Monthly Archives: November 2009
3:20 pm - Islanders farmhand Bobby Hughes has been arrested on first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree criminal sexual act charges filed in Albany. The 21-year old Hughes, acquired by the Islanders from Carolina in August and playing infrequently for the Sound Tigers, was arrested after Bridgeport’s game on Wednesday. Hughes is being held on $100,000 bond. Sound Tigers president Howard Saffan, also a top executive with the Islanders, told the Connecticut Post, “It’s a personal issue. There are a lot of unknown entities. This occurred in Albany. We don’t have all the information, unfortunately.”
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello on his business principles and his induction into the Hall of Fame
Live Chat Tonight: The Islanders face Yann Danis (yup, he’s in) and the New Jersey Devils tonight at The Rock. While the rivals battle, hockey fans can bond during our live chat between 7-9:45 pm.
Tonight’s chat will be presented by NHL FanHouse, which doesn’t change your world much except that late this afternoon I’ll link on Point Blank where to access. Once you’re in, it’s all the same.
*
Lineups: Martin Biron starts tonight for the Islanders against Danis and the Devils. A bit of a surprise considering Dwayne Roloson won his start on Monday against Edmonton and did nothing to lose his turn in the rotation. Maybe Scott Gordon likes Biron’s regular work the last few years against New Jersey. Update: Go-Go told Katie Strang he likes the way Roloson matches up against Atanta. Uh, okay…so there! Put that on the dry-erase board, John Anderson!
Other than that, looks like the same Islanders lineup – the one where the rebuilding club has 23-year old prospect Blake Comeau sitting for 32-year old waiver wire guy Jonathan Sim.
As per Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti – a must-follow on Twitter – Patrik Elias makes his season debut for the Devils, who have been money on the road and woeful at home. The Devils will be without dmen Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya. Montreal claimed Jay Leach this afternoon on re-entry waivers from the Devils. The 6-4 defenseman had a short stint with Bridgeport six years ago and played for Gordon in Providence (AHL).
From my visits to The Rock this season, I can guarantee you plenty of good seats are available for tonight’s tilt. The days of If You Build It, They Will Come ended a long time ago.
*
Lighthouse Blackout: Speaking of which, some insights into the Islanders arena/massive land development situation:
The Lighthouse Development Corporation, it has been confirmed by Point Blank, is in media lockdown from the top (Charles Wang) on down. The group is in wait-and-see mode after the slam-dunk re-election of Kate Murray and uncertainty of the Nassau County Executive position. As one mover-and-shaker told me, “No one saw Tom Suozzi losing. Guess Tom made a big mistake saving all his re-election money for his next campaign – for a higher office.”
Some believe a Suozzi loss means a Lighthouse fold and Islanders departure. Others try to make the case that a Republican ticket of Ed Mangano and Kate Murray could get it done because they know the Coliseum can’t remain a giant parking lot. Plus the party would get all the credit.
Bottom line: anyone who tells you they know for sure today what all this means for the Lighthouse Project and the Islanders is a fraud.
There’s an excellent chance we won’t know for months.
*
How to Win Fans: Warning - slightly off the subject, although this blog often discusses fan relations and I feel strongly this merits a mention.
Last night I accompanied my 11-year son Aidan to his RVC Little League dinner. His team was getting their championship trophies. Although I’ve stated my dedication to the Yankees numerous times in this space, I have to say I was blown away by the class, generosity and just down-home friendly spirit young Mets first baseman Daniel Murphy brought to the event.
Over the course of two hours, Murphy shook hands and handed out trophies with all of the recipients. He took questions – a tough spot considering what occurred in the Bronx 24 hours previously – and candidly turned his own struggles in the field last season into a lesson for the kids. At the end of the two-hour event, he signed autographs for each of the 400 children. He did it all with a smile on his face, like he really enjoyed being there. The kids were in awe.
