crazy passion and luck at shark tank

SJ Sharks' 7:30pm game against Dallas Stars was a sold out game.
Haven't been to sharks tank in a month did build up some excitement for new games.

The schedule & player stat was fun to read, though disappointing to see my favourite fighter Scott Parker's listed as he missed 1/2 of games due to injury.

What would you expect from Dollas? It's not like fearsome Canadian nor northern part of state, but some desert place near Mexico border, where they may hardly see ice but plentyful tropical storm. That was my thought. Boy, were they good. They seem pretty fit physically, I guess due to all the cowboy lifestyle, heh. And, their passes were pretty accurate & they seem much faster at skating and tagging our players at times. Of course I once saw a Stars player almost falling w/o no one near him, in a very clownish gesture. Heehee...

First period was dragging and slow game. As if Sharks' guys are not fully awake. I couldn't help yelloing 'Come on!' or mutter to self that they can't seem to be skating clean nor see where puck is at. Stars scored its first goal easily within first 10minutes into the game. What an 'ouch' that was. After Nabi seeming to have mis-calculated 1st attempt at goal, it was a clear shot for the Stars, with Nabi already on ice and net seeming empty. The guy just had to be accurate shooter. Oh well, it's only 1st 10 minutes, we all thought. And, with the sharks towl handed out at entrance, we cheered on more. In another 5 minutes, there's another goal scored by Stars. I thought I almost saw a fight breaking out at 1st period, for that last 5 minutes of 1st period. The mood got super competitive, and Sharks finally seem awake from deep sleep and thirsty for blood & action.

Oops, did I say blood. Be careful what you wish for. 'Cuz there was blood shed. Unfortunately it was one of us. Hannan, while in agressive puck fight & body checkin' was down on ice. Took him almost a minute to get up and for a moment both the crowds & players remained in calm while medic helped him walk off the ice. There were blood from his cheek on ice on the spot he fell and dripped blood while he walked off the ice. Yike! That seem to have inspired Sharks a bit. Last 5 minutes of 1st period our players seem to play more around Stars' net, playing some cherry picking. But with all the 'Oh!' and 'Ouches!' and exclamations, puck that seem to fly toward net never made into the net, got caught by massive bodies laying in front of the net, or caught by goalie, or something. It was pretty intense & disturbing. Just for the minutes it was at Stars' net and number of attempts made, it should've scored at least 1. I couldn't help blaming the luck. Sharks just are suffering from a bad game, a bad condition for some reason and a bad luck. That was my defense for them.

2 goals Sharks gave out made the 2nd period rather an interesting game. I think we the audiences came back with low expection and subdued mood, and yet Sharks seem live and faster on feet. Yay, Sharks. 2nd period flew like a mere minute instead of 20minutes. And, amazing a sight it was to see Hannan back on players' row, and yet more surprising to see him on ice. If couch Wilson was going to lecture all the players for tonight's game, there's no way he could say anything to that boy. And, I'm sure medics would have to load him up on painkiller to help him get through the night. Energetic, eager to win back the goals, Sharks easily scored 2 back to be even with Stars. The Stars seem to remain their physical strength and kept up consistant playing yet Sharks somehow were different in 2nd period; like a transformation of Acquarium Sharks to wild one out in Pacific Ocean? Anyhow, there were a few interesting double-powerplay against Stars, plenty boo~~~s against Stars and zebras(when audiences felt pentalty on our guys were not fair).
Was glad to see someone like Sturm(number 19) & Primeau(number 15) making a good progress, was somewhat disappointed at seeing Kyle(number 4), Cheechoo(number 14) and Marleau(number 12) seeming a bit sluggish. Hannan was just crazy. He's already well known for most ice-time as is. It was amazing to see him back on ice, and was super saddening to see him down on ice again and be carried out again with his blood yet once again on ice. He was crazy yet to return to ice, for the third time and it was funny to see how Stars' defensemen somehow left him alone and instead gave Brad(number 7) more of body checking, the share would have been Hannan's.

After a rather comeptitive game in 2nd period, 3rd period seem quiet interesting. At 2:2, both team needed that 3rd goal badly. Again, the game passed through fast, and unfortunately there was no goal to be gained by either team. Both team did try hard, yet no goals made, and it went to 5 minutes extra period followed by shoot-out, which I feared. For some reason Nabi's coming out of net area bothered me. I guess it would have been a good tactic if he was able to stop the goal, but since puck consistantly hit the net, I couldn't help but be a bit upset with his strategy. Yeah, yeah, I know he was supposed to do that, but still I wanted him to block that goals. And, sadly Marleau and Cheechoo, two of our best skaters and goal-makers, both failed to put the puck into the nets, both times caught by Dallas' goalie.

Thus, a sad & bitter game ended. Well, it was pretty interesting and it's not quiet bitter. I wish our players were a bit more alert and less tired-looking. It's always good to play against worthy opponent rather than making a victory over an easy prey, but still it made me worry for Sharks as it's only the beginning of season and the team looked rather sluggish.

Hannan's persistance, Stars' physical fit, and our guys' bad condition made me think about what passion one must have to become a professional hockey player, and made me wonder how much of that zeal we do apply in our day-to-day humdrum jobs. Surely I can make my job more meaningful for myself, hopefully without a cut in my chick, heh. And, many unsuccessful attempts our guys made at Dollas' net made me wonder about luck & fate. Was it just a bad game tonight or was this luck, undescribe-able and seemingly unscientific, against our team tonight?

:) I hope all Sharks fans enjoyed the game as much as I did. Can't wait 'til next game. Hopefully I'll see Thornton & Parker at that game, too. ^^