Hockey (and Donut) Blog

2011 Top Twelve

2012-01-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

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)

2011-12-24T09:39:00.003-05:00

"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

2011-12-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

"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)

2011-11-27T20:24:00.000-05:00

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.

Ohlin's Donut Elves

2011-11-06T16:21:00.000-05:00

Sunday October 23, 2011

Belmont, MA

While Ernie and his Keebler elves bake their “Uncommonly Good®” Fudge Stripes and Deluxe Grahams in their Hollow Tree Factory, the elves at Ohlin’s Bakery, near the intersection of Trapelo Road and Common Street prepare to serve their chocolate frosted and honey-dipped donuts this Sunday morning.

At 6:00 a.m. and daybreak more than five dozen minutes away, the sublime intersection of glaze and frosting, yeast and cake, transport me to pre-dawn mornings in 1986-87, when I was a donut elf myself, at the bakery in Toddy’s Supermarket, located at the union of Lemay Avenue and Drake Road in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Working during the wee hours, I would stand on cardboard that lay flat in front of the fryer, and I would watch the bottom half of the doughy circles turn golden brown. Time to make the donuts…turn over. Flipping the ringlets with long slender wooden implements, which resembled drumsticks, classical music from a Bad News Bears movie (more commonly known as Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture) played in my mind’s ear.

Back in Belmont, the donuts on display delight the AMHL (and Donut) Photographer and me. As we ponder our donut selection, we engage the elves in conversation.

The eldest elf, a cheery worker wearing a purple top, says she’s worked at Ohlin's sixteen years. “I married one of the bakers,” she explains, smiling and ready to serve customers.

The donut holes seem as big as a fist. Tempting.

The younger elf, in her late teens and wearing a non-uniform purple top, references the honey-dipped donuts. “We bake and sell more of these than any other,” she says.

My wife is sold, not only on their potential flavor but also on the photogenic flair. Bold and beautiful, these donuts are bound for daytime drama and glory. (Later today, the donuts will witness the wonder of the Head of the Charles Regatta.)

I focus on the fudge-like quality of the chocolate frosting. Fresh and thick and moist, the topping bonds with the bottom. One of these darlings might also be featured in a photo. But how will it taste?

We’re about to learn as we sit in our car—until we realize we’ve forgotten to buy coffee—and then must return to the brick edifice.

Once inside the Hollow Tree Factory, er, bakery, I tell the younger elf that the camera crew is right behind me. The teenager strikes a pose as another elf—this one with a tray of donuts—appears from the kitchen.

We learn that this pixie is Ma Elf’s daughter. Ohlin’s, established in the 1960s, appears to be a family business. The pose-striking elf says she feels like part of the family.

“Does that mean I have to pay for college?” Ma Elf asks, an impish grin forming to complement her pointy (not really) ears.

My wife and I buy two more donuts (and the coffee) and then return to our car.

She bites into the Honey-dipped. “Oh my God,” she says as I anticipate the fudgey frosting of the donut before me. But the selfless Photographer offers me a bite of her donut. The high-def honey-dipped is sticky but not overly so and oh so sweet and warm and wonderful.

I sink my incisors into the Chocolate Frosted: The chocolate melts as the yeast condenses. Magic. I sip the French vanilla coffee. The Earth ceases its spinning.

Those Keeblers have nothing on Ohlin’s donut elves.

The Boston Bruins, A 2010-2011 Odyssey: Top Twelve Highlights

2011-10-05T20:39:00.001-04:00

*June 7, 2011 in Boston's North End
(image courtesy of AMHL Photographer)

The new NHL season is upon us and the Bruins will raise the championship banner tomorrow. So, let’s rewind—one last time—the 2010–11 season.

My Top Twelve Highlights:

1. The Odyssey Begins in Belfast: Sean Thornton and Patty Cleary return to their roots.

2. Big Zed’s Hat Trick: First career three-goal game as Bruins beat Hurricanes, 7–0.

3. Hello Chris Kelly, Rich Peverley, and Tomas Kaberle: Farewell Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart (both a plus-8 with the B’s in 2010–2011).

4. 6–0 Road Trip: Including a win over the Canucks, the six-game sweep is B’s first since 1971–72.

Commercial Time Out, this recap brought to you by Puckbite

Da Hawks – Da Habs: Fast skating, precision passes short and long, sustained focus and passion and an uncanny reading of the play. That's what I admire most in hockey. There was lots of it on April 5, 2011, at Montreal's Centre Bell, when the Hawks faced the Habs. Both teams embody these qualities when they bring their A game and they were all in that night. Skillful, disciplined play. No head shots, no cheap shots. No trash talk, taunting, posturing or whining. Montreal took 10 minutes in penalties and Chicago 8. Each one 2 minutes. Crawford and Price were solid in the nets. 43 shots for the Hawks, 35 for the Habs. Beautiful wristers from Cammalleri and Kane in the second. With Subban's peremptory one-timer in OT, the Canadiens took it 1-2 and clinched a spot in the finals. If only the NHL could be like this every night. Perhaps we have to thank Scotty Bowman's big influence on both these teams and others, like the Penguins and Red Wings, over the years.

5. Michael Ryder’s Glove Save: The B’s forward reprised his role as Bonavista (NL) ball hockey goalie as the Bruins beat the Habs in Game Five.

6. Timmy Thomas, Game Two against the Flyers: Fifty-two saves in a History-Will-be-Made victory.

7. Andrew Ference to David Krejci to Nathan Horton: The Hockey Goddesses, at least one of them, are rooting for the Bruins.

8. *Stanley Cup Finals, A day before Game Four: Boston's revered Paul shouts, “The British Columbians are coming; the British Columbians are coming.” (He didn't really say that.)

9. Game Seven, Patrice Bergeron: Patty Cleary scores the game-winner and then a shortie to complete the Bruins’ odyssey.

10. Vancouver Fans Applaud Tim Thomas.

11. The Bruins Locker Room: Zdeno Chara holding Claude Julien’s five-year-old daughter, Katryna. (Dear Reader: If you've got a picture of it, please send to me.)

12. Katryna and the Cup, for the little kid in all of us: “Best of all, I like winning it.”

Commemorating Cooperation and Compassion: 9/11 and Beyond

2011-09-11T18:34:00.000-04:00

As the U.S. honours loved ones lost on this date ten years ago, I keep close to my heart heroes on both sides of the 49th Parallel.

An except from AMHL Glory:

Presidents and prime ministers will come and go, so I’m talking about the residual, ordinary citizens in the U.S. and Canada who’ve done extraordinary things to extend goodwill beyond geographical borders.

Read the entire posting at the Canadian Spy site.

AMHL Thursday Champioship: Breaking News

2011-09-11T14:37:00.000-04:00

Thursday, August 25 2011
Concord, MA

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled coverage of (insert your East Coast natural disaster here) for this important hockey news:

While some Eastern U.S. residents perform minor clean-up after this week’s earthquake, and New Englanders prepare for a tropical storm, the AMHL Panthers and Avalanche are engaged in a scoreless tie in the championship game.

Anthony Bonfiglio, who led all Thursday AMHL goalies this season in GAA, and Dan Barros, no stranger to Koffey Cup victories, have endured surge after surge of would-be scorers. Stay tuned for updates as we return you to Barry Burbank and the meteorological maps.

The latest spaghetti diagrams indicate the most likely path—hold on, Barry, this just in:

Broadcaster turned blueliner, Ken MacLeod’s shot. From the right point, MacLeod, an award-winning journalist last seen sporting a salmon-colored tie and sitting behind a news desk, now anchors the Panther blueline corps. He has blasted a slapper past Barros. 1–0 Panthers with less than two minutes remaining in the second period. We return you to your local weather-related news coverage.

The eye of the hurricane is approaching—Sorry, Barry. More breaking news from the rink:

MacLeod has done it again. With less than a minute remaining in the second stanza, Kenny, who grew up cheering for Bobby Orr and the Bruins, charged up the right side, charmed his way into the Avalanche zone, skated left through the slot and snapped a low shot to Barros’s left. 2–0 Panthers after two periods.

And now a word from our sponsor: Advertising agency Arnold Worldwide has landed the Boston Bruins account. And marketing maven and Panther forward Paul “Whoa Nellie” Nelson can bear-ly contain his excitement.

And we’re back to the game: In the waning minutes of the third period, Nellie backhands the puck into an empty net. “Good night, Irene,” the early-morning crowd whispers to each other as they anticipate the Panthers victory and the impending Koffey Cup celebration.

The Three Stars, as voted by the media

3. Dan “Gale Force” Barros: Superb goaltending despite the loss
2. Anthony “the Eyewall” Bonfiglio: Splendid season capped with a shutout
1. Ken MacLeod: Award-winning goals (and ties)

Honorable mention:

The Bruins Bear
Weather-tracking technology
Vermont Tourism

AMHL Tuesday Championship: Hockey and a Hooley

2011-08-29T19:14:00.002-04:00

Boys-a-dear, all of Ireland is worried that the AMHL Flyers trail the Leafs, 0–3. The visitors are in a wee bit of trouble, without the services they are, of Ryan “Green Machine” O’Connor and Jeremy “Lucky Charms” Doyle. (The two are on loan to the Brampton Blades. During AMHL championship week, no less.)

Right to left we go, then, across your Internet connection, as we follow the Flyers in the second period. Jeff Quinn, a lad who shoots lefty, skates across the Leafs’ blueline and to the right circle. On a two-on-one, he sells the pass across the slot and opts for the shot. Clank. The puck dings the post and then drops behind the goal line.

Less than three minutes later, his teammate, Dave Mello (ends in O but close enough to Irish for hockey fans on the Emerald Isle) threads the needle—a perfect pass through the crease—to the Quinn, who deposits the disc behind netminder Steve Scansaroli.

Back the other way, Leafs forward and Aerosmith attendant John “(With) The Great One” Bionelli, his index finger affixed with white tape to bolster a broken bone, sidesteps a would-be defender inside the blueline. He strides toward Flyer goalie Brian Monahan, who can’t stop Bionelli’s backhand shot.

“Four-two,” says referee Peter Bagley, as the teams contemplate the third period.

Scans, sans his goalie helmet, faces his own goal as he squeezes his beverage bottle and then swallows a refreshing liquid. He secures the helmet on his head and then turns to face Monahan, 185 feet (56 metres) away. And the boys are raring to go.

Monahan faces a two-on-one-attack, his eye focused on the puck. A shot from slot. The disc darts towards the goal, but the backstop makes a toe save.

Mello, the dab-handed passer, and Quinn, the post-hugging finisher, connect, and post-haste the Flyers trail, 3–4.

When the Leafs counter with a goal with a wee more than eleven minutes on the clook, Ireland sighs; the outlook for victory is grim. But might this match make it to overtime?

Bagley nods in affirmation as Doyle and O’Connor, no doubt, watch via streaming video.

The lads witness a kerfuffle in Scans’s crease… the puck is loose—and then Flyer Dev Barron scores. And then, a tad more than a minute later, Mello scores.

“Five-all,” bellows Bagley.

Seems the ref was right. He’s always right, (even when he’s wrong.), some might reckon.

With the seconds evaporating from the clock, and but five minutes remaining, Mello skates into the crease. Thwack, thwack. He bangs his stick’s blade against the ice. Pass the puck to me. A teammate obliges, and then Dave snaps a low shot inside the post to Scans’s left. The lamp is lit, and Dublin is delighted.

Or maybe Bagley was right? Plenty of time for another goal.

The Leafs, led by the AMHL’s all-time scoring leader, will not surrender. Five seconds left in the game, and Dana Salvo lurks in the slot. As all great goal-getters will tell you, they wait for the puck to find them. Two seconds…and as Salvo sets himself for the shot, Monahan falls—feet first—to the occasion. As Salvo shoots, the keeper slides, like, across the crease to save the morning.

Good man ma da Monahan. And all of Ireland is a ta-ta-ta-ra-ing, craking on, having a hooley (and a donut).

The Three Stars, as voted by the media

3. John Bionelli: Hat trick and a picture with Wayne Gretzky
2. Dave Mello: two goals, two assists, and two ould BC socks
1. Jeff Quinn: hat trick and a hug for the Koffey Cup

Honorable mention:

Ould Irish slang: from Patrick Taylor’s “An Irish Country Doctor”
Score: A Hockey Musical
Peter Bagley: Marketing maven, entrepreneur extraordinaire, and remarkable referee

Oldies But Goodies: Former Bruins Rock On

2011-08-22T19:10:00.000-04:00

Songs from the 1960s and '70s—when today’s oldest NHLers were born—are ripe for airplay on oldies stations. Tunes from the '80s and early '90s—when today’s oldest players were drafted—are maturing into fashionable fruit for these same stations.

So, in the spirit of Steve “Fly Like an Eagle’” Miller and Dave “Please Come to Boston” Loggins, I present these memorable former Bruins.

Mark Recchi
2009-2011

The kid from Kamloops (BC) was born when “Hey Jude” hit the charts and was drafted when Steve Winwood’s “Roll With It” was up for awards. Recchi (skating on a line with his boyhood idle Bryan “Hot Diggity” Trottier) won the ultimate hockey award with Pittsburgh in 1991; in 2006, with Carolina, Recchi (and fellow oldie Glen Wesley, also born in 1968) again hoisted the hardware high above his head.

In 2009, with the dismal Tampa Bay Lightning, Recchi owned the dubious distinction of a team-worst plus/minus (-15). When the B’s acquired him at the trade deadline, I was concerned that he would be a detriment to team defense.

Ha. Two years later and Recchi, who says he prefers rock ‘n’ roll or country over Marc Savard’s Top 40, probably was amused when, before the Stanley Cup parade, wanna-be rapper Brad Marchand performed “Wiz Khalifa’s Black and Yellow.”

Sean O’Donnell
2001-2004

Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind” climbed the charts in 1971, when Odie entered the world. Twenty years later, when the Buffalo Sabres drafted the defenseman, Maria Carey’s “Someday” ruled the airwaves. No way the Queen of the High Cs could have know her tune would be a smash hit or that O’Donnell’s quest to win the Cup would sixteen years later culminate with the Anaheim Ducks.

After signing with the Blackhawks, Odie (or should I say Oldie) is “Alive Again” in Chicago.

Mike Knuble
1999-2004

Born in 1972, Knuble grew up during the Age of Abba. Then in 1991, when Boyz II Men’s Motownphilly was all the rage in Cheesesteaktown, Knuble might not have predicted that “Mamma Mia” would be made into a musical, or that during the 2003 All-Star break, he’d tell his fans at Bruins.com that he planned to attend the show—because his wife is a big fan. (Sure Mike, admit it: Even a rough-and-tumble forward on the 700 pound line with Joe Thornton and Glen Murray, can dig the “Dancing Queen.”)

Will Washington be the “End of the Road” for the former Philadelphia Flyer? (Knubes turns 40 in 2012.)

Brian Rolston
1999-2004

The Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man” might be Brian Rolston’s theme song as the well-traveled forward was born in 1973. Then again, maybe Paul Abdul’s “Rush Rush” is a more appropriate theme song. Drafted in 1991, Rollie often led the charge up ice during his tenures with the New Jersey Devils (twice), the Colorado Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild, and the Boston Bruins. Here in Beantown, he thrilled fans with his specialties: speed, slap shots and short-handed goals (nine in 2001-02).

Rolston signed with the New York Islanders and will play an up-tempo game, blast a few slappers past would-be puck-stoppers, and maybe score a shortie or two.

Aaron Ward
2006-2009

I’m not sure if “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” is on Wardo’s playlist, but Jim Croce’s classic was among the top hits in 1971. Drafted in 1991, when Bryan Adams’s “Everything I Do (I Do it For You) ranked high on the charts, would Wardo have predicted that he’d still be playing eighteen years later? In his two seasons in Boston—before the B’s traded him back to Carolina to end his career—I enjoyed watching him stiff-arm puck-toting opponents, (broken?)-sticking it to Philadelphia with an OT game-winning goal.

Stanley CUPdate: Part I, Summertime Sojourn

2011-08-14T17:19:00.002-04:00

Two months ago tomorrow, the Boston Bruins held high, for the first time since 1972, Sir Stanley’s silver (and nickel) chalice.

Since then, the Bruins’ Cuppeth hath runneth overeth with good cheer and good beer (if not donuts). From Vancouver to the Vineyard, from Nevada to New York, and across The Pond and beyond: The five keepers of the Cup capture images as Kevin Shea chronicles the Stanley Cup’s summertime sojourn.

I present to you these headlines and hyperlinks:

Highbrow Highlights: The NHL Awards Show, the Today Show, and the draft for "The Show"

Oat to Lunch: Horsing around in Buffalo

Houda Thunk it: Tee Time in Whitefish, MT

Geoff Ward and Don Sweeney: Waxy-ing nostalgic in Lexington and at Harvard

No Sooner Said than Dunnville: Horton Hears a Whew (from Howie Borrow)

Across the pond and beyond…

Czech-mates: Kaberle and Krejci meet The Hello Piggy Band

A Drum Roll for Sir Zed: His Highness Sticks it to the Castle Crowd

Stanley Steamer: Tuukka’s Time in the Sauna

On to Ontario…

Spin-O-rama: A 360-degree View of Toronto with Shawn Thornton

Maiden Canada: Mist-er Paille at Niagara Falls

Stanley Cup Takes Guelph by Storm: Rich Peverley and the Fruit Loops?

Stay tuned for Part II

Sharing the Hockey Spirit, Part II: "Alberta Bound"

2011-07-10T16:59:00.005-04:00

Courtesy of Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendars

(Cont'd from Part I)

I’m Alberta Bound/This piece of heaven that I’ve found/
Rocky Mountains and black fertile ground

Everything I need beneath that big blue sky/Doesn’t matter where I go/
This place will always be my home

-Paul Brandt, “Alberta Bound”

As Brian and Elizabeth Urlacher—the king and queen of hockey calendars—watch the Stanley Cup Finals, they must realize that The Most Coveted Cup is Alberta bound. Will Mason Raymond, the Canuck from Cochrane, AB and teammate Jeff Tambellini, the kid from Calgary, hold high the shiny silver chalice beneath Brandt’s big blue sky? Or will it be Bruins Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ference—both from Edmonton—that do the honors?

The Canucks lead the series 2–0, and Red Deer’s royalty seem conflicted about their loyalty: Elizabeth, whose favourite donut at Tim Hortons is the Boston Cream (renamed, at least temporarily, to the Vancouver Cream), writes, “…Andrew Ference–our Alberta boy! That’s top-shelf reason enough for us to be thrilled to see the Bruins win. We also hold tight to all things Canucks…Go Canada Go! This is a unique playoff series because we’re going to be stoked for who ever wins! It’s nice to be in such a friendly cheering position.”

A week later, and a day before Game Six in Boston, the Canucks up 3–2, the Urlachers call to clarify their written comments. Elizabeth says, “I’m gonna answer for myself, Brian (who then laughs). My loyalties always go to first of all, to our closest team. My second thought on that is if that if by chance the Bruins win, that I’d be so happy for my friend, Barry Wheeler in Corner Brook, Newfounldand that that’s just great too.”

Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo's home and away ups and downs, she says, as well as the see-saw victory pattern, have contributed to the saga of this Stanley Cup finals.

The queen yields to her husband, who says, “I’m Vancouver all the way. Boston’s won a Stanley Cup before; Vancouver’s never won one.” The king continues, “I can’t believe how bad (the Canucks) have played in Boston.”

“That’s why it’s a saga, Brian,” Elizabeth says.

“I think it’s going to go seven games,” he concludes.

Now, three and a half weeks after the Bruins conquered the Canucks, Boychuk and Ference plan for their day (sometime in August) with the sporting world’s most celebrated thirty-four-and-half-pound trophy.

And the Urlachers have resumed their routine: A stop at Timmys, where Elizabeth orders her Boston/Vancouver Cream and Brian buys a Honey Cruller; designing and producing the fifteen-month calendars, which hockey organizations will sell to raise funds for their programs; and perhaps listening to a country tune. All this as couple anticipates the Stanley Cup’s trip to the province famous for those heavenly Rocky Mountains, Chinook winds, and Paul Brandt. Alberta: the place the king and queen of calendars call home.

Sharing the Hockey Spirit, Part I: "Small Towns and Big Dreams"

2011-06-19T18:30:00.004-04:00

Courtesy of Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendars

June 6, 2011

Maynard, MA

“…The best things around/that I have ever seen/Come from small towns and big dreams…”

-“Small Towns and Big Dreams” by Paul Brandt

Elizabeth Urlacher, one half of the married team that designs what she and her husband Brian call “the Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendar” shares, via email, that “Small Towns and Big Dreams” is her favourite tune by Brandt, a native Albertan. “It speaks largely of who Brian and I are; it reminds me of my small town community each time I hear it! It’s really a song about good people, good ethics, and community camaraderie.”

The Urlachers reside in Red Deer, Alberta. Equidistant between Edmonton and Calgary, Red Deer is home to Urlacher Photographics Ltd and is the focal point for those familiar with the Battle of Alberta: the rivalry between the Oilers and the Flames. The Urlacher household, however, is a harmonious one. Oilers all the way.

Elizabeth and Brian grew up as Oilers fans, so neither had to compromise hockey loyalties when they married. And in 2006, they fused their passions—hockey and helping others—and talents—imagination, photography and design—to pursue their dream.

“I’m not sure why...,” Elizabeth writes, “but we always pictured it as a fundraising calendar that would help kids play hockey. It just was—and so it now is.”

The realization of these big dreams is rooted in their childhood memories.

Brian, whose imagination sparked the business, writes, “Growing up in the Drumheller Badlands and playing hockey on the frozen Red Deer River—at times there was no snow and I could skate for miles! If I missed the net I’d have to chase the puck for what seemed like forever to retrieve it (and that’s why I became such a prolific goal scorer and never missed the net.)

The Badlands, Brian continues, are known as the Dinosaur Capital of the World (Glen Rose, Texas also stakes a claim), and the enduring images of his early hockey days will be featured in a calendar some day.

Elizabeth recalls her halcyon hockey days, when the calendar would flip from fall to the frozen months. “Each winter,” Elizabeth writes about her family’s farm about forty-five minutes west of Red Deer, “Dad would plow a section of our backyard. He taught my big brother and me how to flood it with precision to create a sheet of ice that would be our winter rec center right in our own backyard. I remember my brother and I actually wearing old-old skates (similar to the antiques we feature in our calendar). A puck and a couple plastic hockey sticks ordered from the Simpson Sears Catalog were everything we needed. We’d play out there almost every night that the temperature would allow us to. I was a little more of a Jamie Salé (Alberta girl and Olympic gold medalist), in that as soon as I could put on figure skates, I was really at home on ice. Even if they weren’t a perfect match for playing hockey, I wore them while playing hockey!”

The hockey and calendar business—travel to nearby small towns and to other sites far and wide across Canada (think Newfoundland); capturing the images on camera; designing the fifteen-month calendars to include ample space for recording family activities, hockey statistics, and season highlights; and coordinating production, marketing, and distribution efforts—keeps Brian, a photographer and Elizabeth, a photographer and graphic artist, more active than Bruin goalie Timmy Thomas.

The Urlachers postpone their dates with calendars, though, when the playoffs are on TV. The Urlachers, like any hockey fans worth their metal, are watching the grown-up versions of those kids—who grew up in towns from Smithers, BC to Bonavista, NL—as they pursue their loft, shiny silver (and nickel) dreams.

As the splendor of the Stanley Cup Finals unfolds, sharing the spirit of hockey with good people is one of the best things around.

Stay tuned for Part II.

