Lucia Helps Lead Penticton To National Championship

Mario Lucia has capped off his remarkable first year of junior hockey with a Canadian Junior ‘A’ national championship.

Lucia had an assist on the first goal of the championship game, as the Penticton Vees defeated the Woodstock Slammers in the RBC Cup final on Sunday, 4-3.

In the round-robing style tournament, the Vees had to rally for the championship by winning four consecutive games after a 0-2 start.

Before moving onto the RBC Cup, Penticton won the Fred Page Cup, as BCHL champions, and defeated the AJHL champions, the Brooks Bandits, to take the Doyle Cup.

The victory rounded out a trophy case full of hardware for the Vees and Lucia, who ended the season with a myriad of personal achievements. The Wild’s second-round pick (60th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft finished the regular season third in the league in points, T-first in goals, and was named to the BCHL Second All-Star Team and the BCHL All-Rookie Team.

Visit Penticton’s website to find out more about their 4-3 victory over the Slammers, here.

Wild Weekend Wrap

Thank you, New Jersey

Because of the Devils’ playoff run, the conditional pick that, at the time, might have seemed like a throw-in in the Marek Zidlicky trade with New Jersey, now belongs to Minnesota.  The trade brought Kurtis Foster, Nick Palmieri, Stephane Veilleux, a 2011 second-round pick and a conditional 2013 third-round pick to the Wild for Zidlicky. The condition was: if the Devils made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Wild would get New Jersey’s third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The pick might be the biggest surprise appearance in Minnesota via the Garden State since Bruce Springsteen recorded the music video for “Dancing In The Dark” along with Courtney Cox at the Saint Paul Civic Center.

Wild Re-signs Stoner

The Wild re-signed all-around good guy Clayton Stoner to a two-year contract extension. He spoke to Kevin Falness on the PONDcast about the extension, here. Stoner is a guy who isn’t afraid to mix it up on the ice and you can never have enough of those players in the lineup.

World Championships Update

Wednesday, the Lighthouse predicted Mikko Koivu was due for a breakout performance at the World Championships and the Team Finland captain didn’t disappoint. Koivu was named Finland’s Player of the Game with a goal and three assists in a 7-1 drubbing of France. Wild prospect Mikael Granlund had an assist in Finland’s French toasting. Finland is undefeated in the tourney and plays the second place Canadians later today in one of the most anticipated contests in the tourney, thus far. And don’t forget to give mom the gift of hockey on Mother’s Day as Finland skates against Team USA on Sunday, May 13 at 8:15 a.m. on NBC Sports Network.

Sweden also takes on Team Russia today with two Wild prospects in tow. Jonas Brodin and Johan Larsson have played in three games apiece, with Brodin registering a goal and Larsson tallying two assists.

Goaltending prospect Dennis Endras is 1-2-0 for Team Germany with a 2.68 goals against average and .915 save percentage. Matt Hackett has not played for Team Canada.

Team USA beat Kazakhstan in overtime 3-2 today. Duluth Bulldog fans – and you know who you are – will be happy to hear that US goal scorers were JT Brown and Justin Faulk (2).

Road Tour Dates Announced

The Wild will caravan throughout Minnesota again this summer, making stops in 18 cities in the State of Hockey on the 2012 Wells Fargo Minnesota Wild Road Tour. Get the full details of times, dates, locations and Wild Celebrities making stops on the Road Tour on Wild.com, here.

Sea Dogs QMJHL Champs

Wild prospects Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips led the Saint John Sea Dogs to the team’s second-straight President’s Cup, as Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champs. Coyle earned playoff MVP honors with 34 points. Up next for the dynamic duo is the Memorial Cup, which the Sea Dogs won last season, May 18-27 in Shawinigan, Que. Good luck, boys.

Welcome, Solar Bears

The Wild has added another minor league affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL. Orlando will be an expansion team in the 2012-13 season, and joins the Houston Aeros as the Wild affiliates.

Tough Mudder Update

Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo and the rest of the coaching and training staff preparing for the Tough Mudder event have selected a team name. Team Wild For Wounded Warriors will compete in the event on May 19, and are accepting donations on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project until the day of the race. Here is a Wild TV video update of the team in training. If you’d like to contribute to the fundraising effort, go here.

College Hockey Renovation

Well St. Cloud State fans, we weren’t sure when the National Hockey Center renovations were going to start, and some might even have become a little cynical. However, the Zapruder Film of the NHC renovations for all you conspiracy theorists exists; it’s a live cam looking in on the renovations, here.

IIHF World Championships Update

There are half-a-dozen players in the Wild organization participating in the 2012 IIFC World Championships, so you’re probably wondering how our guys are doing. Well, we’ve been tracking their progress despite the international time zone difference thanks to this little thing called the Internet. Instead of trying to figure out how to read the Finnish translations, just check back in with the Lighthouse every once in a while and we’ll have all your updates.

Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund have led Team Finland to a 3-0 record in the tournament, thus far. Koivu has registered a single assist, but the Finnish captain leads the team in shots on goal with 11, so his scoring is bound to pick up. Granlund has three assists, which lead the team, and is tied for the lead in points.

Team Sweden is leading Group S, and has two Wild prospects skating for the squad. Jonas Brodin and Johan Larsson have played in three games apiece. Brodin has registered a goal and Larsson has two assists.

One of Larsson’s assists came against Dennis Endras and Team Germany today. The Wild goaltending prospect made 40 saves in the 5-2 loss to Team Sweden. On the opening day of the tournament,  Endras recorded a 22-save shutout in a 3-0 win against Team Italy.

Goaltender Matt Hackett is yet to play for Team Canada as the Canadians currently sit atop Group H with 10 points.

Flahr On Hockey Prospect Radio; PONDcast With Gallant

Wild Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr is scheduled to be a guest on Sirius XM – NHL Home Ice at noon Wednesday, May 9 on the program Hockey Prospect Radio. Flahr, who is responsible for overseeing all aspects of player development and evaluation, will speak to hosts Shane Malloy and Russ Cohen about Minnesota’s prospects, including Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips.

Speaking of Coyle and Phillips, the pair is in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finals and skate in Game 3 tomorrow against Rimouski. Phillips scored the Game 1 winner in double overtime and Coyle scored the Game 2 winner on a shorthanded penalty shot. Check out today’s PONDcast with Saint John Head Coach Gerard Gallant, here. Gallant calls Coyle the most complete player he’s seen at this level, so you will not want to miss that interview.

Wild Prospects Shining In QMJHL Finals

Newsflash: Wild prospects Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips are good. Need proof? Phillips scored the winner in double overtime for the Saint John Sea Dogs in Game 1 of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finals against Rimouski. Not to be outdone, Coyle scored the game winner on a shorthanded penalty shot in Game 2. The Sea Dogs lead Rimouski 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. I’d tell you more, but you can see for yourself – the pair is lighting it up: