In case you didn't know it, the 15% discount for
season tickets has been extended until Friday May 18. So
there is still time to get out there and get your
season tickets for the 2001-2002 season. Remember what
we were doing this time last year? Getting ready for
a rally. Lets never forget that and get out there
and support our team. If you can't get season tickts,
there are going to be differant packages available.

<a href=http://hockey.dallasnews.com/stars/353473_0501modano.html
target=new>http://hockey.dallasnews.com/stars/353473_0501modano.html</a>

Dallas/St.L. - "Modano shouldn't be the only guy
out there winning games." Well, if Modo was out
there, we probably *would* be winning games. =) He hurt
his "ankle" in Game 1; hopefully he'll play in St.
Louis. The power-play...ghzt...Brett Hull needs to stop
trying to stickhandle and made highlight-reel passes and
stick with what he's good to--laserbeam
slapshots.<br><br>Toronto/Jersey - Rooting for the Leaf. Even though I still
can't
hate the Devils like I do the 'Yotes, the Avs, the
Sharks, and to an extent, the Dead Wings. Brodeur is a
master, and Scott Steven is a slightly cleaner version of
Derian Hatcher ;)<br><br>Pittsburgh/Buffalo - Want some
cheese with your whine? Blah...still can't stand the
Sabres. Peca's a selfish little pig, Hasek is very, very
overrated, Lindy Ruff still gets on my nerves, and their
fans are...ick. Never mind, I'll stop there. Go Super
Mario, go Jagr (who is NOT going to be traded this
summer!), and go Moose (represent the 'I'!
;)<br><br>Avs/Kings - As Eric Cartman says, "Go, Kings Go!" The only
thing I have in common with the Red Wing fans up here
is our mutual hatred for Patty Wah and the
Avs...even the Detroit fans are rooting for the Kings.

TURNER CUP CONFERENCE FINALS: SOLAR BEARS VS.
GRAND RAPIDS<br><br>GAME 1 AWAY ---THURS, MAY 3
7:30PM<br><br>GAME 2 HOME --- SAT, MAY 5 7PM (GAME C) <br><br>GAME 3
HOME --- SUN, MAY 6 5PM (GAME D) <br><br>GAME 4 AWAY
--- WED, MAY 9 7:30PM<br><br>GAME 5 AWAY --- (IF
NEEDED) THUR, MAY 10 7:30PM<br><br>GAME 6 HOME --- (IF
NEEDED) SAT, MAY 12 7PM (GAME E) <br><br>GAME 7 AWAY ---
(IF NEEDED) SUN, MAY 20 7:30PM (Due to scheduling
conflicts, this game may be played in a TBD neutral arena)

Dallas and St. Louis: Uh... Stars... what's going
on? Wake up, guys. Modano shouldn't be the only guy
out there winning games. And Turek has to be a little
less brilliant in net too. He's like a wall between
those pipes. And, much like our Kalamazoo Wings of this
year, Dallas should try to stay OFF the PP. It's like a
guaranteed 2 minutes without a goal. Especially with St.
Louis' 100% PK in the playoffs this year.<br><br>Jersey
and Toronto: Still very much up in the air. Tied 1-1,
but Toronto fought until the bitter end in game 2. I
think they have an outside shot.<br><br>Pittsburgh and
Buffalo: I like this series. Lemiuex and Hedberg all the
way. If they keep up the level of play they've had so
far, they should breeze past the
Sabres.<br><br>Colorado and LA: Tied 1-1. As a Red Wing fan, I thought
this one was gonna be tough to watch. But, I found
myself watching game 1 all the way to its overtime
finish at about 2 AM and cheering loudly when LA scored.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can overcome my hatred for
Colorado. Everybody wants Ray Borque to win a cup. Borque
Shmorque. As soon as he put on the scarlet A, he became an
enemy. I even like Deadmarsh and Miller now. I laugh
because Colorado took these two solid, skilled players
and considered them expendable enough to trade them
for super-star Rob Blake. Well well well, looks like
they're better than Colorado thought. That and watching
Roy play badly (like Belfour is, unfortunately) is
pretty fun. I'm hoping for the major upset on this one.

Chris, come on, you have to be for the Smoke. I
will tell you a little story. When the Smoke were here
for their game, they let Michael be on the bench with
them. Only team to ask if the stickboy would like to.
Heck the K Wings didn't even ask him. So this house is
rooting for the Smoke. Someone has to knock off the
giant.

You're right...I'm not necessarily pro-Asheville, just anti-Mallards.

Go Smoke??? I assume we're just rooting against
Quad City Duckies. I'm having hockey withdrawl, but
trying not to dwell on it. Work to do and summer stuff
to think about. I have been watching for any scrap
of info about next season and returning players and
such. Nothing yet. It'll be a long summer. I've made a
resolution to get in shape this summer, so that will help
keep me busy. Me and roller-blades, what an
interesting combination. Thank goodness for health insurance!

Quad City wins game 1, 3-2, over the Asheville Smoke:<br><br><a
href=http://www.citizen-times.com/sports/06054210.shtml
target=new>http://www.citizen-times.com/sports/06054210.shtml</a><br><br>C'mon..\
.Go Smoke!