Memorial Day 2011: True Battlers and Gratitude

2011-05-30T13:06:00.002-04:00

Thank you, Nathan Hardy, Michael Koch, and all the true battlers who have lost their lives to protect a hockey (and donut) fan’s freedom to blog about that which I am grateful.

1. Aaron Ward’s comments (May 28 2001, 98.5 The Sports Hub) to Boston Bruins’ fans before Game Seven against the Tampa Bay Lightning: “Be grateful for what you’ve got.”

2. Hockey talk on the radio: Fond memories of the defunct New England Hockey Journal and now 98.5, The Sports Hub

3. Hardy and Trupiano: The ultimate sports talk radio team

4. Coffee and donuts ice cream: The Wagon Wheel Restaurant

5. Donut diversity: Dunkin’ Donuts, Dynamo Donut, Adams Donuts

6. Donut books: Time to Make the Donuts, The Donut Chef, Who Needs Donuts?

7. Hockey writers: Jack Falla, Paul Grant, Jay Atkinson

8. Hockey rinks: Valley Sports, Herb Brooks Arena, EPIC

9. The Boston Bruins’ marketing department: Best of the Bear

10. Timmy Thomas: Top Ten Saves at TSN (merci, Gilbert Cote)

11. Hockey friends on both sides of the 49th

12. The Stanley Cup Finals, Bruins versus Canucks:Win or lose, I’ll enjoy the ride.

Dynamo Donut, Part I: To Die For

2011-05-22T09:26:00.002-04:00

San Francisco, CA

Sunday, May 8 2010

A half dozen minutes before 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time—when Dynamo Donut, located in the Mission District, opens—another customer in line reminds my wife and I to order the most popular donut. The Bacon Maple Apple, he says, “is to die for.”

Unlike the AMHL/Donut Photographer and I, who will delight in what S.F Weekly claims is the Best Doughnut (2009), our donut consultant and his daughter are regulars. “We come here about once a week,” the father says.

As Team Dynamo bustles about the shop, the line of customers—and the anticipation of what Daily Dynamos will be featured—grows as I read the placard placed to the right of the stand:

“We use Clover Organic Milk for our coffee and donuts. Our donuts utilize organic, sustainable, and local ingredients whenever possible and are always handmade daily by Sara Spearin and her staff. We offer a rotating selection of 6 to 8 donuts per day so quality and freshness of ingredients can be guaranteed. EVERYDAY is Bacon Donut Day!!!”

In the shade of the sycamore trees lining 24th Street, the storefront gate rolls up, and then an employee hangs the thin, rectangular placards over the nails affixed to the display.

First in line, we order one each of the Vanilla Bean, Spiced Chocolate and Blueberry Cornmeal, and two of the Bacon Maple Apple.

“The Caramel De Sel,” whispers our donut advisor.

Now with seven heavenly halos hunkered down in the shoebox-sized container, my wife says, “Treat them like china.”

Twenty minutes later and back at our wharf-side hotel, we converge on the real San Francisco Treat(s) (according to local tour guides, the Rice-a-Roni recipe and commercial were conceived in Chicago).

The Caramel De Sel: Its chewy topping, like dripping water freezing in the form of an icicle, dangles. I bite past the thin layer of sea salt and sweetness and into the core; the middle is surprisingly resilient, similar to sponge-cake, and the orange zest and nutmeg soothe my palate. One donut down.

The Blueberry Cornmeal is a gritty performer (Bruins’ fans: Think Gregory Campbell, Sean Thornton, and Danny Paille). With all the blueberry boldness sans the sugary syrup, the fruit complements the cornmeal. Like the Bruins’ energy line, this donut leaves a refreshing taste in my mouth. And it sets the tone for the glory-getter.

The Bacon Maple Apple is the David Krejci/Nathan Horton/Michael Ryder/Whoever gets the next OT game-winner of donuts. The subtle maple frosting and real bacon bits beckon this donut beholder to delve past the tantalizing toppings and into the fresh forest of apple chunks. Oh so divine, these donuts are to die for.

Contented, me echo una siesta, and I rest in peace.

“Sevenling (Game Seven)”: A Hockey Poem

2011-04-27T18:57:00.001-04:00

Inspired by Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides prompt in Writer’s Digest

Black and Gold, Bleu Blanc et Rouge, bloody lips: color commentary

Coaches pacing, players skating, fanatics biting fingernails--invested all

Bruins, Canadiens--who will win, who will fall?

Breathe, B's Fans

2011-04-19T18:01:00.001-04:00

April 17, 2011
Concord, MA

“I'm not leaving without a fight.”

-“The Outsiders” by Need to Breathe

As this song played at my favorite Dunkin’ Donuts on Sunday morning (less than twelve hours after the Bruins lost Game Two to the Canadiens) , I chose to scan— rather than read every word, as I’m wont to do—every story about Boston’s Bruins in the Boston Globe. I plucked from amongst the rubble of negativity, a few positive points to include below.

Top Twelve Reasons to Believe in our Bruins

1. Comebacks: In best-of-seven series, the team down 0-2 has come back thirty-seven times to win that series.

2. Number 37: Patrice Bergeron won fifty-three percent of his face-offs, got a goal, and had six shots on goal.

3. Shots on Goal: Sixty-six in two games. Keep shooting and they will go in.

4. Ding Dong: Our shots that have been hitting a post, which don’t count as shots on goal, will go in, too.

5. Tomas Kaberle: The much-maligned defenseman was a plus-1 in Game Two.

6. The Power Play: The Devils, in 1993, were the dregs of man-advantage play in the regular season. They also won the Cup.

7. Hit the Road: The Bruins won two dozen games on the road this season, two more than they did at home.

8. Puttin’ on the Hits: Bruins, 35; Habs: 27.

9. Stranger Things: If the Penguins can go 15–10–4 sans Sidney Crosby and minus Evgeni Malkin, the Bruins can win this series.

10. Rebounds: The Bruins have strung together consecutive wins together after having lost two in a row.

11. Remember 2008: Down two games then, we can get this series to Game Seven.

12. Big Zed: Claude Julien says it's "looking good" for Chara to play in Game Three.

We need to breathe, Boston. Let’s back our Bruins.

Bruins, Brogues, and Bread

2011-03-20T08:54:00.003-04:00

Main Street, Melrose, MA
March 19, 2011

Barry’s Tea, an Irish favorite, is what Tim Moynihan, wearing a Bruins cap, serves me from the counter of Breads ‘N’ Bits of Ireland. The gray-haired gentleman has already prepared two egg sandwiches, one for me and the other for the AMHL Photographer, who’s still seated at the back of this family-owned and -operated shop.

Mr. Moynihan places the teapot and then two thick slices of toasted Irish bread on my tray as we conclude our conversation—his brogue as strong as a salmon’s heart—about Irish jaunting cars, ponyback rides, and storytellers in Ireland. I thank the Killarney native and then join my wife.

I’ve already read the Boston Globe sports section (the Bruins’ power play has been unplugged, good hockey game between BC and Northeastern), and now focus on my food and surroundings: My green-eyed lass across the table; behind her, the framed poster of a traditional Irish dresser; and to the left, the real version whose shelves hold family pictures and a poem about friendship.

The couple to my left is readingb the newspaper when a contemporary joins them to discuss last night’s Hockey East action. The BC Eagles beat the NU Huskies, 5–4. “Northeastern is good,” the upright friend says. They wonder how Merrimack will fair against favored BC tonight. His seated pal predicts an upset.

My best friend and I finish brekkie and then drive home, where tonight we’ll watch Recchi and Kelly and the lads from Boston against the Leafs in Toronto. Win or lose, I reckon I’ll enjoy a slice of soda bread Mr. Moynihan sold us, sip tea, and wonder if Barry Melrose is watching the game, too.

Good Story, Good Donuts, Good Karma

2011-02-08T18:43:00.002-05:00

“I’ve been known to have a few (donuts) in one sitting,” says former Maine Mariner, Boston Bruin, and Oklahoma City Blazer defenseman Bruce Shoebottom. Shoe, who now lives in Maine and keeps busy recruiting salespeople for Glacial Energy and playing for the Boston Bruins Alumni, made time to talk about his hockey history—a good story—and his fondness for my favorite food group.

If he has one regret about his hockey career, it’s that he was “always in such a hurry to get to games.” He wishes he could have slowed down to “take a few more things in and enjoy.” Yet as an Oklahoma City Blazer in 1993–94, he did stop and smell the donuts. He recalls visiting the Dunkin’ Donuts shop on Route 66, the road that would lead him to Southern California.

Two years later, he was playing for the San Diego Gulls, and in the 1996–97 season he tallied a dozen points: six goals and six assists.

Now that he’s retired, donuts still delight him. “I always liked the Double Chocolate and the French Cruller,” he says. But he won’t eat too many of either and cautions anyone he might hire: “You gotta be careful in Sales; you’re one or two donuts away from being 260 pounds.”

From good donuts to the law of moral causation…Shoe would like readers to consider donating to one of causes below. “Good Karma going forward,” he says.

Positive Thoughts for Keri
c/o Sue Bosworth
23 Second Street
Amesbury Mass 01913

Travis Roy Foundation

American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association: Magic and Medals

2011-01-25T07:52:00.000-05:00

This piece was originally published, circa 2006, at USAHockey.com but is no longer available on the Internet as far as I can tell.

Bronze, silver, and gold medals: the US Deaf Olympic hockey team has won them all. The magic is not in the medals but in the preparation, which glitters at Stan Mikita’s summer camp for the hearing impaired, and the love, which lingers via long distance until friends meet next summer.

Mikita and Irv Tiahnybik founded the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA), which funds the hockey school, because Tiahnybik told his NHL friend that mainstream hockey groups were hassling his son, Lex, for being hard of hearing. Mikita was happy to help Lex and 30 other students who attended the first camp in 1973.

Since then, students have returned to this hockey haven not only to play their passion and to share hockey stories with loyal friends, but also to mentor younger students. You see, 2000 students have completed at least one camp. Many have graduated from high school and college, married, had kids…but still return to Illinois every summer to volunteer their time because they believe the program was—and still is—magical.

Tom Schaffner, AHIHA’s volunteer spokesman says that despite advances in technology that have helped hearing impaired hockey players, “You still get kids coming to our school at age seven or eight…they’re wild, they’re anti social because…of [their] hearing loss and rebellious by nature at that age—boys, and we have girls, frankly.

Karen Wonoski’s son Mike, who can’t wait to attend his 11th camp next summer, was feisty and frustrated. It’s hard to watch your kid struggle with the inability to communicate with peers and teachers who don’t fully comprehend that an eight-year-old is just learning how to talk.

Ten years later, Mike’s mom reflects upon he son’s first camp, “It’s amazing to see how kids found themselves.” Today, Mike plays hockey for St. Mary’s High School in Lynn, MA. There, he’s one of the guys; he has learned to adapt, and his teammates and coaches don’t give him special treatment. As much as wants to win a high school championship and hopes to play college hockey, he looks forward to next summer. Until then, he’ll stay in touch with his hearing-impaired hockey pals via the Internet.

Karen marvels at the influence hockey school has had on Mike and is proud of the way hockey players, especially disabled players, stick together. This past summer, Mike, who can speak, and a boy, who doesn’t speak at all, were planning to fly to Calgary for the Alberta Centennial to compete against other disabled hockey players from Canada and the States.

Inside Boston’s Logan Airport, Mike and his friend were paged, but even with hearing aids, they couldn’t hear the announcement. “So when you see that,” Karen recalls, “you start to go, ‘geez, is it gonna be alright?’” Just then, she saw a gentleman holding hockey sticks for a boy who had no arms. Upon learning the disabled boy and his family were also headed to Calgary for the same event, Karen asked if they could keep and eye on her son and the other boy. The man, who didn’t know Karen or her son from a hole in the wall, was too happy to help.

Karen left the airport grateful, only to receive a text message from Mike, “My flight has been cancelled, and I’m going to Dallas. Gotta go.”

Because of bad weather, Mike’s flight was diverted to the airline’s hub in the Big D. Karen had no idea if Mike was on his own or with the other family, but she later learned that Mike’s adoptive family had not only kept an eye on him and the other boy but had invited them to lunch. They had gone the extra mile to watch Mike’s games in Calgary too.

Schaffner hesitates to refer to his organization as magical, but feels it is. “We don’t solve everything—and I’m not trying to make it sound that way—but it’s good news when you have that kind of results in kids [and] when you actually give them something to look forward to, even if it’s only a week a year.

Or a few days in Salt Lake City for the 2007 Winter Deaflympics, to chase another medal, relish in the recall on the Internet until you meet again to play, to laugh, to offer each other a helping hand, if not a fully functional ear.

Update: In Salt Lake City, Mike Wonoski scored the game-winner to lift Team USA to a

4–3 victory overTeam Canada.

Team USA went on to defeat Team Germany, 6–0 to win the gold medal.

Michael Wonoski is still playing hockey, at Rochester Institute of Technology.

2010 Top Twelve Highlights

2011-01-02T18:50:00.003-05:00

2010 was filled with more ups and downs than a dozen Duncan Yo-Yos. The passing of my Uncle Dan “Santa Claus” Dwyer, the Bruins playoff loss to Philadelphia, and my Uncle Jack’s recent reunion with Uncle Dan have aided and abetted many of my anxieties. To ward off these and other worries, I now present the highlights, a baker’s dozen in quasi-chronological order:

Winter Classic in Boston
Marco Sturm’s upraised arms as he celebrates his game-winning goal against the Flyers, at Fenway Park. We’ll miss you, Marco. Best of luck with the Kings.

Hole in One Donuts
Lights, camera, donuts. Big and bold on the beach, these all-stars made their short movie debut. The sandy stars were sacrificed for art’s sake (order your 2010 donut calendar by contacting the AMHL photographer via the AMHL Shutterfly site), but the others were plain perfect for the taste buds.

The Tooth Fairy
For some, this flick was too much tutu, not enough (Jordin)Tootoo But I enjoyed it. Then again, I watch Oprah. And listen to Celine Dion.

AMHL Old Home Week
Hanging out with my hockey pals, many of whom I hadn’t seen or with whom I hadn’t spoken in months, made my week.

Hershey Hockey
Mr. Hockey was in town for his annual visit, which often includes a road trip. A couple years ago my dad, my wife, and I drove to Lake Placid, but this fall pilgrimage was to Chocolate Town, PA. The two games we attended were fulfilling—but not as much as the trolley tour, where the punny business proprietors dispensed not only their wry humor but also Hershey Hugs and Kisses.

Molasses Donuts
The Inn Victoria (Chester VT) doesn’t feature the delectable circular concoctions all the time, but ask Proprietor Penelope and she’s apt to appease your appetite. The Willow Bake Shoppe (Rockport, ME), in business since 1949, does deliver the much munched Molasses Donut every day (open mornings only). Asked about the secret to the shoppe’s success, Proprietor Patti replied, “Everybody loves donuts and the recipe is old.”

Hockey (and Donut) Books
Slap Shot Original, Time to Make the Donuts, King Leary, and Don Messer: The Man Behind the Music top my list. Hockey fans know about all about the Hanson Brothers’ exploits in the hallmark of hockey movies and will relish Dave Hanson’s behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Time to Make the Donuts, the birth of Dunkin’ Donut Nation and the brand’s ascension into the pastry pantheon-as chronicled by DD’s father, William Rosenberg with help from Jessica Keener—is a must-read for not only donut lovers but also entrepreneur types. King Leary, a hockey novel, is flat-out the funniest book I’ve read this year. A whirligig of a read, it’s best enjoyed with a glass of your favourite ginger ale. And whether you're a fiddle fan or not—and I am—learning about Mr. Messer's masterful marketing strategy and tactics was worth the read.

Hockey Videos
Timmy Thomas’s big-time save against the Toronto Maple Leafs: The save speaks for itself, but focus on the fans who stand and then slump back into their seats. And in case you’ve been living in a snow cave, or mayhap want to revive that holiday spirit, here’s an encore performance of “All I Want for Christmas” as performed by the Belfast Giants.

First French Hockey Story
Someday (when I make the corrections) I’ll share the full story about a trip to Le Quartier Nord, but for now I’m savoring the time spent in Boston’s North End and my teacher telling me that I’m an over-achiever. (The class resumes in late January but only if we have enough matriculators. Under-achiever, over-achiever, or just want to learn how to communicate with Les Québécois, please learn more about the Concord-Carlisle Community Education class, course #3391.)

Hockey on the Radio
Two kinds of people in the world: those who love Jack Edwards and those who mute the TV when he’s on. I love his passion and his bantor with Andy Brickley, but sometimes I change the lines, as it were in hockey parlance, so that I can listen to the action—“left to right across (my) radio” according to Dave Goucher and Bob Beers. Another dandy duo is Hardy and Trupiano. The former infuses Ultimate Frisbee references into the repartee; the latter tells great Gordie Howe stories.

St. Andrews, New Brunswick
Two trips in 2010: The first in the summer when the AMHL Photographer departed for a two-hour tour of the Bay of Fundy. While she was aboard the Zodiac Hurricane, I sat seaside at the Hungry Whale Café and comforted myself with a St.-Viateur Bagle. (Caution: The owner’s allegiance is to le bleu, blanc et rouge). The second trip, last week, was heavenly…Espionage in St. John…Honeybeans for an afternoon snack…Old Tyme Pizza for dinner…Christmas lights on the wharf…the walk back to the safehouse, as we admired the brilliance of Orion’s Belt…Canadaaaah.

Friday Skates
In July, I skated three times—a grand total of less than hour—as the AMHL Hawks, Kings, Stars, and Whalers dressed for their games. Two months after the surgery to repair the direct hernia surgery, I was still wobbly and weak but budding with confidence as I rounded Rink Two. But a few days later, at my next PT session, my right knee buckled. I limped into the chiropractor’s office with a brace on my knee and then—thanks to Dr. Jamal De Vita—walked out of the office carrying that brace in my hand.

AMHL Comebacks
“Here I come, baby,” Brent Delehey, who had been out action for a few months, said as the Big Bad Bruin hunted his opponent in last week's AMHL Thursday Championship. Brent was gleeful to be playing again—ditto for John Bionelli and Scott Gelin. As for me, I’m more centered, more balanced, and (despite the pain my surgeon said is to be expected) back at PT. I hope to be playing again this spring.

AMHL Wednesday Championship: Canadiens vs. Sabres

2010-12-22T07:11:00.014-05:00

Fluto Shinzawa isn't available to blog the live updates, so yours truly has the honors of broadcasting, for the first-ever by blogging live, an AMHL Championship.

The Canadiens, who stunned the Rangers last week lead the Sabres, who pulled off a mild upset over the Sharks, 3-0 with two minutes left in the second period.

Sabres on the power play...Mike Statkus on a breakaway...denied by Hab netminder Ron Chin.

3-0 after two. PJ Mann in nets for the Sabres, has made several stand-out saves, but the Habs have had way too many chances.

Five minutes into the third, Habs on the attack again. Warren "Downtown" Brown has a chance, but Mann makes the save.

Gilbert Cote--not a fan of les habitents de Montreal--is wearing the blue, blanc et rouge. Numero (sorry, no French characters available while blogging live) Deux and jousts with a Sabre.

Ten minutes to go, Warren Brown lies, left to right/skates to helmet across the Sabre's crease, and lifts a shot--over the goal.

6:20 on the clock...the Canadien's leading scorer George Levoy, who netted the OT winner last week, passes to the high slot. Brown shoots...blocker save by PJ Mann.

About five minutes left, Sabre Larry Brown passes back to to the point. Shot is blocked. Levoy on a breakaway, goes low glove side to score.

"All I Want For Christmas" is a Belfast Giants Video

2010-12-14T20:11:00.000-05:00

You’re not going to believe this, the AMHL Photographer said to me yesterday evening.

Close your eyes, she said as she sat me down at the dinner table and situated the laptop on the tabletop.

At Puck Daddy’s Yahoo site, I peeked at the uploading video before the music was ready and thought I saw Patrice Bergeron starting to mouth the words to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas.”

Nope, turns out it’s Tim Cook*: A Belfast Giant not a Boston Bruin. A lip-synching, dancing, prancing Giant elf that has more moves than Allied Van Lines. And his teammates, who appear to have practiced their moves for no more than it takes to serve a double-minor penalty, have more flair than Ovechkin or Crosby.

I’ve seen the video three times now (hey, I love singing that song any month) and will, I’m certain, watch, sing (prance to the music) again. Just like I did in March 2007.

*Tim Cook. This Tim Cook, the professional; not that Tim Cook, the impish amateur hockey player/professional photographer.

Around the Globe: Hockey Heroes and Helping Hands

2010-12-05T13:18:00.001-05:00

The anxiety I felt about unresolved issues dissipated as I navigated today’s Boston Globe.

Kevin Cullen’s front-page piece about Sudbury’s Scott Milley, a hockey player, isn’t so much about hockey as it is Millen’s sacrifice and his family’s grief.

If that story touches your heart, if not your tear ducts, then Cindy Cantrell’s Metro West story about Kasey, a Helping Hands miracle monkey, might make you laugh. I did. Couple the capuchin’s personality with her purpose, to rescue not only a once-athletic Concord kid but also his family, and you’ve got a story to boost slumping spirits. The story also made me think of Travis Roy.

Concord’s own (via Buffalo), Kevin Paul Dupont, reflects upon the inherent rigors of building a backyard rink. Impossible for hockey enthusiasts and storytellers like me to not to think of Jack Falla, who consulted on KPD’s project but who is not to blame for the debacle, to be grateful for fond Falla memories.

Still in Sports, Dupes delivers a dose of sadness about a fun man: On page C9, amidst the hockey news, is a snippet about Buffalo-based hockey writer Jim Kelley, who was claimed by cancer. Sad for Dupes, who knew Kelley well, and for me, even if I never met him.

Then again, I never met Scott Milley. But reading these stories has helped me surrender my self pity. They gave me, you might say, a helping hand.

Harry Potter Hockey: Would-be Weasleys

2010-11-21T15:24:00.002-05:00

My "Top Twelve" Harry Potter protégés and would-be Weasleys...

Harry Potter: Sydney Crosby? Alex Ovechkin? Leading men, stars with scars they are, but they don’t wear glasses. A Hanson? Sorry Slap Shotters. My hero is the AMHL’s John Greszczuk, the unassuming one who wears glasses as he ferociously forechecks. Dark wizards, do not underestimate the Chosen One.

Ron Weasley: The redhead is best known as the Chosen One’s sidekick, but—Bloody H-E-double hockey sticks—he’s a formidable quaffle-stopper on the Quidditch pitch. Similarly, the AMHL’s Eric Schoen is best known as a goal-scorer (who earned ten points in one game) but he might someday become a brilliant Keeper.

Hermione Granger: The wonder wizard is in a class all by herself. So is Hayley Wickenheiser.

Hagrid: Big heart and tall as a tree, Hogwart’s groundskeeper is the perfect role for Kevin Durand, who played the kind giant, “Tree Lane” in Mystery Alaska.

Snape: Love him or loathe him? Don Cherry? Nope, Grapes is controversial but has too much flair and not enough hair. Let’s leave Defense against the Dark Arts to Mike Ricci (a defensive center in San Jose, Ricci also has acting experience, as Elmer Lach in The Rocket and wore a witch’s hat in an ESPN commercial).

Fred and George Weasley: I’m not sure if the Sedin brothers have a penchant for pranks, but Henrik and Daniel are tricky for defenders to track.

Viktor Krum: A physical specimen from Eastern Europe. Zdeno Chara as a Seeker, eh?

Dumbledore: Jean Béliveau, a revered and respectful leader.

Dobby: Loyal (and sometimes sneaky), Dobby does house-cleaning; “Peterborough Pete” Kokas would be the perfect house elf.

