Wait for it....

Normally, I wouldn't have any patience for a goalie in a Flyers themed lid.



Nor would I appreciate him and his four game win streak and ECHL goalie of the week honors Ccoming to my barn when my team's goalies deserve every single award the league offers. Even the awards for skaters.



Honestly, I wanted to hate Brian Stewart and his goofy goaltending style and his dumb mask.



And I did manage to... for one period. Then he came on over to my end of the rink and did this...



Let me just transcribe my thoughts as he did his warm-up:

- Oh, hey big boy. Gonna get out position a few more times and let my boys win? I hope so.
- Yup, you're gonna give up so many goals ya big goober.
- Siiieeeevvvveeeee!
- Ooooh, well hello. Look at you. Nice stretching.
- Oh my.
- Oh my.
- Giggle.
- Holy shit you just did a split!YOU JUST DID A SPLIT!
- Oh! Oh!
- WHY IS THERE NO OXYGEN IN THIS ARENA?!
- *untillegible happy noise*
- MARRY ME.

Ahem. Anyway, Brian Stewart. Yes. He's been putting up nice numbers and earned goaltender of the week honors for his four game (now it's five games) win streak. He's a former NCAA goalie... you know what? You guys don't care about this. No normal human being's brain could work after that video. My brain still isn't working at full capacity after witnessing that live.

Let's just all agree that is an excellent warm-up and Brian Stewart is excellent and the only thing that could make it better is a a backbend. Ohhh, never mind. Scratch that, a backbend would have left me comatose for the rest of the game.

I'm not sure how I'm going to survive the next two nights of the series with him trying to impregnate the ice as I watch, but I'm going to tough it out for all of us and take one for the G5H team. Because that's just what I do.

I'll probably need to bring a tank of oxygen though....

The Luck of the Irish

I've been extraordinarily absent of late and send my sincere apologies. On the plus side we've added some terrific new ladies to the G5H family.

To make up for my absence I've decided to bring you someone I find completely shiver inducing.

His name is Patrick Killeen. They call him Killer and for good reason. He is big, bendy and deliciously aggressive.

All of this documented amazingness has been provided courtesy of the lovely Swamphockey. I close with this warmup video.

Awww-some

Meet the latest object of my goalie love.



That's John Muse by the way. He's a Charlotte Checkers prospect that was sent down to my Everblades. He's also totally adorable and pretty inspiring goalie love-wise.

You could almost call him... my new MUSE!

I'm so sorry. I had to do that. It was just sitting there waiting to be said and you know you thought of it too.

One of my favorite things about him is how adorable he is. Watch this video and tell me you don't want to smoosh his face and feed him homemade apple pie. He's just so cute!



Now, if your one of those people who loves flashy goalies he's probably not your cup of tea. He's not going to drop into incredible contortions to make the save. He's was too busy setting himself up and anticipating what was going to happen so that he didn't have to.



Really, he gets my heart racing by not giving me regular heart attacks. And you know what? It's a very refreshing change of pace not to have the object of my goalie love attempting to put me into the hospital.



That's not to say he never throws himself into contortions, he does, He just doesn't do it with the regularity that forces me to keep a copy of heart attack symptoms on hand.



He's on that newfangled Twitter thing too. I find him pretty hilarious.

Did I mention he's won to NCAA championships and currently has the third best GAA in the ECHL right now? Awesome.

Hey There!

Well, looks like we're back.

As a way of apologizing for neglecting all of you I will share this video.Because lets be honest, sometimes videos do goalies much more justice than a photo can.



Oh yes they do.

That lovely fellow is Shane Owen by the way. I have the materials for a full length post somewhere around here. I just have to find the words that can capture his awesomeness.

Ode To a Goalie

(Bear with me guys, poetry has never been my gift)



Few words can describe Nic
Fewer yet for his big stick



The things he inspires in this chick
Is captured with a cameras click



As he bends, stretches, and kicks
All his movements quick



I become as coherent as a brick

Terrible right? Well, it could have been worse. I could have found some way to include certain other words that rhyme with Nic in there.


Anyway, Meet Nicola "Nic" Riopel. He's a 2009 Flyers draft pick. As much as I'd love to hold that against him I can't. He's just too stinking adorable.



Seriously, that accent! That hair! Oy vey. How can you not want to take him home and... uh... admire him. Yup. I wasn't going to say anything other than admire.

What's Not to Love?

I've admitted my love for minor league journeymen before. One of my favorites? Todd Ford. Seriously, check out his stats. Dude has been around more than a puck bunny with daddy issues (oooooh, too far?).



I've been watching him come through for a couple of seasons now and I have to say he nice to watch. Aside from really filling up the crease...



mmmmmmmm...biggoalie...mmmmmmmm....





... uh, yeah... where was I? Oh, yeah, dude fills up the crease. Right. Uh, he also has some bad ass tatste in music if his mask is any indication.



I just can't help but adore a man who appreciates Johnny Cash.



Add to that his penchant for coming out of the crease and its true goalie-love.



I don't think there is really anything left to say, so, I will leave you with this hilarious video of Ford and his Stingray teammates taking on a local Boys and Girls club in a rousing game of dodgeball.

UndeNIEable

I don't think it's any secret that I love minor league hockey. I write a blog about my local ECHL team for crying out loud. One of my favorite things are minor league goalies. I'm not talking about the guys that are just paying their dues before they can move up or some big name prospect smoothing his rough edges by being peppered with 30 something shots in a game.

I'm talking about the guys who, for whatever reason, will spend their entire careers in ancient stadiums in front of 3,000 fans (at the most). One of my favorite career minor league goalies is Ryan Nie. I'm pretty sure I know why he's never really had a chance in the upper levels, but it doesn't matter.



The dude is fantastic. He really is.

Admitting that I adore him as much as I do is extremely hard for me. The guy has quite a knack for making my teams life miserable when he comes to town.

By my count, he's played for nine different teams in the last four years. I really can't help but adore him for that. It's like he's the saddest little puppy in the pound that just can't find that one home he's meant for.

The saddest part? This guy can put up wicked win/loss numbers. Take right now for example, 30-16-5. Last season? 28-12-4. It just keeps going.

Of course, I would be remiss in not mentioning how easy on the eyes he is. In fact, let me share a quote from the lovely person who sent these to me, Lisa (@Mnemneth):

"A lot of people made fun of me for falling all over myself in front of him, but he was just too cute.  I love broken noses and he has the most gorgeous blue eyes and long eyelashes.  He's totally sweet and definitely team-oriented.  Always does what's best for his boys."

 I really can't agree more. They are some terribly dreamy eyes and the broken nose makes him look so tough.

The last three photos are courtesy of Lisa.

What's not to love?

Dishy Goalie Monday- Bryan Pitton

DGM is usually based on a feeling, some might call it intuition, I call it attraction. This week is special and features a repeat guest, Bryan Pitton. You might remember him from PokeChicks post "Pitton Goes Pipe-to-Pipe".

Pitton was brought to our attention by @msconduct10. He is a 23 year old prospect for the Edmonton Oilers and currently plays for the Oklahoma City Barons. Pitton has also played this season with G5H alum, Zane Kalemba.

Now I know you're all waiting for the photos, but we like to get to know our boys a little before we ogle them shamelessly. So here is 5 little tidbits on the admirable Mr. Pitton.

1. When assigned to the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL, Bryan plays alongside his older brother Jason.
2. He is from Mississauga, Ontario (allegedly the current home of Don Cherry).
3. Was drafted in the 5th round #133 overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.
4. He stands 6'2" and weighs in at 176 lbs. He has a wiry strength about him.
5. He has dreamy bedroom eyes.

Refreshing.

Wait the best part is right around the corner (or down the page).

With moves like these, I'd love to see a goalie dance off with @Geffman47.

*In game photos and videos provided courtesy of @MsConduct10.

Friday Quickie

Michael Hutchinson knows what you're thinking... and apparently, he's OK with it. Yesssssss.

Cougar Time...Patrick Killeen

Love is such a fickle creature. Last night I went to the Florida Everblades vs. Wheeling Nailers game with @Swamphockey. It was supposed to be routine guest tweeting appearance and then 6'4" of deliciousness hit the ice.

Patrick Killeen's style is a little aggressive (he really doesn't like you in his crease) and he has the size to easily enforce it. He only spent one period in our end, but the connection was there (delusional). I promise.

Killeen is a rangy Pittsburgh Penguins prospect who has a gift at covering the bottom of the cage (seriously his legs go on forevvvvver).

We made googly eyes at each other (at least that's what I'm telling myself).

Pokechick (who could not attend) jokingly recommended via text, "flash him your tits." I did not want to win that badly.

While the Everblades lost 3-1, not flashing turned out best for all. Killeen is only a baby and will celebrate his 21st birthday on April 15th. *Sigh, Yes I am a dirty old woman.

No worries Everblades fans Bobby Goepfert is still #1 in our hearts and though it almost got me fired from my guest tweeting (intern my butt), I'll say it again "Bobby Goepfert is back in our end. No more fantasizing about the other goalie. #Goepfertbabiesonly"

Dishy Goalie Monday- Jaroslav Janus

Alrighty folks here we go with another DGM. As I sit down to research and write these each week I've come to realize that the interleague goalies are traveling soldiers. One such goalie is Tampa Bay prospect Jaroslav Janus.

Janus has split his time this season between the AHL Norfolk Admirals and the ECHL Florida Everblades. The Slovakian cutie received his fifth AHL call up on March 18th, but was back with the Everblades for their Sunday game against Gwinnett Janus posted .92 SV% during the game and helped the Everblades win 5-3.

Now his traveling stamina is admirable, but he has some "other" talents. Janus has the ability to make me swoon during his warm-ups.

About 3 seconds after this photo was taken Janus will booty pop and my heart will skip a beat.

Janus, who speaks multiple languages sports his Slovakian heritage on the back of his helmet.

I've never seen a man look so good in pink.

*In game photos courtesy of @Swamphockey.

Friday Quickie

There are so many dirty jokes about this picture of Blackhawks prospect, and current Toledo Walleye,  Joe Palmer I can't choose just one. Any suggestions?

Friday Quickie

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

 

There is no such thing as too much Bobby Goepfert.

By the way, if you didn't hear, and I'm not really sure how you missed it, Bobby G is now on Twitter. It's a spectacular as I thought it would be. The fact that he often replies when you @ him, unlike some players( *cough* Mike McKenzie *cough*), is just the icing, on top of the icing, on top of the cake, on top of the pie.

Seven-Ten Split, French Style

Today's goalie-licious post is 21-year-old Adrien Lemay from the ECHL Idaho Steelheads.

French-Canadian Lemay made his professional debut with the Florida Everblades last season, so featuring him on Going Five-Hole is extra nostalgic for miss Lady Byng.

If goaltending doesn't pan out, we bet he could one-up that little twig gymnast Shawn Johnson for the 2012 Olympics. Or maybe they should just date, their kids would be the human equivalent of Gumby.

(Big thanks to Ross for, yet again, making opening our email something we look forward to)

Before joining the Steelheads, the Quebec native appeared in 20 games for the Allen Americans of the CHL, with a couple of call-ups to the AHL Texas Stars. In net for the Americans, he registered a save percentage of 0.887 with a GAA of 3.31.

In his three games in Idaho, he's improved to a .921 SV% with 2.21 GAA.

And because everyone loves a goalie superstition, here's a video of Lemay in an Everblades sweater warming up against the (then-ECHL) Charlotte Checkers last season.