Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Wings (11/26/11)

I'm going to do my best to re-cap a game that I barely heard thanks to radio issues (but they're going to fix a problem that's been happening all season this week! Sigh).

The first was rather uneventful. The usual chance trading, yada, yada, John Muse being awesome, yada, yada. The radio feed cut out at least three times and cut to commercial during important moments twice. Same old same old.

The second was much the same. Matt Beca had an opportunity to give the Blades the lead with a penalty shot early in the period. Unfortunately, the Blades seem to be snakebitten when it comes to penalty shots. No goal. Luckily, during one of the commercial breaks Mike McKenzie was able to give the Blades the 1-0 lead (assist to Devos and Van Dyk). Wish I could tell you what happened on that goal. 770 thought screaming at me about downloading a radio app on to my nonexistent iPhone was more important. The period ended with the Blades still in the lead and some extracurricular activities that were definitely going to result in penalties.

The third period saw both Ryan Donald and a K-Wings player get matching 2 minute roughing penalties as well as 10 minute unsportsmanlike penalties. This was a fantastic set of events since the Blades had already moved Ryan Galiardi, a forward, back to defence to help cover for our thinned out defencive corps. The Blades managed pretty well until the only penalty to be called in the third was slapped down. Because life's not fair, the Blades were on the receiving end. At 13:39 the K-Wings tied it up on the power play and ruined the shut-out Muse deserved. The third period ended with the score tied 1-1. The game would have to be decided by a little sudden death overtime.

Yet again, I heard most of the period, but then... innapropriately timed commercial time, yay! When the game finally comes back on, all you could hear were the ominous sounds of happy K-Zoo fans. I don't have to tell you happy opposing fans means sad Blades fans. Apparently, at 3:38 in the period, the Wings got one past Muse. Of course, I can't tell you how. I'm going to assume it was a total fluke goal because I've decided neither Muse nor Nagle can do any wrong. Either way, the K-Wings won 2-1. Boo.

SOG: 28-40 Wings

Three stars: Mike McKenzie earned the second star the other ywo don't matter.

Some thoughts:
- I just realized I didn't make a single Kory Karlander is old joke. My apologies, here: Kory Karlander is so old he remembers when hockey sticks were carved from mamoth femurs.
- 5 of 6 possible points on the road is awesome. I'm happy with the team right now.
- That said, can we please work on penalty shot/shoot-out situations? We're losing important chances by not taking advantage of these.
- Also, maybe a bit of discipline would be a good idea?
- It would be great to get a defenceman back. Preferably Murray.

The Blades come back for a two full weeks of home games. In there is the annual teddy bear toss game. New this year will be the auction of the bears the players will be making on Monday. I almost want to go witness a roster full of hockey player in Build-a-Bear picking out cute teddy bear outfits. Almost.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Wings (11/25/11)

The Everblades rolled into Kalamazoo with a two game win streak and the challenge of playing one of the better teams in the East. Luckily they were up for the challenge.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though. Former Everblade Elgin Reid notched his first of the year with the first shot of the game at the 1:18 mark of the period to give the K-Wings the early lead. About six minutes later, David Rutherford notched his fifth of the season to tie it up 1-1 (assists to Salters and Van Dyk). That score remained when the period ended and the teams left the ice.

Both teams traded chances in the early part of the second. then, it happened. The Blades found that special something and broke K-Wings goalie Riley Gill's will to live. Trevor Bruess started it off at the 12:47 mark to make it 2-1 (assists to McKenzie and Van Dyk). Not to be outdone, Rutherford notched his second of the game with the prettiest goal ever on the power play to make it 3-1 at the 15:47 mark (assists to Roy and McKenzie). Mathieu Roy followed that up with a re-directed goal for a little extra insurance at 17:33 to make it 4-1 (assists to Fischer and Salters). At that point the K-Wings pulled Riley Gill to wake up the team and maybe give the poor sieve-tastic goalie some time to weep in the showers by himself. It put a hamper on the Blades domination, and the period ended with the Blades up 4-1.

