Another two wins for the Canucks!

With goals from Brendan Morrison, Mattias Ohlund and Byron Ritchie, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night, 3-2. Markus Naslund added his assist to Ohlund's goal, giving him 725 points with the Canucks and edging him past Trevor Linden as career scoring leader.

Roberto Louongo made 25 saves against the Hawks, despite him saying he'd not felt his sharpest during this game. I'm sure if we were as sharp as Luongo on a bad day, the world would be a much better place to live and play. Way to go Bobby Lou.

Thursday night saw the Canucks fell the Predators in a 5-2 victory over Nashville. With this win, the Canucks reclaim their rightful place at the top of their division.

Goaltender Curtis Sanford saved an amazing 26 shots on goal out of 28 made last evening, with the powerhouse combination of Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Markus Naslund giving crushing opposition to the Preds with Alex Burrows, Taylor Pyatt, Trevor Linden scoring a goal a piece, and Daniel Sedin with two in the third period.

Vancouver's next game, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, will be this Saturday at 7PM.

Shutout streak ends...

Well, folks, the Canucks' shutout streak is over.
Sunday night, Vancouver lost 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild, and I can't say as I'm terribly disappointed in our guys; it was a great game between two very talented and capable teams. What does disappoint me is the level to which they allowed themselves to be drawn into penalties throughout the game. I'm too damn poor to be able to watch my Canucks play ($160 just to watch online, jeesum crow, being an aficionado of any sport is becoming the purview of the rich, but that's another topic for another post and another day), so I listen to the games on Team1040 online, and hence, don't really "see" the action, but from what I could hear it sounded like we fell into some fairly petty penalty draws.
Also, watching the highlight footage after the fact, I could have sworn I saw the Wild commit several penalties for which they were never called on...hmmm. Maybe I'm just a biased, die-hard fan, but that's what it looked like to me.
I'd give 3:1 odds for the Canucks in a rematch with different officiating. What really gave the Wild a perceived advantage was the seven bloody power plays they had against us, and I certainly think there was slightly biased officiating Sunday night, possibly originating from the fight between Cowan and Foy just three seconds into play.
The defeat certainly would have been a great deal more sound were it not for Luongo, who stopped 28 shots on goal (with our boys only managing 20 shots on goal, even with Luongo pulled for the final minutes of the game).
When all is said and done, however, this was not a resounding defeat for the Canucks, rather, it was a learning experience.
If this were my team I coach playing Sunday nights game, we would definitely give more polish to our defensive game, but really begin to work towards an even more successful penalty-kill strategy. Above all that, though, it seems to me from a coach's point of view (however inexperienced that POV may be) that there needs to be some psychological conditioning happening now, along with the superb physical conditioning the team already receives. Hockey is an emotional game, probably more so than any other out there, and when we let our emotions rule us too much during play we begin to act outside of our team strategy; we focus on "getting" the other guy, or getting ourselves so fired up or tense that we mishandle routine situations during game play.

Anyways, there's my very amateur take on Sunday's game.
Our boys play Chicago on their ice Wednesday night with some time to rest up before.
I'm confident that if Vancouver sticks to their defensive guns and avoids pulling stupid penalties, Wednesday's game will be a repeat of these two teams' last encounter.

Another shut out for the Vancouver Canucks!

Last night the Vancouver Canucks produced their third shut out in as many games (Chicago, Anaheim), closing the door on the Columbus Blue Jackets and establishing a 2-0 lead during the second period.
Roberto Luongo again validated my belief that he is, indeed, one of the best damn goalies (if not the best) in the NHL.
I mentioned in a previous post that it's entirely possible for a goalie to carry an entire hockey team; well, we definitely see that from Luongo. Not that the team plays badly, mind you, but Roberto picks up more than his share of slack when the team is having a bad night; when the team has a good night, playing to their full potential, shut outs like these past three occur.
If our beloved Canucks continue to play on this level, not only will they guarantee themselves a playoff position but will be serious contenders for Lord Stanley's Cup.
If they keep playing the way they have been, they'll definitely deserve to be there in the finals, and I have every confidence that Markus Naslund and Roberto Luongo can lead them there.
Head Coach of the Canucks Alain Vigneault said of Luongo, "We all know what he means to our team. In the third, our guys I think understood what was at stake and they buckled down. We're playing well defensively but when we're not - the first period against Anaheim (also 15 saves) and second period tonight - the goalie is real good." source

And here's a great big F**k You to all those fans who booed Luongo during the earlier games this season. Get a life, fracking bandwagon junkies.

Homesick for Vancouver, B.C.

It's raining again here in Salt Lake.
Whenever it rains I'm reminded of my second home in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I only lived there for two short, wonderful years, but I left my heart there behind me when I moved back to Utah.
I took my wife and daughter along with my mom and dad back to Vancouver with me last June. We were only able to spend a week there, not nearly enough time for me. When the time came to travel home, I insisted I drive the Suburban across the border so as to give me something to think about; left to my own idle recognisance I would have cried in grief at having to leave my second home behind again.
I would have gladly stayed were it possible, had I not a mortgage and a position of responsibility at home.

One day I'll get back there for good.

I've still to finish school, and that will occupy the majority of my time until 2010; maybe I can get done in time to see the Winter Olympics there.

This looks familiar, vaguely familiar,

Almost unreal, yet, it's too soon to feel yet.

Close to my soul, and yet so far away.

I'm going to go back there someday.

Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls.

Is that a song there, and do I belong there?

I've never been there, but I know the way.

I'm going to go back there someday.

Come and go with me, it's more fun to share,

We'll both be completely at home in midair.

We're flyin', not walkin', on featherless wings.

We can hold onto love like invisible strings.

There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met.

Part heaven, part space, or have I found my place?

You can just visit, but I plan to stay.

I'm going to go back there someday.

I'm going to go back there someday.

From "The Muppet Movie"

Vancouver, B.C.

"When the lights go down in the city

And the sun shines on the bay

I want to be there in my city

Ooh, ooh"

Lights by Journey

Photo by Gordon L Wolford

http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/image/50798012

I miss living in Vancouver. Every time I listen to "Lights" by Journey I think of my old home. I don't know what it is, if it's one thing in or many things generally that make me miss it.
I miss being able to listen to CBC Radio 2 without having to have an internet connection at hand.
I miss riding on the SkyTrain and visiting Chinatown.
I miss Stanley Park, London Drugs, and a little Chilean deli called Santa Teresita.
I miss the many cultures, the availability of live jazz music, walking along the Strait of Georgia and seeing the Coast Mountains rising from the water.
I miss the temperate climate and the smell of trees everywhere.
I miss my old crackerjack box apartment above the Dominoes Pizza on Joyce Street near Kingsway.
I miss the constant stream of cars hissing below my bedroom window.
I miss my friends and the people I knew there.

The last time I was in Vancouver was this past June, and only for a week. I was able to catch up with a friend or two and visit Capilano bridge, Stanley Park and Chinatown, but one week isn't nearly enough.

I fell in love with Vancouver while I was there. There hasn't been a day that goes by in the four years since I moved home that I don't think about it.

One of these days I'll make it back for good.