Canon Mac versus Peters hockey game lives up to expectationsBy Ellyn Stanton, seniorThe Iceoplex at Southpointe was the place to be on a chilly Monday in December as the Big Mac hockey team took on the Indians of Peters Township. Going into the game, PT had 5 wins, 1 overtime win and 1 game that ended in a tie, even after the overtime and Canon-McMillan had 8 wins. Peters Township's goalie, Brian Baker, had a 0.955 save percentage and C-M’s Ryan Christian had a 0.896 save percentage. Both teams took to the ice for a battle of the undefeated. The game was chippy, to say the least, 44 seconds into the first period Peters Township’s #17 went to the box for a tripping penalty. Four seconds after this penalty was over, Anthony Tonkovich, #26, scored the first goal of the night for the Big Macs with the assist going to Zack McKown, #49. #17 on the Indians took two more penalties, one for hooking and the other for holding. However, Canon Mac did not capitalize on these powerplays. With 1:17 to go in the period, PT tied the game to make it an even score of 1-1. Because of the heated rivalry and the tied score, the game was exciting. “And being the two best undefeated teams also contributed [to the game],” Carmen Dalesandro, #93, said of the rivalry.
JD Oddi, #20 of the Big Macs, added two goals to the Big Macs scoring, one in the second, and the game-winning goal in the third. “It was great to be able to do that with the rivalry and the atmosphere the game was played in” Oddi said of his two goals.
In the end, Canon Mac won 3-2 and remains undefeated. “It feels great. Don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but being undefeated just means we have to keep doing what we are doing,” Dalesandro says of their unbeaten record. C-M Hockey outshines Erie McDowellEllyn Stanton, senior On October 31st, 2011, the members of Canon-McMillan Hockey traveled to Mercyhurst to take on Erie McDowell. Alex Baskakov, Carmen Dalesandro and Austin Tonkovich all scored one goal each but this was not enough to walk away with an easy win. Goalie Ryan Christian’s 17 saves on 20 shots was just not enough against McDowell. The team was definitely nervous on this Halloween night as they went into overtime with Erie McDowell. However, Canon Mac ended up pulling out the win with Blair Oldaker tallying a goal in overtime. Then, on November 18th, 2011, Canon Mac and Erie McDowell took to the ice again, this time though; Canon Mac had the home ice advantage. No worries this time though as C-M won by a decisive score of 8-0. Alex Baskakov, got a hat-trick, Kevin Lavorgna tallied 2 goals for the Big Macs, and Blair Oldaker, Artem Prus, and Anthony Tonkovich all contributed to the scoring as well. As for preserving the shutout, Ryan Christian and Kyle Stawowczyk split the game and helped keep the puck out of the net. Anthony Tonkovich, a forward on the Big Macs, said, “We blew them out because everyone was working hard and everybody was focused before the game unlike the bus ride up.” Tonkovich also commented on their goalie’s stellar performance, “He didn’t have a bad game we just didn’t let up and kept on pouring the pressure [on net].” Erie McDowell’s goalie stopped 49 of 57 shots.NBA in action once againBy Andrew Miller, sophomoreWith the loss of a season at stake, NBA players and owners managed to strike a deal that will result in a 66 game season. On November 26 a collective bargaining agreement was made ending the 149 day NBA lockout. The season will officially begin on Christmas Day 2011 with five games scheduled for that day. After more than five months of harsh negotiating by players and owners, the two sides met for a rough 15 hours on the 26th and managed to come to a tentative 10 year deal that will let the players take the court for the 2011-2012 season. The Players Association and the owners held a press conference at 3:30 AM on November 26 to announce the news. If the lockout were to stretch on, much profit would have been lost and neither players nor owners were willing to give that loss. About $480 million in revenue was lost during the work stoppage that neither side will ever see. Also, according to Businessweek, if the scheduled All-Star game was cancelled the city of Orlando would have lost $100 million in revenue. If the season would have been cancelled, the league would have had to pay back ABC/ESPN and TNT $930 million in TV revenue. With the risk of losing so much money at stake the players and owners settled their differences and signed a new collective bargaining agreement. The former agreement split the basketball related income into 57% for the players and 43% to the owners. At the beginning of the lockout, the sides had a large margin on how they wanted to split the income and how to set a salary cap. Players would not budge at the owner’s first attempts to raise their percent of income received. Eventually, they were able to successfully negotiate and came to an agreement of 51 percent revenue for the players and 48 percent revenue for the owners. The players or owners will also be able to opt out of the deal in 2017. With the new deal in place, training camps began on Friday, December 3, and free agency began the following Saturday. Along with a new season comes a new free agency class. Although many analysts agree that this year’s class is not the best, there are some valuable players that could be picked up before the beginning of the season. Tyson Chandler of the defending champions, Dallas Mavericks and Nene Hilario of the Denver Nuggets are both valuable players that are highly marketed. Some free agents like J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler will not be able to return to the NBA this season because they are stuck in Chinese contracts. As of now, the Chinese Basketball Association is saying that players who signed contracts with their teams during the lockout will not be able to opt out to return the NBA. Also, NBA analyst Chris Broussard explains that with only 66 games in this season quality of play is expected to increase. Because the season is so short, every game will be treated as a must win game; therefore, forcing players to give their full efforts to try to get to the playoffs. Team look to get off to a good start with such a short off-season. Who knows what this shortened season will bring fans? Will the aging Celtics make one last run for a title? Will the big three in Miami finally be crowned champions or will the Dallas Mavericks go for a repeat to defend their title?
