Saturday, December 24, 2011
Recap: Niemi is Good
The Sharks played their best game of possession hockey I've seen this year. Granted I haven't been able to watch a whole lot of games, but they looked very strong on the puck and in the corners. It just didn't translate into shots on net in the first. They had several great chances, but the puck seemed to skip over every Shark stick in those situations. The Sharks looked quick on the Power Play, and I am guessing they will get one later on tonight they way it is looking right now. The period was also incredibly physical. Vlasic nailed a King behind the Sharks net, and the Kings made Couture's like very difficult, nailing him in the boards several times. The second Couture hit gave way to a Sharks PP, but once again they could not score. 

The second was characterized by both teams really opening up the offense. After twelve combined shots in the first, the two teams nearly doubled it with twenty-three in the second. The checking was still up and both teams finally got on the board. Couture's goal was an absolute beauty. His one-timer from the high slot area was a snipe with an incredible release. Benn Ferriero is playing the best hockey I have seen from him. He is showing speed I have not seen from him yet, and he is getting into the right positions on the ice to make plays. It is exactly what we need to see from him since Havlat will be out at least 6 weeks. The Kings tied it up with a minute left in the period, following a cross-ice pass to Mike Richards on the PP.

Finally, the third was more of the same. Hard-hitting, fast, playoff style hockey. Both teams had their chances, and both Niemi and Quick rose to the challenge. Vlasic continued one of the strongest games of his season, and he rightfully finished with the first star of the game. The intensity continued into overtime and then into the shoot-out. Clowe scored the only goal, using Quick's own knowledge of his Clowe against him.

That was the most entertaining game of the year in my opinion. Yes, even better than the game against the Lightning on Wednesday. Both teams brought it, there were plenty of chances on net, and both goalies brought their A+ game. The Sharks still have a handful of games in hand on most teams in the league, so hopefully they will finish this home stretch with 45 points.

Quick Hits

-Colin White does a spectacular job of playing within himself. And in my opinion it is infuriating. Of course, it makes sense. When a player is expected to have absolutely no offensive output, said player won't take risks with the puck.  Such is the expected output from Colin White, and hence we see a lot of safe passes to his defensive partner. His refusal to make a stretch pass seems to border on stubbornness and I believe it hurts the Sharks. How many times has it seemed like the Sharks make one to many passes between defense-men, leading to a turnover in their own zone?  

-Since when did Curtis Brown get on the Sharks intermission report!?! I still want Mark Smith back. He can play me sweet guitar tunes while I figure out whether the Stars or not. 



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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Back? It might be happening.
Life is a bitch. It has been twenty-three months since the last time I blogged here, and it is a little odd coming back. No longer do I live 30 minutes away from the Tank and no longer do I get to watch my games on TV (Thank you FirstRowSports), but my blood still bleeds Teal, and my desire to blog still burns. If you are actually reading this, I would like to welcome you to the return of the Surely This Year. The last incarnation, supposedly a three man team, died in January of 2010. Well, like the Arena Football League, I am back and ready to blog. 

Hopefully I won't be alone this time, as I currently help run the We Like Sharkz Facebook Page. Link here. I will be attempting to get a couple more writers on the site while I, along side writing, would be the editor of the blog as well. 

Tonight marked my first regular-season visit to the Tank this year. College in the middle of butt-fuck no-where (Merced) tends to inhibit your ability to attend a game. I was impressed with the play of the team for the most part, as they did a fairly good job on the penalty kill. That was one of the key things I looked for, and I think my lack of things to say about it is good. The power play looked better (after the crowd gave them the boos they deserved) and Patty slipped in an easy game-winning goal thanks to two great individual efforts. Jamie McGinn has kept growing as a player ever since it seemed he came out of his cocoon in the playoffs last year. He has been skating hard into the corners and winning the puck battles, which led to the power play goal tonight. 

Marty Havlat had a roller coaster of a game, scoring a beautiful goal in the first, then taking two back-to-back penalties in the second. He was not able to finish his ride sadly, as he injured himself getting onto the ice. Yes, Havlat looked to injure his knee attempting to get over the boards, and was unable to put any pressure on his leg. Any long-term injury turns the Havlat-Heatley trade into our worst possible scenario because as everyone has seen, Heatley has helped lead the Wild into the lead of the Western Conference. Let's just hope he gets better soon. 

Off topic, I was finally able to try out Amici's pizza in the HP. I didn't mind it, but my dad hated it. D+ from him.

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