First Half Recap
Happy 2013 T-Birds fans!
It’s been a while since I’ve updated this thing (And in other breaking news, ice is cold), so perhaps a quick recap is in order. Since I have so many games unposted, I’ll post some of the best photos I’ve taken since early November. Sound good? Good, I’m glad you agree…
Defenseman Shea Theodore brings the puck up the ice during a game Nov. 16 against Medicine Hat. Theodore has 27 points on the year, eight goals and 19 assists.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 125mm, f/2.8, 1/2000
Left winger Alexander Delnov crosses the Thunderbirds logo at center ice during a game Nov. 16 against Medicine Hat.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 115mm, f/2.8, 1/2000
Delnov and center Connor Honey celebrate a goal in the second period of a Nov. 16 game against Medicine Hat. For much of the first half, the Delnov, Honey, and Roberts Leipsbergs line led the way for the Thunderbirds. The members of the DHL line are currently the top three points-scorers on the squad, with Honey leading the way at 33, Lipsbergs one behind at 32, and Delnov in third with 30.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 85mm, f/2.8, 1/1600
Left winger Riley Sheen stretches out to block a puck during a game Nov. 17 versus Spokane.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 150mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
And, coincidentally enough, let’s look at a similar photo of Sheen attempting to knock down a puck during the same game.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Defenseman Jesse Forsberg dives to interrupt a shot from Everett defenseman Landon Oslanski while Seattle goalie Brandon Glover prepares to make the save during a game Nov. 27.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 100mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center Justin Hickman celebrates a goal late in the third period of the Nov. 27 game against Everett. Hickman’s goal clinched the 5-3 victory for the Thunderbirds.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Delnov checks for defenders as he brings the puck up-ice during a game Dec. 1 against Kelowna.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 170mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center and T-Birds captain Luke Lockhart fires a shot towards the goal during the Dec. 1 game against Kelowna. Lockhart had one assist on the night as the T-Birds downed the Rockets 4-2.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 93mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Glover makes a save during the Dec. 1 game against Kelowna. Glover has played in 36 games for the Thunderbirds, holding an 89.8% save percentage while facing1,237 shots on the year so far.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 125mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Lockhart drops to one knee in an effort to block a puck during the Dec. 8 game against Portland. Lockhart has put up 25 points on the year, 14 goals and 11 assists in addition to his duties as team captain.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 155mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Left winger Mitch Elliot grapples with Victoria center Brandon MaGee during a dust-up late in the game Dec. 6 versus Victoria.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Defenseman Evan Wardley shoves Everett left winger Mitch Skapski as Skapski advances down-ice during a game Dec. 28.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 75mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Glover sends a puck flying after blocking an Everett shot during Dec. 28’s contest against the Silvertips.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 93mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Forsberg takes a knee in an effort to block a passing lane during Dec. 28’s matchup with Everett. Forsberg has tallied 20 points on the year so far, scoring four goals while assisting 16 others.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Theodore attempts to push Everett center Carson Stadnyk off the puck during the Dec. 28 game against Everett.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Glover makes a save during a game Jan. 5 against Spokane.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 93mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Right winger Branden Troock and Spokane left winger Carter Proft trade punches during a fight late in the game Jan. 5. Both earned five-minute fighting majors for their involvement in the fight.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
So now I’m caught up with the blog, thankfully! And I have even more exciting news: after every game, we’ll be posting a photo gallery on the Thunderbirds’ Facebook page! Now you won’t have to wait the days or—let’s face it, the months sometimes—to see photos from some games, it’ll just be an hour or so! What that means for this blog is as of now undetermined, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out for it.
That’s it for this edition of Bird Watching, fans. Thanks for reading and as always,
Til next time, go T-Birds!
T-Birds Open 2012-13 Home Slate
Greetings again, T-Birds fans! I’ve finally found a bit of time so why don’t I revisit the Thunderbirds’ home opener against Portland last Saturday? Does that sound like a good idea to you guys? Well I certainly hope so.
