Thank you everyone!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you loyal PrairieThunder fans and hockey fans who have read my blog. I hope that you have enjoyed it and will continue to read it.

If you are reading this you have noticed that it has changed to kinchequipmentguy.blogspot.com .

I wanted you to hear it from me first, the Bloomington PrairieThunder have elected not to renew my contract for next season. I would like to thank them for the year and a half that I have been with the organization. It would be very easy for me to start to bad mouth them and tell you what I think, but I won't do that.

I would like to thank the booster club and all the people in it that have been so great to my family and I. You all do a great job and the players don't know how good they have it. We have made many lasting friendship with you. Thank you for always being there when I needed the help.

Unless I sign with another hockey team and they need me sooner, we will be here until September when I finish with the baseball team. There are many jobs out there that I am pursing and I may have something here shortly.

I will continue to blog about baseball and other things I see interesting in the hockey world.

This would not happen in hockey!

For those of you who don't know, I am working for the Normal CornBelters baseball team this summer as the team's clubhouse manager. This is similar to being an equipment manager in hockey. June 1st was the teams opening day. If you haven't seen it yet you need to check out the teams field "The Corn Crib". Although, the field itself is playable, we are without a clubhouse for us and the visiting team. The umpires are dressing in the front office. This makes it hard on the guys who have to go without their normal showers and routines until they get home. Also, it is a lot harder for me to keep things organized and from getting lost. However, we are making due until they are done. The visiting team is getting dressed at their hotel and busing over.

Now in hockey, it is up to the equipment manager to arrange with the team you are visiting to get your laundry washed and get into the locker room to hang up the equipment. At this level of baseball, the clubhouse managers do not travel, only the trainer goes with the team. In my book, it is up to the trainer to make sure everything gets done.

On Friday, I was going about my business and was finishing up getting ready for the game when I received a disturbing phone call at 2:30 pm. The manager at the visiting team hotel, who I know fairly well, called to tell me that the visiting team was there and they were wondering if and when their laundry and uniforms were going to get washed and what they needed to do. As it turns out, they came in the night before, but nobody had bothered to let me know. Granted this would have been harder to let happen in hockey because you have to hang the equipment to dry, but a team could have been left waiting to get in if they fail to call me. Luckily, I was done setting up and I raced to the hotel to pick up their laundry. When I got there I was told that they would just play in their uniforms and only the guys laundry needed to be done. Well, no clubhouse = no laundry room. I have been going to the laundry mat to wash the stuff, so I raced their and back to the hotel put it in their dryer. In the end, Kalamazoo was able to make it to batting practice on time. I apologized to one of their coaches and he told me that it was equally their fault.

You can count on it that next time a team comes in I will call the hotel and see when they are checking in.

Oh, and the walk-off home run in the bottom of 12th inning that won the game for us made me forget all about the day that I had.

Lots of miles!

It looks like there is going to be a lot of changes for this next year. Either way there is going to be more travel. It sounds like from all the reports that this team will be entering the CHL. Here is a look at how the travel might change.

Quad City - 131 miles
Fort Wayne - 233 miles
Dayton - 288 miles
Flint - 378 miles
Port Huron - 444 miles

Missouri Mavericks - 368 miles
Mississippi RiverKings - 460 miles
Tulsa Oilers - 557 miles
Wichita Thunder - 575 miles
Allen Americans - 768 miles
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - 778 miles
Texas Brahmas - 808 miles
Rapid City Rush - 914 miles
Colorado Eagles - 964 miles
Odessa Jackalopes - 1115 miles
Laredo Bucks - 1222 miles
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees - 1321 miles

Kalamazoo Wings - 252 miles
Cincinnati Cyclones -285 miles
Toledo Walleye - 351 miles
Wheeling Nailors - 472 miles
Gwinnett Gladiators - 680 miles
Greenville - 695 miles
Elmira Jackals - 756 miles
Reading Royals - 771 miles
Trenton Devils - 835 miles
South Carolina Stingrays - 898 miles
Florida Everblades - 1260 miles

Keep in mind, if we are in the ECHL we would have to go to all of these places. I think the plan in the CHL is that we would not play everyone.

Bits and pieces of everything

After spending a week in 2nd place, my fantasy team is back in 1st with a record of 47-32-5. Two games up on the second place team.

I put this on here because I am from Salt Lake City #5. It is yahoo's 10 best cities for the next decade.
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/10-best-cities-for-the-next-decade

Check this out. I found this link on the Society of Professional Hockey Equipment Managers facebook page. Mike Aldrich from San Jose did a great job with team USA's locker room.
http://behindthescenes2010games.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-02-20T15%3A33%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

Is the third time really a charm? It will be for Marian Hossa if the Black Hawks can beat the Flyers. This is the 3rd year in a row that he has played in the Stanley Cup finals, however he has not been a part of the winning team. 2 years ago he was a part of the Penguins team that lost to the Redwings. Last year he switched sides hoping his luck would change. It didn't as his Redwings lost to the Penguins. This year he will try and win it with the Black Hawks.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made a step in the right direction as they have hired one of the best on-ice leaders to run their team. Steve Yzerman was hired as their GM. I think he will do a great job.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=322598

Congrats to the Cincinnati Cyclones who won the ECHL Championship.

The Normal CornBelters won their first ever game 7 to 0 over Evansville. They are 3-1. Opening Day is June 1st at the Corn Crib in Normal.

Lots going on!

I sat down with Josh Redman this week and he interviewed me about my job. We talked about many things I do. Check it out, a few things might make you laugh. Thanks again Josh, I had a blast.
http://pwrply2.podbean.com/

Well, the Flint Generals were also able to come back from a 3 to 1 deficit to defeat the Muskegon Lumberjacks and end 50 years of pro hockey in that city. They will take on the Fort Wayne Komets. That series will start tomorrow in Fort Wayne. For more info on the dates and times of that series check out the press release:
http://ism3.infinityprosports.com/ismdata/2009062901/std-sitebuilder/sites/200901/www/en/news/index.html?article_id=881
Here is a little more about Muskegon and the 50 years. I find it kinda funny that on the second to last day of the season, Muskegon rested Centomo, Little, Bouchard, and Robinson against Flint. Muskegon lost that game and lost to them in the playoffs. If they would have won that game, we would have been in the playoffs. Nobody wanted to play Flint because of the run that they were putting together. Muskegon didn't find that game important to win, thus they are now on the golf course.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/05/after_50_years_its_game_over_f.html

There is now a second team in the IHL without a coach as Stan Drulia in Port Huron resigned earlier this week. John Marks was fired last month from Dayton.
http://ism3.infinityprosports.com/ismdata/2009062901/std-sitebuilder/sites/200901/www/en/news/index.html?article_id=879

Peoria will have a new coach next year as Rick Wamsley was dismissed by the St. Louis Blues.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/blues/story/3A182484FE45D1D78625771C000EF418?OpenDocument

Congrats to the Rapid City Rush who won the Central League Championship by beating the Allen Americans 4 games to 2.

Pro baseball in the Bloomington-Normal area has officially begun. The team started practicing yesterday in Downs at Tri-Valley high school.
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/baseball/professional/minor/cornbelters/article_411f819e-5972-11df-9586-001cc4c03286.html

In order to try and get back on the right track the Cubs have called up top prospect Starlin Castro. Lets hope that he can step in and help.
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/baseball/professional/mlb/chicago-cubs/article_513255b0-5a27-11df-a07b-001cc4c03286.html

Have a good weekend. Happy Mothers day to all the Moms.

Kinch

Monday notes

Well, after 4 weeks of fantasy baseball, I am still in 1st place with a record of 31-14-3.

