Report: Danton sighted in cinema in Churchill, MB

Churchill, MB (CP)

A local resident of the northern town of Churchill, Manitoba believes that she saw Rovers prospect and now wanted fugitive Mike Danton in a local theatre on Monday evening. “I’m sure it was him”, Delores Murphy told the Canadian Press on earlier today. “Me and the mister are big hockey fans and the Rovers are considered one of local teams. I thought it was funny for him to be here, then I read the papers. I couldn’t believe it”. “He’s wanted? No way!” said Merv Spence of Merv’s Excavation. “We don’t much of that kind of stuff here in Churchill… maybe the odd vandal, but that’s it. Speaking of which, have you heard who tagged my warehouse there last week? I bet it was that Stewart kid… he’s a bad apple.  Gets it from his father, no good… what were you asking about again?”

It is speculated that Danton stowed-away a cargo flight which services a list of northern towns and deplaned at Churchill to connect to southern Manitoba and more travel options. Authorities are searching the town while also investigating if Danton has already left, and if so how and when. When asked what was playing at the theatre, Mrs. Murphy answered “Shrek the Third… I like Eddie Murphy, but what was he thinking with Norbit? I liked that one better the first two times, when they were called the Nutty Professors”.

Rovers Danton disappears

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

Iqaluit police have issued an arrest warrant for Mike Danton in relation to an incident two weeks ago.  Danton was brought in for questioning on May 8 by local authorities but was released on his own recognizance and told not to leave town.  Rover Report has learned that Danton secretly boarded a cargo flight out of Iqaluit yesterday and, upon learning this, police issued a warrant for his immediate arrest.  Rover Report will continue to follow up this story to learn the nature of the arrest warrant and the charge against Danton.

Rovers Stringer voted GM of the Year

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

After the best regular season in franchise history, Rovers general manager Steve Stringer was voted the executive of the year for RHL16. As reported on SpartaScripts , Stringer edged Walt Pohribnij of the Capones and Chris Bourdeau of the Eagles in a tight race.  “It’s an honour to be judged by your peers as having done a good job”, Stringer said in accepting the award.  “I accept this award on behalf of our whole franchise, as there are many people throughout the organization without whose work this could not happen”.

Stringer made bold and calculated moves prior to and during the season.  Beginning in the offsesason, star defenseman Chris Pronger was dealt for Keith Carney, Chris Higgins – who appears poised to make the team in RHL17 – and a first round draft choice.  The during the season he dipped into the team’s depth of prospects to acquire impact players Joe Thornton, Gary Roberts, Wes Walz, and Rhett Warrener without cleaning the cupboards bare.  “I think he deserves it”, captain Olli Jokinen said from his home in Finland.  “He gave us the players we needed in the room to make a deep run, but we still have young guys in the system ready to come up.  Ultimately we came up short of our expectations this year, but that doesn’t diminish the job he did”.

After winning his second GM award (he also won during their championship RHL13 season), Stringer’s biggest challenge may lie ahead.  Many are wondering if RHL17 will be a transition year for the team with so many of their veteran forwards headed for free agency.  “That’s what makes the job fun, the fluid nature of player contracts and movement”, Stringer said when asked of this off-season.  “We will bring in whatever mix of returning and new players that we feel will help us achieve our goal, which is the Kings Cup.  That is the goal this organization shoots for every season, and we will continue to do so.  Our fans deserve the best, and every season we will try to deliver the best product to the best of our abilities”.

Rovers look to dispersal, expansion drafts

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

Once the ownership situation with the new expansion team is sorted, the RHL17 pre-season will get into gear with the dispersal of the Washington Defiance being the first order of business.  In a word, this draft will be underwhelming from a Rovers standpoint.  The Defiance have 28 players under contract, a quarter of which have already filed their retirement papers with the league but are eligible for selection and many more headed for unrestricted free agency.  They also have 20 players on their prospect roster, but perhaps no more than a half-dozen of which could be classed as having a strong shot at making an RHL roster.  With the Rovers selecting 25th in the draft, the team will likely be choosing from a group of B to C-level unrated prospects.  Perhaps a diamond can be found in the rough, but most likely it will be a pick of no consequence.

Following the dispersal draft, the league will conduct an expansion draft to stock the newest franchise.. wherever it may be.  With a number of free agents and also exempted players, the Rovers appear to be in good position to not lose any key players in expansion.  Each group of players will be broken down, starting with the forwards.

Eligible forwards: Thornton, Draper, Demitra, Jokinen, Walz, Legwand, Roberts, Stillman, Frolov, Laaksonen, Murray (Bergeron, Horton exempt)

Predictions: Thornton, Demitra, Jokinen, Frolov, Draper, Murray, Legwand, Laaksonen, Roberts protected; Walz, Stillman exposed

With many free agents up front, the Rovers will not have to expose anyone under contract for RHL17.  With only 13 forwards and two exempted, only two forwards will have to be exposed (the minimum required), and both will be free agents.  The team has expressed a strong interest in pursuing its longest tenured FA’s in Legwand, Murray, and Draper, and protecting Laaksonen’s loyalty makes sense as he was a key penalty killer.  So two of Walz, Stillman, and Roberts are likely to be exposed.  Expect Walz to be one as the team has a glut of centers, but the other will likely be a coin flip.

Eligible defensemen: Regehr, Johnsson, Brewer, Warrener, Carney, Markov (Liles exempt)

Prediction: Regehr, Johnsson, Brewer, Warrener, Carney protected, Markov exposed.

The defense is pretty straightforward; the team only used seven defensemen at season’s end, and Liles is exempt from the process.  So only one D need be exposed, and we predict it will be the free agent Markov over Carney as everyone else has a contract for RHL17.

If the defense was transparent, goaltending is completely obvious.  Chris Mason is exempt from expansion, so that leaves two keepers, starter Marty Gerber and third-string free-agent Jocelyn Thibault… guess who gets protected?  Adieu Jocelyn.

Overall predicted exposed list: Wes Walz, Cory Stillman, Danny Markov, Jocelyn Thibault.

In a word; unimportant.  While the team would like to be able to keep all their free agents, they know that many of them will want to see exactly what is out there and they know that some will sign elsewhere.  One of these players will be selected, and perhaps that player will sign immediately with the new team.  If so, so be it.  If not, the Rovers will still have an equal crack at them in free-agency.

Rovers enter busy off-season

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

After coming up short in the Kings Cup final against the Kitchener Mounties, the Rovers hit the off-season with more than a few questions; chiefly how long to stay with a core of players that have been to three finals but haven’t won a championship since RHL13.  Despite signing Pavol Demitra to a contract extension at the trade deadline, the Rovers still have a number of free agents to deal with, especially among their forwards.  Longtime Rovers Glen Murray, David Legwand, and Kris Draper are all unrestricted, as are Cory Stillman, Antti Laaksonen, Gary Roberts, and Wes Walz.  The back end is much clearer with only Keith Carney, Danny Markov, and third-string goalie Jocelyn Thibault set to test the free agent waters, but the forward corps could undergo a major change.  “We’ve got a lot of FAs up front, that’s for sure”, GM Stringer said.  “I’d like to have as many back as I can get… I believe in this group of guys and with the right additions we can get back to where we want to be”.

Talking to the players, most appear to want to return.  “I love it here.. we’ve got a great group of guys”, said Murray. “I know we can get the job done”.

“I remember being traded here before the team ever played a game and wondered what I’d find when I got here”, Legwand said reminiscing about his arrival in Iqaluit.   “But we grew as a group and won a championship together.  I know we can continue to have success.  I hope it works out”.

The patient drafting and trading that the Rovers have used to build their farm system will kick into full gear in RHL17.  Youngsters Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton figure to emerge from the bottom of the roster to play a big role in the top six, and rookie Christopher Higgins, acquired from the StrapHangers in the Chris Pronger trade, will be pushing hard for a spot after a 43 goal campaign in the minor leagues this past season.  On the blueline John-Michael Liles will be expected to get regular minutes after ending his rookie season in the pressbox, while rookies Dion Phaneuf and Zybnek Michalek will also be fighting for jobs.  Phaneuf may just be a monster in his rookie campaign.  He nearly made the team last year and rather than sulk about his demotion to the minors, he dominated the circuit leading the league in scoring among blueliners as a rookie and punishing opponents with his brand of ferocious hits and physical play.  “He’s the complete package”, Stringer said of Phaneuf, who was acquired in RHL14 from the Wildcats for Mike Modano.  “He scores, he hits, he does it all.  We can’t wait to see him in camp this year”.

