Last night was a bit of a preview for the long summer hockey off season. With the odd scheduling in the Conference finals, the only hockey on TV in the US was the final round robin game in the Memorial Cup that was played for pride and pride alone.
Moncton was eliminated from the tournament on Tuesday night when they lost in overtime to Windsor. Moncton finished 0-3 while Windsor, who is 3-0, moved directly to Sunday's championship game.
Calgary and Brandon moved to Friday's simi-final play-in game so the potential tie breaker game will not be needed tonight.
So with the final seedings set, last night's game was a battle for pride between the two best teams from the WHL regular season. Calgary eliminated Brandon in the WHL semifinals with a 4-1 series win.
Last night all the scoring took place in the first period with Calgary going ahead 5-1 but the action did not there. There were plenty of scraps and a lot of positioning for Friday's game that counts. It was a fun game to watch on an otherwise hockey-less night in the US.
Programming Note...
I was pleased to be able to appear on the latest edition of The Rink Podcast with James "Tapeleg" Gralian. We discussed the Pred's early exit, Jason Arnott's captaincy, the Pred's free agents and also the upcoming Flood Relief NHL Tweet-Up. Also appearing on the podcast was K of C and Jay Kumar. It was a fun visit as James always does a great job on a podcast that I never miss.
World Championships...
The World Championships also had Wednesday off but will jump into the quarterfinal round today when four more countries will be eliminated.
Finland will play the Czech Republic which should match Pekka Rinne against ex Pred Tomas Vokoun. Rinne did not start against Russia on Tuesday but I would imagine he will be the go to guy for the Fins in the medal round.
Canada will be a heavy underdog against a stacked Russian team that is out for revenge. The Russians are still stinging from the 7-3 loss at the Olympics that ended their medal chances. Canada's team in no was resembles the squad that took the ice in Vancouver, while Russia has proven to be the strongest team in the tournament.
In the oldest international rivalry, dating back to 1910, the hometown German team will play Switzerland. The game will feature four Predatos with Roman Josi playing for Switzerland and Marcel Goc, Robert Dietrich and Alexander Sulzer for the Germans. This is a great match between two teams that have not advanced far in recent years.
The other game will be between Sweden and Denmark. The simi-finals will be Saturday and the finals will be on Sunday.
The biggest stink of the off day was caused by this article that was posted on the IIHF website that was critical of the number of players who chose not to represent their countries in this long Olympic year. Dirk Hoag has a poll on whether Shea Weber and Ryan Suter were unpatriotic for not playing in the games.
Chris Burton at On The Forecheck has the latest stats for Preds participating in the tournament.
Here is today's complete quarterfinal schedule.
Finland -Czech Republic 9am
Sweden - Denmark 9am
Russia - Canada 1pm
Switzerland -Germany 1pm
Tonight's Playoff Game...
The Flyers - Habs series will have a change of scenery tonight at 6:00 CDT when the action moves to Montreal for game three. It will be interesting to see if Michael Leighton will continue his unbelievable run since returning from his recent injury. I've rarely seen a goalie appear to be as excited as Leighton was as the clock wound down in game two.
On the other end of the rink, all will be watching to see which Jaroslav Halak shows up to play. Will it be the unstoppable one of the first two rounds that stole games against the two best teams in the East or will it be the one who has received little support and was pummeled in the first two games of the series.
Fans, who want to see a long series will be pulling for the Habs because if they lose, then I doubt it will go more than five games.
In Pred Nation...
Mark Willoughby released pictures of the first batch of auction items for the Nashville Flood Relief NHL Tweet-Up. There is also more information at the NHL Tweetup site. Sign up to attend at the TwTvite site.
The Winnipeg Free Press has a nice feature story about Ryan Ellis.
The Cincinnati Cyclones return to the ice tonight at 6:30 p.m. CDT against the Idaho Steelheads to try to take a 3-1 series lead.
Scott Hartnell was a guest on last night's Slap Shot Radio with Paul McCann.
Tales from the Batcave ranks the Pred's logo as the second best in the NHL.
Around the NHL...
The Sporting News named Henrik Sedin as the NHL Player of the Year.
The Oiler's Kevin Lowe declared that they were changing back to a philosophy of home grown talent instead of free agents. I guess you can say that when you have the number one pick.
Jeremy Roenick will join NBC's studio team for the finals. Maybe he'll finally take a swing at Mike Milbury.
Matt Reitz has a different look at the Dale Talon hiring in Florida. He also points us to the five part Kingscast year end wrap-up. We are looking forward to meeting these guys in person at the draft.
Here's an early list of unrestricted free agents by position from SportsCity.
