WCH Weekend Preview

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: Sudden Death. Arguably the worst thing to come out of the 1994 NHL Lockout. This movie would have been far more realistic if Chris Tamer had killed all the terrorists with his bare hands, and then in the dramatic final scene, fought Jean-Claude Van Damme, in a re-enactment of his classic fight with Jim Cummins.

Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song: Quicksand by Finger Eleven. I think Finger Eleven has one of the three songs that are currently being played on the radio and it is absolutely brutal. This is a reminder that they didn't always suck.

Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds: Ferris State at Bowling Green. Ferris and BG are tied for 6th in the CCHA. Both teams have been much better than expected this year, and this should be an entertaining series.

Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: Technically Marco Hunt followed protocol by not jumping into the Radke/Vossberg fight, but since we've now learned that he wouldn't know a fight if he saw it, he may as well have jumped in there and helped Vossberg out.

Also, from this week's INCH Chat:

"[WCHA commissioner Bruce] McLeod said his bigger concern is a general atmosphere of coaches, players and fans rhetoric toward the officials heating up...

I wonder what created such an atmosphere?

Picks to Click
Forward: Andreas Nodl, St. Cloud
Defense: Eddie Del Grosso, Nebraska-Omaha
Goalie: Richard Bachman, Colorado College
Apples to Apples Card: Canada

Something to Watch on Saturday Afternoon: Somebody archived most of the CCHA All-Access shows hosted by Mike Kosta.

Cheapshot at the Fine City of St. Cloud: This isn't really a cheap shot, but St. Cloud has to have the most casual PA announcer in the league. Chuck is a like a regular PA announcer after about 3 drinks. My only real complaint is when he does his patented 'Woo' after every goal of like a 8-7 game at the national Select Festivals.

Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: Taco Bell. You have to admire a place that makes everything out of the same five ingredients, yet still manages to change menu items like every two months.

Arena Food of the Week: Taco in a Bag. Taco in a Bag is the Northerners answer to Frito Pie. It's basically taco meat and crumbled Dorito's in a bag. They serve it in Bemidji. I'm not sure if it's served at any other college hockey venues. I feel the same way about this as Patton Oswalt feels about the KFC Famous Bowl.

Wisdom of Michael Scott: "This is an old adage, but they say when you find true love, you know within the first 24 hours. With Carol, I knew within the first 24 minutes of the second day I met her."

Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet

Obligatory MZone Baby.

Gambletron 2000's Pick of the Week: Friday Night- Wisconsin 301 Minnesota 0

Smooth Jimmy Apollo's 52% Lock of the Week: Saturday Night Miami 5 Western Michigan 2

The George Costanza Special(A prediction that is the exact opposite of every instinct and inclination I have): Ohio State sweeps Notre Dame

WCH Weekend Preview

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: Rounders. This was an excellent movie made before it's time, even if some of the poker stuff doesn't make a lot of sense. It boggles my mind that in an era where Hollywood will make a sequel out of anything, there was never a sequel to this movie, when it seemed perfectly set-up for one.

Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song:Bleed It Out by Linkin Park. Quite a few teams have this song on their warm-up tape.

Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds: Lake Superior at Western Michigan? Yeah right. I'm offended that I would even ask myself this question. Obviously I've gotta go with #1 vs. #2. Also, it's Winter Carnival at Michigan Tech, so that would probably be pretty fun.

Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: I'm sure there will be many to choose from, but I think we've all learned a valuable lesson on the wrong way to react to said mistakes.

Cliche Arena Song of the Week: Shout by the Isley Brothers. Especially appropriate for college hockey since every arena has their own Bluto. You know the guy that I'm talking about.

Picks to Click
It was pointed out to me last weekend how much I nailed the Olthuis pick last week.

Forward: Chad Kolarik, Michigan
Defense: Ryan McDonagh, Wisconsin
Goalie: Jordan Pearce, Notre Dame

Something to Watch on Saturday Afternoon: Human Tetris. It was always my dream to have a Tetris piece named after me. I tried for the little T one, but it never caught on.

Cheapshot at the Fine City of St. Cloud: Going to a game in St. Cloud is like going to a show in Branson, Missouri. You're guaranteed to be on camera at least once. I'm sorry, but I'm there for hockey. I don't need to see a bunch of Polaris jackets kissing or "doing the dance".

Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: Applebees. This is a particularly popular post-game stop. Probably because it's one of the few establishments in Minnesota that dares stay open past 9:30.


Arena Food of the Week: Ice Cream. You'd think that when it's -300 degrees outside in Duluth, people wouldn't immediately flock to a frozen treat, but I swear every person in that arena buys ice cream.

Wisdom of Michael Scott:"Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information"

Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet

Gambletron 2000's Pick of the Week: Friday Night- Denver 39 Minnesota 0

Smooth Jimmy Apollo's 52% Lock of the Week: Saturday Night Colorado College 5 St. Cloud 3

The George Costanza Special(A prediction that is the exact opposite of every instinct and inclination I have): Alaska sweeps Bowling Green

Linkorama

USA Today ran a story on Miami's success. Sadly, there was no infographic charting their success.

Mose Schrute is a sports blogger? Ok, there's nothing hockey-related in there, but I love being able to use The Office tag.

I doubt the San Jose Sharks are going to sign Alex Stalock this summer, but there is a demand for him.

Kelowna of the WHL had inquired about signing Brock Trotter, but Trotter isn't eligible to play in the WHL this year because he played four games with Denver after the WHL's January 10th deadline for adding players.

Hockey's Future has been running a number of pieces updating the progress of NCAA prospects. You can view the reports for Pittsburgh, Minnesota, St. Louis and Detroit.

Doug Woog won an award.

WCH Weekend Preview

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: Friday. Great movie. I think this was the last movie targeted at an African-American audience that didn't involve dance-offs, fat people, or people acting dumb at a barbershop, barbeque, airplane, etc, which is a real shame.

Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song: No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age. You wouldn't know it if you just listen to the song, but this is seriously the hardest song to play on Guitar Hero. It should come with a warning. It starts out pretty simple and you think you're doing ok. Then the guitar solo comes in and next thing you know, you're crying in the corner of the room with a guitar jammed up your ass. It's brutal.


Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds: Clarkson at Colorado College. This is the WCHA's last real chance to prove conference superiority(Technically UND still has two games against Bemidji, and Minnesota State has one game against Nebraksa-Omaha). Two wins for CC would be huge, because I think the best hope for prospective at-large berth candidates is to have every ECAC team outside the top 14 of the PWR. That way, there is no concern of Clarkson getting upset in their conference tournament and the ECAC taking two NCAA tournament bids.

Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: I think I'm fairly complaint-free this week.


Cliche Arena Song of the Week: "I Want to Drive the Zamboni" I'm not really sure that's the exact title, but I don't care enough to look. Who decided that strapping a small child to a slow-moving vehicle is entertainment?

Picks to Click
Forward: Jason Wiley, Minnesota State
Defense: Michael Ratchuk, Michigan State
Goalie: Jon Olthuis, Alaska-Anchorage

Something to Watch on Saturday Afternoon: Chris Berman had a promising future as a goalie while at Brown University....until players kept skating in front of his net. Jesus!

Cheapshot at the Fine City of St. Cloud: Knowing that history repeats itself, it's probably no surprise that after a shocking, and disappointing loss to a rival they felt was inferior that St. Cloud's campus would turn to national socialism. Dude, at least it's an ethos.


Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: Little Caesar's Hot-n-Ready pizza. I was skeptical of the whole hot-n-ready idea when it first came out, and it's true that if you happen to hit a store at a non-peak hour, you may end up with a pizza well past its life expectancy. But every Friday on my way to a game, I stop in and pick up a pizza to eat on the drive, and it's probably the best meal I eat all week.


Arena Food of the Week: Mini-donuts. I think both Minnesota and Minnesota State have added mini-donut stands this year, joining St. Cloud and the XCel Center. They're not as good as the mini-donuts at the State Fair, but still good. They're smaller than regular donuts, meaning more surface area actually gets fried.


Wisdom of Michael Scott: "Hug it out, bitch.' That is what men say to each other after a fight. They hug it out, in doing so they just let it go, and walk away, and they're done. Not a good idea to say that to a woman, however, I've found. Doesn't translate."

Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet


Gambletron 2000's Pick of the Week: Friday Night- North Dakota 900 Minnesota 0


Smooth Jimmy Apollo's 52% Lock of the Week: Friday Night- North Dakota 900 Minnesota 0

The George Costanza Special(A prediction that is the exact opposite of every instinct and inclination I have): Nebraska-Omaha sweeps Michigan State

WCH Weekend Preview

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: National Lampoon's: Pucked. Of all the movies in the world about hockey, this film is definitely.....one of them. The movie stars Jon Bon Jovi and Bud Bundy. That's about all you need to know.


Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song: Everyday I'm Hustlin' by Rick Ross. I think Katt Williams was right. If they played this song in grocery stores, I would buy everything in the store.

Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds: Minnesota at Wisconsin. Even if both teams aren't their strongest this year, both teams are definitely going to bring it for this series, which should make for some very entertaining hockey. Also, an 8-point swing last weekend(BG's sweep, ND's getting swept), made this weekends series between Bowling Green and Notre Dame a lot more interesting. A nice weekend by the pesky Falcons could upset the CCHA's "Big Four, Non-existant Eight" paradigm.


Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: There's a WCHA ref suspended this weekend. In the words of Barry Zuckerkorn, "It's never the ones you hope."


Cliche Arena Song of the Week: Three Blind Mice. I think a big reason why the NCAA moved to a two-ref system is so they didn't have to hear this song any more.


Picks to Click
Forward: Andy Miele, Miami
Defense: Chay Genoway, North Dakota
Goalie: Shane Connelly, Wisconsin
Apples to Apples Card: Deer Hunting


Something to Watch on Saturday Afternoon: Is $10,000 worth humiliating yourself by opening for the world's worst blogger? I always thought Margaret Cho wouldn't have a career in comedy if she wasn't Asian and a woman. Now I don't know what to think.


Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: Food Network's Guy Fieri recently profiled Blimpy's in Ann Arbor. Alas, nobody went with the fried egg on their burger and a little piece of me died.


Arena Food of the Week: Forest Lake's Maroon and Gold Arena, notoriously one of the Twin Cities' coldest rinks, serves Cup o'Noodles at their concession stand.

Wisdom of Michael Scott: "I'm an early bird... And, I'm a night owl. So I'm wise, and, I have worms."


Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet

I think there can only be one prediction this week. Take it away, MZone Baby.

WCH Weekend Preview

It's Important Because I'm Involved: I was this week's guest for The Gauntlet over at RWD. It's long, so good luck reading it. Also, I can only assume that post got a 'Hotties' tag because I was involved.

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: Mallrats. "Breakfast, shmreakfast. Look at the score, for Christ's sake. It's only the second period and I'm up 12 to 2. Breakfasts come and go, Rene, but Hartford, "the Whale," they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime." That's the greatest monologue about the game of hockey ever written.

Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song: Sudbury Saturday Night by Stompin' Tom Connors. In honor of Canada's recent World Juniors gold medal.

Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds: St. Cloud's home and home series with Minnesota. I almost picked Notre Dame's home and home series with Michigan State, but I'm not as much of a fan of Sunday hockey. Plus, who could pass up the opportunity to see people throw stuff at Gopher players and fans?


Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: It's the first full slate of the second half of the year in the WCHA. In a normal year, the intensity really gets turned up in the second half of the year. This year, with everyone sitting at about the .500 mark, it should be even crazier. I'm fairly confident we'll see at least one fight somewhere this weekend.


Cliche Arena Song of the Week: Louie, Louie Unintelligble at any speed, especially when played by certain pep bands.

Picks to Click
Last Week: Ryan Duncan was WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. I think I deserve at least half credit for that.

Forward: Brock Trotter, Denver
Defense: Tyler Eckforad, Alaska
Goalie: Jordan Pearch, Notre Dame
Apples to Apples Card: Charging Rhinos

Something to Watch on Saturday Afternoon: Zach Galifianakis Interviews Michael Cera.

Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: BTB Burrito in Ann Arbor(or East Lansing, for the younger siblings out there). By far the leader in the take-out burrito industry. Plus, the guy that works the cash register at the Ann Arbor location is like some kind of crazy Burrito Wizard.


Arena Food of the Week: A couple weeks ago, I was at a high school rink, and the concession stand offered hot apple cider. Both liking cider, and looking for a change of pace, I decided to try it. Unbeknownst to me, there is apparently such a thing as hot apple cider mix that is poured into hot water. It was awful. It was like drinking an apple Jolly Rancher, which may sound interesting, but it gets old really quickly.

