Vacation Report: Brusty Day

I'm baaaackkkkk....

Back from the land of quaint houses and 2-story-tall piles of parking lot snow. It was a good trip, but I ended up coming home a day early because I was flying stand-by and there's a blizzard coming to the East Coast today and Wednesday. I wanted to make sure I could get outta dodge before the planes started filling up.

Worked out well because I also managed to get myself sick. Woke up Sunday feeling some lungular distress, but it was Brusty Day, so I had adrenaline and lustiness and get me through it. But by the time we got home from Providence, I was done for. So, I'm spending my last vacation day in bed, writing. And coughing. No big deal.

And since it makes a nice segue, I'll go backwards and start with Brusty Day on Sunday.

Binghamton @ Providence

So, Brusty played (and won) Friday in Bingo, he backed up Brodeur in a win Saturday night in Bingo, and then was supposed to play Sunday. But the Ottawa Senators are a bunch of selfish bastards and sent Lehner down at the last minute to get him some playing time. They are forever on my shit list for that.

Since Binghamton is 4+ hours from where I was staying and Providence was 2.5 hours, plus Sunday was the only day with clear weather, I decided that was going to be the way to go. And since it didn't require an overnighter, I was able to bring my friend with me and have some company.

So anyway, I went to bed Saturday thinking I was going to see Brusty play Sunday. That's a really nice way to go to bed in my little world. Grin on my face. Brusty Brusty Brusty... :D

Then I wake up in the morning and read tweets from Joy that Lehner's back and he's playing. #heartsink #sad

But dammit, I'm going anyway. At least I'll get to SEE Brusty. And that's just going to have to be enough.

So we get there and I buy tickets with no idea about the layout of the arena, but they're on the blue line at the end where the P-Bruins shoot twice. Okay, if Lehner gets the hook or gets hurt and Brusty comes in, I'll have a great view.

Neither of those things happened, but as it turned out, the seats were on the second row and DIRECTLY across from the visitors tunnel where... the backup goalie sits. :) O HAI BRUSTY!

So, while I didn't get to watch him play... I got to watch him watch his team play. Yay? Okay, I watched the game, too, and in all honesty, was rooting HARD for the Bruins in the first half of the game. I was really hoping for some LehnerFail. Alas, he's a pretty good goalie and the Sens were playing pretty well.

What was sucktastic was that Schaefer was backing up for the Bruins and sitting in the same spot as Brusty, just on the other blue line. So here I am looking at the two goalies who basically inspired ME to be a goalie... sitting on their asses in the locker room tunnel. Maybe the hockey gods were saving me from the stroke I would have had watching them compete against each other, but I have to think they would have enjoyed that. Stupid Ottawa.

At least I did get to see Schaef play, as Dalton got run after 4 goals. His defense was absolutely horrific but I also didn't feel like he was seeing the puck very well. He looks like a goalie whose been playing behind a bad defensive team for too long. There's just something about that that wears a goalie down.

Anyway, final was 5-3. We got back and my friend's husband asked me if my team won. I wasn't sure how to answer that. I guess so? I don't really consider them "my team" unless B's in goal, right? They're just some Eastern team I don't really give a crap about otherwise. But it was nice to see Brusty smiling and happy for the win and relaxed and, naturally, as foxy as ever. Even my friend, who really doesn't care one way or another for hockey or players, approved of my taste in hockey boyfriends.

We also both very VERY much approved of Cody Bass. Very approved. #pantysoup

"If you've had a physical reaction to my handsomeness, you're welcome."

Apart from all that was just the fun of seeing a game in a different AHL barn. The Dunk is a nice building. Holds about 11k and it was pretty full Sunday, but it seemed like an inordinate number of kids. When they did that noisemeter thing on the jumbotron, it was ear-splitting.

Also, I'm not sure whether I approve or not, but they do all their patriotic choir kids at the beginning of the game. America the Beautiful, God Bless America, AND the National Anthem in one swoop before puck drop. And then you're free to enjoy the rest of the game without all that cringe-inducing warbling.

Anyway, that's enough on Brusty Day. Possibly more than enough. I'll hit the rest of the trip over the next couple of days.

Oh, and a quick shout out to Sarah Connors, who writes/shoots for Something's Bruin for coming down at intermission and saying Hi! Great to meet you Sarah!

