It's Good To Be Home

Wild 1, Avalanche 0 

Yawner Of A Game
Tightly played game on both ends of the ice.  That's hockey talk for "as boring as watching paint dry."  The only thing worth getting worked up about for this game was how many cross checks and trips against the Wild didn't get called.  I had to walk away from my laptop a couple of times so that I wouldn't start screaming at the refs through it.  The Wild outshot the Avs in the first period and pretty much owned the game.  The second period saw the Wild getting outshot by the Avs 13 - 5 and not applying near enough pressure in the offensive zone.  Clutterbuck tried to wake the joint up with a hit that reverberated on my laptop!  Alas, still no score at the end of two periods.  Third period was a snooze fest until Justin Falk took the Avs' David Jones to town after he left his feet to check Justin in the face.  Finally, Setoguchi picks up a deflected Heatly shot and scores to give the Wild the 1-0 lead with 2:34 left in regulation.  I was just about to drift off to sleep...  
Sidenote - I switched over to Wild.com to see if they would run the postgame presser via KFAN.  I tuned in time to hear Bob Kurtz turning it over to Kevin Falness and then there was a 3 second delay.  The radio feed was then replaced with the sound of someone, presumably a Wild hockey player, skating on the ice and taking shots on goal.  Just the sound of the blades on the ice and the puck hitting goalie pads and rimming the boards.  Gotta tell ya, quite the comforting sound for me.  I need to get a copy of that on my iPod for sure. 

New Kid In Town
Wild signed Aeros defenseman Kris Fredheim to an NHL contract in order to have him play in Tuesday night's game.  Kris is another young disciple of Yeo's system in Houston so it should be one of those situations where the coach knows the player like the back of his hand.  Read Russo's Rant on how to properly pronounce Kris's last name for a good chuckle and an overview of the kind of player Kris is.  In a continuing trend/sign of how much faith Yeo has in his proteges from Houston: Kris logged 10:13 minutes of ice time in his first NHL game.  Congratulations to Fredheim on his NHL debut!

Too Many DMen On The Ice
Mike Lundin is on his way to the Aeros for a couple of games as a means to see if he's ready to go, finally, in the Wild lineup.  Russo is reporting that Lundin will play in the Friday and Sunday games for the Aeros.  Where Mike fits in once his stint in Houston is complete is part of the bigger question when it comes to the Wild's blue line.  At the start of the season it was widely known that the weakest link for the Wild was going to be the defense after having traded Brent Burns.  Turns out the rookie defensemen on the team took umbrage to that assessment and have made Yeo, Fletcher, the media and the fans eat their words. 
When the veteran blue liners went down with injuries the young guys were waiting in the wings to show us just how ready for the NHL they are.  Yeo has been singing the praises of Scandella, Falk, Spurgeon, Stoner and now Prosser.  It's got to have both Zanon and Zidlicky wondering where they fit in when they come off the injured list.  Zanon is in the last year of his contract and will likely be shopped as trade bait - perhaps a 3rd or 4th round pick?  Zidlicky on the other hand just plain SUCKS and I don't know what can be done with him in terms of return on investment. 

Milestone for Schultz
Nick played in his 700th game on Tuesday night and all of them have been as a member of the Wild.  He celebrated by taking a shot on goal and trying for his 26th goal of his career but alas, it wasn't to be.  Nick hasn't always been one of my favorite players, mostly due to his lack of preparation at the beginning of previous seasons.  This season, perhaps due to the Yeo Influence, there's been a solid change in his game.  It was great to see all the nice shout outs to Schultz via Twitter today.  Congratulations Nick, on your 700th game! 

Back and Forth
Casey Wellman has been called up and sent down more times than any other player this season so far.  Unfortunately for Wellman he's been relegated to making the popcorn in the press box since his role has been that of insurance player in case one of our regular guys needed to be scratched after pregame warmups.  Fortunately for Wellman he's racking up those frequent flier points.   

Responding To The Challenge, Auto Speller-Cursed Technology, Walz In The House!

What A Difference A Day Makes
Less than 24 hours after being HUMILIATED by the L.A. Kings the Wild pulled on their big boy pants and gave it 100% from the first drop of the puck to the final buzzer Sunday night in Anaheim.  Sure, they saw a 3 goal lead in the first period dwindle down to a 1 goal lead when the third period ended but they won.  Sure, the Ducks came out in the second period and took control of the game for the next 20 minutes and well into the third but the Wild won.  Sure, the Wild were definitely showing their road legs early in the second period but they didn't back down and kept on battling; in the corners, in the faceoff circle, in front of the net and on the blue line.  And they won.  On nights like this you can't help go to bed smiling. 

Wild 3, Ducks 2  

Now, on to Columbus and the franchise's sister team.  A team the Wild should beat without even trying but all too often plays down to, or worse - lower than, the Blue Jacket's talent level. 

Russo summed up the first period perfectly: "Good road period by the Wild, and by good, I mean absolutely hideous."  

