Introductions

Hello, HLOGgers and HLOG readers! My name is Meaghan. I'm a diehard Ottawa Senators fan with a blog called Sens at Land's End, and I'm a new poster here. I'm very happy to be part of the HLOG sisterhood and I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all! :)

Now a bit more information about me:

1. Where you're from, what you do - basic things.
I was born and raised in Ottawa, but moved to Vancouver in September 2007 for school -- I'm at UBC doing a Masters degree, en route to becoming either an archivist or a librarian. I should graduate in May 2010 (right after the Olympics). I spend my time going to classes and doing schoolwork, doing home things (I am a dedicated TV and movie watcher and a sporadic reader and I love playing around on the internet). I also spend a possibly excessive amount of time watching hockey thanks to a glorious new Centre Ice subscription.

2. Your team and why you like them.
My team is the sometimes great, sometimes frustrating, (almost) always lovable Ottawa Senators. I started following them because they were my home team, of course. I became a fan way back in 1996: my first clear memory of being a Sens fan is the day Wade Redden was traded to the team. My sister and my best friend and I all followed junior hockey so we knew of Wade, and his coming to the Sens seemed like the start of good things. I still think that trade really was a huge turning point for the team. I'm not sure I can say why I like the Sens. I just always have. However I do think they're a fun team to watch (when they're not playing like crap), and obviously they are blessed with a trio of star forwards that is almost unmatched in the rest of the NHL for sheer awesomeness.

I also watch Canucks games on occasion. Now that I live in Vancouver, it seems like the thing to do. I've been watching the Oilers and the Blue Jackets pretty often this season too. I don't have nearly as much interest in other teams as I do in the Sens, though. I pretty much live and breathe the Sens: I try not to go out when they have a game, and I always wear red on gamedays. Last season I was listening to all their games via internet radio, but now, oh Centre Ice ... how I love you.

3. Your least favourite team and why?
I hate, hate, hate, hate the Anaheim Ducks. Truly despise them. The one subject that is guaranteed almost always to get me going on a rant is the Ducks. Partly, this is sour grapes from them beating the Sens in the Final in 07. I admit it. But I also loathe Chris Pronger and his filthy style of play, and the fact that the Ducks seem to get away with things that other teams would not. The whole thing with bringing back Niedermayer and Selanne half way through the season made me hate the team even more and also lose a lot of respect for those two guys, who formerly were two Ducks players I didn't mind. As of now, the only Ducks player I really like is Ryan Getzlaf, and that's because of his performance for Team Canada at the World Championships this year.

Other teams I do not care for are the Toronto Maple Leafs (naturally -- as a Sens fan, it is my duty to hate them) and the Philadelphia Flyers (because I don't like goons). I've also developed a pretty violent hatred for Montreal lately, to the point that I really can't stand watching them or hearing about them. I think this comes out of bitterness over them doing better than the Sens last season. I finally got sick of hearing about Crosby all the time as well, and now kind of hate the Penguins too.

4. Your favourite player of all time & now?
My first favourite player was Alyn McCauley, when he was with the 67's. My first favourite Sens player was Radek Bonk (I have a signed Bonk jersey in a drawer in my dresser). But right now, I'd have to say my favourite is Dany Heatley. I didn't like him all that much when he first came to the Sens, partly because Marian Hossa was one of my favourite Sens players so I wasn't overly thrilled to see him traded, and partly because I thought all Heatley did was score goals. I started to watch him more closely during the 07 playoff run, though, and realized that calling him a goalscorer is far too simple. For one thing, there's much more to his game than just scoring. For another thing, when he scores goals, HOT DAMN! He really scores goals. He's got the gigantic slapshot, the quick release, and the ability to come into the play seemingly from nowhere, and hey -- it turns out those are three qualities I like more than just about anything else in a hockey player, so I always find him a treat to watch. I like it when he plays with a fiesty edge, such as when he was chirping at Crosby in the penalty box during the Sens-Pens series last season or yapping at Tucker during the last Sens-Leafs game of 07-08.

