Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Devils battle back from the dead to sink Penguins


Sorry,I missed yesterday.
Tuesday is my most exhausting day of the week.
This could be a three post day,if things fall right and I have the time to post.
This one covers the great Devils comeback Monday over Pittsburgh and a few bullpen notes.
The next two will be the final installment of the Erik Arnesen interview and coverage of the Terrelle Pryor announcement and Freddy Sanchez contract extension......

The New Jersey Devils were down 3-1 in the third and as I watched the game,I was already thinking about how to write about the anemic offense and things that could happen to shake this team up a bit.
The only bright spot was a late second period power play goal by Jamie Langenbrunner(9) to give the Devils hope at intermission,but a Pittsburgh goal early in the final stanza seemed to dim that hope.
The Devils seemed like a team that was headed to another loss and seemed to be playing on auto pilot,but suddenly that changed.
Patrik Elias took the puck deep in the corner and with the creativity that he has the ability to showcase(and does only on occasion) with his puckhandling eluded a Penguin defender and fired a shot off the Penguins Kris Letang and into the net to cut the lead to 3-2.
Elias and his 16th goal of the year seemed to inspire the Devils as the intensity picked up and began to overwhelm the Steel City gang.
David Clarkson then slammed his 7th goal off a rebound past Ty Conklin to tie the game and send the Penguins reeling against the boards.
Clarkson just needed an assist to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick after a first period battle with Ryan Malone.
New Jersey continued the pressure and on two occasions,just missed goals that would have ended this one in regulation,however the Devils would not need much of the extra time to put the unlikely two points in their column.
Elias took off down the ice with the puck after Marty Brodeur had cleared it to him and fired at Conklin,but Zach Parise was cutting to the net and redirected the puck past a stunned Conklin for the game winner in a 4-3 win!
Brodeur getting a rare assist for a goalie on the play and Elias getting his 2nd assist on the night.
The win was a great one,but the effort early left plenty to be desired and certainly needs to be addressed.
The Devils travel to Buffalo tonight at 7.

New Feature here for the Devils for the players of the game.

Gold-Patrik Elias- 1 Goal 2 Assists
Silver-Zach Parise-1 Goal (GWG) 2 Assists
Bronze-David Clarkson-1 Goal

Bullpen Notes

Today is the announcement of the number one recruit in the nation,quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
Pryor is expected to choose either Ohio State or Michigan.
Here is hoping that he makes the right choice.

Freddy Sanchez did sign a extension with the Pirates yesterday at a reasonable price.
19 million total for two guaranteed years and an option season,but the most interesting part was the lack of a no trade clause.
So,with Sanchez under contract at a very affordable cost,get ready to hear the name of Freddy Sanchez around the trade deadline.

Here is a link to what Ashland high expects to do with their stadium after the Ashland University Eagles are able to get their 7,000 seat stadium up and built.

This began my thinking on this though.
You have a town half the size of Hagerstown that is refurbishing their high school stadium to attract events,put in a new FieldTurf playing surface etc.
Their counterparts at Ashland University,which is a private Division II school,plans to build two brand new stadiums for their football and soccer programs at a cost of 24 million.
Now look at Hagerstown,a far bigger and prosperous city,which has professional baseball at a facility that needs either a complete renovation or replacement.
The Suns have to wheel,deal and squeal for years to just get a new infield!
How pathetic is that?!

Photo Credit
Bill Kostroun-AP Photo

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