#Kunlun Red Star Beijing

[chunkletskhl]

Nice to see Ilya Kovalchuk back in action, and with his childhood team Spartak Moscow as well! That's Tyler Graovac of Kunlun Red Star pursuing Kovi in the photo. (Image Source)

[bestlivesportsstreaming]

Kunlun Red Star vs Ak Bars Kazan

The Battle of China, in the KHL, has been going on since the league’s inception, but this year it’s more important than ever before, with Ak Bars Kazan winning their first ever Gagarin Cup last season and now defending their title against the team that has dominated the KHL in recent years, Kunlun Red Star.

Kunlun has been on a hot streak, winning all three games this season so far. You can bet their players will be amped up to face Ak Bars, who have only managed one win so far. Ak Bars has also been struggling offensively, scoring only four goals in three games. Kunlun's defense is not as good as it was last year, which could mean trouble for the Russians if they can't score goals of their own. In the past six years, Kunlun has won all six matches against Ak Bars (including four wins in a row), though those were before Ak Bars had its new roster. Both teams are from Russia, but Kunlun is based in Beijing and Ak Bars is based in Mytishchi. For the first time since 2006, both teams did not make it to the playoffs of their respective leagues: the KHL and VHL. The battle between two hockey teams, Kunlun Red Star and Ak Bars Kazan, will be held this February 5th at the Mytishchi Arena in Russia. Kunlun Red Star is the most decorated team in all of the KHL and has won four Gagarin Cup Championships, the most recent being last year. On the other hand, Ak Bars Kazan is a powerhouse in its own right with eight championship titles to its name. NAME:Kunlun Red Star vs Ak Bars Kazan DATE:Feb 5, 2023 TIME:at 5:00:00 PM UTC VENUE:Mytishchi Arena

[writinggeisha]

