Mask

Drew was super nice and let me get some shots of his new lid. Click on an image for a larger size.

Still have Christmas shopping to do?

Check out the designs at Zazzle, today is the last day (by 3 pm) to order dark items (like Messier shirt) to have it delivered by Christmas!

The weekend that was

So I don't know about you, but I had an amazing weekend. Friday night teddy bear toss and a win. Then went out for celebration with my favoritest people on the whole planet (minus one, less than three Scotty Wazz)! The Bishes (yes, capitalized, our group is now a proper noun) banded together to get me a hockey stick for my birthday which was then autographed by the whole team last night at the skate! Srsly, these Bishes rule. Be so completely jealous that you're not one of us. Or not.

Last night was a great game against Swift Current. Full 60 minute effort. Ok, more like 59 minutes, that first minute of the 3rd was...lacking. But still

This Patrick Holland kid, watch out. Two totally sweet unassisted goals. He's got some skill. I don't know if he just had an ON night or it just seemed that way because he got a ton of ice time, but whatever, I'll take it. Actually, I'm pretty sure he was ON which is why he got so much ice time.

"Jim has given me more ice time lately and I've been playing pretty well the last couple of games," Holland said. "I was with (Justin) Feser and (Neal) Prokop today and they put pressure on them that helped me be able to score."

Also kicking ass was Riley McIntosh. He's been better this season overall, but since learning Mikaela believes in him so strongly, he's been absolutely dynamite.

"I think with age I feel more comfortable in the lineup," McIntosh said. "Things seem to be going my way a little bit more."

I thought Coach would put in Martyniuk against the Broncos, and I feel bad that he's not getting any time in net unless they're getting shellacked. That being said, Drew was his amazing self, once again.

"It's pretty easy on me when we score six goals," Owsley said. "Thirty wins is pretty cool."

HUGE thanks to Drew for letting me photograph his mask last night during the skate, I really appreciate it!

Let's also give some props to Jordan Messier, he was very long overdue for a goal and he's been working his ass off. Though I'm hesitant to compliment him too much since he was giving me shit about wearing Scotty Wazz's jersey. No, it's not a Winter Hawks or even Chicago Blackhawks sweater, is the Chesapeake Chiefs from the boy's playing days :)

"Mess has been snake bit," Hiller said. "It's nice to see him get that tonight." (Herald)

It's true, you could see the relief on his face. Also, if you're on the Twitterverse, so is Mess, you can follow him at Messier19.

In case you missed it, there's a nice article in the Winnipeg Sun about the large number of Manitobans on the AMS roster. Sister and I were behind a car with Manitoba plates going to Red Robin after the game Friday and I said "I wonder who's from Manitoba?" and all she said was "ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm" yeah, it was not the most intelligent moment of my life.

Brooks Macek = Awesome. Your argument is invalid.

2,683 was the amount of teddy bears (and other stuffed animals) that were tossed to the ice last night when Macek score the first of his two goals last night. I had forgotten how much I love seeing all those bears raining down on the ice. We missed last years' because we were in Boise watching former American Ryan Kinasewich (om nom nom). Anyways, it's just cool to see.

I thought overall it was a good game, lots of intensity. That's what I want to see on a nightly basis.

"We had contributions all the way around," Hiller said. "Moser scored a huge goal off a big play by Mac."

"This is a pretty big win," Macek said. "We are four points up on Spokane and two division rivals lost tonight, which is good. We had a good game in Seattle (on Friday) and again today. We want to carry that in against Swift Current." (Herald)

While I don't agree Seattle's game was good, I'll take it. This notion that they have momentum that will carry into tonight's game. And Nils Moser's goal was hot. As was Neal Prokop's sharp angle shot right in front of me. That one made me tingly in my lady bits, as such things by Neal Prokop tend to do.

I must say I was also impressed with the size of the crowd last night, it was almost a full house. For how crappy the weather was, it was great to see. And granted, I've got more snow here in Oregon than what was in Tri, but still.

Note to all 4-wheel-drive drivers, you are NOT, in fact, invincible. 4WD means 4 wheels sliding on the ice. I know this, I used to have a 4WD rig. So slow the hell down.

Speaking of ranting (who? what?) to the asshole sitting a couple rows back from me who was spewing Mestery hate, STFU. Please. He actually had a good game last night, and I'm not just saying that cuz I like the kid, he actually did. And whatever, haters gonna hate, but for heaven's sake, that's no reason to yell "Mestery you suck!" and other such shit. THAT'S A PLAYER FOR YOUR OWN TEAM. So you don't like his not-so-physical style of play, so what. Every guy has a different style and one that works for him (and the team), just because he's not banging bodies around like Tyler Schmidt or Brock Sutherland, doesn't mean he's not effective. Not only that, some people have him under such a huge microscope that any little mistake and that's the only thing they'll remember from his whole game. It's bullshit. If you're gonna do that, put them all under microscope. How about the play in the 1st when Sutherland let a guy get right by him and almost score (and would have if not for Drew)? How about the not-as-physical style of play of Captain Jarrett Toll? No one's questioning his abilities or anything, he's never been a super physical guy. Don't say you put them all under the same microscope, cuz you don't. ("you" =/= a specific person, I'm just sayin' in general). Also, don't come to me (or the comments section) with lists of shit Eric fucked up on, you're not going to get me to join your Hateraide party.

