Remembering Rusty

This post is crossposted on my personal website, www.christyfinn.com

Photo courtesy: AnaheimDucks.com

I realize this is veering entirely off-topic, but the matter is close to my heart and has affected me profoundly. Never in my life has one summer been riddled with such far and varied tragedy, though it is not necessarily personal

 for me. Yet, I feel the losses acutely because I am a fan.

The hockey community has been rocked far and wide by a tragic plane crash in Russia today. The plane was transporting a Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) team named Lokomotiv to their opening season game, but they didn't quite make it. The plane went down, and with it, the lives of over forty people -- hockey players and airline crew. There, among the dead and rubble, lay several former NHL players including ex-Duck Ruslan Salei.

Without even reading his stats and history, I knew right away: Drafted in '96 -- the year I became a hockey fan -- by the then-called Mighty Ducks of Anaheim -- the team I fell in love with. I had his rookie card. I called him "Rusty" as if I, as a fan, was an extended member of the team. I met him in 2003, immediately following the Western Conference Championship rally that I attended with an old friend from school. I was 19 years old and I remember watching Rusty emerge from the side door of the then-Arrowhead Pond. He wore cut off shorts, a button down stereotypical SoCal shirt, and he had shorn his playoff beard. Funny enough, I was most shocked to see him striding out in flip flops! So often had I seen hockey players go in wearing suits and ties and expensive Italian leather shoes, but that day -- a celebratory day for the team and fans, despite having lost in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals -- they were dressed down for the end of the season. They came out carrying loads of hockey sticks, signed by one another to remember the year, the team, the season. And he had been jovial, smiling, easy-going and well-mannered. He was at ease with the fans, signing items (my fowl towel), posing for pictures (I can't locate mine at the moment), and joking around. His accent had diminished from the time he'd been a rookie on the squad, and I remember wondering where on earth was Belarus?! But he'd been a fantastic defenseman and a key player for the Mighty Ducks for a number of years. He was well-liked, well-respected, and now, I hope he will be well-honored.

My condolences to the Salei family, and to the rest of the hockey world that is still reeling from this tragedy. For team reaction, please visit http://ducks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=44118

Open Letter to the Burke Family

By now, you've probably heard of the loss former Ducks GM Brian Burke and his family suffered last Friday, February 5, 2010.  Burkie's youngest son, Brendan Burke, was killed due to injuries sustained from an automobile accident in Indiana.

Though I have never met Brendan, I admired his courage as so many others did when he came out as a gay man to ESPN's John Buccigross last year.  I recall reading about the challenges he faced as a young, gay athlete in a sport dominated by machisimo -- a sport championed by his rough-and-tough, old-school brand of hockey-preaching father.  I recall being moved by his courage to come out and the emotional chord it struck within me when I read how accepting his family had been.

At twenty-one, Brendan managed to stand as an inspiration to many people, myself included.

To the Burke family,

My deepest sympathies to you as you deal with the tremendous loss of Brendan.  Please know that he has served as an inspiration for so many.  May the legacy of his courage, strength, and joie de vivre live on in the lives of those he touched.

With love from Anaheim,
Girl with a Puck.

Game Over: a fond farewell

Well, this is a long time coming, and we both knew it was inevitable.

Welcome, lovelies, to the end.

(Yes, so dramatic. I know.)

To be honest, this is probably the hardest post I've ever had to write. Girl With a Puck: the blog, is officially closing its doors. I can no longer maintain the pace I have in the past and produce quality work that I feel GwaP is worthy of displaying. As such, I have to admit that the best thing to do is to shut 'er down, lock it up. Oh, the archive will remain. You can relive the Stanley Cup winning year, the funny posts about my Shane O'Brien coughobsessioncough, and all my random fan experiences by searching through the pages here.

