Former Tallahassee Tiger Shark center Ben Guite was called up to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday. He played 68 games with the ECHL Tiger Sharks in the 2000-01 season, the Sharks final season before the relocation to Macon.

After spending last season with the Bruins organization, the 28-year old native of Montreal, Quebec, signed as a free agent with the Avalanche in July.

Guite played one game with the NHL Bruins last season. He has spent most of his career in the AHL, playing with Bridgeport, Cincinnati and Providence.

Currently ranking second in scoring with the Albany River Rats, Guite has 25 points (8 g, 17 a) in 33 games played. He has registered points in 12 of his last 13 games, and ran his career-best point streak to 8 games in December.

Guite played four season with the University of Maine, including winning a Frozen Four championship in 1999 with the team. He served as an assistant captain last year win Providence and has been serving as co-captain this season on the Rats with former Everblade Keith Aucoin on call ups to Carolina.

In a related move, the Avalanche reassigned forward Brad Richardson to Albany. Richardson had 9 points (5 g, 4a) in 36 games with Colorado this season.

The Avalanche take on Tampa Bay at the Pepsi Center tomorrow night. Colorado is fourth (19-18-2, 40 points) in the Northwest Division while Tampa Bay is fourth (18-20-2, 38 points) in the Southeast Division. Colorado broke a three-game losing streak Monday with a 5-3 win on the road over the Nashville Predators.

In moves elsewhere, the Phoenix Coyotes acquired 23-year-old centerman Alexei Kaigorodov from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Mike Comrie. Ottawa's second choice (47th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Kaigorodov made his NHL debut on October 14. He has 1 assists in six games with the Sens this season. He appeared in 12 games with Magnitogorski, in Russia earlier this season, netting 5 points (1g, 4a).

Comrie had 20 points (7g, 13a) in 24 games with the Coyotes this season. He was one of several unrestricted free agents (along with Ladislav Nagy and Shane Doan) that the Coyotes were considering trades on following the lifting of the holiday roster freeze.

Meanwhile the ECHL Florida Everblades traded defenseman Niko Tuomi to the Pensacola Ice Pilots for forward Adam Taylor. Taylor, a Florida Panthers prospect is on his third ECHL team this season, having been traded from the Victoria Salmon Kings to Pensacola earlier in the year.

“Adam is a player that will make an immediate impact on our club.” Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming said in a press release. “He's a solid player that we feel will contribute right away for us. At the same time it was tough having to move Niko. He’s a good player that played hard every night and we wish him nothing but the best.”

“Adam was somebody we tried to sign at the beginning of the year but we couldn't work something out with Victoria. I think his heart was not with Victoria or Pensacola so the Ice Pilots agreed to trade his rights,” said team president Craig Brush in a Naples Daily News article. The Everblades are the Panthers ECHL affiliate, so the move makes good sense for Taylor, who will now be working within the Panthers developmental program.

The Everblades loaned defenseman Chris Lee to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, and received forward Jonathan Lehun from Rochester. He'd been called up to the Americans over the Christmas break.

From http://www.ssur.org/:

"When Toronto's new jersey is unveiled next month at the NHL All-Star Game in Dallas, expect to see something that looks essentially the same as the current version, save for one important detail: the maple leaf logo. The hallowed maple leaf has apparently been altered, having a 'different silhouette,' according to a team executive. The change represents a 'modernization' of the logo rather than a dramatic redesign."

It should be noted that ALL the teams will be getting a bit of a make over, not just the Leafs. The Arizona Republic reported that the Coyotes uniforms would "lose the three stripes that encircle the bottom of their sweaters, and possibly even the stripes on their socks."

Look for the new "streamlined" uniforms, which were designed by Reebok, to preview at the All-Star game in Dallas. They feature increased flexibility and are less bulky than what players have traditionally worn for years.

Both the East Valley Tribune and the Arizona Republic are featuring articles today on the impending retirement of Jeremy Roenick.

"End of the (NHL) year, absolutely (I'll retire)," Roenick is quoted as saying in the Tribune.

The question may be more if Roenick makes it to the end of the year. Roenick left Tuesday's game at the General Motors Place early after learning he was scratched from the line up due to back spasms.

