Shameless plugs aside it looks like the boys had a pretty epic trip and I will officially claim to be jealous of being able to partake in 4 BoSox games at Fenway, 1 NFL game at Gillette Stadium, and of course an NHL home opener at TD Garden in Boston. In terms of a sports holiday I don’t know if you can top that with having seen the likes of Brady, Chara, Halladay, and for all you haters aside…the most exciting player in the NHL Alex Ovechkin. Still not sure it tops our road trip to Florida.

Regardless Uncle Zimz has given me a slew of photographs to upload just in case someone from Fenway actually ends up visiting this website. If yall interested then I suggest you check out the photos. Aside from the photos he will be test driving super stardom by sharing some stuff on here in place of those other two yahoos who havent updated since last fall.

Thats it for today kiddies, I am off to bed after a miserable week of hockey. Time to refresh and regroup and get things headed full boar in the right direction.

First off I have to urge any current or future coaches to take part in this clinic as I can promise you that as it continues to grow things will only get better and the opportunity to network and learn from some highly qualified individuals will help you become a better coach.

There isn’t one of us former players who haven’t sat there thinking we could do a better job then another coach or figured we knew everything and anything that was wrong with our favorite hockey club. If I had a dime for all the wrongs everyone I knew was saying about MacT this past winter I would already be retired in Phoenix. Hell, I was even one of those people who thought they knew what was wrong with the Edmonton Oilers this past winter.

Needless to say sitting in front of NHL, WHL, and CIS coaches turned out to be a real eye opener in what it takes to become a successful coach, not just for the strategic side of the game but even more so into what it takes to develop successful teams and players. I walked in thinking all of this would be X’s and O’s and I walked out of there with a new found respect for the coaching job.

The highlight of the weekend came surprisingly to me Sunday morning when Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak took the podium.

Dave Hunchak

Hunchak’s presentation was dubbed “Growing The Player” and he focused more so on the aspects of what it takes to make a player better on the ice but even more so becoming a better person off the ice. Being good teammates, wanting to play the game, being active in the community, verbally communicating etc were just a few of the things he made mention of and I think the one thing that really stood out to me was listening to him tell the story of a team building experience he did at the Army barracks.

Like a lot of coaches they always plan these to help you become familiar with the guys on your team which is great, I remember partaking in a multitude of these. Hunchak split his team into groups and for the most part made everything involved in camping a competition, for example putting up the tent. Another was the hamburger competition in which he found some players having some trouble putting together a meal for there group…odd? Maybe, but I still know people my age that don’t know how to cook.

The lesson that really stood out though was when he was talking about the baseball game. It came as quite a surprise to me hearing that a lot of players are so one dimensional athletes that a lot of them can’t or dont know how to play other sports. There were players who couldn’t throw a ball properly, hold a bat the right way, or had never stepped foot on a ball diamond because they were so caught up in becoming a professional hockey player they spent all there time off on the ice.

Now a days its so blown out of proportion that if you want to be successful and make it to the pro level you need to eat, sleep, and breath hockey which, according to everyone presenting, couldn’t be any further from the truth. The skills, tools, and athleticism you develop playing multiple sports is of far greater importance then staying on ice all summer.

Lips and I both agreed that Hunchak speech was top notch and it really helped drive home a message with what’s happening with today’s youthful hockey players.

Clare Drake

It was almost intimidating seeing legendary coach Clare Drake in attendance. Over half (if not all) of the presenters at the clinic had been in some way or form influenced by the man himself. The resume speaks for itself: Bachelor of Phys Ed, Bachelor of Education, Masters in Science, Doctorate in Phys Ed, 35 years coaching experience (NHL, CHA, WHA, CIAU), 6 time national CIAU champion, 1989 Canadian Hall of Fame, 997 wins as U of A coach, and above all that 1 time Football Championship (CIAU).

The list could go on and on. His age doesn’t even slow him down and anyone with half of a brain can see just how much knowledge and innovation he’s brought to the game of hockey. Drake’s speech was on the power play and I could write another 1000 words on what I picked up from that hour alone but I’ll spare everyone the technical details.

The Rest

Every present was top notch but the two above stood out to me most.

Rocky Thompson who is an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings kicked the weekend off going over some basic fundamentals, most of which I wasn’t even aware of.

Ken Babey is head coach of the SAIT Trojans and introduced us to how to plan for short term competitions. Ken did a miraculous job overseas with Denmark’s World Junior team and still helps to this day.

