Operation Kidnap the Hammies

Flandersdude said the Hammies are staying for the Habs/Bolts game tonight before they head off to Ottawa tomorrow.

While it may look like the Hammies are just sticking around to watch this team that they all want to play for, the reality is they're sticking around for something much more important: they're going to kidnap the Hammies who have been captured by the Habs and they're going to bring them to Ottawa with them.

Yes.

If all goes well, they'll have not only Whitey and Pysie but they'll be able to take Chipper and Stewie back too! And maybe Dagger and Patches too.

Here's how it's going to work:

1. The Hammies are going to sit in the press gallery looking all innocent and happy. Obviously they won't be booing the Habs. They'll be cheering. Loudly. And making sure PK doesn't fall off and break his neck (somehow I have this mental image of PK falling off the press gallery).
   
   
2. After the game, they're going to follow Skinny Vinny out of the building.
   
   
3. They're going to kidnap Vinny and then demand that the Habs give them the Hammies back in exchange for Vinny.
   
   
4. The public will agree to this because they want Vinny and  they will cause massive protests until the Habs cave in. Hammies are returned and they head off into the sunset. Well, they would drive off into the sunset if it wasn't so cloudy out.
   
   
5. The Habs will keep Vinny for a while until the Bolts get around to hiring a lawyer to sue them (this will take a few months because the lawyers couldn't figure out if they were suing each other or another team). Vinny will then accidentally-on-purpose escape and will live out the rest of his life driving ferraris on the beaches of Tampa Bay.  

It's a total foolproof plan.

Take 1 ends in a small fail. Take 2 coming up next

Of course I was there to witness the Hammies losing their first game in regulation in person.

In their defense though, they were clearly not used to not-crappy ice, idiot fans and freaking fat posts (yes, it's official, the goal posts in Montreal are OBESE. Hammies put at least two off the post). The poor things looked really freaked out in the first period and they just couldn't recover (I'll be delusional and say that having White and Pyatt would've changed that *coughs*).

But admits the less than stellar game and tragic outcome, I was SO happy to see my Hammies. And I had such AWESOME seats too. Look:

It was kinda closer than it looks too. I had a pretty good view of the back of Boucher's head too :D He wasn't a happy camper tonight. Oh well.

A few other random and useless notes:

• Hammies games aren't quite the same without Flandersdude. I WANT FLANDERSDUDE :D
• Speaking of which, I couldn't see him because that huge screen was obstructing my view of where the media dudes are.... Unless the media dudes weren't where I thought they were.... whatever. I couldn't see him! D: 
• I bought a camera SPECIFICALLY for this game. I'm going through all 313 pictures now to see if any came out good.....EDIT: Pictures are here. 
• PK PK PK PK PK! had the only goal for the Hammies. Nice goal too =) 
• Boucher paces a lot
• Bingy Sens stink :D
• Ref, you suck. You suck a lot. 
• Boo birds you suck. Family friendly words do not describe my discontent with you
• Drunk guy asking me where the metro was after the game who then proceeded to walk in the opposite direction, you were hilarious. 
• My Hammeis are still more awesome than your AHL team
• Next up: Hammies vs Bingy Sens take 2 in Ottawa. EP will be there. 

Edit: MY BABY JUNIORS BEAT GATINEAU. YAY! This a big deal as Gatineau is a good team and has been beating the stuffing out of other teams. w00t. And no, the Juniors were not playing the Voltigeurs as stated by our lovely Gaztte in a blurby thingy. Voltigeurs are on Tuesday when yours truly will be at the Bell Centre yelling at the Habs.

Price wiiiiiiiiiiins!

Hark, what's this? We beat the Booins? Well, not us. Price beat the Booins. And Metro. WHOO!!!!

Pre-game pessimism:

• Me: We're going to lose. Why can't I go to watch Sweden's U20 team demolish Concordia? I saw some of these guys last year and I saw them get drafted... =/ 
• I don't have a picture of Pyatt?!!! I don't even know what Pyatt looks like... *rips out hair*

The game:

• That "Go Bruins Go" in the first period by the Booins was weak. 
• The Priceberg is back. And he's got some attitude!
• Metro. I wuvs you. 
• Whitey had an assist on Metro's goal *sobs* come back Whitey D: 
• Okay, we can sorta get the D to work but then the offense dies?
• I don't like Gomer. 
• LOL Chara gets sent off to dumping Gio. Yeah, dude, it's a little noticeable when the tallest guy in the NHL cross-checks the shortest guy in the NHL. Just a little. 
• No really, I know there were a gazillion shots on goal by the Booins, but the D was not as bad as they were against the Thrashers :D
• We would've won in regulation time if Marshmallow had not robbed Turtle-Pleky. 
• What the hell is Burke doing there? GO AWAY. GO AWAY. 
• Hell, we would've won in regulation time if they had played a stronger third period. There was too much sitting around. 
• Can we fire MAG?
• I hate that we give up super late goals
• Marshmallow clearly isn't Vesa. You're not going to beat him glove side twice in a row. Just once :D
• I liked the "CA-REY" chants though. Nice to see they're supporting our goalie *G* It clearly worked tonight!
• CAREY! Congrats on the 50th win!
• Oh and what the hell, Boston? You gave Squishy the first star? For doing what?! Price got the second star and Marshmallow got the third for.... being bored. 

