I watched the ceremony in a tiny dive bar in Wrigley, just me, two friends, and a few strangers who had some deep misunderstandings about hockey and how it’s played. The bartender, Mike (Matt?), was nice enough to cue up “Chelsea Dagger” in anticipation of the first goal. I’m new to the city and to the team, so the whole idea of sitting through the banner-raising ceremony wasn’t all that appealing, to be honest. I mean, what is it except a reminder that my teams didn’t win?
Which is obviously the wrong attitude to adopt going into the situation. I’m trying to be open-minded (and open-hearted) about this whole “new city/new team” thing. The issue is that while my brain is totally onboard, my emotions keep doing that thing where they betray me at the last minute.
But I’ll tell you what, there is nothing that gets to me quite like the triumphant string music they always use in Planet Earth documentaries, and I guess the Pens PR guys have the same problem because when those boys skated out onto the ice with the banner spread out between them and the music started to swell . . .
Look, I’m not proud of it, but before I knew what was happening I had chills all down my spine and one hand pressed flat against my heart as if I was trying to leave a bruise. And that’s the thing about hockey–about sports in general: somebody always wins. There are 29 losers and 1 champion at the end of every season, and there is no way to feel defeated when that banner rises.
(Well, okay. I’ll bet the poor Caps were feeling pretty defeated in the locker room. Can you imagine that conversation? “Hey, Ovie, do you mind just waiting here a sec while we commemorate our Stanley Cup victory? Xoxo, Jonathan Toews.”)
(Haha, just kidding, Jonathan Toews has never signed anything “xoxo” in his life.)
(Patrick Sharp totally would though. Patrick Sharp probably did.)
So there we were. The banner was hanging above the ice, Patrick Kane was too short to be the last one left touching it, and just like that, it didn’t matter anymore. Last season was over, the footprints of its ups and down stitched into fabric and hung over the UC. An incredible season and a tough Cup run wouldn’t have any effect on the upcoming game, or the season it heralded.
Though, I don’t know. There might have been a little magic left on the ice. I know because Brandon Bollig scored the first goal, to the surprise of everyone (probably including Brandon Bollig, to be honest).
We (look! I said “we,” not “they,” because I belong here now, which means I get to pretend that I get to use the first-person plural as if Duncan Keith and I do brunch) still need to work on our power play. There were moments where last year’s victory seemed obvious. Patrick Kane does things with a hockey stick that are so amazing that it’s frankly offensive to watch. Brent Seabrook scored and fell over, because whoever said that hockey players were graceful has clearly never watched a game.
Corey Crawford–who, despite excellent stats last season, has been the subject of much debate in the wake of his contract extension–let in four goals, but also kept a calm head and made a few saves that suggested that the Blackhawks made a smart move in locking him down. Honestly, I don’t know what kind of black magic Crawford worked during the lockout, but he’s improved by leaps and bounds in the last season-plus-one-game.
So there it was: french fries, beer, a bum that started bathing in the bathroom during the second period, and six YouTube clips from Mike/Matt the Bartender of the Fratellis grinning out at the near-empty bar and shouting, Chelsea, Chelsea. I believe.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced the launch of an official mobile app for the upcoming 2013-2014 season. The app is meant to connect fans to the team from anywhere, offering features such as live game updates (including scores, stats, and shift changes), alerts for breaking news, player profiles, and video content from JacketsTV.
Vice President of Digital Marketing & Media, Marc Gregory, said that the app was meant to provide fans with “another way to stay connected with the team by providing the latest editorial and video content on their mobile devices.”
Long-distance relationships are hard, and for far-away CBJ fans, this app just may shorten the miles.
The app is available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android. It can be downloaded in the official online Apple Store, via Google Play or by texting ‘CBJAPP’ to 90561.
Remember my first post, or my only post thus far, where I openly stated that 1/4 of the time I hate getting ready on game days? October 3rd, opening night in Boston was one of those days. With a million things to do, a head cold and no drive to pull on anything more than a zip-up and yoga pants to face them all, I stared blankly into my closet.
