Phoenix

Phoenix

From Yuma, we drove over to Phoenix and stayed with friends Todd and Holly Reynolds. Todd was one of Dan’s agents and he and his father Don continue to support our family in so many ways. We got to meet almost two year old Samuel who really liked to go out and see our big bus. Graham went to the team practice the day before the actual game and talked to a number of players in the dressing room. He especially enjoyed talking to Curtis Joseph who said he fondly remembers playing in our Woolwich Weekend tournament in Elmira and St. Jacobs. He also said he owns an Olympia ice machine for his private arena and purchased it in Elmira. My friend Rick Schlupp and his family own the Olympia company and make the ice machines at their factory right in Elmira. It was nice to hear about another connection to Elmira. After a talk with Wayne Gretzky, we were sent to his merchandising company out in Scottsdale, Arizona. We met with Darren Blake, Mike Brown, and Drew (sorry I didn’t catch his last name) at the warehouse housing all kinds of Wayne Gretzky signed merchandise. They graciously donated an autographed Oiler’s 99 jersey and a framed autographed picture of Wayne and Gordie Howe sitting together on the bench from the game they played together in 1979 in the WHA. A very generous donation for our end of the tour on line auction. The Coyotes also donated a signed team jersey. It was a good game for the Coyotes and they dominated all night against the New Jersey Devils. They outshot the Devils by a 2-1 margin and even though Curtis Joseph only faced about 12 shots, he was very strong in net.
Graham spoke to a group of adult hockey players on Tuesday evening at the arena in the Coyotes dressing room. They were there for a tour of the team’s facilities and then were going on ice with some Coyote alumni for a work out and a mini tournament. On Wednesday afternoon Graham also spoke to a group of the marketing and ticket sales staff for the team about goals and teamwork. He also talked about how our family has coped the past three years and about the power of forgiveness. He was well received by each group and they were very kind and generous in their thanks afterwards. A special thanks to Sarah for arranging both talks and for all her assistance to make our stop in Phoenix so enjoyable. She made everything easy for us. Thanks Sarah. It is hard to believe, but we have now been to nine NHL cities. Nine cities down and only twenty one to go. Our record for the home team while we are in attendance now stands at 6 and 3. Those Flyers were tough in California for the home team. On to Denver.

Graham's Game Report

Wed Nov 22
Glendale Arena
Phoenix Coyotes vs. New Jersey Devils

The Devils look like a strong contender in the east again this year while the Coyotes have floundered in the strong Western conference. Tonight Phoenix dominated right from the opening faceoff and looked nothing like the team we saw back in Calgary. With captain Shane Doan and the veteran Mike Ricci back in the lineup they were much more balanced up front and the blueline looks looks pretty solid at the top end with Jovanovski, Boynton and Derek Morris leading and youngster Keith Ballard looking ready to contribute. Dave Scatchard led the way with a goal and assist and Curtis Joseph had a rare easy night as the team defended well throughout the game. The Devils were curiously passive on the forecheck even when they trailed by two in the third period. It was a much needed win for the home team.
Off to the Rockies to see Joe Sakic and the Avs on Saturday.

