Simply Drew

HA...

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Dear Mr. Hossa,

I seem to remember hearing something about you signing a free agent deal with Detroit because they had "the best chance at winning the Stanley Cup" even though you made it to the Finals the year before with the Penguins. However, when I watched the Finals, I don't recall seeing you on the ice. Were you out there at all? Please help me out here.

And enjoy the Stanley Cup you earned from your contract with Detroit.

Aww, too soon?

New home for Wildcats' coverage!

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:57:00 +0000

It seems the majority of my readers here are interested in my coverage of the Wichita Falls Wildcats. I originally started this blog as part of the short-lived Sports Fans Online Network, a new-media conglomerate with several sports bloggers and podcasters from around the country coming together with some cross-blog and cross-cast cooperative work that helped to promote each others' sites. Much of my writing originally was on whatever I felt like talking about: the Browns, the Indians, hockey fights, the NHL in general, my hatred of the Detroit Red Wings, trades and free agents, the Wildcats, even my exploits at the poker and blackjack tables.

I am keeping Simply Drew open as a general forum for my thoughts on the world of sports at-large. I will continue to comment on everything sports-related that's on my mind. Having a lot of readers who only care about the Wildcats, I am going to help you out.

Rather than having to wade through my rheuminations on the Brett Favre saga, the lack of success in Cleveland sports, or anything else, all future Wildcats' information will be in a new blog as of today.

So, please change your bookmarks accordingly. The new blog is called Simply Wildcats. Click the bold link to be taken there now!

Wildcats vs. Bandits live blog, October 5

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:14:00 +0000

Hello again everyone, the B2 Network is still not not functional because of a faulty cord, so I'll be live blogging this one again. So, if you're going to be reading along, welcome once again. Keep hitting your refresh button and new updates will appear just below this intro. So if you are reading this after the fact, read from the bottom of this blog upward.

Questions, comments, feel free to IM me. I'm on AIM, screen name is WildcatsHockey73.

4:25 pm - Well, that one was... well, it was what it was. Final score 7-4. Wildcats play again October 24 with the home opener vs. Springfield.

4:24 pm - Breakaway chance for Hill late, but Kincaid stacks the pads, and the Cats can't bury the loose puck. Tempers flare again, off go Bourgonje and Hill for charging and high sticking, respectively.

4:22 pm - Tempers flare late, shoving match in front of the STL net, matching minors to Quick and Olszewski for roughing.

4:17 pm - And again... Loose puck in front off a rebound, and Jordan Bourgonje roofs it. Power play goal, it's 7-4. Assists to Klein and Bertsch.

4:16 pm - Tempers flare, delayed penalty comes, whistle blows, and everyone piles into the corner. Heinz gets the original 2 for hooking, plus matching minors to Cahill for checking from behind and Reinthaler for roughing.

4:11 pm - Back to 5-on-5. Somehow the scoring is Hill from Cahill and McKenzie, though it was definitely Heinz that touched it last before Hill.

4:10 pm - Matching minors, Hoffman elbowing, McNeil charging.

4:08 pm - FINALLY! Heinz doesn't get much on his shot but it comes right to Hill and he finds the back of the net, cutting the deficit to 2, 6-4. 1:30 remaining on the Cats PP.

4:07 pm - Bandits penalty on Patrick Sheehan, Cats up 5 on 3 for 48 seconds.

4:05 pm - Huge chance at the other end, puck in front, McKenzie gets it and fires off a quick one... and somehow Kincaid sprawls out and gets it. Coffey to the box for a slash, Cats on the PP.

4:04 pm - Son of a... Odd-man rush, Jarboe stopped the first shot, but there's only so much you can do. Bandits put in the rebound and it's 6-3. Greco from Kirchhevel and Hamburg.

4:01 pm - Back to 5-on-5, just over 11 minutes to go,

3:58 pm - Wildcats back on the PK, Opie to the box for slashing. Not what we need right now...

3:57 pm - Nice move that sent Kincaid sprawling, but a good poke check by as he was going down keeps it a 5-3 game.

3:56 pm - PENALTY SHOT WILDCATS! Shaun Jameson...

3:54 pm - Five minutes into the third and the Bandits have the only two shots on goal of the period. And they scored on the first of them.

3:51 pm - Kirchhevel from Hamburg and Reinthaler is the official scoring.

3:50 pm - Defense caught napping again, and it's 5-3. Man. Someone want to wake up out there? Hello?

3:47 pm - McNeil has another 43 seconds to serve on his misconduct. Also, no sign of Broderick Browne back on the bench after a high stick in the first period. Hartung and Coffey are serving the delay of game minors, not Kenline and Jonzzon as the boxscore says.

3:38 pm - Looks like Jonzzon and Kenline will each get 2 for delay of game from everything at the end of the period, or so says Pointstreak.

3:32 pm - Frustrations seem to be building for both teams, Bandits for a poor first period, Wildcats for a poor second. Should make for a good third, hopefully with the Wildcats getting back what they've given up.

3:31 pm - Jarboe leaves out a huge rebound and Olszewski fires it past him. 4-3 now. This one is shaping up like last night, with the wheels falling off in the second. As the final buzzer sounds, Hartung and Coffey get in a shoving match as everyone is leaving the benches for the locker rooms (locker room hallway is on the opposite side of the ice from the benches here, so both teams have to cross the ice to head off between periods). A few extra players who had been on the benches come over but the linesmen restore order quickly as both teams head off. We'll see if any extra penalties come up, though I doubt they will.

3:26 pm - Bandits tie it up. Even strength goal from Rashid, assists to Jonzzen and Olszewski. It's 3-3 now.

3:21 pm - Official call on McNeil was an abuse of officials misconduct with the high sticking call.

3:20 pm - Bandits outshooting the Cats in the 2nd, 12-6 so far.

3:18 pm - Dome shot! Hartung puts one off Kincaid's helmet and up and into the netting.

3:17 pm - Big save by Jarboe with a Bandit streaking in backdoor. Goal was Bourbonais from Allen on the PP.

3:16 pm - Cahill out of the box and back to the bench. So it seems McNeil may have gotten a 10 after the high stick. We'll try to get more details on this, but either way it's 5-on-5 and McNeil is the lone man in the box.

3:15 pm - Cahill to the box now off the bench, but still 5 on 4. Likely a misconduct of some form.

3:13 pm - Bandits score on the first penalty, so they stay up a man for another 56 seconds. 3-2 now, scoring coming in a moment, with 9:19 remaining in the period.

3:11 pm - Reinthaler just took a stick to the face from McNeil. Only two minutes, but he was down for a bit. Bandits have the two man advantage.

3:10 pm - Holy deflection, Batman! Great save by Jarboe in traffic, keeps it 3-1.

3:09 pm - PK time again, Heinz off for interference.

3:08 pm - Shoving after the play, Brown and Bertsch come together. Brown loses the gloves and helmet... Bertsch doesn't. He had the gloves off and seemed to be trying to get his helmet off when the linesmen stepped in and said no way. Both to the box, delay of game. Let 'em go ref!

3:03 pm - Back to 5-on-5, good kill for the Bandits.

3:01 pm - STL returns a man.

3:00 pm - Hill dumped to the ice in front, holding is the call on Patrick Sheehan. 5 on 3 for 1:22!

2:59 pm - STL penalty to Gorczyca for checking from behind. 2 second of PP time for the Cats, then 31 seconds of 4 on 4, then just under 1:30 of PP time again.

2:57 pm - Great chance for the Cats with Delaurell and McKenzie but a huge save post to post by Kincaid.

2:56 pm - Four seconds in, McNeil goes to the box for hooking. We skate 4 on 4.

2:53 pm - Officials are on the ice, followed by the Wildcats and now the Bandits! Let's get this second period going!

2:40 pm - Greco tripping, Kenline and Coffey each 4 for roughing. Cats on the PP. Bandits goal was Gorczyca from the Sheehans. End of the first, score is 3-1 Wildcats! WF outshooting STL 16-8 after 1.

2:36 pm - Here we go, Quick vs. Allen off the draw, Quick dominates with the rights, even gets Allen spun around so he can land at-will. Aaron Quick with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. In the first friggin' period no less!

2:34 pm - Off the faceoff, didn't see what started it, but Coffey shoves Shost and Kenline comes in, gloves fly, they wrestle around a bit and fall to the ice. Coffey is the only one lacking gloves and his helmet. :27 left in the period, we'll have the penalties and scoring from the PPG at 19:30 in a few moments.

2:33 pm - Cats return a man, but the Bandits score with :30 left in the period. 3-1 is our score.

2:31 pm - Players come together, Hartung got in and bumped Kincaid and his helmet goes flying. Hartung off for charging, no penalties from the brief scrum. 5-on-3 for 53 seconds.

2:30 pm - PK time again, Trotman to the box for interference on what looked to me (and everyone on the Wildcats bench) to be a clean hit on the puck carrier. Apparently we were wrong. By the way, before the penalty, Trotman and McKenzie each had a good two solid hits each on their shift.

2:27 pm - Brown and Kirchhevel get matching minors for delay of game from a little shoving match after Jarboe covers up a loose puck. Bandits with 2 SOG so far on their power play, 4 for the entire period. Wildcats have put an astonishing 12 shots on Cinotti, but none yet on Kincaid. We're back to 5-on-5!

2:24 pm - Cats on the PK, Nash off for tripping.

2:22 pm - Opie from Kenline and Quick is the scoring. First NAHL goal for Tim Opie, and Matt Kenline and Aaron Quick each have a two-point afternoon!

2:17 pm - BIG BEN STRIKES THREE! Even strength goal, official scoring coming soon. With 11:49 to go in the first, Cinotti is pulled in favor of Kincaid.

2:14 pm - GOAL! Power Play goal with 5 seconds left on the first penalty, so we have another 54 seconds of PP time. Goal goes to Kyle Delaurell, assists to Erlacher and Jameson.

2:13 pm - Two-man advantage for the Cats, Patrick Sheehan off for high sticking. Note that he is in the lineup in place of Bradley Nunn, so if you're scoring at home, change your lineup cards.

2:12 pm - Wildcats on the power play as Allen goes to the box for slashing.

2:11 pm - Excellent puck movement by the Bandits leads to a chance, but Gorczyca's pass cross ice was a little too far for Sheehan.

2:10 pm - Cats' defense is looking better here early on in this one in spite of a couple odd-man rushes. Hopefully it keeps up, as this was the biggest problem last night.

2:07 pm - GOAL! Aaron Quick's first NAHL goal puts the Wildcats up 1-0! Assist goes to Matt Kenline.

2:06 pm - Heinz's pass for Quick just a little long, icing call brings the faceoff back to the WF end.

2:05 pm - Blocked shot off the stick of Jason Nash leads to a 3-on-1 for STL, well defended by Shaun Jameson and the Bandits don't manage anything.

2:03 pm - We're underway! Opening faceoff controlled by the Cats!

2:02 pm - Minutes away from starting this game up, your officials are referee Greene, and linesmen Bethmann and Montgomery.

1:58 pm - Another look at how the special teams units stack up against each other:

WF Power Play: 14/41, 34.2%, #1 in the league

STL Penalty Kill: 45/52, 86.5%, #5 in the league

STL Power Play: 6/48, 12.5%, #13 in the league

WF Penalty Kill: 23/27, 85.2%, #7 in the league

All three of the Wildcats' goals last night came with the man advantage, while 1 of the Bandits' 5 goals came on the power play.

1:50 pm - Lines appear to be as follows, starters in bold:

WICHITA FALLS
Erlacher - McKenzie - Hartung
Browne - McNeil - Delaurell
Kenline - Opie - Quick
Brown - Cahill - Hill

Jameson - Nash
Kaneshiro - Trotman
Shost - Heinz

Jarboe
Graveline

ST. LOUIS

Olszewski - B. Sheehan - Gorczyca
Hamburg - Greco - Kirchhevel
Jonzzon - Bourbonais - Rashid
Bertsch - Bourgonje - Klein

Reinthaler - Quick
Allen - Coffey
Hoffman - Nunn

Cinotti
Kincaid

1:22 pm - Puck drops at 2 pm this afternoon, so we're just under 40 minutes out. The Zamboni is working on the ice, players will start warmups in a few minutes. I'll get the lines and D pairings posted once they start warming up!

Wildcats vs. Bandits live blog, October 4

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:23:00 +0000

Hey everyone, coming to you from the Hardee's Iceplex in Chesterfield, MO, we'll be live blogging this one. Unfortunately due to some technical issues (namely a broken cord), we have no B2 broadcast. Additionally, our internet deal back in Wichita Falls doesn't start until October 24, for the home opener.

So, if you're going to be reading along, welcome to the party. Keep hitting your refresh button and new updates will appear just below this intro. So if you are reading this after the fact, read from the bottom of this blog upward.

Questions, comments, feel free to IM me. I'm on AIM, screen name is WildcatsHockey73.

9:41 pm - That's all she wrote! Wildcats fall 5-2, hopefully we'll have the B2 Networks up and running tomorrow, but if not, I will have coverage here once again.

9:40 pm - Empty net for the Cats, McKenzie (boarding) and Coffey (cross-checking) off for matching minors.

9:37 pm - A Bandit goes to the box, and the Wildcats get another power play goal! Shaun Jameson completes the Gordie Howe Hat Trick with a goal, with the assist to Erlacher. 5-3 now, just over a minute to go!

9:32 pm - Matching minors to Delaurell and Greco for roughing.

9:31 pm - Hill with a chance, but couldn't quite elevate the puck enough to get it past an outstretched Kincaid.

9:26 pm - Karlsson and Sponseller go 2 on 1, but can't quite connect with Karlsson's saucer pass being in the air as Sponseller tries to get it but misses.

9:24 pm - Delaurell from Jameson and Hartung is the official scoring.

9:22 pm - 5 on 3 for the Wildcats now as Hill's penalty expires, and the Wildcats score! Details coming.

9:19 pm - Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Hill off for tripping, Brown gets a 10 for arguing it (Shost was announced, I thought it was Cahill, but Brown is what the boxscore says). A minute in, it gets evened up with Reinthaler going off for interference. We skate 4 on 4. Hamburg runs Graveline, discussions ensue. Hamburg gets two for roughing, so it's 4 on 3, Wildcats on the PP.

9:16 pm - The onslaught continues. Bandits make it 5-1. Oy vey.

9:14 pm - Right off a faceoff, Thomas Erlacher shows some fistic abilities to go along with his clutch goal scoring! Erlacher and Nunn square off, with the Italian taking a pretty clear victory!

9:12 pm - Kaneshiro's shot has eyes and gets through some traffic, but the Cats can't quite find the rebound.

9:09 pm - Bandits score again, puck fed in front to Soren Jonzzen on the doorstep, and he puts it in for a 4-1 Bandits lead.

9:04 pm - After a long delay and some technical issues (I hate Blogger's platform, for the record), we're about to get the 3rd period underway. As I've tried to write five times now, Bandits scored again, Graveline was screened by his own man. Jameson and Bourgonje fought, edge to Jameson. Third period is underway, Bandits with the lead 3-1 and advantage in shots on goal, 31-22.

8:38 pm - No luck, courtesy of a missed pass for an offside, an icing call, and some sloppy play in the offensive end. Back to 5 on 5.

8:33 pm - Back on the power play we go as Nunn goes off for hooking!

8:26 pm - He's back! Sean McKenzie, making his 2008-09 debut, goes freight train on Kyle Greco!

8:25 pm - GREAT chance in front as the penalty expires, Cahill's shot gets stopped, rebound comes right to Sponseller, no one near him except for a perfectly squared up goalie. Sponseller tried to delay his shot and find an opening, but Kincaid made the save, Hoffman swatted it away, and the Bandits had a great chance of their own snuffed out by Graveline at the other end.

8:20 pm - 2 on 1 for the Bandits leads to their second goal, Klein from Nunn. Right off the face off, Cats go on the PP as Delaurell gets knocked to the ice. Interference is the call on STL's Hudson.

8:18 pm - Bandits score, Bourbonais from the point on the power play, assist to Edwards. We're tied at 1 and back to 5 on 5 hockey.

8:16 pm - Backdoor chance for the Bandits, but it rolls off the forward's stick. Good job by the Wildcats in forcing the puck to stay wide for the most part.

8:15 pm - WF penalty, Trotman four minutes for high sticking as he left a Bandit bleeding. If there's ever a time for the PK unit to come up big, it's now.

8:14 pm - Back to 5 on 5, Cats 1 for 3 on the PP tonight with 3 SOG.

8:14 pm - Wildcats had a lot of trouble getting it out of their own zone to start the period with STL a man down. Great chance for Delaurell from the slot, but it hits the post!

8:10 pm - About ready to get the second period underway, Wildcats still with 1:32 of PP time as they switch ends of the ice. SOG in the first, 13-12 in favor of the Bandits, but the Cats lead 1-0!

7:53 pm - End of 1, Wildcats lead 1-0!

7:52 pm - Wildcats score on the power play! Goal goes to McNeil with 28 seconds left in the period. Assists are tallied by Delaurell and Jameson. Also, Hoffman of STL to the box for a cross-check so the Cats stay on the PP!

7:51 pm - Kincaid kicks out a HUGE rebound, pass for Karlsson just missed connecting on what would have been a Wildcats PPG.

