Bruins Lose A Squeeker to Panthers, 1-0

The season is winding down rapidly but Boston is still, somehow, holding onto a playoff spot in the Eastern Division. That they’re in seventh place is more a testament to the late season meltdowns of the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers than to the great play of the Bruins. All three teams currently have 82 points, so where they’ll finish up depends on how they finish out. The Bs only have six games left, including the one they played tonight in Boston against the Florida Panthers. There were be no points tonight for the Bruins, and I mean that two ways: 1) they were shut-out 1-0, so once again the anemic offense was unable to score any points; and 2) no points for losing.

The only scoring to happen in the game occurred in the first period. Keith Ballard’s wrist shot at the 7:15 mark of the game slipped by Tuukka Rask giving the Panthers the 1-0 lead, which would hold up for the game.

Boston outshot Florida by a lot, 36-20, but Panther goalie Scott Clemmensen was able to turn every shot to preserve his shut-out of the Bruins.

Another loss, another hit to Boston’s record, now at 34-30-12. Tuukka Rask sees his record drop also, now at 19-12-4. Boxscore recap is here.

The Toronto Maple Leafs come to Boston for the final time this season for Saturday nights game against the Bruins. NESN and the CBC will have TV coverage, 7pm.

--joe

Monks sweep away Husson.

St. Joes came to Bangor to take on Husson in a Thursday afternoon doubleheader and the Monks went back to Standish with two victories.  St. Joes went ahead 5-0 after 2 inning in game 1 and went on to win 8-2.Senior Kyle Dorr gave up only 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 4 in 5 innings for the Monks.  Dorr moves his record to 2-0 with the victory.  St. Joes number 2 and 3 hitters did most of the damage in game 1 as junior's Chris Campbell and Todd Keneborus combined for 5 rbis, 4 runs scored and went 5-6 combined, Kenneborus also hit a home run. Junior ChrisMaguire from Bucksport was the bright spot for Husson in game 1 as he went 2-3. Here  is the box score from game 1.

St. Joes took over early in game 2 just as they did in game 1.  St. Joes took a 5-0 lead after the first inning and put up 6 runs in the second inning to take a 11-0 lead after 2 innings. Hampden Academy's Pat Moran came up big for the Monks, Moran hit a grand slam in the first inning to start things off for the Monks. Senior Craig Woodbury hit a 3 run homer in the second and the Monks cruised to a 11-1 victory.  Freshman Chad Rafferty threw 5 innings and gave up only 1 run for the Monks who move to 11-7 on the season. Husson falls to 11-12 and will take on Thomas in a doubleheader each of the next two days. here is the box score for game 2.

Thursday Morning Headlines

Mrazik has sights set on crown
When Aaron James initially was tasked with starting a wrestling program at Washington Academy, he noticed sophomore Chianti Mrazik in physical education class and figured he had found a building block. Read More


Nyquist Named to Hobey Hat Trick

University of Maine men's ice hockey sophomore forward Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) has been named one of the Hobey Hat Trick Finalists, announced on Wednesday by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation. Nyquist joins New Hampshire's Bobby Butler and Blake Geoffrion of Wisconsin who are the other two finalists for the award. The winner of the 2009 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, honoring college hockey's top player, will be announced at the Frozen Four in Detroit, Mich., on April 9. Read More

Members of the Boston Bruins shaved their heads to help raise money for children battling cancer. here is the video. 

Celtics can’t silence Durant

Before he did anything, Doc Rivers turned the Celtics’ shooting percentage last night (59.5) into a glass of water, deciding that he would look at it as half-full rather than half-empty.Read More

Beckett, Boston 'getting close' to extension

With the end of Spring Training drawing near, the Red Sox and representatives for ace Josh Beckett continue to negotiate on a contract that could keep the right-hander in a Boston uniform through 2014. Read More

Martinez hits 2 HRs as Red Sox beat Orioles 14-6

The Boston Red Sox have had enough of spring training.They figure that if Victor Martinez(notes) is going to hit two homers and drive in six runs, and if Jon Lester(notes) is going to throw seven innings of three-hit ball, it might as well happen in a regular-season game.With Boston’s powerful battery leading the way, the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 14-6 Wednesday.Read More

Youkilis OK after fouling ball off right knee

Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis hit a foul ball off his right knee in the top of the fourth inning of Wednesday's 14-6 victory vs. the Orioles and exited the game in the bottom of the inning. He will be held out of the lineup on Thursday. "You know what, he's OK," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He went in and got some ice on it. He had a pretty good bruise on it. I think what we'll do is not play him tomorrow. He just had a bruise. He had a pretty good mark on there when he came out. By the time they iced him and worked on him, he was in pretty good shape."

Davis optimistic despite slow start by UMPI softball

University of Maine-Presque Isle softball coach Joy Davis has plenty of reasons to be pessimistic 14 games into the 2010 season.Still, in spite of a 3-11 record, the loss of last season’s conference rookie of the year, and the graduation departures of three key senior starters, Davis feels good about her team’s chances to take another run at a conference championship. Read More

Husson rolls by Rivier

Wednesday afternoon’s women’s lacrosse game against first-year program Rivier College gave some of Husson University’s players a case of déjà vu. Read More

Blodgett dismisses Rush from squad

Jasmine Rush, a sophomore guard at the University of Maine, has been dismissed from the women’s basketball team by coach Cindy Blodgett.The decision was announced Wednesday. Read More

The Patriots preseason schedule was announced and here it is.