Wisdom of Michael Scott:"And, even though we're still a family here at Dunder-Mifflin, families grow. And, at some point, the daddy can't take a bath with the kids anymore. I am upper management, and it would be inappropriate for me to take a bath with Pam, as much as I might want to."


Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet

Gambletron 2000's Pick of the Week: Friday Night- St. Cloud 684 Minnesota 0

Smooth Jimmy Apollo's 52% Lock of the Week: Saturday Night- Sunday- Notre Dame 3 Michigan State 2

The George Costanza Special(A prediction that is the exact opposite of every instinct and inclination I have): Miami sweeps Nebraska-Omaha

WCH Weekend Preview

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: Demolition Man. Everything about this movie is a terrible idea(other than letting Denis Leary say whatever he wants), and yet it's utterly enjoyable to watch.

Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song: The Denial Twist by the White Stripes. The music video for this song was directed by Michel Gondry and involves Conan O'Brien, which is pretty awesome.

Also, the USHL's leading scorer, Andy Miele, looks like he will be playing for Miami soon. Miele played high school hockey in Michigan for Grosse Pointe North High School, the same school that White Stripes drummer Meg White attended.

Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds: That US/Canada World Juniors game looks pretty interesting.

Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: They'll miss something because they'll be too busy collecting their royalty checks from Subway.


Cliche Arena Song of the Week: Cotton-Eyed Joe. A folk song more than a century half old that was absolutely murdered in 1994 by a band named Rednex(not surprising), who hailed from Sweden(very surprising). Here's the music video. If you make it past the half-way point of the video, you're not human. One of the theories for the meaning of the term "cotton-eyed" is that a person's eyes would become milky white as a result of having syphilis.

(This is the point where Carnac the Great puts the envelope up to his head, says "Cotton-Eyed Joe, Rednecks, and STDs" and then opens the envelope and reads a slip of paper that says, "Name three things found on St. Cloud State's campus.")*


Picks to Click

Forward: Ryan Duncan, North Dakota
Defense: Johann Kroll, Ohio State
Goalie: Alex Stalock, Minnesota-Duluth
Apples to Apples Card: Giant Squid


Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: After a rough illness this week, food is the last thing I've wanted to think about.

Arena Food of the Week: Ditto.

Wisdom of Michael Scott:"Guess what? I have flaws. What are they? Oh I don’t know. I sing in the shower. Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally, I’ll hit somebody with my car. So sue me. No, don’t sue me. That’s the opposite of the point that I’m trying to make."


Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet


Gambletron 2000's Pick of the Week: Friday Night- Wayne State 284 Minnesota 0

Smooth Jimmy Apollo's 52% Lock of the Week: Saturday Night- Michigan Tech 2 Mercyhurst 1

The George Costanza Special(A prediction that is the exact opposite of every instinct and inclination I have): North Dakota's series with St. Cloud won't end with a split.









*Just kidding**
**Mostly

WCH Weekend Preview

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: Hudsucker Proxy. Does this count as a holiday movie? Maybe? Kinda sorta? I don't know. At any rate, it's a good flick.

Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song: Would? by Alice in Chains. For a song that came out 15 years ago, it still gets a lot of play on Twin Cities radio. They're like the Sheryl Crow of alternative rock.

Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds: Colorado College at St. Cloud. But really only for the morbid fascination to see what can go wrong next for St. Cloud.

Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: The sky is the limit. WCHA officials care about goaltender interference like George Bush cares about black people.

Cliche Arena Song of the Week:: Smoke on the Water. It's good to know that there are a still few heroes out there than can play this song on a fake guitar.

Picks to Click
Last week: Ryan Jones had a hat trick. The rest is mere trivia

Forward: Tyler Bozak, Denver
Defenseman: Jack Hillen, Colorado College
Goalie: Michael-Lee Teslak, Michigan Tech


Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: Pizza Hut Double Deep Pizza. I heartily endorse this event or product.

Arena Food of the Week: Jelly Beans. Not the gross gigantic ones either. I mean the gourmet stuff with the weird flavors. Technically you have to smuggle these in, but they're far superior to any arena concession candy. I'm pretty sure whoever came up with the idea of a popcorn-flavored jelly bean should have won a Nobel Prize. I used to really like the Haribo gummy bears, until I found out they were made by Nazis. Though to be honest, I always suspected it. Who else would put those disgusting yellow gummy bears in there?

