1/6/07 SHARKS 5, columbus 2

There were only 7 goals scored tonight, but it was a bad night to be on the Penalty Kill unit for either the Blue Jackets or Sharks. Neither squad was dominant as the Sharks PK was only 4-6 and the Jackets Kill was just 5-10. Ryane Clowe capitalized three times, recording his first career hat trick. Christian Ehrhoff and Patrick Marleau also tallied for the Sharks, who improved to 2-0 at home in 2007. Marleau's goal, the 206th of his career, ties him with Owen Nolan for first on the Sharks all-time goal scoring list. Vesa Toskala however, only had to make 17 saves for his 17th win of the year. With the 5 Power Play goals last night, the Sharks now are 13-23 in their last 3 games.

Saturday's game marked the first game of the second half of the year, good ole game number 42. Just past the halfway point, the Sharks rank pretty high in many categories including: 3.09 goals per game (7th in the NHL, 4th in the Western Conference), 2.38 goals allowed per game (5th NHL, 4th West), 25.6% on the power play (1st NHL), and 84.2% on the penalty kill (11th NHL, 7th West). Longtime Sharks fans will also be proud of the 51.5% of faceoffs won (8th NHL, 5th West), as that has long been a weak spot for the boys in teal.

For the first time all year, Section 213 finally has something to be proud of, as the secret seat was found in good ole two one three, but it wasn't given quite high enough (stupid row 7). Danny Miller (the promotion guy) filled in last night for the normal PA guy, Joe Ike, who was out with a undisclosed lower body injury (hockey joke).

I usually pride myself on knowing the little quirks and minutia that has to do with team names and logos and uniforms, but the Columbus jerseys continue to stump me. On both the white and blue jerseys, there are faint grey stripes woven into the main torso fabric. I am aware that the team pays tribute to the Civil War soldiers that came from the Buckeye State, and who wore, blue jackets (how bout that?). But I am unsure as to the purpose for the grey stripes on the jersey, and would greatly appreciate any insight as to the reasoning for the grey stripes of tribute.

The Sharks conclude the first homestand of 2007 on Wednesday when they will take on the Edmonton Oilers (7:30 pst). The Oil make their first visit to the Tank since they beat the Sharks in the Western Conference Semis last spring. These two met in Edmo in October, with Ryan Smyth recording the fastest hat trick in Oiler history (2:01) in the early minutes of the third period, leading the Oil to a 6-4 victory, despite a Jonathan Cheechoo natural (three consecutive goals) hat trick earlier in the contest.

Go Sharks (go powerplay)
-Jess