Game 13: T-Birds Fall to Chiefs
Welcome back to Bird Watching where in this edition, we’ll take a look at photos from the game Dec. 14 against the Spokane Chiefs (yes I know I’m running massively behind, but I should be able to catch up soon). Before we dive into the Spokane photos, though, I’d like to remind you all to check out the video T-Birds videographer Nicholas Kocan made from the Christmas card photoshoot a few weeks ago. It gives a good look into how we managed to fit 23 hockey players and one bird onto half a carousel (without it breaking, might I add) long enough to grab a photo. There are even some clips of me in action in there, something I’m not used to seeing since I’m normally behind the lens! In case you missed it, here’s the video link: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1248832318432&oid=88453342812&comments.
Now onto the photos! The T-Birds were again without goalie Calvin Pickard who was trying out for the Canadian National Junior team for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Between the pipes for Pickard was backup goalie Michael Salmon, who was making just his third start of the year. Salmon and the T-Birds played well in the first period, keeping even with the Chiefs at one goal apiece and Salmon made more than a few nice saves and plays on the puck. Here’s one of them now, where he (center), along with defenseman Dave Sutter (left), and left wing Marcel Noebels (center left) blocked an early attempt from Spokane.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Just a bit later he made another save, this one unassisted. Need help finding the puck in this one (like I originally did)? Hint: look in the crease in Salmon’s leg pad.
Goalie Michael Salmon stretches his leg out to block a shot from Spokane left wing Colin Valcourt in the first period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The Thunderbirds didn’t just play defense in the first period; they were on offense for a good portion of the period and earned 10 shots on the Spokane goal. Here’s one of those shots, this one by Marcel Noebels.
Left wing Marcel Noebels takes a shot on Spokane goalie James Reid. Reid blocked the attempt with his stick.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s a shot of a nice play by defenseman Scott Ramsay. Despite having falling to the ice, Ramsay was still able to get his stick through Spokane center Kenton Miller’s feet and poke the puck away. The angle I have for this isn’t the best (behind the goal and to the left of it would have produced the best shot of the play), but I still like the photo. Check it out for yourself…
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
A bit after Ramsay’s poke, Seattle scored their first goal. Center Travis Toomey collected a rebound off James Reid and buried it in the back of the net, tying the score at 1-1. Unfortunately I didn’t get the goal itself—I couldn’t find the puck during the rebound—but I did get the celebration afterwards.
Center Travis Toomey (back) and right wing Burke Gallimore (front) celebrate Toomey’s goal late in the first period.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
True to the rivalry between the Thunderbirds and the Chiefs, there were three fights during the game. The first one came 18 minutes in, and it featured Scott Ramsay and Spokane left wing Darren Kramer.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now for the second period. The Thunderbirds earned 14 shots on goal, two of which I’ve captured below.
Marcel Noebels takes a shot on Spokane goalie James Reid early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Brenden Dillon fires a slapshot towards the Spokane goal before Spokane center Steven Kuhn can block the attempt.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Mitch Elliot (right) has the puck stolen by Spokane right wing Matt Marantz before Elliot while approaching the Spokane goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’re a few more photos from the second period. And yes, this is the second game in a row where I’ve gotten good stuff from behind the glass. Dare I say it I’ve finally figured out how to shoot this lovely game?
Charles Wells (left) and Travis Toomey (right) battle for the puck with Spokane defenseman Tanner Mort.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Burke Gallimore uses his stick to prevent Spokane’s Matt Marantz from getting to the puck.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That night, there was a group in Calvin’s Corner, a section of seats to the left of the north goal that sits right on the glass. When there’s no group in that section, I’ll generally sit in there with the other photographers since it offers a good view of the north half of the ice and the T-Birds bench. Anyways, the group in Calvin’s Corner was an active one that night. Here’s a shot of them yelling at James Reid for him to go back to his goal…
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
And here’s one of them voicing their opinions of Spokane players while the Chiefs went back to their locker room for the second intermission.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
Thanks for being so loud that night, Calvin’s Corner. You guys were great!