The K-Wings tried their hardest to get back in the third, peppering Blades Goalie Pat Nagle with 22 shots over the course of the final period. Unfortunately for them, Nagle was in full beast mode. Nothing was getting by him. Even with about a minute of 5 on 3, the K-Wings could not find a way to score. There were some close calls of course. The most intense was easily the moment around 15:53 when David Fischer had to play goalie. Unfortunately, he was whistled for closing his hand on the puck during that play and the K-Wings had a chance to score on the penalty shot.

My research indicates that Nagle is an Irish surname that means "brick wall"

Boom, denied. The Wings just couldn't make anything work. To add insult to injury, David Rutherford was able to earn a hat-trick with an empty-netter just as the buzzer sounded (assist to McKenzie) to make it 5-1.

Camo seemed appropriate for down here

-The Game summary is here.

- Three stars:
3. A K-Wings player that didn't deserve it.
2. David Rutherford
1. Pat Nagle

-A video of the K-Wings coach making excuses and not giving Pat Nagle any deserved credit:



Some thoughts:
- 1 for 7 on the power play and 5-5 on the penalty kill? I'm a happy lady.
- Three assists for McKenzie, and two for Salters and Van Dyk respectively. Awesome.
- 46 saves on 47 shots is incredible. I want a Pat Nagle shirt so I can wear it constantly.
- Since Poss seems to give the start to the goalie that's been winning I'd bet Nagle will be in net tonight against K-Zoo.
- There's also some rumblings about Brian Boucher with the Canes being hurt or at least not up to playing. The domino of call-ups will no doubt pull John Muse away.

The Blades will play the K-Wings again tonight. Let's hope they can extend their win streak to four. This calls for a puppy (they've been so lucky lately):


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Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Wings (4/5/11)

The Everblades had to come out big in the first game of the first round of the playoffs. They had to make a statement, not just to the K-Wings, but to the fans that they were ready. That they were ready to finally give 100% for each end every period. Though it was by no means a flawless preformance, I'd Like to think the Blades came pretty close to sending that message.

The first period was pretty equal. Both teams traded chances. The K-Wings were a bit more dominant, but goalie Bobby Goepfert played the same game that has been winning games in spite of the effort of the players in front of him all season. When he wasn't there, there was always a Blade to sweep the puck away from a dangerous situation. It was amazing. The team was actually supporting each other. The Wings did lead in shots, 13-5, but that was almost entirely due to the three penalties called on the Blades. Thankfully, in spite of the shots, the game was still 0-0 when the period ended.

The second saw one of the teams finally take the lead, when about nine minutes in, Ross Carlson scored to give the Blades a 1-0 lead. Around six minutes later Matt Beca score a short-handed, unassisted goal to make it 2-0. It was a pretty good shortie to get considering how terrible a call the penalty was. The K-Wings came on strong, but the Blades all played their parts and the period ended with them still up 2-0.

It was only a matter of time that the Wings would finally be able to take advantage of all the power plays that were handed to them. They made it 2-1 about six minutes into the period on the power play. While the Wings came on strong for the rest of the period the Blades all stood tall and held them off. They got a hard earned win and are now up 1-0 in the best of five series.

Some thoughts:

- I know I'm biased, but good lord, what horrible officiating. If your going to put your whistle away it should be put away for both teams.

- 31 of 32 shots denied. Oh my. To quote someone on Twitter last night " Who needs to outshoot opponents when you have Geppy?"

- Matt Beca and Alex Hutchings together are the stuff of K-Wing nightmares. They created so much chaos it was hilarious.

- There is nothing more depressing than an empty arena. I know it was short notice guys, but it would have been nice to see more people.

Know Your Enemy: Kalamazoo Wings

(photo courtesy of Hockey Broad)

Home: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Conference: Eastern
Division: North
First ECHL season: 2009

Arena: Wings Stadium
Arena capacity: 5,113
Arena founded: 1974


(photo courtesy of Hockey Broad)


NHL Affiliate: New York Islanders
AHL Affiliate: Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Division championships: 09-10, 10-11
Kelly Cups: 0

Head Coach: Nick Bootland
 Most Goals: Andrew Fournier- 38
Most Assists: Trent Daavettilla
Most Points: Tie, Trent Daavettilla and Kory Karlander- 80
Most Power Play Goals: Patrick Asselin- 12
Most Short Handed Goals: Sam Ftorek- 2

Best +/-: Trent Daavettilla- +28
Highest PIM: Darryl Llyod: 130

Former Everblades on the K-Wings:

• A.J. Thelen- 08-09, 09-10
• Andrew Fournier- 08-09
• Worth mentioning: Forward Mike Sellitto played for the FGCU Eagles.

