Going to Spokane

For the first time this season, surprisingly, I'm headed to Spokanistan for the game tonight. Let's talk about last night for one quick second though.

Dear Matt Kirk, fuck you.

Dear AMS--yay for staring 11 Everett powerplays in the face and overcoming. Like I always say, good play overcomes bad reffing.

As for the 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, totally uncalled for. knock it off. Talking to you Schmidt and Fadden.

We've overcome other odds, that's why we've only lost 16 games," Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur told the Everett Herald. "We've battled all circumstances and found a way, that's the most important part. I'm not going to talk about penalties. What's to talk about? A lot of them we deserved, a lot of them we didn't, in my opinion. And they made good on their chances. They had us running all over the place."

More from the Herald.

For those on the message board who are all like "we got a gutsy win" or "we" did this and that. Guess what? WE didn't do shit. WE sat and watched/listened to the boys. One of those little things that makes me crazy.

If you're not a regular reader of Puck Daddy, first of all, shame on you. Secondly, this is funny stuff. And Iowa Chops is home to former American Logan Stephenson. Check it out.

Game day and liveblog

AMS are in Everett tonight. I wish I was going.

Is Annie Fowler reading this site and knowing that I've got a thing for Brett Plouffe? From the Herald today, an article on Pluff:

"He's come a long way, no question about that," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur. "Bringing the puck out of our own end, he is at the top. He's got a hard shot, he's scored some key goals and anchors our power play.

"He's not much of an offensive player, but the one thing about Plouffer is he never takes a night off and he always brings his best effort."

"That's good going into the playoffs," Plouffe said of the schedule. "You don't want five games with Portland, Chilliwack and Prince George down the stretch. You want games that will challenge you so you will be sharp in the playoffs."

After recording just 21 points during his first two seasons in the WHL, Plouffe has turned his game inside out with 15 goals, 21 assists and an ever-improving plus-29 rating in 59 games.

His production this season has been solid from the start. He had nine points in October, 11 in November, four in December, six in January and six thus far in February with two games remaining.

"Don pushes everyone to perform their best," Plouffe said. "His philosophy is to get us to play to our strengths. Mine is my speed and my strength, and getting a few lucky breaks."

As Mikaela pointed out, shouldn't be talking smack about Portland, they make you earn that win and yeah, you guys lost to them 3 times this season.

The Portland Tribune (who has more coverage of the 'Hawks and the WHL than the Oregonian) ran an excellent article on one of my personal favorites (and hometown boy) Jason Reese.

Jason Reese essentially left Gresham five years ago to pursue a hockey career, and hopefully be a pro someday.

But, as much success as he enjoyed in the Western Hockey League, Reese has received lukewarm interest from NHL teams.

"Haven't had much. But, that's all right," says Reese, an undrafted player who has attended one NHL free-agent training camp, two summers ago with Tampa Bay. "They say a lot of 20-year-olds play out their (junior) career and then get a chance. Hopefully the team does well and I get some interest."

"He's a great playmaker, sees the ice, got the big shot," Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur says. "He's had a good year. He's a catalyst for our team. He makes us a complete team."

I love that kid.

Drinnan had a neat thing on Cooking with a WHL Goaltender yesterday. It's a neat piece. My favorite, of course, is the picture that includes my Kamloops boyfriend Giffen Nyren.

come join the liveblog tonight at 7:15

Fun with Paint

John Allen must be the guy who gets to hang between the benches. Nice that they gave credit.



I was trusted with some...uh...interesting information and all I'm gonna say is the AMS organization should have maybe researched the couple a little bit to see if that's really the PR they want. And I'm not just sayin' that because it may or may not be one of my fantasies to get married at a hockey game.

What just happened?

Yeah, that's eight goals. Well, nine if you count the Chilliwack one. But like it matters, really.

Look at the night that Mason Wilgosh had. Has this kid been amazing lately or what? I don't know what I'm going to do next week when the poll is going to be "Most Improved." Because between him and Brett Plouffe. If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that Brett Plouffe would be one of my hockey boyfriends I would have punched someone. But I digress...

Jason Reese back in the lineup tonight, also a great game. You never really realize how important one of the guys is till he's not there. I mean, I knew he was valuable, but didn't realize just how much till he was out. SOOOOO glad he's back. Srsly.

McColm back in also. He looked to be a little timid out there. Also his timing was a bit off, but that's to be expected I suppose. Speaking of defense, Riley didn't suck. In fact, he was +5 on the night. Not kidding. I'm glad, I didn't like not liking someone on this team. I really don't like the horrible grammar in that sentence either. WOW.

For all the goals, it was actually kindof a boring game. I know that sounds weird, but think about it. A tightly fought game is always more exciting. The building was dead, even moreso because it was a Wednesday night. The boys played well, even when they got way ahead. They were all trying to get Mason the puck to get him the hatty. The kids played awesome, as usual. Brooks Macek was working his dreamy butt off. You Took My Seat refers to Brooks Macek as "God's cruelest joke to women. Women over 18." So true.

Dear Drayson Bowman--

I know you're trying to win me back with your four goals in one game bullshit, but it isn't going to work. Not until you're out of the WHL. Then we can talk. Well, we may talk Saturday when I hunt you down to sign my Carolina bag. But I will consider punching you in the nuts after you sign it. I will allow myself to be wooed by your goal-scoring-ness next season when you are in the AHL. I'm not falling for it now. Give it up. Kthxbai.

--Shultzie

Oh SNAP! It's game day

AMS home tonight against the Chilliwack Bruins. I've stared at the screen for five minutes or more trying to think of a way to make this an interesting/witty/funny/not lame post but I got nothing.

What I will say is a huge THANK YOU to the Vancouver Giants for beating Spokane last night, putting AMS up eight points in the standings. It was interesting to be able to watch Tokarski play when not against my team (and I didn't watch him at WJC to protest that Pickard wasn't playing) and even the casual observer such as myself can see that all he does is go down on his knees. Shoot up high on him and odds are it'll go in behind him. Hockey Mike and I discussed this while watching the game. While I was texting Mikaela and Facebook messaging You Took My Seat. Man, shoulda liveblogged that shit.

Reminder if you choose "OTHER" in the current poll to please go to the comments section of this post and tell me who your "other" selection is. That way your vote can be tallied in.

Caldwell has playoff stretch info that he will be updating on a regular basis, right up to the ploffs I assume. If you missed it, Drinnan has an exclusive on Benn Olson, one of the Albany River Rats (Baby Hurricanes) in the bus crash last week, he was one of the fortunate ones to walk away unscathed. Casey Borer's season is over, however, with broken vertebrae, but he will be ok. Thank goodness, I heart him.

Poll

Latest poll results are in for Best Defensive Forward. There was obviously no ballot stuffing this time as there were only 64 total votes (compared to the 150+) for the last 2 polls. EEEEnteresting.

As voted by you, best defensive forward is Taylor Procyshen with 24 (37%) votes
Petr Stoklasa came in 2nd with 19 (29%) votes
Johnny Lazo with 15 (23%) votes
Mitch Fadden with 4 (6%) votes
Jason Reese and Kruise Reddick with 1 (1%) vote each.

next up, Unsung Hero. The guy who works super hard every game but doesn't necessarily show up on the stats sheet. It was hard to choose who I would put on this list, which is why there is an "other" option. If you select "other" please leave comment in comments section of this post saying who you chose. Pretty please with sugar on top. The nominees are:

Mason Wilgosh
Jason Reese
Johnny Lazo
Tyler Schmidt
Brett Plouffe
Jarrett Toll
Other

hmmm

I know it's petty, but how hard would it be to give credit in a simple caption?


Photo by Hammer. See? not hard to do.

Dear Monday, suck it.

So the boys have the day off after their 3 games in 3 nights weekend--ALL WINS! I thought I should take the day off too since, ya know, I worked so hard cheering for them. But no, here I am. With my autographed stick, of course :)





Video and screen capture of LANE WERBOWSKI (not Brendan Shinniman--see, 2 N's in Shinniman) courtesy of the awesome Wrap Around Curl who has on demand from Comcast and a bitchin' video phone.

Speaking of Wrap, I would just like to say how grateful I am for all of the amazing people I have met through the existence of this blog. Hockey fans from all over the Tri-Cities, US, Canada, all over. I am thankful for each and every one of you. Without you as readers, I would have stopped doing this a long time ago. Well, probably not, I need to rant, but you certainly make it worthwhile. I have formed some amazing friendships with amazing people.

The Morning after Spokanistan Night

I've never actually been hit by a truck, nor do I want to be, but the saying is applicable this morning. What a day yesterday. I couldn't sleep, still hopped up from the win. It was 3 a.m. last I looked at the clock, frustrated I was not sleeping. So I stopped checking the clock.

From the Herald:

The U.S Division-leading Americans (42-16-0-3, 87 points), who have won four straight, increased their lead over the Chiefs (39-18-0-3) to six points. Spokane leads the season series 5-4 and has one game in hand.

"It was playoff hockey out there," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur, whose team improved to 27-4-0-1 on home ice. "I thought there was a lot of heart on both sides. It was a passionate game played by both teams down to the wire."

The Americans -- playing short-handed with Jason Reese (ankle), Petr Stoklasa (shoulder) and Mitch McColm (concussion) sidelined with injuries -- kept things simple and let Pickard take care of the net.

"This was a no-excuses game," Nachbaur said. "We set goals to do our best every night. I thought Chet was outstanding, as was their goalie. We got two goals early and that helped us to settle ourselves."

It didn't take the Americans long to set the tone of the game as Mitch Fadden skated down the right boards, maneuvered around Spokane defender Mike Reddington and beat Dustin Tokarski just 14 seconds into the game.

The rest of the article here.

See y'all back here at game time tonight as the boys are in Portland. Jump on into the liveblog!

Spokanistan Night, AMS Victory!!

WOW. What a game. Mitch Fadden scored on the opening shift, 18 seconds into the game. It was hot. Seriously.

Then Adam Hughesman scored. AMS were blasting away at Tokarski. Chiefs were blasting away at Chet. Referee Herman was on his knees, blowing the game.

The whole thing stressed me out so much I don't even have many details to add.

Chet obviously got the waffles, but kudos also to Toller, Plouffe, and Schmidtty. Zack Yuen too, what a great player that kid is going to be. I'd give some props to Lane, but not really his best game.

Special teams was the name of the game so the big guns got tons of ice time. It should be noted, however, that the Shinniman-Macek-Messier line continued to be highly effective, as were the kids, Zimak-Asuchak-Wilgosh. Mason got more playing time than the other two, but that's ok.

It was great to see Adam score. Hopefully that loosens his grip on the stick and he can relax a little bit, he's obviously frustrated with his season as well.

The passing was horrendous, giving Spokanistan far too many chances.

To everyone who commented on how awesome the Spokanistan shirts are, thanks! You can own your own! SPOKANISTAN: this is war shirts here.

And I got my autographed stick! How?

Chet: Nice shirt
Me: thanks!
Chet: Do you see anyone who should get the stick?
Me: Uh... ME
Chet: Really?
Me: Uhh yeah! The awesome shirt (pointing at Spokanistan)!
Chet: (laughing) okay

It's Spokanistan Night at the rink

1. 3 stars--I want the signed stick. I've stated my reasons for being worthy of getting it. PLEASE :)

2. Spokanistan shirt buyers--remember to meet outside section M after 3 stars for group photo! Huzzah!!

3. I already did my post-game write up about last night, but some great bits from the Herald today:

When Mitch Fadden came to the Tri-City Americans in a trade with Lethbridge in November, he was billed as playmaker.

He's been that and so much more.

"We sat in the dressing room before the third period and knew we couldn't lose this game," said veteran defenseman Jarrett Toll, who had two assists and surpassed the 50-point mark for his career. "We came out shooting and eventually put some in."

4. Keep the momentum up boys, GREAT win last night. Spokane is going to come out hungry and pissed off that they lost last night. Battle hard for the puck, win the physical battles, shoot shoot shoot the puck. Play like you did last night. And then some.

I need a cigarette and a nap

Did you see that?

Shots were 41-25 Americans. That Kent Simpson is the real deal.

The AMS dominated the game from start to finish, they really did. I think it was a wise game plan with all the bodies out of the lineup. Wait, what? No Reese? No Stoklasa? No Sutherland? Still no McColm? A defensive pairing of 15-year-old Zach Yuen and Riley McIntosh? Please God no.

I awarded waffles to none other than Mitch Fadden. I know, big surprise. But seriously. Did you see this guy? It seemed he never left the ice. He was talking, encouraging guys (I assume?), he was winning faceoffs, he was hustling, moving the puck. It was bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

There were several runners up for waffles:
Brett Plouffe--one HELL of a game. Sick goal. And that hit on Hunt, uh, wow. It was a beautiful hit, a clean hit. I hope Hunt's ok, I never want to see anyone hurt, but holy hell. I haven't seen that big of an open ice hit since Cam McCaffrey. (I probably have, but don't remember, such is life.)

Chet Pickard--didn't have a lot of action, and this seems to make him a little rusty, but he came up big when he needed to, really played outstanding. I heart my goalie.

Brooks Macek--best game he's had in a really long time. Not just because he had a goal, he got the goal because he was working hard, doing the little things right that he needed to be doing. Just awesome.

Jordan Messier--ditto.

