Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

I really am at a loss for words this week. This was the final week of classes in my Penn State undergraduate career. In two weeks, I will be able to sign my name with the words "Penn State - Life Sciences '10" beneath. I must say, it has been an amazing 4 years to say the least. I may have something up my sleeve for the next two weeks, you'll have to tune in to find out. As for this week, it will be our last Penn State athletics blog for the Spring of 2010. The sports will return in the Fall of 2010 as I return to Happy Valley to begin working on my Masters of Biotechnology degree. Here is what we have for the final spring sports blog of 2010:

Men's Volleyball
The Penn State Nittany Lions are ranked #12 in the nation at this point in the NCAA division I season. The Nittany Lions are coming off of two wins in the EIVA Tournament. Penn State beat up on George Mason and Springfield College, beating both teams 3 games to 0. The last EIVA quarterfinals game is tomorrow night, May 1 at 7:00 pm in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions will be taking on the Princeton Tigers. If Penn State gets past Princeton, it's on to the NCAA semifinals in Palo Alto, California starting on May 6. Congratulations to Penn State senior Mark Lipsitz for being recognized as a first-team All-American. Extend recognition also to junior Dennis Del Valle for making the second team.

Baseball
The Nittany Lion baseball team is currently 17-23 and sitting in last place in the Big-10. Surprised? Nope. The Nittany Lions are living up to their history as an average team at best. Penn State beats the teams they should beat, like Slippery Rock, Duquesne and Bucknell, but continue to be .500 at best against the Big-10. Penn State rolls into this weekend's series with Michigan State after dropping all 3 games to Purdue, beating Duquesne, losing to Mount St. Mary's and taking 2 of 3 from Ohio State. The Michigan State series starts tonight at 6:35 pm. It's dollar dog night and a benefit for the Wounded Warrior Fund, which is more worth going for than the baseball game, but hey...I'll still say Go Lions!

Finals week starts on Monday and commencement week is the following. We'll be living up our last days here before the real world kicks in.

For the Glory,
B Brog

Penguins Playoff Thursday

Yinzers,

The table has been set. With the #1, #2, #3 and #5 seeded teams falling in the Eastern Conference, the #4 seeded Pittsburgh Penguins will retain home ice advantage through the rest of the playoffs...providing they continue to the feet of Lord Stanley. With a dramatic 2-1 victory last night in the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., the Montreal Canadiens toppled the top-ranked Washington Capitals. Here is how the Eastern Conference semifinals will be paired up:

Semifinal 1: Montreal Canadiens v. Pittsburgh Penguins
Game 1 - Friday April 30 @ 7:00 pm in the Igloo
Game 2 - Sunday May 2 @ 2:00 pm in the Igloo
Game 3 - Tuesday May 4 @ 7:00 pm in the Bell Centre
Game 4 - Thursday May 6 @ 7:00 pm in the Bell Centre
Game 5 (if needed) - Saturday May 8 @ 7:00 pm in the Igloo
Game 6 (if needed) - Monday May 10 @ 7:00 pm in the Bell Centre
Game 7 (if needed) - Wednesday May 12 @ 7:00 pm in the Igloo

The only bad part is that the games will be on Versus (except the Sunday game will be on NBC). So get ready for over-the-top enthusiasm over the most trivial plays and morons taking no time to talk about the game at hand, but talking about the Western Conference in stead.

Some things to look forward to and look out for may seem quite obvious if you keep up with this blog.

Things to look forward to:
The Canadiens do not play a neutral zone trap like the Ottawa Senators do. Look for speedy players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Kris Letang to stretch the ice through the neutral zone. The Canadiens also do not collapse to protect their net quite as often as the Ottawa Senators. I would keep an eye out for players like Billy Guerin, Matt Cooke and dare I say it, Craig Adams to find soft spots around the faceoff dots.

Things to look out for:
The Canadiens are a HOT team right now. They will come out flying from the get-go (no, not Giant Eagle) and the Penguins have to match their energy. Get some strippers in the locker room and forget that "high energy food" from the 3 overtime game. Canadiens' goaltender Jaroslav Halak is also seeing the puck like it's a beach ball. Looking at the Washington series, the last 4 games were played in absolutely perfect position. The Penguins will have to get to him early and often throwing shots from all angles and crashing the net to get in his face.

