The Start of the Season

October is not only a beautiful month but marks the precious yet fleeting overlap of hockey, baseball, basketball, and football. ~Jason Love

I know, the fifth game of the season is kind of silly time to start my blogging back up, especially when my team just lost. I saw this quote recently, and even though the Pirates are out of the playoffs (and have been for decades now), and even though CNN is broadcasting about the basketball lockout, hockey and football still contribute to the allure of October for me.

Now I for one feel very fortunate to be able to watch both of these sports. Which is the other reason for starting blogging now. I've gotten several letters from my brother Levi over the last five weeks while he's been in training for the National Guard Reserves, and despite his thirst for "civilian news," I think that he also really misses simple luxuries like watching sports, among other things. So partially this is for him--the least I could do!

So, Levi, to summarize: they're off to a good start.

Letang is leading the team in points. Tonight James Neal scored his fourth goal, with Cooke on his heels with 3. Malkin has sat a couple games due to his knee, but the way he was playing tonight, it was like the Geno show. They were perfect on the penalty kill (with 2 shorties) until Washington got a 4-on-3 in overtime tonight; killing 16 out of 17 still isn't bad. We signed Kunitz to a two-year extension. Oh, and Sidney Crosby got cleared for contact today--no big deal.

I know--this one is short and sweet and probably not anything new for anyone who can watch the Penguins whenever they want. I'll get back to elaboration and hopefully some charming little stories about my family as we relate to hockey.


Note:  No sooner than I had stated my intent to blog for my brother Levi, he returned from National Reserves training on a medical leave and got to watch some hockey of his own accord!  Of course, he did go back right before Thanksgiving and will now graduate his basic training in February 2012.


Random thought:  When the goaltender holds the puck, it's called "freezing the puck," but really someone else freezes all the pucks before the game even begins.

Go West, Young Man

Well, I think I'm ready.  I think tonight I will watch hockey again.

I've often used the mentality on others that if the team that beat yours is still in it, at least you know you lost to a quality team.  But I'm not thrilled to be watching the Lightning still living it up in the postseason.

Last Sunday at church, I had a conversation with another hockey fan in the congregation.  Never mind he's nine, a Canadien's fan, and the Pastor's son--he's got a passion for the sport and he likes to discuss it.  I had missed some church lately, and it was the first opportunity I had to offer him my consolation for his team's elimination.

I'm always interested in other fans' opinions, so I was asking Colin which team he thought was going to hoist the Cup this year, now that it couldn't be the Habs.

We shared a common outlook--it didn't matter who won it as long as it wasn't the team that eliminated our own.

While I could barely stomach the thought of the Lightning in the finals again, he didn't want to see the Bruins there either.  (As for the Bruins, I really wouldn't mind seeing them win this year, if only for Mark Recchi's sake, and because of Tim Thomas's amazing play.) But one of these teams will need to represent the East.

Together we agreed to cheer on the West.

Overall, he thought it was the Canucks' year (and they hadn't even wrapped up their series with Nashville yet).

We'll see about that.  They still need to defeat the Sharks.  I'll admit that I haven't watched a Western Conference playoff game yet.  The time zone difference kills me.  From what I know, I agree the regular season's number one seed is probably good for it.

First of all, the Sharks were forced to a Game 7 with the Red Wings, and they will have very little time off before their next series begins.  And the Canucks have been tested this post season:.  they received a wake up call in the first round, and their top players have been shut down, but they still managed to win their series.

But as we know, in hockey everything goes.  This is a whole new series.  That same Game 7 could mean positive momentum for the Sharks.  The extra time off for the Canucks could leave them out of focus.  Either way, the conference is well represented.

I can't wait to see how this one plays out.

Go West?

Playing Favorites

I wasn't ready for the end of the post season, and just because it's here, I'm not any more prepared for it.  I'm still feeling fairly nauseous about that game, so rather than analyze it, or critique the power(less) play, or question how the Penguins allowed the Lightning to overcome a 3-1 series deficit, I'm going to keep tonight's blog fun.

Who's your favorite player and why?

My active favorite is none other than Marc-Andre Fleury.  The Flower is known for his poke check and acrobatic saves.  Something about his demeanor reminds me of the French Canadian goalie of Slap Shot, or maybe that goalie reminds me of him.  I tend to favor goalies.  I had been favorite-less for years now and leaning toward Sid, but this season I made up my mind.  Fleury had such a tough start this year (and some of the "fans"--yes, you know who you are--thought we should deal him early), but with some adjustments on his part and more solid play from the defense, he put himself in the Vezina discussion.  Sometimes it's easy to forget just how young these players are; at 26, Fleury has already hoisted the Cup and serves as a veteran of the team.

