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!
Thunderbirds Pink the Rink, Earn a Point against Kamloops
Hello again Thunderbirds fans! And welcome back to Bird Watching! If you came to the most recent home game, a Sunday, October 18th tilt against the Kamloops Blazers, then you probably noticed something different about the ShoWare Center ice….
There’s something different about this photo, but I can’t quite put my finger on it…
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Maybe if we move down to ice level, we can spot what’s going on here…
Defenseman Taylor Green blocks Kamloops rightwinger Jordan DePape in front of the Seattle goal in the first period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Ok, I’ve got a suspicion, but I think I need one more photo just to be sure…
Multiple Thunderbirds players participated in the team’s Pink the Rink night by taping their sticks with pink tape, lacing up with pink skate laces, and spray painting sticks pinks.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 170mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Ahh! That’s it! The face-off spots are now purple!
Well, they looked purpleish, I guess, but it’s only because the ice was colored pink. Yes, the wonderful ice technicians at the ShoWare Center figured out how to mix pink dye in with the zamboni’s water to create a few layers of pink ice over the typical white ice. This was done as part of team’s Pink the Rink Night to help Valley Medical and GLOW to bring awareness and funds to provide mammograms and breast health education for uninsured women at high risk of developing breast cancer. In fact, there was pink all over the ShoWare Center Sunday, from in the stands, in the players’ bench, and in the ice itself. There was even a pink car on the ice (not during game action though. That just wouldn’t be safe, for the players or for the car). Don’t believe me? Just look…
A car, all decked out in pink highlights, drives on the ice during the first intermission.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The pink car was actually a prize for three lucky contestants to potentially win. All they had to do was make 15 goals in one minute from the center line. Piece of cake, right? Unfortunately no one won a car, but all three participants certainly made more goals than I would have…
A lucky Thunderbirds fan attempts to make 15 goals in one minute from the center line during the first intermission.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Everyone in attendance at the ShoWare Center Sunday received large pink glow sticks to light the rink even when the lights were off. They certainly lit the rink, which I’ll show you a bit later, and they seemed to be a hit with many in the stands…
Fans hold up their pink glowsticks during the first intermission in support of breast cancer awareness Sunday night.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/50
Some players used the pink tape sparingly on their sticks. Others, such as left winger Roberts Lipsbergs here? Not so much…
Left winger Roberts Lipsbergs sports an entirely-pink stick in the second period against Kamloops.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 185mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The Thunderbirds opened the game’s scoring early in the second period when right winger Connor Honey fired the puck past Kamloops goalie Taran Kozun. Did I get a photo of the goal? No, but here’s a photo of the post-goal celebration…
Left winger Riley Sheen, center, celebrates with the Thunderbirds players on the ice after the first goal of the game. Sheen, who assisted the goal, ended the game with one assist and a +/- ranking of +1.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 150mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center Brendan Rouse fights through the Kamloops defense for a puck in front of the Blazers’ net. Although the puck was frozen on the play, Rouse scored his third goal of the season later on in the second period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Defenseman Shea Theodore fires a puck towards the Kamloops goal in the second period. Theodore scored his fourth goal of the year and also assisted Rouse’s goal for a rating of +1 on the night.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The second period was full of action, with all six goals of regulation scored during the period. With the end of the period, the two teams retreated back to their locker rooms and the lights dimmed in the arena, emphasizing the pink glow sticks and other pink lights around the arena.
Pink light from fans’ pink glow sticks and some of the suites lights up the rink shortly before the start of the third period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/125
Center Justin Hickman skates up the ice with the puck early in the third period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 115mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Defenseman Jesse Forsberg hits the ice to block a shooting lane while trying to kill off a Kamloops power play in the third.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 108mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And, to end this Pink the Rink photoblog, let’s end with another shot of Lipsbergs and his entirely-pink stick again, shall we?
Lipsbergs fights to stay on the puck despite the best efforts of Kamloops defenseman Sam Grist in the third period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 98mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The T-Birds and Blazers played the third period to a scoreless draw, forcing the Thunderbirds into their second overtime game of the season. 25 seconds into the extra period, however, Kamloops snuck one past T-Birds goalie Brandon Glover and won the game, their 15th of the season. The Thunderbirds, however, received a point in the standings for their effort and moved two points above Everett in the standings.
That’s it for this edition of Bird Watching, Thunderbirds fans. Thanks for reading and, as always, 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?
T-Birds Fall to Portland in Teddy Bear Toss Game
Well now, isn’t this a pleasant surprise? Another edition of Bird Watching! I do have to apologize for the long breaks in between this post and my last one; my quarter is very busy with three classes and a lot of work at Seattle University. But I have the time now, and I’ve got the photos from an always-special game: the annual Teddy Bear Toss game!
Every year, many (if not all) WHL teams hold a Teddy Bear Toss game where fans bring teddy bears to donate to charity—the Thunderbirds give the bears to the WARM 106.9 Teddy Bear Patrol which gives them to local firefighters and other emergency responders to give to children in times of crisis. The best part about the Teddy Bear Toss, though, is seeing all the bears thrown onto the ice after the first T-Birds goal. But before we see the bears thrown to the ice, the players must be introduced…
The Thunderbirds’ starting lineup is introduced to a capacity crowd at the ShoWare Center Jan. 28.
Canon 7D, 2500 ISO, 40mm, f/2.8, 1/640
A couple of stuffed animals have great seats for the beginning of the game. They didn’t even get to watch a full period, however, as Connor Honey opened the scoring for the Thunderbirds with seven minutes left in the period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 80mm, f/2.8, 1/800
Before that, though, the Thunderbirds had a couple of other decent shots on goal…
Defenseman Dave Sutter takes a shot on the Portland goal early in the first period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 73mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center Connor Sanvido watches as Portland goalie Mac Carruth saves his shot in the first period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
As said before, Connor Honey put the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard with his first goal as a Thunderbird. Just as the celebration started on the ice, the teddy bears went flying…
Fans toss their stuffed animals onto the ice after Connor Honey’s first
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 53mm, f/2.8, 1/800
Here’s a cool shot I got while the stuffed animals were being thrown on the ice. I like this photo a lot because while you can still see the fans, including a couple bears that hadn’t been thrown over the boards yet, you can also see the ice starting to get littered with animals in the reflection off the glass. It all made for a nice shot.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 30mm, f/2.8, 1/800
Being a Seattle/Portland rivalry game, the match was littered with hard hits and checks into the board. Here are a couple photos of those hits including part of a Luke Lockhart string…
Center Justin Hickman is about to slam Portland defenseman William Wrenn into the boards in the Portland zone during the second half.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center Luke Lockhart jostles for position with Portland defenseman Troy Rutkowski.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The jostling turned into a good ole-fashioned check later on…
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Unfortunately I wasn’t in position to get Honey’s first WHL goal, but I did have a nice viewpoint on what could have been his second…
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 40mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 32mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Portland’s William Wrenn blocks a shot late in the second, resulting in a loose puck in front of the Portland net.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 35mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And we’ll move to the third period, where I took my normal spot of between the benches. Although I missed left winger Chance Lund’s goal, I did get a good shot of him celebrating with Hickman…
Chance Lund and Justin Hickman celebrate Lund’s goal in the third period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 155mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
For that weekend of games, center Justin Hickman wore a wireless microphone for Q13 Sports. I wanted a photo that showed the mic and ended up with this beauty. Unfortunately, I cannot tell where it is on him. Can you spot the microphone?
