Wild @ Canucks - Sat 11-8 - View from my Recliner


Tonite I'm testing out blogging from my iPhone so please excuse any typos. So far, meh. Apparently Blogger's editor doesn't work with iPhone so I have to post it in HTML, which isn't a big deal but it is time-consuming to switch between the keyboard layouts. We'll see. On to the game.

Wild lose to the Canucks tonite 2-0. The game was actually pretty entertaining even tho the Wild could not get anything by Canuck G Roberto Luongo. It was a hard-hitting affair. Several Wild players were finishing checks in a way you don't typically see from the Wizzy. They also peppered Luongo through most of the game, and especially in the 3rd period. Luongo was exceptional, making a handful of saves when it seemed the Wild were set up to tie the game at 1. But late in the 3rd one of the Sedin twins found the other Sedin and that Sedin scored to ice the win for Vancouver. Anyone know what Backstrom was trying to do on that play? Because he basically fell over.

Oh I'm sure most of you saw that former Wild F Mark Parrish had a hat trick in his 1st game for the Dallas Stars. My cousin on TX basically gave me play by play. His quote was "Parrish is a beast!" =) Good for Parrish tho. He's a class act.

Not much else from here. Mostly because I've been working on typing this for a half hour and all I've got is one tiny paragraph. If anyone knows of any good blogging apps for iPhone please let me know!

Just a few random babbles on a Wild off day…

Mark Parrish
Former Wild F, St Cloud State alum, and Bloomington Jefferson grad Mark Parrish signed a minor-league contract with the New York Islanders. I was really excited when we signed Parrish and I liked him while he was here. He was good with the media, one of the players on the team that was easy to identify with because he loved to talk. But, he never scored goals the way the Wild expected him to because he’s an in front of the net guy. It’s hard to score when you’re getting beat up every game. So the Wild cut ties, and now he is trying to work himself back into the big show.

Bret Hedican
SCSU alum, St Paul native, and Kristi Yamaguchi husband signed a 1-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks. He’s 38 years old; I’m not sure how much he’ll play, but I’m glad he’s getting to put in another year.

Demitra Injured
Former Wild underachiever Pavol Demitra is out 3-4 weeks for the Canucks with a “torso” injury. Sounds like it’s a rib injury.

Dubay Fired
Following up on my Glorified Jots from a couple days ago, Jeff Dubay was fired by KFAN today as a result of his cocaine charges. You certainly can not blame the FAN for making that decision. I wish Puffy the best and hope he can straighten things out for himself and his health most importantly. Meantime KFAN will need to replace him on the PA and Dubay show. I’m cool with Justin Gaard or Corey Cove.

UMD Bulldogs
As I write this I’m having my very own UMD Bulldog Hockey Night, watching the Dogs v. Alaska Anchorage Seawolves thanks to goseawolves.com. The Dogs are down 4-2 at the start of the 3rd period right now. I just have to say, the UAA internet video feed looks pretty darned good. I’ve seen alot of ugly looking games streaming over the ‘net because Minnesota-Duluth games are not on TV here in the Twin Cities unless they’re playing the Gophers. But this game looks quite good, especially when you factor in that it is free, and most other games you have to pay $7. I hope they’ve improved the video over at B2Networks for the games at the DECC this season.

Oooh, make it 4-3 Seawolves with 17 minutes to go. UMD just scored a pretty powerplay goal.

And now it’s a tie game, another powerplay goal for UMD. 10 minutes to go. Oh bugger…looks like they’re going to review the goal. And…it’s no goal. Bunk. They didn’t gave a reason on the broadcast why they waived it off, and they didn’t show a replay. That sucks. 4-3 final, Anchorage defeats Duluth. Apparently there was a man in the crease on the waived-off goal.

