timeonice.com

At some point I need to build a front end for this site, to make it more accessible.

I write this because I'm looking for volunteers. It's not easy to get data from there, as you know. You have to be a hardcore fan to even bother trying to learn the URLs. Despite that there is a lot of traffic and it's growing, hockey math is taking off. And though I may regret thinking it ... maybe we should make it easier on folks.

If you have the requisite skills, or would like to volunteer a 'How To' or FAQ page ... this would be the place to do it. Just chime in below.

That said, I'm happy to leave it as it is.

Scoring Chance App

If you plan on recording scoring chances this season, you can use this app to help you do it.

http://timeonice.com/xsc30.php

I have tested it on one pre-season match (game number 10095, EDM at VAN) and it looks to be working. If there are any problems, please let me know in the comments here. I'll check in every now and again and will try to address any problems as soon as I can.

Huge props to all the folks who've been logging scoring chances. It's great stuff, and has done more to further Internet hockey conversation than anything else out there.

Good Television

For well over a decade I've relied on Internet hockey fans to tell me what TV shows and films are worth watching. I know there isn't a causal link between good hockey talk and a sharp eye for quality drama, but it's worked so far. From Arrested Development, Cranivale and Curb Your Enthusiam through to The Wire, Breaking Bad and Community ... you cats have rarely let me down.

So an open question to anyone who still stops by this abandoned blog ... what's worth watching?

Breaking Bad has me hooked, though I'd advise against watching more than one episode a week if you buy DVDs. The protagonists are just too frustrating. Parks and Recreation may well be the most underrated comedy ever produced, and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia continues to push boundaries for the sake of it. No show is more likely to make you laugh until you cry.

On the film front, I'm ten years behind with the zombie film craze, but they're awesome. The Resident Evil series was hammered by critics, I don't know why, they are all great. 28 Days is the benchmark, though. And there are a raft of terrific independent films out there as well, reminiscent of the character driven movies of the 70s.

Any road, what is good?

I will likely be interviewing...

...one of these two men in the near future. Which is cool.

Unfortunately for the Oiler fan in me, it won't be the guy with the "C" on his jersey. Which is, of course, less cool.

What would you ask Theo Fleury?

So

What's everyone watching on TV lately?

timeonice.com: Game by Game Shots and Faceoff Data

The scripts have been updated for this season. The data is for even strength (EV) play only, both 5v5 and 4v4, but only when both goalies are on the ice.

By way of example, Florida vs Edmonton from the other night:

http://timeonice.com/shots1011.php?gamenumber=20026

http://timeonice.com/faceoffs1011.php?gamenumber=20026

Eeps! The Oilers were a bit fortunate to get the win in that one.

timeonice.com: Head to Head Ice Time and Shift Charts

They have been updated for this season.

http://timeonice.com/SC1011.html

http://timeonice.com/H2H1011.html

Once again, if there are problems with either app please let me know in the comments section of this post.

Scoring Chance App

A couple of years ago I wrote a small scoring chance app for Dennis King. This was done to make life easier for him. Last year several people used this app to record the scoring chances in hundreds of NHL hockey games. It has been updated to record this season's games, and can be found here.

The team needs to be selected from a drop down menu. This generates a form where the user inputs the five digit NHL game number as well as all of the individual scoring chances, and the time they occurred.

The output is the set of tables that Dennis uses in his posts. Like this one.

Occasionally this script fails due to inconsistent formatting of the NHL.com data sheets. If anyone experiences such difficulties with this app, please leave a comment in this thread. I'll check in here from time to time throughout the season and attempt to fix any problems if and when they occur.

Indefinite Hiatus

Hey everyone,

I'm not sure if you've noticed but it's been a long time since I posted anything of legitimate quality here or in other places in our wonderful little Oilogosphere. Sure there's been a drunk rant or two and I'd be happy to tell you the amusing story behind how Milla and I came to fall so madly in love for 5 minutes and then never talk to each other again (and the restraining order that followed it?) but the truth is this: ever since I accepted a particular amazing-but-life-eating job in May, I have been a lot less engaged in the community you fine folks have created.

Reading my favourite Oiler blogs is still a valuable part of my downtime so I will still appreciate the fine work so many of you create. Thank you for doing what you do, and I wish nothing but the finest of beer and the leggiest of women upon you all. Unless you are a woman, in which case I wish those same things upon you but also a photographer.

Sh*t that could go either way

Sometimes when we're drinking and we don't want to get too hammered we play a card game called Asshole. You've got the president and vice-president at the top running things and of course you've got the vice-asshole and the dreaded Asshole having to put up with shit on the bottom. I feel like seeing as I've played it with people in 3 provinces it's a common enough game to expect people my age to know it.

The one difference? Wild cards. Some people just use 2's, some people use 2's and then 3's which are even better than 2's, some people bring jokers into the mix. You add enough wild cards and things can get batshit crazy in an awful hurry, or at least they appear this way through the lens of a drunk 25 year old.

The entire Edmonton roster is a pile of wild cards. Even if you presuppose (yes, a drunk guy just said presuppose) Horcoff-Hemsky-Penner as the top line and fill in from there, just about every player could go a few ways. Horcoff might be hurt or he might have peaked or he may have had one good year offensively but can still handle the toughs. Hemsky could play 2 or 22 or 70 games. Penner could be Mahovlich or he could be fat.

Can anyone confidently say which of Eberle/Omark/Paajarvi will make the team? Which ones will get minutes? Which ones will be turnover machines and which will learn to tread water by season's end? Who the fuck will play defense or stop pucks on this team? It used to be that people would say "if X, Y, and Z, Edmonton will make the playoffs" and then smart people would point out that 50% X 50% X 50% = fuck right off but Edmonton's 2010/2011 roster could lap the algebraical alphabet without offering clarity. God bless Lowetide for trying but to me this year's Oilers are looking a lot like Lady Gaga: an awful lot like a 6 or 7 and all sorts of other crazy shit that, like her, could go either way.