Right Michzoo, I have had a little withdrawing
pains. I am over them, thank goodness. Now I just sit
and think how nice its going to be next season. Just
to see our team come out on the ice and the crowd
yelling and cheering for our K-Wings. I think how nice
its going to be to have a better schedule and a lot
of weekend games with a packed house of screeming
and yelling fans. I think of how nice it will be
smelling the aroma of the roasted almonds, the popcorn,
the pizza, and the other nice smells of Wings
Stadium. I think how nice it will be to try to walk around
the concourse, bumping into other fans trying to do
the same. All the talking between the periods. All
the yelling and hollering when the Kalamazoo Wings
make a goal. All my friends I see at the games. Yep, I
sure am glad I don't have any withdrawing pains. I
would be a mess otherwise. See ya'll at Wings Stadium
in the Fall. Till then we still have this forum to
keep in touch. GO WINGS.<br><br>Jack.

Am I the only one here going thru severe KWings
hockey withdrawl?????? <br><br>I really miss seeing
everyone at the games. We sure had fun last season! I
remember chills down my back when they dropped the puck at
the pre-season game for the first time with our new
team. Something about the group effort we all made to
get a team back in the Zoo made last season very
special. It was like we all had a special bond with the
team because of it. We sure had some fun games last
season too. The Pink Ice that would have been game was
really something else. I also liked the game where we
had the Wayne Gretzky (table hockey thing) Bud Zone
thing. Low attendance due to a snow storm and also the
Flint bus was late due to a nasty pile up on I94. Still
we played hard and while I think we lost, the game
really was a fun one. I can only hope that our next
season will be as fun. I know summer has hardly begun
but I would like to see more info on the KWings and
the upcoming season advertised. Finally we have a
full summer to get the word out and I have not seen a
thing around town. I am ready to paint my car! Wonder
what our season ticket goal is for next season. I know
the guy who is responsible for ticket sales has
called me about season tickets. I am only waiting for
the schedule to come out so I know if season tickets
will work or if I have to buy a flexi-plan package
instead. I do keep spreading the word on how great the
games are now in the UHL and encourageing people to try
it out this coming season. I want to see a sell out
game for opening night! Well anyways I miss the old
season but am ready for the new one to begin! Lets go
Wings!<br><br>Michzoo

What players from last year do you think are
going to be stars in the UHL for the upcoming
season?<br><br>What players do you think are has beens in the
UHL?<br><br>What players do you think could be potential great
players in the future for the UHL? <br><br><br>What
player do you think is the best in the UHL at this time
and would want to wear the KWings logo on their
jersey next year? <br><br><br>Lets get some good
discussion going!<br><br>Michzoo

Me too!

I'd go just because it's hockey!

If the Griffins make it into the next round of
playoffs, they may be locked out of Van Andel Arena. The
opera Carmen is booked there and it takes time to stage
it as well as rehersals and the performances. Sure
would be funny of GR had to play in our barn. I would
be there jsut to root against them.

April 16, 2001<br>AHL, IHL on collision
course?<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------------\
---------------<br>By Bill Ballou<br>Special to ESPN.com<br><br>
<br>While many businesses are laying off employees, minor
league hockey's rumor mill has three shifts working full
time.<br><br>What the Professional Hockey Players Association has
referred to, in an e-mail to some of its members, as the
"Minor League Meltdown" has almost everyone talking and
wondering about the future of the sport at the Triple-A
level. Is this the last time International Hockey League
teams will compete for the Turner Cup? Will there be
26, or 28, or 30 Triple-A franchises next season, and
what will be their shape and form?<br><br>At the
AHL-IHL level, anyway, the term meltdown seems a bit
excessive. In the American Hockey League, both Hamilton and
Saint John are committed to returning next season and
the league will welcome Manchester, N.H., and
Bridgeport, Conn., as new franchises. If the Kentucky
Thoroughblades can't make Lexington work, one scenario has them
moving into Cleveland where the Barons were an AHL
charter member. TheT-Blades' neighbors in Louisville, the
Panthers, have hemorraghed money for two years and may not
be back.<br><br>The Worcester IceCats have still not
been sold, but current ownership says that whoever
buys the team will keep it in town for years to come.
The parent St. Louis Blues have indicated they would
consider buying their affiliate. <br><br>Rochester is
still dickering with parent Buffalo. A rumor out of
Western New York is the Sabres might want to run their
own team out of their own building. Tampa Bay,
currently with Detroit of the IHL, could move into
Rochester if those old friends -- partners since 1979 -- go
their separate ways. <br><br>An AHL expansion franchise
costs $3 million, but both Detroit and Ottawa own
suspended franchises that could probably be had for less
than that.<br><br>In the IHL, Cleveland and the
Cincinnati Cyclones are both broke. The Detroit Vipers are
considering folding, which explains Tampa Bay thinking about
Rochester, and an IHL source says that Orlando has thought
about moving its operation to Cleveland. That leaves
the IHL with Grand Rapids, Chicago, Winnipeg,
Houston, Milwaukee, Kansas City and Salt Lake City as core
franchises. <br><br>As teams continue to struggle, support
grows for some sort of common ground amongst the NHL,
AHL and IHL, something along the lines of the
structured agreements minor-league baseball works
under.<br><br>"There will be no merger," one AHL source said of the
future of Triple-A hockey. "It will be an expansion."
<br><br>It is Calder Cup time, and Turner Cup time. A year
from now, those cups may have runneth
together.<br><br>Notebook<br><br>The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL finished
their
season having employed 12 different goaltenders. That
was a record, of course, breaking the one set last
year when the Saint John Flames used 10
goalies.<br><br>Grand Rapids is only the ninth IHL team ever to post
consecutive 50-win seasons. The Muskegon Lumberjacks are the
only IHL club with three straight 50-win
seasons.<br><br>Detroit has used 53 players this season. Things have been
so bad there that goalie Dieter Kochan is tied for
23rd on the Vipers' scoring list with five points, all
on assists.<br><br>Perhaps the oddest stat from the
AHL season is that the league's worst team,
Louisville with 50 points, was 2-0-0 against the best team,
Worcester with 108 points.

