Patty Burns 1952-2010

It's a sad day in the hockey world. 

Pat Burns died at the age of 58 after a long battle with Cancer.

He was a man famous for his freak-outs. Seriously, I always thought he'd die right on the bench from a heart attack or a vein that would spectacularly pop in his neck.

But those freak-outs paid off, Pat Burns was intense and ruled his teams with an iron fist. And he was one hell of a coach. In just 14 years, Burns won three Jack Adams awards for the NHL's best coach.

After serving as a police officer in the Gatineau area, he started his coaching career in the QMJHL in 1984 with the Hull Olympiques. In his second season as coach he led the franchise to its most successful campaign where the Olympiques finished first in the league and then went on a spectacular 15-0 run in the playoffs to win the QMJHL title which earned them a Memorial Cup appearance.

"I think he paved the way for other coaches, coaches could see that coaching in the Quebec league you could move on and go to bigger and greater things," says Kim Houston with NHL Central Scouting.

The tributes poured in all over the hockey world, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper who took time while at a NATO summit in Lisbon to release a statement. 

"He was known for his tough and gritty approach to the game of hockey. He met his final and most difficult battle with that same tough and gritty spirit," said Harper. "Canada has lost a sports legend today, but Pat Burns' legacy will live on in the players and coaches whose careers he touched, as well as the young people who will skate in the Pat Burns Arena for years to come. He will not soon be forgotten."

Burns was a colourful character as well, often showing up to the arena on a motorcycle, and often seeming like a crusty, gruff man. But he also had a soft side. 

"Behind that gruff style that big growl you know it was a lovable guy," Hockey Night in Canada producer John Shannon told the Fan 590. "There was always a glint in his eye, a smile on his face and when you were one-on-one and you shared an adult beverage you had a great time and you knew he loved the game as much as you did."


Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

The trouble in Moose Country

Boy oh boy, am I getting old? Do I sound old if i say "remember the good old days in Moose Country"? 

They were heady days. The days of 7,000 average, yes average, attendance. When the team iced a team with talented players, or at least a roster who resonated with the team motto of "Pride, Heart, Determination". 

The days when The Sign Lady (the late Sue Moore) graced the seats mid-section across from the players benches with messages of inspiration on rolled up window blinds. When Lorna the dancing queen wasn't the only one dancing in the aisles. The days when there was a line snaking outside the Metro Centre and around the corner to get ahold of playoff tickets. 


The days when Jody Shelley was a fan favourite, when Jamie Brown was named all three stars, when Jean-Sebastien Giguere marched the Herd to within one game of the Memorial Cup. When the team hosted the Memorial Cup in 2000. When the Parade Square was packed for a rally before that event. When the team had stability in it's staff. (ie: They've gone through three goalie coaches in three years) 

This is the third season in a row where the team on the ice... well... they're just not very good (and that's me being nice). Who wants to drop their hard earned Loons on watching a team who's going to lose every game. And because of that it's party understandable why the air is out of the sails of Moose Country. 


But I think it started before that. Four seasons ago when the team sold the farm to get Brad Marchand and try to make a run for it all. Despite the team on the ice, the fans didn't really seem into it.


The franchise needs some renewal. And right now it doesn't help that the team owner, Bobby Smith, decided to demote Head Coach Cam Russell in favour of putting himself at the helm. Under Smith the team is 3 and 7, which is hardly something to inspire hope. In fact I hardly expect the team to do much better and I think Smith needs to find a new, QUALIFIED head coach to take the helm of the young team. 


The fans understand that the Q is an ebb and flow league where you will have that rebuilding year (usually one not three) at some point in a franchises history. But the fans are also frustrated with the team, especially when they look to the west and see franchises MUCH younger than the Mooseheads (Moncton, Saint John) who are annual contenders. In fact just this week, the NHL's QMJHL prospects rankings came out and seven Saint John Sew Dogs were in the top 25. That tells me they have their scouting ducks in a row. Do the Mooseheads have their scouting ducks in a row? I'm not so sure. To me it almost seems like the organization isn't very organized as of late.


I had said early in the season if Cam Russell didn't get a team that produced he'd be shown the door, I didn't think he'd be replaced by the owner. I think if the team keeps down this road for the next month, the fans (the ones who are left) will be asking for Smith to exit stage left as well.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

Subban vs. Richards: Subban takes Round 1

A lot has been made about the trash talk coming from Mike Richards of the Flyers towards Montreal Canadiens rookie P.K. Subban.


Subban is "cocky", said the Flyers captain in a radio interview and added "he thinks he's better than a lot of people."

"You have to earn respect in this league. It takes a lot. You can't just come in here as a rookie and play like that. Hopefully someone on their team addresses it, because, uh, I'm not saying I'm going to do it, but something might happen to him if he continues to be that cocky."

What's funny is most of the coverage of this hasn't mentioned the fact that the KING of getting under the skin of opponents appears to be irked to the point where he needs to air his frustrations in public.

This is a player who basically went on a media strike last season, refusing to speak after photos and stories of the team partying ways was printed in the Phillie media. So the fact that he decided to say these comments in the public, proves PK is under his skin.

If he's such a forgettable rookie who has yet to earn respect, why waste your breath?

Is Subban really cocky? Or does he just know what to say to piss you off. Not to mention, Subban had an assist in that 3-0 win over the Flyers. A shutout would make me pretty sour, too.

If I were PK I wouldn't worry too much about "something happening" and take the fact that he irritated Richards to the point of trash-talking publicly as a compliment.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

Cole Harbour team to kick of HNIC tonight

Tonight's matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens will feature some Nova Scotians besides Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

The Cole Harbour Atom AAA Wings will be introducing the first Saturday night game. Coach Brad MacLeod says it's been a whirlwind couple of weeks.

"Yah it's probably one of the most exciting things a lot of them have been through," he says. "It all happened at once, first they found out they made the team."

And then they taped their national television debut a few weeks back, which features them introducing the HNIC pre-game show as well as tee-ing up the big game.

"They're completely over the moon about it," says MacLeod, adding that the parents and himself are equally excited.

The team, made up of nine and 10-year-olds will be getting together tonight at Gamebreakers to watch themselves and the match on a big screen.

MacLeod says it's extra special because the team will be introducing a hometown hero.

"Everyone is pretty close to Sidney Crosby, he still has a lot of roots in the Cole Harbour area," he says. "I would say there's lots of kids on the teams who still have connections with him."

Hockey Night in Canada gets underway at 7:30 p.m. on CBC.



Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

One Frk of a strange deal....

Yesterday morning a news release from the Halifax Mooseheads came across my desk. I figured it was just another couple of roster cuts. 

Not so, in fact it was a strangely vague resolution to a very big problem for the team. 

"Halifax Mooseheads GM/Head Coach Cam Russell announced today that the Club has secured the IIHF release of Martin Frk from HC Energie Karlovy Vary of the Czech Ice Hockey Association," said the release.

Wha, wha, whaaaa? 

As of Saturday Mooseheads owner Bobby Smith had said although negotiations were ongoing and there was very little movement from Frk's Czech team. Yet four days later he's set to lace 'em up for practice this morning. Which says to me Frk was already in Halifax when the team announced the big win.

In case you've missed the beginning of this saga. The Mooseheads drafted Martin Frk third overall in the CHL Import Draft. He is touted as a possible 1st overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft, however, Frk's stock in the Import Draft decreased because he had a professional contract with Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic and his team said they weren't letting him go.

The two teams appealed to the IIHF and last week, hockey's governing body on disputes between international leagues, ruled in Karlovy Vary's favour. 

Team owner Bobby Smith said the dispute "wasn't over yet" and said the team would be appealing through lawyers. Frk signed the long-term contract, that would see him owned by Karlovy Vary until 2013, and team lawyers were expected to argue that 16-year-old Frk was too young to be held to such a contract. 

