Salvation Saturday: Seawolves Win 3-2 in OT

I hate overtime.  It's a thought that my wife always expressed anytime we were at a game in which regular time ended with a tie.  I felt that strongly tonight.  I listened to the always excellent call of the game by our always professional, polite and gracious Kurt Haider instead of watching the B2 stream.  Honestly, that streaming floating tiger head is disturbing to me.

So as I was begging for our guys to keep the puck deep in the CC end but then heard CC goalie Joe Howe had left the ice in favor of the extra attacker, I got nervous.  From the time that UAA took the lead I was begging the clock to go faster.  Why oh why did Einstein have to be so right?  So when the Black Bears tied it up with 33 seconds to go I was nothing but distraught.  I've been nice to the hockey gods this year.  I haven't cursed them or used any Conan-like expressions to mock them.  Why oh why couldn't the Seawolves have held on for another 33 seconds!  I swear I was dying.

But just over a minute into the tachycardic inducing OT when I heard Kurt describing Tommy Grants rush up the ice, I visualized him banging it in.  Then I heard the word I feared, "saved" come from Kurt and for about a millisecond my heart dropped, but then was I really hearing it right when the next word I heard was "scores"?  Wow.  Overwhelmingly awesome is all I can say.  Our guys really deserved it didn't they?  It seemed like it took about a minute to hear that Daniel Naslund had knocked in the game winner.  Time is soooo relative.

In the pregame show, both Coach Shyiak and Simon talked about how Friday night's 5-0 loss wasn't nearly as lopsided as the score suggested.  Shyiak said he thought the Seawolves won the 1st period.  Those interviews buoyed my spirits for tonights game.  I didn't see Friday nights game.  So to have them come out and express it that way gave me hope.  Hope is something I generally find easily with regard to the team's chances.  I'm almost always optimistic but the day after another tough loss can sometimes be more darkly clouded.  Thanks Dave and Regg for giving me the skinny.  It helped me listen to the game with hope.

And thank you for clarifying Luka Vidmar's status.  For those readers that didn't hear, Dave indicated that they'll be able to properly evaluate Luka's knee injury in a couple of weeks and then we'll know his status for later in the season.  I'd based my post yesterday on a quote from Candace Horgan's recap on USCHO in which she quoted Shyiak as saying, “He (Vidmar) has a grade three MCL tear; he’s done.”  Makes me wonder if there was perhaps an "I think" prefacing that quote. which didn't make it into print.  In any case, I'm happy to admit that my report seems to have jumped the gun.

How about Sean Wiles eh?  There's a guy that can really lift his level of play via emotion.  Another great two goal effort from him put the team into a position to win it.  Kurt heaped lots of praise on the line of Wiles, Naslund and Spencer.  And each one of them had some hand in every goal tonight.  Mickey Spencer picked up the first assist on both of Sean's goals.  Trevor Hunt (who'd been a healthy scratch on Friday night) bagged the 2nd assist on each of Sean's tallies.  Wiles picked up the 2nd assist on Daniel Naslund's OT winner too. 

Those three guys should get all the perks tonight.  The rest of the team needs to "go get them a beer".  Jonny Olthuis was solid the whole night allowing just 2 goals on 26 shots.  Both of those goals came while the team had one less player on the ice than CC.  Stellar job Jonny!  Beer getters for you as well are much deserved.  All four of those guys should get their own row on the plane trip home. 

As I noted I didn't see the game, but I do know wins like this don't come without an excellent effort from every player.  Congrats to everyone for busting your asses and never giving up.  Congrats for the outstanding penalty kills in the 3rd period.  A minute and forty-three seconds of 5 on 3 versus the #1 power play team in the country, with less than 10 minutes to go in the 3rd period and then another 2 minutes killed with less than a minute of 5 on 5 play between them?  Wow guys.  That's some stellar PK work.  Seriously, on their rink ... and you're blocking shots like mad; Jonny O is coming up big and when it's over you're still ahead 2-1?  Fucking awesome is the only way to describe it.  Great effort.

I want to give big props to Dave Shyiak who somehow heard my plea that he call a timeout in the 2nd period with the team about to start a 5 on 3 power play.  The guys didn't get the go ahead goal as a result but it sounded like they had a couple of close chances.  And I got lots of chatroom credit for my psychic powers!

3 of UAA's 4 WCHA wins have all come against teams that were ranked nationally in the top five when the games were played.  That's nothing to sneeze at.  The Jekyll and Hyde act can now officially be put to rest.  There's no need for it anymore.  The Seawolves from here on out should have the confidence that they can beat anyone on any given night.  Because they can.  There are haters and naysayers who from here on out can't express their views without clear examples with which to refute them.  Nice.

With somewhere around 2 minutes left in the 2nd period of tonights game KRXP 103.9 FM's Ken Landau the "pride" of Colorado College's radio team was overheard on the B2 network (apparently during a radio break but while still "mic'd" for the B2 feed) saying "UAA just stinks".  About 45 seconds later the Seawolves tied the game at 1 each.  Landau's unprofessional and frankly ignorant comment about UAA was just one of several disparaging remarks overheard by B2 listeners which included a "Rangers suck" reference and a commentary regarding Notre Dame's head coach saying "Charlie Weis is a fat ass".  It was my understanding that the CC press booth had some of the tightest rules for journalist conduct in the WCHA.  Apparently though, being a drunken monkey spewing unedited horseshit across the internet is perfectly ok.

Ken Landau ... you're a wanker.  You're a twat.  You fail at professionalism.  Allow me to edify you; you get paid to do what you do sparky.  There are sponsors that pay your radio station which in turn pays your salary.  Additionally, opposition fans pony up 7 bucks a pop to be subjected to floating tiger heads, insipid looking fans performing semi-obscene freak dance moves and your insulting comments.

Why can I sit here and call you a wanker and a twat ... yet claim superiority?  Because NOBODY pays me to express my opinion.  In fact, people come here specifically to hear my opinion.  You on the other hand, are getting paid to practice some small measure of pretend journalism.  I sense sometimes that journalists are jealous of bloggers; in a way it probably isn't fair that they're held to a standard that folks like me can totally and righteously ignore.  Ken Landau makes me suspect my senses are well-founded.  If you want to say crap like that, then get a blog sparky.  God knows the 1st place Black Bears probably deserve to have someone writing about them on the internet.

I know several UAA fans have already emailed UAA alum and current CC Athletic Director Ken Ralph (Ken.Ralph@ColoradoCollege.edu) expressing their displeasure with having to pay money to be exposed to your lack of professionalism.  I will be doing so as well.  In addition, your bosses at KRXP should expect to hear from me as well.  Yes, I know you "tried" to apologize a moment later but such half-assed apologies don't undo the unprofessional disrespect you perpetrated.  Don't get me wrong.  This isn't world ending stuff Ken.  But hopefully, it will at least result in your World Arena drinking priviledges being suspended.  And oh yeah ... nothing could be sweeter than for my beloved "just stink"ing Seawolves to shut you up.

Here's the boxscore Ken.  Suck it.  Kurt Haider owns you.  You don't compare to a pimple on his ass.  You worship his toe-jam and would blessed to be clothed by garments made from his belly-button lint.  His Yorkshire Terrier could eat your Pit Bull.  If his wife slapped your wife, your in-laws would have visible bruising.