With all the discussion of Canada needing more teams, how is Ottawa losing money? Down Goes Brown takes a look.
From the Point has the inside scoop on how to purchase the last Mellon Arena hot dog. They also have the story of Lance Armstrong being a whiny baby over Versus cutting away to Game 2 of the ECF after suffering the wrath of hockey fans for starting game one late on Sunday.
Michelle Kenneth has a new look at her site.
Odds and Ends...
Here's a Blackberry app that is supposed to help avoid the dreaded battery pull.
Here's another great review of Rob Higgins' Dearly Beloved album "Make It Bleed".
Finally... I admit that I'm on the Michael Leighton band wagon and I really liked this HWBM.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
Showing posts with label NHLTweetup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NHLTweetup. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Mid Week Musings - Tweetup Organizer Needed
As I followed along all the goings on at @dani3boyz's New York City NHL Tweetup on Tuesday night, I realized how much more interesting hockey fandom has become with folks who otherwise would have never met coming together to share the common interest they have as hockey fans.
The New York City event is even more unique in that fans of three bitter rivalry teams, the Rangers, Islanders and Devils, can bring fans together and co-exist over a few brews with nothing but a little trash talk to stand between them. Here is a picture and map from @speakofthedevs from where the event was held.
The first Nashville Tweetup event that was held in April was one of the more successful ventures across the country with at least 100 Predator Tweeters showing up and meeting each other face to face, for the first time for most. The Closing Bell Wall Street Pub had a good layout for folks to mix and mingle.
The second Tweetup venture at O'Charley's for the draft party, was a little less conducive for interaction with a different layout and less of a focus on the twitter crowd.
Our original Tweetup leader, George Scoville @stackiii is leaving town and we need new leadership to put together an event similar to the first one, sometime in the second half of August. That should be about halfway between the "Skate of the Union" and the opening of fall camp and would help stave off the pangs of #NHLwithdrawal.
Are their any volunteers to be Nashville's new NHLTweetup organizer? If so, it's time to step up and make yourself know.
In Pred Nation...
Brandon Felder tells the story of the one the Preds let get away in the free agent chase. For the kind of money that was discussed, there are several others that are still on the market that could be had.
Forechecker had a poll on whether the Preds should pursue Vinny Prospal who was bought out by Tampa on Tuesday. The results were not surprising since no one is spending their own money. Dirk's Breakfast Links for Wednesday are here.
What about Jan Hlavac? He played in Europe last year after the Predators did not re-sign him after the 2007-08 season. He produced at a point a game pace in the SEL and seemed to fit into Trotz's system well, playing on the top lines down the stretch two years ago.
Jim Diamond discusses Shea Weber and whether he will be one of the leagues highest paid players when his contract comes up again in two years. Will the Preds be willing to pay that much?
Paul McCann follows the vulture, Jim Ballsillie's travels to Chicago for today's meeting with the NHL.
John Glennon wrote about several topics at Inside Predators, leading off with the high expectations of David Legwand and Mary Erat this season.
The Milwaukee Admirals announced a new web site make-over prior to the season starting in October.
Which player from Nashville is likely to get in the Hockey Hall of Fame? This piece has a list for every team.
Around the NHL...
Tuesday's highlight for me was Ryan at the RedLightDistrict's handiwork that is a plan for visiting all thirty NHL hockey rinks in 30 days. He has routing and pricing information for a month-long journey that would start the day after Christmas. The post had not been up 10 minutes before the Section303 guys were looking for a sponsor to take on the challenge.
The US Hockey Hall of Fame announced this year's inductees that included Tony Amonte, Tom Barrasso, John LeClair and the late Frank Zamboni, creator of the iconic surface machine.
Not that I want the Coyotes to leave Phoenix, but as long as weird proposals are being made, The Puck Report has a suggestion that sounds really off the wall at first but would produce some interesting results while allowing cities to "try out" for a permanent franchise.
The AZ Republic adds some points that would go against the traveling circus that Ice Edge wants to employ as part of their Coyote purchase agreement. Their meeting with the NHL is today in Chicago.
This must be the week for interesting long posts. Defending Big D has a round table interview with Puck Daddy, Dallas Beat Writer Mike Heika, and radio host Bob Sturm about journalism and the new media. The second half of the discussion is fresh this morning. This is one of the best comprehensive looks at traditional vs. new media to come down the pike yet. This is the second major "must read" articles coming on the heels of Tripp Mickle's Boots DelBiaggio expose on Monday.
Craig Custance has a line up of the teams most likely to make the playoffs in the coming season that missed last year. He's not hopeful for the Preds, but doesn't advise betting against them either.
The Hockey News has a glowing report on the St Louis Blues who will be one of the teams the Preds need to get past in the Central division to return to the playoffs.
