Winter Classic

New Years day offered us hockey fans the second annual Winter Classic. Finally, something for us non-football fans to enjoy. I will admit to having watched bowl games in the past, but only if the Badgers were playing and someone was having a party. The past two years though I have been able to enjoy my first love, hockey. Both years have been a success and are expected to continue for many years. Even people who do not usually watch hockey checked out the Winter Classic.

I have read that some people thought this year was better than last years. Some complained about the snow last year but I loved it. It added another element to the game, another challenge for the boys to overcome and it looked like winter. I also liked the teams last year better being a big fan of many of Buffalo’s players. But all-in-all, I think both years have been great and could do so much for the emergence of the NHL in your typical “non-hockey” markets.

Personally, I did not like either teams this year but hoped for a ‘Hawks win. Unfortunately Detroit decided to show up in the second and third and won the game 6-4. There also was a lot of tension, pushing/shoving incurred around the crease quite often. This is a good way to get more casual/first time fans into the game, show the passion that the players have.

As a girl into fashion and hockey, I have to say I was not in love with either of the teams “retro” looks. Detroit looked like candy canes with their stripped socks. I hope they never play the Wild with that outfit on; we’d have the elves and the candy canes battling it out. Oh wait… That could be next years Winter Classic! I am a genius! I did like the colors of the ‘Hawks uniform but they had too many stripes, both vertical and horizontal, making it hard to look at.

Both Strader and Pang were there. Pang did last years Winter Classic and was invited back again for commentary and interviews. Strader was asked to do the play-by-play when the original play-by-play guy came down with laryngitis. As a Coyote fan, I feel honored that both of our TV personalities were present. It just goes to show that we have a class act up in the press box.

I also think that it is quite classy that we had both the American and Canadian national anthems, even though both teams were American teams. They did this last year also. I think it goes to show how much Americans and the NHL appreciate what Canada means to this sport.

Happy New Year!!

The Coyotes rung in the new year with a win over Colorado.

For the team, I want them to resolve to become better on the power play this new year. We are still lacking on that. At least in the win last night, we kept the puck in Colorado’s zone for almost the whole power play.

Last night I got to sit in a suite. It was a pretty good view and the seats were really comfortable. The food wasn’t really worth the price though. I would definitely sit in a suite again if given the opportunity but I think I would say no food.

Tiki was back in the line-up and he definitely made a difference. The PK was so much better with him out there. He was making some good moves. Even if he doesn’t ever get a lot of goals, he is going to be in the league for a long time.

Telly was in goal tonight and he played amazing. He even got an assist on one of the goals. We love you Telly Monster!!!!

The boys started off slow but woke up after Colorado got on the board first.

Mueller seems to have woken up. He got two goals last night.

Scratches were Winnik, Carcillo and Yandle. Bryz is out with a sore back. Tordjman was here on an emergency call up.
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In other news, the ECHL has had two teams fold mid-season.
I found this link:
http://community.adn.com/node/135853 which talks mostly about the fold of the Fresno Falcons.

The ECHL's Pacific Division-leading Fresno Falcons ceased operations today, becoming the league's second team to fold this season -- the Augusta Lynx bagged it earlier.

Fresno officials cited the poor economy for a massive drop in attendance, fewer season tickets sold and reduced sponsorships. The Falcons (18-10-2) were averaging 3,284 fans per home game, down a staggering 1,751 per game from last season's average of 5,035.

According to the article the players have become UFA and will join other teams around the league.

I just wish the players that were dispersed find a team and can start to play again. I wish them the best of luck. Sometimes things happen for a reason. They may seem bad at that time but in the long run it could be the best thing that ever happens to them.

It's just sad that these two teams couldn’t even make it to the end of the season. I guess this is a very sore subject for me because of all the rumors swirling about the Coyotes moving and everything. I hate to see hockey disappear from anywhere in America. We love the sport here and we don’t want it to go anywhere.

In looking at the RoadRunners schedule, it looks like we were supposed to play Fresno six more times this year, including January 2nd and 3rd. I guess the boys won’t be making that trip. I didn’t see Augusta Lynx on the schedule.
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I also found this article on my new favorite goalie:
http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news2&cat=1&id=17369

It appears Quick enjoys sleeping in. He also had some issues when sent to the ECHL, kind of ala Emery…no wonder I love the kid.

