Cardiac Canes & Conference Championships

Like all other true Caniacs, I’ve nearly had a coronary several times and held my breath for at least 5 total minutes during the past 2 games. With every game holding crucial point-getting opportunities, my heart sank when the Caps went up 2-0 in the 1^st period Wednesday night. Dwyer quickly got us on the board after that 2^nd score, making it a slightly less stressful 2-1.  My favorite Finn tied the game in the 2^nd period, but before it was over, each team got a power play goal-- Ovechkin involved for the Caps and one for the original Finn trio for the Canes—making it 3-3 and sending the game into OT. All the Caniacs at the Ale House for this game’s Cool Bar were convinced we could pull off the win, then our hopes were shot down when Fleischmann scored for the Caps a little over 3 minutes in. We at least picked up 1 of those crucial points…

The game the next day against the Pens was no easier to watch. It was déjà vu at first, hearing the Pens go up 2-0 on the radio on my way home. Whitney scored on a power play as I was walking in the door, and just over a minute later, Boychuk scored his 2^nd goal this season to tie the game. He definitely has some serious potential. Eric Staal answered his brother’s goal in the 2^nd period, but the Penguins tied it up shortly after. A scoreless 3^rd period sent the game to overtime… again. (Between this stress and the bracket drama, I’ll be lucky if I survive to see the Sox play!) The intensity of OT was kept to a minimum this time when Pothier, recently acquired from the Caps in some last minute trade moves, scored the winning goal just 23 seconds in. 3 out of 4 possible points against the league leader and defending Stanley Cup Champions isn’t too bad… :)

In a slightly less dramatic fight for a playoff spot, my Gators survived the Auburn game to snap the 3 game losing streak winning 78-69, but it wasn’t as clear of a win as it should have been. Auburn was just above the other Tigers of the SEC in the West standings, and LSU looked like crap all season, so that’s not saying much. We should have looked much better against them, especially since we’re fighting for our bracket spot.

The quarterfinals of the SEC tournament v Miss. St. started off horribly with the less evil of the 2 SEC Bulldogs leading 11-2 early from several failed shots by the Gators. (Side note: Can someone please tell me how the SEC allowed 2 Tiger mascots and 2 Bulldog mascots in the same conference? This has bugged me for years. Apparently that chunk of the south isn’t creative enough to come up with an original fierce animal?) The Gators got back in it before deciding to fall behind again due to a slew of turnovers this time. Miss. St. definitely set the pace for the 1^st half, causing the Gators to rush and take shots that weren’t there. You’d think I’d have learned by now that we only like to play in the 2^nd half… the boys came out much more energized, cut the lead to under 10, and fought a bit harder. It just wasn’t enough in the end. Boynton and Walker kept the boys from total despair, but we got bumped from the SEC tournament, losing 75-69.

PATs:

--The Magic beat the Bulls yesterday 111-82 for their 7^th win in a row. The Cavs beat the 76ers tonight 100-95, and San Antonio by just 2 points earlier this week following a loss to the Bucks. The semi-slump may have been due to LeBron being out with a busted ankle & Shaq still out. With LeBron back in the lineup tonight, the Cavs did a little better, but once the recovery is set, things could look a bit differently.

--In ACC Tournament news, the evil Thug U beat VT in a really close game, which was highly upsetting. I hate them. I’m just sayin. Duke won, of course, and Georgia Tech knocked UNC out in the first round followed by an upset over Maryland today 69-64. FSU fell to NC State 58-52. All sorts of crazy lower ranked teams with upsets in the ACC…

--Who’s on and off the bubble is changing every 5 seconds at this point with it being conference championship week, so I’m not even gonna make an attempt at an update. Thank God this weekend is Selection Sunday!