Winning the draws on the powerplay is one of the most important things. By starting off with the faceoff win, they can get set up and try to shift the D, make that cross ice pass and tap in the one-timers.

My NHL team had been horrid on the PP for years. They really worked on faceoffs and the PP and are now succeeding.

I'm glad the Condors are doing well. I need to get out and see a game.

Pete, that assumes that the Condors can pass and shoot. Which, from the games I've gone to this season, are still areas to be worked on, especially during the power play. I've seen entire power plays go by without so much as a single shot on goal (SOG). I've seen 5-3 power plays where it takes them a full minute to bring the puck past the blue line. I've seen them blow numerous power plays by committing a penalty in the middle of it. For a squad that has so many returning players, I have yet to see much of the playoff team from last year. I wish them the best of luck. 

I won't be going to another game until they get their security guards under control, and on the same page. I had a bad experience with one at the last game I went to, and have received the run-around by the Condor's management, and ignored by the arena. If you go, just keep in mind that they are as bad as TSA guards at the airport, if not worse since they aren't government employees that have to follow actual written rules and regulations.

Did you try to drop the gloves with the mascot again mattloch?

I think as an organization, they need to find an NHL team. Without any affiliation, they don't get fed players from the top club. I wonder what it would take to get a team like the Kings (their ECHL team is in Reading, PA) to have the condors as their farm team.

As far as the PP, I've seen those situations (not scoring, taking a penalty, etc.) in the NHL so many times it's not even funny. It's a tricky special teams situation, and without a quarterback type player to take charge of the situation, many teams struggle to take advantage. Seeing that the NHL pros have a hard time converting, I'll tend to give the ECHL players a bit of a break. The top powerplay in the NHL only scores about 24% of the time while the worst is 9.7%. Unfortunately for the Condors, their PP conversion rate is a horrible 8.8% which tells me they need to simplify what they're doing and go basic. The games I've gone to do feature pretty lousy passing, but if they were the best passers, skaters and shooters they would be playing at a higher level. I just like being able to see a real hockey game and I don't even have to pay $60 a ticket.

He was lookin' at me funny!

Seriously, if you plan on going to a game, you'd better prepare yourself as you would going to the courthouse. Wear as little metal as possible, and be perpared to have any bags searched. Forget it if you've got a little one and a diaper bag. Those cheap thugs have nothing holding them back as far as I can tell. I'm sure most a decent enough, but without rules in place to restrain the more "zealous" of them, it can very easily turn into a nightmare.

That's what ended up killing the Blaze. If you're not a farm team, it's tough to compete against those that are.

I'm hoping they can find something that works for them on the PP, but for the games I've been to, they haven't found it yet. When they completely blow three 5-3 PPs in one game, you can't help but get on their case. They're having their share of problems in heads-up play, but just seem to go to pieces during the PP. If nothing else, they just need to put more SOGs up. Fire the puck in, and that'll move them towards the goal to pick up rebounds. They seem to be waiting for a setup that never comes.

Trying for that perfect shot eh? I always say if you can't score on a 5 on 3 then you don't really deserve to win.

I haven't had much of a problem being searched at games. Heck, I used to go to Sharks games and smuggle in at least 3 beers. I'm amazed I never got caught, although when I was a teenager, we snuck a whole large pizza into a movie once.  I know of a guy that used to smuggle a bottle of liquor into RAIDER games. He'd put it in a ziplock bag and put it at the bottom of a water dispenser full of ice. There aren't too many people that would stick their hand in a bucket of ice to try to feel something. Once safely at the seats, it's cocktail time baby!

Those security guards that give people with diaper bags a hard time need to get a life and a new job where they don't come in contact with other humans. Hey, you could try to find the person again and stick an unwrapped bananna in the bag so he got the stinky fruit all over his hands.