No matter who starts, Fisher and Mannino always have "the Pre-game talk" never fails...
I have that great pic of Mannino, here's one for Fisher. Both are amazing!
Faceoff...you can tell I'm the kind of girl that gets really into the game as I don't have really any "action" photos. 
I love this place...
Did I mention the view?
My favorite player, number 5, Andrew Thomas. He's gritty and in your face. Not afraid to stick up for his teammates. A defensive defenseman. Not the best player on the team but a hard worker. 
A super cool pic I took during warm-ups
The View again...
The view from my season tickets seats, Section 3, Row 5, seats 8 and 9!
The first CC game of the season, have I mentioned that I hate all the refs in the WCHA? Every last ref is terrible, Campion is one of the worst, but nobody tops Anderson...(insert expletive here)
This was at the first CC game of the season.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Pics from this season
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
An Introduction to Jose Theodore
I love this pic and I wanted it as my profile pic so I had to post it...it's a good one, he's hot. While I'm think about Jose Theodore, I might as well post my thoughts on the trade that brought him to Denver.
Throughout the 2005-2006 season, I have been following the NHL. Ever now and again while browsing the Hockey News, CBC Sports, TSN, or the NHL.com, I would happen upon a story about how Montreal's former Golden Boy had lost his way and was having a truly terrible season. Then came the news that he had tested positive for the drug propecia, a hair growth drug that is banned by World Anti-Dopping Agency (WADA) because it can be used as an agent to mask steroids. The testing was done during the summer when Theodore had attended an Olympic training camp.
Now, you have to admit this is funny...In an article from ESPN.com, Jose said it best himself "Theodore added that one look at his slim build -- he's listed at 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds -- is proof that he's not taking steroids. 'If you look at me with no shirt, if I'm taking steroids then I should change the guy that's selling them to me because it's not working,' Theodore said." Lets not forget what an absolutely horrid season he was having anyways...before the Olympic break he stats stood at 38 games played with 17 wins, 15 losses, 122 goals against, 3.46 goals against average, and a .881 save percentage. Even the goalie from Minnesota State, Freshman Dan Tormey, had a better record than Jose Theodore (ps, I lovingly call him Propecia Joe). Tormey played in 31 games with 14 wins, 13 losses, and 4 ties, had 86 goals against, 2.83 goals against average and had a .902 save percentage and his team finished 7th in the WCHA, out of 10. Maybe Propecia Joe was taking Propecia because as he said, "I always like my hair real long and I like to keep it long as long as possible." But he sure as hell is NOT taking steroids.
The plot thickened during the Olympic break as Propecia Joe fell on the stairs outside of his house and fractured his heel. Now if you ask me, this is all a bit shady...He "slipped" on the ice and "fractured" his heel. In an exceedingly interesting article by Terry Frei of the Denver Post, I learned that Propecia Joe has had a few run in with characters of the less savory sort. It turns out that "His father, Ted Nicholas Theodore, and half-brother, Nicky, pleaded guilty to loan sharking and weapons-related charges last year. Ted was fined $30,000 but didn't go to jail. Authorities said Ted had run the ring out of a Montreal barber shop for about 20 years, and that another branch operated out of a Montreal casino. Of most concern to the NHL, the ring lent money - allegedly at interest rates between 200 and 600 percent - to gamblers. Jose's other two half-brothers, Rock and Ted Jr., also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and charging illegal interest rates, respectively. Authorities said the brothers were the runners but said Jose was not part of the investigation." Here's my theory on what really happened to Propecia Joe's heel...these gamblers that his father lent money to had placed a lot of money on PJ returning to his 2001-2002 season form when he won the Hart and Vezina trophies as he had had some time to rest while the NHL and the NHLPA fought over money and he played in 17 games for the Swedish Elite League team Djurgardens IF Stockholm. However after his disasterous play, they decided to place a hit on him. Some funny gangster in Montreal (which I bet they are all funny, cuz honestly can you imagine a French Mafia...Ha) thought he would be, what else, funny and shoot PJ in the heel (ya know that who Achilles thing...whatever I thought it was funny). SERIOUSLY!! How does a 29 year old athlete "Slip" on the ice in front of his house and FRACTURE his heel...There's definitely something afoot (pun intended) here...
So, here the Aves stand, nearing the playoffs with two rookie goalies (no offense to Budaj, who has been playing quite well lately or Kolesnik, it's not your fault Pierre Lacroix has a hard on for goalies from Montreal) three major injuries (Konowalchuk, Vanaanan, and Svatos), and shady goalie who is anybodys guess as to where he is going to land once he is finally able to play. Funny thing, I heard today that he may be ready to play this coming Friday in the game against Calgary, but I really don't think that is a)really possible and b)good for the team. Give Budaj the chance to prove himself some more and the rest of the team motivation to play well. Budaj can't do it himself...contrary to popular belief, he can't both protect the goal and score goals. Although, that would be awesome!
~Catie
Favorite Hockey websites
Here are some of my favorite hockey websites
College hockey:
NHL hockey:
Hockey in General:
Bright Idea
So I had this bright idea to start a hockey blog on the eve of the end of the hockey season...I really am quite smart, I promise. However, I figure there is plenty to talk about during the offseason, what with players changing teams, team announcements, etc. So here is my first post...I have posted several times on my "personal" blog () concerning matters of Hockey, I think I might move those here...Maybe I could just link to them...hhhmmmm...
Well, here is the premise of this blog...Yes, it is called hockey in Colorado, but I will endeavor to discuss teams outside of Colorado. Within Colorado, the focus will be on the University of Denver, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Colorado College (in the order). I must admit that I am completely biased when it comes to these three hockey teams, especially the DU Pioneers. Here's why: I go to DU, I work for DU, I bleed Crimson and Gold, I have season tickets (5th row up from the ice, hopefully on the boards for next season!), I didn't miss a single game in the 2005-2006 season, those that I couldn't attend, I listened to on the radio or watched on TV. As far as the Colorado Avalanche go, I am a native of Colorado, they are my hometown team, I have a moral obligation to revere this team. So I do.
Colorado College is a different matter all together. I despise this team...It's my duty as a student and employee of DU, we take a secret oath (not so secret now I guess) to loath this team and all of its players and coaches. However, I do have a great respect for them. They play some amazing hockey and it's a great rivalry. Anyways, I truly believe that to really hate something, you have to know it intimately...
Now, I must admit that I am a relatively new fan of hockey. My first experience was my freshman year in college (2002-2003) when I went to the DU/UMD game. It was great, the student section was amazing (mostly, minus the idiot girls who only go to the games so that they can tell the players they saw the game and think this will help them get laid), and we won! I attended several other games that season and was hooked. My sophomore year the infatuation grew. DU won it's first national championship in 37 years as an underdog, it was completely incredible! Junior year was more of the same, only worse...DU won it's second national championship in grand style. They won the McNaughton Cup (regular season champs, which they had to share with CC), the Broadmoor Trophy (WCHA playoff champs), and then went on to win the national championship! I taped the game and watch it on a regular basis during the offseason (is that weird? do I care? no, not really).
Prior to this (2005-2006) season, I had a small catastrophe and had to join the real world and get a real job while I went to school part-time. However, this gave me the opportunity to buy regular season tickets. I bought two seats (one for myself and one for my best friend, who has fueled my addiction to the best sport in the world) 5 rows from the ice on the goal line of the home team. It was amazing. At some point I will post pics of my view...
That's all for now. I will write soon about my thoughts on this season, link to my other hockey posts, and elaborate on my love of the Colorado Avalanche. I will also post links to my fav hockey blogs and sites.
~Catie
