May 14th 1988, started like any other day.  The four of us a cooler of Bud and tickets to the Devils game, oh yeah it was game 7.  Anyway typical trip into the GARDEN four of us in a Monte Carlo most likely listening to some Van Halen and drinking beer like it was our job.  Our scenario usually went like this: drive to the parking garage next to the garden, site in the parking garage and have at least 6 or 7 Buds before we make our way over to Sullivan’s Tap, those of you who know the Tap this is before they expanded it, hang out at the Tap and drink 16oz. Knickerbockers for a $1.00 or less.  Why the Tap some may ask, being that I was still 3 days shy of my 20th birthday and I have been going to the Tap uncarded for 2 years, it seemed like the only place to go.  6 or so goons of Knickerbockers and we were ready to head into the game.

Needless to say the electricity in the Old Garden was unmatched only by the hatred of the Devils.  We had seats in the upper level in the corner, great view of all the action.  Just as we entered the garden my bro’ in law realized he left his glasses in the car, being the nice kind hearted people we are, we all said "Tough Shit".  We were heading up to our seats and to get two Busch beers on the way.  Leaving my bro in law to figure it out on his own, he heads to the security guys and ask’s if he can leave the garden so he can get his glasses.  Thinking they were just going to laugh at him one of the gaurds says sure but you have to hold this when you get back to your seat.

He comes back to the seat shortly before they drop the puck with glasses on and a sign that said "DEVILS SUCK".  A small price to pay to see the B’s beat the devils to go the Stanley Cup Finals.

I do miss the days of Cam beating the tar out of people on his way to scoring 50 goals and the fans throwing their shoes on the ice when ever Bruce Shoebottom would drop the gloves. Long live number 8.

Being this is my first post I apologize in advance for the spelling errors and nonsense that I write.  I do have more of these stories that are mostly going to revolve around beer and some sporting event or another and when I dig out my old ticket stubs I will put the pictures up.

That one goes out to Janet, one of the Goonsquad members in the Garden last night. Apparently she hates Drouin as much as the Charlestown fan in the opening of the greatest movie of all time. If I may borrow from the immortal Nick Brophy, the Goonsquad got stinkin shitfaced on the bus last night. Yes, a good time was had by all in Section 5 last night as the Bruins got their first Divisional win of the year against the Leafs. No, Janet, tell your friend it should not be the Leaves. Good tilt last night. We saw some pretty good up and down hockey, but, more importantly, we saw what I consider to be the fight of the year so far between Wade Belak (TOR) and Colton Orr (BOS).

I didn’t see what started the fight, as I had just rounded the corner when it started. I would assume it was just the two toughest kids on the block looking to get the boys going. What a great fight it was though. Both guys landed some really heavy punches, with Belak scoring a very hard right hand and Orr countering with an even harder one of his own, breaking Belak’s nose. Belak was wearing a full face shield for the rest of the game. The Boston Herald has a great picture of Orrsie lowering the boom on the last page. It’s an awesome picture. The photographer really captured the spirit of the thing. Colton has done really well so far this season in good bouts with Eric Cairns, Andre Roy, and now Belak. The guy knows his role, and will answer the bell when it is rung. He’s exactly what the new NHL needs. A big tough guy, that I bet will be a folk hero in the mold of PJ Stock very soon.

On tap for the weekend is a trip to Hooters for beers and wings in about an hour. Tomorrow I am going to the Bruins game for my 31st birthday, and a Halloween party after. Then on Sunday, the beloved Lockmonsters are in action against Bingo at 4. My old buddy Brennan Evans will be in the house. I think he’s a very underrated fighter, and I hope Mr. Mitch "Spread The" Love is in a fighting mood because I think it would be a pretty good match up. If there are any fireworks, you’ll hear about it here first! Peace Out all. Have a great weekend.

I saw on the Portland Pirates website, that Trevor Gillies will wear the A on the road. That means he will have to dress in Lowell, even if he has no one to fight. Another Portland piece of news. They have really good game photos here. There are a few good fight photos of the aforementioned Trevor Gillies mixing it up.

Jesse Boulerice (CAR) and Brian McGratton (OTT) had a spirited go Monday night. The announcer commented that both fighters were willing to take a few on the way in, and they both had hard heads. That’s a guy that understands the role of enforcer.

Lots of fights in the Chicago game last night. Naturally I missed it. MOL was tired of the constant hockey, so I let her pick for the evening. We watched some Bernice Mac movie, which turned out to be not half bad. It wasn’t as good as a hockey game, but it wasn’t half bad. Here are the matchups.

