Going up Hill(er)

There's something that is so undeniable between Jonas Hiller and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

An excellent on NHL's main site

"He's a great kid. People always think we're in a competition, but I don't believe in that. He's a teammate and I want him to be successful. When I play, I don't compete against him, I compete against the puck. I'm sure he approaches the game the same way. Everything he's done so far, every success he's had in this league he's earned it by working hard." -- Ducks goalie, J-S Giguere

"Even though he doesn't play and I know he's not happy with the situation ... even through the all of the circumstances, he's a great guy," Hiller said. "He's not mad at me or anything. He tries to help me and that makes it easier and I'm definitely very thankful for his help and having him around."

There's absolutely no way to deny such a strong friendship, and their friendship goes beyond an artificial ice surface. Giguere is one reason why Hiller is where he is, other than of course Francois Allaire  and it looks that Pete Peeters isn't doing too bad with the Ducks' goalies. Giguere has given Hiller excellent advice on playing in the NHL and both goaltenders have bounced advice off of each other as would any pair of goalies or just goalies in general. From the start Giguere told Hiller not to hesitate to ask for advice if he needed it. Giguere is as classy as one can get. It comes to competition when one isn't happy where they stand and everyone who not only in sports, but life in general is going to feel as if something isn't fair; the fact that they're not advancing/they were demoted some way, some how but it doesn't necessarily they'll blame it on another person.We've all been through something similar or will and that's just life and life is like a game only there is no do overs, in life we are stuck with what we get; we can't change the past; we can't guarantee the next day will be guilt
free, what we can guarantee is how we run and control OUR own lives. And guarantee the fact of aiding others; it can come through advice, just your own presence, it comes through charity. It can come anyway.

Hiller is definitely excited to be playing for his country in the Olympics; he's played in Switzerland basically his entire life, this is where he started his love for the sport of hockey. And to play for your country is undeniable. There's something saying, your country appreciates your skill in the particulary sport you're in. The Winter Olympics is one big leap for the sport of hockey. As it is the main event among all other of those amazing winter sports. There's no denial that any of the Ducks love the fact that they're representing their respected country.

This is many of the Ducks very first Olympics; the NHL players were allowed to play in the Olympics in 1998. The first timers are as follows: Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Jonas Hiller and Luca Sbisa. Hiller has played  extremely well this season which may of included some struggles earlier in the season but that is also a result with the entire team. Hockey is a team sport and one thing has to translate to another and of course it includes goaltending. A goalie isn't one who is skating in front of the opposing net nor is he focusing on scoring the next goal; sure, a goalie wants to score a goal and the exhirliration is there but he/she isn't going go into the game saying; I have to score to help the team win. That's not their job their job is to stop the puck and to help in a win.

With Hiller's big play and his confidence he's going to help his country get far, he may even  help push one of the  big teams out of a medal contention and help in winning one of the three medals. Of course as said, it's not going to be just him. The team in front of him is going to have to play, hence the word team. Look for Switzerland to be in the headlines, win or lose. The Swiss are on the outside looking in from a hockey perspective. And the Ducks player behind the mask is going to pour heart into the Games; as with the rest of the players. Hiller is going to be amazing for his team. Scotty, Bobby, Pears, Getzy, and Sbisa will be amazing for their countries as well.

Hiller can alll be an OCD over his gear; he stares at his leg pads for a lengthy time, as has been said by Brian Hayward and John Ahlers. He is one of the rare players who sharpens his own skates along with Doug Shearer. Hiller and Shearer take turns as Hiller wants the blade perfect, which helps him better push off. He is one of the best butterfly goalies in the league, he also has a very simple style of play:

"Even though he's a very athletic guy, his style of game is very simple," Giguere said. "He tries to always be between the puck and the net and that gives him the better chance to make the save. ... All around, he's got all the tools to be a very successful goalie here."

Ducks lose to Captials but Giguere impresses

J.S. Giguere had a start last night against the Eastern Conference Washington Captials; the entire fanbase look as if it was just a one man show as at least 90% of the fans were wearing an Alexander Ovechkin #8 jersey.

Giguere had his first start in three weeks and he more or less wore down the term "cold goalie" as he had stopped 44 shots allowing 5 goals. The shots on goal (49) were the most the Ducks allowed within the season; and also it made itself into the franchise record list. Hiller was given a rare rest after the loss to Atlanta the night before. Ovechkin scored one goal on Giguere;  where there was no defense and Giguere had left a wide open net. He [Giguere] was swimming the first 5 minutes of the game but had his composure after those first five. Ovechkin scored about 36 seconds into the game. Steve Morissonn, Mike Knuble, and Alex Semin had two goals for the Capitals. Dan Sexton had the Ducks lone goal for the Ducks as the Ducks lost 5-1. In the third, Giguere more or less doesn't do too well as his dehydration medical issue may also be a factor. Giguere is put onto fluids after every game he plays and there was absolutely no doubt he had the saline packs "secured" to his body after a tough and busy game.

Giguere is trying to show that he still has it and  it looks as if he does still have it. We saw Giguere last night despite his normal struggles, he was absolutely amazing in a game where he was put in against the hottest offensive team in the league and the fact he had sat on the bench for three weeks; the only time he had anything shot against him was when he was in practice; otherwise his teammate and a very good friend of his [Hiller] got all the playing time ahead of him. The Ducks had troubles clearing the zone, and also the Capitals got away with some obvious calls. Ducks got away with some but the Capitals especially the shoulder to Bobby Ryan's face which had him fall to all fours favoring his face by the Ducks bench; before he quickly got up as the game was still going on. Ovechkin was the one who hit him in the face as he had moved up his shoulder to face level instead of down, where it would of hit Bobby's chest. Todd Marchant was also high sticked in the third and Matt Beleskey had an obvious interference call by Eric Fehr but Fehr was not called; Beleskey got frustrated and slashed Fehr's stick which he was called for with the ol retaliation.

It is unclear if Giguere will start against Tampa Bay on Friday but he does deserve another chance; as the Ducks didn't give him too much of a chance and Giguere played extremely well. 44 stops was one of his career highs and definitely his highest for the entire season he's played. And we raise our glasses to both the Ducks goalies! Jonas Hiller and J.S. Giguere great job boys! The Ducks as a team has also been better than the past games. Raise your glass to them boys too!

Justin Pogge 32 stops

The Anaheim Ducks named No 3 goalie had 32 stops in a win for the San Antonio Rampage. The Rampage were on the road and made the trip to Toronto; playing the Marlies. On this particular location, Pogge felt at home as the Marlies were his former team. Pogge was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Leafs owned his rights, until Brian Burke traded him to the Anaheim Ducks for a draft pick.

The Rampage won in a 4-3 shootout victory, Justin Pogge stopped all four shooters from the Marlies.


Justin Pogge is still a potential NHL goaltender despite his struggling in Toronto. He struggled at the Ducks training camp, but like all the other goalies including Hiller and Giguere played to his heart's desire. The most thing that matters is the heart of a player. Take Dan Sexton and Matt Beleskey for instance; the two have not only displayed their skill on NHL ice but have also played their tails off and put tons of heart into their play. As I've said before Heart and determination are going to get a player a lot further than just skills alone. This displayed in just about every prospect at training camp and it refers to Beleskey and Sexton during the Ducks games. These two are in their first NHL season. Beleskey played two games last season but was potentially sent back down for conditioning. He is more NHL ready than he was when he first broke into the NHL last season. Sexton is undrafted and played for Bowling Green the Ducks took grabs of him and most people hadn't even heard of this kid. Now he's surged through fans and media's veins. Sexton was also told throughout his life; he'd never make it into the NHL due to his small stature. He is listed at 5'10 but that height is a compliment to him.