Well alright then, I spent more time bitching than talking about the game last night. Awesome.

Boys take on Swift Current tonight. I'm just hoping to make it safe through the snow to get some pre-game Burger Ranch and make it in time for puck-drop. Everyone drive safe, be smart, just slow down.

Toss your Teddies!!

Teddy Bear Toss night tonight with the Winter Hawks in town! But first, I gotta know:

• Where the F is the consistency? I think that's the most frustrating part, the lack of consistency. And I know there's no Mitch Fadden-type guy who can be spectacular on a nightly basis, and other teams are going to know to shut down Shinny and Co., so where are Macek, Feser, Messier on those night? They need to step the hell up.
• Yeah, 55 shots isn't anything to sneeze at, but how many of those 55 were quality? Twitter update from a buddy at the game last night: "Tri game plan. Muffins at calv and don't hit empty nets!!" Fantastic
• Where's the spark? The energy? The drive to make a real effort when getting down? I'm sick of these 5-1, 7-1 huge losses, I'd settle for a close game (even if it's a loss) once in a while.
• And don't tell me a Cody Castro hug fight is the spark. And now Kennedy's out for awhile, but I'm not convinced he's the answer either.
• I think it's a coaching issue. If they're failing to come out of the 2nd intermission ready to kick ass and play like their balls are on fire, that's on coach. In my opinion.
• No, I'm not jumping off any bandwagon, I'm not saying fire coach or anything crazy like that. I'm just saying he's the one at the helm who needs to figure out how to guide this team.
• I'm not opposed to giving Marty some starts. Srsly. My little Owl is perhaps a little overworked. Especially if the team is going to leave him out to dry like last night. Probably should have been Marty against PG the other night.

Ok Negative Nancy--let's look at some of the positives:

• It was one game. And Calvin Pickard is a damn good goalie. And Seattle isn't totally sucktastic.
• The work ethic of Neal Prokop and Mason Wilgosh--absolutely unreal.
• Add Messier to that work ethic list too. Captain Toll too.
• Yikes, only 3 positives? That's not good.

On that note, there's a few interesting bits from Drinnan this morning:

• The Vancouver Province is reporting that one player from the major midget Fraser Valley Bruins suffered a fractured collarbone when the team bus was involved in an accident near Williams Lake, B.C. The Province is quoting RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk as saying: "One youth is suffering from facial injuries, non-life threatening, another with a fractured collar bone, and the remainder of the bus occupants are suffering from no injury to minor injuries.” I also was told that head coach Pat Ansell, a former goaltender with the Regina Pats 1976-78), suffered a broken nose. The Province story is right here.
• The WHL puts its annual Christmas trade moratorium in place early next week. Trading won’t be allowed from Tuesday (Dec. 15) through Sunday, Dec. 27. A trade will be accepted by the WHL office until 11:59 pm MT on Dec. 14 and again starting at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 28. As well, players attending a World junior team evaluation/selection camp cannot be traded. If a player makes a World junior championship team, he cannot be traded until Wednesday, Jan. 6, the day after the World junior tournament concludes. Players attending the U-17 World Hockey Challenge cannot be traded until Monday, Jan. 4, the day after the event concludes.

Apparently I'm all about putting things into bullet points today. Fantastic.

Well, me and the fabulous bishes are going out to RR after the game to have an awesome time. If we have to drink away a loss or celebrate a victory, it's still going to be amazing. It's my birfday!

Game Day

I realized when I went to bed last night that I never wrote up a post-game thing from Wednesday's game. Oh well, such is life. It wasn't that good of a game. I mean, it was good, they won, but it wasn't super intense or anything memorable, really. I know, that sound harsh, but whatever.

I take that back, I do have a couple things to say about it.

• It was good to see Spencer working his ass off and getting a ton of playing time, I was even glad to see him in on the Cougars lone goal (sorry Drew)
• I don't know what Drydn Dow ever did to PG, but for some reason they were targeting him all night. He handled it well. Cuz he's a stud.
• Speaking of Spencer, not sure what the hell was the issue between him and Brett Plouffe towards the end of the game, but I didn't like it. I don't know what all goes on behind the scenes and if there was animosity between these two or what, but I don't like to see my boys fighting each other (yes, I know technically Spencer isn't one of my boys anymore, but yet he is).
• Finally, HUGE thanks to Shinny for giving Baby Spokant the autographed stick. So damn precious.

Onto tonight and this weekend:

Boys in Seattle tonight (liveblog stuff will be added below, I can't do it at work for some reason)

Portland in town Saturday for Teddy Bear Toss night. According to the Herald:

If you didn't have time to shop for a stuffed animal, the Americans will have teddy bears available to purchase for $3 at Section C on the concourse. The bears were donated by Fred Meyer and the proceeds will benefit the players' education fund.

So that's a pretty sweet deal, I'll probably just do that.