While there is no NHL rule to prohibit a player from leaving early, there is a non-written Wayne Gretzky rule to that effect. Roenick says he was unaware of such a thing.

He also says news of the so called blow up is overstated.

"I was there, I was ready to play and I wished all my guys luck," Roenick said in today's Arizona Republic. "I was in the locker room with them. I said, 'Let's go, let's get 'em'...I was a rah-rah again, like I've been all year. I don't think people should chastise me because I went to have dinner...It bothers me how the media is trying to create a stir or a controversy over nothing."

Evidently, it's not "nothing" at least to Gretzky, who will hold him out of tonight's game in favor of Mike Recci.

"I think reality is (Tuesday) night he made a mistake," said Gretzky said in the Tribune.

"I'm not disappointed with him because J.R. is a very emotional young man, and he's a good person, but what he did last night wasn't right."

Gretzky also felt he was justified in scratching the 36 year old Roenick who barely made it through Monday night's game. Roenick has had only 1 goal and 5 assists on the season, and is currently a -9.

Roenick said with the exception of his production and with the team's record, he's been happy with his performance this season and has no plans to retire in the middle of the year. Gretzky has stated he will not nudge Roenick towards retirement like he did with Brett Hull last seeason.

"I'm never going to tell him to do anything (regarding his career)," Gretzky said in the Tribune. "I have too much respect for what he's done for the game and how much he loves the game."

A number of fans have felt that Gretzky is out of line in regards to Roenick and call this just another misadventure of the coach. They feel that Roenick is the team's heart and soul.

This is in direct contrast to the many fans who felt he was out of line with his "Don't come to game" comment following the lock out season.

"Don't come. We don't want you in the rink. We don't want you in the stadium. We don't want you to watch hockey. Period."

Roenick later recanted the statement, saying his comments were taken out of context. But Roenick evidently buys into his own quote, as he didn't stay around for the game.

It is any wonder the 'Yotes were flat on Tuesday when the team's heart and soul was out to dinner?

Former Buffalo Sabre and current Vancouver Cannuck defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick gained and lost some ground in the All-Star voting in the results released on Monday.

Fitzpatrick fell to sixth overall in the standings, but picked up a big gain in overall votes. He now trails Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings by 101,989 for the second and final starting spot for the January 24th All-Star game in Dallas.

The gap was closed by over 70K votes this last week.

Hockey fan's All-Star campaign snowballs
Fitzpatrick gains ground in votes for All-Star roster

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The Rochester Americans conclude their six-game road trip in Manitoba tonight and tomorrow before returning to Blue Cross Arena to face the Syracuse Crunch on Friday and the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday.

Despite droping two to Grand Rapids this last weekend and losing 3 of their last 5, the Amerks remain in first place in the North Division, eight points ahead of Hamilton and Manitoba.

The Amerks won their past two meetings against the Moose this season, and are 12-10 all-time against Manitoba. The two games start at 8:30 eastern and you can listen live on the Amerks website at www.amerks.com.

Clarke MacArthur leads the Amerks in scoring with 9 goals and 14 assists (23 points). Michael Ryan also has 9 goals on the season, despite playing in four fewer games than MacArthur. Drew Stafford was returned to the Amerks by the Buffalo Sabres, he scored his second NHL goal on Saturday in the Sabres loss to the Washington Capitals. Stafford has 5 goals and 4 assists (9 points) in 11 games this season with the Amerks.

Craig Anderson and Dennis Adams have been splitting time in net for the Amerks, and the trend will likely continue through the next two games. Anderson, a Panthers prospect who has seen time in the NHL has a 2.33 GAA on the season with a .923 save percentage in eight games, while the Sabres' Dennis has a 2.56 GAA with a .925 save percentage in nine games.

Anderson has a 6-2-0 record, while Dennis has a 6-3-0 record.

The Vancouver affiliated Moose are lead by Jason Jaffrey (14 g, 11 a) and Brad Morgan (11 g, 14 a) with 25 points each.

Former Panther prospect Wade Flaherty has a handled the bulk of the Moose netminding and has a 6-5-0 record with a 2.91 GAA and a .886 save percentage. Partner Drew MacIntyre, who played last season for the Griffins, has a 3-5-2 record with a 2.92 GAA and a .897 save percentage.