Around the IHL, Fort Wayne came from being down 3 games to 1 to win the series 4 games to 3 against Port Huron. This is the second time in 3 years that they have done this.
In the other series, Muskegon is up 3 games to 2. Game 6 will be played tomorrow night in Muskegon. Here is a look into that series:
http://www.mlive.com/lumberjacks/index.ssf/2010/05/sebastien_centomo_expected_to.html

There hasn't been much PrairieThunder news lately. Here is a sad piece that came out today. I did not know him, but I am sure that many of you did.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4003188

In a surprising move, the Bloomington Extreme fired their coach today.
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/football/professional/arena/extreme/article_3f321e40-56df-11df-9776-001cc4c002e0.html

For some of you, the equipment sale was the first look into the PrairieThunder locker room. Although, it was not during the season and a few things were missing. You got an idea as to what it looks like. Well, I am not a fan of the Vancouver Canucks, but you have to check out this tour of their locker room.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K59vJHhQg6g
Here it is a little more in depth.
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHAYgNxZjd0&feature=related
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPtVBpgJeHY&feature=related

Email me and let me know what you want me to talk about. mkincher@yahoo.com

Summer jobs

Here is 3 players that played in this league that are going to continue to play this summer. Australia would not be a bad place to live in the summer. I wonder if any of those teams are looking for equipment manager. :)

Shane Lovdahl - Quad City
http://www.adelaideadrenaline.com/team.php
Nick Boucher - Fort Wayne
http://www.bearsden.com.au/team
Voldy Dashko - Former PrairieThunder player
http://www.bluetongues.com.au/2010-gold-coast-blue-tongues-roster.html

Playoff suspensions

Matt Krug (Muskegon), Rick Smith (Flint), and Justin Hodgman (Fort Wayne) have all been suspended by the IHL for playoff games.
http://ism3.infinityprosports.com/ismdata/2009062901/std-sitebuilder/sites/200901/www/en/news/index.html?article_id=863

This could make things hard for Fort Wayne, since Hodgman leads the league with 6 playoff pts. The Komets have scored 9 goals in 3 games and Hodgman has been apart of 6 of them.

If Fort Wayne can't survive this, look for their fans to complain about it all summer long. :o

NHL players

As I watch the NHL playoffs, I noticed that there are a few players playing that I have had on my previous teams.

Joel Ward - Nashville Predators - Houston Aeros
Benoit Pouliot - Montreal Canadiens - Houston Aeros
John Erskine - Washington Capitals - Utah Grizzlies
Dan Ellis - Nashville Predators - Utah Grizzlies

Nashville got knocked out last night by the blackhawks, so good luck to Benoit and John as they battle each other.

Around the IHL / ECHL / Fantasy Baseball

Port Huron is up 2 games to 1 over Fort Wayne. Game 4 will be played Wednesday April 28th in Port Huron.

Muskegon is up 2 games to 0 over Flint. Game 3 will be played Tuesday April 27th in Flint. Defense of the Year Matt Krug has been suspended for Game 3.
http://www.mlive.com/lumberjacks/index.ssf/2010/04/muskegon_lumberjack_defenseman_1.html

Other news: Dayton fired head coach John Marks.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/hockey/gems-fire-head-coach-after-last-place-finish-668294.html

ECHL
Charlotte is down 3 games to 2 against Cincinnati. The winner of this series will take on Reading in the American Conference Finals. Idaho will take on Stockton in the National Conference finals.

On a separate note, after a disappointing week of going 4 wins, 7 loses, and 1 tie, my fantasy baseball team remained in first place with a record 22 -11 - 3. I am a half game ahead of second place. This is a huge week as I play the second place team. I take the blame last week for the bad record as I left a few guys on the bench that hit home runs, had I played those guys I might have won.

Thanks to those of you who came to the equipment sale. We had a great turnout. I hope you enjoy your new collectibles and equipment.

Interesting news

Keep your eye on this during the summer:
Article from Florida (ECHL)
http://blogs.naplesnews.com/everblades/2010/04/will-the-echl-absorb-teams-from-the-ihl.html

Article from Quad City(IHL)
http://qctimes.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/article_b3d935ec-4c23-11df-b490-001cc4c002e0.html

I believe this is our best option.

Locker clean out day

First off, I would like to thank all of you that have taken the time to read my blog, I hope that you have enjoyed it. I would also like to thank all of you loyal fans that have supported and cheered us on. Those of you who have traveled to our road games.
I am just as disappointed as you that our season didn't end differently. I understand your frustrations.
Today is one of the worst days of the year when players go and get their exit physicals. They then come to the rink to meet with Coach Skalde and pick up their equipment.
Looks like they started to take the ice out yesterday.
We had a good night last night at the team awards banquet.
Here is a run down of the awards that I can remember, sorry if I miss one.
Rookie of the Year - Matt McIlvane
Defenseman of the Year - Jason Lepine
Most Points, MVP - Craig Macdonald
Community Service - Mike Liambas
Players Player - Justin Sawyer
Unsung Hero - Matt McIlvane
Coaches Award - Matt McIlvane

Last game of the year

Well, it all comes down to this. The last game of the year. A must win is in store. We can't worry about the other game. We have to win and hope that Fort Wayne doesn't disappoint their fans or they do what Muskegon did last night.

Looking at the score sheet I noticed that Little, Bouchard, and Lawmaster didn't play. They also played Lundin instead of Centomo which could be expected. Also, Todd Robinson had no shots. When was the last time that Todd Robinson had no shots in a game. We must have been upset that they made him play.

Had we not come out flat last night, we would have won that game last night. Lets hope that our guys come out and play like they did in that second period.

In Port Huron

Ever wonder what goes on between the morning skate and the time the players arrive back at the rink for the game? After pre-game skate the players go for lunch. Usually at a place like Olive Garden or one that serves pasta. They then go to there apartments or hotel for a pregame nap. There is usually a lot of superstitious activities going on. I am not sure exactly what our guys do, even if I did, I wouldn't say because most guys don't like when others know what they are doing.
However, here are a few things that players have been known to do:
Eat the same meal at the same place if things are going good, if not they might switch up what they eat or where they eat.
Some have to drive the same way to eat.
Then comes the nap, some sleep while others just relax and watch tv.
Meanwhile, back at the rink a lot takes place. While the guys are leaving, I straighten the gear and clean the stalls. Every equipment guy has there own touch. Some leave the gear as guys left it, while others straighten everything. All of the socks are set out, and the jerseys are hung. At home the carpet is vacuumed and the floor in front of the stalls is mopped. On the road, I just make sure the floor is cleaned up.
Then comes the skate sharpenings. There are 6 guys that get there skates done every game day, 3 before morning skate and 3 after. This morning I sharpened 8 pairs before practice and 5 after.
At home, there is laundry that needs to be done. On the road, the home team does it all. This can take a while.

If all goes well, we will be one step closer to making the playoffs.

travel day

We are leaving for Flint today at 10:00 am.

This is what the forward lines have been the past couple of days, sorry again I don't have the defense pairings.

61 27 22
28 24 9
12 20 19

We will find out today if McIlvane will be able to play this weekend.

Check out what Flint is saying about tomorrow nights game:
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/04/flint_generals_want_to_finish.html

Also, Flint's newspaper had its own awards and guess what Flint's players won most of the awards. Wow, that is a surprise. I guess that is why the league has awards and not each individual newspaper.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/04/flint_generals_dominate_inaugu.html

Anyone see that big Cubs comeback yesterday to beat the brewers? 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th with no runners on and 2 outs. Thank you LaTroy Hawkins for playing with the brewers.

Gotta go finish packing. Today was an early one as I arrived at the rink at 6 am.

Port Huron Newspaper

As I was reading articles from various leagues this morning, I came across this one from Port Huron:
http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20100413/SPORTS/4130319/1006/Costanzo-Icehawks-fans-should-cheer-for-Generals
I have a few problems with it.
First off, as a sports fan, you never cheer for your biggest rival to make the playoffs or win a game. Even if it was good for the league.
Second, it mentions wanting our games to be close on Saturday and Sunday. Here is our last 4 games against each other, Port Huron has won 1 in regulation by 1 goal, we have won 1 in regulation by 1 goal, and Port Huron has won 2 in ot. Those all seem close to me. This isn't last year. These two teams are a lot closer than the 20 points that separate them.
Third, although both teams can't catch the team above them, this isn't football. They won't rest their top players going into the playoffs. Both teams will want to work on things going into the playoffs.
Fourth, it mentions that the Port Huron vs Fort Wayne series will be "a longer, more hard fought series". Looking at the last six games in the season, I am not sure it will be that way. Fort Wayne was 5-1.
Final point, is that its a long season. Teams get hot and cold. Those that can stay hot longer and find ways to win, make the playoffs. Just because you play good at the end of the season doesn't mean you deserve to make the playoffs.
If I lived in Port Huron, I would be worried about getting the people there to cheer for the home team. That seems to be a big enough problem.

Monday

My fantasy baseball team did good last week going 7-3-2 against the unfoxy ladies. It puts me in second place after week one.

With the NHL and AHL seasons ended, every other league is now in the playoffs. We still have one week to go. Here is a look at what is going on elsewhere:

Central Hockey League - Best of 7
Northern Conference Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs vs Rapid City Rush - Tied 1 to 1
Southern Conference Allen American vs Odessa Jackalopes - Tied 1 to 1
http://www.centralhockeyleague.com/pagebank/index.html?id=4316

ECHL - Best of 5
American Conference QF Charlotte Checkers vs Toledo Walleye - Charlotte won 3 to 1
American Conference QF Reading Royals vs Kalamazoo Wings - Tied 2 to 2
American Conference QF Elmira Jackals vs Florida Everblades - Everblades won 3 to 2
American Conference QF South Carolina Stingrays vs Cincinnati Cyclones - Cyclones won 3 to 2
National Conference QF Idaho Steelheads - BYE
National Conference QF Bakersfield Condors vs Victoria Salmon Kings - Tied 2 to 2
National Conference QF Stockton Thunder vs Alaska Aces - Thunder won 3 to 1
National Conference QF Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers - Tied 2 to 2
http://echl.leaguestat.com/hm/bracket.php?season_id=16

SPHL - Best of 5 Final
Mississippi Surge vs Huntsville Havoc - Starts Wednesday
http://www.thesphl.com/view/thesphl

AAHL - Best of 7 Final
Evansville Icemen vs West Michigan Blizzard - Evansville leads 3 to 1
http://www.aahlhockey.com/playoff-brackets

Down to 3 games

Will Friday nights game be without either coach? We will just have to wait and see if Jason Muzzatti receives a game suspension for his actions tonight as Flint lost to Muskegon. Check it out for yourself:
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/04/video_blog_flint_generals_temp.html
Here you can read a little about what went on:
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/04/flint_generals_unhappy_with_of.html

We are still 3 pts ahead of Flint, a win in regulation on Friday and we are in the playoffs and they are out. If not it will come down the the games on Saturday and Sunday. We play Port Huron both nights and they play Muskegon and Fort Wayne.

Good news is that we will have both McIlvane and Lepine back for this weekend. McIlvane traveled to Manitoba, but did not play as he was not feeling 100%. Lepine finished up the weekend with 1 assist in 2 games.

Not sure who won the masters pool, but it was not Frick and I. Our best golfer was Hunter Mahan who finished at -7.

at Quad

Well, I am not sure how many of you will read this until after the game, since it sounds like we are going to get a lot of support up here in Quad.

As expected, both Ruwe and Skalde have been suspended by the league. I am not sure, but the league might have held off on the suspensions to allow everyone to participate in our last regular season home game. Here is the press release:
http://ism3.infinityprosports.com/ismdata/2009062901/std-sitebuilder/sites/200901/www/en/news/index.html?article_id=809

Last night, I am not sure if you noticed, but Todd Robinson was wearing #33. That is not his usual #19. Come to find out, their equipment manager forgot to pack his jersey because he was suspended their last road game. Luckily, like myself he always packs an extra jersey. I didn't realize this until after warm ups. After the 1st period I made up a nameplate for them and their equipment guy put it on his jersey. Why would I do that you ask? I actually had Robby his rookie year in Idaho, we called him up to Utah (old IHL). I could have sworn he got into a game or two, but looking at hockeydatabase, I found out I am wrong. Plus I hate seeing guys on the ice without namebars. At the start of the second period, he thanked me. After the game he thanked me again and I told him that he could repay me by beating Flint. Muskegon still plays Flint 3 times this year. I told Andrew (Muskegon's equipment guy) to take that #33 jersey just in case.

Gotta go warm ups just started.

vs Muskegon

Not much good came out of the game last night. Look for a suspension to be handed out.

Congrats to Jason Lepine, who was called up to the AHL today. Be on the look out for where. (It wasn't Peoria that called him up.)

Tonight Lefty (Bryan Bloodworth) will receive his award for the Public Relations Director of the Year.

Tonight Muskegon will still be without league MVP Robin Bouchard as he is serving the last game of his suspension. He received the MVP award yesterday.

Getting caught up

Ok, so I didn't blog the past couple of days. Last night was big for us as Port Huron beat Flint 4-2 in Port Huron. Those two teams play again tonight in Flint.

These were the lines yesterday:
61 27 22
28 24 9
12 20 19
39 21

I didn't get the D pairings yesterday or today, because they all wear the same color jersey and I didn't see much of practice.

Here are the lines for today:
61 27 21
28 24 9
12 20 19
39

Snowden did skate today. He woke up sick this morning.

After practice today we are having our draft for our masters pool. Frick and I teamed up again. Last year we won it, hopefully we can have a good draft and do it again.

After 3 days of fantasy baseball I am tied 4 to 4 with The Unfoxy Ladies. My Cubs did not have a good opening day with Zambrano getting pounded. Hopefully they can respond today in Atlanta and get the first of many wins on the season. For those of you who are not Cubs fans, I am warning you now that there will be a lot of Cubs talk on this blog.

A couple days off

The win on Saturday night was huge. Not only did it give us a 7 pt lead on Flint, but it allowed us to get 2 days off. Since we do not play until Thursday, we were given Sunday and Monday off. In an equipment managers world, this means that I get a day off. Usually a day off means that I have to go in a get caught up on the laundry and other things before the next day of practice. I took today completely off to celebrate Easter with my wife, daughter and friends. I will go in tomorrow and catch up on the laundry.

Thursday we have a chance to put Quad City officially out of the playoff race:
http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=486847

I wonder if anyone will win the players of the week for this past week. I would nominate John Snowden for player of the week with 5 goals and 1 assist in 4 games.

Flint and Bloomington teaming up to help Peoria:
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1664792196/Rivermen-storm-past-Monsters-4-2
Looks like McIlvane and Rheaume will both be in the lineup for Peoria on Tuesday. A win over Milwaukee will help their chances of making the playoffs. Also, Joe Kingdon, our trainer will be working for Peoria. Good Luck to the 3 of them.

I have heard a few people talk about why we did not wear the pink jerseys Saturday night. Well, I can be the one to blame or praise for that decision. A month ago when the jerseys were designed, the color pink was chosen for that night. I didn't protest it much because of the cause and the fact that I hoped that we would have sealed up a playoff spot already. This however, was not the case. Saturday night was huge for the team, the city of Bloomington, and everyone involved. A win helps us get closer to securing a playoff spot, a loss means Flint is one step closer to taking what is ours. This time a year, it is all about eliminating distractions. I am not saying that we couldn't win in pink jerseys, because we did earlier this year. I just felt that these jerseys would be a distraction, so I went to a couple of the owners and asked for a compromise. They agreed to wearing them in warm ups only, we won, and everyone was happy, except Flint that is.

A bit of a break

Matt Woodard and Dennis Sicard went on the ice this morning to take shots on Sebastian Dahm. Andrew Martin got a massage, while Cole Ruwe and Preston Briggs did crosswords and puzzles in the newspaper. This is how we spent the morning at the rink. I packed up all the other bags and equipment. Joe ran across the street to get some subway for the two of us. We arrived back at the hotel a little after noon. Joe and I jumped off the bus, and the rest of the team climb on and went to Olive Garden. That is our typical place to stop on game days on the road.

It is weird for me to be sitting in my bed on a game day. Usually I am at the rink getting everything ready. I will probably try and take a little pre-game nap before we get on the bus at 4:15 to go to Flint. Joe, on the other hand, doesn't miss to many. (I can say that because he is in the other bed asleep. He is my usual roommate on the road.

Tonight will feel a lot like a playoff game. It is very important to both teams.

In Port Huron

Ya, so the internet did not work in the hotel last night. We stayed in Port Huron after the game, which was nice because we did not have to mess with packing and unpacking the equipment. We have an optional morning skate at 10:00 am. The guys will come back around 3:30 pm and we will pack up and go to Flint.

We now sit 8 pts ahead of Flint and Quad City. We have a game in hand on Quad, but Flint has 2 games in hand on us, which makes tonight even more important.
Here is the outcomes of the games against Flint this year:
PAST RESULTS
10/31/09 Flint 2 at Bloomington 3
12/04/09 Bloomington 2 at Flint 5
12/11/09 Flint 1 at Bloomington 3
01/17/10 Flint 2 at Bloomington 6
01/22/10 Bloomington 5 at Flint 4 OT
02/03/10 Flint 5 at Bloomington 7
02/26/10 Bloomington 5 at Flint 2
03/14/10 Bloomington 5 at Flint 4 OT
03/19/10 Flint 6 at Bloomington 1

Our record is 3-1-0-0 in Flint, while their record at home is 1-1-2-0. Two of the 4 have been close games.
Our record in Bloomington is 4-1-0-0, Flint is 1-4-0-0 in Bloomington.

This is the time of year, the league has the voting for its awards. Here is how Brendan Savage voted. He does mention a few of the PrairieThunder.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/03/the_international_hockey_leagu.html

This is something I have done before. Check it out:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100331/SPORTS/3310331/1002

Packing for the road

Well, we made it to Port Huron today. We left at 9:00 am from Bloomington and arrived just before 6:00 pm in Port Huron. When we arrived in town, we stopped at the rink to unload the bus.

Here is what we take when we play on the road:
Game stick bag
Extra stick bag
2 goalie bags
16 player bags
3 medical bags
jersey trunk
equipment trunk
skate sharpener
rivetor trunk
glove dryer
practice jerseys/socks bag
game laundry bag
practice laundry bag
game socks bag
extra equipment bag
Skalde's coaches bag

I think that is it. 34 pieces. Joe packs his 3 medical bags, the players pack their bags, and I get to pack the other 12. I try to provide everything on the road that I provided at home. Each guy has 3 or 4 sticks taped up. I then bring one new stick for each game on the road trip.

Players that did not make the trip:
Matt McIlvane #7
Mike Liambas #8
Matt Spiller #16
Rick Varone #21
Kevin Armstrong #33

Here is the preview for the next two games from the pantagraph:
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/ihl/prairiethunder/article_7f32cd1a-3b9f-11df-a3cc-001cc4c03286.html

Congrats to Macdonald and Martin who recieved player of the week awards for last week (week 24):
http://ism3.infinityprosports.com/ismdata/2009062901/std-sitebuilder/sites/200901/www/en/news/index.html?article_id=778

PT Records close to being broken:
Most Points: 69 (2007-2008) - 68
Most Wins: 31 (2007-2008) - 30
Most Powerplay Goals, Season: 15 Jon Booras (2008-2009), Don Parsons (2007-2008) - 15 Craig Macdonald
Most Powerplay Assists, Season: 20 Jon Booras (2008-2009) - 20 Jon Booras
Most Short-handed Assists, Season: 3 Jon Booras (2008-2009) - 3 Zach Pearson, 3 Justin Sawyer

Gotta go to bed, so I can get up and walk to the rink in the morning to finish setting up.

Kinch

Lineup tonight

We are short players with the suspensions and with McIlvane getting called up, so here is what we have for tonight.

61 27 28
12 24 19
29 9 20

18 4
6 2
10

35
37

McIlvane called up again

McIlvane just got called up. 3:45 pm he walked in to get his equipment.

Martin will start tonight.

As expected

Today it was announced that John Snowden and Dennis Sicard have been suspended by the IHL. Check out the details. With those two suspended we will be playing short tomorrow night.

http://ism3.infinityprosports.com/ismdata/2009062901/std-sitebuilder/sites/200901/www/en/news/index.html?article_id=757

Good news is that Jon Booras skated today.
Here are the lines from today.
61 27 28
9 24 19
12 7 20
22 39

18 4
29 2
6 10

Troy asked about McIlvane getting called up, and how many times it could happen before they had to keep him. Well, there is no limit. They can call him up as many times as they want without having to keep him, however, if they keep doing it, someone else might see him and want to sign him.

Flint and Quad City also have the night off tonight.

Suspensions

Look for one or two suspensions to come out of the game last night, however, they won't be against Dayton.

Check out the great blog about Snowden standing up for his teammates.
http://www.pantagraph.com/app/blogs/main/?p=4912

McIlvane called up

Matt McIlvane won't be in our lineup tonight as we take on Dayton. He showed up to the locker room at 3:30 to collect his stuff. He will be playing for Peoria tonight as they take on Chicago in Peoria.

Pantagraph Blog

Mike has updated the pantagraph blog and vows to be more diligent and consistent with it. Check it out:
http://www.pantagraph.com/app/blogs/main/?p=4906

Good news as stated in the blog, Booras and Martin will both be back tomorrow night.

Here is what the lines looked like in practice today

61 27 22
28 24 19
12 7 20
9 39

Movie Review #3 by Justin Sawyer

Shutter Island- OK so this was a movie that i hadn't heard much about and i wasn't sure if it was going to be worth it or not but i had to give Leonardo DiCaprio a chance he usually doesn't let me down. Sure enough he came through and it was a great movie. The storyline was intense and confusing in a good way and there was a lot of suspense and action throughout the film. The only downside i would say is the quick ending where the story is sort of cut off and your left deciding what happened on your own. I'm happy i paid to go see it and i would recommend it 3/5 Stars


Cop Out- This movie looked great in the previews and i couldn't wait to go see it on the big screen. Unfortunately it wasn't as funny as it seemed on the commercial and all the funny parts seemed to be used up in that commercial trailer. It wasn't bad to the point I wanted to leave but it definitely wont be long until it finds itself in the WalMart five dollar bin. Overall i would give it 1/5 Stars.

JUSTIN

Records are meant to be broken.

Congrats to Robin Bouchard, who broke the all-time minor league goals record (683), which was previously held by Don Parsons (682).

I decided to take a look at how our team is doing this year compared to previous years. Here is what I came up with.

PT Records close to being broken:
Most Points: 69 (2007-2008) - 64
Most Wins: 31 (2007-2008) - 28
Most Goals for, Season: 235 (2008-2009) - 204
Most Powerplay Goals, Season: 15 Jon Booras (2008-2009), Don Parsons (2007-2008) - 12 Craig Macdonald
Most Powerplay Assists, Season: 20 Jon Booras (2008-2009) - 18 Jon Booras, 17 Jason Lepine
Most Short-handed Assists, Season: 3 Jon Booras (2008-2009) - 3 Zach Pearson, 3 Justin Sawyer


PT Records that have been broken:
Most Penalty Minutes, Season: 240 Sam Miller (2007-2008) -243 Justin Sawyer
Most Short-handed Goals, Season: 3 Sam Ftorek (2007-2008) - 4 Zach Pearson
Most Game-Winning Goals, Season: 7 Don Parsons (2007-2008) - 10 Craig Macdonald
Most Points by a Defensemen, Season: 33 John Spoltore (2006-2007) - 41 Jason Lepine
Most Assists by a Defensemen, Season: 26 John Spoltore (2006-2007) - 30 Jason Lepine

At Quad City - Update

There will be a little bit of movement tonight for our game in Quad. Peoria has reassigned Matt McIlvane back to us after spending 4 games with the Rivermen. He will add some much needed help at the center position. Andrew Martin will be backing up tonight.

Also, in other news, to make room for McIlvane, Brian Boulay was placed on waivers. The team is at 10 forwards, 6 defenseman, and 2 goalies. Booras, Spiller, Varone, and Armstrong are still out with injuries.

I am sure that we will all be watching the scoreboard in Port Huron as they take on the Flint Generals. Hopefully we will show up and take care of business.

Game day vs. Flint

The next couple of games will be important ones if we are going to separate ourselves from the teams behind us. Check out what Flint is saying about today's game:
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/03/flint_generals_to_play_most_im.html

Skalde talked to other teams today, but nothing came up that he liked, so nothing was done today the day of the trade deadline.

Tonight there will be a new guy in the lineup. He will be wearing #39. Also, John Snowden will wear #15. The Shriner's jerseys had been ordered since last month, and I could not get a jersey in time. Pat Street, the backup goalie will wear #35. Martin was a lot easier to cover up than Armstrong.

Cole Ruwe will be back in the lineup tonight. He hasn't played since leaving the game in Dayton with a mild concussion.

March Madness!

How are your brackets doing? Mine took a few blows today as Vanderbilt and Georgetown both got knocked off. I had them both going to the regionals. I was excited to see my alma mater BYU win, it was there first tournament win since 1993. Like I always do, I wasn't going to pick them and ended up doing it in the end. It is funny to see who is leading after the first couple of days in the locker room because some of the guys have no clue about college basketball. Sometimes you have the guys that pick all upsets.

Last night was a huge win for us. We are kind of a wild card right now with the changes that we have made. We also will be getting players back like Booras and Spiller. Many have asked what was the reasoning that Dayton gave up such good players. Both guys were making good money there and Dayton decided that they would cut salaries and bring in guys that they might get to come back next year. I think they also wanted to reward some of the players that played good for them all year by getting to play a longer season. Robinson and Bouchard looked frustrated out there.

Matt Smyth was sent to Dayton today for the future considerations that we gave up to get Rick Varone. Although it was hard to give him up, I think it will benefit him. He will get to play a lot there and with the guys we have coming back he probably would not have received much playing time. I wish him well.

Movement Monday

We arrived home last night around 12:30 am. It was a successful trip considering we finished the trip with 1 goalie, 5 d-men, and 9 forwards. We also got 5 out of 6 pts for the weekend.

Greg McCauley was traded today to Dayton for John Snowden and Preston Briggs. Snowden will wear #22 and Briggs will wear #18.
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/ihl/prairiethunder/article_1c06b0fe-3090-11df-9445-001cc4c03286.html

Good news today as Jon Booras and Andrew Martin both skated today.

changing things up!

We are going to take on a little bit of the Boston Bruins image tonight. I decided that I would change things up a little bit and wear our blue socks tonight with our gold jerseys. I am not sure if it will look good or not. I don't know of any other pro team that does this besides the Bruins.

Here is a look into our locker room in Port Huron.

Last night, a few of us were able to attend the wings game and sit in Mr. Kinney's suite, he is the owner of the Port Huron IceHawks. The wings won 5 to 1. Afterwards we were able to get down a see a few of my friends in Minnesota.

I am not sure who is playing tonight, but if I had to guess it would be Armstrong. He was the first goalie off the ice. Dahm stayed on to take extra shot. Matt Woodard arrived this morning from Fort Wayne and skated in the morning skate. He will wear #20.

It turns out that today is not the trade deadline. After a little confusion, we learned that it has been moved back to next Friday.

McIlvane called up to Peoria again

Matt McIlvane has been called up to Peoria again. He flew out of the Detroit Airport today and will join Peoria in Houston for tomorrow nights game.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3973790

A few of us are going to the redwings game tonight. They take on the Minnesota Wild. Should be fun to see some old friends.

Muskegon announced the new coach today for their USHL team. I wonder if that will make for a wierd situation for those still there.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3973767

The trade deadline is tomorrow. Stayed tuned to see if we make any changes.

Check this out!

Why don't we do something like this?
http://www.centralhockeyleague.com/pressroom/news/index.html?article_id=4383

I know we only have 7 teams, and Fort Wayne would win everything, but it would be kinda fun to see what people think. Also, I think it would make us a better league and give recognition to those that don't normally get it.

Here's my picks on a few of the things in our league besides players (without getting myself in trouble) :

Best Mascot: Fort Wayne (They stole him from the team I grew up watching the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, Icy looked better back then in Red and Yellow)
Best Visiting Locker Room: Fort Wayne
Best PA Announcer: Muskegon
Best Host Hotel: Port Huron / Muskegon
Most Annoying Fans: Flint

We leave tomorrow for a 4 game road trip. 4 games in 5 nights in 4 different cities. Stay tuned for more!

A look inside

This picture is a look into my storage cage. There isn't very much room, so everything has to be neat and orderly. We used to have another smaller cage to put things in, but we let the football team use that one.

Sebastian Dahm will get the start in tonights game.

Derek Hanson is no longer with the team. He had to return to school for a class.

Game day

Congrats to Matt McIlvane,who scored last night for Peoria. It was his 5th game played in the AHL, 1st this year. It was his 1st AHL goal.
Here is the scoresheet:
http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1006959

Today we signed Derek Hanson, who just completed 4 years at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He will wear #20. In 116 college games he had 140 pts.
http://www.uscho.com/stats/player.php?pid=13635&gender=m

Flint does not play tonight. Dayton is at Quad City. If I had to pick a winner in that game, I would want Dayton to win because Quad is so close to us.

Jesse Dudas

Jesse Dudas has signed with Corpus Christi in the CHL.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3971057

Matt McIlvane and Jon Booras

Congrats to Matt McIlvane. Matt was called up to Peoria for tonights game. Yesterday was the NHL trade deadline. St. Louis made a couple of trades that left Peoria a guy short.

I recieved the following release today.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Bloomington PrairieThunder center and team captain Jon Booras suffered a partially torn quad tendon above his left knee cap during Sunday’s game at Quad City and will miss at least the next two games.

“He’s day-to-day, but will definitely be out this weekend,” said PrairieThunder trainer Joe Kingdon. “We’ll rest the knee the next few days and evaluate it again on Monday.”

PrairieThunder coach Jarrod Skalde is weighing some options regarding the team roster ahead of Friday’s 7:05 p.m. game against Fort Wayne at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

after 1

It is 2 to 2 after 1. The USA lost a hard fought game. Incase you didn't see or notice Armstrong is back. He is backing up tonight.

McIlvane and Macdonald with the goals.

Rink notes

I am sitting at the rink getting ready to sharpen skates. The room is all set up. First off, my prayers go out to the people of Chile who mean a lot to me. I lived in the western part of Santiago, Chile for two years. I have been able to connect with a few people and found out that they are ok.

Looking across the rink I notice that Robin Bouchard is down to 14 goals to break Don Parson's record that he set last season. Luckily, that number won't go down tonight as he serves the last game of his suspension.

Craig Macdonald scored the game winner again last night and increased his league lead to 9. He now leads the league in powerplay goals with 11.

We are starting to play better on the road. In our last 5 road games we are 2-2-0-1, 4 of those games have been against the 3 teams above us. Last night was a good win for us to start this road trip. It helped scoring the first goal and building our confidence. It will be important for us to come out strong tonight and try and get that first goal.

Here are a few of the one liners that we heard from a welcoming crowd in Flint last night,
"You are nothing but a role player on a mediocre team in a sub par league"
"Hey trainer you suck too"
"Why don't you put that on your blog you ...."
"Do you guys braid each others hair"
Our new goalie Rob Mattison got a kick out of the fact that they kept chanting his name and wanted him to play in the game. I am sure the he would not have been against playing. There was one fan in particular who wanted me to mention him on my blog, so here is your shout-out. You know who you are. Thanks for making our trips to Flint so enjoyable. The new lights in the building look good.

After the game we stopped at a restaurant across the street from the rink to watch the Canada vs Slovakia game, before getting on the road to Muskegon. It got a little tense for the Canadian players, but they were happy their country pulled out a close win.

catching up!

I am going to try and catch up a little bit.

Kevin Armstrong was called up today to the Chicago Wolves. He will be there all weekend.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3968290
This means that Sebastian Dahm will be called upon to play all weekend. The goalie that we are bringing in is no slack. He is the the top goalie in the AAHL. Look for the press release on him.

Last night was really a must win game. It was even more important with both Flint and Quad City losing. This allowed us to gain two points on all 3 teams behind us. We came out slow, but we were able to make the changes needed to win the game. Pearson continued his hot streak by adding 2 goals. He is currently 2nd in the league in shorthanded goals with 4.

Craig Macdonald's game winning goal yesterday pushed him to first in the league with 8. He is currently 4th in the league with 59 pts. He is tied for 2nd in the league with 28 goals.

Jason Lepine has been busy as of late playing in 4 games in the last 5 nights. Two of those games were for Peoria in the AHL. He currently is tied for 2nd place in defenseman scoring 35 pts, 1 behind the leader.

Apparently things are getting really bad in Flint. Looks like they need another brawl to get people to go to the game again. I do hear that they improved the lights in the building.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/02/brendan_savage_column_the_real.html

I have a lot more to write about, but I just don't have the time right now. Have a good night.

Kinch

This was just posted on the pantagraph website about this weekends games:
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/ihl/prairiethunder/article_59496d12-226c-11df-ac02-001cc4c03286.html

Tonights game

First off, I am sure that many of you are wondering about tonights jerseys. Over the summer, we planned the jersey nights. The plan was to have one a month with different themes ranging from holidays to college nights. Every night up until January we had a jersey. Many different themes changed for that month, so we elected not to do one. The Heartland jersey had always been planned for tonight. When we realized we played on Abe Lincoln's Birthday, we jumped at the opportunity to do a different theme even if it was a week before the Heartland night.

As for the Heartland jersey, when they designed the jerseys before they chose from a group of four or five. The jersey from tonight is one of the other jerseys from that group. I had no say in this and actually like one of the other jerseys not chosen. We still had game socks from the second season sitting around here, so I elected to use them because they went with the jerseys better than any others.

Many of you will be reading this after the game. After two periods we are down, however, we have had many great opportunities. Now we just need to cash in and get a few goals.

Update!

I knew that we could do it last night and beat Fort Wayne. The boys played a strong game, except for the beginning of the third when we got a little distracted, took penalties and gave up 3 goals. We battled back and got the game tying goal and got a huge goal in OT. It was the first time this year that Fort Wayne had lost in overtime. One reason I think we have a hard time beating the top teams is that we play with a lot of emotion and sometimes we get carried away and start taking lots of penalties. You can't take penalties and expect to beat these teams.

Last night was a prime example of why the 3 stars of the game don't mean anything in this league. Look at the game in Muskegon. I find it funny that they almost always pick Muskegon players. Even when they lose they find a way to slid a player or two in there. How does Juris Stals not get one of the 3? He was the only player to score 2 goals in the game and one of them came with 10 seconds left to get them a point. Beausoli only had one goal and Lundin let in 3 goals. Our game in Fort Wayne was no different. Zach Pearson had 2 goals and the last one was the OT game winner.

Today was an optional skate. With the Olympic spirit in the air, those who skated decided to play a friendly 3 on 3 game. The goalies switched off half way thru the game.
Team USA- #2 Cole Ruwe, #3 Brian Boulay, #10 Nick Elligsen, #11 TJ Schneider, and #27 Jon Booras
Team Canada- #12 Robin Gomez, #18 Greg McCauley, #19 Brett Holmberg, #21 Rick Varone, and Coach Jarrod Skalde
And the winner was....Team USA. I believe the losers had to buy lunch. Both USA and Canada won their 2nd games of the Olympics today, although it did take Canada a little extra to beat the Swiss. Can't wait to hear about that tomorrow.

This Sunday is an important day in our league. It is the last day that you can add players that have been playing in Europe. I wonder if anyone will do anything.

Oh ya, today was the first day of spring training for pitchers and catchers in Mesa, Arizona. Go Cubs!

Sitting on a bus!

Well, it has been a few days since my last post. I have been super busy. The one downside to this league, unless you are Fort Wayne, is that you don't have an assistant. I have tons of help on game days, but there is so much to do each day; keeping the locker room clean, doing laundry daily, and maintaining the equipment, take up big parts of my day.

Mike Liambas is doing good, after having emergency surgery to repair tendons on his right wrist. He was at the rink yesterday and today joking around and laughing before we left. He also celebrated his birthday yesterday. He has had a rough season so far, and although some might call what happened to him karma, I believe it will only make him a more dedicated and harder working hockey player.

Today when we arrive in Fort Wayne, I will have to make up a nameplate for Schneider. It will only take me about 10 min for the entire nameplate to sew each letter on and then the nameplate to the jersey. A couple years ago when I was in Alaska, I spent the summer working for the lady who had sewn all the jerseys for the Aces. Every day I would go there, we would spend the day sewing nameplates and #'s onto hockey jerseys, baseball jerseys and whatever other jerseys they had come in. At first I was really slow, but she showed me tricks to get more done at a faster pace. I put "RACHEL" on the back of my daughters jersey. If any of you want me to do something for your jerseys, let me know. Maybe we can work something out. Its a good thing I took Home Ec in school. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know how to sew.

Take Care.
Kinch

Off day

The team had today off with the concert going on at the USCC. I spent the day going to a movie with the family and then we went to the kids expo at the interstate center. The players took shifts handing out vouchers for tomorrows game.

Not sure if anyone noticed or not, but Jason Lepine was called up to Peoria to play tonight. He had one shot.
http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1006833

I have to go to the rink tonight to meet Fort Wayne. They played in Quad City tonight and are coming in.

Allysa and anelson35 please email me. You both are winners of two tickets to tomorrows game.

Info

Yesterday was a little harder of a practice. Everyone skated except for Jamie Carroll, Greg McCauley.

The AHL will have at least two new teams next year, one in Charlotte, NC and the other in Oklahoma City, OK. My guess is that a few cities with current AHL, will join other leagues or just plain lose there teams.

Greg McCauley did not skate again today. I think the plan is that he is going to try and play tonight.

Kevin Armstrong will get his first start in goal tonight. I would imagine that we would see Kaufman tonight, being that we have made him look good the past couple times we have played Quad.

I didn't give any tickets out tonight. I didn't have time to post yesterday, so I will do two sets of tickets for Sunday. I will post it later today who gets them.

I am excited for tonight's jerseys. I always liked Abraham Lincoln growing up. I know some of you think the jerseys are to simple, but that is how I tried to keep these ones. We are going to use the white socks from last year. I think they go better with the jerseys.

See you all tonight.

vs fort wayne

Rick Varone returns to Fort Wayne for the first time since being placed on waivers. Dahm will start in goal.

Our starters are 7, 24, 21, 4, 29,37

I will try and post more during the game.

Monday

Today we skated at 1 pm because they were still changing back to the rink after the cheerleading competition that took place in the US Cellular Coliseum. We had a new goaltender today. Look for his name to come out in a press release. He will wear #33. Also, a player was released today.
Be on the lookout for both of these.

Congrats to Craig Macdonald who won the player of the week award again. His 4th this season.

It is official, after this season Muskegon will no longer be in this league. They have opted to go to the USHL.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/02/its_official_lumberjacks_hocke.html

The winners of the different awards in the Flint Journal.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/02/final_results_in_the_ihl_reade.html

Super Bowl

I called it. Only a few minutes before he did it, I mentioned that Peyton Manning had yet to throw an interception. Something that he has done a lot of in the playoffs. It is going to be a few weeks of partying in New Orleans with Mardi Gras coming up. Congrats to the Saints and all the people in the state of Louisiana. It is a championship well deserved.

We had today off, but we will be back on the ice tomorrow.

