More Hockey Holiday Humor

HO-HO-HO!  Heatley Scores!

Chicago Having Fun At Their Own Expense



Blue Jackets, Yes-Columbus, Getting The Job Done



Must-Follows on Twitter:

@ChurchofYeo

@msconduct10

@danysturtleneck

@burnzie88

@kassassination

@styleswild

@russostrib

@rstanzel

Must-Reads on Internetz:

TheScore.com - NHL Blogs  (especially Tea with MsConduct)

The Third Intermission

Bruins Holiday Video:



Before He Was Shanaban Part II:



I'm Ordering My Christmas Cards For Next Season From Here
(Guess which design I'm going with)

Christmas Comes Early For Coach Dave
Coach Daggett moonlights as Ref Daggett and he got the thrill of the season this week when he reffed a bantam game at Excel Energy Center, the home of our Minnesota Wild.  I could just see his face all lit up when I received his text letting me know of his adventure on home ice.  Way to go Dave!!  Not nearly as good as getting your picture taken with Wes Walz, but it's definitely up there on the OMGCanYouBelieveThat! Meter rating. 

Heatley You Tube Parodies (NOT for the kiddies)
 - Click on any of the All Star videos - OttawaGh0st4 is a genius!

PEACE ON EARTH, FFS!

Lighten Up, Francis

Wild hockey isn't much fun these days with all of the injuries and the lack of focus and being on a west coast road trip from hell and the guys still needing to find just the right gift for their wives/girlfriends.  Rather than expanding the naughty list for lack of effort let's have some fun and lighten the mood.  

All I Need To Know I Learned From Hockey:
Respect your opponent.
Show up every night.
Be loyal to your team.
Practice.
Be willing to make mistakes.
Hate losing.
Curse, but don't boast.
It's good to be the underdog.
Do anything to win.
Nothing is worth ending someone's career or their life.
Life is much better with a Zamboni than without one.
Learn to speak obscenities in a dozen languages.
Never give up, never surrender.
You can't win without the grinders.
Be willing to get hurt.
No one is too good to score ugly goals.
Shower.
If you think you can do it, you can.
Do not feed or tease the goalie.
Spaghetti has all the nutrients you'll ever need.
Look for the play.
Don't expect everyone you meet to understand your passion.  When you find people who do, treat them like long-lost friends.
Two minutes, in the box, by yourself--you feel shame. Then you get free. 

It's all fun and games till the puck drops

Before He Was "The Shanaban"

Hockey Commandments

 

Thou shalt have no other sports before Thee.

Thou shalt not throw the puck blindly up the middle.

Thou shalt honour thy blue line and thy goal crease.

Thou shalt not enter the neutral zone with thy head down.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy video replay official.

Thou shalt not take stupid penalties in the third period.

Thou shalt not root for the Blackhawks or Red Wings.

Thou shalt not talk on thy cell phone during a game.

He'll Always Be The Goofball



San Jose Sharks Holiday Video

Tis The Season
The tradition of the TEDDY BEAR TOSS is a popular Christmas season promotion at many minor and junior hockey arenas throughout North America. Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears to the game, and to throw them onto the ice when the home team scores its first goal. The toys are then gathered up to be donated as Christmas presents to hospitals and charities. In many cases, the players themselves personally donate some of the bears to children at area hospitals. It's believed this tradition started in Kitchener, Ontario at Kitchener Rangers games.  The tradition is perhaps the most popular in the Western Hockey League cities of Calgary, Alberta and Portland, Oregon.  
The Calgary Hitman Set A Record This Year


And it wouldn't be the holidays without some baked goods:

From my rink to yours - Merry Christmas! 

Buster says - Fleas Navidad!