With that second intermission over, it’s on to the third period. I took my usual third period spot—between the benches—and started firing away. Unfortunately, so did the Spokane Chiefs. Here’s one of their goals during the period, where Spokane left wing Collin Valcourt snuck a goal past Michael Salmon.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a small series of photos (two to be exact) of Burke Gallimore doing everything possible to avoid Spokane defenseman Reid Gow, who was lying on the ice after knocking the puck away from Gallimore. Gallimore gets some pretty good air on his jump over Gow; I’d rate it about a 7.5, don’t you think?
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here, defenseman Erik Bonsor knocks the puck away from Spokane right wing Mitch Holmberg.
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The third period wasn’t an easy one for the Thunderbirds. They allowed Spokane to take 15 shots on goal, of which five of those shots ended up in the net. After the last goal, Michael Salmon was pulled. While skating back to the bench, center Colin Jacobs had some words of encouragement to the T-Birds’ netminder.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1250 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now, apparently to keep me from getting a big head, the Photo Gods decided to have the Chiefs block my view down the ice with their sticks. Naturally, my autofocus picked the sticks to focus on instead of the players beyond them. This photo wasn’t an intentional artsy-type photo; it was just an accident. You can barely tell that Mitch Elliot is checking a Spokane player into the boards.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Being down big didn’t keep the T-Birds from fighting back. Here, Burke Gallimore sends a late shot towards the Spokane goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s It for the Spokane game. Now a couple of blog notes…
Hopefully I’ll be getting the photos and video up from my trip to Kennewick for the Tri-City game there on the 10th up just after Christmas. That’s the next post going up. Also, there won’t be any shots from the Portland game on the 18th, unfortunately. I was shooting at Seattle U during that game so I missed all of it. Don’t worry, however, for I will be at the game on the 28th and will have shots from that soon after.
Also, is there anything different you guys want to see? Do you have an angle you’d like me to shoot from or is there a story you’d like me to tell? I want to hear some feedback from you as to where I should take this blog. Let me know in the comments section below!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
(Home) Game 12: Thunderbirds Unlucky Against Americans
Center Charles Wells takes a shot on the Tri-City goal in the second period.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Hello again everyone! It’s been a while since the last post (about a week, in fact) so it’s time for another roll of photos. Sorry for the layoff; I’ve been shooting a lot in the last week, both for the T-Birds and Seattle University all while taking the GRE and getting my application for grad school together. I’ve finally found time to write up a game thread. I know I told you guys I’d have photos from last Friday’s away game in the Tri-Cities, but I want more time to put together the videos for that post. Instead, here’re some photos from the home game against the Americans on Saturday the 11th.
Let’s start in the second period, shall we? (Note: we kind of have to as I didn’t arrive at the ShoWare Center until just before the first intermission. I had to come down from Key Arena and a Seattle U. men’s basketball game) Walking into the media box at the ShoWare Center, I was met with the nasty surprise that the Thunderbirds were down 0-4 late into the first period. Now I’m sure you guys will be ok with skipping straight to second period photos, where the T-Birds seemed to come out with a new energy and ended up matching the Americans’ one goal during those two periods. Let’s dive straight into the shots, shall we?
Left wing Marcel Noebels evades an attempt to dislodge the puck by from Tri-City center Brooks Macek on his way down the ice towards the Americans’ net.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Centers Justin Hickman (right) and Brendan Rouse (center-left) both try to force the puck through the Tri-City defense and into the net.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Chance Lund takes a shot on the Tri-City goal, but Americans goalie Drew Owsley stops the puck before it can cross the red line.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now I know what you’re thinking… “Wow, Kyle actually has good-looking photos from through the glass for once,” and you’re right! I have no clue why all of a sudden I could actually get good shots from behind the glass. It might be due to the fact I actually stepped away from the glass; normally I press my lens up against it to reduce glare from the lights, but I was moving around a lot more than normal. It may be because the hockey and the photo gods got together and decided to smile on me, I have no clue. I just know I got some killer shots from that position. Those four aren’t it, either. Here’s some more from the second period I’m quite pleased with…
Wells checks Tri-City left wing David Conrad into the boards behind the Tri-City goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs battles tries to knock the puck past Tri-City defender Paul Sohor and into the Tri-City goal.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And we’ll end the second period photos there. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to get all those shots. I think I’ll put either the Noebels photo or the Lund photo—maybe even both of them—into my portfolio. It’s not every day you get a portfolio-worthy shot, and somehow I got two of them in a span of about 40 minutes. I was feeling pretty good and ready to continue my streak of good luck—and good photos—into the third period.
