Habs win, Bulldogs win

I plunked down $60 and ended up a few feet from the glass at the Bulldogs-Crunch game. Two tickets, $60, near the line of fire of all the pucks. Actually one puck deflected off the top of the glass, through the netting and off some little kid's head. Oh he was fine, he got a puck and was super happy about it.

My phone kept me up to date with the Habs game. And they were kind enough to put it on the jumbotron between periods.

Go Team Blunden!

I went to the Bell Centre and a hockey game broke out

Last night I went to the Bell Centre. For...hockey? I think it was hockey. I mean there's no other reason for Terry Koharski to referee with his eyes closed. Unless he really does enjoy walking around with a blindfold on.

Firstly, memo to fans. The Baton Rouge next to the Bell Centre? While the food is delicious, it's really expensive and the menu is completely different from the usual Baton Rouge. OK mostly I'm still annoyed the Scores on St-Catherine's disappeared!

Anyway, the hockey game. Yup. A bunch of fresh-from-Junior kids vs the Calder champions went how I thought it would. But I can't say the Lightning kids weren't anything special. Mostly just a good system, good practice on that system, and better on-ice organization. I can say that if the Bulldogs could snipe the way Quailer did for his first goal of the season, they'd have made it a game. Dustin Tokarski literally sits on his knees the minute the puck is over his blue line. And when you're not Jason Missiaen size, that's not a good idea for a goalie...

Praise be Robert Mayer and his scrambly scramble. He kept the Dogs in the game until I think he just got tired and overwhelmed. The best players not in pads for the Dogs would be Quailer and Gallagher. Those guys can FLY. But with Blake Geoffrion sent to hospital before the first period I don't think there was much else the team could do. Especially when already down one Louis Leblanc.

The other highlight of the night was Jarred Tinordi pummeling some guy who decided to pick on the most unassuming player in the world in Michael Bournival. Tinordi is a beaaaaaaast.

Habs lose again but I was at the Bulldogs game!

Schultz for the win!

Laughing at the people who left while the team was down 2-0 with 8 minutes left. Sucks to be you.

So hey, what's left of the Bulldogs were losing to the top team in the AHL and came back to win it in the shootout where they also came from behind to seal the deal. Considering the shootout is a gongshow anyway, I have no idea why the NHL doesn't go to the 5-round format like the AHL uses. Anyway, hope people realize Ian Schultz can actually play hockey. They say he can't skate? Frankly looks better on his feet than Palushaj. Also he'll hit you. And maybe punch you if you're a jerk. Did you know he can score in the shootout? Pretty sweet move.

And yes, I know it's David Aebischer... Not like Nathan Lawson is any better. (Actually he's scary worse).

Guys I'd call up in this already sorry season: Henry (to be Hal Gill), Schultz (for an actual fourth line), and St-Denis (because anything is better than Campoli). Geoffrion, Nattinen and Avtsin could be on the list as well but not permanently. Poor Avtsin...lots of great set ups, but no one to take them...

On my way home I made the mistake of turning on the radio to hear if there was anything Bulldogs. Turns out some radio douche was bitching about Price and I turned it back off. You know, on a list of "100 Things That Need To Be Better With The Habs", sorry but goaltending is #100. LOOK AT WHAT'S IN FRONT OF THE NET AND HOW NO ONE SCORED A GOAL FOR 5 FUCKING PERIODS. (And before that, 1 goal also in the 3rd period). You gonna blame the goalie for empty netters too while you're at it? They were already blaming him for those shootout losses where the guys scored no goals and he gave up 1...

Idiots. Looking at the replays, if not for Price they're DONE 5-0 in the first period.

Maybe go watch Nathan Lawson for a few games and thank our lucky stars Price doesn't go on the IR because of a sandwich malfunction...

So glad I have a new set Doctor Who audio books to listen to while I work. That takes care of most of my day.

A night at the Bell Centre

I saw what was left of the Hamilton Bulldogs tonight.