Aiguo                   love country; patriotic

An                        peace

Angúo                  protect the country

Bai                       white

Bingwen              bright and cultivated

Bo                        waves

Bohai                   elder brother sea

Bojing                  win admiration

Bolin                    elder brother rain

Boqin                   win respect

Changpu              forever simple

Chanming            forever bright

Chao                    surpassing

Chaoxiang            expecting fortune

Chen                    vast or great

Cheng                  accomplished

Chenglei               become great

Cheung                good luck

Chi                       the younger generation

Chongan              second brother peace

Chongkun            second brother Kunlun mountain

Chonglin              second brother unicorn

Chuanli                transmitting propriety

Chung                  intelligent

Délì                      virtuous

Déshì                    a man of virtue

Déwei                  highly virtuous

Da                        attainment

Dai                       martial arts sword technique

Delun                   virtuous order

Deming                virtue bright

Dingbang             protect the country

Dingxiang            stability and fortune

Dong                    east; winter

Donghai               eastern sea

Duyi                     independent wholeness

Enlai                     favor coming

Fa                         setting off

Fai                        growth; beginning of fly

Fang                     honest and upright

Feng                     sharp blade; wind

Fengge                 phoenix pavilion

Fu                         wealthy

Fuhua                   fortune flourishing

Gan                      dare; adventure

Gang                    strength

Geming                revolution

Gen                      root

Genghis                just, righteous; true

Guang                  light

Guangli                making propriety bright

Gui                       honored; noble

Guiren                  valuing benevolence

Guoliang              may the country be kind

Guotin                  polite, firm; strong leader

Guowei                state preserving

Guozhi                 the state is ordered

Hai                       sea

He                        Yellow river

Heng                    eternal

Ho                        for the good

Hong                    great; wild swan

Honghui               great splendor

Hongqi                 red flag

Hop                      agreeable

Huan                    happiness

Huang Fu             rich future

Hui                       splendor

Hulin                    people of the Marrim city clan

Hung                    flood; great

Huojin                  fire metal

Jaw-long              like a dragon

Jian                       healthy

Jiang                     Yangtze river

Jianguo                 building the country

Jianjun                  building the army

Jianyu                   building the universe

Jin                        gold

Jing                      capital city

Jingguo                administering the state

Jinhai                    golden sea

Jinjing                  gold mirror

Jun                       truth

Junjie                    handsome and outstanding

Kang                    well-being

Keung                  universe

Kong                    glorious, sky

Lì                         strength

Lei                        thunder

Li                         upright

Liang                    bright

Liang                    good, excellent

Liko                     protected by Buddha

Ling                     compassion or understanding

Liu                       flowing

Liwei                    profit and greatness

Lok                      happiness

Longwei               dragon greatness

Manchu                pure

Ming-húa             brilliant, elite

Mingli                  bright propriety

Ming-tun              intelligent; heavy

Minsheng             voice of the people

Minzhe                 sensitive and wise

Nianzu                 thinking of ancestors

On                        peace

Park                      the cypress tree

Peng                     Roc - the bird of legend

Pengfei                 flight of the roc

Ping                      stable

Qi                         enlightenment; wondrous

Qianfan                thousand sails

Qiang                   strong

Qingshan              celebrating goodness

Qingsheng            celebrating birth

Qiquiang              enlightenment and strength

Qiu                       autumn

Quan                    fresh water spring

Quon                    bright

Renshu                 benevolent forbearance

Rong                    martial

Ru                        scholar

Shàoqiáng            strong and profound

Shìlín                    intellectual

Shan                     mountain

Shanyuan             mountain source

Shen                     cautious; deep

Shen                     spirit; deep thought

Shi                        front horizontal bar on carriage or cart

Shing                    victory

Shining                 world at peace

Shirong                scholarly honor

Shoi-ming            life of sunshine

Shoushan             longevity mountain

Shunyuan             follow to the source

Shu-sai-chong      happy all his life long

Siyu                      thinking of the world

Sueh-yén              continuity; harmonious

Sying                    star

Tao                       great waves

Tengfei                 soaring high

Tingzhe                may the court be wise

Tsun-chùng          middle village

Tung                     all, universal

Wang                   hope, wish

Wei                      greatness; impressive might

Weimin                bring greatness to the people

Weisheng             greatness is born

Weiyuan               preserving depth

Weizhe                 great sage

Wencheng            refinement accomplished

Wenyan                refined and virtuous

Wing                    glory

Wuzhou               five continents 

Xiang                   circling in air like a bird

Xianliang             worthy brightness

Xiaobo                 little wrestler

Xiaodan               little dawn

Xiaojian               little healthy

Xiaosi                   filial thoughts

Xiaowen              filial, civil

Xiasheng              little birth

Xin                       new

Xing                     arising

Xiu                       cultivated

Xue                      studious

Xueqin                 snow-white celery

Xueyou                studious and friendly

Yang                    model; pattern

Yanlin                  swallow forest; Beijing forest

Yaochuan             honoring the river

Yaoting                honoring the courtyard

Yaozu                  honoring the ancestors

Ye                        bright

Yi                         firm and resolute

Yingjie                 brave and heroic

Yingpei                should admire

Yong                    brave

Yongliang            forever bright

Yongnian             eternal years

Yongrui                forever lucky

Yongzheng          forever upright

You                      friend

Yuanjun               master of the Yuan river

Yunxu                  cloudy emptiness

Yusheng               jade birth

Zedong                east of the marsh

Zemin                   favor to the people

Zenguang             increasing brightness

Zhìxin                  a man of ambition

Zhìyuan                ambition

Zhen                     greatly astonished; shake

Zhengzhong         upright and loyal

Zhensheng           may the government rise

Zhihuán                ambitious

Zhiqiang               the will is strong

Zhong                  loyal; steadfast

Zian                      self peace

Zihao                    son heroic

Zixin                    self confidence

[leanpick]

China’s Hockey Squad Shows a Powerhouse’s Weakness: Team Sports

China’s Hockey Squad Shows a Powerhouse’s Weakness: Team Sports

“With individual sports, you can lock someone in a room for five years and say, ‘Be the best figure skater or Ping-Pong player or whatever,’” said Mark Simon, who coached in Chinese youth leagues for 14 years and was a consultant to Kunlun Red Star, the Beijing men’s hockey team that ultimately supplied every member of China’s Olympic roster. The Olympic squad plays Canada on Sunday. Explore the…

[tommylindholm]

Though he said it may take years to truly establish ice hockey in China, he likened a local Winter Olympics to the catalyzing effect of the sport taking off in the U.S. following the underdog American team's famous win over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Games at Lake Placid.

"So I think the Red Star Kunlun team and what they're doing, along with the Winter Olympics in 2022, that hopefully will jumpstart this sport of ours," he said. "And 30-40 years from now, we'll look back and say, 'You know what? That's where we started and that's where we were and that's where we are today."

[mediamonkey29]

Hilary Knight Makes Debut with Les Canadiennes

Earlier this week, Team USA hockey superstar, Hilary Knight, signed on to join Les Canadiennes in their playoff push. Les Canadiennes is the Canadian Women’s Hockey League team from Montreal. This was a big signing for Les Canadiennes and the CWHL, as it marks the return of Hilary to the league since she joined the NWHL.

Read on to find out how she did in her debut and more about the upcoming CWHL playoffs.

The CWHL was the first professional women’s hockey league created and in its 11th season it saw an incredible expansion to China, as they prepare their hockey team for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Hilary, along with members of the U.S. national team were all in the CWHL until the formation of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) in 2015. They all decided as a group to join the NWHL, as it was the first paid women’s hockey league. Since then the CWHL has begun paying their players as the league has grown and expanded its fan base and also received support from major NHL teams, like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

Hilary made an immediate impact in her debut on Sunday, which was the final game of the regular season, as Les Canadiennes faced off against the Calgary Inferno. She showed why she is a world class player as she showed off her speed and powerful shot. She even got a penalty for a body check, which is unfortunately not allowed in the women’s game at this time. I can only imagine a Team Canada versus Team USA showdown with body checking allowed!

The game was a hard fought battle between the two teams and many believe that it was a preview of the teams that we will see in the Clarkson Cup, the CWHL final, on March 25th. The Inferno and Les Canadiennes went into the third period tied 2-2, with Les Canadiennes fighting for top spot in the standings. With less than 3 minutes in the game, Sarah Lefort scored to put Les Canadiennes up by a goal. Calgary had many opportunities throughout the game and it seemed like they may be able to tie it up but their chances were all but done when Sophie Shirley took a high sticking penalty with a little over a minute left in the game.

Overall, the skill level was high and the Inferno made it known that they would put up a fight if they were to meet Les Canadiennes in the final. They will be facing off against the Kunlun Red Star next week in the playoffs. Kunlun has Finnish goalie Noora Räty back in the net following her bronze medal performance in the Olympics and she will be hard to beat. In her return performance, she earned a shutout against Les Canadiennes. The other playoff match-up will see Les Canadiennes playing the Markham Thunder. The Thunder have had an impressive performance in the latter half of the season and they have also received a boost with Olympians Laura Fortino, Laura Stacey and Jocelyn Larocque returning to the Thunder lineup. It’s going to be an entertaining couple of weeks of hockey.

Many fans are hoping that Knight is going to be staying with the CWHL and Les Canadiennes next season, so that they can see her join Canadian superstar, Marie-Philip Poulin, on the same team. As of now, it is unclear whether Knight will stay with Les Canadiennes or if she will return to the NWHL, but one thing is for certain, the playoffs are going to be an amazing display of talent.

You can get your playoff tickets now by clicking this link. The best of three series starts on Friday March 16, 2018. The Clarkson Cup final will be played on Sunday March 25, 2018 and it should be an exciting day of hockey. Tickets are available for purchase now by clicking here.

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: (SAT) WOLF PACK SHUTOUT SPRINGFIELD

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves in earning his first North American professional shutout while Phil Di Giusseppe’s second-period goal carried the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday night. Hartford's record is now 4-0-0-1 and they will travel to Binghamton to play the Devils Sunday. Springfield's record falls to 2-4-0-0. Binghamton lost 4-1 to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Allentown. As Springfield made their push over the last five minutes looking to knot the game, Shesterkin a rookie only by classification, but an experienced veteran in Russia, showed how he was an on-ice general while controlling the game effectively. Alexsei Heponiemi was stopped. Owen Tippett's shot was also stopped. He took an extra whack and the Wolf Pack went to protect their goalie led by fellow Russian, Vitali Kravtsov. Dominic Toninato had a shot from twenty-feet out with 3:14 left and Tippett was out slightly further. Both were denied. The Pack defense was clearly playing too passively. The Thunderbirds' Blaine Byron had another quality chance denied. Shesterkin saved his best for last. There was a faceoff to Shesterkin's right with about 12 seconds left. With the goalie pulled, veteran Paul Thompson got the puck on the right-wing side. Shesterkin came out calmly and denied the chance with the clock ticking away. “He’s just so calm and composed out there. He makes so many saves out there. We're very confident with him in goal. He has a lot of experience playing at a high level he knows what to do in (pressure) situations,” said head coach, Kris Knoblauch. Di Guiseppe was effusive in his praise of his goalie. “He was solid. That was a Grade-A chance at the end, but he found a way to save it. We have been giving it away (late) too much, but both our goalies have been something. I can’t say enough about (both) them. This is the third game where it’s been like that, but I’d rather be on that end than having to try to score right now.” The Wolf Pack’s first and only goal came as a result of a big save by Shesterkin. Springfield’s Dominic Toninato came in on a left-wing break-in that started at their own blue line and he shot it from the faceoff dot. Shesterkin made a blocker pad save and off that, the Pack flew back on the rush. Filip Chytil took that rebound and moved it off the right-wing half wall with a nice chip past to Blaine Byron and then on to Vinni Lettieri on the right-wing and then into center ice. He caught Di Giuseppe in full stride at center ice. Di Giuseppe broke in and split the defense of Ian McCoshen and Brady Keeper. He went wide on the left-wing side and sent a wrister that goaltender Chris Driedger got a piece of with his glove, but not enough and his second goal of the season went over the goal line at 7:01. “We did well with speed through the neutral zone. Vinni made a good pass on the tape to me. I just skated as fast as I could between those guys and got a bit of lucky break on the shot." The passing had been a topic of conversation over the week. “We have been stressing shorter passes that help bring some more speed. Long passes take time, you're out on island a bit and you don’t have as many options. That helps to create a more dangerous play for you to set-up so you can take advantage on the opposition,” remarked Knoblauch. Another tight-checking first period by the Wolf Pack as shots were spaced out throughout the period. The Wolf Pack had their strongest cycle in the Thunderbirds zone in the final minute of the period as Nick Jones and Vinni Lettieri had two shots apiece. Jones kept his balance and maintained puck possession. He executed a short give-and-go with Vinni Lettieri. He had a strong shot at Driedger, a wrist shot from 15-feet out then followed a stuff attempt from the short side off the rebound. Lettieri on the right-wing had back to back chances in tight rejected. Outshooting Springfield 9-6, the Pack gave Shesterkin the time he needed to see all six shots tossed his way. Rookie rearguard Joey Keane had two strong defensive play tracking and staying with the forward in the Pack defensive part of the ice and won one on one battles for the puck. Part of the challenges on chances was the change in the Wolf Pack with three of the four refurbished with only the fourth line remaining intact. Boo Nieves got two new wingers Steven Fogarty the team captain and Gabriel Fontaine. “We did make changes and the one line we didn’t  (the fourth) played very well and Jones-Gettinger and Newell were solid tonight. We in part changed the lines to find some chemistry for (Vitali) Kravtsoc we need to get him going he needs a playmaking centerman and I thought he played well.” LINES: Nieves-Fogarty-Fontaine Chytil-Lettieri-Di Guiseppe O’Regan-Kravtsov-Beleskey Newell-Jones-Gettinger Lindgren-Raddysh Day-LoVerde Geersten-Keane SCRATCHES: Nick Ebert Ville Meskanen NOTES: A very fast-moving game. Early stoppages in the first, in the 2nd, at 5:18 and the third period at 3:45 were followed. Kravtsov registered his first shot in 12 periods of hockey. Mason Geersten had a strong game. He was a physical presence all game long, battling in front with several Springfield players most notably, Joel Lowery. No news on the Ryan Gropp situation. “That’s being handled at the top now. I’m not involved in that," said Knoblauch. Apparently, Gropp has still not reported. “To the best of my knowledge, no.” WOLF PACK  FAN JERSEY OF THE NIGHT: 28 Richard Scott and a KHL Kunlun (Beijing) Red Star #45 Magnus Hellberg jersey. Rangers drop their third straight in Washington 5-2 and play Vancouver at MSG on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm. UCONN hockey is in the win column with a 5-2 victory over RPI on the road. Read the full article

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

CWHL downplays Chinese influence in player payments

NEW YORK – Brenda Andress, commissioner of the Canadian’s Women Hockey League, had steadfastly assured her players through the years that the league was on a path to paying them.

She did so when others scoffed at the idea of a pro women’s hockey league. She did so when the National Women’s Hockey League, a U.S.-based rival, began paying its players in 2015, and she did so when the NWHL was forced to abruptly cut salaries the following year due to falling revenues.

“We’re right on target with our strategic plan,” said Andress to Sportsnet in March 2017. “But I’m not a fortune teller. We want to make sure that when we pay our players, we’re not going to take money back from them or discontinue paying them.”

Perhaps Andress didn’t see this moment coming in her crystal ball: The league announced last month that, for the first time, it would offer a salary to its players. The CWHL will pay players a minimum of $2,000, a maximum of $10,000 and a salary cap of $100,000 for each of the CWHL’s seven teams during their 28-game season. That’s money on top of the meal stipends, equipment costs and insurance that’s also covered by the league.

It’s a start, and the news was met with adulation from the players and fans.

“Although it’s a small step forward, it is a strong step in the right direction,” said Karolina Urban, a former CWHL player, via The Athletic. “The CWHL made its mandate to pay its players and to ensure sustainability.”

For Andress, it was validation.

“It’s been phenomenal for us, especially the player reaction. It’s so exciting for us, because it’s an historic moment we’ve all been working towards for the last five or six years. We’re just ecstatic that we went slow, and that we have something in place that will be sustainable. I’m so happy to give something to the women that have supported us for so long,” said the commissioner, at a “Declaration of Principles” event featuring 17 hockey organizations in New York on Wednesday.

“We promised this year. We kept our promise. That’s what the CWHL is all about.”

Would that it t’were so simple…

The CWHL had been telling players “wait until next year” for bit, according to one anonymous player who spoke with Habs Eyes On The Prize: “We’ve heard for the last few years that the following year we were going to get paid, so we were wondering if it would actually happen…”

So what changed?

China happened.

The timing of this decision by the CWHL coincides with a historic expansion to China by the league, which is welcoming the Vanke Rays and Kunlun Red Star next season. Whether or not this expansion into fertile revenue grounds was the catalyst for the players getting paid is something that’s in dispute: Andress downplays the timing of it, while many others in the hockey world find no coincidence in it.

The financial influx of revenue, and potential revenue, from two teams in China is palpable. Especially in the case of the Red Star, which has backing from Xiaoyu Zhao, a banking executive, and Billy Ngok, an oil and gas investor, according to The Victory Press. These Chinese teams are the starting point toward having a competitive women’s team to ice at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Andress wouldn’t tell the New York Times if there was “any direct financial investment from Chinese hockey parties” in the CWHL, only that the partnerships helped open new doors to sponsorships for the league.

That influx of revenue is also palpable for the players that have decided to skate with the Chinese teams next season. USA Hockey star Kelli Stack and Finnish national team star goalie Noora Räty were the two most prominent names. Stack left the NWHL for the opportunity. Räty had not played before in the CWHL.

The international players joining the Chinese teams were promised a salary well before the CWHL announced it was paying its players.

“All we can tell is we’re not hired as an athlete, we’re hired as ambassadors. I’m an ambassador for the sport in China and for the Kunlun Red Star team. I’m not actually paid to play, but that’s just kind of my side [job]. What we are paid to do is actually grow the game in China,” Räty told Sportsnet.

According to a source with knowledge of the league, the “off ice” salaries of the China-based players were a catalyst for getting the rest of the CWHL players paid – once it became apparent what players like Stack were making as “ambassadors,” it almost mandated that her peers in the league receive some slice of the revenue pie. Since the pie had grown significantly over the summer.

Andress reiterated that the Chinese teams were part of a larger upward trend for the league.

“If you look back to last year, the many times I was interviewed, China was not on the map and the board said we were going to pay the players this year. Did it help? Did it add to it? Did it open up brand new doors for us? Absolutely, and not unlike Calgary did when it entered the league,” said Andress.

The trick for the CWHL is the same one other leagues, including the NHL, have to manage: How do you balance the revenue cash cows in China with the rest of the league? Will they get preferential treatment from the League?

Andress says no. “We’ve had to keep that balance over the last 10 years. Les Canadiennes is a phenomenal fan base and a good revenue team. I don’t know if we have to keep anybody reined in,” she said.

The CWHL paying its players is another step in a steady, patient journey to success and sustainability. It’s in the partnerships it’s made with NHL teams, like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. It’s in the association it has with the NHLPA. It’s in getting important games featured on Sportsnet.

It’s a league that now stands in contrast with the NWHL, less than a year removed from the ugly standoff with players over salary cuts and a league without the same bold-type partnerships as its rival.

“I’m excited for them,” said NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan on Wednesday at the “Declaration of Principles” event, on the CWHL paying its players. “It’s such a great step for the game, and I’m glad they were able to make it.”

I asked Rylan if she was concerned that the CWHL had stolen her calling card, after having been positioned as “the pro women’s league that pays its players” for the last two years.

“No. I believe all women should be paid for doing what they’re best at. I’m glad they were able to get there,” she said.

For Andress, the last few years have been about getting there, and then staying there.

“I think ourselves, the board, the players and myself, we always believed that it would happened. We never strayed from that. A lot of times in life, people are asking you to go quicker. ‘Why aren’t you doing this yet?’” she said

“When you believe in something, you want it to last. You want your word to be there. You want to have people trust in what you’re saying.”

–

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS

[koolwebsites]

Gretzky: NHL players in Olympics 'much better for everyone'

AP Published 3:12 a.m. ET Sept. 13, 2018 | Updated 4:41 a.m. ET Sept. 13, 2018

Former NHL hockey player Wayne Gretzky, left, is presented with a Beijing Kunlun Red Star hockey jersey with his name and number during a promotional event in his role as global ambassador for the team, part of the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League, in Beijing, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Gretzky…

[chunkletskhl]

Shenzhen Dayun Arena in Shenzhen, China, was in Russian hockey news twice yesterday.  It will host Kunlun Red Star Beijing for six September regular-season games in September in this coming KHL season, and it looks like it will be the home of a Russian Women’s Hockey League team in 2019-20!  (Image Source)

[hongkongfp]

Eyeing 2022 Winter Olympic glory, China hockey flirts with overseas talent

https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/06/29/eyeing-2022-winter-olympic-glory-china-hockey-flirts-overseas-talent/

[leanpick]

China in danger of Olympics ice hockey axe

China in danger of Olympics ice hockey axe

The players hoping to make China’s men’s hockey team for next year’s Beijing Olympics lost a second trial game against a Russian club, as uncertainty builds over whether they will be allowed to play at the Winter Games. International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) officials observed Kunlun Red Star’s 4-1 loss to Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League. The Chinese team’s 5-4 overtime loss to…

[hockeylibrary]

KHL: Alexei Kovalev ist neuer Cheftrainer des chinesischen KHL-Club "Kunlun"

KHL: Alexei Kovalev ist neuer Cheftrainer des chinesischen KHL-Club “Kunlun”

Alexei Kovalev wurde zum Cheftrainer des KHL-Clubs Kunlun Red Star (Beijing, Kontinental Hockey League) ernannt. Dies wurde vom Pressedienst des Clubs gemeldet.

Der russische Spezialist arbeitet seit 2018 im Trainerstab des Teams und ersetzt nun als Cheftrainer den Kanadier Kurt Fraser. Die Einzelheiten der Vereinbarung wurden nicht bekannt gegeben. 

Der 47 Jährige Russe gewann 1994 mit den…

[mastcomm]

A Hockey Globetrotter Finds Her Showcase at Home

VANCOUVER — Early in Game 4 of the 2020 women’s hockey Rivalry Series, Team U.S.A.’s Megan Bozek skated the puck down the ice. As she entered the offensive zone, she lifted her stick horizontally and drilled it into the protective cage of Erin Ambrose, the Canadian defender who had been blocking her path to the net.

After losing Game 3 in overtime two nights earlier, Bozek was sending the message that the United States team would be taking no prisoners.

Body-checking may be illegal in women’s hockey, but intense physical play is the norm whenever the world’s two top hockey nations square off, even when there’s nothing more than pride on the line.

“Used to it. Yep. Nothing different than we haven’t seen before,” said U.S. captain Kendall Coyne Schofield after her team’s 3-1 victory in a contest where Bozek’s crosschecking minor was one of 11 total penalties called on the night.

In the so-called “gap year,” the time between the Canadian Women’s Hockey League’s folding in spring 2019 to now, there has been no North American professional league available to the sport’s top players. Bozek and her teammate, Alex Carpenter, have been playing in Russia’s Zhenskaya Hockey League to work on their games, giving them a leg up on the many Olympians and other elite players continuing to boycott the National Women’s Hockey League. But their stories also reveal how hard it still is to make a go of life as a female professional hockey player.

“The physicality has been very helpful,” Carpenter said. “Those teams just never give up and they always go, so I think playing against competition like that and very skilled players is definitely helpful.”

U.S. head coach Bob Corkum liked what he saw from Carpenter when she arrived for the first Rivalry Series training camp and exhibition games in the Pittsburgh area last November. She has since been named Player of the Game for scoring the game-winning goal in the second game of the series.

“I’m not sure what has given her the advantage, but this whole year, she’s been lights out,” said Corkum. “She’s been one of our most consistent players.”

The demise of the C.W.H.L. led to the formation of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association, a group of more than 200 players who pledged not to play in a North American pro league this season due to concerns about operations and low wages. The highest announced salary in the N.W.H.L., a five-team outfit now in its fifth season, is $15,000.

