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Maple Leafs stop the Avalanche 2-1. 10/6/99- Both Mats Sundin and Jonas Hoglund had a goal and an assist and Curtis Joseph stopped 23 shots en route to a 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The Maple Leafs are off to a great start like last year, but this year they have seem to have a lot more confidence. In their first 3 games, they have outscored their opponents 10-2. SI gives Joseph props and high marks. 10/5/99- The October 4th issue of Sports Illustrated featured their 1999-2000 NHL season preview. They gave Joseph many high marks and sparkling comments. They ranked Toronto's goaltending 2nd in the league, behind only the Sabers and Dominik Hasek. Also, he was rated 3rd in goalies that a coach would want to stop a penalty shot, behind Patrick Roy and once again, Hasek. Even though the hockey content is not the majority of the issue, it's still a good read. And any goalie fan will enjoy the Dodge ad inside the cover. Check it out! Cujo notches 23rd career shutout in 4-0 win over Bruins. 10/4/99- Curtis Joseph stopped 20 shots in a 4-0 shutout over the Boston Bruins. Mats Sundin, Igor Korolev, Mike Johnson, and Todd Warriner got the goals for Toronto. The Bruins were without holdout Byron Dafoe and started rookie John Grahame in the pipes for the Bruins. Leafs win season opener against the Canadians 4-1. 10/2/99- Mats Sundin notched a shorthanded goal, and two assists while Curtis Joseph made 25 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadians in their season openers. Jonas Hoglund, Tomas Kaberle, and Sergei Berezin added the other Toronto Goals, while only Martin Rucinsky was the only Canadian to solve Cujo. Slow changes 10/2/99- While trying to ready the new layout for this webpage, the updates for this page might be slower. I'll try to keep all of the news up to date, but the image galleries might suffer for a while. I'll keep track of all of the pictures that come up, so this page will continue to be the internet's best source for Curtis Joseph images! And if everything goes well, there might not be too many problems with the updates. Cujo wins in 1999-2000 pre-season debut. 9/14/99- Curtis Joseph's first start, and win, of the 1999-2000 pre-season came against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers. He turned aside 30 shots. TEAM NOTES: Dimitri Yushkevich and Bryan Berard look to be on the outs, and Glen Healy will compete with Jimmy Waite for the back-up job behind Cujo. It's coming.
6/1/99- Curtis Joseph is now the holder of a most unwanted record.
He has started 75 playoff games, the most for a playoff goaltender
who has never reached the Stanley Cup Finals. Dominik Hasek and the
Sabers defeated the Leafs 4-2 in game five of the Eastern Conference
Finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since
1975. Curtis Brown, Vaclav Varada, Erik Rasmussen, and Dixon Ward
scored for Buffalo while Steve Sullivan and Kris King scored for
Toronto. Hasek stopped 22 shots, and Cujo stopped 19. The only
thing left for Cujo is the possibility of winning the Vezina trophy.
Keep watching for off-season news on Cujo, and look for improvments
on this page!
5/31/99- Curtis Joseph will face a familiar situation tonight in
game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Last year while with the
Edmonton Oilers, he faced elimination in the first round against the
Colorado Avalanche. He and the Oilers caught fire, and defeated the
Avs in 7 games. Tonight the mission is the same, only the stakes
are much higher. Cujo has struggled thus far in the series, along
with the Leafs defence, and tonight all must be turned around for a
shot at the Stanley Cup. If any team can do it, it is the Leafs.
After such a turn around from last season to this season, the idea of
getting 3 straight wins is not impossible. The hopes of the Leafs
can not fall on Cujo's shoulders alone. The Sundin must come out
and shine along with the Leafs defence. The offence must solve the
one known as the Dominator who, despite popular opinion, is human
like the rest of us. Tonight the Leafs must play their hardest and
best game of the season tonight.