As with the two other home openers I’ve seen, the T-Birds hosted a Party on the Plaza before the game started. There was a bouncy castle for the younger fans, a beer garden for the older ones, and face painting for everyone, along with other booths. Since you can’t really go wrong with a photo of kids having fun on bouncy castles, I headed there first and waited for a photo opportunity to arise. It didn’t take long for me to get this gem…
A young fan gets assistance in departing a bouncy castle at the Party at the Plaza outside the ShoWacre Center.
Canon 7D, 800 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/5000
As mentioned before, there was a face painter outside available to paint the logo of a certain hockey team on the body of anyone who wished to employ her services.
Canon 7D, 400 ISO, 37mm, f/4.5, 1/250
I stuck around outside to finish up a couple of photos I had to take, and then headed inside to prepare for the player introductions before the game started. Here are a couple of photos from those…
Defenseman Jesse Forsberg rushes onto his new home ice while being introduced to the Seattle crowd. Forsberg came over from Prince George in August.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/400
Surprisingly and a bit to my dismay, I didn’t catch any laser or flare in my lens, which would have made those photos stand out from the other introductions. Nevertheless, I found a nice way to make a good, somewhat unique photo during introductions by shooting without the aid of the spotlight. Here’s what I’m talking about…
Left wing Alexander Delnov, from Moscow, Russia, is introduced for the first time to Thunderbirds fans.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/400
While the pregame festivities were great to watch and everything, the main draw of the night was (obviously) the game against the rival Portland Winterhawks, so let’s check out some action shots from the first period!
Defenseman Shea Theodore fights through a check by Portland center Nic Petan.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 110mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
As you would expect from a Seattle/Portland matchup, the game quickly turned chippy with physical play all around the rink and plenty of pushing and shoving after the whistle. Here T-Birds’ left wing Riley Sheen (left) and right wing Seth Swenson (right) are involved in a small dust-up with Portland’s Adam De Champlain.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 115mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Center Connor Sanvido controls the puck in front of the Portland bench during the first period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 165mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
About seven minutes into the game, the Thunderbird found themselves on their second powerplay of the night. Barely 10 seconds into the advantage, Seth Swenson powered a loose puck past Portland goalie Cam Lanigan to give the T-Birds a 1-0 advantage in the first. I didn’t get a good frame of the goal, unfortunately, but I did get a decent photo of the resulting celebration.
Sheen is all smiles after Swenson scores his first goal of the year on a power play in the first period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 120mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Delnov chases down a loose puck while in the neutral zone during the first period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 175mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
That’s it for photos from the first period. Let’s move onto the second!
As we’ve previously established, the game turned very physical quickly. It came as no surprise when, nary two minutes into the second period, left wing Mitch Elliot and Portland right wing Joe Mahon dropped gloves and earned themselves a five-minute fighting major, but not before Elliot forced Mahon down to the ice.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 170mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Center Tyler Alos slides a centering pass through the reach of Portland’s Kirill Vorobev and towards the Portland goal.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Theodore controls the puck in the Portland zone during the second period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
The Winterhawks scored two goals in the second period, taking a two score lead into the third period. For the third period, I moved to my typical spot between the benches to get photos unblocked by the glass, where it looks like my efforts paid off…
Defenseman Jared Hauf brings the puck up the ice early in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 110mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Theodore slides a pass up the ice and into the neutral zone.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 155mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Center Justin Hickman brings the puck past an offscreen Portland defender.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 80mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Right wing Branden Troock battles with Portland center Preston Kopec for a puck in the Portland zone.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Forsberg knocks away a puck heading for the Seattle goal in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 125mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Delnov attempts a back-door shot on the Portland goal, but Portland’s goalie Cam Lanigan makes the save.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 155mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
And, since it’s a Seattle/Portland game, why don’t we end the blog on a shot of another fight? Deal? Deal.
Defenseman Taylor Green and Portland right wing Joe Mahon prepare to land punches on each other late in the game.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
And that’s it for this edition of Bird Watching! The Thunderbirds return to the ShoWare Center Saturday night, October 6 for a game against those [sarcasm]beloved[ens] hated rivals directly to the north, the Everett Silvertips. I’ll be there, will you?
