Jerseys and Hockey Love » Travel

US Hockey Hall of Fame Part One

Tapeleg — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:56 +0000

Eveleth, MN isn’t on the radar for most hockey fans, or the hot vacation spot that online travel websites will be pushing deals for. Eveleth is up there, 3 hours north of Minneapolis. It’s not on the way to anywhere, unless you want to see where Christian hockey sticks were made (Warroad), or are into mining (a big industry around the Eveleth area)

I’m not trying to slight Eveleth (but I probably am, so I’m sorry to the residents), as I didn’t get a chance to explore the town much. But I was there for one reason, and one reason only. To visit the USA Hockey Hall of Fame.

(click any photos for a bigger version, and if you want to use any of them, go for it, just give me credit, please)

The hall was founded in 1973, and fell on some seriously hard times, to the point that a few years ago, they were thinking about shutting down. There has also been movements to move the hall to a more populated area. The hall remains in Eveleth, though, even though it could use a few more visitors through it’s doors. Right now, the hall is trying to fix the air conditioner it has limped along with since the building was built.

The hall was actually closed for the day (call ahead for the hours, since the winter and summer hours are quite different), but a phone call to the hall was enough for the nice people who run the place to open it’s doors for me.

When you walk into the hall, it doesn’t look like much. A lobby with a few hockey jerseys in it, a small gift shop, nothing much. But it opens up when you take the stairs to the first main floor.

First, those jerseys in the main lobby. One was the jersey Bobby Ryan wore when he scored the fastest hat trick in NHL history (3 goals in 2:21). The other was a Mike Modono jersey, on display with articles about him being the highest scoring US born player.

On to the hall. Meet Zamboni #4.

I’ve been around the first Zamboni before, and this one was just as cool. Built on the frame of an old Willy’s jeep, this one dates back to the early 1950s.

Beats the hell out of the old way of resurfacing the ice:

The hall had just finished putting up their Herb Brooks exhibit, and it was full of amazing memorabilia from his legendary career, and from the 1980 gold medal winning hockey team:

These are coats from the 1980 Olympics (I believe they were both worn by Brooks):

Photos of the team at the White House:

To save bandwidth for some of you, this all continues after the jump.

Herb Brooks comes home from the Olympics:

Herb Brooks’ jersey from the 1968 Olympics:

Other memorabilia from the 1968 Olympics:

I love this picture of Brooks from the 2002 Olympics at practice, taking a shot. He was lifting the puck just fine:

More stuff from Brooks:

Brooks from the U of M years:

I doubt there will be another coach like Brooks, or another team like he coached in 1980.

Any hall of fame has to have inductees, and the US Hockey Hall of Fame has a wall dedicated to them:

They aren’t the most flattering of artists renderings:

You can find a list of everyone enshrined here.

A few other things in the main floor: Such as the scoreboard from the movie The Mighty Ducks:

The big blue banner behind it is from the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid:

A display of old skates, by which I mean oooooold:

Including this skate sharpener:

Around the back of the Great Wall of Enshrinees were more exhibits with more jerseys and hockey history. This was the display on Eveleth hockey history:

Frank Brimsek, aka Mr. Zero, and his Vezina and Calder trophies from the 1938-39 season:

More historic US Olympic memorabilia:

From the 1960 gold winning team:

There is still plenty more to show, but this is long enough for now. More photos in the next post.

Allen Americans vs. Rapid City Rush: Who’s The Home Team?

Tapeleg — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:16:35 +0000

When I’m on the road, and I am seeing two teams where I don’t care who wins, I try to pull for the home team. It’s fun to cheer with the fans, and live and die, for one night, with a team you don’t know much about.

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.

Colorado Eagles vs. Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees: Wait For It…

Tapeleg — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:04:25 +0000

This is a little out of order, and certainly overdue (as is the 2nd Christmas jersey post, which I promise is coming). It’s the Eagles vs Killer Bees.

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.

Central Hockey League All Star Game

Tapeleg — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:27:13 +0000

I’m going a little out of order here, but I wanted to post the pictures from the CHL All Star Game from Laredo, TX. It was certainly an interesting game, or at least, the hoopla around the game was interesting (yes, I said hoopla). At the very least, I had a great time. Let’s go to the photos:

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

Colorado Eagles vs. Laredo Bucks: Away Games

Tapeleg — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:38:47 +0000

I have only a little time before I have to get on the road to Hidalgo, TX for the Colorado Eagles vs the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees game, so this is mostly going to be a photo essay. I’m cooking up something else later.

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

Texas Stars vs. Houston Aeros: A Study in Penalty Killing

Tapeleg — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:25:01 +0000

Tonight’s game between the Texas Stars and the Houston Aeros was more of an interesting affair then the majority of the game seemed. That sounds kind of strange, but it’s actually true. For the vast majority of the game, the Houston Aeros controlled the play, and the Texas Stars, who couldn’t make tape-to-tape passes to save their lives, looked fairly ordinary and disorganized. But for some reason, the Stars pulled out a 3-2 overtime win over the Aeros, who looked better the entire game.

The main interest for me was the different styles of penalty killing each team involved, and their effectiveness. The Stars, who were sloppy on the power play, felt the pressure of an aggressive Aeros penalty kill. That was most apparent from a five minute major penalty the Aeros had to kill off, which resulted in one goal for the Stars, and a lot of time for Texas chasing the puck down the ice. Houston, a more technically sound passing team, was able to keep possession of the puck, but was mostly kept to the outside by the Stars, playing more of a positional kill, and were effective in getting into the shooting lanes. Still, the Stars were 2 for 5 on the power play, but you wouldn’t know it from watching the game.

Wait, isn’t this a travelogue? You aren’t here to hear me spout off about a minor league penalty kill? Hey, I’m down with that. But before we get to the pictures, one more thing.

The Cedar Park Center, located in the middle of nowhere, charges it’s patrons ten dollars for parking. Ten dollars. Add that to your ticket price, because there is no other way to get there, and no alternative parking. It’s a monopoly, and it’s a ridiculous way to gouge fans for the privilege of going to the game. If there were a cheaper but less convenient alternative, I may not mind as much, but when you hold all the cards, and you are overcharging for nothing, it’s a piss poor way to treat your fans and clients. I complained to the customer service desk, and was told that it’s less expensive than other venues, including the Dallas Stars. I’ve been all over the nation, seeing hockey games in as many places as possible, and I can tell you this is absolutely not true. It’s a disgusting scam, and venues that have no alternative should end the practice, or charge a more reasonable amount.

OK, on to the pictures.

This won’t last:

The arena itself is nice enough, but a little bland. It lacks the character of an older arena, but that seems to be the case with most new arenas. I could have been in Ontario, CA, or Broomfield, CO, or even Gwinnett, GA. If that sounds like a criticism, it’s meant to. What the hell happened to character? Hockey is a sport of character, and old hockey barns have it in droves. New buildings barely have the chance to develop any character, unless it’s manufactured by the designer. These new arenas don’t feel designed so much as sanitized. It’s too bad really, as buildings like the War Memorial in Johnstown, PA (you saw it in Slap Shot, even though it was in “Charlestown” for the movie), the Igloo in Pittsburgh, or whatever the arena in Port Huron, MI is called.

Warmups:

Hey, if you are going to overcharge for parking, perhaps your Zamboni shouldn’t be a reminder of that fact.

OK, game time. You can click on any picture for a larger version.

Check out the puck just over the goalie’s glove:

Blood on the ice:

One of the Aeros took a match penalty for intent to injure. Moving on.

This took way too long to fix. So long we had to listen to an entire Def Leopard song. Other than that gaff, the Stars had the best alternative music mix I have ever heard at a hockey game. Ever.

This wasn’t a penalty. The refs put their whistles away for overtime. Like the hockey gods intended.

This is one of my favorite shots from the game. The puck is between his blocker and his stick.

This is your overtime game winner, in the back of the net.

