Monday, April 12, 2010

Bittersweet. Actually, quite awesome.

So this game, as the Thrashers had already been eliminated from playoff contention, had little meaning other than pride for us. It had slightly more important implications for the Penguins, as a loss would likely put them in the 4th seed for the playoffs, rather than 2nd or 3rd. :D


Hopefully not Moose's last game in the Blue, but you never know....





As a part-time employee for the Thrashers, I got to wear the Game Operations headset occasionally. One of those games was Evgeny Artyukhin's first game as a Thrasher. The producer was very excited, as he likes big hitting players like Artyukhin. So every time Artyukhin stepped on the ice, the producer would growl into the mic, "RELEASE THE KRAKEN", taking the line from the movie Clash of the Titans. I found this line funnier and funnier the more he used it during the game. It caught on with me and some friends as I used it in everyday life, so I decided to make my first sign ever.



Evgeny not only noticed it, but told Kozlov, who shared a laugh with him. It was gonna be a good night :)






I just thought this shot was cool, you know, the puck being about an inch from the netting and all....





Kane was on fire for most of the night, and did everything but score a goal. He didn't have to though :)





I <3 this picture.





So, if you have a pulse and watch hockey, you know about this fight. I was fortunate enough to have seen Cooke's little shot on Kane along the boards and started firing when the gloves came off. This is probably my best sequence of shots of the year, but not because they're great pictures. it's what is being done to whom.




Hey Matt, watch out.





Didn't I tell you to watch out?





Don't mess with the kid named after Holyfield.





So after all that excitement (Boulton and Goddard went at it in a slightly more evenly matched bout 5 minutes later), Bryan Little decided it was time to step up by collecting a Slava Kozlov rebound and slinging it past Fleury. It was all that was needed for the Thrashers.
Also, Blogger apparently decided to vomit code on top of the next picture. Ah, technology, never failing to befuddle us.



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Peverley did his best to make it 2-0 but was thwarted by the ever-ready Flower. (Did that sound as weird to you as it did to me?)





It was likely Slava's last game as a Thrasher, so I made sure to get plenty of pictures.





Malkin got up-ended at the whistle (or wanted to go swimming, there's no telling for sure).





Ohai, Mr Puck, I see you.




Again, if you have a pulse, you will be warmed by this story. T.R. and Maria Benning were selected as the Thrashers 7th Man for this season. T.R. is a decorated WWII veteran and Maria is a Cuban who defected to the US many moons ago. They've had season tickets since day one and are continually featured on the Kiss Cam, which always gives the Thrashers fans something to cheer about. When initially approached, T.R. didn't want to be recognized for simply going to the games. He insisted that someone else be chosen, but when Maria found out that the winner got the jersey of whichever player they wanted, she leaned over to him and said, "That'd be so nice." T.R. quickly consented to accepting the award.





The boys lined up to give their jerseys away to some season ticket holders.





Slava and the Moose share in the camaraderie.




Pavel looking like a tough guy, popping his gum as he struts to the fans. Not that he doesn't have the right to, basically captaining our powerplay after the departure of you-know-who.



Well, it was an interesting ride, to say the least. In the off-season, expect a few more airplanes and some other hockey related posts, but be warned: come October, HockeyFever will have made its return.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The best photo is the first one - what a perfect shot of Moose in his customized head gear! However, the fight sequence is good work too as usual! Your captions that you are now adding have transformed your blog!!!!! Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

I fogot - the photo of the puck in mid air at the goal is awesome!