Yes, I will actually be free to write about the game as it happens, as I’m not back on Trentonian duty until Friday. I am genuinely excited about the Florida series. They’re like an ECHL super team…three NHL goalies, some scattered recognizable names, etc.
Since 12/5, Johnstown is 1-9-1-2. Any guesses on who that win is against? Sigh. Since looking like world beaters in their 2-1 over the T-Devils on December 30th, Johnstown has gone 0-3-1-0 and has been outscored 16-6.
Also, the Tribune-Democrat has the Neil Smith story covered here and here. Lots of good stuff. Depending on how the game goes, my angle may be to try to talk to Smith after the game…it’s a relatively big story in the league, and has made tiny waves across the hockey world as well. Might as well jump on it.
UPDATE: It’s about 4:00 PM…I’ll be recording a podcast with Florida Everblades beat writer Woody Wommack at around 4:45, so I’ll be incommunicado for a bit. Now, I don’t know what was at the Sun National Bank Center over the past few days…but have you ever seen what a white floor would look like after a dog dragged his rear end across it? It looks like about 500 dogs did that to the ice. The crew here is working feverishly to clean the ice of what I hope is dirt…but it looks pretty nasty out there right now.
4:20 PM — Apparently, there was a monster truck show here. I’m actually a bit concerned, to be honest…all joking aside. They’ve made very little progress here, and while I’m not an ice expert and can’t tell you if the surface is playable…I don’t know if it’s presentable.
5:10 PM — Just recorded that podcast with the Naples Daily News…I hear it should be posted tomorrow. As for the ice…they made a lot of progress, but there’s still some work to be done. Gates open in 50 minutes, and it may be as good as they’re going to get it.
5:25 PM — I’m not that concerned that the game being played is in danger now…but I think you’re still going to see spots on the ice where it just looks awful. I assume they can play…but there’s really no one for me to ask right now.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
Inside The Trenton Devils with Mike Ashmore 
January 13, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Hmm. Interesting Neil Smith quotes…
”You look for certain things in a team. What are the losses like? How are they losing? All of these things about the way the team is playing will tell you if you think the team can turn it around with that coach. We came to the conclusion that the players were no longer working together.”
”If the players don’t want to respond to me as an owner and coach and a guy who’s been in the NHL for a hundred years it’s pretty tough to get a coach they’re going to respond to.”
”I said to the players on the ice, ‘This is something we would all do for free.”’
And Mayotte saying that early in the season, they outworked teams, but as the losses built, they stopped doing that… Yeah, sadly I believe him.
January 13, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Mike talk to Mr. Smith we know the post game interview from our side by heart.
January 13, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Didn’t they have the Monster Truck Winter Nationals there over the weekend?
January 13, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Just updated the post with that info, yes. But for the ice to look like this two hours before players come out for warm-ups? I’m worried…
January 13, 2010 at 5:36 pm
similar sh*t happened a couple years ago when they had the quad ice racing, they ate through the ice in a bunch of spots and into the paint, looked like hell but not this bad. Personally I think it looks appropriate and if the shoe fits wear it. As an added bonus are the lower level seats covered with dirt and mud as they usually are after the truck show up? Should we each bring a pressure washer?
January 13, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Christ. At least this one isn’t the T-Devils fault. At least not completely.
Definitely talk to Smith – he must love riding the buses again.
January 13, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I haven’t made it down to the lower bowl, but I’ve heard it’s quite interesting down there…
January 13, 2010 at 5:52 pm
of course it is Mike and they’ll throw their hands up yet again this year and say well it’s not our fault which when it comes to not having the area cleaned up for the two hundred season ticket holders is BS.
Been saying for months they’ve been rolling out crap on the ice this season. Love it.
January 13, 2010 at 5:53 pm
This is unacceptable. These guys never get the ice right anyway. They put too much water down, (since day one) and it takes them forever to shave it before a shootout. If the crew up in Boston (or any other venue) can make the change back and forth all the time from ice to basketball floors, to whatever, these guys can do it. Remember that Reading game a few years ago when there was a huge dent in the ice? Leon Hayward shook his head in shame while he was with the Royals, a funny sight. Come on guys, you had plenty of time to do it, now do it right so someone doesn’t get hurt.
January 13, 2010 at 6:01 pm
you would think if it wasn’t playable they would have cancelled it hours ago vs. waiting until 73 people show up and then pulling the plug, right???? nah.
January 13, 2010 at 6:31 pm
OMG! And they’ve had since SUNDAY to fix it, and they just noticed it TODAY? And this is where rumor has it that the AHL Devils will be camping next year?
What are the players texting to their homies?
What’s this going to cost the T-Devils, a forfeit or rescheduling and paying the Chiefs’ travel costs? And would the league let them forfeit?
January 13, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Or they could just move the game to the Lawrenceville Prep rink. It only seats 400, but that should house the throngs of fans.
January 13, 2010 at 6:38 pm
The lights are dim here…(insert joke about what happened in Newark here) so it’s hard for me to tell exactly what it looks like without going down there. But the ice looks just…dingy right now. If you’re facing the logo, the side to the right of the logo looks much worse. There are still very noticable spots on the ice surface.
January 13, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Almost got beaned by a practice puck while reading this here blog. Oh well, least I’ve got a souvenier…
January 13, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Wow, this practice puck is a relic, it says made in Czechoslovakia…
January 13, 2010 at 11:31 pm
A seat washer said they couldnt use pressure washer to clean the seat. Said there were no drains for the water. The ice was very poor to start though it did seem to get better as the the game wore on.
January 14, 2010 at 9:34 am
Insane that there was dirt on the seats. It’s not like the event was Tuesday night. Is the arena that short staffed?
January 14, 2010 at 9:41 am
T04 would be able to better comment, but I’m pretty sure after last year’s event, his seats were caked in mud for a couple weeks.
January 14, 2010 at 10:54 am
Pressure wash it anyway, just have a vacuum hose handy and mop up what’s left. Either that or the SNBC has to hire one of those Disaster Clean-Up companies that has better equipment. Add it to the bill for the Monster Truck show.