Happy Hockey New Year!

The big Winter Classic in Pittsburgh betwixt the Capitals and Penguins has been rescheduled to 8 pm thanks to expected lousy weather, but it looks like they'll be good to go at night. WHEW! Really looking forward to this one!

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Stars, December 31, 2010

Canucks 4 - 1 Stars

The Canucks closed out 2010 the same way they opened it: with a win over the Dallas Stars, but don't let the 4-1 score fool you into thinking this was just another rout of a good team. Vancouver outscored Dallas, but that's about the only stat category they won. Thankfully, it's the only one that matters after sixty minutes, but they were lucky to escape Dallas with a victory. I've been skeptical of the Stars, especially after hearing about their astronomical shooting percentages and their litany of one-goal wins and overtime points. Ignore the cynics: Dallas is good.

The Stars have evolved into the prototypical Marc Crawford team. At their best: highly-skilled, offensively strong, and gritty. At their worst: unpoised, defensively suspect, and undisciplined. After living through Vancouver's ultimately failed Marc Crawford era, it was great to see his team have its weaknesses exposed by a smarter team without it meaning a Canucks loss. I watched this game, and it was cathartic:

• There are two ways to look at the massively lopsided shot totals: You could say, with forty-five shots to Vancouver's 22, Dallas outshot the Canucks by a margin of 2 to 1. Or, you could say, with 44 saves to Kari Lehtonen's 10 or Andrew Raycroft's 8, Cory Schneider outsaved both Dallas goaltenders by a margin of 4 to 1. I choose the latter.

• Yes, Cory Schneider was incredible tonight. He had a bit of luck and Dallas hit a couple of posts, and he got himself into a bit of trouble (including the lone goal against) with his indecision with the puck, but he was still incredible. His lateral movement was as strong as I've ever seen, he was square with the shooter every time, his rebound control was sound, and he was strong along the ice. If the Canucks are hoping to showcase this kid for an eventual trade, I'd save tape of this game. He soundly outplayed two NHL goaltenders and was rightly named the game's first star.

• My only quibble with Schneider: his nickname. In the blogosphere, folks are calling him Ginger Jesus. I don't like it. I've been wracking my brain for a better nickname, but the only redheaded goalie I remember is Archie Andrews, who played goal for Riverdale High in many a strip. (In a classic, Betty & Veronica go to see him play, not knowing he's the goalie, and when they can't find him--due to the mask he's wearing and because they're dumb girls--they leave.) Anyway, Archie's nemesis Reggie often called him Frecklesnoot. Let's go with that.

• As the calendar year ends, it was nice of Marc Crawford to remind us that one thing will never change: he will always, always have the worst hair in hockey. He looks like he killed a hedgehog and glued it to his scalp. Someone needs to find the stylist who keeps dying only the top and not the sides of his hair, then gingerly feathering it, then slicking it back, and convince them to pick a new career.

• It's no surprise that Alain Vigneault's shut down pairing munched the big minutes against an offensive machine like Dallas. Bieksa and Hamhuis skated for over twenty-three minutes each. In that time, Hamhuis had 1 assist, 3 shots, 3 blocks (including one that surely saved a goal), and 2 hits; Bieksa scored a goal and added an assist to go with 2 blocks, a hit and a takeaway. The pair was shaky at times (Hamhuis had 3 giveaways), but the Canucks don't win without their contributions.

• It was a rare rough night in the faceoff circle, as the Canucks lost 35 of 58 draws, and only Ryan Kesler finished at 50%. Henrik Sedin, who really is hot or cold in the faceoff circle, was colder than supercooled beer, at a frosty 3-for-12, including 0-for-6 in the defensive zone. If you're wondering why you hardly noticed the Sedins at even stength, it's because they spent the whole game scrambling to get the puck out of their zone after Henrik lost the draw.

• I heard Grumpy Old Man Gallagher on the Team 1040 today complaining about the Sedins, as he often does. He grumbled that Henrik and Daniel are points machines, even when they don't play particularly well. He was probably pulling his hair out tonight when the Sedins did exactly that, by putting up a goal and an assist each while playing badly, for the most part. Somebody needs to remind him that points are awarded when your team scores goals, and the team with the most goals wins hockey games.

• That said, the Sedins helped Vancouver put this one away early by engineering two very similar power play goals (one above, the other here). Along with Torres's solo rush, they came suddenly, and were major momentum killers. On the opening goal, Henrik whiffs on the pass, but Karlas Skrastins is so busy fighting with Ryan Kesler he doesn't even see the puck until it trickles to Daniel. Vancouver's power play went 3-for-6 tonight.
  

• Poor Kesler. Though his work in front of the net on the two power play goals might have deserved an assist, he didn't get one. His streak came to an end tonight, but that's why they call it a streak: because, eventually, it stops. A streak that never stops is called a nudist colony.

• Kesler will have to settle for the other streak of which he's a major part: Vancouver's 4-game win streak, which sees them finish 2010 with an NHL-best .708 win percentage.

• In typical Raffi Torres fashion, he had a so-so night, but scored a goal on a sudden burst of skill against the flow of the play. He fought off a can opener from Karlas Skrastins and deked out Kari Lehtonen forty-seven seconds after the Canucks had opened the scoring.

• Brad Richards had a message for the homers saying Kesler is the best player in the Western Conference. Something along the lines of: I am also good. He had 6 shots tonight, with another 5 missing the net and another 5 blocked. He looked dangerous every time he was on the ice, which was quite often. He played 23:41, more than any Canuck player, save Kevin Bieksa.

• Keith Ballard had a strong game, finishing with 4 hits and 2 blocked shots. He had a respectable 16:29 of ice time, but consider the Canucks were up 4-0 going into the third. Vigneault also gave nearly ten minutes to the fourth line. Tanner Glass had 11:04.

• Awesome Glass moment: after Jeff Woywitka horse-collared Alex Bolduc, Tanner Glass was the first man into the scrum, and can be seen quietly wailing on Woywitka before becoming lost in the mess of bodies.

