Wild Vs. Canucks (10/12/05)

Great game. The Wild put the biscuit in the basket 6 times and Rollie the Goalie saved an incredible 33 shots for the shutout (two of those were without a stick as well).

Once again the Wild came out strong from the start. At three minutes into the period, the Wild were already on the powerplay when Zyuzin scored the first goal. Dan Cloutier, the Canucks goalie, (who will probably have a kink in his neck from the number of times he had to look in the goal to see the puck) was screened and unable to make the save. That would be the only scoring for the first period.

Many of the fans who had been to the first home game remembered that the Wild looked soft coming into the second period. Not tonight. The Wild came out hitting. Matt "Golden Boy" Foy showed that he was not only a hitter (blasting three Canucks), but also a scorer. With the Wild already up 2-0 thanks to a Chouinard goal, Foy banged home a powerplay goal to end the 2nd period scoring. This was his first ever career goal.

The thrid period, however, was the most exciting. Pierre Marc-Bouchard, who was called for diving (more on that later) came out of the penalty box to get tripped up while trying to score. You know what that means: Penalty Shot. The most exciting thing in a Hockey game. Everyone stood on their feet and cheered while Bouchard attacked the net. Using a beautious deke, he scored. Matt Foy would then get his 2nd goal of the game when he bounced the puck off the back of Cloutier. After Rolston made it a 6-0 game, the entire crowd was yelling, "Sieve!" Yet, for how badly Cloutier played, Roloson was amazing. He stopped every shot that came his way. He didn't misplay the puck once tonight.

Once again, there were some interesting aspects to the night both on and off the ice:

1. Joe Schmitt did the "Let's Play Hockey" moment. However, before he started, he made a comment about how, "The Governor showed me how to do this correctly." Many fans laughed at this.

2. There were some VERY questionable calls in tonight's game. The two linesmen and the two refs did not call several obstruction penalties on the Canucks. At one point, Bouchard was grabbed and thrown down by a Canuck player. He was called for Diving. It was a bad call. However, they made up for it with the penalty shot. Still, at one point Ruutu hit White in the face in front of a linesman and was not called for it. That's not ok.

3. Todd Bertuzzi. Everytime he touched the puck, the entire crowd booed. He is easily the most hated hockey player in Minnesota. They showed NO remorse. He even was jawing with some fans while he sat in the penalty box. The only person I have ever seen booed harder was Denis Potvin (if you know the Rangers/Islanders rivalry history, this will make sense).

4. Unruly fans...again. I had the same guys sitting in front of me again who tried to tell me to be quiet. I'm not kidding. I was cheering for Foy (see below), and one of them said to me, "You have to stop. You're too loud." Ok, if you don't want loud noises, don't go to the game. Instead of actually watching the game, these guys played with their cellphones. Ugh. Thankfully, the lady who didn't like me wasn't there tonight. Instead I got two very hardcore Wild fans (one of whom won the fan on the night). They were as loud as I was. Very cool.

5. Matt Foy. Our boy Foy scores the first two goals of his career. With Gaborik feeling better, I'm a little nervous that he'll get sent to Houston. However, if he can keep playing with this intensity, he's going to be a star. He can hit, score, pass, brawl. All he needed tonight was a fight, and he would have had the Gordie Howe Hat Trick (a goal, a penalty, and a fight). Congratulations Matt on your first two goals. Now, hit Bertuzzi harder on Friday.

There's just something about when the Wild play at home. They play harder and better. Then again, what do I know? I was the guy cheering too loudly in Section 222. I could be wrong.

2 down, 39 to go.