Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 26, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C3 C OLUMBUS - Dustin Byfuglien slapped on a Winnipeg Jets baseball hat and stuffed his spiffy new black, white and neon- green NHL All- Star skates into his equipment bag. Yes, now it's time to get back to real work. Byfuglien will make the three- hour drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh this morning to hook up with his teammates prior to the resumption of the Jets' NHL schedule Tuesday against the Penguins. And as much fun as the all- star festivities were, there's nothing like the sprint to a possible playoff spot to get a guy's competitive juices flowing again. The Jets, at 26- 14- 8, hold down the first wild- card playoff spot in the Western Conference, but also trail St. Louis and Chicago by just two points - and first- place Nashville by five - in the ultra- competitive Central Division. " It's definitely going to be nice to get back in the swing of things," said Byfuglien. " Hopefully we're ready to go and start the second half good. " We've got to stay consistent and do what we've been doing. Keeping it simple. It's not going to be an easy task but we've been doing it well all year." Byfuglien picked up an assist in Sunday's game, a 17- 12 win by Team Toews, and finished minus- 5. But it was hardly the kind of affair that would allow Byfuglien to showcase the game that brought him here, namely being a dynamic physical force with some offensive touch. This was a no- hitter - literally - that was all about the forwards having the green light to dangle, knowing a behemoth like Byfuglien wasn't going to wallpaper them into the boards or step up to intercept a pass after a cute toedrag. " It's tough to be a D- man," said Byfuglien. " But goalie would actually be the worst. There's not too much defence in this. You just kind of more or less watch these forwards show what they can do. Some of those goals out there... wow. " I didn't even realize ( the score) was that bad until I looked up at the end. I was like ' wow, they have 17.' I didn't hear the cannon go off that many times, I didn't think." Of course, the score and his personal stat line were meaningless in the big picture. This was about sharing a dressing room with former Blackhawk teammates Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith and with other NHL stars such Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. Byfuglien, FYI, spent the game paired with young Arizona Coyotes D- man Oliver Ekman- Larsson. " It's just the guys that got to put the jerseys on," said Byfuglien when asked what will stand out the most from the weekend. " There's a lot of great players in here. You never know what's going to happen later on ( in your career). " They put on a great weekend here in Columbus. I enjoyed myself, my family enjoyed it. Everyone seemed to be getting along and having a good time. " It's something that you dream about. You just enjoy the moment and have fun." ed. tait@ freepress. mb. ca Twitter: @ WFPEdTait BRUCE BENNETT / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Team Foligno goalie Marc- Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins can't stop a shot by Team Toews' Rick Nash as Dustin Byfuglien ( 33) defends, sort of. NHL pitches a no- hitter Zero checks and a ton of goals By Ed Tait GENE PUSKAR / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Winnipeg Jets' Dustin Byfuglien ( left) does what defencemen did best Sunday, watch - in this case as Team Toews' Johnny Gaudreau sends a pass in front of the Team Foligno goal. It's tough to be a D- man... There's not too much defence in this. You just kind of more or less watch these forwards show what they can do. Some of those goals out there... wow' - Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien on the all- star experience MANITOBA'S Olympic gold medallists were rewarded Sunday night for their efforts in Sochi, taking down awards as the province's top team and top male and female athletes in 2014 at the 59th annual Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association awards dinner. Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones and her curling team - third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen - were named Manitoba's top team in 2014, while hockey players Jonathan Toews and Jocelyne Larocque were named the male and female athletes of the year. The honour for the Jones team came on the same evening Jones won her record seventh Manitoba women's curling championship, defeating Kerri Einarson 5- 2 in the Scotties final in Winkler. Jones won gold in women's curling in Sochi last February, completing a historic undefeated run through the Olympic event with a win over Sweden in the gold- medal final. It was the first time in the history of Olympic women's curling a team went undefeated through the event. The MSSA voters voted accordingly, giving Jones 34 out of a possible 36 first- place votes. The University of Manitoba women's volleyball team, who won a national championship in 2014, received the other two first- place votes. Other nominees in the team of the year category were Mike McEwen's curling team, the Team Manitoba under- 17 national champion basketball team and the University of Manitoba men's golf team, which also won a national championship last season. Toews, meanwhile, helped lead Canada's men's hockey team to Olympic gold in Sochi, scoring the winning goal in the gold- medal game against Sweden. The Chicago Blackhawks captain - who in 2014 also became just the third player in Blackhawks history to notch more than 20 goals and 40 assists in each of his first seven NHL seasons - received 12 of 36 firstplace votes and a total of 142 points, narrowly defeating Winnipeg curler Ryan Fry, who received 11 first- place votes and a total of 136 points. Fry won gold in men's curling in Sochi as third for the Brad Jacobs foursome from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. University of Manitoba Bisons football all- Canadian Nic Demski received more first place votes - 13 - than either Fry or Toews, but finished third in the voting with 135 points overall. Other nominees in the male athlete of the year category were William Kohler, who led the Manitoba Under- 17 basketball team to the Canadian title, and Manitoba golfer of the year Bret Thompson. Larocque scored the first goal of the Olympic tournament for Canada's women's hockey team and, with Canada trailing the U. S. 2- 0 in the gold- medal game, assisted on the third- period goal that sparked the Canadian comeback and set the stage for a memorable 3- 2 overtime victory. Larocque received 14 first- place votes and 132 points to defeat CIS women's volleyball player of the year Lisa Barclay of Brandon, who finished with 123 points. Other nominees in the women's athlete of the year category were Bisons women's volleyball player Taylor Pischke, Jennifer Saunders - who won her eighth national women's singles championship in racquetball - and Mandy Marchak, a member of Canada's World Cup runner- up women's rugby team. The MSSA also presented U of M football coach Brian Dobie with the Dallis Beck Memorial Good Guy Award. Bison volleyball coaches Garth Pischke and Ken Bentley and retired CBC sportscaster Ernie Nairn were also recognized for their long service to sport in Manitoba. Red River College creative communications students Zach Peters and Scott Billeck were presented with the MSSA Jack Matheson Memorial Awards, which provide funding to sports media aspirants. paul. wiecek@ freepress. mb. ca Twitter: @ PaulWiecek By Paul Wiecek Team of the Year Jennifer Jones women's curling team . Won Olympic gold in women's curling in Sochi . Were the first team ever to go undefeated through the Olympic curling event . Their win in Sochi was also named Sunday as the headline event that had the most impact on the Winnipeg sports scene last year Male Athlete of the Year Hockey player Jonathan Toews . Scored the winning goal for Canada in their 3- 0 win over Sweden in the goldmedal final in Sochi . Notched 68 points in 76 regular- season games for the Blackhawks and added a career- high nine goals and eight assists in last year's playoffs . A four- time winner, Toews was previously named Manitoba male athlete of the year in 2007, 2010 and 2013 Female Athlete of the Year Hockey player Jocelyne Larocque . Anchored the blue- line for Canada's women's hockey team in Sochi . Scored Canada's first goal of the tournament and had an assist in Canada's 3- 2 overtime win over the U. S. in the gold- medal final . Played more than 25 minutes in the gold- medal final THE Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association announced the 2014 Manitoba team, male and female athletes of the year at the organization's 59th annual awards banquet Sunday evening. Here are thumbnails of the three winners: Short and sweet Olympic winners top Manitoba athletes THE NHL's all- star event wrapped up Sunday night in Columbus. Here are hockey writer Ed Tait's takes on the weekend: Best moment Hockey players are often portrayed as clich�fuelled robots, but there were more than enough occasions over the last three days where their personalities were showcased. The best came at Friday night's Fantasy Draft where Team Toews drafted Phil Kessel first overall ( he was selected last in the first incarnation of the format) followed by a clever Jonathan Toews reference to a recent controversy in Toronto, when Kessel took exception to a question from a reporter about being difficult to coach. Toews couldn't resist having a little bit of fun with that when asked at the draft why his team selected Kessel first. " We know Phil had a tough one a couple of years ago," Toews said. " We know he deserves to be at the top end of the draft. The three of us were talking that he's one of the most coachable players out there so..." Later, in a perfect capper to the affair, Team Toews traded Kessel to Team Foligno for Tyler Seguin - the player the Boston Bruins selected with the pick they got after dealing Kessel to the Leafs. Favourite skills competition event The skills relay, featuring one- timers, precision passing, a puck- control relay, stickhandling and goalie goals - all while being timed - was the perfect representation of some difficult hockey skills. Over the top The breakaway challenge in the skills competition was both entertaining and tedious at the same time. Granted, the " wow" factor of the shootout has long since passed, but Saturday's event was way over the top. Some great moments - Ryan Johansen pulling off his jersey to reveal an Ohio State football uniform underneath, then grabbing the son of a member of the Blue Jackets training staff to assist him with a shot. That was followed by Jakub Voracek doing the same trick, albeit with Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau. " I think that little kid was bigger than him," Voracek joked. " Let's be honest." Thumbs down to... 1. The format. It's bad enough Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Bobrovsky were no- shows because of injury, but the absence of P. K. Subban was a crime. Each team has to be represented, which made sense back in the days of the 21- team NHL. But now it excludes players who deserve to be here and invites some who shouldn't. The fan vote also gave the event five Chicago Blackhawks reps - hard to argue against any of them - but also Zemgus Girgensons, who was here only because his Latvian countrymen spent hours/ days/ weeks voting over and over again to get him an invite. Some have suggested returning to an old format where the Stanley- Cup champion plays a select all- star squad. Others have suggested a return to Eastern vs. Western Conference. But all- star games have long been plagued by the lack- of- intensity dilemma and that's not going to change no matter how the NHL might tinker with this. 2. The game. We appreciate a nifty dangle or saucer pass as much as the next fan, but 17- 12? No power plays, officially zero hits by each team. It was the kind of game that gives shinny a bad name. 3. The uniforms. Black numbers on black jerseys. Neongreen accents. Enough said. He said it You may remember a year ago when Bobby Ryan was left off the U. S. Olympic team and Brian Burke, a member of the American management crew, criticized the nifty forward, saying " He can't spell intense." Ryan on Friday asked if he would play for the U. S. in the World Cup, and he couldn't resist a jab at Burke. " I would always play for my country if they called. To wear that jersey is incredible. I would always play. If it was Brian Burke calling I'd probably let it ring a few extra times and make him sweat before I picked it up. Or even put him to voicemail and text him back. But I would always go if I could." - Ed Tait ALL- STAR GAME Note book C3 winnipegfreepress. com WINNIPEG FREE PRESS MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015 TEAM TOEWS 17 TEAM FOLIGNO 12 C_ 03_ Jan- 26- 15_ FP_ 01. indd C3 1/ 25/ 15 10: 02: 02 PM ;