7:51 pm - Another Wildcats chance on the PP, Sheehan off two minutes for a high stick.

7:50 pm - Nice hit at the blue line by STL's Edwards on Jameson as he tried to come in 3 on 3. And then another great Graveline save off a shot from in close by Greco.

7:47 pm - Good efforts at the offensive end by the Wildcats, but nothing doing on the scoreboard. Then a 3 on 2 for the Bandits, and a stick save by Graveline!

7:43 pm - Bandits with a great chance 2 on 1 with Kaneshiro the lone man back, but Trotman gets in to help and the shot goes wide.

7:42 pm - Quick shot by the Bandits' Kirchhevel, but Graveline shuts the door, rebound cleared out by the defense.

7:41 pm - Bandits with the SOG advantage 7-6, still no score with 8:10 to go in the first.

7:38 pm - Wildcats chance as they get to even strength, nice shot by Hill, but it was gloved and held by Kincaid.

7:37 pm - Hartung blocks the shot and clears the zone. And now back to five on five!

7:36 pm - Scramble in front covered up by Graveline. Bandits managing 2 shots on goal on the PP so far with a minute remaining on it.

7:35 pm - Brown to the box two for slashing, Cats on the PK.

7:35 pm - BIG save! Graveline going post to post with the Bandits setting up a little backdoor play with a pass across the crease. Still no score.

7:34 pm - Penalty killed, 'Cats manage one shot on goal during the man advantage.

7:32 pm - Wildcats power play, as STL gets called for too many men. Hamburg serves.

7:30 pm - Five minutes in, both teams looking good and pretty evenly matched thus far. SOG 3-2 in WF's favor, but no great chances for either team.

7:27 pm - Wildcats did a good job of controlling the puck in the Bandits end, but a rush the other way showed St. Louis' prowess at using this Olympic sized ice sheet. No shots on goal for either team two minutes into the first.

7:25 pm - We're underway! The Bandits control the opening faceoff.

7:20 pm - The Wildcats' starters have been announced, and now out come the Bandits. With this being their home opener, the entire roster is being announced. For the record, ref tonight is Welker, linesmen are Bextermueller and Bokal.

7:15 pm - Just a look at some special teams numbers, Wildcats currently have the top power play unit in the NAHL (11/33, 33.3%), while the Bandits have the #3 penalty killing unit (40/44, 90.91%). The Bandit power play is 14th in the league, only 5 for 44 so far, 11.36%. The Wildcats' penalty kill is 7th in the league, 20/23 for 86.96% efficiency. The Wildcats have done a good job of staying out of the box so far this year and have taken advantage of opponents' penalties. Judging by these teams' games last year (you may recall a few fights between these squads, including the goalies going at it on December 7), this could be an important factor.

7:05 pm - We're about 10 minutes from the start of player introductions. Lines, as far as I could tell from warmups are as follows (starters in bold):

Wichita Falls
Karlsson - Rourke - Sponseller
Erlacher - McKenzie - Hartung
Browne - McNeil - Delaurell
Brown - Cahill - Hill

Kaneshiro - Trotman
Heinz - Shost
Jameson - Nash

Graveline
Jarboe

St. Louis (note: not sure who are wingers and who are centers, nor what order these lines go in)
Bourgonje - Olszewski - Klein
Cifelli - Jonzzon - Hudson
Greco - B. Sheehan - Kirchhevel
Gorczyca - Bourbonais - Hamburg

Reinthaler - Quick
Edwards - Coffey
Nunn - Hoffman

Kincaid
Cinotti

View from the Scratching Post: Back from Minnesota

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:45:00 +0000

Not a whole lot to say here, as pretty much everything that I could say is up on the Wildcats' website. Great weekend, had one of our players named Player of the Week (Kyle Delaurell, going 3-6-9), had another named Showcase MVP (Thomas Erlacher, 4-1-5, 3 GWPPG), and a third joined them on the All-Showcase team (Shaun Jameson 0-5-5 with excellent play in his own end as well).

If not for Lyle Rocker's great play for Topeka, I think Mike Jarboe could easily have joined those three on the Team.

Fun week aside from hockey too. Gen and I went down to the Mall of America, I got to eat at Chipotle twice (we seriously need a Chipotle, Qdoba, and/or Baja Fresh here in the Falls), saw Gen's family, met up with fellow U.S. grad Paul Teeple, and as expected, watched a crapload of hockey. I'm planning next year to go for the whole thing, and watch the whole day Saturday and Sunday and return late Sunday. Maybe write more on here while there as well, since I know I didn't write a single thing on here during the week.

Got to watch a few other games besides the Wildcats. So far, the St. Louis Bandits do not look anything like the team we've seen the past two seasons. The Junior Blues are another who fall into the "could be dangerous" category. Kenai River is vastly improved. Traverse City surprised me, as did Alaska. Topeka is definitely the best team in the league (though I feel the Wildcats are pretty close).

So far, everything said on the Wildcats seems to be accurate. The scoring depth will be better than it was in the past. While most of the scoring came from the #1 power play unit, you can definitely see the chemistry developing and that the abilities are there from every line. I still think the majority of scoring will come from the top line, but the other three lines will be bigger contributors than they were last year.

Not much physical play, but that's not a concern. As you may recall, last year's team was a hard hitting squad, not afraid to fight. But they didn't get too physical in Minnesota either. It'll come, I'm not worried.

All in all, looks like we're in for another good season. I'll have more next week as the team prepares for two games in St. Louis on October 4 and 5.

And thanks...

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0000

I also need to send a big thanks to everyone who signed the Brandon Sugden petition.

As of yesterday evening, the NHL urged the four teams who voted against Brandon Sugden to reconsider their positions. They all did, and Sugden has been cleared to attend the New York Islanders' training camp.

The spotlight put on this story, fueled by your signatures, has given the man a final chance. Thank you!

And kudos to the NHL for doing the right thing for once in the Bettmanist Regime.

Link: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=249415&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl

Announcement!

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:47:00 +0000

I mentioned this on the air on Saturday and figured I'd post it here as well.

Beginning October 1, I will officially be employed by the Wildcats in a hybrid of three positions. I don't have an official title yet, but I will be handling media and broadcasting, some graphic design, some community relations, and some equipment manager duties.

A lot of what you would read here will be on the Wildcats' website (minus my opinions, just the facts) but I plan to try to write here when I can and whenever I feel like it. With my generic reports being on the Wildcats site, this may go back to its whatever-sports-related-stuff-is-on-my-mind format rather than being primarily Wildcats.

Anyways, I have many people to thank who got me to this position. First off, my parents and friends just for always supporting me. Next, everyone I've worked with in broadcasting, especially my fellow current and former NAHL broadcasters (especially Slapper and Beast), the whole crew at WTAM from my 2005 internship (especially Marty, Triv, and Rado), and Larry Yeagley at my WELW internship. All the journalism teachers that impacted me in a positive way.

And a huge thanks to those aiding me in the professional aspects: Nathan and Vanessa Moyer for their advice on my even getting in with the team in the first place back in 2006, and advice on how to go about my "sales pitch" for this position; and Robin Woody at Graphics II for looking over everything for me and helping in assembling it all.

And of course to my cats Carmela and Onyx who would love me even if I only made enough money to buy them cat food and nothing else.

And last, but certainly not least, my wife Gen for constantly being there to support me through everything when I didn't have a job, when I was at my soon-to-be-former job and had many complaints about it, and now in helping me to get this job. And I probably should thank her for the support yet to come in the future as I continue in my career. Even with I didn't believe I was capable of something, you always knew I could do it.

Anyways, I'm excited for the season to start this week, and especially to get started in my new position in October!

Comments changed

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Apologies to those who comment as Anonymous, but that will no longer be permitted on this blog thanks to one spammer (who goes by the name "avenger" on Glassrattler).

I have been forced to change the ability to leave comments only to allowing those from registered Google users rather than just anyone. It beats trying to wade through 20 comments a day that have absolutely nothing to do with anything I write.

Apologies for the inconvenience, but I'm sure you understand.

Wildcats vs. Sooners tonight, and I am told we WILL have it on B2! I'll find out about the internet audio feed as well later today and will try to post an update here.

Live Blogging: Wildcats vs. Tulsa Rampage WSHL

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:31:00 +0000

And so, here we are again. September 5, the puck drops on the Wildcats' first preseason game as they take on the WSHL's Tulsa Rampage in the first game of a two-game weekend set.

I'll be updating the action here, so keep your finger on that Refresh button. Latest info will appear at the top, so if you are reading this after the game, read from the bottom of this entry to the top.

Any questions, send them to me via AIM. My screen name is WildcatsHockey73 (take note, I screwed it up before; this is now correct).

