Hockey...Hockey...Hockey

[reginald-van-gleason]

HOCKEY"S BACK!!!

Speed, Finesse, Power, and, of course... Fisticuffs!
As you can tell, I like hockey. Sure, the strike was pretty lame... but it's over.

I am diggin' the new rule changes, for the most part. Scoring is up. The game has become more fluid and more fun. The Sharks are my team. We're up 4-0 over Columbus at the moment.

Any other hockey fans out there?!!

RVG

 

[reginald-van-gleason]

Any other hockey fans out there?!!

RVG

I am going to interpret the lack of response as a big fat "no"

However, if any of you are marginal hockey fans or are just interested, pick a team and follow it, give it a a few weeks and see what happens... its a really exciting sport once you get into it a little bit...

RVG

 

[Bazaine's Revenge]

I'm a hockey fan too. Have been since I was about 10 and all the way down in So. Cal. I've always liked the physical nature of hockey and the difficulty of scoring. In my opinion few sports scenarios can match the tension and excitement of one team defending its goal shorthanded. I prefer a good pitcher's duel in baseball or a good running game in football to a 120-94 point NBA game. Not the mention the painful last 2 minutes of a basketball game that stretch into a half hour to complete after all the timeouts have been taken.
More NHL less NBA!

 

[reginald-van-gleason]

BR,
Great to hear there's another hockey fan out there. I have only been following hockey seriously for the last few seasons, but I can't think of many sports that require more skill -- not only do you have to have the athletic ability and hand eye coordination, but to do it on ice... ouch...

The new rules have created an overwhelming amount of power plays -- I think as guys figure out what gets called and what doesn't, the number will drop drastically. But, I have to say the game is more fluid now -- less about brute strength and checking; bringing speed and finesse back into the fold a little more.

I'll take the NHL over the NBA anyday of the week... Basketball is a skeleton of what it once was in its glory days: slow, little court sense, and nobody knows how to shoot the damn ball anymore!


GO SHARKS!

RVG

 

[shoelessjoe]

Huge fan of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux program (yes, Fighting Sioux!) & the New Jersey Devils, dating back to the days when they were known as the Colorado Rockies & before then, the Kansas City Scouts.

Favorite player & favorite hockey quote:
“Scott Stevens was the only NHL-er who had the ability to alter the outcome of a game without ever touching the puck”.

~ Stevens’ Top-Ten hits:

 

[Owen Bawn]

Huge fan of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux program (yes, Fighting Sioux!) & the New Jersey Devils, dating back to the days when they were known as the Colorado Rockies & before then, the Kansas City Scouts.

Favorite player & favorite hockey quote:
“Scott Stevens was the only NHL-er who had the ability to alter the outcome of a game without ever touching the puck”.

~ Stevens’ Top-Ten hits:

Well I'm a Boston College man. Several of the greatest games in college hockey history have been between the Sioux and the Eagles. I was hoping for another one this past April, but it wasn't in the cards.

 

[shoelessjoe]

BC ... what a solid & storied program!
I enjoy Hockey East hockey & especially so when they’re matched up against (funny, when talking hockey I always type against with a long A vowel sound in mind, eh?) DU, CC, or MN.
Allegiances are a funny thing ... we live halfway between DU & Colorado College & my son recently graduated from DU, but being a NDak fan, I wouldn’t cross the street to watch them (and for that matter, the Avalanche) play unless NDak, BC, BU, Maine or MN Duluth are in town or are matched up against the aforementioned in the playoffs/FF. Yea, lots ‘o money has changed hands around here following North Dakota-DU games.

 

[Owen Bawn]

I now live near Miami (Ohio) so I go to 4 or 5 games a year there. Beautiful facility. Great new rink. I've also driven up to Bowling Green and to Columbus to see Ohio State play. When BC and Notre Dame play football they always have a hockey game on Friday night so I go there every 2 years. There's good college hockey here in this part of the eastern midwest but it isn't the same as in Boston or New England. With the exception of Vermont & Maine every Hockey East school is within about an hour or less drive from Boston. Hell, Boston College and Boston University have about a dozen national championships between them... did you know they're actually on the same street, about 2 miles apart? You can walk from BU to Northeastern in 15 minutes, and Harvard is a 10 minute walk from BU just over the Charles River. I appreciate 'western' college hockey, but honestly there is nothing like college hockey in and around Boston.

 

[shoelessjoe]

...I appreciate 'western' college hockey, but honestly there is nothing like college hockey in and around Boston.

