Some Friends Meet a Flower

Who better to tell you about a close encounter of the Flower kind than the girls who lived it? Good Friends of The Show 1WingAngel and her twin sister, Nicole G., sent in these photos for us, and 1WingAngel was kind enough to write today's post. Enjoy! (Remember you can click the pictures to enlarge them!)

Nicole and I have a lot of pictures with the Pens piling up in our cameras, so we thought we'd finally send them your way with a recap of what we've done with our Boys thus far. :)

First was the Pittsburgh Penguins' Face-Off Luncheon. Our mom was generous enough to pull us out of school for a day so that we could attend the afternoon event at the Westin Hotel and Convention Center. We dressed semi-formal, but a good number of guests displayed their Pens' pride by wearing jerseys. Iceburgh waddled around the lobby for pictures, and we gladly took advantage of the opportunity:


The luncheon itself was a lot of fun. The team was introduced player-by-player and walked down a center aisle to get to their table at the front. When Fleury walked by, I shouted his name as loud as I could. :) Our table, by the way, was only one row away from the Boys' - and Sidney was in perfect view! My mother snapped a few pictures of the team enjoying their lunch.

[snoop: That is the one and only Bob Errey.]

After the players were dismissed towards the end of the event, a raffle was held. My mother, sister, and I all watched other fans take home the prizes we put in tickets for, but that didn't dampen our mood one bit. Having a girls' day out to share lunch with the Penguins was way too much fun!

Two nights later was the home opener, which we attended. Of course you know how the game ended, but my family and I still had a wonderful time because our seats were one row away from the ice on Fleury's end. Here are some of our best pictures:





A few weeks later, who should arrive in the mail but our trio of Roaming Penguins! Marc-Andre Penguin, Sidney Penguin and Maxime Penguin were all very excited to come out of their boxes and meet us.


SP, MAP, and MP all took in the stunning "Wall of Croz" in Nicole's room...


Then the group checked out my room, and MAP was very amused by my smaller wall dedicated to his human doppelganger...


MP, meanwhile, searched in vain for a wall dedicated to him.


SP later discovered that the "Wall of Croz" isn't the only Crosby-dedicated spot in his friend's bedroom. There's the wall by her computer...


...and then her ceiling.


After the introductions and icebreakers, a few weeks passed until my mother heard that Marc-Andre Fleury would sign autographs at the BC Sports in Ross Park Mall. Marc-Andre Penguin was very excited to hear this, and absolutely insisted that we go. Mom and I couldn't resist those huge, pleading eyes! We signed up on one condition: He had to allow Mom to glue a strip of material above his number so that Flower could sign him.



We waited approximately an hour and a half in a long, LONG line of Pens fans before we finally met Marc-Andre Fleury. I was numb with nervousness and excitement; Fleury is my favorite Penguin! (some of you may know that I find him adorable...) And while I waited at the front of the line, I tried to calm my nerves so that I could make a good impression on my favorite Penguin. So I approached Fleury with a smile as I walked to him, thinking, I've gotta make this perfect, gotta make this perfect - and then my foot bounced off of something hard as soon as I got there.



Fleury chuckled. "Oops, sorry." My foot had hit his, which was concealed under the long blue tablecloth. At the moment, I was mortified -the first thing my favorite adorable Penguin said to me ever was "Oops, sorry"- but you know the meeting improved from there and now I just laugh about it, but my family actually teases me for it. They call it "giving Fleury a footsie." >:( I WILL NEVER LIVE THIS DOWN, apparently.

Marc was very polite and attentive, even though the supervisors tried to rush each group. I approached him first with my Fleury jersey, and asked him how he was "holding up" since the line was still incredibly long. At this, his head snapped up.

"Is it still long?" Dear Marc had almost a pleading look in his eyes when he asked me, because I'm sure he was a bit tired after signing for nearly two hours following a late game in St. Louis.

