Zach Tolkinen adds four years of ECHL experience to roster

Portland, ME – July 2, 2018 – The Maine Mariners were active on July 1, the first day of free agency, coming to terms with ECHL veteran Zach Tolkinen. Tolkinen will follow Coach Riley Armstrong after playing the 2017-18 season with the Wheeling Nailers.

Tolkinen (6-3/190) joins the Mariners with 254 ECHL games under his belt in four seasons. A defenseman from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, Tolkinen played four seasons with Quinnipiac University before turning pro with the now defunct Elmira Jackals in 2014-15. He had stints with the Missouri Mavericks (now Kansas City Mavericks) and Rapid City Rush before landing alongside Coach Armstrong in Wheeling.

“I had Zach in Wheeling last season,” said Armstrong. “He is a big, strong defenseman who loves to compete every night and is a great guy in the locker room and community. Zach will be a big part of our defense and leadership group.”

The Mariners, proud affiliate of the New York Rangers, will start play in the inaugural season October 13, 2018 as members of the ECHL. The ECHL is the premier AA hockey league in the United States. Season tickets for the Mariners inaugural season are on sale now by visiting marinersofmaine.com or call toll free 833-GO-MAINE.

The post TOBEY: MARINERS ADD VETERAN IN FREE AGENCY first appeared on Howlings.

BY: The New York Rangers

The New York Rangers’ 2017-18 Media Guide can be found via the following link: HERE

TOMORROW’S GAME

The Rangers play their 57th game of the 2017-18 season and continue a four-game road trip tomorrow, Feb. 13, against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center (8:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Rangers have won each of their last two contests. Including tomorrow’s game, four of the Blueshirts’ next five contests are road games. 

RANGERS VS. WILD

• All-Time: 14-8-0-0 (7-3-0-0 at home; 7-5-0-0 on the road)
• 2017-18: Tomorrow’s game is the first of two meetings between the Rangers and Wild, and the only meeting between the two teams at Minnesota. Following tomorrow’s game, the Rangers and Wild will play against each other on the following date: Feb. 23 (at MSG).
• 2016-17: The Rangers posted a 1-1-0 record (0-1-0 at home; 1-0-0 on the road). Mats Zuccarello tied for first among all skaters with four assists and led the Rangers with four points in two games, while Chris Kreider tied for first among all skaters – and led the Rangers – with two goals in the season series.
• The Rangers have won six of their last nine games against Minnesota, dating back to Mar. 27, 2012 (6-3-0 record over the span).

RANGERS-WILD CONNECTIONS

• Marc Staal and Eric Staal are brothers. Marc and Eric, along with their brother, Jordan, are the only trio of brothers in the history of the NHL, NFL, MLB, or NBA who were all selected 12th overall or higher in the Draft.
• Eric Staal played a part of one season with the Rangers (2015-16).
• Matt Cullen played one season with the Rangers (2006-07).
• Steven Kampfer played a part of one season with the Wild (2011-12).
• The Rangers have four players on their roster who were born in Minnesota: Ryan McDonagh (St. Paul, Minnesota), Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minnesota), Neal Pionk (Hermantown, Minnesota), and Vinni Lettieri (Excelsior, Minnesota). Skjei and Lettieri played collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota (Skjei – 2012-13 – 2014-15; Lettieri – 2013-14 – 2016-17), while Pionk played collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota Duluth (2015-16 and 2016-17).
• Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart were teammates with the Avalanche and Blues and were part of the same trade that sent them from Colorado to St. Louis on Feb. 19, 2011. Shattenkirk and Stewart were teammates with Colorado for part of one season (2010-11) and with St. Louis for parts of four seasons (2010-11 – 2013-14).
• Brady Skjei, Vinni Lettieri, and Mike Reilly were all teammates with the University of Minnesota for two seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15) and helped the Gophers win the Big Ten Championship in 2014-15. Skjei and Reilly were teammates for three seasons with the University of Minnesota (2012-13 – 2014-15).
• Vinni Lettieri and Nick Seeler were teammates with the University of Minnesota for one season (2015-16).
• Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart, and Daniel Winnik were all teammates with the Avalanche for part of one season (2010-11).
• Michael Grabner and Nino Niederreiter were teammates with the Islanders for parts of two seasons (2010-11 and 2011-12).
• Peter Holland and Daniel Winnik were teammates with the Ducks for parts of two seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14) and with the Maple Leafs for parts of two seasons (2014-15 and 2015-16).
• Michael Grabner, Peter Holland, and Daniel Winnik were all teammates with the Maple Leafs for part of one season (2015-16).
• Paul Carey and Daniel Winnik were teammates with the Capitals for parts of two seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17).
• Chris Kreider, Charlie Coyle, and Jason Zucker helped the United States win a bronze medal at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship. J.T. Miller, Coyle, and Zucker represented the United States at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Chris Kreider and Jason Zucker helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Mika Zibanejad and Jonas Brodin represented Sweden at the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championship and the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship. The two players helped Sweden earn a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Zibanejad, Brodin, and J.T. Miller were all selected in the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
• Brady Skjei and Matt Dumba were both selected in the first round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
• Henrik Lundqvist and Jonas Brodin helped Sweden win a gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.
• J.T. Miller, Jimmy Vesey, and Mike Reilly all helped the United States earn a gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Jimmy Vesey and Charlie Coyle both played for the South Shore Kings in the Eastern Junior Hockey League (Vesey – 2011-12; Coyle – 2009-10). Vesey, Coyle, and Mike Reilly helped the United States earn a bronze medal at the 2015 IIHF World Championship.
• Mats Zuccarello and Nino Niederreiter were teammates with Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
• Kevin Shattenkirk and Mikko Koivu were teammates with TPS of Liiga in Finland for part of one season (2012-13).
• Ryan McDonagh and Alex Stalock are both natives of St. Paul, Minnesota. 

INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. WILD

• Rick Nash – 38 GP, 15-16-31 – Nash has tallied a point in six of his last eight games against Minnesota, recording eight points (two goals, six assists) in those contests.
• Mats Zuccarello – 9 GP, 2-8-10 – Zuccarello enters the contest with a three-game assist/point streak against the Wild, and he has registered six assists/points and a plus-five rating over the span.
• Cody McLeod – 52 GP, 5-5-10 – McLeod has skated in more career games and has registered more penalty minutes (105) against Minnesota than against any other opponent in his NHL career.
• David Desharnais – 7 GP, 1-9-10 – Desharnais has registered four assists/points in his last four games against the Wild, and he has posted three multi-point games in seven career contests against Minnesota.
• J.T. Miller – 6 GP, 2-3-5 – Miller has tallied a point in four of the last five games against the Wild.
• Mika Zibanejad – 8 GP, 3-2-5 – Zibanejad has recorded three points (two goals, one assist) in his last four contests against Minnesota.

TEAM EFFORT

The Rangers are one of two NHL teams that have eight players who have recorded 11 or more goals this season (along with Toronto). In addition, the Blueshirts are one of six NHL teams that have 11 players who have registered at least 20 points this season (along with Boston, Detroit, San Jose, Toronto, and Winnipeg).

YOUTH SERVED

Ten of the 20 Rangers who dressed on Feb. 11 at Winnipeg is 25 years old or younger (Zibanejad, Hayes, Miller, Vesey, Lettieri, Skjei, DeAngelo, Gilmour, Pionk, and Georgiev), and nine of those players are 24 years old or younger. In addition, four Rangers defensemen who are all 24 years old or younger have played in each of the last two games (DeAngelo, Pionk, Skjei, and Gilmour). Prior to the last two contests, the last time four Blueshirts defensemen who were 24 years old or younger all played in the same game was Dec. 29, 2013 at Tampa Bay (McDonagh, Moore, Del Zotto, and Allen).

The six Rangers defensemen who played in the last two games entered the game on Feb. 9 vs. Calgary with 710 games of NHL experience. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time six Rangers defensemen who played in the same game entered the contest with fewer than 710 games of NHL experience was on Dec. 22, 1974 against the Atlanta Flames (628 games – the six defensemen were Brad Park, Nick Beverley, Ron Greschner, John Bednarski, Joe Zanussi, and Dave Maloney).

FIRST IN SCORE

The Blueshirts have tallied the first goal of the game in three of the last four contests and in 26 games this season. The Rangers have posted an 18-7-1 record when registering the first goal of the game in 2017-18.

ROAD WARRIORS

New York is tied for fifth in the NHL in road wins since the start of last season (36). In addition, the Rangers rank second in the NHL – and lead the Eastern Conference – in road wins since the start of the 2013-14 season (108).

