If you want to be in-the-know as far as recreational and semi-pro hockey, then go get your free account and befriend the players at HockeyFox.com

“I’m ready, man, check it out. I am the ultimate badass! State of the badass art! You do NOT wanna frak with me. Check it out! Me and my squad of ultimate badasses will win this hockey game! Check it out! Independently targeting particle beam phalanx. Vwap! Fry half a city with this puppy. We got tactical smart missiles, phase-plasma pulse rifles, RPGs, we got sonic electronic ball breakers! We got nukes, we got knives, sharp sticks…” ~ Jon ‘Jo-Jo’ Ellis

On a side note, there have been no more sightings of Hodges since the previous event-of-epic-ness. Please report any sightings to your local authorities.

C-League: 03/04/10

– The 2nd best C-League team in Euless came out to this evening to face the under-performing Mayhem.  The back-and-forth scoring started out with a surprise goal by Czexan John Kolessar, followed by an answering volley from Mayhemeer Danny Eldridge, who made ‘em pay for their folly with an unassisted shorthanded goal.  Evan Clark took offense and himself came back with a unassisted shorty to put the ‘Xans up after the 1st. Bill Mack would even it back up mid-way through the 2nd, but another answer would come late from Daniel Wheeler to keep the ‘Xans on top.The 3rd would be beyond ugly with 16 Czexans penalty minutes. Mayhem’s Paavo Heliste would score, followed by two from Czexans’ Chris Greer (shorty) and Cal Mees. Mayhem struggle to overcome the deficit with another by Bill Mack, but Evan Clark would get his 2nd of the night as well, and the 5-11-1 Mayhem fall to the 11-3-1 Czexans. The shots were 36 – 29 Czexans.

– The underdog Billy Goats absolutely pummeled the favorite for the evening with pucks, and showed that a bunch of effort can equate to a bunch of goals. The first period was pwned by ‘Sticks, and they put up two on the scoreboard early on from snipers Tom Clark and Todd McMillen.  The 1st period intermission must have consisted of beatings and solitary confinement, because when they came back to the Ice, it was all Goats, all the time; Goals came in from Chris Acker, Eric Allenstein (2) Matthew Quinn, and Brett Gillaspie.  The ‘Sticks netminder Tim Malone stopped 38 of 43, but in the end it didn’t matter.

C-League: 03/05/10

– Two of the new C-League additions faced their fears, and one another for a rematch of one of the biggest D-League rivalries in Euless.  The Puck Pimps Kim Hoehler solved Lone Star Imports goaltender Will Hinton, putting them up on the board first.  ‘Imports’ Nathan Page got a lucky bounce attempting a wrap-around to tie up the game, but it wouldn’t last because Koehler came back before the 2nd period to take back the lead. In the 2nd, the ‘Pimps scored another from James Sparks, but Cody Patten somehow broke away from the pack and put in a ringing puck into the roof of the net. Dan Friedberg would again stretch the defenses of L.S.I. and put the Puck Pimps firmly back into the lead. In the 3rd period, the ‘Imports would comeback to ensure a 5-minute O.T. with goals by Nathan Page and Tom Burns.  It would take Chris Gallagher and a power-play goal courtesy of the 2nd and 3rd personal penalties from ‘Pimps Greg Tiller to end the over-time and give the Lone Star Imports their first C-League win (and the Puck Pimps their first loss to LSI)… Ever. Shots were 37 -22 LSI.

– Twelve Little Cowboys playing on the ice. The Beer Kings above .500, playing very nice!

First period goals; 3 unassisted and a powerplay.  Beer Kings down by 2, the Cowboys’ shooters showing the way.

Second and third periods not for royalty. Cowboys rounded them up, maybe next game the Kings should flee.

With 47 shots, the ‘Kings defense couldn’t stop the rubber button, and the Cowboys would have gotten the Goose, it weren’t for Beer Kings scorer Josh Sutton.

Cowboys Scorers: David Heeps (3), Geoffrey Goodson, Matt Young, and Erik Anderson.

C-League: 03/07/10

The Czexans continue their winning ways late Sunday evening as they faced the Hitmen! Czexans Brad Eubanks put down his game-show microphone to score the first goal of the evening, followed by Hitman Scott Haman. The score wouldn’t stay that way however, as Daniel Wheeler put in another pill for hte ‘Xans.  Scott Haman came back swiftly in the 2nd to tie it up again, but it was not meant to be as Mark Lowe claimed Czexan possesion of the puck and dropped in a lovely unassisted short-handed goal. Weeee! It’s only getting started.  The 3rd period saw a flurry of shots and even some goals (7 more actually, all but one from the Czexans)..  Craig patterson (‘Xans up 5 – 2), followed by Hitman extraordinare Scott Haman (hat-trick!!!), then it was all ‘Xans (Kirby Lowe, Sebastien Labonne, Daniel Wheeler, Mark Lowe and John Kolessar)

- -

D-League: 03/03/10

This weeks only shootout happened on the 3rd when the struggling Phantoms faced the more-struggling Stickmen. The goalie testing wouldn’t even begin until deep into the 2nd period when Mika Hyytiainen scores for the Stickmen, and Bryan Brookman for the Phantoms. Jason Neal provided an unassisted goal in the 3rd for the Phantoms, and there the score would stand with the Phantoms up until midway through the period when the comeback kids pushed through all of the group therapy, the team building functions, the depression… ah, oops. Did I say that out loud? Rob Mustell ties it up, followed by another by Neal to put the Phantoms back in the drivers seat. It would be in the last minute, when all seemed lost, that Scottie Baldree found within himself the destiny to PuT tHiS GAME INTO OVERTIME! (crowd roars). Everyone was tired, so they just moved on to the shoot-out. For some reason, the Stickmen were under the impression that Clinton Tippett would be a better shoot-out choice than young Mr. Baldree, and so our tale ends here, where the Stickmen fall by what the scientific community likes to call ‘Action At A Distance’… The sweet hands of Neal (third time he was to find the back of the net this game) and Surge Castillo, who bought himself a beer and gave himself another pat-on-the-back.

D-League: 03/05/10

The Inferno came out onto the ice in their sweet looking black-with-flames sweaters but only brought their B-game. It started out alright when Joe Short got the first goal on a powerplay provided by the Blue Devils repeat offender Peter Klopchic (who just came out of the box from a previous hooking call, only to get another hooking call and go right back in). The Blue Devils would go on to show that they aren’t the only ill tempered team, and got themselves a powerplay goal.

Shots On Goal: 32 – 23 Blue Devils
Power Play Goals: 2 – 1 Blue Devils
Penalty Minutes: 30 – 10 Inferno

Those big meanies, the Beer Kings, came out putting pucks into the net with unassisted goals by Mike Welsh, Larry Nouanemany and Brein Heid. In the 3rd the Kings came back in a very unassisted way, scoring two unassisted goals from Jason Pratt and Vance Brekenridge. When they were done, it was back home for some unassisted entertainment.

I don’t think I can write for two leagues a week, so is there anyone out there who would like to help spin words with us?

Logston is Making the Game About Him

Need a scoring machine or defensive automaton? Grow Your Own!

Friday Night in Euless has been reordered to place ringer teams where they belong:

D Division: Inferno, Damifino, Blue Devils, Stickmen, Kings, Beer Kings D
C Division: Hitmen, Beer Kings C, Capitals, Mayhem, Billy Goats, Puck Pimps, Misfits, LSI, Ice Dragons, Phantoms
B Division: Van Buren Boys, Old Guys Rule, Czexans, Cowboys, Wicked Stick, Mighty Beavers

Welcome to the new-ish leagues.

ToFer McFearson completes another shut-out in Euless

Weak Too

minor i

Minor Blue Devils (0-2-0) 0
Brewzers (1-1-0) 4

The Brew crew has a big first period commencing with a Raul Gilbreath goal (no doubt his first eight games for the night), and Steven Collyard and Jamil Jabri make a three goal game into the first intermission. Collyard hits again in the second and the minor Devils begin to grasp the depth of their inadequacy, a problem that couldn’t be solved even with a truck full of extenze. A blank third ends with a pathetic request for some cuddle time, which the Brewzers refuse. Credit Mike Moore with the anemic shut-out.

Grave Diggers (0-2-0) 1
Stickmen (2-0-0) 4

The Diggers start the game with a Tiffany Hauck goal and hold the lead for halfway through the second- hoping to gain their first victory of the season. They shoot themselves in the skate with a penalty resulting in a David Williams goal, Charlie Heine flips the lead with a shorty. Chase Hannah and Vance Bowman throw the dirt in on the Diggers in the third which means the promising second half of the previous season was likely meaningless.

Mutineers (1-1-0) 1
Snipers (2-0-0) 5

Matt Walker and the Snipers have put the disappointment of the post season out of their heads and reboot with another regular season win. The Mutes tempt fate with an early penalty and Edward Vogel makes them pay- James Horn follows with two more Sniper goals. Chris Davis makes it 4-0 and the ensuing Mickey Syrquin goal for the Mutes goes all but unnoticed. The Snipers cap the evening with Vogel’s second.

MAJOR I

Silverwings (1-0-0) -
Major Blue Devils (1-1-0) -

MHOA never received their memo, so the game went on without them, even the scorer joined in playing for the Wings. The unofficial score was MBD 471, Silverwings 2. I apologize, those two got past me whilst I was chatting on the bench with some of my teammates.

M.I.B. (1-1-0) 0
Shockers (2-0-0) 3

The Masturbation Institute of Bedford is unable to sustain the fervor of their opening night game, how could they against the greatness of the Shocker net minder: Topher McPherson. Justin Driscoll scores the first Shocker goal, which would prove to be the game winner. Chris Ensor and Stephen Dowling add to the lead, but the third was all Topher as M.I.B. releases the hounds and the tiny goalie dismantles even the best they can muster. This makes six straight periods without a goal against, what is this world coming to when no one can score on this pinhead?

Patriots (1-1-0) 2
Spiders (0-2-0) 0

The developing rivalry between these two teams is quite tasty, in the last two meetings both have a win and the perceived trespasses of past conflict remained imprinted upon the minds of the hungry competitors. The game tilts to the Pats on an early power play where Jeff Eagle emerges from the pile in the crease with arms raised. The Spiders send in a wave of shots but Andrew Patti vocalizes the teams frustration with a string of expletives as his best shot ends in my glove. The temperature finally drops with Eagle’s second goal halfway through the third and I escape the battle with a clean sheet- the only way to beat the persistent Spiders.

Soul Patch (1-1-0) 5
Puckers (1-1-0) 4

The Puckers come off of a decisive 1-0 shut-out win on opening night and score three goals off the whistle: Steven Niekamp, Rich Wojcio, and Charlie Heine. With the same cast that carried them last week what could go wrong? The Patches fire in a goal from Brian Lochkos, reload and score a Steve McNamara goal, hit again for a Bruce Davis tally, collect a Brad Aho goal, and end the five goal run with a shorty from Lochkos. The Puckers catch their breath and score an Aaron Hawley goal with nearly ten minutes left in the game but never find the equalizer. Did you fall asleep, Patrick?

Walla Walla Weasel Whackers vs. LSI North Pole 7:45pm – 9pm

Jeremiah Weed vs. Scorepedos South Pole 9:40pm – 11pm

Icemen vs. Canadiens North Pole 10:35pm – 11:50pm

Saturday

Hershey Bears vs. Team Wolves North Pole 8:45am – 10am

Scorepedos vs. Canadiens North Pole 10:15am – 11:35am

Jeremiah Weed vs. Walla Walla Weasel Whackers North Pole 11:45am – 1pm

BREAK

LSI vs. Team Wolves South Pole 3:40pm – 4:55pm

Hershey Bears vs. LSI North Pole 6:10pm – 7:25pm

Scorepedos vs. Icemen North Pole 8pm – 9:15pm

Sunday 2/14

Canadiens vs. Icemen North Pole 1:30pm – 2:45pm

Jeremiah Weed vs. LSI North Pole 3pm – 4:15pm

Team Wolves vs. Scorepedos South Pole 3pm – 4:15

Hershey Bears vs. Walla Walla Weasel Whackers North Pole 4:30pm – 5:45pm

Icemen vs. Team Wolves North Pole 6pm – 7:15pm

Jeremiah Weed vs. Hershey Bears South Pole 6:30pm – 7:45pm

Canadiens vs. Walla Walla Weasel Whackers North Pole 7:30pm – 8:45pm

Championship Games will be Monday Upper Level – 7:30pm

Lower Level – 9pm both on North Pole.

Unlike MLB, the NHL doesn’t play double headers. Somehow, we don’t expect these professional athletes to play two or three games in a single day. Or six to eight over a long weekend. But hockey tournaments and jamborees often involve travel, fast food between games and endless games of hockey knee hockey. Meanwhile the parents are busy, stressed out, tired and over-caffeinated. Under these circumstances, how can you be sure players are physically and mentally ready to play, from the first game to the last, while still having fun?

1. Gear Up: Wash & Toss
2. Rest the Mind: Tunes vs. TV
3. Fuel Up: Bread, No Bull
4. Hydrate: Stay Fluid
5. Have Fun: Watch & Play with Passion

If those 5 steps don’t mean much to you, then you need to Read More!

Grapevine ::

It now appears that the Grapevine Polar Ice House has half-a-dozen teams lined up for their Presidents Day Tournament; I await final numbers for this.  The cost for this tourney is so cheap, it’s gonna cost me more money to print it here than to play in it; around $10 per game!

There may still be room for your team (and free-agents) so contact  Kevin Kopsky @ 972.874.1930 ext. 224

Euless ::

Here is the tentative schedule for Euless this week.  Question Marks (??? or ????) means that they are looking for current Euless teams to volunteer to play-for-free!

Tuesday               2/9                         9:45pm  Capitals vs.  ???? (LSI)??

Wednesday        2/10                       9:45pm  Mayhem vs  ??? (Beer Kings C)??

Wednesday        2/10                       10:15pm  ???  vs  ???

Thursday             2/11                       9:30pm  ???  vs  ???

Thursday             2/11                       10:30pm  ???  vs  ???

Friday                    2/12                       9:00pm  Damifino vs Hitmen

Friday                    2/12                       9:00pm   Old Guys Rule vs  Mayhem

Friday                    2/12                       10:30pm  Billy Goats vs  MisFits

Friday                    2/12                       10:30pm  Ice Dragons vs  Blue Devils

Contact Tom Yockey @ (817) 267-4233

The Second Greatest Fortnight in All of Sport!
First Round:

minor i

Brewzers (5-5-1) 3
Mutineers (8-4-0) 6

In the opening minor i game the Brewzers turned the Mutineer power play on end starting the game with a shorthanded goal. The shots would be dead even all night and the Mutineer’s power play would be the force that gained the victory over the Brew crew. The talented shooters on the Mutineer lines would carry their favorite status onto week two.

Snipers (7-5-0) 0
Blue Devils (6-5-1) 1

The Cinderella Snipers, the darling of the regular season, see their hopes dashed in the first round against the stumbling Blue Devils. A power play goal in the first period is the only shot that defies the outstanding Matt Walker and the Snipers fail to get into the red light district even once, handing a shut-out to Blue Devil net minder Richard Hall. The Snipers were no doubt in poor spirits but the Devils did not look prepared for a meeting with the Mutes.

Silverwings (4-7-1) 7
Grave Diggers (5-6-0) 2

The Diggers and Silverwings have two of the best locker rooms in the league but apparently the best roster is the Wings. The game was never in doubt for the Silverthings as they build a five goal wall before the Diggers can even get on the board. Kellen Kaufman and Cody Patten both score a pair for the Wings, while The Digger stand-out must be Ryan Smith with four minutes in penalties.

Major I

Shockers (6-6-0) 1
Warriors Major (7-4-1) 4

In the Major first round the second place Warriors start the night off with a Shocking victory over the Shockers. As the slim favorite in the game it was surprising the total domination of the orange men over their rivals. They almost double shots on net, and time of possession, even tripling the shockers in penalty minutes. The only place the lost to the Shockers was on the roster.