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You need coolin', baby, I'm not foolin'

Poor blog. So ignored. Now that I'm not so full of angst after I play, I have so little to say. But I feel like writing tonight, so I'll back the mental dump truck up here.

Got my new pads yesterday. Props for UPS delivering two things to me this week a day early. First my Bingo practice sweater (wearing it Monday night!) and then my pads.

They look great and are well made, but I'm struggling a little with the fit, mainly that my knees still hit the back half of the knee stack. But I asked about this on the goalie board and was told that they'd settle enough after they're broken in and eventually I'll end up square on the knee stack.

That was kind of my feeling, but for nearly $900, um, yeah, I'm just being careful. They are super solid though. Gonna sit on them while I watch football tomorrow and try to soften them up a bit.

They also have a set of inner calf wraps that I'm not sold on. If I take them off, the calf wraps will be just like my current pads and I like that looser feeling, so I'll try to play with them in and see how I like it but those are probably going to go.

The thigh boards are definitely coming off. They are completely incompatible with my pants. Might just see if Simmons will let me swap the thigh wraps for the flat boards. If not, I'll just snag 'em off my current pads.

They sure are pretty though. Goalie Angel White. Can't you hear the heavenly chorus singing with every save?

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Speaking of saves, fun game tonight at novice. I <3 my team so much. Had some nice saves, a couple where I was straight up screened but just kinda knew it was coming and butterflied and boom. There it was. Fun times.

Though I thought it was a practice tonight and it turned out to be a game. Thought that might throw me off, but it didn't. Look who's cool and collected these days! Feels good.

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I miss Brusty.

There. I said it.

He's up there in Ottawa stopping pucks and I don't get to watch.  

Boooo. That sucks.

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Last Monday at drop-in, one of my defensemen scraped my crease for me before the game.

The appropriate reaction here would be: Huh?

I don't ever scrape my crease (I probably should, but I think it's well established that I'm pretty lazy), but I guess he's seen me go careening across my crease in a few early-game butterfly pushes and felt that needed correcting.

I let him do it, but I don't know that it helped much or that I liked it. I'm used to being slippery at first and then progressively slower on the push (that's what she said). Don't mess with my groove, man. Don't people know better than to go in a goalie's crease and start making decisions for them? Weirdddddd....

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Saw pics of Nolan Schaefer's new Providence Bruins mask today. Holy shit. What a beautiful mask. I'm annoyed that pucks are gonna hit it. It needs a force field of its own to protect it.

Lookie.

He's in solid black pads, too. So sick. Easily one of the best looking goalies in terms of gear year after year. Always love to see what he's come up with.

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I'm never quite sure how much I buy into chiropractors, but damn if I wasn't walking like an old lady all week after pulling my back last Friday, but then one back cracking yesterday and I feel like a million bucks today. So, I'm convinced. Scoreboard!

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That's all, I guess. Enjoy your Sunday of football (or Wild training camp scrimmage if you're one of those Minny punks who gets to go to that).

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Jason Shaver and how things come full circle

I finally had the pleasure of meeting Jason Shaver last night, former Aeros broadcaster and now broadcaster for the hated Chicago Wolves, though he still lives in Houston. I really enjoyed his game calls last season when all I had was radio. I could just close my eyes and watch the game in my head, which, I believe is more than B2 subscribers could see actually watching the game online.

Anyway, it was great, I learned a lot listening to him, and he's just a total pro. The games he broadcast with Schaefer and/or Brusty when they were out with injuries were the absolute best. It was like the Aeros Hockey Comedy Hour. Really great stuff. But also insightful, because goalies see the whole game unfold in front of them.

But seeing Jason reminded me of one game when Schaef was on and Shaver was taking emails with questions for him, and I was still toying with this "being a goalie" idea.

So, I emailed and explained that I'm 32 and, suddenly, I've decided that I MUST become a goalie, and did he have any tips for me.

Nolan, in his usual no-nonsense way, basically said, 'Good luck with that, crazy lady.' (Okay, that isn't an exact quote but that was the gist.) His tip was to get VERY good gear.

It told me two things:

• Never ask Nolan if these pants make your ass look big, because he's gonna tell you the truth.
• Goaltending is going to be harder that I think it is. (And it is... but it's also more fun than I thought it would be.)
  

