Canes season finally comes to merciful end

By: Nolan Stout

The suffering is finally over.

The Carolina Hurricanes finished their season 36-35-11 with a shootout win Sunday over Philadelphia 6-5.

This was a fitting end to the season. In the last two games the Hurricanes played in the season, they showed exponentially better effort than they did in an embarrassing 5-2 loss to Washington in the last home game of the season.

The Canes blew a lead in a game in which they seemed to be in control. They had a 4-1 lead on Philadelphia and then gave up three straight to tie the game 4-4.

Jeff Skinner put the Canes up 5-4 late in the third but the Flyers were able to score with nine second left to force overtime and the shootout.

This season was a train wreck. It all started when Cam Ward was injured. After he went down, Anton Khudobin was playing stellar and it seemed like everything was going to work out, but then he went down as well.

Justin Peters came in and struggled to hold the team together. Peters was able to bounce back after a rough start and keep the ship afloat, but things were already trending down.

However, Peters and Ward cannot be alone in the blame for tough losses this season. Andrej Sekera and Justin Faulk have been stellar defensively, but the rest of the defensemen were spotty at best and many times left their goaltender all alone to fend for himself.

Khudobin did finish the season with a .926 save percentage to set a new franchise record.

This season was very disappointing for a fan base starving for a trip to the playoffs. The frustration has continued to mount in the past five years and it seems that the same problems happen year after year.

One of the most frustrating aspects of the season was the weak play by the Hurricanes at home. Down the stretch, the team gave questionable effort and suffered bad losses at PNC Arena. Worst of all was the last game before Christmas break in which the Canes blew a 3-2 lead with less than five minutes remaining.

In the last month of the season they also blew third period leads against the Blue Jackets and Rangers. The latter by surrendering four goals in the third period.

The offseason is going to be very important for Carolina. With Jim Rutherford stepping down as GM and Ron Francis his likely successor, it is going to be important to see what the direction of this team will be moving forward.

It cannot be argued, however, that this franchise must make changes. One playoff appearance since winning the Stanley Cup is not good enough.

In moving forward, the head coach must be considered. Kirk Muller has done his best with what he has been given. If the team wants to continue developing their younger players then stay with him. Players like Elias Lindholm, Jeff Skinner and Riley Nash have improved greatly as the season has gone along.

However, it seems Muller has struggled to get a consistent effort out of the Canes' top players. Unless those players start playing more consistently, Muller may need to be dismissed. He is not a terrible coach, but his tenure in Carolina has been mediocre at best.

Too many times in the past few years, this organization has been called out for inconsistent effort. They have been called out for not playing hard the entire game and blowing leads in the third period. This has been happening consistently and needs to be addressed in the offseason.

There were many times that this team did not seem to play together. The few tough guys on the roster did not stand up when they needed to most.

When Alexander Semin suffered a concussion after a hit from Alex Pietrangelo in St. Louis, not a single person stood up for him. Eric Staal even tripped over him while skating past, do nothing to help and not sticking up for the team he is captain of.

Ron Hainsey did stand up for Anton Khudobin against the Dallas Stars, but there were few times this team really looked out for each other as they should.

This organization has been trending downward in the past few years. It seems they have been worried more about making the playoffs one year than becoming a perennial playoff team. This needs to change or playoff appearances may become even more rare.

Despite the uproar, owner Peter Karmanos Jr. did speak true when he said this team has a core of good players. What he did not address, however, is how well they play together. Unfortunately, asking a fan base that has seen only one playoff appearance since 2006 to be patient may not have been the best choice of words.

Many changes need to come this offseason. Whether Eric Staal loses his captaincy or Cam Ward is traded, major changes need to occur that will not only help the Hurricanes get into the playoffs not only next season, but for many seasons to come.

Straight To The Heart, Wolfpack falls 83-80 in OT

By: Nolan Stout

ORLANDO, Fla. – The game was over.

            NC State had it in the bag. They were up by 14 with five minutes left.

            Maybe they started thinking about a matchup with Louisville. Maybe they let off too much.

            All that would be fine if the Wolfpack had made their free throws.

            Those free throws cost NC State a trip to the round of 32. With an 83-80 overtime loss to St. Louis, the Wolfpack has now lost in the round of 64 twice after a trip to the Sweet 16.

            This loss hurt. It hurt worse than the last second turnover at Syracuse, worse than the buzzer beaters against Wake Forest and UNC, worse than the overtime embarrassment against NC Central. Those games were close throughout. This game was a complete and utter collapse.

            But, should we be surprised? It seems to be the trend in Wolfpack athletics this season that just when you think they are going to do the impossible, something keeps them from winning (see NC State football vs. Clemson).

            Alas, free throws have been ruining this team all season. For the year, the Wolfpack went 501-762 from the line, 62-percent. That’s over 200 points thrown away at the free throw line.

            But in losses the story is even more dismal. In the 14 games NC State lost this season they were outscored by a combined 165 points. In those losses, they went 199-313 from the free throw line.

            Those buzzer beaters at Wake Forest and Syracuse and against UNC should never have happened. Despite the fact the Wolfpack lost on a turnover to Syracuse, they went 7-14 from the line. Just two of those free throws could have changed the outcome of that game.

            It gets worse. At Wake Forest, the State went 21-31 from the free throw line and lost by one.

            Then there’s the loss against UNC. The Wolfpack foreshadowed their collapse against St. Louis. In that one point overtime loss, State went 19-31 from the free throw line including a missed free throw at the end of the of overtime that would have put them up by two. That game was theirs to win and they lost it.

