Thursday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

Another conundrum has come to light recently...and the Dude does not abide. It is not about this poorly placed Big Lebowski allusion, but rather about the Penguins' apparent inability to play well against teams from the sunshine state. There is no connection between Florida and hockey. It was a lie that Florida was looking to buy the Chiefs and contrary to the sorority bimbo's hand guide to common knowledge, there is no connection between the Everglades and glaciers. I blame the atmosphere. The south is lazy, ergo when the Penguins play a team from the south, they play lazy.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, a.k.a. Pittsburgh-South made the trek up north to Mellon Arena last night. This game was not so much lazy play as much as it was health concerns. Evgeni Malkin sat out his 5th straight and 7th out of the last 8 with a bruised foot. Sergei Gonchar also sat out his 4th straight game, this night due to strep throat. What is that KGB up to? At any rate, the absence of these two players is very apparent, especially on the power play. The Pens went 0/4 tonight and have been atrocious at best with the mother Russia's best sitting out.

Scoring was sparse through the entire game and so were the total shots...at least in comparison to the Pens' last few contests. The Penguins only put up 27 shots after averaging well over 30 for the season and the Lightning scraped up 17 shots, scoring on 2 of those. The game opened up with a pretty obvious boarding penalty by Tampa Bay's Matt Lashoff on Pittsburgh's Ruslan Fedotenko. Justice was served when Lashoff pulled down a 5 minute major and 10 minute misconduct for his actions. The downfall: the Penguins fail to score on a 5 minute power play. This would be a theme for the night. Steven Stamkos opened up the scoring on the power play at 17:00, scoring his 46th goal of the season. Steve Downie added his 22nd of the season just 29 seconds into the second period. The game from then on was in the hands of Lightning goaltender Mike Smith. Smith got the job done turning away all 27 of Pittsburgh's shots.

The Penguins need to be patient and get Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar back in the lineup. Without these two on the ice, opponents can focus all of their energy on Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal, rather than spreading focus to Crosby, Staal, Malkin AND Gonchar. The good news is the Penguins have clinched a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Points will only help their position from here on out. Buffalo has been on a hot streak and currently holds onto the 2nd position by 1 point over the Penguins who have a 1 point advantage over the 4th place Devils. Don't you just love playoff drama? Get in the mood for some scruff.

The Pens' next game is Saturday at 1:00pm against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Not working...

Huge Blog by the end of the day, Puter Problems in the wee hours of this morning.

Wade

Truck Tuesday

I'm not a huge fan of kids, but...



Can anyone spot the future hockey player? That is as long as his parents keep him on the right track...If his parents move him the philly he will probably end up a ballerina.

Lets Go Pens!

Truck

Monday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

Sorry for the poor post, but yours truly had a long, "futuristic" day today. Today was day 1 of the Penn State Career Fair. I attended beginning after class at 11:00 and was there until it closed, followed by all the administrative work for the Recruitment Office. Therefore, I will just be posting results today. We will have a good'n on Thursday...promise.

Saturday
Philthadelphia - 1
Pittsburgh - 4

Goals: PIT-Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Matt Cooke, Ruslan Fedotenko; PHI-Arron Asham; Notables: Sidney Crosby 3 ass (Bob Errey terminology)

Sunday
Toronto - 4
Pittsburgh - 5 (SO)

Goals: PIT-Tyler Kennedy, Sidney Crosby (2), Matt Cooke; TOR-Colton Orr, Phil Kessel, Carl Gunnarsson, Tyler Bozak
Notables: Brooks Orpik 3 ass (Bob Errey terminology)

The Pens' next game is Wednesday night at 7:30, a hockey night in Pittsburgh as the Pens take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Pens Win!

So Does KOP 2.

WADE

Pen Zen: Long Live the Igloo

Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Hockeytahn, or the House that Mario Built, however most people it Pittsburgh know this arena as The Igloo. It is currently the oldest building in the NHL and for one more playoff run, it will host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Yinzers are excited about the new Consol Energy Center, it will be difficult to call anything home after the igloo.

For 43 years the igloo has hosted countless Penguins games. Although the building is made of steel frames, seats that may or may not have an obstructed view, and a sheet of ice, the Igloo is so much more than exterior. The framework will never begin to describe what the Mellon Arena means to so many people in the city of Pittsburgh.

