is an opportunity for somebody else to step up and show us that he has the ability to play in those positions that maybe he hasn’t seen yet this year. (Associate coach) Jason (Nobili) and I talked about the personnel changes yesterday and our combinations on the power play and the penalty kill, and we feel very confident with the guys we have designated to play in those situations," Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming said to the Naples Daily News in regards to line changes for tonight's contest.

The Wildcatters are a physical style team, while the Everblades will need to rely on their speed and skating to take the game. Kinkel's return is particularly important to keeping the lanes open.

“What we have to do is use our speed, make them turn and skate and try to keep up with us," Kinkle said in the same article. "And if they do continue to go after our smaller guys, my job is to make sure they’re safe and that nothing happens to them. So I’ll be in (the Wildcatters’) ear making sure they know what not to do, and I can obviously help more in that role.”

Kinkel played in the AHL with the Houston Aeros last season and is on a two way contract with the AHL Albany River Rats this year.

The Wildcatters have won six straight and are finishing off their roat trip in Florida. They will return to Beaumont on Sunday.

The Blades meanwhile are on a two game losing skid. They hope to change their fortunes tonight and tomorrow at home before heading out on a two week road swing.

Saturday night is the Everblades annual Teddy Bear toss. Fans are asked to bring a new plush toy to the game with them to throw on the ice after the Blades score their first goal in the game.

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Next Game
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Who: Texas Wildcatters at Florida Everblades
When: Friday, December 1, 2006; 7:30 PM
Where: Germain Arena
TV: B2 Network
Radio: Sportsradio 770 AM
Internet: www.abc-7.com
Web site: www.floridaeverblades.com

//and there was war outside the window//
//and children in the streets were throwing rocks at the tanks// ~ Patti Smith

Kevin was in goal today, taking a shut out over the New Jersey Devils as the Carolina Hurricanes progress to round two, four games to two. I'll write more about Cheesy later.

Today, I thought I'd say something on the Canes number one netminder, Arturs Irbe.

Irbe picked up the first two wins for the Hurricanes although he downplays that somewhat. "I would say this is a total team effort. Yeah, I had to make the saves to help the team win, but you can't call it a steal when guys play so well defensively. It's a really good feeling, and I knew the guys did that, but when I saw the stats, that really made it even more special."

"Archie made some great saves. He was squared to just about everything. The save on the breakaway at the start of the game really was an important thing for our team, and let us get through some of the jitters." ~ Carolina head coach Paul Maurice

"He plays his best hockey when he gets a lot of shots. Archie's the one that got us into the playoffs last year. He didn't have to steal as many games as he did for us last year, because we're a better hockey club, but tonight, he did. He was great. He couldn't have been any better. The one that went in, he says he should have had. I could tell by his reaction -- he felt he could have had it. That's just the competitor he is." ~ teammate Rod Brind'Amour

"As much as you talk about athletes getting into a zone, I think he's in a zone. He's one of those guys that you know, when it comes down to crunch time, he's going to block out all the external stuff and just play, and play well." ~ Carolina defenseman Aaron Ward

"The goalie is like the guy on the minefield. He discovers the mines and destroys them. If you make a mistake, somebody gets blown up. " -Arturs Irbe

Irbe, 34, was born in Latvia and grew up during a time when his homeland was part of the Soviet Union. He was in Moscow securing his first American visa to play in the NHL when the coup to topple Communism began.

"In my short life I have experienced obviously tanks and barricades on the streets, shooting on the streets of the city.

"I've experienced a lot of things with my own eyes. Back then it was part of the Soviet Union and not all the world was paying attention."

Irbe was an unproven European import when Kevin Constantine, now the head coach of the New Jersey Devils, took over the San Jose Sharks nine years ago. The rookie coach gave Irbe his big break. Irbe became Constantine's workhorse, leading the upstart Sharks to an opening-round playoff victory against the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings in 1994.

"I've often said Arturs should get paid more, because he makes the game so much more exciting." Constantine said of Irbe, referring to those scary times when Irbe ventures away from the net.

"He was the first coach who gave me a chance in this league," Irbe said Of Constantine. "He was the first one who trusted me. That's goes a long way, and nobody can take that away."

"You should do that. You should try to do something interesting." ~ Irbe, to Tie Domi after Domi threatened to mash him.

Constantine has had nothing but praise for Irbe, citing him as one of the main reasons the Sharks went from a bumbling expansion club to a team that pulled off some exciting playoff upsets. Irbe said Constantine was a very structured coach back then, and that is part of what makes him successful.

"I assume he hasn't changed much," Irbe said. "He's always been the man we knew then. He made everybody special. Sure, there were guys who liked him more or less, but he had the team playing a disciplined style of good defense. A goalie can't complain about that kind of coach."

Over the grind of an 82-game season, every NHL player needs some way to escape. On the road, Arturs Irbe passes the time with needle and thread repairing his own goalie equipment. Last season, he sewed a glove from scratch for his son.

But when he's home, he turns to his dogs.

"As a kid, I dreamed of having dogs," he said. "We lived in an apartment in the city and couldn't afford to have a pet because we barely could make ends meet. It was always a dream to have some kind of pets."

He has two dogs now on his North Raleigh horse farm that allows him to "get away from crazy urbanization." There are no horses yet, but he says there will be someday.

"I don't want to do anything I really cannot enjoy or really cannot be in touch with and understand what's happening," Irbe said. "As far as I am concerned, right now I concentrate on hockey, and horses can come later."

"How can you not like a pro athlete who lists one of his hobbies as miniature golf? Although at his size, what other kind of golf could Irbe play?" ~Scott Ostler

Irbe was one of a group of Canes players to visit Ground Zero. An avid student of history, Irbe was surprised both by how mundane the World Trade Center site now looks and how much meaning it still retains.

"It looks like a construction site now, to be honest," Irbe said. "It's easier to deal with that way.

"This (was) complete and absolute terror."

What struck Irbe most was the pride of the New York police officers who gave the tour, both for their fellow officers lost and their success in getting so many people out before the towers collapsed.

One thing Irbe said he is sure of is America's resilience in times of crisis, and he was quick to point out the people in his homeland are behind this country. And he is very interested in what lies ahead.

"The United States will now find out who their true friends and allies are because you cannot sit on the fence on this one," he said. "You cannot only be remorseful and condemn it but not do anything about it. You have to choose one side."

"At times like this, there are priorities. Even if we miss games in the preseason or regular season, it's not the end of the world. The key is to make sure our families feel secure."

Still, Irbe was not against playing a scrimmage four days after the Attacks at TECO Arena. "Of course it's a great cause and a wonderful thing to set up and we want to do something as a team. And also it's obvious people need a break because we cannot be glued to the news and the TV 24 hours a day. We might go crazy. We cannot forget and not pay attention, but we also have to try to move on, and this way we can help people to put their minds on something else."

$5,640 was raised by the event, a benefit for the American Red Cross. The Florida Everblades booster club would raise an additional $347 for the same charity.

"Irbe is handling the puck badly! Or is that redundant?" ~ Unidentified hockey writer

Myself, I consider Irbe a warrior. He goes out there night after night, and gives the team a chance to win. He took the first two games for the Hurricanes in the playoffs this year before struggling on the road. Still, Irbe has been nothing less then supportive of his new partner. He was the first guy to congratulate Kevin on his win in game five, Wednesday night.

"Archie's a class guy," Kevin said. "I knew he would be supportive of me. That's the way he is. I know he would like to be in there, but he's a team player first."

Irbe said he saw Weekes celebrating alone on the ice.

"I didn't want him to steal the show," Irbe joked. "I know how he felt about starting this big game."