New SPC Blog Spin-off: Goalie A Go Go

Readership,

As I had mentioned in previous posts, I'm bored as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore! Rather, not only does off-season have me jonesing for hockey, I had this thought LAST FALL, but didn't really start actively seeking out ways to deal with it until this past April.

The goal: to teach myself to be a goalie.

This means teaching myself to skate, to physically re-invent myself, to study and memorize movements and techniques, to commit myself to the laundry list of items required for the position, and to swallow my pride and ask for any and all advice from anyone who would like to help a very late-comer to the game.

The link will now on be included in the right column here and will soon be available at www.goalieagogo.com.

Thanks to those who have already been helpful through the mere beginning few months of this journey.  @maalivahti has already made such a journey (beginning in 2005), if not a more impressive feat (due in part to the gender barriers associated with contact sports) with her blog From the Couch To The Crease. The first handful of posts had me looking around myself, nodding, practically following similar paths - and giving me insight on what challenges I may face in the future.  That, and her love of industrial music tickles me black. Anyway, the chance that I stumbled upon her blog a few weeks ago through a Twitter conversation with Justin from The Goalie Guild was too perfect to ignore.  Things are moving in the right direction and that's all there is to it.

Personal updates, achievements, opinions, news, equipment reviews, and more...chock full of SPC-style goodness - now available at GoalieAGoGo.

Cheers.

NHL 11 Is Almost Here & Kovy Still Doesn't Have A Contract

Readership,

Have you been enjoying the summer as I have? No? I understand - I've been going through hockey withdrawals as well.  Oh, believe me, I tried to get back into it (if you've been following my Twitter feed - SeePuckCity) by going to the official NY Rangers draft party to help console Rangers fans when they had the chance to pick the 3rd and 4th best player on the list and instead went with a much lower "enforcer" type.  I tried to get back into it by going to the NJ Devils equipment sale hours early, only to find myself with No.323 and among a slew of folks wondering what the hell was under their feet.

After being in the Big Apple for a month to test the waters for a possible future fit up north, I came home with a hankering for real BBQ (which up north they believe is either "anything on a grill" or "Texas-style beef brisket" - wrong on both accounts with the correct answer being "smoked pork, you damn Yankee") and my beloved Hockeytown South.  Sure, they've got some great fans and even a greater amount of amateur hockey leagues, and local hockey shops with *gasp* a large amount of goalie equipment, but something was lacking.


I monitored every bit of news coming out of the Poile camp like the rest of you, only I did it from a 400 sq ft studio sublet in Brooklyn with no A/C...and yes, it was pretty much the same weather Nashville had the whole time I was there.  Activity began stirring about...something we're not often used to seeing.  Capt'n Concrete was sent back to NJ while I was looking out at it from the Q train, while Hammer and Ellis were sent off to be someone else's recyclables.  Forwards were picked in the draft - something else we're not used to seeing...as much!  And then the (rather obvious) rumors that Weber would be named captain began floating about just in time for me to touch back down in the heartland in time for Prospect Camp (after being near Prospect Park for a month) and the Skate of the Union. That's more like it!



My question was, and still is, who will back up Pekka Rinne with Ellis now set to take over Tampa Bay?  Will Deks be brought up from Milwaukee or will Poile set aside a chunk of change for another, more veteran goalie presence?  If Deks comes up...will Pickard take over?  The video above shows what I think is the future of Preds goaltending: Anders Lindback.  If he's out to challenge a shooter, the shooter will lose.  At 6'6" (that's TALLER than Pekka), pucks just bounce off of him.  Over the first 2 days of Prospect Camp, Lindback has been the best of all 4 (Lindback, Pickard, Smith and Engren - and in my opinion, that order). Pickard will have to watch his back if he's trying to win that starting role in Milwaukee.  We'll see how the rest of Prospect Camp unfolds this weekend!

Lastly, the Skate of the Union.  I left the camp to check out the arena, find out any more details regarding the equipment sale that I could.  The NJ Devils sale left me a bit paranoid, having arived there nearly 3 hours early and still having 300 people in front of me - I caught a glimpse of a jackass with 10 or so goalie sticks all wrapped up in a bundle, all Brodeur of course - nothing spared for anyone else who gave a damn.  Sadly, that's the way of the world, even in Nashville.  I grabbed a bite at SATCO and headed back to The Bridge around 1:30.  One other fella was standing outside of the arena when I plopped my bag of books down on the trashcan in the entry lobby.  He came inside and we began talking about hockey.  Some of his friends came in a few minutes later and we had a decent chat.  I mentioned the fella above, with all of the Brody sticks and they all agreed that the guy was a nogoodnik. Then I found out through hours of conversation that the fella I had been talking to nabbed not just 1 Rinne stick last year, but most of them.  I'm sorry to say, for the sake of all the Rinne fans, for the up-n-coming goalies (or well-established goalies looking for cheap equipment), for TigerPredsChick and a few others that asked me when they got through the line and saw me with my 1 Ellis stick, that same guy grabbed all 4 Rinne sticks, handed 2 to his friend that was behind me, and began trying to bargain to other fans for a Hornqvist stick.  Yes...you read that correctly - bargaining with merch that wasn't yet actually his own.  Cheap-shot move, buddy.  Stay classy.  It was then that I realized that maybe the "treasure hunt" technique the NJ Devils people used might not have been a bad idea after all.

Ptty! Phooey! Thhhpt!! Now that I've got that bad taste out of my mouth, Weber is now Capt'n and Lombardi is #15.  Hopefully soon we'll hear about Franson and Hornqvist, but until then...have a helluva Friday with all your new (or used) toys from the sale and I'll see you all at Centennial Sportsplex on Saturday if you decide to show up and recognize me.

Cheers.

Beast of 7 - Summer Begins: Random Bits

Readership,

The Habs did it.  They beat Washington in a Best of 7.  They just beat Pittsburgh in a Best of 7 (and yet the talking heads - no, not the good David Byrne ones - still won't let the Crosby/Ovechkin comparisons die).  The Bruins have allowed their series to go to a Best of 7 (I wish them the best in their folly; they looked a bit like the Preds in October last night).  The Red Wings beat Phoenix in a Best of 7 (but lost to the Sharks).  Pred's ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones came back from a 0-3 game deficit to win their Best of 7 last night (congrats, Cyclones and Cyclones fans)!  The summer (technically still Spring, I know) is starting out on fire to say the least - especially if you're a Montreal cop car.

Enjoying the highlighted links? I know I've been missing them for awhile!

The 2010 IIHF World Championships have been a blast - a blast for the upsetters anyway.  Team Germany defeating Team USA (a sign of things to come for what will soon be known as Team Relegation; go Goc!), Denmark beating Finland (Pekka's only game thus far) then USA, Switzerland just beat Canada for their first time in 76 years yesterday, and Norway has been on a roll themselves beating the Czech Republic and just finished beating France as I type this. PredsOnTheGlass has more to tell regarding Team USA's downfall.

That being said, the IIHF website has had a few fun fan-oriented activities.  One such example was asking fans to send in questions for Team Germany captain (and familiar face of Preds forward greatness) Marcel Goc to answer.  I did my civic duty as a Nashville Predators fan paying attention to the Worlds' games and sent in a handful of questions - most of which he answered! I've got a white Team Germany jersey that will soon have a #57 on the back (thanks to IceJerseys being great).  

Yes, I've still got to look into WordPress formatting.  I keep seeing more and more sites that are built on WordPress, but I've got no idea about coding or format or any tech-y gobbledy-gook.  Any suggestions from my web-savvy readers?

Lastly, I've got two big summer projects I'm working on.  One is myself - building myself to become a hockey player, specifically a goalie.  I've skated as many times as I've got fingers on my hand (not counting the thumb), but I've come to grips with the fact that I can no longer just be a fan - I want to be more (kinda like that old commercial where the kids drop the video games in favor of actually playing the sports outside).  I'd like to document it via this blog, but in various media formats (and, again, with better web design).

The other...well...are there any hockey-loving artists in the house? Who might also like comic books? I'm looking for an illustrator that love hockey and I think you know where I'm going with this.

[Below: 3 games at the same time: Habs/Pens on the left, Bruins/Flyers upper right, Cyclones/Royals bottom right - schizo hockey!]

