Monday Morning Meissnervations

It's Monday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is January 10th, the 10th day of 2011. There are 355 days left in the year.

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Hurricanes beat Thrashers in OT.

Brodeur leads Devils past Lightning.

Stars blank Minnesota.

Hawks pummel Isles on Heritage Night.

Hiller does it again as Ducks blank Stars.

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Today's Birthdays: Singer Frank Sinatra Junior is 67; singer Rod Stewart is 66; actor William Sanderson (Oldham on Lost, E.B. Farnum on Deadwood, Larry on Newhart) is 63; boxer and TV pitchman George Foreman is 62; singer Pat Benatar is 58.

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Concentrating on the now.

USHL Top Plays of Week #14. (Video)

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Today is Peculiar People Day.

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U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team Captures Gold Medal at 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship

Team USA Defeats Canada, 5-2, for Third Gold Medal in Four Years

STOCKHOLM - Paced by a four-point effort from Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.), the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team captured the gold medal at the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship with a 5-2 win over Canada here tonight at Stora Mossen Arena. Team USA finished the tournament undefeated with a 5-0-0-0 record to claim its third world title in four years.

The U.S. went up 3-0 midway through the second period, then held a 4-2 advantage heading into the third frame before tallying an empty netter in the final minute to seal the world-championship victory. The Americans outshot the Canadians by a 30-16 count.

"I'm really impressed with how our team came out of the gates," said Jodi McKenna, head coach for Team USA. "We played consistently well throughout the game - youthful energy, combined with poise and maturity allowed us to control the majority of the game."

Team USA converted on both of its power-play opportunities in the opening period to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

After Canada's Laura Stacey was whistled for cross checking at 6:22, Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) netted her sixth goal of the tournament when she stickhandled through traffic and beat Canadian netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens at 6:56. Nearing the end of Team USA's second power play, Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) skated in from the corner and put a shot over Desbiens stick from the slot at 15:39 for a 2-0 U.S. advantage.

In the action-packed second period, the teams traded a pair of goals each to make the score 4-2 in favor of the U.S.

Layla Marvin (Warroad, Minn.) put one in from close range on the left side of the Canadian net at 12:27 before Canada broke onto the scoreboard at 15:07. Just :22 later, the Americans retaliated with an Amanda Pelkey (Montpelier, Vt.) rebound goal to regain their three-goal advantage, however, Canada closed out the frame with a second goal at 17:33.

Team USA fought hard to maintain its two-goal lead throughout the third period, staving off an urgent Canadian team. Milicia McMillen (St. Paul, Minn.) added an empty-net goal at 19:25 to account for the 5-2 final score.

Megan Miller (Long Grove, Ill.) made 14 saves in the winning effort, while Desbiens stopped 25 for Canada.

NOTES: Team USA was 2-for-3 on the power play, while Canada was 0-for-1 ... Alex Carpenter was named the tournament's top forward and Milicia McMillen was named the top defenseman ... Hannah Brandt, Carpenter and Michelle Picard (Taunton, Mass.) were named Team USA's top-three players of the tournament ... Carpenter led the tournament with 10 points (6-4), while Brandt was second with five goals and five assists, Amanda Pelkey was third with four goals and six assists and Emily Field (Littleton, Mass.) was fourth with nine points (4-5) ... The U.S. roster can be found here ... The eight-nation tournament, played for the fourth time, included Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States ... Team USA captured gold in each of the first two years of the tournament (2008, 2009), followed by a silver medal in 2010 ... Jodi McKenna, the head women's ice hockey coach at Wesleyan Univeristy, served as head coach for Team USA. She was assisted by Brian Durocher, head women's ice hockey coach at Boston University, and Jennifer Kranz, assistant women's ice hockey coach at St. Cloud State University.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
USA 2 2 1 -- 5
CAN 0 2 0 -- 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Carpenter (Savage), 6:56 (pp); 2, USA, Brandt (Field, Pelkey), 15:39 (pp). Penalties: CAN, Stacey (cross checking), 6:22; CAN, MacDonnell (hooking), 13:44; USA, McMillen (roughing), 17:51.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Marvin (Brandt, Sylvester), 12:27; 4, CAN, Fulton (Mercer, Kohler), 15:07; 5, USA, Pelkey (Brandt), 15:29; 6, CAN, Josephs (Zgraja, Kosta), 17:33. Penalties: CAN, Zgraja (roughing), 2:57.

Third Period - Scoring: 7, USA, McMillen (Picard, Brandt), 19:25 (en). Penalties: None.

