It’s a special extended edition of Talkin’ Pucks to start off 2012. Our guests include Andy Strickland, Kevin Lorenz, and BD Gallof. For more information on our guests, check out our weekly show preview on HSB.

For pre-recorded shows, we will post a link to the full edition of our show, as well as the individual segments. 

Jan 25-FULL SHOW

The full 90 minutes of the 2012 debut of Talkin’ Pucks. Un-edited for your listening pleasure.

SEGMENT 1-Show Open

It’s good to be back!; St. Louis lost again to the Red Wings in Detroit; Those are definitely games the team needs to start winning; Well, at least it was close, right?; Blues just shot themselves in the foot with stupid penalties; Blues just aren’t on Detroit’s level; This is new territory for hockey fans in St. Louis

SEGMENT 2-Kevin Lorenz

Kevin Lorenz, Blues writer for InsideSTL and producer of The ITDRoll.com Morning After and The One to Three Show, joins the program; Matt Cooke will most likely be suspended for his hit on Jackman; Yeah, Cooke’s kind of a douche bag; Berglund played like a man on a mission against Pittsburgh; It’s hard to say what the Blues can do at the trade deadline; Scoring is hard to find in this league; Donald Fehr’s desire to make a name for himself could ultimately lead to another NHL strike

Read Kevin’s latest articles on InsideSTL.com: January 24- Berglund’s Night to Build On; January 23-So You Wanna Trade Ben Bishop

SEGMENT 3-B.D. Gallof

BD Gallof, one of the first and few credentialed bloggers in the NHL, joins the show; Concussions have become a huge issue; More focus should be paid to improving the equipment; BD did extensive research on the topic for CBS Sports and found some startling results; Wow, that interview turned into a real Debbie Downer; Let’s lighten the mood, who’s the best teams in the East and West?; I love John Tortorella; Rick DIPietro is probably the biggest bust in NHL history; A contract amnesty day, like the one they had in the NBA, would be huge for the Islanders; Don’t mess with 24/7 it is working just fine

Check out B.D.’s articles on CBS Sports: Gallof: Hockey’s Degeneration X — Concussions Are Killing The Sport; Gallof: Islanders May Move On From DiPietro Sooner Rather Than Later

SEGMENT 4-Trade Buzz

This is quite the conundrum for the Blues; Could Jake Allen be moved?; Don’t forget about Andy McDonald and Alex Steen; Once those two come back the Blues have four solid scoring lines; Anything the Blues achieve in the playoffs this year is icing on the cake; Team can’t trade away key pieces just for instant gratification; The Blues second half schedule is ridiculous; six and seven game road trips from mid-February to early-March

SEGMENT 5-Andy Strickland

Local hockey-guru Andy Strickland joins the program; Matt Cooke probably won’t get suspended for that hit on Jackman; It looked like Jackman fell on his own stick; Don’t move a guy like Berglund yet unless its for someone who projects to be in the fold for years to come; Bishop will most likely be moved; Ownership situation is confusing, but I’m not planning to give day-by-day updates; Rams talk-Stan Kroenke is stirring the pot; Blackmon all the way; Oklahoma State receiver is the closest thing to Calvin Johnson; Back to the Blues-Joe Vitale, CBC grad and Pittsburgh Penguins forward; Vitale should be an example for local hockey players: you don’t have to leave high school early to make it in the NHL

Read Andy Strickland’s articles on TrueHockey.com

SEGMENT 6-Wrap-up

It’s about times to put the wraps on our first show of the year; Next week we have Greg Wyshynski, editor of the Puck Daddy blog on Yahoo! Sports, set to join the program; Trevor is really fired up to talk with Greg; It will also be our first live show of the year; Follow HSB on Twitter for updates on how to get involved; Next week’s edition of Talkin’ Pucks will be at 8 pm CT.

“It was a tough loss for us,” Missouri coach Frank Haith said after the game. “I thought we didn’t have the right mindset defensively in the first half. We allowed Oklahoma State to dictate the tempo of the game in how they were running their offense.”

Mizzou’s defense had no answer for OK-State freshman LeBryan Nash, who erupted for a career-high 27 points. Nash hit 12 of 18 shots from the floor and three of four three-point attempts.

“He’s just confident. He picked out good spots to make shots that he knows he can make,” Missouri forward Ricardo Ratliffe said. “You can tell that he is in the gym, working on his game and versatility. I mean, he’s 6’ 7’’, 230 and he’s making three pointers. You can tell that he’s confident.”

Nash scored 13 of his points during a 17-4 run that pushed the Cowboys ahead of the Tigers heading into the final four minutes of the game.

“I just tried to get in a aggressive in the second half,” Nash said. “My teammates got me the ball in good situations. Once it started rolling, the shots started falling, and we got better.”

Brian Williams also stepped up for Oklahoma State, finishing with a career-best 22 points.

