Game 33: T-Birds Fly Past Bruins with More Overtime Magic from Gallimore
Alright, I’m slowly getting bogged down in games I haven’t posted photos from (I still have some to show you from the Everett game March 5), so bear with me while I play catch-up (which I’ll be doing for a bit after the season ends) on this blog. Meanwhile, let’s celebrate a great 5-0 win over Kelowna with some photos from another great win: last Friday’s 3-2 overtime win over Chilliwack.
For a few weeks now, the Thunderbirds have huddled around Calvin’s goal just after coming onto the ice for the first period. I’ve tried to get a good shot of them every game, but since the lights are out I haven’t had much luck; any photo is either to dark or has motion blur since I took it with a very slow shutter speed (which doesn’t freeze action well and creates motion blur). Last Friday, however, I got lucky when a spotlight moved across the huddle at the same time I released my shutter…
The Seattle Thunderbirds huddle up before their game against the Chilliwack Bruins on Friday, March 11, 2011.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/30th, Manual
Left wing Marcel Noebels and Chilliwack defenseman Jeff Einhorn watch the puck fall to the ice early in the first period.
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Defenseman Austin Frank knocks down Chilliwack center Kevin Sundher in order to regain possession of the puck.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Throughout the course of the game, the Thunderbirds put an incredible 58 pucks on Chilliwack goalie Lucas Gore, and Gore stopped all but three of them. Here he’s making a glove save on one of the 22 shots he faced in the first period, and to steal a baseball term sno-coning the puck with the glove (that means I timed my shutter right!)
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Gore couldn’t keep that last save in his glove, however, and it fell loose in front of the net. The puck eventually found its’ way to T-Birds’ center Tyler Alos, who saw a clear lane to the goal…
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And fired the puck into the back of the net while skating past Chilliwack’s Gore.
Canon 7D, 190mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Brendan Rouse tries to separate Chilliwack right wing Robin Soudek from the puck in the T-Birds’ defensive end.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Chilliwack goalie Lucas Gore and defenseman Tyler Stahl can only watch as a Seattle shot crosses dangerously in front of the Chilliwack goal in the first period.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Recently one of the T-Birds’ communications interns commented how I haven’t submitted a photo of a hit for the press release at all this year. I told him I never have too many good photos of hits, and ironically enough I got a few pretty good ones during the Chilliwack game, including these next two shots…
Center Chance Lund is pushed out of position to reach the puck by Chilliwack defenseman Mitch Topping.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Erik Bonsor knocks Chilliwack’s Sundher to the ice in an attempt to take the puck away from the Bruins.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And to close out the photos from the first period, let’s see one of the few Chilliwack scoring chances in the first…
Goalie Calvin Pickard (left) prepares to stop a shot from Chilliwack right wing Robin Soudek.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
At the first intermission, the score was 2-1 Thunderbirds. Colin Jacobs added another goal for the T-Birds with two and a half minutes left while Chilliwack opened the scoring with a power-play goal from Soudek halfway through the period. For period two, let’s move down to just behind the Chilliwack net…
Center Connor Sanvido follows a loose puck towards the Chilliack goal in the second period.
Canon 7D, 44mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right Wing Burke Gallimore reaches to knock the puck away from Chilliwack’s Stahl, but doesn’t quite have the reach.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart tries to find the loose puck and sweep it into the Chilliwack goal in the second period of play.
Canon 7D, 37mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Unfortunately most of the rest of my second period photos had bad puck marks in them since the clean spot I found on the glass was ruined after a pile-up in front of me about halfway through the period. So that does it for the second period, where Chilliwack evened the score at two all. Onto the third period, where I took my typical spot amongst the players between the benches. ..
Travis Toomey seemed to be involved in most of the offensive action early in the third period. I say that because the first four photos of the third period involve him, and they cover three different plays as well…
Center Travis Toomey tries to get through defenseman Brandon Manning and get into a good position in front of the Chilliwack net early in the first period.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey sees a shot of his go slightly to the right of Chilliwack goalie Lucas Gore.
Canon 7D, 93mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey looks for a loose puck in front of the Chilliwack net after a T-Birds’ shot on goal was blocked.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey and Chilliwack right wing Dylan McKinlay battle for a loose puck in front of the Chilliwack goal.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Enough of Toomey for now, let’s check back in on Calvin, who’s now deflecting a shot from Chilliwack left wing Roman Horak.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Mitch Elliot brings the puck up-ice along the boards with Chilliwack’s Persley hot in pursuit.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Luke Lockhart tries to stop a loose puck from leaving the Thunderbirds’ zone but is knocked down by Chilliwack right wing Dylen McKinlay.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In the last part of the third period, Pickard came up big with a couple of nice saves. While Chilliwack still only got nine shots on goal in the period, the T-Birds found themselves playing in their defensive zone more than during the rest of the game.
Pickard uses his stick to block the net while watching a centering pass from Chilliwack slide on by in the third period.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Travis Bobbee tries to poke check the puck away from Chilliwack’s Sundher.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard scrambles back to cover the net while defenseman Brenden Dillon takes control of a puck heading for the Seattle goal late in the third period.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now for overtime! Since neither team scored in the third, we headed into the extra five minutes still tied at two. Toomey tried to end the game early in the overtime period, however, when he tried to send a shot up over Gore’s leg pads, but the puck just didn’t get high enough.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
A minute and a half into the overtime period, Gallimore again found himself in space to the right of the Chilliwack net. Like the last game against the Silvertips, Gallimore wound up and fired a slapshot towards the goal, and like the last game the puck hit the back of the net. Unfortunately I couldn’t swing my camera over to him in time to get the shot, but I did get the celebration of his second straight game-winning goal in overtime…
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That shot earned Gallimore a hug from Toomey…
Canon 7D, 93mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Also after the game, Pickard went over to Chillwack goalie Lucas Gore and congratulated him on his 55 save performance that earned him the first star of the game. I thought that was pretty classy of Pickard, so let’s see a photo of it…
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
And that’s it for this post! With just three games left in the season, the T-Birds are still in the playoff race. They need points from each game—including two wins—and a little help from either Everett or Prince George to make it in, but with the way Seattle has been playing recently, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them in the playoffs.
Keep coming back here for photos of the final games of the season, T-Birds fans, and as always tell me what you think in the comments section below.
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 32: T-Birds Beat Silvertips with Gallimore’s Late Heroics
T-Birds’ fans, there’s just two weeks left in the season, but six games are yet to be played. The T-Birds are just three points out of the last playoff spot in the western conference, making each game important. One of the teams the T-Birds have a chance at passing for a playoff spot is their rivals from just up the road, the Everett Silvertips, and wouldn’t you know it, the ‘Tips came down to the ShoWare Center last Saturday…
The game started off great for the ‘Birds. Not even a minute in, center Travis Toomey found himself in good position to give the T-Birds an early lead. Unfortunately, his shot would hit the post and bounce away from the net…
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And towards a group of other T-Birds, including defenseman Brenden Dillon, who would bury it in the back of the net for a Thunderbirds’ score!
Just a bit later, Toomey would tried to steal the puck away from Everett center Landon Ferraro while Ferraro was still in Seattle’s offensive zone.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The number of shots in the first period was pretty balanced: the Thunderbirds earned 13 shots on goal, while the Silvertips put 11 pucks on goalie Calvin Pickard. Pickard stopped all but one of those shots, including this one here…
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart tries to redirect a puck into the Everett goal, but can’t get to it before Everett goalie Luke Siemens knocks it away from the net.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Brendan Rouse battles for the puck with Everett left wing Tyler Maxwell near the face-off circle in Seattle’s zone.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Nearly halfway through the period, the T-Birds found themselves on a power play after Everett right wing Cody Fowlie got called for tripping. The power play had nearly been killed off until Toomey found himself in front of the Everett net while the puck was also heading towards goal…
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey raised his stick and redirected the puck, having been originally shot by Rouse, into the net, giving Seattle a 2-1 lead they’d hold for the rest of the period.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And now for the second period! Instead of my spot behind the net the T-Birds shoot at, I sat in Calvin’s Corner in an attempt to find clearer glass and different photos than I’d been getting. And get a different shot I did, as in this one it looks as though right wing Burke Gallimore is being held up by Everett defender Chad Suer instead of being knocked to the ice like you’d expect…
Canon 7D, 85mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In the second period, the Thunderbirds again earned 13 shots on goal but couldn’t get anything past the red line. Everett’s Siemens blocked all of them, including this one by Seattle right wing Marcel Noebels.
Canon 7D, 75mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey again found himself in front of the Everett net with a loose puck in the second period, but this time it was poke-checked away before he could put a stick on it for yet another scoring opportunity.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During the second period, Everett snuck one past Pickard to even the score at two-all. There was also a minor scuffle between Dillon and an Everett player with just a few seconds left in the period, but no penalties or anything else resulted from it. Tensions clearly weren’t worked out, though, as just seven seconds into the third period Dillon and Everett’s Ferraro dropped gloves and squared off against each other. After a fairly one-sided beatdown by Dillon, the two fighters were sent to the penalty box for five minutes to cool off, but here’s a photo of the fight.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart is upended after taking a shot on Everett’s Siemens in the third period.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Erik Bonsor tries to take the puck away from Everett right wing Scott MacDonald.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Lockhart takes Everett’s Ferraro down to the ice while defending him late in the third period.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During the period, Pickard faced nine more shots from the Everett attack and stopped all nine of them. Unfortunately Seattle couldn’t get one past Siemens either (not one that wasn’t disallowed, anyway), so we headed into overtime, where Pickard was forced into action early…
Pickard makes a save in the beginning of the overtime period.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Gallimore protects the puck from Everett defender Ryan Murray during the overtime period.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And Pickard was called upon again soon afterward to make a game-extending save…
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
With just fifteen seconds before the shootout, Burke Gallimore found himself in space and with a decent angle on the goal. Furthermore, Toomey was once again in front of the goal, looking to tip in a centering pass for the game winner. With all this in mind, Gallimore wound up for a slapshot towards the goal…
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And unleashed a nice shot that didn’t need any help from Toomey, for it found an empty space to cross over the red line and win the game for Seattle!
