Half Penny Two Penny

Good news for Carolina season ticketholders! The Canes announced yesterday that they were holding the line on the price of season tickets for next year! Unfortunately, the same can't be said about regular walk up prices which are going up across the board, but at least the head honchos on Peter Karmanos drive are rewarding the little people, the ones who consistently pay the utility bills and some of the other expenses over at the RBC Center. Of course this strategy might also entice some of the people who are sitting on the fence to jump on the bandwagon full bore and splurge for some sort of season ticket package. Let's hope so, the more the merrier! I was pretty sure they were going to raise prices for everyone, so let me commend the organization for doing the right thing. Here is a link to the official announcement and more information.

More good news! Team Captain Rod Brind'Amour was selected as one of 3 finalists for the Selke Trophy. Rod won the award last year and just might be the favorite to do so again this time, even though the Canes didn't necessarily have a very respectable year. Other nominees are Jay Pandolfo from the Devils and Samuel Pahlsson from the Ducks. The trophy goes to the best defensive forward in the league but if you look at the stats alone, Brindy would win hands down. He finished 2nd best in the league in face off percentage and was 3rd highest among all forwards in the league with time on the ice, (averaging over 23 minutes a game). He had 82 points and a plus 7 compared to 26 points and -4 for Pahlsson and 27 points and -5 for Pandolfo. Of course there are other factors involved besides these statistics, but most would have to agree Brind'Amour would be a worthy winner again this year.

Meanwhile over in Russia, Team USA lost their last game to the Czech Republic. They are keeping up some information about this on a page inside the Cane's Official Website. Chad LaRose has 2 goals so far in the tournament! I'll give more information about the World Championships in my next blog posting. Sorry for the delay for any updates, but I was out of town for a few days and I'm just getting caught back up on a variety of things, including the blog.

Have a happy!

Styx