Big Macs battle Baldwin on Senior NightBy Carson Fox, senior
On the brisk, autumn evening Friday of October 21, the C-M football team took the field for its last regular season home game of the season against the Baldwin Highlanders. Unfortunately, due to some mistakes and penalties, the Highlanders ended the Big Macs’ chance at a WPIAL playoff berth with a 29-12 victory. Coming into the contest, C-M looked even on paper with the Highlanders, who came into the game with an (0-3) conference record. Led by running back, Dorian Brown, who came into the game as the WPIAL’s 18th leading rusher, it was C-M’s own, Kenyadda Brown, who looked to match his counterpart. In the first quarter, it was a fumbled snap to punter Jonah Hladycz, that gave Baldwin life. After a beautiful 45 yard punt on his first attempt, C-M false started, which forced a re-kick. The penalty caused the Big Macs to lose close to 50 yards in field possession, which set up a TD run by Brown.
The offense regrouped in the second quarter and was fueled by runs by Brown, fullback Zack Soyring, Colin Chupinka and Jules Gdovic. Brown sealed the deal with a short yardage touchdown run and the Big Macs were right back in it. They failed the two point conversion attempt and were down only one point at the time. Disaster struck twice in the 2nd quarter, as Hladycz was not able to cleanly catch a high snap from long snapper, Brian Cumpston. But momentum was restored to the Blue and Gold after Brown, fumbled in C-M territory and the Macs recovered. After not being able to create any holes on offense, C-M had to punt yet again. This time, much to the fans’ chagrin, Baldwin took over after what was speculated as a muffed punt. Five plays later, the Highlanders scored another touchdown on the ground and walked into the locker room with a 14-6 lead. Much of the same smash mouth, power football continued in the second half, as Brown and fullback Dominick Barca, Jr. led the way for Baldwin. Only attempting one pass in the first half, QB Matt Maletta looked to lead his offense in the 4th quarter, gaining some morale for the evening. With time winding down in the 4th and time winding down, Maletta completed a touchdown pass to Cooper Shroeder, cutting into the lead 29-12, which was also the final score. Dorian Brown was fortunate enough to go over 1,000 yards rushing for the season and established himself as one of the elite running backs in the WPIAL.
Senior fall sport athletes and band members were recognized at half-time as well as before in the game for their accolades during their high school careers. Fans were decked out in pink attire in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and donations were collected at Memorial Stadium. The Big Macs travel to Peters Township next week to take on the Indians in the regular season’s final match up.Big Macs battle Bethel Park on Homecoming weekend
Canon Mac versus Peters hockey game lives up to expectations
By Ellyn Stanton, senior
The Iceoplex at Southpointe was the place to be on a chilly Monday in December as the Big Mac hockey team took on the Indians of Peters Township. Going into the game, PT had 5 wins, 1 overtime win and 1 game that ended in a tie, even after the overtime and Canon-McMillan had 8 wins. Peters Township's goalie, Brian Baker, had a 0.955 save percentage and C-M’s Ryan Christian had a 0.896 save percentage. Both teams took to the ice for a battle of the undefeated.
The game was chippy, to say the least, 44 seconds into the first period Peters Township’s #17 went to the box for a tripping penalty. Four seconds after this penalty was over, Anthony Tonkovich, #26, scored the first goal of the night for the Big Macs with the assist going to Zack McKown, #49. #17 on the Indians took two more penalties, one for hooking and the other for holding. However, Canon Mac did not capitalize on these powerplays. With 1:17 to go in the period, PT tied the game to make it an even score of 1-1.
Because of the heated rivalry and the tied score, the game was exciting. “And being the two best undefeated teams also contributed [to the game],” Carmen Dalesandro, #93, said of the rivalry.
JD Oddi, #20 of the Big Macs, added two goals to the Big Macs scoring, one in the second, and the game-winning goal in the third. “It was great to be able to do that with the rivalry and the atmosphere the game was played in” Oddi said of his two goals.
In the end, Canon Mac won 3-2 and remains undefeated. “It feels great. Don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but being undefeated just means we have to keep doing what we are doing,” Dalesandro says of their unbeaten record.
C-M Hockey outshines Erie McDowellJD Oddi, #20 of the Big Macs, added two goals to the Big Macs scoring, one in the second, and the game-winning goal in the third. “It was great to be able to do that with the rivalry and the atmosphere the game was played in” Oddi said of his two goals.
In the end, Canon Mac won 3-2 and remains undefeated. “It feels great. Don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but being undefeated just means we have to keep doing what we are doing,” Dalesandro says of their unbeaten record.
Ellyn Stanton, senior
On October 31st, 2011, the members of Canon-McMillan Hockey traveled to Mercyhurst to take on Erie McDowell. Alex Baskakov, Carmen Dalesandro and Austin Tonkovich all scored one goal each but this was not enough to walk away with an easy win. Goalie Ryan Christian’s 17 saves on 20 shots was just not enough against McDowell. The team was definitely nervous on this Halloween night as they went into overtime with Erie McDowell. However, Canon Mac ended up pulling out the win with Blair Oldaker tallying a goal in overtime.
Then, on November 18th, 2011, Canon Mac and Erie McDowell took to the ice again, this time though; Canon Mac had the home ice advantage. No worries this time though as C-M won by a decisive score of 8-0. Alex Baskakov, got a hat-trick, Kevin Lavorgna tallied 2 goals for the Big Macs, and Blair Oldaker, Artem Prus, and Anthony Tonkovich all contributed to the scoring as well. As for preserving the shutout, Ryan Christian and Kyle Stawowczyk split the game and helped keep the puck out of the net.
Anthony Tonkovich, a forward on the Big Macs, said, “We blew them out because everyone was working hard and everybody was focused before the game unlike the bus ride up.” Tonkovich also commented on their goalie’s stellar performance, “He didn’t have a bad game we just didn’t let up and kept on pouring the pressure [on net].” Erie McDowell’s goalie stopped 49 of 57 shots.
By Andrew Miller, sophomore
With the loss of a season at stake, NBA players and owners managed to strike a deal that will result in a 66 game season. On November 26 a collective bargaining agreement was made ending the 149 day NBA lockout. The season will officially begin on Christmas Day 2011 with five games scheduled for that day.
After more than five months of harsh negotiating by players and owners, the two sides met for a rough 15 hours on the 26th and managed to come to a tentative 10 year deal that will let the players take the court for the 2011-2012 season. The Players Association and the owners held a press conference at 3:30 AM on November 26 to announce the news.
If the lockout were to stretch on, much profit would have been lost and neither players nor owners were willing to give that loss. About $480 million in revenue was lost during the work stoppage that neither side will ever see. Also, according to Businessweek, if the scheduled All-Star game was cancelled the city of Orlando would have lost $100 million in revenue. If the season would have been cancelled, the league would have had to pay back ABC/ESPN and TNT $930 million in TV revenue.
With the risk of losing so much money at stake the players and owners settled their differences and signed a new collective bargaining agreement. The former agreement split the basketball related income into 57% for the players and 43% to the owners. At the beginning of the lockout, the sides had a large margin on how they wanted to split the income and how to set a salary cap. Players would not budge at the owner’s first attempts to raise their percent of income received. Eventually, they were able to successfully negotiate and came to an agreement of 51 percent revenue for the players and 48 percent revenue for the owners. The players or owners will also be able to opt out of the deal in 2017. With the new deal in place, training camps began on Friday, December 3, and free agency began the following Saturday.
Along with a new season comes a new free agency class. Although many analysts agree that this year’s class is not the best, there are some valuable players that could be picked up before the beginning of the season. Tyson Chandler of the defending champions, Dallas Mavericks and Nene Hilario of the Denver Nuggets are both valuable players that are highly marketed. Some free agents like J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler will not be able to return to the NBA this season because they are stuck in Chinese contracts. As of now, the Chinese Basketball Association is saying that players who signed contracts with their teams during the lockout will not be able to opt out to return the NBA.
Also, NBA analyst Chris Broussard explains that with only 66 games in this season quality of play is expected to increase. Because the season is so short, every game will be treated as a must win game; therefore, forcing players to give their full efforts to try to get to the playoffs. Team look to get off to a good start with such a short off-season.
Who knows what this shortened season will bring fans? Will the aging Celtics make one last run for a title?
Will the big three in Miami finally be crowned champions or will the Dallas Mavericks go for a repeat to defend their title?
By Carson Fox, senior
On the brisk, autumn evening Friday of October 21, the C-M football team took the field for its last regular season home game of the season against the Baldwin Highlanders. Unfortunately, due to some mistakes and penalties, the Highlanders ended the Big Macs’ chance at a WPIAL playoff berth with a 29-12 victory.
Coming into the contest, C-M looked even on paper with the Highlanders, who came into the game with an (0-3) conference record. Led by running back, Dorian Brown, who came into the game as the WPIAL’s 18th leading rusher, it was C-M’s own, Kenyadda Brown, who looked to match his counterpart. In the first quarter, it was a fumbled snap to punter Jonah Hladycz, that gave Baldwin life. After a beautiful 45 yard punt on his first attempt, C-M false started, which forced a re-kick. The penalty caused the Big Macs to lose close to 50 yards in field possession, which set up a TD run by Brown.
The offense regrouped in the second quarter and was fueled by runs by Brown, fullback Zack Soyring, Colin Chupinka and Jules Gdovic. Brown sealed the deal with a short yardage touchdown run and the Big Macs were right back in it. They failed the two point conversion attempt and were down only one point at the time. Disaster struck twice in the 2nd quarter, as Hladycz was not able to cleanly catch a high snap from long snapper, Brian Cumpston. But momentum was restored to the Blue and Gold after Brown, fumbled in C-M territory and the Macs recovered. After not being able to create any holes on offense, C-M had to punt yet again. This time, much to the fans’ chagrin, Baldwin took over after what was speculated as a muffed punt. Five plays later, the Highlanders scored another touchdown on the ground and walked into the locker room with a 14-6 lead.
Much of the same smash mouth, power football continued in the second half, as Brown and fullback Dominick Barca, Jr. led the way for Baldwin. Only attempting one pass in the first half, QB Matt Maletta looked to lead his offense in the 4th quarter, gaining some morale for the evening. With time winding down in the 4th and time winding down, Maletta completed a touchdown pass to Cooper Shroeder, cutting into the lead 29-12, which was also the final score. Dorian Brown was fortunate enough to go over 1,000 yards rushing for the season and established himself as one of the elite running backs in the WPIAL.
Senior fall sport athletes and band members were recognized at half-time as well as before in the game for their accolades during their high school careers. Fans were decked out in pink attire in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and donations were collected at Memorial Stadium. The Big Macs travel to Peters Township next week to take on the Indians in the regular season’s final match up.
By Carson Fox, senior
Students, fans and alumni alike filed into Memorial Stadium on Friday October 7th, for the annual Homecoming football game. The Big Macs came into the game looking for its first win against a Bethel Park team that, on paper, seemed to be pretty evenly matched. After being shut out by Mt. Lebanon the week beforehand, the Big Mac players gave it their all for their school, but fell short to the Hawks 29-0.
Unlike the previous home game that started off with two takeaways that led to scores, the Big Mac offense proceeded down the field after sophomore, Jules Gdovic, belted off a 40 yard kickoff return. The score remained deadlocked in the first quarter until Hawk wide receiver, Jonathan Kobel, caught a long pass from quarterback, Anthony Cinello, which set up running back, Nick Marshall, for a short touchdown run. Unfortunately, the Big Mac offense could not match their counterparts on the defense and had no points to show for their hard work at halftime.
During the halftime performance, the Homecoming King Mike Reis and Queen Jordan Muckle were announced as the Homecoming court proceeded down the 50 yard line.
The Big Macs opened the half with new offensive sets which included a pistol-spread and an I-formation along with their usual double-tight formation. Plagued by pre-snap penalties and time outs burned early in the 3rd quarter, the Big Mac offense was stagnant. Marshall and running back, Eric Malle, led the charge for the Hawks and continued to add to their lead until the game was out of reach for the Blue and Gold. The score stood 29-0 when the final seconds ran the clock out.
If their was a bright spot for the Big Mac offense, it was the emergence of sophomore running back, Colin Chupinka, who showed great quickness carrying the ball. As the season continues, Chupinka should continue to see in increase in carries because of the toughness he showed in this game against the Hawks. The Big Macs will travel next week to Upper St. Clair to face a Panther squad that is currently sitting at the top of the section.
C-M girls tennis places second in section
By Emily Hughes, senior
On October 4th the Canon-McMillan Girls Varsity Tennis Team did amazing on the courts and officially placed second in their section and qualified for WPIALS after defeating Trinity on their home turf. Winning Against Bethel is what gave the girls enough wins to place second.
Alexis Paquin and Morgan Kramer’s great net game rewarded the team with their first win against Bethel in eight years. The only team the girls have lost against is their biggest opponent Peters Township.
Throughout the tennis season Rachel Klemish, the team's number one singles player, has done amazingly, beating all of her opponents except two. Kramer has also had a triumphant year, going from expedition doubles to playing second doubles. Coach Denise Toward states, “Morgan is the most improved player on the team."
The team’s freshman Elizabeth Beachy surprised all the senior players with her astonishing skills at third doubles. It is these great players as well as the team's camaraderie that has helped the team do so well. “I love playing for this team, I love all the girls. We have a great team vibe.” exclaimed senior tennis player, Michelle Kelly.
The team’s freshman Elizabeth Beachy surprised all the senior players with her astonishing skills at third doubles. It is these great players as well as the team's camaraderie that has helped the team do so well. “I love playing for this team, I love all the girls. We have a great team vibe.” exclaimed senior tennis player, Michelle Kelly.
Overall, the team has had an amazing season and will hopefully continue to do well when they go to team WPIALS.
Montour presents prolific passing game against Big Macs
By Carson Fox, senior
On Friday September 23rd, a brisk, autumn evening perfect for football, the Canon-Mac Big Macs battled the Montour Spartans. C-M (0-3) came into the game looking for its first win of the season against its most skilled opponent yet. Although the blue and gold showed some promise early in the game, Montour's passing game was too much for the Macs as they fell 52-19.
The game began with an unfortunate start for the C-M offense, as QB Matt Maletta threw two interceptions on C-M’s first two drives, which lead to Spartan touchdowns. Montour was the 2010 WPIAL AAA runners-up, so coming back against such a talented team was going to be a difficult task for the Big Macs to begin with. After losing starting running-back Jake Billy early in the game, and Montour keying on RB Kenyadda Brown, it was full-back Alex Campbell that was asked to do the dirty work. Campbell, who made the switch to fullback because starter Zach Soyring was out with an ankle injury, scored in the 2nd quarter to cut into the lead on a 1 yard touchdown run.
Coming out of the half, the Big Macs had an uphill battle to climb being down 31-12 against Montour’s talented QB and RB, Dillon Buechel and Julian Durden. Life was restored back into the Big Macs after Sophomore DB, Colin Chupinka crushed Durden on the first offensive play of the 3rd quarter, causing him to fumble. After a beautiful catch and run from Maletta to Cooper Schroeder, the Big Macs scored and Ashley Hull, C-M’s new kicker who replaced injured Tommy Valerio, kicked it through the goal posts for the extra point.
Buechel continued to torch the C-M defense in the passing game, and after scoring on a long pass play to Devin Wilson, the game seemed to be out of reach. Durden, the WPIAL’s 5th leading rusher and 5th leading scorer ended his night with 3 TDs in the game, two receiving and one rushing. Buechel established himself as another of the WPIAL’s elite, accumulating for 5 TDs of his own. Maletta settled himself down in the 2nd half, hitting Schroeder for multiple passes, which showed his progression towards becoming a better QB. The final score was 52-19 and Canon-Mac’s record dropped to 0-4 on the season.
