So, of course I'm following the ECHL finals and AHL conference playoffs (no sweeps this round, and curiously, two matchups that feature Montreal vs Dallas affiliates [Cincinnati vs Idaho, Hamilton vs Texas]). And doing a not-so-good job of following the other minor leagues (I do know the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL won their third consecutive Turner Cup. Congrats to them, but now I'm even more disappointed that Indiana is the only Midwestern/Great Lakes state I didn't see a hockey game in this season).
And yesterday I put in a brief appearance on The Rink Podcast (with my phone acting up a little) to talk Chicago Wolves and other mostly non-NHL stuff. This show is by @Tapeleg, of the blog Jerseys and Hockey Love, which I've followed for a while because it's by someone who likes hockey road trips and minor leagues. Other guests discuss Predators and Bruins.
Yesterday was also the day the Amarillo Gorillas ceased operations in the Central Hockey League. I heard via hockeyfights.com. They had been in the CHL since 2002, but Amarillo, TX has had minor league teams since 1996. (I've never seen teams in these leagues; I definitely want at least one trip to Southern hockey markets next season.) Quickly grabbed the shot above--by the way, does anyone archive websites of defunct sports teams?
In happier news, yesterday Oklahoma City announced the name, logo, and jersey designs for their new AHL team (and Edmonton Oilers affilate--formerly it was Springfield): the Oklahoma City Barons. The name wasn't a well-kept secret, though their were rumors of oths. I've kept up via @puckchk (a Blackhawks fan in OKC) on Twitter. Here's the team's new official Twitter. I got all these within an hour or so of the press conference:
Someone immediately went to the new Facebook page to express their unhappiness with the name; this is just...wow. (By the way, if you see the "People Like This"? I'm pretty sure FB didn't use to post full names when you'd click on a page without being signed in. One of the many annoying changes to the site; I'd prefer not to post strangers' full names here.)
Presumably OKC will be division rivals of the Chicago-area and Texas teams. Checking my Flickr stats yesterday, I noticed views from an OKC board, linking to one of my Wolves photos (I've really got to get more of my minor league shots up. And my NHL ones too!)
The Barons logo was not on theahl.com yet; here's their banner with the 29 teams that operated in the 2009-10 season. There'll be other changes (Charlotte, and I'm still not clear on the Albany/Lowell/Devils affiliate situation) before long.
so, I noted a while ago that Oklahoma City was going to get an American Hockey League franchise next year, and the Edmonton Oilers would use it as their affiliate, instead of the Springfield (Mass.) Falcons. what would happen to the Falcons? and why didn't the Anaheim Ducks have an AHL franchise? (it's been 29 AHL, 30 NHL teams this year). today: mysteries solved! the Syracuse Crunch will switch their affiliation from Columbus Blue Jackets to Anaheim, and Columbus will switch its affiliation to Springfield. Dark Blue Jacket, a CBJ blog I found rather late in the season and recently blogrolled, posted "Goodbye Syracuse"; and there's now an updated list by Scotty Wazz of the distance between each NHL team and its AHL affiliate.
other AHL news--I forgot to include the following in the previous "congratulations" post. last Friday, 3/19, vs the Rochester Americans, Binghamton Senators goalie Chris Holt became the 10th goaltender in the AHL's 74-year history to be credited with scoring a goal (the last instance was Drew MacIntyre of the Manitoba Moose, and now the Chicago Wolves...scoring against the Wolves)! I love seeing the goalie get patted on the head even before the game is over...
Wednesday I had a little adventure in Northwest Indiana with a couple friends (it was supposed to be all the way to Gary, but we lost an hour when the muffler fell off the car and we had to get it looked at). industrial sites, toxic fumes, beautiful decaying architecture, abandoned houses (which may have had cool stuff in them we stole rescued), cheap diner food, low sales tax--that's the Calumet Region for you! we had a nice walk through quaint downtown Whiting, known for its Pierogi Fest in July. I was disappointed the dollar store had every type of sports card except hockey cards...then I noticed a whole sports card shop (I'd seen this at Pierogi Fest but didn't go in because I wasn't paying attention to sports memorabilia at the time). Cheap Seats Sports Cards--it's 1504 119th St. in Whiting, but looks to be closing at the end of March and presumably staying online only (cheapseatscards.com). I got a bunch of cards from 2000-01, 2005-06, and 2006-07 and some photos from the late 1990s or so (game snapshots they'd made multiple prints of). of course I'll share some of the finds.
other news on Thursday, combining every topic of this post--a special (and pricey) collection of hockey cards featuring all the AHL goalies and famous AHL goalies of the past! (you can find this on the AHL's website)
oh, one other piece of news (which should be tagged "self-congratulatory nonsense") (and where's all the news about, oh, I don't know, the BLACKHAWKS, you might be wondering?). re: things I said at the end of the previous post. I came home Thurs. afternoon to this:
and laughed, yes, out loud, for quite some time. this made my day! until the Hawks game ruined it. but then I thought about it again and it's still cool. and congrats to DGB for getting in the New York Times hockey blog this week!
before I post today's Boston vs Chicago countdown, a roundup. lots of good stuff here.