The Nokia cell phones in the 5100 series have
changable covers ( as I'm sure you know ). Friday when I
was at Radio Shack I found out that they have NHL
covers for them. So far only 4 teams are avalible - Red
Wings, Blue, Stars and the Kings. I ordered the Wings &
the Stars. They came in yesterday and they are
totally cool !!! Dallas is better than the Wings ( my
luck ) but they are both really neat. The price was
$24.99 each. Just thought I would pass it on.

Amen to that !!!!! Go Leafs !!! I wouldn't mind seeing the Blues get the cup
either.

I'm sorry, I can't jump on the Dallas bandwagon,
unless they play the Avalanche in the finals. I'm going
to root for the Sabres, and the Leafs to win it. I
would never abandon my Red Wings, and this state is red
and white, not Green and Black.<br><br>Ice

Chris, go into Hockeytuff.com  there is a great interview with Brad Lukowich. 
Thought you would enjoy reading it.

HEEHAW Finally the DEADwings are really the
DEADwings... Im so happy that bunch of bums from Detroit
lost.. I could kiss one of their women...<br>Now that
all you Deadwing fans have been put in your
coffins... Come jump on the DALLAS STARS wagon and cheer on
the only real NHL team worth winning lord stanleys
cup....<br>GO DALLAS STARS on the road to the stanley cup
2001....HEEHAW....STARS STARS STARS STARS STARS

I wish I had yelled louder but unfortunately, the
injury prone team just was not healthy enough to advance
and maybe that was for the better. Next year they can
make a new story and do better. Still was a good
season overall for the RedWings and they still are and
always will be a great team. Now I have to pick a new
team to cheer for in the playoffs. Being a RedWings
fan, I won't be cheering for Dallas although I wish
the former KWings on that team luck. I just don't
feel a tie with that team since they dropped/we
dropped our affiliation. Truthfully we were affiliated
with the RedWings long before Dallas and then Philly
and then Minnesota then Dallas. You won't find me
cheering for Philly either. Heck, I just hope the best
team wins. <br><br>Michzoo

Yell louder, MichZoo, they can't hear you.

End of 2 RedWings up 2-1!  <br><br>Go Wings!!!!!!!

I think the key to why the playoffs are so cool
is seeing the absolute best teams playing each
other. I don't think anyone wants to see their team win
the cup by going through Nashville, Atlanta and
Minnesota. A Wings/Stars series would have me glued to the
TV for what would likely be seven heated games.

I predict that the Red Wings will pull this one
out and beat the Kings. But Dallas and the Red Wings?
If we go on recent play, I'd have to put my money on
the Stars...though I have no idea who I'd want to
win. Every time they play I'm torn about who to cheer
for! Now if we have a healthy Stevie Y and Brendan S.,
I'd have to say nobody has an edge and it'd just be a
great series.

Actually when...err, if...the Kings win, Dallas
will get St. Louis in the first round and Rob Blake
will face off against his former team as the Avs take
on the Kings.<br><br>Even though my blood is as
green as Mr. Spock's, and I know that the Stars have
never had a lot of success against Detroit, I'm rooting
for the Red Wings (in 7 ;). Dallas is en route to
their second cup, but the won't get the validation they
deserve unless they go through Detroit at some time or
another.

Hey if the Stars and Wings played, imagine the
talk in this club! Hope it happens. Go Wings!
<br><br>(if we can play the pink ice game in the annex due to
a rain delay, why can't the RedWings come from
behind and win the series?)

All I got to say is; The Red Wings better BEAT
the L.A. Kings. If on the slim chance the Kings beat
the Wings, they will lose to the Stars. If the Stars
and the Wings play each other, Hmmmmm, very
interesting.

heheh I will stick to cheering on the RedWings to
victory :) Will be sad not to hear Mickey Redmond's
commentary over the summer. At least we will slowly hear
updates thru the summer months about the KWings and who
we aquire. I bet we have one heck of a team come
next fall. Hope coach stays here! <br><br>Michzoo
(RedWings fan for life!)