Also working in the team's favour was that Frk himself said he wanted to play in Halifax. However, there hasn't been any subsequent rulings from the IIHF.

So, how in the Frk did the team get his release secured ? The first thing I thought when I saw the release was "who's first-born was sent to the Czech Republic?" Has anyone seen Bobby Smith's kid lately?

Regardless of how it was done, however, this is huge news for the team.

"It's a great boost for our team offensively, it's a big thrill for our fans," said Coach Cam Russell.

Russell, who has never seen Frk play, says it's likely he'll play on the top line. However fans will have to wait to see the much-anticipated Czech play, Russell says he won't be in the lineup until the first regular season game September 10. 

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

World Championships schmampionships.

Did anyone else not give two flying who-haws about the IIHF World Hockey Championships this year?

I mean, really, It's not something I make an effort to make sure I'm in front of the television for in any year. It was fun when it was in Halifax, but when Canada lost, well, I wasn't heartbroken. The tournament is just not something I can get into. I can't be alone here. It's sort of this odd collection of semi-good players whose teams didn't make the playoffs. Also, I'd rather watch the playoffs. The World Championships is kind of like the Spengler Cup at World Junior time. It's sorta just there in the background.


I'm especially blah about the tournament in an Olympic year. It's too soon. The women don't play a world championship in Olympic years. Why do the men? It just seems bizarre.


Who was Canada's goaltender this year anyway? (No seriously, I'm asking.) Google tells me: Chris Mason. Good lord. 


So you see where I'm going with this. This isn't the collection of the best players in the world. There are definitely some of the best players. But it just can't compare to the Olympics or the World Juniors, where it's the best players facing the best players - and there's no doubt over who the true champions are.


This is why I was truly baffled by the IIHF scolding players who don't answer the call to play at the World Championships. 

"Why is a 22-year-old Sidney Crosby tired when a 34-year-old Ryan Smyth is answering the bell for his country despite having represented Canada at the Worlds already on eight occasions?" wrote Szymon Szemberg, the IIHF's director of communications in an article titled 'Saying no to your country'.

Okay I don't even know where to start. 

First of all, 22-year-old Sidney Crosby has played the most hockey probably out of anyone in the NHL in the past years. He's been to the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row, he played in the Olympics and then he went two rounds this year. 

Secondly, what a spectacularly bad example to use. Ryan Smyth? Ryan Smyth broke his foot playing in the tournament. Ryan Smyth consistently plays for a team that doesn't go very far in the NHL playoffs. Great. Let's spend the off-season nursing a broken foot. Injuries happen. Steven Stamkos suffered a head injury. And for what? If Canada won, we'd all be like, meh? We wouldn't be partying in the streets. Partying in the streets happens after Olympic wins. Because the tournament means something. You know the winner is truly the champion because it's the best against the best.

Okay. Let's keep going. 

"Players who say no to representing their country at the World Championship without a legitimate reason turn their backs not only on the team and its fans but also to the system which developed them and made them rich and famous," wrote Szemberg. "They should pay back, but they don't."

Pay back eh. And they owe the IIHF what? These players thrilled the world at the Olympics just months ago. Boo hoo your tournament isn't very good. Don't take it out on your players.

**ring ring**


"Oh hey, IIHF President Rene Fasel? Yah. Gary Bettman here. Whatsup. Listen. Bud. I just wanted to point out that our players' contracts don't end until June 30. Yup that's right they're still under NHL contract until June 30. We could tell them they can't play in the tournament. Just saying."


I'm a fan. I don't feel unpaid because Sidney Crosby wants some time off. As a fan I would rather him rest up, and stay healthy so I can see him for 82 games next NHL season with a long playoffs.

Besides, the kid scored the golden goal.

Championships schmampionships.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

Biggest Playoff Surprises.

 1. Montreal Canadiens 

 Montreal Gazette

As a Habs fan you always hope. So, in round 1 it was: "Hey they beat Washington in the regular season".... "The Habs play to their opponents level... "If they had've gotten it together against the Leafs and Hurricanes they'd be much higher than the 8th seed" 


Then they did it. They shut down Ovie. They came back from a 3-1 series deficit. They won Game 7. On the road. Luck? Who cares. 


