winter classic

After a long break over some personal issues...this lady has returned! Haha.

Now, as you all know, the Winter Classic is comming up. This is the biggest game of the year besides the Stanley Cup folks! Sid the Kid and Ovie go head2head again in this battle of the champions. Sidney Crosby has been doin absolutly AMAZING lately!!! My hat goes off to him in reverence.

Penguins Vs Canadaian: A great Victory with a Severing Loss

I was a little nervous at the start of this game...how would our boys do? Well, the Pens got scoring from Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Craig Adams, Alex Goligoski, and Bill Guerin into an empty net! And pretty much all of them were on a power-play! The Pens were smoking the power-play!!! The Capitals in the previous serious only made one out of  what like 33?  The Habs got goals from P.K. Subban—his first in the NHL—Michael Cammalleri, and Brian Gionta.
However, our cutie, Mr. Jordan Staal, went down with a leg injury shortly after Markov left the game, and he did not return. He severed a tendon in his lower right leg and at best will not return until the conference finals.

Caps Sweep, Pens Weep...

The Pens were not playing well, from the very beginning. The Penguins closed the gap when Sid Scored his 48th making it 2-1. However, Tomas Fleischmann scored just 21 seconds later for Washington to make it 3-1. I like Flower, but he's inconstant...they pulled him. Brent Johnson took his place. Then, Leopold's shot from the right point trickled in...giving Sid 99 points (he assisted it). Then, the Caps scored again. Jordan scored 43 secs later...but the ref. said it was no good...he had blown the whistle. Then, right off of a Caps power-play, Jordan had won the face-off cleanly, but it bounced off of a linesman, stopped on Ovechkin's stick and was buried in the goal.  The Pens tried to get back into the game, but a no-scoring powerplay sent them under. They pulled Johnson and with .02 secs. left, Ovie scored again... to tie up with Sid. I hated this game the most this season. 

Two Good Wins and A Bad Loss

The Pens were losing 4-3, Sid scored twice, but it wasn't good enough...until Matt Cooke deflected defenseman Brooks Orpik's slap shot from the right point with 3:48 in regulation time. Sid hit one in the net and then Duphe did as well, giving them an overtime win, because Fleruy did well. S

However, Wednesday they didn't show up. "It was pretty bad. There's no sugarcoating it or trying to make something positive out of it, we didn't do anything that was positive," Crosby said. "We weren't ready to play. We thought we were going to play a team that laid down and isn't going to go to the playoffs, and we were just going to show up. Clearly, it didn't happen."

Clearly it didn't, the Penguins lost 2-0. Dan Blysma He called an 8:30 a.m. practice for Thursday, a previously scheduled day off.

Apparently the extra practice played off...the pens won 4-3 by Jordan Leopold's first Penguins goal. A cheap shot to Sid sparked a fight. And Billy Guerin thrashed the thrasher guy bad! Kennnedy, Gonchar and Malkin scored as well...Malkin was getting a little fiesty on the ice and you could clearly see him mouth..."firetruck.."

Another Stinger for Our Pens...

On Wednesday, the Pens suffered a stinging shout-out loss. The Caps struck the first blow. First it was Knuble scored, and then....(sigh of relief) Max Talbot scored! And our man Billy G  scored as well. But, a bad pass by Sid cause Semin to score and then Fehr scored soon after. We were all surprised...how could this all happen so fast? Then, the Pens kicked it up a notch...especially Duphe and Staalsie, they really played their hearts out. And Jordan was rewarded with a late goal. However, even though both Sid and Ovie scored it the shoot-out (Sid's goal was amazing), Knuble won it 4-3. That game was a stinger!

Pens Win...and then take a hard loss...

The Pens won VS. the Bruins 3-0 this Thursday. It was Fleury's first shut-out of the year. Tensions were high this game. The last time they fought, Matt Cooke accidentally injured Marc Savard.  Shawn Thornton took up his cause and faced-off with cookie 5 seconds into his first shift. No one really won it.
"We expected it to be intense and emotional but we were prepared to play hockey," Sidney Crosby said.
The Penguins scored once in each period - goals by TK,  Poni and Rupper.

Then, on Saturday, they faced Carolina.  Zach Boychuk of the Canes drew first blood.  Then, Jordan Stall met the blow with a nice goal assisted by  Poni and Sid. Then, Gino scored assisted by Fedotenko and...yet again...  Poni. However, Joni Pitkanen of the Canes scored tieing it up. We went into overtime. With only .09 seconds left, we thought...whew! It's going to a shoot-out...nope! Jamie McBain scored his first NHL goal....a crushing loss for our Pens...yet tonight they battle again...hmmm...Detroit....