Sunday the Swift Current Broncoes are in town, there's Skate with the Americans after the game, with $5 skate rental available.

Speaking of the Herald, Annie takes a closer look at Drew Owsley's (who??) new helmet.

The sleek, shiny helmet has immaculate detail and each design has a purpose.

On one side is the Americans trademark logo, with stars running down along the jaw. Pretty standard as to why that was part of the design Drew worked up with Jason Bartziokas of Calgary.

On the other side is Uncle Sam on the top half and a bald eagle below by the ear hole.

"Both are well-known symbols in America, and playing in the States, they were fitting," he said.

On the front below the grill is a Calligraphy 'D' (for Drew).

"I had that on my old helmet and I had it replicated for the new one," Owsley said.

On the back plate are silhouettes of military personnel, mention of the Carson Kolzig Foundation and Owsley's last name.

"I think the military does a lot for our country and the States," Owsley said. "It's a way to pay tribute. The Carson Kolzig Foundation is run by one of our owners and is for a good cause."

You can view photos of his lid here. It's damn sexy. Though I must admit, I am a little sad there's no owl on it. Oh well, he didn't ask for my input. I'm tired of that, let me tell ya :)

Stay tuned for liveblog info coming later this afternoon...

Game Day v Prince George

hey, Spencer's back in town tonight! I love my goalies to death, but I kinda hope he snipes one. Just cuz.

"You can't overlook them," Lazo said. "(Brett) Connolly is a dangerous player and they have some guys who can score."

"After the last two games at home, we wanted to show our fans that it won't happen again," said Lazo, who had back-to-back hat tricks in the two wins. "It was nice to have four days of practice last week. We simplified things and got back to the basics. We want to put last month behind us and get a fresh start."

"We needed to get our game back," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "We executed well and we were physical. We are at our best when we are physical. It doesn't matter how big you are, you take away the hands and the stick and knock them on their backside. Johnny used his speed and was the first guy on the puck. The goals were a byproduct of that. His whole line (with Brendan Shinnimin and Adam Hughesman) was good." (Herald)

Oh hey, Johnny's also CHL Player of the Week. That's damn sexy right there.

Thought this bit from Drinnan was interesting concerning Sbisa and the boners people around here seem to have for him:

There has been and is a lot of buzz among fans concerning Lethbridge Hurricanes D Luca Sbisa, 19. Will the Hurricanes trade him before the Jan. 10 deadline, or will they hang on to him? . . . Well, I spoke with one general manager on Tuesday who suggested that were a team to trade for Sbisa it should be prepared to have a tired player on its hands . . . whenever he is able to find time to play for them. “He’s going to be gone for so long,” the GM said. “You’re not getting him until . . . World junior . . . Olympics . . . he’s going to be burnt out. He won’t be anything good for you until playoffs. His whole focus will be World junior and Olympics; that’s all those players think about, their country.”

Remember AMS, there's a little cutie pie handing out the 3 stars awards tonight who really really really really really wants the autographed stick. Don't let her down.

Shots from the Point--It's my birthday edition

So it's my birfday (yay me!) I just ate an almost-as-good-as-mom's-homemade chicken pot pie. Good stuff, even the peas, which (magically) were not full of sand. And I did burn my tongue--UGH. I also wore the boy's old hockey jersey to work, because I'm that amazing (and so is he).

As for birthday wishes, I will just say I am blessed. Srsly, y'all, I love you. But I also have to share a couple of bits of awesomeness:

Drayson Bowman called today, wanted me to wish you a Happy Birthday. I was all "whatever dude, call her yourself" He was all "I'm too nervous, I can't" I was all "Dude, she loves you, it'll be all good, just do it" and he still wouldn't... so Happy Birthday!!! (Dave from Barry Melrose Rocks)

Happy Birthday to my favorite person in the whole Tri-Cities area, apart from Macek and Plouffe and Baby Owl. But you've got that #4 spot LOCKED DOWN, honey. ;) Hope it's a great day and you deserve every bit of happiness that comes your way, birthday or not. *mwah!* (Ms. Conduct)

Moving on, this, my dear AMS, is baby Spokant. She will be presenting the 3 stars tomorrow night and she wants the stick. Can you resist this face? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannndd this request is way different than when I made my push to get the stick (heh) when I presented 3 stars last season because she is a precious 2-year-old, not an adult. Besides, once you see those saucers for eyeballs, you'll be sucked in by the cuteness and you will be ok with giving her the autographed stick.


GIVE HER THE AUTOGRAPHED STICK TOMORROW NIGHT.

If you missed out on the liveblogs from Friday and Saturday you missed that the host of Face Off Hockey Show (Wednesdays, 4:30-6:30 PST), Scotty Wazz, was in the house. Literally. No really, he was in my house. It was a fantastic weekend. I once again have to stand back an be in awe of the amazing people I have met through having this blog. But this boy... <3

Last bit for now, today I noticed (actually, Mikaela did and texted me about it) a link to this site is no longer on the AMS Unofficial Message Board. I didn't ever ask to have a link there, though I was certainly most grateful for the traffic. So whatever, hope people still know how to get here :)