DEE-ICING

Pronunciation: (dē-ˈīsing).

Function: transitive verb.

Definitions -

1 : Process of unwinding after a Wild hockey game.

2 : Process of leaving a lifetime of cold and snow in Minnesota behind for warmer climates.

3 : My random thoughts on hockey, life and the pursuit of really good tequila. (no politics allowed)

4 : Relief from insomnia.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Name That Jersey!, Time Well Spent

Picking Out Names
Well, it's been settled, thanks to a majority vote.  I've finally decided which name is going on the back of my Year Ten Minnesota Wild jersey... *insert drum roll here* ... DEEICING... tada! 
Now I just need to decide if that needs a hyphen or not. Kind of like the hate mail Puck Daddy gets ;)


How I Spent My Year Ten Minnesota Wild Season
I'll be heading into the X early on Saturday night to hit the Hockey Lodge to put in my order for customization.  I bolded the word early, and Vicki's already laughing her butt off at this, because it's getting to be hysterical regarding the amount of hours we've had to put in at the arena for games and giveaways this season.
Saturday's game against the Blues is a great example: 8:00 p.m. puck drop
  • It's a puck giveaway night - so instead of being at the gate by 7:00 p.m. we need to be there by 6:00 p.m. to be sure we're one of the first 3500 folks to get a voucher for the pucks.
  • It's also a night where the GM, Chuck Fletcher, is doing a little chat session with some of us season ticket holders - at 5:00 p.m. 
  • That means I'll be at the arena by 4:00 p.m. in order to have time to hit the Hockey Lodge, get my jersey picked out and the customization ordered before I need to meet up with Vicki at 5:00 for our meet-n-greet with Chuck.
It's a safe bet that I'll be in the arena for 8 hours on Saturday.  Add to it that it will probably be a short 10 hour turnaround before I'm back in the arena on Sunday morning - read on...

Houston Aeros Battle the Peoria Rivermen At Excel Energy Center Sun, Feb. 13
The game itself doesn't start until 1:00 p.m. but there are Wild player autograph opportunities before hand that will have a whole group of us hauling ass out of bed early on a Sunday morning.  

Schedule of Events:
 11:30 a.m. (Gates open) **I will be in line by 10:30 a.m. - I've been to enough of these events to know it will be a madhouse.  I'm betting that even at 10:30 I'll be 'late'. 

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Minnesota Wild autographs 


1:00 p.m. – Aeros vs. Rivermen Game - no t.v. timeouts


3:00 p.m. - Postgame – Aeros player autographs 
Now let's get the calculator out:
2.5 hours before the game + 2 hours for the game itself (no t.v. timeouts) + 45 minutes to an hour for the boys to shower up and get to the autograph stations + 1.5 hours getting through a couple of autograph stations.  That's a grand total of 7 hours.   

Holy Hockey Hall Of Fame - Stalking the Wild really has become a full time job for me! 

Here's the list of Wild Player Autograph Table Stations prior to the Aeros game:
Station #1- Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, Eric Nystrom, James Sheppard
(you'll find Vicki at this table, having left Dan in her dust back at the gate)

Station #2- Cal Clutterbuck, Josh Harding, Cam Barker
(you'll find Robyn at this table, having left Rich in her dust back at the gate)

Station #3- Niklas Backstrom, Kyle Brodziak, Chuck Kobasew, Brad Staubitz
(Bobbi will gaze longingly at this table on her way to...)


Station #4- Andrew Brunette, Greg Zanon, John Madden, Jared Spurgeon
(you'll find me at this table happily clutching my spiffy new jersey)


Station #5- Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Marek Zidlicky, Matt Cullen, Marco Scandella
(this is where you'll find Bobbi, feverishly reading her French dictionary)

Station #6- Nick Schultz, Guillaume Latendresse, Jose Theodore, Clayton Stoner
(if only I could clone myself and speak fluent French)


Exclusive Season Ticket Holder table: Brent Burns and Martin Havlat - Evidently I didn't rub my lucky rabbit's foot, or Vicki's foot for that matter, because my account didn't get pulled for this table :(

The Aeros players will be stationed at tables for autographs after the game (no charge) and you know I'll be hanging out to take advantage of this opportunity.  Some of these kids are expected to make the team out of camp next season.

#    Player                  Pos.  Shoots   Height   Weight   DOB                   Birthplace
4   Jamie Fraser        D        L              6-1         201          Nov 17, 1985     Sarnia, ON
7   Casey Wellman    C        R             6-0         186           Oct 18, 1987     Brentwood, CA
12 Cody Almond       C        L              6-2         217          Jul 24, 1989       Calgary, AB
14 Jon DiSalvatore   RW    R              6-1        200           Mar 30, 1981     Bangor, ME
15 Nate Prosser        D       R              6-2        207           May 7, 1986       Elk River, MN
16 Patrick O'Sullivan C       L              6-0        180            Feb 1, 1985       Winston-Salem, NC
17 Robbie Earl          LW     L              5-11     195            Jun 2, 1985        Chicago, IL
18 Colton Gillies        LW     L             6-4        208            Feb 12, 1989     White Rock, BC
19 Jarod Palmer       C        R             6-0       199             Feb 10, 1986     Fredley, MN
20 Chad Rau             C        R             5-11     186            Jan 18, 1987      Eden Prairie, MN
22 Jed Ortmeyer      RW      R             6-1        205            Sep 3, 1978       Omaha, NE
23 Petr Kalus            RW      L             6-1        208            Jun 29, 1987      Ostrava, Czech Republic
25 Warren Peters     C         L             6-0        203            Jul 10, 1982        Saskatoon, SK
26 Maxim Noreau     D         R            6-0        194             May 24, 1987      Montreal, QC
27 Carson McMillan  RW     R            6-2        194             Sep 10, 1988      Brandon, MB
29 Drew Bagnall       D         L             6-3        222             Oct 26, 1983      Oakbank, MB
30 Anton Khudobin  G          R            5-11     199              May 7, 1986        Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhst 
31 Matt Hackett       G          R           6-2         179              Mar 7, 1990        London, ON
32 Kris Fredheim    D          R           6-2         192              Feb 23, 1987     Campbell River, BC
39 Brandon Buck    LW       L           6-1         195              Aug 16, 1988      Delaware, ON
42 Matt Kassian      LW       L           6-5         252              Oct 28, 1986       Edmonton, AB
44 Justin Falk          D          L           6-5         215               Oct 11, 1988      Snowflake, MB
61 Tyler Cuma         D          L           6-2        192                Jan 19, 1990      Bowmanville, ON
62 Jean-Michel Daoust RW R         5-7        175                Nov 24, 1983      Valleyfield, QC

1 comment:

  1. No wonder you're never available for babysitting any more! At least we know you're hanging with the right kind of crowd :)

    DEE-ICING, that's exactly what it should be. Good call hockey peeps!

    ReplyDelete