Justin Hickman returns to the bench after a shift during the third period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 135mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Here’s newly-acquired right winger Dillon Wagner escaping from being pinned into the boards by Portland defenseman Derrick Pouliot. Wagner, a former Winterhawk, was claimed off waivers back in early January.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 195mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
During warm-ups before the game, I noticed something different about the Thunderbirds players: they weren’t wearing the typical dark blue helmet, they were sporting white lids for this game. I’m not sure when exactly the white helmet entered the Thunderbirds’ unifomr options, but it certainly does look pretty slick. Here’s a shot of the helmet on the bench, as modeled by right wing Seth Swenson.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Right winger Branden Troock tries to get at a rebound in front of Portland’s Marruth in the third period.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 170mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And for our last photo, let’s check out one final hit by Justin Hickman…
Hickman stands up Portland defenseman Joseph Morrow late in the game.
Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 135mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Unfortunately that’s it for photos for this post. Hopefully it won’t take me so long to post again, and I hope to see you all down at the ShoWare Center real soon!
‘Til next time, Go T-Birds!
T-Birds fall to Giants
They lose 4-2 on November 1st to the Vancouver Giants.
Hello, T-Bird’s fans, welcome back. It’s me. Not Kyle me, but Brian me. The OTHER me, or “The Other Guy” as I’m known in the press box at ShoWare. Great, now the blog is bi-polar. Anyway, school got in Kyle’s way again and I’m going to be showing off some photos this time.
Now before I start, I want to say thank you to the three people who stopped me and said hi at the last game. It’s great to get to know the fans and get some feedback on the photos. Hopefully I’ll be saying hi to more of you in the future.
Okay, so I’m going to put as many good photos up as I can, but I doubt I’m going to hit Kyle’s usual 20. To begin…
Nikon D5000 50mm 1/800th of a sec @ f/2 500 ISO
To start off, Dave Sutter runs one of the Giant’s into the boards. I’m sure most of you have seen how the ice can sometimes “puff” up off the ice when the players come to a skidding stop. This is what it looks like frozen in a photo. I always like that effect.
Nikon D5000 50mm 1/800th of a sec @ f/2 500 ISO
This is funny face photo #1 of this game. There is more mist on the ground, but I love the expression on Verdino’s face.
Nikon D5000 50mm 1/800th of a sec @ f/2 500 ISO
This was just after Justin Hickman’s goal in the 1st period. They all lined up quite neatly in my camera frame. There is Hickman on the left leading the charge.
Canon 7D 105mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5 1600 ISO
Here is Verdino being mixed up while going after the puck near the goal.
Canon 7D 135mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
Brad Deagle and Vancouver’s Brendan Gallagher go for a spill while trying to catch up with the puck. Yes, they both ended up on their stomachs, but that Popcorn on the railing didn’t fall off so that’s good. You need to prioritize these things you know.
Canon 7D 18mm 1/500th of a sec @ f/3.5 1600 ISO
Ever wonder what it is like to sit right next to the glass and have someone be smashed right in front of you? Well, aside from the noise, surprise, and sudden jerking motion of the glass, thanks to Tyler Alos, now you can! This is right in front of the camera. I was able to zoom out in time to get this in focus. In the reflections, you might be able to see me holding my camera on the left. On the right is the photographer from the Kent Reporter. He is a fun guy who takes some great shots.
Canon 7D 135mm 1400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
Luke Lockhart is someone else who I rarely get any actions shots of. Fortunatly though, I managed to get one this game. Here he is guarding his goal in a tight spot.
Canon 7D 105mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
Lots of Verdino in this post. Funny how that happens sometimes. Anyway, here he is after getting the puck away and coming up the ice.
Canon 7D 70mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/4.5 1600 ISO
Here is Sutter again, coming straight for me! I DIDN’T DO IT, I DIDN’T DO IT… oh wait, you’re going for the puck.
Canon 7D 50mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/4 1600 ISO
Funny Face Photo #2. It’s not usually a ref, but it is and I can’t help but think that he is horrified that the puck is coming for him. Trust me Mr. Ref, it is.
Canon 7D 135mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
This is a smashing good shot if I do say so myself. Well it is a smash anyway. Tyler Alos gives a little nudge to one of the Giants.
Canon 7D 135mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
A Nobels shot! Yay. That’s two posts in a row for me. This blog must be my good luck charm. He always looks like he is on the prowl for another goal.
Canon 7D 135mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
I would call this shot “Alone in Enemy Territory”. Sutter flies by in the 3rd period to try and get the T-Birds back in the game.
Canon 7D 135mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
Here is a shot right after the second goal by the T-Birds. I love the expressions in the faces of the fans, but I love the attitudes of the players too. Every goal deserves a celebration.
Canon 7D 135mm 1/400th of a sec @ f/5.6 1600 ISO
To wrap up the post, Brendan Rouse flies down the ice for another attempt on goal.
You can see the rest of my photos at http://blphoto.smugmug.com/Sports/Hockey/WHL-Hockey-Vancouver-4-Seattle/19866179_qNNJgT#1562781200_gpFPqxG .
I’m sure Kyle will be back for the next home game which will be a lot closer to Thanksgiving. Nothing like some holiday hockey at ShoWare for a good time.
Until next time T-Birds’ fans, and with respect to Red Green, keep your stick on the ice.
Mid-week T-Birds Photo Break
T-Birds fans, it’s Kyle back with you now. I’d like to thank Brian for taking over for the Brandon game and sharing his wonderful photos with us. It’s always nice to get a different perspective on the games every once in a while, and that’s what he’ll be providing this blog.
As for tonight, I wish I had a full 20+ image post in store, but alas grad school rears its’ ugly head and I’m afraid I’ll I have time for tonight is 12. Hopefully that will be enough to whet your guys’ appetites, but I also do have to save some photos for the upcoming Eastern road swing. Let’s check some shots out from last Sunday’s home game against Everett (I promise I’ll have a more-extensive post or series of posts on the Everett home-and-home weekend later)…
Center Luke Lockhart fires the puck past Everett left winger Jordan Boyd.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 120mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center Tyler Alos takes a shot, but it is turned away by Everett goalie Kent Simpson.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 155mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Goalie Calvin Pickard (middle) deflects an Everett shot on goal wide for defenseman Braedon Laroque (right) to collect.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 165mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Right winger Branden Troock tries to steal a puck back from Everett defenseman Austin Adam.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/1600
Center Connor Sanvido can only watch as his shot on goal gets blocked by Everett’s Simpson.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 37mm, f/2.8, 1/1600
Alos and center Justin Hickman (left) are involved in a scrum for the puck along the boards.Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 175mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Troock (center) and left winger Burke Gallimore (left) skate up the ice to threaten the Everett goal in the third period.Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 125mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Right winger Marcel Noebels fires a shot onto the Everett goal late in the third period.Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center Brendan Rouse (center) and Everett right winger Cody Fowlie (left) jostle for possession of the puck.Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 140mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And, for the last photo in this quick post, I’ll show you a shot I’ve been wanting to get for over a year now. It’s about time I actually get a photo of someone catching the puck…
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 175mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Alright, unfortunately that’s it for this blog post. I promise I’ll go more in depth in my next one. Also, I have photos from last Friday’s victory at Everett (I made the short jaunt up I-5 for that one) up in the next few weeks as well.
