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.
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:
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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