And in the aspect of heart; Pogge was no different as he tried his best but just couldn't quite get a steady grip. Pogge was also an emergency call up  as back up to Hiller to replace an injured Giguere earlier in the season. Pogge did not get playing time; he was merely there in case either Hiller was pulled or if he got injured. Which Hiller had neither of those (thank God for Hiller has been injury free so far: knock on wood)

THN has  recapped the the game here

The Pielmeier: He's a thriving prospect

You can't just deny someone standing there and smiling. And when I attended Anaheim Ducks Training Camp, as with other people, I waited for players come out to get items signed by them. The first day I went a trickle of players came out to sign including: Todd Marchant, Evgeny Artyukhin, Corey Perry, Ryan Carter, Steve Eminger, and J.S. Giguere The second day, like more than half the team came including all of the players listed, only Perry had a coach honking at him telling him to move out of the way, so he only got 2-3 fans before he took off. There were also a lot of prospects, who didn't go to the Double Tree Inn bus, instead they hitched rides from the veteran players.


Timo Pielmeier had come out with Jonas Hiller. It was the day before the first pre-season game against the rival San Jose Sharks. A fan had asked Giguere, who was out before Hiller and signing for fans.  If he was goig to start he said: "No. Pielmeier is starting" Giguere also said his name a couple times, not exactly sure how to pronounce it.  A few players came and went signing for fans including Teemu Selanne flashing around his usual Teemu smile. A smile that radiates through everyone he comes across. He's just that type of person who would brighten anyways day even if he wasn't a professional athlete. A lot of the players were fairly happy and had smiles on their faces except for may a couple of rookies, who didn't receive the news they wanted. Some players were dead quite among their fans while signing but for the most part, they had a smile on their face such as Brett Festerling. When Joffrey Lupul came out I said to him "Welcome back to the Ducks" and he said with a big smile on his face "Thank You" and signed what I gave him.

Being back on track with Hiller and Pielmeier who both had walked to Hiller's Blue Toyota Prius. He had parked right next to the fence and fans surrounded him wanting his signature. Pielmeier stood behind him waiting for him patiently but I'll always remember Pielmeier with a huge smile on his face and he had a brand new Toronto Blue Jays hat on. I had asked Hiller about his mask, when was supposed to come out, and if he were excited for it. At that time he said:

"I'm not sure but it's probably not going to be before the end of the pre-season" and he also said "Yeah, I'm excited for it."

Hiller also nearly ran over Pielmeier, as the passenger side was way too close to the fence for Pielemeier to even open the door two inches. So Pielmeier waited for him to back out his car, he stood by the side basically out of the way. Still a huge smile lay across his face. Hiller backed up at an angle and Pielmeier had to move so he wouldn't get hit.

Ryan Carter signed for me twice, the second day I had bought in a foam helmet and he said: "Now that's a helmet" and I shyly replied "It took me forever to find it" Which it didn't because it was in the team store. {Sorry Carts I lied there)

But not only did Hiller have a whole thing with his car. Bobby Ryan had come out and was leaving, but Ryan Whitney had parked his car across near the fence and Bobby had troubles getting out. Bobby had a blue Chevy SUV and Whintey's car was an Cadillac Escalate. After fans had helped Bobby navigate his way out he stopped and signed for all the fans that wanted his autograph. Whitney also ran into something, which Sheldon Brookbank took care of as Whitney was still in Anaheim Ice doing an interview.

A police cruiser had sat from about a 200-300 ft distance, people looked back and gave odd looks to the vehicle asking why there was a cop there. The officer then pulled up as some fans had cleared away and the fans had moved to the side to let the officer through. Brookbank had stepped up to the cruiser and asked her:

"What's up?"
"Is that your car?"
"No, but whats the problem?"
"Someone complained  that there's a car parked along a red curb"
"It's Ryan Whitney's. He's inside doing an interview right now.

Even a fan got into convincing her that Whitney didn't deserve a ticket. To remind you, Whitney probably didn't realize the curb was red as the gate was open and blocking the curb.

The officer eventually left without giving anyone a ticket and fans speculated saying "It was probably a Kings fan who called"  and other teams were thrown in the mix among the clamor such as a Sharks fan or a Stars fan. But the Kings fan stood the strongest in speculation.

As Brookbank had finished signing for fans a few fans still stuck around waiting for Whitey in which somewhere along the lines while waiting referred the Escalate "We go green" 


Definitely great personal experience among the players including the "Rink Tours" speeches.

Alright, this has gone a little off topic from Pielmeier: It all started with a smile too.

Pielmeier has definitely been one to impress, he has taken over the reigns as a starter with the Bakersfield Condors; which also helped send Justin Pogge to the San Antonio Rampage. Pielmeier has gotten a considerable amount of minutes with Bakersfield, where he is as happy as can be. He has helped lift and keep his team at the head of the division, he had been named goalie of the month,and he is currently one of the highest ranked goaltenders in the ECHL. Pielmeier had smooth transitions, lateral movement, and he was quick and quirky in training camp. He had gotten th chance to switch up with  Hiller against his former NHL team the San Jose Sharks playing on NHL ice.

He also nearly by complete accident hit Giguere in the face with his stick but Giguere avoided a what would be painful collision with a 20 year old kid not paying attention to his surroundings and had a huge smile on his face as his colored jerseys were doing laps and a couple other exercises. Giguere and Pielmeier had been skating going back to their starting positions with the rest of their teammates; Pielmeier had his stick against his chest and sticking out. He was not really paying attention to anything or anyone around him . Giguere whipped away his head and said with a chuckle "Whoa!"

Pielmeier is tied in ECHL victories (18) with a 2.80 GAA. Timo came from the San Jose Sharks with Nick Bonino in exchange for Kent Huskins and Travis Moen at the tradeline. The Ducks seeminly have two excellent prospects from that trade; look for Bonino to be defending the blue line in a Ducks sweater sooner than later.

The OC Register's Curtis Zupke provided an excellent link from the  NHL.com prospect futre site discussing Pielmeier's career and the four goalie coaches he went through trying to find a style of goaltending that was right for him.

Pielmeier is an upbeat persons, loves life and hockey. He was born in a country where hockey is  smaller than it is in California. Pielmeier is definitely premiere.

Hiller's dreams fulfilled

The Orange County Register will have a series for the Ducks Olympians, getting to know the player better, who is headed to the Olympics. Ducks have eight players attending the Olympics to represent their country with the heaviest representation for Team Canada, the second is a tie with both Team Finland and Team Switzerland, with Team USA coming in third for the amount of Ducks players representing their country:

Team Canada:Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer, Corey Perry
Team Finland: Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne
Team Switzerland: Jonas Hiller, Luca Sbisa
Team USA: Bobby Ryan


Jonas Hiller has seen a dream unfold in front of him. He's going to be able to set his foot on the World's Biggest Stage in Athletics: The Olympics.

He's representing a country that is more looking in than being in hockey wise. As his country is not considered a "Big 7". Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, Sweden, Russia, and the USA.

In Canada and the United States where the biggest dream for a male hockey player is to make the NHL; the other five countries, their biggest dream is playing in the Olympics to represent their country.While they don't defer playing in the NHL the Olympics is just the biggest accomplishment [not that it isn't for the US/Canada]  This time around; Hiller is no different.  He was named to represent Switzerland and he looks to be the go to goalie for the Swiss.Martin Gerber also born in Switzerland is a former Duck and will help Hiller in the crease.

Hiller, as many international players who's family and friends aren't able to see them play very much he will give his family and friends a big opportunity to play in the Olympics possibly even live in Van2010. Hiller's dream has unfolded as Switzerland will come in more as an underdog than a top runner. He will most likely be able to help his country go far and possibly even take a medal in the Olympics. Being in the Olympics will also unite Hiller with old teammates he played with at home which would give him a huge golden opportunity to catch up with his friends he left behind in Switzerland.Hiller will also be playing with fellow countryman Luca Sbisa; who the Ducks acquired in the Chris Pronger trade during the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Hiller will be facing his teammates in the Olympics as he will be facing Bobby Ryan with his first game in the Olympics. This is assuming he will be starting for the Swiss as the first game pulls nearer and nearer.

