After six games on the road to open the USL season, the Montreal Impact is home and the boys are ready to welcome soccer fans to their new home, Saputo Stadium.
The Impact plays host to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Monday at 3 o'clock, but the party starts this weekend...]]>
If you don't have tickets for Monday's home opener or you're just itching to see the new venue, Sunday's the day for you.
The Impact will open the doors on Sunday afternoon for an open house at 1 o'clock and you'll get the chance to walk around and take it all in.
A celebrity game gets underway at 2 o'clock and Alex Kovalev will take part. He's a good friend of Impact striker Charles Gbeke.
On Monday, it's the big game, but the doors open at 12:30 and Gregory Charles will perform live. All the Impact needs now are clear skies and a win.
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Mascouche's Eric Gagne was the most dominant closer in baseball for a number of years, but something changed after 2006. Gagne's name emerged on the Mitchell Report and his reputation was called into question.
I heard people defend Gagne, I heard people chastise Gagne. One thing is for sure, the numbers don't lie. Something changed at a fairly precise period of time and it's hard to believe Gagne wasn't on something. His physique changed and his numbers spiralled out of control...
]]> Gagne made a bid to reclaim his job in Milwaukee's 5-3 win over the L-A Dodgers last night, earning his 10th save, but it wasn't easy. He allowed a leadoff single to fellow Quebecer Russell Martin before getting Blake DeWitt to hit into a fielder's choice and Mark Sweeney to fly out.Gagne had given up his closer job with the Brewers after blowing some saves recently. Look at his stats...
Between 1999 and 2006...
168 save opportunities
161 saves
7 blown saves
Between 2007-2008...
35 save opportunities
26 saves
9 blown saves
Here's my question to you --
How do you account for the drastic change in performance and are stats and physique enough to change how you may have felt about the one-time dominant closer?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think...
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boomp3.com
The Montreal Impact will look to even it's season-opening road trip at the .500-mark. They're 2-and-3 so far and play the Battery in Charleston tomorrow night.
Bad news on the back end. Veteran defender Gabriel Gervais tore a quadricep in Saturday's loss to Minnesota and they're already without Nevio Pizzolitto for several weeks. The home opener at Saputo Stadium is on Monday against Vancouver.
Listen to the chat I had with head coach Nick De Santis...
]]>He's constantly running his mouth with inflammatory comment after inflammatory comment, recently saying that there are good centres in Dallas who could help Michael Ryder score 30 goals. Yet another shot at the Montreal Canadiens.
The latest Ribeiro incident had nothing to do with his mouth and everything to do with his stick.
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Mike Ribeiro and Chris Osgood had an exhange on Saturday night.
Osgood butt-ended Ribeiro with the handle of his stick, so Ribeiro slashed Osgood across the chest (see above video from YouTube).
They were both fined an undisclosed amount, along with Dallas' Steve Ott, but no suspensions. Ribeiro's rationale was "he gets shots harder than my slash". What an idiotic comment.
Here's my question, what does it take to get a suspension in the playoffs? There are two different rule books -- one for the regular season and one for the playoffs. The double-standard continues to exist in the NHL and I'm so sick of it. Osgood should have been suspended as well, but Ribeiro's action was despicable.
Players have to be responsible for their lumber and that would have been an automatic suspension in the regular season.
Way to go Ribeiro, good job Osgood, hats off NHL. Once again, stellar work.
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The new home of soccer in Montreal opened its doors to the media yesterday.
Here's a look at the 13,000-seat Saputo Stadium...]]>
It's going to be a busy season for the Montreal Impact. They play their home opener at the new digs on Monday, May 19th at 3pm and that will be the official start to a whirlwind season filled with regular season games, special events and hopes of a league championship in their first season at their new home.
Needless to say, the players are incredibly excited. They held their first practice at Saputo Stadium on the perfectly manicured natural grass pitch. I love what captain Mauro Biello said -- "It feels like Santa Clause came and dropped off a nice big stadium for us."
Yup, that pretty much sums it up.
Not only will the Impact play USL opposition, but they'll also take part in CONCACAF qualifiers this season, with the first game against soon-to-be MLS rival, Toronto FC. That's on May 27. Saputo Stadium will also host Canada's first qualifying game for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That'll be against Saint-Vincent-and-the-Grenadines on June 20th.
With the evolution of soccer in Montreal, Quebec and Canada, the timing of this new stadium couldn't be more perfect and I can't wait to see what it's like to sit along the sidelines on a warm summer evening as the sun sets just beyond the Olympic Stadium.
It's soccer euphoria and you're all invited.
]]>The season started and it appeared the Ottawa Senators were going to run away with the Northeast, while the Bruins, Leafs, Canadiens and Sabres were left to fight it out for position.
Slowly but surely, the Habs emerged as a youthful, fast-skating team with plenty of upside. They were surprising people, they were winning games and they were fun to watch. What was happening?
More surprises -- Alex Kovalev was, indeed, a superstar. He dazzled fans from day one this year. His long, flowing locks often danced in the wind as he dipsy-doodled past opposing defenders.
Andrei Kostitsyn finally started to emerge as a talented draft pick, one that was criticized when the choice was made a few years ago. More amazing was how Andrei played once brother Sergei was called up to the big club. The Brothers K pushed each other and it was delightful to watch.
Tomas Plekanec had a breakout season as the team's most consistent centre, winning faceoffs and making plays, all while maintaining his defensive responsibilities.