FABULOUS FEBRUARY

Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Rangers have posted a 34-13-4 record in 51 games played in February.

KING HENRIK

Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 2-0-0 record, along with a 1.80 GAA and a .956 SV% (65 saves on 68 shots) in his last two appearances. Lundqvist leads the NHL in appearances this season (48), and he has been selected as one of the game’s Three Stars in 21 of those 48 appearances. Lundqvist has made at least 30 saves in 26 different games this season, and his 26 appearances with 30 or more saves in 2017-18 are tied for the second-most he has registered in one season in his career (2015-16 – 28; 2010-11 – 26). He is tied for second in the NHL in saves this season (1,361). Lundqvist has posted a .924 SV% in 38 appearances since Nov. 1, and he is tied for fourth in the NHL (min. 25 appearances) in SV% over the span. 

RICK ROLLING

Rick Nash has registered nine points (eight goals, one assist) and 38 shots on goal in the last 12 games (dating back to Jan. 16), and he has posted three multi-goal/point games over the span. Since Jan. 16, Nash is tied for third in the NHL in goals. He leads the Rangers in shots on goal (173) and takeaways (48), and he is tied for the team lead in minor penalties drawn (19) this season.

WELCOME MATS

Mats Zuccarello registered his 40th point of the 2017-18 season on Feb. 11 at Winnipeg. He has recorded at least 30 assists and 40 points in five consecutive seasons (2013-14 – 2017-18). Zuccarello leads the Rangers in assists (31) and points (40) this season, and he has recorded eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the last 10 games.

UP FOR GRABS

Michael Grabner tallied his seventh empty-net goal of the 2017-18 season on Feb. 11 at Winnipeg, and his seven empty-net goals are tied for the third-most in one season in NHL history. He is one of three NHL players who has recorded at least 50 goals and a plus-30 rating since the start of last season (McDavid and Marchand). He is also tied for third in the NHL in even-strength goals since the start of the 2016-17 season (48), and the only players who have recorded as many even strength goals as Grabner has over the span are Auston Matthews (56), Vladimir Tarasenko (50), and Nikita Kucherov (48). Grabner leads Rangers forwards in shorthanded ice time this season (117:44), and he has only been on the ice for seven power play goals against in 2017-18. He leads the Rangers in goals (23) and plus/minus rating (plus-10) this season.

SKJEI HEY KID

Brady Skjei has led the Rangers in ice time in each of the last three contests, and he has logged at least 25:00 of ice time in each of the last two games. He has recorded an assist on the game-winning goal in each of the last two games, and eight of his 18 points in 2017-18 have been recorded on a game-winning goal. Skjei is the only defenseman who has skated in all of the Rangers’ 56 games this season.

IT’S MILLER TIME

J.T. Miller has tallied eight points (two goals, six assists) in the last seven games and 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the last 12 games. In addition, he leads the Rangers in points on the road this season (20).

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play:

• The Rangers were 0-for-4 (8:00) on Feb. 11 at Winnipeg.
• The Blueshirts have tallied at least one power-play goal in six of the last 10 games (8-for-32; 25.0%), in seven of the last 12 games (9-for-35; 25.7%), in eight of the last 14 contests (10-for-39; 25.6%), and in 11 of the last 18 games (12-for-51; 23.5%).

Penalty Kill:

• The Rangers were 4-for-4 (8:00) on Feb. 11 at Winnipeg.
• The Blueshirts have not allowed more than one power-play goal in 52 of 56 games this season.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

• Rick Nash – 2 points away from 800 in his NHL career
• J.T. Miller – 2 assists away from 100 in his NHL career
• Mats Zuccarello – 5 goals away from 100 in his NHL career
• Mika Zibanejad – 6 goals away from 100 in his NHL career

INJURIES (81 Man-Games Lost to Injury)

• Chris Kreider (blood clot – right arm) – has missed 19 games
• Kevin Shattenkirk (meniscus tear) – has missed 10 games
• Pavel Buchnevich (concussion symptoms) – has missed five games
• Marc Staal (cervical strain) – has missed four games
• Ryan McDonagh (upper body) – has missed two games
• Ondrej Pavelec (sprained MCL) – has missed one game

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• Feb. 10 – Recalled Alexandar Georgiev from Hartford (AHL)
• Feb. 9 – Assigned Brendan Smith to Hartford (AHL); Recalled John Gilmour from Hartford (AHL); Acquired John Albert from Washington in exchange for Adam Chapie
• Feb. 8 – Recalled Neal Pionk from Hartford (AHL)

THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY

• Feb. 12, 1966 – Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield, and Reg Fleming each tallied four points as the Rangers defeated the Boston Bruins, 9-2, at MSG.
• Feb. 12, 1972 – Brad Park tallied his second hat trick of the 1971-72 season, and Walt Tkaczuk established a single-game franchise record by tallying five assists as the Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-3.
• Feb. 13, 1990 – Kelly Kisio and John Ogrodnick each tallied three points, and Mike Richter made 30 saves as the Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3.
• Feb. 13, 1995 – At the 1995 ESPY Awards, the Rangers received the “Best Team ESPY Award” for being the best professional, collegiate, or national team in any sport during the 1994 calendar year. The Rangers are the only NHL team that has ever won the award.

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The post RANGERS HOPE TO GET WILD IN MINNESOTA first appeared on Howlings.

VERSUS      

Huskies Drop Home Opener With BU 6-3

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – Bobo Carpenter’s hat-trick of power play goals along with Patrick Curry’s two and Jordan Greenway’s three assists paced the Boston University Terriers to a convincing 6-3 win over the UConn in the Huskies’ Saturday evening home opener.

“We played a man’s game,” remarked BU head coach David Quinn. “There was no BS, no cuteness to our game. We played a more mature game.”

The exclamation point of BU’s offensive prowess came on the game’s last goal. Carpenter copped the hat trick, his fifth of the season, with a rocket of a shot from the left point that clanged off the right post and in at 14:46.

“We had a below average first period and when we got into it, we couldn’t handle their powerplay,” UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh said of his team allowing the Terriers to go 3-for-4 on the power play. “They were able to move it around all night and that was the difference in the game tonight.”

Quinn was happy to see the Terriers, who look strong on paper, to show have their potent offense show some life a game.

“We knew we would score. It was going to come eventually. We have had a little difficult time scoring goals of late, but we knew it was going to come. We did a great job spacing things out in the offensive zone.”

BU struck early in the third with Brandon Hickey putting in his first off a setup of Jordan Greenway.

Greenway, Carpenter, and Curry had plenty of space to operate which, for UConn is not conducive to winning.

“Greenway creates much of that space himself. He’s very big and down low. (He’s) very hard to handle. Carpenter had a great weekend, two shorthanded goals last night, a hat trick with three powerplay goals tonight. A great special teams weekend (for them),” a downcast Cavanaugh said.

The Huskies got back to within one goal getting a little puck luck that gave some hope they would catch the Terriers.

Defenseman Johnny Austin’s left point drive deflected off a mass of players right to Kasperi Ojantakanen and he zipped his second of the season at 5:18 to make it 5-3.

“I have been trying to shoot more, and good things have been happening. I’m just trying to keep it simple and try to get pucks to the net,” Austin, a senior from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, said.

That was as close as the Huskies could get it.

In the second period, the Huskies were finally able to get some solid offensive zone time halfway through the second. That pressure forced the Terriers to take a penalty and UConn quickly jumped on the chance.

Karl El-Mir was working from the right point. El-Mir took the shot. A scramble happened in front of the net and Alexander Payusov found the loose puck. Payusov scooted around the net and put a wraparound on the far side avoiding a sliding Terrier to get the Huskies on the board at 3-1.

1:25 later, the Huskies narrowed the lead to one. Derek Pratt’s left point blast sailed wide to the short-side. The puck came off the backboards where Spencer Naas, who was coming down the right-wing, flipped the puck into the net into the open short-side.

Despite being badly outplayed the Huskies were in a brand new hockey game trailing 3-2.

“That was the response we needed. We got some energy back in the building, but we didn’t kill that penalty that made it 4-2,” Cavanaugh stated.

Once again a UConn penalty took away their momentum and allowed BU to resume control of the game.

With 50 seconds left in the man-advantage, the Terriers struck. Chad Krys (Ridgefield/Chicago draftee) launched a shot from the left point. Adam Huska (Rangers draftee) made a strong right pad save extending his leg way out to make the stop. The rebound, however, came to an open and unchecked Carpenter who’s one-handed backhander restored BU’s two-goal lead.

