Game Recap: January 6 - Minnesota Flats

Ok, first an apology.

The month of December was not kind to me nor was it conducive to writing blog posts.  There were a bunch of games that I was not able to attend and for the majority of the ones that I did go to, I failed to write entries for them.

Granted, the lackadaisical play of the team definitely tempered on my enthusiasm to relive those games, but it was my mission when I started this endeavor to blog every game I was in attendance for.

So, I promise to offer a catch-up post for those games at some point and I resolve to get back on track in the new year.

So without further adieu, here's the first entry of 2011.

Just the facts, Jack (Edwards)

• Regular Season game #38, home game #19
• Boston Bruins (21-11-6) vs. Minnesota Wild (19-15-5)
• Only meeting of the season between these teams

John Blue Plate Special

Heather had banged out of this game earlier in the day due to illness. Pete was supposed to go, but chances of him getting to the Four's before the game were exceedingly slim.  So, knowing that I was going to be dining/drinking solo, I decided to take it easy getting into the city.

Looks like I picked the wrong night to quit speeding.

I can't remember anther time on a Thursday night where traffic moved so quickly and efficiently on the Pike and into the city.  Made it from my office to Marlborough to Lechmere in about 45 minutes.

Got to the Four's and waited for a seat at the bar.  Chatted up with Tim and Maureen during my brief wait.  Went with a Flutie in a wrap with fries.  It wasn't a buffalo chicken sandwich served on waffles, but it was delicious nonetheless.

The Couture Corner

Minnesota is unique in the league when it comes to sweater design.  They are the one team with different styles for each of their sweaters (home, away and alternate).  Personally, I'm a fan of their red home set and their green alternates, despite being new, have an old timey feel that works for a team from a hockey hotbed like Minnesota.

Unfortunately, this being a road game for the Wild, they were dressed in their white sweaters which feature a highly stylized number font and a very tall and narrow name font that is extremely indecipherable, especially from up in the balcony.  Well, that and the fact that is it by far the weakest look of the three.

Seeing that this was a western conference opponent with an extremely low national profile, I didn't expect to see many visitors' sweaters.  I saw a Cal Clutterbuck away on the way into the Garden.  And then there was this guy:

Let's take a look:

Niklas Backstrom Alternate

Ah, the Finnish goalie with the Swedish name.

Anyway, I really like this design - clean block style font rendered in an off-white/cream against a dark green body with a pretty cool chest logo on the front.

But, when we are talking Minnesota hockey I would be quite remiss to not consider the Wild's precursors, the North Stars.  And sure enough, they had a representative:

Late 80's Neal Broten

No player epitomizes Minnesota hockey more than Neal Broten.  Born in Roseau, MN and played for Herb Brooks at the University of Minnesota.  He played for Brooks again as a member of the 1980 US men's ice hockey team.  In fact, he is the only player to win an NCAA title, an Olympics gold medal and the Stanley Cup.

As for the North Stars uniforms, they were beautiful.  Originally a mix of kelly green, gold and white, they added black in the mid 80's which produced a bold and vibrant color combination that really stood out in the NHL. And they had a great logo that was simple, yet stylish.

The call on these? Easy.

Good!

The Row 12 Rundown

No Heather.  No Pete. No Patty.

But we did get the Hoyts as well as Kathi, Charla and the kids.  And D.J. was in contention for "fan of the game".  Alas, he didn't win.  If it's any consolation, the Unos' Express pizza sucks anyway.

Doosh of the Day

And we have our first female winner (or loser) of the season!

I'm no fashionita, Tim Gunn or even Paul Lukas, but I do have a praticality and a sensible eye.

If your low-cut jeans are a size smaller than what you should wear so that your butt hangs out of them when you sit down, perhaps you should consider something a bit more modest (or friends that tell you that you look bad in them).  This was like looking at two hams.  And maybe you shouldn't wear a thong that rides up your lower back, too.  I mean, it's called underwear for a reason, right?  The jeans are supposed to go over them.

And it wasn't just me that was in need of a decent eye-scrubbing.  This girl was sitting right in front of Kathi, Charla and the kids.  I mean, people three rows behind us were making less than flattering comments about her.

Eventually, she got tossed by security.  She was wasted, but I'd like to think that it was the fashion police that nabbed her.

The Clothes Line

Late 80's/early 90's Don Sweeney

To this day, Donny Sweeney remains one of my all time favorite Bruins.  He wasn't tall. He wasn't overly quick.  But he was smart (he went to Hahvid, dood guy) and made the most of his ability.  In doing so, he played over 1000 games for the Bruins over 15 seasons before concluding his career with a year in Dallas.

One of my biggest regrets was that he didn't finish in a B's sweater.  It was in that final season that Bruins retired Cam Neely's number, but Donny was in Dallas.  Consequently, he had recorded a video presentation to Cam that was played at the ceremony.  But I really wished he could have been there in person.

Don eventually took a position in the Bruins' front office, first working with Peter Chiarelli as Director of Player Development and now working as Assistant General Manager.

The Lobel Prize

Minnesota has but one fromer B on their roster, former BC Eagle Chuck Kobasew.

I liked Kobasew.  He could score, played hard and seemed like a likeable guy.  The Bruins got him from Calgary with Andrew Ference when they shipped Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau to the Flames. They ended up trading him to the Wild for a couple of players and a 2011 second round draft pick.  Personally, I wish they kept him.

In any case, he had 2 shots on net in 16:58 of ice time, finishing a -1 for the night.  No damage done here.

The Home End

This one was doomed from the start.  The Wild came into this game 8-1-1 all time vs. the Bruins, with a perfect 5-0 record at the Garden.  Throw in the fact that Jose Theodore was in net for Minnesota and he was 6-0-1 in his last 8 starts aginst the B's and I knew it was fait accompli.