Duchene chosen player of the week

Haliburton pro sports updates

By Terrance Gavan

Duchene leads the Avs in scoring. After winning six straight
the Avs have lost two in a row.

Haliburton’s Matthew Duchene is on a post-rookie tear that will now presumably put the lumbering hints of a sophomore jinx to bed forever.

   This week the NHL named new Colorado linemates Matty Duchene and Tomas Fleishman the number one and two stars of the week. Eric Staal was named the third star of the week in the same balloting.

   Duchene is rewarded with the number one sport on the basis of his League-leading seven points (four goals, three assists) last week, highlighted by a pair of game-winning goals.

   Dutchy’s new linemate Tomas Fleishman notched an identical four goals and three assists to clinch the second spot honors.

   The Avalanche (19-10-4) extended their winning streak to six games and reclaimed first place in the Northwest Division during that scoring spree.

   Duchene leads all Avs scorers with 13 goals and 21 assist in 33 games, two points ahead of Paul Stastny who has 13 G and 19 A.

   Duchene is tied for 12^th spot in NHL scoring and is currently assuming a leadership role with the Avs who are now located as serious contenders to go deep in the playoffs.

   Responding to a recent Avs mailbag question about pressure in the pros, Duchene affirmed his one-day-at-a-time approach to hockey.

   “I’d say it’s (pressure to perform) the same every year,”  said Duchene. “You want to build on the year before and you want to have a good showing and prove that it wasn’t a fluke. Last year things went well, but things could have even gone better last year. You want to build on it each season and I feel that so far things have gone well.”

   Meanwhile Haliburton cottage Cody Hodgson must feel very frustrated rehabbing in the deep freezer known as Winnipeg Manitoba.

   Hodgson, now playing for the Manitoba Moose, the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, has been told that surgery will not be necessary to repair a facial injury to the orbital bone suffered in a practice back on Dec 9, 2010.

   “Cody has been an exemplary player, on and off the ice, this season,” said Canuck assistant GM Laurence Gilman, replying to a question from Ian MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun. “He’s been a great teammate and a big part of our team down there. It’s disappointing we lost him. Fortunately, the injury is not as bad as originally thought.”

   Meanwhile after every each Maple Leaf loss the blogs go crazy with yet another rumor of a trade between Vancouver and Toronto centering on the former Markham Waxer and Brampton Battalion star.

   Hodgson is still leading the Moose in goals, so a trade at this point would probably produce a riot amongst the Canuckadoodle-do fan base who it seems are now warming to their 10^th overall 2008 draft pick.