Weekend Round-Up (Finally)

A couple of days late on this, but here's a round-up of all the action from last weekend.

The Blades went into Saturdays game knowing they had made the playoffs. Thursday's win against the Checkers guaranteed the Blades a spot in the playoffs. As always, you can find the game sheet here. It was, for the most part, the Blades game. The Blades were pretty dominant, and goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu was making some great saves. Dominic OSman and Shea Guthrie both notched tallies. Unfortunately it wasn't enough and two Gladiator goals 11 seconds in the later part of the third period gave them the 4-2 victory over the Blades.

Sundays game was much better. Find the game sheet here. Captain Ross Carlson drew first blood with a short handed goal during the Gladiators first power play (his second shortie of the week!). The Glads tied it up 30 seconds later, slipping one past new goalie Adrien Lemay (who was playing his first professional game). Luckily, a goal by another new player, Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll, allowed the Blades to end the first period on a high note.

The Gladiators fought back and tied it up in the opening of the second period. Unfortunately for them, the Blades decided to turn on the steamroller.

Dominic Osman Gave the Blades the lead, and Brandon Buck scored on the power play with a few seconds remaining in the period to send the teams off the ice with the Blades ahead 4-2.

The third period opened with a bang. Brandon Buck was able to notch his second goal of the night on a penalty shot at the 1:27 mark (the fact that I can't find video of this irks me soooo bad). Poor Danny Brown...

(I really love this picture; sad opposing goalie + awesome mask = happy me)

Another goal by Carlson took away any hope the Gladiators may have had. The final score was 6-2. Also, if the radio guy is to be believed there is no way the Glads can make the playoffs, the first time in their history they haven't made the post-season.

I honestly had my doubts earlier in the seaon that the team would ever see the post-season, but here we are. The team announced the dates of the first two playoff games, April 6th and 7th. Also, If your so inclined, you can enter the Eveblades SuperFan competition, you could win some very nice prizes.

YouTube Tuesday: Karma Edition

Happy Tuesday folks! A re-cap from the games over the weekend should be up tomorrow (sorry for the delay). Until then, enjoy a little karma in action.

Friday Links

Another Friday another serving of yummy links. Enjoy!

- This is such a cute drawing. I'm so tempted to buy a print.

- I'm going to link to this old but hilarious story. But I'm going to recommend that you think before clicking, it's a bit NSFW.

- Your Wikipedia hockey page- Air Hockey. I don't know what's more amazing, that this is a competitive sport or that the US dominates it.

- These are some awesome hockey themed cakes. My favorite is the Stanley cup cake with the old school Penguins logo.

- This has nothing to do with hockey, but I'm not brave enough to try it myself (it took me forever to scrub my microwave after my last experiment). Anyone want to report back?

- I swear I'll  feed him and keep his bowl full of Molson. Mom, please can I get him?


see more

Roster News (And a New Goalie!)

Quite a bit of roster news since the last post, here's a quick round-up.

- Matthew Pistilli is back from Albany, and he brought a friend  with him. Cedric McNicoll is a forward the Canes acquired around the beginning of the month (I honestly have no idea why I can't find his stats on HockeyDB). *Update- Now I know why, his name is Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll and his stats are here*

- Big Benn has been suspended for two games as well as fined. This is for whatever happened during the game against the Checkers on March 23, I completely forgot they were playing so I have no insight into what actually happened beyond the charging major and game misconduct.

- Looks like Becks is finally getting a break after playing 23 games in a row. The Blades signed goalie Adrien Lemay (stats here). As long as our AHL affiliates leave him alone he should be helping out between the pipes as we head into the playoffs.

The Blades play tonight and they only need one point to secure a playoff spot. I will be stuck in class slogging through the mind-numbing boredom of SQL. Hopefully, I can get out of class to catch the end of the game at least.

YouTube Tuesday

I hope everyone has had a great week so far. If you haven't perhaps this video can brighten it a bit.

I know I've linked to the Wikipedia article on The Punch-up in Piestany before. I was really surprised to find it on YouTube.



On another note, I re-tweeted this earlier but I want to mention it here too. The Amerks have injuries to two defencemen. One to Mathieu Roy, the other to Rory Fitzpatrick. I'm guessing either Scott Hotham will be going back to Rochester (he was just returned) or maybe Matt Duffy will be getting another chance. I'm not sure if they will call up one or two guys. It would be great if they took a chance on Phil Paquet (or even Brad Zanon, every fan deserves to experience a Zanon in action).

Pictures, Pictures, and Pictures

Here's some pictures from Friday night's game against the Stingays. The pictures look a bit odd because I was sitting behind the net. Enjoy!

Live Blog: Blades vs. Stingrays (3/19)

The Blades take on the Stingrays (again). Enjoy some almost live action.

The first period opened with a bang. Captain Ross Carlson scored 17 seconds into the game. Benn Olson and Phil Paquett were given the assists. The Stingrays dominated for most of the middle of the period, but Chris Beckford-Tseu made some great saves and the guys played some solid defense. The SOG at the end of the period was 5 for the Blades and 14 for the Stingrays. The period ended with the Blades up 1-0.

The Stingrays dominated for most of the second period. They were able to tie the score 1-1, and then move ahead a few minutes later to make it 2-1. Luckily, Shea Guthrie tied it up 2-2, Ernie Hartlieb ws given the assist. The Blades were really turning on the pressure in the closing minutes, hopefully they can keep it up.

The third period was one of those arrggghh periods. The Stingrays scored first, we tied it up, then the Stingrays decided to make me cry. They scored 2 goals in a very short prtiod of time. Becks was pulled but their was nothing the Blades could do. The game ended with a score of 5-3.

The Blades take on the Stingrays tomorrow. Hopefully it goes better than this game.

Friday Links

The Blades play tonight! Expect a live blog a little later. Until then enjoy some hot Friday linkage...

- This post from Hundred Degree Hockey is so inspiring. If your considering learning to play hockey you must read this (then join me during the off-season).

- Here's an old post from Greatest hockey Legends about some really weird hockey injuries.

- Your Wikipedia Hockey Page "Offer Sheet".

- This shirt makes me giggle..

- Never noticed this before but it's true...


see more Funny Graphs

News and Notes

Just a quick round-up of some recent Blades related news...

- Parker Van Buskirk was loaned to the River Rats, back to only one goalie I guess...

- Woody over at the Blades Blog posted this story about Calla coming back (after heading to Rochester for a cup of coffee). He also mentions that the Blades will announce a signing tomorrow, head over there to see who it is (gotta send some link love back to Woody).

- Thelen and Osman went to a local elementary school for an appearance and the school was put on lock down. There was a report of a gunman being spotted but it was a false alarm. I'm thinking there's a joke in there somewhere about the guns Osman's packing, or Thelen's reputation preceding him...

The Blades play Friday! I'm so ready. Been testing out my new camera as much as possible. Someone warn Carlson, I have no good pictures of him.

YouTube Tuesday

Sorry for not posting since Friday, I had a bout of blogging apathy. I'm better now. Just in time for (a late edition) of YouTube Tuesday. I love this video. Enjoy some awesome Polish hockey!



I wish that were legal over here...

Live Blog: Blades vs. Stingrays (3/12)

The Blades are taking on the Stingrays tonight. This will be the first of a two game series. They really need to come away with some points tonight.

Check back for the first period...

I was very opptimistic about this game. I thought a whole week off would see a well-rested, prepared team. The Stingray scored 27 seconds in to the game.

Great...

You know it's not going well when Brad Zanon seems to be taking all the shots. A Stingray goal with about five minutes left made me turn on the Pens/Devils game. The period ended 2-0.

The radio guy was kind enough to point out the Stingrays win percentage is 83% when they lead at the end of the first, ugh.

Check back for the second and third, if you dare...

The Blades couldn't get anything going. Brady Calla was called for boarding in the opening minutes. The Blades were able to kill the penalty. Unfortunately, the Stingrays scored again in the closing minutes to make it 3-0. Now the Blades have a big hole to dig out of.

Here's hoping for a miracle in the third...

Except for Brandon Buck's goal, which made the score 3-1, it was another crappy period. And they lost a game, and points, they badly needed.

The Blades always seem to play horribly after a long break. The only positive I can see is that it wasn't a shut-out. Hopefully, Cameron gives them a nice, long, loud, lecture in the locker room. The boys need to wake up before they take on the Stingrays tomorrow at 5.

Friday Links

The Blades are in South Carolina to take on the Stingrays tonight. Here's a few links to keep you busy until you can catch the game on the radio.

- Your Wikipedia hockey page "Backhand Slapshot"

- The Gwinnett Gladiators signed a baseball player to be an honorary player. Perhaps the Blades should sign one of the Red Sox (or Twins, whatever).