Enough babble for one nite…

Wild @ Thrashers - 03-07-08 - A View from the Couch
Watched alot of hockey Friday. MN State High School Tourney Class A in the afternoon, and Class AA, Wild, and Bulldogs at nite. Since I don't have a favorite in the HS tourney, and both my teams lost in the evening, it was kind of exhausting. I could take a break from hockey. But, can't miss the state finals tomorrow...

Wild lose 3-2 in a shootout. Finally got a couple goals on the PP (Rolston and Burns). Should have been a regulation win tho. Backstrom gave up the tying goal with less than a minute to play with Atlanta's goalie pulled. Pretty frustrating, but we did pick up a point. Mark Parrish was a healthy scratch. This after saying on KFAN's PA and Dubay that he hasn't changed his work ethic at all. Hopefully he responds the way Skoula did.

Bulldogs lost to UMTC 4-1. FFx4 through most of that one.

MSHSL State Tournament
The MN High School state finals are set. In Class A, it's Marshall School of Duluth v. St. Thomas Academy. Class AA is Edina v. Hill Murray. Friday's Class AA semifinals were great. Edina beat Benilde St. Margarets in OT, and Hill Murray knocked off the previously unbeaten Roseau. They really dominated the favorite Roseau. Should be a good championship tonite.

For you out-of-towners, you should venture over to b2 networks and watch the  AA championship tonite. It'll cost you $10 but the HS Hockey State tournament here is really a big deal. It's like the equivalent of HS Football in Texas. Fun times. Championship starts at 7 PM.

Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
Calgary lost to Nashville in a shootout as well, so they only get 1 point and are tied with the Wild for the NW lead. Calgary still has a game in hand tho. Colorado and Vancouver were off tonite. Colorado is 2 points behind us and Vancouver is 4 points for the final playoff spot. And they also have 2 games in hand.

Next on the Docket - Sharks @ Wild - Sun 3-9-08
Back home to play a really good team. Last time we played the Sharks at home was the infamous Skoula blunder (I know, narrow it down a little). Only remedy I know for hockey burnout is winning Wild hockey, so I think this is the game we show up for and win. Wild 4 Sharks 2

Canucks @ Wild - 2-19-08 - A Delayed View from My Recliner
I'm tired, so this will be short and to the point. Wild give up another 3rd peirod lead and lose 3-2 in OT. They were outshot by almost double, but scored 2 power play goals to get the lead. Then they gave up that lead and Daniel Sedin scored with 1:42 left in the OT. Disappointing to give up the W, but lucky to get a point in this one.

Jots

• Congrats to Mark Parrish and his wife. Their first child was born this morning, a girl. Parrish played in tonight's game, and I have no idea how he could possibly concentrate on hockey. My mind would not be on hockey. Closed-circuit to those I work with - I will not be in the office the day my first child is born.
• Eric Belanger finally broke his 13-game scoring draught. He knocked in a rebound on the PP. His reaction and the reaction from Rolston and the others on the ice was of "there you go buddy, you're back now." It is obviously on his mind. During the post-game show Marney Gellnar asked him about his goal and if it will break him out of his draught, and he said "Thanks for reminding me." Keep on keepin on 25.
• Wild G Niklas Backstrom had a strong game. He made a couple excellent acrobatic stops tonite, which are not his style. I don't fault him on any of the 3 Canuck goals
• Alot of jawing back and forth between both teams. Mikko Koivu was especially vocal as he has been v. Vancouver since he got back. He clearly gets fired up to play the Canucks after the slash earlier this year.
• Absolutely excellent puck possession by the Wild on the PP to close out regulation. They had all the motmentum but couldn't get the game winner. Many times the Wild worked hard to keep the puck in the zone and Canucks G Roberto Luongo made great saves to get Vancouver into OT. If only they could have gotten one by him.
• Make sure you read the post prior to this one for a recap of Buffalo v. St. Cloud Tech. It was a heckuva game.