-------------------------

9:20: That'll do it! Wildcats win this one 5-0, outshooting Tulsa 39-20. Three stars are Hartung third with 2 assists, Jarboe second with the shutout, and Cahill first with 2 goals. The teams go again tomorrow; I won't be able to live-blog it, but I will have some write-ups afterward.

9:17: Finally, back to 5 on 5. Tulsa managed 9 shots on goal during these PP opportunities, almost as many as they had managed in the entire game before that (11). One more WF penalty, Heinz off, checking from behind.

9:15: Another Wildcats penalty, Hooking on Dyer. :43 left in the first penalty, :13 in the second one. Official attendance tonight: 517

9:12: Erlacher off for a hook, Cats on the PK. And now, tack on a slashing call on Curtis Heinz. Tulsa 2-man advantage for 1:30.

9:05 (both the current time and time left in the game): Back to 5 on 5, shots 36-10 in favor of the Cats.

9:03: Hooking call on Craig Martin puts the Cats on the PP again.

9:02: Still no sign of Aaron Quick's return. He may just be kept out of the rest of the game as a precaution.

9:00: WF PP, Tulsa's Michael Criscuolo off for slashing.

8:59: Back to 5 on 5. Only two shots in this period so far, one for each team.

8:57: 5-0 now, shorthanded goal scored on a rebound by Cahill (second of the game), assist to Hartung.

8:55: Interference call coming against WF's Justin Hancock. Off to the penalty kill we go.

8:53: I didn't see Michael Hill out on the ice at all in the second period after his mysterious problems in getting back to the bench after a hit in the first (though I may just not have noticed him). The good news is he just finished a shift, so it would seem that he's alright.

8:51: Wildcats third goal was changed to Shaun Jameson from Kyle Delaurell and Jeff McNeil.

8:49: Aaron Quick just took a nasty shot and went straight to the locker room. Not sure what happened, but he was laid out flat on his front, sliding along, got up, whistle blew for an offside call, and he headed straight for the locker room door.

8:47: Fight! Off the opening faceoff of the third, Broderick Browne and Mike Zielke squared off. Big size difference (6'4" 205 vs. 5'10" 165), but Zielke hung in well. Browne's reach was too much for Zielke to be effective, but he landed a couple shots before Browne caught him with a big shot to the back of the head that sent him down.

8:45: First comment of the night! In response to the questions, the guys are all looking pretty good out there, the defense has been effective, not too rough-and-tumble but it's also early. I know we'll be seeing some good hitters out there from what I saw in the August camp. As for particular standouts, definitely Aaron Quick and Kyle Delaurell so far. On defense, no one has really stood out more than anyone else, all eight have looked good in their time on the ice.

8:43: Back to the keyboard, and we're just about three minutes from the start of the third.

8:28: End of the second period, Cats lead 4-0, outshooting Tulsa to the tune of 32-8. Once again, I'm off to a break, back in about 20 minutes. And as always, questions, comments, the AIM name is WildcatsHockey73. I'll answer anything sent as soon as I get back.

8:25: Great work by the Hartung-Cahill-Erlacher line. I swear all three of them were right in crashing the crease, looking for rebounds, looking for redirects, and doing an all-around excellent job of keeping Tulsa from getting to the puck.

8:22: Oh... my... God. That was awesome. First off, great passing from Matt Kenline and I thought one other (Kenners got the lone assist though) to set it up, then right in front Aaron Quick roofed a backhander as he was falling to make it 4-0.

8:20: Goal by Jeff McNeil, assists to Kyle Delaurell and Shaun Jameson.

8:19: Power Play Goal! Scoring coming soon.

8:17: Tack on another one, 4-minute high sticking called on Dustin Meyer. Wildcats up two men for the next 1:35, then a man advantage for 2:25.

8:16: Tulsa's Cothel McDaniel off for charging, Cats on the PP again.

8:14: For the record, it's still 2-0, shots 24-8 in the Cats' favor. Second period has been a bit yawn-worthy.

8:12: Matching minors are up, as is McNeil's misconduct.

8:10: Matching minors to Matt Kenline and Tulsa's Craig Martin for roughing.

8:05: For those wondering abour Nash and Erlacher (neither were in the main camp in August), Nash played for the LA Kings AAA and is a prospect of the WHL's Tri-City Americans. He's a lefty d-man from Oxnard, CA, was 7-21-28 with 66 PIM in 58 games for the Kings. Erlacher is from Italy, played for both the Italian National Junior Team and the Brunico Val Pusteria Wolves from the 2004-05 season to the 2007-08 season. With Brunico, he was 1-6-7 with 82 PIM in 77 games. In the WJC, he's played 20 games, going 10-13-23 with 45 PIM.

8:02: Couple of nice chances for Broderick Browne. Big kid, has great hands to go with the size.

8:01: And again, back to five on five.

7:59: Hooking call on Aaron Quick, Cats shorthanded for two minutes.

7:55: Scoring change on the Hartung goal, it was actually scored by Patrick Cahill, assists going to Zach Trotman and Hartung.

7:54: Just about a minute until we get the second period underway!

7:37: End of the first period, Wildcats hold a 2-0 lead, outshooting Tulsa 16 to 2.. I'm taking a break during the broomball game, will be back for the start of the second. If you're on AIM, don't hesitate to message me, WildcatsHockey73. I'll be around to answer once the second period starts up.

7:33: Back to 4 on 4, coming up, a WF power play for about 13 seconds.

7:32: And a 4 on 3 for the Cats as David Scott goes off, two for hooking.

7:31: Jeff McNeil off, two for unsportsmanlike conduct (served by Cahill, I believe) plus a ten minute misconduct for abuse of officials. 4 on 4 for 50 seconds, then 1:10 of PK.

7:29: And it's 4 on 4 again as Ty Smith gets two for holding. 12 seconds even, then the Cats go on the PP for 1:48.

7:27: Strangest hop ever off the end boards, fortunately Jarboe got a piece of it and Waxenburg cleared it from the doorstep. Shots on goal 11 to 2 in favor of the Wildcats.

7:26: Another penalty, this time it's Cahill going off for two minutes on an interference call.

7:23: Back to 5 on 5.

7:22: Good puck movement thus far on the PP, Hartung had a chance but got handcuffed just a bit. Great passing out of Kyle Delaurell. Let me just say he will be huge for this team this year.

7:21: Abbreviated power play for the Cats for 1:24.

7:19: Dome shot! Delaurell rings one off Zielinski's cage on a short-handed attempt. Tulsa penalty for a hold, called on Derek Thompson. We'll skate 4 on 4 for 36 seconds.

7:17: Aaron Quick off, two for interference.

7:17: Big hit in return on Michael Hill, hge has trouble getting back to the bench. May just be a skate issue.

7:16: Physical play is picking up, huge hit by McNeil at the end of a play that left Daiel Tratz a bit slow to get up. Fortunately it appears Tratz is fine.

7:15: Good penalty kill, as Tulsa wasn't able to get much set up.

7:13: McNeil off, two for tripping.

7:11: Wildcats goal again! This time it was Michael Hill less than a minute after Hartung going high glove side from the slot, assist going to Victor Karlsson (note: apparently Karlsson is wearing the #20 jersey, not Ricky Brown).

7:10: Wildcats goal! Tulsa netminder Zielinski got badly out of position and finding the back of the net easily was Brett Hartung from Patrick Cahill and Jason Nash at the 2:22 mark of the first.

7:09: More good pressure from the forwards, Kenline with a nice attempt at a redirect in front.

7:08: Good start for the top line, kept the puck in the Tulsa end for quite a bit. Opie line getting its chance now.

7:07: Puck drops, we're underway! Crowd is closer to 400 or so now; not too bad for a preseason game.

6:59: Officials are on the ice, Ref tonight is Farkas (didn't catch his first name because the speakers in here are... well, they're the KYC speakers, you've probably heard the complaints), linesmen are Tim Zemens and Mike Anderson. Starting for Tulsa: goalie Zachary Zielinski, defensemen Craig Martin and Ty Smith, forwards Bobby Watson, David Scott, and Dustin Meyer.

6:50: For proof on how big high school football is in Texas, take a look at the attendance here tonight: I just counted everyone in the arena, and got 150. Granted, it's the preseason, and there may be others at the concession stands and on the concourse, but still, Friday nights are definitely for football here. This is possibly why much of the first half schedule is played on the road. Crowds will certainly grow once the football season ends.

6:37: Wildcats' forward lines, based on the warmups, are as follows:
Broderick Browne - Jeff McNeil - Kyle Delaurell
Thomas Erlacher - Patrick Cahill - Brett Hartung
Ricky Brown - Michael Hill - Branson Yost
Matt Kenline - Tim Opie - Aaron Quick

I didn't see the D pairs, except that Brett Kaneshiro and Curtis Heinz are starting with the forward line listed first. Eight d-men are dressed tonight: Kaneshiro, Heinz, Jason Nash, Zach Waxenburg, Zachary Trotman, Shaun Jameson, Ryan Dyer, and Justin Hancock.