• What, exactly, was Jannik Hansen doing tonight that was making the Stars so mad? Stephane Robidas gave him two gloved punches with no regard for the penalty he was about to take. I can't imagine Hansen chirping. He's got the highest voice on the team. It's like getting chirped by Kristen Schaal.

• And finally, PITB would like to wish every Bulie from here to Australia a happy new year.
  

GO APPLE!

'Appalling': Apple again rejects iPhone Christian 'app'

Posted on Dec 28, 2010 | by Michael Foust

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Apple has rejected an iPhone/iPad "app" that had been resubmitted by signers of the Manhattan Declaration, further frustrating Christian leaders who fear the controversy signals a growing societal intolerance of orthodox Christianity.

Conservative leaders are now calling the company's policy "appalling" and suggesting it reflects hostility toward Christian beliefs.

At issue is an iPhone/iPad software program containing the text of the Manhattan Declaration, a 4,700-word document that includes basic Christian teachings and Bible verses on marriage, life and religious liberty. Key leaders such as Charles Colson, James Dobson, Richard Land, R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Timothy Dolan signed the document in 2009, and more than 480,000 people subsequently signed it online. It received widespread media coverage. Among its stances, the document opposes "gay marriage," abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

Apple pulled the free app from its online store in November, saying it "violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."

That led Manhattan Declaration officials to resubmit a tweaked version of the app in early December, leaving the text of the document untouched but removing a four-question survey that contained such questions as "do you support same-sex relationships?" and "do you support the right of choice regarding abortion?" Some bloggers had called the questions objectionable.

The Manhattan Declaration website posted a statement Dec. 23 saying Apple had rejected the tweaked app.

"Inasmuch as the Manhattan Declaration simply reaffirms the moral teachings of our Christian faith on the sanctity of human life, marriage and sexual morality, and religious freedom and the rights of conscience, Apple's statement amounts to the charge that our faith is 'potentially harmful to others,'" a statement at ManhattanDeclaration.org reads. "It is difficult to see how this is anything other than a statement of animus by a major American corporation against the beliefs of millions of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox citizens.

Read the rest of these crack pots' complaints here.

Fire

Capt. Chris Tremea with the North Davis Fire District stands at the scene of a mobile home fire with man who identified himself only as the great grandfather of Harleigh Wilson, a 5-year-old girl who was killed, during the early morning hours Friday, Dec. 31, 2010 at the Clearfield Mobile Home Park in Clearfield, Utah. Two other children, an 11-year-old boy and 8-year-old girl were treated for injuries related to smoke inhalation.

I Find This Photo Awesome: Tanner Glass Signing A Scrabble Board

Here's your New Year Eve's dose of awesomeness. Look closely at this photo and you'll see that Canucks fan Elson (@awesomeguyelson) brought a Scrabble board--cleverly done up like the Tanner Glass: Scrabble Champ t-shirt--to a Tanner Glass signing appearance. Needless to say, I find this photo awesome.

Tanner Glass is such a cool guy. He's been such a great sport about all this, and seems as genuinely shocked by the attention and interest as we are. I don't know how many Tanner Glass jerseys sell at the Canucks team store, but I can confidently say I'll be buying one someday soon.

Tanner Glass: Scrabble Champ t-shirts will be on sale early in the new year with all proceeds going to Canucks Place Children's Hospice.

Thanks to our pal Katie Maximick (@canucksgirl44) for the tip.

Niagara up next for Woodhaven native

The Des Moines Buccaneers have announced that forward Doug Clifford has committed to play collegiate hockey at Niagara University beginning in the fall of 2011.

The 20-year-old from Woodhaven is currently tied for second on the team in scoring with 15 points (8g, 7a) in 19 games. It is the first USHL season for Clifford who has put up six points (3g, 3a) over his last five games. Clifford, who played last year for the Traverse City North Stars, scored his first career USHL goal in the 3-2 win over Youngstown on October 30.

"Doug has been a major contributor for the Buccaneers, has put in his time in junior hockey and has earned this opportunity," said Des Moines coach-GM Regg Simon. "I think most scouts looked at him as not being fast or big, but he has proven himself as a warrior and a strong hockey player and you can never have enough of those types of players on your team."

Photo by Bryce Loshman

Between the Pipes with Keith Kinkaid - December 31st, 2010

This is our fourth edition of 'Between the Pipes with Keith Kinkaid'. Keith is currently ranked in the top ten in division 1 goaltending statistics with a save percentage of .917 through 938 minutes of play. His talents will be pressed this holiday weekend by the high-powered offenses of University of Minnesota and Bemidji St.

How was your Christmas break? Did you do anything in particular over your few days off from the ice?

Christmas break was good. It was good to get a little off time to spend with the family. We had Christmas Eve at a friends house and Christmas day at my Aunts like we do every year. Managed to sneak in two workouts over break as well.


What is your New Years' Resolution? What do you look forward to most about winter team back at school?

My New Years' Resolution would have to be to help lead Union to an ECAC Championship and overall a National Championship. I look forward to the students coming back to campus and seeing them at our games since we have quite a few home games left during winter term. Their support is very appreciated and helps us out on the ice.


What are your personal and the team's expectations heading into the Dodge Holiday Classic out in Minneapolis?

Our expectations are to get back on the winning track and come into a Minnesota atmosphere and steal the show. We are playing two very talented teams so we are going to need our A games each day which will help us get the two wins.


What will be the keys to this weekend's games? How will the team go about implementing this strategy?

Since we are playing on an olympic ice sheet this weekend, we are going to need to use our speed gaining the zone and making plays. We also need to come back hard on defense to disrupt any offense Minnesota or Bemidji try to create. We've worked on how we are going to counter act each game and we just need to execute on the ice.


If you were stuck on a desolate island with one teammate, who would it be and why?

If I was stuck on a desolate island with one teammate it'd have to be Wayne. We have been roommates ever since last year and we have the same interests. We also get along really well.



