Western Sieve-alization

(On losses by two teams from western N.Y. and one from Philadelphia)

Quick and Dirty on the Rangers: They beat Buffalo, 4-3, with Sean Avery and Brandon Dubinsky each finishing with a goal and an assist, and Jaromir Jagr scoring a goal as well. If the Avery-Dubinsky-Jagr line is split up for any reason other than an injury to any of those three players (or the trade of Jagr), Tom Renney should be fired immediately. I remember discussing the Rangers' struggles with Barry Melrose about a month ago during an intermission of the Army-Air Force game, and Barry agreed that putting Avery on Jagr's line works because it means that Jagr has to work. Adding the youthful exuberance (and serious talent) of Brandon Dubinsky makes for one awesome line. As much as I loved the Shamrock Line of Shanahan, Avery and Callahan the couple of times it appeared last year, this line is exactly what the Rangers need to go with the rest of the way. I even have a name for it: Attitude
ADJustment (ADJ = Avery, Dubinsky, Jagr).

In other NHL news, the Panthers beat the Flyers, 2-1, in overtime. Tanner played about five minutes. Hopefully, we'll see more of him tonight.

But on to where I was last night: Princeton. I saw the Tigers put an emphatic stamp on their Ivy League championship by beating Cornell, 2-1...although it should really be 3-1. Cam MacIntyre clearly scored a goal - everyone in the press box agreed, but the puck bounced out off the spine of the cage, and the goal judge never turned the light on. Remember the other night, when I was commenting on how TV bailed out Union on the disallowed Clarkson goal? No TV Saturday at Princeton, so no video reiew.

This needs to stop, and it needs to stop right now. I don't know what the price tag is on the video review system the CCHA installed before the 2006-07 season, but it's a pretty basic system, and I'd have to imagine it's within the means of the ECAC Hockey schools, and the last two nights have shown they need it. I can understand not being able to mandate it league-wide when Quinnipiac was still playing in Northford, but now that every school in the league has an on-campus arena, it's time for the league to get replay in every game. Heck, unlike the CCHA, ECAC Hockey has a women's league that the system could be available for as well.

All of that said, Princeton did a great job of hanging together and showing mental toughness, not letting the BS call get them down. I like the way Princeton plays. They seem to always get to the puck, and break up a lot of plays. The Tigers are also one of the least penalized teams in the country, which shows how smart they are about what they're doing out there. Of course, it is Princeton, and there is a Rhodes Scholar on the team.

It should also be noted that two of the greatest goalie helmets in college hockey were in use at Baker Rink last night. Ben Scrivens gets high marks from me for incorporating that Lynah Faithful and the always-awesome Big Red Band into his helmet design, and Princeton's Zane Kalemba has the sort of helmet you'd only see in the Ivy League. The main element is a Tiger design, but the right side of the helmet features a photo of Hobey Baker, while the left has a picture of Albert Einstein. Gotta love it.

Having mentioned the Big Red band, they were in fine form last night, as always. I don't think there's a band that mixes the spirit of college hockey with a respectable level of musicality the way Cornell's does. I've heard bands that sound better, but they don't have the attitude.

Tonight, it's Rangers and Panthers at the Garden...will Tanner live up to the dare to fight Avery? Time will tell.