It's Finally Here

  We're skipping the usual Friday Links post to bring you a special post featuring Chelsea's writing and my photos, a one two punch of mind-blowing blog-nificence to celebrate the long dull off-season finally being over.

 

The morning has dawned on the Everblades first preseason game. The long summer is over, the ice is set and the Florida Everblades are set to take on the Orlando Solar Bears. 

Four years ago I stopped by the Everblades training camp for the first time. I had just transferred down to Florida from Connecticut and I was still looking for my place in the universe. I sat alone in the main arena as the players took the ice and I had a moment of well being surround me.

I’m not an athlete, I can’t skate to save my life, but hockey is my home. I’ve since decided to work in hockey and have gotten to experience some great moments. Walking into an empty arena with the hum of the air conditioner and the subtle (not subtle at ALL) hockey smell is soothing.

As I made my yearly trip to training camp I saw some differences from previous years. This year I wasn’t the only one sitting in the stands. There were Everblades t-shirts and sweaters with little kids trying to peak over the glass. 

There also weren’t many players on the ice. The AHL training camps over lapped with the ECHL this year. The early days of training camp brought back Everblades favorites and regulars like Mathieu Roy, Matt Marquardt, Trevor Bruess and long time emergency back up Brian Markowicz.

The ‘Blades affiliates sent reinforcements yesterday. The Kelly Cup squad is reassembling with the additions of David Rutherford, Joe Sova, Matt Beca, Pat Nagle and Bobby Raymond. There are several newcomers for the season including goalie Rob Madore. 

So in the spirit of the season here are the three things you should know about tonights game:

1. Which mascot would win in a fight?

It’s Swampee versus a polar bear in sunglasses. While polar bears are ferocious, Swampee is an alligator on ‘roids. I may be biased, but I’m giving this round to Swampee.

2. Don't forget the goalies.

It’s easy to talk goals and hits, but don’t forget the goalies. Last years playoff MVP was goaltender John Muse. While his play was superb, so were his idiosyncrasies and routines. Watch the warm up and see what you learn.

3. Say cheese!

Take pictures. It really is an experience and you never know what gems you’ll produce. You’ll also be able to get up close and personal in Breakaways after the game. Let the guys eat, but they’ll stop by and say hi and take photos. I hear Rutherford had his teeth replaced this summer so he’s ready for the camera.

It should be a good match up with the resurrected Solar Bears. Don’t expect perfection, the preseason is a place of learning and experimentation, but do expect a good game. The Everblades almost always deliver.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Gladiators (11/30/11)

The Blades started their homestand against one of their most hated rivals. The Gladiators, currently 5-3-1-1 in their last ten, are sitting in second place in the division. Games with Gwinnett are always physical affairs, and every so often something controversial happens. This game was no exception.

The Blades started the game dictating the play and being physical. Unfortunately, a momentary lapse, and taking their collective foot off the pedal allowed the Glads to take a 1-0 lead around 14 minutes into the period. Despite some chances, the Blades couldn't convert and the period ended with the score still 1-0.

The Blades were able to make a statement early in the second when Mike McKenzie got a beautiful shot past the Glads goalie to tie things up at the 3:30 mark (assist to Bruess). Unfortunately, a little over three minutes later, the Glads took the lead once again. About eight minutes later, forward Leigh Salters was hit by a nasty high stick that left him cut and bleeding onto the ice. The Glads player guilty of the high sticking received a double minor because of that. Just when it looked like the blades wouldn't be able to make anything happen, David Rutherford ripped one past the Glads goalie to tie things up 2-2 (assists to Roy and Pitt). That late period tally remained the final goal of the period and the teams left the ice with the score still at 2-2.

Unfortunately, the third period was far from pretty or ideal. The Glads were able to take the 3-2 lead early in the period while on the power play. They made it 4-2 about three minutes later. Things were starting to get pretty chippy, and it was obvious the good old nasty Glads were back. To prove that point, Joey Hadad, a player any Blades fan who had been watching for any decent length of time hates with a passion, delivered an elbow to the head of Kyle Lawson. He was thrown out of the game for that hit and, hockey gods willing, will be getting a nice big suspension and fine from the league for that. The Blades couldn't convert on the penalty. In fact, with goalie Pat Nagle pulled, the Blades gave up an empty net goal to make it 5-2. Shortly after that goal, Everyone's second most hated Glad, Chris Clackson attacked David Rutherford while his back was turned.



He was given a misconduct and thrown out of the game. Donald, Roy, and salter received penalties as well. I guess you shouldn't stick up for your teammate when he's unable to defend himself? I have no idea. The Blades were able to score on that power play to make it 5-3, but the Glads got another empty netter seconds later to make it 6-2.

The Game sheet is here.

The photos I took:



Some thoughts:
- It's a shame the Blades couldn't keep up their play from early in the game. They looked great.
- The Blades passing in that game was as rough looking as it was early in the season.
- If the ECHL wants any respect from me they'll hand down a stiff penalty to Hadad. He's been a very dangerous player for as long as I can remeber, and I'm not talking about scoring.
- I'm really hoping Kyle Lawson is OK. The dude just recently came back from injury.

Worth noting-  Looks like Robby Dee was traded to the Bakersfield Condors.

Neither team has announced anything officially. No telling if this was a one sided trade for future considerations or we're getting a much needed defenceman.

This puppy sums up my Blades related feeling perfectly. His smooshy face helps as well.


see more dog and puppy pictures

YouTube Tuesday

While I feel like I'm obligated as a hockey blogger to find a way to make this post about Sidney Crosby, I'm just going to skip that. Instead, Let's enjoy fight videos from the recent series with Greenville.

First up, Luc Tardif, who has somehow become tied for second in fighting majors on the Everblades.



Not to be outdone (or pushed out of his tie for second either), David Rutherford takes on one of my least favorite players in the division.



On another note, the photos from Friday's game are up on Flickr. Enjoy!

News and Notes

The Blades may not have swept the Nailers, but winning two of three games against one of the best teams in the ECHL is nothing to laugh at. I'm not going to do a re-cap of Saturday's game since I heard only around 15 minutes of it thanks to radio issues and I refuse to write my re-caps off of game notes.

-I do have the pictures from Friday's game:



-This is my favorite from the set. Leigh Salters' goal!



-I have a video or two to get up on to YouTube and I'll post those videos along with some others I've found in a big round-up tomorrow.

- It appears that the Nailers player that boarded Kyle Lawson will not be suspended or fined. Super.

- Right before Saturday's game the Blades announced they received Scott Fletcher in a trade from Toledo. I suggest checking him out on YouTube. Dude can throw some bombs.

The Players have a week off until Fridays game. Hopefully, we can get some players healthy.

More Photos!

Five days until the Blades play the first game of the season! While you wait, here are the photos I took at Saturday's game:



The full set is here if you're not fond of the sideshow.

Bits and Pieces

Lets get the bad news out of the way first.

- Blades lost Sunday. Booo.

Now for the fun stuff.

- I finally got the photos from Pink in the Rink up on Flickr. At some point the Bolts practice will be up. No idea when that will be.

- Love this story from the Pink in the Rink jersey auction. I'm proud to love the same team as that amazing couple.

- I think this is the blogs new motto:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

YouTube Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone. Today's video comes from the recent game in Kalamazoo.



It's good to see Alex Hutchings sticking up for himself. After coming back from injury and playing as well as he has been, he really does need to let the other teams know he isn't going to be pushed around.

I also have to link you guys to the awesome pictures Hockey Broad took while she was in Kalamazoo. You can check them out on Flickr here. The best part of the set? She got a great picture of Gary Go-Blades!

The Week in Review

Admittedly, it was not the best week for the Everblades. They saw their seven game win streak grinnd to a halt, lost two of their best players to AHL call-ups, and seen the IR list grow.

They only managed to wrestle two points out of their three game series. Of course, they managed to get those points from the best team in the entire ECHL so it's not as bad as it seems.

On the other hand, I managed to not only get myself involved in the yarmulke drama (we still haven't heard anything by the way). I followed that up by sending an e-mail, with pictures attached, to one of the writers for the most popular hockey blog on the Internet to let him know about the terrible holiday jerseys.

Well... the story got picked up. It also landed on the front page of Yahoo! sports and now has somewhere around 700 comments (most of which are more nuts than usual).

It got a little nuts obviously. I'm going to look for the silver lining and hope whomever is in charge of the final approval of the special jerseys will think long and hard before they approve the next one.

In good news, I got all the pictures from Friday and Saturday up, as well as the video of the teddy bear toss:

More Pictures! (4/20/10)

Just a heads up: Within the next few days (I'm told no more than 3) the old blog address will redirect to the new site (http://www.swamphockey.com/) which should be up and running at some point today. I'm expecting some problems, nothing ever ends up being as easy as this has been, but it should be worked out soon.

As promised, here are some more pictures from the Blades last game. I should be able to get the video I took of the handshakes and salute to the fans up some time today.

Pictures (4/20/10)

The season may be over, but there are plenty of pictures left to enjoy. There should be more up Thursday.

Pictures (4/7/10)

I'm a little late posting these, but I think I took some good ones. Enjoy!

On a side note, the Reading Royals/Kalamazoo Wings series is tied up (thanks to a K-Wing win in overtime). Once the series is decided, the Eveblades will announce the schedule for round two of the playoffs.

Pictures (4/6/10)

I got some really great pictures last night (I have a new favorite section), and the Blades won! Check 'em out!

(This should be the second goal of the game)

I will be live blogging tonight's game, so make sure you check back later for the re-caps at the end of each period. Also, for live updates you can follow me on Twitter (I've been quite funny lately, you really are missing out if you're not following me).