And this weeks past Bruins of the week goes to ..... Ray Bourque! Many know Ray Bourque as one of the most memorable Bruins players of all time, he is certainly up there with last weeks player of the week Cam Neely. Bourque resides from Montreal, QC but later moved to the states once he was drafted to the Bruins and still currently resides in Massachusetts. Bourque began his career with the Bruins in 1979 continuing all the way to 2000. During his career with the Bruins, Bourque played 1,612 games and racked up 410 goals and 1,169 assists, I guess you could say he's quite the play maker. The 1,579 points Bourque had throughout his career helped him to be inducted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. Throughout his career and even afterwards, Bourque was recognized for his hockey abilities and the contribution he brought to the Bruins organization. Some of his individual milestones include winning the Calder Memorial Trophy (1979-1980), King Clancy Memorial Trophy (1991-1992), James Norris Memorial Trophy (1986-1991, 1993-1994) and the Lester Patrick Trophy (2002-2003). One of his biggest accomplishments in the sport of hockey is winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche as well as playing for the Canadian Olympic hockey team. Although Bourque never won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins, he helped the 2010-2011 Bruins team to celebrate throughout their summer of fun and the beginning of the season. Ray Bourque is loved by all Boston hockey fans and many who understand the game of hockey, his success has shown what it is like to be a truly gifted player.
Sources:
"The Legends: Players: Ray Bourque."The Official Site of the Hockey Hall of Fame. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=P200401>.
"Ray Bourque hockey statistics and profile at hockeydb.com."HockeyDB.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=520>
Coming off the Bruins most recent point streak, the team new it was essential to win their upcoming game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. And that is exactly what they did. The Bruins beat the Bluejackets 5-3 last night, while Joe Corvo proved himself as an asset to this seasons roster with 2 goals. Milan Lucic had 3 assists and David Krejci also put up points with 2 assists. Nathan Horton, Chris Kelly, and Zdeno Chara scored the remaining three goals in the game while Tim Thomas played the first two periods. To the surprise of many who were watching the game, Thomas was pulled for the third period and Tuuka Rask made an appearance in net. Rask saved all 11 shots while coach Claude Julien commented on the situation after the game. "A couple of goals went through him," he said. "It was a gut feeling from the coaches' perspective." stated Julien.
The game ended well for the Bruins as the team found a way to win coming from behind in the first two periods. However, it wasn't the best finish of the game for captain defenseman Zdeno Chara. Chara left the game early due to a leg injury. The severity of Chara's incident is not yet stated however, Chara will miss three games. Nothing has been stated that shows a definate line on what the injury is however, rumors are flying that the captain could be out past Christmas. Hopefully Chara will be back to play Philly but he will not see action while the Bruins take on the Kings and Ottawa. Everyone is hoping for a speedy recovery for the 6' 9" defenseman.
Sources:
Press, Associated. "Bruins 5, Blue Jackets 3." Boston Bruins. NHL.com, 10 Dec. 2011. Web. <http://bruins.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020427&navid=DL|BOS|home>.
Loftus, Mike. "Chara’s Injury Puts Bruins in Unfamiliar Position." The Milford Daily News. Gatehouse Media, 11 Dec. 2011. Web. <http://www.milforddailynews.com/breaking/x906114304/Chara-s-injury-puts-Bruins-in-unfamiliar-position>.
Over the summer, the Bruins acquired Dougie Hamilton as the ninth draft pick overall. As of this morning, Hamilton was playing in the OHL as the top defenseman in the league leading with 41 points overall, he played 149 games with the Niagara IceDogs and was named captain as well as Defenseman of the Month in October. At 6'5" Hamilton will stand as one of the tallest on the team however, not quite as much in the clouds as fellow defenseman Zdeno Chara. Hamilton was signed to the Bruins at an entry-level pay of $500,000 as Peter Chiarelli announced today. The most recent Bruin will start out in Providence for the clubs farm team however if he keeps producing the way he has been in the OHL, then he will be moved up in no time.
Sources:
"B's Sign Dougie Hamilton to Entry-Level Contract ."Boston Bruins. NHL Enterprise, 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. <http://bruins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=605434&navid=DL|BOS|home >.
Last night the Bruins took on the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre for the first time since 1996 and unfortunately, the Jets took down the Bruins last night in a 2-1 victory. Julien chose to put Tuuka Rask in net which many feel wasn't the best choice for the B's however, Rask played unbelievable with 39 saves for the night. Shawn Thornton was the only Bruin to put on the board with a goal assisted by Daniel Paille in the third period. Only 94 seconds later the Jets scored their second goal of the night with a glove side shit from Little of the Jets. The Bruin's played sub-par at best last night, but it definately wasn't their worst game. It didn't help having Seguin be a healthy scratch but it takes a team to win a game. Krejci had some controversy last night when he hit defenseman Mark Stuart from behind that left him laying on the ice. The league is currently reviewing the hit to see if further disciplinary action needs to be handled
This hard lose for the Bruins ends their 15 game point streak and brings the team back to reality and the TD garden for that matter, but you know what they say, the show much go on as the Bruins take on the Panthers tomorrow night on home ice.
