Hey Folks. Considering yesterdays plug for Point Blank, I thought it time to make one more blog plug. I've been reading B.D. Gallof's Islanders blog since early last season. B.D. is the first blogger that I have ever read on a regular basis. He used to blog on Hockeybuzz and before that on HFBoards, but now has his own blog at www.islandersindependent.com
B.D.'s writing is lively but well reasoned. In the past his affection for Hunter S. Thompson has been apparent and that earned my respect immediately. Hopefully there will continue to be Sibling Rivalry posts with his brother Scott Gallof who is a Rangers blogger on Hockeybuzz. Once again this is recommended reading.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Islanders Point Blank
For those of you who are not aware, Chris Botta has a great blog called NYI Point Blank http://www.islanderspointblank.com/ There is a scathing post from Mr. Botta directed towards another hockey blogger who posted a rediculous rumor about the NY Islanders being for sale and for less than $100 million no less. The Comments section for this post on NYI Point Blank was rocking earlier and is still active. For lively discussion on this subject, I would direct you there.
But I don't refer you to NYI Point Blank just for that post. Chris' blog is must reading for any Islanders fan. Beyond his connections with the Islanders organization, the content is consistently accurate and is really what inspired me to start this blog. Go to Point Blank. What are you waiting for?
But I don't refer you to NYI Point Blank just for that post. Chris' blog is must reading for any Islanders fan. Beyond his connections with the Islanders organization, the content is consistently accurate and is really what inspired me to start this blog. Go to Point Blank. What are you waiting for?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
On the Highway to Sunrise (Florida)
I will update this post as the night moves along, so if you are reading during the game. Be sure to check back.
So the MSG + pregame show tonight started with the news that Joey MacDonald is starting in goal tonight. Yann Danis will be backing him up. I must admit I am puzzled by this. Danis has been playing great. Of course this team might be finally breaking it's habit of sticking with one goaltender with the "backup" getting spot starts. We'll see. I personally think Go-Go Gordon will start riding J-Mac once again. Mark Streit will be sitting this one out. Ouch, the power play is taking a major hit here.
J-Mac is challenged for the first time 3:25 of the first period. At 3:41, Jay Bouwmeester scores from the point making the score 1-0 for the Panthers. Karlis Skrastins scored at 16:43 to make it 2-0 Panthers. I think they should have stuck with the hot hand.
At 2:25 of the 2nd period, Keith Ballard takes a holding penalty and Islanders accomplish zilch on the power play. Doug Weight heads to the locker room around 4:30 after tripping on some shoddy ice. At 6:47, Brett McLean takes a tripping penalty on Richard Park and hands the Islanders their second power play. Perhaps they are trying to lose the game. Commercial timeout comes at this point as well. Campoli is getting first line power play time. Okposo has missed the net three times. Chris Campoli and Frans Nielsen set up Josh Bailey for a power play goal at 8:22. Score is now 2-1 Florida. At 11:45, I'm starting to get the feeling the edge in this game has tilted towards the Islanders. 12:28 on the clock and Doug Weight has returned to the bench. On a beautiful break in Richard Zednik skates and jumps and scores to make the score 3-1 Florida at 12:39. So much for my theory. At 14:48 after a bad turnover to Kyle Okposo, Ville Peltonen takes a hooking penalty on Okposo which leads to a power play goal 3 seconds later by Trent Hunter. Josh Bailey gets his second point of the game with the lone assist. Score is now 3-2 Florida. At 19:30, Horton takes a roughing penalty against Bill Guerin. Islanders now on a power play that will continue into the third period.
As we head into the thrid period, the Islanders get some pressure on the power ply, but to no avail. It was just announced that Nate Thompson will not be returning to the game after a collision that occured in the 1st period. One of the few icings of the game occurs at 4:29. Radek Matinek takes a slashing penalty at 4:56. Florida gets one shot on the power play. At 10:39, Andy Hilbert takes a holding penalty on Zednik. Under a ton of pressure, the Islanders kill the power play. 13:15 - Mike Comrie stripped of the puck after a horrible semi toe drag. At 15:30 the play is getting sloppy. At 18:36 J-Mac exits the net for an extra skater. Florida ices the puck at the 19 minute mark. Islanders take their timeout at this time. Intense final minute occuring. A flurry of opportunity in both ends. Thomas Vokoun makes a great save with 6 seconds left. Islanders lose this game 3-2, but they battled. If the winning streak had to end, it is better this way than getting blown out.
So the MSG + pregame show tonight started with the news that Joey MacDonald is starting in goal tonight. Yann Danis will be backing him up. I must admit I am puzzled by this. Danis has been playing great. Of course this team might be finally breaking it's habit of sticking with one goaltender with the "backup" getting spot starts. We'll see. I personally think Go-Go Gordon will start riding J-Mac once again. Mark Streit will be sitting this one out. Ouch, the power play is taking a major hit here.
J-Mac is challenged for the first time 3:25 of the first period. At 3:41, Jay Bouwmeester scores from the point making the score 1-0 for the Panthers. Karlis Skrastins scored at 16:43 to make it 2-0 Panthers. I think they should have stuck with the hot hand.
At 2:25 of the 2nd period, Keith Ballard takes a holding penalty and Islanders accomplish zilch on the power play. Doug Weight heads to the locker room around 4:30 after tripping on some shoddy ice. At 6:47, Brett McLean takes a tripping penalty on Richard Park and hands the Islanders their second power play. Perhaps they are trying to lose the game. Commercial timeout comes at this point as well. Campoli is getting first line power play time. Okposo has missed the net three times. Chris Campoli and Frans Nielsen set up Josh Bailey for a power play goal at 8:22. Score is now 2-1 Florida. At 11:45, I'm starting to get the feeling the edge in this game has tilted towards the Islanders. 12:28 on the clock and Doug Weight has returned to the bench. On a beautiful break in Richard Zednik skates and jumps and scores to make the score 3-1 Florida at 12:39. So much for my theory. At 14:48 after a bad turnover to Kyle Okposo, Ville Peltonen takes a hooking penalty on Okposo which leads to a power play goal 3 seconds later by Trent Hunter. Josh Bailey gets his second point of the game with the lone assist. Score is now 3-2 Florida. At 19:30, Horton takes a roughing penalty against Bill Guerin. Islanders now on a power play that will continue into the third period.
As we head into the thrid period, the Islanders get some pressure on the power ply, but to no avail. It was just announced that Nate Thompson will not be returning to the game after a collision that occured in the 1st period. One of the few icings of the game occurs at 4:29. Radek Matinek takes a slashing penalty at 4:56. Florida gets one shot on the power play. At 10:39, Andy Hilbert takes a holding penalty on Zednik. Under a ton of pressure, the Islanders kill the power play. 13:15 - Mike Comrie stripped of the puck after a horrible semi toe drag. At 15:30 the play is getting sloppy. At 18:36 J-Mac exits the net for an extra skater. Florida ices the puck at the 19 minute mark. Islanders take their timeout at this time. Intense final minute occuring. A flurry of opportunity in both ends. Thomas Vokoun makes a great save with 6 seconds left. Islanders lose this game 3-2, but they battled. If the winning streak had to end, it is better this way than getting blown out.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Injured D-men
Mark Streit is out day-to-day with an "upper body injury" and Thomas Pock is out for approximately four weeks with an "injured hand". According to the Islanders website, Jack Hillen and Joe Callahan have been called up for the game versus Florida tomorrow evening.
Hey Blockhead - A Microcosm of NVMC
I'm going to start off by saying that this is my first season with "full season tickets" and I'm really enjoying this investment. I have a seat and to my right, my friend John has a seat. We often sit in each other's seats, but not on each other's laps. We picked these seats out based upon the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (hereafter known as NVMC) seating chart, not by visiting the seats.
