Brad May could not have asked for a better team to play against in his Pepsi Center debut for the Avalanche Tuesday night than the Detroit Red Wings.
Funny how the noticeable boos May initially received from some fans turned to loud cheers the second he knocked a Red Wing into the boards. May must have heard those cheers. Because, right after his first big hit in the second period, his shift went into overdrive with two more big hits. The crowd loved it.
It was all part of a rough exhibition NHL game between the archrivals, won by the Avs 2-1, bringing their preseason record to 3-1.
“That was 18 months of inactivity there,” May said. “It was very exciting to get back out there and compete. Playing golf for the whole lockout, you don’t get to compete like that.”
The men on the ice for Detroit had the Winged Wheel on the front of their sweaters, but most will probably swap them for those of the Grand Rapids Griffins soon. That is Detroit’s minor-league affiliate, and the Wings went almost exclusively to a no-name lineup, much like the Avs did in their meeting in Detroit last week.
The crowd didn’t care, of course, whether it was Steve Yzerman or Valtteri Filppula in the Wings lineup, as was the case with the latter player Tuesday. A win over the Wings, plus some rough stuff by the Avs, made a good night for the Pepsi partisans.
“I think you saw that there’s something still to the rivalry,” Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. ”
May, the former Vancouver Canuck, played his first game of the preseason following groin problems. While he never dropped the gloves, as teammates Dan Hinote and Ian Laperriere did, May hit every Wing in sight in his key second-period shift.
“I pride myself on doing whatever’s asked of me, but there’s no question that’s what I like to do,” May said. “It certainly gets me into the game that way.”
His night didn’t start off so well, however. He received scattered boos, then whiffed on a one-timer from the side of the net on his first scoring chance.
“I had an empty net, but I’m a changeup hitter, not a fastball hitter. The puck came in too hard for me,” said May, who played on a line with Hinote and Cody McCormick.
Quenneville noted that playing against a team of minor-league hopefuls isn’t always easy. They’re all trying to impress the coach and make the team, and Detroit’s lineup played hard. But Quenneville liked the way his team matched their energy, especially the May line.
“They gave us some good energy and I thought really changed the game there in the second,” Quenneville said. “They really got the crowd into it, and I thought overall that line was a factor in the game.”
While the Avalanche again failed to burn out any scoring lamp bulbs, several other areas continued to look strong this preseason. The penalty killing was excellent, with Antti Laaksonen again a disruptive defensive presence. Goalie David Aebischer, after allowing an early goal to Dan Lacouture, blanked the Wings/Griffins the rest of the way. Rookie winger Wojtek Wolski didn’t get on the score sheet, but came close a couple of times.
Aebischer got offensive support from Andrew Brunette and Alex Tanguay, who scored goals 1:36 apart in the second period.
Detroit 1 0 0 – 1
Colorado 0 2 0 – 2
First period – 1, Detroit, LaCouture 1 (MacLean, McDonnell), 3:12.
Second period – 2, Colorado, Brunette 1 (Sakic, Laaksonen), 12:24.
3, Colorado, Tanguay 1 (Konowalchuk, Skrastins), 14:00 (sh).
Third period – None.
Shots on goal – Detroit 11-8-8-27. Colorado 9-13-10-32. Goalies – Detroit, Howard. Colorado, Aebischer. A – 18,007.
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