After the two teams battled through the entire first half, Missouri opened up the second half with steals on three straight Oklahoma State possessions to fuel a 10-2 run. The Tigers appeared poised to pull away after a three-point play from Ratliffe gave them a 54-45 lead with 14 minutes left.

The Tigers mustered just one point over their next ten possessions, however, missing six shots and turning the ball over three times.

“I expected it to be a hard fought game; this is Big 12 basketball, there’s good players, but we didn’t do what we needed to do to finish the game out once we got control of the game.” Haith said.

After a dunk from Ratliffe ended Mizzou’s scoring drought, Markel Brown responded for Oklahoma State with a one-handed slam off an alley-oop, but was whistled for his second technical foul after getting in Matt Pressey’s face.

Brown’s ejection provided another opportunity for Missouri to put Oklahoma State away, but it was the Cowboys who gained the momentum and ultimately pulled out the upset victory.

“All we can do is get back to practice,” MU guard Marcus Denmon said. “One win or one loss can’t determine the rest of the season. We just have to regain our focus and get ready for the next game on Saturday.”

Denmon finished with 17 points most of which came from the charity stripe, where he hit seven of eight free throw attempts. The senior guard hit just four of 16 shots from the floor and two of eight shots from behind the arc.

Ratliffe, who picked up his third double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds, was a perfect five for five from the free throw line and shot 10 of 17 from the floor. The Lute Olson National Player of the Week still holds the best shooting percentage in the nation at 75.4%.

Mizzou finished shooting 40% from the floor as a team, but just 21% from behind the arc. Despite Oklahoma State’s height advantage, the Tigers were only out-rebounded 32-30 and actually pulled down seven more offensive boards than the Pokes.

“When you play on the road, you have the bulls-eye on your chest, you’re going to get everybody’s best effort,” Haith said. “We got their very best effort; they didn’t get our very best effort. We give them credit because they came out and they were ready to play and they executed.”

The Tigers will look to bounce back Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are still searching for their first conference win of the season after dropping a 69-47 decision to the no. 24 Kansas State Wildcats on Wednesday. Tip-off from Mizzou Arena between MU and TTU is set for 12:30 on Saturday afternoon.

Photo: STLCC Press Release

New men’s soccer coach Dan O’Keefe has had success at every level during his playing career.

In 1979, as a senior at McCluer High School, O’Keefe scored 39 goals, which was fourth most in Missouri state history at the time, before moving on to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE), where his career mark of 27 goals scored is tied for twelfth most in school history.

Professionally, O’Keefe played for six different teams over ten seasons and was the National Professional Soccer League’s all-time leading scorer by the time he retired in 1994.

While O’Keefe’s experience and local ties were important factors, it was athletic director Johnna Kinney’s confidence in his ability to immediately start scouting new players that was the determining factor in her decision to hire him. The timing of now-former head coach Mike Mayberry’s departure made it imperative for his replacement to hit the ground running in terms of recruiting.

“We wanted someone with local ties that could step right in because we were already past the signing date and recruiting had started for soccer,” Kinney said. “We thought he was the best candidate who could get good recruits in a timely manner.”

As a coach, O’Keefe’s focus is primarily on the development of each individual player. While he does hope to bring a national championship to St. Louis Community College, O’Keefe’s primary goal is to turn out players who can succeed with a four-year program.

“I’m good at developing skills and one of the good things about a junior college is you can just go two years [focusing on] nothing but development,” O’Keefe said. “By the time they’re done with two years with me, I want them to be so ready for the four-year college, that they’re going to make an impact on whatever program they go to from here.”

St. Louis Scott Gallagher (SLSG) Youth Director Ken Godat, whose son Zack trained with O’Keefe early in his playing career, praised the new STLCC men’s soccer coach as “one of the top trainers in St. Louis.”

O’Keefe played professionally for six seasons, three with the Kansas City Comets and three with the Fort Wayne Flames, before briefly retiring in 1988 to coach in Jefferson City. He returned to professional soccer a year later with the Indiana Kick to lead the American Indoor Soccer Association in goals scored.

In 1990, he joined the Detroit Rockers, where he scored 130 goals over two seasons. After winning a championship with the Rockers in 1992, O’Keefe signed with the St. Louis Ambush, with whom he scored 60 goals in 40 appearances. He was traded by the Ambush after the 1993 season to the Baltimore Spirit.

After his playing career ended, O’Keefe remained involved with soccer in the St. Louis area, spending a brief stint as the women’s coach at STLCC-Florissant Valley. More recently, he spent fifteen seasons as a skills trainer for Scott Gallagher Soccer Club.

Inheriting a program that graduated 13 sophomores following a 6-12 season, the new head coach understands that he has his work cut out for him. However, there has been a recent increase in the number of high school players, creating a much deeper pool of college prospects.