And now, not only has Hiller made the NHL with much thanks to Sharks then Bruins center man Joe Thornton who was one player who really helped Hiller be pushed into the system after the second NHL lockout. Former Ducks goaltending coach now the goalie coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs Francois Allaire is a huge reason why Hiller slipped the Ducks jersey over his head. J.S. Giguere was immediately supportive over Hiller telling him that if he needed any help don't hesitate to ask him. Hiller's biggest dream has now been fulfilled he is an NHLer and he is an Olympian. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics is his first ever Olympics and this has completed his dream.

If you realize while watching the video and in general that Hiller always pronounces his "W"s with "V" just completely represents his Swiss-German accent. In German the W is pronounced with the V sound: 

J.S. Giguere stays positive

Love him or hate him. Dispute him or not. Protect him or don't but whatever you do; J.S. Giguere himself is staying positive.

The Ducks have gone with Jonas Hiller more games than Giguere and Hiller has such a strong momentum and he's playing well it makes sense to go with him because you don't mess with a goalies rhythm, only Carlyle did that in the beginning of the season with the "You win. You're in" mantra which he is now going against; in his comments he makes it seem as if it's a dumb idea. It took him awhile to figure that out.

Giguere is hopeful he'll be staying in Anaheim, he became property of the Ducks in 2001 from the Calgary Flames, and has been with the Ducks ever since. He wants to play more games,  as he has only  played five since December 11, 2009 in those five games, he's started only three of those games, the other two he's replaced a fatigued Hiller.

Here are quotes from Eric Stephan of the Orange County Register 
Quotes from Boys in the Crease:

“You’re mentally pushing yourself, trying to stay with it and trying to stay positive,”  Giguere said. “The day to day grind of it is exhausting. But you know, it’s the situation. I believe I can grow from it and I can be a better player from this kind of situation.”

and Giguere on the time he's getting or not; as it known by everyone, Giguere made some comments in the beginning of the season, which made him look bad here's more quotes from him about playing more as a back up that a starter a more positive view:

“It’s really difficult to stay sharp,” Giguere said. ”It’s all about practicing and trying to get the most you can out of it. That’s the situation I’m in right now. I’ve got to make the best of it. Try to make as many saves as I can in practice.
Try to be as upbeat as I can be.
“Some days are super difficult to be. But you know, it’s life.”

“You’ve got to be a team guy and you’ve got to accept your role and this is the role I’ve been given right now,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean that I’m going to accept it in a way. I’m going to push for more. I’m going to strive for more. I’m not going to give up on wanting to be a No. 1 goalie. This is why I play this game. It’s to play. So I’m not going to give up on that.
“I’m not going to expect it to be given to me. You have to work and you’ve got to earn it. That’s what my intentions are. Is it going to work? Is it going to happen? I don’t know. But I’m going to work on a day-to-day basis to get back to that.”

Giguere has said nothing negative against Southern California, he has said he has his wife, Kristin, like it here in Orange County. In the past games, Giguere has been supportive over his teammate congratulating him after wins or just generally being involved with him of bouncing off advice with Hiller.  Giguere wants to stay in Orange County but if he doesn't get the No 1 role he will most likely go to a different team. Of course, one and if not the biggest thing that is being disputed is his massive contract next season, if he does stay he will be paid $7 million; it is unclear if he has recently been asked to waive his NTC as of late; Giguere just says "Go ask GM Bob Murray about it" That being said, the decision so far seems not to be so clear cut behind closed doors. On the front lines it does seem clear cut with Hiller being the No1 as the management has gone more with him than they have with Jiggy. Jiggy is and always will be a very well known and face of Anaheim's goaltending franchise. He's accomplished and set a boat load of records in his career here in Anaheim.

This  so far, is still a wait and see game. As many fans want the Ducks to buy out his contract (much like with Todd Bertuzzi contract though Giguere has a better playing rep than Bertuzzi had with the Ducks) As posted above, Giguere is positive and is more accepting his role, then he is going against it.He believes he will still remain in Anaheim at the trade deadline and he hopes, in practice to get more playing time. Carlyle has stated, if Hiller gets tired or isn't sharp then he is more than happy to go with Jiggy

The Pielmeier: Timo Pielmeier shines in All-Star game.

This picture is quite funny and sexy..He no longer plays for the team that is on his jersey

He was the property of a rival not only is it a sport rivalry(includes the MLB, , MLS (Major League Soccer), NBA and the NFL) but there's this whole contention between the two areas; Northern California and Southern California, long since competitors economic wise,  and particularly just in a general competition wise. Northern California has conspiracy theories against Southern California, from So Cal stealing its water (which would also account for electricity since that is how in part, electricity is run), to the fact that SoCal infected NorCal with the H1N1 (Swine Flu).The two places are different cultures, literally.

He pulled on that rival's jersey at the draft in 2007. A hording Shark swimming and aggressively biting a hockey stick on his chest. Goaltender Timo Pielmeier was acquired  by the Anaheim Ducks last season in exchange for Kent Huskins and Travis Moen. Huskins went over to San Jose still with an impeding, stubborn injury where he did not play the remainder of the season. Moen played with the Sharks for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs.Huskins has since signed a one year contract with the Sharks and Moen signed with the Montreal Canadiens.

Timo was one of the few Ducks prospects to be invited to the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) All-Star game. Shawn Weller and Eric Regan were also the other Ducks prospects invited to play in the ECHL All-Star Game; all three are part of the Ducks' ECHL Affiliate the Bakersfield Condors. Sasha Pokulok  of the Condors was also invited, he was second in the hardest shot competition, only one other player was in the triple digits A.J. Thelen topped him at 101.9 mph.   Pokulok's shots were 101.5 and 101.2. There has yet to be a player to beat out Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins' shot the towering 6'9 255lb defense man clocked the hardest shot in the 2009 NHL All-Star game at 105.4mph. The Western Conference would fall to the Eastern Conference in a shootout with the final score adhering to 9-10. Timo Pielmeier turned away 12 of 14 shots in the third period, two of those in an impressive fashion. Timo  was born in Dreggendorf, Germany and he is a highly regarded goalie in the Ducks organization, he was one in the Sharks organization as well. Pielmeier was one of the goaltenders invited to camp and attached to Jonas Hiller quickly, who fluently speaks the same home language as [Timo] the difference is small as Hiller speaks Swiss German and Timo speaks the original language. (Although, there are different dialects of German and accents, such as between Munich and Berlin)

Pielmeier is 10th in the ECHL with a 2.89 goals against average (GAA) and he is third with 16 victories. Pielmeier is smooth and quick in his transitions, he is athletic, confident and focused in just about every game he plays. Go Timo Go! He is pushing for the No 3 goalie which Justin Pogge, who came from the Toronto Maple Leafs virtually for free (just in exchange for a draft pick) Pogge is currently considered the Ducks' No 3 goaltender.

Hiller Contract

 CONGRATULATIONS TO TROY BODIE FOR HIS FIRST 2 NHL GOALS!

Contracts; the piece of paper which, in sports, keeps players signed to a certain team. This applies for every single professional sport. Including minor leagues to their respective teams.

Bobby Ryan is on of the few players, who must be signed without fail as far as been made public: Bobby's contract talks have stopped just early this season; fans are hoping both the Ducks and him are able to come to some sort of agreement, as Bobby seems to really like the Ducks and was practically raised in Southern California, he also played his non-professional hockey career with the Los Angeles Junior Kings.

With players such as Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer contemplating retirement, if they do this would bring a wide amount of cap space. Of course, no one wants them to retire.There is also the likes of Saku Koivu returning
  Hiller's price is likely to rise; as known Hiller has not signed an extension which will prompt him to stay with the Ducks, who  he was signed by as undrafted  free agent in 2007.