I smiled sadly. "Very..." I felt so bad for him! But he sucked in air through his teeth and flashed me a smile.

"Yeah... so far, so good." Marc slid the jersey across the table to me, and I stepped with it to one side as Nicole approached the table.


"I have a penguin for you to sign..." Nicole pushed a very nervous Marc-Andre Penguin towards Flower, who smiled at the little guy. When MAF took the penguin for the first time, he glanced down and said, "That's the first time I've seen this." He LOVED MAP and the whole idea of Roaming Penguins; our mother (who took every MAF picture) explained it to him and he listened attentively and turned the doll in his hands before signing.


"That's pretty cool." He returned MAP -"There you go."- and Nicole gave him The Card.


"We made a card for you and the team."

"Oh, thank you." Mom and I moved at the same time to shake Marc's hand, and we laughed. Mom let me go first, although Marc crossed his hands as though to accomodate us both at once. Then Nicole shook his hand, and Marc said "Nice to meet you" to each of us with a smile. As we walked away, we wished him good luck against the Oilers, and Marc grinned.

"Bye. Thanks a lot." He pulled The Card closer to himself and watched us leave.

All in all, it was a fantastic Penguins-themed month! :) I would definitely give ANYTHING to know what Fleury thinks of The Card, though - wouldn't you? It was certainly a huge success, thanks to all who participated. ♥ I really can't thank all of you enough for responding so quickly and creatively to our offer, and I know that this will mean a lot to our team.


Now, I'd like to leave you with a final, thought-provoking picture of an advertisement from Ross Park Mall:

[snoop: Quickly glance at the picture and you'll see what she means...]

Also at the Fleury autograph event were sibling Friends of The Show Rachel, Sara, and Jake. Rachel sent in this shot of Sara with MAF (brother Jake is in the background) and another picture of MAF signing some autographs:



Many, many thanks to 1WingAngel for doing my job for me today. ;) Thank yous also go to Nicole and Rachel for sharing their pictures with us! Part two of the game photos should be ready for tomorrow.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Penguins Weekend

Friend of The Show Lauren H. spent her Friday at training camp and her Saturday at the exhibition game. She sent in some sweet pictures and an awesome recap of her entire weekend. Haha, if you guys keep this guest blogging up, I'm going to get lazy! ;)

So, I went to training camp today and it was one of the most awesome days of my life! I got there around 8:40 or so and there were a couple hundred people lined up outside Gate 1. At 8:45 they let us in and we sat in the Igloo East side (the same side as the player’s bench). I found a seat and there were a few players (most likely Wilkes-Barre guys) shooting around the net with one of the coaches.


Around 9, the other players started coming out on the ice, and as true Pittsburgh fans, we all cheered for each one. Siddo’s cheers of course were the loudest and he gave us a little wave! When Max came out, he waved with both hands and flashed that cheesy, but adorable grin of his. They ran a few quick drills, then Therrien brought them in for a discussion around his whiteboard...during this time, Sidney and Orpik were standing near the back of the group and were quite chatty with each other.


Around 10:15, the rest of the players came out. They scrimmaged and having never been to a practice before, I was surprised to see the officials there to call the game. The periods were 15 minutes long, and they didn’t stop the clock. After the second period, they took a break just long enough to clean the ice. At the end of the third period, they were tied, so the fans were thrilled to see them go to a shootout! It was really funny because at first, the officials were throwing their hands in the air as if they didn’t know what they were supposed to do (have a shootout, go into overtime, leave it as a tie, etc.). Satan shot first for the white team, and missed. Letang shot first for the black team, deked (is that a word?) and scored! Fedotenko shot 2nd for Team white and scored! Geno scored for black, making the shootout score 2-1. Sid shot last for team white, deked, and Fleury knocked it out, so Team Black won. After Fleur kept Sid’s goal out, he did this little dance and you could tell he was taunting Sid. Then the rest of the black team came out to congratulate Fleur and you couldn’t hear what they were saying, but you could tell they were teasing him too, and Sid just had a big grin on his face, something you certainly wouldn’t see after a stopped goal in a regular game!