Another former student of Clare Drake named Perry Pearn introduced us to concepts for the Penalty Kill. This past year before he got fired he helped the New York Rangers to the league best PK% and I took away some welcome words of wisdom on how to make a successful penalty kill.

Rob Daum, the head coach for the Oilers farm team the Springfield Falcons, proved to be the comedian of the group but also extremely intelligent showing us some offensive zone plays one could draw up.

Rick Carriere went over the finer points of defense, Dave Rathjen and Jaime McCraig showed us some of the finer points of goaltending from there goalie school “Above the Crease“. Even though Im quite wise on the position I urge any parent with a young one in between the pipes or any aspiring goalie to give these guys a shout.

Closing out we were treated to a hot stove with former NHL’r and current Oilers play by play analyst Rob Brown. Brown shared some stories of life in junior, in the pros, and coaching in and around Edmonton. Similar to most other presenters Rob was dead set on letting kids step away from the rink and enjoy other sports like soccer, baseball, lacrosse etc. He was quick to point out a lot of former NHL greats were multi sport athletes.

A lot to take in, after Saturday I found myself in bed at 11 o’clock because my brain hurt so much from thinking hockey all day. I can’t imagine what it’s like for a head coach over a grueling NHL season and playoff.

Needless to say I’m quite happy with the money spent and will almost certainly be back next season for another go at it unless I’m unfortunate enough to not be coaching this season…something which should pan out this week, stay posted for that.

A huge Capitals overtime win to force game 7 in the Washington/Pittsburgh series is only fitting as it will easily be the best series the playoffs will see and an up and down high scoring game in Chicago just sealed the night. Of course everyone knows I’m pulling for the Hawks but much to my disbelief I still here from people (on Facebook, at the bar, on Twitter) that I’m a sellout for cheering for an American team.

Everyone cries “How can you not cheer for a Canadian team” or the classic line of “you should be cheering for the Canucks so the cup comes back to Canada”. To put it frank all you people saying this are

a:) Bandwagon fans
b:) You don’t care that much about hockey
c:) You dont care or have a favorite team
d:) Are oblivious to rivalries and believe everything the media says
e:) All of the above

Let’s examine this a little shall we? The Stanley Cup hasn’t been hoisted by a Canadian team since it was in fact won by the Montreal Canadians. Since that time we have had numerous Canadian teams reach the final only to lose. The Canucks, Flames, Oilers, and Sens have all reached the final round with the three Western Canadian teams all falling one game short.

Yet much to my dismay it’s the same thing every year in regards to some fans and the Canadian media. “The lone Canadian hope”, “the last Canadian hope”, and my favorite “Canada’s last chance at a cup”. Because I was so involved in the Vancouver/Chicago series this year I’ll use them as to why the whole notion is fruity.

First and probably the most important is Canadians on each roster. Most teams are comprised of Canadian hockey players to begin with but much like the Lightning/Flames final there are more Canadian hockey players on Chicago like there was Tampa Bay. That’s not a knock on Swedish/Russian/Fins etc, it is purely used to prove that while the team is based in Chicago every Canadian on that team is still proud to play for there country, with most spending there summers here. Does the media and these so called fans not realize that when Canadian players do win the cup they bring it back to the place where they grew up and crafted the game? Regardless of who wins the cup every summer it returns back to small and large communities throughout Canada.

Secondly we have this whole rivalry thing. Picture the Montreal Canadians one win away from winning their 25th Stanley Cup and the entire Air Canada Center is packed in Toronto cheering them on…doesn’t make much sense now does it? Same goes for 2004 and 2006 when both the Flames and Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final, I don’t know about the rest of you Oiler fans but I was about to send Lecavilier my jock for finishing the Flames off, much like Im sure most Flames fans thanked the Hurricanes for sealing our fate. Even Don Cherry, one of the most patriotic Canadian hockey fans out there is a hypocrite. He preaches that whole notion we need to back a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup yet you could clearly see his Boston Bruins homer ism in the first round.

Finally we always have the argument that American fans don’t appreciate it as much as us Canadians. While it’s true that hockey is Canada’s sport and most of us would give an arm and a leg for a chance to play for the Stanley Cup I think a lot of people would be pleasantly surprised at the support a lot of American teams get and our getting. Try to tell me the people in Minnesota, Dallas, New York, Chicago, San Jose, etc don’t care about hockey. We all know hockey isn’t as popular in the States as it is in Canada but what else do we as fans have? Most major cities in the U.S have more then two major sports franchises, in Canada unless you’re Toronto you have one. Teams like Florida, Phoenix, Atlanta are an exception at this point but give those teams any margin of consistent success and fans will come.