Maybe half the over-flow crowd at the Coral House last night consisted of Yankee fans, but everyone came away a fan of Murphy’s. I’m sure Islanders players participate in youth hockey events like this. If you have a story, share it in Comments.
*
Record Month for Point Blank: While we are no longer the team-sponsored blogger, Point Blank’s readership appears to be growing even stronger. I didn’t think we could reach the pageview numbers established in April (NYI lottery victory) and June (Tavaresmania). Well, Point Blank set a new record for readership in October. Congratulations go to no one else but you, the Islanders fans for blowing away the previous high of 1.2 million pageviews during the month.
Allow me to quote a colleague at FanHouse, who noticed the big numbers of NYI fans linked to our NHL page from IPB: “I don’t think anyone will ever doubt the devotion of New York Islanders fans again.”
Comments on tonight’s game, the lineup, fan relations and Lighthouse are welcome all day.
And no one knows better than you where, for now, the Islanders fit in. Read all about it on FanHouse. This is one of the many reasons why I’m proud to be part of FanHouse, which delivered huge ratings numbers in October. The top three stories on the FanHouse main page are Ed Price on the Yankees, Lisa Olsen on the Phillies and this scrub on the news the Blue Jackets are losing $12 million a year.
As online donations are finalized and checks continue to pour in, we can proudly announce that the readers of Point Blank last week donated more than $25,000 to Pat LaFontaine’s Companions in Courage Foundation. By any measure, this is an extraordinary act of generosity by hockey fans for a very good cause.
As a result of blowing away all of our initial goals, three additional area hospitals will benefit. Besides our stated benefactors Nassau University Medical Center and Winthrop University Hospital, mobile XBox kiosks will also be brought to children’s bedsides at Stony Brook University, St. Mary’s and Huntington hospitals.
This is as amazing as anything I’ve been a part of, and I hope you feel the same way. Every reader who participated should take a bow. Before we get to the final list of 222 donors (not counting the 40 who contributed anonymously), I’d like to share a letter I received today from CiC director Jim Johnson.
*
Dear Point Blank readers,
We’d like to extend a hearty thank you to PB readers on behalf of all the children in hospitals who benefit from Pat LaFontaine’s Companions in Courage Foundation (www.CiC16.org). Your generosity helped Pat raise $25,000 – which will be used primarily to provide mobile XBox kiosks to the bedsides of children on Long Island. Children at Nassau University Medical Center, Winthrop University Hospital, Stony Brook University Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital and Huntington Hospital will be the primary beneficiaries.
Congratulations to PB reader Phil Gusman of Tuxedo, NY. By donating more than $50 in this campaign he was one of hundreds of readers eligible to win 4 tickets for the finish line grandstand at the 2009 ING NYC Marathon.
These XBox units are loaded with video games and movies and can be connected to a secure XBox Live community that is only accessible by children in other hospitals across North America. More than 300 of these units have been delivered to patients bedsides and it ensures that a child will never be alone during a hospital stay. The distraction of playing games with children online is an experience that aids in the healing process and allows a sick child contact with the outside world.
Pat LaFontaine was battling a severe bout of tendinitis in his reconstructed knee leading up to the marathon. The injury significantly limited his training regimen. He was only able to run more than 5 miles twice in preparation for the marathon. Pat said, “The generosity of PB readers served as a major incentive for me to complete this race. As we headed up into Harlem I really needed to draw on the strength you gave me with your donations. And I thought about all those special children who would benefit from the XBox kiosks, and that kept me going.”
During a recent hospital visit Pat met Connor (pictured above), a teenage boy going through a tough time as he prepared for surgery. Every 7 or 8 minutes Connor would push the “Pain” button on his IV drip to release more morphine into his line. An XBox kiosk was wheeled to his side and he started laughing and playing a game. Ten minutes passed, then 20 and 30… With tears in her eyes his mother said, “It’s been 45 minutes and he hasn’t touched the pain button once. This is the best part of my day knowing that the distraction of the video game has caused the pain to be eased.”
