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!
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 16: Thunderbirds Soar Past Rockets
Now that was fun to watch! Last Friday’s (Jan. 7th) win against Kelowna was something special: it was just the T-Birds’ second home win since mid-November. They’ve played well for the most part, but somehow found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Against Kelowna, however, they out-shot the Rockets, out-defended (is that a word? I certainly hope so…) the Rockets and, most importantly, outplayed them. All of those things combined to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 win over the second place team in the BC division. Let’s see how they did it…
Normally any photos of goalie Calvin Pickard are of him making a save or another outstanding defensive play. Not this next one, however, as there weren’t too many shots for him to save in the first period. Instead, here’s Calvin receiving an errant Kelowna clearance and knocking it towards a fellow T-Bird.
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
This next picture I’m putting in as a literary device (if a blog can be considered anything like literature): foreshadowing. My, that glass bent an awful lot…
Defenseman Erik Fleming checks Kelowna defenseman Colton Jobke into the boards during the first period.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here’s what the previous photo foretold; either that glass was shifted out of position or Jacob Doty hits really hard. Either way, players generally don’t end up in the laps of fans with seats on the glass.
Right wing Jacob Doty checks Jobke into the boards near the south goal, shifting the plexiglass out of place.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Luckily the crack maintenance staff at the ShoWare Center quickly fixed the problem and play resumed in about five minutes or so.
Canon 7D, 190mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/640th, Manual
One of the hardest things to photograph in hockey, for me at least, is a save of a long-range shot. I generally keep my lens following the puck; when it travels a long distance at high speeds, it’s very hard to see both ends of the play. In order to do so, I need to point my lens toward the area the puck is heading, press the shutter halfway to engage the autofocus, and then press it down all the way to take the shot. I often get out of focus images when I try to keep up with a speeding puck, but this time I didn’t. What I got instead was this gem…
Calvin Pickard makes a save on a shot from the Kelowna Rockets in the first period.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
What a great shot, huh? What’s that, the top of Calvin’s head is missing? That’s what happens when you speed-aim your camera: you don’t have time to correct the borders and you end up cutting off people’s body parts (photographically, of course, for I have not touched Calvin’s head in real life). Photos with a partial head-ectomy are not how you advance in this industry; I need to do better if I want to get a head… err, ahead.
Done groaning now? Good, let’s continue with the photos. Here’s one of the Thunderbirds’ 16 shots on goal in the first period.
Jacob Doty (left) fires a shot at Kelowna goalie Jordan Cooke from point-blank range.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here’s a shot of Doty fulfilling his other duties on ice: fighting and demoralizing the other team’s players…
Doty (right) and Kelowna right wing Jessey Astles exchange punches during a first period fight. Both were slapped with five minute major-fighting penalties.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Travis Toomey has been playing well lately, putting five pucks in the back of the net since January 1st, and collecting one assist for a total of six points. He scored one against Kelowna in the first period on Friday, but unfortunately I had a player blocking my view for that play. I wanted to have a nice photo of him anyway, so here’s one of his other shots from the period.
Center Travis Toomey takes a shot on the Kelowna goal. Although this one was successfully blocked, Toomey managed to score earlier on in the period.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And our last photo from the period came just after the second T-Birds goal of the period. Unfortunately I missed the goal, but I did get a decent image of the fans; it’s just too bad I had their backs to me.
Thunderbirds fans celebrate the goal scored by right wing Burke Gallimore 12 minutes into the first period.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/250th, Manual
In the second period, the Thunderbirds continued their offensive surge, throwing twelve more shots at the Kelowna goal.
Right wing Marcel Noebels watches as Kelowna’s Jordon Cooke stops Noebels’ shot early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
This was Noebels’ first game back from the World Junior Championships, where he scored once and provided two assists in Germany’s six games in the tournament. Since returning (and as of Sunday night after the Chilliwack game), Noebels has put two more pucks in the back of the net. Worth another photo, right?
Noebels fights of Kelowna defenseman MacKenzie Johnston while collecting a free puck.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
I couldn’t decide whether to put this next photo up on the blog. It’s a nice decent moment—one of the goal scorers on the night taking a shot on goal—and in pretty good focus, but that black stripe on the right is pretty obvious. That stripe is one of the poles of the guardrails on the staircase leading behind the north goal. Once I saw that on my images, I decided to move into the small space between the glass and the rail, but for this shot it was a move made too late… Something else to remember for next time.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here’s another shot of Noebels. It’s funny how I go entire nights without a decent photo of some people only to get three or four keepers the next night…
Noebels tries to catch up to an errant puck, outracing Kelowna right wing Shane McCoolgan (left) and left wing Brett Bulmer (right).
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
Late in the second period, center Charles Wells found himself on a breakaway with no one but Kelowna’s Jordon Cooke between him and a goal. Kelowna defenseman Mitchell Chapman dove in an attempt to trip up Wells, though, and knocked the T-Birds’ center off balance.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Being brought to his knees, though, didn’t prevent Wells from his attempt to score. He took a shot at Cooke from the ice. Unfortunately, Wells wasn’t rewarded with a goal, although Chapman earned two minutes for tripping.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Shortly after, the period ended. As the Thunderbirds went back to their locker room, this young fan offered a high five and words of encouragement.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.5, 1/1250th, Manual
Now time for the third period! I wanted to spend a bit of it shooting from the upper level again. I’d be able to get photos of plays on both ends of the ice and I didn’t think I’d had such a good first period image-wise. Being up there, though, allowed me to get an unblocked view of Noebels’ goal halfway through the period.
Noebels puts a puck past Jordan Cooke and into the Kelowna goal to increase the Thunderbirds’ lead to 3-1 halfway through the third period.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Shortly after the goal, I moved to the handicap seating in section 112. It offers a good view of the ice at the south end of the building and is where many other photographers sit during the first and third periods. I didn’t get many good photos from that position (or at all in the third period), but here’s one I kind of like…
Center Colin Jacobs passes to Marcel Noebels in the third period.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And unfortunately that’s it for game photos. For some reason I got fewer good photos than normal, but I think the ones posted are a bit better than normal. I guess I went for quality and not quantity. Oh well, we’ll see what happens with the next game!
Have any questions for me? Want to say something about one of the photos on here (or not on here)? Want to have an in-depth conversation on the importance of maple syrup on the global economy? Feel free to post in the comments section below!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
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