Monday Morning Meissnervations

It's Monday morning. Here's what's happening....

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Today is December 27th, the 361st day of 2010. There are 4 days left in the year.

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Toronto beats New Jersey.

Islanders top struggling Canadiens.

Ovi snaps goal drought as Caps edge Canes.

Bolts edge Thrashers in OT, stay first in Southeast.

Hossa returns, Turco stars in Hawks' win over Jackets.

Blues blank Preds.

Red Wings knock down Wild.

Crosby points streak reaches 24, but Senators win.

Coyotes slip past Stars.

Canucks tip Oilers.

Kings beat Ducks.

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Dr. Crawford Williamson Long used anesthesia for childbirth for the first time on this date in 1845. The event was the delivery of his own child in Jefferson, Georgia.

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U.S. National Junior Team Earns 3-2 Overtime Win over Finland in 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship Opener

Bjugstad Scores Game-Winning Goal

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Nick Bjugstad (Blaine, Minn./Univ. of Minnesota) scored just over three minutes into overtime, as the U.S. National Junior Team defeated Finland, 3-2, in its opening game of the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

"I thought we stuck to our gameplan throughout," said Keith Allain, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team. "Our players need to work on acting instinctively within that system, but this was an important win against a good Finland team."

The U.S. scored the lone goal of the first period with just over one minute remaining in the frame. With Team USA on the power play, Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich./Univ. of Michigan) slid a pass across the top of the zone to Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn./Univ. of Minnesota Duluth), who launched a slap shot that beat Finland goalie Joni Ortio high to the blocker side.

Following a Finland goal at the 13:50 mark of the second period, Team USA answered less than two minutes later. A forecheck by Chris Brown (Flower Mound, Texas/Univ. of Michigan) led to a turnover in Finland's end. Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./Univ. of Denver) escaped away from the boards and snapped a wrist shot over Ortio's glove to restore Team USA's one-goal advantage heading into the final frame.

Five minutes into the third period, Team USA appeared to take a 3-1 lead when Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y./Rockford IceHogs) fired a wrist shot into the net. But the goal was disallowed when it was ruled that Bjugstad had been in the crease.

Finland tied the game 13 minutes into the third, forcing an extra frame. At 3:08 of the overtime period, Bjugstad created a turnover at the Finland blue line and fired a shot that snuck between Ortio's pads and over the goal line.

Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich./Windsor Spitfires) was named Team USA's player of the game after making 32 saves in the win. Meanwhile, Ortio stopped 27 shots in a losing effort.

Team USA will play its second preliminary-round game of the IIHF World Junior Championship on Tuesday (Dec. 28) against Slovakia. The game, to be televised on NHL Network U.S. and streamed live on USAHockey.FASTHockey.com, will start at 8:00 p.m. EST.

NOTES: Team USA finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while Finland was 0-for-1 with the man advantage ... In earlier action, Switzerland earned a 4-3 win over Germany; Sweden topped Norway, 7-3; and Canada defeated Russia, 6-3. For a full tournament schedule and ticket information, visit BuffaloWorldJuniors.com ... Additional information on Team USA, including a team blog, stats and a media guide, can be found at USAHockey.com.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 1 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 3
FIN 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Faulk (Merrill, Kreider), 18:54. Penalties: USA, Ramage (holding), 7:37; FIN, Haula (holding), 14:40; FIN, Pulkkinen (hooking), 18:36.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, FIN, Nattinen (Rajala), 13:50; 3, USA, Zucker (unassisted), 15:08. Penalties: FIN, Rissanen (hooking), 0:44.

Third Period - Scoring: 4, FIN, Pakarinen (Haula, Pulkkinen), 12:59. Penalties: FIN, Junttila (high-sticking), 5:07.

Overtime - Scoring: 5, USA, Bjugstad (unassisted), 3:08. Penalties: None.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 OT Total
USA 7 10 12 1 30
FIN 9 14 11 0 34

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 OT Total
USA, Campbell 63:08 9-9 14-13 11-10 0-0 34-32
FIN, Ortio 63:08 7-6 10-9 12-12 1-0 30-27

Power Play: USA 1-4; FIN 0-1
Penalties: USA 1-2; FIN 4-8
Referees: Stephan Bauer (GER), Georgij Jablukow (GER)
Linesmen: Mikko Kekalainen (FIN), Jesse Wilmot (CAN)
Attendance: 14,093

2011 IIHF World Junior Championship
Team USA Schedule

Date Opponent Time* City Arena (Tickets Link)
Dec. 19 RPI# 4:00 p.m. Troy, N.Y. Houston Field House L3-4, SO
Dec. 21 Czech Republic# 7:00 p.m. Rochester, N.Y. L2-3, SO
Dec. 23 Norway# 7:30 p.m. Jamestown, N.Y. W6-1
Dec. 26 Finland 8:00 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. W3-2, OT
Dec. 28 Slovakia 8:00 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. HSBC Arena
Dec. 30 Germany 7:00 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. HSBC Arena
Dec. 31 Switzerland 8:00 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. HSBC Arena
Jan. 2 Quarterfinals^ 7:30 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. HSBC Arena
Jan. 3 Semifinals^ 7:30 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. HSBC Arena
Jan. 5 Bronze-Medal Game^ 3:30 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. HSBC Arena
Gold-Medal Game^ 7:30 p.m. Buffalo, N.Y. HSBC Arena

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Carrie Nation staged her first raid on a saloon at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas on this date in 1900. She broke each and every one of the liquor bottles that could be seen.

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Donate to the Tony Proudfoot Fund.

Visit the league's official website, cfl.ca.

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James Barrie's play "Peter Pan" premiered in London on this date in 1904.

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Jimmy was fun to watch on Christmas Morning!






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The children's television program "Howdy Doody," hosted by Bob Smith, made its debut on NBC on this date in 1947.

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Here's the Week 16 NFL schedule:

At Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Carolina Panthers 3

At Arizona Cardinals 27 Dallas Cowboys 26

At Kansas City Chiefs 34 Tennessee Titans 14

Baltimore Ravens 20 at Cleveland Browns 10

New England Patriots 34 at Buffalo Bills 3

At St Louis Rams 25 San Francisco 49ers 17

Detroit Lions 34 at Miami Dolphins 27

Washington Redskins 20 at Jacksonville Jaguars 17

At Chicago Bears 38, New York Jets 34

At Denver Broncos 24 Houston Texans 23

Indianapolis Colts 31 at Oakland Raiders 26

At Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38 Seattle Seahawks 15

At Green Bay Packers 45 New York Giants 17

At Cincinnati Bengals 34 San Diego Chargers 20

Monday December 27 8:30 p.m. New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons

Tuesday December 28 8:00 p.m. Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles (Postponed from Sunday because of major East Coast snow storm.)

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On this date in 1949, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands granted sovereignty to Indonesia after more than 300 years of Dutch rule.

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Today in Elvis History:

1956 - In Memphis, Elvis Presley played touch football at the Dave Wells Community Center with friends, including Red West.

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On this date in 1951, in Cincinnati, OH, a Crosley automobile, with a steering wheel on the right side, became the first vehicle of its kind to be placed in service for mail delivery.

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Today in Beatles History:

1960 - The Beatles played a gig at the Town Hall in Litherland, Liverpool.

 

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On this date in 1968, "The Breakfast Club" signed off for the last time on ABC radio, after 35 years on the air.

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Today in Sports History:

1980 - Calvin Murphy (Rockets) began an NBA free throw streak of 78.

1981 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the fastest NHL player to get to 100 points in a season. It only took him 38 games.

1998 - The Dallas Cowboys became the first team to sweep all of their NFC East games in a season.

1998 - Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys) set an NFL record for career touchdowns.

2000 - Mario Lemeiux (Pittsburgh Penguins) returned to the National Hockey League (NHL) as a player after over 3 years of retirement. He was the first owner-player in the modern era of pro sports. Lemieux had purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins during his retirement from playing.

2003 - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner fainted at a memorial service. He was released from the hospital the following day.

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On this date in 1971, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Woodstock of Charles Schulz’ "Peanuts" comic strip were on the cover of "Newsweek" magazine.

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Coming Up:

Tonight --

Nothin' Doin'

Tuesday --

NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins 7:30pm EST

Wednesday --

Nothin' Doin'

Thursday --

NHL Hockey -- Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning  7:30pm EST

Friday --

Nothin' Doin'

Saturday --

NHL Hockey -- New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning 7:30pm EST

Sunday --

NFL Football -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints 1:00pm EST (Final game of regular season)

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That's it for today. See you tomorrow.