Hockey Weekend Across America Review

The point of Hockey Weekend Across America (USA Hockey) was to get people at the grassroots level out participating in hockey-related events. Since we figure Salt Lake City is about as grassroots as it gets when it comes to hockey, we participated. A lot of you did too. Here are some of the activities where we might have seen you...

The sold-out crowd on Friday night enjoys the action on the ice:

We sat by these ladies, who had brought their boys to the game - they were awesome fans:

Some blogger eats ketchup, with a little hot dog to give it flavor:

(In all fairness, the ketchup dispenser was overly-distributing the condiment. Note the fabulous USA Hockey hoodie.)

This fan brought her son to his first hockey game - the Guns N' Hoses game on Saturday afternoon:

(He looks thrilled.)

This was by far our favorite picture of the night:

Somehow this young fan got his head right in the way of our camera without us noticing. It is NOT photoshopped - it came straight off the camera this way. If you know this kid, or you are this kid, send us an email (grizzblog@gmail.com). You made us laugh out loud for about 15 minutes in the IHOP after the game.

Hopefully everyone had a lot of good hockey fun over the weekend. If you have other pictures, feel free to send them in. We'd love to see what everyone did. We might even post them.

Weekend Preview - Ontario and Idaho

The Grizzlies finish up their home stand this weekend with games against the Ontario Reign on Friday, and the Idaho Steelheads on Saturday.



Idaho again? Ish...



The Ontario Reign are the only team in the ECHL that have three mascots:

Blaze

Dark Knight



Some Joker in a costume

(Pictures from the Ontario Reign website.)

They also came back from being down 5-0 to the Grizz on Wednesday to tie the game and even push to overtime. You'd think the team would be tired of Coach Colley's butt-chewings by now.



For the Grizzlies, it looks like Shea Guthrie should be back from IR, while Mark Pavli is on 3-day reserve as of Wednesday. The Grizzlies need to get back to what they were doing earlier in the season - working hard and not giving up. We don't know what this lazy-butt garbage is lately, but we're not fans of it. We seriously doubt it's Colley's new system.



Maybe after the butt-chewings, everyone's butts are just too dang tired to play.



Whatever - they're all under the age of 30.



The Steelheads played Alaska on Thursday, and again tonight, and then head down to Utah for a Saturday match-up with the Grizzlies. Their leading scorer - Tyler Spurgeon - has been loaned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, so he'll be out of the mix. This is a random one-game stint for the ECHL, where most teams play each other two or three times in a row. The ISH and Grizz will have another one of those next Wednesday in Idaho in between playing Bakersfield 4 times.



Kind of like a potato sandwich.

Game tonight starts at 7:05 pm at the E Center. If you can't make it down to support the team, you can cheer in your car - Adrian Denny will be doing the broadcast on 1230 am. Nobody thinks cheering in your car is weird... unless you're using pom-poms.

Game Day: Utah Grizzlies vs Alaska Aces

The Grizzlies start the first of three games this Thanksgiving weekend against the Alaska Aces tonight. We're thankful it's not Las Vegas again.



Alaska, who we heard was the best team on paper before the season started, comes into Utah in the middle of a road trip where they lost the first three games in Bakersfield. They meet up with a Grizzlies team that has lost a lot of players recently, but has kept on winning anyway. Utah Goaltender Mitch O'Keefe was named the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week, so that won't help Alaska's cause either. (Congratulations, Mitch!) But the Grizzlies haven't seen the Aces since last season in the playoffs, so even though Utah's been on a hot streak, we don't really know how they match up against this team.



We do know, however, that the new guys are eager and ready to prove themselves, and that the team is always ready for a battle. The Grizzlies have shown that they're a really hard-working group that doesn't give up, so we expect another great game tonight. For a little more information, you can read Adrian Denny's Blog at the Utah Grizzlies Official Website. (We're not sure all that needed to be capitalized, but it was fun.)