2011/2012 Season Opener: New Beginnings and Familiar Faces
Welcome back to Bird Watching, T-Birds fans! In case you’re new to Thunderbirds’ fandom, I’m team photographer Kyle Scholzen and I’ll be sharing some of my best and favorite shots from the season. If you’re returning, welcome back! I hope you enjoy this blog even more than you did last year. As always, if you’ve got a question, comment, or suggestion for me, feel free to leave it in the comments section below! I’d love to hear what I can do to make this blog better for you!
Last Saturday the 24th was the season opener for the Thunderbirds. Throughout the offseason, the team underwent numerous changes, including new head and assistant coaches, numerous new faces on defense, and familiar faces of youngsters with the team full-time. With all these changes, there was plenty of excitement around the ShoWare Center on Saturday, and that excitement was evident even before the game started. Like last year’s opener, there were numerous activities set up in front of the arena set up for fans of all ages. The older ones got to partake in a beer garden, while the younger ones enjoyed things like video games, free face painting…
Canon 7D, 640 ISO, 32mm, f/3.5, 1/250
and a couple of inflatable bouncy-toys.
Canon 7D, 640 ISO, 55mm, f/4.5, 1/50
After enjoying the festivities outside the ShoWare Center, it was time for everyone to head inside, warm up, and grab some concessions before the game started.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 32mm, f/5, 1/60
Even though fans knew most of the new things about this year—Steve Konowalchuck had been announced as head coach in June and the roster was released the week before—there was one surprise waiting to be revealed: new jerseys! On Saturday, the Thunderbirds debuted their new alternate jersey, a combination of darker blue trim and lighter blue base color, along with a secondary shield logo.
Defenseman Kyle Verdino styles the new jersey as he is introduced to the fans prior to the home opener.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/250
One of the players who got the loudest cheers was rightwinger Jacob Doty. Something tells me we’ll be hearing more about Doty a little later on in this blog, but for now let’s see as he’s introduced before the game.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 95mm, f/2.8, 1/500
After all the players were introduced came the inaugural puck drop. Dropping the first puck that night was Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry, a recent Medal of Honor recipient based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash.
SFC Petry (center) drops the puck for Seattle captain Luke Lockhart (right) and Portland captain Troy Rutkowski (left) to open the 2011-2012 season.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/250
To earn his Medal of Honor, SFC Petry attempted to throw a live grenade back at the enemy during a mission in Afghanistan in 2008 in order to save the lives of four of his squad-mates, some of them injured. The grenade exploded immediately after Petry let go of it, severing his right hand, yet saving the lives of at least two of his fellow soldiers.
After a recovery time of several weeks, SFC Petry was given a state-of-the-art prosthetic hand. Despite having a bionic hand, Petry did not leave service; he has since gone on tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan with his prosthetic. Everyone at the Seattle Thunderbirds was honored that SFC Petry agreed to drop the puck on opening night, and I’m jealous of Luke Lockhart for getting to shake the man’s hand.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 53mm, f/2.8, 1/250
Next up came the national anthem. Kent resident Stefano Langone was selected to sing it on opening night. You may remember Stefano from the recent season of American Idol where he made the top seven, and he proved his talents further with his wonderfully understated version of the national anthem…
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 60mm, f/2.8, 1/320
And while everyone in the arena was watching Stefano sing, I noticed that SFC Petry had snapped to attention, saluting the flag…
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 48mm, f/2.8, 1/320
After the opening ceremony, though, it was time to get the season underway. In this first action photo of the year, left winger Mitch Elliot brings the puck down the ice into the Thunderbirds’ attacking end.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Just over two and a half minutes in, Jacob Doty returned to his physical ways and found himself facing off with Portland’s Cody Castro after Doty had a particularly hard check on another Winterhawk. Doty fulfilled his enforcer duties well, taking Castro to the ice and firing up the Thunderbirds and the fans after the fight. ShoWare was rocking during Doty’s trip to the penalty box. Here’s him in action with Castro…
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 160mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And here’s Marcel Noebels skating up-ice with the puck…
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 110mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Portland took 14 shots on goalie Calvin Pickard in the first period, and Pickard stopped all of them. Luckily I was in a position to get some photos of him making those saves, like this one
Goalie Calvin Pickard stops a shot from Portland right winger Brad Ross.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 80mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And this one, which is my favorite shot from the game (I always like it when I get big ice sprays in my photos)…
Pickard pokes the puck away from Portland right wing Ty Rattie before Rattie can put it on goal.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
The first period ended 0-0. The second period brought even more action, although unfortunately I wasn’t shooting much of it as I had to find photos from the pregame ceremony to put up on facebook. That’s ok, though, as the third period had even more action than the three-goal period before it.