Prediction:
I would look for this series to go a MINIMUM of 5 games. A lot of hockey is playing hot and cold streaks. The Penguins are playing hot right now, but the Canadiens are on fire. If the Canadiens want a chance to take this series, they will have to take both games in Pittsburgh to start off. Look for the middle of the ice, a.k.a. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury to be the difference makers in this series. Montreal does not have the depth to keep up with Pittsburgh, so their top lines will be getting a lot of ice time, giving Line 3 (respect this hustle) of Staal, Cooke and Fedotenko/Kennedy and Line 4 of Rupp, Adams and Talbot to make heavy contributions. Penguins take the series in 5-7 games.

Elsewhere in the East, Boston will be taking on the Philthadelphia Flyers. It is looking like a collision course for another all Pennsylvania Eastern Conference final. The Bruins, in spite of beating the #3 Buffalo Sabres, have not been playing solid hockey. They will get Marc Savard back for the series, but I do not think Boston can match the physical play of the Flyers. Look for Philthy to take that series in 6.

In the West, San Jose finally made it past the first round, but they will be playing the Detroit Red Wings. San Jose definitely does not have the depth to beat the Red Wings, so look for 5-6 games in this series, with Detroit on top in the end. The Chicago Blackhawks (in my opinion, the NHL is putting all their eggs in one basket for Chicago to win it all) are taking on the Vancouver Canucks. This one is a crap-shoot to me. I do not think the Canucks match up top to bottom offensively against the Blackhawks, but the Canucks have FAR better defense and goaltending. Expect a ton of fights and misconducts and I think this one will go 7 games. I believe Vancouver wins it.

Keep those razors locked up,
B Brog

Playoffs, Shaping up.

There can be only one,

Lets Go Pens

Wade

Sexy Wednesday

Yinzers,

Tonight, we are all Canadiens.

B Brog

Tick , Tick Tick,

Yinzers,

We of course are waiting to see whom we play next round in the Playoffs, until then :

Wade
(get your mind out of the gutter, he is saying Count')

Truck Tuesday

So the waiting game is on. The Pens are definitely lucky that they have some rest time as we wait for the other teams to determine their fate. Kennedy and Leopold are both out from injuries as of now, but they both skated yesterday and Bylsma is hopeful that they will both be ready by game 1.

At this point we have two upsets in the East (#7 Boston over #2 Buffalo and #7 Philly over #2 New Jersey) If Montreal is able to beat The Caps tomorrow night then Pittsburgh will be the highest seeded team in the East - which is great, now that I am learning about home ice advantage. Regardless of who wins this series (Caps & Canadiens) Pittsburgh will have Home ice for the two series.

(Side note, didn't the Pens win in all away games in the last series, & win one game at home and lose two at home? Are we really sure we WANT home ice advantage...?)

As much as I initially thought I would hate the playoffs because of having a game every other night along with the immense tension that was not there in regular season, I am kind of starting to enjoy it. I think its because they bang out several games back to back and then you have a break for a while (if you are lucky). Also, I appreciate the fairness of these playoffs. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is they only sport that plays a the same team mulitple times in the playoffs before advancing. I definitely think any team can have an off night (cough, cough, pengins in atlanta), and one game should not determine the fate of a team in the playoffs - other than when they reach game 7, but at that point its pretty obvious both teams are deserving (maybe).

Till the next series,
Truck

Penguins Playoff Monday

Yinzers,

Get ready for round 2. The Penguins are into the next round of the playoffs after defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-2 in the series. They now join the Philthadelphia Flyers and wait for the Bruins-Sabres and Capitals-Canadiens series to end. Here is what happened in games 5 and 6.

