Who needs a big media reporter when we have Scotty, his camera, and his blog. Scotty Hockey is one "hardcore" Rangers fan. He follows the team to Europe and gets a chance to speak jibberish to Al Trautwig (something I can relate to). He then uses some "credentials" of undetermined origin to get inside, takes photos, and blogs 24/7 about the Rangers in his European trip diary. Go Scotty, we are not worthy.
Scotty's Swiss Diary Part 4:
Wow, where to begin?? Let's get the usual out of the way first. The Rangers sucked. They were terrible; they fumbled the puck, they blew scoring opportunities, they had bad defensive lapses and if they played an NHL team, they would have lost badly. Now the good thing: they didn't play a NHL team, they played SC Bern and won 8-1...
Scotty's Swiss Diary Part 3:
Adam Graves and Rod Gilbert were lurking around, with Graves looking like he wanted to grab some gear and jump on the ice.PostFinance Arena:
*While I saw the Jim Von Boxmeer, the SC Bern coach, they didn't have a large contingent hanging around. The Metallurg folks, however, did. Their team took the ice just now so I think I am going to run back across the street to the rink to watch them...
Well, that was dull. The Russians sleepwalked their way through an hour long practice...
The building is a complete construction site which, honestly, really bothers me. Why would the IIHF hold the Victoria Cup, something they want to be a big deal, at a arena that is a mess? I guess the Cup - which was meant to be a challenge between the European champ and the Stanley Cup champ - is as much a work in progress as the arena is...Scotty's Swiss Diary Part 2:
I've been up for four hours watching MTV Europe, CNN and German sports. There was a Swiss Sportscenter-ish show on another channel and it seemed to have a nice preview to today's Rangers v. Bern game and an additional feature piece on Christian Dube but both were in German, so I really have no idea...Scotty's Swiss Diary Part 1:
Hi folks, since you all have lives and jobs and couldn't join me as I flew to watch the two Rangers games in Switzerland, I figured I would give you a blow-by-blow, dear diary account ...
I made it, I'm in Switzerland. After a sleepless night of wondering how and if I was going to make it to the plane from London to Zurich, I am aboard a train that I think is heading towards Bern - where the Rangers will play two more exhibition games tomorrow and Wednesday.
I am sweaty, I forgot my razor and haven't shaved in a week and I am pretty sure I just spoke jibberish to Al Trautwig on the platform at the station...
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Consider yourself a fine linguist if it took you less than a day to figure out how to pronounce the name of this KHL team the Rangers are playing tomorrow.So Metallurg Magnitogorsk [Mag-nee-ta-gersh] means Magnetic Mountain Iron Works according to Dubi at the Blueshirt Bulletin. Who said:
After the game, the passion of the fans was all Drury and Dubinsky could talk about. They were of course diplomatic about the level of competition, as was Coach Renney during his post-game press conference. He did admit that his team needed a bit of a pep talk after the second period, when Bern got themselves back into the game. Coach Van Boxmeer pointed to the penalty calls against his team as part of their problem -- he noted that his league does not call things as tight as the NHL, a reversal from the past when NHL players complained about IIHF refs calling things too close. Well, that's it from Bern for today -- tomorrow, the Rangers expect a bit of a tougher match against Russia's Metallurg Magnitogorsk...
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On the post-game conference call Andrew Gross describes Renney, as cautiously optimistic:"This group is ready to come together and really get the job done," Renney said.
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But, Sam Weinman sounds a note of caution. A misleading gauge?I hate to be the glass half-empty guy here because it’s still riveting stuff seeing the Rangers in this electric European atmosphere. But given the time and space afforded them against a clearly inferior Bern team, you have to wonder if this is counterproductive preparation for when the NHL really starts on Saturday...
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How many Rangers fans were rooting for Bern against the 'vaunted' Rangers? Brett Cyrgals at The Blue Seats, Rangers in Switzerland:Halfway through the first period today, while 12,000 people stood and pounded drums in the upper deck of the PostFinance Arena in Bern, Switzerland, I found myself in a weird situation:
I was pulling for SC Bern instead of the Rangers...
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Slapshot had more background about the who and what of SC Bern:The crowd for SC Bern at the PostFinance Arena will — as usual — be sold out, an NHL-sized 17,000. They are one of the most lively in all of hockey. “They’re all singing, dancing, chanting,” Bern coach and former NHLer John Van Boxmeer said a few months ago. “It’s wilder than anything you’ve ever seen at an NHL game.” ...
But who are SC Bern, the guys with the logo featuring a bear with a hockey stick tongue?
They are one of Western Europe’s biggest hockey team’s, and they play in one of Europe’s biggest arenas, the 17,000 seat PostFinance Arena which is sold out for the two Rangers games. Andrew Podnieks had a post on the barn here yesterday...
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Beyond the Blueshirts updates us on Jaromir Jagr [with video links], who is parked you know where, doing you know what:... Jagr took control of game, scoring with a wrist shot from his office in the right face off circle to give Omsk the 5-4 lead on the power play. He followed it up with an assist on Pestunov’s even strength marker at 15:56 to made it 6-4.
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What little i saw, and lately I have been watching less and less of this team, I thought the Rangers were awful.
They were playing a sub-AHL team and if it weren't for the power play goals they would have been fighting for their lives.
I don't know what was worse the game or the analyses of The Maven, Dave Maloney and John Giannone.
The Rangers have a long way to go so lets not get excited over a Swiss Cheese type win.
Exactly.
After Redden scored on a slapshot on a 5-on-3 powerplay against Bern the Maven started chirping about how now the Rangers powerplay QBing was going to be much better this year with Redden in-charge.
I thought what is Fischler talking about. This is a minor league team. You can't declare a guy the new solution after one good slapshot in a 5-on-3 situation agains SC Bern. Hello.
The "Craven" Maven must be getting his pro-everything-Rangers spin machine ready for the regular season.
Mike,
Your points are well taken. I always have trouble guessing where some of these European clubs rank in the world wide grand scheme of things. In SC Bern's case, I guess not all that high.
I never saw a second of this game, so can only go by what I read. Would you say it was beneficial in any way in helping the Rangers figure some things out?