Sources:
Bishop, John. "Bruins vs. Jets - 12/06/2011 - Boston Bruins - Recap."The Official Web Site - Boston Bruins. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. <http://bruins.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2011020397>.
This week I'd like to talk about a former Bruins player who is one of the most notable players of all time that is our current president, Cam Neely. The 46 year old from British Columbia is most well known for his hockey career with the Bruins however, he took his turn in acting as well, appearing in the 90's classic Dumb and Dumber as Seabass.
In Neely's career, the historic number 8 which is now retired, put up 694 points in his 13 years of play for the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins. Neely played over 700 games in his NHL career and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005. In his 93-94 season, Neely scored 50 goals in 44 games, the only other person to do this was the great one, Wayne Gretzky.
Although Cam didn't win the cup while he was playing for the Bruins, he won as vice president of the Bruins in the 2010-2011 season. He is noted to have said, if he couldn't win the cup in his equipment, he'd win it in a suit.
Neely has put up unbelievable points as one of Boston's most well known athletes and arguably one of the best Bruin's players to live, however his involvement with the Cam Neely Foundation is truly remarkable. The Cam Neely Foundation helps cancer patients make a remarkable recovery and helps patients have the most enjoyable experience as possible while going through one of the hardest times of their lives.
So for the week of December 6, we salute you Cam Neely for your unbelievable career for the Bruins and your duties of being president for the current program! Enjoy this Cam Neely tribute to take you into tonight's game against the Jets.
Sources:
"Cam Neely - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0624
Bishop, John. "Cam Neely - Boston Bruins - Team." The Official Web Site - Boston Bruins. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. <http://bruins.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=39037>.
The unstoppable Sydney Crosby has been stopped. With Crosby and Malkin not putting up any points tonight, the Bruins defensive end proved to be one of the best in the league. The Bruins certainly out muscled the Penguins tonight which led them to their 3-1 victory over the Penguins and the first match-up the team has seen against Crosby this season. The Bruins advance to 14-0-1 which is their longest winning streak since 1983. Gregory Campbell started off the night with a goal assisted by Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton. Not long after only 7:18 into the second period, new comer Benoit Pouliot put the Bruins on the board yet again with an assist from Rich Peverley. Finishing off the night was Bruins star forward Tyler Seguin who scored on a one-timer from Patrice Bergeron and Rich Peverley. The game almost became 4-0 when David Krejci took an unbelievable backhand shot from the slot but hit the crossbar. Let's not forget Tim Thomas' stellar performance saving 46 shots that came his way. The B's are keeping calm yet confident with their new success of the season and continuing to battle with every team that comes their way.Tomorrow night the Bruins take on the Winnipeg Jets in the province of Manitoba, Canada.
Well the Bruins are on the road for the next few days, making stops in Pittsburgh, PA to take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins and the newly formulated Winnipeg Jets. Both games will prove to be a challenge for the Bruins with their 13-0-1 playing the Penguins and the Jets.
Unless you have been living under a rock the past 3 years, Sidney Crosby has been the greatest phenom to sweep the hockey nation. Although I'm not particularly a Penguins fan, Crosby is arguably so one of, if not, the best player in the league. Regardless if you love Crosby or hate Crosby, he's an unbelievable player that is a consistent threat against any team This is the first time this year that Boston will see Crosby but our strong defensive lineup including Chara, Seidenberg, Ferrence, McQuaid and Boychuk will prove to show the depth we have. Another player that is overlooked on the Penguins is Northeastern graduate Joe Vitale, it'll be interesting to see how he plays against his hometown team tonight. This match up between number one seed Pittsburgh Penguins and number 2 Boston Bruins will prove to be a game being won on will and whatever team brought their A-game tonight. Will the Bruins keep their winning streak and unbelievable month of November going? Well, lets hope so and say we're 14-0-1 tomorrow morning.
The Winnipeg Jets have had a lot of hype in their comeback to the NHL and for good reason. The fans in Winnipeg are excited, the NHL players from Winnipeg are excited, and most of all those who think a hockey team in Atlanta wasn't the most genuis idea ... are excited! Not too much is known about this new Winnipeg team but their 11 wins have proven that they are a team that can not be taken lightly. The Bruins have only seen the Jets once this season but the 4-2 victory showed that we can take any team any day. Although, that saying "any team, any day" goes both ways, thats the beauty of hockey there's never a set level of who will win and who will loose, upsets and comebacks are made every game between all different teams.