Til next time, go T-Birds!
T-Birds Dice Up Saskatoon
It has taken me entirely too long to get this post up, and for that I apologize. Just a warning, you can probably expect just one post a week from me going onward, and not until the middle of the week either. I’ve got class Monday and Tuesday nights, and they take up a lot of my energy (then again, grad schools are like that…). But luckily tonight’s Wednesday so let’s photoblog! These are photos from Saturday night’s game against Saskatoon. Although I was not at the Brandon game last night, Brian Liesse was and he’ll be writing about that a bit later on this week. We’re tag-teaming photos and the photoblog this year, FYI, so don’t be surprised if you read a post with a different flow.
Anyway, back to the Birds/Blades game. What a fun game, right? The first period was entertaining as possession was fairly even—the Blades, who probably held the puck a little bit longer than the T-Birds did—managed 14 shots, but the T-Birds were right behind them with 10; Calvin made some great saves (and I actually got a photo of him for the first time this year); and there was a bunch of jostling and hitting going on for those of you who love that brand of hockey. On with the pictures…
Here’s that Pickard photo. Hard to believe I went three games without getting a good one of him, but this one’s well worth the wait.
Goalie Calvin Pickard collects the puck before Saskatoon center Brent Benson can threaten the net.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Center Tyler Alos blocks the goal-mouth with his body during a pileup in front of the Seattle net (note: the puck is right under Alos’ leg in the photo).
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Defenseman Shea Theodore jockeys for position with Saskatoon defenseman Darren Dietz during the first period.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 85mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Defenseman Kyle Verdino shoves Saskatoon right wing Michael Burns backwards during the first period.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 98mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Right winger Burke Gallimore put a lovely sniper shot into the net for the T-Birds’ first goal of the night and his first goal in 2011-2012. Now onto the second period with the score tied one-all…
Left winger Chance Lund fires a shot onto the Saskatoon goal despite Saskatoon’s Dietz’s attempt to prevent the shot.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The tie was broken with three minutes left in the second period when center Marcel Noebels got the puck at center ice and beat Saskatoon goalie Andrey Makarov one-on-one for his third goal of the year. That, of course, prompted the T-Birds on the ice to gather around Noebels in celebration…
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 42mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
That wasn’t the only scoring chance the T-Birds had in the second period, however…
Center Luke Lockhart attempts to slide the puck past Saskatoon goalie Andrey Makarov late in the second period.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Defenseman Dave Sutter tries to take a shot through Saskatoon’s Dietz’s attempt at stopping him.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1600
The second period ended with the T-Birds up 2-1 on the Blades. Onto the third!
I finally got a good picture of new Thunderbirds defenseman Cason Machacek in the early stages of the third…
Defenseman Cason Machecek brings the puck up-ice in the opening part of the third period.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Just two and a half minutes into the third, left winger Mitch Elliot and Saskatoon defenseman Duncan Seimens threw down their gloves and started circling each other, preparing for fisticuffs. That’s when I got this beauty of a photograph of Elliot and Seimens staring each other down…
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The fight started, and Mitch Elliot came out on top, pulling Seimens’ jersey over his head…
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 120mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
They both took five minutes in the penalty box and the game continued on…
Center Jusin Hickman (right) tries to bat the puck out of the air before Saksatoon defenseman Zach Hodder can.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 175mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Hickman brings the puck up the ice in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 170mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
With the T-Birds up one in the closing stages of the game, Saskatoon started pressing more, even pulling their goalie with roughly two and a half minutes left. This forced the T-Birds to fall back on defense, with which everyone helped out.
Alos tries to block a centering pass from Saskatoon right winger Josh Nicholls.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 175mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Lund sacrifices his body to try and deflect the puck away from the Seattle net.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Defenseman Brad Deagle prepares to upend Saskatoon right wing Matej Stransky in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Alos hits the ice to take away a passing lane from Saskatoon’s Dietz.
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
With Saskatoon pulling their goalie, their net was wide open and a delicious target for Marcel Noebels. He found himself with the puck in space, fired, and…
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
put the final nail in Saskatoon’s coffin. That deserves another celebration, right?
Canon 7D, 1600 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
And with that win, the Thunderbirds pulled back to .500 on the season at 3-3.
As I said earlier, we’ll be getting a new contributor to the blog later this week. Brian Liesse of Washington Prep Sports will be by to post photos of Daniel Cotton’s first start in the WHL.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or ask me something in the comments section below. I’d be happy to answer anything you’ve got.
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
T-Birds Give Grand Performance on Pink the Rink Night
The third weekend of the 2011-2012 season brought about two home games for the Thunderbirds, against the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday, Oct. 7, and the newest WHL team, the Victoria Royals (formerly of Chilliwack) the next day. Since it’s freshest in my memory, why don’t we examine the game against Victoria first?
The game started off quickly, with the T-Birds scoring just one minute into the opening period. I had just enough time to get situated and my camera settings set up before center Tyler Alos sent a centering pass into Justin Hickman, who calmly finished the scoring play.
Center Tyler Alos (right) centers the puck towards Justin Hickman (left), who sent it past Victoria goalie Braden Gamble for the first T-Birds goal of the night.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
In case you didn’t notice in that last picture, yes, the ice was pink on Saturday. It was “Pink the Rink Night” at the ShoWare Center to raise awareness of breast cancer and the ShoWare Center’s maintenance staff took that literally, putting chemicals in the ice to turn it pink. I knew it would be a rare event and make for an interesting photo from above, so I focused on getting an action shot with an entirely pink background. Just a few minutes into the game, I succeded…
Alos blocks the passing lane in front of Victoria defenseman Hayden Rintoul, forcing Rintoul into a back-pass.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 115mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Six minutes into the game, the Thunderbirds found themselves on a power play after Victoria’s Kade Pilton got called for roughing. Just five seconds into the power play, Dave Sutter found himself in a great shooting position, and he promptly took advantage of it, scoring his first goal of the season…
Defenseman Dave Sutter fires the puck past the Victoria goalie during a power play in the first period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 165mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
40 seconds later, the T-Birds added to their 2-1 lead with a goal by Mitch Elliot. That goal was the T-Birds’ third of the game, which led to this interesting photo…
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
That’s right; the first three T-Birds goals came on three shots on goal, giving them a shooting percentage of 100% for over seven minutes of action. I certainly haven’t seen that before in my hockey-watching days.
One of the (relatively) new players on defense is youngster Jared Hauf. He played three games as an under-ager for the T-Birds last year, but I didn’t get any good photos of him. My goal in the first five or so games of this new season was to get a couple decent photos all the new people to have some in case we need a photo of one of them. Luckily, I got a nice photo of Hauf going down to the ice in order to keep Victoria center Kevin Sundher from shooting the puck into the Seattle goal.
Defenseman Jared Hauf blocks Victoria center Kevin Sundher from the puck directly in front of the Seattle net.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 135mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Also playing a lot more is Connor Sanvido. He got the start at left wing against Victoria, and worked his way into this blog post with this beauty of a photo…
Left wing Connor Sanvido stretches to reach a loose puck in front of Victoria right wing Austin Carrol.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 150mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Alos is upended before he can take a shot on Victoria goalie Keith Hamilton in the first period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 100mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
That’s it for first period photos, and the score was still set at 3-1 in favor of the Thunderbirds. Onto the second period!
Left winger Mitch Elliot fires a shot towards the Victoria goal early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 62mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
Early in the second period, the T-Birds found themselves on the offensive, and Burke Gallimore had a great shot on goal. It was knocked down by Hamilton, but it was awfully close to crossing the blue line for a score. Burke thought it was in, and raised his stick in triumph…
Right winger Burke Gallimore raises his stick in triumph after a shot on goal. The puck nearly crossed the line, but was saved just before counting as a score.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 30mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
I thought center Luke Lockhart had a decent game on Saturday. He assisted Sutter’s goal and he was constantly in the action all throughout the night. He was also in front of my camera a lot, like he was for this shot on frame in the second period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 59mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
For his efforts in the game, Dave Sutter was named the second start of the game. We already saw how he contributed on offense, now check out his defense as he fights to take the puck away from Victoria’s Rintoul.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000
In the second period, the Royals got one back, cutting the T-Birds’ lead to 3-2. Now for some third period action!
A shot from left winger Chance Lund gets blocked by Victoria’s Hamilton early in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 100mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The story of the game was undoubtedly Branden Troock. The right winger missed all of last year due to injury and played in just his second competitive game in two years Saturday night. That didn’t stop him from scoring the last two goals for the Thunderbirds, including the game-winner. Although I didn’t get a good shot of his first goal, I had a window to his celebration, which was just as good…
Left winger Branden Troock celebrates his first goal of the season with center Luke Lockhart.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 115mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
As I’m writing this blog, I’m realizing that Tyler Alos has been in a lot of photos so far. So what’s one more? He deserves it…
Center Tyler Alos tries to get in front of Victoria’s Kade Pilton’s pass in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 120mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Left wing Connor Sanvido and Victoria defenseman Jesse Pauls race for a puck in the third period.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 125mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Sanvido hits the ice while trying to reach a puck in front of Victoria’s Pauls.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Lockhart gets tangled up with Victoria’s Sundher while they both dash for the puck.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
These last three photos were evidence of how much Victoria pressed in the middle of the third period in an effort to tie up the game. It worked, briefly, as they notched it up at four by scoring two third period goals. That result wasn’t going to hold, though, if Branden Troock had anything to say about it…
Troock fires a shot past Victoria’s Hamilton after stealing the puck from a Victoria defender deep in the Victoria zone.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 145mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
That goal put the T-Birds up 5-4, giving Troock something else to celebrate…
Troock celebrates his second goal of the game, one that gave the T-Birds the lead with three minutes left to play in regulation.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 140mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
The last three minutes were more of Victoria pressing, having pulled the goalie for the last two minutes or so. The T-Birds did well, though, and didn’t let Victoria score again. They threw themselves in front of Victoria shots and battled for pucks. It was a tough-fought three minutes, as evidenced by this photo of Hickman and Victoria left wing Jamie Crooks on the ground after they both scrambled for a loose puck.
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 130mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
Those three minutes ended with no other goals, and the Thunderbirds earned their first win of the year. It was time to celebrate around goalie Calvin Pickard!
Canon 7D, 1250 ISO, 190mm, f/2.8, 1/1250
What a game! It certainly was exciting at the end there, and it was nice to see the T-Birds win their first game for Coach Konowalchuk. Also, it was great to see Troock play so well in just his second game since the 2009-2010 year.
Tell me what you thought of the game, or of the pictures, 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 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 28 (Part 1): T-Birds Whack Bruins in Shootout
Hey T-Birds fans, it’s time for another edition of Bird Watching. In this post, we’ll go through photos from the first period of the win against Chilliwack last Sunday? Why the first period only, you ask? Well, like the T-Birds, I had a pretty good game and ended up with about 50 pretty good photos that’ll be used. Rather than put them all in one mega-post, I thought it best to break them over two posts. With that, let’s see what happened in the beginning of the game, shall we?
We’ll start off with one of the T-Birds’ 22 shots on goal in the period, this one by right wing Burke Gallimore.
Canon 7D, 95mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And on the other end of those 22 shots was Chilliwack goalie Lucas Gore, who managed to block them all.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Sunday was Mascot Night at ShoWare Center where mascots from all over the area joined Cool Bird at the game. During the game, however, was all Cool Bird. Here, he practices his drumming skills atop a follicly-challanged T-Birds fan’s head.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/320th, Manual
Defenseman Travis Bobbee puts a big hit on Chilliwack left wing Mike Forsyth at center ice.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
About five minutes into the game, Chilliwack center Steven Hodges found himself on a breakaway with only Seattle netminder Calvin Pickard between him and the goal…
Canon 7D, 93mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
After a successful poke check by Pickard, Hodges couldn’t stop himself from crashing into the Seattle goalie and earned a two minute charging penalty for his efforts.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Later on, center Travis Toomey found himself to the right of the Chilliwack goal with a loose puck in front of him. Unfortunately he couldn’t place the blade of the stick on the puck and fire it onto the goal.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Shortly after it was center Luke Lockhart with the puck to the right of the net. Instead of firing on the goal, though, he sent in a centering pass in hopes an onrushing teammate could bury it in the net.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs sees his angle to the goal blocked by a diving Lucas Gore.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The first period was very much a battle between the two goalies. As sad before, Gore blocked 22 shots for Chilliwack while Pickard stopped 12 of Chilliwack’s scoring chances, including this one pictured here…
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s one more of Gore’s blocks…
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Marcel Noebels was injured in the first period during the 5-3 penalty the Thunderbirds killed off, but before that he had a couple of scoring chances, including this shot on goal.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
(Note: this is the shot after Noebels’ shot on goal)
Noebels takes a shot on goal.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Speaking of the 5-3 penalty kill, and of Noebels, here he is going down to the ice, eliminating Chilliwack center Kevin Sundher’s chance at putting the puck on Calvin.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here Pickard knocks a puck from Chilliwack right wing Robin Soudek away during the penalty kill.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey tries to pass the puck to a teammate after being knocked down during a breakaway by Chilliwack left wing Ryan Howse.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman also had himself a breakaway during the first period, racing down the ice towards Gore and attempting to get his first WHL goal after getting his first point a few weeks ago. As we know already, Hickman couldn’t quite get the puck through Gore, but I did get a couple of photos from the play.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Hickman tries to get a puck through Gore late in the first period.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And as I mentioned before, it was mascot night at ShoWare Center and they all gathered on the ice during the first intermission for a quick game of broomball. 20 mascots in all were in on the game, including Harry the Husky from my alma mater, the University of Washington.
