Game Day
"We were OK," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller of the road trip. "There were a lot of would'ves, could'ves and should'ves, but OK is not good enough. Bottom line, we have to be more desperate from the drop of the puck."
"If you look back over the last six weeks, we have given points away," Hiller said. "There was no sense of urgency. It's disappointing. You want to be playing well and winning. Last weekend (losses to Chilliwack, Portland and Seattle) was unacceptable."
"We have to take care of business," Hiller said. "Our focus right now is getting ready for Seattle. We have to play desperate and good hockey. We can't count on others losing -- we have to win these games." (Herald)
And here I thought they did have a sense of urgency as coach said on March 5th:
"I think everyone can see the standings," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "We have a sense of urgency. "We are refocused, re-energized and are playing how we have most of the year. Our depth is showing and the scoring balance is emerging again and that's what made us successful early." (Herald)
Guess he was just hopeful for the urgency like the rest of us. I do know that it takes a season like this, a roller-coaster one, to make me realize (as if I didn't already know) that I adore this team, win or lose. Granted, it's frustrating as hell, but at the end of the day, it's just a game. With the struggles comes a lot of finger-pointing and that is just as frustrating to see.*
Moving on, thanks to Portland for beating Everett last night to swallow up their game in hand, still leaves the 'Tips tied for first with 93 points. Seattle has the opportunity to play the ultimate spoiler tonight, starting in net with Calvin Pickard. As with all games against Seattle (even with a chunk of their lineup missing), they're competitors, make you work hard, win the battles for the puck. Also, they have a guy named Aasman, and that makes me giggle.
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For those of you who will not be at the Toyota Center and will be listening on the radio or online, I received the following message from Craig West concerning the lack of a broadcast last Friday night:
"Had exactly nothing to do with Sports Frequency, it was the in house server that didn’t work. Mechanical things happen. The problem was repaired the next day promptly. John McKay and the engineer made it work."
He also said he has to call "the station back to reconnect. Why? To get a BETTER line for radio…we are a team that broadcasts the games on an over the air station with a modem that connects at 24K.
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Are you on the Americans' email list? If you are, you received in your inbox (a while ago, I kept forgetting to post it) a note addressing the concern the team has with some fan behavior:
Attention Season Ticket Holders:And remember the "Fan Code of Conduct".
Over the last several weeks, the Americans have received a dramatic increase in complaints regarding inappropriate behavior and language on the part of fans at our games. These complaints have come from "locals" and "visitors" alike. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these complaints center around locations occupied by season ticket holders.
Simply put, the Americans take this issue quite seriously. Over the last five seasons, our owners, players and staff have strived to build a world-class organization recognized for providing a safe, affordable, family-friendly environment for all who attend our games. This type of misconduct serves to erode the foundation we have worked so hard to build. It also impacts the team -- and our community -- as many of these fans may never come back to the Toyota Center ... or the Tri-Cities.
What local parent wants their young children exposed to profanity or inappropriate language? What visiting fan wants to be subjected to obscene gestures or having beverages poured on them? The answer -- not one of us would tolerate this behavior elsewhere!
We are writing to ask you, our most passionate fans, to assist us in maintaining the great, family-friendly environment (and reputation) we have worked so hard to achieve.
Also don't forget you can still vote for some stuff before the end-of-season awards are handed out on Saturday.
*and yes, I've been guilty of it too, it's a fan blog. I'm a fan with opinions and a computer, it happens.
5 comments:
I have a thought on that fan behavior thing, but I have a question first, do they serve beer at games, and if they do, what's the drink limit?
they do, I have no idea what the limit is.
The limit is the amount you can pour down your throat (or buy) before puck drop in the third. They will sell you multiple beers at once ... sort of defeats the purpose of sobering up during the third if you ask me.
The reason I asked is that the complaints about swearing and stuff from my prespective seem to come from the "parents" (if you want to use that phrase) that are simply using a sporting event as a baby-sitting service. And it really gets my goat, cause they have a problem if I say a call was bullshit, but if I have a problem with your kid running up and down the asiles and constantly bumping into me I have to "deal with it" cause "they're just kids" it's a double standard that makes me want to swear at everything.
you and me both Zack. And the "section leaders" are worthless as far as enforcing this supposed code of conduct. At least they have been in the 2 sections I've sat in.
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