Today, the insurance adjuster comes to the SPC Haus to inspect damage from the flood rains seeping through the basement walls, causing me to tear out all carpet and foam, and soon go to work on the drywall (hey, it could've been much worse, so I'm lucky I got away with that).  The adjuster's phone number is a Massachusetts area code - I'll be wearing my Bruins shirt to break the ice. Wish me luck!


Cheers.

Thank You Preds: An End To A Better Season Than Last And A Look To The Future

Readership,

And so it goes.

A blistering 1st period in a must-win game had the Preds down by 1, 5-3.  An excruciating 2nd period in a must-win game had the Preds killing power plays for 10 minutes.  A nail-biting 3rd period in a must-win game had the Preds with the man advantage for nearly 10 minutes, but in the end...they could not muster the must-win.  Thus, the Predators took a bow, shook the hands and exited off the ice for the last time in the 2009-2010 season.

Thank you, Preds.

You've shown us that even under that gritty facade, you are in fact a 100 point earning team.  You've shown us that you can climb that Top 8 ladder without the use of "loser" points [see: Detroit Red Wings].  You've shown us that there can be a balance that is stronger than any marquee name or marquee line. You've shown us that the future of the Preds is strong in the youth that ended up outshining the vets tenfold.  You've shown us all of these things that make me proud to be a Predators fan and believe in you when you step out on the ice.

The only thing that I'm a bit curious and a bit anxious about, is how we find ourselves out in the 1st Round once again.  The coaching staff and the team worked their tails off to get to the middle of the playoff pack, but once again, when the playoffs finally rolled around, things got bumpy.  The PP was a hindrance instead of a relief.  The vets disappeared after Game 1, never to truly be seen again.  The whole mind-game hullabaloo with Hornqvist's injury just added insult to it rather than doing much good.  And Game 5...enough said there.

What can you do to redeem those weaknesses and to regain the trust and love of Predator fans that might just be calling for "a cleansing" of the organization over the summer.  It's similar to what Jacques Lemaire said regarding his Devils' Playoff team:  [paraphrasing] "Sometimes you look at players [in our case, the coaching staff or perhaps just the system] when you are trying to get something through to them and you see in their eyes that they understand it but this time I look in their eyes and I saw they did not get it."  Something didn't click as well as it should've and it's about time it's taken into serious consideration what that is and how to fix it over the next few months.  I feel this will be the brunt of off-season conversation as well as the diamonds in the rough that Poile found in the regular season (Goc, Grebeshkov) and those that are very much going to make a difference in what kind of team the Preds can be (Hornqvist, Wilson, Boyd, etc).

A toast to our AHL brethren in Milwaukee, sadly also being taken out of contention by...Chicago.

To the Blackhawks' fans' trio of idiots in 304, lead by a fella that looked a bit like this and kinda like this for his asinine behavior throughout the evening...a well-deserved, mostly full souvenir cup of soda, chucked from twenty feet away.  Kudos to the "anonymous" Preds fan for having precision aim and retaliating against folks that rivaled the idiocy of Blues fans [and for those of you who had to put up with these fools in 303 and 304, you can send your thanks and emoticon wishes in the comments section, and I'll tell her about them in a few minutes ;D ].

I'll update SPC from time to time over the summer, but I'm still coming up with new ideas on where to take it.  You can follow me on Twitter - SeePuckCity, natch.  Congrats to Boston on heading to Round 2. Sympathy for the Devils - I'll be very curious how the off-season will treat them and what kind of team will come back in October.  I'm going to teach myself how to skate in the next few weeks, so wish me luck on that - I may do a few special posts regarding my embarrassing ice-capades for your enjoyment.  And that's it for this post.

Thank you Predators. Thank you readers (except for you Asian spammers that keep leaving comments to spam voyeur sites - you're barely any better than Blues fans).  And lastly, thank you bloggers for creating more venues for information, entertainment and opinion based around hockey in the South - it helps get the word out to the world that it is here and it's here to stay.

Predators Hockey: It Stays With You...indeed.

See you in September.

Cheers.

Preds Blow Game 5 In Regulation By Going To OT: 5-4

Readership,

Jack Daniels would be making so much money if they were a Preds sponsor, especially after games like this afternoon's Game 5. 

