Yesterday,  I showed you a few of the ‘lovely’ trophies the various Huntsville teams had won (and abused), but not the game.  This post will correct that.

The path to the arena was one of the strangest I have ever been in.  Construction routed us around to… well, you can see for yourself.

To the box office:

Past the Legends of Huntsville Hockey festivities:

Umm…. OK…..

Wait, this can’t be right….

I mean, I was walking past dumpsters.  And this is how we get into the arena?

Even the entrance is marked exit:

The concourse looks decidedly seventies sci-fi.  I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they built the place for filming scenes from Buck Rogers.  I loved it.  Of course there’s chuck a puck.

The arena is split into a lower and upper level, with a walkway going 3/4 of the way around the bowl.

But the lower bowl looks pretty nice, and has some table seating by the glass.

My journey was not complete, since I was sitting behind the goal.  So I took the long and strange walk to my seat.  The blue curtains hid the construction going on.  I think it’s going to be a pretty nice place when they are done.

Finally, I got to my seat, on the risers on the end of the rink:

But the view was great, even with the goal judge box in the way:

Meet Ryan Scott:

Poor Ryan got heckled the entire game.  Whenever the rush started, the fans behind me yelled “Look out, Scott!”  ”That was close, Scott!”  Even just the random, “SCOTT!” for no other reason than to yell is name.  The night even included one of the greatest heckles of a goalie I have ever heard, even if it was a bit sexist.

The kids in front of me weren’t that amused at first, but they came around.  The one on the right kept saying, “Seriously?” But considering the look on his face, I don’t think he meant it.

All the way down the ice:

Mascots!

The Canucks have their green men, the Wichita Thunder have their one lone blue guy, and the Havoc… have this:

He kept the mask on the entire game. At one point, he ran around the arena  with his flag, and the kids chased him.  Hey, you gotta have your traditions, I guess.

I’m posting this photo for Doogie2K. The Calgary Hitmen travel well.

The game ended in a shootout, without a single fighting major.  Take that, haters.  In fact, the level of play wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.  There were plenty of missed passes, missed opportunities, and defensive breakdowns, but there was a lot to like about the game as well.  The problem with the NHL is that it can be so over-coached, you wait for a mistake to create a scoring chance.  There were plenty of mistakes, but also plenty of chances the entire game.  Overall, I had a great time.

Thanks to Christopher Joy (aka SCOTT!) for the invite.  I can’t wait to go to another game with him.

Here’s the game sheet.

The game I went to was the day before the Legends of Huntsville Hockey game (again, if you need to take a moment to absorb that…). The Legends game is a charity game to help support autism.  And they had these kick-ass jerseys:

The team was auctioning them off after the game, which I wasn’t able to stick around for.  But if I could have, I would have gotten one.  That is a unique jersey.  The black one is even better.

They also had a few… trophies…. on display.  Don’t ask me what they are, but we should all be lucky they are still with us.

I asked one former player (and I’m sorry, I don’t know who it was) what the deal with these were.  He basically said that they are a little less careful with these things, since they weren’t the Stanley Cup.  No, they aren’t.

I will post photos from the game later, including one of the oddest arena entrances I have ever seen.  Thanks to Christopher Joy (aka Scott!) for inviting me to the game.  Hopefully, he can fill in a few of the missing pieces.

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This wasn’t the post I wanted to make, but it actually was more fun.  The one I spent an hour or so on, about the Central Hockey League and how they seem to be falling apart, might be a post for a later date, but it wasn’t coming together for me.  I guess that’s just how it goes, and when you don’t have to crank out six to twenty posts a day, you have that luxury.

In the AHL, the Binghamton Senators won the Calder Cup, beating the Houston Aeros four games to two.  The Senators won behind a rookie goaltender, and a first term head coach.   But their lineup also had 15 players who had played in the NHL this year at some point.

In the ECHL, the Alaska Aces beat the Kalamazoo Wings four games to one, to win the Kelly Cup.  The Aces had won the Cup in 2006, and lost in the finals in 2009.  This was Brent Thompson‘s second year behind the bench as head coach.

The Central Hockey League pushed their championship series to seven games, with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs winning the Ray Miron President’s Cup over the Colorado Eagles.  The oddity here is that the Eagles will be leaving the CHL to move to the ECHL, while the Mudbugs could be leaving for a less expensive league, like the NAHL (American junior hockey).  The CHL has seen a lot of change this season, and more may be on the way.  Terry Frei of the Denver Post talked about the Mudbugs after their victory.