Marcel Noebels started his sophomore year in the WHL well Saturday, scoring once and getting named the game’s second star. Unfortunately my view of his goal was blocked by a couple of players, so here’s a photo of him clearing a puck out of the Seattle defensive end in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 110mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Left winger Chance Lund also scored in the third period, and fortunately I had a fairly unobstructed view of that play. Here he is slipping the puck past Portland goalie Mac Carruth.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Lund’s goal tied up the game two-all, and he seemed fairly excited for his first goal of the new season…
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 120mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
As said before, one of the new faces on the Thunderbirds wasn’t on the ice Saturday night, but behind the bench. Saturday was Steve Konowalchuck’s first game as head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds and first WHL game since his own playing days, coincidentally with the Portland Winterhawks. Here he is talking with assistant coach Jim McTaggart.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/800
Also back for one more season is right winger Burke Gallimore. Gallimore is one of three overagers (a team in the WHL may only have three 20 year olds; defensemen Kyle Verdino and Cason Machacek are the other two players) and also one of the crowd favorites. Here he is on the puck with Lockhart skating up in support.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And speaking of Lockhart, here he is tussling with a familiar face around these parts, former Thunderbird and current Portland center Charles Wells.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 150mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And to end today’s post, how about we use a staple here on Bird Watching, another Calvin Pickard save!
Pickard stops a shot from Portland center Chase De Leo in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 160mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The T-Birds hung tough with Portland for 50 minutes Saturday night before ultimately falling 6-3. This Saturday they hope to return the favor when they head down I-5 and take on the Winterhawks in Portland at 7 pm. Tune in to that, and also keep coming back here for more photos throughout the year.
It’s great to have hockey back, isn’t it? 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 28 (Part 2): T-Birds Whack Bruins in Shootout
When we last left off, 20 mascots were running around on the ice with brooms and attempting to play broomball. Eventually they were cleared off the ice and the main attraction of the night—a hockey game with players in skates instead of overly-large feet and heads—resumed. As always for the second period, I took up a position behind the opposing goal, hoping for another good offensive period…
…and didn’t find it in the first photo. But hey, it takes place in the T-Birds’ offensive third so that counts for something, right?
Left wing Chance Lund tries to pry the puck away from Chilliwack left wing Curt Gogol early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
But that first photo was just an aberration as in this next photo, left wing Mitch Elliot takes a shot on the Chilliwack goal.
Canon 7D, 40mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The T-Birds found themselves on a power play about four and a half minutes into the period. They successfully converted this time when center Travis Toomey fired a shot past Chilliwack goalie Lucas Gore. Unfortunately there was a Chilliwack defenseman blocking my shot of Toomey and the celebration traveled away from me, so I didn’t get anything good from the goal. The only thing I did get after the goal, however, is a photo of Cool Bird celebrating the now-level game.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/320th, Manual
Center Luke Lockhart positions himself to get the rebound from a Chance Lund slapshot. Lockhart caught up with the puck and fired on goal, but Gore blocked it from going between the pipes.
Canon 7D, 40mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here Lockhart goes behind the net in order to get a pass off to Lund, who’s positioned right in front of the Chilliwack goal.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman tries to knock Chilliwack center Steven Hodges away from the puck after the T-Birds’ defense cleared it from their own defensive zone.