Ex-Predator defenseman, Andy Delmore signed a contract with Detroit on Tuesday. He was one of the more successful offensive D-men for the Preds in the pre-playoff years. I would have thought he would be older than 32 at this time.
Mirtle had an interesting post of just what each NHL team cost at the last sale.
Off topic... This is now designated as Chaco Culture week with a story about a Chacoan outlier community at Chimney Rock that only lasted about fifty years.
More later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
The New York City event is even more unique in that fans of three bitter rivalry teams, the Rangers, Islanders and Devils, can bring fans together and co-exist over a few brews with nothing but a little trash talk to stand between them. Here is a picture and map from @speakofthedevs from where the event was held.
The first Nashville Tweetup event that was held in April was one of the more successful ventures across the country with at least 100 Predator Tweeters showing up and meeting each other face to face, for the first time for most. The Closing Bell Wall Street Pub had a good layout for folks to mix and mingle.
The second Tweetup venture at O'Charley's for the draft party, was a little less conducive for interaction with a different layout and less of a focus on the twitter crowd.
Our original Tweetup leader, George Scoville @stackiii is leaving town and we need new leadership to put together an event similar to the first one, sometime in the second half of August. That should be about halfway between the "Skate of the Union" and the opening of fall camp and would help stave off the pangs of #NHLwithdrawal.
Are their any volunteers to be Nashville's new NHLTweetup organizer? If so, it's time to step up and make yourself know.
In Pred Nation...
Brandon Felder tells the story of the one the Preds let get away in the free agent chase. For the kind of money that was discussed, there are several others that are still on the market that could be had.
Forechecker had a poll on whether the Preds should pursue Vinny Prospal who was bought out by Tampa on Tuesday. The results were not surprising since no one is spending their own money. Dirk's Breakfast Links for Wednesday are here.
What about Jan Hlavac? He played in Europe last year after the Predators did not re-sign him after the 2007-08 season. He produced at a point a game pace in the SEL and seemed to fit into Trotz's system well, playing on the top lines down the stretch two years ago.
Jim Diamond discusses Shea Weber and whether he will be one of the leagues highest paid players when his contract comes up again in two years. Will the Preds be willing to pay that much?
Paul McCann follows the vulture, Jim Ballsillie's travels to Chicago for today's meeting with the NHL.
John Glennon wrote about several topics at Inside Predators, leading off with the high expectations of David Legwand and Mary Erat this season.
The Milwaukee Admirals announced a new web site make-over prior to the season starting in October.
Which player from Nashville is likely to get in the Hockey Hall of Fame? This piece has a list for every team.
Around the NHL...
Tuesday's highlight for me was Ryan at the RedLightDistrict's handiwork that is a plan for visiting all thirty NHL hockey rinks in 30 days. He has routing and pricing information for a month-long journey that would start the day after Christmas. The post had not been up 10 minutes before the Section303 guys were looking for a sponsor to take on the challenge.
The US Hockey Hall of Fame announced this year's inductees that included Tony Amonte, Tom Barrasso, John LeClair and the late Frank Zamboni, creator of the iconic surface machine.
Not that I want the Coyotes to leave Phoenix, but as long as weird proposals are being made, The Puck Report has a suggestion that sounds really off the wall at first but would produce some interesting results while allowing cities to "try out" for a permanent franchise.
The AZ Republic adds some points that would go against the traveling circus that Ice Edge wants to employ as part of their Coyote purchase agreement. Their meeting with the NHL is today in Chicago.
This must be the week for interesting long posts. Defending Big D has a round table interview with Puck Daddy, Dallas Beat Writer Mike Heika, and radio host Bob Sturm about journalism and the new media. The second half of the discussion is fresh this morning. This is one of the best comprehensive looks at traditional vs. new media to come down the pike yet. This is the second major "must read" articles coming on the heels of Tripp Mickle's Boots DelBiaggio expose on Monday.
Craig Custance has a line up of the teams most likely to make the playoffs in the coming season that missed last year. He's not hopeful for the Preds, but doesn't advise betting against them either.
The Hockey News has a glowing report on the St Louis Blues who will be one of the teams the Preds need to get past in the Central division to return to the playoffs.
Ex-Predator defenseman, Andy Delmore signed a contract with Detroit on Tuesday. He was one of the more successful offensive D-men for the Preds in the pre-playoff years. I would have thought he would be older than 32 at this time.
Mirtle had an interesting post of just what each NHL team cost at the last sale.
Off topic... This is now designated as Chaco Culture week with a story about a Chacoan outlier community at Chimney Rock that only lasted about fifty years.
More later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
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