The Fight to Hang the 1st Banner
Vancouver picks up 2 points, Wild gets 1 for getting to OT. Calgary beat Phoenix 4-1. Colorado was off, so the Wild's lead in the Northwest drops to 5 over Vancouver and Calgary and expands to 8 over Colorado. The Avs are dangerously close to dropping out of the Western Conference playoff picture all together.

Next on the Docket - Wild @ Blackhawks - Wed 2-20-08
2nd games of back-to-backs are always dicey but the Wizzy have been pretty good in them this season. The 'Hawks will also be on the 2nd of a back to back, losing to St. Louis tonite 5-1. Wild will need to need to score a few to beat them. Maybe they should try outshooting them. Wild 4 'Hawks 3

Wild @ Blackhawks - 1-11-08 - An In and Out View from my Home Office
I was in an out of tonite's game as I had some work stuff to tidy up. It was a beauty offensive explosion in the 2nd, with the Wild scoring 3 times to take control of the game. Gabby continuted his hot hand with 2 goals, one on a sick wrister that Khabiboulin had no idea, Parrish scored again on almost the same one-timer he had in the famous Skoula flub game, and Josh Harding was absolutely stellar in the 3rd. Great way to finish off the road trip after a terrible start.

I'm gonna say it for about the 600th time this year, maybe now we'll get on a streak...

Harding
I am really pulling for Josh Harding to keep playing well. I like the kid alot. In the games he plays well in he really makes some great stops. The kind of flashy stops that Backstrom just doesn't make. The kind that I think you need to go far into the playoffs. You can say that Backstrom doesn't need to make those stops because he's so positionally sound, but I don't think there's any question that Harding is the goalie of the future for this team. I think he's going to get better the more he plays and we might just have an all-star goalie on our team.

Next on the Docket - Wild v. Phoenix Coyotes 1-13-08
My dad and I may be going to this game if we can score some tickets, so hopefully I'll be viewing it from the X. I look for the Wild to continue playing strong and to win the 3rd in a row. We're a better team than Phoenix and it should come out that way at home. I'm calling a shutout. Wild 3 Coyotes 0

Wild @ Predators (1-5-08) - A View from my Couch
Every time we play at Nashville, I dread hearing Nashville's Tim McGraw goal song. "I like it, I love it, I want some more of it." Makes me throw up in my mouth. Well, we got to hear Tim four times, as the Wild gave up 3 goals in the first and were unable to make the comeback. All things considered, it was a pretty fun game to watch, especially with a very up and down 2nd period. Mark Parrish scored again thanks to a nice pass from Stephane Veilleux, who had a pretty good game. After the goal, both teams had long opportunities in each other's zone thanks to good forechecking, but the Wild couldn't get any closer. If I have to watch a 3-goal Wild loss I guess it could have been worse.

Tough TV Sports Day @ My House

• USA lost to Russia in the World Junior Championships. They didn't even medal after winning their first 4 games. Seems every US national team underacheives. Incidentally, Canada won their 4th WJC in a row.
• I spent $6 to watch tUMD Bulldogs get shutout by Bemidji State. 2.5 hours I'll never get back.
• The Wild lost.
• The Steelers lost to the Jaguars. Not really a a big deal, but I like Mike Tomlin. Well, I guess I like Jack Del Rio too, so who cares?
• Now I'm watching Tubby Gopher hoops @ Michigan State on the DVR. I don't expect to see a win here either.
• I'll have to play some NHL 08 over Xbox Live to go to bed feeling better about myself. Assuming I can win a game.

Next on the Docket - Wild @ Dallas Stars (Mon 1-7-08)
3rd game against Dallas since Christmas. The way the last two games went I'd like to say this is rekindling the rivalry, but I think it'll take a playoff series to make that happen. (How fun would that be?) The Wizzy need to bounce back but Dallas needs it more. They've lost their last 4 including being shutout by Detroit today. I have a sneaky feeling Dallas wins. Dallas 3, Wild 1