Next opponent. Penguins. 


Okay we're doomed. 


So this is where the real surprise is. After Sidney Crosby absolutely dismantled the Ottawa Senators and left Jason Spezza destined to be on a highlight reel forever sadly chasing Crosby around the net before he passes it off to Letang for a goal.... the Habs (mainly Sidney Crosby's new backpack Hal Gill) held the kid to just 1 goal.


And so the Habs, who must hold the most exciting 8-6 record ever are off to round 3.

2. To find out that other people are annoyed by that little girl in the East Side Mario's ad. 

Every year, for anyone who watches playoffs night in and night out, there's that one commercial that just grinds your gears. It's on at least 8 times during every game. In years previous I can think of the Pizza Delight - Grill your own bread commercial with that annoying little kid telling his dad how to put butter on bread. (And I know several people just groaned and thought 'why did you remind me')

But i was surprised to know that my disdain for the East Side Marios commercial and my particular disdain for the uncoordinated little girl who is dancing poorly is shared. 

Several of my friends share the hate for the little dancing girl and can mimic the uncoordinated jig to a tee. I've also come across several online forums bitching about the ad. Too funny. 

3. San Jose 

Seriously, these guys finish first (or very high in the standings) every year. Every year some poor sap is sitting at his hockey pool draft and says "this is the year for San Jose"... and then they lose in the first round. 

So, yes, I am surprised to see that they are off to the conference championships. I still don't have a lot of confidence in them. But who knows, maybe they'll surprise a little further.



4. Boston


This story is just crazy. Boston couldn't score a goal to save their life down the stretch. Their team to be falling apart at the seams. They were injured. They were a far cry from the Boston Bruins who finished first in the Eastern Conference last season. They just squeaked into the playoffs. 


Then the playoffs started. 


And they turned it on. They had a 3-0 lead on Phillie and they've squandered it so the surprise may be over soon. But it's still a surprise that they were able to pick off the #2 seed. 

5. Phoenix


Oh wait, this isn't a surprise. Even though they make the playoffs they still can't get fans in the seats. The saga continues.


Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

Does it really bother you that much?

Why has road hockey suddenly become a national debate?

Last week, some nutter in Enfield called in the big bad RCMP on a bunch of 12-year-olds playing road hockey. Apparently people have nothing better to do then scoff at children out their window.

Great -- let's encourage kids to stay inside and play computer games, become overweight, and wait until their health care bills become a burden on society until we complain that kids don't exercise enough.

Sound dumb to you?

Or perhaps you'd prefer them to use their free time to be spray painting grafitti on your fence.

Enfield resident Debbie Jefferies says her 12-year-old son Ryan and his friends had been out playing road hockey any chance they got.

But a neighbour called police and under the Motor Vehicle Act in Nova Scotia the games now have to stop. The kids were given the option to play at a dead end street, but the 10 minute strut would be difficult to haul all the gear to.

Jeffries says she doesn't know who complained, but says it's the first she's heard of the road hockey being a problem - and she wishes that person had come to her first.

Jeffries told the Chronicle Herald the ban on shinny games broke her heart.

Nova Scotia's transportation minister Bill Estabrooks called the complaint "frivolous" and says the RCMP have better things to worry about. Oh I don't know... maybe like all the recent SHOOTINGS in the city.
Many Canadian municipalities have by-laws banning street hockey, however they're rarely enforced.

But if you think the Halifax case is new, think again. One Montreal father is fighting a case in court. He says street hockey is part of Canadian culture.

During some of the fabulous weather we got in March, 42-year-old David Sasson was playing ball hockey with a group of neighbourhood kids that included his own children in the Montreal suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux. A neighbour called in the coppers.