Here is what the specialty jerseys will look like on Friday. They will commemorate the birthday of Abe Lincoln and the state of Illinois. Come bid on them. They will look great in your collection.

Around the IHL:

Port Huron - Last 5, 1-4-0-0 They play 3 games this week vs Flint.

Fort Wayne - Last 5, 3-2-0-0 They play 3 games this week, 1 vs Quad City, the other 2 are vs us.

Flint - Last 5, 3-2-0-0 They play 3 games this week vs Port Huron.

Dayton - Last 5, 2-3-0-0 They play 4 games this week, 2 vs Muskegon and 2 vs Quad City.

Muskegon - Last 5, 4-1-0-0 They play 2 games this week vs Dayton.

Quad City - Last 5, 3-1-0-1 They play 4 games this week vs us, vs Fort Wayne, and 2 vs Dayton.

Bloomington - Last 5, 1-3-0-1 We play 3 games this week, 2 vs Fort Wayne and vs Quad City.

Troubles vs Muskegon

I am sitting at the rink waiting for the team to arrive. I was looking through the game notes and I found a few things that I thought you might like. It looks like Muskegon is the "Port Huron" of last year. Remember how much trouble we had with them.

We only have two players to score two or more goals against them. Guess who they are? It might suprise you. Gomez has 4 and Bagron has 3. Macdonald only has 1 and Booras has 0. Yes that is a zero.

The plus minus doesn't look any better unless we are playing golf.
Bagron -9
Macdonald -8
Several at -7 and -6.

Lets hope that this all changes tonight and we have a better outcome. Gotta go they are walking in the door.
We can't beat the best teams unless we have our best players.

@ Muskegon

Wow, we were terrible tonight. It is hard to win if your best players aren't your best players. Tomorrow we are back at it, hopefully we can get a point or two. I really don't know what else to write about.

Congrats to my buddy Anton Khudobin for getting his first NHL win with the Minnesota Wild.

Broadstreet Bullies

Well maybe we should just wear our gold jerseys the rest of the year. After all, they do resemble to orange Flyers jerseys with the white name bars. Brendan Savage, writer with the Flint Journal, has continued to write about how cheap we are, and how we are a bunch of goons. We attack non-fighters. There is so much that we can tell from a box score. Gomez got a 5 minute major for going after Ronan. I wondering why he did it? Gomez must be a goon. What you couldn't see on the box score is that Ronan hit Liambas with a viscous elbow that sent him to the locker room. Gomez stood up for his teammate. Liambas then came back later in the game and when he tried to fight Ronan, it took a few punches from Liambas before Ronan defended himself. Our guys stand up for each other. That is what happened the other night against Muskegon as well. Oh and once again, Nolan did play in the 3rd period, but the box score was wrong, so you wouldn't be able to tell that unless you were at the game.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/02/flint_generals_allow_five_powe.html
As for a earlier article, don't tempt me, maybe I will just put Larry, Moe, and Curly on their jerseys for our next trip into Flint.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/01/brendan_savage_column_blooming.html

We leave for Muskegon at 7 am tomorrow. We will be wearing gold jerseys. Hopefully we can break our string of bad luck against them.

Cole Ruwe will not be making the trip with us. He will be staying behind with some nagging injuries. We will be bringing in defenseman Ryan Huggett, who has been playing with the Evansville Icemen. He will be wearing #11.
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/hockey/professional/minor/ihl/prairiethunder/article_5cff1454-11f3-11df-a83e-001cc4c002e0.html

Movie Review #2 by Justin Sawyer

Blindside - This has been a movie that I put off seeing for a while now because I wasn't sure if they could make another football movie that would be able to tell a new story....fortunately I was wrong and the story was great. Its about a young underprivileged kid who gets a chance taken on him and he takes that chance and runs with it. The part by Sandra Bullock is played perfectly and Big Mike does a great job as well.... as I'm sure this movie might not win an Oscar. I definitely was happy to pay the 7 dollars to see it. 3/5 stars.

Legion - Alright another classic angels demons movie between good and evil? This time it has a little bit of a twist. If you liked movies like Max Payne or Constantine then Legion might be a good pick for you. The thing that makes this movie unique is that God is actually trying to kill off mankind and the Angels are protecting us. The graphics are great and I would say the ending of the movie is a little weak but the overall experience is decent. I would only recommend seeing this if you enjoy these type of films or you may not enjoy it. 2.5/5 stars

When in Rome - So i was dragged to this one against my will with a couple guys and their girlfriends. I really hadn't heard much about this or really cared to see it. Fortunately for a chick flick this movie actually made me laugh hard a few times out loud in the theatre. It was overall not a good movie but the fact that there was some funny parts made it enjoyable and the actress from Forgetting Sarah Marshall was just as good looking as ever which kept my attention for the 90 minutes. When I left, I was happy I went and I would recommend this one if you have a date or for a group of ladies to go to. Overall I would say 2.5/ 5 stars.

Bits and pieces

I went for a massage today at Bodies in Balance. It was awesome. I recommend it to anyone in a little bit of pain. Kathy does a great job.

Brendan Savage, the writer for the Flint Journal, has a poll going for the biggest villain in the league. I find it funny that we have turned into the bad boys of the league.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/02/poll_ihls_biggest_villain.html
He also has a poll going for the worst and best fans.
Worst - My vote is Flint. I am not afraid to say it.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/02/poll_which_ihl_team_has_the_wo.html
Best - Our fans, no question!
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/01/poll_which_ihl_team_has_the_be.html
It must have been a while since we last played Flint, they have nothing to write about. They have signed Chris Kovalcik. Maybe there will be some more fireworks tomorrow.

Noel Coultice was placed on waivers. He had 2 goals, 2 assists and a team high -11 in 23 games.

Congrats to Craig Macdonald who earned his 3rd player of the week award.
Congrats to Jon Booras who earned Player of the Month honors for the month of January.

Keep the grades coming. I like some of them, while I think others are way off.

Suz1955 you are the winner of tickets for tomorrows game. Please email me so I can get your information.

See you all tomorrow.
Kinch

Grades

Today was supposed to be an off day, however the guys came in and skated today.

The writer in Muskegon gave midseason grades to their players. Check it out:
http://www.mlive.com/lumberjacks/index.ssf/2010/01/lumberjacks_mid-season_grades.html
What grades would you give to our players? Please comment. I am really interested in seeing what you have to say.

Good night I am going to bed!
Kinch

vs quad city

I really don't have time for this, but I wanted to give you an update. I will get back to yesterdays game a little later.

Dahm will start in goal tonight.

I can't comment to much on it till the press release comes out, but look for someone new on the bench just for tonights game. If you know what I mean. There is a rule that if you get two game misconduct penalties you are suspended for one. I guess that means I need to behave myself, since I have one already. Ha Ha!

Hats off to Matt Frick and Brian Boulay for the job they did in the third period.

Great crowd last night. Thanks for coming I hope to see you all tonight. Vote if you haven't already, they all run out of time tonight.

vs muskegon

I will tell you one thing, 2 hrs of sleep is not enough. Hopefully, I will be able to get a nap in before the game starts. Last night was another good win for us. We gave ourselves a little breathing room. Today is an important game. We need to show the league that we can play with the top 3 teams. Only 1 time in 5 games have we scored the first goal against them. That was the game that we lost 2 to 1.

Bagron and Frick both skated this morning which is good news. They were the only one's as everyone else stayed home to get some rest after the late night. Bagron will be in the lineup tonight.

Belle you are the winner of the tickets for tomorrow. Please email me your info so that I can get you the tickets.

I hope to see you at the game tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow I believe there will be skating with the team and also a country concert going on in the club lounge after the game. I hear the guy is really good, so come check him out.

Kinch

update

We are sitting on the bus to Dayton. Bill Bagron and Matt Frick did not make the trip. Both stayed back in Bloomington with minor injuries.

Not sure if you all know by now, but we have aquired Rick Varone. He will be in the lineup tonight and wear #21.
http://www.prairiethunderhockey.com/fan-zone_latest-news/thunder-obtains-varone/73/

Jennifer Smith is the winner of the player signed puck as she was the first person to come up with the player missing the 2 patches. The player was Greg McCauley.

Another fan- you are the winner of 2 tickets for tomorrow's game vs Muskegon. Please email me.
Chase Watson signed with the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

On a different note, I am glad to see Jim Edmonds back in baseball, even if it is with the Milwaukee Brewers. He has always been one of my favorite players.

Kinch

A little bit of everything

There seems to be a trend going on right now among a few players that are leaving this league to go to the ECHL in hopes of getting called up. I will be the first one to agree that that league gets more call ups to the AHL than the CHL or our league, however, there are a few things that these guys need to understand. Each team in the ECHL has 6 or more guys that are under AHL contracts. Some of the teams have dual affiliations and thus, more AHL contracted guys. These guys are usually the first guys called up. Can other guys get called up? Sure they can, but it isn't as likely. If you didn't get a lot of ice time in this league, don't expect it there. I believe that there are just as many talented players here they have in the ECHL and CHL. The salary cap is lower in the ECHL, so chances are you will make less money in that league than you do in the IHL. There are a few players in this league that started the year in the ECHL, only to be cut. A lot of times you hear that this is due to the numbers game. Such and such team gets more guys sent down to them than they expected, so guys get cut. This is true in many cases. I believe in some cases coaches just cut the wrong guys. It happens.

Last game we wore the white jerseys. During warm ups I realized that one player did not have the 2 patches on the front of the jersey. The first person to email me the name of that player will get a game puck signed by the player of your choice. I will let everyone know who won hopefully today while we are on the bus to Dayton.

I still don't think the people the whole incident with Flint. Read this article that was just written.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/01/more_fireworks_between_flint_g.html
The point is that those 3 guys have no career. If they two handed someone in the face to get the job done, they would go back to their men's league and nothing would happen. Why can't anyone else understand how bad this could have gotten. If it was so bad, don't you think the league would have handed out a suspension? They had the video. I am not saying that Bogas didn't get hurt, nor do I like to see players get hurt. I actually had Bogas on my team in Motor City and he is a great guy. One I still talk to every time I see him. This league is trying to recruit top players, not lose them to other leagues. Why can't someone who is on the team fight?

I want to write more, but I have to pack to go to Dayton.
Kinch

Internet Down

Sorry everyone. I have not had internet the past two nights in my apartment. If I don't have time at the rink to post, I try and do it at home.

First off, the winner of a pair of tickets to tonights game is scott. Please email me at mkincher@yahoo.com with your name so that I can leave tickets for you in will call. Congrats. I will do this again for this weekends games.

I want to say Happy Birthday to my dad and the "Great One". My dad turned 50 yesterday and the "Great One" turned 49. How cool would that be, "I have the same birthday as Wayne Gretzky."

I will post more later

The superbowl is set!

Get your pens ready to start filling in your squares. New Orleans will take on Indianapolis in the Super Bowl this year. Both of these teams were undefeated up until the last weeks of the season. I don't really have a favorite between the two.

Make sure you sign up as a follower of this blog. Tuesday I will give out a pair of tickets to Wednesday's game at home vs Dayton.

My 500th game as an equipment manager was not quite one that I want to remember. We were not ready to play from the start. We got beat to pucks and did not pick up players coming back into our zone. We must find a way to beat Muskegon. If we finish with the fourth seed, we might be playing them in the first round of the playoffs. How about Holmberg's goal? That is not the first time in Muskegon that I have seen a puck dumped into the zone end up in the back of the net.

Vote for your favorite forwards and d-men/goalies. After voting is over, I will put together a list of the top 6 players to find out who your favorite player is this year.

Starting Lineup

Martin - G
Lepine - D
Frick - D
Booras - C
Macdonald - LW
Carroll - RW

Warm ups vs. Muskegon

A funny thing just happen as the guys were going out for warm ups. As Todd Robinson and Robin Bouchard were going onto the ice, Robinson joked with me "Stay away from our trainers." Its kinda funny, everyone here is kinda joking with me about the whole thing. I am going to try and post a little tonight during the game if everything isn't too busy. I had Robinson in Utah one of my first years when he got called up to the IHL for a few games. I remember picking him up from the airport. At the time he was playing in Idaho.

Locker room in Muskegon

In over an hour the team will show up to the rink here in Muskegon. Here is what the locker room looks like when they get here. Phil and I showed up early to get it set up. Sorry for the blurry pictures. I took them with my phone.

Here's my question for all you people that are upset that Sawyer didn't fight anyone last night, Why should he waste his time? Why didn't one of the actual players on Flint (Cescon or Scarlato) step up and fight him? They are the one's that will still be around when we play again. They are the players that were there when it happened. Flint got what they really wanted, a packed house and we got what we wanted, the two points.

Well I have to get back to sharpening skates.

Martin will be starting in goal tonight. Hopefully we can come out and have a solid game of 60 minutes and continue to come together as a team.

What a game!

We just got back from unpacking the equipment here in Muskegon.

First off, I have never ever in all my trips into Perani Arena, seen that many people. There were over 3000 announced in attendance. Did these people ever get a show. I believe that it was the first time that we have come from behind after two periods to win a game this season. The first guy tried to go after Sawyer, but was pushed right to the ice. Another guy ran Dahm, and fought Liambas. This led to the end of the night for Gomez who started yelling at there GM Peter South. The glass between the benches got pushed down. Lots of words were exchanged, but not much more. Not much more happened until Liambas gave Cossette a few punches that he won't forget anytime soon. Don't worry, I kind of behaved myself tonight. During warm ups, the guy who does the announcing came over to me and started bad mouthing Sawyer. Well to make a long story short, I started ripping him a little. He didn't say much until we were walking off the ice and he was pounding on the glass and flipping me the bird. Classy! Meanwhile the referee was trying to figure out what was going on. Looks like we got the last laugh. Great night for Lepine and Carroll. One thing that bugs me is that in some buildings they are terrible when it comes to stars of the game. How do we not get at least one star.

I was taping a stick for Lepine when we scored the game winner in ot. Carroll was given the hard hat, getting the game winner and another one in regulation.

I forgot to mention after the last game, but did anyone see on Holmberg's goal, when he broke his stick, then came to the bench, I handed him a new stick and then he scored. That is about as close as an equipment manager gets to an assist.

It is 3 am, time for bed.

Thanks for voting!

Thank you everyone for voting. We will be wearing the blue jerseys in Flint and Muskegon this weekend. I thought that it would be a little closer, but the blue jerseys pretty much dominated throughout the whole voting time. The blue jersey won with 65% of the votes, 25 to 13. The blue jersey has also taken over as the favorite jersey this year.

We practiced today over at the pepsi ice center. A few of the guys did not skate because of nagging injuries.

It sounds like Flint might bring in a few big guys for our game. I wonder if they will bring in a bigger Equipment or Medical guy. Here is an article from Flint. Sounds like they are trying to sell a few more tickets.
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2010/01/unhappy_flint_generals_vow_not.html

VOTE NOW!

I am giving the fans a chance to help decide what jersey to wear this weekend. This is something that is almost unheard of to do. Being that both the blue and gold can be dark jerseys, we can wear either one. You decide. The polls will close tomorrow at 5 pm. That way I can pack and get ready to go on the road.

I thought I would post this picture. If don't already know, this is my daughter Rachel. She loves coming to the games to cheer on the team and to see chip. Whenever she is here you can find her in her blue jersey with her name "RACHEL" on the back of it.

We did not skate today. There was no ice as they are setting up the court for the Harlem Globtrotters. We will skate at the pepsi ice center tomorrow. We will leave around 9 am Friday for our game in Flint. After the game we will travel to Muskegon, to play there the next night.

If you haven't already, sign up to be a follower of this blog. I am going to start giving away tickets and other items to those that follow.

Oh and that picture that you have seen on Flints website is from the last game up in Flint, not the game here. Boulay is sitting on the ground, because that is the game that he hurt his shoulder in a fight.