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Post by Vera on Nov 20, 2003 21:59:39 GMT -5
It's the same when I sat at the cheapest sections in Saddledome for Flames games. You can't even see the players lol.
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Post by Lee on Nov 21, 2003 17:40:16 GMT -5
Gretzky and Messier skate together in alumni practice for outdoor game NEIL STEVENS Canadian Press
Friday, November 21, 2003
EDMONTON (CP) - If there is a shootout, Wayne Gretzky is going to get the puck this time.
Five years ago, the NHL's all-time leading scorer wasn't among the five players picked by Canada's team in that memorable Olympic shootout with the Czech Republic. On Saturday, if there is a tie at the end of two 15-minute periods in the alumni game that's part of the outdoor Heritage Classic, a shootout will decide a winner, and Gretzky intends to take part this time.
"I'm picking myself, Slats," a smiling Gretzky told Glen Sather, the New York Rangers GM-coach who will coach the Oilers alumni team against a selection of Montreal Canadiens greats, during a post-practice news conference Friday.
Rangers centre Mark Messier, for whom an exception was made so he could skate with his former Oilers teammates, said the 45-minute session in Commonwealth Stadium was a joyful experience despite the minus-17 temperature.
"When we got skating, we warmed up," said Messier. "I put a towel around my neck and it was OK.
"But I'm glad I'm playing in this game and not the other game."
The other game is the first regular-season outdoors NHL contest, between Montreal and Edmonton (7 p.m. EST), which follows the alumni tilt.
While the forecast for Saturday pegs the high at minus-17, Messier doesn't think the weather will be a problem.
He also gave the playing surface a thumbs-up.
"The ice was hard, it was great, and I think it will be better (Saturday) after a little bit of use (Friday)," said Messier.
Kevin Lowe, GM of the present-day Oilers and another alumni game participant, said he's talked to Canadiens GM Bob Gainey about what to do in the case of a wind during the NHL game.
"If there is a wind, we've discussed switching ends halfway through the third period to make it fair for both teams," said Lowe.
He doesn't expect spectators to gripe about the cold.
"Western Canadians are used to these conditions," said Lowe. "They'll come in their Ski-Doo suits and heavily insulated boots.
"Hopefully there'll be no health issues."
The alumni players say they are thrilled to be included in the historic day for hockey.
"We all feel privileged to be here," said Gretzky. "It's a phenomenal situation - one we'll remember for a long, long time.
"This organization, this city, steps forward with a lot of firsts and this is no exception."
There has been more hype during the week about the old-timers' match than the NHL game, and Gretzky provided a reason why.
"Edmonton and Montreal both won a lot and when you become a champion people talk about you for a long time," he said. "That's why there's so much hype around our game."
Sure, said Lowe, but the 56,000 or more who crowd into the stadium will clue into which game offers the best hockey.
"It'll be exciting for the fans to see all the old greats play but after they see the pace of that game I think they're going to appreciate the two-point game more," he said.
Gretzky doesn't skate in old-timers games and he says this is a one-time shot.
"Our legs aren't quite the same," he said after coming off the ice. "But it's truly enjoyable to be back on the ice.
"It's a pretty special feeling. We jumped right into drills we did years ago. Nobody missed a beat - not as fast, but the thought process was still there."
Said Messier: "It's just amazing to come back and for it to be that easy for everybody - to fit in, to say hello, to get out there and practice - it was like we just left off. All the pieces fit comfortably together."
Gretzky was asked what made playing for championship Oilers teams so special to himself and others.
"If we had the answer to that, we'd bottle it up," he said, glancing again with a grin towards Sather. "Eh, Slats?"
Sather said the practice "was kind of a romantic moment for me" watching Gretzky, Messier, Lowe, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey and the others glide across the ice. Gretzky practically had to be dragged to the dressing room when the practice ended.
"Wayne didn't want to get off the ice," said Sather.
He said he didn't hesitate granting Messier's request to play in the alumni game.
"Mark wanted to come here to be with his friends and share in giving something back to hockey and the fans who love the sport," said Sather.
He was hoping Gretzky would get plenty of rest.
"I told Wayne not to stay out late because we might have to double- or triple-shift him," Sather kidded.
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Post by Lee on Nov 21, 2003 17:40:45 GMT -5
Unfortunately, as you can see in the article, the weather is colder than expected.
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Post by Lee on Nov 21, 2003 17:45:09 GMT -5
The good news is Flames finally back to .500 hockey but is still in the basement and at the expense of Canadiens.
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Post by Lee on Nov 21, 2003 17:53:21 GMT -5
Diss, (if you ever show up) I find a Brazil link in NHL. More closely in Calgary Flames. Flames blue-liner Robyn Regehr was born in Brazil although he grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. And I really like this guy in Calgary. btw, now I know I was away from Canada for too long when I can't spell Saskatchewan anymore.
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Post by Vera on Nov 21, 2003 19:37:43 GMT -5
-17 celcius , I'm not sure if i'll be able to seat outdoor for like hours without being frozen, no matter how heavy my ski-Doo is. Now, I suppose they would allow the fans to be standing and jumping around so they could at least move their joints at the end of the day. Better be worth it. But I'm sure, fans will get the kick out of it from the Heritage game, and when the real game is on, Oilers and the Habs should be a good bet. Last nite, 9 games were on, all home team won. We were the last game to be finished and the only tie game in regulation, fortunately, we didn't spoil the trend by just winning in OT ;D . Leafs and Habs are struggling a bit these days. I don't mind a bit about the Leafs struggle, as we'll have a home & home game with Toronto in the next 3 days.
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Post by Vera on Nov 21, 2003 19:39:54 GMT -5
Diss, (if you ever show up) I find a Brazil link in NHL. More closely in Calgary Flames. Flames blue-liner Robyn Regehr was born in Brazil although he grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. And I really like this guy in Calgary. btw, now I know I was away from Canada for too long when I can't spell Saskatchewan anymore. Don't feel bad, don't think I've ever learn to spell that. From Brazil to Saskatchewan, what a contrast of weather.
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Post by Lee on Nov 22, 2003 22:32:21 GMT -5
The Crazy Canucksans at outdoor hockey game in Edmonton happy despite bitter cold MARY JO LAFOREST Canadian Press Saturday, November 22, 2003 More than 57,000 fans watch the first NHL game played outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium, Saturday in Edmonton. (CP/Jeff McIntosh) CREDIT: (CP/Jeff McIntosh) EDMONTON (CP) - Parkas, gloves, mitts, sleeping bags, face-warmers - the nearly 60,000 people who flocked to Commonwealth Stadium Saturday did whatever it took to keep warm at the first NHL outdoor hockey game. "It's amazing, it's a chance of a lifetime," said fan Janelle Conn of Beaumont, Alta. "I don't care if I freeze my butt off, it's worth every minute of it." Conn, who was wrapped in a sleeping bag, along with friend Debi Lake, said they were surprisingly warm. The temperature when the alumni game started was -16 C. "I've got my battery operated socks with a D battery for each sock. I'm wearing leotards that were heated before I put them on and between the leotards and long johns I've put hot shots on my butt cheeks," Conn said. "And then I'm wearing my jeans over top of that and I've got three layers on top -my ski jacket, my mittens, my hot shots, my sleeping bag." Lake said she couldn't believe how warm she was "because I'm the type that's freezing cold in my house. "I'm warm, I feel great right now," said Lake. Jason St. Louis, 24, from Devon, Alta., had blue paint all over his face to represent his love of the Edmonton Oilers. He and friend Cory Frederick were pumped to be at the game. "We are the luckiest people on earth right now. This is awesome. "I don't care what falls off, as long as I got to see this." St. Louis and Frederick also had a message written on their stomachs they planned to show to the crowd in the second period of the NHL game between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. "I got the Go and he's got the Oilers (written on their stomachs)," St. Louis said. Jim Stewart of Ottawa came to Edmonton to visit friends and timed his holidays to see the game. "It's great, nobody's grumpy, everybody's really happy to be here, everybody's well behaved, everybody's helping everybody walking up and down the stairs." Stewart said he had three