The generosity of PB readers guarantees that scenarios like that will be played out in hospitals in our area for years to come. If you’ve ever been through an experience where your child or loved one has had to spend an extended time in the hospital, you know how scary that can be. To know that your child can have even a little bit of normalcy during a stressful time like that means the world to every parent.
On behalf of all of us at CiC Foundation, thank you so much to Chris Botta and the loyal readers of PB.
Regards,
Jim Johnson
Executive Director
Companions in Courage Foundation
www.CiC16.org
*
The Donors
Thank you, thank you, thank you to EVERYONE
Adler, Mark
Andrew, Sean
Arkin, Josh
Aurigemma, Daniel
Avaltroni, Rob
Ayoub, Chad
Baiser, Dennis
Barbieri, John
Baum, Benjamin
Bedell, Michael
Bier, Rebecca
Birkenfeld, Glenn
Blake, Ken
Bockstein, Andrew
Botta, Jane
Brackenridge, Craig
Brady, David
Bravo, Jose
Brophy, John
Brown, Will
Bruce, Richard
Butler, Nancy
Byrnes, Kristie
Canevari, Ernest
Caporuscio, Kathryn
Caprio, Andrew
Carey, Brian
Carey, Joseph
Carey, Michael
Carlberg, Donald
Cavanagh,Jim
Chacko, Matthew
Chaffer, Eric
Chereskin, Richard
Clark, Jim
Cibelli, Garret
Cimons, Wayne
Cohen, Steven
Conte, Joseph
Corsarie, Robert
Cosimano, Patrick
Criscitelli, Michael
Criscuolo, Eric
Curley, Gregory
Cusack, Timothy
Cuthbert, Sean
DePierro, Jason
Desiderio, Joseph
DiDonna, Dominic
Dixon, Ann Marie
Doyle, Sean
Dugan, Jason
Dulberg, Bill
Dunbar, Michael
Efstathiou, Bob
Epstein, Gary
Ereshena, Barbara
Faust, Frederick
Federmann, Joshua
Fishbach, Raphael
Filiberto, Christian
Fleming, Ron
Franco, Patrick
Frazee, Brian
Froessel, Timothy
Frumento, Michael
Gallof, Brian
Gelman, Jonathan
Gimbel, Cory
Goerke, Robert
Goldberg, Mitchell
Gormley, Shannon
Greenberg, Adam
Greer, Richard
Gressler, Brian
Grzancic, Christian
Gurtman, Scott
Gusman, Philip
Guzzo, John
Hanrahan, Michael
Hasnas, Dan
Heberer, William
Heiser, John
Hemley, Robert
Henderson, Gary
Herbst, Brandon
Herms, Robert
Hesse, Richard
Hoenigmann, Ryan
Honig, William
Hornick, Eric
Holleran, Kevin
Isserlis, Michael
Jantz, Stephen
Jaycoff, Joshua
Jezykowski, Richard
Jordan, John-Michael
Kalontarov, Michael
Kantor, Benjamin
Kaplan, Joseph
Kasper, Thomas
Kicinski, Robert
Kirsch, Christopher
Krebs, Jeff
Krupa, Dan
Levy, Lawrence
Lieber, Marc
Litvinsky, David
Lorenzo, Daniel
Lotto, Bryan
Maginness, Ron
Mallon, Rob
Mancusi, Thomas
Manos, Jason
Manuszak, Ellen
Manzo, Steven
Marshall, Peter
Martinez, Paul
Mather, Brian
McBride, Kevin
McCarthy, Bill
McDonald, Andrew
McGlynn, Jim
Meehan, Thomas
Meinck, Christopher
Melnyk, Tedd
Miller, Michael
Monaco, Kevin
Monahan, James
Moore, Philip
Moore, Steven
Moran, Louis
Morrison, Gregory
Nass, Eric
Navaro, Ray
Nelson, George
Nolan, Robert
Okeefe, Brian
Ong, Aaron
Overmeyer, James
Palmieri, John
Palmieri, Jon
Pasquarosa, Joseph
Philippides, Nicholas
Pignataro, George
Plant, David
Powell, Jason
Prendergast, Carey
Priest, Mike
Primosch, Chris
Profit, Ricky
Ragone, Valentino
Raimondi, Michael
Rannin, Rob
Rappaport, Scott
Reba, Alan
Reiter, Dennis
