The Rochester Amerks got pumped Wednesday night on home ice by the lowly San Antonio Rampage. By far, the worst team performance for the season for the entire squad. The only highlight was Freddie Roy’s first pro goal in the losing effort.
No time to feel sorry for oneself. Time to get ready for this weekend’s back to backer with teh hated Toronto Marlies. Game one is Friday night in Rochester, while game two is Saturday night in The Big Smoke.
Good news from today’s practice. Luke Adam skated without the red « don’t touch me pinnie » on. Therefore, he’s been cleared to play on Friday night. Adam has missed the past three games with a lower body ailment.
As I've said in this space before, its now or never time, in my opinion, for Luke Adam.
Through 27 games in Buffalo last season he had 9 goals and 10 assists for 19 points. He would leave Buffalo afer 52 games played with 10 goals and 10 assists. Not bad production for most rookies, however, Ruff and Regier were left wondering what happened to Adam between games 28 and 52 in Buffalo? Its as if the kid was abducted, tied up, taken away and held for ransom.
He would only score 4 goals and 9 assists in 27 games with Rochester after his demotion.
Its time for the real Luke Adam to please stand up.
A strong showing in the next couple of weeks in Rochester is critical to Adam's future in Buffalo.
If he performs well, he'll put pressure on his coach to keep him at centre. If he languishes and wastes this opportunity, he may well be punching his own ticket out of town.
Centres Cody Hodgson and Kevin Sundher skated with their red "you will get your ass kicked if you touch me" vests on. Word is CoHo may be cleared to play next week. Sundher’s status is still up in the air.
That’s Mikhail Grigorenko’s season in a nutshell. The kid is blistering the QMJHL right now. He needs to play at the next level. He’s ready, both physically and mentally for the rigors of the NHL. He has 20 assists to boot.
When the NHL lockout ends, you’ll get to see Grigo in Blue and Gold, and you will not believe your eyes !
Grigo will also be on centre stage for his mother Russia at the World Junior Championships (Ufa, Russia), beginning on Boxing Day.
Before the NHL lockout, you’d never heard about, nor cared about Graz, Austria.
Then,when its most famous son, Sabres all star forward Thomas Vanek, made international headlines to to play for his hometown, Graz immediately became a trending topic in Buffalo, NY and in the international ice hockey community.
Vanek spent a month of the now 74 day old NHL lockoutplaying in Graz. He scored 15 points in 11 games before returning to his family in the United States two weeks ago.
Vanek may be back in Buffalo, but his memory remains on the top of the minds of every Austrian sports fan.His former head coach recently told LaPresse :
"It was madness. Suddenly, all our games were shown on television. The parties were followed by long press conferences. All arenas we visited were packed".
The thirty day love affair with Vanek ended prematurely for Graz and its intensely loyal fans when HDTV packed up his skates and his sticks, and bid adieu to be reunited his wife and three young sons in the « 716 ».Today, Vanek’s vast thumb print and his legacy of ice hockey brilliance have been placed on the Graz 99ers brand. Head coach Mario Richer, the former head coach of the QMJHL Gatineau Olympiques has benefited greatly from Vanek’s brief sortie that he spent playing with his hometown squad. Richer’s equity has increased dramatically in recent weeks, as he has made quite a name for himself as the head coach of the Graz 99ers.
Mario Richer is in his second season as head coach of the Moser Medical Graz 99ers. Richer brought to Austria his template for success that he and his lieutenants found success with while coaching in The Q at Gatineau. Richer, along with Benoit Groulx have imported some of their former Quebec league players to serve as leaders of their new program in Graz. The 99ers are one of the most entertaining teams in Europe right now because of Richer’s rugged North American style. In 26 games this season, Graz have been penalized for 783 minutes. This is an average of 30.12 minutes per game, considerably lower than the EBL league average which is 15 PIMs per game.
It won’t be long until the NHL lockout ends. When the league finally resumes play, it would not surprise me at all if Richer becomes a hot head coaching commodity in the NHL.
Richer’s former Gatineau Olympic assistant,Herbert Hohenberg , serves as Richer’s assistant coach. Former players turned present palyers, Olivier Labelle and Jean-Michel Daoust are also among Graz’s top scorers. Olivier Latendresse is the brother of Guilliame Latendresse (Montreal, Minnesota, Ottawa). Frederic Cloutier, their goalie, former played for Shawinigan and Acadie-Bathurst.
