What a Great Roll for Hockey! Heritage Classic Caps Off a Fab Mid Season Filled With Hockey Magic

If it says it on a pen, it must be true by Lisa Ovens

by Lisa Ovens

If you look back on the last two months, hockey fans everywhere have had more than a few reasons to celebrate this great game at the community level all the way up to the big league.

First the HBO 24/7 four part documentary leading up to the NHL's Winter Classic in Pittsburgh on Jan 1st, 2011. Then we had a re-vamped NHL All Star Weekend in North Carolina at January's end. A little while later and it was Hockey Day in Canada which has become a most beloved marathon of hockey's goodness. An then this weekend it was the still establishing its roots, Hockey Day in America and then finally  we saw the big league return to its outdoor hockey roots in Canada for the Heritage Classic at  Cagary's McMahon Stadium featuring the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens.

All I can say is GO HOCKEY GO!!

These events set plenty of things in motion from every person assigned to work on the spectacles, to fans at home planning a day of spectating. If anything, we can call this time The Mid Season Hockey Festival...Season? A time where hockey turns up the marketing heat and entire communities of people put on a show.

The Calgary Flames and the NHL scored a touchdown for presenting a fabulous event and McMahon Football Stadium. Too bad the Montreal Canadiens went scoreless in this 4-O chilly, outdoor affair. Maybe coach, Jacques Martin should have sported a hat today (putting a hat on a coach just adds a serious touch to the look that this hat lover approves!).

And Flames fans prove yet again they are the Kings of Seas, as the forty thousand member crowd showed off the RED.  Though I was impressed to catch one dude in a Canucks jersey during one of the many crowd shots...sweet!

Now the Mid Season Hockey Festival Season is over. The hockey world turns towards one thing...the race to the Playoffs and the fight to qualify. Things are going to get Gritty with a capital G. Are you ready for that, everybody?

Another Winter Classic Under Our Belts....

by Lisa Ovens

Well how was your first day of 2010? For me, I woke up on my cousin Jen's sofa at 10:50am, reached for the remote and turned on the NHL's Winter Classic game in Boston at the legendary Fenway Park. It was only mid first period, but I was disappointed I missed the pre-game chat, and the hockey pomp and ceremony that goes along with these special outdoor hockey events. This seems to happen to me every year since they started this New Year's Day tradition. If they could just start it a tad later, like 11am or 11:30am PST that would be so" Hockey politically correct!"

It was soooo easy to cheer for the Boston Bruins (and not because they were playing the Philadelphia Flyers). It just seems natural that you want the home team to win in an outdoor game spectacle. You want to see the home team fans revel in a win, too. Plus I know how my friend, and Pens writer, Jan Snyder feels about the Flyers at times ;o)

Although hockey fans in Canada wonder when another outdoor game will be staged here, I do believe the NHL should continue with a two US based team game every New Year's Day: it's good for the game. Plus, we have our Hockey Day in Canada coming up on January 30th, 2010, and that's one serious day of hockey celebration that our American hockey friends would kill to have down there. Maybe the Winter Classic could morph into a Hockey Day in the USA celebration somehow...it's just a thought.

Like most everyone else watching earlier today, I really didn't jump off the couch until the Bruins Mark Recchi tied up the game with less than three minutes left in the third. Having an overtime period is just what the die hard hockey fans in the stands deserved. I was almost expecting a shoot out until Marco Sturm scored the game winner for the Boston Bruins.

Now the talk is about where and who will be playing in the next Winter Classic. And if the NHL did want to appease Canadian hockey fans, then a double header Winter Classic (early game in the USA, late game in Canada) would be the obvious solution.

Welcoming a New Guest Columnist...

Not long ago, Marie in Nashville emailed me about attending the Predators State of the Franchise meeting for season ticket holders. She offered to write about the event and share it with our readers at hockeyandhighheels.com.


Meetings like this are a common occurance this time of year around the NHL, and I am more than interested to learn about how other teams treat their most important investors, the fans.

I enjoyed reading Marie's account of "The Predator Way"published below, and I hope you do too.


PS: FYI, the byline pic of Marie you see below was taken at another Predator event, a much more formal event, hense the lovely strapless gown (you look fabulous, Marie!)