Alastor “Mad-Eye Moody”: Cantankerous. Real. Missed. Pat Burns, RIP.

And the villain? I shall not publicly malign “He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.”

Honourable Mention:

Sergei "the Magical Muscovite" Samsonov (thanks, Dupes)
Scott "the Manitoba Magician" Lauder
Merlin "the Magician" Malinowski

The Crease: A Goalie's Poem

2010-10-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

Prompted by Poetic Asides and inspired by my fondness for goalies, I channeled the Middle Ages to craft this Collum lune.

The bordered crease:
A noble netminder’s blessed bastion;
Outlandish opponents, cease

Happy Thanksgiving: A Propos de Moi

2010-10-16T13:06:00.001-04:00

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving, Canadian style. I’m grateful for so much, like a great chiropractor, the opportunity to write, and a talent for learning languages—first Spanish, and now French. The study of the latter is an effort to replace, or at least abate, my fear of perhaps not playing hockey again.

Below is an excerpt of my first assignment "en la cours de français," my first foray into introducing myself to francophones.

Salut, mes amis. Je m’appelle Jim, mais ma famille et mes amis de hockey m’appellent Jimmy. Tout le monde pense que je suis Canadien. Je viens de Colorado—ou trois de mes quatre frères et mon papa habitent—mais je habite avec ma femme à Maynard. Je étudie le français parce que deux de mes amis de hockey parlent français, j’aime bien la musique de Céline Dion, y parce que ma femme et moi voyageons souvent a Canada. Nous adorons la Ville de Québec. Nous ne somme pas fans de l’équipe de hockey de Montréal, mais j’aime bien Patrice Bergeron, qui vient de Québec et qui joue pour les Bruins de Boston. Nous aimons les Bruins et le entraîneur, Claude Julien.

J’adore aussi lire les livres de Jacques Falla, Frank Delaney et George Plimpton; écouter et chanter la musique de les artistes canadiens comment Great Big Sea, Bryan Adams, y Les Ténors Canadiens; manger les beignes les démanche; et écrire de tout ces expériences.

Un de ces jours j’aimerais publier mon mémoire, Gloire AMHL: Une Passion pour le Hockey du Matin (et Beignes); écrire autres livres, et voyager à Nouveau Zélande—bien que ils ne pas parlent français allé.

AMHL Championship Week: A Week for the Ages, Part II

2010-09-18T17:17:00.001-04:00

(Cont’d from Part I)

Thursday August 19
Concord, MA

Twelve-year veteran Mike DeLeo, who won a Koffee Cup on Tuesday, and rookie Tyler Boudreau, who savored championship victory yesterday with DeLeo, are teammates again. They and the Panthers lead the underdog Capitals, 2–1, after one period.

Boudreau has been watching baby boomers like DeLeo bang into one another—as much as the non-check rules will allow—and crash the crease.

One wonders if the forty-somethings can maintain this rough-and-tumble pace as young guns like rookie Panthers Luke Marchand, who has scored both goals, and Peter Bagley Jr. make names for themselves.

“All even!” Bagley’s dad, referee Peter Bagley Sr. alerts the teams, now engaged in second period action, as DeLeo departs the sin bin.

Bagley Sr. watches his son set up DeLeo, who will be credited on the goal that stakes the Panthers to 3–1 lead. The old-timers then watch Junior skate up ice, over the Capitals’ blueline, execute a stellar outside-inside move on the d-man, and then shoot from the high slot. Clang! Off the crossbar.

With a two-goal cushion and Boudreau on top of his game, DeLeo is confident he will again hold high that cherished chalice, the Koffee Cup. Between periods, he’s easily distracted by this reporter’s retro-metro Lord and Taylor shirt, its slanted black and white stripes prompting Disco DeLeo to deliver his best Tony Malero (John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever) move and then to ask, “Where’s the disco ball?”

“It is old home week,” the AMHL photographer says for the second time, as injured Av and eight-year veteran Brent Delehey walks (no limp, so the MCL is on the mend) along the corridor connecting Rink Two and Rink One to join the photographer, this reporter, and injured Capital Dean Banfield.

Banfield, the silver-haired cincquegenarian, is sporting a black knee brace and can only watch, as his Caps try to conquer le tour de force Boudreau.

“Seven minutes to go,” Banfield says. “Do or die time. Make this exciting.”

From the near boards, Panther forward, the dexterous and never-say-die Ben Budds, zings a pass toward teammate Rob “Mobile” Mirak, who is, ironically, parked near the far post. Boudreau flicks his stick to break up the pass, though.

DeLeo is not just stayin’ alive, he’s thrivin’. He adds another goal (assisted by the venerable and diligent David Hale), and he finds himself once again posing for a picture with the Koffee Cup, with old-timers and the young buck, Boudreau.

DeLeo’s season concludes with three championship victories, and Boudreau will, mayhap, complete the trifecta tomorrow.

Friday August 20
Concord, MA

Twenty-four-year old rookie goalie Tyler Boudreau wears #51, which is the approximate age of his counterpart, the prodigious Kate Fallon. In the second period, she and her Stars are embroiled in a scoreless tie with Boudreau’s Kings.

Like Fallon, fifty-year old King forward Gene “Don’t Call Me George” Costanza is keeping up with the youngsters. Costanza picks Jonathan Corke’s—in his mid-twenties—pocket along the boards. But Costanza cannot deposit the puck past Boudreau.

Fallon appears unfazed, matching the much younger Boudreau save for save. Perhaps not as spry as Boudreau, Fallon has been relying upon steadfast positioning to thwart the Kings, like Brian Barringer. Number 11 shoots from the low shot, and the puck flutters toward Fallon, who is once again in prime real estate to trap the puck like it’s a broken butterfly.

With less than thirty seconds in the second period, King forward Tim Smith controls a pass at the Stars’ blueline and skates in alone on Fallon. He fakes a shot from the slot, freezing Fallon, skirts around the fifty-something and then slides the puck over the unprotected goal line.

Five minutes into the third period, Smith stations himself in the crease, sniffing for rebounds. He pokes home a loose puck, and the Kings lead 2–0.

Boudreau seems like an impenetrable fortress, but Big Green refuses to cease the assault. On the power play, with 1:30 on the clock and Fallon on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, Marshall McLean—the Stars’ go-to guy all season—blasts a shot from the face-off circle. Boudreau blocks the shot with his waffle, once again stymieing the Stars.

After the buzzer signaling the shut-out, King Boudreau taps his stick twice upon the pipe to his right and then skates toward his minions to celebrate his third championship victory this week.

“That goalie is insane,” Corke says as he shakes his head and trudges toward the losers’ locker room.

Boudreau, if nothing else, has been a royal pain in the posterior.

But will the baby-faced substitute—and junior studs like Bagley and Marchand—become regulars and prove as durable and dependable as the senior set—the DeLeos, Barroses, Hales, and Fallons?

AMHL Championship Week: A Week for the Ages, Part I

2010-08-29T15:46:00.002-04:00

Before the fall season is in full swing, let’s reminisce about mid-August, when AMHLers, ages 18ish to 60ish—from the teen scene to the AARP crowd—proved that, in the words of an NHL initiative, hockey is for everyone.

Tuesday, August 16
Concord, MA
Flyers vs. Blues

“C’mon, Brian,” Flyer defenseman Mike DeLeo yells encouragement to his goalie, Brian Monahan. The Flyers and Blues, tied at six late in the third period, prepare for a face-off in the Flyers’ zone.

Monahan, who surrendered six goals in the first two periods, has been standing tall this period. His son, AMHL rookie and fellow Flyer Daniel, watches as his dad, who has been in the league since its inception in 1998, dig his blades into the crease and then step forward to greet another AMHL regular. The fabled “Peterborough Pete” Kokas is unguarded and poised to shoot from the slot. Kokas, perhaps focused on the five-hole, fires—and watches Monahan, a classic stand-up goalie, snare the puck, wedged between his leg pads.

“Woo!” the ever-ebullient DeLeo exclaims.

Less than a minute later, Tuesday rookie Marc Vallee—who toiled in la ligue mercredi for twos season before he was called-up—skates with the puck, deep into Blues’ territory. In the face-off circle to Cook’s right, Vallee launches a rocket; the puck rises toward the top corner, over Cook’s glove, and then bulges the twine. Six au cinq, les Flyers.

During an AMHL-TV timeout, Monahan mimics the monolithic Montreal Canadien, Ken Dryden. Unlike Dryden, whose goalie stick was perpendicular to the ice as leaned on its handle, Monahan’s stick juts out at a forty-five degree angle, in perpetual poke-check position.

As Dryden perhaps gleaned material to include in his book, Monahan may be pondering his next save. Or maybe he’s reflecting on this season spent playing hockey with his Daniel.

The father will share, by e-mail, his thoughts about his son’s first AMHL campaign. “I think he gets the game, likes the action and was never big on hitting so (the AMHL is) a perfect place for him. Frankly sometimes his passes were what I admired the most and I was glad to see his points are lots of assists. Plus I think he has a nice shot. The guys on this team were just great with him which I appreciated too. Maybe the highlight was his two goals against Dana (Salvo) and crew including I think a tip-in either in the last minute or OT – I don’t recall.”

The Flyers don’t need OT to defeat the Blues, as Monahan’s goaltending stands up (and another goal from Vallee doesn’t hurt).

The Monahans mingle with the Koffee Cup and then skate toward the locker room.

Before Mike DeLeo follows them into the room where the revelry will continue, he says of his goalie’s performance, “two weeks in a row, he’s been standing on his head.”

Wednesday August 17
Concord, MA
Rangers vs. Sabres

Late in the first period, Mike DeLeo, now wearing his Ranger whites, works the d.-to-d. passing with Mike Gardner. The two longtime AMHLers help advance the puck up-ice to their forwards. The Rangers have dominated the Sabres thus far and lead, late in the first period, 3–0.

The crowd, all three youngsters (if two’s company, three’s a crowd, eh?) are fidgety, not for fear that their dad (Ranger forward “Grinder Greg” Longtine) and the Rangers will squander the lead, but because they’re, well, wee ones hopped-up on the donuts they scored from the donut room.

Baby-faced Ranger goalie Tyler Boudreau (pictured above), the only apparent twenty-something on the ice, has stopped every shot so far. Subbing for Bobby Kilkenny, Boudreau watches the second period action: The Rangers, led by fervent forechecker Warren Brown and bolstered by DeLeo and Gardner’s steady backline presence, continue to control the puck.

But Boudreau is called upon when the defense falters, when Sabre forward Paul Anastas robs the puck from DeLeo along the back boards. Anastas skates behind the net and then attempts a stick-side wrap-around. Boudreau is quick as a chipmunk, though, and stymies the sneaky Anastas.

In the third period, the Rangers ahead 5–0, a shutout is all but a forgone conclusion—until Anastas finally beats Boudreau, who seemed to have been screened on the shot.

The Ranger rookie allows just the one goal en route to his first Koffee Cup, and DeLeo earns his second title—this week.

Stay tuned for Part II

Hockey and Hernias, Part II: Clarification and Recommendations

2010-07-25T12:25:00.000-04:00

(Continued from Part I)

“Groin injuries are like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re gonna get.”
-Forrest Ghimp ("h" is for hockey and hernia)

Many a hockey player—whether you’re a professional like Andrew Ference or an amateur like me—has done the hockey hobble. Most of us are familiar with groin injuries, incurred or witnessed, but far fewer are unfamiliar with or confused by terms such as sports hernia, athletic pubalgia, and Gilmore’s Groin. These conditions are discussed on the Web, but the data can be overwhelming, and in some cases conflicting, so my purpose here is to condense and categorize, to sift and to simplify. Coupling what I’ve learned from my experience with this kind of injury with the comprehensive Internet research, I hope to help those who are hindered by groin injuries.

Let’s start, then, with the general terms and drill down to the more specific:

Groin: For purposes of these posts, I’ll distinguish between lower groin (below the crease formed by the leg and abdomen; the femoral region) and upper groin (region between the abdomen and the aforementioned crease; the inguinal region). I can’t speak to lower groin injuries as my injuries were upper groin problems—except to say that abdominal muscles and corresponding nerves are connected to the lower span the two regions.

Hernia: This condition is most often caused by a weakening in the wall of a muscle. Hernias are more common in men than in women, can occur at a variety of locations, and vary in origin and cause.

Inguinal hernia: The abdominal wall was weak at birth (a.k.a. congenital hernia) or weakened later on in life (a.k.a. hernia), the latter sometimes a result of repeated pressure in sports like hockey and soccer. Two types of inguinal hernias are the direct and indirect.

Indirect hernia (a.k.a. congenital hernia, true hernia): This is the most common hernia, where the protrusion or bulge of intestines has breached the abdominal wall.

Direct hernia (a.k.a. acquired hernia): This one can often go undetected by MRIs and/or x-rays and thus is more difficult to diagnose. The fascial tissue (more on that in a future post) of the inguinal floor and/or abdominal wall is weakened. The destabilized abdominal wall may not break, however, and thus not become an indirect hernia.

The definitions above are widely accepted in the medical community, but terms such as sports hernia, Gilmore’s groin, slapshot gut, and athletic pubalgia are sometimes used interchangeably even though some believe sports hernia and athletic pubalgia, for example, are different injuries.

Despite the disagreement on definitions, the doctors who diagnose and treat these injuries have come to the same conclusion: Time does not tend to heal hernias; in most, if not all, cases no amount of rest, ice, heat, elevation or Ibuprofen will fix these conditions. Surgery is often the only solution.

The remaining question, then, is which procedure to perform. Here again, as with the symptoms and diagnoses, surgeons don’t agree on a standard procedure. A common consideration is whether or not to use mesh: Is laparoscopic (a minimally invasive procedure) surgery the solution or is a deeper trip down the inguinal canal required? And when does removing mesh make sense?

As I suggested in the disclaimer, I don’t have all the answers and can only focus on my own experience. The most important thing, for me, was to find a doctor that would understand the complexities of the diagnosis and treatment. Thus, I needed someone familiar with my symptoms and who has treated other adult hockey players.

Although my doctors, Brian Busconi and Demetrius Litwin were right for me for a variety of reasons—they both have played hockey, are well-regarded in treating groin injuries (yet perform different procedures), and they collaborated before deciding which surgery was best for me—they may not be right for you. If you’re not in New England, for example, you might want to consider other doctors. With than in mind, I suggest you at least consider the following professionals:

California
Dr. William Brown: I’ve never contacted his office, but Dr. Brown’s client list includes the San Jose Sharks.

Georgia
Dr. Jeffrey Hoadley: I’ve never contacted his office, but Dr. Brown’s client list includes the Atlanta Thrashers.

Massachusetts
Dr. Brian Busconi and Dr. Demetrius Litwin: Busconi is a pioneer in this field, and his initial studies more than ten years ago were met with incredulity and criticism from those who are now believers. Litwin, who hails from Saskatchewan, sports an impressive resume and has a terrific bedside manner. That the two collaborate should quell any qualms about inflated egos.

Dr. Scott Martin: Direct and decisive, he recommended my arthrogram, a procedure that fixed the first injury. He’s also a consultant to the NHL.

Dr. John Stevenson: He’s not a surgeon, but his specialty is his unique commitment to spending as much time as necessary finding the right surgeon, as he did for me.

Dr. David Berger: I’ve never talked to him, but he has treated NHL players such as Penguin defenseman Brooks Orpik and Bruin defenseman Andrew Ference

Pennsylvania
Dr. William Meyers: I’ve never spoken to anyone in his office, but Dr. Meyers, who works on Hahnemann University Hospital staff, has treated professionals and amateurs in many sports. Philadelphia magazine also listed him as one of the region’s Top Doctors.

Germany
Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck: I’ve never contacted her office, but she founded the Munich Hernia Center and gets rave reviews from professional and amateur athletes.

Helpful links: A short list of sites I’ve visited

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/1015/p1405.html
http://www.sportsmd.com/SportsMD_Articles/id/287.aspx
http://sportsherniablog.blogspot.com/2008/03/sports-hernia-surgeons.html
http://www.sportshernia.com/sports-hernia-approach/sports-hernia-options.php
http://www.thegroinpaincenter.blogspot.com/
http://sports-hernia.net/
http://www.lloydrelease.com/

Stay tuned for my findings on stretching and nutrition as a means for injury prevention.

Hockey Hernias, Part I: Disquietude and the Disclaimer

2010-07-17T11:50:00.001-04:00

The purpose for this post is to help hockey players (and other athletes, as well as those who live with them) who are enduring or susceptible to incurring a common, yet confusing condition: the hernia.

The first in a series, which will include topics such as treatments, nutrition, and prevention, this piece is related strictly to the symptoms and diagnosis.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and in no way suggest that you should take any of the information below as the truth for your situation. I can only relay what I’ve learned from my own experience:

In September 2008, during an AMHL game, I was skating backwards. I didn’t step on a puck or stick, and I don’t recall over-extending my left leg—when piercing pain in my left groin felled me. I couldn’t rise or skate toward the locker room on my own power, but half an hour later I could walk out of the arena, hefting my hockey bag on my shoulder. Within three or four days, blood had drained down the length of my inner thigh, all the way to my knee. The picture reminded me of a map of Argentina. I was able to ride the stationary bike (not a wise move) without much discomfort, but I quit doing that when my primary care physician told me that I had torn a groin muscle and then recommended rest followed by physical therapy.
Six weeks later, I was back on the ice, only for a few laps of light skating. No pain—at least when I was on the ice. But three days later, the pain returned for no apparent reason.

So, two rounds of PT, an MRI, a pick-up game, seven doctors, one arthrogram, one doozy of a sneeze, and one surgery later, here I am.

I believe I incurred two injuries, which is not unique for those of whose who repeatedly and forcefully stride, to the groin: The first was what one orthopedic specialist termed, after analyzing the MRI, a grade one tear that also likely entailed a minor stress facture as muscle pulled muscle away from the pubic bone. This type of injury, he said, only needed time to heal. But I still had inexplicable onset (delayed) pain, so another orthopedic specialist recommended an x-ray arthrogram, which revelead no major damage, and cortisone, which alleviated the first injury but not the second. The more formidable irritant, what Doctor Number Six (with an assist from Doctor Number Seven) would diagnose as something akin to a direct hernia, required surgery to repair what the he would say was “a very large hole” in the inguinal floor (more on that later).

I’m immersed in physical therapy and hopefully on my way to returning to playing hockey. I’m behind schedule yet realize not every patient is on the same recovery timeline. So that gets me back to the crux of the disclaimer: The information below is culled from what I’ve learned in conversations with doctors, comprehensive Internet research, and the day-to-day disquietude of recovery.

If you’re a hockey player or enthusiast, you’re likely familiar with general terms such as groin and hernia. Perhaps, however, you (like me, when I first sought diagnosis and subsequent treatment) are confused by words like athletic pubalgia, inguinal canal, and sports hernia. The information on the Internet can be overwhelming, and in some cases conflicting. Feel free to research these terms on your own, or wait until the next segment, where I’ll post my research results.

On the Shelf, Part X: “Ice Ice Baby”

2010-06-28T06:27:00.001-04:00

June 27, 2010

“If there’s a problem, yo, I’ll solve it.”
-Vanilla Ice

All the well-intentioned vanilla platitudes from friends and family haven’t cleared the air of despair choking the hope that I’ll play hockey again. More problematic than my doubt and lack of gratitude is my greatest fear: That I’ll lose my purpose in life.

I know that the hockey gods/The Force/The Great Pumpkin/Whatever You Want to Call Him, Her, It or Them, want me to enjoy life while I serve others as best I can, but I haven’t felt that way for much of the last eight weeks—since the surgery to repair what the surgeon called “a very large hole” in my groin.

So far, I’m two weeks behind the twelve-week recovery/physical therapy plan, and sometimes I feel like I’m losing ground. I guess I’m a slow learner and a slow healer. I’ve also allowed my unpredictable physical state to permeate my soul. And I’ve been feeling bad that I feel bad because I’m well aware that others endure catastrophes with more grace than I’ve exhibited during this temporary setback.

But the hockey gods work in mysterious and musical ways for me: I’m laying down, back on the purple couch in my Zen room, listening to a CD my wife mixed for me. The Force nudges my spirit awake as I listen to “Live Now” (Paul Brandt). My fingers then dance along to “Suerte” (Jason Mraz with Ximena Sariñana), and then, to “Good Vibrations” (Glee Cast Version). I think of all the people who are pulling for me: my wife, my hockey pals, and friends outside hockey circles. The Great Presence is transforming my knowledge into a more solid belief.

As the Glee cast sings Mr. Ice’s classic, I picture my little brother during his recent visit to Boston: He’s in the back seat of the car and rapping to the same song I’m listening to now. He surprises my wife and me with his knowledge of the lyrics, softly hip-hopping along—and then pumping up the volume, “Beachfront Avenue!”

Five hours later, I’ve listened to "Ice Ice Baby" again. I’ve decided to keep putting one front in front of the other. I’ll continue to ice ice after physical therapy and, as my brother told me not long after his 80s flashback: Forget faith and hope and expectation for a moment and just accept where I am now.

Word to my brother (and all of my supporters): Thanks. I love you.

One Month: An Ocean of Emotion

2010-04-18T08:37:00.004-04:00

“Let it go, let it go, this is smaller than you know…”

“Let it Go” – Great Big Sea, (Something Beautiful)

On March 18, as the Boston Bruins were about to lose to Matt Cooke and the Pittsburgh Penguins, anger’s undertow threatened to drag me down into the dark water of discontent. My frustration wasn’t with the players but rather with the fans who jeered—“the Bronx Cheer” at Tuukka Rask, after he made a routine save.

A friend told me to take the fans’ reaction with a grain of salt. They’re just frustrated, he wrote in an e-mail.

His comment made sense, but as the Bruins play improved after that 0–3 loss, waves of frustration crashed over me; some fans persisted in booing Dennis Wideman, seemingly every time the defenseman touched the puck.

Deep breaths, walk away from the radio and the commentary, I would tell myself. Just a game.

But this resentment has been like a red tide, ebbing and flowing, often sneaking up on me. Letting go, only to be surprised by its toxic return.

Why has the negativity bothered me? Booing strikes me as lazy. Uncreative. Unproductive.

A few weeks later, NESN commentator “Mad Mike” Milbury called out fans who continued to boo Wideman, saying “…It’s not working…the effort is there….” I sat in front of my TV and applauded, thus alerting my still-seething anger that its free-loading pal, pride, had surfaced.

Then, on April 10, Peter Chiarelli, his comments published in the Boston Globe, expressed the same disdain and disappointment in the booing, the singling-out of one player. And my faux friends surfaced once again, attempting to sink my spirit.

Shipwrecked, I asked myself again: Why is this bothering me?

What has nagged at me more than the jeering and booing has been my reaction to the negativity; I’ve been mad at myself for being mad at the angry people.

This absurdity prompted me to reach for my hockey bible: The Complete Hockey Player, by Dr. Saul Miller, and I was buoyed by these words on pages 28–29:

“The neck and shoulders are an area where most athletes tense when they experience fear…check your body for tension from time to time. If you notice it the neck, shoulders or hands, remember to release and breathe. Always release and breathe.”

As I inhaled and then exhaled, I could feel the tension drain from my deltoids.

Later that day—three short-handed goals and an empty-netter (against the Carolina Hurricanes) later—I was ecstatic that the Black-and-Gold clinched a playoff birth.

Now, almost a month after that loss to the Penguins, I find myself revisiting Dr. Miller’s book more regularly, to rediscover lessons I’ve learned but sometimes forget. For example, the good doctor references (pages 17–18) an NHL All-Star who says that praying for the people that trigger his anger prompts improved performance.