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
What a shot! With just seconds before overtime, Burke Gallimore—who had missed the previous night’s game at Portland since he was back home attending the funeral of his grandfather—fired a great shot past the Everett defense and clinched two vital points in the playoff chase for the Thunderbirds… This deserves some celebration, no?
I got many photos of Gallimore celebrating, but I had a tough time deciding what one to go with for the press release. You be the photographer: Let me know what one I should have gone with below in the comments section.
Our first choice is a full-body shot of Gaillimore with Dillon hanging on behind him…
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And the second one is a cropped version of the first, emphasizing Gallimore and eliminating some extraneous information…
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The third one is the one I ended up using and is close to being one of my favorite shots I’ve taken this entire year. It has many great qualities in it: Gallimore (who scored the game-winning goal) extending his arms wide and looking upwards; Dillon (who scored once and assisted Gallimore on the game-winner), and beautiful lighting around both their faces—there’s even a glint coming off Gallimore’s visor! What’s wrong with it, though? Only another terrible case of referees in the background ruining a shot. Is that ref enough to ruin this image? Let me know below!
Canon 7D, 93mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And the fourth and final one is one I submitted to the WHL website. It’s similar to the third photo, although Gallimore’s arms aren’t as extended anymore and his eyes are closed. It’s past the peak moment, which I captured in the photo above, but it doesn’t have that ref in the background. Tell me, is this better than celebration photo three? Or either of the first two?
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And let’s leave off with a photo of the entire team surrounding Gallimore and celebrating their two points…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Alright, that’s it for this blog post! Let me know your opinions about those celebration photos or any other picture I posted tonight, and I’ll see you Friday when the T-Birds take on Chilliwack in another crucial game in the playoff race!
‘Til then, go T-Birds!
Game 29: T-Birds Drop Heartbreaker to Winterhawks
Hello again T-Birds fans! Sorry for the delay in posts, but I’ve been pretty busy the last few days and haven’t found time to throw together a blog post for either of the games I have left to write about. I’ve finally found some now, though, and I can do a quick one about the Portland game last Saturday. Let’s start off with a photo of goalie Calvin Pickard making yet another routine save shall we?
Pickard makes a glove save on a Portland shot early in the first period. This was one of his 52 saves on the night.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs tries to get a shot past Portland defenseman Joe Morrow (middle) and goalie Keith Hamilton.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Brendan Rouse tries to get the puck away from the boards despite being checked into them by Portland defenseman Taylor Aronson.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Marcel Noebels takes a shot on the Portland goal.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard holds strong as a puck slides in from Portland center Craig Cunningham.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels takes the puck away from Portland’s Aronson at center ice.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs (right) waits for a pass from center Travis Toomey (left) beside the Portland goal late in the period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey (left) battles with Portland’s Hamilton for a puck in front of the Portland goal in the second period.
Canon 7D, 30mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey (right) chases after a rebounded puck with Portland defenseman William Wrenn.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey (right) chases after a rebounded puck with Portland defenseman William Wrenn.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels has the puck stolen from him in front of the Portland goal by Portland’s Wrenn.
Canon 7D, 37mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Ever wonder what it’s like to be right on the glass while players are being checked about six inches in front of you? Well, it’s something like this…
Portland center Ryan Johansen is checked into the boards by Seattle’s Noebels (behind Johnasen).
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Erik Bonsor puts a hit on Portland left wing Brad Ross early in the third period of the game.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Ryan Button controls the puck.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Tyler Alos tries to send a loose puck into the Portland goal, but is defended by Portland’s Aronson.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Alos tries to rein in a puck knocked away from him by Portland left wing Sven Bartschi.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Connor Sanvido brings the puck up ice and into the T-Birds’ attacking zone.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Brenden Dillon tries to block a clearance by Portland center Brendan Leipsic.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard makes a diving save to prevent the Winterhawks from extending their lead in the third period.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Button jumps on the celebration pile after a Toomey goal that evened the score at 3.
And unfortunately that’s where my photos from the game end. As you may remember, Portland snuck one past Pickard with just thirty seconds left in regulation to steal that second point and the win. The T-Birds played pretty well, though, giving hope to ending the season on a good streak and maybe even finding themselves in the playoffs…
I hope to have photos from last Tuesday’s Everett game up in a few days. As always, feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have in the comments section below.
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 30: T-Birds, Noebels Storm Past Silvertips
Well that certainly was an exciting couple games, now wasn’t it? On Saturday the T-Birds lost an absolute heartbreaker when Portland scored in the final thirty seconds of regulation, and on Sunday Marcel Noebels happened on a four goal effort, his first hat trick in the WHL. For this post we’ll concentrate on Sunday’s game against Everett since I’ve gone through and worked up a few photos from it for the WHL website already…
Let’s start with the first period (naturally). The T-Birds seemed a tad sluggish to begin with—the game against Portland certainly took a toll on them—and were on defense for much of the first period. They did, however, manage to get the puck up ice often enough.
Center Connor Sanvido brings the puck up-ice while center Justin Hickman dodges past and cuts down towards the goal.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Despite defending for much of the period, the T-Birds still managed to earn 10 shots on Everett goalie Kent Simpson.
Right wing Burke Gallimore tries to slip the puck past Everett goalie Kent Simpson, but Simpson deflected the shot.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here Gallimore gets another shot on Simpson, although is again blocked.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart gets his chance in front of the Everett net but can’t bring in the puck to put it on goal.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s our first shot of Mr. Noebels. This time he gets rebuked, but it’s fair to say that Marcel came out on top in the end…
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Note: The Silvertips actually opened up the scoring with a power play goal about halfway through the period. Naturally, my shot of it was blocked, which seemed to be one of the themes of the day for me (but more on that later).
Now we’ll move onto the second period…
And that’s it for photos from the second period!
What? There are none from the middle part of the game? Yeah, I noticed that, too. I can’t tell you why, I just had a really bad game Sunday, which is too bad because the T-Birds played so well. Anyway, to summarize the second period, Luke Lockhart evened the score at 1-1 with a powerplay goal 11 minutes in, and Marcel Noebels scored his first of the night just a minute after, also on a power play.
Anyways, for the third period I went to my normal spot between the benches, hoping to turn around my bad night and capture some photos of the T-Birds’ good one. I did it, for the most part. Check out some of what I got…
Goalie Calvin Pickard (bottom right) freezes the puck on his stomach while center Travis Toomey (right) tries to clear the puck before Everett right wing Parker Stanfield can put it in the net.
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Chance Lund brings the puck from behind the Everett net early in the third period.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Possibly the most ironic part of that game (for me at least) was I got a photo that I really like on an otherwise lackluster night. An Everett defender cleared the puck a bit into the period, and defenseman Ryan Button thought he had a chance at blocking the clearance, keeping the puck in Seattle’s attacking zone. I managed to get a cool-looking photo of him falling to the ice and swinging for the puck. He missed the puck but definitely earned his way onto the blog…
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Erik Bonsor skates up the ice with the puck.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And now that those are out of the way, let’s enter the Marcel Noebels portion of the night. After the second goal (which came two minutes into the third period), I started to keep an eye out for him, knowing I’d need a good Noebels photo for the press release. Here’s a nice portrait of him looking up ice at an Everett attacker.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s Noebels’ third goal, an open-netter with four minutes to go.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
It’s a hat trick, the first of Noebel’s WHL career! Coming back to the bench, he raised his stick with a big grin on his face in celebration…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
With his hat trick in hand, Noebels wasn’t about to take a break, however. Two minutes later, he added to his already terrific night and scored once more, making it four on the night and 25 on the season. Here he celebrates with defenseman Austin Frank…
Canon 7D, 85mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And Lockhart(right) joined in on the celebration with Frank (left) and Noebels(middle). Note the big grin still isn’t off Noebels’ face. In fact, I bet it’s still there, a whole 24 hours after the game…
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
One more note: Sorry for the lack of goal photos today. It just so happens for three of my five goals, my view of the play was blocked by either a ref or a defender. I can’t do much about it, although I really wish that hadn’t of happened Sunday night. Oh well, that’s just the way it is…
Enough of the sad talk though, THE T-BIRDS WIN! They keep their playoff hopes alive and are playing pretty good hockey right now, I recommend you get down to the ShoWare Center before the end of the year and get your hockey fix in!
Want to congratulate Noebels? Want to commiserate with me about the horrible timing of referees and defenders? Do so in the comments section below!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 24: T-Birds Greased by Oil Kings
Hello again T-Birds fans! Sorry for the long time between posts lately, I’ve been busy with Seattle U. photos and have been dealing with computer problems. It’s all fixed now, however, so I do have time for a quick post about Edmont0n. A word of warning, though; I was without a 70-200mm zoom lens for that game, so I had just my 28-75mm lens and couldn’t get many close-ups. I did get some, however, and here they are…
Left wing Chance Lund skates down-ice towards the Edmonton goal in the first period.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Erik Bonsor chases after the puck.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Tyler Alos is checked against the boards in the offensive zone of the ice.
Canon 7D, 33mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Marcel Noebels keeps the puck away from Edmonton defenseman Marek Hrbas while attacking the Oil King goal.
Canon 7D, 45mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels passes to an off-screen teammate in front of the Edmonton goal.
Canon 7D, 30mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Alos takes a shot on Edmonton goalie Laurent Brossoit in the second period.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels jostles for position to take the puck with Edmonton defenseman Mark Pysyk.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart battles for control of the puck with an Edmonton player in the corner of the T-Birds’ attacking third.
Canon 7D, 47mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs skates with the puck past Edmonton center Travis Ewanyk.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs tries to find a better angle for a shot on goal during the second period.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Erik Fleming fires a shot towards the Edmonton goal.
Canon 7D, 44mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Two fans celebrate left wing Mitch Elliot’s goal just two minutes into the third period.