Sasson told the Globe and Mail responding officers watched the game for 45 minutes and called the complaining woman twice to try to convince her to drop the matter. Apparently the complainer was tired of the noise -- so Sasson ended up with a $75 ticket. 

Again, the neighbour never bothered to complain directly.

“We live in Canada, we have the right to play hockey,” Sasson told the Globe and Mail.

Sasson even staged a protest game in the City Hall parking lot and local police and bylaw officers JOINED IN. What does that tell you?

The Wayne Gretzkys and Sidney Crosbys are born in street hockey games. Let's not let a few old bitties ruin a national pastime.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

When players dish headshots to fans....

I am really surprised at the lack of attention this incident received.

Especially considered the amount of attention some other non-controversies received at the Olympics. But it appears to have been buried under Canadian victory jubilation.

This video was shot after Russia lost 7-3 to Canada in the Quarterfinals (and I'm sure Canadians remember that Ovechkin played not-so-good).

Okay so sure, maybe Mr. Ovechkin was a little upset after the loss. But he seems to have walked out of his way to push this fan. She wasn't following him, she wasn't yelling at him, she was just taping him. And apparently she wasn't wearing a team Canada jersey, because this fan was a Russian..... a female Russian who came all the way to Canada to see the Olympics.


For someone who is supposed to be one of the faces of the NHL, this behaviour is really unacceptable.

"That’s why even though I didn’t really like seeing Ovechkin forcefully push away that fan’s phone, I find it harder and harder to get upset about it. In this era of people refusing to respect others’ privacy, we’re going to see more and more of this." said Elliot Friedman in his blog.

Unfortunately I think Friedman's comments miss the mark. I'm not sure the fan refused to respect Ovechkin's privacy. If he really didn't want to be taped, he could just ask. If he asked and then she refused to stop taping -- then, and only then, would she be 'not respecting his privacy'.

But instead the big-shot -- too busy talking on his cellphone to converse with a lowly fan -- decides to push her out of the way.

Would he have done the same if the score was inversed? What if he scored a hattrick in a 7-3 quarterfinal win over Canada? I'm figuring that he probably would've been soaking up the love.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

One heck of an upset.

I'm sure The Golden X Inn on St. Francis Xavier campus in Antigonish is just wild on this Tuesday night.

Second round of AUS hockey playoffs and the X-men have just picked off the UNB Varsity Reds in three straight games. This is HUGE. UNB is the defending national champions and were ranked first nationally for most of the season until St. FX managed a late season upset to spoil their perfect season — and leaving them ranked second nationally.

Seems like the X-men had their number.

I've seen some tweets already thanking X for picking off the powerhouse. But it appears the powerhouse might still be in the running.

They await the winner of the SMU-Acadia series (SMU leads 2-1 with game three set to go Wednesday at the Halifax Forum). I'm hoping for a SMU win, not because they're the Halifax team — (unfortunately my alma mater Dalhousie didn't ice a decent team this year and missed playoffs) — But because a SMU-STFX series promises to be a fantastic AUS final.






Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

Storybook ending.

Could you have written a better ending?

After 17 days of fantastic competition, the most anticipated event of the Vancouver Olympics ended in a overtime goal by Cole Harbour's own, Sidney Crosby.

And the men's hockey gold medal, lifted Canada to the sole owner of the Winter Olympic record for most golds. 14.

Perfect.

It prompted a spontaneous celebration coast-to-coast. Spring Garden Road, the busiest street in downtown Halifax was closed down after people ran into the streets in celebration.

The cops were there, but they were handing out high-fives and enjoying the atmosphere.  Nobody got out of hand, everyone loved everyone. What a night.

The ratings were released Monday afternoon and there was an average audience of 16.6 million viewers, while 26.5 million tuned into at least some of the game -- Yes, that is 80 per cent of the country.

Only in Canada.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx or find her on her blog National Passtime

When a beer is just a beer.

Everyone needs to relax. Actually I think everyone needs a beer. Chill out, guys. I'm serious.

So the gold medal champions in Olympic women's hockey had a beer. WOOPdeEFFINdo.

