INSIDE LOOK: RONNING MAKES MARK VETERAN'S GUTSY SEQUENCES HELP FUEL COMEBACK.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer DENVER - Like a domesticated do·mes·ti·cate tr.v. do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing, do·mes·ti·cates 1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic. 2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life. 3. a. cat picking a fight with a mountain lion mountain lion: see puma. , 5-foot-8 Kings forward Cliff Ronning Clifford John Ronning (b. October 1, 1965 in Burnaby, British Columbia) is a former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 7th round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 134th overall. charged toward 6-4 Colorado defenseman Rob Blake For other persons of the same name, see Robert Blake. Robert Bowlby "Rob" Blake (born December 10 1969, in Simcoe, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey defenceman in the NHL, playing for the Los Angeles Kings where he is the captain. , looking to pick a fight he knew he couldn't win. But Ronning didn't have victory in mind. He wanted to give his team a lift any way possible, and that's what happened. Ronning's series of gutsy plays in the middle part of the second period helped the slumbering Kings erase a two-goal deficit, even though they lost to the Avalanche 4-3 in Game 1 of the first-round series. It started with a play that could have doomed the Kings, already trailing 2-0. Ronning and Blake battled for the puck near the boards and, upset with Blake's rough tactics, Ronning tripped him. The call made Ronning furious and he skated toward Blake with a scowl but was dumped on his rear by Stephane Yelle Stéphane Yelle (born May 9, 1974, Ottawa, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. Playing career before he reached Blake. ``I was trying to get (Blake) to punch me,'' Ronning said with a smile. ``I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win, and if they get motivated by seeing somebody my size going after somebody his size, then that's good.'' The Kings, suddenly inspired after seven minutes of mostly dreadful play, easily killed Ronning's tripping penalty, and seconds after he came out of the box, Ronning picked up the puck at center ice and drew a tripping penalty by Colorado's Joe Sakic Joseph Steve Sakic (IPA: /ˈsɑːkɨk/[3]) (born July 7, 1969 in Burnaby, British Columbia) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center who has played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career . Ronning wasn't done. On the power play, he fed a perfect pass to Bryan Smolinski in front of the net, and Smolinski scored his first goal against a goaltender since Jan. 5, not counting the two empty-netters he put in since then. ``We were down by two and I took the penalty, so I wanted to try to get something back,'' Ronning said. ``I saw (Smolinski) on the outside and he's got a great shot.'' Ronning had drawn the ire of coach Andy Murray for his lack of offensive production since the Kings acquired him from Nashville on March 18, but Ronning, consistently strong in the playoffs throughout his career, insisted he would be ready for the postseason, and Murray agreed. ``I thought Cliff played one of his best games as a King,'' Murray said. ``He was around the net and making things happen.'' CAPTION(S): box Box: KINGS vs. COLORADO: (Colorado leads best-of-seven series 1-0) |
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