Yes, We've Been Bad...

Okay, okay… yes we have gotten behind. Let’s face it though, after a stellar 2009-2010 season Leah and I had every intention to sit down and work out a schedule of what we would write for the 2010-2011 season.

Hmm where did that season go? Well I attempted on more than one occasion and failed. Actually there wasn’t much in an attempt, unless you count my single blog of the announcement that Derek Laxdal was leaving the Steelheads and was going to be replaced by Hardy Sauter.

To be really honest…. I don’t want to revisit last season. As much as I love hockey there were a lot of disappointments along the way in 2010-2011. Well maybe I shouldn’t say a lot of disappointments (d

isappointment may not be the right word); there was most defiantly a change to the game from I have seen in years past and a change in feeling.
So instead of looking to last season, let’s take an adventure to see what is ahead for the 2011-2012 season, right now the most we can look at is the schedule and simply wait to hear what players may be returning.

The 2011-2012 schedule was released a little over a week ago and it has taken that long for me to wrap my brain around some of the scheduling choices for the year. First of all, the National Conference lost the Victoria Salmon Kings but gained the Colorado Eagles. So no trips to Canada this next year but maybe a trip to Colorado wouldn’t be so bad.

The season opens up on October 14th this year in Utah before the players load up to the bus to head back to Boise for the only game in October at home. Don’t even ask… yes we will be traveling to Utah for the first game, loading up the car and driving back to be at Qwest Arena on October 15th.

My honest opinion of the schedule is that it is a little disjointed. We only see the Colorado in one set of home games and yet travel to see them twice. We once again do not see Ontario until after January. And our players will be spending a lot of time on a bus traveling between Stockton, Bakersfield and Ontario best example of this is playing in Bakersfield on October 28 traveling the highway north to face Stockton on October 29. However, our home ice schedule I am a fan of for the most part, as long as I can make it to December with very little hockey the second half of the season is chalked full of home ice games. And let’s face it what could be better than another New Year’s Eve game as well as a St. Patrick’s Day game.

Fun times lay ahead! And I will work harder at keeping up this season. The countdown has begun to that precious day that the puck hits the ice for the first time of the 2011-2012 year!

SO REMEMBER… HOCKEY IS LIFE AND THE REST IS JUST FILLER!!!!

Monica

The End of an Era - Start of a New Dynasty

I know… I know. We have gotten behind on writing updated blogs. Playoffs came and went and those were so quick that hockey season just slipped away and with a blink of an eye the countdown to opening night of the 2010-2011 season started.

Well in case you are using us as your Steelheads updates on playoffs, here’s what happened: after knocking Stockton out in six games to win the National Conference Championship trophy the Steelies went on to face the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Cyclones were a tough group of guys. The two games at home were intense all the way through with fast skating, hard hitting and in the end heartbreak. Both games at home were loses in the final minute of each game. The trip to Cincinnati was not an easy one by any means: from Boise to Reno to Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio, only then to be on a bus for a two-hour drive to Cincinnati with the bring game meals provided by the gas station stop along the way. Something about that long trip lit some kind of fire because the Steelheads pulled away with the win in double overtime. However, the double overtime win was not enough to keep them going… Cyclones won the series in 5 games to become 2010 Kelly Cup Champions.

Former Coach - Derek Laxdal

Summer began… and with summer came the question that seems to always get asked by fans and hockey watchers. After having the best record (48-17-7) in the league, leading the team to two Kelly Cup finals and one Kelly Cup Championship win, would Derek Laxdal stay? The answer to those questions were answered as the end of the Laxdal era came with the announcement on June 18, 2010 that Coach Laxdal had accepted a job with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. We wish him all the best and will miss his coaching style on and off the ice.

New Coach - Hardy Sauter

And a new dynasty began on July 27, 2010 as the Steelheads organization introduced to fans and the media at a meet and greet held at Qwest Arena new coach Hardy Sauter. Coach Sauter moves to Boise after coaching the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL for the last three seasons. I had the pleasure to meet Coach Sauter at the meet and greet and he seems eager. He said one of the hardest things to get use to already is how far away the season is from starting. Apparently training camps in WHL are just a couple of weeks away were we still have 79 days until the puck drops on opening night in Qwest Arena.

So as the days of summer continue to seem to drag on and we all think that the weather will never change to be those cool fall days we continue to wait. Now with a new boss behind the bench named he can begin to build his dynasty for on the ice. What players will return??? We’ll be watching as that is announced.