Canon 7D, 44mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Late in the second period, a fight broke out between right wing Burke Gallimore and Chilliwack center Brandon Magee. I did not see what caused the tussle—I was watching the puck and at the time of the fight it was in front of the goal and to my right, not along the boards and to my left like the fight was—but both players quickly got support from their respective teammates in it. Pretty soon (I think it was) all five skaters from each team were involved in some way in the string of fights caused by Gallimore v. Magee. Here’s a photo showing each individual match-up.
Fans at ShoWare Center saw a multi-fight melee at the end of the second period were seemingly everyone but the goalies were trying to punch someone wearing a different-color jersey.
Canon 7D, 33mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In all, 72 minutes were dished out to seven players, four of them being T-Birds. The four Thunderbirds who received penalty minutes for their part in the altercation were sent to the locker room since less than two minutes remained in the second period, and I got a photo of them skating off the ice… From left to right its center Travis Toomey, Gallimore, defenseman Ryan Button (who’s furthest from me), and center Brendan Rouse.
Canon 7D, 42mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And with that little bit of excitement, the period ended. Chilliwack added two more goals in the period, bringing the score to 3-1 in favor of the Bruins. For the third period, I headed onto the ice and between the benches in order to get a clearer view of the third period action where hopefully the T-Birds could produce another comeback…
Center Colin Jacobs tries to poke the puck away from Chillwack right wing Blair Wentworth near center ice early on in the third period.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman (middle) is flanked by fellow center Tyler Alos (background. left) and Elliot (foreground, right) while skating down the ice with the puck.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Later in the possession Hickman found himself in position to take a shot on goal, but was denied by Gore.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
About halfway through the third period, Elliot found himself right in front of the net when Toomey knocked the puck towards Mitch. Elliot took a bit of a windup and then proceeded to bury the loose puck past Gore and into the back of the net to cut the Bruins’ lead to one. I managed to get the entire play, and I’ll give you the series of five photos now…
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And of course he had to celebrate his fifth goal of the season…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
In the third period, the T-Birds very much controlled the game, earning a whopping 25 shots on goal while limiting the Bruins to just 11. They were able to end Chilliwack possessions early and at times threw their weight around, including this photo where Alos shoves Chilliwack’s Hodges away from the puck.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Button is upended by Chilliwack left wing Jamie Crooks in the attacking third of the ice.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Jacobs brings the puck past a Chilliwack defender during a Seattle power play.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Late in the power play, Brendan Dillon fired a shot towards the Chilliwack goal. After Toomey redirected it, Colin Jacobs finished the play by powering it into the back of the net. My view of Jacobs during his shot was blocked, but I did have a nice view of Dillon’s pass that earned him an assist.
Canon 7D, 85mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And of course Jacobs had to celebrate the game-tying goal…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s goalie Calvin Pickard celebrating Jacobs’ goal.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And with the game tied, the T-Birds had to stop the Bruins from scoring for two more minutes in order to get into overtime. That effort was helped by this interception of a Chilliwack pass by defenseman Travis Bobbee.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And in the closing moments of the game, Button had a decent opportunity to put the T-Birds up and prevent the Bruins for earning a point. He didn’t convert, however, and lamented his chance when regulation ended.
