Road trips are the best!

Taking a page out of Heather's book, I decided to take a road trip last Saturday to see my Phantoms play the Hershey Bears in the second half of a home and home. The Friday game was a loss, but I was okay with that, since I won Bronty's jersey in the post game auction.

Now mind you, unlike Heather, I don't have hockey friends that I can call up at the last minute and say "hey, let's go to Hershey." That turned out to be fine, since I got the last available ticket for the game. Phew!

The ride to Hershey is a pleasant, relatively quick one. Maybe an hour and a half, tops. The Giant Center is the opposite of the Spectrum: new, clean, well lit, and sold out. I got there, downed my three shots of tequila, put on my Bronty jersey, and made my way inside.

I only saw a handful of Phantoms fans, which surprised me, since there are always a ton of Bears fans at the Philly games. Much to my surprise, I did see Shamrock Eager. Shamrock Eager is what I call this woman who has the jersey I covet most: the Ben Eager St Patrick's Day jersey from last year. I love the color green and Ben Eager, so when I see her at every game, it is all I can do to keep from tearing if off her! She and her family were standing by the visitor's bench, waiting for the players to come out for warmups. Emboldened by the tequila, I decided to join them.

They were of course, very nice. I called her Shamrock Eager and told her I loved her jersey. She said she gets complimented on it all the time. Her husband and I talked trade rumors. They liked my Bronty jersey and when the team took the ice, the husband said "there's your boy." They asked Riley for a puck, said hi to Muny and generally made me jealous.

Anyhow, this post is turning out to be longer and more boring than I hoped it would be. The point of the story is:

1. road trips are awesome
2. road trips rule, especially when your team wins
3. nobody is gonna mess with you when you are wearing a Bronty jersey
   

Hot Stick of the Week Update...the jinx is on!

Yup, Jeff carter has been pointless in the last 3 games, ever since being named Hot Stick of the Week on this very blog!

Although I hesitate to alter my very strict guidelines for HSOTW, I guess from now on it will have to be based purely on good looks and squeeworthiness, instead of actual talent/scoring.

Sorry for the jinx, Jeff. I hearby take away your HSOTW crown and sash.

Now get out there and score, damn it!

Oh Bronty!

So last night was another jersey auction night. I know what you're thinking...it's not supposed to be until March. I know, but they had one last night. So this time I came up with a plan so I could get a jersey, not like last time where I blew it. So this was the plan:

1. get drunk
2. have a list with players I wanted and maximum bid
3. don't panic
4. write down what everyone went for

I think there were other parts to the plan, but since step one went so well it is hard to remember. So here was my list in order of which one I wanted most:

Wow, it's like you were there, huh? Damn this post is taking forever because I wanted to scan my list in and now firefox is acting like a bitch when I post photos so I had to switch over to ecto. Man, blogging is tough!

So anyhow, since step one worked so well, I was feeling pretty good. After the empty net goal which ended the game, I collected all the teddy bears that hit me in the head (don't ask) and marched down to Bullies. I saw the people who bought all my jerseys last time, so I went over to them to see which ones they were bidding on. I told them that they better not buy all my jerseys again. They said they would not bid against me on Bronty. They were a lot of fun and I hope to talk to them again.

The auction started with Phlex, just like last time. Then, they auctioned off a few scratches. Then, out came Bronty. Snydy will have to give you the play by play on this, since he was the bidder and I was pretty drunk. All I know is that we won the jersey for 750 and got to shake his hand!!! Um, his hand is very big. He is a big dude!


Um, we also won Jonsson's jersey. Yeah, I am not sure why we bought two. I guess I was just trying to keep up with the other people! His jersey smells pretty bad.

So that is it for now. I had to get this post up so snydy would stop harassing me. Plus, I have to get ready for tonight's game at Hershey. But which jersey shall I wear?

Cross posted to my other blog...so I lead a double life...sue me!

WHY WOULD YOU START ESCHE AGAINST BUFFALO?

John Stevens better hope I don't run into him any time soon, because I will have some choice words and a pummeling for him.

I had to work so didn't catch the game, but I checked the box score towards the end of the first period. The score was 3 to 1 Buffalo, naturally. I wondered who was in goal...much to my astonishment, they had Esche in.

I saw red. How on earth, why on earth would you put Eshce in against Buffalo? I hate Robert Esche, and the reason I hate him is because of how bad he sucks it against the Sabres. Was Stevens trying some kind of weird aversion therapy? Was he trying to boost Esche's confidence? ("Cmon Eschy, you can do it! A positive attitude will overcome your repeated history of sucking vs the Sabres. Atta boy, you can do it!")

The only thing Stevens did right was pulling him 2 minutes into the second period...AFTER HE WAS SCORED ON AGAIN IN THE FIRST TWO MINUTES!!!

My hope is that this was a last look...maybe Stevens wanted to see Esche suck again before they trade him!!! Please, trade him!!!!

Hot Stick of the Week: Jeff Carter

It seems like Jeff Carter has been on fire lately, so I had to check the stats. Yup, he is. Before the break, he had a total of 15 points. Since the break he has had 9 points in 11 games. A lot of these points have been pretty, like the shorthanded goal against Atlanta back on February 3rd:






I don't want to jinx him, so I won't say too much more, but here's hoping he and the rest of the team keep it up! We'll just ignore tonight's loss...

Phantoms 2, Portland 1....In a shootout!

I still hate the shootout, but at least they won last night. Munroe was finally back in net after being injured in a shootout on January 19th vs. Bridgeport. His performance earned him third star honors.

It was overall a pretty lackluster game, with not a whole lot of action. It may have just seemed dull because I have been to three NHL games this week and sometimes the AHL seems sloppy in comparison. Their puck handling skills were somewhat absent tonight, and they seemed slow. And honestly, I love Bronty, but Christ is he slow. He really is like a dinosaur on skates.

I must say though, that of all the teams I have seen this year, Portland certainly is the best looking. Too bad we only play them at home once.

*sigh*

Why is Kopitar so hot without his helmet on?

He is way scary with helmet, but sans helmet....dreamy!

I'll say it again...I love you Michael Leighton!

Last night's game against the Red Wings was the best game of the season. It had the best period of the season as well (the first period). The Flyers have been playing really well the past few games, although it didn't translate into many wins. They are finally starting to play well together. Even if this game had ended in a shootout loss, it still would have been an incredible game.

I had zero margaritas and sat in my nosebleed seats, and it was still the best game all year. The high I got from the five goals they scored in the third was incredible. I guess this is how it feels to be proud of your team!

Leighton was unbelievable again, stopping everything that came his way. He also had a lot of help from the guys defensively. There were a lot of shots that normally would have gotten past the defense, but somehow last night they got blocked!

It was a true team effort. The crowd was so into it and really helped the team keep their energy and momentum going.

*sigh* if only all the games could be like this.....

I love you Michael Leighton!

I had a feeling Leighton would get the start last night, and I also had a feeling he would get the win. Seriously. Look, I have no false hope when it comes to the Flyers, I realize they have really sucked this year, but I have seen Leighton play a few times and I felt he could pull it off. The Flyers had come close a couple of times this week and I thought he might be the difference.

So, do you give him the start on Monday?

No.

But Kristin, you just said he was the difference between winning and losing. I know, I know, but I will tell you my reasoning. Back in the day, Leighton had back to back wins (shutouts no less) against two teams: the Blues and the Red Wings. But Kristin, Leighton just beat the Blues and now they are playing the Red Wings on Monday...doesn't it make sense to give Leighton the start?

No.

Sorry, but you have to put Nitty back in on Monday. Putting Leighton in will be too much pressure on the guy: okay, you won now do it again. Okay, you beat these two teams in a row before, now do it again. It is too much of a mind fuck for the poor guy. Let him bask in his win for a day or three. Give Nitty the start, if he sucks it hard like he sometimes does, pull him and put Leighton in. Giving Leighton the start will just be too much too soon for him...

i had 4 margs so far

ohmigodleightonisstartingtonight!

ohmigodleightonisstartingtonight!

Maybe it won't be a shootout!

In just 8 short hours, I will be in row 1 of section 219 at the Flyers/Blues game. Right behind the net...look for me! I am excited about the game for a couple of reasons. Sure, row 1 is always something to be excited about, but I am also thankful that we are playing someone other than the Devils, Rangers, or Islanders. Also, I am very nearly over my cold and may be able to have a margarita or two. I'd rather have four or five, but I should take it easy on my body so it can recover fully. This cold has definitely knocked my mojo down a notch and I barely feel like writing!

I'm doing my usual game day prep and I just can't figure out this Blues team. I have never seen them play before and I have no idea what they are about. I guess I will have to turn to hockeyfights.com and the hockey chick to see what I can find out. I will report back later.

Oh my god I was tagged and didn't even know it!

I have been fighting off a cold for the last few days. Unfortunately, I was hungover a few of those days and couldn't read the signs my body was sending me. For example, I came home from work on Saturday (still feeling hung from Friday night) and tried to take my customary after-work nap. I was restless though and it didn't take. I wasn't hungry either, and I decided that my body must be craving more tequila. So I gave in and had a few drinks. Went to work on Sunday for a few hours in the am, came home to take my nap, woke up from my nap feeling suspiciously SICK! Scratchy throat, achy, etc. Dang! So what's the point? Nothing, except that in all my lethargy and lack of posting I didn't notice that I had been tagged by Margee!

How embarrassing for me to not notice my hlog sister giving me the validation and attention I so desperately crave. So without further ado...

If I were a hockey player (or: I reveal my secret love for the ducks and pronger)

Team: Anaheim Ducks
Uniform number: 72
Position: defense so I can skate backwards a lot
Nickname: shortcake (don’t ask)
Dream linemates: prongs
Rounding out the PP: Ovie, Briere, Knuble
Job: comic relief
Signature move: skating backwards and hypnotizing forwards as I stare them down
Strengths: willing to sacrifice body to block the shot
Weaknesses: inability to be in the same room with hockey boys without having a panic attack presents a potential problem
Injury Problems: carpal tunnel flare ups
Equipment: something teflon coated so people would just slide right off when trying to hit me!
Nemesis: Olli Jokinen
Scandal involvement: nah
Who I'd face in the Stanley Cup Finals: Penguins or Devils
What I'd do with the Stanley Cup after our victory: margaritas anyone?
Would the media love me or hate me: they would love me of course...they are feeling good from all the postgame margaritas

So that is what a power play is supposed to look like...

I caught the last few minutes of the Anaheim/Phoenix game last night. When I tuned in, the score was 1-0 Phoenix. The Ducks were on a power play and scored to tie it up. During the course of the power play, they drew another penalty and went right back on the power play.

Before I finish the story, let me tell you about a playoff game I was at last year. Whenever a Flyers stick touched the puck, the guy four seats away from me would start yelling "Shoot it! Shooootiiiiit! Shhhoooooooot iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" at the top of his lungs, even if the Flyers were no where near the net. Every time. Really. As a result of this buffoon, "shoot it" has become a running joke for me at any game I go to. I will often say it as a joke to make myself laugh.

At the start of the season, people would yell "shoot it" when the Flyers were on the power play. This made me annoyed, because I thought, cmon, give them a chance, they will shoot it. Well now that the season is half over and our power play could not suck more, I find myself among those yelling "shoot it" in frustration. It is now something I do in my head during any game I watch.

So as I was watching this second power play, my "shoot it" chant was subconsciously taking over. Except the Ducks shoot it. A lot! I witnessed the beauty of the power play, instead of the frustration. They passed, but they shot, they deked, they attacked. It seemed like they had 10 shots on goal during this one PP. Most importantly, they scored.

So that is what a power play is supposed to look like...

I caught the last few minutes of the Anaheim/Phoenix game last night. When I tuned in, the score was 1-0 Phoenix. The Ducks were on a power play and scored to tie it up. During the course of the power play, they drew another penalty and went right back on the power play.

Before I finish the story, let me tell you about a playoff game I was at last year. Whenever a Flyers stick touched the puck, the guy four seats away from me would start yelling "Shoot it! Shooootiiiiit! Shhhoooooooot iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" at the top of his lungs, even if the Flyers were nowhere near the net. Every time. Really. As a result of this buffoon, "shoot it" has become a running joke for me at any game I go to. I will often say it to make myself laugh.

At the start of the season, people would yell "shoot it" when the Flyers were on the power play. This annoyed me, because I thought, cmon, give them a chance, they will shoot it. Well now that the season is half over and our power play could not suck more, I find myself among those yelling "shoot it" in frustration. It is now something I do in my head during any game I watch.

So as I was watching this second power play of the Ducks game, my "shoot it" chant was subconsciously taking over. Except the Ducks shoot it. A lot! I witnessed the beauty of the power play, instead of the frustration. They passed, but they shot, they deked, they attacked. It seemed like they had 10 shots on goal during this one PP. Most importantly, they scored.

It was a thing of beauty, and I wish the Flyers would watch some Ducks games to see how it's done.