My longtime favorite is the non-active Ron Francis.  Of course, it breaks my heart that he's instrumental on the bench of the Carolina Hurricanes and not the Penguins, even though I understand why.  As a roller hockey player, I strove to perfect my stretch pass, a la Francis.  One of the highlights of my youth was meeting him at an event, and I proudly display his autographed photo on my wall of fame.  I think my only regret is that I didn't start watching hockey earlier, as I missed his contribution to the Penguins' first two cup wins.  He always seemed like a quiet player, a sleeper, and also one who was okay with taking the supporting role to help achieve the greater goal.

So tell me about the player(s) you admire.

Game Seven

Well, Easter is coming to a close, and even though it's not a Penguins game day, we did have hockey on at our house.  George is showing great progress as he's the one who pointed out we'd be able to catch the Flyers-Sabres game on NBC today (normally Buffalo's games are blacked out as we don't have MSG).

Quick sidebar:  I saw on NBC there was an option to like NHL on NBC through facebook, and I'm curious--does anyone actually like watching hockey on NBC, or are they doing it for the same reason I am, as a necessity?  Personally, I'm not a fan of any of the announcers or commentators, except that I can deal with good old Eddie O.  And aren't the commentators what separates the stations from one another?  Maybe I'm missing something, but back to the topic at hand.

I think George was a little confused that I didn't want the Flyers to lose today.  He made it clear that they could head out to the golf course tomorrow, for all he cared; I'm nearly certain he thought I'd share that sentiment.

It's not as though I were rooting for them.

I explained to him the strategy I currently employ during the playoffs:  hope every series but our own goes the full seven games.  If our team goes on to the next round, I could only hope the team they play next was as tired, run down, and beat up as possible.  I want the teams to make each other suffer and wear each other down.  I want to see seven full games of them testing each other's strengths and divulging each other's weaknesses.

I could actually care less if Philly or Buffalo won their series.  I watch the hockey for love of the game, but find fantasy leagues detrimental.  Participating in polls that encourage me to cheer for the Penguins' opponents to move on to the next round only distracts from my focus on my team.

In the past, I had rarely chosen favorites in other playoff match ups.  While I preferred we not play the Caps or the Devils or [insert team name here], I didn't worry about it and let the ice chips fall where they may.

Last season, though, I let it get personal.  I let myself get distracted.  And as the Penguins defeated the Senators in six games, I let myself get sucked into the Caps-Habs series that extended to seven games.  I cheered on the underdogs as they clawed back from being down 3-1.  And I gloried in the fall of the number one seed to the Canadiens.

Of course, we all know how this played out.  Even though the Penguins won 3 of 4 regular season games against the Habs, and they had outscored them 15 to 9 in those games, we all know the playoffs are their own story.  This story did not end well for Pittsburgh.

And so rather than putting myself in a position to wonder if I rooted for a team because they were an underdog, or if I cheered for that team because I felt they were the easier team for us to beat, I'll just hope for game seven, round by round.

You might say that the Caps-Habs game did just that--went to game seven.

True.  But I chose a favorite in that series, and it wasn't the Penguins.  Regardless of which two teams are competing, my focus--the favorite--should always be the Penguins.

So I'm happy to say that the Blackhawks and Flyers have both forced a game seven today.  Let's go, Pens!

Coming Home

So it's been a long time since I've posted a blog, mostly because I'm not sure if anyone actually reads this, or if it's mainly serving as an online journal for me.  But either way, I'm back.

I thought I'd start blogging again last month after George and I visited the Consol Energy Center for our first time.  We played the Florida Panthers, and despite a lethargic pace to the game, the teams settled it in a shootout.  Kovalev scored the winning goal!  


Despite that, I couldn't get myself to start writing again....


Now is the time, though.  I said before that we're in the process of selling our house.  We're making some progress, and I brought up the conversation again with Gregory, our 7 year old, that we'll be moving out of state soon.  He's not handling it well because of all the friends he has made; he's started to have quite the social life.


We've told him that we'd like to have a party for him and his friends--a going away party.  I want to make sure that he gets their addresses and phone numbers.  I want him to have photographs of them having fun together.  George suggested we get Gregory an email account and bring up the topic with his friends' parents as well.  Then I thought to myself, "Why don't we do a spin-off blog for Greg and his friends so they can post notes and pictures for each other?"


