IceGators tumble to cellar after violating league rule

So much for a record-setting, season-opening winning streak. The Louisiana IceGators, after establishing an East Coast League record by winning their first nine games, were forced to forfeit all of them because they used an ineligible player. The second-year franchise was also fined an undisclosed amount. The ECHL announced Nov. 26 that Louisiana played five veteran players, one more than league rules allow. A veteran is defined by the ECHL as “an individual who has played 200 regular season games of pro hockey.” Left winger Jack Williams, who had two goals and four points in nine games, had played in excess of 200 games before joining the IceGators this season. Williams played 49 games in the Central and West Coast Leagues last season that were not listed correctly on his player background form. So…

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Scary stuff for Selivanov

Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Alexander Selivanov swears the Ice Palace is cursed. Or haunted. Or something. The wildly superstitious Selivanov scored 31 goals for the Lightning last season, but in nine games at the Lightning’s new house of horrors he had just one goal. The 25-year-old had four goals in 11 games on the road. Selivanov’s claim stems from the fact the Ice Palace was built atop the graves of a couple of pre-Civil War era soldiers. “They find bones here,” he said. “Who knows, Ice Palace cursed maybe. Something wrong. I don’t understand it.” That’s not good news for the Lightning. The team, averaging fewer than three goals a game, needs Selivanov to score, but the only goals he was getting at home recently were the ones he shoots into the opponent’s…

Damphousse not at ‘C’ level after taking over captaincy

The curse of the ‘C’ lives on. Vincent Damphousse had played 15 games for the Montreal Canadiens after replacing Pierre Turgeon as captain and was held to five goals. He did, however, have 13 points. The totals, not alarmingly bad, aren’t up to par for a player who produced 38 goals and 94 points last season. Still, as November came to an end, there was no denying Damphousse was in a slump, with one goal and three assists in his past eight games and 2-57 totals over an 11-game span. “Is it that bad?” Damphousse asked. “It’s true. I can play better, particularly when it comes to defense.” Damphousse, a notoriously slow starter, was still fourth on the Canadiens in points, with 23 in 25 games. He had eight goals and 15 assists. “I have almost…