Friday Night Update

A few stories to get the weekend started…

Yesterday afternoon the AHL finally announced the venue for the 2012 All Star Game on January 30th…a very interesting choice indeed. The game will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, the 4 game neutral home the Devils used last season. It is the first time the league has held the game outside an AHL city. I already know a few people that are planning to attend, the jury’s still out for me on that one…a few days after the game is my planned trip to Wilkes-Barre (and possibly Connecticut the day before), I love travel but can only take so many miles on the road.

The tributes continue to pour in for the fallen members of Lokomotiv. The best coverage stateside that I have seen is from Puck Daddy on Yahoo!, here are some of the better (all very sad) stories:

-Lokomotiv’s scheduled opponent, Dynamo Minsk, still had an event on the ice last night…but instead of a game, a touching tribute.

-Dallas blogger Jeff Chick and the difficult task of driving Karlis Skrastins’ family to the airport.

-A piece on the former NHL stars that would have suited up for Lokomotiv this season.

-One item I did not link the other day: a statement from Lou Lamoriello on the tragedy. The Devils held a vigil for Alex Vasyunov and former Devil Karel Rachunek earlier today at Championship Plaza, just across the street from the Prudential Center.

On a much lighter note…12 days to go till hockey returns to the Capital District. Hopefully the ice should be in place soon!