Hurricanes trade Irbe to Blue Jackets! - 17th of June 2004

The soap opera between the Carolina Hurricanes and Arturs Irbe ended Wednesday, and one with Kevin Weekes could just be starting. The Canes traded Irbe to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a conditional pick in the 2005 NHL draft. The Canes will pay a portion of the 37-year-old goalie's salary, which is $2.5 million for the upcoming season, general manager Jim Rutherford said Wednesday. Weekes' future with the team is less clear. As a restricted free agent coming off a career year and into his prime, Weekes, 29, is due a significant raise from the $2.35 million he made last season. He was 23-30-11 with a goals-against average of 2.33. Rutherford declined to say the Canes definitely would give Weekes a qualifying offer before July 1, the deadline for signing restricted free agents. If the Canes don't sign him by the end of the month, he could sign with another team, but the Canes would be compensated with draft picks if they didn't match the offer. Rutherford said he has "many options" with Weekes, including a trade. "We have a few things going on with the goalie situation," Rutherford said. "I haven't come to any conclusions there." Weekes could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Irbe became one less option on Wednesday in a deal that lightens the Canes' payroll and ends a strained yet successful chapter in franchise history. Irbe leaves after six seasons as the franchise leader in wins (130), shutouts (20), games in goal (309) and drama. The diminutive and personable Latvian, whom everyone called Archie, sported obsolescent equipment and an amicable disposition in winning fans over as the Canes' No. 1 goalie from 1999 to 2002. He played in an All-Star Game and the Stanley Cup finals with the Canes before his last two seasons turned into an ongoing episode of "As Archie Turns." He lost top goalie billing to the younger, more athletic Weekes early in the 2002-03 season. Shortly after, he had a falling out with Rutherford and former coach Paul Maurice and demanded a trade in November 2002. After compiling miserable numbers during the 2002-03 season -- a 7-24-2 record and NHL-worst 3.18 GAA -- the Canes demoted Irbe to Lowell in the AHL. In September, he was not invited to training camp and eventually was banished to the low minors in Johnstown (Pa.) in the ECHL. Despite Rutherford's vows that Irbe would not be back, Irbe returned in February after free-agent signee Jamie Storr floundered as Weekes' backup with an 0-8-2 record. "I'm disappointed in any player with Archie's experience that ends up playing in the minors," Rutherford said. "But based on the circumstances, that's the way it played out." Irbe spent the final 24 games with Canes, going 5-2-1 with a 2.45 GAA. "He was pretty good in those games," Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean said. "We had talked [to Carolina] about him at the deadline. He's had a history of rebounding in a strong way. We think he'll be a real good fit with [starter] Marc Denis."

Latvian patriotism fuels Irbe - 6th of May 2004

Mention the word "Russia" to Arturs Irbe and be ready for a passionate dialogue about his homeland of Latvia. Latvia gained its independence in 1918, but was invaded by the Nazis during the Second World War and then fell under the rule of the Soviet Union when the war ended. The Soviets may have oppressed the Latvians, but their passion for freedom never diminished. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1990 and Latvia gained its independence in 1991 and it was a decade later when Irbe exacted revenge in the only way he knows how. He was in goal when Latvia beat Russia at the World Championships in 2000 and 2003 and he'd like nothing more to do them in again here at the world tournament in the Czech capital. Irbe has the soul of a poet when he talks about Latvia and its history with Russia. "It was on Independence Day (in Latvia) when we beat them both times and it does not get any better," says Irbe. "It was food for the soul. I do not think I have really cried in my whole career by winning games or winning tournaments, but I cried and I am not in any way ashamed of it. That was the proudest moment being a Latvian as far as I can remember in my whole life." Irbe was asked whether beating Canada would warm the heart in the same way. "It would be big but you can't compare those two teams. It (beating Russia) is more sticking it to the system, sticking it to the oppressors and we have been oppressed for so long. It has nothing to do with the hockey players we play against. "It is in our hearts and bodies and our soul and it (hatred for the Soviet regime) does not have to be taught. It is just there and when you play them you want to beat them and you know what it means does the hockey player for the coach, for the relatives and for the ones that have suffered during the Gulag (political prisons) and all the oppressed years. "It is old granny who does not care about hockey and who never heard about it and then she sees us winning that game and she sings the anthem with us and she says it is the only time I watched sports." Irbe played a role in helping chase the Soviets from his country. The Soviet-sponsored government in Latvia was trying to cling to power as nationalism swept the country in the early 1990s. There were Soviet troops on the outskirts of the capital city of Riga when the people took to the streets in defiance of the government. Irbe was part of the protest movement. "We went on the barricades in January 1991 when there were threats of Russian troops invading the city. They were basically pulling in and were ready to take over the city and people made an unarmed (human barricade), row after row of protection around government buildings and radio stations, televisions. I was just one of them." He was asked whether he was willing at the time to die for his country. "At the time it seemed we were willing to take the chance. Those opportunities (i.e. gaining freedom) in life come very rarely and some people never experience it and it is bigger than life. I am not trying to make us look like heroes. There were hundreds of thousand of people like me. They were proud to be there and to seize the moment of unity and you can't imagine what it is like." The way Soviet hockey was run by them, Irbe had the choice of playing for the national team and receive perks like an apartment and better food or refuse the invitation and suffer the consequences. He accepted, but it was an easy choice to toss the jersey aside when Latvians were fighting for their freedom. Irbe had friends whose parents were sent to political prisons for opposing the Soviets and they were never seen again. People saw me at barricades and said you are not going back to that evil empire? You will not wear that jersey again and I said 'This is it I am turning it, no matter what kind of pressure there is.' It was an easy choice.. Irbe had friends whose parents were sent to political prisons for opposing the Soviets and they were never seen again. The loss of both his grandfathers can be traced to the Soviets. One died fighting the Soviets when they took over the country at the end of the war. The other was able to leave the country for England, but was not allowed to return home. He died before Latvia gained its independence. Irbe knows he is in the autumn of his career and given his popularity in Latvia, a career in politics on the home front could be a route he could take. But he swears he's not interested in politics for an instant. "If I ever want to do something I want to have a team like I have here where I have 23 guys and they are chasing the same goal and they are willing to sacrifice for each other," he says. "If you cannot assemble that kind of team and you can't trust each other ... unless I feel I am part of something like that I am not willing to take a chance." Given his passion and pride for his homeland, Irbe never thought twice about playing for his homeland. He understands he is a role model for young hockey players and for Latvians from all walks of life. "When you get to that position (being a Latvian playing in the NHL), it is a given, it is a must. You have to be proud of your heritage and the people you represent. With that you can give hope to your country that your countrymen can have success on the world stage." And here's hoping he has continued success. Article by Alan Adams (NHL.com columnist), (c) nhl.com