J.S.  Giguere's lengthy and expensive contract may pay a role; neither goalie wants to be sitting on the bench, and Hiller said he doesn't want to just sign he wants to be sure he'll be the No 1 goaltender, and it could from a point be seeing despite the fact that Hiller has had more consistent minutes than Giguere, he is not 100% comfortable with the fact that he will be a No 1 goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks; his performance regulates as a higher pay, double, if not triple what he is being paid now. 1.3 million is his current contract. Since he has not signed an extension, he is an unrestricted free agent. Teams are watching him, a goaltender at his status and performance for since he had stepped in for Giguere and then taken his No 1 spot will not go unnoticed. Hiller stated he, if he doesn't know by the end of the season, or more likely during the season; he will sign with a different team who would give him the starting role on their team.

As of now, it sounds like Hiller is the No 1 goaltender and that Giguere will be asking to waive his NTC, this is very possible, but there's also the possibility of Hiller being gone next season wearing a different sweater. Hiller has been hot, he has only lost one game in his last few starts, and he has been impressive where he has bailed the team out more than once. The team in front of him as also been playing better than they did in the first half of the season. Hiller has been happier with his consistent playing time, as he has stated it is a good sign. Now, the goalie situation needs to be known as a for sure thing.

Giguere has been the face of the franchise goalie wise, and if he does go, it'd be a very sad day considering his tenure and accomplishments in a Ducks sweater.

They didn't have it.

J.S. Giguere replaced the tired Jonas Hiller after Hiller allowed 3 goals, coach Randy Carlyle decided to put in Giguere. Hiller was playing exhausted, as he had played 5 games in 8 days, including the win over the Bruins the night before. The entire team was tired and it showed. The Ducks couldn't convert on anything, let a lone a 3 on 5 man advantage. The hot handed goalie was playing pretty well and a  goal scored against him, was just a lucky bounce. On the Scott Parse goal which came from the point, deflected off of Sheldon Brookbank's leg and went through Hiller five-hole. For some reason, Hiller had lifted his leg at the last second allowing the puck to squeak though his pads. Hiller left after Alexander Frolov  spun around Scott Niedermayer and beautifully passed it to Dustin Brown scored on a wide open net which also resulted in poor play by Ryan Whitney in front of Hiller. As Hiller was leaving, the Staples Center tauntingly and rudely played the song "na na na hey hey hey good bye" Which in reality I don't think that affected Hiller as much as it seems to be affecting Ducks fans. It's something he'd make a comment about [among teammates] but he'd potentially shrug it off and be more unhappy in himself than the commotion with the Kings arena, and the staff etc.

Giguere robbed Dustin Brown on the rush, as Niedermayer's stick broke Brown had a chance to get away from the traffic of play and shoot it in on Giguere who had a very composed and great save on him.

The Ducks didn't exactly have things going their way, but the play from the team overall was poor. Here's a thing that is being disputed the most is Wayne Simmonds goal. The goal will be near the end of the video. If you watch, the referee waves off the goal and he can be heard saying, no goal. Then, the linesman comes skating over to the Ducks' net stating it was indeed a goal for Simmonds. The video then goes to Toronto to rule in was officially a goal. The goal is officially ruled, giving the Kings a 4-0 lead. Giguere had lost sight of the puck, in fact both teams didn't know where it was if you see, Giguere covered it up with his leg and the goal was called due to the mere fact that his foot went over the red line. Now, as the video isn't conclusive watch the puck. It slides under Giguere's leg near the upper part of it, where it is lodged underneath his pad. The puck did not cross the line watch closely. Track the puck on the overhead view. Watch Giguere's leg, the puck remained in the blue paint. Giguere threw back his leg  and the puck was pulled forwards. Now watch Steve Eminger's  stick. He pulls the puck from the paint and look at the positioning of Giguere's head. He looks behind him then looks down at the puck after lifting his leg. You can also vaguely see the puck still in the crease, the black spot. As with Eminger he does pull the puck from the crease just after the ref waves it a no goal. Eminger does put his stick slightly over the red line which his stick is not on the ice, until he pulls it over the line taking the puck OUT of the crease NOT the goal. Even if Giguere did pull the puck over the line which he did not. The goal should of not been called because the puck after the play is wavered down, was not over the line. You can keep going back to the goal watch the whole interaction between the Ducks. Especially Giguere's head and Eminger's stick. Also, if you look into the net, it is not over the line. Its still sitting in the paint. (I'm not sure if the explanation was confusing or not tried the best I could, to dispute this goal) It also comes down to the mere fact a linesman that was about ten feet away ruled this a goal.


 
The hit on Oscar Moller by Bobby Ryan gave Bobby a five minute major and a game misconduct for charging, the penalty came in the waning seconds of the game. Bobby delivered a nice, clean, and aggressive hit against Moller. The referee assigned Bobby with a five minute major and a game misconduct. Definitely over the top. The call was unfair and farther going against the Ducks to add insult to injury in the poor play of the team as a whole.


And lets put salt on the wound forward Saku Koivu on the big second line with Bobby Ryan and Dan Sexton had disappeared in the second, where he would not return for the remainder of the game, he was reported having left the game with a lower body injury.


There were also some good and long fights, including Ryan Carter, Ryan Getzlaf, Sheldon Brookbank and Kings' Wayne Simmonds  . Corey Perry also took a game misconduct after a slashing call. The list for penalties is quite a long one for both teams, mainly the Ducks, who were getting called on nearly every detail, where the Kings would get little calls against.

Hiller is on fire

The Ducks made it their 5th straight win and 6th straight at home over the visiting Boston Bruins. The Ducks would see the first two goals for the Ducks from two rookies; first to put the Ducks on the board was 22-year old Minnesota born Dan Sexton as the second would come from 21 year old, Windsor, Ontario born Matt Beleskey.  For the Ducks, goals would come from Ryan Getzlaf which was also his 100th career (NHL) goal, the game winner would come form someone unexpected, Steve Eminger scored his first goal in a Ducks uniform. Beleksey also has a radio interview listen in here

22-year old Tuukka Rask a big goaltender, standing at 6-3, born in Finland opposed Jonas Hiller.

For the Bruins the goals came from  Zdeno Chara, Matt Hunwick, and Marco Strum. Chara's goal would come up as controversial, which was not reviewed by the league, as the league found no point and there really wasn't a reason to review his goal. Michael Ryder tripped up James Wisniewski and they were both tangled up. Wisniewski went awkwardly into the boards, his back snapping, but he is injury free and was back out on the ice in the same period.

24 year old Troy Bodie just in his fourth fight of the season, fought with Boston's Adam McQuid a line brawl also started when Zdeno Chara f/ace washed Bobby Ryan in front of Hiller's net.Both teams got into shoving matches, even Scott Niedermayer dropped his gloves, pushing about Bruins players.

Teemu Selanne sustained a fractured jaw, as teammate Ryan Whitney shot the puck in and towards the net, the newest Bruin Miroslav Satan blocked the shot, and it deflected hitting Selanne in the jaw. Blood poured from the cut. Head team doctor Tim Clark rushed to the Finn's side, and helped him off the ice along with other Ducks players

Hiller came up big when need be. He's been on fire and he's kept that fire going, he has been in net for the past five wins.  Last season, Hiller helped the Ducks make the playoffs after J.S. Giguere was on leave for personal off ice issues with his family back in his home town in Montreal. He helped the Ducks beat out the President Trophy winners the San Jose Sharks and helped take the Red Wings to game 7, where painful memories would come back to haunt fans but most of all him. Daniel Cleary scored the goal with less than five minutes left in the period and the Ducks just couldn't come back.  Cleary laid on his back after being knocked over and celebrated. Hiller's eyes welled up, holding back the tears, he differed to the referee saying it was goaltender interference,but the ref wouldn't budge. Surely, it was a makeup call for the Red Wings because Cleary did push his stick into Hiller's pads.

You don't miss with a goalies rhythm, especially a butterfly goaltender such as Hiller, Carlyle has stuck with Hiller for the majority of the time. We'll just have to hope, if and when the Ducks lose a game, see if he'll stay in net or if Carlyle has gone back to that mantra. There is an issue stating Giguere, who has been sidelined for the past six games. He's cold. And with Giguere, if he doesn't get consistent play he'll falter in the long run. If he does play, he should have a much more improved team in front.