Goalies are Mike Jarboe and Philip Graveline.

6:33 pm CDT: The teams are warming up, I'll post Wildcats' line charts (or at least tonight's lineup) in a few minutes.

Latest on Wildcats preseason broadcasts

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:24:00 +0000

I spoke to Coach Bowkus this afternoon. The team is trying to get everything set up so that we can have the games this weekend and next on B2, and hopefully we will have them on internet radio as well. Nothing is certain yet, but we are working on it.

And as I said before, if worst comes to worst, if I can get internet in the KYC, I will live-blog it here.

The Coaches' Show will be starting again next Tuesday from Buffalo Wild Wings. It will be on local radio on 104.7 The Bear. It also can be heard online at Bear104.com via their audio stream.

As soon as I have a definite answer as to if and how the games will be broadcast, I will post it here.

Just let the man play!

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:12:00 +0000

I'm sure some of you have heard of the plight of Brandon Sugden by now.

For those who haven't, his story puts yet another bad spotlight on hockey and makes me want to lash out against the NHL even more than I already have.

Brandon is a career minor league enforcer. He played his last AHL game in the 2006-07 season, announcing it as a "retirement." He chose to move on to the semi-pro LNAH in Quebec for part of that season and the 2007-08 season.

Recently, Brandon found out that his father has been diagnosed with cancer. He has less than one year to live. He decided he would try one final time to make it so his dad could see him skate in an NHL game before he dies. Brandon was even lucky enough to gain a tryout this year in the New York Islanders' camp.

But, a roadblock has been put in place. Because of his retirement, then his jump to another pro league, Sugden needed the approval of all 30 NHL teams to come back, or else play one more season on an AHL-only contract, or the LNAH, or some other minor pro league. By the time that timeframe passes, his father will likely end up dying. When it was put to a vote, three teams rejected his desire to attempt to return to the NHL, thus ending his hopes of coming back this season.

These three teams have remained anonymous and have given no reason as to why they have voted against him. Granted, Sugden has had some problems in his past, including at one point a lifetime ban from the ECHL for throwing his stick into the crowd due to a fan verbally abusing him about his past problems with drugs and alcohol. He has turned his life around and had a moderately successful career in the AHL and has been a major fan favorite in Syracuse where he played from 2003-2006.

Why should three of thirty teams be allowed to mess with this man's livelihood in such a way? 90% of the NHL approves of his return. Why should only 10% decide his fate? Why not put it up to those who will have to play with and against him and let the players decide? Why should he not have a final chance? Marty McSorley got another chance. So did Todd Bertuzzi, Brad May, Chris Simon (two extra chances for him), Jesse Boulerice (another with two shots, if you include his lifetime OHL ban), Gordie Dwyer, Dale Hunter, Steve Downie, and Tom Lysiak.

Why not Brandon Sugden?

If you are as sick of this as I am, I would encourage you to sign this petition. The group wants to get 2,000 signatures on it as soon as possible. While online petitions often don't mean a thing, it's better than just sitting back and letting it happen.

This isn't just something for fans of tough hockey. It's not even for hockey fans alone. This is for ANYONE who has ever had a dream and worked their tail off to try to achieve it.

Help the man achieve his dream. Go to this link, and add your name to the petition and show your support.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/let-brandon-sugden-play

First the NAHL, then the world!

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:20:00 +0000

One day, Hunting Valley, Ohio's University School graduates will own you.

Okay, maybe not quite. But we are taking over the broadcasting ranks in the NAHL. I graduated in 2002, and there's now one other Prepper in essentially the same job as me, Paul Teeple up in Mahoning Valley, Ohio; part of the US class of 2000.

Anyways, Paul is starting a blog on the Phantoms, so any other NAHL fans or various Ohio sports fans (I know there are a few of you out there, considering how often I rant/complain about the state of Cleveland sports every year), I'd urge you to check it out. It's in the "Blogs I Read" link off the the right.

And if you don't feel like looking for the link over there, just click here.

For those waiting for info on our broadcasts, I spoke to Scotty Preston down at 94.9. I should have some more info up soon!

It's official!

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:25:00 +0000

The votes have been cast, and a decision has been made by you the readers (and from the people of an autograph collecting and custom card making message board I'm active in). This year's Drew-created Wildcats e-card set will be the 1983 Topps design, seen here

As soon as photos are taken, I'll start working on them.

For any amateur (or professional) photographers out there who would like to allow me to use your photos, leave me a message and we'll get in contact. Remember though, these cards will not be sold at all; heck, they won't even be printed. I'm making no profit, so don't expect me to pay you to use them, haha.

Well crap...

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:14:00 +0000

Another one bites the dust, and the roster is officially down to 25.

Adam Mitchell jumps to the EJHL

Good luck to him, but man I wish we had him here. Especially considering the EJHL is on par with the NAHL talent-wise, maybe even slightly behind; plus it's a pay to pay league, unlike the NAHL. Though with the fact that the EJHL gets more looks from Eastern colleges than the NAHL does (why, aside from travel expenses, I'll never get), I can understand why one would want to jump over there.

Meanwhile, up in Quebec, fans of tough hockey, looks like we're at the beginning of the end.

QMJHL to ban fighting

Yikes.

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:35:00 +0000

Matt LaPorta gets beaned in the head by a Chinese pitcher and ends up in a Beijing hospital with a concussion.

The Browns, in the span of five minutes on the clock, allow a blocked punt for a safety, have the ensuing kick run back for a TD, get into the red zone from an awesome kickoff return then fumble the ball away, returned for a TD, and then Derek Anderson goes down with a concussion.

Jobu, I'm not sure what I have done to offend you, but I shall get rum and cigars in your honor.

If anyone gets that reference, you rock.

More Custom Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:57:00 +0000

Capitalizing on the sudden burst of readership, I'm putting something up for a vote.

As some of you may know, I often make my own sports cards. For the past two seasons, I have designed cards of Wildcats players. I haven't printed any, but they could be printed easily enough. For now, they just exist as "e-cards" (which reminds me, I need to send my dad an e-birthday card, as he's 58 today). In these seasons, I have only missed making cards of four players to appear in at least one Wildcats game (Zach Josepher, Brian Downing, Dan DeCato, and Jason Syrett) due to a lack of good photos in a Wildcats uniform. If anyone has any, send them my way, PLEASE!

I made cards of everyone last year as well, in some cases multiple cards. I found enough good photos to make them of every player.

This year, I plan to make cards again. This is where you, readers, get to give me feedback.

I've created 9 designs, all based on (AKA fully, completely, 100% stolen from) some old Topps Baseball card designs. First, here are the designs I used in 2006-07 and 2007-08-- 1990-91 Topps and 1990-91 Pro Set hockey sets, respectively.

2006-07 design (1990-91 Topps)
2007-08 design (1990-91 Pro Set)

For this season, I have nine potential designs, made from Topps baseball card designs in 1959, 1960, 1963, 1971, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1991, and 1992. And I'm letting you the readers pick which design you like best, or if you want, recommend some other designs. Here they are, in order.

1959 Topps
1960 Topps
1963 Topps
1971 Topps
1983 Topps
1985 Topps
1988 Topps
1991 Topps
1992 Topps

So, leave your vote (or any recommendations of other set designs) in a comment here. Please keep in mind, these prototypes are VERY rough. I will be doing a lot of tweaking to clean up the designs and made them look a little better and more like the original sets.

No coverage?

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:11:00 +0000

It's true, this blog is mostly hockey, junior hockey at that. But I do write on other sports quite often as well (I constantly have commentary on baseball, football, pro hockey, and occasionally basketball, soccer, Aussie football, wiffleball, sports autographs, sports cards, whatever comes to mind really). And with the world's biggest sporting event taking place at this time, I'm sure some avid readers are wondering why I'm not writing on it.

It's rare that I talk about anything not sports-related on here. In fact, out of over 200 entries on here in the two years I've been writing, I think only two have absolutely no relation to sports. And it's even less often that I'll touch political or religious topics on here because that only touches off arguments. And I hold some beliefs that are considered odd, sometimes even downright "wrong," by the majority of people here in Texas. So it should be obvious why I'm hesitant to talk about my views.

Religion, or at least one particular spiritual practice, is the main reason I'm not writing anything on the Beijing Olympics, and I'll actually discuss it and how it relates to me.

But not just yet. I'm standing by my policy of not writing anything related to the Olympics until they're over.

A little more roster info...

