This Calls For A Round-Up!

I feel bad for letting so much time pass since the last post, but since the blog only has four regular readers I guess I haven't dissapointed too many perople. The Blades are halfway through their road trip, and it has been quite successful! They defeated both the Walleye and the Nailers, and won a game and lost a game to the Wings. They even managed to get a point from the loss, by storming back in the third and forcing a tie. Unfortunately, they were unable to get anything in OT and had to go to a shootout, which they lost. The wins have pushed the Blades up in the ECHL standings, they are now 2nd in the South division, 3rd in the American Confrence, and 5th overall. I think some of the resons are obvious when you look at player standings...

- Flick is 1st in league in points, and Hennigar 9th.

-They are also 1st and 7th in assists as well.

- CBT is 8th and Rebound is10th in the league when it comes to GAA.

-They have scored on the Power Play in ten straight games.

-And Baker is back! He played his first game on Wednesday and has scored a goal in three straight games.

There are three more games this week, they play the Walleye Wednesday, and the Cyclones Friday and Saturday. Then the Blades are back in town next week (just in time for my birthday!). There has been some roster stuff...

- Aiello, Gajic, Roy, and Stanley are all on the IR list

- CBT has been called up to the Amerks, I don't think he'll be getting into something like this...



Some random bits for you...

- I found my new favorite page on the Blades website- The schedule and results all on one page!

- For the home games on the 9th, 11th, and 12th if you bring a canned food item for the Harry Chapin Food Bank, you get a free ticket to the Colege Classic.

- Also if you bring a box of Mac & Cheese on the 11th you can take part in Mac & Cheese night. You get to use it as a noise maker then donate it to the HCFB (this is the teams idea not mine).

- This Saturday is snow day! It's free, and they will be having Zamboni sleigh rides! Also there will be food and other stuff, but come on, Zamboni sleigh rides! I wonder if I can get off Saturday, I'm sure my boss will understand...

- A timely Wikipedia hockey page, Hat-trick! I love seeing the Rangers lose almost as much as the Flyers.

Pens Win!

Monday was so awesome! This is the second time I've been able to see the Pens play live (they've won both times), what made this trip better was the awesome seats we were able to get. I really am grateful to the Panthers organization for dropping ticket prices, and for having such a nice facility.

The Panthers played a great game; they were able to hold off the Pens for most of it. But, the Pens love coming back in the third and they proved it. I was super excited to see two of my favorite goalies, Fleury and Vokoun, in net. I could have lived without the Panthers ugly third jerseys that they chose to debut (I can't believe how many fans ran off during the first intermission to buy one).

I've decided that I'm going to make more of an effort to watch Panthers games; I really did like what I saw (for most of the game). I was also able to catch part of the Rupp vs. Allen fight on video! I went ahead and uploaded that one and some others from last night, as well as last Friday's Blades/Royals game. The Blades are playing tonight, and if my turkey day isn't too crazy I'll try to get a post in.

8-7-2

I just wanted to get a quick post in before heading over to the East coast to see the Penguins/Panthers game. I did go to the game on Friday, which the Blades lost 5-2. I got some videos (which will be up on the YouTube channel tomorrow hopefully), and took some pictures. The team was looking pretty good in the second, and Caria scored a goal in the third, but at the 18 minute mark the Royals scored and then less than a minute later they scored again.

Luckily, they woke up Saturday and ended up beating the Royals 4-0. McJannet, Henigar, Thelen and Hotham all got goals. And Beckford-Tseu was named the star of the night for the shut-out. The Blades will now be on a two week road-trip. They will face the Nailers on Wednesday, the Walleye Friday, back-to-back games this Saturday and Sunday against the Wings, and next Thursday and Friday against the Checkers. Hopefully the boys remember whatever it is they felt on Saturday and earn some points!

We Have Videos!

The videos from Wednesday nights mess are finally on YouTube, but to save you guys the trouble I've embedded them here. Hoffman and Zanons fights came out pretty good, I only got the end of Paquets and McJannets was too blurry.









It was announced yesterday that Zanon was fined and suspended for one game for the boarding that led to that fight. That means he won't be in the line-up tonight, but should be back by Saturday.

I'm not sure if I'll get to the game tonight, but I'm trying! If I do go I will be tweeting live from the game.

What A Fiasco!

The game last night was horrible, I had a ponding headache by the time I left. The only upside were my seats for last night game were awesome As you can see in some of my pictures). I really have to thank you season ticket holding neighbor of my friend! Unfortunately, the Blades didn't play that awesome. They looked sloppy, and undisciplined. The second period had to be the worst, and I was really annoyed by the end of the game.