Game 5 Thursday Night in Pittsburgh
With the Penguins looking to close out the Senators in the Igloo, the air was electric in dahntahn Pittsburgh. Game 5 would prove to be an iron man race, taking 3 overtimes to decide a victor. Scoring opened up in the first period at 10:55 when Ottawa's Chris Neal scored on the power play. Just a little over a minute later, former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu added a second goal for the Senators. With most of the momentum going the way of the Senators, Kris Letang put the Penguins on the board with a power play goal. Tanger has really stepped up his game in the playoffs and is proving that he is worth the 4 year contract. The Senators led the contest 2-1 heading into the first intermission. The second period saw little scoring and a lot of shot-blocking from the Ottawa defense. We'll have more on that later, but it seemed that every shot the Penguins attempted ended up hitting a Senator and getting safely distributed into the corner. At 18:34 in the second, Chris Kunitz scored the equalizer for the Penguins and the game was tied at 2 after 2. The Penguins believed they got the go-ahead goal at 3:02, but the official review showed a high stick on the goal by Chris Kunitz. Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins the lead at 9:01 in the third period, but that damn Peter Regin scored for Ottawa, tying the game at 10:24. This one was headed to overtime.

What the players and fans did not know, was that this game would need 3 overtime periods to decide a winner. By the end of the second overtime, the Penguins had attempted over 100 shots with the Ottawa Senators blocking over 40 of them. At the final tally, Pittsburgh would attempt over 110 shots but only 59 of them made it to the net. All others were either blocked or missed the net. Jason Spezza thought he had the game-winner at 2:03 in the first overtime, but the official review overturned the decision based on a kicking motion by the Ottawa player charging the net. The two and a half overtime periods were a lot of back-and-forth hockey with chances at each end in spite of the numerous blocked shots on both sides. The game was brought to an end after 107:06 when Matt Carkner scored for Ottawa at 7:06 in the third overtime. This series was not over...they were headed back to Scotiabank Place for at least one more.

Game 6 Saturday at Scotiabank Place
The Penguins found themselves asking "what to we have to do to put these guys away?" The answer was get some more auxiliary scoring from someone besides Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin...oh yea and don't let the Senators get any momentum. The Penguins accomplished half of these goals. They got auxiliary scoring from the team, but let the Senators get the momentum by going up 3-0 before the Penguins got on the board. Matt Cullen got a goal at 5:19 in the first to lead the Senators into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. The Penguins thought they had an equalizer at 12:40 when Mike Rupp put one to the left leg pad of Pascal Leclaire, but there was insufficient evidence to prove that the puck crossed the line (which it did) so the goal was disallowed.

At 1:51 in the second period, Chris Neal got a lucky bounce as the puck rolled over the shoulder of Marc-Andre Fleury. Daniel Alfredsson made it 3-0 in favor of the Senators with a goal at 9:48 in the second. The energy in Scotiabank Place was fueling the fire of the Senators. Matt Cooke began to extinguish the fire with a goal at 10:56 in the second, but there was still a lot of work to be done. There was another official review when Mike Fisher believed he had a goal, but this goal was disallowed after review as well. The Penguins finally got their act together in the third period, scoring two goals and tying the game at 3-3. Billy Guerin's power play goal and Matt Cooke's second of the game forced an overtime period. Pascal Dupuis put the Senators away at 9:56 in the overtime period when he sniped a shot over the left shoulder of Pascal Leclaire. Teeing off next, Lafferty, Daniel and Alfredsson, Daniel.

And now its a waiting game. In the Eastern Conference, the Penguins and the Philthadelphia Flyers await the other two series to finish. Both play tonight at 7:00. Boston is up 3 games to 2 on the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals lead the Montreal Canadiens 3 games to 2. Here are the situations (the latter team getting home-ice advantage):

If Washington and Boston win:
Flyers v. Capitals; Bruins v. Penguins

If Washington and Buffalo win:
Flyers v. Capitals; Penguins v. Sabres

If Montreal and Boston win:
Flyers v. Bruins; Canadiens v. Penguins

If Montreal and Buffalo win:
Flyers v. Sabres; Canadiens v. Penguins

We'll see what the future holds. Until then, continue not to shave.

Lets go Pens,
B Brog

Playoff Pen Zen: The Superstition Manifesto

Good day, Good day fellow Yinzers!