It has been there through the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and all of the drunken fights you and your friends had with Flyers fans. It has seen young fans, old fans, lifelong fans, bandwagon fans, drunken fans, loud fans, and stunned fans that root for other teams. It has hosted goalies that have stood on their heads, defensemen who crush their opponents into the boards, high flying wingers, players that have betrayed the Pens, and the some of the greatest players that would ever and will ever play the game. It has been through years where our Pens were dead last, short playoff runs, long playoff runs, and championship runs. There was also a time where the Penguins would never see the Igloo or Pittsburgh. Although, it has never seen the boys in black and gold physically lift a Stanley Cup. It still hosts 3 cup banners that are hung almost majestically in the rafters. The igloo has seen it all…

Can you honestly think of a stadium in the United States that accommodates fans that cannot afford a ticket to the game? What other stadium puts up a monstrous big screen television smack dab in front of the arena so that all fans can see? Provided you are not watching the game on NBC, people have taken out blankets, lawn chairs, and even living room furniture for the biggest summer party in western Pennsylvania. Nowhere else in the NHL shows what goes on outside of the arena after the home team scores. The Igloo does it all…

And then there’s this…

The Igloo has SURVIVED it all…

The Igloo has also hosted some of the most historic events in Pittsburgh. On December 27, 2000 bright lights professed the greatest news that Pittsburgh had ever seen, reflected on the outside of the igloo ”66 Mario”. Just like batman’s emblem illuminating the night sky, 2 numbers and a name on the igloo brought hope to all fans and Pittsburgh and struck fear in those who played against him. Though the greatest moment in Mellon Arena history occurred on March 23, 2007 in a win over the Buffalo Sabres. Although the focus was not on that particular game, but when Mario Lemieux walked with great confidence to center ice and stated, “I am proud to announce the your Pittsburgh Penguins will remain right in here in Pittsburgh, where they belong”. Although, that meant that the Penguins would have to move to a different arena, it also meant the Penguins would be staying put, and perhaps most notably, Mellon arena was able to see another Stanley Cup Banner.

All that being said, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a chance to do something remarkable, which is win a Stanley Cup in the igloo. On Saturday, the Penguins clinched a playoff birth and now have the potential to have home ice advantage for at least the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Granted, everyone would take a Stanley Cup anywhere it was won, but it would be a very fitting ending to Mellon Arena’s story if the Penguins could raise the cup in Pittsburgh

Let’s win one more cup in the House that Mario built… The Igloo.

Dahntahn

Hola Yinz,What's not to love?!

nuff said.

Labuda on The Left Coast

Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

Well, after eight straight days of cloud-free sunshine last week into the weekend, there has been three straight days of traditional Pennsylvania weather. Gray skies, annoying rain and sorostitutes wearing vibrantly colored galoshes. Seriously ladies, let me know the next time the flood waters reach 18" in State College, then you can bring out the flood boots. Enough about that, it's time for your Penn State Phryday.

Baseball
The Penn State Nittany Lion baseball team went 2-2 in the Coca-Cola Classic in Rock Hill, SC this past week. The Nittany Lions picked up wins against Kent State and Columbia before dropping a pair to Winthrop and a rematch with Kent State. Penn State then traveled to Pittsburgh to take on in-state rival Pitt. The Panthers proved too much, beating the Nittany Lions 7-4. As the season starts to come full swing with a 4 game series with Hofstra this weekend with games on Friday, a double header on Saturday and a game on Sunday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. If you have never been to Medlar Field, it is a carbon copy of PNC Park, but only seating about 3,000. The Nittany Lions share the complex with the State College Spikes, a single-A affiliate of your Pittsburgh Pirates. Penn State will be looking to rebound from a sub-par preseason.

Men's Volleyball
Since our last Penn State Phryday, the Nittany Lions' men's volleyball team split matches. Last Sunday, the Nittany Lions dropped their match with rival Ohio State 3-1. Penn State retained their #6 ranking in spite of the loss, but it always leaves a bitter taste in your mouth when you lose to any team from the worst state in the union. Penn State then rebounded on Tuesday night by thrashing Juniata 3-0. Penn State continues their defense of their national championship when they take on Princeton tonight at 7:00 pm.

Wrestling
Penn State got one wrestler to the NCAA finals this past weekend. Senior Dan Vallimont's run for a national championship in the 165 weight class ended last weekend when he fell to the #1 ranked Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. In the words of famous Penn State sociology professor Frank Clemente, "We knew how to wrestle, those kids from Wisconsin knew how to rassle." Frank should be completing his book, memoirs of his own life entitled 'Tales from the American 50's" (or something to that extent, I can't remember exactly). I highly suggest picking it up when it is released, the man is one of those life-changing human beings. Back to wrestling. Vallimont's placing of runner up in the NCAA championships gave Penn State's team an overall finish of 9th in the team standings for the season. A solid performance. Congratulations to all the wrestlers that made it to the tourney.

SHL
The Student Hockey League post-season tournament began on Monday of this week. Continuing with the concepts set by the NCAA basketball tournament, the #1, #2 (your White team) and #3 teams all lost to the lower seeds (#8, #7 and #6, respectively). Thank God this is a double elimination tournament, or yours truly would have gone out and made many poor decisions. After dropping to the #7 Yellow team 4-3 in OT, the White team rebounded with a win against a chippy Green team last night 4-2. That makes 3 wins for White over Green this season, knocking Green out of the tournament. The big news was the #1 Gray team (11-1-2 regular season) losing twice...big. Your White team plays on Monday night at 11:35 pm against the Teal team, which has not beaten the White team in 3 chances this season: 6-1, 5-2 and 6-2. That is what scares me. I hope the White boys (no pun intended) can play the Devils to the Teal's Penguins and stay alive in the post-season.

For the Glory,
B Brog

Thursday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

So the Pens have had two games since the Monday Igloo Update. Both games were against arguably two of the top contenders for Lord Stanley's Cup this year. The Pens traveled to Joe Louis Arena in dahntahn Detroit on Monday night to take on the red-hot Red Wings, who were coming off of a 7-2-1 showing in their last 10. Last night, the Pens traveled to the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. to take on the-well they will be the Eastern Conference Champion Capitals. The Pens came out of the two roadies with two losses and one point. Let's take a look back, shall we?

Penguins v. Red Wings
Anytime you go into Joe Louis Arena, chances are you are going to come home with a loss in hand. The Detroit Red Wings have been essentially unbeatable at the Joe in the last-I don't know-8 years? The Pens have been successful at the Joe in the playoffs, but they have not fared so well during the regular season for the past three years or so. Monday night's game was no different with the Pens losing in regulation 3-1 to the Red Wings. Valtteri Filppula opened up the scoring late in the first period with his 9th of the season, giving the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. From there, the lead would stay with the Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg added another tally for the Red Wings at 7:38 with his 21st goal of the season. Pascal Dupuis gave the Pens some life at 16:54 of the second, keeping the Pens in the game at 2-1 after two periods. The dagger through the heart came at 1:20 in the third when Henrik Zetterberg added his second of the game and the Red Wings buckled down on defense. The Pens drop this one 3-1 in regulation and drop down to 4th place, tied with the New Jersey Devils.

Penguins v. Capitals
A proverbial clash of titans went down last night in the nation's capital when the Penguins took on the first place Washington Capitals. Let's face it, nobody is going to catch the Caps for the President's Trophy, awarded to the team who finishes the regular season with the most points. Caps' coach Bruce Boudreau was quoted as saying "These guys are the team we will face in the Eastern Conference Finals." That shows this author two things: 1. He is confident that the Caps will make it to the Eastern Conference finals and 2. He believes that the Pens are the most dangerous team in the Eastern Conference in spite of losing all 6 to New Jersey. I can only hope that revenge will be sweet in the playoffs. This game ended up being another classic Pens/Caps match-up, requiring overtime and a shoot out to decide the victor. The first period would be scoreless, even though the Penguins received two power plays, going 0/2. This would be a recurring problem for the Pens all night. The lack of conversion on the power play may have been a defining factor in the score. The Pens got 5 power play chances, compared to the Caps' 1 and could only convert on 1/5, and gave up a short handed goal. Scoring did not open up until the second period when Mike Knuble got his 26th of the season. Max Talbot answered just over a minute later with his 2nd of the season and Billy Guerin slammed home his 19th for the Pens lone power play goal. After two complete, the Pens led 2-1. The Pens broke down at 5:36 in the third period, giving up said short handed goal to Alexander Semin, followed by a goal from Eric Fehr two minutes later. At 16:54, Jordan Staal came through in the clutch with his 21st goal of the season, tying the game at 3 and forcing overtime. The overtime period showed no goals, so this one went to a shoot out. Kris Letang opened up with a tally, beating Jose Theodore on a nifty wrist shot. Marc-Andre Fleury made a sprawling save on Niklas Backstrom to keep the Pens up 1-0. Sidney Crosby then simply undressed Theodore with approximately 35 moves in a matter of 3 feet. Seriously, my eyes could not keep up...bottom line: Pens 2-Caps 0. Needing a goal to stay alive in the shoot out, Alexander Ovechkin lifted a wrist shot over the left pad of Marc-Andre Fleury, keeping the Caps in it at 2-1. Without Malkin in the lineup, Bill Guerin had the anchor position, but Theodore shut him down, leaving the future of the shootout on the stick of Alexander Semin. Semin netted a backhander, tying the shootout at 2. Chris Kunitz was stopped by Theodore and Mike Knuble was the hero for Washington, ripping a wrist shot past Fleury to steal the extra point.

The Pens now sit at 2nd place with 91 points, just one ahead of New Jersey in the Eastern Conference. The next stretch will be vital for the Pens since they will be facing a few teams that are no longer in the playoff picture. The next two games are a back-to-back home stand against Philthadelphia and Toronto on Saturday at 1:00pm and Sunday at 5:00pm, respectively.

Lets go Pens,
B Brog

Changes and Line Changes.....

Yinzers,

So here we are into the first days of Spring, and into the third round of the NCAA men's Basketball tournament. Needless to say I am not impressed, I am in full blown Hockey mode this year. I have not been locked on a season like this since 1992.

I am border line obsessed, well I know that doesn't change from my obsession with other Pittsburgh sports, but this year Penguins hockey is my thing. I think Ray Shero the Pens Gm, has put the Turkey on the table for the Pens to claim another cup.