Manitoba lost dropped to this weekend, one to the Hershey Bears and one to the Philadelphia Phantoms, both by the score of 2-5, and have lost 3 of their last five. The division leading Amerks have 4 games in hand over the 2nd placed Moose.

In NHL action the Sabres take on the Lightning in Tampa Bay tonight at 7:30, while the Panthers will try their luck at Pittsburgh against the Penguins. The Panthers are last in the Southeast Division, and only 1 point ahead of last placed Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference standings. They trail the Lightning by seven points, and both Philly and the Bolts have one game in hand on the lowely Panthers.

Henrik Tallinder and Tim Connolly remain out of the line up for the Sabres. Derek Roy is expected to play tonight. Tampa Bay is without forward Rob DiMaio.

Joe Nieuwendyk is expected to miss tonight's game for the Panthers, forward Jurij Kolnik is doubtful and Todd Bertuzzi remains sidelined indefinitely following back surgery. Mike Ouellet is day to day for the Pens, and defensemen Eric Cairns, Mark Eaton and Ryan Malone all remain on Pittsburgh's disabled list.

I rediscovered an old joy: watching hockey on TV. Honestly, I missed that last season during the lockout. I actually didn’t realize it until I stopped at Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch and they had nothing on the TV’s at the bar to watch except Poker. I’m sorry. Watching people play Poker does not exactly thrill me. Elementary school hoops has more action and would, at least to my mind, have been more entertaining.

So anyway, the NHL is back and I started watching the Panthers games because I’ve been chatting with my friends in Miami and Fort Laud who are, for the most part, Panthers fans. This has been fun. Especially when the Cats lose. But in any case, I got excited. Advertisements for the NHL on OLN and well, sitting here in SW Florida, I figured I’m halfway between the Lightning and the Panthers and I can get the Bolts games too.

Well, no such luck. We do get Sun, but they are always showing Hoops or something, not the Lightning games. And OLN is not a real cable channel meaning Time-Warner doesn’t carry it. So this totally sucks. We can watch the Panthers games and well, like tomorrow, when they are playing the Sabres, it’s going to be blacked out.

Unless I want to spring for a Dish. Which Sprint sent me the info on, but as I just got the DSL set up tonight – it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I did have to call customer support – I need to wait and see how my finances are going before I spring for a Dish.

We do have Everblades hockey on the radio tonight, and I suppose I could hook the speakers up the computer and listen to games online as well. But it’s just not the same as curling up on the sofa with the cat and watching hockey.

But then again, I have a lot of catching up online to do. So…

As some of you might know, Twins Territory has shut down. So my new Twins blog can be found at Bottom of the Fifth. The link over on the side there that says Twins Territory will work for it too. That’s one thing I have to work on.

I’ve also been renovating Bladesline, but have a lot of work to do there to, as well as getting Miraclefans.com caught up to date, plus the New Britain page and well, the GCL Site, which is still my favorite child. I have also been working on a Panthers site to appease my Panther-watching friends. The trick on this one is I’ve been working on it using Tripod Builder, instead of just htmling and uploading the things like I usually do. It’s been a bit on the frustrating level, but at least I have some idea of how the things work incase the lost art of website building ever replaces the Blogging craze again.

And then there’s my actual homepage. While I wasn’t online I was scanning things in, so now I have to upload all that stuff and update. I’ve already put together a little Marlins’ Autograph Page (spurred on by the Twins acquisition of Luis Castillo) and I now need to work on a Dolphins’ page. In the mean time, here’s a little something for my online Cheesehad friend to enjoy:

And yes, there’s more but that’s enough for now. Besides, it’s time to turn the radio on and listen as the Blades try for win number 11 on home ice against Pensacola.

Let’s Go Everblades!

//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."

I have a bunch of things to write about, but Gwenny was talking about weird dreams. This is a hockey one I remember from a few years ago, only because it was so weird for me.

My friend Diane had the biggest case on Panthers enforcer Paul Laus. He's not my friend, but I've very close to his parents.

Me to Paul: "Hey, you're parents left two weeks ago and I haven't heard from them recently. When are they arriving?

Paul to me: "How should I know. You talk to them more then I do. One day, they will just show up in my yard."

I personally have NO interest in the guy, aside from what he does on the ice, but his folks are really cool. In any case...