The puck drops at 7:05 pm at the E Center. For anyone who will still be stuck at home preparing Thanksgiving dinner, you can listen on AM1230, or online.

Go Grizzlies!

Game Day: Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers

Vegas, again.

But at least the Grizzlies are back home this time.

We've been playing Vegas so much that we really don't know what else to say. They've become increasingly better against us with every game. The boys really need to tighten up their game and control the puck if they want to see a win tonight.

Read. My. Lips.
No. More. Turnovers!

We think we're going to be in for a wild game. At least we're hoping. The tempers haven't exploded much between these two teams yet, but we can only see the odds on that going up as we continue to play Vegas. Really, they've got to be sick of each other by now. And they still have several more games to play against each other here in Utah. So we're predicting fights.

We're also predicting that Kinasewich will score at least 2 goals. He will also have an assist.

And we hope to see Pavli on the ice again!

But that's all for today.

Go Grizzlies!

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs. Idaho Steel-ish Heads

As of our writing this blog, there are approximately 10 hours until puck drop on the Grizzlies' first home game of the season. We'd count down more accurately, but by the time we actually post this it will be all wrong. So 10 hours it is. Awesome.


The Grizzlies play the Idaho Steelheads tonight, a team that goes by the abbreviation "ISH". It's like they're not quite committed to anything. "Yeah, we have a good-ish record," or "That was a pathetic-ish loss to the Grizzlies." (We're saving that one for after the game tonight.) The Steelheads have played three games already this season, and they have three wins. All three wins came against the Stockton Thunder, so they haven't seen a lot of variety yet. In their most recent game (Sunday, 17 October), goaltender(-ish) Richard Bachman stopped 26 of 28 shots. On the other end, the Steelheads took 39 shots at the opposing goaltender (3 went in) so it looks like defense is going to be key against this team. In addition, their other goalie - Rejean Beauchemin - was the ECHL goaltender of the week(-ish) for October 15-18. Steelheads blogger(-ish) Will Hoenike had this to say about the Grizzlies:


This year's version of the Steelheads will play a pair of games in Utah this weekend against the Grizzlies. The Grizz have played just one game, a 5-3 win over the Las Vegas Wranglers. Ryan Kinasewich led the way with three goals and an assist while Parker Van Buskirk was okay (19 saves on 22 shots) in net.


It looks like this will be a good measuring stick for the team.


And also for the fans. In an article in the Deseret News, James Sixsmith talks about how important it is for the team to make their home ice hard for other teams to win on:





"We just hope that we can maybe win a little more this year and attract more fans," said Sixsmith. "Some games last year we had a ton of fans and other games we didn't have that many, and it's because fans want to see a winning product."



Hear that, fans? The team wants you there watching.



(Picture credited to Jason Olson - Deseret News)


Sixsmith also talks about the potential of this year's team:



"I think this team is going to be very exciting to watch with all the speed and skill. I've been around hockey a long time, and you put this many guys that can skate and move that puck and stick-handle the puck together, and it's gonna be exciting to watch and be a part of."



In addition, the next goal scored by Ryan Kinasewich will be a new Grizzlies record. With his hat trick in the season opener, Ryan tied Chris Taylor for the all-time leading goal scorer in team history. Next goal pushes him to the top. Of course, if you didn't already know that, shame on you for six weeks.



It's going to be an exciting season for the team.



We're going over to pick up our tickets on our lunch hour from our regular jobs, so we'll be there tonight supporting our team. They told us that the city doesn't allow tailgating at the E Center (lame), but if you see someone in the parking lot roasting marshmallows over a lighter, it's probably us. Stop by and say hi. We'll even give you a marshmallow.

10 hours.

Go Grizzlies!

Pictures and Videos - Day 9

We thought since there is no practice today (the team is leaving around noon for Las Vegas) we would save yesterday's pictures and videos for today so you could be entertained while waiting for the season to start. (One more day...)