One of the first leagues to wrap up their season was the Southern Professional Hockey League.  In the SPHL, the Mississippi Surge swept the Augusta RiverHawks 3-0.   In other news, the Mississippi Surge is being sold, and the SPHL Board of Governors approved of the sale, to the owner of the Pensacola Ice Flyers.  So alls well that ends well, right?  Right?

In the junior leagues, the Dubuque Fighting Saints won the USHL title, while in the NAHL, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs won the Robertson Cup.

UPDATE: As was pointed out by Scott in the comments, I made a big mistake.  The Surge are being sold to a group that owns the Pensacola Ice Flyers, not the Augusta RiverHawks.  Thanks for the correction, SM. #SCOTT!

_______________________________________

Today’s bonus content is something that has helped me focus on my writing, or most anything I need to sit down and do by myself.  When it’s too easy to get distracted, or pulled away by outside forces, I use something called the Pomodoro technique.  It’s actually really simple, but the structure is what matters:

- Set a timer for 25 minutes.  If you have a smart phone, you have a timer.  I also have a little program called Pomodoro that puts a 25 minute timer in my menu bar on my laptop (you can find it in the Mac App Store).  But really, any timer will do.

- Work on ONE THING for that 25 minutes.  Don’t switch tasks, don’t go check email or feeds or twitter.  No multitasking.  Just do that one thing.

- After the 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break.  Check email, facebook, whatever.   After the 5 minutes, do another Pomodoro.

- After 4 Pomodoros, take a longer break.  You’ve earned it.

That’s it.  It’s amazing how much working on one thing only can help you, and knowing that you will have a little time to do all the other things that get in your way when you are writing.  Distraction free environments are only so good if you choose not to be distracted.

What I find is that after the 25 minutes, I’m not ready to take a break.  But that’s what focus will do for you.

Then I saw this:

F.

There was another game seven played tonight, and this one was for all the marbles.  Hardly anyone noticed, just a drop in the bucket when the NHL is playing a game 7 for the chance to win the greatest trophy in sports, and the Memorial Cup is going on.   This is nothing, unless you are paying attention.  Unless you are a fan.

FFFFFFFFFF.

The Eagles and the Mudbugs own one of the more unlikely rivalries in the minors.  Usually, you find that neighbors make for the worst bedfellows.  And while I may be mixing my metaphors, I can’t help but think of the cross-Pennsylvania rivalries, the Spokane – Tri-Cities WHL rivalry, and the hate across Edmonton. This is a rivalry born in blood and losses.  These are the rivalries that fans chew on, spit out, and run over with a car.  Twice.  And when you lose to your rival, it never feels good. Never.

The future for the Mudbugs is uncertain.  There are rumors that the team will be moving to a less expensive league, perhaps the NAHL (US juniors) or the SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League).  This was a season of massive changes for the Central Hockey League, incorporating several of the teams from the flailing IHL (formerly the UHL), and expanding to the North and East in places they have never been.  There was a time, not that long ago, that the Colorado Eagles were the most remote team in the CHL.  The league then expanded to Youngstown, and fans of the Central wondered what the league was thinking, putting a team on the far side of Ohio, when their main concentration lived in Texas.  It didn’t last.  This season, with the league taking on teams in Ft. Wayne, IN, Dayton, OH, and two in Illinois, the league stretched itself wider, while already losing teams in it’s base (Amarillo following this season, and Corpus Christi and Lubbock, TX in previous seasons). The Mudbugs are on uncertain footing, but hopefully, a trophy will buy them some time.  They are a good team, with a great fan base.  And although I would like nothing more than for the Eagles to have crushed them, I hope they return next season.  That is what great rivals do sometimes, make you want them back.

So thanks for a great season, Colorado Eagles.  Even if you move to the ECHL (as rumored), you have been one of the best things the Central has had in many years.  And your fans love you for it.

This Sunday’s match between the Thunder and the Mississippi RiverKings was a tamer affair.  In the five and a half years since my last tour of Wichita, the city built a new arena downtown, and they brought the fancy along with the schmancy.

Nice digs, eh?  Take a look inside:

The interior:

This game was a tale of two different battles.  Not to give it away, but the first was the RiverKings goalie battle with the puck.  No matter how Zen Master he may look here, he wasn’t that way after the game started:

The other battle was between the rest of the RiverKings and Thunder goalie Marty Magers.