In the first period, faster than you can say, “Terriers,” UConn was down 2-0.

Despite losing four pure freshmen and six players in total from last year’s team, one of the nation’s top-ranked teams scored twice in a 20-second span. They were able to take advantage of a Naas high sticking penalty 17 seconds into the game.

At 1:09 Pat Harper (New Canaan/Avon Old Farms/and a Nashville draftee) was along the right-wing half-wall. He spotted Carpenter alone, ten-feet-out, dead center. Defenseman Joseph Masonius rushed out on Harper and dished the puck off to Carpenter, who whipped a backhander past Huska for his third of the season on the power play.

A mere twenty seconds later, Greenway, a mammoth 6’4, 240-pounder and Minnesota Wild draftee, rifled a shot that Patrick Curry, who was cruising in front, redirected past Huska.

“We came out with good physicality. We were a little fragile mentally, so it was nice to see us get on the scoreboard early,” Quinn stated.

The Terriers got their third goal as Curry bagged his second of the night. He took a goalmouth pass from Brady Tkachuk and got inside position on Derek Pratt (Ottawa draftee) and jammed it into the open right side at 16:43.

“We have been outscored 8-0 in the first period in our last four games. It’s something we have to address. If we fall behind 3-0 against Miami (Ohio) they’re going to be tough to beat. We gotta be more focused early on.”

NOTES:

BU’s Pat Harper and Dante Fabbro also had two assists apiece for BU.

UConn plays on the road for two games. The first at Miami of OH next weekend. They’re back at the XL Center the first weekend of November against Vermont.

That Saturday will be part of a hockey doubleheader at 3:30 pm and the Wolf Pack at 7:30 pm.

Boston University hosts the defending national champion, Denver, next Friday and plays in Providence next Saturday against PC.

Opening night attendance with a very nice starting time drew a very poor, 3,674

The pure freshmen, Clayton Keller (Arizona), Charlie McAvoy (Boston) are in the NHL. Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (Providence) and Kieffer Bellows (Halifax QMJHL).

Doyle Summerby is playing at Cleveland (AHL) and Nick Roberto is with South Carolina (ECHL).

The Terriers are stacked were sons of NHL’ers led by Carpenter, the son of Bobby Carpenter – a former #1 overall NHL pick and brother to US National team star, Alex. Then there’s Brady Tkachuk, the son of Keith and brother to Calgary’s, Matt. Gabriel Chabot is the son of the former goalie, Frederic Chabot, and Ty Amonte is the son of one time Ranger, Tony Amonte.

Former UConn Husky player Pat Kirtland was on hand.

The post CANTLON: HUSKIES DROP HOME OPENER WITH BU 6-3 first appeared on Howlings.

BY: Adam Gavriel

Over 5 months after his tragic passing, the Rangers returned home to re-open the 33% transformed Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Not only was it notable for the first phase renovation that was completed, but this would also be the first game the Blueshirts played on their home ice since the passing of  their 2010-2011 teammate, enforcer Derek Boogaard.

Many fans, myself included, were ready for the home opening ceremonies to be one of celebration as well as introspection  remembering those lives of the fallen NHL players that passed away in one of the most tragic off-seasons in the league’s history. Boogaard, Wade Belak, Rick Rypien and all of those who died in the plane crash tragedy in Russia gave hockey fans and their fellow players a serious reality check and a forced them to take a second to take a step back realize the fragility of  life.

Though not the scope of the devastation that came from the plane crash that killed 43 people including several with ties to the Rangers, or the kind of unforeseeable medical tragedy that took the life of Alexi Cherepanov, Boogaard’s death was no less heartbreaking.

Boogaard was a man who may well have been the toughest enforcer in the NHL, but ironically it was the fight with pain for nearly a year due to the nature of his job that may well have led to his demise. After a December fight against Ottawa’s Matt Carkner, Boogaard’s head hit the ice after taking a few clean right hands to the jaw and he would never skate in another NHL game again. While Boogaard’s job is seen by many in the business as an important one, debate rages on about how dangerous and even if fighting is even necessary. There have been discussions  on potentially taking it out of the game.

The game of hockey was built with fighting in it. Even though it was a stressful and sometimes painful job, it was Boogaard’s and by all accounts he loved being the one who could go out on the ice and calm a game down via his presence alone. If you can, recall the Rangers/Calgary game last season. Things were getting heated and the level of physicality was rising…until Boogaard stepped on to the ice; gave that little smile to the Flames players signifying that he was there and not to forget about him and just like that, the game took a cleaner turn.

