Category Archives: 2012-13 Season

2012-13 Season, Podcast

Podcast 053: A Day Late & a Dollar Short

Table Hockey Extravaganza
This is not Ilya Kovalchuk playing table hockey, but we know if the VTHE were happening in Russia, he would gladly do it . You can register here to partake of the table hockey — the tournament starts at 1pm on September 21 and it’ll be a ton of fun! Until then, listen to our podcast, won’t you?

Here’s episode 53 of the Pucked in the Head podcast, in which Chris admits to having “pale delicate skin that blisters easily” but makes up for it by calling Jason out on several vocabulary errors. Oh, and we also talk hockey.

As many of you have observed, Chris and I don’t have much of a track record when it comes to laying down podcast tracks. Thus, when we do manage to throw one together it’s a bloody miracle of the first order. We hope you enjoy!

• Intro
• Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
• WTF is a ‘Metropolitan Division’?
• Do you know Conn Smythe’s full name?
• Wherefore art thou Ilya?
• Time to wrap it up
• Time for a Change by the Orchid Highway
• Thanks for Listening

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2012-13 Season, Podcast

Episode 51: Habs, Ducks & Lacklustre Canucks

Chris & Jason discuss the midseason surprises of the shortened 2013 NHL season, and wonder if the window has perhaps shut early on the Vancouver Canucks wündercore assembled by Mike Gillis & predecessors Brian Burke & Dave Nonis. They also wave buh-bye to the Vancouver Giants, whose season ends without playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Fifteen-year-old forward Jakob Stukel wears the full face shield against the Kelowna Rockets during one of his six trial games with the Vancouver Giants. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Fifteen-year-old forward Jakob Stukel wears the full face shield against the Kelowna Rockets during one of his six trial games with the Vancouver Giants. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

• Introduction
• Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
• 30 seconds of soccer talk
• Vancouver Giants season is over
• Hybrid icing / a lack of brains
• Habs & Ducks
• Chicks dig stats
• Ducks & Habs
• The Canucks are whelming Chris Withers
• Columbus just might make the playoffs
• Time for a Change by the Orchid Highway
• Thanks for Listening

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2012-13 Season, Hockey, Podcast

Episode 50! The Uncaffeinated Rage Edition

I haven't been out shooting recently, so this is all you get: my ugly mug post-game next to the Abbotsford Heat ice surface. Photo by Kenkoy for Pucked in the Head.
I haven’t been out shooting recently, so this is all you get: my ugly mug post-game next to the Abbotsford Heat ice surface. Photo by Kenkoy for Pucked in the Head.

Can you believe it? We’ve finally made 50 of these damned podcasts. Half a century of Pucked in the Head.

We yak about old guys, young guys, rule changes that should have been, and other fanboy wank. Jason hasn’t had his morning coffee, so in the course of today’s podcast, he threatens to drop the gloves with Gary Bettman, cut Chris open like a Tauntaun & climb inside for warmth. Of course, he’s talks a big game but he barely has the wherewithal to cut upon a steak if it’s too rare. He does, however, reach all the way back to the very first episode of this podcast — when it was still called Bernier is a Turd — to find Chris’s famous Andrew Alberts goat call.

Without further ado, here you go!

• Caffeineless crankypantses
• Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
• NHL fans: these are the drones Bettman was looking for
• Marty Brodeur: surprisingly good to start
• Teemu Frontenac?
• Staged fights suck balls
• Don’t get beat up by Gary Bettman
• Time to wrap it up
• Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
• Thanks for listening (Andrew Alberts goat call edition)

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2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey

The Flames just don’t trust Brust

Abbotsford Heat goaltender Barry Brust has played his pads off this season, much of it against NHL-calibre players. For contractual reasons, the Calgary Flames are not giving him the look he deserves. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Abbotsford Heat goaltender Barry Brust has played his pads off this season, much of it against NHL-calibre players. For contractual reasons, the Calgary Flames are not giving him the look he deserves. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

If you paid any attention to the Abbotsford Heat during the recent NHL labour dispute, you took notice of a couple of things:

1) The Heat gave up fewer goals than any other team in the league.

2) Barry Brust gave up fewer goals than any other goaltender on the Heat roster.

It’s a strange thing, even for longtime fans of the Heat. I mean, who is this guy, right? Brust came in on a one-year contract, but his name seemed to ring a few bells… And Flames fans are asking questions after looking at the numbers for their farm team.

More on Brust’s frustrating dance with the Flames after the jump.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading The Flames just don’t trust Brust →

2012-13 Season, Hockey, Podcast

Episode 49 – Jason’s Questionable Ethics

Rochester Americans forward and Buffalo Sabres prospect Cody Hodgson was kind enough to sign an 8x10 of a shot I took the night before. Photo of a Jason Kurylo photo for Pucked in the Head by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head. Whoa. Meta.
Rochester Americans forward and Buffalo Sabres prospect Cody Hodgson was kind enough to sign an 8×10 of a shot I took the night before. Photo of a Jason Kurylo photo for Pucked in the Head by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head. Whoa. Meta.

Jason and Chris dance around the line between blogger and journalist. Just how much fanboy should creep into a blogger’s actions should they garner media accreditation — partial or full — with the teams they cover?

Listen after the jump, or hit us up on iTunes. Continue reading Episode 49 – Jason’s Questionable Ethics →

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2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey, Podcast

Episode 48 – What Lockout?


Chris wears a shirt that is destined for ugly jersey greatness, offers to help cheer your opponents into oblivion, and makes an inappropriate comment about his ancestors. Jason is his usual smug, snickering self, but he scores a few points for adding some of Bruno Mars “Locked Out of Heaven” into the opening of the podcast.

  • Introduction
  • Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars
  • Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
  • Somebody Approved This: Grizzly Adams Halloween Jersey
  • We don’t really miss NHL hockey all that much
  • Taylor Hall on AHL hockey
  • Abbotsford Heat still don’t get attendance love
  • Jason strokes his own photo ego
  • Time for a Change by the Orchid Highway

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2012-13 Season, Articles, Podcast

Episode 47 — Of Tears and Children and Lockouts

2 Comments
Vancouver Giants captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen
Captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen and the Vancouver Giants offer just one alternative to the No Hockey League. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

With loads of people complaining about “NO HOCKEY”, Chris and I decided to talk about the options that abound for puck-crazed fans to scratch the itch left by Gary Bettman and his immovable shitshow. Along the way we tackle the disaster that replacement players would present, and Chris makes several points that I have no answer for. History in the making!

Give us a listen, won’tcha?


• Opening theme by the Orchid Highway
• Is second honeymoon like second breakfast?
• Are replacement players on the NHL horizon?
• Calling out supposed “hockey fans”
• Closing theme by the Orchid Highway
• Thanks for listening

 

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2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey

Belfast Giants yet to lose a regulation league game

As many of you know, I vowed to follow the Belfast Giants this season as my personal snub of Gary Bettman and his travelling shit show  insistence upon another NHL lockout. Instead of writing substandard game recaps from afar, I’ve enlisted Giants seasons ticket holder Jim Doran to give us first hand reports from the capital of Northern Ireland. This is his second report for the 2012-13 season — the first can be read here.

by Jim Doran

Belfast Giants
This gorgeous aerial shot of Stephen Murphy’s crease in the Odyssey Arena was taken by Michael Cooper — visit his website and buy his stuff!

I should probably set the scene somewhat for anyone unfamiliar with the UK Elite Ice Hockey League. The EIHL is made up of ten teams; four from England (Coventry Blaze, Hull Stingrays, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers); four from Scotland (Braehead Clan, Dundee Stars, Edinburgh Capitals and Fife Flyers); the Cardiff Devils from Wales; and the Belfast Giants from Northern Ireland.

This season has seen the league spilt into two conferences for the first time. The four Scottish teams along with Hull comprise the Gardiner Conference, with the Giants joining the Steelers, Blaze, Panthers and Devils in the Erhardt Conference. The new format sees each club play teams in their own conference eight times during the season (four home / four away) and play the teams in the opposing conference four times (twice home / twice away). Continue reading Belfast Giants yet to lose a regulation league game →

2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey

Victoria Royals 2012-13 home opener

At the Victoria Royals home opener Adrian Charlie met a real estate agent by the name of Mark Donnelly. One can only assume he doesn’t wear the cummerbund during open houses. Anyway, this Donnelly fella apparently sings anthems for a hockey team or two in his spare time. Photo courtesy of Adrian Charlie.

Well, I was wrong. After letting in 5 goals on 17 shots in Friday’s opening night loss at the Pacific Coliseum, Giants goaltender Liam Liston did not ride the bench in the next day’s rematch. He performed better, but got the same result: a loss to the Victoria Royals. Pucked in the Head’s new friend Adrian Charlie (@Adrian_Charlie on the Twitter) was in the building, and offers this game recap:

Victoria Royals 3, Vancouver Giants 2 – September 22, 2012

by Adrian Charlie

The Victoria Royals played host to the Vancouver Giants on Saturday in the team’s home opener. The Royals carried momentum going into their second game of the season after defeating those same Giants 6-4 the night before.

2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey

Vancouver Giants 2012-13 home opener

Vancouver Giants captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen
Newly-christened Giants captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen was a physical presence but hit the scoresheet with an unimpressive 0G/0A/-2 in the 2012-13 season opener. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Some things never change. Even with the NHL locked out, hockey fans in Vancouver are wondering just who will be the #1 goaltender for the home team.

No, not the Canucks — pretty much everyone agrees, for better or for worse, that Roberto Luongo’s days are numbered around here — I’m talking about the Giants. Newly-acquired third-year netminder Liam Liston didn’t inspire much confidence during the 2012-13 home opener Friday night, giving up five goals on 17 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Victoria Royals. Rookie Tyler Fuhr will almost certainly get the start in the second half of the back-to-back in the capital Saturday.

Continue reading Vancouver Giants 2012-13 home opener →