Updates Coming Soon

SARASOTA, Florida -- My winter vacation is nearly at an end, and since I will soon be swamped with assignments and responsibilities again, I will certainly be able to find time to waste writing about bandy.

I have managed to soak up a little hockey during my vacation. Last night I watched the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Pittsburgh (soon to be Kansas City) Penguins at the St. Petersburg Times Forum in Tampa. I went to the game hoping to catch a glimpse of Sid the Kid and his new linemate, Magnitka's Yevgeny Malkin. But the real attraction was Tampa's Martin St. Louis. Not only did he win the first star with his goal and two assists, but his penalty killing was something to behold. Holding a 3-1 lead in the third period, Tampa was hit with a double minor penalty for high sticking. Pittsburgh could not convert either power play, and St. Louis appeared to be on the ice for the full four minutes.

I also only paid $15.75 for the seat, which is quite a bargain, even if it was in the nosebleed section. Compared to a ticket for a Bruins game, it was almost worth it to fly down to Tampa just to see a game - a comparable seat at the TD Banknorth Garden runs $45.50, and my plane ticket from Hartford only cost $36, giving me a grand total of $51.75. But what really tips the scales in Tampa's favor are the $2 beers and hot dogs. So really, you can't afford not to go and see the Lightning, whereas my beloved Bruins are barely worth watching on TV.

Moving over the Russia, in Baikal-Energia news, they bounced back from their crippling sanctions imposed by the national federation to beat Mayak Krasnoturinsk 4-0 on the road on Saturday with goals from Yusupov, Kadakin, Rogulyov and Savchenko. Irkutsk also played a few games immediately after Christmas that I missed. They managed a successful road trip, tying Sayany Abakan 3-3 way back on December 27th, beating Yenisei Krasnoyarsk 4-2 on December 29th and SKA-Sverdlovsk Yekaterinburg 5-4 on January 4th. Their next game will be on Friday in Ust-Ilimisk against Lesokhimik.

I'll be posting a Russian Bandy League roundup soon, as well as some headlines from the Superleague.