Post game optimism:

• Dad is now chirping at me for saying that the Habs would lose. How would I know that the Booins would continue to suck? Jeez. 
• HAMMIES TOMORROW

OHL was right to suspend Liambas

Admits my little hissy fit at the Habs, I forgot to write something up about the suspension of Michael Liambas for his hit on Ben Fanelli. I wrote a very brief thing condemning the hit on the Kitchener Rangers' forward. The other day, OHL commissioner David Branch took a step in what I thin is a positive direction, by suspending Liambas for the season as well as any playoff games that his team might play in.

After the hit was aired and numerous news stations, I was surprised that most people saw nothing wrong with the net. Everyone agreed that it was legal, while some did acknowledged that it was dirty. Most said Fanelli should have done a better job to protect himself.  Needless to say, I wasn't impressed with this reaction. I was even less impressed when many called Liambas' suspension "too harsh".

Look, I get that Fanelli turned away, did not have his helmet properly secured and all that. I do not believe for a second that Liambas intended to seriously injure Fanelli. But this was not a freak accident like the puck hitting Fanelli's head or a skate slashing him. Liambas went full out at Fanelli and he could not have stopped even if he wanted to. The intent to hit Fanelli was there.

I'm not just blaming Liambas here. I think the problem runs deeper than this single hit. When over half of my twitter feed - filled with "normal" fans like me - actually say that Branch was wrong to hand down such a harsh "sentence" on Liambas, then there's a deeper issue. We're creating a hockey culture that endorses serious injuries. That would take too long to get into here, but I believe Branch was right to stand up for his players.

I wish the NHL would follow suit.  Bettman and Colin Campbell should not be standing aside while their players get concussion due to dangerous hits. As I said in my earlier blog post about this, the NHL should be setting an example for the rest of the leagues in North America. All other levels of hockey look to the NHL as their role model. I'm pretty sure if Campbell had decided to suspend Richards or Ladd for their hits on Booth and D'Agostini respectively, then there would be not be as big an uproar against Liambas' suspension.

Okay, really, what is wrong with this city?

I've come to the conclusion that all these defensive woes are not just the Habs fault. There is something either in the water or in the air in Montreal.

The Habs were the first to catch it and now the Juniors have come down with it too.

This mysterious illness causes players to forget how to play defense, give the puck away liberally in their own zone, leave the goalie(s) out to dry, and causes the forwards to either miss the net completely or give up fluffy shots on the opposing goalie.

Juniors dropped a 5-4 game to Lewiston tonight. Much like the Habs, they were battling the whole night to catch up to their opponents. Much like the Habs, the Juniors are either missing players or had players playing at half their capacity due to illness. Of course, much like the Habs, sloppy defense and weak goal allowed by the goalie (in this case Berube), killed the game (unlike Price, Berube wouldn't last past the first period).

Trevor Parkes was the equivalent of Turtle-Pleky. In other words, the only guy doing any work. He was rewarded with a hat trick actually.

Unlike the Habs, the refs completely blew this game. Hands down one of the worst games I've followed. Case in point: A Junior gets sent off for tripping when nobody actually tripped. The other guy didn't even semi fall forward - because the Junior didn't touch him! Nobody touched him. Apparently touching the puck = tripping.

This game was supposed to be the Juniors best chance at winning in their four game homestead. The next three teams that they will play are a combined 42-10-2-2. Err actually, I guess that's 42-11-2-2... as it was Fail Night In the QMJHL with the Voltigeurs getting blown up 5-1. Anyway, the point is, Gatineau, Quebec City and Drummondville all lead their divisions. The Voltigeurs were on top of the league before they lost tonight, but they have three games in hand over the league leading Saint John Sea Dogs.

So Juniors. Show up or risk getting demolished at home.

And please, for the love of the Stanley Cup, stop copying the Habs. It's sad already.

Okay Habs. Now it's personal.

Dear Habs:

I hate you. I am SO mad with you right now. Family friendly words do not describe how mad I am.

You called up Pyatt and White and now you've seriously handicapped this Hammies team for Friday and Sunday. SERIOUSLY handicapped them.

You called them up because you're freaking injured or because you're just that useless....

It's one thing if you want to tank your season. Go ahead. I'm seriously over that. But for the love of the damn game, why the hell do you have to ruin the Hammies too?! WHY?!!!!!!! WHY?!

Get your shit together and send my Hammies back to Hammie-town where things were going well.

Not-sincerely,

EP

P.S. Yes, this is my knee-jerked reaction to the news. Probably the only person in Montreal that is mad at the Habs because of this.

P.P.S. That being said, you know who I'm going to blame if the Hammies lose right? Regardless of how badly the Hammies might play?

P.P.P.S. Pysie and Whitey: Kick some butt tomorrow if you play.

