In part two of our Q/A with Andrew Gordon (part one can be read here), Gordo discusses his favorite NHL players and teams as a kid, if he reads blogs or newspaper articles about himself and what he did on his day with the Calder Cup this year. Mixed in is also a question submitted from a 9 year old reader, Cody, who asks Gordo what he thinks it would take for him to make it to the NHL someday.

In conclusion, all of us here at RMNB hope that you have enjoyed Andrew’s insightful responses to your questions over the past two days and his blogging throughout the Calder Cup Finals. Please join us in wishing him good luck for the upcoming season and a successful training camp. With that said, let’s get started with our first question.

Bill C. asks, “Andrew, who was your favorite player as a kid growing up and why?”

Thanks for the question, Bill. As a kid growing up I had all kinds of guys I really looked up to. When I became old enough to really follow hockey and understand the game, it was the 1992-93 season and I was 8 years old. This may have been the year that hockey took over my life, as my favorite team (brace yourself people…and I apologize in advance) the Montreal Canadians won the Stanley Cup and Teemu Selanne scored 76 goals on his way to a record-setting rookie season. Seeing as my father grew up in Winnipeg, the Jets were the other team I followed closely. So Teemu became my instant favorite. My father and I actually went to see a game in Winnipeg that season where the Jets faced Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. Although I don’t remember all the details of the game (aside from Seleane getting two goals), I remember being amazed by the stadium and the fact that the guys on the ice were real live NHL players! In the same room as me! It was a day I hope I never forget.

As I grew older (and Seleane got traded from the Jets to the Ducks), I grew fond of various different players. I always loved the character guys who were known as all around players and were more than just pure skill guys. I liked Kirk Muller, Cam Neely, Trevor Linden and Steve Yzerman to name a few. I always believed that there is a big difference between the kind of player you want to have on your team, and the kind of player you need on your team. Teams need leaders. Guys with guts. I wanted to be a player that is known for performing when the chips are down the way these guys were. I watched them carefully and learned how much every game and every shift seemed to mean to them. The way they played the game inspired those around them. It wasn’t because of their ability; It was because of their attitude and determination. Guys with skills and character were always my favorite players growing up instead of the guys constantly in the spotlight.

Meghan H. of The Hockey Chronicles asks, “Gordo, now that you’ve written for a blog, I feel we should ask if you (as some Caps prospects, e.g. Dmitry Kugryshev, have been known to in the past) read blogs and other internet news sources about yourself? Or do you prefer, like many people, to keep away from them (and their often negative) opinions?

Hi Meghan! I personally will read something here and there, but pretty much only if I stumble across it. I will never go buy a newspaper to see what somebody said about me. In all honesty though, I find it’s better to leave the media to the fans and worry about what’s going on inside the dressing room. No matter what you read, I feel it can do you no good as a player. If you read all kinds of good press about yourself, you might start to feel like you’re something special. Your habits might change, even just a little bit, and that can be enough to change your focus. Every player at some point is written about and glorified as a sure thing to play in the NHL. This just isn’t a reality. People in the media write articles so people will read them. They are not always that useful. I repeat, they are written for the interest of readers. Any topic that might get people’s attention is worth writing about. When articles are written about a team as a whole, the writers are sending the band wagon rolling down a hill with hopes of people jumping on. If you are winning, the team is great and all mighty. If they are losing, everybody becomes an armchair GM with a million things they would do differently. None of it matters to anybody in the dressing room.

As an individual player, you will never please everybody. Your style of play and what you bring to a team will never be recognized by fans and media officials the way it can be realized and appreciated by your teammates. If someone writes an article or posts something online about me that is negative, it will mean absolutely nothing. It won’t change the way I play, my attitude, work ethic, goals, dreams or any other aspect of my life whatsoever. At the end of the day it’s an article. It will be recycled in two days and forgotten about anyway, no matter if it’s good or bad. I always think about the people who write those negative comments or articles. 99.99% of the media that I have encountered have never played at this (or any) high level of hockey, so they don’t really know what it’s like out there on the ice. For an example, let’s say a defenseman tries to clear the puck and turns it over for a goal and the team loses as a result. The media has the right to talk about what a miserable play he made and how bad he has been playing for weeks, blah blah blah. Nobody at the game day media buffet could do any better. Yet they have the power to critique based on speculation as opposed to experience. Hockey is a game that can be learned, but without playing it you will never fully understand what it’s like. In my mind all that matters is what the players and coaches have to say.

Overall, I’m not afraid to read what’s written, but I understand what it is that I’m reading. Good or bad it always comes in one ear and out the other. It’s always nice to hear or see people saying nice things about you, don’t get me wrong. But I’m interested in what can help me make the NHL. Not a writer’s opinion of my personal play or that of my team. The media is an incredibly valuable means of exposing the game to fans and keeping people attached to hockey, but to me as a player, it has no direct benefit.

Bev asks, “Andrew, what did you end up doing the day you had the Calder Cup this year?

There's more photos of Gordo with the cup on his Facebook Page. Friend him. RMNB promises he'll instantly become the coolest guy you know on there.

Bev, this year when I had the Calder Cup, my family had a little get together that we probably should have had last year but didn’t. Last summer, I had the Calder Cup just long enough to take a few pictures (which you can see on my facebook page) around my parent’s house and a nearby Nova Scotia Beach. Then I brought it over to Andrew Joudrey’s place where he in turn had a little open house. Friends and family members were welcome to drop by to take some pictures and see the trophy up close. This year we did something similar at our house. My mother did a wonderful job of organizing food and drinks for everyone on extremely short notice, then we had the majority of the neighborhood drop by to share a nice summer evening with the Cup. This included some close friends, neighbors and a couple old coaches from my minor hockey days. Nothing too crazy, but a fun get together with many of the people who have watched me grow up and helped raise me into the player and person that I am today. The next morning I handed it over to Andrew Joudrey yet again, and I haven’t seen it since!

Cody B. writes, “Andrew-I am 9 years old and learning to play hockey. I eat, sleep, and drink it. I started by learning to skate this summer, in a clinic at my local rink, and have signed up for the Jr. Bears Inhouse Clinic. For my age, do you have any advice to keep me focused on my dream of becoming a professional hockey player? I am looking forward to seeing you this year at the Bear’s games. Thank you for your time.”

Cody, my advice would be to have fun and don’t let anybody push you but yourself. Hockey is a fun game. Even now I get all kinds of comments on how I always look like I’m having fun on the ice. The secret is…I am! My dad always tells the story of when I was about six years old and we were driving to or from a hockey practice (I can’t remember which). In the car, dad was giving me some instruction on what I had to do to become a better hockey player. You know, how to work harder, focus on what I was doing, and so on. I don’t remember this happening, but he tells me at one point I just interrupted him and said something along the lines of “Lay off dad! I’m just a kid trying to have fun!” That was the end of it. My dad never pushed me or instructed me again. From then on after practice or games he would ask me “Did you have fun today?” and based on my response we would move forward from there. Hockey was always the most fun activity I could possible do, because I only played it when I wanted to (which was a lot). I was never forced to go to hockey schools unless I asked for it. I never had to go work out unless it was my idea. By having fun and getting better on my own, I never lost that same love of the game I developed when I was 5-6 years old. You can love hockey as much as you do now, if you always enjoy it on your own time.

My second piece of advice I’ll pass on was something I was told many times in my career: ALWAYS find a way to get better. Understand that you can always get better. No matter how many goals you score or points you get or championships you win, there is always room to improve your game. There are millions of kids playing hockey around the world and if you work harder at getting better than all of them, you up your chances of becoming a professional player! Every player on earth can always become a better skater, a harder more accurate shooter, and physically stronger on his/her skates. There is an old quote that was posted in the weight room in St. Cloud where I went to college that bluntly said “When you’re done getting better, you’re done.” I feel that one is pretty self-explanatory.