The P.W.H.P.A. has made no bones about its desire to partner with the N.H.L. to launch a league styled after the relationship between the N.B.A. and W.N.B.A. The connection between Russia’s top men’s league and its women’s league may provide another template.

“I think it would be great to take a look at that league,” said Carpenter. “I mean, there’s things that we could do better, there’s things that are great already, but I think just taking a look at that overall, due to their backing with the K.H.L., I think would be a really great start for us moving forward.”

After playing her first pro season in 2016-17 with the N.W.H.L.’s Boston Pride, Carpenter headed for China after she was cut from the 2018 Olympic team that went on to win gold medal over Canada in Pyeongchang.

Her father, former Ranger Bobby Carpenter, was coaching the men’s Kunlun Red Star team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League and suggested she come over and join the women’s side, one of two women’s teams based in Shenzhen and affiliated with the C.W.H.L.

Carpenter returned to China for the 2018-19 season, when Red Star and the Vanke Rays merged into one squad. This season, the Vanke Rays joined up with the W.H.L., which has been backed by the K.H.L. since 2015, giving Carpenter a chance to stay in China for a third year — and to get a sense of how a women’s pro league that’s affiliated with Russia’s top men’s league operates.

“We didn’t know what to expect going into it,” Carpenter said. “We came from the C.W.H.L. and we’d bounce back and forth between China and North America for a month and a half at a time.”

Playing in the same arenas as the men, either before their games or after, came with perks. “We get towels, we get a locker room a week before if we need it,” Carpenter said. “We get a coaches’ room. Small things like that, that you don’t think are a big thing. But they really make a big difference in your travels.”

N.H.L. commissioner Gary Bettman has stated repeatedly that his league is reluctant to get involved while there’s an existing women’s league in operation. Instead, top women’s players have gotten showcases, like at last month’s All-Star Weekend, which for the first time included a three-on-three game between the U.S.A. and Canada.

In addition to the other showcases provided by the P.W.H.P.A.’s ongoing Dream Gap Tour, the current five-game Rivalry Series, in its second year, has provided opportunities for real competition and put the spotlight on the women’s game. All five games this year have been broadcast on national television.

Wednesday’s win gave the U.S. team a 3-1 edge in the five-game Rivalry Series. But even with bragging rights established, both teams are looking forward to another big moment in Anaheim on Saturday, where more than 11,000 fans are expected at Honda Center in what is projected to be the largest crowd ever to watch a women’s national team game in the United States.

“I think this year, our main objective is really to have that big exposure and to get our product in front of fans,” said Canadian forward Sarah Nurse. “We want to be seen by everybody. That’s the only way that people are going to recognize the value in our product.

While the players who have stayed in North America have found ways to keep busy even without league play, some of them admit that the lack of structure has made it more difficult to find a rhythm when preparing for the Rivalry Series and the Women’s World Championship, which begins on March 31 in Nova Scotia.

“I think I would be lying if I tell you it’s easy,” said Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin. “The routine is not there at all.”

Carpenter has traveled to North America for the Rivalry Series games and All-Star Weekend, and will be back for the World Championship, but says she’s glad to have been playing in a more traditional league situation this year, where she’s leading the W.H.L. scoring race. “It’s nice to have that competitive environment. where you’re ultimately working with a team for an ultimate goal,” she said. “I think that helps me, myself, carry that over to here, knowing that when it’s ‘go time’ during the games, I’ve been working on that all year.”

That decision may put her in an advantageous position when it is time to name the Team U.S.A. roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“It would be pretty cool to be able to go and be there with some of my Chinese teammates who are trying to make their team.”

If there’s still no new pro league in North America next season, Carpenter said she would love to see more P.W.H.P.A. players join her in the W.H.L. After Saturday’s Rivalry Series finale in Anaheim, Carpenter and Bozek will head back to Russia to finish out their regular season and start playoffs, then return late next month for the World Championship.

With all the international travel, Carpenter’s passport is getting full.

“It is. I need a new one soon.”

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/a-hockey-globetrotter-finds-her-showcase-at-home/

