Patric Hornqvist Discusses Missing Elusive Goo-Goo Goal Against Carolina on Saturday Night

Somewhere in Nashville, there sits a dark, climate-controlled warehouse that contains 17,113 Goo-Goo Clusters that are awaiting the day when they find their way into the mouths of anxious Nashville Predator fans that have now suffered through 22 games over a three-month period when the Preds have failed to score a Goo-Goo goal.

For the uninitiated, a new promotion was started this year where if the Nashville Predators score a goal in the last minute of play in the second period every fan in attendance will receive a delicious, made in Nashville, Goo-Goo Cluster.

Goo-Goo Clusters have been a product of the Standard Candy Company since 1912 and are described as being made with "real milk chocolate, caramel, peanuts and marshmallow nougat." Over the years, Goo-Goo has been a regional treat that is probably most associated with their sponsorship of "The Grand Ole Opry."

Some of us on "Bloggers Row" have been dreaming of the day when every fan in Bridgestone Arena will learn to chant "Goo-Goo, Goo-Goo, Goo-Goo, Goo-Goo, etc." for a full minute at every game, similar to the way the crowd chants "Ru-dy, Ru-dy, Ru-dy, Ru-dy, etc." at the end of the 1994 classic movie "Rudy."

On Saturday, against the Carolina Hurricanes, the best shot of the year at a Goo-Goo goal came with 34 seconds left in the middle period when Patric Hornqvist fired a wrister from six feet that Carolina goalie Justin Peters amazingly kept out of the net.

After the game, Hornqvist was asked about the near Goo-Goo goal and we were crushed with his response. "Oh, I don't know what that is."

After an explanation Hornqvist said, "Oh, OK, I didn't know. They (the fans) want everything. I was there in front and we tried to score but I didn't know they got some extra stuff if we score in the last minute. They got Frosties, at least! It was a good night for them (the fans) too."

For the record, in 22 games, the Predators have mustered 12 shots and picked up six penalties during the Goo-Goo minute but have yest to reward the fans with the desired delicacy.

Fans have made out better on the "Frosty Score for Four" promotion, where in addition to Saturday's game, they have picked up the frozen desert from Wendy's on five other occasions.

Another promotion from Dunkin Donuts, where everyone gets a free donut when the Predators get a shutout, got good play from Barry Trotz in the postgame on October 29 when after Pekka Rinne shut out Anaheim 3-0 he said, "“Tomorrow morning I’m going to enjoy my Dunkin Donuts coffee and donut with all the 17,113 people that are going to be there tomorrow!”

So as we await the next home game on Thursday against Colorado, those of us on Blogger's Row that are fixated on the Goo-Goo goal await hopefully for the day when the fans are rewarded with the charming Southern delicacy.

While there are firm rules and traditions about "no cheering in the press box," don't be surprised if things get a little noisy when (and if) the Goo-Goo Goal finally finds the opponent net as we have become overly obsessed with wanting to celebrate our favorite promotion.

Finally, the following chart outlines the results through 22 home games for the Goo-Goo Goal, Frosties four goals, as well as the Dunkin Donut freebies.

Game - Date	Opponent	Goo-Goo Shots/Shooters	Frosty/Donut ?
1.   10-13-11	Phoenix	1  Smith (PP)	No (2-5) No
2.   10-15-11	New Jersey	1  Weber	No (2-3) No
3.   10-25-11	San Jose	0	No (1-3) No
4.   10-27-11	Tampa Bay	0	Yes (5-3) No
5.   10-29-11	Anaheim	0	No (3-0) Yes
6.   11-12-11	Montreal	0	No (1-2) No
7.   11-15-11	Washington	0	No (3-1) No
8.   11-17-11	Toronto	0	Yes (4-1) No
9.   11-19-11	Columbus	1  Legwand	No (3-4) No
10. 11-22-11	Edmonton	3  Fisher (2) Tootoo	No (2-6) No
11. 12-3-11	Buffalo	3  Suter (2) Blum	No (2-3) No
12. 12-6-11	Phoenix	0	No (2-3) No
13. 12-10-11	Anaheim	0	No (3-2) No
14. 12-13-11	Calgary	0	No (2-1) No
15. 12-15-11	Detroit	0	Yes (4-3) No
16. 12-17-11	St. Louis	0	No (2-1) No
17. 12-22-11	Columbus	0	Yes (6-5) No
18. 12-26-11	Detroit	0	No (1-4) No
19. 12-28-11	Minnesota	1  Josi	No (2-1) No
20.  1-1-12	Calgary	0	Yes (5-3) No
21.  1-5-12	Dallas	0	No (1-4) No
22.  1-7-12	Carolina	2  Erat, Hornqvist	Yes (5-2) No

Goo-Goo Penalties
Game 2 - Hornqvist High Sticking (:37) and Weber Cross-Checking (:14)
Game 3 - Suter Slashing (:47)
Game 6 - Tootoo Cross-checking (:00)
Game 14 - Josi Holding (:57)
Game 21 - Fisher Tripping (:57)

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass