Too Many Men On The Ice

SO MANYS AND TOO MANYS

Fri, 06 May 2011 19:45:02 -0700

SO MANY, TOO MANY…

- Orange ties

- 1:3:1 formations

- cardboard Carrie Underwoods

- defensemen making saves

- OTs

- Game Sevens

- Swedes (j/k!)

- Goalie changes in Philadelphia

- declarations of hockey sense

- stutter-steps

You Are Now Entering the Twilight Zone

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:34:07 -0800

I hate to brag, but I’ve been watching hockey since the ‘94-‘95 season and I think this is a first. Thanks to my mad photoshopping skills, I will provide for you not a mere link, but the info right here:

P.S. My back-up team (who to cheer for when the blues aren’t playing), is Vancouver and take a looksy where they are as well. MMmm.

Vancouver vs. Oilers – Glad to see Hall is doing well (btw, Spitfires are near the top of their Division, second only to the Saginaw Spirits) but can his team defeat the Sedin brothers? Not a lot of action in the first several minutes, but then 3-0 Vancouver! Torres has two goals already. Things calmed down and Penner makes it 3-1. Third period, Oilers score twice in a short time to tie it up! Torres gets the Hat Trick to make it 4-3. Even though the Canucks were not at home, people still showered the ice with caps – that’s cool. All the ads on the Vancouver radio station use bad hockey analogies. Can you blame them? It’s so tempting.

Blues vs. Sharks – good game good game. Ostrich (Oystrick) and The Cracken (Strachan) are the newest of my given nicknames. How is it that I’ve blogged this much and not a single nickname thrown out there? Thorton out with a 5:00 major and 10:00 misconduct for a hit to Perron center ice as the former came out of the box. Party in the shark box! I got robbed. Goal called off AND a goalie interference call after the blues guy was CLEARLY pushed in by two sharks. Whatever. Perron made a sweet backhand to make it 2-0. My PP needs help, thank god halak can stop those shorthanded chances. 3^rd shutout for him. Tied with Thomas. The blues are #1 in the West!!!!!!!! So it was only a couple hours until the Kings beat the Lightning - it was nice while it lasted.

Blues vs. Bruins – beating them in a SO is saying something because Thomas is right up there with Halak and Quick for top goalie at the moment. 6^th straight win WHAT. I’m making history left and right.

Blues vs. Rangers – another win - that makes 7 in a row (see above image for details)!! 4 shutouts in the past 6 games. Best start to the season in franchise history. And conklin played in this double header.

Phoeniz vs. Detroit - coyotes lost in OT :( But Hansel and Gretel scored (Handzal and Yandal).

You know what video was online today - Why the blues can win the cup!! it’s weird to hear so many positive things about my team. But there’s a lot of time before the playoffs and cup run. Guess my goalie is the Ha-lochness monster. My nicknames are so better.

Blues What?!

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 21:36:42 -0700

The Blues are in a tough division. No wonder I can’t get into the playoffs. Chicago is definitely one of my main rivals. Our last meeting, Blues lead at the end of the 3 thanks to Backes. Im thinking - don’t blow it!! Final score 4-2. Much better than last time. I got to watch the Blues/Pens game. The former has at least one point in 7 of their 8 games. Not too shabby. There was no score in regulation which is rare. But it wasn’t boring! Lots of good chances and equally good saves. The Blues looked the best that I’ve seen them and against a good team too. Both goalies, Halak and Johnson, were amazing. The Blues – Erik Johnson – scored in the beginning of OT. :) Blues are on a roll.

Listening in to Blues/Nashville. Blues score first on a short hander. I hate to cheer against Rinne but WOOT WOOT. And I don’t want Rinne out because that means I have to face Lindback. NOOOooooo. Anyhow, I digress…2-0 in the third after taking advantage, on purpose of course, of Rinne’s weak spot. The Blues’ stats vs. Nashville are not good so this should change the cards. TooToo goes to the locker room for a hit to the head – 5:00 charging and 10:00 game misconduct, but no suspension. That brought on the Boos from the crowd. Oh boo hoo – get over it. PP SCORE! We won!! I think they said that served Nashville’s first regulation loss. What now?

Pens/Flyers – a game I could have gone without watching. You know ahead of time that it’s gonna be dirty, but the beginning was ridiculous! A fight started right after opening faceoff and another started right after. Tension much? There ended up being 11 penalties in 7:00 min. Is that some kind of record? After they decided to play hockey, the pens were good for one period and then I don’t know where they went. Some people blame it on Fleury. I’m sure that’s part of it, but the rest of the team wasn’t exactly feisty.