Well there you have it folks, you've heard it from the man himself. Please leave your reviews in the comment box below. Have a safe and happy New Year! And remember fans, you can find Keith Kinkaid on facebook at any time during the day. -JZolot

Union Goes Gopher And Beaver Hunting

Bucky the Beaver (left) and Goldy the Gopher (right)
I wonder if Dutchy the Dutchman will be there... haha

This weekend the Dutchmen will play the #19 University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (Friday) and Bemidji State Beavers (Saturday) in the Mariucci Classic in Minnesota.
Both of these games are extremely important out of conference (OOC) games that will make a big difference in where Union finishes in the PairWise Rankings (PWR). The Dutchmen are 1-3-1 in OOC road games this season with their only win coming against Alaska-Anchorage and the tie coming against RPI in Lake Placid. They need to find a way to beat good teams on the road, but haven't done so in the games against Alaska-Fairbanks and Western Michigan.

This is Union's last chance to prove to the nation that they can beat tough OOC opponents and deserve to be in the national tournament. Personally, if Union cannot win a game in this tournament I really don't see them making the national tournament unless they make a run in the ECAC playoffs. Two wins would be so huge and would give the team a lot of momentum heading into the bulk of the league schedule.

Hopefully Union living legend Adam Presizniuk can return to the lineup this weekend. The Dutchmen have scored a combined two goals in their past three road games without Prez, and could really use his help to get the offense back on track and take some focus off of Jeremy Welsh and Daniel Carr. Prezie is the "go-to guy" on the team, and every successful team has a "go-to guy." Without a good and healthy Prezie, I cannot see this team going very far. According to Ken Schott, Coach Leaman said Presizniuk's status will be a game-time decision.

On a personal note, I have seen both Minnesota and Bemidji in the Frozen Four. I saw the Gophers win the national championship in 2002 in St. Paul, Minnesota in one of the most exciting championship games I've seen, and caught Beaver Fever in 2009 when Bemidji made their Cinderella run to the Frozen Four in Washington D.C.

Here are game notes from:
Union Athletics.com
Go Gopher Sports.com
BSU Beavers.com

Here are two videos about the Gophers and two about the Beavers. Enjoy!

2010 in Review: An Exhaustive Canucks Retrospective

Welcome to 2010 in review, PITB's exhaustive, retrospective compilation of all the major Canucks stories that held your attention in the year that was. Remember when the Canucks boycotted CBC after the Ron Maclean hatchet job? That's in here. Remember Michael Grabner's first career hat trick in Anaheim? That's in here. Remember when Guillaume Desbiens forgot how to make a fist? Oh, you'd better believe that's in here. It's all here (except the stuff we forgot--feel free to jog our memory in the comments). And so, without further ado, here is what made the news in 2010:

January

• January 2 - In Dallas, Alex Burrows begins a crazy goal-scoring streak that sees him score 15 goals in the month of January, including four multi-goal games, and two goal streaks of three games or more.

• January 5 - Alex Burrows scores a hat-trick against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
  

• January 7 - Alex Burrows scores his second consecutive hat-trick against the Phoenix Coyotes. By this time, Burrows is streaking so hard GoldenPalace.com asks to advertise on his back.
  

• January 10 - A fan shines a bright green laser at Miikka Kiprusoff during a Flames' visit to GM Place. It annoys everyone.
  

• January 12 - Following a tough loss to the Nashville Predators, Alex Burrows criticizes the officiating and, more specifically, Stephane Auger for following through on a threat to "get him back" for an embellishment that took place in a previous game. Things get messy.

• January 16 - Ron Maclean launches a hatchet job on Alex Burrows, using clips of him diving and chirping to assassinate his character and thereby prove his claims of Stephane Auger false.

• January 16 - Willie Mitchell plays his last game in a Canucks uniform after suffering a concussion from an Evgeni Malkin hit from behind. Instead of doing his job and going after Malkin, Colin "Lord Chaos" Campbell goes after Sephiroth during nine uninterrupted hours of Final Fantasy VII.

• January 23 - In the most badass news story of the year, the Canucks respond to perceived mistreatment of Alex Burrows with a boycott, denying CBC access to interview their players and coaching staff during the following week's Hockey Night in Canada telecast.
  

• January 25 - Brad Lukowich scores his first and only goal in a Canucks uniform. It is undeniably beautiful, and signifies the high point of his time with the organization.

• January 26 - The Kurtenblog posts a series of photos of Chicago Blackhawks players, shirtless, in the back of a limousine with some Vancity gals. These photos will later inspire Twitter superstar Paul Bisonnette to tell Ian Walker that John Madden has a body like a bag of milk.

• January 27 - The best Canucks moment of 2010: in a morning media scrum, a reporter asks coach Alain Vigneault if he feels Wellwood played, the night prior, "Like a man possessed." Vigneault doubles over in laughter at the very thought.
  

• January 27 - The Canucks embark on the longest road trip in NHL history. They won't play another home game for three months. One day later, Darcy Hordichuk realizes he has accidentally forgotten his toothbrush and, rather than buying a new one, spends three months secretly using Shane O'Brien's.

February

• February 12 - The Winter Olympics begin. They go on to be the best thing ever to happen in Vancouver.
  

• February 21 - Ryan Kesler makes himself public enemy number one in his own hometown after he tells an NBC interviewer that he hates Canada. It is an awesome moment of competitiveness, but Vancouver fans briefly lose their heads and demand he be traded immediately.

• February 21 - After a 5-3 loss to the United States, Martin Brodeur loses Team Canada's starting goaltender job to Roberto Luongo.

• February 26 - Roberto Luongo makes an incredible save on fellow Canuck Pavol Demitra to preserve a 3-2 win over Slovakia and send Team Canada to the gold medal game.

• February 28 - Roberto Luongo brilliantly backstops Team Canada to a gold medal against the US, making 34 saves in the victory. Sidney Crosby also scores a humdrum goal in garbage time, if anyone cares.

March

• March 3 - Canucks acquire Andrew Alberts from Carolina in exchange for a 3rd-round pick. Alberts plays badly in his first year with the Canucks, but threatens Shane O'Brien for the best stable of nicknames with A Minor, AHLberts, and Barabbas.
  