Ugly Hockey, Is There A Doctor In The House?, Princess Bride,

Wild 1, Islanders 2

UGLY - UGLY - UGLY
I could only listen to the KFAN stream from the Wild's website for this game as NHL GameCenter had the game blacked out.  I can't imagine that was due to lack of ticket sales for the Wild since they ultimately announced a crowd total of 18,209.  It must have been the Islander's doing, at least that's what I'm going with.  Whatever the reason I was pretty bummed to say the least, given that I really wanted to see Jarod Palmer's NHL debut as well as seeing Kyle's line move up to the second line slot.  I didn't think this would be a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination but I figured it would be good to see how the guys worked to fill in the gaps left by Koivu, Bouchard, Latendresse, Setoguchi and Wellman. 
UGLY - that's the word of the game.  Our guys were definitely not playing Yeo Hockey.  Stupid penalties, bad passing, lack of possession, inability to clear our zone.  It didn't help that the refs were blatantly not calling penalties on the Islanders throughout the entire game.  I don't usually like to call out the reffing but these guys were so bad I thought we were back in pre-season.  The fans booed the team off the ice after the second period: Islanders outshot the Wild 15-4.  Part of me was thinking it was undeserved due to the team missing 4 key players.  Part of me was thinking it was warranted considering the Wild's been touting how interchangeable the Houston players and the Wild players are due to Yeo's system.  I'm going with the warranted boos because the guys, regardless of AHL or NHL affiliation, were not playing hockey the way Yeo expects them to.  Jarod Palmer was the only player who should have any kind of a rough time adjusting since it was his NHL debut.  The rest of the guys have been here, done this enough that it should be second nature.  To make my point: 4 of the 9 shots the Wild took through the second period were from Jarod Palmer.  Heatley, Cullen, Clutterbuck, Brodziak: ZERO.
The third period saw our guys skating better and the Islanders making bad plays.  Thanks to Cullen forcing a turnover DanysTurtleneck got the puck on net and Clutterbuck put the rebound past Montoya to tie the game.  They held on to force overtime which guaranteed the Wild remained in first place.  Jarod Palmer was ROBBED of his first NHL goal and Backstrom stood on his head at the other end during the five minutes of OT.  Msconduct tweeted the Aeros' stats for shootouts - Zero percent.  Not what I wanted to see.  What The Fuck was Yeo thinking having Zhidlicky in the shootout???  Cullen and Heatley couldn't get the job done either and the Islanders win the game in the shootout.
Bad News: Wild on three game losing streak.
Good News: Wild have 2 points in the last three games they've lost.                

Favorite Tweets From The Game
3. RussostribMichael Russo - end of 2nd period: #mnwild fans boo the minor-league team off the ice #welldone; 1-0 #isles but feels like 10-0

2. ChurchOfYeoChurch of Yeo - Second intermission sermon: PLAY THE F**KING GAME!

1. walz3737Wes Walz - 1 minute into the 3rd period: Wild have them right where they want them..


I'm sure the Islander's back up goalie has heard this all of his life but it's just too good to pass up:



Kiss A Boo-Boo, Make It Better
From Russo:
The Wild have sustained 112 man games lost to injury through 33 games. Here’s a look at some of the key ones:
Player; Position; Injury; Dates Missed; Games Missed
Cal Clutterbuck; W; upper body/2 thighs; sporadic; 4
Casey Wellman; W; wrist; Dec. 14-present; 2+
Clayton Stoner; D; Broken finger; Oct. 29-Nov. 12; 7
Devin Setoguchi; W; Knee; Dec. 8-present; 5+
Greg Zanon; D; groin; Oct. 22-Nov. 27; 16
*Guillaume Latendresse; LW; concussion; Nov. 12-Dec. 10; 16+
Josh Harding; G; neck; Dec. 8-14; 4
Justin Falk; D; upper body; Nov. 28-present; 9+
Marco Scandella; D; concussion; Nov. 13-19; 4
Marek Zidlicky; D; concussion; Nov. 17-Dec. 13; 13
Mike Lundin; D; back; Oct. 8-Nov. 27; 23
Mikko Koivu; C; leg; Dec. 16-present; 1+
Niklas Backstrom; G; groin; Dec. 4-6; 2
Pierre-Marc Bouchard; W; nose/head; Dec. 14; 2+
*sidelined again with a concussion

West Coast Trip Coming Up
Late night games for the week before Christmas against the Canucks, Flames and Oilers.  For those of you who will be up late wrapping presents, addressing cards and baking cookies you'll have some good company at least.  I think it will be a good week to put together some posts filled with some fun holiday themes and funny hockey folks to follow via twitter, blogs and web sites.   

