Published: March 21, 2009 11:41 pm      

MASTOVICH| Olympian will appear at game

Usually when former Olympians are recognized during professional hockey games, those athletes typically have made their mark on the ice, such as the 1980 “Do You Believe in Miracles?” United States gold-medal winning squad.

But Johnstown’s fans will get an opportunity to show their appreciation for a world-class athlete with roots much closer to home.

Somerset County native Sam Sacksen will attend today’s game against Elmira and sign autographs in the War Memorial’s Party Pit under Section 9 from 1:35 until the opening face-off an hour later.

“The Chiefs organization is proud to welcome local heroes that deserve recognition in the community,” Chiefs GM Bill Bredin said.

Sacksen, the highest-placing American in the Beijing Olympics men’s modern pentathlon, certainly qualifies as a hero. The pentathlon might not be as high-profile as gymnastics, track or basketball in the Summer Games or figure skating and hockey in the Winter Games, but Sacksen’s presence in Beijing certainly had the region’s sports fans scanning the Internet to learn more about the competition. The Web enabled Sacksen’s followers to keep tabs on him despite a 12-hour time difference.

Sacksen finished 18th in the five-event competition consisting of pistol shooting, fencing, 200-meter freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping and a three-kilometer cross-country run. The 2004 graduate of Rockwood High had a score of 5,280 (1,072 in shooting, 520 in fencing, 1,256 in swimming, 1,104 in equestrian and 1,112 in running).

“It was really, really amazing,” Sacksen said in a Tribune-Democrat telephone interview during the Beijing Games. “When I rode into the ring during the equestrian competition, there were over 33,000 people and a lot of them were waving American flags. No matter what I did, they cheered me on. It was amazing.”

Sacksen also wrote a regular blog for The Tribune-Democrat during his stay in China.

q q q

Remember when?: Pittsburgh Penguins interim head coach Dan Bylsma has led the team to an 11-1-3 mark since replacing Michel Therrien. The Pens are much more “loose” by most accounts. Sidney Crosby is playing some of his best hockey of the season. Additions such as Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz made an immediate impact.

Once relatively unknown, Bylsma has made a strong case to have the interim label dropped.

The preceding facts deal with the present and future tense.

Diehard Chiefs followers might remember Bylsma as an ECHL player with the former Greensboro Monarchs franchise. Bylsma played 60 games with the Monarchs in 1992-93, when he had 25 goals and

60 points. He also appeared in 25 games with Greensboro the following season, netting

30 points. Most of his 12-year pro career as a right wing was spent in the AHL and NHL.

Bylsma had a significant role in one memorable Chiefs game at the Greensboro Coliseum.

He had a power-play goal against Johnstown’s Dan Ryder in a Chiefs 4-3 overtime shootout setback on March 12, 1993. The Chiefs earned a point and clinched fourth place, which gave Johnstown home ice advantage for a one-game playoff against the Richmond Renegades. The Chiefs beat the Renegades in overtime in what many believe is one of the most dramatic and exciting finishes in the franchise’s 21 seasons.

But back to that 4-3 shootout at Greensboro. The Chiefs lost leader Tim Hanus that night when Hanus broke his right kneecap while blocking a shot. On the way home, the Chiefs bus encountered what became known as the nasty Blizzard of ’93, a devastating storm that closed roads throughout the Northeast. The roof at the LancerLot Arena, home of the then-Roanoke Express, collapsed under the weight of ice and snow resulting from that storm.

OK, so Bylsma’s ties to many of these historic details are thin. But it gave me a reason to dig up a few of those almost forgotten nuggets.

q q q

Reunited: The Chiefs Todd Griffith was scheduled to return Saturday after serving his five-game suspension.

Griffith was expected to rejoin what had been a potent line with leading goal-scorer Petr Pohl and Blair Yaworski.

Pohl had been held without a point in the previous two games, only the second time this season that Pohl was blanked in back-to-back games.

Pohl had 27 goals and 63 points prior to Saturday.

q q q

New look: The Chiefs signed 6-foot-2, 200-pound Pittsburgh native Joe Federoff.

Federoff played at Montour High School and was part of the Pittsburgh Forge NAHL junior team with current Chief Sean Berkstresser.

A center, Federoff also played a year at Robert Morris before spending three seasons at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, where he had 15 goals and 37 points.



Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.