Isles Flyers - May get Ugly tonight

9:29 pm: With 3:55 left, I may start packing up since it takes me so long. Yes, this game may go into overtime. But I won't be able to write anything anyway. I get too excited!

Later!!

9:20 pm: Announcement! The Bridgeport Sound Tigers will have their first TWO playoff games the weekend of April 17th right here at the Nassau Coliseum. Come see the future of the Islanders as Jack Capuano's team begins their quest for the Calder Cup.


9:14 pm: We're not quite dead yet! And the Islanders score their 3rd of the game by Streit. Again... Did we SAY this was going to be an EASY game? Um... NO!. The Assists go to Okposo and Bruno. Wow! Is he having a great end of season! PS... CHILI. Go to Wendy's tomorrow and ASK for it!

9:13 pm: That's how long it took for 3. It's not like they gave up, but Maybe the Flyers just realized that they were trailing all along and needed to make a stand. The fans in 336 & 335 are chanting "Last Place." As if we didn't know, and aren't happy about it

9:10 pm: And just like that, we are at 2 - 2. This has been a day of upsets and Overtimes in the hockey world. Don't know how this will end. But at least they knew, the Islanders weren't easy.

9:07 pm: I just get back to the blog box, open my tea and Yann is scored on. it's now 2 - 1 with 15:28 to go in the 3rd. The chants are still going back and forth.

8:44 pm: End of the first and Doug Weight is interviewed on the jumbo-tron. His face shows the wear of the last fight. Of course, that doesn't compare to what happened in 336 where the Flyer busses are all grouped. Their mascot "FlyerFan" with the Mohawk was up there ralling their troups. And now... the T-shirt gun. Think it's time for me to mosy along for a few.

8:38 pm: I may have to leave this game early. Doug Weight was being held up by Gagne by the jersey and there was no call. Then all hell broke lose. There are no so many men in the box, I don't know who is left to play out there.


8:24 pm: Okay, this is going to get really really ugly... So Asham and Jackman go at it, and then Doug Weight has a beautiful breakaway and gets taken down into Biron's net, but he isn't awarded a penalty shot. PS... I forgot Asham was playing on the flyers.

And BTW, Okposo just got taken down and no one called anything either. I'm wondering what's going on here.

8:20 pm: Well, the crowd finally found a retort for the F-er fans. When they chant Let's go flyers, we chant Flyers Suck. Sounds fair don't you think?


8:16 pm: Before I could even look up, Joel Rechlichz was fighting with Riley Cote. And once again, I guess because he's so strong on his skates, the refs just let it go, and go and go. They each received 5 for fighting and I need an Advil. I'm sure Joel needs some ice for those well worn hands of his. Nice job kid!






8:11 pm: awwweee... Matt Carle fall down go boom on the ice. (That was Gary Sec 317). Thompson and 13 go at it. Told you it was going to get ugly. But Thompson got the worst of it for sure as he was clocked in the head quite a few times. This has now set the F-er fans a twitter. (Speaking of twitter... Islesblogger.com Mike is posting there, and I am sometimes tonight. But it is fun for sure.



8:07 pm: It's now 2 -0 Isles, much to Islesblogger.com Mike's dismay. Tambellini scored with assists by Okposo and Nielsen. But with that, there is another fight and penalty for Jackman and Cote. And the fans in the 300s are starting to have problems.

8:05 pm: With Doug out of the box, and back on the ice, there was a flury of activity in front of Biron, but they were all missed opportunities for the Isles.

7:59 pm: So the intermission activies were a balloon gun thing and the t-shirts. Islanders Outsider Ken caught one of the shirts, and immediately gave it to the little girl sitting in front of him. Much to the dismay of FSCFaceOff Brian. He wanted it... Second is about to start!

7:40 pm: Coburn takes a 4 minute penalty for high sticking. Now my husband tells me that a good team SCORES on the power play. As the Islanders PP hasn't been that great, can they manage to get two before they end the first? Let's see.

7:35 pm Radek Martinek draws first blood with a goal assists by Jackman and Thompson. Maybe the F-er fans can settle down now!

7:29 pm: The SOG are pretty even at 6 - 5. The action is end to end, but there is currently no score... thank god...
There must be six or seven busloads of Flyers fans. This could get ugly. And within the first few minutes, Jackman got into it with someone behind the net and (of all people) Doug Weight stepped in. I think he was overly penalized for it, but ... I'll have to ask our Doug what he thinks.

As long as he didn't hurt that hand of his again. You know, the one he was having a problem with last night.


The chants of "Let's Go Flyers' are LOUD and a little unsettling. Hopefully it won't get REALLY ugly both on the ice and in the stands.

In sum ways, I'm happy that Big Angry Man is home. These are the only games he really gets caught up in the ... um... 'excitement'.

Islanders 2 - Red Wings Stunned

You gotta love it when the team in dead last place comes into town playing a totally meaningless game and decides to play it as if their lives depended on it. Was it simply sheer luck? (I'd call Red Wings clanging off the post FIVE times pretty damn LUCKY for Joey.) Or was it sheer tenacity. That Barry Melrose adage that I love to quote all the time. "Some times WILL beats SKILL." It did. It not only beat it, it shut it out.

I didn't get to watch too much of this game as I was entertaining family members and my brat girl's friends. I had been calling for a goal for Bailey in the first period and completely missed seeing him score it in the second. But I did get to sit on the couch with my mother and brother and watched the entire third period.

They got a good laugh out of me biting my nails and yelling for Joey's shut out and cringing in sympathy pain watching returning veteran Doug Weight wincing in pain over his hand on the bench.

I had said at least three times yesterday that the Islanders only function right now is to show the teams they play that they can't be dismissed. They are not a push-over or a guaranteed win. As Scott Gordon said in the pre-game show, they are playing for each other now and it's a beautiful thing to watch.

I'll watch it tonight from the top of 201 for one of the few games left this season. As bad as the standings are, let's look at all the 'firsts' these team members will walk away with from this lack-luster season. At the top of the list will probably be Joey MacDonald's first NHL shut out.

Congrats boys. You pulled a proverbial rabbit out of a hat.

Lighthouse Meeting #180

It's late, I'm tired and I was so hungry that I broke down and had a bowl of Easy Mac. Everyone else in the house is sleeping, and I've got to get a few thoughts out of my head and into the blogosphere before I forget them.



If you didn't make it to the Lighthouse Community Outreach #180, you will have plenty of opportunity to familiarize yourself with the proceedings because it was well covered by the media. Also, Point Blank actually has recording secretary style minutes of the meeting, so you will feel as if you were actually there.



My take on the 2 hour meeting was this:



It was an amazing job by the Lighthouse team. They managed to bring every heavy hitter on their side into this room and give them their turn at the microphone. Politicians and Alumni, Union bosses and clergy, Veterans Association Presidents and Season Ticket holders. They ran out of time to let everyone who wanted to speak have their say. They started at 7:25 pm and went until 9:30 pm.



During those two hours, it was about politics, it was about economics, it was about race, it was about the unions and for a brief moment, it was even about God. Yes, the two hours covered the spectrum of reasons WHY this project is beneficial for Long Island.



Charles Wang has become adept at these meetings, he's done so many of them. He is funny and yet commanding. Town Supervisor Tom Suozzi was powerful and passionate. I've never actually seen him speak. It was eye-opening.



The 92 year-old town resident that opened the Q&A portion was moving, but not quite as moving as the President of the LI Federation of Labor. His imploring "This is our future, we cannot allow it NOT to happen. We will go to DC, we will go to the ends of the earth to make this project happen." I teared up and the crowded hall erupted in applause.



When the Veteran group representative spoke, he requested that other veterans in the room stand. They were greeted with a standing ovation. He reported that the 30 organizations that he represented gave their unanimous support to the project.