Still The One, Dropping Like Flies, New Playmates, Home Is Where My Dog Is

Star On Top Of The Christmas Tree
That's our Minnesota Wild, folks!  Still sitting on top of the NHL, despite losing the last two games.  And yet, the national sports media machine is still having a hard time finding Minnesota on a map of the United States.  I'm reminded of the scene in the movie Major League when the team (Cleveland Indians) is doing a commercial for American Express credit card.  I tried really hard to find the actual video of this scene but couldn't come up with it on youtube.  This is from the IMD movie quotes site:

Everybody: Hello. Do you know us?
[Everybody, except Rick, puts on their caps]
Everybody: We're a Major League Baseball team.
Jake Taylor: But since we haven't won a pennant in over 30 years, nobody recognizes us - not even in our own home town.
Eddie Harris: That's why we carry the American Express card.
Rick Vaughn: No matter how far out of first we are, it's cool. You know, it keeps us from getting shut out at our favorite hotels and restaurant-type places.
Pedro Cerrano: [pointing to us] So if you're looking for some Big-League clout, apply for that little green home-run hitter.
Roger Dorn: Look what it's done for US. People still DON'T recognize us but...
[Roger snaps his fingers]
Lou Brown: We're contenders now.
[Also dressed in a tuxedo, Willie slides into home plate and holds up a green credit card]
Willie Mays Hayes: The American Express card: Don't steal home without it.

This is totally a snapshot of the Wild right now.  We'll just continue to do our thing quietly and consistently and see where the chips have fallen come late March.  Of course, if the injuries keep piling up we're going to run out of Houston Aeros to call up.

Bring Out Your Dead
Nobody's dead, don't anybody panic out there, but I can't help but think of the scene out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 
 

• Gui is out again after basically one game with "post-concussion" symptoms, meaning his mushed melon still needs time to solidify. 
• Seto is recovering from a knee, er - I mean Lower Body injury.  While nobody on the Wild is committing to any timeframe there is speculation that it's at least a couple of weeks before he skates by himself. 
• Koivu limped off the ice near the end of the overtime at the X Wednesday night against the Hawks.
• PMB got his nose caved in during the waning moments of the Jets game in Winnipeg Tuesday night.  Still waiting to hear about the CT results and from Butch whether or not he feels concussion-like symptoms returning since his whole face hurts right now. 
• Clutterbuck has just returned from dealing with back to back leg injuries (charley horses).
• Zidlicky (I'll refrain from using my favorite nickname for him for the time being - and thanks to Jane's hubby for coming up with it) has just returned from missing 13 games with concussion issues. 
• Cullen missed a game due to the flu bug - let's all pray that he was completely recovered when he played Wednesday night otherwise it will spread like the plague through the locker room. 

The Way It Should Be
It's still pending the players union approval but I don't think anyone in the NHL is doubting that the proposed realignment isn't as good as a done deal.  Here's how the conferences will look beginning next season:

East		West
Conference 1	Conference 2	Conference 3	Conference 4
Carolina	Boston	Chicago	Anaheim
New Jersey	Buffalo	Columbus	Calgary
NY Islanders	Florida	Dallas	Colorado
NY Rangers	Montreal	Detroit	Edmonton
Philadelphia	Ottawa	Minnesota	Los Angeles
Pittsburgh	Tampa Bay	Nashville	Phoenix
Washington	Toronto	St. Louis	San Jose
		Winnipeg	Vancouver

Say goodbye to those sleep deprivation game starts on the West Coast (at least so friggin' many of them).  Say hello to building new (out of old) rivalries with teams that are in our time zone.  It's clear that there is no love lost between the Wild and the newly anointed Winnipeg Jets so are we seeing the beginning of something beautiful in terms of a good old fashioned conference rivalry?  With Chicago and St. Louis in the same conference as the Wild will there be a return of the Black and Blue series rivalries?  All of this remains to be seen but I'm calling the realignment a Winner just based on the extra hours of sleep I'll gain from not having to stay up until 10:30 p.m. before a game STARTS anymore.

Home And Hearth 
No matter where I end up at the end of any day as long as my dog is with me I'll be home.  Lots of friends have asked me how hard it was to be without a permanent home until getting to Georgia.  I just tell them Home Is Where My Dog Is.  A very wise person once said: "You can take my money and my job, my house and my home.  But leave me my dog for without the love of that precious soul I'd truly be alone."  
My home these days is coming along nicely.  Some of my MN near-n-dears have been asking for updates so check out the Through The Lens tab for some pictures of the space I share with Buster.  As you'll see we're quite comfortable and happy to be here! 

First Place!