IceJerseys.com - Shop Now!

Skate of the Union

Nashville Predators State of the Franchise Meeting

By Marie M.

-Nashville Tennessee

I ducked out of work early on July 23rd to attend the state of the franchise meeting for my beloved Nashville Predators. I arrived just after 5 pm and got in the autograph line. JP Dumont and two of our prospects, Cody Franson and Mark Dekanich were signing. I had brought my jersey. I asked Cody if we were going to see him in our "laundry" this season and he said he sure hoped so! He’s been working out at local training facility getting ready to make his debut with the big boys. I met up with my friends Robin and Tony a little after that. We ran into different folks we knew, saw Steve Sullivan aka "Sully" with the Masterson Trophy posing for pictures. There was also an equipment sale but neither Robin nor I were interested in that.

There was a highlight reel playing on the Megatron. Some clips included Willie O’Ree’s visit and our rivalry with the Wings. The meeting started with some nice highlights from last year and features on Colin Wilson and Ryan Ellis. The meeting was moderated by Pete Weber our play by play guy. David Freeman from the ownership group spoke first. He talked about the Predator Way: 1. Scouting and developing talent; 2. consistency with our coaching staff; 3. David Poile’s steady and classy management; and most important of all, the passionate and knowledgeable fan base. He wouldn’t trade us for any other fan base in the league.

Second was Ed Lang for the business side of things: the 2/20 plan had done well.(The plan allows you to purchase season tickets for 2 years at the current rate and have 20 months to pay it off). He reviewed the schedule which includes 15 Sat games, a Friday and a Sunday game. We will also have our own version of March Madness with 17 games in the month with 10 of them at home. They are looking to repeat some promotions like the Military Mondays (discounted tickets for the military, Fort Campbell, home of the 101st is just up the road so the military is a big deal around here). The usual promises to upgrade concessions were made (yeah, right). Among other things he mentioned were that we sent 13 squirt/pee wee players to the Ace’s Got Skills national competition and 3 came back national champions. (Not bad, eh!)

David Poile was up next. He spoke about re-signing Sully and Joel Ward and how important it was for the team. Sully twitters so one of Poile’s staff knew the deal was made before Poile had a chance to tell him. We hired former player Martin Gelinas as director of player development. Martin was very popular here the one year he played and was an excellent mentor to Jordin Tootoo in particular. Our first goal is to get back to the playoffs. To do that, we will be relying on our core group of players, Sully, Arnott, Dumont, Erat, Legwand and our stud D corp. of Suter, Weber and Hammius. These guys will supplemented by our younger guys from Milwaukee who Poile feels are ready to get their chance at the Big Show. He, of course, was Mr. Positive that we can and will get back to the playoffs this coming season.

Lastly we heard from Sully and JP. Both were incredibly complimentary about the city and the fans. They love playing here and living here. JP said, “You made us feel welcome and part of your families.” They both spoke about the now tradition of a spontaneous standing ovation during a TV timeout. It started at the end of the ’08-‘09 season during our last home game with St. Louis when we knew we had made into the playoffs after a season of turmoil, fears, tears and joy. We don’t do every game, but when the crowd senses the boys need a lift, we get it going. Opposing players are amazed and perplexed by it, of course. Our guys love it and totally feed off it.

The guys were positive about the upcoming season and look forward to getting back on the ice. There was a Q & A session afterwards. Mr. Poile confirmed that Alexander Radulov is not coming back this season. Mr. Freeman acknowledged the need to get more butts in seats to increase our revenue. JP likes watching Alexander Ovechkin on the highlights.
And on a more personal level: Mr. Poile became a grandfather this summer.

The turnout was not great but it was a weeknight. I think we had around 1000 fans there, which is still pretty good for the middle of summertime in Nashville.

Joe Sakic

By Lisa Ovens



Last week one of the greats retired. Colorado Avalanche fans are saying good bye to long time center and Captain, "Burnaby Joe" Sakic.

Here at my house, I am placing my Joe Sakic Celebriduck into the "retired" hockey swag bin. It's bittersweet.

Photo: Lisa Ovens

Ask any Canuck fan, and they would tell you that they had always hoped, somehow, some way, Joe Sakic would find his way onto the Vancouver Canucks roster and play in his hometown (and make the team that much better!).

Does life begin at 40 years old for a retired hockey player like Joe Sakic? Whatever Joe's plans are, I am sure he won't have any trouble scoring tickets to the Men's Hockey Tournament during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Thinking back to 2002 in Salt Lake City (I remember it like it was just yesterday), I thought it was pretty cool to see Sakic selected as Team Canada's MVP after they won gold. Considering all of the talent in that Olympic locker room, he probably thought that too. That tournament is my favorite memory of Burnaby Joe, because, well, from a Canuck fan perspective, in NHL and Northwest Division terms, he was playing for the enemy, and man, he always played great against the Canucks.

Photo: Lisa Ovens

Hockey fans visiting Vancouver can find Joe Sakic Way, a roadway that takes people to the Burnaby Lakes Sports Complex, in Burnaby. The street used to be called Laurel Street. (I know what you thinking...what an upgrade in names!) Joe Sakic Way is a short drive from Canlan Ice Sports- Burnaby Eight Rinks, a regular practice facility for the Vancouver Canucks and visiting NHL teams.

Joe Sakic Stats:

1987 Drafted by the Quebec Nordiques 15th overall
2 Stanley Cups
1 Con Smythe Award (MVP, Playoffs 2006)
1 Hart Trophy ( 2001)
13 times voted All-Star
1378 NHL games played
1641 Points
20 NHL seasons played

In other news...

Twelve new Tim Horton stores were opened in Manhattan. The locations were formerly Dunkin Donuts. I know hockeyand highheels.com welcomes readers from the New York area, so I will now share a column I wrote a few years back, when I reviewed the Tim Horton's breakfast sandwich. It was a Valentine's Day column as well, so feel the love, people...click here for more

Round Two Game Two: Penguins/ Capitals

Hit Me with Your Best Shot – Pat Benetar


By Jan Snyder

This song works on two levels. On one, the hits were adding up; on the other the shots, at each other, were adding up. Another song that would apply is “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

What a game – Sid scores, Ovie scores, Sid scores, Ovie scores – twice, Sid scores. How long could this go on? Only David Steckel broke up the hat tricks of the superstars. When was the last time we saw two hat tricks in one playoff game? “Hit me with your best shot, Sid.” “Hit me with YOUR best shot, Ovie.”

So for all the talk about this being a team game and the two rivals not being on the ice at that same time against each other, six of the seven goals were scored by Crosby and Ovechkin. Had the game gone another period or two, who knows how many more each of them would have added.

But this game begs the question: Is Sid the only one who doesn’t ever want to be in that photo again? You remember the ad after last year’s defeat to Detroit. Sid stepped out of the picture of the disconsolate Pens at the end of the game and said “I don’t ever want to be in that photo again.” From the looks of things tonight, he is the only one who feels that way. Where was the rest of the team? C’mon guys, Sid needs some scoring help out there.

There were plenty of hits dished out by each team. Letang, after being plastered into the glass, left the game clutching his shoulder and arm. Will he be back for the next game? That’s a big hit to the power play if he can’t go. Gonchar took quite a slam into the glass as well, but came back to the ice.

Going two for five on the power play worked to the Pens advantage tonight and although it sounds strange in a game where seven goals were scored, both goalies were excellent.

Geno looked better too, but still couldn’t score and took a penalty that led directly to Ovechkin’s third goal.

So, back to the burg. Down two, but with two now on Mellon Arena ice. This time the crowd will be on the Pens’ side. Passion is so obvious on both sides. Each team wants to take the upper hand – who will get it on Wednesday? The hits will keep on coming, the shots will keep on coming – but will the other Pens chip in and help Sid? Hit us with your best shots, guys!


Let’s Go, Pens!

Canucks...Round Two Game One

Nik-o-laiiiii...NIK-O-LAIIIIII

by Lisa Ovens

I don't know if it was sitting back on the lead, or if the Canucks were running out of gas after the first two periods after the much talked about nine day lay off that allowed the Chicago Blackhawks back into the game. But it was glaringly evident when the Canucks blew the 3-0 lead, that if you give the Blackhawks an inch, they'll take a mile without anything so much as a thank you.

The Goal Tender's world can seem like a lonely one at times

The fact the Canucks were able to recover, late in the third period capitize on rebound for the game winning Sami Salo goal, and then make the most of a loose puck to add one to the ENG (empty net goal) column brought the fans to their feet.

Game one of this series was indeed an emotional roller coaster ride for fans: nervous about the lay off and wary of the Blackhawks speed, skill and talent. I did what I could to ease the pre-game emotions in GM Place: a donned my blue feather playoff boa and hit the concourse, spreading whimsy, administering light-hearted tickles, and leaving the odd errant feather floating in my wake.

During the first period action, noticing the Canucks taking way too many pretty passes and ultimately not converting their chances, I was a vision of contradiction yelling "Garbage...give us a garbage goal guys!!!" while simultaneously flitting the classy playoff boa in the air.

My game buddy might have been the one in our section who travelled the furthest for game one of the Canucks/Hawks series. Chelsea, a Pittsburgh native, Penguins intern, and a charter member of the hockeyandhighheels.com club (this means you've read the book and visit the website for more of my shtick) club flew into town on business and we connected for a little site seeing, serious hockey talk and the game.

Lisa BB (before boa) and Chelsea after she loses the Pens Tee

I took her to see the 2010 Olympic Speed Skating Oval in the afternoon. Following the Team 1040's sports talk radio host, Blake Price's suggestion of starting a random "Go Canucks Go" chant, I tried one out in the lobby of the Oval. Sadly no one chimed in; instead they just turned and stared, me in my blue Canucks Tee, and Chelsea in her black Penguins Tee. I quickly followed up with "Hey, we are a walking billboard for a potential Stanley Cup Final, yeah?" pointing at our chests. There were giggles...mostly from us.

I also tested out another Blake Price suggestion: Chanting Blackhawks goal tender’s first name Nikolai at the game, but imitating the Ricola cough drop “shout out” commercial http://www.ricola.com/, because as Price pointed out, the two names sound very similar. While the rest of the crowd started chanting “Bulin, Bulin” I was singing “Nik-o-laiiiii, Nik-o- laiiiii” No one seemed to catch on to that one, Blake. But I agree with you that it is by far the better goalie name taunt cheer.

Next up: Game Two...

Happy Easter Happy Playoffs!!!

Happy Easter, Everyone!
orginally posted April 12, 2009

By Lisa Ovens

What could be better than eating chocolate and finding out the official 2009 Stanley Cup Playoff match ups?

One thing comes to mind: watching your team win the Stanley Cup!

Welcome Wagon

This post season welcomes the Columbus Blue Jackets to the playoffs for the very first time, and the return of the Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Short on Canadian Teams

In Canada, we only have three teams competing (Canucks, Flames, Canadiens), and thankfully none of them are playing each other in the first round. (It’s hard for some Canadians to watch one have to knock another out when there are few battling in the first place.)

Long on the Central Division Teams

Wow...four Centrals: the Detroit Red Wings, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the St. Louis Blues. Normally it was always the Northwest Division filling up the joint.

Interstate Battles

We have a Battle of California (Sharks and Ducks), and the Battle of Pennsylvania (Penguins and Flyers).

The Lesser of two Masons?

The Vancouver Canucks knew they’d be facing a Mason in goal in round one. It was only a matter of time before they found out which one. Chris Mason and the St. Louis Blues fired up the standings to meet their Northwest Division rival, Vancouver Canucks.

The Upset?

The Detroit Red Wings will be playing first timers, the Columbus Blue Jackets. If there is an upset, this will be it!


The Kids and the Flames

The Calgary Flames will have their hands full with the boys from Chicago, and their fans.


Original Six!

If it’s anything like last year, The Bruins/ Canadiens series is one to watch.

Offense vs. Defence

The Washington Capitals score and the New York Rangers don’t...yet they should.

Could be a Dud??

It’s been suggested the New Jersey Devils vs. the Carolina Hurricanes will be the dud series in round one. Which means it could turn into a barn burner....my prediction – game three in this series will open right up and surprise everyone. Woohooo!!!

Stayed tuned for more 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage from hockeyandhighheels.com!