I was really sick at the time of this dream and in this dream, I was -- guess what? -- really sick!

This is also why I wear a nightshirt to bed. If I sleep naked, I'm always naked in my dreams. If I've got a nightshirt on, I'm at least properly clothed in my dreams.

In any case, I was really sick and Lausy came over to check on me. How he got into the house and into my bedroom, I don't know, because I was still in bed and didn't let him in. But he showed up at my bedside.

We did the "I'm Okay, and no, I don't need anything from the store" routine, and then he starts looking at my hockey sticks. He gets to Kevin's and says "We'll what's wrong with this one? It doesn't look broken to me."

"There's nothing wrong with it," I reply. "He left it in Washy's (Steve Washburn's) garage at the end of the season and I rescued it." Which is actually how I got it!

Several years ago, Nike did a bunch of "out-of-work goalie" commercials, which, to this day I still love! This particular dream took a part from the "janitor" commercial.

In the commercial, the goalie is in full gear, but has a mop instead of his stick, as he goes into his moves in this neatly polished hallway, where a guy in a suite stands, waiting for the elevator, wondering how he's going to escape this freak:

"I tried a glove save! I couldn't stop him!

"I tried a kick save! I couldn't stop him!"

Well, in the dream, Lausy is in jeans and a T, but he goes into the full routine using Kevin's stick as a prop.

I nearly choked to death laughing!

He comes over afterwards and sits on my bed, and I give him a peck on the cheek and say "Thanks, Lausy. Laughter really is the best medicine!"

:-)

A note on the name: For his first two years with the Panthers, it was pronounced as louse (lous). The Cats decided they could make more money with the name "Laws" as in Laus-enforcement, so the pronunciation suddenly changed.

Evan once dared me to call him "lousey" to his face, which I did right in front of Evan. He laughed and gave me a hug for it. Evan was left to scrape is jaw off the pavement.

Yes, John and Rhea are my "In-Laus" (pronounced "in-laws") but I still get a kick out of calling him "lousey"

I have, for several years now, been referred to as the "Official Suck Hole" of the Florida Panthers. I figure as I was awarded it, it's mine to give away! :-)

How I got it goes something like this:

I was hanging out at the Panthers practice rink when one of the employees who also serves as an assistant equipment manager for the Cats asked me what I thought was the dumbest question I'd every heard.

"Do you want to meet Dominik Hasek?"

It's still the dumbest question I've every heard. He had to ASK that?

Anyway, after getting the post-game passes straightened out, I tottled off to Sawgrass Mills and found a nice white replica Buffalo Sabres jersey (unlettered) for him to sign. I wore it to the game that night.

Walking into the arena, the first people I should run into would be John and Rhea, the parents of Panthers' enforcer Paul Laus. (Sometimes referred to my as my In-Laus. The last time he signed with the team I was told, 'you're stuck with them for another four years.' I replied that was fine, as I like the whole family, including their little dog, Princess.)

"What is that you're wearing?" Rhea asks immediately.

"Oh! I'm going to meet Dominik Hasek tonight so I bought this for him to sign."

She looked at me and said "You're a suck hole, you know that?"

Hence forth (as the story got around) I became the first Official Florida Panthers Suck Hole -- at least as far as the fans are concerned -- and I've continued to suck up to the visiting teams in Panthers territory since!

Well, it's time to pass that title along, I think, and the new recipient is defenseman Paul Elliot, who was recently assigned down to the Everblades from Utah. In his bio this week, he lists his favorite NHL Team as the Florida Panthers, his favorite City as Miami, Florida, and his favorite arena as the National Car Rental Center. He is, of course, Panthers Property.

I hate to tell him this, but brown nosing the team is not going to get him called up.

:-)

And yes, I did meet the Dominator and yes, he did sign my jersey. I'm working on the rest of the team now. I will say I was so nervous during the proceedings that I scribbled on my stomach with the sharpie, which was uncapped at the time, so if you happen to catch me wearing that sweater, that's not an autograph on my stomach, it's jittery nerves.

(The scribbling on the sleeve of my Monarchs sweater came when Kevin got me going over something and I forgot I had the sharpie uncapped and so, while gesturing wildly I managed to scribble all over my sleeve, but that's another story.)