Beers and Jeers #22 (Jan 18/09 vs Phoenix Coyotes)

What a fun evening that was. Started with the Glenn Anderson Ceremony and ended with a Moreau Hat trick. The ceremony was good for the most part. Whoever wrote the Kevin Lowe speech really sucked. Lame jokes and re-used lines from past speeches. But all in all it was a good show. So #9 is gone now. Never again can it be used. Who's next? #4? #30? #27?

The game was a barn burner. Action right from the beginning. I must say the effort level was there from the get go. The team really had a shot in the arm when Hemsky came back to the line up. I think Penner and Horcoff showed their true colors when Hemmer went down for those games. Penner is overpaid and Horcoff is NOT an all star and overpaid. I would love to see a Penner/Cogliano/Hemsky 1st line. Shawn Horcoff can take the 3rd line position. I bet Cogs would be a 70 point guy too.

Kyle Brodziak had a good night in the faceoff circle. (12-2) 86%. But that's pretty much it for him. But, game after game I notice Erik Cole takes 3 or 4 faceoff's a game and usually only loses one. Why not try him out at taking the draws? He doesn't need to play center, just take faceoff's. Worth a try don't you think?

I couldn't believe that Steve MacIntyre wasn't playing. I really wanted to see him fight Carcillo tonight. For one, it would have been an easier test than say Boogaard. And two, I wanted to see him (Carcillo) get his ass kicked. I wonder if Big Mac was able to meet his hero Marty McSorley today? I hope so. This is the best season ever huh Big Mac? Lucky S.O.B.

Well let's hope that all this Oiler nostalgia and alumni guys being around for the last couple days really rubbed off on the team that we have now (young and old). I said at the beginning of the season that the Oilers are going to the SCF this year. I feel it. I believe it. And I still do. As of late, (since the closed door meeting) that the team seems to have changed. They have a hand shake clap thing that they have going on. Some guys are rocking mustaches. (Penner/Gagner). The lines are mixed now more old with new players. So I see that the team is starting to have fun again. And the ball will roll. Believe...

The lines tonight:

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (Horc/Pens suck without Hemsky. Tonight they looked great. Surprise!?!)

Reddox Gagner Cole (Are you serious? Reddox? I suppose that if you score like Schremp or Potulny or Brule you then go to the 4th line or pressbox. I just don't get it MacT? Anyone but Reddox please)

Pouliot Cogliano Moreau (the best line that played as a group. They all complimented each other nicely tonight. Nice to see Moreau play a good full game)

Strudwick Brodziak Brule (This doesn't even look right on paper. This is the line Reddox should have been on)

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BEERS

Ales Hemsky

- I can not believe the impact that this guy has on his linemates, his team and his fans. He was amazing tonight. You could hear the crowd buzzing after he would do something. Very exciting to have him back. 2 goal night. +3. Solid all around. Welcome back Hemmer. Have a cold one. Cheers!

Ethan Moreau

- Quite possibly his best ever game as an Oiler. I cheered for him tonight. To think that that was his 1st hat trick. Good for him. Maybe this is the confidence that he was looking for? Let's hope we get the same guy for the rest of the year. Have a triple sized beer Chopper. Cheers!

Ladislav Smid

- The guy was an animal tonight. He drops the gloves again. He really is not bad at fighting. In fact, he looked like he knew what he was doing. Plus he ends up with an assist. Maybe he was trying for a Gordie Howe hat trick? At any rate he was fantastic. He was dumping the puck in and was the 1st one on the puck in the corners. At times I thought that he was a forward. One of our best d men tonight. Here's a frosty beer and an ice pack for the knuckles and the ass bone. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions

- Tom Gilbert (quietly picked up a couple of assists.), Andrew Cogliano (had a nice 3 assist game. He looked really good tonight), Steve Staios (had a 2 assist game. Played hard), Erik Cole (he really tried hard tonight.), Dustin Penner's mustache (that is one nice porn stash. Looks good.)

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JEERS

Rob "Plugs" Brown

- He is slowly turning into my #3 behind McGuire and Crawford in the dipturd catagory. Do everyone a favor sometimes and shut up. He spits out random stuff so that hopefully he looks like he knows what he is saying. eg: 10:00 left in the 3rd. "I'm sure Roli will have to make another big save for the Oilers before this game is over." No kidding smart guy. Need I say more? Oh yeah... Your bald. Deal with it. Booooooooooooooo!

Beers and Jeers #21 (Jan 16/09 vs. Colorado Avalanche)

Well that was an interesting game. That must have been an impostor team that played the Wild. Maybe Springfield in disguise? Anyways the team that played tonight was pretty good. We won the 1st period and lost the 2nd. I was really digging the Cole/Gagner/Potulny line. I would still like to see a Cole/Gagner/Cogliano line. Maybe a PP unit? The 3rd period saw the team get into a little penalty trouble. That is a bit of a momentum killer. Especially tied 2-2. Then the old Horcoff side door trick to save the day. But great eyes by Grebeshkov. He made a great pass to Horcoff.