C-M will take on the Mount Lebanon this upcoming Friday and should be primed for a heated contest against a Blue Devils team who will be looking to take it to the Big Macs after losing to Hopewell. Though, it was a loss against one of the best AAA has to offer, the Big Macs scored the most points in any game they played this season and held Durden to only 63 yards rushing, solidifying their spot as one of the top rushing defenses in the WPIAL according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Also C-M inducted 6 new members into it’s prestigious Hall of Honor; inductees included Judge Katherine B. Emery for citizenry, Raymond H. Kemp for athletics and the Four Coins, George Mentalis, Jim Gregorakis, George Mahramus and Jack Mahramus for arts.C-M comes up short against Trinity, 19-18
By Carson Fox, senior
Photo by Jim McNutt of the O-RFans of Canon-Mac and Trinity alike poured into Hiller Stadium Friday September 2nd to witness the annual non-conference football game between the two Washington County rivals. Both Big Mac and Hiller players gave 100% effort on the gridiron in a defensive duel, but the Hillers were able to defeat the Blue and Gold, 19-18.
Unexpected high temperatures and high humidity set the stage for an equally as heated rivalry game between the Big Macs and Hillers. Decked out in gold attire, C-M students stood on the hillside in support for their Big Mac football team. Sporting new uniforms, Canon- Mac was ready to do battle with Trinity. Play was slow in the first quarter as both offenses looked to figure each other out, contrary to the quick scoring that was done by both teams the year before. After 12 minutes of play in the first, there still wasn’t a score.
Fortunately for the Big Macs, they opened up the scoring after capitalizing on a turnover deep in Hiller territory. Matt Maletta, C-M QB, had a rushing TD that was recovered for safe measure by TE, Cooper Schroeder in the end zone. Big Mac kicker, Tommy Valerio missed his first of two extra points, which proved to be costly in the close loss. More scoring continued in the 2nd quarter after Trinity’s Senior RB, Tyler Yocca, slipped past the Big Mac defense for a 66 yard scamper and was brought down on a magnificent play by defensive back, Kenyadda Brown. Patrick Frey, Trinity’s talented sophomore RB, scored on the next play to even the score.
Once Trinity was able to convert a first down after Canon-Mac held the offense to a 3rd and 27, Canon-Mac simply did not have enough time on the clock to mount a comeback in the ending minutes of the game. As is the norm in Canon-Mac vs. Trinity games, the play on the field was physical between two evenly matched teams. Play lasted quite longer than usual, with many stoppages in play and a lengthy half time show.
Thankfully for Big Mac fans, Brown shined that evening after he recorded 168 yards on 12 carries and also recorded a few catches, which put him over 200 total yards for the evening, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Fans marveled as he juked and out ran multiple Hiller defenders in his first career varsity start at running back, which can hopefully foreshadow big things to come for the Senior RB and defensive back. His 168 yard rushing total eclipsed another talented WPIAL star, Rushel Shell of Hopewell.
For game photos, visit the following link. Photos taken by O-R's Jim McNutt
http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/THS-CM-football090211/
For game photos, visit the following link. Photos taken by O-R's Jim McNutt
http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/THS-CM-football090211/
Hockey world mourns over lives lost in Russian plane crash
By Carson Fox, senior
Wednesday September 8th was the “darkest day in the history of [the] sport,” according to Rene Fasel, President of the International Ice Hockey Federation. 150 miles outside of the Russian capital of Moscow, a passenger plane transporting team Lokomotiv of the Kontinental Hockey League crash landed, which killed 43 people and left two survivors in critical condition. After only just taking off, the 31 year old Yak-42 airplane wobbled to a downward spiral, crash landed into the ground, witnesses responded.
It was a sad day for all hockey players around the world as they mourned the loss of a team that was anticipating its first game of the season in Minsk, Belarus. The plane was carrying players, coaches and officials, some of whom had played previously in the NHL. One of the victims included Pavol Demitra, who was a Slovakian national team captain and formerly played for the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. Also, former Detroit Redwings assistant coach, Brad McCrimmon, who went to Russia to become a head coach passed away. “This is a terrible tragedy for the global ice hockey community,” Fasel said.
The crash was the 3rd in Russia with a toll in the dozens in less than two years. In June, another Russian plane crashed killing 45 people as it tried to land in the fog but rather slammed into the roadside. This recent crash of the Lokomotiv hockey team will likely increase concerns about Russian aviation safety. While in attendance at the league’s opening match in Ufa, President Dmitry Medvedev left the game announcing that “there [had] been a terrible tragedy.” He later announced aging Soviet-built planes would be put out of service starting next year.