They delivered

Despite the best-laid plans, there are hounding adventures that simply don't work out. Yesterday's planned morning trip for the Ottawa Senators, in town to play the Lightning, was just one of the instances.

Between morning thunderstorms and an afternoon shift at the newspaper, I was unable to hound Ottawa. Instead, two highly capable replacements -- Colin and Momma -- were dispatched to the scene.

They came through in flying colors, adding a couple of sweet signatures, including Dany Heatley (top left) on the work-in-progress Team Canada jersey, to the collection.

In all, they scored 17, including 11 on Colin's team sheet.

Beyond Heatley, Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson was the other big name who stopped to sign. In doing my prep work, I was surprised that I've yet to get Alfredsson on any type of Senators puck.

This puck, commemorating the 2004 NHL All Star Game, is a welcome addition, nonetheless. It's relevant, too, as Alfredsson scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the midseason classic.

Given that Ottawa will travel twice to Hockey Bay next season, I'll have to remember, though, to try to get Alfredsson on some Senators pucks.

Colin also had pretty decent luck adding to his late-season project, a goalie-only mini stick.

Ottawa's Alex Auld, who's bounced around a bit over the past few seasons, became the fourth netminder to sign the stick.

Sorry, but you'll have to wait until next season for a Senators photo gallery. It's hard to take good pictures when you're sitting at a desk about 18 miles away from the action.