Depression Brownies 2013 Edition

Every year at the close of our favorite team's hockey season, we make Depression Brownies. Initially it started out as just brownies out of a box, but over the years, the recipes have gotten more decadent & sinful.  After the heartbreak of watching the Penguins lose in Game 4 last night, I figured it was finally time to post the Canes 2013 Depression Brownie recipe. What better to fight the heartbreak of watching your favorite team fail to capture Lord Stanley than chocolate? 

This year's recipe was Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies (Take 2) by Recipe Girl. 

The recipe itself was a simple one, with a basic brownie layer covered by gooey cookie dough. I wanted to make the brownies match the Canes, so I added red food coloring to the cookie dough batter and red sprinkles on top. 

To make these sinfully sweet brownies, follow the directions from the link above and add food coloring to make the color of your favorite team. 

Great recipe- I'm definitely recommending it! It should put you in a sugar coma that remains until the boys are back in town in September! 

Until Next Time,

L 

Canes STH Cookout Recap

The Hurricanes Season Ticket Holder Cookout yesterday was a great success- there's nothing better than watching a practice, eating some yummy food, and then getting to listen to your favorite players chat over the most random questions. I had never been to a Hurricanes practice before & it was definitely an interesting experience.

The Canes ran drills for about an hour. I am now able to confirm that Chad LaRose is REALLY loud (I knew this, but I had never truly witnessed it). Even with thousands in the stands, Chad was audible over the crowd.  

It was also interesting to see some of the things the coaches worked with the players one on one. Maclean worked with Dalpe on getting a shot off under pressure. Several of the guys worked on getting shots off quickly & on net (warm up for the goalies?). 

It was interesting to see who stayed out on the ice the longest- Boychuk & Westgarth worked with Rod, while Skinner, Dalpe, & Bowman shot on the other net. The young guys had a bit of a competition & Bowman made his shot, raised his arms in celebration, & received more cheers than expected from the crowd. It was funny watching his reaction to his celebration. 

Also, this zamboni driver is my favorite, mostly because he really didn't seem to care about keeping to a pattern. 

The Player Q&A was definitely a lot of fun. There's nothing better than watching 6 hockey players (Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, Chad LaRose, Cam Ward, & Tim Gleason) fidget with a mic for 40 minutes. The name of the game seemed to be who can avoid holding the mic and talking for the longest. 

Things We Learned from the Q&A

• Skinner laughed when asked about his hair & doesn't seem to know what's going on with it. Eric stole the mic and made a joke about how it took Skinner 20 minutes of styling before he walked out. 
• LaRose said his plans post-hockey are to have a family like many of his teammates. He also "hinted" that he wants a job like Cory Stillman (and by hinted, he repeated his aspiration again loudly and asked if any of the front office guys were still hanging around).
• Jordan was asked who was more excited about the trade- his parents or himself. Mom & Dad seemed to have won.  Apparently when they were talking about it pre-trade, Henry & Linda kept saying "Well... it would be nice." 
• Who's going to be the first player to reach 20 goals? *loud Rosey whispers in the background*  Skinner's answer? Chad LaRose. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Skinner is easily coerced... 
• Cam Ward decided he wanted to be a goalie when he was around 12 years old. John Forslund confirmed that this was a pre-puberty decision.
• After a typical 7pm game, Gleason admitted that he normally falls asleep around 2-3am.  Takes a lot of calm down after game; his normal routine post-game is to eat dinner & drink a glass of red wine. 

• Ward was asked to pick 3 players for a shootout. He chose Skinner, Semin, & (loud whispers again!) LaRose. LaRose "borrowed" the mic and said the guys next to him (Ericl, Jordan, & Skinner) would be really good choices too. 
• Gleason said he loves seeing "ya'll" out tailgating when drives up before the game & wishes he could stop and join one. I would pay money to have Gleason say "ya'll" again-had to be the most unnatural thing he's ever said.
• Skinner was asked what's the best advice for an 11 year old hockey player. LaRose loudly said "figure skating!" Skinner said you should just have fun. 
• Eric said he first realized he had a legitimate shot at the NHL was when he was 15 & playing in Peterborough. The others seemed to nod in agreement just so they didn't have to talk. LaRose joked that it took him longer & that he just turned 30.
• Eric said he's not sick of brother questions yet. He admitted that sometimes he forgets that Jordan is on the team until he gets to the locker room for practice and is like "Oh yeah, you're here now." 

• Theme of the day? Thanking their wives. Gleason, Ward, and Jordan all made sure to mention how fantastic their wives were. LaRose's loud whispers kept encouraging this from them all, but he didn't have a problem fist-pumping with the guys that didn't have kids.  
• Ward said his wife has been great about letting him get some sleep. He loves spending time with his kids- Nolan is at the age where he loves sports (likes basketball in particular) & Nila (Nyla? Nilah?) likes cuddles because she's only 2 weeks old. 
• Gleason's proud dad moment was revealing that his "boy" (Grady) took 6 steps on his own the day before :)
• Eric revealed that he loves taking his boys to Yogurt Mountain because they like ice cream and their dad enjoys the occasional ice cream too. 
• Jordan was asked what was more exciting- getting traded to the Canes or getting married. His answer? "I love my wife, but no comment." 
• Jordan was also asked what it would take to get Marc into a red jersey- he just said Marc has several years left on his Rangers contract & that Marc really loved playing in New York, but that you really don't know what the future holds. 
• Canes have been working hard to make sure Semin feels welcome. At the team dinner at the beginning of the season, Captain Staal told LaRose to go make him laugh. Apparently Semin was smiling all night while sitting between LaRose & Harrison. 

Overall, it was a GREAT day! 

Until Next Time,
L

Visit our New Blog!

Hi Ya'll!

As you've noticed, we haven't had much hockey to talk about lately on this blog. We decided that during the lockout we needed something to do, so crafting and making things pretty was the obvious choice for us! We're going to continue posting things as NHL Hockey returns! Please visit our new blog at:

http://girlshockeycrafts.blogspot.com/

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

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!

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. 

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

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

High Sticking

So we're back to the 'guiding' part of Girls Guide. I realized that we've kind of let it go for the last couple of months and it's time for it to make it's return. For the first one back, we're picking a pretty easy one:


High Sticking


High sticking is the act of touching an opponent with the stick above shoulder level. 
If there’s blood drawn, normally called as a double minor.
Depending how serious the injury is a double minor, major, or match penalty can be called.


Here's a video example of a high stick Duncan Keith made on Danny Briere that went uncalled...

 
There are SOOOOO many example of high sticking, it's a common penalty. Here's a video example for those of you who like watching PK Subban get hit in the face...

I'm off the Canes-Caps game tonight; hopefully I'll have some good pictures to show ya'll!


Also, high sticking can be applied to scoring goals. A goal can be disallowed if the stick is above the crossbar. If a player knocks the puck into his own net with a high stick, the goal is allowed.


Until Next Time,
Laura

Picture Post: BOS Bruins @ CAR Hurricanes

 Hi All!


Sorry it's been a while since we last posted.  We've both been busy with class, but we've been trying to keep the Twitter going strong. Here are some pictures from the Boston Bruins game (on Jan 14, 2012) that L took. Canes won 4-2, making it 3-0 this season against one of the best teams in the NHL! 

Pre-game warm ups!

 Start of the 2nd period (forgot to take a picture of the opening- oops)

Brandon Sutter takes the face off!

 Cam Ward looked AWESOME in net last night. He was more of a brick wall than Tim Thomas! Whoa! 

 Face off to start the 3rd, lead by fearless Captain Eric Staal

 TV Time Out, Toumo Ruutu adjust skates, guys talk.

 We'll always have a soft spot for Tyler Seguin, even if he is a Bruin. 

 Chara & Ruutu

 Tim Thomas, the official brick wall of the NHL (usually)

 Tensions rise in the last minute as the Canes lead the Bruins 4-2. Timmy Gleason gets in a scuffle, but refs broke it up before anything could happen.

 Goodbye Lucic! Gotta love the ref escort. 

And it's a Caniac Victory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2nd one L's seen this season! 
Wooooohooooooooo! Woooohooooooooo!