Sittin' On Top Of World Minnesota Wild: 39 points - tops in the NW Division and tops in the NHL overall. Whodathunkit? Yep, it's EARLY in the season but C'MON! How do you not get excited when watching these guys play? Nope, coming from behind is not the way you want to play for the rest of the season. The Wild need to come prepared for the first period or they'll get bit in the butt, hard, one of these days. I'm remembering a time not so long ago, last season and much of October this season, when this team would give up after being scored on. It was a struggle for our guys to even get off the bench for their shifts, they just didn't want to be there. That's the biggest difference on this team lately, from my perspective. They want to be there. They want to play together. They want to win. They get ticked off at themselves when they don't play well. They're starting to own their bad play and stepping up to take responsibility. I still think there are some major personality and attitude issues on this team but I'd like to shine the light on those players who have done everything Coach Yeo has asked them to do and in return are finding themselves moving up from the third and fourth lines and finding themselves on the powerplay and on the penalty kill in clutch situations. Cal Clutterbuck - took his one chance to make an impression during the Todd Richard debacle and not only stuck, but has been playing on the second and top lines lately. He's gone from being just the HitMan to being an offensive threat when the Wild's killing off penalties. Kyle Brodziak - I wouldn't have given you a bag of used pucks for Kyle after last season. What a difference a new coach and his motivation methods make, huh? Kyle's work ethic is so vital for this team. Hey, if it's not coming from where you'd think it should come from, Kyle's your man! As Russo put it so succinctly: "Kyle leaves his sweat all over the ice during his shifts." He never takes a shift off. Nick Johnson - The guy nobody ever talked about when he joined the team. That's okay with Nick though, he quietly goes about his business making the other team turn over pucks, sets up pretty passes and gets in front of the net to screen the opposing goalie. He's a digger, going into corners and coming out with the puck. Darroll Powe - You never had to sell me on Darroll even though he came from the most hated team in my eyes, the Flyers. His work ethic matches Kyle's...or Kyle's matches Darroll's, doesn't matter. Darroll leaves everything he has out on the ice every shift as well. Try listening to the radio feed for the Wild, not watching it on tv for a game. You'll hear Darroll's name a lot. You'll also hear a much more intelligent duo of broadcasters but that's a whole different ramble I could go on... I'm not saying the other players aren't giving it 100%. I'm not saying some of the guys on the other lines didn't come in this year determined to have a better season than last year. I'm saying that I think the night-in, night-out effort by the guys on the bottom lines of this team push the other players to be better. Mike Yeo rewards effort and attention to his game plan by giving players more ice time, in more crucial situations and on the top two lines. I've said this before while watching Coach Yeo work with this team and I'll say it again: you don't wanna play Mike's game - there's plenty of Houston Aeros players who will. They'll do it with precision and mucho gusto because they want to be NHL players, in The Show. I think, for the most part, the other players are now on board with Coach Yeo's game plan. I don't think it had anything to do with learning a new culture or new system. That's a bogus excuse made to cover up for players who pull the "I don't wanna and you can't make me" crap when faced with having to hold themselves accountable. If you think I'm off my rocker let's look at the current roster for Aeros players who've either made the team, are semi-permanent due to injuries, or making their debuts. Cody Almond Colton Gilles Casey Wellman Justin Falk Nate Prosser Marco Scandella Jared Spurgeon Clayton Stoner Matt Hackett Granted, not all of these guys are going to overthrow the current players but there are some contracts expiring after this season and there are some 'experienced' players who need reminding of why it is they're getting paid to play at the NHL level. I think it's important for veteran players to remember where they came from and who's hungrily following in their footsteps. I like that Coach Yeo's not afraid to let them see who's nipping at their heels. In a clear sign that Hell is freezing over; ESPN is starting to give props to the Wild, even it's for the GM of the Yearaward and not to the team's play.

  

All Shook Up, Still On Top

Wild 3, Tampa Bay 1

Home Boy Makes Team Debut
Mike Lundin, for all the homers out there, made his Wild debut.  Mike is from Burnsville and played high school hockey for Apple Valley.  He's been sidelined since training camp with back spasms and is coming off of a conditioning stint in Houston.  The first game timing is great from the standpoint that Lundin came to the Wild from Tampa Bay.  The Daggett kids (and Paula, truth be known) are over the moon for this guy so you know who was cheering the loudest from our section.  He is delicious to dwell upon, I'll give you Daggett ladies that much. 
**Over 19 minutes of ice time and 5 blocked shots - all while the broadcasters were stating Mike was struggling, pffft.   
    