My what a fine morning it was to wake up and realize that your Pittsburgh Penguins are well on there way to the 2nd round of the playoffs. I would first off like to thank the 3rd line: Cooke, Staal, and Dupuis for a monstrous overtime victory last night and an excellent goal by "Super Duper" to put us in the conference semi's!!!

Now, because we still have games to be played in the 1st round, I cannot offer a playoff preview (considering we could play 1 of four teams: Habs, Flyers, Bruins, and Sabres). Therefore I would like to propose a little academic theory about the phenomena known as fan superstition.

Superstition is not an uncommon routine for athletes in the wide world of sports. Shaquille O' Neal used to paint his toenails before every playoff game. In hockey, goaltender Patrick Roy used to dress his pads from left to right, and then hop over all the lines while skating to his crease. To a certain extent, superstitions can affect the outcome of a game. Players depend on it and they believe if they break the superstition, the good luck will end. As put so eloquently by Crash in the movie Bull Durham, "Don't f*** with a winning streak", and it is as simple as that.

That being said, I cannot always help but notice this time of year that fans begin to embark on the same traditions that the athletes do. Some fans take it a few steps further. In my experience as a Penguins fan I have seen a great deal of interesting pre game rituals. Here are some phenomena's that I have discovered:

Theory 1: The Magnitude of a Loss can drastically change a Superstition

The best example I can use for this is game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals last year against the Detroit Red Wings. If you don't remember this nightmare game, we lost, we lost 5-0. My friend and fellow Pens fan Brandon and I decided before that game that we should embark on a quest to find some Iron City beer and drink one before the game. We found the only 2 bottles in Blacksburg, VA at the time. We drank, we lost, and I have not touched Iron City since that day. We thought that drinking Pittsburgh beer would somehow create a "chi" with the Pens (don't laugh, I know you've done something like that, too). Nevertheless, because of that day, Brandon and I are deathly afraid to go anywhere near an Iron City beer before a game because of that loss.

Theory 2: Deeper in the Playoffs, Deeper Superstition

It truly doesn't take a Rhode Scholar to crack this case. However, if you are a true Pens fan, every round that they advance becomes almost a ritual. You will not shave, you will not wash that putrid jersey for 2 1/2 months, you will alienate friends because they mess with the inner workings of your playoff routine. Perhaps most notably, when you look back at what you did to prepare for a game (or ignored basic hygiene) you may look back and say, "What was I thinking?" However, as the band Asia once wrote, "It was the heat of the moment". You will ignore all the normal patterns of your daily life and devote them to the Pens.

If you haven't done it yet, wait a week...

Theory 3: Any Break of Superstition and "The Cosmic alignment breaks into oblivion"

Noted words after the same game 5 I had mentioned previously. Why? May I present a story...

After game 5, I was devastated. I was not sure if we even had a prayer to win the Stanley Cup at that point. Now, I have 2 jerseys in my repertoire at that point: a black Sergei Gonchar jersey, and a white Gary Roberts jersey. All throughout the playoffs I had worn the same Gonchar jersey night in and night out. Then i conducted a bold but reluctant move, I took theory 1 into play and i tossed on my white Gary Roberts jersey and hit the bar. The response that ensued, I will never forget...

Shock. Disgust. Anger. Panic. (No, I am not joking)

I had broken a cardinal sin, as if I shaved off my playoff beard. My friends were going to make sure that I was aware of it. However, we won game 6, and it was later that night where my friend, Ryan stated to me, "You had better wear that jersey for game 7". I did, and the rest was history...

Theory Four: Superstition is all about control and communion

So what it all boils down to is this... Why do we practice the same superstitions as the players we watch? What I drink, what I wear, where I sit in a particular place will not effect the outcome of a game. Tyler Kennedy does not become cognizant of what I am wearing in the middle of a game. So why do we believe in superstition (and neglect basic hygiene) and here are the two main things I have come up with...

