2011 Top Twelve

Driving from Maynard to Acton to conduct a Christmas present delivery, I took inventory (assist to Michael Buble’s Christmas CD) of last year’s highlights.

1. Learning more about Montreal’s eclectic and authentic Msr. J.P. “Puckbite” Plouffe: His favourite donut, if he had to choose, is the Maple Glaze.

2. Anne Murray’s autobiography, All of Me: You may know her as the “Snowbird” singer, among many other musical successes, but she’s a real hockey hit, too. Ask her brothers and they’ll tell you she knows her way around the rink. And her memoir is sprinkled with references to hockey heroes such as Jean Béliveau, Gordie Howe, and Bobby Orr.

3. Dynamo Donut, San Francisco: En el corazón del Distrito de la Misión, the understated edifice belies the glory and organic goodness demonstrated within—the donut books decorate the back wall; the congenial and quirky staff entertain and engage; and the Apple Maple Bacon beckons.

4. Interviewing Alberta’s King and Queen of Hockey Calendars.

5. The Stanley Cup: Where were you when the Bruins won? I was at home, standing, as the final seconds evaporated…standing again on Tremont Street as the Cup paraded past…And I was on my feet in Boston’s North End, inside Regina Pizzeria when Andrew Ference lifted Lord Stanley’s cherished chalice.

6. Michael Bublé in Manchester, NH: Two nights after his Canucks lost to the Bruins, the humbled hockey fan from Burnaby, BC acknowledged the defeat and then delivered a dynamic performance that brought the crowd to its feet.

7. Score: A Hockey Musical: Bolstered by lyrical dialogue as clever as Crosby on a breakaway, a no-name kid with can’t-miss talent (and pacifist parents) sings and scores his way to personal victory. The cast includes Olivia Newton-John, Nelly Furtado, and Dave Bidini. “Give it a shot.”

8. Ottawa, ON: Bruins on Internet radio, the patina on Parliament Hill, and a new safe house operator and his special agent.

9. The unveiling of a new superhero: Captain CanAmerica.

10. Boston Bruins vs. Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart return to the Garden, where the AMHL Photographer and I met a wicked cool family from Winnipeg.

11. Cape Cod: From Hole in One Donuts in North Eastham, to a donut photo shoot at Nauset Beach, to Hyannis, where I enjoyed the donut scene in The Muppets movie.

12. The AMHL: Championship coverage, and more importantly, the everlasting covenant of hockey camaraderie on an off the ice.

Happy New Year/Bonne année et bonne santé

AMHL Wednesday Championship: For the Francophone (or not)

"Although our main priority remains to win hockey games and to keep improving as a team, it is obvious that the ability for the head coach to express himself in both French and English will be a very important factor in the selection of the permanent head coach,” said Montreal Canadiens Owner Geoff Molson.

His quote, which appeared at CBC, comes two days before the (AMHL) Canadiens face the Rangers in the AMHL Wednesday Championship.

The AMHL Canadiens, sans un entraînement, could use a francophone to guide his players to victory and then chat with reporters for French language media outlets like La Presse or Le Devoir.

Jacques Martin? Non. Gilbert Cote? Impossible. Cote, a francophone Bruins fan who was not available for comment, despises le blue blanc et rouge. But J. Pierre “Puckbite” Plouffe in Montreal, who was not aware of the coaching vacancy, later said that he would have risen to the challenge.

Nonetheless, after one period, the Habs and Rangers are tied at one goal apiece.

In the second period and the Rangers skating right to left across your AMHL app, Ranger forward and AMHL perennial points leader Tim Donahue skates toward Hab goalie Tyler Le Holt’s doorstep. Ding dong. The proverbial door opens a crack, so Donahue shoots—just as Le Holt slams the door. Mon dieu, what a save, a la Carey Le Price.

Back the other way, the Canadiens’ top two scorers, Rob Le Witty and Marc Le Finneran flank the lone Ranger defender. Le Finneran sells the pass to Le Witty—and then shoots on net. Netminder Tyler Boudreau makes a bread-basket save.

With less than a half-dozen minutes remaining in la deuxième période, Boudreau makes another save. The rebound goes to Canadien Michel Le DeLeo, stationed in the slot, and he then snaps a shot past the goaler to lift Les Habitents to a 2–1 lead.

“Ole, Ole,” the Habs’ fans chant, most of whom don’t care if their coach speaks French or not. Winning is what they want.

Skating left to right to start the third period, the Rangers attack. Forward Mike Statkus, who’s contemplating bringing his band, White Collar Criminals, on a three-bar tour in Montreal, slaps a shot from the top of the right circle. Kick save by Le Holt, who steers the puck to his right.

Midway through the third, and the Rangers pushing to tie the game, Le Holt is caught out of his crease. A Ranger lifts a shot past Le Holt—but Le DeLeo bats the biscuit off course. C’est magnifique, Michel!

A minute later, Le Witty, his ragged green breezers flapping in his wake, cuts across the crease. Boudreau braces himself, not wanting to surrender the short side or leave any holes that the ever-wiley Le Witty would exploit. The netminder holds his ground and averts the crisis.

Then Mike Gardner, the Ranger defenseman who hasn’t scored a goal (eight helpers, though) all season, breaks out the Bobby Orr-like moves. He circumnavigates three defenders to reach the slot and fires—wide left.

Teammate Howard “Ho Ho” Hobbs, out with what he will later call a “lower body injury” watches the action from behind the glass to Le Holt’s right, where Le Koffey Cup awaits the outcome. Will the Habs hold on for another seven minutes?

Le Witty controls the puck some 150 feet way. No one near him.

Échappée or breakaway, no matter the preferred language, fans gathered at Le Centre Bell watch the Jumbotron as Le Witty strides toward Boudreau. Root for the one with the French surname or he who is about to shoot la rondelle?

Le Witty scores, and the crowd goes gaga. “Ole, Ole,” they sing again.

“Time out, White,” referee Pierre Bagley says. “Deux, Deux, Un,” he says through a translator, and then resets the clock to 2:21.

A little more than a minute later and the Rangers sans goalie, the Blueshirts score. 2–3.

Will the Habs choke?

Le Witty, now a fan favourite from Laval to Longueuil, scores an empty-netter, much to Gilbert Cote’s chagrin.

AMHL Tuesday Championship: A Cast of Christmas Characters

"Blitzen," "Kevin Mac," "Snow Miser," "the Grinch," and the other Cup-winning characters

December 20, 2011
Concord, MA

“(Mike) DeLeo’s like Bumble: He bounces,” says the AMHL Photographer as the ever-ebullient Penguin rises from the ice in the second period. His team has not yeti scored on Tyler “the Grinch” Boudreau and trail by three goals.

The Orange and Black, whose cast of characters include goal scorers Peter “Blitzen” Standish and Kevin “Home Alone” McCallister-MacDonald maintain their 3–0 lead as the second period continues.

“Pay attention!” yells Mac, the palms of his gloves flush against his helmet, from the bench as the teams prepare for a face-off in the Flyers’ zone.

His teammates seem a-snooze like the Whos on Christmas Eve, and the Flyers control the puck. But the Grinch, ultimately a benevolent character and on the same team as the Whos, well, that ol’ nasty-wasty weasel slinks and slunks all about his crease. He makes save after save, leaving the Penguins muttering like Yukon Cornelius, the misfit seeker of silver or gold who always comes up empty. “Nothin’.”

Boudreau continues his convincing performance into the final scene, er, period. And his teammate, Jay “Snow Miser” Muelhoefer puts the victory on ice with the Flyers’ fourth goal. And all the reindeer loved him, shouting out with glee, “We’ll go down in history!”

And DeLeo (who, unlike the Abominable Snow Monster, appears to have all his choppers), will bounce back as he is wont to do, to participate in two more reindeer, er, championship games this week.

The Big Apple's Big on Donuts (and Hockey)

A round of applause for guest blogger, J.P. "Puckbite" Plouffe...

Yes, you can have your donut and play hockey too in New York City. One of the best combos can be found in Chelsea. The Doughnut Plant serves an eye-popping, tongue-wowing assortment of round (and square) delights, for instance: the crème brûlée yeast donut or the vanilla bean glaze with blackberry jelly.

Its new venue, next to Hotel Chelsea – where, among other artists, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and Patti Smith enjoyed lengthy stays – is just up the street from the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, which offers all sorts of adult and youth hockey programs, even regular adult pick-up games.

Hotel Chelsea is closed for renovations until next year, but there’s plenty of spots to stay and eat in this thriving, historic neighborhood. You’ll want to check out the grub at Chelsea Market and maybe take some with you for a picnic on the High Line, a new park built on an old freight rail line elevated above the streets.