Criminal is in the house tonight- ridiculous. I have never hated or disliked a player like Ovechkin ever( OK maybe Tony Stewart) but in defense to Stewart I think the man can drive a car better than anyone. Ovechkin and the crapitals are Red hot and in first place.....I think they are way better equipped last year , and better staffed. But they are no Penguins.

The Pens need a little Geno in their life, we need him back soon.

Pens Magic Numba is 5/4 depending which schmick won last eve...

Pens-Craps 7pm.

Legal Beagel

As for other Changes, The Georgia department of Law/Barney Fife division is now not requesting DNA samples from Big Ben-this is another huge hole in the case. NFL comish Roger Godell is going to meet with Big Ben this week- hopefully no suspension will be in the works. I am a huge Big Ben fan and supporter- but this shit has to stop. The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for keeping their noses clean in the media. Yeah I say that people make mistakes but twice is a little fisha'- lets go Ben We have an excellent Fball team this year and I don't want my season to end in April.

Finally for this hump day, I will have a full Bucos report from Bradenton next week.....

Lets GO pens!

Wade

Truck Tuesday

Hi Yinz,

Not to much to report on today. The pens looked pretty bad last night but atleast we got in a good fight between Crosby and Howard at the end of the game.

Hopefully Geno will make it back for the Caps game tomorrow night. We sure will need him and hopefully the rest of the team to show up.

In other news, Thanks to Josh Hoover, I got my first Pens Jersey! woohoo! I will be sporting it to the Atlanta game in 3 weeks.

Lets Go Pens!

Truck

Monday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

The Pens finished up their 5 game road trip on Thursday night when they traveled back to the TD Gardens in Boston to take on the Bruins for the first time since the Matt Cooke-Marc Savard incident. Fans in Boston wanted the ice to freeze red with Cooke's blood, but the coaches, management and most players realized that the only thing that matters now is getting into the playoffs. The Bruins tried to get into the act early with Shawn Thornton (no relation to Joe of the Sharks) going after Matt Cooke just 1:58 into the game. This was to be expected and was really no surprise. Thornton and Cooke duked it out for a short period of time before taking major penalties, with Thornton taking an extra 10 minute misconduct when he kept hitting Cooke while he was down, and refusing to promptly enter the penalty box in favor of giving Cooke more choice words. The Pens would have the last laugh in the first period, however, when they got a goal from a rocket of a wrist shot from Tyler Kennedy at 8:34. Another fight, this time between two titans, came in the second period when Mike Rupp and Zdeno Chara squared off at 11:34. I do not know the circumstances of the fight, but even though Rupp is an ominous 6'5" 230 lbs dude, Zdeno Chara is the largest man in the league at 6'9" 255 lbs. Rupp put up a good fight, but the enormous wingspan of Chara proved to be the trump card. Rupp could barely reach the face of the towering Slovak, leading to Rupp being thrown to the ice. Once again, the Pens would have the last laugh in the second period with a goal from Alexei Ponikarovsky at 19:45 in the second. Mike Rupp would add a 3rd goal to the Penguin's tally in the third period, giving the Pens a 3-0 victory and a much-needed 2 points.

Remember how the Penguins cannot seem to beat the New Jersey Devils, well the same seems to occur with the Southeast Division as a whole for the Penguins. No matter how great or poor the teams are in the Southeast Division, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida always seem to bring their 'A' game to the table against the Penguins and Saturday was no different. The Pens came home for the first time in 5 games to host the Carolina Hurricanes in a 1:00pm game. It was a Staal v. Staal with the Staal parents in attendance. Consult your drinking game instructions for proper boozing. At any rate, the Hurricanes are a Southeast Division foe, and they brought their 'A' game to the Igloo. Carolina opened up the scoring at 6:48 in the first period off the stick of Zach Boychuk. It took a while for the Pens to answer, but the answer came with just 18 seconds left in the second period from Jordan Staal on the power play. The hockey gods favored Staal the Younger. Evgeni Malkin netted his 24th of the season at 13:05 in the third period to give the Pens a 2-1 lead, but Joni Pitkanen answered just 3:00 later with his 6th of the season. This game was headed to overtime. The overtime period was intense with a lot of 'edge of your seat' style play. In the waning seconds of the overtime, however, the Carolina Hurricanes' Jamie McBain put home a rebound with 0:01 left on the clock to give the Hurricanes the 3-2 victory, stealing a point from the Pens. The Pens did come out with a point, which helped them to jump the New Jersey Devils for the lead in the Atlantic Division. The Pens now stand at 90 points, two ahead of New Jersey with 88 for the lead in the Atlantic and 2nd place overall in the East.
The Pens next game is tonight at 7:00 on Versus as they travel to Joe Lewis arena in Detroit.

In other hockey news, the Penn State Student Hockey League begins it's post-season tournament this week. Your White team finished with a record of 8-4-2 and pulled down the 3rd seed for the double-elimination tournament. We play the early game on Tuesday night at 10:15 versus the 6th seed Gold team.

Let's Go Pens,
B Brog

Pen Zen: The Playoff Seeding Conundrum

Morning Yinzers,

Stephen Daniel back with the 2nd and regular Sunday edition of Pen Zen. Currently, the NHL regular season is starting to draw to a close. Right now the vast majority of people in this country are still shredding their NCAA March Madness Brackets and Googling just where on earth is St. Marys and Northern Iowa.

Nevertheless, the thing that I have noticed is that there is a parallel between March Madness and the NHL season. For most casual watchers, an NCAA basketball game is about 1 thing: the last 2 minutes. Fans casually talk to friends in the first half, but then buckle down as the final seconds tick off the clock. With the NHL, a regular season is 82 games which is a great deal of playing time (especially if you played in the olympics). Casual fans are just now taking their Jaromir Jagr or Alexei Kovalev jersey they bought off ebay for $20, dusting off the cobwebs and just now checking the standings.

That's right... It's the playoffs

While the inevitable bandwagon train of casual fans (and Steeler fans) comes rolling to your local watering establishment, it's time for the real fans to focus on what's important. You guessed it... Playoff Seeding.

In the NHL there are no easy games, therefore there is no easy seeding. If you had followed the Pens in the mid nineties, you know that 7-8 seed was our turf. We came into highly seeded New Jersey and Washington and beat them in their own house. Because, afterall seeding doesn't make that much of a difference, it's a best of seven. Four wins, you move on. Four losses, you are sitting at home with the kids eating popcorn watching other teams sweat it out for the glory. The Penguins of the mid to late nineties proved that seeding was irrelevant. However, we are not in the Jagr era anymore

Since the Sid and Geno era, we have been in 3 playoff runs. One ending abruptly in the first round, one ended tragically in the finals, and one ending gloriously with champagne and Mike Lange saying so eloquently, "Lord Stanley, Scratch their names in your fabled cup". Breaking the series down though, there is a distinct pattern. Home vs. Away made all the difference in the Penguins most recent playoff series.

Over the last 3 years, in series we were the lower seed and did not have home ice, we have played a grand total of 25 games and have a combined record of 11-14 with a series record of 2-2. When you take out the Ottawa series the first time we made the playoffs in the Sid and Geno era, I suppose it's not THAT bad. But let's look at the home record. In series that we did have home ice advantage we played a grand total of 28 games and have a combined record of 24-4 with a series record of 5-0. Perhaps most notably, is the fact that every playoff series in the new era has gone back to their building with the Pens being up 2 games to none.

The point being is that those statistics are unbelievably lopsided in favor of home ice for the Pens. It's the last year of the Igloo, and everyone knows that it will be louder than it has ever been. The Pens want to play there, the Pens NEED to play there. Therefore, it is the opinion of this humble author that there should be no hesitation to try to win the Atlantic division over the Devils. Once we clinch a playoff spot, we should be very cognizant of where we stand in the East, and try to maintain the 2nd seed. After-all, one blown series by the Capitals and we have another shot at complete home ice advantage up to the Stanley Cup.

The reflective part of this article is this: There are no easy playoff series. An 8 seed can be just as dangerous as a 1st seed because of playing lights out, dominant hockey to sneak into the playoffs. Last year, the Penguins had won 18 of their last 25 games to earn a spot in the playoffs. Perhaps most notably, was the fact that the Pens had to battle to earn the 4th seed in the playoffs last year. It was the Flyers spot to lose, and they lost it. Which makes you really think, if the Flyers would have beaten the Rangers in the last game of the regular season, there would have been 2 games in the Wachovia center instead of the igloo. If the Flyers would have beaten the Rangers in the last game of the regular season... Do the Penguins win the Stanley Cup?

Every game counts, every point matters.

Crosberries Tastelike Crosberries

Hola Yinz!

I had an awesome Pittsburgh moment this week. They are few and far between; I dont get to watch many hockey games. Some hockey fan friends of mine invited Brett and I to watch the Pens beat Boston. It was great! Can't beat a shutout.

My favorite game moment was when the announcer called Sidney "Crosberry." I hope you heard it too, because I almost fell of the couch laughing about it. I think it might be a new nickname for our kid named Sid.

Oh I cherish my San Diego-Pittsburgh Moments!

(They let me redecorate their house for the game!)

Labuda on the Left Coast

Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

With no football to rave about and no basketball to sulk about anymore, our Penn State Phryday updates will be, more or less, a hodgepodge of lesser-followed Penn State spring sports. With my last few weeks as a Penn Stater winding down, I am beginning to realize how much I will miss Happy Valley. But enough about that, let's talk sports.

Wrestling
At the NCAA Championships at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, the Penn State Nittany Lions have advanced four athletes to the quarterfinals. Penn State's Brad Pataky, an unseeded wrestler, took down #8 Matt Steintrager from Central Michigan to advance to the quarterfinals of the 125 weight class. He will face #1 Angel Escobedo of Indiana in his quarterfinal match. Penn State's #5 Frank Molinaro defeated Pitt's Eric Albright in the 149 weight class and will face Edinboro's Torsten Gillespie in the quarterfinals. Penn State's #4 Cyler Sanderson picked up a victory in the 157 weight class over Dan Gonsor of Virginia to advance to the quarterfinals where he will take on #5 Steve Fittery of American University. Rounding out the quarterfinalists, Penn State's #6 Dan Vallimont took home a victory in the 165 weight class, defeating #11 Rick Schumlyen of Bloomsburg University. He will face Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui in the quarterfinals. Good luck to all the Penn State wrestlers.

Men's Volleyball
The defending national champion Nittany Lion men's volleyball team is currently ranked #6 in the nation with an overall record of 17-3 with their only losses coming to USC, BYU and Loyola-Chicago. All that matters is the Nittany Lions are playing solid vball as of late. They look to a match tonight at 7:00 at Saint Francis (PA) and open up Big-10 play on Sunday at the Beej Center when they host Ohio State at 4:00. Bring that championship back to its home, the Mecca of collegiate volleyball, Happy Valley.

Lady Lion Basketball
The Lady Lions got knocked out of the WNIT as well this week. At least they made a tournament. The Lady Lions fell to Hofstra last night 76-68. It was a solid season for the Lady Lions. They were not really expected to make any noise in the Big-10 this year, but ended up with a bid to the WNIT. Good luck next year ladies.

Nittany Lions Baseball
The Nittany Lion baseball season is underway as well. I have only been to one PSU baseball game in my 4 years here, and here is why: the one game I went to, the Nittany Lions got one-hit by a lefty from Minnesota who topped out at 83 mph. I lost all hope at that point. This year, the Nittany Lions currently sit at 4-8. They took home wins against Cincinnati and Seton Hall in the Big-10/Big East Classic in St. Petersburg and Clearwater, FL and victories against Mcneese State and Dallas Baptist in the YMBL Cardinal Classic in Beaumont, TX. The Nittany Lions then went on to get buried by Texas A&M and Texas State losing all 5 games, getting outscored 64-19. The Nittany Lions return to action at the Coca-Cola Classic in Rock Hill, SC when they play Kent State today at 11:00 am.

If you have any other sports interests, check out http://www.gopsusports.com.

For the Glory,
B Brog

Thursday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

What the hell is up with the Devils? No pun intended. The Pens continue to be dominated by the New Jersey Devils. It is one of those strange phenomena in sports. No matter how poor the season is going, no matter how great the Penguins are, the Devils remain the fire that chaps the Penguins ass. Pun intended.

Last night was the final meeting with the New Jersey Devils this season. Guess what, the Devils pulled the season sweep of 6 games to 0 when they won 5-2. Things started out grand for the Pens with Chris Kunitz getting the scoring monkey off his back just 4:01 into the game. From then on, however, the game was all New Jersey. Dainius Zubrus and Paul Martin added tallies for the Devils in the first, giving them a 2-1 lead at the first intermission. The second period yielded goals from Patrik Elias (shorthanded) and Zach Parise, giving Jersey a 4-1 lead after two complete. The Pens did get one back in the third from Ruslan Fedotenko at 5:23 in the third, but it would not be near enough with Rob Niedermayer adding an empty net goal to close out the 5-2 Devil victory. Rod Pelley got slapped with a 5 minute major penalty for boarding Alex Goligoski in the third and Kris Letang got 2 for roughing in response. Like I said before, I do not know what it is about New Jersey, but they just always seem to find something to break away from the Pens. With the win, the Devils are now tied with the Pens with 87 points and take over the second place spot due to tie-breakers. The Pens are now sitting in 4th place, but are 8 points ahead of the 5th place Ottawa Senators. At this point in the season, it becomes a matter of seeding. The Pens would have to have the choke of a lifetime to miss the playoffs, but its all about trying to pass the Devils to get that Atlantic Division Championship.

The Pens next game is tonight at 7:00 as they take on the Boston Bruins for the first time since the Cooke-Savard incident. Look for many fights and cheap hits and a ton of boo-birds. After that, the Pens are back home Saturday at 1:00 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Don't forget to look up the Staal Brothers Drinking Game.

Lets go Pens,
B Brog

Luck of the Wedensday

Yinzers,

First Off Happy St. Patrick's day . This is one of my most favorite days. What other holiday lets you get smashed to your Bejesus ,and other Drunk white folk think it's ok. The Story behind St. Patrick's day is quite a sad one also- google it on your own time. The Irish as a hole are prolly the most condensed group of upbeat people in world History.....*not Notre Dame- but the actual Irish. ( 2 plagues, Irish potato famine,overrun with snakes,live next to the British)

Tonight is a huge game for the pens , for they are on the road in the most Irish place in the States- Boston. I really hope that the Backlash from M.Cookes hit last week is not that bad. If I were Disco Dan I would sit Geno, Sid for tonight's Irish Brawl. Game is at 7pm .

