Interview: Kevin Quick

Big thank you to Kevin Quick for sitting down with us today and answering the burning questions on everyones minds. You can follow Kevin on twitter @KevinQuick4.

Here is the transcript from todays interview:

So you have three cats?

“One was a stray, we took her in and we had another one, it was a boy. We were getting him fixed like two days later, but it happened before we could and we ended up keeping one of the babies so now there’s three of them.”

When did you join Twitter?

“Right after the all-star break,  February. I just got sent back down from Norfolk and we were at the pool... Ruddy’s (David Rutherford) always on it and I was giving him shit everyday about it and finally I just caved. There’s a lot of info on it though that’s the good thing. You learn a lot on twitter.”

Are you more of a "Follower"?

“Yes and no, I don’t tweet nearly as much Ruddy, but I’ll throw out tweets now and then. I just like reading what Tampa’s saying, what Norfolk’s saying, what other guys on the team are saying, that type of stuff.”

Who taught you how to skate?

“A bunch of people. Like when I first started I was awful. Very bad, my dad and mom kept sending me to, to different clinics. One was a figure skating lady who ran a power skating clinic and she probably taught me a lot of it and there was a few other people involved. It was a process, took a long time but it worked, I guess.”

You were nominated for worst playoff beard...

“I don’t know. I don’t grow anything on the cheeks it’s just a straight goatee so I can’t really call it a beard. So yeah it’s not even in that category” 

Anyone else who’s worse?

“Maybe Ratchuck (Mike Ratchuck), his grows in patches, it’s like random hairs everywhere.”

Best playoff beard:

“Oh Roysy (Mathieu Roy).”

Does it count because he had a beard before it started?

“I know, it doesn’t, uh... There is some controversy on the team over it, but him and Donald (Ryan Donald) have been growing it all year. A few guys have come in pretty nice, Ruddy’s got a good one, Matt Beca, ah Marquardt (Matt Marquardt), um “Bruisey’s” (Trevor Bruess) got like an Amish thing going on, it’s more of a neck beard, but there’s some good ones and some bad ones.”

What's roommate David Rutherford's worst habit?

“When he goes to the bathroom the door is always open. He never closes it and he never buys his own tooth paste either.”

Would you rather play at home or away?

“Home for sure. You get the sun two days before the game. No more early bus trips or early flights. It’s just nice being at home.”

What's the worst rink in the league?

“I haven’t been to too many, but I mean Johnstown was bad when we had to play there for one game this year. I don’t know there’s a few, quite a few. Greenville’s not pretty, Gwinnett’s nice, Gwinnett’s very nice, I like Reading.”

U17- Gold?

“It was pretty cool. It was ah, it was at that point the biggest accomplishment for me in my hockey career. Wearing the USA jersey, there’s nothing like it. Uh it was pretty amazing.”

So you're from “Buffalo”:

“Uh Tonawanda..It’s ah.. I grew up there with my parents. I bought a house outside in a different place, but all the suburbs I guess you say you’re from Buffalo.”

Favorite thing about Buffalo?

“Food. There’s nothing like the food up there. They know how to make it the greasiest, the best fried anything. It’s so good, so bad for you but so good.”

What's your favorite NHL rink?

“San Jose was sweet. It was my first game, we got beat seven-to-one, but uh it was so loud and so cool in there. It was cool, the shark tank, it was awesome. 

Do you remember your first pro goal?

“It was towards then end of the season, in Norfolk and I don’t know. The puck came around and it was like a rim and I just one-timed it and somehow it snuck in. It was kinda weird but it was nice getting it done.”

What would be your personal goal song?

“I’ve never thought about that one. I don’t know. I love country music but you can’t really fit a country song into a goal song, so...I’d have to look I’m not sure.”

Do you have a nickname?

“Too many, ah I’ve picked up a few more playing pro, but growing up it was either Quicker, Quickie, in Norfolk it was Quickness, Quick Start. Uh I don’t know Quicker and Quickie are pretty standard ones but there have been a couple random ones in the last few years.

Well that's all of it. Most of the hyper links take you to the players twitter pages. For the complete list (and ever growing) of current and former Everblades players on twitter check out @swamphockey's lists. 