They battled back and overtook the lead late in the 3rd period...and while on the power play...instead of playing 4 corners for 1 minute and 3 seconds...they allow the Blackhawks into the zone to tie it up.  The game may as well have ended there.  With 2 and a half minutes of PP left in the OT, it seemed as if the Preds were just waiting to hand the puck over to Hossa...which they did...and got out of the way.

What a waste.

A waste of time, of talent, of emotion, of energy - all for naught because we have the sorriest PP in the Playoffs - one that actually hinders us from doing anything positive whatsoever.

Yeh, I'm pissed.  And Monday, the Preds have some making up to the fans to do by doing what Chicago did today: tie it (the series) up.  Then they will win in Chicago, as they should have done today. 

Easier said than done, but it's not improbable.

Kudos to Grebs for playing so well after not having been with the team since early March.

Cheers.

Give And Take A Whoopin' Part 4: Preds Take A Whoopin' 3-0

Readership,

I could've sworn the ice said "Stanley Cup Finals" on it last Tuesday.  And I think I also saw a Bridgestone logo down there too.  So...why did the Preds' game play look like they rewound the clock back to October?

I can't really find the words, partly cos of tired and partly cos that game was way to frustrating to even think about.  Sloppy play plagued the Predators and they didn't seem to mind - that's why the 7th Man quit giving a damn and began heading to the parking lot in the final 4 minutes.  Rinne can't bail out the whole team...only half of it.  And Hornqvist's handlers better let the kid play.  I don't know if this is some bizarre mind game the coaching staff is playing, waiting to the last minute to unleash the beast or saving the Swede's energy for Round 2, but if the rest of the team plays like they did tonight, there won't BE a Round 2. 

Was that Hamhuis and Klein I saw for a majority of the game, or at least during the 2nd goal against? I thought so. 

Put Grebs out there, separate #2 and #8, let Horny do the damn thing, drill the idea into JP's noggin that he can be worth a damn and bring the A game to Chicago this weekend, cos this C game...well...the "C" stands for "Crock of ----".

The team knows what it can do and it needs to stop this trend of following what the other Western match-ups are doing and show them they're better. No more "Win, Lose, Win, Lose" - take the reigns and reign down upon the Windy City with revenge.

Cheers.

Preds Take Game 3 Against 'Hawks With A Familiar Score: 4-1

Readership,

4-1.  Seems like the Preds like that score.  They did it the first time around, tried something a lil different and decided that 0-2 wasn't all that it's cracked up to be, so they went back to 4-1.  That being said, the series stands at 2-1.  I feel our boys would very much like that to be 4-1 in the end of it all, and I feel that Pred Nation does too.

A crowd of 16,075 rallied in Nashville, making it look and sound more than "sold out" cos Preds fans are just that hardcore (it's a fact that 1 Preds fan is equal to that of 1.59 fans of other NHL teams - think British pounds to dollars and you've about got it).  The crowd didn't disappoint and neither did the boys in blue.  A 60 minute hockey game is what we've wanted out of the team during the regular season so many times, and finally a 60 minute game is what they gave us.  Everyone fought with vigor, but not carelessly so as seen in Game 2.  Power and patience was the name of the game, whether it was choosing between going in the zone alone or waiting for a full change to waiting for the referees to finally call one of the many tackles on Martin Erat in the 3rd (the third hit hooked him and resulted in a successful penalty shot - something we rarely get to see, especially in the playoffs).

SPC kudos go to Pred "vets" Legwand, Erat and Sullivan for stepping up to that level the organization dreams of becoming consistent because these fellas are capable of being just that.  More kudos go to...well...I was going to name names, but the whole Defensive corps was damn fine (with the exception of the brief moments in the 2nd where Hamhuis and Klein were out together - the fact that they both did quite well defensively when NOT pair together...is further proof that that is what works).  And of course, the most consistent kudos of them all goes to Pekka Rinne for once again being brilliant.

4-1.  Again(la) and again(la)! Man, I'm hoarse.

Go Preds!!!

Cheers.