Canon 7D, 56mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/320th, Manual
Defenseman Mitch Spooner clears a puck from the T-Birds’ defensive zone in the third period.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Spooner eliminates an Edmonton attacker’s angle to the Seattle goal.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here Spooner stops a shot aimed at the Thunderbirds’ goal.
Canon 7D, 35mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Austin Frank (right) blocks a centering pass from Edmonton center Colton Stephenson.
Canon 7D, 35mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Sorry for the small amount of photos, but at least now I know I shouldn’t use only a short-range lens to cover a complete game. So I have that going for me…
Anyways, the T-Birds take on Portland tonight at 7 at the ShoWare Center. Come on down to Kent and cheer on them on!
‘Til then, go T-Birds!
Game 23: T-Birds Drop Close One to Everett
I’ve always said that I watch each event I shoot twice: once while I shoot it and once more (at least) while going through the photos from that event. While going through the photos, I often relive the game and see most of the plays in my head as I see photos of them on my computer screen. It’s a skill I enjoy, for the most part, as knowing what’s going on in the photos really helps me to write better cutlines and give a good account of the photo’s significance according to the story of the game. While going through the photos for this Everett game, though, nothing was coming back to me. I wasn’t reliving the plays in my head, I couldn’t remember the significance of what was on my computer screen; it was like I wasn’t even at the game and looking through someone else’s photographs.
Why? I can’t tell you for certain. Maybe it was because I sick that day, or maybe I was exhausted from my two shoots the day before (the Portland/Teddy Bear Toss game and a Seattle U. women’s basketball game directly before it). Whatever the reason, I can’t tell you what happened in that game so I won’t even attempt to. Instead of commenting on the game in between photos like I normally do, I’ll post just photos, cutlines, and metadata. To make up for no commentary, I’ll throw in more photos than normal. Sound good?
Let’s get it started then…
A local hockey beginner gets to stand on the ice with the T-Birds during player introductions and the national anthem.
Canon 7D, 153mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
Goalie Calvin Pickard stops an Everett shot from going into the net in the first period.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Austin Frank brings the puck out from behind the Seattle net with Everett right wing Cody Fowlie in hot pursuit.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Chance Lund takes a shot on the Everett goal despite having Everett defenseman Rasmus Rissanen draped on his back.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Chance Lund takes a shot on the Everett goal despite having Everett defenseman Rasmus Rissanen draped on his back.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Calvin Pickard flips the puck after catching an Everett shot in the first period.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Despite falling to the ice, Luke Lockhart tries to knock the puck away from Everett left wing Tyler Maxwell.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs (top right) and Everett’s Rissanen scramble for a loose puck between Seattle defenseman Brenden Dillon’s skates.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Lockhart scrapes the puck away from the boards behind the Everett net in the second period.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs checks Everett defenseman Brennan Yadlowski into the boards in the corner of the ice.
Canon 7D, 37mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Travis Toomey (middle) waits for a pass from Jacobs (right) in front of the Everett goal.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs watches as a shot from Brenden Dillon (not pictured) flies by Everett goalie Kent Simpson (middle, bottom) and hits the back of the net.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Everett’s Rissanen can’t clear Dillon’s shot before it crosses the red line and counts as a goal.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs begins to celebrate Dillon’s goal.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs’ celebration continues…
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Fans join in on celebrating the equalizing goal by Dillon.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Familiar faces to this blog cheer on their favorite team after Dillon’s goal.
Canon 7D, 30mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Center Brendan Rouse watches as Everett center Clayton Cumiskey clears a loose puck from in front of Everett’s goal.
Canon 7D, 45mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Lockhart fires a slapshot onto the Everett goal in the third period.
Canon 7D, 148mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
(I have no clue how the puck got behind Lockhart. Maybe it was blocked back to him?)
Canon 7D, 148mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Lockhart hits the ice in front of the Everett goal, leaving Everett’s Simpson to freeze the loose puck and stop play.
Canon 7D, 148mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Dillon brings the puck up the ice during the third period.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs brings the puck past Everett left wing Josh Winquist.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman fires the puck past Elliot’s Maxwell and to an awaiting teammate.
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs (left) and right wing Burke Gallimore (right) discuss tactics while returning to the ice for a faceoff.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard stretches to block a shot from Everett center Parker Stanfield while Dillon (left) and defenseman Erik Bonsor (middle right) look on.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard makes another save, one of 31 on the night.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Everett’s Simpson knocks away a shot from right wing Marcel Noebels (middle, facing camera).
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard knocks down an Everett shot late in the game.
Canon 7D, 153mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels takes a knee during a late break in the action.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
And that’s it for this post! What do you think of this different format? Do you like it? Should I start using more photos and spend less time dissecting (at least trying to dissect) the game? Let me knowbelow in the comments section!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 22: T-Birds, Teddy Bears Fall against Portland
Teddy Bear Toss night had finally arrived! After going over to Kennewick for Tri-City’s Toss, I was looking forward to our own night to throw bears on the ice for charity, and last Saturday happened to be that night. The T-Birds’ opponent that night was the Portland Winterhawks, a team the Thunderbirds have found plenty of success against so far this season. Would the T-Birds be able to vanquish their rivals from the south again? Would the T-Birds fans donate a tremendous amount of bears to charity? Would Kyle manage to not screw up the Teddy Bear Toss photos? Find out in this edition of Bird Watching!
To begin the photos, let’s check out yet another shot of Colin Jacobs making a face while I’m trying to get a photo of him. In my three years of sports shooting, there’s always been one person who can never give me a straight face while I’m shooting his or her sport. At the UW, it was one of my friends from the gymnastics team who’d always give me a weird face, and this year it’s Jacobs. While going through my photos after a game, I can always enjoy a nice chuckle whenever Jacobs pops up because he’ll always make a face. See for yourself…
Center Colin Jacobs makes a pass while being shoved by Portland center Ryan Johansen during the first period.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
It being Teddy Bear Toss night, fans came to the game with stuffed animals in hand in hopes of a T-Birds goal and a chance to throw the furry toys onto the ice. Until then, fans had to hold onto their donations and store them anywhere there was space. Some fans, like this one, ended up sharing a chair with their bears.
A fan watches the action on the ice alongside two stuffed animals that will later be tossed onto the ice.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/125th, Manual
Before the T-Birds could score a goal and make it rain teddy bears, they had to make sure Portland didn’t get a goal of their own. Goalie Calvin Pickard made sure the Winterhawks wouldn’t get the first score on this play…
Canon 7D, 148mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
It wasn’t just Portland controlling the puck for the first period; Seattle got 14 shots on Portland goalie Mac Carruth, including this one by right wing Burke Gallimore.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Even Cool Bird had a bear to throw onto the ice for Teddy Bear Toss night…
Canon 7D, 145mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Thanks to passes by Tyler Alos and Colin Jacobs, center Travis Toomey found himself with the puck in space in front of the Portland goal. He coolly fired the puck past Carruth for a score and promptly celebrated the feat with center Tyler Alos (bottom).
Canon 7D, 180mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And with that goal, the teddy bears began to fall from the stands and onto the ice!
Canon 7D, 70mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
While bears were seemingly falling from the sky, I took the time to run down to the ice level (and I mean run: I nearly ran over a few suite attendants in my mad dash) to get some on ice photos of the beary special activities. Anyone up for a game of 5,000-bear pickup?
Thunderbirds staffers pile bears onto tarps for easier transportation off the ice.
Canon 7D, 48mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
The players even helped with the cleanup. Here, defenseman Dave Sutter (foreground, right) and left wing Chance Lund (background, left) organize the bears into piles.
Canon 7D, 75mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
Assistant Director of Operations Joey Ravotti tosses teddy bears onto a tarp in an effort to clear the ice of bears.
Canon 7D, 33mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Every sort of bear-collecting device imaginable was used to pick up the donated bears off the ice and transport them into the depths of the ShoWare Center for counting and packing. Here, T-Birds staffers—and even Cool Bird himself—pack an SUV full of stuffed animals.
Cool Bird carries an armful (and also a beakful) of teddy bears to an on-ice transport car during the Teddy Bear Toss.
Not every bear tossed made it to the ice, unfortunately. This furry friend got caught up in the protective netting above the glass at the south end of the rink.
A fan uses Marcel Noebel’s stick to attempt to dislodge a bear stuck in the netting above the ice at the ShoWare Center.
Canon 7D, 33mm, 2000 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
A bit after play resumed, a ShoWare maintenance worker climbed the boards to free the stuck bear.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
And that does it for an exciting first period. With the score tied at one, we’ll move onto the second period of action…
And let’s start out that action with a shot of Gallimore trying to get the lead back for the T-Birds with a shot on Carruth, which ended up being blocked.
Canon 7D, 40mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
As is true for all games against US division foes, this game featured plenty of hard hits that elicited groans from not only the players being hit, but from the fans as well.
Chance Lund knocks Portland right wing Ty Rattie to the ice after Rattie attempted to dislodge the puck from Lund’s possession in the second period.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart wins a faceoff against Portland’s Johansen.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
For this next photo I had a lot of trouble deciding what crop to use. I could have cropped it so just Calvin and the Portland attacker were shown, but I ultimately decided that defenseman Erik Bonsor was just too important in the photo as he’s knocking the puck away from the Portland player and Calvin wasn’t involved in the play at all. What do you think? Should I have cut off the left side up to Rutkowski and just showed Calvin and him? Let me know in the comments section below!
Defenseman Erik Bonsor knocks the puck away from Portland defenseman Troy Rutkowski, eliminating the chance of a shot on Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard on the play.
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
As usual, I didn’t get as many second period photos as first or third, so let’s just move on, shall we?