Devil Defeat Again!

The Devils defeated the Penguins 6 times now! They won 5-2.  Our boys were playing well in the beginning of the 1rst period. "Kunie" scored won in. A turnover by Letang cause a devil goal...it was all down-hill from there. All the other goals were turn-overs at the blue line. The Penguins defeated themselves. Ruslan scored in the third, showing that he's still got the magic. Although they had a 3 minute power play at the end, they couldn't win it. Sid was called for goalie interference...it wasn't. He turned towards Brodeur and said, "Come on Marti!" All I can say is, it doesn't really matter what happens against the Devils in the season...in the play-offs, if the Pens play them, I predict that the will redeem themselves.

Hopefully tonight...it will be a win!

Double Defeat....

On Thursday, Pens lost in overtime to the Hurricanes. Jordan and Eric got a goal a piece. However, The "Canes" scored in overtime winning 4-3.

Then, this Friday, the Pens lost again to the Devils (the 5th time in a row) 1-3. However, the third goal was goalie interference. Devil captain Jamie Langenbrunner pushed Kunie into the penguin bench! But the Pens were not able to capitalize on the opportunity. Sid the Kid was the only one to get a goal last night.

Olympic Medalists Honored at Last Night's Penguin Victory

At last night's 3-2 victory over the Sabers, all of the Olympic Medalists were honored. . All of the other players smiled and waved when the spotlight was on them...except for Sid. He looked really uncomfortable. He seems to not like the limelight. He must have been upset last night too, for he caused a fight and was cursing on the bench. Maybe it was because the announcers said in Vancouver, some one had stolen all of his equipment...except for his mouthpiece.  One of the announcers exclaimed, "Even his jockstrap?!"  I bet some lady bought that on Ebay for a few thousand! lol!
"Tankie" did well last night. We were all worried that he might get traded, for he was in a 17 game rut. However, "Fedie" redeemed himself last night! Gonchar scored his 200th goal as well! Let's go Pens!

Also, my uncle who lives in Pittsburgh said he heard rumors that David Letterman was trying to get Sidney on his show this Thursday after the Ranger game....hmmm...I wonder.

Canada ices Russia

Canada beat Russia last night 7-3...it was truly an embarrassment for Russia. One of our Pens guys, Gonch, scored a nice slap shot. However, poor Geno was stone-walled by Luongo. How 'bout that "Lu-ing"-eh?  Although our boy Sid didn't score, he played well. He made some nice hits and opened a lot of lanes.
One of the announcers interviewed Ovie earlier that day. He told Ovie that he thought he was the best player in the world and Ovie thanked him. Then, the announcer asked Ovie who he thought was the best player. He tried to pass by it by saying, "Well, some people are good today, some are good tomorrow."

The announcer asked him who he thought was the best player now.

"Well, people are saying, 'Who  best player?' I think best player me, " he said in broken English. I beg to differ! Although Ovechkin is a good guy, Sidney is a better team player and an all-around classy guy. And...who's got the ring (and the Olympic win as well)?

The Mad Hatter

At the game last night, Penguins VS the Sabers, Crosby scored a hat trick in the second period alone! His look after he scored the third goal was priceless. It spoke, "Oh yeah...I'm the man!" Not in a cocky way, but in a sense of accomplishment way. Jordan Staal was playing awesome two with a goal and many game winning plays. Flower did his part and stood up against the Sabers offense. Overall, it was a great game and a great team effort! Can't wait 'till Saturday! 

And that's why I call him...The Mad Hatter! Mwahhaa haaa!  

The Wizard Of Cros strikes again!

Awesome Penguin Win Today!

 VS

 
The Penguins won in a shoot out today! Crosby scored one today and then with about eight minutes left, the Red Wings matched him. Fleury was screened and Fedotanko was in the way. However, Crosby made an AWESOME shoot-out goal (he knocked off the bottle) and Malkin sealed the deal...it was an awesome finish to an awesome game!

Chris Conner-New Player Profile

Chris Conner

Number: 23

Position: Right Wing
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

Height: 5-8

Weight: 180

Shots: Left

                    Born: December 23, 1983-Westland, Michigan

                    Draft: Undrafted

 (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Chris Conner scored two goals on Monday night less than 12 hours after he was recalled from AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Conner, who played for Pittsburgh because of injuries to wingers Bill Guerin and Max Talbot, skated with center Sidney Crosby and winger Pascal Dupuis. Those players combined for six points. Conner made a drive of nearly two hours from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to arrive at Madison Square Garden. He had no idea he’d play with Crosby, a former MVP and scoring champion, until before the game.
“It was probably better that I didn’t know,” he said. “Less thinking.”
Conner’s goal at 10:46 of the third period was the winner.
(pasted from  http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=ArC.o9_fJe6NcyAzHjy_bHNivLYF?slug=teamreports-2010-nhl-pit&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report). 

