MIKE HOFFMAN:

The playoff series with Providence is an experience I will never forget. Talk about being down and out to start! Down 2 games to zip to the best team in the league, we were on the bus ride back to Portland after losing 11-1 combined in the two games. I must say it was probably one of the biggest downer moments of my hockey career. The good news was that we had a week before the next game and the next three were going to be at home. It was a weird week at practice and especially in the locker room. Some guys can forget about a loss a few minutes after a game and some it takes a few days, so it was pretty quiet at times.

I don’t think there was a person in the hockey world expecting our comeback in the series. It was another total team effort by the boys. Mikkleson’s OT goal, Fergie’s OT goal, Aubs play in net … Then the big boys stepped up big time, Kinger, Ryan, Platt, Ebbett all had big games to finish it out.

I’ve seen a few things get thrown from the crowd but I’ve never seen the amount of junk that got thrown on the ice after the final game in Providence. No one really talked about it after because we were so excited to be going to the next round. But a few of the boys got full beers off their buckets along with a few hand-clapper things.

Off to Wilkes Barre now, actually sitting on a sleeper bus. I will say I was not made out for the sleeper bus. It’s made for someone at most I’d say 6-foot-3. Pretty much it is a center isle and on each side are bunks stacked three high going down the bus. Some of the sections fold down into tables, which works best for this guy. I am not one to sleep on a bus or plane ever really. Some guys can just put their head against the seat and are out for hours at a time. It’d be nice to have the internet on the bus, would make the 7 hours go by a lot faster. I can admit I’m addicted to the internet and texting. I’ve tried to cut back, but I figure it’s better being addicted to the internet than smoking or chewing.

So Game 1 is tomorrow, another huge series ahead for us, it’s going to definitely be a bit different playing a team that we only saw twice this season. There were some good series in the western division with Chicago and Rockford playing seven games and the Marlies came back from 3 games to 1 down to win three in a row including Game 7 last night. Should be fun seeing that Wilkes get a big crowd and J.S, Schneider and Dixon all played here. Speaking of crowds, wow I have to thank the fans of Portland again for being the 7th man in that last series. Probably the loudest I ever heard the place was Game 5. There were only about 2,500 fans there, but boy did they intimidate and get us going. I hope they can keep it going for next week’s games. As a team we all appreciate everything you do.

– hoff

MIKE HOFFMAN:

So Round 2 of the playoffs is just around the corner. What a great team effort series win that was against Hartford. We got scoring from every line and great goaltending from Aubs. It was more than a grind I must say, 5 games in 7 nights playing playoff hockey is not easy. Hartford really came at us strong and gave us what we expected. In the end we came out on top, I felt we just had the extra fire power they didn’t have. Unfortunately I had to sit out Game 3 at home with a suspension. During the second period of Game 2, I got a 2 minute elbow penalty. I didn’t think I was going to hear about it later, but I walked into the rink and I see Dino in the locker room and he says the league is reviewing your hit from last night ... (back in the doghouse I go).

Luckily we won the game and the next and pulled out a tough one in Hartford for the series win. I’ve probably never had my legs feel so tired as they did during the second period of Game 5. I was in the locker room thinking ... wow I got to find a way to pull through this period strong and on top. (I think I wasn’t the only one feeling like I did.) We came out strong and put a goal in early and everyone’s adrenaline was pumping from there on out we were all over them the rest of the period and the series was ours.

What a great spring in Portland, it was the worst winter I’ve seen in years and then spring hits and it’s the nicest I can remember. Unfortunately for me and Sauce our lease is up next week. The league always tells us to get month-to-month leases in case you get called up or traded, but those aren’t the easiest to get. So what most guys do is get Oct 1st to May 1st and get an optional month or two-week lease after that. Unfortunately our place is for sale and they are running open houses all May, so our option isn’t happening. If anyone is looking for a new 3-story townhouse over looking South Portland and the inlet, it’s a must buy. So we are off to a residence hotel for the month unless something happens or someone’s got an extra bedroom out there.

A bummer the Ducks lost, I thought they had it again, but a few bad bounces and they couldn’t get it back. Fortunately we got Bobby Ryan back, which gave our team even more of a boost and upper edge vs. Hartford. He’s got some of the best mitts I’ve ever played with. Unfortunately we didn’t get Carter back, he for one reason or another wasn’t put on our clear day roster, which if you’re in the NHL and not on the roster you can’t come back down to the AHL. When the we first saw the list Providence had, they had some serious NHL talent on it: Kessel, Lucic, Kreji, Sobodka and Nokelainen. Fortunately for us the first three didn’t make it due to the worst championships and injuries, but from what I’ve heard Sobodka and Nokelainen are in for the second round. Should give them a boost, but I still think we got a special group here, everyone knows and fills there roll perfectly.

Had a great team dinner tonight, thanks to Leach’s recommendation. Another plus to this series is the scheduling is a lot better than the first round. We actually get some rest in between a few games.

I can admit I don’t really like the NBA or basketball that much. I think I have one dunk in my career, although I did win an intramural championship in 7th grade. But I will jump on the Celtics bandwagon for a bit here. How can’t you ... call me a fair weather fan or whatever, but they are unreal. Big draft day for the Pats this weekend. All I’ve heard is they are taking a defensive back, we’ll see. Like I have been saying, next season is the perfect season for them.

Big weekend ahead for this guy, enjoy yours.

– hoff

MIKE HOFFMAN:

Bored on the bus driving back from Hartford ... Wow what a win that was for the team (in Game 2 of the playoff series). I’ve never seen such an all out team effort as the one tonight. It felt as if we were going to win the game after warm-ups … sometimes you just get the feeling and guys are in good spirits.

I must have had about 20 chances tonight, but no luck. Hopefully we can bring the same energy and poise to Games 3 and 4 at home. I’m sure with the home crowd it will be fairly easy to get the momentum going. Our fans were amazing in Hartford. It felt like we had more fans then them. I have to thank all the people that made the trip down to cheer us on … believe me it really does help.

I have to thank the fans for voting me the Most Popular Player. What an honor it was to receive the award. A player like myself doesn’t receive to many awards in his career so it was an honor to get. I was a bit surprised to get it seeing I only played half a season (Bootland was my second half of the year favorite player). The award will sure go in a special place. This has been such a great place to live and play, I love playing in a city where the fans really care. If it weren’t for the fans I wouldn’t be here or playing hockey anymore for that matter.

I also have to thank the Booster Club for the On/Off ice player award. It was an honor to receive ... and although it probably helped that I was injured for half the year, I was ecstatic to get it. I have to also thank the booster club for their hard work and dedication they brought to us this year. What a great night at the Holiday Inn they put together for the team (still bitter about the bubble hockey table, but it went to a good cause).

Well had to keep this one short never know when the bus may catch fire and this time I will be going out the window exit (my days of hurdling seats are coming to an end, I hope). On a side note ... on my very next bus trip we got in an accident on the highway coming back from Lowell. I don’t think that one made the papers seeing we were almost stopped and someone ran into us, but it did make for another exciting long trip. Hopefully be writing soon with some good news and our quest for the cup.

– hoff