I'll be honest, it was a little discouraging. In fact, a lot of feedback I got along the way was discouraging, so I learned to blow it off, but this one, from a goalie for whom I have tremendous respect, stuck with me. Kind of in a "I'll show you, Mr. Goalie Man" way. So, I chalk that up as a good thing.

But beyond playing goal, I'm doing lots of things now that I kinda shake my head at with wonder. Talking to people whose names I only used to read in the paper, who are the source of so much speculation among fans. So much "big stuff" is placed on their shoulders, they seem like they should be taller or more imposing, but they're just regular humans.

So, meeting Jason last night kinda felt like things coming full circle, at least in my hockey life (which, let's get real, is really kinda my whole life now). Especially in light of some other big life decisions Mr. C and I have going on.

Lots to ponder, but for now, I'm just enjoying the ride... even the bumpy parts. (Fred's totally making a dirty joke out of that. Aren't you, Fred?)

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And don't forget the blanket coverage of Cal Clutterbuck

Cal's looking mellow today. And a little like, "Can we please ignore the gorilla in the corner that is my lack of points?" We in Clutterbuck Nation know it will come. Back off, reporter boy (okay, we would have asked, too).

Go here to watch

Also, it appears that Harding is healthy enough to go if necessary, so Schaefer is being sent back to Houston and Mojzis is staying up. Yay for getting Nolan back but I was hoping the Aeros would get Mosey, too. I'm greedy like that.

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Schaef called up to the Wild

Apparently Josh Harding has a slight "lower body injury" so Schaef got the call to head to Pittsburgh to back up Backstrom.

I guess we'll see what the trickle-down effect will be if the call-up lasts longer than tonight's game. Fortunately the Aeros don't play again until Saturday and presumably have a day or two off here at the beginning of the week.

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Band of Brothers

Last night, Wild and Canadiens fans were treated to the first face-off between Mikko and Saku Koivu with both brothers wearing the C for their teams. Frequent shots of Mom and Pop Koivu in the stands, cheering, cringing, looking away during the rough stuff... nice little drama.

Tonight, Aeros fans may be treated to another brother vs. brother match-up as the Providence Bruins come to town and Nolan and Peter Schaefer potentially go head to head. Peter was with the Boston Bruins last season but was waived during training camp and sent down to Providence (where, coincidentally, younger brother Nolan went to Providence College).

It's not a guaranteed match-up though, as the elder Schaefer has only played one game with Providence after sustaining a hip injury, but is expected to return tonight. And with two solid Aeros goalies in Schaefer and Barry Brust, it's never a guarantee which goalie the coaching staff will start, but there's no reason not to start Schaefer, so I would expect them to.

ETA: The game notes confirm that both Schaefers will be playing tonight.

Brotherly Love - Aeros’ goaltender Nolan Schaefer and Bruins’ left wing Peter Schaefer will play against each other for the first time when the teams take to the ice tonight. Peter is 30 months older than Nolan and has played in a total of 556 games in the NHL with Vancouver, Ottawa and Boston. He is in his 12th season professionally. Nolan is in his sixth pro season with seven games of NHL experience with the San Jose Sharks in 2005-06.

Here's Joe O'Donnell with an interview with the Schaefer Bros.

As a side note, word is John Scott may be back this weekend, though I haven't seen anything come across the transactions saying he's been released to Houston. And center Justin Taylor, who was with the team on a try-out, was released a couple of days ago.

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Prospect Watch 2008: Anton "Dimples" Khudobin

NHL.com sez:

Anton Khudobin -- A native of Kazakhstan, the 22-year-old is coming off a tremendous season at the minor-league level. Khudobin was masterful with the ECHL's Texas Wildcatters, going 20-1-4 with a 1.98 GAA and .934 save percentage. His play earned him a promotion to Houston, where he posted a 1.99 GAA and .911 save percentage in 12 appearances.

While the Wild are basically set between the pipes with Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, Khudobin can solidify a spot in Houston with a strong camp.

"I'm anxious to see him at summer camp," Thompson said. "He played OK when we brought him up to Houston, too. He had a tough start last year, but once he found his game again, he was pretty good. We want to see him at our summer camp and see if we can keep him going in the right direction. He's a fiery competitor."