Average Height: 6ft
Average Weight: 189lbs
Average Age: 26.25 years

Photos from last visit:

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Wings (1/28/11)

Sorry for the unannounced break. I figured I needed an all-star break of my own. Also, I was a lazy pants all week and opening my laptop was too much effort. I'm back though, so you don't have to cry yourselves to sleep anymore (I guess I'm delusional as well as lazy, huh?).

The Everblades play their first game back from the all-star break on the road against a struggling Kalamazoo team. With the ECHL handing down several fines and suspensions from the wild game with the Royals today the Blades have to play without some key players and coach Poss. The question is, can they overcome the missing pieces and beat the K-Wings?


(This never gets old)

Starting line: Graham, Paquet, Beca, Imbeault, Lemieux, Goepfert

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Both teams started out strong, with a lot of back and forth play. Eventually, the Wings were able to draw the penalty. Thanks to some tremendous saves from goalie Bobby Goepfert, the Blades were able to kill the penalty. A few minutes later, they were able to go on the power play.



Unfortunately, K-Wings goalie Ryan Nie, was able to deny some excellent chances. Thanks to both goalies standing on their heads, the score at the end of the period was 0-0. The Blades led the shots 11-9.

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After such a strong showing in the first period it was obvious the goalies would be deciding which team wins. Unfortunately, the K-Wings were able to draw first blood 6:31 into the first period to take the 1-0 lead. The Blades had a close call minutes later when Nie barely made a save. The Wings put on lots of pressure, but the Blades were able to hold them off.



After failing to convert on the power play, even though the net was wide open, the Blades took a stupid penalty to nullify their power play. After a brief surge from the K-Wings the Blades were able to once again go on the penalty in the closing minutes of the period. Unfortunately, the Blades weren't able to convert in the last few minutes. When the buzzer sounded the Blades still trailed 1-0, but had 46 seconds left on their power play when the third period starts.

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Although the Blades weren't able to convert on the remainder of the power play. They really started to put on major pressure in the opening minutes. Unfortunately, the pressure was cut short by Ross Carlson taking a slashing penalty. The K-Wings were able to get it past Goepfert a few seconds into the period to make it 2-0. Shortly after that, Alex Hutchings took on one of the K-Wings in a fight.



Sadly, instead using the fight to shift momentum, the Blades took a stupid penalty right away. Although they were able to kill off the penalty, they continued to allow the K-Wings to put on pressure. They did get a power play in the closing minutes, and even pulled Goepfert for the 6 on 4, but they couldn't convert. In fact, they gave up an empty net goal thanks to a weak turn-over. The final buzzer sounded and the Blades had lost 3-0. The game sheet is here. Photos are from the 11/29/10 game at Germain and the full set can be found here.

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Some thoughts:
- Ryan Nie was a big reason the K-Wings won, he denied 41 shots!
- It seems the break was good for Bobby Goepfert, despite the loss, he had a really great game.
- They need to start converting on the power play. They can't let the opportunity be wasted anymore.
- What will really solve the problems they're having? Three words- Crash the net.

The Blades will now get right on a bus and drive all night to Toledo where they play again tomorrow night. Hopefully, they can rebound like they always seem to and get some wins.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. K-Wings

(I still can't get over these ugly things)

The Everblades arrived in Kalamazoo with three straight wins in hand. The Wings are in the midst of a four game losing streak, and the Blades are 3-0 in their series with them. Is that just what the Blades need to extend their win streak to 4?

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I missed the first part of the fist period because they were having radio issues. Unfortunately, as I was scrambling to get any feed, Matt Pistilli scored his 13th goal of the year 20 seconds into the game.



