Pink In The Rink - October 22, 2010

Pink In The Rink is a night in which each of the CHL teams wear special pink jerseys at home to support the fight against breast cancer. And very few teams do it as well as the Halifax Mooseheads. They are one of the very few teams that not only design special jerseys for the night, but also paint the ice surface pink. As a photographer, it is somewhat more difficult to shoot because there are fewer hard transitions in colour in the jerseys for the autofocus system to bite into. As well, it is difficult to get the pink colour in the ice to show up in the images.

In this game, the Mooseheads were outmatched and the game became a rough and penalty-filled affair. Most games against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are scrappy contests because of the provincial rivalry, but this game moreso because of the lopsided 7-2 score. At least Simon Desmarais got the better of his fight partner, leveling him with a punch - one of the few small victories in a match the home team lost handily.

The support the CHL provides for breast cancer is laudable, and 7,618 fans came out to support the cause.

This is the link to selected images from that game. http://picasaweb.google.com/chanphotoalbum/HalifaxMooseheadsVsCapeBretonScreamingEagles04#

Halifax Mooseheads versus Rimouski Oceanic - October 13, 2010

These are photos from a Halifax Mooseheads 5-3 win on October 13, 2010 over the Rimouski Oceanic. I've been shooting the Halifax Mooseheads for several years and the most unique location to photograph the play is from the catwalk above the rink. The sounds during the game resonate up into the catwalk area, and it's quite peaceful and serene shooting from that perspective. It's easy to be creative when you have such a unique look at the game.

The 70-200mm lens is the perfect lens to capture the play below. But you have to be extra careful to prevent dropping any equipment to the ice below. Not only would it be dangerous to drop a lens or lens cap while play is going on, but it would probably end my stint shooting from that vantage point!

A link to images from that game http://picasaweb.google.com/chanphotoalbum/HalifaxMooseheadsVsRimouskiOceanic02#

It Started With A Photo Of A Scrawny Goalie

Since everyone seems to have a website or a Facebook page, I feel inclined to join the living world, so this is my first post. My blog however, will primarily be a site and forum to share Halifax Mooseheads photos. I started shooting for the Mooseheads several years ago, and I am grateful to the Mooseheads organization for the confidence they showed me, and the honour and privilege of shooting the team. I am constantly aware and never take for granted that I have access to and a perspective of the team, its players, and the Metro Centre that very few fans get.

First and foremost though, I am a hockey "fanatic" --- watching, playing, coaching and photographing this great game. So, combining my passion for hockey with my lifelong love of photography was simply natural. And it's been a pairing that's been there a very long time.

One of my first hockey images (at least a memorable one of note) came in the late winter of 1984-1985. While attending university at UNB, I shot most of the home games that the AHL Fredericton Express played - the Quebec Nordiques' farm team at the time. Among the shots I captured were images of a tall scrawny kid playing goal for the visiting Sherbrooke Canadiens. In fact, I distinctly recall hoping Sherbrooke's other goalie was playing that game, because that goalie's equipment was so much cleaner and newer, which would have made for much nicer images (my apologies to Steve Guennette, that other goalie). That scrawny kid turned out to be Patrick Roy (no details needed on who he is), and I later found out that particular game was the only regular season game he ever played for the Sherbrooke Canadiens. Being a long time Montreal Canadiens fan, I was thrilled Sherbrooke won the game by a 6-4 score.

Roy went on to play for the Sherbrooke Canadiens in the AHL playoffs later that season and won the Calder Cup. The rest is history, as he led the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup the proceeding year in his NHL rookie season. I guess the photo I took represents part of prehistory.

Many years later, Patrick Roy signed that photo for me.

The following link summarizes Roy's stellar Hall of Fame career, including that one solitary regular season game he played for Sherbrooke. http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/roypa01.html