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Bartnick's 1st Quarter Western Conference Grades

Teams in the NHL’s Western Conference are more spread out in the standings than in the Eastern Conference. The West has the 2 best teams in the NHL, Colorado and Dallas. The West also has the two worst teams in the NHL, Calgary and Nashville. Like the East grades are based on eyetests and expectations. CENTRAL: Colorado A+, Colorado has only 2 regulation losses and its mid- December. The Avs have the best center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cala Makar in the NHL. Goaltende

Joe Bartnick

1 day ago3 min read

Bartnick's 1st Quarter Eastern Conference Grades

We have reached the quarter pole of the NHL season. Time to hand out some 1st Quarter Grades. Starting with the Eastern Conference.The 2 best teams in the NHL are in the Western Conference, Colorado and Dallas. The worst teams in the NHL is also out West, Calgary. The Eastern Conference is in a state of parity or mediocrity. Much of the teams are within a couple points of each other. The usual American Thanksgiving playoff predictor may be worthless this season. These grades

Joe Bartnick

1 day ago3 min read

Michigan Thumps Penn State Hockey 7-1

It was an interesting dynamic in the media room after tonight's game in Pegula Ice Arena. Photo Credit: Jordan Tucek “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” was blaring from the Michigan Wolverines locker room after they demolished Penn State 7-1, as Coach Guy Gadowsky made his way to the podium for his post-game press conference. It was quite the juxtaposition, the sounds of a team that seemed to have all the right answers, with a coach looking for any answer. When Gadowsky was asked what

Cory Tucek

Nov 144 min read

Is Losing the Best Plan for the Penguins’ Future?

I want the Penguins to do whatever is needed to win a Stanley Cup as soon as possible. Whether that means winning or losing now.

Cory Tucek

Oct 245 min read

Gavin McKenna Has Room to Grow at Penn State

Every autumn, there are a number of good reasons to drive across Pennsylvania. There’s the fall foliage, the alpine slide, plenty of high-school and college football games, but this year, a lot of hockey people will have a once-in-a-lifetime reason to make the trek. This weekend, I made the pilgrimage from Pittsburgh to State College to see Gavin McKenna, the projected number one overall pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft. He’s playing, as a 17-year-old, in the NCAA for the

Cory Tucek

Oct 205 min read

Playoffs or Ping-Pong Balls for the Penguins?

This is a blog. I’m not a journalist. These are just my thoughts. Are we looking at a playoff team or a draft lottery team? It's a fair question to ask since we’ve had a taste of both in the first four games of the season. The first two games of the season were playoff-worthy. A suffocating performance in a 3-0 win over the Rangers, and a decent win at the home opener over the Islanders. I’m not going to lie to you, my inner yinzer was telling me to dust off my Penguins Playo

Cory Tucek

Oct 153 min read