2/13/08: Grand Rapids Griffins vs Syracuse Crunch

A bit of a bummer when a division opponent only comes to the area twice and the dates are only 2 weeks apart. Grand Rapids (Detroit Red Wings AHL affiliate) was relatively alright. This was the start of 3 straight games where it was the first time we saw them. The only person who avoided at all was Jim Paek, the assistant coach, which surprised me.

Cards:

Jim Howard - 5
Justin Abdelkader - 1
Cory Emmerton - 1
Mattias Ritola - 3

Autographs Today = 10, Overall = 140

Grand Rapids Logo Sheet: (16 Players)
#3 - Logan Pyett
#5 - Jakub Kindl
#6 - Brett Peterson
#7 - Garrett Stafford
#8 - Cory Emmerton
#10 - Jason Jozsa
#13 - Jan Mursak
#17 - Francis Pare (#17 is at beginning of sig)
#18 - Mattias Ritola
#19 - Justin Abdelkader
#20 - Darren Haydar
#22 - Mike Walsh
#27 - Aaron Gagnon
#28 - Sergei Kolosov (#28 well under his sig)
#31 - Daniel Larsson
#33 - Jimmy Howard

1/31/09: WBS Penguins vs Syracuse Crunch

Tried to shore up some leftovers for this game against Wilkes/Berre-Scranton. Unfortunately, Chris Minard was once again recalled and was not around for this game. Overall, a more laid back team when Paul Bissonette isn't around, which was a good thing. There was also a signing by US Olympic Women's Ice Hockey member Angela Ruggiero

Cards:
Connor James - 1
Dan Bylsma (Coach) - 2
Todd Reirden (Asst Coach) - 1

Overall Cards This Hockey Season - 130


Puck:
John Curry - WBS

WBS Penguins Logo Sheet (6 New Players, 2 Coaches..Overall 24 Players, 2 Coaches):
#34 - Aaron Boogaard
#11 - Reid Cashman
#36 - John Curry
#9 - Connor James
#22 - Jeff Taffe
#24 - Tim Wallace
Head Coach - Dan Bylsma (Middle of Penguin's Chest)
Asst Coach - Todd Reirden (Bottom Part of Logo)

Photo:
US Olympic Women's Ice Hockey member Angela Ruggiero

1/30/09: Lake Erie Monsters vs Syracuse Crunch

For Lake Erie's second trip to Syracuse, I was able to get some new cards signed, as well as a good amount added to my logo sheet. Still having a few games left with this team, I shouldn't have much left, hopefully.


Cards:
Jason Bacashihua - 1
Darcy Campbell - 1
Tyler Weiman - 1
Codey Burki - 1

Cards Today - 4, Overall Cards - 126


Logo Sheet (9 Players, 1 Coach Tonight.. 24 Players, 1 Coach Overall)
#4 - Darcy Campbell
#9 - Philippe Dupuis
#11 - Randy Rowe
#16 - Matt Hendricks
#21 - Aaron Brocklehurst
#22 - Chris Mueller
#23 - Justin Bowers
#25 - Chris Durno
#30 - Tyler Weiman
Head Coach - Joe Sacco (Top Right)

1/24/09: Manitoba Moose vs Syracuse Crunch

Unfortunately, this is the second and last matchup between Syracuse and Manitoba (Vancouver Canuck's AHL Affiliate). The two guys I really wanted (Michel Ouellet and Curtis Sanford) were scratched and not even around for the trip. Apparently the ex-NHL goaltender, Sanford, had to go home and move his family. With this being the last game before the all star break, I figured we would get screwed over like this. Other than that, everything else went great, except missing Scott Arniel. I had to decide between more Arniel cards or Jay Wells to sign my NY Rangers Stanley Cup photo. I chose the latter.

Cards:

Mike Keane - 2
Michael Grabner - 1
Mark Fistric - 1
Nolan Baumgartner - 4

Cards Today - 8, Overall Cards - 122


New York Rangers Stanley Cup Photo (1 Signed Today, 2 Overall)
Jay Wells

Manitoba Moose Logo Sheet (18 Players)
#2 - Travis Ramsey
#29 - Raymond Sawada
#45 - Mark Fistric
#26 - Shaun Heshka
#49 - Alexandre Bolduc
#19 - Mark Cullen
#6 - Daniel Rahimi
#27 - Maxime Fortunus
#10 - Jason Krog
#1 - Karl Goehring
#5 - Nolan Baumgartner (Bottom Right Corner of Logo)
#32 - Pierre-Cedric Labrie
#44 - Tommy Maxwell
#47 - Zack FitzGerald
#41 - Guillaume Desbiens
#15 - Jason Jaffray
#40 - Michael Grabner
#43 - Dusty Collins

Puck
Cory Schneider - Manitoba

1/23/09: Toronto Marlies vs Syracuse Crunch

The third of four matchups this year against Toronto, and as usual, I had loads of the Marlies to get signed. I also decided to bring a Toronto program that I received last year, which had a few of the Marlies players in it. Overall, not so bad, except Mark Bell blowing by me...leaving me with his stuff to get signed for the last game.

Cards:

Jiri Tlusty - 1
Ben Ondrus - 1
Alex Foster - 1

Cards Today - 3, Overall Cards - 114

Misc:

Toronto Maple Leafs Nation Magazine (2 signed)
Boyd Devereaux
Staffan Kronwall

Toronto Marlies Logo Page (6 New Players, 27 Players/1 Asst Coach Overall)
#24 - Max Taylor
#33 - Bates Battaglia (Top Right, No #)
#6 - Andy Schneider
#1 - Justin Pogge (Middle of Logo)
#14 - Nikolai Kulemin
#36 - Anton Stralman

1/20/09: Syracuse Crunch Bartending Series @ Chadwicks

After work, I figured I would go to the Crunch's bartending series, since I had time. The main reason is that I wanted to get Sebastian Dahm to sign his broken stick that he gave me a few months ago during practice. It turned out that I needed all 3 of the guys that were there to sign things for me, so it really worked out.

Cards:

Dan Lacosta - 1

111 Total Cards

Misc:

Sebastian Dahm - Broken Goaltending Stick

Michael Blunden - Puck

1/19/09: Hamilton Bulldogs vs Syracuse Crunch

With a 2pm game, I figured it was a great game for autographs. I was right. With Hamilton, I was able to get nearly everyone. The only two negatives were getting my first "I'll get you next time" from a player (you know, the most common phrase in baseball autographing but rarely used in hockey) and Marc Denis only signing my logo sheet instead of my card. As you could probably tell, Hamilton wasn't in the best of moods. Also, during the game, Crunch goaltender Ryan Munce sat with us for the 3rd period. He was being released the next day, so he was chillin in the stands. Was able to get him to sign a puck. I'm way behind on getting Crunch players to sign pucks. After Hamilton left, we were also able to go downstairs to get most of the Syracuse players that I needed, including Tyler Wright (mentioned in my last post).

Cards:

Hamilton
Ben Maxwell - 1

Syracuse
Tom Sestito - 1
Steve Kelly - 1
Tyler Wright (Player Development, former NHL player) - 4

Cards Today - 7, Overall Cards - 110

Misc:

Pucks
Ben Maxwell - Hamilton
Ryan Munce - Syracuse

Photos
Derek Mackenzie - Syracuse - 2

Logo Sheet (19 Players, 1 Asst Coach)
#3 - Ryan O'Byrne
#5 - Alex Henry
#91 - Ben Maxwell
#15 - Mike Glumac
#38 - Marc Denis
#7 - Yannick Weber
#85 - Yanick Lehoux
Asst Coach - Ron Wilson
#30 - Cedrick Desjardins
#72 - Mathieu Carle
#49 - Ryan Flinn
#42 - Olivier Latendresse
#20 - Ryan Russell
#19 - Brock Trotter
#6 - Chad Anderson
#36 - David Desharnais
#11 - Steve Gainey
#41 - Mathieu Aubin
#29 - Loic Lacasse
#44 - Shawn Belle

1/17/09: Hamilton Bulldogs vs Syracuse Crunch

Bummer of a day. Missed out on most because Hamilton (AHL affiliate of Montreal Canadiens) took their time leaving. Since they played here again on Monday, I gave up. The only luck I had was getting Michael Blunden, while I was scoping out as I had seen ex-NHLer Tyler Wright in the building (he is on Columbus's player development staff).

Cards:

Syracuse
Michael Blunden - 2

Total Hockey Cards This Season - 103

1/16/09: Albany River Rats vs Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse played Albany (AHL affiliate for Carolina Hurricanes). I missed out on the couple cards I had, so I only got the logo sheet signed. It wasn't even that successful with the sheet, so I will have some work to do once Albany comes back.


Others:

Albany River Rats Logo Sheet (16 players signed)
#33 - Bryan Rodney
#18 - Ryan Weston
#5 - Tim Conboy
#22 - Harrison Reed
#9 - Colin Nicholson
#11 - Dwight Helminen
#35 - Justin Peters
#17 - Jerome Samson
#26 - Nicolas Blanchard
#4 - Mark Flood
#31 - Daniel Manzato
#28 - Casey Borer
#24 - Pat Dwyer
#21 - Michael Ryan
#8 - Nick Dodge (Under River Rats Logo..kind of looks like it says Vic R)
#6 - Josef Melichar (Top left, lots of loops)

1/14/09: Various Syracuse Crunch Autograph Signings

There were 3 various autograph sessions on this day. We decided to go to two of them.

The first we went to was at Papa Johns and it consisted of Mike York and Aaron Rome. The only thing I needed was my final Mike York card. I also ended up getting my official Crunch puck (received a few years ago when I got to shoot for the car on ice). It was rather uncomfortable, especially when York wouldn't even make any small talk or even eye contact. Talk about not wanting to be there...

The second we went to was at Dick's Sporting Goods. There, Craig Valette (soon to be released) and John Vigilante signed. I ended up having them both sign a puck together. I didn't intend on it, as I only wanted Vigilante on it.

Cards:
Mike York - 1

Others:

Mike York on an official AHL Syracuse Crunch Game Puck
Craig Valette/John Vigilante Combo Puck

12/30/08: Binghamton Senators vs Syracuse Crunch (HOLDING SPACE)

I will update this better when I figure out who extra I have on the logo sheet


Cards:

Brian Elliott - 1
Ryan Shannon - 2
Drew Fata - 1
Josh Hennessy (On OPC Ottawa Logo Card) - 1

Cards Today - 5, Total Cards This Season - 100

Others:

Binghamton Logo Sheet

12/27/08: Hamilton Bulldogs vs Syracuse Crunch

The night started off pretty bad, as I realized I left the logo sheet for the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL affiliate for the Montreal Canadiens) at home. I had a lot of cards to get signed, so I figured maybe this would at least help me focus on them. I have to say, it actually did. I was much better organized with my many Marc Denis cards, thanks to having the free time. Overall, not a bad night. Marc Denis signed pretty much anything put in front of him, which was amazing since he had an awful game.

Cards:

Marc Denis - 11
Ryan White - 1
Ron Wilson (Asst Coach and ex-NHL player) - 3
Mike Glumac - 1
Yanick Lehoux - 1

Cards Today - 17, Overall for Season - 95

12/20/08: Lake Erie Monsters vs Syracuse Crunch

Slacking off big time on the blog here. Syracuse played the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche). Besides the coaches (both ex-NHL players), I pretty much had nothing of the team. Got a few on the Lake Erie logo sheet during a successful, yet uneventful night.

Cards:

Joe Sacco (Coach) - 6
Sylvain Lefebvre (Asst Coach) - 6
Jason Bacashihua - 1

Total - 13, Season - 78

Misc:

Lake Erie Logo Sheet (15 Players Signed):
#20 - Aaron MacKenzie
#35 - Jason Bacashihua
#8 - Alex Penner
#14 - Mark McCutcheon
#6 - Mike Vernace
#10 - Kyle Cumiskey
#18 - Bryan Marshall
#3 - Ray Macias
#32 - Codey Burki
#28 - Jesse Boulerice
#39 - T.J. Galiardi
#27 - Nigel Williams
#29 - Wes O'Neill
#7 - Nathan Smith
#5 - Derek Peltier

12/13/08: Toronto Marlies vs Syracuse Crunch

A quick trip back to Syracuse for the Toronto Marlies. I decided to try to get some of my new cards (that arrived days after the original Marlies game), as well as the couple guys I missed on cards and on the logo sheet. It was pretty successful, I think out of everything, I only missed 2 guys on the sheet. Not a bad deal at all. I also lucked out that Jonathan Sigalet, who is most likely out for the season for Syracuse, just happened to come by to talk to Alex Foster from Toronto, so I was able to get my remaining cards of him done also!

Cards:

Syracuse
Jonathan Sigalet - 2 (Including a nice game used of him)

Toronto
Jiri Tlusty - 3
Darryl Boyce - 1
Ben Ondrus - 1
Alex Foster - 1
Greg Gilbert (Coach) - 1
Boyd Devereaux - 1
Mark Bell - 1

65 Different Hockey Cards Signed This Season

Misc:

Toronto Marlies Logo Sheet Continued (4 Added = 21 Players, 1 Coach Overall)
#4 - Phil Oreskovic
#5 - Joe Ryan
#18 - Brent Aubin
#25 - Ben Ondrus (Signed on the E in Marlies, number isn't very legible)

12/12/08: WBS Penguins vs Syracuse Crunch

A special night at the Crunch game against the WBS Penguins (AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins), as Mario Andretti was there to make an appearance and sign some autographs. A bit disappointing, as the line went very slowly, and my long search for a card came thru with about 2 minutes to spare. The sucky thing is that right in my other, easy box, I had a Mario Andretti Allen and Ginter card that I didn't realize he was in. So finding that the day after the signing was not a happy point! Other than that, not a bad autograph night at all, especially seeing Mike York leaving, as I was trying to get WBS guys.

Cards:

Syracuse
Mike York - 3

WBS
Ryan Stone - 2
Joey Mormina - 1

Racing
Mario Andretti - 1

Misc:

Photos
Mario Andretti Proved At Signing - 1

WBS Logo Sheet (18 Players, 1 Random)
#3 - Joey Mormina
#6 - Ben Lovejoy
#23 - Ryan Stone (Top Right #33, his NHL number, played game as #23)
#35 - Adam Berkhoel
#4 - Jon D'Aversa
#44 - Danny Richmond
#26 - Jean-Michel Daoust
#28 - Nick Johnson
#19 - Luca Caputi
#21 - Dustin Jeffrey
#1 - Curtis Darling
#10 - Mark Letestu
#7 - Bill Thomas
#8 - T.J. Kemp
#33 - Tommy Goebel (Bottom Right #33)
#5 - Deryk Engelland
#2 - Jean-Philippe Cote
#38 - Adam Henrich
Top Left Corner - Random Coach or Trainer Not listed

54 Different Hockey Cards Signed This Season

11/28/08: Toronto Marlies vs Syracuse Crunch

This was a different attitude from the Toronto Marlies (AHL Affiliate of Toronto Maple Leafs) than last year. Last year, the team acted pretty much like a bunch of jerks, but this year's crew was the exact opposite. Unfortunately, I missed a few players who exited a different way or quicker than I got out there, but we see this team a few more times, so I'm sure I'll take another chance.

Cards:

Toronto
Staffan Kronwall - 1
Robbie Earl - 1
Greg Gilbert (Coach) - 2
Alex Foster - 1
Jeremy Williams - 1
Kris Newbury - 1

Total Cards This Season - 48

Other Items:

New York Rangers Stanley Cup Team Photo (1st signature on it)
Greg Gilbert

Toronto Marlies Logo Sheet (18 Signed)
#29 - Kyle Rogers
#8 - Juha Uotila
#19- Jeremy Williams (Signature is touching top of logo, looks like #46)
#17 - Tim Stapleton
#30 - Adam Munro
#22 - Boyd Devereaux
#2 - Richard Petiot
#10 - Robbie Earl
#78 - Josef Boumedienne
#16 - Stefano Giliati
#26 - Jamie Sifers
#23 - Alex Foster
#77 - Staffan Kronwall
NN - Greg Gilbert (Coach) (His signature is kind of thru both Newbury's and Kronwall's)
#11 - Kris Newbury
#47 - Darryl Boyce
#28 - Mark Bell (Bottom right, tough to read #)
#41 - Jiri Tlusty

11/22/08: Albany River Rats vs Syracuse Crunch

Didn't bother with the team sheet, as I knew what the players I currently needed looked like. It was also iffy weather-wise, which is not fun with the sheet. Albany (AHL Affiliate of Carolina Hurricanes) come back multiple times, so I figure I can deal with that another day.

Cards:

Albany
Jeff Daniels (Coach) - 5
Trevor Gillies - 1

Total Cards: 41

Other Items:

Puck signed by Albany's Dan LaCouture

11/15/08: Chicago Wolves vs Syracuse Crunch

The Chicago Wolves (AHL Affiliate for Atlanta Thrashers) came into town for their only trip. It was a very successful autograph night, by far. Not only was I able to be successful for the majority of the Wolves, I was also able to get some Syracuse Crunch guys, too. On top of the normal stuff for the Chicago Wolves, I was also able to get a couple more signatures in my 2007 program, next to the player's profile.

Cards:

Chicago
Joe Motzko - 1
Wendell Young (Asst Coach) - 3

Syracuse
Steve Kelly - 2
Dan LaCosta - 1
Clay Wilson - 1

Autographed Cards This Season: 35

Other Items:

Atlanta Thrashers Program (Giving me total of 12 overall in it):
Joey Crabb
Dan Turple

Chicago Wolves Logo Sheet (18 signed)
#14 - Matt Anderson
#15 - Joey Crabb
#33 - Robert Gherson
#18 - Jeff Hamilton
#36 - Mike Hoffman
#20 - Rylan Kaip
#32 - Arturs Kulda
#17 - Jordan Lavallee
#27 - Junior Lessard
#8 - Spencer Machacek
#26 - Steve Martins
#21 - Joe Motzko
#28 - Tomas Pospisil
#24 - Jamie Rivers
#29 - Brett Sterling
#23 - Colin Stuart
#35 - Dan Turple
NN - Jason Christie (Asst Coach)

11/09/08: Houston Aeros vs Syracuse Crunch

Sunday games are usually pretty good for autographs, as they are early starters. Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly the case. The Houston Aeros (AHL Affiliate for the Minnesota Wild) did not have a bus. Every player walked to the hotel or wherever they ended up going. This was a killer, as they pretty much came and left in different areas, etc. Didn't do too bad on players I had cards of, at least. Only missed one guy. Sucks for the logo sheet, as this is only time we see them this year.

Cards:

Houston
Barry Brust - 1
Corey Locke - 1

2008-09 Hockey Cards Signed Overall: 27

Other Items:

Houston Aeros Logo Sheet (10 signed):
#3 - Paul Albers
#33 - Barry Brust
#11 - Jason Deitsch
#5 - Jon Insana
#19 - Danny Irmen
#84 - Corey Locke
#6 - Mitch Love
#15 - Bryan Lundbohm
#7 - Clayton Stoner
#23 - Craig Valette

11/08/08: Manitoba Moose vs Syracuse Crunch

After slacking big time, I am finally writing up a few games and dating them back to around when the games were.

The Manitoba Moose are the AHL affiliate for the Vancouver Canucks. Decided not to do my photo sheet, instead saving it for the next Manitoba game. I only needed guys I recognized, so I figured it would be better to wait, since I have other Manitoba player's cards incoming.

Cards:

Manitoba
Scott Arniel (Coach) - 5
Mike Keane - 4
Karl Goehring - 1

Total different hockey cards 2008-09: 25

Misc:

Puck signed by Jason Krog (inscribed MVP 08) as he was AHL MVP last year