“You’ve got to find a way to focus on the positive,” the All-star says, “Prayer made the difference for me.”

Amen, brother. Letting go, a great big relief.

AMHL Friday: Mike "The Gambler" Tavis

2010-04-05T06:59:00.004-04:00

March 26, 2010
Concord, MA

“…It’s not necessarily about success for me. It’s not about being the biggest star in the world…” –Kenny Rogers

On a cold spring morning, I meet up with Mike “the Gambler” Tavis, who has just decided to forego his familiar duties as a skating-out Star in favor of a first-time foray between the pipes.

Neither of the regular goalies—P.J. “King of Clubs” Mann and Kate “Queen of Hearts” Fallon—can play this morning, so Tavis straps on the pads in a locker room fronting Rink Two, as the Stars and Whalers start the game.

“It’d be nice to have a chance to warm up, though,” Tavis says, and wonders if he’s correctly attaching himself to the black Bauer leg pads. “I didn’t put these on backwards, did I?”

Tavis has dressed his son, netminder Nick, so many times, but now Mike needs help from this reporter and Paul “Jack of Diamonds” Anastas, who has scrambled to find pads, glove, blocker, and mask for the newbie netminder.

Cue “Pipe Dreams” (the yet-to-be mixed Kenny Rogers version of the Yaku Boyz classic) as possibly the first-ever goalie to wear #14 steps on the ice, his Stars trailing, 0–1.

Tavis stands (note to Nick: Dad’s legs are a bit too far apart) in the crease, poker face masking his fear, and sticks aside the first shot.

The Stars have difficulty mounting an attack, so Tavis must play with the hand he’s been dealt. Whaler forward Marc “Le Sept de Pique” Vallee zips across the blueline and to the circle to Tavis’s left. Valle flings a zinger past the would-be puckstopper.

But the Gambler shows no sign of anger.

He makes a pair of stick saves and then watches his team advance the puck. When the Stars score on Mitch “Through the Years” Weiss, Tavis slaps the white-taped blade of his borrowed Koho against the ice.

Vallee attacks again, skating down his right wing. A left-handed shooter, he has a good angle—and a clear shooting lane—and snaps a shot high glove-side. Tavis snares the black disk like it’s the last poker chip.

You never count your money...’til the dealin’s done.

Still in the first period, the Whalers are all over the Stars. Ding, the puck pings of the pipe to Tavis’s right. The referees, however, rule that the puck crossed the goal line.

“No way!” yells this reporter. “That hit the post.”

But Tavis just shrugs his shoulders, knowing that bemoaning the blown call is a waste of energy.

You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em. And Tavis is no quitter.

In the second period, the Stars trail 2–3. Anastas beats Weiss with a wrist shot, but then the Stars fade, on a train bound for nowhere.

When all the dealing is done, it is time for counting: Stars, 4; Whalers, 9.

Yet Mike Tavis is a winner, or at least the Gambler, he breaks even. Plus, he has a couple aces in the hole: a greater appreciation for his own goalies and knowing that he’ll be even a better coach for his son.

Tooth Fairy: Can You Handle the Tooth?

2010-03-21T16:05:00.003-04:00

Derek Thompson’s (a.k.a. Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson) hockey career is all but flushed down the toilet—until the magic Tooth Fairy Nation transforms the tyrannical and hulking hockey player into Jordyn Tutu (no offense to the NHL’s Jordin Tootoo).

I’m well aware that this flick will flounder in theaters as critics tend to categorize Tooth Fairy as another hokie hockey movie.

Granted, it’s no Miracle or Mystery Alaska, but the six-year-old girl in me enjoyed it for what it is: a fanciful and fluffy retreat from dramatic films (and all the Bruins-bashing in the media). Full of predictable puns and a requisite happy ending, Tooth Fairy offers more than a much-maligned athlete wrestling with the notion of wearing wings and waving a wand.

Mr. Tutu’s struggle to redeem himself is intertwined with sweet-tooth subplots: an adolescent and aspiring rock star, Randy (Chase Ellison) and a wingless wingman and wannabe wand-waver, Tracy, (Stephen Merchant) confront their fears.

Sprinkle into the cinematic mix a pinch of black market magic from Ziggy (Seth McFarlane) and comic relief from Team Tooth Fairy Equipment Manager Jerry (Billy Crystal), and the obvious impossibilities (the skateboarding scene, for example) are easily excused.

And if more star power is what you want, then Ashley Judd (Derek’s girlfriend Carly) and Julie Andrews (Chief Fairy Officer) provide, if not exactly Oscar-esque performances, then ample assurance that Tooth Fairy can’t be as bad as the rotten ratings suggest.

Oh, and the venue in which you take in Tooth Fairy is paramount; my wife and I watched a matinee showing in the West Boylston Cinema, where admission didn’t cost us a few wisdom teeth (tooth be told: $3.50 per person). And I must admit that the hokiness was heightened by gaggles of giggling girls dispersed throughout the theater.

Yes, I can handle the tooth.

Doozies, Don’ts, and Donuts

2010-02-28T15:18:00.001-05:00

The 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver—and Canada itself—have owned the international spotlight, so I’ve been spying on our northerly neighbor and posting my observations—from Eh to Zed—about this Olympiad at Canadianspy.blogspot.com.

Back here in Boston, I haven’t lost sight of our Bruins. While many citizens of Bruins Nation were clamoring for Ilya Kovalchuk, I anointed myself to special advisor status and posted my plea for patience—don’t sell the farm—at Hockeybarn.com.

From the Olympics and the NHL to the AMHL …A stick salute to Mike “the Eagle” Chase. February 9th marked the one-year anniversary of our AMHL friend’s death. Mikey has surely graduated from our dimly-lit arena to the bright lights of heaven, where you can play hockey whenever you want and nobody nabs the last Boston Kreme.

Happy 60th birthday to Dunkin’ Donuts. To celebrate the accomplishment, Dunkin’ Donuts has resurrected its Donut Contest. Last year’s winning entry, “Coffee for Your Toffee”, will be succeeded by…well, maybe this is the year for the Sour Cream Sunrise. Rather thin pin my hopes to one donut entry, I’m diversifying my donut portfolio and will soon divulge the names of the half dozen doozies I’m developing. Deadline for throwing my donuts into the ring is March 8th, so stay tuned for details.

For those of you who’ve followed the Humpty Dumpty (Sports) Hernia saga, I have an update: Sports hernias don’t appear on MRIs. This I learned from Dr. Brian Busconi, a former Harvard hockey player and a pioneer in diagnosing and treating what he referred to as injuries more commonly found in “mature athletes” like me. Surgery (not yet sure if it will be a deep dive or laparoscopy) is in my near future, but I hope to return to AMHL ice this summer.

Meanwhile, our little donut league is going strong. “Mighty Mike” Edwards has returned from knee surgery, and his Leafs are 6–2. On Wednesdays, Port Huron’s pride and joy, Mike Seeley—who was last seen pushing pedals in Portugal—has returned to the AMHL; the nimble defenseman took a turn in nets and earned a shutout (or so it was recorded at AMHL.com, but Seeley says by e-mail, “Someone thumbed a key when entering stats...I ain't never been between da pipes.”

Not ready for nets to not ready for the AMHL…These bears are probably not ready for the AMHL, but you don’t want to miss this grizzly spectacle.

And now back to the Olympics… I tossed my first few stones. That’s right, I curled for the first time. It was online, of course, (Bostonians who want the real deal: Visit Broomstones.com) but I still got to use a broom. I started off strong, but in the end (I only played one), I lost 0–3.

Finally, I know some readers are wondering who I’m rooting for in today’s gold medal hockey game. I can’t tell you because I don’t know. Not yet. More on that later.

Donuts on the Dashboard, Part II

2010-01-24T20:31:00.005-05:00

The Golden Globes last weekend, and the SAG awards last night. What a boon, a cradle in which to carry the second installment of this short film.

(Cont’d from Part I)

Scene III, Act II: The Beach

The Photographer carried the Plain donut I suggested, and the Coconut she had selected, toward the Atlantic Ocean. She then scouted a place upon which the sweet spherical objects of our affection would perform their well-rehearsed roles.

My job on this low budget set was security, so I scanned the unencumbered skies for seagulls. The proverbial coast was clear as the Photographer positioned the donuts in the sand. But then a herring gull, its gray and white wings extended upon the sea breeze, swooped onto the scene.

Donuts in peril.

The villain, lowering its menacing landing gear, approached the restricted zone. I flailed my arms to deter the donut-seeking seabird. The solo stalker veered away. (Like Boston Bruin Timmy Thomas’s puck-stopping performances, my security tactics are unorthodox, but effective.)

Other gulls, however, were now aware of the battle for breakfast. I remained committed to the cause, though. Sidestepping to my right, and then to my left—waving my arms all the while—I denied the airborne attackers. They were no match for this defenseman; the disillusioned donut hunters dispersed, resigned to cull the shore for favorable flotsam.

The Photographer, who was able to focus on the job at hand, completed her duties. She then picked up the dirty donuts (their surfaces sullied for art’s sake) and followed me to the car.

Flash forward to the present: The leading donuts are on the dashboard, and my wife has regained her breath.

“It was kind of Hitchcocky out there,” she says.

Yet it’s no mystery that the donuts on the dashboard, which gave such sweet and glorious performances, no longer serve a purpose. They will die a less-than-glamorous death upon arriving home.

But they will not be forgotten. Nay.

Hockey (and donut) gods willing, you’ll see them again on next year’s awards shows (hello, David E. Kelly?). Okay maybe not there. More likely, you’ll see them on a prize puck or in next year’s donut calendar, both of which the Photographer produces.

Donuts on the Dashboard, Part I

2010-01-18T20:29:00.007-05:00

January 17, 2010

While Hollywood gathers for the Golden Globes , I’m writing a short film based upon a true story. I call it, for now, Donuts on the Dashboard.

The final scene: Orleans, MA. Saturday January 16, 2010
9:00 a.m. Cape Cod. Powder blue sky. A cold salt breeze prompts me to hunch my shoulders as I stride toward the car.

The AMHL Photographer (a.k.a. my wife) then strolls back from the beach to join me. She pulls open the driver’s door of charcoal gray Ford Escape and then, as she sits down, places on the dashboard two of the largest, most textured donuts I’ve ever seen. She catches her breath…

Backstory: Earlier in the week, the Photographer suggested that we drive to the Cape to mix business (taking pictures of donuts) and pleasure (eating them). We hadn’t been to the Cape since October, so we agreed upon the first scene..

Scene I: Hole in One Restaurant, Orleans
We sat at a corner table next to the north-facing window. Each enjoying a cup of Bavarian Strudel coffee, we daydreamed about donuts and waited for the breakfast we had ordered.

The waitress set my meal before me.

“Those are the fluffiest egg whites I’ve ever seen,” the Photographer said but didn’t take a picture of them.

I had ordered a healthy meal (sans le fromage and with turkey bacon) because I knew I wouldn’t able to resist the, well, pièce de résistance, the après petit déjeuner. Les donuts. (Movie marketers love it when you flick in a little French because it stimulates an international buzz).

Scene II: Drive to the Set
The donuts were not for eating. Not yet. They would first be photo fodder. A dozen of Cape Cod’s best, boxed and beside me, might have been wondering which was the prettiest, the most photogenic. Or which two treats would be selected as the special guest star donuts that might be nominated for Golden Globes next year?

Scene III, Act I: The Beach
The Photographer lifted open the white box to reveal the awesome assortment of actors (playing themselves): the crunchy, yet distinguished Coconut; the handsome Plain; the kooky but delightful Toasted Coconut; the divine Sour Cream twins; the wistful Lemon-filled; the old school Chocolate Frosted; three glamorous Glazed; the secular and succulent Chocolate Glazed; and the new kid in town, Honey Wheat.

“The Plain, the Plain,” I said, because its rugged golden brown features would offer the most promising complement to the backdrop: the ice-crusted harbor surrendering to the sandy beach.

Stay tuned for Part II

Tuesday Championship: The Green Machine

2010-01-01T11:34:00.006-05:00

December 22, 2009
Concord, MA

We join this game in progress, early in the third period. The Penguins—skating left to right across your AMHL audio—are clinging to a 2–1 lead over the Leafs when the Penguins score a surprise goal off a face-off.

“Who got that one?” this reporter (who was glancing at his notes instead of watching the action) asks referee Peter Bagley.

“The green kid,” Bags replies.

Ryan O’Connor is a scoring machine. The fleet-footed twenty-seven-year-old lad is proficient with the puck but is perhaps better known for his garish green hockey garb.

Bagley will later provide, via email, details. “Ryan O’Connor or “The Green Machine” as the officials refer to him, is one of the league’s best players. Ryan is always a gentleman taking face-offs, skates up and down the ice each and every shift and wears the most hideous combination of colors in the league. I have asked him to buy new gear and in 2009 he did buy some new gloves, BLACK to replace the green and yellow ones from 1994.”

O’Connor, who will say that Bagley gives him guff at every face-off, lists his hometown as Westwood, MA. He recalls his early introduction to hockey, well before he acquired his now famous hockey digs. “I was first on skates at three years old. My father played in high school and college, so he got me on skates when I was young.”

Ryan’s youth hockey coaches recognized the talent that would two decades later become obvious to AMHL fans. O’Connor says, “When I was real young I played defense, but I was one of the smaller and quicker players.”

So O’Connor converted to forward.

Fast forward a dozen or so years later—to the late-90s—when Ryan played for the Westwood (MA) Wolverines. “Oakey,” as his teammates called him, looked good in green but not good enough to earn the attention of college scouts. So O’Connor didn’t pursue a college hockey career.

“Didn’t even consider it,” Ryan says. “I wasn’t the best player in high school.”

He played pickup hockey at Fairfield University (CT) but then hockey’s allure diminished. The years slipped away as a career in high tech ranked higher than hockey. In 2002, he just stopped playing— until six years later O’Connor realized what he was missing.

He wanted back in the game.

Ryan contacted AMHL legend Dana Salvo, who worked with O’Connor’s sister, and then joined the AMHL in the summer of 2008.

Now, eighteen months (and five AMHL seasons later), Oakey has accrued seventy-three goals, including the one he has just scored against the Leafs and which he will recount for AMHL fans (and the snoozing scribe)

“(My) initial strategy was to bring the puck back to my right defenseman.” But when Leaf Mike “MMMBop” Hansen’s composite stick broke on impact with the ice and O’Connor’s stick, Ryan instead collected the loose puck and then danced around the stunned Hansen. And quicker than you can say “there goes $70 down the drain,” O’Connor then flicked the puck past Mike Edwards.

But less than two minutes later, the Penguins are caught flat-footed when Leaf forward Brendan Doyle malingers to the right of goalie Claude Corbeil. Doyle deposits a rebound past the netminder.

3–2 Penguins.

With less than ten minutes remaining, Leaf forward Rob Mirak crashes the net. He says yes to a backhand shot, but Claude says non. A follow-up attempt—non encore!

Corbeil's big-time saves are all the Penguins need, and O’Connor’s third period goal proves to be the game-winner.

After the game, O’Connor stuffs his old Kelly greens in his hockey bag.

Don’t expect the “Green Machine” to trade them in. O’Connor says, “I figure if I changed (them) nobody would recognize me anymore.”

AMHL Friday Firsts

2009-12-28T10:06:00.003-05:00

From the first Friday to the finale, I present a few fond memories of the first-ever AMHL Friday season:

First games
September 11, 2009: Stars 8, Hawks 6; Kings 7, Whalers 2

First hat trick(s)
September 11, 2009: Steve Nicolle (Kings) Jonathon Corke (Stars)

First goalie to record an assist
September 11, 2009: Chris Bade (Stars)

First time two sets of brothers and two sets of fathers/sons have played in the same division
Paul (Stars) and Gene (Kings) Costanza; Dev and Bill Barron (Hawks); Randy and Jonathon Corke (Stars); Kevin and Brendan Lyons (Whalers)

First time (to this reporter’s knowledge) anyone has ever worn Khakis instead of hockey pants
December 4, 2009: Mike Osofsky (Stars)

First time the “Forever .500s” (Kevin Paul Dupont’s sobriquet for the Hartford Whalers) had a .500 record
October 9, 2009: The AMHL Whale had lost the first three games but then won the next three.

First points leader (regular season)
Jonathon Corke (Stars): 25G + 17A= 42

First Playoff series and results (courtesy of the Friday Ticker)
December 11, 2009

Round 1 Playoff Results: The Barron Brothers were too much for the first place Stars, Dev’s 2-2 and Bill’s 2-1 play. Despite being spotted one goal to start the game and scoring in the first minute of play, the Stars couldn’t hold off the Hawks and lost 5–4. In Rink 2, Backed by solid goaltending by Mitch-the-Commish, the Whalers knocked off the Kings by the score of 6–3. Kevin Lyons had a pair of goals and Gene Costanza a pair for the Kings. Next up, Hawks and Whalers play for the Cup and the Stars and the Kings will battle for 3rd place.

First Championship
December 18, 2009

The Red Barrons (Bill and Dev) each scored a goal, and the Grecian Formula (Paul Anastas and Peter Kokas) combined for three goals to lead the Hawks to a 7–6 victory over the Whalers. John Arathuzik’s empty-netter proved to be the game-winner. Despite yielding six goals, Hawk goalie Bobby Kilkenny earned First Star of the Game honors. Kilkenny, who made a few routine saves look difficult and several difficult saves routine, won his first AMHL championship as a goalie.

Gratitude and Latitude

2009-11-25T21:06:00.004-05:00

Before the AMHL Photographer and I leave the Lower 48 to cross the 49th parallel (another mission), I recall the last dozen days or so and count my blessings.

1. The Dunkin’ Donuts in Weymouth, MA, where you can listen to a Buddy Holly song, make a call from a pay phone, and enjoy donuts baked on the premises.

2. John Van Boxmeer and Randy Pierce, Colorado Rockies—once and forever—who celebrated birthdays.

3. The Boston Bruins, who have won three straight (before tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild).

4. Patrice Bergeron: How does he know where the opponent is going to pass the puck just before the opponent does?

5. My local Shaw’s Supermarket, where they play great hockey songs like Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway”.

6. My iPod and Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”, which always brings me back to about 1984 because that song was played after the North Stars scored at the Met Center. Good times.

7. Kenny “Kiss Fan” Tarr, who let me score two goals on about forty shots .

8. Challenges, for they serve as the platform of spiritual growth .

9. The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont, whose work I follow (religiously) every Sunday morning.

10. Puck Daddy’s series of stories celebrating hockey’s greatness.

11. The leather Colorado Eagles jacket, which reminds me of Mike Chase, that my mom and dad gave me a few years ago.

12. Former (and hopefully future) AMHLer Mike Schneider and his commitment to November—I mean Movember.

The happiest of Thanksgivings to all--a bientot mes amis.

Meet the Muppets: Brought to You by the Letter B

2009-11-08T17:50:00.003-05:00

Hello hello, hockey fans. Jack “Guy Smiley” Edwards—New England’s favorite hockey host—here. How are ya? Great, good to have you here in the Sesame Street Studio for another segment of Meet the Muppets, er, Boston Bruins. We’ve got a half dozen of them for you. But first, here’s Rene Rancourt to sing the “Sesame Street Anthem”. Take it away, Rene.

“Sunny day, sweepin’ the clouds away...A-OK…where the air is sweet…can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?”

Merci Rene. Our guests are eager to get started, so away we go. Up first is Shawn “Cookie Monster” Thornton. You may all know him as the fist-flailing forward, but he likes to shoot that puck too, eh? Scoring goals is more fun than a box of chocolate chip cookies, right Shawnie?

Everyone wants to get their cookies, Guy.

Ok, folks. Next up is Marc “Elmo” Savard. He’s cute and cuddly and likes to pass the puck on the power play. Unfortunately, he has a broken foot, so we won’t see him on the ice for another month. He has been, well not his usual chipper self because his misses his teammate. How are you feeling today, Elmo?

Elmo needs a hug.

Good luck with that, Elmo. So, moving right along to Andrew “Kermit” Ference, who sometimes goes by Andrew “Inter” Ference. Hi ho, a little two-minute, sin-bin humor for you folks. But seriously, Andy is a dependable defenseman who rarely makes a bad pass and who loves to hop up into the play. Hey Andy, we also really appreciate how you love the environment.

Well, you know, it’s not easy being green.

Well said. Thank you, Andrew. Alright then, our next guest comes all the way from Transylvania, er, I mean Trencin, Slovakia. He is none other then Zdeno “Count” Chara. Nice goal last night against the Sabres. By the way, how tall are you?

One, two, three, four, five, six feet and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine inches tall. Ah. Ah. Chara!

Thanks a million, Count. Okay then, time to introduce our next guest, who is not happy to be here and has refused to answer any questions. Milan “the Grouch” Lucic. His right index finger is, uh, trashed, so he’s a little surly. But come to think of it, that’s the way he plays. We wouldn’t want him any other way now, would we?

So on to our last guest, Tim “Grover” Thomas. Mr. Vezina. Mr. Happy-go-lucky. Mr. Go-with-the flow. He’s all over the place—from near…or far—he stretches and slides, he flops with flair to pull pucks from the air. Save by Thomas! Oh, Super Grover!

Well, we’re just about out of time folks—and my limo is waiting for me—so thanks for joining me on this special anniversary show. Wow, forty years of Sesame Street. And I still look great! But boy oh boy, before we go, a special shout out to Big Bird, who was stuck on Broad Street and couldn’t join the audience. And special thanks to the fans who did make it and to our sponsors: Matt Hunwick and the letter B.

On the Shelf, Part IX: Living the Hockey Dream

2009-10-31T11:56:00.002-04:00

(Continued from Part VIII)

I haven’t retired (as one faithful reader has suggested), but this unyielding injury has kept me off the ice and on the shelf. So here’s another review of a hockey book (one of about five dozen on my bookshelf.)

The beguiling beauty in Brian Kennedy’s Living the Hockey Dream is the diversity of stories. Amidst the unique insights into the Gretzkys and Granatos and Hulls and Howes, Kennedy presents profiles of unheralded hockey people such as an animated arbiter, meandering minor leaguers, and a hoarder of hockey sweaters. Whether his subjects are male or female, professional or amateur, North American or European, Kennedy demonstrates a rare flair for encapsulating the abundant joys of hockey.

The Hockey Show(s)

2009-10-24T12:16:00.003-04:00

Thanks, the callers say to 98.5’s The Hockey Show hosts, for finally bringing hockey talk to Boston radio.

I’m glad that the Sports Hub has Dave “Left to Right Across Your Radio” Goucher and Bob “Blueliner” Beers—the B’s announcers since 2000—to dispense their vast and intimate knowledge to a wider audience. B’s fans deserve it.

But hockey talk on the radio is not new to Boston.

I miss the New England Hockey Journal Radio Show (NEHJRS) and hosts Mick “Doc5 Hole” Colageo and Kevin Paul “Hub of Hockey” Dupont. These lads lamented and lauded the local club on ESPN Boston 890, which recently signed off the airwaves. Mick and Dupes served as a lifeline to hardcore hockey fans not only here in the Hub but also to those listening, via the Internet, from far and wide.

I miss the other callers like "Michael from Brookline", “V”, and "Kevin from Melrose"; the great guests, Kirk Luedeke and “Cap” Raeder; and the trivia questions that Mick would concoct and that often had more than one correct answer (often one he hadn’t considered). Even the old school commercials—no frills, just Mick or Dupes reading the script—were entertaining (Mick touting the turkey tips at The Fours). And I’ll miss the end-to-end appreciation for music, including the song that ended the NEHJRS’s run: Bono belting out one of Dupes’s favorites, “Beautiful Day”.

