Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey N Heels

By Lisa Ovens

The room is pleasantly decorated with Christmas sparkle. Nigel Kirwan, the Lightning’s video coach greets us warmly. He then proceeds to breakdown last month's controversial  Lightning/Flyers game. He speaks candidly as we watch the video presentation he’s prepared. A question is asked about the current woes of the Bolts. Again, Kirwan is open and honest about the areas of concern. 

Now, if this were Canuck fans seated in the media room with Canuck video coach, Darryl Williams, well, those Knuckleheads would be peeing their pants!! My point is, Canucks fans just don’t get this kind of team access in Vancouver. Did I mention the fans in the media room were all women?

Welcome to the Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey N Heels event, the Grand Daddy of hockey events for women. It was several years ago I figured out that the Lightning were the very first NHL team to host an event like this (the first one was 10 years ago), so you can imagine how happy I was to be there.

The time spent with Nigel Kirwan was just one of several presentations the Lightning had planned for their dedicated female fans. Before we were broken down into groups, we started the evening at the foot of the new digital theatre organ, one of several recent additions to St. Pete’s Times Forum.

Organist, Ray Horsely demonstrated the many wonders of the organ, and, at the end of his presentation, passionately encouraged all of us to get young people into taking up the instrument. I have to admit I was mesmerized by his words (and that big ass organ’s killer sounds) and did consider a slight change of course on my life’s path in order to fit in some organ training. I, too, would love to command that thing on a giant turntable, high above the crowd, as there is nothing like the tradition of organ music at the good old hockey game. Who am I fooling, I'd be a special sound effects junky with the digital organ if given the chance!

                                           Organist, Ray Horsely

And on with the event…tours of the locker room, players lounge, training room, the cozy blade sharpening room. And with each stop we received tidbits of knowledge about the inner workings of the team: how the training room bustles with activity and is capable of mending so many types of injuries that occur during an average game. How often Steve Stamkos requires his skates to be sharpened, the unconventional hockey terminology of head coach, Guy Boucher.

                                           Super Fan, Linda is up to the task...

                                           

Mixed into the above was a chat with Dominic Moore’s wife, Katie. An athlete herself (soccer), Katie shared plenty about life with a guy who’s played on eight different teams. To sum it up…the crockpot is a key appliance in the Moore household. Katie left for her match, and former, long time ref, Don Koharski took the floor and offered some insight into the secret world of an NHL referee.

The last stop of the tour gave us some ice time with sticks, pucks and a few Lightning players (Teddy Purcell, Dominic Moore, and Matt Gilroy). Obviously this is a fan favourite activity. Who doesn’t want to be on the ice where your home team plays? I was re-united and delighted with walking around the ice with the puck on my stick. All I needed was my skates. Since the Lightning have been Hockey n Heelin’ for 10 years, it would be pretty cool to see them take it to another level by adding some skates, gloves and helmets into the mix at future events. 

 

During the event I made a few new hockey friends like Linda, pictured above operating the sharpener, and a fellow blogger Alexis Boucher. Her Sons of Andreychek (great name, BTW) is a good read for all things Lightning and the link is right here..

 Sons of Andreychek

Finally, the groups gathered once again on the new outdoor party terrace for refreshments...and to pick up tickets for part two of Hockey & Heels: Thursday's night game against the Calgary Flames. Ooh, the Flames, one of my Northwest Division rivals. Gee, I wonder who I will be cheering for Thursday night?

Many thanks to event organizer, Alison Goodman, and the Tampa Bay Lightning Group Sales Department, Hockey Operations and the rest arena staff for being such wonderful hosts.

The Dream is Over

by Jan Snyder

What a sudden and sickening end to the Pens season. After playing a pretty good game Wednesday night, where the fans were awesome, they just couldn’t score even one goal to tie the game. Not that they didn’t try, they did. Not just Wednesday, but ever since Sid and Geno went out. I felt badly for the guys. Nice salute to the fans at the end.

Could it be the curse of the Mellon Arena? It’s just sitting there, watching everyone step into the new building and ignoring the old one.