Home Game #3 versus the Dallas Stars. John and I came back to our seats after our ritual cigarette, bathroom stop, and beverage run. I end up in John's seat and he sits in my seat. After a minute or two, John turns to me and says something to the effect of 'this seat sucks, it feels like a spring is going up my a**'
Fast forward to Home Game # 6 (11/1/08) versus Les Canadien de Montréal. John has been nice enough to give me his ticket for my cousin Sean, who is flying in from Montréal for the game and the weekend. The Habs fans were out in force on this Saturday night. My estimate would be approximately 3500. In a good natured attempt to irritate my cousin Sean, whenever the Habs fans would start their chants, I would shout "you people are French and nobody cares". Sean tells me at one point that he likes the view from my seats, but that it feels like he has a spring going up his a**. I told Sean that my friend John said the same thing, but that I had not noticed it myself. I made a mental note to contact my ticket rep about this.
Home Game #8 was on Saturday 11/8/08 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. As me and John were entering our row, I immediately noticed a change. My seat is number "13". Instead there was a brand spanking new looking seat cushion with a number plate that read "4". I was amused about the number plate issue, but to this day I am enjoying my new seat cushion immensely. (Notice the color differential in fabrics and the dripping stain on John's seat.) As the number plate still reads "4", I'm waiting for the game when someone insists that their ticket is for section 3**, Row F, Seat 4 and that this is their seat. I'll have some fun with that I'm sure.
Fast forward to Home Game # 19 (1/13/09) versus the First Galactic Empire (hhmm... I mean the New York Rangers). For this game, I have purchased two extra tickets. John went to the game and he sat with the Kaiser in our regular seats. The extra two tickets were for myself and my Dad. We sat directly behind the Kaiser and John (Section 3**, Row G, Seats 12 +13). As soon as I sat down, I commented to my Dad and Hilbert Girl, that my seat felt like it was collapsing and that it was leaning down to the left (Hilbert Girl sits in Row G, Seat 14. John and I nicknamed her this for the vitriol that used to issue from her mouth towards Andy Hilbert at the beginning of the season. She has since come around about Andy and now comments about how good Jeff Tambelini looks in a suit as opposed to an Islanders sweater. I really should know her name at this point, but I don't and would not use it here anyway.)
To this day, Hilbert Girl's seats are still being propped up by wooden blocks. As noted above, when I contacted the organization about the issue with my seat, it was corrected very quickly. I will suggest to her that she contact her ticket rep and ask them to "permanently" fix whatever the issue with her seats.
Home Game #3 versus the Dallas Stars. John and I came back to our seats after our ritual cigarette, bathroom stop, and beverage run. I end up in John's seat and he sits in my seat. After a minute or two, John turns to me and says something to the effect of 'this seat sucks, it feels like a spring is going up my a**'
Fast forward to Home Game # 6 (11/1/08) versus Les Canadien de Montréal. John has been nice enough to give me his ticket for my cousin Sean, who is flying in from Montréal for the game and the weekend. The Habs fans were out in force on this Saturday night. My estimate would be approximately 3500. In a good natured attempt to irritate my cousin Sean, whenever the Habs fans would start their chants, I would shout "you people are French and nobody cares". Sean tells me at one point that he likes the view from my seats, but that it feels like he has a spring going up his a**. I told Sean that my friend John said the same thing, but that I had not noticed it myself. I made a mental note to contact my ticket rep about this.I sent my ticket representative an email on Sunday night 11/2/08 about the seat issue. The next morning I received an email response from an Islanders employee who informed me that my old ticket rep was no longer with the organization and that he was the assistant to my new ticket rep. He went on to tell me that "I will forward the seat issue along to the Game Operations department so they can get the building to correct the problem." I did not attend the home game that night.
Home Game #8 was on Saturday 11/8/08 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. As me and John were entering our row, I immediately noticed a change. My seat is number "13". Instead there was a brand spanking new looking seat cushion with a number plate that read "4". I was amused about the number plate issue, but to this day I am enjoying my new seat cushion immensely. (Notice the color differential in fabrics and the dripping stain on John's seat.) As the number plate still reads "4", I'm waiting for the game when someone insists that their ticket is for section 3**, Row F, Seat 4 and that this is their seat. I'll have some fun with that I'm sure. 
Fast forward to Home Game # 19 (1/13/09) versus the First Galactic Empire (hhmm... I mean the New York Rangers). For this game, I have purchased two extra tickets. John went to the game and he sat with the Kaiser in our regular seats. The extra two tickets were for myself and my Dad. We sat directly behind the Kaiser and John (Section 3**, Row G, Seats 12 +13). As soon as I sat down, I commented to my Dad and Hilbert Girl, that my seat felt like it was collapsing and that it was leaning down to the left (Hilbert Girl sits in Row G, Seat 14. John and I nicknamed her this for the vitriol that used to issue from her mouth towards Andy Hilbert at the beginning of the season. She has since come around about Andy and now comments about how good Jeff Tambelini looks in a suit as opposed to an Islanders sweater. I really should know her name at this point, but I don't and would not use it here anyway.) We move four days later to Home Game #21 versus the New Jersey Devils. There were numerous Devils fans in our section and you could hear them making comments about NVMC. During the second period, John and I are trading quips with Hilbert Girl and her friend about the condition of our "old barn". Hilbert Girl's friend makes a comment about how their seats are being propped up by wood blocks. I think that he is joking and laugh at what seems to be an amusing anecdote about the condition of NVMC. A few seconds later, I turn my head and see that their seats are indeed being propped up by wood blocks.
To this day, Hilbert Girl's seats are still being propped up by wooden blocks. As noted above, when I contacted the organization about the issue with my seat, it was corrected very quickly. I will suggest to her that she contact her ticket rep and ask them to "permanently" fix whatever the issue with her seats. I hope you've enjoyed my little story and my own experience with the "old barn".
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
No Lightning Tonight
I got home extra late tonight after the Islanders 3-1 win versus Tampa Bay. Before the game, when I removed my car keys from my main key ring, the key that unlocks my car fell off...in my car!!! I had to call my girl Trish, who not only got out of bed to come bring me my spare keys, she even quickly shoveled the walk to the door at my house. Trish rocks!!!
I'm going to make this extra short, but here are my thoughts on tonights game.
- Under 10,000 in attendence. About ten minutes into the first period, all fans sitting in the 300 level were invited to come down to the "lower bowl" and sit in any seats that were empty. I ended up in Row A in 118. Nice upgrade. Thanks for nothing Ticketmaster!
- The Islanders were nothing special tonight, but they really poured it on in a four minute spurt in the second period when they scored all three of their goals.
- Kudos to Vinny Lecavalier for sticking up for his goaltender even though Tim Jackman's hit on Karri Ramo was clean. Jackman seemed to take it easy on him and I'm sure Vinny accrued extra respect in his locker room.
- Once again, it would have been nice to see Yann Danis get a shutout, the kid has been playing great.
- I hope Mark Streit's injury is nothing serious. He skated off right near where I was sitting and I was concerned then and still am now.
- I saw my favorite Ice Girl Brittany in Champions, while I was hanging out by myself (looking and feeling like a loser) waiting for my girl to bring me my spare keys.
I'll be posting my story on NVMC right after this one.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Midnight Hits
A few quick comments after the Islanders 3rd straight win.
- Danis got lucky tonight a number of times
- Okposo looked really solid...again
- Guerin's goal seemed to happen in slow motion for me. I assumed he was going to blow it. Sorry Cap.
- The Penalty Kill units earned their money tonight.
- On the way home tonight, the two cars in front of me on Merrick Ave (south) had the following license plates. "CMON REF" & "HOCKEY19".
- I'm not sure when I'm going to get to my prospect review post. I have other newer ideas
- I'm not making any promises about when and how often I'll post, but here is what you can most likely expect. During road games expect something similar to "4 Points towards Taveres" and for home games expect something like this post after the game. There will also be independent posts on subjects that I wish to rant about.
- Speaking of those newer ideas, my next post will explore a very small area of the aging Nassau Coliseum as a microcosm of the larger issues at hand. You can expect this post combined with a short recap following this Tuesday's (2/3/09) home game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Enjoy the Super Bowl! You don't even have to be a football fan to enjoy this day.
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