Wisdom of Michael Scott: "Cage matches? Yeah, they work. How could they not work? If they didn't work, everybody would still be in the cage"

Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet

Gambletron 2000's Pick of the Week: Under-18 Team 300 Minnesota-Duluth 0

Smooth Jimmy Apollo's 52% Lock of the Week: Saturday Night: Denver 3 Alaska-Anchorage 2

The George Costanza Special(A prediction that is the exact opposite of every instinct and inclination I have): Ohio State sweeps Alaska

WCH Weekend Preview

Thursday Night Pre-Game Movie: Unaccompanied Minors. I'm a huge fan of the radio show This American Life and this film is based off of a TAL story. Plus, there are some very funny people in the movie.

Friday Afternoon Pre-Game Song: Tainted Love by Soft Cell. A lot of people call Soft Cell a one-hit wonder. But I think even that is a stretch, because before you get to the end of the song, you're already kind of a sick of it. They're more like a one-half hit wonder.

Games I'd Want to See If I Had Unlimited Funds:Blais v. Woog in the ancient, deadly art of bubble hockey. I hope Doug Woog remembers to keep his foot out of the bucket. Or in the bucket. Or in another bucket. Or whatever it is.

Controversial Play That a WCHA Official Will Probably Screw-Up: I've got no real complaints this week.

Cliche Arena Song of the Week: In Heaven There is No Beer. I'm fundamentally opposed to this song because I fully intend on out-living all of my friends.

Picks to Click
Last week: 1 goal, 1 assist, 35 saves 3 goals against, 1 loss

Forward: Ryan Jones, Miami
Defense: Mike Ratchuk, Michigan State
Goalie: Alex Stalock, Minnesota-Duluth

Pre/Post-Game Meal of the Week: Gyros. Dino's gyros if we're being Twin Cities-centric. I'm not really sure what part of the animal the gyro is, but it's delicious.

Arena Food of the Week: Dippin' Dots. Welcome to the ice cream of TOMORROW!.

Wisdom of Michael Scott: "There are four kinds of business: tourism, food service, railroads, and sales...and hospitals/manufacturing...and air travel.

Predictions For You Compulsive Gambling-Types That Have to Bet

Gambletron 2000's Pick of the Week: Blais 308 Woog 0

Smooth Jimmy Apollo's 52% Lock of the Week: Saturday night Miami 6 Alaska 1

The George Costanza Special(A prediction that is the exact opposite of every instinct and inclination I have): Minnesota sweeps North Dakota

You Have One Day, Bucky

Apparently in addition to North Dakota's fight with Wisconsin on Saturday night, there was a bit of violence directed towards Wisconsin's mascot.

Before the game on Saturday, North Dakota defenseman Joe Finley slashed Bucky Badger in the shin, as Bucky was trying to leave the ice.

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod reviewed tape of the incident, and stated that Finely will have to write an apology letter to David Blanchard, who wears the vaunted Badger costume.

First off, I think it would have been hilarious if, as on the TV show "Cavemen", the person inside the mascot costume ended up being female. (I've referenced some ridiculous stuff on here, but I've never been more embarassed than right now, referencing "Cavemen")

Second, I think Finley should skip the apology letter, and instead make a Michael Scott-esque apology video. Having studied them, I think there are three main keys:

1. Make sure it is directed by a woman. These things require a woman's touch.

2. Do not let them make you an escapegoat.

3. And I cannot stress this enough: make sure you give them an ultimatum. They always give an ultimatum in the movies.

Thursday Hockey/Office Update

Nebraska-Omaha beat Ohio State 5-2 tonight to earn their first CCHA points. It's been a rough start for UNO in the CCHA, starting out the season with two games against #1 Miami and two games against #2 Michigan.

Omaha's Brandon Scero returned to the Maverick lineup from injury tonight and scored 2 goals an assist. Ohio State goalie Joe Palmer's struggles continued in goal. He gave up four goals in the second period before being pulled for back-up Dustin Carlson.

I liked The Office tonight. Again, they're moving away from the relationship aspect and going back to writing funny stuff. The end of the episode was great. The dynamic any time there is a scene with Michael and Jim is fabulous. They've really done a great job of slowly developing Jim's character over the past couple of seasons.

