IT'S HOCKEY DAY!
off the top:
Check out our new
splash page. Stefan did the obnoxious caption. I did the artwork. This is what happens when you sit me alone in an office for a week with nothing but schoolwork, solitaire, and paint for Windows to keep me entertained.
Chel liked my artistic skills so much that she made me do one of her, which she now has as her desktop. I'm quite pleased with both of them. You'll also notice a large orange flower floating somewhere to your right. Relax. If it moves, it's okay. It's not going to bite you. It's just a back button. Use it to go back to the splash so you can view Stefan's handy dandy new 'do.
the score:
FIRST PERIOD: I thought Lyndon Slewidge was going to explode, with the way he held the last note in "O Canada" today. Nice to see Fisher back on the ice. Even nicer to see him back to his old physical game. He was really good this afternoon. Hossa drew a penalty right off the top, but Havlat nullified it a few seconds later with a penalty of his won. This was a very physical check, with good hits by Fisher, Hossa, Neil, and Redden. Neil's was particularly good, as he got totally beaned in the head afterwards and drew a high-sticking penalty. Of course, that was quickly nullified by a too many men penalty shortly thereafter. The officials this afternoon were extremely diligent in calling stuff. That might be because their boss was watching. Fisher had a brilliant shorthanded chance and Vermette, back from injury himself, did a good job keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Unfortunately, Calgary regained possession, and Leopold let a soft one go, right past Lalime's right foot. I'm sure he wishes he could have that one back. Nice pokecheck by Redden broke up a scoring chance, and Lalime made a nice save. What wasn't nice about it was the huge juicy rebound he let off after that, but the resulting mess around the net led to an Ottawa power play, which, thankfully, they converted. Alfredsson took a sweet pass from Hossa, cross-ice, one-timed it, and it bounced off Smolinski and over Turek to tie the game. At the end of the period, with Hossa off for holding, Bondra had a beautiful shorthanded chance, but unfortunately didn't make it to the net. It was good, though, and there were no shots on goal for Calgary in that last power play.
SECOND PERIOD: Patty had two more terrible rebounds to start out the second, but quickly improved, thanks to some nice checking from Serge Payer. Watching the second period, I finally came to understand exactly what a neutral zone trap is. It was a neat thing to see, as Calgary is really good at it. I think the western teams generally are, but I'd never seen so much of it before. The second period was even more physical than the first. Neil got into a mini fight, and Rachunek made some brutal checks. Patty again made some pretty saves, and Ottawa drew a penalty for holding the stick. During this power play, there were some brilliant offensive moves by Redden and Alfredsson, but then Smolinski, who was getting his ass kicked in front of Turek, got a penalty for tripping. I don't blame him. I woulda done it myself. Interesting role reversals on this PK: Payer made a pretty pass to Schaefer, who did one of his trademark shorthanded rushes. Iginla turned it over and started back down the other way, but Alfie made a great defensive play to keep him away from Patty. No scoring in the second.
THIRD PERIOD: Right off the top, a Langfeld pass to Spezza and then to Havlat, who did the splits as he slid to the net and knocked the puck over Turek's left leg, made the score 2-1 for Ottawa. This is where things got tense. This was like the Atlanta game the other night, where Ottawa was leading 2-1, then blew it and ended up losing 3-2 in OT. The game really opened up at this point. Chara ripped a bullet from the blueline that cracked off the cross bar, and Bondra had a nifty offensive chance right after that. More good offense came from Smoke, Leschyshyn (damn, I wish he had a nickname -- it's so damned hard to spell!), Havlat, and Payer, who did a neat forechecking job. Spezza got called for roughing in front of the bench, and Redden had a nice shorthanded break. Spezza came out of the box and had a nice chance himself, helped, no doubt, by the superior checking of Chara. Patty made some nice saves in the dying minutes, but then lost his stick, so Alfie gave him his. That must've felt weird. Play was eventually called on that harrowing situation, and viewers were treated to a television break. When the game came back on and play resumed, it seemed Ottawa was too much out of position, and it made me really nervous. Then Neil took the game into his own hands with a rush to the net, a check, and then a nifty backhander that went through Turek's legs, but didn't cross the goal line. I was impressed with the officiating this game. Schaefer was held up behind the Calgary net, and the refs let it go once, twice, in order to keep play moving, but called it the third time. In the ensuing power play, Spezza tries a dipsy-doodle -- AND IT WORKS! Odd. I bet he thought he was back in junior . . . a turnover, however, sends the puck back into the Ottawa zone, where a flying goalie saves the play. Schaefer worked his mojo around the boards, and Chara did his in front of the net, sending Iginla flying, and then number 19 for the Flames. But he got called, as #19 was about half his size, and big Z knocked him FLAT. Everyone watching held their breath, as a Chara penalty was what cost Ottawa the game on Thursday night. It was up to the PK unit to be magical. Turek was out of the net, and there was an extra attacker on the ice. Ottawa just had to keep it out of the zone. Schaefer tried twice to score shorthanded into the empty net, but shot it across the ice and just wide both times. Then, in the last few seconds of the period, there was a scramble at the Ottawa net, and Patty saved the day to win the game. Smolinski gave him a hug. It was cute.
off the ice:
Martin reaffirmed for the public interest today that Lalime is still number one, in his opinion. He said that the "bottom line" was that Prusek has no playoff experience. Okay, fine, but how the hell is he going to GET any playoff experience if you don't play him? Honestly . . .
Todd White's number 12 was retired by the Kanata Lasers yesterday. It was cute.
I've been muddling this over in my head for a few days now. The problem with one-piece lumber sticks is that they don't have the flexibility and rebound power of a composite stick. The problem with composite sticks is that they break easily. So I was thinking: what about YEW? Yew is the most durable wood on the planet. The oldest wooden tools found by archaeologists are made from yew. Yew is the only wood that becomes STRONGER after being exposed to fire. For hundreds of years, archers have used fire-hardened yew for its flexibility and its durability. So why not make a hockey stick from the stuff? It would be flexible, but it would never break. I need to find a stick maker somewhere and find out if that's a feasible idea. Maybe I'll patent it. DON'T STEAL MY IDEA!
I'm totally jealous of Peter Bondra.
Hossa's fascination with him goes back to when he was TEN. Grr . . . I can't compete with that. I'll have to move on, I suppose . . . I just -- can't. Fucker. I'd hate him, but he's just too damned good.
in other news:
Got my hair cut today. It's a few inches shorter, and more layered than before, so it looks more like it does on the splash page than it did before. It took an hour, though, because my hairdresser and I were catching up on Plaza gossip, as I used to work on the street level, and now I work upstairs, so I get the high-end drama, and she gets the low-end stuff. We spent most of the time complaining about our landlord, who's a complete and total bitch. I remember when I was about seventeen or so, she came into my store, with my boss on vacation, and told me that if I didn't pay the rent that day, she was going to repossess all of my equipment. What the hell was I supposed to do? I've been working, in various capacities, in this plaza for four and a half years now. I know each and every single person who works here, if not by name, then in the nodding-in-the-hallways kind of way, and I know that each and every one of them HATES her. Grr . . .
Went boot shopping last night with Chel. There were two pairs I liked, but they didn't have one in my size, so I got the other pair instead. They're pretty shit-kicker-y. They were stupid on sale. I love them. I also got the two belts I have been searching for for some time. All was good.
Saw
this movie last night with Chel, as well. It wasn't bad, for a piece of teenaged fluff, but it made me realize how little I could identify with the situation anymore, and that made me feel old, and not in a good way. What was really upsetting was the sheer enormity of Lindsay Lohan's breasts. The poor girl is only seventeen and tiny, and her boobs are already as big, if not bigger, than mine. Shit. Poor girl . . .
Posted by Ally at February 21, 2004 12:00 AM