We did a lot of standing. When the President of the Building and Construction Trade on LI asked that everyone who was in favor of the project would please stand up, almost everyone in the room stood. "What's holding it up?" he asked. From the back of the room, one woman shouted "I am holding it up. I don't want it in my back yard."



She was encouraged to speak, but did not. As everyone has a right to their opinion and nothing goes without opposition, the only thing I could think of is that we live in a democratic society and while everyone's voice has a right to be heard, no one voice has a right to decide.



A union boss gave such an impassioned speech about Union jobs, I wanted to pull a Norma Rae and stand on the chair holding a sign that said UNION. But since none of my fellow incredibly YOUNG blogger buddies would have know what I was doing, I stayed seated.



Yes, this was a Community Outreach Meeting #180 for the Lighthouse Project. Something that it seems has overwhelming support.



So... What's the freakin' problem?



Check the local news, check CB's Point Blank, check our Islanders main website for a recap by none other than Tiger Track Tom Liodice.



I'll have more quotes and photos over the weekend. For now, this blogger, accounting, mother has to get some sleep as the white knuckle drive in teaming rain from Uniondale to the ass-end of Suffolk county has seriously wiped her out!

Lighthouse Meeting Countdown

It's Thursday, 3/26/09 and it's 4:22 pm. I'm breaking one of my own rules here. I'm writing a post during work hours. Forgive the typos, I'm rushing.

Last night as I was driving to the Coliseum for the game, I stopped on Hempstead Tpke and waited to see what the traffic situation was like at 5:45 pm on a work and game day. That photo is one of several I took. Please note there was no serious congestion. There was serious congestion outside of Hofstra University as their classes were being let out. That was the side street.

I drove up that street for about a mile to see what it was like during rush hour. It looked like every other street on Long Island. There were cars. But it wasn't the Oakdale Merge. (If you Nassau County-ites would like to see traffic, please venture east and south on Sunrise Hwy. I'll show you TRAFFIC.)

So as this is what it looked like at almost 6 pm with an Islanders game starting at 7 pm, can the questions about considerable traffic congestion from a complex of "office building" and residences along with the arena be lessened by going back to the 7:30 pm weekday start times?

Wouldn't the parkway and turnpike traffic be considerably LESS at that time? Wouldn't those residents living be less impacted by that?

Just a random thought as I think about what tonight's meeting will bring. I along with every other blogger known to hockeydom will be there. I will be the miserable one in the suit that is too small having a considerably bad hair day.

PS: Gary Bettman just said on his radio show that the best resolution for the Islanders is to get the Lighthouse Project DONE and not to discuss relocation.

See you at the meeting.

3-25-09 Post Game

Post Game reports from Scott Gordon are generally SHORT after a loss. Last night’s lasted all of 2 minutes and 41 seconds.

“Was it the Lemaire style that stymied you guys?” But Gordon’s reaction was an immediate “No!” then he thought about it and continued. “The first period, I thought we controlled the play. We didn’t give up a lot of chances. The second period, we only gave up four shots. Obviously not cashing in on the chances from the first period, one of the best first periods we’ve had in a while. Coming out of it with a 2 - 1 deficit hurt us. We did a good job in defending, in not giving up much. But in saying that, they did a good job in the offensive zone. As far as how long it took us to get possession of the puck and counter attack.”

But the real question at hand was “Why was this game so chippy?” We don’t usually see the amount of fights we did last night when they are playing a team they only match up against every few years. The fighting started early and continued through out the game.

“I think our guys came out and certainly wanted to set the tempo to the game. Obviously there is a lot at stake for them (that would be the Wild). This is a big game for them. And it just built as the game went on.” Comeau later said it’s the Islanders’ job now to play spoilers.

Gordon said the incident where Miettinen pushed Blake Comeau through the door leading off ice was just bad timing on the guard’s part. I don’t think Comeau felt that way. Blake ended up with a penalty in each of the three periods. But the dancing started early on when Joel Rechlicz dropped the gloves with John Scott. Both remained on their skates which left the officials watching and waiting before they broke it up. Personally, I think both players were exhausted by the time they did. But that certainly did set the tone for the game.