In fact, I’m just going to go ahead and say it.  Tonight, Magers put on a show.  At times, he was helped by his teammates, but every goalie has those moments.  Magers made the medium shots look easy, and the hard ones look like he was Tim Thomas in his finest form.  It was pure entertainment, and I loved every minute of it.

Can I just say that Wichita has a better center ice scoreboard than the New York Islanders?

It’s sad. The Islanders should haul the city council down to Wichita and make them feel shame.

Hey, what the hell is with the guys in body suits?  Why can you not go anywhere without seeing one of them?  Get off my lawn! Or at least, get some waffles:

After an eternity of special sponsored puck drops, end of season awards (this was the last game of the regular season), and everything else to delay the start of the game, the puck finally dropped.

Action!

No, really, this is action.

Grrrr!!!! Goalie Mad!!!!

Overall, this guy did a pretty good job, which can be saying something for a minor league ref.  He missed a few things, but when you are dealing with a one ref system, that’s going to happen.  Mostly, he got it right.

OK, back to the hockey.

With 3:40 left in the game, the Thunder were called for a double minor high sticking.  You could argue a high stick call, but because it was a double minor, I will assume blood, and it was the right call.  The crowd was savvy enough to boo the initial call, but when it was announced as four minutes, reluctantly accepted reality.  Unfortunately, the only goal for the RiverKings came on the first half of that double minor, with 2:53 left in the game.  The shutout bid for Magers was ruined, and he was visibly upset by it, but the crowd gave him a standing ovation after the RiverKings goal, which he had certainly earned.  He was the unquestioned first star of the game.

Magers made 44 saves in the 8-1 victory, while Alexander Pechurskiy at the other end only made 22, and the Thunder had two shothanded goals.

But wait, there’s more.

The last time I was in Wichita, I won the intermission Chuck-A-Puck. If you don’t know what Chuck-A-Puck is, you need to go to a minor league game.  Essentially, you throw foam pucks on the ice at the second intermission, and try to get it in a bucket or helmet, or near a target, and you win a price.  In 2005, I got the puck in a bucket at center ice (pro tip: one bounce).  Two other people did as well that night, and we wound up splitting the cash prize. I have never repeated the feat since.

Until tonight.

I don’t know what it is about Wichita, but I won again, this time as one of several winners as there were multiple targets laid on the ice.  And what did I win?  What prize would be perfect for someone from Colorado, a traveling man, one who moves around a lot for work, and hasn’t been to Wichita in 5 1/2 years?

Two tickets to a Thunder game next season.

……   …….

So, who’s up for a game?

Old school. If you want to find out more about the history of the Komets, check out Komets Legends.

Fort Wayne loves their Komets, leading the league in attendance in 2007-08, 2008-09, and this season as well. For this season, the Komets beat the other teams in attendance on average by over 3,700 per game, and almost doubled the attendance for the season of their nearest competitor.

When you see their arena, it’s easy to tell why:

(as with every photo, click to make it bigger)

To the left of the arena is a convention center, but when you get inside the arena, it’s impressive:

This is an arena most minor league teams at this level would kill for.

These two photos are a bit of an experiment:

On to the warm-ups. It isn’t unusual for minor league teams to wear sponsored warm up jerseys. The Motor City Mechanics of the old UHL had some of the worst, sponsored by McDonald’s (at least they didn’t have to wear red permed wigs), while the Quad City Mallards had the coolest, ditching the sponsors and creating something fairly unique (they are way cool in person). The Komets? They go where the money is. Mind you, check out the ice surface and tell me they are hurting for money.

Kick ass Komets merch? Sure, how about a bowling ball?

This game found the Komets fighting elimination, down three games to one in their series against the Port Huron Icehawks. Winner of the series moves on to the IHL Turner Cup finals, which the Komets won the last two years. With a lot on the line, we go to the action.

This did not go in:

What did go in was an Icehawk puck with 3.2 seconds left in the first period. It wasn’t how the Komets wanted to head to the dressing room, and the Icehawks followed up with their second of the night only fifteen seconds into the second period. Things were looking ugly for the Komets, and the season had all the earmarks of a disappointing home loss and series finish. It took until the 7:50 mark of the second for Fort Wayne to get on the board.

Back to the action. I don’t want to give it all away just yet.

This could be the most perfect face off ever. The linesman should be proud of this one.

This is not how you want to see your goalie. Ever.

This one went in:

Why, yes, I was playing with the burst shooting on my camera. Why do you ask?

I don’t know what happened to the ref in a previous game, but it had to hurt.

This one is in:

The Komets came back from behind to score seven unanswered goals. Seven. To say the wheels fell off the Icehawks bus would be putting it mildly. Things got a little chippy at the end of the game, but not as bad as some minor league games can get. A lot was at stake, and players wanted to avoid even a single game suspension going forward in the playoffs.

Still, seven unanswered goals is quite something. Even the coaching staff couldn’t take it, heading back to the dressing room before the game was over (OK, in the last minute of play or so).

Look at the equipment manager on the right, being left out to dry.

The Komets went on to finish the game 7-2, and live to play another day (the next night actually). Here is the game sheet.

As the team was skating off the ice, one of the Komets grabbed the mic from the live post game interview and told the crowd they would see them back at the War Memorial Arena Monday night. It was a bold statement, meaning the team would have to win game six in Port Huron to force the game seven. A bold statement indeed.

Well, the Komets lived up to that promise, and beat the Icehawks in their own barn Saturday night, sending the game back to Fort Wayne for game seven. The game winning goal came with three seconds left in the game.

The day in Fort Wayne started with a trip to Sweetwater (an online music retailer), and a rather disturbing sight. It ended with a hell of a game, and a team that showed a lot of heart. Most of the hockey universe has turned it’s attention to the NHL playoffs, and it’s some of the best hockey in the world. But compared to the Blackhawks collapse at the feet of the Vancouver Canucks, it’s a damn shame more people can’t see the kinds of games that happen in the sheds, barns, and arenas around the minor leagues. I’m fairly lucky I get to see it. I love bringing it to you.

My only regret is I won’t be in Fort Wayne on Monday night. I never thought I would say that.

But I found it hard to get behind the Allen Americans, and it took me a little but to figure out why. It was the jerseys.

If you were to take the style of the Phoenix Coyotes jersey, and combine it with the colors of the Red Wings, you have the Allen Americans. Just look at the font for the names and numbers on the backs of the Americans’ jerseys. It’s the leftovers from the Coyotes.

Yeah, I had a problem rooting for the home team. I wasn’t openly cheering on the Rush, but I did find myself a little more excited by their play.

The Allen Event Center is a nice, new building, but after you get inside, you could be in any new building. There isn’t anything to distinguish it from any other new arena out there.

I realize there is still some fascination with that Sacco kid that did the speech from Miracle, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He’s doing it for the Allen Americans in their pregame video? This kid has officially jumped the shark. Or jumped on a shark, or a shark jumped on him.

Look at the players in the background. Yeah, they are really feeling it.

Moving on, hey, where have I seen this before?

Oh, yeah, it was the at the Colorado Eagles vs. Laredo Bucks game, where the ref handed out two unsportsmanlike minors for abuse of the official. And look, it’s the same ref, and he handed one out in the first period of this game. A pattern? Maybe. Hey look, the ref does suck:

Slurp.

OK, on to the game pics. As ever, clicking on a picture makes it bigger, saving you the bandwidth and loading time of pictures you may not be as interested in. You are welcome.

It almost looks like this guy took a stick in the no-nos.

Moving on, the defense for the Americans weren’t doing their goaltender any favors. They weren’t clearing pucks when the goalie would make an initial save, and after the second or third whack at the puck, the Rapid City Rush would end up with a goal.

Even though there were no fights in the game, it got a little rough:

At the end of the second period, the puck took a strange bounce and got past the Americans goalie, prompting a change in net. It wasn’t his fault, but at that point, something had to be done.

It didn’t help. Take a look at the upper left side of the net. Yep, that’s the puck, and that puppies in there:

Everyone is looking to the right of the picture, except the goalie. OK.

The Rapid City Rush won the game, 6-1. Not much of a shock, considering how the defense was playing. After the game, I hung out with Ben Ellis from Big D Hockey, and talked some Texas hockey with him. You’ll hear that on an episode of The Rink Podcast soon enough.

I’m all caught up on games, but I still have one more Texas game to go to.

Welcome to Dodge Arena:

Dodge Arena is in the middle of nowhere, or at least, the only thing near the arena is the nicest Best Western hotel I have ever stayed in (and I have stayed in my share).

The Eagles came out with a strong start, but the Killer Bees goalie was on fire all night. The second period was all Eagles though, and they ended the period up 2-0. Unfortunately, that lead didn’t last, and the Bees came back to win the game 3-2, scoring the go ahead goal with half the final period left.

On to the pictures. Click on any images for bigger versions.

I love those new Eagles jerseys. I want one, bad.

The Bees mascot was nice..

.

For a moment:

Back to the game.

