Mighty Ducks Thread II

[Walzy]

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks have signed University of Maine forward Dustin Penner to a three-year contract.

The 6-4, 230-pounder was awarded the University of Maine's Jack Semler Award, given to the team's most improved player.

[Gast]

Und hier die Fortsetzung:


He was demoted to Langau’s version of an East Coast Hockey League team (i.e. second tier minor pro) but Gerber decided to make a positive from a negative. He worked at righting what he thought was a wrong. He spent hour after hour working on his physical fitness and he would stay long after most of his teammates went home taking shots from the coaching staff and anyone who would fire a puck at him from all angles.

“If they had a practice at 3 a.m., you know he would have been there,” says Larry Huras, a Swiss television commentator here at the world tournament who coaches Lugano of the Swiss National League.

It took two years for Gerber to work his way back to Langau’s main team and once he arrived on the scene, he made people take note right away.

“The key is he came from nowhere,” says Huras. “Here was a guy nobody really knew anything about and he was a great goalie. All of a sudden Langau has a great goalie.”

Gerber’s coach in Langau was ex-NHLer Brent Gustaffson, a Swede who encouraged his netminder to leave his homeland to pursue his NHL dream.

Gerber had a great season for Langau and he caught the attention of the Mighty Ducks, who made him the 232nd overall selection in the 2001 draft.

Gustaffson steered Gerber to Sweden and the goalie joined Farjestad of the Swedish Elite League for the 2001-02 season and helped the club win the league title. He had a 1.64 goals-against average and two shutouts in 10 playoff games.

He was ready for the NHL and joined the Mighty Ducks for the 2002-03 season after he had a strong showing for Switzerland in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Gerber settled in as the back-up to Jean-Sebastien Giguere and had a 17-23-7 record for the Mighty Ducks over the last two seasons.

Mighty Ducks coach Mike Babcock coached Canada here in the Czech capital and warned his players before Canada played Switzerland not to take the Swiss lightly because of who would be in net.

“He can be a one-man wrecking crew if you do not get traffic and lots of second chances,” said Babcock about Gerber. “If we don’t play, the goalie can beat you by himself. If he can beat you in the National league by himself, he can beat you here by himself.”

The Canadians won 3-1 but Gerber was not to blame.

Gerber enjoyed his time with the Swiss team here at the worlds. He played meaningful games and there was pressure on the Swiss to perform. Hockey is second to skiing as the country’s most popular sport.

“It is always great to be back around these guys,” said Gerber.

The Swiss were pegged to be one of the top eight teams in the tournament and they fared well against heavyweights like Canada and the Czech Republic. They lost both games in the preliminary round but scored a huge victory for their hockey program when they defeated Germany for the first time in 5 years to qualify for the medal round.

Gerber stopped 28 shots for the 1-0 shutout win over the Germans and Olaf Kolzig of the Washington Capitals.

“It was a big game for Switzerland,” said Gerber.

It was a year ago that Gerber was part of the Mighty Ducks’ glorious run to the Stanley Cup final, and he knows the chances of winning the NHL’s ultimate prize don’t come around every day.

“It was a lot of fun,” he says about the Cup chase. “We’d like to have another chance and I think we have the team.”

Switzerland faced Slovakia in the quarter-finals and lost 3-1 and Gerber was the reason the score was not lopsided.

Swiss Coach Ralph Kruger knows he has a gamer in Gerber.

“You like to have a guy like him in net,” says Kruger. “He gives our team confidence.”

Babcock said Gerber can only grow from the experience he had here.

“Everyone who plays in this event gains confidence. He is a star,” says Babcock. “He is a great person and a great athlete and we are really fortunate to have him. He is an NHL starter for sure. He thinks he is the best and he has a chance to be a starter in the NHL.”

Gerber headed back to Switzerland after the championship to prepare for next season. He’s a celebrity in his homeland but the media are respectful of his privacy.

The Swiss media follow the Mighty Ducks closely and carry daily reports on how the team is doing.

“Every time he plays, there is something in the papers,” says Huras. ‘They always have something on him. The Swiss follow the NHL and the Swiss press makes sure their readers know how Gerber is doing.”

And Gerber has shown that he does it his own way.

“I don’t think he would have made the NHL if he would have stayed in Switzerland.” says Huras.

He didn’t and that’s why he is in the NHL.

[Gast]

Hier ein ganz intressanter Artikel zu Martin Gerber:

PRAGUE â€" Martin Gerber is his own man.
Gerber was one-half of the NHL contingent on Switzerland’s National team at the World Hockey Championship. He joined the team at the end of the NHL season and found himself surrounded by players he left behind a couple of years ago to chase his dream of playing in the NHL.
“Swiss players have it good at home and that’s why they don’t leave,” Gerber said during a break at the 16-team world tournament. “They don’t really have the drive to leave.”
Gerber’s teammates on the Swiss National Team live a comfortable life. Most of them have tax-free six-figure contracts with their club teams, with a free car and a free apartment thrown in for good measure.
The Swiss National League is on solid financial group and they have job security. Teams can only have three import players on the roster and trades are few and far between. Teams play 48 regular-season games.
The league schedule takes breaks to allow the National team to compete in money-tournaments throughout Europe and the Swiss were together for almost three weeks prior to the start of the world tournament.
What else could a pro hockey player want?
How about the NHL and winning the Stanley Cup?
“I just wanted to play in the best league in the world,” says Gerber.
But to do that, Gerber had to make a few stops before arriving in Anaheim.
Gerber is from a region in Switzerland called Emmental and it’s located 15 miles from the city of Berne. Emmental is cow-country and residents of the area are as laid back as Californians.
European hockey is based on a vertical model. Club teams like Gerber’s former team, Langau, operate a feeder system where kids join at a young age and work their way up through the system until they play for the top team.
Gerber rose through the Langau system and when he was old enough to make the jump from junior to the elite National League (which is the name of Switzerland’s top league).he was told he wasn’t good enough to play at the elite level.

[Gast]

Leider haben die Cincinatti Mighty Ducks das Spiel 7 in Milwaukee mit 5:1 verloren,aber trotzdem kann man mit der Saison sher zufrieden sein.Schlussendlich war entscheidend,dass Milwaukee sehr heimstark gespielt hat und auch im Powerplay um einiges besser war.Möglicherweise hat auch die fehlende Playoffehrfarung Anteil am Ausscheiden gehabt,aber man kann es nicht ändern.Beste Spieler in den Playoffs waren für m ich Tony Martensson und Stanislav Chistov sowie Ilya Bryzgalov,auf den ich mich schon jetzt in der NHL freue.Außerdem bin ich überrascht,wie gut sich Correy Perry ins Team eingefügt hat,2 Punkte in den ersten 3 Profispielen sind nicht von schlechten eltern.

[Gast]

Schade,die Ducks haben in Milwaukee 6:3 verloren.Jetzt kommt es heute Nacht zum entscheidenden Spiel 7.Wieder einmal war das Überzahlspiel von Milwaukee entscheidend,das darf heute nicht mehr passieren.Tore für die Ducks erzielten Stepp,Hankinson,aber der dritte fällt mir jetzt nicht ein.Bryzgalov mit44 Saves bei 5 Gegentoren.Chistov hat wieder gepunktet und auch Perry wieder mit einer Vorlage.

[Gast]

Yes,heute haben die Cincinatti Mighty Ducks Milwaukee mit 3:1 im heimischen Stadion geschlagen und führen jetzt mit 3:2 in der Serie.Überragender Mann auf dem Eis war Bryzgalov mit 36 Saves.Klasse Spiel von Martensson,wieder ein Tor und eine Vorlage.Auch Chistov setzt seine scoring street fort,wieder ein Assits.Am meisten freut mich aber,dass Correy Perry gleich bei seinem ersten Prospiel einen Treffer erzielt.

First period: 1. Cin, Hankinson 3 (Chistov, Perrault), 13:43.

Second period: 2. Mil, Haydar 4 (Gamache, Zanon), 8:09.  3. Cin, Perry 1 (Martensson, Armstrong), 13:58 (ppg).  4. Cin, Martensson 3 (Armstrong, Bryzgalov), 19:03.

[Gast]

Die Mighty Ducks haben Corey Perry,den man letztes Jahr in der ersten Runde gedraftet hat nach Cincinatti beordert,damit er dort Ehrfahrung sammeln kann.perry hat eine klasse Saison hinter sich,war in der OHL mit 40 Toren und 73 Vorlagen zweitbester Scorer.

[Gast]

Leider haben die Cincinatti Mighty Ducks heute Nacht mit 3:4 in OT verloren.

First period: 1. Mil, Hrkac 3 (Pivko, Smith), 14:41 (ppg).  2. Mil, Farrell 1 (Pivko), 19:43.

Second period: 3. Cin, Perrault 1 (Martensson), 2:50.  4. Cin, Hankinson 2 (Parenteau, Brookbank), 10:19 (ppg).  5. Mil, Darche 1 (Hrkac, Murphy), 16:44 (ppg).

Third period: 6. Cin, Chistov 5 (Stepp, Brookbank), 3:27.  

Overtime: 7. Mil, Henderson 1 (Farrell), 12:21.


Entscheidend war heute das PP,Milwaukke mit 2 Treffern,die Ducks mit keinem einzigen.Chistov weiter in Topform,schon sein 5 PO-Treffer.Jetzt muss man in Spiel 5 zuhause unbedingt gewinnen,dann siehts sehr gut aus.