World Championsips over for Irbe and his teammates - 6th of May 2004

Special teams were truly special for Tre Kronor in its quarter-final encounter with Latvia Wednesday evening in Prague. The Swedes scored two power play goals and two shorthanded goals en route to an easy 4-1 win. Sweden will move on to face the winner of the Czech Republic-USA quarter-final on Saturday, May 8. "It was great getting the win," said Swedish Assistant Coach Ulf Dahlen. "It's hard playing against these teams who are lethal on the counterattack. It's hard carrying the play all the time." Latvia's tournament is over, as the small Baltic nation will commendably finish either seventh or eighth overall this year and gain either 1020 or 1000 points in the IIHF World Rankings, depending on the results from the Slovakia-Switzerland game. The Latvians were ranked 10th in the world heading into the 2004 IIHF World Championship. Latvia's last top eight finish at this tournament came in 2000. They were seventh in 1997. Daniel Alfredsson led Sweden with a goal and an assist, and Jonas Hoglund, Dick Tarnstrom and P-J Axelsson added singles. Viktor Ignatjevs had the lone Latvian goal. A beleaguered Arturs Irbe stopped 34 of 38 shots in goal for Latvia, while Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 23 of 24 for the Swedes. The Latvians tried to come out with a more aggressive, physical game than usual, but they ran into penalty trouble early on. Just 2:38 in, Alfredsson set up Hoglund for an easy tap-in in front of the net with the Swedes just coming off a two-man advantage. "We had a great start," said Alfredsson. "It was really important getting that first goal. There was no real flow to this game, but our penalty kill did a really good job." Latvia tried to counter by attacking hard in the Swedish zone, but the Swedes kept their opponents to the outside, and the Latvians couldn't get a good cycle going. Meanwhile, Irbe was forced to make two good saves on blasts from defenseman Niclas Havelid. A Latvian defensive lapse enabled Alfredsson to get loose at the opposition blueline while killing off an interference minor to Andreas Johansson. The Ottawa Senators captain took a long pass on left wing and curled in fast toward the net, picking up his own rebound off Irbe's initial save and tucking it home at 15:42 for a 2-0 lead. The best Latvian chance of the opening period came on a 2-on-1 break with snipers Aigars Cipruss and Sergejs Zoltoks. Cipruss elected to take the shot but was denied by Lundqvist, who came out to cut down the angle. "To get down 2-0 against them, we had to go to the net and put more power," said Cipruss. "But to be honest, we could not find power or any chance to go to the net. We got some chances, but not enough to score." The third, back-breaking Swedish tally came courtesy of Dick Tarnstrom with three seconds left in the first period. His blast from the top of the faceoff circle eluded Irbe, with the Swedes again exploiting a two-man advantage. "Too many 5-on-3's," said Cipruss. "It's very hard to play that way against a good team." "It would have been tough to come back from that," said Irbe. "They have such excellent defense and NHL skaters." The second period, devoid of scoring, was as uneventful as Sweden wanted it to be. Tre Kronor adopted its classic trap formation, signalling they had no intention of giving the Latvians any glimmer of hope. Lundqvist looked solid stopping an Atvars Tribuncovs slapper during a Latvian power play, and, later on, a close-in Zoltoks backhand chance. At the other end, Irbe made a scintillating stop off a PJ Axelsson one-timer from the right faceoff circle with 4:31 left in the middle frame. Just 1:11 into the third period, the Latvians got some life when Viktors Ignatjevs's drive from the line found its way through traffic in front and then Lundqvist's legs during a Latvian power play. Latvia started trying to use point shots to get to Lundqvist, instead of its trademark passing game down low. But their failure to screen him adequately meant a series of routine saves. At 9:09, Axelsson put the finishing touch on the Swedish victory when he picked off an errant pass attempt at center ice, walked in on Irbe and beat him with a backhand deke for the 4-1 lead. Irbe did his best to keep his team alive, pokechecking Andreas Salomonsson on a breakaway, but the Latvians didn't have enough offense or go-getter spirit remaining to mount a comeback against the disciplined Swedes. Andreas Johansson got back into action after suffering a right shoulder injury in Sweden's earlier game against Japan, but he did not get on the ice after the second period, with Magnus Kahnberg, the Swedish Elitserien goal-scoring champion, taking his ice time. "We thought his shoulder would hold up but apparently it didn't," said Dahlen. Dahlen mentioned that Sweden has two remaining spots for additional players, and is currently carrying six defensemen. "Some teams play with six defensemen through an entire season. That's a consideration we'll have to make regarding any decision about player additions." 15,290 spectators took in the early quarter-final game at Sazka Arena. The atmosphere was relatively subdued, with many of the boisterous Latvian supporters having headed home after the Preliminary Round. Article by Lucas Aykroyd, (c) ihwc.net

