East holds off West in All-Star Game
Canadian Press
2/8/2004
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CP) - Less than a week ago Gary Roberts was skating around the ice looking to take Daniel Alfredsson's head off every chance he got as the Battle of Ontario reached a fever pitch.
On Sunday, Alfredsson was able to let his guard down. Roberts and Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Mats Sundin embraced the Ottawa Senators captain on three occasions as the three forwards combined for three goals and four assists.
Alfredsson had two goals and an assist playing on the Maple Leaf line as the Eastern Conference held off their Western rivals 6-4 in the 54th NHL all-star game.
``It's easier to play with them than against them, that's for sure,'' Alfredsson said jokingly after the game. ``But we had fun, and we moved the puck pretty well tonight.''
Eastern Conference head coach Pat Quinn showed a sense of humour by putting the trio together. It was just over a week ago after a fight-filled game at the Air Canada Centre that Quinn criticized Alfredsson for trying to take out Sundin's knees.
``He's a smart player, you can see why he's that good,'' Quinn said of Alfredsson. ``We all want to win and sometimes you go beyond where you should to try and win. All three of them are honest guys.
``You put the animosity aside and renew it the next time we play.''
Roberts had a goal and an assist and later pondered how strange it was to play alongside a guy he wanted to run through the boards last week.
``He's a great guy,'' Roberts said of Alfredsson. ``At the end of the day we realize we're all just hockey players. And you see the respect we have for each other. It was a great day.''
The only downside, Roberts joked, was having to play alongside a pair of Swedes again just as he does in Toronto with Sundin and Mikael Renberg.
``I had to talk Swedish for most of the night,'' laughed Roberts. ``It's no different than the rest of the year. Either way I'm in the middle of the conversation saying: `OK, what are you guys talking about?' So things didn't change today.''
Alfredsson said it's really not that big a deal that the three were able to put hostilities on hold for a weekend but added with a smirk: ``Now it's back to the war.''
Adrian Aucoin, Mark Messier and Ilya Kovalchuk also tallied for the Eastern Conference before a sellout crowd of 19,434 at Xcel Energy Center in a game that flirted with a no-hitter and yielded nearly as many scoring chances than the Minnesota Wild have had all season.
All-star game MVP Joe Sakic had three goals while Shane Doan also scored for the Western Conference, who also dropped last year's game 6-5 to their Eastern rivals.
``It's a nice relaxing weekend,'' said the 34-year-old Sakic, who won a truck for his exploits. ``That's probably why the game isn't too intense. We know we're going back to the grind tomorrow.''
Vancouver captain Markus Naslund had three assists playing on a line with Sakic and Canucks teammate Todd Bertuzzi, who had two helpers.
Messier also had an assist on the goal, breaking a tie with Ray Bourque for the most assists in all-star game history at 14.
The game capped a fantastic week for the Twin Cities, as fans embraced the all-star festivities and showed their passion for the game.
But they may have also wondered what the fuss was all about. Despite the amazing array of talent on the ice, the game's best seemed to be playing at about 80 per cent, wary of getting injured and certainly not keen to engage in any physical contact.
Except, of course, for Jeremy Roenick. The Philadelphia Flyers centre hammered U.S. Olympic teammate Keith Tkachuk in the corner late in the first period. The St. Louis Blues winger obviously didn't anticipate the hit and acted angrily, slashing Roenick in the back and later delivering his own thunderous hit on Roenick along the boards.
Otherwise, it was a game devoid of any suspense. And the score could have been much higher, with players routinely making the extra pass instead of shooting from in-close, wanting to make the perfect play.
The East went up 6-3 just over four minutes into the third period, Kovalchuk breaking away alone after a terrific outlet pass from Montreal's Sheldon Souray and beating hometown favourite Dwayne Roloson with a nifty backhand deke.
Sakic completed the hat trick just over three minutes later to cut it to 6-4, his wrist shot beating Roberto Luongo under the right arm.
Alfredsson gave the East a 2-1 lead 51 seconds into the second period. Tomas Vokoun stopped his slapshot from the right circle but the rebound deflected off defenceman Filip Kuba and into the open side of the net. Not exactly a classic.
Fans were finally rewarded with a goal worthy of an all-star game, Sakic making it 2-2 at 5:44 after taking a perfect pass from Markus Naslund and beating Montreal's Jose Theodore with a top-corner wrist shot.
Doan gave the West its first lead of the game with 6:58 left in the second period, coming from behind the net and stuffing a shot between Theodore's legs.
But the East quickly responded with two goals less than a minute apart, Messier sliding home a nice feed from Scott Niedermayer at 13:48 and Roberts pounded a rebound past Vokoun at 14:41 to give the East a 4-3 lead.
The game's first two goals were nothing to write home about, the ugly variety so prevalent in today's defensive hockey.
Aucoin opened the scoring, poking a loose puck in the slot under Marty Turco's right arm 5:44 into the game. Messier got an assist on the goal, breaking a tie with Ray Bourque for the most assists in all-star game history at 14.
Sakic tied it 1-1 for the West when his attempted pass hit Brian Rafalski and came back to him, leaving him an open net to slip the puck in at 13:47 of the first period.
Notes: Actor Kurt Russell, who plays the late Herb Brooks in the movie Miracle, spoke to the crowd before the game and dedicated the all-star game to the legendary U.S. hockey coach ... Messier received a rousing ovation during pre-game introductions, the fans perhaps cognizant that it would be the 43-year-old's last all-star game. On the flip side, Canucks winger Todd Bertuzzi was drowned in boos, a remnant of the intense Vancouver-Minnesota playoff series last spring ... Next year's game is in Atlanta, barring a lockout.