I wish everyone a great Irish jig, green beer and fellow to drink with.

Eren Go PENS!

Wade

Hun Hair

Truck Tuesday

Everybody loves Ovetchkin

...not.

Suspended for two games after that little accident. Too bad that didn't happen right before a Pens game. We could only be so lucky.

Malkin had his foot x-rayed after his injury in the last game. The x ray came back negative (which is positive). yay!

Now I know that right now hockey is big, but don't forget about football. LB Larry Foote just returned to the Steelers by signing a 3 year (9.3 m) contract with a 1.8 m signing bonus. Mmm, I guess the economy isn't affecting everyone.

In other steeler news...

Take a minute to really look at that picture. Looks like a winner to me. What girl would not want to be all over that piece of man meat?

Pittsburgh fans may begin throwing "rothenburger" under the bus. With Dixon and the opportunity to recruit a new QB, I think we may see some fans ready to relieve Rothenburger after this little incident, whether is happened or now. Remember folks, he was the QB when the steelers won two super bowls, don't hate to much.

I knew that rothenburger was a tool...

Thats all I got for today.

Truck.

Monday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

We have a lot to discuss since Thursday. The Pens are balls-deep into a 5 game road trip and trying to stay atop the Atlantic Division down the stretch. The games began on Thursday night and that is where we will return to action.

Thursday Night: Pens v. Canes

Game one of the 5 game road trip started south of the Mason-Dickson line in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Pens traveled to face the elder Staal and the red hot Carolina Hurricanes. If none of you have heard, there is a pretty phenomenal drinking game out there. If you are interested, search "Staal Brothers Drinking Game" on your favorite search engine. Two young Canadian ladies came up with the game and it is growing in popularity among hockey fans and Staal enthusiasts, or "Staalcoholics." At any rate, let's talk about the game. The game was a game of

bounces..."puck luck," if you will. In the grand scheme of things, the Pens out-played the Canes in most every aspect of the game. Jordan Staal opened up the scoring with a goal for your Pens at 1:04, followed by a Billy Guerin goal at 5:29 and the Pens controlled the game. The Hurricanes answered with two goals of their own at 7:45 and 9:11 from Penguin killer Ray Whitney and Zach Boychuk, respectively. At the first intermission, the game was all knotted up at 2. The second period was a solid "grind-it-out" period, real post-season feel. Not to be out-done, the elder Staal got a goal of his own at 2:09. Matt Cooke answered for the Pens 4

minutes later. After 2 in the books, the game was tied at 3 goals apiece. There was no scoring in the third due to stingy defense and solid goaltending by Brent Johnson and Justin Peters. The game would go to overtime, where the Hurricanes made quick work, getting a goal from Brian Pothier at 0:25.

Friday Night: Pens v. Devils

What is it about the Devils? How can they be playing bad hockey for weeks and then put together a near perfect game against the Pittsburgh Penguins? The Devils are just one of those teams that always seem to be a thorn in the Penguins' side. Scoring opened up almost immediately with a goal coming from each team in the first 3:00 of the hockey game. Patrik Elias put one home for the Devils and and Sidney Crosby answered for the Pens. Once again, the second period resembled much of a post-season game with stingy defense and overall great goaltending. In classic Devils fashion, the team took the lead and stuck to their neutral zone

trap and pesky poke checks. The big story of the second period were the penalties. With Bill McCreary involved, you know it won't end well for the Penguins' special teams. Craig Adams got dealt a 5 minute major penalty for charging Martin Skoula and a 10 minute misconduct on top of that. Tempers flared between Kris Letang and Dainius Zubrus, Evgeni Malkin and Rob Niedermayer, Ruslan Fedotenko and Colin White and Ilya Kovalchuk was awarded a penalty shot from a trip by Kris Letang. Marc-Andre Fleury stood tall and deniedKovalchuk, keeping the game tied at 1. The thrid period was all Devils. New Jersey would add two more goals in the third period from Andy Greene and Ilya Kovalchuk.