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: BEARS BURY PACK DESPITE LETTIERI HAT TRICK

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Vinni Lettieri and Devante Smith-Pelly matched hat tricks while John Gilmour’s and Nathan Walker each had three helpers for their respective teams, but in the end, it was the Hershey Bears who pulled off a 5-3 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack. The loss effectively removed any chance the Wolf Pack might have had in catching the Bears, whose record improves to 33-22-2-4 (72 points). They hold an eleven point lead over the Pack with just thirteen games left to play. The loss drops the Pack record to 26-28-6-3 (61 points). The Bears' win ended their current, and longest, losing streak in over two months. They are 0-1-2-1 over the span. Penalties and loose defensive zone play cost the Wolf Pack another loss, which also ended a modest three-game winning streak. “When you're killing penalties, your shot totals are going to be going up, and the first part we're putting ourselves to be in a position to take those penalties. At the top of my list, we were mismanaging pucks in critical areas and we know this Hershey team set a record for consecutive wins. Anytime you give a team a free play on turnovers like that, there's a very good chance it's going to wind up in the back of your net,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. The Bears took a 3-2 lead as the Pack was, once again, unable to clear the puck or get to a loose puck off a rebound. Rookie Wolf Pack goalie, Adam Huska, stopped ex-Pack Ryan Sproul’s left point drive with a pad save. The Bears Nathan Walker got to the loose biscuit after a center ice turnover by Tim Gettinger, who was going off for a line change.  Walker fed another ex-CT Whale, Jayson Megna, for a quickly developing two-on-one. Megna, a right-handed shot, was playing on the left wing. He slid the pass over to Smith-Pelly on the right wing. The NHL veteran deposited his second of the game at 1:52. The Bears nearly got another with a Sproul shot that that was stopped, but on the net-front battle, Walker seemingly scored, but a lengthy review determined there was no goal. The Bears kept the pressure on as the Wolf Pack took penalties allowed the Bears quality O-zone time. At 8:53, and on the powerplay, Megna redirected Michael Sgarbossa's perfect pass from the left point. Megna had inside position on Josh Wesley and put it past Huska giving the Bears a two-goal advantage at 4-2. The Wolf Pack followed with 1:16 of five-on-three late but didn’t connect until six seconds after it ended. After passing it back-and-forth several times, Lettieri took a cross-ice pass from Gilmour and buried his third goal of the game past a diving Bears goalie, Vitek Vanacek at 16:45. The goal completed Lettieri's hat trick and some of the crowd of 4,685 followed the hockey signature rituals by throwing hats on the ice. It was Lettieri’s 21st goal of the season, which leads the team. Lettieri was the second Pack player to record a hat trick in two weeks, but just the third hat trick in three years and sixth in the last seven years. Gilmour's third assist of the game gave him 48 on the season to become the AHL leader for points by a defenseman passing Zach Redmond of the idle Rochester Americans. ‘Our line has been doing great,” remarked Lettieri. The team’s number one unit consists of Lettieri, Steven Fogarty, and Ryan Gropp, “When I get the puck. I always try to get it to Gropp or Fogarty and then try to get ahead of the play and they always seem to find me.” Smith-Pelly matched Lettieri’s hat trick restore a two-goal lead as the trailer on Walker’s breakaway. Huska made the pad save, but Smith-Pelly went unchecked and was able to sweep and bury that a shot just 44 seconds after Lettieri’s goal at 17:29. The play started when Gabriel Fontaine blew a tire at center ice. Sean Day was unable to get back to contain Walker allowing Smith-Pelly to record his seventh point in six games. McCambridge was happy with his rookie goalie who showed flashes of his UCONN form. “I like the way Adam played. I really can’t fault (him) on those rebounds against us, but he did give us some chances to win the game. He had to fight thru traffic to find those pucks and he did so. There are going to be rebounds, and that’s our defenseman’s job to clear those rebounds.” The Wolf Pack came out at the start of the second as they did in the first attacking Hershey defense and gained the lead back at 2-1. Gilmour wired a shot off the left pad of Vanacek and Lettieri was right there to easily deposit the loose change for his second of the night at 30 seconds. Two milestones were reached on the play. Lettieri became the second Wolf Pack to reach 20 goals. The other was the now traded, Peter Holland. With his second assist of the night, Gilmour broke the record for assists by a defenseman passing Andrew Hutchison in the 2007-08 season. Hershey came back at 5:53 on the powerplay. Huska made a save with the shoulder on Jusso Ikonen, but the Wolf Pack didn't get to a loose puck, but Walker did at the left side of the net. Walker sent the puck behind the net to Juuso Ikonen. He quickly fed Garret Pilon who rifled his seventh goal of the season to the far side past Huska, evening the game at two and completing a well-executed three player sequence. Pack grabbed the first goal of the game on the powerplay. Gilmour fed Lettieri at the right point. Lettieri then unloaded a heavy snapshot that sailed past Vanacek who was screened by Gabriel Fontaine 12:39. Hershey bounced back with Smith-Pelly, in his sixth game since being demoted by the Washington Capitals, when he scored his first of the game from the left wing. Smith-Pelley's perfect redirect of ex-Sound Tiger Aaron Ness’s left point shot beat Huska to the short-side at 17:29 to tie the score at one. SCRATCHES: Dawson Leedahl (upper body, week-to-week) Rob O’Gara (lower body, week-to-week) Chris Bigras (ankle, out for the season) Drew Melanson (healthy) Julius Bergman (healthy) LINES: Fogarty-Lettieri-Gropp Fontaine-Beleskey-Meskanen Ronning-Gettinger-St. Amant O’Donnell-Butler-Wallin Gilmour-Lindgren Raddysh-Day Wesley-Crawley NOTES: The Pack will host the Binghamton Devils on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, the last mid-week game of the season and the last home game for the next two weeks. Gilmour’s next goal will be his 19th and will break the Wolf Pack team record for goals by a defenseman set by Andrew Hutchison in the 2007-08 season. Hutchinson was the Wolf Pack captain and became the only Eddie Shore trophy winner for Best Defenseman in franchise history. Matt Beleskey's powerplay goal last night in Springfield against the Thunderbirds broke a 23-game scoreless streak that dated back to January 5th against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. With Huska now in the red, white, and blue, Chris Nell became expendable and was reassigned to the team's ECHL affiliates, the Maine Mariners, who in turn released veteran Hannu Toivonen. Wolf Pack Fan Jersey of the Night: Plenty to choose from #15 Greg Moore, #36 Craig Weller, #40 Steve Valiquette, #42 Jeff State, CT Whale #5 Blake Parlett, a Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) #27 Tim Gettinger, and a special tip of the chapeau to a #27 Hershey Bears Dennis Bonvie plus two beautiful blue Maine Mariner’s road uni’s. Former team captain and head coach, Ken Gernander’s #12 jersey was sighted as well. Speaking of Moore, he is now the head coach of the Chicago Steel (USHL). Moore was the second Wolf Pack captain following Gernander's retirement. Their first captain was Craig Weller who is not currently active in hockey. One of 38 players to play for both the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the Wolf Pack, Valiquette is now an MSG-TV hockey analyst on Rangers' broadcasts. He was part of the greatest Wolf Pack goalie tandem ever with Jason LaBarbera. Speaking of the 6'5 Jeff State, who also played for the wildly, infamous Danbury Trashers, then Wolf Pack head coach, Ryan McGill, now an assistant with the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and who was never one for mincing words said, “He was like a human pillon out there,” Blake Parlett is now playing in Beijing, China with Kunlun Red Star (KHL). Bonvie, the AHL's all-time PIM leader with 4,493 in 871 games and was one of the most honest and decent players in the game, is currently scouting for the Boston Bruins. Bonvie's fight with Richard Scott in Hartford was one of the greatest toe-to-toe bouts in XL Center history. Scott was smiling throughout the tilt. At the time, Scott's teammate Jeff Toms, said after the game, “If you couldn’t get juiced after watching that you need to check your pulse.” Read the full article