Whatever it is, the whole season, that started out so promising on so many fronts, came to an end with nothing but a thud last night.

The good news is that Sid now has several months to fully recover and Dan Bylsma won’t have to answer any more questions about whether Sid’s coming back. We saw Geno skating so we can hope he has no setbacks and will return in time for training camp.

Will Kovy be back next year? Who will be gone before next training camp? Who will still wear the black and gold?

That’s about all we have to worry about now – at least until fall.

The playoffs will go on, I’ll watch, but my heart won’t be in it. I’ll hope that Vancouver wins it all (sorry, Marie!) and that again next season, Lisa and I can hope to see our teams meet in the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s been almost 24 hours since the Pens were eliminated and I still don’t feel any better. It takes some time, I guess.

Thanks for reading my columns, Pens fans! See you again for 2011-2012!

Struck Down by the Lightning – Again!

Series Tied 3-3

by Jan Snyder

"Hey, Sid? Sid, how’s the head feeling? "

If ever there was a time when we needed a hero to ride in on a white horse and save the day, it would be on Wednesday for Game Seven. Adding Sid to the lineup would be great, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. So these boys that have played so well all season need to get their confidence back, lick their wounds, and win the next game!

This one started out promising enough with Dupuis scoring the first goal in the first period. But  the Tampa Bay Lightning quickly tied it up, and in the second period, went ahead. From there it almost became a comedy of errors although there was nothing at all funny about it.

Baby Penguin Chris Conner was awarded a penalty shot, but as he came in on goal, he just lost the puck and never got a shot off. Scrums and fights broke out, things got silly, but the second period ended with no more damage on the scoreboard.

Jordan Staal tied the game again at 2-2, but that would be the end of anything good for the Pens on this night. Downie and Pittsburgher (in name only) Ryan Malone each added another goal.

Although the Pens were given a plethora of power plays, they couldn’t convert on any of the five, giving them a truly woeful power play percentage in this series.

Okay, let’s look at the bright side. We’re coming back home to our crowd who have never seen this group wrap up a series. Wouldn’t that be a nice payback for all the support all year long? We’ve won Game Sevens before – on the road. Surely we can win one at home.

Didn’t seem like anyone got hurt tonight, other than their pride, so we should have all hands on deck.

Maybe if we get to the second round, Sidney Crosby really will come back – we can dream, can’t we?

Let’s be good fans and cheer for all we’re worth on Wednesday night and bring the house down with a big win! Maybe Fleury needs another outburst of cheering his name, too. Couldn’t hurt.

Let’s Go, Pens!!

Lightning Strikes Again – But for the Pens!

Pens up 3-1 in the series

By Jan Snyder

Just like a quick strike of lightning, James Neal's quick goal won the game for the Pens! So now we know that James likes drama and was waiting for just the right time to score that first goal in the playoffs. He couldn’t have picked a better time, slamming the puck into the goal from a crazy angle in the second overtime.

This was a strange contest. The power came back to the Pens power play as Tyler Kennedy (Kennedy!) scored a nice one in the first period before a strangely quiet Tampa Bay crowd. This time it was the Lightning who went 0-4 on the power play. In the second, that hard working fourth line did it again as Arron Asham put the Pens up by two.

I don’t want to doubt the Lightning’s passion, the series sure isn’t over yet, but I didn’t sense much urgency in their play as the quiet crowd sat on their hands. But then the little pest, St. Louis, did his thing and scored the first goal, exciting the fans and bringing some noise to the building. When Tampa scored a second goal and tied it, things really started to get interesting.

Although they tried, the black and gold couldn’t score in the third and overtime loomed large. I had a feeling that Kovy would be the hero and win the game for the good guys, but as OT 1 went on and on and my blood pressure got higher and higher, neither team scored and ultimately the buzzer sounded.

Oh, no, OT 2! The Pens looked like the stronger team, but it had been a strange game. The Tampa Bay goalie, Roloson, looked like he could be scored on, but he wasn’t. Many shots looked like they’d go in for the Pens, but they didn’t. All in all, one of those head scratchers. Seemingly, the puck was always with Vinny, Marty or Steven Stamkos, but nothing was happening as Fleury turned away all their shots.

Then, from out of nowhere, came James Neal! WooHoo! And sparing us all heart palpitations as he scored about four minutes into the period.

The defensemen were incredible and Orpik played almost forty minutes in the four plus periods! Maybe the team should get him a scooter to ride around in for the next couple of days and let his legs get some rest.

I’m a little concerned about Max Talbot’s head as he took quite a shot near the end of the game. He came back for OT, but I hope everything is okay. Jordan Staal took a nasty header into the boards, but he returned as well. And on Saturday, we’ll get Chris Kunitz back from suspension; however, Tampa will get Downie back from his suspension too.

The home crowd will be fired up and wanting to pull the Pens through and hopefully wrap up the first round. The scheduling is on our side as the guys will have three days to recover from the overtime periods.

Let’s keep this roll going, shall we?

LET’S GO PENS!

Pens/ Bolts Game Three: Stealing the Thunder from the Lightning!

Pens up 2-1 in the series

by Jan Snyder

The folks at the St. Pete Times Forum tried hard to give their team the advantage in this first playoff game in Tampa. They handed out drums as patrons entered the building. The idea was to make as much noise as possible and knock the Pens off their game. Good thinking, except…

The Pens came out flying and noise or no noise, they stole the thunder! Max Talbot and Arron Asham each scored quick down and dirty goals in the first period. Those two goals essentially took the crowd and their drums out of the picture. Before the first period ended, Marty St. Louis scored the first of his two power play goals, just to make things a little interesting. I said before the series started that I’ve always liked St. Louis, but I’m starting to feel differently about him already!

I would have thought the building would be louder than it was, unless the TV broadcast was muffling some of the sound. You would think having their first playoff game would bring out more passion in the stands, but I didn’t notice it so much.

By the time the third period rolled around, St. Louis made it interesting yet again, bringing the score to a 2-2 tie, but on just the next shift, our own little tiger, Tyler Kennedy (Kennedy!) popped out of the pack and found the goal to put the Pens up for good.

Still no change on the status of the Pens power play – it’s just about on life support, now a dismal 0-15 in the three games. But it’s getting closer – we can feel it – it’s coming – just a few more tries…same can be said for James Neal’s attempts to score. Not quite there, but coming.

How about Kris Letang? After a less than stellar game last time, he sure made up for it in this one. Two assists, five shots, five hits – he seemed like he had a clone as everywhere you looked, there was another “58” hustling to the puck. Overall, the defense played a much stronger game and it showed on the scoreboard.

Fleury continued to be amazing, stopping Tampa’s big three several times. Only St. Louis seems to be able to beat him, scoring a goal for each of his root canals.

Nice to see Max Talbot get a hard-earned goal. His line was all energy tonight. Also nice to see Ben Lovejoy carry on an intelligent conversation after the game. When he got hit behind the goal, I was afraid we might have another concussion to deal with, but he seemed to be fine. We’ll see if Steve Downie is fined after the NHL review of that hit that saw him leave his feet.

So, the players now have another day at the beach to soak up power from the sun and breathe some life into the anemic power play to get it breathing on its own again. Then on Wednesday, back to business and getting another win in Tampa!

LET’S GO, PENS!

And We’re Off!!

by Jan Snyder


The boys brought their lunch pails to the Consol tonight. Brooks Orpik started off by welcoming Steven Stamkos to the playoffs with a whale of a hit. Max and James Neal took their cues from Orpik and continued the hitting.

The Flower was in full bloom as he made big save after big save in the first period.

Despite having six, count ‘m six, power plays, including a 5 on 3, the Pens couldn’t poke one in. But just as they improved from one period to the next, so did the power play. Even though they couldn’t score, they had good chances. Always good to hear the theme music from “Jaws” back for the playoff power plays!

By the end of the second, there was still no score, but we did have a Mr. and Mrs. Malkin sighting! In their usual seats, the two cheered for the team, but without Geno. I love to see traditions continue. Expect to see them soon again on the Kiss Cam!

Finally, 13:55 into the third, James Neal and Alexei Kovalev got together. After being thrown to the ice, Kovy took a minute or two to get back on his feet. He stood in the same spot, Neal found him, and bang! The game winning goal for Kovy – welcome back, we’ve really missed you! Neal and Martin had the assists. But before we could settle down from that one, Aaron Asham, the birthday boy, danced all the way around the net and with help from Letang and Orpik, popped in goal number two on the evening.

Now that’s more like it! All that was left was to preserve Fleury’s shutout, which the Pens did, and to top it off, Kunitz scored the empty net goal with assists from Staal and Orpik. That put a nice big bow on the inaugural playoff game at the Consol.

CBC's Hockey Night in Canada showed a shot of Sidney Crosby in the press box wearing a headset, obviously in communication with coaches or someone. Good to see the Captain involved somehow. I’d much rather see him centering Neal and Kovalev, but we’ll have to wait for that.

So good to have the first home win under our belts, to see the Flower get a shutout, to watch the top line click like they did, and to see Brooks Orpik continue the hitting we got used to seeing the year we brought Stanley home.

The d-men did an awesome job of neutralizing the big three for Tampa Bay. They kept them from being factors in the game. The refs did miss an obvious call on St. Louis, but they countered it by missing the trip on Kovy – but that had a happy ending anyway.

So, great game, great fans, great fun. Let’s do it all again on Friday. One down, three to go.

LET’S GO PENS!

It's Playoff Time!!!!!

by Jan Snyder

Whew! What a season it’s been for the Pens. Beginning on Opening Night at the Consol Energy Center with Mario pouring water from the Igloo onto the new ice before the game. Then “BOB” and the Flyers ruining the start of the season for the Pens by beating them.

Fleury’s slow start, but Brent Johnson’s timely play. Sidney Crosby on a pace for an incredible season and us with visions of year-end awards dancing in our heads. The tide turning as the fans chanted for Fleury, giving him a confidence boost and how he turned it all around.

The fantastic addition of Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalak, plus the fantastic play of Orpik and Letang.

The lead up to the Winter Classic and hours of the best reality TV ever with HBO’s 24/7. The warm weather and rain that came over Pittsburgh to make the ice bad, but none of that could dampen the enthusiasm of the Pens/Caps fans who made the most of a soggy situation.

The big hit on Sid – none of us realizing at the time how much that impact would impact our whole season.

Sid’s out, but we still have Geno – oops, down he goes until next year. But Staal was back and that would help. Sid would be back soon, right? Here we are four months later still without him.

Our Baby Pens came to the rescue as we watched more and more injuries occur. The hatchlings turned into full-fledged Penguins right before our eyes! Mark Letestu, Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Tangradi, Chris Conner and the d-men, Deryk Engelland and Ben Lovejoy. Their continued call ups came to be the norm.

A trade brought us James Neal and Matt Niskanen from Dallas. A great signing brought Kovy back to the Burg. As the injured started to return, they became a force again, especially Kunitz and Orpik.

Looking forward to seeing contributions from all of them as we head into the playoffs.

What can I say about the heart and soul players like Max, Dupuis, Rupp, Adams, Kennedy (Kennedy!)? They have all done their thing and the future Jack Adams award winner (I hope) Coach Dan, kept the ship on an even keel, no matter what happened, no matter who got injured. His optimism was contagious.

Even through the ugly game on Long Island, followed shortly by the Cooke incident, the coach navigated everyone through it all. He convinced the players and the fans that everything would be fine.

And so it is! We have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. We have hope that Sid may return yet before it’s all over this year. We have fans who will do everything but get on the ice and play to help. We have a courageous team who let nothing keep them down or get them off the course they set out on before that first game in October.

The Lightning will be tough. Rooting against Ryan Malone will be tough. I’ve always liked Martin St. Louis, but I can stop that during the playoffs! Lecavalier and Stamkos will keep things very interesting.