If you have questions feel free to leave a comment or tweet! 

Friday Links

The first game of the Eastern conference finals start tonight. Yet another huge game in a two month string of huge games. Here's your weekly serving of fresh links to keep you busy until 7:30.

- Looks like there are two places to watch the games tonight. You can either head to the arena to watch the game in Breakaways or head over to MacDaddy's,

- I normally post pictures of hockey themed cupcakes, but I've never posted Everblades themed baked goods before. That's all over now. How awesome are these Everblades cupcakes?! Mary has way more skill than I have, that's for sure. You can find her on twitter here.

- Your Wikipedia hockey page for today- "Deke"

- I've never hid my love for the Third String Goalie blog before, but now that they've posted a Gwinnett Gladiators jersey I have to rethink that. Who would waste good money on something that Danick Paquette wore? I'm kidding of course. I still adore that blog, but maybe someone needs to submit one of their Blades jerseys. Hint, hint!

- Looks like yet another Everblades player is on Twitter. This time it's Rylan Galiardi.

- Which reminds me, Tweet of the Week time!

- I'm most definitely not a Rangers fan, but this print from the 80's is amazing.

- Even the kitties are in playoff mode around here.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

YouTube Tuesday

You know what?

It still feels good.







Friday really can't come fast enough right now.

Recap: Everblades vs. Jackals (04/20/12)

Not to take away from Swamphockey’s earlier post because let’s face it the Everblades made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and not much else matters in the moment. However, I’d feel remiss if I didn’t share my experiences from the game (its cathartic).

Return of the Shuggernaut

I’ve been waiting to use this title since rumors started circulating that Justin Shugg would return. While part of the game was spent making Shugg puns (Shuggie, Shuggle, ect.) the other part was spent watching Shugg try to generate some offense for the Blades. Shugg put the puck on net six times and assisted on the tying goal midway through the third period. 

Roysy the Cat

Everblades veteran and captain Mathieu Roy scored the game winner with two minutes remaining in the third period ending a tortuously tense game. He went on record with Naples Daily News, saying it felt like an overtime goal. From a fans perspective I’d agree whole heartedly. In unrelated news the captain joined twitter this week. You can follow him @roysythecat and he comes with several ringing endorsements from teammates. 

You’ve Been Bruessed

Trevor Bruess plays balls to the wall. He’s often overlooked on the stats sheet but watching him play is a pleasure. He hits hard, battles hard and celebrates hard. A regular on “Collision of the Game” Bruess came out to win on Friday night. He contributed the primary assist on Roy’s GWG and appeared excellent in the circle (I have no real statistical evidence for this, but its true. Really it is. See it’s in writing). 

(Regardless) Stewart Shines

Yes, I understand this is an Everblades fan blog. However, there are times that other players capture my attention. Brian Stewart takes a lot of crap for his playing style. It’s different. He spends the time between plays stretching and focusing. Is it different? yes. Is it wrong? not necessarily. Everyone is different and I honestly believe that the better team won in the series, BUT after facing 186 shots in the series the dude deserves some credit. 

A Nod for Nagle

Since I gave some goalie love to the opposing teams net-minder I feel it’s only just to give a nod to Nagle. Nagle was steady in net for the Blades. Showing a stalwart determination that is essential for success. Nagle has posted W in his last three playoff starts, instilling confidence in his teammates and the ever skeptical seventh man. 

*Honorable Mention: This games honorable mention goes to Bobby Raymond. I almost spit my beer as he was whistled for slashing. Swamphockey (in jest, though she is a big fan), “Bobby Raymond? Slashing? Absolutely not. He’s perfect.”

So there we go. Up next? well that is the question isn’t it? Regardless we’ll next see the Everblades on the ice Friday night. I hope the support continues to grow for the team. #QuestforKelly

Oh and the real stats sheet!

Eastern Conference Finals Baby!

The Blades won. Nothing else matters right now.

It's just a matter of waiting to find out our opponent.

Does it really matter though? The Blades can play any game their opponents want right now.

They can win every way you can in hockey.

Blow out? No problem. Come from behind? Cake walk. Good old fashioned one goal game? Simple.

There may be a re-cap later, who knows. Bask in the glow people. We go back to war Friday.

