The Super Bowl; which is more entertaining the game or the commercials? Marketeers tried to jump the gun a bit to perhaps entice a few more viewers by putting previews of their Super Bowl ads prior to the game itself. For anyone that thinks no one really cares about the commercials, many of these Super Bowl ad sneak previews were instant viral hits generating as many as 10-15 million views. Honestly, 10-15 million people wanted to watch the commercials ahead of time. I am not quite sure what that says about our society. Whether we just love to laugh a bit, or we crave to see creativity or we’re bored at work its hard to say why people are so drawn to these commercials which they will probably see over and over again as the month goes on. Still, I have to say I’m most impressed by this ad by Budweiser. I am not a big flash mob guy, but this one is actually pretty cool. You can see genuine surprise on the faces of these beer league hockey players and I must say the hockey actually looks pretty decent too, and I think its awesome (and surprising) they chose to showcase hockey during the Super Bowl.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7AYBzdYBNTM
I am sure the Columbus Blue Jackets would appreciate someone flash mobbing them with all of the empty seats that you can normally see at their games. Even the Amigos’ colors were sort of reminiscent of the Blue Jackets. It sure beats having 250 fans launching a protest about the dismal state of the team like they did in Columbus last week, doesn’t it? You can read more about that here.
A Columbus Blue Jackets style of flash mob
I will stop poking too much fun at the league’s worst team but I must admit I do enjoy razzing them. So will the Wild give the Blue Jackets’ dwindling fanbase something good to think about or will they make an already sour group a little more bitter?
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1st Period Thoughts: Slow. Tired. Uninspired. If you needed any words to describe the first period, those would be three good choices. I never thought it was possible, but tonight the Minnesota Wild looked slower than normal, and on a team like the Wild who are not known for team speed, that says something. No one seemed to feel a sense of urgency. The lack of urgency definitely reared its ugly head in the fact that no was either able to or cared to clear the puck out of the Wild’s zone. For almost the entirety of the first period this game was all Columbus. Not only were the Wild allowing shots and chances on goal, but they were pretty much gift wrapping the chances and topping them off with giant red bows. With Valentine’s Day next Tuesday, there is no need to give the Blue Jackets any early gifts, especially since I hate that particular holiday to begin with.
Minnesota is also stuck with a particular curse right now. Fans know who I am talking about, but I have a feeling that Marek Zidlicky has absolutely no clue I’m talking about. Well Marek, let me be frank with you. YOU are the team jinx right now. When you were injured and out of play, the Wild had an amazing run of wins going. You were brought back, and the losing started. We kept losing, and you were still on the ice. Then finally you were benched for a few games, and guess what, there were some wins again. However, you had to whine like a 5-year-old to the press about how you’re not being used properly and you’re too old to change your game. Surprisingly, you were still a healthy scratch. The only reason you are playing now, is because Clayton Stoner is hurt. Fans hope and pray every day that he’s back in the lineup so that you are returned to the pressbox. Unfortunately, that has not happened yet, and it cannot happen soon enough. You are responsible for the Columbus goal by David Savard. First you lost your own stick. Then you fell on Niklas Backstrom in such a way that he lost his stick. And when you picked it up, instead of trying to get it back to him, you held on to it. Heck, one almost has to wonder if at this point, you’re trying to do whatever you can to make your team look bad. This team cannot be rid of you soon enough. Like a friend of mine said, we’d be better off skating with five defensemen instead of six if you’re the sixth.
Thankfully, by some amazing miracle the Wild were able to even up the score late in the period. While they were limited to a measley seven shots on goal, recently signed to a one-way, 2 year contract Nate Prosser found the back of the net with his first career goal. What’s great about that goal, is that it puts Prosser two-thirds of the way towards the fan favorite, Gordie Howe hattrick. Earlier in the first period, Prosser unsuccessfully dropped the gloves with Derek Dorsett. It was a fight I care not to relive or think about ever again, as Prosser had no chance from the beginning.