Best Crosby Site Ever!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/feature/featureVideo?page=sidneycrosby

This cite has the best stories I have ever heard about Sid! It two years old, but it's still soooo funny!

Will You Marry Me Sidney?

Last Wednesday, at the Calgary Flame game, a pretty little blond "puck bunny" held up a sign that screamed out, "Marry me Sidney!" I'm sure the player's poked fun at Sid. Nothing against her (I'm sure she's very nice), but it really shows how obsessed she is and frankly, if I were I guy, I'd automatically write her off as a very shallow girl. She doesn't even know Sid-yet she wants to marry him? Don't get me wrong, I find Sidney very attractive ( he's personality and character even more than his looks), I've heard nothing but good about him, however, I don't want to marry him! I could meet him and find out that our personalities don't go well together! So, I suggest that this pretty blond girl takes some time and seriously considers her heart and wakes up to reality.

Down below, on the Penguin's road-trip, some guys decided to poke fun at her! They took my idea! I was telling my dad about three months ago how a dude should dress up in a dress with a "Will You Marry Me Sidney?" sign! Ha! I'm sure the guys got a good laugh...I know I did!

I had to put a picture of Sid!

The ThunderBay Expressway

 









Jordan Staal

Number: 11 Height: 6' 4" Weight: 220 Shoots: Left Born: Sep 10, 1988  (Age 21) Birthplace: Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

Drafted: PIT / 2006 NHL Entry Draft

Round: 1st  (2nd overall)

Nicknames: Gonk
Place of Residence: Pittsburgh,PA
Favorite singers: Tim Magraw, Taylor Swift
Favorite Movie: The Anchorman
Girlfriend: Heather Dysievick                                   

Jordan Staal (born on September 10, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).
After a two-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) career, in which he won a J. Ross Robertson Cup and appeared in the 2006 Memorial Cup with the Peterborough Petes, Staal was drafted second overall by the Penguins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL after being drafted and set several NHL records in his rookie season, including youngest player to score on a penalty shot, to score two shorthanded goals in one game, to score a hat trick, and the most shorthanded goals by a rookie in one season. Staal was also a Calder Memorial Trophy nominee and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.
Among his Penguins teammates, Staal is known as "Gronk". The nickname, which is a reference to the Marvel comic book supervillain, was given to him by former Penguins teammate Colby Armstrong, because of his strong and large on-ice presence.^[1]
Staal is one of three brothers playing in the NHL, along with Eric of the Carolina Hurricanes and Marc of the New York Rangers. Youngest brother Jared has also been drafted into the NHL.
Internationally, he has represented Team Canada once at the 2007 World Championships, winning a gold medal.