Patriots (5-7-0) 3
Spiders (4-6-2) 5

In the final week of the regular season, the Pats had shut-out the Spiders but in the second season the hardy arachnids knuckle down for a brawl. It was back and forth throughout the game, most of the action in the neutral zone and on the boards. Two players in particular stand above the rest, Jeff Eagle for the Pats who scored the first goal of the game and brought the Pats within one at the end, and Freddy Gilbert who’s second goal on the power play iced the game for the Spiders.

Stickmen (4-6-1) -
Puckers (2-7-0) -

The Sticks and Puckers saw nothing in their futures for the play-offs and decided to stay home and plan their Pro-Bowl parties, Yipee!

Soul Patch (10-1-1) 5
LSI (5-3-0) 2

The eternal Bride’s maids, the Soul Patch enter the post season again as the favorite, against the sneaky Lone Star Imports. It seemed the question of which LSI team would show up was answered in the first period, the only goals are a pair for the Imports. The lead holds until the third when the Patches roar back with goals from power play squads and even the penalty killers, ending the LSI playoff hopes with an empty netter.

Championship Round:

minor i (the True Keg)-

The early game went unplayed, the Diggers and Brewzers refuse to play for last place but instead stay home and lick their wounds. The second game was surprisingly tasty.

Mutineers (8-4-0) 5
Blue Devils (6-5-1) 2

The Mutineers were expected to have a cake walk to the Keg but the Devils hearkened back to some of their halcyon ways. Mickey Syrquin put the Mutineers up early and the Devils were quick to tie it up with a Jake Reynolds goal. The Mutes fire back with two goals: Nathan Hamilton and Erick Ahlstedt. But the Blue Devils refuse to give-up keeping the Mutineers in sight with a Scott Speelman goal. The Blue Devils stood one point behind with thirteen minutes left and the fiery speech from Gloria Buell in the intermission the play on the ice escalated toward the box and the power play would end-up making the game for the Mutes, a power play goal first from Ahlstedt then later from Syrquin and the Devils dreams had ended with a shameful stain.

Snipers (7-5-0) 1
Silverwings (4-7-1) 5

The battle for third in the minors was a thinly veiled thrashing. In the first period the Wings held back trying to hold the Vegas line but in the second once the Snipers had scored their first goal a la Sean Beeman, the Wings released the hounds. The first Wing goal fell to Ian Hellbusch. The next to Jason Neal. Cody Patten claimed the third at even strength and the fourth on the power play, Neal ends the five goal run with his second. Spivey turns out a stellar game allowing one goal on seventeen shots.

MAJOR I-

Spiders (4-6-2) 1
Puckers (2-7-0) 0

The spectators were on the edge of their seats for the entire 39 minutes. The Spider neutral zone was almost impenetrable and Patrick Donaghue snuffed out every hopeful Spider shot. The scoreless tie loomed over the third period until the fifth minute when the Spiders thanked their lucky stars for the return of Bryan Couture to the roster- it couldn’t have happened at a more crucial moment. Donaghue is relegated once again to be the great net minder behind an impotent team, he stops 29 of 30. Third place is the Spiders.

LSI (5-3-0) 2
Shockers (6-6-0) 5

Scott McMacken and Chris Ensor put two goals in for the Shockers in the first period and the Imports never could keep that sort of frequency, they halve the lead with a James Macha goal when given a power play opportunity. At even strength the Shockers roll-out two more: Matt Russell and Ensor, then score their fifth goal from Josh Rooker. It would take another power play to get the Imports on the board again, Macha would be their only offensive threat as they drag their bodies over the finish line.

Soul Patch (10-1-1) 2
Warriors Major (7-4-1) 5

Warriors take the ice as the under dogs, but the weight was heavy on the Patches as they return to the Championship game once again with the ghost of the still living Jim Kelly haunting their locker room. Almost immediately the Warriors took their cue with a couple goals from Chris Dolbee sandwiching a Bobby Michaelides tally, a little goalie on goalie action. The Patches try to awaken their roster with strikes from Ron Demers and Bruce “Almighty” Davis, but no matter, the curse could not be lifted. Derek Tillemans runs the Patch power play into a shorty for the Warriors and Dolbee celebrates the impending victory with a hat trick. Congratulations Warriors, now listen here Lehr, stop sending your text messages to my home phone! I have a cell phone for that crap.

Patriots (5-7-0) 5
Stickmen (4-6-1) 4

The Patriots rise-up to the challenge of the consolation game. A. J. Baker, Jeff Eagle, and Butch Hutchinson combine to build a three goal mountain in the first period. The Sticks end the first with just one step up that hill, a goal from Mark Millard, but they start the second with a Rich Wojcio goal to get within one of the tie. The Pats respond with a goal from John Newell, keeping things cool. But, the Sticks turn the game with a power play goal from Charlie Heine and another from the captain at even strength, a tie game into the third. The pair of also-rans hit each other in the mouth for ten minutes, unable to gain an advantage until Brad Allen puts an end to the mediocrity in the favor of the Patriots.

Terri and Wil Ready To Play on Casino Night

The evening started out fun enough; when we pulled up to the Valet parking queue, a young gentleman with the name-tag announcing “Justin” opened my door and said…

Justin: “You wouldn’t happen to be Wil Dobson, would you?”

My initial thought was that perhaps the Dallas Stars Foundation had our license plate numbers and was getting our names from a spreadsheet as we were pulling up…

Wil: “Uhh.. Yeah, that’s me.”
Justin: “Wow, you are famous!”

At this point, I looked over the roof of the car to see if perhaps my wife was hearing all of this; she was being helped out of the car by another valet attendant however, so I couldn’t be sure.

Wil: “Haha! What?!”
Justin: “I play hockey out in Euless and have seen you around the rink, and I read your blog.”

Whew! That narrowed it down a bit. I may very well be recognized from my participation at the Dr. Pepper Starcenters or because of my shameless self-promotion on the WhereHockeyHappens.com blog, and might even be recognized from the American Airlines Center due to several annoying activities I engaged in when the Red Wings played against the Dallas Stars… Both options certainly beat out being recognized because of my picture on the post office walls.

So thanks Justin for making my evening before I even had the opportunity to walk the red carpet into the luxurious Park Place Porsche facilities!

The carpet was indeed red and we did walk down it passing the energetic and beautiful Dallas Stars Ice Girls who lined it, welcoming all who entered. It was so nice, in fact, that I got to do it all over again when I realized I forgot my camera in the back seat of the car.

Razor and Ralph say hello to Terri

The auction items and gaming tables were arraigned in a section of the building which appeared to be an enormous covered pavilion, and where one would not normally see walls, there were see-through walls of hanging plastics to keep whatever wind might be looking to come in and play craps with Marty Turco. Deeper into the building were places to eat, drink and be merry along with the professional athletes, coaches, managers and television personalities who were scattered throughout.

Terri and I know the identities of most of the personalities by sight, and one of the easiest to recognize is Daryl “Razor” Reaugh who has been doing the color commentary for the Dallas Stars since they were yet the Minnesota North Stars.

His shtick, aside from being a former NHL net-minder, aside from being something like 6′ 8″, and aside from looking like a caricature of himself, is his usage of the English language in entertaining ways during the games. Keeping with tradition, I attempted to match-up my own vernacular against his; <sarcasm> I am sure no one else does this </sarcasm>.

Razor approached the counter where Terri and I were gazing with indecision at the amazing spread of food (including prime rib, salmon and lobster/mashed potatoes) and said to us “What do we have for tonight’s dinner?”

“Pretty much anything,” I began, “you would care to masticate.”

Shelby hanging out in the Ice Girls lockeroom

Razor paused, probably scanning his database of snappy retorts, before replying.
“Judging by the size of that [prime-rib], we may very well be masticating for a good while!”

We grabbed some food and headed over to the eating tables where we ran into the Dallas Stars Ice Girls coordinator Wendy, who recognized Terri from 10 days prior when she accompanied our daughter Shelby for her “Ice Girl For A Game” night we won in a drawing for season seat holders. Wendy asked about Shelby and reminded us to bring her back.

The Ice Girls loved having Shelby with them during the game on the 8^th of January, saying she was far more outgoing than most of the other little girls who partake in the program. The Ice Girl dancers didn’t take to the dance floor that evening due to a live band being there, so they had asked that we bring Shelby on another night so she could hang out with them while they danced.

Wil and Terri playing blackjack with Alex Auld

Time to play! Last year we found that it was best to grab a game table as soon as you could, as they filled up with players and dealers rather abruptly. So we picked a table out near the edge of the pavilion. Our first dealer of the night was the red-hot Alex Auld, back-up goalie and the current top minutes getter in net. I tried to chat with Alex regarding his style of play and the controversial shoot-out win Dallas had over the Detroit Red Wings just a couple of days earlier.

Wil: “Alex, what would you do for a living if you weren’t playing hockey professionally”
Alex Auld: “Oh man, that’s the hardest question of all; I have no idea.”

Wil: “Do you, or have you, played any other positions than goalie?”
Alex Auld: “Not really, no. I’ve pretty much been a goalie since I was 8 years old”

Wil: “Being a butterfly-goalie, have you tried other systems, or do you primarily rely on what you know and your size to stop pucks?”
Alex Auld: “Well, we obviously need to continue improve ourselves, but I mainly rely on being the last to react, and just try to be in the right spot to stop the puck.”

Wil: “The Red Wings got robbed on Saturday”
Alex Auld: “Oh well!”

Fabien Brunnstrom deals me 21

Also gracing our table with their formidable dealing skills were forwards Tom Wandell, Fabien Brunnstrom and Loui Eriksson as well as defenseman Trevor Daley. Being a hockey forward myself (obviously not in the class of these professionals), I wanted to ask of them things which would help me decide my next hockey skate purchase.

Wil: “Loui, what brand of skate do you use?”
Loui Erikkson: “What do you mean?”
Wil: “You know… Your ice skates. Nike? Bauer? Warrior?…”
Loui: “Uh… Oh, Bauer! I am a Bauer man.”

Loui didn’t sound like he actually knew what he used.

Wil: “Tom, what brand of skate do you use?”
Tom Wandell: “I’m not sure. Nike I think.”
Wil: “What model?”
Tom Wandell: “I’m not sure.”

Tom didn’t sound like he actually knew either.

It is my assumption that they guys probably had their feet molded sometime in the past and which ever manufacturer happened to be in the endorsement queue custom builds their skates, so perhaps it changes? For me, the skate is the most important piece of equipment (just ahead of the athletic supporter and the often forgotten hockey stick) and I just thought it would still be for these guys as well.

As Terri and I walked around a bit, we had a chance to chat with almost everyone and to get our pictures taken with them. I asked Michigan native and American born NHL record holder Mike Modano to please clarify how he pronounces Modano.

Mike Modano: “It’s pronounced ‘Mo-DONN-Oh.”

Defenseman Stephan Robidas also has his name pronounced differently depending on the country of origin of the announcers, so I asked him as well.

Stephan Robidas: “It’s pronounced as if it were said in French: ‘RrRrR-ROBE-eh-Dah’… the ‘S’ is silent.”

Ray Sawada was recently pulled up from the AHL farm team to cover for an injured forward. He came up to us, and remembering meeting him the previous year when he was brought in when Toby Peterson broke his foot, we decided to tease him (just a bit).

Wil: “Ray!! Congratulations on being invited back to the Stars roster just-in-time for another Casino Night”
Ray Sawada: “Hahahaha! Yeah, thanks. They needed me to spice up this party; I must have impressed someone during last years event.”

Click on this image and check out Treavor Daley's SIX embroidered cuffs

The blackjack table was doubling my money every-other hand, and since the chips are only valued at the end of the night when you can turn them in for raffle-tickets, I asked Daley to sign a couple $1000 chips for my kids and we moved over to watch the live auctions and to take a look at some of the silent auction items for bid.

Steve Ott, a yearly favorite here, brought in several thousand dollars for the Foundation by auctioning off half-hour on-ice sessions with happy bid winners and other won bids on an evening of bowling for them, Stephan Robidas and 20 of their best friends. I wish I was rich!

It was a wonderful evening, and it ended when we were back in our car heading home. The Foundation left a gift in the car consisting of a set of chrome bottle stoppers in a glossy-finished box which we hope to use at some point. We certainly found it to be a worthwhile event and certainly worth the $500 we shelled out for the two tickets.

Maybe we will see you next year?