Since they lost, the white team had to skate suicides and then they did one more drill before they retreated to the locker room. After a short break, the rest of the black team came back out to have their practice time. Unfortunately, I didn’t get very many pictures from this part of practice because I headed outside to see if I could catch any of the players as they were leaving. I’ve never waited for players after a game, and I must say it was quite fun! I definitely recommend you go do that at least once if you’ve never done it before.


Gonchar was one of the first people to leave, and he didn’t stop to sign autographs, but did wave quickly as he pulled his car out into the street. Dany Sabourin left not too long after him and stopped for a minute or two, but then he was gone too. Danny Richmond walked right out to the crowd and stayed for a good half hour, signing autographs, posing for pictures, and even kissing a baby (sadly, I didn’t get a picture of this)! Most people didn’t really know who he was, but they were glad to see him just the same. Everyone was impressed with his candor and patience with the fans. Joey Mormina and Bill Thomas also spent time signing autographs and again, most people didn’t know who they were (even though Bill is from Pittsburgh!), but still asked for autographs and pictures.



PGH's own Bill Thomas
At this point, a girl who was standing near me that I had been talking with told me a neat story. She’s a student in Pittsburgh, so she comes down to the games a lot and often waits outside the player’s lot after games. She said that one time, the parking lot attendants were refusing to let the players stop to sign autographs, and no one could really figure out why. When BGL came out and the parking lot attendants waved him on, he got a little frustrated with them. Not wanting to disappoint the fans, he pulled his car out onto Centre Avenue, stopped, put his 4-ways on, and got out to sign autographs! That’s just another example of how much charm and character our team has.

Max appeared a little while later, wearing a black t-shirt and these crazy-looking white sweatpants-shorts – only Max, our fashion master! :) He put the top down on his convertible and came over and signed autographs for a while, laughing and joking along with the crowd, as always.



Mad Max proves that this time, the driver is cooler than the car.



Then came the moment most of us had been waiting for…Sid climbed into his Range Rover and drove right over. The parking lot attendants were going crazy…as were some of the fans. He stopped his car by the entrance to the parking lot and got out. The parking lot attendant announced that he would stay and sign for a while, as long as people remained behind the gate. Well, that worked for all of about thirty seconds before they climbed around the other side of the gate and surrounded him. Because people were crowding him to the point where he couldn’t move, he inched his way back to his car and I think he actually had to slightly push people with his car door to get back in the car, even though he was being very careful. I was on the side of his passenger side, along with a few other fans. One guy stuck a puck out and asked if he would sign it, and he said “I’m really sorry, guys, but if I can’t even move, I can’t sign stuff. It sucks that a few people had to ruin it for everyone else. I’m really sorry, but if I can’t move, I can’t sign.”



The Saint can barely get in his vehicle.
He sounded tired, and he definitely seemed guilty, almost like he seemed to know he would be letting fans down if he didn’t stay and sign. His voice was pretty quiet and almost seemed a little timid. For me, it was a very strong affirmation of just how much pressure this young guy is under. He’s only about a year younger than I am, and I can’t imagine being in his shoes. I know my own patience would run thin and I would probably want to just go home after practice too, so I loved his patience and his grace! Anyways, I thought that that would be it – that he wouldn’t sign anymore autographs. But the guy didn’t move his puck and I had my t-shirt and sharpie in my hand, so I said, “Please, Sid?” and he looked up at me (and I momentarily stopped breathing) and sort of cracked a smile and signed it, along with the guy’s puck and a few other people’s cards and such. I thanked him and said “Have a great season!” to which he looked up and answered “Thanks.” (2nd momentary stoppage of breathing, haha). I know this sounds corny, and people always say this about him, but he really did seem extremely genuine. When he thanked me, it wasn’t as if he was just thanking the 5493584985409385934th person who had told him to have a great season, but it was like he was thanking me for my kind words.

After Sid left, there was a little bit of down time before Dustin Jeffrey came out. He came right over and signed stuff and chatted. After a little while, Hal Gill came out. He put his stuff in his car, and it looked like he was just going to leave, but then he came over and signed autographs for a while and was chatting with people.

After what seemed like forever, Jordan Staal finally appeared through the doors. He was on the phone and it looked like he was just going to leave, so a few brave fans ran through the parking lot (much to the dismay of the older parking attendant who had to chase them down). He left through the other gate (the one I wasn’t at), so I didn’t really get any pictures, but it looked like he stayed for a little bit.

After what seemed like forever (again, Fleur and Letang walked out together and headed straight for Fleury’s Escalade. They waved, so it seemed like they wouldn’t stop on the way out, but they stopped and signed autographs for a long time. Fleur was wearing a Pirates hat, which I thought was kind of cool! And I also learned that Letang is a lefty (like myself, we are clearly awesome)! I know a lot of the players shoot left, but I figured that most of them (like Sid, for example) actually write right-handed.





Letang and Fleury go green by carpooling.
All in all, it was a great day! I came away with a ton of pictures, and a t-shirt that I will now probably never wear/wash again! It’s actually the same t-shirt that I took with me on all my summer travels this summer (as featured in the pictures I submitted for the TSCS summer project), so it seems fitting that now it holds so many new wonderful memories!


I got the chance to go to the game on Saturday, too! A good friend of mine and I went down and got student rush tickets. Our seats were up in E, but they were on the end where the Pens shoot twice, so it wasn’t too bad. I can’t tell you how exciting it was when the first thing that John Barbaro said was “It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh!” It was great to finally here that again. While this was the shortest off-season we’ve had in a while, it seemed like the longest!


It was really fun to watch Staalzy score 51 seconds into the game – he just made it look so effortless! Godard and Koci’s fight was pretty awesome to see too – Koci had a good bit of blood on the front of his jersey. Sid spent two minutes in the penalty box for slashing – he shoved the guy and then right-out whacked him in the back of his legs with his stick – it was kind of funny, but Sid’s head hung a little low as he skated over to the box.


Dany Sabourin spent the entire game watching from a stool at the mouth of the tunnel to the locker room. There were other people (trainers and ushers, it looked like) standing around him, but it was kind of sad to see him all by himself, away from his teammates. When I got home and found this article, it made me even more sad. While I love, love, love Fleur, Dany’s a good goalie too and I definitely agree he deserves his chance to shine – and sadly, I don’t think he’ll get that chance with the Pens, so we probably won’t see him after his contract is up.



The site of the new arena.
The people of Pittsburgh have certainly already embraced Miroslav Satan as one of their own. As my friend and I were driving down Centre Avenue (where the player’s lot is) we saw his car (still with New York plates) and he was leaning out his window signing autographs for the throng of fans. He seemed a little nervous in the game, but I think he and Sid are going to be a good match. Therrien was certainly having a little fun mixing up the lines last night – at one point Sid, Geno, Staal, Satan, and Gonchar were all out there together! He played Sid, Geno, Staal, and Satan out together several times throughout the game, which was really fun to see.


This weekend was one of the best weekends I've ever had in my whole life.

Thanks so much for the story and the awesome photos, Lauren! Tomorrow, I'll have more pictures from Friday's practice and another installment of TSCS's Roaming Penguins. Also, check back later tonight for a post on which I'll need your help... :)

Pens v Lightning (L 4-5) Exhibition Game

1WingAngel and Nicole G. - our twin Friends of The Show - went to Saturday's exhibition game against Tampa Bay. They were nice enough to send in an awesome recap along with pictures of the action!

The Good News:

Dupuis played really well yesterday!

Dupuis charging after the puck - amazing!!! (Click to enlarge)

Pesonen is a good addition to the team - He can skate fast and nailed at least one assist.

Godard (#28) can fight - He bloodied up Lightning #33, David Koci, in a beautiful fight that got the crowd to our feet.

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

Sykora was amazing to watch - He was intense, fast, and racked up two goals and an assist or two.

Jordan scored our first goal 51 seconds into the game with an assist from Sykora. He was also pretty aggressive when the puck was by the Lightning's net.

Goligoski looks like a worthy addition to the Pens - He really helped our Boys keep the puck around the Lightning's net and nailed an assist.

Sidney tying his skates

Orpik is baaaack! - Everyone was excited to see him be a great defenseman during this game. He got a few good checks in.

Our main man was, of course, unbelievable. - Sidney constantly created opportunities by the net that the Boys unfortunately didn't capitalize on. In the third period, however, he stole the puck in a turnover by the Lightning's end, charged past a few defensemen, and dumped the puck in underhanded as a well-needed goal to tie the game. As soon as Sid got the puck & started skating for the goal, we *knew* he wouldn't let us down!! Sad to say, I was too hyped to get the camera. -_-;; [snoop: That's TOTALLY understandable. I have no action shots from the Winter Classic. I only took pics between breaks because I just wanted to drink it all in while they played, and it can be distracting if you're worried about getting a great picture.]

A Saint and a Flower

The Bad News:

Max wasn't there. :(

Roberts and Malone stayed in Tampa. (Chickens.)

Gonchar was injured badly - He was cleanly checked into the boards by Koci, who was promptly pummeled by Godard, and skated off the ice favoring his left arm, not returning for the rest of the game. Still not sure what that means for the Pens now. [snoop: Here's an update on Sarge from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.]

Line up - check out Sid taking one last shot on MAF! (Click to enlarge)

The refs were just plain mean - Orpik received a penalty for what was clearly a good, clean check. Sidney was also sent to the Sin Bin for a bad slashing call. They also took away a goal by the Pens that would have tied us earlier. Unbelievable.

Our #33, Ryan Stone, should stick with playing hockey - His fight wasn't so good with no blood, no victory, no cheers - and that's what I got a video of.

Pesonen at the faceoff

Fleury was not himself that night - It just was not his game (This made 1wingangel very sad, Fleury's her favorite guy!). He let in four goals, two of which he actually appeared to kick into the net as he dived, which drove us into a five-minute Sudden Death Overtime.

Sidney at the faceoff

During the overtime, the Pens did a pretty good job with keeping the puck in Tampa Bay's end, but none of their shots ever seemed to find the net. Even Geno appeared to be reluctant to fire his amazing slapshots when he had the chance. The Boys just weren't themselves, they didn't seem to have that fire in them when they needed to. They passed the puck around much more often than they tried to score. In the end, it was down to a shootout to determine the winning team. Satan was selected first, and charged the net, but missed. Then Tampa was up, selecting #36 Jessi Jokinen, and Fleury was bested by a fake-out. Next, Geno was called to get us a point, but was too slow and hesitant, and missed as well after trying to fake a slapshot (in the video, you can hear 1wingangel shout "Come on, Geno!"). The next Lightning, first-round-draft-pick Steven Stamkos, also got past Flower and the game was over. Poor Fleury was clearly frustrated with his effort, as he slammed his stick down while heading onto the runway.

Best street in the 'Burgh! (Click to enlarge)

Overall, despite the loss it wasn't a *bad* game. The Pens were on fire during the first period, and Sidney & Satan look like a good match-up. And, of course, Sidney scored the goal we all came to see. Man, was it awesome. To see highlights from the game, and to give you a better sense of what happened than what I typed, go to PensTV to watch the highlight reel (click on "9-20-2008 Highlights").

Many, many, MANY THANKS to 1WingAngel and Nicole for doing my job for the day! ;)