One of the last things I saw before I went to bed last night was a twitter post from Greg Wyshynski, the editor of Puck Daddy hockey blog. "Marie-Philip Poulin, with Olympic gold and a Molson. Canadian bliss" (Accompanying the tweet was the the photo you see at the top of this blog post). 


I had a laugh and thought, 'well deserved, ladies'.

That tweet was followed up by "Hope all this 'Marie-Philip Poulin is underage!!!' stuff is in good fun. Otherwise, our world's been taken over by Debby Downers & Killjoys" 

I didn't think much would come of the underage stuff, but then CTVOlympics.ca reports that "Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games, said he wasn't aware of the celebration until informed by a reporter with The Associated Press"


Who is this douchebag reporter from AP who felt it necessary to be the Debby Downer? Haven't you given a glass of wine or champagne to your teenager at special events? She won a freaking gold medal... she scored the only two goals in the game. Let her have a freaking beer. I mean it wasn't even good beer. It was a Molson. 


But instead the IOC has to be all fatherly.

"If that's the case, that is not good," said Felli about the celebration. "It is not what we want to see. I don't think it's a good promotion of sport values. If they celebrate in the changing room, that's one thing, but not in public."

Hmm... okay.

What's the difference between what the girls did, and skeleton gold medalist Jon Montgomery chugging a pitcher of beer in front of a big crowd in Whistler on national television? I believe an open-liqour-in-public fine in Vancouver runs around $230. Beer chugging... sport values... right. But none of us cared, we all thought it was awesome and fun. Why? What's the difference? Why are people outraged about what the women did?

Is IOC members flying first class around the world, being wined dined and bribed a good promotion of sports values? Just sayin'.

Here's another one to chew on.

What's the difference between the girls having a beer on the ice after everyone's left. And the fans getting absolutely trashed in the stands? Did I mention that all the fans were gone?

Annnnd.

 Ironically this is a photo by the Associated Press.

Consistantly media are allowed in the dressing room after a big win. Stanley Cup, Super Bowl, World Series... shall I go on? When have you not seen shots of players popping champagne. What's the difference there?

These athletes are people. People drink. To say that because they are athletes means they should not drink is ludicrous.

This 'controversy' if you can call it that... is ridiculous! They had a beer. End of story.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx

Walking the line.

Halifax Mooseheads 17-year-old defenseman Garrett Clarke plays on the edge. He's gritty, he hits, he digs hard and he's a pit bull around his own net. Generally, a real annoyance to play against.

The only problem — he consistently teeters over the edge.

As effective as his in-your-face style can be at drawing penalties and creating some jump for his team, he  also takes unnecessary and untimely penalties himself. The last thing a not-so-talented team needs... is penalty kills (see: Toronto Maple Leafs).

This means Clarke has found himself in the Cam Russell dog house a few times this season.

"I'll admit I've got stupid penalties this year," said Clarke while sitting out as a scratch on the team's Rimouski roadtrip a few weeks ago.

"Cam's not really disappointed in the way I'm playing, it's just those stupid penalties. I'm hearing it from him and my agent."

There's a couple recent examples that come to mind. February 5 game against the Saint John Sea Dogs. The basement Halifax Mooseheads are leading the nation-leading Saint John Sea Dogs by a goal in the third period.

Garrett Clarke takes a penalty with 1:47 to go, opening the door for a Michael Kirkpatrick goal with 42 seconds left.

You could argue the Sea Dogs would've scored anyway, with all their skill and firepower, but trying to kill off one of the more deadly powerplays can't help your chances at holding onto a lead. And once Kirkpatrick tied it up, you knew the Moose really had no chance at winning.

The next game he found himself riding the pine in the third period in a win over Cape Breton and the game after that he was watching from the press box.

Fast forward to February 19, the Mooseheads are holding on to a 4-4 tie after blowing a 3-0 lead on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Garrett Clarke takes a kneeing penalty in the offensive zone at the 12:13 mark. Not that a kneeing penalty is ever necessary, but a kneeing penalty in the offensive zone in a tie game is even less so. I'm sure the veins in coach Cam Russell's neck were about to burst. Of course you can guess how the story went, the Screaming Eagles scored on the ensuing five minute powerplay and win the game.