Friday Links

Big game for the Everblades tonight, eh? Here's your usual weekly dose of links to keep you busy until game time.

- Here's a great example of the Everblades legacy. Austin Cangelosi, an Estero native, scored a pretty fantastic goal for his USHL team.

- I must own these vintage goalie pads! They're so cool.

- The tweets this week were all very good. It was a bit hard to pick just one. I had to award this week's tweet of the week to Ryan Donald for his response:

 I'm also going to award an honorary mention to Matheiu Roy for this tweet.

Tweeting a picture of your cat is never a bad thing guys. In fact, it's really the only thing we should all be doing with Twitter.

- Oh, by the way, Mathieu Roy is on Twitter if you hadn't heard.

- Third String Goalie has an awesome post (as usual) about The Battle of Quebec.

- Along those lines, your Wikipedia hockey page for today- "Good Friday Massacre"

- What would Friday be without a kitty? This one seems perfect for tonight.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Recap: Everblades vs. Jackals 4/18/12

This post took a little longer to write then Monday’s. Don’t get me wrong there is lots to talk about, but after several long days my brain is sorta mushy so you’ll have to bear with me.

It’s been pointed out to me that by numbering the events I may be implying a hierarchy of joy or importance. This never occurred to me since I write little of importance, but just so everyone knows the order is random. They’re not ranked, its just whatever I think of... I love all moments equally. Whew, glad that’s off my chest. 

1) Piche duels

If this was the american revolution Sebestian Piche would totally be Aaron Burr. Dueling to the death over honor. His opponent Nick Dineen (Alexander Hamilton in this analogy) didn’t stand a chance. After slighting the honor of goaltender Pat Nagle, Piche stepped up and did it big. Video has been included for a demonstration of classical fisticuffs. 

2) Pat Nagle: Beast Mode 

Some people criticized Pat Nagle’s performance Monday. For the most part the critics were silenced Wednesday as Nagle made 24 saves to secure the win and the shutout. Not only was he perfect in net, he also provided the second assist on Bobby Raymond’s insurance marker in the third. The Everblades now lead the series 3-1 and can close it out at home on Friday night. Wild guess, but I’d say the Beast will be in net. 

3) Brayden Irwin’s hail mary pass

The Everblades game-winning goal was officially scored by Scott Pitt. However, none of it would have been possible without the nifty setup by Rutherford and the blind “hail mary” backwards passing by Irwin. It was a beautiful goal. Also, @Swamphockey finally admitted she was wrong about Irwin. I have it in writing.

4) Matt Beca’s boo boo

There’s a lot of debate over the cause of Matt Beca’s bleeding face. What I can tell you is that he was bleeding (and quite a bit). Other than that I’m as clueless as the next person (and I was RIGHT there). However, I hope it’s nothing too serious and that he’s okay. We need you Becs!

5) Poss keeps his cool

I’ve been watching the NHL playoffs and have witnessed some epic coaching moments. With that in mind Greg Poss cool demeanor was admirable in the face of what many fans felt was inconsistent officiating. Poss was showed on the video board multiple times throughout the contest. Specifically at controversial moments. Each time he looked composed and thoughtful. Hat’s off to you Mr. Poss (he also looked very beardly, but that seemed irrelevant).

*Honorable Mention: the video operators

The Germain arena video/ camera operators have a great sense of humor. Whether it was Monday’s kiss cam with three dudes or the nightly WAG spotting, their timing is impeccable. 

Real info can totally be found here!

As always if you have something to say, say it! You can contact me or swamphockey in the comments or on twitter (@cvclyde & @swamphockey). I don’t bite.

Interview: David Rutherford

David Rutherford (@rutherford91) was kind enough to sit down for a quick chat after Tuesday's practice. You can follow him on twitter @Rutherford91 (he's looking to hit 5,000 and he's great about responding).

Without further ado: David Rutherford on....

David Rutherford home town: Ladner, BC.

Learning how to skate
"I would have to say my father. I was lucky enough growing up, we, on our property have an ice arena that's blue line in. So I was very fortunate during the young years to play hockey whenever I wanted. I mean in our backyard we had a blue line ice arena. Not many kids have an ice arena in their house but that's why they always say I was pretty good from the blue line in. Maybe not so much in the d-zone but for the most part that's where it started."