• March 3 - Canucks assign Brad Lukowich to the Moose, and he is never heard from again. Some speculate that "Assigned to the Moose" is sometimes code for "Quietly assassinated."

• March 9 - Mikael Samuelsson records a hat trick as the Canucks stage a major comeback against the Colorado Avalanche.

• March 13 - Canucks return from longest road trip in NHL history, which began in late January. All the single guys throw away the houseplants they forgot to get someone to water.
  

• March 17 - Canucks sign 1st round pick Jordan Schroeder to an entry-level contract.

• March 19 - Ryan Kesler continues his career-long tendency to sign contracts he won't deserve for nine months, agreeing to a 6-year deal. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed, despite release being issued two hours after the media had already disclosed the full terms of the deal.

• March 19 - To celebrate his massive contract extension, Kesler immediately goes home and makes a baby. Do the math.

• March 29 - In a story of true humanity, Shane O'Brien is sent home after being late for practice. Photos later surface of the big D-man getting his party on at the Roxy.
  

• March 31 - The Canucks add three defensemen to their system by signing Chris Tanev and Lee Sweatt to free agent contract out of the NCAA and Europe, respectively, and inking Yann Sauve to an entry-level deal. Harrison later suggests that Lee Sweatt may be the next Brian Rafalski. Harrison is an idiot.

• March 31 - Ken Campbell does his part to negate the Henrik Sedin love-in, claiming Henrik doesn't deserve the Hart because he has too many second assists. Word is he was bribed to make this argument. By Daniel Sedin.

April

• April 2 - Michael Grabner records his first career hat-trick in a shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Canucks clinch a playoff berth with the win.

• April 10 - Henrik Sedin sets Canuck single-season record for points with 4 assists in the final game of the regular season, securing the Art Ross Trophy in the process. His final assist comes on perhaps the finest goal ever scored by a Canuck, and most certainly the goal of 2010.

• April 12 - Pass it to Bulis begins its full-blown assault of the blogosphere. No one is safe.

• April 15 - Alex Edler nails Drew Doughty. The rare moment of physicality from the Iceman is hailed as the next step in his development into a star defender.

• April 15 - Mikael Samuelsson scores an overtime game-winner in game one of the Canucks' playoff series with the LA Kings. Samuelsson goes on to score 8 goals in the six-game series.

• April 23 - Shane O'Brien busts out the double guns after a fight with LA Kings forward Wayne Simmonds, forever earning a litany of bad nicknames.

• April 28 - Canucks sign Kevin Connauton to entry-level deal.

May

• May 7 - The Green Men bring a cardboard cutout of Vince Vaughn in a Canucks jersey to the game against Chicago and taunt Dustin Byfuglien with it. Vaughn is unamused, however, and sends somebody down to them to buy it for $250.

• May 9 - A puck hits Sami Salo in the testicles. Initial reports indicate it is ruptured. Though these reports turn out to be false, an urban legend is born.

• May 10 - The following day, the NHL selects Kevin Bieksa's goal, rather than Sami Salo's exploding nut, for their History Will Be Made series. It is a gargantuan failure of imagination.
  

• May 12 - Kevin Bieksa perpetrates the infamous "double slide."

• May 12 - The Canucks are knocked out of the playoffs or something. The real tearjerks is that Kyle Wellwood plays his final game as a Vancouver Canuck.

• May 13 - Four months after suffering a near career-ending headshot, Willie Mitchell rips Colin "Lord Chaos" Campbell for his inconsistency in handling headshots, concussions, and suspensions.

June

• June 2 - The Canucks resign Corey Schneider to a one-way, two-year extension worth $900,000 per, which was probably a no-brainer for Ginger Jesus once he calculated how much he'll make per start.

• June 9 - Former Canuck Brent Sopel carries the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup with no help from anyone else whatsoever.

• June 21 - After Scott Arniel wins the job as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Canucks hire Claude Noel to manage their farm team. That makes three coaches in a row that has graduated from the Moose directly to NHL vacancies.
  

• June 23 - Henrik Sedin wins the Hart trophy just months before it is renamed the Sidney Crosby trophy and defaults to the Pittsburgh Penguin for the duration of his career.

• June 23 - Ryan Kesler does not win the Selke. After losing to Canada in the gold medal game and being ousted by the Chicago Blackhawks, it's his third major loss of the year.

• June 25 - The Canucks acquire Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich from Florida in exchange for Michael Grabner, Steve Bernier, and their 1st round pick.

July

• July 1 - The Canucks sign Dan Hamhuis, Manny Malhotra, Jeff Tambellini and Joel Perrault on the first day of free agency.
  

• July 3 - The Canucks announce the list of young men attending their prospect camp. The Vancouver media celebrates when Cody Hodgson is not on the list and proceeds to continue the great tradition of selling newspapers through fear-mongering.

• July 6 - GM Place is renamed Rogers Arena. It is indubitably the most mundane news story of 2010.

• July 7 - The Canucks hold their annual summer summit and announce, among other things, the impending retirement of Markus Naslund's jersey and their plans for a Ring of Honour. They debut their new 40th anniversary sweaters and introduce Dan Hamhuis, who wryly observes that there are more fans in the stadium for this glorified press conference than Nashville gets for games.

• July 23 - Word gets out that Sami Salo tore his Achilles tendon playing floorball. It is hilarious and sad.

• July 23 - Jannik Hansen is awarded a one-year, $825,000 contract in arbitration. He may be worth more than that now. Stop talking about what a great forechecker he is; he's a UFA next season.
  

• July 26 - Mason Raymond avoids arbitration by signing a two-year, $5.1 million deal with the Canucks, thereby making it a much bigger deal that Robin from How I Met Your Mother once got to meet him.

• July 29 - Tommy Larscheid's retirement is announced. Ed Willes later suggest a Gillis-led conspiracy to oust him, but we suggest an even larger conspiracy: Ed Willes is Mike Gillis. Is it just a coincidence their names rhyme? PITB says no.

August

• August 3 - The Canucks announce the hiring of Newell Brown to manage their powerplay, as well as the ousting of motivational guru Ryan Walter.