Weekly Travel

Weekly Travel

We reluctantly left our great spot on the California beach and headed further south to San Diego. The terrain changed and became more desert like as we went down south. It was hilly and rolling along areas when the highway followed along the coast. We stayed at one of the fancier RV parks that we have been at so far. There was a large market on site along with a small restaurant that had the best barbequed chicken I have had in a long time. The park was right on the north part of Mission Bay. Once again, it was quite warm and we went for a swim at 9:00 in the evening and the temperature was still in the low eighties. Entertainment poolside was in the form of a rather drunk guy in a cowboy hat playing the harmonica. He was pretty good actually and quite funny. He rambled on a fair a bit and then blurted out that last year he found out the man he always thought was his father wasn’t his biological father. Imagine that he says. Finding out something like that when you are 50 years old. Then just as quick he says, I guess mom was kind of promiscuous. Man I love that woman. I couldn’t keep a straight face. I had to leave. We have met some different people along the way, that’s for sure. From San Diego we were making our way over to Phoenix. We decided to drive as far as Yuma the first day. It was 90F when we left San Diego first thing in the morning. I love this warm weather. We climbed a fair bit again into some hilly areas and ended up reaching 3000 ft. elevation at one point and then 4000 ft elevation as we went through the Vallecito Mountains. The temperature dropped into the seventies when we were in the higher elevation, but it was still nice and warm. Still definitely not too hard to take.
We camped outside of the city of Yuma at the Cocopah RV and Golf Club. Again, a very nice spot. The Yuma is one of the largest suppliers of winter vegetables to the US and Canada. 98% of all head lettuce for distribution is grown in the Yuma area. There were fields and fields of celery, romaine lettuce, broccoli, head lettuce, parsley, and cotton. The raised rows had hundreds of plants growing in each one. A good supply of water in the area, even though it is considered a desert region, allows for generous irrigation. All the different colours and textures of the plants made it look like a giant quilt when you looked over the fields. It was pretty neat to see where all the vegetables are grown that we consume during the winter months.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

After settling at El Segundo, we spent a quiet day at the beach. The driving around the Los Angeles area is everything we had heard and more. Mostly terrible. I thought it was difficult driving in Chicago. We went to see someone on the Friday and what should have been a twenty to twenty five minute drive each way, ended up taking almost an hour and a half each way. Ridiculous and crazy. I could never live in that congested an area. To each his own I guess. We were going to the Kings game on Thursday evening and got there early. Jeff Cowan and his girlfriend Leigh Ann picked us up at the RV Park. Jeff played with Dan in Atlanta and has been on the injured list. We made plans to go out after the game with the Cowans and the Weavers. Mike Weaver also plays in Los Angeles for the Kings and he played with Dan in Orlando, Chicago, and Atlanta. Weaves (as he is known) scored his first goal of the season (or actually his first NHL goal), but it was called back by the referee. Next time Weaves. The Flyers came out flying again and surprisingly put down the Kings 4-3. They have certainly since the beginning of the season but were pretty dominate against the Ducks and the Kings. They were pretty happy to get four points on the road against two good teams. We went out after the game and had a great visit. It always feels good to be with Dan’s friends and share stories. We decided to stay another day at El Segundo at the beach. It was so warm and such a nice spot. After our sojourn across Los Angeles we made our way back to the beach and had Lisa, Jeff and Leigh Ann, Mike and Rhianna, and Mike’s sister Jen over for a steak barbeque. We had way too much food (as usual) and lots of fun. It was a beautiful evening on the beach. The stars in the sky were amazing.

Graham's Game Report

Thu Nov 16
Staples Centre
Los Angeles Kings vs. Philadelphia Flyers

A little parlay action with the Flyers providing the long odds would have been a huge payoff in L.A. but alas I missed the crystal ball on this one. Our strong home record on this trip was dealt a severe blow by the Flyers but you have to love the parity in the new NHL. The Kings were on top 2-1 in the third period when lightning struck and our old buddy Mike Weaver struck for his first NHL goal and we were on our feet cheering wildly. For reasons unknown the referee ruled that he had blown his whistle in error and the goal was disallowed even though the Flyers never gained possession on the delayed penalty. Too bad for Weavs who scores about once a decade and even though the Kings went up 3-1 a little later it came back to bite them as Philly scored three quick goals and hung on to win 4-3. Sean Avery showed a few of the skills he flashed back in Owen Sound and stayed away from the stupid stuff that hurt him last year. Unfortunately Dan’s Thrasher linemate Jeff Cowan was still on the injured list for this one but hopes to be back very soon. Very tough loss for the Kings who have struggled out of the gate but a learning tool none the less. It was interesting to see the number of Flyers jerseys in the stands at both LA rinks and for a change they had lots to cheer about.

Anaheim

Anaheim

We drove to Los Angeles on Monday afternoon and went straight to see Lisa. Lisa was Dan’s girlfriend just before he passed away. We have stayed in touch with her and were looking forward to seeing her. We were greeted immediately by her very large mixed breed dog named Zipper. He is as gentle as a kitten, but I wouldn’t want to tick him off. He is one big puppy. We stayed at her place for two days and got a personal guided tour of the LA area, including Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, and Hollywood.
A short drive away, we were going first to see the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. We went to the team practice on Wednesday morning and to the game on Thursday evening. The Ducks have been on a bit of a tear and had only lost one game till that point in their schedule. The Flyers came into town and cleaned up though and handed them their second loss of the season. The community department for the team took us for a visit with a group of children before the Ducks game, that were involved in an after school program for kids from a mostly Hispanic neighbourhood. We saw one group at their local roller rink where they played roller hockey and then went over to the Paul Revere Elementary School and met with another group there. They are huge hockey fans and Graham spoke for a bit to the kids at the school about dreams and goals. They are all involved in the Disney Goals program and are crazy about hockey (and the Ducks) and setting goals for yourself. They were a great group of kids that asked a lot of good questions about hockey. Disney and the Junior Ducks and the Anaheim organization have partnered to fund a program for kids that normally wouldn’t be able to afford to play hockey or the equipment. Check out their pictures on the site. We stayed at a RV park near The Pond (which is now called the Honda Center) that was pretty neat. They had citrus fruit trees at each site and encouraged you to pick the fruit. We got some pretty tasty oranges and limes right off the tree. It was also quite warmer in the LA area and didn’t cool down as much at night. After one night staying in Anaheim, we went back to the LA area and camped right at the beach in a State Park at El Segundo. Talk about nice. The temperature averaged 80F the two days we stayed there. Not hard to take for these two sun starved canucks. Another loss for the home team while we are on tour and our record now stands at 5 and 2. We now have 7 teams down and 23 to go.

Graham's Game Report

Wed Nov 15
Honda Centre
Anaheim Ducks vs. Philadelphia Flyers

This game looked to be a mismatch with the 30th place team facing #1 on their own pond. Glad I wasn’t betting in Vegas with Tom S. We would have lost our shirts. The Flyers jumped out to a 5-1 first period lead and even though the Ducks pressed hard the rest of the way it ended as a 7-4 upset. Shots were more than two to one in the Ducks favour but the Flyers defended well and made Anaheim pay for every mistake. Forsberg, Gagne and Knuble are a strong first line and Michael Richards still leads by example as he did in Kitchener. Scott Niedermayer is the smoothest D in the game and the Ducks are very strong on the backend. A little small up front but very quick and skilled. Young Dustin Penner had a strong game up front and adds some much needed size. It was good to see Dan’s Chicago Wolves teammate, Joe DiPenta getting a regular shift on the blueline. He was steady as always back there. Well done Flyers for a rare two points on the road.

Weekly Travel

Weekly Travel

Upon leaving San Jose, it was time for a bit of a holiday. We were heading over to Las Vegas to meet our friends Mike and Marni and Tom and Janie. We arrived on November 8 and stayed till the 12th. We had a great time. Got to see the new Cirque de Soleil show about the Beatles called LOVE. The music was fantastic. The interpretation of the music on stage by the actors was different, but tied in with the sixties psychedelic era theme. The sound system is amazing and it was great just to sit back and listen to some Beatle’s tunes. We also went out for lunch to the Mesa Grille. Graham was pretty pumped about that one. He is a huge Bobby Flay fan and could have eaten one of everything on the menu. For six meals, three entrees, and drinks, the bill was very reasonable and the food and company was great. We played some cards and had fun playing a slot machine called gold fish. The time with our friends went by too quickly, but it was a nice break. We left Vegas on the Monday morning bright and early and made our way back to Los Angeles.