AJ Perry (we think) considers giving Van Buskirk the business:

Grey team goes after the puck:

A pretty good battle going on in this one:

"Wait - what? Why'd he blow the whistle?"

"Come on - pitch it in here! Right here!"

"Yes, Lord Vader..."

Some work on the power play:

Everyone is in position:

"Those people up there - I think they're stalking us."

We'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he's blocking a shot:

Some good defensive work in this next video to keep the puck on the outside:

"Sorry about running you over earlier..."

Coach puts out the cones for drills:

Nice goal by white team:

The team runs a 4-man drill:

Some of the guys take shots after practice...

... and some of them take naps. ("What? Why do you want me to move?")

"So do you like the blueberry pancakes better, or chocolate chip?"

We're not sure yet whether we'll be in Las Vegas for the season opener on Friday (awesome), but if we do, we'll have more pictures. If we don't make it, we'll see you at the E Center.

Go Grizzlies!

Training Camp, Day 9

Back from the E Center, and starting to thaw out. For some reason, we neglected to take a jacket. Probably because we were totally late leaving our real jobs after being stuck in a meeting and were in a hurry. It's been one of those days.

Practice today (what we saw of it) was more of the same, which is kind of what practice is about anyway. The coach is still pushing the team, and things seem to be getting faster every day. A lot more banging around the boards and pucks flying everywhere. One of them hit the glass right in front of us, and we probably would have been startled if we hadn't been looking through the viewfinder of our camera at the time.


The team ran plays repetitively, and if they did them wrong, the coach made them do it again. They worked power play/shorthanded configurations and did a lot of drills to get the puck down the ice. The white jersey line was looking pretty good. We like the combination of Kinasewich and Perry. We aren't sure who the other guy was on the line. We suspect he may have been switched up a few times.


We noticed a green practice jersey missing today. (Three full lines, plus 2/3 of green - grey line had to fill in.) Turns out that Moises Gutierrez was released from the team. Too many penalties, we think. We looked for new guy Dylan Hunter, but couldn't pick him out. If he practiced, we saw him though. No news of anyone else joining from Abbotsford yet, but in the first broadcast of Grizzlies Live last night it was hinted that the team would be getting a new player on Friday. The team's last training camp day is Thursday, so we won't get to see whoever it is in action until the season starts. We have mixed feelings about that.

We'll get over it. We hope.

We apparently took a lot of pictures because our camera told us the memory card was full. We don't know if we got anything good or not. We'll check tonight and post whatever looks good. If nothing looks good, we'll just post a few crappy things. We never claimed to be good with a camera.

First game of the season is right around the corner.

Go Grizzlies!

Training Camp, Day 7

Training camp was held at the E Center today so we were later than usual. We think we missed the good stuff. We were hoping to see the coach making the team do 23,487 laps and then bench press him, but it was mostly just more plays by the time we got there. Hey, it's still hockey, and we were still entertained.

They spent a lot of time working in front of the net while we were there, and that was looking pretty good. We're hoping they worked on their passing before we got there, because if they can't get it in front of the net in the first place, it doesn't do them any good. That seemed to be one of their problems in the pre-season games. We realize there are still a lot of new guys on the team, but the season opens on Friday. That's five days, counting today. They have to start getting used to each other pretty quick. Maybe Coach Colley should make them have a slumber party at the rink. What's the masculine equivalent of braiding each other's hair?

[RANDOM NOTE: We just heard on the radio that the Bridgeport Sound Tigers are still undefeated on their season.]

Actually, there was a lot of talk while we were there. Well, the coaches talked and the players listened. Sometimes they asked questions. That's a good sign. At least the lines of communication are open between players and coaches, even if the players are still a little out of sync.

An interesting note - there were three goaltenders in camp today. Since Parker Van Buskirk is the only goaltender on the Grizzlies' roster currently, we're wondering who those other two guys are. We saw Adrian Denny at the rink watching practice, so we know it wasn't him.