On the ice, the Graz 99ers have struggled since Vanek skated home to Buffalo. Richer finds that the presence of Vanek was positive. "His presence has increased the popularity of hockey in Austria. In Graz, he put a lot of people in the stands. Our organization is not the richest or most famous league. Vanek has let us know. "
Richer graded-out Vanek as an A+ student :
"He had good work habits. He was very serious. He was committed to his sport. He wanted to win. He was always well prepared. "
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Jay McKee made his bones in the NHL the ole fashioned way. He ate frozen, vulcanized rubber like they were Tim Bits. Imagine how intense a cat you'd have to be to eat Black Talon bullets traveling 95-110mph for 800+ games, over the course of a 14 years. In his illustrious NHL career, McKee saw more rubber than the Daytona 500 and Molson Indy--- combined!
McKee unselfishly placed himslf in the heat of every battle by placing himself in harm's way of sniper fire. He dug the ditches, plowed the crease, and manned his end of the rink so that his teammates could do their job in the offensive zone.
As a player, he was dependable, sturdy, stoic, and tough as nails. He was an excellent competitor and a decorated warrior. Albeit, his body was decorated by lacerations, bumps, bruises and scar tissue from all of the battles that he waged. I'll never forget sitting with him in the Buffalo room, after games in the 2006 Eastern Semis and the Conference Finals. He'd peel off his shin guards, elbow pads and skates and his badges of honor would glisten with perspiration and blood. He'd shrug it off and tell me that its all part of his game.
Thats how McKee rolled. Rough and tumble. No panic. No drama. No challenge too big, nor too small.
You don't play 802 regular season NHL games, and 60 more playoff games if you are a shrinking violet. Only the tough survive the rigors of the NHL.
McKee is retired now from the NHL. He tried his hand at coaching in Rochester last season. Now, he's in search of the bigger buzz that comes from the burning desire to compete. That's why it surprises me like, not at all, that McKee has been hand -chosen to compete in the upcoming Red Bull Crashed Ice event that is rolling into Niagara Falls later this weekend. When Jay sets his mind to something, expect him to deliver above average results.
I caught up with my old buddy via email on Wednesday as he prepares for this weekend's event. McKee is stoked to have made the cut to participate in this extreme downhill skating freakshow!
Here's a recap of the 2011 season, courtesy Red Bull:
!
#74 is locked and loaded for the white-knuckle rides of his hockey life!
Me: You competed at a high level in the NHL for over a decade. Are the competitive juices still flowing not that you are in retirement?
McKee: I'm always competing.. Whether it's an app on my phone vs friends, beer league hockey, trivia games or even condition skating the players in Rochester last year.. Anything and everything really.. I want to win at everything I do, but I'm ok with losing.. Once in a while.. Haha..
Me: This Red Bull event looks pretty intense. How do you train in advance for such a rigorous and demanding challenge?
McKee: This summer I made a bet with one of my best from back home; we agreed to compete against each other in the Kingston Triathlon, 600 meter swim, 30K bike, 7k run.. The deal was, I could train for a single day in the 4 months leading up to the event.. I stuck to my promise, and finished with a time of 2 hours and 12 minutes, edging my buddy out by 12 minutes.. The victory was great although my body felt crippled for the following 7 days.. I've chosen the same approach for this Red Bull Challenge.. I'm just gonna slug back a couple 16 ounce Red Bulls and wing it.. (Red Bull gives you wings right?) I'm sure after Thursday and Fridays runs down the track, if I make it to the finals, I'll be feeling like that same crippled fool that thought not training for a Triathlon would be a good idea..
Me: Are you competing with friends or family, or are you flying solo?
McKee: I had to qualify for the event.. I had to place in the top 5 guys in a timed obstacle course set up in a normal arena about 6 weeks back.. There's no free passes to this event.. Thursday and Friday, we will be racing the track, doing time trials.. After those two days, the field of approx 160 will be cut down to approx 50 of the fastest competitors.. I was never built for speed, I'll do what I can....
Me: You are aware that there is a 40 metre drop at the beginning of this course, aren't you?
McKee: I have seen the 40 meter drop and I can't wait.. Red Bull doesn't do an event if it doesn't include a major adrenaline rush for its competitors.. It's certainly not for the feint of heart, but that's not me..
Me: Do you have a fear of heights?
McKee: I do not have a fear of heights.. No concern there..
Me: You do want Sabres Nation to come out to support you, live at the event, don't you?