• August 18 - Struggling to deal with the utter dearth of Canucks hockey, Harrison briefly convinces himself he likes baseball.

• August 18 - Two hours later, Harrison remembers that he doesn't.

• August 19 - In keeping with their long tradition of employing brothers, the Canucks sign Bill Sweatt after the Maple Leafs screw the pooch and let him go to free agency.
  

• August 25 - Willie "Bill Pickle" Mitchell signs a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings. Skeeter gets bummed.
  

• August 25 - The Canucks continue their long tradition of employing lovable weirdos by signing Raffi Torres to a one-year deal. Because he is not Willie Mitchell, Canucks fans continue to mope.

September

• September 2 - Harrison notices that Gary Bettman looks a lot like the Hypnotoad.

• September 8 - Canucks defense prospect Yann Sauve is hit by a car while using a crosswalk, proving that crosswalks are death traps. Sauve is okay, but it turns out being hit by a car can severely set back one's development, as he won't get into the Manitoba Moose lineup for three months.
  

• September 12 - A long offseason officially ends with the first Canucks' contest of the YoungStars tournament.

• September 13 - Roberto Luongo relinquishes the captaincy, ending an insane barrage of scrutiny and criticism around something people outside the Canucks' locker room know very little about.

• September 16 - Word breaks that former West Coast Express centre Brendan Morrison will be attending Canucks training camp on a player tryout contract. Though he doesn't fit anywhere in the lineup, people (myself included) briefly lose their minds and convince themselves that he does.

October

• October 2 - The Canucks jettison two kinds of heavyweights, as they place Shane O'Brien and Darcy Hordichuk on waivers. It's hard to say goodbye to the Pain Lion.

• October 3 - In a dark day for Pass it to Bulis, it is reported that Kyle Wellwood will be taking his talents to Russia to play for Atlant Moscow Oblant. We miss him.

• October 3 - Brendan Morrison is released from his PTO, failing to earn a contract with the Canucks. Some people still haven't gotten over it.
  

• October 5 - The Canucks rescue Shane O'Brien from the minors (and concurrently, their innocent prospects from his non-stop partying ways) by trading SOB to Nashville for Ryan Parent.

• October 6 - The Canucks trade Darcy Hordichuk to Florida in exchange for Andrew Peters, a rare instance of the Panthers escaping a player swap with Vancouver without getting completely fleeced.
  

• October 9 - Tommy Larscheid calls his last game as the Canucks' radio colour commentator.

• October 9 - Henrik Sedin is named the captain of the Vancouver Canucks, and Harrison loses a ton of money because of his foolish bet it would go to Jannik Hansen.

• October 9 - Like, twelve seconds into his first game as the starting 4th-line center, Alex Bolduc suffers a high ankle sprain.

• October 19 - Rick Rypien loses his cool in a game in Minnesota, briefly grabbing a fan by the collar. The fan, originally thought to be a victim of a senseless act of thuggery, later rises to Rypien's defense by opening his mouth and proving he deserved far worse.

November

• November 2 - Alex Burrows returns to the Canucks' lineup after offseason shoulder surgery.

• November 2 - Raffi Torres scores his first career hat-trick against the Edmonton Oilers, his former team. He looks goofy in every hat.
  

• November 4 - Guillaume Desbiens breaks his hand punching a Cody Mcleod's helmet with an improperly formed fist. It's possible the helmet would have broken his hand even if he hadn't tucked his thumb, but he guaranteed himself a busted metacarpus when he forgot how to fight.
  

• November 6 - Andrew Alberts levels Pavel Datsyuk and it's sweet.

• November 10 - Mike Gillis gets a Twitter account and achieves 4000 followers without tweeting a single thing. @passittobulis, on the other hand, tweets comedy gold every damn day, and has yet to crack 700. #SourGrapes

• November 11 - The Canucks attend the Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa. Every Canuck, even Christian Ehrhoff. (Just kidding, of course. As Mikael Samuelsson said, Remembrance Day is about humans remembering humans who fought for what they thought was right, and it was neat that Ehrhoff's presence wasn't a story.)

• November 11 - Mario Bliznak scores his first NHL goal. It's a beauty, but because it comes at the end of a blowout, nobody cares.
  

• November 11 - Forgotten Canucks' properties Andrew Peters and Nathan Paetsch, on loan to the Rochester Americans, break curfew and are kicked off the team. The Moose refuse to take them, indicating that nobody gives a crap where these poor guys are, as long as they're home by midnight.

• November 12 - The world gets its first look at Undresler, the gratuitously nippletastic photo of Ryan Kesler sans overwear. The best reaction award goes to Tanner Glass, who quips, "Oh wow, was this airbrushed?"

• November 22 - PITB issues an open challenge to a game of Scrabble with Tanner Glass, laughing at the ridiculous notion that he'll ever hear of it, let alone accept it. Not possible.

• November 24 - The Canucks cut ties with Peter Schaefer, the soul-patch wearing PK specialist. The Shoulda -Birds come out in full force, squawking about how we shoulda signed Morrison.

• November 25 - The Canucks grant Rick Rypien a leave of absence for personal reasons.

• November 27 - Dan Hamhuis obliterates Douglas Murray with a hip check of Biblical proportions. Yes sir, lots of hip checks in the Bible. Check out this one God lays on Jacob.

December

• December 1 - Mason Raymond gets his second career hat-trick against the Calgary Flames, who love giving up hat tricks to Canucks more than they love winning.

• December 3 - Roberto Luongo is blessed by Head Poke Kid while coming out from the tunnel for a game in Chicago. He proceeds to shut out the Blackhawks. The Canucks are 9-1-2 since this blessing.

• December 3 - James Duthie and Roberto Luongo continue their long string of collaborations with an in-depth look into the goaltender's topical poetry.
  

• December 7 - In the shocking twist of the year, Tanner Glass accepts the PITB Scrabble challenge, which leads to some major media coverage, including the Province, the Vancouver Sun, and Hockey Night in Canada.
  

