Thursday, April 12, 2012

Summing up the Pens Loss


  • “In hockey, momentum can be one of the most mystifying forces. Good or bad, it can do things to the mind that can seem to profoundly impact the work done by the body. There’s no one way to start it, no magic method to stop it. It only comes with a single certainty, on any given night, at any given moment, it can reverse course without any notice.”

  • -24/7 Penguins-Capitals Episode 2

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Our Playoff 2012 Brackets

So after a good amount of deliberation, here are our brackets for playoffs!!!
What do you think?

N's Bracket 

L's Bracket

Yay Playoffs!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Closing Time

Another year has passed by us and we can hardly believe it.  It's always something about the  end of the season that makes us nostalgic.  All it took tonight was Anthony Stewart to tweet "Seasons Over. #justhitme #meh" to realize that it's really over. Most of the boys will be packed up and out of Raleighwood by the end of the week.  Another hot summer without hockey awaits.


Of course there's Stanley Cup action to watch until June.
And the World Championships start around the beginning of May. 


But it's just not the same without the guys here in Carolina. 


So to end this season, I'm pulling out an old stock picture that occasionally makes it's way to the web. Pretty much sums up my feelings now, especially considering the Penguins still have a chance in the playoffs. We'll miss the Canes for now, but at least there's always next year. 




This is from the last playoff game the Hurricanes played. 
May 2009.
N had front row seats to see her favorite team sweep the Canes in 4 games. 

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Last Day of the Regular Season

It's the last game day of the regular season....
Did I really just type that?
I keep thinking the more I say it, the more used to it I'll get, but that hasn't happened yet. 
I am not ready for the boys to vacate Raleigh.
I am not ready for there not to be ice in PNC Arena. 
I am not ready for summer & no hockey yet (we've got a while though).


Every team in the NHL plays today. 
My favorite AHL team plays today. 
I'm trying to watch Checkers at 12, Penguins at 4, and Canes at 7:30.
Plus drive an hour home sometime too.
This will be interesting.


Since it's the Cane's last day of the season, I'm picking a Lingo term that everyone knows, but will enjoy reliving their favorite moments from this season. 


Breakaway


When a player gets possession of the puck and there are no defenders between them and the goalie.


Penalty shots may be awarded if a defender trips or fouls from behind a player on a breakaway (or as the NHL Rulebook phrases it- when they "have no other opponent to pass than the goalkeeper").  The player must be in the neutral or offensive zone. Also, this one is tricky because the player needs to have possession of the puck or at least the referee must feel like they would have gained control if they had no been fouled. 


Short handed breakaways were really the popular this year with the Canes and I'm not complaining. Here were a few of my favorites to serve as examples.




This was a big game for the Canes as they beat the Wild 5-3 on St. Patrick's day. Bowman had a huge game with 3 points, but it was this pass to Sutter that was really amazing.




Things we learned from this game: if you want Eric Staal to play like a beast, chant mean things to him. After chants of "Jordan's better" at the captain, he showed the crowd in Winnipeg why he's a Triple Gold member. In the post game Staal addressed this by saying "I mean, Jordan's good, but I don't know if he's better." :)


Tonight's going to be sad, that's for sure.
But at least we can spend the next few days perfecting our brackets.
And then we'll cheer for the Penguins.


Until Next Time,
L

Friday, April 6, 2012

Picture Post: Last Home Game 2012

Hi All-

It's been a while since we've posted. We've both been really busy, but as the semester draws to an end, we're going to try to do more general hockey posts to coordinate with the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Unfortunately with the start of the Playoffs looming, we're faced with the closing of our home state team, the Carolina Hurricanes.  While N stayed home to work on a couple huge projects she has due next week, I went to the game and took a few pictures that I thought I'd share. I can't believe it was the last game; it seems like just yesterday that I was flipping out on N for making us late to the first game of the season...

We walked in a little late for warm ups (I blame tailgating & beer), so I was honestly surprised we were able to get right on the ice. I also didn't know our tickets were on the sidelines, so that was an exciting surprise. We were bubbly & it was fun to be so close to the guys (my normal seats are on the other side so I typically just watch the opposing team warm up). Tim Brent tried to toss us a puck, but missed and it got to the row behind us. Instead of fighting a young girl for it, we let her have it. 

 Cam during warm ups! 
 Rosey & Spachio
Jamie! 

A few rows down from us a bunch of kids had a sign for Jamie; apparently they had come from his home town in MN to see him play! At the end of warm ups, he took about 3 pucks over there and tossed them over to them! Yet another example of Jamie being a stand up guy- we've grown to really like him!

Sorry for the crummy pictures- I didn't bring my good camera because I didn't think we'd be able to be that close to the action. Also, my computer died the morning of the game so I wouldn't have had access to photoshop to edit any of them (I have a loaner from IT right now) :(


The group I was with had a BLAST at the game! We were optimistic that the Canes would be victorious and losing was never really an option in our minds. We were on our feet so much in the 3rd period and overtime that it really did feel like a really important game! So happy the Canes won. Here are a few of our observations:

  • My friend Megan called it- on the way to PNC Arena she reminded us that she was with us, therefore that the Canes were going to win (she last came to the Capitals game when the Canes won 5-0 & got Queso). She also said that the Canes were going to win in a shootout. I can't believe she was right.
  • I love the smiles the guys have in warm-ups. Really like the guys on this team in general.
  • Jamie had a few laughs out on the ice with Blake Geoffrion, his old Wisconsin teammate. Of course, Geoffrion scored the only goal for the Habs (his 2nd of the season). 
  • Erik Cole brings out a lot of emotions with the Canes. Some laughs with a few guys, angry chirps from the bench, and boos from the fans. When Cole got highsticked, Skinner skated around him with a look of "oh no" and "idk what to do/say."
  • It was tough to see how hard the guys were working to give Rosey his 20th and for him not to succeed. He was sooo close! He had a couple of passes to the front of the net and that breakaway at the end of the 3rd was so close.
  • Also, there's no better way to go out than to be the Freeze Frame Photo of the last game of the season :)


At the end of the game, we decided that it would be awesome if we actually did the Papa John's shot from center ice since we always talk about it. It actually turned out to be lots of fun. I missed the net by about 6 inches with a slow and steady shot. My friend Megan, the only one of us that had never shot a puck before, scored the only goal of our group. Yay! Last memory of this season:

Thanks Stormy! 

Though we really wish the Canes would have made the playoffs, this was the best way to end the season on a high note. Thank you to our wonderful team and everyone in the Canes organization for all the hard work this season! 


Hard to believe we won't get to see these guys again until September!

Until Next Time,
L