With summer closing to an end and the calendar showing August, It's time for a little hockey talk from this past couple of months.

  First off, congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks on their Stanley Cup win.

The couple of times during the playoffs I left them for done, and many of us did, they found a way to get it done and win it all. For 2 Cups in 4 years Coach Joel Quenneville was rewarded with a nice extension, and well deserved.

  So did ya like the shortened season ? This guy did. Every game meant alot. But back to an 82 game season starting October 1st.

  Speaking of extensions, Plovers Joe Pavelski signed a 5 year $30 million dollar extension to stay a San Jose Shark. Pavelski woulda become a free agent after this upcoming season but the Sharks feel he is one of their core players and things worked out so both sides appear to work out a deal.

  The Quad Cities Jr. Flames have relocated their franchise to Madison and renamed the team the Wisconsin Whalers. The NA3HL team will be playing their home games at Hartmeyer Ice. I talked to Coach and GM Tom McDermott and he said the team is holding a open tryout camp this weekend in Madison. there still is opening tryout spots for forwards and defense but goalie tryouts are full. "It's exciting to start putting together a team since all we've been able to do is admin work." McDermott compared the whole process to like planning a wedding. "You worry all about the little things and come the day of it happening it all comes together." All of the Whalers tenders will be there and a number of draft picks. Open tryouts are one session Friday night, two Saturday and a session Sunday morning.

   Now that the NA3HL talk has come up, the North Iowa Bulls who won the National Championship had 9 players from Wisconsin contribute to their success. Coach Todd Sanden liked what he got from the Badger State Boys. 'I like to get Wisconsin kids, their work ethic is very good and they feel they have something to prove when they get on the ice." The nine include Ron Lindgren, Jake Johnson, Eric Behrend, Andrew Halama, Matt Fosdick, Logan Murphy, and Taylor Brown. Great job guys and continued success.

 And finally a big congrats to former Janesville Bluebird goalie and now Winnipeg Jets Amateur Scout Max Giese.  Max and his high school sweetheart Chelsea Roehl were married in early July after the NHL Draft was done. Max also was sitting at the table for the Jets on draft day working with the rest of the scouts looking at possible draftees. The future is very bright for the guy who didn't make the Chicago Showcase team in 2006 but followed his dream to give something back to hockey and make a nice living.