Game day brain dump post

IT'S FINALLY GAME DAY!!

and these posts still haven't learned to write themselves. *sigh*

Annie's got the tale of the adventure the Winnipeggers had getting back to the States and to the Everett game:

"We got in about 7:30 and our flight wasn't until the next morning," said Americans forward Adam Hughesman. "We went to a hotel. There were 10 of us and just a few rooms left so one of them was a suite and there were four guys in there."

It was late at night and there were 10 hungry young men. They were allowed in the hotel bar and were able to order nachos and hamburgers.

After breakfast the next morning, they headed back to the airport where they caught a flight to Vancouver, British Columbia. The flight arrived in Vancouver about 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, but with no open gate, the plane sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes.

It was after 2 p.m. when the players met with Terry Bangen, the team's director of player personnel, and Greg Toll, father of Tri-City team captain Jarrett Toll, who drove them to Everett.

"We were starving, we hadn't eaten since that morning," Hughesman recalled. "They had some subs waiting for us when they picked us up."

My cold little heart got the warm fuzzies seeing that Toll's dad drove them to the game. When you hear the phrase along the lines that the hockey community is a small, close one, there's the epitome of that right there. (That sentence is full of proper English and grammar fail, I don't care).

Personally, I'm curious to see if From Russia With Glove will be in net tonight. They've had at least one practice with him, not sure if that's enough to toss him in. And against Everett, it's not like they suck or anything. Course, if anyone knows me at all, you know I want Drew in net no matter what.*

If you've been living under a rock, perhaps you missed that the NHL Winter Classic is this Friday, at 10 freaking o'clock in the morning our time (after heaving drinking on NYE--terrible!). Scotty Wazz and the boys over at Face Off Hockey Show will be having a liveblog of the thing, here's some details, and here's the link that will lead you to liveblog. It'll be familiar format, the CoverItLive thing. Bonus points if you're still drunk and join in :)

Speaking of my boy Scotty Wazz, he's a sweetheart and sent me a Prospects Hockey magazine since they're sold in Canada. If you haven't seen one, you're missing out. It's published twice a year I think, it's the "official magazine of the Canadian Hockey League". They used to sell them with game programs at AMS games, but it's been a couple years :(.

Anyways, there's an article in this edition entitled "Everett's Piano Man" and it's about our Zach Yuen, though the dumb article says he plays for Everett.

If you're in the market for a pianist to play your next hockey fundraiser, look no further than Everett Silvertips (TRI-CITY AMERICANS YOU IDIOTS) defenceman Zach Yuen. "If there was a charity event, I could learn a piece of music and play," says the accomplished pianist.

The 16-year-old has been playing the piano since age five and is a certified piano teacher. Recently his mum bought him a keyboard so he could play at his billet's house, but he doesn't expect to be giving any of his teammates lessons any time soon.

"I don't think they'd be too interested in that," said, Yuen. "But I would like to start teaching sometime."

*for people who don't get it, I'm fully aware of why Bob brought in the Russian. I know Drew will need a rest. I know he can't play every game. Doesn't mean I have to like it, and my writing will reflect that.