Back on Wednesday Buffalo played their final pre-season home game against the Capitals of Washington D.C. Entering the game were numerous players projected to start the season in Buffalo including Moulson, Ennis, Stafford, and Stewart. They were followed by probably starters in Grigorenko, Reinhart, Mitchell. The defense itself had their own share of potential starters as well as projected starters. The likes of Zadurov, Benoit, McCabe, Strachan teamed with Gorges and Myers.

As a whole the defense played smartly. They kept the lowly Capitals, who were without many of their star players, to twenty-three shots on goal. Individually their mind unraveled. Constant miscues were abundant in both responsibility and skating. Defenders twisted their legs around falling over while trying to defend. They weren’t deked out of their shoes, merely couldn’t execute skating backwards nor could they execute the timing to go from skating backwards to skating into an offensive player. Zadurov was the main culprit of this illness that afflicted the Sabres’ D that night. Somehow he managed to find himself ill half a dozen times, carelessly gliding on the ice belly down. Enroth was unfazed by these distractions, clearly the jester Neuvirth put the defenders up to the task of distracting the starting goalie. Be it for increase playing time during the season or just due to forgetting which team he plays for, Enroth got the better of that clever former Capital by stopping all but one shot he faced securing him the starter’s gig and beating a hapless Cap attack paired with Sabres D futility. Somehow Neuvirth managed to convince elder D statesman, Tyler Myers, to join this Barnum and Bailey act on the ice. Oh the pre-season, what a folly of comedic genius you are.

Number 51 lapsed time and time again in his duties as a D-man. While in Buffalo’s zone defending, Zadurov consistently didn’t mark nor pick up his man leaving open what could have been a dangerous slapshot from Ovechkin (had the Caps actually cared about the game and played their starters). Instead just their D,E, and F lines had opportunities. Though Washington never managed to convert any of the opportunities off of Zadurov’s blunders, thanks in a high part to the back-checking of the offense. Zadurov seems to require a few more years of conditioning before he has a serious shot within the NHL. He possess the potential yet lacks the necessary vision of a quality defender. A couple more years of dedication at a slower level should acquaint him with maturity and responsibility. In his defense he looked overzealous to prove himself. Patience padwan.

Only one D-man was impressive that night, a 6-1 swirl over visiting Capitals. This player kept with the play, not once overstepping his bounds – chains of defense. He forced turnovers, created passes from great lengths, giving the offense a jump against the cowering Capitals. Jake McCabe was doing all he could to earn his own starting position. With Pysyk out McCabe is a similar player to fill Pysyk’s role. He’s a former member of the US National development program as well as a former Badger (University of Wisconson). He signed a three year entry level contract with the Sabres towards the end of the prior season. He immediately joined them playing seven games all in April. He started the day after he signed the contract. At that time the Sabres kept many of their top D prospects in Rochestser including Pysyk and Ristolainen. McCabe had seven games to taste the NHL without competition. This season he has not that luxury.

McCabe has been displaying all the signs of keeping up with the NHL game, especially during the pre-season. His best talent for the Sabres are his long passes. They are rarely intercepted, landing deftly upon the blade of a mate. He keeps a good pace and never overstretches his jumps into offense. Defense is sound in his mind and stature. As for his defensive attributes; he isn’t the hardest of hitters yet he is able to play a physical close game. He can dislodge the puck from shooters as well as keeping them to the side, forcing bad angle shots. He hounds offensive players like a basset hound does an escaped criminal. Look for Mr. McCabe to be a mainstay with the Sabres while Pysyk is out. Beyond that time-frame he’ll sure to see significant time with the Amerks if for nothing else but to see him play top minutes against the stiffest competition the AHL has to offer.