Shots by Period
1 2 3
Total
USA 9 15 6 30
CAN 5 4 7 16

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Miller, 60:00 5-5 4-2 7-7 16-14
CAN, Desbiens, 60:00 9-7 15-13 5-5 29-25

Power Play: USA 2-3; CAN 0-1
Penalties: USA 1-2; CAN 3-6
Officials: Referee-Debbie Hengst (NED); Linesmen-Therese Bjorkman (SWE), Jonna Partanen (FIN)

Team USA 2011 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championship Schedule
Jan. 1-8 • Stockholm, Sweden

Date Opponent Location
Time (Local/EST)

Thurs., Dec. 30 Sweden# Stora Mossen W, 6-2
Sat., Jan. 1 Czech Republic Stora Mossen W, 11-0
Sun., Jan. 2 Japan Stora Mossen W, 7-1
Tues., Jan. 4 Sweden Stora Mossen W, 10-0
Fri., Jan. 7 Czech Republic^ Stora Mossen W, 14-1
Sat.. Jan. 8 Canada* Stora Mossen W, 5-2
#Pre-Tournament ^Semifinal *Gold-Medal Game


U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team Upends Czechs, 14-1, to Advance to Gold-Medal Game at 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship

Team USA to Face Canada for Gold Medal Tomorrow

STOCKHOLM - Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md.) and Layla Marvin (Warroad, Minn.) each posted a hat trick in leading the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team to a 14-1 win over the Czech Republic in the semifinal round of the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship here tonight at Stora Mossen Arena. With the win, Team USA (4-0-0-0) advances to tomorrow's gold-medal game against Canada at 1 p.m. ET.

"At the start of the game, we weren't quite ourselves," said Jodi McKenna, head coach for Team USA. "After the first period, we remembered who we are and what it takes to be successful and we were able to do that for the rest of the game. We are looking forward to the opportunity to play for the gold medal and we know we're going to have to play our best to be successful against Canada."

Skarupa netted her first goal of the tournament at 6:52 of the first period when she knocked in her own rebound from the goal line on the left side of the Czech net. Just :07 later, the Czechs retaliated with a tally from Denisa Krizova, which marked the first goal scored against Team USA goaltender Megan Miller (Long Grove, Ill.) in the tournament.

The 1-1 score held until the closing minutes of the opening frame when Milicia McMillen (St. Paul, Minn.) forced a turnover in the neutral zone and got the puck across the blue line to Karley Sylvester (Warroad, Minn.), who passed it back to McMillen in the left faceoff circle. McMillen took a low shot that Marvin tipped in the net at 18:47.

The Americans exploded for five goals in the middle period to open their lead to 7-1. Marvin netted her second of the game at 2:49 after Sylvester sent her a pass from the end boards. Amanda Boulier (Watertown, Conn.) was next to score, as she circled through the neutral zone, skated into the Czech zone, wound up and took a slap shot from the right point to beat Czech goalie Lenka Craigova high stick side at 7:00. Skarupa grabbed her second of the game at 9:27, followed by goals from Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) and Emily Field (Littleton, Mass.) at 12:49 and 14:28.

The U.S. piled on seven additional goals in the final stanza. Abby Ness (Roseau, Minn.) scored at 3:50, followed by a McMillen goal at 4:54. Skarupa and Marvin completed their hat tricks at 8:53 and 10:40, before Team USA notched two power-play goals at 15:57 and 18:59 from Paige Savage (Carrollton, Texas) and Ness. Sydney Daniels (Southwick, Mass.) closed out the scoring at 19:06.

Miller made six saves in the winning effort, while Craigova stopped 47 for the Czechs.

NOTES: The U.S. held the 61-7 advantage in shots ... Team USA was 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Czech Republic was 0-for-2 ... The U.S. roster can be found here ... The eight-nation tournament, being played for the fourth time, includes Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States ... Team USA captured gold in each of the first two years of the tournament (2008, 2009), followed by a silver medal in 2010 ... Jodi McKenna, the head women's ice hockey coach at Wesleyan Univeristy, is serving as head coach for Team USA. She is assisted by Brian Durocher, head women's ice hockey coach at Boston University, and Jennifer Kranz, assistant women's ice hockey coach at St. Cloud State University ... Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship. Scores will be designated with #U18wwc ... Follow the U.S. Women's National Program blog here ... Find USA Hockey on Facebook at Facebook.com/USAHockey and Twitter at Twitter.com/USAHockey.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
USA 2 5 7 -- 14
CZE 1 0 0 -- 1

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Skarupa (unassisted), 6:52; 2, CZE, Krizova (Chmelova), 6:59; 3, USA, Marvin (McMillen, Sylvester), 18:47. Penalties: CZE, Kubatova (holding), 4:48; USA, Daniels (body checking), 16:06.

