Like any year in any sport, the shortened 2013 NHL season has provided some yawns, some gimmes, and some head-scratching surprises. Yawns: Despite throwing buckets of money at Zach Parise and Gary Suter, the Minnesota Wild are still a snoozefest every single night. Gimmes: No one is shocked to see the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders near the bottom of the standings. Head-scratchers: the apotheosis of Martin Brodeur and continued success for the New Jersey Devils.
With 1,200 games, 662 wins, 372 losses and 120 shutouts, Martin Brodeur has guaranteed himself not only a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but a full-on apotheosis in New Jersey when he retires. Here we see how the ancient Romans thought of his work between the pipes. Photoshop hack job by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Why would we scratch our heads for Marty rattling off a few more wins, you ask? Read why 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.
I haven’t been out shooting recently, so this is all you get: my ugly mug post-game next to the Abbotsford Heat ice surface. Photo by Kenkoy for Pucked in the Head.
Can you believe it? We’ve finally made 50 of these damned podcasts. Half a century of Pucked in the Head.
We yak about old guys, young guys, rule changes that should have been, and other fanboy wank. Jason hasn’t had his morning coffee, so in the course of today’s podcast, he threatens to drop the gloves with Gary Bettman, cut Chris open like a Tauntaun & climb inside for warmth. Of course, he’s talks a big game but he barely has the wherewithal to cut upon a steak if it’s too rare. He does, however, reach all the way back to the very first episode of this podcast — when it was still called Bernier is a Turd — to find Chris’s famous Andrew Alberts goat call.
Without further ado, here you go!
• Caffeineless crankypantses • Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway • NHL fans: these are the drones Bettman was looking for • Marty Brodeur: surprisingly good to start • Teemu Frontenac? • Staged fights suck balls • Don’t get beat up by Gary Bettman • Time to wrap it up • Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway • Thanks for listening (Andrew Alberts goat call edition)
Is there anything more breathtaking than a player who goes mano-a-mano* with the goaltender? Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head. * Or womano-a-womano! We’re definitely not trying to pull a rangers.com on you ladies!
Those of you who follow Pucked in the Head know that we believe hockey is beautiful, and that the beauty is not limited to the NHL level. We love AHL, CHL, BCIHL, CIS, NAIA, NCAA, pee wee, midget, bantam, atom, and every other level you can think of.
Yes, we even love rec league! So in a blatant attempt to out-Hog Shack the Canucks Hockey Blog, we didn’t just go to the Hog Shack Restaurant, invite the owner to appear on the podcast and shove our BBQ-holes full of pulled pork and delicious burnt ends. No, no, that would be easy. WE WENT TO A HOG SHACK HOCKEY GAME.
And we’re going to give away a Hog Shack t-shirt to the first person to tweet me with the answer to the following question:
In one picture of the slideshow, the Hog Shack goalie is seen underneath the Richmond Olympic Oval scoreboard. The team is down 6-5 late in the game. How much time is left on the clock?
Check out the slideshow after the jump, and while you’re at it, think about supporting our Ride to Conquer Cancer campaign – if you donate before noon on January 29, you could win tickets to see the Canucks at Rogers Arena!
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.
Abbotsford Heat all-time leading scorer Ben Walter gets his stick on a point shot during a 2-0 win over Magnus Hellberg and the Milwaukee Admirals on January 20, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The Abbotsford Heat won their fourth game in a row with a 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon. Barry Brust, fresh off being named to the AHL All-Star Game being played in a week’s time, collected his fourth shutout of the season.
It was a good end to a 10-game home stand for the Heat, who had at one point fallen from first overall in the American Hockey League to eighth in the Western Conference. With the perfect weekend against the Nashville Predators farm team, the Heat now have 49 points in 40 games, good for fifth in the West. They are tied in points with the North Division leading Toronto, but have played two more games than the Marlies.
The Heat got goals from forward Krys Kolanos and blueliner Brett Carson, the same two goal-scorers from the previous night’s 2-1 victory over the Admirals. Below you can listen to Carson’s post-game reaction from that game. It marks two goals in two starts for Carson, who took 34 games to score that many in the AHL last season. Both players were on the bubble of making the opening night Calgary Flames roster, but were late cuts in the shortened training camp once the NHL lockout ended 10 days ago.
More pictures and video 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.
Vancouver Canucks forward Maxim Lapierre skates against his defensive teammate Andrew Alberts during two-on-two drills during a January 8, 2013 practice at UBC’s Thunderbird Arena. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
I was at a Vancouver Canucks practice earlier this week, and got a few good shots I’d like to share.
But first, why not support some other teams around town this weekend? (Well, any weekend, really, but I’m posting this on January 11, 2013.)
Saturday January 12:
• The Vancouver Giants host the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday, January 12 at the Pacific Coliseum.
• The Lady Thunderbirds go against the Pronghorns for the back half of their weekend double-header.
• The Heat host the Wolves again in Abbotsford, but that game is sold out.
Photo gallery 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.
Jason Garrison sports a healthy smile during a practice at UBC Thunderbird Arena on January 8, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Jason Garrison is happy to be skating with his new teammates. Or at least he looks like he is. The man wore a permagrin through Tuesday’s practice at Thunderbird Arena, even when getting slapped with a stick across the ribs during puck protection drills courtesy of Andrew Alberts.
Garrison, of course, signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks on Canada Day of 2012. (That’s July 1 for our non-Great White Northern readers.) The White Rock native had a career highs of 16 goals and 33 points in 77 games for the Florida Panthers last year, and added three more points in four games during a first-round playoff loss to the Stanley Cup finalist New Jersey Devils.
Two more pictures of Mr Garrison after the jump. Look for pictures of his teammates throughout the week.
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.
Sophomore Oklahoma Sooners defenseman Kevin Zehnder pins UBC Thunderbirds forward Wyatt Hamilton during Great Western Showcase action at Bill Copeland Arena on December 29, 2012. The Thunderbirds won the game 4-3 in overtime. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Okay, I already feel bad about the title. Sure, the visiting teams in the inaugural Great Northwest Showcase are American. And yes, there are national politics and cultural question marks that make them the Darths and Emperors of the world next to our farmboy-cum-Jedi status up here. But goldang it if each and every one of the team members and staff that I met this weekend weren’t incredibly nice, wonderfully passionate people who revolve their lives around the great game of hockey. (I’m lookin’ at you, Oklahoma University men’s hockey Assistant GM Chris Kelly… Not naming any names…)
But hey, the title is what the title is. In the immortal words of Billy Crystal, “It’s already out there.” And after day one of this exhibition tournament, which saw the Canadian teams trounce their American visitors by a combined score of 12-2, the empire really did strike back. They had to, just to make the plane ride back to the south bearable.
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.
Netminder Evan Kurylo is 16-3-1 with two shutouts in his collegiate career. He also has the coolest family name in the history of families. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The Simon Fraser University Clansmen are hosting familiar crosstown rivals and distant strangers alike this weekend, as the Great Northwest Showcase goes down on December 28-29 at the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby, BC.
It’s a great opportunity to check out some quality hockey in a very intimate setting — the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby screams small-town puck despite being in the middle of the Lower Mainland — and there are some interesting players to watch for as well.
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.
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.
As we talked about yesterday, the hockey fan on your Christmas list probably doesn’t want anything to do with NHL-related merchandise this year. The video you see here is proof of that, although a lot of people aren’t waiting until December 21 to start their boycott. By the way, the Just Drop It campaign has over 20,000 likes on the mighty Facebook, and is approaching 75,000 views on YouTube.
Pucked in the Head is proud to help you out with a few last-minute gift ideas, including number 2 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.