Let's just say that injuries are so bad that Olivier Dame-Malka is playing as a forward (and isn't looking too bad as one either). The team is basically full of rookies and half-rookies for the most part. Defense is terrible, support almost non-existant, and goaltending is rather yuck. And if Alex Henry thinks he's got a shot at coming back to the NHL, he better go study hard at Brent Sopel's new hockey school of defence. Or spend some time with Hal Gill.

Of course playing against the BingoSens didn't help much, as they're just as terrible. Oh and Filatov is a jerk brat who's lucky he didn't have a close encounter of a Bulldog's fist...

The only lovely morsel I saw was the duo of Louis Leblanc and Alexander Avtsin. The two kids complimented each other well and were always a threat. All night long I was picturing Eller centering them.... Avtsin changed his number from 26 to 67 and I'm thinking maybe they gave him video of Patches to study because he's starting to look like a Russian Patches (that's what my brother called him). As for Louis, sure he made some mistakes, but he's real strong on the puck, he's quick, and annoys on the forecheck.

Other notables: Fortier can definitely play when he's healthy. I still call him QuebecPleks. Danny Massé actually apparently has a slapshot that got the Dogs' their second goal. Of course it's the injuries situation that has him on the powerplay... Malka's shot is still deadly. I was interested in seeing Nattinen but they have him on the wing instead of center and he looks to be in a period of major adjustment. Guy's pretty big though, so I hope they move him back to his natural position.

Major downside? Blunden, as he went for a hit that became a charging penalty, hurt himself... Sigh. It's too bad because he was flying.

This young team needs some work and healthy bodies. As it stands, well, it's all just developmental. I would ditch the one-man forecheck crap though.

I miss Brock Trotter and the Habs probably should have reclaimed Chipper off waivers to send him to the Dogs...

JORGE! And some other stuff...

Big day, Habs fans!

You can stop freaking out now that Josh "JORGE!" Gorges is signed up for the year and avoids arbitration. Thank god because I was sick of hearing all your hand wringing crap over how the team is probably going to sign some old veteran instead and how he's NOT in the Habs plans. (No, because Gorges is the not-old veteran they wanted). Now that that's done, you can start bitching about the fact it's a standard one-year 2.5 million dollar deal--which is a pretty sweet raise from what he was making before. And judging from my Twitter feed, most of the unreasonable media types (hello Brian) are pulling the "I can't believe this team! What a horrible message to send to a heart and soul guy! He doesn't want to stay here long-term anyway! He's totally gone next season!" crap speculation without even talking to the guy. The fans, well, like I said, they always freak out about everything. Remember Price's contract last season? Our defense has a lot interesting questions and new people entering. This year, we'll see some tinkering going on and we'll see how Emelin does with the game over here. And after sitting out for half the year, I can only picture Gorges like a caged animal, ready to bust out and show Gauthier that he could be worth a Marc Methot deal.

Remember, when Jorge scores a goal it's a glorious day!

Coaching team is set. Randy and Randy move up, and Clément Jodoin takes over Hamilton. I'm very happy Pascal Vincent buggered off to the Jets as an assistant coach 'cause I did not want him in Hamilton. Jodoin (who was an assistant coach with the Habs for a bit) has over 30 years of experience and quietly quit the Rimouski Oceanic for a bigger challenge. He was actually thinking about taking jobs in Latvia, guiding their national teams of various levels. Instead he decided to stick around here. Meanwhile, having the Randys up here is so fucking awesome you have no idea. This is awesome news for the kids as they now have someone in their corner that Martin knows to help get them off the bench when he starts pulling the veterans card. Also Cunneyworth knows Martin's system but knows how to integrate a proper fourth line with it.

Winnipeg Jets new logo! Kind of cool, I guess. Though I would feel like I'm basically wearing the jersey of an army team since it's combining the RCAF logo and a Hornet. Here I was thinking they'd trot out in Blue Bombers gear with a puck instead of a football.

