Fall 2012 AMHL Championship Week Roundup

Tuesday, December 18

Flyers vs. Penguins

Concord, MA

As Tonawanda (NY) residents watch (via satellite and streaming Internet) the AMHL Tuesday Championship game, referee Peter Bagley announces the return to five-on-five play in the third period. “All even!” he yells to the Flyers and Penguins, the teams tied at two goals.
 

Tonawanda native Mike Moore eludes two Penguins

Bereft of their beloved Buffalo Sabres, the good citizens of Tonawanda are on their feet to watch their native son, AMHL Flyers defenseman Mike Moore. Will Mikey, they wonder, be able to repeat his spectacular performance in the 2012 Summer Championship?

Moore played his youth hockey way back when Brighton Arena (where he says “the Moore brothers never learned how to backcheck”) didn’t have a roof. He later attended Kenmore East High School (2011-2012 Division II state hockey champs) and worked at Ted’s (Mike recommends the footlong  dog, toasted bun, with everything on it.)

Fast forward to Overtime, the Flyers and Penguins still tied, 2 –2. 

Moore strides forward—skating right to left across your AMHL Internet— cradling the puck and circumnavigating would-be defenders. A left-handed shooter, he arrives in enemy territory and skates below the right face-off circle. Backhand…goal!

Sweet victory for the Flyers, who win the donut-studded Koffey Cup, and fans in Upstate New York, who “head to Ted’s” (and then Paula’s Donuts).

Wednesday, December 19 
Sharks vs. Sabres
Concord, MA

Mike Moore doesn’t play on Wednesdays, but Tonawanderers have traversed the Internet again in search of Sabres hockey. They find the AMHL Wednesday Sabres, who eked out a penalty-filled 2 –1 victory last week against the Rangers, struggling to land shots on Sharks netminder Chris Bade. 

The Sharks, who endured a seven-game mid-season losing streak, are riding hot goaltending and a three-game winning streak.

Chris Bade: All the Big Stops

 

Bade watches his offense-generating players, like defenseman Larry Brown, block shots. Up 3–0 in the second period and the Sabres shooting right to left across your Internet connection, Sharks forward  Rob Witty—a goal-per-game guy—takes one for the team.

In the third period and the Sharks nursing a shut-out, Tony “Sharkie” Psikarakis slides and sweeps the puck from a Sabre’s stick.

The Sabres score twice, though, and Tonawanda is all atwitter.

But Bade and company return to form and put the kibosh on a second celebration in Greater Buffalo. 

Sharkie credits his goalie, saying that Bade “made all the big stops.”

Thursday, December 20
Avalanche vs. Panthers

Concord, MA

Moore is playing on Thursday, for the AMHL  Bruins.  When the folks in Erie County learn Moore is on Rink Two, however, they are not consoled. South Jersey, though, is thrilled to witness one of its own playing for the Koffey Cup.

We join Brent Delehey  and his Panthers against the Avs. Delehey, a Bobby Clark fan if ever there was one, is amped up (after the game, he'll  say his increased intensity may have been caused by the two Aleves he took earlier this morning.) The most likely reason for his elevated compete level is not naproxen but rather that his eldest two sons, Jack and Kevin, are home from college.

The boys watch, from the stands behind the goal in the west end, as their dad wreaks havoc on the Avs.  Delehey is credited with two goals in the first period, and the Panthers lead, 5–3, in the second stanza.


Delehey shoves an Av in front of the players’ bench.  Merry Christmas from Bobby Clark.

“Geez,” one of the boys says as their feisty father skates to the sin bin, “Dad really took that guy out.”

The Panthers kill the penalty, and Delehey (whose nickname in college was “Brr”) is a free man.

Panthers Center Brent Delehey: Channeling His Inner Bobby Clark

To the third period, the Panthers ahead  5–4 and skating far end to near end, Brr plants himself in front of the Avalanche’s crease.  Teammate Paul Nelson shoots. Jack and Kevin watch as the puck deflects off their dad’s skate—and then trickles… over the goal line.

