Quick Strikes: Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy win bronze at Worlds

The Lightning

-The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, and Andrei Vasilevskiy won bronze at Worlds with Team Russia yesterday. Congrats, guys!

-Here are the final stats for the Bolts involved in the tournament:

-Finland was the eventual winner of the championship yesterday, defeating Canada (and Anthony Cirelli and Mathieu Joseph).

The Finnish people were rather excited about the victory:

The Crunch

-Some rough news for Syracuse seems to be fairly confirmed at this point, as it appears that their goaltending and video coach of the past two seasons is moving back to coach for his alma mater.

Goehring is coming back to campus in yet another role, hoping to deliver UND more national championships.

Goehring has been offered -- and will accept -- the position as UND’s full-time assistant coach, two NHL sources have confirmed to the Herald. The hire is expected to be finalized by the end of the week.

Goehring spent the majority of his professional playing career in Syracuse, and it was a bit of a homecoming for him when he returned to coach for the Crunch. He guided the team’s netminders through the twists and turns of professional hockey, and from all reports was an excellent video coach. He will certainly be missed.

The Others

-St. Louis Blues fans are so excited about their team being in the Stanley Cup Final, and I’m thriving off their joy.

I don’t need to explain the importance of the St. Louis Blues finally making it to the Stanley Cup Final. You know the importance. You felt it, the adrenaline coursing through your vein at the end of game six against the Sharks. The cardiologists of St. Louis have probably seen an influx in the last few weeks. It’s nerve wracking. You’ve probably come close to a heart attack a few times in this year’s playoffs, and that’s fine. You’re here, we’re here, and we are a little nervous despite having a stone cold starting goalie who isn’t.

-During their playoff series with the Blues, the Dallas Stars recognized a local veteran who earned the Purple Heart while serving four tours of duty in the Middle East. Frances Borsodi Zajac of the Herald-Standard has the touching story, just in time for Memorial Day.

“The entire staff – everyone I talked to was super nice,’’ said Kelley, who wore his uniform and had seats 10 rows back from the ice to watch the game with his wife, Pamela. “I got to meet (broadcaster) Pierre McGuire and bumped fists with the players as they came out for practice. They announced me and I stood out there while a young lady performed the national anthem.’’

This show of support deeply touched Kelley.

“I don’t know if I can put it into words,’’ he said. “It was an overwhelming sense of price in the community and how they supported me – not only me but veterans in general.’’

-Maxime Lagacé became the first goalie in AHL history to score a goal in the playoffs Saturday night. He scored it in a rather nontraditional way:

-EP Rinkside sat down with their own Editor in Chief J.D. Burke to discuss how they do what they do. Speaking of how they do what they do, their record-keeping on Kaapo Kakko show some pretty impressive stats:

-Women’s sports has a visibility problem, writes Katie Lebel.

Women’s sports are not promoted in the same ways that men’s sports are. This shortcoming has an impact on the awareness of women’s sports, which in turn affects the public’s ability to get to know female superstars, understand key rivalries or bear witness to historical performances — all important ingredients that foster fan engagement and inspire sport participation.