Congratulations are in order for Max Pacioretty, who married Maxim Afinogenov's tennis playing sister today. And to my boy Eli Sherbatov, who actually found a job playing pro hockey in the Netherlands! Yay! Power to the 5'4" hockey player with skills up the wazoo.

And on this day with the horrible news comming out of Norway, all I can do is hug my puppy Ziggy. He was more than happy to hug back.

I made a pre-game promise...

...And I'm sticking to it.

I proclaimed on Twitter that if the Bulldogs win this series, I will drive from Montreal to Hamilton to cheer them on in the finals against Bingo. I might even go to Bingo if there's a game I can go to on a non-work day. (And they have Applebee's. ALL YOU CAN EAT GARLIC BREAD).

And so, after blowing a 4-2 lead, the Bulldogs won 5-4 in double-OT to win Game 6 and became just the third team in AHL history to battle back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7. While I ate pulled pork at Bofingers for my Dad's 63rd birthday, Nigel Dawes busted Matt Hackett's soul while Drew MacIntyre made 57 saves. And on the victory scrum, it looks like Ryan White gave Aaron Palushaj a kiss. If he didn't, he should have. Palushaj has been unreal.

And if they win Game 7 and I can go to Hamilton, I will pick up a Bulldogs jersey! Who's name should I put on it though... Palushaj? Or Conboy? Or Engqvist?

Who let the Dogs out?

Fifty-seven shots, three overtimes, and six seconds later, Dustin Boyd broke the 1-1 tie and sent the Bulldogs to the Western Conference finals where they'll meet the Houston Aeros.

It was also the longest game 7 in the 75 years of the AHL.

Basically, it looked like Boyd was sick of waiting for something good to happen and through the power of his own will and determination, there was no way that puck was going anywhere but the back of the net. Gotta love it. Sucks for Lack though, but I don't really like the Canucks or their farm team.

Moose = roadkill

And please, stop giving important games to Terry Koharski...

In the East it's the BingoSens VS the Checkers. Hey, for once Hersey won't get the Cup!

Meanwhile there's word Emelin WILL ACTUALLY FOR SURE sign with the Habs but I'll believe it when it happens. I'm not being sceptical. It's just he said that before then used it as leverage to get more money out of his KHL contract. But he's still young, and really what else is he gonna do in the KHL except take more penalties. (So yea, come over already, Alexei).

Double-Down!

With the Habs kicking the hapless Sabres down in Buffalo, the Bulldogs came to town to play on some real ice for a change. Of course it was the BingoSens again, this time backstopped by Gigantor the Goalie. And with the Bulldogs outshooting Bingo 16 to 1 in the first, if not for that large frame in their net, this game would have been over in 5 minutes.

I love how tenacious the Dogs play. It's what Jacques Martin wants the Habs to do, only seen with young legs on D. If Bingo ever crossed the blueline, they were kept way outside, they were always covered, shots were blocked or tipped wide, or players were forced off angle to shoot wide. And the Dogs would be constantly picking their pockets and quickly heading the other way to attack. I think I like the set up Randy&Randy have them doing more than Boucher, actually...

And Ryan White finally got a goal! It was glorious. A rush down the ice with Maxwell, and he buries the rebound over Lehner.

Carle's long knuckler from the blue line opened the scoring, and Weber pulled the Dogs ahead with an absolute rocket (did the Byfuglien victory one-leg up hands in the air for his adoring fans thing).

Engqvist, who was fantastic defensively in his role, got the first empty netter to seal it. Desharnais doubled that with a second empty netter, shorthanded. Pacioretty and Palushaj were just absolutely everywhere. If not for Gigantor...well, Patches had 6 shots on net and they were good ones. Palushaj had 2 assists and got first star honours for his hard work. And Conboy! He such a treat.

Here's Desharnais empty netter goal, which extends his point streak to I don't know what now.