pairs of pants on and two fleeces, but he had no gloves or mitts, just stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. But he didn't complain. "It's really something special," he said, gazing out at the rink in the middle of the stadium. Edmonton Const. Dave Schening has worked a lot of football games at Commonwealth Stadium. "I'm seeing a great attitude," he said. "It's family-oriented, everybody seems to be having fun, not that there's not fun at a football game. It's a whole different attitude, the atmosphere, it just feels different." Faces were mostly obscured by hats, tuques, fur ones with flaps, face warmers and there was the fog of breath everywhere. "This is great!" Dan Dwier yelled. The rail worker drove nine hours from Prince George, B.C., Friday and hoped he could snag a ticket from a scalper. He did, and it was a great seat - lower bowl, a disabled spot. "I can't sit, I've got a bad back, so I have to stand," Dwier said, smiling. He paid $100 for the ticket and thought it was a deal. "I would've paid five times that." The cold wasn't even a factor for Dwier, who said he's used to working outside. The key to keeping warm, Dwier said, are Gore-Tex socks. Up at the farthest most corner of the stadium, in Row 80, just a few rows from the top, were Neil and Ola Gow from Edmonton. The so-called nosebleed seats had a great view, with the sun facing them, so the Gows figured they'd have the sun for a while. "We'll stick around for the NHL game, but we're here for the alumni game," said Ola, clad in tuque and parka. Rob Biddlecombe, from Vancouver, and friend Jack Jensen, of Edmonton, were grabbing a hot dog and a hot chocolate. The hot dog was steaming, but it didn't stay warm for more than five minutes. Biddlecombe called himself a hockey fanatic. "I've been to the Boston Garden, Montreal Forum and the Spectrum in Philadelphia and this one is unreal," Biddlecombe said. "It's fascinating. I watched Boston Garden, old arenas and this is the best. It's outdoors, there's 60,000 people. It's nice to see hockey where it came from, outdoors. I've never experienced anything like this before. "We're a little cold. Don't care. The adrenaline is just going on, this is better than ski-dooing or ice fishing." Better than sex? He laughed, then said, "Yes, yes it is." Jensen, who still had the tag on his new boots - he went shopping Saturday morning for his cold weather gear of ski jacket, boots and ski pants - said he was impressed. "It's great, it's incredible. I'm not a real hockey fan but I had to be here." At the souvenir stand, Tim Rochemont, formerly of Montreal, wanted a ball cap badly. "I like to play golf and I go back to Montreal in the summer and it would be a good conversation piece," he said. But he had to settle for a Heritage Classic sweatshirt because both ball caps and tuques were sold out within three hours. Peter MacDonald of Calgary bought seven sweatshirts at $60 a pop. "It's only money," he said.
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Post by Lee on Nov 22, 2003 22:46:07 GMT -5
Flames make move for Calgary classic Scott Cruickshank Calgary Herald
Saturday, November 22, 2003 The president of the Calgary Flames plans to meet with McMahon Stadium representatives next week, the preliminary step in getting the city its own outdoor hockey game.
"I intend to speak with them," said Ken King, who's keeping a close eye on today's historic fresh-air event -- a National Hockey League contest between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens that will draw 56,000 to the provincial capital's Commonwealth Stadium.
"We'll be on the phone to our friends over at McMahon to see how their appetite is."
In the meantime, King can't decide which makes him more envious.
Is it the continent-wide publicity that the Oilers are generating? Or is it the profit, thought to be in the neighbourhood of $3 million, that the Flames' northern nemesis will pocket?
"I credit them for the creativity. I wish we had thought of it first," said King, chuckling.
"What they have done is managed to put two or three (game revenues) into one."
But can Calgary pull it off, too? King hedged on offering early odds.
"I don't think it's quantifiable. But I will say that it's very significantly on the radar."
When the scheme was hatched last year, it sounded like the main event would feature the Battle of Alberta. Soon, though, the Flames were out, with the honour instead going to the Canadiens.
"I must tell you, we were very disappointed not to be in this game," said King.
"Someone asked me if I was a little jealous. I said, 'No, I'm way past that.' I'm damned envious. But you know what? Good on them."