Ms. Conduct sez:
Are you crackers, Brian Compton? No effing way Anton beats out Schaefer or Brusty this year. And he wasn't ever promoted to Houston. It was a call-up. He went back to the Catters once Schaefer recovered from his injury.

Now this makes it sound like I don't like Dimples, but nothing could be further from the truth. I adore the kid! But let's be realistic here. We have four NHL-experienced goalies ahead of him in the pipeline, which means unless there's a trade involving one of the top 4 goalies in the organization, Anton's back in the ECHL this season. Tom Lynn said as much recently:

We hope to add another goalie by end of training camp. The Aeros will generally carry 2 healthy goalies, as will the Wild. Any injury to one of those four goaltenders means our “third goalie” (or the #5 goalie for the Wild) will b e called up on to play. If there is a further injury or call-up, then we would like to have another good young AA goalie waiting in the wings.

Maybe I'm a little bit defensive on this point because I'm so irrationally high on Brusty. He's the new cat's pajamas. So, ya know, don't be throwing any little Kazakhstani kids into my Brusty soup, baby.

Seriously though, Anton is a good young goalie and was definitely a gem in the rough for the Wild, who drafted him in the 7th round in 2004. Kinda small (AKA Legace-sized!) but very eager, very professional, and incredibly happy-go-lucky, so the baggage of a bad game doesn't stick around for long. Of course, it takes most goalies a while to have enough experience under their belts to progress even once they are technically sound, and that's where Dimples is right now. He played 30 games last season (not including ones where he relieved the starting goalie), so he really just needs playing time, and he should get plenty of that in the ECHL this year. Bob Mason agrees.

Here's a little more color on Dimples. Note the expectation of playing in Houston this season... Sorry, kid.

Of course, the very best thing about Anton is that you could, without a doubt, do shots out of those dimples of his. And maybe I have him pegged wrong, but I'm betting he'd let you. Smile, Dimples!

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Blog Botox

I was gonna call it a face lift but really, not much has changed except the forehead.

What do you think? I finally had some inspiration for a new banner and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out given my perfunctory PSP skillz.

Just for grins, the banner roster clockwise from left:

• Mikko (who was with in mom in that photo but I cropped her out... sorry Mrs. Koivu!)
• Clutterbuck
• Brusty
• Headless Harding
• Schaefer
• Scotty punching someone who surely deserves it
• Burnzie

And of course, the giant hockey sock for a background. I really maxed out my PSP skillz on that. Phew. Pass the Gatorade.

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Shaver Out

Looks like Aeros broadcaster, Jason Shaver, is moving on to the hated Chicago Wolves broadcaster booth. I'm surprised and sad, but I totally get it. The Wolves appear to be an excellent organization and they broadcast all their games on television, so this is a step up for him from the Aeros (somewhat cheesy but totally lovable) radio broadcast.

But personally, I'm pretty bummed. I listen to EVERY game if I can't be there in person, so his voice is tattooed on my brain. And the fact that he's going to the Wolves is even worse. It's like Gabby going to Colorado or something. Blech.

I'll be happy for him at some point, assuming I like the new voice of the Aeros, so here are some fond memories I have of "Razor" from this past season:

• I loved him with a player in the booth providing some color. His dry wit played off some of the boys really well. Especially the goalies. Both Brusty and Schaefer were terrific foils for Jason's style of delivery. The game or two where all three of them were "in the booth" practically required a 2 drink minimum, they were so funny.
• I liked how he wrapped up his introduction of each game, where he posed a question and then said, "We'll find out tonight... together... on Aeros Audio" or something along those lines. Always felt kind of warm to me.
• He was also very fan-friendly, taking e-mails during the game either for himself or the player with him, and he was always very diplomatic while still getting across sometimes a less than diplomatic point.
• I remember the game, though I don't remember what arena, where the Zamboni came out and chewed a big hole in the ice delaying the hgame for what seemed like 40 minutes or more and he just had SO much air time to fill. It was to the point of, "PLEASE send in questions!" LOL But he handled it with grace and humor.
• His relationship with Joel "The Landlord" Ward was particularly funny, too, as Joel was a moth to a flame when Jason's recorder was rolling. I wondered what he was going to do without Joel there to fill so much airtime on the game-day podcasts. Someone else's problem now, though Kassian seems like the new go-to guy for a funny quote.

