hockey

Monday evening — the end of the Family Day weekend

It’s 9 o’clock Monday night — should be making a lunch for tomorrow, but screw it. I’ll do it in the morning.  I’m just not ready to accept that it’s time to go back to work tomorrow.

We had a great FD weekend.  Went and watched our grandson, Timothy, play hockey yesterday.  He scored a hat-trick!  He’s six years old.  It was just too much fun.

On Saturday night I gave my love a red rare steak with scallops and mushroom risotto.  A Valentine’s Day meal, because the day before (actual Valentine’s Day) we had a crappy lunch at Ricky’s All Day Grill in St. Albert.  And, he kind of deserved it for the beautiful roses and the pink toolbox he got me!  I’ve always wanted my own toolbox — now I can go around fixin’ things to my hearts content. Like that’ll happen!

On Sunday we took our three grandkids swimming at Servus Place.  Always fun until some little stinker vomits in the kiddie pool.  Eeew!  We swam and splashed and soaked and steamed until I deemed it was time to get out and have a snack.  So, that we did and then the kids went to play in the jungle gym area for a bit.  A fun afternoon.  Home again, I got to fixin’ fajitas for supper. Mmmm, love fajitas.  Made me wish Tim and I were back in Puerto Vallarta.   Landon and Jenn arrived, and we had a nice family visit.  By the time they left around eight o’clock I was done.  Managed to stay up for another hour or so and then it was lights out.

Today, I just sort of putzed about the place.  Read a few more chapters of book five of Game of Thrones (I don’t want it to end — I’m trying to pace myself, but so bloody much is happening I can’t stop myself from reading on).  I cleaned off my dresser (unbelievable the amount of dust under all the crap I dump on there!)  Thinned out some of my hair care products (when did I become so obsessed with my hair?) and corralled the dozens of different tubes and jars of hand creams and oils I’ve collected to try to prevent my hands from getting any drier.  That’s a pointless battle.  The dresser looks great, though!

And now, it’s time to get ready for bed. I’ll check in on the Olympics one more time — so proud of our athletes!

May 22nd

Day 143 — A busy, busy day.  And the wind!  My God, it’s been incredible for the past two days.  The mornings start out nice and calm, sunny.  I get lulled into thinking it will be like that all day.  Not.  around noon the winds whip up and then they just get fiercer as the afternoon unwinds.  Only good thing about the wind is that it’s keeping the mosquitos at bay!

Spent yesterday evening working on Union business.  Can’t wait for the summer to be here and my time to be entirely my own.

Was a heartbreaker of a game between Ottawa and Pittsburgh.  I really want Ottawa to win — just so we can say we’ve got a Canadian team in the running — and they started out so good, but man, oh, man did they blow it in the third.  Here’s hoping they can pull a rabbit out of the hat for the next game.

Sunday, and it’s do or die time

Well, it’s overtime in the Canuck’s/Kings game.  It’s win this or go home for the Canucks.  I want them to win, sooooo badly.

I can’t say that they’ve played their best game tonight.  If not for Cory Shneider, i think this series would have been over quite a while ago.

I’m getting so tired of hearing “and the puck goes to ______________, but he couldn’t handle the pass”  Seriously!?

OMG!  the freaking puck just hit the post!  The chances in this game are unbelievable.  I’m trying to remain calm, but it is incredibly hard.

Come on boys, that’s all I can say.

They just lost.  They’re out of the playoffs.

Oh, well.

It’s up to the Senators now.

I’ll be there next year.  To cheer them on.

Please, please, please, though, Vancouver, get yourself some hitters.

Thursday morning, very Spring-y

Ah, it was lovely on my walk this morning.  Plus 3, cloudy skies, but you could see them clearing nicely with a blush of pink in the west.  Maybe today I’ll brave a pair of capri’s — or, a skirt.  Decisions, decisions.

I am oh so happy this morning.  Both the Senators and the Canucks pulled magic out of the hat last night and won their games.  I watched both games — that’s a lot of hockey — and I was nearly apoplectic at times, but my hopes and dreams have survived intact.

Daniel was back on the ice for last night’s crucial game, and though it took him the better part of the first period to find his rythym, find it he did.  He and Henrik were unstoppable; watching them play together is something very special.  You could see and feel the change in the entire team.  But, as Henrik said afterwards, this is one win, they need to concentrate now on the game ahead of them.

It’s a long shot, but I Believe. And that goes for the Senators, too.

Happy Canucks.jpg

Photo source:  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1151644-nhl-playoffs-5-key-takeaways-for-the-vancouver-canucks-following-game-4

 

PS — Oooh!  I get so frustrated when I try to download and insert images from the internet.  Don’t know what goes wrong, but if you follow the link you’ll see some happy boys.

Vancouver lost — what else is there to say?

I’m in tears, literally.  I can’t believe my team lost.  I am heartbroken.

My husband keeps reminding me that this is just a game, but I can’t help it — I had my heart and soul invested in this game.

I hate that Boston has won.  They played dirty.  The officials might just as well have been on their team roster.  Injuring other players as a team strategy is a cheap strategy.

There is so much talent on the Canucks team — that’s undisputed.  I can’t for the life of me understand what happened to their heart.

As much as I don’t like to buy in to conspiracy theories, I have to wonder if there isn’t something to the “Bettman wants the cup to say in the US” conspiracy.  Boston being an ‘original six’ team and all, maybe that also had something to do with it.  That’s the only thing I can think of that comes close to explaining what happened to their ability to shoot and score and play.

I will be behind the Canucks again next year.  Despite that my hometown team are the Oilers.  The Canucks are Canada’s team — they proved that making it into the finals.  I only hope they get a run at the cup again next year.

I’m finally beginning to get over the tears.  It is, in the end, as my husband tried telling me in the first minutes after our loss, just a game.

But what a game!

 

Two periods down — 3-0 Boston

Well, I’m trying hard to be optimistic, but let’s face it, Boston is out-playing the Canucks.  The score is 3-0 after two periods of play.  The last goal was a short-handed one.  It should have never happened.

Although I don’t like to criticize a player, I have to say that Ehroff is the weakest link on the Canuck’s lineup.  Time after time he has flubbed the pass, he has let Boston’s offence get the jump on him.  He is not, by a long shot the only problem the Canucks are having, but I’ve noticed over the last two games how weak he is on the D.  I’d pull him.

Kesler is playing like a pro, I love his heart.  Daniel and Henrik are somewhat disappointing.  I just don’t see the kind of magic that they are capable of coming through.

In listening to the commentators it sounds like it’s a foregone conclusion that Boston has the cup.  I’m going to pray hard for a comeback from the Canucks, for them to tie it up and take it overtime if need be.  But, it’s a long shot.  A very long shot.

I’ll update this at the end of the game.

I feel like crying.

Tuesday, June 14 — One more game to go

As the entire world knows by now — the ‘boys’ lost last night.

Of course, we knew they would.

I wanted a different outcome — but that would have been rubbing dirt in Boston’s face.  So what?  is all I can come up with.

The first period and four goals in 4 minutes — two of them scored within 35 seconds of each other — was a disaster.  They pulled Luongo after he let in the third.  Thank God.  I was literally sick to my stomach.

It was a tough game to watch, but I do have to say that the Canucks managed to pull themselves together enough to hold Boston at bay for nearly the rest of the game.  When the Canucks scored their first goal  I had the audacity to think that they could actually come back to tie up the game, send it into overtime and then win the damn thing!

Ha!  Stupid me.  What they did instead was take two ridiculous penalties allowing Boston to score their 5th goal.  Vancouver managed to get another one in the net, but really it was a lost cause, and I knew it.

Still, like it was a train-wreck, I rubber-necked, unable to tear myself away.  All the while hurling more epithets and curses at my poor television than even I thought I was capable of.  My husband shook his head in wonder.  “Remind me to never take you to a live game,”  was all he said.  I just glared.

Personally, this is my theory on what happened last night:  Luongo let in those three goals on purpose so that he could be pulled and allowed to rest up in preparation for the big game tomorrow night.  See, they knew they couldn’t win in Boston’s house (sweet as that might have been) and so the strategy was to save Luongo and him rested and sharp for when the game returns to Vancouver.

There are, absolutely, holes in this theory.  Do I care?  No!  Does it explain why, at times, the Canucks seemed to be playing minor league hockey?  Not one bit.  Can it shed any light on why Luongo is seemingly so shaken by the Boston arena?  Not one tiny ray of illumination.  Again, care not, I do.

All I care about is that I have an unwavering faith in this team and their ability to bring the Cup back to Canada.

Me and approximately, 9,000,000 other viewers (not all cheering for the Canucks, I know) are so enthralled by this series that they gave up soccer games, sit-coms and serious book club meetings to catch the action.  That’s just how good this contest is.

Tomorrow is my last time of wearing the  “We Believe” t-shirt.

After they win tomorrow night I’m having it framed.

Go, Canucks, Go!