McKee: I'd love the Sabres nation to come out to the event.. Minnesota had approx 80,000 people show up and Quebec had an estimated 100,000 people.. There's no hockey right now, why not come check it out....I have two days of competing before the main event so I can't guarantee I'll still be around for our Loyal fans to cheer on come Saturday..
Me: Is this the craziest thing you've ever done?
McKee: Is this the craziest thing I've ever done? For me, outside of being fortunate enough to live my dream for 14 years playing in the NHL, it's definitely the most exciting thing I've ever done.. Craziest? I'm thinking, enjoying stepping infront of a Chara or Kovalchuk one timer during the PK might be more suited for that category.....
His name is Jay McKee and he is a badass.
Check out Jay at the Red Bull Crashed Ice Event in Niagara Falls! I'll be there, and you and your crew should be there, too!
Got a screw or two loose? The lights are on, but nobody’s home? Are you fearless? Aspire to be the best competitive skater/daredevil in North America?
Then the 2013 Red Bull Crashed Ice World Champion is your proving ground!
You will have to prove yourself against some of the best skaters in the world, in mano y mano competition, in front of tens of thousands of fans. Whats more, you’ll have to do it all while being pelted by the frozen mist where the Mighty Niagara thunders over Niagara Falls!!
Welcome to the 2013 Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship. This awesome event is louder than bombs, and features qualifier heats for national and international athletes.
The top 32 athletes from the National Shoot-Out (the qualifier for Canadian athletes) advance to the Elimination Round on Friday evening. The top 32 athletes from the International Shoot-Out (the qualifier for international athletes) automatically advance to the Saturday night finals and athletes ranked from 33rd to 64th place in the International Shoot-Out advance to the Elimination Round to face off against the top 32 national skaters.
In the Shoot-Outs, each athlete has two timed, single runs down the icy and treacherous course. The fastest time wins. The results determine the pairings for the Elimination Round. All ice daredevils will then be seeded into brackets of four, as the 32 fastest skaters out of 64 will advance to the finals on Saturday, December 1. The top 16 female athletes will also advance to the finals on Saturday.
This outstanding event is FREE to spectators and the general public! Talk about a great way to get your hockey jones. Its not the NHL, but it’s pretty damn close! Power skating for supremacy at the brink of The Falls while tens of thousands of spectators buzz up and down Lundy’s Lane and Clifton Hill to watch the thrilling action at the Skylon Tower. Sounds like a plan to me!
The add more sugar to an otherwise sweet event, Red Bull will present a concert from Juneau Award winners, and Buffalo Sabres fans, Arkells on Friday night!
After the race at Niagara Falls on December 1, the top 64 Canadian men and 16 women will earn their spot for the season finale in Quebec City on March 16, 2013.
For the first time, Red Bull Crashed Ice introduces the Team Challenge, giving all athletes one more chance to race down the world’s most exciting ice track. Each team will be comprised of three athletes. After a round of qualifiers, the top 16 teams will advance to the Team Challenge, which will take place after the Elimination Round. Each team has a budget of 6,900 draft points (based on the world standings) to pick their athletes.
Location: Niagara Falls, Canada (Map this address )
Start:
DEC 1, 2012 at 7:00 PM
End:
DEC 1, 2012 at 10:00 PM
The Red Bull Crashed Ice season kicks off for the first time in Niagara Falls against the breathtaking and spectacular natural backdrop of the magnificent falls. Straddling the border between Ontario, Canada, and New York, USA, Niagara Falls will host 80,000 people on December 1 in the most thrilling and heart-pumping sporting event.
The tour will feel a little like home for the series’ defending champion, Kyle Croxall, of Mississauga, who thwarted Finland’s Arttu Pihlainen and his brother, Scott, to capture the title in 2012. Expect a new and exciting course when Red Bull Crashed Ice rolls into the streets of Niagara, speeding down beside the booming falls.
This event is open to the public and free to attend
Event Location:
Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls
Event Schedule
* Timings subject to change
Thursday
10.30am – 1.15pm: Training for Canadian athletes
1.30pm – 3pm: National Shoot Out
Friday
9.30am – 10.45am: Training for International athletes
11am – 12.30pm: International Shoot Out
1.30pm – 1.45pm: Training for athletes competing in the Elimination Round
2pm – 3pm: Elimination Round
6pm – 7pm: Qualifying for Team Challenge
7.30pm – 8.30pm: Team Challenge
9pm: Concert with Canadian band Arkells (Victoria Ave)
Saturday
11am – 12pm: Training for the final 64 athletes
7pm – 10pm: Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship Finals
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