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Got some info passed on anonymously regarding Michael Hill and the USHL from someone who knows the situation better than I do and can clear up some confusion. USHL blogger Ryan Wacheldorf had said Hill was on the Fargo Force's 25-man roster, but he was in our camp this past weekend. According to my source, Michael is on the 25-man roster of the Fargo Force but the Force have not been very communicative with him aside from the fact that he's on the roster. They have also recently traded for another forward. The team can take 25 to the Fall Classic tournament and then have to reduce the roster to 23 after that. He will attend their August 22-24 camp and should know after that where he will be playing this season, whether it be Fargo or Wichita Falls.

Additionally, the source corrected the stats I have here. Hill played in 49 games, going 45-44-89 with 62 PIM. He also told me a bit more about Matt Shost, who was a teammate of Hill's with Dallas Alliance. He said "Matt is a solid, stay-at-home defenseman that doesn't make many mistakes. He's not going to be looked at to score. He may be looked at to stop the opposing team's top line." Shost was 4-10-14 and 54 PIM in 54 games.

So there's the latest regarding Michael Hill. Best of luck to him in making it in the USHL, but if he gets cut, we would certainly welcome him here in Wichita Falls.

As promised...

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:12:00 +0000

A little roster info, and any stats and such that I could find.

FORWARDS
Ricky Brown - 5'11" 175 - LW
Brown of course was with the Wildcats last year, though he missed much of the season with a concussion that happened in a freak incident off the ice. He appeared in 28 games, going 2-5-7 with 51 PIM. He's one of the fastest skaters on the team and is an excellent penalty killer.

Broderick Browne - 6'4" 205 - LW
Taken straight from the Wildcats' website "Great kid, Hard shot, plays with a temper, Big Power Forward. Was their [Texas Attack AAA] 2nd leading scorer." In 48 games, Browne was 19-22-41 with 150 PIM.

Patrick Cahill - 5'10" 190 - LW
Cahill played under Bowkus with Capital Centre in 2005-06. He played 21 games, 4-17-21 and 72 PIM. No info on him from 2006-08 at all, or height, weight, or exact position however.

Kyle Delaurell - 6'2" 185 - RW
16 games, 3-7-10 and 4 PIM as a Wildcat, 26 games, 3-3-6 and 17 PIM with the USHL's Lincoln Stars. Total, 42 games, 6-10-16, 21 PIM. Delaurell will likely be on the top two lines. His versatility (he played all three forward positions last season) will come in handy, as will his play on the power play units.

Brett Hartung - 6'0" 190 - RW
Hartung is another speedster and it looks like his offense has greatly improved. He'll be a mainstay of the penalty kill this year and looks like he'll also be a candidate to play on the top line. Last year he was 5-9-14 in 51 games as a Wildcat, adding in 61 PIM. Right now, he's my bet for being named captain.

Michael Hill - 5'10" 175 - C
Again, from the Wildcats website, "Good all around player. Leading scorer-had over 50 goals this season." Reports had said he had made the team in Fargo (USHL), but apparently has not as we have him here. As a member of Dallas Alliance last season, Hill was 58-43-101 in 59 games-- yes, almost a goal a game. He also had 58 PIM.

Victor Karlsson - 6'2" 195 - RW
The lone European on the roster as it stands now. Karlsson comes from Stockholm, Sweden and played for Tingsryds AIF at the junior levels over there. Last season for their U18 Elite team, 1 goal in 7 games, 1 assist in 1 game for their U20 Elite team, and no points in 11 games in the U18 Allsvenskan level. However, this is provided that I have the correct Victor Karlsson (there are three listed on EuroHockey.net, plus one who played High School in Cloquet, Minnesota).

Matt Kenline - 6'0" 180 - LW
Another veteran from last year, Kenline was a major cog in the rotation of penalty killers, and was 7-5-12 in 43 games as a Wildcat, adding in 59 PIM. Another speedster, like Hartung he looks like he has improved his offensive abilities as well.

Sean McKenzie - 5'10" 190 - C
Last year's Rookie of the Year, McKenzie will likely be among the leading scorers on this year's team. He appeared in 54 games, 15-19-34 with 108 PIM. He's a big hitter, he has a great shot, I'm thinking he'll likely center the second line.

Jeff McNeil - 6'3" 210 - C
Big, fast, and can fight. McNeil is another potential wearer of the C for this year's team, and will be one of the top penalty killers, as well as the resident enforcer. He led the team with 10 fights last season, while also going 8-9-17 with 117 PIM.

Adam Mitchell - 6'2" 210 - C
Mitchell was a USHL draft pick who spent last season with the Texas Tornado. After the Tornado folded for the year, the Wildcats quickly tendered him. Mitchell played 52 games last year and was 7-5-12 with 44 PIM. From the Wildcats website: "Defensive player that should be able to put up some points this season."

Tim Opie - 5'8" 155 - C
Spent last year with Little Caesars AAA, where he tore it up, going 13-9-32 in 25 games-- good for fourth in the MWEHL-- with 18 PIM. He's small, but was always in good position and is an excellent passer.

Aaron Quick - 6'3" 200 - LW
Again, from the team's site, "Can make plays, Physical, puck seems to follow him all over the ice." He played for the Colorado Thunderbirds last season, going 24-34-58 in 56 games, adding in 98 PIM.

Zach Rourke - 5'10" 165 - C
Playing with Compuware AAA last season, Rourke was 4-8-12 in 25 games, with 12 PIM. He also attended the USA Elite 15's camp in 2005 and was top 10 in scoring in it.

Adam Sponseller - 6'1" 205 - RW
Sponseller was one of the Cats most gifted offensive players last season, going 15-19-34 in 41 games, adding 143 PIM (and about three or four different suspensions). I've heard this year he's had a bit of a change in personality (in a good way), and has cut down about 10-15 pounds from last year. Look for him possibly to meet the potential scouts have seen; the potential that got him listed on the NHL's Central Scouting list a couple years back.

Branson Yost - 6'0" 190 - RW
Yost looked bigger than the size IO have him listed at from last year, something that certainly won't hurt him in his role as a hard hitting, lower line winger on this team. He went 2-6-8 in 28 games last year, also adding in 31 PIM.

DEFENSEMEN
Ryan Dyer - 6'2" 190
Dyer spent last season as a member of the SoCal Titans. Unfortunately, that's all the info I have on him, anything anyone else can find is appreciated (Note: there is another Ryan Dyer who played in Florida and was drafted in the CSHL, USHL, and NAHL; this is not him).

Justin Hancock - 6'0" 170
Hancock is a Dallas native, and played last year with Kenai River, going 4-4-8 with 51 PIM in 47 games. Good in his own end, not afraid to get physical.

Curtis Heinz - 5'11" 190
Heinz is another one looking bigger, and has improved his play greatly from last season. He was 1-2-3 with 53 PIM in 32 games, and will likely be an everyday player this year.

Shaun Jameson - 6'1" 190
Jameson was great in every facet last year for the Wildcats-- undefeated as a fighter, 4-14-18 for scoring, and could play defense well. Look for him to be a leader on this year's team, perhaps wearing one of the A's.

Brett Kaneshiro - 5'8" 180
Kaneshiro is small, but not afraid to get physical. Excellent passer, great in his own end. Last year, played in 52 games, 1-16-17 with 52 PIM. Another who could possibly wear an A.

Matt Shost - 6'0" 165
From the Wildcats' website: "Makes the first pass, steady defense, can skate very well." This is probably why he wasn't on my roster prediction-- you don't notice a guy like him if he's doing his job well; only if he screws up does anyone take notice. That and I've never been good at analyzing defensemen.

Zach Trotman - 6'3" 190
One more time, from the Wildcats website: "Physical Defense, Has good hands and can jump in the play offensively." Just make sure he has a bunch of extra sticks-- he broke two or three of them this weekend. Definitely a good hitter too.

Zach Waxenburg - 6'3" 205
Wax was in our camp last year, and he impressed me then as an excellent shot blocker. He didn't stand out as much this year, but this is probably a case like that of Shost-- if he's doing a good and steady job, you won't notice him. I can't find any info on him; anything anyone can give me is appreciated.

GOALIES
Mike Jarboe - 6'0" 180
Glad to see Jarbs back for another year, let's just hope he can get any issues with consistency ironed out. Last year, he was 27-15-2, with 3 shutouts, a 2.87 GAA, and .908 save pct.

Philip Graveline - 5'11" 175
Graveline had some great moments last season, making his NAHL debut by shutting down the Texas Tornado for a 4-1 victory. He went 6-1-0 as a Wildcat, with a 3.58 GAA and .881 save percentage. Without the Topeka 9-0 disaster, he would be 6-0-0, 3.29, .891. He likely will challenge for the #1 spot between the pipes.