PS. It has been brought to my attention that Otter's Chicken Tenders is adding a little something extra to their Preds Fan Appreciation deal thanks to the 2010 Playoffs!  If you didn't know already, if you wore a Preds jersey or Preds gear to Otter's (Demonbreun location) on game day, you'd get a free appetizer.  Now, add the option of 2-for-1 beer to that!  Sweet! Perhaps I'll see you there Thursday?

Preds Follow Suit With The Other Upsetters, Lose Game 2 To Blackhawks: 2-0

Readership,

Everyone else is gonna say it: the first two periods looked like a mirror image of Game 1.  The 3rd was supposed to continue with more force from the Preds, perhaps another fluke bounce to get the game back on track.  Well...that didn't happen.  Lots of penalties happened though.  And the Preds didn't convert on the few that weren't on them. 

How I miss Patric Hornqvist in games like this.  How I hate Patrick Kane in games like...well...any game, really.

I gotta do more than just post-game blogs here and I'm working on ideas.  Only doing post-game blogs burns ya out...especially when there are at least ten other sources online saying essentially the same thing.  Meh.

More fire...that's what I need on this site...and that's what the Preds need on Tuesday.

Cheers.

Nashville Predators Win 1st Playoff Road Game VS. Chicago Blackhawks: 4-1

Readership,

It's been a lil while - I seem to have fallen into the hole of blogging only after games - something I will have to change soon...perhaps in June ;D. 

The Predators have done it: they've won their first playoff game on the road...and win they did.  A scoreless 1st, a swarm of a 2nd by the Blackhawks gave Taxi Kane the first goal of the game.  Then J.P. Dumont happened in the 3rd...twice.  The Predator went into overdrive in the 3rd, creating turnovers in their favor as the Blackhawks did in the 2nd.  Niemi was pulled not once, but twice in the final minute and a half of play...resulting in not one, but two goals for the Preds (Smithson; Erat).  Let's let'em play 5-on-6 as much as they want with those odds!

This has been the season of the OT point making a difference and the post-season of statistical upsets thus far.  As a fan of the dark horse team, I'll just say this: let's keep pissing on everyone's hushpuppies!

Go Predators!

Cheers.

If Those Were My Fans, I'd Have The Blues Too: Preds Win 2-1 In SO

Readership,

As I'm sure you've already guessed since I began this blog, if there's one thing I dislike more than Red Wings fan, it's a Blues fan - especially when they're in our house.  Yes, that's "butts in seats", but there's something that just goes with having to hear something that sounds kinda like "BOOZE" over and over again from some jackass that thinks their hometown BBQ is better than that of the South and that their hometown king beer is worth the dimes worth of paint it takes to put a Bud Light logo on the ice.  Thank you, Blues fans, for deciding to use your fiscal tidings in our lovely city instead of your own festering swill-hole - it goes to making our home that much more delightful for the next time you wish for an escape.

Apologies for the venom, but when you're a part of 303 and you turn to find 301 is a bit less Navy blue and gold and a bit more Royal (pain in the ass) blue and (Bud) yellow...AND when you read an article earlier in the week how Branson is calling itself "The OTHER Music City"...nothing from Missouri will escape my blog-wrath! MUAHAHAHA!

And there was much to laugh about as Erat put one over Conklin to win the game in a shoot-out.  OK...that's not much to laugh about at all, but Capt'n Arny's shot returned with his brand new helmet to boot.  Our PP disappeared again, but that's what happens when your best goal scorer is out (expected back for Round 1 of the playoffs or so I've read).  Ward was injured to some degree, sadly, and still no word on Grebeshkov.  One of these days, we'll have a healthy team going into the playoffs - alright...you can laugh at that one. 

Until then, the boys currently sit in 6th place as LA and Detroit both play tomorrow (rather, later today as it's 2AM right now) to change the outcome of the lower half of the Western Playoff teams.  If Detroit and LA lose, we're set for 5th.  If Detroit loses and LA wins, we're set for 6th.  If Detroit wins and LA loses, we're set for 6th.  If the both win, we're set for 7th.  If Chicago wins tomorrow and we end up in 7th, we play San Jose.  If they lose, we play Chicago.  If we set up in 6th, it's Vancouver and if somehow we end in 5th, it's Phoenix.  I've been hoping for a Vancouver match-up cos Luongo's been off as of late, but tonight's game with Daniel Sedin's hat-trick and his brother notching 4 assists...makes me think...no team is going to be easy.  At the same time,  this season (based on NCAA's basketball and hockey tourneys) has been quite generous to the dark horse teams...so...BRING IT!