Mason Wilgosh--may get my vote for Most Improved this season. He's the new Drew Hoff. Heart, soul, grit, and a scorer. Beauty.

Jarrett Toll and Tyler Schmidt--the work these two did on the blueline was spectacular and helped Chet out when need be.

I was impressed with Yuen, looked like he knew what he was doing, played quite well. Can't wait to watch him full time. Patrick Holland had some ice time, looked very tentative, unsure. It'll be interesting to see his development. Maybe it was just first-WHL-game jitters.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring against Spokane. All I know is the mother fucking Chiefs lost to Seattle tonight!!!!!!

----------------------------------------------------
*****Spokanistan shirt purchasers, remember to meet outside section M after 3 stars tomorrow night for group shot! I'm super excited!

To the boys, get some rest, lots of it tonight. Remember I want the autographed stick tomorrow night!!! :)

Game day bitches!!!

I'm feisty today. It's Friday, it's game day, I'm super tired which means I'll need mid-day Starbucks which will be enough sugar and caffeine to survive the rest of the day. My Spokanistan shirt should be arriving today.

***All the peeps with Spokanistan shirts tomorrow night--meet me outside section M following the end of the game and 3 stars tomorrow night for group picture with our bitchin' shirts*****

The Herald has a great article about Johnny Lazo (and the preview of the weekend games) today. Some highlights:

At the start of the season, Johnny Lazo had 20/20 vision -- 20 goals and 20 assists.

After scoring 20 goals with 34 assists through 59 games, the Tri-City Americans forward may need to get a second opinion.

A 5-foot-7, 165-pound native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Lazo has done a major portion of his damage on the scoresheet during the second half of the season, where he's scored 27 points in the last 22 games, including 16 points in his last 11 games.

"Since Christmas, just his versatility with Kruise (Reddick) being out, he has really risen to the occasion," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur. "We put him at center and put him with Mitch Fadden and they enjoy playing together."

He ranks fourth in team scoring with 54 points and has a plus-18 rating, a big improvement over last year when he had 15 goals and 24 assists with a plus-9 rating.

"I think it has a lot to do with my linemates," Lazo said. "I was playing with (Justin) Feser and (Jordan) Messier, and after the break I started with Pro (Taylor Procyshen) and (Adam) Hughesman and now with Fadden and (Jason) Reese. Playing with the older guys has helped me a lot and Christmas break freshened me.

"It's been a nice change. Getting points is a lot of fun. I take a lot of pride in my plus-minus and I hope to keep that going. I was killing a lot of penalties earlier this year, and now that Petr (Stoklasa) is out I will again."

The combination of Lazo's speed and his willingness to adapt to different roles within the team has made him indispensable.

"He's taken a lot of pressure off other guys -- guys who are our top scorers," Nachbaur said. "That's what you find on good teams. Down the stretch, it's the unlikely guys that become heroes. When the older guys don't get opportunities to score on given nights, you have secondary scoring and that has been key for us all year long. Johnny is a big part of that."

and of course, clearing up that he is in fact, NOT Mexican:

"My mom (Tonina) is full Italian and was born in Winnipeg," Lazo said. "My dad (John) was born in the Philippines and moved to Winnipeg when he was a teenager. You'd think I'd play soccer, but I live in Canada and here you play hockey."

AMS face off against Everett tonight, the damn Chiefs tomorrow. What I did NOT like seeing in that article about Johnny is that Petr is out. DAMMIT.

Notice voting is still going for Best Defensive Forward. There does not seem to be any ballot stuffing going on, but be sure to vote!

Reminder to the boys, I need want the autographed stick tomorrow night during 3 stars, I think I've earned it. I may or may not just grab it right out of your hands.

Baby Hurricanes in bus wreck

Mirtle has story, with links, and pictures. Puck Daddy too, and Canes Country. Life in the minors. Scary. It worries me every time the AMS have a road trip.

Press conference transcript with Coach Jeff Daniels.

OMGLOLWTF?

Dear Baby Pickard (Calvin)--thanks for nothing. 7-1 Chiefs last night. God I hate them. HATE HATE HATE. This much hatred is probably not healthy.

You know that sound effect from cartoons, like bullets? PYOW PYOW. Think of that sound. That's what happened to my ovaries when I saw this on the AMS website:

No, I'm not gonna go. I would end up saying something entirely inappropriate. Or saying many inappropriate things. Or doing inappropriate things. I can't even use the excuse of taking pictures because everyone would know that's bullshit.

On another note, I'm starting my push here and now for the autographed stick Saturday night on the ice during 3 stars. I think I've earned it. Huge fan, season ticket holder for years, photographer who actually shares my pictures, blogger with love for my team, I did make cookies, I'm sorry Kevin never delivered. See? Totally signed stick worthy. And I will not even be shy about asking for it.

Morning after Prince George

What's that sound you heard? That's right, the Tri-City Americans getting their 40th win of the season, making it 3 years in a row of 40+ wins.

Yesterday, pre-game, I was wondering which AMS team would show up for PG. Would it be the team who thought it'd be an easy game and not work hard for 60 minutes, or the team that is capable of playing the pants off of anyone when they work hard the whole game? Turns out it was neither. I don't think they thought it would be an easy game, but just like Coach said on the post-game show, "we got guys (he said it!) who forgot to wear their work boots." I'm not even kidding when I say I saw guys rolling their eyes at teammates who made a lazy (bad) pass causing a turnover. More than once I saw eyes rolling, heads shaking. Not good.

I've seen this team take nights off (far too many) and last night wasn't one of them--completely. There were shifts, there were times of effort and energy, but not on the power play (except for that sick goal by Fadden on the 5-on-3). The PK was awesome, Pro with a highlight reel shorty going 5-hole on Armstrong.

Who did come to play? Had his "work boots" on? Chet Pickard. I can't even describe the number of spectacular saves he made. Just awesome. Maybe his dad should come to more games. Maybe whatever the Nashville goalie guru told him is working. I don' t know, but I like it. I like it a lot.

Petr didn't return after the 1st, the paper is saying shoulder, hope it's a quick recovery. Not good to lose someone like him who has just been stellar since the Christmas break. And can you even believe this Mason Wilgosh? Holy shit balls. Talk about someone with their work boots on! The other kids (Macek, Shinny, Feser) provided some good life at times and Feser had the game winner. In the lineup was AMS list player Max Moline, he did pretty well. He's tall, skates well, but holy crap he is bean pole. But he did well.

I got a text from Spokant asking "did all the officials have a meeting and decide to harrass Fadden or what?" Fads was in the box three times. It was a little ridiculous. I responded with "I was not invited to said meeting which is a pity because I would harrass the shit out of him." I also responded with "Does Mitch realize there aren't waffles IN the penalty box?" And I received another text from Mikaela, "I think Fadden likes you, he keeps going in the box to visit." LULZ! My friends rule.