Hiller, along with Giguere has been fighting for the No 1 spot, which was up for grabs and has been since the beginning of the NHL season.Hiller has shown a lot more consistency in his games, and a tough back to back when he played Nashville and then Chicago, who he absolutely stone walled. Within the past games, Hiller has robbed players, including ended Patrick Kane's point streak. He robbed David Krejic more than once in the game against the Bruins.

A question is still being steered aside, is Hiller the new No. 1 goalie? He very well could be, he has definitely shown no 1 material and his play has improved a lot over the time he first came into this league. Hiller was also a factor in waiving Illya Bryzgalov after the 2006-2007 season. Another question lies, if Hiller certainly is the No 1 goaltender, where would this stand for J.S. Giguere? According to rumors, which have also been confirmed, Giguere gave Murray his last of teams he wouldn't mind going to and the top two teams were the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs two teams close to his home or in his hometown. As it would make sense, what factors in for the Leafs is goaltender coach Francois Allaire, who is most famously known to shaping Patrick Roy signed with the Leafs after 13 years service with the Ducks and heavy work with both Giguere and Hiller.

Hiller has improved reading and reacting to plays through traffic which new goalie coach, Pete Peeters most likely has worked on with Hiller. Also, with puck handling with both goaltenders; Hiller isn't exactly the best goalie to play the puck, as he for  the most part blindly pases the puck in pressure situations because he doesn't know where his teammates are on the ice.Hiller has been on fire, he's set the tone for himself, and while Giguere wants to play he has been very supportive over his fellow teammate. As the two have gotten a long right off the bat. Hiller said, Giguere came up to him when he first came to this league, and said "Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything. I'm here for you"

And the question lies, is Hiller our no 1 goalie? or is he being showcased? Hiller is still in need to sign an extension, which he did not do over the summer. His contract ends this season and unrestricted free agent (UFA) Giguere still has one more year left on his No Trade Clause (NTC) which will pay him 7 million if he continues his career as a Duck next season.

Marco Cousineau

Anaheim Ducks goalie prospect has signed his name on the dotted line. 20 year old Marco Cousineau has signed a three year entry deal with the Anaheim Ducks. Cousineau was one of the four goaltender prospects invited to training camp, which also included J.P Levasseur, Timo Pielmeier, and Justin Pogge

Cousineau has a 3.17 goals against average, with a .906 save percentage, he is 12-15 with Prince Edward and of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Anaheim drafted Cousineau in the 2008 entry draft; he was taken 3rd (87th overall)

He struggled slightly at training camp, but his skill has yet to be foreseen. Who knows, you never know if he'll be a NHL puck stopper, or if he will in the future. Consineau is still in the prime of his development and only time will tell.

Cousineau spent the previous three seasons of the QMJHL's Baie-Comeau and Drummondville


Jonas Hiller has been named the 2nd Star of the NHL this week. Way to go, Jonas! A much deserved award.

Alex Burrows is the First Star (Vancouver Canucks, Left Wing), Jonas Hiller the Second, with Mathieu Garon (Goalie of the Columbus Blue Jackets) as the second

Bath Time

In response to Ahler's question about if he's exhausted:

"Yeah. I'm exhausted. I cant wait to get home and take a bath"-Jonas Hiller

If you've watched him when he came here and now or more over listened to him. His English has rapidly improved.Hiller is fluent in three different languages. German, French and English.

Hassen Sie Jonas Hiller? (Do you hate Jonas Hiller)

Meine: Nein. Ich hasse Jonas Hiller nicht. (Me: No. I don't hate Jonas Hiller)

(My German isn't strong so I had to use a translator thing to be sure I was correct. Hoping to become fluent in Deutsch though.)

Jonas Hiller has been hot lately. He's been helping the Ducks win games, last night Hiller played in Nashville, where the Ducks also won. Less than 24 hours later and after the plane trip to Chicago he was between the pipes where he was absolutely stellar in the 3-1 win over the hottest team in the league; the Blackhawks lost their previous game to the Minnesota Wild in the shootout.

The Ducks are currently on their longest win streak of the season with four wins. Last week, Anaheim would see both of these teams on the road. Nashville and Chicago, the exact same days. The difference was, the Ducks won both of these games, and Hiller played back to back instead of alternating goaltenders the biggest difference was the return of Teemu who did not play against these two teams last Saturday and Sunday. Hiller played in both games and he won the both of them. This was one of the best games Hiller has had all year. A season high of 42 stops but his shutout was spoiled when Duncan Keith got it past a screen, a shot that was impossible for him to read.
Finally, the Ducks are finally putting heart and soul into the game; General Manager Bob Murray and Coach Randy Carlyle had some talking. Maybe Murray should of talked earlier in the season because after his speech we look like a much better composed team.

In the third period, the Hawks were out shooting the Ducks by 17-2. During the game. Hiller stone walled Jonathan Toews on a wrap around and the Patrick Kane, who tried to stuff it in. Hiller also stopped Kane's point streak who had the longest streak in the league. Hiller had pounced on Kane's shot where he left a wide open net.

Stone-walling and winning, this is exactly what this game was for Jonas Hiller, what was more impressive was this was a back to back game. He completely outdid his performance against Nashville. He was absolutely exhausted but he really kept to himself and he was focused. He's fast, he's very athletic and between him and Giguere, there is a different style of play. Hiller is more athletic than Giguere; but Giguere knows this, he has even stated he isn't very athletic and more over, he was actually surprised he made it into professional sports as he said, he is the least athletic in his family.

It looks as if the Goalie Situation is leaning towards Hiller but there is nothing much to say about this right now it seems like management is leaning towards Hiller. Hiller's nickname "Hiller the Killer" kind of got lost in a crowd. It was like walking amongst a huge crowd of people, jam packed at Disneyland, but while pushing through people he lost the person hanging on to him. Only to find it again after frantically but also more calmly as he kept on searching. He has found it and he has kept it with him.

The reason is there is not much to say about this is because, who the hell knows what management is really doing behind closed doors and how they're handling this situation, lets not get too far and deep into this at least right now.

As though, Hiller has been absolutely stellar in his past performances, and lets say in his last four starts in which he's won tonight's victory against Chicago has been his best performance; if not his best this season.


Antti Niemi opposed Hiller and he allowed only two goals, while the final score was 3-1 the third goal came from Teemu Selanne on an empty netter. The goals were scored by Corey Perry, Saku Koivu, and Teemu Selanne Perry had pushed Brent Seabrook off of the puck and put it past Niemi on the power play . Bobby Ryan would get the touched puck by Dan Sexton and Koivu was right in front of the net between two Hawks players. Bobby knew exactly what his linemate was going to do, with the excellent read he sent it over to Koivu who tapped it in past the stunned Chicago goaltender.

Hiller out performed Niemi, but Niemi's game wasn't too bad. Anaheim played a very good and solid game, there were a few mistakes but a team cannot play mistake free all 60 minutes of the game. Ryan Whitney banked the puck off of the post and tapped himself in the head with his stick he could of put the Ducks ahead by 3 if he had the goal. Niemi had kept Matt Beleksey off of the board. Who had a very good play and beautifully wristed it but was ultimately stone walled by that damn Niemi


Now, with this win Hiller can go home and do what he wants and that is BATH TIME! Hiller deserves it. He wants to go home and take a bath and he can do just that. As the Ducks will host the Bruins their next game.

Just some of the Boys

I can't deny really liking or more over loving Matt Beleskey. The 21 year old scored the game winning goal last night against the Columbus Blue Jackets against [Chris] Mason. The goal was assisted by Corey Perry who initially missed the net but Beleskey was there to stuff in the rebound. Beleskey had his second goal of his NHL career, again the goal stood as the game winner. The first one, he had was against the Red Wings off of a Sheldon Brookbank rebound off of Wings goalie Jimmy Howard.