Hence the blogging.


It's an exciting and scary time in our lives.  For me it's a homecoming.  Which is why I'm going to link my current favorite song:

But I'm not the only one coming home.  The Penguins are bringing their series back to Pittsburgh tomorrow.  Honestly, there couldn't be a more exciting time to be a hockey fan.  They're trying to put the Tampa Bay Lightning away in Game 5, and I'm hoping they can exercise some killer instinct.


The other series have been equally exciting.  


In the East, the Bruins came back in overtime last night to tie their series with the Habs at two games apiece.  The Flyers and Sabres battle again tonight to see which team can take the upperhand in their tied series.  And tomorrow the Caps will try to close out their series with the Rangers as well.


I'll be honest:  I haven't been paying as much attention to the West except to know the Red Wings have swept Phoenix.  Also, the Blackhawks have finally decided they'd like to make an attempt to defend the Stanley Cup, and facing elimination against the top-seeded Canucks, they've extended their series at least by another game.


By the time I'm back in Pennsylvania, the playoffs will be over.  But I look forward to discussing it more and hopefully the Pens will keep advancing, round by round.  And of course keeping you (or, if no one is reading this, me) up to date on our move!

If Wishes Were Penguins

Is it fair to expect that my blog's title is self-explanatory?

Only if you know which saying I'm paraphrasing in the first place.

In my family, especially from my Grandma Wyatt, it was just as common to hear, "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride," as it was to hear, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  (That is still, by the way, my favorite of all the Geico commercials.  I mean, it's like Antique Roadshow for goodness sakes.)  Sometimes it'd just be shortened to the first half of the statement; you fill in the rest.

When I first said that to my husband, he looked at me like I had two heads.  In the foothills of western Pennsylvania, proverbs like that are commonplace.  In Webster, NY (a suburb of Rochester), not so much.

I had to explain the concept.  It makes perfect sense if you think it through.  If hoping and wanting for something were all you had to do to make it yours, everyone would have exactly what they desired and dreamed without trying.

As much as I love the saying, and when I was thinking of what to call my blog, I knew "If Wishes Were Horses" just wouldn't do for me.  It would suggest I were a horse person, which would be misleading.  I've ridden, but I honestly know very little about horses.

But since I love hockey so much and planned to make my team integral to my blog, "If Wishes Were Penguins" fit perfectly.  

When I was a teenager and my Grandma Wyatt would ask me what I wanted for Christmas, I told her "anything Penguins."  Since she wasn't necessarily in a hockey state of mind, I would often get stuffed animals, penguin emblazoned porcelain plates, and bird-shaped ornaments.  The bird and the team became interchangeable for me.

Additionally, the style of hockey that the Pittsburgh Penguins play embodies idea of this proverb--that you work hard and reap the benefits.  It's incredible how they can control the tempo of a hockey game by owning the boards and keeping the other team stuck in their zone.  

If wishes were Penguins.

Even after drafting Sidney Crosby, the team didn't experience immediate success; in fact they were still at the bottom of the ranks.  They had to grow into their new identity.  Then Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal joined the team the next season.  The Penguins made it to the first round of the playoffs but lost to Ottawa.  The next year, of course, we lost to Detroit, but this time in the Stanley Cup championship.  So each year they worked harder, gained more experience, and honed their collective team skills until they won the Cup the following year.

If wishes were Penguins.

They are now a team run down with injuries.  Maybe the Pens haven't lost as many man-games as some of the other teams this season.  But what team who had them would want to be without Staal for the first part of the season, without Malkin for the second half, or without Crosby for (hopefully just) its middle?  Even the support players like Kunitz, Letestu, Comrie, Asham, et al are sorely missed.  Yet the team, even when comprised of Wilkes-Barre Scranton Baby Pens, works hard to try to keep our record in tact and maintain our place in the standings as we vie for position in the playoffs.

If wishes were Penguins, every team could have a Stanley Cup.  

Instead it'll be just one.

The players' hard work to dominate the boards.  Shero's trades to fill the gaps.  Bylsma's coaching.  Winning the tight games.  We fans are hoping and praying that these steps will be enough to make us that one team.  

And then it won't matter if wishes are penguins or horses or even elephants.

Oh, and a warm "Welcome back!" to Alexei Kovalev.