Archive for October, 2006
10-28-2006
Ski season’s here!
Well, the mountains here in Colorado got 2 feet of snow on Thursday. I’ve been itching for ski season and it is just about here. Copper opens next weekend, so I’ll be up there on day 1 getting my first area turns in, unless I decide to go to A-Basin tomorrow.
I’d gotten some turns in September up on St. Marys, so it hasn’t been that long. But skiing is so wonderful. What’s better though is snow. Snow makes everything look so peaceful and beautiful. I’m not sure what it is, but I’ve always had that feeling. Just watching snow fall out the window brings a smile to my face. I know plenty of people don’t like it, but winter is my favorite season, and not just because of ice climbing and skiing. I love the air in winter, the crispness of it. I think winter will always be my favorite season.
Posted by Candace in Skiing | No Comments »
10-17-2006
I miss the Avs
OK, so last night, I went to see an Avalanche game for the first time in 5 years, since the year the team won the Stanley Cup, when I saw two games. We won’t go into how expensive tickets in even the cheap seats are, but just address the performance of the team itself.
And oh, how I long for the days of yore. Walking into the Pepsi Center last night, it was hard not to notice all the jerseys of former Avs players that people were wearing, with names from the glory days like Drury, Roy, Foote, Deadmarsh, and even recently gone players like Blake and Tanguay. My husband was wearing a Bourque jersey, and I had on one from Forsberg, who I tearfully miss every time I see the Avs come out on the ice. Some of those names are gone due to the new economics of the NHL, but some are due to poor trades by the front office, especially the trade that sent Drury to Calgary.
Last night’s game was against the Blackhawks. Our seats were way up high, about 6 rows from the top, and behind the goal. Being at a game is still great, even though the view from up high isn’t as good as the one on TV. Given the choice however, I’d probably still prefer going to the game than watching it on TV.
The first thing that popped into mind watching the game was that the Avs look slow compared to the younger Blackhawks. That slowness translated into many penalties. The Avs had 6 penalties in the first period alone. Despite the penalties, they looked like the would escape the first period with a scoreless tie, but in the last 2 minutes the Blackhawks struck twice for quick power play goals.
After watching the mighty mites play between periods, I went out and grabbed some popcorn and a pop, plus a beer for my husband. By the time I got back to my seat, 3 minutes had elapsed in the second period and they were down another goal 3-0. It was looking bad, but later in the period the Avs showed some signs of life, and Joe Sakic scored on a laser of a wrist shot on a 5-3. Suddenly the team was bopping around, swarming Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, and former Hawk Tyler Arnason got a late goal that promised to make the third period interesting.
Early in the third, nightmare defenseman Patrice Brisebois tied the game on another power play goal. And yet, after working so hard to tie the score, the Avs went back to sleep, and Chicago outshot them 7-3 over the next 8 minutes, and Martin Lapointe scored from a bad angle shot that Avs goalie Jose Theodore should have stopped. Chicago added an empty net goal at the end of the game to win 5-3.
It became apparent that the Avs are looking at a long season, and I think they may not make the playoffs. Last night was the first home game the Avs didn’t sell out since 1996, further sign that the new economics have hurt the team.
What has further damaged the Avs are the rule changes and enforcement. During their glory days, the Avs often traded for veteran talent late in the season for help during the Cup runs. That strategy helped win the team 2 Cups in 1996 and 2001. However, the new NHL emphasizes speed, and the Avs are sorely lacking in that department. Brisebois came to the Avs from Montreal, where he had become a perennial boo-attracter, tiring the Canadiens fans with his often lackluster play. Despite his goal last night, Brisebois was a danger to the Avs any time he was on the ice, making several awful turnovers and lacking the speed to keep up with Chicago’s forwards. None of Colorado’s 4th line forwards look like they can skate, and their D is the classic big and slow paradigm from the late 90s, when clutch/grab hockey and the neutral zone trap threatened to bore the fans to death. The Avs would do well to let go of 2/3rds of their D and start rebuilding, bringing up younger players from the minors.
There is hope for the future. Rookies Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski both look quick, and Marak Svatos is a threat to score every time he carries the puck. He needs to shoot more and stop looking for the pretty pass, but that will come with time. Still, this will be a rebuilding year for the Avs, and they need to realize this isn’t 1999 anymore, and learn to develop young players instead of sign past their prime veterans.
Posted by Candace in Hockey | No Comments »