NHL Jersey fouls

This blog is about sports!

And.... a new segment, called: Jersey Fouls

This Jersey Foul belongs to: Jeff Veillette

Jersey Foul: LUONGO Leafs sweater.

Why: This premature stamping could prove to be true but what if and Luongo goes elsewhere? Philly or...

At the end of last season it was wildly (not widely) rumoured that Luongo wanted to play in the Manatee state (Florida.)

Yeah, back in Florida.

But Luongo seems like the right fit in Toronto's...here's an over priced and and ripened guy, right near the end of his career.

Read the sentence below out loud (twice & with a French accent)

"I hate it here...we go to Flor-ee-da and get da' money"

-Denis Lemieux,  Slaphot.

Jeff Veillette, a self-describing "bad skater, egomaniac, sarcastic jerk, music snob, former fat guy, self-photographer, TTC knowitall, Luongo Leafs jersey owner, hockey blogger." As it reads from his bio on Twitter.

Veilette believes the Luongo trade to Toronto is going to happen. This jersey foul is his foreshadowing of what's to come.

The 21 year-old hockey blogger/writer challenged the Twitter-verse and promised if he received 250 retweets he'd buy a Luongo jersey by the day's end.

Check out his Tweet below.

Veillette received  490  RT's for his Luongo challenge and he was surprised by the reaction.
He stuck to his promise and skated with the jersey at the Harry Gairey rink at the corner of Bathurst and Dundas St.

Hey, Steve Farnham here is the #proof.

Jeff Veillette was skating and playing hockey in his new Luongo jersey.

 In the meantime, Veillette is following the AHL Marlies closely. You can find his writing here at the faceoffcircle.net

                           

Stealth upset defending champs in home opner

A quick game recap - in case you missed it.

The Washington Stealth upset the defending champion Rochester Knighthakws 13-12 in the NLL season opener  in Everett, Washington.

The lone game of the week (don't ask me why?) saw the Stealth build an early 3-1 lead.

Rhys Duch got the scoring started with an overhand blast that beat Knighthawks goalie Matt Vinc farside.

It didn't take the Knighthawks long to answer back as Johnny Powless finished off a cross crease quick stick.  Matt Beers and Cliff Smith got the next two goals for Washington.

It was all Rochester early in the 2nd quarter. Taking the lead after a three goal run, started by Joe Walters. Scott Campbell came in on a shorthanded breakaway and found the mesh, then  Mike Accursi scored on blast from the outside.

Cliff Smith answered back for the Stealth and then it was Brad Self and Cory Vitarelli chipping in to give the Knighthawks their first two goal lead of the game 6-4.  The Stealth wouldn't go away, getting late goals from Athann Iannucci and Smith to tie things at six to end the half.

Cory Vitarelli started the scoring in the third but the Stealth came right back, as Smith hit Dean Hill wide open inside and tied things at seven.

Cody Jamieson gave the Knighthawks an 8-7 lead, doing it himself. Circling across the top, splitting the defence and potting one top shelf from his wrong side in front of the net.

Washington's Lewis Ratcliff had been struggling offensively, firing some untimely shots and missing the net. But he warmed up late scoring to tie the game again at eight.

Vitarelli answered back getting his third of the game and giving the Knighthawks a 9-8 lead after three quarters of play.

Steven Keogh driblled one past Tyler Richards early in the fourth and the team traded goals,  Rhys Duch got his second for Washington and the same for Joe Walters of the Knighthawks.

In all the lead changed back-and-forth five times. The biggest lead of the game for both sides was a narrow two goals.

Rochester had an 11-9 lead late,  until Washington went on three goal run, with goals from Duch his third. Ratcliff scored his second and rookie Mitch McMichael picked up a juicy rebound to pot his first career goal and give the Stealth a 12-11 lead.

Stealth captain Kyle Sorensen took a penalty late and Rochester's Johnny Powless made the Stealth pay with in a behind the back shot and tying things at 12.

Athann Iannucci saved his best for last, springing thorugh two Knighthawk defenders and finding some room on the crease, for the game winning goal.

Iannucci looked as though he was in the crease but the officials reviewed the goal and determined he the ball was released before he fell in.

Notes: The game was clean with no rough stuff and only two penalties aside.

There were several lead changes throughout the game.

The attendance was reported at 7,023 fans.

21 Sports-Beat player of the game was Washington forward Rhys Duch with the hat-trick and three assists. Honourable mention to Cliff Smith who also had the hat-trick.

NLL week one preview

The NLL is set to kick off their 27th season this Saturday and lacrosse fans everywhere (with Internet access) can get in on the action.

The NLL along with the Lacrosse Network have agreed to broadcast all 2013 regular season games live at Youtube.com/tln How do you like them apples?

There is hope, perhaps given the NHL lockout fiasco. The NLL can gain some new fans. At least give some sports fans something to go along with their beer.

Lacrosse in many ways is just like hockey. The two sports share many similarities, from the goalie and out. The easiest way to look at lacrosse is to imagine a hybrid of hockey and basketball together. You have the physicality and contact of hockey combined with the skill and grace of basketball and  what you end up with is a game that is dubbed, the fastest game on two feet.

It's true the NLL is still a niche sport, but those who know it;  love it. Still the game of lacrosse has been growing on both sides of the border and a large part of that has been the coverage of the NLL.

But with only the lone game and in Washington, where the game won't air until 10 pm eastern time, the league has dropped the ball on what should of been a handful of back-to-back games.

The NLL should of used all their resources, pulled some strings and started the season earlier to make up for the lack of the NHL and tap into some new fans who are hungry for competition.

All in all it will be OK. I just want to see some competition.

Week one features a great match up between the defending champion Rochester Knighthawks and Washington Stealth.

The Knighthawks have improved their roster this off season, acquiring Dan and Paul Dawson and a 1st round draft pick in 2016 from Philadelphia. Gone is Paul Rabil who wanted out of Rochester, along with Jordan Hall, Joel White, Rob Campbell and a future pick in 2014.

It gets better for Rochester. As Casey Powell, arguably the best American born lacrosse player in the world is back after spending last season reporting and calling NCAA and NLL games on CBS.

The Knighthawks don't have a weak spot, they still have Cody Jamieson, Cory Vitarelli, Craig Point and Joel Walters on offence.

On the back end, Paul Dawson will help strengthen the core of, Sid Smith, Rory Glaves and speedster Brad Self. Not to forget the man in between the pipes, Matt Vinc; who is one of the games best goalies.

The Stealth look to rebound after a tough season, where they finished last in the league in 2012. Their head coach Chris Hall is back behind the bench after taking a leave of absence midway through the year to battle cancer. The Stealth who won the Champions Cup in 2010 and lost in the final in 2011 were in tough without their head coach, who is back and ready to lead then team.

Offensively the Stealth look strong. Their big three, with Rhys Duch, Athan Iannucci and Lewis Ratcliff will be tough to handle. Iannucci and Ratcliff have built up a special chemistry from their WLA championship season with the Langley Thunder and Duch is one of the games most lethal scorers.

On the defensive end they are led by newly appointed captain Kyle Sorensen and Mike Grimes. They are two big bodied defenders anchor the defence and are a force in front of the net; but they can both move the ball up the floor and help the transition game.

Note: TSN2 will be broadcasting 10 Rock games this season - click here for more.

Toronto Rock goalie Nick Rose is up for the challenge

Nick Rose has worked hard to get to where he is and now he's a starting goalie in the NLL...click here for more

Nick Rose makes a stop on NLL's all-time leading scorer John Tavares. (Courtesy)