Warrior Returns
Greg Zanon returned to the lineup Monday night as well and true to form he blocked a shot on his first shift and telling Backstrom: "I got your back, good buddy."  Greg blocked 3 shots in the first period alone.  Chuck Norris is envious.   

Familiar Faces
Always nice to see former Wild players come to town: Marc Andre (TeaCup) Bergeron, Adam Hall and Dominic Moore. 

New Faces
Coach Yeo made his unhappiness with the team's effort very clear and promptly called up David McIntyre and Casey Wellman (yet again) to take over for the newly demoted Nate Prosser and Warren Peters.  Nate needs to focus on what got him here and then be ready for the next time Yeo calls.  Colton Gilles is the healthy scratch - I would have said Stuupitz but that's just me.  Colton's game as dropped so he'll need to bag it after practices and get his game back to where Yeo wants it. 

Mixing It Up
Coach Yeo changing up the lines and gives Cal a spot on the first line in tonight's game.   

Young Pups Recognized
Brett Bulmer and Zack Phillips are invited to tryout for Team Canada's National Junior Team.    

Heatley Sucking
There, I said it.  It doesn't seem to matter who Yeo pairs him up with he can't seem to generate anything except turnovers in our zone.  I'm soured on Heatley but am willing to look at from a different perspective: is Koivu water to Heatley's oil?  Is it that those two need to be split up?  Who drops to second line if that's the issue?  My thoughts are expressed below as the game unfolds.   

First period - awful for the Wild. 
Turnovers (see above reference to Heatley) were costly and the Ning took the lead 1-0.  The boys start to get their poop in a group as the buzzer sounds. 
Second period - much better for Wild. 
Clutterbuck nets his 5th goal in nine games, this one a short-handed beauty from Koivu.  Cal has scored 3 of the 4 short-handed goals for the Wild this season.  The Wild are tied for second in the NHL for shorties.  Hmmm, remind anyone of Wes Walz?  Koivu has set Cal up on all three of his shorties.  Hmmm, anyone think Cal should stay on the first line with Koivu?  Koivu has six game point streak going.   
Nick Johnson battles like Zanon for the puck and feeds a pass to PMB who buries it for the 2-1 lead. 
Brodziak hits the post a dozen times but that just shows he's driving to the net.  It'll go in one of these times, Kyle.
Bergeron of the Lightning has as many turnovers as Heatley.  Good thing they're not on the same team.     
Spurgeon, not any taller than Martin St. Louis, is monster big on the ice in this period.
Schultz even got a shot off, I believe.          
Third period - Heatley, continues his downward spiral and takes a tripping penalty right off the bat, handing Tampa a powerplay.  Stamkos and St. Louis try to make Backstrom look bad but Nik says NO!!
Tampa passing is HID-E-US.  Wild are really lucky on several rushes because of it. 
Stoner having a rough night as well, maybe feels bad for Heatley?
OMG - Stuupitz almost had a good shift with McIntyre missing an open net due wobbling puck. 
Brodziak to Johnson, Johnson trips on the blue line but while sprawling he still sends the puck towards the net. 
Bouchard with another shot on goal - keep it up PMB!!
Heatley can't buy a goal.  He's in the middle of 3 point blank plays and can't his stick on the puck. 
Powe takes butt-end of Malone's stick, by accident, goes to bench bleeding.  Why wasn't that called for highsticking?  Oh, RefNCoach, please 'splain this one to us. 
Johnson determined to score and just misses as the last 2 minutes tick off. 
Heatley again and again, can't get the puck in the net.
Koivu takes a brilliant feed from Spurgeon and does what Heatley can't.  Wild win 3-1 and Koivu nets his 100th goal in the NHL!! 

Tweet Of The Game
Russo's : "Backstrom denies Shannon on breakaway because it wasn't in a shootout."  Funny, cuz it's true.  Backstrom was in his place of zen and peace Monday night so he must have gotten some sleep...meaning new baby at home is sleeping. 
Runner Up goes to Wysyinski: "Pretty sure I just witnessed a sequence in which Dany Heatley couldn't buy an *empty net* goal."