Blues/Thrashers. I thought I’d have the advantage with the Thrashers coming off a game the night before (loss to Carolina thanks to rookie Skinner). The blues are on a winning streak, halak’s on a shutout streak. But I don’t assume anything. It’s 3-1 in the first period. 2 are PP goals for the thrashers. Let’s not do that anymore. Darn you bergfors!!! Way too much time spent in the box. If you can’t backup your penalties with PK, don’t do it. Make them pay, not you. But, as the crowd chanted, “REF-ING-SUCKS.” 3-2, but we’re running out of time! Only 5:00 left. Sigh. After every goal, they have to review what there’s not to review. I agree radio guys, stop throwing off my groove! My grooooooove. TIED IT UP. MUSIC TO MY EARS. Did someone say Hat Trick? OT – the Blues are bomb 4-on-4. Shootout – 2-0. 4 game winning-streak. 5-0 at home. These are not the kind of numbers one usually hears in the same sentence as the Blues. I’m so proud * tear *

GO PENS

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:56:13 -0700

Even though I’m a Blues fan, I cheer just as enthusiastically for the Pens, if you couldn’t already tell. Their game against the Senators, Gonchar’s new home, was surprising. Usually the Penguins find themselves coming from behind (winning nonetheless) but coming from behind. But this time, they kicked butt. Johnson continued to be solid in net. He has a more stiff style than Fleury, who flails around, but they both get the job done. The announcers kept talking about Gonchar’s homecoming scmomecoming. Hello! It’s not about him.

The Blues got the chance to play Chicago next. Oh yay. It was very disappointing. The Blues only lost by one, but they lost with their tails between their legs. Have some dignity! They were doing so well. But they like to blow leads – what’s up with that? Chicago got a PP on a stupid call – a guy’s stick gets caught in Halak’s glove webbing and he gets an interference call - lame. This gives them a PP goal and the momentum to tie it up in the end (Hossa got both – that greedy *******). I was totally dominating the OT 4 on 4 and lost it. Way to go. And I have to play them again today! Fingers crossed.

The Penguins played Nashville whilst on their Midwest vacation. Fleury finally started and they interviewed him (were they able to catch up with him though?) before the game. He hadn’t won yet at that point. Can anyone understand him? He speaks a dialect somewhere in between English and French, Frenglish. Everytime Nashville scored, the Penguins answered. Crosby tied it at 2 “Hop in the corolla, we’re going bowling!” Malkin and Crosby are HOTT “Scratch my back with a hacksaw!” Final tally - Pens win in OT 4-3 YAY!

Just wanted to share what I think is an awesome cause.

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 10:00:44 -0700

Just wanted to share what I think is an awesome cause.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:57:15 -0700

I listened in to the Penguins/Maple Leafs game. At that time the Penguins were still major struggling. At the suggestion of my color commentator, they’ve been playing Johnson instead of Fleury and winning. Hey, whatever works. Sometimes you gotta mix it up. “Let’s go shoot moose on a harley!” That day was also the day I started the Hat Trick Challenge. If you’re not playing, you should check it out. Go to nhl.com. Scroll over Fantasy and scroll down to the respective button. Each day, you answer three questions predicting the outcome of that night’s games. I’m not doing great, but it says I’m in the upper 80 percentile. Whoever gets the most hat tricks (all answers correct in a day) gets a trip to the NHL Awards. I always enter those sweepstakes things. Someday I’ll win something!

So I’m kinda cheering for Vancouver this season (which doesn’t at all affect my loyalty to the Blues). Cheering for them brings a sort of nostalgia for my trip over the summer. Anyhoo, they were doing well and lost to the Ducks who were doing horribly. How did that happen?! (screwed up my hat trick too). It happened because 4 people from the Ducks’ top line finally scored their first goal of the season. What a time to break that streak. BTW, where’s Salo? I haven’t heard his name come up, he’s on the roster…

I need some Finnish to cheer for here. I got to actually watch the Blues/Predators game. Not as fun as I expected. The Blues gave up a goal in the first minute and that cost them the game, in my opinion. Following that, they decided not to show up for the rest of the first period or their Penalty Kill. Sigh. Darn Lindback! Rookie blondie! Hope sprung eternal in the 3^rd period, but they were always chasing – down by one or two goals.