[Gast]

Sehr wichtiger heimsieg heute Nacht,jetzt kann man dann im nächsten Spiel zuhause mit 3:1 in Führung gehen,dann ist man schon fast weiter.War wirklich taktisch klasse gespielt,man hat den Admirals bei weitem nicht so viele Chancen gelassen wie in Spiel2.Natürlich Hammerspiel von Bryzgalov,freue mich schon ihn nächstes Jahr in der NHL zu sehen.Aber es war von der ganzen Mannschaft gut gespielt,auch Coach Brad Shaw war sehr zufrieden: O-Ton: This was the best game since I've been here for 2 years.

[Revan]

Ein sehr gutes Spiel der Ducks, welches mit dem Sieg belohnt wurde. Tor des Abends schoss Martensson im Powerplay. Bryzgalov hatte 22 saves und seinen 1. Playoff Shutout. Jetz führen sie mit 2:1 in der Serie.

[Gast]

Schlechte Leistung der ducks,da ging überhaupt nichts und Upshall konnte man auch nicht stoppen.Jetzt kann man vielleicht heute wieder in Führung gehen.

First period: No scoring.

Second period: 1. Mil, Haydar 2 (Shiskanov, Pivko), 2.22 (ppg).  2. Mil, Upshall 1 (Hrkac), 11:59.  3. Mil, Hrkac 2 (Haydar, Henderson), 14:49 (ppg).  4. Mil, Haydar 3 (Tiley, Murphy), 16:20 (ppg).

Third period: 5. Mil, Upshall 2 (Schultz, Hutchinson), 3:07 (ppg).  6. Mil, Upshall (Hutchinson, Haydar), 16:46 (ppg).

[Revan]

und das 2. Spiel 6:0 verloren......
Ilya Bryzgalov hatte 25 saves von 29 schüssen, danach kam Eddy Ferhi und hatte 15 saves von 17 Schüssen.Es schien ein hart geführtes Spiel zu sein. 30 Strafen wurden verhängt, 17 gegen Die Ducks und 13 gegen Milwaukee. Diese haben die Admirals auch häufig genutzt. 5 Powerplay Treffer konnten sie so erzielen. Vielleicht sollten die Ducks heute Nacht etwas fairer zur Sache gehn....

[Gast]

Die cincinatti Mighty Ducks haben das erste Spiel in Milwaukee mit 5:4 nach OT gewonnen.

SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Milwaukee - Simon Gamache (powerplay) (Libor Pivko, Andrew Hutchinson) 5:30
Cincinnati - Dan Bylsma (Nick Smith, Pierre Parenteau) 15:20

Period 2
Cincinnati - Stanislav Chistov (unassisted) 0:46
Cincinnati - Chris Kunitz (Tony Martensson) 17:24

Period 3
Milwaukee - Tony Hrkac (shorthanded) (Greg Zanon, Mathieu Darche) 4:22
Milwaukee - Wyatt Smith (powerplay) (Simon Gamache, Darren Haydar) 9:08
Milwaukee - Darren Haydar (Timofei Shishkanov, Kirill Safronov) 13:54
Cincinnati - Pierre Parenteau (Mike Mottau) 18:49

OT
Cincinnati - Stanislav Chistov (powerplay) (Tony Martensson, Mark Popovic) 8:32


Wieder mal klasse Spiel von Stanislav Chistov,wie es aussieht beendet er die Saison doch nocht gut,wenn auch in der AHL.Mannschaftlich eine sehr gute Leistung,allerdings muss sich das Penalty Killing verbesseren,möglicherweise kann man schon am Sonntag die Vorentscheidung schaffen.  

[Gast]

Yes,sie haben es geschafft.Klasse Spiel,sowohl von der defensive mit einem gut aufgelegten Bryzgalov,denn 34 Saves gegen den Ex-Meister sind nicht von schlechten Eltern,alsu auch von der Offensive.Ich denke,es war eine gute Entscheidung,Chistov nach Cincinatti zu schicken,vielleicht schließt er seine schlecht Saison mit einem Erfolgserlebnis ab.Martensson hat unglaublich gut gespielt,er soll ja auch in der nächsten NHL-Saisonin der NHL gespielt.Klasse Spiel auch von Glenncross,ich sags euch,aus dem Jungen wird noch was.Jetzt kann es richtig weit gehen,im Team herrscht eine große Euphorie und Milwaukee ist auch keine Überemannschaft.
Calder Cup,wit kommen! ;D

[Revan]

Jawohl, Die Ducks haben auch das 2. Spiel gegen Aeros gewonnen. 2 Tore durch Chistov,Tony Martensson mit 4 Assists. Außerdem trafen noch Armstrong,Popovic, Mottau und Glencross.
Bryzgalov mit 34 saves.
so jetzt wartet Milwaukee im Viertelfinale.