The Good, The Bad, The Alumni

As Mr. Logan said in his article on Sunday morning, it may as well have been Groundhog Day. Another unexpected loss to a team they should have beat on a day that was filled with hoopla. This turn of events is beyond frustrating for the Islander faithful. It was so frustrating that I couldn’t even bring myself to head into the locker room for the post game interviews. I had ventured in after Saturday’s game and noticed the air was thicker than normal. It almost knocked me over and it took until I hit the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway before the scent left my nostrils. (Mind you, this has never bothered me before.) Considering yesterday’s loss, I was afraid that same air quality would have sent me into a coma. It’s not necessarily “flop sweat” because the effort was definitely there, but the scent of sheer desperation and unfulfilled potential and it literally “stinks.”
Wait… I wasn’t supposed to start with the “bad,” was I? Two days of more than 50 shots on goal and no points in the playoff push. It can’t get any worse. “It’s frustrating when you feel your team gives what they have to give…” said Ted in the post game. But it’s just not enough. “It’s just one of those things… You can be disappointed with the result, but not the process.” He continued.
I know quite a few Islander fans that play the game that might beg to differ. Some of their processes seem to be beyond ineffective, such as the Power(less) Play and passes to no where. I couldn’t even write last night, what could I possibly say that wasn’t already filling pages and pages and pages on the web? Nothing. I opted for watching a documentary on Jimi Hendrix my husband bought on E-bay and cried my eyes out. And because I am the Queen of Multi-tasking, I web streamed Rob Kowal’s NY Hockey Talk on WGBB because Tiger Track Tom Liodice was one of the guests. It was a great show with Newsday’s Mark Herrmann too, so pod cast it when you get the chance.
This morning was a new day, and the sun was shining once again. A new day brings new hope. I started to think of the “good” from yesterday’s game. There are a few, but not many have anything to do with what happened on the ice.
Davison is turning into a very good acquisition. I like the way he plays, and Colliton certainly makes his presence known in his limited ice time. Dubie showed no rust from sitting on the bench for so many games. Bergy and Hilbert were the two that skated as if they were determined to win. But they were having a hard time getting anyone else to jump on that bandwagon. I gasped when I saw Bruno take a crushing hit and then leave the ice. I gasped again when Ted said he suffered a “slight concussion and contusion of the leg…” But I felt better when I received a PM from someone who was down in the locker room after I left who said he saw Bruno walking “just fine.” Still, he will be evaluated today.
In continuing the Islanders charity work, their corporate partner Allstate Insurance donated $5,000 to the Islanders Children Charities for Bob Bourne’s five goals from the blue line. This must have been a great weekend for the charity since so many of the well staged alumni events all made donations from their proceeds. (And it seemed like there was an event every hour for four days straight.)
On the jumbotron the well produced ITV Dynasty Moments narrated by Steve Mears were fun to watch, but were a painful contrast to the game that was happening live. As Josh Bernstein and ITV have done such a fabulous job covering these Alumni events, it was announced there will be a DVD set of this 25th Anniversary Celebration available in the off season. I’m certain that will be a welcome gift for any Islander fan, young or old. (Thanks Josh. You were supposed to give me a head’s up when I could spill that little secret!)
The new bonus of allowing the kids to shoot the puck into the net after the game on the Coliseum ice is a feature that everyone loves. The line stretches beyond your sight line downstairs in the lower lobby. I asked someone how long it takes to get through all the kids and families and he told me it is usually about 25 - 30 minutes. It’s very well run, and the kids just love it. It’s a good thing. It takes the sting out of the loss for them. And every parent feels better when their kids leave the place smiling!
So that’s the Good and the Bad. That leaves only the Alumni, and they are always a treat to see. They have great stories, great memories and warm smiles for the fans. They ARE All Islanders and a nice reminder of how good it CAN be, how good it WAS, and what we all hope for one day:
A STANLEY CUP WINNING TEAM.
But a team that loses to the likes of Florida makes that dream nothing but a candle flicker in the night.
PS: Happy Birthday to the hardest working gentleman in the press core, our own beat writer, Greg Logan. Take the day off Greg. You deserve it.