And before I went out to the box between the benches (they call it the Suicide Box over in Kennewick and most other hockey arenas; for some reason, I’m not too fond of that name…), Ashley, the intern that has the horrible job of going through every single one of my photos (I really feel bad for her, there’s a LOT of horrible photos from each game and she has to sort them all) caught up with me. She asked me to get a few photos of defenseman Erik Fleming since I hadn’t gotten any at all this year. You’re probably tired of reading my ramblings, so here’s that photo of Fleming and a couple other ones.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Defenseman Dave Sutter checks Tri-City right wing Jordan Messier in the third period.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Noebels skates around the Tri-City goal hoping to find a better angle for a shot while Tri-City defender Zachary Yuen follows in pursuit.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s another photo I really like. I think it’s one of the better shots of a defensive play I’ve gotten this year.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon throws himself to the ice in an effort to block a shot by Tri-City leftwing Justin Fesser.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Being not only a rivalry game, but the second game against the Americans in two nights, there was plenty of late hits and hard checks into the boards. Here, right wing Jacob Doty slams Tri-City defenseman Sam Grist against the boards.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
During one of the media timeouts in the third period, the team gathered at the bench to strategize. After the strategy session, but before they were called back out onto the ice, Jacobs (left) and Doty (right) discussed matters between themselves as well.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
In keeping up with the rivalry, Lund and Tri-City defenseman Brock Sutherland found themselves in a fight with about five minutes to go in the game.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Although the two fighters were escorted off the ice, their dropped gloves, sticks, and helmets were still strewn about. For the Thunderbirds, it was Hickman who received the task of collecting Chance’s gear and bringing it back to the bench.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s a photo of Defenseman Erik Bonsor trying to steal the puck from Tri-City center Connor Rankin.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Despite the game being decided, both sides kept up the pressure on the goalies and tried to earn one more goal. Here’s a shot on goal for Tri-City.
Tri-City’s Messier (left) fires a shot towards the Seattle goal, which is being defended by defenseman Scott Ramsay (center-left) and goalie Michael Salmon (right).
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The Thunderbirds also had their late-game chances on goal. Here, Dillon brings the puck down the ice with a defender in tow.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Noebels controls the puck in the Tri-City half.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here center Luke Lockhart tries to brush the puck into the net and past Tri-City goalie Chris Driedger.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Alright, that’s it for this post. I have no idea how I got so many good photos from just two periods, but hopefully my lucky streak will continue! Check back for my next post to see if it does and, as always, let me know what you liked or didn’t like in the comments section below.
Til’ next time, go T-Birds!
Game 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 10: T-Birds Cooled off by Kootenay Ice
First off, yes I know this title is a terrible pun. It works for the game, though, and it keeps with the format I’ve been using for the game threads so it’ll stay unless I hear something better in the comments section below.
Now about the game? It certainly wasn’t the prettiest of games—I’m not sure a 6-2 loss ever is—but at least it was the first game all season the T-Birds haven’t had a chance to win or tie at the end. To be fair, however, I didn’t have the best game either. I was often a second late on good shots and couldn’t really get anything in focus. Oh well, it was just one of those nights. Let’s just dive into the photos from it then…
We’ll start off with a shot of goalie Calvin Pickard saving one of 17 shots from Kootenay in the first period, this one from Kootenay center Steele Boomer.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
A few minutes later center Luke Lockhart fired a shot past Kootenay goalie Nathan Lieuwen to give the Thunderbirds an early lead over the Ice.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
For the second game in a row, Cool Bird appeared in a suite right by where I was shooting in the first period to throw t-shirts into the crowd (I think he might be following me, hmm…). Naturally, for the second game in a row I grabbed a photo of him throwing shirts. Check out how fast he’s throwing them: it’s just a blur to the camera!
Canon 7D, 75mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/200th, Manual
Here’s a photo of left wing Marcel Noebels controlling the puck…
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here, defenseman Brenden Dillon fires a shot towards the Kootenay goal .
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
(Game timeline: somewhere between the Cool Bird photo and this next photo, Kootenay scored two goals to take the lead. Sorry I have no photos from them, but they were both blocked by players in front of the net)
The next photo is further proof that Saturday just wasn’t the T-Birds’ night. Pickard came out to diffuse a run by Kootenay left wing Kevin King. Instead of going backwards, though, the puck went off to Pickard’s right (which is what’s pictured below) and was quickly taken back by King, who then fired at the open net.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The T-Birds tried to get one of those back in the end of the period, but they couldn’t get one past Lieuwen. Here’s an attempt from right wing Tyler Alos that gets blocked by Lieuwen.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During the second period, I didn’t get anything good for the first 10 minutes or so. Any shot I tried to get was either out of focus, blocked by a player not involved in the play, or taken at a bad angle through the glass and made blurry by that. I was easily the worst thing in the arena during the second period…
Luckily I was thrown a bone during the second period’s media timeout (the one with the Zamboni Dance) and fans tried their best to earn a seat on the zamboni for the second intermission. All four of the pictured candidates put up a valiant effort but unfortunately none of them were selected to ride the zamboni. I hope it’s a consolation for them to be included on this blog…
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
About five minutes into the second period, coach Rob Sumner replaced Calvin with backup goalie Michael Salmon. The Ice scored two more in the second period, making the score 5-1. While it’s too bad Calvin couldn’t finish out the game, it was nice to see Salmon get some playing time, especially at home. That gave me a chance to get some photos of him in action, so I moved down to the T-Birds’ defensive half to get better photos of Salmon.
Being in a new location, I was excited to get some photos I normally don’t get. But of course my bad period continued when a player brushed up against the glass just to my left. He picked himself off the ice, but unfortunately some water from his jersey remained, block my view down the ice…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Luckily I could still see out through the glass in front of me and to my right, which worked to my advantage when defenseman Scott Ramsay came skating past trying to take away Kootenay rightwinger Brock Montgomery’s path to the goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Thus ends the second period, by far my worst 20 minutes of shooting this year. Yeesh.
When I moved into the box between the benches for the third period, my luck—and my shots—improved greatly. Here’s a shot I really like of center Travis Toomey trying to sneak past Kootenay defender Joey Leach and take control of the puck.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s defenseman Dave Sutter trying to disrupt Kootenay left wing Drew Czerwonka from passing the puck to a teammate.
Canon 7D, 93mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s center Charles Wells racing to control the puck in the T-Birds’ defensive end.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During a break in action, Coach Sumner drew up a play for the T-Birds to use. I like this detail shot of just his hand much better than any other shot from the series.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Remember earlier how I was excited to finally get a game photo of Michael Salmon? Well my worst period of shooting ever hampered that goal. I came out ahead, however, when I grabbed this frame of Salmon making a stick save on a Kootenay shot.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
By the middle of the third period, the score found its’ way to 6-2 in favor of Kootenay. Despite being down four goals, though, the Thunderbirds never stopped fighting for pucks or playing hard. Here Wells tries to knock the puck away from Kootenay center Max Reinhart despite having fallen to the ice.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
To end the post, here’s a series of three shots of Dillon giving Kootenay’s Steele Boomer (ok I have to say this: what a great name) a hard shove over the puck late in the third period.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Alright that’s it for this post. As usual, leave any comments or questions for me in the comments section below. Is there anything you want to see more of? Less of? How about any photos or videos you’d like to see?
Til later, go T-Birds! And Huskies (that’s right, I went there…)!
Game 5: T-Birds Beat Up, get Beat by Cougars
Hello again everyone. Well, I’m sure we’ve all recovered from not only Halloween, but that rough, chipper game the Thunderbirds played Friday night. In case you’ve forgotten all about it, I’m here to remind you and let you relive the game. So brace yourself because this post will leave you black and blue…
The game started at 7:40 pm on Friday night. Before the clock struck 7:41, we had our first fight of the night. Center Mitch Elliot and Prince George’s (PG) Brock Hirsche dropped the gloves and resorted to fisticuffs after just 40 seconds of game play. The fight didn’t last long, however, as Hirsche apparently suffered a leg injury during the fight. Here’s a picture of the two going at it…
Left wing Mitch Elliot lands an early punch on Prince George center Brock Hirsche just a half minute into the game.
Canon 7D, 190mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Don’t worry, though. A hockey game broke out after the early fight. Both teams had their chances in the first period, but both goalies had great games and kept it scoreless for two plus periods. Here are a couple shots of the T-Birds’ chances in the first…
Prince George goalie Ty Rimmer collects a Seattle shot.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Chance Lund takes a shot on PG’s Rimmer. The shot went high
Canon 7D, 110mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
It wasn’t just the T-Birds controlling the puck, however. Here defenseman Brenden Dillon tries to win the puck back behind his own net.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
This was the first game this season (that I noticed at least) that had a lot of pucks leave the ice and go high in the air. Seeing that, I really hoped to get a shot of someone knocking the puck down. One of those shots came to me (yay!) when Burke Gallimore tried to knock the puck down midway through the first period.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Alright, back to the hits and fights. Here defenseman Scott Ramsay gets pushed by a Cougar player. Ramsay, however, did well not to retaliate and drew a penalty, giving the T-Birds a two minute power play.
Defenseman Scott Ramsay is pushed by PG left wing Wilson Dumais. Dumais was given a 2:00 roughing penalty for this shove.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
There were many times where the refs had to intervene and separate players from both teams. Here linesman Adam Brastad is forced to separate center Travis Toomey and PG defenseman Sena Acolatse.
Center Travis Toomey (top middle) gets a few extra punches on PG defenseman Sena Acolatse (middle left) during a scrum in the third period.
Canon 7D, 190mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And it happened again later in the third period (note: the players are different, and I can’t identify the official that is pictured)…
An official steps in between Lund and PG defenseman Jesse Forsberg.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The scrappiness continued into the second period. Here, center Luke Lockhart is pushed off-balance by Hirsche.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s Lockhart controlling the puck.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here, Mitch Elliot fires a shot in front of the PG goal, hoping for a re-direct into the net.
Canon 7D, 73mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now onto the third period which brought on another fight, this one between rightwinger Jacob Doty and PG center Greg Fraser.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Doty gains the upper hand- literally -on PG’s Fraser.
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
It seemed that all night I had players randomly skating in front of me and into the foreground of my shots. Most of the time the completely block me from the play, but sometimes they help create a nice looking shot. This next picture is one of the latter.
PG left wingeTaylor Stefishen (middle right) waits for a pass in front of the Seattle goal while Dave Sutter jostles for position with him.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
When I first saw this next photo I dismissed it because it was too cluttered: there were players all around the goal and I didn’t see any obvious crop that wouldn’t cut someone in half. After looking a little more (and zooming in) I decided to try a tight crop on Pickard. What turned out looks pretty good, although it makes me wish for an even better camera to help reduce some of the noise and improve the picture quality (zooming in and close-cropping takes away the quality and clarity of a photo). Here it is…
Pickard makes a glove save in the third period.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
In my photo career, I’ve shot a lot of gymnastics and have seen some athletes bend their bodies in incredible forms and still stay on their feet. According to this next photo, center Charles Wells has that same control over his body gymnasts do. Check out how far down he goes and still stays on his skates…
Center Charles Wells (right) manages to stay on his skates to knock the puck away from PG’s Bounassisi.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here, defenseman Travis Bobbee races for the puck with PG center Charles Inglis.
Defenseman Travis Bobbee (right) and PG center Charles Inglis go after the puck.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Both teams had quality chances in the third period, as well. Again, the goalies did well to keep the puck in front of the red line (although PG did eventually get two in at the end of the game). Here’s a shot of PG goalie Ty Rimmer saving a Burke Gallimore shot on goal…
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s Pickard making one.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And we’ll end with a shot of Lockhart and PG rightwinger Brett Connolly fighting for the puck late in the third quarter…
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s it for this post. Please leave any comments or questions or anything else in the comments section. Let me know how I’m doing and if there’s anything you’d like to know or see differently, just let me know!
Til next time, go T-Birds!
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