November 28, 2009

Vancouver got a huge win over Edmonton tonight, throttling the Oilers 7-3. Mathieu had no points, but was a +1 after logging 18:53 total ice time (a season high, I believe; but I'd have to go back and look that up and, frankly, I've had an epicly awesome evening and my wits are not exactly with me right now).

Ok, it was mentioned above as an aside, but why was this evening so epic? Sidney Crosby had 5 points and a hat trick (yes, I'm a semi-closeted Sidney Crosby fan; don't hold it against me. The kid is freakin' amazing... and totally adorable), and B-Rad continued his tear to the top of the scoring charts knocking in 2 more points tonight against his old team and BFF Vincent Lecavalier. (My guys B-Rad and VINNY!! in the same game again was enough to knock me over today).

Also... Mathieu was the guest on the 30 minute long interview show After Hours, following Hockey Night in Canada. Thanks to my fabulous subscription to Center Ice (which has already paid for itself by making me happier than a duck in the rain), I was able to watch the whole thing and it was AMAZING!

a screen shot, courtesy of the ever fabulous Amanda
(who is seriously my Canadian sister from another mother)

My face hurts from smiling so much. The interview was great enough to warrant it's own post, which will come tomorrow. But I'm pooped and can barely string a sentence together. There is an Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage connection to the After Hours interview, so stay tuned to find out what it is...


P.S. Happy birthday Shannon Schneider! =) Among the many golden nuggets in the After Hours interview, Mathieu mentioned today is his lovely wife's birthday. She threw him an epic 40th birthday party, and he gets to play on hers. At least she got a shout out on national television (international, really, since I was watching it in the States)

Geocities is going... going... gone...

This doesn't have much to do with Mathieu, but it is a kind of an interesting moment in the history of the Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage, so I thought I'd mention it:

Geocities is gone.

Back in the day (i.e., the 90's), Geocities was an awesome service. It was basically a free web host. All you needed was some basic HTML skills and you could have a web page. That is how the Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage came to be.

Over the years new technologies came and traditional static "web pages" gave way to other ways of publishing and sharing information online. The Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Homepage stuck around in that static environment for a long time, mainly because I was too busy to change anything.

Last year, I got tired of paying $5 a month (what I had paid since Yahoo! bought Geocities) and decided to finally get with the times and move the content over to a blog. It was not only free, but the format works much better for what this site has become. I've been very happy with the move. Hopefully it works for the readers of the site. (I know, I go off on a lot more random tangents now; I'm not sure if that has to do with the format or the fact that I'm finally done with school and have more time-- too much time?-- on my hands)

Anyway, looks like I made the right move at the right time. Earlier this year I got a notification that Geocities was no longer going to be supported. At first, it was just that no more editing access was going to be available, but it broaden and all pages would be shutdown. Gone. Poof.

So, on October 26, http://www.geocities.com/schtimpy27 disappeared forever. The longtime home of this page, and a place that was responsible for the opportunity to make some of the greatest friends and have some of the greatest experiences of my life, no longer exists.


But while it chokes me up, it is just a place. Not even a real place, at that! All the content has been moved over here, and the increased interaction made possible by the new format has made even more connections possible.

Good bye www.geocities.com/schtimpy27 (also known as www.geocities.com/Colosseum/6813)
It's been fun, it's been real.

November 26, 2009

Not too much report in this game. Mathieu played 16:06, had 1 shot, 1 penalty, and finished a -1 in the Canucks win over the LA Kings. Game summary: interference (15:19 of 2nd).

But aside from the game, it is Thanksgiving here in the States. In honor of the holiday, here is a rewind of Mathieu talking about the day at his house:

"I actually do cook the turkey every year. My wife's busy baby-sitting all the kids. It's never a sit-down dinner, though -- it's just kind of chaos once the turkey gets on the table." Do all of the turkeys he cooks turn out great? Well... "It's kind of hit-and-miss, to tell you the truth. I've had a couple good ones and a couple real bad ones, just very dry. It's an art, obviously. I think if I had some more time, I could really, really improve my cooking skills." Overall, though, "it's fun, I enjoy it and everything that goes along with it, the whole day." (originally from a Helene St. James piece in the Detroit Free Press, November 24, 2005)

More great Mathieu fans

Hockey fans are great people. Last season, the fabulous Mélina sent me the Canadiens magazine that featured Mathieu. And a few weeks ago, the amazing Kevin sent me several copies of the Canucks Gameday poster of Mathieu.

How cool is that!? Thanks Kevin! You're a gentleman and a scholar.

Off-topic: B-Rad is Awesome

We interrupt our normally scheduled Mathieu devotion for some unbridled B-Rad love.

By now, you know my Brad Richards story. B-Rad moved into second favorite player and "backup guy" status in about 2000, when Enrico Ciccone retired and Mathieu struggled to regain his awesomeness. I was an "undercover" B-Rad fan until I started posting a few things here and there last year. Of course, last year was tough, as he went through what Mathieu went through those years that I started following him.

But like Mathieu, I knew he'd bounce back. He has too much natural talent and too much work ethic to have seasons like he had just had.

Ta da! I willing admit that as a pretty dedicated fan of his play, even I never imagined just how right I would be. CHECK IT OUT!!

Yup... that's a screen capture from NHL.com of the leagues scoring leaders as of November 25, 2009. And yes, that is B-Rad at slot number #4, just three points behind the 3 guys tied for the lead.

He's going at a 1.36 points per game clip. He's scored in 17 of the 22 games he's played (he missed two with a lingering groin strain), and 9 of those games have been multiple point games (including a 4 point game against New Jersey).

At this pace, he'd have about 111 points on the season (his career best is 91).

He'll slow down I'm sure, but I'm enjoying the heck out of this while it lasts. And who know, I underestimated his revival... maybe I underestimate his ability to remain this hot for 60 more games.

An American's Idol

McKeen's Hockey had a Q&A with top prospect Mac Bennett (drafted by the Canadiens in June and currently playing with Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the USHL). Asked which NHL player he looks up to, he says:

"Growing up, Mathieu Schneider. We were family friends. My dad actually coached him when he was in Rhode Island. He was my idol growing up. I wanted to be him. He's old now, but he's still able to play. To be able to keep himself in the shape that he's in, it's amazing."

Mathieu totally has my permission to slap the kid for the "he's old now" comment.

(And yes, I feel shame for that lame headline.)

November 20 & 22, 2009

A bit of catch up now that I'm back from my fabulous hiatus to Washington, D.C.:

November 20, 2009
Vancouver topped Colorado 5-2, and Mathieu had an assist on the 5th goal. He finished the game a +2 with 16:09 of total ice time. Game summary: Samuelsson (Schneider), 13:34 of 3rd.

November 22, 2009
In a 1-0 lose to Chicago, Mathieu finished the game even afetr 15:47 of ice-time.

A few days off

All right kids, you are kickin' it solo for a few days. I'm off to Washington D.C. for a few days, soaking up my nation's historical and political scene. Here I could make some joke about Mathieu playing pick up games with George Washington or something, but I'll save the old jokes for the media.

Fates willing, I'll be back Monday night ready to recap exciting Mathieu action. Or, at least I'll be back, but I'll probably be too jet lagged and lazy to do anything more than lay on my couch and drool.

November 14, 2009

Distracted by an unshakable case of the blahs, I missed parts of a really amazing game from Mathieu. I did tune in to the CBC broadcast via Center Ice just in time to catch the announcer dude proclaim that this was "the 40 years young" defenseman's "best game as a Canuck." He made sure he was on the game summary a lot, by picking up two penalties and registering a goal and an assist. He came away a +2 after 15:22 of total ice time in the Canuck's 8-2 bludgeoning of the Avalanche in Colorado. I'm staying up late now to catch the replay (after I catch the replay of the stunning Penguins win after tying the game with a second left in the third period).

Game summary: (hooking), 3:16 of 2nd; (slashing), 18:27 of 2nd; Schneider (Samuelsson, Burrows), 8:22 of 2nd; Glass (Schneider, Bieksa), 19:45 of 3rd.

November 12, 2009

Mathieu wasn't scratched for tonight's game, but I didn't get to see it because I was in San Jose watching B-Rad. w00t! But B-Rad didn't do anything of note, and similarly, neither did Mathieu. He had 3 shots in 13:26 of ice time in the Canucks' 3-1 lose in Detroit.

scratched last two games

Well, I was going to not be lazy, then Mathieu was scratched for the last two games, so I got lazy again.

Anyway, yeah, Mathieu was a healthy scratch the last two games. He missed out on 2-1 lose in Dallas Friday night to my guy B-Rad (and the rest of the Stars), and a 6-1 drubbing by the Blues in St. Louis last night.

A week in one post

I'd like to say something like I had the Swine Flu or was off in Europe on some fabulous vacation or away on career-making business, but really, I've just been super lazy. I could go back and fill in posts for all the stuff I missed, but again, I'm lazy. So here is everything you need to know about Mathieu in the last week or so:

1. He played forward in a game. Seriously. I'm not lying. Alain Vingeault is apparently high, and moved a 21 year veteran defenseman to a fourth line forward position. The team lost 7-2 in Anaheim, and Mathieu was a -3. (Vancouver Sun)

2. He was a healthy scratch for the game in LA. From what I can figure in my memory bank, that would be one of the first times in his career. It was said it was a rest day after coming back into the line-up and immediately facing 4 games in 6 nights. (USA Today)

3. Other than that, he's been pretty quiet. In the four games he's played, he's averaged just over 14 minutes a game. He's had no points, and been a pretty ugly -5. Ouch.

I'll be better about posting. PROMISE! (or not)