New Hampshire are you kidding...

I just got done watching New Hampshire come back on North Dakota in the NCAA hockey tournament. The Wildcats were down two goals with eight minutes left. They got a goal to get within one. There was only eight seconds on the clock. They had their goalie pulled. The UNH player one the face off, the defenseman almost missed the puck. He puts it across the bluline for a one-timer that is sailed wide. The puck bounces off the end boards and gets put in front of the net. Some kid bangs it in the net with .3 seconds left.
Then UNH pots the winner in the extra period. After being totally outplayed for two periods, they came back and won the friggin' game.
Props to the state of New Hampshire.

NHL on NBC

I watch the Flyers and Pens play today on NBC. I like the coverage that NBC does. I guess you get a good team when you just take the broadcasters from TSN in Canada. I like how they don't try to dumb down the coverage to appeal to the un-hockey-baptized. I think more people would like hockey if it acted more like the cool kid who doesn't need you to like him instead of the nerdy kid who constantly seeks approval. Canadian broadcasters rarely reference other sports. American broadcasters try to legitimize hockey by saying how much like other sports it is. It is not like other sports, that is what makes it great. Yes there is a lot of athleticism on display, but there is nothing like skating fast and checking or sniping the top corner when the goalie butterflies. Hockey broadcasts need to appeal to hockey people.
Also, the game made me realize how important the first goal of a game is. The Pens were running a hard 2-1-2 press forecheck to try and create turnovers and get the first marker. But, the Flyers got the goal off a Simon Gagne shot. After that, they had all the confidence in the world and were able to control the pace of the game. That goal was huge for Philly. It got them a valueable road win.
The other thing I saw was how whiny Sid the Kid is. Don't get me wrong, I think he plays the game the way you are supposed to play it. But he complains to the refs way too much. He got called offside when he clearly wasn't and his solo camera caught him throw a temper tantrum to the linesman. I think he needs to just play and not gripe so much.

Everyone wants to be Ovechkin

I can't blame anyone for wanting to be like Alex Ovechkin, he is plain nasty. But, does anyone else think it is funny to see a guy at drop-in with a tinted visor who is trying to do a between the legs move down the wing? The ovechkin wannabe always makes me laugh. It is even funnier when it is a thirty year old beginner. Why do people do this? Yes. Ovie is disgusting on the ice. He already has 50 goals on the year and his stick is on fire. That doesn't mean that every bender's stick is on fire too. Ovechkin can wear the tinted visor, the laces holding up his pants and the yellow laces in his skates because he is re-donk-ulous on the ice. Everyone else (not in the pros) needs to stay down because their game is not at that level. Ovechkin could wear pink gloves and goth makeup and it would be OK as long as he kept bending the twine.

Don't worry about copying Ovechkin, worry about stepping your game up.

I do have to admit, I have yellow laces. I've had them for the last six years and it has kind of become my thing. I get flack for it once in a while, but atleast I'm not rockin T-blades.

First Post

My wife has been telling me that I need to create my own blog. I've been doing some coaching articles for hockeyplayer.com and I've worked for the Provo Daily Herald part-time. So, I have some writing credibility, but I guess that doesn't matter when you are blogging.
I decided that my blog should be a place for my musings on everything hockey. Hockeyplayer is all about coaching and equipment, but I'd like to comment on everything in the game. I'll talk about everything from the NHL to pick-up at my local rink.
I can't get enough hockey. I play drop-in at my rink at least three times a week and I coach the adult learn-to-play class. I'm on the ice a lot. I run my mouth there, I may as well run it on the web too.