Projo Bruins Blog

October 12, 2008 - October 18, 2008 Archives

Tonight's Boston Bruins game is set for a 7:45 puck drop, after the host Montreal Canadiens celebrate their 100th season opener. The game, a rematch of last year's NHL playoff series, won by Montreal, pits the Bruins against goalie Carey Price, whom they have never beaten in the regular season.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien told The Boston Globe that his team is honored to be a part of the festivities tonight, even if they are focused on an archrival: When they asked us if we wanted to participate in it, I wanted our team to be part of it. "It's a great occasion, not just for the Montreal Canadiens but for hockey. One hundred years is unbelievable. It's a big night for them and we respect that. We'll be part of it as well. I'll be glad to be part of it and be here for the occasion."

Former Rhode Island Reds and Boston Bruins Ferny Flaman, Ross Brooks and Don McKenney will lead a panel discussion and question-and-answer session at Saturday's fall meeting of the Society for International Hockey Research. The event is at the Hampton Inn & Suites, on Post Road in Warwick.

The panel discussion is set for 1:15 p.m. The day will also include "What International Ice Hockey Teaches us about the Cold War," a lecture by John Soares, a Notre Dame professor originally from Bristol, at 2:45; and a preview of "When the Reds Ruled the Roost," a made-for-TV video history of the old R. I. Reds, at 3:25. n

The meeting is open to the public at a cost of $20, including lunch. The day begins with registration at 8 a.m.

The Boston Bruins have recalled defenseman Matt Hunwick and center Vladimir Sobotka from Providence. Both players are expected to join Boston today and travel with the team to face the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night.

Hunwick, 23, earned two assists in his two games this season in Providence. The blue-liner is coming off of a rookie season split between Boston and Providence, notching one assist in 13 games over four call-ups to the big club and 23 points (2g, 21a) in 55 contests for the P-Bruins.

Sobotka, 21, posted back-to-back multiple-point games in a pair of P-Bruins victories this year, and has two goals and four points overall. The second-year center scored the game-winning-goal Sunday afternoon in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Springfield Falcons. Sobotka split the 2007-08 campaign between Boston and Providence, appearing in 48 regular season games with the big club while amassing seven points (g, 6a). He played in six playoff games for Boston, scoring two goals against Montreal.

The Boston Bruins today traded defenseman Andrew Alberts to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Ned Lukacevic and a fourth round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The 2009 fourth round pick becomes a 2009 third round pick if the Flyers resign Alberts at the end of his contract which expires on June 30, 2009.

The 22-year-old Lukacevic played 61 games for Reading of the East Coast Hockey League and tallied 17 goals and 19 assists last year. In three-plus professional seasons split between Reading (ECHL) Manchester (American Hockey League) and Philadelphia (AHL), the 6-0, 200 pound Podgorica, Serbia native played in 126 games, recording 25-36-61 totals and 99 penalty minutes. Originally drafted in the fourth round (110th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Lukacevic was dealt to the Flyers on June 30, 2008 along with Patrik Hersley in exchange for Denis Gauthier. He did not see any action in the first two games of the 2008-2009 season for the Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL).

Alberts played in 181 games for the Bruins during his three-plus years with the club, notching one goal, 18 assists and 231 penalty minutes. Drafted by the Bruins out of Boston College, Alberts was selected in the sixth round (179th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Last season, Alberts saw action in 32 regular season and 2 postseason contests and contributed two assists. He was a healthy scratch in the Bruins first two games of the 2008-2009 season.