You’ll get no argument out of me! I couldn’t agree more ... please pardon my Romantic take on this, but the first things that come to mind when I think Hockey East are history & tradition. Out here, one has to search for and then brush the dust off things to learn of & then appreciate the history, while conversely, the upper Eastern seaboard, and especially Boston proper, is/are overflowing with history & tradition.

That said, part of my affection for North Dakota hockey is geographical in nature ... it’s the gathering together at the farm house on the Alberta plains to listen to the Saturday evening, Hockey Night In Canada broadcast.

 

[Owen Bawn]

Minnesota has rich hockey history. The high school traditions in Minnesota remind me of college hockey in Boston but on a broader social scale. Minnesota high school hockey is like Texas high school football. Their high school games regularly draw 4-5000 people and the state tournament draws 4 times that. At the college level, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, No Dakota, Denver, & CC have rich traditions, and Minnesota Duluth has really made a name for itself of late.

 

[Columbo]

Now into my sixth decade watching the NHL. Having once played the sport, it remains my favorite. Venturing a guess, I've probably watched or listened to over 3,000 games over the years.

Although I must admit, my favorite time was before they put ads on the boards and ice. Back then, except for the superstars, most pro players worked side jobs during the off-season. It was more of a man's game. And other than on NBC, it was a sport followed quite locally. Not just the NHL, but the area teams in the farm systems.

I still have fond memories from the early 1970s of struggling to get the antenna rotator just right to pull in Channel 9 out of NY to catch Flyers-Islanders games, back when Jim Gordon, Tim Ryan, or Gene Hart (for the Flyers) would call them. Those were good times.

I don't watch it so much nowadays, as the longer TV commercial breaks have changed the game pace a bit.

 

[Owen Bawn]

Eddie Shack died. R.I.P.

 

[Bakker1964]

Huge fan of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux program (yes, Fighting Sioux!) & the New Jersey Devils, dating back to the days when they were known as the Colorado Rockies & before then, the Kansas City Scouts.

Favorite player & favorite hockey quote:
“Scott Stevens was the only NHL-er who had the ability to alter the outcome of a game without ever touching the puck”.

~ Stevens’ Top-Ten hits:

Stevens was a dirty *** who went out to hurt players. Hockey is a contact sport, and I love a good body check as much as the next guy. But Stevens took it too far. He shortened careers with his tactics.

 

[Bakker1964]

But I too am glad we will be seeing games again . . . Go HAWKS.

 

[JCarr]

I played a lot of ice hockey in my younger days and all of my nephews were hockey players. My dad even played High School Hockey in his day. One of my nephews is an emergency backup goaltender for the New York Rangers. He played D1 and D3 hockey and was scouted by a few teams in his high school and college days.

Hoping the Sens can rebuild and get back into the swing of things soon.

Excited about the new team, The Seattle Kraken. Nice uniforms!

 

[shoelessjoe]

Stevens was a dirty *** who went out to hurt players...

Mary-O LeMeiux, is that you??? Or, let me guess; a Philadelphia Failures fan, or perhaps a ‘95 Wings/Kozlov fan or worst of all, a New York Ranger$$$ fan???

All kidding aside ... keep your head up when you’re skating up the middle

 

[Bakker1964]

Mary-O LeMeiux, is that you??? Or, let me guess; a Philadelphia Failures fan, or perhaps a ‘95 Wings/Kozlov fan or worst of all, a New York Ranger$$$ fan???

All kidding aside ... keep your head up when you’re skating up the middle

Perhaps you missed the post where I proclaimed my allegiance.

And it is not just about "keeping your head up". Stevens would launch himself into opponents with an upward "thrust". That is virtually guaranteed to see a player's head impact the ice, if Stevens didn't put the shoulder onto his head in the first place. As stated, he was out there trying to remove players from the game via injury.

That's a dirty player, in my books.

 

[Columbo]

Stevens was a dirty *** who went out to hurt players. Hockey is a contact sport, and I love a good body check as much as the next guy. But Stevens took it too far. He shortened careers with his tactics.

As rough and tumblers go, Scott Stevens was no Denis Potvin. Closer to his own era, he was no Mark Howe, either.

I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Bakker1964]

As rough and tumblers go, Scott Stevens was no Denis Potvin. Closer to his own era, he was no Mark Howe, either.

I'll just leave it at that.

EXACTLY, both would deliver hard checks to opponents . . . but neither one came close to racking up the number of injuries inflicted as Stevens.

 

[shoelessjoe]

As rough and tumblers go, Scott Stevens was no Denis Potvin...

Nor for that matter, Clark Gilles!
Again, boys, keep your heads up when skating through the middle & by all means, KNOW who’s on the ice!