Latvia cracks quarter-finals with win over Austria - 3rd of May 2004

The Latvian offense couldn't have come alive at a better time. With a 5-2 win over Austria in Prague Monday evening, Latvia has made the quarter-finals at the 2004 IIHF World Championships, although its final seeding will depend on the result from the Qualifying Round finale between Switzerland and Germany. Having lost their last game, the Austrians are now eliminated from quarter-finals contention, a disappointing conclusion to a tournament in which the national team showed some remarkable progress and fighting spirit. Nonetheless, they'll be back in the top group, as usual, when they host the 2005 tournament in Vienna and Innsbruck. This was the first game in which Latvia has scored more than three goals at the 2004 IIHF World Championships. Its previous best output was in a 3-1 Preliminary Round win over Kazakhstan. Sergejs Zoltoks, Aleksandrs Kercs, and Arvids Rekis had a goal and an assist apiece for Latvia, while Atvars Tribuncovs scored the winning goal and Aigars Cipruss picked up two assists. Christoph Harand and Oliver Setzinger replied for Austria. Goalie Arturs Irbe made 16 saves to preserve the win for Latvia, while his Austrian counterpart Reinhard Divis had 21 saves. The Austrians opened the scoring 2:35 in, as Phillippe Horsky fought off two Latvian defenders behind Irbe's net and centered the puck to Christian Harand, who fired it in high before the goalie could get across. It was Harand's first goal and point of the tournament. The Harand goal put the Latvians back on their heels, and they were more cautious in their breakout patterns for several minutes afterwards. Then they started to come on. Aigars Cipruss got off a decent shot from the slot on Divis, which the netminder turned away with his right pad. Sergejs Zoltoks tried a wraparound but was denied. With two minutes left in the first, Divis needed good concentration to stop a Viktors Ignatjevs slapper from the point through traffic. Zoltoks proved why he's Latvia's top international gunner at 2:05 of the second period when he powered to the slot, faking a slapshot before letting go a drive that beat Divis on the stick side and tied the game 1-1. It was a power play goal with Thomas Pock off for holding. At 4:46, Austrian forward Markus Peintner was sent off with a major and game misconduct for boarding after dangerously ramming the head of Latvia's Normunds Sejejs into the boards. Sejejs looked shaken up and had to go to the dressing room. Through the first minute of the man advantage, the Latvians focused on trying to set up Zoltoks for shots. But it was Aleksandrs Kerc who at 6:28 took a nice cross-crease feed from Cipruss and beat the sliding Divis on the stick side for a 2-1 Latvian lead. For the rest of the power play, the Latvians kept the Austrians bottled up in their own end, generating several good chances with their beautiful puck movement. The Austrian defense twice got caught up ice at the end of mid-period power play sequences and it ended up costing them dearly. Normunds Sejejs and Atvars Tribuncovs were serving overlapping minors. First, Sejejs took a long lead pass just after coming out of the penalty box, skated in alone and tried to deke Divis, but the goalie stopped him. Then Tribuncovs came out of the box, got the same opportunity, and fired the puck through Divis's legs along the ice from right between the hash marks at 13:11. At 14:32, the Austrians found the resolve to rally, with Oliver Setzinger batting in a Daniel Welser-spawned rebound from the side of Irbe's crease. Yet Irbe got some revenge on Setzinger just under two minutes later, as the HPK Hameenlinna forward thought he had Irbe at his mercy on a 2-on-1, but the goalie dove across to make a frantic save. Unsurprisingly, the Latvians went into a defensive shell to start the final period. Irbe turned away Setzinger again when he sprang around the Latvian defense into the left faceoff circle and snapped a shot on goal just over six minutes in, and next it was Divis's turn to foil Zoltoks and Cipruss as they caused havoc around his crease. At 9:12, Arvids Rekis made it 4-2 Latvia by wiring home a tremendous slapshot from just above the faceoff circle, taking a well-timed drop pass from Kercs and finding the opening on Divis's stick side. Matthias Trattnig got in on a near-breakaway on Irbe and shovelled a backhand on net, which the goaltender smothered at 12:58. Next, at the other end, Leonids Tambijevs was foiled by Divis when he got wide open with the puck off a faceoff in the Austrian net. Aleksandrs Macijevskis sealed the victory with an empty-netter at 18:27. The Player of the Game for Latvia was Aigars Cipruss, and Robert Lukas took the honors for Austria. Reinhard Divis, Martin Ulrich, and Gerhard Unterluggauer were named Austria's top players of the tournament. Latvia's last top eight finish at the IIHF World Championships came in 2000. They were seventh in 1997. Article by Lucas Aykroyd, (c) ihwc.net

Latvia ties Switzerland in nail-biter - 1st of May 2004

Arturs Irbe may recently have celebrated his 37th birthday, yet the veteran goalie played with the vigor of a 25-year-old as Latvia marched to a 1-1 tie with Switzerland on Saturday in Prague. The result leaves both Latvia and Switzerland with two points in Group E, although Switzerland has two games remaining (Czech Republic on May 2 and Germany May 4), and Latvia has only one to go (Austria on May 3). Latvia remains a longshot for quarter-finals contention, but may be able to keep its hopes alive with a win against Austria. Latvia's constant parade to the sin bin kept Irbe busy, as his team accounted for 26 penalty minutes in total, compared to Switzerland's 14. The 1990 world champion with the USSR and 2002 Stanley Cup finalist with the Carolina Hurricanes finished with 24 saves. "We had a lot of chances to score on the power play and we couldn't," said Swiss defenseman Mark Streit. "That was definitely the key for us. We were thinking too much! We needed shots and people in front of the net." Martin Gerber, seven years Irbe's junior, stopped 22 pucks for Switzerland. Grigorijs Pantelejevs opened the scoring for Latvia midway through the third period, and Marc Reichert tied it a few minutes later. The Latvians took a more wide-open approach to this game than in their matches with Canada or the Czech Republic, often electing to skate head-to-head with Switzerland instead of just clogging up the neutral zone. Their vocal fans supported their team with chants of "Latvia!" that often drowned out the Swiss supporters. Irbe was the story of the first period with his spectacular saves. In the seventh minute, Switzerland's Thierry Paterlini had a fantastic chance to open the scoring, but he was checked from behind and Irbe made the pokecheck to thwart the deke. During a Swiss power play with Aleksandrs Kercs serving a four-minute high-sticking penalty, Irbe was also sharp in sliding across to block a close-in one-timer attempt by Sandy Jeannin. Then he proved impregnable again when Ivo Ruthemann when the Swiss winger tried to convert a pass wide-open in front off the rush. And with 12 seconds left in the period, Irbe sprawled to knock away what appeared to be a sure goal with Swiss forwards crashing his crease. Switzerland's Martin Gerber made his first big stop of the game early in the second period, getting a glove on the puck when Aleksandrs Semjonovs snapped a wrister from tight in. Irbe countered with a blocker save on Jeannin after a Latvian giveaway in the defensive zone. Sergejs Zoltoks stripped the puck from a Swiss defender during a 4-on-3 man advantage for Switzerland and broke in alone on Gerber, but failed to fool the goalie with his five-hole attempt. On the same power play, Martin Pluss was shaken up in the Latvian corner when Kercs drove him into the boards from behind. As the penalties expired, Zoltoks grabbed the puck in the neutral zone and sprang defenseman Atvars Tribuncovs loose on Gerber. With the Swiss defender trying to force him wide, Tribuncovs blasted a shot under Gerber's arm that trickled slowly toward the goal line and hit the post before being cleared away. At 5:45 of the third period, with Latvia on the power play, Alexander Nizivijs managed to poke in his own rebound after Gerber failed to cover the puck with his glove, but the referee ruled that the whistle had already blown, and Nizivijs ended up with a slashing penalty. Latvia finally broke through at 8:54 when Grigorijs Pantelejvs accepted a lead pass from Aleksandrs Nizivijs, got around a falling Oliver Keller with the puck inside the Swiss blueline, and broke in to slide a backhand between Gerber's pads. At 11:42, the Swiss tied the game when Marc Reichert picked up the puck in the faceoff circle to Irbe's left and pivoted rapidly to wrist a high wrist shot over the goalie's left shoulder. "The player who screened me on that play timed his move to the net very well," said Irbe. "I couldn't really see the puck." Nizivijs took an ill-advised late hooking penalty, and then Irbe was called for delay of game for firing the puck over the glass. But the Swiss were unable to capitalize on their final man advantage of the evening, and in any case Ivo Ruthemann's late minor for getting caught with an illegal stick, measured by the officials, took the edge off things. "Obviously the last save was the most important," said Irbe, referring to a late glove grab. "It was one I had to make for the team." Latvia's Player of the Game was Irbe, and Thomas Ziegler was chosen for Switzerland. Article by Lucas Aykroyd, (c) ihwc.net