- I wish I had a chance to wear these NES Hockey Cufflinks. Sadly, I don't wear anything that requires cufflinks.

- If you've never come across Greatest Hockey Legends in your Internet hockey travels, you have to check it out. Perhaps this is the history nerd in me, but I love all the hockey history you get over there.

- This story (written by a moron who can't tell the difference between Miami and Sunrise) ranked our two NHL clubs very low in his rankings of who deserves the Stanley cup. Luckily, The Litter Box Cats pointed out his mistake.

- It would be too bad if this happened to our old scoreboard...


see more Epic Fails

Oh, Good...

The Everblades announced today that they traded Chris Capraro to the Stingrays for goalie Parker Van Buskirk (stats here). It's about time Becks get a break, he's started in something like 16 straight games, and as hard has he's worked he needs a break. I can't for the life of me think of a good knickname for him. Anyone got an idea?

On another note, Barry Brust will be undergoing foot surgery, I'm sure this news coming out is the reason we made the trade for a new goalie. This is the same problem that led to Anton Khudobin receiving the call up at the end of last season. He's expected to be out six weeks, which could mean he might come back, but I find it hard to believe (I guess I'll never get the Brusty scribble on my jersey I was hoping for). With all this free time perhaps we might get a Brusty blog (or Twitter account, I'm not picky), that would be awesome...

YouTube Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! Enjoy this Japanese hockey players painful moment...

Blades/Gladiators Series Wrap-Up

The Blades finished off their 3 game series with the Gladiators tonight. Of six possible points they earned 4.

Friday Night's game saw a fight involving Benn Olson five seconds into the game.



The final score 7-5, made me regret not going (game sheet here). The Gladiators scored first, but a goal by Shea Guthrie evened it up. A second goal in the closing minutes by Gwinnett saw the Gladiators lead into the first intermission 2-1.

The second period saw three goals by the Everblades. Brady Calla, Phil Paquette, and Dominic Osman all notched tallies. The Gladiators scored one goal, but they just couldn't find a way to overcome the Blades. The Blades went  into the second intermission up 4-3.

The opening minutes of the third saw Osman score once again to put the Blades up 5-3. The Gladiators narrowed the lead later. Thankfully, Osman scored once again to make it 6-3, and earn the hat-trick! A goal by Kevin Baker a few minutes later made it 7-3. The Gladiators didn't give up, they notched another to make it 7-4, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the Blades.



Saturday was a different affair (game sheet here). The Blades took a two goal lead in the opening of the first period thanks to goals by Ryan Lang and Colin Nicholson. The Gladiators answered back with three goals of their own to end the period with them up 3-2 on the Blades.

The second period was relatively quiet. The third period saw Ross Carlson tie it up for the Blades 47 seconds into the period. Unfortunately the Gladiators were able to score on the power play (because of a BS 10 minute misconduct given to Lang). The Blades just couldn't get it past the Gladiators goalie. The final score was 4-3.


The boys have nearly a week off before they have to hop on the bus for a three game road series. They take on the South Carolina Stingrays Saturday, and Sunday next week. With so few games left, every game is must win.

More Pictures!

As promised here are some player shots from yesterdays game. If you want to see a larger version just click the picture. Enjoy!

(Brady Calla)

(Shea Guthrie)

(Ernie Hartlieb)

(Elgin Reid, Ross Carlson, and Milan Gajic)

(Mathieu Roy, and Brady Calla)

(Above and Below, Phil Paquet)

(Above and Below, Elgin Reid)

(Shea Guthrie)

(Scott Hotham)

(Dominic Osman)

(Phil Paquet)

(Elgin Reid)

(Brandon Buck)

(Matt Duffy)

(Elgin Reid)

(Matt Duffy, Ernie Hartlieb, Brandon Buck, Milan Gajic, and Shea Guthrie)

(Benn Olson)

Blades vs. Gladiators Pictures

I was way too excited to put this off until tomorrow. After some cropping these pictures turned out great. I have so many I love that I'm splitting it into the in game photos  and player photos. Enjoy the in game pictures for now. The Player photos should be posted at 4:00.

(We ended up sitting behind the visitors bench, the view was awesome)

(These next few are of the first goal by Matt Duffy)

(This picture and the next are what I managed to take of the lead up to Brad Zanon's fight) 

( Brown seemed so sad, but since he and the rest of the Gladiators kept giving my friend and I funny looks all game it's posted, I also love the his mask)