It was just a matter of time before not only each of the Islanders heavy hitters had a run in and a turn in the penalty box, but even mild mannered Jeff Tambellini and future star Kyle Okposo made their mark on the visitors for Minnesota. They made sure everyone knows that playing the Islanders won’t be EASY.

When Gordon was asked about Yann Danis and his recent play, he understood. “I’m sure he’d tell you, he wasn’t that sharp tonight.” (He actually did.) “Around the net, he’s usually pretty good. He just didn’t seem to be fighting through the crowds. He was deep in his net. He wasn’t tracking the puck as well as he had been. He’s played well for us, so… The one thing he wants to make sure is that his play up to this point hasn’t been a fluke.”

For me, Gordon’s voice sounded as if he was more concerned with Yann’s confidence than his play but he did say that MacDonald may be back in net sometime during these last games.

Yann Danis was already in the locker room waiting for the press. He knew what was coming. “Obviously I wasn’t making the key saves. Some were lucky bounces, but I gotta be better. I gotta make those key saves.”

Yann was asked if he was concerned about his upcoming contract for next season. He said he tries not to think about it and just concentrate on playing the game as best he can. Personally, I don’t think his play has been a “fluke” to this point. Everyone has a bad game. Look what the young up-starts did to the “most winning goalie of all time.” They chased him from the net. This happens.

“I just have to come back, re-focus and play the way I was playing before.” He didn’t feel that the time off in between games really affected him. He said he did that all the time in college. A reminder of just how young these guys are; they’re using college play as a barometer.

The locker room is not optimal for interviews. There are too many conversations going on at once and too many outside noises. I knew I was going to have a problem, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until this morning. It’s like recording a cocktail party. You can hear bits and pieces of conversations, but it’s an overall din of voice and nothing is clear. I never say anything in the locker room, but so often I would love to just turn around and “SHUSH!” someone. I’m not sure if the others in the room just don’t think they are being distracting or just don’t care. It’s only the media, who cares. Or is it the media guys themselves are trying to throw the others off? Is it a battle between print and video? I can’t tell. All I know is… It makes me nuts.

Wild Time in Uniondale 3/25/09

9:29: They killed off the three on three and almost made it 5 goals on Danis. I'm packing up. See you later.

9:25: Everybody... get in the box! There are six men in the box now!

9:21: Excuse me, but what's going on here????
Comeau jumps in for Tamblellini and Kyel get's taken down by Zidlicky. I was warned!! Kudos to Brad Kurtzberg from Inside Hockey for alerting me that the third period would be full of fights!
9:10 pm: Oh look. Hilbert scored. They now have 13:15 left and we are 2 - 4.

9:01 pm: And now it' s 4 - 1 in favor of the Wild. Yes, yes. Lemaire's system works. Just like I read in Newsday today. And Comeau takes a penalty. The SOG are now 22 - 17. I don't even know how. But they are. Hmmm... This may get ugly. I have been warned. There will be more fights in the third.

8:18 pm: So I'm back in the blog box and it's now 2 - 1 in favor ofthe Wild. And Bryan tells me that it was Miettinen that scored. No sooner do I try to get the lap top refreshed that Witt gets into an altercation with Sheppard.

At the 7:37 mark of the first something wonderful happened. Bruno Gervais scored his third goal of the season. Is there a full moon? Assist points go to Streit and McAmmond.


7:17 pm at the 15:33 mark with shots 6 - 3 in favor of the Isles, I looked down and all of a sudden Joel Rechlicz and John Scott were fighting. Not bad but it looked like the refs should have stopped it a little sooner. They were both tired.




Well, Maybe. Maybe not. But the kids looked good in pregame skate. I've gotta say, Joel Rechlicz can certainly skate!


I read this morning in an article by Herrmann that the Wild are boring to watch because they play the trap and don't care that they are boring.

Well, we'll have to hope the Islander boys make it interesting instead.

