eventually owning the TML's

The start of this game didn't look good. MAF was being benched in replacement of back up Dany Sabourin, and who knows if all the speculation of Coach Therrien doing it as sending a message to MAF for his lackluster play thus far, it's anyone's guess.

However, this didn't last long. At 5:09 in the first period, Eric Christensen hits on in to score the first goal of the game. About a minute and a half later Darci Tucker taps one in for the Leafs. Blah... 1-1. And with lots of slash and bang the TML's Antropov finally gets one in to make it 1-2 Leafs.

Then that douche bag Darcy Tucker decides to rush and then collide into Sabourin... and now he's bleeding. Thanks ass hat. In comes MAF. Oddly enough, this looks like a penalty to most of the real hockey world, but nothing is called... I said... NOTHING WAS CALLED... oh wait, there was... on Brooks Orpik. Color me dumbfounded.

Just as the second period opens, our favorite Leaf Mats Sundin (ok, that's a lie, I have no favorite Leaf.. well, maybe the oak...) scores on MAF, making the supper I was trying to eat at the time harder to swallow. 1-3 TML's.

Quite happily it finally happened... I got to do it... and gawd it felt SO good... I got to scream... "SIDNEY SCOOOOOOOOOORESSSSSSSS!!!"

And about 21 seconds later Max Talbot adds to the fun by scoring, making it a tied game 3-3!!

Everything was intense, and Pens fans were having a McDonalds Moment... (bah, bah, bah, bah, but bahhhh... I'm lovin' it!) and Brooks Orpik takes a dirty hit.. so hard that the guy that hit him had his stick go flying out of his hand. Not good, he's flat out on the ice. Later it was announced he had a concussion. Grrr.. Like our D needed to take that loss.

Ryan Malone got his act together and found the goal with the puck... he's so hit or miss, it's tough to decide if I want to make him this season's Omlette.. (ask me if you don't get that, I'll be most happy to explain :P ) But, before I could get to excited about the lead, Jason Blake scores for his new team. I still don't like this dude for that nasty stab shot he laid on Sidney last season and then wouldn't own up to. Now it's 4-4.

Crosby got into it with one of the Leafs... he looked angry, did he just drop the F bomb? Such an innocent face he has, hard to believe he can talk like a truck driver too. :P An article I read online the next day said it was the closest thing to an all out fight Sid has had, he laughed it off by saying... "I never even dropped my gloves" Regardless, he gets sent to the penalty box.

Later Sydor sets Sid up for his next goal, and it was poetic justice for all the booing those damn Leaf fans were pelting him with... the best revenge is scoring and owning your goalie :P Pens lead 5-4




After some 4 on 4 hockey going into the end of the game nothing exciting happens, then with a minute left, the TML's pull Vesa and Talbot whacks one in from the red line, making it 6-4.. and yes... the Pens win... put that in your shoe and beat it... :P

Anyhow... until next time... keep the faith...

Peace be with you all... Filthy Phlyers suck frankfurters freely... :P

Le prix était exact et cela suce

Last Weds. game against the Montreal Canadians, was admittedly tougher than it had to be. The Habs put in backup goaltender Carey Price.. so maybe that is how we came into it, a little over confident. But as Steigy and Errey so pointedly reminded us, which seemed liked 458 times, was that Patrick Roy had made his professional hockey debut against the Pens 22 years to the day, and won. Thanks guys.

As was apparent from the start, Sid came out full of energy and ready to play, but it seems everyone forgot to remind Recchi it was game night and not practice. I hope this is not a sign of things to come and he's just in a slump (this early though?) but Recchi is not only slower than last season, but he's also putting in massive minutes of ice time? uh... why?

Then there is the too many men on the ice penalty the Pens take. I've never played hockey, but roughly since the age of 5, I've been counting. This has to be the lamest penalty a team can take. Fingers and toes guys... fingers and toes...

It was obvious Price was on his game and denied plenty of shots from he Pens. However in the second period the Pens Whitney and the Habs Plekanec trade goals to make it 1-1. Then soon Kovalev adds to it to make it 1-2.

In the third period the boys from the 'Burgh lost the face off, and thru some bouncing about it gets into the hands of Markov's stick.. Habs score again :( 1-3. Not to be kept down for too long, Talbott takes a pass from Malkin to score and make it 2-3... but there was not enough momentum, or any calls from the officials on penalties to help the Penguins pull out the win.

I was bummed.. second home game of the season and we lost. Could have been worse, we could have lost to the Flyers. But, props to Carey Price for winning his NHL debut... at our expense.

Next stop the TML's....

Peace be with you all... Flyers x Goonery personified = no choice but to suck!

Hurricanes & Ducks

Mixed feelings to be sure... The season opener going down in a loss to Carolina, only to beat the defending Stanley Cup champs the next night in the home opener. And before I go further, major cudos to FSN Pittsburgh for letting us at home see the player introductions and the special video, prior to the game Saturday night.

Friday night I was totally jacked up and ready for my Pens to play some hockey. Granted the Indians were on another network battling the Yankees and that's always a good time, but darn it... this is hockey!!! It always takes priority... least in this house :P

It seemed early on that things were not going to be good. Nice to see I have such vision. *note sarcasm* Sidney looked great, and if it's possible.. he's just gotten faster. Eric Staal managed the first goal for the Hurricanes... and it seems the folks in Carolina haven't forgotten the hit Cole took from Orpik last year, they boo him every time he takes the puck. And might I add I think I could puck handle better :P After what seemed forever, Staal taps another in... off Orpiks skate... swell.

Early in the 2nd period, Carolina shoots in another 3-0. Bleh. This game started to drag and before you know it, it's now 4-0. Double bleh. And wtf is Recchi doing on the ice so much? I swear it seemed he had more ice time than Sid.

MAF got pulled in the third and in goes Dany Sabourin, if I'd have been Catholic, I'd have crossed myself, for crying out loud. Maybe it's just me, but I've no faith in this guy.. just a feeling. But hey, props to him, he's getting NHL icetime. Crosby looked great despite not being able to connect any of his pucks to someone else or the net, the guy is fast and is amazingly sharp.

Malkin sets up Recchi for a goal, so at least this wasn't going to be shutout, PTL. Then it was over, and I was left to watch the rest of the Indians and Yankees, and pout. Ahhh well, there was always tomorrow.





Saturday night it's the Ducks.. and many a post on the Pens message board involved promises of sending the Ducks home... well... fill in the appropriate four letter word that sounds like duck. :P

The game started out slow, but the Ducks were ready for some serious action. And gawd, looking at Chris Pronger just ticks me off, he doesn't even have to do anything. I so wanted someone to own him.

Then it happens. Crosby takes a nasty shot to the right foot, you can tell he's in pain. Flashes of him playing with a stress factor in the playoffs goes thru every Penguin lover watching. How he played the rest of the game we'll never know.

As a side note: Here is Sid's status for Weds. game against the Habs

Ryan Malone took two penalties in a row.. makes me wonder if he heard me from north east Ohio cursing him..hmm. Anyhow, between them, the Ducks score 1-0. Please, not a replay of last night. Thru some bump here, there, and everywhere, Petr Sykora somehow finds the goal, yippee Pens score 1-1.

Right from the start of the 2nd period, the Ducks score on a goal that was just... sick. The Pens make a change in the line up and it seems to work as Gary Roberts passes to Colby Armstrong, who scores his own sick goal... yeah, baby Pens 2, Ducks 2. And before you could go refill your drink, Sykora finds Malkin! Wee! 3-2

The 3rd period starts and the Pens go on a PP, only to have a Anaheim player steal the puck and put one in past MAF, crub...tie game again 3-3. Boo hiss.

Again Sykora finds the goal, and moments later so does Ryan Malone on a pass from Crosby.. sweeeet... The game after such a fast pace, lulls, and suddenly the Pens were not paying attention and the Ducks score.. wtf? Thankfully after that it was over...all to end a game and feast on roasted Duck and a tired and owned Chris Pronger.. yeah.. just what I wanted :P

I was happy then.. we won, my hockey hunger was sated, if only briefly... why in hey do I not play again until Wed (tomorrow)? Geesh! But, I shall expand on all that in another post..

Good night.. peace be with you all... and it sucks having to share the state of Pennsylvania with the Flyers... thankfully they are waaaaaaayyy over on the other side!

Ahhh and one of the many reasons I love my Penguins... Mr. MVP, none compare

Game on!

Words alone can't describe just how jazzed I am that the season has alas FINALLY started, though I still need to wait one more day for the Penguins opener against Carolina down south, then opening in Pittsburgh on Saturday night with the Ducks.

Last week I purchased the Center Ice package on Directv, so I plan to ingest as much hockey as humanly possible this season! I've even gone so far as signing up and having 5 fantasy teams going (none of which contains Sidney Crosby, which severly chaps my ass!).

Over the weekend I checked out the Ducks - Kings games from London, that was interesting. I was pleasently surprised the crowd was getting into it, more so than some American arenas I saw last season, lol.

In a move that will guarantee the Senators some goals for the next 6 years, Mr. Ferarri, Dany Heatley signs a new contract, estimated worth $7.5 million a year. I believe Sid's is around $8.7 million a year, and even then Sidney took a lower amount of cash in order for the Penguins organization to hopefully have more cash to pay the likes of Staal and Malkin in the future. As I've always said, Crosby's got class.. the fact he's an amazing hockey player and cute as all get go with those bee stung lips is just an added plus!

Now that Captain Crosby is leading our team, it's been finally announced that Recchi, Gonchar, and Roberts have been given't the assistant captain "A's" Good move in my opinion.

Recchi will wear the “A” on his sweater for the third consecutive season. He is entering his 19th NHL season and seventh overall with the Penguins. Entering the 2007-08 campaign, he has scored 1,333 career points (508 goals, 825 assists) in 1,338 NHL games.

Gonchar and Roberts will share duties as alternate captain. Gonchar will wear the “A” on his uniform during home games this season while Roberts will wear the “A” during road contests.

Personally I'm interested to see how Petr Sykora fits in with the Pens in the long run. Same goes for Daryl Sydor. Far as I'm concerned, not a bad move in acquiring them, I'm just looking at how they will go for the long haul.

Last night I flipped between the two games available on Center Ice... the Ottawa-Toronto game, and the Montreal-Carolina one, which.. wth??? It was broadcast in French. HELLO??? The commentators were talking to fast for me to keep up with them, and despite it being the game I'd have prefered watching, I flipped over and stayed with the Sens and Leafs.

All that said... Pens hockey starts... TOMORROW!!! Life doesn't get any better than that people... well, it does, sitting in Igloo seats on the red line with someone you love, and a cold drink close by, your Penguins jersey on, and screaming your lungs out "LET'S GO PENS!"... yeah, being a Pens fan rocks. And for all you Johnny come lately, fair weather fans... you've got no clue how it is... you just suck.

Peace be with you all.... and no mercy to the Flyers..why? (do you have to ask?) They Suck!

The Steelers had the Steel Curtain... The Penguins have our Fantastic 5!

Practice, practice, practice...

Ahhh yes, I finally get around to posting about last Thursdays practice!

I left home around 8:30am for the 2 hour drive to Pittsburgh, practice starting at 11am. I could not have timed things any more perfectly than I did, by the time I got to the 'Burgh, paid for my parking spot and walked to the Arena, the doors opened!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to be seeing my team for the first time of the season! (and sadly, probably the ONLY time!) I found myself a perfect seat in the Igloo section, and made myself comfortable.

It was certainly interesting to see the drills the guys go thru, and the warm ups they do. Coach Therian didn't lead as much of the practice as I thought he would, instead let the assistants do more, as he kept a close watch of everything.

I was riveted to my chair watching, taking some photos, and enjoying the whole thing. If I had to guess there was probably 200-250 people there. Was rather irritated that some of the people just couldn't sit thru the hour and a half practice and kept getting up and down. Maybe I'm the weird one who just couldn't tear myself away.

Also of note was the fact that the team seemed to be enjoying themselves, despite being in a physically demanding practice. The below picture being an example, Sidney and Jordon were having quite a laugh during these stretches...




Pretty funny how those stripes on the practice jerseys are glowing? I had noticed these strips on my own practice jersey, and often wondered if they were flourescent, and here they are! I did not take as many digital pictures when I saw this glowing bit thru the lens, was afraid it was going to ruin the pictures. Oddly it didn't seem to! Makes me bummed I didn't take more with the digital camera. The ones I took with my 35mm SLR turned out decent, I just need to sit down without any other distractions and scan them.

Here's the Penguins preparing for some line drills.......





MAF stretching out those legs... sweet...




Sid skating full out in a drill... and yeah, this guy works just as hard in practice as he does during the game. Even stuck around on the ice along with 4 other guys to work on some shots on the net when everyone else went to the locker room. Impressive... it's why he's the Mr. MVP, and you're not. :P




This was one of the best times I've had (hockey related), and after dropping some money in the Pens Station, I watched some of the players leave practice and head to their cars before I went to my own. (and that walk up that hill was KILLER).

Anyhow, season starts tomorrow... gawd.. isn't hockey just fucking great!?!?

Peace be with you all... and Flyers suck in October, as well as April, get used to it.