Tag Archives: AHL

Hodgson & Co. earn two points in Abbotsford

Sven Bärtschi of the Abbotsford Heat and Cody Hodgson of the Rochester Americans follow the puck up ice during a 5-2 Rochester win on January 3, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Sven Bärtschi of the Abbotsford Heat and Cody Hodgson of the Rochester Americans follow the puck up ice during a 5-2 Rochester win on January 3, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

The Rochester Americans got a big, fat W in Abbotsford on Friday night, creeping to within two points of the Heat with a game in hand.

Check our photo gallery from the game here.

After a strong start to the season, the Abbotsford Heat have cooled considerably. A middling November and a woeful December have seen them slip from the top of the league standings to fourth place in the Western Conference. The Heat have just two wins in their last ten games, compared to Rochester’s six.

More after the jump.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Hodgson & Co. earn two points in Abbotsford

Somebody Approved This: Adirondack Phantoms New Year’s Eve Jersey

Jersey: Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Only if ye auld acquaintance is wearing this abomination by the Adirondack Phantoms.

Years worn: 2012, New Year’s Eve game only.

Reaction: Long silences while people everywhere examined this twitpic of Zack FitzGerald’s shirt for signs of Photoshop tampering.

Most famous players to wear it: Probably Brayden Schenn, who was also the one to post the picture to twitter.

Why it’s great: The jerseys were a one-shot deal that were auctioned off after the game in support of a local transition house that assists homeless teenagers. Kudos for the community involvement, Phantoms organization. Grudging respect for the cufflinks in the shape of your logo. And maybe the pinstripes. Maybe.

Why it’s garbage:  It’s ORANGE! You’re wearing an ORANGE TUXEDO! You have black  right in your logo! You could have gone black-tie formal and done the same damn thing without looking like you pulled a design out of the Don Cherry reject pile. And while I’m fixing this design for you, if you’re going to shrink the logo anyways, put it on the breast of the jacket so it doesn’t look like a mouth. The first time I saw this thing I thought the guy with the bow-tie face was smiling at me and it’s still creeping me the hell out!

Haiku to describe Chris’s feelings whenever he sees this jersey:
We’ll take a cup of
Kindness yet, but not before
You throw that shirt out.

Other jerseys we can’t believe somebody approved:
New York Islanders third jersey (rumoured), 2012
Seattle Sounders third jersey, 2012
Vancouver Canucks alternate jersey, 1995-1997
EHC Wolfsburg Halloween jersey, 2012

 

Last Minute Gifts for the Family Hockey Fan (Lockout Edition) – Part 3

What do you buy the hockey fan who has nothing to cheer for, NHL-wise, anyway?

The third in our get gifts quick series moves away from the printed word, which we focused upon in parts one and two, and on to live attendance at actual, real-life hockey games. No, we don’t recommend putting deposits down for NHL ticket packages. Rather, we want to push you to attend games at other levels of hockey.

After the jump, check out how.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Last Minute Gifts for the Family Hockey Fan (Lockout Edition) – Part 3

Photo gallery – Abbotsford Heat vs Texas Stars

Barry Brust makes one of 39 saves on the night to lead the Abbotsford Heat past the Texas Stars 2-1 in a shootout. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Barry Brust makes one of 39 saves on the night to lead the Abbotsford Heat past the Texas Stars 2-1 in a shootout. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

On Saturday night at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre, the hometown Heat used the ol’ shootout to decide the second half of a back-to-back against the Texas Stars. All-Star goaltender Barry Brust made 39 saves on 40 shots for the 2-1 win — like this one during a first period that saw the visitors gain a 17-9 advantage on the shot clock. Below you’ll find a plethora of pictures from the game, including a still from the winning shootout goal by Krys Kolanos.

For a complete game summary from my compatriot Chris Withers, look here.

Scads of pictures after the jump.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Photo gallery – Abbotsford Heat vs Texas Stars

More Things That Amuse Chris During The Lockout

With the NHL continuing to alienate fans and sponsors at a rate not seen since the Foxtrax puck, I’ve taken to finding other ways to amuse myself recently. There remains an entire world of sport out there, and that world even includes hockey! Let’s take a look.

NHL Fans
Yes, NHL fans, you amuse me. Your desperation amuses me. Your “cautious optimism” regarding the players and owners meeting without Bettman and Fehr amused me, too. Let’s be clear here: every time you send a rage tweet @NHL or @NHLPA you are sending the message loud and clear that you’ll be back. That makes you part of the problem. The NHL doesn’t fear its fans because its fans have given them nothing to fear. You know what would make the league perk up and take notice? Silence. We’re in this position right now because everyone involved knows they can get away with it. If you really want to help, be quiet. A lack of attention is the only thing these corporate scumbags will understand. “Oh wait,” they’ll say, “those people who used to care enough to beg and plead with us to bring the game back are now eerily quiet.” I seem to have trouble taking my own advice, but that is not the point!

(More after the jump).

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading More Things That Amuse Chris During The Lockout

San Antonio Rampage steal four points from Abbotsford Heat

Zach McKelvie of the Abbotsford Heat (left) and Justin Vaive of the San Antonio Rampage battle along the boards during a Rampage 4-0 win on Wednesday, November 5. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Going into last weekend’s action, the Abbotsford Heat had only lost one regulation game on home ice this season — their play at home early this season was one of the major reasons the team led the league after 20 games played. Now, five days later, they can count three. To boot, they dropped two more games in overtime, and all of these losses came at the hands of entirely beatable teams near the bottom of the standings.

Continue reading San Antonio Rampage steal four points from Abbotsford Heat

Bulldogs heel before the mighty Brustache

Jason and Chris shared an elevator with Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and TEN TIME STANLEY CUP CHAMPION Yvan Cournoyer.

The top-of-the-league Abbotsford Heat were back in action on Friday night to take on the decidedly not-the-top-of-the-league Hamilton Bulldogs. With hundreds of Canadiens fans in the building to watch les petits Habitants, Abbotsford arranged to have Habs legend Yvan Cournoyer – he of the TEN Stanley Cup rings – in the building to drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff. Pucked in the Head absolutely did not intentionally delay our arrival so that we could share the elevator with him and get a picture. Mr. Cournoyer, who I’m happy to report is a very nice man who appeared not at all perturbed by two fanboys asking for his photograph in an elevator, cheerfully commented that he hoped it would be a good game. It was not. Well, not for the Bulldogs, it wasn’t.

Continue reading Bulldogs heel before the mighty Brustache

Oklahoma City Barons earn split in Abbotsford

Look closely and you’ll see Justin Schultz’s November 10 winning puck frozen top shelf behind Danny Taylor, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins looks on through his full face shield. For those of you who don’t know about these sorts of things, that’s some pretty fancy photographin’ right there. (Schultz may have done well on his end, as well…) Photo by Kenkoy for Pucked in the Head.

Coming into Saturday’s game, the Oklahoma City Barons hadn’t scored in nearly seven periods of hockey. The streak went back to a game last weekend against the Houston Aeros, and the Abbotsford Heat contributed another five and a half periods of frustration for the visitors from OC.

In between were a massive Aeros comeback to win that game, and consecutive shutout losses to the San Antonio Rampage and this very same Heat squad. As overheard in the media room before puck drop, “Will the young stars show up tonight? Probably, seeing as they’re going to be on TV.”

(Want more pictures, video highlights and warblings from yours truly? You got it. But first, buy this book. Or don’t. Your call.)

Continue reading Oklahoma City Barons earn split in Abbotsford