Sea Dogs vs. Halifax Mooseheads

There's a special place in my heart for the Halifax Mooseheads. After all, they are my second favourite QMJHL team, and the first junior league hockey team I ever saw play. My sister, Krista, has been a Mooseheads fan pretty much since they first took the ice back in 1994, and my niece Emily has been a serious fan since she was in the womb! (She's now the unofficial team mascot, I think, given how much some of the players adore her.) So I always enjoy the Halifax - Saint John games -- even more so when my sister's family makes the trip up.

No Alfords tonight, though, and a teensy-weensy part of me was a little bit glad. I was a little nervous coming in to tonight, since we were coming off a five-game losing streak, and the sibling rivalry between Krista and me can get a little intense!

Coming into Harbour Station at the end of warm-up, I was pleased to see that our boys are continuing the tradition of wearing pink practice jerseys for the month of October. These jerseys are then auctioned off, with the proceeds going to support breast cancer research. I think it's a great idea, and just wish my camera had been able to capture the "Pepto-Bismol pink" shade properly!

After a few passes from the Zamboni, though, it was time to get down to business. Looking at the backs of the Mooseheads' jerseys, I recognized a number of names (Logan MacMillan, Ben MacAskill, Justin Pender), but also a lot of names I didn't know. One player in particular that I recognized was Scott McDonald, one of our former Sea Dogs from last year. It was really nice to see him play, even if it was for the other team!

It's tradition that I take as many pictures of the Mooseheads as possible at games that Krista can't attend, so I did my best to keep the camera going. (This usually earns me the ire of Sea Dogs fans sitting near me, as they invariably call me a traitor.) Unfortunately many of my pictures didn't turn out this time. Hopefully she won't be too disappointed.

One place it's easy to take pictures, though, is the penalty box, since the players are sitting still and I'm right there. I sometimes bring a little picture of Emily to hold up and show them, but I forgot tonight. Too bad, too, because Logan MacMillan (who Emily calls "Yogan") was looking a little dejected in the box towards the end of the game. (That's his nose and mouthguard in behind O'Connor here.)

The game really wasn't all that kind to the Mooseheads.
To be honest, I was expecting a little more out of their goalie, Yetman. The two teams were pretty evenly matched for shots on goal (for the first two periods, anyway), but our goalie (Robert Mayer) was simply a lot better at stopping them. My sister said that Yetman got slaughtered last night too, so he's not having a great weekend.

When all was said and done, the Saint John Sea Dogs were victorious, and I was feeling bad for the Halifax Mooseheads. After all, they are my second-favourite team, and my niece Emily's sun rises and sets on them. And my poor sister sounded so dejected when I called her that I couldn't even bring myself to rub it in.
There will be other games, however -- like on October 30, when the Sea Dogs head down to Halifax. I wish it were on a weekend because I'd love to go. But, then again, maybe it's better if I don't. So far this year, road trips haven't been as kind to us as they could be, and my sister has absolutely no compassion when it comes to teasing me about our hockey teams. *grin*