• December 9 - After putting together a fabulous string of games, Cody Hodgson suffers yet another bizarre medical setback after a high-stick in practice breaks his orbital bone.

• December 9 - Mason Raymond breaks his thumb in a game against the Anaheim Ducks. Because he needs his thumb to hold his hockey stick, he misses some games.
  

• December 11 - Markus Naslund's jersey is raised to the rafters. It's a great moment for Canucks hockey. The only negative aspect: in a massive break from character, he speaks for too long.
  

• December 13 - The Canucks sign Darren Archibald, which is interesting, I guess.
  

• December 15 - Ryan Kesler scores his first career hat-trick.
  

• December 18 - The Green Men cap an inspired year of prop comedy lunacy by throwing waffles at the penalty box glass during a visit by the Toronto Maple Leafs

• December 19 - Ryker Kesler, the baby conceived on the day his father signed a $30 million contract extension with the Canucks, is born. He is immediately welcomed and loved by his father, despite being born on Canadian soil.

• December 20 - Aaron Volpatti scores his first NHL goal after Tanner Glass takes out Alex Pietrangelo with a cross body block.

• December 28 - After a drubbing of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canucks briefly boast the highest winning percentage in the NHL.

• December 29 - Gianni Luongo, son of Roberto and Gina Luongo, is born by Caesarean section in Florida.

• December 30 - Doubles tennis legend Daniel Nestor is awarded the order of Canada. Also, some guy named Trevor Linden.
  

Tanner Glass Has a Very Scrabbly Christmas

The latest blog post from Tanner Glass went up today on Canucks.com. In it he talks Christmas, roadtrips, weddings, and Dartmouth. But since we at Pass it to Bulis are incredibly self-interested, this was my favorite part:

We also snuck in a few games of scrabble thanks to my sister who got me the board game. Scrabble seemed to be the theme in my presents as Emily also bought me the book, “How to Play Scrabble Like a Champion.” I’m taking that as a hint that my family doesn’t want me to embarrass myself in the challenge I have coming up.

Tanner's sister, of course, is one of the main reasons this Scrabble challenge is happening as she got in touch with us and helped convince Tanner to accept. It's awesome how his family has gotten involved and I suspect he's been the target of plenty of good-natured jokes about the whole situation. Personally, I have to admit to being a little worried. While Harrison is a dedicated Scrabble-junkie, I am merely okay at the game. Don't get me wrong, I've beaten Harrison before...once. And now Tanner is in training. I think I'm in trouble.

I may need to go with Plan B: sell my services to the highest bidder. For a fee, I am willing to strategically open up triple-word scores or shutdown the board to prevent either Harrison or Tanner from netting big points. While it may seem that Harrison has an advantage by being my best friend, I'm pretty sure Tanner has a bigger yearly salary and could pretty easily outbid him.

Also, Tanner revealed that he and his family played some "intense games of catch phrase" over the two-day holiday break. He better be careful about mentioning board games before Nucks Misconduct or Canucks Hockey Blog starts a #CatchPhraseMeTanner hashtag on Twitter.

Accidental Discoveries: Ryker Kesler is a Party Baby

Big news, everyone: PITB has accidentally discovered something remarkable. Follow along with us. Here's what happened on March 19:

The Vancouver Canucks locked up one of their top players on Friday as Ryan Kesler agreed to terms on a six-year contract extension. The deal will keep him with the club through the 2015-16 season.

The deal will pay Kesler $5 million per season.

You probably remember this. Let's continue. Here's what happened on December 19, exactly nine months later, to the day:

The Vancouver Canucks centre not only set up a goal Saturday afternoon in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Rogers Arena, he then sped off to be with his wife, Andrea, who gave birth at 2:30 a.m. to 7 pound, 2 ounce Ryker.

I do believe we just discovered how they do celebrations in the Kesler family. It appears March 19 was an even busier day for Ryan Kesler than we realized.

Edit: here is a comment from Rachael, a Bulie who happens to be married to Daniel:

You would go there.

On the flip side, my womanly brain automatically thinks, "Oh, so he knew his wife was going to be having another baby and that made him think he should settle down for a while."

In support of this theory I submit the following: the gestation period for humans is actually 40 weeks, which is longer than 9 months, so she could have known she was pregnant just before he signed the contract.

Not that it matters a whole lot. It's still pretty funny. :)

Kovacs picks Northeastern for '11-12

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders forward Justin Kovacs has committed to play collegiate hockey at Northeastern University beginning in the fall of 2011.

Kovacs is playing in his second USHL season with the Riders and is third on the team in scoring with 18 points (4g, 14a) while also posting a plus-seven rating in 23 games. His 14 assists lead the club and two of his goals have been game-winners. Kovacs recorded a hat trick, including the game-winning goal, in the 4-3 win over Indiana on November 17.

The 19-year-old from Grosse Pointe Woods has experienced a breakout season after putting up seven points (3g, 4a) in 24 games during his rookie USHL season in 2009-10.

Kovacs will be joined by RoughRiders teammate Rasmus Juell, who is also committed to Northeastern.

Northeastern University is located in Boston and is a member of Hockey East.

Photo courtesy USHL Images

Top 20 non-conference games to watch in 2011

We're less than 48 hours away from bringing in the new year, and what better time to take a look at some of the biggest games we can look forward to in 2011.Here are our top 20 most intriguing non-conference softball games featuring Western Athletic Conference teams in the 2011 season:1. Hawai'i vs. OklahomaThis is the game we wanted to see last year at the prestigious Cathedral City Classic,

Orioles

Pitchers and catchers before you know it. Which means nothing to we Pirate fans, but still...

The Top 50 Canuck Goals of 2010 (10-01)

And here we are. We've had a fun run, wouldn't you say? We've got 40 goals down and 10 to go in our list of the best Canuck goals of 2010. We're sure you know how this list ends, and we hope you've enjoyed getting there with us, but there are still some surprises in store.

If you're late to this countdown, we recommend you start at the beginning with numbers 50-31.

We at PITB are confident that some of the top ten Canuck goals of 2010 will be obvious choices, some will come as surprises, and some are likely to have been forgotten until right now. So, without further ado, we end our list. After the jump, the 10 best Canuck tallies of the year that was 2010.


10 Henrik Sedin (January 25, 2010)

The 10th best goal of 2010 comes on an incredible breakaway move from Henrik Sedin, as he makes like he's going to the backhand, then puts on the brakes and drags the puck back the other way.

09 Henrik Sedin (April 21, 2010)
Henrik's game-winning playoff goal comes on a fabulous end to end rush by the eldest twin. His stickwork and his skating are top-notch here, and his reaction after scoring the goal--pure, delirious excitement--was priceless. A classic Henrik moment.

08 Daniel Sedin (March 30, 2010)

In one of the finest pieces of wizardous sedinerie of 2010, Alex Burrows gets the puck to Henrik, who swivels for a backpass to his brother. The pass is so perfect and perfectly unexpected that it beats Brzygalov all on its own, and Daniel only needs to slightly graze it in order to redirect it home.

07 Alex Edler (March 07, 2010)

You might not agree with how high this goal is ranked, but Pavol Demitra's soccer kick around the boards is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. After losing his stick in a board battle with Grebeshkov, Demitra just boots the puck as hard as he can. Incredibly, it rings all the way around to Ryan Kesler, who centers to Alex Edler for the tally.

06 Alex Burrows (March 24, 2010)
Number six is similar to number eight, as well as a few others on this list, but I'm giving top marks for aesthetics. This one is executed by Henrik and Daniel so perfectly that Burrows literally has a wide open net; Hiller is no longer in it.

05 Christian Ehrhoff (January 21, 2010)
The 5th best goal of 2010 comes on a fabulous rush through the middle from Christian Ehrhoff. The Sedins pulled off this play a few times in 2010; Ehrhoff's is special because of the speed he comes in with, and for how he kicks the puck to his stick like another great Canuck might have done.

04 Mikael Samuelsson (April 15, 2010)
Mikael Samuelsson scores a big playoff goal here after a Daniel Sedin feed during a goalmouth scramble. The incredible thing about the feed is that it's a kick--Daniel puts the puck right on Sammy's stick with a no-look backheel. Even without hockey sticks, the Sedins pass the puck better than I could ever hope to.




03 Daniel Sedin (January 9, 2010)
Who, on a breakaway, is ever thinking of passing the puck? Only Henrik Sedin, who fools everyone when he cuts across the Kipper's crease, then unexpectedly drops the puck to Daniel for a tap-in.

02 Brad Lukowich (January 25, 2010)

This is almost identical to the goal Christian Ehrhoff scores at number five, except that it's Brad Lukowich, of all people. Daniel's stickwork as he cuts across the zone before making the drop is incredible, and Lukowich's reaction to the score is one of the great goal celebrations of 2010.

01 Daniel Sedin (April 10, 2010)

What more can be said about this goal? Lots, hopefully. On the final game of the season, with an Art Ross trophy hanging in the balance, the Sedins scored one of the most beautiful goals you'll ever see. Nothing I've seen comes close to this. The Score had it listed as the second best sports play of 2010, and I thought even that was about twelve spots too low. This is a once-in-a-lifetime goal from once-in-a-lifetime players. It's the goal of the year, the goal of the decade, and maybe the finest goal ever scored in a Canucks uniform. It's that good.

50-31 - - - - - - - - - - 30-11 - - - - - - - - - - 10-01

Can Ryan Kesler Get Even Better?

With another 3-point night to extend his point-scoring streak to 8 games, Ryan Kesler has suddenly become the subject of speculation: is he the best player in the Western Conference? Twitter was abuzz with the question last night, it was one of the main topics of conversation on the Team 1040 morning show on my drive in to work, and Gordon McIntyre even asks if he's the best player in hockey. The sentiment is nice, but off-base. The argument could be made that he is the hottest player in the Western Conference (in terms of his play on the ice, not his physique), but one hot streak does not make him the best.

Don't get me wrong, I like Ryan Kesler and would argue that he is just as important to the team's success as Luongo and the Sedins, but in a conference with Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, and the aforementioned Sedins, it's a little early to anoint him with oil and declare him king. It's especially frustrating to see the Sedins continue to get short shrift despite making their nest among the top five in Western Conference scoring. Of note: 14 of Kesler's 34 points were on the powerplay, where he plays with the Sedins. This is not a coincidence.

He has, however, entered into the conversation, which is impressive in and of itself. And there is one statistic that leads to the question posed in the title of this post: can Ryan Kesler get even better?

The Inside the Numbers section of the upcoming January 17th edition of The Hockey News looks into the best and worst players in the latter half of the season. The main metric used is points-per-game, specifically the greatest increases and decreases in points-per-game between the first and the last halves of the season. Since the lockout, the player with the greatest increase in points-per-game during the second half of the season is Ryan Kesler. From The Hockey News:

The 26-year-old has had a better points-per-game production in the second half of every season since the lockout (except in 2007-08, where he dropped by a measly 0.05 points/game played). Over the past five seasons, Kesler managed 89 points in 203 games in the first half while earning 121 points in 171 games in the second half, an increase of .27 points per game. Among current players, no one can touch Kesler's mark.

It's a touch strong to say no one can touch Kesler, when Sam Gagner's increase of 0.265 is just 0.004 behind Kesler's mark of 0.269, but those are still impressive numbers that show just how much Kesler is able to elevate his game. We are almost at the halfway mark of the season and Kesler has 34 points in 35 games, for a point-per-game average of 0.97, putting him on pace for 80 points this season, which would best last season's career high 75.

While no guarantee, his historical trend of increasing his point production in the stretch drive is a good sign. For the sake of argument, let's say that he continues his 0.97 points-per-game pace through game 41 on the schedule and increases his production by the 0.269 mark mentioned in The Hockey News, pushing him up to 1.24 points-per-game through the final 41 games of the season. That would give him 51 points on top of the 40 he would have tallied through the first half, giving him a total of 91 points on the season, which is not an unreasonable mark.