[maysoper]

Golden Bears Go Pro

It's been a not-so-well-kept secret that there is one Canadian university men's hockey team who runs their program like it's a professional team. It's no secret that Derek Ryan was a graduate of the University of Alberta, and he's worked hard to get himself onto the top line of the Calgary Flames this season after spending the last three seasons in the Carolina Hurricanes' system, and it seems that the Golden Bears will be sending a couple more players off to the pro ranks today as it was announced two more graduates were planning on jumping into pro hockey following successful careers at the Canadian school. We'll start with the first player who has been attracting all sorts of attention for his play this season as Luke Philp is close to signing a deal with a city close to his hometown of Canmore, Alberta.

Even though University of Alberta Golden Bear forward Luke Philp suffered an injury that took him out of the @USPORTSca University Cup this past weekend, he’s on the verge of signing an NHL ELC with CGY.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 19, 2019

As per TSN's Bob McKenzie, Philp will sign an NHL entry-level deal with the Calgary Flames that will start next season for 2019-20 and 2020-21. For Philp, it keeps him close to home when it comes to support from friends, family, and former teammates, and the Flames are getting a forward who really rounded into becoming the best player in Canada West and, possibly, in Canada over the last two seasons. In the last two seasons with Alberta, Philp scored 32 goals and 53 assists in just 52 games, and he often was the best player on the ice every night the Golden Bears skated. Philp will not be able to join the team immediately, however, as he's nursing an ankle injury suffered in the U SPORTS Men's Hockey Championship Final against the University of New Brunswick. Had he been available, he would have been able to travel to Stockton to join the heat via an amateur tryout contract through to the end of the season. Because he missed the cutoff for playoff rosters to be set, Philp would not have been eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs, but getting what would have been his first AHL games in would have provided a measuring stick for Philp in getting him ready for next season. Will he be NHL-ready for opening next season? I can't say for sure. It's a big jump for players coming out of U SPORTS to get into the best league in the world. What I can say with some certainty is that Philp will put the same hard work into preparing for this new chapter as he did in becoming U SPORTS' best player. And that should excite Flames fans! The other Golden Bear who has decided to make a leap to the pro ranks is defenceman Jason Fram. Fram has a pair of AHL games with the San Jose Barracuda and six games with the ECHL's Allen Americans under his belt already, so this new adventure should be interesting.

Still working on details, but right now it appears Alberta Golden Bears D-Man Jason Fram is headed to the KHL.

— Victor Findlay (@Finder_24) March 20, 2019

While the team is still unknown as of now, I have a feeling that Fram may be headed to China where he'll likely join the Kunlun Red Star. Fram, for those unaware, has Chinese roots and has quietly been campaigning for his inclusion to the Chinese national team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Joining the very team where the majority of players are being trained would be a wise move for the Alberta blueliner. Fram was always a danger from the point for Alberta with his skating and vision. Over the last two seasons, he's compiled 18 goals and 35 assists over 56 U SPORTS games, and was an excellent power-play quarterback as well as taking reps on the penalty kill. Fram looked comfortable in all situations, and he could very likely carve out a nice KHL career with Kunlun if he continues to play at a high level as she showed with Alberta. The Defenceman of the Year in 2019 should be a strong candidate to represent China if everything plays out like it did over the last few years in Edmonton. It's always exciting to see players I have had the privilege watching go off and get themselves into the pro game at any level. They've made sacrifices, played hard through injuries and pain, and performed at an incredible level, so they deserve to get to take that next step as they follow their dreams. It may not be the NHL Draft, but Philp and Fram will have a chance to do something not many players will thanks to their decision to play U SPORTS hockey at the University of Alberta. Stay in school, kids. Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice! from Sports News http://hockey-blog-in-canada.blogspot.com/2019/03/golden-bears-go-pro.html