Now King is warming to the notion of including another Canadian club left out in the cold, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in the local production.
"I don't think you can repeat history," said King. "But I think what you can do is say, 'Hey, we had 17,509 for Toronto. If we had a fun and interesting venue, could we have had 25,000 or 35,000?' That's the question I think you need to ask. If you can answer that, either through McMahon or something else, then I think you have to look at it. The Maple Leafs were just in town (Tuesday) and you saw the blue shirts. They are a draw."
The Flames have yet to take the league's pulse on the idea of allowing more hockey al fresco.
"But I was with NHL people (Friday) and we were talking about it," said King. "If you could create more Saturdays (typically a good draw for the Flames), you'd be happy, right? Or, if you could expand your building when you needed it expanded, you would. If you look at it from that perspective, sure, why wouldn't (the NHL want another outdoor game)? But do they want to expose themselves again to the risk . . . of putting yourself in the elements?
"I don't think many NHL games have been called off on account of weather. So how often do you want to put yourself in that position? But that's speculative on my part. They haven't said that."
King himself won't attend the game in Edmonton; he'd prefer to catch his Flames in action tonight against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. But he has dispatched a note-taking posse to Commonwealth Stadium.
"They'll be monitoring the whole thing -- and enjoying it."
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Post by Dissident on Nov 23, 2003 22:29:06 GMT -5
I wish I could have seen the Great One, Moose, Lemieux and all the others in that outdoor festival. Im sucking really hard in that game, btw. It seems Im like that king of the child stories (Midas or something) on the reverse: everything I touch turns into shit. Oh well, at least Savard got activated from the IR and I had signed him some days ago. Maybe he can save my sorry self. Im happy with my Avs. They improved a lot, and Tanguay is finally playing what he always could. Wonderful!
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Post by Vera on Nov 24, 2003 22:22:39 GMT -5
I had the Heritage Classic on tape, but still didn't have a chance to watch it, was too busy over the weekend. I did watch the Habs and Oils, it's a great game. And those ppl there don't looked too cold, they were smart enough to bring their sleeping bag to combat the -20 weather . Ahhhh, Diss. So you and I both aren't doing so well, eh? I'm staying at the basement closely to where you are also. My goalies' to blame, if you check the standing, you'll see my goalies has a combined embarrassing 5 wins , while most of you guys are in double digits.
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Post by Vera on Nov 28, 2003 2:23:23 GMT -5
Elmo's out for 2-3 months, he just had a hip surgery . He's been in and out of the line-up due to all kind of back/groin/hip problems. Maybe he just really need a big fix like this. Get well soon, Alex . And I have to dump him off my team, so I went shopping for new players again. I'm begining to like this pool that you can change players all the time, it's like going shopping and get new stuffs without having to play ;D.
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Post by Lee on Nov 28, 2003 3:35:59 GMT -5
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Post by Vera on Dec 1, 2003 17:36:49 GMT -5
After 25 games into the season, my captain Nassy is back to his rightful place on the top of the scoring chart ;D. I know everyone think Forsberg is the most skillful of them all, but how bout Nassy who has been consistently occupying the top 5 spot in scoring including that year he broke his leg.
Anywayz, Lee, that game on sat between the Flames and the Nucks was wildly exciting, so much fun. Flames dominated the first 10 mins but it was the Nucks that got 2 goals leads into the second, scored another one 20 seconds after Flames scored their first goal to keep the lead in 2 goals, only to see that Flames scored 3 times consecutively to take the lead before the Nucks caught up at the 3rd period. The OT was even wilder, the Nucks got a too-many-men and had to kill a 4-3 PK for the entire 2 mins, just when the PK is over, they got another PK for high-stick, then Flames took a high-stick and ended up a 3 on 3 at the end, so much open ice. Don't think I've seen a 3 on 3 before, it's just really crazy.
Anywayz, it's a great game. And Iggy didn't get a point again. Despite that, Flames is still 1 game above 500 and so everyone seems quite optimistic about them now that they don't even need their only-Star player to shine to get positive.