Second Period - Scoring: 4, USA, Marvin (Sylvester), 2:49; 5, USA, Boulier (unassisted), 7:00; 6, USA, Skarupa (Picard), 9:27; 7, USA, Carpenter (Skarupa), 12:49; 8, USA, Field (Pfalzer), 14:28. Penalties: USA, McMillen (cross checking), 10:02; CZE, Tejralova (hooking), 13:34; CZE, Jirsova (slashing), 16:55.

Third Period - Scoring: 9, USA, Ness (unassisted), 3:50; 10, USA, McMillen (Field), 4:54; 11, USA, Skarupa (McMillen), 8:53; 12, USA, Marvin (Sylvester), 10:40; 13, USA, Savage (Carpenter, Skarupa), 15:57 (pp); 14, USA, Ness (Daniels), 18:59 (pp); 15, USA, Daniels (unassisted), 19:06. Penalties: CZE, Vytiskova (body checking), 14:44; CZE, Tejralova (holding), 18:45.

Shots by Period
1 2 3
Total
USA 24 19 18 61
CZE 4 1 2 7

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Miller, 60:00 4-3 1-1 2-2 7-6
CZE, Craigova, 60:00 24-22 19-14 18-11 61-47

Power Play: USA 3-5; CZE 0-2
Penalties: USA 2-4; CZE 5-10
Officials: Referee-Arina Ustinova (RUS); Linesmen-Elena Ivanova (RUS), Kaire Leet (EST)

Team USA 2011 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championship Schedule
Jan. 1-8 • Stockholm, Sweden

Date Opponent Location
Time (Local/EST)

Thurs., Dec. 30 Sweden# Stora Mossen W, 6-2
Sat., Jan. 1 Czech Republic Stora Mossen W, 11-0
Sun., Jan. 2 Japan Stora Mossen W, 7-1
Tues., Jan. 4 Sweden Stora Mossen W, 10-0
Fri., Jan. 7 Czech Republic^ Stora Mossen W, 14-1
Sat.. Jan. 8 Canada* Stora Mossen 7 p.m./1 p.m.
#Pre-Tournament ^Semifinal *Gold-Medal Game

Most Successful World Junior Championship Hosted In USA Comes To A Close

More than 330,000 Fans Enjoyed 11-Day Event

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The curtain has officially closed on the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, the most successful and most attended event ever hosted by USA Hockey.
The 11-day tournament, staged Dec. 26-Jan. 5 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., and Dwyer Arena in Lewiston, N.Y., drew 331,297 fans for the 31 total games (10,687 average per game). The total attendance is second in World Junior Championship history only to the 453,282 that attended the tournament in Ottawa.

A total of 22 of the tournament's 31 games were televised live somewhere around the world, including in the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In addition, Eurosport, which reaches across Europe, televised five games.

In the U.S., the NHL Network U.S. provided unprecedented coverage, airing 15 of the tournament's 31 games and delivering daily reports on its popular NHL on the Fly show.

"This event was a success by nearly every measure," said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. "We knew we were coming to an area rich in hockey tradition and the Buffalo Sabres and the city of Buffalo did a wonderful job in hosting this event."

"The World Junior Championship is one of the events on the calendar hockey fans look forward to each year and Buffalo helped us establish a new standard in hosting this tournament," said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey.

The U.S. will next host the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2018. The 2012 tournament will be hosted by Hockey Canada in Edmonton and Calgary.

NOTE: Tournament merchandise was at a premium during the event with the most popular items being hats and long-sleeve t-shirts that featured the flags of the 10 participating countries .... Some 350 media credentials were issued for the event representing at least 125 different entities ... Previously, the most attended IIHF World Junior Championship ever staged in the United States was in Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, N.D., with 195,771 attending the 31 games.

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The BCS title game plays tonight in Phoenix. Auburn, whom I don't care much about, plays Oregon, which I dislike a lot, being a diehard Oregon State Beavers fan. Do I pick one and root for them, or do I hope for a Pawn Stars Marathon on History Channel tonight?

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The two Tampa Bay Juniors teams, SEJHL and MJHL, were in action this past weekend in Palm Beach, against the Hawks.

On Saturday, Tampa's SEJHL team lost 10-2. Ben Winter and Cody Post scored for Tampa Bay, while Jordan Krueger and Dominic Calandra combined to make 52 saves.

On Sunday, Brendan McGowan, Ben Winter, Michael Pignataro and Milan Lee scored goals, and Dominic Calandra made 49 saves, but Tampa Bay dropped a 10-4 decision to the Hawks.

In MJHL action Saturday, Anthony Feldman had 2 goals and 1 assist, Aaron Gonzales and Pat Trizis a goal and 2 assists each, and Patrick Rodgers and newcomer Doug Thomas 1 goal each, but Palm Beach skated to an 11-6 win. Evan Weiss made 35 saves for Tampa Bay.