Opening night, one of the most exciting nights of the season, and I was looking at a pile of black articles of clothing, feverishly texting friends asking if an all black ensemble was too gothic or morbid this early on. The responses came flooding in that yes, all black was a bad choice, especially if I wanted to avoid giving other members of the media the opportunity to call me “Wednesday” as many classmates had throughout the years. People still laugh at me when the “Addams Family” theme song is played on the jumbotron, Winter Adams, funny one guys.
So with the idea of an all black chic look thrown to the wind (although I may re-visit the concept later in the season), I chose a variation of the idea for opening night.
Breakdown:
Black wide strap tank top, Forever 21, $5.90
Black skinny leg dress pants, Marshalls, $16.99
Light pink lace chiffon blazer, Sears, clearance, $7.99
Leopard print heels, Sears, $23.99
Camo print thin strap bracelet, Forever 21, $3.90
Black leather bag with gold studs, a gift
Media Clothing Tip: If you’re wearing heels to cover a game, pack a pair of flats in your bag. If you’re commuting in any capacity, your feet will thank you post game!
Disclaimer: I don’t go out and buy things for every game. The idea of this column is to show you what ensembles I wear on game nights, the outfits are pulled from my closet. I have a weird ability to remember where I purchased things and for roughly what cost – so prices are a guesstimate.
“…They were all united by a common dream — to one day stand on the ice with the greatest trophy in all of the world, the Stanley Cup.”
Eddie Olczyk, hockey announcer, former Blackhawk, and native Chicagoan, said those words as eight hockey youth dressed in their own gear with Hawks sweaters brought the 2013 Stanley Cup Championship Banner to the ice for the winning players to unfurl.
It would be hard to watch the banner ceremony as a hockey fan, let alone a Blackhawks fan, without getting a little weepy. Set aside any hostility that they’re and opposing team this year. Think of how hard these men work for this.
The quest for Lord Stanley is an emotional one. Every game is a wild, exciting ride. By the Stanley Cup finals, the talent on the ice is incredible. It’s a brutal fight–literally tooth and nail, limb for limb. To walk away with that trophy is an indescribable honor, hence the summer of celebration.
Once the names are etched onto the Cup and the banner is raised into the rafters, however, it’s time to look forward.
“So many teams are losing their home opener because they get caught in the moment,” right wing Marian Hossa told NHL.com. “You always try to say that after that you have to focus on the game, but those first couple of minutes you’re still caught. But it’s the first game and it’s time to close the book, focus on the new year.”
The Blackhawks had a fairly strong start against the Capitals, but the teams fought back and forth all night. Operation Raindrop stars Brandon Bollig and Patrick Kane scored for the Blackhawks. Brent Seabrook scored their lone Power Play goal.
It was give and take with Bollig scoring, then Alex Ovechkin; Kane then Mikhail Grabovski.
Grabovski then scored two more for the Capitals’ first-ever opening night hat trick, giving Washington the first lead of the night.
Brandon Saad came back to tie the game. And then, birthday boy Johnny Oduya continued their glory with this goal.
“I got lucky,” Oduya told the team Web site. “It went off his glove, but when it’s your birthday…”
Marian Hossa sealed the deal when he was tripped going for an empty net goal, making the final score 6-4.
They’ll continue fighting for that common dream, with a whole fresh season ahead of them.
Here we are in a brand new hockey season and it’s about time! The Buffalo Sabres took to the ice at Joe Louis Arena to take on the Detroit Red Wings, a team they will become more familiar with due to the new realignment. The game for the Sabres was sort of how they left off last season, unsure of themselves with no real leaders and a new coach.
During the off season, changes were made to the Sabres and included getting rid of some key strong players and picking up some new younger ones that would help with the “rebuilding” of the team. This game has shown that this may be a long struggle for the team to get better playing with each other and getting the young guys accustomed to being in the NHL.
Making their NHL debuts were 18-year-old defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and 19-year-old forward Zemgus Giregnson. Steve Ott also made his debut as the Sabres road games Captain, sharing the responsibility with Thomas Vanek, serving as the home games captain.
