FANELLI HAPPY TO BE ON BLADES

Three words summed it up, but those three words spoke volumes. “It was awesome,” said Kitchener Rangers 16-year-old defenseman Ben Fanelli after being on skates for the first time since taking a crushing hit from Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters. The hit against the glass on Oct. 30 sent Fanelli to hospital with two skull fractures and resulted in Liambas being suspended for the season. But almost three months later, Fanelli was cleared by his neurologist for a 10-minute spin around the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium ice. “I really feel like I’m part of the team again,” said Fanelli after his first visit back to the dressing room. He won’t play again this season as he continues to rehab from the effects of the severe concussion he sustained from the…

EASTERN CONFERENCE

SCORING IN BUNCHES

Boston College right winger Cam Atkinson put up respectable numbers as a freshman last season with seven goals and 19 points in 36 games. But the sixth round pick (157th overall) by Columbus in 2008 has taken his game up a notch this season. Atkinson, 20, had 16 goals through his first 24 games, including 11 in a 12-game stretch. “With each game he plays, he’s more of a difference-maker,” said Eagles coach Jerry York. “We’ve always liked him, he just never really scored last year. Now he’s a hard force out there for people to handle. He’s so strong and he has terrific acceleration.”…

A fine balance

SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME the best way to think of goaltenders is to imagine them as tightrope walkers; the best of the bunch always are able to properly combine physical agility with mental mastery and can consistently limit the subtlest of shifts and remain focused despite the surrounding dangers. Often, young goalies – say, a Steve Penney or a Blaine Lacher – will burst upon the NHL scene and demonstrate above-average skills that tempt fans into believing they’ll be able to match that early elite play year after year. And soon thereafter, the fans and netminders learn it isn’t nearly that simple a task. Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason is learning that lesson the hard way this year. But even if the Blue Jackets starter squirms out of his sophomore slump, there’s…