Canon 7D, 95mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In the overtime period, the Bruins actually outshot the T-Birds six to four. None of those attempts were successful however, as Pickard made six of his 37 saves in the overtime period. Here’s one of them…
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
For the shootout, the T-Birds bench got their rally helmets on (flipped their helmets around) in an attempt to will the team to victory. Here’s right wing Jacob Doty sporting the backwards helmet. I think they may be onto something here… it was obviously successful.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
After the first shooters for both teams both converted their chances. Second up for Chilliwack was center Kevin Sundher. Before Sundher could take a shot, however, Pickard poke-checked the puck away, ending the attempt.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Second up for the T-Birds was Jacobs, who didn’t allow the puck to be poke-checked away and instead converted his attempt.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
The third shooter for Chilliwack, left wing Roman Horak hit the post during his attempt, sealing the win for the T-Birds. The team rushed onto the ice to celebrate the two points, many still wearing their rally helmets.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
There was a lot of celebration and numerous hugs on the ice after game, including this exchange between Pickard and Toomey.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
With those two points over the Bruins, the team directly above them in the standings, the T-Birds’ playoff chances grew a bit stronger that night. It will surely take more than this single win to propel the T-Birds into the playoffs, but the way the team came back from a two-goal deficit suggests that the last few weeks of the season will have plenty of intrigue…
And that’s it for this time! I appreciate any and all comments you have on this post or any other one; just leave one in the comments section below!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 27: T-Birds, Sutter Give Chiefs a Fight—and Win
First off, what a game last Sunday! The T-Birds broke their eight game home losing streak in exciting fashion, coming back from a goal deficit to nab a win against Spokane, the number two team in the conference. Throw in an amazing last-second save and Dave Sutter’s first fight of the year and that resulted in one loud and excited ShoWare Center. (You may be wondering, “what happened to games 25 and 26?” Well I wasn’t at game 25, so there will be no post about Feb. 5th’s game against Spokane. As for game 26, I ended up going through photos from this game first, so that post will come later in the week. Sorry for being out of order)
Anyways, back to Sunday’s game against Spokane. We’ll start with photos from the first period, naturally… The first period was a very back-and-forth affair. Both teams had scoring chances, both teams controlled the puck well, the only difference was Spokane got one past the red line in front of the net, and the T-Birds didn’t. Onto the photos…
Right wing Burke Gallimore is held back from reaching the puck by Spokane left wing Levko Koper.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Marcel Noebels takes a shot on goal but Spokane goalie Mac Engel is there to block it from the net.
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Gallimore has the pick knocked away by Spokane defender Tanner Mort.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Travis Toomey can’t get a stick on the puck, so he attempts to direct it into the goal with his foot. The attempt was wide, however.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Connor Sanvido takes a shot on Engels from the face-off circle. Engles blocked the shot.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Goalie Calvin Pickard deflects a Spokane shot on goal.
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard tries to stay with Spokane center Anthony Bardaro as Bardaro crosses in front of the net with the puck. Pickard couldn’t and Bardaro buried a shot past him for a goal.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Ryan Button hits the ice in an attempt to block a shot by Spokane’s Koper.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Gallimore takes a knee in order block a centering attempt late in the first period.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
With the period ending, the score was still 1-0 Spokane. For the second period, I moved down to the area behind the Spokane goal. During the period, the T-Birds had a bit more shots on goal—16 as to 11 in the first—and they converted one of those shots as well. I had a nice view of one of those attempts, this one by center Tyler Alos early on into the period, and got a good string of photos from it…
Center Tyler Alos gains possession and takes a shot on goal early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 40mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Tyler Alos gains possession and takes a shot on goal early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 40mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Tyler Alos gains possession and takes a shot on goal early in the second period. The shot was blocked by Engel.
Canon 7D, 40mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That wasn’t the only attempt, however, as other T-Birds got into the action in front of the Spokane net…
Center Luke Lockhart takes a shot on Engles.
Canon 7D, 30mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Mitch Elliot (left) centers the puck by passing the puck to Alos, positioned in front of the Spokane net.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Despite my good location, I missed the photo of Toomey’s goal as my view of him was blocked by a Spokane defender during his wind-up (as usual). So take my word for it when I say the T-Birds went into the third period in a one-all deadlock. I took my usual third-period spot between the benches. This would have given me a good view of Colin Jacobs’ goal early on to give the T-Birds a 2-1 lead, but wouldn’t you know it I was blocked from that photo as well, this time by Ryan Button. Instead of the goal, I got a decent photo of him leaping in excitement originally (not posted), then he jumped onto the other players celebrating the goal, giving me a nice frame…
Button leaps onto the other T-Birds in celebration of Colin Jacobs’ goal early in the first period.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
His excitement stayed with him while returning to the bench…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard got into the celebration and broke out a new one, apparently based on the movie Rocky.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Being down a goal, Spokane started pressing the attack, leaving the T-Birds to defend and hold onto their lead. Center Brendan Rouse did his part, checking defenseman Tanner Mort and separating him from the puck.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And now for what I think is the pivotal moment of Sunday’s game: Dave Sutter’s fight. He’s really not much of a fighter—this was his first one all year—but he engaged in fisticuffs with Spokane left wing Colin Valcourt and came out victorious. He got Valcourt’s helmet off first and landed a few punches…
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
…then took him to the ice. A great victory for the Swiss defenseman!
