Bruins' Walk Off With 2-1 Win

Bergeron to Sturm for the win. Those words will live on in Bruins' fans minds for years, as they witnessed their team's triumph in a truly classic Winter Classic on 01-01-10.

I've got to say that uncharacteristically, the NHL operates this event superbly. The pomp and circumstance of the pregame wasn't boring, and it wasn't overtly commercial like the NFL's pregame ceremonies tend to be. It was cozy, but not corny. Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke as honorary captains, James Taylor singing the Star Spangled Banner, a quiet but impressive B-2 flyover. It was simply whimsical to behold.





Then the post-game was just as enjoyable, a good way to cool down from the thrill of celebrating Sturm's game-winner. Kudos to the NHL for choosing to announce the US Olympic team, and introducing it in such an interesting way. Of course, the icing on the cake was Tim Thomas being introduced for the first time as an Olympian.

Now to the game...

The Bruins irritated the hell out of me for 80% of the contest. The lone Flyers goal beat Thomas because Thomas was beating Hartnell. Hartnell, who is now one of my least favorite players in the NHL, had just crashed in late on Thomas. Sometimes, refs miss these things, other times they just don't care.

I hate the enforcement of rules in the NHL. Refs are strictly literal when it comes to things like free hands and sticks parallel to the ice. But when it comes to the shenaniganry implemented by punks like Hartnell, refs usually let it go.

So the refs didn't police Hartnell, but neither did the Bruins. Both Hunwick and Morris were present in the crease with Hartnell, yet it was Thomas who had to clear him out. What the hell were Hunwick and Morris doing? Their best Hal Gill impression.

I'd been critical of Julien for scratching Hunwick earlier in the season, but now I understand. He is not a good defensive defenseman. And Morris also has his lapses.

For 80% of the game, the Bruins were punked on the boards. "Board Battles Won-Lost" should be a stat kept by the scorekeepers. I'd estimate that Philly won 65% or more of the board battles.



The Bruins shouldn't go out and get a pure goal-scorer of the Phil Kessel ilk. They need some scrappers on the boards. Lucic's return will help alleviate the problem, but I still think the team can get a guy who will win those battles and help out the more "skilled" players. Think Chuck Kobasew.

The Bruins came out hard early, then eased up a bit. Maybe the whole thrill of the event gave them some adrenaline, then it wore off as the game became a game.



But the last 6 minutes of the 3rd was the most exhilarating hockey I've seen from this team all season. They fought and won along the boards. The Flyers had chances to make it 2-0, but the Bruins desperate, flammable, and furious play shut them down. And finally, Morris did something useful, Krejci made a simple pass, and Recchi put it in.

Then there's Marco Sturm. How valuable has he been. I'll never stop reminding my readers that when questions like "Where will Phil Kessel's goals come from now?" were asked, I matter-of-factly answered "Marco Sturm." The German Olympian leads the team with 14 goals.

I was thrilled to see Tim Thomas get this win. He had an excellent game. His only goal allowed was because his defensemen refused to clear out the crease in front of him. He was otherwise stellar, and deserves both the win, and all future Olympic glory.



Back to relative normalcy as the Bruins visit the Rangers on Monday. And I think I speak for a lot of Bruins and hockey fans out there when I say, I cannot wait for this event to return to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I'm going to start saving right now.

-The Commodore

College Bowl Picks/Previews Part VII

Here are my picks for all 5 bowl games on Saturday.

12:00PM - ESPN2
International Bowl - Toronto, ONT
South Florida Bulls vs. Northern Illinois Huskies
No-brainer here. Despite NIU's awesomely devious and creepy mascot, I have to go with the USF Bulls. Both teams are 7-5, but 7-5 in the Big East is slightly more impressive than 7-5 in the MAC.



2:00PM - ESPN
Papajohns.com Bowl - Birmingham, AL
South Carolina Gamecocks vs. UConn Huskies
UConn's 7-5 record doesn't really tell you the whole story. Their 5 losses were by a combined total of 15 points. They never lost a game by more than 4 points. South Carolina is tough, thrashing Clemson at the end of the season. But they did lose 4 of their last 6, and really disappointed. I think UConn wins one for the Big East.



2:00PM - Fox
Cotton Bowl - Arlington, TX
#19 Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Ole Miss Rebels
OSU was knocked out of the BCS by their rival OU. Ole Miss is making their 2nd straight Cotton Bowl appearance, which is a pretty good result for a program now officially on the rise. The Cowboys lost to Houston, Texas, and Oklahoma. They're not great, but they'll represent the Big XII well and win the Cotton Bowl.



5:30PM - ESPN
Liberty Bowl - Memphis, TN
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. East Carolina Pirates
ECU beat Houston in the C-USA title game, thus preventing the Liberty Bowl from being very interesting. I think Arkansas runs away with this one in a romp.



9:00PM - ESPN
Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, TX
Michigan State Spartans vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Disappointment Bowl. MSU was supposed to contend for the top spot in the BigTen, or at least be a factor. Texas Tech lost to Texas A&M. But MSU can't win games. I'll take the Red Raiders here. The game is only 350 miles from their campus, a stone's throw in Texas.



More previews on Monday. Happy New Year!

-The Commodore