PITTSBURGH — Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on Thursday said he was well aware that University of Denver goalie Marc Cheverie, one of the early favorites for the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA hockey’s top player, is having a strong season.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to someone about him,” Crosby said after the Penguins’ morning skate. “He was on a shutout streak.”
So why should Crosby know this, or care? Crosby and Cheverie, both 22, are from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.
“We played together growing up, so I’m really happy to see him doing well,” Crosby said. “We skate back home together in the summers. . . . There are few guys from Cole Harbour who are going well, and that’s great to see. He’s done a great job. He went to a great school there in Colorado, and I’m happy to see him doing well.
“We played together for probably two or three seasons and we went to school together.
“We weren’t best friends, but we’d see each other a lot between school and hockey. He’s a great guy, and he’s been a solid goalie all the way up. I’m not surprised he’s doing well there.”
Shuffling.
Veteran winger Brian Willsie was sent back to Lake Erie without suiting up for the Avs in his second stint with the team this season.
He was recalled Tuesday but was a healthy scratch against Florida on Wednesday and was returned to the Monsters on Thursday.
The Avalanche’s healthy scratches Thursday were winger David Koci (for only the second time this season) and defenseman Brian Fahey, who hasn’t played since his Nov. 27 recall from Lake Erie.
