This Week in the NNHL

Gagner says good-bye

    The Florida Panthers were dealt a severe blow on the eve of the new season when centre Dave Gagner announced his retirement October 1 in Florida. Gagner cited a lack of playing time and a desire to spend more time with his family as the reasons for his sudden departure.
    It was no secret to those around the veteran centre that he was disappointed at being demoted by the Penguins, recording no points and averaging less than 12 minutes a game in a pair exhibition outings for the the Panthers.
    “We’re very disappointed by his decision”, said Florida coach Terry Murray,”We got alot of young players on this team and we’re definately going to miss Dave’s leadership in the dressing room.”
    Gagner's NNHL career began when he was signed as a free agent by Boston early in the 97-98 season, quickly became an integral part of the Bruins first succesful Stanley Cup win, scoring 13 goals and 26 assists in 65 games. He finished second to Bruins teammate Glen Wesley in the Mario Lemiuex Trophy (Best Rookie) balloting and was named to the NNHL all-rookie team for the 1997-98 season.
    However, the good times were shortlived for Gagner. He was left unptotected by the Bruins and consequently selected by the Pittsburgh Pensguins in the 1998 Expansion Draft.  Gagner hoped to play a big part in the Penguins growth into a contender, but that never occured. As the Pens went in a more “European” direction during the 98-99 season, Gagner found his role on the club, not to mention his ice time cut.  The final nail in the coffin for Gagner was being demoted to Florida prior to the 1999-2000 season.
    “I still feel like I can play the game, but never felt like I was given a chance to show that I could still play in Pittsburgh,” said Gagner who saw limited action with the Pens last season appearing in only 29 games scoring 3-goals and 3-assists adding
    “I’m not bitter. I know Coach (Mike ) Hancock has to run his team as he sees fit but.........this is the life I choose and now it’s just time to just move on.”
    Gagner ends his career have played in 94 N.N.H.L. games over two seasons, scoring 16-goals and adding 31-assists for 47-points. The Panthers seeking to address need for veteran leadership quickly signed former New Jersey and Chicago winger Scott Mellanby.
 


Player-of-the-Week

A week ago there were a lot of questions surrounding the Florida Panthers goaltending.  For now Corey Hirsch appears to have put those concerns to rest. The second-year M.N.H.L. netminder backstopped his club to a trio of wins this week, including a pair of shutouts to claim the first player-of-the-week honours of the 1999-2000 season.
The diminutive goalie - 5’ 10” and 175 lbs - was a true road warrior shutting out the powerful Los Angeles Kings 4-0 October 3 in LA.  Four nights later, Hirsch outduelled Houston’s  John Vanbiesbrouck 1-0 in the Aeros home opener.
Sandwiched in between was 5-2 win over the lowly Montreal Canadiens, October 5 in the Panthers home opener.
For the week Hirsch posted an impressive 0.67 goals-against-average turning aside 60 of 62 shots to post a jaw-dropping and league-leading .968 save percentage.
Runner-up : John Vanbiesbrouck, Houston Aeros - 4-games, 3-wins and 1-loss, 1.00 goals against average, 1-shutout, 0.966 save percentage.

Around the MHL

Dallas Stars :  Free Agent Josef Beranek paid immediate dividends for the Stars scoring twice in the club’s 5-1 win over Washington......the unsettled goaltending situation which loomed over the Stars during preseason appears to be resolved, atleast for the time being, by rookie Jamie Storr.  In his first two games Storr was solid turning aside 43 of 46 shots he faced, earning a win and a tie.......Defenceman Bill Houlder was expected to be the cornerstone of the Stars defence, but after some indifferent play in the opener, a 3-2 loss to Houston, Houlder found himself facing the wrath of coach Ken Hitchcock and seated in the press box for the foreseeable future.

Florida Panthers :  Another free agent paying immediate dividends is Scott Mellanby. He scored two goals and set up a third in club’s 5-2 win over Montreal Oct. 5.......While on the surface goaltending, specifically Corey Hirsch, appears to be the reason for early success in Florida, upon closer examination, it may in fact be a solid defensive corps which is closer to the truth.  In the Panthers first three games the defence has yielded only 17, 21, and 24 shots respectively.......The blueline and the powerplay took a signifigant hit this week when Pittsburgh (NNHL) recalled defencemen Adrian Aucoin.  The offensive rearguard was enjoying a terrific season leading the club with three-goals, all on the powerplay.

Houston Aeros :  After the first week of play Henrik Sedin leads the club in scoring with three points, one goal and two assists while Alexander Daigle and Jan Hrdina lead the club in goals with two each.......Curtis Brown and Patrick Marleau have failed to register a point in the Aeros first four games this season. Marleau was even benched in the club’s second game a 1-0 loss to Florida.......Derek Morris had a immediate impact upon the Aeros in his debut, after being demoted by Chicago (NNHL), a 2-0 win over Montreal on October 8. Morris' line read 26 minutes played, eight shots on goal, one assist and plus-two.

Los Angeles Kings : Former Philadelphia Flyer left winger Greg Adams made a big splash with the Kings. He scored three goals in a two minute and thirty-three second span late in the final frame to put away Washington 5-2 on October 6.  It was the MHL’s first hat-trick of the 99-00 season......Don Sweeney was equally impressive against the Caps setting up four goals in the third period to help the Kings win their first game of the season. The game marked Sweeney’s MHL debut......Old-time hockey appears to making a comeback in Southern California.  The Kings lead the MHL in penalty minutes averaging 29 minutes per game. Rookie Branislav Meizi leads the league with 27 minutes.

Montreal Canadiens :  The club’s slow start is not totally blamed on the goaltending. Lack of finishing around the oppositions net is getting blamed. The Habs have scored only six goals in their first three games despite averaging better than 31 shots on goal per game, good for second  place among MHL teams.......Defenceman Danil Markov has not played up to expectations early this season. He is a minus-7 thus far in 99-00, the worst plus/minus rating on the team and second-worst in the league.......Defencemen Lance Pitlick leads the league in blocked shots with three.

Washington Capitals :  After scoring seven times in their opening game, a 7-4 destruction of winless Montreal, the Caps have manged only four-goals in their next three games.......In a 5-2 loss to Los Angeles on October 6, Jan Bulis was a dismal minus-five, while defencemen Chris Phillips and Andrei Zyuzin chipped in with dismal minus-four ratings.  Phillips leads the MHL with a rating of minus-eight......Sergei Krivakrasov leads the MHL in shots-on-goal with 19 in four games.