I’m not even going to lie to you. News concerning the Colorado Avalanche is slow.

I could tell you all about Matt Duchene going home to Haliburton, Ontario for the summer. That’s totally happening. He’s now neck deep in friends, family, and fish for the next few months.

I could tell you that Daniel Winnik is busy playing golf and going to baseball games up in Toronto for the summer. He also proved that hockey players are not immune to the lost luggage crisis while singlehandedly spurring Toronto tourism and the purchase of disposable cameras. I know lots of people who would like a shot of him wandering around in his skivvies.

I could tell you that Avs’ prospect Joey Hishon and the Owen Sound Attack are now out of Memorial Cup contention, and that Hishon was hit on May 22 and sustained a minor injury that kept him out of the final game. It’s a little sad and depressing, but it happened.

I could tell you that Ryan O’Byrne’s commentating career is still flourishing, and that according to his Twitter feed he has appearances on the NHL network today and tomorrow at 6 pm ET.

I could tell you that John Michael Liles has been blowing up Twitter posting pics of his golfing outings with hockey brethren, supporting “his boy” Ryan O’Byrne, and watching Rockies games from the sweet seats. (Aside: if you aren’t following @hoosierjm26, you are missing out. He uses it like all borderline classy athletes should, while proving himself intelligent and slightly crazy. Great combo.)

All of the above is obviously true according to the ever-reputable Twitter. But guess what? That all pales in comparison to the image below, which sprang into existence after a Twitter conversation between myself, @crazygirlemy, and @Elwood_Blues42.

We were discussing the trainwreckiness of Matt Hunwick on the PP and the PK, leading to the conclusion that he was just bad on the ice, which led to the Disney on Ice comparison, which led to…

Hunwick on ice. You're welcome.

So, ladies and gentlemen, if you take anything away from this post, let it be this:

Twitter is so full of AWESOME that it occasionally explodes all over the place. If you haven’t already, you should totally get on board.

The Colorado Avalanche lost in Dallas Thursday night 4 – 2. Raise your hand if you’re surprised. No, really. Don’t be shy….oh, no one? Alrighty then.

The Good:

• Brian Elliott made a few decent saves.
• Matt Duchene really does have some sick moves.
• Philippe Dupuis got some love from the Altitude broadcast boys before the game, then earned it with his hard work throughout the game (he even got an assist!). Too bad his mini-breakaway was foiled by a skilled poke check.
• Tiny, pocket-sized Olver scored a tiny, pocket-sized goal.
• Not one single person on the ice missed Hunwick. Well, maybe the guys in Stars’ sweaters.
  In the second period the Avs managed to score while holding Dallas scoreless. They won at least that part of the game!

That’s pretty much it. Oh, nope, I forgot…

BRANDON YIP SCORED!!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, #18 still plays for the Avalanche. Tonight he remembered that fact, and decided to do something about it. Yay! (I knew there was a place he walked…)

Sorry, shameless The Who shout out. I’m better now.

The Bad:

• The Avs didn’t play well enough to spoil Dallas’ playoff hopes.
• Lake Erie Monsters call-up Shawn Belle made some pretty glaring mistakes, but I’m still wary of being too critical given his position on the depth chart.
• The Dallas Stars outshot the Colorado Avalanche Light 37 – 23.
• Ryan O’Byrne collected TWO delay of game penalties when he dumped the puck over the glass. Both came at very inopportune times, and one led to a Stars PPG. Dude should quit the gym.
• The Avs lost, which is never fun.

These two teams will see each other again Friday night in the second of a back-to-back, home-and-home series. Maybe home ice will be kind to the Avs and the game will have a slightly better outcome.

Yeah, I know it’s a longshot. But I’m an Avalanche fan; I’m nothing if not optimistic.

Ryan Getzlaf led the Ducks in their 6 - 2 win over the Avs Friday night. (Photo by Resolute.)

Friday night the Avs played a pretty solid first period and then spent the last two rolling over and playing dead. By the end of the third period I wanted to poke them with a stick to see if they would even twitch. The final score was 6 – 2 Ducks.

First Period:

This was relatively fun to watch. Both sides were animated and played spirited hockey. Yes, the Avs played hockey. It wasn’t terrific hockey (they failed to convert on three power plays and destroyed their own 5 on 3 chance), but it was hockey. Cody McLeod and Brad Winchester went at it mid-ice a little more than halfway through, which got the crowd (and the Avs) going a bit. Finally at 19:16 Ryan O’Reilly, caught on ice with Philippe Dupuis, was fed the puck from Ryan Wilson and Ryan O’Byrne and put a hard-working shot past Dan Ellis to end the period 1 – 0 Avs.

Second Period:

The Avalanche weren’t quite as excited to start play during the second period. Anaheim won the battle for the puck, took it down to the Avs’ zone, and didn’t stop playing until Sakku Koivu put the puck past Brian Elliott 34 seconds into the period. Three minutes later Ryan Getzlaf scored on a power play. A few plays later Stastny beat Getzlaf on a face off, leading to a David Jones goal to tie the score at 2 apiece. The tie lasted 30 seconds before being destroyed by a Corey Perry wrist shot. Dan Sexton added another very painful goal after O’Reilly shot wide of the net and the Ducks took the puck back down ice on a breakaway and scored. The period ended at 4 – 2 Ducks, and the Avs lost Milan Hejduk to a shoulder injury. » Continue reading “Ducks fly together while Avs flail together in 6 – 2 game”

…outlook hazy. It all depends on which version of the team shows up. The Avalanche are in Minnesota Tuesday night to take on the Wild for the sixth and last time of the 2010 – 11 season.

One word comes to mind: finally.

Series Record: Avalanche 2, Minnesota 3

November 27 at the Pepsi Center was one of the more surprisingly pleasant games of the Avalanche season. Paul Stasny got an early goal and Antti Miettinen and Matt Cullen turned the momentum toward Minnesota at the end of the first. Then in the second the Avs went wild (heh, heh). By the end of the game Milan Hejduk, Kevin Shattenkirk, David Jones and Matt Duchene had scored for the Avs; Greg Mauldin did so twice (and racked up two assists). Kyle Brodziak added two for the Wild to make the final score 7 – 4 in favor of the Avs. Interestingly this game of domination also was involved in a turning point of the season: in the second period, Chris Stewart broke his hand when pounding on Brodziak. Stewart went on to miss about seven weeks and failed to return to his former glory until being traded to the St. Louis Blues. » Continue reading “Can the Avs go wild in Minnesota? Magic 8-ball says…”

The Avalanche have lost 16 of their last 18 games. They lost two, beat the Blues. Lost 10, beat the Blues. They are currently on a four game losing streak as they welcome the Edmonton Oilers (sans Taylor Hall) to the Pepsi Center Saturday night.

Series Record: Colorado 1, Edmonton 2.

November 25 in Edmonton Taylor Hall spoiled the Avs’ OT hopes by scoring with 29 seconds remaining in the third period. Gilbert Brule and Andrew Cogliano scored early in the first to give the Oilers the lead. Tom Gilbert had assists on both goals. Kevin Shattenkirk and Matt Duchene scored for the Avs. There was a little tussling throughout the game, but all in all pretty quiet. The Avs put 37 shots on Gerber, while Budaj only faced 24. Final score: 3 – 2 Oilers. » Continue reading “Avs need to destroy Oil at home”

The Colorado Avalanche begin a 3 game California road trip in LA on Saturday afternoon. The Avs are still trying to find successful chemistry with new players, a new goalie, and the rapidly approaching trade deadline. Since LA is a good club that has dominated the Avs the past few years, this could be a tough game for Avalanche fans to watch.

Series Record: Avalanche 0, Kings 2

Saturday October 23 marked the first meeting of these two teams in the 2010-11 season and was a score-a-palooza for both teams. Brad Richardson was yet another beneficiary of the Curse of the Ex Avs and put up his first career hat trick. 11 other Kings’ players had one point each. Paul Stastny, Milan Hejduk, and Matt Duchene had multiple point games for the Avs, and John Michael Liles and David Jones put up assists. This hotly contested game featured 35 minutes of called penalties, four power play goals, and one short handed goal. The final score was 6-4 in favor of the Kings. » Continue reading “Avs to take on Kings in Saturday matinee”

Ryan O'Byrne taking Taylor Hall's skate to the face Wednesday night in Denver. (Photo screen capture from YouTube video, click to watch.)

Clearly, this was not the debut new Avs Erik Johnson and Jay McClement envisioned. It was an even bigger disaster for new goalie Brian Elliott, who stopped 26 of 31 shots in the Avalanche 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

First Period:

The period didn’t start out too terribly. Both teams were obviously energetic, skating hard and hitting hard. The whole attitude of the game changed when Taylor Hall found himself behind the Avs’ net between Ryan O’Byrne and Matt Duchene. Hall tried to jump over their sticks but didn’t quite clear them. As he went head over heels, Hall’s skate caught O’Byrne on the left side of his face. In spite of bleeding all over the ice O’Byrne managed to finish his shift before heading for the training room. The laceration was bad enough to warrant a trip to the ER so he was done for the game.

Not too much later the ice crew again found use for their little de-bloody-ing axes: to chip Cody McLeod’s blood off center ice after he took a stick to the face. No call came, but the refs were watching when Kevin Porter raised his stick a few minutes later. Dustin Penner scored on the resulting power play. Erik Johnson and Matt Hunwick both had mental lapses on this goal and really should’ve helped their new goalie out. After one period the score was 1-0 Oilers. » Continue reading “Avs get bloodied by Oilers 5-1 at home”

Sharks made Avs look like they were standing still during the 4-0 post trade debacle Saturday night. (Photo by OhMySwede.)

With all the trade news for the Avs in the last couple days, it was easy to forget that they actually had a game to play Saturday night in San Jose. Newcomers Erik Johnson and Jay McClement had to suffer many, many long hours on flights to go from Buffalo to St. Louis to San Jose in time for the game Saturday night. In a way it’s a shame they hurried, as the Avs welcomed their new boys by being shut out 4-0 by the San Jose Sharks.

First Period:

The Avs didn’t come out quite as lethargically as they have in the past. Erik Johnson put a decent shot on net. Kevin Porter had a monster hit in a corner. Budaj made a few saves. The boys looked to be holding it together. Then Devin Setoguchi put one past Budaj 6 minutes into the period with good, old fashioned hard work. This kid is a great player, and he definitely showed it on this goal. The Avs had a power play opportunity about 12 minutes in, but they failed to convert. (Johnson had a strong shot on goal and the puck was in the Sharks’ zone most of the time, so that’s an improvement.)

Almost immediately O’Byrne went to the box, resulting in a Sharks power play. Devin Setoguchi scored his second goal of the night making the score 2-0. On the heels of this power play Budaj cleared the puck over the glass, earning a delay of game penalty which Porter served. Unfortunately on the resulting power play the Sharks’ Logan Couture sent the puck to Ryan Clowe, who made the score at 3-0.

Obviously, this period was not the kind of hockey Avalanche fans were hoping for in the wake of the trades. » Continue reading “Avs follow busy trade week with 4-0 loss to San Jose”

As my parents used to tell me when I was younger and whining about studying history, “the only way to create success in the future is to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of the past.” Or maybe it was “because I said so”? I don’t remember. It was a long time ago.

Anyway, just as we all personally examine 2010 and look ahead to 2011, hopefully our Colorado Avalanche are doing the same. This is just a peek into the triumphs and disappointments I hope they learn from, and what I hope their goals are for 2011.

» Continue reading “New Years Eve with the Avs”