Tag: Pittsburgh Penguins (Page 1 of 3)

It’s In The Bag

9 July, 2011 / Kat

I have a laundry list of blog posts to write up from my vacation. The handwritten list is growing by the day. The following may not be the most substantial, but I just had to share.

Every time I visit my hometown, I am on the hunt for Buffalo Bills merchandise that I wouldn’t be able to find online or even in the most overarching of Massachusetts sports stores. I found the perfect item on the last day of my vacation at In The Zone, a sports collectable store in the Mall at Greece Ridge in Rochester, NY.

Yes, that is a Buffalo Bills purse.

It’s actually one of the most practical purses I’ve ever bought. It is made from heavy duty fabric, has several pockets, and is roomy enough for me to use on the commute to and from work. It also has studs on the bottom corners to prevent the bag from getting ruined.

Not a Bills fan, or not in Rochester? Don’t worry. The purse is created by Charm 14 New York, and they have an entire line of classy and practical sports handbags available online. Look at this one for the Boston Red Sox fans among us:

And this one, which immediately made me think of my friend Sara:

Charm 14’s sport handbags are between $17.95 for a wrislet and $35.95 for the tote (though I did get my tote for less at In The Zone – pricing in stores seem to vary.) They also have wholesale packs for sale, perfect for if I ever open the SportsGirlKat gift shoppe. (And if you want to give me some kind of funding or location towards the SportsGirlKat gift shoppe, you know how to contact me.)

Dr. Pepper Makes a House Visit to the Pens

4 May, 2010 / Kat

A fountain Dr. Pepper machine. (Photo: sage.kitamorn.com)

While trying to hatch up some tough college hockey related NHL playoff trivia questions for my gig managing the Rival Films Facebook page, I noticed a press release on the Pittsburgh Penguins team page regarding the beverage contract for their new arena. The Consol Energy Center will have an exclusive beverage contract with Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, which means RC Cola, Dr. Pepper, A&W Ro

ot Beer, and 7Up will be flowing out of the concession stand fountain machines, and Snapple and Fiji water bottles will be available along side them. This is the first beverage deal for the Penguins in quite a while, and is one of the first I’ve ever heard where the exclusive beverage rights were given to someone who isn’t Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

Dr. Pepper? Fountain soda Dr. Pepper? Alongside hockey? Well, wrap me up and ship me UPS to Pittsburgh.

If there is a weakness I have in life, fountain soda/pop is undeniably it. Don’t even begin to tell me how awful it is for me – I am more than fully aware. Even a year working in the Campus Center Dining Hall at Ithaca College, where I was often made to change the disgusting looking syrups for the fountain soda machines, could not dissuade me. Before I became addicted to coffee, the rare occasion I had fountain soda was my vice. Continue reading

To Play Outdoors, To Not Play Outdoors

14 June, 2009 / Kat

So are they playing a college hockey game here or not? (Picture by yours truly. Yes, I can take good photos once and a while.)

Remember when I noted that Denver’s men’s ice hockey schedule release may have squashed rumors of a college game being a part of Fenway Park’s all-but-confirmed Winter Classic festivities? Well, the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont may have revived those rumors by claiming that a source close to the organizers are looking to have the ice system down for three weeks of use, and are looking to schedule a college tournament within that time.

Dupont went on to mention that any official announcement about all of the Winter Classic would most likely take place near the beginning of July.

These new details would seemingly make a Boston College-Boston University game a possibility, because of the length of time the ice will be available. BC could still keep their commitments to the Denver Cup on New Year’s Day, while still having time to fit in an outdoor game against BU.

I’ll keep my eyes out for any additional clues.

********

Belated congratulations to the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury definitely proved his worth as a goalie on Friday evening (he actually made an acrobatic save in those final seconds – who knew?)

On the Everyone’s Favorite Goalie Watch, John Curry did dress for Game 7, but his name does not get engraved on the Cup, and thus he was not allowed to carry it because of superstition. Until your name is on the Cup, you are not allowed to touch it as a hockey player. He was still spotted on the NBC broadcast wearing the nifty locker room hat though.

Speaking of locker-room hats, Puck Daddy posted a great feature on the conceptualization and production of NHL championship fan wear on Saturday. Those of you as obsessed with fan wear as I will geek out over the detail.

And a special congrats to the Pens fans at Puck Huffers (NSFW), who titled their championship post, “Our Curry in Heaven,” and part of their dedication to disappointed and bitter Detroit fans read:

It’s time for you to put your hands towards the sky and pray for redemption. It worked for us.
Then again, John Curry is God.

It’s clear I’ve been outdone. I think they might need to take over the “Everyone’s Favorite Goalie” posts.

The Everyone’s Favorite Goalie Watch: Riding a Taxi Without Paying a Dime

8 June, 2009 / Kat

033108_curry It’s been a while since we checked on Everyone’s Favorite Goalie – well, I mean, Everyone’s Favorite Goalie before Terrier fans were introduced to the John Curry clone that is Kieran Milan. (Thanks to blog commenter “Ogre” for jogging my memory to cover this topic.)

When we left last BU’s former starting goalie, Curry had returned to the AHL after impressing in his NHL debut around Thanksgiving. He then went on to set the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins team record for number of wins in a season in March, ending the season with 37 (33 in the regular season, 4 in the playoffs.) Curry earned those 4 playoff wins by leading the Baby Penguins team through the first round of the playoffs against the Bridgeport SoundTigers, but not without suffering a knee injury in Game 5 of that series. (Of course, the SoundTigers are the team in which Curry participated in the now famous “goalie fight” last year. Can I just tell you that still, a year later, we play that video in the office when we’re having a particularly rough day? Or maybe it’s just me.)

Due to Curry’s injury, backup Adam Berkhoel received most of the starts in the Baby Pens series against the pesky Hershey Bears, which the Bears won on their way to the Calder Cup finals (in which they currently have a 3-1 series lead over the Cory Schneider led Manitoba Moose.)

But why is it then that a detail-oriented hockey fan might find Curry’s name on the active roster for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals? Because despite his knee injury, Curry was called up to be the third string goalie for the remainder of the playoffs for Pittsburgh. He is on what sports fans and writers call “the taxi squad.”

The Everyone’s Favorite Goalie Watch: Thanks, That Was Fun.

13 December, 2008 / Kat

The Penguin asks, "Where is Everyone's Favorite Goalie? He won us games!" (by Flickr user Alicia Rae)

All of us Everyone’s Favorite Goalie fans knew that this day would come. Pittsburgh Penguins star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury would eventually recover from his “lower body” injury, and want his job back. And because of this, John Curry would get sent back down to Michael Scott’s favorite hockey team, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

Curry didn’t leave without earning his second NHL win, stopping 24 of 26 shots in a 9-2 Penguins win against the Islanders. Pittsburgh-ians like him. For example, according to my Twitter friend @erinkpgh, a “Spicy Curry” sign seen in the crowd at the Mellon Arena. Several game accounts mentioned a few really spectacular saves that he made, and while he got lost in the shuffle after two of his teammates scored hat tricks, many in the Penguins blogosphere have expressed their hope to see him back permanently next year, after Sabourin leaves in free agency.

Pittsburgh, all BU fans would like to thank you for taking such good care of our beloved Curry. We are happy knowing he is in good hands, that he’s appreciated, and that you’ve caught on to making amusing signs using his last name.

And BU fans, here’s a fun fact to taunt your favorite Boston College Eagles fan with: Curry leaves the NHL with more wins than Cory Schneider. Take that.