Welcome To Atlanta!

Where the players play (sing along to the rest of the Ludacris song in your head). I am super excited to be a part of this great collection of lady hockey fans. When I found the blog and saw that my beloved Thrashers had no coverage, I knew I had to represent! I am originally from Mobile, Alabama which oddly enough, is where I found hockey. I started following the ECHL Team, The Mobile Mystics. I moved to Atlanta (so did they incidentally, now the Gwinnett Gladiators), met my husband who was a hockey nut and the love for the game (and him) bloomed. Now I am also obsessed with taking pictures at hockey games, that's why I started my blog: http://gettingpucksdeep.blogspot.com/

1. Where you're from, what you do - basic things.

I am originally from Mobile, Alabama but currently live in Atlanta, Georgia. I am an administrative assistant who has been unemployed since June.

2. Your team and why you like them.

I am an Atlanta Thrashers fan because I live in Atlanta. I love being a southern hockey fan because hockey fans in more traditional markets think they are as likely to see a rabid southern hockey fan as they are a magical unicorn.

3. Your least favourite team and why?

I have a few least favorites. I hate Montreal because I don't like the hockey attitude of most of their fans towards non-traditional hockey markets. And I find it hard to cheer for anyone who would boo their own goalie. I also hate Carolina because they are division rivals and dealt me a sports heartbreak last season that took me months to heal from when the destroyed the Devils in the last few seconds of game 7.

4. Your favourite player of all time & now?

My favorite player of all time is former Thrashers goalie, Pasi Nurminen. He was my first goalie love and started my goalie obsession. Current favorite is Johan Hedberg.

5. Which hockey player is your least favourite and why?

My least favorite player is Cam Ward because he's so damn good and usually is at the heart of some crushing defeat for a team I love.

6 What do you hope to gain from joining HLOG?
I want to meet other hockey loving women from around the league. I also want to show that there are many passionate and knowledgeable hockey fans, especially women, in Atlanta.

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 think that female fans contribute the same thing to the game as males do, we just look better while doing it. I think that good female fans help erase the stereotype of women who just go to the games to look at hot players or to be seen. People kind of expect guys to be into sports, but when you have a woman who is in to hockey, that helps show what a fantastic sport it is and would possibly attract other fans. As a female fan in Atlanta, I feel like I'm an ambassador of sorts for the Thrashers and as many fans as I can get into the game, the better.

8. Hockey just isn't the same without __________!
Goalies. I'm a complete goalie nut. I love everything about them. I love that everything about them is different from the other players on the ice. Different equipment, different rules, different training, I love that "last line of defense" aspect of the position. I'm the only person I know who enjoys more shots on goal and less scoring.

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?

I would return the Winnipeg Jets to Manitoba and it would be owned by Jim Balsillie. Canada needs another team and Jim would finally stop sniffing around my teams. Maybe some of the "Atlanta is going to move/be sold" crap would stop. It probably wouldn't stop, but a girl can dream.

10. Who gets your squee and why? (keep it short & sweet, y'all!)

Goalies in general get a lot of squee, but there is no better squee than Johan "Moose" Hedberg. I mean just look at him. He's beautiful. He's my #1. Non-goalie squee is Boris Valabik.

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New Topic: Expectations

New season means that we've got to get the blog-ball rolling again and our first topic will be....expectations. Yes, we all have them of our team. Sometimes we set them too high and we experience the crushing emotions of failure and sometimes we set them perhaps embarrassingly low and end up getting pleasantly surprised. Really, out of the two alternatives, I don't know why we don't choose the latter more often. Or maybe it's just years of being a disappointed Senators fan has turned me into a cynic like that.

Regardless, now that the season is a few weeks old my question to you is: has your team met or exceeded your expectations? Or do you think your team hasn't exactly come back from vacation yet and needs to kick it into high gear like um, yesterday? Discuss.

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TOE-PICK!

Um... long time, no post.

Just want to let those of our loyal readers Stateside know that my tax dollars are being used to fund the most ridiculous (and awesome) reality show ever: The Battle of the Blades. (Sorry, vids restricted by geography - you'll, uh, have to resort to creative means to find them...)

Take an ex-NHL player. Add an ex-pairs/ice dance figure skater. Make them do their thing Dancing with the Stars style.

What could possibly go wrong?

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Game 1, Love it!

Finally, hockey season is underway.

The Columbus Blue Jackets opened their season against the Minnesota Wild. It was an amazing game. The Jackets were tentative at first, but eventually got their act together and got the win.

This season, I've decided to do something a bit different with my post game thoughts. Let me know what you think.

The Hot:

• Umberger getting the short-handed goal. Not to mention the first goal of the season for the Blue Jackets.
• Steve Mason picking right up where he left off.
• Hitchcock is still getting great cheers from the fans, I love that man.
• Rusty Klesla getting a goal on the day he signed an extension. (More on this later)
• Voracek is huge. It was my first time seeing this kid since last season, wow.
• Roy looked good as a replacement for an injured Commie...let's hope he's back tomorrow though.
• The music at Nationwide has improved. A lot.
• I like the drummers...the Boom Jackets or whatever they're called.
• Pahlsson in a Blue Jackets sweater...I love it.
• Niklas Backstrom had a great game...I personally think he deserved to be a star of the game.

The Cold:

• Filatov had flashes of brilliance, and then flashes of...well just not so good. He was in the box when the Wild scored on the power play.
• The power play. I made the mistake of saying it couldn't get much worse...we had a few chances last night, but I think we were trying to be too fancy.
• Tyutin looked nervous, and made some mistakes last night.
• The cannon and the music needs to be louder, I need a bigger boom for my cannon.

Also, Coach Richards for the Wild had a few thoughts on his first NHL game experience:

“It was a good crowd but to be honest with you, it felt like I was coaching in Albany, and in Albany there are not a lot of people there. For me it was just another game.”

Really? I could have gone my entire life without knowing what he thinks about our atmosphere. The fans were loud, we were standing, and we supported OUR team.

At the end of the night we got the two points and that is what matters most. But, tomorrow night we have an angry Vancouver Canucks team who has lost two games to start the season. It's not going to be an easy game but I think the Jackets are up for the challenge.

x-posted to Bethany's Hockey Rants on KK

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Frozen Fury XII: Kopitar's Game Winning Goal

would you expect anything less from Kopitar?

(x-posted to Purple Crushed Velvet)

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HLOGgers in The Hockey News

The current(september 7) issue of The Hockey News features pieces by three of our bloggers:

Bethany - pg.31
Elise - pg.32
Connie - pg.33

Congratulations ladies.

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Versus Frustrates Me

Last year the NHL on Versus decided to shut the Kings out from any type of national coverage, and once again, they decided to keep it as minimal as possible for this So Cal team. Hey, I love minimalism and everything, but only for my living spaces and furniture within. When it comes to hockey, I want more Kings exposure during more hours of the day.

For the 09-10 season, Versus decided showing one game involving the Kings was enough, but it's blatantly obvious as to why this game was chosen. If it's not obvious, then you need to open your eyes or just have me spell it out for you. This one Kings game was chosen because it was against the Chicago Blackhawks rather than any sort of potential the Kings merit.

Seriously, folks; what Kings game is going to get the most national draw possible? A game against a team that has been put through the hype ringer and drawn as thinly as possible. Yes, people can easily just get the Center Ice package to watch all things Kings, but my point here is not that. It's the fact that this team is, once again, attempting to get out of the usually damp and dusty cellar but are being stunted by a league that views this team as the red-headed step child. I really don't think giving them some national coverage it's that difficult. Why can't Versus just show a hockey double header every night of the season? I really don't think that channel is making its money through bull riding. Ultimate fighting, yes; bull riding, no.

X-posted to A Queen Among Kings

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