1.624 Mile High Club

All right, so I'm still on vacation, 8574 feet above sea level, and I just ate a giant hamburger from the Crooked Creek Saloon, so this post is going to be A.) short B.) lame or C.) some combination of the two.

Obviously, the big story from Saturday night (at least, RWD-style) was RWD favorite Mike Curry getting a major penalty and game misconduct for his slash on Adrian Veideman. I know that no one is going to take me seriously (no one ever does!), but I'm going to forge ahead and say WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND CALLS A 5 MINUTE SLASH 5 MINUTES AFTER THE FACT???? Here's how it went down: Curry slashed Veideman (it was a blatant slash, for sure, no one is arguing that), and I guess it stung a little. Veideman cried like a baby. Curry was escorted to the box. A two-minute penalty was posted on the board. Veideman cried harder. The corpulent ref decided to change the penalty he had originally meted out, giving Curry both a 5-minute major for slashing (whaaaaaaaat?) and a game misconduct. They showed Mike the door. I wept. Veideman was awarded Best Actor in a Dramatic Miniseries.

This is where I would like to take a moment to remind you all that Denver received a mere 2-minute boarding call when a player had a broken neck after being checked from behind into the boards while touching up a puck on a delayed penalty. So you can whine all you want about how Veideman was "injured" (but somehow was out after the penalty expired and managed to clutch and grab like never before), but an injury to a player does not necessarily warrant a major penalty, unless you can prove the player did it on purpose.

That incident was a big downer for me, because I was hoping to see Big Mike in a cagematch with Paukovich at the end of the game.

BUT WE WON! WE WON! WE FREAKING WON!

I know I begged, pleaded, and cajoled the Dogs to win their last 3 games and score 21 goals, but, as Meat Loaf says, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. I am so pleased with the way our special teams played (3 power play goals! 2 shorthanded goals!), and it was great to see that empty net goal slide over the goal line with 0.5 seconds left in the game. The Dogs were fired up Saturday night, and they played hard. They played way more physical than I've seen them play in a long time, which is what I generally get down on my knees and pray for each night before a game. Yes, there were a lot of penalties, but we've heard it time and time again: good teams find ways to win. The Dogs may not be a good team every night, but they were a good team Saturday. I'm proud of the way we play Denver. I wish we could play that way against every team (how about against North Dakota???), but hey, I'm fine with playing the spoiler. For now.

I really enjoyed my time in Denver (always do), and especially enjoyed meeting DG, Puck Swami, CO14ers (sort of), Dubbie 31, and the others I may be remiss in mentioning. If I forgot you, it's not my fault, it's just the Coors you sent me killing my brain cells. There are certain fan bases that could learn a lot from the Denver fans (well, not ALL the Denver fans... not the ones who ripped their shirts off for no reason, and then wanted to fight DHG after he showed them all up with his hairiness) as far as hospitality is concerned. If you can't act like a human being to opposing fans before and after the game, then you're an embarrassment to your program. I forgot to mention one thing about DG: I have never heard a Houston-Australian hybrid accent before. And Puck Swami spent the entire second period chatting hockey with me, which surprised me, considering I'd just put him through the Gauntlet mere days before. I've never interacted with a Gauntlet victim so soon after the attack, and didn't know what to expect.

Huh. I guess the answer to the quiz above was B.) lame rather than C.) some combination of the two. We'll be back in Minnesota tomorrow, and I've got some actual posting prepared.

Numbers
Points Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: 12
Wins Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: 5

My "Guys" Competition:
Matt Niskanen: 28! (Zowie!)
Michael Gergen: 14
Mike Curry: 12 (Most certainly would have gotten another point had he not been unjustly removed from the game! Several good chances!)
Matt McKnight: 7!
Jason Garrison: 2 (with him in the lineup, I'm sure we would have swept!)

Freshmen Competition:
Akins: 10
Fulton: 8
Stalock: 4
Gorsalitz: 2
Palm: 1
C. Ryan: 1

On Notice (2/10: Fully updated now!):
Nick Kemp: GD 9
Mike Curry: GD 11
Drew Akins: GD 12
Trent Palm: GD 19 PD 19
Ryan Geris: GD 29
Travis Gawryletz: GD 30 PD 11
Matt McKnight: GD 7
Matt Greer: GD 7 PD 7
Jeff McFarland: GD 6 PD 6
Jay Cascalenda: GD 6 PD 6
Michael Gergen: GD 4
Matt Niskanen: GD 4
MacGregor Sharp: GD 4