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.

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.

News Round-Up

There was a flurry of news over the last few days, first the bad news...

- Elgin Reid did get that call from the league. He was suspended one game and fined. I really would like to see a replay of that "slew-foot"

- Coach Malcom Cameron was fined for "Abuse of Officials". This occurred after the game Reid earned the slew-footing in.

- For reactions and some explanation from Reid and Cameron you can check out this story from Woody over at the Blades Blog.

- And the worst news of all, Chris Beckford-Tseu was recalled by the Panthers. This means that unless the Cats send him back before Saturday our rec. league back-up is our starting goalie, yay. Of course he could be back before then, or Barry Brust might be sent down by Houston. It's hard to tell.

- On the Roster front Paul Healey was released by the team.

And now some good news...

- Pink in the Rink was a huge success! $20,000 was raised for local cancer charities. Matthieu Roy's jersey went for $2,200, both Ryan Lang and Milan Gajic's jerseys went for $1,250.

- It was also a sell-out crowd. The team is reporting an attendance of 7,270.

Blades Top Royals (2-1)

In the first time in a long time the Blades had a good game from the minute the game started until the end. They were able to dominate the Royals for most of the game. The goalies were the difference for both teams. Matt Dalton (and his posts) were able to keep the Royals in the game, he only allowed one goal in regulation. Barry Brust was able to blank the Royals until the final 1:15, when a crushing onslaught from the Royals finally produced,  forcing OT. It was awesome that Brusty first game back with the Blades went so well for him. Throughout the game and into the eventual shoot-out Brusty was a total brick wall!

(anyone want to spring for a copy of photoshop?)

The shoot-out ended up going to seven shooters, everyone but Kevin Baker was held off. The shoot-out order can be found here on the gamesheet.

One of the other high points of the night was the defense, they were stellar. It was great to see the Blades dictate play. The two days off really seemed to help the guys, and hopefully the one day off before traveling to Trenton to take on the Devils will also help them.

Roster Round-Up

The hockey gods must be back on the Blades side because they've been getting some good news.

- All star defenseman (I love how that sounds!) A.J. Thelen has been sent down from the Amerks. My favorite Thelen video, just because...



- Becks is back! Goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu is back, that means no more emergency back-ups!

- Ryan Van Buskirk has signed on (stats here).

- Shea Guthrie (the sparkliest hockey player in the ECHL), as well as McJannet have been moved to the IR list. Gajic is still on the list but it sounds like he's getting close.

The Blades are playing the Elmira Jackals tomorrow. As always, I'll be listening to the radio broadcast and tweeting along.

TGIF

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?

This Calls For A Round-Up!

I feel bad for letting so much time pass since the last post, but since the blog only has four regular readers I guess I haven't dissapointed too many perople. The Blades are halfway through their road trip, and it has been quite successful! They defeated both the Walleye and the Nailers, and won a game and lost a game to the Wings. They even managed to get a point from the loss, by storming back in the third and forcing a tie. Unfortunately, they were unable to get anything in OT and had to go to a shootout, which they lost. The wins have pushed the Blades up in the ECHL standings, they are now 2nd in the South division, 3rd in the American Confrence, and 5th overall. I think some of the resons are obvious when you look at player standings...

- Flick is 1st in league in points, and Hennigar 9th.

-They are also 1st and 7th in assists as well.

- CBT is 8th and Rebound is10th in the league when it comes to GAA.

-They have scored on the Power Play in ten straight games.

-And Baker is back! He played his first game on Wednesday and has scored a goal in three straight games.

There are three more games this week, they play the Walleye Wednesday, and the Cyclones Friday and Saturday. Then the Blades are back in town next week (just in time for my birthday!). There has been some roster stuff...

- Aiello, Gajic, Roy, and Stanley are all on the IR list

- CBT has been called up to the Amerks, I don't think he'll be getting into something like this...



Some random bits for you...

- I found my new favorite page on the Blades website- The schedule and results all on one page!

- For the home games on the 9th, 11th, and 12th if you bring a canned food item for the Harry Chapin Food Bank, you get a free ticket to the Colege Classic.

- Also if you bring a box of Mac & Cheese on the 11th you can take part in Mac & Cheese night. You get to use it as a noise maker then donate it to the HCFB (this is the teams idea not mine).

- This Saturday is snow day! It's free, and they will be having Zamboni sleigh rides! Also there will be food and other stuff, but come on, Zamboni sleigh rides! I wonder if I can get off Saturday, I'm sure my boss will understand...