You too? Do you miss it?

I hope the NEHJRS was a vital part of your Saturdays. But, if not, at least you know that the NEHJRS was a haven for some of us, a place that has been replaced (so far, so good boys) but not forgotten.

Loose Pucks: Pukka, Tuukka, and the Joys of Hockey (and Donuts)

2009-10-04T13:44:00.007-04:00

A dozen recent observations:

Tired of the regular donut routine? Try the fresh apple cider donuts at Honey Pot Hill Orchard, where the AMHL Photographer and I stood in just the right place to savor these little beauties, their scent streaming out of the store/donut factory.

Last Sunday’s Boston Globe was fortified by irony: Vladimir Sobotka was the star not of the sports section but of Jan Freeman’s “The Word” in Ideas. In the Metro section was an ad for travel to places such as Quebec and Newfoundland. And below the “Here and there” heading in Globe West, Martin Pave mentions the Winnipeg Bombers of the Canadian Football League. (Also, not so much irony as happenstance: In the comics section, Darby Conley pokes fun at Canada.)

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: Pukka is a first-class word. I like it because it reminds me of vulcanized rubber and rhymes Tuukka.

Tuukka Rask: Expect the youngster (looks like he’s about twelve years old, no?) to play twenty games this season. Timmy Thomas is still the man, though.

“Save by Thomas!” I’m glad Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley are back on the air, calling games for the Bruins, who last night beat the Hurricanes, 7–2.

Aaron Ward. I miss him. The former Bruin is not only a fierce competitor and supreme shot-blocker but also a goofball and a great interview. Pukka personified. Glad he got an assist on Scott Walker’s goal.

From NHL to AMHL, sort of. The Hurricanes, formerly the Hartford Whalers, are 0–2. The AMHL Whalers won their first game in their four-game history.

A free month of NHL Center Ice, which means Hockey Night in Canada is extended to Comcast viewers like me.

Don and Ron. Coach’s Corner. Bountiful banter. Cherry blasted the NHL Players Association for how it has handled the Paul Kelly situation and then cautioned youngsters to tape the tongues of their skates, lest they suffer an injury like Montreal’s Andrei Markov. Taping down the tongues: That’s what Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito did, and they never had their ankles sliced by another’s skate blade. MacLean wrapped up the segment by saying, “The moral of the story is that in the old days, Don had his tongue tied.”

From tongues to teeth. The next great hockey movie: Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson plays the part of a minor league hockey player who’s good at knocking out opponents’ teeth. And looks good in a tutu and wings. The Tooth Fairy will open in January 2010.

Living the donut dream. I hark back to Honey Pot Hill. Ah, the sweet cider-filled rings, sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. And later in the week, I went back in time, to when my mom had left Hostess donuts, the little chocolate ones, in the refrigerator—not far from the orange juice. Make sure you refrigerate the little lovelies until the chocolate coating is crunchy. Then wash back a few with the citrus stuff. Then go read a hockey book.

Living the Hockey Dream: Brian Kennedy’s follow-up to Growing Up Hockey is fantastic. I’m only about halfway through it but have no problem recommending it now (full review coming soon). Kennedy has a rare flair for capturing, from unique angles, the joys of hockey.

Hybrid Hockey, Part III: Kicking the Tires

2009-09-19T20:35:00.007-04:00

(Continued from Part I)

image courtesy of RussBowling at flickr.com

Three games into the preseason, the B's are still "kicking the tires." But expect management to go the distance with this fleet of forwards.

Patrice “Escape” Bergeron: Bergie (the name my wife and I awarded to our Ford Escape) has suffered a few dings (as has our car), but is no worse for the wear. Expect Msr. Bergeron to regain his scoring touch without sacrificing the power or fuel efficiency he demonstrated during last season’s test drive. Don’t believe me? Ask Maxim Lapierre.

Blake “Buick Roadmaster” Wheeler: Last season, he was a pleasant surprise out of training camp and an early candidate for the Calder Trophy; But, Wheeler’s engine started to ping late in the season. He has addressed the engine knock by bulking up during the summer. This season, he’s more prepared to endure the rigors of the road. Like the sturdy station wagon, Wheeler is built for the long haul.

Chuck “No name” Kobasew: Small wheel base. Lots of torque. Zero to 28 mph in three strides. Not another vehicle like him on the lot or on the Internet. I just hope the injury-prone forward doesn’t wreck.

Mark “‘69 Camaro” Recchi: A classic, mint condition muscle car (pictured above), Recchi is quite a commodity. Ram air all the way. A warrior in tight spaces, he has quick hands and is the model of consistency and commitment.

Steve “Renault” Begin: Bienvenue a Boston. Swiped from the Stars’ (after the Habs traded him in at the deadline) used car lot, Begin is the kind of player we love to loathe—until he switches allegiances. Now that he’s a Bruin, Begin has a new start. Memo to Montreal: En garde.

Marc “Dodge K Car” Savard: Reliable. But unlike the car, which is the first car he owned (1986 model), Savard is more flashy. Now that Phil “DeLorean” Kessel has been traded, Savvy may have to score more often. And take fewer ugly penalties.

Shawn “Ford Flex” Thornton: Lots of muscle up front. Complete with power windows and power door locks, Thornton—like the Ford—occasional scoring punch comes standard. Look for Thornton to score a highlight-reel goal or three this season.

Byron “Bronco” Bitz: This kid is bucking for a promotion. Strong along the boards and in the crease, he sheds those who attempt to ride him out of the play. Expect Bitzie to play close to 80 games. What a horse.

“Mercury Milan” Lucic: V6, 240 horsepower. Lots to like about the third-year pro who keeps improving. But, like the 2009 model, Looch’s last season leaves room for improvement. As we approach 2010, more consistency and control are required if he wants become a Ford Fusion (rated higher, if you want the truth), a hybrid of panache and power.

Hybrid Hockey, Part II: Free Parking

2009-08-29T08:09:00.003-04:00

Photo courtesy of Dave_7 at flickr.com

(Continued from Part I at Hockeybarn.com)

The GM (general mechanic) has hopefully completed his tinkering, and the Boston Bruins are raring to go. And now that the “Cash for Clunkers” program is over and we’re in neutral until training camp starts, let’s focus on Bruins who will likely have a free parking space at TD Bank Garden. (Thanks to the AMHL Photographer for supplying some of vehicular vernacular below).

Tuukka “Range Rover” Rask: I don’t know why the AMHL Photographer selected this gas-guzzler for a nickname, but I’ll roll with it. Rask won’t likely play in more than thirty games, but in those he must demonstrate consistency and reliability, something the Range Rover scored poorly on in customer reviews.

Timmy “Tank Car” Thomas: “Mr. Vezina,” (thank you, Jack Edwards) is as tough as the 800 horsepower beast Jay Leno has in his garage. If the former Snub of Hockey stays healthy, Thomas will dispel those who still doubt him. (I know of one disbeliever.)

David “Cadillac” Krejci: Cadillac has introduced the Escalade, a hybrid comparable to Krejci. The shifty playmaker combines grace and gumption; power and puck-sense. And when his hip is road-ready, he’ll offer even greater MPG.

Phil “DeLorean” Kessel: Like Krejci, Kessel will be parked in the ninth level of the garage (press level) when the season starts. Although the speedy sniper’s asking price on a contract extension may have induced sticker shock, the GM believes this year’s model is worth the investment. I want to believe. We know Kessel can blast past the competition on the highway. Let’s see if his parallel parking improves, though. And will he be afraid to splash through a few more puddles?

Vladimir “Brat” Sobotka: The pesky forechecker is both a passenger car and a pickup. The versatile forward—wing or center—helped the Baby B’s carry the play, and he picked up a point per game (average). Nobody questions his willingness to go off-road, into the dirty areas. But now it’s time to replicate the consistency he has shown in the minors in the Show.

Marco “Bimmer” Sturm: He who hails from Dingolfing, home of BMW’s (the car, not the motorcycle) manufacturing facility, is built for the autobahn. Speed kills, and now that his bad wheel has been repaired, Sturmie (AMHL Photographer’s favorite player) should be back on track for at least 20 goals.

Michael “Avalon XLS” Ryder: The Newfoundlander, who lives on the Avalon Peninsula during the off-season, has proven to be a "solid performer," which is what the folks at Edmunds.com call the popular Toyota.

Stay tuned for the final installment, to be delivered when all auto dealers’ rebate applications have been processed.

The Hockey Gods are (Still) Crazy: Out of Season

2009-08-02T17:04:00.001-04:00

Thursday, July 30

“I lost out. I wasn’t playing to win…” - “Out of Season”, REO Speedwagon

I’m not playing to win. I’m not even playing. And for the first time in ten years—that’s about thirty hockey seasons for me—I won’t be drafted by an AMHL team. So out of season.

I don’t know what I did to displease the deities, but Humpty Dumpty (Sports) Hernia has flummoxed me and confounded a superior physical therapist. At times during these past eleven months I’ve felt like the cracks in HDH were sealing but then, sure as Sher-Wood, other fissures would form and leave me bitter and even more baffled.

This week has been the epitome of extremes, and HDH feels no better than it did last September. I’ve been grieving the loss of ice time and competition, so of course denial, sadness, anger, and pleading with the hockey gods have drifted in and out of my psyche. These thoughts and feelings have often lingered for too long, and acceptance of the situation has been, until tonight, fleeting.

It’s Thursday night, and I’m home alone, sort of. While my wife and a friend are at dinner, I’m enjoying quality time with my iPod and the supreme hockey beings, the ones whom, back in April, I suggested were crazy.

Well, I was right. They are crazy. Good crazy. You see, they’ve taken control of what’s shuffling through the playlist, which at the moment is REO Speedwagon’s “Out of Season”.

“I’m so out of season. You let me go and you gave me no reason…”

But instead of stewing about why the skating spirits have benched me or when HDH will be healed, I’m singing and smiling. Finally, I can find humor in lyrics that would have, until tonight, likely served as a stinging reminder about the games and seasons I’ve missed; I’m advancing through the adversity that a few days ago would have me hopping (on the one good leg) mad. How I’ve dealt with this difficulty has gone from laughable to laugh-able.

With this sharper clarity, I divine that the hockey gods are on their timetable, not mine. Perhaps they want me to prepare for the inevitable reality of being an ex-hockey player, eternally out of season.

AMHL Wednesday: "Rock On"

2009-07-19T09:39:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I bailed on my players. I didn’t show up to coach the game against the Rangers because, the night before, I was at Great Woods for the Cheap Trick/Poison/Def Leppard concert.

Turns out my Sharks didn’t need me; they beat the Blueshirts. But I still feel I owe them something. Here, then, is a recap of the following week’s game, as I insert as many song titles from the triumvirate of bands.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Rink One
Sharks vs. Sabres

Without frontman Tim “I Want You to Want Me” Donahue and with only seven skaters, the Sharks will need a resounding effort from the less heralded band members.

Like Jonathon “the Flame” Corke, who scorches the Sabre goalie to give the Sharks an early lead.

The AMHL “Photograph (picture of)” Photographer, who attended the concert with the Sharks’ coach, continues to track the action. She won’t capture any more goals this period, though, because both goalies are giving their teams “Something to Believe In.”

1–0 after one. Still a “Long Long Way to Go”.

Midway into the second period, French Canadian Marc “Rocket” Vallee (pictured above against the Habs in June) scores with a blistering backhand (Well, not so much a blast as it was a trickle: “Just a bad backhand,” says Vallee. “Slid really slowly.”)

During the intermission, with the Sharks still up 2–0, Vallee urges his teammates to make shorter passes and to play the man against the Sabres’ young guns.

The Sharks heed his counsel but cannot score. The Sabres have fresher legs, too. Resting between shifts, Shark forward Jim “Nothing But a Good Time” Morgan acknowledges that he imbibed “too much Fourth of July gin.”

The Sharks have no tonic for tired and are falling out of position, often “Two Steps Behind” the Sabres. Shark d-man Andy Fox is whistled for tripping.

Team Teal kills the penalty but the Black and Pink will not Surrender. Time out.

At the Sharks’ bench, forward Steve “Rock Star” Basile says he wants to hang high—center stage—so he can score an empty-net goal.

Defense first, says Vallee.

Kate “Comin’ Under Fire” Fallon’s shutout is spoiled—a Scott Keith slapshot high glove side—but the Sharks prevail. Oh well, “Every Rose Has its Thorn”.

After a shower, Shark forward Mike “Pour Some Sugar on Me” Statkus is ready to celebrate the 2–1 victory. “Time for a donut,” he says as he exits the locker room en route for the (Songs from) the Sparkle Lounge.

Thank you. Good night. “Rock on”.

Oohs and Aahs: Fireworks, Golf, Hockey (and Donuts)

2009-07-07T20:25:00.011-04:00

Image courtesy of BostonTX at flickr.com

Ooh…aah.

Bostonians at the Esplanade on Saturday night must have been delighted with the pyrotechnics display and musical performances.

I didn’t attend the Independence Day extravaganza (saw Neil Diamond last summer—so good, so good at Fenway) and won’t be playing in AMHLer Dana Salvo’s annual golf event (Humpty Dumpty (Sports) Hernia won’t cooperate). But because summer is when fireworks, golf, hockey (and donuts) commingle, I’ve been thinking about a Thursday morning four years ago.

After an early morning hockey game, a half dozen or so AMHLers left Valley Sports Arena. With leftover donut holes, we drove west to the Woods of Westminster.

Chris “Donut Boy” Howell, Doug “Wight, Not Weight” and I warmed up by teeing off on Powdered Cake Munchkins.

Whoosh…pfft. Ooh…aah.

We watched the donut holes disintegrate, the white powder flashing and then quickly dissipating. A Weeping Willow (pictured above) over a green esplanade.

The real golf balls? I launched a few duds into the trees. But I fired off a few good shots, too. On the last hole, I wound up for my last drive, the grand finale.

Whoosh…thwap.

Like a rocket, the ball shot off the tee.

Ooh…aah.

Straight and nearly true, the shot wowed the crowd.

Woppita woppita woppita.

The club’s head, however, had struck the ball, dislodged itself from the shaft and made a feeble attempt to chase the ball.

I wondered if Howell would be upset (I don’t have my own clubs and was too cheap to rent them, so I borrowed whatever I needed from Donut Boy’s golf bag.)

Wight and Howell were howling with laughter though. Then Donut Boy told me he didn’t use that club anyway.

To this day, the dislocated club’s head still rolls around the bed of Howell’s pickup truck; Donut Boy uses the former Munchkin-whacker as a makeshift GasBuddy, wedging the wood in the pump’s handle.

Ooh…aah…the spectacular memories will live on…at the gas station, on the links, and at the rink.

National Donut Day, Part II: Confusion, Conflict, and More Questions

2009-06-07T19:29:00.002-04:00

My question from Part I, “What donut does it for you” sparked confusion and conflict, passion and pride.

AMHL goalie Steve Scansaroli at first misinterpreted the question as “What does the donut do to you?” to which Scans replied by e-mail, “The donut keeps me fat and thus covering more of the net.” Like any good goaltender, he quickly repositioned himself by responding that he’s a “Boston Kreme man.”

Scans’ good friend and fellow goalie, Kenny Tarr is an equal opportunist when it comes donut loyalty. Kenny replied, “Me…well, if it’s a donut - I love it :). But I definitely have a craving for anything sourdough... Kids love the butternuts I bring home after the AM games.”

Other donut fans were also open-minded, if not conflicted. Dana Salvo, who leads the AMHL in career points, also leads the league in longest donut discourse category. The first of his 139 words was, “I've gotta be honest... it really depends on the day.” His regular options at the rink, such Dunkin’ Donuts’ Chocolate Glazed, Chocolate Frosted, and Glazed Munchkins are all on Dana’s preferred donut list. Salvo also enjoys seasonal favorites like the Maple Frosted, and Manager’s Specials, like lemon-filled lip-smackers. But when he’s in the mood for the Glazed, he’s often disappointed. Salvo wrote, “It’s too bad that we don't get those at the rink very often, if at all. Very sad.”

Salvo was sad; Chris “Donut Boy” Howell was mad. He still pines for the defunct Dunkin’ donut—he is so passionate about the Old Fashioned with a nub—and wondered why the supplier of AMHL post-game fare ditched the namesake donut. He concluded his written commentary, “It would be as if KFC stopped serving fried chicken.”

Howell was not the only hockey (and donut) aficionado to be proud of his donut. Steve Nicolle (see comments below) and Michael Dyck, (“If a hockey player really knows hockey there is no substitute (for Tim Hortons’ Double Chocolate).”

Others provided short and sweet answers like “chocolate donuts are my favorite” or “Chocolate frosted with sprinkles - preferably lots and lots of sprinkles! :).”

Honorable Mention:

Jelly Filled: 2
Butternut (a.k.a. Butter Crunch): 2 adults (and Kenny’s kids)
Chocolate Frosted: 1

Dishonorable Mention:

Krispy Kreme: 1

But back to chocolate, which appears to be the fan favorite, because 53% included that ingredient as necessary for a divine donut experience.

The biggest winner of all—not in my unofficial survey but rather at Dunkin’ Donut headquarters—was a non-chocolate donut, the “Toffee for Your Coffee”. Jeff Hager’s creation, which is a sour cream cake donut topped with chopped Heath® Bar, won the “Create Dunkin’s Next Donut” contest.

This choice raises other questions. Will Kenny Tarr tolerate the toffee on his sourdough donut? And what do you think of the new donut? Please let me know this fall, when the donut will make its debut at your nearest Dunkin’ Donuts.

National Donut Day, Part I: Kreme of the Crop?

2009-06-05T07:01:00.004-04:00

Happy National Donut Day!

In celebration of this delightful holiday—the origins of which may be tied to the Salvation Army—I’d like to know what donut does it for you. But before you do, here’s food for thought.

Regular readers know that my favorite donuts are the Chocolate Frosted (Dunkin’ Donuts) and the Walnut Crunch (Tim Hortons). And if you read my last piece, you know I’m lobbying the donut gods for a new donut: The Sour Cream Sunrise.

But of course this isn’t all about me. Below, I’ve listed a few of my favorite hockey players and their favorite donuts:

*Mike “the Eagle” Chase: Boston Kreme (Dunkin’ Donuts)
*Aaron Sherman: Butternut (DD)
*Hal Gill: Boston Kreme (DD)
*Mike Schneider: Blueberry (DD)
*Aaron Ward: Boston Kreme (DD)
*Peter Anastos: Pumpkin Spice (DD)
*Billy Whynot: Boston Kreme (DD)

You’ve spotted a trend or two, right? The Boston Kreme seems to be the odds-on favorite to win bragging rights, and Timmy Hortons (full disclosure: I’m not a Krispy Kreme fan) has not yet made the list.

Please post your thoughts below or send e-mail to jimfdwyer (at) gmail (dot) com. I may not mention your name or your Internet handle (unless maybe you add a funny anecdote), but I will compile the results and then post them here this weekend.

Until then, dear reader (and donut eater), bon appetite.

Sweet Victory: Not Meant to B’s?

2009-05-17T13:11:00.003-04:00

Like my beloved Boston Bruins, my Sour Cream Sunrise donut didn’t make it to the Finals. The Bruins won’t be playing for the Stanley Cup, and the donut I designed won’t compete in Dunkin’s Next Donut “bake-off” on May 28.

For now, hats off to the Red Wings, Blackhawks, Hurricanes, and Penguins; cheers to the likes of Toffee for Your Coffee, Economic Crunch, Grandma’s Blueberry Maple Donut, and Chocolate Monkey. The donuts, at least, are all deserving of your support, so no disrespect to them.

But fear not, Bruins (and my donut devotees). Sweet victory may not be so far away.

The Bruins’ time will come, soon. Management believes in its players and vice-versa, and the recipe for success is missing but one ingredient: experience. Sprinkle a little know-how-to-win in the play-offs into the mix of talent and toughness and then watch this tight-knit team take off. The Bruins will rise to new heights and shine. Next season.

The Sour Cream Sunrise donut, a creation inspired by the AM Hockey League’s fun-loving nature yet a treat for any early-riser, may still see the light of day. Dunkin’ Donuts will consider all donuts, whether they’re competing in the ballyhooed bake-off or not, as potential products.

Imagine the delight in devouring this simple creation. Sour cream cake, vanilla icing, and the signature Dunkin’ Donuts sprinkles—free of frill or filling—tumble into your tummy. Yummy, eh?

If you believe in this donut like I believe in this donut, consider contacting the powers that be.

And come next June, I wouldn’t be surprised to be enjoying a Sour Cream Sunrise as the B’s bring home the Cup.

AMHL Wednesday Championship: Bed Bath & Beyond

2009-05-10T18:32:00.003-04:00

Wednesday, May 6
Concord, MA

The perhaps over-confident under-sized Mites (a.k.a. AMHL Sharks) are gathered in the locker room and wonder what the prize will be if they beat the Canadiens.

“Gift certificates,” guesses Steve “Whoa Nellie” Antonelli, “to Bed Bath & Beyond.”

The first place Sharks—skating left to right across your AMHL broadband connection—struggle against the second place Habs until Jay “All the Way” Antonangeli gathers the puck in his own zone. He skates across the red line, the blueline, and then veers left before wristing a shot high glove side and past Stephanie Spunt.

“One goal doesn’t make a game,” say referee Pete Bagley to the Shark bench.

But the tally is good enough for a 1–0 lead after one period and until the waning seconds of the second period, when Canadien Tim “Dynamite” Donahue—who owns the leagues hardest shot—beats the buzzer to tie the score.

The exuberant Canadians believe they can win, but the placid Sharks coach reminds his players, “We haven’t lost a third period all season.”

Shark center Brian “Backscratcher” Barringer hasn’t met a slapshot he doesn’t like. So, just inside the blueline, he winds up and then blasts the vulcanized rubber disc over Spunt’s glove to break the tie.

But Spunt, who earlier in the contest made stellar saves against Sharks “Grinder Greg” Longtine and Paul Anastas, has spunk. Spunky Spunt and the Funky Bunch stave off the Sharks and then attack.

With 5:30 on the clock, the puck is lost in the crease—or has it crossed the goal line?—amongst a sea of teal and bleu, blanc et rouge.

Kate “I’ll Have Another (Koffey) Cup” Fallon finds the puck before it crosses the goal line, and the Sharks breath a collective sigh of relief.

And when Anastas scores to put the game to bed, the Sharks are ready to bathe in the glow of victory.

The Sharks pose for their picture with the Cup, and just beyond the boards and behind the gathered champions, commemorative T-shirts—way better than gift certificates from a retail store, eh Steve?—wait to be claimed.

AMHL Tuesday Championship: Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-10T18:12:00.008-04:00

el martes, el cinco de mayo de 2009
Concord, MA

Like the underdog Mexican army against the mighty French invaders on el cinco de mayo de 1862 (but with much less bloodshed), the AMHL Flyers will fight the good fight against les Leafs.

With surprise starter Miguel Edwards, whose knee is slated for surgery, in nets, the Flyers hold down the proverbial fort in the first period. The Leafs, though stymied, have not surrendered a goal either, so we move to the second period to break the scoreless tie.

Leafs skating right to left across tu radio, the puck is loose in the Flyer zone. Forward Brent “Dos Minutos” Rice, who in past seasons was well-acquainted with the penalty box but has remained penalty-free this season, out-maneuvers the Flyer sentries; Rice seizes the puck in the slot and then performs a backhandarama—spinning as he steers the puck between Edwards’ right skate and the post.