P.P.P.P.S. this was a long time in coming actually. We were talking about what would happen if Martin is fired. Would the Habs call up Boucher and #$%^ that up? Not only am I super attached to this Hammies squad, but Boucher is in no way ready for the NHL. And yet, the Habs are totally the type to screw it up and make him the coach before he's ready.

that sucked

I was watching some of the Wings/Bruins game tonight. I missed a lot of it, but I did catch the last 5 minutes. The Wings were up 2-0. What had me actually watching the game was not so much because I was afraid that the Booins might score, but rather to watch the Wings play defense.

It was like watching a totally different league. In this league, players manage to control the puck in their own zone. In this league, players don't stand by and watch as the opposing team walks in and scores on their goalie.

It's a nice league and I wish the Habs could be in it. But nopers.

I'm too tired to complain too much about this game, but damnit, it was one of the worst I've seen by them this year. The defensive coverage is brutal. And it sucks because for the most part, Price played really well. He had some great stops. The team left him out to dry completely. Blergh.

Super Turtle-Pleky and Gio tried to make it close. Really. They did. Super Turtle-Pleky had a great goal to tie it up late in the third (only to have the D screw up and let in the game winner about a minute later).

Myeh....

I really want to see Sweden's U20 team play Concordia university on Thursday but it's my relative's birthday and I really should be present for it. Either way, I have a good excuse to miss what is probably going to be an embarrassing game for the Habs against the Booins. Booins haven't scored in two games and they'll be taking on a Habs squad that has given up what... 10 in the last two? Or 9? Whatever.

I hate the Booins.  I hate this defensive squad for the Habs. I hate the damn puck going in off of other player's feet. And I hate the time change thing. I'm still a wreck because of it.

I do love that the Leafs are becoming very reliable in their ability to lose a game though. They just dropped a 2-1 decision to the Bolts.

Hammies wiiiiiiiiiiiiin

I'm getting a bit tired of the Habs and the Hammies going to OT and/or shootouts. Like, really tired.

Thankfully the Hammies won 5-2 in regulation time! FINALLY.

• In the pre-game interivew, Guy says he probably made a mistake in having a practice the day before the Hammies lost in shootouts to the Heat. He attributes their loss to mainly be tired and out of it... He also kinda blamed the ice a bit. Which is a fair point because it really does suck. 
• Weber is finally getting back into the rhythm of things that made him super successful last season. He got the assist on both of Darche's goals. 
• Yeah, Darche had two goals. Putting him one up on Pyatt. His first goal was on a PP too! If the Habs suck on the PP then the Hammies are just as bad......They would go 1 for 3 tonight though. 
• Sanford momentarily forgot how to pokecheck and the Rivermen scored on basically an empty net...
• Brrrrrrrrock Trotter had a goal tonight! It was pretty awesome too :D
• ....then Armstrong tied it up. 
• The third period was delayed because the ice sucks and they had a swimming pool instead of an ice rink out there. If Balsillie is looking to spend all that money of his, he can make the Hammies a new arena. or at least do something to make sure they have ice instead of water to play on. 
• Glumac's elbow then connected with Armstrong's head. Sounded like he was just reacting and put his arm up as Armstrong came at him instead of actually elbowing him on purpose, but anyway... Armstrong went down, was totally dazed afterwards. Glumac then took a 5 minute major for... interference? Flandersdude went "what?!". I went "eh?" And just like that the Hammies chances of winning this thing looked  to be in serious jeopardy. There were 8 minutes to go in the 3rd at this point. 
• or not.... Darche is tripped up and then bingo we have 4 on 4. Good way to help kill off this huge Peoria PP. 
• DARCHE SCORES AGAIN. 
• And Wyman scoooooooooooooores while the announcer is still announcing Darche's goal. EEEEEE!!
• And then the Hammies go to the penalty box. 5 on 3 PP for the Peoria Rivermen........... *bites nails*
• PP over.... 
• OMG BELLE WITH A GOAL! That was the third time that the Hammies had a chance to score when coming out of the penalty box. And they finally convert! Nice pass by Rrrrrryan Russel =) 
• WOW. Nice win Hammies! =)

Hammies can win like this any day. Well... I'd prefer if they stayed out of the damn penalty box more. The Rivermen had way too many PP chances. Guy might want to tell people to stop putting candy in there so the players won't make a mad dash for the box at every opportunity.

Annnnnnnd

Juniors didn't get to play today because the Wildcats are all injured and sick. Sounds like maybe they have the flu or something. Instead of giving up the game to the Juniors by default, the game has been postponed to another date. Poop. Oh well, the Juniors could use the break anyway.

Edit: Oh TSN has the story. Wildcats only had 11 players who were healthy enough to play. Most were sick. Nobody has been diagnosed with H1N1. etc, etc, etc....

Ummm what. the. heck, Voltigeurs?! When I checked the score in the second period, they were leading Acadie-Bathurst 5-3. They ended up winning the game TEN to three. Wow. In all that scoring Lefrevbre and Dumont only had one assist each. Poop.