Congrats Blake Geoffrion on the Hobey Baker award! Tennessee represent! Yes, you Northerners, we DO care about hockey here - on EVERY level. Some more than others, but the passion is here nonetheless.  Take me, for example: I've barely set foot on the ice, let alone in ANY kind of skates, but this year, I have made it my goal to play in goal by learning from the ground up (namely cos I feel I will be spending a lot of time on the ground as I learn to skate fluidly)! I'm already older than your average pro-hockey player, but I'm going to do it anyhow because I feel a connection to the sport that I cannot shake, and in fact, would fight if I were forced to shake it.  I can't wait to get on the ice...for only the 2nd time in my life, so I can learn to physically live hockey. 

It will soon be playoff time for Nashville and for a Predators team that seems best suited to march through these upcoming playoffs more than any other I've seen. 

Let's do this!  PREDATORS!!!

Cheers.

Preds Dry Up In The Desert: Lose 5-2

Readership,

With Detroit and Chicago winning tonight and LA being a crap shoot (but rather strong in that last win against the Ducks), all I'm going to say tonight is:

Please Not San Jose
Please Not San Jose
Please Not San Jose

Kudos, Desert Dogs - you're like us, only on a hotter hot streak.  To be honest, perhaps Vancouver would be the better team to play - Luongo's been so off since the Olympics, why not?

Cheers.

Preds Clinch A Playoff Spot and Top Detroit In OT: 4-3

Readership,

Playoff hockey at it's finest...only a couple of weeks before they actually begin!  The Preds come back again in the 2nd, take the lead, then (in what has become distinctly Red Wingean this season) Detroit ties the game in the last minute of regulation to take the game to OT.  Though that automatically gave Nashville the point needed to clinch a playoff spot, it gave the Red Wings their 14th OT point.  You know what - Ryan Suter didn't take kindly to that, so he ended OT as quick as possible by putting one past Jimmy Howard to win the game and get that extra point.

The Nashville Predators are in the 2009-2010 playoffs.

Re-read that if you will.  Doesn't it feel nice?

Weber, Hornqvist, Dumont and Suter on the goals for the afternoon.  Spaling and Boyd (#13 and #14 respectively) had near misses on Howard, so kudos to their performance as well.  Rinne, another strong performance, especially considering being at the Joe Louis Arena where calls do NOT go the Preds' way.

Here, here, Predators! Enjoy that happy flight back home.  You've got one more round trip to pick off in the desert and one more game to show the fans that you appreciate them.  Then...playoff time - not that these last few weeks have been any different from those types of games.

When you compare last year's team to this year's team...who's feeling good about the playoffs this year?

This guy.

Cheers.

Preds Bounce Back On The Blues: Win 3-2

Readership,

Learning from mistakes, the Preds did not let off steam in the 3rd period.  Nope - that wasn't an April Fool's joke - they battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie it at the end of the 2nd (thank you Boyd and Wilson, respectively).  They took that 2nd period momentum to the 3rd when Sully popped one in from Hornqvist and Goc (gotta LOVE that line!) to make it 3-2 around halfway through.  Even after the lead, the Preds didn't just play "keep away", but the Blues began pushing and pushing to the final minute, giving them the best chances in the 3rd...to no avail.  Pekka "Iron Man" Rinne stood firm.  The refs gave the Blues nearly 3 seconds to add to the clock in the Preds' zone because that's what refs do to the home-team here in Nashville, but the home-team stood firm - no flukes were to be allowed.

The Nashville Predators came back from a weak 1st to tie in the 2nd and win in the 3rd.  Sounds kinda like the season in a nutshell, doesn't it?

Let's keep tonight's 3rd period atmosphere for the next handful of games, shall we?  That's Preds hockey.

Cheers.

PS. Whomever Tweeted with that Belak report for April Fool's - you got me.  I mean, c'mon - we re-signed Klein after all.  I forgot that "holiday" until I was Rick-rolled early on.  Kudos.