Also looking for work will be rookie netminder Ray Emery.  Drafted by the club during their initial draft in RHL11, he will battle returning incumbents Chris Mason and Martin Gerber for icetime.  “We were very very pleased with our goaltending last season, but this is a new year”, Stringer said of his netminders.  “Chris and Marty will be back, but there’s nothing to say that Ray can’t come in and and win a job.  Even if he is the third-string guy, he can gain valuable experience”.

In other Rover news, prospect Igor Grigorenko signed an entry-level contract with the club.  Grigorenko, originally drafted in RHL11 by the Rovers, traded away and then re-acquired, will leave Russia to attempt to make the Rovers while learning the North American game.  While Grigorenko is crossing the pond, the team’s top prospect is not.  Forward Evgeny Malkin has informed the club that he will spend one more season in Russia improving his game before attempting to make the Rovers next year.  Acquired in RHL15 from the Reapers for Rob Blake, the Rovers had hoped to sign Malkin this season, but are happy enough with his development at home and will continue to monitor him closely.

Rovers prospect Danton interviewed by local authorities

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

Rover Report has learned that Rovers prospect Mike Danton was brought into the downtown Iqaluit RCMP detachment for questioning on an unknown matter. He was released an hour later but sources say he has been instructed not to leave town. Rover Report will update this story as it develops.  Danton played last season with the Rovers minor-league affiliate and was considered to be the team’s number one call-up option, though that option was not exercised during the year.  How this affects his status for RHL17 is yet unknown.

Nagy, Kiprusoff backstop Mounties to Fifth King’s Cup

Kitchener, ON (CP)

Ladislav Nagy scored twice against Chris Mason and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 30 of 31 shots as the Kitchener Mounties defeated the Baffin Island Rovers 4-1 in game 6 to take their record fifth Kings Cup Championship, winning the final series 4 games to 2.  Kiprusoff was named the playoff MVP for his otherworldly performance throughout the entire post-season… one in which the Mounties looked destined to capture the crown from day 1.

The Rovers’ modus operandi continued in game 6, which was relentless pressure.  They outshot the Mounties 12-9 in the first, but conceeded the only goal with just over two minutes remaining as Nagy managed to convert a rebound from a Zdeno Chara point shot to make the score 1-0 Mounties.

Undeterred, the Rovers stepped up the pressure even further in the second and were rewarded.  Wes Walz finally beat Kiprusoff to tie the game after the second, a period when the Rovers had an 11-4 shot advantage and 23-13 through 40 minutes.

However, Nagy had the answer in the third, taking a Joe Nieuwendyk pass and scoring the winning goal six minutes into the third.  Two empty net goals in the final minute made the final 4-1 and the Mounties celebrated.

“I’m proud of our team.  I’m proud of the guys”, coach Stringer said.  “We hit a goalie that played at a level that hasn’t been seen since the ghost of Valliquette.  We had pressure, we got shots, we generated power-play chances.  We did all we could”.

One thing they could have did was score on the power-play.  In six games, the Rovers were 4-40 on the power-play, an average of nearly seven chances per contest, but a 10% effeciency rate.  The Mounties penalty-killers were dominant, holding the Rovers to four PPG and scored three shorthanded.  Mason and Martin Gerber were great in the finals, with only one bad game played between them (Gerber’s 4-1 loss on 22 shots in game 4).  “If you discount empty-net goals, we played five one-goal games in the six game series”, Stringer said in reflection.  “The four games we lost were all tied at some point in the third period.  Games were won and lost late and often on a single play.  Quite literally a bounce here or a bounce there could have seen us as the champs today.  They just got the bounces because they worked for them.  Hats off to ‘em, they earned it through and through”.