Speaking of, I'm totally pissed (srsly.) All the hard work BFF and I did to make the damn waffle cookies, after I expressly got permission from trainer Kevin to bring them, as of last evening, he had not given them to the boys. Yeah, I delivered them Friday. If they're rotten, don't blame me. I'm so mad.

Jeckyll and Hyde

Tonight the Prince George Cougars are in town. The same Cougars that led the Chiefs 3-0 going in to the 3rd the other night, then sat back and got scored on 5 times. Thanks for nothing Cougars. Guess I shouldn't wear my "Be kind to animals--Kiss a cougar" shirt tonight.

The real question is, which AMS team is going to show up tonight (hence the title of the post)? The one who thinks PG is an easy game and they don't really need to play 60 minutes? Or the AMS that played all 60 minutes, played hard, even against Chilliwack? CONSISTENCY!! WORK HARD OR GO HOME!!

Chet's been back on his game which is most excellent. I have no idea if Mitch McColm will be back in the lineup tonight, but I sure hope so. His presence has been sorely missed.

The voting for Best Defenceman has closed, with 141 total votes (THANK YOU!!)
Schmidt ran away with the votes, 62 (43%) votes
48 (34%) for Toll
16 (11%) for McColm
11 (7%) for Plouffe
2 (1%) for McIntosh
1 each (less than 1%) for Sutherland and Werbowski

Next up, Best Defensive Forward!

Selling like hotcakes!!

You should buy one. All the cool kids are. 10% today! Just click here and order one, you know you want to.

In non-hockey news, Facebook has changed it's terms of service and they now technically own all content and can do whatever they want with it. Part of me is very angry and vowed to never post another picture to Facebook forever. But lets think about this for a second, how many hockey pictures and Canadian vacation pictures do they want? Are they really going to scour the zillions of profiles that exist on Facebook for photos or other content? I'm guessing not. The other solution would be to put watermarks on all my pictures. I've been considering doing that anyways. It's generally a good idea to assume anything you post on any site on the internet is now up for grabs.

Decsions, decisions **updated**

The voters have spoken, I've ignored them (not really) and just put both options on Zazzle site. You can vote with your wallets LOL! Shipping is usually very prompt, but with Monday (tomorrow) being holiday, I have no idea if they will get to you by Saturday's game. Order ASAP and find out :)

Huge thanks to friend of the blog You Took My Seat for the awesome "Spokanistan" idea and to all the peeps who provided input on the final product(s)--Spokant, Finkle Is Einhorn, Sister, Mikaela, and others I've forgotten! THANK YOU!!

Huzzah! Best of the West

The Herald has the Best of the West Poll online today! AMS show up in several categories, I'll just cut and paste here, I don't feel like doing actual writing. But I will do some editing for space.

Best fans
Everett -- 83.1%
Vancouver 61.6%
Kelowna 59.6%
Tri-City 33.4%
Spokane 25%
Chilliwack 6.9%
Seattle 2.8%
Portland 0.7%
Kamloops 0%
Prince George 0%

Top coach
Don Hay, Vancouver -- 94.8%
Don Nachbaur, Tri-City 72.1%
Ryan Huska, Kelowna 29.6%
Mike Johnston, Portland 26.5%
Hardy Sauter, Spokane 20.3%
Barry Smith, Kamloops 6.4%
Jim Hiller, Chilliwack 4.4%

Top executive
Scott Bonner, Vancouver -- 86.9%
Tim Speltz, Spokane 49%
Bruce Hamilton, Kelowna 44.2%
Craig Bonner, Kamloops 38.2%
Bob Tory, Tri-City 18.8%
Mike Johnston, Portland 4.9%

Most valuable to team
Dustin Tokarski, Spokane -- 53.2%
Chet Pickard, Tri-City 49.8%
Jonathon Blum, Vancouver 39%
Thomas Hickey, Seattle 30%
Dana Tyrell, Prince George 15.5%
Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver 15.1%

Best overage player
Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver -- 73.9%
Mitch Fadden, Tri-City 53.7%
Taylor Procyshen, Tri-City 30.5%
Jason Reese, Tri-City 27.2%
Craig Schira, Vancouver 16.8%
Greg Scott, Seattle 11.8%

Best stay-at-home defenseman
Tyler Myers, Kelowna -- 53.1%
Jared Cowen, Spokane 52.3%
Trevor Glass, Spokane 22.7%
Craig Schira, Vancouver 21.4%
Tysen Dowzak, Kelowna 15.5%
Taylor Ellington, Everett 14.7%

Top defensive forward
Tyler Johnson, Spokane -- 49.1%
Taylor Procyshen, Tri-City 39.7%
Zack Dailey, Everett 36.6%
Craig Cunningham, Vancouver 15.6%
Lance Bouma, Vancouver 13.3%
Brady Calla, Spokane 11.7%

Top rookie
Brett Connolly, Prince George -- 86.5%
Kellan Tochkin, Everett 59%
Kevin Sundher, Chilliwack 36.5%
Calvin Pickard, Seattle 23.9%
Tyler Maxwell, Everett 11.6%
Brendan Ranford, Kamloops 6.6%

Best 16-year-old
Brett Connolly, Prince George -- 90.6%
Kevin Sundher, Chilliwack 57%
Calvin Pickard, Seattle 25.2%
Brendan Gallagher, Vancouver 18.9%
Brendan Ranford, Kamloops 18.4%
Brad Ross, Portland 18.2%

Hardest shot
Jamie Benn, Kelowna -- 46%
Drayson Bowman, Spokane 28.3%
Jared Cowen, Spokane 25.3%
Tyler Myers, Kelowna 23.5%
Thomas Hickey, Seattle 15.2%
Jonathon Blum, Vancouver 14.5%

Best goaltender
Chet Pickard, Tri-Cities -- 90.6%
Dustin Tokarski, Spokane 86%
Tyson Sexsmith, Vancouver 36.3%
Kurtis Mucha, Portland 17.2%
Kevin Armstrong, Prince George 7.9%
Lucas Gore, Chilliwack 5.8%

Top faceoff man
Tyler Johnson, Spokane -- 43.6%
Zack Dailey, Everett 31.3%
Colin Long, Kelowna 29.1%
Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver 25.2%
Cody Almond, Kelowna 13.7%
Matt Meropoulis, Chilliwack 12.6%

Best skater
Thomas Hickey, Seattle -- 36.2%
Prab Rai, Seattle 19.7%
Jim O'Brien, Seattle 19.1%
Tyler Johnson, Spokane 18.4%
Jonathon Blum, Vancouver 17.2%
Johnny Lazo, Tri-City 16.2%

