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Fantasy Friday is back with one of my favourites……. wait for it……. Montreal Canadian Dale Weise!

10/31/2014

Hello Hockey Fans! Another exciting week in the NHL has past us by and I can't wait to start Fantasy Friday! For the last couple of weeks I have gone back and forth, watched a lot of games and started to choose this year's lineup. But who do I go with to start the year? Do I go with someone from the East or the West; a more veteran player or a hot shot rookie? Blue eyes or brown? Classic Canadian or Stylish European? Decisions, decisions.

It wasn't until last nights game, Vancouver Canucks vs the Montreal Canadiens that I got my answer…….

To start off Fantasy Friday this year I have chosen one of my favourites, former Canuck, current Canadien, a gritty 4th liner who can score goals and drop the gloves, the one and only Dale Weise!

Former Canuck and one of my favourites Dale Weise.

Here is what you need to know about Dale Weise:

1) Born on August 5th, 1988
2) Grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba
3) Plays right wing
4) Height 6'2", weight 205 pounds
5) Drafted in the 4th round during the 2008 NHL draft by the New York Rangers
6) In Vancouver, Weise wore #32 and in Montreal he can be spotted wearing #22
7) Weise is a Dad and his son's name is Hunter (my son's name is Hunter as well, Weise has great taste)
8) Blue eyes, brown hair

Do I need to say any more? A tall, handsome, protector.

I have had a soft spot for Weise for a few years now. When he was a Canuck, I was fortunate enough to get to watch him at practice a few times. Besides his work ethic and often being one of the last guys on the ice, Weise always stopped to talk to children lined up to meet a hockey player at the end of practice. It didn't matter if there was 1 child or 20, Weise always stopped to make conservation, often tossing pucks their way and would chat about anything from hockey to shoes.

Besides talking to fans, Weise worked on his fighting skills. I once saw Kevin Bieksa fake fight with Weise at practice. Bieksa was clearly showing Weise some secret moves while Max LaPierre ref'd the fake fight. All that hard work paid off because Weise is exactly a player teams are looking for. Great skater, scores goals, can throw a few knuckle sandwiches, always willing to lend time supporting charities and has a great comedic timing that only serves him well when being interviewed by countless media members.

Above I uploaded one of Weise's overtime winning goals. Below you can check out a Weise fight, reminiscing about scoring his 1st NHL goal and his assist last night here in Vancouver.

Dale Weise for your hockey talent, fighting skill, great sense of humour and dashing good looks I declare you this year's 1st Fantasy Friday!

The image is blurry, I know. I took this picture a few years back out at UBC. It was right after the lock out ended and the Canuck team had returned to the ice for practice. As the players moved the nets to the end of the rink, and the zamboni left about 15 children walked into the rink and found a spot right at the front. While guys were warming up and chatting, Weise skated over to the children and tossed them a few pucks. Needless to say the children were extremely excited and Weise's "Babe Status" went up in my books.

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Class Act Pittsburgh Penguins……. Class Act

10/23/2014

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Typically only the American Nation Anthem would be sung at this game but to honour Canada after a hard day in Ottawa, Oh Canada was sung as well. Thank you PENS fans, thank you.

Hello Hockey Fans! I will make this one short and sweet. After the shooting yesterday in Canada's capital, the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators was cancelled. Down south in the USA the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers were getting ready to drop the puck. To show support for their friends of the Great White North they sang not only the American National Anthem, "Star Spangled Banner", but also Canada's National Anthem, "Oh Canada". Lyrics were put on the jumbo tron for fans to sing along. All I have to say in Class Act Pittsburgh….. Class Act.

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Monday night Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers excited the Rexall place crowd with one of the most exciting parts of hockey!

10/22/2014

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The Penalty Shot: is designed to restore a scoring opportunity which was lost as a result of foul play being committed by the offending team, based on parameters set out.

That Hockey Fans is the Official NHL breakdown of what the Penalty Shot is. How is everyone? And happy Wednesday!

Rexall Place was on their feet Monday night when Taylor Hall was given a penalty shot after being taken down by Tampa Bay Lightning Matthew Carle. Hall scored so let's breakdown the penalty shot!

Here is what happens once a referee gives the green light for a penalty shot:

1) An announcement will be made over the loud speaker saying which player is taking the shot. For the most part the player who's scoring chance was taken away, will shoot.
2) The puck is placed at centre ice and the player will wait for the whistle from the referee and then he is allowed to begin.
3) The puck must be kept in forward motion the entire time. Once the player has shot the puck the penalty shot will be complete. If at any time the puck stops moving the penalty shot will be deemed complete.
4) No goal can be scored on a rebound. The Puck can bounce off the goalie, post, or crossbar however.

Other Rules:

1) Spin-o-ramas are no longer allowed.
2) Only a goaltender may guard the goal
3) Goaltender must stay in his crease until the player has touched the puck
4) While the penalty shot is being taken, players from both teams must skate to the front of their benches and clear the ice. Only the goaltender and player are left on the ice.

Who takes the penalty shot:

1) The player who the penalty was committed against takes the shot and the referee makes that call.
2) If the player taking the penalty shot cannot shoot because of an injury the captain of the team taking the shot will pick a replacement player chosen from players on the ice when the penalty happened.
3) If for whatever reason the player awarded the penalty shot was also given a penalty, he will take his shot and directly head to the sin bin (penalty box)
4) The loop hole in rule 3 is that if the player taking the penalty shot was given a game misconduct or match penalty then he is not allowed to take the penalty shot and again the captain will select a player to shoot based on who was on the ice when the penalty occurred.

Below I have uploaded a few other penalty shots taken over the year in the NHL

1st Henrik Sedin and Martin Brodeur
2nd Former Anaheim Duck Bobby Ryan and his overtime penalty shot
3rd Viktor Stalberg doesn't score but hits all 3 posts in the process
4th Former Dallas Star Loui Erikkson and his unbelievable beauty of a penalty shot goal!

Enjoy hockey fans!

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My Kale, Sausage and Bean Soup plus today's NHL schedule!

10/16/2014

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Voilà, the finished product!

Hello Good Lookin Hockey Fans! For all of you who have been coming to my website for the last few years a BIG thank you! For all of the new audience a BIG thank you too.

As well as talkin hockey, I also cook. If any of you don't know, I am a single mum, living in Vancouver, with a hockey crazed son. Since our weekdays are busy, I cook a big pot of soup or lasagna, something to get us threw the week. Here is one of my favourite soup recipes. It is great after a long day, relaxing on the couch watching your favourite team play.

What you will need:
1) one large soup pot 5) Knife
2) Baking Dish 6) Strainer
3) Wooden Spoon 7) Cutting Board
4) Soup Ladle

Ingredients:
1) One medium sweet white onion
2) Three carrots
3) Four stalks of celery
4) Four large leafs of kale
5) Four links of any sausage you enjoy (italian and something spice is great)
6) 1-2 cans of beans (depending on how hardy you want the soup)
7) One carton of vegetable stock (946 ml)
8) One small-medium sized butternut squash
9) Salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and paprika to taste
10) Butter or Olive Oil

Directions:
1) Pre heat oven to 425 degrees
2) Chop onion, carrots and celery. I like to leave my vegetables a little larger in size so they keep their crunch.
3) Turn your element to medium heat and add two tablespoons of butter or olive oil
3) Add onion, carrots and celery to pot and let sweat down until they begin to soften but are still firm. Add a little salt and pepper and stir every couple minutes. Reduce heat once vegetables have softened.
4) Cut butternut squash in half. Score it (cutting lines down the middle) spread a little butter, cinnamon, salt and pepper on the squash. Place in a baking dish and pop into heated oven. Again cook the squash until you can pierce it with a fork and the squash is soft. This can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the squash.
5) Remove sausage from casing and fry in a pan until cooked through and slightly browned.
6) Drain and clean beans.
7) After cleaning the kale tear out the centre spine of the green. Then proceed to tear the kale into bite size pieces.
8) Now add your beans and vegetable broth to the pot with the carrots, celery and onion. Add equal parts water to the soup.
9) When the sausage is done add it to the pot
10) When you squash is done, scoop it out of the skin and toss into the soup. Again cube the squash up in sizes you like.
11) Add salt and pepper to taste. I also like to add garlic powder, paprika and thyme. But any spice you enjoy will do.
12) Finally add the kale and turn soup to a medium high heat until it gets to a slight boil. Serve and Enjoy!

A solid base to any soup is onion, carrots and celery.

Vegetable stock, two cans of beans (I go with a white bean but feel free to change it up or just grab what is in your cupboard) kale and butternut squash.

This time I used mild italian sausage and chorizo sausage but again use what you have in your freezer or you favourite sausage (this soup is also great vegetarian)

I slice the squash in half, score it a few times down the middle, add some butter, cinnamon and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook at 425 degrees until a fork can pierce the squash smoothly.

Add the kale last. Kale won't wilt very fast, it is a firm leafy green. Adding it toward the end keeps a lot of the crunch. A lovely contrast in texture in the soup.

Today's NHL schedule (all times PST)

The San Jose Sharks take on the New York Islanders at 4:00pm
The New Jersey Devils battle it out with the Washington Capitals at 4:00pm
The Carolina Hurricane play the New York Rangers at 4:00pm
The Dallas Stars take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at 4:00pm
The Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators challenge each other at 4:30pm
Original 6 teams the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens play at 4:30pm
And finally the puck drops between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings at 7:30pm

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It is happening again……. Hat Tricks are making a comeback……. First goes Stamkos, then goes Seguin…… then goes Benn with the Gordie Howe Hat Trick!

10/15/2014

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Hello good lookin hockey fans! I thought today I could talk about the Hat Trick! Three goals scored by one player in a single game. They are making a come back this year!

After last weeks hat trick by Anaheim's Corey Perry on opening night, Calgary's Mayson Raymond and Carolina's Jiri Tlusty kept the magic rolling through the weekend with their own tricks from the hat. Tampa Bay Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos started this week off with a hat trick Monday night vs the Montreal Canadiens. This wasn't Stamkos's 1st hat trick nor will it be his last at this rate. In Stamkos' 60 goal season a few years back recorded two hat tricks. If you youtube 'Stamkos hat trick' there is no shortage.

Where does the term Hat Trick come from? In all of my research it always comes back to a cricket game played in 1858. Three wickets were taken by a player, a fund was started and a hat was purchased for the player. The NHL can be thanked for making the term popular in modern day sports. Fans often throw a hat onto the ice when a hat trick is accomplished. Legends will go on forever about when the term was first used during a game and how the throwing of the hats started so we can leave that part a mystery.

The 2nd hat trick this week was Tyler Seguin's Tuesday night vs the Columbus Blue Jackets. Three goals scored and all assisted by Jamie Benn. Which leads me to my next fun fact……. the Gordie Howe Hat Trick!

The Gordie Howe Hat Trick is a goal, an assist and a fight by the same player in a single game. This type of hat trick got its name after the famous Gordie Howe who played for the Detroit Red Wings from 1946 all the way to 1971. He gained popularity for his ability to light up the score board and drop the gloves to throw a few knuckle sandwiches.

Tuesday night Jamie Benn, Captain of the Dallas Stars scored a goal, assisted all 3 of Tyler Seguin's goals and then fought Blue Jacket, Nick Foligno. Don't know who Jamie Benn is? Well according to Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane, Benn is the most underrated player in the NHL. A power forward who plays left wing, Benn is the guy you want on your team for his scoring ability and willingness to drop the gloves. However, if you watch a Dallas Stars game you may be seeing double Benn on the ice. Jamie's older brother Jordie Benn also plays for the Stars. Jordie plays defense and wears #24 while Jamie is #14.

And that hockey fans is a brief history of the Hat Trick and the Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Above you can watch Steven Stamkos' hat trick while below I have included Tyler Seguin's hat trick and Jamie Benn's goal and fight! Until next time!

Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin… do we need anything else? Nope

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Fiftteen games last night means every single team in the NHL played! Let's talk about Radim Vrbata-Sedin and what David Legwand accidentally did in Nashville the other night.

10/12/2014

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Happy Thanksgiving Good Lookin Hockey Fans! Yes it is true, here in Canada it is a long weekend and the NHL didn't disappoint. Yesterday EVERY single team in the league played. Three games were shutouts, three ended in a shootout, and one ended in overtime.

Here are the final scores for all games played yesterday:

The Washington Capitals shutout the Boston Bruins 4-0
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2
The Detroit Red Wings beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2
The Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in the shootout
The New Jersey Devils beat the Florida Panthers with a whopping 5-1 final. This game put former Vancouver Canucks tandem goalie team Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo against each other. Cory is netminder for the Devils while Lou now mans the pipes in Florida
The Calgary Flames lost to the St. Louis Blues 4-1
The Columbus Blus Jackets beat the New York Rangers 5-2
The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in the shootout
The New York Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricane 4-3
The Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 4-1
The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2. It was a 2-2 game at the end of the 2nd period and the Blackhawks went on to score 4 goals in the 3rd. It was their veterans lighting up the score board. Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa all scored in the 3rd
The Arizona Coyotes beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in overtime
The Minnesota Wild shut the door on the Colorado Avalanche 3-0
The Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in the shootout thanks to Chris Higgins and Ryan Miller
And finally the San Jose Sharks beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-0

Below I have uploaded two videos. The 1st is Radim Vrbabta's goal last night. Vrbata now has two goals in two games. Fans here in British Columbia are starting to call him the "3rd twin" or "Radim Vrbata-Sedin" Only two other players in Canuck history have been able to play so effectively with the twins. The 1st being Anson Carter and the 2nd is Alex Burrows.

The next is a video of Ottawa Senator, David Legwand. A little fun fact: Legwand was the 1st player ever drafted by the Nashville Predators back in 1998. He played his entire career with the club until last year when he had a brief stint with the Detroit Red Wings and then signed with the Senators this past summer. As luck would have it Ottawa's 1st game of the season was against the Preds in Nashville. Legwand had a penalty called on him and went to the penalty box. After playing 956 games with the Preds (1/2 of those being in that arena) he accidentally skated into the wrong penalty box! It was a quick fix when he realized and went to the visiting team's box instead.

Until next time hockey fans! Everyone in Canada enjoy your turkey and everyone else, enjoy your Sunday!

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"Miller Time" in Calgary for the WIN, P.K. scores a beauty of a goal and the LA Kings raise their Stanley Cup Banner! Four games down, only 1,226 to go!

10/9/2014

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The Los Angeles Kings raise their Stanley Cup Champions Banner to the roof of the Staples Centre in downtown LA last night! Congrats Kings!

And so it begins…… the 1st night of NHL hockey for the 2014-15 season is over. As in true hockey fashion we had suspense, skill and all around fun.

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 with a game winning goal by Tomas Plekanec. The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 with late goal by Chris Kelly. The Vancouver Canucks had Miller in net while the Calgary Flames had Hiller net (confusing much) "Miller Time" ended up winning with 23 saves and an exciting end of the 3rd period empty net goal by Henrik Sedin for a 4-2 final. And finally even though the Los Angeles Kings had a beautiful ceremony celebrating their Stanley Cup win last year the San Jose Sharks beat them 4-0.

Watching the games last night there were a few things I wanted to show you Good Lookin Hockey Fans….

1) Is the goal by P.K. Subban. It is one of those goals were you can see it unfolding on the ice, a suspenseful moment and then it happens! I am such a sucker for a great goal.