My last piece of advice would be to dream bigger than anybody can see possible. You said you dream about being a professional hockey player. That’s a good start. When you close your eyes at night, don’t just see yourself as a pro, but one playing in the NHL. Being a superstar. Playing in NHL all-star games. Representing your country at the World Championships. See yourself winning the Olympics. Hoisting the Stanley Cup. Being the Captain of your favorite team. Winning scoring titles and MVP awards. Dream anything you can possibly think of! The more you think about it now, the easier it will be to achieve later. Never be afraid to talk about your dreams either. Share them with people and have them on your mind every day. I’m 24 years old and I still dream about all the same stuff. This reminds me of another quote I remember reading in the dressing room of my Midget AAA team in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. It said, “A dream is like a chauffeur. It will take you exactly where you want to go.”

Inimitable V Cristina asks, “Gordo, you are very humble and appreciative of your fans. If your career keeps taking off and you end up being the big shot you’re going to be in the NHL, how do you think it would change you?”

I believe that if I ever make the NHL full time, it wouldn’t change me as a person at all. No matter where I’m playing, I’m still the small town guy from Porters Lake, Nova Scotia, with parents I respect and a big sister I look up to. I’m honestly flattered and amazed that people have any interest in me at all! In reality, we hockey players are just normal guys. Everybody in the world has a million things they are good at. I was just fortunate enough to have hockey be one of mine. I’m not going to act differently because of it. I have never seen anybody walk around acting like a jerk to people because they are the best parallel parker in the world. I see hockey in that same light. Hockey is something I am good at. It doesn’t define me as a person. It’s a part of my life like everything else I do.

I think being humble is something that comes from my sister. We have always got along extremely well, but when I was young, sometimes I would start to feel like I was a pretty cool guy. She would always be the first to remind me that I was in no way better than anybody else just because I played hockey. There is an image of a prototypical hockey player in my head that I’m sure everyone reading this can imagine. My sister was not going to allow me to become that. I still thank her to this day! As for appreciating fans, I feel it’s simple. Without them we have nothing at all! How could you not appreciate hockey fans? You are the ones that make playing hockey so enjoyable. Nobody in the world enjoys playing in an empty stadium, and I find having a big crowd allows me to play better. Perhaps that’s why we won 24 in a row at home last year? The fans bring energy to the arena and it gives us an extra push that you can’t get anywhere else. I always appreciate that!

There are always days however (predominantly after losing), where I don’t want to talk to anybody. I don’t want to sign autographs or talk about what happened on the ice moments before. But that’s part of the job. People are there because they want to talk to me, so I’m always happy to oblige them in a short conversation, especially if there are kids involved. I remember when I was a kid asking for pictures, sticks and autographs and the feelings I would get when a player would spend a little time talking with me. I have some really good pictures and memories of Alex Tanguay and me together when he was playing Junior for the Halifax Mooseheads. My peewee team won a practice with the Mooseheads and after scoring a shootout goal I mimicked his signature celebration. Immediately he rushed over, grabbed me and began to hassle me for stealing his moves. I remember being so excited that he was paying me this extra attention, and now I am someone who can make people feel just the way I did that day. In my line of work I am in a position to brighten people’s day just by saying hello and remembering a face. I feel I wouldn’t be respecting what I have been given if I didn’t do at least that.

Well guys, I hope I managed to somewhat answer your questions amongst my ramblings! Looking back, I think some of them dragged on a bit. But it’s much harder to explain some of these things in writing. I could do a much better job in person. If you see me on the street don’t be afraid to say hello.

Thanks again for your time! See you in D.C in a few days!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

A few weeks ago while the blog took a week hiatus, we asked if any of you had questions for player-turned-blogger Andrew Gordon. And boy did you! Tonight we present to you the first five answers out of the ten best questions we received. Also, make sure to check out the photos in this entry. They are from Game 6 of the 2010 Calder Cup Finals where the Hershey Bears celebrated the franchise’s 11th AHL Championship. The photos are from Gordo’s digital camera that he had on the ice. Take it away, Andrew!

Hi, everyone! Looks like this will be my last blog of the summer. Training camp is right around the corner, and once that hits my focus will be on hockey, not writing! I’m going to try to answer all these questions as best I can, but keep in mind some of them would take me forever to fully explain, so I’ll try to cover as much ground as I can without making this a complete yawner of a read. Thanks for reading!

tfirey asks, “Gordo: I have a lot of questions about how pro athletes train (as it’s a world that I’ll never know — alas!). Can you tell us what you do in your workouts? Are any exercises hockey-specific, as opposed to standard endurance and strength-building? How does your routine change throughout the year?”

Thanks for the question, tfirey.  All players have different things they like to do to prepare for upcoming seasons. It’s kind of a trial-and-error thing. The majority of us have had trainers growing up, in junior, in college, and at various pro levels.  They each have their own philosophies and training methods to get a player to the optimum level of fitness.

Over time I have taken a program (created by Caps strength coach Mark Nemish) and tweaked it here and there to make it more customized to my needs and what I feel allows me to be at my best going into camp. I take the base program and add my favorite exercises from past experience and use them to round out my off-season training. For me, this means sticking strictly to the weight program, and modifying the work away from the gym.

Over the course of the summer, we spend a lot of time on the track doing different running intervals, sprints, and plyometric exercises, as well as running and jumping uphill and riding the stationary bike. This is where I find I really get better. Anybody can walk into a weight room and lift a lot of weight, but pushing yourself through 12 x 300 meter sprints with hardly enough time to catch your breath between reps is just as much of a mental workout as it is physical. The track is where I train myself to push harder when I don’t have anything left. It’s where you learn how much you actually have to give, and what kind of character you have. Quitting is easy, but its overcoming those moments when you want to quit that make you a better player.

When it comes to hockey-specific training, there are thousands of different exercises that train your body to move the way we do all winter. Most of which involve your hips, groin, and core. There are lots of ab exercises that build strength in twisting motions. This is relevant when a player is shooting, passing, and turning sharply on the ice. Very rarely does a player lie on his back and do a crunch during a game, so we don’t do them in the gym. We also do a lot of lunging and lateral squatting. These simulate a skating stride and will strengthen the groin muscles and hips that are used to extend your legs as far as you can reach, as well as the power to push and recover your foot back under you. The faster you can stride and recover, the more strides you can fire off in a short period of time, the faster you get to that loose puck. Simple!

As the summer rolls on, the work out goes through various phases. Each phase has a different emphasis that leads you into the next phase. Early on, the workouts are lower intensity and are made to build up a strength base before you get into the next stage, where things step up a notch. Some phases have full body days, some phases are split into upper-body and lower-body days. As much as the phases vary, they all revolve around a lot of leg work. Without strong legs a player would have a trouble keeping balance, taking hits, winning puck battles, and virtually every other aspect of the game. If I were to get into all the different leg exercises and why we do them, I would be writing a book, not a blog. However, I will say the common denominator is power. The objective of every rep in every set all summer is to generate as much power as possible. Hockey is an explosive game filled with quick puck races and short bursts of strength. Being explosive through your first few strides gets you up to top speed faster and puts you in position to win those battles.

Throughout the year, many of us try to train to maintain the work we have put in all summer. In the American League we rarely play mid-week games, so it is easy to push yourself through a hard workout on Tuesday and Wednesday (Mondays are usually off), then give yourself Thursday to recover before we start another weekend full of hockey on Friday. In all three of my seasons in Hershey, we have always had good, hard-working guys. A lot of us will try to do something every day to get better, whether it’s a full work out, a cool-down bike ride, and a stretch or just a little ab work. I feel if I do a little something each day, it will result in a higher level of fitness over the course of the season that I might not have had if I allowed myself to leave the rink after the ice session was over. Small things in the gym add up over time just like everything else. As the playoffs draw closer, I pretty much stop lifting weights and spend all my time getting ready for the next game. I don’t want to be expending energy on working out, so I do everything based on rest and recovery.

FireFly asks, “Andrew- What do you do on your days off to relax and distract yourself from hockey during the season?”

Good question, FireFly.  To relax in my off days I really don’t do much! Hershey is a wonderful town to play hockey in, but away from the rink there isn’t much for us to do. I usually have a book on the go, and I see movies every now and then, but over the last couple years (thanks to the influence of my former roommate Dean Arsene) I have taken a serious interest in cooking and nutrition. I will watch a lot of the Food Network and see if any recipes catch my eye. Some days I find something new, some I don’t, but in either case I’m at the grocery store every day, most days multiple times. These trips can sometimes take an hour or more, and may only result in me picking up two or three items. I’m always looking for new products or ingredients to use or reading labels and checking nutritional information. Being an athlete by profession, my body is my business. The season can really break your body down if you don’t take care of it, so I try to make sure I’m putting as much good food in me as I can …and if I can find a way to make it delicious, that’s even better!

In a normal week, Monday is usually the only real “off day”, and I spend most of it sleeping or just laying on the couch watching TV. After playing three games in three nights, the last thing I want to do is set my alarm and have a hectic day. Through the week there are always things to do if you are interested though. The Hershey Bears as an organization are very active in the community. We have autograph sessions, public appearances, school readings, and hospital visits quite regularly, so it’s nice to get out around the city and help a charitable cause whenever you can.

Meg S. asks, “Andrew, do you stick to a pretty strict diet during the season, or are you burning so many calories that anything goes? Any guilty pleasures (food-wise) you can’t give up during the season?”

Thanks, Meg S.; this is another one of those questions where I could go on for days! I don’t have a strict diet that I follow or count calories or anything like that. I just make sure I’m eating good food and a balanced diet, and that way portion size is never an issue. Nobody has ever been deemed unhealthy for eating too much broccoli. My diet, like my workout regimen, is something I have established through a 24-year trial-and-error effort. I know what I need to eat the day before a game, the day of a game, and immediately after a game to make sure I can be at my best the next day, so the vast majority of my weekly meals revolve around when and where we are playing. In a standard week, I only have about two or three days where I get to try new things or make some of my favorite foods.

I have found there are three levels of nutrition that I go through. There is my “break level”, where I’m taking my two weeks off after the season ends. This is a wonderful time of year. I will eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and as much as I want without thinking twice. This is a guilt-free two weeks, where I can stuff my face knowing I have 3+ months of hard training before camp, then 8-9 months of grueling season after that where I do almost nothing but focus on hockey.

Second comes the gray area I’ll call “mid-level nutrition”. Here I’m eating 95% good healthy food, but I’ll let myself slide a bit and have a few meals here and there that wouldn’t fit into a Weight Watchers program. This might mean bacon and eggs for breakfast one day. Or a Philly cheese steak for lunch. Having a couple “cheat” meals a week make them that much more enjoyable.  I know I’m not supposed to be eating the stuff, but every now and then I just have to take pleasure in some forbidden fruit order to keep my sanity. This is where I find myself many times during the season where healthy food just doesn’t look good anymore, and all I keep thinking about is how much I want to eat some grease! On a Sunday after a road game, I’ll look over the menu and splurge for the pizza or chicken fingers. I’ll treat myself with something other than the normal salad or pasta.

Lastly, there is the “high level nutrition” (which I’m experiencing right now). This is where I’ll eat nothing but the best. When I’m gearing up for playoffs, training camp, or even just a weekend of games that I know is going to be exhausting, I will flip the switch and discipline myself to avoid anything that could have a negative impact on my body. After a couple weeks of this, I don’t crave the grease or the sweets anymore. They almost look bad to me. Once I commit to eating completely healthy, any “cheat” meal sets me back to square one, and I will geel guilty and ashamed of myself for allowing myself to slip. My discipline breeds a deeper discipline that helps me avoid the bad and stick to the good.

As for guilty pleasures, I have a couple, but I keep them pretty much in check, partially because my favorite food isn’t really available during the season. My favorite food on earth is lobster. Not just any lobster, real Nova Scotian lobster. In my home town you can take a case of beer down to the docks and trade lobster fisherman the case for as much fresh lobster as you can grab. They are twice as big as anything you see in a grocery store, and taste a hundred times better than anything you can find at the Keg. The issue here lies in the way I like to eat it. In order for me to enjoy a fresh Nova Scotian lobster, I have to dip the meat in (what turns out to be) about a pound of melted butter! That’s not exactly the ideal thing to be eating when I’m trying to train all summer. I usually keep it to two big lobster feeds a year, boy do I make the most of them!

My unavoidable guilty pleasure is gummy candy. I love sour watermelons and have a really tough time walking by a bulk section or through a movie theater without picking some up. They are just too good and I’m rendered defenseless.

Matt Carroll asks, “Hey Gordo! I remember watching you play for the short time you were here in Charleston, S.C. We have loved watching you progress! My question: How do you feel you have progressed in the Caps system, from South Carolina to Hershey? Also, what are you working on now to make the next step to the NHL?”

Matt, first of all, I want to express what a great time I had when I was in South Carolina! The team was great, the coach, trainer and equipment staff were fantastic people to spend time with, and the city was amazing. Obviously, it wasn’t where I wanted to be playing, but whenever I look back at the time I spent there I only have fond memories. Since then, I have progressed into what I see as a fairly well rounded prospect. In my three years in Hershey I have been on every line from first to fourth. I have killed penalties through the season and in the playoffs en route to winning a championship. I have played and produced on the power play and have never really shied away from the corners or the physical side of the game. I think the progression is mostly mental as sometimes it takes a little while for some players (like myself) to acclimatize to their new surroundings.

At every level I have played from minor hockey all the way through ’til now, it has always taken me some time to figure out the game at the new level. Pro was no different. When I first came to Hershey I was on the third or fourth line, not playing many minutes.  When I did, I was playing nervous hockey, afraid to make a mistake. When I went to South Carolina, I remembered what it was like to carry the puck and score goals. I wasn’t nervous. I was having fun again. By the time I returned to Hershey, I was playing more like I was in college, which is what got me to that level in the first place. From then on, I never really looked back. I always knew I could play at that level and be a good player, I just had to figure out the timing and how my game had to adjust in order to contribute to the team’s success. Now that I have established myself in the AHL, I have to go through a similar process in the NHL.

Going into training camp this year, I’m almost taking a reverse approach. In the past, I always wanted to move and play at 100mph. I would skate as fast as I could at all times, pass the puck as soon as I got it or shoot before I was ready, simply because I had it in my head that things had to happen faster in the NHL. Being on the brink of out of control is a hard way to play the game. This year I want to slow my thought process down and get a bit more relaxed and under control. I have thought about it over the summer, and I figure that if I have the same attitude as I possess in Hershey, my game will come over with it. When I’m in Hershey, I work as hard as I can– but at the right times. I’m not afraid to hold the puck and try to make a play. I’m not afraid to make a mistake. I believe I have the ability to play in the NHL if I play my game. Not at somebody else’s pace. So in conclusion, I’m working on my comfort level. In order to be successful I have to be comfortable with my game at the next stage, and I believe if I can prove that my game can adapt to the NHL tempo, I will have a chance to make the team.

Brandee R. asks, “Andrew – Who would your dream linemates be up in Washington?”

Brandee, this question has a few possible answers. Obviously, I would give an arm and a leg to be the right wing on the first line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Who wouldn’t? But I think my style of play is more suited to guys like Brooks Laich. He’s the type of guy who always plays the game hard, honest and simple. He might not beat you with fancy toe drags like Alex Semin, but in the corners and around the net, he is a great player. I have spent some time with Brooks during previous Caps training camps. And I’ve also played a couple of exhibition games on his line. Suffice to say, he is an easy guy to get along with. I like talking a lot with my line mates about plays that just happened the shift before and areas I might be able to improve upon. Brooks seems to be quite similar. He was always talking to me, helping me and explaining things I can do to improve without making me (the guy with one NHL game experience at the time) feel like he was above me. I pick him as one of my dream line mates as much for his personality and character as I do for his athletic ability.