The Sabres powerplay, a mere 29th last season, started on a sour note as they were unable to capitalize on two 5 on 3 chances. Things only got worse with 12 minutes gone in the first and Detroit gets on the board with a goal by Mikael Samuelsson and less than 40 seconds later Pavel Datsyuk scored for Detroit to make it 2-0. The game was not looking up for the Sabres at this point. Their inexperience and lack of decent powerplay units were a good sign that they need some extra practice if they are going to be able to compete this year.
Detroit had another goal go behind Ryan Miller in the second period only to have it waived off due to Daniel Cleary giving Miller a little interference. However, they almost made up for this with a penalty shot less than a minute later. The shot was denied by Miller and the Sabres still had a chance.
Buffalo made a valiant effort at coming back in the game in the third period and Zemgus Girgensons scored his first NHL career goal to cut Detroit’s lead in half. This would be the only goal for Buffalo in the game, however, as they fell to Detroit 2-1 and they start the season 0-1.
Buffalo plays their home opener on Friday against the Ottawa Senators and Detroit goes on the road for their first road game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced via Twitter on Tuesday morning that a new captain was going to be named.
The 7:30 announcement was going to take place at Mahaffey Theatre in front of a crowd of select season ticket members and various media in the Tampa Bay area. At 7:30, Bolts owner Jeff Vinik, took the stage to a standing ovation from the crowd. He was followed by GM Steve Yzerman and various other front office members. Over the next hour they spoke about the team and the future of the team before they announced who the new captain would be.
Finally, at around 8:45, after Lightning fans were sent into a Twitter refresh jail, the moment we were waiting for finally came in. Coach Jon Cooper made the annoucement everyone was hoping for, Martin St. Louis was the ninth captain of the team! Steven Stamkos would stay an alternate captain, but the Alaskan’s Nate Thompson and Matt Carle would be receiving A’s as well.
St. Louis, 38, is the Lightning’s all-time leader for points with 892, assists with 556 and shorthanded goals with 28. He ranks second for games played with 910, goals with 336, power-play goals with 87 and game-winning goals with 59. St. Louis is Tampa Bay’s all-time post-season leader with 63 games played, 33 goals, 35 assists, 68 points, 10 power-play goals, three shorthanded goals, eight game-winning goals and three overtime winners.
The biggest overtime goal in his career was one of the team’s most iconic moments. It came when the Bolts were trailing the Flames three games to two in the 2004 Stanley Cup final. The team was facing elimination when St. Louis scored 33 seconds into a double overtime game to force a Game 7. As we all know, the Bolts would go on to win that game, bringing the Stanley Cup to Florida for the first time.
The six-time NHL All-Star has filled his trophy case over this thirteen year tenure in Tampa Bay. The same year he helped the team win the cup he was awared the Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Lester B. Pearson award for most oustanding player, and the Plus/Minus award for having the NHL’s highest plus/minus rating. All-around good guy, St. Louis is also a three-time recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmenship, and twice he has won the Art Ross trophy as the league’s top scorer.
Since his signing as a free agent on July 31, 2000 the Laval, Québec native has been a major asset to the Lightning organization and the Tampa area. St. Louis has represented Canada many times, from the 2006 Winter Olympics, to the World Cup of Hockey in 2008, and the 2008 and 2009 IIHF World Championships. He was even invited to the Olympic Orientation Camp in preperation for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
PREVIOUS LIGHTNING CAPTAINS:
- Paul Ysebaert: 1995-98
- Mikael Renberg: 1997-98
- Rob Zamuner: 1998-99
- Bill Houlder: 1999-00
- Chris Gratton: 1999-00
- Dave Andreychuk: 2002-06
- Tim Taylor: 2006-08
- Vincent Lecavalier: 1999-01 – 2008-13
There’s nothing like the pain of a concussion: a headache so bad, it’s vomit-inducing, and sensitivity to light and sound that can force isolation for weeks or months, sparking depression and anxiety.
Concussions have physical and emotional affects on all athletes, but Katherine Price Snedaker is spearheading research to look at female athletes’ experiences with concussions. She is hoping to use the research as a push for more education about head injuries in sports and a cultural change in the way concussed athletes are treated.
The study is an online survey for females 18+ who have had head injuries related to sports. Almost 350 women have already signed up to take the survey.
“I had concussions as a teenager, between sports and car accidents, and I was taken to the ER with headaches but nobody told me anything about concussions. I lived with that and in my 20’s, I noticed I kept getting concussions and when other (women around me) weren’t,” said Snedaker.
Then Snedaker’s son, who is in sixth grade, received a concussion during recess that kept him out of school for almost four months. But they didn’t stop – he received a number of additional concussions once returning to normal activities, and Snedaker became worried. His personality was flat, she said, and so she did research on the injury.
Snedaker, who has coached lacrosse and soccer, became passionate about concussion education and started clinics to teach parents, coaches and athletes about traumatic brain injuries.
In 2012, Snedaker who has a Masters Degree in Social Work, ran a post-concussion (support) group for teens through The Concussion Specialists of Connecticut. “In this group, 13 of 15 teens were girls,” she said. “And the the girls seemed much slower to heal, many had had repeat concussions, and all were isolated from their friends. Studies have shown girls take longer to recover from concussions. The dirty secret is some of us who get (concussions) as kids continue to have them throughout our adult lives. People have this fantasy that if they leave their sport, they don’t concuss anymore. It’s not always like that.”
So Snedaker launched PinkConcussions.com and consistently tried to update it with research relating to concussions in female athletes – except, there wasn’t much research being done.
She took to social media and connected with Dr. Jimmy Sanderson and Dr. Melinda Weathers, two researchers from Clemson University, and inquired about doing a study on the topic by posing questions to a general population of female athletes.
“The NFL is paying researchers to look at concussions (in football players), so that’s what researchers are doing,” she said. “There’s no money to be made in researching concussions in female athletes but we are hoping this will generate interest.”
Snedaker hopes to learn more about females’ experiences after being diagnosed with a concussion, reporting their concussions or playing through the pain. She also hopes to learn more about the emotional affects of the brain injury.
“There is new research being done with male football players and suicide relative to concussions, depression and alcohol,” she said. “We haven’t done the research to see how girls’ experience of concussion differs. I think girls are very social and struggle with the isolation. If they cannot text or go to the movies, school or their sport, it can be very depressing for many teenage girls recovering from concussions.”
In the future, Snedaker hopes to spearhead more research exploring many different aspects of concussions in female athletes. In the mean time, she will also continue to speak about the importance of education on the topic and implementing educational programs for coaches, parents and athletes.
“I would like concussion education to be like swimming lessons. We don’t call them drowning lessons…You reach a certain age and that’s just what you do. We don’t want you to drown. I think there should be an education piece as part of a curriculum in health where kids, parents and coaches learn about it, ” she said. “And it’s for every kid, not just athletes. Both active and non-active kids.”
Snedaker said she’s hoping the education can help people recognize concussions and learn how to manage them. She’d like to see more girls playing hockey, soccer, and other contact sports – with the right training on head injuries.
“I want more kids playing sports because when you have coaches and referees, you are more likely to get concussion care if you get hurt in a sporting event rather than in your back yard,” she said.
Snedaker also wants to help those who have felt isolated due to their concussions.
“People don’t know how to support people with head injuries, so I want to reach out and talk about how we can help these families as a community. That’s how I sell it to parents: someone’s kid is going to get a concussion; how can you help the person sitting next to you?”
The survey will be live through Oct. 31 and Snedaker hopes to reach at least 1,000 women. Women from any country can take the survey. Participants can also agree to stay in contact with the organization for future possible studies.
For more information on the survey and concussions in female athletes, click here.
Over the past few days, the Worcester Sharks have made a series of cuts from their training camp, including another 3 today. The current roster listing 23 players can be found here. With Worcester camp coming to a close tomorrow and the San Jose roster set, the moves today will likely be the last for at least a little while.
Worcester had to make one final cut to send players down to the San Francisco Bulls, ECHL affiliate of the Sharks. Goaltender JP Anderson will report to the Bulls along with forward Chris Crane and defenseman Kyle Bigos. They will join a number of other players that were in Worcester for camp and have since reported to the Bulls.
The move today to trim the roster by three came following a trim from San Jose’s roster last night. San Jose announced that they were assigning forwards Bracken Kearns and John McCarthy, defensemen Taylor Doherty and Matt Tennyson, and goaltender Harri Sateri. McCarthy will likely return to his role as captain in Worcester and hope to earn a call-up during the season. Sateri, who split time between the pipes with Alex Stalock in Worcester last season, looks to be the starting goaltender this year as Stalock earned the position to back up Antii Niemi in San Jose.
Although most AHL training camps have ended already, the Sharks have two days left. Their last day of camp will be Thursday, October 3rd. They have completed their preseason game schedule, though. For the Sharks, their first preseason game came on Wednesday, September 25th. The Hartford Wolf Pack hosted the Sharks, who took the chance to let guys in camp on tryouts play. It was a 5-2 loss for the Sharks.
The Sharks went on to split a home and home series with the Providence Bruins on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game saw the Sharks prevail 2-1 over the Bruins with goals from rookie defenseman Konrad Abeltshauser and veteran Jimmy Bonneau. Saturday afternoon’s game in Providence saw the Bruins prevail 3-1 over the Sharks. Abeltshauser had the lone goal, making it his second goal in as many games. Former Sharks captain, Mike Moore, had the 3rd goal for the Bruins, an empty netter with less than a minute remaining. The division rivals also gave a preview of the regular season with a few fights breaking out.
AHL hockey starts up on Friday, October 4th but Sharks fans have to wait for their first game of the season. The Sharks open up on the road on Saturday, October 12th. Then, they open up at home with back to back games on Saturday, October 19th and Sunday, October 20th.
For the 2013-2014 season, the AHL team in Hartford Connecticut will once again call themselves the Wolf Pack. Part of the way into the 2010-2011 season, the team became the Connecticut Whale and changed their logo in an effort to connect to NHL history. The team owner wanted to draw back to the days of Hartford having the Whalers in their city as an NHL team. But, after almost 3 seasons, the Wolf Pack will return with their familiar jerseys.
The AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers announced several roster transactions today in preparing for the start of the new season. They are now down to a 24-man roster. Of the 14 players cut today, 11 will report to Greenville of the ECHL. Some were reassigned by the Rangers, some that are on AHL contracts were assigned by Hartford, and the remaining players were on PTOs. Those reporting to Greenville are as follows:
Forwards: Josh Nicholls, Chris St. Croix, Jason Wilson, Andrew Rowe, Sean Ambrosie, Brandon Hynes, and Matt Kirzinger
Defensemen: Samuel Noreau, Charlie Dodero, and Mike Marcou
Goaltender: Jeff Malcolm
The Wolf Pack also released defensemen Sam Klassen and Jason Lepine as well as forward Scott Arnold from their camp tryouts but did not indicate where they will be reporting.
The 24-man roster for Hartford includes 3 goaltenders, 7 defensemen, and 14 forwards. It features some returning faces such as Cam Talbot, Chris Kreider, Ryan Bourque, Dylan McIlrath, as well as late addition Brandon Mashinter. It also features the return of Brodie Dupont who played in Hartford from 2007-2011. Dupont racked up 410 penalty minutes, 27 fights, and 152 points during 310 regular and postseason games during those 4 seasons.
The Wolf Pack’s preseason came to a close yesterday. They started with the first of four games on Wednesday against the Worcester Sharks. The 5-2 win was their only win of preseason. They went on to lose 4-3 in a shootout to the Albany Devils on Friday night. Hartford went on to drop back to back games to the Springfield Falcons losing 7-0 and 4-3 on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Hartford kicks off their first season returning as the Wolf Pack with back to back games. On Saturday, October 5th, they open the season by hosting the Norfolk Admirals. It will be the first of 4 meetings between the two teams. Then, they follow up with a Sunday matinee where they host division rivals, the Albany Devils who they meet eight times over the course of the season.
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