SONG(S) OF THE WEEK AND MORE

One of the true adventures of road trips is finding a place to eat on non-game nights. Hotel restaurants are only so good and, obviously, it's hard to get to anywhere outside of the hotel unless the bus is taking everyone, or you pay for a cab. Well tonight a few of us ventured out without a cab, hoofed it across snowy sidewalks, and crossed busy sidewalks to grab a bite. Now that I've made it back safe and sound, I wanted to catch up with you all.

I, unfortunately, missed out on last week's entry due to overwhelming business. I had a large part in helping plan the "Pink in the Rink" festivities for last Friday's game and it didn't leave much time for anything else. Needless to say, all the work was worth it because the game was well attended, the event ran smoothly, and we raised a lot of money for a great cause. A big thanks goes out to everyone with the Road Warriors, all the fans who attended and bid on the game-worn jerseys, and the ladies with Mary Kay who helped pull it all together.

Since I missed last week, it's double the fun with two songs of the week this week. Last week's selection is one that I'm betting none of you readers have heard before. The band is an outfit that was a regional success in Pittsburgh that never quite hit the national stage. I picked this song, in the spirit of full disclosure, because I had been pretty homesick over the last couple of weeks. When I was in high school it was on the local rock radio station nonstop, and hearing it now brings back a lot of great memories. I also love the kid in the video at the 1:37 mark. Everyone who has ever walked this earth needs to be moved by music like that at some point. With that I give you "Hurricane" by Buzz Poets:



This week's pick is a suggestion from a friend, sort of. We had been talking about music earlier this week and the band Say Anything came up. I have one of its older songs on a driving mix I had made back in college, but hadn't listened to any of its newer music. She suggested that I check out their new album, and I decided that I'd pick my favorite song to use for this week's entry. I gave every song one listen and this one stuck out to me right away so the choice was pretty easy. I am going to go back and give it another listen to see if the album is worth buying. Until then, enjoy "She Won't Follow You."



On the ice this weekend is an interesting matchup between the Road Warriors and a new opponent, the Reading Royals. Both lead their divisions, both are dangerous offensive clubs, and both defend well. On paper the Road Warriors and Royals seem like very evenly matched clubs, but there is a reason games aren't played on paper. For the first time in a while, it looks like the Road Warriors will be better off in terms of the depth of their lineup than their opponent. That's because I expect suspensions as a result of this fight to leave Reading without many key players. There hasn't been an official release from the league regarding discipline, but leaving the bench to join an altercation carries with it an automatic suspension and that was Reading's last game before the all-star break. For the Road Warriors, Andrew Carroll, Chris Chappell, and Dov Grumet-Morris could all return to the lineup after stints of varying degrees in the AHL. Advantage (should) go to the Road Warriors there.

Speaking of the All-Star Game, congratulations are in order for Dean Stork, Marc-Olivier Vallerand, and Blake Parlett. Stork continues to have a rookie head coaching season for the ages as he helped guide the ECHL All-Stars to a 9-3 win over the Bakersfield Condors. Vallerand tied for the team lead with three points (1G, 2A), and Parlett had the top plus/minus rating on the All-Stars Team with a +4. It's a pleasure to see the Road Warriors represented so well in Bakersfield, and hopefully their performances will help propel Stork, Vallerand, and Parlett up the pro hockey ladder just like past ECHL All-Stars have done. In the meantime, it will be great to see them back in the navy and white for this weekend's mini-series against Reading. If the Road Warriors can bring four points home with them, it will be a huge boost in the run up to the big Florida series next week.

I think it's safe to assume that no Road Warriors fans have made the treck north to see these games in person this week so I'm going to leave you with a few photos from inside the Sovereign Center to give you all a look at the home of the Royals. So you know, the picture of the team bench is the one the Road Warriors will sit at for the two games.

WEEKEND PREVIEW AND SONG OF THE WEEK

Happy Thursday everyone! I meant to get to this post earlier in the week but boring household stuff like cleaning and laundry got in the way. Not the snowstorm, though. I come from Pennsylvania so I'm used to that stuff. And for those of you who might have been worried, the games this weekend will not be canceled. Florida is already in town so things will go on according to planned with three games in three days. And what a huge set it is for the Road Warriors, especially after dropping all three last week. Two games against division rivals (Florida and Gwinnett) and one against a North Division foe that they have beaten twice already (Kalamazoo) make up this weekend's busy schedule. Here's how I view each opponent coming in and what might swing the outcome.

Florida: In much the same boat as the Road Warriors right now. Many players out due to injury and call-ups and playing .500 hockey over their last 10. These are still the top two teams in the South Division and I expect a tight, well-played game. Ultimately, though, I think the loss of Mitch Fadden to a blood clot in his leg is too much for the Everblades to overcome this night and a solid defensive outing by the Road Warriors leads to a win.

Gwinnett: Revenge will be the word of the day on Friday. Greenville has lost three straight against Gwinnett and is now 5-6-0 against the Gladiators this season. Aaron Bendickson was placed on the 3-day IR earlier this week and if he isn't back that puts even more pressure on the Road Warriors to shut down the line of Tim Miller, Pat Galivan, and Michael Forney - a line which torched them last weekend. Greenville has won three of five against the Gladiators at the BI-LO Center this season so home ice should be in their favor. This is a close one to call and I'm going to rule a push for right now.

Kalamazoo: The Wings are a tricky team to figure out, and probably to play against. They can score a ton and have skill up front and on the back end. In goal, Ryan Nie is a perennial 25-game winner in the ECHL and Riley Gill was the Goalie of the Month in October, and stellar in the Kelly Cup playoffs last year. Despite the goaltending, Kalamazoo's defense is one of the worst in the league. I think on Saturday Greenville's offense will have an awakening and help the team roll to a comfortable win.

So now that the serious matter of this weekend's games is out of the way, let's have some fun. My song of the week this week is something totally off the wall, and that's why I love it. It was suggested to me by Sheila Denard, but I have to confess that I almost didn't listen to it. The title is "Dirty Night Clowns" by Chris Garneau. Now the reason I almost just ignored it is because I am terribly afraid of clowns. If I see one at a street festival or fair you can be pretty sure I'm going to bolt the other way. My natural reaction when I saw the title of the song was, "Nope. No chance. I'm going to watch this video and have nightmares for weeks." But Sheila took the time to send it to me so I owed it to her to give it a chance.

And wouldn't you know that the song has been stuck in my head for days now. No nightmares, either, which is nice. The dancing skeletons and Grateful Dead-looking bears actually crack me up a good bit. I know for sure that a lot of people won't like this song as much as me, but that's too bad because it's my blog and I get to say what goes in it. Haha! So here's "Dirty Night Clowns," this week's song of the week.

Song of the Week

So I've decided to try something new. During the season I live, eat, sleep, and breathe hockey and I love it. Wouldn't be pursuing a career in it if I didn't. But at the same time there is more in my life than just hockey so I want to write about that a bit. Today's topic is music.

Music is huge to me. I have to have it on no matter what I'm doing during my day. I wake up to music on my alarm clock, have it on at my desk throughout the workday, plug in my iPod while I'm working out, blast the home stereo when I'm cleaning the apartment and on and on. One of my favorite things to do on an off day is scour the web for new music, find something I like, and listen to as much of that band's music as I can. I get such a rush out of discovering new music and then also sharing it with my friends.

Some people have told me my taste in music is a bit odd, but not because I like really strange music. More because I don't like some bands that everyone says I should like. I don't like Led Zepplin. I don't particularly like The Beatles. I really don't like Nirvana. It's not that I think they're bad bands; I know that they're good and I know that their work absolutely influenced a ton of the bands I listen to. It's just that their music doesn't move me in any way and I refuse to listen to music that bores me. If that means I have weird taste in music, then so be it. But I will listen to any genre, like I said, as long as the song makes me feel something (other than bored).

I can't remember where I heard this quote (and I don't know if it's exactly right) but it's one that I've always thought made too much sense: "If you are a love of art, then you love all art. If you are a lover of music, then you love all music." That's the approach I try to take when I'm looking for new music.

So why all this babbling? Will I ever get to my point? Yes I will get to my point and it is this. In this space I am going to post a Song of the Week for the rest of the hockey season. There won't be much rhyme or reason to how I choose the week's song. It could be my favorite tune of the moment, it could be something that I think relates to what's been going on with the Road Warriors, or it could be something completely off the wall. I also want to take suggestions from you all. If you have a song that you think deserves consideration for Song of the Week you can email it to me at grwradioray@gmail.com, and if I like your suggestion enough I'll post it here.

That being said, this week's Song of the Week is "Scalliwag" by Gaelic Storm.



I first heard this song on Pandora (greatest invention ever in my opinion) and bought the album "Bring Yer Wellies" not long ago. I haven't been able to stop listening to the entire album for weeks. I'd be willing to bet the same will happen to you. So enjoy "Scalliwag" and check back next week to see what the new song will be!