What a week eh? Patriots killed the Redskins, and the Red Sox won their second World Series in 3 years. It’s an incredible time to be a Boston sports fan. Unless of course, you are a Bruins fan. That’s not exactly true. The team is off to a surprisingly good start. They seem to be playing pretty well together and the Thornton and Lucic dynamic is very interesting. They had two great fights last Saturday back to back. They are indeed tougher to play against. I am happy with the start, with the exception of Zdeno Chara.

I got a text from Goonblog fan, Brownie the other night. It read, “NHL ’08 for PS3 is amazing…..Chara is a pussy in it though.” Hands down it is the funniest text I have ever received, but at the same time it’s true. I really don’t want Goonblog to turn into anti Chara blog, but it seems he is our new whipping boy here. It was Hal Gill a few years ago, and to be honest, I think Chara is an inch taller Hal Gill. To say I am disappointed he wasn’t the one to go after Randy Jones instead of Chuck Kobasew is a gross understatement. Claude Julien should have walked up to him, told him to remove his jersey. Then he should have handed it to Donny Delnegro and told him to remove the “C” because he wasn’t fit to wear it. I’m sure he works hard, and is a nice guy, but he’s no Captain. You think Terry O’Reilly would have let Chuck Kobasew do the dirty work if he was on the ice? Exactly.

As far as the suspension goes, I think it’s fair. It was a bad hit, and he knows better than to hit anyone when their back is turned, but it wasn’t vicious like the cross check Boulerice laid on Kesler. I think the punishment fit the crime, and I think he’ll get some “code” justice when these two teams meet again. No weekly wrap up on Sunday. TKO and I will be in Indianapolis for the Patriots game. Should be a blast. I might try a running diary tomorrow night for the Bruins. We’ll see how the schedule works out. Meantime, I am off to bed, and by that, I mean I am off to get more brew.

Big weekend for the Goonblog boys. I just filled two flasks with Eagle Rare Bourbon. One I am giving to Hammer, and one is mine. I will make the delivery to him tomorrow at Bob and Tawnya’s wedding up at the lake. To say no good can come from this is the understatement of the year. Tonight I am watching the Sox, then the Bruins. Tomorrow, I will figure out a way to watch the Sox and Bruins at the wedding, and Sunday is the Pats. To top it off, MOL has a slinky black dress lined up for the wedding. RAAR. Easy boys. She’s spoken for, and despite her constant crying and mumbling “what did I do”, she’s happy.

I saw Jesse Boulerice got suspended for 25 games today for his cross check on Ryan Kesler. I can’t say I am surprised at the length of the sentence. I thought there was no need for what he did, and the sentence fit the crime here. I was really glad to see Jesse back in the show too. He didn’t seem the same player after Aaron Downey scrambled his eggs a couple of years ago. He only played a handful of games in Lowell, and Albany, and couldn’t seem to catch a break. Now, with a fresh start in the place where it all started for him, he seemed to finally be back. I think Jesse is a quality player and decent enforcer. The one time I talked to him, he seemed like a nice young man to boot. I am not sure if he gets too wound up in the heat of battle, but he needs to learn to stop using his stick as a weapon. Maybe a 25 game seat in the press box after working his way back to the NHL will be the ticket.

Go Sox, Bruins, and Patriots. Congratulations to Bob and Tawnya, as well as Dorothea and Todd. Have a great weekend everyone. Look for the weekly wrap up Sunday.

Last night was hockey night at Goonblog HQ. MOL was doing something in the other room, so I was in the living room drinking Miller Lite while watching several hockey games. It started with the first period of the Penguins and Montreal, and ended with the 8-2 drubbing by Philadelphia on the Canucks. Oh, by the way, guess who’s getting suspended? I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with Messy Moulerice. In between I saw the Isles and Rangers, and the Bruins and Ducks. All told, I watched about 8 full periods of hockey, drank about 10 beers, and went to bed at 1:15. The hockey was decent, but sadly there were no fights.