I've thoroughly enjoyed these last few years and had so much fun blogging here and guest blogging all over the web. I've made many friends in my time here, but it is time for me to move forward with another project -- writing fiction. Some of it, yes, will be hockey-related. :) I can't simply abandon what's been part of me for so long! I am still a fan of the game. I am still a dedicated Ducks fan. I simply am no longer a Ducks blogger.

Instead, I will pursue what I've intended to pursue for some time now - and that's writing a work of fiction that can (and will) be published. If you're interested, I would appreciate it if you'd follow along on my journey at my other website/blog - christyfinn.com. Your continued support would me so much to me, just as your previous support has been incredible.

If not, no hard feelings. You can always contact me for any reason - even if it's just to say hi - at christy[at]christyfinn.com.

Be well. Love hockey... and love your (wo)man.

Farewell,

FINNY.

Open Letter: You Know I Still Love You, Right?

Dear Lovelies, Duckies, and Boos,

I know I've been MIA for the last few weeks, and in fact, this entire series. The thing about it is, I love you, I really do. But things in my "real" life have been exceptionally hectic as of late. I may have been neglecting you, GwaP lovelies, because I simply haven't had time to scribble a whole lot about the games. I have, of course, been keeping a finger on the pulse of our playoff hopes.

I've seen bits and pieces of the games, but not the entire thing. I've been exhausted working in my 'real' life so I can fund things like... oh, feeding myself. So, in light of all that, I haven't had a whole lot of time to re-watch the DVR'd games. I've barely had time to read up on other people's thoughts on this series.

I've only had time for placing a wager. Against my boss's boyfriend that my boys would win over his ultra-beloved Detroit Red Wings. Tomorrow night, we'll know who owes whom dinner!

As for this series... it's as I expected. Long. Hard. With at least one excessively long OT session. Oy.

And to cover some old news, the Nucks were outed by the 'Hawks earlier this week - a game that featured my hockeyheart Shane O'Brien's first playoff goal. On that very same day (Monday), I recieved a response from a fan letter (yes, I shamefully admit I write those from time to time... okay, okay, once a year, jeez) I sent his way. I got one of those standard player autographed cards in response. Sweet, automatic, and (for Shane) a painless process since I'm pretty sure the Canucks have other peeps handling this kind of stuff. Still, my exhausted spirits were buoyed by this. I actually happen to try to collect these things sometimes. I never got one from Tampa Bay when he was there, though I did write. But when Paul Kariya was in Nashville, I got one. And when I was a child, I got one from Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya (and I still have them!).

So, here's one more for the collection! :)

But, just so we're clear... despite my insanely busy schedule as of late... I hope you know I still love you guys.

Come what may tomorrow at 4pm.

Always busily yours,
Finny.

"Sharks Drown in Pond!"

That's what my friend C said post-game, as we ran around the Honda Center triumphantly. She carried the above sign with great pride as the San Jose fans trekked out, dejected.

Of course, the sweetest win is the one that seals your ticket into the next round (or seals your fate as the Cup Champion, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself here). I know I've been a bit MIA these last few games, but don't think it was just because of my schedule! Oh, no, sistah (and bros), I've been keeping tabs on how these games have been going, but I just haven't had much time to settle down and write anything.

Why? Oh, because I've just purchased my first car! Meaning, this is the first car that I'll be paying for out of my own pocket! Oh, the scent of adulthood. The pain of seeing a chunk of your check go towards paying that off.

So, now that I've settled that business, I've returned my attention back to the series just in time to attend last night's series clinching game against our Northern nemesis. This game opened with a fight, closed the second period with a fight, and finished with the Sharks having to face the ghost of playoffs past.

They'll be asked, time and time again, to provide a suitable explanation for their playoff misery and early exits. And once more, they won't have many answers. In fact, they might be asking themselves a number of questions, with the worry that management may make some summer moves and deal some star Sharks for proven playoff performers. But that's not a worry for me to delve into. Head on over Fear the Fin or Battle of California for more on what the Sharks will look forward to.

Down the 5 freeway, Anaheim will prepare for their battle against the much-despised Detroit Red Wings while San Jose preps to play 18 holes.

More on THAT series to come.

Ducks Get Come-Uppance in Sharks' G3 Win

"In that situation, that's dumb, a dumb time to put your stick in, and it cost us. I take full responsibility for that one. I was just trying to make a play, but I was trying to do too much."

--Corey Perry, Ducks forward

quote courtesy: OC Register

You betcha, kid. In fact, my response to that penalty (and the goal that resulted from it) was tweeted as "Pears, I owe YOU a facewash for that one!"

Up until that penalty, things were sailing along pretty evenly. Sure, we had thrice trailed the fast-moving Sharks, but we had thrice matched them. Most everyone could feel it in their bones, that the next goal would be the decisive one. And when San Jose notched it, well... I had just about had it.

Not with my team, don't get me wrong.

With my cable TV. See, somewhere in the middle of period 2, things started to go a little haywire. Then, by the middle of period 3, there was nothing for me to even see anymore (if you looked at my picture in last night's liveblog, you'll see what I mean). Thanks to fellow blogger Eric McErlain for pointing me in the right direction to an online live feed that let me watch the rest of the game on my laptop. That's just about when Corey Perry took the costly hooking penalty got called.

I should've known then. The omens had been there from the start. This game didn't start the way the ones in SJ had. The Ducks were spinning wheels trying to keep up with San Jose, and for the first period, they did a commendable job of holding on. They kept it close, evening up the score twice in that period alone, but San Jose moved faster, striking first on a lucky bounce off Andrew Miller then breaking their PP scoring drought about two minutes after Bobby Ryan had leveled the field with a goal that had bounced off Evgeni Nabokov's skate. For the superstitious out there (ahem, yours truly, ahem), having a goal go in off your team happens, but it isn't a good omen when it's the first goal of the game. But, I kind of thought the karma had leveled out when Nabby accidentally potted one in Anaheim's favor, so I didn't think about it that much.

Until my audio went out, then my picture soon followed. Surely, your TV shutting the game down on you is not a good sign. Clearly, some higher power was trying to tell me, "Don't watch, Finny, don't! You won't like it!" But I stubbornly persisted.

And what do you know. The next thing I see is Pears in the box and Patrick Marleau celebrating his to-be GWG, SJ's second PPG for the night.

:Le sigh:

Once again, Anaheim lost in the face-off circle (47%) and the SOG count (30, SJ had 35), but thankfully the margin was much closer this time 'round. While tempers were raised and insults were flying freely in the first, both teams had negated a number of the penalties doled out and ended up with fewer PP opportunities. San Jose managed to revive their ailing PP and nailed Anaheim for 2 of 3 PPs while Anaheim only made 1 of their 3 chances count.

Hopefully, the boys take this one as a wake-up call. They can talk all they want about penalties. When they start paying for them is when they might start changing their bad Duckling ways. Now, knowing San Jose has a chance to shovel their way out of the 1-2 series hole their in, Anaheim has to regroup and bring back that rock-solid defensively sound play that stifled the Sharks efforts in the first two games, and play smarter than they did in G3.

"A few little mistakes, and that's all it takes."

--Scott Niedermayer, Ducks Captain
quote courtesy: OC Register

In the playoffs, those mistakes will cost you your playoff-life. With SJ revived and the naysayers changing their tune to praise the superior play of their team, the margin for error is about as thick as the skin of a shark's teeth.

Liveblog: WCQF Game 3 - Sharks Sink or Swim?

With the Ducks leading 2-0, and the Sharks reportedly not looking to change their game plan, the Battle of California resumes tonight in SoCal, where the heat is soaring and the Sharks are in danger of dropping to an 0-3 hole if they can't find a way to swim through this one.

The puck drops in a few minutes, but VS. has yet to start the Anaheim-San Jose coverage. So, until we get started, hang tight!

First Period
- 19:43 - Penalty on Patrick Marleau to open the game. If the Ducks can capitalize on this penalty, a double minor for high sticking, this will bode very well for Anaheim!
- 19:25 - Wow, tempers are already flaring early on in this game! Anaheim blows their chance and Ryan Getzlaf takes a seat. Lame. Ducks waste the first two minutes of the double minor.
- 17:26 - Jonas Hiller makes the save and holds on. High flying hockey is out tonight. You can tell the boys are totally jazzed for this one to get going!
- 17:16 - Back on the PP! Let's go, Ducks! Can't break into the zone. Sharks are doing a good job holding the line.
- 16:37 - Teemu can't get the shot off, has a second chance but Nabby stops it. Looks like SJ is collapsing on that puck at every opportunity.
- 16:03 - LOOSE PUCK!!! No one can pot it! Ughhh!
- 15:50 - OMG, why don't you go home, pucky? Don't you wanna go home? (a la Happy Gilmore to a golf ball!)
- 14:35 - Hiller gloves it, SJ gets physical and everyone's getting involved in a scrum. Every whistle = new scrum, it appears!
- Replay shows SOOOO many good chances for Anaheim, but the Sharks are circling and keeping it tight. Props to them for staying on their guys. Props to Anaheim for keeping that effort going!
- 14:26 - San Jose scores off a lucky bounce when it goes off Drew Miller. :( SJ up 1-0 early. Plenty of time left in the game, though.
- 14:10 - The penalty parade starts early with Pronger headed into the box. C'mon, guys, play smart! Rare 4-on-3 for SJ.
- 12:41 - SO CLOSE! SJ's shot ricochets off the post and back to Hiller, who falls like Goliath onto the puck to cover it up and get the whistle! OMG, he is UNDER FIRE right now on this PP. Ducks finally clear the zone and work it into the SJ zone, trying to kill some time. Anaheim kill successful, Sharks remain 0-for-13 on the PP.
- 10:33 - Ebbett, stop turning over that puck! Last time, it led to a Sharks goal!!! (g2)
- 10:05 - Miller draws a penalty and Ducks go on a PP. Might've been lucky on that call, but I don't care.
- 9:25 - OMG, GET CONTROL OF THE PUCK!!! This is YOUR PP!!!
- 9:00 - Anaheim getting set up, can't get a good SHO---there it is! A garbage goal for my new boy, Erik Christensen! The puck got caught in the skate of Nabby, who just turns his head, not knowing where the puck is, and Christensen put it in behind him! Sweet! I don't care how they come, as long as those goals keep on coming. MercSharks (the SJ newspaper) tweets that Nabby kicked it in. I need another replay. -- UPDATE: B-Ryan gets the goal credit, so Christensen doesn't. :( boo. Oh, well, glad to have at least one goal.
- 8:30 - Anaheim takes another penalty. I've already lost count. Grr.
- 7:30 - PK doing a good job boxing out SJ for now. Off the post and in... Dammit. Now the Sharks finally get a PPG. SEE? THAT OUGHT TO TEACH YOU TO STOP GOING TO THE BOX!!!
- 5:32 - Sharks continue to outshoot Anaheim, 15-7 so far. C'mon, boys, pick it up!
- 5:10 - James Wisniewski gets a goal top shelf. Robby Neidermayer provided the screen and we're all even at 2!!!
- 2:00 - this game is moving sooooo fast! I love it!
- 1:02 - PARROS TAKES ON DOUG MURRAY!!! Fight in the playoffs? Some messages need to be sent out, apparently! Sweet! They keep going and Parros is not giving up. Go get 'im, buddy! The refs step in and you can just see how gassed these boys are!
- 0:00 - omg, I can breathe again. That was just... eye-popping.

First Intermission thoughts: Um, I need to breathe. This game is so fast, you can't blink because someone is either scoring or going to the box! (Okay, so it's mostly Anaheim going to the box). So, for the second, I'm going to look for a bit more controlled play. Not that this topsy-turvy rollercoaster isn't fun and all, but I can't even keep track of how many penalties were doled out, and then to finish with a fight? I almost feel like I'm watching a Pens-Flyers game! I joke, I joke. Obviously, San Jose came with some fire tonight and they are fighting with every ounce of power they've got. They've managed to score on the PP and they managed to score first. They're using their speed to really get around the Ducks, and they're back to their puck pelting ways, outshooting the Ducks 20-8 in the first. In the second, I think the Ducks will look to control the puck and the game better than they did in the first. -- Interjection: they just showed Marty Brodeur totally losing his cool at the end of the NJ-CAR game where CAR scored the GWG at the very end of regulation time to win. Totally awesome clip, btw. -- Also in the second, look for Anaheim to cool their jets on the penalty parade since this game is apparently not following suit after G1 and G2! One thing I won't be looking for? I won't be looking for this game to get any less intense or any less crazy. It's going to be a bumpy right throughout! Stay tuned!

Second Period:
- 18:55 - Dan Boyle scores. What the heck?! I was washing my dishes and didn't hear the game back on! :( Anaheim has yet to get ahead in this game.
- 17:27 - my audio just went out! WHERE'S MY AUDIO?!
- 15:32 - and my grammar has gone out the window. And now my screen keeps screwing up. DON'T DO THIS TO ME NOW, TIME WARNER, OR YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM ME DURING THE NEXT WHISTLE!!!
- 14:05 - B-Ry tries to stuff it, no luck.
- 12:33 - scrum breaks out and a couple of guys go down in a pile up. Ex-Ducks Travis Moen holds former teammate Ryan Getzlaf back from joining in. B-Ry is running his mouth and the ref is showing him back to the bench. SJ's Mike Grier takes a seat for two. So far, no Ducks penalty. I'm amazed. Ducks on the PP.
- 11:04 - Anaheim can't get set up! Scotty (aka god) tries from a bad angle, no luck. PP with 10 secs left and the play gets whistled down off-side. SJ PK is going to get this job done once more. Anaheim needs another one still!
- 9;50 - SJ continues to pressure the Ducks. They're cycling the puck well, get a shot off but Hiller gets a kicksave.
- 8:23 - Wiz takes some punishment along the boards. Ouch!
- 8:10 - Chris Pronger pulls through and nails one! Ducks even it up 3 all! A beautiful one-timer!
- 7:42 - a note passes on the tv saying 5 of the 6 goals scored in this game have been scored by d-men. Interesting!
- 6:13 - Anaheim needs to turn up the heat and get ahead! No more waiting to get ahead, it's time to pull up those bootstraps and dig in!
- 4:41 - Miller's line gets a fast shot off, but Nabby nabs it. Ha! "Nabby nabs it". :)
- 2:19 - my TV is getting those weird digital hitches. I'm about to scream.

Second Intermission Thoughts: Well, it slowed down a bit and the penalties were substantially less this time around, so good stuff there. I need Anaheim to get ahead first, so I'll be looking for them to drive the net in the third. San Jose's fast-wheeling still. I'm just more frustrated that my cable connection is going screwy with the audio going out, then the picture getting screwed up. I'm calling the cable people now.

Third Period
- 17:23 the image on my screen had deteriorated immensely. So awful is the picture that I can't even make out which man is wearing which jersey! :( The audio is halting thanks to some area outage happening and so I've tuned into the radio coverage via the Ducks website. I am still trying to decipher the puzzle on my TV that's passing as "picture".
- Sometime in this period, San Jose scores the GWG and I am bemoaning the fact that my TV looks like this:
I have to stop and write up thoughts tomorrow. I'm just speechless right now. I should've understood - my cable going out was a bad omen. Tomorrow, we'll analyze. Today, I'll just absorb.

Until then, go Ducks!