This is where the selection gets tricky. I have noticed that 90% of the forwards in Washington can play both wings, and some dabble at center so I don’t know where to put people on my dream line. If Brooks is playing center and I would be on the right, I would like to play with Tomas Fleischmann. He is a highly skilled guy who can make amazing plays in small areas that 99.9% of people in the stands can’t comprehend. He is another guy I have known since I was a Black Ace in Hershey, so there is also a level of communication with him that I don’t yet have with some of the other guys on the team. Fun Fact: The coincidence here is that this was my exact line at Madison Square Garden in New York where I played my first ever NHL game. Funny!

In my third scenario where Brooks Laich is a left winger and I’m still on the right, I would select Mathieu Perreault at center. I know he hasn’t “officially” made the team yet, but I believe he is the only player form Hershey who has proven himself at the NHL level, and I believe the Caps are looking for a skilled center. I have played with Perry in Hershey for the past two years, and I love his style of play. He has more skill than he knows what to do with, and is a small slippery player who makes plays that very few can. In my experience with him, he allows me to play my game very well. I just get to loose pucks, chip them in his direction, then go back to the net. 9 times out of 10 he will find a way to put that puck on your stick. Not much more you can ask for right?

So…here is the breakdown of my two Washington Capital dream lines.

FLEISCHMANN – LAICH – GORDON or…

LAICH – PERREAULT – GORDON

Both cases involve one highly skilled player, one hard working guy with good size and a known scoring ability…and me. Ha! I’m still trying to figure out what I ring to the table here! Decent writing ability maybe?

We’ll have 5 more questions and answers with Andrew Gordon tomorrow.  Make sure to come back and find out who Andrew’s favorite hockey players were growing up, if he actually reads our blogs, and what he did on his day with the Calder Cup this year. See you then!

For those of you who weren’t able to make it to #rmnbparty, we announced that Andrew Gordon will be blogging with us again this month. August is traditionally the slowest month when it comes to NHL Hockey news, so it’s a great change of pace to hear from Gordo about his mental and physical commitment to training through the summer. This is where players build the strength, speed and skill to compete in the upcoming season. Below Andrew talks about the mental toughness he’s developed to get him through. Photo by Kathryn Hedrick.

Hi Folks! Just when you thought you got rid of me, I’m back with a summer blog! The guys at RMNB and I thought it would be interesting to try and put into words a bit of what’s going on in my life (and in my head) since the season wrapped up a few short weeks ago.

I’ll start right up where my last entry left off: the post cup celebration. This season’s win was a much different feel than the first time. I remember a much deeper feeling of relief as opposed to the rush of excitement that I had as the buzzer rang in 2009. Don’t get me wrong, I was still on cloud 9, but as the heavy favorites going into the season, and again in the playoffs, the win was more of a weight off our shoulders than a celebration of our accomplishments. We were expected to win, and we did, so our job was done. No miracles or underdog stories. Just a job properly executed.

This lead me to the feelings I had for the following few days. After my first win I didn’t want to leave Hershey! I was having so much fun with the guys taking the cup all around the city and enjoying it, I wanted the championship high to last forever. This time around I was thinking about home almost right away. I had been through the cup festivities before and knew what to expect. All I wanted was to go home and see the friends and family I’ve missed for 20 of the previous 24 months. Being away eats at you when you are gone for long periods of time like we are every winter. Missing Thanksgivings, Christmases and birthdays pile up, and when April and May roll around, home starts looking pretty good (this is when a man’s will can be broken as I spoke about before).

For me these past two seasons, going home has been something to really look forward to. Some guys take off after the season ends and head to Vegas or some tropical destination to relax and put the long season behind them. I just need to get home. That’s the only vacation spot I ever crave. Home has become such a foreign place for me since I left at 16 and moved to Saskatchewan, that being home really does feel like a getaway in a strange place. I rarely see people I know, nobody knows when I am in or out of town or that I even play hockey anymore. It’s the complete opposite of everywhere I’ve played for the last eight years, and that’s why I love it! As good as winning the cup felt this year, I think the feeling of pulling into my home town made me almost as happy. No matter where you are from no place on earth feels like home, and I’m finding the older I get the more I appreciate mine.

The vacation was short lived though. Two weeks go by in a flash when you first get home. I spent a few days relaxing with my parents and sister, then went out of town for a couple weeks on a wedding tour before waking up one morning and suddenly realized I had to start training again! My body didn’t feel completely ready yet. My mind was still not wrapped around the fact that the new season wasn’t far off, but never the less I tossed on my shoes and shorts and went to work. The mental grind of the summer had begun. As a player I find the winter and summer seasons to be opposites of each other. In the winter, you come out of the gates in mid-September with loads of energy and enthusiasm, and as the season wears on you lose that vigor and just have to gut the season out till you get that fire back in the playoffs. As for summer, the first two weeks are miserable and you only get stronger and more disciplined from there. You have to break the bad habits you have created over the past 2-3 weeks and train yourself to limit what will hurt you in order to maximize what helps you. A great workout can easily be nullified by a Big Mac meal no matter how good it looks as you drive by. At first it’s hard. You want that burger. You want to go party on a Thursday with your friends. You want to run at 75% and chalk up your poor effort to the fact that it’s your first week back in the gym. But you have to be strong to avoid the temptation. I battle myself mentally like this every year, but I know these thoughts are coming, so I try to eliminate them before they can take over and ruin a good day.

Over the past few years I have developed what I have self-diagnosed as “athletic paranoia” (no, this is not a real condition). This is where I want to train all the time because I feel like I’m behind what everybody else is doing. I HATE skipping a workout because I have convinced myself that other players were out working at that exact moment while I was sleeping in. In some cases it’s probably true. When I was still playing in June, breaking my body down, everybody who didn’t make the playoffs or lost before we won had a head start on me. They were at home building themselves up. I take pride in my work ethic and I never want to be out worked. A player’s work ethic is one of the few things we can control, and in my eyes deciding not to work is deciding not to succeed. I remember watching a TV show on boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather. To get a mental edge during training he would wake up at 2am and go for a run or a workout because he knew he was working while his opponent was sleeping. Knowing he worked harder than his challenger allowed him to go into a fight with a different level of confidence (not that Floyd was lacking confidence to begin with). I’m not quite that extreme, but I will occasionally work out on a Sunday, or do a couple extra laps or reps when the workout doesn’t say so. This way I at least know that I’m doing more than is expected. If at the end of the summer that extra work allows me to lift one more pound, then it was all worth it.

In the offseason I have the luxury of working out with fellow Nova Scotian and Hershey Bears forward Andrew Joudrey. We grew up playing with and against each other as we only live about 25 minutes apart, and for the last few years we have teamed up as work out partners in the offseason. I find we are almost a perfect match in the gym. I think I am a bit stronger in the weight room, but he is a better runner on the track, so we both push each other to catch up in different categories. In past years I have worked out alone, and things have gone well, but having a partner allows you to work to an extra gear. I don’t want to quit or slow down because I don’t want him to see me fail. I don’t want to allow him to finish the run or the lift and have me fall behind. Seeing him succeed forces me to try to surpass what he has just done before me, and vice versa. If you miss a day, or have to leave a work out early, deep down you know the other guy is disappointed in you. We have grown to rely on one another for support, but also as someone to push you when you need a kick in the pants. None of this mini mental game is really talked about between us. It goes without saying. Not being there not only hurts you, but your partner as well. We work out as a team, but also as quiet competitors. The competitive nature in us both drives us to battle even when there is really nothing to compete over. Nobody wants to let the other get better alone. This is what allows me to jump out of bed at 5:45-6am every day. The first thought in my mind when the alarm goes off is “gahhh I want more sleep!” But my second thought is “I can’t let Jouds work out alone…and I bet nobody else is taking today off…I gotta get out of here!” Within minutes of that conversation with myself I’m in the car making the 35 minute trek to the gym for another day.

