Ice Bears Win!

Tonight I attended the Knoxville Ice Bears hockey game. They took on the Louisiana Ice Gators. And won. Big. 6-1. It was 4-0 in less than 15 minutes into the first period.

Two of the players came out to sign autographs after the game.  They don't have cards of the players or team in the gift shop area.  The guy working there said that they only had them "that one year".

So, I pulled out my ticket.  Works for me.

Ben Souders scored a goal tonight, with an assist from Jeremy Klaver.

Ben Souders - #19

Jeremy had two assists in the game.  I let him know, as he was signing my ticket, that this was the first Ice Bears game that I'd been to in years.  He seemed genuinely appreciative that I was there.  The team has clinched a playoff berth.  I wished them well in the post season.  Again, he seemed genuinely grateful.

Jeremy Klaver - #8

I picked up this card from the customer service table.  I don't know how many are in the series.

2012-13 Knoxville Ice Bears advertising card
Austin Gantz (card # 2)

All in all, a good night.

The Well-Dressed Goalie

Today's subject is Frank Brimsek. Honestly I had no idea who he was.  Hadn't heard his name before.  Yes, that will elicit boos and hisses from the hockey fans.  I can live with that.  He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.   Many of you weren't even born yet, so back off.   Frank played most of his career with the Boston Bruins.

2003-2004 Parkhurst Original 6
Frank Brimsek (card # 61)
image lifted from this ebay auction

I was doing some research on the "Bloomer Girls" baseball team and stumbled across this filler photo from 1940.

Plattsburgh Daily Press
January 9, 1940

The times have changed.

Jon Matsumoto - fictitious card

Through the wonder that is FaceBook, I have connected with long forgotten friends, family, and classmates.

One of my classmates, Frank McKeon, was quite a sharp young man back in the 1970s.  If my memory is correct, we shared classes from the 4th grade through the 10th grade, when I moved from upstate New York to Arizona.

Frank was quite the character, respectfully pushing the limits of 'normal' social behavior.  I never knew him as a trouble maker, but he had the look of one.  He introduced me to some 'new' music.  Alice Cooper and ELO.  I liked Frank.  We weren't best buddies, but we were friends.

A few weeks ago Frank mentioned on his FaceBook status:

Congrats to Jonathon Matsumoto on your first game in the NHL. Many more to come.

I wondered where Frank knew him. I looked up Jonathan Matsumoto on wikipedia and saw that he had played for the Adirondack Phantoms. I thought that Frank had seen him play for them. So I asked. Frank said that:

Jon and Claude Giroux both played for me and trained with me. Great kids but Jon is a very Close friend as well.

So, I figured I'd make a card for Jon.

This is based on a 1990 Score card. I lifted the photo from a Yahoo! Sports page. Credit where credit is due: Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images.

I guess I need to make a card for Claude now.

We're So Proud

A few weeks ago I did a blog post called "We're So Proud" on one of my other blogs. Basically it consisted of two YouTube videos that were captured here in east Tennessee.

Here's a WSP story that's sports related. The local hockey team, the Knoxville Ice Bears, champions of the SPHL, met the Fayetteville FireAntz in Knoxville late last week. There's been bad blood between the two teams all year, but it erupted on Saturday evening.











The League suspended 7 players and 2 coaches.

Here's the story from the Ice Bears' website.

Our local paper, the Knoxville News Sentinel, carried a few stories about it.

The local Fayetteville paper, the Fayetteville Observer, also ran a story.

The two teams face each other this weekend in the first round of the playoffs.

Yep. We're so proud.

Custom Cards from the North

The interwebs is an interesting place. It never ceases to amaze me how a chance meeting will grow into something. Several years ago my wife, Angie, met a digital scrapbooker online. Over the course of time Melany and Angie have become good friends, calling each other every so often and harassing each other online. We have a photo of their family on our piano.

Melany has a wonderfully creative eye and shared these cards with me the other night. I asked if I could post them, being mindful that these are not her children. She got permission so I present to you a force to be reckoned with in 10 years.

No, they aren't the Hanson Brothers, but they are brothers. Triplets to be exact. They play in the Atom (2nd year) League. Or club. Or conference. As much as I enjoy hockey, I really don't understand the Little League conversion scale. Maybe because it is Metric or something.

Actually I did some research. It is the Dryden Minor Hockey Association. Apparently there are a variety of levels.

• Initiation
• Novice
• Atom
• PeeWee
• Bantam
• Midget

Enough of what I don't know what I'm talking about. Enjoy Melany's handiwork.

And do look out a decade down the road for Landon, Kristopher, and Jacob. Really.

The Portraits of Derek Sanderson

This is Derek Sanderson.

Derek was a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League. The 1969-70 hockey season was kind to the Boston Bruins. They won the Stanley Cup that season, defeating the St. Louis Blues.


The 23 year old was not above losing his gloves and engaging his opponents in a bit of fisticuffs. That season he spent 118 minutes in the penalty box.


If you weren't on the other team, those eyes would make you melt inside.


This might have been another reason he spent almost two whole games in the penalty box. Tripping is not allowed in the National Hockey League.


Here, we see Derek contemplating whether or not he should have been involved in tripping. He thinks that it is worth it.


Derek was a decent shooter. That season, playing in only 50 games, he had 18 goals and 23 assists, making him a team player, not a puck hog.


Derek also had a playful side. Here he is, auditioning for the Canadian cast of the Village People. He did not get a call back. And good for Boston, because he returned to the club and helped them win another Stanley Cup in 1971-72.


Another reason that he might not have made the Canadian Village People cast is that he was smooth with the ladies. Austin Powers lifted the term shagadelic from Derek. This was purely based on his choice of floor covering.


The stereo is on and the he's just waiting for his lady friend to arrive. Nothing says, "I've got a swinging bachelor pad" like swords on the wall. And a big painting of toreadors.


She does. Here they sit, listening to The Mystic Moods Orchestra's Mystic Moods of Love.


A quick jaunt to the bedroom. Stripes just don't mesh well with a Jackson Pollock bedspread.


On off days, Derek likes to tend bar. This is well before Sam Malone ever pulled one at Cheers.


When the sun has set, it is just another airport, waiting for another plane to pull away from another terminal, taking him to yet another rink so that he can help his teammates win. Again.

---

The photos are from the LIFE archives at Google images. In 1970 LIFE photographer Arthur Rickerby took several photos of Derek Sanderson for a story. I am using the photos under the guidelines set forth by Google, specifically: For personal non-commercial use only.

The frame was lifted from The Chicago Conservation Center's website without permission.

Information on Derek Sanderson's hockey career was taken from the wonderful hockey-reference.com.

Mail day from the north

Beth, a friend of mine, well, actually more a friend of my wife, was kind enough to send me a collectible that she got in Canada. It is a McDonald's 2009 mini helmet of Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

And in local hockey news, the Knoxville Icebears won the President's Cup for the Southern Professional Hockey League's championship. Second year in a row and three out of the last four years. The league has only been around five years, so that's one good team.