Hockey in Canada will always be popular but how is it not exciting to see original six teams like Boston and Chicago back in the hockey world and there cities feeding off the game. Both teams are laced with tons of Canadian hockey talent, some of which ALL you Canadian fans will be watching and cheering for in 2010.

All you people can grind the gears about needing to bring the Cup back to Canada but the only real win true Canadian hockey need is in 2010, with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Jonathon Toews, Duncan Keith, Marc Savard, Eric Staal, Cam Ward, Mike Green, etc all playing for American teams at the moment, come 2010 they could all be playing for Canada…not for money, not for the Stanley Cup, but for a gold medal and to represent their country because they’re proud to be from Canada, proud to spend time in Canada, and most certainly always proud to be Canadian.

That my friends is Canadian hockey and that’s why this non-sense of bringing the cup home needs to stop.

After tonight San Jose is now down 3 games to 1 and all but finished but I dare ask you the readers if you’re even the slightest bit surprised. In one word I think most of you would answer “No”.

For any half wit knowledgeable hockey fan out there you can see that San Jose’s so called superstar players are nothing more then the most overrated pieces of crap that have the privilege of being in the mix with the likes of Crosby, Iginla, Ovechkin.

Joe Thornton has been an absolute wrecking crew (apparently) through his tenure on the coast with the Sharks and once again had another top notch regular season leading the team in scoring with 86 points. Throughout the past couple years there has been so much talk about how special he is as a player but can someone please explain to me why hockey experts would think he is even close to a top 5 NHL forward?

As an Oiler fan we had to endure countless arguments from friends and fans complaining about how soft Dustin Penner was (and he was) but Joe Thornton isn’t any better. Tonight I threw my head back in disgust seeing him get absolutely man handled by a more energized Anaheim Ducks team. Forget the horrendous giveaway leading to the third Anaheim goal, forget the countless battles lost along the boards, what did me in was seeing him get punched in the face and turn away or better yet was when both teams were involved in a scrum in front of Anaheim goalie Jonas Hillar with Thornton being the lone guy out skating back to the bench. I cant speak for most hockey players, especially considering I played goal my whole life but seeing that crap pulled has got to rub some teammates the wrong way.

Thornton doesn’t care. He’s soft, can’t play in big games, and most certainly is not a guy that is willing to do what it takes to win the big one. As much as I hate the Flames there is no comparison between Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla. Perhaps Big Joe should sit down and take a page out of Iggy’s playbook when it comes to playoff hockey. Iginla is the prototypical definition for what I would agree most of us feel is a true “Canadian” hockey player, he’s tough, fearless, willing to drop the flippers with anyone, and of course leads by example. Thornton on the other hand looks more interested in getting eliminated in the first round so he can put on his flip flops and head to the beach.

Games like game 4 have me more confident then ever to have him not apart of the 2010 Team Canada.

But let’s not let Big Joe take all the heat, after all hockey is a team sport.

Patty Marleau had a comeback year leading the team in goals with an impressive 38 tallies to finish the regular season second on team scoring with 71 points. Yet just like Thornton he seems to have disappeared in the playoffs once again. His “double flamingo” last season is just the tip of the iceberg, it’s bad enough lifting one leg to block a shot but two…in the words of Don Cherry, “coooooooooooooooome onnnnnnn”. Again a terrific regular season hockey player but when push comes to shove can’t get it going.

San Jose is an extremely talented regular season hockey team but when your best players play like this it’s infectious and catches on with the rest of it’s teammates. Soon enough rookies are playing the same way and come playoff time when you cruise in from the regular season with a lack of grit you’re going to get man handled. Perhaps some of the Sharks rookies should look across to the other bench and take notes from rock solid rook in Bobby Ryan. It’s funny how much time changes ones perspective. It wasn’t long ago when experts thought Burke was ludicrous for taking him second overall let alone Ryan almost wanting out of Anaheim. The guy is an absolute beast and a legitimate threat to steal the Calder from Steve Mason. If you haven’t had the privilege of watching the Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan line you are missing out on watching the best tandem in the playoffs right now. Getzlaf has easily surpassed Joe Thornton and in my opinion is a lock to have a job in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic team.