Latvia advances with victory over Kazakhstan - 27th of April 2004

Latvia scored three third-period goals--two on a power play, the third off a last minute giveaway--to defeat Kazakhstan and advance to the Qualifying Round that begins on Friday. The loss eliminates the Kazakhs and sends them to the Relegation Round, though their goalie, Vitaliy Yeremeyev, was heroic in the nets for Kazakhstan, which was outshot 30-15. "The national team of Latvia deserves its victory," said Kazakh Head Coach Nikolay Myshagin. "I am happy with my team because they played great and we still hoped to win until the end of the game." The importance of the game was very clear to both teams. If Latvia tied or won, it would advance; a loss meant Kazakhstan would finish third in Group A and advance. In the first period, it was clear this would be a hard-fought game. The Kazakhs played to perfection for the first ten minutes, staying with Latvia and getting through the anxious opening moments, in direct contrast to Monday night when they collapsed so badly against the Czechs and surrendered five goals in the first 20 minutes. Coach Nikolay Myshagin gets full marks for starting Yeremeyev after pulling him before the first period was even half over Monday, and his goalie responded with his best performance of the tournament so far. The Kazakhs killed off the only two penalties of the opening period and displayed excellent timing in blocking shots, something they did beautifully almost all night long, until it cost them a goal at the worst time later in the game. The teams went to the dressing room tied 0-0, surely an advantage to the Kazakhs who had weathered the storm. In the second, they came out with greater confidence and took the play to the Latvians, and Fedor Polichshuk hit the post early on in a scramble to the side of goalie Arturs Irbe. The play of the game, though, was made by Alexandr Koreshkov during a Kazakh power play. He dove for a loose puck in the slot and in one motion, in the air, made a remarkable, sweeping back pass to Anatoliy Filatov who had the whole open side of the net to shoot at. He didn't miss, and the Kazakhs were up 1-0 at 12:31. Two minutes later, with the Kazakhs on another power play, Yevgeniy Kuzmin blasted a point shot off the post, but the puck stayed out. How different the outcome might have been had the shot been even two inches inside that post! The Latvians were given a power play of their own by referee Nicolas Dutil of Canada, and Yeremeyev was called upon to make two sensational saves off Alexanders Semjonovs. The score after 40 minutes was 1-0, and the Kazakhs were one period away from a significant upset win. But early in the final period the Latvians were back on the power play. Grigorijs Pantelejevs had the puck at the point, faked a shot and waited for the sliding Kazakh to move out of harm's way, and then feathered a perfect pass to the side of the net where Atvars Tribuncovs pushed the puck in before Yeremeyev could get his pad over to that side. Game tied 1-1. The deciding moment came when a Latvian player gave a little tug to the hip of Anatoliy Filatov, who proceeded to fall as if he had been speared and maimed. Referee Dutil surprised everyone by calling Filatov for unsportsmanlike conduct (diving), and on the ensuing power play Sergejs Zoltoks beautifully tipped a point shot from Vjaceslavs Fanduls between the pads of Yeremeyev for the go-ahead goal. The Kazakhs, deflated, never had much of a chance after that, and in the final minute a giveaway in their end resulted in a big slapshot off the stick of Fanduls, who blew the puck past Yeremeyv on the short side. For the third time in the final period, the largely Latvian crowd erupted in chants of joy, for they knew their heroes would move on to play more hockey. "It was an exciting and unbelievable game," said Latvian Head Coach Curt Lindstrom. "We played with high discipline and we came back in the third period. We tried our best and it was worth it." The Kazakhs gave it their best shot, too, but third-period penalties were their undoing. They leave Group A with three losses to their record and after being outscored 14-3. Article by Andrew Podnieks, (c) ihwc.net

Germany and Latvia skate to hard-fought tie - 26th of April 2004

Latvia's Arturs Irbe and Germany's Olaf Kolzig have both guided their NHL clubs to the Stanley Cup finals in recent years, and both gave their national teams championship-quality goaltending in a 1-1 tie Monday in Prague. "No question he was the best player on the ice for them," said Sergejs Zoltoks of Kolzig. It was a game that pitted one of Europe's most physical national sides (Germany) against a resolutely non-physical old-Soviet-style group of artists (Latvia). The packed Sazka Arena resonated to the competing cheers of singing German fans and their clapping, chanting Latvian counterparts well before the first drop of the puck. Interestingly, it was mostly Germans in the top deck, while Latvians seemed to be the majority in the lower bowl. The noise level would remain high through the game. Sergejs Zoltoks opened the scoring for Latvia with a beautiful tip of a Normunds Sejejs point shot that found its way through Kolzig's legs on the power play at 9:54 of the first period. Alekdsandrs Nizivijs nearly added to the Latvian lead seconds later, but Kolzig made a nice blocker save. Meanwhile, Irbe was standing up to the German shooters at the other end of the rink. Juris Ozols got a clean breakaway on Kolzig with under three minutes left in the opening stanza, but the German goalie coolly denied him with a glove grab. The German forecheck got the Latvians in trouble early in the second period. During a German power play, Aleksandrs Kercs clipped Andreas Morczinietz with a high stick, drawing blood and a four-minute minor. The two-man advantage paid off for Germany, as Tobias Abstreiter snared a rebound down low and fed it cross-crease to Jochen Hecht, who banged it past the defenseless Irbe at 5:34. The game opened up midway through the second, as the teams started rushing the puck end to end, although neither side managed a truly dangerous shot at this stage. Irbe was alert with the glove on an Abstreiter slapper from the high slot. With Germany's Rob Leask in the box for roughing late in the second period, the Latvians pressed all around Kolzig's crease, but the big man remained rock-solid on the chances they had. Irbe preserved the tie score two and a half minutes into the third with a close-in save on pinching German defenseman Daniel Kunce. Hecht had Irbe beaten five minutes in, but one-timed it off the side of the Latvian net. The Latvians came on strong in the final half of the third, and Kolzig had to be sharp to block an Oleg Sorokins blast from the point and a close-in Aleksandrs Semjonovs chance. Latvia's last, best chance came off the rush from Aleksandrs Kercs, who fired a laser at Kolzig and was then leveled by Rob Leask, resulting in a two-minute minor. But when the Latvians were unable to score early on the power play, they were careful not to throw away the point they had gained. Shots on goal barely favored Germany, 24-23. The arena resounded with chants of "Latvia! Latvia!" as the teams lined up for the Player of the Game awards. It was Sergejs Zoltoks winning for Latvia and Olaf Kolzig for Germany. "I thought we played much better than we did last game, and it's good to know that as long as the Czechs win tonight, we're through to the next round," said Kolzig. "You're always hoping to win, but these were two very even teams, so I would say it was a fair result," said Zoltoks. "The problem for us is now we have to win our next game." Latvia plays Kazakhstan April 27, while the Germans take on the Czechs the following day to close out the Preliminary Round. "I've played against Jagr many times and had my share of success," said Kolzig. "He told many times how Prague was and that I should come over here. And he's right. I'm glad I am here." Article by Lucas Aykroyd, (c) ihwc.net

Latvia beats Japan in first of two exhibition games 5-4 - 21th of April 2004

Riga, Latvia - The latvian national team beat Japan 5-4 in "Rigas Sporta Pils" yesterday, in the first of two exhibition games against the World Championship qualifier from far-east. Last week, Latvia played Slovakia two times losing the first game 0:2 and tieing the Slovaks in the second game 3:3. Arturs Irbe arrived in Riga last thursday, joining the national team training camp of head coach Kurt Lindstrom. The first period of yesterdays game began very careful, both teams played without much risk and Latvia didn't have a dangerous shot on the opponents goal until the 8th minute, when Janis Sprukts (Aleksandrs Jerofejevs and Lenoids Tambijevs asstisted) scored the first goal of the game. With about 90 seconds to go in the first, Kunihiko Sakurai tied the game beating Arturs Irbe, who pulled the puck into the net with his foot. Four minutes into the second period, Aleksejs Sirokovs made it 2-1 and just two minutes later, Arvids Rekis scored the third goal to give the home team a two goal advantage. Japans coach Mark Mahon took a timeout and five minutes later, a shot from Takahito Suzuki was deflected off Astasenkos foot into the goal. Within the last five minutes of the second period, Latvia extended its lead to 5:2 with goals from Kaspars Astasenko and Leonids Tambijevs. In the last period, Latvia let Japan come back with two goals from Chris Bright and Kiyoshi Fujita but Latvia kept the lead and defeated Japan with 5-4 goals.

Irbe finishes season allowing 6 goals in tie - 5th of April 2004

Playing his first NHL game, Brad Fast helped the Carolina Hurricanes avoid an embarrassing to their season. Fast scored his first NHL goal with 2:26 left in the third period and Carolina tied the Florida Panthers 6-6 after squandering a four-goal lead Sunday. "I never really expected or thought of scoring in my first game", said Fast, who was recalled from the American Hockey League on Saturday. "It's a thrill for it to be the game-tying goal. That makes it even better." Fast tied the game at 6 with a wrist shot from the right circle to help the Hurricanes complete their own comeback. After going up 4-0 in the first period, Carolina trailed 6-4 in the third. "As I was circling back (in the offensive zone), the puck squirted over to me," Fast said. "I shot it towards the net. I know it hit something and wound up beating (goalie Roberto) Luongo. That's all I can remember. It's kind of a blur." Radim Vrbata, Jesse Boulerice, Rob Brind Amour, Erik Cole and Eric Staal also scored for the Hurricanes, who ended the season on a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). Vrbata's first-period goal snapped Carolina's 0-for-30 power-play drought. "We should have never gotten down when you are up 4-0," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "That's the bottom line. The mental toughness, I guess, gets a good mark. The bad mark is we put ourselves in that position." Donald Audette had two goals and two assists for the Panthers. Christian Berglund also scored twice for Florida. Mikael Samuelsson and Kamil Piros had the other goals, while Olli Jokinen and Mike Van Ryn each had three assists. "Six goals should be enough to win the hockey game," Jokinen said. "We kind of quit playing in the last 10 minutes and they bounced back. It was a good game for fans, but we wanted to win, so we can't be satisfied." Carolina is winless in its last six visits to the Office Depot Center (0-5-1), but the tie enabled the Hurricanes to secure third place in the Southeast Division with 76 points. Florida finished fourth with 75 points. "I give our team credit," Carolina center Kevyn Adams said. "We ended up keeping them from getting two points and keeping them below us in the standings." Luongo, who set NHL records for most saves and most shots faced this season, stopped 26 shots. Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe was replaced by Kevin Weekes after Audette s second goal made it 6-4 at 6:23 of the third period. It was Florida's third goal of the third period as the Panthers turned a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 lead. "Both of their last two goals hit our guys before they went in," Luongo said. "It's very disappointing to end the season like that." Staal brought Carolina to within a goal at 15:04 with a wrist shot through traffic before Fast tied it up. "We didn't deserve to win," Carolina defenseman Sean Hill said. "It's kind of fitting because they didn't deserve to win either. It was a fitting way for both teams to end the season."

Isles clinch last playoff spot with win at RBC - 3rd of April 2004

Nobody can say the New York Islanders backed into the playoffs this year. Mariusz Czerkawski and Adrian Aucoin each scored twice to help the Islanders clinch their third straight playoff appearance with a 6-4 victory Friday night over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Islanders slumped toward the end of last season, and clinched eighth place when the New York Rangers fell apart even worse down the stretch. The Islanders' struggles led to the firing of coach Peter Laviolette, now the Hurricanes' coach, after their first-round playoff exit. "I'm happy, but more important I'm happy for the 24 guys in that room," said Steve Stirling, who replaced Laviolette last spring. "They didn't need to hear from anybody that they backed in, or didn't get in. They needed to win their way in and they did." The Islanders ran up a 6-1 lead going into the third, and the hapless Hurricanes contributed bad play and bad luck, with a potential tying goal waved off, a fruitless penalty shot and four failed efforts by the NHL's worst power play. "We just didn't execute," Laviolette said. "We didn't keep them contained, we got beat on the walls, we turned pucks over. Basically we got what we deserved." New York secured the final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference, eliminating Buffalo from the race. The Islanders are only one point behind Montreal for seventh place, with each team having one game remaining. "We wanted to do it on our own not waiting for anybody else to do it. We wanted to control the game to the end," Czerkawski said. The Islanders qualified for the playoffs in three straight years for the first time since a 14-year run from 1975-88. They were helped when Carolina had a goal waved off that would've tied it at 2. New York quickly responded with four straight goals within a span of 7:27 to blow the game open. "That was tough. That would have maybe changed the momentum. It went in their favor and they just jumped on it from there," Laviolette said. Carolina enforcer Jesse Boulerice had two goals, but the Hurricanes were 0-for-4 on the power play and managed only one shot during a two-man advantage in the second period. Rod Brind'Amour and Eric Staal scored in the third to bring Carolina within 6-4. The Hurricanes thought they'd gotten even at 2 early in the second period, but the officials said the whistle blew before Josef Vasicek's shot went in. "It was definitely the turning point in the game. We were right there with them at that point," Boulerice said. "They got a couple of quick ones and that took the wind out of our sails." Carolina goalie Kevin Weekes was pulled after giving up five goals on 17 shots and. Arturs Irbe allowed one goal on nine shots. Eric Cole fired wide on a penalty shot with 5:46 left. The Islanders opened the scoring on the power play 11:57 in. Oleg Kvasha drew Weekes to the right side of the net, then Alexei Yashin passed through traffic to Czerkawski on the open left side to make it 1-0. Aucoin made it 2-0 just a minute later, intercepting a bad Hurricanes pass near center ice and scoring off his rebound. Carolina got on the board at 14:19 of the first as Boulerice scored against Rick DiPietro from just above the crease. The Islanders put the game out of reach in the second. Czerkawski's second goal made it 3-1 two minutes in. Yashin and Trent Hunter added goals 44 seconds apart to send Weekes to the bench in favor of Arturs Irbe. Aucoin's second goal made it 6-1 at 14:12. Boulerice made it 6-2 six minutes into the third, bouncing the puck off the shin of Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns and past DiPietro. Cole's penalty shot could've pulled the Hurricanes within 6-4.