Sean Bergenheim has still not been cleared to skate, which is very sad because there are so few games left. Doug Weight may be back on the road Friday. As much as I'd love to see him back on the ice, I hope he doesn't do anything foolish... like... win. he he he he...

Once again, Darryl Strawberry was here to collect a check for his Autism charity from the IBC. Always a good thing!

When the Wild Come to Town

For days the Twitter feed promoted the Wild playing those dreaded Blueshirts in the Big Apple. I kept wondering how come the promo wasn't about the back to back NY match-ups for the Wild. I received no response.

Well, last night the Wild lost to those guys from NYC by one lousy goal. Avery was Avery as usual and there's a two page spread in Newsday about it... as usual. But those Wild boys will be in OUR house tonight. Maybe they think it'll be easy for them. I can't tell. I went looking for a Twitter feed about it this morning, but didn't find one yet.

I'm not really worried about those guys in the Christmas colors, I'm more worried about something I just read in Corey Witt's blog - the ice. Which is not ready for this morning's morning skate. Corey doesn't write that often, but when he does, it's worth looking into.

When the ice isn't perfect, the game can go wrong. Bad bounces are one thing, injuries are another. And that is what I will worry about tonight as I finally get to see a game in person again.

There are only a handful left on the schedule, and the last home game this year is once again on Easter Sunday. Not exactly what I was hoping for. But as our season winds down quickly, I've got to enjoy every moment that I can so that I can hold onto them until September.

It's going to be a long, hot, annoying summer. I can feel it already.

Mark Your Calendar and Make your Plans

I'm sure you have heard about the meeting on Thursday, March 26th at 7 pm at the Marriott. Of course you have heard. You are an Islanders fan and you are reading here the same thing you read on all the other websites. But I'd like to ask you a favor. I'd like for you to not just read about the meeting for the Lighthouse project, but I'd like you to TELL people about it. You know you have friends who are Islanders fans or Long Island residents that are NOT that attached to the internet as you are.

Tell them to join you on Thursday evening and see how local politics works. Make sure that you keep an eye on The Lightpost and the Let There Be Lighthouse blogs for information and details. We've read the articles in Newsday by the political parties and developers. Now, attend the meeting and formulate your own opinion.

Now, in an effort to "plan" my offseason, I found these dates to mark on my calendar.

Apr. 12: End of Regular Season
Apr. 14: NHL Draft Lottery
Apr. 15: Stanley Cup Playoffs begin
Apr. 24 - May 10: IIHF World Championship in Switzerland
May 25 - 30: NHL Draft Combine in Toronto
June 15: Last possible day for Stanley Cup Final
June 18: NHL Awards Night in Las Vegas
June 26 - 27: NHL Entry Draft in Montreal
July 1: Free agency signing period begins
July 5: Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration
July 6: Deadline for club-elected salary arbitration
July 10: Deadline for eligible players to elect Group 5 free agency
July 20 - Aug. 4: Salary arbitration hearings held
Aug. 6: Deadline for salary arbitration decisions to be rendered

Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact

Just a quick note as I sit here in amazement. As someone who was a "Trek-ie" at one point in her life, I watched in wonder at the fascinating devices that the minds of the writers would dream up.

I swear the Nextel 'beep-beep' service is the first cousin of the original communicators. And now a good friend has shown me something that just made me gasp; The Kindle2. "A wire-less reading device" just like the one that Capt. Luc Picard used on Deep Space 9.

I'm telling you people, it's just a matter of time before we'll be saying "I'll be right there. Just beaming up."

Be afraid... be very afraid.

Bobby Nystrom Award 2009

Don't forget to VOTE for the Bobby Nystrom Award for 2009!
Vote today!

Sound Tigers Win on A Sunday in March

I finally broke down and just bought tickets to go to a game in Bridgeport. How could I pass up a bargain like $29 for a round trip ferry ride and a ticket to the Sound Tigers game? I really couldn't.

