11/7/09 Isles vs. Thrashers

9:30 pm: with the first two minutes ofthe power play running out, Josh Bailey makes it 6 - 3 Isles and they keep skating 5 on 4 for another two. ha ha... Take that Thrashers.

Okay, with that I am packing up as there is only 3:21 left of the game and I DON'T think it will go into overtime. Later!!

9:24 pm: Kubina takes a penalty as the Icegirls come out and scrape the ice and the Kiss cam goes searching for victims. Wow! and It's a 4 minute penalty, Maybe Brad was right about the 7 goals for the Isles tonight!

9:20 pm: After much yapping at the refs by Roloson, the Thrashers 3rd goal stands.

9:17: Witt has found his usual place in the box. Once again, the Isles are on Penalty kill.

9:00 pm on the dot and we start the third. SOG are now 36 - 21.

8:28 pm: At 7:59 of the second, Matt Moulson scored his 7th goal of the season. Okay, I love this boy. And JT get's another assist point.


8:14 pm: and an Even Strength or Power Play goal by Pavel Kubina as Meyer left the box cuts the Isles lead in half. Brad Kurtzberg from Insdie Hockey just walked by and said "This game will go to 7 - 5" Ughhh... As long as it doesn't go into overtime. I still feel green.

8:09 pm: While the teams are still four on four, Blanke Comeaue decides to thank Scott Gordon for sitting him for six games by giving him a goal to make it 4 - 1 Isles. Nice!!

7:50 pm: Okay, then so Hillen gets a goal and Comeaue gets an assist point his first game back on the ice while they play four on four? Nice. Isles up 3 - 1. Thre will be 23 seconds left of four on four hockey when period two begins.

ALSO! Don't forget, and I always do, to go to Wendy's tomorrow and ask for your free Chili. Let's go Islanders.


7:38 pm: And Sean FINALLY get's his first of the season. It's about freakin' time. Thank God. Okay, I did squeak out a little "YES!!" but I don't think anyone heard me. Congrats Sean. You worked hard for that one!

7:37 pm: That didn't last long. All tied at one as Zach Bogosian just lifted the puck over Rolie's right shoulder. Damn... Okay. New game. Back to square one.

7:29 pm: After some really nice chances by by Nielsen, Sim and Bergenheim, Andy Sutton tallied the Islanders first goal at 10:49 with assists from JT and Moulson. Yes, they are playing more in the Thrashers end and it shows. SOT are 9 - 6 in the Isles favor.

I felt bad for Sean before as he took a beautiful pass from Nielson but it was deflected way into section 213. So someone either has a nice souvenir or a headache.

It's Military appreciation night at the Coliseum, and yes, those are soldiers with those flags high above the ice.

Game on!



With the absence of Radek Martinek and Doug Weight from tonight's line-up, Freddie Meyer and Blake Comeau get to play. However, Robbie Schremp gets to wear his jersey just for warm-ups and promptly return it to the hanger and put on a suit. Maybe he should have never agreed to wear #13.

I am not exactly chatty tonight as I have been told I look a little green, and it's not the tea I'm drinking that's doing it.

Beaten by Themselves, Isles lose 2 - 1 to NJ

I will admit, I hardly watched the game, therefore I will let this one slide. I have read the recap, and it doesn't look like there is anything more to say than what Scott Gordon already said.

The game was theirs for the taking and they let it slip away.

No one was more upset with themselves than Marty Biron, but he should remember they can't win games if they can't score.

Radek Martinek's luck may have finally run out as he went down against the boards and had to be helped off the ice. Certainly it was only a matter of time before Martinek was injured. I don't believe he has ever been able to play a full season. There is no official word yet, or at least none that I have received. No morning skate either, (supposedly) not that I would have been able to make it there with this headache any way.

So they should prepare for tonight's last home game before the next two weeks are spent on the road. Better make it good boys. Better make it good.

Happy Birthday to my BFF!

We interrupt this Hockey Blog for a day of Birthday frivolity as my "partner in crime" as she used to be called celebrates her day. There will be wine, cake and dark chocolate. And ofcourse, there will be hockey.

So Happy Birthday to the Queen. See you in a few.