Wildcats Roster Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:53:00 +0000

Just like last year, a day after camp the roster hit the newspaper. This year, I wasn't quite as close on my guesses as last year, but still got 18 our of 25 correct. A little later, I'll post any info and stats I can find on each player.

FORWARDS - 16
Ricky Brown, Broderick Browne, Patrick Cahill, Kyle Delaurell, Brett Hartung, Michael Hill, Victor Karlsson, Matt Kenline, Sean McKenzie, Jeff McNeil, Adam Mitchell, Tim Opie, Aaron Quick, Zachary Rourke, Adam Sponseller, Branson Yost

DEFENSEMEN - 8
Ryan Dyer, Justin Hancock, Curtis Heinz, Shaun Jameson, Brett Kaneshiro, Matt Shost, Zachary Trotman, Zach Waxenburg

GOALIES - 2
Mike Jarboe, Philip Graveline

Only one Wildcats veteran didn't make it in Dustin Nowick, and two other NAHL vets in Sebastien Johansson and Gerry Holland. Nowick was a big surprise to me. He looked great on a line with Delaurell the whole weekend, but did appear pretty frustrated in the ASG, then took a stick to the mouth that ended his day.

So there are 26 so far, one will have to be cut, and Bowkus said there likely will be three cut to trim everything down to 23.

As I've said this whole weekend, the talent in this camp made it nearly impossible to perfectly predict the roster. I'll admit, I'm a bit surprised by a few of these picks (two especially, but I'm not saying who), but there were a couple that surprised me last year that turned out pretty good.

Got four preseason games on the schedule, two against the WSHL Tulsa Rampage on September 5 and 6, the OU Sooners on September 13, and in Topeka against the Roadrunners on September 14.

So for those who entered the "Pick the Roster" contest this past weekend, how many did you get right?

Since July 16...

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:12:00 +0000

... When I installed the counter you see to the right of your screen, I have had over 1000 views from 614 different people. Including disgruntled Red Wings fans leaving comments on my Top 10 Reasons to Hate the Detroit Red Wings post.

Thank you readers, you are the reason I do this.

Wildcats Final Camp: All-Star Game

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:10:00 +0000

Well, my ASG roster predictions, and even final roster predictions were pretty badly off. Of the 40 players in the game, I was correct on 33. Here are the lines for each team from it:

RED
Patrick Cahill - Zachary Rourke - Kyle Delaurell
Adam Mitchell - Michael Hill - Adam Sponseller
Ricky Brown - Clayton Lewis - Branson Yost
Clayton Glick - Hans Helminen - Grant Dixon

Zach Waxenburg - Shaun Jameson
Justin Hancock - Ryan Dyer
Sebastien Johansson - Ryan Gaffney

Philip Graveline
Brian Phillips

WHITE
Sean McKenzie - Brett Hartung - Victor Karlsson
Dustin Nowick - Tim Opie - Trent Krueger
Broderick Browne - Jeff McNeil - Aaron Quick
Matt Kenline - Gerry Holland - Nick Gualano

Brett Kaneshiro - Zach Trotman
Matt Shost - Curtis Heinz
Tristan Musser - Jaakko Lehtonen

Mike Jarboe
Jeff Michael

White won the game, 6-3. All the goalies had some moments of greatness, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see any one of them on the team with Mike Jarboe.

White's goals came from Broderick Browne, Sean McKenzie (2), Nick Gualano, Matt Kenline, and Trent Krueger; assists went to Jeff McNeil, Victor Karlsson, Brett Hartung, Krueger, Tim Opie, and Kenline (2). For Red, scoring were Kyle Delaurell, Adam Mitchell, and Zachary Rourke, while assists went to Patrick Cahill and Justin Hancock (2).

Three fights in this one, with Sean McKenzie and Ryan Dyer going in a quick one that I'd score a draw. The second one featured Broderick Browne and Ricky Brown. This one was a good long one, with Browne getting the win, but Brown certainly was impressive in his ability fighting someone about twice his size. The third was between Grant Dixon and Nick Gualano. I'd give the decision to Gualano, but Dixon hung in pretty well.

With the All-Star Game havung been played, it's time for me to redo my roster prediction.

GOALIES: Mike Jarboe, Philip Graveline

DEFENSEMEN: Curtis Heinz, Brett Kaneshiro, Jaakko Lehtonen, Zach Trotman, Justin Hancock, Shaun Jameson, Sebastien Johansson, Ryan Gaffney

FORWARDS: Broderick Browne, Brett Hartung, Matt Kenline, Trent Krueger, Sean McKenzie, Jeff McNeil, Dustin Nowick, Aaron Quick, Ricky Brown, Kyle Delaurell, Grant Dixon, Michael Hill, Adam Mitchell, Adam Sponseller, Branson Yost

No official word on when the final roster will be out, but if it's anything like last season, it could be out tomorrow. As soon as it's official, I'll post it here.

And Ryan, to answer your questions, not sure if this is the same Mike Miller or not. The one in our camp was a '91 from Bloomfield Hills, MI. No official word on Michael Hill yet, but I know I'd love to have him here. His speed would be a huge asset. And I haven't found anything on Mike Henderson as to where he was shipped off or what we got in return.

Wildcats Final Camp, Session 3

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:17:00 +0000

Evening Saturday. The final chance for players to make an impression on the coaches to get named to the All-Star Game and the final roster.

Makes for some exciting hockey.

The first game put Gold up against Blue, and as with their previous games, Gold shot the lights out, putting 50 shots on goal against the recently-arrived Mike Jarboe. I heard from someone that Jarboe was on the road all night and playing on about 3 hours of sleep, so I'll certainly excuse him for allowing 7 goals on those 50 shots. Blue hung right in until the end, scoring 6 on Philip Graveline. Anyways, recapping goals, Gold got them from Caleb Lister, Adam Mitchell, two from Trent Krueger, two from Sean McKenzie, and the game winner from Curtis Heinz. Assists were credited to Marcus Andary, Heinz, Tristan Musser, Sam Cimino, Brett Hartung, and two to McKenzie. The Blue team's goals came from an Adam Sponseller hat trick, two from Adam Cardwell, and one from Aaron Quick. Assists went to Zachary Rourke, Jeff McNeil, , Ryan Dyer, Cardwell, and Kyle Soder. Sponseller is looking a lot faster so far this season. Additionally, Jeff McNeil ran Graveline over about seven times this weekend. Considering the two were talking and being friendly between games, it doesn't seem it's anything personal. Perhaps a test to see who will stand up for their goalie and take on the 6'3" 200 pounder?

Speaking of standing up and fighting, we had a couple in this one. First off, McNeil was challenged by Gold's Patrick Cahill after a huge hit by Cahill on McNeil and a slash back by McNeil. Pretty even fight, not much landed by either. I'd call it a draw, maybe a slight edge to Cahill. Second was off the faceoff after a Blue goal when Ricky Brown and Kyle Soder dropped the gloves. They went down quickly, edge to Brown. The two just picked up the gloves and helmets, the puck was dropped again, and the gloves came off again, this time with Soder scoring a pretty clear win, though Brown had a decent showing.

The nightcap featured Red vs. Green, with Green winning 5-4 in a shootout. This one was a really fun one to watch, lots of good hitting and action at both ends. All four goaltenders showed they could certainly handle the backup job, so it seems it will certainly be a race to the finish, with essentially five goalies competing for one spot. Green tallied goals from Chris Rose, Tim Opie, Victor Karlsson, and Alex Barr. Assists went to Shayne Caruso, Sebastien Johansson, Shane Vorndran, Ryan Gaffney, Brett Kaneshiro, and Anthony Finney. For Red, goals were scored by Hans Helminen, Kyle Delaurell, Trevor Campbell, and Dustin Nowick. Assists were marked by Nowick, Delaurell two, Nick Guzman, Shaun Jameson, and Ales Jezek. The lone shootout goal was scored by Green's Branson Yost.

This one was a fun one for fights. Early on, Clayton Glick and Ryan Brown went at it in a pretty even fight, both throwing a lot, neither landing much. And then to start off the second period, what's better than all ten skaters dropping the mitts? As far as I could tell, the matchups were (Green player named first) Chris Rose vs. Nick Guzman, Shane Vorndran vs. Trevor Campbell, Alex Barr vs. Hans Helminen, Cole Winans vs. Matt Shost, and Grant Dixon vs. Jaakko Lehtonen. I couldn't keep track of all of them, but of what I could figure out, Lehtonen got Dixon bleeding from the nose, Winans got Shost bleeding, Campbell beat Vorndran, and Barr and Helminen weren't too serious about fighting and just did because everyone else did. I couldn't see much from Guzman and Rose while I was writing everything down. And finally, off a faceoff, Anthony Finney went with Shaun Jameson, with Jameson getting a pretty decisive win. I'm guessing Finney didn't know that Jameson was undefeated in seven fights last season.

