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Further adventures in hockey
Obsession continues apace! I have been following hockey, going to hockey games, reading hockey fic, and even (just a little) writing hockey fic. Whew! I've also been trying to be less of a total lurker lately, partly because hockey fandom is so wonderfully friendly. So hi to anyone new! Or anyone who's come over here to figure out who that random person popping up is.
First, a question for hockey fandom people. Does anyone know what happened to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
faithbeckett? Her journal is gone and her fic has disappeared from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
2mins4slashing. I don't actually know her, but I loved her fic and "Any Way You Want It" (the Crosby/Ovechkin one with the concussion) in particular was one of my comfort fics, so I'm really sad if it's gone forever.
Now, game reports!
1/10/12: Ottawa Senators 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 1
Official Recap
Wow, I meant to post about this much earlier. I made notes of cool things on my phone during the game, and I can only reconstruct what about half of them meant now. Oh, well. It was kind of a depressing game anyway.
This was the last really bad game of the Penguins' late December/early January losing streak. They were just generally awful, and got totally outplayed. The fans were streaming out by midway through the third. (I stayed to the bitter end. It might be losing hockey, but it's still hockey. Also, I take the bus and don't have to worry about traffic.)
Geno Malkin got the only goal for the Pens, and then had a minor altercation with Sergei Gonchar near the net immediately after. Oh to be able to read lips. (And speak Russian. And have been sitting close enough to actually see detail.) But the crowd booed Gonch every time he touched the puck after that. Pittsburgh fans are kind of intense.
Gah, Penguins injuries. James Neal was expected to be out for weeks right before this, but then it turned out his foot wasn't quite broken, so he played. But then Simon Despres hurt his knee in a collision and disappeared for the rest of the game. Some kind of conservation of brokenness on this team that they really need to put an end to.
Fleury didn't start the game, which I was kind of disappointed by. I've been keeping track of which of the Penguins stars I've actually seen play, since all the injuries and the pre-season game I went to mean that they're never all in the line-up, and I kind of pouted about missing him again. That did not mean that you should be so terrible as to get pulled, Brent Johnson! So I got to see Flower for most of two periods, after all. He kind of dances around in the crease getting settled in, it's adorable.
On the plus side, they were giving away cute little penguin-shaped pillows, so at least I got one of those. Also, I had some vague idea who all those Ottawa players were at the All-Star Game, even if that was mostly because I was still bitter.
3/7/12: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Official Recap
Could not be more different! After that game against Ottawa, the Pens lost a close game in Washington, and then snapped out of it and won seven straight going into the All-Star break. They've gone 18-5-1 between the two games I went to, and came in tonight on a six-game winning streak. Which they extended. :-D
They made it a little interesting, though. When the Leafs went up 2-0 early in the second I was pretty sure that me going to games was a curse and I should never come again. Of course, then Pascal Dupuis scored, and Jordan Staal scored, and Duper scored again, and all was well. Dupuis was really incredible. The first goal was just a deflection, one of those ones where it's not even clear he moved at all, but he also had an assist on Staal's goal and a series of really excellent chances late in the second. I was especially happy about that part because I was sitting way down at that end (though fairly close to the ice) and most of the action in the first had been where I couldn't really see. Note: he did not manage either a third goal or a fight, so no kind of hat trick tonight.
The real highlight wasn't even in the game, though. They unveiled a statue of Mario Lemieux earlier today, after being super secretive about what it would look like, so there was a lot of excitement about that. Answer: it's a three-person statue of Lemieux passing through two defensemen, illustrating this goal. They also showed a video tribute with highlights from his career before the game, and then the entire crowd stood up and we gave a really long standing ovation. I'm not normally big on being part of a crowd spirit, and I react with sarcasm to most attempts to pull my heartstrings, but something about this really got to me.
Miscellaneous other things: There were a surprising number of Toronto fans at the game; I suppose it's not an impossibly long drive. Colby Armstrong was scratched, so I didn't get to see him at all. The game must have been airing on something national, because I could see Pierre McGuire between the benches, though fortunately I was too far away to hear him. Craig Adams made the most excellent disappointed face after a rebound went out of play in the first, but sadly it's not in the video clips on the Pens' site. Geno didn't get a point tonight, which means he's still sitting at 499 for his career. This was James Neal's 300th career game, though! They're finally tearing down Mellon Arena across the street from CONSOL, and about half of the dome is gone now, meaning another quarter is sort of twisted in on itself and it looks really awesomely weird.