I hope to see Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman drop the opening puck! I hope to see good, clean games with no injuries. I hope to see sportsmanship and great hockey – just what we expect each playoff season.

ARE YOU READY???

Baseball Fan Samples Hockey Delights

by Lisa Ovens

Hockey is a religion for many fans. It was passed down to them at an early age; often by hockey fanatic parents or older siblings. For us, we know it’s the greatest game on earth, and we’ll happily share that with anyone in earshot. That’s what we do.

These days, its not often I come across a complete hockey newbie, but as it turned out a couple of weeks ago, a newbie’s request slid across my desk at H&HH.com’s headquarters. A reporter with the Tampa Bay Tribune was researching a story on hockey/ female hockey fans, and she came across my website (hockeyandhighheels.com) and hockey books. She requested a telephone interview to include in her story. Being an avid baseball fan, hockey was completely new to her. After the baseball season ended, she decided to give hockey a try by purchasing a ticket to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s annual Hockey & Heels event.

We had a good chat. It was very exciting to speak with such a new fan again. She seemed to be “getting it”, getting why we are all so crazy about this great game. With the latest rendition of the Tampa Bay Lightning off to a good start, I hope she continues her immersion into hockey. To read Tampa Bay Tribune reporter, Michelle Bearden’s story, please click the following link...

The Lightning's "Hockey N' Heels" class offers a 101 to the sport

(Please note: there is a typo in the article - lists the number of NHL teams in Canada as 16 instead of six)

Outdoor Skating in Tampa Bay!

                                                                     photo: Andy Jones

by Lisa Ovens

Do I need another reason to become a Tampa Bay Lightning season ticket holder? The city of Tampa Bay is constructing an outdoor ice skating venue downtown. A ninety minute skate will cost you $10.00 and that includes skate rental!

Okay, with this installation I am officially campaigning for a job in Tampa Bay. There's NHL hockey there; unlike the Canucks, Lightning tickets are affordable, I wouldn't be far from Disney World and Cape Canaveral , and a good friend of mine lives just down the coast! (And yes, rocket launches are on my list of things to do)

That's it...I'm sharpening my skates and heading for the sunshine in Tampa to get my glide on!

for the latest on the outdoor rink, visit Tampa Bay Online
or check out this story at St. Petersburg Times

Happy Outdoor Skating, Bolts fans!

Happy Canada Day!

by Lisa Ovens

Happy Canada Day, everybody! Now...do you know where your favorite players are? Today is NHL free agency day, too, and it's always a day of mixed emotions. A day a fan can officially say good- bye to a player, or say cautious hellos as General Managers do their off season roster tinkering.


The first thing I did today was wake up to the Team 1040 Sports Talk radio. It was about 45 minutes before free agency opened. Within minutes I heard the big Canuck news....

The Vancouver Canucks re-signed the Sedin twins - woohooo!!! Wonder Twin powers re-activated in Vancouver: five years at $6.1 million a year. Who wouldn't want to keep these guys around. Point per game players, between the two of them only missed one game in the last four years, good family boys well liked in the room. Plus they danced like hot "Swedish Twins" in an NHL TV commerical.

I celebrated Daniel and Henrik Sedin with the hotcake Happy Meal (Sid from Ice Age was the toy.)

This is my attempt at live blogging....

Uh oh...Ohlund... former Canuck, Mattias Ohlund signs a seven year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth 24.5 million. He was the Canucks highest scoring defenseman with 93 goals and 232 assists (352 points). After 12 years in Vancouver, (his entire NHL career) I sadly say good bye to Ohlund. You and your fabulous shoulders now belong to the guy who brought us the Saw movie franchise. Enjoy Florida, Ohlie....my friend, Lana lives there and after 16 years, she still likes it.

Daniel Sedin is on the radio right now. He mentioned how much Mattias Ohlund has done for them over the years, as they developed as NHL players in Canada. I hope Lightning fans are happy with their new blueliner.

oooh...I just heard Marion Hossa is heading to Chicago. Does that automatically mean the Blackhawks won't win the Stanley Cup??