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Post by Lee on Dec 1, 2003 17:45:36 GMT -5
WOW What a game!!! I was so busy during the whole Thanksgiving weekend that I didn't catch up with hockey or whatever!
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Post by Vera on Dec 9, 2003 1:01:04 GMT -5
My Canucks in serious slump . They were leading the league like a week or 2 ago, now they fell to 6th. We were the second worse Canadian teams for the last 10 games, granted though, the Leafs, Flames, Sens and Habs were just on fire (well, maybe the Habs aren't that fire up but the rest surely are). After going 10 home games without a loss, we have a new streak, 3 straight home game without a win (2 loss and a T). Oh well, I hope they get over it soon. We'll face the "punching bag" Pens tomorrow, if we can't get a win out of them, then the city will be on a panic mode for sure.
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Post by Lee on Dec 9, 2003 12:02:30 GMT -5
Vera! Hopefully, Canucks will be over the slump soon! Every clubs go through something like this during the season.
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Post by Vera on Dec 9, 2003 13:34:17 GMT -5
Thx Lee. You are right about that. Last year, our slump came at the last month of the season which was dreadful. We're leading all the way until the last game which caused us a division title, and 2 individual titles. So I guess it's better that the slump comes early, assuming that it will past. It'll be a wake up call, I hope. BTW, the Leafs played much better since Nieuwy came back from his injury. Seems like that back problem is completely recovered .
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Post by Vera on Dec 10, 2003 2:05:36 GMT -5
Phew, we won the game, the hard way though, in OT. Gosh, we were trailing most of the time, it wasn't that Pens was playing particularly well, we were just bad in our defense. They had only 17 shots on goals but scored 3 times, including 2 shots on 2 PP that both went in. But at least it's a W in the end. I hope I didn't bore you with the Canucks story but it's a really cute one this time. Talk about 15 mins of fame, our backup goalie today was an amateur. Cloutier was hurt during practice and both the farm teams we had were traveling in the East and can't get here. So they have to fish someone to sit in as backup. They ended up with the goalie of UBC, who was studying for an exam when he got a call at 3 this afternoon. He thought someone's pulling his legs by asking him to be the Canucks backup. But 4 hours later, he's sitting behind the bench. And what makes it even more fun is that in the last min of the first period, our goalie Hedberg was hit very hard and laid on the ice for several minutes. It's really funny when the camera checking on this backup guy to see if he freaked out at the bench if he got call on to actually play. Luckily for him, he looked calm and cool, and Hedberg finally got up and kept playing. Anyway, this guy got an interview after the game with 30 mics pointing at him, this is how it feels to be a NHLer for a day. Hope he still remembers what he had studied as his exam is 8am tomorrow. BTW, he played like 7 games this season for the university and registered no wins. So the story of the day is this backup goalie, and of course, Nazzy scored all 4 goals after sitting out last game because of a groin injury.
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Post by Lee on Dec 10, 2003 15:20:05 GMT -5
:lmao: of the Canucks backup goalie!!!! At least the Canucks saved the day for Canadian teams. All the other teams lost last night including both my babies; Flames and Leafs
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Post by Dissident on Dec 12, 2003 19:23:17 GMT -5
It's been a while since I came here! Anyway, my Avs bounced back, thankfully. Blake has been playing awesome, Selanne is wonderful too, but our powerplays are a lot worse since Forsberg got hurt. I hope he comes back already! He is missed. I was really lucky to grab Savard in that hockey pool (If you let me borrow your word, Vera ). The man is playing out of this world!
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Post by Lee on Dec 15, 2003 22:16:41 GMT -5
Seems Canucks are on the re-bound now with 2 wins (OT) and 2 ties in last 4 home games. Wow, what a hero, Naslund, scoring both winning goals in OT! Hope this will cheer you up Vera! Vera, do you know that last time Flames has a win over Canucks at home was sometime back in 2000?
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Post by Lee on Dec 15, 2003 22:19:32 GMT -5
Iggy seems to finally find his scoring touch! Keep my fingers crossed that the magic touch will stay. Anyway, Iggy usually played better starting December. Last time he had a good start at the beginning of the season, he scored 50+ goals.