I like to think of myself as Mario Lemieux in the box when I watch the Pens. Mario has a playoff beard, but Mario doesn't play anymore. As fans, we want to pretend that we have some kind of minute control over a game. Even if it is small. If we believe that wearing a jersey, sitting down, standing up, drinking a certain beer, or congregating at a certain spot gives us any power over the game, then that's what we'll believe, and we desperately want to believe it.

Additionally, let's be honest, anyone who is a true hockey fan will appreciate a fan playoff beard, no matter how bad it looks. We talk to those people that we see every night and may not sit next to. Anyone we see that shows they are in this playoff series for the long haul night after night, we will tip our sweat drenched hat off to them. Additionally, when the Stanley Cup is won, I guarantee you hugged a complete stranger in overwhelming elation.

So, Superstitions may be stupid, potentially wreck-less, and potentially hazardous to our health. We do it for one reason and one reason only... To show how much we love the Pens. If the players don't see it and appreciate it, maybe some friends that are Pens fans will...

Sidenote before I go:

Before the playoffs:

After the 1st round:

Go Beard. Go Pens.

No Bueno Ben!

Hola Yinz,

So with all the Hockey, Football, and Pittsburgh 'goings on' in the news I don't feel like I'm 2,500 miles away. I feel the need to point out, though I'm sure you've heard, Ben is no longer worthy of a display at the Pittsburgh Zoo that compares the height of elephants with humans.




You know you've really screwed up when the elephants think you are unfit to be around them. Not to worry concerned zoo fans, Ben has been replaced, and no animals were harmed in the making.

LETS GO PENS!
Labuda on the Left Coast

Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

Here we are on the eve of the Penn State spring football game. State College is starting to fill up with alumni and friends making the trek back to the Mecca of college football to see what is in store for the upcoming fall season. There are some big games on the schedule this fall, including a trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide on September 11. That game could be a launching or sinking point for the Nittany Lions. If they could pull off the HUGE upset of beating the defending national champs, there will be no doubt in the team's abilities. However, since this year's team is so young, you could still expect it to be a huge embarrassing failure. Other key games on the schedule will be October 2 at Iowa, trying to make up for last year's embarrassment on national TV, October 30 at home versus Michigan and November 13 in Columbus against Ohio State.

Technically, this will be a "rebuilding" season for the Nittany Lions, losing quarterback Daryll Clark, linebackers Navarro Bowman, Josh Hull and Sean Lee and defensive tackle Jared Odrick, who was taken in the first round of the draft yesterday by the Miami Dolphins, punter Jeremy Boone, tight ends Mickey Shuler and Andrew Quarless and cornerback A.J. Wallace. Those are some big shoes to fill, so we'll have to look to the young, untested talent to take this opportunity to shine. Returning players like running back Evan Royster, wide receivers Graham Zug, Chaz Powell and Derek Moye will have to buck up and lead their team through thick and thin. The biggest shoes to fill will be Daryll Clark's. Kevin Newsome has attempted less than 10 passes in the last two years, doing most of his damage on foot. His advantage will be an offensive line that has played together all of last season. The Penn State defense may not be as stout as it has been in the past due to the loss of all three starting linebackers, but there are some tremendous athletes in the mix.

It's going to be an interesting season, but all of us here in Happy Valley are optimistic and looking forward to the 2010 Nittany Lion season. Have fun this weekend. Tailgate hard, it's practice for that, too. As always, be safe and fight on, State.

For the Glory,
B Brog

Penguins Playoff Thursday

Yinzers,

With the series at 2-1 in favor of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Ottawa Senators had their back to the wall in Scotiabank Place on Tuesday night. The thought of letting the walls of the senate come crumbling down was at the forefront of the Senators' thoughts. The votes were tallied and the decision was made in a slightly more decisive fashion than Roe v. Wade...it was 7-4 in favor of Pittsburgh.

This game was fatter around the middle than Casey "Big Snack" Hampton with nearly all the scoring taking place in the second period...8 goals to be exact. There was but one goal in the first period and it came from Evgeni Malkin on the power play. The Senators were matching the Penguins stride for stride and playing solid team defense, doing their best to keep the pucks from getting to Brian Elliot.

All things changed in the second period. The Penguins simply owned the play in the second period. The Penguins opened up the second period with goals coming just 12 seconds apart at 3:47 and 3:59 from Sidney Crosby and Matt Cooke, respectively. Sidney Crosby then added another tally for the Penguins at 6:12, making it 4 unanswered goals. Brian Elliott was pulled at this point and replaced with Pascal Leclaire. The Senators showed that they still needed taken seriously, scraping to get back two goals. Chris Neil scored at 7:06 and Daniel Alfredsson added another at 10:59, drawing the Senators within 2 at a score of 4-2. Maxime Talbot answered with his first of the post-season on a beautiful redirection on a pass from Craig Adams. Did I mention that it was short-handed? No? Well, it was. The Penguins were exploiting the fact that the Senators had a forward, Matt Cullen, playing defense on the power play. Talbot's goal was on one of four short-handed scoring chances on the penalty kill. Cullen did make up for his blunders by scoring a power play goal at 13:19, making the score 5-3 in favor of the Penguins. The Penguins closed out the second period controlling the play and getting a 6th goal, this time from Chris Kunitz at 18:15. The Pens took a 6-3 lead into the locker room after two complete.

Desperation is a foul cologne and the Senators were bathing in it. The third period got very chippy, very fast. Jason Spezza added a power play goal for the Senators at 7:37, bringing the totals to 6-4 and the Senators were not going away quietly. Jordan Staal sealed the deal with the 7th Penguin goal at 12:27 and the Senators went into Wal-Mart mode...cheap stuff. Andy Sutton, Chris Neal and Jarkko Ruutu began running at anyone and everyone with Neal and Ruutu eventually getting 10 minute misconducts to each, and Matt Carkner following suit. At any rate, the final score was Pittsburgh 7 - Ottawa 4 and the series was now 3-1 in favor of Pittsburgh. The Pens head back to the Igloo Thursday night with a chance to eliminate the Senators on home ice. The Pens need to continue to get contributions from around the team. To this point, the Pens have gotten goals from 11 different players. This just makes it that much harder for teams to stop the offensive onslaught of the Penguins. Look for secondary contributors on Thursday night.

Elimination day at the Igloo is tonight at 7:00

Lets go Pens,
B Brog

The Best Is Yet To Come

Yinzers,

Pens-Sens tonight at 7:00 pm. Pens are up 3-1 and going for the series at home. Big blog later tonight after my exam.

B Brog

DO it!

Old School - do It!

Lets Go Pens!

Sexy Wednesday

Yinzers,

Remember this young lady from FSU games of yore? Guess what, her name is Jenn Sterger and she now hosts a sports talk show on Versus. It's called "The Daily Line" and it aired on April 5. At least that channel is doing something right! Have a great sexy Wednesday.

B Brog

"Oh Waiter I'll have the 7-3 win......."

Yin-zers,

Pens had an outright gunfight in Ottawa last night. When the smoke cleared the Stanley Cup Champs Won 7-4. I won't go into great detail b/c of your Stanley Cup update on Thursday! But overall we looked like the champs were back again. Crosby had 2, Geno ,Max,kunitz,and Stall all lit the lamp . What a great job! We wrap the series at the Igloo on Thursday night.

Steelers Schedule

With all the Big Ben news , I haven't had allot of time to think about the upcoming draft. Just remember that Ben Had not been charged for anything, is he a bone head - yes. But until he is a proven Bone head he is still a Steeler. You can say what you want, He has helped us with two Sb wins in his very short career. I expect big things from him this year.

With the Draft starting on Thursday night , the Steeler gave up their 7th Round Draft pick for former Steeler Back up, Byron Leftwich. This was a smart move, since Bleft already knows our playbook and our personnel. Big Ben will most likely be suspended 2-4 games tomorrow from the NFL. At this point I do not care about the Suspension, I just want it to go away.

Here's the Schedule:

And finally the boys at Penn State have reprimanded me for not keeping up with the Sexy portion of Sexy Wed. Well if you have been watching the NHL playoffs on Vs then you have seen our new number one Sportscaster Jenn Sterger.

She is quite the Minx.....meow.

