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March 3, 2010 
Now back to Sunday...my friends and I decided to gather at Jack Astor's on John Street. And boy was it packed. Every square foot was covered with red and white jerseys, shirts, flags, scarves, hats, you name it, people were dressed head to toe in Canada gear and we were jammed in there like a can of sardines. There were people lined outside Gretzky's, Loose Moose and other bars by noon! When Crosby scored the game winning goal everyone in the bar went absolutely nuts. Within moments thousands of people chanting "Go Canada" poured onto the streets which were quickly closed off. My friends and I headed to Yonge and Dundas square to join the rest of the party. This was the epitome of a Canadian celebration. People were jumping on the roof top of cars, standing on the top of bus shelters, hanging off light posts and even a game of road hockey broke out in front of the Eaton's Centre. Even Gumbi was there. Yes Gumbi, very random! But nothing was more amazing than hearing thousands of people in the square singing the national anthem all at once! So that's how I spent my night watching Sidney Crosby and the Canadian men's hockey team win gold. Now I want to hear how you celebrated Canada winning gold! Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter if you haven't already! Things to look forward to: • This week on March 3rd we have our third and final school day game of the season. We will have French emersion schools in attendance so I better brush up on my French! School day games are always a great time with lots of loud cheering so I’m very excited to see all the kids!• On March 5th I will be on the move with the Marlies as we have our fifth community practice of the season at Centennial Arena in Scarborough. We have another community practice on March 15th in Whitby. • This weekend the Marlies take on the Rochester Americans Saturday at 4:00 and the Hartford Wolfpack Sunday at 4pm. • Later this month on March 21st when the Marlies host the Abbotsford Heat, the game will be broadcast live on CBC for the first time ever to a national television audience and available to viewers in the U.S. on the NHL Network. The game is commemorating the thousands of men and women who proudly serve our country for the second annual Troops Day at Ricoh Coliseum. The Marlies will even be wearing camouflage jerseys. Don Cherry will be there for a ceremonial puck drop and the first 3,000 fans receive a Don Cherry bobblehead. So make sure to arrive early! That's it for me, for now! See you this weekend at the Ricoh! Marlies Melissa
February 18, 2010 Friday night (February 12th) was a busy one for sports. The Leafs, Marlies and Olympic Opening ceremony were all on tap. I attended the Leafs viewing party at Jack Astor’s in Brampton with Marlies forward Darryl Boyce and defenceman Todd Perry. It was a great time! Tons of fans came out to meet the players, watch the game and hang out. I caught up with Todd Perry and to ask him how nice it is to see his teammates getting the experience to play with the Leafs. So far this season we’ve had nine guys called up; James Reimer, Carl Gunnarsson, Jiri Tlusty, Joey MacDonald, Jay Rosehill, Viktor Stalberg, Christian Hanson, Tyler Bozak and Andre Deveaux. “They are all hard working and well deserving of a chance with them, they all have been having good years with the Marlies and it’s nice to see them get a good shot,” says Perry. Last week was a huge week for Marlies representation on the Leafs with four players all on the roster at once which included Stalberg, Bozak, Hanson and Deveaux. With Hanson being out with the flu, Deveaux got the last minute call to fill the hole and flew all the way in from Abbotsford where the Marlies were playing at the time. Back in the lineup for the Marlies is goaltender James Reimer. After a long recovery from his ankle sprain back in the fall, Reimer started between the pipes in Friday’s game against the Manitoba Moose in his hometown of Winnipeg in front of family and friends. Reimer made 33 saves leading the Marlies to a 2-1 win earning himself the games first star. 
Meanwhile back at Jack Astor’s, half the TVs had the Leafs game on, the other half had on the Olympic ceremonies. I’m very much anticipating the possible matchup between Canada and Russia men’s hockey teams. Crosby and Ovechkin will reignite the Canada vs. Russia rivalry, a rivalry that’s been one of the most intense in sports history. You could say they’re probably the best two players in the world with two totally different styles. I think Perry is just as excited as I am for this matchup, “The Canada, Russia game is going to be so exciting to watch, there is so much talent on each team other than Ovechkin and Crosby but those guys are very exciting players, I see the Canadians winning because their depth is undeniable but I think it is going to be a great hockey game to watch.” Being in the Olympic spirit my fellow Leafs blogger Mike Ulmer decided to hand out some medals of his own to the Leafs in his version of the Olympics...the ”Ulmlimpics”. Two Marlies made the podium! Viktor Stalberg was given a bronze medal for his speed and talent which should soon earn him a spot as a regular on the Leafs roster. And a silver medal was awarded to Tyler Bozak for his adversity, diligence in the face-off circle and hockey sense that make his signing last year a real steal. Check out the rest of the Ulmlimpics to see which Leaf won gold! The bronze medal goes to Jonas Frogren. He is the unsung hero on the team. He had the best +/- rating on the team for a defencemen much of the season. He’s consistent, great on the PK and sacrifices his body to block shots. Silver goes to Andre Deveaux. The big, gritty forward overcame a huge slump earlier in the season and is now the leading scorer on the team with 14 goals and 32 points. Christian Hanson gets the gold! He has been called up with the Leafs, coach Dallas Eakins speaks highly of him considering him a leader in the dressing room and he is one the AHL’s top scoring rookie leaders. See you all at the Ricoh Saturday for Terry Sawchuk bobblehead day when the Marlies look for their third straight victory against the Manitoba Moose! And don’t forget to friend me of facebook and follow me on twitter! Marlies Melissa
February 9, 2010 
The Toronto Marlies teamed up with the Mary Kay Foundation for our Pink in the Rink night. And there definitely was lots of pink in the rink Saturday! The fans were in pink, I was in pink, our sales guys wore pink ties and even some of the players taped their sticks in pink. So thanks everyone that came out Saturday night to support such a great cause! To celebrate the Chinese New Year, it was Chinese Cultural Day at the Ricoh. It’s the year of the tiger, which is actually my year. So I looked up my tiger horoscope and to my surprise it was pretty accurate. I thought this was interesting: Tigers are powerful speakers and have the ability to command and persuade crowds through speech. Which is great news, otherwise I would probably have to start searching for a new job. So to celebrate the Chinese New Year we had lion dancers perform during the first intermission. It was very entertaining, never seen anything like it at a hockey game. Forward, Darryl Boyce also got involved by learning and speaking some Chinese for his PSA which ran on the video board a few times throughout the game. Unfortunately we lost both games this week. But Joey MacDonald played great between the pipes in Saturday’s game making 41 saves earning himself the night’s third star. Also this weekend Victor Stalberg got called up to the Leafs as he is the last edition to complete the “Frat Pack” with teammates Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson for the first time since training camp. Bozak and Hanson have been up with the Leafs since mid January as they both got called a day apart. Also assigned to the Leafs is Andre Deveaux. Good luck boys! Jay Rosehill will be rejoining the Marlies. 
So, we have two holidays coming up this month, Valentine’s Day and Family Day. What do these two days have in common? They’re both focused on spending time with the people we love. In honour of the month of February some of my good friends came up with a new idea. It’s called the Halo Effect and it’s to encourage everyone to do a good deed for all 28 days of the month. My parents randomly met someone last week who had just moved to Ontario from Montreal. Of course they are huge Montreal/Bulldogs fans. He’s always wanted to take his son to a game, but times have been tough. I happened to have two tickets for our game last Saturday and we just so happened to be playing the Hamilton Bulldogs. So I gave him my tickets. That night his son went to his first hockey game! I met them for the first time at the game and they were so excited and appreciative and it made me feel great. Those tickets couldn’t have gone to anyone better! So it got me thinking about my first Leaf game and how exciting it was. I remember it like it was yesterday. The tickets were given to me from a friend of my mom’s boss; luckily he remembered her telling him months prior how big of a Leaf fan I was. The ACC had only been open a few months and I can still remember how everything in the building was so fresh, shiny and new (yup, never been to a game at the Gardens! Craziness, eh?). I had been waiting a long time for my first game, and it was the perfect night. I sat in first row golds right behind Curtis Joseph. I watched the game in my Leaf hoodie with my large popcorn and 3D Mats Sundin cup. Right after the puck dropped I remember thinking how quiet it was not hearing Joe Bowen doing the play-by-play, until we scored our first goal and then it got really loud! We played the Sabres and if memory serves me correct we won 5-3. I still have my ticket with Garry Valk gracing the cover. I told my mom that night, I don’t care what it takes, one day I’m going to work with the team. Years later I worked almost every Leafs home game in the 2007-08 season, helped run special events like the blue and white game and skills competition and now I work every single home game with the Marlies. Sometimes it takes helping out other people to realize how lucky you are. So check out The Halo Effect and blog about how you’re earning your halo! Speaking of Family Day, we have a game that afternoon at 2:00! The Marlies will be hosting the Abbotsford Heat. So if you’re looking for something to do that day with the family, come on out! Get in touch with someone on our sales team by calling 416-597-PUCK. The Heat currently sit 12th in the Western conference with 51 points. Meanwhile we’re in 14th, trailing the Heat by six points. So hopefully we can come out with a win and get ourselves two more points to put us back in the running for a playoff spot! See you on the 15th! Don’t forget to friend me on Leafspace and facebook and follow me on twitter and tell me all about your first hockey game and all the good deeds your doing this month to earn your halo! Later days! Marlies Melissa February 3, 2010
Hey Marlies fans! Marlies Melissa here, your in game host with my new blog! I’ll be writing about all sorts of fun stuff that goes on with the Marlies and Me. I’ll give you guys the inside scoop of what goes on behind the scenes at Ricoh Coliseum on game day and all the exciting events the players take part in away from the rink. So to start things off I thought I’d introduce myself so you can get to know me a little better! |
But first let's go back to Thursday night (Feb 25) when the Marlies hosted Calder Cup champs, the Hershey Bears. Also on tap that night was Canada's women's hockey team facing off against the U.S. for the gold medal. It was tough not being able to watch and cheer on our athletes but Simon (our PA guy) and I kept the crowd updated on the score. Of course I hosted the game in none other than a Canadian ensemble... Canada shirt and Canada toque. I mentioned in my last blog that Marlies defenceman Brendan Mikkelson's sister, Meaghan, plays on team Canada. Unfortunately the Marlies schedule didn't allow Brendan any time to go out west to watch any of Meaghan's games, especially since he was called up to Anaheim last week, but he caught the highlights as soon as he could, "luckily for the good coverage by the networks I was able to catch all the games and keep up with her through a couple texts here and there". Thursday night while we were playing the Bears, Brendan had just been recalled to the Marlies and was on his way back to Toronto, "I was able to catch the last 2 periods of the game once I got in. I actually talked to her about ten minutes after the game, right when they got back to the room. Good thing she checks her phone a lot. Then I saw we beat Hershey that night too so all around it was a good night." The Marlies beat the Bears, the AHL's top ranked team 3-2 and extended the home winning streak to four games and Canada defeated the U.S. 2-0 winning the gold for the third consecutive year! It was a good night!
It was also Rogers Minor Hockey Day and we had the Credit Valley Wolf Cubs spending the afternoon with us and competing in the second intermission in the Rogers fastest skater challenge. Sebastian was the winner, which means he’s given a special invite back to the last game of the season to compete with all the other Rogers fastest skaters. Should be a speedy competition!
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