When Scott Tanski roofed a shot under the crossbar to win his second practice-ending shootout in three days last week, he was mobbed by virtually all of his Connecticut Whale teammates, many of whom leaped into the plexi-glass to try to get at the personable curly-haired redhead.
“It might have been my new stick,” a smiling Tanski said of his latest skills competition victory. “I like to keep it light in practice, and I know the guys knew I hadn’t had a goal yet, so when I win the shootout, it’s pretty special. We’d won a few games, and I just go to practice and try to have fun and work on a lot of things, though a shootout isn’t my specialty. I’ll leave that to Newbs (Kris Newbury) and Zucc (Mats Zuccarello) because they have some pretty moves. I don’t think too much, just think, ‘Shoot the puck,’ and I was lucky to squeeze a few in there. It must be some confidence with that new stick.”