Sunday Night: Pens v. Lightning

The Pens traveled to Tampa last night to take on another team who has been playing good hockey in the Tampa Bay Lightning. The St. Pete Times Forum was filled over capacity for this one with 20,230 showing up. There's a ton of yinzers dahn 'er, probably because Tampa is a wild tahn. At any rate, the entire game also had a real post-season feel to it. Both teams came out grinding with a majority of the play taking place either in the neutral zone or in the corners, below the goal line. Just 40 seconds into the game, however, Steve Downie proved why he is second in the league in penalty minutes when he took down Sidney Crosby along the left wing

boards by essentially putting Sid into a figure-4 leg lock, bending Sid's leg beneath his body. Sid got up with a little bit of a limp, but he's a hockey player. He shook it off and played with a purpose for the rest of the game. The scoring did not open up until 8:09 of the second period when Vincent Lecavalier put one home on a one-timer off a pass from below the goal line, leaving Fleury helplessly too far back in his net. The Penguins seemed to come alive in the third period. ust 2:20 into the third, Pascal Dupuis tied the game with his 17th of the season. Dupuis is simply standing on his head as of late, extending his point streak to 5 games. Sergei Gonchar gave the Pens the lead at 5:17 with an absolute BOMB that rung off Antero Nittymakki's right post and into the twine. The Pens then did their own buckling down and kept the Lightning from scoring for the remainder of the game. They were actually so stingy on defense, that the Lightning went without even a shot on goal for almost 20 minutes. Tempers flared in this game after the second Penguins goal when Ruslan Fedotenko and Viktor Hedman wrestled, with Fedotenko landing about a dozen jabs to the temporal-mandibular joint (jaw) of Hedman.

Hedman would head down the ramp to not return. You may notice that I have not said Evgeni Malkin's name at all, that is because in the waning seconds of the second period, Malkin took a shot off the foot and did not return to the ice for the third period. Steve Downie was not done in the penalty box as he took a cross-checking penalty on Brooks Orpik, who in turn took a coincidental slashing penalty. The end result was a confidence-fortifying win for the Pens.

The Pens next game is Wednesday at 7:00 pm when they travel back to New Jersey to, once again, take on those Devils. Hopefully vengance will be sweet.

Let's go Pens,

B Brog

Pen Zen: The Away Game Phenomenon

Hello Yinzers,

Happy Daylights Savings Time! Now, I know that everyone is upset about losing an hour of sleep, but the clock you were too lazy to reset months ago is not an hour off anymore...

I would like to take the extra hour of the day to introduce myself as the newest blogger for The Morning Steel Mill. My name is Stephen Daniel (gentleman on the left), Pens fan ever since I was a young 5 years of age. For the entirety of my life, I have lived in Canes and Caps country in North Carolina and Virginia. Which is an unusual place for a Pens fan of any age. However my most fondest memories as a Pens fan were not necessarily the home games in 'Da Burgh, but the games I attended in Raleigh that were, in ways more special, which brings me to my weekly segment...

Every week, I would like the take the time to let Pittsburgh fans recharge and gather themselves for another great week of sports. I would like to have a weekly column called: "Pen Zen", which is just an observation piece of random (and perhaps random and stupid) phenomenon that should be noted in the world of hockey. It might make you think, it might make you reflect, it might possibly make you lose your lunch... but it let it guide you before you watch another week of Penguin domination.

Since the Pens are on a 5 game road trip, I found it appropriate to talk about a phenomenon that is very close to my heart, fans at an away game. Thursday, I took it upon myself to watch the Penguins play the Hurricanes in Raleigh, NC in the RBC center. The parking lots and the stadium were less than impressive, but the attendance from the Penguins was.

It never ceased to amaze me the sort of passion from an away fan. It's a sort of "us against the world" that makes the game that much more fun. It should be considered unusual to see a Penguins jersey, but when you do, it's like meeting a member of the Penguins themselves. You want to know everything. Who they are, where they are from, why they came to the game and so forth. It was like being a kid in a candy store for anyone in attendance who was wearing black and gold.

Another interesting fact of why I consider away games better than home games is that originality is almost negated. Sure, when you go to Mellon and see someone wearing an overpriced Sidney Crosby jersey, you might say, "Yeah, how unique". However, when you tailgate at someone else's ice, you might shout uncontrollably, "GO PENS!" regardless of which name is dawned on the back.

Lastly, if you are a Pens fan of recent years, you should feel even better about the feel of games on the road. Interestingly enough, the Pens closed out the Flyers, Caps, Canes, and Wings in their own building. Is there nothing better in this world than shutting up an opposing fan? Especially when you know they will never see another game until next season. Might just make the feeling that much sweeter.

So when you see a fellow Penguin at an away game, make sure to scream obnoxiously to get his/her attention, offer them a beer (or you might be on the receiving end), and ignore what name is on the back, bond with your brothers and join together against the enemy. There is no foul for wearing a Sid or Geno jersey*

*Correction: Wearing misspelled jerseys you bought on Ebay must forfeit one beer

*Double Correction: Wearing a Marian Hossa jersey must take a shot to the groin... by every Pens fan that notices...

Thank Yinz for reading. May you have peace withpens.

Yoi

Hola Yinz,

Sorry for the untimely post. I spent my day in Orange County, and have spent the last hour trying to find a clever link between the OC and the Burgh...

The only thing that came to mind was how much I hate the color orange. Every sports team that I dispise is ORANGE! Clemson, Tennesee, and not to metion the Brownies... Cleveland Sucks! That stupid orange helmet.

The only other connection was this:

Yoi Yoi Double Yoi,

Labuda on the Left Coast