It's kind of strange. I am starting to like Liam Reddox. (don't worry...not that much) Not on the 1st line. Or the 2nd line either. But he plays with a lot of hustle. Seems to really try his hardest. Maybe he's a poor man's Cole? But not.

Garon didn't really look very sharp tonight. I guess we can hardly blame him. It's not like he's getting lots of starts. It's too bad that Garon probably won't be an Oiler next season. I do like him. It's just that Gramps (Roli) has been good this year. He may not be next year, but he is now. And in order to acquire a top 6 forward, I am sure a goalie will have to be moved. Garon is most likely the guy.

The Pouliot fight gave me a good laugh. He looked like Huggy Bear Jr. The guy really shouldn't drop the gloves. Save that for the other guys.

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BEERS & JEERS

It's weird. I don't think that anyone really deserves a Beer or a Jeer tonight. Maybe it's that fact that I am still pissed off at Air Canada for cancelling my wifes flight after we drove 3 hours to the airport. Just to turn around and drive home. To go back tomorow. I hate Air Canada. Booooooooooooo!

Cole, Gagner, Potulny, Visnovsky, Staios, Horcoff, Cogliano, Souray all played pretty good. The rest were really unnoticable. But a win is a win and I can drink a beer to that. In fact I think all the Oilers fans deserve a beer tonight for all the dedication to a team that is as unpredictable as this team is. CHEERS EVERYONE!

Beers and Jeers #20 (Jan 15/09 vs. Minnesota Wild)

That was one of the worst games that I have seen this year from the Oilers. On one side, Minny sucks to watch. Probably my least favorite team to watch. On the other side, the entire Oiler team looked scared and timid. Until the 3rd of course. But to little to late. Penalty after penalty can't really help the cause. Plus it makes it hard to make any type of a comeback. Then the bakery opens and turnovers are served to everyone wearing a Wild jersey. (not sure why the stats were not picked up) That was a pathetic game. Just pathetic.

There was two moments that really got me going. The two fights (Smid/Sheppard fight and Souray/Weller fight) I loved how Moreau tried to steal Souray's thunder by trying to get in the fight. Loser. Learn to be a Captain. If anyone should demand anything (firing/trade/demotion) ... it should be the removal of the 'C'. It's not on the right person.

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BEERS

I am giving a beer to both Smid and Souray for their respective fights. They were both entertaining and made me actually excited about something. Smid made his fight look good by throwing the bombs. Good to see him do something. Souray absolutely killed Weller. massive lefts to the skull. A real dandy of a fight. And people really want fighting removed from the NHL? If that fight didn't entertain you then maybe hockey isn't your sport. Cheers to the both of you!

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JEERS

The entire team sucked tonight. I am surprised that I am even writing anything. Horcoff sucked. Moreau sucked. Cole sucked. Penner sucked. Gagner sucked. Cogliano sucked. Roloson sucked. Gilbert sucked. MacT sucked. Everyone sucked. Even Reddox sucked. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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I really hope that tomorrow's game is better. I'd imagine that Garon gets the start. But you never know... Could be Deslauriers.

With my wife and daughter going home to B.C. for a week, I suppose you will see a little more content on here to read. Maybe a new Mr. Belvedere? Maybe something new all together. Ohhhh.... exciting. Stay tuned.

Thanks to everyone for all the support.

Beers and Jeers #19 (Jan 13/09 vs Washington Capitals)

That was a better game than last game. I still don't like to be out shot but the win is good. There were a few guys that looked like this was their team. There was a few guys who were tweeners. And of course there were the last few that were stinkers.

I am a little amazed that with all the inner troubles on the team, our Captain Moreau isn't more of a captain and has dealt with it. I have been the captain of a few teams. I have had to be the middle man lots. No big deal. That is part of being a captain. But he hasn't been doing that. Sure there was a closed door meeting. That doesn't mean that Chopper shouldn't have already dealt with this. As a captain. On his own. There has been talk that MacT is to blame for this mess. Wanye Gretz over at Oilersnation.com wrote a nice piece about this. I still blame the leaders (Moreau, Horcoff, Staios) for the sub-par play but it's a good read and a different point of view. Plus he has inside info and I don't.

http://www.oilersnation.com/2009/01/real-talk/

Back to the game. The Oilers were good tonight. I really didn't think that this game was going to go well. I guess I was wrong. The 2nd line was clearly the 1st line tonight. As the games go on MacT is starting a love affair with Cole. Bout time. I still do not understand the Reddox situation. I feel embarrassed almost when fans from the other teams ask me what is going on. I don't even want to answer them. I shrug my shoulders and smile. I don't make the lines.

Anyways it was a fun game to watch all around. Let's get on with the booing and beer drinking.

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BEERS

Steve MacIntyre

- Well Big Mac scored his 1st ever NHL goal. Awesome. I bet that is what he said too. One shot, one goal. Not bad. I was a little sad that he didn't fight, but oh well. We win. He played a whopping 3:40 and even though he really didn't contribute a whole lot... He deserved a beer. Not any old beer but a big beer. Cheers!

Erik Cole

- This guy is getting my vote for MVP of the team. Hemsky is good but no one puts out an effort like Cole does. The guy gives his all. When you play with Cole you can't help but bust your butt as well. That is one of the main reasons why Gagner is excelling right now. It's like a yawn... it's contagious. Cole had the most shots on the team tonight. He also had 2 takeaways to go with the 3 goals. Once again I sit and drink with Cole. Frosty mug time... Cheers!

Kyle Brodziak

- A great all around game from Brodziak. He was the old Horcoff. (geez, I hope he doesn't ask for $7 million too.) 2 assists, +4 and 3 blocked shots. Now I am not a real big Brodziak fan, but if he could play like this every game he would be a favorite of mine. Good game tonight. Have a beer. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions

- Gilbert Brule (He played a solid game. 2 point night.) Steve Staios (excellent shot blocking on #8. He played well too.) Dwayne Roloson (Another beauty from Gramps.)

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JEERS

Not much to really boo here. That was a pretty good game. Lots of hustle. Not quite a 60 minute game but real close. The team really does need to get more shots. To see Ovechkin blast them from all over, he really made it look easy. Why can't an Oiler do that?

There was however a few players that were not playing above par. These players were not very good IMO. Shawn Horcoff, Ethan Moreau, Liam Reddox, Dustin Penner, Tom Gilbert and at times MA Pouliot were all pretty stinky.

Gilbert made some bad passes. In fact I think somewhere Robin Brownlee is laughing

Reddox looked like a bantam player.

I only noticed Horcoff because he plays so much.

No real physical jam from Chopper. He did however have 0 hits. Awesome.

Pouliot didn't look right all night. Except for that one PP where he was with Cogs and Gags.

Penner. Did he play?

Now that I think of it all six of you deserve a jeer. Boooooooooo!

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Next up... The Wild.

Beers and Jeers #18 (Jan 11/09 vs. St. Louis Blues)

The game that we just witnessed was a strange affair. At times I was screaming and yelling and was having a gay ol' time. The next minute I am searching for a bandwagon to jump on. All in all, we won the game. At the end of the day that is all that matters. (yeah. I just said that.) It was nice to see MacT put some of the lines back together. Duh! I was once again a little stunned that Schremp wasn't called up. But by listening to MacT we all might as well give up on that. I expect Schremp gone by the deadline. That's too bad. I really liked him.

Back to the game. The 1st period was kind of dull. I hate it when the other team scores 1st. Hate it. But thank god for the 2nd period. Gagner to Potulny and way long to Brule who went up stairs for the goal. Wow! But don't forget the couple of shorthanded rushes that swung the momentum the Oilers way just before that goal. Those made me stand up and yell. We need more of those. I need more of those. Then the Cole/Gagner reunion. These guys seem to find each other and having Potulny play with them made everyone play well. That was a good line tonight. That was enough to hang on for the win. I really hate it when an announcer starts talking about stats before the end of the game. I hate it even more when there is 5 minutes left. 4:38 left in 3rd in fact. "This will be Gagner's 2nd game winning goal". Are you retarded? Don't say that. But I guess I am a little superstitious.

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BEERS

Ryan Potulny

- "Who is this guy?" That was my thought before the game started. I changed as it when on. He was pretty good tonight. He has pretty good hockey sense and a lot of hustle. 2 point night. Life is pretty good today now isn't it Ryan? However... knowing MacT, Reddox will probably take his spot with Gags and Cole. For a great 1st Oiler game and a welcome to the team. Have a cold one. Cheers!

Cole/Gagner

- Geez MacT. Do you like to look stupid? I defend you and you do the unthinkable and separate Gags and Cole. Glad to see you came to your senses. These two were good again tonight. I can't explain why they work so well but they do. Hopefully they stay together for the long haul. I think the team needs that in order to be consistant. Here a couple of beers for the dynamic duo. Cheers!

Steve Staios

- The guy that has taken tons of shots from me over the past while. (mostly bad ones.) Tonight he looked really good. Not just the couple of rushes but his overall game. 3 hits ans 3 blocked shots. That was the Staios that I used to love. The warrior. And he played simple hockey and that is all that I think he can do. So for playing well, have a frosty mug of brew. Cheers!

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Gilbert Brule

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-His best game as an Oiler. Glad to see him do well. He played pretty solid and ended up getting a pretty nice goal. His speed was on fast mode cruise control. I had fun watching him play tonight. So for a real nice effort tonight. How about a big beer? Cheers!

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JEERS

Not much to jeer here except for the lackluster performance from the 1st line. Sad how much Penner and Horcoff rely on Hemsky. Reddox is not a substitute.

The team really needs to play a full 60 minute hockey game. It happens from time to time. Not recently... But it happens. I sure hope we can do it on Tuesday as we are facing the Capitals. That won't be easy at all. But until then...