Matthew Barnaby (CHI) vs Jeremy Stevenson (NAS)
Matt Ellison (CHI) vs Jamie Allison (NAS)
Todd Simpson (CHI) vs Jeremy Stevenson (NAS)
Martin Lapointe (CHI) vs Jamie Allison (NAS)

Stevenson gets the gate for three fighting majors. Anyone see what happened?

The Bruins continue to suck. They should never have lost that game Monday night in Toronto. I hope the rematch tomorrow will be a better outcome for the Black and Gold. The GoonSquad will be in the house. If you are looking for us, follow the "Hal Gill Sucks" chant.

Speaking of which. Hal Gill is the worst player in the NHL. I will not debate this.

Off to Lowell tonight, as the Monsters take on the defending Calder Cup Champions Philadelphia Phantoms. Here’s hoping Mitch "Spreading The" Love is all riled up. By the way, I made up that nickname. Not his official title. Anyway, MOL has expensive taste in everything. Back to work.

If I didn’t have a party to go to tomorrow, I would seriously consider making the two hour drive to Albany for tomorrow’s rematch between Albany and Lowell. After a very slow first period, there was plenty of excitement the rest of the way.

Lockmonster newcomer, Mitch Love (LOW), got the fireworks started early on in the second when he tangled with Albany Right Winger, David Clarkson (ALB). The two came together just inside the blueline across from the benches. Clarkson put a hit on Love, and Love, trying to get something started, took exception to the hit, and dropped his gloves. Early on Love had a huge advantage, as he got the jump on Clarkson, and got in some huge right hands before Clarkson could even engage in the brawl. Once Clarkson did get in the fight he managed to handle himself nicely. The boys traded a few nice right hands, and Clarkson got the takedown on Love. I score the fight as a win for Love due to the early advantage.

The period percolated on coming to a head with 5 seconds left. Cam Janssen (ALB) (Who, by the by, I saw in his under armor before the game, and is totally jacked. Someone test his piss please) took a run at Lazy Lockmonster Pavel Brendl right in front of the Monster Bench. Now, I think no one deserves to be run more than Brendl, but you got to stick up for a team mate, and that’s exactly what Craig Adams (LOW) did. With Brendl down, Adams jumped in and started pushing Janssen. Young Cam is going to answer the bell at any time, so he obliged Craig’s request to have a go. The fight was at the far blueline from my vantage point, and all the players on the ice and the linesmen were blocking my view, but I did manage to catch enough of the tilt to see what happened. Adams got smoked. The boys at ringside reported Adams did land a couple, but clearly lost the fight. Still, kudos to Craig Adams for sticking up for a team mate. Even if it is Pavel Brendl.

Along the way, the pushing and shoving after the whistle in front of the goal became more and more frequent, and violent. It seemed every whistle in the second, and third periods were followed by the zebras earning their keep, and keeping the opposing teams in line. With 6 minutes left in the third, Mitch Love (LOW) and Barry Tallackson (ALB) took the slashing after a whistle to the next level, and decided to have a go. Again, the fight was down at the other end from me, but I could see it clearly this time. Mitch Love smoked Tallackson. Love landed a very nice uppercut that knocked of Tallackson’s lid, then got in two very hard right hands. The second of the two knocked the much taller Tallackson to the ice. Clear win by Love. I am as giddy as a school girl right now. I honestly don’t remember the last time a Lockmonster had two fights period, let alone in one game! I am impressed with Love. He handled himself nicely in both bouts.

From what I could gather, he’ll have to handle himself again tomorrow night. As Love was sitting in the box, Cam Janssen yelled over to him from the bench, "Hey Love, me and you are going tomorrow night." Love indicated he had no problem with that, so there should be some fireworks in Albany tomorrow night. Oh, by the way, if you care Albany won 6-3.

I do not like the new NHL. I like the idea of what they are trying to do with the new rules, but it has been taken too far. I saw a penalty called last night during the Red Wings game, where an opponent lifted the other guy’s stick to take the puck on the fore-check. He didn’t slash the guy, he didn’t trip him. Simply lifted the stick of the defenseman, and took the puck. Whistle. Hooking penalty. Pretty soon, I am going to stop watching.

Fighting it seems is way down as well. Although, there have been a few spotty fights, the numbers are way down. I don’t think it has as much to do with the game being too fast for the enforcer types to play, as it does with so many penalties being called, the teams are never 5 on 5. It looks like an All Star game every night, and it kind of bums me out. I hope it gets better as the season goes on, because this "new NHL" looks a little too European for my taste.

The AHL on the other hand, seems to have it down. They have opened up the game with the same rules package, but aren’t calling it nearly as tightly. Looking at the box scores over the weekend, it looks like there were 3 and 4 fights in a lot of games. Hell, Trevor Gillies even managed to score a goal! The American League has long been a testing ground for the NHL to see how rules may play, and the game can be improved. I think the NHL needs to look to its little brother and see how the game is being called so it may be taught a lesson on how to run the new rules game. The game is up tempo, and the fights are alive and well! Don’t do a thing AHL, you’re doing fine.

Ottawa really took it to the Bruins last night. As luck would have it, I missed the whole thing. After 4 straight days of not sleeping very much, and being exhausted from helping a buddy build a stone wall in the pouring rain, I had had it. I had every intention of watching the game, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Doesn’t sound like I missed anything anyway.

Friday night however, the Lowell Lockmonsters opened up their season against the Manchester Monarchs in Lowell. There weren’t any fights or anything, as this is Lockmonster hockey after all, but I really enjoyed the game. The game wasn’t called as tightly as it is in the NHL, but the same rules for opening up the game (i.e. tag up offsides, two line passes…etc.) still exist so it makes for an entertaining brand of hockey. Lowell should be pretty good this year. They have a couple of good defensemen that enjoy hitting, and some real good forwards. Obviously they will be near the bottom in fights, but I have sort of accepted that fact, and moved on. The sun is out here in New England, and I will celebrate by cutting the grass. Anyone see any AHL games over the weekend?

I was having a lovely dinner tonight at 7:30ish, not really thinking about the Bruins game I was missing. The waitress had just dropped off another Belvedere and Tonic, when my cell phone rang. It was Tweener. Now, Tweener and I are really good buddies. We talk all the time, mostly about hockey, and specifically, mostly about hockey fights. So when I looked down and saw his name on my caller ID, I said aloud, "Damn it, there was a fight." I politely excused myself and went off to the bathroom to pee. Oh, and check to see who had a go of course. After my pee, I called Tweener. I could tell by the sound of his voice I was right, I had missed a fight. Not one, but two. Tweener informed me I missed Colton Orr’s first NHL tilt, and all he said was it was a good go, and Orrsie had a big smile on his face when he left the ice. DAMN IT ALL!!! I missed it!

I finished dinner, and went to another bar to catch the end of the game. The people at the bar didn’t see the fight, as for some reason they were watching baseball. I almost had a go myself. I excused myself once again to go home and watch some NHL Center Ice. Well, when I got home, it wasn’t working. After a quick call to Comcast, I was up and running. The Calgary vs. Dallas game was a barn burner. Former Lockmonster Chuck Kobasew scored a dandy to tie it, but alas, the Flames ended up losing in OT. I switched over to the Kings vs. Detroit tilt. Again, a spirited tilt, but I was waiting until midnight for the replay.

With MOL in bed, and a fresh brew in hand, I tuned into the NESN re-broadcast. Dale and Brick had the call. I was on the edge of my seat, as I knew there was a fight coming, but I didn’t know when. Why I didn’t check the box score online and find out, I am not sure. What can I say, I am not bright. Anyway, 2:37 into the first. There it was. Gloves on the ice, and Colton Orr (BOS) and Eric "Big Daddy" Cairns (FLA) were squared off. Cairns started the tilt with a few hard rights, and it looked like he was going to kill the young rookie Orr. Orrsie came back with a few punches of his own, and got back into it. Cairns countered with a few nice rights, and the boys got locked up a bit. Orrsie got some separation with an uppercut, and a nice straight hand right. "Big Daddy" came back with a few rights of his own, as the combatants became very tired. Orrsie tried a couple of more but was clearly winded. The two locked up for the last time, and the stripes came in to separate the weary warriors. Great job by the zebras staying out of it until the punches had stopped. As they were leading the boys to their respective boxes, Orr had a very big grin on his face. He was clearly happy to have his first go under his belt. Cairns was shown in the box saying to the attendant, "That was a good one eh?" For sure Eric. For sure. If I am scoring the fight, I give it to Cairns for the early advantage, but points to Orr for taking a few shots trying to get his way inside.

Before they could even get the penalties announced, B’s newcomer Pat Leahy (BOS) had to defend himself against Chris Gratton (FLA). Not much of a fight really, but it was good to see Gratton come to the aid of a teammate, after Leahy drilled a Panther seconds before. I hope this is a sign of things to come for the Bruins. More emotion, and more fights. Off to the Monsters opener tonight. Let’s hope this Mitch Love kid has to chuck em!

Alright, maybe I misjudged Boston. They played their best game of the year last night against Tampa. I feel everyone played well in front of Rayzor, although he still did have to come up with some big saves he shouldn’t have to make. It’s early, but I think they may just be OK. Speaking of early, I have a few observations on the new NHL I’d like to share.

- Hal Gill Sucks. He is the worst player in the NHL. He was horrible when he was allowed to clutch and grab, now that his game has been taken away; he is making me physically ill. If Boston is getting scored on chances are excellent number 25 is standing there watching it all happen with that not so bright look on his face.

-I like the no 2 line pass rule. A couple of times last night John Grahame hit someone in stride at the far blue line while he was in his crease. I think Rick DiPietro will have at least 6 helpers this year.

-Where is all the emotion? I realize the fighting will be down because of the rules, but where are the scrums after the whistle? I have seen one good face wash, and I am not happy about it.

-Joe Thornton needs to take the bull by the horns and lead the team in Boston. Oh, and shoot the fucking puck.

-Sidney Crosby is legit. I was very impressed with him Saturday against Boston, and he looked great against Buffalo last night as well. Great passer. I feel he will be tops in the league in assists this year. Someone needs to watch his luggage a bit better.

-Where are the fights? I saw three Friday night. There was none in any of the games yesterday. If I wanted European Hockey, I’d move to Sweden.

-NHL Center Ice is overwhelming. I forgot how difficult it is to choose what game to watch. I may run a poll on this.

That’s all for now. Friday night is the Lowell Lockmonsters opener. I will be in the house, and will provide blow by blow if there is any. Any more observations, let ‘em fly!

The Bruins suck. They are not good. No life at all until the 3rd, when it was too late. I throw up my hands.

I did however catch the third period of the Blackhawks 6-3 rout of San Jose. There were three very entertaining fights starting at the 10 minute mark. First up was Matthew Barnaby (CHI) vs. Mark Smith (SJ). Both guys landed a few good shots. It looked like Barnaby may have even been cut a little bit too. The fight was too close to call. The next face off Wayne Primeau (SJ) vs. Mark Bell (CHI). The fight started right off the face off after the Barnaby tilt. I shouted to MOL, "Sweet, here we go again!" She did not care about the first fight, so I am not sure why I am telling her about the second. Anyway, this tilt was a bit shorter than the first go. The boys traded a couple of good rights, with Bell switching hands and delivering a couple of quick uppercuts to Primeau before getting the jersey over Primeau’s head. At that point the linesmen were on the scene to break it up.

The third fight of the night was the best. After the first two go’s the game calmed down a little bit until Ryane Clowe (SJ) and Jim Vandermeer (CHI) got together along the half boards in the Chicago end. Before I get into the fight, let me ask you this: How many Vandermeers are there? 12? 67? Anyhow, the camera didn’t show what started the fight, but they showed how it finished. This was a classic "two guys stand there and chuck ‘em" fight. They didn’t really jackhammer teach other or anything, but I would say they probably each threw and landed 8-10 punches. Good work by Clowe to work in a couple of nice uppercuts to the veteran Vandermeer as well. I have to call the tilt a draw, but it was the most spirited go to be sure.

Back to the Bruins for a second. Hopefully Sully lays into the boys and they come out with a little jump tomorrow in Pittsburgh. They way they have played the first two games, makes me think we are in for a very long winter here in Massachusetts.

MOL and I took in the Bruins opener last night. We had to bite the bullet and grab some club seats. $155 a seat is a small price to pay after a year off. It was great to be back in the Garden. The place was jam packed, and for the most part, the fans were awesome. There was a carnival like atmosphere in the building last night. The joy of being back was palpable. Personally, I thought the game itself was kind of sloppy. The Bruins looked horrible, and it’s a good thing the Habs aren’t that good, as they really could have smoked Boston. I have said it before, and I will say it again, Hal Gill is the worst player in the NHL. He needs to be traded for a bag of used pucks to free up money to sign Nick Boynton TODAY!!

I mentioned earlier that for the most part the fans were awesome. Well the two morons from Vermont behind me were anything but awesome. Awesomely stupid maybe. They had 6 teeth combined, and the girl thing kept saying, "C’mon B’s" Over and over, while the Larry the Cable Guy fan would yell, yup, you guessed it, "GET ER DONE!" every four to five minutes. My brother and I have a theory, that every time we go to a sporting event, we are automatically seated next to "that guy". It’s like Tickemaster is against me or something. The dumbest exchange between the two was when they were suggesting that Bobby Orr would demand a trade for his son Colton, because he didn’t get any ice. I am sure Mr. Orr has better things to do, especially considering they are not related. In any way. I was THIS CLOSE to turning around and letting them know they were dumb, but thankfully MOL saw me making the move, and said, "You know they are stupid, please don’t talk to them." Great save by MOL. Probably the play of the game. All in all it was a great night at the barn. I am watching the Rangers/Habs game right now. St. Louis/Detroit up next. If there are any fights, I’ll keep you posted.