Irbe makes 23 saves and Loungo the difference - 30th of March 2004

The Florida Panthers took the lead over the Carolina Hurricanes with their power play. They protected the advantage with their penalty-killing. Kristian Huselius and Matt Cullen scored power-play goals, and the Panthers killed off all six penalties, including a five-on-three disadvantage for 1:12 in the first period, on their way to a 3-1 victory Monday night. "It was a good effort defensively and we got some big goals," goalie Roberto Luongo said. "That's the key to success right there." Olli Jokinen added an empty-net goal for the Panthers, who snapped their season-high, five-game losing streak. It was Florida's fifth consecutive home victory over the Hurricanes. "It's nice to win," Cullen said. "It's so much more fun to be around everyone when you win. These last three games are important for us. We want to get some wins." Jaroslav Svoboda scored for Carolina, which lost on the road in regulation for the first time since Feb. 14 (8-1-0-3). Luongo, who set an NHL record for most saves in a season Thursday at Carolina, stopped 28 shots. He stopped 42 shots in his previous outing against the Hurricanes. "He's used to seeing a lot of rubber," said Carolina center Kevyn Adams, who was stopped on a short-handed breakaway in the final seconds of the second period. "But more than shots is rebounds and crashing the net. You've got to make life miserable for him in general." Arturs Irbe made 23 saves in his eighth start of the season for Carolina. The Hurricanes, who came in with the NHL's worst power play, have failed on their last 23 chances and failed to even get a shot on goal during their first-period five-on-three. Two Carolina players broke their sticks during the two-man advantage. "On the five-on-three, we just didn't get it going or get it set up," said defenseman Sean Hill, who finished with a game-high eight shots on goal. "We just never got in sync. As far as the other (power plays) go, we had the puck in their zone the whole time, we were peppering him, had lots of rebounds, lots of chances. Luongo clearly was the difference in the game." Huselius scored 12:41 in after Jokinen's cross-ice pass for Niklas Hagman was deflected by a Carolina defenseman. Huselius one-timed the loose puck to Irbe's glove side for his first goal since Feb. 21. Cullen made it 2-0 at 2:13 of the third when his wrist shot from the right dot slipped between Irbe's left arm and body. Svoboda cut the lead 1:01 later when his shot from the deep corner bounced off Panthers defenseman Branislav Mezei. "We had our chances to win the game," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "We had a lot of shots on the power play, we had shots on five-on-five ... we couldn't beat him. The only time we beat him was when he was out of the net."

Canes pull one out in third - 26th of March 2004

Trailing by two goals against a sharp goalie, the Carolina Hurricanes kept firing shots and crashing the net. Unlike much of the season, that was enough for a comeback win. Josef Vasicek scored the go-ahead goal with 11:51 left in the Hurricanes' 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. Rod Brind'Amour and Kevyn Adams also scored for the Hurricanes, who rallied for just their third win in 27 games when trailing going into the third period. Craig Adams added two assists. Carolina, eliminated from postseason contention Tuesday, has earned 26 points in its last 20 games. "That game was typical of how the whole year has gone," said Brind'Amour, who scored his 10th of the season. The only difference is we scored when we needed to. You can count a number of games especially early in the season where we outplayed teams and outshot them and didn't get the goals we needed. Tonight we did." Nathan Horton and Niklas Hagman scored for the Panthers, and Roberto Luongo made 42 saves, giving him an NHL-record 2,219 on the season. That broke the mark of 2,214 set by Toronto's Felix Potvin in 1996-97. Luongo got little help from the defense in front of him. Carolina outshot Florida 45-21 and put relentless pressure on Luongo in the final 30 minutes. The 24-year-old stopped Carolina's first 29 shots before allowing Kevyn Adams' goal with 10:29 in the second period. "It was nice to see that we kept fighting and kept our foot on the gas ... and eventually some started to go in," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. Luongo has faced 95 shots in the last two games, including a 4-3 overtime loss to New Jersey on Tuesday. "He's a true competitor," Florida coach John Torchetti said. "Until we turn it around, that's the bottom line, he's going to get beat until the end, the bitter end." After tying it early in the third, the Hurricanes went ahead when Vasicek flipped a shot from the faceoff circle. The puck went by Luongo, who was screened by Carolina's Craig Adams. "You need to throw a lot of shots at him," Adams said. "He's such a great goalie, if he sees it he's probably going to stop it. You're not going to score on too many first shots, so we had to get there for rebounds and get screens. That's something we talked about before the game." Horton scored 3:11 into the game for Florida, and the Panthers increased their lead when Hagman scored from between the faceoff circles at 5:35 of the second period. But the Hurricanes kept pressuring Luongo, taking a 24-8 edge in shots in the second. Carolina finally broke through on its 30th shot. Luongo had trouble corralling a shot by Bret Hedican, and Radim Vrbata smacked the puck into the right post. Kevyn Adams beat Luongo to the loose puck in the crease. Then, early in the second, Luongo stopped a shot by Craig Adams and a rebound attempt by Ryan Bayda. But Luongo never controlled the puck, falling backward as Brind'Amour finally scored in a crowd around the net to tie it at 1:43 of the third. It epitomized the pressure Luongo was under all night. "They took about seven whacks at it," Luongo said. "It's hard to cover the puck when there's a guy right in the crease whacking at it every few seconds."