The Penguins and Canadiens featured the first NHL star, and win, by Montreal’s latest star goaltender in the making Carey Price. Price looked very solid. He is the third Montreal goaltender to get their first win in the NHL against the Penguins. The other two, Ken Dryden, and Pat Roy. Anyhow, the more I watch Sid the Kid, the more I am impressed with him. He is a god, and I think he may very well go down as the greatest ever. If I ever played in the NHL, I would like to think I would do it like Gary Roberts. I think I saw him try to kill at least two Montreal forwards. The man obviously does not like anyone in the other sweater, and I like that about him. Rounding out the highlight was Georges Laraque. He had no fights, but he’s still a force on the ice. I can’t wait until December 20th when the Pens are in town.

Here’s a recap of the Islanders and Rangers game. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….oh look, is that Hillary Duff? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. That’s not all true. There were a few goods hits, and Bryan Berard’s slapper goal was a laser. I was keeping an eye out for Gomez and Drury. Gomez is scoreless in his time as a Ranger. Shanny remains one of my favorites of all time. He’s awesome to watch on the PP. Again, this game featured no fights.

Next, we have the Ducks and Bruins. The Bruins started out like a house on fire with Chuck Kobasew scoring a beauty early in the first. My new favorite Bruin? By far, Milan Lucic. The kid is 19, but like Marc Savard said in the booth, he’s a man. He makes the most of his limited ice time, and the Bruins are going to have a tough choice in 5 more games. I am a little surprised Thornton and Parros didn’t fight…there were a couple of night body checks too…I thought Thornton would have wanted to go in front of the old fans.

Finally, the Canucks and Flyers in the night cap. Philly was up on side and down the other of the Canucks. Philadelphia was getting every bounce and every loose puck. The goal I saw Danny Briere score was pretty nice. Luongo looked really shaky too. Near the end, the game got very ugly. Jesse Boulerice (who I am glad is back in the show by the way) cross checked Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler in the head behind the Canucks goal. I am really not sure why either. Boulerice is no stranger to stick violence, as he was charged with assault following a stick swinging incident in 1998 during a Junior game. I suspect he’ll be suspended for this incident. I guess the Flyers are trying to bring back the Broad Street Bullies era in the City of Brotherly Love. For my night of hockey last night, I get to quietly type this while MOL watches Grey’s Anatomy. Hopefully, it will earn me the TV for the Sox and Bruins tomorrow.

Last week I wrote a little piece about Columbus signing Brandon Sugden (they also signed Darcy Verot by the by) and how I wasn’t exactly sure I would make the trip to Albany to see a Syracuse tilt. My contention was the Albany didn’t really have anyone to fight him and I wasn’t sure I wanted to drive that far to be let down. I said it was more of the same for Carolina. One tough guy, and how willing was he going to be to drop em. Well, I am a moron.

I was perusing the lineups of Carolina and Colorado yesterday. Obviously Carolina added Stephen Peat the other day, but I totally forgot they signed Jesse Boulerice earlier in the off season. I would imagine those two will have some battles in camp to decide who stays. While I love the signings, I have to question the motivation? Peat played four games I think for Lowell after he was traded. Boulerice was in the Press Box for most of his time with the Canes last season. Did the Canes see something in the Season and Playoffs with regards to toughness or lack thereof? Or, is this a move to keep the AHL Team tough? Sort of a break glass in case of emergency type thing? The Capitals added Donald Brashear to protect Ovechkin. Carolina has them 8 times next year, and has had some battles with them as of late. I know Boulerice asked to stay in Lowell when he was sent there because he likes Tom Rowe, and wanted to play, and I would assume that had a lot to do with him signing. In regards to Peat. He didn’t seem very pleased to be there last year. Granted he was hurt and all, but he walked around with a scowl on all the time. He was also by himself a lot. I only saw him with his Old Lady. I never saw him with any of the boys. I think he is going to fight extra hard to stay in the Show. I would suggest getting to a Scrimmage at Canes Camp if you are near there.

