Laperriere Happy To Be Dethroned
(from TheFourthPeriod.com)
By Anita Icenogle
TheFourthPeriod.com
October 21, 2005 - Colorado Avalanche right wing, Ian Laperriere, celebrated his 700th NHL game by scoring two goals against his former team the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
His first goal, nine minutes into the first period, was the first of the evening, and his first in the Avalanche sweater.
The Kings' evened the score five minutes later, but Colorado's Andrew Brunette killed the tie 18 seconds later with his powerplay goal, assisted by Laperriere's former Kings's teammate, Rob Blake, giving the Avs' a 2-1 lead.
Laperriere's second goal gave the Avs' a solid 3-1 lead at the end of the first period. He returned to the bench after that goal shaking his head, smiling almost in disbelief at his own performance.
It seemed as though a fairy tale ending was in sight for "Lappy" and his milestone game when Joe Sakic scored the fourth goal early in the second period. The team was unable to hold their lead, however, and allowed the Kings to come back strong scoring three goals in the second period. Craig Conroy scored the Kings' game winning goal with just under one minute to go in the third period.
Laperriere's disappointment in the team's loss was obvious.
"It was a great start but that doesn't mean squat right now, you know," he said. "I'd rather get those two points than two goals."
Nevertheless, his 700th game was a memorable one and he is thrilled to be playing alongside players like Alex Tanguay and former teammate Rob Blake whom he partially credits for his decision to sign with Colorado.
"Blake is a good man and a great player," he said. "I had a couple of choices to go somewhere else but I knew Blakey was on this team and you know you've got a good chance to win when he's on your team. It made it an easy decision for me to come here."
While he praises his teammates, he down played his own performance stating, "I'm not fooling anybody. It doesn't mean because I got two goals [on Wednesday] that I'm a goal scorer. I know what my job is. I might chip in once in a while like that, but my main job is to be physical and play good defense out there and be a physical force out there."
During the game, however, he provided both a physical presence and goal scoring, but it wasn't enough for his struggling team which has only two wins and three losses so far this season.
"It's early in the season but we have to learn from those mistakes and be better," Laperriere said. "We have to be stronger mentally and make those little plays I guess."