We have a lot of young players on this team who are still considered rookies; Dan Sexton, the rapidly growing popularity of him which is much deserved and Matt Beleskey. One who many people didn't who he was he has definitely started making a name for himself. If that is one thing good coming out of Carlyle, is he placed Beleskey on the top line with young guns Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The Twins have had a lot of success together; not to mention the year of 2003 the Mighty Ducks drafted them. In the same round, both of them are only six days apart in age. They both played together in juniors, including in the Junior Championships for Team Canada.

There is a rundown for both Dan Sexton and Matt Beleskey; Sexton was called up for a tour of duty with the Ducks when the biggest face of the franchise and the biggest fan favorite, Teemu Selanne went down with an injury on December 3 versus the Minnesota Wild. A broken bone above the knuckle in his left hand. Selanne, who hopes to be back against the Nashville Predators, in his return the Ducks will most likely have to make some line changes. With the first line anchored by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzalf, who can work with virtually anyone put on their line may see a different linemate who isn't Beleskey. Beleskey has been moved around constantly and it seemed as if, every shift he was on a different line. The second line was anchored with Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne and their third linemate was being switched around. Bobby [Ryan] was moving up and down the second line, where he'd have success on both lines. The second line has been huge for the Ducks the chemistry between Sexton, Koivu, Ryan has been scoring goals. Joffrey Lupul was one, before his surgery who was switched between lines with Bobby. Lupul isn't coming back anytime soon and he's itching to play but he has to take the precautions with his back.

As fans, we cannot chose who goes where, we can only give ideas... Well have to wait and see once Teemu finally comes back.

Beleskey was an emergency call up for (I believe) Carter, then Lupul went down on his injury and Beleskey, so far has stayed up ever since, and just recently has had wide success. Every player is amazing in his own way and Sexton/Beleskey have really made stride.

I became even a bigger fan of Beleskey when I went to see him and Bobby Ryan at Corona Inline-The Rinks Tours with Bobby, the speaking series which was a speech on "Learning from a Vet" I wasn't expecting to see Bobby let alone Beleskey; since they're hardly vets compared to other players. They did talk about what they've learned as rookies and younger players....and Bobby and John Ahlers, who interviewed the two very much enjoyed ribbing away at Beleskey. It was quite entertaining between the three of them. I had Beleskey's rookie card and got it signed by him.
He was surprised that I had it and he had turned to Bobby and said:

"This is the first time someone has had my card tonight everyone has yours."



He also said: He was going to sign the card in sliver which he did and he even signed his card with 64 on it!

I got uber shy around both of the boys and said nothing to them expect saying thank you for the fact they signed what I bought. Which was a puck for Bobby and of course, the card for Beleskey. After some people were in need of help with my phone camera; I took a picture with the two of them and then left and said nothing until Bobby said: "Nice meeting you" which I turned back and said to the both of them "Nice meeting you, too"

Troy Bodie had his first NHL point of his career. Congrats to him!!

Now, on to the goalies: There's still the ever on going debate about the Ducks goalies. One person likes this guy the other person that guy. Though, in this blog I may of hinted leaning towards [Giguere] over [Hiller] but some times the debate starts to get ridiculous it's as if you can't like both of them. I said to a friend, there is a lot of in fighting with Sharks fans, which there is living up with them for the entire season including playoffs last year deemed just that. There is also infighting with Ducks fans. I still don't understand why both cannot be liked at the same time, even if a person is more for the other goalie. Which ever you're a fan of [more].

Jonas Hiller has started more games than J.S. Giguere lately and he has won his last two games against the Red Wings and the Blue Jackets where he has performed up to his name "Hiller the Killer" seeing Hiller playing well is much of a relief; I'm a believer in Ducks goalies: Giguere or Hiller. Always positive thoughts towards them, even while critical towards their performance but was also put on the backs of the team in front of them.

Here are a couple quotes taken directly from Curtis Zupke's article. Quotes from Boys in the Crease:
On his playing time and hinting towards the competition with his fellow goaltender, J.S. Giguere:

“I’m playing a lot, so that’s a good sign,” Hiller said. “I’m not thinking too much about No.1 or No.2 spot. Once I get the call, I just try to play as good as possible and I think it’s worked out lately. I hope I can keep it going, but I also know I have to keep it going. (If not), it goes quick. I’m out of there again. I don’t want that to happen.”

and about the team in general his honest opinion

“We’re still not consistent enough,” Hiller said. “I think there’s still some games where we’re a little up-and-down. It’s not easy, but I try to keep the team in the game as long as possible. (But) definitely we’ve been playing better than earlier in the year. We’ve kind of found our (defensemen) pairs. I definitely think we can be more solid. Every game, every night we should be able to do that, not just once in a while.”

Management has definitely showed more favoritism to Hiller than Giguere, along with the media, which people have noticed. In reality, one thing that is slapping Giguere in the face is his contract. Which is being thrown in around for the reason of him him being traded. Hiller also is indeed of signing an extension and with Giguere, he has the no trade clause which if he does stay he will be paid 7million in the final year of his contract. Carlyle isn't the best when given a goalie situation, he seems to favor one goalie at one point then he'll lose and favor the other goalie at the other point. Thus, making either goalie unsure of himself but still works his hardest in a team that cannot keep with its consistency in winning. We'll have to see how the road trip goes since the Ducks have won their last two and five straight at home.

Carlyle has stated he wants to go with the goalie that will give the best chance but he never says who will start in a game regardless of a performance of the goaltender. The "Win you're in" was and still is a over the top ridiculous mantra. According to both goalies: Giguere and Hiller they have said they too as with the fans, are unsure who will start. No one knows who will be starting until the night before or the day of the game. There you'll have to use the word assume.

To start off the roadtrip is deja vu as with last week. The Ducks will see Nashville Saturday and Chicago on Sunday. Hiller was put in the loss against Nashville and Giguere in the loss against Chicago. As always, the schedule for back to back games of the starting goaltender is unsure. We don't even know who is starting tomorrow against Nashville as with Carlyle it seems just because one goalie played well against the previous team doesnt' mean he'll start. He started doing this after he 'ridden' of the 'win you're in' mantra.

Again, Giguere will need more of a chance to see how he can do since Giguere was hot but was shafted when he lost which probably ruined his momentum. Hiller had a hot streak but again was shafted by Carlyle.

Alright, this is an update because some how I managed to forgot to include Bobby's amazing goal.
Bobby on a Break away with STL defensmean Eric Brewer. Just him and Bobby and Bobby with his nifty hand work shoots it through Brewer's leg and next thing you know is it's behind Chris Mason and Bobby ties up the game at two a piece! Then came Beleskey's goal and Todd Marhcant's empty net. James Wisniewski put the Ducks on the board first:

Ducks/Hiller fend off the Wings

There was a lot going on in the hockey world, two very important games were scheduled yesterday day. Including Team USA vs. Team Canada. The game was wonders and we saw all four goaltenders in the World Junior Championship. The US would go on to win the Gold medal in overtime. Mike Lee allowed three goals against in which the third goal scored against him he didn't handle the puck very well.

First, I watch the USA win the Gold in a very intense game against Canada. I filed down my nails pretty short watching the game. Jordan Eberle, wow, talk about clutch. He scored on Campbell TWICE within 5 minutes. Once on a power play and then the second, he scored full strength which tied the game. It then went into OT for 20 minutes but John Carlson would be there to notch in the GWG against Jones, both teams pulled their goalies. Lee was having a bad game he allowed 3 goals on 7 shots and all three were ones he should of stopped. Campbell replaced him. Then after Allen (Canada) allowed 4 goals, a couple goals he shouldn't of let in especially the one where the captain Derek Stepan would get it past Allen; Allen badly mishandled the puck. D'Amigo had a good read slotting it and Allen left it right on the door step didn't pounce to cover it up. Stepan would have it behind the blue line.


Lee was crying on the US bench after allowing the three goals against. The Canadian fans constantly taunted "Campbell" to the point of just getting annoying, but it was like opposing fans for Turco who do nothing but chant Turco's name. Which is funny because the two goals Campbell allowed was when the fans weren't chanting his name. The US was very disciplined with an exception of a couple of penalties; Canada not so much [disciplined] but the US did the right thing to pull Lee out at the time he was pulled; . Campbell was very poised, he is a very good goaltender, but I wouldn't say the Ducks should draft him because we already have too many goalies. Palmieri had an assist in the game.

Jack Campbell hasn't been drafted by a team yet this year he is eligible to be drafted by an NHL team. Campbell will most likely be a high draft goalie pick. The other American goalie Mike Lee has already been drafted. (Which I didn't know at the time. I thought he wasn't drafted just yet but via Twitter it was happily pointed out to me by The Goalie Guild) Lee was very good in the comeback win against Sweden but he just didn't have what Campbell had against the host Canadians of the Gold Medal game.



Jack Campbell was impressive, he had been through out the entire tournament, the pressure was on him when he replaced his fellow goaltender Mike Lee after he was pulled. Campbell came in and didn't allow any goals until the last 5 minutes of the game. He's the point of consideration. On New Years'Eve; Canada would win in a shootout and who was in net? Jack Campbell. A heart had sunk, broken into little pieces, as Campbell had skated off the ice while Canada celebrated. The US looked on, holding back the tears but they felt a disappointment. Some of them didn't hold back the tears, but the players knew this game wasn't the gold medal game, it sure was a road to it though. Campbell didn't start for the gold medal round, Mike Lee was in. Lee, who was very good in the win 7-3 win against Sweden was the one who was called upon to start the game if not the entire game. Only, Lee struggled and allowed three bad goals in which he was pulled and replaced by Campbell.
The game was on Canadian soil, a team who has won the gold since 2005.

The chanting didn't faze him. It didn't nudge him. The chanting showed him coming up with huge saves, robbing of the red jerseys; it pumped him up more than that it was intended to do which was get under his skin, to throw him off of his mental game. The Canadian fans would go quiet after he made save after save but less than five minutes later, the entire arena would rise with the sound of "Campbell. Campbell. Campbell. Campbell. Campbell."

In the last five minutes, the Americans would need to kill a penalty, the Canadians had the second best power play in the tournament. Campbell had the goal scored on him in which he shook it off and recomposed himself. The goal was from Jordan Eberle and then Eberle, who's team was full strength would strike again, tying up the game 5 a piece. Campbell had fallen on his back and complete devastation filled the eyes behind the mask, he would throw his hands over his face, and basically said "I can't believe I let that one in. I shouldn't of let it in. That was all me"

The game would go into overtime, where Campbell did not lose anything, he kept to his mental state. He didn't let that tying goal bother him. 15 minutes later, the USA would play again, 20 minutes of overtime. Campbell stopped shots that came to him but so did Jones. Only Jones made a mistake, the Americans would win the gold from a goal by John Carlson would strike gold as he put it behind Jones.

Campbell's debut in the World Junior Championship came with a 3-0 shutout over Switzerland.

Campbell never let anything get to him. He had himself completely concentrated, he didn't flinch at a goal. He was there mentally and that is the biggest thing for a goalie. Sometimes, for a goalie especially at his age, his mind tends to stay with the last goal against it throws him off of the game and the only benefit is mistake after mistake after mistake. In this case, it wasn't Jack Campbell. He didn't let it creep on him. Jack Campbell he's going to be something in the NHL and lets see if he can keep to his play. Now when Campbell enters the NHL he'll have the undeniable pressure of "was it just that one time. Is he a one hit wonder? Will he succed in this league among very elite players"

He learned from Bandit's goaltending school
But regardless, always keep your eyes open for Jack Campbell.

Also, as there is already a link within the blog, here it is again: Justin of The Goalie Guild has written a nice piece on Campbell. "Fool me once, Fool me twice"

Allen and Jones were the Canadian goaltenders.

As for the Ducks, it was a huge night. Rookie Matt Beleskey had his first NHL goal of his career. The 21-year old Beleskey had the biggest smile on his face, he threw his arms up in the air, inhaled the air in complete surprise, and exhilaration. The goal was whacked at after Sheldon Brookbank had shot the puck from the point. Beleskey hit in the rebound off of Jimmy Howard's pads. Corey Perry was the first one to his line mate both who had huge smiles on their faces, Perry said something to Beleskey and they both embraced in the usual hockey hug as the rest came for the hugging huggles of a goal. Not to mention one who finally scored and got the first one off of his back.

Matt Beleskey told this to the Ducks main site on his first [NHL] goal:


"It took awhile, but it’s nice to get it off my back," said Beleskey, who was playing in his 22nd career game. "Hopefully, there are more to come. Playing with Corey and Getz, they are pretty good guys to play with if you want to score a goal. They moved it up top and then it went d to d. Brookbank took a good shot and I was in the position to whack it in there."

Not only did Beleskey score his first NHL goal but the one who put the Ducks on the board first, Saku Koivu notched his 200th NHL goal.



Hiller only allowed on goal against in the Ducks 4-1 victory the only Red Wings goal came from Valterri Fillpula. Hiller had a big fat red butt in front of him. Holmstorm screened him and Hiller was atop his crease. Hiller a not so aggressive goalie didn't push Holmstorm out of the way and Fillpula would score to spoil Hiller's shutout.

Corey Perry finally got a goal with the return of Ryan Getzlaf who banked it off the boards as a Wings player overturned the puck and another Wing player mishandling it in front of Howard. Perry would score his goal scoring drought.

Saku Koivu, Matt Beleskey, Corey Perry, and Kyle Chipchura who had an empty net would be the potential scorers for the Ducks. With a dreading 8 game road swing, thsi is what the Ducks needed. In the the games against Dallas, Nashville, and Chicago the Ducks would not account for any league points.

Hiller was very good and he is a huge reason why the Ducks won. He robbed more than a few Red Wings players including a lateral kick save both on the initial shot and on the rebound. Hiller made a stop on Malbtry's break away attempt. Hiller brought his A game, which both goaltenders have been doing expect maybe a bad game or two, but the team in front of them didn't play. they didn't score to go ahead and they had sloppy plays in front. But this game, the Ducks had much of a relief on the fans, the Ducks would win in REGULATION to notch the 2 points to help climb the standings. Here's to hoping the Ducks do it again

Not Just the gatekeepers

The 17-19 year old Americans beating Sweden in the Semi-Final in the World Juniors, the Americans, who were the underdog going the game beat Sweden 5-2 the fifth goal was an empty net. Sweden is considered as being in the "Big 3" for the WJC Canada, Russia, and Sweden in that exact order. The sight of the United States winning, and the American flag being raised to the rafters with the American boys hitting their sticks against the ice after the instrumental US National Anthem has ebbed the pain of the rough spot the Ducks are in and the 5-2 loss to the very talented Chicago team today.

For the most part in the game against Chicago Giguere looked as if he were out of position, he usually doesn't put himself out of position that much; he challenged the shooter too far out of his crease and for the most part the Blackhawks capitalized on it. But goaltending is not what it's all quaked up to be as both Giguere and Hiller are being criticized.

Hiller was solid in the loss to the Nashville Predators last night but the team in front of him was terrible, there were too many turn overs and sloppy players. Ryan Whitney was struck with a puck and came back to the bench with stitches below the side of his mouth. Whitney just doesn't fit in the phantom system of the Ducks, he causes a lot of turnovers and would benefit much better on a different team. In reality, Whitney isn't bad he just isn't what we call a Duck which probably helped push him off as a roster spot on the US roster which doesn't mean he won't replace the injured Paul Martin, and he just very well may do just that if Martin, who sounds doubtful for the Olympics Whitney's name can be etched into the US roster. The team doubted Hiller in Nashville in fact they let the "L" be ticked on the score sheet next to his name. For the Predator fans as their favorite two chants were "Hiller. Hiller. Hiller. YOU SUCK" and "Hiller. You Suck!" the chants didn't seem to faze Hiller whatsoever because he stuck with his strong play if not stronger when the taunted started up.