Harry the Husky uses his broom as a guitar before the macot broomball game during the first intermission.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Another one of the mascots involved was the Mariner Moose, who’s shown here with our own Cool Bird.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now let the (mascot) game begin!
Blitz (the Seahawks’ mascot) takes possession of the ball near the north goal in front of a bear from Mitzel’s American Kitchen.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
A few of the mascots were quick learners in physical nature of hockey, including fights. Here Rhubarb of the Tacoma Rainers takes part in an on-ice fight with Fido from the Seattle Animal Shelter.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
At the end of the game, things deteriorated into a somewhat of a madhouse. Blitz relapsed into his football experience by picking up the ball and running with it, something frowned upon in hockey.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And with that, the second period began. Let’s hold off from those photos for next time, where we’re seeing the T-Birds’ comeback from 3-1! As always, leave your comments and questions in the comments section below…
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 26: T-Birds Iced by Winterhawks
Hello again T-Birds fans! As promised last post, I’ve got some photos of the Portland game last Saturday for you. I had a rather bad game—it seems I just couldn’t get much in focus—so it’ll be a smaller post than normal. Enough with the chitter-chatter though, let’s see some photos!
Center Luke Lockhart has a shot blocked by Portland defenseman Troy Rutkowski in the first period.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Goalie Calvin Pickard makes a glove save on a shot from the Winterhawks.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Marcel Noebels tries to bring the puck down the ice and past Portland center Brandan Leipsic.
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Burke Gallimore fires a slapshot past Portland’s Rutkowski and onto Portland goalie Keith Hamilton.
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
As you know, I’m always looking for new shots I haven’t seen before. While I’m shooting from above it’s not as easy to create these new images—I have to get lucky and find some new action or notice something interesting going on around me—I did find a photo I’d like to work on a bit more. Between the blue line and the faceoff circles on either side of the ice, there’s enough ice without paint on it for me to get a photo with 100% clear ice (i.e. there’s no blue or red coloring used to mark the lines or circles). I’ve been trying to get a nice action photo in this section that would provide me with just the two players involved, the puck, and the players’ shadows. I’ve always liked photos with shadows and reflections and feel that this photo (once I get it) will be much worth the time and effort used on getting it. During the Portland game I got a photo close to it, but it doesn’t have enough of a shadow for my taste. I’ll keep working on it, but here’s what I’ll be working on for the next few games.
Lockhart tries his best to separate Portland defenseman Joe Morrow from the puck while defending against a Winterhawk attack.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Thundersticks were passed out to fans before the game as a giveaway, and I was tasked to get a photo of fans using them. While I did get a photo of their intended use that we’ll see later, I like this photo of a little kid looking at a single thunderstick a tad better. What can I say, I like photos of adorable babies…
A very young fan plays with one of the thundersticks passed out before the game.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
Pickard and Defenseman Ryan Button have a nice view of the puck falling to the ice late in the first period.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard prepares to pounce on a shot taken by Portland center Ryan Johansen.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s that other thundersticks photo I was talking about. I like how I caught a majority of them being held apart, making them more visible.
Fans slam together their thundersticks after a good play by the T-Birds.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
And that’s it for the first period. Let’s move down behind the Portland goal and see what kind of offense the T-Birds can muster up in the second, shall we?
Why, here’s some great offense right here? Who doesn’t like an assist?
Center Brendan Rouse centers a pass that would eventually find center Travis Toomey (in the background) and be put in the net for the Thunderbirds’ first goal of the night.
Canon 7D, 35mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman shoves Portland’s Morrow out of the way while in front of the Portland goal.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Connor Sanvido skates after a loose puck in the T-Birds’ offensive zone in the second period.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels takes a shot on goal that would eventually be saved by Portland’s Hamilton.
Canon 7D, 42mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Toomey sends Portland defenseman William Wrenn crashing into the boards.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/1250th, Manual
Defender Travis Bobbee reacts to being shoved backwards by Portland defenseman Taylor Aronson.
Canon 7D, 28mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Lockhart stretches past Portland’s Rutkowski to fire a shot on goal.
Canon 7D, 42mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And that’s it for the second period. For the third period, I sat below section 112 (I think it’s 112 at least) and shot on the Seattle goal again. I had my worst third period ever, only getting two useable shots. I’ll give ‘em to you now. It won’t take long, trust me…
Lockhart beats Portland right wing Brad Ross to the puck and knocks it away from the Seattle defensive zone.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Rouse looks down-ice as two players jostle along the boards for the puck off-screen.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And that’s it for this post, T-Birds fans! Don’t forget about the Seattle-Chilliwack game Sunday at 5 pm at the ShoWare Center! See you there!
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 19: T-Birds Dropped by Giants
As we left off last time, you may remember me lamenting my broken 70-200mm lens, the one I use all the time. Luckily I still have contacts with my former college paper, The Daily, and the photo staff there was more than willing to let me borrow one of theirs. Thanks guys (and gals), I couldn’t have properly covered the Vancouver game without you!
Onto the actual game. Last Sunday completed the third game of the T-Birds’ second straight three-in-three weekend, where they played three games in as many days. Overall, they had played six games in nine days, all the while traveling across the state, keeping up with school, AND practicing some days without games. Needless to say it would be understandable if they came out and looked a little tired in the beginning. They weren’t, and center Travis Toomey proved it by scoring just 12 seconds into the game. He collected the loose puck from the opening faceoff, brought it down the rink, fired a shot onto Vancouver goalie Mark Segal, and quickly put the rebound off Segal’s pads into the back of the net.
Center Travis Toomey fires a rebounded shot into the back of the net just 12 seconds into a Jan. 16 game.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And a quick score like that deserves a celebration, right?
The starting lineup celebrates Toomey’s quick goal.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Toomey wasn’t the only T-Bird to get an early shot on the Vancouver goal. Left wing Chance Lund had this opportunity to increase the lead to 2-0. Segal got his stick in front of the puck, however, and deflected it away from the goal.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Center Justin Hickman had been playing fairly well in the games leading up to the Vancouver game. I was hoping he’d break through and get his first WHL goal that night as he got his first point, an assist, the previous home game. He didn’t put one in the back of the net, but he continued to play his physical game…
Hickman slams Vancouver defenseman Tyler Hart into the boards, this time in the T-Birds offensive third.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Unfortunately the Giants were able to even up the score when Vancouver left wing Spencer Bennett snuck one past goalie Calvin Pickard. A quick note on the shape of this photo: you don’t often see many extremely horizontal photos in print as it’s a hard shape to fit stories around. That extreme horizontal shape, though, is the best fit for this photograph. It’s a good think no paper will be printing this, as this blog enables me to crop my photos any way I want. Isn’t new media great?
Goalie Calvin Pickard can’t cross the goal fast enough to block Vancouver left wing Spencer Bennett’s shot from crossing the red line.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And there were some Vancouver fans that made the short jaunt down for the game Sunday. They stood and cheered along with their team after Bennett’s goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
Here, right wing Jacob Doty carries his enforcer duties well by delivering a big hit to Vancouver center Andrej Stastny.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The T-Birds had plenty of chances to extend their lead in the first period. Officially they had 12 shots on goal, converting two of them for scores. There were many other good trips down the ice, however, that didn’t necessarily result in a shot. This is one of them.
Right wing Tyler Alos lies entangled with Vancouver right wing Michael Burns in front of the net after Burns knocked Alos to the ice to prevent him from getting a shot off.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
After getting back on his feet, Alos got a second chance at a goal when he found himself with the puck to the side of the Vancouver goal while Segal was down. Unfortunately Burns was in a position to knock the puck away.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That ends the first period photo-wise (seemed like a lot, huh?). Let’s move to the second! This next shot could act as an ad for Reebok if I moved the frame up a bit. Let’s just chalk this photo up to another wacky adventure in autofocus…
Defenseman Erik Bonsor chases down the puck during the second period. Not like you could tell from the photo or anything…
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During the media timeout around the halfway point of the second period, Cotton Eye Joe is always played to get fans up and dance around for a ride on the zomboni during the second intermission. I like using that period to get fun fan shots, and these two T-Birds fans looked they enjoyed doing their thing on the big screen.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
As for actual gameplay, the Thunderbirds mustered eight more shots on goal. Here, defenseman Ryan Button fires the puck towards the goal during a power play.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
When I first saw this photo, I was scared I wouldn’t be able to use it. The unedited version of this was very loose (in photographic terms, loose means lots of extra space around the subject to crop out). I was afraid that I had shot this too lose and the photo quality of a zoomed, cropped photo wouldn’t be high enough for my tastes. Luckily the grain here isn’t too bad as this really is a cool shot. I really like the near-multiple reflections in the boards.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon slams Vancouver right wing Brendan Gallagher into the boards during the second period.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That brings us to the end of the second period. With one more period left and the score now 3-2, it was still anyone’s game. Calvin Pickard knew this, and it looks like he came out of the intermission ready to play.
Pickard watches intently as Dillon battles Vancouver right wing Brendan Galligher (hidden) for the puck.
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Pickard tried to keep the Thunderbirds in the game by fending off an onslaught of Vancouver shot early in the period, including this particular beauty…
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
About halfway through the period, though, the Giants snuck another goal past Pickard to take a two goal advantage. Knowing this and knowing I had a nice photo of Calvin making a save, I decided to head down to the spot near section 112 that allows me a nice angle of the Vancouver goal seeing as the T-Birds would be pressing to get back into the game. Just a minute after I moved, Toomey found the back of the net again for his second goal of the night and to cut the Vancouver lead to just one. Unfortunately I didn’t get a useable photo of the goal, but I did get a cool celebration shot of two fans nearby…
Fans hi-five each other after Travis Toomey scored a goal to bring the Thunderbirds within one goal of the Vancouver Giants.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
After Toomey’s goal, the T-Birds kept up the pressure on the Vancouver defense in an effort to draw even at four. Here, right wing Marcel Noebels controls the puck while attacking the Vancouver goal.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Unfortunately they didn’t get another one past Segal and the game ended 4-3, snapping the T-Birds two-game home winning streak. It was a good game, however, particularly when you consider the torrid schedule the players had been dealing with the last few weeks.
That ends this edition of Bird Watching. Tune in next time for photos from the Kamloops game Tuesday Jan. 18! As always, tell me how I’m doing in the comments section below. Or, if you have something you’d like a photo of for the next game, let me know. I’m open to suggestions!
‘Til next time, 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!
(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 11: Thunderbirds Topped by Medicine Hat
After a wonderful sports weekend for me—the T-Birds got four points, the Seahawks won handily, and the Huskies made their first bowl game in eight years with a big win in the Apple Cup—it’s time to get back to work on the photoblog. For this entry we’ll look back at the game against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
I thought the T-Birds played pretty well during that game: they got off 30 shots (the most they’d had in a handful of games), they held one of the higher scoring teams in the league to three goals, and they got back to a more physical game than we’ve seen since the Eastern road trip. Combined with me shooting from the rafters for two periods, those all came to produce an enjoyable game, not only for me but for the fans as well (although I’m not sure you guys really cared that I was shooting from the rafters). So let’s take a look at some photos from it, shall we?
We’ll start off with a photo of a save, something we’ve seen a lot this year. This save, however, is a bit different: this one was made by defenseman Dave Sutter rather than goalie Calvin Pickard…
Sutter blocks a shot by Medicine Hat in the opening minutes of Tuesday, Nov. 30’s game.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
As I mentioned before, the T-Birds played pretty physically, making sure to hit the Tigers often. The hard checks started early, in fact, as center Tyler Alos knocks Medicine Hat defenseman Scott McKay to the ice shortly after the Sutter block pictured above…
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here’s one of the typical saves we see: one by Calvin Pickard. Here he’s making a stick save of a shot from Medicine Hat right wing Cole Grbavac.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now as you all know this is my first year following and learning about hockey. I like to think I’m picking it up well—I’m no longer thinking of it as a faster version of soccer, for one—but there’s still things I find odd and that throw me about the game: how players can use their hands to stop or even catch the puck. For some reason I think it’s odd to see the puck flying though the air past the red line and all of a sudden be caught by someone or to see a player bend down and stop a puck sailing along the board with his hands. Why am I talking about this you ask? Well for one thing it’s about 2 am as I’m writing this and my thoughts aren’t as lucid as normal at this time, but the main reason is I have a photo of defenseman Scott Ramsay stopping a puck along the boards with his hand which I will show you now…
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And to go even weirder on you guys, here’s a photo of a couple of fans with food I took from above. I must have been really hungry when I took this photo. To be fair, though, that burger looks mighty tasty…
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/200th, Manual
For the first ten minutes or so, I was on the catwalks just off the ice on the south end of the building, meaning I was just above and to the right of the Medicine Hat goal. That meant any play that happened along the right side of the goal I had a nice view of. That includes this chance right wing Jacob Doty had on goal. Note: the random black lines are from the net behind the goal and above the boards. Yes it played havoc on my focus, but I did luck out with some things focused properly…
Doty has the puck knocked away from him by Medicine Hat left wing Kale Kessy near the Tigers’ goal in the first period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Halfway through the period, I moved down to my vantage point above the Seattle goal in hopes of some cool saves from Calvin. He didn’t make me wait long as he made this gem shortly after I got down there.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
When the puck was up the ice and down by the Medicine Hat goal, I’d take a step and a half behind me and shoot from about above the hashmarks. This gave me a nice view of center ice to about the far crease and allowed me to get this shot of center Luke Lockhart trying to disrupt Medicine Hat defenseman Matthew Konan’s pass.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
It seems like since the Eastern swing, the refs had been focusing on stopping fights before they happened. I don’t remember seeing any fights in the last three weeks; confrontations were broken up before they could escalate. Last Tuesday, however, we had a very large scuffle (not a full-blown fight, however) by the Seattle net. Luckily I was in position to capture it…
Center Justin Hickman (top middle) shoves Medicine Hat’s Kessy (middle right) while Ramsay lands a punch on Kessy’s chin. Sutter and Medicine Hat left wing Dylan Bredo are also involved in the fracas. Both Ramsay and Kessy received two minute penalties for their involvement in the situation.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
After the refs got everything straightened out, play resumed. Soon after, the Tigers controlled the puck at the Seattle end. In fact, Medicine Hat nearly earned a shot on goal here, but center Travis Toomey knocked the puck away before Pickard had a chance.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Just after that shot, the Tigers managed to get the puck in behind Calvin but still in front of the goal. Sensing an oncoming Medicine Hat player, Sutter made a goal-saving grab for the puck and caught it. I caught the play on film, about which I was very excited about. Check out the play for yourself…
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
That awesome photo of Sutter grabbing the puck (I think that might be my best photo this year; it’s easily in the top three at least) ends photos from the first period. A lot happened in it, seeing as half the photos from this game are from the opening period (by the way the score’s 1-0 Medicine Hat. In all the excitement my photos I forgot to mention the goal. Oops.). So on to the second period!
I spent all of that period along the catwalk that runs above the team benches. That’s where I got this shot of Gallimore trying to force the puck past Medicine Hat goalie Tyler Bunz. Bunz wasn’t having it, however, and blocked the puck’s passage of the red line.
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
You can classify this next photo as nothing else but good luck and taken at the right time. It shows right wing Marcel Noebels (top), center Luke Lockhart (bottom) and Medicine Hat defenseman Thomas Carr (middle) all going after the puck. Their sticks somehow align themselves, however, into a triangle and the puck is nearly dead-center in that triangle. Who knew geometry was used in hockey?
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
From the catwalk over the benches, I had a nice view of fans in the middle and tops of each section. It just so happened that one of the fans below started showing off a Thunderbirds scarf during a timeout in the second period. Too bad we can’t see all of his face, but it’s still a pretty cool shot…
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Let’s just skip ahead to the third period now… The Medicine Hat Tigers scored three minutes in to make the score 2-0. Before the faceoff at center ice to open play again, right wing Jacob Doty made sure to talk smack to the Medicine Hat player next to him.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Doty later continued his duties as a bruiser by checking Kessy into the boards.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Later on in the third period, Noebels found himself on a breakaway to the goal with only the goaltender in front of him. Medicine Hat defenseman Sebastion Owuya tried to get back to Noebels and the puck, but ended up falling to the ice and sliding into Noebels, knocking him down.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels buried the penalty shot that resulted from that play, cutting the lead to 3-1. There was still plenty of hockey left to be played, though.
Before the faceoff that resulted from Noebels’ penalty shot, Doty was again jawing at a Medicine Hat player, this time being Cole Grbavac.
Canon 7D, 75mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
With all the hard checks and the smack talk from both sides (I’ve only shown Doty, but players from both sides were doing it), I was expecting a fight to finally break out. After Medicine Hat center Wacey Hamilton ran into Calvin Pickard and was called for interference, I was sure there’d be a last-minute fight.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
One never materialized, however. What did happen is the T-Birds pulled Pickard with a few minutes left in an attempt to score a couple goals and equalize the game.
Center Colin Jacobs (left) fires a slapshot towards the goal in hopes that Noebels can tip it into the net.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Unfortunately the T-Birds didn’t get anything else past Bunz and the game ended 3-1. It was an entertaining game, though, and one I had a lot of fun shooting. And, as you all know, they went on to win their next two games. So that was nice…
As always, let me know what you liked, didn’t like, etc., in the comments section below. Or you can debate the merits of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. Your choice.
Til next time, Go T-Birds!
Game 9: T-Birds Upended by Americans
Hello again everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. In my quest to finally get caught up with the Thunderbirds’ games (there have been four home games in eight days, and I can’t turn out these posts that fast…) I’ll be posting about the game on Thanksgiving Eve, Nov. 24, tonight. In the next three or four days I’ll get something about Saturday’s game aganst Kootenay, and in about a week I’ll (finally!) be caught up with photos from tomorrow’s matchup with Medicine Hat. But enough of the scheduling conversation, let’s get to some photos, shall we?
We’ll start off with a photo that stumped me. When I first saw this while looking for a good photo to send with the press release, I thought this one would be a really good one. When I got back to it while working on this blog, I realized just how much of a pain it would be… I’ll show you the original now…
Center Justin Hickman fights for position with Tri City left wing David Conrad while racing after a puck in the first period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/640th, Manual
So you can see the main action, but it definitely needs some cropping, right? Well there was the tricky part. How much do you crop? What shape should it be? I first cropped it so all you can see are Hickman and Conrad, but included all of Hickman’s stick.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/640th, Manual
That doesn’t look bad, but I really don’t like all the empty space around the stick. I wouldn’t mind it if there was something big at the end of the photo, but I’m not sure the stick itself justifies the wide crop. So let’s trim it down a bit…
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/640th, Manual
Ok, that’s a little bit better, but I still don’t really love it. Maybe a little bit more space on the left would make it feel less crowded to me, but then again maybe not. So let’s try something much different.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/3.2, 1/640th, Manual
I think this is my favorite. I know there’s a lot of dead space in the middle between the two players and the puck, but I think the puck adds enough to the photo to justify it. Dead space normally isn’t wanted in a photo—there’s a reason it’s called dead space—but there are times where it does good. This may not be one of those times, but it doesn’t seem to detract enough to require a new crop. Plus we’ve already tried a few other crops, and they don’t seem to work well.
You be the photographer: What crop would you have gone with? Let me know in the comments section!
Oh, and you may have noticed that the metadata (the camera settings used for the photo I post under each picture) is different than the normal settings. This wasn’t intended, I just forgot to check the settings after shooting the player introductions. I compensated for the added light during game play, but I forgot to check anything other than my light meter to make sure everything on my camera is ok. It happens all the time, I wish I was better at noticing these things.
Anyways, back to the game. Five minutes into the game, center Tyler Alos found himself with the puck above the Tri City goal and being defended by the two Americans players that were back on defense, goalie Drew Owsley and defenseman Drydn Dow. Fellow center Colin Jacobs was skating fast to the other side of the goal, but not being covered by anyone. Naturally Alos passed it over to Jacobs…
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And Jacobs sent it into the back of the net.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Already moving quickly, Jacobs lost his balance after getting the shot off (I think. He might have purposely fell) and found himself on his back on the ice. But he didn’t care, he just scored a goal!
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Leftwinger Mitch Elliot came over to Jacobs, not only to celebrate, but to help him up…
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
I had an unexpected visitor on the suite I was shooting in for that goal… Cool Bird! He had entered my suite a little before the goal was scored and was entertaining fans and waiting for the first period media timeout to throw t-shirts into the crowd. Jacobs’ goal must have fired Cool Bird up because after the goal he was on his feet cheering with the rest of the crowd.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
When Cool Bird finally started giving out the t-shirts, these two young fans pleaded for a shirt.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
The game, like nearly every Tri-City/Seattle matchup, was pretty physical. There were plenty of checks and hits throughout the night. Here, defenseman Dave Sutter throws Tri City Adam Hughesman off the puck.
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And Calvin even got into the action. Here he tangles with Tri-City right wing Jordan Messier in front of the Seattle goal. I’ve never seen a goalie do that before…
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Throughout the first period, the Americans did well to earn 19 shots on goal, including this one by leftwinger Neal Prokop. All of them were saved, however, by goalie Calvin Pickard, as he’s doing here.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And that does it for the first period photos. Let’s move down rinkside for the second period, shall we? (Note: hopefully you said yes because that’s where we’re heading anyway…)
Let’s begin with a shot of center Charles Wells skating down the boards with the puck…
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Wanting to try something a little different, I took off my 70-200mm lens and put on my fixed 50mm (it can’t zoom in or out, it’s set at 50mm). This would allow me to get a wider shot—not much wider, but anything helps when the players are normally just a foot away from you. It did make a slight difference, especially in front of and behind the goal. I didn’t cut any body parts off anyone this time!
Wells and Tri City defenseman Sam Grist fight for the puck behind the Tri City goal in the second period.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Wells attempts to block a clearing attempt by Tri City’s Owsley.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Right wing Marcel Noebels sends a puck off the boards towards the Tri City goal.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s another one of those photos that are made by the objects in the foreground rather than the subject themselves. Defenseman Travis Bobbee is controlling the puck—an important part in hockey, yes, but it would be a fairly bland photo unless Americans center Kruise Reddick was blocking Bobbee. I’d like it even better if we could see Bobbee’s gloves on the stick but in any case the photo seems to suggest an imminent confrontation. You probably want to see the photo by now, don’t you?
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
That ends the second period photos. Sorry I didn’t get many photos of the two goals the T-Birds scored but that’s what happens when you shoot through glass. Onto the third period and between the benches!
The third period was action-packed, to say the least. Here, Tri City center Mason Wilgosh pokes the puck away from Wells along the boards.
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
While it’s not generally good for a team when someone falls to ice, it does make for a different and a decent photo. Here right wing Burke Gallimore has a nice view of the puck he tried to win.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a photo of Noebels (at least it looks like Noebels. I can’t see a number in any other photos of that series) defending against right wing Jordan Messier of the Americans. What’s really cool about this photo is that everyone’s perfectly lined up to show a perfect example of perspective. Sometimes luck brings you photos that you couldn’t get even if you set up your own shot…
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Travis Toomey and Tri City defenseman Brock Sutherland jostle for position to receive the puck in front of the Seattle goal.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The Americans unfortunately had a nice third period offensively. They controlled the puck well and had 21 shots on goal during the period. Calvin Pickard was working hard and earned this water break during a time out.
Canon 7D, 115mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Unfortunately three of those 21 shots found the back of the net. That means, however, Pickard made 18 saves in that period alone. Here’s one of them.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The game being tied 4-4, we moved into the overtime period. Neither team snuck a goal past either defense so a shootout ensued. Despite Pickard saving one of the two shootout attempts he faced—this one here being saved against Tri City rightwinger Patrick Holland—no Thunderbird attempt found the back of the net. At least the T-Birds got one point though!
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s it for this post. As always leave any comments or criticisms or questions in the comments section below.
Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 8: T-Birds Tipped by Everett
So in the beginning of the last post I promised that we’d get to the Everett game soon, and here I am to keep it. Last Saturday was the first time the Thunderbirds played host to their rivals from just up the road, and it was the first time since the season opener that the two teams faced off. Inside the ShoWare Center you could tell it was a rivalry game: the crowd was loud and into the game from the beginning, the refs were determined to keep the peace between the two teams, and the hits were hard and kept coming all night…
In fact let’s start out with a few hits. Saturday also marked the home debut of center Justin Hickman, who had returned from injury during the Eastern road trip. Hickman threw his weight around for the early part of the game, making more than a few hard checks on unsuspecting Silvertips. Here’s two of those hits…
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Fellow center Charles Wells got in on the action too. In these next photos, Wells got tangled up with Everett rightwinger Cody Fowlie when the two were chasing after the puck in the first period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The Silvertips came out ready to play Saturday night, as evidenced by their three first period goals. By the end of the first period, however, the T-Birds seemed to have gotten back into the game when defenseman Brenden Dillon fired a shot past Everett goalie Kent Simpson and into the net.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here, rightwinger Burke Gallimore puts a hit on Everett leftwinger Tyler Maxwell to end the photos from period one.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
For the second period, I decided to keep myself behind and to the left of the Everett goal (the north goal). I wanted to try out a new angle (as I’m normally to the right of the goal up there), and I must say I’m happy with what I got from that position. It allowed me to get more of the action close to the benches like this particular battle for the puck between leftwinger Mitch Elliot (center) and Everett rightwinger Tyler Cote.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Of course, that position is not perfect, not for me and my equipment. I mainly use a 70-200 milimeter lens; not only does it give me coverage of most of the ice, the photo quality of it is unbelievable (and no, I’m not getting a cut for this advertisement. But I should, right Canon?). The only drawback is that I have to be about five feet away from things in order to a) be in focus and b) to be able to see every part of an upright human. Well when I’m right on the glass and the players are right on the glass, I can’t get a picture that includes every part of both players. I commonly get photos that cut off players’ heads, hands, and feet. Or, in this case, players’ heads AND feet.
Center Tyler Alos (left) is checked by Everett defenseman Ryan Murray.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
With my 70-200, though, I can get pretty much everything between the blue lines, give or take a few feet on either side. That set me up perfectly to get this photo of a Burke Gallimore shot.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Unfortunately I missed getting a shot of Gallimore’s goal in the second period (note: the previous photo isn’t his goal-scoring shot). I did, however, get a celebration photo with Dillon (who was credited with an assist on the goal) and rightwinger Marcel Noebels.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Since Everett and Seattle’s home rinks are separated by just about an hour’s drive (assuming light traffic… we all know it can take much longer to get to Everett some nights) there were plenty of Silvertips fans at the ShoWare Center Saturday night. This Thunderbirds supporter felt it necessary to remind the ‘Tips fans in front of him what team had just scored. Thank you, unnamed T-Birds supporter, for standing up for Thunderbirds fans everywhere…
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
And to close out the photos from the second period, how about a shot of leftwinger Chance Lund holding off Everett defenseman Alex Theriau while attacking the Silvertip goal.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Having cut the Silvertips’ lead down to one, the Thunderbirds came out and played a good third period. They controlled the puck for much of the period…
Center Colin Jacobs controls the puck despite an attack from Everett leftwinger Josh Winquist.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Passed the puck fairly well…
Wells (back) skates towards the Everett goal while Noebels gets in position to receive a pass during the third period.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Checked the Silvertips often…
Gallimore checks Everett’s Josh Winquist into the boards during the third period.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Center Travis Toomey hits Everett defenseman Rasmus Rissanen before Rissanen can get to the puck.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Hustled to un-controlled pucks…
Noebels races Everett’s Cody Fowlie to a loose puck during the third period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Got in position to tip a shot into the Everett net…
Center Luke Lockhart battles for position in front of the Silvertip net with Everett defenseman Brennan Yadlowski.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And earned 14 shots on goal throughout the third period. Unfortunately, Everett goalie Kent Simpson blocked all 14 of those shots.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
But I hate to leave on a down-note, so I will end with a nice portrait of Brenden Dillon taken during a late timeout.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
That’s it for this edition of Bird Watching. I hope you enjoyed the photos and I wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving. Be sure to tell me how awesome your dinner is (or my photos are, either one) in the comments section below.
Til next time, go T-Birds!
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