taal played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Peterborough Petes for two seasons, beginning in 2004–05 after having been selected third overall in the 2004 OHL Priority Draft.^[2] In his second year with the club, he produced at a point-per-game pace with 28 goals and 68 points in 68 games before adding 16 points in the playoffs to help lead Peterborough to the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions. Earning a berth in the 2006 Memorial Cup, the Petes did not, however, make it past the round-robin. During the course of the 2005–06 season, Staal was also selected to play in the 2006 CHL Top Prospects Game. Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Staal was ranked second among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, behind Erik Johnson of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.^[2] He went on to be drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, behind Johnson, who was selected by the St. Louis Blues. Jordan became the third among the four Staal brothers to be drafted into the NHL after his older brothers Marc and Eric, who was also selected second overall.
Staal was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Penguins on October 2, 2006,^[3] and made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL in 2006–07 at the age of 18. He scored his first NHL goal on October 12, a shorthanded breakway marker against New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in a 6–5 win.^[4] Later that month, on October 21, Staal set a pair of NHL records with a two-goal effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In addition to becoming the youngest player to record a two-goal game since Bep Guidolin of the Boston Bruins did so at the age of 18 years and 12 days on December 21, 1943, Staal also scored both his goals on the penalty kill, becoming the youngest player to record two shorthanded goals in one game (surpassing Radek Dvorak of the Florida Panthers, who did so at 20 years and 278 days on December 12, 1997). Having scored his second shorthanded marker on a penalty shot, Staal additionally became the youngest player to score on a penalty shot, surpassing Nathan Horton, who scored with Florida at 18 years and 224 days on January 8, 2004.^[5]
Early in Staal's rookie season, however, there was still speculation that he would be returned to his junior team before playing his 10th game to avoid allowing him to accrue a full season under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement.^[6] However, due to his strong play, particularly on the penalty-kill, the Penguins chose to keep him for the remainder of the season.^[7] Staal, along with fellow rookie Evgeni Malkin joined superstar Sidney Crosby, who had himself only entered his second NHL season, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to form an effective young nucleus that revived the Penguins franchise.
In January 2007, Staal participated in the NHL YoungStars Game during the All-Star festivities, along with teammates Ryan Whitney and Malkin.^[8] Shortly thereafter, on February 10, 2007, Staal scored his first NHL career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs and set yet another NHL record by becoming the youngest player in league history to score a hat trick at 18 years and 153 days. His first goal came at 19:22 in the first period, the second came at 3:32 in the second, and his third was the game winner, as he beat Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft stick-side at 3:54 in overtime. The previous mark had been held for over sixty years by Jack Hamilton, who achieved a four-goal game at 18 years and 185 days old with the Maple Leafs against the New York Rangers on December 4, 1943.^[9] Then, late in the season, on March 6, Staal scored his league-leading seventh shorhanded goal of the season to break the previous league record for shorthanded tallies by a rookie, set by Gerry Minor of the Vancouver Canucks in 1980–81 and matched by John Madden in 1999–00. The goal cued a late third period comeback for the Penguins to win 5–4 in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators.^[10]
Staal completed his rookie season with 29 goals, second in rookie goal-scoring to teammate Malkin, and 42 points for a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination. Today, however, some are saying that this season was just a fluke for Staal. The award was given to Malkin, while Staal finished third in voting, behind first runner-up Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche.^[11] Staal also joined Malkin and Stastny on the NHL All-Rookie Team.

The next season, in 2007–08, however, Staal's production suffered a setback, managing just 12 goals and 28 points. Regardless, he was an integral part of the Penguins' 2008 playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. Playing in the semi-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, Staal briefly left the Penguins to attend his grandfather's funeral during the series, but returned for a two-goal game four effort, in which he cued a near-comeback in the third period to cut the Flyers lead to 3–2.^[12] The Penguins were eventually defeated 4–2, but managed to eliminate the Flyers the following game. As the Penguins made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1992, the last time they won the Stanley Cup, they were defeated in six games by the Red Wings. Staal contributed 6 goals and 1 assist during the playoff run.
Early in the 2008–09 season, the Penguins and Red Wings met for the first time since the Stanley Cup series on November 11, 2008. With the Penguins down by three goals in the third period, Staal notched his second career NHL hat trick to tie the game, then set up Ruslan Fedotenko's overtime winner to defeat the Red Wings 7–6.^[13] On December 2, 2008, he was named to the rotating position of alternate captain for the Penguins for the month of December.^[14] The following month, on January 8, 2009, the Penguins announced that they had extended Staal's contract through the 2012–13 season. Terms of the contract were for $16 million, payable as $3.5 million for the first two seasons, and then $4.5 million for the last two years, resulting in a $4.0 million salary cap hit.^[15] He completed the season bouncing back from the decreased production of his sophomore year with a career-high 27 assists and 49 points.

On June 12, 2009, Staal and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena. Staal had two goals and an assist in the seven-game series, while playing clutch defense and scoring a shorthanded goal that was a pivotal point in Game 4 of the series.

Staal made his international debut with Team Canada at the 2007 World Championships in Moscow. Named to the team following the Penguins' first-round playoff defeat, he joined brother Eric to help Canada capture the gold medal by defeating Finland 4–2 in the final. In 9 games, Staal contributed 2 assists.

Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Staal grew up playing ice hockey with his three brothers on an outdoor rink built by their father Henry.^[2] All of the Staal brothers have been drafted into the NHL. Older brothers Eric, drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003, and Marc, drafted by the New York Rangers in 2005, both play with Jordan in the NHL, while younger brother Jared was drafted in 2008 by the Phoenix Coyotes and is currently playing for the American Hockey League (AHL)'s San Antonio Rampage.^[16]
Jordan and Eric have played together on one occasion, as part of Team Canada's 2007 World Championship2009 Eastern Conference Finals. He has also met Marc's New York Rangers in the 2008 playoffs. Jordan has eliminated his brothers with the Penguins in both instances. Jordan has become the second brother to win a Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh 2009) behind older brother Eric (Carolina 2006). gold medal-winning team, while also competing against each other in the NHL, including their high-profile matchup in the
In the summer of 2007, Jordan was arrested at Eric's bachelor party. Eric was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process, while spending the night in jail. Jordan was also cited with underage drinking.<sup>[17]

(All italicized pasted from Wikipedia)</sup> 

^{I think Staal drank a little too much in this picture! ;p}

I

^{I don't know what Max was thinking wearing that fruity t-shirt! Maybe, he thought he'd get points with the ladies...then again, he was always a nerd! :D} 

Fun Facts About Crosby

Sidney Crosby Fun Facts

Sidney Crosby Fun Facts:

Nicknames: The Next One, Baby Legs, Sid the Kid, Darryl

Previous Team : Rimouski Océanic ( QMJHL )

Hometown : Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia

Place of Birth : Dartmouth , Nova Scotia

Country : Canada

DOB : August 7 , 1987

Height : 5-foot-10 (1.80 m)

Weight : 193 pounds (87.5 kg)

Shoots : Left

Position : Centre

Jersey Number : 87, he wears this becuase his birthyear is August 7, 1987.

Junior Team: Rimouski Oceanic

NHL Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

First NHL hatrick: October 28 2006, against Philadelphia Flyers

Family: Troy Crosby (Father), Trina Crosby (Mother), Taylor Crosby (Sister)

Middle Name: Patrick

Favortie Music: All

Favorite Band: 3 Doors Down

Pet: Yellow Retriever named Samantha "Sam"

Place of Residence: Sewickley, PA

Car: Range Rover, Lexus

Favorite food: Chinese

Favorite actor: Denzel Washington

Favorite actress: Eva Mendez

Girlfriend: The Stanley Cup

Endorsements: Reebok, Sher-Wood, Telus, Upper Deck, PepsiCo

His dad was drafted byt Montreal Canadiens the same year as NHL legend Mario Lemieux.

Later Sidney Crosby would one day play on the same team as Mario Lemieux.

Was a Montreal Canadiens fan as a child.

Player that he hates playing against most is Denis Gauthier


Noteable Sidney Crosby Dates :
June, 2009- Sid the Kid and the Penguins win the Stanley Cup

December 16, 2005 - Michel Therrien, Penguins coach, selects Sidney Crosby as an alternate captain for the team.

October 8, 2005 - Sidney Crosby scores his first NHL goal against Boston Bruins goalie Hannu Toivonen.

October 5, 2005 - Sidney Crosby earns his first NHL point by assising a goal for Mark Recchi against New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur.

September 9, 2005 - Sidney Crosby signs his NHL contract with Pittsburgh. Sidney could earn up to $12 million over the next 3 years playing along side the hockey legend Mario Lemieux.

July 30, 2005 - Pittsburgh Penguin select Sidney Crosby first overall in the 2005 NHL amateur entry draft.


Sidney Crosby Quotes:

"It was nice to get the first one out of the way," - Sidney Crosby

"I was better at both ends, defensively and offensively, ... It was more of a well-rounded game. I want to add to that." - Sidney Crosby


"I feel comfortable, ... I'm definitely feeling challenged but with each day I gain more experience. I'm just trying to improve each day." - Sidney Crosby


"I want to play as soon as possible, ... You want to play but I don't pick and choose. It's not my job." - Sidney Crosby

"I didn't anticipate anything -- I was just showing up and seeing what the town and people were about, but it was a very welcoming sight, ... I'm sure the energy and excitement in town are going to rub off on the players. It's nice to see everybody's so excited about getting hockey started." - Sidney Crosby


"You can't afford to go out there and watch too much, ... If you get caught watching, you're not going to get to the puck and not going to make good plays." - Sidney Crosby


"The defensemen went down and got out of position, ... So then the goalie had no choice but to play the shot so I knew Mark had an open shot. I gave him a quick look and got him the puck." - Sidney Crosby


"I think I did all right but I want to improve, ... I don't think I'm happy with being average in that department and I want to make sure I compete with those guys. It was 50-50, I lost some battles." - Sidney Crosby


"It was amazing. You don't have a choice but to play your best. They force you do do that because they're smart and that's the fun part for me, I'm being challenged to think faster and be creative." - Sidney Crosby


"I was anxious to get started, ... There was so much anticipation. I wanted to get in the routine of playing games. It was just nice to be on a team, not competing against these guys in camp [but] trying to work together to win." - Sidney Crosby