5/31/99- The Sabers have scored 9 goals in the last two games, while
Dominik Hasek has let by only 4. Buffalo has scored 2 short-handed
goals. Miroslav Satan has 1 goal and 3 assists. Hasek has stopped
55 of 59 shots. Jay McKee, Curtis Brown, Geoff Sanderson, Stu
Barnes, Rob Ray, and Brian Holzinger each have 2 points apiece. All
of these stats in the last two games. Clearly, something is not
right. The Leafs bost one player with two points (Mats Sundin, 2 EN
and PP goals). Yanic Perreault and Alexander Karpovtsev have manged
the other goals, while Garry Valk, Tomas Kaberle, Tie Domi, and
Kevyn Adams have notched assists. Joseph has struggled, stopping
only 43 of 52 shots for an .827 save percentage.
5/27/99- Miroslav Satan and Dominik Hasek will probably be in the Sabres line-up for game three. Hasek is still less than 100% so I'd expect to see a lot of side to side and five hole shots. Hasek will undergo surgry when the Sabres season has concluded.
5/27/99- In game one of the Eastern Conference finals, Cujo and the Maple Leafs struggled, falling 5-4 to the Sabres, who have been with out Dominik Hasek so far in the series. Dwayne Roloson has been starting in the nets for Buffalo in his frist two career playoff starts. He stopped 28 shots while Joseph stopped 16 shots. In game two, the Leafs exploded for 6 goals and Cujo stopped 30 shots in a great comeback from game one.
5/19/99- On Sunday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will play their first game against the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference finals. The Sabres won the regular season series 3-2, but the Leafs are on a hot streak, winning their last 3 games. The Leafs will also face a less-than-par Dominik Hasek, as his groin injury from late in the season is starting to bother him again. The injury will require more attention after the Sabres season has concluded. Probably the biggest story of the series will be Curtis Joseph verus Dominik Hasek. Two of the best goalies in the league will play key roles in how the series go.
5/18/99- Garry Valk scored in overtime to clinch the series for the Toronto Maple Leafs, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. In the first, Rob Brown and Alexei Kovalev scored for the Pens, but Curtis Joseph had to be sharp, facing 15 shots including a number of point-blank shots. In the second, the Leafs exploded for three goals by Lonny Bohonos, Garry Valk, and Sergei Berezin and took a 3-2 lead before Jaromir Jagr tied it up. In the third, there was no scoring, and as you know, Garry Valk scored at about 2 minutes into overtime. Now the Leafs need 8 more wins, if the intend to win the Stanley Cup. The Leafs await the winner of the Buffalo, Boston series to compete for the Eastern Conference crown. Cujo is currently 5th in goals against average and 4th in save percentage.
4/20/99- I've finally added an online form to the
Fan Club
for signing up! This will save both soon-to-be members and myself
time. If you've been trying to join for the past couple months, I
recommend
signing up again!
Go hear the newest Cujo interview from TheHockey.Net!
4/18/99- If you haven't went to hear the interview yet, go
here!
A great interview to hear as the Leafs prepare to enter the playoffs.
Leafs push Pens to the edge with 4-1 win!
5/15/99- Sylvain Cote, Mike Johnson, Steve Thomas and Sergei Berezin
scored and Curtis Joseph stopped 15 shots, as the Leafs are one win
away from the Eastern Conference Finals. for the second straight
game, Tie Domi was listed as a healthy scratch, though some believe
him to be suffering a slight groin pull. Jan Hrdina got credit for
the Pen's only goal when his pass was redirected behind Joseph by
teammate Kevyn Adams. Right now, the Buffalo Sabres are leading the
Boston Bruins 3-1 and their series, so it looks like if the Leafs
advance, they will square off against Dominik Hasek and the Sabers.
5/14/99- Sergei Berezin scored just over 2 minutes into overtime to give the Leafs a huge win, preventing Pittsburgh from getting a 3-1 series lead. Jaromir Jagr opened the scoring in the first period, and in the second period, Mats Sundin tied it up. Lonny Bohonos of the Leafs, and Brad Werenka of the Pens traded third period goals. Joseph only faced 14 shots, but had to stay sharp through out the game, making a number of big saves to keep the Leafs in the game. Tom Barrasso also played very well, facing 30 shots, and did his best for the Pens to win. Game five will be played at the Air Canada Centre tomorrow. There is also some humbling news today. Tom Barrasso's father, Tom Sr. has been diagnosed with an advanced malignant brain tumour. Our thoughts and prayers need to go out for the Barrasso family as they go through this difficult time.