Streak at 11 with overtime win - 21th of March 2004

Getting just one point at this time of the season is not nearly enough for the Ottawa Senators. Bret Hedican scored with 59.3 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory Saturday night over the Senators. Sean Hill and Josef Vasicek also scored for the Hurricanes, and Arturs Irbe made 29 saves. Carolina rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the third period to force overtime. Jason Spezza and Marian Hossa had goals for the Senators, who got 26 saves from Patrick Lalime. Ottawa finished with the NHL's top record last season, but now the Senators are in third place in the Northeast Division one point behind Toronto and two behind Boston. "We didn't start out like we would have liked," Senators forward Mike Fisher said. "We didn't have much jump and they really outworked us. We had the lead for most of the game even though we didn't play that great. (Lalime) kept us in it." But Ottawa needs victories to stay in the race for the division title. "It's so close that the one point could determine a lot," Fisher said. Vasicek tied it when he scored a disputed goal with 8:58 remaining in regulation, redirecting Hill's point shot in off his skate. After a video review, the goal stood. "When you're going into the third with the lead we have to protect it better," Senators defenseman Zdeno Chara said. "They score and tie it and then it really opens up the game and changes it." Without a playoff spot in sight, the Hurricanes have little to play for but pride and jobs. "This was a big character builder for us," Hill said. "For us to beat them at this time of year is a bit of a feather in our cap." The Senators took a 1-0 lead 14:10 in when Hossa beat Irbe stick side despite being covered by Hedican. Ottawa continued to struggle in the faceoff circle and paid the price at 3:55 of the second period. Rod Brind'Amour won the draw cleanly, allowing Hill to get a quick shot off that beat Lalime. The Senators missed an opportunity to take control of the game six minutes into the period after Hedican was given a double minor for high-sticking Chris Neil. The Senators recorded just one shot during the long advantage. "This was a big game, especially for myself," said Irbe, who spent much of the season in the minors. "When you play top teams you're going to face the top players and you have to be able to run with the big dogs. I'm just glad I was able to do it." Spezza made up for the lackluster power play at 11:05 when he scored his 20th of the season, ending a 17-game streak without a goal. Spezza fired a sharp angle shot from the side of the net, and the puck bounced in off Irbe's pads to make it 2-1. "It was frustrating to go that long without (a goal)," Spezza said. It's good to get it out of the way." The Hurricanes lost Erik Cole five minutes into the third period after the forward collided with Chara. Cole was favoring his left leg and seemed to be in discomfort. "I think he might have been dehydrated," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "I'm not really sure what happened."

Canes extend streak with win - 18th of March 2004

Eric Cole and the Carolina Hurricanes got the lucky bounce they needed to beat the Chicago Blackhawks. Cole scored with 4:22 left in the third period to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 victory Wednesday night. The Carolina forward beat goalie Michael Leighton high to the stick side with a shot from the top of the right circle off a pass from Rod Brind'Amour. "The pass came across, it flipped up on (Cole's) stick and he one-timed it," Leighton said. "It's tough to read when it flips up like that." Cole, who also had an assist, scored the game-winner on his third shot of the period, and the Hurricanes finished with a season-high 49 shots. "Roddy made a great play to cause the turnover and I just opened right up," Cole said. "I probably shot that shot 100,000 times in practice from Roddy, to it's nice to see one go in. You start wondering if you picked the wrong stick at the start of the game or something, because something's not going right out there. I got pretty good wood on a feed Craig Adams gave me the shift before. I thought that one maybe had a better chance of going in." Brind'Amour had a goal and two assists, and Adams also scored for Carolina. The Hurricanes improved to 4-1-0-1 in their last six games, and extended their unbeaten streak against Chicago to six games (5-0-1). Tuumo Ruutu and Mark Bell scored for the Blackhawks, 1-6-2-1 in their last 10 games, Leighton is 0-6-1 in his last seven games. "I felt good, but the bottom line is we didn't win," Leighton said. "I didn't matter how I played." Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe, playing in just his fifth game this season, stopped 21 shots. Ruutu's power-play goal with 1:33 left in the first period opened the scoring after Irbe misplayed the puck behind the net. Irbe left the crease and tried to clear the puck off the back boards. Instead it bounced off Tyler Arnason and to Ruutu, who tucked it in from the side of the net before Irbe could recover. Adams tied it 1:04 later when he fired in a shot from between the circles. He took Brind'Amour's pass, fanned on his first shot, then shot again and beat Leighton high on the stick side. Bell gave Chicago a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal 2:13 into the second. While cutting through the crease, he backhanded in a rebound of Jim Vandermeer's shot from the point. The goal was Bell's 20th and marked the first time he has scored 20 in three full NHL seasons. Brind'Amour tied it at 2 with 4 seconds left in the period on a goal-mouth tip in of Sean Hill's shot from the left point. Midway through the third, Carolina's Jesse Boulerice high-sticked Chicago's Brett McLean in the face. Although McLean's face was cut, no penalty was called.

Canes fall to hot Lightning - 11th of March 2004

It only took a few minutes to realize the Carolina Hurricanes were missing traded captain Ron Francis. In their first game since their longtime leader was dealt away, the Hurricanes allowed two goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning within three minutes and went on to lose 4-2 against the NHL's top team. "The bad start probably cost us the game. We didn't come out firing," said fourth-line forward Jesse Boulerice, who scored the Hurricanes' first goal. Not only didn't Carolina have Francis leading them, the Hurricanes didn't have a captain at all. With the 41-year-old center now playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, following Tuesday's trade, general manager Jim Rutherford said a new captain probably won't be chosen before next season. "We've got to be professional about this. We've got jobs to do," Carolina alternate captain Glen Wesley said. "But in the back of your mind, you know he's missing." Dave Andreychuk and Ruslan Fedotenko scored less than a minute apart as Arturs Irbe and the rest of the Hurricanes started out hesitant and uncoordinated. "Every time we play them it's a pretty close game, so I think we were a little surprised when we went up 2-0," Andreychuk said. Andreychuk, parked near the right post, used the shaft of his stick to redirect a slap shot by Cory Stillman for a power-play goal just 2:15 in. Less than a minute later, the Lightning took advantage of a sloppy clearing attempt. Martin St. Louis grabbed the puck and got it to Fedotenko, who fired a shot past Irbe at 3:09. Carolina coach Peter Laviolette immediately brought his team to the bench for a timeout and a subdued lecture. "We were playing the top team in our conference, a division rival," a frustrated Laviolette said. "It's just too bad we had to even take a timeout there. We actually could have used it there at the end." Laviolette's words had a visible impact, as the Hurricanes held Tampa Bay without a shot for the next 10 minutes and cut the deficit in half thanks to aggressive play by their third and fourth lines. Boulerice, alone high in the Tampa Bay zone, grabbed a pass out of the corner from Michael Zigomanis recalled Tuesday from Lowell of the AHL and dropped between the circles to fire a shot past John Grahame at 9:40. Radim Vrbata made it 2-2 6:58 into the second period. Kevyn Adams brought the puck into the zone with Vrbata and Jaroslav Svoboda on a three-on-two break. Adams passed across the ice from Grahame's right side to Vrbata, who flipped the puck in as Grahame tried too late to cover the open side of the net. The Hurricanes outshot Tampa Bay 33-16 and had a number of quality scoring chances throughout. But they failed to score on four power plays and were repeatedly frustrated by Grahame, who made 31 saves to Irbe's 12. "I can't stand the results, they make me nauseous," Laviolette said. "But I'm going to guess we made three mistakes all night, and all three ended up in our net." Dan Boyle restored the Lightning's lead with 6:43 left. With Tim Taylor holding the puck behind the Hurricanes net, Boyle slipped untouched behind a group of players that blocked Irbe's view. He grabbed Taylor's pass and snapped in a shot to make it 3-2. Taylor added an empty-net goal with 47 seconds left. "We didn't play well, plain and simple," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "But the good news is our third line kicks in an important goal, our goaltending was good, we scored a power play goal, our penalty killing was good."