Let’s not forget about Albany’s other Parent Club, the Colorado Avalanche. They have Mitch Love, and Cody McLeod both on the roster. Mitch told me at the end of the year party for the Lockmonsters last season that he turned down a couple of guys because he was the only one doing the heavy lifting. Then by the time McLeod came along, Mitch was already hurt. McLeod did OK for himself. He’s young, and needs experience in the AHL, but I think he’ll be OK. He did very well in a game against Hartford when Joe Rullier and Martin Grenier were running him at every turn. As an aside, I thought it was pretty cowardly of both those guys. That was the game when Boulerice had been sent down, and neither one of them would go near him. At any rate, McLeod squared off with Rullier in that game, but Rullier got hit in the eye with a clearing attempt before they could get going. McLeod got his eggs scrambled in Albany by Barry Tallackson, but who doesn’t from time to time? I like the kid. I think he’ll be good.

So, with Albany possibly having Stephen Peat, Jesse Boulerice, Mitch Love, Bill Kinkel, and Cody McLeod in their line up, I have re thought my idea on driving out there to see them take on Syracuse, or anyone for that matter. Who’s coming with me?

The Ref’s post got me to looking around for some old school fight videos. Naturally, I went to You Tube. Any fight fan should be very familiar with this site by now. I found a dandy out there. The Grim Reaper is in there, as is Bob Probert. There is a great tilt where GB favorite Gordie Dwyer gets knocked senseless (win some lose some eh?) This video features an all time great one punch from Aaron Downey on Jesse Boulerice. Enjoy boys. Opening night is almost here.

Quick question. Does anyone know if Jesse Boulerice has reported to St. Louis? Since being traded from Carolina as part of the Doug Weight deal, he hasn’t dressed. I know he wasn’t skating much in Carolina, and it looks like more of the same in St. Louis. I’m getting a little worried.

If you are wondering if you should go to Lowell tonight, pencil it in. The Lockmonsters have assigned perennial bench warmer Jesse Boulerice for a weekend stint. Boulerice is a gamer, and one tough customer. He was the subject of a vicious Aaron Downey one-punch a couple of years ago that scrambled his eggs a bit, but the lockout and a year away from the game was a good thing for the New York native. Hopefully Boulerice and Marty Grenier have a go tonight, and Mike Hoffman and Jesse tangle on Sunday. Either way, I am so excited I may take a deliberate penalty, and dammed if I wouldn’t!

I read an article the other day about Hurricanes enforcer Jesse Boulerice, and how he has played in 18 of 36 games for Carolina, and hadn’t had a fight since November 16th. It went on to say that 71% of all NHL games this season have been fight free. That is up from the 59% of fight free games the last time the NHL played. That stat itself is a whole topic on its own. At any rate, it got me to thinking about the role of the enforcer. I sort of thought they’d be a dying breed at the NHL level, but fighting seems to be alive and well in the AHL and below. So I ask you this: Would you rather stay at the NHL, not play and collect an NHL paycheck every two weeks? Or, would you rather go down to the farm, not make as much money, but play every day?

Last year during the AHL Playoffs, the Providence Journal did a story on then P-Bruin tough guy Colton Orr. They were saying how he was all over the ice. How he played in every situation, and how he didn’t take anything off the table. This about Colton Orr. Would you ever see Orr on a NHL power play? Not unless the rest of the team was dead you wouldn’t. Guys like Orr, and Boulerice can play in every situation in the AHL, but are a scratch most nights in the show. When was the last game Orr played for the Rangers? Does anyone know?

Orr and Boulerice are just two guys that come to mind. I am sure if I thought about it, there are probably 10 more guys. Which brings me back to the question, do you get paid, or do you want to play? Would you prefer to skate in practice and sit in the press box, or be sent down to the AHL, and play every night. Keep in mind, you may not play in the NHL, but you do get the NHL pay. Down on the farm, you draw an AHL salary. If it’s me, I want to play. I would want to play all the time in a competitive capacity, than skate in practice, and watch the games. Granted, the money is way less, but if you go down and work hard, there is always the chance to go back up. I’m interested in the opinion of the forum on this one. Drop the gloves, and get in the fray.