Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Western Conference Hottie: Sheldon Souray (Edmonton Oilers)

IMPORTANT HOCKEY STUFF: Defensemen are tasty in their own right and he's particularly yummy. He has one of the hardest shots in the League (um, this one goes below also!!). Some of the better goalies talk about how they dislike facing one of his shots [HERE]. Before he was the big presence on the Oil's blue line, he played 368 games for the Montreal Canadians. Then was acquired by EDM as a free agent in July of 2007.

He has a hat trick (earned 12/03/03 while he was still with MTL, against the NSH Preds).

Some recent high points of his career are:

  • 3rd All-Star game appearance (he scored twice for the West in this game)
  • Finished 3rd in the hardest shot competition (102.3 mph)
  • 3rd on Oilers in total points (interestingly he's a -6, too. What's up with that?)
  • 3rd on Oilers in scoring & is 2nd in goals, 1st in PPG (7) & 5th in assists (remember, he's a D-man. I find this statistic particularly impressive, myself)
  • 8th in scoring among NHL defensemen & is 3rd in goals & tied for 2nd in PPG

REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF: The oddest description of Souray comes to mind when I see him. Tall, dark, Hershey bar on skates [do feel free to laugh, I already did]. Keeping all that in mind, he really is delicious. 6'4” 233 lbs. Chocolate (not quite black) hair & eyes.

Check out the TATTOOS!!! [swoon]

I personally find the pronunciation of his last name to be VERY sexy (SUHR-ay).

His favorite piece of sports memorabilia, Wayne Gretzky's stick from his last year of playing. "For a kid from Edmonton, that's pretty special." His favorite home cooked meal, "A sausage stew that my mom makes" (grin, I need to FIND THAT RECIPE!!!!) His favorite cereal is Frosted Mini-Wheats (sweet). First thing he does after he wakes up in the morning is have a shower (easy ladies, easy. I know what kind of mental images that conjours up). His first vehicle was a 1979 Ford Bronco, about which he says: "Still wish I had it. I loved that truck."

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Crosby Pictures of the Week

These pictures are from my own personal collection (taken at this past Sunday's game against Detroit). It was a disappointing loss, but at least I got some good pictures!!

ENJOY Ladies!!









Sunday, February 8, 2009

Hockey 101 with HftL: Penalties

Continuing with minor penalties and their signals covering elbowing and hand pass.

ELBOWING (MINOR PENALTY)
When a player uses an elbow in any way to foul an opponent. The ref's official signal for this is pictured to the right (tapping the elbow of the whistle hand with the opposite hand).



HAND PASS
Called when a player uses his hand to direct the puck to a teammate in the offensive or neutral zone. Hand passes are allowed in the defensive zone. The ref's official signal for this is pictured to the left (the open, non-whistle hand and arm are placed straight down alongside the body and swung forward and up once in an underhand motion).

Friday, February 6, 2009

BAD BOY of Winter: Krystopher Barch (Dallas Stars)

Barchie is getting the honor of HftL's Bad Boy of Winter for this week. A few things you will notice about his fighting style is the "loose" right arm and the fact that he has pretty much perfected the "hand-on-the-front-of-the-jersey-punch." At 6'2 and 220, he's quite a "handful" when he starts feeling "frisky." He's one tough cookie, too. Noted for "outlasting" the competition, a quick search of his fights will reveal that most of his fights last quite a long time. Leaves a girl to wonder....

What actually impressed me and inspired the writing of this post was these to excerpts from the Dallas hockey media.
Barch lost three top teeth and five on the bottom after absorbing Chelios' (I HATE the Red Wings) high stick. After getting repairs, he was able to return. "I had shrapnel in my mouth," he said. "Good thing I wear a mouthguard. I battled through it and I wanted to be a part of a game like this. It was like a playoff atmosphere and every game from here on out is going to be like this."
From the Dallas Morning News, following the game against DET last Friday (Jan 30, 2009):
DETROIT Krys Barch had a mouth full of blood and broken teeth, and yet he was still ready to fight Detroit's Aaron Downey. [8 teeth, HOLY SHIT!!! WHAT A MAN!!!!!]

"I had my gloves off, I was ready to go,'' Barch said. "After all, he had already done as much damage as he could." [MY GOD, I THINK I'm IN LOVE!!!!!]

The Stars enforcer took a high stick to his mouth from Chris Chelios (I HATE the Red Wings) in the first period and lost eight teeth. The teeth didn't fall out...they were shattered...through a mouthguard.

"Yeah, it was a mess,'' Barch said.

Yet, the tough-as-nails winger didn't want to leave the game. So, after a quick trip to the locker room while his teammates were scoring a power play goal, Barch was back taking a regular shift and helping the Stars to a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

"A game like that, you want to be a part of it,'' he said. "That was exciting. That was like a playoff game.''

Barch finished with 5:35 in ice time and two hits. He also received two minutes for roughing in the scrum with Downey in the second period. Just as important, he gave his teammates a little glimpse of the dedication it takes to win.

"He reminded me of a young kid who gets his tooth knocked out for the first time,'' said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "It was like a badge of honor, and he came back to the bench smiling, and saying, 'I think I lost a few.''
Now, after reading all that, would any bad boy post be complete without the "Crem de la Crem" (Or fights, for those of you who might be new here).

Jared Boll vs. Krys Barch Oct 10, 2008



Krys Barch vs. Andre Deveaux Round 2 Dec 23, 2008
[Author's Note] this fight is against a bigger and taller opponent, in Deveaux. It's the 2nd time this year that these 2 "went at it."

Thursday, February 5, 2009

What I [We All] Love About Geno!!

OK - I know today is usually the day I talk about how in love I am with Sidney and reasons why, but after yesterday's game (and the past few games) I think Geno deserves a little HftL love today!!

How AWESOME is he?!!! He has been motivated to "bring it" for every game and never loses that fire to win!! He's unbelieveable and is SO deserving of that "A" he was chosen to wear permanently.

So here are some of the reasons I've come up with for loving Malkin (and if I've missed anything, please feel free to include your own in the comments!):
  • he's adorable!
  • he's so very humble
  • he's talented
  • he's a natural player
  • he's HOT
  • he has amazingly large, masculine hands
  • he's an alternate captain ("A")
  • he makes the plays when they're needed
  • the fire in his eyes on the ice
  • his "bedroom eyes" (that one's for you, 71crush!)!!
  • his passion for the game (and to win)
  • his broken English
  • he can play with anyone on his line
  • he challenges other players to be their best
  • he's a team player

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

HftL Milestone: THANK YOU to Our Readers!!

Stephanie and I would like to take the time to thank all of you loyal ladies (and gentlemen) out there who have made HftL a part of your regular internet browsing.

We were jabbering this morning and Stephanie noticed that HftL picked up it's 50th follower today. We feel very honored that so many enjoy reading this blog just as much as we enjoy writing it.

When Stephanie started this blog all those months ago, we never had a clue that it would become so special to us let alone a part of so many peoples day. We are humbled and amazed every time we see that so many of you visit on such a regular basis. It's truly a blessing.

Thank you ALL so very much.
Kena and Stephanie

And as always, we welcome your comments.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Crosby Picture of the Week


So how awesome is this picture? Our team's two brightest stars both with their tongues sticking out -- one to left side and the other's to the right! We're all used to seeing Sidney with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, but this is the first time I'm seeing Malkin doing it (I'm pretty sure that's his tongue I see, but I'm not certain).

The "Mutt & Jeff" of the Pens (oh right, I forgot -- it's the "two-headed monster").