RT @Rutherford91My
 bulldog looks bored to hell #BobbyTheBulldog

Man's best friend
"I have an English bulldog, Bobby the bulldog. He's overly fat. He'd have diabetes if he was a human for sure. But no, he's pretty beastly. Right now he's back in Vancouver because at the beginning of the year I wasn't sure if I was going to be in Portland in the American Hockey League or here. So when we found out I was going to be here we tired to fly him down, but over the summer three or four bulldogs died in transfer because they struggled breathing and when they had to do the lay overs I guess on the tarmac was too hot... So I think that if I end up back here next year we'll have to drive him down which will be a fun drive for him."

First pro goal
"I do. I do. Weirdly enough it was in Gwinnett when I was playing with the Charlotte Checkers. I remember it was a big relief putting it in. I actually forgot to celebrate because I didn't really know what to do. And celebrating is like my favorite part of hockey. So it was a big moment at the time but I've been lucky enough to have a few more since then."

#Heverblades
"yeah everyone keeps asking about that, that's a big thing going on right now. It's on out playoff shirts too. It's kind of almost funny. We have alot of French guys on our team, so the French guys always have accents so with it being "Everblade" we're always say "h-ever" like a French guy. It's a thing to do with the French people and I don't know it's just kind of stuck and it's been good luck."

Having a winning spirit
"yeah I've been fortunate enough to be on some good teams. I've won five championships which isn't too bad for a junior career and I was lucky enough to be in my first pro championship last year. So it's uh, I don't know if it's ... As a kid I hated losing. Period and I think that's translated to everything between hockey to monopoly to anything. I can't even play wii bowling with my girlfriend because I get too physical. So it's not a good thing in a sense but it is who I am. And people want winners so hopefully it keeps going especially here in this playoff run. "

Personal goal song
"This is the first year I haven't actually. It's quite funny you said that. For the last two years I had "Magic Stick" a little bit of an old school song. So everytime I scored they'd play "I got the magic stick" so it's stuck with me and it's been good luck. If I could go back I'd definitely put that in there."

Best playoff beard
"other than myself- I would have to say.. Well Wahzee's (Mathieu Roy pronounced Wah) had a beard all year so it doesn't really count. I'd say Becs (Matt Beca) is up there for sure. He can grow a good beard but I'd have to go me or Becs for sure because we shaved during the year quite a bit so I don't even think the guys know I could grow facial hair."

Worst playoff beard
"Ohhh Kevin Quick (no hesitation) for sure.  It's weird his comes into like, a goatee. He can't even grow it on the sides.. It's embarrassing. It's kind of funny we chirp him about it everyday."

Giant hamster or tiny rhino?
"tiny rhino for sure. Yeah I don't know it's just hamsters.... Rhinos are mean and angry. They'll go through anything. But I don't... if I was anything I'd stick as the honey badger."



Big thanks to David for answering my silly questions. If you have your own questions for him feel free to ask via twitter!

Recap: Everblades vs. Jackals (4/16/12)

The Florida Everblades secured a 2-1 series lead with a 5-4 OT win Monday night over the Elmira Jackals.  As usual I’m going to break the game down into the five moments I think summarize it best. You may disagree (but you’re not writing this so.... :-P).

1) Slip n’ Slide

One of the best moments of the series so far. Bruess got called for slashing, but it was well worth it to watch the Elmira player slide across the ice and straight into the net. There was even enough warning for Nagle to escape danger and scamper to safety in order to enjoy the show.

2) Salters, Salters, Salters

I’m channeling my inner Jan Brady, but seriously when will people learn that picking a fight with Leigh Salters is not smart? Two punches and Jarrett Rush was on the ground. Kudos to Salters for not continuing to bludgeon the man while he was down. We like to call that respect.

3) @KevinQuick4
Quick had great positioning for the Everblades second goal. He just happened to be sitting while doing it... Quick took the rebound right in front and got it home. The ‘Blades proceeded to bang home two more to tie the game (they eventually won in OT, but we’ll get there). You should definitely follow him. Why? Because I told you to, silly. 