Center Brendan Rouse (center) and Portland right wing Ty Rattie compete for a puck while Seattle left wing Mitch Elliot watches on in the beginning of the third period.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In the third period, the T-Bird offense was firing on all cylinders, earning a whopping 22 shots on goal in the period, just one less than they had in the first two periods combined. Here’s one of those shots, this one by center Tyler Alos.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In fact, for long amounts of time Calvin Pickard was relegated to puck-chaser often times as Portland sent many clearances down the ice. Here, he’s retrieving a clearance so the offense can generate more scoring opportunities faster.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman continued his physical play, checking Winterhawks into the boards often and without warning. Here, he crushes his latest victim, Portland defenseman Joe Morrow, into the glass in the north end of the rink.
Canon 7D, 173mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Lockhart is brought to his knees while scrapping for the puck with Portland defensemen Rutdowski (left) and Morrow (right).
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During a Seattle powerplay late in the game, Portland used their timeout to plan how to kill the penalty. The Thunderbirds also used this time to strategize and earn a goal or two that would get them back into the game.
Head coach Rob Sumner talks with his players during a time out late in the third period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
During that power play the Thunderbirds did get a goal from Marcel Noebels to bring the score to 2-4. Unfortunately my view of the actual goal was blocked, but I did get a celebration shot with Noebels (center), Toomey (left) and Lockhart (right).
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Fans showed their support to Noebels and the rest of the team by standing and cheering on the T-Birds after the goal. One fan even bore the flag of Germany, Noebels’ home during the offseason.
A fan waves a German flag in support of Marcel Noebels after Noebels scored a third period goal.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
And let’s end the game photos with a shot of Lockhart stealing the puck away from Portland left wing Nino Niederreiter…
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Alright, that’s it for this post. I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! And a note: T-Birds fans tossed a whopping 5,031 bears onto the ice and collected for the WAMR 106.9 Teddy Bear Patrol! That’s a great number, good job guys (and gals)! The bears will be given out to local fire and police departments to give to children in times of crisis, so thanks for helping with that great cause!
Have any questions for me? Comments? Suggestions? Let me know in the comment section below!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 21: T-Birds Can’t Come Back, get Dropped by Kelowna
For the second game in a row, the Thunderbirds scored in the third period come within one goal of tying the game. They couldn’t possibly pull off another amazing comeback again, could they? Unfortunately not, seeing as Kelowna put two pucks in the back of Seattle’s empty net to ice (feel free to groan over that one) the game, which ended 6-3.
“But Kyle,” you must be thinking, “why are you starting with the third period. There were two whole periods before the third; you should start at the beginning.”
Well fine then. Let’s start at the beginning…
Ok, more like a few minutes into the first period…
Center Travis Toomey (left) checks Kelowna defenseman Damon Severson into the boards behind the Rockets’ goal.
Canon 7D, 148mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Shortly after that check, Toomey found himself in a position to test out Kelowna goalie Adam Brown. He never got that opportunity to, however, as Severson knocked the puck away from Toomey just before the shot went off.
Toomey (left) has a shot blocked by Kelowna’s Damon Severson in the first period.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Colin Jacobs seemed to be passing in front of my lens all night last Friday against Kelowna (although I didn’t end up using too many of those photos). He had a nice night, scoring two goals and getting another point by assisting with Lockhart’s score. Let’s start out the many photos of Colin with this simple frame of him racing down the ice.
Center Colin Jacobs (right) heads down the ice with Kelowna right wing Mitchell Callahan in pursuit.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Speaking of Lockhart’s goal, let’s check out the shot that produced the rebound Lockhart fired into the back of the net, shall we?
Center Luke Lockhart takes a shot on the Kelowna goal. Lockhart would fire the rebound that came off Rockets’ goalie Adam Brown into the net for the first goal of the game.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
As you may remember from a couple of earlier posts, I’m still not used to players (goalies not included) being able to stop the puck with their hands. That said, I’m always looking to make a cool photo of that as it’s a good opportunity to capture a clear shot of a player’s face since he’ll be looking up while grabbing the puck. Another opportunity to get this photo came against Kelowna when Rocket defenseman Colton Jobke leapt into the air to catch a puck. I just this photo was in better focus. And not so noisy (no, not the noise you can hear… noise in a photograph is the grain or speckles that are created into a photograph due to high ISOs and other factors)…
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The first period wasn’t spent all on offense by the T-Birds; they had to play a good deal of defense, too. Here, Erik Bonsor knocks a puck away from an attacking Kelowna player.
Defenseman Erik Bonsor (left) knocks the puck away from Kelowna right wing Jessey Astles during the first period.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Brenden Dillon (right) clears a loose puck from in front of an open Seattle net before Kelowna right wing Shane McColgan can knock it in for a goal.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Since all of the suites were sold out that night, I shot the first period from the top row of the stands near the blue line in front of the visitors’ bench. This ensured I could see the whole ice and not have to shoot from behind a net, but I did have to shoot over fans, something that isn’t very easy for me since I am by no means considered tall. Every once in a while I’d have a shot blocked by fans coming down the stairs, something you just have to deal with. A couple of them also left their seats a minute or so before the first period ended— presumably so they wouldn’t have to wait in line for concessions or the restroom—but happened to miss Jacobs’ first goal of the night, which came with just eighteen seconds left in the period. Unfortunately I had my shot of the actual goal blocked, but people walking up the stairs did provide a nice foreground frame of Jacobs’ celebration…
Jacobs celebrates his first goal of the night, which came with just eighteen seconds left in the period.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
For the second period, I started out behind the Kelowna goal hoping to get some good shots of the T-Birds coming towards me on offense. There were three of them I liked, so I’ll share them with you now…
Bonsor fires the puck towards the net and past Kelowna defenseman Zak Stebner during a power play in the second period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman (right) battles for possession of the puck with Kelowna defenseman Mitchell Chapman in the corner beside the Kelowna goal.
Canon 7D, 63mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Burke Gallimore (right) holds back Kelowna defenseman Damon Severson while bringing the puck down the ice towards the Kelowna net.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Later on in the period, the Rockets were awarded a power play and I decided to venture down to the handicapped seating below section 116 for a better angle on the action. I was rewarded for that move as I got this photo of Calvin Pickard blocking the net from a Kelowna attacker.
Goalie Calvin Pickard (right) prepares to block Kelowna defenseman Zak Stebner’s shot on goal.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
For the third period, I returned to the box between the benches after a few games away from it since I was giving a job shadow to a few high school students. Even though I loved showing those guys (and gals) the basics of shooting sports, it was nice to return to the box for the third period. Unfortunately I didn’t get many great photos from there, but there were a few that I don’t mind sharing with you… like this one of Colin, who has a very good view of the puck…
Jacobs watches as the puck drops to the ice after it was cleared from Kelowna end of the ice early in the third period.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Bonsor stretches out in an effort to knock the puck away from Kelowna left wing Evan Bloodoff in the third period.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard gets a drink of water during a break in the action. On the night, Pickard faced 36 shots on target, stopping 32 of them.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
And as our last photo, let’s show Lockart claiming possession of the puck during a faceoff, shall we?
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Sorry for the short post and relative lack of photos this time around. It seems that I didn’t have a very good game last Friday. Hopefully that’ll turn around tonight as the T-Birds take on the Portland Winterhawks. If you’re coming to the game, don’t forget your teddy bears to throw onto the ice after the T-Bird’s first goal! It’s Teddy Bear Toss night!
‘Til tonight, go T-Birds!
Game 18: T-Birds Fly Past Silvertips
Last Friday night (Jan. 14), the Thunderbirds hosted Everett for just the second time this season (a fact that surprises me, especially considering we’ve played Tri-City three times before January). That game, broadcast to the entire region by FSN Northwest, was another well-played home game, giving the Thunderbirds two straight 3-1 wins. The building was electric for Everett and the tv cameras and everything, so I was amped up before the game started. I was asked to get photos of the combined choir that sang the national anthem last night, so I spent the player introductions and pregame out on the ice, where I found this cool shot…
Center Luke Lockhart (middle) is bathed in a spotlight while being introduced to the crowd.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
Onto the game! You will notice I don’t have any photos from above this time. This is because as I was heading to my spot to shoot for the first period, my 70-200 lens (my primary one and the one that allows me to zoom in on the ice from the suite level) learned about gravity the hard way and decided to tumble to the concrete floor of the top level. It had “a major impact”, as the guys at the camera repair shop would later say, and wouldn’t focus on anything. I’d have to shoot the entire game with a 50mm prime lens (that means it doesn’t zoom in or out; its focal length is fixed at 50mm), a real challenge for me since I depend heavily on the added distance the 70-200 gives. Enough with the technical talk, though, you’re not here for that. Let’s move onto game talk and game photos…
One of the things I was looking for Friday night was photos of the two players the Thunderbirds recently traded for, defensemen Mitch Spooner and Ryan Button. Since this was their first home game as Thunderbirds, I wanted to build up a couple of stock images for them. Luckily Spooner was involved with the defense early on in the first period…
Newly-arrived defenseman Mitch Spooner fires the puck out of the T-Birds defensive corner and towards center ice.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Spooner tries to shove Everett left wing Ryan Harrison off balance and away from the puck.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
This next shot isn’t normally a photo I’d take or publish in this blog—I much prefer to put action that shows the puck or a nice moment that most fans generally can’t see—but it is a decent-looking portrait of Colin Jacobs. Chalk this one up to using that 50…
Center Colin Jacobs (right) and Everett left wing Tyler Maxwell chase after a cleared puck.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here are the same two players fighting over possession. Funny how that turned out…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
For the first period, the shots on goal for each team were about even as Seattle had 15 and the Silvertips had 13. Here, the Seattle defense clears out one of those shots…
Lockhart (left) clears a loose puck after an Everett shot in the first period.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The biggest difference is that Seattle got two past Everett goalie Kent Simpson while Seattle netminder Calvin Pickard stopped all 13 shots taken on him.
Goalie Calvin Pickard puts a glove between the net and the puck after an Everett shot.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
That does it for the first period, but before moving onto the second period, let’s focus on the first intermission. We had a special intermission show: a proposal! After the lucky lady scored a goal, the goalie popped off his mask, got on one knee (or is it one pad here), and popped the question…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/5.6, 1/500th, Manual
And it’s a yes! Congratulations you two, I hope you have a great life together. Judging from the looks on your faces in the next photo, it’ll be a happy lifetime at that!