And so, we're at the end of camp, with only the All-Star Game left to be played. Before I make my final roster predictions, by request here is a list of all the players in camp.

* denotes players not eligible for the final roster

RED TEAM
D: Trevor Campbell, Justin Hancock, Shaun Jameson, Jaakko Lehtonen, Matt Shost, Sam Smith
F: Ryan Brown, Kyle Delaurell, Nick Guzman, Hans Helminen, Gerry Holland, Ales Jezek, Thomas Moessner, Dustin Nowick, Taylor Shea, Dan Shilts

GOLD TEAM
D: Ryan Cole, Curtis Heinz, Tristan Musser, Zach Trotman, David Wasnick, Zach Waxenburg
F: Marcus Andary, Ricky Brown, Patrick Cahill, Sam Cimino, Nick Gualano, Brett Hartung, Michael Hill, Trent Krueger, Caleb Lister, Sean McKenzie, Adam Mitchell

BLUE TEAM
D: Ryan Dyer, Goshi Kumagai, Craig Martin, Mike Miller, Jimmy Richardson
F: Julian Breaux, Broderick Browne, Adam Cardwell*, Pat Gallagher, Jeff McNeil, John Paul McNicholas, Aaron Quick, Zachary Rourke, Kyle Soder, Adam Sponseller, Michal Szabo, Jake Machel

GREEN TEAM
D: Alex Barr, Shayne Caruso, Ryan Gaffney, Sebastien Johansson, Brett Kaneshiro, Cole Winans
F: Grant Dixon, Anthony Finney, Clayton Glick, Victor Karlsson, Matt Kenline, Clayton Lewis, Tim Opie, Chris Rose, Luke Salazar*, Shane Vorndran, Branson Yost

GOALIES
Brian Phillips, Philip Graveline, Mike Jarboe, Jeff Michael, Brent Troyan, Peter Emery

Putting together a good prediction for the final roster was a tough task. As I said earlier today, the gap between the best player and the worst player is much smaller than it has been in the recent past. Even coming up with 40 players for the All-Star Game was hard. I had to leave a lot of really good players off my roster, but that being said, here's what I put in as my guess for the $500 Final Roster Contest, in no particular order.

GOALIES: Mike Jarboe, Peter Emery

DEFENSEMEN: Shaun Jameson, Brett Kaneshiro, Curtis Heinz, Ryan Hancock, Zach Trotman, Jaakko Lehtonen, Craig Martin, Goshi Kumagai

FORWARDS: Brett Hartung, Jeff McNeil, Dustin Nowick, Adam Sponseller, Sean McKenzie, Matt Kenline, Aaron Quick, Adam Mitchell, Ricky Brown, Branson Yost, Kyle Delaurell, Broderick Browne, Clayton Lewis, Michael Hill, Ales Jezek

As for the ASG rosters, take those players and add in...

GOALIES: Philip Graveline, Jeff Michael

DEFENSEMEN: Tristan Musser, Zach Waxenberg, Shayne Caruso, Ryan Gaffney

FORWARDS: Grant Dixon, Zach Rourke, Kyle Soder, Nick Guzman, Ryan Brown, Hans Helminen, Patrick Cahill, Trent Krueger, Victor Karlsson

And I'll go out on a limb here-- even if (or when) my 25-man final roster is proven wrong, all 25 of the players on the roster are on my ASG list. We'll see soon if I know a thing about scouting or not.

Anyways, All-Star Game is 1 pm tomorrow. I'll have a boxscore and update (and maybe a final roster) tomorrow evening.

Wildcats Final Camp: Practice, Sessions 1 and 2

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:02:00 +0000

Alright, I said I would update people on camp, and I'm finally doing so!

The group as a whole looks seriously awesome. Past years, there have been times that I could pick out players I'm certain would not make the final team. This year, the gap between the best and worst player is much smaller. There are 65 skaters and 6 goalies tryout out this year. Sorted by age:

1988: 13 (7 NAHL experienced)
1989: 28 (9 NAHL experienced)
1990: 28 (3 NAHL experienced)
1991: 2

By state/country:
Michigan: 19
California: 12
Texas: 9
Colorado: 5
Pennsylvania: 3
Ohio: 3
Minnesota: 2
Sweden: 2
Washington: 1
Arizona: 1
Czech Republic: 1
Wisconsin: 1
Japan: 1
Slovakia: 1
Missouri: 1
Finland: 1
Illinois: 1
Florida: 1
Maryland: 1
New Jersey: 1
Alaska: 1
Massachusetts: 1
Nevada: 1
Indiana: 1

Anyways, enough of that nonsense. From the practices on Friday morning, I felt that Green and Blue were faster than Gold and Red, though I wouldn't get a chance to know for certain until Saturday morning.

Anyways, first game, Gold and Red played in the first game Friday evening. Gold won 5-2, with Brett Hartung scoring two goals and getting an assist. Also scoring for gold were Ricky Brown, Sean McKenzie, and Caleb Lister. Assists went to Sam Cimino, Adam Mitchell, and Patrick Cahill. Red's goals were scored by Thomas Moessner and Kyle Delaurell, with an assist going to Dustin Nowick. One fight as well, with Ryan Brown getting the decision over Marcus Andary right off a faceoff following Ricky Brown's goal. And just a warning, do not cross the blue line with your head down while Jaakko Lehtonen is on the ice. The kid can hit, big time; think Ossi Vaananen.

On to the second game, Green and Blue faced off, with Blue winning 2-1. Blue's goals were scored by Craig Martin (not the former Winnipeg Jet) and Zachary Rourke from Martin. Green's goal was scored by Luke Salazar, with assists going to Tim Opie and Clayton Glick. Two fights here, with Grant Dixon scoring a decision over Jimmy Richardson, and Ryan Gaffney getting bloodied by Broderick Browne. The Green team has some good hitters in Dixon and Branson Yost, so as with last year's team, be prepared for physical play this season from whoever makes the team here in Wichita Falls.

Moving on to Saturday morning, Blue vs. Red was a high-scoring affair, with a final of 7-4 with Red on top. Red's goals were scored by Nick Guzman, Shaun Jameson, Jaakko Lehtonen, Ales Jezek, Dan Shilts, Dustin Nowick, and Hans Helminen. Assists went to Shilts, Nowick, Jezek, Jameson, and Sam Smith. For Blue, goals were tallied by Adam Cardwell, Goshi Kumagai, Pat Gallagher, and John Paul McNicholas. Getting the assists for Blue were Zachary Rourke, Thomas Moessner, Kyle Soder, and Michal Szabo. Two fights in this one, with Aaron Quick getting the win over Justin Hancock, and Smith challenging Cardwell. In the latter fight, Smith took the initiative and issued the challenge and got the takedown early and quickly. Though with it being so quick, the officials let them go again, with Cardwell getting the win overall. And as far as I could tell from my initial reactions, Blue and Green were faster, however as a whole, Red and Gold have more talent.

As for Saturday's second game, Gold played against Green, with Gold winning 4-2. Gold's goals were scored by Brett Hartung (two for him again), Sean McKenzie, and Michael Hill with an empty netter; assists went to Patrick Cahill, Adam Mitchell, and Sean McKenzie. Green's goals went to Victor Karlsson and Shane Vorndran, and an assist I believe to Clayton Lewis. Lewis, while not figuring much into the scoring has been impressive-- he's a high-energy player, always is in good position, communicates well with linemates, and is one of those 100% balls-to-the-wall type of players. One fight in this game, Caleb Lister vs. Grant Dixon. Pretty much a total Donald Brashear style hug-fest, I'd score it a draw.

Two more games tonight, plus All-Star game tomorrow. Additionally, Wildcats' owner Roy Davoult has announced a roster contest: if you can accurately guess the Wildcats' final 25-man roster, you win $500. If no one guesses perfectly, the most accurate will win $100. You can be sure I'll be entering a roster for it. Guesses must be in by tonight at 9 pm. I'll post my guess tonight after the deadline. This is a tough one to guess-- there are a lot of really good players in camp this year, and while I'm sure I can guess about 18-22 of the players correctly, there are probably 20 who could easily fill those last few spots.

Busy weekend ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Drew) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:58:00 +0000

So along with a semi-promotion at work this week (I'm still a part timer, but I've been added to the news staff, being heard daily at 3 minutes past the hour between 4 and 7 pm on Newstalk1290), we have the first major event of the hockey season going on this weekend: Wichita Falls Wildcats Final Tryout Camp.

As with last year, I'll be there every day this year, scouting players and also functioning as rink announcer. And as with last year, you can read my reports here at Simply Drew. And if anyone else is at any of the camps and has anything they'd like to add to my writings on it, talk to me, we'll see what we can do.