Giguere has also been good defending the net with a poor team in front of him. The Ducks just may need to fire Randy Carlyle to shake up the team. There has been two teams around the league, the Flyers and the Blue Jackets, who have canned their coach due to poor play the teams have produced for the Ducks to keep to their current coach can't really be explained at least not from a fan perspective. Other then the fact as all Ducks fans know Murray said: "Randy isn't going anywhere"
A majority of fans believe otherwise but the keyword is fans and fans can't do anything about it.

The Ducks are missing three of their top scorers: Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, and Joffrey Lupul. Corey Perry is virtually a nobody without Getzlaf centering on his line. Carlyle is constantly switching lines having ridiculous combinations, then changing them up a second later. The Ducks aren't such a strong team when it comes to depth and Carlyle is relying off of a defensive system, which clearly the Ducks lack in. Not being able to put the puck in the back of the net at convenient times, when letting a team get ahead and letting stay ahead isn't going to help. The only thing it'll help is rivals and help bury the Ducks in the standings. Jiggy and Hiller can only do so much because it's not like they have every chance to score, as with the skaters in front of them. Nor could they fend off every single puck especially sloppy play but the defense in front of them. We don't have lack in goal as much as some people want to believe that is probably one if not our strongest in Anaheim. The goalie situation has been widely criticized. Carlyle doesn't say anything on who's starting who's not and had the "You win. You're in" mantra, which was terrible and he still seems to keep with in just slightly even though it's been said, he's "done away with it"

One of the most disappointing is those who are most likely going to retire in a Ducks jersey by the end of this season; it isn't exactly the best way to retire, with the team that seems so strong falter.

For the most part Giguere and Hiller aren't why this team is doing so poorly, it's the lack of depth and injury on the team. Last year, it was doubtful the Ducks would make the playoffs but we did and this year it is doubtful but we still can make it. Getzlaf and Teemu are supposed to be back this week and the return of Getzlaf would drastically help Perry. Lupul is expected to be out for at least another month if not two after his back surgery to repair a herniated disk.

Giguere and Team USA

Battle of California

Ever wonder why Giguere hasn't been considering for Team Canada Olympic wise. He has represented his home country in his career. He had been in the World Cup wearing Canada's colors. In 2000-2001 his stats show he was there but he didn't play any game. 2003-2004 he was in the World Cup where he played two games and won both of them where he had a shutout and had only one goal scored against him. Those two games accumulated his save percentage has a .50 and in total he played 120 minutes. At least he represented and played for his country at least once in his career but is the World Cup enough? 2006 Olympics Canada has the same exact goalies (with the exception of Turco; Marc-Andre Fleury is in place of him for Van2010) as they do going into the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Giguere has seen it all in the NHL he has played with Anaheim for nine years, after the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007 he signed a No Trade Clause, he has to waive his NTC if he wants to be traded. He'll give a list of teams he wouldn't mind going to if he were to waive his NTC; Giguere is one of the main faces of the Anaheim Ducks franchise. In his career with the minor league teams, the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes), the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks his career goals against average is 2.51 with a career total of .914; he has as of December 26, 2009 he is 214-175-36-32 (wins, losses, over time losses, shut outs) in 2003 he was only the fifth player in history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy on a losing team. In 2007 he helped Anaheim win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history and on the West Coast. There is only one other team who won the Stanley Cup currently in the Pacific Division: Dallas Stars (1999)

While Giguere doesn't have a long list of NHL awards, he is still a very good goaltender. In reality, Canada most likely cannot look past Brodeur and Luongo. Brodeur is a legend he has broken just about every single record ever set by a goalie including most career wins passing Patrick Roy who when he retired had 551 wins and most currently Brodeur has passed by one game Terry Sawchuck's shutout record. Sawchuck had 103 shutouts. Broduer has three Stanley Cups all with the New Jersey Devils and all three of those came with the Ducks current Ducks Captain Scott Niedermayer. Here are all of Brodeur's records:

* Most regular season wins (557)
* Most shutouts (record achieved during 2009–10 season)
* Most shutouts, regular season & playoffs combined (118)
* Most overtime wins (45)
* Most consecutive 30-win seasons (12)
* Most consecutive 35-win seasons (11)
* Most 40-win seasons (7)
* Most games played by an NHL goaltender (record achieved during 2009–10 season)
* Most total minutes played by an NHL goaltender (record achieved during 2009–10 season)
* Only NHL goalie to score a game-winning goal
* One of two NHL goalies (Ron Hextall) to score a goal in both the regular season and the playoffs

Luongo, as Giguere doesn't have a long list of NHL awards/records, and he has never won the Stanley Cup; you can also judge on the teams he's played for such as the Florida Panthers before he was controversially traded to the Vancouver Canucks; who he carried last season and into the playoffs. Luongo can be said to be an odd goalie he can come up big but sometimes he is absolutely terrible. Overall, he is a very talented goaltender. In regards to Brodeur this Van2010 is most likely his last Olympics, as in 2014 he will be 41 years of age. Brodeur has played with the Devils for 14 years. One of the main reasons in 2006 Giguere had a huge target on his back; he was being constantly criticized for the size of his pads they were too big. The controversy carried into much later after 2006 he has currently changed his pads to a smaller size.

Giguere is and has been ovelooked for all those reasons.




TEAM USA:

There's talking about Brian Burke's selection for Team USA people are stating how the American team is relatively weak especially on the blue line. This assessment is disagreeable. Burke stated during the summer he was going to go younger with the Olympic roster and he kept with his word. And the Ducks fans know Brian Burke, he's not exactly one who would break his word of promise. Now with the omissions of an American Legend Mike Modono the exclusion of him has been surprising, there were also Bill Guerin and Scott Gomez who were on the omissions list. Here is the roster for Team USA:


USA Olympic Team

Forwards:
David Backus
Dustin Brown
Ryan Callahan
Chris Drury
Patrick Kane
Ryan Kessler
Phil Kessel
Jaime Langebrunner
Ryan Malone
Zack Parise
Joe Pavelski
Bobby Ryan
Paul Stasny

Defensemen
Eric Johnson
Jack Johnson
Mike Komisarek
Paul Martin
Brooks Orpik
Brian Rafalski
Ryan Sutter

Goalies
Ryan Miller
Jonathan Quick
Tim Thomas

The team for the most part except for three player are inexperience at the Olympic level. While the US is inexperienced this team has strong defense, such as Eric Johnson, Jack Johnson, Oprik and definitely Rafalski. Offensively Team USA is very good as well Bobby Ryan, Ryan Kesler, Zach Parise, Patrick Kane. Gritty fowards, hard hitting defenseman the US isn't weak we're inexperienced at most. THN has made a very good assessment of the USA. The United States will match up well to Canada and Russia this roster will not be obliterated by those two countries. In fact they'd be fairly even match ups.

Ryan Miller has showed huge strides and he is the main reason for where the Sabres are, he has stood on his head and he has impressed many, becoming one of the best American born goalies. Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy laslt season and while his stats have fallen this season he still is a very good goalie and his name will ring around every where especially younger American born goalies. Jonathan Quick, maybe he was a surprise and he'll most likely be the third goalie behind Miller and Thomas but there had been a tough decision for that position; Craig Anderson. His season with the Avalanche has been nothign short of amazing, he got off to a very hot start. Quick has also been a hot goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings; last season, he was overlooked and he hadn't exactly done things to establish himself near the beginning of the season and most of the season. Erik Ersberg was the No. 1 goalie or Los Angeles, but Ersberg would be beat out by Quick. Anderson and Quick is a tough decision to chose for the American third goaltender spot but Burke wnet with Quick over Anderson. Quick could be good enough next Olympics to back stop Ryan Miller; as with Brodeur this is most likely Tim Thoma's last Olympics he'll be 39 in 2014 unless he decides play in 2014 maybe he will?