As for the Sharks, maybe they could learn a few things from watching other teams duke it out in the playoffs. The post season is supposed to be physical, it’s supposed to be hard nosed, and it most certainly is meant to leave bruises and scars on your body.

Until the Sharks (or better yet Thornton and Marleau) address this problem of being soft they will never be a team capable of winning a Stanley Cup, I can’t even imagine with the way Boston is playing how badly they would physically dominate this hockey club.

With that said…GROW A SET JOE.

I wasn’t smart enough to roll one when I was playing Junior hockey, I instead opted for the playoff team hair dye. Sure it was the “in” thing to do and all but looking back on those days you begin to wonder just what the hell you we’re thinking. From bleach blonde to team color hair it never came out the way you wanted and frankly looked quite ridiculous going to school/work. I suppose the reasoning behind it all probably has to do with the fact that back at that age a lot of guys can’t grow playoff beards to begin with so they’ve got to come up with something to team bond.

Why Playoff Beards

I’m well aware most you broads out there are wondering why a beard…and truthfully there are dozens of reasons most of which you wont understand. Perhaps the best reason comes from the late great John Belushi in Animal house to which he replied “Why Not?”

Playoff hockey involves thinking of nothing other then playoff hockey and let’s face it being clean-shaven is high-maintenance. It requires the application of shaving cream and razors to your face on a regular, sometimes daily basis and takes up precious time when one could be watching hockey games, hockey highlights, or other hockey related news stories.

The more we shave also leads to more blades on razors. Mach 3, Mach 5, Mach 100 etc. Does one really need to damage the environment more then it has by having a one hundred bladed razor?

Perhaps the best reason is because as guys we can (well most of us). In 2006 I had the privilege of growing it out for the first time thanks to that Cinderella Oilers playoff run. I wasn’t playing hockey at the time but it seemed like a perfectly logical thing to do and gained some valuable beard experience in the process.

Since that magical two month process in 2006 I’ve grown temporary beards along the way.

Common Beard Excuses

(aside from playoff beards)

The “Im officially out of razors beard”

Pretty self explanatory, your current razor is to dull and your to lazy or pre-occupied to go to the store.

The “Broke My Arm and Cant Shave Beard”

Again pretty self explanatory, It isn’t easy shaving with your wrong hand, do I dare say it’s like masturbation in that aspect?

The “It’s -40 outside and I dont want to wear a scarf beard”

Living in Canada we’re prone to too many week long stretches of -40 or below days and nights and one doesn’t want to have to worry about carrying extra articles of clothing around for stops at pubs, friends houses, movies, etc.

The Final Exam Beard

Just another good mental preparation for good luck come the most important time in ones school years.

The I’m to busy playing Warcraft beard

No time to shave when you’re parked in front of the computer 24/7. You may even have to get a desk side pan so you dont shit your pants.

The I’m not old enough to get into the bar beard

It’s worth a shot if all your other friends are over the legal drinking age, this can also be classified to a degree of growing a beard to look like someone else to use a fake ID or in case you’ve been caught peering through your hot neighbors window.

The breakup beard

Ever had a girlfriend who hates stubble or always demanded you shave? Think of this as a lame form of payback! It’ll make you look older so you can get into bars without an ID check, allowing you to start drinking away your sorrows up to a full 30 seconds sooner, not to mention it will keep other girls away until you’ve had a chance to build up your confidence and start playing the scene again. Be warned though, some girls dig beards.

The Fire the Head Coach Beard

My most recent excuse to grow a beard. Sure it won’t prove anything or provide any course of action but it serves a point that you’re obsessed with your local sports team.

The excuse now

So with all that out of the way you’re wondering what the point is. Well, I introduce you to our latest stupid idea…

The Chicago Blackhawks playoff beard

I dont know if it was the 2600 beer or the pizza and chip sandwiches that were consumed this weekend but it was discussed in great detail. Needless to say at 4am in the morning it doesn’t take much convincing.

I suppose the real question is who is going to live up to the deal. Come Wednesday morning that will be the final day a razor sees my face until the Hawks have been eliminated…I apologize already to anyone I see in public.

After months of not being able to watch the Oil and put up with the continent joining up on the Pittsburgh Penguins bandwagon the Stanley Cup Final is finally set and slated to start this Saturday night at the Joe Louis Arena. The Detroit Red Wings finally eliminated the Dallas Stars tonight in what can be truthfully said as a pretty uneventful hockey game, it wasn’t until the final twenty minutes when the Stars realized there season was on the line.

The win sets up a final I think a lot of people we’re looking forward to, the NHL especially. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings, two incredibly skilled and well coached hockey teams featuring some of today’s biggest and brightest hockey players. With the likes of stars like Sidney Crosby, Evegeni Malkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Marian Hossa, etc this Stanley Cup finals won’t certainly be lacking offensive talent but the question I’m left to ponder is will it be any good.

If there was anything lacking in each of the conference finals it was grit. Sure there were blocked shots, some scrums here and there, a little bit of hitting from all four teams but to me there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of emotion in either series. It wasn’t until I seen both the Flyers and Stars win game four that the intensity picked up a touch.

But maybe that can be accredited to both the Wings and Penguins suffocating style this playoffs. On one hand we have the Penguins who boast the most lethal lineup in this years playoffs but are being praised more so for just how well they have learned to lock down the defensive game. Their offense could outscore most teams on any given night but as anyone knows, defense wins you championships…something the young penguins have mastered this post season. Perhaps being able to score at will (or so it seems) is part of the problem. We have a team who starts the game pursuing the puck only to get up on the opposition by a couple goals and then lock it down for the next 40 minutes.

Both teams are eerily similar that way which makes me wonder just how exciting this final will be. I suppose the positives are that if either team does jump up on there opponent by a couple goals both teams have the talent to at least provide some sort of offensive spark and generate some scoring chances, something the Stars and Flyers were unable to do.

The series for me comes down to a couple key things.

1. Chris Osgood. So far this run he has been good, but he hasn’t had to have been great which he will facing Pittsburgh.

2. Puck Possession. Detroit are the kings at this game and ultimately they control the pace of the game because of it.

3. Team Defense. Both teams have been unbelievable in there defensive game but both teams haven’t had the challenge of facing a formidable offensive opponent like they will with each other.

Both gifted offensively one would argue that this best of seven will be the firewagon hockey of old with a boat load of offense, but with the Wings allowing under 25 shots on most nights and the Penguins boasting the playoffs best defensive game it has me worried that this Stanley Cup final may be nothing more then a snoozer.

Then along comes players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

The year Crosby broke into the league he was neck and neck with Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL’s Calder trophy. Ovechkin eventually ended up winning but fans of the Pens, Caps, and NHL for that matter were excited as a fresh breed of superstars began to take shape and mold the “new” NHL.

Fast forward to today and why I’m in utter chaos.

A team full of exceptional talent but a team sending the wrong message to kids and the new hockey fan. For the past few years I’ve had the North American media shove every positive thing about Sidney Crosby down my throat. Day in and day out it’s about how great of an ambassador Crosby is for the game. Is he a phenomenal hockey player? Absolutely. Is he a good person? Probably. Is he the great ambassador the media says he is? No.

Why?

Everyone remembers being a kid watching and imitating your favorite NHL player. With Sidney Crosby being arguably the biggest marketable player in the game today one has to wonder how many kids out there actually believe diving is a good thing. Do you ever see a guy like Burnaby Joe Sakic taking a spill like that? How about now retired Steve Yzerman? This so called new breed of NHL superstar is making me sick and I just about flipped my lid seeing Ovechkin take a over-reacted spill in the first round against the Flyers. In all the games I watched of Ovechkin that was the first time I’ve ever seen him embellish a call.

I played hockey for 20 some years and even though I played goal I can proudly say I never once complained, took a dive, or faked an injury to try and draw a call. On numerous nights I see Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson faking an injury after getting slashed on the blocker of all places. If stopping a 100 mph piece of rubber doesn’t hurt, obviously a little love tap after the whistle doesn’t warrant some sell job on your hand being broken. Then again maybe that’s just a Western Canadian thing, after all Crosby played in the QJMHL and the most notorious splashers come out of that league or overseas.

Yet despite being called out by Jaromir Jagr of all people Crosby continues his assault for an Olympic gold in men’s diving. Whats worse is some of his teammates actually seem to be following his lead. One wonders why I’m not on the Pittsburgh bandwagon like the rest of North America, well one look no further then game 3 tonight against the New York Rangers when Marian Hossa got an 8.7 for his splash midway through the first.

I ask all you “so called” Pittsburgh Penguin fans to enlighten me on how you can continue to respect this clown? An exceptional hockey player yes, but a true Canadian hockey player….absolutely not.

If you still need more convincing watch this…OR this or at the very least watch this one…

Enjoy, but first in case you havent seen it or need a refresher…

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPZDKBbVp-0]

And the remake

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4dHnQRrh4c]

Walks
www.hotstickybun.com

Not a big deal right? Of course not, like I say I’m there to see the game. But when you have to suffer through months of a mediocre hockey team or you know nothing about the game something has to keep you entertained right?

I’ve been pretty fortunate the last couple years to tour the southwest U.S and visit some pretty spectacular arenas and hockey games and while a lot of fans still dont know the game inside and out like most of us Canadians (even though there are a LOT of idiot know it alls at Oiler games) I do give them credit for keeping the fans “entertained” outside of the game.

In Phoenix they have “The Pack” dance team who often performs in the first intermission (if you haven’t seen it visit my video section) . As well they are scattered throughout the arena cheerleading, celebrating in the isles, taking post game photo’s etc. Anaheim is much of the same aside from having girls cleaning the ice in between T.V timeouts. Even in Europe at events like the World Juniors you see cheerleaders in the isles dancing in between whistles.

To my counting approximately 20 NHL teams (give or take) have some form of cheerleading/ice girl posse with more teams following suit. Teams like the Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders have scantly clad women scraping the ice in between whistles while teams like the Detroit Red Wings even have some of these girls picking up the lone Octopus that hits the ice at the Joe.

But of course in Edmonton you have the “Hockey Traditionalist” who believe these girls have no business being inside of a hockey arena easily offended with a little T and A. Or maybe its the fact they think it’s not right for children to see women dressed like that, but in reality there is no difference between an ice girl and a NFL cheerleader aside from ice girls wearing skates. People offended by how little clothing some of these Ice Girls wear should go to the source and ask them (the girls) how they feel about it. I would be willing to bet that they “don’t care” and “enjoy” what they do regardless of what they’re wearing.

The Flames have bit the bullet on ice girls which makes me wonder when or if the Edmonton Oilers will. We all know in the past Edmonton has been known for its tremendous ice so maybe thats why ice girls we’re never brought in (riiiight), but the fact is the ice is miserable this year so that excuse is easily dismissed. Maybe it’s because Edmonton is to small of a city and word would get around pretty quickly if a player and ice girl bumped uglies, or maybe its the potential dozens or so potential rape charges each night some girls would face with all the drunken stupidity that happens at hockey games in Canada. But hey, if Calgary hasn’t had any problems then neither should Edmonton.

The Oilers team has an event staff but for starters you rarely see them. Inside the confines of Rexall they are:

1. Assisting Mark Schultz doing absolutely nothing.
2. Throwing away free bags of chips.
3. Dropping Bell parachutes for a chance to win an Oilers jersey.

Thats it, at least thats the jist of what I ever recall them doing. On the other hand in Phoenix they are entertaining fans. I have only been to a handful of Phoenix games but I find myself sitting in my seat wanting to tour the arena, I keep tabs on the video board, and even enjoy watching some of the intermissions. Inside Rexall place it’s been (for the most part) the same dreary atmosphere every year. You have the Ford Small Stars, some dismal intermission contest, and the Kiss cam. I won’t even get started on the music selection or pre game introduction which gets even worse come Christmas time.

Besides looking good and giving every guy in the crowd a chance to hoot and holler these “packs” of girls actually try to drive up the energy in the building, but if you would rather stare at a LCD screen reading “LOUDER” or “NOISE” to get fired up you are either gay, a hockey traditionalist, or a gay hockey traditionalist.

Aside from that girls in skates are hot!**

** Assuming they aren’t tanks

Walks
www.hotstickybun.com

]]> http://www.hotstickybun.com/2008/02/24/the-ice-girls/feed 0 http://www.hotstickybun.com/2008/02/19/18-the-goal http://www.hotstickybun.com/2008/02/19/18-the-goal#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:54:11 +0000 Walks http://www.hotstickybun.com/18-the-goal/ It’s been a long time coming, 153 games to be exact, unless of course you count the pre season gino…but in reality pre season goals dont mean jack squat. For anyone who hasn’t heard, Mr. Matt Walker finally scored his first regular season goal Sunday night in St. Louis against the Columbus Blue Jackets. For anyone who hasn’t seen it it’s posted on the top of the main page (www.hotstickybun.com) , it’s been a long year to say the least but at least he has something on the rest of us in the fact that he has put the puck in the net in the NHL.