The Royals players were a bit dramatic with their falls, Steiner even received a penalty for diving (I honestly can't remember the last hockey game I saw that penalty assesed). But some of the stuff that went on last night was just dumb. The guys looked like they had no idea how to play together. It was very upsettng to watch them make dumb mistake after dumb mistake. The epitome of the stupidity happened in the second period, Hoffman, doing his job, got into a fight (and won). McJannet then decides to get into a fight 19 seconds later! Then, 26 seconds later Paquet got into a fight too! I'm sure this would have kept going on if the Royals coach hadn't yelled at his players to stop. I'm all for hockey being physical but this isn't Slap Shot, being a buch of goons isn't the way to win a game. That to me was the best example of what went wrong last night, everyone wanted to be the hero but no one wanted to actually work hard at it. Of course the penalty box was pretty full at this point, so of course Thelen decides to cross check a Royal  a few minutes later(I have more to say about Thelen later). The stupid crap continued into the third period, there was no glimmer of hope at all.

As you can see from the gamesheet, penalties were handed out left and right. There was also a goalie change to start the third with Beckford-Tseu taking over for Brusty. Woody from the NDN Blades' blog later reported that Brusty had experienced a minor injury. He has also reported that coach Cameron was pissed with the guys aftwer the game, and honestly I don't blame Cameron, I was pretty pissed too.

I  feel the need to call out two players after last night. I may be off base on this, but Thelen and Lang are starting to irritate me. I've noticed Thelen taking a lot of dumb penalties lately. He has been very undisciplined. That's dissapointing because I thought he was an important part of the team last year, and was happy to see him re-sign this year. Lang, on the other hand, has been playing without any heart. He has always been my favorite player, and if you look back in this blog you can see how long I waited for the announcement he was playing this year. I could be wrong, maybe last night has me looking for someone to blame, but those two have been catching my attention lately.

 Now that I feel better after getting all of that off of my chest, some odds and ends...

-The team passed out the first trading card set last night. The card included were Metcalf, Gajic, Mcflikier, J. Morrison, M. Morrison, Hennigar, Buck, Hotham, Reid, and Baker.

-Morrison has been called  up to the Albany River Rats as another Hurricanes goalie has been injured.

-Breault has decided to leave the team and go back to college

-If anyone can clue me in on what the little notebook Beckford-Tseu and Brusty were writing on I'd appreciate it. One of my friends at the game, who has played hockey his whole life, had no idea. There was a grid and x's, and some of the guys coming off the ice would tell CBT and Brusty something, which would then be written down.

-The blog is starting to average a pretty decent amount of visitiors which is a really good sign. It's nice to know people are actually interested in the Blades.

-And some awesome shots of our goalies, Brusty pics on the right CBT on the Left (I blame my goalie fixation on Tom Barrasso, by the way).

I did get all four of the fights from last night on video, althought two are pretty blurry and I'm debating if I should upload those two to YouTube. Either way I usually can't get video up until Saturday, but if it's sooner I'll you'll hear about it. And, I'm not sure yet on if I can make the Friday game, althought I'll try. I'm also heading over to the east coast to see the Pens take on the Panthers on Monday, you might have suffer through a post about that, sorry.

Gloating, Sweeps, New Dude, And Other Randomness

I'm just going to get the gloating out of the way now. The video I took and uploaded to YouTube last Friday was used by hockeyfights.com! You can check it out over there or watch the video on the blogs new YouTube channel. I'm really aiming to get as many videos as possible from the games. If you have any videos, past or present, and you don't want to bother signing up for a YouTube account you can send the video to us and we will put it on our channel (with credit to you of course).

I'm sure you've heard about the sweep by now, the Blades sent the Walleye home without a win. A three game streak is just what we needed, and with the Reading Royals coming to town this week for three more, another three wins would be great. I think it's safe to say the team is finally getting into the groove, a little more time and I think we may see them playing like they did last year.

Now, on to some roster stuff.

-Ahren Spylo that guy that just got signed? Yeah about him... he signed with a German team and has left the Blades. Glad I didn't have time to get attached.

-The Blades just got forward Matt Caria from the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies in exchange for Jadran Beljo. You can find Caria's stats here, and some videos of him below.



and highlights from his time in the OHL...




And some random things to keep all 4 of our readers happy...