Of course the bad news is that next week's episode will be the last new episode for a while due to the writer's strike. Note to NBC: I'll scab for cheap. Note to writers: I'm just kidding. Another note to NBC: *wink*

Linkorama

Maybe listening to games on the radio isn't so bad.

Your Thursday Hockey/Office Update:

Notre Dame beat Lake Superior 7-3. Erik Condra had a nice 5-point night. I guess they played tonight because Notre Dame's hockey team didn't want to play on Saturday and risk being associated with Jimmah and The Fatman.

The Office was pretty good tonight, definitely the best of the season. When Wisconsin takes on Colgate at the Badger Showdown, they should threaten to burn Utica to the ground.

The WCHA Blog linked to a very nice article on Mike Howe and his battle with rheumatoid arthritis. It's a very nice story.

Chris Heisenberg
lists Vernon(BCHL) forward Evan Witt as committing to Michigan Tech for 2009. Witt is originally from Spokane, Washington, and was drafted by his hometown Spokane Chiefs two years ago. He had an outstanding year last season for the Spokane Braves in the KIJHL, a Jr. B that operates in western Canada/Washington, and is off to a pretty good start in Vernon.

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post had an interesting story on a Colorado Peewee team that produced five D-1 hockey players.

Yost Built has a nice preview of Michigan's series with Nebraska-Omaha.

Kate Crandall scouts North Dakota. Thought it sounds like both teams will be trading germs this weekend.

Shane Frederick writes about the MSU women's hockey team's "Skate for a Cure" night. The women's teams for MSU and St. Cloud both wore pink jersies to promote breast cancer awareness. It sounded like a very nice event.

Also of note from Shane's blog: student tickets for MSU's game against Minnesota were gone after 6 hours. Student tickets for the Minnesota game were free for the first time in many years. Also, after trips to Houghton, Anchorage, and Huntsville, Minnesota State's team will have traveled 9200 miles over the first three weeks of the season.

Alaska-Anchorage has never won in St. Cloud.

INCH previews of the CCHA and WCHA.

Minnesota 3 Ohio State 1

We live in a crazy, mixed-up world of cameras in phones, reality televsion, and Thursday hockey. Minnesota took on Ohio State tonight in hockey. I caught the first and third periods of the game, and watched The Office in between. Here were my thoughts.

1st period

Minnesota employed a tricky, crafty strategy of "skating behind the net" and Ohio State seemed perplexed. The first goal was a pretty bad defensive breakdown on the Buckeyes part, when a defenseman got caught chasing a guy around the net. The Buckeyes covered better on the second goal, though maybe too well, since the puck went in off a Buckeye skate. The goal was reviewed for some inexplicable reason. Pat White probably deserved an assist on that goal for forcing a turnover on the forecheck.

Ohio State's only offense of the period consisted of about 5 rushes up the ice. They skated offsides on four of them. To be fair, there's no such thing as a "blue line" in Ohio.

David Fischer absolutely lit up his own goalie. I don't think I've ever seen somebody hit their own goalie that hard.

The Office

I've kind of been disappointed with the first couple episodes this season. I thought this week's episode was a step in the right direction. They're finally letting Ed Helms sing again, which I always think is great. The Second Life stuff was pretty funny too. I just wish the show would go back to being funny office humor instead of being all about relationships.

Third period

After watching the first period, I expected to come back to a 5-0 game. Instead, each team scored in the second to make the game 3-1.

FSN is trying this new thing where people send text message questions to the FSN crew to be answered on the air. Generally, this sums up my opinion of texting, but someone asked the Wooger whether he'd rather have a player like Jay Barriball or Phil Kessel.

Wooger's response was two minutes of rambling about Phil Kessel having a foot stuck in a bucket or something. If I had Tivo, I would have saved it for Emmy committee.

At one point, I was watching Ohio State's Erick Belanger on one station, and Minnesota Wild forward Eric Belanger on another station. It was like The Twilight Zone.

Ohio State pretty much carried the play in the third period. They had a lot of decent chances, but were never able to find the puck in a scramble in front of the net. If the Buckeyes could have cut the lead to one, I think it might have been a more interesting game, but Minnesota looked like they were on cruise control after they built up the 3-0 lead, and never seemed to be in too much danger.

The late surge by Ohio State has to give them some confidence heading into tomorrow night's game though. They came out looking like they excepted a repeat of last year's route, but as they game wore on, I think they started to realize that they could play with the Gophers.