So yeah, the Texas Stars win it in OT, 3-2. With the game winner:

As “nice” as the arena was, as acceptable as the game was, I had a good time at the game. I’m off tomorrow, but I hope to find some ice to skate on tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Houston Aeros, AHL, Texas Stars

Spokane Chiefs vs. Everett Silvertips: Blowouts Happen

Tapeleg — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:47:57 +0000

I’m still two posts (for three games) behind on game posts, but I’m going to leapfrog Seattle and Portland for the moment, and put up my pictures from tonight’s Chiefs game.

I have had the distinct non-pleasure of seeing the Everett Silvertips lose three games this trip (and I only saw them three times), and I have to say, these guys are pacing themselves way too much. As in, they don’t even show up to the first period, and don’t find their legs until halfway through the second. It happened every game. And it certainly happened tonight in Spokane.

Let me tell you, Spokane is not a team you want to hold back against. The reigning Memorial Cup Champions (and if you don’t know what that means, do yourself a favor and click the link to find out) are a very tight team, with fast passing and creativity on offense.

Spokane has a nice arena, but it was sparsely populated for tonight’s gig. And that was a huge mistake on the fans part, since the Chiefs scored enough goals to win me some free eats for the thind time on the hockey tour (burgers at Tri City and Portland). And hey, I’m all for free food, but I’m all for a game as well, not a blow out. And the Tips were beaten before they even hit the ice.

You can click any of the smaller pictures for larger versions. I do this to save you some bandwidth.

Action!!!!
This is warmups, but this is roughly what the game looked like.

The Beer Garden. I wasn’t very impressed with the selection, but the view was great.

This can only end in tears.

What rivalry?

OK, how about some game pics?
Some youth hockey players joined the Chiefs for the National Anthem. First, the Austrian National Anthem was played, in honor of the singer. Then, the guy almost nailed the American National Anthem. Still, he was better than the woman in Bakersfield who blew the Canadian Anthem (“Oh, Canada. Sorry.”)

On to the game. This goaltender was so damn fast at getting back up from the butterfly. You see how he does it, one leg at a time, but he would go down and get back up so fast, it was like was simply sliding back and forth. The part I liked least about him was when he barked at his defenseman after the first goal scored against him. At that point , the game was beyond out of reach for the Tips. Stats are one thing, but if you are going to get this kind of goal support, you don’t have to worry about one goal (it was 7-0 Chiefs before they let one in, so come on).

OK, this is a funny sequence. The score was 5-0 Chiefs, and the Coach had enough from his starting goalie. Time to put the backup in. But the play started before the switch could be made. So the backup had to wait for a stoppage.

He’s just waiting there, waiting for a whistle so he can go out there. And what happened next was almost like it was scripted or fate. The Chiefs scored again before the whistle blew, making the game 6-0.

And his teammates don’t even get the door for him. Dude.

This one went in. This is the beautiful backhanded pass up the slot that was blasted in. Just a perfect play if I have ever seen one.

Fight!!!

Wait, what the hell? And why is there a bear who works at Subway watching? This is freaking me out. OK, real fight.

Back to the game.

And look, the Chiefs win. Final score, 7-2 (and the Tips were lucky to get two)

I got a chance to meet Wrap Around Curl very briefly, and she was nice.

Gamesheet. Note the three power play goals by the Chiefs, and the overlapping Tips penalties in the third period.

That does it for Spokane. Swag report has to wait, because I am super tired. But I’m not tired of hockey yet. This wraps up the west coast portion of the road trip. Next up is Rapid City on Friday. If anyone knows of a game happening in Billings, MT Thursday night, hit me up in the comments. I don’t care what level. I’m just not ready for this road trip to end.

Tri-City Americans vs. Portland Winterhawks: Old School meets New School

Tapeleg — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:41:13 +0000

Buildings are important for hockey. The tone of an arena can set the tone for the entire experience of a hockey game, or the tone of an individual game. Some of the NHL arenas follow this code, but too many ignore it, choosing nice amenities over individualism. The American Airlines Center in Dallas gets it right, combining an individual character with modern convenience. But when you go to places like Port Huron, Kalamazoo, Johnstown, Providence, Rockford, Wichita, and Indianapolis, you get a real feel for what hockey is meant to feel like. There should be history and character, and often, that only comes with quirks and age. And you can add the Tri-City’s barn in Kennewick, WA to that list.