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That fight energized the fans—for the rest of the game ShoWare was rocking—and it really energized the T-Birds players. They used the excitement generated from the fight as motivation to keep playing strong.
Left wing Chance Lund (left) and right wing Jacob Doty (right) encourage the rest of the team after Dave Sutter’s fight with Colin Valcourt.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Once play resumed again, the T-Birds were still under siege from the Spokane attack. The Chiefs got 28 shots on goal, but Pickard didn’t let one through.
Pickard gets his leg pads in front of a Spokane shot during the third period. He made 28 saves in the third alone, and 57 overall on the night.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Rouse clears the puck out from the defensive zone late in the game.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
After withstanding a ten minute long offensive onslaught, during which the T-Birds killed off nearly two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play and added an empty-net goal by Burke Gallimore, the clock hit triple-zeroes and the game was final. With their 3-1 win, the T-Birds snapped their eight game home losing streak and gained two points, which may turn out to be an important two points in the playoff race. Indeed, there was a lot to celebrate Sunday night, so the T-Birds met on the ice to enjoy their win.
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s it for this blog post! Tune in later this week for more photos and as always, let me know what you think about my photos in the comment section below.
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 2: T-Birds Weather the Storm
For the second (home) game of the season, the Thunderbirds played host to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. It was the only time this year that the ‘Birds and the ‘Canes would face off, and the players seemed intent on being as hitting each other as much as possible because of it. It was easily the most physical hockey game I’ve seen (although that number is quite low). Because of that, I’ve decided to focus on the hits for the first half of this post.
The hits started early as shortly into the first period, Lethbridge defenseman Brennan Yadlowski (left, 9) tried to start a shoving match with T-Birds center Travis Toomey (middle, 37). Despite having his helmet knocked off, Toomey couldn’t retaliate as he was quickly wrapped up by an official.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
There were, though, a couple fights during the first period. The first one was between Thunderbirds rightwinger Jacob Doty and Hurricanes center Neil Tarnasky. Unfortunately the referee was in between me and the two fighters throughout the whole thing and ruined every shot taken during it, but I did manage to get a frame when they were finally separated.
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The second one, between T-Birds leftwinger Chance Lund and Hurricanes defenseman Derek Ryckman, came after T Lund put a hard check on ‘Canes right winger Alex Kuvaev. Ryckman hit Lund in response, and the fight was on. Thankfully the referees were off to the side throughout the fight so I got plenty of good shots during it. Here’s my favorite one, where Lund seems to land a good shot on Ryckman’s chin. Maybe I should start taking boxing photos to improve my fight shots…
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Hits didn’t come merely in fights, though. The whole game featured a lot of hard checks by both sides. Here, Seattle defenseman Dave Sutter forces a Lethbridge player into the glass while pursuing the puck…
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here Seattle defenseman Dustin Baecker forces Yadlowski into the glass, preventing him from racing after the puck.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
It wasn’t just Seattle players throwing their weight around, Lethbridge got a few good checks in as well. Here Hurricanes defenseman Cason Machacek throws Thunderbird center Brendan Rouse to the ice.
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Despite all the hits, the two teams still managed to threaten the goal a few times. In the first period the Thunderbirds managed to earn 13 shots on goal while Lethbridge had 9. Here, Seattle rightwinger Burke Gallimore tries to sneak the puck past Lethbridge defenseman Daniel Johnston and goalie Brandon Anderson.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here Thunderbird center Connor Sanvido takes a shot on Anderson.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Late in the first period, Lethbridge leftwinger Jacob worked his was in front of the net and tried to sneak the puck past Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard. Pickard, though, was ready for it and blocked the shot.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
All of these photos are from the first period, where I was standing along the top row of suites for 10 minutes and inside a suite for the other 10. Overall, 9 photos I’ll use in this post are from the first period when I was along the top, 10 or so are from the third are from the third period when I was between the benches, and just one from the second period when I was shooting through the glass behind the Lethbridge goal. This points to two things: 1) not much happened in the second period—which is true—and how hard it can be to shoot through the glass since there’s a not-quite clear barrier between the lens and the action. Mainly, though, it just goes to show me where I have room for improvement. Once I learn to select positions along the glass at either end of the rink, I’ll get better photos from those positions. Until then, I hope you enjoy this photo of T-Bird center Luke Lockhart passing to a teammate…
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Onto the third period! It seems like just a second ago we were just on period 2, doesn’t it? Anyways, just over a minute into the period, Toomey found himself on a breakaway with no one between him and the goalie. He calmly aimed and fired 15 feet or so away from the goal and scored! Being between the two benches, I had a great view on the play and expected to have a pretty decent shot of it. I’ll share it with you now…
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Amazing! Spectacular! What a photo!
Yeah, this is a typical occurrence in photography: a random object that has no place being in the frame but is and ruins the photo. I guess I can take comfort in the fact it wouldn’t have been a great photo anyway: the goalie’s leg is cut off, only Toomey’s back is visible, and the puck is hidden behind the stick. But still, it’s pretty annoying to have to have a random stick block your shot… (What’s that? I shouldn’t complain because I get to sit between the benches? You’ve got me there, I’ll stop now.)
I did get something good from that goal, though. In his celebration Toomey rolled out to the right, giving me a clear line of sight to shoot the reaction. Here’s one of them…
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
After Toomey’s goal came a series of pretty good defensive plays (or at least a series of good shots of defensive plays). Since I can’t think of a better way of introducing them to you, I’ll just post them and you can decide for yourself if they’re good or not.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Being right beside the team bench, I can hear some of what’s said in the bench (a lot of which I can’t repeat on this blog) and have a good view of coach Rob Sumner. Here’s a photo of Coach Sumner instructing a player during a break in the action.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Up just 1-0, The Thunderbirds really could have used another score or two to really put the game away. Apparently rightwinger Marcel Noebels thought that as well, seeing as he buried a shot from distance past the goalie Anderson and into the net. My photo of the goal isn’t good—you can’t tell what’s going on and it’s very cluttered with players—so instead I’ll show you Noebel’s high-kicking celebration.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Now that the Thunderbirds were up 2-0 with six minutes to go, things were looking pretty good. The Hurricanes, however, didn’t give up and kept pressing the attack, hoping to shoot themselves back into the game. Finally, they pulled Anderson in favor of having a sixth attacker and the move seemed to pay off as they snuck two past Pickard in the last two and a half minutes. Here’s a photo of the first goal from Lethbridge by leftwinger Jacob Berglund.
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
With the score tied 2-2, we were now heading into overtime. It was a defensive extra period, as there were only three shots on goal in extra time, all three by the Thunderbirds. None went into the net, however, and a shootout would decide who would escape with two points.
In the shootout, Gallimore shot first for the T-Birds…
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
I’m not exactly sure what happened with the shot. From my picture, it looks like it may have deflected off Anderson’s glove and into the goal, but I’m not confident in that guess. What I do now is that it eventually crossed the blue line between the pipes and gave the T-Birds an early lead in the shootout.
First up for Lethbridge was leftwinger Max Ross. He did not convert his shot, though, as Pickard followed the puck all the way to his left leg pad and blocked it.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Up next for the Thunderbirds was Marcel Noebels. He also converted his shootout goal, and then Calvin Pickard blocked the attempt from Lethbridge leftwinger Mitch Maxwell. The T-Birds won the shootout 2-0!
Of course, everyone rushed out to Pickard to celebrate the win with him.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Blog note: The T-Birds are now on a two-week road trip and I won’t be following the team much—if at all—on the road this season. My question is, what do you want to see on the photoblog for the next two weeks? Give me any suggestions in the comment section. Of course, if you want to critique my work, that’s fine too!
Till next time, Go T-Birds!
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