Enjoy the Draft and the rest of the first round.....

Lets Go Pens!

Wade

Truck Tuesday: Fan Feature

So game 4 is tonight and I have a good feeling about it. Maybe I will event watch the whole thing. We'll see.

So I have never been to a Pens Home game, but I am sure there are many interesting fans - as there are at an sporting event (i.e. Gamecock Jesus who attends all basketball games). Well, I have heard about this knitting lady who knits at the Pens games. So who is this lady? And why would she possibly knit during a hockey game..I mean if it was baseball, I could understand, but hockey?!

Her name is Michelle and she is quite famous at Pens games for her behavior. Some people are very offended and other could care less because she isn't disturbing anyone.

Apparently Michelle says she knits because it calms her down. She used to get so upset when the players messed up and the refs made bad calls, but now that she started knitting she can really enjoy the game much more. And she says that she is able to remember the game and recall plays much better.

Her and her husband live in Maryland and travel to each game is a 500 mile round trip. They attended 23 regular season home games this season and are planning to go to as many playoff games as they can. Michelle's husband is very supportive of the knitting because it makes Michelle a much happier person at the game.

If you can't tell by the pictures, Michelle is kind of a big deal.

I found this story from PittGirl via PittsburghMag. Just want to give credit where credit is due.

Game four tonight! Lets Go Pens!

Truck

Penguins Playoff Monday

Yinzers,

It was a great weekend for hockey in the city of champions. Two games since we last spoke, so we'll jump right into it.

Friday night, game 2 with the Senators up 1-0 in the series.
With their backs to the wall at home, the Penguins needed to win on Friday night to have some momentum heading into Scotia Bank Place for games 3 and 4...we got the job done. Throughout the game, the Penguins did exactly what this author said was a necessity to come away with the victory. The Penguins' forwards came deep into the defensive zone on the breakout in order to beat the Senators' neutral zone trap with speed. The Senators had a much more difficult time keeping the Penguins in their own end and with control in the offensive zone, the Penguins were free to do what they do best: own the puck.

The game did start out on a sour note, and looked like it would be a long night with the Senators' Peter Regin scoring his second of the post-season just 18 seconds into the game on a wrist shot from distance, right over the catch glove of Marc-Andre Fleury. A soft goal to open up on the first shot of the game, but Fleury would have the last laugh, stopping all 19 of the ensuing Senators' shots. Sidney Crosberry answered the Senators goal at 8:45 in the first period, tying the game at 1 and getting his first of the playoffs. After said goal, the game got chippy. At 17:45, Andy Sutton took a run at Jordan Leopold, knocking him out-cold. It was another one of those "shot to the head-esque" hits. Sutton's elbow did come up on his follow through of the hit, but he did not intentionally throw the flipper to the head of Leopold. This was another case of a hit being unnecessary more than dirty. Leopold had his head down, but Sutton lined him up from a distance and took a good run at him. Fine-able...yes, suspend-able...not really. At the end of the first period, Maxime "Superstar" Talbot fought Jack Smith of the Senators, but we did not get to see it since FSN has the most awesome camera crew ever.
Scoring would be tough to come by for the rest of the game, with a majority of the time being played tied at 1-1. There were no goals in the second period, but there was a remarkable save-not by Marc-Andre Fleury but by Sidney Crosby. A Senators' shot trickled by Fleury, who was at the apex of the blue ice. With the puck sliding ever so tantalizingly out of Fleury's reach towards the goal line, Sidney Crosby came in behind, seemingly out of nowhere to shovel the puck out of the crease on his backhand just millimeters from crossing the goal line. I may have had a heart-attack at this point in the game. Thanks to that save, the game remained tied through two periods. Finally, at 15:48 in the third period, a game winner came off the stick of Penguins' defenseman Kris Letang. Tanger gets his first goal of the post-season and it is a game-winner for the Penguins in game two. He's here for another 4 years ladies and gentlemen. Pens win 2-1 and the series is tied at 1.