Andrei Markov was an all-star and Mike Komisarek was a beast -- both men complimented each other perfectly on Montreal's blueline, providing stability and assurance to a young squad. Markov demonstrated great vision and Komisarek was a bodychecking, shot-blocking machine.
With Carey Price waiting in the wings, Cristobal Huet was showing everyone that he wasn't just a flash in the pan. The Frenchman was putting up great numbers and gave his team a chance to win every night.
The power play was on fire, the goaltending was red hot and the Canadiens were making their way up the standings as playoff aspirations started to build.
On the other hand, it proved to be a tough and frustrating season for a few others. Michael Ryder couldn't find his form and was the biggest disappointment for me this past season.
Chris Higgins was given every opportunity and despite some decent numbers this year, things never unblocked for Higgy. Fans expect so much from him and for some reason, he had trouble finding the back of the net with any real consistency.
His linemate, captain Saku Koivu, also had some consistency problems and wasn't putting big points on the board. He faced a lot of criticism and it didn't appear to some that this was HIS team. That opinion would change in the playoffs...we'll get to that in a moment.
Mathieu Dandenault and Mark Streit were bounced around in the lineup, Bryan Smolinski and Tom Kostopoulos weren't exactly making headlines and the Canadiens still appeared to need an impact player.
With the Canadiens well-positioned, that what's Bob Gainey attempted to do at the trade deadline. He came up empty in his bid for Marian Hossa and no one else was available by the time the deal went dead. The only deal that was made sent fan-favourite Cristobal Huet to Washington. I still think that was a mistake.
Nevertheless, the Habs finished first in the East with 104 points and surpassed all expectations, even their own.
A first round date with Boston was supposed to be easy...it went 7 games and the Canadiens got outworked and outhustled by a determined Bruins team. The power play went dead, the scoring was gone, the goaltending faltered and Habs fans were starting to worry a little.
Montreal finished off the Bruins with a convincing 5-0 win in game 7 and everything appeared to be fine. A last-minute win in game 1 against the Flyers was more proof that things were going Montreal's way, but that's where the luck would end.
Every bounce went Philadelphia's way and the Canadiens couldn't figure out Martin Biron. The series ended in a hurry, shocking the fans after what was supposed to be a mere speedbump en route to the Eastern Conference semifinal.
The good news...Koivu was dynamite after returning from a fractured foot and the Kostopoulos-Smolinski-Begin line was real revelation and Patrice Brisebois played his best hockey in Habs uniform. Ultimately, it wasn't enough. The offensive guys didn't score enough big goals and despite some incredible moments for Carey Price, the goaltending wasn't good enough in the big games.
Bob Gainey will face a lot of questions at his post-mortem tomorrow and it promises to be another long offseason but I'm curious to see how the majority of people will react in the coming days and weeks. After all, they weren't even supposed to be IN the playoffs.
Who are we to judge their postseason failure after such a glorious season that was full of surprises? Sure it was disappointing, but it was a fun ride and those guys deserve a lot of credit. Those 12 playoff games will do a lot for the experience and confidence of those young men who sent this city into a frenzy this year.
Not since 1993 had there been that much excitement and we owe them a pat on the back. It's easy to be negative, it's easy to be critical, but it's important for us to recognize accomplishments, especially when completely unexpected.
My memory for 07-08...the comeback of the century. A 6-5 shootout win over the New York Rangers after trailing 5-0. I've never seen anything like it and I'll never forget it. For me, that represented the competitiveness of this young team of overachievers. The NHL wrote them off and they didn't care.
A close second for me... the noise level at the Bell Centre in game 1 against the Boston Bruins.
What's your memory from 07-08? Will you only remember the disappointment against the Flyers or will you hold on to the memories of a very exciting 82 games?
]]>Behold...Hail Carey...
]]> Hail Carey,Blessed art thou among goalies,
And blessed is the paint
Of thy crease...
Holy Carey,
Draft pick of Bob,
Save for us supporters,
Now and at the hour of Game 5.
Amen.
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Well isn't this a sight!
Our good buddy Rob Simpson from the New England Sports Network is such a good sport. He came through on our friendly wager and donned a Habs jersey in light of the Bruins losing to the Canadiens in Round 1.
Rob joined us every morning at 8:35 for the Boston perspective and did a heck of a job with top-shelf analysis and a great sense of humour.
We had some good times Rob...had it not been for a few unlucky bounces, Dennis Trudeau and I would have been gracing the pages of your blog wearing the black and gold of the arch-nemesis.
Lemme just say...phew!
(I'm gonna guess Rob was actually wearing a Flyers jersey under that Habs jersey.)
]]>Give me a break.
]]> I understand that the guy is 20 and has limited NHL experience, but I think he's a little more mentally sound than some people are giving him credit for. As an goaltender you understand that sometimes it's just not your night and you have to learn to give up your spot from time to time.This is one of those times.
15 goals allowed in the 7-game first round series against Boston versus 10 goals already allowed in the first three games against Philly.
A 2.09 GAA and a .925 save percentage against the Bruins compared to a 3.79 GAA and an .853 save percentage against the Flyers.
Numbers don't lie, body language says a lot and maybe the kid needs a break. Here's where I think Guy Carbonneau made a mistake...
If he ultimately wanted to go back to Price in game 4 and was intent on instilling more confidence in his frazzled netminder, he should have said that Price was the guy RIGHT AFTER the game 3 loss, instead of waiting until gametime.
We'll see what happens tonight...
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