2nd Period Thoughts: I can’t say that the second period had a much better start. One would think that with the late period, game tying goal, that Minnesota would come out with some energy. Like the classic scientific axiom states, “matter can neither be created nor destroyed.” Well since the Wild never had any energy to being with tonight, the idea that there will be any energy later in tonight’s game seems rather improbable. Like one of my fellow posters on the the Wild’s official message boards stated, “this team can take offensive zone time and make it look like a frantic PK.” It’s absolutely true. Even worse was on their first power play Minnesota had in the period, made me ask who was really on the power play. The Blue Jackets got more chances shorthanded. The chances didn’t happen on the second power play after the hard work by Devin Setoguci to get the power play in the first place. Considering the low numbers of goals this team scores, they simply cannot wait for the “perfect” shot on goal. They need to shoot and shoot often. I don’t care how weak a shot it is, because even on occasion, weak shots or shots from a bad angle can and do in. Penalties against the Wild would cost the team the tie, as a penalty by Nick Schultz would lead to the go ahead goal by Antoine Vermette. Teams that don’t keep their feet moving, will usually get soft calls called against them. A tired, uninspired team like Minnesota tonight isn’t moving its feet. They’re getting called for it, and ultimately it costs them. Unfortunately, the Wild would go into the second intermission down by a goal. I’d like to say it’s not a bad deficit to be down by, but considering how this team is playing, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
3rd Period Thoughts: Penalties. That’s all you need to know. When you give a struggling team like the Columbus Blue Jackets (who is last in the league) SEVEN power play opportunities, plus play with an utter lack of urgency throughout the entire game, ten times out of ten, you’re going to lose. Not only are you going to lose, but you deserve to lose. Once again, Nick Schultz is making his way back onto my “I wish you weren’t on this team” list along with Zidlicky. Schultz all by himself had a trio of penalties. On top of that, Zidlicky ended the game in the penalty box, which in my world is a perfect place for him. Now I don’t want to play the rest of the season permanently on the penalty kill, but having him off of the ice forever would only be a benefit. The Wild were outshot, outhit, lost the takeaway battle, and the list goes on and on. If you can’t win those little battles, you rarely win the ultimate battle, meaning the game itself. The Wild do not deserve to still be in the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Thinking back to the overall lack of energy and urgency, it proves one thing. This team phoned the game thinking. It seems that the roster seemed to expect Mikko Koivu would be back in the lineup. Well guess what guys, that didn’t happen. You don’t always get your wish. You need to rise above the hand you’re dealt and figure out a way to deal with the situation. They didn’t do that, nor did they appear to even care. And the not caring is the part that is absolutely unforgivable, especially when playing the worst team in the entire league. I’m absolutely disgusted.
Wild Notes:
~ The roster tonight was as follows: Mark Cullen, Devin Setoguchi, Darroll Powe, Dany Heatley, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, Nick Johnson, Erik Christensen, Matt Kassian, Jed Ortmeyer, Warren Peters, Carson McMillan, Marek Zidlicky, Greg Zanon, Nate Prosser, Justin Falk, Jaren Spurgeon, Nick Schultz. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star David Savard, 2nd Star Curtis Sanford, 3rd Star Antoine Vermette
~ Attendance was 11,237 at Nationwide Arena.
Houston Aeros Report:
Recent Score: Houston 2, Milwaukee 1
The Houston are about to go on an extremely long road trip that will take them away from the friendly confines of the Toyota Center, but one last game remained against their old rival the Milwaukee Admirals. The first period was fast and furious as both teams traded chances with one another as Jeff Taffe and Chad Rau rang shots off the pipe behind Atte Engren. Milwaukee would strike first as Blake Geoffrion scored just his 2nd goal of the season, and Houston tried to rally back but they couldn’t manage to get it by Engren. The Admirals would extend their lead as former Wild draft pick Kyle Wilson scored on the power play to make it 2-0 Milwaukee. Cody Almond tried to spark his team by dropping the gloves with Geoffrion in nice tilt. One Houston player who really did all that he could to will the Aeros back into the game was team captain Jon DiSalvatore who was all over the ice and Houston started to burn Milwaukee as they became a little careless with the puck. DiSalvatore would earn a penalty shot, and his move to the backhand was denied by Engren. Houston would finally light the lamp early in the 3rd period on a goal by Jeff Taffe, but unfortunately the Aeros were not able to get the equalizer and they’d lose 2-1. Matt Hackett had 22 saves in the loss.
Wild Prospect Camp Tryout Watch:
UMD’s Jack Connolly (left) & J.T. Brown (right)
RW – J.T. Brown (Minnesota-Duluth, WCHA) ~ Listening to KFAN’s Beyond the Pond with Brandon Mileski, Nate Miller and Pat Michelletti they talked about whether the Wild would attempt to sign prospect camp attendee J.T. Brown who had a fantastic weekend in UMD’s series against Alaska-Anchorage as he was the college hockey equivalent of Sam Gagner after posting a 4-goal night on Friday and adding one more on Saturday for 5 goals in 2 games. The Wild certainly could use a player with Brown’s work ethic, strength on the puck, athleticism and scoring ability. Brown will likely be a sought-after free agent at the end of this college hockey season no matter how it turns out for the Bulldogs. The former Rosemount Irish standout has 16 goals, 37 points in 28 games in UMD. According to Mileski, some scouts have questioned Brown’s on-ice intelligence and there are some character issues as well after his incident outside a Duluth bar. Yet I like J.T. Brown’s game and I think it fits very well into Mike Yeo’s forechecking style he likes to employ.
C – Jack Connolly (Minnesota-Duluth, WCHA) ~ In that same conversation on KFAN’s Beyond the Pond, the discussion became over whether J.T. Brown’s team mate, senior Jack Connolly would have a better chance at the NHL. Connolly is more of a playmaker, but he stood out a bit more at the Wild’s prospect camp this summer than Brown did. The former Duluth Marshall star had 2 assists in the 2-game series with the Seawolves but he is having another Hobey Baker worthy season, leading UMD in scoring with 15 goals and 42 points. While I think the Wild have enough playmaking forwards in their system, the fact is Jack Connolly is a player with outstanding hands and great instincts and I think the Wild would also have to strongly considering doing all they can to bring a player of his talent and skill into the fold.
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