As the countdown continues keep an eye out and we will try to keep up…. But remember get your tickets now…we want to see as many smiling faces at Qwest Arena on opening night which is October 15, 2010.

HOCKEY IS LIKE AND THE REST IS JUST FILLER…

Monica

Spark the Bark!! Time To Dance

The dance has arrived! All hockey fans sit on the edge of their seats as the end of the 72 regular season games come to a close. Waiting to see where their team finishes in the rankings…where their team may be traveling… and trying to look into the future to see how far they will go in that dance.

This year’s dance was a little different for us “regulars” to Steelheads hockey. First there was the re-structuring of playoff brackets for the National Conference (teams ceased operations last season which would have meant EVER team in the conference would have made it to the dance), second we had a pretty decent lead in points and most importantly we really wanted that first round off.

Ask and you shall receive. Not only did we get the first round of playoffs off but we also walked away with a cup…No not THE Cup but the Brabham Cup. With that first round off, which was a whole week off, the guys laced up their skates ready to dance; their first partner…the Utah Grizzlies. And we all know how I feel about Utah!

Let’s just put it this way…how often do you see a bunch of fish devour a group of bears?! Well not a usual scenario but guess what our fish kicked your bear butts in four straight! Here’s the great thing about the Utah series, not only did we win but we also got into their psyche quickly. They came into our barn and we dominated. We ruffled their feathers and they couldn’t get back on track. Each night it seemed to get worse and worse. The Grizzlies frustrations were very apparent. One moment that sticks out in my mind especially is when former Steelheads fan favorite and now Utah Grizzly Lance Galbraith had a major called against him and eventually pulled himself out of the game, heading from the box to the dressing room. The boys loaded the bus with a 2-0 lead and head to Salt Lake City to come back several days early with a sweep of the bears!

I sit here writing this entry waiting for the start of game 3 in the National Conference finals against Stockton. Once again the guys were well rested. Prior to this series starting all the statics were there. Stockton had been 2-9-1. Richard Bachman was 5-1 in net against Stockton. And the last time both teams met in playoffs the Steelheads took the series 4-2 on their way to the ultimate prize in 2007. This series has a lot left though.

I can say that after being at Qwest Arena for games 1 and 2 any viewer could see that yet again frustration was setting into the players of the Thunder. Game 1 was gritty but half way through the second period the boys put on a cruise control offense but stayed tough with defense. Now, the Thunder was able to get two goals on the guys but never once did the fight go away. Game 2 though…the frustration was early for Stockton as the boys took 2 shorthanded goals in the first and just kept going; when it was all said and done the final score was 4-0 and the hostility from the Thunder players was apparent as was the frustration of Matt Thomas, Stockton’s head coach. While Thomas through a broken stick over to the Steelheads bench Garet Hunt was throwing Weston Tardy around like he was a rag doll. Thomas ended up with a fine and Hunt only received a 2 minute roughing penalty.

A great statistic that I came across for this series is…Idaho allowed 1,806 shots during the regular season. That’s right 1,806 shots in 72 games. You do the math. Stockton allowed 2,426 shots in the regular season. Once again you can do the math. Now, shots on net is not a great statics sometimes but it’s amazing to think what a difference that can make. It’s true the less shots your goaltender has to stop the less likely it is to face a loss.
There is still a lot of dancing left to do. And thanks to Steven Oleksy we are left with this thought. Spark the Bark? Normally the guys walk the arena pre-game with their little tuxedo shirts that say “It’s time to dance.” This year however, it is Spark the Bark. Hmm so I had to ask. The explanation is that Oleksy started barking in the locker room, and no not like a lecture, but literally barking at teammates to get them fired up. So…Spark the Bark!

So Steelheads fans…wear that White. And lets Spark the Bark for the boys!

Remember HOCKEY IS LIFE AND THE REST IS JUST FILLER!
Monica :)

How To Become a Hockey Fan in 6 Steps

The 6 steps required to become a hockey fan according to e-how.com

Step 1:

Find the closest professional or minor league team in your area. They could be in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, basically anything short that ends with ‘HL’.

Chances are you already know that we have an ECHL team, the Idaho Steelheads, here in Boise. They can be found playing at Qwest Arena downtown, or you can catch games on the B2, or on KTIK. If you have kids in elementary school it’s possible that your children have played floor hockey with some of the guys. On that note, all you tween girls out there, that goalie whose name you can’t quite remember is too old for you. If you want his #32 painted on your cheek during the game that’s ok, just don’t giggle when you ask. It’s creepy.

