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March 22, 2002
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Hockey in Ireland, you say? It’s worth making a toast
Editor’s Notebook Like the millions of North Americans whose ancestors trace back to Ireland, I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day each year. This March 17, I’ll raise my Guinness to hockey. One of the great things about our game is that it helps break down borders. Save for the Olympics, when borders are raised to form the basis of our nationalistic pride, there’s no greater melting pot of cultures and backgrounds in pro sports than the NHL. Hockey’s top league welcomes skill, style and tactics from all over. Now hockey, believe it or not, has become fashionable in Ireland. The second-year Belfast Giants had the best record in the British Superleague this season and ranked No. 1 in attendance - 12th in all of Europe. With a roster made up of 16 Canadians and one American…
Sauer finishes final regular season with pair of wins
The gift did not come wrapped, but Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer was happy to receive it nonetheless. Entering the final weekend of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season, Sauer’s Badgers were in seventh place and in danger of opening the league playoffs on the road for only the third time in the 20-year Sauer era. But a 3-1,5-1 sweep of Minnesota-Duluth March 1-2 moved Wisconsin into fifth place and secured the last home-ice berth. That the performance came in conjunction with a public tribute to I Sauer, who is retiring at the end of the season, seemed fitting. Sauer, the winningest coach in WCHA history with 653 victories and owner of two NCAA championship ' rings, was honored during a post-game ceremony shortly after his team completed the sweep and recorded the…
Phillips ignores rumors, focuses on his play
As the trade deadline approaches, Chris Phillips would suspect he’s going to hear his name a lot. He’d like to ignore it. The Ottawa Senators defenseman has been dogged by rumors all season and as league GMs prepare to make one final pitch to get help before the trade deadline Phillips’s name keeps popping up all Over the place. “I don’t worry about it,” said Phillips, who was a healthy scratch in San Jose March 7. “If it happens, there’s nothing you can do about it anyway I don’t want to be traded, but sometimes you have to laugh about it and try not to think about it. You can’t listen to it. “We joke in that if a team like Tampa Bay is interested in you, at least you’re going to go somewhere…
Penguins, Lemieux scam fans
So, the season starts, the Penguins are playing poorly, attendance is down, Jaromir Jagr is in Washington and Canada wants the gold. What to do? Throw Mario Lemieux on the ice and tell everyone he feels great. Compare him to Michael Jordan and give him a free pass to the All-Star Game and Olympics. The result? The Penguins sell lots of tickets and merchandise and revenues skyrocket in Pittsburgh. But now that Lemieux’s gold medal is on display in his trophy case - and in the face of a tough playoff race - Mario is suddenly “too hurt to play.” What a scam. The Penguins should refund every ticket sold after “the big return” and Lemieux should return his gold medal. And to think we, the fans, fell for it. Shame on all…