Old friends and rivals, Griffins.

Saturday night and the Van Andel Arena was a welcome sight. Kissane and I had had a great meal with friends and after stowing our leftovers in the van we donned our Wolves colours and headded to the arena to watch some of the worlds greatest sport. As per usual I will refer you to "Sit Down ,Shut up and Read the Blog" linky at right for the full blow by blow of the game. My quick summary is that yes, the Wolves won, by keeping out to the penalty box and staying on their game.

Here are a few images of the game.




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The hockey road is calling...

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It's Friday, lunchtime and the computer system has been slow all day. So of course I choose to eat my lunch here, munching between thoughts. It has been a tough week in this hockey lovers day job and frankly, I just can't wait for that lovely time when I can hit the Kronos and put it behind me. In just four hours and twenty minutes I will be at Union Station boarding a train to one of my favorite places on earth. Believe it or not Michigan, yes Michigan. This transplanted New Yorker loves the land of cherries, Big Blue and year round ice. Kissane and I will be catching the Wolves/Grand Rapids match tomorrow night. I understand several fellow Wolves STH will be joining us up there. So lets see...that makes eight dedicated Wolves fans against an entire arena of Griffs enthusiasts. I'd say the odds look even.

Seems like a slump to me...

It's the middle of the season, the All Star teams have been chosen and it is a perfect time for injuries to shake up the line up and a lovely little slump. It was not a banner night for Wolves fans last night at the AllState Arena. The Chicago Wolves surrendered to the their old rivals the Grand Rapids Griffins 5:2. The good news it that rumor has it Kevin Doel is to return to the Wolves later this week. Joel Kwiatkowski plucked last Friday by Atlanta is doing well with the Thrashers, registering an assist and 17 minutes of play in last nights game. As much as I would like to see him back on the Wolves first line bravo and fair play to him!

As per usual here are a few images of last nights debacle...




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Less said the better...

As per usual I will refer readers to my partner Patrick Kissane at "Sit Down and Shut up, Read the Blog" and his blog for a full blow by blow report on the Wolves/Admirals game of last night, linky at right.

Last night the Milwaukee Admirals shut out the Chicago Wolves 4:0 at home after a lack luster game. A small crowd mainly of season ticket holders got to see that it's not just those of us that have "day jobs" phone it in sometimes. Last night everyone associated with the Wolves bench seemed to be in a fog. As crowd dispersed we all murmured prayers that it was a single game hiccup and motivation will return tomorrow night. The Rockford Ice Hogs will not give any quarter to wimpy Wolves at the Metro,we will see what tomorrow brings.

Not everyone took the night off, here are a few images of the game caught by yours truly...


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Admirals host IceHogs for the first time

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Last night at the Bradley Center the Milwaukee Admirlas hosted the Rockford Ice Hogs for the first time. The usually eager traveling fans for the Hogs were fewer in number than expected. The usual suspects were there. Elvis and his gracious wife to be sure and probably 50 others to stand when the red light over Pekka Rinne's head went on. They were not to go home disapointed. After lack luster first and second periods the Hogs reorganized and fiinally moved a man on to point. 30 minutes later the victorioius Hogs had won in a shoot out.

It's nice to see the new kid on the block making a name for it's self agains't your biggest rival. Now for some images of the game.




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More Girls with Game!

Third period break action at the Bradley Center last night:
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Chicago Wolves battling back to the top...

It was a rough and tumble night at the BC for the Wolves game last night. These two teams genuinely do not like each other, and have not for years. This was not helped by the fact that Wolves present Captain Daryn Haydar scored a hat trick against his old team. A feat that got him quite a bit of heckling from the partisan crowd. As per usual I will refer you to Patrick Kissane's fine site "Sit Down and Shut Up" for a full blow by blow of this contentious game. Linkage you will find at the right.

Here are a few images of the game:
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Chicago Wolves/Rockford IceHogs a War of the Roses, or just a fight with a Tudor?

There were no red and white roses given out at the door but there might as well have been. The rivalry between the Wolves and the IceHogs continues to heat up. The consistent deciding factor every time these two fine teams go head to head is discipline and who stays out to the penalty box. A feat easier said than done with Tudor Floru wearing the referee stripes. It has been said good teams over come and win through inconsistent refereeing. Last night both teams had to work hard not to let the other team get under their collective skins and tempt them into costly mistakes. At the end on the night the Ice Hogs were the victors on the score boards and of the head game. For a full discussion of AHL referee Tudor Floru I will refer you to Patrick Kissane's site "Sit down and Shut up" linkage at the right.

Here are a few images of the game.



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Just gobsmacked .......

Last night one of the most beautiful things this hockey fan has ever seen happened at the Chicago Wolves/Milwaukee Admirals game. During the second period Chicago's Brett Sterling (last years AHL MVP) was at his usual place at the face off and got the puck, he then got a break away out of the Wolves defensive zone and slammed the puck into the net leaving Pekka Rinne struggling to respond. All I could do was watch, send me to photojournalism hell, it felt marvelous to savor the moment as a fan. The only image I have is seconds after the puck hit the net.

Here are a few images of the rest of the action.



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What's up with Pekka Rinne?

Last week Kissane and I braved a storm to see the Chicago Wolves play the Milwaukee Admirals. About half way through the first period it struck me, Rinne's stance has changed, he is moving like a mechanical doll. The next day doing the photo editing my instincts looked good, judge for your self and compare how this great goalie is moving this year compared to last year.




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It begs the question, Pekka, whats up? Are you hurt?