Sunday night at Scotia Skank Place, Series tied 1-1
The Senators have not won a home playoff game since Alanis Morisette butchered the national anthems 7 years ago...it would stay the same on this day. The Penguins came out firing from the start. During the pregame show, they showed the Penguins bench and I was happy to see that EVERY member of the team had a packet of smelling salts. They must read the Morning Steel Mill. Scoring opened up at 1:17 in the first period when Alexei Ponikarovsky showed amazing patience on the rush. Poni entered the right wing zone with Evgeni Malkin screaming down the wide side when a Senators' defenseman slid down to block the passing lane. Poni coolly waited for the sliding body to pass and ripped a wrist shot passed the short side of Brian Elliot, who was obviously expecting a rink-wide pass to Malkin. This would also be a pretty chippy game...I mean, come on, it's playoff hockey. The Penguins took the lead 1-0 into the locker room after 1.

Jordan Staal took a slashing penalty with no time left on the clock in the first period, thus giving the Senators a power play to open up the second period. They capitalized on their chance, tying the game at 1 with a power play goal from Penguin-killer Mike Fisher. The Penguins rebounded, however, controlling the play for the rest of the game. Evgeni Malkin got his third goal of the playoffs at 5:57, followed by a late power play goal at 19:15 by Sidney Crosby. The Penguins led 3-1 after two complete.

The third period was all Penguins, with the forward lines just getting under the skin of the Senators with their in-zone puck possession. Billy Guerin added his first of the playoffs when he got a gift from Chris Kunitz. Just coming over the boards making a change, Guerin found himself taking a rangy pass from Kunitz and found himself all alone behind the Senators defense. He then proceeded to show his gray beard prowess and made a fool out of Brian Elliot with the triple deke...ok maybe it was just a sweet move to the forehand...but at any rate, the Penguins led 4-1. The Senators tried to get back into it after a power play goal from Matt Cullen at 12:58, but that would be the last they see. Final score: Pittsburgh 4 - Ottawa 2.

The Penguins now lead the series 2-1 going into the second game at Scotia Bank Place. Some things to remember for this game are that the Senators are not out of it. They are a pesky team, especially for the Penguins. Just keep doing what you are doing: bringing forwards deep on the breakout, owning the puck and pour on the shots, and the Pens will be fine.

The next installment takes place on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm in Scotia Bank Place in Ottawa.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Hockey, Eh!

Hola Yinz,

I found this picture, and thought I must share it. Formulate your own thoughts on it :)

Great week this week! Now that it is playoff time, I am able to watch as much hockey as my heart desires; it is fantastic. We had a party to kick off the playoffs; I'm looking forward to Sunday (More hockey, More Friends, and More Food!)

Lets Go Pens!

Labuda on the Left Coast

Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

One month to graduation.

LET'S GO PENS.

B Brog

F***ing Chrysler Plant, Here I Come!

Yinzers,

This is old news from February, but we have not covered it here on the Morning Steel Mill. A great legend in western Pennsylvania has come to an end. The Johnstown Chiefs are moving to Greenville, South Carolina following this year's ECHL season. The Chiefs were the only remaining original member of the East Coast Hockey League. Much like the fictitious Charlestown Chiefs of the Federal Hockey League in the movie Slapshot, this decision was a "business decision," except this time there is no conspiracy theory of a retirement community in Florida.

Who knows what will happen to the Cambria County War Memorial? It may be used as a concert venue or, God forbid, strictly for figure skating. However, there is still a lot of support for local hockey teams, even though the Chiefs will no longer be gracing the War Memorial. It is the end of a long era of minor league hockey in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. There has been a minor league team in Johnstown since the Johnstown Jets, who played in the War Memorial from 1950-77, before the Chiefs took over in the 1980s.

The Chiefs have seen some NHL talent glide across the ice at the War Memorial. Currently, they have one local boy from Pittsburgh: goaltender Kyle Mayotte. Some notables from the Chiefs are goaltenders Arturs Irbe formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes and Dany Sabourin formerly of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Peter Skudra formerly of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and several of the Penguins' front office staff including equipment manager Dana Heinze.

All who read this blog are required to watch the movie Slapshot tonight.
To an end to an era in western Pennsylvania,
B Brog