4) The Flying Piche
Piche gets my imaginary hard hat or fedora (if we’re pretending to be  the NY Rangers). Regardless, he worked his butt off and it showed. Piche had six shots on goal, two assists and was a +1 for the night. He and Bruess both get huge points for the momentum shift in the second period. 

5) Fifty Five
As time ticked off in OT I looked to the scoreboard and saw that the Everblades had attempted 51 shots. It was at this point that I turned to dear Swamphockey and stated, “I think it’ll be shot 55”. Well, guess what? David Fischer did the honors and won the game.... on (you guessed it) shot 55. Now I know what you’re thinking (I totally need to go pick some lotto numbers) or more likely it was about time. Either way it was fitting for Fischer to seal the victory on his first night back with the team after missing the last three games. Fans showed support for Fischer and his family by donning pink ribbons at Monday’s game. 

 

Well those were my favorite moments. Feel free to share your favorite moments and be on the look out for something special coming your way!

YouTube Tuesday

Last night was a pretty big win for the Everblades. You really can't beat ending a game with 2.1 seconds left in overtime. You just can't.

Although, watching Leigh Salters hand an opposing players a knuckle sandwich isn't too bad either.



By the way, you may remember a few weeks ago Chelsea Clyde wrote two guests post for the blog. Well, I guess she enjoyed it because she's decided to jump on board and become a writer here. Her re-cap of last night's game will be up a little later today. She's also got a pretty interesting post planned for the next day or two. Be sure to check back.

Friday Links

Round two of the Kelly Cup playoffs begins tonight against the best team in the East. Now, I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm so nervous I could vomit.

- Here's the link to watch (for the not terrible price of $9), listen to our radio feed, and Elmira's radio feed (if ours doesn't work for you for whatever reason.

- Do I need to say anything more than ZAMBONI CAKE!



- The Everblades received Joe Sova from the Checkers recently, and it looks like he's on Twitter.


- Also, if you're interested, I'm amusing myself (and annoying my non-Everblades fan followers) by poking fun at the oldest man in the ECHL, Craig Rivet. If you'd like to join use the hashtag #CraigRivetIsSoOld.Feel free to borrow your favorite for a sign for Monday.

- I'm always surprised at the amazingly affordable hockey jerseys on Etsy. If I could get into a youth medium I'd buy this in a second.

- By the way, next season's hated rivals released their jerseys. I like them personally. They're way better than the old Solar Bears jerseys. I'm so pumped for the road trips up to Orlando next season. So pumped!

- It was hard to settle on who exactly should win tweet of the week. In the end I decided to avoid burning you retinas with pasty white hockey player thighs and instead went with This gem.

- I don't think anyone can argue that the greatest team name in ECHL history belongs to the now defunct Macon Whoopee. That's why it kills me that I don;t have any extra money to throw away on this jersey.

- That makes this weeks Wikipedia Hockey page an easy choice- "Macon Whoopee"

- It's being doing something all season, kitty time!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Your Mission Everblades Fans...

This series is big. The Jackals have given the Blades trouble throughout the last few seasons. They have the rookie of the year and the goalie of the month. They came behind to win their series with the Royals. It's time for us to get serious.

So, you mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take part in some psychological warfare. Nothing horrible or Geneva Convention violating of course. Just some good old fashioned unpleasantness.

How do we do this? Well, a lot of ways. Personally, I'm making a sign or two that makes fun of Craig Rivet being the oldest human being on the ice by three decades.

One of my ideas...

Do whatever it takes.

While I don't normally condone trolling the Facebook pages of other teams I'm not going to say anything if you do. In fact, I'll pop popcorn and laugh maniacally while you do.

This is the playoffs and the playoffs are war.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

By the way, if you happen to be a part of this century and participate in that newfangled Twitter thingy you can find some of their players (*cough* here, here, and here so far) on Twitter and it appears they prefer the simple #Jackals hash tag.

Basically, I'm saying let's make this series unbearable for the Jackals players, the organization (someone has to delete mean Facebook comments), and their fans. It's time to get our hands dirty people.

Giddy up.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

YouTube Tuesday

I don't know about you guys, but I'm still riding high from the Everblades sweep of the Road Warriors (they are the only team in the East to accomplish that by the way). I personally want to draw this out  a little longer.

Ladies and gentlemen... sad Dean Stork is sad.



Time to gear up for the Jackals. It's go time.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Road Warriors

I have one word for you!

SWEEEEEP!!!

I'm too happy to do a re-cap. Enjoy the only way I could relieve stress during the game:

Or it could be the eyebrows. They are a bit overwhelming.

Little know fact: Sebastien Piche can shoot laser from his mustache. No lie.

I don't claim to be good at Photoshop (or MS paint as it actually was) by the way.

Anyway, we play the winner of the yet undecided Reading/Jackals series. Doesn't matter though. It's all us. Giddy-up.

Friday Links

I didn't even notice that last night's post was the 500th on this blog. So, um... yay!

On to business, you might have heard there's a big name tonight. The Everblades are 2-0 in their best of five series with Greenville. I don't think I'm the only fan ready for the Blades to work their magic and spoil yet another divisional rivals hopes.

- Here's where you can listen over the internet (tuning your old fashioned radio do-hickey into 770 AM works as well), and here's where you can watch (once you sign up and pay 9 bucks).

- Can we all agree to put a moratorium on the s-word until we know for sure. ARGH.

- Pictures from Wednesday's game are up by the way:



- Your Wikipedia hockey page for today- "Florida Everblades"

- Tweet of the week people.

- I managed to forget to mention this: Scott Pitt was named ECHL rookie of the month! Well deserved for sure.

- In sad news, the Express decided to cease operations. It's always heartbreaking to watch fans lose their team.

- I need this kitty so much. I'm so nervous about this game I could vomit.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Guest Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Road Warriors (4/4/12)

Here we go with yet another post from the always magnificent Chelsea Clyde. I'm just going to leave to her website here in case you can't get enough.

Keeping with the theme of my t-shirt of the Wednesday night, this post shall be filled with poor pirate/sailing puns. 

So to begin....

The Everblades prepared to set sail for Greenville, SC with a 4-2 victory Wednesday night. 

1. Jason Missiaen walks the plank.

The National Hockey League and I have something in common: we like big goalies. The Everblades liked Greenvilles 6’8” goalie Jason Missiaen so much they scored four times. While the Everblades offense demonstrated some smooth sailing it’s clear Greenville has little choice but to stay the course in goal.

2. Trevor Bruess released the Kraken.

The Everblades have a nightly “Collision of the Game” as voted on by fans. For Wednesday’s game we all got to pick between “option one: Trevor BRUESS” or “option two: Trevor BRUESS”. If you can’t figure it out Trevor Bruess won. Bruess is commonly known for his exuberance and can be spotted racing off the ice at the end of warm ups... and hitting anything that moves. Yeah, that too.

3. Muse sinks their ship.

The Everblades continued to put their faith in John Muse. This time Muse stopped 32 of 34 shots. The third star of the game, faced some rough waters with the marauding Road Warriors in his crease. His crew mates were there to back him up and some pretty glove saves later we had the W.

4. Rutherford is a scurvy dog (in the best way possible).

I once heard a fan refer to David Rutherford as a “man Chihuahua” or “manhuahua” while some people may take offense at the term I think it was a compliment. No one seems to get under opposing teams skin quite like Mr. Rutherford. #tinybutfierce

5. Leigh Salters and his weapons of “mast” destruction.

As tensions continued to rise the off-ice production crew decided to give the Road Warriors a not so subtle reminder. The reminder was a video of Leigh Salters trouncing a Gwinnett Gladiator. His weapons of “mast” destructions: yeah those would be his hands. Salters is not only good in a fight but provided the game winning goal during the second period.

Now for the fun part. My baseless predictions/ wish list for the rest of the series. 

1. A duel to the death between John Muse and Nic Riopel. My money is on Muse. 
2. Brayden Irwin gets a hat trick. This would annoy @Swamphockey till the end of time. (ed. note: I am happy any time a player scores, even when I'm generally underwhelmed by that players effort)
3. Marc-Olivier Vallerand and Sebastien Piche sing “Oh Canada” in harmony and in french. “Oh Canada” is totally under utilized in the US. Plus, I see an episode of karaoke superstars in their future.

What would you like to see happen? Tell me on Twitter @CVClyde or leave a comment!

And as always the link to the stat sheet for those wanting “real” information.

Guest Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Road Warriors (4/2/12)

 As promised, here's the guest post from one of the most fantastic hockey ladies I've ever met, Chelsea Clyde. You can check out here website here and find her on Twitter here.

The curse is broken. I try not to be a superstitious person. I mean truly how much can wearing silly bands really impact a teams performance? However, I was starting to get a complex with the Everblades. They just never won when I was in the rink (my Jr. Blades never had such a problem, but that’s another story).

It got so bad that our dear SwampHockey debated whether inviting me to a game was a good decision. Lot’s of snark, not very many wins.

I’m happy to say after Monday’s 5-2 victory, the curse is officially broken and here’s how it happened.

1) The toe-tapping Muse.

 There are times that no matter the statistics I just “feel” comfortable with certain goalies. This year that was John Muse. “The Moose” has an interesting habit of tapping the toes of his skates on the ice before the start of the game. He didn’t stop however and went toe-to-toe with Greenville in the remaining seconds. The Everblades were running the clock with the puck behind the net. It was pretty comical to watch him “dance” as the Road Warriors forward tried to get around and force the Everblades to play the puck. 

2) Sébastien Piché.

The feisty defenseman made the game. He contributed one assist in the contest, but his shining moment is when he told Marc- Olivier Vallerand to “suck it” (not a direct quote). The two players appeared to be exchanging words throughout the contest. By the third period all it took was a little shove by Piche and Vallerand was ready to drop the gloves. From my seat it went like this: (shove) V: French curse word, P: You want to go?

3) Matt Beca’s Ovi inspired goal celebration.

I’m always a fan of enthusiastic goal celebrations. This one took place right in front of my seat. Bec’s beat Nic Riopel and looked like Ralphie from A Christmas Story when he his parents surprise him with the Red Ryder BB gun. The chest bump to the glass and smothering of affection from his teammates didn’t hurt either. 

 

4) Scott Pitt and the “score board incident”

I expect things to be feisty with Greenville. After all they are captained by T.J. Reynolds (hate all you want, but his particular form pestering is an art form). However, you have to know when to pick your fights and with whom. I’ve seen Scott Pitt play sporadically since 2007. I’ve seen him score plenty of goals, but I’ve never seen him get in a fight (not saying it’s never happened, just that I’ve never seen it). So it came as no surprise that he didn’t take up the useless call from Greenville throughout the game. The entertaining part was his hand gesture at the end of the game. For those watching it was easy to see Pitt gesturing towards the score board as a Road Warrior tried to engage him. Smart move Mr. Pitt. We approve.

5) David Fischer’s chew toy.

Now we’ve already talked about superstitions and habits, but then there is Fischer’s mouth guard or more aptly named chew toy. I’m not sure how many of Fischer’s teeth it’s protecting, but if chewing on that lime green guard helps you score AND prevent goals, well keep on chewing. Fischer was a +1 on the night and scored the Everblades first goal. 

For people who like actual facts I’ve included the link to the game sheet, but let’s face it a game is much more than just a piece of paper.

 

YouTube Tuesday

It was a pretty big win for the Blades last night. Of course, most of you wouldn't know since last night was the lowest attendance of the season. Seriously guys, if I can go to a game on Friday night drive the half hour back from Estero and put videos up. Then wake up at 5:30 the nest morning and work a double shift, your behinds can make a Monday or Wednesday game. This is the playoffs guys, it's time to give a shit.

Ok, I'm done with that. On to the videos!

It was a rough and tumble game. As you would expect when two South Division teams play. There were a lot of scuffles, but nothing really happened until Sebastien Piche dropped the gloves. Pretty easy to say he got the win.



Next up, video from after the game ended. Three misconducts weren't enough, the Road Warriors wanted to go after the game ended. The best part is aropund the 15 second mark when you can see Scott Pitt point up at the scoreboard. Brilliant.



Someone has kindly offered to write a guest post re-cap Monday's game. As I hate writing re-caps, I quickly agreed. Be sure to check back a little later. I know it's going to be good.

Also, anytime you want to write a guest post just email it to me. I don't always enjoy writing and I'm happy to get a break.