Cheers,
Aquaman
Canadian Press
2/8/2004
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CP) - Less than a week ago Gary Roberts was skating around the ice looking to take Daniel Alfredsson's head off every chance he got as the Battle of Ontario reached a fever pitch.
On Sunday, Alfredsson was able to let his guard down. Roberts and Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Mats Sundin embraced the Ottawa Senators captain on three occasions as the three forwards combined for three goals and four assists.
Alfredsson had two goals and an assist playing on the Maple Leaf line as the Eastern Conference held off their Western rivals 6-4 in the 54th NHL all-star game.
``It's easier to play with them than against them, that's for sure,'' Alfredsson said jokingly after the game. ``But we had fun, and we moved the puck pretty well tonight.''
Eastern Conference head coach Pat Quinn showed a sense of humour by putting the trio together. It was just over a week ago after a fight-filled game at the Air Canada Centre that Quinn criticized Alfredsson for trying to take out Sundin's knees.
``He's a smart player, you can see why he's that good,'' Quinn said of Alfredsson. ``We all want to win and sometimes you go beyond where you should to try and win. All three of them are honest guys.
``You put the animosity aside and renew it the next time we play.''
Roberts had a goal and an assist and later pondered how strange it was to play alongside a guy he wanted to run through the boards last week.
``He's a great guy,'' Roberts said of Alfredsson. ``At the end of the day we realize we're all just hockey players. And you see the respect we have for each other. It was a great day.''
The only downside, Roberts joked, was having to play alongside a pair of Swedes again just as he does in Toronto with Sundin and Mikael Renberg.
``I had to talk Swedish for most of the night,'' laughed Roberts. ``It's no different than the rest of the year. Either way I'm in the middle of the conversation saying: `OK, what are you guys talking about?' So things didn't change today.''
Alfredsson said it's really not that big a deal that the three were able to put hostilities on hold for a weekend but added with a smirk: ``Now it's back to the war.''
Adrian Aucoin, Mark Messier and Ilya Kovalchuk also tallied for the Eastern Conference before a sellout crowd of 19,434 at Xcel Energy Center in a game that flirted with a no-hitter and yielded nearly as many scoring chances than the Minnesota Wild have had all season.
All-star game MVP Joe Sakic had three goals while Shane Doan also scored for the Western Conference, who also dropped last year's game 6-5 to their Eastern rivals.
``It's a nice relaxing weekend,'' said the 34-year-old Sakic, who won a truck for his exploits. ``That's probably why the game isn't too intense. We know we're going back to the grind tomorrow.''
Vancouver captain Markus Naslund had three assists playing on a line with Sakic and Canucks teammate Todd Bertuzzi, who had two helpers.
Messier also had an assist on the goal, breaking a tie with Ray Bourque for the most assists in all-star game history at 14.
The game capped a fantastic week for the Twin Cities, as fans embraced the all-star festivities and showed their passion for the game.
But they may have also wondered what the fuss was all about. Despite the amazing array of talent on the ice, the game's best seemed to be playing at about 80 per cent, wary of getting injured and certainly not keen to engage in any physical contact.
Except, of course, for Jeremy Roenick. The Philadelphia Flyers centre hammered U.S. Olympic teammate Keith Tkachuk in the corner late in the first period. The St. Louis Blues winger obviously didn't anticipate the hit and acted angrily, slashing Roenick in the back and later delivering his own thunderous hit on Roenick along the boards.
Otherwise, it was a game devoid of any suspense. And the score could have been much higher, with players routinely making the extra pass instead of shooting from in-close, wanting to make the perfect play.
The East went up 6-3 just over four minutes into the third period, Kovalchuk breaking away alone after a terrific outlet pass from Montreal's Sheldon Souray and beating hometown favourite Dwayne Roloson with a nifty backhand deke.
Sakic completed the hat trick just over three minutes later to cut it to 6-4, his wrist shot beating Roberto Luongo under the right arm.
Alfredsson gave the East a 2-1 lead 51 seconds into the second period. Tomas Vokoun stopped his slapshot from the right circle but the rebound deflected off defenceman Filip Kuba and into the open side of the net. Not exactly a classic.
Fans were finally rewarded with a goal worthy of an all-star game, Sakic making it 2-2 at 5:44 after taking a perfect pass from Markus Naslund and beating Montreal's Jose Theodore with a top-corner wrist shot.
Doan gave the West its first lead of the game with 6:58 left in the second period, coming from behind the net and stuffing a shot between Theodore's legs.
But the East quickly responded with two goals less than a minute apart, Messier sliding home a nice feed from Scott Niedermayer at 13:48 and Roberts pounded a rebound past Vokoun at 14:41 to give the East a 4-3 lead.
The game's first two goals were nothing to write home about, the ugly variety so prevalent in today's defensive hockey.
Aucoin opened the scoring, poking a loose puck in the slot under Marty Turco's right arm 5:44 into the game. Messier got an assist on the goal, breaking a tie with Ray Bourque for the most assists in all-star game history at 14.
Sakic tied it 1-1 for the West when his attempted pass hit Brian Rafalski and came back to him, leaving him an open net to slip the puck in at 13:47 of the first period.
Notes: Actor Kurt Russell, who plays the late Herb Brooks in the movie Miracle, spoke to the crowd before the game and dedicated the all-star game to the legendary U.S. hockey coach ... Messier received a rousing ovation during pre-game introductions, the fans perhaps cognizant that it would be the 43-year-old's last all-star game. On the flip side, Canucks winger Todd Bertuzzi was drowned in boos, a remnant of the intense Vancouver-Minnesota playoff series last spring ... Next year's game is in Atlanta, barring a lockout.
Cheers,
Aquaman