Next game is up when we play the 5-1-1-1 Shockers Tuesday at 9pm.  We handed the Shockers one of their ones in 4-4 tie on September 8.  A victory can be in hand if we play smart and stay out the box, as last meeting we  tallied 12 PIMS against this bunch.  This upcoming game, however, Tim the ‘Tude will be in the net instead of in the box.

In the goalie race this season the Save Percentages are almost dead even with Tim at 0.880 and Peter at 0.883, but Peter is ahead when it comes to goals against allowing an average of 2.83  as compared to Tim’s 3.16.

• Helmet (Nickason you need to buy a new one after that last encounter with the end boards)
• Facial Protection; either visor or cage.
• Mouthguard:  (buy a new one, that one is not supposed to be green)
• Neck protector (optional but looking more attractive the older I get)
• Shoulder pads
• elbow pads
• gloves
• Stick
• cup (aka The Can)
• hockey pants (or Cooper-Alls for the true veterans)
• shin guards
• socks
• Jersey
• skates (get them sharpened now, not at the rink)
• towel
• soap
• shower sandals (just ask Gord why)

The first game is this Friday, September 5th at 8:15pm voisus the Vancouver SmokeEaters.  Tim Von P is making his debut in net. Have you signed up online yet?!  Do it. Now.  Because they wont let you play without the pretty little sticker.

January 2nd, 10:30pm on Blue A against The Vancouver Smokeeaters.

Well the first one sounded good. Rumour has it, that if I had had time to post a Grinder Girl that game the 3 stars woulda went something like this:

1st Star – Peter with a well-deserved shutout and Jacques-Plante-esque saves.
2nd Star – Harry! (breaking the no-stars to spares barrier) with stellar performance on D
3rd Star – Troy with the game’s only goal (nice assist Rob)

But then, game two happened: A loss, Lots of penalties and copious amounts of bench bitchin’.

We’re ahead of schedule girls. This usually doesn’t happen until Mid-January, early February. Are we losing sight of the reason we come out to play already?! You senile old bastards are getting harder and harder to appease every year. Remember:

• It’s for fun.
• We claim to our wives it’s for exercise and that we earned that last beer.
• It’s to be able to tell our co-workers that we belong to a team.

But if you guys can’t play nice with each other (or with the other team for that matter) then we’re gonna have to do something drastic, like join the 35+ league, or (don’t tell Bob I said this or he wont shut up about it) start our own league.

So let’s strip our game down to the basics, gentlemen. Lets go out to be competitive, and to win, but drop the “at all costs” notion. Respect your fellow team-mates, and respect the other team. Too often we accuse ourselves as dropping to their level and yes we do have to learn to skate away once in a while, but admit it, take a close look at yourself, we start a lot of the shit as well.

Play the game hard, play to win, but cut out the crap and listen to your teammates when they tell you to relax. Perhaps you ARE cross checking in front of the net (Santa) , Perhaps you ARE too critical (Gord) , Perhaps you ARE taking long shifts (Dave), Perhaps you ARE taking it too personally (Andy), Perhaps you ARE too skilled for this division and should ease up on the competition (Glen).

Anyways, until morale improves all you get is naked men:

As a way of thanks,I offer to you this week’s Grinder girl:

The forum sparked some sparse, but good, points over the last couple of days.The one that stood out in this journalist’s mind was the one that he read while sober.

There was also a wee little ditty about a clean sheet of ice and enjoying the game and I think that particular comment hit the nail on the head. Fellas. Let’s re-group. Re-Focus. Re-Hab. And put the past 6 years, weeks behind us. Lets forget about all the bickering. Lets forget about the recent dose of losses. Let’s forget about the on-ice chatter and bad penalties.

Let’s now focus on the positives; the hockey stenched air, the bitter cold of the arena, the cramped dressing rooms, the stick across the ribs. Hold it, let’s try again.

Lets now focus on the positives; the crisp air of the ice arena (now I think I got it), the sheen of the freshly scraped rink, (ah yes, here it comes) the sound of the first blade cutting into the freshly frozen layer of ice, the joy of of the outlet pass that results in the breakaway, the gospel-ring of the puck ricocheting off your own post, the good natured banter of your team-mates on the bench, and the glorious feeling of netting one behind the cock-sure goalie….

This is the game we were raised to love. This is game for which we push aside all our daily worries and place on a pedestal. This is the game we love to play; win or lose. But especially win.

Step onto that ice with all the dog days behind us. Open up and tell yourself, “this is the game where we shine.” Shout it out loud gentlemen. “This is our game!” Shout it together! As a team! As the victors of the 10:30pm Friday game vs Sydney Millionaires on Blue A – tickets available at TicketMaster for a a small service fee, or sign up at Best Buy for presale activity and an endless onslaught of weekly newsletters- (where was I) – Oh yes, whatever the outcome gentlemen, play hard, play as a team, and hold your head high (unless its raining and then tuck your chin into your collar for the sensible protection against the precipitation) for the inevitable tailgate!

edit—–

INCENTIVE!

Here’s a little incentive for y’all to have the game of your lives. This is a preview of the 3-Star image that is scheduled to be posted. Here’s your chance to be associated with one of the most gorgeous hockey fans ever.

So be nice to each other, show up, play hard and you get to see the rest.

PSP, Where are you!?!?!?!

The CuppaJoe Grinders face the Burnaby Chiefs in their third meeting this year. Although the teams are fairly evenly matched in terms of skill (according to player stats) and their records are similiar as well, the Burnaby Chiefs have won both previous meetings. The last game the Chiefs came from behind to tie it up and then win with mere seconds left on the clock in OT. With Tanchak, Tidy, Kuznak and Geiber out of the lineup for tonight the Grinders call-up Stacey “a-lotta-movement-not-much-of-it-forwards” Schoffer for the wing and Geoff “Goats” Gauthier in net.

Check out all the recent additions to the website that have happened over the 10-day break we suffered. In addition to the blog-like entries on the home page, the Grinders Girls Page has a recent entry that will certainly pique your interest, and the Grinders Virtual Trading Cards Page sees a lot of Action Shots in the trading cards; photos courtesy Goats.

All the other teams made fun of the Sydneys because the name sounded so queer. One day, The Grinders played a game against the Sydneys and took a 2-0 lead going into the third. But the Sydneys paid no nevermind and went about their way, doing their own thing, in their own way, and won the game 3-2. They became rich with joy.

The Grinders got mad. Mostly at themselves, although they would never admit it because thats not the way macho hockey players think. They want to take their frustration out on someone else, blame others, and make them suffer. It’s cool to be that way if you are a hockey player. It gets you excited for the game ahead.

Tonight the Grinders play the Sydneys again and want retribution. Thats a big word that means they want to get even, although the Sydneys did nothing wrong. But thats okay because this is sport.

Sport is about doing better than the other guys, and beating them, and winning, and making the losers feel bad about their loss, and getting more goals and points than your team mates to win the scoring title, and drinking more beer after the game than anyone else, and telling your family you scored yet another goal to extend your scoring streak even though you didn’t because you know they will never check and you need them to believe that you can at least succeed at SOMETHING in your lifetime so you can feel like the big man around the house.

This should be a good game fellas.

The competition is better than we expected way down here so we have to keep perspective on why we are out to play; for the pleasure of hockey and getting out with our friends. 7 years together with a solid core of about 16, personalities will shine forth every once in a while in all of their glory. Let’s remember to respect one another and to NOT take this too seriously. Yes, we want to win. Yes, we will give it our all. And Yes, we will make mistakes. Let’s encourage and not bitch.

Remember when we would come off the ice after a loss smiling?

Big game tonight as we face the Mighty Atoms for the second time this season. We managed to pull out a win earlier this season. They will be looking for retribution and a win (Much like the Crackers) so let’s keep our heads and keep positive.

Mr. Geoff (Goats) Gauthier is joining us in net tonight as Mr. Kuznak is suffering an upper body injury.

As Warren Zevon once said:

His dad took the hose and froze the back yard
And Little Buddy dreamed he was Rocket Richard
He grew up big and he grew up tough
He saw himself scoring for the Wings or Canucks
But he wasn’t that good with a puck

…

There were Swedes to the left of him
Russians to the right
A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight
Brains over brawn–that might work for you
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do?

…

Thirty seconds left, the puck took a roll
And suddenly Buddy had a shot on goal
The goalie committed, Buddy picked his spot
Twenty years of waiting went into that shot
The fans jumped up, the Finn jumped too
And cold-cocked Buddy on his followthrough
The big man crumbled but he felt all right
‘Cause the last thing he saw
was the flashing red light
He saw that heavenly light

Hey, I’d like to see you try to pump up this contest. There’s not much to go on, okay.

Reggie is out with a broken finger. If he can strap two fingers together and squeeze those large mitts into a glove then he’ll be back in 2 weeks. If not, he could be out for up to 6 weeks.

The NADS are sitting in last place with one win and two losses. They have the worst goals against record with 14, but don’t let that fool ya, they also have the second best Goals For with 8 goals over 3 games.

The Mighty Atoms beat the Plumbers (whom we tied on our opener) 4-1. The Atoms have a grand total of 2 PIMS over their first two games. How many do we have? We have a league-leading 24 PIMS in 2 games.

Notable Notes of Note:
You owe Bob money.
Ashworth is still out of town, “working”.
Nobody knows where Tidy is.
Kuznak is back on the roster making his 06/07 debut in net tonight.