---

Habs continued contributing to the Sabres aches and pains. Thanks to Price and the Third Line (coined the PhD Line) of Darche-Halpern-Pouliot taking care of the scoring. Seriously, this is how Pouliot needs to play. NOT floating around, but relentless, shooting the puck, forechecking/backchecking, making SMART plays not just passing to no one. Pleky's flu hit him real hard in warmup so he was out, which was a big loss but others picked up the slack, and Halpern was great shorthanded in his role. And the Habs won!

Two goals by Pouliot will now be known as a Double-Down.

So...now the big thing is what will happened in Buffalo, where they haven`t won a home game yet this whole season. Perhaps Lindy needs to find the heart of a champion like Ray Lewis in that hilarious old spice ad.

Hockey "bye" week, take 2

Hamster Pleky is bored.

A goal, an assist, 5 shots on net, and a plus 2. Who dat? If I told you it's Andrew Conboy would you believe me?

The Bulldogs have only played 3 games this season and Conboy already has 2 goals and an assist and a strangely quiet penalty sheet with only a 2 for unsportsmanlike conduct. (No idea what he did, but I doubt he's taunting teams with golf swings already). The 6'4" 200lb winger is off to a pretty good start. In preseason, Randy & Randy set him up on a line with Engqvist and Avtsin (who's known as the puppy dog 'cause he's the youngest on the team). At first I thought it was to give Avtsin some protection and for Engqvist to help on the defensive side. Seems they're doing way more together than just working the system. Derek Wills finds Conboy reminds him of Oilers' Zach Stortini who played for the Bulldogs when they shared AHL affiliation with the Habs. Unfortunately he can't fight like Stortini, but I can see the similarities in the way he battles, how he's a workhorse, and how he drives the net hard.

I just gotta say, the line of Conboy-Engqvist-Avtsin is so fucking weird on paper yet apparently absolute affective! In tonight's 5-2 destruction of the Rochester Americans, their line contributed to 2 goals (5 points). Avtsin picked up his first AHL goal off a centering pass from Engqvist after Conboy dug it out of the corner. Conboy's goal was his reward for picking the puck out of a huge crowd in front of the net where he flipped a backhand past Markstrom.

Yannick Weber has also started off well and registered multi-point games in all 3 played. Maybe it was the system Boucher brought in last year, but he struggled hard at times. Doesn't seem to be the case this year. He's back to accurately shooting missiles from the blue line with quickness and accuracy and makes me believe if the Habs powerplay continues it's struggles, Streit 2.0 will get the call. (I also believe that Weber's presence will make PK twice as good as he is as those two have this little thing that's been going on since their junior days). Weber opened the scoring tonight on the powerplay and closed the scoring for the Bulldogs, both using his devastating shot. I think he might have broken a record (previous held by Andre Benoit).

Another who struggled with Boucher's system at the start was Ben Maxwell, who switched his numbers around to be #19, now that Brock Trotter vacated the number on his way to Latvia. Randy & Randy got him playing with White and Pacioretty. Spent the summer building his strength seems to be paying off, and after a pretty good camp, he's got 3 goals and 2 assists in the 3 games played and was the scoring leader on the team before Weber blasted ahead.

The unfortunate part about tonight's game was the City of Hamilton. For a place that wants an NHL team so badly, they sure don't give much of a damn about what they already have. A whooping 1669 showed up for a rival, and I swear most of the were Rochester fans. Cheap, pro hockey? Move the Dogs here so I can get season tickets.

Oh hungry?

What's big, mean, delicious, and will totally kick your ass? OhAlexHenry! The towering captain of the Bulldogs and facepunching protector of our children is back for 2 more years. Best news of the day. You may continue to pee in the corners when he stares at you, players of Abbotsford.

Oh what? Louis Louis left Harvard for a shiny new entry level contract with the Habs and will play with the Juniors? DAMMIT LOUIS! GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND STAY AWAY FROM THE FLYING ELBOWS OF THE Q! Mind you, Cormier shouldn't be around this season, right? At least the pain of losing Guillaume Asselin won't be so bad.

In other news, I taught Ziggy how to go outside after my parents just couldn't get him to do it. He found a spot in his area where he'd do his business (on the designated mat at least) but refused to go while we were outside or on walks. Finally I got them to leave one of the soiled mats out on the deck (over a bootmat so the wood won't get damaged) where my mom wants him to go. I showed it to him. He sniffed it. We came back from a walk at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and he actually went to the door, asked to go out, and hit the mat. Such a smart puppy!

I can train hamsters and dogs. Take that, Cesar!

We welcome our new babysitters

The keeper of our children! Finally, the Bulldogs have a coach! And an assistant coach too! And...they're BOTH called RANDY! I have a friend named Randy who's now head art dude in a London, Ontario video game company that may or may not exist (it's complicated).

Bonus: they're both ex-Whalers. WOO! BRING BACK THE WHALE! BRING BACK THE WHALE! Sorry, it's a habit.

To welcome Randy Cunneyworth and Randy Ladouceur, I hearby proclaim Brass Bonanza the new player introduction song for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Yea baby!

So now Guy Boucher can officially take the rest of his staff with him to Florida. Damn you, Yzerman...

Oh and Kovalchuk's rediculous bending-of-the-rules-a-bit-too-much of a contract just got rejected. Should have made it 12 years like all the other rediculously long cap-bending contracts in the League. Looking at you Pronger/Richards/Zetterberg/Hossa.

Of course the joke's on us as Lou was really just doing some experimental social commentary on rediculous NHL contracts and greedy one-dimensional superstars. They ARE the Devils.

Speaking of contracts, I'm thinking Price is totally waiting for his birthday to sign his. August 16, marked.

Round 1 Game 6: Bulldogs finally realize they can win a game

It's here I can finally say WOOOOOOOOOOO BITCHES! NO MORE MOOSE! NO MORE MOOSE! Or should I say NO MORE CORY SCHNEIDER. Seriously dude, I know you're pissed being stuck behind Luongo, but what with his spontaneous groin explosions I'm sure you won't have much time to wait, you don't need to take it out on our poor Bulldogs! Bad boy. Now go away.

It started off like crap, what with the Bulldogs firing at will on Schneider, only to give up a shorthanded 2-on-1 goal. Apparently Hamr plays for the Bulldogs. FINALLY little Desharnais fired a howitzer past him.

Would you believe the Bulldogs peppered Schneider with 49 shots? And they had to win 3-2 in OT. Both regulation goals came on the powerplay with Subban assisting on both. It was the mysterious Grant Stevenson who got the OT winner and prevented a Game 7.

Who do they play next? I fear it'll be the Abbotsford Heat, which will be annoying...

Smashing records

As the Bulldogs sit pretty on the top of their Division and casually destroyed last year's leader the Manitoba Moose today 6-2 (is that what happens when you lose Jason Krog?) they're also casually smashing records.

By smashing the Moose, they now have 112 points which smashes the franchise record for most points earned in a season. David Desharnais' 3-point game (goal and two assists) broke the record last set by Jason Chimera for points by a Bulldogs player in a single season with 78 points. The win had Cedrick tie the most wins by a goalie record at 28 (tied with Yann Danis). Yannick Weber's 2 goals now gives him 23 for a career, which ties him with Andrei Benoit for the franchise record of all-time goals by a Bulldogs defenceman.

Oh and HUNTER BISHOP scored. Glorious day!

Here's another kicker: The Bulldogs have now tied the franchise record for fewest regulation losses in a season as they have only suffered defeat 16 times (they have 3 games left to play this season so they either smashed it or will tie it). No idea how many shootout/OT losses they have but I don't think it's that much. The shootout is different in the AHL.

Can you imagine what Guy Boucher could do with the Habs? With Price and Jaro in nets. With the lineup we have. The name of the game is "attack attack attack". None of this score one and stand around til the end. Sure the Bulldogs have their own brainfarts, but less so than the Habs do. Also if you notice the pattern, the majority of their goals are built on speed, effort, crashing the net, and being aware to find space behind defenders. They got the D pitching in in a major way as well, and not just firing blanks from the blue line. On Weber's 2nd goal tonight, he looked like a right-winger flying down the side and rifled it over the shoulder of the netminder. It was a 3-on-2 as well.

For one, if Boucher coached the Habs, it wouldn't have taken nearly 70 games to figure out how to win...

PK Subban is "disgusting"

That's the word he would use. When Tavares scored an awesome goal in the WJC, he would describe it like that. "That was disgusting!"

I love PK Subban.

Last night, PK Subban smashed the record last broken by friend/teammate/enemy (lol) Yannick Weber for points by a Bulldogs defenceman in a single season on this disgusting play he did to assist on Wyman's 2nd period goal.

Absolutely filthy disgusting! Derek Wills just exploded.

You have no idea how awesome this kid is. I hope we can draft his two brothers, but I somehow doubt that...

Fooled to believe that 20 minutes is all you need to LOSE a game

Or win it, if you're the Milwaukee Admirals.

In 40 minutes of play, the Bulldogs were outshooting, outchancing, and outplaying the Admirals and sitting at a 1-0 lead. Only Price 2.0 himself, Chet Pickard, was pretty much trying to steal the game. Tri-City goalies are used to doing that. Suddenly in the 3rd period, the Admirals score 3 goals in a row including one powerplay goal. Their first two were under a minute apart. The Bulldogs LOSE the game 3-2, despite only allowing the Admirals 17 shots on net all game.

Still want to trade Halak? If you do, you better hope someone better than Sanford comes in to backup Price.

Meanwhile, a hidden camera caught Guy Boucher in the room right after the game:

Koharski Jr, get a doughnut!

It must run in the family... A brother's bond. Ruining our lives, one bad call at a time.

Case in point he found a way to screw the Bulldogs after they started a hard game on actual ice (different from the slush at Copps Coliseum...ahem Mr. Billionaire?) and only managed to finally get one late while on a powerplay courtesy of one PK Subban for his first real pro-goal. And with 5 seconds left with Sanford on the bench, I don't remember who it was but they gloved the puck down and managed to push it in over the line but FUCKING KOHARSKI JR SAID NO GOAL! AHL apparently doesn't have play review? Bet he would have allowed that under-the-frame goal in Boston last night. Captain Darche was absolutely livid. The game ended with Sergei furioiusly whipping the puck at the glass.

Hopefully Sunday will be our revenge as the Bulldogs roll into Ottawa for a game on Sens ice.

The juicy bits:
- Seriously guys? Booing the Bulldogs now? Stay classy, Montreal.
- I had the great joy of sitting next to a wannabe Jacques Demers. I was very close to killing him. He would not shut up the whole fucking game... *grinds teeth*
- PK Subban will be a Hab sooner than later. And he just feeeeds off the crowd. He also will be the first one to try and turn the tide. He plays with a cocky attitude and wears his heart on his sleeve.
- Sergei is not an AHLer. He needs better linemates too.
- My one question for Guy Boucher is why is Subban not your main point shot? Sergei too? Just wondering... Oh and that one man on the line was the Pens' powerplay, and it wasn't good.
- Loved watching Boucher coach. He's always doing something. Every break, the team is huddled in.
- All you guys who suggested to bring Sanford up because of his "numbers"? Uh DO NOT WANT! He makes Jaro look like a Brodeur. And every time he plays the puck, he puts his defenceman in a terribly dangerous position. He's pretty much Marc Denis.
- I really didn't notice Johansson, which was kind of odd.
- Neilson and Conboy were big, tough, and mean. They're also pretty good around the net! And Conboy is fucking huge!
- Last time Weber scored two of the 3 goals. Tonight? He was having all kinds of problems...
- Bruiser was absolutely mental.
- First regulation loss for the Dogs, all because of Koharski.

Breaking news: Sergei demoted, Leafs still suck

Sergei has gone to Hamilton. Not surprised. Considering he was only medically cleared to play 2 games, did well enough, showed his usual grit and grind and then got yelled at by the coach when he went out of position in practice (hey it must have helped 'cause he was in perfect position for that goal in the 3rd game). He's in good hands, people! Guy Boucher and company will get him back into shape. Never mind Boucher's powerplay expertise will most likely work wonders on Sergei and his quarterback skills. Plus I think PK Subban will be better for him than any motivational speaker down on the Ranch. After all, Subban got the relatively shy Avtsin to talk on the ice, he can get anyone to talk.

Not to mention he's the only one other than Patches, Weber, and Maxwell who can move without worrying about waivers. (Pyatt too but his brains hit the glass thanks to Patrick Fucking Kaleta). And he knows about the waivers thing. He is fully aware of the situation. I expect him to lull a bit, get used to Boucher, then rip the AHL a new one, and come back all smiles.

In any case, it's up to him now whether he wants to waste his talent and do nothing with it, or smarten up and play like we all know he can. But frankly he wasn't the worst one on the ice in preseason.

It could also wake up his zombie brother...

Speaking of waivers, Leafsland want Toskala waived. Now. And to think it was only last year his nickname was "Vezina".

On a side note, Bulldogs beat the Marlies in the Gardiner Cup. Only Reimer, the Marlies goalie, made the bigger difference. But the Bulldogs only ceded ONE goal against in the entire tournament. And Brrrrrrrrock Trotter was a beast. Good work boys!

Random Friday: Slighty less random, maybe not

Rally attendance to save the Jets in 1995: about 35 000 people.

Rally attendance to save the Coyotes in 2009: 500 people.

Just saying.

BRING BACK THE JETS!

And now that Michael Andlauer, owner of the Hamilton Bulldogs, has a share in our Habs, it reinstates my "Hamilton is for the Dogs" state of mind. So, here's an adorable Bulldog puppy to remind you folks out there that a Bulldog is better than a Coyote! So cute!!!

How could you neglect this face?

Dear Hamilton,

Though I wholeheartedly support to Make It 7, why do you keep forgetting about adorable little me? I'm your kind and loyal pro-hockey team, and I've been around for a good long while...

With me you were able to witness the beginning of many NHL stars as they diligently worked their way up the ranks. I brought you joy when I won Ontario's only championship trophy in...eons. And with me, the silent and tireless charity work of many young players like Maxwell and Weber and countless others brought hope and happiness to your city and your children through school programs, sports recreation and hospitals. And I always try my best to do my best even when I'm injured or my friends have to go play with the big guys 'cause of their own injuries. Also PK Subban is coming to town! Isn't that exciting?

And am I not adorable when the Marlies and their immitation puppy dog mascot gets destroyed when they come to visit?

So why would you openly forget about me every time on national TV when my handsome logo rests on the ice of the Copps Coliseum. How could you forget that I have a most appropriate and very original goal song that even comes with it's own dance? It's far better than that damn howl... Why would you select that ratty old scavenger pup from the desert when he should go back to Winnie where he belongs?

Please, Mr. Balsillie. While I support your efforts, don't evict me from the Dog Pound (even if it's in our lease that says you can do so) that is so conveniently located near my divisional rivals. While I'm sure the good people of Newfoundland would welcome me into their homes with open arms, and actually fill the building to capacity every night, St.John's is so very far away and inaccessible by roads.

So while you continue dreaming of hearing Derek Wills call a Montreal/Hamilton game, please try to remember this adorable little puppy. I can be trained to bite Bettman if you like.

Sincerely,
Cute, little Bulldog