As for all-time favourites, there is no player that stands out more than Heatley to me, but I would certainly put Brian Campbell on my list somewhere near the top. He was my favourite player when he was with the 67's, and I still think he's one of the best players I've ever seen.

5. Which hockey player is your least favourite and why?
I would probably go with Chris Pronger for the reasons mentioned above when I talked about the Ducks. I just think he's a bully, basically. His elbow to McAmmond's head was terrible, and when he tried to blame his hit on Tomas Holmstrom earlier in the playoffs on his height, that bothered me. His stomp on Kesler last season was also appalling. In each of these incidents I've been disgusted that he didn't get a longer suspension. I also think Pronger is a bit overrated; I remember him taking a few costly penalties when he played for Canada at the last Olympics and he's not all that fast. Generally, I just don't like him. I have considered starting a petition to keep him off the 2010 Olympic team because I'd have trouble rooting for him to do well.

6. What do you hope to gain from joining HLOG?
I really like socializing with other female hockey fans. I find that while male hockey fans can sometimes eventually accept that women actually do enjoy and understand the game of hockey, a lot of them still don't get that -- to steal a line from SportSquee -- "you can be a total girl, and still be a total sports fan." Just because I find X player hot and that hotness adds to my appreciation of him, it doesn't make me less of a hockey fan. The other problem with talking to guys about hockey, of course, is that (usually) they just don't want to talk about that kind of thing at all, and if you bring it up they'll make fun of you. Another thing I've found about male hockey fans is that they can be really hostile, both towards the players and towards other fans. I'm not saying I'm always all sunshine and roses about everything (far from it), but they take it too far sometimes. Guys and girls have a different perspective on sports, is all, and I prefer the girl perspective sometimes. There are two things I hope to get out of joining HLOG, then: one is exposure to the society of a group of like-minded female fans, and the other is the opportunity to contribute to that society.


7. What role do female fans contribute to the game of hockey? What does female fan support do for the league/team/player she supports?
I don't know that I think female fan support does anything for hockey that male fan support doesn't do. Female fans show up to cheer their team, just like male fans. The only thing I can think of that women could provide that men don't (I'm not going to talk about puck bunnies) is that maybe a really big female fan draws more attention to a sport than a really big male fan: people might be more likely to take note of a woman in a hockey jersey, for example, than a man.

8. Hockey just isn't the same without __________!
I actually find Steve Yzerman's absence really noticeable. It seemed weird seeing Detroit win the Cup this year without him as their Captain (nothing against Lidstrom). Vancouver is going to be really strange without Trevor Linden, too.

9. If you could make your own team, regardless of whatever players, what would it be called and where will it be/how would it be like?
My ideal team would be a fast, smooth-skating team with offensively gifted forwards who made lots of pretty plays, defencemen who could stop the other team's attack without ever taking penalties, and a goalie who always made the key saves, sometimes in spectacular fashion. The team would often win because of its high skill level, but the players would all be hard workers who wouldn't just rely on their skill to get them through. They would be committed to the team and would play with a lot of emotion. I'd also have at least one player on there who loved to make those big open ice hits, because I always find those entertaining. And my team would have fun: it would be obvious from watching them that they were having a good time out there. No need for a fictional name or location here -- I would name this perfect team the Senators, and it would play in Ottawa. :)

10. Who gets your squee and why? (keep it short & sweet, y'all!)
There are several squee-worthy hockey players -- I love Rick Nash, Vincent Lecavalier, and Stevie Y -- but I save my biggest squees for a few Sens. Mike Fisher gets my squee when he plays that bull in a china shop style he's so good at. Anton Volchenkov gets my squee when he makes those huge hits and blocks shots and does things like coming back to play when his head's so swollen they can't find him a helmet. Chris Phillips gets my squee for being such a generally awesome human being and solid defenceman. And Alfie gets it for being Alfie. But the greatest squee of all goes to two guys who just really seem to love playing together, and who remind me of the song "Guy Love" from the Scrubs musical episode: the Sens' dynamic duo, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza, aka Heatzza. They're so in tune with each other, and so much fun to watch -- it's really quite ridiculous, and I feel very lucky to have that pair on my team.