Theres a line for Fort Drum Killers GM Steven Stryska when it comes to trash talking.
On Monday night, he felt Chiefs GM Mike Nellany crossed it during a Week 10 matchup with the Boston Giants.
“He thinks because he won the award for Best Trash Talker last year, he can just say whatever he wants and get away with it,” said GM Stryska who has led his Killers team to second place in the American Conference. “It was almost like, ‘I don’t care what you think. Throw your dignity out of the window. Dont lose your mind.’ He thinks I’m just going to lay down for him? Steven Stryska doesn’t lay down for nobody.”
Things got crispy after Nellany called Stryska a ‘turkey’ and said the Giants are going to kick his ass this week.
Some GMs in the AFHL might be hesitant to respond to such trash talk, but GM Steven Stryska, however, is not some GMs.
“I told him I didn’t waste 15 months of my life in Iraq to be called a turkey,” Stryska said. “While I was over there defending his freedom, he was probably sucking a *@!k under a highway bridge.”
GM Nellany responded by calling Stryska a p*@sy and telling him to get back in the trailer with his mother. Afterwards, he admitted to giving him a little extra earful but he didn’t think it was a big deal.
“It started to get personal, so I shifted the focus onto his team and said if they make the playoffs, they would be lucky to get past the first round because his players suck,” said Nellany. “How does he expect to win with guys like Chris ‘Geriatric’ Osgood and Ilya Koval-choke?”
“His team is sub .500 right now,” Stryska said. “He talks sh*t only after my team beat his team 10-1 in the season opener.”
Other GMs started to get into it, including Jordan Carbone, GM of the Toronto Red Devils.
“Their emotions were running high,” Carbone said. “Trash talking is part of the game. I’ve trash talked with some guys over the years. It’s fun. If somebody trash talks to me, I’m going to trash talk back and try to win.”
Before the AFHL Commissioner intervened, Stryska and Nellany did exchange a longer set of words.
“There was a lot of trash talking tonight,” said Killers forward Mikko Koivu. “They wanted to trask talk. We wanted to trash talk too. It motivated us. When you trash talk us, you’re just fueling our fire.”
Killers goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff admitted to being motivated by the war of words. Last night he stopped 22 of 24 shots to post a win in the matchup against Boston.
“There’s a difference between talking and doing,” said Kiprusoff. “When we talk, we back it up. Right now, Fort Drum is in the playoff picture, and Deer Park is floundering outside of it. When I look at their team, I see a good goalie and a couple of good forwards. Other than that, they’re really not that good.”
Earlier this morning, GM Stryska cut to the chase when he was speaking to ESPN in Boston: “I really wish I could be more like Nellany and spend a lot of time counting how many four- and five-star players I have on other people’s rosters. I don’t have time for that, unfortunately,” he said.
Anthony Furino, the Commissioner of the AFHL, said he has no problem with trash talking in the league, and he actually encourages it.
“I don’t think there’s anything bad about it. I only step in when it gets too personal,” Furino said. “But talk is just talk. It’s entertaining leading up to their next matchup. It adds to the excitement of the league. What really matters is when that puck is dropped, teams are ready to play hockey and put up points to win. I don’t give much credence to talking, but I do think after what happened last night, everyone is looking forward to their next matchup.”
Their next matchup is less than 10 weeks away so mark your calendars. On February 28th (Week 20), Steven Stryska’s Fort Drum Killers will face Mike Nellany’s Deer Park Chiefs in the second to last matchup of the regular season.
“They’re not too far away from each other in the standings,” said GM Mike Phelan of the Boston Giants. “A lot can change in 10 weeks. We’ll see what happens, maybe that matchup will have playoff implications.”
January 18th, 2011
– Rosters are based on the players in the real NHL All-Star Game. – Coaches were selected based on season standings (top two teams in each conference). – Coaches have until next Monday, January 24th, to submit their lineups to the league commissioner. – TEAM LINEUPS: All-Star Coaches must select 9 Forwards (any positions), 4 Defensemen, 1 Utility, and 2 Goalies – SKILLS COMPETITION: All players will play (no selections necessary) Remember last year’s AFHL All-Star Game? Click HERE to take a little walk down memory lane. |
January 31th, 2011
This AFHL All-Star game ended much like last year did – with the American Conference getting the victory, and a player from Deer Park skating off with the biggest prize.
“I hope I have some luck left for the rest of the season because I think I used a lot of it today,” said Chiefs’ forward Anze Kopitar, who scored two goals in the game and finished with a +2 rating. “I went out there, just tried to have fun and do my best.”
“I think (Kopitar) has proven that he’s one of those guys, that he’s one of those stars,” said Chiefs’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who won the MVP in last year’s game. “He’s slowly worked hard to become one of those household names, and it’s not easy for a guy like that. But he’s doing it, for sure. I’m sure you look at the list of players in this game, and you’re going to see quite a lineup, so it’s pretty cool for him to win that award.”
There certainly was no shortage of MVP candidates in a game that had a combined 21 goals and turned out to be the kind of offensive showcase that was expected.
Canadian Conference forward Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assists, while Loui Eriksson of the American Conference had four points including the empty net goal at the end of the game. But it was Kopitar’s +2 rating that was enough to win the plus/minus stat category for the American Conference.
