Bearded Ice – April 26

Bearded Ice, Shaved Ice meets the NHL playoff tradition of not shaving.

Mike Knuble vs. Tim Thomas last night. Caledonia beat Davison.

Quick hits

The Caps and the Bruins battled in a Game 7 showdown last night, and the final play of the series came down to two Michigan natives. Washington forward Mike Knuble (Caledonia) raced down the ice on a two-on-one towards Boston goaltender Tim Thomas (Davison). The Bruins’ goaltender stopped Knuble’s shot, but Joel Ward was right there to knock in the rebound, giving the Capitals the series and a trip to the second round of the NHL playoffs. Because of that one play, Knuble is our Michi-gamer of the night, while Thomas has to clean out his locker.

Pavel Datsyuk has advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NHL ’13 cover vote. He’s taking on T.J. Oshie of the Blues for a chance to reach the Elite 8. Support the Red Wings superstar by voting right here.

Highlight reel

Pranks were the talk of the MiHockey offices yesterday, mainly because yours truly was the victim of one. Got me thinking about funny hockey commercials, for some reason, and this one seems appropriate given the time of the NHL season.

Outside the Mitten

There are two Game 7s tonight, both in the Eastern Conference. At 7 p.m. ET, the Senators take on the Rangers, and at 8:30 p.m. ET, the Panthers take on the Devils. I’m going with New York and New Jersey, but who knows anymore. Talk about a weird first round.

On the same day we picked Austin Watson as our Michi-gamer, the Ann Arbor native and his London Knights squad won the OHL’s Western Conference. They’ll await the winner of Niagara and Ottawa in the East.

Check it out

Helene St. James of the Free Press discusses whether Nicklas Lidstrom’s return will hinge on Tomas Holmstrom’s return or not.

Next up

Game 7 discussions tomorrow, among other things.