I have a whole bunch of other hockey thoughts to share -- being Stockholmed by announcers, flinching at jerseys, going to games by myself, my dad's thoughts on the relative attractiveness of hockey players -- but I think I'll close here, since this is already long, and attempt to post again before the next blue moon.
First, a question for hockey fandom people. Does anyone know what happened to
faithbeckett? Her journal is gone and her fic has disappeared from 2mins4slashing. I don't actually know her, but I loved her fic and "Any Way You Want It" (the Crosby/Ovechkin one with the concussion) in particular was one of my comfort fics, so I'm really sad if it's gone forever.Now, game reports!
1/10/12: Ottawa Senators 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 1
Official Recap
Wow, I meant to post about this much earlier. I made notes of cool things on my phone during the game, and I can only reconstruct what about half of them meant now. Oh, well. It was kind of a depressing game anyway.
This was the last really bad game of the Penguins' late December/early January losing streak. They were just generally awful, and got totally outplayed. The fans were streaming out by midway through the third. (I stayed to the bitter end. It might be losing hockey, but it's still hockey. Also, I take the bus and don't have to worry about traffic.)
Geno Malkin got the only goal for the Pens, and then had a minor altercation with Sergei Gonchar near the net immediately after. Oh to be able to read lips. (And speak Russian. And have been sitting close enough to actually see detail.) But the crowd booed Gonch every time he touched the puck after that. Pittsburgh fans are kind of intense.
Gah, Penguins injuries. James Neal was expected to be out for weeks right before this, but then it turned out his foot wasn't quite broken, so he played. But then Simon Despres hurt his knee in a collision and disappeared for the rest of the game. Some kind of conservation of brokenness on this team that they really need to put an end to.
Fleury didn't start the game, which I was kind of disappointed by. I've been keeping track of which of the Penguins stars I've actually seen play, since all the injuries and the pre-season game I went to mean that they're never all in the line-up, and I kind of pouted about missing him again. That did not mean that you should be so terrible as to get pulled, Brent Johnson! So I got to see Flower for most of two periods, after all. He kind of dances around in the crease getting settled in, it's adorable.
On the plus side, they were giving away cute little penguin-shaped pillows, so at least I got one of those. Also, I had some vague idea who all those Ottawa players were at the All-Star Game, even if that was mostly because I was still bitter.
3/7/12: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Official Recap
Could not be more different! After that game against Ottawa, the Pens lost a close game in Washington, and then snapped out of it and won seven straight going into the All-Star break. They've gone 18-5-1 between the two games I went to, and came in tonight on a six-game winning streak. Which they extended. :-D
They made it a little interesting, though. When the Leafs went up 2-0 early in the second I was pretty sure that me going to games was a curse and I should never come again. Of course, then Pascal Dupuis scored, and Jordan Staal scored, and Duper scored again, and all was well. Dupuis was really incredible. The first goal was just a deflection, one of those ones where it's not even clear he moved at all, but he also had an assist on Staal's goal and a series of really excellent chances late in the second. I was especially happy about that part because I was sitting way down at that end (though fairly close to the ice) and most of the action in the first had been where I couldn't really see. Note: he did not manage either a third goal or a fight, so no kind of hat trick tonight.
The real highlight wasn't even in the game, though. They unveiled a statue of Mario Lemieux earlier today, after being super secretive about what it would look like, so there was a lot of excitement about that. Answer: it's a three-person statue of Lemieux passing through two defensemen, illustrating this goal. They also showed a video tribute with highlights from his career before the game, and then the entire crowd stood up and we gave a really long standing ovation. I'm not normally big on being part of a crowd spirit, and I react with sarcasm to most attempts to pull my heartstrings, but something about this really got to me.
Miscellaneous other things: There were a surprising number of Toronto fans at the game; I suppose it's not an impossibly long drive. Colby Armstrong was scratched, so I didn't get to see him at all. The game must have been airing on something national, because I could see Pierre McGuire between the benches, though fortunately I was too far away to hear him. Craig Adams made the most excellent disappointed face after a rebound went out of play in the first, but sadly it's not in the video clips on the Pens' site. Geno didn't get a point tonight, which means he's still sitting at 499 for his career. This was James Neal's 300th career game, though! They're finally tearing down Mellon Arena across the street from CONSOL, and about half of the dome is gone now, meaning another quarter is sort of twisted in on itself and it looks really awesomely weird.
I have a whole bunch of other hockey thoughts to share -- being Stockholmed by announcers, flinching at jerseys, going to games by myself, my dad's thoughts on the relative attractiveness of hockey players -- but I think I'll close here, since this is already long, and attempt to post again before the next blue moon.
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I think I remember that fic, ha. Extremely plausible crack!
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