One down . . .

As promised, my first hounding trip in Florida was done while wearing a T-shirt and shorts. A consistent northwest wind, though, necessitated a windbreaker.

This past Saturday marked the inaugural voyage to Tampa for the sole purpose of hounding. After finding the Washington Capitals in a downtown Tampa hotel, getting my gear together and taking a leisurely drive into the city, my efforts were rewarded.

Besides snagging two autographed pucks (shown above) from uber-phenom Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals and WJC 2005-Russia) , I also scored pucks from Eric Fehr (Hershey Bears and Brandon Wheat Kings), Olaf Kolzig (Capitals) , Brendan Witt (Capitals) and Dainius Zubrus (Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers).

For the record, Witt, a defenseman for the Capitals, signed my first puck in Florida.

At day's end, I went home with 30 autographs, including cheap-skate cards from Fehr, Mike Green and Brooks Laich. It was fun, too, catching up with Brian Sutherby, who spent the 2004-05 season playing for the AHL's Portland Pirates.