The loss ends a great season for Baffin.  The club finished second in the regular season standings, setting a franchise record for points with 93 and ending a point back of the Saskatoon Funboys for the Queen’s Bowl.  The club then dispatched of the Eagles, Penetrators, and Funboys on the way to their third Kings Cup final in the past four seasons.  Still, it’s hard to sell that to a group of players that just lost a championship final.  “We have one goal in this room, and that’s to win a title”, captain Olli Jokinen said after the loss.  “Maybe later in the summer we can look back and say that we had a good year, but right now we all feel like we came up short”.

Demitra, Stillman power Rovers to game 5 win

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

Trailing 1-0 with perhaps only 40 minutes remaining in their season, the Rovers leaders decided that they would not end their season that way.  Pavol Demitra tied the game and minutes later Olli Jokinen and Glen Murray set up Cory Stillman for the go-ahead goal as the Rovers won game 5 by a 2-1 score to force a game 6 tomorrow night in Kitchener.

The Mounties started the game like a team that wanted to close out the series.  They brought full pressure in the opening frame, with Mats Sundin breaking the ice with six minutes remaining in the period.  In the second period the Rovers came out with guns blazing.  Demitra scored 4 minutes into the period and Stillman scored half-way through the frame to give the Rovers the lead.  After outshooting the Mounties 13-4 in the second, Chris Mason took over and held off Kitchener in the third to seal the win.  Miikka Kiprusoff faced 28 shots, allowing 2 goals, while Mason stopped 22 of 23 shots for the win.   “Obviously we had to have this one”, Stringer said after the game.  “Now we’ve got the next biggest game of the year down in Kitchener.  We haven’t figured them out in two cracks there, so we have to get it done this time or it’ll be over.  We’ll have to bring our best game of the season”.

Rovers drop pair in Kitchener, teeter on the brink

Kitchener, ON (CP)

A pair of losses in games 3 and 4 leave the Baffin Island Rovers headed home searching for answers, down 3-1 in the series and faced with the task of winning three straight of a seemingly unstoppable netminder.  The Mounties climbed to the final rung of the ladder with 2-1 and 4-1 victories, and are now one step away from the pinnacle, an RHL16 Kings Cup championship.

Game 3 saw the Rovers play tight to the vest as they made a calculated effort to stem what they anticipated would be an attack propelled by the home crowd.  Alas it was not enough as goals by Darcy Tucker and Rob Blake had the home side up 2-0 before the mid-way mark of the first.  They finished the frame outshooting the Rovers 13-3 and outscoring them 2-0.  After a lull in the second period where each team only generated five shots apiece, Gary Roberts scored 90 seconds into the third to pull the Rovers to within one.  But they would get no closer as the Mounties returned to the furious pressure of the first period, outshooting 12-6 in the period and taking the game 2-1 on 30 shots to 14.  Miikka Kiprusoff was barely tested throughout the game while Martin Gerber, in his first start of the series was the only reason the score wasn’t five or six to one, stopping 28 of 30 shots while taking the loss.  “We need to generate more chances in game 4″, Stringer said.  “We can’t give Kiprusoff an easy night like that or he’ll finish us every time”.

In an odd bit of scheduling, and quite unbeknownst to Rovers brass before the trip, the team was summoned from their hotel three hours after the game and told that game 4 was going to start in one hour.  “You have to be kidding me was what I was thinking”, Stringer said when recounting how he heard the news.  “Didn’t we just finish playing?  Was there going to be a fire in the arena later in the afternoon that we had to play so quickly?  Well.. whatever.. at least next time I hope they notify us if they want us to be playing double-headers… this isn’t baseball”.

Heading back to the arena and back onto the ice, you’d never say that the Rovers were the team caught by surprise by the news.  The team was determined to exert more pressure than they did in game 3, and they did just that.  Glen Murray broke the ice with a power-play goal midway through the frame, giving the Rovers a 1-0 lead after a period where they outshot Kitchener 9-6.  “We came out with a lot of energy, I was proud of that”, Stringer said of the effort.