PS: If anyone is curious, mine is in a few days. ahem. ahem.....

For quotes from Scott Gordon on tonight's game, check my HockeyBuzz page here.

Chemistry Builds a Winner

It took the Yankees 9 years to win another Championship. It took a change in the line-up and a new stadium. But most importantly, it took chemistry.

You can't discount what that ingredient can do in a winning recipe. Certainly Jeter has spent the last 17 years of his life with some of the same team mates. But it wasn't until the addition of key elements to turn the Yankees into the World Champs for the 27th time.

My point? Winning teams take time and patience. No one gave up on the Yankees when they didn't even make the post season. They just needed the right ingredients. They got them this season and the change was evident.

So while the Islanders winning streak was cut off at four last night when the Sabres shut them out, I'm hoping that everyone realizes it takes time to build a winner. Time, patience and chemistry.

Let's enjoy the World Series win, Matsui's MVP, Mariano's desire to play another five years, A-Rod's post-season prowess, Andy's reliability, Swisher's insanity, Teixeira's exuberance, Captain Clutch just being himself and the magic of Kate Hudson. THANK YOU!!!

Isles practice today before heading to NJ on Friday and then the last home game on Saturday before a REALLY long road trip. I'm hoping Robbie Schremp will actually be a hockey player and not just a tourist.

Sabres Even the Score

So, supposedly IceGirl photos make people feel better? Does it?
Okay, We knew it wouldn't last forever. Nothing does. So what if the Buffalo Sabres got a little help from those guys in stripes with whistles, they were indeed the better team tonight. The score ended at 3 - 0 with Ryan Miller's 14th career shut-out, but there is so many more numbers that are factors in this game.

Most importantly was the change in face off win percentage. I'm not exactly sure why it was so lopsided this evening, but when you go from an over 50% ratio to less than 20%, something is seriously wrong. It wasn't even as if there were different Islander players taking the face-offs, they were just getting beat -- 83% of the time!

The other number that is most disconcerting considering their past play is in the penalty column. The Islanders were assessed seven penalties as opposed to the Sabre's four. The power play is where the Buffalo goals came from. (Seriously, I'm not counting the third goal because I swear there is no way they could have determined that it was indisputably over the line. But that's a moot point.)

Marty Biron loves Buffalo, and Buffalo loves Marty Biron. It was really his show tonight in the Islanders end of the ice. He got a little feisty when Patrick Kaleta slammed Frans Nielsen into him inside the paint. That resulted in an interference call for Kaleta and a roughing call for Biron. They threw a roughing penalty at Kaleta too just for good measure. But the Islanders couldn't score on Miller with their power play.

Later in the game, after Marty had made some excellent saves, he decided to do his best impersonation of Rick DiPietro. I do believe that there was an audible gasp out of Islanders country. We all know how that move of skating out to the blue line to poke check the puck worked out for Mr. DiPietro, so seeing the same move just gave me concussion flashbacks that scared me. Luckily, Marty didn't get a skate to the head like Rick did, but he also almost didn't get back to the net in time.

It wasn't smart, he shouldn't do that again. Besides, my heart can't take it.

Jack Hillen was noticed for an excellent hip check and his his unusual skating style. For a change, Mr. Moulson wasn't noticed at all.

My boy Sean Bergenheim had his chances once again, and once again, came up empty. Is there a voo doo doll out there somewhere with this kid's picture on it? Because snake bitten isn't even the word any more. Between wide shots, blocked shots, shots over the glass and even a shot that bounced off his butt and still didn't go in the net, it's as if there is something other-worldly going on here with him.

Ryan Miller is 6'2", but he plays like he's 8' tall. His 175lb frame seems to make him stretch so wide in net that he is impervious. I dislike it when he plays against the Isles, but I will love every minute of it when he plays in Vancouver.

No one, especially the men in that locker room, should have their confidence rattled by this game. It happens. It's hockey. There will be good games, bad games and down right great games. What's important is there is a game Friday at the Rock and they need to be ready to play it.

Maybe it's time to give Robbie Schremp another kick-at-the-can as they like to say on the radio. I'm sure he's hungry enough to make his presence known on the ice. I think it only fair. How about it Scotty? Have you started drawing up line combos for Friday yet? Because I can only bet you don't sleep on that plane back home.