The college kids rise to their feet, applauding and hooting.

Delehey glances upward and flashes a wild child-like grin, not yet knowing that he will spend another two minutes in the penalty box, that the Avs would score on the power play…or that Panthers goalie Anthony Bonfiglio will save the day for the Deleheys, the AMHL Panthers, and all those Philly Flyers fans in the Garden  State.

Friday, December 21

Hawks vs. Whalers

Concord, MA

“It wasn’t our season,” says Moore, after yet another consolation game, this time playing for the Kings. The Royals lost last week to the Whalers, who advanced to play the Hawks.

We rewind the championship game to the second period and the Hawks winning, 5–2.  

Mike Travalent, who netted a hat trick last week against the Stars, shoots low and just inside the post to bolster the lead.

“Wear ‘em down, guys,” a Hawks bench jockey bellows, “Wear ‘em down.”

Neither team scores another goal in the second period, but the Hawks—comprised of several Stow (MA) residents,  score three more in the third to win going away, 9–3.

With that, the AMHL media wishes everyone—from Upstate New York to South Jersey to Middlesex County, MA— safe travels, a joyous Christmas, and happy New Year.



Summer 2012 AMHL Championship Week Roundup

Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Blues vs. Flyers
Back to School

"It's textbook," Blues defenseman Scott Gelin says in response to teammate Adam Berger’s stepping into a Flyer as the former poked the puck off the latter’s stick. Classic AMHL interference.

Late in the second period, the teams tied at two, Flyers D-man Michael Moore conducts a power play clinic.

The Tonawanda (NY) native and Buffalo Sabres fan channels Tim Horton and Phil Housley as he mans the point. Moore fires a low shot, and faster than you can say “power play goal,” the Flyers lead.

Less than two minutes later, Moore targets another low shot on net. Rebound. Scramble for the puck. Goal. 4–2 Flyers.

Up 5–2 in the third period, Moore—an eight year AMHL veteran—crosses the Blues’ blueline, dishes a neat pass to Vincent MacNutt, a right hand shot on the off wing. The AMHL rookie shoots glove side, just inside the post. Score!

Mike Moore: Back Row (Second from Right)

The Blues insert themselves on the syllabus, converting a turnover into a goal—a shorty by Zach Zacharakis—but the Flyers keep the tuition and win the Koffey Cup, 6–3.

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Rangers vs. Canadiens
The Spirit of Stuart Smalley

“We’re better than them…,” Rangers defenseman Mike DeLeo says to his teammates before the third period against the Canadiens, the score 3–3.

“…And by golly, people like us,” the AMHL Photographer completes the affirmation. “Isn’t that Stuart Smalley?” Sort of.

The Rangers lost their first six regular-season games and must have wondered what it would take for them to win. “That’s just stinkin’ thinkin’,” Stuart Smalley would say.

With DeLeo’s ever-abundant upbeat presence and the emergence of rookie sensation Mark Cavanagh (23G, 14A), the Rangers turned a despairing season into Koffey Cup contention.

But down 1-3 against the Canadiens, the Rangers again encountered adversity. “Trace it. Face it. Erase it,” Smalley would say.

Goals by Larry “Breakaway” Brown (courtesy of DeLeo’s long pass), and Cavanagh bring us to this second intermission, where they and the other six Rangers listen to their leader. Will the Rangers believe DeLeo or permit thoughts of their dubious beginnings to run amok?

And what about the Canadiens? Collapse or reclaim their team-esteem?

Midway through the third period, the score still three-all, the Blueshirts and Les Habitants battle their doubts and each other. The Rangers kill a penalty. Confidence: the key to success.

Can the Canadiens dispel their dismay and summon the spirit of a Saturday Night Live skit?

With just over seven minutes remaining, the hockey gods answer: DeLeo—skating right to left across your AMHL imagination—steals the puck at the Canadiens’ blueline, drives below the far circle, skates toward the crease, and then beats the goalie.

The Rangers convert this blossoming confidence into another goal and realize they are on the (b)rink of victory.

Mike DeLeo: Front Row (Second from Right)

The Rangers pose for their championship photo and listen as the hockey gods repeat the underdog’s mantra, this final Stuartsmalleyism, modified for the Koffey Cup winners: “We’re the Rangers, doggone it, and people like us.”

 

Thursday, August 23
Bruins vs. Capitals
ALL CAPS

It’s ALL CAPS as the third period is underway and the Bruins lead, 3–2. Bruins netminder Neal Hesler makes a save. His teammates clear the puck. Icing.

The game resumes: Feisty play, fraught with frustration foisted upon the referees, prompts this comment from the AMHL Photographer: ““Matt,” she says, referring to the iconic AMHL arbiter, “must love these games.”

The gruff and disgruntled combatants, their language as foul as the stench seeping from their hockey sweaters and sweaty hockey socks, continue. Blades slicing ice. Bodies crashing the net and into each other.

Hesler and his counterpart, Dan Barros, are on their A games. The Bruins still lead, 3–2, when Capitals forward Aaron Sherman—skating near to far across the Bruins’ blueline—accepts a pass, beats a would-be defender along the boards, and then bears down on Hesler. The slimmed-down Sherman cuts toward the crease and scores. 3–3.

To OT, where mayhem awaits: The three-on-three format, a partial power-play, time-outs. Confusion. And ultimately no scoring after five minutes.

To the shoot-out. In a championship game? How many players will participate? How many goals to win? Best of five, the referees decide, and the Bruins will go first.

1.       Kevin Leverone (B’s): Barros says no. (0–0)

2.       Mike Losier (CAPS): Hesler slams the door. (0–0)
3.       Kevin Daigle (B): Barros won’t budge. (0–0)
4.       Dave Losier (C): No juke and jive, just a shot…and a GOAL. (0–1)
5.       Ben Budds (B): He skates, he stops…he watches Barros poke the puck away. (0–1)
6.       Paul Webster (C): Alternating speeds… shifty and nifty…GOAL! (0–2)
7.       Mike DeLeo (B): He must score. He does score. (1–2)
8.       Aaron Sherman (C): Mr. Calm. Mr. Master the Moment. Goal. CAPS WIN THE CUP!

Mr. Master the Moment: Front Row (Second from Left)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, August 24

Stars vs. Kings
It’s Not Easy Being Green

Hi Ho hockey fans. Kermit the Frog, guest amphibian/blogger, here at the, uh, hockey and donut site.

It’s, uh, not easy being me, as you know. And any Muppet would tell you it’s not any picnic being the AMHL Stars. Not this morning anyway. Of course I’d prefer them to win, their primary color being what it is and all. But it’s better to be wearing white, grey and purple, folks.

The Kings have been a royal pain (go ahead, you old geezers, guffaw) in the neck for the Stars. Tim Donahue, Friday’s perennial points leader, and Scott Kessler, the normally smooth–as–Smuckers (original)–peanut–butter forward, have lost control of the puck more times than Fozzie Bear has delivered a wonderful pun-liner. Waka waka.

And any momentum the Stars generate, well, they just can’t sustain the green energy.

Instead, it’s the Kings who, like Miss Piggy, are hogging the spotlight: the Mike Statkuses, T.J. Uminas, and the Jim Reichhelds—the AMHL dreamers who watch the time on the clock like it’s a rainbow, connecting the joy of imminent victory and the promise of donuts.

Ah, those donuts affixed to the Koffey Cup…they are a sight to be seen…better to be a King…than to be wearing green.

 

Not Pictured: The Banana King

 

AMHL Tuesday Championship: A Cast of Christmas Characters

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

December 20, 2011
Concord, MA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*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.”

Oldies But Goodies: Former Bruins Rock On

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.

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

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 Koffey Cup, and DeLeo earns his second title—this week.

Stay tuned for Part II

AMHL Tuesday Championship: Cinco de Mayo

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.

AMHL Tuesday: Lucky Charms

Image courtesy of PaddyMurphy at flickr.com

Tuesday May 6, 2008

“Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras.” Translation from Gaelic: “Hunger is the best sauce.”

So who wants a Koffey Cup victory more this morning, Leafs or Flyers?

Late in the first period, the Leafs are leading 2–1 and are on the attack. Leaf Brendan Doyle is too close to the net and Flyer Mike Moore lets him know it. Irish tempers flare, and the two take to pushing and shoving.

Before a donnybrook erupts, the two are separated and then sent to their penalty boxes.

“The boys are here to play,” says referee Kenny O’Mato (He says Amato. I say O’Mato) to his colleague, Peter Bagley and this reporter. “Emotions are running high.”

Less than a minute into the second period, the Leafs—skating right to left across Dave Goucher’s streaming imagination—attack. Doyle pushes a rebound past netminder Mitch “Edel” Weiss. Mitch must shoulder the unenviable nickname of the white regal-looking flower, and Doyle has a shamrock tattoo on his right shoulder.

After Moore scores, cutting the Leafs’ lead to 3–2, Brendan watches his little brother skate to the sin bin. Jeremy, about nine years Brendan’s junior, quenches his thirst with a few swigs of Gatorade as his teammates stymie the Flyers’ power play.

Not long after the younger Doyle exits the box, teammate Mike “MmmBop” Hansen lifts a backhand shot over Weiss’s glove—and into the net? The Flyers say no, but the on-ice officials say yes.

Marshall McLean, the Flyer’s go-to guy all season long, scores his second goal this morning, slashing the Leaf’s lead in half again. 4–3 at the second intermission.

“I wanna go upstairs,” says O’Mato. But league officials hired to review controversial play-off goals are rumored to be guarding the donuts instead of monitoring the expensive video technology installed at Concord Valley Sports executive offices earlier this week.

In the third period, the Leafs and Flyers trade goals faster than Allied Irish Banks trades junk bonds.

Each team has invested so much energy this season and neither is ready to quit. They’re both hungry, and as you know, “Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras.”

With 2:20 on the clock, Marshall McLean scores. 6–6.

Forty seconds later, Leaf fan favorite, the fleet-footed Martin O’Schedlbauer crosses the Flyer’s blue line with the puck. Moore steps up to intercept him. M.O., who has scored only four goals this season but nonetheless has endeared himself with fans with his leprechaun-like charm, eludes his lean and lanky opponent. M.O. strides to the high slot. He shoots…he hits the post!

Leafs Nation is desperate for a hero.

Jeremy Doyle, a seamróg stuck to the back of his Cooper helmet, rushes down the left wing. He crosses the blue line, the emerald talisman glinting.

Brendan Doyle, who coached his little brother back in the day in Newburyport’s Little Ireland, now watches Jeremy reach the circle to Weiss’s right.

1:05 on the clock.

The lad winds up for a slap shot. He shoots…he scores! Fans from Dublin to Dorchester are downright delirious!

In the donut room, the new hero of Leafs Nation and Little Ireland forages for a Glazed Munchkin (they’re magically delicious). Before this morning, Jeremy Doyle had scored only four goals, but now he says he’s been saving up all season for a goal like this morning’s game-winner.

"An rud is annamh is íontach.” "What is seldom is wonderful."

Canadian Espionage: Pirates and the Play-offs

The authorities couldn’t deter me from completing my mission: survey New Brunswickians about their hockey allegiances. The federal agencies tracking my whereabouts did manage to dupe the AMHL Photographer and me into boarding a barge bound from Grand Manan to the mainland. But the four-hour ride across the Passamaquoddy Bay—a trip the regular ferry completed in less than two hours—and the barge pirates did not prevent me from delivering the results of the informal poll of eleven random Canadians, from St. Andrews to St. John.

-Canadiens’ fans: 5
-Bruins’ fans: 2
-Other: 4

These numbers don’t tell the whole story.

“Habs in four,” said one male when asked what team he wanted to win the quarterfinal match-up pitting the Montreal Canadiens against my beloved Bruins.

He and his friend, interviewed at a SportChek in St. John, may as well have had their faces painted in les couleurs de les habitants.

Other “fans” of les bleu, blanc et rouge weren’t so enthusiastic. “H-h-habs,” admitted one denizen at the Red Herring Pub in St. Andrews. He was barely able name the enemy of Leafs Nation. Even though the hospitable patron said he has “a soft spot for the Bruins,” his loyalties lay with Canadian teams. “Go Calgary!” he added.

Mr. Hospitality was not alone in begrudgingly embracing the Canadiens. Back at the SportChek, a man about my age was decked out in an Orange and Black sweater. A Flyers’ fan since the 70s, he said he’d root for the Canadiens, but only if they were the only Canadian team left in the play-offs and only if they weren’t facing the Broad Street Bullies.

“I like the Oilers,” someone said at the Canadian Tire (where I bought a Sher-Wood PMP 7000 with a 5.5 lie for $14.99). She didn’t care much for the Habs or the Bruins. The fellow behind me in the checkout line wasn’t too thrilled to talk to the guy taking notes and declined to comment.

But most were eager to voice their opinions, including Norm, god love him, at the Red Herring. Norm, who owns the Great Canadian Dollar Store franchise in St. Andrews, was not wearing the Black and Gold but immediately piped up when he learned there were Bruins’ fans in the house. A fan since the glory days of Orr, Norm talked hockey with my wife and me well into the night as the Senators succumbed to the Penguins on Hockey Night in New Brunswick.

Canadian Espionage: Dark Blue Matrix

Apologies—or as Canadians are prone to say, soory (rhymes with story)—for not filing a report sooner. I dared not risk a security breech while “on vacation” with the AMHL Photographer You see, a dark blue Toyota Matrix—it may have been one ubiquitous, obsessed counter-intelligence agent or a fleet of them—tracked our every move since we arrived in St. John’s on Thursday morning. INTERPOL conducted surveillance on us whether we were at Cape Spear, at the Avalon Mall, or at our safe house.

Saturday, November 24,
Local time: 7:45 p.m. (6:15 p.m. Eastern Time)

While my wife catches up on reading at our safe house on Military Road, I slink into the night. Chilly but no threat of precipitation. My mission: retrieve valuable information about the Fog Devils from the dead drop.

Ten minutes later, I find the information, which I need for a future report, in The Independent. I commit the data to memory. (I also purchased a cheese pizza—to go). Just then, sirens blare. Are the local authorities collaborating with INTERPOL? Is my wife, who knows little about my life as a spy, safe? Is my mission in jeopardy?

I walk calmly, not wanting to attract attention, back from whence I came. I pass the Benevolent Irish Society’s brick building. I continue walking...I look right, down Garrison Hill. The steep street leads to the well-lit harbor. Across “The Narrows” connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the waterfront, Signal Hill—where the first transatlantic wireless transmission is reported to have been received—rises majestically; atop it, Cabot Tower points to the generous moon. Then I look left at the illuminated Basilica of St. John the Baptist. This peaceful panorama belies the potential peril awaiting me.

Five minutes later, I reach the safe house. No sirens. No activity. Nothing out of place—except across the street, an unattended dark blue Matrix is parked. Could it be the same one—the only car, besides our rented Chrysler Sebring, in the parking lot yesterday and again today at Cape Spear? No doubt the authorities tailing me are aware that I’ve returned and are prepared to intercept my Wi-Fi signal.

Unable to file my report to my superiors, I sit with my wife, devouring St. John’s best pizza. She reads while I watch Hockey Night in Canada. Philadelphia Flyers at Ottawa Senators. Unstable goaltending on both sides, but it’s an entertaining game. 4–3 Philly after two.

Bam bam! A knock on the door! INTERPOL?

No, just the safe house’s operator wanting to know if I’d join the consortium of air cargo moguls and their wives gathered in the formal dining room for post-dinner merriment around the fireplace.

Of course (everyone envies the life of spy until they realize how dangerous the work is).

The small group, some of whom I met at breakfast this morning, is curious about my connection to Canada. I share unclassified, low-level information with them about previous visits to Newfoundland, our love for hockey, etc., all of which is documented here on this public site). And as the liquor flows into their glasses and then into their digestive systems—I abstain—so does the intelligence escape their lips.

But you know I can’t reveal that classified information. Not here. Not now. I’ve probably told you too much already. Even so, maybe after I retire, maybe I’ll make public the secrets I’ve learned on this trip—I’ve scribbled nineteen pages of notes—in a book I might title The Adventures of a Canadian Spy.

Stay tuned, however, for a piece I’ll post later this week: Sounds of St. John’s.

Week In Review: Short Shifts

NESN personality Hazel Mae (she’s Canadian) reported yesterday morning that the Bruins had painted the new logo on TD Banknorth Garden’s floor. The boys are skating at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington until training camp opens next Thursday at the Garden.

The team travels to St. John’s, Newfoundland (where the AMHL photographer and I will be in late November), for the first of six pre-season games, on September 18th. There on “the Rock” they’ll battle the New York Islanders, whom Boston will face again in “the Hub” to conclude the pre-season.

The Bruins open the regular season on October 5th in Dallas. The next morning, the New England Hockey Radio Show returns to ESPN 890.

Three weeks later, I’ll be in Lake Placid for CAN/AM hockey camp, hoping to improve my AMHL game.

In AMHL News…

… Scott Gelin will return from his two-week hiatus from Las Vegas. I know “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, but I can disclose that Gelin (rhymes with “not tellin’”) has made time to check out this blog. His room at the Venetian must have come with free Internet access.

The Internet: Blues’ forward Peter Kokas, who’s second in AMHL all-time scoring, will be watching at least one AMHL game via streaming audio. The power forward busted the pinky toe on his right foot while walking up the stairs at home. Lame injury, lame excuse. But Kokas says, “No way is it going into a skate right now.” He’s questionable for Tuesday’s tilt against the Penguins.

Scott Arnold, a veteran AMHLer who missed the last two seasons with a bad back, has made a comeback. The Capitals’ forward has five points in three games so far, and his back is holding up just fine. Arnold says about next Thursday, “I’m coming back.”

Arnold’s would-be teammate Pete Bagley, an AMHL fixture, was ready to make the transition from referee to player—until a zebra shortage forced him back into black and white stripes. No matter; you’ll find “Bags” yucking it up in the donut room after games.

In donut news…

…Dunkin’ Donuts’ Pumpkin Spice creation, a fan favorite in the AMHL, has returned to the shelves in nearby Stow, MA. The tasty ring of joy has not found its way to the West Concord store, which supplies the post-game spread for AMHLers. But if you’re reading from Buffalo, maybe you’ll find this tempting masterpiece at a local Dunkin’ Donuts? I’ll let our donut friend in Buffalo, the Blognut, comment on that.

Until next time, hockey (and donut) fans, I’ll either see you at Ristuccia, Valley Sports, Dunkin’ Donuts–or at a great site I discovered today.

AMHL Tuesday: Wild West

Concord, MA
August 14, 2007

“There’s a problem,” Blues’ dynamo Kevin “Li’l Joe” MacDonald jokes to Flyers’ forward Scott “Slim” Gelin, “with your paperwork.”

MacDonald can’t persuade Gelin to excuse himself from the Tuesday championship game, but the little guy wearing the full-length chaps traps the fit and trim Gelin in Flyer territory, stripping him of the puck. But MacDonald’s teammate can’t put the puck past goalie Nicole “Annie Oakley” Kuhar, and then MacDonald (nicknamed here after the youngest but most entertaining Cartwright) has trouble corralling the rebound.

The Flyers control the puck and skate back the other way, left to right across your mind’s eye. Gelin blasts a slap shot past Brian “Buffalo Bill” Monahan, who last week barricaded the net to shut out the first-place Penguins, to give the Flyers the early lead. Less than five minutes later, though, Peter “Quick Draw” Kokas evens the score.

The game has become an up-tempo, rough-and-tumble Tuesday tilt. Still in the first period and the Flyers leading 4–1, Eric “the Outlaw Josey Wales” Schoen is whistled for an undetermined infraction, but the ice marshal has returned to supervise the game while the scorekeeper/scribe wonders what to record on the score sheet.

“Make it sound tough—roughing!” Schoen says from hockey jail. O.K., two minutes for roughing it is.

The Blues don’t score on the power play but, midway through the second period, tie the game at four. Two minutes later, the score is 5–5.

This morning’s three fans, a.k.a., Erin Tullock’s posse, have already witnessed one player leaving the ice with an injury when Mitch “Hopalong” Weiss, the AMHL’s commissioner mosies into the rink to keep his eye on the combatants.

Now midway through third period, the Flyers, skating left to right, lead 8–7. But Mike “Doc Holiday” DeLeo, who’s playing the first of three AMHL championship games, leads a mad cowboy rush up the ice and then watches Jay “Wyatt Earp” Antonangeli even the score once again.

With sixteen goals scored, you’d think the goalies fell asleep between the pipes like sleepy cowpokes in front of the campfire. You’d be wrong, mister.

Both netminders have helped their teams dodge bullets: Monahan slamming the door on Gelin’s breakaway in the first period, Kuhar holding her position as DeLeo cut across the crease in the second…but can they come up big in OT?

In the three-on-three installment of what is evolving into one of the greatest games in AMHL history, Kuhar robs MacDonald. Ten seconds later—with twenty seconds left in OT—Monahan turns away Gelin.

“I have no idea where he’s going or what he’s doing,” Gelin says of Monahan as the former waits for another shot at the latter in the shootout. After DeLeo, Jim “Cowboy” Cullen, and Kokas are foiled on their shootout attemps, it’s Gelin’s turn.

“Slim” snakes in on Monahan, cuts right across the crease—and slides the puck across the goal line!

MacDonald gallops toward Kuhar, targets the top shelf and pulls the trigger—goal!

Schoen scores on nifty backhand but then Antonangeli scores for the Blues. Even Steven once again.

Then, the theme song for a TV show from the 60s echoes through the rink like a whoop and a holler across a canyon.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Keep movin’, movin’, movin’, Though they're disapprovin’, Keep them doggies movin’ …

Richard “Rawhide” Rawal skates toward Kuhar, aiming for an open corner. He misses the target but still scores.

Now if you’ve read the AMHL ticker, you already know that the Flyers Adam “Wild Bill” Berger barely missed on his bid to tie the score, thus ending the game.

Rawal says of his game-winning goal, “…I can’t remember a prouder moment, and I’m glad I could help those new guys, you know, the ones that hadn’t won the cup previously. I feel just so good…for all of them!”

Yee-hah par'ner! Adiós, amigos.

AMHL Tuesday: Excalibauer!

Leafs' goaltender John Saner reached for his goalie stick, ready to take it into battle, but it had been stolen by the enemy.

“He took my *&^%! stick!” growled Leafs’ goalie, as he spied his counterpart, the Flyers’ Brian Monahan, stepping onto Rink One.

The vengeful Saner grabbed Monahan’s weapon—still gleaming and leaning against the boards—and then strode toward Monahan, who prepared for the inevitable confrontation. Monahan held Saner’s CCM; Saner clutched Monahan’s Bauer.

John’s CCM is nothing special: your run-of-the mill, off-the-shelf, Martin Brodeur model. Brian’s tool is the stuff of legend. An original AMHL goalie, Brian is widely known for his unorthodox style of stopping pucks. He flashes left-hand leather, snaring pucks in his glove but wields his stick like a sword. Rather than keeping the stick’s blade perpendicular to the ice, Brian keeps the blade nearly a foot in front of him so that pucks tend to rebound into the corners or out of play behind him. And if you have the puck behind the net, Brian is likely to flick his mighty right wrist and swing his sword along the ice to poke the puck off your stick. This unconventional method prompted AMHL legend (now retired) Tom Tidman to dub Brian’s stick “Excalibur.”

Nonetheless, Saner flung Monahan’s legendary talisman toward the neutral zone, laying down the proverbial gauntlet. Monahan followed suit, sending Saner’s stick toward center ice, thus setting the stage for a classic duel between two long-time AMHL veterans, both of whom wear number 30 on their jerseys.

In the first period, the Flyers attacked first, but Saner squeezed into classic butterfly position, his stick covering the five-hole, to turn aside the Flyers. Monahan was a mere observant—until Alex Tee launched a rocket from the top of the circle to Monahan’s right. Excalibur glinted just before the puck bounced against Monahan’s blade and then out of harm’s way.

The Flyers mounted a counterattack that not even Martin Brodeur could have stopped. Down 0–1, the Leafs rushed back at Monahan. Excalibur glimmered weakly beneath the feeble arena lighting, and the vulcanized projectile bounced off the shaft of the stick— not toward the boards but back toward the crease. Rebound. Score!

And so the battle raged into the third period, the two goaltenders locked in an epic battle. Monahan’s Flyers leapt to a 4–1 lead, but Saner’s Leafs surged upon Monahan with such fierceness King Arthur himself had never witnessed. But had the celebrated fictitious king been at this Tuesday morning melee, he would knight Monahan. The proud warrior would surrender only two goals in the third period and win the game—and tie the Leafs for second place.

Next week’s stop in the Life of Brian: Monahan and the Flyers duel the Ducks!

The Other Brother: A Letter to Wayne Primeau

Dear Wayne Primeau,

I’m sorry for ever doubting your value to the Bruins. When the B’s traded Joe Thornton for Brad Stuart and Marco Sturm—both first-round picks—I figured you were the throw-in guy. You were a lowly 17th-round pick and have been a minus player on most of the 11 NHL teams you’ve played for, including a minus–17 on the 2000–01 Lightning (last place in the Southeast Division) and a minus–30 on the 2002–03 Penguins (a terrible team if ever there was one).

For the record, I was for a trade because the Bruins had lost nine of ten games leading up to the November 30th. If you’ve read my earlier blogs, you’d know I thought this trade was worth the risk, your career plus/minus not withstanding.

A lot of Bruins fans have wished you were your brother Keith because he’s more of an offensive force. Now that I’ve seen you play, however, I take back my doubts about you.

Your highlight-reel goal against the Flyers last Thursday got my attention. You kept it with two goals against the Capitals on Monday night. And last night against the Thrashers, well, you, Brad Isbister, and P.J. Axelsson were dominant in the Thrashers’ zone, where you kept would-be defenders away from the puck along the boards so you could dish off the disc to teammates. I applaud you for the results—especially the assist on Axelsson’s game-winning goal, but, more importantly, I congratulate you on your effort, which is marked by your bloodied right brow.

Yet as happy as I am with your emerging offense, I’m more proud of your dedication to defense. Your plus/minus is rising as a Bruin (up to a minus-2) and so is your stock as you continue to epitomize the essence of an on-ice leader. I believe in you, Wayne.