On Sunday, Tampa Bay trailed 4-2 after one, but outscored Palm Beach 5-2 in the second, then got the game winner at 18:08 of the third from Daniel Clifford, to beat Palm Beach 8-7. Clifford had a goal and an assist for Tampa, who also got 1 goal and 4 assists from Doug Thomas, 2 goals and 2 assists from Chase Anderson, 1 goal and 2 assists from Paul Lochner, a goal and an assist from Dustin Disbro, and single goals from Pat Trizis and Sonny Mac Currach. Braxton Schulz made 46 saves for Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay's SEJHL team is now 4th with a record 6-16-0-0 for 12 points, while the MJHL team is 4th in the Southern Division with a record of 13-14-0-1 for 27 points.

The next action for the SEJHL team is at the Atlanta Showcase on January 15th, 16th and 17th. The next action for the MJHL team Charlotte Showcase, also on January 15th, 16th and 17th. The opponents for the SEJHL team are yet to be determined, while the MJHL team will play East Coast, Palm Beach and Space Coast, in that order. The next home games for both teams will be against the Atlanta Knights on January 22nd and 23rd at the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex.

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In its third weekend, True Grit finally took the top spot at the box office, pulling in $15 million. Nicolas Cage's Season of the Witch came in third behind Little Fockers. Gwyneth Paltrow's Country Strong opened wide in a disappointing sixth place.


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Haiti: Journey of a lifetime for CFL players.

Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

Visit the league's official website, cfl.ca.

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A hot search item on Google over the weekend was: "Is Facebook shutting down?" It's not, but the source of the hoax is none other than the Weekly World News, which has been making up stories in print -- and now online -- for decades.

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Here's all the Meissner men, one year ago today.






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Here's the NFL Wild Card Round schedule:

At Seattle Seahawks 41, New Orleans Saints 36

New York Jets 17 at Indianapolis Colts 16

Baltimore Ravens 30 at Kansas City Chiefs 7

Green Bay Packers 21 at Philadelphia Eagles 16

Here's the NFL Divisional Round Schedule:

Sat Jan 15th 4:30pm Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

Sat Jan 15th 8:00pm Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons

Sun Jan 16th 1:00pm Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears

Sun Jan 16th 4:30pm New York Jets at New England Patriots

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The History Channel announced over the weekend it will not be airing the heavily-publicized, eight-hour miniseries The Kennedys. Executives viewed the series and decided it just wasn't accurate enough to fit the History Channel's standards. The miniseries' cast includes Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear as Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, and Barry Pepper and Tom Wilkinson.

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Today in Elvis History:

1956 - Elvis Presley began recording his first songs as an RCA Victor artist in Nashville. Elvis recorded "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Was the One," "I’m Counting On You," "I Got a Woman" and "Money Honey." 

1957 - Elvis Presley left Memphis by train for Hollywood, CA. 

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A woman in India has set a new Guinness World Record for dancing for 123 hours. To prepare for her record-breaking attempt the woman would dance for up to ten hours at a time.

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Today in Beatles History:

1968 -The General Secretary of the Movement for the Spiritual Regeneration announced that the Beatles would visit India to attend a transcendental meditation course. 

1969 - George Harrison left the Beatles. 

2003 - It was announced that police had recovered about 500 original Beatles tapes that were stolen shortly after sessions in 1969. 

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Police in Longmont, Colorado, arrested a 52-year-old man suspected of driving pantsless through a Burger King drive-through window at 3:30 in the morning. (What's the big deal? Wasn't BK's slogan for years "Have It Your Way?" Pantless just happened to be that guy's way. Watch where you set them fries buddy!)

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Today in Sports History:

1950 - Ben Hogan appeared for the first time in a golf tournament since an auto accident a year earlier. He tied ‘Slammin’ Sammy Snead in the Los Angeles Open, however, Hogan lost in a playoff.

1962 - The NFL entered into a single-network agreement with CBS for telecasting all regular-season games for $4.65 million annually.

1963 - The Chicago Cubs became the first baseball club to hire an athletic director. He was Robert Whitlow.

1990 - The NCAA approved a random drug testing program among college football players and harsh penalties for drug use.

1995 - NHL owners rejected the players unrestricted free agency proposal (one year at 32, five years at 31) and countered with three years at 32 and three at 31.

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Voters in the southern portion of the African country of Sudan went to the polls over the weekend to vote to start their own country. (So now there's one additional place JetBlue can accidentally send my luggage.)

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Tuesday --

Nothin' Doin'

Wednesday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals 7:30pm EST

Thursday --

Nothin' Doin'

Friday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs New Jersey Devils 7:30pm EST

Saturday --

MJHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs East Coast Eagles 1:00pm EST

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes 7:00pm EST

Sunday --

MJHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Juniors vs Palm Beach Hawks 1:00pm EST

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That's all for today. Have a great day, see you again tomorrow.