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December
2004 Feature
Anglo-Czech
Hockey School 
The school was the brainchild of Milan
Figala, one of the first Czech players to play in the UK. Figala's idea was to forge links with his home country, the Czech Republic and to give something back to the sport he loved so much. Figala and a hockey schools director, John Wright got together - Wright became the contact in England while Figala covered Scotland and the Czech Republic. They started by inviting Czech junior teams to visit the UK, competing with teams throughout England and Scotland. Seeing such commitment to the sport in the UK, the Czechs offered
an opportunity to take young British players to schools/camps in the Czech Republic, to be coached by the very best.
Since 1990, players from the Anglo-Czech Ice Hockey Schools have been selected to take part in the Czech junior program, and several young British players have taken advantage of the opportunity.
To find out more visit the
Anglo-Czech
Ice Hockey School
Competition Winners Copies
of BLACK ICE: The Lost
History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895 - 1925
by George & Darril
Fosty have been sent to :
Gene Perry in North Carolina, USA
Sean Phelan in Tyne & Wear, England
Mia Webster in Quebec, Canada
To find out more about BLACK ICE
visit www.stryker-indigo.com
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November
2004 Feature
Giveaway
Competition 
This
month we have a number of copies of BLACK ICE: The Lost
History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895 - 1925
to give away thanks to co-author George
Fosty.
The book was released last month by the Stryker-Indigo Publishing Company
and our question is -
Where are Stryker-Indigo based?
Send us your answer in an e-mail to blackice@azhockey.com
and we will pick the winners at the end of this month.
The A to Z
should have had the chance to review a copy of BLACK
ICE by now but a slight delay at
the printers means they have yet to arrive - if possible, we will review
the book in December.
To find out more about BLACK ICE
visit www.stryker-indigo.com
AHL
on NASN
With the NHL locked out, NASN is
giving its UK viewers the chance to see games from the American
Hockey League, as well as NCAA
games.
To find out move visit www.nasn.com
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October
2004 Feature
BLACK
ICE
The
full title of the book is BLACK ICE: The Lost
History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895 - 1925.
The book is released this month by the Stryker-Indigo Publishing Company
of New York and has been written by Stryker-Indigo's founders George
& Darril Fosty.
The flyer for BLACK ICE reads "Twenty-five
years before the Negro Baseball Leagues in the United States, and
twenty-two years before the birth of the National Hockey League, Black
Canadians helped pioneer the sport of ice hockey ..... the Colored
League would emerge as a premier force in Canadian hockey .....
Unfortunately their contributions were conveniently ignored, or simply
stolen, as White teams and hockey officials, influenced by the Black
league, sought to take self-credit for Black hockey innovations".
Like their first hockey book SPLENDID IS THE
SUN : The 5,000 Year History of Hockey, this tale of the
Colored Hockey League is sure to stir things up amongst hockey
historians.
The A to Z
will have had the chance to review a copy of BLACK
ICE by the end of the month and
will run a giveaway competition in November as George
Fosty is kindly making a number of copies available.
To find out more about BLACK ICE
visit www.stryker-indigo.com
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September
2004 Feature
World
Cup Of Hockey 2004 
In
the UK, you can watch the World Cup of Hockey on NASN.
The games are listed below - when games have been played results are
shown.
Round Robin Stage
Mon 30/08 Czech Republic
0-4 Finland
Tue 31/08 Germany 2-5 Sweden
Tue 31/08 USA 1-2 Canada
Wed 01/09 Czech Republic 3-4 Sweden
Wed 01/09 Canada 5-1 Slovakia
Thu 02/09 Finland 3-0 Germany
Thu 02/09 Russia 3-1 USA
Fri 03/09 Germany 2-7 Czech Republic
Fri 03/09 Slovakia 1-3 USA
Sat 04/09 Sweden 4-4 Finland
Sat 04/09 Russia 1-3 Canada
Sun 05/09 Slovakia 2-5 Russia
Quarter-Finals
Mon 06/09 Finland 2-1 Germany
Tue 07/09 Sweden 1-6 Czech Republic
Tue 07/09 Russia 3-5 USA
Wed 08/09 Canada 5-0 Slovakia
Semi-Finals
Fri 10/09 USA 1-2 Finland
Sat 11/09 Czech Republic 3-4 Canada
Final
Tue 14/09
Finland 2-3 Canada
To find out how to get NASN and game viewing schedules visit NASN.
To find out more about the World Cup of Hockey visit www.wch2004.com
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August
2004 Feature
World
Cup Of Hockey 2004
Eight
of the top hockey nations in the world will compete in the second
World Cup of Hockey tournament which
starts at the end of August and runs for a fortnight (30 Aug - 14 Sep).
Teams from both sides of the Atlantic
will participate, with games held in Europe & North America.
The European Division includes the Czech
Republic, Finland, Germany &
Sweden and the North American Division
includes Canada, Russia,
Slovakia & the United
States.
Four arenas in Europe - Cologne Arena (Cologne), Globe Arena (Stockholm), Hartwall Arena (Helsinki) and Sazka Arena (Prague) will feature European Division games and European
QuarterFinals.
Three arenas in North America - Air Canada Centre (Toronto), Bell Centre (Montreal) & Xcel Energy Center (St Paul) will feature North American Division games and North American
QuarterFinals.
The SemiFinals will be held at the Air Canada Centre and Xcel Energy Center, with the Final in Toronto.
To find out more visit the World Cup of Hockey web site at www.wch2004.com
The USA worn the first World Cup of Hockey
in 1996.
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July
2004 Feature
Educational
CD-ROMS
In a
departure from our normal hockey related feature, this month we bring an
offer from one of our sponsors - Graphyle History Guides.
They are having a stock clearance
and their CD-ROMS - "The Romans" and "The
Anglo-Saxons" are available from Amazon.co.uk
for just 99p + p&p.
The CDs are aimed at children aged 7-11.
(National Curriculum Key Stage 2 in the UK)
For more detail visit their web site at
www.graphyle.com/Publications
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June 2004 Feature
IIHF Super Six
From next season, the top club competition in Europe will be the IIHF
Super Six.
The club champion of Europe will be decided at the inaugural IIHF
Super Six to be played
13th-16th January, 2005 at the state-of-the-art Ice Palace arena
in St Petersburg, Russia.
The 2003-04 national champions from the top ranked European countries according to the 2004 IIHF World Ranking will participate.
Czech Republic: HC Zlin
Finland: Karpat Oulu
Germany: Frankfurt Lions
Russia: Avangard Omsk
Slovakia: Dukla Trencin
Sweden: HV
71
The teams will be divided into two groups and will play a single round-robin. Each group winner will then play in the gold medal game. A total of seven games will be played in four tournament days.
IIHF President René Fasel said, "Competition between the very best club teams in
Europe ... is something that European club hockey and the fans have been missing since the European Hockey League folded four years
ago."
"Further down the line there is definitely a desire to match the best club team of Europe against the Stanley Cup champion for a world club
supremacy", says Fasel.
"Many fans are still talking about the great games between CSKA Moscow and the Montreal Canadiens in the 70s and 80s and the potential of games like these is even bigger
today".
St Petersburg is also scheduled to host the 2006 and the 2007 IIHF
Super Six competitions.
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May 2004 Feature
NHL
Playoffs on NASN
The North
American Sports Network continues to screen playoff games in
May as the Conference Semi Finals conclude and the Conference Finals get
underway (NB NASN moves fom Sky
channel 420 to Sky channel 417
from Tuesday 18th May).
NHL Conference Semi Finals (Game #)
NHL Conference Finals (Game #)
8 May 12.00am
Freeview
Philadelphia Flyers v Tampa Bay Lightning
algary Flames v San Jose Sharks
1Philadelphia
Flyers v Tampa BayLightning
2Tampa BayLightning
v Philadelphia
Flyers 32.30am
San Jose Sharks v Calgary Flames (#3)
8.00pm
Tampa BayLightning v Philadelphia
Flyers (#4)
9.00pm
San Jose Sharks v Calgary Flames (#4)
3.00am
algary
Flames v San Jose Sharks
5
Philadelphia
Flyers v
Tampa BayLightning 5San Jose Sharks v Calgary Flames
(#6)
12
Tampa BayLightning v
Philadelphia
Flyers
(#6)
Philadelphia
Flyers
Lightning
Stanley
Cup Finals (Game #)
For more information about NASN and
where to get it, follow this
link.
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April
2004 Feature
Playoff
Hockey on NASN
April sees the start of the Playoffs in the NHL and the North
American Sports Network is to screen the follow games.
NHL Conference Quarter Finals (Game #)
12.30am
Ottawa Senators v Toronto Maple Leafs (1)
3.00am
St Louis Blues v San Jose Sharks (1)
12.30am
Montreal Canadiens v Boston Bruins (2)
3.00am
Dallas Stars v Colorado Avalanche (2)
8.00pm
New York Islanders v Tampa Bay Lightning (2)
12.00am
Ottawa
Senators v Toronto Maple Leafs (2)
9.00pm
Detroit Red Wings v Nashville Predators (3)
12.00am
Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens (3)
2.30am
Vancouver Canucks v Calgary Flames (3)
12.00am
Philadelphia Flyers v New Jersey Devils (3)
2.30am
San Jose Sharks v St Louis Blues (3)
3.00am
Vancouver
Canucks v Calgary Flames (4)
12.30am
Montreal Canadiens v Boston Bruins (5)
12.00am
Ottawa
Senators v Toronto Maple Leafs (5)
8.00pm
New Jersey Devils v Philadelphia Flyers (5)
12.00am
Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens (6)
2.30am
Vancouver
Canucks v Calgary Flames (6)
12.00am
Toronto Maple Leafs v Ottawa
Senators (6)
21 Apr 01.00pm
Ottawa
Senators v Toronto Maple Leafs (7)
NHL Conference Semi Finals (Game #)
12.30am
Toronto Maple Leafs v Philadelphia Flyers (1)
3.00am
Colorado Avalanche
v
San Jose Sharks
(1)
12.00am
Montreal Canadiens
v Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
12.00am
Toronto Maple Leafs v
Philadelphia Flyers (2)
1.00am
San Jose Sharks
v Colorado Avalanche (3)
12.00am
Tampa Bay Lightning
v Montreal Canadiens (4)
For more information about NASN and
where to get it, follow this
link.
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March
2004 Feature
Hockey
Heritage North
Hockey Heritage North is two things
- a web site which captures the history of hockey in Northeastern
Ontario, Canada and a future hockey tourist attraction. The web site can
be found at www.hockeyheritagenorth.com
and the tourist attraction can be seen in a conceptual on-line tour.
The web site tells visitors that 309 men from Northeastern Ontario have
played, coached or officiated in the NHL and that they have had their
names engraved on the Stanley Cup 156 times.
The web site has profiles on all of these players, coaches &
officials plus the stats on the current Northeastern Ontario NHL
players.
Hockey Heritage North will be an 18,000 square foot interactive museum
in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
The site is well worth a visit.
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February
2004 Feature
FREEVIEW
During February NASN will is
offering ice hockey fans a chance to sample the channel for free. The
channel – which broadcasts NHL news shows such as NHL PowerWeek and as
many as 175 live National Hockey League games including the playoffs –
will be available for free at certain times on Sky Digital (channel
420), ntl:home (917), Telewest
(533) and ntl:Ireland (420).
February 6th at 8.00 pm
Detroit Red Wings v Colorado Avalanche
(30 minute sneak preview).
February 7th at 11.30 pm
Hockey Night in Canada:
The All-Star Weekend – LIVE
(30 minute sneak preview)
February 8th at 9.00 pm
NHL Super Skills 2004
February 8th at 10.30 pm
NHL 2Night
February 14th at 4.30 pm
NHL PowerWeek
February 20th at 8.00 pm
Boston Bruins v Philadelphia
Flyers
DVD Giveaway
Competition
The answer to the question,
"Which actor, and close friend of Gretzky,
appears on the DVD?" was Keifer
Sutherland.
Our Ultimate
Gretzky giveaway DVDs went to:
Kevin Koski (Canada)
Marcel Pedneault (Japan)
Sean Phelan (UK)
Visit Warner
Bros site at www.prohockeydvd.com
to find out more about the DVD or order your copy via this link Order from
Amazon.com.
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January
2004 Feature
DVD Giveaway
Competition
Do we have a great way to start 2004? The answer is Yes! Thanks to our
friends at Warner
Bros, we have copies of the Ultimate
Gretzky DVD to giveaway this month.
A well presented history of his hockey exploits from backyard rink,
through junior hockey, joining the professional ranks and breaking all
those records. This really is a treat for hockey fans.
To give you a taster of what's included visit the Warner
Bros site at www.prohockeydvd.com,
they have three clips you can view and you'll also be able to find the
answer to the question we pose at the end of this feature.
I have spent an hour reviewing the DVDs and they are packed with action,
interviews, highlights and the Great One's own memories of the many
outstanding moments of his hockey career.
This partial list of chapter headings will give you a feel for what is
included on the first DVD:
- 1978 World Juniors
- First NHL Game
- 50 Goals in 39 Games
- 1987 Canada Cup
- 802 Goals
- Hall of Fame Induction
- Coyotes Ownership
- 2002 Olympics
The DVD includes action from the games - you get to see Goal 802 - alas
not all of the goals 1 to 802!
The second DVD includes chapters on Gretzky's Wedding, Highlights of Last Games in New York City, Ottawa and Toronto, Career Bloopers, Career Stats & Record Pages plus a Tour of Walter Gretzky's Basement.
We have two copies of Ultimate Gretzky to give away and invite you to send
your answer to the following question to Ultimate@azhockey.com.
Which actor, and close friend of Gretzky,
appears on the DVD?
Visit Warner
Bros site at www.prohockeydvd.com to find the answer. The winners will be announced here next month.
You can Order from
Amazon.com via the link.
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