“I’m right here, I’m ready.” Were the words that Boogaard mouthed on the ice. Calgary’s enforcer, Tim Jackman, stood next to him in the faceoff circle and looked less willing to drop the gloves than ever before in his career. He refused to even dare to take a look at Boogaard who was intently staring at him. That was what Boogaard brought with him, an intimidating presence that many of  the most feared enforcers in the game would back down from.

In the video (see above) Sam Rosen mentions just how involved in the community Derek Boogaard was. He was beloved in Minnesota and “Boogy” as he was known, repaid it tenfold. Even in his short stay in New York, the fans were growing acclimated to Boogaard but that didn’t let it stop him from continuing his role in “Defending The Blueline.”  DFB is a nonprofit organization geared toward helping the families, mostly the children, of military personnel to enjoy the game of hockey. This was an organization that Boogaard was very active in and cared a great deal about. The Rangers were a good fit for the former Minnesota Wild as they their own charities and are very involved with all of them. I can already think back to an episode of Rangers Game-Night where Boogaard was at a Build-a-Bear location giving of his time with the Rangers’ Garden of Dreams foundation.

Sadly, Boogaard only played for half a year for the team in the red, white and blue and wasn’t able to win the crowd over as he had with the Wild. According to an ESPN article that came out just days after his passing was announced, the story recounted how Boogaard’s friends said that he never felt quite at home in NY. Boogaard didn’t feel at home walking the streets of Manhattan with no one recognizing him, something he’d never be able to do in Minneapolis.

“The New York Rangers signed his checks, but the Canadian’s heart was always in the Twin Cities. In Manhattan, he could walk around for six hours and nobody recognized him. He hated that, the isolation he felt after he had signed with the Rangers this past summer. People close to Boogaard say he was bored and lonely in New York. When he suffered a season-ending concussion in December, things got even worse. He didn’t leave his apartment for three weeks, shunning the light, and had containers of takeout food piling up on the counters.”

(Click to read this “must-read” article)

Make no mistake about it, the death of Derek Boogaard was an absolute tragedy. In my opinion he deserved a dedicated moment of silence prior to the anthems being sung at MSG Thursday night. Rick Rypien never played a game for the Winnipeg Jets yet he received a video tribute and a very long and heartfelt moment of silence before the Jet’s home opener. Yes, Derek Boogaard only played in 22 games for the Rangers before his season, and his life, were cut way too short, but that in no way should minimize his receiving the sort of respect that he gave to those who love and follow hockey. It was a mistake for the Rangers organization to not give a man who put so much out there for others not to be given the chance, even in his death, to receive that back from the fans.

Well, I’m one fan who says, “I’m saddened by your loss.” I know the players are wearing your number #94 on their helmets with pride every game.

RIP Derek Boogaard.

The post FAN-FARE: A DEAFENING SILENCE BY ADAM GAVRIEL first appeared on Howlings.

DEREK BOOGAARD DIES

New York, May 13, 2011 – The New York Rangers are very saddened to announce the passing of Derek Boogaard.

            “Derek was an extremely kind and caring individual,” said New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather.  “He was a very thoughtful person, who will be dearly missed by all those who knew him.  We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.”

Boogaard began his NHL career with Minnesota and appeared in 255 career games with the Wild from 2005-06 – 2009-10.  He joined the New York Rangers on July 1, 2010, appearing in 22 games in the 2010-11 season.

Throughout his career, Boogaard sought to make a difference in the communities he played in, taking part in numerous charitable endeavors.  Boogaard was a supporter of the Defending the Blue Line Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation whose mission is to ensure that children of military members are afforded every opportunity to participate in the great sport of hockey.  While with the Rangers, he created “Boogaard’s Booguardians,” hosting military members and their families at all New York Ranger home games.  In addition, he made multiple appearances with partner organizations of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the non-profit charity that works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden, including the New York Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, MSG Media, MSG Entertainment and Fuse “to make dreams come true for kids facing obstacles”.

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native was originally Minnesota’s seventh round choice, 202nd overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

(Photo courtesy of nydailynews.com)

The post HUGE TRAGEDY TO THE RANGERS first appeared on Howlings.