NYISkinny: Eric Hornick's Blog: January 2007

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Stat Trick

1. Arron Asham recorded two goals in a game for the fifth time
in his career and the first time since December 23, 2003.

2. The Isles are now 3-19-0 when trailing after two periods;
however this is the first of the three wins in regulation time.
They defeated Florida in December and Boston earlier this month,
but both victories were in shootouts. In fact, the Isles won
only one game all last year (1-29-2) when trailing after two
periods (March 7 vs New Jersey)

The last time the Isles won a game IN REGULATION after trailing
after two periods was on March 16, 2004 in Tampa Bay -- the
Isles erased a 1-0 deficit and won 3-1 on third period goals by
Mattias Weinhandl, Justin Papineau and Justin Blake.

The last time the Isles won a game IN REGULATION AT HOME after
trailing after 40 minutes was on January 31, 2004 vs Florida --
the Isles erased a 2-1 deficit and won 4-2 on one goal by Hunter
and two by Blake.

3. The win breaks a six game winless streak against Buffalo [5
losses, one shootout loss]

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick.

Eric, who has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, celebrated his 25th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2007. Often referred to on-air as an actuary, he is one of 2,921 Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society and is the President-Elect of the Casualty Actuaries of Greater NY.

You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Billy's left, at most Islander home games.

For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Re: 1940 Notes: Trottier leads Rangers to Coliseum; Who is that 1940 guy anyhow?

Four years ago tonight, Bryan Trottier led the Rangers into the Coliseum for the first and only time. He left with a perfect record, as the Rangers blanked the Islanders that night.

That morning, I sent the e-mail which appeared below.

Since 4 + 21 = 25, I figured I'd share it again....

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick.

Eric, who has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, will celebrate his 25th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2007. Often referred to on-air as an actuary, he is one of 2,890 Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society and is the President-Elect of the Casualty Actuaries of Greater NY.

You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Billy's left, at most Islander home games.

For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org

----- Original Message ----
From: Forever Nineteen Forty <forever1940@yahoo.com>
To: IslesList <isles-list@replayer.com>; Isles OneList <islanders@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 1:04:33 AM
Subject: 1940 Notes: Trottier leads Rangers to Coliseum; Who is that 1940 guy anyhow?

[There will be no recap of the the final three games of the trip
as I was in Aruba for them.]

UP NEXT: Bryan Trottier leads the Rangers into the Coliseum for
the first time as the coach of the hated Rangers on Tuesday at
7pm.

[FSNY [Isles Telecast] MSG[Rangers telecast/ESPN Radio/MSG Radio
/Isles feed on Center Ice (not in metro-NY)].

Face-off is scheduled for 7:08pm.

The Isles lead the series 1-0, with a come-from-behind 3-1 win
at MSG in November. It's the first of two meetings between the
teams at the Coliseum this season.

The Isles have won three straight over the Rangers, and will be
looking for their first 4 game win streak over the Rangers in
over twenty years:

23-Jan-82 Vs New York 6 1 W
06-Mar-82 Vs New York 6 4 W
29-Mar-82 @ New York 7 3 W
11-Oct-82 @ New York 4 3 W
23-Oct-82 Vs New York 5 2 W

The game is being played on the 21st anniversary of the start of
the Isles then-record 15-game winning streak.

On January 21, 1982, the Isles defeated the Penguins 6-1 to
begin the streak. Bryan Trottier scored the winning goal, on a
4-on-4 late in the 2nd period. It was his 250th NHL goal, and
came in Denis Potvin's 600th NHL game.

My scoresheet from that night carries a couple of other notes:

Bobby Bourne had a pair of goals while Brent Sutter, Clark
Gillies and Billy Carroll also scored for the Isles. Rick
MacLeish had the Penguin goal.

Gillies, Trottier and Bossy all had points in 15 of the last 16.

On a personal note, the scorebook also carries the notation:
"My first game!" While it wasn't the first Isles game I
attended--that had come nearly ten years earlier, it was the
first game I attended without a ticket. It was the night I
debuted as the statistician on Islander telecasts, a role that I
continue to hold today.

To end all suspicion/curiosity etc., I will periodically from
this point forward add what appears below as a signature to my e-mails.

=====
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Fox Sports Net statistician Eric Hornick.
Hornick has served as the statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Often referred to on-air as an actuary, he is one of approximately 3,500 members of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Joe's left, at most home games.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Post Ranger letdown

The Isles will battle the dreaded "Post Ranger letdown" tomorrow
in Boston.

By now you know the story,

The Isles are 7 wins, 20 losses, 4 ties, and 3 ot losses in
their last 34 games following a game against the Rangers. (This
includes a 1-2 record in the back-end of home/homes with the
Rangers).

In their last 13 games following a win against the Rangers,
dating back to 1999, the Isles are 1-9-3, with the only win
coming in the back-half of the home and home in October, 2005.

They haven't beaten anyone other than the Rangers since December
27, 1999, when they beat the Bruins 3-0 on Roberto Luongo's only
shutout as an Islander after beating the Rangers 4-2 four nights
earlier.

through 12/26 win over Rangers (and 12/27 loss to Ottawa)

Isles are:

29-40-21 after win vs. Rangers including 4-13-3 since start of
Milbury era (25-27-18 pre-Mike)
They are 8-25-4 since the start of 1989-90 season after going
21-15-17 before that.

Isles are:
79-90-34 in game following a game vs. Rangers including
17-34-8 since start of Milbury era (62-56-26 pre-Mike).
They are 7-15-6 since start of Laviolette era.

All-time: Isles are 50-50-13 in games following a non-win vs.
Rangers.

[all records consider OT/SO loser points in final column]

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick.

You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Billy's left, at most Islander home games.

For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Strange....but absolutely true.

The Islanders are 3-6-0 in their last nine road games, with all
three wins coming at MSG.

It's the first time that three successive Islander road wins
have come in the same arena.

28-Dec-78 @ Atlanta 10 4 W 17
12-Jan-79 @ Atlanta 4 1 W 20

11-Dec-96 @ New York 5 3 W 14
13-Jan-97 @ New York 4 2 W 22

28-Nov-99 @ Boston 2 1 W 12
8-Jan-00 @ Boston 5 2 W 18

1-Nov-00 @ Florida 3 0 W 6
6-Dec-00 @ Florida 4 1 W 14

17-Oct-01 @ Carolina 4 0 W 5
26-Oct-01 @ Carolina 3 2 Wot 6

3-Dec-06 @ New York 7 4 W 13
19-Dec-06 @ New York 4 3 W 15
9-Jan-07 @ New York 5 3 W 21

[The number in the final column denotes the road game of the
season]

Only the 2001 streak in Carolina occurred in consecutive road
games.

Last night's win broke a five game road losing streak. In
1996-97, the Isles went 0-6-1 on the road in between wins at
MSG.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick.

You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Billy's left, at most Islander home games.

For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Post Ranger letdown

through 12/26 win over Rangers (and 12/27 loss to Ottawa)

Isles are:

29-40-21 after win vs. Rangers including 4-13-3 since start of Milbury era (25-27-18 pre-Mike)
They are 8-25-4 since the start of 1989-90 season after going 21-15-17 before that.

Isles are:
79-90-34 in game following a game vs. Rangers including 17-34-8 since start of Milbury era (62-56-26 pre-Mike).
They are 7-15-6 since start of Laviolette era.

All-time: Isles are 50-50-13 in games following a non-win vs. Rangers.

[all records consider OT/SO loser points in final column]

Friday, January 05, 2007

Stat Trick (+1)

1. The Isles have scored only nine goals in their last six games; Jason Blake has four of them. His third period goal broke a 135:15 scoreless streak for the Islanders at home. He had scored the last three Islander goals before Mike Sillinger brought the Islanders within a goal.

2. The Isles have been a very streaky team on home ice since November: two straight losses, followed by three straight wins, followed by three straight losses, followed by four straight wins, and now two straight losses.

3. The Islanders have lost four straight at home to Philadelphia and are only 2-9-1 in their last twelve home games against the Flyers.

4. There have been only nineteen goals scored in the last six Islander games (9 by the Isles). This is the fewest goals in a six-game stretch in Islander history. The previous record, 20, was set in 1998 (the final two games of the 1997-98 season and the first four games of the 1998-99 season) and equaled with the six games that the Isles played before tonight.

...and did I mention that the Isles have lost four straight since beating the Rangers! It's the first time that they've ever had a four game losing streak following a victory over the Blueshirts.

Dunham

Mike Dunham earned an assist on Blake's goal. It was his first assist as an Islander and the fifth of his career. Dunham's last assist came nearly four years ago -- in the same game he recorded his 100th career win-- January 14, 2003 for the Rangers (and coach Bryan Trottier) in a 5-1 win over Toronto.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Union COllege colors

Encyclopedia of Union College History by Wayne Somers.

Garnet (color).
American colleges began to adopt distinctive colors for their sports teams in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1866 (the same year that Princeton and Brown chose their colors), a committee of three members of each Union undergraduate class met to select a college color, and chose magenta. Union's baseball teams began to wear magenta-trimmed uniforms in 1874.

Union's admission to the Rowing Association of American Colleges the following year precipitated a crisis because Harvard also used magenta. (Crews wore colored handkerchiefs on their heads so that spectators could identify them from a distance.) A flurry of dubious claims to priority on both sides ensued, though Harvard probably was in fact the earlier school to use magenta in sports.

One of the most persistent myths in Union's history would have it that the issue was settled by boat race between Harvard and Union. The less romantic truth is that a group of Harvard alumni reminded their school that its real color was crimson, used as early as 1859 (the crew changed to magenta in 1866 when they could no longer purchase crimson handkerchiefs). Meanwhile, tacitly admitting that it would not be able to force Harvard to change, Union switched to garnet, wearing it for the first time in a regatta on Saratoga Lake in July 1875.

Many other colleges use some red-based color, and for a time the Concordiensis delighted in running such sports titled as "Garnet to Clash with Violet."

Sometime in the mid-twentieth century, the College adapted PMS 202 as the standard for garnet (the same color used by Colgate for "red" and Lafayette for "maroon").

Monday, January 01, 2007

Fw: [isles-list] Stat Trick (+1) --another unhappy New Year for the Isles.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick.

Eric, who has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, will celebrate his 25th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2007. Often referred to on-air as an actuary, he is one of 2,890 Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society and is the President-Elect of the Casualty Actuaries of Greater NY.

You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Billy's left, at most Islander home games.

For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Eric Hornick <forever1940@yahoo.com>
To: islanderfans@yahoogroups.com; IslesList <isles-list@replayer.com>
Sent: Monday, January 1, 2007 9:59:45 PM
Subject: [isles-list] Stat Trick (+1) --another unhappy New Year for the Isles.

1. The Isles had gone a club record 186:31 without a goal before Jason Blake broke the scoreless streak. The previous record, 178:55, was set in the 1998-99 season.

2. Blake's goal was the Islanders' first against Buffalo this season, ending a drought of 108:19.

3. There have been only fourteen goals scored in the last five Islander games (7 by the Isles). This is the fewest goals in a five-game stretch in Islander history. The previous record, 15, was set in the 2002-03 season:

21-Dec-02 Vs Washington 1 3 L
23-Dec-02 Vs Montreal 3 1 W
28-Dec-02 Vs Carolina 3 0 W
30-Dec-02 Vs Florida 2 1 Wot
31-Dec-02 @ Buffalo 1 0 Wot

4. The next time the Isles are scheduled to play on New Year's Day, perhaps they should seek a postponement. They are 0-7 all-time on New Year's Day.

1-Jan-77 Vs Vancouver 1 5
1-Jan-83 @ Pittsburgh 1 2
1-Jan-92 @ Washington 5 8
1-Jan-94 Vs Hartford 3 4
1-Jan-02 @ Washington 2 3
1-Jan-04 @ Ottawa 0 1
1-Jan-07 @ Buffalo 1 3

January 1st is the only day between October 4 and April 18 that the Isles have not earned a single point (other than December 24 and December 25, two days in which the Isles have never played a single game). There is only one other day, December 1, that the Isles are winless (they are 0-7-1 on this day).

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick.

You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Billy's left, at most Islander home games.

For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org