UP NEXT - Wild at Edmonton...REVENGE TIME!
  

Home For The Holiday

Too Much Tryptophan
The day after Thanksgiving Day game is historically a good one for the Wild, having won the majority of those matinee meetings while the rest of the world was busy shopping.  There have been a couple of stinkers and last Friday was one of them.  It wasn't the worst game the Wild have played on Vicki & Dee's Annual Day After Thanksgiving Game Date.  No, that honor goes to the 2007 Wild team who managed to lose 4-0 to the pathetic, anemic Columbus Blue Jackets.  Vicki and I stood up to leave on a number of occasions during that fiasco.  We were so pissed off we couldn't even speak the whole way back to our cars.
After the win over the Preds the night before Thanksgiving this year (Wild hosted & beat the Preds last year too, BTW) I felt sure our guys would come out rolling for the win on Friday.  I especially wanted them to do well knowing that Vicki was starting a new tradition with Emily for this game.  And it was the Oilers for crying out loud - we OWN the Oilers, especially at home. 
Whether it was too much turkey, too much shopping Friday morning or getting too cocky from the winning streak, the Wild were pretty much cooked birds from the first drop of the puck.  Don't even get me started on what a waste of bench space Staubitz was for this game...what a moron.  He's my "why, God, why" player of the Yeo era. 

Leftover Turkey
I looked forward to Sunday's game thinking the guys would respond like they did in California and we'd be right as rain.  After an extremely sweet and very emotional tribute to Derek Boogaard the guys got right to business and scored first on the powerplay - beautiful goal by Cullen.  Calgary got the next 2 goals due to some shoddy defensive play and an absentminded goalie for the Wild.  Evidently becoming a father left Backstrom in a place of shock and nonsleep, not his usual place of zen and peace.  The Wild tied the game up but Calgary chased Backstrom from the net by scoring for the third time before the 10 minute mark of the first period.  Harding came in, alternately standing on his head and laying on his back, making saves like he was born to it.  The Wild had a couple of good shifts in the second but the powerplay was listless - to the point of getting booed by the home crowd.  The third period got off to a bad, bad start: Harding was on a field trip somewhere out of the net.  Calgary made it 4-2.  And then they scored again.  Put a fork in it, the Wild are done.  While they've owned the third period in recent games, they aren't the Red Wings - the only team I know of that can overcome a 5-2 deficit in the waning moments of the third period.  The Wild got booed off the ice when the final buzzer went off.  They deserved it.  Yeo was not a happy coach during the post game presser.  Not. Happy.       
My favorite moment of the game: Iginla chirped the Wild bench on his way to his own bench and one of our guys squirted him with a water bottle.  Funny as hell, but that's unsportsmanlike and off to the penalty box went Stuupitz...not that he's ever missed when he's not on the ice.            
  
Wild fans have had a taste of winning and we're hungry for more.  We've seen the team all pulling on the same rope and it's a beautiful thing.  Now cut the crap boys, and get back to playing Yeo's way.  Tampa Bay is in town and you have the opportunity to take my second favorite eastern conference team down.    

Chance Of A Lifetime
It made for some funny headlines around the league but I'm sure it was simply nerve wracking for Paul Deutsch.  With Backstrom attending to the birth of his first child and Matt Hackett's plane from Houston not arriving until 6:00 p.m. the Wild needed some backup insurance for the net.  Paul fit the bill and stepped up to the challenge, signing an amateur tryout contract for the game on November 23.  He's no stranger to the Wild nets, as you'll read in the link to Russo's Rants, but I'm sure Paul never dreamed he'd be dressing for real at 51 years of age.  I'm guessing that's one less thing on his bucket list.

Hockey Players Get It Done 
Kris Letang gets his nose broken, is treated by the team physician and then returns to the game to net the winning goal in overtime.  Sidney who??  Click here for story and videos.  Hockey, real men play it.    

Daddy!
Niklas Backstrom became a first time father this last week. I'm sure he's getting lots of congratulations and advice from all the dads on the team.  I'm sure he's getting lots of hands on training in the diaper changing room too.  That could be why his glove saves are off...just sayin'.  Onnea, Niklas!     

The Derek Boogaard Tribute   
I remember the weather when I heard of Derek's passing.  It had been trying to rain, just spattering here and there, all morning.  As I looked at my phone to see the text message "Derek Boogaard Dead" the skies opened up and the rain came in a heavy rush.  It was appropriate since it matched my sobbing tears.  How appropriate that as the Wild presented their tribute to Derek on Sunday the rain started here in Georgia.  Not torrential or a downpour, but a nice gentle rain that left the earth smelling sweet.  God Bless the Boogaard family and Derek's memory. 


You may have to go to the multimedia link on the Wild home page to access the video.  The NHL team sites aren't exactly the most user friendly in terms of video sharing.  

 

Taking On The Blues, Having the Blues

Wild 3, Blues 2 In Shootout

Greetings from Georgia, Y'All - where we're still wearing tshirts & shorts.  Before any of you Minnesnowtans get all up in my grille, just chillax my homies.  I am in weather heaven down south here!  Since it's my blog I get to write about how great it is be outside without a parka, mittens, hat, scarf and snowboots on.  I drove home from the park today with all four windows down on November 19th.  Clearly, I am in the right part of the world these days.    

I am not missing this AT. ALL.

I am being punished by the Hockey Gods for having left the State of Hockey.  That's my price to pay for still having the AC on instead of turning on the heating blanket before leaving for the arena. It is a physical pain I feel when I look at the clock and am reminded that I should be driving to the arena to meet up with Vicki before the game. I still can't believe that we're not heading down the stairs together into the lobby of gate 1 with the big decision to make: watch warmups on the glass, get us some corn dog dippers or let me drool over Wes Walz doing the FSN pregame with Kevin Gorg. I miss the feeling of being "home" at the X. I miss watching Backstrom do his goalie porn moves in person... heavy sigh.  

Vicki, nobody else will get this, but Thanks for your version of this:      


Enough of that - let's talk some hockey, Stanley!

So, the Blues have a new coach since the last time we played them.  In fact, Davis Payne was fired the night after the Wild beat the Blues 14 days ago.  Ken Hitchcock is the bench boss now for the Blues and the team seems to be on the right track again.  They had a 4 game winning streak going into Saturday night's tilt and were just itching to shut down the Wild's 3 game winning streak at home.

1st Period - The team came out with speed and determination.  They were actually defending so well that the Blues got ZERO shots off in the first 7 minutes.  Third line should be the first line, just sayin'.  Why Koivu refused a clear shot is beyond me.  Wild have a bad line change and recover well but then our guys decide to start up a bakery - churning out turnovers for the Blues.  Harding staved off a couple of flurries in front of him but ultimately gave up a rebound that Backes pounced on & the Blues led 1-0. 
2nd Period - Clutterbuck takes a charging call - Lord, help me from becoming a homer but c'mon refs...WTF are you seeing that NOBODY else does???  Maybe it's the snow and the feeling of the holidays fast approaching...Mikko Koivu, all by himself, shoots and scores a short handed goal.  Christmas comes early!  It's his, wait for it...wait for it...SECOND goal of the season.  Game tied 1-1.  Harding had to make some big saves, and he didn't disappoint.  Koivu at the net going for rebounds - who is this guy?  Blues owned this period hands down.  VERY chippy game by the end of the second and I thought for sure there was going to be a scrum at the buzzer. 
3rd Period - Extremely defensive game in the 3rd period...1 shot on goal by both teams until almost half way through.  Crap - perfect pass in front of our net and Harding gets beat by Oshie.  Blues up 2-1.  The Wild are robbed at gun point by Halak every time they drove to the net.  Not for a lack of trying, the Wild are being stuffed big time.  Koivu spent more time at the opponent's net Saturday night than he has all season and it paid off in a BIG WAY - shoots, he scores!!  Tied game with just over a minute left.  OVERTIME, BABY!
OT - Minnesota got pinned down in their own zone for the majority of the overtime.  When Seto gained puck possession his linemates all bailed on him for a change...grrr.  Blues just owned the Wild zone and Yeo had to call timeout in order to get his guys a breather with under a minute to go. 
Shootout - Going in I'm glad it was Josh in net, sorry Backstrom.  Koivu scored!  Doesn't count as a hat trick, but heck - my hat's off to him: shorty, pp goal & SO goal.  Blues scored to tie it.  Cullen scored the winning goal - his wife will have good feedback for him after the game!  The team cleared the bench, swarming Matt Cullen and the props to Josh Harding were sweet to see.   

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: