Doozies, Don’ts, and Donuts

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.

AMHL Wednesday: Over-sized Mites

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 Koffey 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.

AMHL Wednesday Championship: Reputations

August 15, 2007
Concord, MA

Word on the street is that Bill “the Butcher of Billerica” Mandarano is wild. Officials in the Sonus Street Hockey League refer to Bill as a “crashing jetliner” but also list him as the league’s second-leading scorer in league’s two-year history.

In his two seasons in the AMHL, fans have yet to see the “savage style” that strikes fear in the hearts of his street hockey opponents, but Mandarano has excited AMHL faithful with his sweet move (not a typo: Bill says he has only one move).

Fifty ticks into the Wednesday Championship against the top-ranked Canadiens, Bill skates into the Habs’ zone—right to left across your AMHL broadband—into the near circle. Mandarano, a right-handed shot, dekes a defender with a powerful forehand-to-backhand move and cuts across the crease, sliding the puck past Kenny “KISS Fan” Tarr to stake the Sharks to a 1–0 lead.

Almost five minutes later, Sharks’ bad-boy Mike “Rhymes with Neely” Seeley, who before the game said of his team-leading twelve penalty minutes, “I have a reputation to keep up,” stews in the sin bin as he watches Tim Matthews score for Les Habitants.

Matthews, esteemed for play that has earned him the Art Ross Trophy (a.k.a., Points Puck) will likely be lauded with AMHL Rookie of the Year honors, but he’s not focused on that. Tim and his Canadiens watch the Sharks extend their lead to 3–1 on a goal by Ed “the Teal Baron” Maron and then to 4–1.

“2 from 15. 2 from 15,” the referee says. “I say everything twice. I say everything twice.”

Number 2 is Sharks’ sharpshooter Tim Donahue, who has notched his second goal of the game, assisted by Mandarano.

Dana Salvo, who this season surpassed Gordie Howe’s mark for career points and has his sights set on Gretzky’s record, scores off a rebound; but AMHL rookie phenom Donahue nets a natural hat trick with :07 on the clock to give the Sharks a 5–2 lead after the first period.

“Don’t let up!” a Shark exhorts his teammates.

But the second period belongs to the goalies. Tarr, who (excluding substitute goalies) led the Wednesday division with a 3.40 GAA entering this morning’s game, keeps the Sharks at bay while his counterpart, Kate Fallon, who entered the game with a 3.80 GAA, is sharp as a shark’s tooth.

In the third period, Matthews tallies for the Habs at 3:59; but Mandarano, with his patented toe-drag move, counters to make the score 6–3. The outlook looks bleak for the Canadiens when Donahue scores a power play goal midway through the period, but the Habs storm back with goals by Greg Longtine—a sweeping one-timer from the slot—and then Ken MacLeod—a wrister from a few feet inside the right point.

With 1:35 remaining on the clock and with Seeley serving time for tripping, Matthews scores to close the Sharks’ lead to 7–6.

Seeley, the pride and joy of Port Huron who has been playing tough D for the Sharks all morning (despite being shown to the penalty box three times) is not know for his offensive skills outside Eastern Michigan. He did score two goals and four assists this season, however, and chips in on Chuck Livoli’s goal at 18:11 to secure the victory.

When the Koffey Cup is on tour in Port Huron or Billerica, the rabid AMHL fans in those fine towns won’t care much about their hockey heroes’ reputations—they’ll all be clamoring to have their picture taken with their favorite player and the cherished chalice.