The Flyers counter, when Billy “¿Por qué no?” Whynot beats Leaf legend Mitch Weiss.

In the third period and the Flyers clinging to a 3–2 lead, tempers flare. Flyer Pedro Buenhombre and Leaf Brendan “el Diablo” Doyle almost go mano a mano, but they are dismissed to the sin bin before the fists can fly.

Los dos combatantes watch along with the growing crowd (including Kate “Margarita” Mikkelson, who upon realizing what this day in history signifies, ponders the possibility of imbibing in a lime-based elixir) as history (sort of) repeats itself.

Juan Sweeney scores two goals in less than a minute, and then, más rápido than you can say, “viva la revolución,” the rout is on and the Flyers have won, 10–2.

Off the Shelf, Part II: The Hockey Gods Must Be Crazy

2009-04-27T06:38:00.000-04:00

Continued from Part I

Wednesday April 22, 2009

The hockey gods must be crazy because they’ve interfered with my plan to play this morning.

After solid and encouraging outings last Wednesday and Friday, I felt strong and sturdy on Saturday and Sunday. But then on Monday and Tuesday, misery and tenuousness reigned supreme in Groinland. And the hockey gods allowed this.

I’ve placed several calls to Puck Paradise but have not yet received a response. Well, that’s not entirely true. In the past seven-plus months, they’ve answered my questions about why I have this pain and discomfort (so that I can learn patience and acceptance and maybe a thing or two more about coaching). But I’m still waiting for a response about the whats and whens. What exactly is the problem? What will it take to fix it? And most importantly, when will I play again?

Despite my residual doubts—maybe I pushed recovery too hard?—I have faith that the hockey halos are pleased with the AMHL Wednesday Sharks.

My oversized Mites, all eight of them on this Spring Break week, don’t need me on the ice this morning against the Canadiens.

The deities are delighted with Kate “Two Cups” Fallon’s timely saves, Greg Longtine’s two goals, and Mike Seeley’s inspired defensive display. And the hockey gods seem to have abandoned Wednesday’s points leader Tim Donahue, who misfires on three golden opportunities. The Sharks end the regular season with another win (14–1–0–1) over Donahue and Les Glorieux (7–7–0–2).

The Canadiens, or whoever next faces the Sharks, may need divine intervention or another plan (or both) to win.

Same goes for me and my groin. Plan B is acupuncture. If that doesn’t work, then the hockey gods must be crazy. Or maybe it’s just me.

Either way, I'm back on the shelf.

Off the Shelf, Part I: No Crying in Hockey

2009-04-20T06:20:00.008-04:00

“There’s no crying in hockey,” the AMHL Photographer (also my wife), says to me as the AMHL Canadiens and Rangers play on Rink One.

She’s glad I’m coaching the Sharks—who sunk the Sabres in this morning’s first game—but is tired of me whining and pining to play again. It pains her to watch me nurse a groin injury that has kept me "On the Shelf" since early September.

Next week is Spring Break, so the Sharks will be short-handed. Instead of eleven skaters, we’ll have six or seven. So my "Over-sized Mites" are all but begging me to play the Canadiens next week.

The AMHL Photographer, who hasn’t taken an action picture of me since the second game of last season, likes me more as a player than a coach. (She jokes that she’s like Ricky Bobby’s wife, who, in Talladega Nights, deserts her husband because he’s lost his mojo as a NASCAR driver). Although she’d love it if I were playing, she doesn’t want to hear me boo-hooing if I hoick my groin again.

Adductor longus and its afflicted neighbors: this region of my left leg and abdomen is my Middle East. Just when I think peace might have a chance, hostilities flare. I have more questions than answers, too. What about acupuncture? How long is this going to take? Should I wait until I’m 100% pain-free before skating? I’ve heard everything from “don’t aggravate it” to “skate it off, wussy.”

An orthopedic surgeon has advised me to risk minor setbacks. I won’t know if the injury is healing until press the boundaries. He suggested I start skating before games again, and then go from there.

He didn’t clear me to play but didn’t forbid it either. So I’m taking it day by day.

By Friday morning, the discomfort prompted by Wednesday morning’s pre-game skate has dissipated but has not vanished. Shake and bake, baby; I’m going to give pick-up hockey a go.

Paul “Cadillac”Anastas drives me to the rink, where I reacquaint myself with playing hockey. I forgot my gloves at home, so I borrow his two-tone black and blue backup pair.

An hour later—after all the welcome-backs, a goal, a giveaway in my own zone—sweat drips from my hair and stings my eyes. I love it. I missed it.

“How’s it feel?” my hockey brethren ask about the groin.

Tender, I say as I ice the Gaza Strip. But I m more concerned about how I’ll feel in a day or two. Will this morning’s workout catch up with me this weekend?

Back at home, I call the AMHL Photographer, who made a surprise visit to the rink to watch for a few minutes and is now at work. I tell her how happy I am to be back in the game—at least for today, anyway—and am overcome with gratefulness. I thank her for her patience. “I’m moisting up, gotta go,” I conclude.

Who says there’s no crying in hockey?

Stay tuned for Part II, when—hockey gods willing—I transform my title of coach to player/coach.

AMHL Wednesday: Over-sized Mites

2009-04-05T13:37:00.005-04:00

March 25, 2009
Rink Two
Concord, MA

“Jimmy and his over-sized Mites,” referee Matt says to the Sharks, as Carcharodon carcharias and their reluctant coach are having more fun than a bunch of eight-year olds So while the Teal Deal manhandles the Sabres and is well on its way to earning its tenth victory, meet the top twelve reasons for the Sharks’ success.

Kate “Two Cups” Fallon: Winner of the last two Koffee Cup titles, Fallon’s 2.25 (and falling) GAA leads the AMHL. The nimble netminder attributes some of this success to downing two cups of coffee before each game.

Mike “Mr. Coffey” DeLeo: The ultimate high-energy defenseman, who usually finishes his first cup of Dunkin’ Donuts’ finest at the rink, skates with such swiftness and precision that he may remind you of that slick skater who won a few Cups in Edmonton.

Kevin “Lunchpail” Lyons: Teamed with DeLeo on defense, Kevin has also played forward. Whatever the position, he does his job without complaint. And Lyons is improving every week because the secret of his success is simplicity: Poke check pucks across his own blue line and keep pucks in the offensive zone.

Mike “Posturepedic” Seeley: Mike gets a good night’s sleep, does yoga, and is the most limber of all the Sharks. The Pride of Port Huron is also the first one on the ice and last one off. He busts his well-rested hump game in and game out. And this season, the buoyant blueliner has not only stretched his game to both ends of the ice but has also decreased his penalty minutes.

Gil “Bear” Cote: A Bruin fan and grizzled defenseman, Gilbert is a fierce competitor. He plays hurt and opponents have (dare I say it) a bear of time circumnavigating him. He makes crisp passes and will rush the puck when open ice beckons him.

“Grinder Greg” Longtine: The longtime AMHLer is the consummate character guy. His due diligence along the boards creates scoring opportunities for his teammates, and his crease-savvy positioning and persistence makes him king of the garbage goals.

Stephen “Stinky” Antonelli: His work ethic in what he calls the non-Euclidian corners is matched only by his affection for the Father of Geometry, witty one-liners, and the stench streaming from his hockey sweater.

Brian “Red Baron” Barringer. Just when opponents have him in your sights, this sneaky sniper scores again. Leading the Sharks in goals (12) and assists (13), the soft-spoken Barringer does most of his talking on the scoresheet.

Bob “the Wizard” Blizard: The AARP cardholder wields two forms of magic: Raw power and wisdom enable Bob to win one-on-one clashes with the dark forces (a.k.a Habs, Sabres, and Rangers).

Jim “the Horse” Morgan. Like the Morgan horse, which is known for its versatility, Jimmy will play forward or defense. According to the American Morgan Horse Association, “the intelligence, willingness, zest for life, and good sense of the Morgan is blended with soundness of limb, athleticism, and stamina.” Just like Jimmy.

Paul “Cadillac” Anastas. This elite and classy player (and I’m not just saying that because he drives me to work) is fast on his feet, stickhandles with authority, and makes good decisions. Anastas, the MC of AMHL Friday pickup hockey, is a luxury without the tax.

Jay “Ciao bella” Antonangeli: A member of the all-Italian team, Signora Antonangeli (pictured above) is flirting with the AMHL hockey gods. Three more goals and he’ll join the 100-goal club.

But make no mistake about this light-hearted shiver of Sharks: They know they must not only improve but also balance frivolity and ferocity if the team is to hold high the Koffey Cup.

Honoring the Father of Hockey

2009-03-22T08:27:00.004-04:00

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes for the Sports Management College. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com.

Honoring the Father of Hockey

Have you heard of James Creighton? Well if you haven't, you need to brush up on your hockey history. After all, Creighton is the man credited for spreading hockey across Canada in the 1800s. Now folks in Ottawa (where Creighton is buried) want to raise the funds to erect a monument to mark the currently-unmarked grave of one of Canada's most famous "forefathers."

The Ottawa hockey history buffs pushing for the monument are doing it alone. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has given his endorsement of the project. They have been granted permission to erect a memorial at Ottawa's Beechwood Cemetery.

The group needs more than permission, however. They are several thousand dollars short of the money they need to buy the grave marker for Creighton. No one is looking for anything extravagant. The Society for International Hockey Research (SIHR) says it would just like a small marker that includes his birth and death dates, a line about his role in the history of hockey, and two crossed hockey sticks.

You may be wondering how this could have happened to someone as important to the cultural fabric of Canada as Creighton.

Well, it seems his wife died one week before he did, and the couple had no children. So, after his death in Ottawa in 1930, there was no one to place a grave stone.

Conversely, in Lawrence, Kansas, there's a huge memorial dedicated to James Naismith, the Canadian-born inventor of basketball, who died in 1939 and who is buried nearby. Naismith’s grave is surrounded by a dozen stone benches, and there is a tall monument with a plaque. There is also a life-sized statue of Naismith. It's not what most would call modest.

Creighton was born in Halifax in 1850 and played in the world's first indoor hockey match, held in Montreal in March 1875. He later developed the sport's official rules and was single-handedly responsible for spreading the game across Canada and introducing it to everyone along the way.

The guy deserves a memorial so the world knows he was here.

SIHR is taking donations with the ambitious goal of having something in place before the end of 2009.

Hockey in the Desert: "Bahrain Bill" Strikes Again, Part II

2009-03-15T18:19:00.002-04:00

Continued from Part I, when Bill VanderClock is getting the run-around.

Each time I’ve gone to the Middle East, I’ve taken new hockey sticks with me (provided by Tricon Sports—great shop, great people, great service—in Lexington as donations to the youth hockey program in Bahrain).

I walk out of my room, and the security guard in the seat in the hallway says, “Ah sir, what’s in the bag?”

I think he was concerned about the big gear bag but no, he wants to know what was in the stick bag. He is now up on his feet, and his hand moves under his jacket toward what I can only guess is a sidearm of some sort. He recognizes my fearful expression.

“This bag?” I say, pointing to the big Easton bag at my feet.

“No, that bag,” he says with a heavy accent and pointing at the stick bag.

“Sure” I say, relieved that the contents are much easier to inspect than that all the stuff in the Easton bag. So I unzip the bag (very carefully) and remove the sticks.

He removes his hand from his jacket. No gun.

He inspects the sticks and says, “You use those with horses?”

I’m too scared to find this funny. (Looking back on it, he may have thought I was going to play polo).

“No” I reply, “these are for ice hockey. We play on the ice.”

“Like ice in a glass?” he asks, motioning as if he had a highball in his hand.

“No, sheets of ice. We play on sheets of ice,” I say as I imagine skating down an ice cube.

“You play with sheets?”

“No, no. This is hockey, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux…”

“Are those people you play with?”

Without explaining that those legends wouldn’t be caught dead on the ice with me, I figure out how to satisfy the still-confused sentry. I hastily open the big Easton bag to retrieve a skate. I remove the skate guard as the man stuffs his hand inside his jacket.

Then, as he glimpses the skate, his eyes flash; his hand lowers. I know he finally understands.

We both laugh. He holds the skate with one hand and, with the other, feels the edge of the blade.

“OK,” he says.

I feel like a ton had been lifted off of my shoulders. I tell him that I’m playing hockey every Tuesday and Saturday night for the next couple of weeks.

He instructs me to carry the sticks without the stick bag, and there should be no problem.

I offer him a Coke, which as always he refuses, and I then leave for my game at FunLand. Later that night (with the stick bag tucked away), I return.. He waves as I enter my room.

To this day I can’t see a glass of Scotch on the rocks without imagining little skaters—wearing white sheets—racing down the sides of the ice cubes and yelling, “Bobby…Mario…Wayne” as they go.

Hockey in the Desert: "Bahrain Bill" Strikes Again, Part I

2009-03-07T18:31:00.005-05:00

Guest blogger “Bahrain Bill” VanderClock (pictured), who filed his first report from the desert in 2006 , shares another story (with minor edits).

Bahrain
November 2008

The outside temperature is only in the 80s, so skating in the desert isn’t as cooling an experience as in September, when the outside temperature hovers around 110. The rink, which is attached to a bowling alley (with windows in between), is about half the size of a regulation rink. Half the players are local guys and can they skate! And because the ice does not evenly butt up against the boards—the corners are like ditches—stickhandling skills are a must.

One of the goalies is a high school aged kid who pays about $20.00 each way for a taxi to get to the rink. He really wants to learn and play. The other goalie is an American woman from the U.S. Navy base. This mix of people, the unique location, and the rink size: they make the game even more interesting. Then a Saudi, who has never seen an ice rink before, enters the building. He insists on having his picture taken with me and has to try on a helmet. He looks comical in his thobe (a white shirt-dress worn by most of the men in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) and helmet.

After hockey and then the photo shoot, we all go to an Irish bar.

Everything is great until the hotels in (Mumbai) India are attacked. I’m living in a five-star hotel and although there isn’t a problem in the Middle East, India is close enough that I keep my head down for a few days.

Three days later, as the Indian situation is calming down, security suddenly shows up at my hotel. I notice that there are guards at every vehicle entrance to my hotel. They use mirrors on sticks to examine the underside of every vehicle driving up to my hotel. And they open every trunk. I wonder what’s going on, so I ask personnel at the front desk.

“Nothing.”

Clearly something is happening, and they’ve been told not to talk about it. When I get up to my floor, six security guards—three from the hotel and three that I had never seen before—are discussing, loudly, something. I ask what’s going on.

“Nothing.”

I point out that I’ve not seen a single security person on my floor prior to this and now there are six, so something is the matter. Well, fortunately I have always made a habit of spending some time with the maids, janitors and other workers who generally get ignored by the folks who stay in five-star hotels. I’ve found that these folks are great sources of information and a little time spent really talking to them can go a long, long way. In this case I get the inside scoop that all of the hotel employees have been warned not to talk.

But it turns out that a dignitary is moving in three doors down from me and will be here for a few days. There has been no threat against the hotel or anything. But the poor security guy sitting on a chair doesn’t appear to be enthused about the situation. Every time I walk by, someone is in the chair. I start saying hello and offer the sentries a Coke or whatever. All I get is a polite “no thanks” but they get to know me, which helps out on Hockey Night in Bahrain.

Stay tuned for Part II.

AMHL Wednesday: French Connection

2009-02-21T14:01:00.004-05:00

February 18, 2009
Concord, MA

“Sheel-BEAR,” I say to Gil Cote, who’s skating toward the bench, which has been my coaching perch for the last six weeks.

“Ça va?” the Shark defenseman asks me.

“Ça va,” I reply.

It—our season—is going well. We’re undefeated heading into this morning’s tilt against Les Habitants.

We’re tied 1–1 in the first period—Sharks skating left to right across your AMHL audio device—when Gil embarks on a partial breakaway. He’s just left of center and making a beeline for the goalie. A right-handed shooter, Cote sells the forehand—and then roofs a backhander, à la David Krejci’s goal last night for the Boston Bruins.

But Gil’s primary contribution this season has been his solid defense: blocking shots and swatting pucks clear of opponents’ sticks. In the second period, Cote skates backwards into the near circle. He waits for the stickhandler to approach and then, with Gil’s left hand on the top of his own stick, sweeps left to dislodge the puck from the confounded Canadien.

In the third period, the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge score two goals in the final few minutes, but by then Cote and company have already scored five.

After the 5–3 victory and then the post-game discussion (and half a bagel), I follow Paul Anastas (my chauffer) to the parking lot. I look right and notice a player whose name I don’t know and with whom I’ve never spoken.

“Are you Canadian?” I ask the man of slender build and who’s wearing sleek eyeglasses.

Marc Valle says he is from Montreal. He’s a little hobbled from a puck that struck him in the foot. Excellent, another shot-blocker.

I hand him my business card (which my wife/AMHL Photographer designed: a donut pictured above text describing me as a hockey player and creative thinker) and then walk toward my chauffeur’s vehicle.

I knew he was Canadian, I say to Paul, and then wonder out loud if AMHL management might someday pair Gil Cote and Marc Valle (and a player to be named later: Rick Martin or Rene Robert?) to create our own version of the French Connection.

On the Shelf, Part VIII: Good Stuff

2009-02-08T15:58:00.005-05:00

Image courtesy of Joe Fletcher

The saga of my mysterious upper lower-body/middle lower-body injury continues. Physical therapy didn’t do the trick, so it’s back to the doctor for a re-evaluation tomorrow. It’s a downer not playing—and worse, the not knowing what’s wrong or when I’ll be back—but Don Cherry’s Hockey Stories and Stuff has been a pick-me-up difficult to put down.

If Gordie Howe, who will turn 81 on March 31, is Mr. Hockey®, then Don Cherry, who celebrated his 75th birthday on Thursday, is Mr. Hockey Storyteller. In his book, as told to Al Strachan, “Grapes” delivers page after page of vintage vignettes, which he draws from his vast experience as a player, coach, and commentator.

Cherry’s down-to-earth delivery transported me to wherever he ventured: on the ice, on the road, and into the announcer booth. I had figured he’d include stuff about the Bruins; that he’d share nuggets about my beloved Colorado Rockies; and that he’d take me behind the scenes of Hockey Night in Canada. Cherry didn’t disappoint.

With his trademark brashness, that blunt-force honesty—that which people tend to love or loathe—Cherry sometimes made me wince. But more often than not, I either laughed (picture this: Wayne Gretzky in long—presumably—underwear) or felt a fondness for the flashy haberdasher’s delight. Cherry admits his mistakes and becomes vulnerable. This softer side shushes his insolence.

The most endearing anecdote, for me, was not about Bobby Orr or Barry Beck, but rather about his bull terrier. “Blue and I had a favourite song,” Cherry begins the tale.

I’ll let you discover for yourself what that song is and hope that you’ll find Cherry’s yarns as engaging as I did.

Thumbs up, Grapes. Good stuff.

All-Italian AMHL All-Stars: Subs, Grinders, and Goal-scorers

2009-02-01T21:13:00.005-05:00

Sub-stitute netminder (and Wayne Gretzky advisor) John Bionelli made his AMHL goalie debut on Tuesday, and it got me thinking about an all-Italian AMHL All-Star roster.

Bionelli, who said he had played well enough for his Penguins in a 2–3 loss to the Flyers, prays the goalie gig was a one-time event. But he doesn’t make the All-Star squad, at least not as a goalie.

In nets, Steve Scansaroli gets the start. Sure, Scans is the only current goalie whose name ends in a vowel, but he’s a such a good boy.

On defense, it’s a three way competition for two starting spots. The merry Mike DeLeo, whose favorite pre-game brew is a Dunkin’ Donuts Hazelnut, is tough to play against. Fast on his feet and near perfect with his positioning, “Mr. Koffey” is a good pairing with either Bill Chioffi or Rich Yamartino, who are also spry and speedy but take a few more chances. Give the edge to Chioffi , who has more recently traveled to the mother country. Besides, Yamartino says he’s not all-Italian but rather “half garlic, half Gaelic.”

Reeking like a rotten sub is forward Stephen “Whoa Nelli” Antonelli. Garlic gushing through his pores and contaminating his shoulder pads, Antonelli—according to a former teammate and his current coach—stinks like a way-past-its-prime Prosciutto Di Parma. But, with consistent coaching, the Shark forward will, by season’s end, become a solid shut-down forward. Maybe next season, Steve. Bona fide All-Star grinders include the semi-aromatic Greg Catalano and Peter Garavito (who’s enjoying a banner season). Either one complements the more prolific goal-scorers like Jay “Ciao bella” Antonangeli or Chuck “Ravioli” Livoli. And remember Bionelli? He won’t come right out an say it, but he has the bravado of "Rocket Richard.” Bravo, "Razzo Ricardo."

Honorable mention goes to those I haven’t yet watched enough to determine their sub-stance: the Costanzas, Jamal DeVita, John Ragucci, and Joshua Russo.

New England Hockey Journal Radio Show: The Best Banter

2009-01-25T16:27:00.003-05:00

From the pre-game chatter to the call from soft-spoken “Michael from Brookline” to the gregarious contribution from “Kevin from Melrose” to the post-game gabbing, it was a thrill to be part of the New England Hockey Journal Radio Show (NEHJRS). In ESPN 890’s Charlestown studio to talk hockey with Kevin Paul Dupont and Mick Colageo. I enjoyed participating in the on-air banter, but the behind-the scenes stuff was savory, too.

Saturday, January 17

During an early commercial break, I look at Mick, who has raised his headset to a new level: His earphones rest above his ear lobes.

“That’s a good luck for you,” I say.

He then repositions them to front to back, one ear pad on his forehead and the other on the back of his bulb. He looks not like a hockey jockey but more like an insane reindeer. But then the close of the Hockey Monkey ad, a staple of the show’s commercial stock, prompts Mick to get back to business.

The hot topic today is Vincent Lecavalier: Should the B’s make a move for the talented Tampa Bay forward? Dupes suggested as much in a recent column, writing “If (the Bruins) want to be in the Big Vin derby, they have the horses.” Callers debate the pros and cons of KPD’s case. Passion pervades every conversation. But laughter and levity will linger for me.

“Ron from Danvers” wrangles with Dupes about who the B’s might trade for Vinny. The Hall-of Fame scribe delivers an all-star caliber quip: “You can put your ’64 Rambler into this deal.”

Then, after a four-minute commercial break commences, KPD removes his headphones and delivers another beauty: “I’m goin’ for donuts.”

He exits the booth to pluck a Boston Kreme from the box my wife (who’s lingering around the office outside the studio) and I brought with us from our Saturday donut pantheon.

After a bathroom break (I’m a little nervous about my upcoming formal introduction), I select a Chocolate Frosted and then return to the booth.

“How do you stay in shot-blocking shape?” Mick, his microphone not yet open, asks me.

As we take our seats before the first half’s closing segment, I tell them that I walk to work and take the stairs instead of the elevator.

The white button is now lit, meaning we’re back on the air. Mick, seated to my right, mentions my “darling” wife and how, as a birthday gift, she arranged my appearance on the show. He then references my presence at HFBoards as Shotblocker32.

Dupes, across the table from me, wonders what number I have on the back of the Black and Gold replica jersey I’m wearing.

Number 32. Boston Bruin Don Sweeney.

After another commercial break, the second hour begins. Mick is still chewing on what he refers to as an “unfettered” Old Fashioned that he says sticks to your teeth in an unusual sort of way. He looks to me to add commentary.

“I’m all about the donuts,” I say, adding that I know what my role on this show is.

‘This is great radio…,” says Dave Shook, who takes time out from pressing the buttons in the control room. “Best radio banter that nobody can see.”