We did get some pictures and video, so we'll post them later tonight.

It's almost here.

Go Grizzlies!

The Ultimate Experience

The Utah Grizzlies announced their theme for the 2009-2010 season - "Utah Grizzlies Hockey: The Ultimate Experience". While we're not quite sure how we feel about this as a theme, it's a huge improvement over last year's "A Cool Night Out", which basically just reminded you that you need to bring your jacket if you go to a hockey game. (Bring a down comforter if you're planning on eating a giant sno-cone while you're there.)

One thing this new theme does do is make going to a Grizzlies game sound a lot more exciting. The word ultimate when used as an adjective means not to be improved upon or surpassed. (End English lesson.) From Grizz VP (of something) Jared Youngman:

“We feel that there is no local experience comparable to attending a Grizzlies game at the E-Center. From the time a fan steps foot on E-Center property, we feel with our venue, concessions, entertainment, exciting hockey and staff it is an experience that will not be forgotten and become a favorite pastime if it isn’t already.”

Let's investigate.

Venue - The E Center was built for hockey. It hosted hockey in the 2002 Olympics, including the gold medal match between the US and Canada, so it has history. The fact that it occasionally is home to Britney Spears, Whitesnake, and Sesame Street Live is not important. No matter where you sit in the arena, you can see the action on the ice. You can even read the players' numbers from the cheap seats without your glasses, although if their names are really long, or Russian, you may have trouble with that. Other than occasionally having to sit next to someone who smells like feet (which could happen anywhere, unfortunately), we give the venue gold stars. Or whatever bonus we're giving out this season.

Concessions - We haven't experienced all the concessions at the games, which just goes to show how many choices are available. Nachos, pizza, ice cream, hot dogs - we've even seen people eating salads. Prices are fairly ridiculous, but where aren't they? They usually have promotions where you can get $1 hot dogs or sodas on certain nights, and there are ticket packages that include food items available for purchase. We can vouch for the tastiness of the burgers, and the fact that the big sno-cone is really big. For some reason, we can't remember having hot chocolate at a game. Weird. Thumbs up for the concessions we've consumed. Or something.

Entertainment - We hope they're not talking about the intermission entertainment here, because if we have to listen to dueling pianos one more time we may start kicking teddy bears. But most nights the hockey is entertaining, and if the game is kind of slow, there are always the fans. Looking for the guy with the striped tights is like Where's Waldo for the Grizzlies games. Extra points for the chick that dances.

Exciting Hockey - We'll be the first to admit that every team plays a snoozer once in a while. Watching the Devils is practically a cure for insomnia. And with The Beast (a.k.a Nathan Lawson) up in the AHL, there's definitely going to be a certain level of crazy missing. But hockey is just an exciting sport in and of itself. Every element of the game is subject to chaos at any given time, whether it's goaltending, scoring, fighting, line changing, or just trying to figure out why there are five guys sitting in the penalty box all of a sudden. We'll give them... something... for that one, with reservations. Gotta see how the team turns out.

Staff - We mostly just try to stay out of their way. We would need more information to explore this. Maybe we'll try annoying them this season and see if it works.

So does all this add up to The Ultimate Experience? We're not going to tell you - that would ruin the surprise. What we will tell you is that for slightly more than it would cost you to go to a movie you can head out to a nice facility with a great atmosphere and watch a bunch of grown men crash into each other on the ice. (Total entertainment right there.) If it doesn't make any sense, find the nearest hockey jersey-wearing fan and ask them to explain. They won't mind. If you already know hockey, you can drag along someone who doesn't and teach them. You'll be supporting a local team and promoting hockey in the area. (These guys don't make a lot of money so they appreciate all the support they can get.) Then ask yourself at the end of the season how the experience was. Our guess is that it's a whole lot better than "A Cool Night Out."

Go Grizzlies!