91 points would match Brad Richards output from last season, where he finished second to Henrik Sedin in points in the Western Conference. 91 points would put him among the elite scorers in the NHL. 91 points would be a good argument, along with his continued stellar defensive play, for naming him the best forward in the Western Conference. He's not there yet, but he has the potential, which is extremely exciting.

As an aside, two other Canucks made the top-30 in point-per-game increase: Alexandre Burrows and Manny Malhotra, who have managed +0.145 and +-.142 increases post-lockout respectively. Unfortunately, a Canuck factors into the top-20 decreases in point-per-game production, Mason Raymond, with a -0.163 drop. At least he doesn't come close to the "leader" in that category, Ilya Kovalchuk, who has had a -0.271 decrease in points-per-game average over the second half of the season since the lockout. Yikes.

The Top 50 Canuck Goals of 2010 (30-11)

The Canucks scored some dazzling goals in 2010, but it will be a brand new year in only a few short days. Who knows what the new year will hold? Now, I don't mean to hit the panic button but, as of this writing, the Canucks are scoreless in 2011. Seriously, don't panic.

While we cross our fingers and hope they can sort that out, PITB has compiled a list of the 50 best goals of the year that was, to ensure fans don't forget how this team spoiled us with their incredibly playmaking. Yesterday we gave you the back twenty of this massive list, and today we give twenty more. After the jump, numbers 30-11 on our list of the top 50 Canuck goals of 2010.


30 Ryan Kesler (March 03, 2010)
Kesler scored this beauty late last season on a strong individual effort. He goes to the net hard, outmuscling three Red Wings and burying it.

29 Alex Burrows (March 03, 2010)
Watch this one a few times. Brad Stuart has solid position on Alex Burrows to prevent him from getting to the net, but Burrows perfectly times his inside move, stepping in front of him and making a gorgeous tip for the goal.

28 Jannik Hansen (December 18, 2010)
A recent tally, Jannik Hansen finished a pretty passing play that begins with Jeff Tambellini beating Luke Schenn wide, and ends with Ryan Kesler stepping around a sprawling Francois Beauchemin to feeding the puck across to Hansen for the score.

27 Aaron Volpatti (December 20, 2010)
Aaron Volpatti's first NHL goal comes off a thunderous bodycheck on Alex Pietrangelo, delivered by Tanner Glass. After the puck pops free, Volpatti is smartly in position to accept the feed from Alex Bolduc.

26 Mason Raymond (December 01, 2010)
Mason Raymond's highest entry on this list comes on a fantastic breakaway move, as he outwaits Kiprusoff, dragging the puck across the crease and roofing a backhand.

25 Alex Burrows (December 12, 2010)
Burrows finishes yet another beautiful Sedin passing play, after Henrik spins, then fires a remarkable tape-to-tape cross-ice feed to his brother, who centers for Burr.

24 Daniel Sedin (November 24, 2010)
It's a testament to the Sedins' remarkable skill that their slap-pass, now so thoroughly perfected they can do it during a scramble at even-strength, falls this low on the list. We take daily these guys for granted.

23 Alex Burrows (January 16, 2010)

Burrows notches a shorthanded tally on his signature breakaway move, after tipping the puck away from Sergei Gonchar and taking off in a hurry.

22 Daniel Sedin (January 30, 2010)

Daniel scores the game-winner in Toronto after he and his brother take the puck end-to-end to cap off a remarkable comeback. It's incredible to me how little space they have, yet they make this look so easy.

21 Daniel Sedin (January 30, 2010)
The game-tying goal from the same game. Daniel receives a beautiful no-look feed from Alex Burrows and slides the puck into a wide-open net.

20 Alex Burrows (March 05, 2010)
Burrows' shot is incredible, but what really makes this play is Daniel's dive to receive this pass. Then, before Brent Seabrook can get to him, Daniel's up and the puck is in Alex Burrows' wheelhouse.

19 Kevin Bieksa (May 09, 2010 )
Kevin Bieksa finishes off a 2-on-1 with an nifty move, keeping the puck on his forehand and tucking it short side on Antii Niemi.

18 Henrik Sedin (December 23, 2010)
In a tight game, this might have been seen as one of the plays of the season, but in a blowout where everyone from the Columbus players to the broadcast team is already checking out, a remarkable play like this is met only with John Garrett's incredulous chuckle.

17 Alex Burrows (January 05, 2010)
Alex Burrows scores a hat-trick goal on a beautiful feed from Ryan Kesler. You have to admire how hard he skates to come out of his own zone with speed, and eventually to get to this puck at the side of the net.

16 Jeff Tambellini (December 22, 2010)
Tambellini's wrister is already a pretty big deal in Vancouver, and this is the best example of why: the space on the short side of Howard is miniscule, but Tamby finds it. It's especially impressive considering he received the pass on the backhand.

15 Kyle Wellwood (January 21, 2010)

The real star of this clip is Steve Bernier who, on the backhand and with one hand on the stick, tips the puck over the stick of his defender to send Wellwood in.

14 Raffi Torres (November 02, 2010)
Give Raffi an A for effort on this one, as he dives at the puck in order to get to it before Theo Peckham, and somehow manages to knock it home.

13 Rick Rypien (January 05, 2010)

I love this goal, because the draw weight on Kyle Wellwood's pass is so unique. He flips a little saucer pass well before Rypien arrives in the zone, but the puck is just sitting there waiting to be wired. Rypien makes no mistake, pouncing on the gift and sending it to the back of the net.

12 Kevin Bieksa (April 10, 2010)
Bieksa is the goal-scorer on this clip, but the real star if Eric Nystrom, who doesn't bother to check anyone. The Sedins look like geniuses here, and they are, but if Nystrom is in position, Bieksa isn't open.

11 Daniel Sedin (April 10, 2010)

Daniel Sedin does something we rarely see from him, as he takes the puck to the net hard, but make sure you also recognize the remarkable tape-to-tape saucer pass that Henrik throws his way to start the play.

50-31 - - - - - - - - - - 30-11 - - - - - - - - - - 10-01