NHL Center Ice Sneak Preview

If you are a die-hard hockey fan [who subscribes to Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems, Bresnan Communications, Charter Communications, Midcontinent and Verizon FiOS, or a number of independent affiliates] you have probably already tuned into the Center Ice Package preview. If you're a casual fan this may have slipped by you, but not to worry - you can still watch free hockey through this weekend!

The Center Ice package is a wonderful thing, but if you're only a fan of the home team, it may not be worth nearly $200. Games that are broadcast locally are blacked out from the NHL Center Ice channels so that they don't compete with local markets. If you happen to be, say a Washington Capitals fan who lives in Texas, this is a great way to watch your team. If you are like me and you will watch any hockey game, regardless of the teams playing [I drove halfway across the country to watch the Quad City Mallards play the Adirondack Ice Hawks and I'm damn proud of it] the free preview weekend is a great way to watch a lot of hockey. Sometimes it's hard for a Caps fan to know who to cheer for [Vancouver Canucks or Minnesota Wild? Luongo or Niemi?] but the beauty is, sometimes you don't have to pick a side, you can just appreciate hockey for the beauty of the sport. Other times, like last night, you get a heads up on who the next NHL player to get a suspension is going to be.




Obviously that is the broadcast from Vancouver, as one can tell from the announcers' support of these fans being thrown out. The Minnesota broadcasters had this reaction:



With Center Ice, you can watch them all. For the record, Minnesota has it right. The fan was probably being a douchebag, but it does not warrant having a professional athlete yank him out of the stands into the tunnel. Look for the NHL to hand down a punishment very soon. Canucks: This is seriously uncool. Center Ice free preview: I am in love with you.

The box score to end all box scores

Last week I blogged in amazement at a minor league hockey box score revealing 158 minutes worth of penalties in a single game. Ladies and gentlemen, the Southern Professional Hockey League has outdone themselves. You have to see it to believe it.

Once again it involves the Knoxville IceBears, but this time their opponent was the Fayetteville FireAntz. (Yes, the team name is actually FireAntz.) As you scroll through the penalties, you will see that the majority of minutes were racked up at the end of the second period. Hit Ctrl+f and search the page for the words "game misconduct" and you will find that phrase 23 times. Twenty-three times!!! One of those game misconducts belongs to Fayetteville's head coach, Tommy Stewart for Inciting an Opponent. Also at the 20:00 mark of the second period, the starting goalies from both teams each received a game misconduct. Are you wondering how they had enough players left to continue the game? Scroll down to the last line of the box score for an answer to that question:

Game was forfeited at 10:45 3rd period due to 2 skaters remaining for Fayetteville

That was an interesting way to end the season for both teams. The first round of the SPHL playoffs begins this week. The Knoxville IceBears play the Fayetteville FireAntz in the first round.

The Game I Wish I Saw: Minor League Hockey Edition

Beau blogged about a box score from the Spurs/Warriors game on Friday, and I think this should be a regular feature: writing about sporting events you never watched, but wished you had.

This is a box score you need to see.

I have yet to speak with any of the 889 people in attendance at this SPHL game last month. (Southern Professional Hockey League. Yes, it's a real league.) And I doubt that many readers of J.B. Sports Chat are familiar with the Knoxville Ice Bears or the Louisiana IceGators, but the important thing here is that you can interpret a hockey box score. Actually... I take that back. The important thing is that you understand math and can identify disparity in numbers for the two teams. Here are a few highlights:

Power Plays: Knoxville was 4 for 13, Louisiana was 0 for 2.
Penalty Totals: Knoxville had 4 minutes on 2 infractions, Louisiana had 158 minutes on 25 infractions.

Yes, 158 penalty minutes were collected by one team in a 60-minute game. The third period penalties were all on Louisiana. Fighting Majors, Game Misconducts for Abuse of an Official, Gamers for Inciting an Opponent, and all sorts of fun stuff. But my very, very favorite is the last two penalties listed: Dave MacIsaac and Frank Jury, 10 minute game misconducts each for Verbal Abuse of Officials. Scroll through the active roster and you will not find those names. MacIsaac is the Head Coach and Jury is the Equipment Manager.

What the hell happened?!? Most of the penalty minutes were from the third period, but they didn't even occur all at once. The first major penalty in the third was at 10:21 and the last was the equipment guy with just over a minute left in the game. At 17:18 in the third, three players got misconducts for slashing, charging, and fighting (third man in.) Who were they fighting?!? Each other? Officials? Fans? No one from Knoxville had any fighting penalties.

That is one of the most perplexing box scores I have ever seen. I wish I had been at Blackham Coliseum that night to see what happened. I would have been happy to boost their attendance to a solid 890.