To make matters worse, the five-minute kneeing major and game misconduct came with an automatic one-game suspension — at a time when the Mooseheads were already smarting with several injuries. Pascal Amyot out with an injury, seeing his team short-manned tried to come back prematurely and potentially made his injury worse.

"I know what I gotta do, I just got to keep playing the way I'm playing. Play gritty stay below that fine line. I just got to go out there and stay cool," says Clarke.

"It's tough for me, you get in the heat of the moment you're just trying to play hard and gritty and when I make those stupid penalties I know it hurts the team and it hurts me to see the team hurt like that."

Now forget incidents like the above and remember the Garrett Clarke who has scored some timely goals, drawn some timely penalties, and given his team that spark with a big open-ice hit. That's the Garrett Clarke the Halifax Mooseheads need, and Garrett Clarke knows that's the Garrett Clarke the team needs. And that's the Garrett Clarke I hope shows up for training camp in August. 

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx

A mercy rule is not the answer.

Every Olympics we have this discussion.

And every year people miss the mark.

I'm talking about women's hockey. Specifically when a powerhouse like Canada plays a hapless Slovakia and thumps them 18-0.

At the daily IOC-VANOC briefing, officials were asked if there should be a mercy rule in women's hockey.

"Clearly if you're on the losing side of a hiding, it's never much fun. But I'm sure they had a great experience and I'm sure they're thankful to be Olympians," said IOC director of communications Mark Adams.

"You know these things happen in all sports, at all levels. They're a good team but clearly yesterday Canada were the better team by a long way."

Then there was 2006.

Canada handed the host Italians a 16-0 beating in the opening game of the Turin Olympics.

"I'm upset that Canada has been running up the score, especially against the host nation," said Team USA defenseman Angela Ruggiero.

"There was no need for that. They're trying to pad their stats... Canada is running up the score for whatever reasons -- personal, short-term."

People are missing the boat here. It's not about padding stats. I don't think Haley Wickenheiser, the most prolific scorer in women's hockey, needs to pad her stats.

It's also not about mercy. I'm sure Canada would like to let up after they were certain their lead was sufficient.

But here's the problem. In international hockey, if there's two identical records in the standings, the tie-breakers are done by goal-differential.

So if Canada and USA both go undefeated through the tournament, and meet in the final. The home ice advantage is awarded to the team with the most goals scored.

That doesn't exactly breed mercy. In international play you can't control what other teams will do, so you don't want to leave anything to chance.

And this is nothing new, take the 2010 World Juniors. Latvia lost 16-0 to Canada and 12-1 to the USA.

There doesn't need to be a mercy rule -- using goals-scored as the tie breaker needs to be removed. There would still be blowouts, but I'm sure the scores would lower a bit.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx

Bizarre press release from the Green Party

So this press release just showed up saying Georges Laraques will be making an announcement Saturday at an event in Montreal.

The only thing I can think is he's announcing his foray into politics. Stay tuned.

Georges Laraque to make an announcement in Montreal

MONTRÉAL – Montréal hockey player Georges Laraque, actively involved with a number of social and humanitarian causes, is inviting the media to a screening of TERRIENS, the French version of EARTHLINGS. Mr. Laraque, who is hosting the event alongside many prominent guests, will make an announcement.

Georges Laraque: www.georgeslaraque.net

What: Screening of TERRIENS, the French version of EARTHLINGS narrated by Georges Laraque

When: Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.

Where: HEC Montréal, IBM Amphitheatre, 3000 Côte-Sainte-Catherine Rd., Montréal, QC, H3T 2A7; Université de Montréal metro station.

Jennifer Casey was born and raised in Halifax. She loves all sports but tries to stick to writing about hockey for sanity purposes. You can follow her on twitter @jenncaseyhfx