On the Shelf, Part VII: Hockey Player for Life

2009-01-11T14:06:00.006-05:00

I’m no Patrice Bergeron, but when yesterday I read about how he’s dealing with his slow-healing injury, I tapped into the recovery process, from frustration to acceptance. The prevailing coping mechanism seems to be patience. So while my ailing groin, which is responding to physical therapy, keeps me on the shelf, I submit another book report.

Hockey Player for Life won me over early on when author Howard Shapiro references Vic Hadfield (one of my dad’s favorite players), Lucien Deblois (I played pond hockey with one of his throwaway sticks), and Bruce Springsteen (need I say more?). What kept me reading this fictional account of a “can’t miss” future NHLer is how the protagonist’s relationship with hockey, his teammates, and his family develop. Teenager Tom Leonard, a puck-lugging defenseman for the Magic Rats, overcomes obstacles—some of his own making—and remains loyal to the game he—and I—love most. Shapiro’s deft maneuvering from scene to scene, in which he infuses forgiveness and redemption, is akin to Bobby Orr’s grace from goal line to goal line. Order the book from Amazon, here.

Holy Cross Hockey Kudos

2009-01-06T21:26:00.004-05:00

At Logan International Airport on New Year’s Day, Holy Cross freshman Jay Silvia is in line to check his bags. The Crusaders, after what Silvia calls a “slow start,” are headed to Colorado to play in the Wells Fargo Denver Cup. Silvia hopes for a first round win against the University of Denver and then a rematch with Boston University, if the Terriers defeat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, for the championship.

Against BU on November 25, the Crusaders lost 3–2. But, Silvia says, “We played them real tough.”

The two teams board the same flight and then fly, without incident, to Denver. The next night, the Crusaders tie the highly–touted Pioneers but then lose in a shootout. Silvia and his teammates rebound to beat RPI, which lost to BU, to win third place in the tournament.

When Holy Cross returns, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations Jim Wrobel says, via e-mail, of his team, “…They played very well tying the No. 5 team in the nation on their home ice and then defeating a(n) ECAC team.”

A day later, Silvia, who earned two assists in Denver, is named Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week.

The Crusaders play a home-and-home set—the first in Worcester, the second in Springfield—this weekend against Atlantic Hockey foe, the American International Yellow Jackets.

Hockey Sunday: Around the (Boston) Globe

2009-01-06T05:22:00.001-05:00

A trip around Sunday’s Boston Globe, which the AMHL Photographer and I read during our visits to Dunkin’ Donuts, revealed plenty of news about hockey and Canada—and it wasn’t all in the sports section.

In travel, Diane Daniel (her column is titled “Where They Went”) profiles two friends who, in July, visited Nova Scotia. While on Cape Breton, the twosome stayed at the Keltic Lodge Resort. My wife and I have never stayed there, so I can’t recommend it. But we could see the resort from the Castle Rock Country Inn, which we visited in 2001. At Avalon the restaurant, which operates from the inn, order whatever you want for dinner as long as it’s preceded by the Caesar salad and followed by the cheesecake. On par with the victuals, at least in spring and summer, are the benevolent breezes, which keep away the mosquitoes from the bay (night or day).

In comics, Bill Amend’s FoxTrot captured my attention. Two skaters had painted jagged blue “cracks” in the ice to dissuade others from joining the duo. Clever. But because a few people in Massachusetts at least, have fallen through fragile ice, I recommend you stay off the ponds (unless it’s Frog Pond, which you can rent on Monday nights) for a few more weeks.

GlobeWest hosts a weekly contest, whereby readers submit captions for a cartoon. The winner in Sunday’s paper had entered this caption: “Aw, geez, who gave Cheevers a chain saw” to accompany the illustration of a man wearing an old-time goalie mask while he sculpts a six-foot high block of ice.

Back to sports...According to Kevin Paul Dupont’s article in the Boston Globe archives, current B’s management gave Cheesy, the B’s former Hall of Fame netminder and most recently pro scout, the axe in 2006.

2008: Reflections from Donut Land

2008-12-31T09:27:00.002-05:00

Here in Donut Land, we reflect on the Top Twelve (not the Top Ten) memories from 2008.

1. My 2008 donut calendar: the first of every month was like Christmas Day
2. Bruins vs. Canadiens, Game Six: “This building is vibrating.” (Jack Edwards)
3. AMHL Tuesday: Dual Shutout
4. High Altitude Training in Jackson Hole, WY
5. AMHL Wednesday: Sharks vs. Canadiens
6. October in Ottawa
7. Reconnecting with the Rockies: Krazy George, Wilf Paiement, and Joe Fletcher
8. AMHL Thursday: Coaching the “Red Army” Team
9. Barry Manilow moment on the New England Hockey Journal Radio Show (NEHJRS)
10. Eric “Danke” Schoen: 1000 career points and an AMHL championship
11. The Bruins’ current 9-game winning streak: longest since 1982
12. My new bookshelf: filled with three dozen or so books about hockey (and donuts)

And a half-dozen of what and who to watch, wait, and hope for in 2009:

1. Blake Wheeler: The Calder Trophy candidate (leads all rookies in goals and plus/minus)
2. Mattias Borman: the Super Swede may lead the FCAHA in scoring
3. A special guest appearance on the NEHJRS by “Jimmy from Maynard”
4. An AMHL Glory update
5. A Stanley Cup in Boston
6. Miracles for *Mike Chase: Keep the faith, buddy.

*Please contact me if you'd like to make a donation

AMHL Thursday Championship: Three Cups

2008-12-29T15:43:00.006-05:00

December 18, 2003
Concord, MA

Week 15 the Championship
Do you believe in miracles?

In Rink 1, it was David vs. Goliath as the first place Red Army team cam in losers of one regulation game facing the 7–7 Panthers (Team USA) ....

…The Red Army came out overconfident and listless and the spunky Panthers made them pay early, jumping out to a 2–1 lead after one period on goals by Dean Banfield and Dave Losier.

Rob Mirakov had two goals to keep it close but Kevin Leverone’s goal with 5 minutes in the second and Losier’s second of the game in the third sealed the deal for the sequel…

-Excerpt from the AMHL Thursday Ticker

While VP AMHL Thursday Operations Kevin Reilly, who would write the content above, collects hockey sweaters to be laundered, Panther goalie Dan Barros savors the fresh-brewed victory and its spoils—the Koffey Cup—in the Panthers’ locker room.

Meanwhile, Leverone is in the donut room, where most of this morning’s combatants convene for the lavish, season-ending breakfast provided by AMHL management. Leverone tells the AMHL media that Barros is his first star of the game.

A few minutes later, Barros, in typical unassuming fashion, enters the room without any fanfare. But the media recognizes a star when it sees one and presses him to share his hockey story: the history leading up to this morning’s upset over the mighty “Red Army” (officially known as the Capitals), who had not lost to the Panthers.

Barros (pictured above), whose positioning and efficient technique reminds the AMHL Photographer of Martin Brodeur, is not prone to waste movement. Barros doesn't easily dispense words.

“I was nine or ten,” the soft-spoken Barros recalls about his earliest playing days, when he skated at John F. Donnelly Field in what Barros has referred to as the "People's Republic of Cambridge" (MA). Little Danny skated on the tennis courts, which, each winter, were transformed into hockey venues.

“I played a lot of street hockey, too.” Barros says. It was then, in the heyday of the Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins that Dan began his tenure between the pipes. He went on to play goalie in the Cambridge Youth Hockey program and then for Matignon High School. He harbored no lofty illusions of playing college hockey, however. But at Boston College, Barros did mind to the nets, if only in the occasional pickup game.

More than twenty years after graduation, Barros is not a sporadic fill-in; he’s an AMHL regular. In his ten-year career, his 3.96 Thursday GAA is—in a league that has more hangers than Burlington Coat Factory—is right up there with the leaders. And he’s appreciated not only by teammates such as Leverone but also by the “Red Army’s” Coach Dwyerkov (a distant cousin of Victor Tikhonov, who watched Team USA perform its first miracle).

“Barros is so steady,” Dwyerkov said after he had banished his squad to the locker room. “Those first period saves he made on (Tom) Hargravov and (Doug)Wightski were stellar. Then, after Mirakov beat him on that first breakaway, I think Barros told himself no way was Mirakov going to beat him on the next. And that sure was the case. We didn’t have many chances, but when we did, Barros barred the door for them. He looked like Jim Craig out there.”

But Barros, his Koffey Cup now complemented by two containers—one containing fresh-brewed coffee, the other eggs and pancakes because there were no plates left—disregards the accolades and credits his teammates. “Today we won with great back-checking and clogging up the neutral zone. We didn’t let them play their game, and we played ours.”

Spoken like a true champion.

Three Stars, as voted by the AMHL Media

3. Rob “Mirakov”: Normally the master of the empty-net goal, he put two past Barros.

2. “Losierone”: A product of Kevin Reilly’s imagination, Losier and Leverone are a formidable opponent (and the AMHL’s equivalent of a celebrity combined name).

1. Danny “Bar the Door” Barros

Honorable Mention:

Kevin Reilly: His rich ticker commentary inspired this story.
Dean Banfield: His circus stick tipped in his team’s first goal.
Kenny Tarrov: His great saves kept the "Red Army" close.

Bruins Recap: All Aboard

2008-12-14T20:58:00.002-05:00

Another successful week for the Bruins has Boston—from Alewife to the Aquarium; from Back Bay to Charlestown—buzzing about the Black and Gold. All aboard, then, for this week’s recap.

On Monday morning—a day off for the AMHL Photographer and me—we entered the Red Line train at Alewife Station. Posters promoting NESN’s Instigators show greeted us.

After eating breakfast at Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe (I recommend the turkey hash) in the South End; watching the penguins, sharks, and winter skates at the New England Aquarium; lunch at Jose McIntyre’s (bring on the steak burrito), and then a ferry ride (on the SS Rookie) to and from Charlestown, we descended to the Blue Line.

A familiar voice echoed through the cavernous platform area. “This is Andrew Ference…,” the B’s injured defenseman and go-green guy, announced.

“Whoo hoo, Andy!” I yelled, as Ference proclaimed the merits of mass transport.

My wife and I took the Blue Line to the Green Line, where Mike Milbury, Jack Edwards, and Andy Brickley’s likenesses again greeted us, to the Prudential Center (we skipped dinner in favor of dessert).

With dusk developing into darkness, we walked thru “the Pru” to Back Bay Station. The throng there consisted of commuters and Bruins’ fans, who, unlike us, were headed for the Garden.

“Yeah, Bruins,” I bellowed as I patted a fan on the back. He and his friends or family would watch the B’s in person while TLP (the league photographer) and I would watch on NESN. The Bruins beat the Bolts, 5–3.

On Wednesday night, the growing fan base was disappointed when, in Washington, D.C., the Bruins out-shot the Capitals but lost, 1–3.

Two days later in Atlanta, the Black and Gold bounced back to trash the Thrashers. Then, last night, the Bruins bashed the Thrash again, this time in front of a full-house at the Garden.

Running roughshod over the weaker teams (when you’ve won twenty games, that means every team except the Sharks, whom the Bruins host in February) has become commonplace, but the Bruins don’t appear to be complacent when assessing their performance; they know they still have improvements to make: finishing on scoring chances (not good enough against the Capitals) and preventing opponents from scoring the last goal of the game (the Thrashers did that in successive games).

Come this Thursday, when the Bruins host the Leafs in front of fans—many of whom have arrived at North Station via the commuter rail and the Green Line—we’ll see if the B’s can keep this train rolling.

If you’re already enjoying the ride, fantastic. If not, I think Andrew Ference would agree: Get on board.

On the Shelf, Part VI: Quotable Quotes and Open Ice

2008-12-07T17:24:00.006-05:00

“He who learns must suffer.”
-Aeschylus

The nexus of my adductor longus and iliopsoas was on the mend. Nearly three months after tearing those muscles, I resumed skating, at least in pre-game warm-ups; I could feel the improvement from week to week as I anticipated an early-December return to the Capitals’ roster. But now, the injury may be getting worse. Maybe it was last week’s violent sneezes (coupled with my predisposition for delayed reaction) that has caused an intermittent searing sensation in the damaged area. Whatever the cause, I’ll be on the shelf for who knows how long. My hopes for a return this season have vanished, but I’m confident this unexpected and prolonged absence will enlighten me as much as I’m hopeful the following review will prod you to purchase the book.

Open Ice
by Jack Falla

Falla was a master at connecting the dots, those seemingly so-far-away quotes—from Aeschylus to Emerson—to poignant points in his own life. From “A Death in Montreal”, where Falla found solace in Emerson’s thoughts about other men, lenses, and reading our minds, to “Goodbye to the Backyard Rink?”, where the self-proclaimed “hockey lifer” juxtaposed Jewett’s comments about chapter endings, Open Ice has become a posthumous farewell to all those who love hockey as much as the author did and—I believe—still does.

“I kept thinking about religion, death and the possibility of an afterlife…,” Falla wrote, in “Requiem for the Cucumber”, about his road trip from Chicoutimi (where cool as a you-know-what George Vezina is buried) to Quebec City (where Falla felt connected to his forebears).

Falla, of French Canadian heritage and a former amateur netminder, chronicled his evolving connection to the namesake for the trophy awarded to the NHL’s finest goalie; describes the rise and fall—and rebirth—of a “particular subspecies of the genus hockey player” in “The Rink Rat”; and finds strength by learning to let go of his home ice in “Goodbye to the Backyard Rink?”

As I recount my reading of Falla’s gracious revelations, I think of the quote that he employed—this one to enrich his respect for hockey’s greatest amateur player in “Searching for Hobey Baker”—as it relates to Falla himself.

“His nature is too noble for this world.”-Coriolanus, by William Shakespeare

Bruins Recap: Fours

2008-12-01T07:07:00.008-05:00

The Boston Bruins are back on Beantown’s sports radar, and I’m back to blogging about them here. Every week, I’ll expand upon the commentary I and other hard-core fans have made at HFBoards and on the New England Hockey Journal Radio Show (NEHJRS).

The secret to the Black and Gold’s success is not the nifty new third sweater design but rather balance. Everyone is contributing, so the team can roll all four lines. So with that in mind, I’ll keep these four shifts short:

4 Even before Saturday night’s 4–1 win over the Wings, the Bruins—with their 15–4–0-4 record, were earning more attention in the Boston Globe. Check out what’s on Marc Savard’s iPod and what’s on the equipment manager’s To-do list.

4Globe writer and NEHJRS co-host Kevin Paul Dupont’s handle at HFBoards is “Hub of Hockey”. Keeping rhyming in the reasoning, that means twineminder Tim Thomas (not even on the NHL All-star ballot, which lists ten other goalies) is the Snub of Hockey. And the Four’s Restaurant and Sports Bar, official sponsor of the NEHJRS trivia question, is the Pub of Hockey.

4On Saturday’s show, regular caller “Kevin from Melrose” provided a nickname for Bruin rookie forward Blake Wheeler: “Mambo Mosaic of Minnesota.” Clever, Kev, but too long. I say shorten it to “3M”, a prominent Minnesota company.

4The only game the B’s lost last week was in Buffalo. The loss doesn’t bother me so much—can’t win ‘em all—as the post-game party tune. Sabres marketing, which in a game last year used “I’m Shippin’ Up to Boston”, pilfered our play list again, this time serenading the bah-bah-bahing crowd with “Sweet Caroline.” I suggest that, in protest, Marc Savard remove from his iPod any tunes by the Buffalo-based band, the Goo Goo Dolls.

Until next time, when the B’s are hopefully 18–4–0-4, happy hockey days.

AMHL Thursday: Saddle Up

2008-11-26T17:23:00.008-05:00

Image courtesy of Appaloosa at Flickr.com

November 20, 2008
Valley Sports, Rink Two
Concord, MA

“Saddle up your horses. We got a trail to blaze…”
-“The Great Adventure”, Steven Curtis Chapman

The Capitals’ locker room smells like a stable. Stench rarely bothers hockey players, but this morning’s stink is so rancorous that defenseman Erik “Sunday Silence” Domingo is taken aback.

Are the 2–9–0–0 Avalanche, this morning’s opponent, playing a prank on the 9–1–0–1 Caps?

Domingo checks the shower floor for road apples but finds nothing that needs to be removed from the premises. The Caps can overcome the toxic tendrils of unknown source, but will the team—without four key players—falter against the Avalanche?

Netminder Kenny “Northern Dancer” Tarr, Forward “Big Ben” Budds, Rob “Funny Cide” Mirak, and Doug “The Black Stallion” Wight, are all out to pasture—at least this morning.

And they’re off, the Capitals trotting left to right across your imaginary racetrack/rink...

...The Avalanche lead 2–1 on goals by Mike “Giacomo” Gardner and Tim “Tim Tam” Turner, but the Capitals pull even when Tom “Champion” Barrett and Tom “Trigger” Hargrave execute a perfect give-‘n’-go, Barrett roofing a shot over Mitch “Ponyboy” Weiss.

Still in the first period, the Capitals score three more goals before Steve “Quick Draw McGraw” Cook, snaps a wrister past Stephanie, “Rags to Riches” Spunt, who was claimed off waiver wires to replace Kenny Tarr.

After one period, it’s 5–3 Capitals.

“It looks like the Bruins last night,” says Hargrave, referencing the hometown team’s first period against the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

Whoa, Nellie. The Avalanche, even without scoring stud Paul “Seldom Seen” Nelson counter with two goals, including one that ricochets off a loose saddle and then drops behind Spunt.

But Mike “Real Quiet” Hansen lopes past an Av defenseman and then beats Weiss like a dusty saddle blanket. No one-trick pony, Hansen scores again and then watches Brent “Sea Biscuit” Delehey beat Weiss high to the blocker side.

After two periods, the Caps lead, 7–4.

“What are you doing?” Spunt asks the Capitals’ lame bench jockey. “Coaching? Statistician…?”

Gatekeeping. And betting on the Caps.

The Avalanche will not quit. They again pull within two lengths on goals from Rich “the Pinto” Perkins and Cook.

But the Avs don’t have the…uh…horses and can’t catch the Caps. 8–6 is your final, equine enthusiasts.

With one game left in the regular season, the Capitals have blazed a trail to first place and—in the Great Adventure known as the AMHL Play-offs—are the odds-on favorite to win the Koffey Cup.

AMHL Thursday, Part II: Great Expectations

2008-11-15T15:39:00.002-05:00

"Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations."

-Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

Last week, the first installment of our AMHL saga ended with the underdog Bruins trailing the bourgeoisie, 0–1. But the B’s have not lost faith. Nay. Despite the team’s losing record, they aspire to greatness; as Dickens’ protagonist Pip sought to transform himself from a blacksmith to gentleman, the Bruins seek an escape from the forge of sub-mediocrity.

The King of the Capitals, who would be joining the battle had it not been for a lower body injury, has been surprised by the Bruins doggedness and, at the first intermission, informs his minions of the statistics: twelve shots on goal for the Bruins, four for his own team. Not good enough.

Angered by the uprising, the Capitals—skating right to left across your classic literature—wage an assault on goalie Steve Scansaroli. The brawny backstop’s defense seems to have given up the cause and offers only token support. Scansaroli is under siege. A pad save here, a glove save there, Scans holds his own until the Caps score off a rebound. Later in the second period, Cap center Brent “Scooter” Delehey displays Orr-like presence: Scooter carries the puck into Bruin territory and then confuses his opponents by pretending to fall. As his opponents wonder how to respond, Scooter—his twisted torso serving as a Zamboni—passes the puck left, to John Field, who beats Scansaroli.

The Bruins counterstrike on gatekeeper Ken Tarr, who has been alert and agile. But when his own defense is not able to reach a rebound, Tarr is helpless to stop a grateful Bruin.

However, the Capitals respond by pouncing on yet another rebound and then beat an abandoned Scansaroli.

After two periods, the king is content with his underlings’ offensive outburst: eighteen shots on goal. But the AMHL’s upper class allowed nine shots. His majesty knows that a 4–1 lead in this league is not insurmountable. And the Bruins (several of whom may have read Great Expectations in junior high school) still have high hopes.

The rebels regroup and then attack. Scott “A-Train” Arnold, once an apprentice blacksmith, chugs in on a breakaway. But Kenny Tarr, who traded in his smithing tools for a regal robe and a fine facemask, drops a metaphorical anvil in front of Arnold.

The king is pleased, even when the revolutionaries score on their sixth shot (another rebound) this period. The insurrection is about to be suppressed for good when, late in the game, Rob “Mr. Open Net” Mirak has a clear shot at the vacated goal. His teammates have been chiding him—all in good fun—about his penchant for scoring goals after the opponent’s netminder has been yanked for an extra skater. So Mirak passes to teammate Mike Hansen who, with his sixth goal this season, sticks a stake in the once buoyant Bruins.

Shots on Goal
Bruins: 10
Capitals: 12

The game over and their battle gear returned to malodorous hockey bags, the players turn their attention to the donut pantheon. What sort of sweets will Adam “Donut Meister Meister Donut” Berger have procured for this morning’s participants? Will there be a sprinkled donut for Chad Mikkelson? How about a Boston Kreme for Scansaroli? A Munchkin for the king?

Now, what I have to relate about these old fellows is that they have great expectations.

AMHL Thursday: Tale of Two Teams

2008-11-10T06:59:00.003-05:00

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…
--in short, the period was so far like the present
period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its
being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree
of comparison only..”

-A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

Before last week’s match pitting the 7–0–0–1 Capitals against the 4–5–0–0 Bruins, one team was enjoying the metaphorical spoils (fresh, perfectly glazed donuts) served at the castle atop the AMHL Thursday standings; the other was hoping to avoid foraging for scraps (sprinkles from stale Munchkins) in the league’s cellar.

In the first period, the aristocrats have withstood a fierce attack from the noisy peasants. Capital twineminder Ken Tarr has repelled—stick saves, kick saves, whatever-it-takes saves—the angry mob of Bruins. Tarr’s counterpart, Steve Scansaroli, has been less busy fending off the federalists’ futile volleys. But then Capital forward Ben Budds skates through the laissez-faire defense to fire a shot over Scansaroli and below the crossbar.

The period ends with nobility on top, 1–0. But the hopeful underdogs are committed to toppling the upper class.

Shots on Goal
Capitals: 8
Bruins: 12

Tune in later this week for the second installment, Great Expectations.

On the Shelf, Part V: Just in Time

2008-10-26T20:13:00.005-04:00

“…Nothing hurting. Nothing sore. No one suffers anymore. The doctor’s found a simple cure. Just in time.”

-“When I am I King”
Great Big Sea

I miss playing hockey but am trying to count my blessings. The hockey and donut gods (I bet at least fifty percent live in Canada) have followed me more closely than they usually do, perhaps because the lower body injury I incurred six weeks ago is taking its own sweet time in healing. The deities haven’t cured my torn and tender iliopsoas but have delivered other extraordinary gifts.

On October 4th, the AMHL Photographer (a.k.a. my wife) and I watched the Bruins lose to the Islanders, and then we took the Green Line to the Theater District. We went to a comedy show, and a donut fight broke out. Almost. The warm-up dude (dude because he’s from California) for TV’s Craig Ferguson mentioned Krispy Kreme. I heard myself boo. And I wasn’t the only one. We caught him off guard, but the comedian recovered, joking that the audience was coming after him with “pitchforks and torches.”

On October 16th, Fort Collins’s Mr. Hockey (a.k.a. my dad) arrived from Colorado. The next morning, with my wife behind the wheel, we drove to Ottawa. We watched, from section 106, Row D (two rows behind the B’s bench) the Bruins beat the Senators, 4–2. The $176.00 (per seat) was a splurge but well worth it if only for providing a close-up view of Aaron Ward’s mouthpiece. After conducting extensive undercover ops, we returned to Boston—to watch a hockey game on October 20th.