That's all for now, but a big shout out to Jason for providing such great interviews throughout the season, keeping this obsessed fan as informed as possible, and calling the games in such a way that I really don't feel like I missed any games this year, even when I couldn't be there in person. What more can you really ask for from your broadcaster? Godspeed, Shave!

If you want to listen to some of Shaver's interviews throughout the season, go here.

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Change in Plans & Brusty's Back!

Apparently, under all our noses, my favorite crazy goalie got a 2 year, 2-way, million dollar deal with Minnesota this week. So, my poor man's Turco, Barry Brust will be back in an Aeros uniform next season with a proper NHL contract.

I really couldn't be more delighted. He made the last season for me with his ballsy, exciting style of goaltending. He and Schaef were an amazing tandem and I would have given anything for them to stick together, but that's just not how it works usually. Particularly when we have a solid #2 prospect in Khudobin who is ready to hit the AHL. So, I'm really curious how this is going to play out. I think you're doing Dobin a huge disservice keeping him in the ECHL. He needs to move up. Everybody else in the system is also under contracts. Now we have 3 minor league goalies. Hmmm... whazzup there?

But whatever's up, I'm just so happy I don't have to see Barry in some other stanky team's uniform. And hopefully he'll get new pads over the summer and he can NOT look like a homeless bum goalie this season. Though honestly, it worked for him, so I can't complain. Congrats, Barry!



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In other news, out on the lake today with Coach Stalin, one of the folks who joined us was one of the goalies who plays in her league. So, you know I'm all over that. Had to pick his brain and see what he thought about the path I'm on here.

We talked about it for quite a bit, the three of us hockey-obsessed freaks, and while he felt like the goalie goal is obtainable eventually, he agreed that I do need to be a very strong skater, especially backwards (augh) and he was adamant that skating out (as a forward, most likely) is essential to being able to understand and anticipate the plays. The conclusion we came to ultimately is that it would be greatly preferable for me to start playing sooner than later in order to speed my skating development up and give me a good feel for the game.

I've been avoiding this because I really didn't want to spend $400 on player gear to then turn around and spend $2000 on goalie gear. Nor did I want to spend a ton of energy learning a position I don't care to play long term. BUT I know they're right and it will still be wicked fun, so I figure I'll do it.

I think their new season just started and I need some time to refocus and work on puck handling and things like that that I've never given much thought, so I'm guessing I'll join up for the next session in September. And now the process of collecting gear begins. I'm scared but excited and need to wrap my brain around this. I pretty much only study what goalies are doing and don't really pay much attention to what the skaters are doing in terms of play formation and whatnot. I'll be watching a bunch of NHL re-runs so I can shift my focus a bit and maybe learn something watching the skaters more closely.

Eep!

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Catching up

You know how your mama told you if you don't have something nice to say, keep your yap shut? Well, that's been me the last few days... that and being a bit busy with this and that.

I believe I last reported a not so great skate on Thursday. Since then, we had the draft on Friday, a dinner party on Saturday, skating on Sunday, and yoga today.

Hip is still nasty looking and the hamstring still hurts a bit. I really aggravated it when I washed the dog on Saturday (so as to not offend our guests with his filth) and it's nagging me still, but not as badly.

Skating on Sunday was 25% great and 75% suck. As is usual when my hips are out of alignment, it takes me a good 30 minutes of skating to feel steady on my feet and comfortable in my boots. It amazes me how much that little adjustment makes a huge difference in my stability and strength. So I did a lot of rather weak swizzles of all varieties. I worked on skating backwards quite a bit. As usual, tiny improvements in confidence and skill there, though I still can't go one length of the ice without psyching myself out. But I went 3/4 of the ice several times just to try and push through the fear factor that's holding me back.

Also worked on crossovers once I got my ice legs going nicely and felt pretty good about it, but I'm sure Coach Stalin will shred me for my technique next time we work on it. And speaking of which, man am I desperate for a session with her that's not at the horrible Galleria rink. You just can't get anything done there, it's so full of newbies and rink rats and it's such a small sheet. Ugh. It's pretty much only good for keeping those skating muscles working between real skating sessions on the weekends. And for that, it's nearly essential. If I miss a mid-week skate, I suck badly on the weekend.