So, as of now I have been working out for a few weeks and I’m really starting to get into routine. I’m over the soreness and being upset about waking up early every day, and I’m starting to build up the hunger for working out that comes over time. When your days off make you feel more uncomfortable than days of pushing yourself to your limits, that’s when you really start making progress. I’m looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead for this season, and as much as I enjoy my time off I can already feel the itch to play again. It’s a good feeling. After all, how many people do you know who can’t wait for their vacation to be over so they can go back to work? Now you know one!

“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” -Larry Bird

Thank you for your time! Have a safe and happy offseason!

Yours in Hockey,
Andrew Gordon

The 2009-10 Hershey Bears celebrate back-to-back championships and their 11th championship in franchise history. (Photo by Kyle M.)

It was only one week ago that the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup in a 4-0 rout.  It was their second championship in as many years, their third in five years, and the eleventh in franchise history.  Andrew Gordon writes to share his thoughts on the championship, the celebration, and  what happens now.

Life has a million ways to make you feel good, and a million ways to make you feel miserable.  In my 24 years, I have found only one way to feel like a champion (make that two ways now).  It’s a feeling that all players at all levels try to put into words but can’t ever find the exact way to express it.

It’s a combination of happiness, excitement, relief, satisfaction, fulfillment and complete bliss all mixed together and topped with a touch of “thank God it’s over.”

A championship win is so much different than a regular-season win because there is nothing left to accomplish after it’s over. There is no refocusing for your next opponent. No pasta meal waiting for you before tomorrow’s game. No more playing through injury or sickness. It’s all over, and you have nothing else to think about. It’s as if half of your brain suddenly has nothing to do, so it just shuts down and lets the 8-year-old in you run wild.

In the championship moment, nothing matters except the guys around you. I know there was some intense crowd noise as the buzzer sounded in Hershey, especially compared winning on the road in Manitoba, but I don’t remember hearing a sound. It is like I blocked out everything else in the building except the pile of players huddled around the crease. As you fly over the bench, all you want is to be there with the boys, celebrating what you have just accomplished.

When my career is over, I might not remember the score of the game, but I’ll always remember the feeling of jumping that bench (and falling on my face, if you watch the tape) and sprinting towards the rest of the guys.

In my three years of pro hockey, I’m not sure if I have ever seen a team play with more fire and determination than we did in game six. It was as if we just decided that enough was enough. We couldn’t let them think they were back in the series, so we had to make a statement in the first period.

I think it was our best period of the year. We won every puck battle, finished every check, shot every puck, and defended with our lives. I don’t know if a single guy made a mistake in that period. After that, it was too late for the Stars.

I truly believe that– the way we played that game– we could have beaten the Leafs, the Oilers, and (for most of the season) the Hurricanes. It was a combination of work and skill that is rarely seen at this level. I think we were virtually unbeatable that night, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

How sweet it is. Andrew Gordon hoists the Calder Cup for the second straight year.

It’s both ironic and fitting that we capped off our last game of the season with another record-breaking performance. In a previous entry, I mentioned my “Fun Fact” of the day– that no team had ever lost games one and two at home in the finals then gone on to win the series. Guess they can erase that one from the AHL color-commentary handbook. But that brings me to another point altogether: HISTORY DOESN’T MATTER!!! Nobody in our dressing room was discouraged by the fact that no team had ever come back from two games down. Who cares if it’s never been done? We aren’t those teams who failed before. We are in control of our own destiny, and we will make it happen our own way.

There is no manual that explains how to win a series. You just win four times before they do.

I remember being interviewed before the playoffs about setting all the team records this year and how I felt knowing that the teams who previously held those wins and points records were upset early in the playoffs. My response: we’re not them.  Nothing in the past affects you in the present unless you are too mentally weak to separate the two. Just because something happened the year before doesn’t mean it will happen again. Every season brings a different team with a different outlook and a different identity. No playoffs are ever the same.

That’s why I believe the Caps won’t have a repeat of what happened this year. They had a great team, but couldn’t get a break. It’s a freak occurrence that happens once in a blue moon. It’s sad that it happened to them, but maybe it’s a stepping stone to greater things. I firmly believe that things happen for a reason. It may be hard to understand at the time, but I bet the Caps getting upset in this year’s playoffs lights a fire in them for years to come.

The Hershey Bears mob Michal Neuvirth after the final horn sounds! (Photo by Kyle M.)

I think the best part of winning a championship is the two hours right after the buzzer sounds. All the players’ families are there on the ice, there are news crews and photographers everywhere.  It’s complete mayhem. You can’t stand still for more than five seconds because you are always seeing someone new who you have to go celebrate with. I was fortunate enough to share this win with both my parents who came in from Porters Lake, Nova Scotia. My father was there last year in Winnipeg, but my mother hasn’t seen me play live too often in the past few years, so it was great to have her there on the ice moments after we won. As I always mention, these opportunities don’t come around every year, so having her there to experience the emotion in person meant a lot to me. It’s a memory I’ll never forget, and I’m sure she won’t either.

After the trophy is handed out and the pictures have been taken, the real fun starts. In the dressing room there is nobody but the team and its officials, so we really get to be ourselves and cut loose. This is where the 8-year-old brain I mentioned earlier comes into play. There are bottles of champagne being popped and sprayed all around the room. We had beer, water, Red Bull, Gatorade, and pretty much anything else you can find in an arena fridge being flung around in the air at all times. Guys were strapping on swimming goggles at one point to save themselves from going blind. Where they got them, however, I have no idea. That’s some serious planning ahead if they brought them from home!

After that, things die down a bit. The team is out of booze since we wasted it all in the first ten minutes. We are soaked in our own sweat and stupidity. And we have to get our gear off and showered up before we get to start sharing more moments with our families again. For me, that’s when it really starts to sink in. I realize that I’m taking my skates off for the last time. There is no more knee pain or cut up swollen ankles to deal with. It’s a wonderful relief. I think your body starts to wilt a bit as it knows it has nothing left to give. As you look around the room, there is nothing but smiles and high fives being thrown around. There is music blaring out of the speakers, but you can barely hear it. Again: in this moment, nothing else matters. From that moment till you leave for home its nothing but happiness. Even when you are packed up and saying goodbye to the guys, there is always that little smirk saying, “hell of a season pal,” without the words needing to be said.

I’ve heard that– once you win a championship– you’ll always have a special bond with the guys on that team.  I’ve now experienced that twice, and it’s true.  Everybody on those two teams can now look back and share those great memories together. Once you become a champion, you gain a little immortality. That win can never be taken away from you. You are in the history books. Once you are a champion, you are always a champion.

Gordo waves to the crowd at the Calder Cup Championship Rally at Giant Center. (Photo by Tim Stough)

In closing, I would like to thank the guys at Russian Machine Never Breaks for giving me the opportunity to join their team. It’s been an incredible ride through the playoffs this year and for me to be able to share my thoughts and feelings with so many people has been an amazing experience. I loved sharing stories about our wins and the courage it took for us to climb back into this series, but I think what I’ll remember most is how writing these entries helped me cope with the times when the series didn’t look so good. It was good for me to get my emotions out, and having thousands of people to vent on was really great.

To those of you who read these entries, I especially thank you! I have had nothing but wonderful feedback from all of you, and it was really encouraging for me to hear. I was a tad nervous at the beginning due to by lack of writing experience, but thanks to all those good reviews, I might have a new outlook on my career after hockey! Without readers, blog sites would never be as prominent of a media source as it is today, so I thank you for your ongoing support. Over the past few weeks it’s been a pleasure to help so many see a little deeper into what’s going on behind the scenes and in my head as a player. You as fans make playing hockey the joy that it is, so to be able to give back a few words every couple days is really the least I could do. Again, I thank you.