The player – the only offensive layer i’ve kept an eye on has been the fringe Zac Dalpe. Last Wednesday night he lacked that ingenuity that caused me to spot him out of a sea of blue a couple games ago. Rather this game he looked lethargic, like your family does after an extensive Thanksgiving meal. His break-away speed only came out in bursts like solar flares but never consistently. Though he typically feigns at physical contact he seemed more timid this night. Preferring speed over close proximity he skated from the center of the ice towards the boards. The vulcanized rubber and him parted often at the hands of defenders. There never appeared any creation of space by him except when he shyed towards the corners for a time-out. Sure the game was played closed (despite the score) but he never frolicked assertively at the defense and goalie like he had previously – like I was accustomed to witnessing. As the play moved towards the corners Dalpe remained a couple sticks distance from the puck, soft play offensively. He requires some more finesse, the ability to not be afraid of being hit, and to be more direct/stoic in the face of challengers.

With all that being a regression of his offensive acumen, his defensive shell hardened! The wanderlust skater found a groove while defending. Hounding every white jersey that night which happened to stray away from the boards and towards the center of the ice. #20 ensured no success would be had while he patrolled the central strip. His shrewdness displayed the focus of Nolan’s work ethic and defensive responsibilities. Dalpe was calculating in his movements, gliding about, never in a place for more than a moment. He kept passing lanes from being open too long. The pace of the game continued to move because of him. Despite him and his line’s lack of points they kept the momentum of the game in favor of the Sabres, the final tally reveals so. Many a points were had after his shift was over and the team transitioning from defense to offense. On the night he was an even player for ten minutes and fifty-seven seconds while managing three shots on goal, one hit, and a takeaway in fifteen shifts. Clearly Nolan kept going with the hot line in the offensive zone. In the greater picture their success was in part due to the back-checking, pace, and movement of the minor lines such as Dalpe’s.

Mr. Dalpe is a fringe player to make the team come this Wednesday. Should he pass waivers and be with the Amerks he could truly shine as well as see call-up action a third to a half-way into the season. He’s more developed than other younger players with a similar style like Varone. So long as he can manage defensive responsibilities with his offensive talent while not being afraid of being physical, he could be a star penalty killer. Think of a player in the mold of Kirk Maltby but with more goals. Dalpe has potential for twenty to thirty goals in the NHL with a third of them possibly coming from the penalty kill. In the AHL I believe the hope is he gets accustomed to the physical aspect of hockey. After a few hits and getting back up he’ll realize that the hits only keep on alert and don’t hurt so much.

In recent news – Reinhart looks poised to start the season in Buffalo along with Zadurov. Don’t expect them to stay for long however. Neither should make it past game nine. I think they need more work (above for Zadurov reasoning). Grigorenko who’s surprised this pre-season has been sent to Rochester with the expectation (mine) to dominate then replace Reinhart or dominate all season long and get playoff experience with the Amerks (perhaps a trophy!). McCabe and Dalpe are expected to be in Rochester (should Dalpe clear waivers). I’ll be sure to monitor Dalpe closer while he’s in Rochester as well as stay abreast of the defense.

]]> https://puckbuddys.com/2014/10/06/tripping-to-victory-sheathed-sabres/feed/ 0 paulkaseman IMG_1647 IMG_1651 IMG_1695 IMG_1701 IMG_1750 https://puckbuddys.com/2014/04/25/one-gay-mans-experience-at-the-frozen-four/ https://puckbuddys.com/2014/04/25/one-gay-mans-experience-at-the-frozen-four/#comments Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:32:24 +0000 http://puckbuddys.com/?p=12268 Continue reading →]]> The 2014 Frozen Four marked the second time I attended college hockey’s premier event. However, this was the first time I went since I came out of the closet.

Luckily, I live in a city that’s widely accepting toward gay men, so when fellow hockey fans in Madison find out I’m gay, they don’t care. In fact, the older couple whose season tickets are behind me started asking me about my dating life after they saw the series of failed dates I brought to games this year.

But when I travel to new cities, I’ve learned I need to tread a little more lightly when discussing my personal life with fellow hockey fans at the bar or at tailgates.

The Frozen Four in Philadelphia proved an interesting experience for me. My friends and I were drinking a lot, so I knew I had to be careful that I didn’t rub any Philly faithful the wrong way. Not only am I gay, but I’m a Penguins fan. To the wrong person, that could trigger a double dose of hatred.

The beautiful part of the Frozen Four is that fans of every hockey team attend, even though their team didn’t make it. My friends and I wore our Badgers gear, and we sat in between Boston University and Dartmouth fans. In fact, we played college hockey bingo and my friend got a cover-all before the puck even dropped.

Naturally, that kind of fan diversity leads to a great bar atmosphere before and after the games. Fans often share stories of how many years they’ve been attending the Frozen Four, their favorite cities that have hosted (Providence seems to be a popular choice, by the way), and the conversation naturally includes personal stories.

And when male hockey fans tell personal stories, they often include references to “my wife” or “my girlfriend.” Which leads to the gay man’s conundrum: Do I share my story about my boyfriend, or do I just smile and nod and hide the fact that I’m gay?

We have to deal with this conundrum all the time, but sports fans know it more than most. And I always have to hesitate to reveal who I really am. I hate it (and it reminds me of this great speech), but we all have to deal with it.

This year’s Frozen Four featured Minnesota, Boston College, Union and North Dakota. All those schools brought a slew of fans to Philadelphia. Especially North Dakota.

Oh, North Dakota fans.

I hate to stereotype, so I’ll just share one story about the UND fan that sat behind us during Thursday night’s semifinal between his team and the Gophers.

We’ll call him Fred. Fred didn’t bother showing up for the first game—which turned out to be a great one as Union knocked off Johnny Gaudreau and BC. Of course, Fred was sitting right in the middle of the row, making everyone get up for his frequent trips to the bathroom and concessions.

Fred was with his girlfriend, and he was proud to announce to everyone near him that this was his girlfriend’s first-ever hockey game.  I honestly do enjoy when people experience live hockey for the first time, and the Frozen Four is a great place to start. I was hoping to hear her thoughts and questions throughout the game, but Fred wouldn’t let her get a word in.

During the first break in the game, the crews started clearing the ice.

“She likes it when they clean the ice, don’t you, babe?” Fred said.

Those were the types of things sexist Fred kept saying all night long. And I’ve encountered several North Dakota fans like him, including a few that shouted pavlovian homophobic insults at any and all Gophers fans that came into view.

Minnesota and North Dakota are big rivals, and both of them are also rivals with Wisconsin. So the Badgers fan in me didn’t really want either team to win. But after interacting with the North Dakota fans, I threw my allegiance behind the Gophers. Which made this even sweeter:

Even though Minnesota and Wisconsin are rivals on the ice, their fans all have a fairly healthy relationship with each other—maybe because citizens of the bordering states are mostly “Midwest nice.”

I’ve never found a Gophers fan with whom I wasn’t able have a good conversation, and many Gophers fans said the same thing about Badgers fans. Sure, we may give each other some crap, but then we’ll buy each other a beer after the game.  (One thing we also agreed on was our mutual dislike of North Dakota fans).

 So I figured I’d test the waters with some Gophers fans.

The first night we were in Philly, we were sitting with some random Gophers fans at the bar. One of them was from Madison and we were talking about hockey in Wisconsin’s capitol. They asked if I played and where. I said that yes, I play at Hartmeyer Ice Arena.

He pointed out that Hartmeyer is right by the Oscar Meyer wiener factory.

“What makes it funnier is that I play in the gay league, and we’re right by the wiener factory,” I blurted.

All of them were taken aback for a second, and then they laughed and said, “I didn’t know gay hockey leagues existed.”

That led us down a great path of hilarious hockey jokes filled with gay innuendo. We wound up playing bubble hockey and getting decently drunk. It turned out to be a great night, and I didn’t have to hide who I was.

Before the championship game on Saturday, we decided to post up at the Gophers bar near the arena and watch Penguins-Flyers. I didn’t dare sport any Penguins gear, but I did wear my Badgers hat. We were at a bar that featured female bartenders in ass-less chaps and red panties. When we walked outside to get a drink, there was a group of three college guys sitting down with a perfect backside view of one bartender every time she reached down to grab a beer.

The one guy (we’ll call him Steve) saw my hat and made a comment about the Badgers losing in the first round. We started talking a bit, and we explained how we’re from Pittsburgh and we flew in from Wisconsin. Steve and his friends actually drove to Philly from Minneapolis, and we talked a little bit about the Big Ten Tournament that was held in St. Paul.

“Okay, I like you guys,” Steve said. “You’re nice. Even though you’re Badgers fans, I like you.”

About an hour later, we saw those same guys again, and Steve wound up next to me at the bar. We started chatting again, and he actually admitted that he’s from Madison, but moved to Minneapolis to go to college at Minnesota.

“Oh, you’re the opposite of my boyfriend,” I said. “He’s from Minneapolis but moved to Madison for school.”

Steve stopped for a second, then looked around and shouted, “NO WONDER HE’S SO NICE, HE’S GAY!” then gave me a big hug and bought me a drink.

I guess “all gay men are nice” is a stereotype that I can live with—especially if it gets me free drinks from straight men.

So thanks Gophers fans. Because of your acceptance, I was able to be myself at the Frozen Four and not have to worry about hiding who I really am.

It’s a shame, really, that I even have to consider these things, but I think it says a lot about how far we’ve come that a gay Penguins fan was able to talk about his boyfriend while drinking at a bar outside the Flyers’ arena.

Or maybe it just says a lot about the college hockey world. If hockey fans are the hipsters of the sports world, then college hockey fans are Brooklyn.  So I really shouldn’t be surprised that they are, for the most part, very accepting of gay people.

Either way, I had a great time in Philly. And even though Gophers fans were super nice, I still couldn’t find it in me to cheer for them. So I was thrilled to see Union capture the title.

And next year, I probably won’t have to tiptoe around my personal life when talking to other fans, as the 2015 Frozen Four will be in Boston, the home base of marriage equality. If you have the chance, you should most certainly go.

I came out of the closet in not-so-private fashion a few months ago, and it’s been a wonderfully positive experience and opened many doors for me – including writing for Puck Buddys and joining a gay hockey league.

I interned with the Penguins in 2010-11, where I wrote features and blogs for the team’s Web site, and you can see an example of the work I did for the team here. It was a great season up until the Winter Classic. After that, the entire team got injured and Craig Adams was our best player in the playoffs. After the Lightning eliminated Pittsburgh, I moved to Madison, Wisconsin for a job. That brought me closer to bandwagon Blackhawks fans and self-loathing Wild fans.

But Wisconsin also brought me closer to the college game, so you may see some posts from me arguing that college hockey is more exciting. I’m a proud Badgers season-ticket holder for both the men’s and women’s teams. (You may also see some posts from me arguing that the women’s game features better plays than the men’s game).

Last year, I started doing some work for College Hockey News, where I wrote various features about WCHA teams and a story about how college hockey is growing in Pennsylvania, mostly thanks to Penn State (Boo!). I went to college at Pitt, where I fell in love with hockey and the Penguins. All during school, I didn’t think it was possible to be an openly gay man while also being a hockey fan, let alone a hockey writer.

I’m glad I was wrong, and this blog helped me realize that. After I came out, I received lots of support from my former colleagues with the Penguins. And everyone has been very encouraging as I finally start to play hockey. Brooks Orpik was right when his terrifying eyes told me that, “You Can Play.”

I don’t know exactly what I’ll be writing about here, perhaps I’ll start documenting my experience learning to skate and playing in the Madison league, but whatever it is, I’ll try to write it from my unique perspective. Hopefully, you all enjoy, and follow me on the Twitter!

What many don’t realize, even in Tuscaloosa where the University is based, is that there’s also the Frozen Tide. Yes, Alabama plays hockey and they have for the past eight years, most recently as part of the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference (SECHC). Over the years the Frozen Tide has built up a solid program, getting all the way to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 3 Nationals in 2012 and looking good do it again this year.

Beyond winning divisional and conference titles and going for national championships, the Frozen Tide is poised to be the first school in the SECHC to record a video in support of You Can Play. According to Kevin Davis, a senior forward and the player leading the effort to make the video, “We’re really excited to make this happen and work to change the stereotype associated with sports.”

Frozen Tide’s Kevin Davis (left)
(Yes, it’s odd the interviewer is in the jersey and not the player…)

It might seem unexpected that a team playing in the traditionally conservative south would take a stand in support of LGBT athletes, but the Frozen Tide is ready to create change. “We’ve got a lot of guys that aren’t from here originally,” Davis says. “We’ve certainly got southern hockey players, but we draw from all over—California, New York, I’m from Colorado. We have as much diversity as you can find in a hockey locker room. There is a conservative stereotype to the south and, for better or worse, it lingers, perhaps longer than it should. We feel we’re in a position as athletes for the university to speak out.

“There are terms that are there—fag, gay and others—that are so ingrained into sports because it’s supposed to be the manliest of places. The perception is that it’s not okay to be who you are. To judge someone based on what they do in their private life just doesn’t make sense. If someone were to choose to be openly gay on our team I think we could accept that and work towards the common goal and aspiration that we all have and that’s to compete.”

The team plans to make the video after the season is over. While the regular season concludes February 8, there are still two critical contests. First up the Frozen Tide defends its 2012 SECHC championship at the 2013 SECHC tournament February 22-24. Then the team has its sights on the ACHA Division 3 Nationals March 12-16.

Meanwhile, there’s little concern over backlash from other teams as Bama proudly says You Can Play. “I think any repercussions of a You Can Play video would not come from within the hockey community,” Davis said. “I believe that, as a group, hockey players ‘get it’ a little bit more, and are more accepting and more supportive than the norm. I think that it would be a ‘superfan’ for an opposing team that would be more likely to taunt on subject like that.”

College Hockey Explodes in the South
The 2012-13 season is the fifth for the SECHC, although some of the schools that play in the conference, like Alabama, have had hockey teams for longer.

Davis points to several factors that he believes contribute to the growing audience that Bama hockey and the other SECHC schools are seeing. “Alex Ovechkin on the Capitals has definitely had an impact since D.C. borders on the south,” he says. “Tampa Bay [Lightening] and the [Carolina] Hurricanes have both won the Stanley Cup. The NHL has been putting a fantastic product out on the ice for the past several years. That helps people realize that hockey is a very exciting game. It’s a lot like football in that you’ve got guys knocking the crap out of each other, except we do it on a steel blade an eighth of an inch thick. It’s hard to deny the skill in that. The more that that catches on the more attractive it can be for southern schools to have a hockey team. We’re working towards the eventual goal to get a southern hockey conference in with the big boys. It’s probably a few years down the road, but it’s a dream.”

You can tell by its schedule that Alabama means business. While most of the schools in the SECHC play a 20-25 game regular season, Alabama plays more than 30, as does Arkansas. In addition to playing the mandatory two games each against their Western Conference rivals, Alabama plays Eastern Conference teams, travels up to Michigan for games, plays NCAA D1 Alabama-Huntsville and travels around the south playing other college teams that are outside the SECHC.

Davis says there are a lot of logistics and time commitments to make the game schedule, and the practices, work. “In Colorado, I can be at four different rinks in 15 minutes drive. [The Frozen Tide] travels 55 miles each way to practice once a week and then plays games all over. If we had the ability we’d play more, but it costs a lot of money.

“We’re still a club sport, but we don’t operate like a club sport. We’ve got a budget and it runs six figures to put on a hockey season. We’ve seen our funding increase substantially from the University compared to what it was a few years ago. We make up the money in player fees and merchandise sales. We’re trying to be good businessmen about this to ensure that [the team] survives past the current generation of the managing individuals. We’re very excited about where the team’s been and where it’s going.”

Recruiting is key to keeping the program alive and, since it’s a club sport, there are no hockey scholarships at Alabama. However, the team works with potential players to see if there are academic scholarships they qualify for to help get them to Bama. The team gets the word out via recruitment websites and word of mouth.

“With the football team as good as it is, Alabama gets noticed,” Davis says. “For any hockey player that saw the hullabaloo of the National Championship Game (which Bama won against Norte Dame early in the month), they might look at the school to see if there’s hockey. That exposure gets us contacts. There’s also no denying the athletic potential in the south. If we can get some of those athletes playing hockey and create a pipeline of recruits to come to the undiscovered hockey market of the south, we will succeed.”

Currently the team practices and plays home games in Pelham, which is just southeast of Birmingham—hence that 55 miles commute to play. One of the things the team would like to eventually see is a rink in Tuscaloosa. “The way we see it, [Crimson Tide football coach] Nick Saban’s name has to be on something, so it might as well be a sports complex that has a ice rink as part of it.”

Tuscaloosa was home to a well-received outdoor rink over the holiday season. While the 65-foot by 85-foot rink was a success, it was certainly too small for hockey.

Alabama / Auburn Rivalry On Ice
One of the cornerstones of the Alabama football season is the annual Iron Bowl game with Auburn University. In 2010, that rivalry took to the ice in the form of the Iron Cup.

This year’s cup games took play January 11 and 12 in Pelham and became the Frozen Tide’s best-attended games of the season. While Friday’s game had around 2,000 attendees, Saturday’s packed the rink to a capacity 3,500 crowd.

For Davis the Friday game marked his return to playing for the team after being sidelined since October 2010 due to a concussion. “I’ve spent the last two years learning the management side of hockey, but I was approached with the opportunity to get back on the squad and I went for it.”

His return to the Frozen Tide saw him pick up an assist as well as a couple minutes in the penalty box. Unfortunately, he also injured his ankle, which took him out of Friday’s game during the third period and kept him on the bench for Saturday. The injury overall was minor and Davis expected to be on the ice the following weekend versus Clemson.

Meanwhile, the Frozen Tide picked up its third Iron Cup victory (yes, they’ve won it every year its existed) with a 7-5 win on Friday and 8-2 win on Saturday. They managed those wins with three of the seniors out with the flu, which was countered by an outstanding showing from freshman player Andre Morard who scored four goals Saturday night and was named MVP for the series.

Three things I noticed in the Iron Cup games:

1) Alabama plays strong hockey. I saw that when I went to the SECHC Showcase games last year and it was evidenced again this year. They’re fast, their penalty kills are great to watch because they tend to be aggressive on the forecheck and they’ve got a solid passing game.

2) Auburn loves penalties. I don’t know the exact stats, but they were in the box… a lot. I’d say four or five times as much as Alabama was.

3) The third period of the Saturday game was very odd for Auburn. It was almost like they’d forgotten how to play the game with poor passes and defense that couldn’t keep the puck in their offensive zone. The third period started at 4-2 and it felt like there could be a dramatic ending, but it ended up 8-2 as Bama capitalized on Auburn’s constant mistakes. I’m not sure if Auburn got over aggressive and lost focus, but it was an interesting collapse to witness.

You can follow Alabama’s Frozen Tide very active Twitter feed at @AlabamaHockey or check out their website at BamaHockey.net.

The SECHC Schools
Here are the schools helping to grow the love of hockey down South:

Eastern Conference

• University of Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of South Carolina
• University of Tennessee
• Vanderbilt University

Western Conference

• University of Alabama
• Arkansas
• Auburn University
• Mississippi State University
• University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)