This is one of those places that seems like a rink was shoehorned into it, but in reality, it’s got it’s own charm. This is where a community of hockey fans comes together.

Notice how some of the seats extend into the corridor.

My seats were one row from the glass, thanks to my host “Dave Shultz” from the blog “I Mean, We Got Guys…”

I took a ton of photos from the game. I will not subject you to them all here, but know they could pop up at any time. You have been warned.

Words are said.

Open for business.

This guy is in some pain. I believe he came back.

Dude, what are you looking at? Eyes on the prize, buddy.

Your final:

Overall, a much better game than the night before.

After the game, I got to take part in the post game skate:

Here is a jersey I wish I had. Oh well.

These are always a lot more fun after the home team wins.

Would I go back to Kennewick for a game? You freaking bet. All hockey games should be experienced in places this fun. It’s what hockey travel was born for.

Swag Report: Everett Silvertips

Tapeleg — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:29:08 +0000

I am obligated (self imposed, mind you) to get a puck from each game I go to. I’m happy limiting myself to that, so long as there isn’t anything else really cool to pick up.

First, the puck:

OK, nice puck, eh? But then I spotted the Grab Bag.

Dude, it’s a grab bag. I couldn’t resist.

Anticipation.

And I get a signed puck from Ryan White. Whoo-hoo!!! Wait, who is Ryan White? Well, he was born in Parker, CO. So there.

Well, there you go. Swag report complete. My post from the Tri-City Americans hits tomorrow.

Silvertips vs. Giants: A Study in WTF

Tapeleg — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:27:59 +0000

Let’s just get this out of the way. The game I witnessed between the Everett Silvertips and the Vancouver Giants was possibly one of the worst games I have ever seen. Mind you, I have seen games at all levels, and been around the United States to all sorts of venues. I have seen shut outs, blowouts, and knock down drag outs. But this was on a whole other level.

Expectations can get a little out of control for a hockey game. All you have to do is take a look at the hockey parent who pushes their under 12 year old kid like they are going to be the next Gretzky. My expectations were to see a high tempo game, along with plenty of mistakes. These kids playing for the WHL are sixteen to twenty years old, and while many are the cream of the crop for their age group, they aren’t in the NHL (yet) and they aren’t coached like they are in the NHL. I understand that.

What I couldn’t understand was what Everett was doing for the first period. Watching the play was the first thing that came to mind. Perhaps their lack of effort was in response to something the rest of us weren’t privy to. Perhaps they were trying to conserve their energy for something after the game. Whatever it was, they took the first period off, which payed off for the Giants in a 20-4 SOG advantage. The fact that the game was only 1-0 Giants after the first was a testament to the Silvertips goaltender. If not for him, the score could have been completely out of control. Like a previous engagement between the ‘Tips and the Giants, in which Everett got blown out 8-0.

Action! Or something similar:
(click on the small pics to see bigger versions)

They have a nice building to play in, but virtually no parking.

More high end coffee.

The arena itself was really nice. I think I could believe it if I were told that there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. Most places make this claim, but I can tell you from experience, it’s a lie. I’m looking at you, Ontario.

Saw this a lot.

The first intermission had R/C cars racing around the ice. It was more entertaining than the first period of the game.

No bears were hurt in the making of this intermission entertainment. Well, almost…

Dude.

The arena has another rink attached.

Back to the “action”

I love this photo. I don’t know why.

Yeah, you should be.

This guy’s name stretches shoulder to shoulder. I took a lot of pictures trying to get this.

I saw the check that broke this pane of glass, but didn’t get a picture of it. Damn.

Fight!

Your final:

Rebuilding? You better hope so, ‘Tips fans. There was more chanting for the Giants than for Everett. The Swag Report from this game is going to be fun. Look for it tonight.