The Weekly Ignition: January 20 2014

 

 

Ladies and gents, it was a wild week of Calgary Flames hockey this week. The Flames made national news with their truculence on Saturday night in Vancouver. But beyond that, many prospects continued to make noise.

Let’s see what happened over the last seven days, shall we?

On Monday, the Flames earned their first shut-out win of the year! Karri Ramo got his first NHL goose-egg, and Mikael Backlund and Sean Monahan scored goals. All-in-all, a good game for most involved. [Post-Game]

The next night in Nashville, the Flames didn’t play quite as well, losing 4-2 to the Predators. Lee Stempniak and Backlund scored, and Ramo took the loss. [Post-Game]

Returning home, the Flames dropped a 5-2 decision to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Because it was Winnipeg visiting, the fans didn’t seem to care. Mark Giordano and Lance Bouma scored, and Reto Berra took the loss. [Post-Game]

The week ended with a shockingly entertaining – sometimes perversely so – game in Vancouver, with the Flames dropping a tight 3-2 shootout decision to the Canucks. Giordano and Matt Stajan scored and there were so, so many fights. Karri Ramo took the loss. [Post-Game]

Bruce Arthur thought the Flames/Canucks shenanigans on Saturday were dumb.

I have a lot of time for Clint Malarchuk, in part because the dude has some insane stories. He has another great yarn after Saturday night, where he nearly beat up John Tortorella before Brian McGrattan convinced him not to.

Bruce Garrioch is reporting that the Flames are getting offers for Mike Cammalleri.

Outside of their first three picks in this year’s Entry Draft, Brian Burke finds it hard to identify any untouchable assets that won’t be traded.

The Flames played four games and won once, earning three points. They played two good games and two games that left a lot to be desired. The good efforts book-ended the week.

The Abbotsford Heat finished off a six-game road trip with three games this week. They beat Rockford 4-3 in overtime, lost to Grand Rapids 3-0 and then rallied to beat Grand Rapids 3-2. Max Reinhart had a great week, putting up five points, while Chad Billins had four points and Corban Knight and Markus Granlund each had a pair. Sven Baertschi had an assist and six shots on net this week. Down in the ECHL, the Aces won all three games this week against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Olivier Roy continued his strong play in net, as he has four shutouts with the Aces and has lost just once since Christmas.

The kids had good weeks, y’all. Regina’s Morgan Klimchuk had a hat trick. He’s got 40 points in 33 games. Coda Gordon had a big week, putting up seven points. He’s got 47 points in 35 games for the Swift Current Broncos. Over in the NCAA, the Boston College duo continued to make life difficult for the opposition. Johnny Gaudreau had seven points (giving him 47 points in 23 games), and Bill Arnold had four points (giving him 33 points in 23 games).

The Flames play thrice this week. They’re in California to visit the Sharks tonight before heading home to play Phoenix on Wednesday and Nashville on Friday.

On the farm, the Abbotsford Heat return home from their road trip and start a bit of a light schedule. They welcome the Utica Comets to the AESC on Friday and Saturday nights. In the ECHL, the Alaska Aces head south to visit the Colorado Eagles on Friday and Saturday.

The Regina Pats visit the Calgary Hitmen on Tuesday night. The Hitmen are super-good and one of the top teams in the WHL, while the Pats boast the likes of Calgary Flames first rounder Morgan Klimchuk. Why not take in some junior hockey and take a gander at Klimchuk in-person?