Hockey Canada bans bodychecking at peewee level | Toronto Star

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Hockey Canada bans bodychecking at peewee level | Toronto Star

Anything Can and Did Happen in a Game 7

The Hockey Gods were working overtime the other night as I and thousands of others witnessed a couple of truly unbelievable sports moments in the NHL and OHL playoffs.

poochieFor me the night started kinda slow. In an odd circumstance, I found myself sitting alone (well almost alone save for good ole man’s best friend) and switching back and forth between two games:  the Boston Bruins vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs and my hometown Barrie Colts vs. the London Knights in the OHL Finals; and yes, both playing game 7s. One more game 7 was also in progress between the Rangers and Caps, but my ability and willingness to focus across three channels was limited at best. My unfamiliar solitude was due to:

  • Hockey Momma fulfilling secretarial duties at our local minor hockey league board meeting, which begs the question..Who holds a meeting during a Game 7?
  • the Boy risking his life cheering for the Bruins in a predominantly Maple Leafs-friendly Buffalo Wild Wing. He told me as he left to watch for a text message should the score be headed in a non-Leaf direction and he had no idea how prophetic that statement would be.
  • the Devil begrudgingly performing in a school dance recital; a minor commitment she suggested she could “ditch” in favour of watching the pivotal playoff games.  You can easily guess who won that school vs. hockey argument, though she made a pretty strong case to her hockey-luvin dad.

So poochie and I enjoyed each other’s company and cheered or booed as the four teams in our two primary games worked their way through their first periods with 1-1 results in each. Game 7s are generally pretty tight contests as neither team is willing to play a wide open game or risk making mistakes; mistakes which could mean vacations at their favourite golf courses.

Young Leafs fan

However, towards the end of the first period in the NHL affair, I answered my ringing phone and was greeted by the desperate voice of one of  Hockey Momma’s co-workers. On my way home from work earlier in the day, I was forced to take a detour as my primary route was closed due to a downed hydro pole. It seems the crippled pole was now responsible for power outages in the homes of hundreds or perhaps thousands of rabid hockey fans all around me. The first strike by the Hockey Gods perhaps? Regardless, I naturally offered to share my den and television; the only problem being my new viewing mates were all Leafs fans – then again this never mattered before so why should it now. Shortly after this family of Leaf-lover arrived, they were followed by a Bruins fan to even up the vibe in the house. And just like that, I was hosting a min-playoff party, conveniently equipped by Enterprise Rent-a-Car, a sponsor of the NHL and all of its teams, I might add (more on that below).

Bruins-Leafs-ScoreShortly after my impromptu party mates arrival, both games started to get interesting as the bad guys from my humble perspective each scored goals to give them 2-1 leads, which they would take into their respective third periods. Third periods we shant soon forget.

In London, the Colts, missing three of their top forwards, continue to battle tooth and nail squaring the score at 2-2 with just under three minutes left in the third. This Game 7 was most assuredly going to overtime as the clock ticked under one minute then under 30 seconds. But then on a literally last second drive to the net, the puck inexplicably found its way up, over and behind the Colts keeper, who swung at it wildly and knocked it away from the net. The on-ice official waved no-goal, but with 1.1 seconds left on the clock, there would be a video review. Fingers were firmly crossed and quick prayers were issued to the aforementioned Hockey Gods. However, video from an overhead camera told a sad story as we saw the puck float through the air and over the goal line.  We waited and hoped our eyes deceived us and the TV commentators. No such luck and the Knights completed a comeback from 3-1 in the series to win the OHL Championship in the absolutely last possible moment of regulation time. Maybe the Colts would have completed the comeback in the game had the buzzer sounded one second sooner or maybe not. One Game 7 ended in despair.

Boston Bruins fans
Meanwhile, back in Boston, more inexplicable action ensued as the Leafs proceeded to open up 3-1 and then 4-1 leads with only 15 minutes left in the third. Could it be that the upstart Leafs would serve up a major upset in the first round and send the Bruins packing, much to my dismay? Hockey Momma had returned from her meeting and the Devil from her recital by now. The Boy’s bar safety appeared secure. On TV, you could see some of the less-faithful Bruins fans themselves leaving the building. The Bruins would score with just over 10 minutes left in the game, but a two goal deficit was surely too big to overcome; even for the hardluck Leafs whose ineptitude dates back to the year before I was born.  With it being 9:30 on a school night, our friends having younger kids, the game in hand and power apparently restored to their home, the Leaf fans decided to take their leave. As they walked out, I quipped “We’ll have to get together to watch the Leafs play the Rangers in the next round (also to besponsored by Enterprise Rent-a-Car as part of a NHL Playoff giveaway contest).” The Rangers and King Henrik Lundqvist, in the other game 7 were embarrassing the Caps 5-0 in their own rink.

Then the Hockey Gods flexed their muscles and changed the course of history in Boston. The veteran Bruins woke up somewhere around the 15 minute mark of the third, putting sustained pressure on the less experienced Leafs who were trying desperately to hold on to their tenuous two-goal lead. The Bruins, as per standard procedure, pulled their goalie with about two minutes left. A shot from the point with 1:22 on the clock found its way by the Bruins towering defenceman, Zdeno Chara, who installed himself as an immovable fixture in front of the Toronto goal and also by the Leafs’ defenceless keeper. A mere 16 seconds later the Bruins would bury the most incredible Game 7 tying goal in history. With momentum decidedly and understandably on their side, the Bostons (with a few missing fans who were no doubt banging their heads against walls somewhere) completed the biggest comeback ever with a now-anticipated goal in OT; leaving Leafs fans everywhere standing, sitting or lying drop-jawed and numb as the realization of another playoff failure struck them like a bolt of lightning hurled at them by you know who. At my house, we erupted from the couch in awestruck amazement and at Buffalo Wild Wing, da Boy, my progeny, ran and high-fived the few other Boston fans in the joint at the risk of physical peril.

Bruins Leafs NHL Playoffs Game 7 2013

Once the jubilation subsided, I admittedly found myself feeling a touch of sympathy for the Leaf fans, many of whom are my close friends; who sat expectantly in front of their TVs on the verge of heart attacks or who crammed themselves among thousands just outside the Air Canada Centre in Toronto; only to be let down yet again. This morning the feeling returned as I read a great article in Deadspin about the risks of raising your child as a Leafs fan entitled “This Is How Hockey Hurts“. Perhaps I should send the link to my viewing mates, who still have a chance to reprogram their young Leaf fan.  Everyone says you need to lose, before you can win, but this was one helluva way to lose. I think a lot of people would have preferred they succumbed to the Big Bad Bruins in Game 6. Or maybe not.  I can’t really say, not being a Leaf fan. I can tell you, I’d take a Game 7, win or lose, as a Jets fan.

Just like that, in a matter of a few hours, I’ve yet two more fantastic and not-so-fantastic memories of playoff hockey. Some of those young OHLers were distraught last night, but have plenty to look forward to.  Tis the nature of the game. Real-life drama played out in real-time at breakneck speed right before your eyes. And hell, this was only Round One. The rest of the playoffs have a tough act to follow. Chances are we’ll be there watching at the edge of our seats; I type while watching the Kings and Sharks finish their first game of Round Two at 9pm PST – midnight where I’m sitting.

#imahockeydad

Disclosure:  Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the NHL provided me with a gift package to host my watch party as a thank you for writing this post. However, the views and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

Find out about my own #imahockeydad giveaway at http://www.imahockeydad.com/2013/05/11/nhl-playoff-hockey-is-back-giveaway, which is open  to entries until the end of Round 2 of the NHL playoffs.

p.s. Just found this link from the NHL to a video montage of 17 overtime game-winning goals from Round 1, which by the way, was a record – Enjoy!

NHL Playoff Hockey is Back Giveaway

A few months back after the “NHL lockout of which we’ll never speak again” I lamented, nay ranted, at the use of the phrase “Hockey is Back”. After all,  for me and so many hockey parents like me, the game we love never went anywhere. However, I and many others didn’t skip a beat in welcoming back the NHL flavour of hockey, which is undoubtedly among the finest in the world. In fact, the condensed 48-game schedule made the games played and watched even that much more exciting as every one had a heightened importance. I’d be in favour of having every season schedule shortened with a Stanley Cup champion crowned sometime in April, though I realize the financial ramifications of such a plan will never see it happen.

But now we’ve entered the second and decidedly more thrilling playoff season. Unfortunately, my beloved Winnipeg Jets were not able to force their way into the dance in the final days of this regular season, but with the Boy’s and Devil’s hockey behind us, my fix will come from watching double overtimes on the left coast until 2am. I don’t just want to….I have to, cuz for us true hockey fans, it’s in the blood don’t ya know. For me it started early on as I recall wearily watching what came to be known as the Easter Epic between Washington and the New York Islanders in 1987, which ended at 1:56am on Easter Sunday. I can still picture Bob Mason standing like he’d been shot after Patty Lafontaine’s winning goal beat him in the 4th overtime of Game 7. This remains the longest Game 7 in NHL history.

And with the first round of this season’s NHL playoffs under way, there has already been no shortage of drama or compelling story lines to keep us fully engaged on the edge of our seats. Ottawa disposed of Montreal in five games, but not without a line brawl and plenty of pugnacity. Just south of me in Toronto, the city has gone wild as their previously sad-sack Leafs are surprisingly holding their own against the Big Bad Bruins.  Likewise, the Islanders are giving the Penguins, and particularly their beleaguered goalie Marc Andre Fleury, fits heading into at least a game six. The Minnesotas, who momentarily had to resort to their third string goalie after number one injured himself warming up before game one and number two (who has MS) came up lame as well, were overpowered by a scary, speedy Blackhawks squad. The defending champion LA Kings showed their poise in coming back from a 2-0 deficit to oust the upstart St. Louis Blues with four straight victories. And the Canucks, with their bi-polar goalie problems, exited stage left on the wrong end of San Jose’s broom. The Duck and Red Wings are headed to a Game 7, which may be the only thing better than double overtime. After tonight and tomorrow night, there may yet be a couple more Game 7s to come.

In an effort to aid in my enjoyment and damn-near obsession with all of the playoff hockey yet to come, the fine people at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, an official sponsor and supporter of the NHL and its teams, have graciously provided me with an awesome prize pack, which I will be using in short order to host a friendly little playoff shindig with a few other fans (authorized and possible censored details and pics to follow).

Even better, they’ve offered me an opportunity to share the same with the other fanatics who drop by here from time-to-time. One lucky reader will win:

  • a Brookstone Prime Barbeque Kit
  • a Coleman 16 qt. Wheeled Cooler
  • Mixed nuts to snack on
  • a Coby Slim Wall Mountable Sound Bar with Bluetooth Technology
  • a $100 Gift Card to use at Shop.NHL.com and,
  • some fun Enterprise swag including a couple of stress relievers for when the games get tough and reusable stadium cups to hold beverages of your choosing.

Enterprise NHL prize pack

In order to have a chance to win this great prize for your own playoff partay, you need only do three simple things:

  • Regale us in the Comments section below with your own favourite NHL playoff memory (yes, even Leaf playoff memories, distant as they may be, are allowed)
  • Tell us who you are rooting for in this year’s playoffs
  • Provide your email address so I know where to reach you should you win the prize pack

The winner will be decided via random draw and contest entry will close when the final buzzer sounds at the end of the final game in the second round of the 2013 playoffs, so you have lots of time to jar your memory.

In the meantime, you might also want to check out Enterprise’s Hat Trick Challenge online game on NHL.com, where you can play daily to try to predict what happens on the ice or create private leagues and compete against your friends. I’ve signed in and its a pretty cool concept giving you more reasons to cheer, should your own beloved team also be watching from the sidelines.

So Good Luck, Happy Cheering and Go Team (My New Fave Yet to be Decided) Go!

#imahockeydad

Disclosure:  Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the NHL provided me with a gift package to host my watch party as a thank you for writing this post. However, the views and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

Do you support Hockey Alberta’s ban on hitting in Peewee hockey?

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Do you support Hockey Alberta’s ban on hitting in Peewee hockey?

The Lull Between or After Hockey Seasons

hockey scoreboard

So the Boy is done “minor” hockey for good and the Devil’s new team has been picked for next season, meaning there will be no actual hockey played by either and none witnessed by me for the next couple of months.  A sane and right-minded person would exhale deeply and say, “Thank you for the rest.” And yet, here I am, at least partially lucid and longing to be inside a rink already.  I know of several other parents, particularly those from the Boy’s last team, who find themselves in the same quandary. We will have all of this extra time, but won’t be quite sure what to do with it. And we’re  not the only ones, as our hockey momma directed me to a simple, yet telling tweet from the Boy a few days ago – “I miss hockey #sadtweet“. Twitter likewise revealed the Devil’s anticipation as she quipped “Can’t wait for next years hockey season to start gunna be a great time”The Boy is playing ball hockey with a bunch of buddies 1-2 times a week and at the end of the month he and I will be sharing a rink for our annual Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament appearance, but I’m sure it just isn’t the same. No familiar sound of ice meeting metal (with lyrical reverence to Tom Cochrane), no cold rush of arena air on your semi-startled face and no sonic booming of rock hard rubber against equally firm wooden boards. During the season, you need only listen to the Boy or Devil’s animated hyperbolic post-game recollections of sweet tape-to-tape, no-look passes or vicious bardown clappers from the slot to realize the thrill they get from competition – a void difficult, if not impossible, to fill with a couple of deft taps on a video game controller. I believe more importantly missed by my two hockey players is the camaraderie in the dressing room, on the bench and at the hotel during those out-of-town tourneys. For both, some of their best friendships were forged on ice and they always look forward to getting back together with the team; even if some of the players change from year-to-year.  Minor hockey life is simply a unique experience you likely have to live to truly appreciate. The Boy will, I’m sure, find more hockey to enjoy; either at school or in a beer league with me perchance; and this will come close as I’ve come to appreciate with my own ragtag group of slightly over-aged teammates once a week. Yet, it likely won’t match the pure, quick  and relatively unencumbered game he’s been playing for the last 14 years. Hopefully he, like I, will store away the vivid memories of those goals, high-fives and improbable wins to share with the next far-flung member of our hockey family whenever he or she should take to the ice. For now, the Devil and I will suffer the break betwixt skates and look forward to sucking back the first few gulps of frosty air signalling our official return to the game.

#imahockeydad

Scoreboard image courtesy of http://www.scoreboards-us.net/Hockey1.htm

Evidence mounting to support end to body checking in minor hockey | Huron News NowHuron News Now

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Evidence mounting to support end to body checking in minor hockey | Huron News NowHuron News Now