Canucks vs. Flames Dec. 23rd GM Place

GAME: Calgary Flames (19-11-4) at Vancouver Canucks (20-10-4).

TIME: Friday, 10 p.m. EST.

The Vancouver Canucks are starting to feel like visitors at home.

After winning 13 of their first 14 at GM Place, the Canucks will try to end a three-game skid there when they meet the Calgary Flames in the first of two straight home games against their Northwest Division rival.

Vancouver, which holds a slim two-point lead over Calgary for the division lead, is just 5-8-3 against the Northwest.

The Flames have won three straight in the series and are 15-6-2-1 in its last 24 road games against Vancouver.

Vancouver is coming off a 7-6 loss Wednesday to Edmonton, allowing the Oilers to move into a tie atop the Northwest. The seven goals allowed were a season high and Vancouver coach Marc Crawford expressed concern after his team lost four one-goal leads.

"Of course it's alarming, we wouldn't be human if we weren't a little upset about this," Crawford said. "We were far too sloppy and we didn't play with the urgency we needed. We got what we deserved tonight."

Leading scorer Markus Naslund had an assist to extend his points streak to four games. Naslund has 26 goals - the most against any opponent - and 56 points in 57 games against the Flames.

The Flames have lost consecutive games for just the fourth time this season. Calgary squandered two-goal leads in each, the first in a 5-4 loss Monday to Edmonton in which they led 4-2 in the second period and allowed three unanswered goals.

In a 5-2 loss Wednesday to the Los Angeles Kings, Daymond Langkow and Jarome Iginla scored to give the Flames a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Kings tallied the last five unanswered goals - four in the third period - to put the game away.

Calgary coach Darryl Sutter wasn't thrilled with his team's effort.

"The top end of our team is not playing very well right now," Sutter said. "There is a focus or purpose issue with some of our top players right now and its affecting our ability to play 60 minutes."

Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made just 13 saves in his second subpar outing in a row. Kiprusoff has given up nine goals in his last two starts after allowing eight goals in his previous seven.

Kiprusoff withdrew his name from Finland's Olympic team on Thursday, citing advice from doctors to rest a hip injury. He has inflammation and will use the time during the Olympics to rest.

Kiprusoff is 10-6-0 with a 1.96 goals-against average against the Canucks in his career.

STANDINGS (through Dec. 22): Flames - 42 points, 3rd place, 2 PB, Northwest Division. Canucks - 44 points, 1st place (tied), Northwest Division.

TEAM LEADERS: Flames - Iginla, 14 goals, 15 assists and 29 points; Jason Wiemer, 58 PIM. Canucks - Naslund, 18 goals and 38 points; Henrik Sedin, 22 assists; Wade Brookbank, 63 PIM.

SPECIAL TEAMS (through Dec. 22): Flames - Power play: 15.9 percent (33 for 207), 19th in NHL. Penalty killing: 82.7 percent (172 for 208), tied for 13th. Canucks - Power play: 18.1 percent (42 for 232), 15th. Penalty killing: 82.1 percent (170 for 207), tied for 16th.

GOALTENDERS: Flames - Kiprusoff (16-10-4, 5 SO, 2.23 GAA); Philippe Sauve (3-1-0, 2.32). Canucks - Alex Auld (12-7-2, 2.86); Maxime Ouellet (0-0-1, 4.69).

SEASON SERIES: Flames, 2-0.

LAST MEETING: Nov. 7; Flames, 4-3. At Calgary, Alberta, Dion Phaneuf scored the game-winner with 2:21 left and added two assists as the Flames rallied with three goals in the third period.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Flames - 7-8-2 on the road; Canucks - 13-2-2 at home.


— Associated Press

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Maple Leafs vs. Bruins Tonight in Toronto

GAME: Boston Bruins (12-16-6) at Toronto Maple Leafs (17-14-3).

TIME: Friday, 7 p.m. EST.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' potent power play came up short Thursday against the Boston Bruins.

Now, the Leafs will look to generate more offense with the man advantage when the Northeast Division rivals wrap up their home-and-home series.

The Maple Leafs entered Thursday tied with Ottawa for third in the league with 46 power play goals and a 21.7 percentage on the man advantage. However, they went 0-for-9 on the power play in Thursday's 4-1 loss.

"We've got to do a better job on the power-play," defenseman Bryan McCabe said. "Those are key situations and when we don't produce we don't win."

Toronto fell to 1-6 in games when they fail to score a power play goal. The Maple Leafs are 11-0-1 when scoring two or more man-advantage goals, including a seven-goal effort Oct. 14 at Atlanta.

Mariusz Czerkawski scored in his second consecutive game for Toronto, which has lost five of its last seven. The Leafs are just 6-for-47 (13 percent) on the power play over that span.

"We're not consistent enough at putting the puck on the net and when you miss the net, it's basically a turnover," coach Pat Quinn said.

The Bruins won for just the second time in six games, scoring their most goals in that stretch. Alexei Zhamnov got the tie-breaking goal - his first score of the season - and Travis Green, Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart also scored.

"Sometimes you forget what it feels like to score and getting that second one was very important for us tonight," Zhamnov said. "When I saw the empty net in front of me, I almost lost the puck."

Brian Leetch added three assists for the Bruins, who won for the second time in seven road games.

"We played better with the lead than we have and tonight showed us we can do that," said goalie Hannu Toivonen, who stopped 26 shots. "We needed to build confidence with the lead and we did that and got some points tonight."

STANDINGS (through Dec. 22): Bruins - 30 points, 5th place, 19 PB, Northeast Division. Maple Leafs - 37 points, 4th place, 12 PB, Northeast Division.

TEAM LEADERS: Bruins - Sergei Samsonov, 13 goals and 27 points; Samsonov and Brad Boyes, 14 assists; Jiri Slegr and Hal Gill, 48 PIM. Maple Leafs - Darcy Tucker, 14 goals; McCabe, 29 assists, 40 points and 50 PIM.

SPECIAL TEAMS (through Dec. 22): Bruins - Power play: 17.1 percent (33 for 193), 16th in NHL. Penalty killing: 82.7 percent (177 for 214), tied for 13th. Maple Leafs - Power play: 20.8 percent (46 for 221), tied for 4th. Penalty killing: 80.5 percent (178 for 221), tied for 24th.

GOALTENDERS: Bruins - Andrew Raycroft (5-13-2, 0 SO, 3.36 GAA); Toivonen (7-3-4, 1, 2.93). Maple Leafs - Ed Belfour (13-11-2, 0, 3.46); Mikael Tellqvist (4-3-1, 1, 2.54).

SEASON SERIES: Bruins, 3-1-1.

LAST MEETING: Thursday; Bruins, 4-1. At Boston, Tellqvist stopped 21 shots for the Maple Leafs.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Bruins - 6-10-4 on the road; Maple Leafs - 11-7-1 at home.


— Associated Press



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Canadian Brass comes to Toronto 12/23/05

Canadian Brass Tickets

The five virtuosi of Canadian Brass have made the brass quintet an exciting vehicle for serious concert music. The quintet — now in its 35th season — consists of new member Justin Emerich, trumpet, with Bernhard Scully, horn, alongside original members Stuart Laughton, trumpet, Gene Watts, trombone, and Chuck Daellenbach on tuba.

The group has a long history of recording classical repertoire. They have a special affinity for Baroque music, which requires the brilliance and musical structure that has become the Canadian Brass’ trademark.

Their more than 60 recordings to date include works by Purcell, Vivaldi, Gabrieli, Pachelbel, Beethoven and Wagner — all in meticulously crafted transcriptions that are setting new musical traditions in brass performance. They are especially drawn to the works of J.S. Bach.

The Canadian Brass sprang from modest and highly experimental roots in Toronto, Ontario, in 1970. The brass quintet was not established as a serious concert ensemble at that time, and it proved an irresistible challenge to Gene and Chuck. Their imagination and consummate musicianship eventually elevated the art of the brass quintet to what it is today.

Thanks to their pioneer status, the quintet developed a unique character and rapport with audiences that proved so successful that it has been emulated by many other ensembles. Canadian Brass master the gamut of concert presentations — from formal classical concerts to music served up with lively dialogue and theatrical effects. No matter what the style, the music is central and performed with utmost dedication and excellence.

The "fabulous five" spend most of their time on tour, and have performed with many major symphony orchestras in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. They have gained a large international following of their solo performances that offer a large variety of musical styles.

Having started with the very limited base of traditional works for brass, Canadian Brass set out to create their own musical world by transcribing, arranging and commissioning more than 200 works; the most recent being the brilliant Quintet by Michael Kamen.

They are not only presenting works in the classical repertoire but continue to take daring leaps into jazz, contemporary concert music and popular songs. Most of this music, including the Quintet, is published by Hal Leonard. It is the inspiration and musical staple of students and brass ensembles in North America and Europe.

Millions of television viewers have seen the Canadian Brass in such shows as The Tonight Show, Today, and Entertainment Tonight. They have appeared as guest artists on Evening at Pops with John Williams and the Boston Pops, Beverly Sills’ Music Around the World, and numerous PBS specials. The quintet has also created eight videos that have gained an international audience and has just released a DVD that captures the group in performance over three decades entitled "Three Nights with Canadian Brass".

All members of the Canadian Brass are keenly interested in training the next generation of players. On their travels around the world, performing on gold-plated Yamaha instruments, they often pause for master classes. The famous five are chamber quintet-in-residence at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Additionally, they have created an innovative brass summer course at the famous Eastman School of Music. They have been invited by the Canadian Government to play for visiting heads of states on numerous official occasions.

With over three decades under their belts, Canadian Brass continues to fill concert halls and thrill audiences around the world. AND They don't look like letting up anytime soon.