Penguins/Islanders. Didn’t get to hear much of the game, but the Penguins won in OT. Not that I’m not happy for them, but seriously, what’s up with the Power Play? Stop shooting at people right in front of you! They have the least shots average for PP. It takes them 1:48 to make a shot. The top team in the league, Phoenix, takes 0:42. Quick recap of Saturday night’s games that I only got to follow on nhl.com. The Blues lost to Dallas in a shootout – where’s my Halak magic? - but, not bad considering Dallas is undefeated and I’ll take one point as opposed to none. The Penguins beat Philadelphia – that always feels good. Looks like Crosby is returning to his former self; he got two goals this game. Detroit beat Phoenix in OT; only because they had a PP. They always have a PP. It’s a referee conspiracy.

And They're Off!

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 09:49:00 -0700

First day of the regular season; I got to watch two periods of the Pens/Flyers game. I didn’t miss much since the Penguins ended up losing. Not the way they wanted to start in the Consol Energy Center. ESPECially against their Pennsylvanian rivals. I give the game to the Flyers’ new/rookie/somethin goalie Bobrovsky (who the announcers referred to as ‘The Bubble’ – now there’s a mighty nickname). I don’t know where he came from, but I was impressed. The Penguins had some great chances and normally would have taken the prize. Good thing for Philadelphia since Leighton is out injured :(

Since I don’t get NHL Center Ice where I’m living at the moment, most of my hockey comes from live radio. It’s pretty cool actually, especially listening to Mike Lange announce for Pittsburgh. 10.11.10 Columbus Day featured a few early games including Blues/Ducks. The Ducks are struggling so I feel kinda bad kickin their butts, but two points is two points and I’ll take it. The Blues have started off real well. But don’t think I’ve forgotten last season, or many seasons before, where they play well half the season and then go kapoot. We gotta keep it up! All the pieces are there, as they say. I know the Blues can be a tad bit aggressive, but DANG. There was way too much fighting and penalty minutes in the game. When I turned it on, the Ducks had lost a good chunk of their team to game misconducts, etc. after a big brawl. The Blues ended up with a 7:00 min power play. How they came out of the fight on top, I do not know. Their last goal, making the final score 5-1 was on their 8^th power play. What the heck!? So much for the new NHL.

I also listened into the Penguins/Devils game. I was a bit intimidated since the Devils beat the Penguins 6 times in a row at the end of the last season. That did not do good things for the Penguins’ playoff spot. But, the Penguins finally pulled it off. We won’t speak about the fact that NJ only dressed 15 guys. No excuses!! The game ended 3-1 with an empty net goal by, appropriately an ex-Devil, Martin. I was informed that following the goal, Elvis left the building.

Last night, I tuned in for the LA Kings’ home-opener. Of course, they had to take 10 hours announcing the team and the staff (do we really need a closeup of the equipment manager?). The players emerged from their dressing room that had a castle facade. Looked a bit cheesy, and can that even compete with coming out of a Shark’s mouth? The Thrashers looked pretty good, despite losing Kovalchuk. They did acquire 4 Blackhawk players, including Buffy, and Mason as a new goalie from the Blues (not to be confused with his unrelated, ex-Division colleague Mason from the Blue Jackets). Of course not.

The first period showed a lot of speed and was physically chippy. The Kings hit the post a couple times and Atlanta actually made it IN the net. The second period was action-less so no need for further description there. The Kings coach must have given a pep talk during the second break that they need to, I don’t know, SCORE. As a result, the third period looked much better and ended the Kings on top 2-1 (3-1 if you count an empty netter). Not only was I cheering for the Kings, but it’s always nice when teams win their home-opener. Though even losing probably couldn’t wipe the cheery smile off of Heidi’s face.

Always entertained by the interesting/unpronounceable/funny last names that hockey players have, I found a few to amuse me from the Thrashers. Having talked about Thor earlier in the day (don’t ask, the context is not important), I was tickled to find a player named Thorburn. I don’t know where he’s from, but his long hair certainly gives him the look of a true Norseman. He got the only Thrashers goal, looking quite pleased with his pillage and plunder moment. A minute later, here comes Bergfors. I can’t make these things up. Coming from the announcers, it sounded like his name just took Thorburn and switched the syllables; not very original. My color commentator pointed out that Bergfors is, though, a reordering of a famous ex-Avalanche Swede’s name, whose name will not be mentioned. Not a fan.

To Dundas And Beyond

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:23:59 -0700

I enjoyed watching the preseason more than usual this year. I saw a Kings/Ducks preseason game live once and it was boring compared to regular season games because none of the “stars” played. But this year, teams seemed to be strutting their stuff for the exhibition games. There were a lot of young guys vying for permanent spots come regular season, but they played well. I only even noticed because I’d never heard of them (save the Baby Pens of course). NHLnet had some slim pickins as far as which teams they decided to show. Detroit, Edmonton, and Toronto fans had a ball, I’m sure.

Only two Blues games were televised as far as I know. I only got to watch one and, of course, it was one of only two preseason games that they lost :( And Halak wasn’t in net so I’m still on the lookout for my new goalie. BUT, my team looked pretty good. They were hustling and passing and they were playing Chicago so you have to give them an A for Effort. I’m waiting to see if Chicago catches do-horribly-the-season-following-a-cup-win fever. It’s so sad to see teams go through that. Everyone’s making a big deal about the “cosmetic” changes Chicago went through over the summer, but I don’t think they have anything to worry about. Kane and Toews are looking like their star selves and Turco impressed me in net. I’m torn about his famous (or infamous) stick handling skills. It’s great to see a goalie have control of the puck (Fleury, I hope you’re watching), but sometimes he tried too hard and got stuck playing the boards instead of playing in net.

Now the lucky teams are off to Europe. I wish they would broadcast those games on TV :( I also wish the Blues could get an invite to SOMETHING. No Winter Classic, no European exhibition games. Guess I need a Crosby or Ovechkin of my very own.

I think it’s awesome that teams get a chance to play over there – especially Helsinki! Hopefully one day, I’ll be over there cheering on the Finns in person (and freezing my So-Cal butt off in the process).

The season starts tomorrow!

CHL And A Taste Of What's To Come

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:11:08 -0700

Things get pretty desperate when the hockey season ends each summer. Usually we turn on a sport not nearly as exciting as hockey, just to pass the time. But 2010 was different. We discovered the CHL Memorial Cup. Brandon was holding the games and what could be more memorable than a Wheat King? Any hockey team that involves a stalk of wheat is A-OK by me. I had a good time poking fun at the different mascots and ended up choosing the Windsor Spitfires to cheer for. I guess the history nerd in me was attracted to their logo/mascot (A Spitfire is “a British single seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force [RAF] and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War.” - Wikipedia). I ended up getting really excited about the race for the Memorial Cup and the Spitfires won! They actually totally dominated. I’m not used to cheering for the first place team (sorry St. Louis – I’m not gonna lie). I found some players to root for and we were soon on first name/nickname basis. Their goalie, Grubauer, was pretty awesome. The MVP was Taylor Hall, who went on to be the second draft pick, landing him on the Edmonton Oilers. He’s proved himself worthy so far in the preseason.

Speaking of the preseason, it feels good to be back watching, and screaming at, hockey again. Ranting and raving about that in the next post.

Trades And Then Some

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:20:19 -0700

So I had previously mentioned some trades that Chicago made this summer. I was really surprised that they got rid of two players that made such a huge impact towards the team winning the Cup. Goalies always step up and impress me during the playoffs and Niemi did just that. I enjoy cheering for all the Finnish goalies out there - Nittymakki, Backstrom, Rinne, Rask, the list goes on. People may not think of Finland as quickly as they do countries like Russia or Sweden, but the Finns are pretty top notch on the ice. Anyhoo, Niemi is now part of the Shark roster. Also gone from Chicago is their sometimes goon, sometimes in-the-back-door-to-score man Byfuglien. He came out of nowhere and was a big star for Chicago aaaaaand now he’s a Thrasher. I wonder if it makes players sad to leave a team, but I guess they have to be used to it.

Winner of the annoying-trade-of-the-year was Kolvalchuk. OMG could they take any longer deciding what to do with him? It was exciting there for a while thinking he might come out here to be on the Kings, but NO. When the Devils came out with their original contract, I was like WHAT?!. So I’m glad that some deliberation happened, but it got a little ridiculous at the end. Headlines at NHL.com had the scheduled trade announcement down to the hour. And of course, things took longer than planned. Why not just have one headline saying they don’t know yet and then one saying where he ended up. We don’t need minute-by-minute updates that he STILL doesn’t have a trade agreement. Why do the Devils need another good player anyways? Boo on them.