So, there we were, Wendy and I, watching hockey on NBC and drinking Pinot Grigio on the Ferry out of Port Jefferson across the sound to Bridgeport. Smooth sailing, for the most part. I even wore my Lighthouse hat and 7th Woman jersey. Yep, it was "fan" day for sure on the LI Sound. And there were quite a few of us.

It's a short walk from the ferry terminal to the Arena which is made more comfortable by the little herd of blue and orange jerseys making their way there.

Harbor Yard is a wonderful family venue. Not a bad seat in the house and the food is not just good, it's a good value. I've never seen a carving station on the concourse before. But there one was with both Roast Beef and Pastrami for only $7.50 that included a sandwhich on a soft foll with cheese, horseradish sauce, pickles and a bag of chips. I opted for the chicken and cheese quesedilla for $6.50. But there was Pizza and chicken and hot dogs, popcorn and churros (which is something that the Coliseum no longer carries. I will say there's something really strange about seeing a grown man eating a churro.

Our seats in row D of section 113 had an excellent view of Jack Capuano's bench. The names on the jerseys were very familiar. So many of them have been on the Islanders roster at one point in time during this season. Walter, Callahan Iggulden, Joensuu, Maninno, Colliton. The most notable Islander roster alumni was, of course, Jon Sim.

I'll say it was somewhat painful for me to see. So often I had watched Sim stand by the glass at the Coliseum while he was recovering last season. You could see how badly he wanted to be out on the ice with the team. Now he is with another team, an AHL team. But at least he is skating and making an impact. But he still doesn't look that happy. I can't blame him.

In this arena, you are so close to the action, that you can't help but get caught up in it. You're right on top of every play and every save. The small town feel carries over into their Booster Club which runs so many fund drives and contests during the games. They are a dedicated bunch that does a wonderful job. They really need to be commended and supported.

One of the crowd favorite between period activities is the $5 a bag Lucky Puck Chuck, where you toss numbered foam pucks at a target on the ice from the stands. Speaking of "foam", they were selling foam heart shaped signed photos of players also only $5 and every one's favorite "foam" friend, Sponge Bob was taking photos with the kids. Proceeds all going to charity.

I took considerable advantage of the cup holders at the seats by visiting Carl, the very friendly bar-tender on the main concourse repeatedly. After the first round, he knew what I wanted just by looking at me. I didn't mind repeatedly seeing Carl when the wine was only $5 a glass.

I had to laugh at the two blue-eyed, well dressed men at the bar intently watching the basketball game on the TV. There was just something wrong with that picture - and I told them so.

The Sound Tigers started out up by two, but of course, just like the Islanders, had to make it interesting by letting the Pirates catch up to them so their ultimate victory was 4 - 3. For some reason, the game seemed to take longer than an Islander game. Not for lack of energy or excitement on the ice. Maybe just because of the more relaxed atmosphere. I'm not sure. But Wendy and I both felt it.

Knowing we needed to get back across the Sound, we didn't wait around for Jeff Tambellini to sign autographs after the game. We took our Bobble-heads and fled back to the boat that was already docked and waiting around the block.

I had swiped a copy of the Sound Tigers Illustrated magazine that was at one of their tables. Personally, I loved this newsprint version that we had last season for the Islanders as well. I know our Islanders Illustrated has been replaced by the the glossy, bound magazine. But there's just something about this type of printing that makes it seem more "common" and readable. But that's just me.

As you can see, the Jiffy Jeff Bobble-Head was full size and kinda cute. I was actually glad I took one this time, which is something I never do at the Coliseum. Hey! I was there as a fan today, not as an "unbiased, professional writer." Okay, that's a joke between my spouse and I.

So, with a handful of games left on their regular schedule and Capuano's squad doing something Gordon's squad WON'T be doing - heading into playoffs - may I suggest that you ALL take a trip to Bridgeport.

Come for the hockey and enjoy the details of a great family day. I did notice plenty of men and their children on the ferry and in the stands. And at the prices they charge at Harbor Yard, you won't break the bank having a good time.

In today's economy of looking for a good deal, THIS is a GOOD DEAL on some really GOOD Hockey!