Troubled Waters

It's been a rough couple of weeks for the Sharks. Coming into the game tonight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, the Sharks had lost 6 of the last 8. They were looking to turn things around against the Ducks, but it was not to be.

The Sharks lost the contest 3-1. Although it was a tough game to lose, there were some positives to be taken away. New Shark Craig Rivet scored the Shark's lone goal in his first game in teal. He adds a needed grit and depth of experience to the young defensive corps. Trade deadline acquisition Bill Guerin played hard in his 2nd game with the Sharks, putting the puck on goal whenever the chance arose. Both trades were well done, and once the two new players get used to the team, they're going to give the Sharks the extra push they need in the playoffs. Evgeni Nabokov played a solid game in net, making some spectacular saves. It's a shame the Sharks can't seem to score when he starts. Overall, I thought the whole team played hard. They had chances and didn't make many blunders (Matt Carle being an exception with a horrible lack of hustle that led to a Chris Kunitz goal).



Thought I'd mix things up by letting Victoria take a picture with the hot Miller Lite girls. Scroll down a few entries to see my picture with them.



I can't believe I'm saying this, but, once again, I was really impressed with the fans at the Honda Center. There was screaming, shouting, and, it being Anaheim (this is the city that brought Thunder Sticks and Rally Monkeys to baseball), random assorted noise makers. What a leap since last season. I spoke with a season ticket holder who was sitting behind me, and he thought it was a mix of the team's success and hockey finally starting to catch on a bit in Orange County. I'm really interested to see what happens as time goes by. It would be fantastic if hockey interest in SoCal moves in the same direction it's going in San Jose.



One of the things I enjoyed most about the game was the rivalry between Sharks and Ducks fans. I've noticed in my travels that Sharks fans seem to be everywhere, and Anaheim is no exception. From little kids giving me the the thumbs down to adult fans shouting "Sharks suck!", the razzing was much appreciated. I've been to too many games in Southern California (and now Chicago) that we out of towners are louder than the local fans. Fear not, there were a lot of loud "Let's Go Sharks!!" cheers, but at least we were met face to face with shouts back.



One thing that still worries me is the lax SoCal attitude toward paying attention the whole time. People showed up well into the 1st period and left half way through the 3rd, even though the game was close. I understand that traffic is quite terrible in this part of the world, I live here too. Personally, I'd rather take an extra 10 minutes to get home and see the rest of the game. People, like those in front of us, also would come and go during the period. Not only is this annoying to others in the section, it seems pretty silly. I like beer as much as anyone, but I like hockey more.



Decided to go with Carl's Jr. for dinner tonight. I love my Bacon Western Cheeseburgers. Honestly, it's a better choice than the other arena food at the Honda Center. Dessert was a special treat- cheesecake from the dessert cart lady. It was about a dollar too much, but it was tasty indeed. Too bad the guy in front of us was such an asshole. He got super freaked out when the lady grazed the tip of one of his cookies with her thumb. He talked down to her, gave her shit for any little wrong move, had no consideration for the growing line behind him. I don't know what he was expecting at a hockey game, but the Honda Center isn't Le Cordon Bleu. What a dick.



I forgot to mention a special quirk of the Honda Center in the last blog. The men's room etiquette is very bizarre. Instead of forming one line, people line up behind individual urinals. This makes the bathroom unnecessarily crowded, and causes much distress when you have to pee and you get behind a few slow leakers. I really wanted to take a pic, but it seemed somehow inappropriate. My suggestion would be to go with the entrance/exit system that EVERYWHERE ELSE goes with. It works.



The slumping Sharks end the game with a 38-25-2 record. Their 78 points puts them 6th in the Western Conference.

So It Begins

The Sharks tour has started.

I decided a few weeks ago that I'd like to see my beloved Sharks play at every arena in the NHL. A lot of people do baseball tours, but I think hockey tours are less common. Plus, you get to see a lot more of Canada this way.

Although I've already been to a few games this season, 12/12/06 was the first official stop. Since I live in Los Angeles, the tour started here at the Staples Center. Special guest for the game was Victoria Engelmayer.

The Sharks dominated the game, cruising to a 3-1 win. The Sharks looked a bit tired, having played last night, but they pulled off a victory nonetheless. Frankly, the L.A. Kings are a pretty poor team right now. Even shorthanded, the Sharks were never out of control.

Rookie sensation Joe Pavelski scored twice- a beautiful breakaway goal, and sweet wrister during a 5 on 3. Steve Bernier scored the other goal for the Sharks. Evgeni Nabokov was one goal shy of his 4th shutout of the season- stopping 36 of 37 shots. He made some remarkable saves.

The Staples Center is a pretty good place to see a game. Opened in 1999, it has comfortable seats (cup holders!), and a great lighting system. The arena holds 18,118 for hockey games. It's also home to the Lakers, Sparks (WNBA), and a ton of concerts and special events.

The crowd, announced at 15,000 (but probably around 12,000) was below-average in their enthusiasm. To be fair, I've been to Kings games before, and there has been more involvement. Fact is, they're a pretty bad team this year. When they finally managed a goal, the place got pretty loud. For a minute.

As for food and drink, the options were quite limited. That is indeed a McDonald's picture above. Normally, I wouldn't eat fast food at an arena, but, aside from a hot dog booth, that was all there was. Choices are a slightly more varied on the lower concourse- mostly still fast food. As one ascends to the upper level, you can glance into the stadium club. The food looked very good there.

It was a bit of a mess ordering. We ordered two chicken strip combos. When they rang it up the price seemed very high, even for sports food. After a long attempt at conversation with the non-English speaking cashier (at one point I said "so that's a lie, then!") it came to light that beverages were perhaps not included in the combo. How strange. I've never ordered a combo meal before and not had a beverage included. Later, again due to lack of options, we returned to McD's for ice cream. Again, the price seemed rather high. It seems that Victoria's "I'd like lots of extra chocolate. Please, please lots of extra chocolate" translated to "I want a sundae and a McFlurry." Now I'm not an "English only" type person, but one would think that getting combo meals with beverages and ordering two sundaes (even one with extra chocolate) would be easier.

That being said, the chicken strips were better than any I've had at any sporting even except the fancy seats at Angel's Stadium, and McD's fries are always tasty.

Here's the shot (and star) of the game.

The Sharks finished the game with a record of 23-9. Their 46 points gives them 2nd most in the West, but because of division leaders, 4th overall.