Resnick, Nate
Rhein, Robert
Rice, William
Ring, Peter
Rizzo, Richard
Romanelli, John
Romano, Paul
Rosenbaum, Roy
Rosenblum, Daniel
Rudegeair, Thomas
Rusowicz, Ed
Russin, Adam
Ryan, James
Rylott, Paul
Sachs, Steven
Schlauch, Ed
Schlechter, Justin
Schmier, Steven
Schniebolk, Seth
Schultz, Kevin
Schwab, James
Schwartz, Brad
Schwarz, Mike
Scordato, Matthew
Scrobe, Stephen
Shainman, Andrew
Shapiro, Ted
Sherman, Brett
Sherwood, Bob
Sinacori, Joseph
Smith, Scott
Smith, Spencer
Smyth, Raymond
Speight, Jeff
Sposato, Daniel
Steffens, James
Style, Christopher
Tag, Don
Tang, Michael
Tavani, Richard
Tendrup, Ryan
Terrasi, Michael
Terrasi, Michael
Thaw, Brian
Timlin, Marty
Tracey, Patrick
Tricarico, Michael
Trofimov, Aleksandr
Turner, Elliot
Uchman, Gregory
Undersinger, Paul
Visconti, Vincent
Vollmer, Eric
Von Arx, Philip
Votinelli, Tom
Walters, Scott
Ward, Andrew
Weiner, Rick
Weinstein, Jeffrey
Weinstein, Rick
Weiss, Lane
Weiss, Michael
Wessinger, Adam
Wichern, Jason
Wojtusiak, Mark
Young, Patrick
Donations of every amount will continue to be accepted and greatly appreciated. Donors can send checks to CiC Foundation, P.O. Box 768, Huntington, NY 11743 (ATT: PB). If you have any other questions about donating to Companions in Courage, please send an email to Jim Johnson at jjohnson@CiC16.org
How the Calgary Flames got swine flu shots before thousands of other Albertans
Live Chat Tonight: On election night, a majority of fans voted for another Point Blank live chat tonight, beginning at 7:00 as Jeff Tambellini and the Islanders play in Buffalo. Same two rules in effect as the first three we’ve done: no baseball talk and get all your rants out about HD, The Plus, the radio situation and all other broadcast issues by the start of the second period. Thanks and I’ll talk to you tonight.
*
Kate Murray wins re-election as Town of Hempstead Supervisor in another landslide, but the big news is Tom (The Broker) Suozzi’s 237-vote lead over Ed Mangano for Nassau County Executive. Think it’s possible Suozzi took his power and support for granted? Oh yeah.
No matter what, it’s just too early for anyone to declare with, uh, certainty, what the election day results mean for the Lighthouse Project. You can make a case positively and negatively at every angle.
I’lll just say this for the 100th time: get thee to Queens, Charles. If you don’t have a Lighthouse deal for a shovel in the ground in the 2010 offseason, and do not make any progress with a Queens, Brooklyn or Suffolk (in that order), it will be impossible for any fan to focus on Islanders Hockey.
*
Scott Gordon to Point Blank when asked for the biggest reasons for his club’s 4-0-2 streak:
“The goaltending had been good, now Dwayne and Marty have been difference-makers.”
“Consistency in our decisions with the puck.”
“Overall commitment by the players to do the right things. The best part of it is, they’re doing it for each other.”
Besides the stark improvement in the faceoff circle by his team, Gordon also singled out the significant impact a healthy and effective Andy Sutton has had the last two weeks.