Isles vs. Sabres 11/4/09

Check out my two minutes with Matt Moulson from Monday night's game as we wait to see who walks away with the points tonight.

woo hoo!!

Don't worry, the World Series game will only be in like the fourth inning by the time the Isles are done. You won't miss a thing!

The Next Move? With or Without a U-Haul

I'll make this relatively quick, for me that is. I became involved in a political race I couldn't vote in full well knowing what the outcome would be. I'm not surprised that Kate Murray was re-elected as Town Supervisor by a margin of 65% - 35% as the Democrats fell surprisingly short campaigning.

However I am also surprised that at 7 am, I can't find out if Tom Suozzi has been re-elected yet. "Too close to call" at 1:13 am when the last time News 12 updated their results. And now at 7 am I'm not sure if we have lost both friends of the Lighthouse project or not.

There's nothing to do now but go forward on and see who makes the next move. Will it be Wang or Murray? Who knows.

But if anyone sees a string of U-Hauls pulling up along Hempstead Turnpike, I suggest we panic.

And if you're not watching the World Series tonight, the Isles vs. Buffalo at 7pm on MSG Plus plus plus as there's basketball on MSG and the Devils are on MSGPlus. Can we make it FIVE?? Can we? Please?

Isles over Edmonton 3 - 1. That makes FOUR

7am Edit: Who the hell needs to transcribe notes when ITV captured all the interviews. It's worth it for everyone here to watch the Brendan Witt video. As I said, I wasn't able to get anywhere near Witt in the postgame, so seeing the ITV video is priceless. Especially watching him tell a reporter they asked a stupid question. DOH!!! Good for you Witter. There is also video of Captain Doug Weight and veteran winning goalie Dwayne Roloson. Both crediting the same factor in the wins. Get the puck to the net, good things may happen. Then there is Scott Gordon's presser from Room 6 where he cracked a smile and a joke. The question about Sutton came from none other than hockey playing Blog Boxer Mike Schuerline from Islesblogger.com. Much better reception than the guy who was told to "look it up" by Witt.

So okay then! Go to the Islander's main site and spend 15 minutes watching the videos and hear their quotes for youself. Sure, it's not the same thing without the smell in the room, but you'll enjoy them. And don't forget tonight on blogtalk radio at /crashthecrease I'll be talking Islanders and then PuckDaddy himself will be talking with HockeyGuy AC. 9 pm, check it out.

I didn't get home until almost 11 pm. My game days are LONG. I'm up at 6 am and I don't stop until Midnight. It's a little on the nutzo side and yeah, I get pissy when I hear my friends are home in ten minutes and I'm looking at a 40 minute drive home and then an hour posting game reports. I don't have the luxury of hanging out in the coliseum banging out an entry and then heading out for a late dinner or coffee. I leave that to the MSM that crowds the press room.

Well, here's a partial post game report over at HockeyBuzz. I'll have more tomorrow. But I can't stay awake.

Also, tomorrow night at the 9 pm hour I will be a guest on blogtalk radio's Crash The Crease podcast at www.blogtalkradio.com/crashthecrease with Anthony Curatolo. It's an off night, so check it out!

Isles vs. Oilers 11/2/09

9:13 pm Khabbi played catch with Bruno. SOG are now 35 - 20 in favor of the Isles and they are doing exactly as Scott Gordon had told them to -- pressure. PS... Jack Hillen skates funny.

9:09 and it looks like Mark Streit is taking target practice on Nikolai. But nothing is materializing out of this powerplay chance. Drat! And Rollie bangs his stick to let them know, PP over, you failed. SOG are now 33 - 20 in favor of the Isles and there is only 8:43 left. Interesting that there was almost a time out when there wasn't supposed to be. The NHL guys in front of me are going a little nuts.

8:58 and Rolie is down on the ice as he had quite a collision outside the pain. He gets a rousing round of applause for getting up. But then again... at his age.. he should be used to that. ha ha... Okay... I can say that because I'm even older than he is. So that garners #27 an interference penalty and another chance for the Islanders to add to their totals.

