As you can probably tell, things did not go well for the boys from QC tonight.
Other possible titles for this post:
Mallards Mallase
Molting Mallards
Bird of a Feather Lose Together
What The Hell Was That?
I kid, but really, what was that? The Mallards had a rough go of it tonight, in a game that could have gone their way. Had they played the entire game like they played the first few minutes of the first two periods, they would have dominated. But a few bounces, a few strange plays, and a glove hand that just wasn’t enough at times, and this game was out of hand quickly. The Thunder take it 5-1.
I am usually not one to dog on the refs, but there was an obvious point in this game where things could quickly get out of hand. While looking right at the play, the ref didn’t call a boarding call that shouldn’t have gone gotten by him. I thought things were going to turn into a circus, but that thankfully didn’t happen. I can’t credit the officiating crew for keeping things calm, but I will say they could have done a much better job.
To the photos. Hey, who’s that? Why, it’s my old pal Aaron Boogaard. I seem to see him everywhere. In fact, he scored his first goal of the season tonight. I would like to think that I’m his good luck charm, but if I told him that, he would probably beat me up. Better just keep that to myself.
The Mallards have a giant inflatable duck head wearing a helmet that vomits players onto the ice. That is the only way I can describe it.
The I Wireless Arena (formerly known by it’s better name, the MARK) is a nice place, big and comfortable. Too big, it turns out, so they black out some of the seats with curtains. You might be familiar with the Florida Panthers doing the same thing. Also the Hartford Wolfpack Connecticut Whale. Giant pillowy curtains really make for an intimate setting. Or something.
Did I mention spacious and comfortable? Yeah, this is the polar opposite of the Des Moines Buccaneers arena, as you can see here, and here.
Nice knob.
OK, a little action.
I have to admit, I didn’t get a lot of photos from this game. The glass put some warp into the images, and I got kind of fed up with it. In fact, it’s some of the tallest glass I’ve ever seen on the sides of a rink. Tall and crappy. Kind of like (insert player from your hated rival here). Yeah, good one.
Here is the chuck-a-puck aftermath. And while six of those are mine, on’y one of mine won a free sub. That’s right, I’m a winner. Mad skills.
I kind of like this one. It’s like artistic chuck-a-puck photography. I don’t think I should start of business around it, though. Niche audience for sure.
A half salute for a half effort. Actually, that isn’t fair. The Mallards put effort into it tonight. They just didn’t hold on to any momentum they earned early in the periods.
Swag report – I picked up this puck.
How do you like that key card for my room? ‘Merica.
And then I got the mascot to hold it for a photo.
Rocking.
Recaps from the travel blog:
You can follow along on the travel blog. Lots of smaller posts, with some real gems along the way.