Step 2:

Learn the rules. Even though you’re a fan, it’s a plus when meeting people later on that you know the basics, such as Icing, Off-sides, Roughing, Boarding, High Sticking, Slashing, etc. Also, and this is a HUGE plus, you will be able to yell at the television (or radio) when the ref’s make an unfair call.

I recommend that you bring a friend that knows hockey to your first hockey game. Just be prepared to buy this friend a lot of beer. Your friend will need it, trust me, I’ve been there . If you have no friends, it’s time to make some. You really should be more social, it’s healthier for you. Hockey games are a great place to meet friends. When the crowd gets upset, turn to the person closest to you and say, “What the heck was that call?”…. “Slashing? What bull crap!” then watch the video wall for the replay. Lesson learned.

Step 3:

Grab a schedule. Usually your home team will have one on their website, and most have them available to print. These are great for your computer area, office or bedroom.

Mine lives on my fridge. Actually, I have schedules from the last three seasons on my fridge. I’m not emotionally attached to them, I just hate cleaning off my fridge. The Steelheads website (link) is probably the best place to find a schedule because you can also buy tickets there. My fridge won’t sell you tickets. It doesn’t have very good customer service skills.

Step 4:

Watch some games! Depending on your area, NHL Hockey might be with your standard cable or satellite. Check the website for your service for the schedule.

People always tell me that hockey is hard to watch on tv because it’s hard to see the puck. I have two letters for those people…. H and D. If you can’t see the puck on your television, it’s too old. Your television, not the puck. The puck probably just came out of a box before the game. If you do have an old television, don’t give up. Sports bars all over the place have lots of big televisions just waiting for you to come watch them. If the bar doesn’t have a hockey game on, ask. If you’re with a group of women when you ask be prepared to hear someone to ask “There’s a table of women who want to watch hockey?” Yep, we go to the same place everytime we watch hockey and they still ask that question everytime.

Step 5:

Go to a game!

This is the event you’ve been waiting, training and preparing for this whole time. And it's the perfect time since playoffs start on Friday.  Playoff hockey is something that you can't miss.  If you buy a ticket at the box office, say hi to Sabrena for me. I haven’t seen her in a while.

Step 6:

Purchase a jersey. This is recommended, but is not required. A lot of fans get their jerseys ‘personalized’ with the name and number of their favorite player on it. Don’t be afraid to shell out $100 or more on these, they do last a lifetime.

Wow, big jump from going to your first game to buying a jersey. I say let it settle in for a while. Build up the desire to buy a jersey by watching all the people at games with their game worn jerseys. Trust me, you’ll want one. A game worn jersey will cost you more than the $100. Last time I took a road trip the jerseys in my suitcase were more than double the worth of the car I was driving. My cheapest jersey cost $250, the most expensive $500. I drive a cheap car. If you buy a game worn jersey you can eliminate getting it personalized yourself. It comes right off the player’s back at the end of a three game home stand and is already ‘personalized’ by the blood, sweat and stench of three hockey games.

Playoff hockey starts Friday, April 16th!  Don't forget to wear white.  I kind of promised John Scott Dickson that we would all wear white.

 ~Leah

I have to give credit where credit is due. I took the idea for this blog post from the Illuminati. No, not that Illuminati, this one. He’s a guy in Jersey who writes a bunch of blogs for a bunch of different websites, and he even wrote a book. He’s pretty funny so check him out.

Playoff time is here!

First off I want to offer my congratulations to the team for their outstanding regular season. 72 games played, 48 wins, 17 loses, 2 OT loses, 5 shoot out loses for 103 pts. The Steelheads finished the regular season at the top of the West Division, the National Conference and the league securing the Brabham cup. WOW. The arena is running out of room on the wall for all the banners.

And out of those good numbers came some great accolades. Mark Derlago was named ECHL Plus Performer of the Year as well as being named to the 1st team All ECHL. Tyler Spurgeon and Richard Bachman were both named to the 2nd team All ECHL and Bachman and Evan Barlow were both named to the ECHL All-Rookie team. Add that to Barlow being the MVP of the ECHL All-star game where we were represented by 4 players, coach Laxdal and Doug Plagens our radio guy.

This season we also saw a couple new records and some milestones reached. Derlago set a new record for goals in a single season and Marty Flichel became the leading scorer in Steelheads history spanning both the WCHL and ECHL years. Oh, and Flichel, he also notched his 400th point as a Steelhead in March and scored his 250th professional goal in November. Both milestones are in the past, Flichel ended the regular season with 261 professional goals and 410 points in a Steelies jersey. I’m probably forgetting a high point or two, but it’s hard to keep track.

Now we turn our focus to the playoffs. It has been hard waiting to find out who the team will face in their first playoff round, which is actually the second round since we have a first round bye. On April 16th the Steelheads will drop the puck against either Vegas or Utah. I’m rooting for Vegas; I’ve seen enough of Utah this season. No offense to Utah, they are a great team, but we played them 14 times plus 2 pre-season games. I’m not too excited that we might see them again.

Everyone I’ve spoken with has been anxious to see the playoff roster released. It can be bittersweet since teams are allowed only 23 players (20 active and 3 injured reserve) and someone’s favorite player inevitably is cut. The Steelheads released their playoff roster today and for the first time in my hockey fan years I was surprised not by who is missing from the roster, but who was on it. Did anyone else see the name John-Scott Dickson and say “who?” like I did? Dickson has never suited up in a Steelheads jersey. Prior to being named to our roster he put in some time in a junior league, four years at the Univ. of New Brunswick and sported a Rochester American’s (AHL) jersey for six games.

I’d always believed that in order to be named to a playoff roster a player had to have played at least one shift in at least 5 games for a team. Turns out I was wrong, on two parts. According to the ECHL website an amateur player who has played a full season at the junior or collegiate level can be named to a playoff roster as long as their junior/collegiate season is over and they must be signed prior to a specified cut-off date. Pro players who have played for any pro team during the season must have played in at least 5 games during the season, but it doesn’t mention that they must have played those games for the team whose jersey they will be wearing during the playoffs. Players on NHL and one-way AHL contracts are exempt from the 5 game minimum rule as are goaltenders.

So, John-Scott Dickson, welcome to the Idaho Steelheads. I’m sure it goes without saying but despite our amazing season we the fans aren’t satisfied. We want Kelly. Go tell your new teammates we expect great things from them. And if you need some help from the fans, we’ll be there, just look for people wearing white shirts.

~Leah

Jail Bird

So Leah and I are whole heartedly aware that we have gotten behind on this lovely little adventure. Let’s face it when you have 9 games in one month and that month happens to be the end of the semester of school (Go Broncos), a month full of holidays and a month when one of us turned a year older it gets to be a little difficult to keep up on all things hockey in the world. However, December was an eventful month in the world of Steelheads hockey.

December brought us the first and only look at the Ontario Reign for the season on our home ice. While they were here we came up with a fitting nickname for one of the players….Peter Lenes will always be referred to in Qwest Arena as Frodo. What can I say we love coming up with our own little nicknames for visiting players? And you want to know the best part….we know that they can hear us loud and clear.

Ontario left….Utah came (have I already mentioned how much I hate watching Utah?)…Alaska came…Utah came again and then we headed to Las Vegas for a midnight game. Now I would have loved to have traveled to Las Vegas for a game at midnight….yes I said midnight. As a fan this would have been a great trip as a player though…not so much. It was a rough week with a lot of traveling. After the game in Las Vegas the players had to load up and be back in Boise the next night to take on Stockton for a three game home stand starting New Year’s Eve.

Games with Stockton were entertaining to say the least. Stockton has done some change ups on their roster and the team that traveled to Boise was different than the team that had traveled to Boise early in the season. It wasn’t what happened on the ice that was so entertaining…. it was what was happening off the ice that was better. First of all there were 6 fans that had traveled from Stockton to watch the games….to start off the series they shouted “Idaho Sucks” right as the anthem singer was taking the ice, she screwed up the lyrics (who screws up the national anthem?) and it gradually went down from there. It was night two that was all the talk amongst the crowd.

Let’s face it Boise is a small town. Any player of any sports fame that ends up in the Ada County jail makes the news. Well, Stockton did not expect this to ever happen but guess what the most popular topic of conversation was at the New Year’s Day game… “Did you hear Judd Blackwater was arrested?” Guess what Mr. Blackwater, you may not even play for an Idaho team and you still made the news for being arrested for misdemeanor trespassing. Now this should have been simply dropped and moved on right….well it would have if it was not for the Stockton Thunder organization trying to cover up what really happened. See the team released a statement that first stated that Judd didn’t play because he was suffering from flu like symptoms…then they released a statement stating he didn’t play because he had broken team curfew and it was policy. It wasn’t until people read the article written up in “The Idaho Statesman” did people know the truth.

Now I am not going to make this a finger pointing at Judd entry because let’s face it he’s a 22 year old that is allowed to make mistakes and learn from them to make himself a better person. The thing that is highly disappointing is how the Stockton Thunder organization dropped the ball, put Judd out on that tree branch alone and made this fan a little disappointed that they can’t even stand behind one of their own in a situation like this. Instead what happens; Judd serves out his suspension (for supposed curfew violations), serves as an all-star for the Thunder and quickly gets traded to the Alaska Aces. No formal apology has been made to the Steelheads organization, Grove Hotel or the fans of either team from the Stockton organization. In fact it wasn’t until Judd was traded that the truth came out in an article published in the “Record” and yet it had only been days earlier that coach Matt Thomas had been praising Judd for make the ECHL All-Star roster.

Here’s my stance….I feel sorry for Judd and think he will be better suited for any team other than the Stockton Thunder. Who would want to be a part of a team that doesn’t want to be truthful with their fans? Did everything regarding the arrest need to be brought out? NO! To try and sweep it under the rug was not okay though. Someone would have found out either way and yes maybe it is because the arrest happened in Idaho and is public record from the minute you are booked but still DON’T LIE ABOUT IT! The Steelheads have had to deal with player arrest and have never once lied that it didn’t happen. Stockton Thunder I make this challenge to you…make an apology to those who deserve one…fans, teams and most of all Judd Blackwater…to feel like you have no support from your own team when it could have been a simple mistake is quite sad.

Outside of that, was lucky enough to make some great new friends from Stockton…oh and that is a funny story for another time…:)

Until that time remember HOCKEY IS LIFE AND THE REST IS JUST FILLER!
Monica :)

The loner game

It’s a little hard to be excited after a 3-0 loss to Utah. Especially the when the loss follows on the heels of a 7-2 win in Utah the night before. Maybe the quick return trip to Boise, it can’t be easy to get good sleep on a bus. Maybe it's hard to amp up for a loner home game. Or maybe we are just sick and tired of playing Utah already. Including the pre-season games the two teams have already played 7 times and still have 9 more games against each other this season.

Back to the game. There were a few things to be excited about. Cody Lampl, the first Idaho boy to wear a Steelheads sweater made his home debut tonight. We saw two fights; Tousignant tried to generate a little momentum in the second period and dropped gloves with Utah’s Kotsopolous. Tousignant landed a few good punches, but I think Kotsopolous got the ‘w’ on that fight. You can’t win them all and you have to have some admiration for the scrappy 19 year old forward.

The second fight was a bit more exciting and took place as the game was winding down and patience was wearing thin. I’m not sure what led up to the fight, all I know is Ashton Rome and Utah’s Sixsmith were ready to go. The highlight of the fight, and the reason I’ll be watching the highlight video tomorrow, was the moment when Rome grabbed Sixsmith by the shoulders and slammed the guy down to the ice. And even after that another Utah player taunted Rome trying to egg him into another fight. The linesmen weren’t having any of that and sent Rome to the showers a bit early. The penalty calls that came out of the fight were a little uneven, Rome was called for elbowing (probably what started the scrum, but I missed it), fighting, instigating and a game misconduct. I have to disagree with the instigating call. Rome may have elbowed Sixsmith, but Sixsmith was definitely the instigator of the fight by pursuing Rome across the ice until Rome dropped his gloves. I’m sure Sixsmith was questioning his judgment in that a moment later when he found himself on his knees. Rome drew the game misconduct which means he may be wearing a suit next week in Stockton. It will be interesting to see what comes down from league.

I know I’ve mentioned how great our goalies are a few times, and I know you guys are going wonder about me if I mention it again after such a loss. But there was one moment early in the game where Bachman just blew me away. He blocked a shot that slid on the ice through the legs of one of our defensemen, and then almost immediately blocked a rebound from the other side, then the 2nd rebound deflected up off a stick and Bachs was suddenly on his feet, glove hand out to catch it. And when he thought he missed it he immediately dropped to the ice and blocked where he thought the puck had dropped. And the whole thing took place in less than 20 seconds. I don’t know how any goalie can keep track of the puck, especially with all the guys standing in front of him. I’m truly impressed, not that any of you could tell though.

Read the recap of the game and check for highlights here.

~Leah