Canes repay Blue Jackets - 9th of March 2004

Aaron Ward barely remembered the last time he scored two goals in one game. "I think the last time was in pee wee and I was playing forward back then," Ward said with a grin. "I had a lot more opportunities." Ward provided instant offense in his return to the lineup and led the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night. Ward had missed 19 games with a wrist injury and was activated just before the game. He came in with only one goal this season in 34 games and just 23 in his seven years in the NHL. It was Ward's first career two-goal game. "I'm sure he was eager to get back in the lineup," coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's been skating for a long time. His hand was hurt, but his legs weren't. I'm sure he was anxious to get back in the game. And he played a pretty good game both defensively and offensively." Getting back into action was a relief for Ward. Rookie Eric Staal had a career-high two assists for the Hurricanes, who also got goals from Erik Cole and Craig Adams. Adams' goal was short-handed into an empty net. He also had an assist. "Anytime you can get two points on the board, especially in a win, it's very nice," Staal said. "I've been playing all right the last bunch of games and the points haven't been coming." The Blue Jackets embarrassed the Hurricanes 3-0 in Raleigh on Tuesday night behind Marc Denis' 25 saves. Rick Nash, Trevor Letowski and Manny Malhotra added the goals in that victory. Columbus ended a scoreless streak of 114 minutes, 23 seconds when Nash scored his NHL-leading 37th goal with 7:42 remaining. It was Nash's 19th power-play goal this season, extending his league lead. Nash said the Blue Jackets didn't play together. "There were a lot of individual efforts and we were all guilty of it," he said. Arturs Irbe, 2-0-1 since returning to the Hurricanes after a stint in the minors, stopped 27 shots. "I wanted to play back in this league because down deep I knew I belonged here," he said. "I definitely have lots and lots left in my tank." The Hurricanes scored twice within 58 seconds of the first period. Ward scored his second of the season on the power play at 13:03. Ron Francis slid a pass from the right wing to Ward in the left circle, with Ward skating to the dot and wristing a shot that beat Fred Brathwaite low on the stick side. Cole made it 2-0 with his 15th, zipping a shot past defenseman Scott Lachance and Brathwaite. Rod Brind'Amour set it up with a nifty pass through the crease. Columbus' Tyler Wright was hit in the face by a puck as the Hurricanes came up the ice on the rush. He immediately skated to the dressing room, giving Carolina a man advantage on the play. He returned later in the game. Ward's second goal came on a blast from the right circle off an assist from Josef Vasicek early in the third period for a 3-0 lead. He wasn't gunning for a hat trick. "It was too good to be true," he said with a laugh. "I'm not that kind of guy. I don't have that kind of luck." Nash finally broke through for the Blue Jackets. He came on the ice on a change and almost immediately took a pass from David Vyborny at the blue line. Nash carried the puck past Bruno St. Jacques and muscled his way by Sean Hill. He deked Irbe to score easily.

Canes settle for another point in 3-3 draw - 1st of March 2004

The Carolina Hurricanes have little chance of making the NHL playoffs. You can't tell by the way they're playing. The Hurricanes got a game-tying goal from Ron Francis with 4:15 left in regulation Sunday night to earn a 3-3 tie with the Minnesota Wild and extend Carolina's point streak to seven games (3-0-2-2). "There's still hope, right?" said Carolina's Justin Williams, who also scored. "We have to do whatever we can to get points." Francis, a 23-season NHL veteran and the Hurricanes captain, came through when it counted. He poked a loose puck out of a scramble in front of Minnesota goaltender Manny Fernandez to send the game into overtime. "Our leader really led the way," Williams said. Marian Gaborik gave the Wild a 3-2 lead at 12:09 of the third period, and Andrei Zyuzin scored twice for Minnesota, as two of the NHL's three lowest-scoring teams combined for four goals in third period. Zyuzin's second goal of the game tied it at 2 at 11:38 of the third period, and Gaborik broke the tie 31 seconds later. "It's been tough a little bit for me," said Zyuzin, a healthy scratch the previous two games. "I have to go through that and go on and play hard." Gaborik, a 30-goal scorer each of the last two seasons, has just 11 this season. Sunday's goal was his first at home since Dec. 23. "It was a great feeling to get a goal in front of the home crowd," he said. "It pumps you up." Jeff O'Neill put the Hurricanes in front 2-1 at 8:27 of the third when a shot by Josef Vasicek deflected off O'Neill, who was tied up with Filip Kuba in the crease. "As soon as we got the lead, it seemed like it was gone two shifts later," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. Carolina goaltender Arturs Irbe, playing just his second game since his recall from Johnstown of the ECHL, made several tough stops, including an open chance in overtime by fellow Latvian native Sergei Zholtok. "I've known him so long," said Irbe, who smothered Zholtok's wrist shot from the right circle. "I knew what he was going to do, especially in OT." Zyuzin, stopped by Irbe on a point-blank attempt in the first period, opened the scoring at 11:38 of the second with a goal that snapped a streak of 19 straight failed power-play attempts for the Wild. The lead was short-lived, however, because Justin Williams tied it just 36 seconds later. Williams picked up a loose puck low in the left circle and moved out between the circles. Fernandez was screened by Carolina teammate Travis Henry, and Williams' wrist shot went through both players' legs.