Worst player of the 1st period is undoubtedly Zidlicky with Heatley following on his heels.  The bad news: Zidlicky's hurt in what appears to be the third concussion victim for the Wild.  The good news: (just being brutally honest here) I didn't really notice his absence other than the remianing D had to pick up his minutes.  Good for Falk and Prosser to show their stuff.  Great work by Stoner who's playing with a broken finger that isn't anywhere near healed enough to be playing.  I know about broken fingers.   

Props to Coach Dave for getting me going on this: Hey San Jose...got room for another Wild player trade...we got a slightly bruised waste of a Dman up for grabs.  Just send us a bag of used pucks and we'll call it even. 

The second period had the Wild coming out with their legs under them and a look of sheer determination on their faces.  Cullen scored on the powerplay to cut the lead in half and 20 seconds later Johnson sent a beautiful wrister into the net to tie the game.  Our shots on goal doubled, no thanks to Koivu who continues to pass up on point blank opportunities by passing the puck off to a team mate with no clear shot at all. 

The Wild were tired and it showed in the third period but they continued to battle.  Props to Bouchard on the blueline for the Wild powerplay.  Props to Koivu for actually taking a shot on goal, while on the powerplay.  Clutterbuck scored off a textbook pass from Bouchard and the Wild take the lead.  Just a minute later the Blue Jackets give Backstrom a run for his money but Niklas says "oh, no you don't!".  Backstrom was kept busy in the second half of the third period to give Columbus their due credit.  Which is a really nice way of pointing out that the Wild couldn't clear their own zone for love nor money.  Columbus getting way too many shots on goal and Backstrom had to be sharp on a number of them.  Jackets pulled their goaltender with 1:33 left.  It took several attempts and a turnover gift from the Jackets onto Setoguchi's stick but the empty netter by Devin seals the deal for the Wild.       

Wild 4, Blue Jackets 2

Tough road trip deserves: 



Hysterical post gamer from Youngblood at the Strib from a grammatical standpoint.  He apparently filed the article via his smart phone which had the Auto Speller functionality on.  Click Here!


Deep Thoughts

• HUGE WIN by Wild to wrap up what feels like month long road trip into Western Time Zone black hole.
• The remaining 5 Dmen were outstanding, especially SPURGE! 
• Cullen continues to amp up his game, no doubt thanks to his wife's uh, vocal support ;)
• Clutterbuck is starting to show he's more than just a hit specialist.
• The bad news: Wild's top line can't score for love nor money. The good news: Wild's other lines are getting the job done.
• I'm wondering what it is that Heatley and Setoguchi bring to the team...maybe it's time to drop Koivu from the top line and insert Cullen or PMB?  Just a thought.
• The bad blood between these 2 teams continued tonight in the first period with 4 misconducts and 2 majors handed out.  PMB definitely not in the running for the Lady Bing trophy this year.

At The End Of The Day, He's A Hockey Dad
Alex Dagget, Coach Dave's daughter, plays defense for the Apple Valley High School girl's hockey team.  Apple Valley hosted the East Ridge Girls team Tuesday night.  Most folks remember that Kelvin Walz played for East Ridge last year, his senior year, and that Wes was a part of the coaching staff there.  Wes also has a couple of daughters and one of them plays for the East Ridge girls team.  He was on hand at AVHS Tuesday night to watch his daughter's team, which also includes The Wild's head coach's daughter.  

Hockey Mom Dagget got the thrill, at least it would have been if it were me, of the night.  I'm WAY jealous - get your hands off my man! Wes just gets better looking with age - kinda like Sean Connery - and what a great ambassador for the Wild, as always...but I digress. 
Apple Valley beat East Ridge 3 - 0 and, for now, boast an undefeated record for the season (3-0).  Next up: The AVHS girls take on Wayzata this Thursday.  Hey Coach!, who's got the tickets for the Wild game Thursday? ;)   

Road Trip! Wild Ketchup, A Long Goodbye

Road Trip!
As most of you know I recently packed up the truck and with Buster riding shotgun, drove down to Georgia to give life a go of it in the south.  It's the land of biscuits-grits-n-gravy, the home of Coca Cola, where the billboards reach a mile into the sky (the Chik-Fil-A ones are the funniest) and surprisingly - some of the best Mexican and Thai food I've ever had.  It's also home to a certain Sweet Pea I love and of course, her parents, so that made the decision to come here a relatively easy one.  Oh, and it's the land of not shoveling snow, EVER. AGAIN. 
I'm in a great historic building with 20 foot ceilings, the original beams, brick walls, block and tackle pulley systems still bolted in place, huge metal sliding doors, and all kinds of charm.  One would think with my type A personality this wouldn't be appealing but it's exactly what I was looking for and I couldn't be happier to be here. My shutter finger is itching to get this place photographed!  I'm in walking distance of downtown which is historic on a number of levels but here's a place that's been nationally recognized several times: the Redneck Gourmet.  It takes me 5 minutes to walk there.  

Dee's Place, Newnan, GA

0.3 mi

1.	Head west on E Washington St toward Jefferson St	0.3 mi
2.	Continue onto N Court Square Destination will be on the right	246 ft

11 N Court Square, Newnan, GA

Cant decide on

Now, before any of you wisenheimers pipe in I'm gonna beat you to it - nope, there's no NHL hockey down here.  The Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and are now the Jets, again.  What in the name of Bobby Orr will I do for hockey down here?  I love my NHL Center Ice Online for watching the Wild and my boyfriend's team so there's that.  I also listen to KFAN online for Russo's updates and such.  Although I have to admit to wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into by moving to the Eastern Time Zone when my home team is in the Western Conference/Western Time Zone.  These 9:30 puck drops for y'all back home are now 10:30 puck drops for me.  There is some serious napping here in order to get up to watch the West Coast road trip games.   
I also have the opportunity to watch ECHL hockey here in Georgia: The Gwinnett Gladiators.  The team is the ECHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabers and the Phoenix Coyotes (another state that shouldn't have hockey, yet I want to retire there).  I'll be taking in my first home game on Friday the 18th and I'm really looking forward to the experience.  Having been to a number of Aeros games (AHL) I'm assuming the atmosphere and fans will be much the same, ie: loud and proud throughout the entire evening.  It's an hour drive to Duluth (GA, not MN) but I'm sure I'll be rewarded for my effort, after all it's hockey!! 
Sidenote to Vicki: The Glads play at home the day after Thanksgiving which I'm taking as a sign from the Hockey Gods that I need to be there in order to keep our annual day after Turkey Day Hockey Game tradition alive.  

Wild Ketchup
Having inserted enough current and previous Houston Aeros players into the lineup, due to injuries to veteran players mostly, Mike Yeo was starting to get the effort and system of play out of the team that he's been looking for since the beginning of training camp.  I'm not saying that the veterans on the team can't get it done because that wouldn't be fair to the likes of Cullen, Clutterbuck, Brodziak, Latendresse and sometimes Koivu.  But it is obvious to me that the guys who played under Yeo in Houston the last two seasons have been able to show us glimpses of what it is this team will be capable of once the rest of the team starts playing the Yeo Way.  The nail biter against Detroit was fantastic.  The can of Whoop Ass our guys opened on the Canucks was beautiful.  Anytime we can beat the Blues is a plus.   
The team took a four game winning streak on the road to the West Coast and got lucky in the first game against Calgary who just happen to be struggling this season, alot like the Wild.  Then the boys traveled to San Jose to see Brent Burns and Marty Havlat.  The personal reunion was a happy one but the on-ice reunion was not pleasant for our Wild.  The Sharks beat the Wild by playing Yeo's game to a tee and showing our boys how it should be done.  I don't mind Brent beating us, but Marty Havlat getting to smile at the end of the game...grrrrr.  On top of that we lost GLats to a concussion and he was flown home to rest up for the obligatory week before he'll be checked out by the docs. 
Next the team went to battle the L.A. Kings.  I thought we'd be raring to go after the embarrassment in San Jose, but the guys just weren't moving their feet.  They looked dazed and confused whenever they had the puck.  The continual parade to the penalty box, warranted or not, along with Josh Harding being chased from the net, did the team in and it ended up being a very ugly game.  Even with the injection of young kids who came up through Yeo's system this team can't seem to execute and have just melted down, big time.  Marco Scandella is out with a head injury so the IR list continues to grow.  Wow, not looking forward to Sunday's game...

The All Star Ballot will feature the Wild's own Dany Heatley, Mikko Koivu and...wait for it...Marek Zidlicky.  Things that make you hmmm.        

A Long Goodbye  
I lost a dear friend just prior to leaving Minnesota.  George left behind a loving wife/best friend, two outstanding young adult children and his parents.  He had a phenomenal sense of humor.  So much so, that I blame him for my premature need for Depends thanks to laughing so hard over his antics and sweet one liners.  Big G was also the glue of the family.  I used to quote from the second Ice Age movie: "He is the gooey, sticky... stuff that holds us together. He made this herd, and we'd be nothing without him."  Art imitated life; George entrusted me with the knowledge of his prognosis long before ever telling Nan because he wanted to get everything in order beforehand.  That way he would be able to focus on getting Nan through the ordeal.  The last weeks of Big G's life were difficult and filled with lots of tears, some of sorrow but I have to say the majority of tears were from laughter because that's how he rolled.  
In the end it was just Nan, the kids and George's folks as I slipped out of the house after having said my goodbye. 
Thank you, George, for allowing me into your life and sharing your time here on earth with those of us who were lucky enough to know how wonderful you were.  A great father, husband, son and friend. 

For Nan - because I promised George:
     

For George - because I promised Nan:


For Both Of You - Because This Will Always Be Your Song: