Boy of the Day - 1/28/11

Okay... I realize that it's now Saturday in most parts of the world and this country, but I happen to be in the Pacific time zone and Mickey says that I have a bit longer to slip this in. I would have had it up sooner, but I was roped into coding for about 4 hours today at work; then I was at the arena watching my baby boys destroy Calvin Pickard and the Seattle Thunderbirds 7-0. Comcast Arena is always filled to the rafters when Seattle is in town since it's just down the I-5 from Hooterville, and tonight's game was especially sweet. There were a bunch of fights, St. Calvin got pulled 4 and a half minutes into the third and there were cowbells up the yin yang. In fact my ears are still ringing and I've been home about 90 minutes.

Anyway, I digress... actually though, fighting is something that today's boy does and usually does well. Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks is not only a really good defenseman, but he can also take care of himself. Our boy comes to us from Grimsby Ontario, which is on Lake Ontario near Niagra; and his father, Big Al who looks like a biker, works in the Ontario Federation of Labour. He is married to a lovely girl named Katie; and they have two adorable babies named Cole who is 3, and little Reese who is 1.

After playing in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, he went to Bowling Green University where he not only played all four years, but he graduated with his BA in Business and was an Academic All American twice. He was drafted by the Canucks with the 151st pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft; but he went back to school then signed an amateur tryout contract with the Moose in '04. After playing with the Moose for 107 games, he was finally called up by the big club and he's been there ever since. Right now, he serves as an alternate captain for away games, and there was a rumor or two that he was going to be named captain before Luongo was given the C. I am sure that with his leadership and drive, he would be a good captain someday in Vancouver.

So, without further adieu, some numminess from KevB...

Chillin' with Kes while he was rehabbing an injury...


With a Fin puppet for the Canucks Reading program...


I have never wanted to be a roll of tape more...


On the road with Keith Ballard...


I just... yeah....

The bang bang dance

Luckily I don't have this on my computer or it would be uploaded so we'll have to rely on the interwebs and youtube:

The bang bang dance



which is apparently from the show "How I met your mother"




(it only slightly resembles what I play with Max)

Good news, and bad news

So we have good news and bad news.

The good news: Ryan O'Reilly will only be out a couple of weeks for the Avs, with his shoulder injury not requiring surgery. (Mike Chambers' article can be found at the Denver Post's website here.)

The bad news: Ryan O'Reilly will be out a couple of weeks for the Avs.

Why is this bad? Because O'Reilly is staple on the Avalanche penalty kill, and I shudder to think how bad it can get without O'Reilly. It's already not the greatest.

More good news - Jonathan Toews scored career goal number 100 tonight against the Preds. 100 goals in 266 career NHL games ain't too shabby. Congrats Captain Serious.

Ok here is where I say "Holy Crap, it's been a while." Thanks Kevin for pointing that out. But Puck a Chuck is back. Yep.

And we dragged a new writer along with us. You'll see her work soon - wickedly smart about our game and a snifty writer too. Welcome aboard, Nutmeg. :)

In the next few days, I'll come out from the pile of work on my desk and have a proper post.

Wait... what?

Yes, it's been a while since we've updated and it's not that we don't love writing; but somehow we both get busy with other things including watching hockey. :) Hopefully we can get a chance to maybe get back in the swing of things and update more often.

But I just wanted to pop in and share a link from the local paper here in Hooterville that covers the Tips. It's a video of my boys being funny and dorky and pretty much being teenage boys in front of a camera. They did one like this last year too; but I think this year is even funnier.

I've had this tidbit brewing for a few days

I was talking with Amy the other night and I said I was gonna write about it because it struck me as hilarous at the time. We were watching a game - was it Monday's Pens/Habs game? No, probably the Slugs/Wings game on Saturday and IMing each other.

Now in order to set this up you really should know that Amy is I think the sweetest person on the planet. No really, she's very kind and good hearted. I often tell people that I'm the evil twin and, frankly, they aren't suprised.

So we're chatting and she drops this on me: I got suckered into Mafia Wars.

Mafia Wars for those that don't know is a game on Facebook where you basically thug about and do jobs for a crime lord. My little gangster Amy.

Ok, so it's not as funny probably to you but did I mention she was eating taco salad when she typed that? Maybe it doesn't come across well second hand.

Just to make this a totally nonhockey post: Having seen the Sabres play on Saturday (WHOOO RYAN!) and then reading about Patty having a great game - dare I say it? Could this be the year the drought ends? I know I know...*knocks on wood and gets out the bubble wrap*

Hockey returns to Hooterville!

When I was young, Labor Day weekend meant that the days were beginning to get progressively shorter, the mornings started to become crisp with a warm and sunny afternoon, my sister and I would beg our parents to let us stay up all night with Jerry Lewis; and something that would fill us with dread: summer vacation was coming to a close and school was starting in a few days.

These days, Labor Day weekend is not just the start of the road to fall; but it's also means the return of hockey! For those of us here in the city of Everett and the surrounding communities, we are fortunate enough to have hockey here in our own home town. While it's not the big names and bright lights of an NHL city, there are times where it is actually a better thing. We get to see boys come into our town as 15, 16 and 17 year old teenagers; and we get to watch them grow up and become young men.

Junior hockey is a funny thing... you can have a boy who seems to have all the talent in the world when they come through the bantam draft; but if he doesn't get the right coach or the right mix of teammates, he can be written off as a failure or even shipped home. However even just a change of scenery has helped some boys that were cast aside due to bad chemistry or bad coaching or something went wrong; including a few that have landed in Everett and amazing things have happened. Just ask Dan Gendur in the Canucks system. :)

And this Labor Day delivered again with last weekend's annual Silvertips tournament which was a good time for all. As usual, I was there for each and every game; and all that action was worth every penny. Even more than the games themselves is the people watching both up on the concourse and in the stands. It's usually pretty sparse, consisting of parents of boys on the team as well as some hardcore fans; but the amount of love shown is pretty strong. The best game of all was the 6-5 shootout win on Saturday morning by the Portland Winterhawks. It came after a blitz in the last five minutes of the third period. This game also had some NHL ties as the younger brother of Dion Phaneuf was playing for Prince George; and Gasper Kopitar, little bro of Anze, was part of the Portland offense.

Not to forget my hometown boys, they played in the 3 evening games, and there were some flashes of brilliance not only from the team but from the coaches. After two years of huggy and soft kind of coaching, it was good to see some discipline back with Craig Hartsburg. What was even more interesting was the dynamics with his assistants, one of whom is his son. With Jay Varady, who is the associate head coach and runs the defense, he pretty much was left alone; but with Chris, there was a little more interaction. I'm not sure if this is because Chris is newer to the coaching ranks or what, but I'll keep my eye on this as the season progresses.

There is still a long way to go for this squad, especially with various new boys to the squad, both young ones and vets who were picked up over the summer. Also there were a handful of them missing due to being invited to NHL camps. It is a bumper crop for the Tips with Tyler Maxwell and Radko Gudas going to LA as invites of the Kings, Thomas Heemskerk was asked to play with the Sharks; then there are the draftees Cameron Abney in Edmonton, Byron Froese and the Blackhawks, Rasmus Rissanen out in Carolina, and Kellan Tochkin up in Vancouver after he was signed with the Canucks this summer.

So, after picking up my season tickets last night, I really feel like hockey season is beginning. But first up is the NHL game here in town; then Opening night is the 26th and then the big boys start. It's like your birthday and Christmas all rolled into one; and I can't wait!

Hope you all had a good holiday and Go Tips! :)

Happy days are here again!

Yes, it is indeed a good day here in Hooterville as the 2009-10 campaign has begun for my Everett Silvertips. Camp officially opens tomorrow; but the boys are reporting today for weigh-ins and meetings with on ice drills to begin tomorrow. There should be a combination of returning roster players, current listed players and tryouts; and it's always fun to see if there is some boy that no one ever heard of or isn't expected make the the team for another year or two have a breakout camp and they end up on the opening night roster. There should be quite a crowd for this year's camp as the Tips staff have decided not to have a separate rookie camp; but throw everyone in the pool together and see who surfaces at the end of the week.

I can sort of see their reasoning behind this, especially after last year, as there are not a whole lot of guys that are of an advanced age. There are two 20 year olds that I know are coming back and rumor has it that the club picked up a couple more from waivers; but the rest of the team is still fairly young. The team is allowing the public in to watch the afternoon scrimmages Wednesday to Friday; so hopefully I'll be able to get down to the CableBox to see them one or two days. If all else fails, they are having the annual Grey versus Green game on Saturday afternoon; and those are always entertaining.

After camp finishes up Saturday, they should continue to practice next week in preparation for the Labor Day Weekend tournament here in town next Friday through Sunday; then they head over the mountains to TriCity for their annual tourney, but I will not be going over due to work. The official start of the season is the 18th when they play two more games on the road then opening night at home is Friday the 26th against Vancouver.

Oh and not to forget but in between the tournament and opening night is the long anticipated NHL preseason game! Yes, that's right..... our little neck of the hockey woods has been gifted by the league with an exhibition game between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Tampa Bay Lightning! The Tips, in their infinite wisdom, let fans order tickets as part of a package with the preseason tourney tickets; and best of all was that season ticket holders got to order first. So I was on the horn the morning they were available and thanks to the credit card that I have on file there, I have my usual seat for that game which is two rows behind the glass! Man, when I got my ticket in the mail the other day, I am not sure but I think I petted it. Sad, I know; but hey, I live 2+ hours from professional hockey and now I just might get to see Wayne and Pete and Doaner and Bugsy and mmmmmVinny 10 feet from me! *squees and does a little fangirl dance*

But anyway, that is about it from me other than it's been a long summer and I can't wait to see what Craig Hartsburg and his crew will do this year. GO TIPS!

Testing.... testing... is this thing on?

Good morning campers... It's been a while since we've updated, and it's not for lack of trying; but real life seems to get in the way. lol However, today I had some time and a few things to post, so heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!

It's about 4 weeks until hockey returns to Everett with the annual Labor Day tournament that the Tips hold; and oh boy am I ready for it! It's nice to watch the playoff games on NHL Network; but it's never the same as it is in person. Two weeks after that we get a real treat when the Tampa Bay Bolts come to town with the Desert Dogs of Phoenix; and I am so so excited. I'm torn as to which bench I would like to be sitting behind; because as much as I would like to see Peter Mueller and Shaun Heshka I really really really want to see Vinny Lecavalier sitting six feet in front of me. lol

And speaking of the Tips, nepotism has hit Hooterville in the hiring of new head coach Craig Hartsburg's son Chris to take the assistant coach job that Mark LeRose gave up when he went to be an assistant with Kevin Constantine in Houston with the AHL. He coached a little in the IHL, which is a lower level pro league; and I'm sure having Dad being a coach for so long has rubbed off a little. We'll see how he does...it is also nice that he's pretty cute too. ;)



Last week as a little sad as two more players in Lisa and my generation retired. One was one of the few Winnipeg Jets left in the league, Teppo Numminen; and the other is one of the best American hockey players ever to be in the league, Jeremy Roenick.

JR is one of only four Americans to have scored at least 500 goals finishing with 513, 703 assists in 1,363 regular-season games with five teams; and his six goals in Game 7s is tied for second all time. He was also a nine-time All-Star and a two-time Olympian, helping team USA earn a silver medal in 2002. I hope that not winning a Cup doesn't keep him out of the Hall Of Fame because all that he has done not only for the NHL but the game of hockey in the States should be enough as it is a lot.

And last but not least is Sidney's day with the Cup on Friday; which was also his birthday. It just amazes me just what a star that boy is up in his native land when I see things like all of the press for his first trip west last year; then it was eclipsed tenfold on Friday for the Captain's Cup day-birthday party. National news and a bazillion people following him all over was just craziness! But luckily as captain, he gets a second day; so I would assume that he had a much more dialed down celebration on Saturday with his family and close friends.

There have been a bunch of videos chronicling Steve and Stanley's Excellent Adventure, but I love this one most of all because he gets to be himself while playing with his friends. He doesn't have to be Sidney Crosby, Captain; he can be Sid the lifelong friend of a few boys he used to play road hockey with. The look of pure joy on his face at the end of the game just makes me just love him even more than I already did...

Sad day in hockeyville

After 20 years of NHL service, Quoteless Joe is hangin' 'em up. Joe Sakic by all accounts was a really wonderful guy to be around and one hell of a player. He always reminded me of Steve Yzerman with his style and class. Joe, you'll be missed.

In other news, the Iowa Chops have been "involuntarily suspended for the 2009-10 season by the league’s Board of Governors, effective July 6, 2009." I find this more than odd. What will the players do? There isn't a lot of information out there regarding what actually happened other than by laws violations. Hmm...

Lot of signings lately - some don't make a lot of sense and some are just down funny. Pronger for 7 years with the Bullies? He'll fit in nicely. I think he just missed the orange. At least he managed to wear a tie (*coughCartercough*)

From the Puck Daddy files - in talking about NHL 10:

That said, the "after the whistle" function is pretty much the greatest thing to happen to video gaming since the invention of giant apes throwing barrels at Italian plumbers. Face washes, cheap shots, putting the puck on the goalie after the whistle ... so, Claude Lemieux Mode then?

* * *

Still no word on the Patrick Kane mouthpiece ripping feature. Maybe it's hidden ...

I love gamers with a sense of humor. Also watching PKane get his mouth guard swatted from his mouth will never get old.

I know we'll eventually get around to posting the free agent grades, but we probably should talk about them first right?

Until next time,
only a handful of weeks until Olympic training camps!

Thank God It's Draft Day!

Yes, it's true... it's here. Draft Day is one of the most exciting and anticipated days on the NHL calendar up there with the trade deadline and the last day of the regular season. It's watching to see if the so called experts are correct on their picks, which teams actually pick what they actually need rather than picking some guy so their division rival can't get him; and you get to see lots of nice boys all dressed up.

The biggest mystery of the night will be who the NY Islanders will select: John Tavares, the Canadian sniper forward who has been playing for the London Knights of the OHL or the very tall blond and Swedish defensman Victor Hedman, late of the Swedish hockey factory Modo. Who goes third could be a number of different boys, but from what I've read it could be Matt Duchene who plays with the Brampton Batallion, which is the club babyCanuck Cody Hodgson played with this last season; and I've also heard Evander Kane from the Vancouver Giants or Luke Schenn's brother Brayden who plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings. I haven't seen Matt, but I've seen a little of Brayden and a lot of Evander; and I think that in a couple of years they'll be good solid players for whoever picks them.

The Silvertips are going to be waiting with baited breath to see if any of the boys will be picked and if they're picked by who. One boy that should be drafted is Byron Froese from Manitoba. He was a rookie this last season who was placed on a line with two other rookies, Kellan Tochkin and Tyler Maxwell who also might be picked; and they went bananas for an offense that at times needed that spark. He got a notice by Team Canada and was invited to play at the U-18 World Championships; and did a wonderful job including a hat trick. Three other Tips, Cameron Abney and Shane Harper and goaltender Thomas Heemskerk, also have a chance of being selected; but who knows. Surprises do happen though... ask Dan Gendur. He wasn't even near the radar, but after a great season two years ago, he was selected by the Canucks at the very end of the 7th round; and after a very good first half with the Victoria Salmon Kings and a cup of coffee with the Moose, our pal Danny was selected to participate in the ECHL All Star game. So, stay tuned! :)



Funny video from Puck Daddy...


TSN is passing a rumor of a trade between Boston and the Leafs that has me saying BUH!? "Sources tell TSN the Bruins have offered restricted free agent forward Phil Kessel to Toronto in exchange for the Leaf defenceman and Toronto's No. 7 pick in the draft." Really? Are the PoohBears really that needy for defense that they're willing to give up Phil? Yikes!

But that is it for now from me... I'll be watching the replay of the first 10 or so picks during the replay on NHL Network tonight since it starts at 4pm my time; and hoping for my local boys in the morning.

Before I go though, we have the Boy of the Day; or actually Boys of the Day. As suggested by our good pal Lisa R., the last year we had the same kind of 1 vs. 2 battle was Alex Ovechkin and Geno Malkin in 2004...

Happy Draft Day Eve!

Greetings and salutations from the Pacific Northwest! It's NHL Draft Eve, and I'm sure that the Le Centre de Bell is buzzing with excitement already and has been for days. I wish that Lisa and I could be up there this weekend; but I'm sure we'll be keeping track of things down here. We might even see a few of the Tips boys go in the later rounds or at least I hope we will.

We went to the draft two years ago in Columbus and had a ball; well other than the seats in the upper bowl of Nationwide Arena are built for the ass width of a 5 year old. From seeing Rick Nash outside signing autographs to watching Harold Snepts walk right in front of us to getting to see all of the NHL awards up close and personal. It was all so surreal, especially when Cam Neely called our pal Zach Hamill's name; then Dave Nonis picking another of our pals Taylor Ellington. There wasn't the huge group of Tips fans cheering for him like the year before in Vancouver, but hopefully you could hear those two voices screaming from the left side of the upper bowl.

Yesterday Team Canada's Executive Director, aka the handsome Stevie Y, announced the Canadian men's Olympic hockey coaches. The head coach is Mike Babcock whose assistant coaches will be Lindy Ruff, Jacques Lemaire and Ken Hitchcock. Hopefully Team USA's assistants will be announced soon; and they'll include Mike Sullivan, Dan Bylsma and Tommy Fitzgerald for the hottie factor. Oh, and because I think they're pretty good coaches too. :)

I love you Patty Kane... you're too cute for words!

All is well here in Hooterville now that we have a head coach and the assistant coaches will not be changing; so the crew will start getting ready for training camp in August.

Two videos from the presser on Tuesday courtesy of local station King5...
New coach Craig Hartsburg...

and three of our boys: Zack Dailey, Kellan Tochkin and Thomas Heemskerk...


And to round up today's entry and in keeping with the Draft theme, I give you for Boy of the Day someone who was not only a first round pick, but was the first overall pick in 2002 Draft and that is Mr. Rick Nash...

How old are ya now, Brew?

Good morning campers! Is this thing on? Anyway... it's another beautiful day in the neighbourhood and it's been made even better with the very strong rumour that Craig Hartsburg, lastly of the Ottawa Senators, has been offered a two year contract with my beloved Everett Silvertips. And I just got an email from Rob Ramsburgh of the Silvertips through Facebook for a press conference to announce the new head coach! Stay tuned for more news and maybe some pictures too! *squees and jumps for joy*

If this becomes true, I think this will be a good thing. As tough as things were with the big boys, I think that with the young guys he should do well. Prior to his stint with the Senators, Hartsburg spent five seasons as head coach of the OHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. And he was also assistant coach for Team Canada in 2006 at the World Juniors where they won and then won two more junior gold medals as head coach in 2007 and 2008. So, with his experience with juniors and our boys having another year under their belts, I think this season might just be a little happier than the last one.

And this is a good way to start this week, as it's Draft Week, so we'll be having some of our thoughts about some of the boys and where we think they might go. The Tips have a chance to have a few boys picked, but this season will probably break the first round streak so we'll just be watching for the fun on Friday night and we'll celebrate on Saturday somewheres around rounds 3 and 4. :)

We also wanted to introduce a new segment here at Chuck a Puck and it's called Boy of the Day. Since Lisa and I are connoisseurs of a large number of boys, we'd like to share some of our favorites with our three readers.

Today, we beg to put before you the handsome boy that we began to love quite a while ago when he was an Edmonton Oiler. He's tall, slim and has the most beautiful grey eyes; as well as being a bad ass defenseman who can decapitate with his elbow. He's been a bit banged up the last few years; but I'm hoping this next season he can stay unbroken so he can play for another gold medal as part of Team Canada. So, without further ado, here is the captain of the Saint Louis Blues, Mr. Eric Brewer.

Stanley hangover

I've spent the last two days scanning the interweb for information and photos of the Penguins celebrations (Sunday at the ball park, the parade yesterday) with an odd feeling of glee and jealously. It was the Wings last year and time moves on to another team to be on top. I'm honestly ok with that and I think I have a stronger tie to a lot of the Penguin players watching them so much this year (and nice new tattoo Duper!). Over all, I've enjoyed it. But now I'm ready for camp to start anew and to see all 30 teams take the ice on with a fair shot at a parade of their own (I'm looking at you Buffalo).

But first! We have some unfinished business to take care of: NHL awards are Thursday, the Draft is next weekend, July 1st brings free agency, and lest we forget the ongoing saga of the Phoenix Coyotes (which really must suck for their fans). Much to do in the up coming days before we can really enjoy the summer and put our toes in the sand and bid 2008-2009 NHL season a farewell. Keep your eyes peeled for Chuck A Pucks take on all of it.

Tomorrow: Men in tuxes! Uh, I mean the Puckers take on the NHL awards.

Until tomorrow...

ZOMG!

There will be a real update in the morning; but until then...

YES WE DID!

Believe!

That is the phrase that millions of citizens of Penguins Nation are saying today, as am I; however, there are quite a few fans from Moose Country in the AHL that are also quite happy this morning.

Our boys from up in the Peg also faced elimination last night in the form of the Calder Cup Finals last night; but they found it in themselves to get down to some srs bzns and they were able beat the Hershey Bears in Game 5. They'll head back to Manitoba for Game 6 on Friday night and hopefully there will be a game 7 in that series as well.

Friday night will be a busy one on the internet and in my living room watching the Pens try to parlay last night's craziness and passion into a win; as well as keeping up with the Moose on the net. I just wish that the NHL network was showing the games... hell, I wish they showed more games in general from the AHL on there.

After Saturday night I was down and I'll admit I had some serious doubts about how the Pens would come back out after getting the crap kicked out of them. Does that make me a bad fan? No, it makes me realistic; but I was very happy to see that they were so focused and driven last night. I shouldn't have doubted Steve and Co. though; considering the way this team has come back from so many ups and downs this season that they should be renamed the Weebles... Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

Anywho... that was about from me this morning. Oh, and one more thing that is very LOLZ-worthy for a Pens fan. The Flyers have agreed to terms for a one year deal with ticking time-bomb Ray Emery. It seems that they want him to come back from his self imposed exile in Russia and see if he can do better than Marty Biron did this year. Um... okay; it should be very interesting to see how and even if he meshes with that bunch there in Philly. All I can say is that I can't think of a team that deserves him more.

Have a good one, y'all and GO PENS!

Loser! Loser! Best baby in the WORLD!

Yes, it's a lovely day here at Chukker Central. Not only is it sun shining here in the great NW, but Round Two of the playoffs starts tonight with a battle of Bobby Lu and his Canucks versus Johnny Dakota and the Blackhawks.

As we did in the first round, Lisa and I have taken it upon ourselves to give our separate predictions, as we have a few differences of opinion. :)

Lisa's predictions:
Alright here we go. Round two of the big boys starts tonight with just one game on the docket but it could be the start of a very rough and tumble fight night sort of series.

Since it’s the game tonight and Amy’s favorite team, we’ll start in the West with the new second seed.

Vancouver v Chicago: Remember about a month or so ago when these two teams met in Chicago and it melted into a slug fest? These two teams really don’t like each other. It could come down to a battle of hot goaltenders. I think Vancouver will pull this one off in 6.

Detroit v Anaheim: Amy and I are gonna not hold our picks in this one against each other. Detroit will be rested (hopefully not rusty) and Anaheim had a long series against a good team (who granted, mailed a lot of that series in). I’m hoping Detroit doesn’t look past this round as they have been known to do, but I’m taking ‘em in 7.

In the east we’ve got two other series that should have some great hockey. I say should because you never know right?

Boston v Carolina: I’m tempted to pick Carolina just so the “Did you know that the Staals are brothers?” drinking game can stay alive (yeah, that’s a hint for the second pairing) but I don’t think the Canes can do it two rounds in a row. The Bruins have too many weapons to toss at you. You want a high scoring game, ok, the Bs can do that. You want a grinder? They can do that too. You get past the D? Hi there Mr. Thomas. Bruins in 5.

Washington D. C. v Pittsburgh: I wanna say Pens in 4 but I’m a realist. The Craps have a good team and a hot goaltender. But I think the Pens will pull this one out in 6 again.

And what so I say?

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston v Carolina: She pretty much said what I would say... Bruins in 5.

Washington D. C. v Pittsburgh: I hope that the Rangers wore out the Craps out; but they're young so I'm sure they'll bounce back. It's not going to quite as physical as the series with Philly; but there are going to be a lot of bumps, bruises and hopefully some free candy given out. :) Pens in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Detroit v Anaheim: It's a good thing we love each other because inevitably our two teams meet and it's really hard to talk hockey to each other when they do. So, what do I say? I know that you can never ever take the Wings lightly, but the series they had two years ago was a doozy. I'm going to have to go with my gut again as well as my heart and hold tight to my Ducks after the major jobbing they laid on the Sharks.... Ducks in 7.

Vancouver v Chicago: I think the Blackhawks have a lot of weapons that people forget about and they're going to match much better with the Canucks than with the Flames; but then the Canucks have all of their weapons on board unlike the boys from Alberta. It's gonna be a slugfest and I'm going to love every minute of it! I agree with Lisa about this one... Canucks in 6

And there is also some good stuff found on the web the last few days:

Lisa sent this clip with our good pal Cabbie on the street...


A fun piece about Sid in Rimouski that I stumbled upon this morning. The video and sound don't quite match up, but it's good anyway; and a big CaP favorite in Monsieur Lecavalier has a guest spot in here too...



And for those of you who are not able to see television from Canuckistan, I have some great commercials that you may or may not have seen...

First are the Molson Canadian hockey ads. I love love love the goalie with the Cheetos!...







and finally, the fabulous Mr. Bobby Orr and his Mastercard ad...

Give me an A.... an H.... an L!

Yes, my friends... the AHL is now into the second round of the playoffs, and I hope it's going to be as exciting as the first.

Atlantic Division Finals – Series “I” (best-of-7)
A2-Providence Bruins vs. A4-Worcester Sharks
Game 1 – Tue., Apr. 28 – Worcester at Providence, 3-2 P-Bruins in OT
Game 2 – Wed., May 6 – Providence at Worcester, 7:05
Game 3 – Fri., May 8 – Worcester at Providence, 7:05
Game 4 – Sat., May 9 – Providence at Worcester, 7:05
*Game 5 – Mon., May 11 – Worcester at Providence, 7:05
*Game 6 – Wed., May 13 – Providence at Worcester, 7:05
*Game 7 – Thu., May 14 – Worcester at Providence, 7:05

This one is hard for me to choose who to root for since there are a whole lot of WHL boys and former Tips on both teams; but I have to give my support to the P-Bruins since I know Zach Hamill a lot better.

East Division Finals – Series “J” (best-of-7)
E1-Hershey Bears vs. E3-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Game 1 – Sat., May 2 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 3 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 5:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 6 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., May 8 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 6 – Sun., May 10 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 5:00
*Game 7 – Tue., May 12 – W-B/Scranton at Hershey, 7:00

No question... have to go with Curry, Caputi, and all the rest of the baby Pens.

North Division Finals – Series “K” (best-of-7)
N1-Manitoba Moose vs. N3-Grand Rapids Griffins
Game 1 – Fri., May 1 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 2 – Sat., May 2 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 3 – Mon., May 4 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 4 – Wed., May 6 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., May 8 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 6 – Sun., May 10 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 7 – Tue., May 12 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 8:30

GO MOOSE GO! GO MOOSE GO! They're the baby Canucks and with our good pals Shaun Heshka, Taylor Ellington and Michael Grabner on the team as well as their crusty captain Mike Keane and fabulous goalie Cory Schneider, I'm going with the boys from the Peg.

West Division Finals – Series “L” (best-of-7)
W1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. W3-Houston Aeros
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 30 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
Game 2 – Sat., May 2 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
Game 3 – Tue., May 5 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05
Game 4 – Thu., May 7 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05
*Game 5 – Fri. or Sat., May 8 or 9 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:35
*Game 6 – Mon., May 11 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 13 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00

And last but not least is the West, and as good as Milwaukee is, I have to pick Houston. They might be a little tired from their long series with Peoria, but I think they're scrappy enough that they could pull this off.

But that is about all from me today. Lisa and I will getting together and posting our predictions for round 2 of the big boys; we did not do too bad on round one!

Swiss, Swiss Baby!

Good morning from the Northwest corner of the country! We here at CaP are watching the progress of the NHL playoffs as well as the AHL and the ECHL; but we're both also big fans of the IIHF. As sad as it is when some of the teams don't get to make the playoffs or are dismissed early in the first round, it's always fun to see those boys who are chosen to play for their countries and a shiny medal instead of that big shiny cup.

The tournament is in the lovely country of Switzerland this year with round robin play in the two cities of Bern and Zurich, then from the quarter-finals on they will stay in Bern.

I personally love this tournament because we get to see hockey on that big sheet of ice and how much pride not only the players have; but how wonderfully crazy the fans get for their country. It's also cool how every year how hockey seems to be growing within Europe and how some of the old powers are getting caught up to by countries like Norway and Denmark and Hungary.

It's also nice to see some of the boys who used to be in the NHL as well as discover some new favorites who may some day cross the pond. It's like a mini Olympics in a way; but without all the pressure of the games to get in the way.

The IIHF tournament page is a wealth of information not only with the teams, the games and the locations.

The US squad won again today, 6-1, against Buffalo Sabre Thomas Vanek and the Austrians; and I leave you with a picture from this morning's game.

West Coast Story

As Lisa said, I have been following the Ducks and Sharks quite closely. In the three games played so far, it's been quite entertaining and the fans have definitely gotten their money's worth, especially those of Les Canards. To be quite honest, as much as I love the team I was a bit surprised that they were able to get out of the SharkTank with both wins; but considering how they stormed through the last few weeks of the season, I'm not totally shocked.

The best game of all has been game 3, which was the first one that the Sharks have won; but it was still a dog fight from the word go. It was also an amazing display of offense from defenseman who scored 5 of the 7 goals that night as well as 4 of the assists. Also scoring was PattyMarleau for the first time, which was nice to see, even as a Duck fan.

So tonight, they're back at the Pond for game 4, and I hope that the Ducks can take a 3-1 lead; but I have a feeling that even if they do lose the Sharkies won't go down easy.

Since Lisa talked about the rest of the NHL schedule for tonight, I'll go with the A. In the AHL tonight, three teams that have ties to the Silvertips are going for a third win and a lead in their series: Riley Armstrong and the Worchester Sharks, Zach Hamill and the Providence Bruins; and Taylor Ellington and Shaun Heshka with the Manitoba Moose.

There was a barn burner last night with the Peoria Rivermen and the Houston Aeros in game 5 with Mitch Love, John Lammers and the Aeros coming back from down two goals to win in overtime. Now they will go for the series win on Saturday night.

So, it's almost lunch time here in the NW corner of the country and I'll leave you with a few clips I have found...

Marty Broduer's hissy fit...


Mike Commodore not quite timing this hip check right...


and the handshake and interview with Alex Burrows from Tuesday night in St. Louis. Be sure to watch it in HD... it's lovely!