Playing street hockey while growing up in Victoria, Adam Cracknell imagined scoring a lot of game-winning goals for the Vancouver Canucks one day. On Monday, his dream came to fruition. Wearing a Canucks jersey for the first time and playing in front of family and friends in his hometown as part of Kraft Hockeyville, Cracknell scored the only goal 1:39 into 3-on-3 overtime to lead the Canucks to a 1-0 preseason victory against the San Jose Sharks at Q Centre. With his picture hanging from a minor hockey wall of fame in the concourse at the other end of the arena and an extra Canucks skater on the ice for a delayed penalty, Cracknell walked into the high slot and beat Sharks goalie Aaron Dell cleanly over the blocker. Cracknell, who played his minor and junior B hockey nearby, is used to hearing his mom whistle after a goal at Q Centre. But with a standing room only crowd of more than 2,800 people coming to their feet to celebrate, it was a little tougher to find his parents.The game may not have featured a lot of goals, but it did produce some lasting memories. Some of the nicer moments involved Larry Orr, the longtime equipment manager of the Junior B Peninsula Panthers and a friend, father figure and skate sharpener to several generations of minor hockey players growing up in North Saanich, including brothers Jamie Benn and Jordie Benn of the Dallas Stars and Sharks defensemen Matt Irwin.
Orr, whose volunteer work and free equipment exchange program embody the community spirit of Kraft Hockeyville, received a standing ovation before dropping the puck for a ceremonial faceoff, and a shout-out from Don Cherry during Coach's Corner in the first intermission. Jason Fletcher, who wrote the nomination and rallied the community behind it, accepted the Kraft Hockeyville trophy in a pre-game ceremony that included NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. And Fletcher, whose volunteer work builds on the legacy of people like Orr, was back in the spotlight in the second intermission accepting a check for $100,000 from Kraft that will go towards needed arena renovations at the Panorama Recreation Centre in North Saanich. It was a great way to wrap up a weekend of community celebrations that included a touching hospital visit and on-ice instruction by NHL alumni Doug Bodger and Jyrki Lumme, an inspiring visit by the Stanley Cup to a parking lot party in North Saanich, and a valuable refereeing clinic by the NHL officiating crew, including Victoria-area natives Lonnie Cameron and Trent Knorr. Game day began with thousands of fans lining the street to greet the players coming into the rink, and ended with them on their feet again cheering a home-grown player in Cracknell.
The only downside for the Canucks was seeing forward Chris Higgins leave the game early after blocking a shot by Sharks defensemen Brandon Dillon off the inside of his right leg. Jacob Markstrom made 10 saves before giving way midway through the game to Richard Bachman, who also made 10 saves. But for Markstrom, the lasting memory was the crowd.
"This event as a whole was a lot of fun. We all come from rinks similar to this so to play a game here at this point in our careers is special. You see the fans and the kids who hope to be in our position one day and at this point, it's kind of like we'd like to go back and be in their position for a couple days." Tommy Wingels said.
Despite the loss, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer was grateful to participate in the Kraft Hockeyville experience.
"It was sloppy, but overall I was happy and real happy with the experience and glad we were a part of it. I'm really glad we were invited to be a part of it. Nothing but a positive experience across the board, other than I would have liked to win that game in overtime."
Sharks @ Vancouver Canucks 4-0 - Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Martin Jones made 30 saves in his debut with the Sharks in their 4-0 victory against the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Jones, who played last season with the Kings, made 11 saves in the first period and again in the third to preserve the shutout. Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl each had a goal and an assist for San Jose. Paul Martin opened the scoring 2:41 into the game, and Nikolay Goldobin had a power-play goal at 12:37 of the third period. The Sharks were 2-for-3 on the power play. Ryan Miller allowed two goals on nine shots. Joe Cannata made 11 saves. Vancouver was 0-for-6 on the power play.
Sharks v Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 OT - Friday, September 25, 2015
Alex Stalock made 27 saves to help the Sharks to a 4-1 win against the Coyotes at SAP Center. Brenden Dillon, Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi scored in regulation for the Sharks, and Ben Smith scored with four seconds left in a demonstration of the NHL's new 3-on-3 overtime format. Antoine Vermette scored for the Coyotes late in the second period. Raffi Torres played in a competitive game for the first time in nearly 17 months. He had one shot on goal and one hit in 10:01. Torres played five games the previous two seasons because of serious knee injuries. Anders Lindback made 17 saves on 19 shots in 31:28 before being relieved by Louis Domingue, who made 19 saves. San Jose was 2-for-4 on the power play; Arizona was 1-for-4
Sharks v Anaheim Ducks 1-2 - Saturday, September 26, 2015
Douche bag Corey Perry scored a power-play goal with 7:37 remaining to give the Ducks a 2-1 win against the Sharks at SAP Center. Chris Wagner tied the game 1-1 with a goal 3:05 into the third. Joel Ward scored 13:17 into the game for San Jose. Ducks goalie Anton Khudobin, trying to be the backup to Frederik Andersen, made 23 saves. Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 19 saves.
Sharks v Vancouver Canucks 2-1 - Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Tommy Wingels and Brent Burns scored for the San Jose Sharks in their 2-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center. Jared McCann, who the Canucks drafted in the first round (No. 24) at the 2014 NHL Draft, tied the game 1-1 at 18:34 of the first period after Wingels opened the scoring at 10:00. Burns scored the game-winner at 7:43 of the second period. Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 30 saves; Canucks goalie Ryan Miller made 20. San Jose (3-1-1) was 0-for-2 on the power play; Vancouver (2-3-1) was 0-for-4. US Gymnast Shawn Johnson (pictured above) was invited to perform the ceremonial puck drop before the game.
Sharks @ Phoenix Coyotes 3-0 - Friday, October 02, 2015
Martin Jones made 18 saves, Joe Pavelski scored twice and the Sharks defeated the Coyotes 3-0 at Gila River Arena. Pavelski had a power-play goal 5:46 into the game. Tomas Hertl scored on a 2-on-1 rush at 1:52 of the third period and assisted on Pavelski's goal at 11:23 for San Jose (4-1-1). Mike Smith made 27 saves for the Coyotes, who ended the preseason 0-5-1. Coyotes rookie forward Anthony Duclair scored during a demonstration of the NHL's new 3-on-3 overtime format.
Sharks @ Anaheim Ducks 1-5 - Saturday, October 03, 2015
Corey Perry and Cam Fowler scored power-play goals in the second period as the Ducks defeated the Sharks 5-1 at Honda Center in the final preseason game for each team. Perry tied the game 1-1 when he scored on a deflection 9:35 into the second period, and Fowler put the Ducks ahead to stay at 15:20. Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and Kevin Bieksa scored in the third period for the Ducks (5-0-1), who outshot San Jose 39-18. Frederik Andersen made 17 saves.
Dylan Demelo scored a power-play goal 7:21 into the second period and Alex Stalock made 34 saves for San Jose (4-2-1). Raffi Torres was given a match penalty at 12:45 of the first period for a hit to the head of Anaheim forward Jakob Silfverberg, who did not return. The Ducks said he was under evaluation.
The Sharks open their regular season on the road against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 7. The Ducks play their opener at San Jose on Oct. 10.
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