2) Is the goal by newly acquired Canuck Radim Vrbata. To the naked eye, this was a goal from the beginning. Puck in the back of the net… what more do you need? But here is the thing, there are a number of reasons a ref will wave off a goal much like he did last night. At first sight the ref thought Vrbata hit the puck in with his stick above the cross bar. That would be why he waved it off. You cannot high stick a puck into the net. "Upon further review" to quote the ref and after reviewing the goal at head office it was indeed hit into the net by the shaft of Vrbata's stick below the cross bar, which means no high sticking so it counted! Thank goodness it did because it ended up being the game winning goal!

3) Finally Henrik Sedin's empty net goal with only seconds left in the 3rd period. Again to the naked eye.. puck in net….. goal. But no. Look closely and it appears Henrik is going to tap the puck into the net with his foot. A no no when scoring. A player cannot knowingly kick the puck in the net. Henrik knowing every rule in the book and having some incredibly hand eye coordination taps the puck over the goal line with his stick at the last second and the goal counts! It was such a beauty of an empty net goal even the TV commentators got excited!

Above I have loaded Subban's goal, and below you can check out both Vrbata and Henrik Sedin's goals. Plus I have found the Los Angeles Kings ceremony raising their Stanley Cup Banner to the rafters! Of course it is a much see. It is Hollywood and we all know Hollywood knows how to put on a show! Enjoy!

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Dust off your team's jersey because puck drops on the 2014-2015 NHL season tomorrow!

10/7/2014

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Hello Hockey Fans! It is true, dust off your favourite team's jersey, break out the foam finger and get ready to make some noise! Puck drops at 7:00pm EST Wednesday October 8th to start the season.

There are 4 games tomorrow night

• The Montreal Canadiens vs the Toronto Maple Leafs
• The Philadelphia Flyers vs the Boston Bruins
• The Vancouver Canucks vs the Calgary Flames
• And finally the San Jose Sharks vs the reigning Stanley Cup Champions the Los Angeles Kings

I few quick things to remember:

There are 82 games a season. A team gets 2 points for a win in regulation and the losing team gets none. If a game goes in overtime the winning team still gets 2 points and losing team gets 1.

Let's talk about goalies for a minute. It is going to be strange for some New Jersey Devils fans this season. After 21 years watching Martin Brodeur help the team with 3 Stanley Cups, surpass Patrick Roy for all time wins in regulation and be awarded 4 Veniza Trophies, Cory Schneider will the official #1 net minder for the team.

"It's Miller Time" has officially moved coasts. The former Buffalo Sabres goalie and brief St. Louis #1 (19 games last season after he was traded) Ryan Miller couldn't have picked a better time to join the Vancouver Canucks during their "rebuild phase". Personally I can't wait to see what Miller does between the pipes with the west coast breeze blowing through his hair.

Roberto Luongo will be starting his 1st full season with the Florida Panthers. After spending 8 years with the Vancouver Canucks Lou will be joining his old team, the team the originally dealt him to Vancovuer.

The Los Angeles can be relied on for a familiar face stopping shots for their team. Jonathan Quick will be back. Quick has helped the Kings win 2 Stanley Cups in 3 years! The team joined the league in 1967 and after a 45 year dry spell the picked up Cups in the 2012 and 2014 seasons!

Teams to have the same goalie return:

• Henrik Lundqvist is between the pipes for the New York Rangers
• Antti Niemi will stop shots for the San Jose Sharks
• James Reimer laces up for the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Canadian Cutie Carey Price suits up for the Montreal Canadiens

Those are just a few of the big names returning to their beloved hockey teams.

That is it for now Hockey Fans, over and out.

Jonathan Quick and Martin Brodeur in the hand shake line circa 2012 after the Kings beat the Devils in the Stanley Cup finals.

Back up Vancouver net minder Eddie Lack chatting with #1 Ryan Miller.

Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider were the very tough duo to beat a few years ago when they both played for Vancouver. Now Lou is the #1 for Florida and Schneider is New Jersey's go to man.

This picture doesn't need words. Just look and enjoy this handsome face. Henrik Lundqvist is still the New York Rangers main man.

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