Anyway, I worked on stopping a bit and other little things but didn't do my shuffles and really only ended up skating for an hour, which is a very short session for weekend ice. But with my leg hurting a bit, something just told me to go home when they kicked everyone off to cut the ice. So I went home.

The yoga felt really good today and I felt particularly inspired by this note from Nolan Schaefer to Aeros fans that the team published today. He's talking about his summer goings-on and his conditioning program for the summer. He does Bikram yoga, which is done in a heated room. I see the appeal because yoga is so cleansing, and then to get a really ridiculous sweat out of the deal would just enhance that. Never mind the mental focus it must take to just perform the positions correctly, breathe correctly, etc. when you're doing this in a puddle of sweat.

Nice to hear that he does all the crazy stuff I've been told to do, like juggling, as part of his workouts. And boxing? Maybe that's where that fight came from at the beginning of last season? :)

Anyway, it sounds like we might try to skate tomorrow night if Coach gets off work in time. Our usual Thursday skate date is being overrun with apparently 400 skaters. I almost want to go to the Galleria Thursday night to see what 400 people skating on that tiny ice looks like. Must look like the I-45 at rush hour...

Other than that, I've been working on butterfly stretches a bit. Hurts the shit out of my hips. I have a feeling my b-fly is gonna be pretty narrow, but at this point, I'll be happy if I can just get up and down and not be immobilized in that awkward position while I get scored on. I can already tell I'm going to be grateful that there's only one puck on the ice at one time. Once it's in, it's in. Regroup and get 'em next time. (See, this is me working on my mental game...)

And BTW, Leininkugel's Summer Shandy is my new best friend. Try some. Just don't buy it at my Kroger here in River Oaks... that shit's mine.

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Hockey run down

Lots of stuff going on in the corner of the hockey world that interests me most:

• Syracuse Crunch are apparently out for John Scott-blood due to a "code" violation last time they played. Of course, who knows if Johnny will see any ice time. It's a 50/50 shot these days.
• Apparently Schaefer is hurt bad enough that the Aeros have had to call up goalie Briggs from ECHL team in Idaho as insurance. I thought I saw Brusty limping on Tuesday... Our deep goalie corps ain't so deep anymore. Not good given how we're playing. Trial by fire for these E guys.
• Austin will have an AHL team by 2010. The Iowa Stars are moving to be closer to their parent team. Beyond wondering what will happen to the Aeros, I wonder what that means for the Ice Bats? I haven't heard any mention of that and I don't see Austin supporting two hockey teams sufficiently. I guess the 2010 season is going to be pretty interesting.
• We're already planning for Chucko to come to town on March 17 and 19. I'm going to get a peice of garden hose to take with me so I can have a visual to wave around when I'm calling him a hoser. Be ready Chuckles. Wait, who are you? (That one's for you, Reitzy.)

Not much else going on. Got to show off my new stick to Coach Stalin and Co. yesterday. I think we're gonna try and skate tomorrow afternoon, assuming I can get my "chores" done early enough. Tomorrow will be two weeks since I last did a real skate where I could work on drills and stuff. I miss it.

Got a packet of info from GDI (Goalie Development Institute or something) today in the mail. I really just want my free copy of Goalie News. These guys are way too serious for me, but looking thru their info has certainly stirred my fervor again. Give me a net to mind!!!

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SO/KU/SS Wednesday

That's Schaefer Out, Khudobin Up, Scott Suspended...

Aeroes up against the best AHL team in the West tonight. My expectations are looooow.

I dreamed last night that Johnny got called up to the Wild to fill Boogey's enforcer role. Fortunately my dreams do not tend to be prophetic. I think it was because the Wild really needed an enforcer last night against the Oilers, and I was reading The Code before I went to sleep so I had enforcing on the brain.

Gonna try to fit a yoga session in after the game before I head to the airport to pick up DH.

Started this post an hour ago and got sucked into going through an entire thread for Hackva masks on the goalie board. I'm definitely gonna go that way when it's time to buy. I'm amazed that people settle on a design/paint scheme. The ones with big teeth painted on them scare me. I'll probably just get a white one to start. Imagine, if I had all white gear, I'd look like a goalie angel... *choir singing*

Eh, the only other thing is that I bought a bottle of glucosamine chondroitin MSM today to see if that helps my knees not be so angry. Supposed to take a couple of weeks to a month to kick in and notice a difference, if it's gonna work at all. We'll see. Lots of goalies swear by it.

