Showing posts with label HNIC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HNIC. Show all posts

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Beers and Jeers #39 (Feb 28/09 vs. Minnesota Wild)


Well it looks like Bobby Nilsson is going to sit out this game and Pouliot is getting the nod. Is this really the best plan? Pouliot? on the 2nd line? Really? I wonder what Towel Boy has to say about that?


I hope the crowd can get into this one. They really need to get chanting. Come on folks. The team needs the help.


No Bogeyman... no Big Mac. Too bad. I wanted to see a gooder tonight. Maybe next time. I guess we can always count on Gagner to fight someone.


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1st Period


To start the game the Oilers had a contest (not tonight) and the winner was given a chance to sing the anthem before the game starts. The kid (Justin Wack) came out and did a heck of a job. He seemed pretty thrilled by the experience. Good flow in the game until Pisani takes a tripping penalty at 5:19. As the Oilers are killing the penalty off, Mark and Marc (M&M) start talking about how great the Oilers have been lately on the PK. Why talk about it guys? Seconds later the Wild score at 6:14. Thanks M&M. 1-0 Wild. Let's go Oilers! At the 10:00 minute mark this game is way better than the last one by a long shot. A little while later, Grebeshkov nails Brunette and he gets hurt. The whistle should have been blown but it wasn't. Gilbert takes it and passes to Horcoff who finds Hemsky. Scoooorrreeeessss! 1-1 Tie Game. (Hemsky from Horcoff from Gilbert at 12:47) That was a lucky break for the Oilers. Finally at the 14:00 minute mark the crowd starts to chant. Bout time folks. At 15:42 Smid hits the puck into the netting and sits for 2:00 for delay of game. A short while later at 17:46, Staios takes a penalty and the Wild score on the man advantage at 19:25. 2-1 Wild. Crap. Not the best way to end a period. But it isn't like last game. We actually look good tonight.


2nd Period


The period starts off once again with good flow. But the Wild get careless and take a penalty. Good time for the Oil to score a PP goal. But... they don't. Good passing but they can't capitalize. But the 4th line comes out and puts on some great pressure. Stortini scores!!! 2-2 Tie Game. (Stortini from Reddox at 5:03) Yeah!!! The 4th line does it again. And that's #5 for Storts. **knock, knock. Hello? Storts is catching Gagner** This game really is not bad considering we are playing the Wild (a trap team). With 6:00 minutes left, MacT is rolling a Hemsky/Horcoff/Reddox line. It's tied MacT. No need to panic yet. So with the Oilers buzzing, the Oilers have some slick passing going on. Gilbert scores! Yeah! 3-2 Oilers. (Gilbert from Reddox and Grebeshkov at 15:22) Now we are looking like we want to see some ice in the spring. With Reddox on the 1st line now, Penner is rolling with Brodziak and Stortini on the 4th. As the period winds down, it's great to see some real life in this Oilers squad. The Wild take a penalty with only 32 seconds left and that will give even more life to the Oilers when they start the 3rd with a PP. The shots are tied at the end of two periods with 27 each.


3rd Period


The 3rd sure started with some jump. Minny had some chances. Oilers had some chances. Roli has had to be sharp tonight. Twice in the first 7:00 minutes, Roli has had to make some HUGE saves. The crowd gets fired up and the Roli, Roli, Roli chants break out. Roli really has been the MVP of this team this year. Hemmer is close... but Roli is king. Wow the action is all out now. It seems weird that the Wild are playing this way, but they are. Real back and forth action. The crowd is really into this one now. Chants keep popping up. Horcoff has a real bad stinker of a giveaway and the Wild ring it of the post. Your lucky Horcoff. Lucky. The play continues to be fast paced and exciting. Hemsky takes a tripping penalty and Zidlicky goes for diving. 4 on 4 for two minutes. With 20 seconds left, Miettinen sticks Moreau in the eye *ouch!* and takes a double minor. (That didn't look good for Chopper) So much for the Wild comeback. That's the game folks. Oilers win!!!