The Rovers continued to forecheck in the second and continued to draw penalties, however as in game 1 the penalty killers of the Mounties were the stars, and Ladislav Nagy scored a shorthanded goal in the second to tie the game at 1-1 headed to the third period.  Then in the third, the wheels fell off.  Superfreak Rickard Wallin and Nagy scored 90 seconds apart to give the Mounties a 3-1 lead, and then Marian Gaborik scored their second SHG of the game to make the final 4-1.  The Rovers were successful in generating the chances they wanted, outshooting the Mounties 28-22 and leading in faceoffs, possession, and corner battles, but they went 1-9 on the PP and allowed two SHG which was ultimately their demise.  “This one hurt”, Stringer said after the second loss in eight hours.  “We did what we wanted to do.  We came out and carried the play and dominated in scoring chances.  We just couldn’t beat Kiprusoff and their penalty killers outscored our power-play 2-1.  You can’t let that happen”.

The teams now return to Iqaluit for game 5 with the Rovers needing to pull off a miracle.  However, Rovers fans will point out that all is not lost.  They will point to this very same period three years ago when the team returned home down 3-1 to the Capones and frustrated by an off-the-charts Dwayne Roloson.  The Rovers suddenly solved the puzzle in game 5 and won three straight games to take the title.  Fans will have to hold to that hope, because they need the exact same scenario this season.  “If you asked us would we rather be up 3-1 or down 3-1, obviously we’d rather be up”, Glen Murray said after the game.  “But we aren’t.  We’re down, but we’re going home and we know that as a group we have fought out of the exact same corner in the past, so we know we have it in us.  Now it’s time for us to all dig in and come up with what made us successful that time and do it once again”.

Mounties Strike Back, square series

Iqaluit, NU (CP)

Faced with the prospect of going down 0-2 in the Kings Cup Final, the Kitchener Mounties summoned the Ghost of Kings Cup Past to aid their cause.  In this case, past was also present as Mats Sundin set up both scores against Chris Mason and then added an empty net goal as the Mounties took game 2 by a 4-1 score to even the final series at a game apiece.

The Rovers got another quick start in game 2, mounting massive pressure in the first period.  However unlike the first game, they were not rewarded with a first-period goal.  They ended the period outshooting the Mounties 13-5 and carrying a power-play over into the second with Daniel Briere in the box for interference.  Unfortunately for Baffin, the Mounties struck while shorthanded to start the second period.  Sergei Gonchar, ever the offensive opportunist, gambled when he saw Sundin tie up Glen Murray along the end boards and jumped from the front of the net anticipating that Sundin would come up with the puck.  That was exactly what happened as Sundin stole the puck and flicked it to a streaking Gonchar who blew past Danny Markov and easily pulled away on a breakaway, beating Mason with a low shot to the blocker side to open the scoring.  “That goal was a tough one to give up because we were trying to build on the momentum of the first period”, Mason said.  “I didn’t want to give that one up, but it wasn’t the one that killed us”.

Not getting down about the score, the Rovers continued to press and late in the period were awarded another power-play after Tyler Wright had hauled down Joe Thornton in the slot.  This chance was not wasted as Gary Roberts extended his playoff scoring lead by tallying his ninth goal of the post-season to tie the game at 1-1.  “Entering the third we knew it was anyone’s game, just like game 1″, said Roberts.  “The next goal was going to be critical”.

Indeed it was.  With the Rovers continuing to buzz around Kiprusoff, Daniel Briere scored on one of Kitchener’s few offensive rushes of the period.  Taking a Marian Gaborik pass behind the net, he walked out of the corner and deftly put a screened shot through the legs of both Rhett Warrener and Mason to put the Mounties up 2-1.  It was a lead they would not relinquish as they added two empty net goals in the final minute to make the final 4-1.  “Another one goal game, but this one went against us”, Stringer said of the result.  “It’s going to be that kind of series.  Now we need that kind of break down in Kitchener”.

The teams now travel to Kitchener today for game 3 tonight.  With the Mounties having taken home-ice advantage, the Rovers will have to come out with their best games in the next two to overcome a Mounties team that is 7-0 at home in the playoffs.  “They’ve defended home-ice very very well so far, so it’s up to us to go in there and steal it.  They won’t give us anything.. we’ve got to grab it by the throat and take it ourselves”.