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/5.6, 1/500th, Manual
Ok, now we can move onto the second period. I was again near the side of the north goal for that period. This time, however, it was the Thunderbirds shooting at this goal. Take, for example, this photo…
Newly-arrived defenseman Ryan Button takes a shot on goal during a power play in the second period.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The Thunderbirds again put 15 shots on the Everett goal. Silvertip goalie Kent Simpson blocked 14 of them, including this particular shot.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
There was one that went in, however. Center Justin Hickman earned his first WHL point by assisting left wing Chance Lund with his goal about halfway through the period. The two raised their hands in celebration of the goal.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Fans celebrated in a similar fashion, including this particular fellow named Erik…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
Center Connor Sanvido also had a good chance at his first of the season when he faced a loose puck in front of the Everett goal. Everett defenseman Ryan Murray, however, got his stick in front of Sanvido’s and eliminated the opportunity for a shot.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That didn’t stop Sanvido, though, as he continued to jostle with Murray until the puck slid past the goal.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
As I mentioned earlier, the game was broadcast live on Fox Sports Northwest. I got this gem during the second intermission of play-by-play voice Ian Furness and T-Birds Assistant General Manager Colin Campbell.
Ian Furness (left) interviews T-Birds Assistant General Manager Colin Campbell.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Now for the third period! I split time between the handicap seating area near section 112 and Calvin’s Corner (which was unused). I don’t really like the photos I got from the handicap section, so here’s another photo from in front of the north goal. This was a particularly hard-fought faceoff…
Players pile on top of each other during a faceoff in the middle of the third period.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Late in the game, Everett pulled Simpson in an attempt to catch up to the T-Birds. The Silvertips pulled an all-out attack, but the Seattle defense pulled out all the stops to keep the score at 3-1.
Defenseman Erik Bonsor hits the ice in an effort to block the path to the Seattle goal.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The Silvertips didn’t get a single goal, yet needed two to force overtime. You know what that means: SEATTLE WINS!
The Thunderbirds rush onto the ice to celebrate the win over Everett with goalie Calvin Pickard.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s it for this blog post, T-Birds fans. Tune in a bit later in the week for photos from Sunday’s game against Vancouver and to see if I managed to survive without my broken lens.
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Tri-City Away: Road Trip, Anyone?
I hope everyone had a great Christmas (I know I did, I got a lens!), but now it’s time to prepare for the second half of the WHL season! I hope to get you in the mood for more T-Birds hockey with two posts in two days; today I’m (finally) writing up a post about my road trip to Kennewick to watch (and shoot) the Thunderbirds take on the Tri-City Americans on December 10 tonight/today (again I’m working past midnight), and a recap of the first half of the season in photos featuring the best images I’ve collected so far this year. Check back tomorrow for that best-of post, but for now continue reading about the
As with my post about the catwalks, I have a video for you guys to watch and hopefully to enjoy. Also like my catwalks post, the video is quite short in relation to the drive over as I didn’t film enough content to make a longer one. I need to remember that for next time (maybe that’s why I need an assistant…). Anyways, how about we start the video in the most natural starting point I know, in the middle of the trip!
Alright, everyone awake from your slumber and check out some photos! Unfortunately there’s not too many—I had a really bad game in Tri-City—but there were some blog-worthy shots I’d like to share with you. But first, here’s a photo I took from that vantage point off I-82 and an explanation on why I only shoot sports…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/22, 1/500th, Manual
Now let’s fast-forward about 90 miles and five hours for our next photo, which takes place in the first period of the game (note: yeah, I’m skipping a lot of time. Next time I travel to a game, I’ll be sure to take more photos and video of the stadium). That night, December 10th, was the night of the American’s Teddy Bear Toss, when fans throw teddy bears onto the ice after the home team’s first goal. Being new to hockey, I had no clue what was going on when all of these teddy bears were flying onto the ice, so I asked the fan I was sitting next to for an explanation. Luckily she filled me in on the situation and I decided the oddity was worthy of a photo.
Goalie Calvin Pickard (left) chats with defenseman Erik Bonsor (center-left) while teddy bears are being cleaned off the ice during the Americans’ Teddy Bear Toss on Dec. 10.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The game was delayed for ten minutes while the bears were picked up off the ice. Overall, I think 3,000 or so teddy bears were thrown onto the ice (and later donated to charity). Not a bad number, but I’m pretty sure we can surpass that for our own Teddy Bear Toss Jan. 29! And since I won’t be able to use this joke then, I might as well say it one last time here: that game was the first hockey game I’ve ever seen that was delayed by bears.
You guys can stop groaning now.
Seriously, you can.
Any time now.
Ok, you might as well let it all out at once….
Now that we’re done with that, let’s move on with the photos. From my vantage point in the stands, I had a nice view of the Tri-City goal and plays on it from the left side. In this photo, left wing Mitch Elliot tries to get a better angle on Tri-City goalie Drew Owsley.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
From my vantage point, I also had a nice view of the Seattle goal. Here, Pickard makes a nice stick-save of a Tri-City shot.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
By now you’ve probably noticed that I have a lot of photos of certain players and less of others. I’m always looking for more shots of the players I don’t have and managed to get one over in Kennewick. Here, center Brendan Rouse battles for position to control the puck with Tri-City defenseman Drydn Dow.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
And unfortunately here’s the last photo I have for you guys for this post (told you I had a really bad game). Anyway, here’s defenseman Travis Bobbee (center) shielding the puck from Tri-City center Mason Wilgosh.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
Sorry for the short post, but the video took a while to piece together (I’m still new and slow at working with videos). Remember to check back tomorrow for the best photos from the first half of the season!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 13: T-Birds Fall to Chiefs
Welcome back to Bird Watching where in this edition, we’ll take a look at photos from the game Dec. 14 against the Spokane Chiefs (yes I know I’m running massively behind, but I should be able to catch up soon). Before we dive into the Spokane photos, though, I’d like to remind you all to check out the video T-Birds videographer Nicholas Kocan made from the Christmas card photoshoot a few weeks ago. It gives a good look into how we managed to fit 23 hockey players and one bird onto half a carousel (without it breaking, might I add) long enough to grab a photo. There are even some clips of me in action in there, something I’m not used to seeing since I’m normally behind the lens! In case you missed it, here’s the video link: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1248832318432&oid=88453342812&comments.
Now onto the photos! The T-Birds were again without goalie Calvin Pickard who was trying out for the Canadian National Junior team for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Between the pipes for Pickard was backup goalie Michael Salmon, who was making just his third start of the year. Salmon and the T-Birds played well in the first period, keeping even with the Chiefs at one goal apiece and Salmon made more than a few nice saves and plays on the puck. Here’s one of them now, where he (center), along with defenseman Dave Sutter (left), and left wing Marcel Noebels (center left) blocked an early attempt from Spokane.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Just a bit later he made another save, this one unassisted. Need help finding the puck in this one (like I originally did)? Hint: look in the crease in Salmon’s leg pad.
Goalie Michael Salmon stretches his leg out to block a shot from Spokane left wing Colin Valcourt in the first period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The Thunderbirds didn’t just play defense in the first period; they were on offense for a good portion of the period and earned 10 shots on the Spokane goal. Here’s one of those shots, this one by Marcel Noebels.
Left wing Marcel Noebels takes a shot on Spokane goalie James Reid. Reid blocked the attempt with his stick.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s a shot of a nice play by defenseman Scott Ramsay. Despite having falling to the ice, Ramsay was still able to get his stick through Spokane center Kenton Miller’s feet and poke the puck away. The angle I have for this isn’t the best (behind the goal and to the left of it would have produced the best shot of the play), but I still like the photo. Check it out for yourself…
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
A bit after Ramsay’s poke, Seattle scored their first goal. Center Travis Toomey collected a rebound off James Reid and buried it in the back of the net, tying the score at 1-1. Unfortunately I didn’t get the goal itself—I couldn’t find the puck during the rebound—but I did get the celebration afterwards.
Center Travis Toomey (back) and right wing Burke Gallimore (front) celebrate Toomey’s goal late in the first period.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
True to the rivalry between the Thunderbirds and the Chiefs, there were three fights during the game. The first one came 18 minutes in, and it featured Scott Ramsay and Spokane left wing Darren Kramer.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now for the second period. The Thunderbirds earned 14 shots on goal, two of which I’ve captured below.
Marcel Noebels takes a shot on Spokane goalie James Reid early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Brenden Dillon fires a slapshot towards the Spokane goal before Spokane center Steven Kuhn can block the attempt.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Mitch Elliot (right) has the puck stolen by Spokane right wing Matt Marantz before Elliot while approaching the Spokane goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’re a few more photos from the second period. And yes, this is the second game in a row where I’ve gotten good stuff from behind the glass. Dare I say it I’ve finally figured out how to shoot this lovely game?
Charles Wells (left) and Travis Toomey (right) battle for the puck with Spokane defenseman Tanner Mort.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Burke Gallimore uses his stick to prevent Spokane’s Matt Marantz from getting to the puck.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That night, there was a group in Calvin’s Corner, a section of seats to the left of the north goal that sits right on the glass. When there’s no group in that section, I’ll generally sit in there with the other photographers since it offers a good view of the north half of the ice and the T-Birds bench. Anyways, the group in Calvin’s Corner was an active one that night. Here’s a shot of them yelling at James Reid for him to go back to his goal…
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
And here’s one of them voicing their opinions of Spokane players while the Chiefs went back to their locker room for the second intermission.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
Thanks for being so loud that night, Calvin’s Corner. You guys were great!
With that second intermission over, it’s on to the third period. I took my usual third period spot—between the benches—and started firing away. Unfortunately, so did the Spokane Chiefs. Here’s one of their goals during the period, where Spokane left wing Collin Valcourt snuck a goal past Michael Salmon.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a small series of photos (two to be exact) of Burke Gallimore doing everything possible to avoid Spokane defenseman Reid Gow, who was lying on the ice after knocking the puck away from Gallimore. Gallimore gets some pretty good air on his jump over Gow; I’d rate it about a 7.5, don’t you think?