*
Martin Biron gets the start in goal. The rest of the lineup should be the same, although there has been some buzz about some banged up or ill players. Make sure to read Katie Strang, who is in Buffalo.
The 5-4-5 Islanders now have enough of a body of work in the faceoff circle to prove their success is not a fluke. The team’s ability to win key draws through most of the young season is a result of…
1. A Scott Gordon-mandated commitment to improving in this area after his team struggled through most of last season
2. The teaching ability and work ethic of assistant coach Scott Allen
3. Dedication to the craft by…
Frans Nielsen – 63%
Doug Weight – 58%
Richard Park – 57%
Nate Thompson – 55%
Josh Bailey – 52%
John Tavares – 50%
NHL-calculated faceoff stats can be misleading because they do not place an emphasis, for example, on a key draw in the defensive zone during a close game over a neutral zone faceoff two minutes into the first period. However, what cannot be denied is that the Islanders have been sharp in this key aspect of the game since the beginning of the season. Their success has played a pivotal role in the team winning four games in a row and getting points in six straight (4-0-2).
In his search for new assistants, Gordon made Faceoff Professor “part of the job description.” The second-year head coach wanted faceoffs to be part of the everyday routine at practice – not always the case in the NHL. As much as he wants his players working at draws on the ice, Gordon also makes sure his players are prepared. This is where Allen comes in.
A new video system installed by Gordon’s geek squad in the Islanders’ main locker room at the Coliseum allows Allen’s students to analyze that night’s opposing centers with the touch of a button. On a typical game day, Gordon says, his centers can watch video assistant Ryan Ward’s reel of faceoffs before hitting the ice for the morning skate. This way, when Allen drops the puck for faceoff practice after drills are over, his players can work on strategies for their 7:00 pm opponents.
“Scott Allen is the same as a coach as he was as a player – relentless in everything he does,” said Gordon. “You give Scott a responsibility and he gives you back more in preparation and dilligence than you could ever ask for.”
Gordon continued: “In the end, it all comes down to the players. We’ve asked them to compete harder and they’ve put in the time. When we don’t win a faceoff cleanly, they’re battling for possession.
“Fransy has been dominating. Josh and John, for such young players, have really done a nice job. Doug’s won some big ones for us when called on. And to my mind, with Nate Thompson and Richard Park on the same line, we have one of the best 1-2 tandems in the league on crucial defensive zone draws.”
*
Lineup: Barring illness or injury, expect the same lineup (with Martin Biron in goal) when the Islanders play in Buffalo on Wednesday. Trent Hunter needs more practice time before he re-joins the lineup.
Election: For the many emailers inquiring about my ho-hum attitude toward today’s Town of Hempstead election, allow me to explain. For the last 4-6 months, the Democratic Party had a golden opportunity to ride the support of thousands of voters who cared about the Lighthouse Project. They chose not to.
Kristen McElroy’s efforts the last few weeks were simply way too little, way too late. If Kate Murray’s political rivals were not motivated or organized enough to take advantage of the thousands of Islanders fans who might have done a lot of work for them, this little blogger sure as heck had other, better things to do. Sorry.
In the short time between Murray’s re-election and the holiday period, it will be fascinating to see if Charles Wang and the Town Supervisor get anything done. Wang’s deadline for “certainty” passed a month ago today. I would expect a news leak on Hempstead or Queens sometime between now and when Rick DiPietro returns, around Thanksgiving.
Live Chat? You Make the Call: I’m as big a Yankees fan as there is. They are the one sports team in my DNA, via my Bronx born and raised dad. That said, I’m willing to keep my commitment to hosting live chats whenever possible for Islanders weeknight road games. The Islanders are on a roll and the fans have been responding on the Internets. The way I see it, Game 6 of the World Series will be in the third inning when the Islanders game ends.
Your call. Please only respond in Comments only if you are a Yes. If we get enough interest, we’ll have another live chat for Go-Go’s gritty-gutties beginning at 7:00 pm Wednesday.
← Older postsNewer posts →
