St. John's IceCaps @ Albany Devils 4/25/14

For the first time in my life, I attended a playoff hockey game. The Islanders haven't helped my cause, so I went to the Albany Devils game instead. They were hosting the St. John's IceCaps, AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, in game 1 of the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The game itself was a very exciting. St. John's got on the board early off of an Albany turnover. The crowd at Times Union Center was large, as the upper deck was open to fans for the playoffs, unlike the regular season.

I had heard on twitter that New Jersey Devils President and General Manager, Hall of Famer Lou Lamoriello, was at the game. At the first intermission, I went looking for him. After walking around the upper level, I spotted an older man wearing a suit sitting in the front row. After a quick google image search confirmed that it was Lamoriello. I went up to him. He was sitting in the front row by himself, and I asked if he could sign something for me. Once he said yes, I handed him a puck and silver sharpie. He signed it nicely, writing out every letter of his name and adding the Hall of Fame inscription that I asked for. I shook his hand, thanked him, then took a blurry picture of him as I left the upper level. When I got back from the game, I scanned the puck and you can see both below.

After I got back to my seat, the Devils began their second period charge. They got a power play and got their chance to tie the game. See what happened below.


Unfortunately for Albany, the visitors would win the game on a long range goal in the final minute of regulation. The game would end with a 2-1 IceCaps final score. Here are some pictures I took after the go-ahead goal got past Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid.

After the game, a slight drizzle began to fall and I went to my usual spot out back. Surprisingly, there was no team bus for the IceCaps. I learned that all the players would be walking to their hotel which is just a few blocks away. I got a few autographs from players on the IceCaps walking to the hotel. I was mainly staying under an overpass to not get rained on. A few of the IceCaps said they liked my photo. Here is the photo I got signed with a list of everyone that signed it.

44-Julian Melchiori 1-Tyler Beskorowany 19-Kyle MacKinnon 30-Eric Comrie

32-Cody Lampl 27-Will O'Neill 6-Josh Morissey 7-Kris Fredheim

14-Eric O'Dell 34-JC Lipon 17-Jerome Samson 10-Andrew Gordon

25-Blair Riley 18-Ben Chariot

That's all I have for now. I hope Albany wins so they play another home game here at the Times Union Center. Thanks for reading. Good luck Graphing. 

Albany Devils Autograph Signing 3/30/14

I went to the Albany Devils game back on March 30. It was followed by the last post-game autograph signing of the season, and I wanted to finish as much of the Albany Devils stuff that I had.

Before the game, I went to the Albany Devils tunnel and got assistant coach Sergei Brylin to sign a card I recently found. Unfortunately, it got smudged when he passed it back to me, but it is still a good autograph from a Stanley Cup Champion.

During the game, I got a good video of Reid Boucher scoring a goal. Check it out below. That's me with the play by play.

The game was a good one, that went to a shootout. Unlike the New Jersey Devils who are 0-11 in shootouts, Albany is pretty decent in the shootout. Captain Rod Pelley scored the only goal, and Scott Wedgewood didn't allow a goal. The Albany Devils look like they are going to the playoffs, and they got the win on this day 3-2.

After the game, I got in line for the 45 minute signing. The first table I went to had Chris McKelvie, Keith Kinkaid, Kelly Zajac, and Mike Sislo. I took a picture with Kinkaid, Sislo, and McKelvie last time, and they all signed a 4x6 that I printed out of it. Kinkaid also signed the photo of him and Johan Hedberg that Hedberg signed in February.

The giveaway for this game was a very large Albany Devils poster, and I got everyone to sign that as well. The next table I went to had Reid Bocuher, David Wohlberg, Scott Timmins, and Corbin McPherson. They all signed my poster, and I got Wohlberg to sign the program I started getting signed in October. I got a few more people to sign the program throughout the afternoon. Here is a photo of Wohlberg signing a hat and Boucher signing a program with Timmins and McPherson in the background.

When I reached the table featuring Stefan Matteau, son of Stephan Matteau, I stopped for a minute to grab a puck out of my bag. Matteau is one of the Devils top prospects, and has the potential to be a regular in the NHL in the next year or two. He signed the puck with my gold sharpie, the poster, and his photo in the program, which you can see at the bottom of this entry. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of Matteau signing, but the evidence is good enough.

I also got to a table that had winning goalie Scott Wedgewood, Reece Scarlett, Harri Pesonen, and a fourth player whom I can't remember right now. They all signed the poster after what seemed like a long wait. Of all the Devils autograph signings I've been to, this one was by far the most crowded.

Another table had shootout hero Rod Pelley, Cam Janssen, and another player who I can't remember. I wish I had the list of who was at what table, but I didn't get one for this day. I just walked in a circle and got everything signed. They signed my poster as well.

That's all the pictures I have from the signing. Here is the poster. You can see who signed it under the picture of the poster. The two hockey pucks are shown for scale. Everyone that was at the signing signed the poster.

Here's everyone that signed the poster. The number next to their name is the number that is on they jersey they are wearing, not the number they signed with. It's easier to identify them that way.
8-Mattias Tedenby 1-Keith Kinkaid 22-Cam Janssen 26-Mike Hoeffel 32-Alex Urbom
7-Brandon Burlon 23-Darcy Zajac 28-Dan Kelly 19-Mike Sislo 14-Reid Boucher
10-Rod Pelley 18-Stefan Matteau 33-Corbin McPherson 2-Seth Helgeson
17-Scott Timmins 29-Raman Hrabarenka 16-Chris McKelvie 11-Kelly Zajac
15-Harri Pesonen 34-Reece Scarlett 25-David Wohlberg 31-Scott Wedgewood

Lastly, here is my updated signed program. I got a bunch of people to sign it at the signing. The names are near the photos and signatures, so there isn't a need for another list.  Click on the photos to get a bigger look.

Overall, another well organized signing by the Devils. If you are in Albany, go to a game and try to get some autographs, you won't be disappointed. The AHL playoffs start in a few weeks, and some players currently on New Jersey should be sent down once the Devils are out of NHL playoff contention. That's all I have for now. Best of luck graphing and thanks for reading!

Adirondack Phantoms @ Albany Devils 2/15/14

This past Saturday, February 15, I went back to the Times Union Center in Albany to try and get some autographs. The Philadelphia Flyers AHL team, the Adirondack Phantoms, were in town, and I had some stuff for a few of those players. It was a good game for the Devils, as they got the win by a 4-1 score.

I barely got to the spot where the bus leaves behind the arena before the players started walking out. I didn't have stuff for everyone, but I did have my camera so I took a few photos of other players signing for a group of Phantoms fans that assembled outside. I wish I could tell you who these guys are, but I just don't know. If you know, any help would be appreciated.

The first person who I got was Oliver Lauridsen. One of the kids in the photos above knew who he was, and I know that he played a few games in the NHL. I had printed out a couple basic Flyers 4x6 photos for this reason, and he signed one of them before boarding the bus.

The next person who signed something for me was former Islander Bruno Gervais. He came out, signed a few photos for me, and then went on to the bus. One of the photos I got signed is from when I met him at an Islanders children's foundation event back in 2010. It was his birthday when that photo was taken, and he told me that he liked the old photo.

The only other player who I got from the Phantoms was another former Islander, goalie Yann Danis. He signed a photo which I also got Gervais to sign, and a photo I took with him earlier this season. He was the last Phantoms player to come out, he had a rough game in net and just wanted to get on the bus and go. I thanked him, and he went on the bus.


After Danis got on the bus, it drove away. There weren't many other people who I wanted to get on the night. One person I did want to try and get an autograph of was Johan "Moose" Hedberg. Keith Kinkaid was out with an injury, and Albany had signed Hedberg, 40, to a tryout contract.

After standing out in the cold and chatting with other players like Joe Whitney and Brandon Burlon, Hedberg came out the door with some other players. I asked someone else to make sure it was him, then I called Johan over. Right when he was about to sign the photo I brought, a gust of wind nearly blew it away. Thankfully, I kept it in place for him to sign it. He also signed a puck for me and a card for someone else before walking to the nearby parking garage. I asked Hedberg what it was like to be back in the AHL. He said he liked it and he was having fun. Hopefully I'll get Kinkaid to sign the photo as well, as it is from his NHL debut in relief of Hedberg last season.

I had brought my Devils yearbook with me to try and get some missing players on it. I didn't get any players to sign it, but I did get assistant coaches Tommy Albelin and Sergei Brylin to sign their pages in it. Albelin smudged it slightly before signing it, but it's good anyway.

That's all I have for this entry. Thanks for reading! Good luck graphing!

Hartford Wolfpack @ Albany Devils 10/25/13

As I mentioned HERE, going to Albany Devils game is fairly cheap, as well as fairly easy for me. Recently, I went to the Times Union Center for a game between the Devils and the Hartford Wolfpack,  AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers.

I went with one of my friends, and we had gotten tickets right next to the tunnel where this visitors would walk onto the ice. Since the game was on a Friday, tickets were only $10 each because we are college students. Included with the tickets was a voucher for a $1 hot dog and $1 soda.

After we each paid $2 for our hot dog and soda, my friend and I went to our seats just in time to catch the end of warm-ups. Once there, we were in a good spot to watch all the players run down the tunnel toward the locker room. As recently demoted Arron Asham was heading to the locker room, a fan asked him to sign something, and to my surprise, Asham obliged. I've never seen a hockey player in full uniform and skates sign something for someone after warm-ups, but Asham signed a card for the fan, as you can see on the right, and went on his way. If you are wondering about me, I'll get to that later.



As for the game, Hartford took an early lead and then Albany responded against a goalie that had never played an AHL game before. After one period the score was tied 1-1. When the Wolfpack took the ice, I took blurry photos of them running down the runway like the one on the left.


In the second period, the Albany offense exploded, scoring three goals against Hartford goalie Jeff Malcolm. The Devils maintained a 4-1 lead going into the third period.

In the third period, Hartford put up a good fight, scoring two goals to cut the lead to 4-3, but they couldn't get the equalizer and the Devils got the 4-3 win. Harri Pesonen had two penalty shots for the Devils, but couldn't put either one in the net.

Earlier, one of my friends had told me where the players exit is at the Times Union Center. Sure enough, I walked to where he told me it would be, and the bus was waiting for the visiting Phantoms. I had printed out 8.5x11 logo photos for both the Wolfpack and Devils. I walked to within 10 feet of the door where the players would be leaving, and the waiting began.

The first player to walk through the door was Darroll Powe, a healthy scratch for the Wolfpack. He signed my team photo and also signed an index card for me. I brought the index cards for random players that I would want more than one of and for people I didn't print a photo for. You can see the index card on the left.



I also got index cards of Brodie Dupont and Danny Kristo, top Rangers prospects playing for the Wolfpack.

After Powe, one of the first players to come out to the bus was Arron Asham himself. Asham had left the game in the middle of the third period, and I was worried that he had been traded or injured and wouldn't be there. But, when I asked him why he wasn't there, Asham said he pulled his groin. He signed two 4x6 photos for me and then took a very blurry picture with me. I met him about a decade ago when he was an Islander and I was a member of the Islanders booster club, and it was good to meet him again. I also got a photo of him on the Flyers, where he is fighting Cam Janssen, who is now playing for Albany. You can see that photo below. I didn't get Janssen's autograph on this day, but I should get it another day.



After that, another former Islander, Aaron Johnson, came out and signed for everyone. I had his headshot from when he was an Islander many years ago, and he signed that as well as my Rangers logo photo. I had a new gold marker and wanted to try it out, and it doesn't look that bad.

Shortly after Johnson got on the bus, the person I had been waiting all night for walked out the door. Micheal Haley, current Ranger and former Islander, came outside with a few of his teammates. If you don't recognize his name, maybe THIS will help remind you. And if that doesn't trigger your memory, click HERE. I wasn't sure if it was him, so I asked, "Micheal?" He responded by walking right over to me and signing a few photos that I printed out, as well as a puck. One of the photos is of Haley fighting Cam Janssen. A big assist goes to my friend for getting the puck signed for me. Haley also took a photo with me. You can see the other Haley autographs I got at the bottom of this entry.

As the night went on, many players from both teams came out and signed for the four or five people that were there. I wish I could remember who the player on the right is, but I can't. I know it is a Devil, but I can't put a name to the face. After a while, my friend and I thought it would be time to go, but we wanted to wait another two minutes in case someone else walked out. As we took our first steps away from the arena, Sergei Brylin came walking out the door. He signed for everyone, as you can see in the video below. Brylin is a special assistant for the Devils organization, and he was watching the game.

After getting Brylin, my friend and I took the bus back to campus and called it a night. Here are the autographs I didn't already picture.












Here are the team photos I got signed.

Albany Devils:
#31 Scott Wedgewood #14 Reid Boucher
#9 Joe Whitney  #10 Rod Pelley
#26 Mike Hoeffel #12 Tim Sestito
#26 Dan Kelly #15 Harri Pesonen
#16 Chris McKelvie #2 Seth Helgeson
Sergei Brylin Signed under the word Devils in this photo.



Hartford Wolfpack:
#6 Andrew Yogan #17 Darroll Powe #16 Oscar Lindberg
#22 Andrew Rowe #44 Aaron Johnson #29 Danny Kristo
#5 Tommy Hughes #24 Brendan Nash #91 Brodie Dupont
#4 Conor Allen #8 Dylan McIlrath #26 Ryan Borque
#3 Sam Klassen #25 Danny Syvret #15 Marek Hrivik
#18 Michael St. Croix
Former Ranger Jeff Beukeboom signed on the bottom. His signature is sideways going onto the bottom of the word Rangers.

I'll be back at the Times Union Center in a few weeks. Thanks for reading. Good Luck Graphing!