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Tonight's Starting Lines


Penner Horcoff Hemsky (The 1st line was average in the first half. Reddox replaced Penner and they seemed to play a little better. Did you really need to eat that extra chicken breast at lunch Penner?)


Pouliot Gagner Cole (The 2nd line was a real solid unit tonight. Lots of grade A chances. They seemed like they were trying hard, but faded near the end of the 3rd.)


Moreau Cogliano Pisani (Moreau and Pisani played well. Cogliano just wasn't quite the same as he has been playing as of late. This line needs all three to be rolling or it just isn't going to be a shutdown type line. But still, all in all they were good.)


Reddox Brodziak Stortini (This line was smokin' when it was still this line before Penner was switched. Stortini seems to be on a streak lately. Good for him.)


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FINAL SCORE


Minnesota Wild - 2

Edmonton Oilers - 3


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BEERS


Dwayne Roloson - Gramps was stellar once again. The Oilers MVP was doing it all tonight. (other than score) He was making those acrobat style saves all while being that silent leader for the team. Again. You deserve a nice cold one Roli. Cheers!


Tom Gilbert - The guy that has been making mistakes the last few games, was really good tonight. He seemed to do a lot while looking like he wasn't. He had 1 goal and 1 assist with a +2 rating. A pretty solid night for Gibby. Have a beer? Cheers!


Denis Grebeshkov - For not playing in a while he sure was good. He had a huge hit, an assist and was +2. His only real knock was his giveaway's. But his effort was good enough to deserve a beer. Frosty beer? Cheers!


Honorable Mention - Liam Reddox (He played a good game tonight. He even managed to sneak back up to the 1st line. A 2 assist night for Liam.), Ales Hemsky (He scored and was ok. Still not back to normal), Zack Stortini (His momentum changing goal was huge for the team to get going. He's been very good for the past few weeks.)


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JEERS


A win is a win and I don't have much of a reason to jeer tonight. Penner was questionable but I still think that MacT just needed to bench someone. The Hamburglar was the one today.


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Well that was a good action packed game. Not like the boring crap of a game we had to watch last game. The Oilers pick up the almighty 2 points and move up to seventh tied with the Ducks. Who's next? The Predators of Nashville. We need two wins on this 4 game roadie. If we can come home with 4 points the team will still be in it. If we don't than it's only going to get harder from here on out.


See you all next time... Until then. GO OILERS!!!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Beers and Jeers #36 (Feb 21/09 vs. Calgary Flames)


Well folks... As we sit around our TVs and celebrate Hockey Day in Canada, we are fortunate enough to have that team from the south (the Calgary fLames) playing against us instead of some other Canadian team. Why you ask? Because I love a good Battle of Alberta. Nothing can compare to a game like this. (I hope) I predict a 4-2 Oilers win. Gagner, Cole, Hemsky, Stortini scoring the goals. MacIntyre, Stortini and Peckham all fight tonight. Maybe even Gagner. (Maybe Andre Roy? jk) Let's go out there Oilers and kick some Calgary fLame ass.


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Due to me having company over, I won't be going as hardcore with the period summaries. Sorry, but I need to drink with my friends tonight.


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On a side note: we need to win tonight because the Nucks won in a shoot out (Damn you Sundin!) against the Leafs. The Leafs can't do anything right. :(


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1st Period


Boy the Oilers looked fired up tonight. Sporting the retro jersey's once again. MacT started the game with some line changes. Cole with Horc and Pens. And Hemmer with Gags and Nilsson. They really do look sharp so far here. All 4 lines look good. Smid nails Iginla and gets the crowd roaring. Yay Smid! The 4th Line gets a good chance with Big Mac crashing the net. But... the Oilers take a penalty. Guess who? Moreau for cross checking. But lucky for him the Oil kill it off. At 10:19, Smid drives to the net and draws a penalty. PP time for the Oil. But they can't convert. But shortly after the penalty expires, Erik Cole scores!!! Yeah! 1-0 Oilers. (Cole from Souray and Horcoff at 12:26) This is turning into a great idea by MacT. (about time) The Oilers do get another chance on the PP at 15:29 but once again they can not convert. 0 for 2 on the PP. Roli has made some great saves already in this game. But at 19:02 Gilbert takes a holding penalty. All in all, it was a good period by the Oilers. Let's see how the 2nd transpires.


2nd Period


Oilers get out of the gate quick. Brodziak gets a nice chance in the first few seconds. (We are on the PK still.) Through the first 8:00 minutes of the game there has been good flow with both goalies making some good saves. At 8:14, Hemsky takes a lazy penalty and puts the Oil down by a man. But the Oilers manage to kill it off (fLames are 0 for 3 so far) and next thing you know the fLames get nailed with a Too Many Men penalty. They manage to kill that off but the 4th line comes out again and again causes havoc in the crease. (Why not play them more MacT?) But wouldn't you know it... Iginla scores at to tie it up. Damn! 1-1 Tie Game. MacT now has Cole with Horc and Hemmer and Penner with Gags and Nilsson. For the record... Smid is AWESOME tonight. He is doing everything right. With some exciting play the period ends. Let's Go Oilers!


3rd Period


The Oilers have the peanut butter and jam tonight. The 3rd starts off much like the 2nd ended. Fast and furious. Holy crap! Hemsky scores! 2-1 Oilers. (Hemsky from Horcoff and Strudwick at 1:46) Well this gets everyone fired up. Cole gets a breakaway and Iginla takes a penalty. Not sure how that's not a penalty shot? But whatever... the Oilers are on the PP once again. I'll tell ya! The MacBlender is rolling tonight. Every shift is a little different than the last. Oh MacT... you and your crazy mind. Shortly after the Iggy penalty, Phaneuf takes a penalty. 5 on 3 for the Oil for the next 50 some odd seconds. They manage only one good shot from Souray. Boooooo! Cole sure has been great tonight. (I'm trying to enjoy his last few games with us. I am hoping he doesn't get moved.) With very little time left in the period, Calgary's Boyd and Moss collide in their own zone. The crowd goes wild. So with one minute left, the crowd chanting for the Oil, Mark and Marc mention that the crowd is anticipating an Oiler win tonight. A second later, Lombardi scores to tie it up. 2-2 Tie Game. Why in the hell can't people keep their mouths shut until the game is over? But Lombardi takes a penalty at 19:09. Overtime now with a little bit of a PP. Go Oilers!


Overtime


The fLames kill of the penalty and it's back to 4 on 4. With 2:30 left, Souray nails Adam Pardy and sends him and his helmet flying. Why do these guys have their straps so friggin' low? Are you guys retarded? Are you? So with the time winding down, Cammalleri busts in on a breakaway and Roli makes a HUGE save to keep the game tied. Shootout time.


Shootout


Gagner - loses the puck in the slot area. No goal.


Nilsson - gets poke checked by Kipper


Hemsky - also gets poked checked by Kipper


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Tonight's Starting Lines


Penner Horcoff Cole (Penner was pretty good tonight. Horcoff was great tonight. Cole was great tonight.)


Nilsson Gagner Hemsky (Nilsson was above average. Gagner was pretty good. Hemsky was good.)


Moreau Cogliano Stortini (Moreau was below average. In fact rather stinky. Cogliano was average but fast. Stortini was below average.)


MacIntyre Brodziak Reddox (MacIntyre was limited to 3:25. Brodziak had some good shifts. Reddox was good tonight as he ended up taking Stortini's spot on the 3rd line.)


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FINAL SCORE


Calgary Flames - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 2


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BEERS


Shawn Horcoff - The guy was fantastic tonight. He played 26:07, had 2 assists, 4 shots and 2 hits. He seemed to do everything right. He was 23 wins, 9 loses for 72% on the face off dot. He was on fire. So to put out the fire, have a cold frosty Horc. Great game... Cheers!


Ladislav Smid - The Spaz was good again. He made smart and reliable plays. He was laying the body whenever he could. And he managed to log 19:26 of ice time. He even found time to block 4 shots. Good job Smid. Have a beer with me. Cheers!


Erik Cole - I am missing him already and he hasn't even left yet. He was good tonight. Scored a nice goal to get the game going. He made some good body checks. Heck, he even warranted 22:50 of ice time for all the hard work. Erik Cole... you have been a great Oiler. Enjoy another beer with me. Cheers!


Honerable Mentions

Liam Reddox (He was good tonight. He did what he could to help this team. I know. I feel wierd even saying it.), Dwayne Roloson (Gramps was a force tonight. Even I was chanting Roli, Roli, Roli from home.), Strudwick/Peckham (this was a pretty solid defence group. I liked them a lot tonight.)

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JEERS


To be honest, I don't want to boo anything tonight. We did good. We just had a bad relapse with the time running out in the 3rd. Ok. Just a little one for that. Booooooooo!


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Well what a great game that was. Tons of action and lots of speed. A true Battle of Alberta. It's just to bad that we ended up on the losing side. Damn fLames!


Next game is Tuesday vs. Tampa Bay. Is this Vinny's last game with the Lightning and his first as an Oiler? Stay tuned...

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Oilers Jambalaya #3 (Random Thoughts)


Hello everybody. The All Star weekend is in full swing and lame as usual. Well, ok... only parts of it was lame. I just have a hard time seeing this weekend as a "showcase" weekend for the NHL. This (skills competition and game) is not really what the NHL is about. I get confused when I watch this stuff. Like why would you tell the public that the goalie that you brought in for the Breakaway Challenge was told "not to try"? That's just weird. I did however enjoy the final elimination shootout. And who wins that? The guy I said shouldn't be there instead of Hemsky. But what do I know right? The Hardest Shot was a good one. It's to bad Souray didn't connect like he can. But there is always next year.


Andrew Cogliano was the NHL fastest skater. Since when did they let the YoungStars participate in the Skills? I don't remember that from last year but I may be wrong here. Too bad Erik Cole couldn't have participated. But good job Cogs. You fastest skater you!


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CBC really blew it when they decided to not re new the HNIC song. Sure the guy that won the contest was from Edmonton but, the song sucks. The only "hook" of the song is the bag pipe intro. But it is soooo quiet you barely hear it. Why not Stompin' Tom? That really would have been better. And did you notice that the 5 finalists were songs that were keyboard type songs. Think of all the people that did all that hard work to write, record and release songs (Rap/Rock/Alternative/Electronica) that CBC new fully well that they were looking for a "copy" version of the old song. Thanks for wasting peoples time CBC. Why not just say that that is what you were looking for? Get a new song for next year please!


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Why is there not a cut off date for free agent signings? I mean really... Forsberg again? Neidermayer last year. Kind of Sundin this year. I think the NHL needs to change something here. This is getting ridiculus.


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All this complaining about fighting in the game is starting to bug me. This isn't the NBA. We don't hug our "Homeys" after a game. There is no "Keep it real yo!".


No, the NHL is not like other sports. We do not need to compare this great unique sport to a pile of oranges. We fight to protect ourselves. We fight to spark our team. We fight because sometimes that's out job. (well not Me.) The NHL is different and that is a good thing. I see more damage to guys on icings. That my friends is the real problem. Not fighting.


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My final question today...


Why are the Oilers locker room stalls not old guy/young guy/old guy/young guy? That may have some chemistry building mojo going on? I don't know. Just wondering.


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Next Oiler game - Jan 27/09. That's Tuesday.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Beers and Jeers #6 (Dec 13/08 vs. Vancouver Canucks)


Very good game by the Oiler's. They are finally getting on track. I keep telling everyone to be patient and it looks like it's paying off. So here we go...



BEERS


Ales Hemsky

- This guy keeps on keeping on and is making himself look more and more like a star. He seemed a little stiff in the 1st period. But as the game went on his moves started to look a little more natural out there. He also had a beautiful goal tonight. (10th goal of the season) He made some great plays tonight too. All in all a pretty solid game tonight. So for another excellent game... (I'm turning you into an alcoholic) have another beer Hemmer. Cheers!


Erik Cole

- My man crush continues for this guy. I thought he played really well tonight. 2 shots, 5 hits and a takeaway. His speed is his forte' and he was using it tonight. The points will come. They will. It's the little things that he is doing right at the moment that count the most. (IMO) Great game Cole. Beer? Cheers!


Dwayne Roloson

- Shutout! Shutout! What more do I need to say? Atta a boy Roli. Maybe not a hard fought win but who cares? A win is a win and it must be nice that you can play a solid game and get rewarded with a shutout. The (old) man continues to amaze me. A big frosty Roli? Cheers!


Gilbert and Souray Pairing

- What an awesome pairing. They compliment each other like mustard and ketchup. Mmmmmm... they are good. And they make each other look better. That MacT must be a genius? You guys can share a 40oz Big Bear. Cheers Guys!


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JEERS


Marc Crawford

- Good god! Why on earth did CBC pick up this guy? Talk about over analyzing everything. He is kinda like Eklund from HockeyBuzz. If you keep spitting out crap eventually you will come out a winner. Loser! Pierre McGuire still has you beat though. However... you are a very close second. Sadly I used to love watching HNIC. Now I cringe on a Saturday. I could write about my displeasure for this man all night but I can't be bothered. So for being such a dip turd Marc Crawford... Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...


To My Dad

- You know I love you, but since you are a Nucks fan and we won... Hahaha! Booo...

Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Oiler's Jambalaya #1 (Random Thoughts)


Even though we won last night....


That was a stinker for sure. Where is the effort? Does the team know that they were on HNIC? You realise that the whole nation watches you right? And that's how you want to play with your Mom watching? I think that would be embarrassing. One shot after the 1st. Very impressive. Ending the game at 43-17. Yeah! Whooo Hoooo! I swear someone better give Roli huge high five. And maybe some kissing on the feet. Ok. I feel better. But you have to bet that MacT is going to skate you guys hard this week. To top it off, it sucks no Oilers till Thursday. Now what?


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When I first was learning how to play hockey we were taught to play the man and not the puck. Right? This is a fairly easy concept, and it works when executed. So why does the team always go for the puck instead of laying the guy out? Most likely a 50/50 chance of getting burnt. But if you hit the guy then no one is burning anyone right? Like I said Easy concept and it works. Try it sometime.


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Since when are we playing rugby? Or football for that matter. There is such a thing as a forward pass. What you say? Really? We can do that? Generally the good teams pass in the forward direction. I mean really. Why give the other team any help by passing back to your own zone? Move it forward and go and get it. Look... I panic too in hockey sometimes. I get that. But dump it forward and go get it. Don't freak out and pass back to your defence. Then they freak out and next thing you know the other team has possession. Get it? Got It? Good!


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When is Shawn Horcoff going to get some more moves? His only arsenal is by going to the right side waiting for the one timer. Good play... but it can't be the only gun in the pocket. You need more. In the last few games I have seen changes to Penner's game and Hemmer's game. They have adjusted to look like 1st line stars. Sorry Horcoff. You have not. In fact, I prefer the 2 Million Horcoff. At least he tried his butt off. I want a refund on this guy.


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The emergence of Hemsky has been very exciting to a fan like me who has been waiting to see the real Hemsky. I think ladies and gentlemen, he is finally here. He seems really confidant this year and I think he really is trying to be a leader on the ice. He always said it but never really maintained any consistency for a whole season. I say so far, so good.


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I personally can not wait for Big Mac to come back. I hear he is learning to fight better from Rocky Thompson. How scary is that going to be? A better skater, better shape and a better fighter. You better run...


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I truly feel bad for Erik Cole. I do. I think what we have here is another Mike Peca situation. I don't think that MacT really knows how to use him yet. Or maybe he isn't listening to Cole. Either way, I don't think that the fans should be getting impatient with him. It took 60 or so games for Peca to be used accordingly. I expect the same with Cole. Then the Oiler fans will see why we got him in the first place. Mike Peca felt like the fans hated him by the middle of the season and his mind was made up to leave. I don't want the same with Cole. If you can remember... Peca was one of the best players for us in the playoff's. When... Not if, we make the playoff's. Erik Cole is going to be one of our best players too. Us as fans need to be patient. This is going to be a special year. Mark my words.
Until next time.
Smokin' Ray Burnt

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