The top stories from this week in hockey... The Hurricanes fired Peter Laviolette last week and brought back Paul Maurice to be their bench boss. Laviolette becomes the second coach in the Southeast Division to get the ax this season. This will be Paul Maurice?s second stint behind the bench for the Hurricanes, a post in which he was fired from in 2003, in favor of Laviolette. The League handed Sean Avery a six-game suspension for his crude comments last week. This is the first official suspension for Avery in his seven-year NHL career. The Stars are 2-1-0 without Avery in the lineup. Best Sean Avery ?dis? of all time goes to Brian Hayward. Back in 2006 Sean Avery called the Anaheim Ducks broadcaster an "embarrassment", "a (terrible) announcer", and ?a (terrible) player? after Hayward claimed Avery backed down from a fight during a Kings, Ducks' contest. Hayward's response: "How would you know? When I played, you were in your third year of eighth grade." The Nashville Predators continue their dominance while scoring first. The Preds are 11-2-0 when they open the scoring. Manny Fernandez of the Boston Bruins could be the comeback player of the year. Fernandez has been an important part of the Bruins success, winning seven strait games and posting an 8-1-1 record on the season. Fernandez missed all but four games last season. Washington Capitals rookie defenseman Karl Alzner scored his first NHL goal on Saturday night. Alzner now trails Wayne Gretzky by just 893 goals. The New Jersey Devils are playing their best hockey of the season, winning seven of their last eight games. The Devils are 14-8-2 this season, and 8-6-0 without goaltender Martin Brodeur. RealGM.com NCCA Men?s Hockey Rankings 1. Notre Dame (12-3-2) 2. Minnesota (7-2-5) 3. Denver (11-5-1) 4. Boston University (10-4-1) 5. Boston College (9-5-2) 6. Miami (10-3-3) 7. Princeton (10-2-0) 8. Colorado College (9-5-4) 9. Michigan (11-7-0) 10.Northeastern(11-3-2) USA Hockey announced their World Junior tournament Roster this past week. The tournament will be played in Ottawa, Ontario from December 26, 2008 to January 5, 2009. Goaltenders Thomas McCollum, Guelph (OHL) Josh Unice, Kitchener (OHL) Defenseman Jonathon Blum, Vancouver (WHL) Ian Cole, Univ. of Notre Dame (CCHA) Cade Fairchild, Univ. of Minnesota (WCHA) Blake Kessel, Univ. of New Hampshire (HE) Ryan McDonagh, Univ. of Wisconsin (WCHA) Teddy Ruth, Univ. of Notre Dame (CCHA) Kevin Shattenkirk, Boston University (HE) Forwards Drayson Bowman, Spokane (WHL) Jimmy Hayes, Boston College (HE) Mike Hoeffel, Univ. of Minnesota (WCHA) Tyler Johnson, Spokane (WHL) Danny Kristo, Omaha Lancers (USHL) Jim O'Brien, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) Aaron Palushaj, Univ. of Michigan (CCHA) Matt Rust, Univ. of Michigan (CCHA) Jordan Schroeder, Univ. of Minnesota (WCHA) Eric Tangradi, Belleville (OHL) James van Riemsdyk, Univ. of New Hampshire (HE) Mitch Wahl, Spokane (WHL) Colin Wilson , Boston University (HEA) Game to watch this week in the NHL Anaheim Ducks @ San Jose Sharks on Thursday the 11th