“Now, there are so many players,” O’Keefe said. “There are a lot of players that peak late. Florissant Valley, especially, has always gotten players that peak late. [Players] that have great potential, but maybe they didn’t develop it or show it in high school, but then they get to Florissant Valley and they’re just dynamite.”

O’Keefe added that he will benefit tremendously as he begins recruiting from the consolidation of the STLCC men’s soccer program into one team located at Florissant Valley, which will allow him to recruit all over the St. Louis area.

In addition to recruiting, O’Keefe also scouts players through weekly open scrimmages held at the Florissant Valley campus on Monday evenings at 6 p.m.

“Back when I coached at [Florissant Valley] the last time, I basically had a good shot at getting North County kids only. Now, the way it’s spread out with Forest Park and Meramec, I can recruit all over St. Louis,” O’Keefe said. “One central team for the boys and girls that almost triples our strength. The potential to be great is really good.”

In addition to analysis from Trevor and Brian, journalists from not only the St. Louis-area, but also the national media will be featured on the program. Each week, we will announce any guests who are scheduled to join the show. Fans who have a question for any of our featured guests are encouraged to send them in via Twitter (@HanksSportsBlog) or Facebook (Hank’s Sports Blog).

While most installments of Talkin’ Pucks will be pre-recorded, there will be a live show at least once a month for fans to call in and voice their take on the latest goings-on with the St. Louis Blues.

GUESTS FOR WEEK 1:

Andy Strickland-Host: The Blues Buzz (590 The Fan KFNS) & Founder: True Hockey

Award-winning journalist Andy Strickland’s radio show, The Blues Buzz, can be heard Wednesday evenings on 590 The Fan KFNS. Strickland also makes regular appearances on The Press Box, weekdays from 10 am to 1 pm. Check out his website, True Hockey, for the latest news updates and trade rumors from around the NHL.

Follow him on Twitter: @AndyStrickland

Kevin Lorenz-Blues writer for InsideSTL.com & Producer: The ITD-Roll Morning After

DeSmet grad Kevin Lorenz has covered the Blues for InsideSTL since 2009. In addition to his hockey updates on InsideSTL.com, Lorenz is one of the producers on the ITD-Roll Morning After, weekday mornings from 7-10. He also co-hosts IBON in the Morning, which airs an hour earlier on KFNS.

Follow him on Twitter: @KevinLorenz

B.D. Gallof-Founder: Hockey Independent

B.D. Gallof is one of the most well-respected hockey bloggers in the nation. He founded Hockey Independent, a well-known NHL blog. Gallof lives in New York City.

Follow him on Twitter: @BDGallof

But everything changed in the last minute of the 1st, when Brad Stuart of the Wings laid a hard but clean hit on Alex Pietrangelo and Chris Stewart went right after him. Stewart pummeled Stuart, landing countless rights, but he ended up with an instigator penalty in addition to a 10 minute misconduct. The Wings, therefore, had a power play to begin the 2nd and wasted no time tying the score at 1 as Pavel Datsyuk came off the far boards, danced around Pietrangelo, and roofed a backhander over Jaroslav Halak’s glove.

Midway through the 2nd, a loose puck found its way onto Johann Franzen’s stick, and he slid it past the outstretched pad of Halak for a 2-1 lead. The Blues were pitiful in the 2nd; they were skating slowly, thinking slowly, and reacting slowly, while Detroit took control. The impressive forechecking of the 1st gave way to lackadaisical effort, and only because Halak made some timely saves were the Blues even in it after 2.

It was more of the same for the first half of the 3rd. But eventually, a sense of urgency kicked in and the Blues started to find their game. Stewart earned himself a great scoring chance by maneuvering around a Detroit defenceman and was in alone on Jimmy Howard, but Howard made a glove save. The Blues still had the momentum with under 4 minutes to play, and the 4-on-4 action, after David Backes and Franzen took coincidental minors, was in their favour. But after Pietrangelo was hit behind his own net by Darren Helm, Carlo Colaiocovo attacked him and practically jumped on his back, drawing a roughing call. With the 4-on-3 advantage, Niklas Kronwall blistered a shot above Halak’s blocker for the backbreaking 2-goal lead.

In the dying seconds of what was a physical game, a scrum in front of the Detroit net resulted in a slew of penalties. Howard threw some punches with his glove and blocker, and Backes and Pietrangelo were right in the middle of it.

It was a disappointing night for St. Louis, who so desperately wanted to establish themselves as one of the elite teams in the Western Conference. And while they’ve done that at home, they’re 0-3-0 in Detroit this year. After such a beautiful first period of hockey, the Blues lost their composure. And you can’t afford to do that against the Wings.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, winners of their last 6, visit the Scottrade Center tomorrow night at 7. It’ll be the Blues’ last game until after the All-Star Break, February 3rd against L.A.