Here’s a look at who stood out the most for each team during Sunday’s AFHL All-Star Game:
Canadian Conference All-Star Team
– Eric Staal (Heroes). The star forward really wanted to put on a show for the hometown crowd and he delivered by scoring a nice breakaway goal early in the third period. He added a second goal in the final minute and was left thinking about a few other good chances he failed to convert. Staal finished the night with eight shots, the most by any player.
– Patrick Sharp (Leafs). He looked a little more motivated than some of the others. Sharp had two assists in the opening period before adding a goal in the middle frame, and would have gotten the MVP award if the Canadian Conference won.
– Alex Ovechkin (Warriors) He opened the scoring in the first minute of the game and was all over the ice every time he stepped over the boards. Ovechkin was the best showman — jumping into the glass after missing a scoring chance, throwing his stick to give Vipers forward Matt Duchene a penalty shot — and entertainment is what the all-star game needs most.
– Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings). The future Hall of Famer was an amazing plus-7, an almost unthinkable accomplishment in a game that featured so many goals. He was also a classy captain and great ambassador throughout the entire weekend.
—-
American Conference All-Star Team
– Loui Eriksson (Phantoms). His empty-net goal gave him a four-point night, tying him with Shea Weber for the highest total. He’s one of the most underrated players in the league and the guess here is that he won’t remain that way for long.
– Tim Thomas (Power). It’s not a game for the goalies, but he performed very well in his one period of work. The Washington Power goaltender stared down a couple shooters on breakaways and finished with 11 saves on 14 shots.
– Anze Kopitar (Chiefs). Of the 21 goals scored during the all-star game, none was nicer than the deke move he made to score the first goal on Cam Ward. The Deer Park Chiefs star added another goal later on for good measure and with a +2 rating was named MVP of the game.
– Kris Letang (Power). The young defenceman is having a great season and he showed off his skills on Sunday. Letang scored twice and looked very comfortable in the offence-heavy affair.
—-
When Ray Irwin of the Washington Power and Barry Hickey of the St. John’s Red Wings were picked to be the Head Coaches of the all-star teams for the game this year, their tasks were both tricky and seemingly simple. After all having to choose from a host of elite-level players isn’t really that hard to do. Picking the right combo to get his side a win is a bit more difficult though.
For Irwin, he’s happy to have led the American Conference to a 7-1 win over Canadian Conference and he had fun doing it. “There was no pressure really, it was more fun than anything. It’s an honor to be selected as head coach of an AFHL All-Star team. I think we all just had fun with it.” Irwin said.
The American Conference has now won the first two annual AFHL All-Star Games and will seek to remain undefeated after the next one… 🙂
2011 AFHL All-Star Game Box Score
| Team | G | A | P | +/- | PPP | SHP | GWG | W | GAA | SV | SV% | SHO | Score |
| American Conference | 11 | 13 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 | 22 | .758 | 0 | 7 |
| Canadian Conference | 8 | 14 | 22 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.00 | 20 | .714 | 0 | 1 |
American Conference wins!!
Article with recap to be posted tomorrow (Monday)
—————————————————————————————–
American Conference All-Star Player Stats
| Pos | Player Name / (AFHL Team Name) | G | A | P | +/- | PPP | SHP | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Martin St. Louis (Stars) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | Anze Kopitar (Chiefs) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Brad Richards (Supermen)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Steven Stamkos (Wolves)
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Paul Stastny (Phantoms)
|
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Loui Eriksson (Phantoms)
|
2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Claude Giroux (Supermen)
|
1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Corey Perry (Rebels)
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Martin Havlat (Wolves)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Dan Boyle (Power)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Mike Green (Power)
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Kris Letang (Power)
|
2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Tobias Enstrom (Giants)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Util |
Patrik Elias (Supermen)
|
1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Pos
|
Goaltenders
|
W | GAA | SV | SV% | SHO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G |
Henrik Lundqvist (Chiefs)
|
0 | 3.00 | 11 | .786 | 0 |
| G |
Tim Thomas (Power)
|
1 | 3.00 | 11 | .733 | 0 |
—————————————————————————————–
Canadian Conference All-Star Player Stats
| Pos | Player Name / (AFHL Team) | G | A | P | +/- | PPP | SHP | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Rick Nash (Mustangs) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | Alex Ovechkin (Warriors) | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Daniel Sedin (Heroes)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | Henrik Sedin (Heroes) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | Patrick Sharp (Leafs) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F | Matt Duchene (Vipers) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Ryan Kesler (Warriors)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Eric Staal (Heroes)
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F |
Jonathan Toews (Warriors)
|
1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Dustin Byfuglien (Hitmen)
|
1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Duncan Keith (Red Wings)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D |
Zdeno Chara (Leafs)
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Util |
Patrick Kane (Vipers)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Pos
|
Goaltenders
|
W | GAA | SV | SV% | SHO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G |
Marc-Andre Fleury (Red Wings)
|
0 | 4.00 | 10 | .714 | 0 |
| G |
Cam Ward (Leafs)
|
0 | 4.00 | 10 | .714 | 0 |
Note: Stats associated with players in the 2011 AFHL All-Star Game are based on the stats from the NHL All-Star Game.