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here, defenseman Erik Bonsor knocks the puck away from Spokane right wing Mitch Holmberg.
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The third period wasn’t an easy one for the Thunderbirds. They allowed Spokane to take 15 shots on goal, of which five of those shots ended up in the net. After the last goal, Michael Salmon was pulled. While skating back to the bench, center Colin Jacobs had some words of encouragement to the T-Birds’ netminder.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1250 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now, apparently to keep me from getting a big head, the Photo Gods decided to have the Chiefs block my view down the ice with their sticks. Naturally, my autofocus picked the sticks to focus on instead of the players beyond them. This photo wasn’t an intentional artsy-type photo; it was just an accident. You can barely tell that Mitch Elliot is checking a Spokane player into the boards.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Being down big didn’t keep the T-Birds from fighting back. Here, Burke Gallimore sends a late shot towards the Spokane goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s It for the Spokane game. Now a couple of blog notes…
Hopefully I’ll be getting the photos and video up from my trip to Kennewick for the Tri-City game there on the 10th up just after Christmas. That’s the next post going up. Also, there won’t be any shots from the Portland game on the 18th, unfortunately. I was shooting at Seattle U during that game so I missed all of it. Don’t worry, however, for I will be at the game on the 28th and will have shots from that soon after.
Also, is there anything different you guys want to see? Do you have an angle you’d like me to shoot from or is there a story you’d like me to tell? I want to hear some feedback from you as to where I should take this blog. Let me know in the comments section below!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
(Home) Game 12: Thunderbirds Unlucky Against Americans
Center Charles Wells takes a shot on the Tri-City goal in the second period.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Hello again everyone! It’s been a while since the last post (about a week, in fact) so it’s time for another roll of photos. Sorry for the layoff; I’ve been shooting a lot in the last week, both for the T-Birds and Seattle University all while taking the GRE and getting my application for grad school together. I’ve finally found time to write up a game thread. I know I told you guys I’d have photos from last Friday’s away game in the Tri-Cities, but I want more time to put together the videos for that post. Instead, here’re some photos from the home game against the Americans on Saturday the 11th.
Let’s start in the second period, shall we? (Note: we kind of have to as I didn’t arrive at the ShoWare Center until just before the first intermission. I had to come down from Key Arena and a Seattle U. men’s basketball game) Walking into the media box at the ShoWare Center, I was met with the nasty surprise that the Thunderbirds were down 0-4 late into the first period. Now I’m sure you guys will be ok with skipping straight to second period photos, where the T-Birds seemed to come out with a new energy and ended up matching the Americans’ one goal during those two periods. Let’s dive straight into the shots, shall we?
Left wing Marcel Noebels evades an attempt to dislodge the puck by from Tri-City center Brooks Macek on his way down the ice towards the Americans’ net.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Centers Justin Hickman (right) and Brendan Rouse (center-left) both try to force the puck through the Tri-City defense and into the net.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Chance Lund takes a shot on the Tri-City goal, but Americans goalie Drew Owsley stops the puck before it can cross the red line.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now I know what you’re thinking… “Wow, Kyle actually has good-looking photos from through the glass for once,” and you’re right! I have no clue why all of a sudden I could actually get good shots from behind the glass. It might be due to the fact I actually stepped away from the glass; normally I press my lens up against it to reduce glare from the lights, but I was moving around a lot more than normal. It may be because the hockey and the photo gods got together and decided to smile on me, I have no clue. I just know I got some killer shots from that position. Those four aren’t it, either. Here’s some more from the second period I’m quite pleased with…
Wells checks Tri-City left wing David Conrad into the boards behind the Tri-City goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs battles tries to knock the puck past Tri-City defender Paul Sohor and into the Tri-City goal.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And we’ll end the second period photos there. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to get all those shots. I think I’ll put either the Noebels photo or the Lund photo—maybe even both of them—into my portfolio. It’s not every day you get a portfolio-worthy shot, and somehow I got two of them in a span of about 40 minutes. I was feeling pretty good and ready to continue my streak of good luck—and good photos—into the third period.
And before I went out to the box between the benches (they call it the Suicide Box over in Kennewick and most other hockey arenas; for some reason, I’m not too fond of that name…), Ashley, the intern that has the horrible job of going through every single one of my photos (I really feel bad for her, there’s a LOT of horrible photos from each game and she has to sort them all) caught up with me. She asked me to get a few photos of defenseman Erik Fleming since I hadn’t gotten any at all this year. You’re probably tired of reading my ramblings, so here’s that photo of Fleming and a couple other ones.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Defenseman Dave Sutter checks Tri-City right wing Jordan Messier in the third period.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Noebels skates around the Tri-City goal hoping to find a better angle for a shot while Tri-City defender Zachary Yuen follows in pursuit.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s another photo I really like. I think it’s one of the better shots of a defensive play I’ve gotten this year.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon throws himself to the ice in an effort to block a shot by Tri-City leftwing Justin Fesser.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Being not only a rivalry game, but the second game against the Americans in two nights, there was plenty of late hits and hard checks into the boards. Here, right wing Jacob Doty slams Tri-City defenseman Sam Grist against the boards.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
During one of the media timeouts in the third period, the team gathered at the bench to strategize. After the strategy session, but before they were called back out onto the ice, Jacobs (left) and Doty (right) discussed matters between themselves as well.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
In keeping up with the rivalry, Lund and Tri-City defenseman Brock Sutherland found themselves in a fight with about five minutes to go in the game.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Although the two fighters were escorted off the ice, their dropped gloves, sticks, and helmets were still strewn about. For the Thunderbirds, it was Hickman who received the task of collecting Chance’s gear and bringing it back to the bench.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s a photo of Defenseman Erik Bonsor trying to steal the puck from Tri-City center Connor Rankin.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Despite the game being decided, both sides kept up the pressure on the goalies and tried to earn one more goal. Here’s a shot on goal for Tri-City.
Tri-City’s Messier (left) fires a shot towards the Seattle goal, which is being defended by defenseman Scott Ramsay (center-left) and goalie Michael Salmon (right).
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The Thunderbirds also had their late-game chances on goal. Here, Dillon brings the puck down the ice with a defender in tow.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Noebels controls the puck in the Tri-City half.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here center Luke Lockhart tries to brush the puck into the net and past Tri-City goalie Chris Driedger.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Alright, that’s it for this post. I have no idea how I got so many good photos from just two periods, but hopefully my lucky streak will continue! Check back for my next post to see if it does and, as always, let me know what you liked or didn’t like in the comments section below.
Til’ next time, go T-Birds!
Game 7: Thunderbirds Smoke Chiefs
Hello there everyone! Now that the T-Birds are back from their successful road trip, I have new photos for you to enjoy! Even though there were two back-to-back games, I’ll only be talking about the Friday night game against Spokane for now. We’ll get to Everett a little later. So let’s set those time machines back a few days and relieve that shootout win over the Chiefs, shall we?
We had a special visitor to the press box before the game started; a Stanley Cup championship ring! Mark Kelley, the director of amateur scouting for the Chicago Blackhawks, went to the game to look over some players with his recent championship ring in tow. He was nice enough to let me get a shot of it for the blog. Thanks Mark!
A 2010 championship ring from Chicago Blackhawks’ Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Kelly.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/1.8, 1/250th, Manual
Director of Media Relations Ian Henry told me that we had a big pre-game ceremony planned and that I should be on the ice for it. So I went down there (didn’t fall again, I should go pro in ice walking with expensive equipment around my neck…) and waited for the pre-game to start. It finally did once the players were introduced. I got a nice photo of Dave Sutter side-light by the spotlight while waiting for the rest of the pre-game ceremony to start…
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
Since the team was back east for Veterans Day, the men and women of our armed forces were honored before the start of the game. The local Veterans’ association presented the colors and the puck was rappelled down from the rafters by some current national guardsmen (and women). Here’s a gentleman carrying the American flag. He also did well to keep on his feet while bringing the flag out. As a reward for staying upright, here’s a photo of him.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/250th, Manual
I may have glanced over this part, but let’s go back: the puck rappelled down from the rafters. More specifically, one of the guardsmen held the puck while rappelling down. There were three rappellers and unfortunately I didn’t have a lens that could go wide enough to see all of them, but I did get some nice close-ups of one of them…
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
And here’s the guardswoman who brought the puck down…
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
Alright, now that we have the puck, we can play some hockey! The game started off fast when center Luke Lockhart got one past the Spokane goalie in under a minute. I wasn’t in position to get a photo of the goal, but I had a nice view of the Seattle bench after the goal, and the bench was excited to have an early lead.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
I eventually moved up to the second level of the ShoWare Center from rinkside—I wanted to have a view of the goal the T-Birds were attacking—and started shooting again. Naturally, the first good photo from that position would have been more dynamic if I had just stayed put. Oh well, it’s still a nice shot, though…
Goalie Calvin Pickard blocks a shot from Spokane rightwinger Matt Marantz in the first period.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here, center Charles Wells (right) and Spokane defender Brendon Kichton battle for the puck in the first period.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
It was a brutal, bitter game; about what you’d expect for a rivalry game. There was a lot of face-to-face confrontations throughout the game, like this one between rightwinger Jacob Doty and Spokane leftwinger Colin Valcourt…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And also some shoves, like this altercation between center Colin Jacobs and Spokane defenseman Jared Cowen.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a photo of rightwinger Marcel Noebels controlling the puck.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And actually that last photo ends the second period of play for us. Either time flies when you’re having fun (you guys are having fun reading this, right) or I just didn’t get many good shots during the first two periods…
Anyways onto the third. Three minutes into the third period, Spokane snuck a goal past Calvin to tie the game. Of course I got a photo of it, and unfortunately a nice-looking photo, too. Why are my best always of the other team doing well?