Eventually, I was able to track down a feed. It was just in time to hear Mike McKenzie score his 6th of the year on the power play. The K-Wings just couldn't get anything in their favor and the period ended with the Everblades up 2-0 on the Wings.

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The second period was quite a chippy affair with 12 separate penalties dished out. In the midst of the penalties Francis Lemieux scored his 5th goal of the year.

About 30 seconds later, defenseman Phil Paquet was taken down in a way he took issue with. Before you could blink one of the K-Wings goons was fighting him instead of the player who pulled him down.



The K-Wings were able to respond a minute later on the power play to make it 3-1. Luckily, Lemieux scored his second of the game at the 15:44 mark (remember this) to give the Blades the three goal lead yet again. When the teams left the ice the Everblades led the K-Wings 4-1.

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The third period saw some major pressure from the K-Wings, but the Blades played smart and goalie Jaroslav Janus stood on his head to deny the K-Wings. Francis Lemieux netted his third goal of the game for a hat-trick at the 15:41 mark of the game.


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The K-Wings did score with about a minute left in the period to make it 5-2, but it was too little too late for them and the Everblades came away with their 4th straight win overall, and in their series with the K-Wings.

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You can find the game sheet here.
Photos are from the Everblades vs. K-Wings game on 10/29, you can view the entire set here.

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Some thoughts:
- Lemieux's scoring at 15:44 in the second and 15:41 is pretty cool, so is his hat-trick I guess.

- Matt Pistilli is now tied with Imbeault for goals
- The Pistilli/Lemieux/Fadden line has had two hat-tricks in two games.
- Fadden is slowly building a comfortable lead in points, he's up to 32.
- His closest competitor now? Yeah it's Pistilli with 26.
- Mike McKenzie's had 5 goals in the last three games, think he likes playing with Jared Staal?
- There's actual shot-blocking going on!
- Both Blades goalies have been incredible. Goepfert and Janus are solid just when the Blades need them to be.

Everblades Sweep Wings

The Kalamazoo Wings came into town as one of the last undefeated teams in the ECHL. The Everblades were coming off a less than stellar road trip. It seemed like the perfect storm was building.

It really didn't help that A.J. Thelen was coming to town.

After the Everblades chose not to offer him a contract, Thelen opted to join the Wings. It's not hard to imagine that Thelen probably felt he had something to prove. It's also not hard to imagine why he may want revenge on a fan base that was not often happy with his attempt at effort, and had no problem letting him know.


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In the first game the Blades had a come from behind victory, due in large part to two goals from Imbeault. In the second, they completely dominated the K-Wings, scoring six goals to their two.

This put the Everblades in the position of possibly being able to completely sweep the K-Wings on home ice, and in the first period it really looked like the third game in the series would parallel the second (score sheet). The Blades dominated the play, and even managed to net the first goal (the first time in seven games). A power play tally from Elgin Reid and an even strength notch from Matt Beca gave the Blades a 2-0 lead. The Wings responded with a goal to narrow the lead, but yet another power play goal from Elgin Reid gave them a two goal lead once again.

Unfortunately, the Wings began to show some life in the second period. They finally were rewarded when goalie Jaroslav Janus misplayed the puck behind his net leaving an empty goal for the Wings to score on. Therest of the period was uneventful and the Blades left the ice with their tenuous lead.

The Wings started the third right where they had left off and were able to tie it up a little over three minutes into the third. The Everblades had many close chances but K-Wings goalie Ryan Nie had shut the door in the first period and nothing was getting by him. Because neith team could convert on any of their chances, the game had to move to overtime.

Although both teams had some great chances, neither could make it work. That meant one thing: shoot-out time.



It might not have been a pretty game, but it was a win, and that's all that really matters. The Blades now have the momentum from the three game sweep to head into the road trip on a positive note.

Blades vs. K-Wings (10/29/10)

The Everblades took on the Kalamazoo Wings for the second night of a three game series. With the come from behind victory on Wednesday, the Blades were looking for another win tonight.

First, the game sheet.

The Blades had to start off on the wrong foot by giving up the first goal because it's the Blades and that's how they roll now. Seriously, that's seven games in a row that they've given up the first goal. It wasn't entirely the Blades fault, the K-Wings were very dominant for most of the first period. Lucky for the Blades undisciplined play caught up with the K-Wings. A penalty for closing the hand on the puck (stupidest penalty ever) was quickly followed by a tripping call. The Blades were able to take advantage of the 5 on 3 with a  power play goal from Francis Lemieux. Mathieu Roy was able to follow that up with another power play tally to give the team a 2-1 advantage leaving the ice.

The opening minutes of the second period saw the K-Wings even it up with a short handed goal. Thankfully, this lit a fire under the Blades and they quickly answered with two goals. The first from Matt Beca gave them the 3-2 lead. This was followed by a short handed goal for the Blades by Alex Hutchings to make it 4-2. Mitch Fadden then notched on in the closing minutes of the period for a good old fashioned back breaking goal.

You could tell that the K-Wings just didn't feel it in the third. They had a few moments, but ultimately they couldn't get past the wall Bobby Goepfert had erected. As you would expect things got pretty chippy with lots of shoving and scuffles. Matthew Pistilli was nice enough to rub salt in the K-Wings wounds with a second short handed goal for the Everblades to make it 6-2.


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Some quick thoughts:
- The team looked awesome overall. It really looks like they've all got the system figured out. It really is a beautiful system when it's actually working. I love the speed.

- Bobby Goepfert has been absolutely amazing. He's calm, focused, and fast. You can tell he's already become a fan favorite, and can you really blame us? He saluted the fans as he left the ice, the dude is classy.

-Speaking of Goepfert, he's second in the ECHL in minutes and saves, and is in the top ten for every other category.

 - Speaking of being top in the ECHL... Alexandre Imbeault leads the league with the most goals, and is second in power play goals. Mitch Fadden is third in assists while Matt Pistilli is second in short handed goals.

- Hopefully, the boys keep it up. They have one more game on Saturday before they go on a two week road-trip through the division.

Friday Links

Happy Friday! As always, here are some links to get you through the day.

- Your Wikipedia hockey pageof the day "2-1-2 Forecheck"

- It's amazing what you can do with duct tape. I kind of want to see if this artist will do other teams.

- At Wednesdays game the Lightning were promoting their Hockey in Heels event they have coming up. It definitely sounds like a really interesting way for female fans to learn about all the game. Too bad the Everblades have never done this.

- My birthday is getting close and I must have a Zamoni cake. This one is cute, but not the best I've seen.

- Justin Bourne, who did time in the ECHL, has a great look at one of the drawbacks of call-ups. I really can't reccomend his blog  enough. It's great to have some insight into a minor league player's life.

- An update on the slew foot from Wednesday's game. Mitch Versteeg, the Kalamazoo player that slew footed Mike Kennedy was fined an undisclosed amount and suspended one game. This will of course allow him to come back in time for Saturdays game. If the Wings are smart they won't dress him for that game. He may not like what Hendrikx or McColm might do to him.

- The Everblades take on the Wings again tonight. It's military night tonight!

- Say it with me... awwwwww.


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News and Notes

It's time for a quick round-up of Everblades news.

- Last night was pretty awesome. My seats were amazing and the Penguins scored two shorthanded goals in one penalty. Too bad they lost, but I will have pictures up sometime Friday or Saturday for those who are interested.

- At least the Everblades won last night. You can see the game sheet here.

- Fun fact: The Blades have given up the first goal in 6 straight games.

- Fun fact: Alexandre Imbeault has now had three games in which he's scored at least two goals. I'm calling him as the first non-AHL contracted player.

- Reports from last night are that a Kalamazoo's Mitch Versteeg slew-footed Mike Kennedy. Apparently, Kennedy lay on the ice for a bit and had to be helped off.

- You may remember Elgin Reid was called for this last season and was suspended for it (one game I think). The ECHL should hand down any suspension, if it's going to happen (and it should), later today.

- The Everblades traded Vladimir Nikiforov to the Bakersfield Condors.

- The Charlotte Checkers assigned Defenseman Ethan Grahm to the Everblades.