The Bruins, in their home opener, would lose to the Penguins in a shootout, but to watch Mark Stuart during the pre-game ceremony was priceless. In numerical order, Bruin after Bruin heard his name announced and then glided to the blue line. Stuart, (Number 45) watched Aaron Ward (Number 44) embark for the blue line as Stuart waited for his turn. “Number 46, David Krejci.” Stuart, still waiting in the tunnel, shrugged his shoulders and then walked to the back of the line…“Number 91, Marc Savard.” Before the house lights came on and the smoke machine was dissembled, though, Stuart (unannounced) stepped on to the ice and raised his stick to acknowledge the cheering crowd. Then he joined his guffawing teammates.

My own teammates were in the locker room this Thursday morning when, for the first time in six weeks, I was on the ice, a stick in my hands and a helmet on my head. After a few tentative clockwise twirls around Rink Two and then a few counter-clock wise rings around the center face-off circle, I returned to the scene of my injury. Backwards, I crossed my left foot over my right and then vice-versa. No pain. I retrieved a puck, aimed for the seam in the boards, and then wristed a shot toward the target. Right on.

On Friday night, my wife and I and two non-hockey friends were at the Orpheum Theatre for a Great Big Sea show. We listened to front man Alan Doyle segue from one song to another. Boston is a great hockey town, he said, and “Helmethead” is a great hockey song.

“Helmethead,” “When I am King”…they’re Something Beautiful, and they came just in time. “Lucky Me.” Amen.

On the Shelf, Part IV: Midnight Hockey

2008-10-12T18:29:00.005-04:00

Iliopsoas is a fickle muscle, difficult to spell and even more difficult to determine when it’s ready for real action. Yesterday, I rode the exercise bike and then stretched, but iliopsoas is not ready for ice time. So while I’m still on the shelf from my early morning hockey games (my Capitals are doing just fine without me), so I give to you this review: a book about hockey (and beer).

Midnight Hockey: all about BEER, the BOYS, and the REAL CANADIAN GAME
By Bill Gaston

Like slamming back a few cold ones without any intermissions, I drank in this book in one sitting. A few year ago and in the passenger seat while the AMHL Photographer drove from St. John’s to Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, I laughed often as I became drunk on hockey.

Beer is what Gaston says is one of the “seductions that make the return to the rink an annual rite.” His book, written in a refreshing steady stream of consciousness, is not only a collection of his hockey memories, like playing in France, China, and Japan, but also a venue for venting his thoughts on hockey. Gaston offers colorful takes on everything from nicknames (Gaston answers to “Thrasher” and “Gasser”) to teams’ names (one of his favorites is Friends of Jesus). Gasser does so in the context of what may be his last season of oldtimers hockey. The defenseman pops in some goals and pops some tops with his pals, and the reader is left with a fantastic hockey hangover.

If you’re a hockey player, this book belongs on your shelf.

On the Shelf, Part III: That’s the Way It Is

2008-10-05T14:48:00.004-04:00

Since my hockey groin injury three weeks ago, the blood extending from my lower abdomen to my left knee has been reabsorbed. But the torn adductor and iliopsoas muscles are not yet ready for ice time. Could be four weeks or more before I’m ready for even a light skate. It’s tough to not participate, but playing is out of the question for now. That’s the way it is. An update, then, on last week’s activities while “on the shelf.”

Wednesday morning
Home

Celine Dion’s “That’s the Way It Is” sustains me as I perform light exercise on the Wobble Board. I’m in push-up position, my hands at 9:00 and 3:00 on the circular device. My abs beg me to exit the exercise, but I hold steady and look up at the objects sitting, left to right across your imagination, on the makeshift shelf: a picture of my parents; a photo of my kids, a personalized AMHL Avalanche photo puck that the AMHL Photographer, whose at the rink right now, created last May. “That’s the Way It Is”, the fourth of five songs in the rotation for my rehab session, and I stand up. A Christopher Cross tune is next on my iPod’s random playlist. I place my feet where my hands just were and then rock side-to-side and then front-to-back until “All Right” (I think we’re gonna make it concludes.

Thursday morning
Concord Valley Sports, Rink One

A different cast of characters has reported to play for the Capitals. Today is no different. Brent Delehey, who missed the first four games, is here today. Good thing because Mike “MMMBop” Hansen is out for the second consecutive game. And today is Scott Keith’s last game—family commitments will tear him away from finishing the season. Family first: That’s the way it is. But Rob “Mobile” Mirak has been here for every game, including this morning’s match against the Panthers.

It’s late in the third period, Caps skating left to right across your AMHL radio and the score 4–4. Mirak pots a goal and then performs a perfect pirouette. For the encore, he scores an empty-netter.

Mirak postulates a reason for the rally. “Gumption,” he says, and then skates off the ice. Bravo, Rob.

Friday
Work

Before walking to work, I completed another light workout session. Pain-free and grateful. Now I’m thinking of Mike “the Eagle” Chase. Like me, he’s also on the shelf. His condition, as many readers who’ve followed his story know, is much more serious than mine, however. Melanoma is fierce competitor, and chemotherapy is a difficult teammate. Mike hasn’t played in months, but he is back to work at Boston College. He has a CT Scan this afternoon and expects the results on Monday. Good luck to you, buddy. We’re, at least in spirit, with you and your family. That’s the way it is with the hockey community.

On the Shelf, Part II: Jack Falla

2008-09-28T08:07:00.008-04:00

While I’m still on the shelf (see Part I), I present to you a tribute to Jack Falla, who wrote the two books I’ll review below. Jack, who died on Sunday September 14, was more than just a great writer.

Home Ice: Reflections on Backyard Rinks and Frozen Ponds

I was geared up to read about the experiences the Fallas and their friends shared on the Bacon Street Omni. And Falla delivers the goods with humor and honesty, with wit and wisdom. But Home Ice, for me, has become more than a celebration of hockey and that which unites families and communities.

I, a relative newcomer to New England, didn’t expect to learn so much about the Boston Bruins. I had heard of Orr and O’Reilly, of course, but I didn’t grow up watching them as Falla did. He brings his memories of the Big Bad Bruins to life. Falla also mixes Black and Gold with the Oil. His skate with Wayne Gretzky enriches the book, giving it balance: the Great One juxtaposed to the average Joes who play on the pond.

Because I enjoyed the book so much and had started writing my own hockey book, I was compelled me to seek Falla’s literary counsel. Finding Falla was easy. A staff member at the Framingham Barnes & Noble told me that the author dropped in every once in a while to sign his books and that he would tell Falla about me.

In 2004, Jack took time out from his schedule, which included teaching sports journalism at Boston University, to discuss my own hockey memoir. Jack taught me about tighter writing, how to trim the fatty words. Later, he convinced me that I had a unique story and that readers deserved me as the central character.

As I wrote more and more and have developed this site, Jack has continued to encourage me. On December 29, 2007, he wrote this in an e-mail:

“Hi, James...looks as though you’ve created a nice hockey writing niche for yourself. Good for you. All best with it in 2008 and beyond.”

Then he told me about his book that would be released ten days later.

“I wrote my first novel, actually my first fiction of any kind not counting Sports Illustrated expense reports… It’s a humorous love story that plays out over a modern NHL season.”

Saved

A fictional account about a goalie of French Canadian ancestry and who plays in the NHL, Saved borders on non-fiction. It’s no serendipitous coincidence that Jean Pierre Savard plays goalie for Jack’s favorite team, the Bruins. It’s no surprise then, that Jack was also a netminder, and that like his protagonist, Falla’s family tree is partly rooted in French-speaking territory.

Falla’s description of the on-ice action and insights into how players deal with the media, and what happens in a player’s private life—as well as what he’s thinking—all read true. The novel also contains characters, names that Bruins and/or AMHL fans will recognize: Cam, Rancourt…even a cameo by a Dwyer. Other characters’ names sound more cartoon-like—“Flipside, “the Mad Hatter,” and “Rinky”—but add color to Falla’s commentary. And like any good book, conflict, sadness, doubt, compassion, faith, and redemption make this a keeper.

In that e-mail to me, Jack also mentioned the book he was writing, which would be released in September 2008.

I haven’t read Open Ice yet because I’m too sad.

You see, Jack closed the e-mail by saying, “My rink opened last week, this for its 25th consecutive season. Won’t be 25 more I’ll tell you that. May not be any more. But we did a quarter century. I’ll take it.

“A belated Joyeux Noel and an early bonne annee.”

I only met him face-to-face that one time. I'll take it, but I miss him.

Adieu mon ami. Repose en paix.

On the Shelf, Part I: Soda Jerk

2008-09-20T18:04:00.007-04:00

A lower-mid body injury I incurred two Thursdays ago—with about five minutes left in the game—will keep me on the shelf for I don’t know how long. Could be four weeks or four months. I’m trying to keep upbeat during this downtime, though. Although I won’t be writing anything like “…and this morning, I blocked a shot, finally scored a goal, and ate a donut..,” I hope you’ll enjoy AMHL action from different angles. Plus, I plan to deliver more reviews of hockey books I’ve read and that are literally (because they’re books) on the shelf.

Thursday, September 18
Rink Two

I arrive a little late, so I don’t make it to the Capitals' bench. I watch the first period from behind Avalanche netminder Mitch Weiss. We surrender the first goal but then lead 4–1 at the intermission.

I shuffle to the bench, where I figure I’ll be the gatekeeper. And because a few guys are missing this morning, I’ll do a little one-on-one coaching and player-profiling.

With a 4–2 lead, Mike “MMMBop” Hansen, Rob “Mobile” Mirak, Erik “Nunca el” Domingo, as well as two other teammates for whom I haven’t yet assigned nicknames—Scott Keith and John Field— are on the ice. That leaves only Doug Wight on the bench.

“Can I get you anything?” I ask Wight.

“A frappe.”

A few minutes later, Field takes his turn on the bench.

“Hey,” he says. “Can you tape this?”

I look up from my notes to see him holding his hockey stick, blade up.

“Kidding,” he says.

Add soda jerk and stick boy to my list of duties.

When Mirak sits, I ask him if he needs anything.

“No. I’m good.”

And he is. He and Hansen each are credited with four points in our 6–4 victory.

Tune in next week, when I’ll have hockey tape, if not a frappe maker.

AMHL Wednesday Championship: Wicked Good

2008-09-01T18:09:00.004-04:00

Editor’s note: Thanks to rinkside reporter, Iron Butterfly fan, and Shark forward Terry “the Ear” Loebs for filing this report—complete with a wicked Baaston accent.

I owe him a coffee-flavored beeah or a beeah-flavored coffee (and a donut).

August 27, 2008
Rink One

Shaaks vs. Habs

Sharks swimming right to left across your mind’s ears…

Thanks to the acrobatic goaltending of Kate Fallon, who turned aside shots from (in degree of difficulty order) Anastas, Donahue, Corke, Mandarano and Fox, the Shaaks managed to open a 2–0 lead. The first maaker for the Shaaks came after Shark Mike Tavis dove headlong towards the boards to keep the puck in the zone. After righting himself, he kicked the puck to Bob “Postal Tape Boy” Kilkenny, who then dished smaatly to Terry “I Can Ear You” Loebs. Loebs wound-up the windmill center slot, closed his eyes tight, and made contact with the biscuit, which found its way through a maze of players and the fully-inflated (Garth Snow signature model) pads of goaltender Mitch Weiss. However, it would take much more than a lucky goal like to this to deflate the Habs’ spirit (or Weiss’s pads).

Seven minutes and several scintillating flashes of leather (by Fallon and Weiss) later, Canada-born Marc (“Maak the Knife”) Vallee ginsu’d his way through the neutral zone with two Habs defenders clinging to his back. To no avail—Maak managed a one-armed roof job over a sprawling Weiss. 2–0 Shaaks.

Now in the second period, the Habs were pissed now: Not only had the Shaaks managed to take a 2–0 lead halfway through the match, but the fact that they did so without any assistance from Mike “Show No” Moore—a no-show for this championship contest—was especially grating on the collective psyche of le bleu, blanc et rouge.

As Weiss nailed the door shut with save after sprawl, the Habs soon got busy. Paul Anastas weaved his way from end-to-end, leaving five Shaak jocks in his wake and then deposited the disc in the top right corner. The Habs followed that tally with a maaker from Tim Donahue from in-close, and then a gorgeous re-direction of a Donahue pass by Bill Mandarano cutting across the slot in front of Shaaks goaltender Fallon. 3–2 Habs.

The Shaaks, known for their thick skin, wicked shaap teeth and no Moore, were still down but not out as third period play began. Numerous chances were registered by the tenacious teal—including from Postal Tape Boy, "Grinder" Greg Longtine, Kevin "Well Done" Weldon, and Jamal “In a Gadda” Davita—but Weiss was there to deny every opportunity. Larry "Downtown" Brown had a blast from the point that clanged the crossbar. With the Shaaks threatening and within whiskers of knotting the score—and Kate Fallon standing on her head stopping multiple odd–man rushes—the Habs decided it was time to interrupt the fishes’ mounting mojo by calling for a timeout with 5:30 to go before the next drop of the puck, deep in the Habs’ zone.

On the ensuing draw, the Shaaks' Postal Tape Boy won the draw back to Larry Brown (presumably, this was not part of the plan the Habs concocted). Downtown fired a wicked haaad shot that Weiss denied with his left leg pad, but Loebs was there to pick up the trash and tie the score 3–3 with just under five minutes to play. The timeout strategy worked swiftly and effectively—albeit, for the fish.

The Shaaks countered several Hab attacks over the course of the game’s final minutes, and riding the euphoria of another Fallon stop, they lumbered down to the Habs’ end (although Longtine raced there). Tavis to Vallee to Weldon to Longtine, back to Tavis, and then after a few hacks, whiffs and saves in the crease, Chuck “a Puck” Livoli found an opening and fired an absolute laser beam through the back of the net (that's how Livoli would describe it, anyway).to put the Shaaks up for good, 4–3.

Following the game, Livoli remaaaked, “We had one more goal than they did at the end of three periods, so we won. By winning the final game of the play-offs, we are the champs. As champs, we get beer to go, eh?”

Head Over Heels: Top (Half) Dozen Favourite Hockey (and Donut) Movies

2008-08-23T12:14:00.005-04:00

A song I recently heard on my iPod triggered thoughts of hockey movies and their soundtracks, so I figured I’d list, not necessarily in order, my favorite hockey (and donut) movies.

Wayne’s World: Although neither hockey (nor donuts) is the central theme of this popular movie, it’s hard to ignore Stan Mikita or the ringed confections he sells in his shop. And “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Ballroom Blitz?” Party on!

Miracle: The best pure hockey movie. 100% inspiration. For the underdog in all of us, “Dream On”!

Mystery, Alaska: Starring Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds and with cameos by Barry Melrose and Mike Myers, why this film didn’t do better in the theatres is a…question to which I don’t have the answer. The soundtrack includes “The Star Spangled Banner” and “O Canada”. Fitting for a film featuring Alaska but filmed in Alberta.

Slap Shot: You had to know this one would be on the list. Besides the Hanson brothers and their toys and the puck hitting the radio announcer’s head, the soundtrack makes me want to sing “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”.

Strange Brew: I know who Bob and Doug are, but I haven’t seen the whole movie. But if Chris “Donut Boy” Howell says this flick is his favorite hockey movie, then that’s good enough for me. The two hosers’ Web site even has an audio clip about donuts. Take off, eh?

13 Going on 30: Like Wayne’s World, this movie isn’t really about hockey (and there are no donuts, only Razzles). But the main character’s last name is Rink, and she dates a fictitious New York Ranger. How could you not fall “Head Over Heels” for this one?

Well, gotta Go-Go and get back to my iPod.

AMHL Thursday: Going for the Gold

2008-08-16T08:29:00.005-04:00

(Image courtesy of Tom M. at flickr.com)

My gold medal from Lake Placid hangs from the key rack to my right. The Miracle movie poster is on the wall to my left. I’m dressed in full hockey gear (except for my helmet and skates) and pull open the door.

The play-offs don’t start until next week, but like athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, I’m going for the gold this morning.

We, the Panthers, have lost four straight, including a 2–10 drubbing by the Capitals four weeks ago. But this morning, with the world taking a break from watching those other games in China to tune into AMHL-TV, we’re hammering those same Caps. We lead 5–3 after the first period.

In the second period, skating left to right across your AMHL imagination, we keep driving toward the net. My smooth-skating and high-scoring teammate Tom “Badah Bing” Barrett skates into the Caps’ zone. At the far circle, he controls the puck and skirts a Cap defenseman. Barrett skates across the crease and then pushes the puck past the sprawled goalie. Badah Boom!

The Italian judge awards Barrett a 9.75.

Later in the second period, Eric “Danke” Schoen controls a perfect pass from Dave “Mr. Hockey” Losier. Below the near circle, Schoenie strides across the crease. He falls forward but still manages to slip the puck past the netminder.

The German judge raises his scorecard for the TV audience: 9.6.

In the third period, it’s my turn to shine. Inside the Caps’ blue line I’m unguarded, waiting for a pass. As the puck approaches, I lose my balance, as if the ice between my skates has cracked to reveal an ocean. The puck slips past me as my arms flap like windmill blades and my legs wobble like I’m on a surfboard.

To my immediate left, the Capitals on the bench are laughing. So is the supposedly neutral official. I’m okay, thanks boys.

And the Caps don’t take advantage of my mistake.

I have a chance to redeem myself. Our forwards backcheck deep into our zone and create a turnover. I’m the high man in our zone, so I fill the void created by our defensively responsible left wing and join Losier on a two-on-one. Losier skates the puck up the right wing and over the Caps’ blue line, waiting for me to catch up. He dishes a puck to the where I’m headed. Below the near circle, I cradle the puck. A right-handed shooter, I have a good angle, so I hoist the puck high glove side. Not high enough, though.

But we still win. And after the game, Cap forward Peter Kokas tells me the Russian judge gave me a 9.5 for my windmill act.

No gold, but winning the bronze still places me on the podium with Barrett and Schoen.

Katie's Fight

2008-08-02T12:09:00.006-04:00

Nine hundred thousand is a nice number if it’s your NHL salary.

For Katie Thomas, a Colorado Avalanche season-ticket holder, that dollar amount is a nightmare. The thirty-three year-old single mom, who in 2007 was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, said the cost of her clinical trial, which is not covered by her health insurance, is approaching that figure.

Thursday night, Katie sounded cheerful talking about hockey (and donuts) but admitted that the trial treatment, which was necessary because traditional treatment wasn’t effective, saps her strength.

“I’ve lost considerable weight,” she said. (The treatment) weakens my bone structure.”

But Katie hasn’t lost hope—hope that she’ll recover sufficiently to skate with her nine-year-old daughter at Big Bear Ice Arena in Aurora, CO or maybe return to playing pick-up hockey with her nephews.

“I’ll need a good year after I’m declared in remission to skate again,” she said.

Until then, she’ll endure the treatments, watch her daughter skate, and root for Milan Hejduk—her favorite player because he’s under-rated—and the Avalanche.

The NHL is helping Katie with medical expenses by donating funds raised at an online auction, where you can bid on rare autographed sports memorabilia—from hockey sweaters to pictures to pucks. Items signed by members of the Miracle on Ice, Phil Kessel, and Ray Bourque are up for grabs. Items signed by Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and other greats are also available. The bidding ends on Thursday, August 7th.

As the spirit moves you, please consider bidding or a donating directly to Katie’s fund.

With your help, Katie will sleep more soundly.

Baby Steps and the Boston Kreme

2008-07-26T07:40:00.005-04:00

(Image courtesy of ktheory at flickr.com)
What do Heather Wright, Dave Mello, Hall Gill, and Aaron Ward have in common?

AMHL fans will recognize the names Wright and Mello; Bruins fans know about Gill and Ward. These four players love hockey, and they love the Boston Kreme donut.

I’m a big fan of these player but not of their favorite donut.

The Boston Kreme, one of Dunkin’ Donuts’ top sellers, would be too messy and too sweet. I like my donuts tidy, no spillage. And too much sugar would force me into giving up on my donut after one or two bites.

Might I be wrong?

At our favorite Dunkin’ Donuts last week, the AMHL Photographer ordered a Boston Kreme. I stuck with my standard, the Chocolate Frosted. We sat down at our regular table, in the corner. My wife then extended her hand toward me, offering me a bite of the Boston Kreme.

No thanks.

“Chicken,” she taunted me.

She then bit into it, the vanilla stuff oozing from the center. Ick.

“Last bite?” she offered again.

I declined.

“You big baby,” she persisted.

My resolve wavering, I reached for what was left of the once-round specimen and then nibbled on it. Not bad. The “Kreme” filling surprised me. It wasn’t so much a rich cream as it was a subtle pudding. And as everybody knows, four out of five dentists would recommend pudding-filled donuts over cream-filled donuts to their patients who eat donuts. I finished it and was content with my progress.

Am I ready for an entire Boston Kreme?

The ooze factor still bothers me, but I’m open to more “baby steps” therapy.

I wonder if Wright, Mello, Gill, or Ward had to take baby bites before they could no longer resist the entire donut.

Bruins Development Camp: Time Will Tell

2008-07-13T12:25:00.005-04:00

Saturday, July 12th 2008
Wilmington, MA

Across the street from Ristuccia Memorial Arena, the AMHL Photographer and I are at Dunkin’ Donuts, waiting for our food order.

“That’s a perfect clock for you” she says, directing my gaze to the wall behind me.

The chronometer features orange and fuchsia letters forming in a circle: DUNKIN DONUTS. The little hand is almost on the D where a 9 would be, the big hand on the D where the 12 would be.

The last day of development camp starts at 9:30, so my wife and I get our order to go…to join the other fans at Ristuccia.

Inside the arena, others in the gathering crowd are enjoying their morning coffees as professional hopefuls take the ice.

A few observations:

-Michael Hutchinson is dressed like he’s the Bonavista (NL) lighthouse. Red and white stripes run down his leg pads, and protecting his head is a glowing red bulb that rivals Rudolph’s nose. Hutch may look like a lighthouse, but he’s as quick as a cat this morning in the early drills.

-St. Stephen (NB) native, former Bruin defenseman, and Director of Player Development Don Sweeney (pictured above) is running the show. Chocolate Town’s favourite son looks as slim as a Thin Mint as he barks instructions to his charges.

-In one-on-one drills, defenseman Denis Reul pressures forward Levi Nelson, but the huge blueliner can’t contain the determined attacker from firing once—zinging the puck off the post—and then from collecting the rebound to shoot again. This time Nelson nicks the other post but doesn’t score

-The AMHL Photographer likes the sound of Maxine Sauve’s name. I like his speed and hustle. The forward from Boisbriand (QC) skirts around a D-man and then puts the puck past the goalie. Without stopping, Sauve continues the drill, charging back down the ice on a back-checking assignment. Sauve reaches his target, and then rubs him out of the play. A defenseman’s dream come true!

I’m not the only defenseman in the crowd, which I estimate at 600. Behind me is a fellow who skates in the Top Shelf Hockey League in Hudson (NH). He won’t make it to the NHL or even lead his league in goals (remind you of any hockey writers you know?), but he’s good on the power play. The All Day Power Play.

If you’d like to join him and other players in a pick-up hockey marathon, held on July 26-27 to benefit the Nashua Children’s Home, please visit All Day Power Play’s Web site today.

Back on the ice, the developing Bruins participate in a spirited scrimmage. Will any of them make it to the Show this year? Or next? Or ever? Time will tell.