Putting on the Foil: It's Time for the Finals
Welcome back to Putting on the Foil, where I, Plain White TS, bring the news, info, and frankly my point of view from the world of hockey to DSB. My apologies to our loyal readers for not reporting in with news from the past 2 rounds...I believe I may still be in shock with this year’s outcome.
What true hockey fan would I be if I would not pay forth the praise to both my Washington Capitals and Bearcat’s Pittsburgh Penguins for their outstanding seasons. While the Caps were amongst the favorite for the Cup this year, they found themselves eliminated from play by the Montreal Canadiens. As a true Caps fan, I sat on the edge of my couch for every game hoping to see the “Washington Wrecking Ball” I saw and reported on throughout the regular season. However, it seemed as if the tank had gone empty and no one knew how to refill it. It was hard enough watching the Buffalo Sabres, here in my new home, lose a game seven to Boston after witnessing an awesome game six in person. How did this happen? Why is this happening? The Canadiens then moved on to “Bearcat’s Birds” and while I was upset to see my team lose, I couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for the returning champs. Many said, "no way, the Pens will kill them"; well, that was not the case either. Much as Washington fans found themselves dumbfounded, Pittsburgh fans were soon to join them. Could this really be? Could David really slay TWO Goliaths? The answer was yes. Which then somehow brought us to an unexpected, unusual semifinal series with Montreal and Philadelphia. Are you kidding me?! Where did these two teams come from? All I can say is when it's playoff time in hockey, heart becomes a big portion of play. And even though I don’t want to include Philly in what I’m about to say, both of these teams have huge heart. David would not defeat a third “so-called” Goliath, as Philly rolled right over the Canadiens to get themselves to the finals. I myself sit and find it gut-wrenching knowing that the Flyers are headed to compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup. I guess at this point though all of us here at DSB can do is let our inner love for the “Fly-Guys” shine, and hope that Chicago wins every game by at least ten goals. With that being said, let’s take a deeper look into both the NHL and AHL upcoming finals.
Philadelphia Flyers Chicago Blackhawks
Season Record 41-35-6 88 Pts. Season Record 52-22-8 112 Pts.
Finished 7th in Eastern Conference Finished 2nd in Western Conference
Just barely made it into the playoffs Clinched their Division
These are just a few simple facts brought to the table to see how these teams balance out against one another. They did not meet even for one game in regular season play this year, so we can’t even base it on past playing statistics this season. All I can really say is that the Flyers better do some praying, because I see the Blackhawks wasting no time in putting them in their place. The one unfortunate thing we will all have to bear if we partake in viewing any of these games will be the ruthless, no-good, “Philly Fans”. After all they have such a wonderful reputation with everything from throwing snow balls at Santa Claus to intentionally throwing up on someone. For this, I do pity Blackhawks fans because regardless of the outcome you will never hear the end of it. On that note I will bid the Stanley Cup a happy trip to Chicago and from all of us here at DSB...GO BLACKHAWKS!!
Now since my true hockey allegiance has always mainly been to the AHL, it is no surprise that I have spent the past 2 weeks listening online, following along on Twitter and Facebook, and waiting to know who our beloved Chocolate and White would soon face in the finals. Last night everything was going my way with the Western Conference down to game seven between the Texas Stars and the Hamilton Bulldogs. You see, Hamilton is just a short hop across the border for me here in my new home of Buffalo. Would this be true? Would I get to see my Bears one more time this year, an away game, in the finals and on foreign soil for that matter? Things were looking to go my way, Hamilton went into the third period leading 2-1, however that would all soon change. Texas came into the third period wanting it more than Hamilton, eventually scoring 3 unanswered goals, and my hopes and dreams of reporting to you from Canada for the finals we flattened. Oh well, I guess...we’ll all just have to make sure in and tune in to John Walton on the airwaves for the calls and action in the games, I know I will.
Now we will take a quick look into the teams’ stats. As many of you already know, Hershey had an extraordinary year; one that will go down with numerous records in the books and probably not to be reached for quite some time. They finished the year with the insane record of 60-17-0-3, topping out at 123 points for the season. They won their division by a landslide, and then took the conference title to just add one more trophy to the case. Now all eyes are set on #11...no team in the AHL has ever won the Calder Cup eleven times. For this, they will have to eliminate the Dallas Stars. Dallas finished the season 46-27-3-4, with 99 points on the books at the close of regulation. Most of you already know how Hershey got here, but let’s look and see what playoff road Dallas came down to get to the finals. They swept the Rockford Icehogs in the first round, 4 games to none. They went seven games with the Chicago Wolves in the Western Semifinals, and then another seven with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the finals. Looking at their impressive playoff run so far, Hershey might have a tough set of games ahead of them. All this fan can do now is wait, listen, and cheer on my team and hope that in a week or so I will be right here reporting back to you and bringing you the news that the Hershey Bears are the 2010 Calder Cup Champions. Go Bears!
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...
What true hockey fan would I be if I would not pay forth the praise to both my Washington Capitals and Bearcat’s Pittsburgh Penguins for their outstanding seasons. While the Caps were amongst the favorite for the Cup this year, they found themselves eliminated from play by the Montreal Canadiens. As a true Caps fan, I sat on the edge of my couch for every game hoping to see the “Washington Wrecking Ball” I saw and reported on throughout the regular season. However, it seemed as if the tank had gone empty and no one knew how to refill it. It was hard enough watching the Buffalo Sabres, here in my new home, lose a game seven to Boston after witnessing an awesome game six in person. How did this happen? Why is this happening? The Canadiens then moved on to “Bearcat’s Birds” and while I was upset to see my team lose, I couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for the returning champs. Many said, "no way, the Pens will kill them"; well, that was not the case either. Much as Washington fans found themselves dumbfounded, Pittsburgh fans were soon to join them. Could this really be? Could David really slay TWO Goliaths? The answer was yes. Which then somehow brought us to an unexpected, unusual semifinal series with Montreal and Philadelphia. Are you kidding me?! Where did these two teams come from? All I can say is when it's playoff time in hockey, heart becomes a big portion of play. And even though I don’t want to include Philly in what I’m about to say, both of these teams have huge heart. David would not defeat a third “so-called” Goliath, as Philly rolled right over the Canadiens to get themselves to the finals. I myself sit and find it gut-wrenching knowing that the Flyers are headed to compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup. I guess at this point though all of us here at DSB can do is let our inner love for the “Fly-Guys” shine, and hope that Chicago wins every game by at least ten goals. With that being said, let’s take a deeper look into both the NHL and AHL upcoming finals.
Philadelphia Flyers Chicago Blackhawks
Season Record 41-35-6 88 Pts. Season Record 52-22-8 112 Pts.
Finished 7th in Eastern Conference Finished 2nd in Western Conference
Just barely made it into the playoffs Clinched their Division
These are just a few simple facts brought to the table to see how these teams balance out against one another. They did not meet even for one game in regular season play this year, so we can’t even base it on past playing statistics this season. All I can really say is that the Flyers better do some praying, because I see the Blackhawks wasting no time in putting them in their place. The one unfortunate thing we will all have to bear if we partake in viewing any of these games will be the ruthless, no-good, “Philly Fans”. After all they have such a wonderful reputation with everything from throwing snow balls at Santa Claus to intentionally throwing up on someone. For this, I do pity Blackhawks fans because regardless of the outcome you will never hear the end of it. On that note I will bid the Stanley Cup a happy trip to Chicago and from all of us here at DSB...GO BLACKHAWKS!!
Now since my true hockey allegiance has always mainly been to the AHL, it is no surprise that I have spent the past 2 weeks listening online, following along on Twitter and Facebook, and waiting to know who our beloved Chocolate and White would soon face in the finals. Last night everything was going my way with the Western Conference down to game seven between the Texas Stars and the Hamilton Bulldogs. You see, Hamilton is just a short hop across the border for me here in my new home of Buffalo. Would this be true? Would I get to see my Bears one more time this year, an away game, in the finals and on foreign soil for that matter? Things were looking to go my way, Hamilton went into the third period leading 2-1, however that would all soon change. Texas came into the third period wanting it more than Hamilton, eventually scoring 3 unanswered goals, and my hopes and dreams of reporting to you from Canada for the finals we flattened. Oh well, I guess...we’ll all just have to make sure in and tune in to John Walton on the airwaves for the calls and action in the games, I know I will.
Now we will take a quick look into the teams’ stats. As many of you already know, Hershey had an extraordinary year; one that will go down with numerous records in the books and probably not to be reached for quite some time. They finished the year with the insane record of 60-17-0-3, topping out at 123 points for the season. They won their division by a landslide, and then took the conference title to just add one more trophy to the case. Now all eyes are set on #11...no team in the AHL has ever won the Calder Cup eleven times. For this, they will have to eliminate the Dallas Stars. Dallas finished the season 46-27-3-4, with 99 points on the books at the close of regulation. Most of you already know how Hershey got here, but let’s look and see what playoff road Dallas came down to get to the finals. They swept the Rockford Icehogs in the first round, 4 games to none. They went seven games with the Chicago Wolves in the Western Semifinals, and then another seven with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the finals. Looking at their impressive playoff run so far, Hershey might have a tough set of games ahead of them. All this fan can do now is wait, listen, and cheer on my team and hope that in a week or so I will be right here reporting back to you and bringing you the news that the Hershey Bears are the 2010 Calder Cup Champions. Go Bears!
Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...
Posted by Plain White TS at 5/28/2010 9:00 AM 
Categories: Putting on the Foil
Tags: Chicago Blackhawks Calder Cup Hershey Bears Philadelphia Flyers Texas Stars
Categories: Putting on the Foil
Tags: Chicago Blackhawks Calder Cup Hershey Bears Philadelphia Flyers Texas Stars
FYI - you can watch (for a fee) on AHL live by going to theahl.com
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I did that twice last season to try it out and the feed was absolutely horrible. Don't know if it's any better this year. I'll stick to calls coming from JW. But thanks for adding that anyways DannBuck.
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