Most accurate shot
Jamie Benn, Kelowna -- 70.1%
Drayson Bowman, Spokane 62.8%
Evander Kane, Everett 32.9%
Mitch Fadden, Tri-City 21.5%
Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver 18.1%
Colin Long, Kelowna 7.4%

Most underrated player
C.J. Stretch, Kamloops -- 32.3%
Tyler Johnson, Spokane 30.9%
Taylor Procyshen, Tri-City 26.7%
Colin Long, Kelowna 15.8%
Cody Almond, Kelowna 14.4%
Brent Regner, Vancouver 12.3%

Toughest player
Ryley Grantham, Kelowna -- 67%
>Mitch McColm, Tri-City 46.4%
Sena Acolatse, Seattle 28.7%
Ryan Letts, Spokane 22.5%
Dustin Donaghy, Spokane 22.2%
Tayler Jordan, Portland 19

Most irritating player
Zack Dailey, Everett -- 29%
Lance Bouma, Vancouver 19.7%
David Robinson, Chilliwack 18.2%
Chris Cloud, Seattle 17.2%
Mitch Wahl, Spokane 13.6%
Sena Acolatse, Seattle 12.3%

Most improved player
C.J. Stretch, Kamloops -- 31.4%
Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Vancouver 27.5%
Evander Kane, Vancouver 26.2%
Brett Plouffe, Tri-City 18.6%
Tyler Shattock, Kamloops 16.3%
Tyler Myers, Kelowna 15.4%

Best pro prospect
Evander Kane, Vancouver -- 46%
Jonathon Blum, Vancouver 42.4%
Thomas Hickey, Seattle 37.8%
Jamie Benn, Kelowna 37.3%
Jared Cowan, Spokane 23.2%
Chet Pickard, Tri-City 17.6%

Top referee
Andy Thiessen -- 61.3%
Pat Smith 22.3%
Derek Zalaski 17.9%
Steve Papp 16.9%
Matt Kirk 26.2%
Trevor Hanson 13.4%

President's Day sale through Monday

save 10% at my Zazzle site! One of the new designs:



Thanks to Baum's for the idea!

Valentine's Day is for suckers, Liveblog is for winners!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKAELA!!

If you aren't one who normally checks out the comments section, go see the awesomeness posted by the ever-amazing and accurate Spokant on last night's post-game blog entry. It's full of win, as usual.

Speaking of being full of win, here's Johnny, Brett, Tyler, and Toller being smooth with the ladiez at the Hawthorne Court Retirement Home. Check it out.

Some interesting bits from the Herald this morning:

"We got outworked. It was an off night," said Americans coach Don Nachbaur, whose team has lost just five games on home ice. "We are going to have to play a lot harder tomorrow (at Everett). They were physical and made it tough on us. That's the hardest a team has played against us in our rink in a long time."

The game was played on pink ice in honor of the team's fourth annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The event raised $18,175 for the Tri-Cities Cancer Center -- which also got a helping hand from Vista Engineering, which donated $100 for each goal scored.

"When (Mitch) Fadden missed that empty net in the first, I thought this might be our night," said Edmonton coach Steve Pleau. "The atmosphere was fun and it brought the best in us. The fans were great and our guys really liked playing here."

The Americans pulled Pickard the last 1:20 of the game for an extra attacker, but the Oil Kings kept the puck away Lanigan, who finished with 25 saves.

"I thought he was excellent tonight," Pleau said of his rookie goaltender. "For 16, he showed mental toughness."

That's right, that goalie is 16. He's super tall, really good positioning, and he's a dollface. Dammit. Tonight the Oil Kings are in Spokane. I hope they beat the ever living shit out of them. Go OIL KINGS!

And I know it's a hockey game, but did you hear that violinist play the anthems? Yeah it took a long time and we all wanted the puck to drop, but that was/is the most beautiful rendition of the anthems. I love it when she comes to do the anthems.

AMS at Everett tonight, see y'all back here for liveblog!

uhhh, what?

I don't even know what to say. But be prepared for a whole lot of negativity. Maybe I'll try it in bullet format. Things that sucked:

• OB-freaking-NOXIOUS pink ice. Srsly, what about a nice pastel, subtle pink? It was quite obvious the AMS were struggling with the puck, I know some of that was because it was difficult to see the puck.
• NO high-sticking penalty when Fadden got his teeth chipped? Are you kidding me? It was nice (and uber sexy!) to see him so pissed, so fired up. I was really hoping that would translate to some goals but,
• Edmonton's goalie. And what a dollface. 3rd star of the game, totally deserved it.
• The passing was as terrible as I have seen in a very long time. Part of that is pink ice, but not all of it, Edmonton didn't seem to struggle with the nauseating ice.
• Didn't win any physical battles. Well, except for Tyler's fight on opening faceoff. That was his best fight I've ever seen him in, just beat the everloving shit out of the guy. I don't know what precipitated it, but they seemed to know it was going to happen. My guess is they know each other and were like "hey, when you're in town next, lets drop, eh?" Yeah. Anyways, besides the fight, the Oil Kings dominated the rest of the game by really laying on the body, throwing the big hits.
• Riley McIntosh. 'nuff said. Mitch McColm come back SOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!! (like tomorrow)

Some of the positives:

• I've said it before, I'll say it again, I am continually impresed with that Brock Sutherland.
• It wasn't the worst I've seen them play, they weren't great, but not totally lazy like they've been in some games this season. They got outworked. Guess that's not really a positive. But I've been staring at this for 5 minutes, that's all I got.

Boys get on the bus to Everett tomorrow, hope the outcome is better than tonight's. If there are peeps like me that think hockey is more important than some silly "holiday", drop me a line if you wanna live blog. If no takers, no biggie.

Pink Game Day!!

Today is insane. Started for me at 5 am and probably won't end until close to 2am tomorrow. Sweet. Except not. But I'm hopped up on caffeine and Valentine's candy so I shall soldier on.

From the Herald:

Tonight, the Tri-City Americans will go all out in support of breast cancer, playing on pink ice and wearing black and pink jerseys trimmed with the trademark pink ribbon.

It's the fourth year the Americans have joined forces with the Tri-Cities Cancer Center, and tonight, the Edmon-ton Oil Kings will join the Americans in helping fight a disease that affects more than 185,000 people per year -- 1 percent of whom are men -- and kills approximately 40,000.

Over the past three season, the Americans have helped raise $33,861 for the Tri-Cities Cancer Center. The funds raised remain in the Mid-Columbia and are used for support services for women with breast cancer and to help provide free screenings.

A big portion of the money comes from the game-worn jersey auction. This year, the bid sheets will be at Section R, with a buy-it-now bid of $750. There also will be pink T-shirts and other items available, with proceeds going to the Cancer Center.

$750 buy-it-now? This is a cause I believe deeply in, having lost someone very close to me from breast cancer, and another one of my bestest friends in the world having gone through the ordeal of breast cancer, but $750? How is a reasonable person supposed to donate to a good cause in this economy? In other words, I will not be one who purchases the pink jersey. I will donate some money this evening and will probably buy a tee-shirt.

On a totally selfish note, I repeat my request that the 1st star autographed stick be "donated" to me, the most awesome and amazing AMS blogger, photographer, and waffle cookie maker.

Kthxbai.

Gouging my eyes out

So here I am, just kicking back, watching some Gray's Anatomy. And what comes on? some cheezy-ass commercial. Some guys in an office, I spy an AMS mousepad, an AMS team poster. And they turn on the boombox, and mother fucking Cotton Eyed Joe comes on. These pasty, nerdy, fat-ish "office workers" take their shirts off and swing them 'round. It's not bad enough I have to see this at every goddamn game, but now it's on my tv too, burning up my eyez.

Cotton Eyed Joe can burn in hell forever and ever.

and I restate that I should receive the autographed stick tomorrow night against Edmonton. Spread the word boys, whomever is 1st star. For waffle cookies, for nice things said about you on this site, photos!, and because you know you want to. kthxbai.

to my dear readers

Been experiencing internet woes so I apologize for not updating. In and out service at home, unable to reach Blogger at work. Google is doing something about changing servers or something, the IT guy tried to explain it to me, but still having trouble at work.

Good thing it's a slow hockey news week or I'd really flip out. I mean, there is nothing going on. Tomorrow is game day against Edmonton Oil Kings on Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Pink ice (hopefully not the eyesore it was last year) and the pink jerseys. Although, really, they're mostly black with just a pink stripe, actually quite nice.

A special note to whomever gets the 1st star tomorrow night--I think I deserve the signed stick for being the awesomest AMS blogger evarrrrrr. Just sayin. :)

And what of waffles and waffle cookies you say? Here they are, ready for delivery:



Huge thanks to BFF for helping with the cookies, including providing a second (larger) waffle iron so that they didn't take all friggin night. And awesome job on the frosting, even if Pro's is special. It's cuz he's the captain! :)

Top Rookie--the voters have spoken

The votes have been tallied, thank you all who contributed. Remember, this means nothing at all, but it was interesting to see the results!

There were 132 total votes (WOW! THANK YOU!)

38 (28%) for Drew Owsley
35 (26%) for Brendan Shinniman
21 (15%) for Brett Martyniuk
19 (14%) for Justin Feser
9 (6%) for Spencer Asuchak
6 (4%) for Brooks Macek
4 (3%) for Jordan Messier

Next up, best defenseman! Voting is open for a week, let's see who the readers pick!

Intensity baby

Wow, I'm glad the AMS only face Lethbridge once a year. They were big and physical. Gigantic guy Dwight King was making his presence known early, I was already yelling obscenities at him early in the first, then he laid a nasty hit on Kruise Reddick. When Pokey finally got up it just didn't look like he knew who he was. I was quite upset when I saw trainer Kevin Haise take him down the runway. But yay, he was back several shifts later and had a great game. And King was ejected--w00t!!

Reese got the first goal of the game, a rebound off of Fadden's shot that hit the post. I heard that distinctive "clank" clear down at my end of the rink.

Petr Stoklasa had the 2nd goal, it was unreal. Like I looked around waiting it to be waived off (for what reason, I have no idea). It was an absolutely sick shot, and a shorty at that. Plouffe and Pro also had goals, and Johnny added an empty-netter to bring about the 5-2 final score. Johnny had 3 point night, should have got a start. But whatever.

Let's talk about Chet's performance for one second here. He was absolutely spectacular against Seattle Saturday night (till Parker ran him over, asshat). He was clearly not 100% last night but was simply outstanding. I don't know what Nashville's goalie guru Mitch Korn said to Chet when he was in town last week, but it seems to have worked.

AMS responded well to the Hurricanes' physicality, it didn't get quite as ugly as I thought it would. Well, until the 3rd. Brooks Macek got fed up with something and flipped out, went after Sutter. Verteeg pulled Brooks off then went after him, Sutter and Shinniman faced off. Another great battle for Shinny, taking on a guy like a foot taller than him and holding his own. Brooks, however, did not fare as well, I didn't see all of it, I was trying to get photos of both, but I did see the linesman sitting on Brooks while Versteed punched the shit out him. I was gonna have to go after some Hurricanes myself. It was great to see that kind of passion from Brooks though. RAWR! See list of crazy penalties here. Oh, and the Herald's game story here.

It was great to see Drew Hoff, though as BFF and I were discussing on the way home, he didn't seem to be playing with the same energy, the same spark, that he did in Tri. Poor kid, wish he was still in Tri. Saw Mestery, talked to him for a few, he's hoping to be back playing next week, been out for a month with a conky. Poor kitten. I wanted to grab his noggin and put my healing hands all over it. However, he's really tall and it would have been really awkward to try to grab his head. Second, I don't think that I actually have healing hands. I did manage to finally have my picture with him though. Small victories.

Finally I have to get pissed for a second (shocking, I know). I bid on Shinniman's jersey at the Booster Club table. I bid a lot. I was outbid. How the fuck much money does a bitch have to spend to get her hands on a game-worn jersey? Holy crap. I was so mad, I was gonna punch whomever it was that won it, but I don't know who it was. And I'm too chicken shit to actually punch anyone. But I would have thought about it, that's for damn sure.

Mitch Fadden 4, Seattle 1 (updated)

Tonight was the Mitch Fadden show. Or the Calvin Pickard horror-show. Regardless, it rocked. Final score 7-1. Additional goals from Plouffe, Toller Reddick, and Wilgosh.

There isn't enough emoticon hearts or waffles in the world to give to Mitch Fadden to show my love appreciation for how awesome he played tonight. I mean, did you see this kid? Every one of those goals should be on the WHL plays of the week. Leave #5 spot for Hickey's goal, it was pretty sick.

Kudos also, Mitch boys for getting the memo about scoring during the second so I can get good photos of it. And don't think I didn't notice who needed to celebrate his 4th goal right in front of me! **swoon**

Another thing I noticed was Fadden passing to Reeser and Lazo in the 3rd to try to get the puck to them for goals, just didn't happen. But I thought it was an unselfish move.

Dear Riley, please don't fight. Dear Spencer, pretty please do not fight.

To the dickfaced motherfucker Parker who took out my goalie, you can just fuck right off. Kthxbai.

___________________________________________
Update:
It was pointed out in the comments that in my rush to write "Fadden" surrounded by hearts all over my Pee-Chee last night, I neglected to mention several other rather key pieces to the game. And I realized it as I was laying in bed last night, well before comments arrived.

It's true, without Reese's passes, Mitch would not have had at least 2 of those goals. Without Jason feeding Mitch sick passes all season, Mitch would not have the goal total that he does have. Gotta admit, Jason gets my vote for unsung hero this season. Another thing I noticed, Jason's been playing better since he went back to his old skates. And passing is one of those things that I tend to forget to pay attention to, unless the passing sucks so terribly it cannot be ignored.

Also overlooked was Lane's three assists. We were discussing how we didn't think it was Lane's best game, defensively, but he did something right, obviously. Lane usually logs a lot of minutes with Mitch McColm so without Uncle Mitch out there, he may have been a little lost, who knows.

The kids also did great work again, which I also failed to mention. I did think the Shinniman-Macek-Stoklasa (till Don switched up the lines a bit) line was a bit quiet (for them) but they were still out there creating energy and making plays. Messier-Asuchak0-Wilgosh line didn't get as much time on ice as I thought they would, but did well, shit, Wilgs got a goal, and a shorty at that!

How about mentioning killing off the Seattle 5-on-3 which provided a huge boost to the momentum and energy? How about the power play which got 3 of the 7 goals?

This update also gives me the chance to link the Herald article and say I hope they do as well against Lethbridge tonight.

mine mine mine

I thought this looked familiar--the photo that went with yesterday's game story on the AMS website for the game against Portland. I took it. Since they didn't feel the need to give me credit, I'll do it myself.

I know part of my agreement with the team is that I have to give them copies of all my pictures, but some credit would be nice. That's asking too much I guess. Whatever.

Morning after Portland, Game Day vs. Seattle

I don't even know what to say about last night's game. I didn't see it in person, but I know the end score sucked. It must be noted AMS got 39 shots on goal, so they were doing something right. Ran into hot goalie (in every sense of the word) Ian Curtis. They kept Chet to only 17 shots, I'm guessing he got bored and bored = rusty. Losing Mitch McColm in the 2nd didn't help. Sister was at the game, she reported:

"it wasn't that the AMS let up, it's that the Hawks stepped up, and stepped up big time."

So they played decent. Portland was a hungry team, losing it's last 12. Why this damn team has given the AMS fits all year, I'll never know. But it makes me bananas. Positives from last night?

• Kept Hawks to 17 shots
• Sounds like they played 60 minutes (39 shots, srsly)
• Toller back in the lineup
• Heard Fadden's name a lot, he tends to do magical things when he has the puck so hopefully that will carry over into tonight
• Heard the kids' names a lot--Wilgosh, Macek--as they continue to provide energy and depth for the team

Tonight AMS are back home at the Toyota Center to take on another team that has given them trouble all season, the Seattle Thunderbird. The T-Birds beat Lethbridge (AMS Sunday opponent) 7-4. SEVEN TO FOUR. I just hope those two teams wore each other out.

Remember it's "wear red" at the arena tonight for Heart Health Month!

It's finally game day!!

AMS have a busy weekend, starting tonight in Portland (join us for the liveblog!!), Seattle at home on Saturday, and home vs. Lethbridge on Sunday. Waffles are up for grabs, boys. You know you want 'em. Some highlights from the Herald today:

Going through Kyle Beach withdrawals? (hell no, but BFF is, as much as she tries to deny it)

"We only have 19 games left and every point is important," said Americans coach Don Nachbaur. "You can't be giving away games at home or on the road. There are no easy teams this weekend. Lethbridge is healthy, Seattle has given us fits all season and Portland hasn't handed us any points this year -- we have had to fight for every one of them. We've worked hard to get where we are and we can't let up."

"When you get a guy like Luca Sbisa back, it's huge," said Americans forward Mitch Fadden, who played 2 1/2 years in Lethbridge before he was traded to the Americans earlier this season. "With Luca and Zach coming back, they are a good team, but we have a good team, too. Kruise (Reddick) is a special player and we missed him when he was gone (out 18 games with a concussion). Once we get (Jarrett) Toll back, we'll be fine. Toller does so many little things you don't notice."

"It will be a tough weekend," Fadden said. "We haven't been as good as we'd like lately, but that changes starting (today) in Portland. And we play well at home. I like our chances this weekend for six points."

Former Tri-City D Eric Mestery, now with Lethbridge, has missed nearly a month since suffering a concussion. He is not scheduled to play this weekend.

I have no idea if Toll will be back this weekend, I really really REALLY hope he is. And I am probably the only one bummed Mestery probably won't be playing. Though on the other hand, it will save him from hearing all the haters boo at him. And he'll be wandering around in a suit (if he made the trip) and that is RAWR hot.

Please stop in at the liveblog tonight, feel free to join in! We had a lot of "lurkers" last time, which is awesome, but just know your contributions are welcome!



Besides, there will be booze involved, what's better than that? :)

OMGWTFBBQSAUCE and actually NSFW

That means "not safe for work"

also not safe for young eyeballs (like under age 14 or so, really) or anyone offended by the F-word (and you read my site??).

Also it's not meant to offend anyone, I just remembered the story from college when I took the picture. That's all.

Having read the disclaimer, you can find out what I'm talking about by clicking here.

attention voters

Y'all realize this vote, this poll is apropos to nothing. It's not Hockey Idol, these votes do not guarantee an end-of-season award. In this case, the one with the most votes wins absolutely nothing. I mean, I loves the Owsley, don't get me wrong, but c'mon.

On that note, TWO MORE DAYS TILL HOCKEY. shit. No hockey, nothing for me to write about. I am considering a LOLhockey post, but need inspiration. And the one LOLhockey picture I have ready is so NSFW it's not even funny. Well, actually, it's quite funny. But still.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN MESSIER!!!!

Mid-Week Guest Post

So just when the team's getting back into the flow, there's a weeklong (almost) break between games. ARGHH. Once again, friend of the blog and friend of mine, Spokant, has come up with another amazing guest post.

How kick ass would it be if each of our players had their own personal goal song? I came up with a list that I think is fitting.

#2 Mitch McColm: Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
(purely for the irony factor... toughest guy on the team = cheesiest song)

#3 Jarrett Toll: I'm So Excited by The Pointer Sisters
(because he literally shakes with excitement when he scores)

#6 Riley McIntosh: Finally by CeCe Peniston
(only guy on the team who doesn't have a goal, this song practically chose itself)

#9 Jason Reese: Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter
(honestly, it's about a guy killing himself but it's too perfect not to use)

#11 Kruise Reddick: originally it was going to be What Have You Done For Me Lately by Janet Jackson (because, well, what had he done for us lately?)
But since he started playing again he got the first goal in his first game back and suddenly the team is looking like the old 'win as a team because we don't know what losing is' Ams! Now his song is: Just What I Needed by The Cars.