            Against St. Louis, the Wolfpack gave the game away. They were being fouled for nearly three minutes and went 9-20 from the line during that time. TJ Warren missed a free throw that could have tied it in overtime and walked off the line on another free throw the Wolfpack desperately needed.

            If Warren had made his free throw to tie the game, the outcome may have been different. St. Louis got two more points from free throws to make it 83-80.

            But a few made free throws from the Wolfpack would have undoubtedly changed the outcome.

The freshmen for NC State had played well all game, but St. Louis put them on the line and dared them to come up clutch. In the end, freshmen didn’t keep State from having a great year, free throw shooting did.

HIgh Point University Men’s Soccer adds a new face to the sideline this season

Winning mentality is an understatement.

As a new addition to the coaching staff, assistant coach Kelly Altman brings all kinds of experience to the High Point University men’s soccer team.

Head Coach Dustin Fonder believes that Altman’s experience in big games will help the team greatly.

Who could blame him?

Altman at Trinity
In 11 years as a player and coach at Trinity University in Texas, Altman won four SCAC conference championships, a Division III National championship, and at Trinity had an 8-4-0 record against Division I opponents.

More importantly, during his time as coach, he led the soccer team to an amazing 96-9-6 record and the four previously mentioned SCAC conference championships.

Coach Fonder believes the main thing Altman will bring to this team is a high level of energy, something he felt his team was lacking at times last season.

“I haven’t played in eight years, but my intensity level hasn’t changed one bit,” said Altman.

Coming To HPU
Altman became familiar with HPU several years ago.

As the head coach for San Antonio’s Central Catholic High School in 2009, Altman learned all about HPU when the university was recruiting then-student Todd Ray, who is now a senior defender for the Panthers.

Altman came back on HPU’s radar when he met up with the Panthers assistant coach E.J. O’Keeffe at a camp at Wake Forest. Later in the summer, Altman was approached by Fonder about the open coaching position, and he accepted.

As Altman has come to find out, the business side of things is different for a Division I school as opposed to a Division III school, like Trinity.

However, he has embraced the greater responsibility and has not let it affect his coaching mentality.

“Soccer doesn’t change, no matter where you go,” said Altman.

This Season
Fonder and Altman all have high expectations for the season.

From Fonder’s perspective, the core of returning players is better than last season because they have a better mindset and more experience.

Altman believes the team will make the NCAA tournament, either by having a great regular season or by winning the conference tournament.

“I wouldn’t have left Trinity after 11 years if I didn’t believe in what Coach Fonder was doing here,” said Altman.

HPU was ranked 6th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) South Atlantic poll on Aug. 28, seeming to confirm Fonder and Altman’s expectations for a great season from the Panthers.

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End The NHL Lockout Now

Lost in the monetary battle of the NHL lockout is the little guy. 

 As a Southerner, I’ve grown to love hockey (unlike some Canadians who are born with a passion for the game). 

I know the sport isn’t that big in the United States, a country where football, baseball and basketball reign supreme. But; I love the game. During the season, I don’t tune to anything else if my Carolina Hurricanes are playing.  

So when I heard that the league was locking out players and fans for the second time in eight years, I nearly put my head through a wall.

How stupid is this lockout?

Not only does it take away a chance for the league to increase its popularity, it is a missed opportunity to show that the NHL is better than other leagues at getting economic issues worked out.

Instead of negotiating a new deal as the old one expired on September 16, both sides were wasting time preparing sappy press releases and YouTube videos boo-hooing about how they are being exploited.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly even had the audacity to announce that he and Commissioner Gary Bettman won’t cash in on their salaries until after the lockout is over. Why should we care? They’re not taking a pay cut, just getting paid at a later date.

In Bettman’s case a pay cut might be a good idea considering this is the third work stoppage in his 19-year tenure as commissioner.

The Two Sides

 

The owners are probably the most hypocritical of either side. Minnesota owner Craig Leipold signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to 13-year deals and Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs signed Tyler Seguin to a six-year deal, while they both sit at the negotiating table demanding that contracts be capped at five years.

The players are not free from blame either. Players like Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Jaromir Jagr, Rick Nash, Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk have signed deals overseas; not showing unity among the players. Every team except the Vancouver Canucks has lost a player to free agency.

The players are also busy crying about how much they lost in the last lockout, making them cautious of giving the owners any concessions. However, of the two sides, the players are much more willing to compromise. They even asked for the opportunity to continue the season while still negotiating, but the owners were unwilling to give up that leverage.

Last Time

 

The last time the league locked out in 2004, hockey wasn’t as popular as it is now. There were massive overhauls made to the CBA with salaries cut and a salary cap added. However, that was the first time.

This time the issues aren’t as big. The main disagreement is over revenue sharing. Under the expired CBA, players earned 57 percent of revenue. Most people believe this is a little high, but instead of gradually bringing the number down in negotiations, the owners’ first offer was a large cut to 43 percent.

That revenue will not matter if the season isn’t played. Regular season games have already been cancelled through November 30, guaranteeing lost revenue and eradicating any chance of salvaging a full 82-game season.

The Little Guy

 

What both sides need to think about is everyone else affected by this unnecessary work stoppage.

My sister, Arielle Stout, worked part-time in ticket operations for the Carolina Hurricanes. She is trying to work her way into the marketing department and was working 9-5 three days a week. Because of the lockout, part-time jobs have been cut and she is basically unemployed. She struggles to pay her rent, having to work at home in the family business to earn money and is losing an opportunity to move up in her job.

This lockout affects many and neither side is very willing to budge. For a league that says they have the best fans in the world, the NHL is showing an unnerving tendency of turning its back on those fans for money.

For the sake of the game, this lockout must end now. But alas, the fans are the losers in this battle of greed.

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