YouTube Tuesday

The Everblades are back in town after a rather unsuccessful road trip. This week the Everblades will be hosting the undefeated Kalamazoo Wings (3-0-0) for three games. The Blades have not always had the best of luck against the Wings. In fact, this video showcases one of my top 10 worst moments from last season:



The big news is, of course, the return of A.J. Thelen. After the Blades passed on resigning him, he received a deal with the Wings. Last season was terrible for him, especially after his ongoing concussion issues cost him a huge chunk of the season. He did have his bright moments though...



I'm sure he's not exactly looking forward to coming back. He was harassed by the fans when he played for the Everblades, can you imagine what everyone's going to come up with now that he's the enemy? If you have a good idea for a Thelen chant please share it in the comments. If you happen to make a sign please send me a picture. If I have enough entries I'll give the best sign a prize (the Everblades themed scarf I made last year sound good?).

A quick programming note: I won't be at Wednesdays game as I somehow managed to get amazing seats for the Penguins vs. Lightning game (thank you lightning pre-sale!). However, I am planning on making Fridays game as well as getting back into the habit of doing a re-cap for each game. I feel horrible for getting so lazy in the off-season.


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Need a Giggle?

I have a special treat for you guys today. Who remembers the Kalamazoo Wings practice jerseys? It's pretty hard to believe anyone could forget these ugly things.

(Sorry for the poor quality on these, this was before I got my awesome camera)

Live Blog: Blades vs. K-Wings (2/22)

Have to get this out of the way first. Happy 100th post everyone!

The Blades are playing the final game of the three game series with the Kalamazoo Wings. So far, they have won one and lost the other in overtime. The Blades need to keep the pressure on, every time they have relaxed the K-Wings have taken advantage. They are wearing their special "Pink-in-the-rink" jerseys tonight, here's hoping the special jerseys give them a little something extra...

Most of the first period was a back and forth affair (game sheet here). The Blades were not as aggressive as they should have been. They allowed the K-Wings to dictate a lot more of the play than they should have. They did seem to wake up in the latter half of the period. Elgin Reid scored a goal just seconds after the end of the Blades first power play, Scott Hotham and Chris Beckford-Tseu were credited with the assists. There was a bit of a scuffle at the close of the first, but nothing really resulted. The teams left the ice with the Blades up 1-0, and the shots on goal 14-9 in favor of the Blades.

The second period was quite chaotic at the end. It was pretty quiet for most of the period. It all began with a K-Wing player attempting to take on Brad Zanon, they both got the usual roughing minors. A few seconds later Elgin Reid received a major for slew-footing. A really great example is at the 1:14 mark on this video...



It's a very serious penalty, a player can be seriously injured. Reid will more than likely be hearing from the ECHL tomorrow. The Blades were able to kill off all five minutes of the penalty. A goal by Gajic gave the Blades a very short 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, the K-Wings got one back 11 seconds later to make it 2-1. Benn Olson dominated a K-Wing player for his 11th fight of the year. The Blades left the ice holding on to a one goal lead.

The Blades let the K-Wings dominate most of the third. The K-Wings were able to score two goal and take the lead. Luckily Phil Paquet was able to score a goal at the 17:47 mark to tie it up and eventually force overtime.

It was an intense five minutes of back and forth game, but no one was able to score. That meant it was shoot-out time!

The Blades decided to shoot first...
Gajic- Denied
Cleaver- Scores
Baker- Saved
Curadeau- Wide!
Nicholson- Scores!
Llyod- Kick save Becks!
Guthrie- Goal!
Fournier- Denied
All on Osman... GOAL! Blades win 4-3!

That was an exciting end to an intense game. The Blades really worked hard for that win. They have a whole week off until next Saturday when they take on the South Carolina Stingrays.

Live Blog: Blades vs. K-Wings (2/19)

The Everblades are playing the second game of a three game series with the Kalamazoo Wings. They won last Wednesdays game, and hopefully they can keep up their winning ways tonight.

The first period did not get off to the most auspicious start. The K-Wings managed to slip one past goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu on their first shot in the opening minutes of the game. Dominic Osman tied it up a few minutes later to make it a 1-1 game. Becks made some great saves to keep the Blades even, and Matthieu Roy scored a goal to get the Blades the lead. Unfortunately, the K-Wings were able to even it up on the power play. With no one else scoring they went into the first intermission tied 2-2.

The second was all about excitement. Osman scored 22 seconds into the period, his second goal of the night (and making it four straight games with a player scoring two). There was a lot of back and forth for most of the period. The Blades were unable to convert on any of their power plays, they are 0 for 4 so far. There was a very exciting moment during the second. Osman was hauled down and given a penalty shot. If he made it, he would have earned a hat-trick. Unfortunately, he just couldn't get it past the K-Wings goalie. With no one else scoring, the period ended with the Blades holding a tenuous 3-2 lead. They did everything right this period and Becks was there when he had to be. The boys just have to remember not to relax in the third. If they do they might just get the lead in this series.

The third started out great, the Blades didn't relax. They played their best, but that could not stop the K-Wings from getting one past Becks. Even though they tried as hard as they could, the Blades just couldn't seem to find the back of the Wings net. The period ended tied up 3-3.

The tie meant it was time for some overtime. There was some discussion on a goal the Wings thought had gone in. From what i heard over the radio it really looked like it went in, but the goal judge and Ref dissagreed. It was a huge break for the Blades. They couldn't really take advantage of that giving up the OT winner a few minutes later. The Blades did gain a point at least, and face the K-Wings again tomorrow.

Blades Whip Wings (4-2)

The Everblades were back in town after a pretty successful road trip. There opponent last night was the Kalamazoo Wings. Before I go any further into this re-cap I have to post these pictures of their warm-up jerseys...

I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in during the warm-ups and was immediately confronted by those monstrosities (they also had the golden arches on their helmets). Let me just say how much I appreciate whatever it is that keeps the advertisements on the Blades jerseys to a minimum. Because the K-Wings jerseys are horrid. Now that I feel better, back to the re-cap!

The Everblades had an amazing first period, scoring three of their four goals (game sheet here). A power play goal by Milan Gajic opened up the scoring five minutes into the game. Another power play goal, courtesy of Ryan Lang, arrived almost five minutes after the first. Matt Duffy followed at the 16:11 mark with the only Blades goal not scored on the power play. The K-Wings made a goaltending change after that goal. I was very impressed by the Blades, they were very aggressive, and had the K-Wings on their toes the entire period. The shots on goal at the end of the period was the best proof of that, with the Blades leading 18-6.

The K-Wings did their best to fight back during the second, but they just couldn't seem to find what they needed. Gajic scored his second goal of the night (I believe thats four games in a row of two goal game by the Blades players) on the power play once again. There wasn't much else during that period and the Blades left the ice ahead 4-0.

The third period saw the Blades get a little to comfortable with their lead. They seemed to pull back and relax a bit. That allowed the K-Wings to score two goals. The first ended the shut-out goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu had managed through two periods with his awesome play (he was the most intense I've ever seen him). The second was a short handed goal that I just happen to have a video of...

Although it was a major ugh moment, and it was sad to see it get by Becks when he had been playing so well, it wasn't enough to be too much of a threat to the Blades win. The K-Wings did try their hardest, even pulling their goalie in the last few minutes, but the Blades managed to hold the K-Wings off and win 4-2.

Except for the team backing off in third it was a great game. All the players seemed to be working together as one cohesive unit. It is a little sad that it took this long for the Blades players to figure out how to work as a team. Now that we're in the latter part of hockey season they have to make every game count. If they play like they did during the first period every period of every game they just might be able to pull something off.

The ECHL board of governors met yesterday as well. You can see the full report here. Basically, they approved the Chiefs move to Greenville, approved the Checkers move to the AHL, and extended Columbia's voluntary suspension while they continue to work on a new arena.

Finaly, some more player pictures...

(Dominic Osman)

(Benn Olson)

The Blades continue their series with the K-Wings Friday and Saturday. They will also be holding activities for pink-in-the-rink both days, with the jerseys and auction on Saturday. I would really appreciate any pictures you guys happen to take on Saturday, just e-mail them to me and I swear I'll love you forever!