Hockey Time!!

I love summer and I'm absolutely depressed every fall when I realize that the days are getting colder and the leaves in the trees are falling down. The only thing that brightens up my fall is hockey. I also love hockey! Only my nearest and dearest know this. I usually get suprised looks when I tell people I really love hockey. I guess girls are only supposed to like it a little bit. (*laughs*)
Nothing is better than watching a good game. Hockey has everything; speed, sweat, goals, gorgeous players, occasional fights and overall excitement.



I like hockey so much that I will watch pretty much any game, as long as there are two teams and a puck. But I do have couple of favorite teams.
In the Finnish national hockey league (SM-Liiga) I root for a team called KalPa. They are from Kuopio and the team was established in 1929. The full name of the company that runs the representative team is KalPa Hockey Oy. The majority of the company is owned by NHL players Sami Kapanen and Kimmo Timonen. My favorite player is Sami Kapanen. He is just awesome! He is a fast skater and his puck handling is much better than any other player. You can see that he has played in NHL. He already retired once (he is 38 yrs) but he only lasted a year without getting back on the ice.
The most fun memory from a KalPa game is from few years ago when I was celebrating my birthday and we actually rented a VIP area for the game. It was awesome to have a group of your friends, eat good food and watch the game. It also helped that KalPa won.
KalPa is starting their new season today at 6.20pm. It is not a home game, so I will be watching the game on TV. Go, KalPa, Go!

Another team that I cheer for, is the Chicago Blackhawks in NHL (National Hockey League in USA). I always liked them but when I lived in USA and I was able to go see their games, I really started to like them a lot. The Hawks have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10. Too bad I wasn't in Chicago to see the celabration for the most recent Stanley Cup.
My best memory from USA is when I was watching Blackhawks' game against the Phoenix Coyotes and I saw Wayne Gretzky! I was so excited!! He was coaching the Coyotes. We sat really close to the Coyotes' bench and were able to see Wayne fairly close up.


Then I of course watch the Finnish national team's games. I will re-arrange my work schedule if I have to, as long as I get to see their games. Pesky Olympic games are sometimes at very tricky times depending where they are held, like last time in Canada. I had to wake up middle of the night to watch the games because of the time difference. My co-workers don't get me but they will still trade shifts with me.
The Finnish men's national ice hockey team is also known as the The Lions (Leijonat in Finnish).
At the 2011 World championships Finland won a gold medal, beating Sweden in the final by a score of 6–1. The previous gold metal was back in 2005.
The national team has retired Raimo Helminen's #14 and Jari Kurri's #17 jerseys. They currently hang in Hartwall Areena in Helsinki. Kurri is currently the general manager of the team. Both were very good players back in the day. Hats off to them!



So, consider this the official start up for the new hockey season. May the games be good and shall there be blood, sweat and tears.