As my last quote, I only have to go back a couple months to the Olympics in Vancouver. After Canada won the gold medal game in overtime, one of the NBC announcers had this to say, and after going through this season in Hershey, I completely agree with him.

“In sports, one of the hardest things to do is win when you are supposed to.”

Thank you for your time. See you in September!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Alexandre Giroux’s overtime goal has put the Hershey Bears ahead (3-2) of the Stars for the first time in the Calder Cup Finals series.  From his seat on the Bears charter jet, right wing Andrew Gordon sets the stage for the series’ completion in Hershey.  He discusses the vibe in the dressing room, disparities in travel between the NHL and AHL, and predicts some excellent hockey to come.

We finally arrive to the point in the season that we have been waiting for all along. After taking tonight’s game in Texas, we return home with a 3-2 series lead, and more importantly, a chance at the championship. They say the fourth win in a series is always the hardest one to get, but considering the battles we have just fought in games four and five, I don’t see how it could get much tougher. Both teams seem evenly matched through five games. One favorable bounce here or a tough call there has made all the difference, but a win is a win, and we have found a way to win three games in their building. Our confidence is high.

Sometimes you can feel the vibe in the dressing room. When things are going poorly,  a bad goal or a big save against your players can make the team’s attitude spiral down. Frustration sets in, and it spreads around so fast that– before you know it–  everybody is squeezing their sticks. Every play that doesn’t result in a goal seems to make things worse.

Today we experienced the complete opposite effect. After allowing the first goal of the game (another unfortunate bounce off of poor Karl Alzner’s face), we remained calm and composed. It was as if the goal had never even happened. To me, this is a sign that we were ready for battle. Playoff games are often won in the third period or later, so allowing a goal in the first didn’t intimidate us. We have come from behind in every game we’ve won in this series, as well as many times in prior series, so it did not seem insurmountable. Getting a lead and losing it can sometimes be worse than never having a lead at all. Knowing your opponent has the ability to come back on you deflates a team and makes a future one- or two-goal lead feel a little more nerve-racking. You never feel safe or in control even when ahead. This is the psychological warfare waged between teams over a seven-game span. You remember things from previous games, and that’s why we now have the mental edge.

As I write this entry, I’m about a half hour into our flight back to Harrisburg, and I’m thinking about how much better this charter flight is compared to the long day of travel the fellas from Texas have to go through tomorrow. I was told that due to the limited availability of flights, the Stars players have to split up into three groups and travel separately arriving tomorrow anytime between 10pm and 3am. By the time they land, I will have had an 8-hour rest in my own bed, eaten three home-cooked meals, put the finishing touches on packing up my apartment, and will be getting ready to have yet another 8+ hour sleep. This is one of the luxuries of playing in Hershey. During the regular season we spend a lot of time on the bus (most of our games are between 3-6 hours away), but in the playoffs, the team spares no expense to put us in a position to win. This series has felt like being an NHL player. Flying on a private plane, staying in a beautiful hotel, and eating great food are part of the experience in the finals. It really gives you something to look forward to while coming down the stretch of the regular season. Being treated like an NHL player is the carrot the organization dangles in front of us, and it works. Four trips to the finals in the last five years isn’t too bad, eh?

Andrew Gordon: "It’s the price we all pay to follow our dream."

Minor-league travel is a funny thing. None of it is glamorous, but the team cannot splurge to take care of the players because of the schedule. For the majority of the season, we practice Tuesday-Thursday, and then play three games in three nights over the weekend. When we have time off, it’s not an extra day in the bright lights of New York City. Instead we get 12 hours between bus rides from Springfield to Lowell, Mass., with a game in between. That’s life in the minors though. It’s the price we all pay to follow our dream. We ride that bus because we aspire to make it in the NHL full-time one day, where the only bus we will see is to and from the tarmac. I remember after my brief recall to Washington this year, I played a game in Toronto, then Ottawa, Ontario, before returning to Washington to pack my bags and drive to Hershey. On the flight home after the game in Ottawa, I remember thinking, “36 hours ago I was eating stale pizza on a bus from Binghamton, now I’m being served steak and fresh sushi on a flight to the nation’s capital?” What a difference a day makes! Even though in Hershey we have an incredible bus (big cushy seats, wireless internet, and satellite TV), nothing tops the flights we have taken these last couple days. No matter what you do for a living, it’s nice to be rewarded for your hard work.

Looking forward to game six, I predict we play our best game of the series. Despite losing the first two games at home, I feel like we are playing like a different team now. We are more patient, but we have lost none of our tenacity. This game has to be played like an elimination game. We have learned from our mistakes in the first two games and with our crowd behind us it’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere. I heard the Giant Center sold out in only five hours, and I’m sure it would have happened even sooner if the people in box office could pump tickets out faster! We are all looking forward to the opportunity to win the AHL Championship in front of our family and friends.

I spoke earlier about how these chances to hoist a trophy don’t come around very often, so winning one on the road, and possibly one at home in my first three years of pro hockey would really be a great start to my career. I almost feel bad for guys like Bouchard and Perrault who have known nothing but winning since they arrived on the pro scene. From here on out any season that doesn’t end in a championship will feel like a complete failure. But when I think about it, any season that doesn’t end in a championship is a complete failure. Either way, we have one win left before the season is completed the way we set out to do it all those months ago. We are a Championship team; we just have to finish the job.

“We rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt” – Unknown

Thank you for your time. See you back in Hershey!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

John Carlson’s third period goal lifted the Bears to a pivotal win over the Texas Stars.  The series is now tied at 2-2 with only one game remaining in Texas.  Andrew Gordon reflects on the meaning of last night’s win, a few differences between the NHL and the AHL, and the tribulations of team sports.

Tonight is a new night, and we can all breath a little easier. Going down 3-1 is pretty much the same as going down 3-0 in my opinion, so tonight was as much of a must win as Monday.

When we left Hershey, our focus was winning our way home. We wanted to take a minimum of two games in Texas to assure there would be at least one more game back in Hershey. After learning from our experience in the first two games, we felt we would me be a much different team if we could return home for game six. We have achieved that little goal through these two games in Austin, and with a third game still to play we may be able to return home on the verge of a Championship! That’s a drastic shift from the attitude last week.

It’s a strange road we’ve been on.  Rarely in the playoffs do you see the home team struggle the way both teams have in this series. Having home ice has hardly been an advantage for either squad. As a road team going into an opponent’s building, the objective is always to take one win with you when you leave. You obviously want to win every game, and you prepare to do just that, but a split on the road is considered a victory for the visitors. In the NHL, winning at home is practically mandatory, but it’s even more important in the AHL because of the way each series is scheduled. In the NHL, you never spend more than two games in a row on the road, but in a 2-3-2 scenario (as we have here), losing those home games can be devastating.  Losing game one and/or game two then heading on the road gives your opponent momentum and a chance to win at home. That’s what we did over the last week: dig ourselves a hole in Hershey, then force ourselves to climb out of it in Texas.

FUN FACT: No team has ever lost the first two games at home in the finals, then gone on to win the Calder Cup. History could be made?

The last two games have been far from easy, as I’m sure the Stars would agree.  But we showed resolve in games three and four, and now we’re right back in the driver’s seat. Aside from the road team winning every game so far, I think this is exactly how a championship series is supposed to be played. Both teams are playing hard, physical, and clean hockey and making the other earn every inch of ice.  Other than game three, where we opened things up a bit in the third, every game has been a one-goal game determined by a big play late in regulation. It’s rare to see a sweep in the finals at any level, and this is no different.

Looking ahead to game five, we think the pressure falls on the Stars.  Where they once were filled with confidence, they now must be feeling some doubt. Where we once were unsure of ourselves, we have found strength in our game plan and our ability to execute it. We have stuck together when things didn’t look so good, and now we find ourselves on the brink of putting the other team against the ropes, and together we are starting to play some much better hockey. It might not be said out loud, but it’s as if there is something different in the air between the four walls of our dressing room.

I can remember after losing a game earlier on in the season (I honestly can’t recall if it was this year or last).  Afterwards, Bryan Helmer and I were talking about the emotional rollercoaster that sports straps you into.  “Nothing else in the world can make you feel this bad,” I remember him saying, and he was completely right. Sports seem to bring out a host of feelings that you don’t find anywhere else. Winning brings an unbelievable high, and losing sinks you to an astonishing low. I think the desire to win doesn’t have as much to do with the scoreboard as it does the feeling you have gliding off the ice and into the dressing room. It’s a feeling of satisfaction that you won’t get elsewhere.

Keep in mind that I haven’t ever played any individual sports (aside from golf, which I’m miserable at), but I think it’s being part of a team that makes you feel that way. When you win, you win together. When you lose, you feel like you’re letting your teammates down. Everything you sense- you share with the 20+ guys around you which amplifies whatever you are feeling. Both good and bad feelings are contagious, and right now, confidence is spreading around our locker room like wildfire.

As a team, our confidence comes from 20 individuals playing well and doing whatever it takes to make the team successful.  The different roles players assume should get more attention, but it always gets pushed aside behind all the goals and assists. The interviews you see on TV and the quotes in the paper come from the guys who score those big goals or make the big saves, but for a team to win there is a lot more that must happen.   There are guys on our team like Andrew Joudrey and Boyd Kane, who may only have a couple points in the playoffs, but are playing crucial roles for us. These are the guys blocking shots on the penalty kill and winning key face-offs in the defensive zone. These things don’t always get talked about, but on the bench and in the dressing room those guys get just as much praise as a guy with three goals. Little things are important in the playoffs, and those little things should be recognized. Things that might go unnoticed in a regular season game like a good back-check, a chipped puck out of our zone, or a smart line change can draw as much attention from the team as a goal from the highlight reel.  A winning team knows that any play can impact the game, and without those character guys doing a lot of the grunt work, the team would never find itself in a position to score winning goals at all. Recognizing these plays is part of coming together as a team and respecting the fact that without everyone pulling on that rope together, we won’t go anywhere.

Although the season is almost at an end, we are still growing and learning what it takes to win. In the playoffs, each day is a new fight. You need your teammates. If you don’t win as a team, you will fall apart as individuals.  Every winning team is– first and foremost– a team.

“When a team outgrows individual performance ans learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality” -Joe Paterno

Thank you for your time. Special thanks to all those who made the trip to Texas!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Enjoy!

A view of the arena in Austin from the top row.

The jet to Texas.

Boarding and security.  Hockey players, apparently, can keep their shoes on.

John Carlson in repose.

Mathieu and Andrew and their playoff beeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaards.

Armor.

It should be known that, at this point, Andrew has utterly shamed the Russian Machine writing staff and their measly output.  We vow to redouble our efforts to keep pace with Andrew in quality and quantity.

Once again, we thank Andrew for being so open with us.  His perspective is absolutely unique and invaluable to the fan community.  His open and thoughtful posts have created the precise kind of insight and togetherness we strive for on this site.

In a completely unrelated note, here’s a link to the Hershey Bears merchandise store. Vote with your wallets, people!

[Ed. note- This post was not written by Andrew Gordon.]

Andrew Gordon scored two of the Bears’ six goals in last night’s game with the Texas Stars, including the game winner.  In today’s piece, Andrew discusses the win, getting over the bad breaks of the first period, and digging deep in the post season.

I don’t need to explain how badly we needed to win this game. Going down 3-0 with two more games in their building just wasn’t an option. We needed to make a statement about who we are, and we did just that. It didn’t look good early though. After letting up a goal on the first shot of the game (a ricochet off of Boyd Kane’s skate), and a shorthanded tap in after a miscue between Neuvy and our defenseman, I felt like nothing could go right. We were a team stuck in Murphy’s Law: Whatever could go wrong, seemed to.

After the first period, all the talk in the dressing room was about us. We knew we couldn’t take back the bad bounces that happened. We couldn’t play that period over again. But we knew if we used the last 40 minutes to play the way we know how, and stick to the game plan we could give ourselves a chance. From that point forward our attitude was completely different. We started shooting the puck, driving the net, limiting the odd man rushes against and only made high risk plays when it absolutely had to be done. By not giving them anything for free, we slowly started to take over. Every shift was like shooting a little more energy into our veins. We started to believe in ourselves and our abilities again. By the time the third period started, we had our swagger back. We were the Bears again, and when that buzzer sounded to end tonight’s game my thoughts shot back to the feeling I had so often this season. I got a taste of winning again, and as a team I can safely say we liked it.

In my opinion, the playoffs are all about resiliency. In the American League, more often than not, the team who refuses to quit will come out on top. ‘Til the finals that is. The finals are a totally different story. As you go through the first three rounds, winning a series can happen in the first couple games. You obviously have to win four games to take the series, but many times a series is won long before the fourth game comes around. It comes down to breaking your opponents will, and outworking them mentally before they do the same to you. You have to make them believe they can’t beat you, and then their bodies will just come along for the ride. You have to make them want to quit. Make them see summer right around the corner. At that point, a team can be broken even though there is still hockey to be played.

Winning is always a lot harder than losing. To win you have to sacrifice your body, your time and your relaxing summer at home. Some players aren’t willing to make those sacrifices, and those are the players who are easily broken. They can put in a 90% effort and feel good about what they did. But they will never be winners only going 90%. Someone else on another team is willing to go 100% (or better) and eventually they will win out.

A lot of times you see young players ready to quit before the series end. They might have had a good season, and without chance to be recalled to the NHL, their effort drops off. As an AHL player, every day you dream about playing in the NHL and working your way up. Winning the Calder Cup might not be on the “to do list” for some young players. These feelings don’t happen in the NHL. Once you are there, winning becomes the only thing that matters. It becomes your job not just to play, but to win. The ultimate goal, the one you’ve been dreaming about since you’ve picked up a stick, is right in front of you and every game is an opportunity to draw yourself one step closer to achieving that goal. I find the Calder Cup finals have this same feel. There is no backing down in the finals. Nobody’s will is ever broken in the finals. You have sacrificed everything already to get there, so taking your foot off the gas in the middle of June would be a complete waste of two months.

I mentioned in a previous entry that making it to the finals and leaving without a ring on your finger would be a misuse of time, and I feel that’s why you see dramatic comebacks like this year when the Flyers met the Bruins. If the Flyers would have thought, you know, that’s enough for this year, they would have been done in four games and on a beach somewhere in Mexico right now, instead of being two wins away from hoisting hockey’s greatest glory over their heads. It’s your own ability to push harder and tell yourself never to be satisfied that drives a team to succeed. We showed a bit of that championship resilience tonight. I think this series is just going to get better from here.

“A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.” – Richard M. Nixon

Thank you for your time! See you again Wednesday!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Despite Andrew Gordon’s ace tying goal in third period, the Hershey Bears fell to the Texas Stars in a 4-3 stunner last night.  The Bears now trail in the series 2-0 and must play the next three games in Stars country. Andrew shares his thoughts about the loss and provides an ice-level perspective on frustration, the team’s identity, and the key to victory.

The words ringing through my head tonight are the same ones Chris Bourque joked about with a wry smile right before we stepped on the ice tonight for warm-up: “How about you write a happy blog for tomorrow?”

Sorry, Chris; that’s not happening. When I signed up to write these entries after each game, I thought it would be fun to let everybody in on the dressing room celebrations and talk about the players who were playing great. Instead, I feel like I’m venting my own frustrations. This isn’t the way I intended my blog to be, but this isn’t the way I intended the series to be either.