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Post by Vera on Dec 16, 2003 1:33:14 GMT -5
Anyway, my Avs bounced back, thankfully. Too good for my liking, if you know what I mean . I wish you got to watch that Canucks & Avs game last thursday. Avs' like our biggest rival and it was supposed to be a great game as the 2 division top teams meet. And a great game it was, it's full action 65 mins including OT. Awesome hockey. I'm thinking that it should be a great preview of how these 2 teams would play each other in playoff. Believe me, every game we play against the Avs, it's like a playoff game, at least we treat it like one.
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Post by Vera on Dec 16, 2003 1:53:41 GMT -5
Seems Canucks are on the re-bound now with 2 wins (OT) and 2 ties in last 4 home games. Wow, what a hero, Naslund, scoring both winning goals in OT! Hope this will cheer you up Vera! Vera, do you know that last time Flames has a win over Canucks at home was sometime back in 2000? Well, we fans in Vancouver ain't very happy with how the Canucks' been doing. 1 regulation win in the last 15 games . 10 of the last 14 games we gone to OT. OT's been very very exciting, but to have it almost every game no matter who we play, frankly, I'm getting tired of watching OT and just wish they can win a damn game within that 60 mins timeframe. However, they do deserve a lot of credit, because they've been great in OT. And in most of the last 15 games they had to fight back from behind and managed to win some without playing their best. So it's encouraging to see them finding a way to win. Dont worry about the bit of losing to us at home, we lost to the Flames at our home all the time. Last season when Flames weren't so good at all, they won the division series against us. We have trouble playing against the Flames. Since the Flames is doing so well now, I think the pressure is off Iggy a bit. He's been doing quite well in the past 2 weeks. I hope he gets back on track soon. Nazzy's been awesome. He's so good at stepping up at the right time. Yesterday's OT goal, it's like last min of OT and I can tell he's determined to win the game for us so he flied past the defenseman and make his trademark deke to fool the goalie and put it upshelf. A very beautiful OT goal indeed.
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Post by Vera on Dec 16, 2003 22:00:49 GMT -5
Another game, another OT for us. Fortunately, also another OT win ;D. Toronto is now the top team in the league . Not long ago, they were struggling and the media was beating up their head coach Quinn, what a difference a month made. And Calgary is up to 5th in the Western Conference , not too far from us.
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Post by Dissident on Dec 18, 2003 7:19:30 GMT -5
Both our teams lost last night. The Stars ressurged over who but the Nucks. I didn't believe it when I saw. And we managed to lose to those dreadful Wild. UGH! Neither Naslund (scored goal 17 last night) nor Sakic (two goals) could avoid the losses. The Avs were on an 8 game unbeaten streak. Vera, can any of us hate the Wild any more?
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Post by Lee on Dec 18, 2003 10:30:17 GMT -5
Vera, can any of us hate the Wild any more? Diss, you can add me to the list of people don't like Wild, that team is a pain in the neck for Flames since the beginning
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Post by Lee on Dec 18, 2003 10:36:15 GMT -5
Another game, another OT for us. Fortunately, also another OT win ;D. Toronto is now the top team in the league . Not long ago, they were struggling and the media was beating up their head coach Quinn, what a difference a month made. And Calgary is up to 5th in the Western Conference , not too far from us. The Roberts/Sundin/Reneberg line is unstoppable recently. And their last 10 games are 9-0-0-1 That's 19 points there!!!
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Post by Dissident on Dec 18, 2003 15:20:12 GMT -5
The Roberts/Sundin/Reneberg line is unstoppable recently. And their last 10 games are 9-0-0-1 That's 19 points there!!! Take the three of them and see their last matches points: (last 5 games of each) Renberg - 2 Goals, 4 Assists, 3 PPP, +4 Sundin - 3 Goals, 4 Assists, 2 PPP, 13 SOG Roberts - 3 Goals, 5 Assists, 3 PPP, 3 GWG, +5 In 5 matches those three guys had 21 points, 8 on Power Play! Renberg is on my team, btw. I got him just some minutes before I came here and saw this post.
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