Bearded Ice – May 24

MiHockey staff writers Ryan Zuke and Ben Fleck with you on this Thursday morning.

Quick hits

Jared Knight and Austin Watson of the London Knights were our Michi-gamers from last night.

Check out this article about how Team Michigan earned its first high school tournament championship, defeating Team Minnesota 6-4 in the 2012 CCM Minnesota National Invitational Tournament.

The Muskegon Lumberjacks lumbered up at the USHL Draft, selecting 11 players that are over 6 feet tall.

Highlight reel

Here are highlights from the Devils roller coaster game five win over the Rangers.

Outside the Mitten

The New Jersey Devils used an outstanding first three minutes to grab a quick 3-0 lead on the New York Rangers only too see that lead disappear over the next two periods. However, the Devils were able to right the ship scoring two late goals and take a 3-2 series lead.

Voting for the NHL ’13 cover is into the Final Four with Claude Giroux going up against Evgeni Malkin and Pekka Rinne going up against John Tavares. Red Wing forward Pavel Datsyuk was knocked out of the competition, losing to Islanders forward John Tavares.

Check it out

The Rangers trailed three games to two the last time they faced the Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals, but came back to win the next two. Stephane Matteau scored the thrilling Game 7 double-overtime winning goal.

Next up

In Memorial Cup action the Edmonton Oil Kings square off against the Shawinigan Cataractes at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the semi-finals and play the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Knights will see the winner in the Finals on May 27th.

After taking a 3-2 lead in the Conference Finals, the New Jersey Devils will look to finish off the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center on Friday at 8 p.m..