Jeff of Blackhawk Up got to do the Five Reasons [He] Loves Hockey at Puck Daddy. I posted a defensive comment directed at another commenter about "bandwagon" accusations and, as happens anytime I post anything remotely personal and/or political and/or angry on the Internet (including some recent posts here...), I got all wussy about seeing if anyone responded (never sure what's worse, being attacked or being ignored) so I didn't check back.
Kukla's Korner asked today about Your Favorite Hockey Related Websites/Blogs and invited readers to promote their own blogs, too, so of course I did. I named a bunch, but not any specific Blackhawks blogs because I'm too petty and vindictive that only one is blogrolling me so far I didn't want to play favorites. oh, and I'm wracked with guilt about those of you I didn't mention there, don't worry...I mentioned that Third String Goalie posts so much good stuff it's hard not to link every day. look, I'm linking today, because Dec. 15 is the anniversary of the first game played at the old Chicago Stadium (I'm ashamed of not knowing that already) and he's got a nice piece up, vintage postcard and all.
Oklahoma City might be getting an AHL team next year. I'd noticed the Anaheim Ducks don't have an AHL affiliate this year...but OKC's team would take over the Oilers affiliation. I'm confused already.
watched the Leafs-Caps game online Sat. night. I actually predicted (to myself) they'd beat the Capitals last time (they did, 2-1), but seeing them come from losing 2-0 going into the second period to win 6-3 was pretty impressive. the 29th-place team beat the 1st-place team (and the Leafs are up to 27th now!). I read the NHL.com recap and saw...something not quite right:
heh. I think you can get your portrait taken for a few dollars at Walgreens, if you need a new one. I left the feed on and saw Canadian nightly news for the first time! there were two stories about hockey before they got to the sports results. wow, that country should get another NHL team or something.
some town where there's a battle over allowing pond hockey, and later a story about concussions in youth hockey
not to detract from a serious story, but: pink hair = awesome. I left it on and the Caps-Leafs game was rerun (a shorter, intermission-less version) afterwards; I didn't even know they did that.
NHL.com posts so much material and has to do much of it so quickly, that I'm not bashing them for making the occasional mistake. but I will point them out!
that word made me think "fiesta" first, then "fiery," but I realized they meant "feisty" (which my dictionary defines as "lively or flamboyant in manner or appearance." flamboyant? okay, they probably meant the second definition, "spirited").
tonight I saw Scott Hartnell, The Guy In the NHL Who's Actually Uglier Than Brent Sopel, and the rest of the Flyers play the Penguins. there were 2 goals and 3 fights within barely the first 6 minutes of play! (someone Twittered to the effect: "hey Flyers, 1975 called, they want their style of hockey back") Pens won 6-1. Flyers were in Boston last night, and as noted, my friend Dan attended as his first Bruins game this season. I'd hoped to watch it all online because he had a good seat and I could have maybe got a screenshot of him, but the feed (it was NESN! yes, #getjackedwardsontwitter!) vanished after the first few minutes and I didn't find one again until the painful third period. (then it ended before the NESN Blackhawks preview).
he saw the Bruins lose, but he did get to see the kids' hockey during intermission result in a fight (there were no fights in the actual game). and he'd seen the same thing happen (but with younger kids) during a Providence Bruins game. I love New England! I mean, of course it's awful in some ways...but funny in others. not sure if video has turned up (and I wouldn't feel okay posting it if it did), but it's worth noting.
so here's a New England fight that turned up on hockeyfights.com this week, a brief Whalers-Bruins fight from 1992. I know very little about these teams circa that era, but I did like the old jerseys, the utter indifference of the fans in the front row seats, and the nugget of wisdom at the end:
here's an item from the Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers AHL affiliate) website. I’ve been to a few of their games this year and keep meaning to post photos or something. as of now they’re last in the Western Conference.
“When fellow passengers witness 23 or so, mostly young athletic men, board a flight there is sure to be some curiosity. Here is how things typically went down PC (Pre-Chelios):
Are you a soccer team? College Choir? Or my favorite, are you a Latin Dance Troupe? The people who asked that question obviously weren’t paying attention when Brian Sipotz and Brett Sterling were boarding. Very rarely did people come up with the correct answer of a hockey team.
Now the team is the toast of the plane, signing autographs and answering questions to non-hockey fans. I honestly overheard “didn’t he play for the Detroit Wolves” on the flight back.”
Trying--for real this time--to blog regularly, but I do get distracted by adventures to abandoned factories filled with parade floats (see above) and such. (And sorry right now the blogroll's a couple years out of date.)
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