6/29/2009 John Tavares throws out the first pitch at Citi Field before the Yankees-Mets game on Sunday 6/29.
6/26/2009
The Islanders ended all speculation of who they would select with the first overall pick in the 2009 entry draft. You all know his name. They also chose defenseman Calvin De Haan with the twelfth overall pick after trading pick #26 for pick #16 and then #16 to #12. I'll let the video's do the talking.
4/05/2009
With the season winding down and the team barely clutching onto the last overall spot [thus making them favorites for the #1 overall draft pick come June,] the Isles have a new philospohy. "If you can't win any games, then why not go down fighting!" And that's pretty much what they've done of late. The Isles have been in thirteen fights in their last ten games. That's compared to six in their first ten. Take out the linebrawl against Buffalo and then it's just three.
Last night the Isles called up Mitch Fritz; who played on a line with Joel Rechlicz and Nate Thompson. Last night's opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning, made things interesting by calling up Zenon Konopka. The Bolts were already "packing" with David Koci in the lineup, who tried to jump Tim Jackman the last time these two teams played.
Fritz and Koci went early in the first, while Rechlicz and Konopka found each other in the second period.
4/04/2009
Joel Rechlicz got his shot at greatness last night by stepping up to the plate and taking on the reigning [yet contraversial] NHL heavyweight champ in Georges Laraque. Laraque is known for giving young kids a shot and while he is a good guy like that, the finish isn't always something to write home about. In a previous meeting, Mitch Fritz was able to handle Laraque quite well. Rechlicz, on the other hand, couldn't really get it going and suffered a fate, too many have suffered before.
Doug Weight got into his second fight in two nights, this time fighting Glen Metropolit. Here's an interview with Doug, about his latest scraps:
4/02/2009
Joel Rechlicz was called up on March 5 against the Rangers. Since his callup, the Islanders have been in 13 fights. With the fights, the Islanders have surpassed 40 fights for the first time in years. Of course, Rechlicz isn't the only one contributing to the "Fighting Isles," as the team has bonded together and has started sticking up for each other of late. Something the fans love and want to see more of.
Tim Jackman came to Andy Hilberts aid after a vicious hit by the Caps, Mike Green, although it was clearly evident that Hilbert wanted to get to Green himself. Jackman ended up pulling Jeff Schultz out of the scrum and pounded on him. With Brashear on the mend, Rechlicz went after the next best thing, former Islander, John Erskine.
In Bridgeport news, Dustin Kohn added to his fight total this year to three after going with Lowell's Matt Corrente. It wasn't much of a fight but again, Kohn was standing up for a fellow teammate.
3/29/2009
Well if fight fans didn't get their fix the other night against Minnesota, I sure hope you did tonight. Four fights against the Flyers tonight, and the potential for two more before interference left fight fans happy and craving for more.
It all started with a big hit by Darroll Powe on Tim Jackman, and Doug Weight dropped his gloves and came to the rescue. Nate Thompson dropped the gloves with Daniel Carcillo in what turned out to be an exciting, fight filled second period. Joel Rechlicz and Riley Cote followed with a marathon and a half. The night ended with Tim Jackman and Arron Asham duking it out for the fourth time in two season.
In other news, resident tough guy, Micheal Haley dropped the mitts twice for Bridgeport last night. The first time, coming to the aid of Jeremy Colliton, who was knocked semi-unconscious by a big hit by Hershey's Staffan Kronwall. The next was a retaliation fight by Graham Mink, who later in the game came defending Kronwall.
And of course all fights are located in our Database. You do not need to sign up for the forum to view them OR to vote on them. Please help out the site and vote on a few fights. Thanks!
3/27/2009
The Isles haven't been known to be a fiery team of late, but with the season all but over, the team has been gelling with each other a lot better and they are becoming more of a "team." Nothing could be more apparent than Wednesday night where the players stood up for each other all night long. It all started with Joel Rechlicz taking on John Scott in a fight that saw Scott use his long reach to lock the Wrecker out, thus getting the upper hand. A bunch of big hits by Jeff Tambellini and Nate Thompson drew the ire of the Wild and it came to a head when Antti Miettinen hit Blake Comeau late and started a huge scrum that saw Kyle Okposo go nuts. The night ended with a Brendan Witt fight, his first since November 28th in Boston. Witt fought, and beat, James Sheppard.
All fight videos are located in our Database. Please take a moment to vote on any fights you would like to. Here's the end of the first period scrum video.
3/12/2009
The 2008-09 Islanders are being rebuilt. This means that an abundance of young players have been suiting up in the Blue, White and Orange and carry the torch. Early in training camp, a legitimate tough guy or enforcer was also brought in to help "police the ice" so to speak and make sure teams weren't taking liberties with these young players.
Mitch Fritz was the first player signed and soon after LNAH hero Brandon Sugden was also given a chance to win a job. To round out the competition, was a young 20 year old out of the IHL named Joel Rechlicz. Joel was given a three year deal and told that he had a future with the Islanders.
After camp broke, Joel was sent to Bridgeport, and then down to Utah to work on his abilities. In late February, he was called back up to Bridgeport and played in three games before being recalled by the Islanders. On March 5, 2009 he made his NHL debut and became the first player from the IHL to ever step foot on NHL ice.
I've sat down with Joel quite a few times this season and for those who know him, know that he is a great guy off the ice and will talk to fans about anything. I've been keeping up with him throughout the year and have been posting a few of our conversations around. For those who missed it the first time around, or who are just catching up with Joel for the first time, I urge you to read the articles and chat transcripts HERE in our Forum I am hoping to catch up with him at the end of the season for a more in depth [and official] interview.
Also for those who missed it, Billy Jaffe did an interview with another one of IE.com's favorite players; Matt Martin on March 10, 2009. I have added the video down below.
4/04/2009
4/02/2009
3/29/2009
3/27/2009
3/12/2009