Vasicek ties the game 4 all on a gritty PP goal. We are really bringing it as we should 5 on 3.

DiPietro just fought Montoya, because he had a Ranger in a headlock - for not dropping his stick during a brawl. It is something special tonight!

Posting via Mobile

Scoreless after one period….VERY physical game featuring 3 bouts. Most notable is Simon v Orr

Kids look sharp tonight, although Bergy looks slow….he needs to wake up.

More as it happens!

It's good to have hockey back in town - I can't tell you how excited I am to get back to the old barn tonight. As a season ticket holder, it is hard not to get excited when hockey is back. For one, it is a chance to get caught up with the frienda you have made in your section. Another great reason - we are nuts about HOCKEY!

Pretty much all day at work today my mind was on the game, I think I was thinking about it more then half the team to be honest. I do have to remind myself that it is only preseason……

What to expect tonight

I expect the team to come out with a bit more jump then they have had the past few games. It is the teams one and only preseason performance in front of their home crowd and they want to show they are ready to return. It also helps we are playing the cross town rival New York Rangers, so you may see some physical play from the big boys (*Note that Simon is dressing and playing as his suspension does not count for the preseason).

As posted on the Islanders Website, we will get to see several players attempt to earn spots, in Johnson, Tambellini, Colliton and Comeau. It's going to be interesting watching these players battle it out and attempt to earn those hard to come by forward and defense positions.

I will try to update the blog from the game, no promises! I was also going to bring my camera, but I am walking from my uncle's house so if they deny me entrance with it (it's a DSLR Canon) I would hate to have to walk back across Hempstead Turnpike just to bring the camera back.

Hockey is back in Uniondale, and I love it!

You may have noticed that I mentioned the lack of an Islanders Schedule for Outlook and Mobile devices last night. For whatever reason, the Islanders did not create one this year as they have in years past. I went above and beyond, and spent the better part of the morning/afternoon coding an Excel file. Anyone who has ever made a spreadsheet with multiple rows and columns knows it is a harrowing experience. Hopefully it comes in handy for someone other than myself!

It comes in two flavors:
XLS Document
CSV Document

The CSV document is UNTESTED, and the XLS I used personally to import into my Outlook calendar. Mind you, it crashed outlook (figures) but it imported anyway. You need to check all the boxes and make sure the custom fields are matched up to their respective default fields.

But WHY do I need this?

The Outlook schedule is compatible with Microsoft Outlook and intended for fans who want to include Islanders games in Microsoft Outlook and/or handheld devices running Pocket PC, Windows CE or Windows Mobile. All entries feature a reminder four hours before game time. Once imported into Outlook, the schedule can be synchronized with handheld devices running Pocket PC, Windows CE or Windows Mobile.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

NOTE: You will need to have the Excel or .csv translators installed in Microsoft Outlook to import the schedule. The Import Wizard should tell you whether or not you do. Most default installations of Outlook DO NOT have the translator(s) installed. If your installation does not, you will need to have your Microsoft Office CD handy.

1. Click the link below to download the schedule. If the file opens in your browser, save it to your hard drive from your browser menu and close your browser.
2. Open Outlook and Select File > Import to begin the Import Wizard.
3. During the Import Wizard make sure to:
* Choose “Import from another program or file”
* Choose “Microsoft Excel” as the file type to import from (if you choose to download the Comma Separated Values file below make sure to choose “Comma Separated Values” as the file type).
* Choose “Calendar” as your destination folder (”Calendar” within your “Personal Folders” list or your “Mailbox Name” if you are using Outlook on a network).
* Click the “Map Custom Fields” button. Depending on your version of Outlook, you may have to drag the “Reminderonoff” value on the left to the “Reminder on/off” field on the right (perform this step if you want Outlook to remind you about each game)

NOTE: All times are Eastern. Once you import this file, you cannot delete or uninstall it. The only way to remove the calendar entries is to delete each entry individually. You may consider making a backup of your Personal Folder File (.pst file), should you want to restore your Outlook calendar. See Outlook Help for more information about making backups.

REQUIREMENTS
Operating System
Handheld Device - Pocket PC, Windows CE or Windows Mobile
Desktop/Laptop Computer - Any OS compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later

Software
Desktop/Laptop Computer - Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later (recommended)*
Handheld Device - Pocket Outlook or equivalent

*The schedule is also compatible with any calendar program that can import XLS for CSV files formatted for Outlook Calendar.

I want to first start off by saying thank you to everyone who came to Islesblogger by way of the Islanders site yesterday. It seemed for a while there every time I checked; there were several hundred more page views. It was a very warm feeling.

Onto some news; According to Hockeybuzz the New York Islanders placed 6 players on waivers today:

Steve Regier
Tim Jackman
Kip Brennan
Matthew Spiller
Drew Fata
Joey MacDonald

If there are any teams interested in these players, they have until Noon ET tomorrow to claim them.

With no official cuts announced by the Isles, I think that this news is a safe bet that these players are viewed as extra pieces that could fit, but may not have enough room for. It's a shame too because I really liked what I saw from Spiller. It's a good thing I don't have to make any of these decisions, because I wouldn't know what to do. You cannot keep everyone obviously.

In other news, the Islanders posted the entire season's TV schedule. It's good to keep this handy, as there are always several times during the season when I cannot seem to locate a game.

Check out the schedule for yourself: Islanders TV Schedule

One thing that I noticed, last year the Isles converted the season schedule so you can import it into Outlook. I loved this feature because I have a PDA. They need to bring that back, otherwise I am going to have to make it myself.