YouTube Tuesday

We're days away from opening night. Not months or weeks, days!



If you missed it, the Blades received five players from Charlotte yesterday. There should also be a few more players from Syracuse and Brayden Irwin is expected to return from St. John. Friday can't come soon enough.

YouTube Tuesday

Is there anything more adorable than sad puppies that need a home? Oh wait, there is. Ladies and gentlemen,  sad puppies that need a home and hockey players who need haircuts badly and give horribly awkward intervews:



The Blades really need to do something like this. Leigh Salters holding a sad puppy would probably kill me.

YouTube Tuesday

The Blades play tomorrow night. To help you make until then, I've found one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. I know I've made no secret of my mascot phobia, but even I giggled while watching this video of Chubby, the mascot for our affiliate the Charlotte Checkers, dance. It's just that good.



I'm pretty sure it's impossible to watch that video too many times.

YouTube Tuesday

Well, the Checkers made it official yesterday. They signed goalie John Muse to a two way contract. With Mike Murphy and former Everblade Justin Peters guaranteed the two AHL spots on the team, it's likely we'll see Muse fill the roll Bobby Goepfert played in last season.

I'm pretty sure there is no better way to celebrate the prospect of seeing a very promising goalie start his professional career than with a ton of YouTube videos of his college career.







Exciting right? Make sure you follow him on Twitter (if your up with the newfangled technology kids are using these days).

YouTube Wednesday

I'm a little late on this, but I think these two videos will make up for it. If you don't get a little misty eyed you might need to see a doctor.

Part 1:


Part 2:

Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

I've been wondering this since the playoffs started and when the Blades lost the series to Kalamazoo, I asked this of you guys on Twitter.

Who do we want back next season?

Obviously, not every player can come back. Some will get better deals in Europe, an AHL gig, jump ship for some other ECHL team, or just retire.

To make things a little easier I've decided to exclude the guys with AHL contracts that had been sent down or signed in the middle of the year. This excludes guys like Staal, Graham, McKenzie, Janus, Lemieux, Spencer, etc. I also, decide to eliminate Imbeault, because he's already stated he doesn't want to come back.

So, who do I want back? Easy.

Must haves:

- Bobby Raymond- I have never hidden the fact that he was (and still is) my favorite skater this season. Aside from being reliable. I lived for those moments when he seemed to decide it was time to do something and would take off (seriously, he is insanely fast) end to end dodging the other teams players like they were nothing.

- Brad Snetsinger- I was very impressed by him in the short time he played with the Blades. The guy has put up some pretty numbers over the last few years. I'd love to see him put up some more in a Blades jersey.

- Mathieu Roy- How much has Roy grown as a player over the last few season? I can't believe what an amazing player he's turned into. Add to that his grittiness, gift for irritating the other team, and leadership abilities. What more can you want? I will be the happiest person on Earth if the Blades re-sign him.

- Drew Larman- He may have struggled a bit at the beginning of the season, but he really found his groove at the end. No one was as great at face-offs as him. It doesn't hurt that the dude is fast and gritty either.

- David Fischer- Honestly, if you had asked me if I wanted him back next season in the early months of this season I would have said no. There was just something not quite right about his play. Without me noticing though, this guy became a solid, reliable defenseman.

- Matt Beca- I will throw a fit like a six year-old if he doesn't come back. Really. Those one timers are a thing of beauty and the dude works his butt off every single shift.What more does a team need?

- Ross Carlson- I know in the story I linked to yesterday he said he wasn't sure, but I'd still love to see him back. It won't be an Everblades game without old reliable.

- J.F. David- I liked his style, he was a good veteran to have and a solid guy. It would be nice to see him play a full season, and maybe get some playoff time as well.

Maybes:

Mostly the new guys who joined at the end of the season, Dusty Collins, Tyler Helfrich, Evan Stephens, Deron Cousens, and Brad Good. I don't feel like I saw any of these guy play enough to say I don't want them back or say I saw anything impressive enough to convince me I have to see them come back. You can add Trevor Hendrikx to this list for the same reason.

Undecided:

Which goalie to bring back is a major conundrum for me. I still stand by my opinion that we must lock down a goalie with an ECHL contract. The problem is, who do we bring back? Mike Zacharias was solid, and was always in position. He just had a nasty habit of giving up tons of juicy rebounds rather than freezing the puck. Ryan Zapolski only played in one game. He was amazing in that game, but was that a one time thing? Is he worth the risk if we can get Zacharias? Do we even want Zacharias? I honestly don't know.


No Thank Yous:

- Mike Egener- I know a lot of you guys loved him, but I just can't. He had a nasty habit of taking very stupid penalties and I just can't stand an undisciplined player. Especially when he has the C on his jersey. His injury issues are also more risk than I'm willing to deal with


-Mike Kennedy- This may be unfair as he didn't play for a huge chunk of the season, but I was never amazed by him when he did play. I'd rather we have roster space to be honest.

- Scott Pitt- I know one person who will hate me forever for this, but I just didn't see the guy play with any heart. It always seems tough for the guys right out of college, but he didn't ever seem to try when he did play. I don't mind being proven wrong about him though.

- Eric Olimb- Pretty much what I just said about Pitt. I was just not impressed.

Perhaps a Bit Crazy:

- Mitch Fadden- Since he was released by the Lightning he can sign with whomever he wants. I know he was released for a reason, but I'd love it if he could turn his life around and maybe find a little redemption here. If he can, I think he might be one of those Blades alumni that accomplish something great. But he has to turn his life around. I really can't stress that enough.


As much as I'd love to see any of the AHL guys return (especially Alex Hutchings, I absolutely adore that little pest), I don't want to. I want them to move on to the next step in their careers. I will mention that Bobby Goepfert only signed a one year contract with the Checkers. If they are idiotic enough to not bring him back I'd love to see us pick him up.


So, what do you guys think? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comments. Even if you think I'm way off base.

Friday Links

Happy Friday! The Everblades start the first game of their road trip tonight against the south Carolina Stingrays.

- The Everblades finally made it official, Nick Tarnasky has agreed to play for the team. His stats:



- Defenceman Ethan Graham was called up by the Charlotte Checkers as well. That's the first call-up of the year.

- Your Wikipedia hockey page for today is all about the basics- "Ice Hockey Goaltending Equipment"

- I think I'm going to order this now for the playoffs.

- It's no secret I'm a huge fan of ECHL hockey. This story on the K-Wings Kory Karlander is amazing, and I have to admit, I got a little weepy.

- Have some extra hockey sticks laying around? Why not put them to good use?

- You may have already read this story on hockey in Kenya, for those of you haven't seen it, it's worth a read.

- Since it's not Friday without a kitty around here, enjoy.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

YouTube Tuesday

I hope everyone is ready for tonight. I'll say this again, if your going tonight or tomorrow you better have your tickets purchased, unless you enjoy standing. Until tonight enjoy Benn Olson's fight from last Friday (sorry it's just the tail end of the fight, I'm stil not used to my new camera).



I'll be live blogging as well as tweeting tonight game. Check back!

LiveBlog: Blades vs. Checkers (4/2)

The second to last regular season game is about to start. Last chance to humiliate the Checkers before they become our affiliate.

The starting line: Duffy, Olson, Carlson, Gajic, and Lemay (2nd start in goal!).

The first period was all about the back and forth hockey. The Checkers were pretty dominant for the beginning of the first. The Blades took over during the latter half of the period. They had two chances on the power play but were unable to convert. Benn Olson took on a player at center ice, although it was more of a hugging match than a fight (either way it's on video). The period ended scorless. The SOG were 7 for the Blades and 12 for the Checkers. Here's hoping the second goes better than it usually does for the Blades.

So, I'm sure none of you are suprised that the Blades were awful during the second period. A shortie and an own goal put the Checkers up 3-1 on the Blades. There was an exciting moment when Keving Baker scrapped with a Checker player after a tussle in the corner.

Hopefully, Cameron will rip into them in the locker room. They really need to wake up and quit hanging Lemay out to dry.

Well, they cut down on letting Lemay suffer, and they put tons of pressure on the Checkers, but nothing worked. They had so many chances, but they just couldn't convert. The final score was 3-1.

I'm hoping they don't plan to play like that during the playoffs. If they do, it will not be a long post-season.

Blades Defeat Checkers (4-3)

The Everblades have a knack for come from behind victories (it would be nice if they were take a huge lead early and hold on to it kind of team, but who am I kidding?). Anyway, the Blades proved it again last night, coming back twice to force overtime, and eventually a shoot-out. The game sheet can be found here.

The first period was scoreless and neither team was able to take advantage of their power play opportunities.

The second period saw the Checkers take a 2-0 lead on the Blades. Undaunted, the Blades came back a few minutes later with a goal by captain Ross Carlson on the power play. A majority of the penalties were handed out, amounting to a total of 12 minutes. The rest of the period did not see any scoring, and the Blades left the ice down one goal.

A goal 2:40 into the third period, courtesy of Milan Gajic, tied the game up 2-2. The game remained deadlock until 17:53 when a Checkers goal once again forced the Blades to battle back. A goal a minute and a half later by Carlson, allowed the Blades to do just that. With no one scoring in the closing minutes, the game had to go into overtime.

Because neither team was able to score in overtime, the game had to be decided by a shoot-out. Your shooters and the results (Florida went first)...

- Milan Gajic- No Goal
- Aaron Slattengren- Goal
- Shea Guthrie- No Goal
- Tysen Dowzak- No Goal
- Ross Carlson- No Goal
- David Marshall- No Goal
- Chris Capraro- No Goal
- Michel Leveille- No Goal
- Colin Nicholson- Goal! (It's at this point that I need to point out that the ECHL game sheet is off and credits Bayrack with this goal, but my memory and Twitter don't lie)
- Daniel Tkaczuk- No Goal
- Mike Bayrack- No Goal
- Cedric McNicoll- No Goal
- Ernie Hartlieb- No Goal
- Matt Schepke- No Goal
- Mathieu Roy- Goal! It was all up to Becks...
- Tyler Doig- No Goal!

After letting in the initial goal of the shoot-out, Chris Beckford-Tseu was solid. His great saves (from what I could hear via the radio) kept the Blades in the shoot-out, and a goal by Nicholson tied it up, and forced more shooters. This allowed Roy to slip another past the Checkers goalie to win it for the Blades. And Give the boys a bit of an advantage for when they take on the Checkers again tomorrow night.

Checkers Crushed (3-0)

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.