Welcome to Snipe City, a weekly column looking at hockey from 36 Crazyfists singer, Alaska native and huge hockey fan Brock Lindow. 36 Crazyfists’ new album, Time & Trauma, will be released tomorrow (17) on Spinefarm Records. You can read about that here.
Well, here we are three weeks into the four-week Euro tour and plenty of hockey talk going on within our camps. Games come on pretty late over here, but we have managed to catch a couple games on the gadgets and had a good bro down in the bus lounge watching the Flyers vs. Blue Jackets game the other night. Philly, who has decided to take the hard route to the playoffs, coughed up a third period 3-1 lead and ended up losing 4-3 in OT. On the upswing, they are still grabbing points in eight consecutive games so the playoffs are within reach, but we need help in all directions.
Brushing up on all the league highlights, I came across the game Cody McCloud of the Colorado Avalanche had against Dallas the other night. He is one of those players that just plays hard-nosed, whistle-to-whistle hockey. He ended up with two fights, a bit of cheap shot, and no points to find himself as one of the three stars of the night! Colorado ended up winning 4-1, as well. Nice work kid!
This is the time of year where, for teams on the bubble, every game is a must win and it gets pretty interesting as the unanswered questions unfold with the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline approaching March 2 at 3PM ET. Last year, the trade of Marty St. Louis to the New York Rangers happened on deadline day and was probably the best for any team that made moves. The right winger helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final with 15 points in 25 playoff games, including the overtime winner in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final. He was also an inspiration for playing after the death of his mother during the second-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Jump across the pond with me for a second. Last week, I brushed upon the British Elite League for a brief history of the game over here. For any of you that were wondering how the league is stacking up, here are the standings as of today.
2014/15 LEAGUE STANDINGS
| Pos | ELITE | GP | W | RW | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | GF | GA | PIM | STK | P10 | |
| 1 | Braehead Clan | 42 | 28 | 26 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 59 | 155 | 115 | 972 | 0-1-0-0 | 6-3-0-1 | |
| 2 | Sheffield Steelers | 41 | 27 | 24 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 58 | 147 | 108 | 595 | 2-0-0-0 | 7-1-0-0 | |
| 3 | Cardiff Devils | 42 | 26 | 21 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 56 | 164 | 121 | 900 | 3-0-0-0 | 5-3-0-1 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Panthers | 41 | 24 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 54 | 131 | 109 | 729 | 0-3-0-0 | 5-4-0-0 | |
| 5 | Belfast Giants | 43 | 24 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 52 | 153 | 119 | 785 | 0-3-0-0 | 3-5-0-0 | |
| 6 | Fife Flyers | 43 | 19 | 15 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 142 | 154 | 777 | 0-1-0-0 | 5-5-0-0 | |
| 7 | Hull Stingrays | 38 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 118 | 133 | 506 | 3-0-0-0 | 4-3-0-1 | |
| 8 | Coventry Blaze | 43 | 18 | 13 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 108 | 132 | 632 | 6-0-0-1 | 7-2-0-1 | |
| 9 | Edinburgh Capitals | 41 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 101 | 169 | 690 | 1-0-0-0 | 4-4-0-1 | |
| 10 | Dundee Stars | 42 | 11 | 4 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 97 | 156 | 762 | 0-2-0-0 | 2-8-0-0 | |
My “Fight of the Week” goes to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Brett Connolly and Nashville Predators’ Anthony Bitetto. This dust up was quick and punishing! Blazing fast rights were delivered by Bitetto for a decisive win. Well done, bud.
Condolences go out to the family of Steve Montador, a veteran of 571 NHL games. He started his career with the Calgary Flames, spending four seasons with the club and helping the Flames reach the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. Montador also played with the Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks. RIP brother.
Well that about sums it up over here in the UK and I’ll be moving into mainland Europe in a few days, so I will further my research and coverage of the Euro leagues as well. Our record Time and Trauma hits the shelves tomorrow. Give’er a listen for me…
Keep your head up,
Brock
