- I've become so obsessed with etsy.com after finding these, now I need to find a baby to borrow for a little while.
- So many ides for hockey themed cakes, I don't know which I want first! I'm a little partial to the Stanley cup cake.
-Your Wikipedia hockey page "Towel Power" (also known as the Canuks poor attempt at copying the Steelers)
- I'm glad the Blades haven't tried to foist this on us as intermission entertainment...
The Blades will be playing the Stingrays tonight, a hockey game sounds like an awesome way to celebrate New Years to me! I'll try to listen and tweet whats going on so check in.
Game two of the Bades long road trip went pretty well. The Gladiators scored first, but Lang was able to tie it up, and a a goal by Guthrie put the Blades ahead. Unfortuately, the Gladiators were able to tie it up and force overtime. Though they lost, the Blades still come away with a point. The gamesheet can be found here. The good news is Morrison seemed solid in net, Olson had another fight (Zanon had two), the Blades scored one of the two goals on the power play, and they seemed to be playing better.
The Blades are now two points ahead of Gwinnette and one point behing Charlotte in the division. The next game is Tuesday against the Gladiators.
I know this video is from last year, but it's pretty funny and has McJannet (those reasons make sense when you've been working all weekend).
The first road game of a greuling road trip turned out pretty well for the Blades. A goal in each period for the Blades (two on the power play, and one empty netter), allowd them to trounce the Checkers on... wait for it... their Teddy Bear toss night! The night also saw the Blades go on an amazing 15 power plays, to say the Checkers were undisciplined is being nice, I'm pretty sure their getting ripped a collective new one as I type this. You can find the link to the gamesheet is here.
The three goals were...
- 1st Pistilli (first as a Blade), assists to Roy and Hotham
- 2nd Carlson, assists to Hartlieb and Duffy
- 3rd Healey (first goal as a Blade too), assist to Carlson
Also of note, Mike Morrisn had his first shutout as a Blade. His backup was listed as Ian Vigier (the Blades site does not list him on the roster, so I'm thinking he was an emergency backup). Benn Olson also managed to get into two fights, I really hope someone got one of them on video.
The Blades now move on to Gwinnett. They play at 4:05 tomorrow, hopefully the boys can keep it rolling along and get some points out of this road trip.
I'm back after a bit of a hiatus (Christmas and HughesNet's poor service conspired against my blogging efforts), but thanks to the updated wireless system at work I can get some blogging done. My Christmas was pretty awesome, I got two awesome books that I must reccomend. First Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey, was a great biography of one of the greatest goalies in hockey (it actually makes me want to hate habs fans a little less). Also, Saving Face: The Art and History of the Goalie Mask, has the most beautiful pictures and covers the history of the goalie mask. There has been a lot of news while I was on break, including a lot of roster stuff...
-Ernie's back! So is Elgin Reid.
-Brusty has left, and it looks like he'll be in Houston for a while.
-Forward Bryan Leitch (Stats here) has been assinged to the team.
The Blades are playing the Checkers tonight, and are going into the game with only one goalie on the roster. I'm not sure if Nate Zervos was unavailable, or if they plan on using a backup provded by the Checkers. Either way it looks like Morrison is a lock for starting tonight. I should be able to listen to the game, though I can't predict what will happen in this madhouse from one minute to the next. I'm thinking that scheduling some filler posts ahead of time is a good idea, it doesn't look like my Internet issues will be solved any time in the next decade, and it's not hard to come up with some random posts to keep the blog from getting stagnant.
-Thelen was called up to the Amerks (look what hack blogger was quoted in the story!)! This is a big chance for him and I'm crossing my fingers that the Panthers see something. I know he's been the target of my ire more than once, but the dude has been putting up some very nice numbers (12th in the ECHL for points among defensemen) .
Some videos of the goals from last Wednesdays game, as well as the great save on McJannet...
Can you tell that we've discovered video editing? It's pretty fun, and I'm hoping we can work a bit of magic on some old videos if we get the time. The Blades will be playing game two of the series against the Nailers tonight, and I'm still not sure if I'm going. If I don't I'll still be tweeting live updates while I listen to the radio broadcast. Now I'm off to try and pull of a miracle on my very last final of the year.
The Blades finally won a game in regulation last night, beating the Wheeling Nailers 5-3 (I took a picture to prove they actually won in regulation).
It was a good game, and the Blades had it together for once. Goalie Cris Beckford-Tseu was awesome last night only allowing two goals on 32 shots, earning the second star of the night.
(Come back soon Becks!)
The Nailers did score the first goal. Cleve Kinley, who was traded earlier this year, got it past Becks during a power play.
The Blades were able to come back and tie it up on a lovely goal by Ross Carlson, which I just happen to have video of (with slo-mo instant replay action)...
A.J. Thelen and Colin Nicholson also got tallies past the Nailers goaltender sending the Blades into the second intermission up 3-1. There was a new intermission activity that is more entertaining than watching the minnie mites play... Goalie Race! Three laps around the rink and no passing unless you take the dude in front of you out...
The Nailers were able to get their second goal of the night early into the third period to make it 3-2. The Blades didn't panic though, and Brandon Buck notched one on the power play to make it 4-2. An empty netter by Carlson made it 5-2.
(Buck doing his best Jordan impression)
(I love this picture, spot the puck!)
It was good to see the Blades play to their abilities, there was some mistakes and a bit of sloppy play, but all in all they were good. They looked a lot better than they did last Saturday, and the score proves it.
There was also a fight between Benn Olson and Ryan Schnell in the first period...
And some great pictures from last night...
(I'm liking the new guy, Guthrie)
(To quote what the old man in my section yelled "Cut your hair Lang")
(I have no idea why those guys did that)
(Roy is back by the way)
(I think this is Duffy)
(No matter how much trouble he causes I can't help but love McJannett)
(The Nailers had the Pens logo on their jerseys!)
I'm not sure If I'll be going to tomorrows game, but there should at least be some more videos from last nights game uploaded to the youTube channel some time today or tomorrow, including McJannet being robbed by the Nailers goalie.
- The 3rd Intermission is reporting that Goalie Anton Khudobin was sent back down to the Aeros from the Wild. The question is, does this mean Brusty be returning to the Blades?
I'm still coming down off the high from the 6-1 stomping the Pens gave the Flyers last night. I'm also excited to see the Nailers play, not just because their the Pens affiliate, but because I've never seen them play. I love the ECHL doing their best to get more teams into town, and I'm sure the guys on the Nailers are appreciating the warm weather we've been having (77 degrees here compared to 19 degrees in Wheeling). As always I'll be tweeting live from the game and adding my own twisted view to whats going on.
Did you hear the collective sobbing of the Brusty Fan Club yesterday? Because Aeros goalie Anton Khudobin (I still miss him) was called up to the Wild, Brusty has been called up to fill the empty spot. To fill our empty spot Nate Zervos will more than likely be getting a call, unless Beckford-Tseu is coming back from the Amerks of course.
The Blades also made a trade with the Grizzlies for forward Shea Guthrie (stats here), in exchange for rights to Simon Ferguson. This is a good deal in my opinion as Ferguson has yet to play a game with the Blades since signing.
- You may have seen this, but here is the video I took of the penalty shot from last Saturday's game. You can see all the other videos on our YouTube channel.
(come back soon Brusty, or send Khudobin)
- Wikipedia hockey page "Torpedo System" I am so ready for the Olympics!
- Here is an amazing story about a Ref in Sweden saving a player's life by preforming CPR on him.
I will be tweeting live from tomorrows game, as usual. I'm crossing my fingers for this series against Wheeling (I'm also trying very hard to ignor the fact that they are the Pens affiliate).
Last night was the Blades annual teddy bear toss, and it didn't quite go as planned. The Checkers managed to score twice in the first period, and once in the second. The problem is the Blades didn't manage to score at all. With about 1:45 left in the second a close call led to some people throwing bears early, which led to other people throwing just because, eventually the announcer told everyone to go ahead and toss their bears. It was the largest crowd so far this season and there was a ton of bearsand other stuffed animals on the ice, and they didn't stop for quite a bit. A video Woody from the Blades blog took (mine won't be up for a while).
They ended up playing the last 1:45 at the beginning of the third, and then switching sides and playing the third. In the end the Blades were unable to score and the Blades ended up losing 3-0. Some of the awesome pictures I was able to take from the great seats I got for that game...