“He wasn't staying out all night. He was just a heavy sleeper and slept through his alarms.”

If you like goalies, I highly recommend that you read the full article. It’s really good and makes me love Quick even more. Such a goalie crush. Oi. With LaBarbera traded to Vancouver, look for Quick to stay up when Ersberg comes back.
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And I also found this on another one of my goalies:
http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=17380
It’s just a little blurb from the ECHL website that talks about Tordjman’s call up and his stats from his RoadRunners days, nothing too exciting.
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Winter Classic is on today at 1 ET (11 my time) and I will be watching it. Last year I loved watching the Winter Classic and I could cheer for Buffalo but this year I cannot bring myself to cheer for either the Red Wings or the ‘Hawks. I want both of them to lose. Is that even possible? There is a 30% chance of snow in Chicago and it is a balmy high of 33 degrees. Currently it is 25 degrees and feels like 11. (weather info courtesy of weather.com)

Im a little behind

Ok, first off I want to say Im a little upset with Mr. Bettman. I was listening to his radio show the other day and someone called in and asked about Chris Simon and what would cause them to ban someone from the league. He stated that he thought the punishment was fair and they cant just take away from them their lively hood and all they have ever known. Well, my problem with this is he told Toc that if he ever gambled again, hed be out of the nhl for good. Now, wouldnt that be the same thing? Isnt hockey all Toc has ever known? And Im sorry, what Simon does is way worse than what Toc did. Simon could potentially end another players career or god forbid, kill someone. And Mactavish did just that and hes allowed to coach. Heatly did too and hes still playing. Now, too me drunk driving, driving recklessly and doing things like Simon does is worse than what Toc did. Toc's gamblin didnt hurt anyone (maybe financially, but thats the other persons choice to gamble also). People who drive drunk could kill or hurt innocent people. People who drive at too fast speeds could hurt or kill innocent bystanders. Chris Simon could hurt or kill another hockey player who is just trying to do their job.

Ok, now onto the games.

I watched the outdoor game on new years day. I wanted Buffalo to win. I like Ryan Miller. I think hes a very good goalie. It was a good game to watch. It was definatly interesting and a throwback to the good ol' days (not that i remember them!) I thought all the talk between periods was very intersting also. I hope they do this every year. I would definatly watch and if my team was playing, Id go. Problem is I would freeze my ass off.

Ok, now to the Coyotes..

I watched the Colorado Avalance game on tv. I thoguht the guys put forth a good effort. Although, they are starting to get leads and then just play to prevent the other team from scoring. The problem is, they arent doing very good at that. Jovo was his normal self. Either hot or cold. Cant be any where in the middle. I dont really remember a lot of this game, its been awhile. We got two empty netters.

Last night we did the same thing agains chicago, get a good lead then just try to prevent them from scoring. Telly did a great job. He is the best backup goalie. he cant be a starter but he is great in that back up role. Sjo got a nice empty netter last night. Hanzals goal was awesome. I dont think anyone actually knew where the puck was at first. Ballard gave an awesome hipcheck which was of course retaliated by a fight. Im not sure what happened but it looked like ballard did throw a couple punches but then he was crumpled on the ice, in the fetal position almost, and wasnt moving. I was like OH CRAP. but he got up. normally ballard can hold his own, im not sure what happened last night. Again, Jovo being Jovo. Boynton had a pretty good game. Doan and Yandle were scratched. Doan has a day-to-day hand injury. Overall i thought the team did well with out their captain. They did look tired, probably from the back to back games and travel. And i was a little worried about Chicago, coming off a 9-2 loss it could have went either way. Id be pretty pissed if i lost 9-2 to the Kings. Id feel like id have something to prove. But then again, they did have a lot of injuries.

Up next: Anaheim Ducks. Neids is back. But we have done pretty well against them this year. Hopefully we can keep it up. No new news on Carcillo. Long sleeve t give away tomorrow. I might end up at the game by myself, but thats cool. I can handle one game alone!

Quote of the Day:
"It's so different in practice than playing games because you never end up in situations that happen in a game. In the last period, it (puck) went off three posts, and I had no clue where the puck was, and that never happens in practice. But we're playing well, and we deserved to win."