Spokane center Tyler Johnson (left) slips a shot past Seattle defenseman Travis Bobbee (center-right) and goalie Calvin Pickard (center) in the third period.
Canon 7D, 75mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
This next photo is actually one of a string of fifteen or so photos of defenseman Dave Sutter trying to get the puck away from Spokane center Brady Brassert. I might end up giving you that strain eventually, but here’s one of the better ones (although they’re all pretty good)…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a faceoff between Jacobs and Spokane center Kenton Miller. It’s not a particularly important photo (I mean it is just a faceoff, those happen all the time), but I like how Miller’s face is framed by Jacobs’ arm. Again, why are my coolest photos of Spokane?
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a photo of defenseman Travis Bobbee and Spokane center Steven Kuhn scrambling for the puck while Pickard looks on.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here linseman David Tise has to step in between Noebels and Spokane rightwinger Blake Gal. The refs were adamant to stop any fights from happening Friday night.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In case you haven’t noticed, many players have grown mustaches for the month of November. As well as it being no-shave-November (check out your local college campus if you don’t believe me) it’s also Mo-vember in the NHL where many players have grown their mustaches to raise awareness for men’s health problems like Prostate cancer. Many WHLers decided to join in on the mustache-growing fun. Here’s two of them…
Defenseman Erik Bonsor and Spokane defenseman Brenden Kichton battle for the puck during the third period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now this next photo I’d normally not put in the blog: nothing important is happening and it’s not that great of a photo anyway. I just thought like how Bobbee is surrounded by the flying ice particles. And I guess you can see Pickard making another save in the background, but this photo is really about Travis…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
With the score tied, the two teams went to overtime, five minutes of four-on-four action. Nothing slipped past either goalie, though, and we went to a shootout. Since I missed out on my chance at being in between the benches for the third period, I was relegated to finding a rinkside seat (what’s that? I’m lucky to have such great seats anyway? You have a point there…). I ended up setting up just to the right of the goal Pickard was defending. That, in theory, would give me a head-on view of the goal the T-Birds were shooting at. It did, but I did not take into account that a certain referee would be blocking my view…
It’s a successful shootout attempt! You can’t see the goalie or much of rightwinger Burke Gallimore but you can see the puck just off of the referee’s right hand…
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
I did, however, have a unique view of the Seattle goal. Here Pickard blocks the attempt by Spokane center Tyler Johnson.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And of course the team rushed out to Pickard to celebrate with him. Jacob Doty seems particularly excited.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And that’s it for this blog post. I hope to get the thread from Saturday’s game up soon, but they do take awhile. There is a day coming up Thursday where I don’t have to do much but help out in the kitchen. Hopefully I can get it done by then, huh?
As always, leave your comments/criticisms/critiques/quandaries in the comments section below.
Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 4: Thunderbirds go to Shootout vs. Americans
I was hoping to get this post up yesterday, but unfortunately some errands unexpectedly came up and I couldn’t get it done before work. Have no fear, though, as I’m off today and can spend it all on the blog!
Tuesday night’s game against the Americans was a well fought game, I thought. As always with these ‘birds, the outcome wasn’t decided until after they played five extra minutes and took three extra shots on goal. Unfortunately, the Americans slipped two shoot-out attempts past Calvin Pickard while only one of the T-Birds found the back of the Tri-City net.
We’ll start, however, before all of that; even before the game started. Before the game, equipment manager Jason Berger brought out the pucks for pre-game warm-ups and formed the letters W,H, and L with them. Director of Media Relations Ian Henry told me about the pucks and asked for some photos, so I happily obliged. I got three frames of the design that I really liked, but this one stood out above the other two.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/1.8, 1/60th, Manual
Having shot the pucks, I had nothing to do until the players came out for warm-ups. Normally I don’t shoot that seeing as I’ll be getting the same photos during the game, but I needed to get some photos of backup goalie Michael Salmon for a newspaper in his hometown of Red Deer, Alberta. I took a couple nice shots of Salmon but couldn’t decide between the two. I’ll let you guys see both of them and decide what one’s better…
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now for in-game photos. I wanted to go back up and shoot from the suite level again for the first period. I like the angle it gives, I just wanted to do something different from the game against Calgary. The nice thing about shooting from the suite level is that I have a great view of most of the ice and bench area. That view allowed me to get this photo of Head Coach Rob Sumner during a timeout in the first period.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
I like this photo because you get to see the play designed. Taken from any other angle, the players would be blocking the view of the whiteboard, but this time I was high enough to see over the players.
Remember a couple of posts ago when I said that there’d be games in college I’d get great photos of the opposing team and not the Huskies? Well that happened to me again Tuesday. I seemed to get many photos where you could see Americans players well, but the T-Birds guys had their back to me. These next three are good examples of that. Oh well, at least the pictures show the T-Birds doing well and having success…
Center Connor Sanvido has a shot blocked by Tri-Cities goalie Drew Owsley in the first period.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Rightwinger Jacob Doty (left) and Sanvido (right) sandwich Tri-Cities center Justin Messier in the first period.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Travis Bobbee knocks a Tri-Citiy Americans player to the ground.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And to close out first period photos, how about a good ole’ Calvin Pickard save?
Goalie Calvin Pickard (middle) blocks a shot while center Luke Lockhart (right) and Tri-Cities leftwinger Justin Feser fight for the rebound.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Due to a terribly stupid operator error, most of my shots from the second period were not useable and were only worthy of being deleted. So let’s forget the second period ever happened, assume the score magically changed to 2-2, and move onto the third, shall we? Ok? Okay!
Since this was the third period (wow, it just seems like seconds ago we were in the first, where does the time go?)I went to my typical spot in between the benches, and was rewarded for going in between the benches by a shot of Luke Lockhart scoring a goal to take a 3-2 lead.
Lockhart tries to slip a slapshot past the Tri-City defense in the third quarter. The puck did find it’s way to the back of the net, giving Lockhart his second goal of the evening.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And as always, a goal shot deserves a celebration shot…
Lockhart (right) and right wing Burke Gallimore celebrate Lockhart’s third period goal.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That lead, however, wasn’t a permanent one. Just a few minutes later, the Americans evened up the score with this goal.
Tri Cities center Mason Wilgosh (left) gets a shot past Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard during the third period of a WHL game in Kent, WA, Oct. 26.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
A bit after that goal, there was a small dust-up between Marcel Noebels and the Tri-Cities’ Spencer Humphries. I couldn’t see the fight or what caused it since it took place in a corner I can’t see from between the benches, but I did get an important shot of the aftermath: Marcel Noebels being escorted off the ice. He got more penalty minutes than what was left in the game and so was taken off the ice (note: he was eligible, though, to return in overtime).
Linseman David Tise escorts Seattle rightwinger Marcel Noebels off the ice after Noebels received a 10-minute miscondcut in the third period.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s an attempt on goal by Travis Toomey.
Seattle center Travis Toomey (left) can’t knock the puck past Tri-Cities goalie Drew Owsley in the third period.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Luke Lockhart had a good game having scored two goals. Since he had one of the better games, I tended to get more good photos of him. Here’s two of those…
Lockhart (right) runs into Tri-City left wing Justin Feser during the third period.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now onto the overtime period where I got my best photos from the game. Both teams had some good chances in overtime, but neither could punch it through. I’ll just let my photos describe it to you, as they’re a good representation of what happened.
Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard (right) blocks a shot while defenseman Dave Sutter (left) and Tri City right wing Jordan Messier fight for the rebound in the overtime period of a WHL game Oct. 26 in Kent, WA.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Seattle left wing Marcel Noebels (right) and Tri Cities defenseman Zachary Yuen fight for the puck during the overtime period of a WHL game Oct. 26 in Kent, WA.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Seattle defenseman Erik Bonsor (right) disrupts the possession of Tri-City defenseman Zachary Yuen.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Seattle center Charles Wells skates past Tri-City right winger Patrick Holland in overtime.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Tri-City goalie Drew Owsley stops a Thunderbird attack late in the overtime period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now that overtime is over, it’s time for the shootout! There was really only one good photo from the shootout that I got, and thankfully it shows what happened in it. So it is with great sorrow that I end with this photo of Pickard not being able to save a shootout attempt.
Tri-City right wing Patrick Holland slips a shoot-out attempt past Pickard.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
You know what, I really hate ending with that photo. So instead, let’s see some of Center Colin Jacob’s infectious smile…
Center Colin Jacobs is all smiles after Noebels converted his shootout attempt.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
If you got this far, thanks for reading! As always, I’d love to hear any comments, questions, criticisms, quandaries; anything you want me to know or answer, I want to hear it.
Oh, and Erica and Erik? It was great meeting you Tuesday night!
Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 3: Thunderbirds Upended by Hitmen
Hello again everyone, and sorry for the delay in getting this post up. Here’s the game thread for last Saturday’s overtime loss to Calgary.
It was a good hockey game that had a bit of everything: great-looking goals, last-second saves, and even a couple of pretty decent fights. In fact the only thing missing from the game was a second point for the T-Birds, as that game was just their first overtime loss of the season. So enough with the chit-chat, let’s get to the photos!
For this game I tried something different: I didn’t start out shooting from above the glass. Eventually shooting from the same spots every game will get repetitive and you’ll start seeing the exact same shot as you did a game ago or two games ago. So to break myself of that (and to keep it more exciting for me) I’ll change up my routine. Today I spent the first two periods behind the glass, moving between spots behind the goal on the north side (the side where the players and zambonis get onto the ice) and right across from the T-Birds bench. In any rate, I got luckier with the glass that night, as a number of photos I took from that spot are pretty clear and unaffected by the thick plexiglass.
Defenseman Erik Bonsor (right) battles with Calgary center Jimmy Bubnick for the puck early in the first period.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now I’m going to teach you a trick that’s useful in all sorts of photography, but absolutely necessary in sports photos: cropping. It’s needed in sports photography to focus in on the action and eliminate all dead space surrounding it that ruins the photo. Let’s use a shot of Calvin Pickard making a save.
Goalie Calvin Pickard makes a save during the first period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now as you can see in the photo above, I was as wide as my lens would allow me to be (98% of my shots are taken with a 70-200mm lens). Since I had Pickard centered in my shot for focusing reasons, there’s a lot of dead space on the left of the shot, and the players to the right merely distract from what’s going on. So let’s take them out of there, shall we?
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now, by merely cutting out what I don’t want seen, we have a pretty nice shot of Pickard making a save. It’s also now easier to see the puck in the middle of his pads. Before, there was just too much distracting information for your eye to notice it. With all of those distractions gone, however, the puck is much more visible. Amazing, huh?
Onto the next shot now. Here’s a photo of Brenden Dillon fighting Calgary’s Ben Wilson. For whatever reason, I got numerous good shots of Dillon Saturday night. I tried to get as many other players in the post as possible but apparently Dillon was working it for the camera that night.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon throws Hitmen defenseman Ben Wilson to the ice during a fight in the first period.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s some more photos. Sorry there’s no cool intro for them, but I can’t think of a good one right now. Let’s just say they’re a good representation at how even the two teams played.
Bonsor keeps the puck away from Calgary leftwinger Justin Kirsch.
Canon 7D, 95mm, 800 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart fights for the puck with the Hitmen’s Bubnick behind the Calgary goal in the second period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
I’m proud of myself for this next shot: I actually remembered something I had to look for during the game! Media Relations Director Ian Henry told me to look for kids wearing the beanie given away before the game. Well, I found a group of excited young boys during a break in play that seemed to really want to get on the jumbotron. I’m not sure if they ever did or not, but they were dancing well enough to be put on there…
Young T-Birds fans dance during a break in the action in hopes of getting shown on the jumbotron.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
I’m still looking for a good goal photo from behind the glass: one where you can see both the puck going into the net and the face of the player who got it. I know I’ll get one eventually, but sometimes it’s hard for me to remember to concentrate on the player in front of the goal instead of the guy with the puck. In the second period of Saturday’s game, though, I thought I might have had a chance when Luke Lockhart had a nice shot on goal. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the Calgary defense and eventually cleared. What turned out was still a nice photo, but unfortunately one of a great play for Calgary instead of for Seattle.
Lockhart battles with Calgary defenders to get the puck into the net in the second period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s another Brenden Dillon sighting. He got an assist for a pass to Tyler Alos in the second period. Of course I had to put this shot in…
Dillon passes to teammate Tyler Alos- who then put the puck in the back of the net- in the second period. It was the first of two assists on the night for Dillon.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s Alos acknowledging Dillon’s pass after the goal.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a photo of the second fight of the evening. In it, rightwinger Jacob Doty took Calgary’s Cody Beach to the ice. In fact, the two T-Birds fighters of the evening both took their opponents to the ice. Even if it didn’t matter on the scoreboard, that was nice to see.
Rightwinger Jacob Doty (right) lands a punch on Calgary rightwinger Cody Beach during a second period brawl.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In college when shooting for The Daily, there’d always be games where I’d get better photos of the other team than I would of the Huskies. Sometimes it would turn out ok because we’d run some of them as long as they made sense with the game story and every once in a while we’d send them to other school’s student paper. When shooting for a team, though, there’s no spot for these photos to go. That’s why I like having this blog; in it, I can put all my shots from a game. I don’t have to worry about will it make sense with a story or is it a photo of the other team. So I’ll throw in this photo of Calgary goalie Juraj Holly knocking away a shot by Chance Lund. I thought Holly had a pretty good game and was pleased to have a photo of him.
Canon 7D, 1140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During the third period, I was in my normal third-period spot between the benches. Despite what I said earlier about changing things up every once in a while, I thinkI’ll be spending every third period there so I know I’ll have some good pictures no matter where I am for the first two. Anyways, I remembered to keep an eye on the T-Birds bench for any good photos there. During one of the timeouts in the third, I found assistant coach Turner Stevenson talking with one of the T-Birds. I remembered to take the photo, I just wish I thought to stand up. That would have made Stevenson’s arm visible and made a much, much stronger photo. I’ll get it next time, though…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s another Dillon sighting. He’s getting good coverage right now…
Dillon chases after the puck with two Hitmen in pursuit.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
I like trying to get photos of players on defense. It’s a side of the game that doesn’t produce quite so many images as offense or hits, but it’s still important to play good D. Here, center Travis Toomey is covering a Calgary attacker well.
Toomey covers Hitmen center Chase Clayton late in the third period.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
I think these next two photos would be great for a caption-writing contest. In fact, if I ever get to give away something in a contest, that’s what I’ll do. But until then, just enjoy them and that what you like about them.
Center Travis Toomey (right) and Calgary center Cody Sylvester both have a good view of the puck while battling for it in the third period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Head Coach Rob Sumner discusses things with Coach Stevenson in the intermission between the third period and overtime.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
And here’s the last of Brenden Dillon for the post. But of course, it’s a series of photos. Watch as he takes a slapshot towards the Calgary goal in overtime.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Overtime was just as hotly contested between the two teams as regulation was. Let’s include a shot of Burke Gallimore trying to disrupt a Calgary player to prove that…
Rightwinger Burke Gallimore tries to disrupt a Hitmen’s handling of the puck during overtime.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
That’s all the photos I have for you today. I unfortunately didn’t get a good one from the game-ending goal, but that’s just the way it is sometimes. I’ll do better next time, I promise. As always, feel free to tell me what you like, don’t like, want to see more off, or any other comments you may or may not have in the comments section below.
Til next time, go T-Birds!
Mid-Road Trip Photo Break
Hello everyone!
Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a week, but there hasn’t been anything new to post. I’ll try to get some extra content during the next home stretch to give you something new to look at while I’m not following the Thunderbirds on the road.
To try and make up for my lack of posts, how about more game photos? I have some form the first two home games I’d love to share with you all.
These first few are from the home opener September 25 against Portland.
Center Charles Wells skates up the ice with the puck during the Sept. 25 home opener against Portland.
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Brenden Dillon controls the puck during the Thunderbirds’ 4-1 victory over the Winterhawks.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The Thunderbirds celebrate a goal in the 3rd period of their home opener Sept. 25 against the Portland Winterhawks.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Ok, so there were only three from the home opener. I had a bad game that night (unlike the T-Birds with their 4-1 win), and didn’t get too many great photos. Oh well, it happens and I’m used to it. The next game, the game October 1 against Lethbridge, however, was much better for me. I feel some of these were good enough to go into the game post if they matched the theme I picked for it better.
Rightwinger Jacob Doty takes the puck past the center line during a game against Lethbridge Oct. 1.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs has a clear view of the puck after being knocked to the ice during an Oct. 1 game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
This next photo I nearly used in the game thread. I ended up going with one a few frames and about a second later (I love having a camera that takes 8 frames per second).
Hurricane leftwinger Jacob Berglund takes a shot on goal with Thunderbird defenseman Ryan Aasman (behind) in pursuit. T-Birds goalie Calvin Pickard blocked the shot and the T-Birds won the game 3-2 via a 2-0 shootout win.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Rightwinger Marcel Noebels battles Lethbridge defenseman Mike Reddington for the puck during a game Oct. 1
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Goalie Calvin Pickard saves a shot by Lethbridge leftwinger Max Ross.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th,
Now for this next photo, I’m not quite sure why I’m including it. It’s not the best photo ever, there’s just something about it that draws my eye every time I pass it. I figure that has to mean something, so I decided to include it in this blog. Let me know what you guys think of it in the comments section below…
Center Colin Jacobs tries to get past Hurricane defenseman Daniel Johnston.
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
This next photo was taken just a few frames after the previous one. Maybe that’s why I included that picture just before, to tell how that possession ended? Yeah, that’s it… That’s the excuse I’ll use!
Jacobs and Johnston race for the puck after Johnston knocked it away.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now this next one is a pretty cool photo. It would be even better if Wells was over to the right more and not directly behind the goal, but I still think it’s pretty good. I like how you can see the puck a few inches away from Anderson. Someday I’ll get Pickard in a cool photo like that.
Seattle center Charles Wells watches as Lethbridge goalie Brandon Anderson blocks a shot in the second period of a game Oct. 1.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Erica, you said you wanted to see more celebration shots. Well here’s one for you. Let’s call it a continuation from the last post…
Leftwinger Chance Lund, Rightwinger Burke Gallimore, center Travis Toomey, and defenseman Brenden Dillon celebrate Toomey’s goal in the third period of a game Oct. 1 against Lethbridge.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
I had a decision to make with this next photo. I had a frame where Lund was in focus by the net and the one below where Bonsor is in focus in the foreground. I think they’re about equal quality, I just decided to go with the Bonsor pic because the puck is closer to him than it is to Lund.
Seattle defenseman Erik Bonsor attempts a pass to Chance Lund.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
This next photo isn’t an action shot, but nice nonetheless. It’s an environmental portrait of sorts of Dave Sutter. While in the box between the benches, I need to remember to grab a few shots of the Thunderbirds’ bench. I figure you guys would like to see that and I have a responsibility to show you that area since I have access to it. So keep reminding me to look over my right shoulder while on the ice, okay?
Defenseman Dave Sutter listens to Coach Rob Sumner before the overtime period.
Canon 7D, 85mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Lastly, who doesn’t love more Calvin Pickard shots? Here’s Calvin making a save during the shootout in the Lethbridge game.
Goalie Calvin Pickard saves a shootout attempt by Lethbridge’s Cam Braes.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Since both Gallimore and Noebels hit their attempts and Pickard blocked both of Lethbridge’s, the Thunderbirds ended up winning the shootout and the game. So let’s celebrate another T-Birds victory, shall we Calvin?
Pickard celebrates saving a shootout attempt by Lethbridge’s Dylan Tait, the play that clinched a victory and two points for the Thunderbirds.
Canon 7d, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s a resounding yes from Pickard!
That’s it for this post, ladies and gentlemen. As always, thank you for reading and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Til next time, go T-Birds!
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