The next series will be against the Wheeling Nailers, one of the worst teams in the ECHL right now, and maybe the Blades can get something out of that series. The first game of the series will be next Wednesday, and hopefully the Blades wake up by then.
For the first time in a long time the Blades had a good first period. They actually played pretty well for most of the game. Unfortunately, they lost 1-4 to the Checkers. They had some chances, including a 5 on 3 for 22 seconds, but they weren't able to take advantage of any of them. As you can see from the updated roster, there are a lot of key guys missing or injured. That's no excuse, but I'm sure it's hard to get into a groove when no one is around or healthy for very long.
I do have some pictures from last night...
I will be going to the teddy bear toss tonight (I finally took some time off), and tweeting live as usual. I'm ready for a good game tonight, and I'm definitely ready to get the toss on video, and get tons of pictures. I also found a sweepstakes to win a trip for two to see the ECHL All-Star game, good luck!
A quick Round-up from Wednesday's game: The Blades won in OT, and it was quite exciting. The first period was very physical, but the Blades were sloppy and Brusty let in three goals. Cameron put Morrison in goal for the second period, and the rest of the guys seemed to wake up. The Checkers were held off and the Blades managed to come back and force overtime. Duffy, Buck, Reed, and Lang all scored, with Lang scoring the overtime winner. Some pictures I took (including Big Red's awesome stache/beard combo and the poster they gave away)...
There has also been a ton of roster moves in the last two days...
- Ernie, Hoffman, Reed and Pistilli have been called up to the AHL
- All the call-ups have left the roster very depleted, to fill in some holes the Blades have signed veteran Paul Healey (stats here and video below, I won't hold being an ex-Flyer against him if he's good), as well as a short term contract for ex-Blade Bill Kinkel (stats here, remember him?).
I hope everyone is ready for Mac & Cheese night! I will be Tweeting live from the game as usual. I will be going to Saturday's game as well; I have my teddy bear do you?
The Blades start their home stand tomorrow (remeber to bring canned goods tomorrow), and until then here's some random things to keep you entertained until then.
-This gallery of Zamboni's is pretty awesome, the one with the flames is awesome! Also, I'd love to have that Zamboni cake for my Birthday (hint, hint). Also, I want to drive the Zamboni tees make excellent Christmas gifts (hint #2)!
- Great article on the Blades radio-analyst Dave Clark over at NDN.
- Poor Tebow, he's stunned. Someone call me when he takes up hockey, then I'll care about him.
- Voting for the AHL all-star team is underway, and Amerks player Graham Mink has been named captain, and voting is underway for the rest of the team. Over at Let'sGo Amerks! they're encouraging everyone to vote. Make sure you get in and vote for the boys from our AHL affiliate!
I will be Tweeting live from Wednesdays game! And I'll get a blog post full of pictures up for you guys.
As I write this the Blades are playing their second to last away game in Cincinati. They have had a pretty good road trip losing one game in regulation, and one in OT. They have one more game in Cincinati on Saturday. There have been some roster moves lately...
-Flick (the ECHL player of the month!) has been called up to Albany.
-In return forward Matthew Pistilli was sent down (stats here), and a recent video...
-Aiello was traded to Stockton for future considerations (anyone know what this means?)
-Buck is back from Houston!
There are some promotions coming up, including the snow day this Saturday. Remeber to bring your canned food for the home games next week, you'll get a free ticket to see the College Classic (Cornell, Main, Princeton, and Colorado this year)! Friday is Mac & cheese night, and the Saturday after that is the Teddybear toss.
And finally, some random bits and pieces...
-Great article on my favorirte D-man Zanon, I'm really going to lobby for his nickname to be Big Red anyone disagree? No? Good... Zanon is now Big Red.
-I love that my new favorite Penguin got a hat trick a few hours after I posted the link to the Wikipedia page, I also love that the Rags lost twice. Lets see if this works... Goalies who have scored a goal in an NHL game.
-You won't be able to hear the game on the radio, but you can stream it from SportsJuice.com (Thanks to my Twitter buddy CVClyde for the fix).
- I'm sorry I haven't posted one of these in a while, I think this hideous thing makes up for it.
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