There’s your final. It looks like the Eagles can’t win when I’m around. Next time, maybe.

click on any photo to make it bigger.

Hey everyone, it’s my good friend, Lord Stanley’s Cup:

This is kind of a surreal picture, maybe because the background is a little more in focus than I am, or the Cup for that matter.

And for all you Avs fans:

The way that 2000-01 Avalanche ring looks a little weird, like it was compressed a little in transit? It doesn’t look like the same ring as the one I saw in Cleveland a few years back.
Still, it’s a thing of beauty.

And I got my picture with another keeper of the Cup.

This is the second Keeper of the Cup I’ve had my picture taken with, and oddly enough, I was wearing the same jersey.

I am here to tell you, you have not heard the Canadian National Anthem until you have heard a mariachi band do it (OK, yes, you have, but you still have to hear it to believe it). Hopefully, the video I took on my iPhone worked out, and I can share it with you later.

When you set off fireworks inside a closed arena, you should have a sufficient ventilation system to get rid of the sulfurous smoke that is left behind. I am here to tell you, they do not have such a system at the Laredo Event Center.

Hey, you know who doesn’t know how to do the Y.M.C.A.? These women.

OK, on to the game:

Surreal image of the night:

Yep, still hazy:

OK, back to the game:

One penalty was handed out, to this guy:

Yep.

The goals picked up in the third period, and it was looking like an All Star Game:

The South Texas All Stars (made up of players from the Laredo Bucks, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, and Corpus Christi Rayz) beat the CHL All Stars (all the rest of the teams) 9-4. Final SOG was 62-37.

Team MVPs get win really small HDTVs.

This guy deserved the CHL team MVP.

All that was left was the player salutes:

The Killer Bees salute their fans:

That does it for the All Star Game. I still owe you pictures from the Colorado Eagles vs. RGV Killer Bees game. Oh, they are coming.

Technorati Tags: CHL, All Star Game

Click on any photos you want to see bigger.

The sky over Laredo before the game was full of color.

The arena itself had a little more character than most new buildings, but was still new enough to be modern. It reminded me of where the Grand Rapids Griffins play, or where the Ft. Worth Brahmas played, due to the big wall at one end.

I really like this picture.

This was the guy who let in 3 goals on 5 shots and got pulled.

I have to say, I like these jerseys a lot. They are right in all the ways the new Avs third jersey is wrong. I think I may have to get one.

Action!

This led to repercussions later. The ref wasn’t taking any crap from anyone. The eagles took a few extra penalties for mouthing off to the ref early in the game. In fact, 7 total penalties, including both the 5 on 3 and a 4 minute stint in the box were directly thanks to players or coaches mouthing off to the ref.

Hey, those pictures? They almost didn’t let me in with my camera. They said it was a pro camera (it doesn’t have a removable lens, and I told them to bring a supervisor over to discuss the matter, which they then said it was OK). I don’t understand the policy. I get that you don’t want pro photographers bringing tripods and huge lenses into the building, but what harm does a good photograph of a game do? I’m posting my photos online, and you get to see hockey in a new building. It’s promoting the sport, and their team. What is the problem? People with teams, especially in the minors, need to realize that free promotion is their best tool, and the fans are the ones who will provide that.

Can you imagine an arena up north with the Mexican national flag hanging? But here they do Canada the honor of hanging their national flag. Good job, Laredo.

After each goal scored by the Bucks, the fans would throw plastic corn on the ice, which would stop the game, and have to be cleaned up. It took forever to do, but it was the local tradition. As it was explained to me, it was deer corn. They were feeding the deer. The Bucks?

Fans!

Hecklers! Yes, I was heckled at the game. They get the small photo.

The Eagles tied the game up in the last few seconds (18 to be close to exact), and the game wound up going to the shootout, where the Eagles were fairly awful. In the CHL, like most of the minor leagues, shootouts go five shooters deep, rather than the three in the NHL. I have no idea why the NHL went with three shooters, but they did.

Hey look, the pucks in the back of the net. Go figure.

Taunting the shooter:

Weirdest save ever? No, but still…

You should have seen it in person.

Losers have to skate off past the winners? That sucks.

That’s your final. The Bucks had a post game skate after the game, but I only had my iPhone with me, so the pictures aren’t as good. Still, I will post them. Just a little later.

I had a great time at the game, and will talk a little later about what it was like as an away fan, and talking with the fans at the game. For now, it’s on to Laredo.

Technorati Tags: Colorado Eagles, Laredo Bucks, CHL