- Bill Hunt, a writer for the Daily Gleaner in New Brunswick, thinks the Blades should play the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds. I think they should, mostly because I'm always supportive of any extra hockey games. You can read the full story here.

-The Wikipedia Hockey page on Loafing, something I noticed the Walleye doing. Also, Gordie Howe Hat Trick just for fun.

-And, because you can't have too many pictures of Brusty (I'm in hockey love by the way), I give you a picture I like to call "eye of the storm."

I'll be at the games Wednesday and Friday bringing the Blades luck, and maybe getting some autographs. As always you can follow the blog on Twitter, for up to the minute news and scores.

6-0!

That's actually not the Blades record, although I wish it was, it's actually my record. That's right loyal readers (all four of you), the Blades have not lost a game that I've been at! I really think I should be spoiled in some way for being a good luck charm, free tickets are always nice.

Anyway, as you can see the Blades wore aspecial jersey in honor of Veterans day. We also had Barry Brust, our new goalie in net last night. And to be compeletley honest I'm madly in hockey love with the new goalie. He was awesome all night, but the game did have to go to the shootout. But, the Blades triumphed in the shootout (with the freshly signed forward Spylo notching one).

Your scorecard...

- Lang; assists to Flick

-Thelen, assists to Flick and Hennigar

-Hennigar, assists to Hotham and Flick

(In the shootout Flick and Spylo got it past the Walleye goalie, Hartlieb and Hennigar did not)

I'm sure you noticed something, Flick is on fire! He was involved in every goal and his shootout goal was a beaut. It's really great that we have someone other than Baker that can be relied on to score goals and be in on assists. Hennigar also has an amazing 6 game point streak, and is also turning out to be a dependable guy.

I took a few videos last night and if I get the chance at work I will get them posted. I've got Swampee repelling from the catwalk, McJannet fighting a Walleye player, the marines being sworn in, and Brust doing the funniest goalie routine I've seen.

I won't be at the game tonight, having to actually earn money at work sucks all, but I will try to listen to the game.

An Update! We now have a YouTube channel where all the videos we take will be posted you can check it out here

That's a Stompin'

6-1!

The Blades dominated the Walleye to put it nicely. The Walleye players were really sloppy, and were just handing the puck to the Blades players left and right. I'm not sure if it was the Walleye players making the Blades look good, but the guys did seem to be playing better. There was a lot of shot blocking in front of the net. There was also way too many rebounds, Morrison does not seem to realize he has a glove on his hand. Luckily the Walleye could not get things together; they actually went an incredible 0 for 9 on the power play, including an extended 3 on 5. The Blades were 2 for 9 on the power play, including their own 3 on 5.

The score sheet...

1. (1st period) Hennigar; assists by Hotham and Roy

2. (1st) Hartlieb; assist by Reid and Mcflikier

3. (2nd) Hennigar; assists by Hartlieb and Reid

4. (2nd) Reid; assists by Lang and Zanon

5. (3rd) Breault; assists by Mcflikier and Hartlieb

6. (3rd) Mcflikier; assists by Hotham and Reid

Mcflikier is now 8th in the league in goals, 6th in points, and 1st in the league in +/-. I'm really happy he resigned for this season, and I'm pretty sure everyone else is too. There were two fights but of course I couldn't get my camera out fast enough, so no videos. Hopefully the Blades can keep this up on Friday and Saturday. If they win one more game they move up to second in the South division, two games puts them within striking distance of the Stingrays, who are in first place. Friday can't get here fast enough!

Also some bits and pieces...

-Kinley was sent to the Wheeling Nailers.

-The team officially announced Brust was sent to the team from the Aeros.

Wednesday Round-up

Got a few loose ends to tie up before the game tonight.

-Mcflikier was named the ECHL player of the week! I'm thinking his hat trick/6 point night may have had something to do with that. He is also tied for best +/- in the league with a +9. I can't think of a player more deserving than him, he always seems to be giving everything he has when he plays, and I'm very happy he does that for us.

-Hartlieb is back in town, he played just one game for Rochester

-Baker is on the IR list till Saturday. Gajic is on the 21 day IR list. But Reid and Buck will be playing again

-Woody over at the NDN Blades Blog spotted a new player practicing. He seems to think it's a player by the name of Ahren Nittel (stats here). If he's correct (and the dude is pretty distinctive looking), this is a pretty interesting development. It took me some time to find a video of him playing, mostly because he likes to tape himself lifting weights (I'm not joking do a YouTube search), but I did find this one from 2006/2007.



I will be Tweeting live from the game tonight, so follow us on Twitter for live updates!

Good News?

This is the announcement I've been waiting for, we have a new goalie!



The Aeros finally figured out their goalie situation and have sent Barry Brust to restore my faith in goalies. You can check out his stats here. He should be arriving in town tomorrow, and will most likely be starting either Friday or Saturday (although I would love to see him start Tomorrow night). Either way this is good news. I'm just hoping He turns out to be more dependable than Morrison.

Got Grit?

I'm posting this a little late, but as biscuit mentioned, I had a little bit of an issue with my Internet. Anyway, yesterday the Blades announced the signing of forward Simon Ferguson (you can see his stats here). You can also check out some (of the many) YouTube videos I found of him...



and...



There are a lot of videos of him beating dudes up. He seems to be another signing that's all about adding some toughness and grit. He has been loaned to Syracuse, and there doesn't seem to be an indication of when he's expected back. I'm very excited to see the new guys in action next Wednesday when the Blades will be back, and facing the Walleye again.

Also, in other news...
-After posting a stunning shut-out Beckford-Tseu was called back up to Rochester.
-Gijac was placed on the 21 day Injured Reserve list.
-Aiello is finally off the IR list, after the nasty injury during training camp.
-The Blades lost 1-4 last night, I'll see if I can post about it later today.

Blades End Losing Streak

Lady Byngs Love Child is having technical difficulties, so I am stepping in to fill in everyone on the Everblades victory over the Charlotte Checkers from last night.

The Blades dominated the Checkers on their second game in Charlotte, winning 7-0. Jacob Micflikier was the big star of the night with a hat trick and an additional three assists, giving him a total of six points. Everblades goalie Chris Beckford - Tseu didn't do too shabby either, with 28 saves and his first shutout of the season.

Four of the goals were scored during power-plays with an additional goal added while short-handed.

That short-handed goal was scored by Rob Hennigar in the first period.

The Blades exploded in the second period, adding another four goals to the tally . Brandon Buck started off the scoring on a power play. Micflikier got to work on his hat trick, scoring his first goal of the night off an assist by Hennigar. Hotham added his contribution to the score and Micflikier finished off the period with his second goal. If you've lost count, that would make the score 5-0 at the end of the second period.

The third period started off slowly scoring-wise, but Micflikier put an end to that late in the third by completing his hat trick. Colin Nicholson put one more nail in the coffin for good measure, finishing off the game with one last goal with only a minute left to go.

Hopefully this domination will continue when the Blades take on the Gwinnett Gladiators tonight for the last game of this road trip.

Just What We Need?

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found something the Blades were missing this year. I give you Mike Hoffman!



Beautiful fight, right? He is a 6'5", 248 pound defenseman, and has spent most of his career in the AHL (Stats here). Too be blunt, he's an enforcer. His fight card over at hockeyfights.com is extensive. I'm sure this signing might get some fans panties buched up, but this guy is so badly needed. The big thing I noticed at the games I went to was the amount of liberties the other teams were taking. Once this big boy makes it clear that none of that crap is going to happen when he's around the other guys are going to be able to concentrate on their jobs(I do recommend this movie if you want to see how important these guys are to a team).

Also, Beckford-Tseu, and Mcflikier have been sent back down. And Steve McJannet has been put on berevement leave, I'm sure everyone's thought are with him and his family.

3-4-1

That is the Blades win loss record, not pretty to say the least. That also makes the Blades the worst in the south division. It also makes them the fourth worst in the American conference (league stats here). I guess I should be happy that they're not playing like the Chiefs (who haven't won a single game), or the Salmon Kings (who have only won one game). But, this is not how you win championships. I'm sure some people will argue the whole "so and so is injured", but it shouldn't matter. Since it's just the beginning of the year I'm not going to panic, there is plenty of time for the Blades to catch up.

And the road trip they're starting tonight just might be the right time to do that. They play the Checkers tonight and tomorrow night, and then they play the Gladiators Friday night. Three road games in a row is really tough but once they get that over they have two weeks at home. And I can at least show up for those, they haven't lost a game that I've attended (the team should totally pay for my tickets)!

I won't be able to listen to the game tonight (stupid school), or on Thursday(stupid spinning class). But, you can listen on your radio to 1200/1460, or check it out online. And, if I happen to get someones opinion of the game sent to the blogs e-mail I may post it (with credit to the writer). It would be nice to find someone to write up the weekend games...