And now for the only thing that really matters – the Blues. They always do good with trades picking up big names like Kariya, who’s hurt – sad face – or rookies like Oshie and Perron. Even so, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I read that they had gotten Halak!!!!!!! He was, oh, just the biggest name in goal tending from the playoffs. Goalies are super important in the postseason and teams that go far usually have an awesome goalie (think Jiggy when he was a Duck or Fleury last year). Halak is another example of a player I can’t believe was let go from the team he fought with in the playoffs. He is the reason the Canadians got so far. Hello! He stopped Ovechkin and Crosby. Do I even need to say I am super excited and grateful for whatever made that trade/sale happen? My team always shows potential. I think we’ve got some great rookies and great veterans. My goal tending was already pretty darn good with Conklin here and Mason there. But DANG. I hope this gives the Blues the oomph they need to get into the playoffs.

Read the news here

Stanley Cup 2010

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:54:39 -0700

Trivia: Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC is named after the same guy who first presented a certain cup as a trophy in hockey.

The Blues almost made it in! But the standings in the Western Conference left them with no wiggle room whatsoever. Whenever the Blues don’t make it to the postseason, which is sadly often as of late, I just pick another team to follow. When their Stanley Cup race ends, I choose another. Sounds disloyal, but I’m not gonna stop watching or cheering. They say an enemy of my enemy is my friend. Well, I made some new friends. The white out in Phoenix almost took down Detroit – who didn’t enjoy that?! I did NOT want to see Detroit make it to the finals again. And they got too close for comfort. Watching the Penguins defeat them last year in the Finals was a sweet, sweet, moment. I wasn’t watching hockey yet when that franchise won it last with Lemieux (my fav player, BTW). Anyhoo, I digress.

OMG – where did those Canadians come from? Watching them eliminate the top-seed Capitals from the playoffs was one of them most unexpected series results I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a lot of hockey. I actually felt bad for Ovechkin and his teammates. Their regular season was UNREAL! Ovi and his hot little hands. We’re on nickname basis cuz we’re tight like that. I had a bad feeling when the Habs came up next against the Penguins. The Penguins make me nervous with their inconsistency and boy, did Halak make them pay. My biggest disappointment was that the Canadians didn’t take out the Flyers. I was tired of seeing their gooney butts out there. (Speaking of gooney butts – who saw the Leverage season finale about an ex-hockey goon?) But I have to give Leighton his props.

So what did I think of the end results? I was happy for Chicago – they deserved the win. Unlike in the East (though a do love a good underdog), the top teams battled it out in the Western Conference finals. Kane and Toews are amazing and Niemi is Finnish – need I say more? (I’m part Finnish so you’ll hear me bust out the Finnish pride now and again - two bronze medals – booyah). They had me a bit worried though. Philadelphia got WAY to close to winning, which did nothing good for my stress levels. After such a crazy cup run, I was just as surprised by the trades Chicago made after the postseason. I know a lot of it has to do with money, but REALLY? More on that in the next post. And guess who made out pretty sweet in trades this summer? Yours truly…

VANCOUVER 2010

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:38:00 -0700

In memory of the Georgian athlete who passed before the start of the games.

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC were awesome. I made a point to watch the opening and closing ceremonies and as many of the events as possible. I was not disappointed, from the beautiful chemistry of the Canadian Ice Dancing team to Apollo Ono’s record-setting number of gold medals. Besides enjoying the sports, I couldn’t help but eye the branding campaign that had been created for this years’ games.

I traveled to Vancouver in June/July and the campaign captured the natural beauty and energy of the city spot on. I visited the ice hockey venue, in this case the same one that is used for the Canucks. I toured “backstage” at the arena and snapped this shot from one of the suites.

Crosby scored the gold medal GWG on this crease! (ok, this is obviously not the ice from February, but you know what I mean). He needs to calm down and stop having such perfect, historic moments, as if the Winter Classic GWG and Stanley Cup by his early 20s wasn’t enough. But I love him and I went down and touched the ice like the dorky fan I am. I also saw the Olympic Village, the countdown sign (my second sighting – I got to see the one in Beijing 3 years before their Summer Olympics), and some examples of way-finding signage. The rock that inspired the logo stood on the coast of English Bay, near my hotel. I have to say, Canada is pretty cool. And how wild they are about hockey is even cooler.