Avalanche news from the past

Google has an interesting feature that pulls articles from the archives about whatever topic for which you're searching. For "Colorado Avalanche," here's what it picked up today:

Distractions get to Roy first night (Point Pleasant Register, December 12, 1995)

The Montreal Canadiens weren't doing so well without Patrick Roy. The Colorado Avalanche weren't doing so well with him.

While his old Montreal team was suffering an embarrassing 7-5 loss in Pittsburgh, Roy made an inauspicious debut in Colorado by losing 5-3 to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

"The last four days have been tough," said Roy, who was sent to the Avalanche by the Canadiens in a controversial trade this week. "I had trouble concentrating. I kept having to tell myself, 'Follow the puck, follow the puck.' With all that has happened the last four days, it's been hard to keep my focus."

Bruins send Bourque to Colorado (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 7, 2000)

Ray Bourque, the longtime leader of the Boston Bruins who won five Norris Trophies but never a Stanley Cup, got his wish for one more chance at a championship when he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.

"We limited ourselves to teams where Raymond Bourque would have a chance to win the Stanley Cup," Bruins general manager Harry Sinden said. "It may not be his first choice."

Hockey; Police are Investigating Hit by Bertuzzi on Avalanche Player (The New York Times, March 10, 2004)

The Vancouver police said Tuesday that they were investigating a sucker punch and a face-first slam by the Canucks All-Star forward Todd Bertuzzi that left the Colorado Avalanche's Steve Moore hospitalized with a broken neck, a concussion and deep facial cuts.

In the third period of Colorado's 9-2 victory at Vancouver on Monday, Bertuzzi struck Moore from behind, punched him in the side of the head, then drove his head into the ice. After the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Bertuzzi landed on top of him, Moore lay in a pool of blood for several minutes. He was removed on a stretcher, and Bertuzzi was assessed a match penalty for attempt to injure. Moore, 25, a rookie center, remains hospitalized in Vancouver and will miss the rest of the season, the Avalanche said in a statement. His condition was not known.

''It's the cheapest shot I've ever seen,'' Avalanche General Manager Pierre Lacroix said Tuesday at a televised news conference in Vancouver. ''I was just pleased to see his eyes open.''

An Avalanche of injuries, illness buries Colorado (cbcsports.ca, April 25, 2008)

The Colorado Avalanche hadn't even taken the ice yet when they were punched in the stomach.

The fickle fates of Peter Forsberg's health once again sabotaged Colorado's best-laid plans for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit captured Game 1 Thursday night with a 4-3 win over the Forsberg-less Avalanche.

On a day that started with a full lineup and seeming good health after four days off, the Avs had no Forsberg, lost
first-line left winger Wojtek Wolski in the first period and saw goalie Jose Theodore leave for the team hotel by the second period from a combination of illness and four Red Wings goals by the second minute.

Sharks' errant clear in OT benefits Avs as Anderson stops 51 shots (espn.com, April 18, 2010)

The San Jose Sharks couldn't score on Craig Anderson all night. Moments into overtime, they somehow managed to put the puck past their own goalie.

Ryan O'Reilly was credited with a bizarre goal 51 seconds into overtime following an errant pass by defenseman Dan Boyle, giving the Colorado Avalanche a 1-0 victory over San Jose on Sunday night and a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference series.

Anderson was simply splendid in net all night, stopping 51 shots.