- A timely Wikipedia hockey page, Hat-trick! I love seeing the Rangers lose almost as much as the Flyers.

8-7-2

I just wanted to get a quick post in before heading over to the East coast to see the Penguins/Panthers game. I did go to the game on Friday, which the Blades lost 5-2. I got some videos (which will be up on the YouTube channel tomorrow hopefully), and took some pictures. The team was looking pretty good in the second, and Caria scored a goal in the third, but at the 18 minute mark the Royals scored and then less than a minute later they scored again.

Luckily, they woke up Saturday and ended up beating the Royals 4-0. McJannet, Henigar, Thelen and Hotham all got goals. And Beckford-Tseu was named the star of the night for the shut-out. The Blades will now be on a two week road-trip. They will face the Nailers on Wednesday, the Walleye Friday, back-to-back games this Saturday and Sunday against the Wings, and next Thursday and Friday against the Checkers. Hopefully the boys remember whatever it is they felt on Saturday and earn some points!

6-0!

That's actually not the Blades record, although I wish it was, it's actually my record. That's right loyal readers (all four of you), the Blades have not lost a game that I've been at! I really think I should be spoiled in some way for being a good luck charm, free tickets are always nice.

Anyway, as you can see the Blades wore aspecial jersey in honor of Veterans day. We also had Barry Brust, our new goalie in net last night. And to be compeletley honest I'm madly in hockey love with the new goalie. He was awesome all night, but the game did have to go to the shootout. But, the Blades triumphed in the shootout (with the freshly signed forward Spylo notching one).

Your scorecard...

- Lang; assists to Flick

-Thelen, assists to Flick and Hennigar

-Hennigar, assists to Hotham and Flick

(In the shootout Flick and Spylo got it past the Walleye goalie, Hartlieb and Hennigar did not)

I'm sure you noticed something, Flick is on fire! He was involved in every goal and his shootout goal was a beaut. It's really great that we have someone other than Baker that can be relied on to score goals and be in on assists. Hennigar also has an amazing 6 game point streak, and is also turning out to be a dependable guy.

I took a few videos last night and if I get the chance at work I will get them posted. I've got Swampee repelling from the catwalk, McJannet fighting a Walleye player, the marines being sworn in, and Brust doing the funniest goalie routine I've seen.

I won't be at the game tonight, having to actually earn money at work sucks all, but I will try to listen to the game.

An Update! We now have a YouTube channel where all the videos we take will be posted you can check it out here

That's a Stompin'

6-1!

The Blades dominated the Walleye to put it nicely. The Walleye players were really sloppy, and were just handing the puck to the Blades players left and right. I'm not sure if it was the Walleye players making the Blades look good, but the guys did seem to be playing better. There was a lot of shot blocking in front of the net. There was also way too many rebounds, Morrison does not seem to realize he has a glove on his hand. Luckily the Walleye could not get things together; they actually went an incredible 0 for 9 on the power play, including an extended 3 on 5. The Blades were 2 for 9 on the power play, including their own 3 on 5.

The score sheet...

1. (1st period) Hennigar; assists by Hotham and Roy

2. (1st) Hartlieb; assist by Reid and Mcflikier

3. (2nd) Hennigar; assists by Hartlieb and Reid

4. (2nd) Reid; assists by Lang and Zanon

5. (3rd) Breault; assists by Mcflikier and Hartlieb

6. (3rd) Mcflikier; assists by Hotham and Reid

Mcflikier is now 8th in the league in goals, 6th in points, and 1st in the league in +/-. I'm really happy he resigned for this season, and I'm pretty sure everyone else is too. There were two fights but of course I couldn't get my camera out fast enough, so no videos. Hopefully the Blades can keep this up on Friday and Saturday. If they win one more game they move up to second in the South division, two games puts them within striking distance of the Stingrays, who are in first place. Friday can't get here fast enough!

Also some bits and pieces...

-Kinley was sent to the Wheeling Nailers.

-The team officially announced Brust was sent to the team from the Aeros.

Wednesday Round-up

Got a few loose ends to tie up before the game tonight.

-Mcflikier was named the ECHL player of the week! I'm thinking his hat trick/6 point night may have had something to do with that. He is also tied for best +/- in the league with a +9. I can't think of a player more deserving than him, he always seems to be giving everything he has when he plays, and I'm very happy he does that for us.

-Hartlieb is back in town, he played just one game for Rochester

-Baker is on the IR list till Saturday. Gajic is on the 21 day IR list. But Reid and Buck will be playing again

-Woody over at the NDN Blades Blog spotted a new player practicing. He seems to think it's a player by the name of Ahren Nittel (stats here). If he's correct (and the dude is pretty distinctive looking), this is a pretty interesting development. It took me some time to find a video of him playing, mostly because he likes to tape himself lifting weights (I'm not joking do a YouTube search), but I did find this one from 2006/2007.



I will be Tweeting live from the game tonight, so follow us on Twitter for live updates!

Got Grit?

I'm posting this a little late, but as biscuit mentioned, I had a little bit of an issue with my Internet. Anyway, yesterday the Blades announced the signing of forward Simon Ferguson (you can see his stats here). You can also check out some (of the many) YouTube videos I found of him...



and...



There are a lot of videos of him beating dudes up. He seems to be another signing that's all about adding some toughness and grit. He has been loaned to Syracuse, and there doesn't seem to be an indication of when he's expected back. I'm very excited to see the new guys in action next Wednesday when the Blades will be back, and facing the Walleye again.

Also, in other news...
-After posting a stunning shut-out Beckford-Tseu was called back up to Rochester.
-Gijac was placed on the 21 day Injured Reserve list.
-Aiello is finally off the IR list, after the nasty injury during training camp.
-The Blades lost 1-4 last night, I'll see if I can post about it later today.

3-4-1

That is the Blades win loss record, not pretty to say the least. That also makes the Blades the worst in the south division. It also makes them the fourth worst in the American conference (league stats here). I guess I should be happy that they're not playing like the Chiefs (who haven't won a single game), or the Salmon Kings (who have only won one game). But, this is not how you win championships. I'm sure some people will argue the whole "so and so is injured", but it shouldn't matter. Since it's just the beginning of the year I'm not going to panic, there is plenty of time for the Blades to catch up.

And the road trip they're starting tonight just might be the right time to do that. They play the Checkers tonight and tomorrow night, and then they play the Gladiators Friday night. Three road games in a row is really tough but once they get that over they have two weeks at home. And I can at least show up for those, they haven't lost a game that I've attended (the team should totally pay for my tickets)!

I won't be able to listen to the game tonight (stupid school), or on Thursday(stupid spinning class). But, you can listen on your radio to 1200/1460, or check it out online. And, if I happen to get someones opinion of the game sent to the blogs e-mail I may post it (with credit to the writer). It would be nice to find someone to write up the weekend games...

2-2-1...

Since I’m late as usual with this post, there really is not too much to go over. My memory of the Friday game is already a bit fuzzy, and I could not get to the Saturday game. But don’t worry! I do have some things I think are worth mentioning, and some random thoughts.

-We won on Friday 5-3, and lost on Saturday 4-2. The next game is this Wednesday, the Stingrays(The Kelly Cup champions).

-They handed out rally towels...



-Lang did not play, I’m pretty sure he was playing assistant coach like he did last year.

-The Blades defense was blocking a ton of shots in the first two periods, for some reason they seemed to stop in the third. The question is has Coach Cameron encouraged this as a new strategy, or is this a sign that the players don’t have confidence in Morrison? (Bring back Khudobin…please?).

- Reid was a total beast Saturday; he was in on nearly every goal scored. Overall, the new players are looking pretty good.

-The Checkers were the same team I remembered from last year. A ton of cheap stuff and a lot of after the whistle crap. Good to know some things don’t change.

-And along those lines, with all the controversy surrounding officiating throughout the sporting world right now, it would be nice if the ECHL would do something about the inconsistent officiating in the league. Perhaps it is bias on my part, but the officiating was unpredictable. It would be nice to know that hooking and cross-checking always get a whistle, not just whenever the mood strikes the ref.

-Perhaps something else I’m off base on…In the first when the Checkers player was down on the ice was that the best time to introduce the Everbabes? The guy was being attended to by the Checkers trainer.I don’t care what team he plays for, that was tasteless.

I will be at the game Wednesday, and I'll be tweeting live. You can follow me at twitter.com/SwampHockey, or check the box on the side of the blog to see whats going on. Since all drafts on Wednesday will be $2.00 my tweets may start to get a bit weird by the third (sorry). Also, the blog may hit 100 page views this month! Nice to know people are actually reading.

1-1-1?

The first preseason game against Gwinnett


The Blades are back in town after spending the weekend in Toledo. The good news is they won Friday night, the bad news is the lost (badly) Saturday night, and lost in OT Sunday night.

But, none of that matters as the Blades are on top the division standings, even if it is by only one point. They are also facing the Charlotte Checkers in their home opener on Friday. Who's going?