As the first period ended, sitting in a raucous and confident Staples Center crowd, us three Sharks fans took a verbal beating from Kings fans as they walked by us.  The normal go-to anti-Sharks verbiage could be heard, and we could do nothing but smile and take it.  I remember distinctly hearing one fan say "I would go home if I were you guys!"  There were two more periods left, 40 more minutes (at least)... going home was never an option or thought for the Sharks fans in attendance at Staples last night.  Deep down inside, we knew we couldn't leave our team on the ice out there, and we knew we wouldn't leave fellow Sharks fans at Staples to take the beating from Kings fans- we would never quit on the team or on this game.

The teams came out for the second period, and every Sharks fan who we had saw in the sections next to us were in their seats before the puck dropped for the start of the second.  Maybe the home team fans were still giving high-fives in the concourse, or sipping down one last victory beer, but a significant portion of the seats that were originally occupied by purple and black were empty to start the second- I don't blame them, they were dominating us.  The Sharks fans were there though, ready to take a beating and support their team or start something special- we had no idea which one it was going to be, but we would be there nonetheless.  As the officials prepared to drop the puck on the next 20 minutes, and the Sharks circled the center ice face off circle, I noticed one of the Sharks take his time to circle every one of his teammates.  It was Dany Heatley, and he went to every Shark on the ice and gave them a stick tap on the shin, followed by a simple nod.  He did this for each player, and each player acknowledged it in their own way.  From that moment, I started to believe.  I didn't know at the time what I was believing in, I had no way of fully understanding what would happen, but I knew then that the Sharks wouldn't give up and neither would we Sharks fans.  The Kings would go on to score the next goal, but it didn't even seem to matter to us.  It was just another goal, another tally, but at this point the comeback already had to be monumental so it didn't even make us flinch.  And then the Sharks started scoring.  They played loose, they played fast, they played like they didn't care what the score was- they played to win, and Pavelski broke the internet.

The 3rd period and OT was the most tense hockey watching I have ever been a part of.  As OT started, it got only more tense and you could feel the air in the building being sucked dry by every person in attendance.  And then Marleau brings the puck up ice and you KNOW that this is going to be a scoring chance.  He comes streaking down the wing in overtime, and you can see the Kings defense start to collapse a little as Joe heads toward the net.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Setoguchi is trailing on that off wing coming full speed down the boards.  I keep my eyes on Marleau, but I can feel Seto and see his white jersey coming on the rush.  I don't look at Seto too much because I'm thinking to myself "I don't want the Kings players or fans to notice him too. Maybe they will see my eyes and catch Seto coming down!"... Marleau gets the pass through the defense, Setoguchi gets the puck on his stick... things slow down and are in slow motion as he takes his shot... there is always a weird moment on away ice where you can't tell from the crowd's reaction if the opposing team just scored or their goalie made a great save, the first second of crowd reaction in these situations is the same... and then the hands go up, hands in white jerseys... GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was only one game, only one win in a series, but it was the best hockey game I have ever been to.

Go Sharks!!!

Fellow Fear the Fin Party People,

As some of you know, I was forced to move to Los Angeles (followed a girl here) and leave the Bay Area a few years ago.  Because of this, I like to plan one huge group game for all of my friends and I at the Tank every year.  Well, it's coming up, and we have 45 people going next Saturday.  The good news, ALL OF YOU are invited to a special preparty in San Mateo at Glow Bar.  The bar is owned and managed by two diehard Sharks fans (Mikey and Chris).  They will be opening the bar especially for us at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 19th.  Beers will be super cheap ($4) and drinks just as cheap ($5) for Sharks fans.  Keep in mind, the bar is only open for us 45 crazy Sharks fans, so it's going to be a Sharks fans only party!

We will be listening to classic rock, punk, party music and a lot of Ozzy, ETID, Queens of the Stone Age and Social Distortion.  We will be drinking, we will be talking Sharks hockey, and we will be partying hard!

At 2:30 PM, we are having our 1st Annual California Cup Beer Pong Tournament.  The field is 20 teams deep already, and we would love some FTF members to participate and play.  With over 20 teams, this is officially the largest beer pong tournament for Sharks fans only in North America- fact.  The winner of the tournament will receive The Cup- trust me, you want The Cup!

After that, we are all catching the 5:45 train from San Mateo to the game against the Avs.  Come on board and party with us some more!

If you are going to the game, make sure to look out for our group name on the board as well: 2nd Annual Sharks Crazy Train Adventure in 3D!

OK, the recap:

Sharks Fans Only Preparty on February 19th

Glow, 76 East 3rd Avenue in San Mateo

Partying starts at 1:30

Beer Pong Tournament starts at 2:30

Crazy Train leaves at 5:45

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or want to enter a team! Roexley@gmail.com

I happened to be in San Francisco for a conference the other week, where I had a dinner meeting with some partners.  I ended up chatting with a high-level executive who also happened to be a Ducks fan who lives in Orange County.  He grew up a Canadiens fan in Montreal, but moved to the OC for the job.  Basically, he is a pure Hockey dad who has his kid in every league available in Southern California.

Of course I mentioned that I was a huge Sharks fan, and immediately the banter started back and forth.  The first-round infamous playoff series, the fact the Ducks traded away a Hall-of-Fame D-man and couldn't make the playoffs last year... we hit everything.  When the topic got to Dany Heatley, I expected the usual insults about Heatley's "character".  Boy was I wrong...

The story goes like this.  They were on vacation in Hawaii at a pretty exclusive resort.  His son at the time was only 12 years old, and an aspiring goalie.  While waiting for a shuttle which was to take them to the airport, they noticed none other than the Ottawa Senators Dany Heatley standing in line waiting too.  He said he had his Ottawa Senators bag, so it was pretty obvious who he has.  So, being a good Dad he went over to Heatley and introduced himself and his kid.  He said Dany was very nice and polite, shook hands with the kid and even snapped a picture with Heatley.  The Dad said thank you and they walked back over to their spot in line and waited for the shuttle thinking how awesome it was that he just got his son a picture with an NHL All-Star.  His family got on the bus before Heatley and took their seats.  When Heatley walked onto the shuttle, instead of taking one of the many open seats, he sat down next to the kid.  Of course the Dad was shocked.  Apparently Dany talked to the kid about hockey and the kid's league all the way there- over a 30 minute ride.

What an awesome story.  Reminds me of some of the things I have heard about Thornton and the way he interacts with the young fans too.  It's always refreshing to know that the guys you root for on the ice are people you can feel good about rooting for off the ice as well.

I knew this day would come... I actually knew it right when I bought my Black Armor number "14" jersey last year at the Tank.  When I got back to my seat, my dad asked me why I bought a jersey for the one player who was almost most definitely going to get traded during the offseason if he didn't put up 25 to 30 plus goals.  Well, as we know Cheech didn't put up 30 goals, but I still stand by my decision.  He was and is my favorite Sharks player of all time, and my jersey is now a throwback.

My number "14" will still get a lot of use at sports bars, and gamedays in front of the plasma.  But when I get travel up to the Tank from LA to catch a game, I have to have a current roster player on my back- I just do!  So with that said, does anyone know if the Sharks will have a new alternate or 3rd jersey?  I really liked the Black Armor last year.  Before I go and buy a new Black Armor jersey though, I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't be getting a new alternate this year.  Anyone know?  Is it possible to even know?  Who will I get?  So many questions!

Hey guys,

First post here, but I've been an avid reader of FTF and a die-hard Sharks fan forever (grew up in San Mateo).

Has anyone been able to read the ESPN rumors section regarding "Cheechoo on the Block" and "Teams trying to trade for Thronton and Marleau"?  You have to be an ESPN Insider to read the rumors.  Here is where to find it...

http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/features/rumors?&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnhl%2ffeatures%2frumors

If anyone here can read it and  post what it says, that would be great.