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Twofer Tuesday

Today is one of those marvelous days where I'm home alone and I have a hockey game on the radio and a hockey game on the TV. The only thing better would be if the TV game was in HD, but I'm not complaining.

The Aeros kicked so much butt, I couldn't even keep up with how many pushups I was supposed to do or did. I think I'm one set short, but I'm not gonna sweat it. Hmm, I think I owe a set of crunches, too, for the most recent goal by the Oilers. I'll do those.

Let's see what all went down in the Aeros game (because the Wild are losing... Garon is a damn good goalie):

1. Johnny got into two fights with the same guy. First one, apparently took him down with one punch. Second one, he was messing with Fozzie and Mr. Big Teddy Bear Heart took exception from the bench and gave him a scholarship to the University of John Scott. :) Sounds like he pummeled him for quite a long time. Hopefully his hand is okay. And hopefully someone took video. He's huge and fabulous.
2. The final score was 7-1 after being 0-1 at the end of the first. Talk about coming out swinging. The first three goals came within 3:16 of the start of the second period.
3. Schaefer got hurt pretty badly just about 2 minutes in. Not good. In fact, BAD. But thank the hockey gods, we have Khudobin to call up from Beaumont. Still, you never want your All Star goalie to limp off the ice with the assistance of two other players.
4. Brust, still a bit tender in the groin, filled in and kicked butt. We're so lucky to have such solid goaltending.
5. Fozzie got 4 points on the night (1 goal, 3 assists) and Olvecky got 2 goals, from there it was Clutterbuck, Rosa, Ward, and Irmen... Really? Irmen? Yep. Atta boy.

Exciting game. And makes up for the Wild losing 4-1 (so far). Amazing how the Oilers are up by 3 and still playing like they're down by 3. The announcers are talking about how any time it's gotten physical in this game, the Wild could not hold their own, and if Boogaard isn't coming back anytime soon, they need to get a tough forward on the line. Ayup.

Anyway, the knees are still aching, so I've decided to take it easy on any leg work until the public skate next Monday. There's a post game skate on Friday. I RSVP'd for it but will only skate if I'm having absolutely NO pain in my knees. That ice is gonna be wrecked and bad ice is so much harder on the feet and knees. There's no deadline, so it's okay to take it easy (she tells herself).

I got FIVE hockey books in the mail today. Starting with The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL when I hit the sack tonight. Very excited to have lots of good hockey books to read.

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Monday workout

Squats (w/ ball) 3 lengths
Lunges (w/ball) 3 lengths
One leg squats 15 x 2 each leg
Reg. pushups 5
Diamond pushups 5
Plyo jump overs 8 x 1 (bolster pillow)
30/30/30 ab and obliques, 20 lower abs (ball between knees)
groin stretching (ouch)

Watching the AHL All Star game. Somehow, I really enjoyed the NHL AS game without all the hitting, but kinda miss it at the AHL level. Maybe because it's slower? I dunno. But still, it's fun to see the guys. Amazing save by Schaef, though I feel for the goalies because nobody plays defense in these games. Everything is going 5-hole on him. Stiff groin? His period's over now though and I bet he's glad for it. :)

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Monday in Swampville

It's warm and humid out today, January 28th. I'm SO glad I've taken up ice hockey!

Had planned to go skate at lunch today, but I think I'm going to do stuff at home instead. Some light plyometrics, squats, lunges, abs, groin stretches. As much as I hate that Gratton a-hole from the San Antonio Rampage, the boy is LIMBER. He does splits and other huge stretches to warm up before every period (right in front of us with his butt in our faces, so we can't miss it). And he's not a goalie. I'm guessing he's got a grumpy groin so that's how he keeps it in check. I thought I saw Gabby doing the same thing at the All Star Game. Mr. Groinitis himself.

Really enjoyed the AHL Skills competition last night (actually finishing watching it while I eat lunch today since Com(plete idiot)cast cut the game off for a Patriots press conference last night). Reitzy and Schaef looked terrific and pretty happy to be there. The game tonight should be fun. Nice to have something positive happening for the guys during this slump. Maybe they'll bring some renewed enthusiasm and go-get-'em-ness back. :)

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