First Panthers Home Game Canceled

The impending strike from Tropical Depression Sixteen (soon to be Tropical Storm Nicole) has forced the Florida Panthers to cancel their preseason game tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes. This was reported by George Richards of On Frozen Pond.

Yes, the game with the Hurricanes was canceled because of a tropical storm. The possible puns are endless.

Nonetheless, the game will not be rescheduled, but fans can use these tickets for select regular season games. Not a bad deal at all.

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Panthers Lose, Cut Seven

The Florida Panthers finally dropped their first game of the preseason in ugly fashion, losing to the Montreal Canadiens 6-2. David Booth and Stephen Weiss both netted power-play goals, but Jacob Markstrom was hung out to dry multiple times in the third period, and Florida’s record in the preseason fell to 3-1.

Better that they get some bad breaks and plays out in the preseason while all of that stuff doesn’t really matter.

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Panthers Sweep Bruins, Remain Undefeated

It may only be the preseason, but the Florida Panthers are enjoying success. With back to back victories over the Boston Bruins, the Cats have upped their record to 3-0 this preseason.

On Thursday, a squad consisting of mainly regulars helped the Panthers beat the Bruins younger players, by a score of 3-2. David Booth had two goals in his first action since his second concussion last season, and former Bruin Dennis Wideman scored the game winner on the power-play.

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Panthers Open Preseason With Victory

The Florida Panthers kicked things off right this preseason, with a 4-1 victory in Carolina. Third overall pick Erik Gudbranson tallied a goal and an assist.

Mike Santorelli, Scott Timmins, and Nathan Paetsch also scored goals for the Panthers. Scott Clemmensen made 16 saves on 17 shots, and Jacob Markstrom stopped all 17 shots that he faced.

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Fight Club: Weiss Vs. Olesz

Ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to the main event! Take your seats and watch out for flying mouth pieces.

Two Florida Panthers players went at it, at practice yesterday, and you may be hard pressed to find two more unlikely combatants.

Super Heavyweight Stephen Weiss took on the Crusher himself, Rusty Olesz. Weiss, a leader on the team, may have been fed up by a lack of effort from the consistently underachieving Olesz.

“It was a good thing that happened and we’re still buddies,” Weiss told George Richards of the Miami Herald. “I think he scored four goals in the drill after that so it just goes to show how he plays when he’s fired up.”

Read the rest here!

Panthers Like Lighter Preseason Schedule

Today, The Miami Herald highlighted a very underrated point heading into the upcoming hockey season, in this article.

The Panthers are well known for traveling the globe during the preseason, and this sometimes comes back as an excuse when the team starts off slow. Who can forget last season when the Cats “World Tour” concluded with preseason and regular season games in Helsinki, Finland (and gave birth to some epic shirts, courtesy of David Booth, documented here).

It is clear from the players’ comments, that the team is happy to have the lighter load this preseason.

“No excuses this year,” Panthers captain Bryan McCabe told the Miami Herald. “We’re not traveling anywhere. It’s going to be fun.’

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Panthers Shooting For Playoffs

Despite being written off by every NHL personality, and seemingly half of its own fan base, the Florida Panthers goal at the beginning of the year is the same as it’s been for a while.

Make the playoffs.

The Panthers are already the not so proud owners of the most amount of consecutive years without making the playoffs (10). They are tied for the most amount of seasons (nine), but they are the only team that has hit this total without being moved in the process (North Stars and Devils franchises).

“I notice a genuine sense of excitement around here,” Coach Pete DeBoer told the Miami Herald.

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Ballard Finds DeBoer "A Scream"; Panthers Rooks Fall

Nearly three months after being dealt on draft day, Keith Ballard recently came out with some interesting quotes in the Vancouver Province.

The Litter Box, reporting in this article, brought some important quotes to the surface.

“It’s hard to know for sure why (the trade) came about but certainly one of the contributing factors may have been the screaming match, or matches, (Ballard) had with Florida coach Peter DeBoer ”

“The Panther players are quick to let everyone know, of course, because DeBoer is extremely unpopular with most of the Florida players because he largely treats them like juniors.”

Both quotes are largely disturbing. The former shows DeBoer’s fiery attitude, one that was on display when Nick Boynton was sent home a couple of season’s ago (in this ugly incident), which ultimately may have cost the Panthers a playoff spot.

Read the rest here!

Gudbranson Working to Adjust

First off, a big shout out to Yahoo’s Puck Daddy for linking and quoting the Frozen Lair in his Florida Panthers season preview. Go ahead and check out the entertaining take on the Cats.

Third overall pick, Erik Gudbranson, has been the focus of much attention at Panthers training camp. He has a lot of expectations to try to change the culture of a team that has been losing for too long.

In an Ottawa Sun post, Gudbranson discusses his unfamiliar role as a smaller guy. Gudbranson told the Sun Sentinel “The level of competition just went way up…I don’t feel like I’m in the OHL anymore. I was bigger and stronger than most of the guys there. Now I’m one of the little guys again.”

Read the rest over at the Frozen Lair!

Panthers Camp Opens

First a bit of housekeeping: Panthers public address announcer Bill Murphy is out, and Mitch Phillips is in, per George Richards. Yes, that is Mitch Phillips of the DUI commercials that sound like they’re voiced by Darth Vader.

As upset as I am about not getting the replacement call, I’ll recover.

In house arena host Randi Ross is out as well.

In actual hockey news, the Panthers hit the ice today, and it was open to the public. I was unable to get down to Sunrise, but people’s personal analysis’ have been coming out in droves.

Read the rest here!

Panthers Unveil Training Camp Roster

This time next week, the Florida Panthers rookies and prospects will be on the ice, taking on the youngsters of the Nashville Predators. This should be a very exciting couple of games, as Nashville is known for their deep prospect pool. The Panthers aren’t too far behind in that regard anymore.

The two squads will play next Wednesday and Thursday night in Sunrise, Florida.

An interesting note about the Panthers roster is that they have invited Tyler Arnason to the squad. Once upon a time, Arnason was a highly touted forward, but has fallen off mightily. He will have a shot to make either the Panthers or the minor league Rochester Americans. Arnason’s career stats can be found here.

Head over to the Frozen Lair for the rest!

TSN Ranks Panthers 27th

To kill some time before the regular season gets underway, TSN.ca has begun ranking all 30 NHL teams in reverse order. Thanks to starting with the worst, the Panthers were quick to come up on the countdown, locking in at 27th, which nearly 29% of the voting population considers too generous.

Why it’s all gobbledygook…

- TSN.ca, although a very reputable website, does originate in Canada. They know their hockey very well, but tend to negatively bias against Southern hockey markets.

- The article states that Dale Tallon is entering his 2nd season as GM. Actually, he was just hired this summer. Mistakes aside…

Continuing reading here!

Introduction/Panthers News

Hello everybody. My name is Andrew Imber and I am a long time hockey fan. I went to my first hockey game when I was only five years old and have loved it ever since. I now have season tickets to the Florida Panthers and go frequently.

This is my blog for my Multimedia Journalism class, but it is a little different than most of the blogs. I already am a writer for a Florida Panthers blog, and that is what I will be using on this site. Each entry, you will find a couple of paragraphs from my blog entry, with a link to continue reading on my actual site, www.frozenlair.com.

Today's entry deals with the Florida Panthers' youth movement, as well as news about their TV schedule. I hope that you all enjoy reading my blog, and please, don't be a stranger!

It is no secret that the Florida Panthers are rebuilding, again. This youth movement needs to pay off, much more so than the last one. Attitude will be important – and a few young Panthers are off to a great start in that regard.

“When I went to the draft I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to potentially go to the Florida Panthers,” Erik Gudbranson told nhl.com. “That’s where I wanted to go. I had an interview with them the day before the draft and told them you’re my team.”

Read the rest here!