#13 Mitch Fadden: Unbelievable by EMF
(there's no denying he has the best offensive skill on our team)

#15 Brooks Macek: The Right Stuff by New Kids On The Block
(he's so adorable he should be in a boy band)

#17 Adam Hughesman: Yeah! by Usher
(it just seemed appropriate)

#18 Mason Wilgosh: Party People by Nelly feat. Fergie
(because he never takes a shift off and deserves to party like a rock star when he scores)

#19 Jordan Messier: Cantaloop by Us 3
(there is no explanation, it's just a completely random but seriously rad song)

#21 Johnny Lazo: Rocket Man by Elton John
(because he's, you know, kind of fast... like a rocket)

#22 Justin Feser: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet by Bachman Turner Overdrive
(I have a feeling this kid is going to raise some eyebrows in the next few years)

# 23 Tyler Schmidt: Business by Eminem
(but only the chorus: Let's get down to business, I don't got no time to play around, what is this, must be a circus
in town, let's shut the shit down on these clowns, can I get a witness, (hell yeah))

#24 Brendan Shinnimin: Candy Shop by 50 Cent
(because his goals are always so sweet!)

#25 Brock Zimak: Feels Like The First Time by Foreigner
(there's only one notch on his rookie headboard so far)

#26 Spencer Ausuchak: Let's Hear It For The Boy by Deniece Williams
(um, maybe because he's AWESOME... let's hear it for running Spoke's goalie!)

#27 Brett Plouffe: Whip It by Devo
(he has an amazing slap shot, especially when it goes into the net)

#32 Lane Werbowski: How Bizarre by OMC
(well, it is strange times when Lane scores a goal)

#39 Brock Sutherland: Who Can It Be Now by Men At Work
(newest kid, one goal so far... there would probably be a lot of people asking this question if he put one in the net)

#41 Petr Stoklasa: Hot 'n Cold by Katy Perry
(no one seems to go through more hot and cold streaks than Petr!)

#44 Taylor Procyshen: P.I.M.P. by 50 Cent
(I wasn't going to do it... then I did)

Honorable mention to Drew Hoff. Were he still a part of our team his goal song would be 'Holding Out For A Hero' by Bonnie Tyler for the many game-winning goals he scored. And yes, I am still bitter about him being gone.

-spokant

I've got good news, and bad news.

Well, not bad news per se, but I'm annoyed. I know, BIG SHOCK. And I needed a snappy title.

The Tri-City Americans announced the other day the really awesome deal that Taylor Procyshen is doing for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. For every goal the Americans' score he's donating $2 of his own money to the MDA. The team has pledged to match whatever he donates. Here's the official release from the team. He's hoping to raise $1000 between himself and the team.

"I got the idea from another player in (the WHL) a few years ago," explained Procyshen. "I've been very blessed in my life and I wanted to find a way to give back to those less fortunate."

"These kids are an inspiration to me...I just feels good to give back. I've always believed that helping others out is just good for your soul...it just feels good."

"We were completely taken by surprise,' said Erica Waldera, Field Representative for the Mid-Columbia chapter of the MDA. "It was amazing that (Procyshen) thought of it on his own, came up with the idea and gathered the team around him as well."

It's a cool thing he's doing. It really is, don't get me wrong. BUT...

The team is NOT holding their annual skills competition. THAT used to be the fundraiser for the MDA. They would auction off the hawt WHL jerseys the boys wore during the competition, the winning bidder would get the jersey right off the players (literally, they would strip down) and have it autographed, right then and there. Some of those jerseys went for $1000 EACH. The MDA might be grateful Pro and the AMS are doing anything at all, but compared to years past, it's nothing.

In addition, skills challenge was one of the coolest events all season. Just players goofing around, competing against each other, having fun. Fastest skater, accurate shot, puck relay, and other drills. It's always been super entertaining. Like last season when it was the breakaway/shootout and Lane went in on Chet and threw his glove at him to try to distract him from stopping the puck (it didn't work by the way, but it was HILARIOUS).

I, for one, am disappointed in the organization. They are taking away a huge money-making opportunity for the MDA. They are taking away an awesomely entertaining time from the fans. I restate that I think it's really great what Taylor is doing (and the team matching) but it's not the same. I doubt I'm alone (I know I am not, BFF and I have discussed this at length) in my thinking here. Fans loved the skills challenge and were willing to shell out good money for nice jerseys and for a good cause.

And the good news?
Stemming from a conversation with the peeps the other day, I realized that while it's only February, the end of the season is close. Well, closer than I want it to be anyways. End of season means end of season awards. So choosing some of the categories, I'll be running weekly polls of who I think is in the running and letting the readers vote. We'll see how our results play out at the end of the season.

This week's poll: Best Rookie. VOTE NOW. (good luck deciding this one)

I mean, we got guys playing like a TEAM

We got guys who didn't take a single shift off.

We got guys who remembered there's no "I" in "team".

We got guys who didn't let up, even when leading (and we got bloggers who kept waiting for them to, sorry boys)

We got goalies getting shutouts. Yeah, he only faced 21 shots but with that few it's not unusual for goalies to get bored and rusty just waiting around, Chet did very very well. Nashville goalie guru should be in town more.

We got guys getting in fights, Lane Werbowski? Justin Feser? Hell yah.

We got guys like Johnny getting two goals. Pro with another sweet goal. Macek had two points, Petr had two points. Messier had a sick goal, so did Schmidt.

And OH. MY. GOD. did you see Mitch Fadden last night? I mean, we got bloggers who are completely biased, but that performance couldn't be ignored. Never took a shift off, less selfish, and did you see his skating? I mean, did you fucking see it? And the sweet goal? Holy shit. THAT is the Mitch Fadden I've been waiting to see since the trade brought him here. I hope he keeps it up.

Some good quotes from the paper:

"Our lines are starting to resemble what they were earlier this year," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur, who has led his team to the playoffs for six straight years. "The key to success is four lines playing hard. They made it easy for Chet."

"I think I came back from (Christmas) break refreshed," said Lazo, who had seven goals and 12 assists during the month. "Petey (Stoklasa) and Mace (Brooks Macek) were working hard and throwing checks. They gave me a lot of room."

"Tonight was one of the easiest games I've played this year," said Pickard, who has won a franchise-best 97 games. "Sometimes I have to bail them out and sometimes they are bailing me out. I do whatever I have to do and I'm happy to do it. We just have to play our game; Spokane isn't losing right now."

"There were no passengers tonight," Nachbaur said. "The bus was full and everyone was driving. When that happens, you can roll four lines and keep your energy up. They didn't need the whip tonight. It was nice to stand back and let them play."

Well said Coach. They were a unit, playing for each other. And it actually looked like they were having fun, something that I think has been missing. Keep it up boys!