Attendance is stated as 10,846 and I will say... sure. Whatever.
But the stat that isn't a fib so far is the face off percentage where the Isles are winning that battle again at 59%. Nice.
Little tussle in front of Khabibulin and even JT gets into the act. Careful with that cross checking JT. You'll get called for it just as easily as anyone else.


8:56: Nice flurry of chances and no new goals. But JT got shoved to the ice and exception was taken. Too bad the refs stopped the retaliation or it might have been a good one.


8:33 pm: Who would have thought? OMG... Courtesy of Brooks Simpson on my Facebook page: "Brendan Witt is doing his Denis Potvin imitation 2 days too late for Halloween!" Would we expect a two goal night for Witter? No. Tavares, yes. Witt, no. But that's what we have.


And we have free Wendy's Chili ladies and gentleman. Don't forget to go ask for it.


While I was away after the first, I went to meet Anthony C from Crash the Crease. He's on Twitter as @ACHockeyGuys. Nice guy, edgy kid with a lot of hockey knowledge and a blogtalk radio show which I will be on tomorrow night along with Puck Daddy himself! Okay, shameless plug I know. But come on! I don't get to do that too often. I'll post the link as soon as I have it but for now, check out his site. Anthony also writes for a few different websites. He's just a bundle of hockey energy.


Other notes from the first period:


Did anyone else get a reminder of Charlie Brown getting plunked on the mound when big Andy Sutton threw down the gloves with Jacques? Too funny.


So can Brendan get a hat trick? Will he have a heart attack if he does???


Well, I'm here with a few hundred other people so far. Yep... It's going to be a sparse crowd. But that's okay. The only thing that matters is whether or not the guys on the ice have come to play. Tonight, everything else can take a back seat.


So, talk to you in a little bit.

So it seems that there are indeed quite a few reporters here all looking to do stories on ex-Ranger coach Tom Renney. Um, that does not include me. Surprised? ha!


So supposedly Mike Comrie took warm-ups. I didn't even notice. But then again, I only noticed him because Hillary Duff used to be in the stands. They also had a piece with Horcoff on the Jumbotron. Hmmmm... That's the guy EK said there were rumors floating about. Well, we certainly know that Garth seems to work well with the Edmonton. Let's see if something happens. You can never rule anything out when it comes to the Islanders.

Kate Murray, Meet your Opponent

**11/2/09: It's only been a month since I first introduced Democrat candidate Kristen McElroy to my core group of readers. That wasn't very long to campaign for Town of Hempstead Supervisor. Especially when Kate Murray is now going for her what? fourth term as ToH Supervisor. Because, you know, she's done such a MIRACULOUS job at for the last THREE terms. That Welcome to Roosevelt sign has done wonders for the residents for sure.

The knock on Kristen is that she doesn't have any past experience with budgets. But the woman runs a household and maybe she'll have a better handle on how and where to spend what the town DOES have without going into debt. I know there's a woman that runs a province in Canada that didn't come with much experience and hers is the only province that isn't in the RED.

The Republicans have had 100 years of running Hempstead town. Maybe it's time to shake things up a little.

I can't vote, but if you can in this election, you should.

While I won't say "A Vote for Kate is a Vote to send the Islanders packing," I will say that the chances of them leaving Uniondale will be greater under Kate's fourth term. Kate wants to scale down the project to who-knows-what because she refused to even look at the plans until the final hours. Now she will wait until after the election when she can once again be judge and possibly executioner of the Lighthouse project.

That's all there is to say. And here's what I said only one month ago.


*10/2/09 Attention Islander fans! Meet Kristen McElroy at tomorrow's Islanders home opener at 6 pm. She will be addressing the public somewhere near the ticket booth, as weather may be a concern. (Why does it have to rain every home opener!)

So come meet Kate Murray's Democrat opponent, Kristen McElroy tomorrow and don't forget Nassau residents, ROCK THE VOTE!




A lawyer, a mother of three and someone who has no ties to old school politics. She doesn't owe anyone any favors like a few other career politicians.





Can she give Republican Supervisor Kate Murray a run for her money? (okay, it's actually like YOUR money, because you know she's going to be spending big on her reelection campaign. Those Banjo Rascals don't come cheap you know.)