5/12/99- The Pens took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against the Maple Leafs last night in a game that featured Jaromir Jagr scoring the tying goal and assisting on the winner in the third period. Jagr also had an assist on a goal in the first period. Mats Sundin was held scorless after having a break-out game on Sunday, and Joseph stopped only 17 shots.
5/10/99- Tom Barrasso shutout the Leafs 1-0 making 20 saves, while the lone goal against Joseph was scored after he was interfered by teammate Mats Sundin. Cujo stopped 18 shots in that contest.
5/5/99- The Maple Leafs are the last remaining team that calls
Canada home, and they shall take on Jaromir Jagr and the Pittsburgh
Penguins. They split their season series with 2 wins apiece in high
scoring games, and the Pens 2 wins came on shutouts. So after the
low scoring Flyers series, this one could see a lot more goals. Also,
the Leafs are the highest seed left in the Eastern Conference, after
Ottawa, New Jersey, and Carolina were eliminated, so the Leafs have
a good chance of making it to the finals! We'll just have to wait
and see.
Cujo a finalist for the Vezina trophy.
5/5/99- Curtis Joseph, Dominik Hasek, and Byron Dafoe are the three
finalists for the Vezina trophy, given to the NHL's most outstanding
goaltender. Joseph has a shot at winning, but Hasek is never easy
to defeat, and Dafoe had a break-through season with the Bruins. The
winners shall be announced on June 24, 1999.
Tragedy strikes NHL: Steve Chiasson killed in traffic accident.
5/3/99- Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Steve Chiasson was killed early
this morning during a traffic accident when his pickup truck
overturned and through him from it. This, just after the Hurricanes
were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins. For more
news and updates, please refer to Slam! Hockey's Carolina Hurricanes
team page.
Our hearts go out to his wife Susan, his three children, and all of
his friends. While the NHL is suppost to be full of action and
excitement this time of the year, it's a hard dose of reality to
swallow, but the games must go on, but most importantly, his memory
will go on.
Cujo, Berard pitch shutout, Leafs win the series!
5/2/99- Joseph faced 26 shots and stopped them all, but Bryan Berard
stopped the most important one as the Leafs ended the Flyers season,
winning game six and taking the series. Joseph slipped and fell down
behind the net, leading to a prime scoring chance, but Berard made a
skate save to keep the shutout. The Leafs made history by becoming
the only team to win a best-of-seven series without scoring 3 or
more goals in a single game. This was Joseph's 8th career shutout
and 30th win in the playoffs.
Leafs push Flyers to the edge, now lead series 3-2 after overtime win.
5/1/99- The Leafs are one win away from advancing to the second
round of the playoffs after their 2-1 overtime win on Friday night.
Joseph has been the difference, stopping 154 of 165 shots in the
series thus far. Keith Jones of the Flyers and Dimitri Yushkevich of
the Leafs traded goals in the first, and at 11:51 of overtime, Yanic
Perreault scored a backhander against John Vanbiesbrouck. The Leafs
will try to finish the series on Sunday, but the Flyers won't be
ready to fall yet.
Flyers set up shop in front of Joseph, even series.
4/29/99- The Flyers and their crease crashing have returned. The majority of the 4 goals scored on Joseph included a Flyer's backside in his face in the 5-2 loss on Wednesday. Joseph still played stellar, facing 41 shots again, and dealing with the Flyers screening him. And the Leaf's defence let the Flyers to it, something that should change for game five. But the Flyers are more dangerous now that they have their confidence back, and now the Leaf's need to find their offence that dominated during the regular season. And the Leafs need to keep the Flyers from sitting in the crease with Cujo.
Cujo backstops Leafs to 2-1 series lead.
4/26/99- Joseph stopped 40 shots while Mike Johnson and Steve Thomas
scored in the 2-1 victory over the Flyers in Philly. The only goal
Joseph let by was one he couldn't see. And 10 seconds later,
Johnson scord the tying goal.
Sundin redeemed, Leafs even series.
4/25/99- The Leafs scored 2 goals in the last two minutes of the game
to win 2-1 against the Flyers! After missing on a penalty shot the
game before, Mats Sundin scored on a bad angle shot to win the game!
Steve Thomas scored the other Leaf's goal while Keith Jones notched
the Flyers lone tally. Beezer's stretched his shutout streak to
about 118 minutes while stopping 19 shots, and Cujo picked up the
win, stopping 24 shots.
Leafs lose game one to Beezer and Flyers. Look for equalizer tonight.
4/24/99- John Vanbiesbrouck shutout the Leafs 3-0, stopping 25
shots. Valeri Zelepukin, John LeClair and Eric Desjardins scored
the goals for the Flyers. Mats Sundin ended up with a penalty shot
attempt, but he was stopped by Beezer. The Leafs also went 0 for 6
on the powerplay, a stat that will need to improve if the Leafs want
to go more than one series. Bad news for the Leafs is they've lost
Igor Korolev for the rest of the playoffs. He suffered a broken
left fibula. Tonight the Leafs and Flyers play game two at the Air
Canada Centre! Let's see the Leafs win their first playoff game of
the postseason!
The Run to the Cup Begins!
4/20/99- Igor Korolev and Sergei Berezin will be ready for the
Leaf's series with the Philadelphia Flyers! The series starts on
Thursday, April 22nd at 7:00 EST. This series will also see a major
comparison of John Vanbiesbrouck and Curtis Joseph, both who tested
the free agent markets last summer, with Cujo coming out the big
winner. Cujo has a rough history against the Flyers, but with out
Eric Lindros, the Flyers have lost a huge punch. The biggest
problem is the trapping system the Flyers have used since the loss
of Lindros, their "crease-crashing" and their size. All of these
factors will probably used to slow down the Leaf's offence and
atempt to get Cujo off his game.
Coming soon, another Cujo interview from TheHockey.Net!
4/10/99- Peter Steen of
TheHockey.Net will soon be having
another Cujo interview, that you'll be able to find here! This will be
another great one as Cujo will talk about theinterview focusses on
himself and the post-season and his preparation and memories of
previous playoffs. Once again, I'd like to thank Peter for the
exclusives, and if you haven't already, please go check out his
website!
Cujo now a serious canidate for the Hart and Vezina Trophies.
4/10/99- Yesterday, the Maple Leafs sent out packages to the voters
for the Hart and Vezina Trophies. The packages included an
autographed puck with Joseph's picture on it and the slogan "The
Puck Stops Here." Cujo enters the game tonight with 34 wins, tied for
most wins in a season by a Maple Leaf goaltender with Johnny Bower,
Mike Palmateer, and Felix Potvin. He is also tied for 2nd in the
league with Eddie Belfour, 2 behind Martin Brodeur's 36.
Playoff Birth Clinched!
4/2/99- With the win against the Edmonton Oilers last night, Cujo and
the Maple Leafs sealed a trip to the postseason this year after two
years of early golfing.
"At the start of the season, our goal was to make the playoffs and
to accomplish that is satisfying," Joseph said.
The Oilers, after losing Joseph to the Leafs, are now on the verge of
missing the playoffs for the first time since 1996. The Oilers have
been struggling to replace Joseph all season, using Bob Essensa,
Mikhail Shtalenkov, rookie Steve Passmore and newly acquired Tommy
Salo. "I'd like to see these guys make the playoffs
also," said Joseph of his ex-teammates.
Cujo article in ESPN Magazine on sale now!
3/28/99- The April 5th Issue of ESPN Magazine contains the before
mentioned article on Curtis Joseph! If you end up missing it, I
plan on putting up the article here with pictures! Go out and buy
it while you can!
Exclusive Cujo interview from TheHockey.Net!
3/16/99- Peter Steen of TheHockey.Net
has granted me the exclusive right to bring this great Cujo interview to
you! Listen to it
here! For other interviews with NHL stars, be sure to check out his
great site!
"I've been hard on Joseph in the past, but I have to give him
credit. He's played great hockey." -Mike Keenan
3/10/99- These are the words of Mike Keenan, who coached Cujo in the
1994-95 season, and sent him packing from his first NHL team. He
talks about Cujo, the Leafs, and a few other things in his March 6th
article for the
Sporting News and you can
read all about it
here.
Cujo to be featured in ESPN Magazine!
3/5/99- A few days ago, Curtis Joseph was working with several miniature
dogs yesterday during a photo shoot at the Gardens for a feature on
himself in ESPN magazine! I'm not sure what issue the feature will
be in, but be sure you'll hear about it here!
The Fate of Joseph's "Gardens Mask"
3/5/99- Before it was said that the Mask Cujo wore in the last game at Maple
Leaf Gardens would end up in the hockey hall of fame. Right now,
it's fate will be to stay at home with Cujo in Sharon Ontario. The
mask featured Maple Leaf Gardens at the top, then the evolution of
the Leaf adorning the sides.
"That one's for me," Joseph said. "I've got about seven
from my career hanging from a piece of drywall, really the only kind
of (trophy display) I have."
For a look at what 6 of those 7 look like, go to the
Masks
Image Gallery! As soon as I get a picture of the Garden's Mask, you'll
find it here.
Hear Cujo, growl!
3/5/99- A new addition to the atmosphere in the Air Canada Centre?
Every time Cujo makes a big save, a snarling dog sound byte is
blasted through the rink. Just a little neat bit of info to Cujo
fans who can't go see him play at home.
The St. Louis Arena is a memory.
2/28/99- While Maple Leaf Gardens still stands for the world to see, the
Arena, the first homes for the St. Louis Blues and Cujo, was
demolished yesterday afternoon. The 70 year-old structure was home
to a number of great memories. Many great NHLers besides Cujo
called the Arena home, such as Brett Hull, Doug Gilmour, Brendan
Shanahan, Adam Oates just to name a few. It's a sight that will be
missed in St. Louis for many years to come, but it will never be
forgotten.
On the 13th, the Leafs played their last game at Maple Leaf Gardens,
losing 6-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Read more about my
thoughts on the game here.
Cujo wore a new mask on that night, with Maple Leaf Gardens on the
top and the evolution of the Leafs logo on the sides. The mask was
only to be worn during that game, and will probably be featured in
the Leaf's Hall of Fame and/or the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"The Last Game" was a showcase of Gardens memories. One of the goals
had a lot to do with Curtis Joseph. Before the game, Cujo was asked
if Doug Gilmour might try the wraparound that won game 1 for the
Leafs in a double overtime game against the Blues back in 1993. He
responded:
1/31/99- Recently, there has been talk about Cujo being one of the leading
candidates to win the Heart Trophy! The Hart Trophy is among several
major awards voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers
Association at the end of the regular season. It goes to the player
votes most valuable to his team and Joseph would get a $250,000 US
bonus for winning any major award and $100,000 as a runner-up
according to his contract. It's not close enough to the end of the
season for a clear view, but he will probably be in the top 5
players in the running. As the season starts on the second half,
this page will be watching this story closely. Keep watching!
Cujo wins the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities Award!
Curtis was to be awarded the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities
Award on All-Star Saturday, but since he was not able to make the
trip, he will recieve it at a later date. The award is given to the
all-star who does exemplary work for youngsters, as voted on by
players on Canadian NHL teams. He will recieve a $25,000 US cheque
to give to a charity of his choice at a future Leafs game. Congrats
Curtis!
The NHL will not be spared from the beanie baby craziness! Planet
Plush has produced animals featuring different NHL players.
These are now for sale so be sure and get one! They're going
between $10 and $20 American. Check out the story and pictures
here!
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