Today was a different beast than game one. On Thursday we went through the feeling-out process of a new team, and learned a bit about what we were up against. The Stars are a strong defensive team with good goaltending, and they take a lot of pride in blocking shots. That’s a tough combination for a team like us who plays a high-octane, offensive style. After watching tape the coaches made a few alterations to our game plan, and we set off into game two with a different outlook. I had no doubt that we would win tonight’s game.

Somewhere along the line, we let things slip. We played a very uncharacteristic game in my opinion. Each time we captured the momentum, we would shoot ourselves in the foot and go back to square one. Although the effort was there, it seemed like we let our emotions take control at times, and at this point in the season too much raw emotion can hurt you. As a player, you want to be in the game. Coaches use the term emotionally attached to describe the way they want their players to feel throughout all three periods. It’s about caring what happens on the ice, and although it sounds simple, it’s not always the case. Try being emotionally attached to the last game of the regular season after winning the conference three months prior, and then driving four hours on the bus to play in an empty building in Syracuse. Not an easy feat. Tonight it was as if we were too emotionally involved in the game. Our guys would get upset at their players for yapping at our bench or want to get back at a player that did something to one of us earlier, or even waste our energy pleading with the officials. (Might I add that in NO WAY was the outcome of the game changed by the referee or linesmen. They call what they see.) These aren’t traits of a focused team. This is what happens when things aren’t coming easy.

When frustration sets in,  you act differently. You become more aware of what the players around you are doing instead of what YOU are supposed to be doing. You are willing to break the game plan and skate yourself out of position in order to hit somebody. You become unwilling to take a hit, a slash, or a cross check without lashing back in retaliation. Every player has been guilty of this at some point in their careers (myself included), but the timing tonight was unfortunate. I remember doing an interview after Adirondack snapped our 24-game win streak at home about how they seemed to have success against us all year. I talked about how they played a chippy, mouthy game that got under our skin and drove us to act out of character. When we played against them, we weren’t the Bears; we became a team of 20 individuals who didn’t control our passion.

During the course of a season, the team builds an identity. It’s your coaching staff’s job to tailor your game plan to fit the identity you have established.  Our game is hard-working, fast, and skilled. Without compromising anything defensively, we need to use our skill and speed to our advantage. That’s who we are and what has got us this far. But whenever we played the Phantoms, we got away from that and became undisciplined, allowing them to play their game better than we were playing ours. The best team won’t win every night if they don’t bring the right attitude to the rink. It would be like telling the Oilers in the 80’s to change their game to mimic the Broad Street Bullies. They wouldn’t have won all those Stanley Cups if they changed themselves; that’s for sure. That’s how I felt leaving the rink tonight. It was like we let the Stars under our skin at key points in the game, and allowed them to change our identity into something we’re not.

For me, the focus heading into game three is remembering who we are. It’s easy to say things like forget about tonight and move forward, but if we haven’t learned from the times we failed, we will have a tough time finding ways to succeed. Playing the way we have played all year is the key. That, combined with a little extra discipline and mental toughness, will keep us in this series. We remember what we feel like after these two losses, but we won’t let a couple of bad breaks cloud our vision.

Moving on, I’m excited to see what the arena in Austin is going to be like. I hear lots of good things. For me, there is always something fun about playing in a building for the first time. I’m hoping the ice conditions are as good as they have been in Hershey these last two games. I hear it’s going to be steaming hot down there! My last Texas hockey experience in San Antonio and Houston last season wasn’t a good one, so I’m hoping to have some better days this trip.

“It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.” – Vince Lombardi

Thank you for your time! See you in Texas!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Andrew Gordon: "I expect to win. I am expected to win."

Andrew Gordon is the right winger on the Hershey Bears’ top line.  His 71-point output this season (37 G, 34 A) has been crucial to the Bears’ epic offense  and generated some serious NHL buzz.  Along with Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux, Gordon participated in the most prolific line in the AHL this year.  His hard-nosed, straight-to-the-net style reminds us of a player 13 years his senior: Mike Knuble. The 24-year-old, Halifax native recently missed four games to a lower body injury but has returned for the Calder Cup Finals.  Andrew joins Russian Machine Never Breaks to reflect on last night’s game-one loss to the Texas Stars and beyond.  Let’s hand it over to Gordo:

Hi, everybody! Before I get going, I would first like to take a quick second to thank all of you who are reading this. The fact that you are interested in what I have to say is flattering, and for that I thank you. This being my first blogging experience, I’ll ask that you to bear with me (no pun intended). I try not to read much of what’s written in the media, so I’m as surprised as anyone to see me joining forces with them! Anyway…here goes nothing! Thanks again!

I’ve find myself in unfamiliar territory here tonight. After hosting the Texas Stars in game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals we let the game slip through our fingers and find ourselves down 1-0 in a series for the first time since the Eastern Conference Finals against Providence last year. Our home record this year has been so strong that losing in our building had never even crossed my mind to this point. We won 24 in a row at home at one point this season, so letting a game slip past us this deep in the playoffs isn’t a good feeling. I think this feeling in my gut comes from an expectation I have built up inside me over the past couple years: I expect to win. I am expected to win. There isn’t any other option as a Hershey Bear. Has it made me a sore loser? Maybe a bit. But I have built up such a hatred for this feeling that I will work myself into the ground not to feel like this again.

It’s a strange thing when you think about it. 100 games and 28 teams later, only us and Texas are still alive. In a week and a half, only one of us can win. I remember in October when we first started this trek back to the finals thinking “We have to do this all over again? I feel like we just finished!” But once things got going there wasn’t an option. We had to win. That’s what the Hershey Bears do. When you win 60 games in a year, every loss is magnified because it’s such a foreign feeling. Although we have only lost one game, I feel like the world is crashing down.

Maybe this is a little adversity that we need to bring our game to another level. Winning is never easy, but boy is it worth it! I feel like winning last season has built a thirst to be a champion in me. I have tasted what it’s like to be a champion and now I don’t want to have any other feeling. Seeing as it’s still fairly early in my career, it’s impossible to know how many more opportunities I will have to hoist a cup over my head at any level. I would hate to be so close and watch another group of guys take that feeling right out from under me.

I believe that winning doesn’t come easy, and like most things has to be learned through experience. You have to lose and see how that feels before you can really understand the emotion that waits on the other side. When I was fresh out of college, I had the pleasure of joining up with the Bears on their cup run in 2007. It was quite the experience, but the one thing I remembered most was being in the dressing room after they lost in game 5 to Hamilton and seeing how the guys reacted. I was coming off a 40 game schedule and a one-game-knock-out NCAA tournament and had no idea what it took to get that team to the place I found them that day. I learned quickly the next season what the pro life is like and how it can wear on you both physically and mentally.

I remember seeing the faces of guys like Mike Green, Dave Steckel, and Tomas Fleischmann, who would later go on to start fantastic careers in Washington. These were guys who spent significant time (if not all season as Mike did) in the NHL, and had the NHL right around the corner waiting for them. Yet, there they were standing in front of me devastated and in tears over what just happened. It was hard to really understand until you have gone through it for yourself. Then, I was an outsider looking in, and only two seasons later I was in their same position. Playing in the finals after nearly 100 games, countless hours on the bus and hundreds of ice bags, bruises and blocked shots. You start to wonder if it was all for nothing? Without that championship ring on my finger…what was it all for? Sure I might get a contract for the next season out of it all. But when my playing days are over and I’m telling stories about the old days, will they be tales of glory and a happiness that can’t be explained? Or will it be a sad story of a team that should have, could have, but didn’t?

Together we have 6 games to decide which story we want to tell all those years from now. It’s not going to be an easy road. But then again nobody said it would be.

As part of my sign-off, I have decided to leave each entry with a quote that I feel relates to what I have said…or at least what I’m feeling but couldn’t find my own words to say it. I’m not a writer, but I’m trying here!!

“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.” -Lou Holtz

Thank you all for your time!  See you Saturday!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon